The Standard - 2016 May 27 - Friday

VOL. XXX NO. 104 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 FRIDAY : MAY 27, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

EU wants tougher stance on China

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RODY SLAMS COPS FOR MOA DEATHS

‘Where were NBI, police, PDEA during concert?’

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO CITY—President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte called a midnight press conference on Thursday to scold the police over the drug-related deaths of five young people in a Pasay City concert last weekend.

Saying the deaths were caused by a failure of police intelligence, Duterte announced he would implement a massive reshuffle in the Philippine National Police and threatened to assign Metro Manila law enforcers to far-flung stations to instill duty and discipline among them.

“I was forced to do a press con-

ference because of what happened.

Nobody is talking about the incident, something that could convey to the public the anger of the parents over what happened,” a fuming Duterte told reporters at the Royal Mandaya Hotel here.

“There are many government people in Manila—I am addressing myself to the police and law

enforcement as a mayor and as a citizen of this republic, there are many people there yet the PDEA [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency], the police community, the national government and the local government unit of Pasay [were clueless]. How could this contraband slip inside the concert Next page venue?”

Midnight conference. President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte talks to reporters at a press conference he called in Davao City early Thursday morning. The incoming president accused lawmen of negligence, which he said led to the death of five persons who allegedly overdosed on illegal drugs at a concert sponsored by a toothpaste company in Pasay City last Saturday. AFP

Duterte: Replace hatred with peace

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‘Ballots pre-shaded to favor LP tandem’

By Christine F. Herrera, JoelE. Zurbano and Maricel V. Cruz A CIVIL society leader and a former governor of Basilan on Thursday said 90 percent of the official ballots in the province were pre-shaded in favor of candidates Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Camarines Sur Rep.

Leni Robredo.

“What happened in the province of Basilan was not an election but a selection,” said former congressman Gerry Salappudin, who spoke at a press conference with civil society leader Pastor Saycon to present what they called the smoking gun of massive electoral fraud in the May 9 national elections.

At the press conference, Saycon and Salappudin also presented sworn statements from members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, who said their votes were for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for president and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vice president were not counted, because the precincts in which they voted showed zero votes for the two candidates.

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Digong: Filipinos must shun hatred, seek peace Duterte said in a two-hour press conference that he hoped by the end of his six-year term, hostilities in the war-torn island of Mindanao would have eased.

“I hope that by the time I step down as president, there won’t be left or right. There are no Moro, lumad, or Christian. We will just call ourselves Mindanaoan and we can build a nation for the next generation in peace,” Duterte said.

While Duterte’s campaign generated a divisive buzz, the president-in-waiting was the first to offer peace to the communist rebels, the Moro Islamic Lieration Front and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Duterte, who describes himself

as left of the center, had promised to give Cabinet positions to the communists.

“If it’s just a matter [of their being] identified with the left, it is not an issue with me,” he said.

Seeking to smooth the ruffled feathers of MNLF emissaries who were unable to meet him, Duterte said he will seek a meeting with the MNLF’s Nur Misuari.

After his latest dustup with the Catholic Church, Duterte sid he would rather not talk with them.

Drawing flak from Martial Law victims over his decision to give former President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Duterte said Marcos should be buried at the cemetery

because he had been a soldier.

“Look, there are courts and the person you blame is already a cadaver. What do you want more from the guy, he’s already dead,” Duterte said as he defended his position.

“When he fought for this country he was a true Filipino ... In addition to being a president, he was a soldier—so those who are lamenting about Martial Law, there are already courts that granted a verdict favorable to you. Do you want the cadaver to be burned?

Will this satisfy your hate?”

“The Ilokano sentiment is anger because of this. The guy is in a small glass casket.”

Duterte said that not even President Benigno Aquino III, who has strongly opposed the burial, can change his mind.

Duterte’s top aid, Christopher Go, said the incoming president would not be vindictive, even to political rivals.

Duterte also said that reporters covering him should not take all of his words seriously, especially

‘Ballots...

were pre-shaded and prepared and no elections were actually held.

Saycon read part of one of the affidavits, which says: “It was clear to me that the shading of the ballots were done prior to the opening of the polls at six ‘o clock in the morning. I have called the attention of the BEI [Board of Election Inspectors] chairman but she just ignored me.”

Saycon said the entries for Roxas and Robredo were all shaded.

He also disclosed that in one precinct in Quezon City, some members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo complained because Duterte got zero votes, as did presidential candidate Jejomar Binay and vice presidential candidate Marcos.

“The 28 Iglesia members complained about why there were zero votes when they had cast their votes in that precinct,” Saycon said.

The INC endorsed Duterte and Marcos ahead of Election Day. Saycon said he planned to talk with the INC, Brother Eddie Villanueva of the Jesus Is Lord movement, and Brother Mike Velarde of the El Shaddai to make them aware of the massive cheating.

The statements of Saycon and Salappudin corroborated those of two members of the Alyansang Duterte-Bongbong (Aldub) who revealed several incidents of electoral fraud in Basilan in the recently concluded elections.

Victor Abillo and Abdurasad Teodoro, provincial coordinators of Aldub in Basilan, said their watchers in the municipalities in the province reported to them that many voters were prevented from casting their votes by armed men who controlled the precincts.

In many of these areas, he pointed out, all the presidential and vice presidential candidates except the tandem of Roxas and Robredo—had zero votes.

Abillo and Teodoro said three other witnesses could attest that indeed no voting was done in many parts of Basilan. They said the witnesses refused to speak for fear of reprisal but said they were willing to

execute sworn affidavits if required to do so.

Abillo also presented the sworn affidavit of a winning councilor, Amina Muarip, who stated that she and her supporters were prevented from voting in Barangay Candiis in Hadji Mohammad Ajul in Basilan

by LP supporters.

In the first day of the official canvass in Congress, a large number of undervotes in the vice presidential race was discovered.

Lawyer George Garcia, counsel for Marcos, noted that from the Certificates of Canvass that the joint canvassing committee of the National Board of Canvassers has opened so far, a huge difference in the votes cast for the position of president and vice president was evident.

Garcia said votes cast for president outnumbered those cast for vice president by 623,174 in some of the COCs. When the official canvass was suspended at 9:26 p.m. Wednesday, a total of 48 COCs had been opened, but only 45 were officially included in the canvass.

Consideration of three COCs, specifically from the provinces of Laguna, Ilocos Sur, and Davao del Norte, was suspended after discrepancies were found, including missing hash codes and differences in the electronically transmitted COCs. The joint canvassing committee has ordered the Provincial Board of Canvassers in the three provinces to appear before them to explain the discrepancies.

In the very first COC opened, from Davao Del Norte, there were five electronically transmitted COCs and one physically transmitted COC. However, the first electronically transmitted COC did not conform with the remaining four.

The Marcos camp had earlier raised concern over the undervotes in the vice presidential race, which they discovered in their own quick count. They said the partial results showed an undervote of 3.3 million for the position.

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO CITY—Although he projects a public image of a profane tough guy, President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte revealed a softer side of himself Thursday as he called on people to remove the hatred from their hearts and work together for genuine justice.

From A1

Both said that massive cheating robbed the electorate of their right to suffrage.

Salappudin said Liberal Party “fraudsters” got together on the evening before Election Day and filled up 90 percent of the ballots in favor of the administration candidates, leaving only 10 percent of the ballots available for voting the next day.

Salappudin said about 90,000 people were not able to vote because of this scheme in the Basilan municipalities of Akbar, Tuburan, Albarka, Sumisip and Maluso.

He added that in the cities of Isabela and Lamitan, there was massive vote-buying, with votes going for P700 up to P2,000.

“I am here to voice the frustration of our people; to condemn the disenfranchisement of our people and to convey this message to our new President Rodrigo Duterte requesting that he cleanse our electoral system [and come up with] sweeping electoral reform, change the automated elections to such that it can no longer be corrupted in the future so that our democratic system, which is the election, can be safeguarded,” he said.

He said there was really a conspiracy among “the people in power” to manipulate the results of the election.

“What happened in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is really a conspiracy to rob the electorate in the ARMM of their constitutional rights of suffrage just... to favor the Liberal party candidates from the top to bottom,” Salappudin said.

Saycon, who represented the Council on Philippine Affairs (Copa) civil society group, said the elections were both dirty and dishonest.

He showed reporters affidavits of individuals, but not their names, who claimed to have witnessed that the “papers” in the voting centers

those that sound ridiculous. An example of this, he said, was his statement Monday that he would give a five-minute inaugural speech.

“I’m a bipolar. One moment I’m serious, one moment I’ll throw jokes,” he said.

But he said he was serious about stopping criminality and took law enforcement agencies to task for their failures.

He also admitted being irritated by incompetent people in the bureaucracy.

On Thursday, Duterte challenged journalists to a “treadmill test” to prove he is fit for office— then attacked Manila-based journalists for being “prostitutes” and “mouthpieces of the oligarchy.”

He also slammed Commission on Human Rights Chairman Chito Gascon as “weak” in the law for “nitpicking” on his gaffe about the rape and killing of Australian missionary in the 1980s.

A former smoker, Duterte admitted during the campaign that he is suffering from Buerger’s disease.

But administration candidate for vice president Robredo played down the issue, saying undervotes for vice president are normal in Philippine elections.

Marcos’ lawyers, however, pointed out that in such a hotly-contested race such a high number of undervotes is unusual and a cause for concern.

Election watchdogs and Information Technology experts had earlier said undervotes don’t usually exceed 1 percent of the total votes cast. In the 2016 elections, this would mean no more than 400,000 undervotes.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections turned down a request from the Marcos camp to have their IT experts audit the automated election system, after it was discovered that a Smartmatic technician had added a new script to the transparency server that was doing the unofficial count.

A Marcos spokesman said they were preparing legal options to push the Comelec to agree to a system audit.

“It is very unfortunate that the Comelec has decided to defer action on the request of Senator Marcos for a systems audit of the transparency and central servers until after the canvassing is concluded. We could not understand how the system audit could affect the official canvass because all election returns have been transmitted and all COCs have been printed out for canvass,” said Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz.

Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said Wednesday the commission en banc has decided to indefinitely defer Marcos’ request to audit the AES. The National Board of Canvassers started the official canvassing of votes for president and vice president Wednesday.

Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina, a members of the NBC, said the next president and vice president could be proclaimed together by Wednesday next week.

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Rody...

From A1

“It’s a failure of intelligence,” Duterte said.

“Where’s the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation], their anti-drug units or whatever that agency is called? Where’s the police? Where’s the PDEA? They knew that if it’s a rock concert or there were bands playing, many assholes would bring illegal substances. I’m just guessing it was just passed on to everybody. Why are there so many people who died [in the concert]?”

Early Sunday morning, five people died—four males and one female—after they were found unconscious during the “Closeup Forever Summer” 12-hour outdoor concert at the Mall of Asia concert grounds in Pasay City.

While the police initially said they were looking at heatstroke or dehydration, witnesses said there were people selling a potent drug called “Green Amore” and using inhalers, which were being distributed among the concertgoers.

Police reports identified the fatalities as Bianca Fontejon, 18; Eric Anthony Miller, 33, an American; Ariel Leal, 22; and Lance Garcia, 36. A fifth victim, Ken Migawa, 18, later died at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay.

An initial autopsy showed there were signs of a drug overdose in two of the victims.

Duterte, who ran on a platform of curbing criminality and the use of drugs, slammed the authorities for their negligence and question the funds allotted to them. He said the police failure to notice the drug dealers during the event was unacceptable.

“The problem is that law enforcement failed,” he said. Once he becomes president on June 30, he said, he would scrutinize where the funds for intelligence and operations go.

“Those who are working are paid to prevent these incidents from happening,” he said.

“Why would you give salaries to underperforming people?

This time, every government worker must prove to the Filipino people that they deserve their salary. I will prove that I deserve to be paid.”

A former presidential adviser on public order under the Arroyo administration, Duterte has warned of a shakeup at the PNP, the NBI and the Bureau of Corrections.

Duterte also hit his nemesis, former Justice secretary and senator-elect Leila de Lima, saying he would investigate her for failing to control the spread of drugs and illegal activities at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

“There will be a massive reshuffle so I am putting a notice now to everybody. All of you from Muntinlupa, you ship out.

Be ready. Pack up,” he said.

Earlier, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said the mayor would not be in Congress for his proclamation, noting that he did not have to be physically present to be proclaimed president of the republic.

He said Duterte would show up for his inauguration on June 30, however.

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100,000 teachers still unpaid MORE than two weeks after this year’s local and national elections, the Commission on Elections has yet to pay 100,000 public school teachers who served as Board of Election Inspectors and support staff, an official said Thursday.

For the final canvassing. Senate staff transport Certificates of Canvass from the United States and Election Returns from Eastern Samar to the House of Representatives for the final canvassing of the votes in this year’s elections. EY ACASIO

Mayor in Zamboanga charged with graft THE Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday indicted Zamboanga del Norte’s Katipunan Mayor Crisostomo Eguia Jr. for 90 counts of graft, 89 counts of violation of the audit code and 55 counts of non-liquidation of P2 million in funds.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the filing of the charges against Eguia and his dismissal from the service.

She also ordered that treasurer Cipriano Plazos and Urdaneta Madridondo perpetually disqualified from public

service and their retirement benefits forfeited.

According to the Commission on Audit, Eguia’s cash advances dating as far back as 1998 remained unliquidated.

Eguia “grossly violated the law by effecting the liquidation of his cash advances a number of years after it should have been done,” the audit report read.

From 1998 to 2011, Eguia received P2 million in cash advances for travel expenses but those remained unliquidated.

CoA reported several deficiencies such as the lack of

supporting documents, no travel orders and lack of receipts, and that the itinerary of travels were approved by Eguia himself instead of the governor.

“It is a declared public policy that all resources of the government should be managed, expended or utilized in accordance with the law and safeguarded against loss or wastage,” the Ombudsman said.

“As head of agency, respondent Eguia has the additional responsibility to ensure the proper granting, utilization and liquidation of all cash

advances.”

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman charged Zamboanga del Sur’s Dinas Mayor Wilfredo Asoy with 30 counts of failure to render accounts under Article 213 of the Revised Penal Code, one count of malversation and one count of graft before the Sandiganbayan.

Asoy allegedly failed to liquidate P2.4 million in government funds, and that the money was spent to buy supplies, gasoline and construction materials and used for travel expenses and intelligence fund.

Rio N. Araja

Alliance for Concerned Teachers-Philippines chairman Benjie Valbuena said out of 475,000 teachers, 100,000 had yet to receive their P4,500 honorariums and P2,000 allowance.

“It has been three weeks now since the national elections and our teachers remain unpaid,” Valbuena said.

Meanwhile, after failing to implement mall voting in the May 9 elections, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista vowed to amend the 20-year-old election law to introduce changes, including allowing voters to cast their ballots in the malls.

“I will again push my proposal for mall voting,” Bautista said, adding he planned to have that implemented in the senatorial elections in 2019.

In the Senate, senators expressed varied reactions on the plan of the Comelec to defer the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections due to the election fatigue suffered during the May 9 elections.

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Assistant Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III said they favored the postponement of the village and youth council elections.

But Drilon said the Comelec could not decide

on its own as it needed legislation from Congress.

During the May 9 national and local elections, Valbuena said, the inspector experienced so many difficulties, such as the risk of being caught in electionrelated violence, just to make sure that the election exercise was clean, orderly and peaceful.

“There were no food and transportation available during that time,” Valbuena said.

Some teachers on Thursday trooped to the Comelec’s main office to demand to be paid for their services.

“The winners in the senatorial and party-list posts have been proclaimed but the compensation of those who served have not yet been released,” Valbuena said.

He said teachers from 31 areas had yet to receive their honorariums and allowances.

Based on Comelec Resolution 10031, the chairman and members of the Board of Election Inspectors and the support staff members would receive per diem at the rate of P1,000 a day for three days, P500 in allowances and P2,000 for undergoing training or a total of P6,500. Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Aquino starts water project in Bulacan PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Thursday broke ground on the P3.3-billion Angat Water Transmission Improvement Project in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

“The Neda [National Economic and Development Authority] Board approved this project on the 29th of May in 2014 and funded by the Asian Development Bank in the amount of P3.3 billion,” Aquino said.

“This month, we will start the detailed design and other pre-construction activities for its construction and the project is expected to be completed in September 2020.

“We are here up to the last moment of our term to have a continuous flow of service for our Bosses, the Filipino people.”

Aquino said that,

for almost six years of Daang Matuwid, the people had known his style of administration.

“We study carefully the problems so that we will be able to point out the right solution to these problems,” he said.

“For nearly six years we have [had] partnerships with several sectors to traverse the straight path.

“It is a great honor for me to serve our motherland and our great race.”

Aquino recalled that, during the Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project Phase 2, they built a new aqueduct to stop the leaks.

They also built the Angat Dam and Dike Strengthening Project to strengthen the structure and make it safe from earthquakes and flooding.

Sandy Araneta

The Wong Chu King Foundation (WCKF) recently celebrated its 26th anniversary with the turnover of the 2nd Phase of the water supply system in Brgy. Calaoagan in the quiet town of Piat, Cagayan. Calaoagan residents, led by Brgy. Capt. Roel S. Baingan and Town Mayor “Black” Villacete, rejoiced over the project as clean water source for 300 households hardly comes by the barangay where most folks rely on farming as a primary source of living. In photo (L-R) Piat Municipal Mayor Atty.

Carmelo Villacete, Bruno Aquino (Kagawad ng Barangay Calaoagan), James Vincent Navarrete (WCKF General Manager), Mr. Alexander Wongchuking (WCKF Executive Director)

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Rody: Good men are costly

By John Paolo Bencito DAVAO CITY—Jo king that some of the people that he wanted to appoint to his Cabinet were a “little greedy,” President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Thursday having difficulty filling his Cabinet because of the low-pay of government officials.

“I’ve been scouting for guys to work in government for the last two weeks. They are young men whom I want to pull from the private sector. The problem is, and I hope they won’t get mad, they’re a little greedy: they immediately ask about the salary,” he said, half in jest.

But Duterte said he understood their concerns because his favored candidates are top executives in top corporations and are at the stage in their lives when they have to send children to expensive colleges and maintain higher-level lifestyles.

On the other hand, Duterte said he was impressed by the list of nominees that the communist National Democratic Front of the Philippines submitted through ranking NDF official Fidel Agcaoili on Wednesday.

“The Left gave me a very impressive list of people who have the talent,” Duterte said. “I really do not know if they’d be willing,” he said.

“I am inclined to give in. If we can talk smoothly and Jose Maria Sison would come home in July, I’m ready to give more of them positions in government,” he said, adding that he expected Sison to return to the country in July.

He declined to name the NDF nominees, except to say that they numbered less than 10 and four of them were women.

Agcaoili earlier told The Standard the NDF nominated three people for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Agrarian Reform and several others for lower positions.

But sources in leftist circles claim that among those recommended by the NDF panel are former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano for DAR, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate for the DENR, and University of the Philippines professor and Faculty Regent Judy Taguiwalo for the DSWD. For the interior and defense portfolios, Duterte said he wanted military men who are mature and forward thinking. “I’m still balancing. It has to be somebody not prone to dynamics,” he said.

Flag Day rehearsal. An honor guard of the Philippine Navy rehearse for the celebration of Flag Day on May 28, the same day 117 years ago when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo first unfurled the Philippine tricolors in Cavite City after defeating Spanish forces in the Battle of Alapan in Imus, Cavite.

EU wants tougher stance on China ISE-SHIMA, Japan—The Group of Seven needs to take a “clear and tough stance” on China’s controversial maritime claims and the Russian annexation of Crimea, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday.

Speaking at the sidelines of a G7 summit in Japan, Tusk warned that the credibility of the club of rich nations was on the line.

“The test of our credibility at the G7 is our ability to defend the common values that we share,” he told reporters.

“This test will only pass if we take a clear and tough stance on every topic of our discussions here... I refer in particular to the issue of maritime security and the South and East China Seas and [the] Russia-Ukraine issue.”

Tusk added: “If we are to defend our common values it is

not enough these days to only believe in them. We also have to be ready to protect them.”

“The policy of the G7 is clear: any maritime or territorial claim should be based on international law and any territorial dispute should be resolved by peaceful means,” Tusk said.

“Unilateral action and the use of force or coercion will not be accepted.”

But Chinese state media warned the Group of Seven nations not to “meddle” in South China Sea disputes, as leaders from the bloc gathered for talks in Japan.

China’s official Xinhua news agency published an article saying the G7—which excludes Beijing—“should mind its own business rather than pointing fingers at others.”

Xinhua writer Chang Yuan accused Japan of “attempting to take advantage of its G7

summit host status and draw more ‘allies and sympathizers’ to isolate China.”

Both Washington and Tokyo —which is locked in a separate dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea— have warned against Beijing stoking tensions in the contested waters.

Chang wrote that such remarks showed “Japan’s hidden agenda: to meddle in the South China Sea issue.”

Weighing in on the South China Sea “exceeds the G7’s current influence and capability. What’s more, it reflects a lingering Cold War mindset,” Chang added.

The commentary came ahead of a ruling expected within weeks on China’s claims brought to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague by thePhilippines.

China has warned outside

parties not to meddle in the South China Sea, but has also attempted to draw nations as far away as Niger, Togo and Burundi into the dispute, insisting that they support its rejection of the tribunal.

British Prime Minister David Cameron warned China that it must abide by the outcome of the international arbitration as he arrived in Japan for the G7 summit, the Guardian newspaper reported.

Beijing summoned top diplomatic representatives from the Group of Seven nations including France and Britain in April to express anger at a joint statement on the South China Sea. The G7 said at the time: “We are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas, and emphasise the fundamental importance of peaceful management and settlement of disputes.” AFP

KL regrets fishers’ beating

By Vito Barcelo

Mishap. A taxi driver and a bicycle rider were hurt when a construction crane collapsed at a condominium construction site on H. V. dela Costa Street, Salcedo Village in Makati City and felled five electric posts that crashed in turn on two parked vehicles Thursday morning. LINO SANTOS

THE Malaysian government expressed regret over the beating of Filipino fishermen who were arrested May 9 at Rizal Reef in the Spratly Islands and pledged to punish the navy seamen involved in the incident, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Rene Almendras said the Malaysian government will also compensate the three Filipino fishermen, who were arrested by a Malaysian navy patrol at Rizal Reef, also called Com-

modore Reef, one of the nine Spratly Islands territories claimed by the Philippines.

In a television interview, Almendras said the Malaysian government informed the Philippines that they are already in the process of the punishments for the people who did it.

“In any form, whether agitated or not, beating up is not acceptable,” he said.

“The DFA is monitoring the Malaysian government’s actions on the naval personnel involved in the incident.”

The Filipino fishermen on board a Philippine fishing vessel was about 29 km

southwest of Rizal Reef when a Malaysian patrol boat intercepted it for supposedly encroaching on Malaysian waters.

When the vessel tried to flee, the patrol boat gave chase and briefly detained the fishermen.

Malaysia and the Philippines have overlapping exclusive economic zones in the disputed South China Sea, which is believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

But Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the area, through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

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Senators lock horns on death penalty

By MaconAraneta

Shackled. Health workers dramatize their protest at Mendiola bridge in Manila on Thursday May 26 against the Aquino administration for betraying the Philippine interest by entering into negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union. DANNY PATA

Party-list coalition aims at plum posts

By Maricel V. Cruz The 37-member party-list coalition is seeking juicy positions in the incoming 17th Congress in a bid to solidify its forces in support of the leadership of Speaker-in-waiting Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte.

1-Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero, who is the acting head of the coalition in the next Congress, said that the group has formed a negotiating team composed of six party-list lawmakers led by Sherwin Tugna of Citizens Battle Against Corruption to secure the 20 percent of membership to so-called ‘powerful committees’ in the House of Representatives

including the position of deputy speaker for party-list groups.

“The party-list bloc which is close to 40 congressmen has formed a negotiating team [in a bid to secure juicy positions in the Lower House]... including deputy speakership; and this is internal. We would like to get 20 percent of the total committee memberships,” Romero told

reporters at a news conference.

The House has a total 67 committees: 47 regular committees and 20 special committees.

Romero, who won as first nominee of the 1-pacman, said that the party-list coalition would like to be given the deputy speakership to give voice to the ‘marginalized sector’ which party-list lawmakers represent.

The party-list coalition in the 17th Congress on Wednesday expressed full backing to the Speakership bid of Alvarez being the best pick of Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte to head the House in the next Congress.

Earlier the party-list group signed a coalition agreement with Alvarez of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng

Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Romero said they fully support the leadership of Alvarez who has promised to initiate reforms in the next administration by passing vital legislative measures that will benefit the Filipino people to effect a “true change.”

In the coalition agreement, the party-list group vowed to support Alvarez, “who promised fair and equitable distribution of positions including committee chairpersonships to the coalition.”

The agreement also pointed out that the “coalition has expressed its support to the incoming Duterte administration by vowing to constructively cooperate in pushing for its legislative agenda in the House of Representatives.”

REELECTED Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III is reviving his pitch for the restoration of the death penalty, bolstered by the fact that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte supports the capital punishment.

Sotto said the restoration of the death penalty can happen within a year especially if the president and Congress leaders are in favor.

“I had difficulty passing it in Congress because the leaders then were against,” he added.

But Senate President Franklin Drilon was unsure. He said one can’t speak for the Senate at this point. He said committees in the Senate in the 17th Congress have not been even organized.

Drilon said he “will listen to all sides.”

In a separate text message, Senator Sonny Angara said he is unsure about the new senators’ stand on death penalty although he knew a few of his colleagues are rallying behind it.

“I will listen carefully to the arguments for and against,” he said.

He said Congress should also prioritize measures that would improve law enforcement and the justice system alongside any death penalty proposals.

Two senators-elect have expressed their support for the reimposition of the death penalty as proposed by Duterte.

Former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva said he supports death penalty for heinous crimes.

SC justices bare assets: Jardeleza, richest; Leonen, poorest

By Rey E. Requejo

ASSoCIATE Justice Francis Jardeleza was the richest magistrate of the Supreme Court, while Associate Justice Marvic Leonen was the “poorest” among the justices last year.

Based on the summary of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of the 15 justices for 2015, Jardeleza had a net worth of P249,682,637.22. He included joint assets with his wife in his SALN declaration, which showed an increase of P5.2 million from his 2014 net worth of P244,413,320.16.

For his part, Leonen declared a net worth of P2,265,166.45 last year, which was higher by some

P170,000 than his net worth in the previous year. He had no real property and had P360,495.61 in liabilities.

Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo was the second richest magistrate with a net worth of P135,372,247.18, which was about P5 million higher than the previous year. His SALN included assets of his wife Dean Cynthia RoxasDel Castillo.

The latest appointee of President Benigno Aquino III in SC, Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa was third richest with net worth of P117,175,000 in 2015.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s net worth also grew by over P3 million

LEonEn

JArdELEzA

from 2014’s 19,584,104.34 to her latest at P22,625,195.89.

Her real properties dropped by about a million pesos to P7.952 million while her personal properties grew by almost P6 million to P14.673 million as compared to the

previous year.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s net worth in 2015 went down to P82,000,220.00 from P83,679,398.00 in 2014.

Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro’s

net worth in 2015 went up by some P2 million to P14,046,00 from the previous year’s P12,446,000.

Associate Justice Arturo Brion had P20,261,701 in 2015 from P19,015,950 in the previous year, while Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta had a net worth of P39,075,231.25 last year, which was also higher by some P4 million from his 2014’s P35,348,931.25.

Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin’s net worth also grew by some P1.5 million last year at P29,156,828 from 2014’s P27,724,828, while Associate Justice Jose Mendoza’s net worth in 2015 was P37,324,712.11 or over P3 million than the P34,033,378 he had the previous year.

Associate Justice Jose Perez’ net worth has remained at P14,124,000.

Lastly, Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes’ net worth went up from 76,722,262 in 2014 to P77,024,532.92 last year, just like Associate Justice Estela PerlasBernabe’s net worth which grew from P74,996,630 to P76,500,494.56.

It was the second time in its 114-year history that the SC voluntarily released the summary of SALNs of its members.

The SALNs of justices have been released by the high court to the public annually since 2012 but only upon official request from interested parties subject to the approval of the full court.

F R I D AY : M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Police retirees win P4-b ruling

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Court of Appeals has sided with the retirees of the defunct Integrated National Police and ordered the Department of Budget and Management and the Philippine National Police to immediately release the amount of P3.9 billion representing pension differentials of INP retirees for the period 1991 to 2006.

The CA’s Eleventh Division through Associate Justice Pedro Corales denied the petition filed by the DBM Secretary Florencio Abad and the PNP seeking the issuance of an injunctive writ to stop the Regional Trial Court of Manila City from enforcing several orders it issued in 2014 relative to the pension claims of the INP retirees.

The appellate court sustained the orders issued by the Manila RTC on Feb. 20, 2014 directing the DBM to imple-

ment the Supreme Court’s final ruling on May 9, 2007; the May 19, 2014 order denying DBM’s motion for reconsideration of the Feb. 20, 2014 order and directing the issuance of a writ of execution in favor of the INP retirees; and the June 26, 2014 order denying DBM’s motion to recall and quash the writ of execution.

The CA also affirmed the notice to comply, notice of garnishment addressed to the Land Bank of the Philippines and the follow-up

on garnishment addressed to LBP. It ruled that there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Manila RTC in issuing the said orders.

“Petitioners dismally failed to discharge their burden.

The assailed issuances were not shown to be patently erroneous or done in a capricious or whimsical exercise of judgment warranting their striking down through a petition for certiorari,” the appellate court declared.

“Rather, the same were issued in accordance with pertinent rules and existing jurisprudence, thus, the RTC as well as its Clerk of Court and Sheriff cannot be said to have gravely abused their discretion in issuing the assailed orders, writ of execution, notice to comply and notice of garnishment,” it said.

The appellate court added that the Manila RTC’s ruling

was in accordance with the May 9, 2007 decision of the SC which declared that the INP retirees are entitled to the same retirement benefits of the PNP under Republic Act No. 8551 which provides for the reorganization of the law enforcement agency and the modification of its retirement scheme.

Likewise, the SC obliged the concerned government agencies to implement retroactively the proper adjustments on the INP retirees’ retirement and other benefits and to release the same immediately.

The DBM and PNP argued that the amount of P22.9 billion appropriated for the PNP under Republic Act No. 10633 (General Appropriations Act of 2014) does not cover the requirement for the pension differentials from 1991 to 2006.

They added that allow-

ing the use of the funds for a purpose not provided in the appropriations would constitute unlawful release of public funds.

The petitioners argued that all amounts appropriated and released under R.A. 10633 are exempt from garnishment.

However, the appellate court did not give credence to the argument of the DBM and PNP saying that one of the purpose of Congress in appropriating P22.9 billion to PNP is to pay the pension differentials of the INP Retirees pursuant to the May 9, 2007 decision.

“Further, the prohibition under Section 93 of R.A. No. 10633 merely echoes the general rule that government funds are not subject to garnishment or levy in the absence of a corresponding appropriation as required by law,” the CA said.

Buy-bust kills two POLICE on Thursday shot and killed two of three suspects during a drug buy-bust operation in Quezon City.

The third suspect managed to flee, said Chief Inspector Enrico Figueroa.

Recovered from the crime scene were caliber .38 revolver loaded with a round of live ammunition and two cartridge cases; caliber .357 revolver loaded with two fired cartridge cases; seven pieces of transparent plastic sachets, each containing suspected shabu; P1,000 bill and nine pieces of P500 bills incorporated with the boodle money; two pieces of PNP T-shirt athletic uniform; one PNP ballcap; two units of cellular phone and a taxicab used by the suspects. Rio Araja

‘Ecstasy’ shipment seized THE Bureau of Customs seized 100 grams of illegally imported drugs from Germany popularly known as “ecstasy” with an estimated street value of P378, 000 and arrested the consignee who declared the shipment as “make-up kits.”

Customs Enforcement Group chief Ariel Nepomuceno said at least 252 pills of “ecstasy” drugs were found inside a parcel at the Parañaque Postal office.

The consignee, whom Customs did not name, said he was not aware of the content of the package but would still be charge with the violation of “The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”

Vito Barcelo

Crane hurts 2 Die-in protest. Health workers together with pregnant mothers and several residents launch a noontime protest and noise barrage to appeal to the President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to oppose the closure of the Fabella Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila. LINO SANTOS

Singson presses for graft charges against NTA chief FORMER Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson of Ilocos Sur has vowed to press for more graft charges against the head of the National Tobacco Administration who is facing plunder.

Singson, in his complaint filed last Friday, accused NTA Administrator Edgardo Zaragoza of plunder involving P64.6 million in tobacco funds.

Zaragoza’s co-accused were his son Zuriel and daughter Fayinna Pilar, mayor and vice mayor of Narvacan town, respectively.

They were all charged with “misappropriation and misuse of public funds” resulting in the alleged systematic raid of the coffers of the municipal government.

Singson, who ran and won as Narvacan councilor in the May 9 election, said that the P64.6-million funds which were released in two installments by the national government represented Narvacan’s share from tobacco excise tax collections in 2011.

R.A. 7171, authored by Singson when

he was Ilocos Sur congressman in 1988, plows back a percentage of Virginia tobacco excise tax revenues to tobaccoproducing areas annually.

Records of the case showed that Narvacan initially received P32,733,529 from its 2011 share and subsequently P31,865,047.

Singson said that the respondents, through two separate resolutions, allocated both released amounts to projects which lacked description and specifics “thus giving the respondents the free hand in implementing the funds anywhere and however they may want.”

In Resolution No. 20,Series of 2013, among the projects listed were improvement of roads and bridges for P22 million, flood control structures for P3 million, construction of rural health unit, phase 2 for P4 million and potable water supply project for P3 million. The projects totaled P32.7 million. TM

Jobseekers. Malabon City residents look for work opportunities during the job fair held at the Malabon Amphitheater organized by the city government. ANDREW RABULAN

TWO people were seriously injured after a tower crane at a construction site along H. V. Dela Costa in Makati City collapsed, damaging several vehicles and causing heavy traffic and power interruption in the area.

Makati City Mayor Romulo Peña Jr. ordered an investigation and tapped the Office of the Building Official to impose sanctions on the contractor—A.M. Oreta Construction Co.—and stop its operations on the Salcedo SkySuites building, a Megaworld project, while the investigation is ongoing.

Peña promised to give assistance to the injured biker and taxi driver, who were rushed to the Makati Medical Center for treatment.

In a statement, A.M. Oreta construction company, said it will shoulder the medical expenses of the two victims.

Megaworld said it was also conducting its own investigation. Joel Zurbano

F R I D AY : M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Don’t throw garbage into Tubbataha’

Marker. Millennium Challenge Corp. chief executive officer Dana Hyde lead officials in unveiling the marker of a 60-linear meter concrete footbridge in Barangay Balud, Barugo, Leyte. MEL CASPE

N. Ecija policemen kill suspected drug dealer

By Romeo Dizon

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—The alleged number one drug lord operating in Central Luzon and Metro Manila were killed along with his aide during a shootout with police operatives in Barangay Rizal, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija on Wednesday.

Killed in the encounter were Oliver Bartolome, 33, married and a resident of Barangay Sapang, Jaen, Nueva Ecija, leader of the Bartolome drug syndicate.

His aide was identified as Warlito Pangilinan, 48 years

old and resident of Barangay Concepcion, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.

Bartolome and Pangilinan are the latest illegal drug operators killed by the police authorities in the span of two weeks. Earlier,

another drug lord operating in Bulacan was also killed while a detainee inside the provincial jail of Zambales was found running a drug syndicate from inside the prison.

The suspects, who both died of multiple gunshot wounds in their bodies, had standing warrants of arrest for violation of Sec.11 Article 2 and Sec. 5 Article 2 of RA 9165 before the sala of Hon. Celso O. Baguio, presiding judge of Regional Trial Court, branch 34 of Gapan City, and Hon. Mildred S. Villaroman-Hermal, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court,

branch 35 of the same city.

Initial investigation shows the police operatives were conducting illegal drug operation against the group in Jaen when the two fled upon seeing the police. They boarded their car with plate number XGE toward San Leonardo.

Policemen caught up with them so that their car rammed into a motor shop. The firefight then ensued.

Recovered from the scene of encounter were two .45 caliber revolvers, one M-16, several ammunition and nine sachets of shabu and drug paraphernalia.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The management office of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park called on residents and visitors of Palawan to educate themselves against throwing garbage and other debris into the sea as they threaten its health.

The Tubbataha Management Office made the appeal Wednesday because they continue to collect garbage in the world-famous reefs and dive spot.

Angelique Songco of the TMO said despite incessant pleas to the public, they continue to collect marine wastes and debris in the Tubbataha Reefs that threaten the health of its corals and marine life.

Just a few weeks ago, Songco said they discovered several dead birds in Tubbataha Reefs during a regular cleanup drive.

In the classification of the wastes and debris that park rangers were able to collect, most were plastic wrappers of imported products that they suspect came from cruise and other international ships that traverse the Sulu Sea route.

The others were identified to have possibly come from residents of coastal areas in Palawan and other nearby provinces.

“The Tubbataha Reefs’ protection is very important because it serves as a food basket of the Philippines. If its marine life is threatened, food security is also threatened. We are preserving this so that the next generation can benefit, too,” she said.

“More than anything, the support of the public is important in ensuring the sustainability of Tubbataha that churns out the fish they eat every day,” she said.

The park contains roughly 10,000 hectares of coral reef, lying at the heart of the Coral Triangle—the global center of marine biodiversity.

Scientists have been visiting these reefs since the 1980s, and their research has shown that Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to no less than 600 species of fish; 360 species of corals (about half of all coral species in the world); 11 species of sharks; 13 species of dolphins and whales; 100 species of birds, and also nesting Hawksbill and Green sea turtles. PNA

Soldier dies, another hurt in Abu attack in Sulu pier

By Florante S. Solmerin A SOLDIER was killed while another one was wounded when two motorcycle-riding men, believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group’s urban terror team, attacked them while they were boarding a sidecar Thursday morning at a pier in Jolo, Sulu, a report reaching Camp Aguinaldo said.

Western Mindanao Command chief Lieutenant General Mayoralgo dela Cruz confirmed the

incident and said the incident happened in front of the Sulu Electric Cooperative in Barangay Busbus.

Dela Cruz said the soldiers were headed for their headquarters when two armed men, on board a motorcycle and carrying automatic rifles, appeared several meters away from their rear and fired on them.

“The troops engaged the armed men in a short firefight,” Dela Cruz said.

The first volley fire from the suspects killed one soldier and wounded another.

Broccoli. A wholesaler at the La Trinidad trading post prepares broccoli for shipping to retailers nationwide. DAVID CHAN

F R I D AY: M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

DUTERTE BEGINS HIS WAR ON DRUGS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

INDUSTRY DISPERSAL THERE is nothing original in the plan of President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte to disperse economic activity outside the capital region. There is also nothing wrong in pursuing this investment strategy to achieve inclusive growth and generate employment in the countryside.

Past presidents from the late Ferdinand Marcos to outgoing Benigno Aquino III promoted industry dispersals to decongest Metro Manila and create new economic hubs in the provinces, mainly through the creation of economic zones, industrial parks and free ports, with tax incentives dangled before prospective investors.

Mr. Duterte promised to spread economic activity beyond the “dead” capital region by establishing economic zones outside of the metropolis to create new jobs and prohibiting the construction of more factories in “saturated’ Manila.

The incoming chief executive obviously noted that the lack of employment opportunities in the countryside had forced many of the poor in the provinces to seek jobs in the capital region. Manila has probably lured millions away from poor provinces, resulting in urban decay.

Past administrations have built economic parks, export processing zones and free ports in strategic areas outside of Metro Manila. But they appear to be not enough to discourage the jobless in the countryside to migrate to the capital region.

Mr. Duterte, instead, should seriously consider economic policies that will improve the income of farmers and fisherfolk alike. Filipino farmers and fishermen, who account for a significant part of the population, often fell prey to middlemen or traders because they are immediately forced to sell their produce at cheap prices amid the lack of storage facilities.

Cold storage or facilities for the fishermen are lacking, while farmers have nowhere to go for their perishable crops.

These farmers and fishermen, with no credit support from the state, have little chance of breaking the poverty cycle, unless real economic reforms are introduced in the countryside. The government should find ways to significantly improve their income and eventually stem the tide of migration to Metro Manila.

UNPRESIDENTIAL BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO IN CASE he does not know it yet, someone should tell Rodrigo Duterte that the political campaign is over and he is now the elected president. And he should act like one.

For starters, Duterte can lessen those news conferences he’s been holding in Davao City where he called

Church officials hypocrites and said they were not doing enough for the plight of the poor. Duterte does not have to kowtow to the Church but he also does not have to pick a fight with it. In his recent press conference I thought I heard Digong use the “P.I” phrase and the “F” word in responding to a reporter’s question.

We do not know if Duterte’s deep disdain for the Church has anything to do with his claim he was abused by a priest during

his childhood. Somehow, he does not have any issue with the influential Iglesia ni Cristo which endorsed his presidential candidacy.

In his verbal exchange with retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Duterte dredged up the “sins of the Church” and the issue of Montero SUVs given to Church officials during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Cruz clarified the vehicles were donated by the Arroyo administration for priests to carry out their

A9

Someone should tell Mr. Duterte that the campaign is over.

missionary work in farflung places not accessible by public transportation.

The brash-talking Davao mayor also announced he would restore the death penalty even as he urged married couples to limit their family to three children so as not to encounter economic hardships. While the two proposals have gained acceptance with a wide segment of the population, these are visceral issues strongly opposed by the Church in this country of 103 million—one of the fastest-growing in the world.

In his free-wheeling news conferences, the incoming president also made known his plan to shift to federalism and the parliamentary form of government even before he has been sworn in and before he has completed his Cabinet. Establishing a federal and a parliamentary form of government needs an amendment to the Constitution.

If the amendments are passed by Congress, the proposal still has to be submitted to a referendum for

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 people’s approval.

We understand the new president’s well-intentioned eagerness to make meaningful change to move the country forward. But his two proposals need to be carefully studied and thought through.

Federalism could, if we don’t watch out, be used by politicians to perpetuate political dynasties in every province.

On his way to call on Presidentelect Duterte, Chinese Ambassador

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

Zhao Jianhua said a new Philippine administration augurs well for the start of bilateral talks to heal the Continued on A11

LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES Mr. Robles’ column will resume next week.

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

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Rodrigo has taken a direct hand in last Saturday and Sunday’s open air bayside concert in Pasay in which at least five people died out of more than 10,000 concert rockers.

Mayor Digong is mad. Mad that this thing has happened at precisely the time when he is about to take over the reins of government. It is as if some people and some very large companies didn’t get his message that the incoming president is serious about drugs—that anyone connected with or peddling drugs will be killed, on the spot if need be, or hanged twice in public, “until the head separates completely from the body.”

And here comes Unilever and its Closeup toothpaste sponsoring or managing a concert for the young and drugs, the illicit and the dangerous variety, are peddled in great abundance and passed around in incredible effrontery, in the presence of people in authority.

I cannot understand the relationship between a toothpaste and illegal drugs except that both are used with the help of the mouth, preferably in closed quarters.

“I was forced to call this press conference,” Duterte told a hastily convened meeting with newsmen past midnight of May 25, “because nobody is talking about this incident.” He said he wanted to voice strongly the anger of parents— “how or why could this happen?” “There were so many government men in the area, from PDEA [the drug enforcement agency],” the mayor related. He wanted to know what the government people were doing.

Indeed, five days after the incident, the police went about with a perfunctory investigation, lackadaisically. So far the police has not come up with a credible, if not exhaustive, narrative about the incident, how it happened, why it happened, how drugs penetrated the crowd, why drugs were passed around freely, who the people behind it are, and who the suspects are. Do they have any persons of interest in custody or under investigation? Is Unilever culpable? Are there top businessmen culpable?

“How come so many people died?

Where were the police? Where was PDEA? Where is NBI?” a sleepless Duterte asked in his presscon. “It’s a Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

F R I D AY: M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

DUTERTE BEGINS HIS WAR ON DRUGS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

INDUSTRY DISPERSAL THERE is nothing original in the plan of President-in-waiting Rodrigo Duterte to disperse economic activity outside the capital region. There is also nothing wrong in pursuing this investment strategy to achieve inclusive growth and generate employment in the countryside.

Past presidents from the late Ferdinand Marcos to outgoing Benigno Aquino III promoted industry dispersals to decongest Metro Manila and create new economic hubs in the provinces, mainly through the creation of economic zones, industrial parks and free ports, with tax incentives dangled before prospective investors.

Mr. Duterte promised to spread economic activity beyond the “dead” capital region by establishing economic zones outside of the metropolis to create new jobs and prohibiting the construction of more factories in “saturated’ Manila.

The incoming chief executive obviously noted that the lack of employment opportunities in the countryside had forced many of the poor in the provinces to seek jobs in the capital region. Manila has probably lured millions away from poor provinces, resulting in urban decay.

Past administrations have built economic parks, export processing zones and free ports in strategic areas outside of Metro Manila. But they appear to be not enough to discourage the jobless in the countryside to migrate to the capital region.

Mr. Duterte, instead, should seriously consider economic policies that will improve the income of farmers and fisherfolk alike. Filipino farmers and fishermen, who account for a significant part of the population, often fell prey to middlemen or traders because they are immediately forced to sell their produce at cheap prices amid the lack of storage facilities.

Cold storage or facilities for the fishermen are lacking, while farmers have nowhere to go for their perishable crops.

These farmers and fishermen, with no credit support from the state, have little chance of breaking the poverty cycle, unless real economic reforms are introduced in the countryside. The government should find ways to significantly improve their income and eventually stem the tide of migration to Metro Manila.

UNPRESIDENTIAL BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO IN CASE he does not know it yet, someone should tell Rodrigo Duterte that the political campaign is over and he is now the elected president. And he should act like one.

For starters, Duterte can lessen those news conferences he’s been holding in Davao City where he called

Church officials hypocrites and said they were not doing enough for the plight of the poor. Duterte does not have to kowtow to the Church but he also does not have to pick a fight with it. In his recent press conference I thought I heard Digong use the “P.I” phrase and the “F” word in responding to a reporter’s question.

We do not know if Duterte’s deep disdain for the Church has anything to do with his claim he was abused by a priest during

his childhood. Somehow, he does not have any issue with the influential Iglesia ni Cristo which endorsed his presidential candidacy.

In his verbal exchange with retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Duterte dredged up the “sins of the Church” and the issue of Montero SUVs given to Church officials during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Cruz clarified the vehicles were donated by the Arroyo administration for priests to carry out their

A9

Someone should tell Mr. Duterte that the campaign is over.

missionary work in farflung places not accessible by public transportation.

The brash-talking Davao mayor also announced he would restore the death penalty even as he urged married couples to limit their family to three children so as not to encounter economic hardships. While the two proposals have gained acceptance with a wide segment of the population, these are visceral issues strongly opposed by the Church in this country of 103 million—one of the fastest-growing in the world.

In his free-wheeling news conferences, the incoming president also made known his plan to shift to federalism and the parliamentary form of government even before he has been sworn in and before he has completed his Cabinet. Establishing a federal and a parliamentary form of government needs an amendment to the Constitution.

If the amendments are passed by Congress, the proposal still has to be submitted to a referendum for

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 people’s approval.

We understand the new president’s well-intentioned eagerness to make meaningful change to move the country forward. But his two proposals need to be carefully studied and thought through.

Federalism could, if we don’t watch out, be used by politicians to perpetuate political dynasties in every province.

On his way to call on Presidentelect Duterte, Chinese Ambassador

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

Zhao Jianhua said a new Philippine administration augurs well for the start of bilateral talks to heal the Continued on A11

LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES Mr. Robles’ column will resume next week.

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

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Rodrigo has taken a direct hand in last Saturday and Sunday’s open air bayside concert in Pasay in which at least five people died out of more than 10,000 concert rockers.

Mayor Digong is mad. Mad that this thing has happened at precisely the time when he is about to take over the reins of government. It is as if some people and some very large companies didn’t get his message that the incoming president is serious about drugs—that anyone connected with or peddling drugs will be killed, on the spot if need be, or hanged twice in public, “until the head separates completely from the body.”

And here comes Unilever and its Closeup toothpaste sponsoring or managing a concert for the young and drugs, the illicit and the dangerous variety, are peddled in great abundance and passed around in incredible effrontery, in the presence of people in authority.

I cannot understand the relationship between a toothpaste and illegal drugs except that both are used with the help of the mouth, preferably in closed quarters.

“I was forced to call this press conference,” Duterte told a hastily convened meeting with newsmen past midnight of May 25, “because nobody is talking about this incident.” He said he wanted to voice strongly the anger of parents— “how or why could this happen?” “There were so many government men in the area, from PDEA [the drug enforcement agency],” the mayor related. He wanted to know what the government people were doing.

Indeed, five days after the incident, the police went about with a perfunctory investigation, lackadaisically. So far the police has not come up with a credible, if not exhaustive, narrative about the incident, how it happened, why it happened, how drugs penetrated the crowd, why drugs were passed around freely, who the people behind it are, and who the suspects are. Do they have any persons of interest in custody or under investigation? Is Unilever culpable? Are there top businessmen culpable?

“How come so many people died?

Where were the police? Where was PDEA? Where is NBI?” a sleepless Duterte asked in his presscon. “It’s a Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

F R I D AY: M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

LEADING A FREE SOCIETY PENSEES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO NATIONAL Geographic recently featured the saga of a Nepalese ophthalmologist who assembled a team that made a perilous journey to Pyongyang, there to operate on one thousand cataract patients. Embedded in that group were journalists who recorded what they surreptitiously could and brought back to the free world pictures that perplex and confound. After surgery, as the eye patches were taken off from the patients and they could see once more, invariably, they walked past the surgeon—no word of gratitude for him—who had restored their sight, headed straight for the pictures of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, there to kowtow and to break out in near-hysterical exclamations of praise and gratitude. When Kim Jong Un, whose only talent, Time magazine once reported, is eating, says anything at all, no North Korean entertains the treasonous notion of dissenting or even taking exception. When he comes into the room, all break out into thunderous applause. Wherever he appears, there will be gasps of awe and paeans of praise—not unlike what one reads about theophanies!

There is no way to relativize the decadence of such a society. This is a totalitarian state, and there is no context within which it is acceptable, let alone just!

The leader of a free society seeks a popular mandate, knowing fully well that he must contend with others who believe themselves as entitled to the same mandate. He bests his rivals in a contest, aware that not everyone shares his beliefs, visions and platform —not especially when one does not win by a majority vote of the population. No leader of a free society has any right to expect that all endorsed his candidacy, wore his colors and chanted his praises.

He is, in fact, under obligation to uphold the environment that allows him to be opposed, his projects questioned, his motives, even, scrutinized.

He has no business aspiring for leadership in a free society who has no stomach for dissent and whose notion of

civic-mindedness is unqualified conformity.

Leading a totalitarian state is hardly any problem —as long as one has the loyalty of the army and superior firepower. But what one gets is exactly what National Geographic showed the whole world: a society that breaks out in riotous hosannas at even the most innocuous and impertinent of a Great Leader’s warbling.

When one offers himself for public office in a free society, however, one has no right to expect the endorsement of all. And when one has given others reason to doubt fitness, or capacity or integrity, then one should not blame those who root for a rival candidate or who give reasons to dissuade voters from supporting one’s trouble-seeking self !

It is scary when, after hav-

It is scary when, after having won a plurality of votes in an election, a leader should vent his ire at those who opposed him.

ing won a plurality of votes in an election, a leader should vent his ire at those who opposed him. That is the posture an autocrat takes, not one of a leader chosen by the free exercise of suffrage. If anything at all, it is this leader’s prime obligation to allow that system to flourish by which, against all odds, he was nevertheless chosen by the electorate — and obviously, that consists in keeping voters free to choose alternatives, to oppose, to question and to inquire. Against all odds, one won through a system of free choice. It bespeaks terribly of a lack both of maturity and integrity to seek to dismantle the very system by which one received one’s mandate.

And this too, is what is most regrettable about that kind of opportunism that takes the form of arrant turncoatism. Parties are supposed to represent political positions, platforms, prin-

WE WERE CONTRIBUTORS BEFORE

SOCIAL insurance agencies—like the Social Security System —require prior payment of contributions before they give out benefits to their beneficiaries. Welfare institutions, on the other hand, dole out benefits based on needs alone.

In principle, one who has contributed whether minimally or substantially to the build-up of a fund could claim to having earned the right to participate in its administration, especially on how its assets are to be managed prudently. At the end, he could claim a fair and equitable share of its income.

A non-contributor—a freeloader, he is called— couldn’t have as much right as a contributor. This used to be the general rule. For instance, a non-taxpayer did not have the right vote before.

This elitist rule still persists in the minds of many today.

What if the presumptive president kept his election promise to exempt workers from paying income tax if they earn less than P30,000 monthly?

Wouldn’t this weaken—or take away—their right to participate in nationbuilding? Could they still demand good public services despite not contributing a single peso of tax to pay for their delivery?

We would prefer that he reduce their income tax but not completely abolish it.

Consider this. Employers could simply pay their workers’ contributions to SSS by carving them out from payroll and remitting both employer and worker shares directly to SSS. No deductions would appear in the workers’ pay envelopes.

This way, employers could claim full credit for creating the pension fund. Who could stop them from assuming solo management of SSS, and ciples in respect to national issues. If, as the spate of political defections now vividly shows us, there is no such thing as party loyalty in this country, then the conclusion seems to logically follow that we have unprincipled politics and politicians. Our constitutional democracy presupposes checks and balances.

Three coordinate branches of government checking on each other and balancing each other’s powers. A formula

FILIPINO PENSIONER HORACE TEMPLO excluding workers from participating in its administration?

Instead, workers earn first their salaries, and it is only after when their contribution share is deducted.

Interestingly, the Chilean pension reform in 1980 required workers to shoulder the full provident fund contributions. How was it done?

First, the usual employer share was integrated into the worker’s regular pay. This amount plus the worker’s usual share were then deducted from his pay, and eventually remitted to the provident fund as if they were all his contributions.

Maybe, it’s an innovative way of remitting contributions, but it results in the same net take-home pay for workers.

The SSS contribution system requires both workers and employers to share the contributions, and it has made workers part owners of SSS. They have become emboldened, in fact, to the point of demanding from its employees, officers and board members a regular accounting of its operating expenses, particularly questioning their high salaries, extravagant perks, and undeserved performance bonuses.

Even if there isn’t enough funds, they are demanding a P2,000 increase in pensions.

In contrast, consider the beneficiaries of social pensions and conditional cash transfers, which are both welfare programs. Not having contributed a single peso to them, the beneficiaries simply accept the low amounts of benefits that they receive—P500 as social for inefficiency (because an autocracy always gets things done more expeditiously!), but the price we are willing to pay to avoid the specter of power concentrated in National Guardians, whether or not they be vested with Platonic wisdom! But when defections interdict the checking capacity of the chambers of Congress, even just one of them, then one of the presuppositions of our democracy has been effectively negated.

pension and P1,400 as conditional cash transfer allowance. They never demand the kind of welfare program that they need.

Still, they deserve something better even if they have contributed nothing.

After all, these welfare programs are being financed by government revenues.

It’s true that a large part of these revenues is raised directly as personal and income taxes, of which they may have never paid any.

But government also raises tax revenues from the sale of goods and services such as petroleum, natural gases, indigenous fuels, coals, electricity, etc. They also raise taxes when cigarettes and alcoholic beverages are sold, and when goods are imported from abroad unsmuggled.

Some are generated directly from fees, licenses, proceeds of privatization, and incomes of government corporations and state-owned enterprises.

Remember the Malampaya gas field near the Spratly Islands? It is expected to provide government an income of $8 to $10 billion.

Fort Bonifacio, which has an area of 34.5 hectare, was sold at P33,000 per square meter. Only last Monday, our government casino company— Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.—remitted to the National Treasury P8.8 billion as income from its 2015 operations.

Surely, we—SSS pensioners and indigent senior citizens and families—are entitled to our fair share in these revenues.

Yet, we wouldn’t get any if these are all spent to finance fancy projects that we seldom use and benefit from, or to purchase warships and fighter planes against imagined enemies.

Continued on A11

The leader of a free society is not only one who tolerates dissent. He is one who recognizes that the fundamental human right is the right to freely participate in that discourse that is the basis of legitimacy in a modern, postconventional society—and that discourse might include discourse against oneself ! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

FOR OBAMA, HUMAN RIGHTS BEGIN AT HOME

By Francis Wilkinson FIRST Cuba, now Vietnam.

President Barack Obama drew the US closer to Vietnam this week, traveling to Hanoi and lifting a decadeslong US ban on military sales to the communist regime and strategically located former foe. Human-rights advocates were not inspired.

“Vietnam has demonstrated itself that it doesn’t deserve the closer ties the US is offering,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, to the Washington Post. In an open letter to Obama, Human Rights Watch called Vietnam a “police state” that is “among the most repressive” governments in the world.

Obama’s landmark visit to Cuba in March produced similar consternation over the Castro regime’s long history of oppression while also providing eager conservatives with an opportunity, not to be missed, to use the words “Obama” and “Che” in the same sentence.

As his administration

Duterte... From A9 failure of intelligence,” he fumed. “The law enforcement has failed,” he added.

One or two deaths is a concern you could attribute to bad luck, he said. But five?

It’s criminal, if you ask me.

Parents and authorities like Digong want answers, stressing “I am talking now as a mayor outside Davao City and just a civilian.”

“Just a civilian” carries a lot of import or nuance. It could mean Duterte could behave badly towards the culprits and the police.

If the police and other law enforcement authorities do not know it yet, Duterte is hands-on when it comes to drugs. Drugs is the other side of his two-pronged platform of government which is anchored on reducing, if not eradicating, crime and corruption —in three to six months.

So when you have incidents like the Closeup Concert, the authorities and the business community better come up with good answers. Otherwise, you may not have time to brush your teeth before you could meet your maker or meet the piranha-type fishes of Manila

nears its conclusion, and his own presidential legacy begins to acquire form, Obama isn’t exactly knocking himself out on the human-rights front. At least not as “human rights” are generally understood by Americans—that is, a topic on which American presidents lecture other countries.

In the insightful and extraordinary series of interviews Obama conducted with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, the president laid down some of the markers that guide, and constrain, his conduct. He called himself “an idealist insofar as I believe that we should be promoting values, like democracy and human rights and norms and values, because not only do they serve our interests the more people adopt values that we share—in the same way that, economically, if people adopt rule of law and property rights and so forth, that is to our advantage—but because it makes the world a better place.”

A presidential “but” quickly followed.

Bay where Digong had previously promised to dump dead bodies.

Here is the verbatim warning of the mayor in his presscon: “ I am at a loss kung bakit sa ganung karami pinagpapasahan, it was reported that there was one corner the drugs are being distributed parang they sold and it escaped the attention of the law enforcements authority.

It is unacceptable!”

Because of the incident, Duterte now plans to reshuffle the entire Philippine National Police, from top to bottom. From the generals to the janitor. Those who area in Manila might be assigned to Jolo. “There will be a massive reshuffle,” Duterte vows. “I am not threatening you,” he told the police. “Because I will do it.”

Also to be reshuffled are the guards of the National Penitentiary which drug lords have converted into drug laboratories. These drug lords are also using the guards as their madeto-order private army, funded by the national government.

In the meantime, the criminal elements are encouraged to do their thing

“Having said that,” he continued, “I also believe that the world is a tough, complicated, messy, mean place, and full of hardship and tragedy. And in order to advance both our security interests and those ideals and values that we care about, we’ve got to be hardheaded at the same time as we’re bighearted, and pick and choose our spots, and recognize that there are going to be times where the best that we can do is to shine a spotlight on something that’s terrible, but not believe that we can automatically solve it.”

Obama’s cold realism abroad, overlooking oppression in pursuit of national interest, is contrasted by his steady investment in human rights at home.

Last year, his administration filed a brief in the Supreme Court in support of gay marriage, arguing that state bans on same-sex marriage were “incompatible with the constitution.” This month, the administration released new rules to accommodate transgender kids in school. “I think it’s part of until Duterte takes over on June 30. He said: “Whoever is listening now, as a citizen of this country and mayor of the local unit, magkasala na kayo na magkasala [putangina ninyo]. Bakit wala kayo dun? Baka binayaran kayo or baka kayo talaga ang nagbebenta. Pagka ginawa mo yan you might make the sign of the cross I will finish you, believe me. Wala akong interest na tatagal ako as president.”

“I said I have committed to do these to the Filipino people I will stake my honor, my life and the presidency itself. I don’t care if I lose it tomorrow. I can go tomorrow.”

“Kapag nahuli ninyo ang nagpasa duon [Close Up Event] my order is give everybody heartache. Naintindihan ninyo yan? Kapag hindi ninyo naintindihan, tarantado, may pagkabobo pala ninyo and you’re a shit.

Failure of Intelligence. Dapat nung umpisa pa lang anduon na kayo, nakaamoy na kayo.

Tangina karami ninyo dyan sa Maynila. Bakit kami magbayad ng sweldo ninyo kung ganun.” biznewsasia@gmail.com

our obligation as a society to make sure everybody is treated fairly and our kids are all loved and protected,” Obama told Buzzfeed.

Likewise, by opening up higher education, and work opportunities, to the sons and daughters of undocumented immigrants living in the US, Obama has expanded freedom and enlarged human capacity in the US. Speaking in Vietnam, Obama acknowledged that the U.S. still has a distance to go, citing “inequality, racial bias in criminal justice, women not paid as much as men.”

Throughout his presidency he has insisted both that progress must be made in such areas, and that it will be. In his 2015 speech in Selma, Alabama, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Obama cast human rights as a constantly evolving project.

“What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that

America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals?”

A jingoistic strain of American exceptionalism all but implies American perfectionism, from the Founders on. Obama’s definition is about a journey that gets incrementally better, shedding original sins as it collects, and enfolds, the previously marginalized—black, gay, women, transgender— through history.

“That’s what it means to love America,” Obama said in Selma. “That’s what it means to believe in America.

That’s what it means when we say America is exceptional.”

Obama’s recent diplomatic ventures may not convey much faith in the ability of Cuba or Vietnam to honor human rights. But he’s been consistently adamant about what America can do to set the standard. Bloomberg

Unpresidential... From A9 strained relations between Manila and Beijing brought about by the bitter territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Yeah, right. But we all know ambassadors are trained in the art of talking in diplomatic niceties. We hope Digong does not use his “P/I” phrase and “F” word on the envoy who’s just doing his job.

Is China’s softer stance due to its expectation of an adverse ruling

by The Hague arbitral court upholding United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, recognizing the Philippines’ 200-mile economic exclusive zone ? This, plus the firm stand of the United States to conduct sail by and surveillance flights in the area claimed by China. The countries in the region—Japan, Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines—welcome the US presence as a counterbalance to a rising China.

Lifting the embargo on the sale of weapons to former enemy Vietnam and sealing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines are two of the US actions to strengthen its hand in Asia and the Pacific. The US considers itself a Pacific power and is not about ready to relinquish this position to the Chinese.

Does China really want peace in Southeast Asia? If it does, the first step to take is to dismantle those military installation it built on man-made islands reclaimed from the sea. Another option is to settle the conflicting claims in the South China Sea though multilateral talks and not bilaterally.

Finally, have a wide-ranging joint agreement to explore and exploit the potential oil, gas and mineral resources under the sea. This would redound to the peace and prosperity of all the countries in the region—not just of China.

We were... From A10 Government justifies to its critics its conditional cash transfer program as an investment toward reducing its welfare expenses in the far future. If the beneficiaries—mother and children—would comply with conditionalities to get themselves healthy and educated, then they would cease to be poor someday. Government then wouldn’t have to spend as much for welfare.

We agree with this pragmatic thinking even if it no longer applies to us senior citizens. In fact, we’d celebrate if CCT beneficiaries are able consequently to raise themselves above their present level of poverty.

But government revenues should also fund our SSS and social pension increases. These are clearly welfare benefits, but they may also be considered as a return and reward for our contributions to the country before.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Murray survives five-set Paris battle PARIS—Second seed Andy Murray survived his second successive fiveset French Open battle to reach the third round Wednesday, avoiding what would have been his worst Grand Slam loss in eight years.

Murray, three times a semifinalist, wore down France’s world number 164 Mathias Bourgue, who had never won a tour-level match before this week, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and goes on to face 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic for a place in the last 16.

After coming back from two sets to love

down to beat Radek Stepanek, also 37, in the first round in a tie played over two days, the British star had looked down and out once again on Wednesday.

After pocketing the third set, 22-year-old Bourgue, reduced to tears by the end, had break points for a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

But once they were squandered, the Frenchman’s challenge quickly wilted as the physically stronger Murray raced away with 12 of the last 15 games.

Defending champion and third seed Stan Wawrinka defeated New York-born Taro Daniel of Japan 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4 and goes on to face France’s Jeremy Chardy.

Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori, a quarter-final-

ist in 2015, coasted into the last 32 with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov.

Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up, goes on to face former world number seven Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

Eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic had few problems with Adrian Mannarino of France, winning 6-1, 7-6 (7/0), 6-1.

Australian 17th seed Nick Kyrgios needed just 70 minutes to beat Dutch lucky loser Igor Sijsling 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

He will now meet French ninth seed Richard Gasquet who defeated fellow former boys champion Bjorn Fratangelo of the United States 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. AFP

Home run. Fans leap out of their seats to catch a home run ball off the bat of Adam Lind of the Seattle Mariners even as right fielder Chris Coghlan (3) of the Oakland Athletics tries to join the fray in the second inning at Safeco Field on May 25, in Seattle, Washington. AFP

Everest season draws to a close KATHMANDU, Nepal— Hundreds of mountaineers have reached the summit of Everest in recent weeks, drawing a line under two years of tragedy on the world’s highest peak.

As the brief spring climbing season drew to a close, Nepal’s famed sherpa guides – who rely on Everest for their livelihoods – said it brought fresh hope to the beleaguered mountaineering industry after fatal disasters effectively closed the peak for two consecutive years.

Gyalzen Dorje, 26, was among the nine who reached the top first on May 11, charged with fixing ropes for climbers to use, marking his fourth Everest summit.

“It felt like we had broken the bad spell of the last two years,” said Dorje, who was on Everest when disasters wrecked the 2014 and 2015 climbing seasons.

“It’s good for our work.”

Climbers abandoned the mountain last year after an earthquake-triggered avalanche killed 18 people at Everest base camp weeks before the season was due to begin.

Only one climber reached the summit in 2014, when an avalanche claimed the lives of 16 Nepali guides on the notorious Khumbu ice fall that sits above base camp, forcing organizers to cancel their expeditions. AFP

Hamilton resumes F1 chase in Monaco MONACO—Lewis Hamilton heads into this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix knowing he has to perform a perfect balancing act and avoid, at all costs, another spectacular crash with his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

While many in the paddock and a new generation of fans will focus on Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, Formula One’s youngest winner, as he starts his second race for Red Bull, the key contests will all center around the three-time world champion as he bids to keep alive his title defense.

Hamilton lies third, 43 points behind championship leading German Rosberg and Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and knows he cannot allow that margin to grow if he is to retain any hope of mounting a sustained challenge for a fourth crown this year.

“Barcelona was the worst feeling, but, as I always say, the true test is how you get back up when you’ve been knocked down,” he said.

“It was a tough moment for all of us after the race, but it’s now chapter closed and looking ahead to Monaco...”

Hamilton is viewed by many as the most naturally gifted of the current drivers and has expressed often his special pleasure in racing – and winning – on the unforgiving barrier-lined streets of the Mediterranean principality. AFP

Sharks reach first Stanley Cup final LOS ANGELES—The San Jose Sharks advanced to their first Stanley Cup final in franchise history late Wednesday by fending off the St. Louis Blues 5-2 in game six of their Eastern Conference series.

Joel Ward scored two goals and Martin Jones stopped 24 of 26 shots as the Sharks eliminated the Blues four games to two in front of a crowd of 17,500 at the SAP Center arena in San Jose.

Joe Pavelski, Joonas Donskoi and Logan Couture also scored in the clinching game for the Sharks who joined the league in 1991.

By virtue of winning the NHL semifinal series, the Sharks advance to their first appearance in the NHL’s championship series after missing the post-season the previous year.

Joonas Donskoi (27) of the San Jose Sharks celebrates after scoring in Game Six of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on May 25 in San Jose, California. AFP

San Jose will open the Stanley Cup final against the winner of Thursday’s game seven between Tampa

Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ward scored his second goal of the game and sixth of

the playoff series three minutes into the third period by deflecting a Couture pass by Blues goalie Brian Elliott.AFP

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

PH golfers fall in 4-ball semis PRINCESS Superal and Pauline del Rosario failed to sustain a birdie start and took a stinging 3&2 setback to the young pair of Angelina Kim and Brianna Navarrosa in the semifinal round of US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship Match Play at the Streamsong Blue at Streamsong Resort in Florida Wednesday.

The top seeded Filipinas birdied the opening hole but dropped five of the next nine holes as Kim and Navarrosa, both 13-year-olds, surprised them with awesome iron shots and superb putting to go 4-up with eight holes to play.

Superal and Del Rosario birdied No. 11 and eagled No. 14 to move within two but Kim birdied the next then the American pair

“Donnie Nietes is 100 percent in top condition, ready to fight,” said trainer Edmund Villamor.

Nietes trainer laughs at Garcia’s KO boast

By Ronnie Nathanielsz THE trainer of World Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes, the longest-reigning Filipino world champion, has laughed off the claim by Mexican challenger Raul “Rayito” Garcia that he is looking to knock out the hometown kid in five rounds when they clash at the St. De La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City on May 28.

When informed that the former IBF minimum weight champion with a record of 22 knockouts in 36 wins with 3 losses and a draw told a press conference he will try to knock out defending champion Nietes, who boasts of a record of 37-14 with 21 knockouts and has been a tormentor of Mexican fighters, his trainer Edmund Villamor let out a hearty laugh and told The Standard: “They think they are strong, but Donnie is 100 percent in top condition and ready to fight.”

Villamor noted that unlike his identical twin brother Raul Garcia Hirales from whom Nietes

won the title in the same venue and who was always going backwards defensively, Rayito Garcia “comes forward aggressively and this is good for Donnie. He will knock him out, most probably with his vicious right straight.”

The 33-year-old Garcia told the local media that he had prepared well for the title shot and was eager to avenge the loss of his brother some five years ago at the same venue.

Rayito Garcia, who won the IBF minimum weight title from Filipino southpaw Florante Condes in his hometown of La Paz, Mexico on June 14, 2008, has beaten several Filipino fighters, including Michael Landero and Romel Asenjo, both of whom he stopped in three rounds.

“I’m looking at a knockout in the first five rounds against Nietes. If it won’t happen, I’m ready to go as far as 12 rounds,” Rayito Garcia said.

The fights will highlight the celebrated “Pinoy Pride 36: A Legend in the Making” before a hometown crowd of Nietes, who had requested ALA Promotions President Michael Aldeguer to stage the fight in Bacolod City, which is not far from his town of Murcia.

“All I want is to bring the championship title back to Mexico. That’s the reason I’m here—to take it back,” Rayito Garcia said. “Nietes is strong, fast, and moves excellently around the ring. But, if he (Nietes) fights like a man and won’t run around, I will knock him out. This fight will be tough.”

matched The Country Club bets’ par on No. 16 to clinch the match and advance the finals.

But Kim and Navarrosa three-putted the first playoff hole on No. 1, enabling the seventhranked Hailee Cooper and Kaitlyn Papp to snare the crown in the second staging of the USGA-conducted event.

Cooper and Papp earlier whipped No. 30 Alexandra Austin and Lauren Greenlief, 4&3, in their side of the Final Four.

Cooper and Papp went 2-up with birdies in the opening hole but Kim and Navarrosa fought back with their own version of birdies on Nos. 11 and 14 to force an all-square match. They matched pars in the last four to extend their duel to an extra hole.

La Salle Lipa spikers rule girls’ spikefest DE LA Salle Lipa rebounded from a third set setback then fended off every Holy Rosary College attack in the fourth to hack out a 25-17, 25-14, 24-26, 25-22 victory and rule the Southern Luzon leg of the 14th Shakey’s Girls’ Volleyball League at the Imus Institute of Science and Technology gym in Cavite recently.

DLS-Lipa, led by Janel Maraguinot, put on a string of emphatic straight-set victories from the elims to the semis and was on its way to clinching the crown without dropping a set until it was stopped by HRC in the third frame of the finals of the event, the spawning ground of volley talents sponsored by Shakey’s and organized by Metro Sports.

DLS-Lipa ripped Immaculate Conception Academy, 25-15, 25-8; trounced University of Perpetua Help System-Laguna, 25-17, 25-7; routed Bearer of Light and Wisdom Colleges, 259, 25-7; and ripped University of Perpetual Help System Dalta

Molino, 25-15, 25-9, to sweep the five-team Pool A elims of the two-division group.

It then eased out Pool B No. 2 Calayan Educational Foundation Inc., 25-11, 25-10, in the crossover semis with Pool B topnotcher HRC beating Pool A No. 2 UPHSD-Molino, 25-17, 25-22.

Maraguinot went on to bag the MVP and best setter honors and led teammates Jamie Frago (best middle blocker), Mary Bautista (best outside attacker), Jan Malaluan (best opposite attacker), Reign Lumbera (best libero), UPM’s Ynna Hatulan (best middle blocker), and HRC’s Trisha Genesis (best outside attacker) in the roster of individual winners in the tournament sponsored by Shakey’s, Mikasa and Asics.

Meanwhile, Kings’ Montessori School and University of the East posted two wins each to set the early pace in the National Capital Region leg, which got under way last Monday at the St. Marie Eugenie Sports Complex in Antipolo.

Mina, Diones bag HEAD net crowns ZIRE Mina and Achaia Diones grabbed two titles each to lead all the champions of the eighth leg of 18th HEAD Graphene XT Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit recently at the Agoo Tennis Club in Agoo, La Union.

Mina displayed his strong backhand to beat Joshua De Guzman, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and claim the boys’ 18-and-under singles’ crown of this satellite grassroots tennis competition organized by Dynamic Sports.

Mina also won the boys’ 16-and-under diadem by defeating Joshua Molina, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, during the championship round of the tournament at-

tended by more than 100 players around Northern Luzon.

Diones blasted Angelyn Atos, 6-1, 6-1, to capture the girls’ 14-and-under singles’ crown and then she outplayed Jane Mabalot, 7-5, 4-0 (ret.) to take home her second crown— the 16-and-under girls’ singles.

The grassroots’ satellite tournament was supported by HEAD, Chris Sports, Toalson, 92.5 FM Aksyon Sports, Reach Magazine, Philippine Tennis Association, Pilipino Mirror, ANC, Impact Magazine and Podcast.ph.

Top seed Marielle Alexi Jarata bashed Frank Dilao, 4-1,

4-0, to gain the 10-and-under unisex title; Exequiel Jucutan outlasted Joewyn Pascua, 6-4, 7-5, to clinch the boys’ 12-andunder singles’ trophy.

Top seed Marc Andrei Jarata crushed Exequiel Jucutan, 6-2, 6-4, for the boys’ 14-andunder crown; Angelyn Atos whipped Amihan Biligan, 6-0, 6-0, to bag the girls’ 12-and-under singles’ trophy; and Princess Toby Manangan won over Lovie Jeanne, 7-6 (8), 6-3, for the girls’ 18-andunder singles’ title.

The junior satellite tennis circuit’s ninth leg will go to Subic Olongapo this week.

Zypher Moster (left), Joewyn Pascua (center) and Exequiel Jucutan show their prizes during the last day of the HEAD Jr. tennis Agoo Leg.

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A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Fajardo joins list of injured Gilas stars

By Jeric Lopez

IT seems like Gilas Pilipinas just couldn’t get a break in terms of health.

Just in its second week of full-length preparation for the FIBA Qualifying Tournament, another member of the National Pool was sidelined during its practice sessions Thursday.

His name? Two-time Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo.

Fajardo sat out Gilas’ last practice as he rested his swollen right knee.

The injury, according to reports, isn’t considered a serious one, but it still forced Fajardo to sit out and have it checked by his doctors.

The injury added up to the growing number of Gilas casualties, namely Greg Slaughter, Matt Ganuelas Rosser and Paul Lee, all of whom were already ruled out of a national team stint, along with Jeff Chan, who is still nursing a sore shoulder but is expected to join the team anytime soon.

The good news for Gilas is that its energy bunny is back in practice.

After taking a week-long break following the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals, Alaska superstar Calvin Abueva is back at the helm and is currently providing his trademark energy during Gilas’ training.

The Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference assumed his role as arguably the team’s most versatile player.

The Gilas pool is composed of young stars, led by Bobby Ray Parks, son of the late 7-time PBA “Best Import” Bobby Parks, Russel Escoto, Mark Belo, Kevin Ferrer, Roger Pogoy and Kiefer Ravena.

The veterans in the team include Japeth Aguilar, Moala Tautuaa, Troy Rosario, Marcio Lassiter, Ryan Reyes, Ranidel de Ocampo, Terrence Romeo, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, LA Tenorio and Jayson Castro.

The Qualifying Tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila is slated in July.

SMB’s June Mar Fajardo (right), shown here guarding fellow Gilas slotman Greg Slaughter, rested his swollen knee during the national team’s scrimmage sessions.

Rio-bound Suarez, Ladon to train in the US

By Ronnie Nathanielsz LIGHTWEIGHT Charly Suarez and light flyweight Rogen Ladon will train in the United States prior to the Olympic boxing competition in Rio de Janeiro from August 6 to 21, 2016 at the Pavilion 6 of Riocentro.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson, who was at the Baguio City training camp, told The Standard that all the boxers in the national pool, including

Suarez and Ladon, who earned silver medals in the AIBA AsiaOceania Olympic qualifying tournament, are in great shape.

He said Suarez and Ladon will leave, along with Dodong Donaire, the trainer/father of five-division world champion Nonito Donaire, on June 11.

The two will train in the Top Rank Gym in Los Angeles, which is open to the Filipino boxers anytime, according to Top Rank executive Lee Samuels.

“We are still waiting to hear from Manny Pacquiao,” said Picson of the eight-division world champion, on whether he had accepted the invitation of AIBA president Dr. Wu ChingKuo to compete in Rio since the AIBA has decided to allow pro boxers to fight in boxers to fight in the Olympics.

The deadline set for Pacquiao’s decision is Friday.

Dr. Wu earlier told Picson that Pacquiao must first make a de-

Republic of the Philippines Regional Trial Court National Capital Judicial Region Branch 140, Makati City IN RE: PETITION FOR THE ADOPTION OF THERESE CLAIRE ANCHETA REAMBONANZA

BY SPOUSES ALLAN V. DEL MUNDO AND FLORDIVINA A. DEL MUNDO WITH APPLICATION FOR CHANGE OF NAME OF THE ADOPTEE FROM “THERESE CLAIRE A. REAMBONANZA” TO “THERESE CLAIRE ANCHETA DEL MUNDO”.

Police dogs to sniff out terror threat

S P. PRO C N O. M -793 3

SPOUSES ALLAN V. DEL MUNDO AND FLORDIVINA A. DEL MUNDO Petitioners x---------------------------------------------------------x

ORDER This is a petition for adoption filed by petitioners ALLAN V. DEL MUNDO and FLORDIVINA A. DEL MUNDO, praying that after due notice, hearing and publication, judgment is to be rendered declaring Therese Claire A. Reambonanza as the legitimate child of the petitioners and that her name be changed to Therese Clarie Ancheta del Mundo.

Petitioners allege that they are of legal age and residing at Block 37 Lot 02 WalingWaling Street, Zone 7, Pembo, Makati City. They were married on December 18, 2010 in Makati City.

The adoptee Therese Claire A. Reambonanza was born on May 18, 2005 at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City. She is the illegitimate child of petitioner Flordivina with Jay-R Benedicto Reambonanza. The minor’s biological father is fully aware of the petitioners’ intention to adopt the minor and executed his Affidavit of Consent dated December 28, 2015.

The minor, who is now ten (10) years old, executed an Affidavit of Consent dated January 20, 2016 for her adoption by the petitioners.

They also allege that prior to the petitioners’ marriage, petitioner Allan has a good relationship with the adoptee Therese Claire since he would look after adoptee whenever petitioner Flordivina would go to work. Petitioner Allan became close to the adoptee and treated the latter as his own daughter. The adoptee began to call him “Daddy” since then.

After the petitioners got married, they continued to shower the minor with love and attention and provided for her needs.

They further allege that they have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to adopt under the law.

Finding the verified petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the same is set for hearing on June 2, 2016 at 8:30 in the morning at the Session Hall of Regional Trial Court, Branch 140, 10th Floor, Makati City Hall, at which place, date and time, any or all persons opposed thereto may file their petition.

The Court Social Worker is hereby ordered to prepare and submit a report on the adoptee, her biological father and the adopters within sixty (60) days from receipt of the Order pursuant to Section 12, paragraph 5 of A. M. No. 02-6-02-SC. The petitioners are directed to coordinate with the assigned Court Social Worker for the conduct of the required home and study reports. The petitioners are also directed to furnish the Office of the Solicitor General with a copy of the petition and its annexes.

Let copies of this Order be furnished the Office of the Solicitor General, Philippines Statistics Authority, The Local Civil Registrars of Makati City and Quezon City and the Social Worker of the Regional Trial Court, Office of the Clerk of Court, Makati City.

The petitioners are also directed to publish this Order in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks to be chosen by raffle, all at their expense.

SO ORDERED Makati City, January 25, 2016 (SGD) CRISTINA F. JAVALLERA-SULIT Judge Copy furnished SR. ACP ALLENE TORRES-PENA LCR OF QUEZON CITY Office of the City Prosecutor Ground Floor, Annex Building 17th Floor Makati City Hall, Makati City Quezon City Hall Compound, Q.C. ATTY. ARLENE D. BANOCNOC (Counsel for the Petitioners) No. 1807 Tramo Street, Pasay City

LCR OF MAKATI CITY 3RD Floor, Makati City Hall Makati City

OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERAL 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City

COURT SOCIAL WORKER RTC-OCC Makati City

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY –CRD 3rd floor, Vibal Building Times Street cor EDSA West Triangle, Quezon City

RTC-OCC-PUBLICATION RTC, Makati City ( TS - M AY 13, 20 & 27, 2016)

cision before he can talk about assigning any of the five “wildcard” slots, one of which is for the light welterweight division, to Pacquiao.

The AIBA president indicated he was confident of getting approval for a change of the Statutes to allow professionals to compete in the Olympic Games beginning in Rio at a special congress being called on June 1, to be attended by ABAP president Ricky Vargas and Picson.

Bullfight festival. A bull attacks the picador’s horse and knocks it down during the Corpus bullfight festival at the bullring of Granada. AFP

Casimero...

From A15

Casimero rejoiced over his vengeful victory in the rematch, where he was behind by a shutout on the scorecards of two of the three judges≠, 30-27, while the third judge had Ruenrong ahead, 29-28.

With the win, Casimero became a two-division world champion and Lewkowicz, according to the internet site Bad Left Hook, immediately called out pound-for-pound No. 1 and unbeaten Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez for a unification.

“Tell him we are ready any time,” said Lewkowicz, who now has three world

champions in his stable.

He said a unification bout between Casimero and WBC champion Gonzalez needs to happen.

“They say no one wants to fight Gonzalez. We do! John Reil is right here and ready to unify the championships.

My phone is always on, let’s make it happen,” said Lewkowicz.

RIO DE JANEIRO—Police dogs in Brazil are more used to sniffing out drugs than explosives, but with the Olympics coming up, they have been training hard to help thwart potential terrorist attacks.

Although Brazil has never suffered a terrorist attack on its soil, it is on high alert for any threats at the Games, which open in Rio de Janeiro on August 5.

To prepare, the Rio Canine Intervention Brigade just completed a twoweek training with specialists from a French elite police force, RAID. The dogs showed off their new skills Wednesday in exercises at Rio’s international airport.

Tails wagging and tongues lolling, they eagerly followed their human counterparts around an airport security zone to clear it for the arrival of a hypothetical VIP—sitting and whining when they found a hidden “bomb.”

“The Rio Canine Intervention Brigade hadn’t been trained in this type of approach,” said RAID trainer Christophe B., who withheld his full name for security reasons.

But “Brazilian dogs are just as effective as French ones when you look at the number of drug seizures they make,” he added. AFP

F R I D AY : M AY 2 7, 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Souped-up Cignal seeks S Turf crown FORMER rivals Ysay Marasigan of Ateneo and Raymark Woo of La Salle link up this time when Cignal TV, Inc. kicks off its title drive in the second Spikers’ Turf Open Conference tomorrow (Saturday, May 28) at The Arena in San Juan.

The HD Spikers pulled off the biggest recruiting coup during the off-season as it tapped the power-hitting Woo, who emerged the best scorer in the last UAAP season, to play side by side with Marasigan, a key figure in Ateneo’s UAAP title romp this year.

Woo will not only join Marasigan but also a team loaded with talents, including Bonjomar Castel of reigning NCAA titlist Perpetual Help, Sandy Montero, Jay dela Cruz, Lorenzo Capate, Jr., Edmar Bonono and Vincent Mangulabnan.

“We’re really blessed to have Ysay and Raymark Woo in our team because they will give us additional options,” said Cignal coach Michael Carino.

A lone match will usher in the Spikers’ Turf second season with Navy clashing with Instituto Estetico Manila at 1 p.m.

It will also serve as a prelude to the 13th season of the Shakey’s V-League where National U and Team Laoag will tangle at 4 p.m. and Pocari Sweat and University of the Philippines colliding at 6:30 p.m.

All matches in the Shakey’s V-League, where it all started, will be telecast live over ABS CBN Sports + Channel, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

With Carino at the helm, the HD Spikers grounded the Air Force side to snare the Reinforced Conference crown in last year’s inaugurals of the country’s firstever men’s indoor volley league.

With a crack roster, Carino is upbeat of his wards’ chances to duplicate their Reinforced Conference feat and improve on their fourth place finish in the Open Conference last year.

“I don’t want to sound boastful but I would have to admit that winning another title is our target,” said Carino.

Games tomorrow 1 p.m. – Navy vs IEM (Spirkers’ Turf) 4 p.m. – NU vs Laoag (Shakey’s V-League) 6:30 p.m. – Pocari vs UP (Shakey’s V-League)

Referee Tony Weeks (left) raises the hand of Filipino John Reil Casimero, who scored a fourth-round KO of Thai champ Amnat Ruenrong during the IBF Convention in Beijing, China.

Casimero avenges defeat th to Thai with 4 -round KO

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

FORMER International Boxing Federation light flyweight champion John Reil Casimero avenged his controversial loss to previously unbeaten Thai world flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng with a dramatic fourthround knockout at the Diamond Stadium in Beijing, China on Wednesday night in a highlight of the IBF Annual Convention.

It was a sudden and shocking turnaround by the Filipino fighter, whose veteran trainer Jhun Agrabio predicted his ward would “win by a landslide, just like president-elect Rody Duterte,” whom the Casimero camp had openly supported.

Ruenrong won a controver-

sial decision in their first meeting in Thailand when American referee Larry Doggett allowed the Thai champion to get away with numerous infractions, including two takedowns and failed to call a clear knockdown in Round 3.

Doggett also ruled a knockdown when Ruenrong pushed

Casimero to the canvas and was bitterly criticized for his terrible performance, prompting the Filipino’s co-managers Sampson Lewkowicz and Sammy Gello-ani, to ask the IBF to retain his No. 1 ranking and seek a rematch, which the IBF agreed to.

Ruenrong again resorted to his roughhouse tactics and once again sent Casimero to the canvas as the champion tripped over a loose lace on his boots. But when the action resumed in the fourth round and Ruenrong tried to exchange with the Filipino at close range, Casimero exploded with a counter left hook to the jaw and the champion went down in a heap on his hands and knees with his head down on the canvas.

Casimero went after Ruenrong in somewhat reckless fashion and got caught with a couple of punches as the champion tried to turn the fight around behind his jab and footwork.

But the champion put his hands up to protect his jaw, only to give Casimero a chance to land a vicious left hook to the liver as Ruenroeng, in a somewhat delayed reaction, grimaced and sank to the canvas with his back tangled under the bottom of the ropes.

Referee Tony Weeks whose appointment was welcomed by the Casimero camp, confident he wouldn’t allow the champion to resort to dirty tactics as in their first fight, counted out Ruenroeng at 2:10 of the fourth round.

Turn to A14

It’s now a 2-way fight for no. 1 rookie pick between Rosario, Galang THE Philippine Superliga holds its Annual Rookie Draft Friday at the Music Hall Oval Venue of the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Reigning UAAP champion Ara Galang of La Salle and former NCAA Best Attacker CJ Rosario of Arellano University will banner the 16 rookie aspirants in this prestigious event that will be aired live over TV5 starting 5 p.m.

Galang, the 21-year-old former UAAP Most Valuable Player, immediately sent coaches into reconfiguring their war plans when she reconsidered her earlier decision to focus on her studies and forgo the draft, while recuperating from a knee injury.

In a stunning development,

Galang showed up during the Rookie Camp at the The Arena in San Juan last Tuesday, making her the favorite for the top overall pick.

She told league officials that she will be joining the draft yesterday, hoping to end up with the new-look F2 Logistics, which will be bannered by Mika Reyes, Cyd Demecillo, Kim Fajardo, Kim Dy and other former members of the Lady Spikers.

Prior to that, the consensus top pick was Rosario, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker who already gained PSL experience after helping Petron reach the semifinals of a pre-season tournament last month.

RC Cola-Army, owner of top overall pick, admitted that pick-

ing between Galang and Rosario is a “very beautiful problem” since both spikers are capable of becoming a vital piece in their bid to win their fourth PSL crown.

“Both of them are very good.

They are the rising stars in this league,” said RC Cola-Army coach Kungfu Reyes. “But we haven’t sat down to discuss our draft choice.

This is a very crucial decision. We have to do a lot of research before coming up with a choice.”

PSL president Ramon Suzara said this year’s draft will be full of drama due to the implementation of a three-day trading period that could change the complexion and order of the draft.

“We don’t know who will end up

with whom,” said Suzara, an executive council member of the FIVB who also holds an important position with the AVC. “For now, RC Cola-Army owns the top overall pick. But we may not know in the next hours. Maybe they have already traded their pick to another team to acquire a veteran who can help them win another title. Let’s wait until the draft proper.”

Aside from Galang and Rosario, also expected to be tapped in the first round are former Arellano stalwarts Danna Henson, Shirley Salamagos and Angel Legacion, as well as Asi Soliven of National University, Mary Grace Berte of Holy Cross of Davao and

Marlyn Llagoso and Jerra Mae Pacino of Southwestern University in Cebu.

Also in the pool are Renelyn Raterta of University of Mindanao, Jonah Sabete of Bulacan State University, Gen Casugod of Far Eastern University, Sheryl Laborte of University of Negros Occidental, Lourdes Patilano of Adamson University, Sarina Bulan of University of the East and Christine Suyao of Emilio Aguinaldo College.RC Cola-Army will be picking first in the original draft order followed by Generika, Perpetual, Standard Insurance-Navy, F2 Logistics, Cignal, Petron and Foton, which won the PSL Grand Prix crown last year.

F R I DAY : M AY 2 7, 2 0 16

A16

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

Kaya falls to Johor XI

By Peter Atencio JOHOR Darul Ta’zim showed guts and manhandled Kaya FC of the Philippines, 7-2, Wednesday night to barge into the quarterfinals of the 2016 Asian Football Confederation Cup at the rain-soaked Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Playing like champions after winning the recent Malaysia FA Cup, the hosts scored in the 14th minute off Juan Martin Lucero’s free kick, before striking again as Jorge Pereyra Diaz converted a penalty in the 23rd, increasing the hosts’ advantage.

The Southern Tigers, who played without influential captain Safiq Rahim due to a thigh injury, then secured the win with a third goal in the 32nd minute following a breakaway.

Goalkeeper Izham Tarmizi kicked in a long ball to Diaz, who weaved his way into the penalty box and assisted Azamuddin Akil, who tapped it in.

Akil, a winger, struck again when he curled in his second marker from the top corner in the 40th minute, handing the hosts a 4-0 lead.

Kaya FC finally scored in the second half behind OJ Porteria in the 53rd minute.

But JDT answered back a minute later, through Lucero, who volleyed in Diaz’s cutback.

Substitute Mahali Jasuli then struck home a sixth marker in the 58th minute before Akil completed a hat trick with his third goal in the 61st.

JDT is now in a quarterfinal tie against qualifiers from the East Zone, which is made up of Hong Kong’s South China, India’s Bengaluru FC and Singapore’s Tampines Rovers.

LeBron James (23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball against the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

Cavaliers hand Raptors a ghastly 38-pt beating WASHINGTON—LeBron James tallied 23 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one victory of reaching the NBA finals with a 116-78 blowout home triumph over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

James, who is seeking his sixth straight appearance in the NBA championship series, also had six rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who lead the best-ofseven Eastern Conference finals three games to two.

“I am a very experienced player.

I’ve been here a long time,” James said. “I was able to be very calm these last 48 hours understanding that it is a big game.

“I’ve been in some pressure situations before and I wanted to have

Fajardo joins list of injured Gilas stars TURN TO A14

that confidence around these guys who have never been in that situation before, and it paid off.”

Kyrie Irving added 23 points in the Cavaliers’ most lopsided playoff victory in franchise history, eclipsing their 31-point victory at home in the series opener.

Game six is Friday in Toronto.

The Raptors must win or else Cleveland will advance to next month’s NBA finals to face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or defending champion Golden State Warriors.

The Cavaliers delivered a stunning blow on Wednesday by flipping the script on the Raptors, who won back-to-back home games to level the series 2-2.

- Faith in Love Cleveland’s faith was also restored in forward Kevin Love, who scored a team-high 25 points on eight-of-10 shooting after making just five-of-23 in the two losses in Toronto.

“We had our aggression today from the start. It started with Kevin and we followed his lead,” James said. “He is a big reason why we were able to play as well as we did today.

“When Kevin is aggressive like we saw then we want to keep giving him the ball. He was spectacular.”

Casimero avenges defeat to Thai champ TURN TO A15

Cleveland have outscored the Raptors by 88 points in their three home games.

James thinks the Cavaliers can land another knockout punch on Friday, but there is no margin for error when they face the Raptors on Canadian soil.

“It is going to be extremely difficult,” he said of game six. “Playing in that beast of an arena, we’ve got to be composed and we got to be tough.”

The contest was all but over after the first quarter, when Cleveland’s 37 points were the most they’ve scored in any quarter in this series.

Toronto trailed by 18 after one period, and they didn’t pass 37 points until the early stages of the third quarter. AFP

B1

FRIDAY: MAY 27, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS Govt reviewing coal policy

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Aquino administration asked the Climate Change Commission to set a national policy that will reduce the Philippines’ dependence on coal plants and move toward a lowcarbon future.

The commission said in a statement President Benigno Aquino III set into motion an urgent and comprehensive review of the government’s energy policy.

President Aquino signed Commission Resolution No. 2016-001 on May 18, which stated that the commission would lead key gov-

ernment agencies in facilitating within the next six months “a national policy review and framework development on energy, through a whole-of-nation approach, in accordance with a lowcarbon development pathway and national goals and targets for climate change mitigation and adap-

tation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.”

The commission said the resolution was envisioned to set in place a clear government policy on coal-fired power plants, which were the biggest sources of manmade carbon emissions, accounting for about 35 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Coal accounts for about 30 percent of the power generation mix in the Philippines, but thousands of megawatts of additional capacity were in the pipeline to address the country’s growing power demand.

Climate Change Commission Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman and commissioners Fran-

ces Veronica Victorino and Noel Antonio Gaerlan also signed the resolution.

“We are happy that President Aquino signed the resolution, which is a major step to steer the country away from coal and accelerate the transition to clean, renewable energy that is consistent with our efforts to fight climate change and pursue the development of a green economy,” De Guzman said.

“It is the obligation of the government to act to save the people from climate change and not wait. The poor and the vulnerable stand to lose if we don’t act with urgency,” he said.

The resolution urged the En-

vironment and Energy Departments and the National Economic Development Authority to harmonize policies and regulations on new and existing coal-fired power plants and assess their impacts on the environment and include low-carbon development and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in the formulation of all national and local development plans.

De Guzman said the review would pave the way for a swift transition to renewable energy, enhance energy efficiency and conservation and ensure clean, affordable and reliable energy for the entire country.

PSe comPoSite index Closing May 26, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,376.38 87.57

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing May 26, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.690

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.600 LOW P46.740 AVERAGE P46.665 VOLUME 611.100M

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

James Hardie’s expansion. James Hardie Philippines, a market leader in fiber cement technology, signs an engineering, procurement and construction contract with JGC Philippines Inc. to expand its manufacturing plant in Cabuyao, Laguna and meet the growing demand in housing and infrastructure projects. Shown during the signing of the agreement are (from left) James Hardie Line 2 project manager Ben Birkel, James Hardie Philippines country manager Mark Sergio, JGC Philippines president Antonio Cabrera and JGC Philippines senior vice president Hidekazu Takahashi.

Gokongwei sells P11-b shares in JG Summit

By Jenniffer B. Austria TYCOON John Gokongwei sold $250 million (P11.7 billion) worth of shares in his listed conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. as a part of estate planning.

JG Summit senior vice president Bach Johann Sebastian said in a text message the conglomerate sold 142.5 million secondary shares owned by Gokongwei via overnight placement of shares.

“Selling shareholder was Mr. John Gokongwei. Sale was for estate planning purposes,” Sebastian said.

The shares were sold at P82.10 per share, a 9.7-percent discount to the P92.10 close on Wednesday.

As a result, the share price of JG Summit fell 9.6 percent to settle at P82.40 Thursday. UBS was the underwriter of the transaction.

After the transaction, Gokongwei, who sits as chairman emeritus of JG Summit, still had 58 million direct shares in the conglomerate.

JG Summit is one of leading conglomerates in the Philippines, with investments in food and beverage, real estate, air transportation, financial services, petrochemicals, telecommunications and power distribution.

Among JG Summit’s subsidiaries are JG Summit Petrochemical Corp.; CP Air Holdings Inc.; Universal Robina Corp.; Robinsons

Land Corp.; and Robinsons Bank Corp.

The company also holds interest in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Manila Electric Co. JG Summit posted a 60.9-percent increase in firstquarter net income to P9.63 billion from P5.98 billion a year ago, boosted by doubledigit growth in airline and petrochemical businesses.

Consolidated revenues grew 6.2 percent to P60.59 billion from P57.05 billion on the performance of core subsidiaries.

Revenues from core investments, however, declined, as dividend income received by the

group dropped 34.6 percent to P1.03 billion from P1.57 billion on lower dividends declared by PLDT. Equity in net earnings of associates, primarily from investments in UIC and Meralco, increased to P1.83 billion from P1.68 billion in the first quarter of 2015.

JG Summit earmarked P41.3 billion in capital expediters in 2016 primarily to finance capacity expansion of food manufacturing unit, construction of new malls, offices, hotels and residential projects of its property unit and fleet expansion of airline business.

The group already spent P11.1 billion in the first quarter.

P35.15-P42.25 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P23.75-P28.60 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, May 26, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.7900

Japan

Yen

0.009076

0.4247

UK

Pound

1.469800

68.7719

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128775

6.0254

Switzerland

Franc

1.009285

47.2244

Canada

Dollar

0.768167

35.9425

Singapore

Dollar

0.725689

33.9550

Australia

Dollar

0.719800

33.6794

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653787

124.1707

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266709

12.4793

Brunei

Dollar

0.723066

33.8323

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000073

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.028011

1.3106

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.7403

Euro

Euro

1.115700

52.2036

Korea

Won

0.000847

0.0396

China

Yuan

0.152430

7.1322

India

Rupee

0.014867

0.6956

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.243843

11.4094

New Zealand

Dollar

0.673800

31.5271

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030699

1.4364 Source: PDS Bridge

FRIDAY: MAY 27, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Thursday, May 26, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 4 17 30.45 10.4 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 8.7 12.02 19.6 6.12 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 148 20.6 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 79 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 0.62 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 1450 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 1.3 26 2.17

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 32 15.32 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 34.1 1.63 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 0.335 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 801 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 0.640 10.02 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.68 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5 76 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 9.66 0.0670 1.61 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 1.15 2.26 0.152 837 5.3 49.55 4.84 0.59 12 4.2 3 0.030 0.550 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.97 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 1.1 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 4.2 3.97 46.2 45.25 104.00 102.10 94.50 93.20 38.15 38 2.93 2.92 1.46 1.40 9.11 9.11 14.26 14.26 17.48 17.26 7.21 7.18 2.04 1.7 610.00 609.00 0.570 0.560 86.8 84.5 0.96 0.96 15.00 14.90 50.90 50.40 270 264 31.8 31.4 197.3 194.8 1420.00 1400.00 64.95 64.15 1.58 1.53 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp.

45.85 45.85 45.35 Agrinurture Inc. 3.36 3.3 3.11 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.89 0.9 0.87 Alsons Cons.

2.05 2.04 1.94 Asiabest Group 12.48 12.4 11.7 Bogo Medelin 55.55 55.55 55.55 C. Azuc De Tarlac 200.00 200.00 200.00 Century Food 21.9 22 21.7 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 183 200 184 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.5 17.5 17.38 Concepcion 46 46.25 46 Crown Asia 2.2 2.22 2.17 Da Vinci Capital 4.75 4.79 4.64 Del Monte 10.72 10.96 10.62 DNL Industries Inc. 9.590 9.700 9.530 Emperador 7.36 7.36 7.30 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.74 5.80 5.65 EEI 7.26 7.40 7.22 First Gen Corp.

21.2 21.7 21.4 First Holdings ‘A’ 67.5 68 67.5 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 13.00 13.00 12.50 Holcim Philippines Inc. 15.04 15.06 14.98 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.82 5.89 5.68 Ionics Inc 2.300 2.310 2.270 Jollibee Foods Corp.

236.00 236.00 230.00 Liberty Flour 44.00 43.00 43.00 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.4 3.4 3.34 Manila Water Co. Inc. 27.65 27.95 27.1 Maxs Group 25.25 25.25 24 Megawide 6.72 6.78 6.71 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 316.00 323.40 316.00 MG Holdings 0.275 0.280 0.270 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.41 3.5 3.41 Petron Corporation 11.46 11.54 11.38 Phinma Corporation 11.62 11.62 11.62 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 5.18 5.34 5.13 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.64 1.66 1.63 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.7 2.74 2.68 RFM Corporation 4.30 4.36 4.20 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 213.2 219 217.8 Splash Corporation 2.52 2.54 2.51 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.151 0.153 0.151 TKC Steel Corp.

1.74 1.74 1.55 Trans-Asia Oil 2.50 2.54 2.49 Universal Robina 205 206.8 203.6 Vitarich Corp.

0.91 0.92 0.88 Vivant Corp.

32.00 31.50 31.50 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.30 1.30 1.25 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.390 0.405 0.380 Aboitiz Equity 74.80 75.70 74.05 Alliance Global Inc. 14.76 15.14 14.76 Anglo Holdings A 1.19 1.18 1.08 Anscor `A’ 6.00 6.10 6.00 ATN Holdings A 0.360 0.400 0.355 ATN Holdings B 0.360 0.395 0.360 Ayala Corp `A’ 833 839 823 Cosco Capital 7.68 7.8 7.67 DMCI Holdings 12.64 12.74 12.52 F&J Prince ‘B’ 4.82 5.01 5 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

6.20 6.34 6.18 Forum Pacific 0.246 0.245 0.230 GT Capital 1427 1433 1405 House of Inv. 6.46 6.47 6.30 JG Summit Holdings 91.20 85.00 82.30 Lopez Holdings Corp.

7.65 7.88 7.65 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.7 0.7 0.69 LT Group 14.4 14.6 14.1 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 6.18 6.15 6.01 MJCI Investments Inc. 3.8 4 3.5 Pacifica `A’ 0.0320 0.0330 0.0320 Prime Orion 1.830 1.810 1.790 San Miguel Corp `A’ 73.40 73.80 73.20 SM Investments Inc. 978.00 990.00 959.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.19 1.20 1.17 South China Res. Inc. 0.83 0.83 0.83 Top Frontier 159.000 161.500 152.000 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3200 0.3300 0.3200 Wellex Industries 0.2200 0.2180 0.2020 Zeus Holdings 0.300 0.390 0.295 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.700 7.750 7.650 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.17 1.22 1.18 Araneta Prop `A’ 2.440 2.500 2.300 Arthaland Corp.

0.260 0.260 0.260 Ayala Land `B’ 37.200 37.800 36.500 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.3 3.36 3.3 Cebu Holdings 5.12 5.15 5.1 Century Property 0.510 0.52 0.510 City & Land Dev. 0.95 0.98 0.95 Crown Equities Inc. 0.133 0.131 0.129 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.530 0.540 0.510 Double Dragon 54 54 52.7 Empire East Land 0.780 0.800 0.760 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. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

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

Close

SHARES 7,399,741 51,371,261 531,007,028 96,052,127 102,816,497 1,090,984,286 1,895,574,911

4.01 46.25 103.90 94.00 38.15 2.95 1.40 9.5 14.28 17.4 7.49 1.8 609.00 0.560 86.5 0.96 14.90 50.85 265 31.4 196.3 1400.00 64.90 1.59

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

3.98 46.2 103.90 94.50 38.1 2.92 1.46 9.11 14.26 17.34 7.18 1.8 609.00 0.570 85.1 0.96 14.90 50.40 265 31.8 194.8 1416.00 64.15 1.54

-0.75 -0.11 0.00 0.53 -0.13 -1.02 4.29 -4.11 -0.14 -0.34 -4.14 0.00 0.00 1.79 -1.62 0.00 0.00 -0.88 0.00 1.27 -0.76 1.14 -1.16 -3.14

431,000 12,600 929,610 686,960 173,400 48,000 119,000 500 400 40,800 15,600 340,000 910 258,000 2,198,170 1,000 6,400 381,620 2,820 136,400 1,499,630 255 54,930 60,000

-20,450.00 483,300.00 10,574,460 16,578,694.50 400,050.00

45.4 3.3 0.88 1.94 12.28 55.55 200.00 21.95 190 17.5 46.25 2.22 4.73 10.72 9.540 7.36 5.74 7.30 21.5 67.6 12.50 15.02 5.72 2.280 233.60 43.00 3.34 27.95 24 6.71 316.00 0.270 3.41 11.48 11.62 5.15 1.63 2.7 4.21 218 2.51 0.152 1.66 2.49 204.8 0.89 31.50 1.25

-0.98 -1.79 -1.12 -5.37 -1.60 0.00 0.00 0.23 3.83 0.00 0.54 0.91 -0.42 0.00 -0.52 0.00 0.00 0.55 1.42 0.15 -3.85 -0.13 -1.72 -0.87 -1.02 -2.27 -1.76 1.08 -4.95 -0.15 0.00 -1.82 0.00 0.17 0.00 -0.58 -0.61 0.00 -2.09 2.25 -0.40 0.66 -4.60 -0.40 -0.10 -2.20 -1.56 -3.85

3,836,800 487,000 178,000 11,191,000 24,900 70 50 314,600 4,080 118,400 1,140,800 129,000 103,000 59,000 797,200 835,400 6,741,400 133,300 1,205,800 73,990 3,000 417,100 234,600 710,000 637,360 43 10,000 239,300 1,468,800 365,100 238,200 170,000 511,000 5,029,100 3,500 2,007,800 387,000 57,000 381,000 830 73,000 1,640,000 3,494,000 1,001,000 2,549,830 2,086,000 300 58,000

-17,885,445.00 -25,650.00

0.400 75.50 15.00 1.15 6.10 0.390 0.390 830 7.67 12.60 5.01 6.25 0.245 1425 6.30 82.40 7.85 0.7 14.32 6.02 3.5 0.0320 1.790 73.80 961.00 1.19 0.83 161.500 0.3200 0.2180 0.370

2.56 0.94 1.63 -3.36 1.67 8.33 8.33 -0.36 -0.13 -0.32 3.94 0.81 -0.41 -0.14 -2.48 -9.65 2.61 0.00 -0.56 -2.59 -7.89 0.00 -2.19 0.54 -1.74 0.00 0.00 1.57 0.00 -0.91 23.33

4,750,000 3,267,780 10,671,300 29,000 2,000 30,460,000 4,440,000 283,000 1,041,000 2,863,000 12,000 1,585,400 90,000 50,760 13,600 14,161,120 728,300 11,000 8,453,900 25,079,500 26,000 8,800,000 1,347,000 141,050 279,390 46,000 16,000 10,630 1,820,000 170,000 267,670,000

7.700 1.19 2.340 0.260 36.900 3.32 5.15 0.510 0.98 0.129 0.520 53 0.780

0.00 1.71 -4.10 0.00 -0.81 0.61 0.59 0.00 3.16 -3.01 -1.89 -1.85 0.00

88,300 1,208,000 1,833,000 340,000 14,135,000 3,494,000 4,600 4,393,000 14,000 1,140,000 1,739,000 1,119,980 384,000

-149,724.00

-58,248,792.00 -17,369,257.50 -430,272.00 1,663,240 -33,948,548.00

-603,000.00

1,691,925.00 0 -23,250.00 -405,542.00 1,126,106.00 277,340.00 -7,999,759.00 572,633.00 -3,922,035.00 -1,468,427.50 -1,684,084.00 774,618.00 -45,600.00 22,777,938.00 4,300.00 -2,554,245.00 12,746,115.00 -591,683.00 3,206,408.00 1,732,280.00 -6,242,186.00 -8,756,129.00 -510,750.00

44,290.00 -8,996,838.00

97,577,503.50 -44,407,796.00

-8,250.00 -2,346,865.00 4,078,634.00 -12,897,084.00 35,070.00 2,358,950.00 14,226,295.00 -767,796,485.00 -991,451.00 3,641,608.00 -23,896,942.00 188,800.00 269,955.00 -97,674,690.00 -573,175.00 -96,500.00 -3,650.00 215,477.00 -50,300.00 -209,200.00 94,891,050.00 6,517,790.00

-1,967,081.00 -85,840.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

High

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.39 23 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

Global-Estate 0.97 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.97 Interport `A’ 1.25 Megaworld 4.35 MRC Allied Ind. 0.092 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.460 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 58.35 Primex Corp.

8.5 Robinson’s Land `B’ 29.00 Rockwell 1.58 Shang Properties Inc. 3.05 SM Prime Holdings 24.60 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.9 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.030 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.950

-1.03 -1.02 -1.60 0.00 4.35 0.00 -15.77 0.00 0.00 -2.53 1.97 -1.02 -2.22 0.97 -2.02

1,289,000 8,253,000 78,000 29,764,000 4,520,000 610,000 69,700 21,000 1,774,900 75,000 16,000 8,233,900 1,573,000 162,000 7,851,000

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 7 12.5 0.017

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 8.72 0.011

0.8200 2.2800 5.93

0.041 1.200 2.34

12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

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

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

-0.27 -0.97 -0.78 -1.59 0.00 -2.12 0.00 -1.61 -1.03 0.00 0.00 -3.18 -1.48 -0.15 0.00 0.00 -0.98 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.01 1.49 1.20 -4.48 6.42 -0.64 1.35 -1.44 -4.90 5.45 -0.99 -3.66 0.00 -4.99 0.93 -0.20 0.84 0.00 0.42 -2.41 -2.17 -0.95 1.29 0.00 2.24 1.72 -0.60 2.94 -0.58

131,400 115,550 40,000 1,445,000 10,000 4,199,000 14,540,000 6,056,000 749,860 700 22,000 690,100 126,660 19,700 143,100 95,000 772,740 15,900 32,400 500,000 705,300 10,620,000 3,392,000 60,000 82,800 253,800 3,091,000 11,000 700 32,000 327,000 16,175,000 504,000 20,716,000 10,300 110,300 380 43,000 78,750 570,000 10,264,000 2,927,900 240,760 202,400 1,969,000 84,000 202,000 200,000 48,400

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.00 7.52 -4.22 -1.67 3.81 0.00 -5.88 0.00 3.18 1.15 0.00 3.92 5.66 0.00 0.00 -2.06 -7.87 1.15 0.00 -1.52 2.04 0.26 4.64 0.00 0.00 -0.08 9.50 0.00

202,000,000 -21,000.00 1,088,000 -1,083,270.00 127,000 -4,320.00 4,800 2,140,000 1,200 -7,750.00 622,000 1,027,000 20,900 9,101,000 890,960.00 51,000 93,800,000 21,160,000 -109,200.00 537,900,000 93,600,000 1,500.00 867,000 19,097,000 -46,523,540.00 18,000 26,000 197,000 29,000,000 68,000 3,441,000 -1,563,702.00 3,490,000 -8,900.00 24,100,000 407,870 25,885,861.00 1,999,000 -70,680.00 45,100,000 33,000.00

70 553 525

33 490 500

515 8.21 111 1060 1047 84.8

480 5.88 101 997 1011 75

1.34

1

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

-0.39 0.95 0.00 0.00 -0.19 -1.07 -0.55 0.00 0.10 -1.23 0.46 -0.25 -0.77 0.00 0.00 -24.32

16,640 3,620 2,980 50,000 6,000 4,100 69,810 21,100 1,450 6,400 500 15,700 500 500 116,000 75,000

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

-2.33

135,000

9.57 1.07 0.68 -3.21

14,296,000 -111,060.00 5,000 79,000 1,520,000 -9,667,292.00

-0.90

22,580

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,686.28 (DOWN) 5.51 INDUSTRIAL 11,763.82 (DOWN) 31.61 HOLDING FIRMS 7,378.90 (DOWN) 163.29 PROPERTY 3,183.38 (DOWN) 26.21 SERVICES 1,437.07 (DOWN) 4.77 MINING & OIL 11,126.80 (UP) 39.86 PSEI 7,376.38 (DOWN) 87.57 All Shares Index 4,416.86 (DOWN) 40.45 Gainers: 65; Losers: 109; Unchanged: 56; Total: 230

Close

2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.96 0.96 1.96 1.94 1.95 1.25 1.23 1.23 4.41 4.27 4.35 0.097 0.093 0.096 0.490 0.460 0.460 65.00 45.00 49.15 8.5 8.5 8.5 29.95 28.45 29.00 1.58 1.53 1.54 3.11 3.05 3.11 24.60 24.10 24.35 0.9 0.88 0.88 1.050 1.020 1.040 5.000 4.850 4.850 SERVICES 7.35 7.37 7.32 7.33 51.8 51.8 51.1 51.3 1.29 1.3 1.28 1.28 0.630 0.630 0.610 0.620 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 4.25 4.31 4.16 4.16 0.0520 0.0530 0.0510 0.0520 3.1 3.17 3 3.05 97 97.2 95.3 96 9.55 9.55 9.23 9.55 1.81 1.81 1.77 1.81 6.92 6.95 6.69 6.70 2158 2180 2114 2126 6.55 6.55 6.50 6.54 21.20 21.20 21.20 21.20 1.18 1.18 1.13 1.18 61.1 62.5 60.45 60.5 15.50 15.80 14.60 15.50 11.54 11.54 11.54 11.54 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 9.45 9.64 9.44 9.64 0.335 0.350 0.340 0.340 1.6700 1.7300 1.6300 1.6900 2.68 2.6 2.56 2.56 10.9 11.6 10.9 11.6 7.79 7.80 7.56 7.74 4.44 4.55 4.35 4.50 2.77 2.73 2.50 2.73 20.00 20.00 19.02 19.02 0.550 0.590 0.580 0.580 2.02 2.05 2 2 2.46 2.59 2.37 2.37 3.99 4.01 3.98 3.99 3.610 3.710 3.400 3.430 17.24 17.4 17.36 17.4 5.09 5.12 5.08 5.08 119.00 124.90 116.00 120.00 23.90 23.90 23.55 23.90 1655.00 1675.00 1657.00 1662.00 0.415 0.415 0.400 0.405 0.920 0.930 0.890 0.900 41.90 42.00 41.05 41.50 77.40 78.80 77.40 78.40 6.35 6.50 6.35 6.35 2.68 2.74 2.68 2.74 0.580 0.590 0.580 0.590 3.36 3.36 3.34 3.34 0.340 0.350 0.350 0.350 6.890 6.900 6.820 6.850 MINING & OIL 0.0042 0.0043 0.0041 0.0042 2.26 2.43 2.25 2.43 4.50 4.47 4.25 4.31 13.20 13.18 12.02 12.98 0.236 0.245 0.232 0.245 7.7500 7.7500 7.6600 7.7500 0.68 0.66 0.61 0.64 0.510 0.510 0.500 0.510 8.80 9.20 8.30 9.08 0.870 0.890 0.860 0.880 0.300 0.310 0.290 0.300 0.255 0.270 0.248 0.265 0.265 0.295 0.260 0.280 0.0150 0.0150 0.0130 0.0150 0.0160 0.0160 0.0150 0.0160 1.94 1.94 1.9 1.9 4.7 4.71 4.31 4.33 2.6 2.63 2.53 2.63 0.6200 0.6200 0.6200 0.6200 1.3200 1.3300 1.3000 1.3000 0.0098 0.0100 0.0099 0.0100 3.91 3.94 3.92 3.92 6.90 7.44 6.89 7.22 4.04 4.15 4.01 4.04 0.0130 0.0130 0.0130 0.0130 127.20 128.00 127.00 127.10 3.79 4.18 4 4.15 0.0110 0.0120 0.0110 0.0110 PREFERRED 51.5 51.75 51.3 51.3 525 530 525 530 535 545 535 535 510 510 510 510 518 517 517 517 6.57 6.5 6.12 6.5 108.6 108 106.5 108 1050 1050 1050 1050 1024 1025 1025 1025 81 80.85 80 80 76.15 76.55 76.5 76.5 78.5 78.3 78.3 78.3 78.1 77.5 77.5 77.5 76 76 76 76 76.3 76.3 76.2 76.3 3.7 3.05 2.01 2.8 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.000 3.180 2.930 2.930 SME 3.97 4.58 4.05 4.35 3.75 3.79 3.79 3.79 2.94 2.9 2.92 2.96 18.06 18.1 17.44 17.48 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 122.4 122.5 121.3 121.3

T op g ainerS VALUE 680,710,854.65 1,287,793,249.71 14,314,668,913.03 1,134,547,118.694 886,343,000.36 238,768,076.38 18,635,156,653.094

Low

48,000.00 -2,409,120.00 11,160.00 -17,221,290.00 19,530.00 1,849,330.00 57,170.00 -62,193,650.00 1,020.00 -19,559,720.00 -774,661.00

111,000.00 -1,282,700.00 124,500.00 7,496,437.50 548,113.00 -110,062,560.00 11,300.00 -26,155,068.50

4,818,980.00 -34,500.00

-11,618.00 161,990.00

-300,700.00 11,301,180.00 307,170.00 1,159,940.00 5,800.00 -7,065.00 -25,781,110.00 -627,330.00 37,852,935.00 2,121,151.00 -586,496.00 -860,170.00 367,620.00

-359,298.00

-650.00 -5,837,265.00 -1,486,250.00 -38,260.00

14,750.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Zeus Holdings

0.370

23.33

Swift Pref

2.8

-24.32

Alterra Capital

4.35

9.57

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry

49.15

-15.77

TA Petroleum

4.15

9.50

JG Summit Holdings

82.40

-9.65

ATN Holdings A

0.390

8.33

MJCI Investments Inc.

3.5

-7.89

ATN Holdings B

0.390

8.33

Nickelasia

4.33

-7.87

Apex `A'

2.43

7.52

Century Peak Metals Hldgs

0.64

-5.88

LBC Express

11.6

6.42

Alsons Cons.

1.94

-5.37

Lepanto `B'

0.280

5.66

NOW Corp.

3.430

-4.99

Manila Bulletin

0.580

5.45

Maxs Group

24

-4.95

Philex `A'

7.22

4.64

Manila Broadcasting

19.02

-4.90

FRIDAY: MAY 27, 2016

B3

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

Ginebra in acquisition talks SkyCable engages satellite operator

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE cable unit of ABS-CBN Corp. signed a deal with Luxembourgbased global satellite operator to roll out direct-to-home satellite television service in the Philippines.

Under a multi-year, multitransponder agreement, Sky Cable Corp. will broadcast DTH satellite TV channels via SES satellites at 108.2 degrees East—the SES-9 and NSS-11 satellites.

The contracted capacity will enable Sky Cable to effectively roll out a nation-wide DTH satellite TV service across 251 cities and municipalities in the Philippine archipelago, complementing its existing cable offerings.

“The geography of the Philippines presents a unique set of challenges for fiber or terrestrial connectivity.

Our satellites are able to overcome these limitations and provide comprehensive and high-powered coverage over the entire archipelago including under-connected areas in the Philippines,” Deepak Mathur, senior vice president Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at SES said.

“We are glad to support Sky Cable as they use both ground and space infrastructure to expand their TV audience reach. This latest contract on SES-9 shows the continued momentum of serving our prime DTH neighbourhoods on our largest satellite dedicated for Asia-Pacific,” he added.

SkyCable chief operating officer AntonioVentosa said the company tapped SES’s global expertise and extensive satellite footprint after venturing into providing satellite TV services for the company’s growing subscriber base.

“We are confident that with our partnership with SES, we will be able to deliver content seamlessly to potential new customers all across the country,” Ventosa said.

Sky Cable currently offers cable TV services for 55 High Definition channels to 800,000 subscribers in 19 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.

Sky Cable’s new satellite service will compete with Cignal TV, Dream Satellite TV and GSat, which all offer DTH services nationwide.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

GINEBRA San Miguel Inc., the liquor manufacturing unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is in talks with three foreign companies for possible acquisition.

San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting Ginebra was on the lookout for acquisitions after the liquor company regained market leadership in the domestic market.

“There are many opportunities to acquire, mostly international business. [We are in talks with] three foreign firms engaged in hard liquor business,” Ang said.

He said the talks were being arranged by brokers, but declined to give details on the negotiations.

He added San Miguel had a high 80 percent success rate in terms of

acquisitions. “[We have many] acquisitions in the last eight years [or] since 2008 and we have success rate of 80 percent... across all industries,” Ang said.

Ginebra in 2015 reduced its net loss to P385 million from P766 million recorded in 2014.

The liquor company turned around in the first quarter of 2016, registering a net income of P54 million from a loss of P29 million a year ago, as net sales rose seven percent to P3.93 billion.

“We are confident that the company will sustain its gains for the rest of the year with relevant mar-

keting initiatives that will resonate across consumer segments,” Ginebra president Bernard Marquez said.

Meanwhile, Ang defended the company’s decision to invest in coal-fired power plants, which other groups consider to be harmful to the environment because of bad emissions.

Ang said San Miguel uses clean technology in its coal-fired power plants compared with pulverised coal power plants which are seven times more harmful to the environment.

“If properly designed, [there is no] pollution, that is the kind of power plant that we are putting up. Clean coal technology, meaning circulating fluidized-bed broiler, and our emission control comes with water spray tower and bad filters,” Ang said.

First Philippine Holdings Inc of the Lopez Group on Monday said it would not invest in coalfired power plants because of the harmful effects on the environment.

Instead of building coal-fired power plants, FPH president Federico Lopez said the group would push for the development of geothermal power plants, as well as renewable energy like wind, solar and hydro.

Robinsons in Gen. Trias. JG Summit Holdings Inc. chief executive and president Lance Gokongwei (center) leads the ribbon-cutting

rites of the newly-opened Robinson’s Place General Trias in Antero Soriano road, Barangay Tejero on May 26, 2016. With him are (from right) Arlene Matibay, actress Maja Salvador, Cavite Governor-elect Jesus Crispin Remulla, General Trias City Mayor Antonio Ferrer, Robinsons Land Corp. president and chief operating officer Frederick Go and Cavite 6th district Rep. Luis Ferrer IV.

Energy regulator pushing for system audit of National Grid ENERGY Regulatory Commission chairman Jose Vicente Salazar expressed confidence National Grid Corporation of the Philippines will push through with its earlier commitment to back the system audit of the country’s power grid system.

Salazar said the audit would be the first compliance assessment of NGCP since receiving the franchise to operate, maintain and expand the country’s power transmission system in 2008.

The audit aims to assess how NGCP is operating the grid, how

it is maintaining the reliability of the country’s transmission system, and how its operations comply with regulations concerning the wholesale electricity spot market.

Salazar issued the statement amid reports that NGCP “appears to be reluctant to pursue its earlier commitment to fully cooperate with the audit.”

Salazar said the ERC was concerned that delays in the audit of NGCP “could adversely affect the processing of the applications for its capital expenditure and revenue

requirements” pending before the regulatory body.

“It is important that we have a clear assessment first of how it is doing its job before we consider the NGCP’s petition to raise the level of revenues it is allowed to make and to use money on capital expenditures,” Salazar said.

He said the performance audit of the NGCP was also crucial “to the country’s bid to ensure that the whole power supply infrastructure from generation to distribution to industries and households continue

to be efficient, reliable and costeffective.”

Salazar said the audit of the NGCP was set to be done by an independent third party to be procured by NGCP itself.

“I am sure the NGCP understands the importance of this independent audit to our shared aspiration to further improve the power transmission infrastructure of the country and to speed up the processing of their requirements,” Salazar said.

The NGCP has asked the ERC

to raise its maximum annual revenue to P45.2 billion and grant its application for additional capital expenditure of P8.05 billion in 2016.

Salazar said the audit of the NGCP would also boost the transparency of the regulatory process in the power sector.

“The customers of the power sector demand to know how the important industry players are performing in order to assess the value they get for the money they pay for power,” Salazar said.

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FRIDAY: MAY 27, 2016

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

IN BRIEF 2Go’s profit rises 37% LOGISTICS company 2Go Group Inc. said net income before tax surged 37 percent in the first quarter to P412.4 million from P301.2 million over the same period last year.

The company said in a statement the continued success was due to innovations in non-shipping business segment amid a growing economy, driven by increased consumption and in line with the significant growth of the modern retail trade beyond key urban centers.

“2GO unceasingly innovates to become the best enabler of the FMCG [fast moving consumer goods] industry as both manufacturers and retailers rapidly expand their network across the country” 2GO president and chief executive Sulficio Tagud Jr. said.

“We are committed to continuously enhance our infrastructure and fine-tune our strategies to ensure the consistent delivery of best in class service levels,” Tagud said.

The company said it saw rosy future in the retail sector, which was forecast to account for a fifth of the country’s GDP over the next decade, according to the Philippine Retailers Association.

S&P lists threats to banks Global debt watcher Standard & Poor’s Rating Ser-

vices said Thursday the weak payment culture and rule of law threaten the stability of the Philippine banking system.

S&P said in the latest banking industry country risk assessment report that weak payment culture and rule of law resulted in inherently high credit risk for the industry.

Other weaknesses, it said, were low-income levels that constrained economic resilience and limited legal protection to supervisors and poor transparency in financial disclosures.

“The Philippines’ payment culture and rule of law are weak, and this has resulted in low efficiency in the legal system and caused significant delays and uncertainty in the recovery of bad loans,” S&P said.

S&P said the Philippines’ low income level remained a major constraint. It estimated that real GDP per capita would rise by 4.4 percent to about $3,000 in 2016 from 4.1 percent in 2015. GDP per capita is expected to grow by an average 4.6 percent over 2017 to 2019.

“Without the closure of infrastructure gaps and improvements in the business climate through regulatory reforms, the Philippines may not achieve lowermiddle-income status in 2017, where per capita GDP exceeds $3,000,” it said. Julito G. Rada

Fiji, Jetstar join forces FIJI Airways and Jetstar announced an interline partnership to provide seamless, single-ticket air travel from the Philippines to Fiji, and onwards to the South Pacific for the first time.

The new commercial agreement between the Fijian and the Jetstar Group of branded airlines including Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Pacific will connect Fiji Airways’ newly launched Singapore to Nadi route, with more than 21 destinations on Jetstar’s network from Singapore, including the Philippines.

Fiji Airways commenced twice-weekly direct flights to Singapore on April r, creating the first ever direct flights between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

“We’re excited to expand our reach in Asia through this partnership with Jetstar to connect more destinations in the region to our extensive South Pacific network,” Andre Viljoen, Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive said.

“This interline agreement will offer a seamless travel experience from 21 cities in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar, to Fiji, via Singapore. It also opens new travel possibilities for the growing number of South Pacific travellers looking to explore Asia,” Viljoen said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Homeowners oppose new cell sites—Globe

By Darwin G. Amojelar

HOMEOWNERS’ opposition to new cell sites and political bickering among local officials are among the reasons for the slow Internet in Metro Manila, an executive of Globe Telecom Inc. said Thursday.

“Metro Manila is critical in the deployment of new cell sites as many of our customers are also concentrated in this area. However, there is a myriad of issues that restrains realization of our plans to establish more cell sites in the area and improve the Internet experience of our customers,” Globe senior vice president for program governance, net-

Banana institute proposed THE Philippine banana industry asked the government to establish a banana research institute to help the industry come up with solutions against diseases.

Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association executive director Stephen Antig said the research institute would help sustain the competitiveness of the Philippine bananas amid the threat of Panama disease.

Scientists earlier warned that a new strain of the Panama disease known as Tropical Race 4 (TR4) was a very serious disease in Cavendish banana plantations.

It is a virulent disease that when farms are infested, the pathogens cannot be removed anymore.

Panama disease infects the roots of bananas. It is a type of fusarium wilt, caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum. The pathogen is resistant to fungicides and cannot be controlled chemically. “ Just like Sigatoka, if you can’t control it you cannot export any bananas. If they will not do aerial spray to control Sigatoka, we cannot export. Our bananas will not be accepted in the market. It is also done in Latin America, that’s also how they manage Sigatoka, through aerial spraying,” said Filipino scientist Agustin Molina. Anna Leah E. Gonzales

granted permits to make sure emissions from cell sites were within set standards and not harmful to health.

It is also under the discretion of the Health Department to continuously monitor the emission settings of the cell site equipment after installation, he said.

The international exposure guidelines are set by the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.

Globe said political squabbling when local government executives were from opposing parties, the lack of property documentations and a host of other issues hampered deployment of new cell sites.

Telecom operators need to secure an average of 25 permits at the local government level to build a single cell site and this process takes at least 8 months to complete even before the necessary infrastructure can be built, costing an average of around P18 million per site.

accounts, while others resort to easy-toremember passwords like the “123456” or even their usernames or birthdays for example.

LinkedIn execs have advised users to change their passwords and said they will be enabling a two-step verification feature to alert users a text message when their account is accessed from an unregistered or unknown device.

Others, like Amazon, are thinking of more creative ways to protect their users like using selfies or videos to replace passwords especially when authorizing product purchases.

Happy Hour came across a very interesting and informative article published on the Mastercard website that tells customers how to pick a password—or things that one should not do (http://newsroom.mastercard.com/asiapacific/2016/03/11/how-to-pick-a-passwordwhat-not-to-do/?utm_source=taboola&utm_ medium=bloomberg).

According to the feature written by Manu Kashyap, only three in five people use different passwords for different accounts due to the challenge of having to remember multiple passwords for various accounts.

“The problem with using the same password for many accounts is that once someone discovers one of your passwords they can access any of your devices or online accounts. In addition, a fifth of people use birthdays, 18 percent their pet’s name, and 12 percent family names,” the author says.

And since these passwords are relatively easy for hackers to guess, gaining access to sensitive information is also equally easy.

So what can people do to protect themselves from these cyber thieves?

One is to use biometrics which will keep personal information safe without having to

use passwords. Fingerprints for instance can be used to confirm identity when making online purchases or payment via smart gadgets.

Like Amazon, Mastercard is also pilot testing “Selfie Pay” which allows users to use their phone camera as part of a two-step verification process, with sensors that can detect motion like the blinking of an eye for example.

However, such high-tech means will probably take years before they can become widespread, so meantime, here are a few quick tips from the author on to pick a password: 1. Always use a combination of numbers, letters and other characters such as exclamation marks!

2. Make it long – at least eight characters but ideally 16 3. Never use names, locations, phone numbers or birthdays 4. Use a mixture of upper and lower case characters 5. Don’t use English words – most hackers assume passwords will be in English 6. Don’t let websites remember your passwords 7. Use different passwords for different sites and devices So next time you create an account and are asked to enter your password, keep these tips in mind. And oh, be wary of Number 6, especially when using a public or shared computer.

••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo. com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ happyhourmanilastandard. We’d be very happy to hear from you. Cheers!

Contact center awards. Ibex Global,

one of the fastest growing business process outsourcing companies, is the only Philippine-based contact center recognized in the ContactCenterWorld Awards held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on May 20. Shown during the awarding ceremony are (from left) Francis Anthony Lim, training delivery manager and gold awardee for best trainer; Diane Firmanes, training manager; Marielle Kervinne Lavapie, special agent and bronze awardee for best customer satisfaction professional; Kristine Anne Racela, recruitment manager and gold awardee for best recruitment campaign; and Moses Azarcon, global brand manager.

Meralco adds prepaid meters THE Energy Regulatory Commission approved the rollout of additional 100,000 prepaid retail electricity meters of Manila Electric Co., an official said.

ERC spokesperson Rexie Digal said the additional prepaid retail electric service meters were part of Meralco’s application for the regulatory year 2016 capital expenditure budget.

“Meralco applied for authority to install 100,000 prepaid meters and the commission approved the same,” Digal said.

Digal said the prepaid meter rollout approval would not have any immediate rate impact “as like other approved capex of Meralco, the same will still be subject to optimization in the next reset.”

“In the application, Meralco submitted as supporting documents the request of some cities for the availability of prepaid service in their areas, such as Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasig, Cainta, Taytay and Angono,” she said.

ERC previously approved Meralco’s application to offer and provide prepaid electric service, branded as Kuryente Load, to an initial 40,000 customers in its franchise area subject to certain conditions. Alena Mae S. Flores

work technical group Joel Agustin said.

“For instance, many home owners oppose the deployment of cell sites in their villages due to a perceived health risk,” he said.

Agustin said as a requirement for capacity expansion drive, Globe had to improve cell site density, a necessary prerequisite in improving data connectivity of customers in terms of speed and access.

Agustin insisted that cell sites were not posing any health hazard, based on the statements of the World Health Organization, cancer.org, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund and the Philippines Department of Health.

He said these organizations expressed support for the use of mobile phones and the technology in their various health projects.

Agustin said that prior to installation of cell site equipment, the Health Department, as commissioned by the National Telecommunications Commission, also

Password hacks IF YOU’RE one of those dinosaurs who have consistently refused to join LinkedIn to expand your network of connections, then good for you because you’re very likely not one of the 117 million individuals whose account details could not be circulating in the dark web. In 2012, a group of hackers launched an attack against the company and it was initially believed that about 7 million users were exposed, but new information indicates that 117 million users whose usernames and passwords are now at risk.

A hacker going by the name of “Peace” has certainly disturbed the peace among users after admitting that he has put the stolen data for sale. A blog by LeakedSource, a search engine of hacked data, revealed that it was so easy to crack the passwords of millions of users because they were ridiculously easy to guess – imagine using “123456” for your password?

But apparently, that’s a popular choice, while coming in close as second and third most popular password choices are “linkedin” and “password” (start rolling eyes here).

Individuals have an average of 10 different accounts (social media, email, etc.), and creating a different password for each one of them is definitely difficult especially if you are memory challenged. This is one reason why some just use one password for all their

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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WORLD

Death for child abusers backed JAKARTA—Indonesia’s introduction of the death penalty and chemical castration for child sex offenders won applause from the public Thursday, but activists warned the punishments would not serve as a deterrent.

Concert. Cyndi Lauper performs at the Beacon Theater on May 25 in New York City. AFP

Taiwanese slam sexist comments by analyst TAIPEI—Outraged Taiwanese took to the Internet Thursday to slam sexist comments by a Chinese analyst saying the island’s new president practices “emotional” politics because she is a single woman.

The scathing attack Tuesday from a member of China’s organization overseeing relations with the island comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Taipei after the election of Taiwan’s first female leader, Beijingskeptic Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai’s office and the ruling DPP declined to comment on the remarks, but enraged politicians and citizens openly voiced their displeasure.

“It’s such a ridiculous remark and discrimination against single people.

Everyone has the right to choose his or her lifestyle by having partners or staying single and that should be respected,” DPP lawmaker Yeh Yi-chin told AFP. Another lawmaker, Wang Yu-min, was equally incensed over the comments.

“Such a personal attack is extremely improper. It’s gender discrimination and we strongly oppose such remarks,” said Wang, from the Beijingfriendly KMT party.

The remarks from Wang Weixing, a military analyst and a board member of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, claimed that Tsai’s politics were affected by her status as a “single female politician”.

“In political style and strategy, of-

ten she tends to be emotional, personal and extreme. In terms of political tricks, she considers strategy less, tactical details more, and short-term goals are paramount, while long-term goals are less taken into account,” Wang wrote.

Internet users in Taiwan joined lawmakers in slamming Wang’s comments Thursday.

“Why doesn’t he criticize a bunch of married male politicians who are having extramarital affairs? [He’s] a chauvinist pig who hurts gender equality,” wrote one post on the Facebook page of Taiwan’s Liberty Times newspaper.

“It is a crime to be single? Such a remark only shows the world how perverted China is,” wrote one message on the Apple Daily’s website.

Another blasted: “China is so barbaric.”

Tsai, from the Beijing-wary Democratic Progressive Party, was inaugurated last week, succeeding Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang who oversaw an unprecedented rapprochement with China.

Beijing has since warned the new president against any move to declare formal independence and threatened to cut contact unless Tsai states support for the “one China” principle.

Although Taiwan is self-ruling after splitting with the mainland in 1949 following a civil war, it has never formally declared independence and Beijing still sees it as part of its territory awaiting reunification. AFP

President Joko Widodo signed a decree Wednesday introducing the tougher measures, which also included fitting monitoring devices to offenders after their release from jail, in response to public anger at the fatal gang-rape of a schoolgirl.

The 14-year-old was snatched by a group of drunken men and boys on western Sumatra island in April and was found days later in the woods, tied up and naked.

The case sparked a national debate about sexual violence and as more reports of sex attacks emerged, pressure mounted on the government to take action.

The new punishments mostly won praise in Indonesia, where there is strong backing for the death penalty, with members of the public and lawmakers voicing support.

“Castration is intended to have a deterrent effect and prevent repeat sexual offenses,” said lawmaker Abdul Malik Haramain, from the Islamic party the National Awakening Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

He insisted that castration would not violate human rights, as offenders would go through a legal process before the punishment was handed down.

Twitter user Boenga Indah also defended the new laws: “Those who disagree with cas-

tration and the death penalty, who said that it’s a human rights violation—do you think rape and murder are not human rights violations?”

Nevertheless, activists were unhappy, suggesting the punishments were a knee-jerk reaction.

Hartoyo, a prominent gay rights activist who has campaigned against the new punishments, said the regulation amounted to an “act of vengeance”.

“It only shows that the government is panicking and has no real understanding about sexual violence,” added the campaigner, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Nur Kholis, of the National Commission on Human Rights, said his group was generally against the death penalty and did not believe that castration would have a deterrent effect.

The presidential decree brings the new punishments immediately into effect, although parliament could later overturn them.

The death penalty can be handed down to child rapists where the victim has died or suffered serious mental or physical injury, while chemical castration can be used in cases of repeat child sex offenders. AFP

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

Refugees turning to church for sanctuary TUTZING, Germany—Peshtiwan Nasser Abdal has been holed up in a church for the past four months, in a desperate bid to avoid deportation from Germany The 21-year-old Yazidi Iraqi, like 400 other people, is being offered sanctuary by a German church under a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.

The practice of religious asylum had been largely forgotten until last year, when a massive influx of migrants led some churches to offer safe haven to vulnerable asylum seekers.

Although the church is not above the law in Germany, few expect police officers to storm in to drag away asylum seekers, particularly in the conservative and largely religious southern state of Bavaria where Abdal has found sanctuary.

Abdal—who was persecuted in his home country by Islamic State group jihadists who view his Yazidi faith as heresy—has been granted safe haven by the Catholic parish of Tutzing.

To kill the daily monotony of being confined to an area that spans the church building itself, a few administrative blocks, a large garden, and an apartment where he is staying, the young man sorts through donated clothes and toys in a former swimming pool turned storage place that is linked to the parish grounds.

“I am doing this every day to keep my spirits up,” he said.

Over the past four months, he has not dared to step out of the church’s perimeter in the well-todo town located on the shores of Starnberg lake, close to Munich.

He shares a small apartment with another Yazidi, Suud Yazdin Arab.

“It’s all about routine here,” said Arab, 24, who arrived a month ago in Tutzing. “We try to stay busy by sorting clothes, through German classes, for example. But I hardly meet anyone from outside. It’s difficult.”

Religious asylum falls in a gray area legally as it is not spelled out anywhere in German law. Whether a church should offer sanctuary is also at the discretion of a priest or pastor. AFP

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

G7 urged to be tough on China and Russia ISE-SHIMA, Japan—The Group of Seven needs to take a “clear and tough stance” on China’s controversial maritime claims and the Russian annexation of Crimea, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday.

Festival. Indian Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor poses for a photograph during the ‘Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2016’, South Asia’s biggest LGBT film festival in Mumbai, on May 25, 2016. AFP

Speaking on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Japan, Tusk warned that the credibility of the club of rich nations was on the line.

“The test of our credibility at the G7 is our ability to defend the common values that we share,” he told reporters.

“This test will only pass if we take a clear and tough stance on every topic of our discussions here... I refer in particular to the issue of maritime security and the South and East China Seas and [the] Russia-Ukraine issue.”

Tusk added: “If we are to defend our common values it is not enough these days to only believe in them.

We also have to be ready to protect them.”

Beijing has angered some of its Southeast Asian neighbors, including the Philippines and Vietnam, by claiming almost all of the South China Sea. Beijing is also locked in a dispute with Japan over the rocky outcroppings in the East China Sea, stoking broader concerns about China’s growing regional might and threats to back up its claims with force, if necessary.

“The policy of the G7 is clear: any maritime or territorial claim should be based on international law and any territorial dispute should be resolved by peaceful means,” Tusk said.

“Unilateral action and the use of force or coercion will not be accepted.”

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter feud since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and was then accused of fueling a bloody separatist uprising in the east of the country.

The crisis has pushed the ties between Russia and the West to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War, and drawn sanctions against Moscow.

“The European Union and the entire G7 continue to believe that this crisis can only be resolved in full compliance with... international law, especially the legal obligation to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” Tusk said.

Progress on the Minsk peace accords, designed to resolve the crisis, is slow, Tusk added.

“I want to state clearly that our stance vis-a-vis Russia, including economic sanctions, will remain unchanged as long as the Minsk agreements are not fully implemented,” he said.

“Unfortunately there is much less progress on the implementation of Minsk than we had hoped for one year ago.” AFP

Hongkongers dislike treatment plant HONG KONG—It is billed as a groundbreaking way to deal with Hong Kong’s human waste, and even includes an onsite spa free to residents, but a new eco-friendly sludge treatment plant has not washed with some locals.

The sustainable T-Park development blends into coastal hills near the town of Tuen Mun in the north of Hong Kong, a sleek low-rise building with a roof shaped like a wave.

Each day, the HK$5-billion ($644 million) plant treats 1,200 tons of sludge from the city’s wastewater treatment plants to avoid it being dumped in Hong Kong’s overflowing landfills.

The plant desalinates its own seawater and powers itself by the energy created from burning organic waste in what is the world’s largest sludge incinerator.

Built by French management giant Veolia, city officials say it is “one of the most technologically advanced facilities” of its kind and will not emit pollutants.

But the locals who already complain about the smells emanating from a nearby landfill have protested against bringing yet more waste into the area.

And the building of a free onsite spa has been dismissed by some as a rubbish idea.

The three mineral-infused pools

in the glass-walled spa, each with a different temperature, are powered by the heat from the burning sludge.

Seawater used for the pools is first desalinated at the plant and visitors can look out over ocean views as they soak.

They can also have a tour of the plant as part of their trip.

“Pure water is a symbol of purity,” Antoine Frerot, chairman of Veolia, told AFP during a tour of the plant by French minister for foreign trade Matthias Fekl Wednesday.

“We can live together in a dense city without making the planet dirty.” AFP

Waiting. A group of schoolchildren wait for the G7 leaders to arrive for their tour of the Ise-Jingu Shrine in the city of Ise in Mie prefecture on May 26, 2016, on the first day of the G7 leaders summit. World leaders kick off two days of G7 talks in Japan on May 26 with the creaky global economy, terrorism, refugees, China’s controversial maritime claims, and a possible Brexit headlining their packed agenda. AFP

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MOTORING

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

B7

Black Rhino equipped SUV from Wheel Gallery

A Stormtrooper cosplayer guards two white supercars, a Lamborghini and a Porsche

SIZZLING HOT CARS AT THE TRANSHOW Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

NOW on its 26th year and acknowledged as the country’s longest running car show, the Transport Show did not disappoint car enthusiasts who made a beeline to the SMX Convention Center to catch the latest trends in the automotive aftermarket industry.

Organized by Tradeshow International, this year’s staging saw the dominating presence of supercars and customized SUV’s parked alongside restored Japanese and American classics. “Trans Sport Show has always been a fitting venue for both vintage and modern rides because it aims to draw all generations of car enthusiasts under one roof

Popular American tuner wheels 1552 makes it debut at the Transhow

and offers a four-day experiential and educational event for them. We do not only entertain but do a lot of information dissemination on automotive history to educate most especially the new breed of car enthusiasts. We feel it is our responsibility to raise the standards in auto shows by sharing valuable knowledge through the show vehicles.

Brembo’s track attack car, the BMW M3 in its racing livery

Trans Sport Show is much like your favorite car magazine or website in the flesh” says Sophie delos Santos, president of Tradeshow International.

Besides being a show for car enthusiasts--or a gathering of the best and most creative minds in automotive sound, body, tuning, and paint engineering--the Trans Sport Show creates

endearing memories for those who have visited and participated in the event. It also remains to be the only automotive exhibition that caters to a most diverse car-loving audience, an institution and a powerful brand as far as car competitions, auto restoration, aftermarket products, and car-club networking are concerned.

King of customs Atoy Llave shows off his Ford Ranger pick-up.

Aston Martin, Total seal marquee deal TOTAL, the global energy company, has entered into a partnership with luxury sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin and motorsport arm Aston Martin Racing.

Under the agreement, Total will become an energy partner to Aston Martin throughout 2016 and 2017, providing its products to the luxury British marque and its official motorsport outfit; Aston Martin Racing.

As part of the agreement, Total

will support Aston Martin Racing throughout the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), becoming the “Official Lubricant and Technical Partner” of Aston Martin Racing, the companies said in a joint statement.

With 45 years of R&D and experience in the area of motor racing, Total has developed lubricants, greases, fluids and special additives of high quality and technical performance.

All three V8 Vantage GTE cars

entered by Aston Martin Racing in this year’s WEC will race with Total lubricants and, for the first time outside of Formula 1, Total will provide a mobile laboratory and technical support with a dedicated engineer present at each WEC race event.

Total and Aston Martin will also explore options for further opportunities to utilise the energy supplier’s Total Excellium products.

Pierre Duhot, General Man-

ager Automotive Division at Total Lubrifiants said: “Above 250 researchers are working at Total to develop high end fuels and lubricants. We are proud to work closely with Aston Martin and to contribute to their racing successes. Being passionate and pushing the technical boundaries to new heights is something we share with such a legendary and premium brand as Aston Martin. We are delighted to provide our products, our support and

our technical know-how to Aston Martin Racing.”

David King, Vice President & Chief Special Operations Aston Martin commented: “Aston Martin is a global luxury brand and it is important that it continues to work with only the best from around the world. We recognise Total as a leading player in the automotive fuel and lubricant arena and we very much look forward to working with them, to achieve success both on and off the track.”

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RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

MOTORING

Rhino Racks offers a wide array of roof-mounted luggage and tent awning systems.

DON’T JUST LOAD IT, RACK IT UP Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

FOR MOST of us average gearheads, a roof rack is just a set of bars secured to the roof of an automobile whose primary purpose is to carry bulky items such as luggage, bicycles, and other personal stuff But beyond the utilitarian purpose that roof racks represent is a billion dollar business that powers an industry. In Southeast Asia, The United States and Europe, the roof/luggage rack industry is a competitive and growing market with brands such as Malone, Yakima, Kuat, Thule and Rhino Rack fighting for a profitable slice of the market.

With people going out of town every weekend to de-stress and enjoy the outdoors, the need for a clever storage device is essential.

In the Philippines and Southeast Asia, the most dominant roof/luggage brand is Rhino Racks of Australia. Distributed in the Philippines by The Outdoors Club based in Greenhills, San Juan, Rhino Rack is an Australian company which designs and manufactures durable and easy-to-use roof racks, luggage boxes, bike and kayak carriers plus other load securing accessories. “We also have customized products to address every loading requirement such as roof mounted tent systems and luggage trays with built in LED lamps for night time driving,” says Richard Cropley, President of Rhino Racks Australia, during a round table interview at the

company HQ in Rydalmere, NSW Australia.

Cropley’s company is now a global brand, and he waxes sentimental every time he recalls the time when he had to sell his house to fund the company. “It was hard work, and we really had to burn the midnight oil to keep on designing and manufacturing products that are functional, fun to use while looking good at the same time,” adds Cropley. He also adds that Rhino Racks is constantly finding ways to improve their product line-up.

“At the moment our luggage trays are making good progress in terms of sales and we are innovating the design by making them more sturdy and adding on LED lamps to make them more functional at night. We have also expanded our tent awning system by having a roof mounted tent wherein two people can sleep inside to protect them from the elements,” says Cropley.

Rhino Racks will celebrate their 25th year in the roof rack business next year, and Cropley is planning a huge camping style weekend for its patrons and dealer principals from all over the World. “We will be using the entire Rhino Racks

product line-up for this and our guest will get to experience the outdoors lifestyle of the brand,” he says.

Cropley also commended the efforts of local Rhino Racks distributor Erwin Versoza, who is currently the number one distributor in Southeast Asia and number six in terms of growth in the global arena. “It is through our partners like Mr. Versoza that we credit our stratospheric growth all these years,” explains the man who made the Aussies explore the swamps and the outback of Australia.

The Outdoors Club in Greenhills is also the distributor of Mont Blanc and Maxliner products in the country.

Rhino Racks President Richard Cropley shows off some early designs of the company logo.

Toyota, Volkswagen jump on ridesharing bandwagon TOYOTA and Volkswagen announced separate partnerships Tuesday with rideshare companies Uber and Gett, in the latest such moves by major carmakers.

Japan's Toyota and ridesharing titan Uber said they had entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration, starting with trials in countries where ridesharing is expanding.

"Through this collaboration with Uber, we would like to explore new ways of delivering secure, convenient and attractive mobility services to customers," Shigeki Tomoyama, senior managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, said in a joint statement.

The deal includes a strategic investment by the Toyota Financial Services Corporation and its Mirai Creation Investment Limited Partnership, although no figure was disclosed.

The partnership will create new leasing options enabling car buyers to lease their vehicles from Toyota Financial Services and cover their payments with what they make as Uber drivers.

Toyota and Uber are also exploring collaboration on developing in-car apps and setting up a program to sell Toyota and Lexus vehicles to Uber.

"Toyota vehicles are among the most popular cars on the Uber platform worldwide and we look forward to collaborating with Toyota in multiple ways going forward," said Emil Michael, Uber's chief business officer.

Separately, German auto giant Volkswagen said it had made a $300 million strategic investment in Uber competitor Gett, which has a presence in more than 60 countries worldwide including London, Moscow and New York.

"The ride-hailing market represents the greatest market potential in on-demand mobility, while creating the technological platform for developing tomorrow's mobility business models," it said in a statement.

Shahar Waiser, Gett's chief executive and founder, said the company "provides VW with the technology to expand beyond car ownership to on-demand mobility for consumers and businesses."

Toyota and Volkswagen are not the first carmakers to link up with rideshare apps.

In March, General Motors and Lyft unveiled a joint car rental service for drivers, a move aimed at boosting the number of vehicles available for the Uber rival. AFP

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TATUm ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

ST Y L E & BE AU T Y

LIFE

F pop-up beauty By jIgS mAyugA

In Full BlOOm

lores de mayo has always been one of my favorite traditions in Philippine culture. Not only does it commemorate the month of flowers and the Santacruzan, it also celebrates all things floral and feminine. As a child, my family would travel to the province to participate in these festivities during the month of may and I would watch as my female relatives would prep and get dolled up in beautiful gowns and pretty makeup. I was probably three years old when I was first exposed to these customs and I was instantly fascinated by the transformative power of styling and color.

In this day and age, women from all walks of life still embody the spirit of these traditions in their everyday beauty rituals.

Floral and plant based products are popular and will continue to be in trend because of their gentleness to the skin and their natural, soothing properties. And who doesn’t love floral scents? This week, Pop-Up Beauty shares the best flower-inspired makeup, skincare and fragrance picks to use not just in may, but throughout the year as well.

nuXE Body melting Shower gel

Rustan’s Makati Enriched with plantbased ingredients, this soap-free shower gel with Orange Blossom and Almond Blossom Petals cleanses skin gently. Mild enough to use daily and leaves skin soft and hydrated while respecting its natural balance. Apply this Fondant Shower Gel in the morning and evening to moist skin.

On contact with water, the gel texture transforms into a fragrant floral foam. Skin is left feeling supple and smooth without tightness.

SHISEIDO White lucent multiBright night Cream

Glorietta Today, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatments aren’t the only way to solve multiple discoloration problems. This night cream harnesses this power with this product’s overnight restorative factors.

Shiseido has developed SAKURAResist Technology, which suppresses melanin production and helps reduce spot production. The key ingredient of SAKURAResist Technology is derived from the Japanese cherry blossoms known for their creamy, pinkish-white complexion. The result is clear, bright skin that exudes a natural radiance.

ORIgInS Calm To your Senses Face mask

l’OREAl PARIS Color Riche Collection Star Velvet Pinks in Rose lotus

Watsons Discover the perfect pink for your skin tone and achieve a sophisticated youthful look with the seven delicate shades of Color Riche Collection Star Velvet Pinks, inspired by different blooming flowers. This Signature Lipstick endorsed by L’Oreal Paris woman Jennifer Lopez is a deep-mauve pink shade that flatters most skin tones.

Developed by L’Oreal Paris laboratories to create perfect pink shades with a balance of micro-fragments of pearls and pigments that give just the right color intensity, avoiding the chalky effect that gives an unnatural finish.

SM Makati Stress can be defined as the brain’s response to any demand. When stressed, the skin’s ability to hold water decreases and the aging process accelerates.

Origins’ Calm to Your Senses, stress-relieving facemask helps soothe and calm skin and boost skin’s moisture levels. This relaxing 10-minute mask features a stress-relieving Lavender essential oil blend which helps to soothe and relax the mind, while natural hydrators restore moisture.

TORy BuRCH jolie Fleur Verte Eau De Parfum

Greenbelt Introducing Jolie Fleur, a collection of three unique fragrances inspired by the flowers and colors in Tory Burch’s garden: rose, lily of the valley and tuberose.

Jolie Fleur Verte captures the crisp green color and dewy aroma of lily of the valley with hints of mandarin, neroli oil, and jasmine that open up into soft scents of lily of the valley. This tomboyish and easygoing mix is presented in a beautiful glass bottle with a fretwork top and green accents.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @jigsmayuga

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Rustan’s Department Store showcased the nature-inspired pieces of Josie Natori’s latest collection and featured weekend getaway looks for men by classic brands Pedro Del Hierro and Adolfo Dominguez

ShAng StYLE SpEctRum SummER SILhouEttES

E

ven with the sporadic rains and a few hours of thunderstorms, the warm weather will likely persist until mid to end of May. The breeze still carries with it a dry, humid air, which still calls for summer clothing articles. If you’re still up for summer shopping, Shangri-La Plaza’s retail shops feature summer trends suited to the modern shopper.

From kids’ to adult clothing, bright prints and vivid colors mixed with neutral tones dominate the racks. As part of the ongoing celebration of its 25th anniversary, Shangri-La Plaza recently held a weekend fashion fete entitled Shang Style Spectrum Summer Silhouettes to showcase tons of inspiration for the summer featuring what the mall’s retail stores have until summer ends.

The event held a series of fashion activities that started with a fashion installation headlined by stylists of Rainier Dagala (Mega and Meg fashion editor) and Em Millan of Team RAINxEM. A week after the installation, a weekend fashion show was held at the Grand Atrium. The first day of the event featured the mall’s children’s wear brands – Barbie, Gingersnaps, Kidsports, Ogalala, Ollie & Co., Osh Kosh B’Gosh, Peppermint, Periwinkle, PJ’s Sleepwear and Pois Belly & Kids. For the adult section, a cohesive trend of summer colors and denims dominated the runway with brands G2000, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Debenhams, Gap, Marks & Spencer and Stradivarius.

Rustan’s Department Store showcased the nature-inspired pieces of Josie Natori’s latest collection and featured weekend getaway looks for men by classic brand Pedro Del Hierro and Adolfo Dominguez. Cute and fun loving kids strutted down the runway with looks courtesy of international brands Neck & Neck and Rustan’s Department Store’s in-house favorites Kiddos, Rustan Jr. and Rustanette.

Bayo, Celine, Details, Folded and Hung, ForMe, Memo, Mosaic, Oxygen, Penshoppe, Plains and Prints, Regatta, The

Summer Silhouettes fashion installation headlined by stylists of Rainier Dagala (Mega and Meg fashion editor) and Em Millan of Team RAINxEM. PHoToS by STAR SAbRoSo

Topshop

Gap

Flower Collection, The Original Penguin, True Religion, Una Rosa and Viseversa brands featured a balance of bright colored clothing and neutral options that don’t scream all too floral or too colorful.

Some even showcased bomber jackets for men and women that can be worn on

Una Rosa

and off during sunny mornings and rainy afternoons until nighttime.

The season is transitioning to a rainy weather, but as long as the heat is up, catch the stylish trends of airy, light-weight chiffon, jersey, satin and cotton materials that can keep anyone cool, stylish and

Gingersnaps

polished all throughout the end of May, only from Shangri-La Plaza.

For updates and promotions, visit Shangrila Plaza Official Fan Page on Facebook and follow @shangrilaplazaofficial on Instagram.

For inquiries, call 370-2500 loc. 597.

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@LIFEatStandard

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ExpLoRIng SRI LAnkA thRough L’InDochInE

I

t is said that the richness of one’s culture is often reflected in fashion – from the materials used to the prints and designs highlighted and featured in a creation, whether a dress, jewelry and other accessories. One interesting and colorful culture is that of Sri Lanka, a country whose pivotal position in the ancient Silk Route has made it a crossroad of cultural and trade exchange between East and West.

This summer, inspiration seeker L’Indochine takes people to an amazing virtual adventure to Sri Lanka with its expertly curated and exquisitely designed fashion and accessories collection.

The abundance of timber in Sri Lanka has paved the way for a strong heritage of woodcarving with amazing details seen in the carving on palaces and temples.

Wooden sculptures have become a popular craft item with tourists with statues of Buddha, a variety of gods, as well as animals such as elephants made from hardwood like ebony, palu, sandalwood, gam-malu, and na. Wooden masks are also said to bring good luck, friendship and power. In early times, the masks were used in rituals, dramas and in curing sickness.

The art of metalwork has also had a long tradition at Sri Lanka with gold, silver, brass, and iron works from ornamental casting and pierced designs.

Decorative iron or steel handicrafts with wavy patterns of etching or inlays of precious metals and filigree-delicate decorative openwork are also produced in Sri Lanka in traditional techniques. making, which is actually an Indonesian art, has developed into a its unique style to produce sarongs, dresses, bags and fashion accessories as well as décor items that include wall hangings and cushion covers. Handloom textiles, which were reserved exclusively for royalty in the olden days with designated villages tasked to produce handloom products, continue

L’Indochine’s Leona Panutat in a kaftan

A Sri Lankan lady weaving wonders with her handloom

creatively wrapped in these woven wonders.

Sri Lanka produces excellent jewelry, which has its roots in two traditions: the Galle, which is characterized by its precious stones, and the Kandayan, with its intricate metal – especially silver work.

Take an exotic journey down the Silk Route with L’Indochine’s Sri Lanka collection of fashion and accessories that highlight the country’s unique and precious heritage.

Handloom sarong beach wrap

Tooled leather sling

to be practiced and have become a source of livelihood for villagers who have preserved their skills, passing on the knowledge from generation to generation. Aside from

Exotic embroidered Indian bag with pompoms

fashion accessories, household linen such as bedclothes, blankets and towels and cushion covers are also produced. Even books, notebooks, albums and writing pads are also

Whether you’re planning to add a global touch to your lifestyle or searching for an exquisite gift, check out interesting collections at L’Indochine stores located at the 3rd level of SM Aura Premier and at the 4th level of SM Mega Fashion Hall.

Exploring hanoi Vern and Verniece Enciso do the sister act in style Traveling is a fun activity, and more so if you are with your sister who happens to be your best buddy. For blogger sisters Vern and Verniece Enciso, traveling – and doing it in style is just one of the things they enjoy doing together. The sisters explored the city

of Hanoi whose eclectic mix of Asian and European influences became the perfect setting to highlight V an V’s feminine ensembles done with bold touches.

The first stop was the mystical Halong Bay onboard a luxury cruise ship, with

Traveling with your sister and BFF doubles the fun

Blogger sisters Vern and Verniece Enciso explore Hanoi in style and comfort with Yosi Samra foldable ballet flats

the ladies standing out in their brilliant red dresses, nón lá (the popular conical hats), and Yosi Samra flats in nude and rose gold. From their gently floating perch, the sisters enjoyed brunch and reveled in the panoramic views of islet after islet, exuding understated elegance wearing the country’s colors – red for happiness and luck, golden yellow (or nude) for wealth and royalty.

The V ❤ V book authors also enjoyed staying under the shade of Hanoi’s fig trees, stopping by the Hanoi Opera House and the Presidential Palace where the duo brought their edgy Yosi Samra linear flats (for Vern) and suede boots (for Verniece) to complement the French-style structures.

For strolling the Old Quarter, their best companions were the casual yet chic Yosi Samra pairs as they checked out the art scene along the Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural.

Those who plan to take an epic trip can take a leaf from Vern and Verniece who can never go wrong when they allow the New York footwear brand to take them places – near and far – in style.

The brand’s foldable ballet flats are small enough to fit in a mini-drawstring pouch and into a favorite handbag during a day of exploring, or in the luggage for that hours-long flight.

YS pairs come in every imaginable combination of the most supple leathers, satins, patents, and suedes. A few standout pieces feature bold prints, rich tones, and classic neutrals. For branch locations and collection updates, follow Yosi Samra Philippines via Facebook at YosiSamraPhilippines and on Instagram @yosisamra.ph.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Prints and Patterns

Jeffrey rogador launches his Holiday 2016 collection

I

n these evolving fashionable times, urban wear has gone mainstream, while street wear drowns in a sea of rugged styles and multiple reproduction of pop star fashion. Manila designer Jeffrey Rogador continues to pay tribute to his Filipino roots and infuses his JR collection with meaning and thirst for Filipino pride.

Known for his infusion of masa trademarks or patriotic elements to his street wear design coming from his successful JPNY, Super Pinoy, and Fish Market collections, JR culls inspiration from the rich culture of Philippine tribes for Rogador’s 2016 Prints and Patterns collection.

The colorful interlude of shirts, jackets, skirts, pullovers and blazers almost feels like blocks of colors inspired by jesters and harlequins. According to Rogador, the development of his designs started with his personal interpretation of Philippine tribes’ fabric and culture through his

paintings. Hand woven textiles of Yakan, T’boli, Maranao, Ifugao and Bagobo turned to splashes of blocked contemporary paintings in oil and acrylic, which then became the inspiration for every piece in the collection.

Materials used for the collection are cotton, neoprene, jersey and knits carefully crafted through knitting, printing, and patchwork. The end result is trendy covetable pieces that can make anyone stand out in a crowd. The JR Prints and Patterns pieces feature basic silhouettes that can be mixed and matched with any article of clothing within the collection.

The possibilities of pairing based on one’s personal taste are endless.

Jeffrey Rogador’s Prints and Patterns will be featured in Philippine Fashion Week this May 29. Visit www.jeffreyrogador.com for more details about his collections.

The colorful interlude of shirts, jackets, skirts, pullovers are inspired by hand woven textiles of Yakan, T’boli, Maranao, Ifugao and Bagobo tribes

Best product buy for your kikay kit!

Have you ever had your perfume confiscated in the airport because, well, silly you – you forgot to put it in your check-in bag? Or did you accidentally drop your precious Annick Goutal or Hermes perfume while digging inside your everyday bag, because it’s chunky and “it kinda slipped” in your hand?

Seriously, Travalo perfume atomizer might just be the best nifty buy for everyone’s kikay kit. You can include the men’s kit in that category ‘cuz everyone definitely needs this little product in their life. Now, you don’t have to buy a smaller version of your favorite perfume just so it can fit in your hand carry. Travalo’s patented Genie-S refill system makes transferring your precious liquid in the 5ml bottle easy and not messy.

All you have to do is take out the tip atomizer of your perfume, slide the Travalo atomizer in and pump to fill the bottle.

Launched last October 2009 in the United Kingdom, Travalo has been making waves and has won the hearts of numerous bloggers and YouTubers across the globe. The unique design won six international awards including the Red Dot Design Award, an international product design award given by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany; and Beauty Challenger Award from an award giving body that heralds the most promising talents in the cosmetics and perfume industry. Globally, over 10 million people have fallen in love with this product and we feel a little silly that we only discovered it now.

The Travalo Classic “lipstick” style bottle comes in nine colors so you can choose what to carry depending on your mood. It retails for P999.75. We don’t know why they have an extra 0.75 but every cent for this product is definitely worth it. If you find it a little too steep, there is also the Perfume Pod that retails for P349.75. It doesn’t have the rounded casing but it comes in cute trendy eight colors.

Travalo Classic and Perfume Pod are available at Travalo on 2F SM North Edsa, Lazada Philippines, and at 4L of SM Aura. For more information, follow @travaloph on Instagram and Travalo-Philippines on Facebook.

The Travalo atomizer gives the convenience of carrying your favorite perfume anywhere you go without having to carry a heavy bottle

Travelo Classic pink and silver perfume three-inch atomizer

Travalo Perfume Pod is a perfect handy atomizer that can fit in your daily makeup kit

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

T

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ROmancE fROm ThE hOly lanD cOmEs TO ThE PhIlIPPInEs

he Embassy of Israel, in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), presents the 14th Israeli Film Festival featuring love stories.

With the theme “Romance in the Holy Land,” the cultural event features six films topped by the 2015 movie A Tale of Love and Darkness, the directorial feature debut of actress Natalie Portman.

Portman directed and starred in A Tale of Love and Darkness, a drama film based on the autobiographical novel by Israeli author Amos Oz that took place in Jerusalem in the last years of Palestine and the first years of independent Israel. The Jerusalem-born Hollywood actress speaks Hebrew in the film.

“We are happy to bring the movie A Tale of Love and Darkness to the Philippines for the first time as part of the 14th Israeli Film Festival,” Deputy Chief of Mission Hadass Nisan said.

A Tale of Love and Darkness will be screened for free at the University of the Philippines

Jerusalem-born actress Natalie Portman stars in a film called “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” which she also directed

Diliman’s Film Institute Cinema 7 p.m. on June 9.

“We are also bringing five love stories from Israel to the QCX inside

the Quezon Memorial Circle, FDCP Cinematheques in Manila, Iloilo, Baguio and Davao, and nine universities in the country,” Nisan said.

matt mason Art Gallery opens its doors by staging its first group exhibition called “Audacity”

The five films are: The Band’s Visit, Jellyfish, 5 Hours from Paris, 2 Night, and Restoration.

The screening schedule for Cin-

ematheque Manila is: The Band’s Visit, May 26, Thursday 5 p.m.; Jellyfish, May 31, Tuesday 7:30 p.m.; 2 Night, June 1, Wednesday 5 p.m.; Restoration, June 2, Thursday 5 p.m.; and 5 Hours from Paris, June 2, Thursday 7:30 p.m.

The screening schedule for Cinematheque Baguio is: The Band’s Visit, June 6, Monday 6 p.m.; Restoration, June 7, Tuesday 3:30 p.m.; Jellyfish, June 8, Wednesday 5:30 p.m.; 2 Night, June 9, Thursday 3:30 p.m.; and 5 Hours from Paris, June 10, Friday 5:30 p.m.

The screening schedule for Cinematheque Davao is: The Band’s Visit, June 20, Monday 6 p.m.; 5 Hours from Paris, June 21, Tuesday 3:30 p.m.; Jellyfish, June 22, Wednesday 5:30 p.m.; Restoration, June 23, Thursday 3:30 p.m.; and 2 Night, June 24, Friday 5:30 p.m.

The screening schedule for Cinematheque Iloilo is: The Band’s Visit, July 12, Tuesday 6 p.m.; 2 Night, July 13, Wednesday 3:30 p.m.; Restoration, July 14, Thursday 5:30 p.m.; and 5 Hours from Paris, July 15, Friday 5:30 p.m.; and Jellyfish, July 16, Saturday 3:30 p.m.

“Audacity” showcases such a diverse set of individuals, artistic styles and techniques - from abstract paintings to still life portraits and fiber glass sculptures

Artisan village of the south on the rise On April 29, Matt Mason Art Gallery opened its doors to art enthusiasts. It was the gallery’s soft opening, as the owners say.

Also, it launched its first ever group exhibition entitled Audacity, which featured the works of Lerma Julian, Lito Mondejar, Nikulas Lebajo, Owie Chiong, Jeanette Bilan, Kat Gosiengfiao, Benny Filomeno and Dan Libor.

The well-attended exhibiton showcased such diverse set of in-

The art gallery has earned a few local patrons in celebrities like Alden Richards

dividuals, artistic styles and techniques, from abstract paintings to still life portraits and fiber glass sculptures, that one may wonder what ties them all together.

“We believe that art is a universal language no matter how exclusive it may seem,” says Marketing Assistant Karla Yu. “And for these artists to come together to challenge the notion of what and who it’s supposed to be is exactly what’s audacious about it.

The art gallery owner, mike yu (fourth from right) with “Audacity” featured artists (from left): Nikulas Lebajo, Lito mondejar, Kat Gosiengfiao, and Lerma Julian

Art is for everyone who is moved by it and finds meaning in it and we envision this gallery to be the platform where we cultivate this new ethos.”

“We want this gallery to enrich the local art culture of the community and to do that, we’d have to start small and allow it to grow organically,” according to gallery owner Mike Yu, a furniture designer who hails from a family of artists. Mike’s grandfather is the painter Romeo Valino, cousin to the late Carlos Valino, Jr. who was also a celebrated painter and professor at the UP College of Fine Arts.

“We are emboldened to dream that Silang, Cavite can and will be the next artisan village of the South and who knows, perhaps even in the Asia Pacific region,” adds Mike.

Artist and now resident curator Lerma Julian notes, “It’s a trial and error thing, but we foresee promising prospects for Matt Mason Art Gallery. We are

among a good group of friends whose love for art is contagious that anything is possible.” Already, Matt Mason Art Gallery has earned a few local patrons in celebrities like Alden Richards.

“Art, for me, is the ultimate expression of our shared humanity; the ability to create forms and figures from our imagination that strike a chord in the hearts of others and to find meaning in these creations is a trait that only our species possess. This is what I truly appreciate about it and like us it continues to evolve over time,” remarks Alden.

With Matt Mason Art Gallery in town, the local art community of the South will surely have lots to watch out for. The exhibit runs until June 30, 2016. Matt Mason Art Gallery is located at Km. 64 Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road, Pasong Langka, Silang, Cavite. Like its FB: Matt Mason Art Gallery. For inquiries, email mattmason_artgallery@yahoo.com, or contact Lerma Julian - 09166906962.

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pEOplE ¼

are talking about

¼

are not talking about

Jaclyn Jose

Vin Abrenica

Her “As is, Where is” method of acting, which we learned from Eugene Domingo in Ang Babae sa Septic Tank, proves to be a hit at Cannes Film Festival. Hence, she was awarded with the highest honor given to a female lead star in a feature film. Though she has faced criticism from foreign media and film observers, members of the jury were quick to defend Jaclyn and her “natural and excellent” performance in the film. So, how can we argue with that?

He was tapped as a potential matinee idol until someone better looking and perhaps more talented was favored by his former studio. By the way, he’s now a Kapamilya. He recently signed a fresh contract with Mother Ignacia based network in hopes that it will give his career a little boost.

We, too, are optimistic about this endeavor that’s why we are giving Vin a chance before we go and say “He tried but failed to make it happen.”

Maria Isabel lopez She was outlandish and fabulous.

That’s how netizens describe her after her recent outing at Cannes Film Festival. While she did not intend to steal the spotlight from the lead stars of Ma’ Rosa in the red carpet event, her pictures that went viral online said otherwise. On the brighter side, it actually helped oblivious millennials to know who she is. Now, they want her to be a gay icon.

Jennylyn Mercado

Most likely you have already heard that Bahay ni Kuya is recruiting new housemates. That means, we will be seeing long queues again on Mother Ignacia and in satellite audition venues.

We can’t blame showbiz wannabes for this so-called easy ticket to fame and fortune but we don’t want them getting their hopes higher than what the show can offer. In more than a decade history of PBB, we already know how housemates are chosen, and it’s not the process most people know.

cROsswORD puzzlE

ACROSS 1 Dainty swallows 5 Grills, maybe 9 Sheepskin holder 13 Europe-Asia range 14 Brew tea 16 Rolling Stones’ “— Tuesday” 17 Trevi Fountain coins 18 Ship of 1492 19 Archipelago dot

20 Made the most of 21 Office holders 22 Tugged sharply 24 Withhold wages from 26 Break of day 27 Tough questions 30 Smug (2 wds.)

34 Cool place 35 Hang ten 36 Sup well 37 Villain’s cry

We were once asked whether or not we watch Ang Panday. We retorted with another question: Are you referring to the DVDs of the classic Ang Panday, the recent film versions or the one that starred Jericho Rosales?

Although we hardly revisit any of the Panday series or movies, we were surprised that the person asking us was actually referring to the one TV5 and Viva Entertatainment produced. Apparently, the most recent reimagining of Ang Panday with Richard Gutierrez has been airing since February. If you are not aware of that, it’s not a problem. With ratings not close enough to make the two networks agitated, we can expect the show to fade to black any time soon.

pinoy Big Brother

She may have lost the top spot in the latest FHM sexiest poll from Jessy Mendiola but that doesn’t make the Kapuso actress any less a big star. She’s actually the brightest name in her mother network at the moment being the busiest, not to mention most bankable talent. Jennylyn is now recording a new CD and is also preparing for another movie, a follow up to her already blockbuster film with John Lloyd Cruz. It’s about time that we give this girl a moniker, perhaps something that starts with “Queen.”

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

Ang Panday

38 Stacks of wood 39 Frat letter 40 Libretto feature 42 Pitch-dark 43 Alan or Adam of films 45 Snowshoe basics 47 Joins hands 48 Egg on 49 Year-end tune 50 Grimm maiden 53 — de cologne 54 Term paper abbr. (2 wds.)

58 Cheery tone 59 Block, legally 61 Othello’s betrayer 62 McClurg of sitcoms 63 “The Velvet Fog” 64 Hot rum drink 65 Shortfall 66 Aloha tokens 67 Harleys, to some DOWN 1 Chekov’s shipmate 2 Eye part 3 Trim down 4 Went downhill fast 5 Tomato jellies 6 Reek 7 Knows, to Burns 8 Salon request 9 Looked like the

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016

10 11 12 15 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 35 38 41 43 44 46 47 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 60

Cheshire cat Dry, crisp bread Willing partner?

Recolored Bribes Sandy’s reply Mine find Clouded, as a liquid Humbug!

Windy City airport Sir, in Mumbai Ice hockey gear Lairds’ daggers Out of it Lowly laborers Burn slightly Curl Met edge to edge Stein filler Elizabethan knight Umbrage Two-door cars Fashion model — Campbell Secluded valley Go on horseback Mr. Wiesel Raison d’— Kahuna’s spud Beside oneself Fireplace fuel Helios, to the Romans

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

Acrobatic dance act wins ‘Pilipinas Got talent’ Power Duo, an acrobatic dance act, was named the fifth grand winner of ABS-CBN’s hit talentreality show Pilipinas Got Talent during its top-rating and worldwide Twitter-trending finale on May 22, broadcast live from SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Power Duo, composed of lovers Anjanette and Garvin from Angono, Rizal, garnered the highest combined votes from the judges and from the public, beating fire dancer Amazing Pyra and magician Ody Sto. Domingo. The two finished second and third respectively.

As grand winners, the pair won the jackpot prize of P2 million.

In the ratings game, Pilipinas Got Talent also fared very well. Its twopart finale topped the list of most watched programs in the country and hit 33.8 percent nationwide on Saturday (May 21) vs. rival’s 19.3 percent; and 36.7 percent on Sunday (May 22) vs. rival’s 17.9 percent.

The official hashtags #PGT5FinalShowdown and #PGT5GrandWinner also consecutively became the no. 1 trending topic on Twitter worldwide and in the Philippines.

Power Duo was instantly sent to the semi-finals after judge Robin Padilla chose them as his

Golden Buzzer act. It was the first dance act to win Pilipinas Got Talent following four successful seasons dominated by singers.

This is the fifth time ABS-CBN, the country’s leading media and entertainment company, localized the worldwide hit franchise distributed by Fremantle Media. Since the first season aired in 2010, “PGT” has been one of the most successful talent-reality shows on Philippine television.

ABS-CBN remains to be the reality talent show capital of the Philippines with its unparalleled expertise in adapting international formats. Just recently, ABSCBN announced the return of The Voice Kids and Pinoy Big Brother.

The biggest celebrity ballroom dancing competition, Dancing with the Stars, as well as the biggest search for the next Pinoy boy band, La Banda, are also set to hit Philippine television this year.

Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford host Pilipinas Got Talent with judges Freddie “FMG” Garcia, Angel Locsin, Robin Padilla, and Vice Ganda.

For more information about the program follow @officialPGT5 on Instagram and Twitter or like www.facebook.com/officialPGT on Facebook.

Angono, Rizal’s Anjanette and Garvin, otherwise known as Power Duo, walk home bagged this year’s top prize in the top-rating talent search “Pilipinas Got talent”

CARlA AbEllAnA’S SkIn’S woRSt EnEmy

Our skin encounters environmental pollution, UV radiation, sun exposure, dust and many more. Sometimes, just a day out in the streets of Metro Manila makes you feel like you’re caked with dust and dirt. These factors, combined with the oxidative materials in the body, reduce the amount of Vitamin E in the skin, which can also cause the formation of free radicals. But there’s no need to worry because Vita-E can help your skin stay healthy, youthful and glowing.

Vita-E contains 400 IU (international units) of vitamin E, an antioxidant that effectively protects the cells against free radicals and gives our skin a beautiful, youthful and effortless glow. VitaE works from the inside making you feel and look great.

Not only is Vita E essential in maintaining the functions of our heart, blood vessels and nervous system, it also gives the immune system a boost. Take care of what’s beneath and flaunt that effortless beauty with Vita-E. Go E for effortless beauty with Vita-E. Actress Carla Abellana recommends taking Vita-E a capsule per day. Sold at P14 per soft gel capsule, Vita E is available at Mercury Drug and all other leading drugstores nationwide.

Actress and product endorser Carla Abellana

mtRCb conducts on-the-spot bus and theatre inspections

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) conducted an on-thespot inspection of public utility vehicles (PUVs), particularly buses, cruising along EDSA on May 25.

Chairman Eugenio “Toto” Villareal says the MTRCB has been regularly conducting inspections at bus terminals. This time however, the team inspected buses with TV monitors at multiple bus

stops along EDSA. This activity was conducted to ensure that buses only exhibited materials within the General Audience (“G”) or Parental Guidance (“PG”) classification so that children on board such buses will not be exposed to materials inappropriate for their age. Accompanying Villareal were board members Bobby Andrews, Manny Buising and lawyer Jojo Salomon.

miss Philippines-Earth 2016 candidates participate in mangrove planting Miss Philippines Earth 2016 played true to its environmental protection and conservation advocacy as its 46 official delegates gave support to local efforts to rehabilitate and conserve mangrove forests and ecosystem in Calumpang River in Batangas, under the joint effort of the USAID, Batangas City Government and the PonteFino estates on Saturday morning.

A day before the mangrove planting activity, the Miss Philippines Earth 2016 held its Resort Wear competition at the posh Pontefino Hotel and Residences.

Rachelle Quinones of Lubang, Occidental Mindoro won the gold medal in the Resort Wear competition while Bellatrix Tan of Zamboanga and Nina Sherra Tagalog of Palo, Leyte, were awarded the silver and bronze, respectively.

Krissandra Marie Abel of Lobo, Batangas was named Miss Pontefino Hotel while Imelda Bautista Schweighart of Puerto Princesa City took the Miss Pontefino Residences title.

The Resort Wear event was the second of preliminary competitions following the

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Best in Long Gown held at the Landbank Auditorium in Ermita, Manila where Melanie Mader of the Filipino Community of Vienna, Austria took the Gold medal, with Schweighart taking the silver and Kiariagel Gregorio of the Filipino Community of Londonnbagging the bronze.

The following day May 21, a massive reforestation was held along the Calumpang River banks were all the candidates planted mangroves to the save the marine life and

the river itself. Miss Philippines Earth 2016 will have its finals night on June 11 at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite to be telecast the following night.

The Miss Philippines Earth 2016 competition will culminate in the grand finals on June 11 when reigning Miss Erath Angelia Ong crowns her successor at the historic Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, to be telecast on ABS-CBN on June 12, at 10:30 a.m.

– text and photos: Eton B. Concepcion

Beauty with a purpose. miss Philippines Earth warriors in a tree planting activity in batangas

Later that day, the team headed straight to inspect stand-alone theatres in the C.M.Recto area.

With classes opening soon, the MTRCB wants to make sure that rules and regulations governing theatres are strictly complied with, and also to ensure that movie-goers are well informed of the films that they will watch through the conspicuous display of Permits to Exhibit and standee.

Coro San benildo holds fundraising concert Coro San Benildo, the resident choral group of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), will stage The Dream, a fundraising send-off concert, 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Museum of Contemporary Arts and Design (MCAD).

The choir plans to participate in July in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, one of the world’s most inspirational cultural festivals, in Wales. Attended by the leading choral groups from around the globe, the Choir of the World award will receive the coveted Luciano Pavarotti Trophy.

Coro San Benildo is led by its choirmaster Lorenzo C. Gealogo, under the management of the Office of Culture and Arts.

Tickets to The Dream are priced at P1, 000 each.

Proceeds raised from the event will directly fund the additional expenses of the team.

The MCAD is located at the Ground Floor, Benilde School of Design and Arts Campus, Dominga Street, Malate, Manila.

For inquiries, contact Clarence Gomez at +63916 280 4034 or email culture.arts@benilde.edu.ph.

f riday : m ay 27, 2016

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iSaH V. rEd EDITOR NiCKiE WaNG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

a screengrab of the video the model-actor posted on his youTube channel sees him with rumored girlfriend megan young

in his vlog, mikael daez takes his viewers to a virtual tour, which is mainly about his adventure and gastronomic experience

MIkaEl DaEz WEaRs passIOn On hIs slEEvE, aDvOcaTEs lOvE fOR culTuRE ISAH V. RED

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dventurous by nature, GMA Artist Center star Mikael Daez wants to live his life to the fullest and to take as many people with him as possible.

Using the power of social media, the Kapuso star is inspired to advocate the love for culture and shares his experiences through his own perspective by making video blogs—more commonly known as vlogs.

His YouTube channel MrMikaelDaez takes pride on featuring informative clips that can help anyone hungry for adventure and get the best out of any trip. From finding the best restaurants to the latest trend in art, Mikael is one step ahead of those who have been doing travel blogs. His key to paradise: spontaneity.

In one of his vlogs, he encourages his subscribers to get rid of any plans and just do anything when the timing feels right.

Feeling hungry? Look around and choose what your heart and tummy tell you to. Up for coffee? Skip those mobile apps and just ask the locals where they would typically want to get a cup for a sip. The magic of spontaneity never disappoints, he believes.

His YouTube channel is also one of his avenues to speak to his supporters. Mikael doesn’t hesitate to reply to comments, and he answers the questions of his viewers engagingly. This is his way to connect to them on a different level while promoting the advocacy of his videos.

On his own passionate way, Mikael inspires people to explore more of the world and get a better understanding of the different cultures. With one video at a time, we can feel a bit more connected to the world and experience what it has to offer even for a short period of time.

“I travel a lot and I thought videos were a cool way to preserve the memories and share the experience. I want my audience to be aware of all the destinations I’ve been to and to possibly pick up their own travel ideas. I think travelling is a scary or an intimidating idea in itself but I’m hoping my videos show that it’s more fun than scary,” says Mikael.

All his videos are collated in his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.

mikael daez in a selfie with his travel buddy miss World 2013 megan young

com/user/MrMikaelDaez, while his written posts and exclusive photos are on mikaeldaez.com.

Modern Girls tomorrow

The new, chic, fun, and feminine talk show is now on Lifestyle.

Modern Girls, the newest TV magazine talk show on Lifestyle is every modern Filipina’s survival manual that discusses interests, issues, and insights

modern Girls Gretchen Ho, denise Laurel and Sam Oh

of the contemporary Filipina that’s meant not just to entertain but to inform and inspire as well.

Three women, each carrying a special and distinct persona, and who truly embody the epitome of the modern woman, host the show. They are the volleyball player and television host Gretchen Ho, television host Sam Oh, and actress and singer Denise Laurel. They will complete your Saturdays with their fun yet

truly heartening talkshow premiering at 9 p.m. tomorrow.

TV host Sam is best known for her witty commentary. Before joining the television industry, Sam earned a name for herself as a radio jock, making morning commutes bubbly and full of energy. Sam brings to Modern Girls her larger-than-life personality, open mindedness, and classy attitude.

At 26 years old, Gretchen has become an icon of girl power through her love for volleyball. Gretchen easily became a television darling, having played for the UAAP Women’s Volleyball. She soon landed hosting gigs as viewers saw that beyond her fit physique was an intelligent mind. Strong, determined, and adventurous, Gretchen is considered one of the most admired millennials in the country.

Fresh from her win as ABS-CBN’s Your Face Sounds Familiar, Denise is the perfect example of a multi-hyphenate. This talented actress-model-singer is also a mother.

As a young mom, Denise’s life experiences bring depth to the show.

Each episode of the show focuses on a specific theme catering to every modern woman’s interests such as dating, love, health, fitness, beauty, music, art, culture, food, and many more.

Modern Girls will have replays on Sunday at 12:30 p.m., Monday at 2 a.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 11 a.m., and 6 a.m. on Saturday.