The Standard - 2016 March 17 - Thursday

VOL. XXX  NO. 36  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  THURSDAY : MARCH 17, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Missing cash gone for good’

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PLUNDER CHARGE FILED VS DND BOSS

By Rio N. Araja

A BUREAU of Internal Revenue examiner filed a plunder complaint Wednesday against Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin before the Office of the Ombudsman over a “rotten” P1.26-billion helicopter deal in 2013.

The complainant, Rhodora Alvarez, also implicated other officials of the Defense department and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for “willfully, deliberately and feloniously” conspiring to carry out the plunder.

Alavarez alleged that Gazmin gave preferential treatment to the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Eagle Copters for the procurement of Huey helicopters, including spare parts three years ago.

A project manager for Rice, however, had earlier alleged that it was Alvarez, their former country representative, that had demanded a 15-percent commission for nego-

tiating the helicopter deal and threatened their local employees with tax evasion charges if they reported to work.

Gazmin denied Alvarez’s allegations. “It is good that we will know the truth,” he said upon learning of the suit.

The Defense department said it had not yet received a copy of Alvarez’s complaint.

“Nonetheless, we welcome the development as it provides an opportunity for the secretary and the DND to disprove Rhodora Alvarez’s allegations and reiterate the facts we have presented in the Senate hearing,” it said in a statement. Next page

Training session.

Women members of the Special Operations Group of the Philippine Coast Guard conduct rappel training from a military Huey helicopter at Manila’s South Harbor on Wednesday.

DANNY PATA

Bullying Mindoro battles with NPA leave five dead Robert A. Evora, Francisco of UPLB ByTuyay and Florante S. Solmerin student slammed

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CALAPAN CITY—Mangyans fled their villages in the mountains as government forces battled New People’s Army guerrillas Wednesday morning, leaving an Army soldier and four militiamen dead, the military said.

Killed were Army Cpl. Rolando Bernal and militiamen Christopher Gadon, Fulgencio Rolando, Gary Galindez, and Ernesto Malubay Jr., all members of the Civilian Armed Force Geographical Unit, of the 41st Infantry Battalion, of the Army Capt. Allan Apara said.

Initial reports said the platoon, composed of 14 Army soldiers and seven Cafgu members led by Lt. Robert Rela-

tivo, were on combat patrol in Barangay Hagan, pursuing a rebel band and shot dead a councilman, Gerry Magallon, in front of his house in Sitio Balite last Sunday, when they were fired upon by about 30 NPA rebels belonging to the Kilusan Sa Pangkat group.

A 30-minute gun battle ensued after Bernal and the four militiamen were killed in the initial volley of fire. Attack Next page

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‘Bangladesh funds can’t be recovered’

By Gabrielle Binaday and Rey E. Requejo

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said Wednesday it is impossible to recover $29 million allegedly stolen from Bangladesh after the funds were coursed through local casinos.

Testifying before the Senate, Pagcor Chairman Cristino Naguiat said the money—a portion of the $81 million that the Bank of Bangladesh reported stolen—had already been combined with other funds.

“We don’t know—and it wasn’t $81 million that went to us. We can’t tell where the money is because it has been co-mingled with the capital from other accounts,” Naguiat told reporters in Filipino after the hearing Tuesday.

He said it was the banks that are supposed to be gatekeepers against illegal transactions.

“We rely on the banks. We assume all the funds they release is clean money,” he said.

He said while the CCTV cameras could track bettors, the chips were probably cashed once the money was laundered.

“Why gamble with it when there is a chance of losing the money? The money has already been scrubbed,” he added.

The Pagcor chairman said they were willing to have the casinos covered by the Anti-Money Laundering Act. “We’re not opposing it. We’re open to being included. The only question is what the

threshold will be,” he said, adding that investor confidence would not be undermined by such a move.

The Justice Department said Wednesday it would summon Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. bank manager Maia Santos-Deguito to its preliminary investigation of money laundering charges filed against her and four others by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamarra said a subpoena would be issued to Deguito, who is expected to file a counteraffidavit during the first hearing on April 19.

In the complaint, AMLC deputy director Vencent Salido sought the indictment of Deguito and four other respondents—Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez—the supposed owners of the bank accounts where the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank went.

The AMLC included the four as respondents despite an initial finding that the names might be fictitious.

Businessman William Go, to whom the amount was reportedly transferred before the

money was laundered in local casinos, was not included as a respondent.

The council said Deguito, manager of the bank’s branch on Jupiter Street in Makati City, approved the opening of the bank accounts on May 15, 2015 based on fictitious identity documents.

The council said the names were not really those of the four unidentified persons who showed up at the bank to open the accounts.

The council alleged that Deguito facilitated the act of money laundering when she allowed the unidentified persons to open their bank accounts.

She also failed to verify the identities of the four depositors with nine months of the time the accounts were opened, and allowed them to withdraw the money stolen from Bangladesh Bank.

Deguito has denied the allegations. She also denied approaching Go or offering him P10 million in exchange for his silence.

Deguito was prevented from leaving the country last week after the Justice Department issued a lookout bulletin against her based on the AMLC complaint.

Presidential candidate Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago warned that the country could become a money laundering hub and vowed to certify as urgent a bill expanding the coverage of the Amla if she is elected president.

With Macon Ramos Araneta

MOPC sendoff. Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario (center) joins Jose Manuel Romualdez (left), president of the Manila Overseas Press Club, and businessman Antonio Cojuangco, chairman of Philippines Inc., during a testimonial luncheon for Del Rosario at the Manila Golf Club in Makati City on Wednesday. LINO SANTOS

Mindoro...

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helicopters launched an air strike on the NPA position but the military could not ascertain if there were casualties on the rebel side.

Police said Mangyans and other residents fled their villages for feat of getting caught in the crossfire.

The entire Mindoro province has been placed on red alert in anticipation of more rebel attacks ahead of the NPA anniversary of March 29.

The AFP Southern Luzon Command said it believed the rebels were part of the group that stormed a police station in Paluan, killing two policemen and a soldier in November 2014. Since then, the military has been tracking the move-

ments of the rebel group.

“Now that the troops located them, we will use necessary force and AFP assets to neutralize them,” said Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo R. Visaya.

The commanding officer of the Army’s 4th Infantry Battalions, Lt. Col. Rodolfo Gesim said the wounded were airlifted to Roxas, Oriental Mindoro for medical attention.

Plunder...

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In her complaint, Alvarez described the sale as a “rotten” deal, saying it involved the purchase of helicopter scraps from Germany, shipping them to the United States for reconstruction and refurbishing, and eventually sending them over to Philippines for use by the Air Force.

Of the 21 choppers, seven were delivered to Manila, but only one was flying, she said.

The choppers were UH-1D, 1968 models similar to the US UH-1H or the Huey, but the instructions for their use were written in German, she added.

Because of this, Air Force pilots had to study German to understand the instructions before flying the choppers, she said.

Alvarez alleged that after awarding the contract, Gazmin signed and approved amendments to the agreement sought by the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Eagle Copters.

She said Gazmin conspired with the other government officials to give the company special treatment.

Under the law, amendments can only be done during the pre-bid conference, not after a contract has been awarded, she said.

She also said that Commission on Audit rules state that the government is allowed to accept second-hand equipment only if no procurement is involved, Alvarez added.

In 2015, Alvarez appeared before a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing, and presented her affidavit, saying that a 7-percent kickback would go to Gazmin and a 5-percent cut would go to the DND and AFP officials.

At the Senate hearing on Tuesday, the project manager of Rice Aircraft Services Inc., Matthew Rice, said it was Alvarez—who used to be the company’s country representative— who demanded a 15-percent commission from the deal.

In a presentation, he showed several email messages and billings from Alvarez, who allegedly demanded a commission, which she later cut to three percent.

Rice said Alvarez also demanded a reimbursement for $278,674 that she supposedly spent.

“As you can see , here are some of the e-mails. ‘Where’s my money?

Where is it? Pay, pay, pay. Pay your obligations, pay my commissions…’” he said, reading the e-mail messages that he said came from Alvarez.

Rice said Alvarez also threatened the Filipino crew of the company with tax evasion charges if they reported for work.

“So none of them would work because Ms. Alvarez wanted her money, which we would not send her,” he said.

He said this was the reason why there was a delay in the delivery of the helicopters.

Rasi president Robert Rice Jr. said they became suspicious of Alvarez when they saw on her Facebook account that she was handing out money during Christmas.

“She has two brand new vehicles, a brand new van and a brand new car in addition to the many vacations she’s taking,” he said.

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Binay: AMLC’s aim is obvious THE Anti-Money Laundering Council’s plan to demolish the credibility of Vice President Jejomar Binay became obvious when it failed to prevent the $81-million bank heist that had stunned the nation, Binay’s camp said Wednesday.

“The AMLC was devoting much of its precious time looking for the imaginary anomalies committed by the Vice President that it was unable to recognize an actual robbery happening right under their noses,” said Toby Tiangco, president of Binay’s party United Nationalist Alliance.

“The AMLC is too distracted.

While the biggest heist was ongoing, they were busy plotting coming out with a rehashed and outdated supposed AMLC report just to pin down VP Binay right before the presidential debate.”

Tiangco made his statement even as a Senate inquiry resulted in revelations on what could be the biggest cyber heist in the world. He said the crime could have been averted if only the AMLC, led by the central bank’s governor, had been focused on its job.

“The AMLC was very busy being a tool for political persecution and harassment in the guise of running after the corrupt. They may as well have welcomed those thieves with open arms,” Tiangco said.

Binay said the AMLC was part of the campaign being mounted against him by his detractors. He expressed hope that his prayers would allow him to see past his political enemies’ efforts to pull down his numbers and focus on his mission to listen to what the poor expected from the next president.

“The continuing demolition by perception was there. It is included in their program. They are preparing for the second debate, the Ombudsman and the CoA,” Binay said.

The AMLC has twice corrected its petition for asset protection that was fi led in November last year before the Manila Regional Trial Court, admitting that Binay had only one bank account that contained P1.7 million and not billions as the agency had earlier claimed. Vito Barcelo

Laguna sortie. Senator Grace poe holds up a picture of her father while campaigning in Santa Rosa, Laguna. JAY MORALES

Anakbayan slams bullying of UPLB student ANAKBAYAN on Wednesday condemned the cyberbullying and death threats against Stephen Villena, a student from the University of the Philippines Los Baños who was accused of “raising his voice” when he asked Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte about his budgetary priorities if he was elected president.

“Villena and other young Filipinos always welcome opportunities to meet and ask candidates while aspirants attend or hold public events to reach and convince more voters,” said Vencer Crisostomo, the group’s national chairman.

“Forums such as the one held in UPLB are thus important, and attendees should always be free from all sorts of intimida-

Platform. Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte stating

his political platform during his campaign sortie in Lingayen, Pangasinan. Rodrigo Duterte curses the pope’s mother and jokes about his own infidelities, but many voters in the Philippines want to elect him president so he can begin an unprecedented war on crime. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

tion and threats.”

Crisostomo said what happened after the UPLB forum should not happen again.

“We call on Mayor Duterte, who is portrayed as a disciplinarian, to control and restrain some of his most ardent supporters,” Crisostomo said.

“All candidates and their supporters should welcome the freest and widest possible discussions and debates.”

Crisostomo said Villena had not been impolite at all. He merely reminded Duterte of his own desire to soon finish the forum as he asked the candidate to provide him a straight answer to his question.

“We must join Villena in asking Duterte and all presidential candidates the impo-

lite and stupid question about their plans for education,” Crisostomo said.

“That’s the least we can do on behalf of the likes of Kristel Tejada and Jessaven Lagatic—state scholars who ended their lives due to the rising cost of education.”

Crisostomo said young Filipinos should emulate Villena and continue to ask questions about the many important issues facing the sector and the nation—issues that had largely been ignored in the 2016 campaign.

“Our elders and the majority look up to young Filipinos—especially the educated—to participate in the process but not as trolls, hooligans or thugs loyal to any candidate and allergic to any hint of criticism,” Crisostomo said. Sandy Araneta

Poe to dump Aquino’s bad Cabinet members SENATOR Grace Poe said she would retain President Benigno Aquino III’s Cabinet members who has been performing well but kick out Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares if she won the presidential race.

“I’m sure you will all agree that you already have a hunch on which departments are actually performing properly and which ones aren’t,” Poe said.

“So maybe we can do a process of elimination.”

Poe, who led a series of public hearings on the sorry state

of Metro Rail Transit 3, had recommended the filing of graft charges against Abaya for entering into anomalous contracts that she said endangered the safety of commuters.

She said the BIR must have a chief who would be there to help taxpayers, and not one who would see them as a “party from whom fees and other facilitation payments can be collected.”

“Even if your books are perfect and clean, they still try to find something just so they can get something out of you. And we are sick and tired of that,” Poe said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

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SC focuses on 2 poll issues

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan, Maricel V. Cruz and Christine F. Herrera THE Supreme Court said the oral arguments on the issuance of voter receipts set for Thursday will be limited to whether the Commission on Elections has enough time and whether the poll body can implement enough safeguards to comply with the court’s earlier order.

Presidental candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay strolls along Vigan City’s Calle Crisologo with Ilocos Sur Gov. Ryan Singson and Vice Gov. Deogracias Savellano on the eve of his nine-town swing through the province.

Students slam K-12 ruling

By Sandy Araneta THE League of Filipino Students and Kabataan Party-list picketed the Supreme Court on Wednesday to protest the court’s decision to reject the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the K-to-12 program adding two years to the country’s education system.

“The evil design of K to 12 is to privatize Philippine basic education,” LFS national chairperson Charisse Bañez said, noting that the Department of Education’s December 2015 data shows that private schools dominate senior high school.

According to her, only two out of 10 senior high are public in the National Capital Region.

Bañez added that even if there are pub-

lic schools offering senior high school education, it is meaningless since these schools have very limited slots compare to their current Grade 10 students.

“We would like to remind SC that Article XIV, Section 2 of our Constitution states that the government should establish and maintain a system of free public education in elementary and high school.

Under K to 12, the government has shamelessly relinquished this responsibility to private schools,” said Bañez.

“It is clear that K to 12 only guarantees the profit of school owners and capitalisteducators at the expense of our right to free public education,” Bañez added.

She said that K to 12 focuses on technical-vocational courses which promote jobs for export based on the needs of

other countries. The youth leader emphasized that K-to-12 undermines the necessity for a national industrialization, rural development, and agrarian reform that will stabilize the country’s economy.

Bañez also noted that K to 12 violates the government’s mandate to inculcate patriotism and nationalism among the youth by removing Philippine history in high school and hindering the development of the Filipino language through curriculum reforms in college.

“K to 12 is a catastrophe. We should never allow such program. We call on all students, teachers, parents, and the rest of our country to further our fight against K to 12. We also urge all candidates to stand with us in our demand to stop K to 12,” said Bañez.

The SC said in an advisory that the Comelec and former senator Richard Gordon, who filed the petition calling for the issuance of receipts to voters in the May 9 elections, will each have 10 minutes to present their arguments, followed by the interpellations of the high court magistrates.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said they are hoping they could physically demonstrate to the high court how the vote count machine to be used in the elections works and how much time it will take to print voter receipts as ordered by the SC in the writ of mandamus issued last March 8.

In its writ of mandamus, the SC unanimously voted to direct the Comelec to issue receipts to voters on Election Day to serve as the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail.

Bautista said they will bring two VCMs to show the magistrates the differences in printing voter’s receipts and flashing an onscreen verification.

Bautista reiterated that the Comelec is not against printing voter receipts per se, but the proximity of the May 9 polls makes it difficult to implement.

“Our lawyer will be Solicitor General Florin Hilbay. He will be the one presenting the case. I and Commissioner Christian Robert Lim, as head of the Steering Committee for the May 2016 elections, will also be there to answer questions,” Bautista said.

“What we intend to show to them tomorrow is our timeline. We are still discussing it in our meeting because we think it is important that we present every detail as well as the assumptions and risks, to the magistrates,” he said.

Bautista said the Comelec can defer action on its action plan until after the oral arguments, but stressed that the poll body has to know with finality by next week which path they should take.

LP campaigns in Laguna

By Sandy Araneta PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday campaigned for Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II and running mate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo in Laguna.

“My question is: Will we continue our campaign for development, or will we go back to old ways of several abuses and a system of crookedness?

As father of the nation, I just cannot go silent about this. It is my obligation to guide our Bosses and ensure that what we have worked for will not go to waste.

“We have made the foundation for good governance, and we have shown the Filipinos what good governance means; we have strengthened the institutions so that these will not be used for anomalies. But in the end, it is up to you if we will continue this,” Aquino said.

Aquino trumpeted the accomplishments of his administration for the

past six years and again criticized the administration of former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“Maybe we can compare my experience with the situation we took over,” said Aquino. “We were given promises. But my predecessor, we were given sweet promises of victories, but once we scrutinized this, we can just smirk due to the sourness of what we found out.”

“In Daang Matuwid, this is not our situation. Due to each others’ help, we can now take the sweet fruits of the reforms we have planted,” Aquino also said.

Aquino also noted the advocacies of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, regarding “people empowerment through microfinance and cooperative-based activities.”

He also cited the financial reforms his administration has done for the past six years, such as cooperatives and the micro-, small-, medium-enterprises.

Ermita for Mar.

Administration bet Manuel Roxas II chats with former executive secreatry Eduardo Ermita and his daughter Rep. Ellie ErmitaBuhain during the Liberal Party rally in Batangas City.

JOHN PAOLO BENCITO

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Martin in Pangasinan.

Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (2nd from left) shares light moments with the family of former House Speaker Jose De Venecia (2nd right) Pangasinan Rep. Gina De Venecia (left) and Congressional candidate Christopher ‘Toff’ De Venecia during the Local Government Executive Assembly of Pangasinan.

Ver NOVeNO

Palace gets tough on pork smuggling

By Sandy Araneta StepS are now being taken to curb smuggling of pork, Malacañang said on Wednesday, as an alliance of hog producers across the country has issued an ultimatum in a prelude to a “pork holiday” for five days.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. noted that, Undersecretary Jose reano of the department of Agriculture said that another recommendation is to have a cold chain inspection area so no meat with question will go out of Bureau of Customs without inspection.”

“Cost is P300 million. Also the 12 digit HS code of the US

will be used and included in the permit to import . To be sure that no illegal release is done, dA will secure directly from the shipping lines which will be compared with BoC and dA specifications. This IFM will be available to stakeholders,” said reano.

“IFM stands for Inward foreign manifest. List of cargo car-

ried in the vessel,” said reano.

Coloma also texted a message of reano, who said, “At yesterdays meeting, BoC informed them that documents with 5 to 10 percent tariff is being signed by the office of the commissioner and 100 percent inspection is going to be implemented. In the same meeting Senator Cynthia Villar demanded Tariff Commission to raise all meat tariff to 35 or 40 percent if waiver on bank secrecy is filed by importers, zero inspection will be done.”

Pork producers across the country issued an ultimatum in a prelude to a “pork holiday,” demanding that Malacañang take steps to curb pork smuggling or they would withhold their meat

products from the market.

The group—led by the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., national Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. and Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura—is supported by the Agap party-list, Abono party-list, Sorosoro Ibaba development Cooperative (Batangas) and 120 individuals “plus thousands more backyard hog growers.”

Pro-pork has behind it 43 organizations, while nFHFI counts 14 groups.

In an open letter to the President, the group said the inventory in backyard farms shrank by 17 percent to 7.95 million head in 2015 from 9.54 million head in 2010 when Mr. Aquino assumed office.

Russian Embassy protests guard’s ‘rude behavior’

By Vito Barcelo Angered by a security guard’s disrespect for the russian flag, the russian embassy sent a note of concern to the department of Foreign Affairs, expressing disappointment over the rude behavior of a security officer from Mckinley Hill in Taguig.

“We were shocked with the behavior of the security officer when he removed the russian ambassador’s car plate with 1000 which was parked infront of PCCI building. He has no respect to the russian flag prominently placed on the front of the car,” ruslan Kuzmin, assistant to the russian Ambassador, told The Standard.

He said that ambassadors should be shown due respect and entitled to special consideration to traditional attention.

Kuzmin said they have prepared a letter of concern with regards to the incident so that it may not occur again.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said that they will have to get the report on the incident first.

“We have preferred this to our protocol,” he said.

The incident became viral in the social media after a certain Miko duñgo Camacho posted in his facebook a security officer removing the car plate of a russian embassy vehicle.

“This happened earlier in front of the the PCCI Building. The security officer from McKinley Hill was removing the plate of the parked Mercedes-Benz. This would have been fine under normal circumstances, but this car had a diplomatic plate bearing 1000, meaning this is the russian Ambassador’s official vehicle.

“Maybe there’s a new law on protocol, or maybe they have utter disregard for protocol. For me, this is just wrong. I think McKinley Hill security is going too far. This irresponsible action could result in a big issue between the Philippines and russia,” Camacho said on his website.

Service leave for workers set

By Vito Barcelo THe department of Labor and employment has ruled that workers are entitled to a yearly five-day service incentive leave with pay.

“Service Incentive Leave Pay is an employee benefit that enables them to take or avail of leave with pay for five days provided the worker has rendered service for at least one year,” Labor Secretary rosalinda Baldoz said.

“Article 95 of the Labor Code mandates employers to give their employees a yearly service incentive leave of five days with pay.

The SIL shall be granted to a worker who has been in service within 12 months, whether continuous or broken, reckoned from the date the employee started working, including authorized absences and paid regular holidays,” Baldoz said. “notwithstanding this provision, our laws do not preclude employers from giving similar or more, beneficial leave benefits to their employees. The common practice nowadays is that employees in the private

sector are given monthly sick and vacation leave credits which they may use as the need arises,” the Labor chief said.

She said that service Incentive Leave is commutable, and it is convertible to cash if not used or exhausted at the end of the year.

“The cash equivalent is aimed primarily at encouraging workers to work continuously and with dedication to the company,” Baldoz said.

However, she said the Labor Code provides that the rule on service incentive leave does not apply to those of the government and any of its political subdivisions, including government-owned andcontrolled corporations; domestic helpers and persons in the personal service of another; managerial employees as defined in Book 3 of the Labor Code; field personnel and other employees whose time and performance are not supervised by the employer; those who are already enjoying the benefit; those enjoying vacation leave with pay for at least five days; and those employed in establishments regularly employing less than 10 employees.

Scorching hot. A helicopter hovers over Manila Bay amid a scorching afternoon in Metro

Manila on Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The highest temperature recorded in Metro Manila was 38.6 degrees celsius in 1915 and the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country was 42.2 degrees celsius in 1969 in Tuguegarao City. Ver NOVeNO

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House tribunal told: Comment on poll protest

By Rey E. Requejo

The house of Representatives electoral Tribunal has been ordered to file its comment on the petition assailing its decision to oust Northern Samar Rep. harlin Abayon. in an en banc resolution, the SC asked HReT to answer the petition filed by Abayon questioning the ruling that favored his rival in the 2013 polls, former House Deputy Speaker Raul Daza.

The tribunal also ordered Daza, who was named respondent by Abayon in the consolidated petition, to comment on the case.

“The Court… required respondents to submit their

Comment on the Consolidate petitions and the prayers for TRO within a non-extendible period of 5 days from receipt of notice,” read the order. in a petition for certiorari and prohibition last march 9, Abayon stressed that there was grave abuse of discretion on the part of the HReT majority members who voted for his ouster upon electoral protest by Daza.

Abayon said the HReT has committed an error in granting Daza’s protest because the evidence per the records of the case did not support its findings and conclusions.

Petitioner also argued that the HReT has no jurisdiction to cause the annulment of the result of the election for the member of the House of Representatives in the clustered precinct numbers 9 (Barangay Chansvilla), 10 (Barangay Datag), 19 (Barangay Salvacion), 25 (Barangay Toog) and 14 (Barangay Lungib) in Victoria, Northern Samar because it falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the

Comelec en banc.

Abayon further alleged that the annulment, which is tantamount to failure of elections, was a “massive disenfranchisement of votes” considering that Daza did not present any substantial proof that the alleged terroristic acts are extensive in character which cause the impossibility of differentiating the valid votes from the invalid ones.

According to him, this was the main point in the dissenting opinion of HReT member and SC Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta.

Peralta held that Daza’s evidence is utterly weak, unclear and unconvincing and that the same is not enough

to cause the annulment of the election result.

The dissenting HReT member further stressed that there was no accurate manner on how the tribunal will segregate the valid and invalid ballots. He said that the best way to determine the veracity of Daza’s protest was to open the ballot boxes and not to annul the election results.

Another HReT member, Gabriela party-list Rep. emmy de Jesus, joined Peralta’s dissent in this case.

Records showed that Abayon was declared winner with a lead of 124 votes over Daza after the revision or recount of the ballots.

Anti-fraud drive. Government employees on Wednesday launch ‘Kawani Kontra Daya,’ a campaign against election-related fraud and violence during a gathering in Quezon City. They say their objective is to expose practices that misuse public funds, resources, machineries and personnel in support of a particular candidate. MANNY PALMERO

Martin, 50 Jimmie Cusipag martin passed away Sunday, march 13, 2016, at the age of 50.

The third among 11 children, born on June 25, 1965, he entered the seminary in high school and continued for two years in a major seminary. He is survived by his wife Sheila mangcucang martin and his children.

He graduated from college with an AB Philosophy degree and completed his Bachelor of Laws, then passed the Philippine Bar exams in 1993.

He was a teacher and a mentor who taught in multiple universities in the Philippines to include two

prominent law schools in his region of Cagayan.

He was elected and served as a city councilor in his province for three consecutive terms. He also served as a board member for the province.

He was an expert in Civil Law, having won multiple cases as a practicing lawyer. He was a public servant who championed the cause of the masses, specifically education, infrastructure, and law and order, to name a few.

Jim was also a responsible husband and loving father to his four sons. A God-fearing man who tried hard to do good despite human imperfections.

A loving and obedient

son to his parents, and a caring, protective brother to his siblings.

He lived a vibrant life that was rudely interrupted by cancer in 2008.

To some that may lead to anger and despair; for Jim it was a time for reflection and new discovery. it was a time to be thankful, to acknowledge his multiple blessings primarily centered in his family— which in his words was “the thing that matters most.”

Wake starts on Thursday, march 17 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., eastern Time. interment immediately follows the 11 a.m. mass at the St. monica Catholic Church on Friday, march 18, 2016.

Caloocan nature park is back in business THe city government of Caloocan officially opened to the public the city’s nature park to the delight of its residents Wednesday morning.

After a short formal rites held at Caloocan Nature Park located in Barangay 179, Amparo in the northernmost part of the city, mayor Oscar malapitan personally opened the gates to the two-hectare park.

The old resort, neglected by the previous administrations, was restored to what it is now. it has 14 picnic sheds, pools for adult and kids, open picnic areas, hanging bridge, function rooms, hall type function room, shower and dressing rooms. malapitan said the city government opened the first phase of the park and later on open the second phase which is presently undergoing restoration will have ziplines, mini zoo, aviary and camping amenities.

He requested the public, who are accommodated for free, to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of the park.

“For this month, the public is free to come over during weekends as the place is being utilized for seminars, teambuilding and school activities,” he said.

The park administrator cautioned the parents to carefully watched their children while inside the park. Drinking of liquor and smoking are not allowed inside.

Jun B. David

Caloocan Nature Park. The two-hectare park has been restored and now boasts amenities such as pool, picnic areas, function and dressing rooms. JUN DAVID

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Former councilor, son, slain in Zambo

By A. Perez Rimando

Curious minds. Students in Palo, Leyte attempt to get a glimpse of the partial solar eclipse earlier this month. MEL CASPE

El Niño prompts more calamity declarations SURALLAH town in South Cotabato has been placed under a state of calamity while Iloilo is under a state of water calamity as the effects of El Niño worsen across the country.

The Surallah town council on Monday passed a resolution declaring a state of calamity because the continuing dry spell has continued to affect the produce of thousands of farmers.

Municipal administrator Beltran Armada said the resolution had been recommended by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Mayor Antonio Bendeta approved the resolution Tuesday.

According to Armada, damage to palay crops has risen to P7 million in 400 hectares due to drought; damage to corn has risen

to P108 million in more than 2,000 hectares of dried-up cornfields.

Hardest-hit villages include Moloy, Colongolo, Talahik and Lamian.

Earlier, neighboring T’boli and Koronadal City have also been placed under a state of calamity.

Meanwhile, the Iloilo provincial council made the declaration due to severe water shortages in Lanit, Buntatala, Bitoon and San Isidro in Jaro district and San Juan, Boulevard and Calumpang in Molo district. Barangays Camalig, Cubay and Tabuc Suba in Jaro and Calumpang in Molo also reported

of severe water shortage.

Councilor Julie Grace Baronda, author of the resolution, said the declaration is in consonance with a national law which provides that when two barangays affected with severe water level dropped drastically, the local government unit may declare a state of calamity for the whole area.

The city has an existing calamity fund of more than P100 million including a carried over remaining calamity fund in 2015.

An initial P3 million may be used for the water delivery project.

The plan will be implemented for the immediate delivery of water and the setting up of water facilities in the barangays. This may also include the purchase of a water tank with a dual purpose as a fire truck.

In Cebu City, water systems within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape are drying up with the early onset of the dry season, according to the provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office.

Only 60 percent of the usual water supply now flows from rivers and streams in upland areas in Metro Cebu, according to Penro Technical Division Chief Fedencio Carreon.

“There will still be water but it won’t be enough,” Carreon said. At least 60 percent of the 28,300-hectare watershed area that makes up the CCPL is in Cebu City.

The Cebu City government’s pronouncement that it will send water tanks to mountain villages will be a big help especially to farmers who need to water their farms during the dry spell. PNA

CAMP HAMAC, Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte— A former municipal councilor and his pastor-son were killed while his wife and three other relatives were wounded in an ambush staged by unidentified gunmen Monday morning at Sitio Tiosan, Barangay Nasibac in Leon Postigo town, this province.

A belated police report received here identified the fatalities as ex-Sangguniang Bayan member Jose Ansong, 50, and his son Ramil, 29, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor in the same town. Wounded were Ansong’s wife Rosaria, 48, and relatives Florita Abitan, 28, and sister Mesalyn, 33, and cousin Martino Mocay, 36.

The report said the victims (all residents of Nasibac village), were on board an ownertype vehicle driven by Ansong with his son seated beside him.

They were negotiating a rural road curve bound for the town proper when they were fired upon by the armed men who later escaped towards a nearby forested area.

Ansong and his son died on the spot.

Ansong’s wife and the other vehicle occupants suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to a hospital in this capital city where attending physicians later declared them out of danger.

Leon Postigo Municipal Police Station investigators appear to be facing a blank wall on the bloody incident, noting that the former municipal legislator had no known personal or political adversaries. Local policemen tried to run after the unknown perpetrators but failed to catch up with them.

Soldiers find bomb-making camp in Maguindanao town CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao—Marines and Army Special Forces pursuing outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on Tuesday captured the lawless elements’ bomb-making camp in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao.

The camp with improvised bomb-making ingredients were found in Barangay Andavit, a remote village under influence by the BIFF in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao.

The discovery of the bomb-making facility came a day after about 20 BIFF attacked on Monday night Marines and soldiers stationed in the village as perimeter security of the P58-million worth flood control project in the area.

That BIFF harassment left a Marine private killed and a Marine lieutenant wounded. At least six BIFF members were also believed killed in the hourlong skirmishes.

The camp has been abandoned, ac-

cording to an Army officer who refused to be named. “We found bomb-making devices, mortar rounds, black powder and ammonium nitrate, cut nails and plain metal sheets used as shrapnel and electrical wiring,” he said.

Since the fighting began last Feb. 5, the BIFF have set off more than 50 IEDs in the adjoining towns of Datu Salibo, Shariff Aguak, and Datu Saudi Ampatuan targeting soldiers and even civilians traversing the national highway in Maguindanao.

Capt. Joann Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said the military will continue clearing operations in the affected communities before it will give green light to displaced families.

“As long as the areas are not cleared of IEDs planted by fleeing BIFF, we will not recommend the return of evacuees,” she told reporters. PNA

Riding lessons. A horseman assists a child in riding a horse at the Dahilayan Adventure Park in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. OMAR MANGORSI

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T H U R S D AY: M A R C H 17, 2 0 1 6

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

THE COMELEC INSPIRES ON MAY 9, more than 54 million Filipinos are expected to troop to voting stations to elect national and local leaders. Every candidate has his or her own packaging, campaign style, advocacy, and if we are lucky, a semblance of a platform of government. How do we separate the promises from the plans when we have been burned so many times? Is it even worth our while to try to go beyond name recall? For voters, making a choice is indeed a daunting task.

Today, however, let us step back and forget the names and faces now vying for our attention. We will arrive at a decision sooner or later, anyway.

The tougher, trickier question is whomever we vote for, would our will be reflected accurately?

We certainly do not get much inspiration from the Commission on Elections, the constitutional body tasked to ensure the conduct of honest, orderly and peaceful polls. Instead of reminding the people to get out and vote, and select their leaders wisely, the Comelec presents us various scenarios that dampen our faith in the electoral system.

Given the recent ruling of the Supreme Court that it must provide voter receipts on election day, the Comelec is now rushing to comply with the law—as if the provision had not been there to begin with. After that came the imprudent announcement of Chairman Andres Bautista that a no-election scenario may ensue. He also raised the specter of a postponement, or a reversal to the manual system, if the poll body runs out of time to cover these requirements.

Perhaps the commission is under a great deal of pressure to catch up on things it should have addressed months, even years, ago. It is a mystery though why it still has not gotten the hang of its job when elections regularly happen every three years, and it could accomplish the not-so-urgent but still important things during the intervals.

Until now, for instance, many are still convinced that widespread cheating may still occur in the context of automation, and would even be more difficult to detect or prove given that only a few “experts” are familiar with the technology. Has the Comelec done anything to assuage the people’s fears? Has it told us convincingly that the sanctity of the ballot will be upheld at all times and before anybody?

Unfortunately, the Comelec is the first one to make us doubt whether our choice would even be counted. It brings up the possibility of these chaotic scenarios that would frustrate democracy, leading us to wonder whether there is any hope for this country at all.

That the Comelec appears to take the matter lightly shakes the foundations on which our democracy stands.

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.

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COMELEC

BANGLADESH INVESTMENT LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES

THEY say elections always perk up the Philippine economy. With the timely infusion of one big foreign “investment,” there’s no way to stop an economic uptick in this election year, for instance.

Here’s the thing: The bulk of the $81 million stolen last month from the central bank of Bangladesh never left the Philippines, it’s becoming increasingly clear; if that’s the case, then where did the money go?

Some gossipy local bankers are claiming that the Bangladeshi money was never meant to leave the Philippines in the first place. And that all that moolah will be used as part of some lucky politician’s war chest in the coming May 9 elections.

The timing of the theft of the Bangladesh foreign reserves, after all, is suspicious. The four “fictitious” accounts were opened in May last year at the RCBC Jupiter, Makati

branch with the bare minimum of $500 each for a dollar account, only to go dormant for nine months before they suddenly received the entire amount from four commercial banks in the US—almost exactly two months before the elections.

The senators who started an investigation of the massive heist last Tuesday learned that a big portion of the amount, around P600 million, was physically transferred from the bank in early February, apparently before local authorities wised up to the crime. Now, the bankers are saying, who would require such a huge infusion of cash—and why would it be converted into Philippine pesos if it was going to be spirited out of the country anyway?

No, the banking folk insist. The money was supposed to stay here, even if a portion of it had reportedly been spirited away to some safe haven in Hong Kong, possibly as a commission to those who pulled off the crime.

The use of huge amounts of money in local elections, of course,

It could be robbery on a massive scale, to pay for the ever-escalating cost of getting elected in this country.

is well-known. The total bill for political advertising alone in the run-up to this election, for instance, has already reached many billions of pesos, just for people seeking national office, this early.

(As one friend quipped, it’s true that the Bangladeshi money ended up in casinos. But it’s not any posh joint run or overseen

by Pagcor, but in the biggest casino of them all— the 2016 elections.)

In the last presidential elections in 2010, for ex-

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

ample, there were rumors that a local politician who died in a vehicular accident was carrying a huge amount of cash raised by some shady operators for the campaign kitty of one major candidate. When rescuers got to the scene of the fatal accident, they found the bodies, but not the cash—which was why the very real grieving that ensued was not limited to the deceased’s immediate family.

Today, the Senate resumes its investigation of the theft of Bangladeshi cash (in executive session, away from the prying eyes of media) through a complicated cyber-operation that has already been billed as the third biggest bank heist in history and the largest computer crime ever. I wonder if the politicians in the Senate will look into the angle that some of their own kind could have been the beneficiaries of the robbery— which is right now still being called a “moneylaundering operation.”

If it’s true that the Bangladeshi funds were intended to make some Continued on A10

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

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T H U R S D AY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 1 6

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A QUESTION OF ARITHMETIC, AGAIN SELFDESTRUCTING MINORITY REPORT BEYOND REPAIR DANILO TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

MOST of the taipans and heads of business conglomerates I know have left or are preparing to leave the country this week. As one of them intimated to me: “It will be very expensive for me to wait for Election Day.” The reason is obvious. As Election Day approaches, whether the May 9 polls will be postponed or not, those vying for president, vice president, senators or local offices will surely be lining up for the usual financial assistance. And Santa Banana, it could cost them millions of pesos.

The Supreme Court justices did this all by themselves.

*** The worst result of BS Aquino’s efforts to avoid landing in jail the moment he steps down from Malacañang is the fall of the Supreme Court. The high court is that institution mandated to interpret the Constitution.

Actually, most of the gods of Mount Olympus on Padre Faura do not need Aquino to make the Supreme Court fall from its pedestal. With Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, and her cabal of six other justices, most of the justices did it by themselves. They did so when they ruled that Mr. Aquino’s Manchurian Candidate was indeed qualified to run for president.

Santa Banana, I have never seen a bunch of justices interpreting the

Constitution, not according to its letter and intent, but according to their whims and caprices.

Mrs. Mary Grace Natividad Kelly Poe Llamanzares is neither a naturalborn Filipino nor has been a resident of the country for at least 10 years.

As a journalist, I have had my own battles with the Supreme Court. I have been cited twice for contempt, perhaps a record for any journalist.

The Supreme Court, through its decision in the Poe case, was obviously trying to please BS Aquino.

The Sereno court not only amended the Constitution but rendered another constitutional body like the Comelec useless in its role to qualify or disqualify candidates for election.

It was truly a sad day for us who believe in democracy and the rule of law. The Constitution has been reduced to a mere scrap of paper.

With the Sereno court having fallen beyond repair, my gulay, what is there to hope for?As for Sereno and her cabal, my gulay, history will judge them harshly. And that’s for sure. *** I listened to the Senate inquiry into the suspected money laundering of $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank to the Jupiter branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

I had hoped some questions would be answered, but they were not. The RCBC bank manager refused to answer them lest she incriminate herself because she was already charged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Why didn’t the branch manager issue an alert order when such a mindboggling amount was remitted to her bank branch? Did she also alert the bank management? I ask these questions since I know that a big amount

Bangladesh... From A8 candidate win in May, maybe it’s time we stopped calling it that. It’s just robbery on a massive scale, to pay for the ever-escalating cost of getting elected in this country. *** Speaking of laundering, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the government agency tasked to go after those who

AND so we are presented with a math problem.

At first we thought that the Supreme Court, voting nine against six in favor of presidential wannabe Senator Grace Poe, was a clear-cut win for the senator in terms of the numbers game. But when details on the decision on Senator Poe’s citizenship came out, the voting, it appears was 7-5-3. And yet the SC claims that the decision was won through a majority. I wonder: Which mathematical theory makes seven a majority of 15? How can a simple greater-than-less-than problem defeat the Supreme Court?

All this became clear—or rather, complicated—by the details shared

by Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio in his dissenting opinion in the historic SC decision. He said that there is no majority of the court that holds Senator Poe’s position that she is a natural-born citizen, and that only seven justices, not nine, voted in favor of Sentor Poe’s petitions, as three judges had no opinion on the matter.

To make matters worse—and even more discombobulating—is Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s reaction to Carpio’s claim said that the voting was made by a “clear majority of seven.” That is a weird phrase coming from a Supreme Court Chief Justice. If one dissects the phrase “clear majority of seven,” “majority of seven” would refer to the total of fifteen judges, making the word “majority” basically an untruth. Placing the word “clear”

of foreign exchange or even pesos should be referred to the management.

If the remittance came from Henry Sy Sr. or Bill Gates there would be no problem. But, Santa Banana, from Bangladesh?

The other big question is why the manager wants to answer questions only in an executive session.

My gulay, Senate investigations or inquiries are supposed to be in aid of legislation. Thus, to have a Senate executive session would be useless. It would deprive the people of knowing the truth. As Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile told the Senate, people might think “we are hiding the truth.”

Didn’t the management know about the remittance, and why not?

There’s a caveat imposed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on management

cleanse “dirty” funds through the banking system, deserves no congratulations in the RCBC case. Not only did the AMLC fail to stop RCBC from releasing the funds to suspicious depositors, it was unable to stop the return of the money to the bank for conversion into pesos—way after all sorts of alarms and “stop payment” orders had been issued by authorities here and abroad.

SUAREZ

before those three words makes everything either ironic, or making the statement somehow a double negative. We can only speculate then whether Chief Justice Sereno believes that putting two false statements together makes a true one.

But I digress, as I might be splitting hairs over an issue that should be in the first place plain and simple. Explaining things plain and simple is what Justice Carpio exactly did in his dissenting opinion. For him, Senator Poe is not a natural-born citizen. To quote him verbatim: “Any person who claims to be qualified to run for the position of President of the Philippines because he or she is, among others, a natural-born Filipino citizen, has the burden of proving he or she is a natural-born Filipino citizen. Any doubt whether or not he or she is natural-born Filipino citizen is resolved against him or her.”

Justice Carpio was so sure about that Senator Poe is not a naturalborn Filipino that he dedicated his dissenting opinion on the issue and deferred the issue of residency to Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo’s Dissenting Opinion. Justice Del Castillo seemingly took upon himself to do the math for the Supreme Court and for Senator Poe. He said

and the board of directors of a bank that in cases of anomalies committed by bank branches, the management and members of the board are jointly and severally responsible, unless they can show that they had no part in it.

The biggest question in this kind of anomaly is: Since there was already a stop payment from the Bangladesh Central Bank, why didn’t branch manager Maia Deguito comply? To me, that is the most damaging aspect of this case.

The manager could not have acted alone, and since other names have cropped up, there’s no question about an act of conspiracy. *** I had been wondering how a P350-million Wellness Center would look like. Thus, I went to the City Club at Makati Place where international busi-

AMLC never even knew about the involvement of the local bank in the huge cyber-heist until the Bangladesh central bank alerted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas about the “landing” of the $81 million in the Philippines; this, despite the fact that the huge transactions involving the RCBC four dummy dollar accounts should have raised enough red flags at the AMLC

“she took her oath of allegiance only on July 7, 2006. Therefore, she could not possibly prove that she has been residing in the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the May 9, 2016 elections. July 7, 2006 to May 9, 2016 is about two months short of 10 years.” Justice Del Castillo may as well be the Supreme Court’s “Best in Math.”

As judges could tend to stow themselves atop their ivory towers, we could depend on those like Justices Carpio and Del Castillo to make their decisions understandable to laymen, grounding everything and everyone on public interest and the letter of the law at the same time. Court decisions—or any decision of any branch of government—should not insult the intelligence of the people; instead, these decisions should uplift the appreciation of Filipinos for the Constitution. The recent decision is an insult to the intelligence of Filipinos similar to when Senator Poe renounced her American citizenship only a day before she became the chairperson of the MTRCB. It would be no surprise if this is the case of the Supreme Court positioning itself in the good favor of a presidential survey frontrunner.

What is coming out of the woodwork is the underlying theme of convenience, both for the Supreme Court and for Senator Poe. They are trading convenience be at the cost of the rule of law and the entire electoral process—a bad precedent for a bad wannabe president.

nessman Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin put up the worldclass “Aegle Wellness Center,” the first of its kind in the country.

Many wellness centers claim to be the best. They boast they can make you look younger and even prevent you from ageing.

Others like Vicky Belo’s wellness center can make an ugly woman beautiful, and not-so-handsome men look like George Clooney or even look like Superman.

Thus, with no less than Dr. Ben Valdecanas as my tour guide, I went to both City Club and Balesin Island Club. I was convinced that this was really a magnum opus by my former student Bobby Ongpin.

Aegle Wellness Center is a cut above the rest. It has a complete medical diagnostic room with the latest in diagnostic facilities.

It did not make sense

office to accessorize an anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Of course, we already know what the AMLC has been doing for the entire term of President Noynoy Aquino: from the filing of now-dismissed charges against businessman Roberto Ongpin, the impeachment trial of sacked Chief Justice Renato Corona to the use of phantom

that a world-class center should not have a real wellness treatment done on patients without a thorough diagnosis of one’s body.

The second element of a world-class wellness center is that it should be staffed with the best medical doctors, nutritionists, and physical therapists.

Bobby really would not settle for second best. He brought Dr. Claude Chauchard, known worldwide as a truly outstanding wellness professional, on board.

Ongpin also took in Valdecanas, who is undoubtedly of the best and most highly acclaimed Filipino medical wellness doctors.

He even assured me that I could live to a hundred years if I undergo the treatment of the Aegle Wellness Center. Live to a hundred years? And burden my family with that possibility?

AMLC reports against Vice President Jejomar Binay, the agency has allowed itself to be conscripted as just another political weapon in the terrible arsenal of the administration.

The AMLC is useless when it comes to stopping (or even investigating) real money-laundering. As a political tool, its only competition is the Office of the Ombudsman.

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OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA IF NOT for an spelling error, the $1-billion attempt on the Central Bank of Bangladesh would have been consummated. Instead, only $81 million was successfully transferred out to the Philippines and this is now the subject of the Senate blue ribbon hearing. Why was it that of all countries, the Philippines was chosen for the money transfer instead of Hong Kong where part of the money eventually ended?

There are many reasons but the two most important ones are our bank secrecy law and the laxity of the enforcement of our anti-money laundering law. In spite of the existence of this law, money laundering is rampant in our banking system. Indeed, money laundering is a growth industry netting hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide.

To the uninitiated, money laundering is simply the process of making illegally obtained money legal through existing financial institutions. It is not however, limited to banks.

Buying real estate properties is another way, or in this case, the casinos which is one of the oldest methods to launder money.

Money Laundering is one of the 11 crimes designated by

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE THE National Book Development Board recently announced the names of the four recipients of 2015 National Book Development Trust Fund writing grants under the Local History and Culture category.

The NBDTF, according to the NBDB, was established through Republic Act No. 9521 to support and promote Filipino authorship and complete “local manuscripts or research works for publication, especially in science and technology and subject areas where locally authored books are either few or non-existent.”

The grant of P200,000 allows the authors to “complete the writing phase of a booklength manuscript eligible for publication.”

The grantees are: Ian Rosales Casocot, Region VII, for “Literature of Dumaguete and Negros Oriental;” Dinah RomaSianturi, Region NCR, for “Unweaving Basey: A Poet’s History of Home;” myself, Region NCR, for my “Kulturang Karera: Culture and Communication in Philippine Horseracing;” and

THE $81-MILLION CAPER the United Nations as transnational because the commission of this crime does not only happen within one country. It often crosses borders.

In this case, it appears that the hack of the Bangladeshi Central Bank originated from China, then the Reserve Bank of New York which is holding the Bangladeshi funds wired the funds to the Philippines. This in itself is difficult to investigate because of the limited capabilities of our police agencies and the complexity of bank practices. Account codes transferred to offshore accounts are constantly changing, making it extremely difficult to trace where the money will eventually end. In this instance, the trail hit a dead end in Hong Kong. As the Senate hearing has shown, the RCBC resource persons took advantage of the bank secrecy law to avoid answering relevant questions from the Senate Committee. Those people should have been cited for contempt and detained until they are willing to talk. In that hearing, it was shocking to see and hear one senator talking about protecting the interest of the country by ensuring that the bank secrecy law is upheld to prevent

what he termed as the collapse of our financial institutions instead of going to the bottom of the case to punish the all guilty parties including the bank.

That is the best way to protect the interest of the country.

Already, our bank secrecy law has been assailed internationally as out of step with current financial practices. Yet, we persist in upholding it. It is clear that in this case, there were violations of standard banking practices. Even if one is not a financial or banking expert, it was evident that the RCBC people were lying. William Go, a depositor, for instance said that branch manager Maia Deguito confessed to him that she had opened a fictitious bank account in his name and offered him P10 million. I hope the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is not buying this story.

I have also been informed that Deguito has been doing this for some time. Whether she has been doing this on her own or in connivance with higher officers of the bank must be the focus of the investigation. It is also obvious that the rule for opening a bank account was violated.

First, four fictitious accounts

were opened with $500 initial deposits which remained dormant for months. Then all of a sudden, tens of millions of dollars were deposited and immediately withdrawn over the span of about five days. If this is not a suspicious transaction, I do not know what is.

Under our laws, deposits of P500,000 or more must be reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council right away. It is a trigger amount that should have raised concern with the bank and the AMLC. In the United States and other countries, transactions worth $10,000 or more are electronically monitored but our system does not do this. Suspicious transactions are also supposed to be reported but this is regularly disregarded by our banks. For instance, making deposits under fictitious names or aliases are prohibited under the law but is also routinely violated by our banks allowing criminals and corrupt public officials to deposit hundreds of millions if not billions of pesos in our banks.

The AMLC representatives in the Senate hearing did not inspire confidence that they are up to their jobs. These of-

ficials filed a case against Deguito only. But why only her?

Why not include William Go, Tan or the RCBC? It is strange that when it comes to the biggest white collar crimes involving huge amounts of money, most if not all of those involved have Chinese names.

Remember a Dee during the waning days of martial law? He absconded with $600M to Canada and as far as I know, the guy is still there enjoying life with his money.

Now, a Go and a Tan are involved in this $81-million caper. Why Congress did not include casinos in the antimoney laundering law is anybody’s guess considering that the casinos have always been used to launder dirty money not only by criminals but corrupt public officials. Senatorial candidate Ping Lacson wants to abolish the bank secrecy completely and hopefully will do this if he wins. If at all, this case has exposed the weakness and vulnerability of our banking system. Let us hope that this case will finally result in the amendment of our law in order to plug loopholes being used by enterprising criminals or corrupt public officials to hide their ill-gotten wealth.

NATIONAL BOOK DEVELOPMENT BOARD’S 2015 WRITING GRANTEES the quartet of Rocky Cajigan, Kawayan de Guia, Padmapani Peres, and Frank Cimatu, Region CAR, for “An Uncyclopedia to Art, Life, and Living in Baguio, the Cordilleras… and the World.”

A panel of three experts in the fields of history and culture took a year to carefully study all 69 manuscripts submitted to the NBDB up to May 2015.

My warmest congratulations to my fellow grantees, biggest thanks to NBDB and the selection panel of experts for their support, and sincerest gratitude to our friends, families, and those from the writers’ and academics’ communities who shared our joy and expressed their pride in us through their greetings on Facebook.

Last January, NBDB announced the grantees in three other categories: food science and technology organic agriculture, sustainable agriculture, and agritourism; traditional, integrative, and tropical medicine; and popular science.

The authors of the seven manuscripts chosen in these

three categories will be writing books on a diverse range of topics, from organic chicken farming to the proper use of medicinal plants to the hilot’s ancient secrets of healing.

The manuscripts given grants, at least the ones in this batch, are all non-fiction, in that they are academic studies or compilations of lore and knowledge. This adds immensely to the trove of Philippine studies, of which there is still a dearth, because there are still many unexplored and underexplored topics in our culture and indigenous science and wisdom.

My research topic relates to cultural studies, specifically subcultural studies. The man on the street is likely not to have heard of horseracing, or karera in local parlance. Of those in the mainstream who have, their awareness would be related to having glimpsed the race conduct and the betting matrix —“Iyong puro numero”—on the live cable television racing coverage.

Behind what that person sees on TV is an entire world built over a century. In fact,

if we reckon the beginning of the sport from the formal establishment of a racing club, we have to go back to 1867, the founding of the Manila Jockey Club. That means not only MJC but also the sport as a formal activity will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.

Karera has its own culture and forms of communication. It valorizes certain character traits above others in the context of the racing world. It has its own jargon (special words or expressions that others might not understand) called salitang karera.

It employs signs symbols to convey information. In its plethora of meaning-carriers of different forms, kulturang karera is a semiotician’s wet dream.

Why are subcultural studies relevant? For one thing, they reveal a slice of society that we might not be aware of but that is making contributions to culture and the economy.

Take the cosplay subculture, for example. Its participants are mostly millennials who are intensely engaged in cosplay events. These are our chil-

dren or they may be ourselves, spending a significant amount on costumes and makeup or making money as suppliers and event coordinators.

Imagine having knowledge about these different groups— a savvy entrepreneur, for one, could find business opportunities in what might be untapped or underserved markets.

Academic research always has practical applications—one just needs to think outside the box to find them.

My sincere thanks to NBDB for giving me the support to finish this research project (my PhD dissertation) and turn it into a book, because works about karera are “few or non-existent.” I am excited to share this knowledge with others, and I hope that you will find the book not only informative but also interesting and entertaining.

To find out more about the NBDTF and how to apply for a writing grant, visit nbdb.gov.ph. *** Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember

THURSDAY : M ARCH 17, 2016

A12

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Spurs remain unbeaten at home KAWHI Leonard scored 20 points and led five San Antonio players in double figures on Tuesday as the Spurs turned a tight NBA game into a 108-87 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers.

San Antonio led by just one point going into the fourth quarter, but pulled away relentlessly to notch their 33rd home win of the season and their 42nd straight regular-season victory on their home court in a streak dating back to last March.

The Spurs, second to the streaking Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference, improved to 57-10.

The Spurs’ home streak is the thirdlongest in NBA history, behind Chicago’s 44-game regular-season run in 1995-96 and the continuing streak by Golden State that now stands at 49 games.

“It is amazing, and not even just the home records,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said before the game of the Warriors and Spurs. “Just their records. I think we’re all focused on their home records, which, they are amazing.

“But when you think about both of their records in general, it’s amazing.”

The Clippers looked far from intimidated, however, as they built an early 10-6 lead and led 21-19 at the end of the first.

San Antonio’s bench put together a 13-1 scoring run that pushed the

Spurs ahead in the second and San Antonio took a 48-44 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was a back and forth battle, the Clippers re-taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter before the Spurs regained the advantage with a jump shot from the baseline by Kyle Anderson as the period ended.

The Spurs took a 71-70 lead into the fourth and pulled away from there.

Overall the Spurs reserves outscored the Clippers bench 51-20.

Backup David West had all eight of his points in the fourth-quarter, and Australian Patty Mills came off the bench to score seven of his 15 in the final frame.

Mills said it was a matter of “wearing them down throughout the game and understanding that if we stick to the game plan, eventually they’ll get tired.”

Kyle Lowry scored 25 points and passed out 11 assists for the Toronto Raptors, who bounced back from a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls with a 107-89 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Republic of the Philippines MUNICIPALITY OF MULANAY Province of Quezon March 17, 2016

Invitation to Bid for Rehabilitation / Concreting of SitioBagongPook – Maralahay – Brgy.Bagupaye – Anonang – Burgos Farm-to-Market Road 1.

The Local Government Unit of Mulanay, Quezon through the 2016 PAMANA/DA Fund& LGU Fund Counterpartintends to apply the sum of Sixteen Million, Three Hundred Thirty Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred Forty Seven Pesos and Eighty Five Cents (Php16, 339,747.85) only being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Rehabilitation / Concreting of SitioBagongPook – Maralahay – Brgy. Bagupaye – Anonang –Burgos Farm-to-Market Road/2016-010.

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

2.

The Local Government Unit of Mulanay, Quezonnow invites bids for Rehabilitation / Concreting of SitioBagongPook – Maralahay – Brgy. Bagupaye – Anonang – Burgos Farm-to-Market Road. Completion of the Works is required by 89 calendar days. Bidders should have completed a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

3.

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

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

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Local Government Unit of Mulanay, Quezon and inspect the Bidding Documents at the General Services Section-Procurement Unit from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM during working days.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on March 17, 2016 to April 6, 2016; 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM from the address below; and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos (Php25, 000.00) to the Cashier of the LGU- Municipal Treasurer Office.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later that the submission of their bids.

6.

The Local Government Unit of Mulanay will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on March 28, 2016; 10:30 in the morningat the Municipal Budget Office, LGU Bldg. Egualidad Street, Poblacion I, Mulanay, Quezon, which shall be open to all interested parties.

7.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before April 7, 2016; 10:30 in the morningat the Municipal Function Hall, LGU Bldg. Egualidad Street, Poblacion I, Mulanay, Quezon. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

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

8.

The Local Government Unit of Mulanay, Quezon assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

9.

The Local Government Unit of Mulanay, Quezon reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder/s.

10. For further information, please refer to: Engr. Delio H. De Leon LGU Bldg., Municipal Engineering Office 4312 Poblacion I, Mulanay, Quezon Cell Nos. 0998-975-5275 Tel. Nos. 042-319-7122/Fax Nos. 042-319-7610 deliohapordeleon@gmail.com

(TS -M A R . 17, 2016)

Signed: ENGR. DELIO H. DE LEON BAC Chair Municipal Engineer

Manu Ginobili (no. 20) of the San Antonio Spurs shoots against the Los Angeles Clippers at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

Nadal takes revenge, Serena cruises RAFAEL Nadal avenged a fresh loss to a fellow Spaniard and Serena Williams set up a showdown with the reigning Indian Wells champion at the ATP and WTA hardcourt tournament on Tuesday.

Nadal saved five set points to finish off a two-set victory over Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 7-6 (119) in the third round on the main stadium court.

World number one Williams routed 70th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar outside of the four Grand Slams.

Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for his third straight and a record fifth overall Indian Wells crown, defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-5 in the night match.

Nadal, the nine-time French Open champion who turns 30

in June, avenged his first-round loss to Verdasco at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal moved a step closer to a fourth trophy in the California desert, where he took the title in 2013, 2009 and 2007.

The swashbuckling Spaniard next faces German Alexander Zverev who defeated Gilles Simon in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

Nadal, who is seeded fourth, roared through the first set without dropping a game, but Verdasco came to life in the second, eventually forcing a tiebreak.

Nadal fought off five set points before clinching it when Verdasco hit a backhand long to end the one hour, 41 minute contest.

“It was a tough match, but I resisted,” said Nadal, who broke Verdasco five times. “I lost a few matches this year that I had a chance to win so I need to play

more matches like this.”

Verdasco wasn’t going down without a fight. Serving in the tiebreaker—and down 6-7 on match point—he challenged an out call and won, reversing the judge’s call and allowing him to level at 7-7.

Nadal improved to 15-3 overall against Verdasco but they have had some memorable contests since their first encounter in 2005 in Doha.

They played a brilliant three tiebreaker match at Cincinnati in 2011, went five sets in the semis of the 2009 Australian Open, and earlier this year they played another five setter in Melbourne with Verdasco handing Nadal just his second ever first-round defeat in a Grand Slam.

“I have to go through these things,” said Nadal. “In these kind of matches I have more to lose than him, so he’s able to play very aggressive.

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during his straight set victory over Fernando Verdasco of Spain at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. AFP

THURSDAY : M ARCH 17, 2016

A13

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Local aces ready for net tourney AMANDA Gabrielle Zoleta and Patrick Salvacion set out against a slew of talented agegroupers from Manila and other provinces, hoping to defend their turf in the Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit which begins today at the Lucena City Tennis Club.

Zoleta, one of Lucena’s rising stars, gets the second seeding next to fancied Denise Bernardo from Los Baños, Laguna in the girls’ 14-and-under division which also features local bets No. 3 Julia Ignacio and fourth ranked Lila Salvacion.

Zoleta is also entered in the tougher 16-U section of the Group 2 event hosted by Mayor Don Don Alcala and headlined by Blanche Lagrisola from Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Ibiza Mae Perez from Bulacan, Arianne Nillasca from San Pablo and Bernardo.

Patrick Salvacion, on the other hand, is the player to beat in the 10-unisex category, which also includes Marielle Jarata from La Union, Kidlat Estogero and Angeline Alcala from the host province. He is also set to see action in the 12-U class bannered by Marc Jarata and Edgardo Angara from the Big City.

“The local aces will be hardpressed to defend their turf with players from other cities, including Manila, all primed up for the five-day tournament, ensuring another fierce showdown in all categories,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Kurt Molina from Daet, Ranz Javier, local bet Kim Alcala and Marco Sardea lead the boys’ 18-U side while Marcus Del Rosario and Angelo Aparte, both from NCR, bannering the 16-U field of the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Martirez, Piccio force 4-way logjam with 67s CARMONA, Cavite—Amateur Sam Martirez charged home with three birdies in the last five holes at the front to fire a stirring bogeyfree five-under 67, catching pros Mia Piccio, Korean Lee Jeong-hwa and Japanese Yumi Takabayashi at the helm at the start of the ICTSI Champion Tour presented by MARTIREZ Champion and Taiwan LPGA at Southwoods’ Legends course here Wednesday.

Martinez, a member of Team The Country Club which regularly trains at the Jack Nicklaus-designed twin layouts, bucked a late

start at the back with birdies on Nos. 10 and 13 but hovered in the middle of the starting 69-player field with a slew of pars until she

caught fire again and birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 8.

That gave the 17-year-old graduate of the Masters Academy Home School a rare view of the top alongside Piccio and Splendido leg winner Lee, who took different routes but produced the same results, and Takabayashi, who birdied two of the last five holes at the back to make it a crowded leaderboard in the $75,000 event sponsored

by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. The four stood two shots clear of Taiwan Wu Yi-ching and last week’s runner-up Fumika Kawagishi of Japan, who carded identical 69s, and three-up on Taiwan-

ese Chen Hanna, Japanese Senno Yasufuku, Thai Kanphanitnan Muangkhumaskul and Korea Gu Na-eun, who churned out similar 70s in what promises to be a spirited battle for the top $15,000 purse in this second leg of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour and sixth stage of the Taiwan LPGA Tour.

Chihiro Ikeda, Koreans Kang Ji-won and amateur Hwang Minjeong and Taiwanese Chen Chihui and Chen Min-jou all carded 71s while Dottie Ardina and amateurs Annika Cedo and Yuka Saso joined Taiwanese Yu Pei-lin, Lee Chia-pei, Kuo Ai-chen, Yen Hsinning and Huang Hsien-wen at 16th with even par 72s.

Korea, PH teams hold special training

Shown above are the Koreans and Filipinos who will have a special taekwondo training in Manila for two weeks. They are (from left) Lee Tae Sang, coach; Byun June Hyeok, Lim Wong, Yu Ji Hun, Bak Han Ul, Jeong In Ho, Lee Ho Hyung, Kristohper Robert Uy, Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison, Francis Aaron Agojo, Kirstie Elaine Alora, Pauline Louise Lopez, Levita Ronna Ilao and coach Ko Jun Ho.

MEMBERS of the powerhouse Korean National Sports University in Seoul have arrived to help prepare for two weeks Philippine participants in the Asian taekwondo qualifying tournament for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Asian championships.

The two international events will be hosted by the Philippines on April 16 to 20 at the Marriot Convention Center, New Port City Complex, Pasay City.

The Koreans will train the Filipinos three

times a day at the Philippine Taekwondo Association headquarters at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on various aspects of the sport like the latest techniques and skills, development of the athletes’ and fighting spirit.

The special training started yesterday (Wednesday).

The Korean squad is led by head coach, Prof.

Moon Woon Jae, and coach Lee Tae Sang. The Korean jins are Byun June Hyeck, Lim Woong, Yu Ji Hun, Baek Han Ul, Jeong In Ho and Lee

Ho Hyung.

The Filipino fighters are Kristopher Robert Uy, Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison, Francis Aaron Agojo, Kirstie Elaine Alora, Pauline Louise Lopez and Levita Ronna Ilao.

Serving as the Philippine coach is Ko Jun Ho. The special training is supported by Smart Communications Inc., MVPSF, PLDT, Meralco, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.

Red Cubs reach final round Games Today (Finals at the MOA Arena) 9 a.m. Laguna-Rex Del Academy vs Batangas-La Salle Lipa(Div. 2) 10:30 a.m. San Beda vs NU (Div. 1)

IronKids. Participants gear up for the swim leg of the 2016 Alaska IronKids competition, which drew 129 entries aged 4-14, the side event of the annual Century Tuna Ironman 70.3 in Subic Bay, Zambales recently.

THE San Beda Red Cubs got past defending champion defending champion Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu Magis Eagles, 86-75, to reach the final round of the 2016 SM-National Basketball Training Center Championships yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Evan Nelle and Sam Abu Hijleh tallied a game-high 16 each for the Red Cubs, who avenged their finals setback to the Magis Eagles last year.

This put the Red Cubs in the winnertake-all finals against the National University Bullpups, who smothered Chiang Kai Shek, 72-49.

In division 2, La Salle-Lipa of Batangas will clash with Rex del Academy of Laguna at 9 a.m.

The Batanguenos arranged a showdown with their Laguna foes after they defeated Angeles University Foundation-Pampanga, 74-70, with Reyger Dimaunahan tallying 39 points and James Bandola scoring 18.

“We are happy that we’re back again in the finals. But NU is a tough team. We have little time to prepare. But, we’ll see tomorrow,” said Red Cubs’ coach JB Sison.

Albert Bordeos made all of his eight point tally in the first period as the Red Cubs took charge with a 9-3 run.

Bordeos capped their scoring binge with a layup in the last 3:46, and the Mendiola-based dribblers went on to take a 17-10 edge.

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

19.4.

20.

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE ELECTRICITY SERVICE IN BALUT ISLAND, SARANGANI, DAVAO OCCIDENTAL, AS QUALIFIED THIRD PARTY (QTP) AND FOR ISSUANCE OF THE CORRESPONDING AUTHORITY TO OPERATE (ATO) AND FOR APPROVAL OF THE QTP SERVICE AND SUBSIDY CONTRACT (QSSC) WITH NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION (NPC), WITH PRAYER FOR ISSUANCE OF A PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY,

Financial Plans/Sources of Funds. As QTP, this project shall be funded by the subsidy drawn from the UCME as disbursed by the NPC and the SARR collected from the end-users. A detailed discussion of the funding/ financial aspects of the project is attached as Annex “M” of the Application; 20.1.

Project Cost. The total capital cost is Thirty-Three Million Sixty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Seventeen Pesos (PhP33,068,517.00), consisting of the costs of the plant equipment, buildings, capitalized expenses and working capital for initial stocks of fuels and lubes and mobilization during plant trials and personnel training. A summary of the project cost components is contained in Annex “N”;

20.2.

Debt/Equity Ratio. The debt-equity ratio for the capital cost of the Generation Facilities shall be 67:33;

20.3.

Computation of Return on Investment/Weighted Average Cost of Capital. The Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for the project is 11% p.a. This was obtained considering an interest of 9.5% p.a. on debt capital;

20.4.

The minimum desired return for equity capital for the project and the cost of debt capital are placed at 14.3% p.a. and 9.5% p.a., respectively, to reflect the significantly higher risks associated with providing electricity service in a remote and unelectrified rural community without an offtake guaranteed by a contractual counter-party. A computation of the above WACC is contained in Annex “0”;

ERC CASE NO. 2015-199 RC POWERSOURCE PHILIPPINES, INC. (PSPI), Applicant. x-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -x

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

21.

TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 11 November 2015, Power Source Philippines, Inc. (PSPI) filed an Application for authorization to provide electricity service in Balut Island, Sarangani, Davao Occidental as a Qualified Third Party (QTP), with request for the issuance of the corresponding Authority to Operate (ATO), and for approval of the QTP Service and Subsidy Contract (QSSC) with the National Power Corporation (NPC), with prayer for the issuance of provisional authority.

1.

2.

This is an Application for authorization to provide electricity service with request for the issuance of the corresponding Authority to Operate (AT0) as a Qualified Third Party (QTP) in Balut Island, Sarangani, Davao Occidental, filed before this Commission pursuant to and by virtue of the Rules for the Regulation of the Qualified Third Parties Performing Missionary Electrification in Areas Declared Unviable by the Department of Energy (ERC QTP Guidelines) approved in ERC Resolution No. 22, Series of 2006;

22.

PSPI is a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with its principal office at the 10th Floor, The Athenaeum Building, 160 Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Metro Manila. Copies of Applicant’s relevant corporate documentation such as the Certificate of Registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Articles of Incorporation, latest Audited Financial Statements and latest General Information Sheet are attached to the Application as Annexes “B”, “C”, “D”, and “E” respectively;

4.

Applicant has the full legal, financial and technical capacity to operate as a QTP. At present, the Department of Energy (DOE) still has to issue the Certificate of Endorsement stating that Applicant was prequalified in accordance with DOE Circular No. 2004-06-006 and DOE Circular 2005-12-011. A copy of the Certificate of Endorsement stating will be attached to the Application as Annex “F” once it is released by the DOE;

5.

PSPI may be served with orders or .other legal processes through the undersigned counsel;

6.

In compliance with Rule 6 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, approved by the Commission on 22 June 2006 as Resolution No. 38, Series of 2005, PSPI has furnished the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the Municipality of Sarangani with copies of the Application with all its annexes. Copies of the certifications from the Presiding Officer or Secretary of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the Municipality of Sarangani, or their duly authorized representatives, attesting to the fact of such service, are attached as Annex “G” of the Application; Furthermore, PSPI has caused the publication of the present Application in its entirety in a newspaper of general circulation within the Municipality of Sarangani. Copies of the corresponding Affidavit of Publication and the newspaper are attached to the Application as Annexes “H” and “H-1”, respectively;

8.

Under Section 59 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) and Rule 14 of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the provision of electric service in remote and unviable areas that a distribution utility is unable to service shall be opened to QTP;

9.

As stable and reliable supply of power is essential to economic growth and sustain ability, the electricity service provided by a QTP is envisaged to spur development in an economically unviable area and, in the long term; elevate such area to a level of viability. However, the provision of electricity service in unviable areas is expectedly costly and not economically feasible. It would not be reasonable to charge consumers in rural and remote areas high cost of providing such service;

10.

In accordance with Section 70 of the EPIRA, the entry of QTPs to stimulate economic growth in unviable areas is made feasible by a subsidy sourced from the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME). This enables a QTP to operate viably while charging its consumers at rates that are reasonably acceptable in the area, as may be determined by the Commission;

11.

Pursuant to Sections 59 and 70 of the EPlRA and its IRR, the DOE issued Department Circular No. 2004-06-006, which prescribes the qualification criteria for QTPs, and Department Circular 2005-12-011, which prescribes the guidelines for the participation of QTPs for provision of electric service in remote and unviable areas;

12.

At the time when the regulatory and administrative framework for QTP projects, including mechanisms for the availment of UCME subsidy by QTPs, were still being developed, Applicant already commenced its operations as a QTP in Barangay Rio Tuba, Bataraza, Palawan (Rio Tuba) and was about to begin its operations in Malapascua Island, Barangay Logon, Daan Bantayan, Cebu;

13.

PSPI is a pioneer QTP having been issued the very first Authority to Operate as a QTP in the entire country for its Rio Tuba electrification project. This exemplifies the successful economic upliftment of a remote and unviable area through the entry of a QTP;

14.

The QTP Service Area. Balut Island, located in the Municipality of Sarangani, Davao Occidental (QTP Service Area) is a remote and unviable area within the franchise area of Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DASURECO);

Initial Costs, Operating and Maintenance Expenses. The initial capital cost for the project consists of diesel plant costs amounting to Thirty-Three Million Sixty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Seventeen Pesos (PhP33,068,517.00). The capital costs for the first five (5) years, as well as the breakdown of the operating and maintenance expenses for the twenty (20) year term of the QSSC are shown in Annex “R”;

23.

Projected Demand. Considering the nature of the project, there is no mininum energy off-take, as the sale ofpower is based on actual energy consumed by each end-user consumer. The FCRR is determined based on an assumed annual increase in actual energy demand of four percent (3.5%). A detailed discussion on the projected demand is contained in Annex “S.” A survey study was commissioned· by PSPI on the QTP Service Area. The results of the survey were considered as and used as the assumption for the load demand and load growth in the Financial Model. The survey summary report is attached to the Application as Annex “T”;

24.

Procurement of Fuel. Applicant is sourcing and will source its future diesel fuel supply from potential suppliers willing to deliver fuel to the site. Applicant will procure fuel from the least expensive supplier should additional suppliers become available. Applicant will source its biomass fuel from local farmers and will develop its own plantation to produce such fuel.

25.

The grant of an Authority to Operate and the approval of the QSSC, along with the corresponding subsidy support, will enable PSPI to operate viably and, at the same time, charge a lower tariff on its customers in the QTP Service Area. In the absence of an ERC-approved SARR, the tariff to be charged by it shall be equivalent to the ERC-approved retail rate of DASURECO, in accordance with Section II, Article IV of the ERC QTP Guidelines.

RATE IMPLICATIONS OF THE QTP SERVICE AND SUBSIDY CONTRACT

COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS

7.

Breakdown of the FCRR. The FCRR reflects twenty (20) years of operations and use of the WACC of 11% as discounting factor for all costs and generated electricity. A sample computation of the FCRR and the ME Subsidy requirement is attached to the Application as Annex “Q”;

Cash Flow.

22.1.

The instant Application likewise seeks the approval of the QTP Service and Subsidy Contract (QSSC)1 dated 09 October 2015, executed by and between PSPI and the NPC, including the Full Cost Recovery Rate (FCRR) provided therein. A copy of the QSSC is attached to the Application as Annex “A”;

3.

Purchased Power Rate. The Full Cost Recovery Rate (“FCRR”) consists of a levelized base rate of 37.14/kWh, which shall be automatically adjusted for each billing period based on Philippine and US consumer price indices as well as actual fuel costs, in accordance with the adjustment mechanisms in the QSSC. In accordance with the ERC QTP Guidelines, Applicant shall charge and collect from the end-users SARR. Should the FCRR be higher than the SARR, Applicant shall be entitled to recover the difference from the UC-ME Subsidy. A detailed discussion on the FCRR, including its breakdown and the rationale supporting the indexation, is attached to the Application as Annex “P”; 21.1.

In support of said Application, PSPI alleged, among others, the following:

Availment of UG-ME Subsidy. The QSSC provides the terms and conditions governing Applicant’s availment of the UC-ME Subsidy. For the provision of electricity service, Applicant shall charge and collect from its end users the SARR. Should the FCRR be higher than the SARR, Applicant spall be entitled to recover the difference from the UC-ME Subsidy through the mechanism provided in the QSSC;

The following table shows the impact of the QSSC on the electricity rates:

STATEMENT OF FACTS

14.1.

The QTP Service Area is located about 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) from mainland Mindanao, separated by the Sarangani Strait. Balut, Sarangani and Olanivan Islands make up the island group known as the Sarangani Islands. The group comprises the Municipality of Sarangani of Davao Occidental. For Balut island, the total land area is 6,604 hectares;

26.

The subsidy component necessary for the continued provision of electricity supply that will sustain the economic growth of the QTP Service Area will have a reduction of Php1.6861/kWh on the Universal Charge;

27.

Applicant respectfully submits that the aforementioned amount is more than reasonable considering the 24-hour, enterprise level service provided under the QSSC that directly results in the significant economic upliftment and improvement in the quality of life in the QTP Service Area beyond anything possible in the traditional 6 to 12 hour rural electrification systems;

The Island is composed of eight barangays namely; Mabila - 1,160 HH, Tinina - 385 HH, Tucal - 209 HH, Gomtago - 167 HH, Batuganding - 431 HH, Konel - 446 HH, Lipol - 455 HH, and Tagen - 317 HH and the total potential HH is 3,570. Mabila is the town’s center for commerce and the local government; 14.2.

15.

16.

17.

28.

Rule 14 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure authorizes the issuance of a PA and/or an interim relief prior to a final decision, provided that the facts and circumstances warrant the issuance thereof;

29.

Selection of Applicant as Service Provider. DASURECO sought the participation of the private sector to improve the quality, operating hours of the electricity· service and extend electrification in said barangays. ·On 9 June 2014, Applicant submitted to DOE its Expression of Interest to be the QTP in Balut Island;

In the case of PSPI, it must be noted that the PA is necessary for the execution of its agreement with NPC which will embody the seamless phase-in of its operation, and the eventual phase-out of NPC’s generating function, in the QTP area;

30.

Furthermore, the PA will be submitted by PSPI to its prospective lenders as a requirement for the grant of loans, necessary to finance the project;

16.1.

Having met the qualification criteria, the DOE informed the Applicant on 26 June 2014 to submit its proposal within forty-five (45) days or no later than 22 August 2014. In accordance with DOE’s instruction, Applicant submitted its proposal on 20 August 2014;

31.

Moreover, it must be emphasized that PSPI has already secured offers from third parties for the lease of the rights to the generation and distribution facilities for the project. Aplicant is, therefore, constrained to request for the issuance of the A before the expiration of the aforesaid offers;

16.2.

Subsequently, the DOE issued Publication Notice No. 2014-10-0003 dated 25 September 2014 to inform interested parties to submit their counter-proposals for Balut Island on or before 25 October 2014. Since no entity submitted a counter-proposal, DOE selected Applicant as the QTP to provide electricity service in Balut Island;

32.

In the matter of interim relief, PSPI is seeking to collect a lower rate through the Subsidized Approved Retail Rate (SARR ) instead of the Full Cost Recovery Rate (FCRR) as ordered by the ERC in consideration of the liluited paying capacity of its consumers. The electrification of the QTP Service Area will not be possible if consumers were charged at true cost;

Declaration of QTP Service Area as a Remote & Unviable Area. On 7 April 2014, the DOE issued Publication No. 2014-04-0001, declaring as remote and unviable and thus open for QTP Program the following barangays in Balut and Sarangani Islands: Mabila, Batuganding, Tucal, Konel, Lipol, Gomtago, Tinina, Tagen, Laker Island, Camahual, Patuco and Camalig. A copy of said DOE Publication is attached hereto as Annex “J” of the Application;

33.

Finally, the success of this project with the regulatory imprimatur of this Commission will pave way for further investment by PSPI in more projects designed to spur economic growth in remote and unviable areas through the provision of a 24-hour reliable electricity service. Applicant‘s interest in other project sites will be dependent on the success of the present Application, particularly on the availmenl of the necessary subsidy support under the QTP program. With such support, PSPI looks forward to replicating the success of this project in other areas;

34.

PSPI prays that, at the soonest possible time, the Commission grants it provisional and interim relief as follows :

17.1.

17.2.

18.

1.1.

1.2.

On 27 May 2015, DASURECO and Applicant executed a Waiver Agreement, whereby DASURECO waived in favor of Applicant the right to provide electricity service in th aforesaid area. A copy of the Waiver Agreement is attached to the Application as Annex “L”;

QTP Operations. Currently, three (3) of the eight (8) barangays located on Balut Island are served at least in part by power generated by NPC-SPUG’s diesel generating plant through distribution lines and metering operated by DASURECO. Electricity is currently available for eight (8) hours only from 4pm to 12 midnight. The power plant is in good condition with a total capacity of 320 kW (2 x 160 kW) commissioned in 1997. Presently, however, DASURECO does not have plans of extending additional lines to the remaining five (5) barangays nor electrify the other island, Sarangani; 18.1.

Applicant will provide twenty four hour electricity service to at least five (5) barangays and solar home systems to the remaining three (3) isolated and dispersed barangays. The community population of an estimated 2,701 households will initially represent significant sales of around 638,581 kWh;

18.2.

QTP operations shall be for a period of twenty (20) years in accordance with the Waiver Agreement with DASURECO and the QTP Service and Subsidy Agreement with NPC;

18.3.

Applicant’s project has been a realization of the goal of the QTP program to stimulate economic progress in remote and unviable areas through electrification. The beneficial impact of stable and reliable electricity service to the economy. of the local community in the QTP Service Area as well as the daily lives of the consumers cannot be overstated;

Under the QSSC, PSPI shall provide 24-hour electricity service in the QTP Service Area for a term of twenty (20) years. In order to ensure that PSPI will be able to viably serve the QTP Service Area, it may be allowed to avail of the UC-ME Subsidy; 19.1.

PRAYER

As a result of said declaration, DASURECO issued Resolution No. 50, Series of 2014, dated 8 March 2014, formally waiving its right to provide service in the QTP Service Area. A copy of the said Resolution is attached to the Application as Annex “K”;

SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT AND THE QTP SERVICE AND SUBSIDY CONTRACT 19.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST FOR INTERIM RELIEF & PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY (PA) TO OPERATE IN THE QTP AREA

Balut is served by NPC-SPUG under DASURECO franchise. Electricity is currently available for 8 hours only from 4 pm to 12 midnight. The power plant is in good condition with a total capacity of 320 kW (2 X 160 kW). Mabila, Batuganding and Tucal are electrified barangays while the residents of the other barangays are using solar panels and small generators for their electricity. There is an existing distribution system in Mabila, Tucal and Batuganding. The distribution lines are still in good condition and can be extended for the electrification of Konel and Lipol. The Electric Cooperative has no plans of extending additional lines to the remaining 5 barangays nor electrify Sarangani;

The Generation Facilities. Due to small loads in off-peak hours, Applicant will install a modular, flexible and highly redundant diesel generating plant based on three (3) units of small high speed gensets, 1 x 100 kW and 2 x 120 kW. This ensures modest capital cost and maximum flexibility in the early years of operations. As the load on the island grows, Applicant may add 1 x 350 kW to the installed capacity on the third year;

19.2.

The relevant Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) to be issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Certificate of Compliance (COC) to be issued by the Commission covering the diesel generating units will be obtained prior to Commercial Operations Date;

19.3.

Applicant intends to comply with Renewable Portfolio Standards and source a certain percentage of its power supply from Solar Home Systems for the three (3) barangays in the QTP Service Area as indicated in the QSSC;

1.3.

1.4.

1.5.

Authority to Operate as a Qualified Third Party under the ERC QTP Guidelines; A Provisional Authority to Operate in the QTP Area e immediately issued in its favor pending ERC Resolution; The QTP Service Contract, including the Full Cost Recovery Rate therein, be approved; Authority to charge its customers a tariff equivalent to the ERC-approved retail rate of DASURECO, in accordance with Section II, Article IV of the ERC QTP Guidelides; and Permission to recover from the UC-ME Subsidy the difference between the FCRR and rate charged by it to its consumers; and to this end, NPC be directed to release to PSPI such subsidy in accordance with the terms of the QTP Service Contract.

The Commission has set the Application for jurisdictional hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on 29 March 2016 (Tuesday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at the Municipal Gymnasium, Balut Island, Sarangani, Davao Occidental.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: 1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner‘s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the Applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular form of opposition comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the Applicant that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The Applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs.

Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours.

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman, JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR,, and the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission Commission, this 22nd day of February 2016 at Pasig City.

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staf Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO 1

The QTP Service and Subsidy Contract (QSSC) is the resulting legal document after combining the provisions of the QTP Service Contract (QSC) and Subsidy Disbursement Agreement (SDA).

(TS-MAR 10/17, 2016)

T H U R S DAY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 16

Pacman uses right hand a lot

By Ronnie Nathanielsz STILL kicking off the effects of jetlag following his long flight from Manila last Sunday, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao sparred eight rounds Wednesday at the Wild Card Gym of celebrated trainer Freddie Roach and looked good.

Top Rank publicist Fred Sternberg told The Standard that Pacquiao did okay, “but the best thing about it was he was throwing his right hand an awful lot. He landed often and it was powerful.”

Pacquiao sparred against unbeaten American lightweight Lydell Rhodes and 31-year-old super lightweight Ghislain Maduma from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by way of Canada and who has a record 17-2 with 11 knockouts.

Sternberg said Pacquiao would spar with undefeated welterweight Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez on Thursday.

Gomez has a record of 20-0 with 13 knockouts.

“Manny gave it a good go in sparring and then hit the punchmitts, the bags and was looking like his old self again,” Sternberg said.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who visited the Wild Card Gym on Monday, said that while Pacquiao didn’t spar, “he looked very, very good.”

“The power is much better,”said Arum, adding that the Filipino is no longer struggling with his right hand due to a tear in his right shoulder rotator cuff, aggravated in the May 2 showdown against unbeaten pound-forpound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has since retired.

“Now, it’s fully operational and much, much better,” said Arum, adding that when Pacquiao hits the mitts of Roach with the right hand, “the sound is probably even bigger than the sound when he hits with his left,” which has always been his more devastating punch.

T H U R S DAY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 16

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Oranza vows to use last 2 stages as victory ride ROXAS CITY—Navy-Standard Insurance’s Ronald Oranza aims to use the last two stages as his ceremonial victory ride as the Visayas Leg of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2016 resumes Thursday with Stages 4 and 5 at the Robinsons Place here.

The 22-year-old Oranza continued his winning ways by ruling the 121.5-kilometer Stage 3 that started from Iloilo City and ended in this coastal city after registering a time of three hours, 15 minutes and 53.53 seconds.

The victory catapulted the proud son of Villasis, Pangasinan from a share of first with Navy teammate Rudy Roque with 28 points the day before to the solo lead as he hiked his general individual classification points to 43

as against the latter’s 35.

It was Oranza’s second lap triumph in the Visayas Leg and his third podium finish in as many stages after he topped the Stage 1 criterium in Bago City Negros, Occidental Friday and finished second behind Roque in the Stage 2 criterium in Iloilo City Sunday.

And it looked like Oranza isn’t slowing down entering today’s Stage 4, another criterium that requires each and every rider to ride in the 2.71-km loop for one hour

plus three more laps, in the morning and Stage 5, a 42-km individual time trial, to claim his first ever race win, in the afternoon.

“I’m inspired knowing I’ll have a chance to win my first race,” said Oranza, who has won seven stages in Ronda, but never the big one, in Filipino.

Roque, his closest rival, for his part, said he is doesn’t mind if Oranza wins it.

“I will be happy if he wins,” said Roque, a 23-year-old native of Bataan.

Two more Navy bets, Mindanao Leg winner Jan Paul Morales and skipper Lloyd Lucien Reynante, share third spot at 20 points each and both know it will take a major mishap to deprive Oranza of his first-ever race win.

“It will be impossible to beat him now,” said the 30-year-old Morales, who is from Calumpang, Marikina City, referring to Oranza.

“If we can plan well, he (Oranza) will win it,” said Reynante.

Navy’s biggest threat, Team LBC-MVP Sports Foundation, is underperforming as the latter’s current best rider Ronald Lomotos is at No. 6 with 19 points, or a whopping 24 points off the pace.

Rustom Lim and Julius Mark Bonzo were the only other two LBC-MVPSF cyclists who made it to the Top 10 as the two are at Nos. 8 and 10 with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Rounding up the top 10 were Navy’s Joel Calderon and John Mark Camingao, who are at Nos. 7 and 9 with 18 and 11 points.

A15 LOTTO RESULTS

6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M+ 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

Salamat leads PH charge in world bikefest SINGAPORE Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Marella Salamat is expected to lead the country’s charge in the 2016 World University Cycling Championships that get going Thursday in Tagaytay City.

Salamat, who won the women’s individual time trial gold medal in her very first overseas stint last June in Singapore, will be up against fellow student cyclists from 14 other countries in the championships organized by the International University Sports Federation and hosted by the Federation of Schools Sports Association of the Philippines.

Le Tour de Filipinas organizer Ube Media Inc. headed by Donna Lina is handling the road races of the championships with the support of the Philippine National Cycling Association and PhilCycling.

First up are the criterium races for men and women at the Canyon Woods today (Thursday). Tomorrow (Friday), the men’s 120-kilometer (Tagaytay-Tagaytay) road race will fire off at 9 a.m. and the women’s 80-km event will start at 1 p.m.

Gerald Valdez, Bonijoe Martin, Jay Lampawog and Ismael Gorospe Jr. lead the Philippines campaign in men’s road race.

The WUCC will conclude with the cross-country event for men and women at a newly-built track in Canyon Woods.

Kaya FC whips Singaporeans Ronald Oranza and his Navy-Standard Insurance teammates training together before the Stages 4 and 5 of the Ronda Pilipinas’ Visayas Leg.

Of integrity and fearless leaders I DIGR ESS from my SYLVIA LOPEZ usual ALEJANDRO bridge column to honor my father who died with President Ramon Magsaysay as they met their ultimely death on March 17, 1857 at Mt. Manunggal.

Cong. Pedring Lopez served as the representative in the 2nd District, Cebu City in the House of Representatives. His too-short career of selfless service was snuffed out at Mt. Manunggal.

His legacy of serving our country with good governance lives on.

On December 20, 2015, I was invited to and attended the 80th birthday celebration of ret. Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, who is my UP law classmate. Also pre-

sent was Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who typifies the persona of having a selfless service. I was able to greet and extend my congratulations and prayers to her in her tough job as Ombudsman.

In his final State of the Nation Address on July 27, 2015, President Benigno S. Aquino, III, announced with pride the names of three WILOCIS as his outstanding appointees, led by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales The President described them as “women with integrity and independent minds” and as “honest and fearless leaders”. He was thankful that these women lawyers” did not back down from any challenge in fulfilling their mandates.”

In subsequent developments, Ombudsman Conchita CarpioMorales had, in her interview

with Maria Ressa of Rappler, said “fighting corruption is the reason for my life”.

Thus in the memory of my Dad, I articulate here in this column that the fight against corruption lives on.

Last Friday, March 4, 2016 Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and I were together at the WILOCI Musical Soiree at the beautiful home of Atty. Vicky de los Reyes in Dasmariñas Village.

We both were prompt on arrival and thus we had a meaningful conversation.

Justice Conchita was welcomed with great applause and Presient Diane Franco also reminded our WILOCI Sisters that this columnist was a former WILOCI President.

Sr. Sonio Aldequer, our classmate together with Chief

Justice Jun Davide, a sister of the UP Women Lawyers’ Circle and a 1986 Constitutional Commission delegate has now categorically stated: “Definitely, I support our Ombudsman in the work to rid the corruption in our country.”

Ombudsman Conchita had expressed how she felt alone in this fight. Hindi ka mag iisa Justice. In my native tongue in Cebuano: “Dili ka mag inusara Inday.”

On this auspicious day, the 56th anniversary of the death of my father, Cong. Pedro Lopez we state our solidarity to rid the country of corruption.

Mabuhay Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales! Mabuhay to our beloved country, the Philippines!

Comments to: sylvia.alejandro@yahoo

By Peter Atencio KAYA FC proved to be the better team Tuesday evening at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Just as when the players of Balestier Khalsa were getting tired, Antonio Ugarte struck and led Kaya FC to a 1-0 win over their Singapore-based rivals.

This allowed Kaya FC to post their second consecutive victory in the Asian Football Confederation Cup, and take the solo lead in Group F. The host team took control early in the match, getting plenty of scoring opportunities, dominating possession and making a lot of attempts.

This wore down the Singaporeans, who were not able to stop Ugarte from scoring in the 48th minute.

“In the very short time that we played, they were a bit tired. We defended well. But, our attack was not,” said Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic.

Ugarte, a Filipino-American, got his chance to score after receiving a pass from Jovin Bedic.

He quickly dribbled into position, taking a step to the right from the left corner and blasted it right past Zaiful Nizam Bin Addullah.

A16

T H U R S DAY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 16 RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Whack it! Clarice Patrimonio makes a powerful return to her opponent during the Peugeot Philippines Tennis Open National Finals at the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City on Wednesday. LINO SANTOS

Elasto Painters on a roll

By Jeric Lopez

JERICHO Cruz and Jeff Chan led Rain Or Shine’s offensive down the stretch to tow the Elasto Painters to a well-earned 103-98 grinder over skidding Mahindra for their third straight win in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

Cruz and Chan scored 14 of Rain or Shine’s final 18 points in the last five minutes as hey stepped it up big

Spurs remain unbeaten at home TURN TO A12

time in the crunch to lift the Elasto Painters in the highly contested tilt against the gritty Enforcers.

Chan finished with a conference-best 18 points built on 3-of-5 shooting from downtown and had five rebounds, while Cruz also had 18.

JR Quinahan topscored for Rain or Shine with 19 points, 14 in the first half, while Mo Charlo had 16.

A triple from Chan followed by a putback from Cruz allowed Rain or Shine to grab the lead, 9895, with 1:46 remaining.

After Mahindra inched

within just three, 97-100, with less than 40 seconds left, Chan shoved Rain or Shine to safety after a nifty play resulted into a lay-up with 35.6 seconds left, stretching the Painters’ lead to five, 102-97, to practically take home the win.

The Elasto Painters have now won three in a row following a 1-3 start and are now tied with Barangay Ginebra for fourth place on similar 4-3 slates, while the Enforcers, who

Martirez, Piccio force 4-way tie at the top TURN TO A13

started the conference at 3-1, have lost their third in a row and dropped to 3-4.

Rain or Shine was forced to play sans head coach Yeng Guiao in the entire second half as the fiery coach was ejected late in the first half, giving Mahindra some sort of advantage.

“I’m not really too happy with the way we won, but it’s still a win,” said Guiao, who watched the second half in the press room.

WBC boxers fighting in Rio face ban

By Ronnie Nathanielsz TAKING a strong stand against the plans of AIBA, the international governing body for boxing under the International Olympic Committee, allowing professionals to compete in the Olympic Games as early as this year in Rio, the World Boxing Council under president Mauricio Sulaiman has announced that “any world champion or Top 15 ranked boxer per division of the WBC that participates in the Olympic games would be immediately expelled.”

The WBC said it reached the decision after analyzing the worldwide opinions of the boxing community, sports members and medical advisers.

The WBC statement said: “It is not possible to imagine, much less accept a fight between professional boxers, who already have a physical development and more advanced technical skills, facing young fighters that are just starting this process.”

The WBC made it clear that “Boxing is not a game. There is no scoring with goals or baskets. Rather, it is a contact sport which must be taken seriously. Reasoning must prevail, the function of all bodies must be always to care and regulate the safety and health of boxers.”

B1

THURSDAY: MARCH 17, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

PAL’s 75th anniversary. Top Philippine Airlines officials led by chairman Lucion Tan (fifth from left) and president Jaime Bautista (seventh from left) lead a toast to celebrate the airline’s 75th anniversary during a gala dinner for PAL employees at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. The flag carrier unveiled a new advertising campaign – The Heart of the Filipino: Shining Through – with top Filipino singers Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo and Leah Salonga as endorsers.

Office space demand hits record

By Gabrielle Binaday

The Philippines saw a record demand for office space last year, as the country continued its transition into a service economy, led by the growth of the business process outsourcing sector,a real estate consulting company said Wednesday.

“2015 saw net take-up for premium and grade A office spaces totaling 459,000 square meters, which is the highest that we’ve recorded,” KMC Mag Group co-founder and managing director Michael McCullough said.

“Within the past three decades, the Philippines has started its transformation from a highly agricultural economy to a servicebased one, almost entirely disregarding industrialization that is common to most economies,” McCullough said.

He said private services accounted for roughly half of the gross domestic production, making it the biggest sector of the economy.

“While primary production, which are agriculture, hunting,

forestry, fishing and the industrial sector have continuously decreased, services increased its share to 57 percent of gross domestic product in 2015,” he said.

McCullough said the shift had contributed to the high economic performance of the country.

Economic growth since 2010 averaged 6.2 percent annually, the highest average since the 1970s.

McCullough said the growth of outsourcing and offshoring companies in the country resulted in a remarkable demand for Metro Manila’s office space.

“Makati’s central business district maintains its position as the most premium CBD in Metro Manila, while the Bay Area and Quezon City are expected to continue outperforming other

Metro Manila sub-markets given the supply and demand dynamics within these markets,” he said.

He said amid the strong demand for office space in the area, Makati CBD now had an average rental rate of P980.8 per square meter a month, the highest in Metro Manila.

Vacancies in Metro Manila are likely to increase in the next three years even with strong preleasing activity due to the entry of some 1.8 million square meters of office space, most of which are in Makati CBD, Bonifacio Global City, Alabang, Quezon City and the Bay Area.

The entry of these supplies is expected to ease the rental growth in most sub-markets in the coming years, according to KMC Mag. “Looking at it from a global perspective, the Philippines and Asian real estate in general have enjoyed a strong run over recent years,” said McCullough.

“In the fourth quarter of 2015, Asian markets were able to put US interest rate worries behind them as the US Federal Reserve increased the base rate by 25 basis points, with little immediate fallout,” he said.

According to Savills’ World Office Yield Spectrum, Manila has the fourth highest grade A market yield at 8 percent in December 2015, next to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Adelaide.

Market yield is derived by capitalizing current market rents, which includes the rent payable by the tenant and the value of any incentive paid to the tenant, against current capital values for office buildings.

In terms of grade A effective yields, Manila placed third globally with an effective yield of 7.5 percent, with Hanoi being the highest followed by Ho Chi Minh.

Effective Yields are derived by capitalizing current market rents, which includes the rent payable by the tenant and excludes the value of any incentive paid to the tenant, against current capital values for office buildings.

“Globally, much of what happens in 2016 will be dependent on the course the US Federal Reserve takes with regards to interest rates. The movement of US interest rates will determine how currencies behave, how trade flows, and how capital moves around the world,” said McCullough.

Bloomberry among top bidders for Cyprus casino NICOSIA—Cyprus on Tuesday shortlisted three bidders to construct and operate a first-ever casino resort in the government-held south of the Mediterranean island.

The preferred bidders for the large complex are Nagacorp of Cambodia, Philippines-based Bloomberry Resorts Corp, and a consortium of Melco of Macau and Hard Rock Resort Cyprus.

The trio, chosen from eight initial bidders, will now enter a second round where a “complete proposal” is to be submitted, said the interior ministry.

The winning bidder for the 30year license will choose where to build a super casino.

The ministry said the three were chosen for their experience in building and operating resort casinos and understanding of the Cypriot market.

“The ministry expresses its satisfaction with the level of interest demonstrated and looks forward to a successful completion of the process, as provided by law,” it said in a statement.

There have long been casinos in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot

north, but opposition from the influential Greek Orthodox Church and misgivings among many Greek Cypriots about the social dangers of gambling have kept them out of the south.

Last week, parliament voted by 29 votes in favor, one against and 16 abstentions to approve legislation governing the running of casinos, which is a key part of the government’s plans to stimulate the island’s recovering eurozone economy.

The minimum requirement for the complex is 100 gaming tables

and 1,000 machines.

The operator can have a smaller satellite casino, and another three-machine-only outlet.

The project is being fast-tracked in a bid to boost tourism and employment on the island, which has emerged from recession after the government was forced to accept crippling terms for a debt bailout by international lenders in March 2013.

The government hopes the resort can open as early as 2018 if everything goes according to plan. AFP

PSe comPoSite index Closing March 16, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,065.39 82.87

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing March 16, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.785

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.760 LOW P46.930 AVERAGE P46.828 VOLUME 669.650M

P400.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank P30.00-P39.32 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, March 16, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.7320

Japan

Yen

0.008835

0.4129

UK

Pound

1.415300

66.1398

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128863

6.0220

Switzerland

Franc

1.013685

47.3715

Canada

Dollar

0.749232

35.0131

Singapore

Dollar

0.724585

33.8613

Australia

Dollar

0.745700

34.8481

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652731

123.9674

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266745

12.4655

Brunei

Dollar

0.721970

33.7391

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028474

1.3306

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.7245

Euro

Euro

1.110900

51.9146

Korea

Won

0.000837

0.0391

China

Yuan

0.153563

7.1763

India

Rupee

0.014843

0.6936

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.242014

11.3098

New Zealand

Dollar

0.660400

30.8618

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030506

1.4256 Source: PDS Bridge

THURSDAY: MARCH 17, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Wednesday, March 16, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

79 3.95 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

34.1 2.3 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.37 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 161 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5

0.44 48.1 20.85 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 5.3

76 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 84.9 3.5 974 1.66 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 1.23 0.550 59.3 1.5 751 1.13 170 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

6.74 12 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.93 2.85 45.9 45.8 105.50 103.50 87.45 85.90 37 36.6 1.41 1.36 14.38 14.36 15.48 15.1 1.79 1.78 587.00 587.00 0.600 0.570 84.5 83.25 0.95 0.94 14.70 14.60 53.00 51.90 101.9 101.9 284.6 280 30.1 29.25 158 153.5 1400.00 1345.00 57.50 57.30 1.54 1.53 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp.

43.55 44.8 43.2 Agrinurture Inc. 5.22 5.19 4.69 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.74 0.77 0.72 Alsons Cons.

1.5 1.5 1.47 Asiabest Group 10.48 10.5 10.1 Bogo Medelin 43.2 47.9 47.85 Century Food 18.1 18.3 18.02 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 18.5 18.96 18.44 Concepcion 42.4 42.5 41 Crown Asia 2.38 2.43 2.31 Da Vinci Capital 5.69 6.15 5.58 Del Monte 11.64 11.86 11.58 DNL Industries Inc. 9.350 9.400 9.130 Emperador 7.96 7.96 7.66 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.25 6.25 6.02 EEI 7.09 7.25 6.97 Euro-Med Lab 1.55 1.55 1.55 First Gen Corp.

21.5 21.45 20.8 First Holdings ‘A’ 62.85 63 62.4 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 12.00 12.00 11.12 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.90 13.90 13.86 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.52 5.66 5.51 Ionics Inc 2.770 2.800 2.640 Jollibee Foods Corp.

232.80 234.00 226.80 LBC Express 10.98 10.9 10.16 Liberty Flour 29.50 29.50 29.50 LMG Chemicals 1.91 1.89 1.8 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26.25 26.4 25.95 Maxs Group 19.3 20.7 19.48 Megawide 6.38 6.4 6.05 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 329.00 329.00 324.40 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.10 4.01 4.01 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.6 3.7 3.5 Petron Corporation 10.08 10.40 9.91 Phinma Corporation 11.50 11.62 11.46 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.17 4.18 4.12 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.65 1.65 1.60 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.65 2.69 2.65 RFM Corporation 4.10 4.10 4.07 Roxas Holdings 4.6 5.16 4.61 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 162.5 167 163.1 Splash Corporation 2.43 2.46 2.43 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.156 0.161 0.155 TKC Steel Corp.

1.18 1.32 1.16 Trans-Asia Oil 2.81 2.84 2.76 Universal Robina 200.4 202.2 197.2 Victorias Milling 4.7 4.61 4.6 Vitarich Corp.

0.78 0.8 0.75 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.17 1.16 1.16 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.370 0.365 0.365 Aboitiz Equity 60.70 62.00 60.00 Alliance Global Inc. 16.00 16.10 15.80 Anscor `A’ 6.20 6.20 6.20 ATN Holdings A 0.280 0.285 0.260 ATN Holdings B 0.280 0.285 0.280 Ayala Corp `A’ 749.5 749.5 732.5 Cosco Capital 7.62 7.66 7.4 DMCI Holdings 13.22 13.68 13.02 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.15 5.15 5.15 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

5.00 5.01 4.88 Forum Pacific 0.227 0.227 0.227 GT Capital 1415 1405 1375 House of Inv. 6.04 6.10 5.65 IPM Holdings 9.74 9.74 9.74 JG Summit Holdings 75.95 76.10 73.75 Lopez Holdings Corp.

6 6 5.84 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.71 0.74 0.7 LT Group 15.74 16 15.48 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.500 0.420 0.420 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 6.01 6.02 5.95 Pacifica `A’ 0.0340 0.0370 0.0330 Prime Media Hldg 1.360 1.360 1.250 Prime Orion 2.010 2.010 1.980 San Miguel Corp `A’ 77.50 77.90 76.00 Seafront `A’ 2.28 2.24 2.11 SM Investments Inc. 930.00 947.50 928.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.13 1.13 1.09 Transgrid 160.00 155.00 150.00 Top Frontier 160.000 164.000 154.000 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3200 0.3300 0.3150 Wellex Industries 0.2030 0.2030 0.1920 Zeus Holdings 0.280 0.300 0.295 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.250 7.350 7.250 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.75 7.75 7.75 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.89 0.89 0.84 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.500 1.500 1.460 Arthaland Corp.

0.225 0.228 0.228 Ayala Land `B’ 35.250 35.100 34.000 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.01 3.08 3.03 Cebu Holdings 5.14 5.27 5.15 Century Property 0.540 0.55 0.540 AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

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

Close

SHARES 10,394,174 95,652,001 430,281,915 150,810,805 662,710,712 564,303,091 1,921,421,087

2.9 45.9 104.00 86.00 36.8 1.45 14.18 15.3 1.79 590.00 0.600 83.5 0.95 14.68 52.00 100 280 29.5 154.9 1340.00 57.40 1.53

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.86 45.9 104.00 86.80 37 1.41 14.36 15.1 1.79 587.00 0.570 84.35 0.94 14.60 51.95 101.9 281 30 155.8 1345.00 57.45 1.54

-1.38 0.00 0.00 0.93 0.54 -2.76 1.27 -1.31 0.00 -0.51 -5.00 1.02 -1.05 -0.54 -0.10 1.90 0.36 1.69 0.58 0.37 0.09 0.65

12,000 12,000 806,540 582,960 294,800 450,000 2,500 342,300 5,000 220 2,489,000 2,755,970 42,000 22,000 28,980 10 2,060 661,000 1,647,770 115 102,380 133,000

43.75 4.99 0.75 1.49 10.5 47.85 18.2 18.46 42.5 2.4 6 11.6 9.290 7.73 6.08 7.05 1.55 20.9 62.5 11.12 13.90 5.6 2.700 230.20 10.6 29.50 1.89 26.4 19.48 6.35 325.20 4.01 3.64 9.98 11.46 4.15 1.64 2.67 4.09 5.09 163.1 2.45 0.159 1.22 2.77 197.6 4.6 0.77 1.16

0.46 -4.41 1.35 -0.67 0.19 10.76 0.55 -0.22 0.24 0.84 5.45 -0.34 -0.64 -2.89 -2.72 -0.56 0.00 -2.79 -0.56 -7.33 0.00 1.45 -2.53 -1.12 -3.46 0.00 -1.05 0.57 0.93 -0.47 -1.16 -2.20 1.11 -0.99 -0.35 -0.48 -0.61 0.75 -0.24 10.65 0.37 0.82 1.92 3.39 -1.42 -1.40 -2.13 -1.28 -0.85

2,337,200 3,552,300 179,000 891,000 1,300 1,500 2,499,900 204,300 885,200 764,000 6,891,200 202,400 4,978,000 2,169,000 16,484,100 227,000 20,000 4,474,000 48,410 16,000 17,200 57,000 2,194,000 347,510 10,900 500 19,000 875,900 1,340,200 58,100 182,930 1,000 536,000 12,651,000 25,392 441,000 257,000 191,000 286,000 3,000 29,250 90,000 7,100,000 858,000 9,027,000 1,508,890 51,000 10,473,000 8,000

0.365 60.00 15.84 6.20 0.285 0.285 735 7.45 13.26 5.15 4.98 0.227 1375 5.67 9.74 74.00 6 0.71 15.48 0.420 5.99 0.0370 1.250 1.990 77.90 2.24 934.00 1.09 155.00 164.000 0.3150 0.1930 0.300

-1.35 -1.15 -1.00 0.00 1.79 1.79 -1.93 -2.23 0.30 0.00 -0.40 0.00 -2.83 -6.13 0.00 -2.57 0.00 0.00 -1.65 -16.00 -0.33 8.82 -8.09 -1.00 0.52 -1.75 0.43 -3.54 -3.13 2.50 -1.56 -4.93 7.14

40,000 2,645,570 19,959,569.00 6,698,500 -27,108,682.00 69,800 3,660,000 1,150,000 303,730 -74,827,740.00 395,200 571,617.00 7,042,200 1,159,930.00 100 122,000 100,000 134,165 -55,871,395.00 15,100 19,785.00 1,700,200 1,108,380 63,858,937.50 3,161,500 1,841,719.00 148,000 3,619,500 22,686,388.00 100,000 12,304,000 -6,556,755.00 371,800,000 -114,200.00 13,000 336,000 -33,950.00 344,020 -547,188.00 74,000 263,700 94,355,715.00 637,000 650 87,900 14,009.00 2,530,000 2,080,000 560,000

7.350 7.75 0.84 1.500 0.228 34.000 3.04 5.27 0.550

1.38 0.00 -5.62 0.00 1.33 -3.55 1.00 2.53 1.85

418,500 100 4,152,000 224,000 50,000 9,834,100 601,000 53,400 3,943,000

527,300.00 13,799,448 34,500,176.00 723,230.00 219,730.00 14,380.00 -1,910,214.00 117,400.00 156,600.00 15,312,456.50 -39,490.00 -146,000.00 -943,749.00 -2,919,930 17,982,388.00 150,900.00 1,148.00 -21,764,645.00 524,925.00

18,886,678.00 -37,324,250 -209,380.00 2,220,267.00 -1,271,102.00 19,504,421.00 -3,279,849.00 -52,234,170.00 -44,941,160.00 166,439.00 -188,636.00 -194,600.00 -77,832.00 7,865,512.00

-7,590,330.00 -9,350,338.00 218,445.00 -14,356,480.00 1,553,720.00 -35,334,005.00 838,930.00 0.00 -867,295.00

115,540.00 10,540,179.00 184,000.00 -1,009,560.00

481,571.00

-81,501,925.00 679,620.00 227,629.00 607,500.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

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

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

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 12.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 4.8 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 3.01 8.72 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 6

0.62 1.040 6.41 18 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 3 8.8 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

Manila Broadcasting Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp.

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.7 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 0.020 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 70 553

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 6.5 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 0.012 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 33 490

118 120 8.21 111 1047 78.95 84.8

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

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

TA Petroleum ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ BC Pref A 101 First Gen F 101.5 First Gen G 5.88 GMA Holdings Inc. 101 MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred B 1011 PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A 74.5 SMC Preferred B 75 SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

1.090 0.980 0.980 0.134 0.129 0.131 0.510 0.490 0.495 39.85 38.7 38.95 0.890 0.880 0.880 0.160 0.158 0.160 1.03 0.98 1.02 1.70 1.64 1.69 1.30 1.27 1.30 4.13 3.94 3.95 0.099 0.094 0.095 0.2260 0.2210 0.2210 0.450 0.450 0.450 8.67 8.66 8.66 28.70 27.40 27.40 1.5 1.47 1.49 3.09 3.02 3.09 21.25 20.90 21.05 0.84 0.82 0.83 1.020 0.980 1.000 4.610 4.580 4.610 SERVICES 7.09 7.31 7.1 7.31 58.3 58.95 58.6 58.65 1.26 1.21 1.21 1.21 0.550 0.570 0.530 0.550 10.98 10.98 10.5 10.5 5.14 5.40 5.08 5.28 0.0600 0.0660 0.0590 0.0660 3.18 3.17 3.15 3.15 86 86 84.65 85.1 6.39 6.44 6.27 6.44 956 980 980 980 2074 2116 2034 2082 6.92 6.93 6.89 6.90 1.28 1.28 1.28 1.28 65 65.2 63.1 64 5.50 5.80 5.10 5.20 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.3 0.0100 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 0.280 0.310 0.270 0.270 1.2800 1.3400 1.2800 1.3000 2.15 2.15 2.15 2.15 8.18 8.22 8.03 8.10 3.72 3.74 3.69 3.69 2.77 2.76 2.60 2.76 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 2.93 2.98 2.8 2.8 3.85 4.05 3.81 3.98 0.275 0.285 0.270 0.285 0.870 0.890 0.840 0.840 4.80 4.85 4.80 4.85 8.49 8.56 8.56 8.56 100.00 100.00 99.50 99.50 21.95 22.00 21.00 21.70 1901.00 1909.00 1860.00 1876.00 0.430 0.445 0.430 0.445 0.970 0.970 0.950 0.960 37.05 37.05 36.20 36.40 71.00 71.00 68.50 70.50 6.30 6.44 6.00 6.08 3.43 3.46 3.31 3.37 0.530 0.530 0.510 0.510 1.6 1.75 1.66 1.75 3.83 3.83 3.71 3.75 0.325 0.325 0.320 0.320 4.750 4.800 4.620 4.800 MINING & OIL 0.0044 0.0045 0.0044 0.0045 2.18 2.17 2.07 2.07 4.72 4.71 4.70 4.70 0.233 0.240 0.232 0.232 4.8900 4.86 4.86 4.8600 0.63 0.64 0.63 0.63 0.470 0.465 0.465 0.465 7.89 8.20 7.70 7.90 0.800 0.890 0.780 0.830 0.300 0.310 0.290 0.300 0.295 0.295 0.280 0.280 0.295 0.300 0.295 0.295 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.012 2.27 2.27 2.13 2.13 5.68 5.58 5.38 5.42 2.69 2.71 2.6 2.68 1.2500 1.2500 1.2400 1.2400 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 0.0092 5.75 5.88 5.65 5.65 1.92 1.97 1.87 1.89 0.0110 0.0120 0.0110 0.0110 137.00 138.80 135.10 136.00 2.58 2.72 2.62 2.69 58 58.9 58 58 523 520 517 517 18.48 13.2 13.2 13.2 112.9 109.1 109.1 109.1 117.8 117.7 117.7 117.7 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 107 108.5 107 108.5 1058 1105 1100 1100 1020 1010 1006 1010 103.5 104 104 104 80 80 76 76.5 82.8 82.9 82 82 76.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 76.5 76.5 76.5 76.5 77.3 77.3 76 76.9 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.650 3.720 3.430 3.540 SME 3.65 3.64 3.5 3.64 3.1 3.12 3.12 3.12 3.28 3.6 3.12 3.15 17.72 17.6 16.88 16.9 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 116.5 116.7 115.2 115.9

-3.92 1.55 -1.00 2.50 1.15 0.00 -0.97 1.81 0.78 -4.36 -4.04 -3.49 1.12 -0.12 -4.03 -0.67 -1.59 -1.17 1.22 -1.96 0.22

258,000 19,470,000 2,764,000 5,021,000 98,000 550,000 4,147,000 21,049,000 560,000 33,230,000 4,280,000 2,320,000 10,000 10,400 1,811,000 144,000 44,000 15,575,900 897,000 1,894,000 1,560,000

166,010.00

3.10 0.60 -3.97 0.00 -4.37 2.72 10.00 -0.94 -1.05 0.78 2.51 0.39 -0.29 0.00 -1.54 -5.45 0.00 0.00 -3.57 1.56 0.00 -0.98 -0.81 -0.36 0.00 -4.44 3.38 3.64 -3.45 1.04 0.82 -0.50 -1.14 -1.32 3.49 -1.03 -1.75 -0.70 -3.49 -1.75 -3.77 9.38 -2.09 -1.54 1.05

216,000 42,470 2,000 633,000 4,600 22,368,200 -1,310,818.00 172,830,000 -66,000.00 76,000 317,140 -9,780,988.00 1,302,700 5,528,813.00 230 -196,000.00 163,435 180,266,320.00 95,900 18,000 716,610 12,934,535.50 12,800 200 6,000,000 319,770,000 1,094,150.00 578,000 15,000 155,700 -64,217.00 249,000 7,000 300 27,600,000 3,451,080.00 26,098,000 -1,093,410.00 80,000 9,038,000 329,000.00 45,000 5,000 462,720 0.00 270,800 235,060 107,322,565.00 220,000 46,261,000 -22,571,900.00 2,050,200 35,326,670.00 1,763,890 47,248,870.00 1,553,600 -63,020.00 7,977,000 4,030,560.00 1,523,000 2,550.00 48,000 2,176,000 -2,367,000.00 780,000 15,000

2.27 -5.05 -0.42 -0.43 -0.61 0.00 -1.06 0.13 3.75 0.00 -5.08 0.00 0.00 -7.69 -6.17 -4.58 -0.37 -0.80 0.00 -1.74 -1.56 0.00 -0.73 4.26 0.00 -1.15 -28.57 -3.37 -0.08 0.00 1.40 3.97 -0.98 0.48 -4.38 -0.97 -1.31 0.00 -0.52

66,000,000 -49,500.00 119,000 37,000 4,710.00 250,000 1,000 190,000 490,000 -88,350.00 82,200 320,105,000 -7,441,140.00 180,000 61,430,000 11,580,000 -51,150.00 68,300,000 14,000,000 -60,000.00 1,256,000 -53,650.00 8,267,000 -9,253,647.00 205,000 31,000 1,000,000 1,374,600 -1,930,574.00 2,940,000 -19,500.00 3,500,000 579,740 -10,064,726.00 2,080,000 -52,900.00 21,150 591,123.50 4,000 200 10,120 1,091,000.00 10,090 6,400 43,520.00 510 10 9,100 6,000 13,230 553,400.00 103,510 1,040,580.00 4,300 15,000 97,440 -770,000.00

-3.01

1,126,000

-35,500.00

-0.27 0.65 -3.96 -4.63

12,000 12,000 3,959,000 3,275,500

63,790.00 4,562,978.00

-0.52

9,730

23,260.00

175,000.00 19,354,295.00 -1,600.00 39,200.00 -1,060,800.00 1,300.00 -29,130,310.00

20,907,265.00 199,690.00 27,630.00 -925,530.00 -116,330.00 -688,210.00

T op L oSerS

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,584.14 (up) 8.98 INDUSTRIAL 11,470.23 (down) 127.69 HOLDING FIRMS 6,882.48 (down) 74.47 PROPERTY 2,854.92 (down) 66.10 SERVICES 1,502.23 (down) 13.41 MINING & OIL 11,246.06 (down) 164.30 PSEI 7,065.39 (down) 82.87 All Shares Index 4,089.25 (down) 34.75 Gainers: 73; Losers: 121; Unchanged: 30; Total: 224

Close

1.020 0.129 0.500 38 0.870 0.160 1.03 1.66 1.29 4.13 0.099 0.2290 0.445 8.67 28.55 1.5 3.14 21.30 0.82 1.020 4.600

T op g ainerS VALUE 670,128,081.07 1,234,827,771.40 1,419,630,616.95 1,185,530,704.26 1,767,603,744.232 430,497,902.2321 6,778,824,041.842

Low

Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Bogo Medelin

47.85

10.76

BC Pref A

13.2

Roxas Holdings

5.09

10.65

Mabuhay Holdings `A'

0.420

-28.57 -16.00

Boulevard Holdings

0.0660

10.00

Prime Media Hldg

1.250

-8.09

Transpacific Broadcast

1.75

9.38

Manila Mining `B'

0.012

-7.69

Pacifica `A'

0.0370

8.82

Ginebra San Miguel Inc.

11.12

-7.33

Zeus Holdings

0.300

7.14

Marcventures Hldgs., Inc.

2.13

-6.17

Da Vinci Capital

6

5.45

House of Inv.

5.67

-6.13

TA Petroleum

2.69

4.26

A. Brown Co., Inc.

0.84

-5.62

PCOR-Preferred B

1100

3.97

Imperial Res. `A'

5.20

-5.45

Ferronickel

0.830

3.75

Lepanto `A'

0.280

-5.08

THURSDAY: MARCH 17, 2016

B3

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

Market tumbles; PLDT leads

decliners

New cement plant. Republic Cement commissions its newest cement finish mill at its Norzagaray plant in Bulacan province, increasing its production capacity to support the growing infrastructure needs of the country. Switching on the state-of-the-art mill are (from left) Republic Cement and Building Materials Inc. president Renato Sunico, Republic Cement Services Inc. president Don Lee, CRH Holdings plc director of operations for Southeast Asia and RCBM director Peter Buckley, GMA Network senior radio and television anchor and RGMA Inc. president Mike Enriquez and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. first vice president for business development and RCBM director Roman Azanza.

LandBank, Globe sign P7-b loan deal

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Wednesday it signed a 10-year, P7-billion term loan with Land Bank of the Philippines to partly finance capital expenditures this year.

Globe programmed up to $750 million in capital expendture for 2016, with the majority of the amount to be invested in datarelated projects, including longterm evolution for mobile and home capacity.

The company plans to finance the coverage augmentation of 3G and high speed packet access plus and modernization of fixed line data infrastructure for transmission requirements.

Globe last year spent P32.1 billion in capital expenditures to support the growing subscriber base and the demand for data.

Globe to date has 28,336 base stations, with over 18,300 for 4G1, to support the service requirements of customers.

Globe posted a net income of P16.5 billion in 2015, up 24 percent from P13.4 billion it booked in 2014.

The growth in profit was sup-

ported by one-time gains from the sale of a 51-percent equity stake in Yondu Inc. and the acquisition of a 98.6-percent stake in Bayan Telecommunications Inc. Globe’s core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges, including onetime gains and accelerated depreciation charges, foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, also rose 4 percent to P15.1 billion from P14.5 billion in 2014.

Excluding Bayan’s results, Globe’s net income and core net income jumped 22 percent and 5 percent, respectively, from 2014, the company said.

Globe said it recorded consolidated service revenues of P113.7 billion last year, or 15 percent higher than the previous record

of P99 billion in 2014.

Globe’s mobile revenues rose 9 percent to P85.1 billion in 2015 from P78.1 billion reported a year ago, driven by strong revenues across all mobile brands.

Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 52.9 million as of end2015, up 20 percent from 44 million subscribers reported in 2014.

Mobile data service revenues surged 55 percent in 2015 to P22.1 billion in 2015 from P14.3 billion in 2014, while broadband business, which now includes Bayan, sustained the growth momentum, increasing both in revenues and subscriber base by 38 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

Total broadband service revenues reached P17.5 billion in 2015, with total subscriber base

THE stock market fell Wednesday on profit-taking to snap a six-day rally that sent the index past the 7,000-point mark this year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 82.87 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,065.39 on a value turnover of P6.8 billion. Losers beat gainers, 121 to 73, with 30 issues unchanged.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, dropped 1.3 percent to P1,876, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, retreated 1.4 percent to P197.60.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. lost 1.9 percent to P735, while unit Ayala Land Inc. slumped 3.6 percent to P34.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which operates a casino on a reclaimed part of Manila Bay, rose 2.7 percent to P5.28. Cyprus on Tuesday shortlisted Bloomberry and two other bidders to construct and operate a first-ever casino resort in the governmentheld south of the Mediterranean island.

The trio, chosen from eight initial bidders, will now enter a second round where a “complete proposal” is to be submitted, said the interior ministry. The winning bidder for the 30-year licence will choose where to build a super casino.

The rest of Asian investors traded cautiously Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, hoping the US central bank will provide some guidance on its plans for interest rates this year.

Hong Kong was 0.4 percent lower in the afternoon. But Shanghai ended up 0.2 percent for its third straight gain after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at the close of the National People’s Congress the economy would not suffer a hard landing.

Sydney gained 0.2 percent and Seoul was 0.3 percent higher.

Tokyo ended 0.8 percent lower despite a weaker yen that came after the Bank of Japan defended its negative interest rate policy and hinted at further cuts aimed at kickstarting lending. With AFP

Gaisano’s Metro Retail increased profit to P758.6m in 2016

By Jenniffer B. Austria VISAYAN retail giant Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. said Wednesday net income in 2015 rose 21 percent to P758.6 million from a year ago on the back of higher store sales and aggressive store expansion.

Metro Retail said in a disclosure to the stock exchange net sales climbed 14 percent to P32.3 billion in 2015, while same store sales increased 9 percent, driven by the strong performance of hypermarket, department store and

supermarket formats.

Metro Retail operates 46 stores as of end 2015, composed of 24 supermarkets, 12 hypermarkets, and 10 department stores with a gross floor area of 400,000 square meters.

“2015 has certainly been a banner for MSRGI as our strong financial performance clearly shows. I believe that 2016 will be another record year for MSRGI being well on track with our store expansion and logistics efficiency initiatives to support our goal of doubling our footprint in the next

five years,” MSRGI chairman and chief executive Frank Gaisano said.

Early this month, Metro Retail expanded its network with the acquisition of the department store assets of SIAL Specialty Retailers Inc., a joint venture between Ayala land Inc and Store Specialists Inc. Located at Fairview Terraces Mall and UP Town Center, the stores have a combined gross floor area of approximately 25,000 square metres and will increase Metro Retail’s department store network to 12

The retailer in 2015 signed a partnership with Ayala Land to put up stores in four new Ayala commercial developments—a department store and supermarket in Capital Central in Bacolod City, a supermarket in The Shops at Atria in Mandurriao Iloilo City, another in Central Bloc in Cebu City and a department store and supermarket in Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig City.

The company inaugurated the Super Metro hypermarket in Calbayog City in February, the company’s 27th store in Visayas.

Metro Retail said it would continue with its enhancement plans, from expanding its offering to deliver relevant products and services to customers to investing in its people and organization to create a stronger, more capable MSRGI from within.

“These strategic initiatives will enable MSRGI not only to achieve our financial goals, accelerate growth and increase operational efficiency,” GAisano said, “but more importantly elevate the quality of service we provide to our local customers.

B4

SSS Web activities hit 5.5m

By Gabrielle H. Binaday STATE-RUN Social Security System said Wednesday total website transactions reached 5.5 million in 2015, as more members and employers used the online facility.

SSS said the transactions jumped 53 percent from 3.64 million in 2014 as members found it easier and faster to transact with the pension fund.

SSS officer-in-charge of service delivery department Renato Malto said the year-end number of web-registered users grew last year across the various types of SSS members, with the highest rate of increase recorded among regular employees and overseas Filipino workers at 8 percent.

Malto said the overall number of web-registered members rose 8 percent from 3.24 million in 2014 to 3.50 million in 2015, while the number of employers with SSS web accounts surged 32 percent from 187,152 in 2014 to 247,385 last year.

“The SSS website is more than just an online facility for viewing general SSS information. Members and employers can also check their personal SSS records and perform several online transactions through the website, providing a convenient alternative to over-the-counter transactions at SSS branches,” he said.

Launched in 2008, the SSS website (www.sss.gov.ph) was upgraded in 2011 to allow the online submission of salary loan applications and maternity notifications by individual members and reports of newly-hired workers, employee maternity notifications, contribution and loan collection lists and certification of employee salary loan applications by employers.

Largest solar farm. President Benigno Aquino III (left) leads the inauguration of the 63.3-megawatt Calatagan solar farm in Batangas, bring-

ing the Philippines one step closer to meeting its commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and fulfilling the dream of a low-carbon economy. With Aquino are (from left) Solar Philippines chief executive Leandro Leviste and Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos.

63-MW solar plant opens in Batangas

By Alena Mae S. Flores

President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday inaugurated the 63.3-megawatt Calatagan solar farm of Solar Philippines in Batangas province, which became the largest solar facility in Luzon.

The Calatagan solar power plant also became the second largest solar site in the Philippines, next to the 132-megawatt Cadiz solar plant in Negros Occidental.

Solar Philippines, the developer of the Calatagan solar farm, said it would aggressively pursue the

development of more solar power projects around the country.

The company said it would soon begin construction of its next projects in Mindanao and Luzon, with a goal to complete 500-MW projects by 2017.

The completion of the Batan-

gas solar project will bring the Philippines one step closer to meeting its commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and fulfilling the dream of a low-carbon economy, according to Aquino.

“Through projects like these, we are proving to the world that even developing countries such as ours can do their share in combating climate change,” Aquino said.

The Philippines has become the largest solar market in Southeast Asia and one of the largest among emerging markets.

“Solar has just begun to realize

its potential. It will soon not only be cleaner, but cheaper and more reliable than coal, and in a matter of years, supply the majority of our country’s energy needs,” Solar Philippines chief executive Leandro Leviste said.

Solar Philippines said the solar farm consisted of over 200,000 panels on a 160-hectare property and could supply enough power for the entire western Batangas.

Solar Philippines said this was the first solar farm developed, financed and constructed entirely by local companies, a testament to the skill and dedication of Filipinos.

8990 Holdings to sell P2-b receivables to Security Bank

By Jenniffer B. Austria MASS housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it is in talks to sell P2 billion worth of receivables to Security Bank Corp.

8990 Holdings president and chief executive Januario Jesus Atencio III said the company planned to sell P2 billion worth of contract to sell or CTS receivables in April.

Under the proposed deal, the purchase value would be based

on outstanding principal balance. The receivables must be seasoned for at least 12 months, with no past due experience.

Atencio said last month 8990 aimed to sell P11 billion worth of receivables out of its nearly P19 billion CTS receivables to four local banks this year.

CTS is the company’s in-house financing program for potential homebuyers.

The company said as of end2015, at least 76 percent of CTS receivables were under the CTS 11

Program, which yielded 11 percent per annum and enjoyed rebate of 1.5 percent for the first five years as long as buyers paid on time.

About 57 percent of the CTS receivables portfolio were seasoned for at least one year, as home buyers were able to pay on time for a period of one year and thus were less likely to default.

8990 Holdings also signed an agreement to sell P1 billion worth of receivables to BPI Family Bank last year.

The CTS portfolio of 8990

jumped 35 percent in terms of value to P18.99 billion in 2015 from P14.11 billion in 2014. It also increased 30 percent in terms of housing units to 20,330 from 15,597.

Interest income from CTS went up by 34 percent to P1.2 billion last year from 901 million in 2014.

8990 earlier said it expected net income to grow 20 percent in 2016 to P4.8 billion, as it planned to unveil 14 new house and lot and mid-rise developments across the country.

T H U R S D AY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 1 6

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

B5

New biotech rules boost agri prospects FILIPINO farmers can now heave a sigh of relief.

Government agencies have finally approved a joint department circular that essentially allows the propagation of genetically modified crops in the Philippines in compliance with a Supreme Court decision late last year.

The circular highlights the growing importance of GM crops to overall agricultural production and their impact on the lives of ordinary farmers. The agriculture sector contributes roughly 10 percent to the country’s gross domestic product but accounts for roughly 30 percent of the total employed labor force. This means 30 percent of the labor force has to share in only 10 percent of the country’s GDP—an indication of low productivity in agriculture.

Low agricultural productivity compounds the poverty problem in the Philippines. An estimated 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas, and about 66 percent are in agriculture. Reducing the poverty incidence in the Phililippines, thus, is effective only if farmers’ income is increased.

The joint department circular relieves the anxiety of farmers, livestock and the feed milling industries and prevents a food supply crisis.

The high court earlier ordered a new set of rules on genetically modified organisms and revoked previous regulations in December 2015.

Government agencies led by the Departments of Science and Technology, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Health, and Interior and Local Government moved swiftly to draw up the new rules.

They held five public consultations in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with all the stakeholders comprised of farmers groups, the scientific community and the environment and civil society groups involved in the discussions.

The new circular enhanced the regulations on risk assessment by involving local governments, on top of a thorough review by concerned government agencies.

The technical working group led by the DoST made sure that the concerns raised by the Supreme Court have been addressed. The new rules tightened environmental scrutiny before biosafety permits are issued, addressing one of the loopholes the Supreme Court cited when it voided the old rules, which were in place since 2002.

The Department of Agriculture, as the lead agency, will also require more documentation from suppliers of GM products.

It is also tasked to form the scientific and technical review panel comprised of a pool of non-DA scientists with expertise in the evaluation of the potential risks of regulated articles to the environment and human health.

The JDC assures the public that biotechnology for agriculture will be put to good use. Biotechnology gave hope to the rural areas, especially in strife-torn Mindanao. Former Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldiers gave an account of their life as farmers and the benefits of sowing GM crops.

Life-changing Maitum S. Salendab, 27, was a former defender of the land in a remote town of Datu Paglas in Maguindanao. He said he was so used to holding a gun and rifle he did not know what else to do. He was uneducated until he tried and discovered to do corn farming at the very lands he was assigned to protect.

“Dati hawak ko lang baril, pero nang matuto ako magtanim ng mais, unti-unti kong natutunan na mas mabuti pala ito,” Maitum says. He adds with the initial P10,000 he earned farming biotech corn, he was able to finish high school, build a home and run a small sari-sari store for his family. He still wants to continue planting biotech corn.

From South Cotabato, Mhads Mamantal said he was able to get back the land he mortgaged with his earnings from planting biotech corn, because for the first time he had more than enough, unlike before when he was using the ordinary corn seeds.

Rice farmer Luisito delos Santos of Cabioa, Nueva Ecija was inspired by his brother, Florencio, who planted SL-18H in last year’s dry season.

Florencio harvested 280 cavans over a 1.8-hectare land at 70 kilos per cavan. The farmer effectively yielded 10.89 metric tons per hectare, about three times the country’s national average yield of three to four MT per hectare.

They are just some of direct beneficiaries of biotech corn and hybrid rice. Those willing to tap the biotechnology for rice and corn in order to improve their lives were seldom asked how their lives were changed for the better.

The promise of continuing better yields and higher farmer’s income is now big for Maitum and other biotech corn farmers with the signing of the JDC. The Philippines has been a trailblazer in biotechnology and scientific research in Asia since the International Rice Research Institute held its headquarters in the province of Laguna 56 years ago. Along with the scientific community in adjacent University of the Philippines Los Baños, IRRI spearheaded biotech research in Asia involving the development of better crop varieties attuned to the varying needs of each country.

With the approval and implementation of the new biotech regulations, scientists and farmers now look forward to the continuation of their work, including the research on golden rice, delayed ripening papaya and Bt eggplant.

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@thestandard.com.ph or extrastory2000@gmail.com

Monsanto’s award. Monsanto Philippines bags a Silver Anvil for its publication ‘Lina’s Town Rises

Again’ during the 51st Anvil Awards organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines at Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Shown receiving the awards are Monsanto Philippines Inc. team led by Gabriel Romero (fifth from left) and Cherie Lou Ocampo (sixth from left), along with FleishmanHillard Manila team led by Wem Mangcucang (fourth from left).

Banks need stronger cyber defense—expert

By Roderick T. dela Cruz

PHILIPPINE banks must strengthen their cyber security to avoid the recurrence of illegal fund transfer or money laundering, a global security strategist said Wednesday.

“These sort of things have been happening for a long time now.

Transferring money to offshore account is one thing. But [banks] need to secure from the inside out.

Traditionally, security has been focused on the outside, keeping hackers out of the systems,” Derek Manky, a global security strategist at Fortinet Inc. told reporters at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

“What about the insider threat?

If you have proper protection, you can quarantine threats... so that the attacker cannot even communicate,” he said.

Manky said the alleged attempt to transfer nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh’s central bank to banks in the Philippines and Sri Lanka would have not have happened without a middleman or an inside person.

“I would not be quick to conclude that these are hackers. It could be an inside job,” he said.

“People were quick to attribute that to Russia or China. We don’t know. The case of malicious code planted in cyber network, that could be used to transfer money out. That is case No. 1. The other

case is insider job.”

Jeff Castillo, country manager of Fortinet Philippines, said technology alone was not enough to execute a multi-million-dollar theft. “It always involved a person... a middleman,” he said.

Bangladesh’s central bank discovered questionable transactions that sent the bank racing to stop cash from leaving its account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the Philippines, Sri Lanka and beyond.

The case has prompted central banks around the globe to examine cyber security measures. It has also led to the resignation of Bangladesh’s central bank governor and put money laundering in the Philippines under scrutiny.

Bangladesh Bank then frantically sent stop payment orders via the SWIFT system to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Pan Asian Banking Corp. in Sri Lanka.

Zubair Bin Huda, a joint director at Bangladesh’s central bank

said in the complaint that $81 million was sent to Rizal Bank via four messages and $20 million to Pan Asia Banking via one message—all from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Another $850 million in transactions were halted.

On request from Bangladesh Bank, Pan Asia Banking canceled the payment of $20 million to its beneficiary and routed the funds back to Bangladesh’s account with the Fed in New York. But the $81 million that entered the Philippine banking system was credited to beneficiary accounts with Rizal Bank and eventually withdrawn.

The $20-million transfer to Pan Asia Banking raised alarms because of its size and a typo in the beneficiary’s name, according to Nalaka Wijayawardana, deputy general manager of marketing at the bank. Pan Asia Banking then remitted the funds back to Bangladesh Bank’s account in New York via Deutsche Bank around Feb. 17, he said.

“We cannot divulge the beneficiary due to confidentiality policy, but we will support any investigation,” Wijayawardana said.

Most of the $81 million in the Philippines is missing. Maia Santos Deguito, the manager at Rizal Bank’s branch in the Philippine financial district accused of allowing the withdrawal of the funds, invoked her right against self-incrimination in a hearing on Tuesday. With Bloomberg

Schneider cited as an ethical company SCHNEIDER Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, said it has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This is the sixth consecutive year that Schneider Electric has received this accolade from Ethisphere.

Through its World’s Most Ethical Company list, Ethisphere

Institute publicly honors companies that have demonstrated ethical leadership in their industries, using ethical conduct as a profit driver and a competitive differentiator.

In 2016, 131 companies were designated the World’s Most Ethical Companies, representing 53 industries across 21 countries.

Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman and chief executive of Schneider Electric said: “We are proud of this recognition for the sixth

consecutive year. We go beyond the letter of the law and demonstrate the highest ethical standards in line with our corporate values. By disclosing information that proves our business walks the talk, we guarantee a transparent context to our customers while benefiting the planet and society.”

Schneider Electrics said ethics and governance are considered key drivers of growth and of competitiveness.

THURSDAY: MARCH 17, 2016

B6

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

A tale of two Aquino blessings THE 2016 presidential election has two similarities with the 1992 election.

One similarity is the number of candidates for the position of president of the Philippines. The other similarity has to do with the blessing given by the outgoing Chief Executive to one of the contestants.

There were seven candidates in the presidential election held 24 years ago. They were Ramon Mitra (the Speaker of the House of Representatives), Fidel Ramos (the Secretary of National Defense), Jovito Salonga (the Senate President), Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Salvador Laurel and Imelda Romualdez-Marcos. With the recent approval by the Supreme Court of Grace Poe’s petition, there are five candidates for president in this year’s election.

The 1992 and 2016 elections are the two post-World War II elections with the largest number of candidates. The number of candidates in 1992 is explained by the fact that the presidential election of that year was the first real election since the 1971 election. The fact that there are five candidates in this year’s contest is less easily explained. Even a mere city mayor was led to believe that the political clime was right for a presidential run by a local official.

In the 1992 election, the three front-runners were Ramon Mitra (who trounced Fidel Ramos for the LDP nomination), Miriam DefensorSantiago and Eduardo Conjuangco Jr. Mitra and Santiago were in the thick of contemporary politics because of the high legislative positions that they held and the possibilities for budgetary largesse that those positions offered. Cojuangco was known to have abundant financial resources of his own.

In the 2016 presidential election the three front-runners—if one is to go by the series of poll opinion surveys—are Grace Poe, Jejomar Binay and Mar Roxas. Poe and Binay are seesawing for the No.1 spot, whereas there is a consistent worrisomely significant gap between Roxas and the two front-runners.

Fidel Ramos clearly needed a game-changing development if he was to prevail against the political and financial resources of his opponents. That development came on Jan. 25, 1992, President Cory Aquino’s birthday.

Cory Aquino remained very popular five years after the Edsa Revolution, and any candidate’s hand that Cory Aquino raised—“Cory’s Choice” —was said to be sure to win. Cory had promised that on her birthday she would announce her choice as her successor. On that fateful day in 1992, she announced that Fidel Ramos was her choice for the presidency. Salonga and Mitra—two of her closest allies in the long struggle against Ferdinand Marcos—felt crushed. The rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

This brings me to the second similarity between the 1992 election and this year’s election. Fidel Ramos desperately needed Cory Aquino’s blessing—basbas in Filipino – if he were to remain in contention in the 1992 presidential election. He had hardly any political and financial resources to speak of—other than a band of hardy enthusiasts who organized the Lakas Tao (later Lakas-NUCD-UMDC) Party for him— but with Cory Aquino’s basbas he would have more than a fighting chance to get to Malacañang. Political historians and analysts are convinced that without Cory’s blessing Ramos’s candidacy would have ended in defeat at the hands of a very popular Miriam Santiago and a politically powerful Ramon Mitra.

Last year it was Mar Roxas’s turn, to desperately need a basbas: that of Cory Aquino’s son PNoy. Roxas has in fact received PNoy’s blessing.

Morally speaking, PNoy really had no choice, considering that Roxas had given way to him as Liberal Party standard-bearer in the 2010 election.

One question bears asking, though. Will President Aquino’s blessing work wonders for Mar Roxas in 2016 like the earlier President Aquino’s blessing worked wonders for Fidel Ramos in 1992? Being “Cory ‘s Choice” did it for Fidel Ramos 24 years ago. Will being “Noynoy’s Choice” spell the difference for Mar Roxas?

Time – less than two months – will tell.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

BSP approves new agriculture financing

By Julito G. Rada

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday it approved the adoption of the value chain financing framework for agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Bangko Sentral said in a circular the new type of financing would facilitate and allow small farmers/fisherfolks to have access to credit.

This is also expected to further improve productivity in these sectors and raise the quality of living of these marginalized people, the regulator said.

“The new issuance by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on agricultural value chain financing addresses the associated credit risks with the agriculture and fisheries sector by shifting the focus of lending from individual farmers and fisherfolks

to the whole value chain,” Bangko Sentral said.

Value chain refers to a set of individuals, such as producers, traders, suppliers, processors, and aggregators, who conduct linked sequence of value-adding activities involved in bringing a product from its raw materials stage to the final consumers.

Value chain finance refers to the financial flows to those individuals from both within the value chain and financial flows to those people from outside as a result of their being linked within a value chain.

“The BSP hopes that the issuance will provide the necessary guidance for banks to be able to serve the needs of the agriculture and fisheries sector, specifically the smallholders, in a manner that is viable and sustainable,” the bank regulator said.

The agriculture and fisheries sectors have traditionally been significant contributors in the Philippine economy, accounting for 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and employing 11.2 million Filipinos in 2014.

Despite the important impact of these sectors, obtaining credit remains a challenge, according to the bank.

Lack of access to finance by smallholder farmers put them in a bigger disadvantage, making them unable to integrate to higher value markets.

Cebu Pacific flies to Guam. Cebu Pacific launches four times weekly flights between Manila and Guam, its first US destination. Cebu Pacific is the only low-cost carrier flying directly between the Philippines and Guam, with lowest year-round fares at P7,203 (all-in). Shown is Cebu Pacific long-haul division general manager Alex Reyes (fourth from left), along with the carrier’s cabin crew during the inaugural flight on March 15.

Analysts left out on rally with San Miguel seen as ‘unpredictable’

By Cecilia Yap and Ian Sayson SAN Miguel Corp. is the Philippine stock benchmark’s best-performer this year, handing investors a 55-percent gain that no analyst predicted.

The miss comes because the 126-year-old beer, oil and infrastructure conglomerate is no longer covered by stock analysts. As the Philippine’s biggest company diversified, earnings became harder to predict. Coverage dwindled, then halted altogether.

Under president Ramon Ang, San Miguel has become the country’s most acquisitive company, widening the scope for future deals.

Just as the company is becoming more complicated, the lack of analysts makes it harder for investors to evaluate the shares because they are left to dig out financial data themselves and have no consensus estimates for comparison.

“San Miguel has become very complex and unpredictable in terms of the direction of its

expansion and asset sales,” said James Lago, research head at PCCI Securities Brokers Corp., who stopped attending San Miguel’s quarterly briefings and just downloads its presentations and financial statements from its website.

Among the more than 200 companies traded in Asia with annual revenue of more than $15 billion, San Miguel is the only one that isn’t covered by analysts. Nor does the company, scheduled to report fourth-quarter profit on March 17, offer guidance on its results.

With or without analyst reports to guide them, investors may puzzle at the extent of San Miguel’s rally this year. The stock was already expensive at more than 100 times earnings at the end of 2015, before the 55-percent rally. Now, they’re at 169 times last year’s earnings, almost eight times the index average and more than double the next most expensive stock on the Philippine Stock Exchange PSEi Index.

San Miguel didn’t respond to requests for

comment.

The company posted a O2.48 billion ($53 million) loss in the September quarter, its biggest quarterly deficit since 2013, after reporting net income of P6.33 billion in the previous three months and P2.32 billion the quarter before that.

The moves into energy and an increase in dollar-denominated debt has also raised the company’s sensitivity to exchange rate fluctuations.

Profit fell by more than half to P6.17 billion for the first nine months of 2015 as a weaker peso quadrupled foreign exchange losses to P10.3 billion.

Every peso decrease in the US dollar exchange rate has a P5.2-billion effect on San Miguel’s pretax profit primarily because dollar-denominated debt accounts for nearly half of its P855.8 billion in liabilities, according to the company. The peso fell more than 5 percent in 2015.

The earnings volatility hasn’t prevented

shares from surging this year amid expectations the declining price of crude will boost profit at the company’s oil refining operations. Petron Corp., San Miguel’s listed oil refiner, is the second- best performer this year on the Philippine benchmark.

While diversification has wiped out analyst coverage, it has been good for revenue. Sales surged by more than five times 2007 levels to P782.4 billion in 2014, or more than 5 percent of thePhilippines’ gross domestic product.

Still, the company’s debt levels have surged and the stock slumped 66 percent in the five years through 2015, while the nation’s benchmark equities index climbed 65 percent.

Investors in San Miguel’s debt are also without help from ratings. The company’s credit is not rated by any of the more than 30 agencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Some investors prefer to get exposure to San Miguel by buying preferred shares, which pay a set rate, while eschewing common stock.

Bloomberg

T H U R S D AY : M A R C H 17, 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

EU leaders push migrant plan BRUSSELS—European leaders launched a charm offensive to win backing for a migrant deal with Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to heal the rifts between member states on the eve of a key summit with Ankara.

EU president Donald Tusk warned Tuesday that hard work lay ahead to finalize the deal, after Cyprus threatened to derail it over its long-standing disagreements with Turkey.

Tusk held talks in Nicosia in an attempt to win Cyprus’ backing for the proposal, which has been hailed as a “game-changer” for the European countries buckling under the wave of new arrivals.

EU and Turkish leaders last week

Student gets 15 years in N. Korea

SEOUL—North Korea on Wednesday sentenced an American student who admitted stealing a propaganda banner from a hotel to 15 years’ hard labor for subversive activities, state media said.

The judgment was handed down on Otto Warmbier, a 21-yearold student from the University of Virginia, by North Korea’s Supreme Court, the North’s official KCNA news agency said.

Observers said the harsh sentence was likely a reflection of the soaring military tensions on the divided Korean peninsula following the North’s nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch a month later.

The United States took a leading role in securing the resulting sanctions that the UN Security Council imposed on the North earlier this month.

In recent weeks Pyongyang has maintained a daily barrage of nuclear strike threats against both Seoul and Washington, ostensibly over the ongoing largescale South Korea-US military drills that the North sees as provocative rehearsals for invasion.

In announcing the jail sentence, KCNA said Warmbier had committed his offense “pursuant to the US government’s hostile policy” towards North Korea.

Warmbier had initially been arrested in early January on charges of “hostile acts” against the state.

KCNA said he was convicted under an article of the criminal code dealing with subversion. AFP

agreed a tentative plan that would see new migrants landing in Greece sent back to Turkey. For each Syrian refugee returned, the EU would resettle one from a Turkish camp.

But there has been a growing pushback against the deal, with both France and the Czech Republic warning against attempts by Turkey to “blackmail” Europe.

Cyprus has expressed reservations, not least because longtime

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adversary Turkey expects the accord to further its EU membership bid and ease visa requirements in the passport-free Schengen area.

Top United Nations officials on refugees and human rights have also questioned whether the plan would be legal.

Tusk conceded this was an issue and it was “not an easy task” to make the proposal legally sound and acceptable to all 28 EU members.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION REGIONAL TRIAL COURT BRANCH 212 MANDALUYONG CITY

IN RE: PETITION FOR CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF VAUGHN JOSEPH PUNONGBAYAN SALAZAR AND CANCELLATION OF THE FIRST CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF VAUGHN JOSEPH PUNONGBAYAN SALAZAR, JOSEPH TAWATAO LISING, JR., Petitioner, -versusOFFICE OF THE CIVIL REGISTRAR OF THE CITY OF MANDALUYONG AND THE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE, Respondents x-----------------------------------------------------------x

SP. PROC. NO. MC16-9813

“It is clear that there is still hard work to be done,” Tusk said after flying to Ankara, adding there was “a catalogue of issues” to address before the talks on Thursday and Friday.

Ahead of the summit, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will meet with Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, which will also release a report giving details of the plan.

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

COPY FURNISHED: ATTY. TIBERIO U. PRADO Counsel for the Petitioner 98 H. Bautista Street, Concepcion Uno, Marikina City

RTC-OCC Mandaluyong City

OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL

OFFICE OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR Mandaluyong City

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR Mandaluyong City

NATIONAL STATISTIC OFFICE 3/F Vibal Building, Times Street, Corner EDSA, Quezon City

(TS - MAR. 16,23, & 30, 2016)

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late JOSE P. ABEJERO who died intestate has been extrajudicially settled among his heirs as per Doc. No. 31, Page No. 8, Book No. VII, Series of 2015 by Notary Public Atty. Rogelia J.Bolivar of Quezon City. ( T S - M A R . 16 , 2 3 , 3 0 , 2 016)

Republic of the Philippines CITY OF SAN PEDRO Province of Laguna BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PR NO. 2016-0623 1. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna through the 2016CDC Budget Approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsodintends to apply the sum of Php 2,000,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Supply and Delivery Mini Dump Truck High Side (Remanufactured). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids forthe following: QTY 2

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan Municipality of Dinalupihan

LEGAL NOTICE

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

ORDER

Raffled to this court on February 23, 2016 is the instant Petition instituted by Joseph Tawatao Lising, Jr. seeking for, (a) the cancellation of the Certificate of Live Birth registered on June 6, 2003, with Registry No. 2003 3437 under the name of Vaughn Joseph Punongbayan Salazar; and (b) retention and correction of the Certificate of Live Birth registered on June 25, 2003, with Registry No. 2003 3809 under the name of Vaughn Joseph Punongbayan Salazar by causing the complete name of the latter to appear as ‘Vaughn Joseph Salazar Lising”, the first name being “Vaughn Joseph”, the middle name being “Salazar” and the last name being “Lising”.

Finding the instant Petition and all the annexes attached in support of its allegations to be sufficient both in form and substance, let the Petition be heard on May 16, 2016 at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon before this court located at the 2nd Floor, Old Building, Mandaluyong City Hall, Mandaluyong City.

Notice is hereby given to anyone who has objection relative to this Petition to state his/her grounds thereto.

Accordingly, let this Order be published at the expense of the Petitioner in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines to be raffled at the Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Mandaluyong City, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks.

Finally, Petitioner is hereby directed to cause service of this Order together with a copy of the Petition and its annexes upon the National Statistics Office, the Office of the Civil Registrar of Mandaluyong City, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the Office of the City Prosecutor of Mandaluyong City.

SO ORDERED. Mandaluyong City, Philippines February 24, 2016.

(Sgd.)RIZALINA T. CAPCO-UMALI Judge

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has championed the proposal, will also lay out her position before the Bundestag.

Paris on Tuesday insisted that Turkey will not be allowed to dictate terms at the meeting.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said France will tell Turkey it wants “more efficient” cooperation on the migrant crisis, but will warn against any attempt at “blackmail”. AFP

UNIT unit

DESCRIPTION Mini Dump Truck High Side (remanufactured) Engine: Diesel Engine Displacement: 4,300cc Fuel Tank Capacity: 100liters Tires: 7.00x16r Capacity: 3 Cubic meter loading capacity

Delivery of the Goods is required within thirty (30) days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed.

Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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

Procurement of 2 Units Ambulance Vehicle (REBID) GOODS 100-16-02-021 1.

The Local Government of Dinalupihan, through LDRFFMF Funds intends to apply the sum of Three Million One Hundred Sixteen Thousand Four Hundred Pesos (Php3,116,400.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of 2 Units Ambulance Vehicle. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The Local Government of Dinalupihan now invites bids for Procurement of 2 Units Ambulance Vehicle. Delivery of the goods is required on April 15, 2016. Bidders should have completed, within two (2) from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project equivalent to at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

In addition,bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:30AM to 9:30 AM only.

Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

3.

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

4.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Bids and Awards Committee and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours at eight o’clock in the morning to five o’clock in the afternoon.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before the specified date and time. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on March 10-17, 2016 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00).

7.

Pre-bid Conference will be held on March 16, 2016 at 11:00 in the morning at BAC Office 2nd Floor Municipal Bldg, Dinalupihan, Bataan

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ELIGIBILITY March 23, 2016 REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS: 10:00 AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

8.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before March 18, 2016 at 11:00 in the morning. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on the same date and time for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Bid opening shall be on March 18, 2016 at 11:00 in the morning at BAC Office 2nd Floor Municipal Bldg, Dinalupihan, Bataan. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

6. TheCity Government of San Pedro, Lagunaassumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid.

9.

The LGU of Dinalupihan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to:

ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND BIDDING DOCUMENTS:

March 8 - 23, 2016 8:30AM – 9:30AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

7. For further information, please refer to: Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat San Pedro City Hall San Pedro, Laguna Telefax No. 847.1722

(SGD) AMELITA E. PEÑAFLOR BAC Chairman San Ramon, Dinalupihan, Bataan (SGD) ARCELI SAMSON BAC Secretariat San Ramon, Dinalupihan, Bataan

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on thedate, time and address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php 5,000.00.

( TS- M A R , 16 , 2 0 1 6 )

(signed) ENGR. FILEMON I. SIBULO Chairman Bids and Awards Committee

(TS-MAR. 16, 2016)

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B8 Trump’s rhetoric raising concern WASHINGTON—Barack Obama has warned that the 2016 White House race is damaging America’s image abroad, sounding the alarm on harsh campaigning that risks eroding the gains made during his presidency.

Lashing out at “vulgar and divisive rhetoric” in the race to replace him, Obama told a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday: “This is also about the American brand.”

“We have heard vulgar and divisive rhetoric aimed at women and minorities―at Americans who don’t look like ‘us,’ or pray like ‘us,’ or vote like we do,” Obama said, with Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny at his side.

“This is also about the American brand. Who are we? How are we perceived around the world?” he asked. “The world pays attention to what we say and what we do.”

His remarks reflect the growing administration concern about the racially tinged message of Republican front runner Donald Trump.

Obama came to office when America’s image was battered by the war in Iraq and George W. Bush’s global unpopularity.

“We’ve seen a big change in the way the world sees the United States under Obama,” Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew Research Center, told AFP. “Overall attitudes across the globe towards the US are a lot more positive today than they were during the George W. Bush era,” he said, while noting the trend is not universal.

Improving America’s image has been a major boon for Obama’s presidency, giving him leverage with leaders keen to be seen with him.

From Indonesia to Ghana, it has also afforded Obama room to bypass the government and appeal to citizens directly.

But Trump’s rhetoric and his rise bolstered by wins in Illinois, North Carolina and Florida on Tuesday has put the longevity of that trend in doubt.

US officials now report an “intense focus” from partners on the 2016 presidential campaign and a “laser-like focus on the Trump campaign.” AFP

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD Tough problems await new govt in Myanmar NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar—Nestled among towers of moldering paperwork, the few flickering computer screens at Myanmar’s information ministry are a sign that change is afoot, and nervous bureaucrats expect more to come under the first civilian government in decades.

Tokyo show. Models display creations by Japanese designer Jotaro Saito at the 2016 autumn/winter collection show in Tokyo during Tokyo Fashion Week. AFP

A novice administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi and her president proxy Htin Kyaw takes office later this month, facing a raft of challenges including conflict, poverty and a still powerful military.

One of the new government’s few stated priorities so far is to streamline the country’s notoriously labyrinthine civil service, which bloomed to 36 ministries under military rule and became a byword for corruption and inefficiency.

“We have no idea what will happen to us, we have had no clear instruction,” said one ministry official on Tuesday, asking not to be named, just hours after MPs across town in the capital Naypyidaw elected the country’s first civilian president in decades.

With its dimly lit corridors, papers stuffed into bags and stray dogs snoozing in the afternoon heat, the ministry which churned out propaganda under the military is emblematic of much of Myanmar’s civil service and the junta’s legacy.

Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy have yet to name any ministers.

But party sources said senior members were hunkered down in private meetings Wednesday with a streamlining plan expected to be announced on Thursday.

“Even we are hoping for change,” admitted another information ministry staff member, also asking for anonymity, alluding to Suu Kyi’s simple election message, adding that he expects a merger with the culture ministry.

Myanmar has come a long way since 2011, when the military that drove the country into isolation and poverty for decades suddenly loosened its grip.

President Thein Sein’s outgoing army-backed administration unleashed dramatic reforms that saw the end of most Western sanctions and a flurry of investor excitement.

The resource-rich country now has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, forecast to expand around 8 percent this year, and a vibrant young population.

Foreign visitor numbers have surged from less than a million in 2011 to 4.7 million last year.

Commercial hub Yangon has morphed from a crumbling relic to a rapidly transforming metropolis where consumers chow down on KFC while browsing once-prohibited news websites on affordable mobile phones. AFP

Travel agents defy threat from Internet BERLIN—The doomsayers were 100 percent certain that the Internet would be the death of travel agents.

But in Europe’s three biggest economies, the industry is still very much alive and kicking as consumers prefer expert advice and a friendly face when it comes to booking their holidays.

In France, the number of travel agents has held steady for the past five years.

In Britain, business is also “buoyant”, said Sean Tipton, spokesman for the ABTA travel association.

While he could not strictly say the number of high street travel

agents had increased, “it would be true to say that the amount of business agents are doing is at record levels,” Tipton said.

Tour operators, “in particular Virgin Holidays and Kuoni”, have opened shops, Tipton added.

Over in Germany, the number of travel agents actually increased for the second year in a row last year.

And the total revenues in the sector rose three percent to 23.7 billion euros ($26.3 billion).

“There are two reasons: one is that there are more tourists than before and two is that platforms are not substitutes to human interaction,” said Taleb Rifai, secre-

tary general of the World Tourism Organization, at this month’s ITB travel trade fair in Berlin.

This March, DER Touristik, a subsidiary of the retail giant REWE, is preparing to open a new travel center in central Berlin.

“We’re opening up new travel agents because we remain convinced that personalized advice will continue to be very important,” said Andreas Heimann, who is in charge of travel agencies at DER Touristik.

Last year 42 percent of Germans booked their holidays via travel agents, compared with 36 percent who booked via the Internet. AFP

In attendance. From left, actors Darby Stanchfield, Jeff Perry, Tony

Goldwyn, Bellamy Young, Kerry Washington, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, executive producer Betsy Beers, and actor Scott Foley attend The Paley Center For Media’s 33rd Annual PALEYFEST Los Angeles ‘Scandal’ at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California. AFP

T H U R S D AY : m A R c H 17, 2 0 1 6

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TATUm ANcHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS WRITER

life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

w EL L BEING

LIFE

EARTH HOUR 2016:

THE GREEN LIGHT ON STOPPING CLIMATE CHANGE

w

hen Leonardo Di Caprio went onstage to claim his muchdeserved Oscar at the 88th annual Academy Awards, he used his time in the spotlight to not only thank those who have helped him reach a milestone in

MIKEE COjUANGCOjAWORSKI

I will continue to do the things I’ve pledged before, which include education and conservation. And for this year I will try to go more organic/ natural in my home and not use so much of the chemicals we’re used to using. Instead of chemical disinfectants, we’ll use a white vinegar and water mixture instead, which is a lot cheaper also.

By KRISTEL DACUMOS-LAGORzA

his career, but also to shed light on an important cause very close to his heart – climate change.

“Climate change is real. It is happening right now. It’s the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop

procrastinating,” he shared. “Let us not take this planet for granted.

I do not take tonight for granted.”

The message resonated with many viewers across the globe, and it immediately encouraged discussion online and in conversations thereafter.

IzA CALzADO

I will try to be a better citizen of the world and try to take better care of Mother Nature. I’m slowly thinking of ways on how I can make my household more eco-friendly. I can’t say I don’t use plastic.

My household is not 100 percent plastic-free, as it’s very hard to commit to those things. But I think in small choices in your life, you can choose not to waste. For example, water.

When you’re brushing your teeth, shut it off.

Though far removed from the glitter of Hollywood, our very own celebrities and influencers are putting their words into action, advocating change in their own homes and starting the movement in their very own backyard.

Come March 19, 8:30 p.m., they join the world in a show of solidarity to celebrate Earth Hour.

Here they share why making a stand for #changeclimatechange is important, and how they aim to make a big difference in their own small ways.

ROvILSON FERNANDEz

I think the youth needs to be educated, because they are the ones who are gonna inherit the Earth.

I’ve become such a staunch pro-environmentalist, because I was told at a young age that saving the environment is what we can do to benefit us all. My pledge is always about the youth and just telling them what a beautiful planet we have, and I think that goes a long way.

Continued on C2

T H U R S D AY : m A R c H 17, 2 0 1 6

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

The world celebrates the 10th anniversary of Earth Hour on March 19. WWF-Philippines executives and national ambassadors (second from left) Rovilson Fernandez, Marc Nelson, Atty. Gia Ibay, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Iza Calzado, chairman of the board Gigi Montinola and president and chief executive Joel Palma show the '10' sign

@LIFEatStandard

Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski (left) and Iza Calzado (right) talk to mother and daughter Romela and Kyla Dominguez

Earth hour 2016 shinEs a light on rEnEwablE EnErgy sourcEs by bErnadEttE lunas Photos by star sabroso

O

n March 19, the Philippines joins the world once again in switching off the lights for one hour to highlight the urgent need for decisive climate change solutions.

This year’s Earth Hour is special, not only because it is the 10th year that hundreds of nations will stand in solidarity with the cause of climate actions, but also because while darkness envelops parts of the country during Earth Hour (from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. PHT) this Saturday, the Quezon City Memorial Circle will be alive with lights and music courtesy of kinetic energy.

The Philippines walks the talk, so to speak, as custom-made bicycles will help power the three-hour event at QCMC. The stationary bicycles are made by the popular bamboo bike maker, Bambike, whose wheels are fashioned to fit the generator that transforms the kinetic energy (from continuous pedaling) to electricity.

“This is the first time we will use kinetic energy for Earth Hour to power the event itself,” shares Earth Hour Philippines national director Gia Ibay.

She adds, “We thought it is but fitting to go back to the roots of Earth Hour wherein we’re just showing that things are possible. Stationary bikes will partially power this year’s event to show that, when united, Pinoys can light up this country with their collective energy.”

The move aims to showcase climate solutions that individuals and nations can take, such as transitioning to renewable energy sources.

According to Ibay, they will have people who will start the pace but everyone’s invited to pedal the bicycles. “It’s like tagging someone. When one is finished, then someone else can jump on the bike to continue to light the event.”

Rovilson Fernandez pedals one of the bicycles that will be used to power the event on March 19

WWF mascot Chi Chi panda

go bEyond thE hour

While the event serves as an important statement to make people more aware, Earth Hour Philippines’ ambassadors assert that caring for the planet Earth should go beyond the 60-minute switch-off.

“The more significant thing is the things that we do after Earth Hour,” stresses Climate Solutions steward and Earth Hour ambassador Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski.

From c1

Marc nElson

After watching the documentary Racing Extinction, I’ve now been inspired to cut down on my meat intake, specifically my beef intake by 80 percent. I’m a big proteineater, so now I’ve cut down because doing that alone will help the environment a lot more, than by just cutting down on my driving.

stEPhaniE KiEnlEgonzalEz

Raising awareness is crucial, because people should know the importance of saving the Earth for our future generations. By

This year is the 10th anniversary of Earth Hour and the 20th year of WWF Philippines

In addition, energy from solar power will supplement the electrical requirements of the main switch-off event on Saturday night.

“We’re really trying to aim for it to be as low-carbon as possible,” explains Ibay.

EARTH HOUR 2016

Taubuid Mangyan Tribe head Punong Tribo Fausto Novelozo

The actress/host/former equestrienne believes that anyone can begin by doing simple and “almost silly” things like recycling bottles and plastic bags to contribute to the betterment of the world.

“I think that’s the thing that we have to realize – caring for the environment entails a lot of simple acts,” says Cojuangco-Jaworski.

Being a mother of three boys, CojuangcoJaworski also makes sure that she impresses upon her children the environmental effects of whatever they do. “I try to make my kids conscious about those things that they do.”

WWF-Philippines national ambassador and host Rovilson Fernandez agrees that awareness should start with the youth.

raising awareness, you not only educate people about the challenges, you also let them know that they can be part of the solution. Small, day-to-day changes in one’s lifestyle can, indeed, make a difference. I hope to contribute to Earth Hour by teaching my three-year-old about how beautiful the world and our habitat is, and how we should all play a role, whether big or small, in saving it.

sara blacK

Only when we’ve understood the truth that everything in existence is ONE will there be truly peace on earth. This starts with everyone waking up and discovering this truth. It’s the journey of every human being.

bianca ValErio

It’s sad that just because we don’t see climate change’s direct effect on us, we take it lightly.

Protecting the planet we live in is crucial for our survival and the

“We have to let as many children know as possible because they are the ones who are gonna inherit the Earth,” says Fernandez.

In which case, he says “we have to post on social media as much as possible.”

Meanwhile, new WWF-Philippines national ambassador Iza Calzado shares that she always had it in her at a young age to care for the environment.

“When I was young I (would) always say to my Dad not to throw his cigarettes outside of the car,” she relates.

However, she admits she was initially hesitant to accept WWFPhilippines’ invitation for her to be their new ambassador.

“When they asked to sign me up I wasn’t so sure because I’m not an environmentalist – not yet!” shares Calzado.

“But the thing is, I know that I can make a difference and I’ve been given an opportunity to do so. And with WWF, I hope to inspire people, to effect change and to somehow be a part of a movement to make this world a better place,” she enthuses.

Just like Calzado, Fernandez, CojuangcoJaworski and other WWF-Philippines ambassadors and Earth Hour proponents, we can all do something to make a difference.

Ibay invites everyone to come to the switch-off event at QCMC on Saturday, or, if they cannot come, celebrate Earth Hour in their own home “since it also lessens the carbon footprint.”

Social media users, on the other hand, are encouraged to promote their commitment to the planet by spreading climate awareness on their Facebook or Twitter feed by clicking on earthhour.org/climateaction or by using the hashtags #EarthHourPhilippines, #ChangeClimateChange and #RenewableisDoable.

evolution of the generations to come. Every day, not just Earth Hour, we should use less electricity, use the stairs, go outside, unplug and tune in to nature.

nicolE dEla cruz

Raising awareness about saving the Earth is important because it is our home and our source of living. It provides us everything we need – from food to the air we breathe, and shelter. Once we abuse, act carelessly and selfishly, our only home will become unlivable and our children will suffer from our actions.

As a mom, I want to be an example to my child. In my own simple way, I will teach him to be aware and to care for Mother Earth and our environment – from throwing trash to conserving energy and water. On Earth Hour, we will turn off all the lights and appliances, and will enjoy this hour with my family, taking time to appreciate the stars.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

saFe PrOducTs, saFe envirOnmenT

A

ll of us buy consumer products for our homes, offices and even for personal use. We want our houses to look spic and span, we want to be healthy, we wish our skin to be

blemish free, we want our babies to smell nice and good, so we choose the products that we think can enhance our looks and make our homes clean. However, not all products are created equal – because there

human naTure sOOThing Balm 100% naTural

are those that are made with chemicals and materials that are harmful to the environment. Fortunately, more and more companies are becoming more environmentally conscious, using raw

materials that will not adversely affect the health of humans and will not be harmful to the environment. Below are some items that are reputed to be environment safe and friendly.

mill creek BOTanicals BiOTin shamPOO

Are you always tense, and is your office life the kind that gives you migraines and all kinds of pain – imagined or real? Then Human Nature’s 100% Natural Soothing Balm might work wonders.

Breathe in the mint goodness with hints of peppermint, eucalyptus, and bergamot. Let this all-around wonder balm help relieve stress, mental fatigue, dizziness, body aches, and even skin boo-boos. So stay calm, and balm with this non-toxic product that is completely free from petrolatum (which can be contaminated by cancer-causing PAHs or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). With every swipe and sniff, be assured of nature’s soothing goodness.

The hair is a woman’s crowning glory, and having glorious tresses is something that women aspire for. But wouldn’t you feel much better if your shampoo of choice does not contain ingredients like paraben or sodium lauryl sulfate that are getting a bad rep as harmful? Mill Creek Biotin Shampoo Therapy Formula has biotin, an essential member of the vitamin B complex family with other B vitamins and also contains keratin, elastin, cysteine, jojoba and aloe vera to make your hair look healthy, give it full-bodied texture and make it grow faster and healthier.

Plus, the refreshing peppermint oil gives your scalp that invigorating sensation.

dr. BrOnner’s 18-in-1 hemP green Tea Pure casTile sOaP

Trillium Organics Fresh lime Organic BOdy POlish

A lot of products like soap contain non-biodegradable materials that threaten the environment because they cannot be broken down and hence, cause disposal problems. When choosing soap, you might want to consider Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Green Tea Pure Castile Liquid Soap that combines organic extra virgin coconut, olive, jojoba and hemp oils, together with pure essential oils to create a unique soap that cleans effectively, producing a velvety lather that leaves the skin silky smooth and refreshed. Aside from the materials being biodegradable, this multi-purpose 18-in-1 product makes use of Certified Fair Trade and organic oils – meaning the products were “made with respect to people and planet. Our rigorous social, environmental and economic standards work to promote safe, healthy working conditions, protect the environment, enable transparency, and empower communities to build strong, thriving businesses.”

No one wants to have dull, dry, or ashy skin, especially because no amount of makeup can really disguise unhealthy skin. This gluten free and paraben free Fresh Lime Body Polish by Trillium Organics might just be what the doctor ordered as it can improve the skin’s texture with regular use. It acts as an exfoliant that removes dry, dead cells at the surface of the skin which decongests the dermis and stimulates cellular regeneration. Used weekly, Body Polish rejuvenates the skin’s healthy function, leaving it moisturized, radiant and smooth.

THE QUEST FoR THE PERFEcT PAIR Four pairs oF running shoes take the test for one of my races, and the cushioning in the midsole made my run feel a bit lighter.

This pair lives up to its name – “Zoom” – because that’s how you feel like doing when you wear it.

saucOny kinvara 6

FINE FEttlE

By BuBBles ParaisO

I

have a confession. Before I got into running, shoe shopping for sneakers meant buying the cutest training shoes I could find. Muay Thai and yoga don’t require footwear, so researching on which is the best pair for me was never a priority.

Now that I’ve taken up running (and have been addicted to it since the year started), I’ve learned that the wrong pair of shoes will not only give you blisters, callouses and dead toe nails, but they could be the cause of injuries as well.

It’s quite hard to decide which pair would be the best for newbie runners like myself, so to make things a little bit easier for those who are just getting into the sport, I decided to road test several pairs that are out in the market today in hopes to help out a little bit in the shoe-buying decisionmaking process.

Saucony Kinvara 6, Skechers GoRun Ride 4, Adidas Ultra Boost, and Nike Air Zoom Vomero 10

For the past couple of months, I’ve ran, trained and raced using these pairs to review and now I’m ready to give you the verdict.

nike air ZOOm vOmerO 10

Its tiffany blue and pink color combination made me fall in love with this pair right away. It was cute, but the

question was, how does it perform?

Running with this pair felt as if my feet were on clouds. The shoes were extremely light and soft and people with wide feet would be happy to hear that the fit is pretty wide, so there is more space for your feet.

If your feet are very narrow though, these might be too loose for you. I used this pair

When I wore this pair for training in the club, I noticed it was the exact same pair that one of the best female triathletes in the country was wearing. That said, I knew I was sporting a legit pair of shoes for running. A lot of runners are very loyal to this shoe, as I’ve noticed.

Although compared to all the others I’ve tried, the fit of this one is much more snug for me. I felt like I needed more toe room and perhaps should have gone up half a size more. But, even with the snugness of the fit, it was still very light and comfortable, so you won’t wonder why more seasoned runners choose to wear a pair of these.

skechers gOrun ride 4

I was quite surprised when I tried on this pair. They were insanely light and comfortable, one would forget that she’s even wearing shoes. This pair was light continued on c4

T H U R S D AY : m A R c H 17, 2 0 1 6

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the adidas Ultra boost is popular to many, it gives your feet a slight 'hug' on the midfoot but still gives enough room for your toes to breathe

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

adidas Ultra boost

With its comfortable fit and superb cushioning, it's not a surprise numerous marathon runners use the saucony Kinvara 6

the Nike Vomero 10

these skechers Gorun ride 4 pleasantly surprised me as they are light as a feather and made me feel as if I'm not wearing anything

I love how the Under armour speedform is made of neoprene, with small holes – perfect for swim-run-repeat interval training

the Nike Vomero 10 lived true to its name as I felt like 'zooming' with every stride

THE QUEST FoR THE PERFEcT PAIR From C3

as a feather and I had zero problems when I ran using them. They were very much like the Kinvara, but with more toe room for the same size. It had a nice support on the mid-foot and heel, which made my turnovers quick, light and comfy.

It is a great trainer shoe, though I have yet to use it for a race.

AdidAs UltrA Boost

My feet felt like they were being hugged in the right places upon wearing this shoe. It is snug on the mid-foot, but still has a lot of room for your foot to breathe. As its name suggests, Ultra Boost does make you feel like you can just “boost” from the start to the finish as if you are bouncing a bit more and you’re flying on the road. I unintentionally hit sub1 (less than an hour) using this pair despite planning to go easy in a race – perhaps it is because it didn’t cause any dead toenails or blisters at all.

And the winner is¼

As you can tell, it is quite hard for me to pick a favorite as all these pairs have so much to offer.

Personally, I like the colors of Zoom Vomero10, the lightness of GoRun Ride4, the cushioning of Kinvara6 and the overall look and fit of the Ultra Boost. I am still trying out other shoes as I go on with training, but for now, it is safe to say that the Ultraboost is my favorite amongst these four.

Another shoe I’ve been trying out is Under Armour’s Speedform – made with neoprene material that is perfect for brick training (swimrun-repeat intervals) but perhaps I would do a review of that (and other shoes) some other time.

Follow me on twitter and instagram @bubblesparaiso Photos by star sabroso

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A

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KapusO sTaRs In aRaw ng Dabaw

ll roads led to Davao City on March 13 and 16 with today’s hottest Kapuso stars joining in the celebration of the vibrant Araw ng Dabaw.

Leading the Kapuso celebration on March 13 were stars from GMA Afternoon Prime programs Wish I May and Hanggang Makita Kang Muli.

Just like what they did during their Panagbenga Kapuso Show last month in Baguio City, Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali treated their fans to an afternoon of “kilig” moments and excitement at SM City Davao.

Joining BiGuel (as the two are known to their fans) were the stars of the new drama series Hanggang Makita Kang Muli – Derrick Monasterio and Kim Rodriguez.

The drama series features the life of a feral child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, thus having little or no experience of human care, behavior, or even human language. It aired its pilot episode just on March 7.

Meanwhile on March 16, the cast of Little Nanay spread “Happy Lang” vibe at Gaisano Mall Toril. Kris Bernal, Mark Herras, and Hiro Peralta entertained their Davaoeño fans.

On the heels of the success of Kapuso Panagbenga Festival last month, GMA’s Senior Assistant Vice President for Regional Business Development Division Oliver Amoroso shared that GMA’s participation in Araw ng Dabaw was an affirmation of the Network’s thrust to look for ways to reach out to its loyal viewers across the country.

“The Araw ng Dabaw is a perfect venue for fans to get closer to their favorite Kapuso stars,” said Amoroso. “We always look forward to bring the stars of our toprating programs closer to our loyal supporters. They are the reason why our programs are successful, so we make it a point to recognize their unwavering support,” he adds.

Meanwhile, Kapuso fans in Cagayan de Oro had a sumptuous Sunday as GMA News TV’s Taste Buddies took part in this year’s Big Bite Food Festival. The show’s hosts, Solenn Heussaff and Iya Villania, were at the Centrio Mall on March 13 for the Kapuso Meet and Greet with Taste Buddies. The Kapuso beauties definitely added flavor to the celebration of this gastronomic event in Northern Mindanao.

To know more about the Network’s regional events, follow GMA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gmanetwork and GMA Regional TV at www.facebook. com/GMARegionalTV and on Twitter and Instagram via @GMARegionalTV.

miguel tanfelix

mark Herras

celebrities flocked to new Japanese resto The newly opened Ichiba: Japanese Market is the first ever Japanese Seafood Market Concept in the Philippines.

Inspired by the large wholesale market of Tsukiji, the delights from Gastronome Kuromon, the diversity of seafood from Kyushu, and the expansive seafood and tasty crabs from Hokkaido, Ichiba, the Japanese Market seeks to redefine dining experience in Metero Manila.

Ichiba: Japanese Market is located on the 2nd Floor of the Newport Mall in Resorts World Manila.

Celebrities were spotted during the opening of the restaurant,

among them were Phoemela Baranda of ABS-CBN Star News, Anthony Pangilinan and wife Maricel Laxa, socialite Becky Garcia, Tim Yap, Pepper Teehankee, Fabio Ide, and Japanese adult film star Maria Ozawa.

Japan External Trade Organization Sr. Investment Adviser Shozo Suzuki, Japanese Embassy Economic Affairs Minister Makoto Iyori, President and CEO of Ichiba Bryan Tiu, Chief Operating Officer of Resorts World Manila Steve Reilly, Asia Brewery Incorporated Sr. VP-Commercial Division Hubert Tan cut the ceremonial ribbon to declare Ichiba is open for business.

Bianca umali

Kris Bernal

Kim Rodriguez

Hiro Peralta

Derrick monasterio

9th Grand Alumni Homecoming and centennial Anniversary celebration

Graduates of Albay High School-Legazpi and the Bicol University High School will have their 9th grand alumni homecoming on May 20 and 21 at Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City. The alumni of both high schools had been integrated as a group. It is now called The Integrated Albay High and Bicol University High Schools Alumni Association.

The homecoming was originally scheduled on the first Saturday of May but was movie to its present date due to the national elections on May 9.

In this reunion, AHS class 1966 will celebrate its Golden Anniversary while graduates of BU High School Class 1991 will celebrate its Silver Anniversary.

They will also celebrate the centennial Anniversary of the first

members of the Integrated Albay High and Bicol university High Schools Alumni Association

graduates of Albay High School in 1916. On May 20 the high schools outstanding alumni will be given recognition.

For more information about the grand homecoming please

contact Paris Real, Grand Alumni Association president (center, first row kneeling) 0917-5633751, Editha Lodado 0916-7401689 and Beda Melgar 0917-8131044.

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tougher competition in ‘I Love OPm’

Ace actors John Lloyd cruz and Piolo Pascual in a scene from Lav Diaz’s eight-hour epic “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis”

sTaR cInEma scREEns lav DIaz’s awaRD-wInnIng fIlm

t

he film production arm of ABS-CBN Corporation, Star Cinema, is bringing the Berlinale Film Festival Silver Bear-winning Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis closer to the Filipino people through a nationwide screening starting Black Saturday, March 26.

An eight-hour long epic, Lav Diaz’s internationally-acclaimed historical film features two big names from ABS-CBN’s stable of stars - John Lloyd Cruz and Piolo Pascual.

Cruz and Pascual play Crisostomo Ibarra/Simoun and Isagani, character in Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, the novels of national hero Jose Rizal.

Director Lav Diaz examines the myth and legend of Andres Bonifacio who was a prominent figure in the Philippine Revolution.

Diaz also undertakes another expedition into the eventful history of the Philippines.

The film’s various loosely interwoven narrative threads are held together by an exploration of the role of the individual in history and their involvement in political and social developments.

Diaz, one of the country’s most respected filmmakers, described his newest masterpiece as “a more intimate look into an important part of Philippine history.”

“Star Cinema and ABS-CBN have always be-

lieved in the artistry of the Filipino. By throwing our full support to this magnificent film, we hope to inspire both filmmakers and film-goers to continue to love and promote our own,” ABSCBN Chief Operating Officer for Star Creatives Malou Santos said.

A special screening of the film will be held at ABS-CBN’s Dolphy Theater on March 20 at 12nn, to be attended by the cast and director, as well as producer Paul Soriano of Ten17 Productions.

Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis made waves in the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in February where it was awarded the Alfred Bauer Prize, which is given to a feature film that “opens new perspectives on cinematic art.”

Apart from Cruz and Pascual, the picture also features other notable actors and actresses, like Cherie Gil, Alessandra de Rossi, Sid Lucero, Angel Aquino, Ronnie Lazaro, Bernardo Bernardo, and Hazel Orencio, who played Gregoria De Jesus, or Ka Oryang, Bonifacio’s widow.

Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis will be screened in cinemas on March 26.

For more information, visit www.abs-cbn. com or like Star Cinema’s Facebook page (www. facebook.com/StarCinema) and follow their Twitter account (@StarCinema).

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 “Nick of Time” singer 6 Light bulbs, in comics 11 Yellow vehicle 14 “The — of Wakefield” 15 Boisterous 16 Back when 17 Dive into second 18 Curved moldings

19 State-of-the-art 20 Emmy-winning Ed 22 Carnivore’s delight (hyph.)

24 On good grounds 28 Check to make sure 29 Maria Conchita — 30 First-rate 32 Brain, maybe 33 Like tartan

35 Switch positions 39 Pantyhose shade 40 Fossil fuel 41 Thicken 42 The — the limit!

43 Bay 45 Bring on board 46 Zingy flavors 48 Emulate Hamlet 50 Oysters’ yield 53 Damper 54 Lotte of “From Russia With Love” 55 Black eye 57 Joule fraction 58 Drifts 60 Buckles 65 Every breath you take 66 Spunk 67 Geologic period 68 “Miss Pym Disposes” author 69 Hits the cuspidor 70 Odin or Ra DOWN 1 Campers, for short 2 Feel crummy 3 Here, in Paris 4 Tiny amount 5 Escalator parts 6 Wry humor 7 Old ruler of Venice 8 Big pitcher 9 Fruity drink

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016

10 11 12 13 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 34 36 37 38 43 44 47 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 59 61 62 63 64

Organization River paddler Booster rocket Showed respect Spill over Pins Windmill blades Noted wise guy Queen’s truck Diligence Get — of that junk!

Water holders Irritate Yearn for Arrowhead rock Vulcan had one Rodeo mount Advantages McCloud’s hometown Sirens Watched Trouser feature Paranormal, to some Seeing red Ruminates Ankle-length Skip over Dinny’s rider Tarzan’s nanny Louis XIV, e.g.

Interest amt.

Bashful

“The Bump-Off ” round continued last weekend with four new Touristars moving on to Gate 3 in ABS-CBN’s original singing competition for 100 percent nonFilipinos who love OPM music, I Love OPM. Touristars Yohan Hwang (Korea), Moses Akoh (Nigeria), Ryan Gallagher (USA) and band UchuSentai: Noiz (Japan) made the cut and booked themselves a seat in Gate 3 while Touristars Anna Rabtsun (Russia), Jeff James (USA), Marina Lin (Canada), and Sonata Stevenson (India) bid farewell after they were “bumped off.”

Yohan teased the crowd with a smooth rendition of Daniel Padilla’s “Nasa Sayo Na Ang Lahat” and Moses displayed his powerful voice once again with a captivating performance of Rivermaya’s “Himala.”

UchuSentai: Noiz, on the other hand, excited the crowd with an electrifying version of Rivermaya’s “Liwanag sa Dilim” and Ryan stole everyone’s hearts with his rendition of Gary Valenciano’s “Sana Maulit Muli.”

Before competing, Touristars Anna , Yohan, Moses, and Jeff headed to Bohol for their “SoundTrip” while fellow Touristars Marina, Ryan, Sonata,and band Uchusentai: Noiz spent a day going around Manila.

Watch out as 12 more Touristars battle it out in the coming weeks that include Addy Raj (India), Daniel Herrington (USA), DBD (Australia, Korea, Nigeria), Harris Dio Smith (Pakistan), In Seon Jung (South Korea), J-Morning (Korea), Jeena Dimaandal (USA), Jerome McCuin (USA), Jonathan Wagner (France), Matthew May (UK), Montri Bootnak (Thailand) and Nelson Leusam (Samoa).

Who among the Touristars will advance to Gate 3? Who will get ‘bumped-off ’ next? Where in the Philippines will our “Touristars” next “Soundtrip” be? Who will make it out of “The Bump-Off Round”?

Don’t miss I Love OPM every Saturday right after MMK, and every Sunday after Rated K on ABS-CBN. For updates, follow @iloveopmtv on Instagram and Twitter or likehttps://www.facebook.com/iloveopm on Facebook.

child Haus manila visitors The Metro Manila Mayor’s Spouses Foundation Inc. recently visited Child Haus Manila, (a temporary shelter for cancer-stricken patients) to turnover a check donation for the benefit of its residents. The generous group is composed of the First La-

dies of the cities and one municipality in Metro Manila.

In the photo above are (from left) Dr. Rachael Rosario, Childhaus executive director, founder Ricky Reyes, Carmencita Abalos, Tates Gana, Edna Calixto, and Dr. Joyce Medina.

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Angel Rivero and the rest of the “wheels” hosts rev up for the automobile show’s third season

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Actor and car racer mateo Guidicelli

‘WhEEls’ hOsTs gET TO lIvE ThE hIgh lIfE

I

“wheels” hosts matteo Guidicelli and Kap maceda take the viewers for the ride

lovi happy for Grace

When she heard the news that the Supreme Court decided to allow Senator Grace Poe to run in the coming presidential elections, Lovi Poe congratulated her sister immediately through her Instagram account.

“Great news on International Women’s day! So happy for my president @sengracepoe as well as my vice-president Sen. Chiz!” Lovi captioned her post.

Well, the ruling happened on the day the world was celebrating International Women’s Day. Heart, Lovi’s close friend and wife of Senator Grace Poe’s running mate, also congratulated the presidential candidate on her Twitter account.

Even before Grace Poe declared her intention to run for president, Lovi had already said she would support her sister whatever her decision could be.

She had also been very vocal defending her sister in the issues of citizenship and her years of stay in the Philippines.

She also said that her Ate Grace treats her and Susan Roces very well.

Actress lovi poe shows all-out support to her sister and presidential candidate Grace poe

f you thought last week’s episode of Wheels was our last look at luxury, wait ‘til you see this week’s episode of the show.

Wheels hosts Matteo Guidicelli, Ulysses Ang, Kap MacedaAguila and Angel Rivero will keep living the high life with high-end cars to boot.

On the main segment, Matteo will get a big and unexpected surprise to help him through his hectic day. Watch Wheels to see the big reveal and why Matteo becomes ecstatic with the surprise.

Meanwhile, Ulysses goes to

Middle Earth — in New Zealand — to tryout sheep farming as well as camping in luxury, also known as “glamping”, aboard the all-new Ford Ranger. Find out why this luxury pickup truck is the best companion of every outdoorsman.

Also taking a break is Kap, who, after a series of celebrity interviews, takes on alone the leaner, meaner and mightier Audi Q7 luxury SUV for a spin. Learn why this sophisticated mix of style and utility ranks first in the luxury SUV market today.

And, if you’re planning to head

out of town this coming Holy Week, Angel took the most convenient way to hit Northern Luzon this Lenten Season, to save you from the hassle of heavy traffic and other inconveniences.

It’s all these and more on Wheels, your guide to life on the fast lane. Catch its third season on its new timeslot: Thursdays, 10:30 p.m. on ABS-CBN Sports + Action Channel.

For firsthand info on the latest happenings in motoring, like and follow Wheels on facebook.com/ PhilStarWheels.

FpJ’s films dominate prime time Da King, as FPJ, is known to his fans, had passed on a little more than a decade ago, yet his fans still adore his movies.

Proof of this is the top-rating (40 percent) FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano on ABS-CBN with Coco Martin playing the iconic role that Fernando Poe, Jr. played on the big screen.

Just recently, another FPJ movie has been turned into a TV series.

On TV5, Ang Panday airs Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

It stars Richard Gutierrez in the retooled storyline by its author Carlo J. Caparas.

FPJ’s vintage films shown on Cinema One, the country’s no.

1 Tagalog movie channel, continue to earn substantial audience share, proof that FPJ remains the top choice of Filipinos when it comes to action movies.

Senator Grace Poe is very proud that up to these days, his fa-

coco martin as an amiable police officer in “FpJ’s Ang probinsyano”

Richard Gutierrez as the new panday

ther’s fans remain faithful to him.

“If there was anything my father was proud of naman, ayaw niyang i-desecrate ang ating wika.

Para sa kaniya talaga, dapat diretso hindi Taglish. Kaya ang mga writers ni FPJ sa pelikula niya, screenplay, marami sa kanila talaga screenplay writers from UP kasi talagang gusto niya’y maayos na Tagalog,” Grace said.

Among FPJ’s memorable lines

in films are: “Puno na ang salop, dapat ka nang kalusin” (Kapag Puno na Ang Salop, 1989); “Kung kayo lang ang magiging kaibigan ko, bibili na lang ako ng aso” (Ako ang Huhusga, 1989); at “Wag mong sabihing malakas ka!

Wag mong sabihing marami kang tauhan! At wag mo ring sabihing marami kang salapi… pare-pareho lang tayo… isang bala ka lang!”

(Isang Bala Ka Lang, 1983).

mtV moVIE AwARDS In ApRIl

MTV revealed the nominees for the “2016 MTV Movie Awards,” setting the stage for the 25th anniversary of the ultimate celebration of blockbuster movies and the fans that love them. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Creed, Deadpool, Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Straight Outta Compton are contending to be the “Movie of the Year,” with Star Wars: The Force Awakens garnering 11 nominations, the most for a franchise.

Global box-office powerhouses and stars of the upcoming action comedy, Central Intelligence, Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart will host the 2016 MTV Movie Awards and to be taped at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California on April 9. For the first time, MTV will take the telecast entirely outdoors and onto the

back lot to capture the essence of movie making magic against a dramatic nighttime backdrop. The show premieres in Asia on MTV on April 10 at 8 p.m. and on MTV LIVE HD on April 12 at 1:30 a.m.

In another first for the show, MTV has partnered with Google for voting on the coveted “Movie of the Year” category, allowing fans to vote by typing keywords, “MTV Vote,” into the Google search bar. In other categories, fans can get loud and make their voices heard starting today, across mobile, tablet and desktop devices at www.MovieAwards.MTV.com, until March 21 at 10:59 a.m..

“What has always been so cool about the ‘MTV Movie Awards’ is that it’s about blockbuster movies that audiences line up to see; comedies, superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, action,” said Casey Patterson,

executive producer. “This show is about fandom and the stars come out to celebrate that.

The nominees and the content are naturally diverse and eclectic because we’re a true reflection of real movie-going audience.”

“It’s an honor to be hosting the ‘MTV Movie Awards’ with a guy who’s not only one of the funniest guys on the planet, but who’s often mistaken as my twin, Kevin Hart,” said Dwayne Johnson. “We live for our fans and promise to make this an epic, historic unforgettable night for them.”

“I love hosting - it’s my thing,” said Kevin Hart. “Dwayne and I are the perfect team for the epic 25th anniversary show.

It’s going to go down.”

“Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart define what it means to be modern movie stars,” said Executive Producer Casey Pat-

terson. “They have a direct and personal relationship with their fans, who love them for it and have made them two of the biggest entertainers in the world. They are bringing the action and comedy to the big 25th anniversary of the ‘MTV Movie Awards,’ which makes me excited and frankly a little afraid. Double trouble!”

With film revenues exceeding $5.7 billion worldwide, Dwayne Johnson has solidified himself as a global box-office powerhouse in both film and television and for the second time in three years (2013, 2015) has become the #1 International box-office star in the world.

The 2016 “MTV Movie Awards” are also introducing two new categories that celebrate authentic narratives – “True Story” and “Documentary.

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KapusO DRama sERIEs aIR In mExIcO, canaDa ISAH V. RED

V

iewers in Mexico and Canada will enjoy a premium selection of drama programs from the Kapuso Network.

This was made possible by GMA Worldwide, Inc. (GWI), a wholly owned subsidiary of GMA Network that syndicates its content for the international market.

A localized version of Munting Heredera (Little Heiress) will be produced by Mexican company Telefilm Atlantico S.A., who acquired the program’s format through GWI’s license agent in South America, Latin Media Corporation.

Considered one of the Network’s most successful dramas, Munting Heredera, which tells of a grandmother’s search for her heiress, is the first GMA scripted drama to be produced in Latin America.

Meanwhile, major Canadian broadcasting company Rogers Media Inc. acquired a package of Kapuso titles in high definition that will air on their free TV channel. These include My Destiny, Second Chances (Another Chance), and Beautiful Strangers, among others.

“GMA Worldwide continues to be the company of choice for Filipino content,” says GWI Vice President Roxanne J. Barcelona. “Our presence in various territories proves that our content is relevant and favored not just among Filipino viewers but more importantly, among foreign viewers as well. We are fortunate to have steadily grown our market in Asia and Africa, and are looking forward to closing more deals in other territories,” she adds.

Barcelona also revealed that Papua New Guinea and Turkey have expressed interest in both GMA’s canned titles and drama formats. “In territories that do not have a tradition of acquiring foreign content or in countries where foreign content forms a very small percentage of the programming grid, we offer our drama formats which they can produce with their own local artists,” she says.

“Syndicating Filipino content internationally is not easy as there is much competition.

However, the demand is steadily growing and this is why my team and I exert much effort to deliver only the best to all our clients,” Barcelona relates.

This year, GWI marks an important milestone as it celebrates its 20th year in the industry.

Through GWI, GMA’s content has become widely available in most of Southeast Asia and in select countries in Africa such as Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and Zambia. GMA’s programs are also sold in Hawaii and Canada and soon in Eastern Europe.

Beautiful Strangers’ Heart Evangelista

munting Heredera’s star Gloria Romero

Beautiful Strangers’ Lovi Poe

Second Channce’s lead star Jennylyn mercado

mona Louise Rey of munting Heredera

GWI Vice President Roxanne Barcelona

Carla Abellana and tom Rodriguez of my Destiny

Regine Velasquez-Alcasid in ‘tonight with Arnold Clavio’ Tonight with Arnold Clavio’s (TWAC) sixth anniversary celebration continues with Regine VelasquezAlcasid joining Igan Arnold Clavio for an exclusive two-part interview. The first part was aired last night, while the second part on March 23.

The Kapuso singer-actress stars in the latest primetime series Poor Señorita airing this month.

The series truly fits Regine’s personality since it is a romantic comedy. Her fans will be delighted knowing that they will once again see their idol on TV every night.

In TWAC, Regine shares with Igan the secret of her

and Ogie Alcasid’s relationship. She reveals that their marriage is full of light moments and that they rarely get into fights.

But Regine also opens up about those moments that tested their relationship. She also also talks about being a mother to her four-year-old son Nate, admitting that between her and Ogie she is actually the disciplinarian.

Watch the second part of Tonight with Arnold Clavio on March 23, 10:15 p.m. on GMA NewsTV. Follow TWAC on Twitter, @twacofficial and use #TWAC .

tWAC host Arnold Clavio in a sit-down interview with Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid