The Standard - 2016 May 23 - Monday

VOL. XXX NO. 100 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONDAY : MAY 23, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Esperon is new security adviser

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DIGONG RIPS INTO CHURCH, QUIBOLOY

Duterte slams ‘hypocrites,’ says friends not a priority

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO CITY—Presidentin-waiting Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday denounced the Catholic Church as “the most hypocritical institution” and brushed aside complaints from his longtime friend and patron, the Christian evangelist Apollo Quiboloy, that he was being shut out of discussions over who should serve in the new Cabinet.

Against hypocrites. President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte talks to reporters at another late-night briefing at a bar in Davao City on Saturday night.

JOHN PAOLO BENCITO

IT experts: Servers shipped to Laguna to rig vote

By Christine F. Herrera A GROUP of information technology experts hired by the Aquino administration revealed Sunday that at least 30 consolidated counting servers that tabulate results to generate the official Certificates of Canvass had been shipped to Sta.

Rosa, Laguna, where these were “fixed” to rig the results.

Some 2.65-million votes were generated for four contested provinces, including the vote-rich Davao del Sur and Pangasinan, which could make or break the vice presidential race, the IT experts said.

Calling themselves MM, a group of IT experts assigned to the Comelec National Technical Support Center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, said the 30 servers were shipped and airlifted to the warehouse starting at 5 p.m. of May 9, shortly after the polls closed.

“Nobody knew where we are.

It was not open to the public. So while everyone wasn’t looking, we have recorded at least 30 CCS servers from different municipalities and provinces that were shipped to us to open them... and introduce new scripts because they said these servers failed to boot,” one Next page

In a press conference here, Duterte vowed that no religious groups, campaign contributors or friends would affect his decisions in government.

“Let me be very clear, my loyalty to you as my friend... ends where the interest of the country begins,” Duterte said. “I would as much as possible make you happy if you are my friend, but I will not allow anybody to [lend] color [to] my decisions in government. From now on, it is always the interest of the people of the Republic of the Philippines that counts, period.”

The statement seemed to be aimed at Quiboloy, whose spokesman had complained that Duterte aides were keeping the pastor away from the mayor.

Quiboloy, one of Duterte’s biggest campaign donors and financiers, questioned the appointment of some individuals to the incoming Cabinet who were not even part of the campaign that supported his candidacy.

Quiboloy’s spokesman Mike Abe also accused Duterte’s top aide, Christopher Go, of blocking Quiboloy’s efforts to reach the mayor, a charge Go denied.

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Concert leaves 5 dead in Pasay City

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Ex-AFP chief Esperon new security adviser But Esperon, who was a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces, said the review doesn’t mean the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan would necessarily be scrapped as the communists have demanded.

“Why would we [scrap it]? We will review if it’s working or not. We have periodic reviews. Bayanihan was tested by a battalion in Tarlac and later on it was used by the whole brigade,” he said.

Oplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2 were implemented during Esperon’s time until he became military chief but failed to eliminate the New People’s Army. Esperon later on changed slogan from “eliminate” to bring to “inconsequential” the number of NPA fighters.

Earlier, the human rights group Karapatan has challenged Duterte to scrap the IPSP Bayanihan because it claimed the program worsened the human rights atrocities by government forces against civilians suspected to be NPA supporters.

Esperon said he believed Duterte is serious about resolving the communist insurgency.

In his campaign sorties, Duterte acknowledged his friendship with Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison.

“You’ve heard President Rody. While he is a leftist, he is not a communist. He is a so-

cialist. So he doesn’t want armed struggle….

There must be only one entity in the Philippines that can bear arms and that is the government, its Armed Forces and police and its other armed services,” Esperon said.

Esperon seemed to pick his words more carefully.

“The idea is not to decimate but to come into an agreement or a settlement where grievances can be addressed,” he said.

It was during the time of Esperon as chief of staff that the Armed Forces claimed the number of NPA fighters had been reduced to about 4,000 from the peak of 25,000 in the 1980s. The communists claim a strength of 10,000 today.

Externally, Esperon said the Duterte administration would not allow China to deny Filipino fishermen their livelihood in the disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea. “Whatever comes within the 200-mile exclusive economic zones should be protected and the benefits [are ours],” Esperon said.

Esperon was among the allies of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo who have joined the Duterte government.

1-BAP Rep. Silvestre Bello II will be taking over the Labor and Employment portfolio,and will also reprise his role as adviser for the peace process between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front.

Another former Arroyo Cabinet appointee is University of the Philippines-School of Economics professor Ernesto Pernia, who will take over his old post at the National Economic and Development Authority.

The Arroyo allies in the Duterte Cabinet now number eight, including Carlos Dominguez (Finance), Andrea Domingo (the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.), Salvador Panelo (Press), Jesus Dureza (Peace Process), and Alfonso Cusi (Energy).

Duterte himself was Arroyo’s presidential consultant on public order.

Duterte also confirmed that his campaign manager and former chief of staff— Maribojoc, Bohol Mayor Jun Evasco will be his Secretary to the Cabinet while Col. Rolando Bautista, head of the Joint Task Group Basilan will be task to head the Presidential Security Group.

In the same interview, Duterte confirmed that former Arroyo Defense chief Gilbert Teodoro and Lyceum of the Philippines Batangas and Cavite president Peter Laurel turned down his offer to head the Defense and Education departments, respectively.

Teodoro denied this, however, saying he is still contemplating the offer.

Duterte said he never offered the Budget position to outgoing Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, and said he is thinking of having Francis Tolentino return to his old post at the Metro Manila Development Authority after the one-year appointment ban for losing candidates lapses. He said he would not retain Kim Henares as Internal Revenue chief.

Duterte had earlier announced the inclusion of his San Beda classmates Salvador Medialdea as his Executive Secretary, Vitaliano Aguirre as Justice secretary, Arthur Tugade as Transportation and Communications secretary and Perfecto Yasay Jr. as Foreign Affairs chief. With Rio N. Araja

IT experts: ...

erated an official CoC,” the IT source said.

The IT source said the mock polls generated two-million votes, but the reconfiguration did not include the order to “zero out” the mock polls results.

On Wednesday when the House and Senate constitutes itself into a national board of canvassers, the senators and congressmen will find that the total figures from the transparency server “will not match with the official COCs,” the experts said.

“The only way to settle the issue of cheating is to subject these now questionable 30 CCS servers and the automated election system to an independent forensic examination before the national canvassing begins on Wednesday,” one of the sources said.

After these servers had been “fixed” in Laguna, these were shipped back to the municipalities and provinces to enable them to transmit the tabulated results and proclaim winners, they said.

The areas with “problematic” consolidated counting servers failed to proclaim winners three hours after the voting closed on May 9, the source said.

“What the Comelec and Smartmatic made us do was irregular and illegal,” the IT expert said.

“While we have signed a non-disclosure agreement, we also did not want to be accessories and party to the crime. If Congress would grant us our right against self-incrimination and make possible the waiving of our non-disclosure agreement, we are only too willing to come out in the open and disclose the truth,” the IT expert said.

They said their group was hired as contractor by the Comelec and Smartmatic to man the NTSC that was not accessible to the public while the Smartmatic hired contractors nationwide to assist when the Vote Counting Machines or VCMs and the

consolidated counting servers would face trouble.

“We were told that the Smartmatic contractors in various provinces were swamped with complaints of defective VCMs and CCS and so they all walked out because they cannot handle the job,” the IT expert said.

“However, instead of the Comelec releasing the standby units, the poll body issued an order to recall the consolidated counting servers and brought them to us in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. We had no choice but to accept them,” the IT expert said.

“The recall order was issued by Comelec lawyer Jose Tolentino,” the source said.

The sources said the crime committed by the Comelec and Smartmatic was electoral sabotage and that they did not want to be party to such a serious crime.

The source explained that under the Comelec en banc resolution, should the consolidated counting servers fail to boot, these would be immediately replaced by standby units readily available in the area.

“The standby units remained intact.

They were untouched. The Comelec and Smartmatic went out of their way to mount shipping and airlifting operations that were not only costly but also unnecessary considering the availability of standby units,” the source said.

Of the 30 consolidated counting servers that were allegedly found “defective,” 26 were from municipalities and four were from provinces.

“The consolidated counting servers is a laptop that was turned into a server. The Comelec and Smartmatic told us that the servers failed to boot so these failed to receive the transmission coming from the VCM,” the IT source said. “Who knows what else happened in between those trips for the laptops back and forth.” With Macon Ramos Araneta

By Florante S. Solmerin and John Paolo Bencito

RETIRED General Hermogenes Esperon Jr., the incoming national security adviser, said Sunday the national security cluster of the administration of President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte will review the military’s anti-insurgency program against the backdrop of renewed peace talks with the communist rebels.

From A1

of the IT experts, who requested anonymity, told The Standard in an interview Sunday.

The IT experts would not say who benefited from the rigging, but said incoming president Rodrigo Duterte was “safe” because of his big margin over the other candidates.

They added, however, that the 2.65-million votes could affect the vice presidential race, and that there would be a discrepancy between the unofficial count of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the statement of votes that make up the official tally of CoCs. “The result would be crucial for Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who ran as independent, or Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo of the ruling Liberal Party since the vice presidential race remains tight and unresolved,” one of the experts said.

To aggravate the problem, the experts said, there were municipal and provincial canvassing machines that already had votes in them.

“Right after the boot up, the machines displayed there were already votes even though there were no transmissions yet.

These were brought to us in Laguna to be reconfigured,” the IT source said.

At the restricted NTSC, the IT source said their group was able to find that the votes during the mock polls undertaken by the Comelec in March and April were carried by the consolidated counting servers.

“The mock poll results should have been erased and zeroed out. No. They were there and these were among those that were tabulated in addition to the tabulation of election returns or ERs that were posted on the statement of votes or SOVs that finally gen-

Digong...

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“It’s just a work of fiction, it’s a made-up story.

How could it be a cordon sanitaire when all communications coming from [Quiboloy’s] lawyer, attorney [Charmalou] Aldevera, are reaching [him] everyday.

They may not be talking always but they are reaching him,” Go told The Standard.

Duterte also defended his top aide from the accusations coming from Quiboloy’s camp, saying that it was never in his character to do such things.

“For the life of me, I do not allow people to control me. I do not allow people to put conditions over me. I do not allow people to compromise me,” he said.

Reacting to criticism of his choice of real estate scion and Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar as his secretary of Public Works and Highways because of possible conflicts of interest, Duterte said he would have Villar draw a map showing where his family’s real estate developments were to “avoid making a road or alley there.”

He said he wanted Villar in the post because he needs a “good organizational man there.”

Duterte also dismissed media complaints that his press secretary once lawyered for members of the Ampatuan clan accused of carrying out the Maguindanao massacre in which 58 people—including 34 journalists—were killed.

“He’s a friend of 20 years,” Duterte said, urging critics to accept his decision.

He said his appointees were “experts in their fields, or valedictorians” and were not corrupt.

“I already had these people in mind. That’s why it came easy,” Duterte said.

Duterte says despite the recent developments, he and Quiboloy remain friends.

“Of course. It’s not him but his PR man,” he said, referring to Abe. “I’ll reach out to him.”

Later in the day, Duterte lashed out at the Catholic Church for campaigning against him days before the May 9 elections, despite its “long history of wrongdoing.”

Describing his landslide win as a “public referendum” between him and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which released a pastoral letter urging Catholics not to vote for him, Duterte challenged Catholic prelates to a debate so that he can expose the alleged “sins of the church” before assuming office on June 30.

“They campaigned against me, everybody was saying ‘Do not vote for Duterte.’ Fine. I said, let this election be a referendum between me and the Catholic Church.... Look, were you able to stop me?”

“You have been castigating me or criticizing me— you want a debate before I become president? Okay!

Let all the bishops rise. I will tell you the sins of the Catholic Church beginning from the time the institution of the papacy was established,” he continued.

“I will lecture until June 29 [about] the sins of the Catholic Church, and whether or not you are still relevant. The most hypocritical institution is the Catholic Church,” Duterte said.

Eight days before Election Day, the CBCP urged voters to reject a candidate who takes positions that are “not only politically precarious but worse, morally reprehensible,” in a clear reference to Duterte, then the presidential frontrunner.

In the pastoral letter, the CBCP also dissuaded the public from voting for a candidate who has shown “scant regard” for the rights of others and the teachings of the Church.

“There is a fundamental difference between right and wrong, and not everything is fair game in politics. A choice for a candidate who takes positions that are not only politically precarious but worse, morally reprehensible, cannot and should not be made by the Catholic faithful and those who take their allegiance to Christ and his Kingship seriously,” the pastoral letter read.

The bishops added that the desire for change is understandable, but this should not push citizens to choose a leader who has no regard for morality and the rights of others.

Saying that the bishops were all hypocrites, Duterte said he could name those who sought favors from then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, including the use of luxury vehicles.

“Some Filipinos were starving and others didn’t have any medicine, but you were enjoying the money of the goddamn people of the Philippines by riding [in those luxury vehicles]. Aren’t you ashamed, you sons of bitches?” he said in Filipino. “That amounts to graft and corruption.”

He also said other bishops have taken mistresses.

“If I start to name the bishops who got married or about the women in their lives, the Catholic Church will explode. Do not think you are the moralizing agents of the society. As long as you are a human being, you are [bound] to fall down... You’re all pageantry,” Duterte said.

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Executive secretary is a mean piano player

Port call. The US guided missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG-53) docked at Pier 15 in the South Harbor in Manila for a routine port call to the Philippines. EY ACASIO

Duterte administration to push Charter change THE new administration led by incoming President Rodrigo Duterte is dead-set on a three-step push for Charter change that will “overhaul” the Constitution, a source said Sunday.

He will shift from presidential to a federal system of government and push for systemic structural reforms that will be finished in three years, said the source from the Duterte camp.

“The intention is not just to make piecemeal amendments but to virtually rewrite the fundamental law of the land. Duterte does not want a Constituent Assembly to rewrite the Constitution.”

The three-way push includes the formation of a Consultative Commission, the convening of Constitutional Convention and ratification via a plebiscite.

The source said Duterte will first constitute a Consultative Commission composed of people from various sectors, including retired jurists and academicians, to engage the public in discussions on the merits of shifting from the highly centralized unitary form of government to a nation composed of federal states or regions.

The public forums will engage the public in open discussions to forge a consensus on how the federal states will be composed.

“One concern, for instance, is the disparity in wealth among the existing 16 administrative regions,” the

source said.

He said poor regions like Eastern Visayas or Caraga might have little to generate enough revenue to be self-sustaining.

The disparities must be addressed when proposing the number of federal states or regions to comprise the union, he said.

Another contentious issue is whether a federal government should adopt a parliamentary form of government or retain the presidential system.

Another possibility is adopting a semi-parliamentary form like the French system, where a popularly elected president handles foreign policy, defense, national security and monetary affairs, leaving the day-today implementation to a prime minister appointed by the president but concurred in by parliament.

“Filipinos have been used to

electing their president, and depriving them of that right and delegating the choice of the head of state to members of Congress may not sit well with them,” the source said.

“This is the reason why the president-elect wants to first form a consultative group, so that the draft revisions may be vetted with various public sectors.”

Meanwhile, Congress will be asked to pass enabling legislation that will call for special elections to choose delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

No less than the presumptive Speaker of the House, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, has expressed full support for a shift to federalism and has been quoted as saying he would push for enabling legislation in the 17th Congress.

Christine F. Herrera

LAWYER Salvador Campos Medialdea or Bingbong, the new executive secretary, loves to sing popular classics like presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte and is a mean piano player.

An art and culture aficionado, he was one of the men behind the Manila production of the world-acclaimed musical Miss Saigon at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in October 2000, an event that presaged Manila becoming a new music capital of Southeast Asia.

Medialdea is not new in the corridors of power in Malacañang, having served under the administration of deposed President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.

During the shortened presidency of Estrada, he tried being in the public service, first to head Livelihood Corporation for a year (1998-1999) when the GOCC was still under the Office of the President.

When Livecor was transferred to the Department of Agriculture in June 1999, Medialdea stayed in Malacañang and became undersecretary in the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs, under then Presidential Adviser and Estrada Cabinet member Angelito Banayo.

He went back to legal practice after the fall of Estrada, and was the personal lawyer, among others, of then Davao City Rep. Rodrigo R. Duterte.

He now heads Medialdea, Ata, Bello, Guevarra and Associates, a law firm with offices in the Ortigas Business Center in Pasig.

Medialdea is an avid golfer and an all-around sportsman who led in his college days the Letran Economics Society basketball team.

He is married to Betty Dizon, a lawyer and president of one of the country’s largest non-life insurance companies. They have one son.

The Medialdeas have been longtime residents of Davao with roots in Aklan and Ilocos, although Salvador grew up in Davao and studied and later practiced his profession entirely in the nation’s capital.

Medialdea is the son of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Leo Medialdea, who was Chief State Prosecutor until he was tapped for the High Tribunal in 1999 by then President Corazon Aquino. Christine F. Herrera

Fort acquires new equipment FORT MAGSAYSAY—This sprawling military camp, the largest Army reservation in the country, is modernizing fast and has recently acquired a fleet of trucks and ambulances worth P98.3 million.

The camp has been identified as one of five bases where US troops and supplies could be stationed under a security deal with the US and Philippine governments.

The trucks and ambulances were blessed and turned over to the Army’s 7th Infantry Division in ceremonies here on Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Angelito De Leon, 7th Infantry Division commanding officer, said the vehicles formed part of the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

This camp was one of the five military facilities whose use was allowed by the Philippines during the 6th US-Philippines Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington in March under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

The Edca grants Washington increased military presence in its former colony, and it’s allowed to park there ships and planes for humanitarian and maritime security operations. It also allows US soldiers, warships and planes to temporarily base in Filipino military locations.

The Edca was signed by both countries in 2014, but its implementation was held up until the Supreme Court upheld its legality in January.

Also covered under Edca

are the Antonio Bautista air base in Palawan near the South China Sea, Basa air base in Pampanga, Lumbia airport in Cagayan de Oro, and the Mactan-Benito Ebuen air base in Mactan.

Fort Magsaysay has training facilities for airborne and amphibious operations, jungle survival and guerrilla warfare. US forces already use a small part of the reservation to store weapons and equipment needed for the annual Balikatan exercises with the Philippine military.

In a speech during the turnover, De Leon noted that before the AFP Modernization Program and the Army Transformation Roadmap were implemented, the Army had lagged behind in capabilities.

Ferdie G. Domingo

Slow day. A salesgirl arranges school supplies in Carriedo on Sunday. DANNY PATA

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Rights group scores DoJ

By Sandy Araneta

GLOBAL rights watchdog Human Rights Watch scored the Department of Justice for ending its investigation into the Davao Death Squad, saying it shows a disturbing failure to address extrajudicial killings across the Philippines allegedly linked to the government.

“The decision sends a chilling message that those responsible for targeted killings don’t need to fear about being punished for their egregious crimes,” HRW deputy Asia division director Phelim Kine said.

He said the decision sends a chilling message that those responsible for targeted killings do not need to fear being accountable for their crimes.

Human Rights Watch reported hundreds of people, including chil-

dren as young 14, became victims of the death squads in Davao City, Tagum City and other places in the Philippines from 2009 to 2014.

Human Rights Watch uncovered compelling evidence that officials and police were directly involved in those crimes.

“The government has obligations under Philippine and international law to bring to justice those responsible for the Davao Death Squad, the Tagum Death Squad, and similar criminal operations. They have

no place in a rights-respecting democratic society,” said Kine.

The government should immediately reopen its investigation into the Davao Death Squad and redouble its efforts to bring the killers to justice, Kine said.

“Law enforcement officials have a duty to uphold the law and they should demonstrate their determination to do so,” Kine also said.

Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas said there was not enough evidence to prove the existence of the so-called Davao Death Squad since the lone witness who had linked President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to the DDS was no longer with the government’s Witness Protection Program.

Caparas had earlier explained the DoJ could do little to prevent the

witness from leaving the WPP because the entire program is voluntary in nature.

“The affidavit is there, but no more witness. There’s really nothing there anymore,” he said, adding it was pointless to continue the investigation since there are no other documents in the possession of the DoJ. The witness, a supposed hitman of the Dds, emerged before the campaign for the May 9 national elections.

Meanwhile, Caparas said he would leave to the incoming DoJ secretary a functional DoJ, which is full of challenges, such as to supervise the DoJ more efficiently as well as its attached agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration and Bureau of Corrections.

Cooling down. Children cool down in the sea breeze as they comb the beach of Poro Point in La Union for recyclable materials thrown by bathers. DAVID CHAN

Oil prices set to rise this week

By Alena Mae S. Flores MOTORISTS will have to brace for an increase in oil prices by more than P1 per liter this week which oil firms claim reflects the uncertainties in the Middle East.

The Energy Department estimates the increase at between P0.90 to P1.20 per liter for both diesel and gasoline.

Energy director Melita Obillo told reporters that oil prices are likely to go up this week due to “better overall demand, disruption of supply from Nigeria, production outages in Canada due to the wildfires and political crisis in Venezuela.”

The International Energy Agency previously reported that the global oil market surplus will shrink later this year.

IEA, according to the Energy Department’s monitoring report, sees the oil market moving further toward balance, predicting a greater drop off in non-Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries supply and global demand growth remaining solid in 2016, noting the ramp up in Iran exports in April.

Non-Opec supply is estimated to decline this year to 800,000 barrels per day from 700,000 barrels per day.

The department said supply disruptions in Opec members Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela, meanwhile, have collectively knocked out 450,000 barrels per day of output.

IEA projects that oversupply will be at 1.3-million barrels per day through the first half of this year (down from last month’s projection of 1.5 -million barrels per day), as demand has been stronger than expected from China, India and Russia.

Palace defends K-to-12 program

By Sandy Araneta A PALACE official on Sunday has assured that the implementation of the senior high school program will be subsidized by the government.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said he was informed by Education Secretary Armin Luisto that the government subsidy is through the voucher system.

“The senior high school program, which will be offered this year, will include a government subsidy through the voucher system.

Around 90 percent of all grade 11 enrollees in private schools, SUCs and LUCs will be voucher beneficiaries,” Coloma said.

“Of course, those that will enroll in the SH program in public schools will not need to pay any fees,” said Coloma quoting the Education secretary during a radio interview over Radyo ng Bayan.

He said the objections of parents to the program was mainly because they did not have information or misunderstood the policy.

“Such concerns may have arisen from lack of information on and understanding

of the policies and processes put in place by government to ensure a smooth transition into and full implementation of the K to 12 program, particularly on the inception of a senior high school program that will add two years, grades 11 and 12 to the free universal basic education program as mandated by the Constitution,” explained Coloma.

Coloma said the Department of Education has allocated a budget of around P12 billion to ensure that all Grade 10 graduates would be able to enter the senior high school program.

Baclaran fiesta. Youngsters compete in a parlor game during the annual celebration of the feast of Saint Rita de Cascia at the Baclaran Church in Parañaque City. EY ACASIO

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Price rise. A salesgirl arranges notebooks and other school supplies in Quiapo district of Manila where prices of some items have increased as the school opening nears.

DANNY PATA

LP-UNA teamup for minority looms

By Christine Herrera

THE once powerful and ruling Liberal Party has been relegated to the minority and may end up joining forces with opposition United Nationalist Alliance of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

After two major party meetings in as many weeks, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. announced that the Liberals were no longer keen on the speakership or the minority leadership.

Remnants of the Liberals are aligning themselves with the majority and the minority but will not take the lead role on either side.

Of the more than 100 Liberals winning the House seats, Belmonte was left with only 20 LP members supporting his speakership bid with more than 80 members jumping

ship to back Pantaleon Alvarez.

Belmonte himself said he would not even try to contest the minority leadership.

UNA president Toby Tiangco or Quezon Rep.-elect Danny Suarez would slug it out for the minority leadership but has yet to muster enough numbers to bag the minority leadership.

UNA only has 17 members, not enough to beat Belmonte’s numbers.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said should the LP-Belmonte wing choose to align with the

minority, UNA would get the minority leadership because Belmonte will opt for the back seat.

“The Speaker already called “Bebot “Alvarez the incoming Speaker. The speakership issue is really fast to resolve particularly if there is already a presumptive Speaker. The one who’s got the blessing from the incoming president. Minandohan na, binasbasan na ng Presidente,” Gonzales said over radio dzBB. Gonzales said just like in the case of Belmonte, when he was presumed to be the anointed of

President Benigno Aquino III as speaker, the consolidation of forces was fast.

“In fact, even before the term of Speaker Belmonte as mayor of Quezon City ended, everything had been set into motion,” Gonzales said.

“As far as I can recall, the day after the elections, the Speaker and I were together.

After a few days, I was already talking to the National Unity Party, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Nacionalista Party and how to distribute the proportional representations of the committee chairmanships,” Gonzales told dzBB. Gonzales said Belmonte gave the LP members freedom where to align—to majority or minority without necessarily leaving the party.

Justice airs misgiving about draft UN statement

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice has some reservations about several provisions in the proposed United Nations declaration creating the right to international solidarity, saying that it “imposes negative obligations” on signatories.

In a three-page legal opinion, Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas cited Articles 6, 7 and 12 of the Draft Declaration on the Right of Peoples and Individuals to International Solidarity.

The Justice department cited for instance Articles 7 and 12 of the draft that requires signatory-nations not to

adopt free trade agreements or investment treaties.

Such negative obligation “has been subjected to several complaints and accountabilities under different UN mechanisms despite efforts on the part of the government,” the DoJ opinion said.

“In this regard, it is suggested that the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] conduct further consultations with relevant government agencies involved in the formulation and implementation of policies involving sustainable development, social development, poverty alleviation, food sustainability, public health, international cooperation,

trade, finance, environmental protection, natural disaster prevention, and climate justice,” the DoJ added.

“In the negative obligation for States not to adopt free trade agreements or investment treaties that would undermine peoples’ livelihoods or other rights, the DFA may wish to also seek the view of the Department of Trade and Industry—Bureau of International Trade and Relations and the Board of Investments, the country’s lead negotiators of bilateral and regional free trade agreements and bilateral and regional investment treaties, respectivey,” it observed.

Draft BBL shelved; federalism catches on

By Sandy Araneta PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III does not have any more bills to certify as urgent before he steps down on June 30, Malacañang said on Sunday.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that most of the significant measures are already lined up for third reading.

“We may not have the time to finish floor deliberations on those that will be brought to the floor for the first time,” Coloma said, quoting a statement from Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Undersecretary Bernardito Sayo.

Among those the Aquino administration is pushing for is the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The incoming 17th Congress will not tackle the controversial BBL, which outgoing lawmakers have tried but failed to pass, Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez said.

Alvarez, who is the top choice for the position of House Speaker under the incoming President Rodrigo Duterte, said the BBL would be subsumed by the planned shift to the federal form of government that the Duterte administration would prioritize.

Alvarez said the BBL would give way to federalism “because they are the same concept.”

“While waiting for federalism, the Duterte administration can fully implement the Tripoli Agreement,” he said.

The Tripoli accord led to the establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

A6

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

QC bids to keep ‘richest’ tag

By Rio N. Araja

Congested jail up for relocation THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology has welcomed the approval of an ordinance authorizing Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista to enter into a usufruct agreement that would give way to the transfer of the overcrowded Quezon City jail in Kamuning.

Chief Supt. Michael Vidamo, chief of the BJMPNational Capital Region, said the 32-member Quezon City council has given Bautista the green light to develop a 2.4-hectare property in Barangay Payatas in favor of the BJMP. Despite the approval, the construction of a new jail has yet to materialize, he said.

“There is still no actual turnover of the property,” he told The Standard.

A usufruct agreement was sent to the BJMP, but jail officials wanted it revised, he said.

“It was sent back to the city,” he added. “There were several provisions that needed amendment.”

Much as the jail officials would want to build a news facility to decongest the Quezon City jail, the bureau does not have the funds to do so, he said.

“The construction originally costs P200 million, but because of some delays, the cost could go up to P300 million nowadays,” Vidamo said.

The budget adjustment would be reverted to the Metro Manila Development’s Regional Development Council for the approval of the Department of Budget and Management.

The transfer of the Quezon City jail situated on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Barangay Kamuning has long been planned since 2008.

According to Vidamo, the existing jail facility is too congested, and that there is an urgent need to build a new one.

An isolated portion of Payatas is an ideal site to put up a new jail in terms of location and land area, the city government said.

There are at least 3,700 inmates at the city jail, he said.

“Of the number, 590 of them are female detainees confined at Camp Karingal,” he added.

The facility has a capacity of 600 detainees only.

The Quezon City jail has a floor area of 563 square meters with a cell area of 129 square meters.

Rio N. Araja

THE Quezon City government expects to achieve a 2016 revenue collection target of P16.1 billion, boosted by taxes from large malls, TV networks and factories, according to an official.

Landmark. File photo shows President Benigno S. Aquino III leading the flag-raising ceremony at the Quezon Memorial Shrine on Elliptical Road in Quezon City. MALAcAñANg Photo BuReAu

In an interview, Basilia Pacis, acting city treasurer, said the city eyes another P1billion surplus in December not only to be able to maintain and sustain its status as the country’s richest city, but also to be able to provide better services to the residents.

“We have the biggest establishments and corporations that pay huge taxes all throughout these years,” Pacis told The Standard.

“Giant television networks, the SM Prime Holdings and large malls are located here, and they pay taxes religiously,” she said.

Pacis said doing business in Quezon City is now easy since the city government has already addressed red tape “a long time ago.”

With the availability of an online payment option for taxpayers of real estate and business taxes, the city government has projected a P16.1-billion tax target, Pacis said.

“Just last April, Mayor Herbert Bautista and the Land Bank of the Philippines opened an online payment. Taxpayers may now pay their taxes anytime, anywhere,” she noted.

The city government ended 2015 with a P15.66-billion revenue collection, which was P1.159 billion more than its target.

At least P7.56 billion came from business tax payments, which grew by P902.54 million or 13.56 percent from its level in 2014, while P3.75 billion were collected from real property taxes, indicating a growth rate of 7.6 percent from that of the previous year.

Pacis replaced former city treasurer Edgar Villanueva when the Office of the Ombudsman ordered his dismissal from government service and perpetual disqualification over the imposition and assessment of real property taxes against the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation Inc. in 2011.

According to Pacis, the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government enforced the Ombudsman’s order on March 4.

5 dead in Closeup concert

Chief Supt. Michael Vidamo Sr., BJMP-NCR head. Rio ARAjA

FIVE people, including an American citizen, died after they lost consciousness while attending a jampacked concert Saturday night at an open parking area in Pasay City.

Police identified the fatalities as Eric Anthony Miller, 33, an American; Ariel Leal, 22, of Taft Ave., Manila; Lance Garcia, 36, of Valle Verde, Pasig City; Bianca Fontejon, 18, and Ken Migawa, 18, both residing in Antipolo City, Rizal.

Police Officer 3 Rolando Bantanga of the Pasay City Police Station, investigator on case, said that the victims were among the estimated 14,000 who watched the “Closeup Forever Summer Concert” that began at 3 p.m. Saturday and ended at 3 a.m. Sunday.

Bantanga said that at the height of the concert, the five victims were rushed to two hospitals after they were found unconscious.

He said that Leal, Garcia and Migawa were brought to the San Juan De Dios. Leal and Garcia died before they reached the hospital, while Migawa, who was initially reported in critical condition, eventually died also.

Miller and Fontejon were brought to the

Manila Doctors Hospital where they died, police said.

Bantanga said the American Embassy was informed of Miller’s death.

Cause of the deaths is still undetermined and the case is under investigation, National Capital Region Police Office spokesperson Chief Insp. Kimberly Molitas said. Police noted that during the event, concert goers were allowed to buy and drink liquor from different concessionaires in the area.

In a statement, CloseUp expressed its condolences to the families of the persons who died while attending the concert.

“Closeup and its organizing agency, Activations Advertising, and staging agency, Eventscape, are deeply saddened by the events that transpired in the early hours of May 22, 2016.

“We regret that, despite the very stringent measures and precautions we have put in place to ensure the safety and security of all attendees involved, this incident still transpired. As such, strict protocols were followed to immediately provide medical assistance as well as rush all those involved to the nearest hospital where they can receive emergency care,” the statement read. PNA

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Group commits to help poorest PH region

By Ronald O. Reyes

Finding a home. A habitat of wild monkeys in Barangay San Vicente, Hindang, Leyte has become a tourist destination. MEL CASPE

Ex-UN peacekeeper in Haiti now battalion commander

By Ferdie G. Domingo CAMP BITONG, Aurora—A former member of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti has been named the new commander of the 56th Infantry (Tatag) Battalion based in this town.

Army Lt. Col. Louie DS Villanueva, previously the battalion commander of the 84th Infantry (Victorious) Battalion, replaced Lt. Col. Joey A. Escanillas during the change

of command ceremonies at the 56th IB’s general headquarters in Barangay Calabuanan in Baler Friday presided by 7th Infantry Division (7th ID) commander, Maj. Gen. Angelito de Leon.

During the turnover rites, Villanueva vowed to continue the Army Transformation Roadmap (ATR) implemented in the 56th IB’s jurisdiction by Escanillas who was reassigned as chief of staff at the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro City.

Under Escanillas’ stewardship, the 56th IB—with its best practices and novel concepts— emerged as best battalion for 2015 among the nine infantry battalions of the 7th ID based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, the

country’s largest military camp.

Villanueva, who was 84th IB chief since last August, was a member of the elite UN peacekeeping force in Haiti from November 2011 to October 2012.

He started his military career in 1994 and was assigned in Eastern Samar until 2001. From 2001 to 2004, Villanueva was at the Army’s general headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

He was then transferred to Davao City from 2004 to 2008 and returned to Fort Bonifacio where he stayed up to 2010.

TACLOBAN CITY—Tingog Sinirangan may have failed to get a seat at the House of Representatives in this year’s party-list elections but its officials said they would continue to champion the development of the country’s poorest region, Eastern Visayas, and speak for its people in whatever capacity they can.

“We had hoped for the opportunity to serve our region through the party-list system and lead our people towards a stronger vision of regional development. But while we may have lost this election—we gained much more than we expected—a better understanding of our region and its people, a closer appreciation of the challenges that beset us and a more determined will to do whatever we can to bring change, hope and progress to this region we call home,” said Jude Acidre, Tingog’s first nominee.

“We will never give up and we will continue to fight for you and with you,” he said, referring to the people of Region VIII. Acidre also expressed his gratitude to outgoing Leyte 1st district Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, for his support to the organization.

He apologized for offending others in the course of a heated campaign.

Tingog’s other nominees are young entrepreneur and sports advocate Daciano David Palami, lawyer and humanitarian worker Sharilee Angela GaspayMauro, pharmacist and cultural worker Alexis Yu, and women’s advocate Lydia Fustanes.

Bill to develop Nueva Vizcaya cave system nears passage

By Maricel V. Cruz A HOUSE proposal to develop and conserve the country’s fifth largest cave system, the Capisaan Cave System in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, is about to get Senate plenary approval.

The floor approval of House Bill 4127, principally authored by House deputy speaker and Nueva Vizcaya Lone District Rep. Carlos Padilla, had been endorsed by the Senate committees on environment and natural resources chaired by Senator Francis Escudero, committee on tourism chaired by Senator Manuel Lapid, and committee on finance chaired by Senator Loren Legarda.

The three committees endorsed the plenary passage of the bill, with amendments, in their joint committee report dated Jan. 26, 2016. Escudero subsequently sponsored the measure on the floor on Jan. 27, 2016.

Padilla said the bill aims to improve local tourism in Nueva Vizcaya by highlighting

one of its wonders that is the Capisaan Cave.

“Immediate approval of the bill is sought in view of the State policy to enhance tourism in aid of economic development,” said Padilla.

“The proposal mandates the preparation of a comprehensive development plan by the Department of Tourism to include the construction, rehabilitation and installation of appropriate facilities to manage the Capisaan Cave System while ensuring the conservation and protection of its immediate environment,” said Padilla.

Padilla said Capisaan Cave, considered the fifth-largest cave system in the country, is located some 700 to 900 meters above sea level. It is one of the attractions in Nueva Vizcaya and is located in Barangay Capisaan, Municipality of Kasibu.

Also known as the Lion-Alayan Cave, the Capisaan Cave System has two main entry and exit points, which are the Lion and Alayan Caves.

Plantation. Rice is planted on a field in Poblacion Batuan, Bohol, one of the areas hard hit

by El Niño. OMAR MANGORSI

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDitor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

true enough: Some politicianS are imperviouS to fact-checking

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Duterte anD the bishops

By Leonid Bershidsky

PRESIDENT-IN-WAITING Rodrigo Duterte minced no words Sunday when he called the Catholic Church the most hypocritical institution and questioned its relevance to Philippine society at a press conference Sunday.

The long-time mayor of Davao City was clearly smarting from a pastoral letter read during mass all over the country before the May 9 elections urging millions of Catholics not to vote for him.

“They campaigned against me, everybody was saying ‘Do not vote for Duterte.’ Fine. I said, let this election be a referendum between me and the Catholic Church... Look, were you able to stop me?” asked Duterte, who enjoyed a 6.2-million vote lead over his closest rival in the unofficial count, despite the last-ditch Church campaign.

Duterte then tore into the Church for what he called a long history of sins, including bishops who took mistresses, or pressured the government during the Arroyo administration into giving bishops luxury vehicles that they enjoyed, while many poor Filipinos went hungry and had no medicine.

“Aren’t you ashamed, you sons of bitches?” he said, addressing the bishops directly in Filipino.

“You asked for that during the time of Arroyo. That is graft and corruption, don’t you know that?”

Duterte also reminded the bishops of the separation of church and state, and promised to lecture them on the sins of the Catholic Church until June 29, one day before he becomes president and must speak more circumspectly.

The mayor’s outburst can be viewed from several perspectives.

On the one hand, it suggests there will be change, indeed, as Duterte promised during his campaign. Where previous presidents have genuflected to the Church and sought its blessings, the incoming 16th president is clearly averse to doing the same.

This has serious implications on how state affairs are conducted in a country where a law that establishes a rational program of reproductive health and population management was held hostage for more than a decade simply because the Catholic Church opposed birth control.

Duterte and the Church are also likely to be on a head-on collision over the death penalty, which he wants reinstated.

It was tempting at times, particularly during the campaign, to dismiss Duterte’s bombastic statements as sound bytes aimed at provoking conflict and drawing public attention to the mayor.

At least one of his remarks on Sunday, however, seemed right on target. If the last election were a referendum between Duterte and the bishops, there is no doubt which side won.

Perhaps things may yet settle down, once Duterte assumes the mantle of the presidency.

But if change comes in the form of a truly secular state in which no religion, no matter how powerful or influential, can intrude on state affairs—that is change we can live with.

Still no to the death penalty pensées fr. ranhilio callangan aquino First, a legal reason. in 2007, after a long period of hesitation, we acceded to the second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil Political rights. This agreement binds state-parties to abolish the death penalty.

The Philippines therefore has a treaty-obligation to abolish this form of barbarism. We can, of course, denounce the

treaty but that certainly would mark us out as retrogressive in the very important matter of human rights.

The most egregious crimes are those over which the international Criminal Court has jurisdiction—genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war. significantly, however, for none of these is the death penalty imposed. Even before the treaty of rome, the statutes of the ad hoc criminal tribunals—the international Criminal tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and

the international Criminal tribunal for rwanda—defined and punished among the most atrocious acts recorded in history, but for none of them could the death penalty be imposed. Definitely, the persuasion among penal theorists and in progressive legal systems is towards abandoning the death penalty.

The agitation, emanating of course from the presumptive president, to re-start the killing machine is the wrathful, perhaps panicky, reaction to different forms of criminality that stubbornly evade law-

A9

What is cruel does not become any more benign just because it is ordained by the law.

enforcement and, like some protuberant malignancy, know no remission! But this is precisely the reason for distancing ourselves from this dangerous inclination.

an essential dimension of criminal justice is establishing a distance between the atrocity of the criminal act and the infliction of penalty— because retaliation is the

antithesis of justice! at all times it is the vindication of humanity that is the issue: the humanity of the victim, as well as that of the offender. The dehumanization of the offender does not improve the lot of the victim. it is silly, ludicrous even to think that by worsening the lot of the offender, murdering him even, we better the position of the victim, unless of course, we grant that it is ultimately revenge that we are after. in this case, it would be more candid on our part to set aside all talk of justice.

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

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

The point is to disrupt the cycle of violence—not to perpetuate it by stylizing it through state-sponsored execution!

The Constitution forbids “cruel and unusual punishment” and past jurisprudence that exempted the execution of the death penalty from the characterization of “cruel” punishment was thoroughly silly and hypocritical. What is cruel does not become any more benign just because it is ordained by the law. and there can be nothing more cruel

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

than making a doomed man await his execution, dreading the passing of each minute—an experience we all vicariously shared as Mary Jane Veloso awaited the dreaded moment when a volley of shots was to bring an end to life, visiting the agony of impending death not only on her but on the members of her family. There is everything cruel about stigmatizing and branding her children for life as children of an executed man—even if they may have had no part in the Continued on A10

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

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

PErhaPs the most frustrating question about Donald trump’s political success is why people keep voting for him even though his statements often don’t withstand the most basic fact-checking. and it’s not just trump: The austrian presidential candidate Norbert hofer appears to be successful in convincing voters that he’s a moderate, conciliatory candidate though the press has written extensively about his history of extreme nationalist statements and leanings.

Why are people so unwilling to accept factual rebuttals? is it that, as Farhad Manjoo wrote in “true Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact society,” “the creeping partisanship has begun to distort our very perceptions about what is ‘real’ and what isn’t”?

Writing in The Washington Post, anne applebaum blamed the social media for making it “easier for politicians, partisans, computerized ‘bots’ and foreign governments to manipulate news.” Fact-checking websites, such as Politifact.com in the Us or stopfake.org in Ukraine, applebaum wrote, are “one of the best solutions,” but “they work only for people who want them to work, and that number may be shrinking.” she can say that again; Politifact. com has at times gotten less trafficthan trump’s rather uninformative campaign site. Even in supposedly anti-russian Ukraine, stopfake.org, which sets out to debunk russian propaganda, is far behind the Ukrainian arm of the Kremlin’s “news agency,” ria Novosti. i doubt, however, that the relative lack of interest in the fact-checking sites—and, by inference, in having facts checked—has anything to do with the social networks turning into prime content suppliers.

The internet does provide opportunities for manipulation. The recent dispute opposing Facebook and Us conservatives may or may not be proof of that, depending on which side one believes, but those of us with roots or an interest in totalitarian societies know this for a fact. russia has “troll factories” where people are paid to produce posts and comments praising President Vladimir Putin and assailing his adversaries. China has what a paper published Thursday by Gary King, Jennifer Pan and Margaret roberts 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

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDitor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

true enough: Some politicianS are imperviouS to fact-checking

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Duterte anD the bishops

By Leonid Bershidsky

PRESIDENT-IN-WAITING Rodrigo Duterte minced no words Sunday when he called the Catholic Church the most hypocritical institution and questioned its relevance to Philippine society at a press conference Sunday.

The long-time mayor of Davao City was clearly smarting from a pastoral letter read during mass all over the country before the May 9 elections urging millions of Catholics not to vote for him.

“They campaigned against me, everybody was saying ‘Do not vote for Duterte.’ Fine. I said, let this election be a referendum between me and the Catholic Church... Look, were you able to stop me?” asked Duterte, who enjoyed a 6.2-million vote lead over his closest rival in the unofficial count, despite the last-ditch Church campaign.

Duterte then tore into the Church for what he called a long history of sins, including bishops who took mistresses, or pressured the government during the Arroyo administration into giving bishops luxury vehicles that they enjoyed, while many poor Filipinos went hungry and had no medicine.

“Aren’t you ashamed, you sons of bitches?” he said, addressing the bishops directly in Filipino.

“You asked for that during the time of Arroyo. That is graft and corruption, don’t you know that?”

Duterte also reminded the bishops of the separation of church and state, and promised to lecture them on the sins of the Catholic Church until June 29, one day before he becomes president and must speak more circumspectly.

The mayor’s outburst can be viewed from several perspectives.

On the one hand, it suggests there will be change, indeed, as Duterte promised during his campaign. Where previous presidents have genuflected to the Church and sought its blessings, the incoming 16th president is clearly averse to doing the same.

This has serious implications on how state affairs are conducted in a country where a law that establishes a rational program of reproductive health and population management was held hostage for more than a decade simply because the Catholic Church opposed birth control.

Duterte and the Church are also likely to be on a head-on collision over the death penalty, which he wants reinstated.

It was tempting at times, particularly during the campaign, to dismiss Duterte’s bombastic statements as sound bytes aimed at provoking conflict and drawing public attention to the mayor.

At least one of his remarks on Sunday, however, seemed right on target. If the last election were a referendum between Duterte and the bishops, there is no doubt which side won.

Perhaps things may yet settle down, once Duterte assumes the mantle of the presidency.

But if change comes in the form of a truly secular state in which no religion, no matter how powerful or influential, can intrude on state affairs—that is change we can live with.

Still no to the death penalty pensées fr. ranhilio callangan aquino First, a legal reason. in 2007, after a long period of hesitation, we acceded to the second Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Civil Political rights. This agreement binds state-parties to abolish the death penalty.

The Philippines therefore has a treaty-obligation to abolish this form of barbarism. We can, of course, denounce the

treaty but that certainly would mark us out as retrogressive in the very important matter of human rights.

The most egregious crimes are those over which the international Criminal Court has jurisdiction—genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the laws and customs of war. significantly, however, for none of these is the death penalty imposed. Even before the treaty of rome, the statutes of the ad hoc criminal tribunals—the international Criminal tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and

the international Criminal tribunal for rwanda—defined and punished among the most atrocious acts recorded in history, but for none of them could the death penalty be imposed. Definitely, the persuasion among penal theorists and in progressive legal systems is towards abandoning the death penalty.

The agitation, emanating of course from the presumptive president, to re-start the killing machine is the wrathful, perhaps panicky, reaction to different forms of criminality that stubbornly evade law-

A9

What is cruel does not become any more benign just because it is ordained by the law.

enforcement and, like some protuberant malignancy, know no remission! But this is precisely the reason for distancing ourselves from this dangerous inclination.

an essential dimension of criminal justice is establishing a distance between the atrocity of the criminal act and the infliction of penalty— because retaliation is the

antithesis of justice! at all times it is the vindication of humanity that is the issue: the humanity of the victim, as well as that of the offender. The dehumanization of the offender does not improve the lot of the victim. it is silly, ludicrous even to think that by worsening the lot of the offender, murdering him even, we better the position of the victim, unless of course, we grant that it is ultimately revenge that we are after. in this case, it would be more candid on our part to set aside all talk of justice.

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

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

The point is to disrupt the cycle of violence—not to perpetuate it by stylizing it through state-sponsored execution!

The Constitution forbids “cruel and unusual punishment” and past jurisprudence that exempted the execution of the death penalty from the characterization of “cruel” punishment was thoroughly silly and hypocritical. What is cruel does not become any more benign just because it is ordained by the law. and there can be nothing more cruel

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

than making a doomed man await his execution, dreading the passing of each minute—an experience we all vicariously shared as Mary Jane Veloso awaited the dreaded moment when a volley of shots was to bring an end to life, visiting the agony of impending death not only on her but on the members of her family. There is everything cruel about stigmatizing and branding her children for life as children of an executed man—even if they may have had no part in the Continued on A10

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

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

PErhaPs the most frustrating question about Donald trump’s political success is why people keep voting for him even though his statements often don’t withstand the most basic fact-checking. and it’s not just trump: The austrian presidential candidate Norbert hofer appears to be successful in convincing voters that he’s a moderate, conciliatory candidate though the press has written extensively about his history of extreme nationalist statements and leanings.

Why are people so unwilling to accept factual rebuttals? is it that, as Farhad Manjoo wrote in “true Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact society,” “the creeping partisanship has begun to distort our very perceptions about what is ‘real’ and what isn’t”?

Writing in The Washington Post, anne applebaum blamed the social media for making it “easier for politicians, partisans, computerized ‘bots’ and foreign governments to manipulate news.” Fact-checking websites, such as Politifact.com in the Us or stopfake.org in Ukraine, applebaum wrote, are “one of the best solutions,” but “they work only for people who want them to work, and that number may be shrinking.” she can say that again; Politifact. com has at times gotten less trafficthan trump’s rather uninformative campaign site. Even in supposedly anti-russian Ukraine, stopfake.org, which sets out to debunk russian propaganda, is far behind the Ukrainian arm of the Kremlin’s “news agency,” ria Novosti. i doubt, however, that the relative lack of interest in the fact-checking sites—and, by inference, in having facts checked—has anything to do with the social networks turning into prime content suppliers.

The internet does provide opportunities for manipulation. The recent dispute opposing Facebook and Us conservatives may or may not be proof of that, depending on which side one believes, but those of us with roots or an interest in totalitarian societies know this for a fact. russia has “troll factories” where people are paid to produce posts and comments praising President Vladimir Putin and assailing his adversaries. China has what a paper published Thursday by Gary King, Jennifer Pan and Margaret roberts 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

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

A10 true... From A9 calls the “50 cent party”— an army that produces an estimated 488 million progovernment social media comments a year. These people—mostly government employees, according to the researchers—don’t get into political arguments: All they do is act as cheerleaders for the Communist Party and its causes to distract ordinary citizens from using the networks to organize protests. It’s a different concept of manipulation than the Russian one, but it distorts the picture, anyway.

Theoretically, a well-funded political campaign could do the same, “seeding” posts and comments to sway public opinion or bully opponents.

Yet I doubt that journalist Julia Ioffe, whose profile of Melania Trump profile brought upon her a flood of anti-Semitic messages was targeted by an organized campaign.

Moreover, I think the Russian still no... From A9 commission of the offense.

As for the well-worn argument from its supposedly deterrent effect, two things only need be said.

No matter that something may be a deterrent, if it is objectionable and abhorrent, whatever its value may be as a deterrent will not negate the objections to it. Towing boatloads of migrants back to the high seas there to face the cruelty of the elements if not certain death is undoubtedly a deterrent to attempts at illegal migrations, but it is certainly immoral, reprehensible and even criminal to do so! More importantly, the aggressive campaign against smoking should easily show the fallacy of the argument from deterrence. Every possible device has been employed to deter smokers from

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

and Chinese governments are wasting their time by trolling and cheerleading.

People have always had strong confirmation biases without having to be manipulated: Once you develop a belief, you start looking for information that supports it. The trolls end up preaching to the converted.

Francis Bacon wrote in 1620: “The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion (either as being the received opinion or as being agreeable to itself) draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some distinction sets aside and rejects; in order that by this great and pernicious predetermination the authority of its former conclusions may remain inviolate.”

It still works that way: On the Internet, people seek out— and spend more time on— “attitude-consistent” rather than “attitude-discrepant” messages. And the kind of deliberate manipulation that occurs on the social networks doesn’t form the attitudes—it just feeds biases. A political candidate—say, Trump or Hofer—can impress a voter by a single turn of phrase, a factoid from his biography, a gesture, and then negative information about that candidate will only be received reluctantly or rejected.

I suspect I have my own confirmation biases. When North African and Middle Eastern migrants attacked women at the central station in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, I felt an urge to filter out some of the nastier facts. It took some willpower to absorb them.

My biases certainly predate Facebook. The social networks merely have made journalists

aware of the workings of these confirmation biases, when before Facebook and Twitter, they largely flew blind, not knowing how the audience perceived their reports. Only a very few readers took the trouble to write to newspapers or even comment on news sites. Then everything was suddenly out in the open: A writer could easily get feedback from readers, argue with them, get trolled and abused by them.

I have often been shocked by how many people read things into my columns that I never intended, or never read beyond the headline, or place me squarely into a certain political camp that in fact wouldn’t be happy to have me. I’ve been called a liberal (add your favorite expletive)

by US conservatives, a Wall Street flunky by socialists, a Putin supporter by Ukrainian patriots and a traitor by Putinists. Many in my trade can attest to similar

experiences. The effect is to create the impression that the world has changed, become more polarized, perhaps even dumber. That impression is probably false: It’s as if we have put on glasses after years of myopia, and we see in great detail what has always been there.

There’s no point worrying about this too much: I know which of my columns will draw hate mail and angry comments from a particular camp, but I’m secure in the knowledge that I’m not addressing any of these camps.

Open-minded people, those with an interest in gathering facts and making a decision, always are a minority. As often as not, they show up in polls as undecided. The finer-tuned messages that media send out, the ones that are not meant to feed pre-existing biases, can only be useful to them. It’s a relatively small audience, but it’s an appreciative one.

Bloomberg

indulging in their vice: dire But when law-enforcement that most of them honestly have in the present! warnings about the health is thorough, prosecution is do their jobs. But there is We are worn out from risks, posters with the most relentless and judgments no fool-proof technique for rampant criminality. We revulsive pictures of diseased go solely by the evidence distinguishing between truth are a nation beleaguered by lungs, very convincing adduced, the efficiency and and prevarication, no infallible remorseless drug peddlers, statistics on the incidence reliability of the system will test of a truthful witness. And war lords, plundered and of deaths among smokers. be a disincentive to crime, many a judge will admit that extortionists. But it will not Smokers are threatened with in just the same way that the most of the time (if not all the serve our goal of national death most painful. None thoroughness of a professor time), a guilty verdict is more a renewal to seek umbrage of this has really deterred and the mercilessness of statement about how the judge from the false and deceptive smokers who continue graded recitation provide the appreciates the evidence than security of the law of the talion happily puffing away, and most effective disincentive to any claim about what may or to think that our national breathing on innocent others intellectual sloth! or may not have happened! salvation comes from the their lethal fumes. No, the Finally, there is the Once more, this is not because macabre shadows of a death argument from deterrence imperfection of our judicial of any ill will on the part of chamber! has never really convinced system. I do not refer principally judges. It has to do more with me. The certainty of being to the susceptibility of some the crucial epistemological rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph dealt with by the criminal of our prosecutors and judges issue of drawing conclusions rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph justice system—arrest, to corruption. I am confident about the past from what you rannie_aquino@yahoo.com prosecution, trial and conviction—is what gives the criminal pause, not the out of the plumbline baCK severity of the penalty. It box Channel is because the moneyed are pastor rita linda convinced that they can apollo alejandro v. jimeno bribe their way through quiboloy del rosario the police, prosecutorial Pastor Quiboloy’s column will Atty. Jimeno’s column will Ambassador Del Rosario’s column and justice systems that resume soon. resume soon. will resume soon. impunity is unabated.

#failocracy

chong ardivilla

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Gaza Spiderboy eyes Guinness world record

Palestinian teenager Mohammed al-Sheikh, 12, shows his skills in Gaza city. Mohammed al-Sheikh feels trapped in Gaza but he dreams of a Guinness world record for a series of stunning backflips and his almost unbelievable body contortions. Mohammed, just 1.37 metres (four foot, six inches) tall and weighing 29 kilograms (64 pounds), can bend his body in seemingly impossible ways, throwing his feet over his shoulders with reckless abandon or jumping into a spider-like pose. AFP

Mexican aching to destroy Nietes

By Ronnie Nathanielsz MEXICAN challenger Raul “Rayito” Garcia, who arrives on Monday night for his light flyweight title fight against the longest-reigning Filipino world champion Donnie Nietes at the St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City on May 28, hopes to end the reign of terror by “Mexican Destroyer.”

Nietes’ record against Mexican opponents is 14-0.

He had a majority draw against Moises Fuentes on March 2, 2013, which Nietes avenged with a rousing ninth-round knockout in a rematch, dropping Fuentes three times in the fateful round at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 10, 2014.

Garcia is the identical twin brother of Ramon Garcia Hirales from whom Nietes won the title in the same St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City on Oct. 8, 2011 with a lopsided decision on the scorecards of the judges, although the fight appeared closer than the scorecards of the two American judges indicated.

Carlos Ortiz Jr. scored it 117-

111, while Lisa Giampa had it 118110, with Filipino judge Danrex Tapdasan also scoring the fight for Nietes by a much closer 115-113 tally.

Among the victims of Nietes, who headlines the fight card titled “The Making of a Legend,” includes Francisco Rodriguez Jr., Moises Fuentes, Sammy Gutierrez, Gilberto Parra, Mario Rodriguez, Manuel Vargas, Carlos Velarde, Jesus Silvestre, Juan Alejo and “Rayito’s twin brother Ramon Garcia Hirales.

Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions said that Garcia, who won the IBF minimum weight title with a split decision over Filipino Florante Condes on June 14, 2008, is sure his fighter will surprise Nietes and end the Mexicans’ losing streak.

GAZA CITY—Mohammed al-Sheikh is only 12 and feels trapped in Gaza but he dreams of a Guinness world record for a series of stunning backflips and his almost unbelievable body contortions.

Mohammed, just 1.37 metres (four foot, six inches) tall and weighing 29 kilograms (64 pounds), can bend his body in seemingly impossible ways, throwing his feet over his shoulders with reckless abandon or jumping into a spider-like pose.

His antics earned this young Palestinian from the Gaza Strip the nickname of “Spiderman,” a mantle which fills him with pride.

Mohammed found fame just after a devastating war in Gaza with Israel that left over 2,000 Palestinians dead in 2014.

Despite the 50-day conflict interrupting his training,

he appeared on the TV show “Arabs Got Talent” in Lebanon, where his body-bending act won 14 million votes.

Though he didn’t win, he now hopes to writhe his way into the Guinness Book of Records from his home in the Tel al-Hawa area of southern Gaza City.

Mohammed can perform four acrobatic moves better than anyone else on earth, his coach Mohammed Lubbad, 26, insists.

In an email seen by AFP, Guinness accepted his bid for a record entitled: “Most full body revolutions maintaining a chest stand in one minute.”

In the video submitted as evidence, Mohammed lies on the floor with his chest pressed into the ground.

His legs then spin around at 360 degrees—his feet touching the ground at every angle in a feat of amazing dexterity. AFP

Aces gear up for FDG Cup badminton tournament THE country’s leading players and rising stars gear up for another four-day battle of skills and wits when the FDG Cup Badminton Championships, one of the country’s premier events, is held June 9-12 at Power Smash Badminton Center in Makati and Robinsons Place Manila.

The tournament has grown in stature and prestige over the years with its high-powered cast and big prizes with the organizers guaranteeing another blockbuster staging on its 13th year of providing top-notch badminton action featuring members of the national team, a slew of upcoming stars and foreign participants.

Sarah Barredo and Mark Alcala seek back-to-back championships in their respective sides in the premier Open singles of the annual event held in honor of Robinsons Land Corp. president Frederick D. Go and sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association.

As in its past staging, the ranking tournament, sponsored by Babolat Philippines, which will provide the official shuttlecocks, will be spiced up by two worldclass players raring to showcase their talent and skills before local badminton fans.

“The event has become one of the most sought-after tournaments in our badminton calendar and we guarantee another four days of top-level action from among our national players and a host of young talents raring to strut their wares,” said Go, a long-time backer of the sport.

Aside from the women’s and men’s singles, the Open class, which has also lured foreign players, also features the men’s and women’s doubles and the mixed doubles with a maximum of 352 players clashing for top honors and cash prizes.

Spicing up the event is the Invitational division, composed of employees and the invited busi-

Bacchus, Ducati renew partnership BESTSELLING author and motivational speaker Denis Waitley said that the secret to winning is the extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach.

This probably best epitomizes the great partnership between the Philippines’ leading energy drink Bacchus and the award-winning Team Ducati Philippines, which topped all categories in the 2015 Pirelli Cup-Philippine Superbike Championships.

Three years after their first team-up in 2014, Bacchus Energy Drink is determined to continue its support for the sport as it renews its partnership with Access Plus, the distributor of Ducati motorcycles in the country under Toti Alberto, who is also head of the Ducati Philippines motocross racing team. This is a strategic collab-

oration with the aim of energizing the growing interest in motorbike races in the country.

Teamwork for the win Collaboration between Bacchus Energy Drink and Ducati has proven its mettle with last year’s PSBK Championships, as the team made a clean sweep of all classes --Novice, Intermediate, Expert, and Master--culminating in the sixth and final race held last year at the Clark International Speedway.

“The year 2015 was a good one for us,” said Toti Alberto, who was 2015 PBSK Master Champion. “The race was not just about using the best bike, but also about focus and preparation.”

A veteran in the local motocross scene, he was also the Master class champion in 2014 and in the late 1990s. He is now CEO of Access Plus, the exclusive distributor of

the high-performance motorcycles.

Members of his team included his two sons, TJ and Troy, who as of late have proven their mettle even at their young age. At the start of the PSBK this year at the Batangas Race Circuit, TJ Alberto wowed everyone by clocking the fastest time among all classes and beating other serious contenders in the race. His younger brother Troy came in first at the novice category and 4th overall --not bad for a first-timer and the youngest member of Bacchus-Ducati Team.

Providing the extra energy “Bacchus Energy Drink has always believed that everyone driven with passion can become a champion as long as they get support,”said Amen Say, president of Dong-A Pharma Philippines, Inc., the exclu-

Toti Alberto in action

sive director of Bacchus Energy Drink in the country and a firm believer in collaborations.

“How can you not sponsor a family of winning riders (like the Albertos)? They are all champions [while] at the same time they are partners with Ducati, which are considered the best motorcycles in the world,” he added. “With Bacchus Energy Drink providing the

extra energy, they are a force to be reckoned with because they have the right formula for winning.”

Bacchus Energy Drink recently renewed its partnership with Access Plus/Ducati Philippines, represented by both Say and Alberto. On hand to witness them seal the agreement are officers of Dong-A Pharma Philippines Inc. and Team Ducati members TJ and Toti.

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Koepka grabs lead, Spieth still 2nd WASHINGTON —Second-ranked Jordan Spieth, trying to rebound from two disappointing efforts, remained second after Saturday’s third round of the PGA Byron Nelson Championship, two strokes back of leader Brooks Koepka.

Rory takes 3-shot edge to final round DUBLIN—Rory McIlroy will take a threeshot lead into the final round as he seeks to not only end a six-month winless drought but also capture a first Irish Open title.

The current World No. 3 returned to the course at 7.30am local time Sunday to complete the last three holes in his third round after two lengthy weather-related stoppages late on Saturday at the K. Club course.

McIlroy had been nine under par at the time and then proceeded to par the 16th, 17th and final holes in a bogey-free round of a two-under-par 70 for a nine-underpar tally.

“I’m a little disappointed with how I finished today,” McIlroy said.

“I felt like I had two good opportunities there on 16 and 18 to make birdies and didn’t birdie either of them.”

After shooting his first bogey-free round since a third round 68 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in March, he added: “I am going to have to go out and shoot a solid round of golf this afternoon and hopefully that will be good enough.

“That’s one of my first bogey free rounds in a while so if I can continue that, not make any mistakes and just throw in a few birdies, that will be the game plan and hopefully it works out.

“To be leading going into the final day I’m standing here a little disappointed it isn’t more - is good. So I will just rest up to try and get myself mentally rested to go out and play another good round.”

The four-time Major winner is hosting the event and looking to capture a first victory anywhere since his triumph last November in the European Tour season-ending DP World Tour Championship. afp

Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the first tee during Round Three at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas. afp

High-security, low-key start for French Open PARIS—The French Open gets under way at leafy Roland Garros on Sunday with security ramped up in the aftermath of the November terror attacks in Paris and with low-key fare on the playing schedule.

Storylines of Novak Djokovic chasing an elusive first title at the gruelling claycourt tournament and Serena Williams looking to equal Steffi Graf’s modern-day record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles will

have to wait.

The first challenge for organizers is to keep the daily crowds of 30,000 fans safe and sound, a task which was fairly straightforward until last year when another of the city’s showpiece sports venues, the Stade de France, was targeted by suicide bombers.

“Security is at the heart of our priorities and it will be reinforced,” said Guy Forget, the former player and Davis Cup winner who was ap-

pointed as tournament director only in February.

“There will be a double security perimeter with only three entry points. We cannot afford to take the slightest risk.”

Metal detectors and sniffer dogs will patrol the gates while there will be pat-downs and bag searches.

The authorities have been plagued with security breaches in recent years, although all harmless in the

context of the current era.

Last year, a young fan jumped over the advertising hoardings on Court Philippe Chatrier in an effort to grab a selfie with Roger Federer who was momentarily startled before burly security guards ushered the boy away.

In a previous year, Federer was targeted by a fan who sprinted onto the same court and attempted to place a hat on his head. afp

Long wait over for Stan GENEVA—French Open champion Stan Wawrinka clinched his first homeground title on Saturday with a 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) victory over Marin Cilic in the Geneva clay-court final.

It was Wawrinka’s third title of 2016 and first on clay just a day before Roland Garros gets underway in Paris.

“It’s a dream come true to be able to win a title in Switzerland, after all these tournaments,” Wawrinka said.

“To be able to do it here in Geneva, in the event’s second year is something special. The fans were great. They made a lot of noise today.”

World number four and top seed Wawrinka broke the 11thranked Cilic to take a 2-1 lead on his way to the first set.

Cilic hit back for a 4-1 ad-

vantage in the second set before 31-year-old Wawrinka broke the Croat at 3-5 to get the second set back on serve.

In the tie-break, Cilic squandered five set points before Wawrinka took victory on his second match point.

“Marin is a great player,” added Wawrinka. “He really ramped up the pressure toward the end, with those set points, so it was nice to be able to finish off the match.”

Former US Open champion Cilic was playing his first claycourt tournament of the season and his first event since March because of a right knee injury.

“It was an amazing week for me and this was something I was not even expecting,” Cilic said.

“I definitely have great enthusiasm now for Roland Garros.” afp

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka reacts after defeating Croatia’s Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (13/11) during the Geneva Open ATP 250 tennis tournament final in Geneva. afp

Reigning US Open Spieth fired a three-under-par 67 in his hometown tournament, taking a bogey at 18 while US compatriot Koepka rescued a closing par with a 10-foot putt to shoot 65 and seize the 54-hole lead on 16-under 194.

“It’s nice to go into the final round with a two-shot lead,” Koepka said. “I hit the ball terrible. It wasn’t anything to brag about at all. I felt like throughout the whole round, all 18 holes.

It wasn’t very good but I’m putting it so well.”

Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Americans Matt Kuchar and Bud Cauley shared third on 197.

Spieth is trying to pull off a comeback victory after missing the cut in last week’s Players Championship and suffering a lastday meltdown at the Masters, where a back-nine fade cost him a second consecutive green jacket.

“I was in some really tough spots and was a very stressful round of golf to play because I just don’t have confidence over the ball right now,” Spieth said. “It’s very frustrating and (I’m) actually putting incredible to still be in this tournament.”

Spieth sank a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th to reach 15-under as the hometown crowd that greeted him with a standing ovation roared again with delight.

“That’s a moment that I’ll never forget,” Spieth said.

“To be honest, even though it’s Saturday, may or may not have any impact on this tournament, that was the coolest roar I’ve ever heard. Fantastic walking up to that green.”

But at 18, Spieth was in the trees right of the fairway off the tee and blasted out through a gap to just short of the green while Koepka went over the green on his approach.

Spieth pitched to nine feet while Koepka’s pitch landed 10 feet shy of the cup. But Koepka sank his par putt to secure the lead and Spieth missed, falling two shots adrift.

“It’s a positive that I’m scoring well,” Spieth said.

“It’s very difficult for me to stand up here and not be positive given I’m at 14-under and contending, but if you guys knew the kind of stress I felt over the golf ball right now trying to put my swing in the right position, it is a challenge.” afp

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Pague makes waves on Cebuana net meet FRESH from his twin victories in the tough National Capital Region leg of the nationwide Cebuana Lhuillier Age-Group Tennis Championship Series, now on its first decade of producing young tennis champions, Zamboanga Sibugay native Jose Ma. Pague dominated anew the recent Iligan City leg of the series, where he pocketed two singles’ and one doubles’ titles.

Pague posted easy wins in the finals, beating perennial opponent Marc Nicole Suson from Cebu City, 6-1, 6-2, for the 16-under boys’ crown and duplicated it with a 7-5, 6-1 beating of local bet Allen Manlangit in the boys’ 18-under finals.

He also partnered with Suson for a share of the 18-under boys’ doubles’ crown after the duo defeated Manlangit and Vince Geo Serino, 8-6, in the championship match of the tournament supported by Dunlop Sports as official ball.

Cagayan de Oro’s Mary Aubrey Calma got back to her winning ways as she took home the girls’ 16-under singles’ title with a 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 victory over Cebuana Elizabeth Abarquez. She then teamed up with Ghylliana Yu for a share of the 18-under girls’ doubles title.

Another double winner in the tournament that attracted more than 200 entries and hosted by the San Miguel Tennis Club was Surigao’s Rupert Ohrelle Tortal, who edged out Brent Sigmond Cortes from Lanao del Norte, 7-5, 7-5 in the 12-under boys’ finals, plus a share of the 14-under boys’ doubles’ crown with Rico Jay as partner.

“Definitely, Pague will be a player to watch in the near future. He has been pretty consistent in the series and he will be playing for the national team sooner than later, “ said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President/CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier Group and current Philippine Tennis Association Chairman, who was cited by the Philippine Sportswriters Association early this year for his contribution to tennis development in the country.

Other familiar names that won in the Iligan City leg were Zamboana Sibugay’s Sydney Ezra Enriquez, who went home with the 14-under girls’ title after beating Ma. Maxeille Labrador, 6-3, 6-1, in the finals, also sharing the 14-under girls’ title with Elaine Rose Bahonsua; Lanao del Norte’s Richard Bautista, champion in the boys’ 14-under following his 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Uzziel Keane Pepito; and Casey Padilla, who defeated Labrador, 6-3, 6-2, in the girls’ 12-under and also partnered with 10-under unisex titlist and opponent Miguel Iglupas in the 10-under doubles for a share of another title.

Fiery win. Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Logano won the race. AFP

Radio Active rules 1st leg of Philracom’s Triple Crown LONGSHOT colt Radio Active won the first leg of the Philippine Racing Commission Triple Crown series for elite 3YO Thoroughbreds by an impressive seven lengths recently at the Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.

The win of the Nestor Manalang-trained Radio Active was worth P1.8 million to owner SC Stockfarm Inc., which also claimed the P100,000 breeder’s purse, having bred the winning horse from US-breds Lim Expensive Toys (sire) and Lacquaria (dam).

Underwood and Space Needle, both from Stony Horse Farm Inc., placed second and third, worth P675,000 and P375,000, respectively.

Subterranean River of Wilbert Tan finished third and pocketed P150,000.

The rich three-leg series, the most prestigious in the

country and attracts the best participants of the season, is patterned after the United States’ Triple Crown, with its three legs comprised of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, also with progressively longer distances.

Indianpana of Deemark International Trading Corp seized the lead at the start of 1,600-meter race, with favorite Dewey Boulevard of Hermie Esguerra running behind. They are followed by Space Needle and Radio Active, with the top four horses tightly bunched and each one jockeying for a better position.

At the backstretch, Dewey Boulevard shook off the others and grabbed the lead followed then by Radio Active. Space Needle dropped half a length back to third, with Indianpana sliding to fourth.

Obviously running hot and almost too much to handle for his young rider John Alvin Guce, Radio Active finally grabbed the front position at the far turn and pulled away from the rest without whipping or urging.

Even though he raced wide at the home turn, Radio Active still forged a commanding lead and won by an impressive seven lengths, aided only by a few token flicks of the whip close to the finish line.

In his elation over the unexpected victory, Guce stood up in the irons before reaching the wire and was fined P1,000 by the stewards for grandstanding.

Different winners ruled last year’s Triple Crown, all

longshots, with the first leg being ruled by filly Superv.

Court of Honor, another filly, denied Superv of a second-leg win, before the second-tothe-longest shot of all, Miss Brulay, surged past six foes to claim the third leg.

Prior to last year’s Triple Crown staging in 2014, all three legs were won by Emmanuel Santos’s colt Kid Molave (Into Mischief x Unsaid), earning a P500,000 bonus from Philracom for the rare feat.

The Triple Crown series was launched in 1978, with Native Gift winning the first two legs and Majority Rule denying him the sweep.

There have been only ten Triple Crown champions since then: Fair and Square in 1981, Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988), Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996), Real Top (1998), Silver Story (2001), Hagdang Bato (2012), and Kid Molave (2014).

Ledesma steals show in Ubay, Bohol net tourney

Nilo Ledama (second from left) and Bliss Bayking display their trophies as they pose with Philta Regional vice president Tingardz Uy (left) and PPS-PEPP sports program director Bobby Mangunay during awards rites of the PPSPEPP Bohol age grouper.

UNFANCIED Nilo Ledama pulled off a rare three-title feat while Bliss Bayking sustained top form in the girls’ side as they dominated the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis tournament at the Sto. Nino Tennis Club in Ubay, Bohol yesterday.

The 14-year-old Ledama eased out second seed Khenz Justiniani, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round then went on to trounce Giulian Bandoquillo, 6-4, 6-2, in the finals to cop the boys’ 14-and-under crown in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

The unranked rising star from Pagadian National High School, a Palaro gold medalist last year, also took the 16-U plum with a 6-3, 6-3 romp over No. 3 Ibarra Ortega Jr.

then capped his remarkable campaign with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Christian Lagat in the 18-U finals of the event backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusive distributor of Slazenger, and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

“It’s inspiring to see new faces emerge from each tournament and Ledama’s three-title feat spoke well of the caliber of this young player, who, given the proper motivation and exposure, could land a spot in the national pool,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Bayking, on the other, matched her two-title romp in Dumaguete last week, trampling Alexa Mil-

liam, 6-1, 6-1, for the 14-U crown and whipping Yasmin Garsin, 6-0, 6-1, in the 16-U finals.

Top seed Tracy Llamas, meanwhile, atoned for her winless campaign in Dumaguete as she captured the girls’ 18-U crown with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Precious Coderos, while fellow La Carlota bet Milliam rebounded from her setback to Bayking by ruling the 12-U class with a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Katrina Siason.

Bukidnon’s Jerecho Otico also shared the spotlight as he snared the boys’ 12-U diadem with a tough 6-7(9), 6-0, 12-10 victory over top seed Justiniani while Chad Cuizon of Cebu bagged another 10-unisex crown with a 4-2, 4-2 victory over KC Miasco.

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Guce sets pace; Morales pulls away BUSINESSMAN-SPORTSMAN Narciso Morales threatened to pull off a repeat landslide victory in winnings, while veteran Jesse Guce took a narrow lead in the jockeys’ division four months into the local horse racing season.

Scoring heavily yet again in the regular races, Morales, a wellrespected player in the racing industry, registered 73 wins and a whopping P11,377,898 in prizes as of end-April as he stayed on track of making it back to back in the contest among horseowners.

A report by the Philippine Racing Commission showed the stable of the land and air transportation businessman also garnering 90 second, 80 third and 74 fourth place finishes, well in front of the second running Patrick Uy who had P3,706,130 built around 30 wins.

There was a looming raceto-the-finish among jockeys as Guce, son of the great Jesus

MORALES

Guce, led Oneal Cortez by a little over P300,000 with P1,553,970 as against the latter’s P1,173,342. Not far behind in third was Mark Alvarez (P1,122,684).

“Another good month for the stable. We’ll try to sustain it (good

showing).I guess our team is doing its homework well,” said Morales, who similarly won the division last year with 200-plus wins.

Multi-titled Low Profile continued to set the pace among horses with P1,610,529, which included the P800,000 as prize in topping the Commissioner’s Cup in January.

Dewey Boulevard (P1,610,529) moved to second past Space Needle on the strength of his victory in the Gintong Lahi Graduate Stakes Race worth P600,000.

There was no change in the trainers’ division with the veteran Ruben Tupas still showing the way with P1,220,548 on 74 first, 67 second,55 third and 58 fourth places finishes.

Another old hand, Dave dela Cruz, was running second.

Morales is the owner of Spectrum, who was cited by the prestigious Philtobo group recently as one of the best juveniles to grace the racing scene in 2015.

The top 5 as of end-April Owners—1.

N. Morales P11,377,898 (73 wins, 90 second, 80 third, 74 fourth finishes); 2. P. Uy P3,704, 130 (30-24-15-24); 3.Stony Rock Horse P3,580,607 (22-20-1413); 4.J. Lapuz P2,997,946 (22-2513-17); 5. SC Stockfarm P2,784, 225 (22-14-12-8) Jockeys—1. JB Guce P1,553,970 (75-61-61-45); 2. OP Cortez, P1,173,342 (58-52-44-56); 3.M. Alvarez, P1,122,684 (48-44-36-28); 4. J. Zarate, P1, 107,732 (57-39-33-22); 5. J. Hernandez, P1,103,410 (55-23-21-30) Horses—1. Low Profile, 1,653, 891; 2. Dewey Boulevard P1, 610,529; 3. Space Needle P1,236, 249; 4. Wannabe P908,510; 5. Dolce Ballerina P889, 717 Trainers—1. R. Tupas P1,220,548 (74-67-55-58; D. Dela Cruz P967, 901 (64-43-39-36) 3. C. Vicente P676,648; 4. AC Sordan P669,113 (36-48-43-43) 5. D. Sordan P587,837 (37-40-32-21)

Shakey’s V-league MVP Alyssa Valdez (left) and Spikers’ Turf MVP Jeffrey Jimenez of Instituto Estetico Manila lead the Oath of Sportsmanship during the opening of the Shakey’s V-League 13th season at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Bali Pure, Pocari loom as top V-League picks BOASTING of star-studded rosters, Bali Pure and Pocai Sweat will set out as two of the favorites when the Shakey’s V-League unveils its 13th season next week at The Arena in San Juan with eight teams disputing the Open Conference crown.

The league actually ushered in its new season yesterday in simple rites with the parade of the competing teams with the organizing Sports Vision raving over the continued success of the league, which put women’s volley back into the mainstream.

“I remember 13 years ago when we first put up the Shakey’s V-League, we’re all just full of hope,” said Palou. “Now, we didn’t expect the Shakey’s V-League to be this big today.”

Actual games will start on May 28, also at The Arena.

Sports Vision also put up the country’s first

indoor men’s volley league last year to complement with the women’s tournament with six teams clashing for the Spikers’ Turf opening conference also on May 28.

Aside from Bali Pure and Pocari teams, other teams competing are Air Force, Philippine Navy, University of the Philippines, National University, Iriga City and Power Smashers.

Making up the Spikers’ Turf cast are Cignal HD TV, Instituto Estetico Manila, Bounty Fresh, Navy, Air Force and Team Volleyball Manila.

Valdez, a two-time league MVP who shared the Athlete of the Year honors with three others in the 78th UAAP, and IEM’s Jeffrey Jimenez, a former league Finals MVP, led the oath of sportsmanship yesterday.

Valdez, who arrived Saturday from an exhibition game in Doha, Qatar, also left early for

Cavite to lead the training camp she’ll facilitate in Dasmarias.

But with fellow former Ateneo stars Denden Lazaro, Dzi Gervacio, Mary Mae Tajima, Amy Ahomiro and Bea Tan backstopping Valdez’s squad, Bali Pure has been installed as the early favorite in the upcoming conference.

Charo Soriano, another former Ateneo star and a champion V-League coach, will handle Bali Pure which also features reigning NCAA MVP Gretchel Soltones, Janine Marciano, Alyssa Eroa, Karla Bello and Ivanah Agbayani.

Pocari Sweat is also tipped to crowd Bali Pure for the crown with former La Salle star Michelle Gumabao headlining the squad that includes Myla Pablo, Melissa Gohing, Gyselle Sy, Elaine Kasilag, Rossan Fajardo and Siemens Dadang.

Petecio’s Olympic dream is over

By Ronnie Nathanielsz A HIGHLY questionable decision at the AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan has ended sixth-seeded flyweight Nesthy Petecio’s dream of making it to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when she lost by a split decision to Morocco’s Zohra Ez Zahraoui on the third day of competition Saturday night.

Petecio, who earned a bye in the first round, was beaten by Zahraoui, who won her opening bout against South Korea’s Nam Eunjin.

Regarded as the best bet for an Olympic berth by the coaching staff as well as ABAP executive director Ed Picson, Petecio was a clear 40-35 winner on the scorecard of judge Thomas Riebe of Germany.

But the two other judges, Armando Villa of Venezuela and Moise Mbemap of Cameroon, who is apparently now an Australian, scored the fight an even 38-38 for the girl from Morocco.

Under the tournament rules, a draw has to be broken by the judges, both of whom picked the Moroccan fighter Zohra Ez Zahraoui in a decision that stunned the Philippine delegation and many of the fans, who felt the lopsided 40-35 score by one judge, including a 10-8 margin in the third round indicated Petecio’s dominance.

However, the 2014 AIBA World silver medalist lost out in the final reckoning, ruining her chances of making it to Rio. If it was any consolation, junior flyweight Josie Gabuco defeated Bulgaria’s Sevda Asenova by a split decision to advance to the next round against tough Volha Lushchyk of Belarus on Sunday after Irish Magno dropped out with a loss to Bolortuul Tumurkhuyag of Mongolia last Friday.

M O N DAY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Arum: Pacman should not fight in Rio Olympics

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

TOP Rank promoter Bob Arum, who has exerted considerable influence over eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao told The Standard, “Manny owes and obligation to the people, who elected him to the Senate and needs to fulfill that obligation.”

Pacquiao was recently proclaimed a senator of the Philippines with over 16 million votes.

Arum expressed the hope that Pacquiao won’t compete in the Olympics.

“He (Pacquiao) has a lot of work to do,” said Arum, referring to Pacquiao’s job in the Senate, unlike his two-term stint in the House of Representatives, where he was roundly criticized for his habitual non-attendance.

The astute promoter, who helped shape the career of Pacquiao with the help of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, said he hopes the Filipino ring icon will focus on his significant role as a senator.

Arum’s position was supported by one of Pacquiao’s business managers in Eric Pineda, who told The Standard he was confident that the newly elected Senator won’t compete in the Rio Olympics, even as the ABAP announced that the deadline set for Pacquiao to make up his mind is May 27.

Pacquiao made it clear his desire is to try and end the Philippines’ quest for a coveted first Olympic gold medal and had nothing to do with money.

So far, the Philippines has two boxers who have qualified for Rio, lightweight Charly Suarez and light flyweight Rogen Ladon.

The country is likely to send at least three boxers to the final Olympic Qualifying tournament in Azerbaijan on June 16, led by hard-hitting welterweight Eumir Marcial and bantamweight Mario Fernandez, along with either Ian Clark Bautista or Roldan Boncales, who put on an impressive performance despite losing in the last qualifying tournament in Qian’An, China.

The 23-year-old flyweight from General Santos City impressed the coaching staff with his victory over Vietnamese national champion Tran Van Thao in his opening bout, using effective combinations to counter the spirited efforts of his Vietnamese opponent.

Pacman look-alike making waves LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG

IF you happen to watch Mario Sismundo fight inside the cage, you would have thought Manny Pacquiao is in the wrong arena.

Like his boxing idol Pacquiao, Sismundo packs a wallop in his left fist. He sports the same hairstyle, beard and mustache, body built and height.

He was a former boxer, but was not as fortunate as the eight-division champion.

And Sismundo has found his turf on the MMA cage.

In his three professional MMA fights registered by Sherdog, he won two by knockouts and his only loss came by submission via armbar, inflicted by Miguel Alo in April 2012 at the URCC 21 Warpath.

Sismundo has won all his three MMA fights by knockout, two of them however, were fought in amateur promotions.

His most impressive was the

A season...

From A16

In college, student-athletes can play from age 19 up to 25.

Discussions will also tackle the residency of foreign players, which will now be set at one year.

Foreign players included the roster will now be limited to one, instead two.

Tan, on the other hand,

one-punch, 19-second KO win over Rolando Gabriel at the UGB MMA 13 Foreign Invasion last January.

“Alam ko na malakas talaga ang kaliwa ko parang kay Manny. But now, nag-aaral na din ako ng right stance para mahasa ‘ung kanan ko. Malakas na din ako sumipa,” revealed Sismundo, who wants to be nicknamed “The Monster” on the cage. *** His excellent showing on the cage is entirely different from his early years in the boxing ring.

His boxing matches were far in between. Although he possesses the power that can make him a feared pro boxer, he was young and untested when he had his first pro ring fight as a superfeatherweight in 1999, losing to a veteran Jun Paiman in Pampanga.

A year later, he lost again via a similar unanimous decision.

What ultimately convinced him to leave boxing was his return to the ring in 2003, when he was knocked out by Victor Manon in Binangonan, Rizal.

noted that fans are no longer just watching the basketball games.

He said interest in football and volleyball are also growing.

The league took note of this following an increase in television ratings of audiences, which are now bigger in volleyball.

Meanwhile, graduating Ateneo volleyball star Alyssa

“Naisip ko na noon na hindi yata ako pang boxing kaya tumigil na ako,” he said.

As he noticed the growth of mixed martial arts in the Philippines, the urge to fight again bugged him no end.

Then, he began joining amateur MMA fights and has not lost any of them.

Now, the former ring patsy is a monster on the cage. He is ranked 27th by Tapology among 87 active MMA lightweights in Southeast Asia.

On Saturday night, he again put his skills to the test by fighting a younger, bigger opponent in kickboxing. For the first two rounds, he was trying to use his kicks and experimented in using the right hand stance to put down Nino Mondejar.

But this kid out of Guerrero Muay Thai Gym was tougher than expected. When he finally used his left-right combo, Mondejar retired and the referee waved the fight off.

Sismundo said he needs more tune-up fights and he’ll be ready for the big time.

Valdez was named one of four winners of the Athlete of the Year award for UAAP Season 78.

She took her fourth Athlete of the Year plum and shared it with softball player Queeny Sabobo of multi-titled Adamson.

Rio De Janeiro Olympian table tennis player Ian Lariba of De La Salle and Ateneo swimmer Jessie Khing Lacuna

Abby Marano of F2 Logistics scores against Aiza Maizo Pontillas of Petron XCS. ROMAN PROSPERO

Petron XCS spikers reach PSL semifinals

By Peter Atencio THE pair of Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Bang Pineda took control with superb ball-handling to lead Petron XCS to a 21-17, 21-16 upset of defending champion Danika Gendrauli and new partner Aby Marano of F2 Logistics Cargo Moves yesterday at the MOA Sands by the Bay. Their well-coordinated plays allowed to them to become the first team to reach the semifinal round of the 2016 Philippine Super Liga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup. They broke past a 17-all deadlock in the first set, taking the last four points, first off Pineda’s drop shot, followed

by Maizo-Pontillas’ block on Marano and a long spike to the backline.

Gendrauli’s error at the net then yielded Maizo-Pontillas and Pineda the set point.

“We were focused today. We got it with our serves and receives,” said Pineda, who followed Maizo-Pontillas’ hand signals to send their spikes towards the less-experienced Marano.

Top favorite Jovelyn Gonzaga and Nene Bautista of RC Cola-Army A later joined them in the semis, following a 21-14, 21-12 stopping of

also got the honors in the individual sports category for their achievements in the justconcluded season.

This is the first time the UAAP named four winners for the Athlete of the Year plum.

Trackster John Loyd Osorio of University of the East won the Athlete of the Year in the juniors’ division.

Petron Sprint 4T’s Frances Molina and Maica Morada.

This put Maizo-Pontillas and Pineda against the fearsome pair of Gonzaga and Bautista.

Maizo-Pontillas and Pineda, teaming up for the first time, earlier bounced back from a loss to Cherry Rondina and Patty Orendain of Foton, 21-9, 21-8.

Rondina and Orendain went on to sweep Pool C in the preliminaries.

In the second set, MaizoPontillas gave Petron XCS a chance to move ahead, 11-7, off her two aces and drop shot.

In men’s action, Navy B, behind Pajiji Alsali and Moliver Parcon, emerged unbeaten after two games, as they moved in contention for semis slots in Group A. Alsali and Parcon first prevailed over University of the East’s Geric Ortega and Ruvince Arbot, 21-13, 21-18, and then won over FEU-A’s F. Cayaban and Francis Camcam, 2118, 21-10.

Navy-A posted two straight triumphs in Group B when Nuramin Madsairi and Roldan Medino came away with a 21-9, 21-9 win over SM by the Bay’s Daniel and Tim Young.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

P16M

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

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A16

M O N DAY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Bismack Biyombo of the Toronto Raptors dunks the ball during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada. AFP

Raptors snap Cavs’ win run WASHINGTON —DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and dominating big man Bismack Biyombo grabbed 26 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors ripped the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-84 Saturday in the NBA playoffs.

Cleveland’s 10-game playoff win streak was snapped one shy of the NBA record but the Cavaliers still lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 2-1 with game four Monday at Toronto.

A Raptors team that was humbled twice at Cleveland sent a message that they were not going to be swept out like the Cavs’ prior foes.

“It says a lot about our guys’ character and resiliency,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

“It was aggression. It was a must win for us. We needed it,” DeRozan said. “When we play like this,

good things happen.”

The series survivor will face either defending champion Golden State or Oklahoma City in next month’s NBA Finals.

Democratic Republic of Congo 2.06m centre Biyombo matched Dwight Howard and Hakeem Olajuwon for the most rebounds in an NBA playoff game since 1984.

“It was amazing, 26 rebounds, protecting the rim -- he was big time. Without him we probably wouldn’t get this win,” DeRozan said.

“Bismack did a great job grab-

bing rebounds and keeping them off the boards. He was a monster.

He kept us going. He gave us a chance to get out in transition.”

Biyombo also added seven points and four blocked shots, igniting roars from the Canadian crowd as he wagged his finger in the style of retired NBA star Dikembe Mutombo after batting aside Cleveland shots.

“He gives us that confidence and energy and rim protection,” Toronto’s Kyle Lowry said. “He gets the crowd into it. We feed off that energy. There’s no substitute.”

The Cavaliers made only 28-of79 from the floor, a woeful 35.4 percent, and hit only 14-of-41 3-point attempts while being outrebounded 54-40 -- much of those troubles stemming from Biyom-

bo’s big night.

“Biyombo gave them a big lift.

He came out and played well,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said.

“He did a great job of protecting the paint, making some great rebounds and blocking shots. He just had a great game.”

LeBron James led Cleveland with 24 points while J.R. Smith added 22.

“They played an exceptional game,” James said. “We didn’t play our game and they made us pay for it.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board, not fix everything but a few things, and play better on Monday.”

Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson was humbled by Biyombo inside but Lue was not pointing fingers. AFP

GAZA SPIDERBOY EYES RECORD

BALI PURE, POCARI LOOM AS TOP PICKS

TURN TO A11

TURN TO A14

A season of changes in UAAP’s 79th year

By Peter Atencio IT WILL be a season of changes in the 79th University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

Incoming league president Fr. Ermito de Sagon of the University of Santo Tomas said this following Saturday evening’s turnover ceremony with University of the Philippines officials, led by Michael Tan. The league is set to make more changes in its rules,as it adjusts to the new policies being implemented because of the-12 program.

“The board will take this up following a 3-day planning session and workshop on Monday,” said De Sagon at the end of the twohour rites at the Bahay ng Alumni Hall inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City.

Among the first to be changed is eligibility of players, in which players in high school can see action in the junior division from age 13 to 18. Turn to A15

B1

MONDAY: MAY 23, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

ERC wants cap on solar projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Energy Regulatory Commission asked the Energy Department to limit the solar power projects availing of the feed-in tariff rate at 500 megawatts to lessen the impact on power cost.

“We computed the FiT rate based on 500 MW, so if it’s going to exceed 500 MW, definitely we have to adjust the [power] rates,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar told reporters.

FiT refers to incentives given to renewable energy developers such as solar projects in the form of fixed, high rate paid by the government for their power output.

FiT rates were incorporated in the power bill of consumers and are now known as

FiT allowance.

The regulator earlier approved an FiTallowance of P0.124 per kilowatt-hour, to be collected by the National Transmission Corp. and used to pay the renewable energy developers.

“The position of the commission is to limit to 500 MW [the solar capacity] until we determine the impact on the rates considering that our previous approval was for that [P0.124 per kWh],” Salazar said.

The department approved a 50-MW installation for solar projects under the first round of installation targets at a rate of P9.68 per kilowatt-hour. The installation was increased by an additional 450 MW but with a provision that the power projects would be completed by March 15, 2016 to provide additional capacity for the dry months.

ERC granted a lower rate of P8.69 per kWh for the second wave of installation target covering the balance of 450 MW. The Energy Department, however, has yet to come out with the final list of solar devel-

opers that were able to beat the feed-in tariff race for the 450-MW solar capacity.

Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said as much as 300 MW of solar capacity would not be eligible for the second wave of solar FiT rate.

Monsada earlier said the department would announce the final list of the solar projects that qualified for the second wave of feed-in tariff for solar once the list was finalized.

“We are sure that there will be questions, that’s why we want to be transparent,” Monsada said.

She said a total of 800 MW of solar power capacity was presently being evaluated by the department.

The Philippine Solar Power Solar Alliance earlier asked the department to exercise prudence in disqualifying completed solar projects from the FiT availment.

PSPA president Tetchie Capellan said the government should recognize the role of solar energy in adding capacity to the national grid and for helping avert possible shortages.

“The alliance asks the DoE for prudence

in disqualifying completed solar projects.

These companies poured billions of pesos into solar projects and their possible disqualification to the RE [renewable energy] incentives not only denies the investors the opportunity to recover their capital. More importantly, it kills the momentum created by the DoE and erodes investors’ confidence,” Capellan said.

She said the government should encourage policymakers in finding a common ground to recognize solar companies that reached 80 percent electro-mechanical completion and delivered electricity to the grid.”

“There is already an admission from national authorities and utility distribution companies on the tightness of supply. Undeniably, the contribution of 750 MW solar energy in the daytime when demand is at its peak, cannot be ignored - the 750 MW solar provided more security to the grid, averted a possible supply shortage as well as delivered economic benefits to the consumers and the rural economy,” she said.

PSe comPoSite index Closing May 20, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,299.03 128.30

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing May 20, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.750

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.710 LOW P46.850 AVERAGE P46.772 VOLUME 600.500M

P427.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank

Fake cigarettes. Over a million cigarette sticks of fake PMFTC Inc. products valued at P3.08 million were confiscated by the Bureau of

Customs at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone led by Port of Subic district collector Ernelito Aquino. PMFTC confirmed that the cigarettes, found inside an abandoned container van, were counterfeit. The abandoned cargo arrived at the Subic port late last year and was never claimed by the consignee identified as Thunder Birds Trading. Agents of the BOC- Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service headed by Rainier Ragos decided to open the suspicious shipment after this was left unclaimed for over six months following orders from Customs commissioner Alberto Lina to dispose abandoned cargo to decongest the ports.

Davao water company finalizing P9-b bank loan

By Jenniffer B. Austria APO Agua Infrastructura Inc., a joint venture of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and J.V. Angeles Construction Corp., is finalizing a P9-billion long-term loan facility to finance a bulk water project in Davao City.

AEV chief finance officer Manuel Lozano said in a recent interview the company was now in talks with financial institutions to arrange the term loan facility before the end of the year or first quarter of 2017.

“We have a lead bank and probably they will need another two to

three banks to join,” Lozano said.

Lozano said the terms for the loan facility remained to be finalized but the company expected to secure 12- to 15-year loan facility at low interest rates.

The group wanted to finalize the funding requirement, as the Apo Agua was set to start developing the country’s largest private bulk water supply facility together with a fully renewable energypowered water treatment plant worth P12 billion.

“We hope to get all the permits by the third quarter of the year.

Our goal is to start construction by the end of the year,” Lozano said.

Under the plan, Apo Agua will supply up to 300 million liters per day of potable bulk water from the Tamugan River to Davao City Water District, which will benefit more than 1 million people of Davao City.

JVACC is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the entire project.

JVACC is one of the leading contractors in the Philippines with over 48 years of experience in the construction and development of water-related infrastructure.

Its portfolio includes the construction of HedcorSibulan’s runof-river hydropower electric proj-

ect, which provides 42 megawatts of Davao City’s power supply.

JVACC-AEV consortium received the notice of award from the DCWD to build and operate the Tamugan Surface Water Development Project.

AEV, which has investments in power generation, property development, banking and agribusiness earlier said it planned to diversify into infrastructure sector to create the conglomerate’s “fifth leg”.

AEV said it planned to bid for more public-private partnership projects as it saw infrastructure development as a key source of growth for its growing business.

P35.15-P42.25 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P23.75-P28.60 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, May 20, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.8550

Japan

Yen

0.009095

0.4261

UK

Pound

1.461700

68.4880

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128747

6.0324

Switzerland

Franc

1.009999

47.3235

Canada

Dollar

0.763825

35.7890

Singapore

Dollar

0.724165

33.9308

Australia

Dollar

0.722500

33.8527

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655055

124.4026

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

12.4940

Brunei

Dollar

0.721553

33.8084

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000074

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028019

1.3128

UAE

Dirham

0.272309

12.7590

Euro

Euro

1.120400

52.4963

Korea

Won

0.000843

0.0395

China

Yuan

0.152602

7.1502

India

Rupee

0.014831

0.6949

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.245218

11.4897

New Zealand

Dollar

0.673600

31.5615

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030530

1.4305 Source: PDS Bridge

MONDAY: MAY 23, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW STOCKS

MAY 16-20, 2016 Close Volume

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp.

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

3.74 45.95 102.00 92.20 38 2.95 1.54 9.5 14.3 17 7.49 0.7 1.86 600.00 0.600 84.4 0.97 15.00 24.00 51.00 102.4 437 268 31.5 192.6 1370.00 64.50 1.59

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp.

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

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ SPC Power Corp.

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

45.2 3.72 0.91 1.87 14 55.6 200.00 21.3 195 18 46 2.21 4.62 10.76 9.700 7.40 5.60 7.45 1.7 21.6 67.1 12.64 15.10 5.6 2.300 235.00 39.95 2.16 3.35 39.90 27.05 24 6.73 321.60 0.290 4.33 3.41 11.10 3.27 11.62 5.40 1.79 2.74 4.25 2.3 4.65 217 4.05 2.5 0.155 2.08 2.50 202.6 4.6 0.88 31.20 1.30

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

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

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

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

0.430 72.00 14.22 1.22 6.10 0.340 0.335 794 7.69 12.96 5.04 6.28 0.265 1380 6.30 92.55 5.2 5.35 7.65 0.69 13.9 0.470 5.9 3.69 0.0320 1.320 1.780 2.62 73.40 2.22 955.00 1.20 0.91 190.00 158.000 0.3200 0.2140 0.345

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

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

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

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

7.550 7.20 1.23 2.150 0.260 34.900 3.14 5.15 5.61 0.520 0.98 1.000 0.131 0.500 49 0.810 0.160 0.98 1.94 1.28 4.70 4.11 0.092 0.2700

Value

FINANCIAL 25,922,400.00 3,108,180.00 1,298,481,802 1,096,604,308.00 18,403,060.00 421,790.00 1,067,670.00 3,800.00 636,186.00 71,603,828.00 204,267 700 24,184,050.00 379,800.00 1,204,600.00 1,717,282,103.50 219,910.00 4,183,312.00 871,630.00 52,342,821.00 1,196,697.00 123,570.00 1,645,420.00 39,585,530 1,664,802,342.00 643,900.00 31,660,510.00 773,100.00 INDUSTRIAL 8,022,200 371,668,895.00 4,775,000 17,859,720.00 8,532,000 8,154,890.00 74,293,000 139,025,340.00 171,800 2,597,834.00 8,450 552,941.00 70 14,010.00 5,008,800 106,171,480 11,170 2,281,183.00 500,300 8,946,370.00 781,600 36,143,525 3,643,000 10,133,760.00 1,566,000 7,307,910.00 228,900 2,458,784.00 26,650,400 257,172,243.00 9,101,800 66,825,150.00 55,111,100 322,767,042.00 1,413,000 10,446,923.00 5,000 8,490.00 18,317,300 401,096,850.00 916,840 63,054,145.50 70,600 914,232.00 1,546,200 23,410,230.00 2,888,700 16,382,878.00 12,193,000 27,981,990.00 5,471,900 1,293,375,104.00 7,200 277,400.00 54,000 115,310.00 259,000 873,240.00 16,600 659,035.00 2,975,200 81,773,620.00 2,444,400 58,276,300.00 1,458,800 9,815,740.00 2,495,220 825,621,380.00 8,270,000 2,437,250.00 31,000 141,200.00 9,268,000 32,170,350.00 33,719,300 388,249,962.00 147,000 484,840.00 42,400 491,796.00 4,779,000 26,245,833.00 11,277,000 19,641,520.00 5,891,000 16,967,110.00 5,151,000 21,772,480.00 68,000 155,370.00 40,000 183,700.00 45,770 10,057,534.00 60,000 240,750.00 1,808,000 4,575,490 32,450,000 5,113,020.00 124,833,000 319,279,240.00 16,989,000 43,278,040.00 9,097,680 1,867,068,152.00 165,000 760,290.00 78,017,000 74,790,240.00 12,400 379,790.00 1,645,000 2,197,680.00 HOLDING FIRMS 29,510,000 12,581,700.00 14,941,820 1,064,321,019.50 56,011,200 807,768,394.00 2,165,000 2,761,670.00 60,400 361,555.00 133,510,000 53,585,700.00 16,920,000 6,831,600.00 2,548,440 2,108,516,190.00 4,091,500 32,398,532.00 60,181,500 777,995,982.00 18,300 94,850.00 7,209,100 44,234,493.00 2,940,000 774,120.00 773,025 1,107,760,230.00 56,000 355,850.00 21,495,130 2,011,611,597.50 16,100 85,818.00 16,500 89,519.00 22,301,400 177,340,413.00 979,000 679,860.00 19,547,000 270,595,532.00 30,000 14,100.00 198,599,600 1,227,433,102.00 21,000 70,610.00 162,800,000 5,229,400.00 247,000 355,860.00 1,901,000 3,455,430.00 34,000 88,550.00 1,146,190 84,088,510.00 9,100 21,740.00 2,120,415 2,098,442,605.00 768,000 907,550.00 3,918,000 3,634,550.00 210 39,900.00 16,480 2,564,687.00 34,720,000 11,409,850.00 38,720,000 9,112,550.00 131,630,000 49,596,250.00 PROPERTY 2,179,900 16,370,599.00 17,700 128,098.00 27,596,000 35,093,830.00 17,943,000 41,511,530.00 2,380,000 633,250.00 85,566,000 3,086,191,025.00 5,702,000 17,652,340.00 36,200 187,490.00 1,000 5,610.00 12,224,000 6,466,100.00 101,000 101,790.00 52,000 51,060.00 22,230,000 2,968,540.00 67,146,000 35,899,440.00 8,011,100 388,393,815.00 3,269,000 2,672,400.00 1,770,000 282,780.00 13,059,000 12,998,220.00 122,073,000 236,169,710.00 256,000 329,970.00 26,300 123,580.00 265,165,000 1,141,272,780.00 18,040,000 1,622,810.00 3,110,000 910,800.00 6,761,000 67,600 12,461,550 11,797,660 469,000 141,000 717,000 400 44,800 4,135,300 28,400 1,000 10,864,000 630 2,065,000 19,646,430 231,000 279,100 36,200 1,013,140 11,630 290 6,090 1,281,400 462,850,233 470 498,390 494,000

Close

MAY 9-13, 2016 Volume Value

3.39 46 104.00 93.00 40 3.00 1.54

901,000 60,900 13,473,760 5,790,170 387,800 157,000 696,000

2,931,230.00 2,784,380.00 1,369,550,417 538,492,913.00 15,488,575.00 470,790.00 1,097,730.00

14.2 16.2 7.05 0.7 1.73 600.00 0.570 87 0.97 15.00 24.00 51.80 105.9 356 273.4 30.05 190.5 1351.00 59.00 1.52

4,069,300 1,042,500 700 5,000 53,000 950 2,097,000 24,852,060 76,000 267,200 7,000 443,260 510 10 5,710 653,600 9,598,290 310 449,570 56,000

57,780,220.00 16,677,250.00 4,936 3,500 91,080.00 573,500.00 1,217,940.00 2,078,627,192.00 73,000.00 4,010,938.00 168,000.00 22,677,994.50 53,518.00 3,560.00 1,548,652.00 19,873,845 1,780,165,042.00 417,845.00 26,485,642.00 85,410.00

47 3.71 0.91 1.74 14.2 56.5 193.00 20.5 195 18 46.45 2.27 4.79 10.6 9.480 7.60 5.85 7.32 1.7 21.35 68 14.78 14.58 5.69 2.390 234.60 35.00 2 3.6 39.50 28 22.95 6.6 340.40 0.285 4.67 3.46 11.46 3.01 11.62 5.50 1.58 2.8 4.21 2.54 4.4 221.6 4.1 2.6 0.154 1.20 2.63 206.6 4.87 0.96 31.00 1.35

9,158,300 3,602,000 7,673,000 127,947,000 25,700 490 300 6,133,700 14,470 374,800 1,733,800 1,645,000 1,554,300 436,400 52,939,204 6,799,300 45,853,200 919,100 7,000 10,967,600 840,190 24,700 839,700 872,200 20,975,000 5,398,570 300 47,000 115,000 8,700 6,104,800 3,426,300 903,300 862,770 1,660,000 98,000 15,116,000 39,919,300 27,000 11,500 5,384,200 1,506,000 1,105,000 818,000 5,000 4,000 144,980 67,000 847,000 11,560,000 801,000 6,202,000 12,148,850 109,000 34,328,000 5,000 7,252,000

416,395,435.00 13,571,970.00 3,074,643.97 217,736,270.00 351,094.00 27,685.00 61,238.00 123,680,779 2,730,020.00 6,755,260.00 80,220,070 3,752,900.00 7,706,905.00 4,662,258.00 167,048,570.00 53,221,371.00 271,448,242.00 6,831,886.00 12,080.00 230,429,623.00 55,283,319.50 348,342.00 12,088,260.00 4,890,536.00 51,576,370.00 1,250,650,268.00 10,500.00 92,520.00 419,420.00 323,430.00 171,446,605.00 77,924,155.00 5,810,521.00 296,812,746.00 469,300.00 419,470.00 51,706,760.00 448,773,380.00 83,120.00 133,156.00 28,271,750.00 2,089,810.00 3,042,360.00 3,399,140.00 12,700.00 17,900.00 31,786,510.00 269,700.00 2,168,720 1,770,040.00 947,360.00 15,972,380.00 2,512,184,324.00 502,820.00 32,389,930.00 155,485.00 10,033,110.00

0.405 70.80 14.60 1.23 5.95 0.445 0.450 828 7.95 12.62 5.07 5.88 0.285 1451 6.39 91.10 5.33 6 7.8 0.69 13.52 0.465 6.02 3.39 0.0340 1.370 1.840 2.75 70.50 2.15 980.00 1.18 0.81 190.00 154.000 0.3200 0.2330 0.305

61,030,000 11,244,750 47,428,400 4,165,000 151,000 319,080,000 43,622,000 3,194,360 8,175,000 26,314,800 33,800 1,529,400 9,730,300 843,670 146,800 23,693,580 2,400 20,600 20,515,400 4,708,000 39,372,800 50,000 172,128,200 24,000 53,800,000 357,000 2,451,000 132,000 1,184,090 64,000 1,672,080 1,764,000 457,000 90 6,200 23,780,000 84,490,000 20,380,000

22,743,350.00 782,852,915.50 689,323,534.00 5,822,650.00 905,150.00 158,429,430.00 21,742,295.00 2,541,627,940.00 64,397,305.00 328,366,566.00 171,167.00 8,918,558.00 5,396,460.00 756,005,340.00 916,957.00 2,076,476,309.00 12,954.00 121,315.00 152,405,906.00 3,373,710.00 543,024,108.00 23,650.00 1,018,500,320.00 75,740.00 1,770,000.00 476,620.00 4,495,130.00 353,980.00 80,724,969.00 137,970.00 1,606,011,935.00 2,068,530.00 360,330.00 17,100.00 930,055.00 7,606,300.00 19,967,970.00 6,574,500.00

7.500 7.97 1.24 2.100 0.265 35.500 3.06 5.23

18,144,500 2,100 31,597,000 9,244,000 7,210,000 80,412,800 5,651,000 171,100

135,806,558.00 16,737.00 38,291,730.00 19,714,990.00 1,963,200.00 2,824,285,030.00 17,019,250.00 892,698.00

0.540 0.99 0.990 0.136 0.465 49 0.850 0.158 1.01 1.93 1.32 4.90 4.25 0.093 0.2900

20,429,000 81,000 138,000 23,880,000 7,670,000 11,838,500 1,975,000 80,000 17,018,000 83,153,000 130,000 46,200 367,981,000 27,030,000 12,830,000

10,753,930.00 79,930.00 135,810.00 3,190,760.00 3,599,950.00 565,526,715.00 1,664,510.00 12,280.00 17,059,550.00 157,327,720.00 172,080.00 226,958.00 1,488,607,650.00 2,442,880.00 3,731,100.00

STOCKS

MAY 16-20, 2016 Close Volume

Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

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

0.460 42.00 8.56 28.20 1.59 3.13 23.50 0.9 6.2 1.040 5.040

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.35 52.1 1.3 0.630 11.1 4.25 0.0550 3.08 92.65 9.55 1.88 6.95 2.80 970 2160 6.58 21.20 1.18 62.3 16.70 198 11.54 0.0110 9.69 0.340 1.6900 2.5 10.68 7.68 4.17 1.19 2.66 20.00 0.580 1.98 2.23 3.93 2.960 17.1 4.90 2.41 114.90 23.85 1660.00 0.395 0.880 41.70 77.65 6.58 2.84 0.580 1.94 3.37 0.350 7.000

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0042 2.44 4.53 13.88 0.240 8.0000 7.6500 0.67 0.530 9.00 0.890 0.295 0.285 0.295 0.0160 0.0160 1.95 4.89 2.6 0.6100 1.3500 0.0110 0.0098 3.91 7.48 4.13 0.0140 127.00 3.9 0.0130

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

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

51.6 525 535 116.3 118 510 525 6.26 1.1 108.6 1075 1050 1020 106 106.1 79 81 76.1 77.5 77.3 78 75.5 75.8 3.7

Leisure & Resort Warr.

2.880

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

4.03 3.94 3.01 17.38

First Metro ETF

119.8

Value

Close

5,793,000 2,944,745.00 156,930 9,178,255.00 8,500 72,555.00 13,658,100 397,529,445.00 1,133,000 1,797,490.00 15,000 46,660.00 100,591,500 2,457,043,160.00 10,185,000 9,158,960.00 94,300 621,330.00 3,140,000 3,304,330.00 118,751,400 624,101,696.00 SERVICES 376,500 2,816,867.00 1,251,070 66,388,031.00 133,000 174,450.00 16,169,000 10,372,570.00 5,200 60,644.00 24,082,000 108,744,590.00 102,710,000 5,786,550.00 3,433,000 10,520,650.00 3,020,950 281,966,472.00 36,800 350,520.00 761,000 1,442,840 406,900 2,839,563.00 5,000 14,030.00 1,290 1,243,600.00 320,480 714,674,760 936,700 6,226,935.00 3,300 71,600 629,000 748,240.00 9,444,090 597,810,869.50 831,200 14,498,484 4,900 899,150 83,600 964,096.00 71,200,000 711,460.00 3,631,900 35,100,131.00 298,500,000 104,641,300.00 45,184,000 82,401,660.00 1,816,000 4,535,770.00 261,700 2,719,168.00 134,700 1,049,463.00 6,972,000 31,993,690.00 60,000 68,470.00 48,000 127,030.00 19,100 388,167 1,354,000 828,840.00 533,000 1,074,710.00 23,752,000 54,607,250.00 9,025,000 35,994,020.00 79,853,000 236,011,150.00 527,000 9,089,408.00 141,200 713,371 18,000 43,420.00 157,790 17,679,260.00 271,700 6,414,190.00 746,140 1,277,401,585.00 17,380,000 7,084,100.00 40,882,000 36,948,780.00 23,249,400 975,078,020.00 5,621,580 446,932,420.00 8,629,300 55,846,966.00 60,121,000 175,954,640.00 18,106,000 10,758,410.00 272,000 546,540.00 5,076,000 17,385,650.00 2,110,000 800,050.00 3,080,600 20,891,976.00 MINING & OIL 3,546,000,000 15,274,500.00 21,694,000 61,891,990.00 5,175,800 24,834,120.00 6,000 80,980.00 1,320,000 316,690.00 139,400 1,120,417.00 56,500 436,297.00 725,000 506,920.00 12,402,000 6,676,370.00 765,100 7,191,222.00 140,075,000 126,558,440.00 17,280,000 5,356,300.00 970,570,000 276,435,210.00 53,060,000 16,067,200.00 4,850,900,000 76,160,100.00 1,052,400,000 17,464,700.00 2,464,000 4,856,550.00 18,978,200 94,397,367.00 8,794,000 23,091,400.00 1,565,000 1,009,910.00 3,199,000 4,538,330.00 248,100,000 2,509,100.00 12,400,000 126,720.00 759,000 3,147,550.00 32,845,900 230,079,980.00 82,157,000 340,317,830.00 1,234,300,000 16,183,000.00 3,218,090 410,548,224.00 21,214,000 91,476,200.00 1,211,700,000 17,631,500.00 PREFERRED 3,197,440 165,224,255.50 19,750 10,369,070.00 62,760 33,576,600 1,210 140,723.00 145,240 17,117,730.00 35,000 17,850,000.00 28,150 14,811,210.00 50,000 316,372.00 505,000 557,790 122,100 13,310,893.00 1,665 1,762,995.00 1,265 1,351,550.00 4,565 4,660,580.00 19,240 2,039,095.00 4,500 497,288.00 10,000 790,000.00 153,690 12,340,204.00 2,900 220,560.00 13,410 1,039,245.00 60,120 4,664,227.00 76,750 5,984,500.00 646,160 48,678,536.00 74,580 5,636,225.00 290,000 1,039,970.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 578,000 1,716,300.00 SME 86,302,300 665,804,598.00 170,000 633,250.00 464,000 1,388,180.00 14,795,700 266,528,896.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 109,550 13,411,496.00

MAY 9-13, 2016 Volume Value

0.520 31.00 8.6 29.50 1.56 3.12 23.80 0.92 6.59 1.060 4.950

9,458,000 21,400 76,800 16,516,800 617,000 94,000 153,230,800 14,237,000 5,500 3,625,000 20,219,000

4,964,100.00 689,535.00 653,330.00 476,202,775.00 954,080.00 287,970.00 3,760,019,820.00 12,933,960.00 35,564.00 3,862,160.00 95,210,510.00

7.56 53.2 1.34 0.590 11.38 4.72 0.0580 3.1 92 9.55 1.7 6.90

307,800 1,298,750 1,163,000 1,292,000 31,100 37,113,000 93,120,000 5,077,000 3,131,430 20,200 95,000 285,200

2,371,068.00 69,500,666.00 1,590,520.00 764,520.00 357,974.00 170,547,940.00 5,250,200.00 15,670,330.00 284,480,255.00 190,280.00 161,540 1,939,157.00

2252 6.75 23.50 1.20 64 16.10 185 12.98 0.0100 9.65 0.365 1.8800 2.09 11.3 7.74 4.50 1.28 2.80 22.20 0.580 2 2.38 4.06 2.800 17.56 5.13

349,585 422,200 3,100 206,000 3,516,930 391,400 2,460 100 46,400,000 1,421,400 351,310,000 48,008,000 618,000 14,900 524,000 6,713,000 11,000 2,000 1,100 210,000 883,000 28,336,000 24,027,000 96,834,000 5,100 212,100

786,804,700 2,859,948.00 73,075 242,290.00 223,542,216.50 6,468,076 461,371 1,298.00 458,150.00 13,723,996.00 130,913,100.00 92,943,200.00 1,308,490.00 163,118.00 3,996,374.00 29,804,540.00 13,600.00 5,600.00 24,044 121,790.00 1,766,120.00 67,077,710.00 97,356,710.00 232,636,900.00 87,798.00 1,075,199

108.50 23.50 1726.00 0.420 0.930 42.10 82.95 6.20 3.16 0.600 1.98 3.43 0.385 5.700

1,980 487,100 688,105 2,050,000 100,210,000 31,589,500 8,929,320 1,478,100 32,097,000 6,016,000 83,000 3,465,000 5,530,000 927,900

214,746.00 11,205,980.00 1,182,803,595.00 828,350.00 90,133,990.00 1,327,470,480.00 723,828,291.00 9,206,254.00 103,486,710.00 3,568,760.00 155,810.00 11,869,430.00 2,055,000.00 5,265,650.00

0.0043 2.01 4.20 14.00 0.244 7.8000 7.7500 0.67 0.510 8.70 0.860 0.305 0.255 0.270 0.0130 0.0140 2.05 5 2.65 0.6000 1.3500 0.0093 0.0095 3.95 6.22 3.15 0.0130 127.00 3.53 0.0160

2,696,000,000 177,000 366,000 36,400 220,000 101,300 60,500 3,574,000 7,739,000 807,400 97,812,000 5,200,000 130,130,000 5,330,000 641,600,000 214,800,000 1,735,000 15,097,100 2,195,000 889,000 1,033,000 75,000,000 4,000,000 137,000 5,904,800 56,504,000 294,600,000 3,074,240 6,547,000 2,090,300,000

11,514,000.00 363,460.00 1,547,690.00 468,654.00 53,010.00 789,939.00 468,553.00 2,445,840.00 4,085,160.00 6,921,935.00 83,891,730.00 1,540,250.00 32,894,550.00 1,437,850.00 8,331,700.00 2,917,200.00 3,469,550.00 76,078,117.00 5,651,880.00 521,930.00 1,400,420.00 703,300.00 37,900.00 524,820.00 36,522,547.00 164,513,990.00 3,563,000.00 394,911,604.00 23,528,660.00 31,705,500.00

50.55

2,963,430

153,717,587.50

535

47,960

25,469,200

116 510 530 6.6 1.09 109 1026 1085 1022 106 110 78 80 76.15 76.2 77.5 78 75.5 75.2

30,300 99,870 200 216,400 11,000 3,460 2,180 350 4,750 550 1,500 1,500 64,330 1,800 12,500 6,840 56,260 209,060 235,920

3,514,800.00 50,933,700.00 106,000.00 1,413,600.00 11,990 379,228.00 2,236,690.00 376,900.00 4,854,680.00 57,800.00 165,000.00 117,000.00 5,151,455.50 137,070.00 952,920.00 529,413.00 4,387,884.00 15,686,652.50 17,740,771.00

3.040

889,000

2,694,260.00

6.73 4.03 3.07 17.9

4,029,000 640,000 1,112,000 16,514,900

22,784,020.00 2,552,130.00 3,444,550.00 284,930,824.00

123

59,540

7,175,299.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Manila Mining `A’ Abra Mining Philodrill Corp. `A’ United Paragon Manila Mining `B’ Lepanto `A’ Security Bank Island Info Megaworld Prop.

Oriental Pet. `A’

VOLUME 4,850,900,000 3,546,000,000 1,234,300,000 1,211,700,000 1,052,400,000 970,570,000 462,850,233 298,500,000 265,165,000 248,100,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ SM Prime Holdings Ayala Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. JG Summit Holdings Universal Robina Metrobank Security Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Jollibee Foods Corp.

VALUE 3,086,191,025.00 2,457,043,160.00 2,108,516,190.00 2,098,442,605.00 2,011,611,597.50 1,867,068,152.00 1,717,282,103.50 1,664,802,342.00 1,298,481,802 1,293,375,104.00

MONDAY: MAY 23, 2016

B3

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

Robinsons Land’s award. Property developer

Robinsons Land Corp. under the leadership of president Frederick Go receives another award, this time for The Radiance Manila Bay which won the Best Residential High-Rise Development in the Philippines award for 2016-2017 at the prestigious International Property Awards.

Located along the historic Roxas Boulevard in Manila, the two-tower residential community The Radiance Manila Bay is one of RLC’s prime projects under its urban lifestyle brand Robinsons Residences. Shown during the awarding ceremony at Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are (from left) Stuart Shield of the International Property Awards, RLC business development manager Czarina Lugue, senior vice president for Robinsons Communities, Robinsons Residences and Robinsons Luxuria Mybelle Aragon-Gobio and Nishant Grover representing Grohe.

Century Pacific joins MSCI Index

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CENTURY Pacific Food Inc., the Philippines’ largest canned food company, is set to make its debut on the MSCI Philippine Small Cap Index on May 31.

“We are excited about the prospect of attracting more investors to our story,” said Century Pacific chief finance officer Oscar Pobre said in a statement.

The MSCI Philippines Index, developed and monitored by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc., is a basket of 19 Philippine Stock Exchange-listed stocks that “measures the performance of the large and mid-cap segments of the Philippine market”. The index covers “about 85 percent” of the entire Philippine stock universe.

Century Pacific said its recent in-

clusion in the MSCI index was a result of a semi-annual review conducted by MSCI, the leading provider of stock market indices and investment decision tools to clients worldwide.

Century Pacific would join heavyweights Manila Water Co. Inc., First Gen. Corp. and Double Dragon Properties Inc. in the closely tracked index.

Other new additions to the Philippine small-cap index were gaming resort operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and technology firm Xurpas Inc.

Market likely to drop on US plan to hike rates STOCKS are expected move sideways this week with a downward bias on concerns the US Federal Reserve will resume raising interest rates in June.

Analysts said talks of possible increase in US interest rates would trigger movement of “hot money” away from emerging stocks, including the Philippines, towards developed economies.

RCBC Securities Ralph Christian Bodollo said investors would also continue to monitor pronouncements from presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte regarding Cabinet appointments and action plan for his six-year term.

“With most of 1Q results already out, announcements from the incoming Duterte administration that will add flesh to its action program for the next six years and offshore events would set the tone for next week’s session,” Bodollo said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, closed lower by 1.9 percent last week to close at 7.299.03 on May 20, while the broader all-share index dropped

0.6 percent to 4,385.98.

The local bourse tumbled even as the government reported strong first-quarter economic growth on May 19.

The government said the firstquarter gross domestic product grew 6.9 percent, its fastest pace in nearly three years, driven by strong consumer spending ahead of the elections.

Except for the mining and oil index, which jumped 5.3 percent, all other major indices ended in the red, led by services, which dropped 4.3 percent, industrial which declined 2 percent and property which lost 1.5 percent.

Foreign investors were net sellers last week by P252 million, as total foreign selling reached P24.69 billion while foreign buying amounted to P23.43 billion.

Among top gainers last week were mining firms Manila Mining “A” which climbed 23 percent to P0.016, Apex Mining Co. which jumped 21.4 percent to P2.44 and Philex Mining Corp. which advanced 20.2 percent to P7.48. Jenniffer B. Austria

“The domestic economy continues to provide growth opportunities for a company like ours and we look forward to growing with our shareholders, as we execute on our business plans and strategies,” Pobre said.

Century Pacific reported a net income of P 636 million in the first quarter, up 45 percent from a year ago.

Consolidated revenues grew 14 percent year-on-year, with

the company generating P23.32 billion in sales in the first quarter from P20.44 billion a year before.

This was on the back of an 18 percent year-on-year expansion in the branded businesses’ top line, offsetting the flat performancefrom non-branded tuna export.

Sales outside of Metro Manila outperformed as the company’s distribution infrastructure im-

proved and modern retailers pursued aggressive expansion plans.

Growth in the convenience store channel was particularly strong in light of new rollouts.

“So far, 2016 has been showing similar trends with good macroeconomic tailwinds, and possibly election-related spending, benefitting us during the first three months of the year,” Pobre said.

B4 Globe’s mobile data revenues soar 62% GLOBE Telecom said mobile data revenues soared 62 percent in the first quarter, amid continuing demand for data services and popularity of data-driven products and applications.

The Ayala-led telco said mobile data revenues hit P9.1 billion in the January-March period, up from P5.6 billion reported in the same period last year.

The company said total data revenues, when lumped with home broadband and corporate data revenues of P3.5 billion and P2.3 billion, now represented 50 percent of total service revenues, up from 36 percent last year.

Globe said mobile data revenues also accounted for 40 percent of total mobile service revenues in the first quarter, up from its 26-percent contribution in the first quarter of 2015.

Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said mobile data growth drew support from market-relevant data offers, availability of low-priced data capable devices and a strong and reliable data network.

“We believe that the Globe brand is extremely strong in its positioning as the smartphone network of choice and the data growth is reflective of that. As the strategy is to continue to be aggressive in the market, we continue to make investments to enhance our wireless network so we have more capacity on the ground. We expect to see mobile data business to continue growing,” said Cu. A steady growth in the company’s mobile customers, reaching 57.3 million at the end of the first quarter from 48.4 million a year ago, also provided support for mobile data, Cu said.

The company’s mobile revenues totaled P23.1 billion in the first quarter, up 7 percent from P21.6 billion a year earlier.

This supported consolidated revenues to reach P29.9 billion, or 14 percent higher than P26.2 billion a year earlier. Net profit rose 3 percent to P4.3 billion from P4.2 billion.

Globe said following a successful network modernization program that saw mobile data exploding in the Philippines, it embarked on another nationwide infrastructure program to enhance the country’s Internet experience involving capacity expansion for mobile network using different technologies including 3G, LTE and even Wi-Fi. Mobile data explosion in the country, amid steady growth in smartphone penetration, requires more bandwidth than traditional voice and text messaging services. Darwin G. Amojelar

PSE-SSS partnership.

Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. and the Social Security System sign a memorandum of agreement to undertake cooperation initiatives in the areas of market education and small, medium, emerging board promotion. The agreement is in support of the efforts of the PSE-PCCI Capital Market Development Committee. Shown during the signing of the agreement are (from left) CMDC co-chairman and PSE director Edgardo Lacson, CMDC co-chairman and PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran, PSE president and chief executive Hans Sicat, PSE chairman Jose Pardo, SSS chairman Juan Santos, SSS president and chief executive Emilio De Quiros Jr. and SSS commissioner Diana Pardo-Aguilar.

iPhone boosts Smart’s postpaid subscribers

By Darwin G. Amojelar

SMART Communications Inc., the wireless unit of PLDT Inc., said postpaid subscriber base expanded 25 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, boosted by higher sales of iPhone units.

Smart said it acquired new postpaid subscribers at a much faster rate than rival Globe Telecom Inc.’s 4-percent increase.

Smart grew its postpaid subscriber base by 322,000 to end the first quarter with 1.6 million/ Globe’s postpaid subscribers stood at 2.5 million.

Smart said postpaid revenues rose 16 percent year-on-year, or more than five times faster than

competition’s 3-percent revenue growth.

Smart added P614 million to its postpaid revenues, ending the quarter with P4.3 billion.

“Smart’s continued postpaid leadership can be attributed to our compelling device offers, improved customer experience, as well as to the groundbreaking content partnerships that have enabled us to offer a wider array of digital services that

are relevant to our customers,” Smart and PLDT executive vice president and head of consumer business Ariel Fermin said.

Smart achieved all-time high iPhone sales in the first quarter, with sales volume up by 60 percent year-on-year. This was recorded after Smart launched postpaid offers for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Also driving postpaid the growth was the wide breadth of video and digital content made available by partnerships with the world’s content leaders, according to Smart.

Smart said it also teamed up with Uber to provide passengers with free in-car Smart WiFi – a first in Southeast Asia. With the service, more Filipinos have experienced the Smart Life even

while struck in traffic or breezing through the metropolis.

Fermin said Smart’s postpaid growth indicated enhanced consumer trust in the company, as it boosted efforts to improve customer experience.

“We are happy that Filipinos trust us to fulfill their various mobile needs. We value this trust, and we are continuously improving our network so our customers would truly live digital and enjoy a Smart Life,” he said.

PLDT and Smart allocated about P43 billion in capital expenditures this year, the bulk of which was budgeted to boost Internet services, including the recently announced initial deployment of LTE-Advanced also known as 4.5G.

State corporations received P8.2-b subsidies in Q1

By Gabrielle H. Binaday STATE-OWNED and controlled corporations received P8.24 billion worth of subsidies from the national government to sustain their operations in the fist quarter, data from the Bureau of Treasury show.

Subsidies extended by the government to GOCCs swelled from P3.696 billion it spent in the same quarter in 2015.

Bulk of the amount went to the National Irrigation Administration with P2.06 billion,

followed by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority with P1.467 billion; National Electrification Administration, P1.011 billion; and Philippine Children’s Medical Center, P592 million.

Data showed that in March alone, subsidies jumped 35.9 percent to P3.889 billion from P2.862 billion recorded in the same month in 2015.

The biggest recipient of government subsidies in March was NIA with P1.658 billion followed by NEA with P1.011 billion, Bases Conversion De-

velopment Authority with P401 million and Social Housing Finance Corp. with P243 million.

Subsidies given by the government to GOCCs cover the agencies’ operational expenses that are not supported by corporate revenues which may be spent on specific programs and projects.

The government plans to increase support for GOCCs in 2016, as the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing document for the fiscal year 2016 showed the proposed allotment for GOCCs would in-

crease to P127.1 billion from P75 billion in 2015 and P80.3 billion in 2014.

Of the total proposed amount, P96.1 billion would be in the form of subsidies, P31 billion equity and P26.5 million net lending.

Subsidies to GOCCs declined 3 percent last year to P78.01 billion from P80.44 billion in 2014, the biggest annual amount thus far. Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was the biggest recipient of government subsidy last year, with P34.87 billion.

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

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Petron eyes 12 TPLEx stations

By Alena Mae S. Flores

OIL refiner and distributor Petron Corp. plans to establish 12 retail stations along the 88.5-kilometer, two-lane Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, a top executive said over the weekend.

Petron president and chief executive Ramon Ang told reporters the TPLEx stations would be a part of the company’s expansion program.

“Yes, the Tarlac-PangasinanLa Union Expressway, we think it has higher volume because it’s long distance. Those who use TPLEx go to Baguio, Ilocos, La Union,” he said.

Ang clarified that before Pe-

tron could put up any station along TPLEx, it would need to get an approval from the Toll Regulatory Board.

“Because of its length, [TPLEx can accommodate] six [stations] going north and six going south,” he said.

Petron’s parent firm San Miguel Corp., through the Private Infra DevCorp., the concessionaire in TPLEx, provides

management services, toll collection, traffic safety and security management, toll road maintenance and other related services along the expressway.

TPLEx connects the central and northern Luzon provinces to Manila through the SubicClark-Tarlac Expressway and the North Luzon Expressway.

Petron targets to put up over 250 new service stations in the Philippines and Malaysia in 2016. There are nearly 2,800 Petron stations combined in the two countries.

Petron expects net income to reach P15 billion to P18 billion this year, up from P6.27 billion in 2015.

Ang said the projected higher net income would largely come

from the recently upgraded 180,000-barrel-per-day refinery.

“Driven by a more efficient oil refinery. The oil refinery has a liquid yield of 60, 66 to 67 percent but with the upgrade, it’s now 92 to 93 percent,” Ang said.

Petron’s $2-billion refinery upgrade started full commercial operation in January with higher utilization rate and increased production of higher-value fuel.

It utilizes cost-efficient heavier and petrochemicals.

He said the company would also continue with a retail expansion program both in the Philippines and in Malaysia.

“In Malaysia, we had a massive gas station network expansion. We just completed the re-

branding,” Ang said.

He said the company would also upgrade the Port Dickson refinery in Malaysia. The company rebranded to Petron some 550 stations which it acquired from Exxon Mobil.

Petron reported consolidated net income of P2.8 billion in the first quarter, up from P257 million over the same period last year.

The company’s strong performance was boosted by higher sales from local and regional operations.

“We are now experiencing the full benefits of our strategic programs and we are gaining momentum as we reach new levels of growth and profitability,” Ang said.

Epson still bullish on PH business

By Darwin G. Amojelar EPSON Philippines Corp. remains optimistic about its Philippine operations, but an executive said the company’s expansion would depend on the policy of the next government. “[He is] very powerful guy, but I’m not sure with the new policy from the new government, but it depends on the new president direction. If he wants to focus on education in this case we have so many business opportunity for projector but its’ up to the president’s direction,” Epson Philippines president and country manager Toshimitsu Tanaka said, referring to presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte.

Tanaka said “safety and security” were the two critical points that an international company was looking at a market like the Philippines.

“If he focuses on safety and security to be improved, maybe more international companies will invest in the Philippines,” Tanaka said.

“At this moment, the Philippines is the highest-growth country in Asean, so we want to focus on the Philippines but it depends on the new president,” he said.

The Japanese manufacturer of inkjet printer and projector is building a new factory in Batangas, which is expected to be completed next year. Actual operation of the new factory is seen in April or May 2018.

The state-of-the-art facilities are being constructed inside the existing site in Lipa, Batangas.

“We will still produce inkjet and projector not only for local consumption but also for export.

We are looking at Asean, America, Eastern Europe and China,” Tanaka said.

Tanaka said once the Philippine factory was completed, it would be Epson’s biggest manufacturing plant in the region.

Epson’s factory will increase annual capacity by 1.2 million units of inkjet printers and projectors. The current manufacturing plant is producing 6 million units of inkjet printers and projectors annually.

Resorts World’s Quill award. Resorts World Manila, the country’s premier integrated entertainment and tourism destination, bags its second Philippine Quill Award for the company’s Grand Fiesta Manila yuletide event during a ceremony at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

Show during the awarding ceremony are (from left) Resorts World Manila director for marketing communications Gerald Magtoto, chief operating officer Stephen Reilly, chief integrated marketing officer Martin Paz and director for corporate communications Owen Cammayo.

Govt set to turn over 32-MW power barge to SPC THE government is set to turn over the 32-megawatt Power Barge 104 in Davao City to the winning bidder next month, the top executive of National Power Corp. said over the weekend.

“That’s the tentative schedule,” NPC president Gladys Sta. Rita said.

Napocor operates PB 104 in Davao City, pending the privatization of the facility while the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. manages the assets and liabilities of NPC as mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

SPC Island Power Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPC Power Corp., earlier submitted the highest offer for the negotiated sale of PB 104.

“SIPC was declared the negotiating party with the highest offer after it bested two other companies with its P218,899,999 proposal,” PSALM officer-in-charge Lourdes Alzona said earlier.

Two other companies joined the negotiated sale, including Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. and D.M. Wenceslao & Associates Inc. PB 104 was commissioned in

1981 and started operation in 1985. It is located at the Holcim Compound in Ilang, Davao City.

PSALM earlier sought the opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Council on whether it could proceed with a negotiated sale of PB 104, after three failed auctions.

The bidding for PB 104 was declared a failure in October 2013 after the two bidders did not meet the reserve requirement.

The move to privatize PB 104 followed the successful turnover of PB 101, 102 and 103

to Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Corp. last year.

PSALM signed an agreement with Trans-Asia for the sale of the three barges for P420 million.

Trans-Asia won the bid after engaging in a negotiated procurement with PSALM following the decision of the highest bidder SPC Power to withdraw its bid.

PBs 101, 102, 103 and 104 are 32-MW barge-mounted diesel generating power stations with four identical Hitachi-Sulzer diesel generator units rated at 8 MW each. Alena Mae S. Flores

MONDAY: MAY 23, 2016

B6

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

DBS sees economic growth at 6.5%

Mitsubishi to build Euro-4 vehicles for PH

By Julito G. Rada

By Othel V. Campos

THE Philippine economy will not likely attain a 7-percent expansion this year, as the strong investment growth is expected to moderate in the coming months, a Singaporean bank said over the weekend.

“Given that there has been a front-loading of investment ahead of the May elections, however, we reckon that there will be a moderation in growth momentum going forward. The sharp spike in investment growth over the past two quarters is not sustainable,” DBS Bank said in a report.

It said investment growth averaged 24.9 percent in the past two quarters. On a two-quarter average basis, the bank said the first quarter to second quarter of 2010 was the only other occasion when investment growth was above 20 percent.

“Not surprisingly, it was also a pre-election period. At this juncture, we reckon that full-year GDP growth will be closer to 6.5 percent rather than 7 percent,” DBS said.

It said investment growth was a robust 25.6 percent in the first quarter, the strongest in five years.

Private consumption growth also reached 7 percent, the highest in three years. This resulted in a GDP growth of 6.9 percent, higher than 5 percent a year ago.

DBS said despite the possibility of not growing by 7 percent in 2016, “as long as the region is concerned, the Philippines remains as one of the fastest-growing economies, up there with India and China.”

Meanwhile, Nomura Group said the Philippine economy had the potential to grow by 6.5 percent this year, higher than the revised 5.9 percent in 2015, as the incoming administration of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte was not expected to veer away from the economic reforms of the Aquino administration.

MITSUBISHI Motor Philippines Corp. said it will introduce Euro-4 compliant multipurpose vehicles in 2018 to replace locally-manufactured Adventure and L-300 vehicles.

JEFFREY FERRER

GREEN LIGHT

On addressing global warming WHAT is global warming? We often hear this term and it seems to be a substantial and continuous issue for our country, but why can’t we find a permanent solution for this? Why can’t we prevent it? Who really created this issue?

Changes in the Earth’s climate Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture and other human activities are believed to be the primary sources

MMPC vice president Dante Santos said company engineers and designers in Japan and the Philippines were working together to prepare the new specifications for the dieselfed vehicles.

“We’re trying to cram to be able to fit in the correct model but what we can do is to maintain the same concept. We’re creating a new engine compliant to Euro-4 standards but we will maintain the concept of family-cum-business use,” he said.

The government will enforce Euro-4 standards by Jan. 1, 2018, forcing car companies to stop the production of non-compliant vehicles including Mitsubishi Adventure and L-300 chassis cabs.

Mitsubishi said it was trying to accelerate the design and improve the specifications of the new models that would not veer away so much from the original concept of Adventure and L-300.

“We want something like that because that is good for working and we want a family business thing like the Adventure. We will not go away from those two principles,” said Santos.

The company is also keen on maintaining the high level of local content for the new models that it achieved for Adventure and L-300 at 67 percent and 61 percent, respectively.

Mitsubishi said it was the only company that was able to have more than 50 percent local content for locally-assembled vehicles.

Santos said MMPC would still produce Adventure and L-300 on calculated volumes until

the retirement of the models by end-2017.

The company said with the new models, it would infuse additional capital on top of the initial P4.3 billion it announced previously for compliance with the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program.

The program offers as much as P27 billion worth of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to three approved participants.

MMPC is one of the two car companies that submitted its intention to join the program and plans to enroll the Mitsubishi Mirage as its entry model.

MMPC said with the entry of Mirage into the production line, it expected production volume to increase to over 35,000 units by 2017, or 66 percent higher than expected production in 2016.

MMPC remains the country’s second biggest vehicle seller and manufacturer.

It recently celebrated a new milestone at its Sta. Rosa, Laguna plant as production reached 600,000 units in March 2016.

Asean agriculture meeting. Agriculture

assistant secretary Paz Benavidez II (inset) opens the 4th meeting of the Asean sanitary and phytosanitary contact points in Bohol with eight member countries in attendance. The annual ASCP meeting aims to regularly update and discuss regulatory measures to effectively implement policies and complement sanitary and phytosanitary initiatives among Asean member states. Shown are the delegates from Asean members.

of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years.

Global warming threatens the future of the planet and there is both an urgent need and a moral imperative to reduce fossil fuel consumption. I think I can define global warming as a silent killer, endangering our lives and even our planet. Global warming also exacerbates the poverty level among farmers and fishermen and creates new hunger spots. Because of the temperature change, many fish will die, thus affecting the fishermen, reducing their catch, affecting the amount they can sell and even the food they put on the table for their family.

Farmers will experience significant decrease in crops yields due to either very wet or very dry conditions. As a result of lower yields, together with the pressure of a growing population, food prices will go up, making food less affordable for those living in poverty, resulting in increased hunger and malnutrition.

Campaign for awareness In the aftermath of the recent elections, I would like to raise

this issue to our newly elected officials. We can prevent or even lessen global warming by instituting three actions. First is awareness. I think the government should launch an information campaign to educate people on global warming and how this affects our daily life.

Nowadays, we all live busy lives, trying to earn money, to rise up the corporate ladder, to care for our family that we have no time to read up and educate ourselves on global warming on our own. A strong campaign for awareness must be the first action of the government so we will be aware on how directly it affects our living and the future generations. With increase awareness, they will be conscious enough on how they act more responsibly, especially when they are driving a car, or having a cigarette, or burning trash in the backyard— those small things that can have a big impact on Earth. It really matters.

Maximize natural resources Second is to maximize our natural resources. We are blessed

with bountiful resources and we should conserve it and not destroy it. With proper care, we can use these resources wisely. Let’s advocate planting trees. Let’s invest in green jobs and clean energy. Let’s encourage smart investments in green, job-creating industries.

Investing in clean energy industries, such as wind and solar, as well as enhancing energy efficiency programs and retooling manufacturing plants can lead us out of this crisis and into a new clean energy economy. This is a win-win situation because at the same way we will provide a job to the people for the benefit of our country.

Build better communities and transportation systems Lastly, please build better communities and transportation systems. Shorter drive equates to less pollution. Less time behind the wheel means less money spent on gas—and more time for you. Plus, studies show that a neighborhood where people walk more is healthier, safer and friendlier.

And when people walk to the store, the office, or the movie theater instead of driving, we slow down global warming.

Each “smart growth” community reduces global warming pollution by 20 to 40 percent compared to the norm.

It’s never too late, but we have to start today. We can still save our Mother Earth for today and future generations. It’s a matter of awareness and discipline on how we live and what to live for.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. This essay is part of a journal he kept in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Visit his blog at https://officiallyjeff. wordpress.com/ The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Erdogan loyalist next PM in Turkey ANKARA—Turkey’s Transport Minister Binali Yildirim is set to be appointed head of the ruling party and the country’s new prime minister Sunday, consolidating strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on power.

The 60-year-old replaces in both jobs Ahmet Davutoglu, a former foreign minister who promoted his own ambitious agenda but threw in the towel after a power struggle with Erdogan.

Yildirim—a longstanding and faithful ally of Erdogan—is the only candidate at an extraordinary congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that will choose the party chairman.

In a carefully-choreographed sequence of events, later in the day Erdogan is due to hand Yildirim the mandate of prime minister, with a new government expected to be formed in the next days.

Analysts expect Yildirim to be a more pliant figure for Erdogan than Davutoglu, as the president presses on with his plan to create a presidential system in Turkey to further consolidate his powers.

Transport minister for almost all of the last one-and-a-half decades, Yildirim has been Erdogan’s pointman for the implementation of his grandiose road and rail infrastructure projects.

“There appears to be more harmony” between Yildirim and the president than in the Davutoglu era, Deniz Zeyrek, the Ankara bureau chief of the Hurriyet daily, told AFP at the congress.

“Binali Yildirim is a more technocrat figure and a man of projects,” he said.

Not known for his charisma, Yildirim made a glitzy entrance in front of thousands at the congress, clad in football scarves and throwing carnations into the crowds to the sound of thumping Turkish pop music.

Divisions between Davutoglu and Erdogan had been boiling for months over a series of issues including Turkey’s battle against Kurdish militants, an accord with the European Union on refugees and the shift from parliamentary to presidential system.

Erdogan’s critics have accused him of authoritarianism, pointing to the growing number of investigations against journalists along with a highly controversial bill adopted by parliament on Friday that would lift immunity for dozens of pro-Kurdish and other MPs and could see them evicted from parliament.

“He [Yildiri]) will only have the role of deputy to Erdogan in the [presidential system] that he wants to put in place,” said political commentator Gokhan Bacik.

Another critical task facing the new prime minister will be to negotiate with the European Union on a crunch visa deal, a key plank of an accord aimed at easing the EU’s migrant crisis.

The visa deal has been in jeopardy over Ankara’s reluctance to alter its counter-terror laws, a requirement of the agreement, prompting Erdogan to make a series of critical statements about the EU in recent weeks. AFP

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Spain’s British expatriates worry as Brexit threatens BENALMADENA, Spain—At the aptly-named “Euro Bar” in Spain’s Benalmadena, the outdoor patio is brimming with drinkers basking in the warm afternoon sun, English wafting from the tables in this built-up expatriate haunt on the Costa del Sol.

Gala. Singer and songwriter Jordin Sparks performs onstage at Keep Memory Alive’s 20th Annual Power Of Love Gala at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 21 in Las Vegas. AFP

Among them is Pauline, a pensioner who moved to the southern Spanish coast in 2011 with her husband in search of warmer climes for her arthritis— one of up to one million Britons living in Spain, many eying a potential Brexit with trepidation.

“We’d go back,” says the slim, tanned, 69-year-old from the chilly northern British city of Leeds, sipping a pint of beer as she ponders the consequences of Britain leaving the European Union.

Like countless retired British nationals who have swapped the infamous rain back home for the sun of Spain and the lure of cheaper property, Pauline— who refused to give her last name—is most concerned about health care.

Apart from arthritis, she suffers from a thyroid condition for which she needs regular injections and other medication, all of which is covered by Spain’s health care system under EU mechanisms that allow her to get the same treatment as locals.

What would happen if Britons voted to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum is anyone’s guess, as this would be unprecedented in the history of the 28-member bloc.

“One of the most important aspects of the withdrawal negotiations would be determining the acquired rights of the two million or so UK citizens living in other member states,” a British parliamentary committee concluded earlier this month.

“This would be a complex and daunting task.”

Would Britain reach bilateral agreements with Spain—and the other remaining EU members—about expatriates’ rights, and how long would that take?

Or would British pensioners be forced to resort to private health care or pay into Spain’s social security system—a costly endeavor either way.

“We wouldn’t be able to afford it... It’s all right for the rich, but it won’t be any good for the ordinary voters,” says Pauline, a former supermarket cashier.

It’s the same story for Irene Davies, who lives 80 kilometers inland in a gated mobile home park where lovingly-tendered avenues lead on one side to a bowling green, and on the other to a red telephone box.

The 64-year-old has just finished breakfast at her local restaurant on the outskirts of the village of Mollina.

Nearby, mainly British locals stroll through a weekly market where After Eight mints and Oxo cubes vie for space with old copies of “Take a Break” magazine.

“There are concerns about health. If we do come out of the EU, I think they’ll find a mass exodus,” she says, pointing out that most of the residents in her mobile home park are roughly 60 to 80 years old. AFP

Cyclone leaves thousands homeless in Bangladesh DHAKA—Thousands of Bangladeshis were left homeless on Sunday after Cyclone Roanu battered the impoverished southern coastal region, ripping apart flimsy houses and killing at least 24 people.

The storm on Saturday plowed through low-lying villages in the Chittagong and Barisal regions, where residents described seeing meters-high walls of water that caught some unaware.

Authorities evacuated more than 500,000 people to shelters before the cyclone hit with winds of up to 88 kilometers per hour. They later weakened.

But officials said thousands of others along the coast were left stranded in their homes as sea water ripped through dykes and flooded dozens of villages.

“Before we could realize, the whole village was washed away by a huge wall of water,” said Abu Siddique, a councilor from Banshkhali district in Chittagong.

“It came at least six hours early, giving the villagers no time to rush to cyclone shelters. Those who died were caught by a sudden rush of water,” he told AFP. “They (authorities) said the storm surge would be four-feet high but in some places the water

that hit our shore was as high as ten feet.”

Bangladesh’s disaster management chief said thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed and 24 people had been killed in total, up from 23 recorded on Saturday.

About half of those who died were from the Chittagong region which bore the brunt of the storm, Disaster Management Department head Reaz Ahmed told AFP. “Some 80,000 tin-and-mud-built homes were damaged by the storm in the coastal regions including 23,000 homes which were completed knocked down,” Ahmed said.

Authorities were sending relief

supplies including rice and other dry food to affected areas, where many poor residents already have very little and scratch a living as small fishermen or farmers.

Television footage showed villagers sitting helplessly in front of their flattened houses.

“In a moment my home was destroyed,” an unnamed villager in Bhola island off the Barisal coast told private Independent television.

Over 80 villages in Barisal were flooded after a rain-swollen dam burst and forced residents to flee, the Daily Star newspaper said on Sunday. AFP

M O N D AY : M AY 2 3 , 2 0 1 6

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Arrival. Mexican actor Diego Luna and US actress Erin Moriarty laugh with US actor Mel Gibson and French director Jean-Francois Richet as they arrive on May 21, 2016, for the screening of the film ‘Blood Father’ at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. AFP

Drone ‘likely killed’ Mansour Kerry hails changes in Myanmar in visit NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar—US Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday hailed Myanmar’s transition to a civilian government steered by Aung San Suu Kyi as a “remarkable statement” that furthers the cause of global democracy.

In the first high-level meeting with Suu Kyi and her administration since it took office in March, Kerry told the Nobel laureate her country’s evolution towards democracy after decades under the military served as a beacon of hope.

“Today my message is very, very simple: we strongly support the democratic transition that is taking place here,” he told reporters at a joint press conference with Suu Kyi in the capital Naypyidaw.

Historic elections in November swept Suu Kyi and her party into

office and effectively ended half a century of military rule.

Kerry applauded the process as a “remarkable statement to people all over the world”, adding that the new government “has already accomplished extraordinary things.”

Washington last week lifted a host of financial and trade embargoes, but has kept the backbone of its sanctions as well as a blacklist of cronies and businesses close to the former junta.

“I know that the legacy of more than half a century of military rule has not been completely erased,” Kerry said.

Suu Kyi, a veteran activist whose decades-long struggle against the generals won the world’s admiration, has much political capital in Washington. AFP

WASHINGTON—An American drone strike targeted and “likely killed” Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote area of Pakistan on Saturday, US officials said, in a major and rare American military raid in the country.

The air strike, authorized by President Barack Obama, also killed a second adult male combatant as the pair traveled in a vehicle southwest of the town of Ahmad Wal near the Afghan border, a US official said.

“Mansour was the target and was likely killed” by the strikes, which were carried out around 6:00 am (1000 GMT) by multiple unmanned aircraft operated by US Special Operations Forces, the US official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. There were no other known casualties.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the US military was still assessing whether Mansour had in fact been killed.

The deaths of Taliban leaders have

often been falsely reported, and Mansour himself was rumored to have been killed in December.

The United States informed both Pakistan and Afghanistan shortly after the strike, a senior White House official said.

News of the strike came as US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel made a surprise visit to northern Syria to witness the efforts to build up local forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.

He was the highest-ranking US military official to travel to Syria since its civil conflict began in 2011.

The United States has focused its counter-terrorism efforts on fighting IS in Syria and Iraq, but it

also is struggling with a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan since most US combat troops withdrew at the end of 2014.

Mansour was “actively involved” with planning attacks across Afghanistan, and presented an “obstacle to peace and reconciliation between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban, prohibiting Taliban leaders from participating in peace talks with the Afghan government that could lead to an end to the conflict,” Cook said.

Mansour was appointed head of the Taliban in July 2015 following the revelation that the group’s founder Mullah Omar had been dead for two years.

“Since the death of Mullah Omar and Mansour’s assumption of leadership, the Taliban have conducted many attacks that have resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Afghan civilians and Afghan security forces as well as numerous US and coalition personnel,” Cook said. AFP

More bodies pulled out in Sri Lanka COLOMBO—Sri Lankan soldiers pulled more bodies from landslides and distributed food and water to hundreds of thousands of residents camped in shelters on Sunday after major floods hit the island.

Floodwaters were receding in the capital Colombo after the heaviest rains in a quarter of a century pounded the island since last weekend, triggering landslides that have buried victims in tonnes of mud.

Soldiers and other rescuers discovered 13 more bodies late on Saturday in the worst-hit district of Kegalle, about 100 kilometers northeast of Colombo, where two

villages were destroyed last week.

More than 80 people are known to have died so far across the island amid fears the number could rise -- with 118 people still listed as missing.

“The search will continue for some more time even though we have not found anyone alive during these search operations,” Disaster Management Center spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said of the landslides in Kegalle, where a total of 48 bodies have been found.

Sri Lanka was receiving international aid for more than half a million people forced to flee their

homes across the island.

Soldiers joined relief workers in distributing essential supplies to around 300,000 people sheltering in state-run centers, Kodippili told AFP. After bursting its banks last week, the Kelani river running through Colombo was receding slowly. But some 200,000 people living in low-lying areas of the capital were still unable to return home, he said.

“The next big challenge is the clean-up operation, but it can start only in a few days when the waters go down completely.” AFP

Color festival. People gesture and dance as they take part in a color festival on May 19, 2016, at Besiktas in Istanbul. AFP

m onday : m ay 23, 2016

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

E aT, dRInK , T R aV EL

LIFE

The Golden Pavilion

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KyOTO PROTOCOl (PART 1)

By TATum AnChETA

I

t was such a breath of fresh air when I left the 51 degree Celsius heat of Manila for the 14-18 degree temperature of Kyoto late this April. I left for Japan in the aftermath of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Higashi Ward of Kumamoto City in the Kyushu Region, southwest of Japan, and I was a bit wary of aftershocks. I braved Kyoto, and saw that the city was unaffected by the earthquake, with visitors still flocking to all the tourist sights in the area.

During that time, Jetstar Japan, with its 180-seat Airbus A320, had just opened ticket sales for the four new weekly services from Osaka, which complements the existing services scheduled by its sister airline, Jetstar Asia.

Known for its low fare flights, Jetstar operates up to 100 services a day and flies to 11 domestic destinations in Japan and two international destinations.

The best hours to travel are certainly in the evening because you’re welcomed by the fresh morning air when you arrive at the airport. I was seated near the emergency exit where legroom is bigger. I loved that the Jetstar flight attendants mean business when they inform you about safety measures during the flight. The male Japanese attendant handed me the emergency exit leaflet. Silly me, I didn’t take him seriously as I was hurrying to take a nap.

After a few minutes, I gave him back the leaflet. “Ma’am, if there’s an emergency, do you know what you’ll do and how to open the exit door?” I felt like I had to answer a quiz. I took the emergency leaflet again, laughed and read it thoroughly because I had an important role: Open the exit door if something goes awry, gulp.

I landed in Kansai International Airport and took an airport limousine bus to Kyoto Station that took only 90 minutes, and they were on the dot. Kyoto Station is the highest infrastructure that you’ll see in Kyoto, and probably the most modern one in all of Kyoto as most of the structures there are very provincial, lowrise, to keep the heritage feel of the place. From here, you can

Entrance to UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site Todaiji Temple

It is said that those who can squeeze through this opening at the base of the pillar, which is the same size as the Daibutsu's nostril, will be granted enlightenment in their next life

People write their wishes on the wooden plaques that resemble the head of a fox, the symbol that guards the Fushimi Inari shrine

The Fushimi Inari Taisha, where each pillar is inscribed with a name of the donor

navigate through Kyoto with trains, buses or taxis.

From Kyoto Eki (station) there’s already so much to see if you’re a tourist. There are a lot of restaurants in the area where you can eat Japanese or international cuisine.

By the way, if you are walking and you are eating a sandwich or a treat you got from Family Mart, then you are marked as a tourist as locals don’t usually do that. Right in front of the station is Kyoto Tower. You can go up on top of the tower for a fee to have a view of Kyoto from above. The tower is illuminated in red and blue light when you visit at night. Inside the station are interconnected hotels, restaurants and departments stores. I love the Sky Garden on the15th floor where you can see most of Kyoto. If you arrive by noon, it gets really hot. If you come

beautiful sakura or cherry blossoms, which are in full bloom starting March until April. I was still hoping to see the majestic blooms during the time that I got there, but I was greeted by greens instead of pink (huhu). I was two weeks late for the sakura blossoms, but the sight of greens and the lines of trees still had me in a trance.

For some reason, I had such bad luck when I went to Japan. Some of the exhibit areas or tourist spots were closed, the sakura season was over, and it was always raining. I visited my relatives living in Kyoto during my stay and they called me Ameonna or rain woman. In Japanese folklore, this is a female spirit, and apparently that’s what you are called when you attract the rain wherever you go.

If you’re planning to visit all the temples and shrines in Kyoto,

by in the morning, you’ll get to see moms with kids or senior citizens enjoying the view or napping by the benches. On the lower ground, you can check out a cool 4.8-meter long Lego brick replica of the entire station made of 301,584 blocks. If you’re into art, you can visit the Kyoto Eki Museum on the 7th floor.

Too bad it was closed during the time I visited and I also didn’t get to see the opening of the Kyoto railway museum just a short stop away from Kyoto station last April 29th where over 50 different trains from the old school steam to the high-tech bullet train, were featured.

Sakura blooms, temples and shrines

Kyoto is known to have the best spots for hanami, also known as “flower viewing” for the country’s

good luck. You will need to at least live there for a year, as there is so much to do and so many sights to see, so it’s important to just choose the best ones.

During my stay, I was getting a bit confused on which is a shrine and which is a temple, as these are spiritual places for two different religions. But most of the Japanese patronize both, as they usually have their weddings in shrines and hold funerals in temples.

Shintoism is an old religion in Japan that believes in the spirit of nature and ancestors, and centers on several gods. Once you enter the premises, you’ll see a tori archway and you have to go through a ritual of cleansing your hands and mouth before entering. The illustration on the information sometimes looks like the illustration is drinking Continued on C2

m onday : m ay 23, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

From left: Gerald Mendoza, Trade marketing manager, Philippines; Frances Amper Sales, digital media influencer; Fabian Heymer, regional brand manager of Nutella; Evelyn Yap, president of Benby Enterprises; Joyce Owyeong, assistant brand manager of Nutella-SEA; and Tommy del Mar Jr., national business manager of Ferrero Philippines with their own personalized jars that bear their names during the #YourNutella campaign at the Glorietta Activity Center

I

You can personalize the label for your Nutella

GEt #yournutELLa jarS pErSonaLIzEd

n a bid to highlight friendship between their loyal customers, Nutella launched a campaign wherein the brand gets a “new name” – yours – to recognize the importance of each individual and to extend the company’s gratitude to people who have been patronizing Nutella over the years.

The #YourNutella event held at the Glorietta 2 Activity Center saw guests and media partners excited at seeing their names printed on the jars of the popular hazelnut spread. Another highlight was the inspiring talk by Nutella regional brand manager Fabian Heymer who acknowledged the importance of an individual’s name.

As a global brand, Heymer recognized that they owe it to the loyal consumers – every single individual in fact – who make that decision to have Nutella for their breakfast.

“This campaign is all about this friendship. The friendship between our fans, the loyal consumers, the loyal Filipinos and our brand,” said Heymer.

While a particular name and the meaning attached to it is important, the executive said it is one’s actions and behavior that will ultimately determine how an individual and his name will be regarded. “The meaning of a name is so personally linked to ourselves, our character, to our personality, (and) that this is what we want to celebrate here.”

Being one of the fastest growing brands in the Philippines, Nutella aims to celebrate the loyalty Filipino customers by allowing them to put their names on their jar as a sign of the bond and friendship that has been forged over the years between the brand and its consumers.

This campaign started in Europe and has since traveled across the world to Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore and now the Philippines. With more than 20 million people already putting their names on the label, Nutella wants to reach out to more people with the launching of this campaign in the Philippines.

Consumers get to put their names on the label of a Nutella 350g jar for only P279.

During the event, kids and adults also enjoyed fun activities such as painting on the Nutella wall and having their photo taken at the photo booth.

For those who missed the chance to have their names on the label during the event, they can log on to YourNutella.com to have a personalized Nutella jar delivered to their address. Tell your Nutella story through Instagram and tag @NutellaSEA with the hashtag #YourNutella. For more details on this campaign, contact Dominguez Marketing at NutellaPH@dominguez.ph or call +02 897 7088. – Eunice Cabuang

Sky Garden on the 15th floor of Kyoto Eki

Kyoto...

From C1

the water. Well, don’t drink it; just rinse your mouth. People usually go to Shinto shrines to pray for happiness, wealth and good health.

I visited Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, touted as one of the most important shrines in Kyoto. Its gateway of orange painted tori are donated by prominent businesses in Japan, and the letter inscribed on the archway is the name of the corporation that donated it. The the more generous the donation, the bigger the archway.

Every start of the year, people flock to the gates of Fushimi Inari and locals says that during this time, it takes weeks for the caretakers of the shrine to count all the money that comes in. Here, you can write your wishes down on a wooden wishing plaque and hang it by the shrine, ring the bells and clap when you say your wish or prayers. Charms and good luck notes can be bought all over the shrine.

Buddhism originated in India and encompasses traditions and spiritual practices based on the teachings of Buddha. They created temples instead of shrines, and you’ll know if it’s a temple if the name ends with a "ji" (Sensoji,

Cleanse yourself on the water stations before you enter the shrines

Deer roams freely outside the Todaji temple in Nara Park

Todaiji or Ninnaji). Unlike shrines where you see tori, here they have pagodas just like what you’ll see in China and India. Instead of washing your hands or mouth, in the temples you’ll find senko or an incense burner and it is used to purify yourself before entering the temple. Prayers are often more silent here but you can also make your wish or have your fortunes told. You can donate money and get your omikuji (fortune written on strips of paper or small bamboo sticks). In Kyoto, if you’re late for the sakura season, the best place to visit is the Ninnaji Temple, known for the late blooming of cherry blossoms.

Unfortunately for me I arrived so late, I just caught a couple or three flowering tiny trees and shrubs.

One of the most beautiful temples to see during any season is the Kinkaku-ji Temple, or the Golden Pavilion. The gold temple is surrounded by a pond with a lot of koi swimming around it. End of April is almost springtime, so the Golden Pavilion is reflected on the water amidst the lush green surroundings. But the best time to go there is during early hanami to see the picturesque reflections in pink or during autumn from September to November when crimson leaves

envelope the area. During winter, this place looks magical capped in white snow and golden reflections from the temple. During my visit, it was raining and so packed with tourists that you only get to view the pavilion for a few seconds as the guards would usually ask you to move so the others can take their turn to view. No time for selfie with a clear view; it was filled with umbrellas and people!

If you have time to spare, don’t miss the chance to leave Kyoto and head to Nara where the great temple Todaiji is located. From Kyoto Station, you can take the JR Nara Line and the private Kintetsu Kyoto Line trains and they will get you to Nara in less than an hour. Todaiji is one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in Nara and is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. The temple houses the world’s largest bronze statue of Buddha known to the Japanese as Daibutsu. The Buddha’s height is 49.1-ft. and its nose alone is 1.6-ft.

One of the pillars in the hall has a hole in its base the same size as the Buddha's nostril, you’ll see tourists lining up to go inside the tiny hole. It is believed that if you can squeeze through its opening, you will be granted enlightenment in your next life. I didn’t dare try as they might have to call firemen to get me out of it. Outside of

the temple grounds you will see deer, regarded as messengers of the gods and here they can roam freely. You can even touch them and they will not run away from you, but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. I saw some deer even poking one of the tourist bags; it’s probably looking for food.

Around the temples and shrines, there are a lot of gardens that you can visit, if you’re up for walking and exploring. It’s best if you download a translator app as most of the locals don’t speak English. If there’s one thing I wanted to take home with me during my stay, it’s the flowers and the trees (well, aside from sake and whisky). Japan has such lovely flowers, almost all the doorsteps have a bonsai and flowery pot. Even the weeds that just sprouted in the pavements look beautiful.

Catch the next part of this article as I talk about the colorful stories of Gion, the hot springs in Kyoto, and learn a thing or two about sake in the district of Fushimi and whisky in Yamazaki Distillery.

Jetstar Japan flies to Osaka up to four times a week. For more information and to check availability and prices of tickets, visit www.jetstar.com.

m onday : m ay 23, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

A close look at the peaches on the trees in Georgia

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One of the whale sharks in the Georgia Aquarium

GEorGIa on my mInd merCury rising

By BoB zozoBrado

“. . . Just an old sweet song . . . keeps Georgia on my mind.”

That’s what the late rhythm-and-blues singer Ray Charles says in his song of the same title. Georgia, also known as the Peach State and located in the southeastern section of the United States, is so beautiful that, after your first visit, the memory lingers just like a “last song syndrome.”

I have to admit that I did not have the chance to go around the entire state as I had to be at a conference in Atlanta, the capital, and I barely had enough time to visit my hotel’s environs.

But, the ultimate tourist that I am, I managed to squeeze in a peek at a few of the city’s tourist attractions within the limited time I had.

The Centennial Olympic Park is a 21acre public park in downtown Atlanta, and was part of the infrastructure put up for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It is surrounded by many of the city’s landmarks, notably the Georgia Aquarium, the CNN Center and the World of Coca-Cola.

The Georgia Aquarium has thousands of marine species contained in 10 million gallons of salt water, and is the largest in the Western Hemisphere. It used to be the largest in the world, but in 2012, Singapore opened its Marine Life Park, which is bigger.

Aside from gigantic manta rays and beluga whales, the main attraction is the school of whale sharks imported from Taiwan. In fact, the aquarium’s structure was designed around the whale shark exhibit.

The global headquarters of Cable News Network, popularly known as CNN, offers a very interesting tour that takes the visitor to the network’s different studios and, if he’s lucky, he gets to meet some of the broadcast personalities seen on TV. The building also houses an Omni Hotel and a large atrium food court which is very popular among the locals. This atrium has a very interesting structural feature – its escalator, used for the CNN tour – is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest freestanding escalator in the world. It is supported only at each end.

Where I enjoyed most was at the World of Coca-Cola, a museum showcasing the history of my favorite beverage, which houses entertainment areas and attractions, at the 20-acre company headquarters at Pemberton Place, named after John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola.

The store has a vast selection of decorative items, apparel, accessories, and one-ofa-kind art pieces. I spent the whole day browsing around every single nook and cranny of the store, as it has hundreds of

The Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta Atty. Adel Tamano, VP for Public Affairs and Communication, Coca-Cola Philippines

Inside one of the studios of CNN

collectible items. I tried to control myself because I didn’t want to spend so much on non-essentials and pay for excess baggage charges. Nevertheless, I stayed inside that store until closing time, busy taking a closer look at each item, going back and forth to the cashier for every item I considered my “last purchase” only to discover immediately after that there was another nice item I wanted to have. What a tourist bait this store is!

Speaking of my favorite beverage, CocaCola Philippines recently announced its STAR (Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources) Program which is part of the company’s global initiative that aims to empower as many as five Million women within its value chain by the year 2020. This Program was actually started five years ago and implemented in 47 locations nationwide and has already made life better for 52,000 women by the end of last year, according to Adel Tamano, CocaCola Philippines’ vice president for Public Affairs and Communications.

The Program includes a 12-week Basic Entrepreneurship and Gender Sensitivity Training for women micro-retailers who own sari-sari stores and carinderias or food stalls. With TESDA as partner, this STAR Program has three components: Access to Training, Access to Resources, and Access to Peer Mentoring support.

This latest project of Coca-Cola reminds me of some of the brand’s many taglines throughout the years: The Pause That Refreshes, Things Go Better With Coke, It’s The Real Thing, Open Happiness, etc. I also

remember my younger days, when I fell in love with the brand’s top-rating commercial jingle: “I’d like to build the world a home, and furnish it with love. Grow apple trees and honeybees, and snow white turtledoves. I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony. I’d like to hold it in my arms and keep it company…”

I can sing the whole jingle over and over again. Small wonder why I will always have Georgia on my mind.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

yoUr MoNday CHUCKLE: a pizza store clerk reported this phone conversation between him and an angry customer.

CUSTomEr: Hey, you careless !*%$!! fool. The pizza I ordered came with no toppings on it, nothing at all¼ it’s just the dough!

CLErK: So sorry to hear that. Please¼ (customer cuts him off) CUSTomEr: oh, never mind. I opened the box upside-down!

m onday : m ay 23, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Bistecca Alla Toni & Sergio is made of grilled porterhouse or rib eye with golden risotto and creamed greens

@LIFEatStandard

Pizza Vegetariana is brick oven pizza with tomato, mozzarella, onion, eggplant, bell pepper and artichokes

Italy meets spaIn In mcKInley HIll

By Bernadette lunas

I

t is said that, “when in Rome, do what the Romans do.” And according to Italian-Filipino business owner Giulius Ceazar Iapino, when it comes to eating pasta, we should take a leaf from the Italians: They use the fork, get noodles from the side of the plate and twist them onto the fork.

And when it comes to partaking of pizza, another Italian food favorite, it’s actually unusual for one to use utensils. “Basically, pizza is a finger food, hence you should eat it with your hands,” Iapino told The Standard Life.

But this newly opened ItalianSpanish Resto Pub at Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill doesn’t care how you consume your meal. In fact, all it wants you to do is to take your time, having good food shared with good friends, like how Italians do.

Owned by Rigatoni Corp., the same company that operates Parmigiano Ristorante Pizzeria at Newport City in Pasay, Toni & Sergio is an Italian gastropub with a Spanish twist in a casual setting. Iapino is the president of Rigatoni Corp. “We are targeting to expand our market,” he reveals.

“In Parmigiano, we serve business executives and families from the upscale homes. Here, we aim to please the middle class and young professionals who want to unwind and relax while enjoying good food and drinks.”

Iapino says Toni & Sergio is dedicated to his Italian father who

Pizza Gamberetti Con Rocula

Paella Nero Con Frito Misto

Rigatoni Corp. partners officially open Toni & Sergio Gastro Italiano at Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley hill PhoTo By Teddy PelAez

also happens to be a restaurateur – Antonio “Toni” Carmine – and his uncle, Sergio Candido. “My dad, Toni, has a few restaurants and pubs in Italy while Sergio, the younger brother of my dad, is a well-known TV director in Italy, Spain and Argentina,” shares Iapino.

T&S Chicken wings served with spicy aioli bleu cheese and marinara

Rigatoni Corp. partners thought that since Toni has been in the Italian restaurant business for over 50 years and since Sergio (whose filmography includes The Voice Italy, Caramba Che Fortuna and Ola Rafaella) is considered an adopted son of

Toni & Sergio’s hand tossed brick oven pizza is one of the must-try dishes in the Italian-Spanish restaurant PhoTo By Teddy PelAez

Bolognese

Spain, it was only apt to build a restaurant offering both Italian and Spanish cuisines.

And since Toni & Sergio is inspired by the food-loving Iapino brothers, the younger Iapino says every dish that comes out of their kitchen is authentic and of high quality. “My dad is very particular with food that’s why although we are serving affordable dishes we make sure we’re not sacrificing the quality in order to achieve authenticity,” explains Iapino.

Speaking of authenticity, the owners share that they import some of the ingredients, such as the noodles used in pasta dishes, to capture the true taste of the European cuisines. “We want our customers to experience how the Europeans eat and enjoy their food,” says operations manager Arnel Due. Toni & Sergio has 70 Italian and Spanish dishes on its menu.

Italian dishes include pizza, pasta and steak, among others, while croquettas, paella and chicken dishes represent Spain.

First time customers are recommended to try the

gastropub’s brick oven pizza made with hand tossed dough. Bar chows like nachos and chicken wings are also available for those who prefer lighter meals. All food menu can be paired with Toni & Sergio’s wide selection of Italian wines, liquors, local and imported beers and signature cocktails.

One must not miss, however, the Italian soda on offer that comes in apple, blueberry, strawberry and other flavors.

But while the restaurant offers both Italian and Spanish food, Iapino clarifies that there is no one dish that combines the two European cuisines. “We don’t put them together because we are worried that we might just end up ruining both cuisines,” he says.

He adds that they just want to bring diners to Italy – through the food and the ambiance – and inject a Spanish twist while they’re at it.

Toni & Sergio Gastro Italiano is located at G/F Venice Grand Canal Mall, Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

m oNDAy : m Ay 2 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

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Tee-off. Tagaytay Highlands has maintained itself as one of the country’s premier mountain resorts in the country

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Belle Cup 2016 participants (from left) Susana Dagless, Cathy Neish, Pia Basa, and Genaro Tan

TagayTay HIgHlanDs: yOuR sElf-cOnTaInED lEIsuRE HavEn

fter two strong decades, Tagaytay Highlands remains at the top of its game as one of the country’s premier mountain resorts that offers themed residential developments, an idyllic environment, and world-class facilities.

Considered as a self-contained leisure community just outside Metro Manila, it houses a 48-seater Swiss funicular train, two world-class golf courses, the Peak Bart with a 360-degree view of two lakes, Taal volcano, five mountains, and four cities; twenty F&B outlets, and a variety of sports and recreational facilities.

On top of that, Tagaytay Highlands also organizes different events to foster good relationships among its members and create a friendlier community. In fact, one of the most exciting events of the Highlands was a success last month. That was Tagaytay Highlands’ recently held Belle Cup 2016, an event that gathered close to 500 golfers at the Highlands’ two world-class golf courses.

Recording the highest number of participants yet, this year’s golf tournament showed that the Highlands is committed to promoting sports and wellness through its topnotch sports and recreational facilities, including the two courses where the tourney was held.

“This is the 16th year of the Belle Cup, which was so designed that members are required to play at two courses—one in the Highlands and one in the Midlands,” Willy Ocier, Tagaytay Highlands founder, pointed out at the conclusion of the four-day event last April 10.

Presented by Belle Corporation, Belle Cup 2016 required all participating members to play with a guest to foster camaraderie and promote the golf courses among potential members.

“The Belle Cup is always a certified hit because it’s meant to be a fun tournament. After all, Tagaytay Highlands is designed to be a fun resort. A variety of activities are in store for participants who all have a good time because they can bring their friends, families, and their potential business partners to the Highlands,” Ocier said.

“I had a great time! We always have a great time when it comes to Belle Cup because you get to see all the people here like old friends.

overall Team Champion Chesca Imperial and Hannah See with Golf Director Ray Valencia (far left), TH Founder Willy ocier, Club President Jerry Tiu, and Gen manager Claire Kramer

Peugeot cars, one of Belle Cup’s sponsors, welcome guests at the venue

Tourney participants Romy To, Ed Las, Leslie Reyes, and Jesus Ramos

Jeric Ang, Emmanuel yu, manuel Santos, and Arnel Lim

Belle Cup 2016 Champions with Golf Director Ray Valencia and Club President Jerry Tiu (second and last from right)

The weather is always perfect and great camaraderie [from participants],” veteran singer-actor Ariel Rivera said.

At the event’s 16th edition, where numerous awards and prizes were given, the female power duo of Chesca Imperial and Hannah See took home the Overall Champion crown, and also bagged the championship awards for the categories of Midlands Ladies, Highlands Ladies, and Belle Cup Ladies.

Other winners at the twin tourneys included Anthony Tan and Michael Chan for Group I;

Timothy Yang and Lexington Rodriquez for Group II; Jesus Ramos and Romy To for Group III; and Kok Hin Lim and Ricky Alegre for Sponsors’ Champion.

Ocier happily related that this year’s tournament participants only had good things to say about Belle Cup 2016.

“The weather was great and the golf tournament’s fun format took off a lot of pressure from the game. It was all about everybody having fun while trying to win trophies,” Ocier related.

“The new format has been very interesting and very exciting ac-

tually. This new scramble format encouraged a lot more teamwork with my partner,” said Elmer Lapeña who joined the Cup for the fourth time.

Each golfer was also deemed a winner not only because of the enjoyable tournament, but also because more than a hundred exciting prizes were raffled off to them. The prizes included thousands of cash prizes; casino chips worth Php100,000; an Asian cruise inclusive of round-trip plane tickets to China; two business class tickets to Hong Kong; hotel accommodations; television

sets; and iPads, among others.

With the success of this year’s Belle Cup, Ocier now looks forward to a more exciting event and a bigger crowd next year, encouraging everyone to sign up as early as possible.

“We urge our members and guests to sign up soon because the slots for the Belle Cup always fill up very fast. We give the best awards and prizes so everyone can go home with something in hand. Plus, they can enjoy the weather, enjoy the bonding with family and friends, and enjoy all the facilities,” Ocier concluded.

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m onDAy : m Ay 2 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

Event host Divine lee keeps the crowd alive

Australian DJ callum David plays music that become instant hit among partygoers

AcER mAkES BoRAcAy SIzzlE wItH A #toozESty pARty

E

nveloped by a night full of warmth and zesty vibe, tech titan Acer Philippines, Inc. made the beauteous island paradise of Boracay sizzle as it celebrated a zest for life and launched its newest line of smartphones, the Acer Liquid Zest.

And not only did it launch its latest line of smartphones, Acer, a

technology company known for breaking barriers between people and technology by offering innovative IT products and mobile devices, made it clear to the whole island what partying is all about.

Acer also invited some friends from the blogging community to this one-of-a-kind, pump-to-the-beat #TooZesty Boracay beach party and

made them and all the other guests dance and rock the night away to heart-pounding dance music.

But before the rockin’ party, Acer introduced first the Acer Liquid Zest and Acer Jade 2 series via product updates with Acer’s trusted and valued partners. With the help of TV host Divine Lee, the media got to see first-hand what these new Acer liquid zest and Acer Jade 2 are the real rockstars of the party

DJ callum David (first from right, back row) with blogger David Guison (first from right, front row) and his blogger friends

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Hoopster — O’Neal 5 Kind of yoga 10 Linen color 14 Ashram leader 15 Open-air lobbies 16 Shuttle launch sound 17 Leaf source 18 Limestone formation

20 Cut drastically 22 Excitement 23 Lead the life of — 24 Earth, to Pierre 26 Debate side 27 Looks up to 30 Ripple 34 Uses a pepper mill 35 Flooring piece 36 It may be fragile

37 Called the butler 38 Zestful 40 Early siren 41 Comic — Philips 42 After-dinner wine 43 Hummed along 45 Designate, as funds 47 Climbs 48 Morn’s counterpart 49 Pirated 50 Laissez- — 53 Thai neighbor 54 Blue as the sky 58 Seamy side 61 Russian epic hero 62 Tpks.

63 Bridal path?

64 Napoleon’s exile 65 In case 66 Make — — buck 67 Deli loaves DOWN 1 Barracks offs.

2 Fling 3 Circle size 4 Knight work?

5 Owns, maybe 6 Rose-petal oils 7 Import and export 8 City near Kilauea 9 Battery size

MONDAy, MAy 23, 2016

10 11 12 13 19 21 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 35 39 40 42 44 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 59 60

Fur of kings Wind into loops Evaluate Heavy hydrogen discoverer Orchard Rustler’s target Make good as new Cousteau’s ship Tally Stage production Trivial Artificial locks Pick up on Snowy-white bird Warty critters HBO alternative Hot Springs st.

Cooler, perhaps Patio stone NCAA Bruins Least Ring-shaped islands Hot dip Roll tightly Poker stake Fateful day Erik the Red’s son Sea, in a gale Pajama coverer Time periods Pasture sound Even so

and zesty Acer mobile devices were all about in terms of features and other benefits, especially for the physically and socially young and those whose passion in life is going for the adventure they love.

Then, Acer held a Mobility Partners’ recognition ceremony where outstanding channel partners of Acer mobile devices were feted with morale-boosting awards and prizes for their excellent work in spreading the word—and actually selling—these exceptional devices that cater to the young and active crowd of today.

After that, it was all about partying all night long, Acer style.

Make no mistake about it because Acer knows how to throw a “mean” party. Celebrating ev-

eryone’s zest for life, Acer flew in world-class DJs, the likes of DJ Callum David from Australia and DJ Romanova to rock the night away amid overflowing drinks, food and unending party beats.

It was a blistering summer night but the Acer #TooZesty party was simply unstoppable as the beach party people had rip-roarin’ fun.

As expected, the party lasted till the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was tired and probably would have mean hangovers the morning after, but it was all worth it.

For more about the Acer Liquid Zest and Acer Jade 2 series smartphones and other Acer products, go to www.acer.com.ph, follow Acer via Twitter (twitter.com/acerphils) or www.Facebook.com/AcerPH.

m onDAy : m Ay 2 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

C7

‘DEAR UGE’ now on ITS SEconD SEASon

G

TV host and comedienne Eugene Domingo

MA Network’s comedy anthology Dear Uge continues to bring happier weekends to every Kapuso as it began its second season yesterday.

Award-winning comedienne/ actress and TV host Eugene Domingo expressed her happiness with the show’s success and the overwhelming support from TV viewers since it first aired on February 14. Dear Uge is all-original, and its stories, characters and plot twists are entertaining and amusing.

“Natutuwa silang lahat sa concept, but it’s not easy. You know, very stiff ang competition sa TV. Very understandable naman na

lahat ay conscious ma-maintain yung good ratings so nacha-challenge kami every now and then.

That’s why I am happy. Ito yung result ng team work. Kaya sana tumagal pa ang Dear Uge dahil marami pa kaming gustong i-guest na artists at i-share na stories sa ating viewers,” said Eugene.

Yesterday, the celebrity guests were Bobby Andrews, Angelu De Leon and Atak who delivered a true-to-life story about marriage in the episode entitled ‘Mrs. Aning’ under the helm of Soxy Topacio.

Catch the fun and exciting stories on Dear Uge every Sunday afternoon after Sunday Pinasaya on GMA.

TV5 clear winner in election coverage TV5 Network Inc. has gained praises and positive feedback from netizens for its 28-hour uninterrupted Bilang Pilipino election coverage, which was a synergy among MVP Group of Companies, was cited by netizens as their preferred network because of its fast and accurate election results and updates.

News5 Chief Luchi Cruz-Valdes cites TV5’s “Bilang Pilipino Campaign” as the most extensive coverage that the network has ever mounted, keeping Filipinos around the world updated to the latest developments concerning the elections through all its broadcast, digital, mobile and social media channels.

TV5’s uninterrupted 28-hour election coverage ran from 5:00 a.m. of May 9 until 9:00 a.m. of May 10 with its team of reporters deployed to all parts of the country bringing fresh updates from candidates, voters, polling precinct situations, and other election-related issues.

The Bilang Pilipino coverage was a convergence of technology. “This indepth election coverage was a product of a right goal, team work, intensive planning and preparation,” said TV5 President and CEO Emmanuel C. Lorenzana.

The executive added that since the launch of “Bilang Pilipino Campaign,” the entire team has worked hard to prepare for this event.

“We wanted the coverage to provide intensive information made available across all media,” he furthered.

One of the highlights of the coverage that gained much appreciation from viewers and netizens was how fast information and election results were made available both online and via television.

Mediaquest Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan said that its partnership with PLDT and Smart explains how it was able to get the election results figures from PPCRVs transparency server fast. “We provided the Telco facilities to PPCRV and we were connected to their transparency server.

We made sure that we had more than adequate computing capability and data analytics which were very important in breaking down the raw data we we’re getting from the transparency server,” Pangilinan noted.

With Smart/PLDTs backbone, TV5 reporters were able to go on live broadcast using only their mobile phones instead of the usual broadcast equip-

ment. Installed to the reporters’ mobile phones was the Aviwest live broadcast platform application that allowed them to immediately air on TV with broadcast quality and provided them with much faster and seamless communication with the command center. With Telcos PLDT and Smart on board, updates and social media interaction were also made faster and reporters were able to get their stories, photos and videos out in no time.

In an article published by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, TV5’s Bilang Pilipino election coverage was cited as the “clear winner” in terms of news and production value. It noted TV5 to be way ahead its rivals with its innovative efforts to make the coverage stylish, informative and comprehensive. It also took note of the “panoramic” LED screen that served as the studio backdrop where information such as voter demographics, voter preference, step-by-step procedures in the election process, exit survey figures and other data-driven pieces.

The network’s partnership with SWS propelled its data-driven election coverage where real time updates and questions were addressed.

The coverage featured statistical data broken down into graphics like the Heat Maps that showed updates on who was leading or winning on specific provinces and regions, including among others the provinces where presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte got his highest number of votes. The Heat Maps also showed an updated transmittal percentage and voter turnout rate including breakdown of votes for candidates from both local and national posts shown through a wide horizontal LED. After hosting the most talked-about Visayas leg of the PiliPinas Presidential Debates last March, the Kapatid network has gone to prove its Bilang Pilipino campaign’s thrust through its data driven, extensive, and innovative election coverage and it remains strong in its commitment for unbiased, comprehensive and credible news and public affairs. The Bilang Pilipino campaign will continue to provide an extensive coverage of the elections together with its partners; PLDT, Smart, Voyager, Talas, News5, News5Everywhere, Interaksyon, The Philippine Star and Business World until June 30, the inauguration of presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte.

Director Soxy Topacio with actors (from left) Divine Aucina, Bobby Andrews, Atak, Angelu de Leon and Eugene Domingo

mr. Pure Energy supports daughter’s debut in fashion

Gary Valenciano has always been supportive of his kids with regards to their respective career paths and endeavors. While his two sons Paolo and Gabriel have successfully entered showbiz just like him, his daughter Kiana, Instagram celeb and his unica hija, is steadily carving out a name for herself—this time in fashion.

After having studied at the Raffles Design Institute and the famous Central Saint Martins in London, Kiana finally takes the plunge and marks her

Supportive dad. Gary V shows his all out support to daughter Kinana during the Save my Bag event

fabulous debut in the local fashion scene.

Just recently, proud parents Gary, together with wife Angeli, joined other fashionistas at the opening of the Little White Box Pop-Up Store in Megamall, for the launch of a bespoke, Save My Bag collection, which Kiana took charge of as style curator and creative team captain.

Noted for being the ultimate ‘it’ bag for the cool and fashionable set, Save My Bag is crafted entirely in Bergamo, Italy, and is made from hi-tech PolyLycra, making it ultra-lightweight and rain proof.

Joining Kiana as artistic collaborator is award-winning illustrator Daryl Feril, whom she hand-picked to turn Save My Bag into a canvas for his one-of-akind illustrated artworks, after an initial introduction by eventologist Tim Yap, and a subsequent review of his portfolio, left her immediately impressed.

The highly successful launch provided a glimpse of Kiana’s ability for spotting the latest trends and her fresh, free-spirited yet functional attitude—an embodiment of the ‘cool beyond the rules’ philosophy of Save My Bag. No doubt, Gary and the rest of his family have all the reason to feel blessed and proud of Kiana, who makes an impressive entry into the exciting world of fashion through her stylish and chic Save My Bag collection.

Save My Bag is available at the Little White Box Pop-Up store, the style portal for various international brands, at the 3rd level of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Smart rewards’ partner retailers in mindanao Smart Communications (Smart) kicked off another year of celebrating rewarding partnerships with its network of retailers via a national convention in Davao City, the first in a series of events exclusively held for the members of its Ka-Partner Rewards Program.

Millions of pesos in cash and other prizes were given away during the convention held recently at the Almendras Gymnasium.

Criselda Martin became an instant millionaire while several other retailers won P100,000 in cash from the quarterly e-raffle, as well as gadgets and home appliances during the games and questionand-answer portions of the program.

Two more instant millionaires will be announced during the succeeding retailer conventions in North Luzon and the Bicol region.

“The Ka-Partner Rewards Program is our way of recognizing the invaluable contribution of our most valued partners—our Smart Load retailers all over the country and the key role they play in our success,” said Kat Luna-Abelarde, Smart’s head of Wireless Consumer Operations.

“With our generous incentives, we hope to encourage them to keep growing their business and

increase their own profitability,” she added.

TNT endorser Jericho Rosales did a special number to the delight of the crowd. In support of local talent, Smart also invited Asia’s Got Talent Season 1 contestant, beatbox artist Neil Rey Garcia Llanes.

During the retailer convention Smart launched the Ka-Partner mobile app in line with moves to digitize its sales force. The app makes it easier for retailers to send Smart Load to their customers; save customer lists; load wallet balance alert, and soon, generate sales and profit reports.

The Smart Ka-Partner App is now available for Android devices and can be downloaded at the Google Play Store.

Smart holds 30 conventions across the country throughout the year for retailers, who include sarisari store owners, stay-at-home mothers, students and individuals who wish to augment their income through the loading business.

Under the Smart Ka-Partner Rewards Program, every P100 load sold per day is equivalent to one point. Load retailers can use accumulated points to avail of instant prizes and services or exchange for electronic raffle entries to qualify for the quarterly and annual draws.

m oNDAy : m Ay 2 3, 2016

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ JuanchO TRIvIñO fInally lanDs lEaD ROlE In nEW sERIEs ISAH V. RED

I

t is not surprising if the good-looking Juancho Triviño would finally move on to becoming a leading man in a drama series on GMA 7.

Beginning today, in the intriguing story of Magkaibang Mundo in GMA Afternoon Prime, Triviño plays Elfino, and as his name suggests, he is a dwarf.

In fact, this series revolves around the unique friendship between a human and a dwarf. Will this friendship blossom into a strong and everlasting love?

We will find out.

Louise Delos Reyes plays Princess, the heiress of a couple in a shoe business.

The sad story is that Princess is orphaned at a young age. She lives a miserable life

now with her wicked aunt and step cousins. Then she falls in love with Jeffrey, but she also has special feelings for Elfino, her dwarf friend since she was a little girl.

Bagging this role is a dream come true for Louise. According to her, it has always been her hope to portray a character similar to Cinderella. “From being a princess, she becomes a slave. Dream role ko ito eh.

Actually excited ako kay Princess. Kasi very close siya sa akin dahil daddy’s girl din ako.

Nakaka-relate ako sa kanya,” she said.

Elfino, at young age, meets Princess.

They become friends. He admires her for having a complete family. When Princess’ father died, Elfino becomes her confidant.

Juancho Triviño says he became very excited when he learned that he would be paired with Louise for this project. This is their first team up together and he hopes that viewers would appreciate and support their love team.

“Nang pumasok ako sa industriya, tinitingnan ko rin siyempre ‘yung mga posible kong maka-partner, at isa na si Louise doon.

Rising tandem. GmA stars Juancho Triviño and Louise Delos Reyes play the lead in a new series entitled magkaibang mundo

Assunta de Rossi

Isabelle de Leon

mike “Pekto” Nacua

maricar de mesa

Sa chemistry part, siguro dahil matagal na kaming magkakilala and comfortable na kami sa isa’t isa kaya nakikitaan na kami ng kilig. I’m very happy to be working with her,” he said.

Joining Louise and Juancho are Assunta de Rossi as Amanda, Princess’ mother who will be separated from her; Dion Ignacio as Jeffrey, Elfino’s rival for Princess’ heart; Rez Cortez as Jojo, Noreen’s docile husband; and Gina Alajar as Noreen, the greedy step-sister of Princess’ father.

Magkaibang Mundo also features awardwinning Kapuso actor Gabby Eigenmann in a special role as Ruben, Princess’ father who loves his family dearly.

Adding star power to this Afternoon Prime series are Maricar de Mesa as Criselda, Jeffrey’s haughty mother; Isabelle de Leon as Sofie, Noreen’s greedy eldest daughter; Mike “Pekto” Nacua as Bombi, Elfino’s en-

ergetic friend who accompanies him in his adventures; Liezl Lopez as Analyn, Noreen’s youngest daughter; Marika Sasaki as Maffi, Princess’ best friend; introducing international dancing sensation Balang as Dino, the witty dwarf friend of Elfino and Bombi.

Find out how Princess and Elfino will surpass their challenges to an everlasting love. Will Elfino be able to spend the rest of his life with Princess as a human? Will Princess be able to finally fight for Elfino?

Catch the unique and one-of-a-kind story of Magkaibang Mundo from Monday to Friday, beginning May 23 after Eat Bulaga on GMA Afternoon Prime.

Get the latest updates about Magkaibang Mundo from the official Facebook page of GMA Drama www.facebook.com/ GMADrama, twitter account @GMADrama and the GMA Network website www.

GMANetwork.com.