THE MANILA TIMES | APRIL 10, 2019

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019

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WE REMEMBER Soldiers pose during the 77th commemoration of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) in Mount Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan on Tuesday. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

War veterans’ kin thank Duterte for P20-K pension

Duterte OKs plan to avert water crisis P

BY CATHERINE S. VALENTE

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has approved a draft “master plan� calling for an “integrated approach� and placing water agencies directly under him to ensure long-term water supply, a CabiNET OFkCIAL SAID

Water companies demand P140B more from govt

N

O T happy about t h e i r P120 billion in PROkTS IN THE PAST YEARS GENERATED because of their monopoly positions, Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services are demanding another P140 billion from government, for the period from 2015 to 2037, when their agreeMENT OFkCIALLY ENDS ÂłTiglaoA5

RIG RRIGOBERTO IGG DD. TIGLAO

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei Nograles said Duterte had approved “in principle� the draft master plan, enclosed in an executive order. “The President approved it during the last Cabinet meeting. So the draft has been GIVEN TO THE /FkCE OF THE %XECUTIVE 3ECRETARY ALREADY FOR VETTING 4HE DRAFT WILL BE kNALIZED and signed by the President,� Nograles said.

He said the provisions under the draft master plan would precede the establishment

BI orders probe of trafficking at Manila airport BUREAU of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morante has ordered an investigation of ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT OF SOME IMMIGRATION OFkcers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International !IRPORT .!)! IN LARGE SCALE HUMAN TRAFkCKING Acting BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Grifton Medina on Tuesday disclosed that Morente’s order was in reaction to President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China Ramon Tulfo’s column in The Manila Times alleging THAT SEVERAL MIDDLE LEVEL IMMIGRATION OFkCIALS

ÂłTraffickingA8

What’s inside ‘G7 FAVORS ARBITRAL RULING AS BASIS TO SETTLE DISPUTE’ NewsA2 A ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF THIRD WORLD OPTICS

of a Department of Water.

Among these provisions is the reconstitution of the National Water Resources Board into a body that would be responsible for policy, direction-setting, and the integration of all government efforts pertaining to water. “The best way to do that is to put them UNDER THE /FkCE OF THE 0RESIDENT SO PENDING Congress passing the Department of Water, this is the fastest way that we can resolve all

ÂłWaterA2

SURVIVORS of World War 2 thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for raising their pension ahead of the 77th annual commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) on Tuesday.

One of them, 97-year-old Onofre Bugay of Samal town, lauded the President for increasing the pension from P6,700 to P20,000 a month, starting January this year.

In Samal town with 14 villages, Bugay said only six remaining World War 2 veterans were enjoying higher pension.

Surviving spouses, however, are receiving only P5,000 a month.

Luz Bugay, wife of Onofre, said the widows have long wanted an increase in their pension. Luz said there were about 24 surviving spouses, “already weak and senile.�

Aida Siasat, also of Samal, became a widow when her husband Luis died on March 7, 2016 at 92.

Siasat said the surviving spouses badly need the increase for their maintenance medicines.

Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, military spokesman, said the country marks Day of Valor to

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DUTERTE ON DAY OF VALOR: UPHOLD PH SOVEREIGNTY, PROTECT FREEDOMS

IN observance of the 77th annual Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged Filipinos to uphold the country’s sovereignty and protect the people’s rights and freedoms.

In his message, Duterte paid respects to Filipino and United States forces who lost their lives to Japanese troops

on April 9, 1942, and in the subsequent Death March in Bataan to defend the Philippines’ democracy. “I join our veterans, allies and the rest of the Filipino people in commemorating Araw ng Kagitingan. Today, we remember the heroism of the brave Filipino and American soldiers who stood side by side in the mountains

and jungles of Bataan in defense of our liberty and democracy,� he said. “We also remember the countless civilians who aided our forces so they could offer a valiant defense against the overwhelming force of the enemy.

We may not be able to memorialize all of them, but we will forever remember

ÂłFreedomsA8

TARIFFICATION LAW

Marchers decry Chinese activity in disputed waters

‘No choice but to invest in rice industry’

OPPOSITION groups marched to the Chinese Embassy to protest China’s illegal activities on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) on Tuesday to mark Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor).

More than 300 protesters led by Senate bets Neri Colmenares, Jose Manuel “Chel�

(Second of three parts) LAST year, Sen. Cynthia Villar said the liberalization of rice imports was required by the World Trade Organization and resistance to it could result in trade sanctions for the Philippines, leaving the country with NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO ABOLISH QUOTAS AND PASS THE RICE TARRIkCATION BILL

ÂłDecryA2

BY CONRAD M. CARIĂ‘O

ÂłInvestA8

Marlen RonquilloA4

REACH US AT: E-mail:

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BOMB DRILL

Quezon City Police District members carry bombing victims during a simulation exercise at a food park at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City on Tuesday. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

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˜ The Manila Times WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

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ANALYST:

‘G7 favors arbitral ruling as basis to settle dispute’

T

BY DEMPSEY REYES

HE GROUP of 7 (G7) nation’s mention of the 2016 arbitration victory of the Philippines over the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) dispute indicates that it can be a basis for a resoLUTION OF CONlICTING CLAIMS ACCORDING TO A MARITIME EXPERT

Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, was referring to the G7 member nations’ communique over the weekend during its foreign ministers’ summit.

G7 nations include Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The US has been very vocal

on its stand over the dispute in the South China Sea. In the communique, the G7 foreign ministers expressed “serious� concern on the situation in the East and South China seas, reiterating their opposition to any “unilateral actions� that may escalate tensions and undermine regional stability.

They also indicated that the July

12, 2016 arbitral award rendered

by The Hague-based and United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was a “sigNIkCANT MILESTONE AND A USEFUL basis� for a peaceful resolution of disputes in the contested waters of South China Sea. Batongbacal said the mention of the arbitral award indicated that G7 nations supported it as a basis for “eventual resolution� of the dispute. “It also signals the G7 members’ interests in maintaining their diverse relations with the region and keeping it from being locked out through the dominance of any single power,� he said. “It’s interesting in that it comPREHENSIVELY IDENTIkES AND ENCAPsulates the G7 member nations’ interests in the SCS (South China Sea),� he added.

Batongbacal cited several points made by the G7 nations, including voicing support for maintaining rules-based international order; call for noncoercion and peaceful settlement of the disputes; maintaining access in the South and even East China seas; ensuring that efforts toward a settlement do not prejudice interests of external nations; and environmental sustainability.

The G7 countries also expressed their willingness to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in observing freeDOM OF NAVIGATION AND OVERlIGHT in the South China Sea. In July, Asean defense chiefs are expected to hold a ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Thailand where they are expected to discuss various issues surrounding the region, including maritime disputes and terrorism.

PCIJ, Sereno dared to file cases vs Duterte MALACAÑANG on Tuesday dared CRITICS TO kLE CHARGES AGAINST 0RESIdent Rodrigo Duterte amid claims about his family’s supposed growing riches.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said Duterte must explain THE SIGNIkCANT INCREASES IN HIS FAMily’s earnings instead of saying it was nobody’s business. g7E kND ;-ARIA= ,OURDES 3EREno’s comments on the President’s wealth in relation to his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) ludicrous and ironic, considering that her appointment as chief justice of the Supreme Court was invalidated through a quo warranto petition by reason of

her nonsubmission of the same,�

Panelo said in a statement. “If [Sereno] and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) believe that the increases relating to the President’s assets are ILL GOTTEN WEALTH THEY SHOULD kLE the appropriate charges instead of nitpicking and using media to create intrigue and put the President and his family in a bad light. After all, ‘ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat’ — the burden of proof lies UPON HIM WHO AFkRMS NOT ON HIM who denies,� he added.

Panelo, also Duterte’s chief legal counsel, insisted that the PresiDENT FOLLOWED THE LAW ON kLING his SALN. “Article 11, Section 17, of the 1987 Constitution requires public

officials to file their SALN. [The President] already did that, unlike [Sereno] who failed to faithfully kLE HER 3!,. WHILE ;SHE WAS= IN 50 [University of the Philippines] when she applied for the top magistrate post at the high court,� he said. “The law does not require the filer to explain the increases in their income, if there are any. Any contrary argument is an undue expansion of the commands of the law pertaining to the transparency OF A PUBLIC OFkCIAL OR EMPLOYEE S property,� Panelo added.

In its report released on Thursday, the PCIJ noted that the President, his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and his eldest son former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte “have all

Q PENSION FROM A1

consistently grown richer over the years, even on the modest salaries they have received for various public posts, and despite the negLIGIBLE RETAINED EARNINGS RElECTED IN THE kNANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE companies they own or co-own.�

Sara is seeking reelection as Davao City mayor, while Paolo is running for congressman for the city’s First District.

The PCIJ noted that across the 10-year period from 2007, the President’s wealth nearly tripled, Paolo’s wealth more than tripled and Sara’s wealth grew more than six times.

Over the weekend, the President said what his family earns outside politics was none of anybody’s business.

CATHERINE S. VALENTE

CHINA OUT

War veterans’

Opposition leaders and rights groups march to the Chinese Embassy in Makati City to defend the West Philippine Sea.

honor and remember Filipinos who defended Bataan and Corregidor. “With their blood, sweat and tears, our veterans bequeathed to our generation the air of freedom we breathe, the atmosphere of peace we live and the democracy we enjoy,� he said in a statement.

He added that for all Filipino soldiers, everyday was a day of valor as they carry out their missions either in high seas or in jungles. “From the desolate and isolated islets and features in the crevices of our territorial seas; to the lonely and distant posts in the hinterlands; to the densely populated urban jungles where we perform our mission without fanfare, everyday is Araw ng Kagitingan,� Arevalo said.

PHOTO BY ENRIQUE AGCAOILI

ERNIE B. ESCONDE AND DEMPSEY REYES

Q DECRY FROM A1

Marchers Diokno and Leodegario “Leody� de Guzman gathered across the Chinese Consulate in Makati City to decry the Duterte administration’s alleged connivance with the Chinese government. “By accepting arms and military equipment from China for use against our own people, and by agreeing to onerous loan agreements, Duterte has literally been bought by China. We Filipinos will literally have to stand up for ourselves,�

Colmenares said.

In 2016, the Philippines won its legal battle against China at The Hague, but President Rodrigo Duterte refuses to enforce the ruling in EXCHANGE FOR ECONOMIC BENEkTS FROM "EIJING A recent survey showed 7 in 10 Filipinos want the Duterte administration to assert the 2016 Hague victory and the country’s sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the disputed waters. g$UTERTE HAS BETRAYED THE SACRIkCES OF OUR HEROES IN kGHTING FOR INDEPENDENCE AND NAtional sovereignty. His defeatist and mendicant foreign policy has emboldened China to treat the West Philippine Sea as its own, with utter disregard for our rights and dignity as a nation,�

Colmenares said.

Otso Diretso bet Diokno stressed that aside from sovereignty, the administration’s close ties to China leads to the exploitation of natural resources in the EEZ. “Why would we give them (resources) up? They are depleting our marine life, livelihood of our kSHERMEN AND OUR CORAL REEFS )T SHOULD BE OURS FOR

our countrymen,� Diokno said in Filipino.

Marine scientist Krista Melgarejo of science advocacy youth group Agham Diliman said the Chinese encroachment on the WPS was both an environmental and economic problem. “Experts say that every hectare of coral reefs destroyed in the WPS costs us $350,000 per year.

This also means economic destruction as our corals can’t be revived immediately,� Melgarejo said.

Show outrage like Vietnam, Taiwan The opposition groups urged Duterte and the Department of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies to not be so trusting of the Chinese government. “Look at Vietnam, Taiwan and other claimant countries. Every time the Chinese government establishes more infrastructures or sends out ships to the WPS, they denounce it. They have practically fenced their territories,� Colmenares said.

A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed 4 in 10 Filipinos do not believe that China has good intentions for the Philippines. It found that 44 percent of Filipinos disagreed with the statement that “most of what the Chinese government wants to happen in the Philippines is good for the Filipinos.�

MalacaĂąang on Monday, however, blasted the survey, saying it was a political propaganda and expressed hopes that more Filipinos would warm up to Beijing. “We have international backing. Why cower from asserting our sovereignty through international diplomacy? Our government has become defeatist,â€? Diokno said.

NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS

Duterte won’t tolerate police abuse — Palace MALACAÑANG on Tuesday assured the public that President Rodrigo Duterte would not tolerate police abuses, which human rights groups said were evident in the alleged summary killing of 14 farmers in Negros Oriental during a series of joint anticrime operations last week.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after a factkNDING TEAM COMPOSED OF PEASANTS and rights watchdogs claimed that police targeted innocent civilians, not criminals, in their counter-insurgency program “Oplan Sauron� in Negros Oriental province in the Visayas. “[The President] will neither allow nor tolerate police abuses,�

Panelo said in a statement. “The presumption of regularity applies on the police action. The families can always file criminal charges against them,� he added.

Panelo reiterated that the Palace welcomes any investigation of the incident. g4HE FAMILIES SHOULD kLE CHARGes, that’s the best they can do, and we will let the law take its course,� he said.

On Monday, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura and Karapatan presented accounts

BY THE FACT kNDING TEAM THAT DOCUmented the cases last week in a news conference.

The mission looked into the alleged massacre of 14 people in Santa

Catalina, Manjuyod and Canlaon towns in Negros Oriental last week.

The police said those who were killed “fought back,� forcing law enforcers to kill them, while families of the slain said they were elderly and could not afford to buy weapons.

In a statement sent to reporters, the groups cited witnesses who said “masked elements of the police in full-combat gear barged into victims’ houses, issued defective search warrants for the alleged weapons, shot the respondents to death then planted fabricated [pieces of] evidence such as kREARMS AND AMMUNITION u They said the perpetrators took money and other belongings of the victims.

The police and MalacaĂąang insisted that the operation was legitimate as authorities were serving court-issued warrants premised on intelligence reports that point to the subjects as suspects in police and military ambushes. “This is not a case of massacre given the fact that those who surrendered without forceful resistance were lawfully apprehended unharmed following the discovery of illegal items pursuant to the court-sanctioned search,â€? Panelo said. “In fact, a policeman was wounded which goes to show that there were indeed some who used violent resistance when authorities were conducting the search,â€? he added.

Q PLAN FROM A1

issued by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.

Republic Act 9275 or the “Water Quality Management Act� mandates the DENR to categorize water bodies — whether freshwater or coastal — according to their quality, area, purpose and vulnerability to pollution.

Fresh surface water, which include LAKES RIVERS AND RESERVOIRS ARE CLASSIkED as “AA,� “A,� “B,� “C� and “D,� while COASTAL AND MARINE WATERS ARE CLASSIkED as “SA,� “SB,� “SC� and “SD.�

Under the latest circular, nine rivers in Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), namely Batu, Binuangan, Buayan, Catituan, Lambuyong, Logpond, Lutiman, Suloan and Sinusayan were CLASSIkED AS #LASS g"u AND g# u Class “B� refers to recreational water intended for primary contact recreation such as bathing and swimMING WHILE #LASS g#u PERTAINS TO kSHery water for propagation and growth OF kSH AND OTHER AQUATIC RESOURCES In Mimaropa (Region 4B), classikED EITHER AS #LASS g#u OR g3# u WHICH REFERS TO kSHERY WATER FOR PROPAGATION intended for commercial and susTENANCE kSHING WERE 3ABANG 2IVER in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, and Bangon, Gabawan and Bongoy rivers in Romblon. Mimaropa refers to Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

Portions of Guimaras and Iloilo straits in Western Visayas (Region 6) WERE DECLARED #LASS g3"u OR kSHERY water suitable for commercial propAGATION OF SHELLkSH AND INTENDED AS SPAWNING AREAS FOR MILKkSH AND similar species.

Masbate Bay and Mobo Bay in "ICOL 2EGION WERE CLASSIkED AS Class “SC� and “SB,� respectively.

In Caraga (Region 8), Mamkas River in Agusan del Norte was categorized as Class “A� or intended as water supply source requiring conventional treatments like coaguLATION SEDIMENTATION kLTRATION AND DISINFECTION !LSO CLASSIkED AS #LASS “A� were Muleta and Aloran rivers in northern Mindanao (Region 10) and Alibunan River in Iloilo.

Bicol’s Camgat-Surong and DinauyAN RIVERS WERE CLASSIkED AS #LASS g#u and “B,� respectively. Both the Balaong and Madlum rivers in Central Luzon (Region 3) were categorized as Class “B� or recreational water intended for primary contact recreation.

Portions of Muleta and Aloran RIVERS IN 2EGION WERE CLASSIkED EIther as “A,� “B,� and “C.� Lobo and Pamintahan-Tubig ng Bayan-Sala RIVERS IN "ATANGAS WERE CLASSIkED as Class “B� and “C,� respectively.

Bojo River, the lone water body CLASSIkED IN #EBU 2EGION WAS categorized as “Class B.�

In Davao (Region 11), the Mayo 2IVER AND -AYO "AY WERE CLASSIkED as “B� and “SB,� respectively. Three rivers in Soccsksargen (Region 12) namely Glan, Malapatan and Sapu-ASLA WERE CLASSIkED AS g" u g# u and “C,� respectively.

Water our water resource issues and concerns... We will have an integrated approach when it comes to dealing with our water resources,� he added.

Review of deals Nograles said the plan would also seek a review of agreements with water concessionaires of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, namely Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. “We will examine their performance vis a vis what is in the agreement, what the terms are,� he said.

Nograles said the creation of the Department of Water should be pushed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac), the consultative and advisory body that helps the President coordinate his legislative agenda with Congress. “This needs to be included in the Ledac agenda because of the fragmented approach [to the water supply issue] that we have,�

Nograles said.

Otherwise, the next administration could simply set the order aside, he said. “Ideally it has to be institutionalized through the Department of Water. We hope we will have allies in both houses of Congress to pass this bill and all the other priority legislations,� he said.

Socioeconomic Planning SecreTARY %RNESTO 0ERNIA kRST BROACHED the idea of creating a water department, but Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said on March 18 that there was no need for it since the water shortage in parts of Metro Manila and Rizal had been addressed.

Duterte approved the proposal to create a water department during the Cabinet meeting on April 1.

A bill seeking for the establishment of a Department of Water, Irrigation, Sewage and Sanitation Resource Management, which would, among other duties, “manage and protect the country’s water resources� is pending in the Senate.

In March, tens of thousands of Metro Manila residents serviced

by Ayala-led Manila Water formed queues for hours at water rationing stations after their taps ran dry because of increased demand amid the dry season.

35 water bodies In a related development, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has clasSIkED NEW WATER BODIES INCLUDing rivers, bays and lakes, that have BEEN IDENTIkED AS POTENTIAL SOURCES of potable water in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The Philippines now has a total of 824 classified waters, as contained in a memorandum circular

CATHERINE S. VALENTE

WITH EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

News

˜ The Manila Times

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Palace hits opposition’s Panatag ‘publicity stunt’ MALACAĂ‘ANG on Tuesday branded as a “publicity stuntâ€? the attempt of opposition senatorial bets to visit Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal).

Otso Diretso Senate candidates Gary Alejano, Jose Manuel “Chel�

Diokno, Samira Gutoc, and Florin Hilbay said on Monday they were barred from going to the shoal.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo dismissed their claim. “Publicity stunt. [They are] succeeding because they are getting your attention,� he told reporters in a text message.

The candidates claimed that they were barred by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), but the latter denied it.

The four candidates instead planted a Philippine flag on the shore to protest China’s intrusion.

They also posed alongside a jet ski to “remind� President Rodrigo Duterte OF HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISE IN that he would take a jet ski going to Panatag Shoal, where he would PLANT A 0HILIPPINE lAG Another aspiring senator, Rodrigo “Jiggy� Manicad, also warned not to use the sea dispute to prop up their candidacy. “We must avoid turning these sensitive issues toward our advantage as political candidates,� said Manicad. “Hindi ito simpleng sortie o project na pwede po nating gamitin (It’s not

a simple sortie or project that we can use) for publicity. The dispute is an extremely sensitive issue that should not be taken lightly,� he added.

Manicad noted that although a candidate’s stand on China’s actions in disputed areas may be discussed, candidates “should still distance themselves from activities that could risk any provocation on the issue especially when the timing is suspicious.� “Tama rin po na nag-aassert ng presence ang ating pamahalaan doon kasi pag-aari natin ang lugar na iyan (It is right for the government to assert its presence there).

But if you are a candidate, and if it is the election period, then the motive and timing is suspicious,� he said. “[But] We must not use this powder keg of a situation for election purposes,� he added.

Scarborough Shoal is a traditional kSHING GROUND WITHIN THE 0HILIPpines’ Exclusive Economic Zone that Beijing seized after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy IN 4HE 0HILIPPINES IN *ULY sealed a historic win against China before the United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims to almost all of the South China Sea. China has ignored the ruling. CATHERINE S. VALENTE

P1B-cocaine retrieved since February AUTHORITIES have recovered more than P1 billion worth of cocaine blocks since February, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.

Police Col. Bernard Banac, PNP SPOKESMAN SAID KILOS OF cocaine blocks were recovered from the sea from February to April.

A kilo of cocaine costs P5 million.

On Sunday, a fisherman recovered 40 blocks of cocaine in Burgos, Surigao del Norte.

Cocaine blocks were also previously recovered in Quezon, Dinagat Island, Surigao del Sure, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur. The PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) had said the cocaine blocks were not intended for distribution in the Philippines.

PNP chief Oscar Albayalde SAID DRUG TRAFkCKERS COULD HAVE dumped the cocaine in the sea to evade arrest with plans to retrieve them later.

President Rodrigo Duterte had SAID THESE lOATING COCAINE BLOCKS were from Colombian drug cartels.

On Tuesday, Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas called on PDEA and other law enforcement agencies to “dig deeper� into the dumping cocaine bricks. “We don’t want these contraband to end up in the hands of syndicates or individuals especially during election season and use them to suppress the will of the Surigaonons,� Matugas said in a statement.

He condemned the use of Siargao Island as a “transshipment point� for illegal drugs and urged his constituents to be vigilant and report suspicious activities of people they may encounter.

In February this year, Matugas asked the PDEA, PNP and National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the dumping of 40 cocaine bricks off San Isidro town, also in Siargao. ROY NARRA AND WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

A3

100 groups push youth agenda I

BY DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ

N A BID TO MAKE THEMSELVES BE HEARD

DOZENS OF YOUTH GROUPS JOINED RANKS TO FORM THE Û7E4HE"RAVE MOVEMENT TO PUSH A HUMAN RIGHTS BASED YOUTH AGENDA IN THE -AY ELECTIONS As the country marked Day of Valor on Tuesday, 100 school, community, and issues-based youth organizations across the country formed the group to identify the key concerns of young people.

The youth agenda, a result of months-long consultations, highlights human rights and national sovereignty. The #WeTheBrave MOVEMENT IDENTIkED KEY CONCERNS

including civil liberties and creeping authoritarianism; war on drugs, extrajudicial killings, and children rights; basic social services; employment and job security; marginalized sectors; gender struggle of women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender+ community; peace and security; democracy and sovereignty.

Micheline Rama, executive director of Dakila, one of the convenors of #WeTheBrave movement, said the consultations showed that young people werealso aware of political and socioeconomic concerns. “Nakikita natin na connected lahat. Yung mismong pagpunta mo sa school, apektado dahil sa public transportation, yung security mo sa gabi, apektado dahil nagkakaroon ng tokhang operations sa neighborhood mo, yung job prospects mo kung ikaw ay babae or isang LGBT, nagkakaroon ng issues kung wala

kang discrimination act (Everything is connected. Public transportation affects us in going to school, the war on drugs operations affect our security, and our job prospects are affected if we don’t have an anti-discrimination act),� Rama said. “The youth holds the future.

Ito yung kinabukasan na para sa

amin at kung ano man ang mangyari dito, ay directly or indirectly naapektuhan kami (This is our future. Whatever happens will directly or indirectly affect us),�

Laban-Polytechnic University of the Philippines Chairman Hannah Jimala said.

Rama said young voters comprise 31 percent or almost one-third of the total number of voters. “That [number] is enough to vote SOMEONE INTO OFkCE AND TO PREVENT SOMEONE FROM GOING INTO OFkCE u she said.

Rama urged the youth to express their views on issues; combat disinformation or fake news; join

organizations in the community to discuss, educate and campaign for human rights; challenge and demand electoral candidates to address issues; and vote for candidates who will stand for the youth in the upcoming elections.

The group, however, did not endorse any candidate. “We really want to avoid naming names per se because we want to empower the youth to make their own decisions, to own their decisions. The important part is identifying where they stand and what their positions are and making that decision for themselves,�

Rama said.

STRENGTH IN UNITY Students advance their cause as they launch in Quezon City a

movement composed of 100 groups nationwide.

Bam Aquino tops mock polls, surveys SEN. Paolo Benigno “Bam� Aquino 4th on Tuesday said his good showing in surveys and mock polls could be attributed to the growing support of the Filipino people for his reelection bid.

The senator topped the survey conducted recently by the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila, while he kNISHED TH IN A g"ANTAY "OTOu POLL conducted at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman.

Aquino is one of the seven senators seeking reelection in May. The others are Juan Edgardo “Sonny�

Angara, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Joseph Victor “JV� Ejercito, Aquilino “Koko� Pimentel, Mary Grace Poe, and Cynthia Villar.

He placed 5th in the mock election held by the University of San Carlos School of Law and Governance and sixth in mock polls held at UP Baguio and at the Philippine Normal University.

In a survey conducted by the Carl Balita Review Centers involving 4,536 respondents from its 110 branches in different parts of the country, Aquino ranked 8th with 38.7 percent.

In the Magdalo pre-election survey conducted from March 5 to 7, Aquino kNISHED TH WITH PERCENT “We thank wholeheartedly the people’s continued support and trust despite the fake news being thrown at me,� the senator said in Filipino.

He said his impressive showing in

mock polls would further inspire him to reach more Filipinos and listen to their concerns. “It is important to listen to the voice of the people because this is where I base my actions and future undertakings in the Senate,� Aquino said. “If given the chance (to be reelected), I will push for a measure that WILL ENSURE JOBS FOR + AND COLLEGE graduates through the (creation of) ‘trabaho’ (job) centers,� he added.

BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

Ejercito seeks dialogue on motorcycle law CA affirms dismissal SEN. Joseph Victor “JV� Ejercito on Tuesday proposed a tripartite dialogue among stakeholders to address issues affecting the implementation of the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act or the “double plate� law.

The reelectionist senator made the proposal after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Land 4RANSPORTATION /FkCE ,4/ TO suspend the implementation of 2EPUBLIC !CT Ejercito suggested the tripartite meeting be composed of the government, to be represented by the LTO, representatives of the motorcycle community, and leaders of anti-crime civil society groups.

“Anti-crime groups should also be heard because the anti-criminality goal of the law is their advocacy,� Ejercito, a biker himself, said in a statement. “A meeting between them should produce a common ground and agreement that should be proposed as part of the references in the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR),� he said. “The riders, government, and people’s movement against criminality should meet because the PEOPLE ALSO WANTED TO kGHT CRIME and so that there will be coordination on how to improve the law and make its implementation a success.�

Earlier, Ejercito admired the President for suspending the enforcement of the law. “I am thankful to the President for listening and understanding the predicament of the riders.�

He said the President’s decision came after a discussion with him and Butch Chase, a motorcycle legend. They explained to the President the riders’ complaints before he delivered his speech at the TH .ATIONAL &EDERATION OF Motorcycle Clubs of the Philippines National Motorcycle Convention held in Iloilo City on Saturday. “He (Duterte) knows that the riders support his campaign

against crime and the riders also wanted the President to succeed,�

Ejercito said.

He said the riders were against some provisions of the law, SPECIkCALLY THE REQUIREMENT TO install bigger plates, which they claimed would pose danger to the rider.

The riders groups also complained about the exorbitant kNES In March, Ejercito held a consultation meeting with the riders groups and LTO Assistant SecreTARY %DGAR 'ALVANTE WHO CLARIkED that the law did not categorically require a metal plate in front of the motorcycle.

BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

of Coast Guard officials THE Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the Ombudsman’s decision dismissing several Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officers in connection with the release and use of cash advances worth more than P67 million.

In a ruling penned by Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo Roxas, the CA’s 12th Division held that the anti-graft body was right when it dismissed Commander Jude Thaddeus Besinga and several others.

The ruling, signed by then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, found Besinga liable for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The case stemmed from an anonymous complaint filed with the Commission on Audit reporting anomalies in the

liquidation of cash advances amounting to P67.533 million.

It was alleged that 25 officers used the amount to purchase office supplies and information technology equipment without complying with procurement regulations.

The Ombudsman said liquidation documents showed the respondents committed fraud and misrepresentation.

In its decision, the appellate court denied Besinga’s petition for review as it upheld the consolidated ruling of the Ombudsman in November 2017 “In fine, we emphasize that, as a general rule, factual findings of the Ombudsman are conclusive when supported by substantial evidence and are accorded due respect and weight,� the CA said.

JOMAR CANLAS

Concealment in an insurance contract Dear PAO, ) AM THE BENEkCIARY IN AN INSURANCE CONTRACT 4HE INSURER IS NOW CLAIMING CONCEALMENT ON THE PART OF MY INSURED FATHER 7HAT IS MEANT BY CONCEALMENT AND ITS EFFECT Uriel Dear Uriel, The law that addresses your situation is 2EPUBLIC !CT 2! , otherwise known as the “Amended Insurance Code of the Philippines.�

g3ECTION ! CONCEALMENT whether intentional or unintentional entitles the injured party to DEAR PAO rescind a contract of insurance. g3ECTION %ACH PARTY TO A CONtract of insurance must communicate to the other, in good faith, all 5NDER 3ECTIONS

AND facts within his knowledge which OF 2!

THE FOLLOWING ARE are material to the contract and as to which he makes no warranty, stated: g3ECTION ! NEGLECT TO COMMU- and which the other has not the nicate that which a party knows and means of ascertaining.

3ECTION !N INTENTIONAL AND ought to communicate, is called a fraudulent omission, on the part of concealment.

PERSIDA ACOSTA

one insured, to communicate information of matters proving or tending to prove the falsity of a warranty, entitles the insurer to rescind. xxx “Section 31. Materiality is to be determined not by the event, but solely by the probable and reasonABLE INlUENCE OF THE FACTS UPON THE party to whom the communication is due, in forming his estimate of the disadvantages of the proposed contract, or in making his inquiries.�

Based on the cited provisions,

concealment in an insurance contract is “the neglect to communicate that which a party knows and ought to communicate.� It may cause the rescission or avoidance of the insurance contract. As such, it is incumbent upon your insured father to disclose all pieces of information that are material to the insurance contract. The said pieces of information are necessary in forming the estimate of the disadvantages of the proposed contract.

Failure to do so may mean that

you cannot claim the benefits agreed upon in the contract.

This opinion is solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Thus, the opinion may vary when the facts are changed or further elaborated. We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily colUMN OF THE 0UBLIC !TTORNEY S /FkCE Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

E d i to r i a l Radio Veritas: An Asian miracle

T

HIS WEEK, the Catholic Church in the Philippines marks 50 years since the establishment of Radio Veritas, the pioneering radio station whose broadcasts are heard by millions of people throughout Asia.

The beginnings of Radio Veritas can actually be traced to a synod of Asian and Australian bishops at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila in 1958, which resolved to put up a radio station for two fertile grounds for evangelization — Asia and Oceania.

More than a decade later, on April 11, 1969, the Radio Veritas facilities in Fairview, Quezon City were inaugurated and blessed by Manila Archbishop Rufino Cardinal Santos, accompanied by a Vatican official, Antonio Cardinal Samore.

Two entities are actually marking their golden jubilee. )N 2ADIO 6ERITAS BECAME A COMMERCIAL RADIO station. Filipinos might remember it as the only radio station that broadcast a live report of the events surrounding the 1983 assassination of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and for carrying Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin’s call for Filipinos to gather at EDSA in 1986. For that, it merited the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts.

Radio Veritas Asia, which has been operating through the support of German Catholics and Asian bishops, continued its radio broadcasts to mainland Asia. Its Mandarin PROGRAMS DEkED #OMMUNIST RULE AND PROVIDED SPIRITUAL nourishment to underground Catholics in China.

2ADIO 6ERITAS AND 2ADIO 6ERITAS !SIA ARE CONCRETE manifestations of the Church’s renewed openness to mass media as a means of spreading the Christian message and promoting peace and understanding between faiths, as promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in 1963 through the landmark decree on the media of social communication, Inter Mirifica . “Social communication� is the preferred Church term for media, and this choice has stood the test of time and relevance as it remains applicable to all human communication activities regardless of the evolution of media platforms.

In contrast, secular terms such as mass media and mass communication are slowly losing their currency given drastic changes and industry upheavals brought about by the internet and social media.

The Church’s concept of social communication is, however, normative and therefore clear-eyed in its purpose and ethics, unlike secular media that is prone to manipulation and even corruption. “[M]edia, if properly utilized,� states )NTER -IRIkCA, “can be of great service to mankind, since they greatly contribute to men’s entertainment and instruction, as well as to the spread and support of the Kingdom of God.�

In this spirit, Radio Veritas Asia has for decades been carrying programming that caters to social, religious, moral, educational, informational, formational and interreligious themes, promoting peace, harmony and fraternal love and respect among the faithful of different religious traditions.

It might surprise the reader that many listeners are not Christian. The Bengali service caters to Muslims and Hindus, and the Karen service to Buddhists and Animists.

Aside from religious content, Radio Veritas Asia also has programming devoted to agriculture, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and others that have helped people rise out of poverty. In India, for instance, Pradeep Dutta put up a small nursery that has become a stable source of income. His story is repeated in many other places reached by Radio Veritas Asia’s broadcasts.

The twin entities of Radio Veritas are an Asian miracle for making a mark in history, promoting understanding among different faiths, and changing people’s lives, beyond the original purpose of evangelizing the peoples of Asia. ~

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

The Manila Times

VOLUME 120 NUMBER 179

DANTE A. ANG, Chairman Emeritus RENE Q. BAS, Publisher Emeritus NERILYN A. TENORIO, Publisher-Editor ARNOLD E. BELLEZA, Executive Editor FELIPE F. SALVOSA II, Managing Editor LEENA C. CHUA, News Editor LYNETTE O. LUNA, National Editor TESSA MAURICIO-ARRIOLA, Lifestyle Editor PERRY GIL MALLARI, Sports Editor LEA MANTO-BELTRAN, Supplements Editor JOMAR CANLAS, Chief of Reporters RENE H. DILAN, Chief Photographer DANTE F. M. ANG 2ND, President and CEO BLANCA C. MERCADO, #HIEF /PERATING /FkCER RODA A. ZABAT, Advertising Director VICENTE P. CRUZ, JR., Circulation Director DENISE O. CALNEA, Marketing Communications and Services Director Telephone All Departments: 524-5665 to 66; Subscription: 524-5664 Local 222 Advertising: 524-5664 Local 121 Telefax: 310-5895 or e-mail advertising@manilatimes.net XXX NBOJMBUJNFT OFU t F NBJM OFXTEFTL!NBOJMBUJNFT OFU Letters to the Editor THE MANILA TIMES is published daily at 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002 The owners, managers, publishers and editors do not necessarily share the opinions expressed and the statements made by individual authors of columns, commentaries and other articles published in The Manila Times.

I

A ‘Golden Age’ of Third World optics

N one memorable line of the movie “The Graduate,� the young Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) was advised that the future of enterprise was “plastic.�

That was a long-ago movie and in the current age of Blockchain, that advice is, for all intents and purposes, outdated. Plastic bags are banned in 99 percent of metropolitan supermarkets and restaurants are forbidden to use plastic straws.

Plastic items have seen the future and it is not encouraging. But look what products made a spectacular comeback in dried-up Metro Manila over the past few weeks.

These products are plastic drums, plastic pails, plastic buckets, any molded plastic container that can hold water. In the service areas of the incompetent Manila Water Co., which include the posh residential subdivisions very NEAR THE "ALARA kLTRATION SITE DRIVers and maids raided the plastic sections of the supermarkets, then swooped into the public markets for plastic drums and pails.

The poor with the same intent of course went home with two frustrations in mind — dried-up taps most hours of the day. And the lack of bigger containers to store water during the hours that water was available. I once joined the buying queue. The store ran out of the plastic drums that used to retail for P350 per piece. The rich

Was not Manila Water committed to provide uninterrupted water supply, which was the rationale for its many principal charges and sub-charges? And the main argument for its acquisition of one of the two water concessions from the villages bought every in Metro Manila? drum and pail in sight double the The 30-seconders on prime time normal price. At P750 per plastic TV news dutifully reported the DRUM THAT WAS A PROkT OF 0 water lines and the mad scramble for every drum sold. for plastic drums and pails. But, Even in the acquisition of plas- as usual, TV news failed to protic water containers, the rich are vide the bigger context and ask different from you and me. But this question. Are not these Third then, here is the basic fact — we World water queues a thing of live in shanties. And the rich that the past, impossible to exist in cornered every drum and pail live the “Golden Age� of Mr. Duterte? in developments where the land The current description of the state cost at least P75,000 per square of the country, in the age of Mr. meter. Why would the store Duterte, has always been “Golden owner sell to the Everyman like This� and “Golden That.� me when the rich can pay double Yet, we cannot deny the basic the actual retail price? fact that water lines and plastic It was also plastic containers of drums and pails are essentially varying sizes and colors — and part of the usual Third World state of use — that were queued optics, where sustainability of at the water rationing stations resources and adequacy of service for the condo residences across rendered by the public utilities are Metro Manila. Water trucks com- below par, if not sub-standard. missioned for the purpose of raSad PH is a country that just tioning were once again in vogue, went through a harrowing period in a metropolis of dried-up taps of rice queues and is currently into and kilometer-long water queues. another, a tragic occurrence that There was only impatience and denotes underdevelopment and silent rage at the water lines, Third World status — water lines. with many of those queueing up In the rural areas, it is much questioning the basic premise of more depressing. the water service privatization.

Scores of farmers in the Pam-

MIDWEEK COMMENTS MARLEN V. RONQUILLO

panga area where I farm have seen their farms turn into dust bowls.

If not dust bowls, cracked soil that look shaken up by a series of mild quakes. When we farmers meet in our dried-up farms, we look like the man from Edwin Markham’s poem, “The Man with the Hoe.� In our dry and arid land, the hoe is the only farm implement of real use. To get rid of the tangle of brown grass. To get rid of the brown, wilted bush. To smash the head of a thirsty snake that you often encounter in the OPEN AND DRY kELDS The hoe is a 19th century implement. Yet, it is the only farm tool of utility when the farms have dried up and the “kuliglig� (that is the name of the minifarm tractor in most of Central Luzon) is useless.

The Third World optics subvert the efforts to have Metro Manila NAMED AS ONE OF THE !SIA 0ACIkC region’s “smart cities� and our — supposed — inexorable march to a “Golden Age.� In the waterless urban areas and the dried-up farms, there is this sad realization that a single climatic event, like the drought we have right now, can shatter all tenuous assumptions that we have moved up in the world. For all intents and purposes, we are still a Third World country pretending to be something else.

Time to change the automated election law Part 8

sions were part of the FTS? Sotto even said last year: “The standard FTER some of us have probLET’S answer of Smartmatic would be ably pondered on how the FACE IT! that these transmissions are only existing Project Management testing transmissions. These trans/FkCE 0-/ WOULD OVERSEE THE missions cannot be, in any way, technical evaluation committee’s claimed as testing transmissions.

(TEC) activities with regard to Because as far as I can remember, the successful completion of the establishment of seven regional THE LAST OFkCIAL TESTING WAS MADE audit, especially of the security hubs of the Comelec; and the on April 23, 2016.� Sotto added controls of the AES software as failure to electronically transmit that this testing that Smartmatic provided for in Sec. 11.2 of RA 3.86 percent of election results rep- claimed could not be considered 9369, the hearing on April 8 resenting at least 1.7 million votes. as part of the FTS as the poll of the technical working group Hence, the creation of TWG-JCOC. body’s rules stated that such FTS (TWG) of the joint congressional Hearing all the presentations in should have been conducted from oversight committee (JCOC) on the TWG-JCOC hearing, the body May 2 to 6. But why would there the Automated Election System concluded that the early transmis- be transmissions on May 8 and (AES), or TWG-JCOC for short, sions of the vote counting ma- early morning of May 9? Who aurevealed that there was lax or no chines (VCMs) based on the audit thorized the early transmissions? close coordination between the logs investigated, actually hap- Unfortunately, Comelec has not PMO and the TEC in 2016, and pened through the triangulation answered this since March 2018! even in the forthcoming midterm OF THE kNDINGS DONE BY THE 4%# S And there’s just one month to go elections on May 13, 2019. chairman, engineer Peter Banzon before the midterm elections on Before anything else, the TWG- of the Department of Science and May 13. Thus, the privilege speech JCOC was created by the JCOC this Technology, former Rep. Glenn of Sotto regarding early transmisyear; no such sub-committee ever Chong, Dr. Pablo Manalastas and sion was proven in this regard. As existed since the AES implementa- former Smartmatic operations to the other details of early transtion in 2010. Its main mission is OFkCER *EFF $Y )NCIDENTALLY $Y mission, like transmission logs to validate the revelations made worked closely with Smartmatic’s from telcos, it was mentioned that

by Senate President Tito Sotto 3rd Marlon Garcia in the 2016 AES said logs had already been erased in privilege speeches delivered on operations. Surprised about Dy’s by the telcos!

-ARCH AND CONCERNING presence in the TWG-JCOC? The early transmission case is alleged fraud in the 2016 elections.

In his presentation, Dy cited PMO’s accountability. It should Sotto’s investigation then focused that Comelec had Resolution have placed security controls that on the early transmission of elec- 10057 stating that the board of should have prevented it. Though tion results on the day before the election inspectors (BEIs) should the TEC might have overlooked elections, May 8, 2016, until the not initiate transmission of results the audit and certification of early morning of May 9, 2016 DURING THE kNAL TESTING AND SEAL- these controls, the PMO could at about 1:12 a.m.; the sudden ing (FTS). But why did the Come- have consulted the Comelec’s utilization of undisclosed queu- lec in the past JCOC hearings in Advisory Council, the accredited ing servers on May 10 to 11; the 2018 say that the early transmis- citizens’ arms and watchdogs.

A

NELSON CELIS

Nonetheless, the political parties and candidates would have even extended their arms to help.

Based also on the audit logs analyzed, Dy expounded that an unknown computer or queuing server intercepted transmissions between the VCM and the consolidation and canvassing system (CCS). He said that the CCS was not receiving the election returns (ERs) directly from its assigned VCMs but was instead getting the ERs from the said queuing server.

AES Watch noted that the normal transmission should have followed the procedures taken in 2010 and 2013; that is, the VCMs or PCOS machines were transmitting ERs directly to the CCS, or from the precinct to the municipal board of canvassing without any intervention in between. In 2016, the queuing server was hidden from the public and have not passed through the usual source code review. Further, AES Watch noted that Dy’s explanation coincided with what Marlon Garcia uttered during the clarificatory hearing at the Manila City Prosecutor’s /FkCE 'ARCIA ADMITTED THAT THERE existed a “meet me room� infrastructure where several undeclared queuing servers were located.

Therefore, Sotto’s second issue about the undisclosed queuing servers has been proven right!

Another critical point discussed in the TWG-JCOC was the conduct

ÂłCelisA5

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Q TIGLAO FROM A1

las’ biggest business partner, the state-owned Temasek Holdings (through Singapore Telecoms).

The arbitration tribunal consists of two foreigners (V.V. Veeder and Kap-You) and one Filipino, retired 3UPREME #OURT JUSTICE 2OBERTO !BAD 4WO FOREIGNERS COULD RULE TO ORDER A SOVEREIGN STATE TO PAY A PRIVATE kRM 0 BILLION Whoever was the government OFkCIAL WHO AGREED TO THE ARBITRATION SHOULD BE kRED

Maynilad 4HE OTHER ENTITY OF THE WATER MONOPOLY IN -ETRO -ANILA -AYNILAD 7ATER 3ERVICES CONTROLLED BY THE )NDONESIAN TYCOON !NTHONI 3ALIM HAD kLED A SIMILAR SUIT BUT one that demanded immediate PAYMENT ONLY FOR THE PERIOD TO 4HE COMPANY HAS SAID THOUGH THAT IT WILL kLE ANOTHER ARBITRATION CASE TO COVER THE YEARS up to 2037, which will demand P60 billion in reimbursement.

The arbitration tribunal ordered THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY -AYNILAD P3.4 billion for that period to 2017. The Supreme Court of Singapore last September struck down the Philippine government’s appeal to stop the award.

Have we become such a weak state that one Spanish-mestizo conglomerate and an Indonesian CAN BULLY IT IN TRIBUNALS ABROAD Or are those who run our state REALLY MINIONS OF OLIGARCHS %VEN IF LET S SAY -ANILA 7ATER AND -AYNILAD 7ATER 3ERVICES HAD the legal right to claim those fantastic amounts, can’t their owners be patriotic and pro-poor enough TO JUST DONATE THE 0 BILLION TO government for it to build, and even accelerate the construction of, water reservoirs to prevent the water shortages that the metropoLIS EXPERIENCES EVERY MONTH !ND TO THINK ‡ BELIEVE IT OR NOT ‡ THAT THE TWO WATER COMPANIES WERE GIVEN TWO ASTONISHING BENEkTS

I

Source: Company and MWSS reports.

Q How Manila Water can have billions in profits.

4HEY CLAIM THAT PER THE CONCES/NE IS THAT THEY DON T PAY A single centavo to government SION AGREEMENT THEY are not public FOR THE WATER THEY GET FROM STATE utilities MERELY AGENTS OF -733 When presidential spokesman BUILT DAMS FOR WHICH WATER THEY CHARGE CONSUMERS SO HIGH THEY Salvador Panel claimed the other DAY THAT THERE WERE ONEROUS HAVE GENERATED SUPER PROkTS This has resulted in the fact that, terms in the concession agreeIN THE CASE OF THE !YALA COMPANY FOR ment with the two water firms, which we have detailed data), Manila he wasn’t at all exaggerating.

Which administration should 7ATER EARNS CENTAVOS FOR EVERY PESO PAID BY A CONSUMER 4HIS IS ALMOST be blamed for these onerous conENTIRELY DUE TO THE ANNUAL INCREASE IN cession agreements, that Manila TARIFF GRANTED BY GOVERNMENT 2EMEM- 7ATER AND -AYNILAD 7ATER ARE BER THAT IT IS A MONOPOLY THAT DOES NOT exploiting to get a foreign arbitration tribunal to order the governCOMPETE WITH ANYBODY ELSE So even as consumption per MENT TO PAY THEM 0 BILLION 4HE 3ECOND 9ELLOW 2EGIME AFCONNECTION FELL BY PERCENT from 2009 to 2018, Manila Wa- TER THAT OF #ORY THE &IDEL 2AMOS ter’s water tariffs had increased PRESIDENCY WHICH ENTERED INTO THE

BY PERCENT AND ITS ANNUAL NET CONTRACT WITH THE TWO kRMS IN Can’t a sovereign state rescind PROkT DOUBLING FROM THE level of P3.2 billion in 2009 to VERY ONEROUS CONTRACTS WITH PRIVATE kRMS WHICH RUN PUBLIC UTILITIES P6.5 billion in 2018. ! SECOND ASTONISHING ADVAN- that provide an essential basic TAGE GIVEN BY GOVERNMENT IN THE NEED OF ITS CITIZENS SUCH AS WATER More and more, I am convinced concession agreement for the WATER MONOPOLY IS THAT THE CON- THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN RUN BY cessionaires pass on to consum- oligarchs who deliver mammoth ers, through the tariffs the latter PROkTS NOT JUST FOR THEMSELVES BUT PAY THEIR CORPORATE INCOME TAXES FOR THE GLOBAL RICH ‡ FOREIGN kRMS !S ASTONISHING IS THEIR DEFENSE are among their biggest stockholdwhen the Supreme Court ruled in ERS !ND WORSE THEY CONTROL MEDIA 1998 that Meralco cannot do this SO TIGHTLY WE DON T EVEN REALIZE WE ‡ THAT IS PASS ON THEIR INCOME TAX are being so exploited to get the to consumers, which had amount- KIND OF PROkTS THEY HAVE ed to a mammoth P28 billion in Email: tiglao.manilatimes@ overcharging of customers. gmail.com (OW DID THE WATER kRMS AR&ACEBOOK 2IGOBERTO 4IGLAO GUE SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE Twitter: @bobitiglao REQUIRED TO FOLLOW THE 3UPREME !RCHIVES AT WWW RIGOBERTOTIGLAO COM #OURT PRECEDENT

The limits of voter education

BY INGMING ABERIA

I

N a little more than a month’s time, Filipino voters will again troop to polling places to select their representatives in government. The candidates, even beFORE THE OFkCIAL CAMPAIGN PERIOD started, have fanned themselves out in the hustings, megaphones IN HAND ‡ kGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY SPEAKING ALL IN AN EFFORT TO TRY AND CATCH EVERYBODY S ATTENTION !LL OF THEM ESPECIALLY those who are doing well in the SURVEYS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTEND FOR A PODIUM kNISH Up for grabs are 12 seats in the Senate, around 300 seats in THE (OUSE OF 2EPRESENTATIVES INCLUDING FOR PARTY LIST REPresentatives), around 1,720 for GOVERNORS OR MAYORS AND OVER 16,000 for members of local legislative bodies.

4HE HISTORY OF ELECTORAL POLITICS in the Philippines is blighted

with cases of foul methods used

BY PROTAGONISTS TO WIN VOTES 6OTE BUYING FRAUD AND STEALING OF VOTES are common post-election complaints. Worst of all, partisanship can be so contentious as to ignite election-related violence.

For the voters and politicians alike, is going through all the trouble, as an essential part of a DEMOCRATIC PROCESS WORTH IT 1UITE OFTEN COMMENTS LIKE “corruption in government never stops, regardless of who gets VOTED INTO OFkCE u !NYBODY CAN GET ELECTED TO OFkCE AND NOBODY cares, insofar as the average voter is concerned. This does not seem TO INDICATE THEY HAVE FORFEITED THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE ON THE CONTRARY

THEY ‡ WITHIN THE LIMITS OF WHAT THEY KNOW AND GUIDED BY THEIR PERSONAL BELIEFS ‡ HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO PERFORM THEIR CIVIC DUTY well. The average voter turnout in the Philippines at 65 to 75 percent outperforms most countries that

PROFESS LOVE FOR DEMOCRACY WITH an estimated combined average of 60 percent at best.

5NFORTUNATELY HOWEVER VOTERS cannot, on a consistent basis, be expected to pick the right CANDIDATE )N A COUNTRY WHERE percent of the population controls 90 percent of its wealth, the PROMISE OF DEMOCRACY BECOMES A DISTANT IDEAL !S *OHN 3TUART Mill said, “he who controls the stomach controls the will.�

Compounding the voter’s lack of free will is lack of inFORMATION 2ECENTLY A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS‡CALLING ITSELF the People’s Choice Movement 0#- ‡PUBLICLY ENDORSED SENATORIAL CANDIDATES 2EPORTS SAY THE 0#- IS A GROUP OF INDIVIDUAL LEADERS COMING MOSTLY from different faith-based organizations from the Catholic, evangelical and Protestant comMUNITIES IN THE COUNTRY 2EPORTS FURTHER SAID THAT THE

PCM “have screened 62 senatorial candidates and 30 were removed based on two ‘knock-out issues’: candidates must believe IN 'OD AND MUST BE AGAINST Charter change and federalism.�

Of the remaining 32, the 10 highEST SCORERS BASED ON THEIR g'ABAY Kristo� guide were declared the selected candidates. The guide included four categories: character and honor, competence and ABILITY FAITHFULNESS TO PUBLIC SERVICE AND FAITHFULNESS TO 'OD

the Constitution and the law.

4HE 0#- S METHODOLOGY IS suspect for several reasons. In one OF THE TWO KILLER ISSUES‡#HARTER CHANGE AND FEDERALISM‡PROPOnents must have assumed that PEOPLE FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS ON THE TABLE 7E CAN ASK THE GUY NEXT to us what he thinks of federalism and, hearing whatever he has to SAY ONE CAN ARGUE THAT ISSUES LIKE Charter change and federalism are

ÂłAberiaA6

Q CELIS FROM A4

Time to change the automated election law of the local source code review.

-ANY UNRESOLVED ISSUES HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BY #OMELEC TO date. These issues were even formalized through a letter that has not been replied to for two weeks now. The TEC was even asked as to when the TEC would release its CERTIkCATION AS IT HAS BEEN DELAYED SINCE &EBRUARY AND THAT THE ELECTIONS FOR /VERSEAS !BSENTEE 6OTING WILL BE HAPPENING ON !PRIL 7HERE S THE 0-/ )S THE 0-/ ON TOP OF THE SOURCE CODE REVIEW 4HE BODY ALSO TOOK COGNIZANCE OF THE FACT THAT THE AUDIT LOG kLES do not have proper time stamps and there appeared suspicious kLE NAMES TOO )S THE 0-/ AWARE OF THIS !T LEAST THE 4%# WAS HONEST ENOUGH TO TELL THE BODY THAT it was not part of their TEC certikCATION SCOPE )F IT WAS NOT PART THEN DID THE 0-/ REQUIRE IT IN THE kRST PLACE !NYHOW THE BODY

AGREED THAT PROPER SYSTEM LOGGING BE OBSERVED !S ALSO REQUIRED BY THE !%3 LAW THE 4%# WAS ASKED ABOUT THE CONTINUITY PLAN THEY REPLIED THAT THEY WILL SUBMIT THE same to Comelec soon. $Y ELABORATED ON OTHER kNDings in his report submitted to THE BODY (IS COMPLETE REPORT PRESENTED TO THE BODY IS TITLED g2EPORT TO THE TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP OF THE JOINT CONGRESsional oversight committee on THE AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM investigating the conduct of the 2016 elections in relation to the privilege speech of Senate President Vicente “Tito� C. Sotto 3rd.� )T MAY BE VIEWED OR DOWNLOADED from The Manila Times website at https://www.manilatimes.net/wpCONTENT UPLOADS 47' 2EPORT *#/# -ARCH ?JEFF PDF. If his allegations are proven true after due investigation, Sotto stat-

A5

Sharia law, LGBTQ and BARMM

Water companies demand P140B more from govt The 2018 report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) OF -ANILA 7ATER A kRM MAJORITY OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY THE !YALA conglomerate, pointed out: g!S A RESULT OF CERTAIN ACTIONS

BY THE -733 AND THE 2EPUBLIC

WHICH ARE COVERED BY THE PROVIsions of the Sovereign UndertakING THE #OMPANY DEMANDED INDEMNIkCATION FROM THE 2EPUBLIC BY REIMBURSING ITS LOSSES IN operating revenues to be realized FOR EACH REMAINING YEAR OF THE Concession as such losses are realized, which losses are estimated to amount to P79 billion for the period 2015 up to 2037.�

The “certain actions� referred to BY -ANILA 7ATER WERE BOTH THE DELAY in authorizing the increase in their water rates and the magnitude of the increase. It claimed the water rates AUTHORIZED BY THE GOVERNMENT gDENIED THE #OMPANY THE RATE OF RETURN allowed to operators of long-term infrastructure concession agreement in other countries having a credit standing similar to the Philippines.�

4HIS IS TOTALLY ABSURD AND MORE SO EXTREMELY UNPATRIOTIC 4HE REGULATORY BODY DENIED THE rates that Manila Water had demanded, but still gave the water tariffs that generated for it an income of P55 billion from 2009 to 2018. Yet Manila Water still claims it didn’t get its appropriATE PROkTS THAT IT INCURRED LOSSES which government must reimBURSE IT FOR EVERY YEAR UNTIL 4HAT S WHAT THE !YALAS ARE FANTASTICALLY CLAIMING "UT THEN THEY kLED AN arbitration case with the Permanent #OURT OF !RBITRATION AS REGISTRY IN $ID THEY GET THE IDEA FROM THE kLING BY 0RESIDENT !QUINO RDfS an arbitration suit in 2013 against #HINA WITH THE 0#! ALSO AS REGISTRY 3TRANGELY THOUGH WHILE THE Philippine case against China was heard in The Hague in the Netherlands, the hearings for the Manila Water case are in 3INGAPORE THE HOME OF THE !YA-

Opinion

ED LAST YEAR THAT HE WOULD CONSIDER such alleged irregularities as a case of electoral sabotage of the 2016 ELECTIONS 9ET THE 47' *#/# WILL COME UP WITH ITS kNAL INVESTIGATION report to the JCOC in two weeks’ TIME THAT S BEFORE THE NEXT *#/# HEARING ON THE WEEK OF !PRIL 7HAT COULD BE THE VERDICT 4HOUGH THE 47' *#/# IS NOT EVEN STIPULATED IN THE !%3 ,AW OR 2!

THIS INITIATIVE IS SOMETHING that the public should applaud. Had THE 47' *#/# EXISTED EVEN BEFORE THE !2-- ELECTIONS IN ALL anomalies that transpired in the past three national and local elections COULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED QUICKLY

cases submitted in the Ombudsman and Supreme Court could have been minimized, and that the implementing rules and regulations OF 2! COULD HAVE BEEN DRAFTED To end this series, it is ineviTABLE THAT THE !%3 ,AW MUST BE

AMENDED BY THE NEXT *#/# LEADERSHIP !%3 7ATCH .AMFREL AND other election watchdogs believe THAT A COMPOSITE OR HYBRID SYSTEM WOULD BE THE BEST ELECTION SYSTEM for 2022. We should learn from our tons of mistakes and noncompliances in the past, and a lot will still be committed in next month’s elections. In hindsight, the draft federal constitution pertaining to the “public nature of elections� (i.e., public counting) AS STIPULATED IN !RTICLE 6 3ECTION 2.b, is a good sign of the constitutional committee’s appreciation of the findings I presented to them. It provides that, “The FedERAL 2EPUBLIC SHALL GUARANTEE THE public nature of elections, ensure FULL TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESSIBILITY of the electoral process, and the VERIkABILITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE electoral results, regardless of the mode of election.�

(!6% BEEN UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT "RUNEI RANKED BY Forbes as THE kFTH RICHEST OUT OF COUNTRIES in the world, would be one of those liberal and progressive developed Muslim countries practicing a benevolent and tolerant kind of Islam.

Just last week, the government of "RUNEI IMPOSED A LAW AGAINST ,'"41 WITH HARSH PUNISHMENTS OF stoning and public whipping. Thus, "RUNEI BECOMES THE kRST COUNTRY IN 3OUTHEAST !SIA TO MAKE HOMOSEXUALITY A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY DEATH 4O QUOTE ITS POTENTATE 3ULTAN (ASSANAL "OLKIAH g4HE DECISION TO IMPLEment the [penal code] is not for fun BUT IS TO OBEY !LLAH S COMMAND AS WRITTEN IN THE 1URAN u 4HE COUNTRY IS )SLAMIC MAJORITY of whom are followers of Sunni Islam, the same as those of Muslims in Mindanao. In fact, before the Spanish presence, areas in southern Mindanao, the Sulu-Jolo archipelago extending up to parts OF ,UZON WERE BELIEVED TO BE INTEGRATED WITH THE "RUNEI SULTANATE The declaration of the Sultan "OLKIAH HAS FAR REACHING IMPLICAtions as sharia law is applied to both Muslim and non-Muslims ALIKE 4HE MINORITY #HRISTIANS AND members of other religions are THEREFORE SUBJECT TO THIS SET OF LAWS It will be recalled that in 2014, THE "RUNEI 3ULTAN IMPLEMENTED THE kRST PHASE THAT OF DECLARING couples producing children out OF WEDLOCK AND MISSING &RIDAY PRAYERS AS CRIMES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF )SLAMIC COURTS ! new penal code, enacted also in 2014 but whose application was SUSPENDED MAY TAKE EFFECT SOON prescribing punishments adhering CLOSELY TO SHARIA LAW LIKE SEVERING OF LIMBS FOR PROPERTY CRIMES "RUNEI AND -ANILA HAVE HAD an intriguing relationship. Sultan "OLKIAH S BROTHER 0RINCE *EFRI WHO owned a mansion in the posh Forbes Park in Manila, was once involved in recruiting top well-known Filipino actresses to entertain the Sultan’s guests at the 1,788-room Istana Palace. It was alleged that THESE HIGHLY PAID WOMEN S THESPIAN TALENTS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPLOITED for other ‘services’ at the pleasure PALACE OWNED PERSONALLY BY 0RINCE *EFRI ! LEADING )SLAMIC RELIGIOUS SCHOLAR 2ESA !SIAN WAS QUOTED IN the New York Post referring to the Sultan’s pronouncements: “This IS OBVIOUSLY NOT COMING FROM A place of religious devotion, since the Sultan himself is in violation OF EVERY SINGLE RULE OF SHARIA LAW YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE )NDEED THE 3ULTAN AND HIS EQUALLY decadent brother, Prince Jefri, were dubbed ‘constant companions in HEDONISM u 4HE SYBARITIC LIFE OF THE RULERS ARE TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE TEACHINGS OF THE 1URAN !CROSS THE -ALACCA 3TRAIT IN -ALAYSIA S 4ERENGGANU STATE IN A kRST OF its kind, sharia authorities whipped two women in public for a lesbian relationship. This could be the start of an anti-homosexual clampdown based on the strict interpretation OF THE 1URAN 4HE STATE WAS ONCE A -ALAY SULTANATE THAT WAS HIGHLY INlUENCED BY (INDU "UDDHIST CULture and was part of the trade routes from ancient times. Terengganu was THE kRST AMONG THE -ALAY LANDS TO receive Islam from whence it spread TO ADJOINING TERRITORIES In the neighboring autonomous PROVINCE OF !CEH IN )NDONESIA GAY men and women are whipped pubLICLY UNDER A NEWLY ENFORCED SHARIA law. Of Indonesia’s 34 provinces, SHARIA LAW IS OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED ONLY IN OIL RICH AND CONSERVATIVELY RELIGIOUS !CEH )SLAM SPREAD TO 3OUTHEAST !SIA IN THE TH CENTURY FROM THE 3ULTANATE OF !CEH BEFORE THE LATTER became part of modern Indonesia. )N THE SECOND OF MY TWO PART article on the “Clash of civilizations,� this conflict between CIVILIZATIONS PARTICULARLY BETWEEN the Christian West and Islam, was debunked. Initial empirical data showing that Western, Christian, Hindu or other civilizations are at war with each other is likewise BALANCED BY DATA SHOWING THAT clashes of Muslims against MusLIMS PARTICULARLY IN THE COUNTRIES in the Middle East have been erupting since the end of the cold

LITO MONICO C. LORENZANA war. Sunni and Shiite Muslims have of late imposed a stricter interpretation of the sharia law on ITS OWN CITIZENS "UT THE WORLD S backlash condemning the acts as VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS MAY YET precipitate a real clash of civilizations, proving Huntington correct.

The Western concept of homosexUALITY AS BEING A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE of birth is not an Islamic creed and sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex are proscribed

BY THE 1URAN AS haram. On the other hand, infringement of this private arrangement in the liberal Western JURISPRUDENCE COULD BE CONSIDERED AS a violation of human rights. This is CLEARLY A SAMPLE OF A CLASH OF 7ESTERN AND )SLAMIC VALUES 4HE TECHNICALITY of whether Islamic states are signaTORY TO 5. AGREEMENTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS OR HAVE NOT RATIkED THE SAME IS REALLY OF NO CONSEQUENCE This is also the same enigma FACING THE 0HILIPPINES TODAY AS THE COUNTRY EMBARKS ON AN EXPERIMENT IN AN INNOVATIVE TYPE OF GOVERNANCE THE UNITARY PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM PRACTICED IN THE COUNTRY as a whole and that of the “parLIAMENTARYu SYSTEM OR A VERSION thereof to be practiced in parts of -INDANAO THROUGH THE "ANGSAMORO 4RANSITION !UTHORITY "4! that is supposed to govern the "ANGSAMORO !UTONOMOUS 2EGION IN -USLIM -INDANAO "!2-- In the Philippines’ 1987 Constitution, Church and State are separate, following traditional WESTERN INlUENCE AND VALUES )N Islamic tradition, religion and GOVERNANCE ARE INTERTWINED WHICH COULD BE A MAJOR IRRITANT IN THE "!2-- THOUGH TECHNICALLY IT operates under the sufferance of central government.

4RUE SHARIA LAW IN "!2-- WILL COVER AND APPLY ONLY TO -USLIMS AND ONLY ON MATTERS AFFECTING PERSONAL STATUS AND FAMILY !LTHOUGH STILL BASED ON THE 1URAN AND THE Hadith other scriptural sources AND INTERPRETED BY INDEPENDENT )SLAMIC JURISTS IT IS A MODERNIZED (not Westernized) set of legal JURISPRUDENCE COMPATIBLE WITH Philippine laws, with harsh and MEDIEVAL PUNISHMENTS DONE AWAY with. Still, the ultimate arbiter IS THE COUNTRY S 3UPREME #OURT "UT CYNICS ABOUND GLEANING FROM WHAT IS HAPPENING IN "RUNEI !CEH AND -ALAYSIA WHERE INTERPRETAtions are reversed, and protocols ARE ALTERED BEARING IN MIND TOO

THE PREMISE AND THE UNDERLYING extrapolation of Huntington’s that THE 0HILIPPINES IS A �CLEFT COUNTRY�

CONTAINING TWO MAJOR RELIGIOUS ROOTS AND BY INFERENCE TWO CIVIlizations, Islamic and Christian.

What has been happening postCold War in the global arena thus far has been hewing close to HunTINGTON S THESIS ALTHOUGH AS POINTED OUT IN MY PAST TWO ARTICLES THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON (UNTINGTON S PREDICTION PARTICULARLY ON THE -USLIM VERSUS -USLIM CONlICTS !LTHOUGH THIS IS CHERRY PICKING

HOMOSEXUALITY THE ,'"41 COMMUNITY AND SHARIA LAW ARE JUST some samples of similar issues REARING THEIR UGLY HEADS THAT COULD be precursors of conflicts. The "!2-- IS THE COUNTRY S PETRI DISH for federalism and harmonizing SEEMINGLY CONlICTING VALUES OF DIFFERING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS "UT FAVORING BOTH SIDES IS THE UNDERLYING DEEP ROOTED BOND AS &ILIPINOS !ND THIS COULD BE AN EFFECTIVE PROPHYLACTIC AGAINST INITIATIVES BY THE LIKES OF "RUNEI !CEH AND 4ERENGGANU against an Islamic revival agitating for full implementation of sharia law, including the reinstatement of hudhud, the dreaded and medieval corporal punishments. )SLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE ,ET S ALL PRAY TO OUR RESPECTIVE !LLAH AND $IYOS THAT RECENT EVENTS IN OUR neighboring Muslim countries will not spill over to our shores splitTING US gPIECE BY PIECE u

For comments: lito.lorenzana@cdpi.asia

A6

Opinion

˜ The Manila Times

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WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Poisonous bitterness lingers on

I

HATE to ride on to fame (or infamy) on the back of tragedy, especially world-shocking ones.

But as a commentator on politics and international relations, that is almost, as they say, part of my job description. I have been called most often to comment on sudden, breaking news on happenings around the world, some happy but others unfortunately tragic in nature.

Such was the case a little over two years ago, when Kim Jongnam, the eldest son of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was assassinated at the low-cost terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in broad daylight (or at least that which streamed into the terminal building) as he was using an automatic MACHINE TO CHECK IN FOR HIS lIGHT

as most other passengers would do. He was approached by two women—of Indonesian and Vietnamese citizenship—who smeared on his face what was later found to be a lethal nerve agent. Kim died of poisoning shortly after.

The shocking news trickled out that same afternoon and the

EI SUN OH rest, as they say, is history. As a commentator who happens to be Malaysian, I was hounded for comments by media outlets from around the world. One media organization even asked me to show up and to comment on site at the morgue of the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, where an autopsy on Kim was being performed. Another media organization plucked me from a Chinese New Year lunch (it was still the festive season then) AT A RESTAURANT AND kLMED ME COMmenting on the case in a nearby cafĂŠ. It was then a cacophonous media scene, reminiscent of the media frenzy after the even more tragic (in terms of the number of LIVES LOST -( lIGHT DISAPPEARance three years earlier.

The two women suspects were arrested by the Malaysian authorities, but the “real� perpetrators of the

assassination apparently escaped UNDER VARIOUS GUISES AND OFkCIAL “covers.� The women protested their innocence, saying that as eager jobseekers from impoverished backgrounds, they were promised hefty sums if they performed what they were told was a “birthday prank� on Kim, which they duly did. Incredulous as their stories sounded initially, most people, if not the authorities, in Malaysia and indeed in the world came to believe their version of the tragedy.

They were charged with murder and locked up pending trial. Over time, whenever they were brought to court for trial hearings, they were made to don bullet-proof vests and guarded by what must have been Malaysian police commandos who were heavily armed and sometimes masked. The Malaysian authorities and people simply could not countenance a “take two� of the assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963, was himself assassinated a few days later, and it was not a pretty sight.

A similar repetition half a century

later would be unbearable, least of all for a developing country half a world away.

Malaysians and indeed many righteous minds around the world WERE JUSTIkABLY ENRAGED BY THE +IM assassination. It was an unadulterated case of an authoritarian regime spilling out what must have been a brutal domestic power struggle onto the world stage. The case also laid bare the inadequacy of the supposed “long arm� of public international law. It was abundantly clear to all that the assassination was a state-sponsored one, yet the “real� perpetrators got off scot-free under the seemingly inviolable cover of diplomatic immunity (revocable only at the discretion of the sending nation and not the receiving or host nation) and are now presumed to be harbored in sanctuary and thus impunity. No Interpol red notice would suffice to bring them to either Malaysian or international justice for their brutal act. In fact, in the ensuing tussle over the custody of Kim’s remains, Malaysian diplomats posted in Pyongyang

Mobilizing men as partners for women, peace and security My work has taken me to the farthest corners of the world and I have seen time and again the centrality of UNITED NATIONS: )N THE kRST MONTH women’s equality in our lives.

This realization has now become of Bangladesh joining the Security Council in January 2000, more pertinent in the midst of the President Nelson Mandela was in ever-increasing militarism and miliNew York to report to the Council tarization that is destroying both our in his capacity as the UN-man- planet and our people.

The UN Charter has entrusted dated facilitator of the Burundi Peace Process. In an informal the Security Council with the setting, he shared with us that his responsibility of maintaining efforts to include women in the international peace and security. peace table were not working as In that context, for 55 years of its existence, the Security Council participating men stonewalled.

Eager to hear what women want found women as only helpless victo share, he would invite them to TIMS OF WARS AND CONlICTS WITHOUT have tea with him in the evenings recognizing their positive role and after the formal meetings were over. contribution in that process.

On March 8 2000, as the presiAt next morning’s formal meeting, Madiba would present some ideas dent of the Security Council, I for discussion and men around the could mobilize it to recognize table started praising him for those in a statement that “peace is inextricably linked with equality forward-looking ideas.

He alerted them by saying that between women and men,� and those were not “my ideas,� rather affirmed the value of full and those were from the women whom equal participation of women at the men are not allowing to join all decision-making levels.

That is when the seed for at the peace table. The key message here is that women add value and Resolution 1325 was sown. The bring in positive perspectives to RESOLUTION WAS kNALLY ADOPTED building peace keeping in mind unanimously on October 31 of the same year, after tough negothe best interests of their society.

Women — equal half of human- tiations for eight months.

As you all know, the Nobel Peace ity — bring a new breadth, quality and balance of vision to our com- Prize in 2011 was presented to three mon effort to move away from the women peace builders from Libecult of war towards the culture of ria and Yemen. In its citation, the peace. Women’s equality makes Nobel Committee referred to 1325 and asserted: “We cannot achieve our planet safe and secure.

The reports presented to the democracy and lasting peace in the 63rd session of the Commission world unless women obtain the same on the Status of Women (CSW) OPPORTUNITIES AS MEN TO INlUENCE last month underlined that, unfor- developments at all levels of society.�

It is a reality that politics, more tunately, overall progress towards gender equality had been unac- so security, is a man’s world. Emceptably slow, with stagnation and powered women bring important and different skills and perspectives even regression in some areas.

Women’s rights are under to the policy making table in comthreat from a “backlash� of con- parison to their male counterparts.

The slogan of the Global servatism and fundamentalism Campaign on WPS, which we around the world.

UN Secretary-General An- launched in London in June tonio Guterres lamented that 2014, reiterates: “If we are serieverywhere, we still have a male- ous about peace, we must take women seriously.� dominated culture.

BYÂ AMBASSADOR ANWARUL K. CHOWDHURY

Patriarchy and misogyny are the dual scourges pulling back the humanity away from our aspiration for a better world to live in freedom, equality and justice.

Men and policies and institutions controlled by them have been the main perpetrators of gender inequality, which is a real threat to human progress. Feminism is about smart policy which is inclusive, uses all potentials and leaves no one behind.

I am proud to be a feminist. All of us need to be. That is how we make our planet a better place to live for all.

For the two-year initiative being launched today, all of us should take the vow to profess, advocate and work to ensure feminism as our creed and as our mission.

We should always remember that without peace, development is impossible, and without development, peace is not achievable, but without women, neither peace nor development is conceivable.

Footnote: “The full and meaningful leadership, empowerment, and protection of women is essential TO RESOLVING DEADLY CONlICT AND building stable, prosperous, and just post-conflict societies. We have created a group of leaders that identifies, encourages, and mobilizes the voices of prominent men and women in support of women’s engagement in global processes of peace, reconciliation, AND POST CONlICT RECONSTRUCTION “Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace and Security� is bringing global leaders — including prominent men from the defense, diplomacy, development, and business arenas — more fully into the campaign, along with the courageous women leaders who have long driven this advocacy, including grassroots advocates from war-affected countries. “We are partnering with key institutions, including UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), advocacy groups,

and academic institutions. Along with our partners, we ally with, listen to, and open doors for women’s groups and individuals calling for gender justice in conlICT AND POST CONlICT SETTINGS “The initiative started by engaging global figures and their senior advisors from dozens of international institutions, NGOs, and governments at a convening in New York City on March 22, 2018, in the margins of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. “The participants agreed that while women-led efforts that created the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda have made considerable progress, men must be part of the solution. g3INCE OUR kRST CONVENING WE have drafted a Charter, a statement of principles, and a call to action on engaging women as leaders, planners, and implementers of peace processes and POST CONlICT RECOVERY EFFORTS “Once signed, the Charter will be publicized and shared with policymakers in governments and international organizations.

Signatories will serve as Partners in this agenda, using their connections with other global leaders to make these points directly and to facilitate greater access for women advocates. “Our members will help to monitor and encourage full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, National Action Plans (NAPs), and laws—including the US Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017—and provide implementers at all levels access to information they need to do their jobs effectively.�

IPS

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is former undersecretarygeneral and high representative of the United Nations and initiator of the conceptual breakthrough that led to the adoption of UNSCR 1325, as Security Council president in March 2000

Q ABERIA FROM A5

The limits of voter education better discussed in venues other than a supposedly academic and nonpartisan process, like sieving candidates for senator. The point is Charter change and federalism have their merits and demerits, and the country may deprive itself of a best-value candidate simply because he or she supports Charter change and federalism.

2ANKING THE gQUALIkEDu CANDIdates based on the GabayKristo is also tricky. The guide’s elaborate set of criteria for selecting candidates can be replaced by one word — elite — and I can easily come up with the same list. This is of course unfair to them, but applying the criteria with rigor

means there is gold at the end of rainbow for lesser known candidates like Jose Matula and Luther Meniano, both of Partido Manggagawa at Magsasaka. As it is, no one knows if they have merited at least an asterisk from evaluators.

More to the point: applying the criteria with cold-blooded rigor can tell us that those who have been declared as nuisance by the Comelec for lack of means to support their campaign at a credible scale might have outranked the 10 who made it to the PCM list.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the PCM had already done its part in helping people choose their next leaders,

it was now the responsibility of the faithful to ensure that these “deserving candidates� were elected to the Senate.

Voter education will always be helpful, even necessary, in a democracy. And the PCM deserves support for its initiatives. However, given the limitations of the average voter, the way it is presented puts inordinate pressure on the voting public, as if the future of the country depended on them.

One may look the other way for the cure for our ailing political system. Politicians, unlike the voter, will not lose their livelihood for breaking the will of their masters.

They can afford to innovate, break

tradition, and truly lead the way.

All they need is a conscience that is receptive to the notion of reward and punishment that can come around even centuries after the polling places have closed.

Ingming Aberia is a development worker by training and has served as such in international development agencies such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Development Program, International Labor Organization and Asian Development Bank. He holds a master’s degree in Development Management from the Makati-based Asian Institute of Management.

were essentially held hostage by the receiving nation, in clear violation of public international law, not least the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Malaysia declared the North Korean ambassador persona non grata, but stopped short of breaking off diplomatic relations with the reclusive country. The Malaysian embassy there has since been understandably laid empty.

The Indonesian and Vietnamese governments have also taken up the cause of their respective prosecuted citizens, who received widespread sympathy on their sorry plight, not least from Malaysians at large. We are a forgiving society, especially when it is plain that these two accused were essentially “framed� by their “handlers.�

Recently, the Malaysian court dropped the charges against the Indonesian suspect and sentenced the convicted Vietnamese essentially for time served, to cries of joy not only from their loved ones and countrymates, but also from many concerned Malaysians.

There are some vocal friends

of mine who decry the release of the two women suspects. But there are many more who believe their story, of how they had been duped by the “real� perpetrators into committing the crime, and of their pleas that they were not professional assassins. Justice has to be served, but justice also has to be tempered by mercy.

Over the past year and a half, North Korea has embarked on what appears to be yet another round of “peace process,� not only with South Korea but with the United States as well. The world needs more peace and would welcome a denuclearized North Korea back to the fold of the international community. But countries in the mainstream of the international stage must behave responsibly and admirably. Malaysia in particular would not like to see its soil degenerate into a freefor-all arena where people from other parts of the world take out each other freely. And the world in general would have to come to a consensus as to how to strengthen the global rule of law.

FOCUS

Grapes on Mars? Georgia winemakers aiming high

Q Marika Tarasashvili, an astrobiologist working on a project to develop grape varieties that can be grown on Mars, works at a laboratory in Tbilisi on Feb. 26, 2019, as Georgia claiming to be the first nation to make wine thousands of years ago, now wants to be the first to grow grapes on Mars.

AFP / VANO SHLAMOV TBILISI: Georgia is immensely proud of its ancient wine-making tradition, CLAIMING TO HAVE BEEN THE kRST NAtion to make wine. Now it wants to BE THE kRST TO GROW GRAPES ON -ARS Nestling between the Great Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia has a mild climate that is perfect for vineyards and has developed a thriving wine tourism industry.

Now Nikoloz Doborjginidze has co-founded a project to develop grape varieties that can be grown on Mars. g'EORGIANS WERE kRST WINEMAKers on Earth and now we hope to pioneer viticulture on the planet next door,� he told AFP. After NASA called for the public to contribute ideas for a “sustained human presence� on the Red Planet, a group of Georgian researchers and entrepreneurs got together to propel the country’s winemaking onto an interplanetary level.

Their project is called IX Millennium — a reference to Georgia’s long history of wine-making.

Since archaeologists found traces of wine residue in ancient clay vessels, the country has boasted that it has been making wine for 8,000 years — longer than any other nation.

IX Millennium is managed by a consortium set up by the Georgian Space Research Agency, Tbilisi’s Business and Technology University, the National Museum and a company called Space Farms.

While it might seem like the STUFF OF SCIENCE kCTION THE IDEA OF HUMANS QUAFkNG WINE ON THE fourth planet from the Sun is coming closer to reality.

NASA hopes to launch a manned mission to Mars within 25 years, while billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company has set a goal of outstripping the US space agency by a decade.

‘Breakthrough’ results One of the scientists working on the project, astrobiologist Marika Tarasashvili, is developing bacteria that could turn Martian soil into fertile earth.

Researchers had already achieved “breakthrough� results in experiments, she said, smiling, as she gazed

into a glass vial with faux-Martian soil in a cramped Tbilisi laboratory.

The scientists collected bacteria from regions of Georgia with “extreme ecosystems� such as hot sulphurous springs, then bred strains capable of living in Martian conditions, she says.

The idea is for the bacteria to transform the lifeless surface of Mars into fertile soil “on which future colonists will be able to cultivate plants,� she said.

Tarasashvili and her colleagues are also testing the skins of Georgia’s 525 indigenous grape varieties to establish which are most resistant to the high levels of ultra-violet radiation hitting the Martian surface.

Preliminary results showed that pale-skinned Rkatsiteli grapes — a popular variety that produces white WINES WITH CRISP GREEN APPLE lAVOURS — best endures ultra-violet rays. “In the distant future, Martian colonists will be able to grow plants directly in Martian soil,� said Tusia Garibashvili, founder of Space Farms company, part of the IX Millennium project. g"UT kRST WE NEED TO CREATE A model of completely controlled sustainable Martian greenhouses.�

Her company is currently building a vertical farming laboratory, which she calls “the ideal technology for Martian agriculture of the future.�

The plants will grow in a special facility located inside a trendy Tbilisi hotel, laid out in vertically stacked layers with carefully controlled temperature, light and humidity.

The next step will be to test Georgian grape varieties in a simulated Martian environment in a laboratory now under construction at the Business and Technology University. “Plants will be subjected to subzero [Celsius] temperatures, high levels of radiation and carbon monoxide [and] high-altitude air pressure,� said BTU Dean Nino Enukidze. “Martian dreams aside, our experiments are providing information that is vital as humanity confronts a multitude of environmental challenges,� said Enukidze. “We will be able to identify and breed food crops resistant to the problems caused by global climate change.� AFP

˜ The Manila Times

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Regions

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

A7

Jolo ‘bomber’ killed in clash A

BYÂ DEMPSEY REYESÂ AND AL JACINTOÂ

SUSPECT in the deadly twin explosions in Jolo cathedral was killed during an encounter on Monday with government troops, along with the nephew of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Hajan Sawadjaan, in Patikul, Sulu. #OL 'ERRY "ESANA 7ESTERN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN MILITARY -INDANAO #OMMAND 7EST- FORCES AND ABOUT !3' REBELS -IN#OM SPOKESMAN SAID THE UNDER !LMUJER 9ADA HAPPENED

AT ABOUT P M IN "ARANGAY "ANGKAL 0ATIKUL g4HE kREkGHT LASTED FOR MINUTES SUPPORTED BY INDIRECT kRES AND CLOSE AIR SUPPORT RESULTING IN THE NEUTRALIZATION OF "ARAK )NGOG ONE OF THE FACILITATORS OF THE BOMBING OF THE #ATHEDRAL IN *OLO ON *ANUARY THIS YEAR !NOTHER !3' MEMBER IDENTIkED AS .ASSER 3AWADJAAN NEPHEW OF !3' LEADER (ATIB (AJAN 3AWADJAAN WAS ALSO KILLED DURING THE ENCOUNTER u

THE 7EST-IN#OM SAID 4HREE SOLDIERS WERE ALSO WOUNDED DURING THE kREkGHT "ESANA ADDED (AJAN WAS BELIEVED TO BE THE MASTERMIND OF THE *OLO BOMBINGS THROUGH THE !JANG !JANG GROUP

CONSISTING OF YOUNG PROTÂźGÂźS OF THE !3' -ORE THAN PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN THE BOMBING THAT ALSO LEFT DOZENS WOUNDED 3EIZED AT THE ENCOUNTER SITE WERE AN - RIlE AND PERSONAL BELONG-

INGS OF THE !3' REBELS "RIG 'EN $IVINO 0ABAYO

COMMANDER OF 4ASK &ORCE 3ULU

SAID THE OPERATION WAS CONDUCTED AFTER CIVILIANS PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF !3' MEMBERS IN THE AREA g4HEY RESIDENTS OVERHEARD THAT ANOTHER HIGH VALUE TARGET !3' SUB LEADER WAS MISSING AND PROBABLY DEAD WHICH IS SUBJECT TO THE CLEARING AND PURSUIT OPERATIONS OF OUR TROOPS RIGHT NOW u

0ABAYO ADDED 4HERE WERE NO REPORTS OF CIVILIAN CASUALTIES 3ULU 'OV 4OTO 4AN HAD DEPLOYED SOCIAL WORKERS AND DISPATCHED FOOD AID SINCE -ARCH TO ASSIST VILLAGERS AFFECTED BY THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN )T WAS UNKNOWN WHETHER THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT HAD SENT AID TO 3ULU ONE OF THE kVE PROVINCES UNDER THE "ANGSAMORO !UTONOMOUS 2EGION IN -USLIM -INDANAO

Another suspect in Cebu teen slay arrested THE Regional Intelligence Division (RID) of the Police Regional /FkCE IN #ENTRAL 6ISAYAS 02/ ARRESTED ANOTHER SUSPECT IN THE BRUTAL MURDER OF #HRISTINE ,EE 3ILAWAN WHO WAS FOUND MUTILATED WITH HER FACE SKINNED OFF IN ,APU ,APU #ITY LAST MONTH 0OLICE #OLONEL 2EMUS -EDINA CHIEF OF 2)$ 02/ CONkRMED TO 4HE -ANILA 4IMES on 4UESDAY THE SUSPECT S ARREST BUT DID NOT PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS /NE OF THE SUSPECTS A FORMER BOYFRIEND OF #HRISTINE WHO TURNED ON !PRIL WAS CHARGED WITH MURDER BY THE .ATIONAL "U-

REAU OF )NVESTIGATION IN #ENTRAL 6ISAYAS ON -ARCH (E WAS LATER RELEASED TO HIS MOTHER ON ORDER OF THE CITY PROSECUTOR AFTER HIS LAWYER CONTESTED THE LEGALITY OF HIS ARREST "UT THE SUSPECT WAS EVENTUALLY RETURNED TO THE #ITY 3OCIAL 3ERVICE $EPARTMENT OF ,APU ,APU FOR CUSTODY FOLLOWING THE kLING OF CHARGES AGAINST HIM AND THE OTHER ACCUSED 3ILAWAN

WAS FOUND IN A VACANT LOT IN 3ITIO -AHAYAHAY

"ARANGAY "ANKAL ,APU ,APU #ITY ON -ARCH WITH STAB WOUNDS AND HER FACE PEELED OFF RHEA RUTH ROSELL

Palawan hybrid power plant goes online in May 4(% 3ABANG 2ENEWABLE %NERGY #ORP 32%# IS SLATED TO kNISH BUILDING ITS HYBRID MINI GRID SYSTEM IN 0ALAWAN IN -AY 32%# ‡ A CONSORTIUM OF 6IVANT %NERGY #ORP 'IGAWATT 0OWER )NC

AND 3INGAPORE BASED 7%NERGY 'LOBAL 0TE ,TD ‡ WILL OPERATE A HYBRID POWER PLANT COMBINING SOLAR PANELS AND DIESEL ENGINES AS WELL AS AN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN "ARANGAY #ABAYUGAN

0UERTO 0RINCESA #ITY 5NDER OPTIMAL CONDITIONS THE HYBRID PLANT WILL GENERATE AS MUCH AS MEGAWATT PEAK -7P ONCE COMPLETED ALLOWING THE MINI GRID TO PROVIDE POWER TO APPROXIMATELY PUBLIC BUILDINGS SMALL BUSINESSES HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS

AND HOUSEHOLDS g7E ARE NOT MERELY INSTALLING FOUR DIESEL ENGINES AND A -7P SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM 7E VE BEEN BUILDING OUR OWN GRID FROM THE GROUND UP AND ERECTING ELECTRICAL POLES AND CABLES SPANNING KILOMETERS SINCE !PRIL u 32%# #HAIRMAN %MIL 'ARCIA SAID IN A STATEMENT ON 4UESDAY 4HE HYBRID FACILITY WOULD PROVIDE ROUND THE CLOCK STABLE

RELIABLE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY AT gTHE MOST COMPETITIVE RATE POSSIBLE u WHICH WOULD POWER FURTHER GROWTH IN THE VILLAGE WHERE THE 0UERTO 0RINCESA 3UBTERRANEAN .ATIONAL 0ARK IS LOCATED g"Y COMBINING SOLAR PANELS AND DIESEL FUELED POWER GENERATION 32%# WOULD SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT FROM OVER

METRIC TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE WHILE PROVIDING STABLE AND RELIABLE ENERGY THAT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYDAY LIVING IN #ABAYUGAN u

'ARCIA ADDED 6IVANT %NERGY IS A SUBSIDIARY OF LISTED kRM 6IVANT #ORP WHICH HAS INTERESTS IN VARIOUS COMPANIES ENGAGED IN ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE ENERGY

ELECTRIC POWER DISTRIBUTION AND RETAIL ELECTRICITY SUPPLY BUSINESS ,AST MONTH 6IVANT SAID THE #EBU BASED COMPANY AND ITS PARTNER WERE COMMITTED TO EXPAND THEIR POWER PROJECTS TO RESOLVE POWER SUPPLY WOES IN THE PROVINCE AND SERVE THE ISLAND S GROWING DEMAND 6IVANT AND '0) HAD LINED UP EXPANSION PLANS TO ENSURE ADEQUATE POWER SUPPLY AND SERVE THE ISLAND S POWER NEEDS 4HIS WOULD COMPLEMENT 0ALAWAN %LECTRIC #OOPERATIVE S 0ALECO CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PROGRAM THAT THE %NERGY 2EGULATORY #OMMISSION %2# HAD APPROVED g5LTIMATELY COMBINED WITH THE UPCOMING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS COVERED BY 0ALECO S %2# APPROVED #APEX PROGRAM AND $ELTA 0 )NC $0) AND #ALAMIAN )SLANDS 0OWER #ORP #)0# S PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF SERVICE ARE POISED TO BE THE THREE CATALYSTS THAT WOULD HELP ALLEVIATE 0ALAWAN S POWER SUPPLY PROBLEMS FOR GOOD u $0) AND #)0# 0RESIDENT 7ALDEN 4ANTUICO SAID IN A STATEMENT $0) IS THE LARGEST NEW POWER PROVIDER IN THE PROVINCE WHILE #)0# SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED THE POWER SUPPLY AND RELIABILITY SITUATION IN "USUANGA )SLAND 6IVANT SHARES ENDED FLAT AT 0 APIECE ON -ONDAY Â JORDEENE B. LAGARE

Nationinbriefs SUSPECT IN BULACAN MASSACRE FOUND DEAD  THE primary suspect in the gruesome killing of a mother and her two sons in Bulacan after a botched robbery on April 3 was found dead and believed to have committed suicide on Tuesday at the City of San Jose del Monte (CSJDM) jail. CSJDM chief of police Lt. Col. Orlando Castil Jr. said Joselito Cortez, 48, was found by another inmate, Marlon Sabonsolin, at about 2 a.m. hanging by an electric wire tied to the toilet ceiling. Castil said Cortez was behaving unusually a few days after they were arrested and detained. He was allegedly anxious and did not eat well before he was found dead. The other suspect, Wilson Nosal, was detained in another cell when the alleged suicide happened. On the night of April 3, victims Jaymee Casabuena, 28, a single parent and her sons Anton Gabriel, 8, and Joaquin Mateo, 4, were found dead in their house at Block 32, Lot 57, Carissa Homes Phase 2A in CSJDM, Bulacan. Castil said Cortez was the one who stabbed Anton Gabriel 15 times, and Joaquin Mateo, who was found in the kitchen with 21 stab wounds beside their pet dog whose neck was slashed. The suspects admitted during the investigation that they only intended to rob the victims, but Jaymee resisted and fought back, forcing them to stab her and her sons including the barking dog. Relatives of the victims discovered the murder after Jaymee failed to answer their calls.

FREDERICK SILVERIO

SUMMER HEAT BLISS

Fish vendors are having fast and easy time drying fish in Noveleta, Cavite as the summer heat scourges the

country. PHOTO BY DJ DIOSINA

Bong Go denies involvement in illegal drugs

SENATE candidate Christopher Lawrence “Bong� Go rejected allegations that he pocketed payoffs from a drug syndicate.

Go made the denial after a video circulating on social media linked him to the illegal drug trade.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a campaign sortie in San Pedro, Laguna, Go described the persons

behind the narcolist’ video linking him and President Rodrigo Duterte’s family to the drug trade as “desperate.� “Duda ko ‘yang nagbibintang ‘yan siguro ang totoong drug lord (I think those who are making these accusations are the real drug lords),� he said.

Go added that he and the President do not befriend drug lords. “Kilala ko si Pangulong

Duterte. Hindi siya papayag na meron siyang kaibigan na lalapit sa kanya at papasok sa iligal na droga (I know the President. He will not allow a friend or someone close to him be involved in illegal drugs),� he said.

According to the video titled “Ang Totoong Narco List - Episode 3,� Go allegedly owned four bank accounts into which drug money is funneled.

The information came from a certain “Bikoy,� who claimed to be a former record keeper of a narcotics ring operating in Southern Luzon and Visayas.

Bikoy also implicated the President’s son and former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte.

MalacaĂąang dismissed the video as mere “black propaganda.â€?

CATHERINE S. VALENTE

BARMM can now disburse salaries MARAWI CIT Y: 0 E R S O N N E L O F THE "ANGSAMORO !UTONOMOUS 2EGION IN -USLIM -INDANAO "!2-- CAN NOW RECEIVE THEIR SALARIES AND THE REGIONAL GOVERNMENT NOW HAS ACCESS TO FUNDS FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATING EXPENSES 4HIS AFTER THE TURNOVER OF THE UNUSED ALLOCATIONS OF THE DEFUNCT !UTONOMOUS 2EGION IN -USLIM -INDANAO !BDULLAH #USAIN ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE /FkCE OF "!2-- S #HIEF -INISTER SAID ITS &INANCE "UDGET AND -ANAGEMENT 3ERVICES TRANSMITTED ON -ONDAY TO THE ,AND "ANK OF THE 0HILIP-

PINES IN #OTABATO #ITY THE .OTICES OF 4RANSFER OF !LLOCATION .4!S 4HE .4! IS THE LETTER OR AUTHORITY ISSUED REGULARLY TO THE BANK INFORMING IT THAT A SPECIkED AMOUNT MAY BE CREDITED TO A PARTICULAR AGENCY OR OFkCE 4HIS MEANS THE OFkCES AND AGENCIES OF THE "!2-- CAN DISBURSE THEIR SALARIES AND OPERATING EXPENDITURES BEGINNING ON 7EDNESDAY !MONG THE "!2-- EMPLOYEES WHO COMPLAINED ABOUT THE DELAY IN THEIR SALARIES WERE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS FROM -ARAWI #ITY AND ,ANAO DEL 3UR WHOSE CHILDREN WOULD BE GRADUATING THIS SCHOOL YEAR "!2-- PERSONNEL HAD ALSO

CORDILLERA ENDORSES P89B BUDGET FOR 2020 THE Cordillera Regional Development Council and Regional Peace and Order Council endorsed the P89-billion proposed 2020 budget of Cordillera regional line agencies and state universities and colleges (SUCs), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said. NEDA-CAR said the budget would fund priority programs and projects proposed for implementation in 2020 by 18 Cordillera regional line agencies and six SUCs. A total of P31 billion consists of Tier 2 proposals, which refer to new/expanded programs and projects that target the poorest, lagging and climate change and disaster risk vulnerable areas in the region. Tier 1 proposals, on the other hand, refer to government programs, projects and activities that are already existing. “The two-tiered budgeting separates the consideration of ongoing funding requirements for activities and projects that have already been approved from decisions on new and expanded funding,� said NEDACAR. ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES

NPA KILLS SOLDIER, WOUNDS 6 IN LANAO DEL SUR FIGHTING ZAMBOANGA CITY: Communist insurgents killed an Army soldier and wounded six others in ferocious clashes in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday. It said soldiers from the 15th Division Reconnaissance Company clashed with about 50 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels at Barangay Malna in Kapai town. The Monday fighting erupted following earlier clashed in Barangay Kalilangan of Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. No

BEEN ANXIOUS THAT THE DELAY OF THEIR SALARIES WOULD PREVENT THEM FROM MAKING THE NECESSARY PREPARATIONS FOR 2AMADAN #USAIN POINTED OUT THAT THE REGULAR BUDGET FOR -ARCH AND !PRIL WAS CREDITED TO THE "!2-- ACCOUNT ONLY ON !PRIL g$UE TO THE VOLUMINOUS PAPERWORK AND CONSIDERABLE MAN HOURS NEEDED TO PRODUCE THE .4!S IT WAS ONLY ON -ONDAY THAT SAID DOCUMENTS WERE GIVEN TO OUR DEPOSITORY BANK u HE ADDED #USAIN SAID g3OME ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS SUCH AS THE NEED FOR A NEW !GENCY #ODE CAUSED THE DELAY PARTICULARLY FOR THE MONTH OF -ARCH

7E UNDERSTAND HOW THIS HAS AFFECTED THE EMPLOYEES ESPECIALLY THE TEACHERS 4HAT IS WHY WE TRIED AND WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE THE $EPARTMENT OF "UDGET AND -ANAGEMENT TO RELEASE THE BUDGET FOR -ARCH AND !PRIL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE u (E ADVISED THE "!2-- EMPLOYEES TO DIRECT THEIR QUERIES TO THEIR RESPECTIVE FINANCE OFFICIALS WHO HAD BEEN ADVISED OF THE DOWNLOADED BUDGET EARLY LAST WEEK g4HE FACT IS VARIOUS OFkCES AND UNITS HAVE ALREADY PREPARED THEIR PAYROLLS INCLUDING THE -INISTRY OF "ASIC (IGHER AND 4ECHNICAL %DUCATION FORMERLY $EP%$ u #USAIN SAID MASIDING NOOR YAHYA

immediate reports of enemy casualties in both clashes, but the military said “pursuit operations� were ongoing in both provinces to flush out rebel forces. Government troops had been battling communist rebels and pro-Islamic State (IS) bandits in the troubled Muslim region where the NPAs managed to establish strongholds in areas where caliphate fighters were operating. It was unclear if the communist rebels, who were fighting for secessionist for many decades now, had forged an alliance with pro-IS militants belonging to different groups in southern Philippines.

AL JACINTO

3 KILLED, 3 HURT AS JEEP PLUNGES INTO APAYAO RAVINE KABUGAO, Apayao: Three persons were killed while three others were seriously injured when the jeepney they were riding, loaded with sacks of corn, lost its brakes and plunged into a 15-meter deep ravine at Sitio Musimut in Kabugao on Monday. Police identified the fatalities as Roselo Udaundo, Catalino Jally and Jeric Jally. Injured were Tonigo Dandan, Laylay Bagyao and Jayson Siason, all residents of Musimut. Investigation showed that the victims, including the driver who was not immediately identified, were en route to the town proper when upon reaching a sharp curve along the national road, the jeepney lost its brakes and bumped into a concrete barrier of the bridge before falling down the 15-meter deep ravine. It was learned that some of the victims were on top of the overloaded jeepney. The fatalities were declared dead on arrival at the Apayao District hospital, while the three injured were undergoing close medical supervision in other hospitals in the province.

DEXTER A. SEE

A8

News

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

˜ The Manila Times w w w.manilatimes.net

59 minors in jail - BJMP

BY ROY D.R. NARRA

(E EXPLAINED THAT NOT ALL LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS HAD REHABILITATION HE law does not allow the jailing of minors, FACILITIES FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENTS g4HE "*-0 IS NOT ALLOWED TO ACCEPT but the Bureau of Jail Management and #)#, BUT THERE ARE LOCAL GOVERNMENT Penology (BJMP) on Tuesday admitted that UNITS THAT DO NOT HAVE "AHAY 0AG !SA

THERE ARE CHILDREN IN CONlICT WITH THE LAW #)#, SO THE COURTS ISSUE COMMITMENT ORDERS TO 0#0 POLICE COMMUNITY PRECINCT u in their custody. )RAL SAID (E SAID MAJORITY OF THESE CHILDREN *AIL #HIEF 3UPT !LLAN )RAL "*-0 OFkCER ACCEPT THE CHILDREN BECAUSE THE COURTS WERE IN THE 3OCCSKSARGEN 3OUTH #OTA IN CHARGE SAID THEY HAD NO CHOICE BUT COMMITTED THE MINORS IN THEIR CARE

BATO #OTABATO 3ULTAN +UDARAT 3ARAN GANI AND 'ENERAL 3ANTOS #ITY REGION -OST OF THEM WERE TO YEARS OLD AND FACING DRUG RELATED OFFENSES )RAL SAID THERE WERE NO CHILDREN FACING CHARGES DETAINED IN JAILS IN THE .ATIONAL #APITAL 2EGION 4HE ISSUE OF DETAINING #)#, HAD BEEN TACKLED IN A MEETING BETWEEN THE POLICE $EPARTMENT OF THE )NTERIOR AND ,OCAL 'OVERNMENT AND $EPARTMENT

OF 3OCIAL 7ELFARE AND $EVELOPMENT

HE ADDED 5NDER THE *UVENILE *USTICE AND 7EL FARE !CT #)#, SHOULD BE PLACED UNDER THE CUSTODY OF THE $37$ FOR REHABIL ITATION PURPOSES 4HEY WILL BE TRIED BY THE COURT WHEN THEY TURN YEARS OLD "ASED ON THE DATA PRESENTED BY THE 0HILIPPINE .ATIONAL 0OLICE 0.0

THERE WERE #)#, IN

Q INVEST FROM A1

BINE HARVESTERS MECHANICAL TRANSPLANTERS

FARM TRACTORS AND MECHANICAL THRESHERS 7ITH A 0 TO 0 REDUCTION THROUGH MECHANIZATION MEASURES THE AVERAGE COST OF PRODUCING PALAY IN THE 0HILIPPINES COULD THEORETICALLY GO DOWN TO 0 TO 0 BASED ON THE CURRENT AVERAGE OF 0 4HAT RANGE BRINGS IT CLOSER TO 4HAILAND S AVERAGE PALAY PRODUCTION COST OF 0 PER KILO BUT STILL FAR FROM 6IETNAM S 0 PER KILO g0ROPERLY USED THE 2#%& COULD ACTUALLY INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF &ILIPINO RICE FARMERS BECAUSE FARM MECHANIZATION ALONE WILL INCREASE PRODUCTION EFkCIENCY AND REDUCE POST HARVEST LOSSES ESTIMATED AT PERCENT OF TOTAL PRODUCTION u !GRI CULTURE 3ECRETARY %MMANUEL 0IÄOL SAID IN A &ACEBOOK POST COM MENTING ON THE EFFECTS OF 2! ON THE COUNTRY S RICE INDUSTRY g4HE 0 BILLION INTEND ED FOR HIGH YIELDING SEEDS DEVELOPED BY )22) )NTER NATIONAL 2ICE 2ESEARCH )N STITUTE AND 0HIL2ICE ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO INCREASE AVERAGE FARM YIELD BY AT LEAST -4 METRIC TONS IN MILLION HECTARES OF RICE LANDS FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION u HE ADDED 0HIL2ICE HAS DEVEL OPED SEEDS THAT COULD YIELD AS MUCH AS TO -4 OF PALAY PER HECTARE

‘Don’t lower guard’

T

No choice 6ILLAR WHO HEADS THE 3ENATE #OMMITTEE ON &OOD AND !GRICULTURE WAS ONE OF THE LEGISLATORS WHO ACTIVELY PUSHED 2EPUBLIC !CT 2! OR THE g2ICE 4ARIFkCATION ,AW u %CONOMISTS SAY THAT WITH RICE IMPORTS PRICES OF THE STAPLE WOULD STABILIZE OR BE REDUCED

TEMPERING INlATION AND HELPING POOR HOUSE HOLDS PURCHASE MORE FOOD "ESIDES IMPOSING TARIFFS RANGING FROM TO PERCENT ON IMPORTED RICE ONE OF THE FEATURES OF 2! IS THE CREATION OF THE 2ICE #OMPETITIVENESS %NHANCEMENT &UND 2#%&

2#%& WILL BE FUNDED BY COLLECTIONS FROM TARIFFS SLAPPED ON RICE IMPORTS WITH AT LEAST 0 BILLION ALLOCATED ANNUALLY FROM THIS YEAR TO 4HE 0 BILLION WILL BE SPENT AS FOLLOWS 0 BILLION FOR FARM MECHANIZATION PRIMARILY PROVIDING POST HARVEST EQUIPMENT FOR DRYING AND MILLING PALAY UNMILLED RICE 0 BILLION FOR THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF HIGH YIELDING SEEDS 0 BILLION FOR UPGRAD ING THE CAPABILITIES OF RICE FARMERS AND 0 BILLION FOR CREDIT SUPPORT 6ARIOUS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WILL BE INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMS AND PROJECT UNDER 2#%& INCLUDING THE 0HILIPPINE #ENTER FOR 0OST HARVEST $EVELOPMENT AND -ECHANIZATION 0HIL-ECH 0HILIPPINE 2ICE 2ESEARCH

)NSTITUTE 0HIL2ICE AND !GRICULTURAL 4RAINING )NSTITUTE THAT ARE UNDER THE $EPARTMENT OF !GRICULTURE $! AND THE 4ECHNICAL %DUCATION AND 3KILLS $EVELOP MENT !UTHORITY

Agri chief still optimistic 0HIL-ECH DOCUMENTS SHOWED IT WAS POS SIBLE TO REDUCE THE AVERAGE COST OF PRODUC ING PALAY IN THE 0HILIPPINES BY 0 TO 0 4HIS IS BY ADDRESSING ISSUES RELATED TO PLANTING AND HARVESTING TWO PROCEDURES THAT ARE STILL LARGELY DONE BY MANUAL LABOR IN MOST RICE FARMS 4HE AGENCY INTENDS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE WITH FUNDING FROM 2#%& BY DISPERSING VARIOUS TYPES OF FARM EQUIPMENT LIKE COM

7ILLIAM $AR A FORMER !GRICULTURE SECRE TARY SAID THE COUNTRY MUST MAINTAIN ITS RICE SELF SUFkCIENCY LEVEL AT THE PRESENT PERCENT OR HIGHER (E SAID ONLY PERCENT OF WORLD RICE PRODUCTION WAS TRADED INTERNATIONALLY AND CHALLENGES LIKE GROWING POPULATION AND EXTREME WEATHER DISTURBANCES COULD AFFECT EVEN THE TOP EXPORTERS OF RICE REDUCING AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE STOCKS OF THE STAPLE 4HE PROSPECT OF BIG COUNTRIES LIKE #HINA AND )NDIA BUYING EVERY AVAILABLE KILOGRAM OF RICE IN THE WORLD MARKET CANNOT BE DISCOUNTED PARTICULARLY IF BOTH COUNTRIES EXPERIENCE SHORTFALLS IN THEIR OWN RICE SUPPLIES HE ADDED g,ET S NOT LOWER OUR GUARD 7E NEED TO INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY SUSTAINABILITY AND COMPETITIVENESS OF OUR RICE INDUSTRY u HE SAID g%VEN IF WE HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY RICE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING IF THERE ARE NO STOCKS TO BUY FROM ABROAD u $AR SAID $AR WHO TOOK THE )NTERNATIONAL #ROPS 2ESEARCH )NSTITUTE FOR THE 3EMI !RID 4ROP ICS FROM OUT OF THE DOLDRUMS DURING HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE INSTITUTION FROM TO

ALSO PROPOSES THAT RICE FARMERS WHO COULD NO LONGER COMPETE WITH IMPORTS

SHIFT TO HIGH VALUE CROPS THAT HAVE EXPORT POTENTIAL LIKE COFFEE CACAO RUBBER CASSAVA AND TROPICAL FRUITS $AR ALSO BELIEVES IN THE WIDER APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN RICE FARMS THAT COULD HELP PUSH THE CURRENT AVERAGE FOR PALAY PRODUC TION AT -4 HA TO AS MUCH AS -4 HA

Q FREEDOMS FROM A1

DUTERTE

AND HONOR THEIR EPIC STRUGGLE AND UN SHAKEABLE FORTITUDE u $UTERTE ADDED 4HE 0RESIDENT URGED THE PUBLIC TO REMAIN COMMITTED IN gUPHOLDING OUR SOVEREIGNTYu AND IN gPROTECTING THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOM THAT ;&ILIPI NOS= ENJOY TODAY u g-AY WE ALL HAVE A MEANINGFUL CELEBRATION u HE SAID )N HER OWN !RAW NG +AGITINGAN MESSAGE 6ICE 0RESIDENT -ARIA ,E ONOR 2OBREDO REMINDED &ILIPINOS TO EMULATE THE BRAVERY OF HEROES AND SOLDIERS AMID CHALLENGES CURRENTLY FACING THE COUNTRY g)N OUR LONG HISTORY AS &ILIPINOS

WE HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN THAT WE ARE FEARLESS WHEN IT COMES TO DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY WHETHER AGAINST FOREIGN INVADERS OR AN ABUSIVE REGIME u 2O BREDO SAID 3HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE gBRAVERY

DEDICATION AND PATRIOTISMu OF &IL IPINO SOLDIERS AND VETERANS WHO DEFENDED THE COUNTRY S DEMOCRACY

AND CALLED ON THE PUBLIC TO SHOW THE SAME LEVEL OF COURAGE IN FACING VARIOUS SOCIETAL HURDLES 4HE VICE PRESIDENT WHO HAD BEEN ADVOCATING FOR THE LAYLAYAN or the

Q TRAFFICKING FROM A1

BI orders

ARE LEADERS OF A HUMAN TRAFkCKING SYNDICATE AT THE .!)! !T THE SAME TIME -EDINA SAID AS HEAD OF THE 0/$ HE WAS TAKING FULL RESPONSIBILITY EVEN AS HE URGED THAT IT WOULD BE TO THE BEST INTEREST OF EV ERYONE IF EVIDENCE WAS PRESENTED AND FORMAL COMPLAINTS WERE kLED kRST g-Y STAND AS CHIEF OF THE ;DIVI SION IS THAT= ) REMAIN ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE FOR ALLEGED INCI DENTS ;OF HUMAN TRAFkCKING= AND EVEN ;FOR THOSE= INCIDENTS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE EVEN IF ;THEY= DID NOT HAPPEN DURING MY TIME u HE TOLD 4HE -ANILA 4IMES in an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW -EDINA SAID IT WAS POSSIBLE THAT THERE WERE CASES OF HUMAN TRAFkCK ING AT THE .!)! BUT ADDED THAT THEY WERE ISOLATED INCIDENTS )N HIS COLUMN 4ULFO SAID THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING SYNDICATE AT THE .!)! NETS 0 MILLION TO 0

FRINGES OF SOCIETY CALLED ON THE PUBLIC TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR RIGHTS AND FIGHT FOR THEIR SECURITY AND PROTECTION 2OBREDO CALLED FOR UNITY AND RESILIENCE IN FACING BATTLES AS SHOWN

BY THE COUNTRY S HEROES AND SOLDIERS g!S WE ALL JOIN IN FACING THESE BATTLES WE GAIN INSPIRATION FROM OUR HEROES AND SOLDIERS 4HIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE DISCOURAGED ,ET US STRIVE TO REACH THIS LEVEL OF VALOR TO kGHT UP UNTIL THE END u SHE SAID %ARLIER IN THE DAY 2OBREDO LED THE COMMEMORATION OF THE !RAW NG +AGITINGAN AT THE -OUNT 3AMAT .ATIONAL 3HRINE IN 0ILAR WHICH WAS ATTENDED BY OVER PEOPLE

INCLUDING THE WAR VETERANS AND THEIR RELATIVES !RAW NG +AGITINGAN ALSO KNOWN AS "ATAAN $AY MARKS THE &ALL OF "ATAAN ON !PRIL DURING 7ORLD 7AR )T IS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE WHEN 53 AND &ILIPINO TROOPS FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE AGAINST THE *APANESE INVADERS AND PROTECT THE COUNTRY S SOVEREIGNTY IN THE Battle of Bataan.

CATHERINE S. VALENTE, GLEE JALEA AND ERNIE B. ESCONDE MILLION A DAY "UT -EDINA SAID THE kGURES WERE gMATHEMATICALLY IMPOS SIBLE u CONSIDERING THE ACCOM PLISHMENTS OF ") IN PREVENTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING WHICH EN ABLED THE 0HILIPPINES TO RETAIN ITS 4IER RATING FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS TO IN THE 53 3TATE $EPARTMENT S 4RAFkCKING IN 0ERSONS report.

4IER RATING IMPLIES THAT A COUN TRY COMPLIES WITH THE MINIMUM STANDARDS SET BY THE 5NITED 3TATES 4RAFkCKING 6ICTIM 0ROTECTION !CT )MMIGRATION RECORDS SHOWED THAT FROM *ANUARY TO &EBRU ARY THE 4RAFkC %NFORCEMENT #ONTROL 5NIT HAS DEFERRED THE DEPARTURE OF PASSENGERS AT THE .!)! AND OTHER AIRPORTS AND SEAPORTS g)F WE HAVE NO ACCOMPLISH MENTS AND WE ARE NOT ON 4IER STATUS THAT S POSSIBLE 4HE kGURES DO NOT MATCH )T S MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME u -EDINA SAID WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 10, 2019 ASIAN STOCKS: W S h a n g h a i 0 . 1 6 %

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B1

T

HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday joined other multilateral institutions in lowering its 2019 Philippine growth forecast.

)N ITS !PRIL 7ORLD %CONOMIC /UTLOOK 7%/ THE 7ASHINGTON BASED LENDER TRIMMED THIS YEAR S PRO JECTION TO PERCENT FROM PERCENT PREVIOUSLY IN LINE WITH LOWERED GLOBAL GROWTH EXPECTATIONS 4HE REVISED FORECAST FOR THE 0HILIP PINES HOWEVER IS STILL HIGHER THAN THE PERCENT SEPARATELY ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK BY THE 7ORLD "ANK AND THE !SIAN $EVELOPMENT "ANK WHICH HAD TAGGED BUDGET APPROVAL DELAYS AN ONGOING %L

.IÄO AND A GLOBAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN FOR CUTTING THEIR PREVIOUS PROJECTIONS OF PERCENT AND PERCENT RESPEC TIVELY &OR THE )-& EXPECTS 0HILIPPINE ECONOMIC GROWTH TO HIT PERCENT 4HE LATEST ESTIMATES WERE RELEASED ALONG WITH NEW FORECASTS FOR GLOBAL GROWTH WHICH THE )-& EXPECTS TO MOD ERATE TO PERCENT THIS YEAR FROM PERCENT IN AND THEN BOUNCE BACK TO PERCENT IN

4HE AND GLOBAL GROWTH PROJECTIONS ARE AND PERCENT AGE POINTS LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS ESTIMATES g4HE GLOBAL GROWTH FORECAST RElECTS A COMBINATION OF WANING CYCLICAL FORCES AND A RETURN TO TEPID POTENTIAL GROWTH IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES A PRECARIOUS RECOVERY IN EMERGING MARKET AND DE VELOPING ECONOMIES DRIVEN TO A GREAT EXTENT BY ECONOMIES CURRENTLY EXPERI ENCING SEVERE MACROECONOMIC DISTRESS AND COMPLEX FACTORS THAT SHAPE THE PROSPECTS FOR POTENTIAL GROWTH IN BOTH GROUPS u THE )-& SAID 4HE PROJECTION FOR EMERGING AND DEVELOPING !SIA WAS MAINTAINED AT PERCENT FOR &OR GROWTH IS EXPECTED TO HIT PERCENT "OTH kGURES

ARE LOWER COMPARED TO THE PERCENT EXPANSION IN g%CONOMIC GROWTH IN #HINA DESPITE kSCAL STIMULUS AND NO FURTHER INCREASE IN TARIFFS FROM THE 5NITED 3TATES RELATIVE TO THOSE IN FORCE AS OF 3EPTEMBER

IS PROJECTED TO SLOW ON AN ANNUALIZED BASIS IN AND u THE )-& SAID g4HIS REFLECTS WEAKER UNDERLYING GROWTH IN ESPECIALLY IN THE SEC OND HALF AND THE IMPACT OF LINGERING TRADE TENSIONS WITH THE 5NITED 3TATES u IT ADDED #HINA S GROWTH IS EXPECTED TO SLOW TO PERCENT THIS YEAR AND PERCENT IN FROM PERCENT IN 4HE !SEAN WHICH INCLUDES THE 0HIL IPPINES )NDONESIA 4HAILAND -ALAYSIA

³Outlook B3

Remittances to developing world hit record in 2018 – World Bank WASHINGTON, D.C.: -ONEY TRANSFERS TO POOR AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES HIT A FRESH RECORD IN AND SHOULD BECOME THEIR LARGEST SOURCE OF EX TERNAL kNANCING THIS YEAR THE 7ORLD "ANK SAID ON -ONDAY 4UESDAY IN -ANILA "UT MANY BANKS AND MONEY TRANSFER OPERA TORS CHARGED TOO MUCH CUTTING INTO THE GAINS OF MIGRATION THE BANK SAID IN A STATEMENT -IGRANT WORKERS AND OTHERS SENT HOME AN ESTIMATED BILLION TO LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES LAST YEAR UP PERCENT FROM THE YEAR BEFORE WHICH HAD ALSO BEEN A RECORD 3UCH MONEY TRANSFERS SHOULD HIT BILLION THIS YEAR MAKING THEM THE LARGEST SOURCE OF EXTERNAL kNANCE ACCORDING TO THE BANK -ONEY TRANSFERS WERE UP PERCENT TO BILLION FOR 3OUTH !SIA AND ALMOST SEVEN PERCENT FOR %AST !SIA REACHING BILLION

3UB 3AHARAN !FRICA SAW A PERCENT INCREASE AT BILLION ACCORDING TO THE BANK 4HE 5NITED 3TATES ECONOMY GREW STRONGLY WHILE OUTBOUND lOWS FROM 'ULF COUNTRIES AND 2USSIA ALSO ROSE ACCORDING TO THE BANK WHICH SAID THIS EXPLAINED MUCH OF THE GAINS %XCLUDING #HINA THE REMITTANCES AMOUNTED TO BILLION SIGNIkCANTLY MORE THAN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OVER THE PERIOD WHICH STOOD AT BILLION !MONG THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS SET BY THE 5NITED .ATIONS IN WAS REDUCING THE COST OF REMITTANCES TO THREE PERCENT (OWEVER BANKS ON AVERAGE WERE CHARGING PERCENT IN THE kRST QUARTER OF WHILE POST OFkCES CHARGED SEVEN PERCENT g4HE HIGH COSTS OF MONEY TRANSFERS REDUCE

³Record B3

Cost of sending money to PH the lowest in region HIGH remittance costs are limiting the gains that migration delivers to poor and developing countries, the World Bank said, but the Philippines appears to be an exception.

In a report, the World Bank said remittance fees to the Philippines were among the lowest in East Asia and the Pacific, in particular tagging the process of sending $200 from Singapore, the United Arab Emir-

ates, Kuwait, Spain and Malaysia as the “5 lowest cost corridors”.

At an average of 3.5 percent, this was significantly lower than the 15 percent for Thailand, which accounted for 4 of the 5 highest cost corridors. These involved sending money to Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos and China, with the fifth going to South Africa for

³Lowest B3

Lopez: DTI offices alerted about tax stamp recycling THE 4RADE DEPARTMENT HAS TAKEN ACTION TO ADDRESS THE ALLEGED USE OF RECYCLED TAX STAMPS TO SELL FAKE CIGARETTES FOLLOWING A WARNING THAT ILLICIT TOBACCO TRADERS WERE USING THE SCHEME TO EVADE PAYING TAXES g;)T= WAS JUST RELAYED THIS MORNING

4UESDAY SO WE ALERTED REGIONAL OF kCES u 4RADE 3ECRETARY 2AMON ,OPEZ told 4HE -ANILA 4IMES 4HE &INANCE DEPARTMENT ON -ON DAY REPORTED THAT ILLICIT TOBACCO TRAD ERS WERE GETTING TAX STAMPS VIA A PRO MOTIONAL SCHEME WHERE CONSUMERS

BIR: Tax amnesty to start April 24

Govt debt payments hit P99.8B in Feb

$%,).15%.4 TAXPAYERS WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO SETTLE THEIR LIABILITIES FOR A YEAR BEGINNING !PRIL BASED ON THE IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS )22 OF A TAX AMNESTY 4HE RULES PUBLISHED ON 4UESDAY FOLLOW THE "UREAU OF )NTERNAL 2EVENUE S 2EVENUE 2EGU LATION THAT WAS SIGNED LAST !PRIL BY &INANCE 3ECRETARY #ARLOS $OMINGUEZ RD AND ")2 #OMMIS SIONER #AESAR $ULAY g!LL PERSONS WHETHER NATURAL OR JURIDICAL WITH INTERNAL REVENUE

³April B3

GOVERNMENT DEBT PAYMENTS ROSE IN &EBRUARY AS HIGHER AMORTI ZATIONS OFFSET A DECREASE IN INTEREST PAYMENTS DATA FROM THE "UREAU OF THE 4REASURY SHOWED ! TOTAL OF 0 BILLION WAS PAID TO CREDITORS DURING THE MONTH PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE 0 BILLION RECORDED A YEAR EARLIER !MORTIZATION EXPENSES WHICH

WERE BEING ASKED TO EXCHANGE THESE FOR GOODS SUCH AS CANNED SARDINES AND NOODLES 4HE "UREAU OF )NTERNAL 2EVENUE ")2 WAS ORDERED TO COORDINATE WITH THE 4RADE DEPARTMENT AS PRO MOTIONAL SCHEMES ARE SUPPOSED

ACCOUNTED FOR THE BULK OR PERCENT OF DEBT PAYMENTS CLIMBED PERCENT TO 0 BILLION FROM 0 BILLION A YEAR AGO $OMESTIC AMORTIZATION SURGED TO 0 BILLION WHILE FOREIGN AMORTIZATION DROPPED TO 0 BILLION )NTEREST PAYMENTS DECLINED

BY PERCENT TO 0 BILLION $OMESTIC INTEREST PAYMENTS AT

TO BE APPROVED BY THE LATTER BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION ,OPEZ CLARIFIED THAT NO SUCH PROMOS HAD BEEN APPROVED BY HIS DEPARTMENT g;4=HIS IS NOT A PROMO THAT PASSED

³Stamp B2

0 BILLION WERE PERCENT LOWER WHILE FOREIGN INTEREST PAY MENTS TOTALING 0 BILLION INCREASED BY PERCENT 9EAR TO DATE GOVERNMENT DEBT PAYMENTS WERE UP PERCENT TO 0 BILLION FROM 0 BILLION A YEAR EARLIER !MORTIZATION EXPENSES ROSE BY PERCENT TO 0 BILLION

³Payments B3

40% foreign ownership limit or no limit?

J OSE 4 0ARDO AND 2AMON 3 -ON ZON CHAIRMAN OF THE PERSON BOARD AND PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RESPECTIVELY OF THE 0HILIPPINE 3TOCK %XCHANGE 03% WILL kNALLY MEET THEIR FELLOW DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVES AND PUBLIC STOCKHOLDERS ON -AY 4HE

DAY WHICH SERVES AS THE ANNUAL MEETING IS A RARE OCCASION TO WIT NESS HOW 03% CHARTS ITS OWN GROWTH DESPITE HAVING ONLY

AS OUTSTANDING COMMON SHARES / N - A R C H

T H E PERSON BOARD gAPPROVED THE

³Perez B3

Good idea leaves farmers high and dry W ROUGH TRADE

(%. THE IDEA WAS kRST HATCHED NOT LONG AFTER %MMANUEL 0INOL S INSTALLATION AS !GRICULTURE 3ECRETARY IN THE SUMMER OF

IT SEEMED LIKE A DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE SOLUTION TO THE AGE OLD PROBLEM OF INSUFkCIENT IRRIGATION FOR CROPLANDS 2ATHER THAN INVESTING HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS IN A FEW COMPLEX LARGE SCALE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS THAT WOULD TAKE YEARS TO COMPLETE INVEST MERE TENS OF BILLIONS TO BUILD MANY ENVIRON MENTALLY FRIENDLY RELATIVELY SIMPLE SMALL SYSTEMS THAT COULD DELIVER WA TER TO FARMS IN A MATTER OF MONTHS 5NFORTUNATELY AS A VERY ENLIGHT ENING INVESTIGATIVE REPORT BY Min danews WRITER +EITH "ACONGCO THAT APPEARED OVER THE WEEKEND REVEALED TWO YEARS AFTER THE PROJECT S INAUGURATION THE FARMERS IN 2EGION WHO WERE COUNTING ON THE NEW SYSTEMS TO CARRY THEM THROUGH THE %L .INO INDUCED DROUGHT ARE OF kCIALLY VICTIMS OF A CALAMITY THEIR kELDS SLOWLY BAKING INTO RUIN AS ALMOST ALL OF THE IRRIGATION UNITS ARE NON FUNCTIONING -ANY APPARENTLY NEVER WILL THE FEW THAT ARE WORKING ARE ONLY CAPABLE OF IRRIGATING A FEW HECTARES ON OCCASION 4HE 3OLAR POWERED )RRIGATION 3YS TEM 30)3 IS ONE VERSION OF AN IDEA THAT BRIGHT MINDS AT THE $EPARTMENT

BEN KRITZ OF !GRICULTURE AND THE $EPARTMENT OF 3CIENCE AND 4ECHNOLOGY HAVE BEEN TINKERING WITH FOR YEARS ,OCAL IRRIGATION SYSTEMS THAT OPERATE WITH SIMPLE TECHNOLOGY SUCH AS SOLAR POWER WIND POWER OR HYDRAULIC RAMS DO NOT REQUIRE EXPENSIVE DIESEL FUEL WHICH CAN ADD 0

PER HECTARE TO PRODUCTION COSTS AND COULD RELIABLY COVER HECTARES OF RICE CORN OR VEGETABLE CROPS !S DESIGNED THE 30)3 CONSISTS OF A SOLAR PANEL ARRAY POWERING A HORSEPOWER ELECTRIC PUMP

WHICH DRAWS WATER FROM A NEARBY SOURCE m A STREAM POND OR AN ARTI kCIAL RESERVOIR m AND WITH HORIZONTAL PIPING CAN IRRIGATE BETWEEN TO HECTARES OF RICE kELDS %ACH 30)3 UNIT COSTS BETWEEN 0 MILLION AND 0 MILLION AND THE kRST ONE WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO COVER HECTARES WAS INAUGURATED BY 0RESIDENT 2ODRIGO $UTERTE HIM SELF IN -ANNY 0INOL S HOMETOWN OF - LANG .ORTH #OTABATO IN &EBRUARY

³Kritz B2

B2

Business Times

˜ The Manila Times w w w.manilatimes.net

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

PH urges ADB, WB: Stop duplicating roles M

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

ULTILATERAL institutions Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank(WB) can weed out duplications in their functions and respond more effectively TO THE kNANCING NEEDS OF THE !SIA 0ACIkC REGION if they closely coordinate efforts and explore complementarities. g&ROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE GOVERNOR OF BOTH INSTITUTIONS ) DON T SEE THE NECESSITY FOR SPEND ING SO MUCH OVERHEAD IN DUPLI CATING THE OFFICES OF BOTH !$" AND THE 7ORLD "ANK AROUND THE REGION u &INANCE 3ECRETARY #AR

LOS $OMINGUEZ RD WAS QUOTED AS STRESSING DURING THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED !SSOCIATION OF 3OUTH EAST !SIAN .ATIONS !SEAN RD &INANCE -INISTERS -EETING IN 4HAILAND g&ROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE

CLIENT WHY DO WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH TWO BUREAUCRACIES FOR THE SAME PURPOSES u $OMINGUEZ ADDED g3O ) D LIKE TO SUGGEST ESPECIALLY ON BEHALF OF THE SMALLER COUN TRIES THAT !$" AND 7ORLD "ANK CONSIDER BECOMING MORE CLOSELY COORDINATED AND PERHAPS LOOK FOR AREAS WHERE THEY CAN CUT THEIR OWN INTERNAL COSTS IN SERVICING THE OTHER NEEDS OF !SEAN u HE SAID .EVERTHELESS HE TOOK THE OP PORTUNITY TO THANK THE TWO MUL TILATERAL LENDERS FOR HELPING THE 0HILIPPINES DEVELOP NEW REFORM POLICIES AND SECURE INFRASTRUCTURE kNANCING SUPPORT FOR ITS g"UILD

"UILD "UILDu PROGRAM /F THE FLAGSHIP PROJECTS

UNDER THE GOVERNMENT S INFRA STRUCTURE PROGRAM ARE UNDER VARIOUS STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

ARE UNDER PRE INVESTMENT STUD IES AND THE REMAINING SEVEN ARE UP FOR REVIEW g) D LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR AP PRECIATION FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE !$" AND 7ORLD "ANK BOTH IN THE ASSISTANCE THEY HAVE PROVIDED IN DEVELOPING NEW REFORM POLICIES AND IN HELPING US GET NEW INFRA STRUCTURE kNANCING ON BOARD FOR THE 0HILIPPINES u $OMINGUEZ SAID g/UR ENGAGEMENT WITH !$" HAS BEEN THE MOST INTENSE ) THINK IN THE LAST YEARS SO WITH THE 7ORLD "ANK u HE ADDED

No takeover deadline as Hanjin not a govt liability THERE SHOULD BE NO DEADLINE FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OVER (ANJIN (EAVY )NDUSTRIES AND #ONSTRUCTION #O 0HILIPPINES AS THE BANKRUPT +O REAN SHIPBUILDING COMPANY IS NOT A STATE LIABILITY THE $EPARTMENT OF 4RADE AND )NDUSTRY $4) SAID 0REVIOUSLY THE GOVERNMENT EX PRESSED INTEREST TO TAKE OVER (ANJIN WHICH DECLARED BANKRUPTCY EARLY THIS YEAR g)T IS NOT OUR LIABILITY 4ECHNI CALLY THE GOVERNMENT ;HAS NO= DEADLINE ;TO TAKE OVER (ANJIN= BUT WE WANT IT SETTLED OF COURSE IN

CONSIDERATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT THERE u 4RADE 3ECRETARY 2AMON ,OPEZ REPLIED WHEN ASKED IF THERE IS A DEADLINE ON THE MATTER DURING AN EVENT IN "ATANGAS LAST WEEK (ANJIN LAID OFF EMPLOY EES THIS YEAR AND MORE IN $ECEMBER )T REPORTEDLY OWES 0 MILLION TO kVE MAJOR 0HILIPPINE BANKS IN ADDITION TO THE MILLION OBLIGATION TO CREDITORS IN 3OUTH +OREA ,OPEZ SAID THE GOVERNMENT S ROLE IN THE (ANJIN ISSUE BEING A PRIVATE SECTOR CONCERN WAS ONLY

TO HELP kND INVESTORS TO TAKE OVER THE +OREAN SHIPBUILDER (E SAID IT WAS MOVING TO kND SOLUTIONS gAS SOON AS POSSIBLE u 4HE $4) AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE (ANJIN @WHITE KNIGHT BUT TO NO AVAIL AS @NOTHING IS kRM YET WITH THE ON GOING DISCUSSIONS g) THINK WE REPORTED LAST TIME THAT THERE IS STILL AN ONGOING INTER EST FROM 53 AND *APAN +OREA IS A POSSIBLE SOURCE ALSO u ,OPEZ SAID 7HILE #HINA WAS LOOKING INTO ESTABLISHING SHIPPING OPERATIONS

IN THE 0HILIPPINES ,OPEZ SAID IT WAS NOT PARTICULARLY EYEING (ANJIN ,AST MONTH $UTCH FIRM $A MEN 3HIPYARD 'ROUP VISITED THE (ANJIN FACILITY BRINGING IN A TECH NICAL GROUP TO STUDY HOW IT COULD POSSIBLY kT INTO ITS CURRENT PLANS 3INCE ITS LAST VISIT THE COMPANY HAS NOT YET REPORTED AGAIN TO $4)

,OPEZ SAID g7E CAN FOLLOW UP u HE ADDED !SKED IF THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY FOR A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TAKEOVER ON (ANJIN ,OPEZ REPLIED g) DOUBT u TYRONE C. PIAD

SEC power to sack directors/trustees motu proprio

T

HE ENACTMENT OF 2EPUBLIC !CT .O OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 2EVISED #ORPORATION #ODE OF THE 0HILIPPINES 2## MARKED THE OVERHAUL OF THE ALMOST FOUR DECADE OLD #ORPORATION #ODE OF THE 0HILIPPINES )N KEEPING WITH THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF CORPORATE SECTOR REGULATION THE REFORMS INCLUDE AMONG OTHERS

MATTERS AFFECTING CORPORATE GOV ERNANCE AND THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS IN THE COUNTRY !S THE PRIMARY AGENCY TASKED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2## THE 3ECURITIES AND %XCHANGE #OMMISSION 3%# WAS GRANTED EXPANDED POWERS UNDER THE NEW LAW 5NDER THE 2## THE 3%# IS EMPOWERED TO PROMOTE GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTION OF MINORITY INVESTORS

THROUGH AMONG OTHERS THE IS SUANCE OF RULES AND REGULATIONS CONSISTENT WITH INTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICES AS PROVIDED UNDER 3ECTION OF THE 2## )N RELATION TO THE PROMOTION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND PROTECTION OF MINORITY INVESTORS THE 3%# WAS ALSO GRANTED BY THE 2## THE AUTHORITY TO DECREE THE REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS TRUSTEES MOTU PRO PRIO OR AT ITS OWN INSTANCE 4HE POWER OF THE 3%# TO REMOVE A DIRECTOR OR TRUSTEE MOTU PROPRIO IS PROVIDED FOR UNDER 3ECTION OF THE 2## TO WIT 4HE #OMMIS SION SHALL MOTU PROPRIO OR UPON VERIkED COMPLAINT AND AFTER DUE NOTICE AND HEARING ORDER THE

SEC MATTERS

KELVIN LEE REMOVAL OF A DIRECTOR OR TRUSTEE ELECTED DESPITE THE DISQUALIkCA TION OR WHOSE DISQUALIkCATION AROSE OR IS DISCOVERED SUBSEQUENT TO AN ELECTION 4HE REMOVAL OF A DISQUALIkED DIRECTOR SHALL BE WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO OTHER SANCTIONS THE COMMISSION MAY IMPOSE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OR TRUSTEES WHO WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISQUALIkCATION FAILED TO REMOVE SUCH DIRECTOR OR TRUSTEE 5NDER THE OLD CORPORATION CODE DIRECTORS OR TRUSTEES MAY ONLY BE REMOVED WITH OR WITH OUT CAUSE UPON THE APPROVAL OF STOCKHOLDERS REPRESENTING AT LEAST TWO THIRDS OF THE OUTSTAND ING CAPITAL STOCK OR IN NON STOCK CORPORATIONS

BY THE APPROVAL OF TWO THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS ENTITLED TO VOTE THEREON 4HE RE QUIRED APPROVAL UNDER THIS STRUC TURE MADE IT DIFkCULT FOR MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS OR MEMBERS TO OUST A DIRECTOR OR TRUSTEE EVEN IF THE DIRECTOR OR TRUSTEE IN QUESTION IS DISQUALIkED TO SIT AS SUCH 4HIS HAS LEFT MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS WITHOUT ANY AVAILABLE RECOURSE AND AT THE CONSTANT MERCY OF CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDERS 4O PROTECT MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS

³SEC B3

BFAR maintains Q1 fish output estimate despite El Niño THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has maintained its growth projection in national fish production for the first quarter of the year, noting minimal losses from droughts and dry spells.

“We are still projecting a positive growth because the weak El Niño was favorable for the fisheries sector in the sense that there were more fishing days for our

fishermen. Besides, the warm temperature did not reach to a level that could kill our fish, even those under the aquaculture farming,” BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona told The Manila Times.

The BFAR earlier projected the country’s fish production to increase by at least 2 percent in the January-to-March period, sustaining the 0.92 percent growth in the last quarter of 2018 which came from a -6

percent and -1 percent production growth in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Gongona said the impacts of El Niño to the country’s fisheries sector would be ‘very minimal’. “Our production of fish will likely increase given that there were no typhoons that basically hinder our fishermen to go fishing,” he added.

He also attributed the projected hike in local production on the opening of

fishing season for sardines in the waters off Zamboanga Peninsula in March, following a three-month fishing ban to allow the undisturbed reproduction of sardines. The fish sector is on peak season from March to September this year, he added.

Among the species expected to increase in production for the first three months of 2019 include galung-

gong (round scad), tilapia and bangus (milkfish), Gongona said.

Meanwhile, the official said BFAR’s “Malinis at Masaganang Karagatan,” the country’s nationwide search for the most outstanding coastal community, will also help achieve the growth forecast.

“We are really intensifying our campaign against IUUF (illegal unreported and unregulated fishing) through MMK.

Q STAMP FROM B1

Lopez: DTI THROUGH $4) $EPARTMENT OF 4RADE AND )NDUS TRY "AWAL MAG PROMO ang TOBACCO PRODUCTS 0ROMOTIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED FOR TOBACCO PROD UCTS u HE SAID -ONTHLY APPROVED SALES PROMOTIONS ARE DETAILED BY THE 4RADE DEPARTMENT VIA AT HTTPS WWW DTI GOV PH CONSUMERS APPROVED SALES PROMOTIONS ,OPEZ SAID THE DEPARTMENT WOULD ALSO BE SEEKING ASSISTANCE FROM the .ATIONAL "UREAU OF )NVESTIGATION 4HE ")2 IS PLANNING TO MEET WITH CIGARETTE

Q KRITZ FROM B1

Good idea

With this program in place, we are able to ensure that not only we prevent illegal fishing but also promote sustainable fishing especially in our municipal waters,” Gongona said.

If achieved, the projected 2 percent growth will be a reversal from the 3.03-percent contraction posted by the fisheries sector in the same period in 2018. EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

COMPANIES AND THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE )NTERNAL 2EVENUE 3TAMPS )NTEGRATED 3YSTEM TO kND OUT HOW TO ADDRESS THe NEW MODUS OPERANDI #ONTRABAND CIGARETTES HAVE BEEN BLAMED BY THE &INANCE DEPARTMENT AS A SIGNIkCANT SOURCE OF LOST REVENUES )N IT WON A CASE AGAINST LOCAL MANUFACTURER -IGHTY #ORP WHICH AGREED TO PAY THE GOVERNMENT A TOTAL OF 0 BILLION IN UNPAID TAXES THE BIGGEST SETTLEMENT ON RECORD FOR THE GOVERNMENT -IGHTY WHICH WAS ACCUSED OF USING COUN TERFEIT TAX STAMPS HAS SINCE BEEN SOLD TO *APAN 4OBACCO )NC )N *ANUARY THIS YEAR MEANWHILE THE &INANCE DEPARTMENT AND THE ")2 DESTROYED MACHINES USED TO MAKE CONTRABAND CIGARETTES TYRONE C. PIAD BEEN LED TO BELIEVE THEY WOULD HAVE FARMERS IN 2EGION ARE STRUGGLING WITH A DROUGHT DISASTER !CCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT $! kGURES AS OF -ARCH

FARMS IN THE REGION HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE DROUGHT RESULTING IN LOSSES OF ABOUT 0 MILLION IN RICE 0 MILLION IN CORN AND ABOUT 0 MILLION IN HIGH VALUE CROPS (OW DID AN INNOVATIVE AND RELATIVELY SIMPLE SOLUTION COMPLETELY FAIL 4HE FAULT APPEARS TO LIE IN POOR MANAGEMENT ON THE PART OF THE $!

BEGINNING WITH TRYING TO APPLY A gONE SIZE kTS ALLu SYSTEM TO AREAS WITH DIFFERENT CHARACTERIS TICS )N THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT COMPLAINTS FROM FARMERS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFkCIALS ABOUT LACK OF CONSULTATION WITH PEOPLE ON THE GROUND ARE UNIVERSAL THE IMPLICATION IS THAT HAD THE $!

WORKED MORE CLOSELY WITH STAKEHOLDERS MANY OF THE PROBLEMS COULD BE AVOIDED 4HE DISMAL PERFORMANCE OF THE 30)3 PROGRAM ALSO INDICATES A SHORTAGE OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE ON ONE HAND

AND INSUFkCIENT TESTING OF THE SYSTEM IN ACTUAL USE ON THE OTHER &OR ITS PART THE $! HAS ONLY GONE SO FAR AS TO ADMIT THAT 30)3 HAS EXPERIENCED gSOME GROWING PAINS u )N ANY ENGINEERING ENDEAVOR TECHNICAL DIFkCULTIES ARE TO BE EXPECTED THE $! S HANDLING OF THE 30)3 HOWEVER SUGGESTS THAT IT DISMISSED THE POSSIBILITY AND PROMISED SOMETHING IT COULDN T REALISTICALLY DELIVER /NE WILL HOPE THAT THE $! HAS TAKEN THE AP PROPRIATE LESSONS FROM THE RATHER EMBARRASSING RESULTS OF ITS kRST FORAY INTO SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND WILL APPLY THEM TO IMPROVING THE 30)3 AND SIMILAR PROJECTS !FTER ALL A GOOD IDEA IS STILL A GOOD IDEA AND IF IT HAS ONLY BEEN BADLY EXECUTED IT CAN STILL BE SAVED

4HAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A SORT OF PILOT PROGRAM THAT SO FAR HAS BUILT ABOUT A DOZEN 30)3 UNITS ALL OF THEM IN 2EGION HAVE BEEN BUILT TO SERVICE RICE GROWING AREAS IN .ORTH #OTABATO

AND ONE FOR CORN !T THE &OOD 3ECURITY 3UMMIT IN )LOILO #ITY LAST /CTOBER 0RESIDENT $UTERTE gCOMMITTED 0 BILLION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOLAR POWERED IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN THE 0HILIPPINES IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS u ACCORDING TO A 0HILIPPINE .EWS !GENCY REPORT AT THE TIME &OR HIS PART $! CHIEF 0INOL HAS PROPOSED A 0 BILLION PROGRAM TO PROVIDE 30)3 UNITS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

COVERING ABOUT HECTARES OF FARMLAND 4HE kRST PHASE OF THE PLAN HOWEVER HAS BEEN HELD UP BY THE DELAY IN IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL BUDGET 4HAT IS PERHAPS JUST AS WELL BECAUSE THE PROJECT SO FAR HAS HAD ANYTHING BUT ADMIRABLE RESULTS 4HE ORIGINAL UNIT IN - LANG WAS REPORTEDLY USED FOR ONLY TWO CROPPING CYCLES AND WAS ONLY ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY IRRIGATE ABOUT HALF A HECTARE OF RICE kELDS NOT THE HECTARES EXPECTED -OST OF THE OTHERS SIMPLY LACK WATER HAVING BEEN CONNECTED TO STREAMS OR PONDS GONE DRY IN THE DROUGHT 4HE Mindanews REPORT DESCRIBED ONE THAT WOULD BE WORKING EXCEPT THAT IT WAS BUILT DURING THE RAINY SEASON WHEN ITS NEARBY RIVER WAS AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL WITH THE ONSET OF DRY WEATHER THE WATER LEVEL HAS DROPPED BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE PUMP S INTAKE PIPE /THER UNITS HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED OR HAVE APPARENTLY BEEN VANDALIZED 4HUS INSTEAD OF THE DROUGHT RELIEF THEY HAD %MAIL BEN KRITZ MANILATIMES NET

Corporate News SEC called out over cease and desist order Mitsubishi PH targets to hit 2M sales by 2030 ˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

A MINDANAO court has criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) issuance of a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc., arguing that it has no jurisdiction over issues involving religious freedom.

Acting on Kapa-Community’s request for preliminary injunction dated April 4, Branch 35 of the General Santos City Regional Trial Court issued an order saying only regular courts, not the SEC, had the authority over matters concerning constitutional rights on exercising freedom of religion.

The agency “has no right to determine issues involving the same, and that the same could not be subject of a controversy before the commission or of a CDO as the same is not among the powers vested upon it either by the old or new Corporation Code,� the RTC order read.

The SEC, the tribunal emphasized, is only authorized to investigate and issue CDOs involving securities trading.

The court granted Kapa Community’s request on the condition that it would

post a P50-million bond “on the same grounds on which the issuance of the 20-day TRO (temporary restraining order) was based.�

The SEC, through the solicitor general, was given five days from receiving the court order to reply.

Asked for comment, SEC Spokesman Armando Pan told The Manila Times that it was the RTC that had no jurisdiction over religion-related dealings. He did not elaborate.

This comes after the SEC revoked Kapa-Community’s certificate of incorporation over the alleged unauthorized solicitation of funds from the public. It issued the CDO on February 25.

Kapa reportedly recruited and encouraged members to donate any amount in exchange for a 30-percent return, based on the certificate of membership with deed of donation that a member can receive upon joining.

Kapa was registered with the SEC as a non-stock corporation, thus it was not not authorized to solicit investments from the public.

ANGELICA BALLESTEROS

Q RECORD FROM B1

tance prices.�

Another factor making money transfer costs rise are banks’ efforts to avoid money-laundering and TERRORISM kNANCE Some banks simply cease working with some money transfer organizations deemed too risky, according to the report. “Banks indicate that risks to their reputation... deter them from having correspondent bank accounts,� it said.

AFP

Remittances THE BENEkTS OF MIGRATION u $ILIP Ratha, the report’s lead author, said in a statement. “Renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post OFkCES BANKS AND TELECOMMUNIcations companies will increase competition and lower remit-

Q SEC FROM B2

SEC power to sack and promote good corporate governance, the SEC is now given the power to remove, at its own instance and after due notice and hearing, a director or trustee elected despite HIS DISQUALIkCATION OR WHOSE DISQUALIkCATION AROSE OR IS DIScovered subsequent to an election. In the same manner, any INTERESTED PARTY MAY kLE A VERIkED COMPLAINT BEFORE THE 3%# FOR THE REMOVAL OF DISQUALIkED directors or trustees. This new development under the RCC has given the minority shareholders an avenue and opportunity to CONTEST THE QUALIkCATIONS OF AN incumbent director or trustee and thereafter seek his removal (SecTION SECOND PARAGRAPH 2## However, this does not give the SEC unbridled power to remove directors and trustees. The power of the SEC to remove directors and trustees motu proprio is limited only to removal with cause and solely on the basis of disqualIkCATION 4HE ALL ENCOMPASSING authority to remove directors or trustees with or without cause is still vested with the stockholders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding capital stock, or in non-stock corporations, at least two-thirds of the members ENTITLED TO VOTE 3ECTION 2##

Q PEREZ FROM B1

40% foreign amendment of the articles of incorporation to create preferred SHARES BY RECLASSIFYING MILLION UNISSUED COMMON SHARES INTO million preferred shares with par value of P1.00 per share.�

As reported, PSE maintained its AUTHORIZED CAPITAL STOCK !#3 AT million shares, which, it said would be divided into 106 million comMON SHARES AND MILLION PREFERRED shares. Both classes carry par value of P1 each. Based on PSE’s board approval, holders of these preferred shares have voting rights but would enjoy “no pre-emptive rights.� “The terms of the issuance of the preferred shares will be determined by the board of directors�, according to THE kLING Aside from having voting rights, PSE’s preferred shares are cumulative in payment of dividends; non-participating in any further dividends; non-convertible into

Aside from the removal of the disqualified director or trustee, the SEC also has the power to impose sanctions on the board of directors or trustees who, with knowledge of the disqualification, failed to remove such director or trustee.

This provision echoes the timehonored principle that the board of directors / trustees has a fiduciary duty to its stakeholders, and requires board of directors or trustees to ensure that only qualified directors or TRUSTEES SIT AS SUCH 3ECTION

LAST SENTENCE 2## The said reform paved the way for the SEC to exercise its power of supervision through direct intervention in the matter of corporate board composition — a question which was previously left to the sole discretion of the controlling shareholders or members.

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

BY TYRONE C. PIAD

M

ITSUBISHI Motors Philippines Corp. aims to maintain its target to produce 200,000 units annually and sell another million cars by 2030. “We can achieve another 1 million [units] in 11 years,� Mitsubishi Philippines President and #HIEF %XECUTIVE /FkCER -UTSUHIRO Oshikiri said during the Japanheadquartered automaker’s 1 Million Sales Milestone event in Makati City on Monday, which celebrated the 1 millionth car — a hatchback Mitsubishi Mirage — it sold in March. “If we keep [selling] every year 160,000 to 200,000 [units], it TARGET kGURE WOULD NOT BE UNREalistic� to attain, he added.

Mitsubishi Philippines is also looking to raise its market share to 20 percent, according to Oshikiri.

4HE CAR kRM SOLD UNITS in 2018, down 8.3 percent from THE PREVIOUS YEAR S kGURE 4HIS ACcounted for 18.89 percent of total industry sales last year.

%.%2'9 $EVELOPMENT #ORP %$# HAS BAGGED A CONTRACT to supply geothermal energy to PLASTIC PIPE PRODUCER .ELTEX $Evelopment Co. Inc. In a statement on Tuesday, the Lopez-led company said Neltex was integrating renewable energy 2% IN ITS OPERATIONS .ELTEX HAS TAPPED %$# S MW Bac-Man Geothermal Power

As of March 29, 2019, PSE’s dekNITIVE INFORMATION STATEMENT $)3 LISTED 0#$ .OMINEE #ORP AS RECORD STOCKHOLDER WITH

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT 0#$ .OMINEE ALSO HELD

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT

FOR FOREIGNERS 4HE $)3 HOWEVER ADDED g!S OF -ARCH

SHARES WHICH IS EQUIVALENT TO percent of the total outstanding stock, are owned by foreigners.�

This might affect the public. By rePORTING IN ITS $)3 THAT g

03% common shares, PSE referred to the

As of end-February, Mitsubishi saw SALES PLUNGE BY PERCENT TO

units, representing 19.62 percent of COMBINED AUTO TOPLINE kGURES “We hope to start recovery later this year,� Oshikiri said.

Mitsubishi said it had increased its investment under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence 3TRATEGY #!23 0ROGRAM FROM 0 BILLION TO 0 BILLION TO bring in more local suppliers.

Plant in Sorsogon City to supply RE to power its production facility IN $ASMARIĂ„AS #ITY #AVITE PROVICE “Neltex produces PVC (polyviNYL CHLORIDE PIPES BY USING ONLY ORGANIC BASED STABILIZERS /"3 AND by using lead-free sustainable materials, making it Southeast Asia’s bigGEST 06# /"3 SITE u %$# EXPLAINED “These pipes are used to bring water from reservoirs to homes

Q LOWEST FROM B1

Cost of sending money transactions involving China.

The World Bank also noted that the Philippines saw remittances grow by 3.1 percent last year to $33.8 billion, lower than the 5.1 percent posted in 2017, as

a result of a 15-percent drop in private transfers from the Middle East.

The country was the second-highest recipient of remittances in East Asia and the Pacific, next only to China’s $67.4 billion.

“In terms of furthering local parts manufacturing, we have put up the stamping plant. So the majority of our investment went to that, apart from our investment for part suppliers,� Mitsubishi Philippines Vice President for Legal and Government Affairs Imelda Brown said.

Under CARS, Mitsubishi Philippines expects to manufacture 200,000 units of its Mirage model within six years ending 2023.

The auto company is looking at possibly exporting Mirage units, with Oshikiri saying “we are studying the exports program, [but] we DON T HAVE A SPECIkC DESTINATION plan yet.�

Mitsubishi Philippines is also eyeing producing electric vehicles, and conducting a joint study with THE $EPARTMENT OF 4RADE AND )NDUSTRY $4) AND OTHER GOVERNment agencies on it.

total number of PSE common shares owned by foreigners who chose to LODGE

OF THEIR HOLDINGS WITH 0#$ .OMINEE The others shown in PSE’s information sheet and their holdings were as follows: The First Resources Management & Securities Corp.,

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT FOR 0REMIUM #APITAL 6ENTURE #ORP AND

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT

for “various other clients�; Banco de /RO 4RUST "ANKING 'ROUP

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT

FOR 0,$4 2ETIREMENT &UND AND

03% COMMON SHARES OR percent, for “various other clients�; "$/ 3ECURITIES #ORP

PSE common shares, or 6.16 percent, for “various clients�; Lucky SecuriTIES )NC

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT FOR gVARIOUS clients�; Government Service InsurANCE 3YSTEM MEMBERS

03% COMMON SHARES OR PERCENT and San Miguel Corporation RetireMENT &UND

03% COMMON shares, or 8.89 percent.

)T IS NOT AFFECTED BY THE WEATHer, so it can produce power, [no matter if] it rains or shines,� Neltex said.

A subsidiary of listed First Gen. #ORP %$# IS INTO EXPLORING DEveloping, operating and utilizing geothermal energy and other indigenous RE sources for electricity generation with an installed capacITY OF MEGAWATTS JORDEENE B. LAGARE

Overall, the Philippines was fourth behind India ($78.6 billion), China and Mexico ($35.7 billion).

As a percentage of gross domestic product, the Philippines ranked fourth in East Asia and the Pacific with remittances accounting for 10.2 percent, behind Tonga (35.2 percent), Samoa (16.1 percent) and the Marshall Islands (13 percent).

Q PAYMENTS FROM B1

Govt debt

Philippine economic growth hit 6.2 percent last year, dropping from PERCENT IN AND MISSING THE government’s downwardly-revised PERCENT TARGET AS SURGING INlA-

tion dampened consumer spending.

Last month, economic managers lowered their 2019 and 2020 GROWTH TARGETS TO PERCENT AND PERCENT FROM percent previously, citing Congress’ failure to pass this year’s budget, droughts and dry spells caused by El Niùo, and the US-China trade war.

!N AMNESTY RATE OF PERCENT OF THE basic tax assessed will be slapped on delinquent accounts and assessments THAT HAVE BECOME kNAL AND EXECUTORY ! HIGHER PERCENT OF THE BASIC tax assessed will be charged for those WITH CASES SUBJECT TO kNAL AND EXECUtory judgement.

This goes up to 60 percent of the

basic tax assessed for those with pending criminal cases at the Justice department or courts for tax evasion and other criminal offenses under the Tax Code.

Lastly, withholding agents who withheld taxes but failed to remit the same with the BIR will be slapped an amnesty rate of 100 percent of the basic tax assessed.

$ELINQUENT TAXPAYERS WHO WISH TO avail the program have one year to kLE THEIR APPLICATIONS If approved, their liabilities “shall be considered settled, and the criminal case in connection therewith and its corresponding civil or administrative case, if applicable, shall be determined,� the rules add. MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

Footnotes and POR

03% PUBLIC OWNERSHIP REPORT 0/2 AS OF $EC "ASED ON ITS 0/2

IT HAD

ISSUED SHARES

OUTSTANDING SHARES

TREASURY SHARES

LISTED SHARES )T REPORTED HAVING stockholders, of whom 229 shareholders owned at least one board lot each, which PSE website placed at 10 PSE common shares.

While PSE had par value of P1 per share, its common shares closed trading on April 8, 2019 at P190, which, when multiplied by 10 equals P1,900.

to happen inside PSE’s boardroom. /NE THEY COULD PRESUME THE PERson board including two independent directors has been dilly-dallying on the price-per-preferred share, which is dependent on interest rate per annum.

Second, the public can also presume that the PSE’s individual members of the board could not agree either on the price per preferred share or interest rate per annum.

Here is what could be misleading INFORMATION )N ITS 0/2 AS OF $EC

2018, the exchange placed “foreign OWNERSHIP LEVELu AT g PERCENT u 7HEN TRANSLATED PERCENT OF

OUTSTANDING 03% COMMON SHARES EQUALS

03% common shares. The exchange also SAID IN THE SAME 0/2 AS OF $EC

2018 that “foreign ownership� has “NO LIMIT�. On the other hand, the PSE website showed “foreign ownerSHIP LIMITu OF g u 7HICH SHOULD the public believe? Should it be “NO ,)-)4u OR g u *UST ASKING

IMF cuts PH forecast and Vietnam, was forecast to grow

BY A SLOWER PERCENT THIS YEAR

DOWN FROM PERCENT PREVIOUSLY For 2020, the IMF expects Asean GROWTH OF PERCENT

and businesses, and they are used to carry waste water from toilets to sewer treatment plants,� it added.

7ITH ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH %$#

Neltex aims to make its production sustainable and safe for the ENVIRONMENT MAKING IT THE kRST IN the industry to be powered by RE. “Geothermal energy is the only RE source that is baseload, which means it can run uninterrupted

while interest payments inc r e a s e d by 2 . 3 p e r c e n t t o 0 BILLION The government’s outstandING DEBT STOOD AT 0 TRILLION IN &EBRUARY DOWN OVER 0 billion from a month ago as local and foreign borrowings decreased.

Last year, the government forWARDED 0 BILLION TO CREDItors, 13.9 percent higher than the 0 BILLION RECORDED IN MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

Q OUTLOOK FROM B1

Tax amnesty

Top stockholders

Q Mutsuhiro Oshikiri (center), president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp., speaks as Corporate Vice President Yoichiro Yatabe (left) and Senior Vice President Yasuki Maruyama listen during a press conference in Makati City on Monday night. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE

EDC to supply geothermal energy to pipe firm

Kelvin Lester K. Lee is a Commissioner of the Securities and %XCHANGE #OMMISSION 3%# (E Q APRIL FROM B1 is the co-chairperson of the SEC Committee on Memorandum Circulars To Operationalize Revised Corporation Code Provisions. LIABILITIES COVERING TAXABLE YEAR The views and opinions stated and prior years, may avail of Tax herein are his own. You may email !MNESTY ON $ELINQUENCIES WITHIN your comments and questions to one year from the effectivity of these regulations‌,� the IRR states. oclee@sec.gov.ph. common shares; preference over holders of common shares in the payment of dividends and distribution of corporate assets; holders of preferred shares to be paid in full the issue price (or pro rate if the assets of THE CORPORATION ARE INSUFkCIENT IN case of dissolution and liquidation; and redeemable at the option of the BOARD BEGINNING THE TH ANNIVERSARY date.

B3

In a footnote, PSE said it has “no KNOWLEDGE OF THE BENEkCIAL OWNERS OF these participants. As of date hereof, INFORMATION ON BENEkCIAL OWNERS ARE still being obtained. Once obtained, the company can provide detailed information upon request.� This explanation refers to “various clients.�

The exchange also said in the FOOTNOTES g0#$ .OMINEE #ORPORATION 0#.# IS A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF 0HILIPPINE $EPOSITORY AND 4RUST )NC 0$4# AND IS THE registered owner of the shares in the books of the company’s transfer AGENT 0$4# PARTICIPANTS DEPOSIT ELIGIBLE SECURITIES IN 0#$ THROUGH a process called lodgement, where legal title to the securities is transferred and held in trust by PCNC and trading participants.�

By trading participants, PSE was referring to, among others, stockbrokers, who are now among the exchange’s stockholders.

The exchange has a different ownERSHIP PROkLE BASED ON A kLING OF

Due Diligencer’s take It seems PSE and its managers are not IN A HURRY TO kND INVESTORS IN THEIR MILLION PREFERRED SHARES !S OF yesterday, they have yet to price each preferred share.

The exchange and its people may not be rushing by describing them only as “terms� which they did not disclose.

What could be holding them off from pricing these preferred shares?

The public can only speculate as to what has happened and is about

Email: esdperez@gmail.com

B4

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Foreign Business

US proposes new tariffs on EU products S AN FRANCISCO: The US on Monday THREATENED TO IMPOSE TARIFF COUNTER measures of up to $11.2 billion on a host of European products in response to subsidies received by aircraft maker Airbus.

kNAL AMOUNT IT WOULD SEEK IN DU TIES WAS SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION AT THE 74/ THE RESULT OF WHICH WAS EXPECTED IN THE SUMMER 4HE 5342 ISSUED A PAGE DOCUMENT WITH A PRELIMINARY LIST OF PRODUCTS BEING CONSIDERED FOR ADDITIONAL TARIFFS INCLUDING HELICOPTERS CIVILIAN PLANES AND AIRCRAFT PARTS )T ALSO INCLUDED FOOD PROD UCTS SUCH AS SWORDkSH SALMON

CHEESES FRUITS OLIVE OIL AND WINES

Complicated trade spat 4HE "OEING !IRBUS SPAT IS THE LON GEST AND MOST COMPLICATED DISPUTE DEALT WITH BY THE 74/ WHICH AIMS TO CREATE A LEVEL PLAYING kELD IN GLOBAL TRADE "OTH AVIATION GIANTS HAVE SCORED POINTS ALONG THE WAY 4HE 74/ RULED IN -ARCH THAT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF SUBSIDIES

TO "OEING WERE ILLEGAL AND NOTIkED THE 5NITED 3TATES TO END THEM "UT A FEW MONTHS LATER THE %UROPEAN 5NION FILED A NEW COMPLAINT ALLEGING 7ASHINGTON WAS NOT COMPLYING WITH THAT ORDER )N A RULING PUBLISHED IN *UNE

THE 74/ SAID THE 53 HAD BROUGHT OF PROGRAMS INTO COMPLIANCE BUT AGREED WITH "RUSSELS THAT 7ASHINGTON HAD NOT TAKEN gAPPROPRIATE STEPS TO REMOVE THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OR WITHDRAW THE SUBSIDYu IN THE CASE OF 7ASH INGTON STATE 4HE %5 AND THE 53 APPEALED AGAINST THAT TO THE 74/ !PPELLATE "ODY WHICH LAST MONTH ECHOED THE FINDING ALTHOUGH IT APPEARED TO TAKE A HARSHER LINE AGAINST THE !MERICAN SIDE "RUSSELS WAS ALSO REPRIMANDED

BY THE 74/ DURING THE !IRBUS "OEING ROW AND THE 53 ASKED THE 74/ TO DETERMINE THE AMOUNT IT COULD IMPOSE IN SANCTIONS AGAINST THE %UROPEAN 5NION FOR FAILING TO REMOVE SUBSIDIES 4HE 5342 SAID -ONDAY THAT ONCE THAT REPORT IS ISSUED IT WILL ANNOUNCE A FULL PRODUCT LIST WHICH COMES AFTER MONTHS OF TRADE TEN

SIONS BETWEEN THE 53 AND THE %5 0RESIDENT $ONALD 4RUMP S AD MINISTRATION HAS MADE PUNI TIVE TARIFFS SOMETHING OF A SIG NATURE IMPOSING MANY AND FRE QUENTLY THREATENING THEM AS A NEGOTIATION TACTIC 4HE %5 HAS NOT BEEN AN EXCEPTION 4HE %5 AND THE 53 HAVE BEEN WORKING TO SET IN MOTION A LIM ITED TRADE PACT AS PART OF A TRUCE AGREED IN *ULY WHEN 4RUMP AND %UROPEAN #OMMISSION 0RESIDENT *EAN #LAUDE *UNCKER PLEDGED NO NEW TARIFFS FOLLOWING THOSE IM POSED ON STEEL AND ALUMINUM 4HE 5342 S STATEMENT ALSO COMES AS "OEING FACES A CRISIS OVER ITS -!8 AIRCRAFT WHICH IS GROUNDED OVER SAFETY FEARS FOL LOWING TWO FATAL ACCIDENTS 4HE 53 PLANE MAKER SAID IN A STATEMENT THAT IT SUPPORTS 7ASH INGTON S gONGOING EFFORTS TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD IN THE GLOBAL AIRCRAFT MARKETPLACE u g"OEING HAS CONSISTENTLY SUP PORTED 53 COMPLIANCE WITH 74/ RULINGS )T S NOW TIME FOR THE %5 TO FOLLOW THAT EXAMPLE AND END ALL ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR !IRBUS u

AFP

German big business dives into politics MUNICH: )T S NOT OFTEN 'ERMAN BIG BUSINESS OPENLY DABBLES IN POLI TICS BUT MANY COMPANIES ARE URGING THEIR EMPLOYEES TO REJECT EU ROSCEPTICS AND RIGHT WING POPULISTS IN -AY %UROPEAN 0ARLIAMENT ELECTIONS &ROM 6OLKSWAGEN TO %ON AND 4HYSSENKRUPP 'ERMANY S CORPO RATE TITANS HAVE BECOME UNUSUALLY ENGAGED IN DEFENCE OF AN OPEN %UROPE A POSITION THAT IS IN THEIR OWN STRATEGIC INTEREST g6OTE FOR %UROPE ON IT S ABOUT FREEDOM IT S ABOUT PROSPER ITY IT S ABOUT OUR %UROPE u READ A HUGE POSTER IN DOWNTOWN -UNICH UNVEILED -ONDAY BY "AVARIAN IN DUSTRY FEDERATION 6"7 )T WAS THE LATEST SUCH INITIATIVE AFTER THE 6#) CHEMICAL INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION RECENTLY LAUNCHED A g*A ZU %UROPAu g9ES TO %UROPEu CAMPAIGN !LARMED BY PROJECTIONS THAT SEE THE FAR RIGHT GARNERING AT LEAST ONE IN kVE VOTES IN THE POLLS THE HEAD OF THE 'ERMAN %MPLOYERS #ON FEDERATION gBOSS OF BOSSESu )NGO +RAMER IN &EBRUARY WARNED OF THE gSERIOUSu THREAT EXTREMIST FORCES POSE TO THE %UROPEAN PROJECT g) ASK ALL 'ERMAN COMPANIES TO CLEARLY SHOW THEIR COLOURS u HE WROTE CAUTIONING THAT gANTI

w w w.manilatimes.net

Ghosn accuses Nissan execs of ‘backstabbing’

Q In this file photo taken on February 8, 2019, an Airbus A350-1000 conducts a test flight over Chateauroux airport, central France. AFP PHOTO

&OR MORE THAN YEARS 7ASH INGTON AND "RUSSELS HAVE ACCUSED EACH OTHER OF UNFAIRLY SUBSIDIZING "OEING AND !IRBUS RESPECTIVELY IN A TIT FOR TAT DISPUTE )N A STATEMENT -ONDAY THE OF kCE OF THE 53 4RADE 2EPRESENTATIVE 5342 SAID THE 7ORLD 4RADE /R GANIZATION 74/ HAD REPEATEDLY FOUND THAT %UROPEAN SUBSIDIES TO !IRBUS HAVE CAUSED ADVERSE EFFECTS TO THE 5NITED 3TATES g4HIS CASE HAS BEEN IN LITIGA TION FOR YEARS AND THE TIME HAS COME FOR ACTION u SAID 53 4RADE 2EPRESENTATIVE 2OBERT ,IGHTHIZER g/UR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH THE %5 TO END ALL 74/ INCONSISTENT SUBSIDIES TO LARGE CIVIL AIRCRAFT 7HEN THE %5 ENDS THESE HARMFUL SUBSIDIES THE ADDITIONAL 53 DUTIES IMPOSED IN RESPONSE CAN BE LIFTED u 4HE STATEMENT ADDED THAT THE

˜ The Manila Times

%UROPEANS FROM THE LEFT AND THE RIGHTu COULD END UP OBSTRUCTING THE %UROPEAN 0ARLIAMENT (UBERTUS "ARDT HEAD OF THE )7 ECONOMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE SAID THAT gNEVER BEFORE HAVE ) SEEN SO MANY COMPANIES PUBLICLY CALL FOR PEOPLE TO GO AND VOTEu g"USINESSES ARE REALISING THE IM PORTANCE OF %UROPEAN INTEGRATION u HE TOLD !&0

Open markets, free trade -OST OF THE INITIATIVES HAVE COME FROM LARGE EXPORT DRIVEN CORPORA TIONS THAT gARE AMONG THE BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES OF THE %UROPEAN SINGLE MARKET u SAID !LEXANDER +RITIKOS FROM THE 'ERMAN )NSTITUTE FOR %CONOMIC 2ESEARCH $)7 4HE REST OF THE %UROPEAN 5NION ACCOUNTED FOR BILLION EUROS BILLION WORTH OF 'ERMAN EXPORTS LAST YEAR ITS BIGGEST MARKET g$EVELOPMENTS SUCH AS "REXIT

INCREASING POPULISM EUROSCEPTI CISM AND NATIONALISM POSE AN ENORMOUS ECONOMIC RISK ESPE CIALLY FOR COMPANIES OF THIS SIZE u SAID !NDREA 2OEMMELE OF THE (ERTIE 3CHOOL OF 'OVERNANCE 3HE SAID BIG BUSINESS PROFITS FROM THE %UROPEAN SINGLE MARKET

AND FAVOURS A STRONG %5 THAT CAN ASSERT ECONOMIC INTERESTS ON THE WORLD STAGE WHILE gNATIONALIST EF FORTS SUCH AS THOSE WE SEE IN THE 53! UNDER 0RESIDENT 4RUMP MEAN DECLINING REVENUESu !MONG OTHER 'ERMAN BUSINESS PLAYERS THE #ENTRAL !SSOCIATION OF 'ERMAN 4RADE HAS PUBLISHED A g9ES TO %UROPEu LEAlET WHILE 2UHR INDUSTRIAL REGION GIANTS 4HYSSENK RUPP 27% %ON AND %VONIK WILL ALSO ENCOURAGE THEIR EMPLOYEES TO VOTE 4HYSSENKRUPP BOSS 'UIDO +ERK HOFF TOLD LOCAL MEDIA LAST MONTH THAT gWE NEED TO BETTER EXPLAIN WHY WE NEED OPEN MARKETS AND FREE TRADE TO SUCCEED NOT A WITHDRAWAL INTO OUR NATIONAL SHELLSu 6OLKSWAGEN WILL ALSO ISSUE A gCLEAR CALL FOR A VOTEu ITS HUMAN RESOURCES CHIEF 'UNNAR +ILIAN SAID EARLIER THIS YEAR STRESSING THAT gFOR %UROPEAN UNITY FOR OUR COMMON VALUES FOR PEACEFUL COOPERATION OUR DEMOCRACY NEEDS EVERY VOICEu

Brand image boost +RITIKOS SAID THE "REXIT DRAMA HAD DRIVEN HOME THE POINT IN THE REMAINING %5 STATES THAT gIT WOULD BE FATAL FOR BUSINESSES IF THE SINGLE MARKET WERE TO BREAK UPu

"EYOND THE ISSUE OF MAINTAIN ING OPEN TRADE A COMPANY TAKING A CLEAR POLITICAL STANCE CAN ALSO BOOST ITS IMAGE AS A RESPONSIBLE CORPORATE CITIZEN EXPERTS SAY )N ANOTHER INITIATIVE AROUND FAMILY RUN ENTERPRISES RECENTLY LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN AGAINST RAC ISM AND XENOPHOBIA CALLED g-ADE IN 'ERMANY -ADE BY $IVERSITYu g#ONSUMERS ARE BECOMING IN CREASINGLY CRITICAL AND ARE CON SUMING NOT ONLY ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC BUT ALSO SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CRITERIA u SAID 2OEMMELE #ITIZENS WITH PRO %UROPEAN VIEWS SHE ADDED gTEND TO BE WELL EDUCATED AND HAVE STRONG PURCHAS ING POWERu /N THE OTHER HAND SUCH CAM PAIGNS CAN FURTHER ALIENATE THOSE EMPLOYEES ALREADY DRAWN TO FAR RIGHT IDEAS AS POPULIST POLITICAL GROUPS ARE SEEKING INFLUENCE IN WORKS COUNCILS PARTICULARLY AMONG SEVERAL CAR MANUFACTURERS g#OMPANIES MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO FUEL PARTISAN CONlICTS IN THEIR FACTORIES u WARNED "ARDT (E POINTED OUT THAT THE CORPO RATE INITIATIVES DO NOT TEND TO MEN TION ANY OF THE FAR RIGHT PARTIES BY NAME AND SAID THAT THE BEST WAY TO COMBAT EXTREMIST PARTIES IS HIGH VOTER TURNOUT AFP

TOKYO: Carlos Ghosn has accused “backstabbing�

Nissan executives of a “conspiracy� to have him arrested over fears he planned to merge the firm with France’s Renault, in a video released Tuesday.

The video, recorded shortly before Ghosn was rearrested by prosecutors in Tokyo last week, did not however point the finger at specific individuals, with the tycoon’s lawyer saying it had been edited to remove names.

The video was the latest twist in a rollercoaster case that has defied expectations since the shock arrest of the 65-year-old last November.

In the brief recording, played by his lawyers at a press conference, Ghosnappeared at a desk in a white shirt and black suit jacket and repeated that he was “innocent of all the charges that have been brought against me.�

He denounced a “conspiracy� against him and said events had been “twisted in a way to paint a personage of greed, a personage of dictatorship.� “This is about a plot, this is about conspiracy, this is about backstabbing,� he said in the video.

He said the “conspiracy� was motivated by “a fear that the next step of the alliance in terms of convergence and in terms of moving towards a merger would in a certain way threaten some people or eventually threaten the autonomy of Nissan.�

In addition to heading Nissan, Ghosn also oversaw the alliance that groups the automaker with Renault and Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors. He has previously suggested that concerns at Nissan about closer integration led to his arrest.

But while Ghosn’s wife Carole had said the auto tycoon would name “the people responsible� in the video, his lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told journalists that the defence team had opted to edit specific allegations out of the recording.

Ghosn was rearrested by prosecutors last week while out on bail in Tokyo after they announced they were investigating new allegations against him.

A court has extended his detention until April 14, when prosecutors can apply to hold him for an additional 10 days before they must release him unless they bring charges or file new allegations.

Fresh allegations Prosecutors said Ghosn had been detained over transfers

of Nissan funds totalling $15 million between late 2015 and the middle of 2018 to a dealership in Oman.

They suspect around $5 million of these funds were siphoned off for Ghosn’s use, including for the purchase of a luxury yacht and financing personal investments.

Prosecutors accuse Ghosn of having “betrayed� his duty not to cause losses to Nissan “in order to benefit himself.�

Ghosn already faces three formal charges: two of deferring his salary and concealing that in official shareholders’ documents, and a further charge of seeking to shift investment losses to the firm.

Ghosn spent 108 days in a detention centre in northern Tokyo before being dramatically released on bail of around $9 million on March 6, emerging from incarceration dressed in a workman’s uniform and face mask in an apparent bid to avoid the media.

He then lived in a courtappointed apartment in Tokyo without commenting on his situation despite huge international and Japanese media interest in his case that has shocked and surprised from the beginning.

However, just as reports began to surface that he could be rearrested, Ghosnemerged on Twitter to announce plans to hold a news conference on April 11.

His rearrest came just days after news that Renault, which Ghosn also once headed, had handed French prosecutors documents showing suspicious transfers worth million of euros authorised by the auto tycoon.

Shortly after his arrest, his wife Carole — who had been living in Tokyo with Ghosn while he was on bail — left Japan.

She told a French newspaper she had been forced to flee Tokyo with support from the French ambassador and was able to use her US passport after having to surrender her Lebanese one to prosecutors.

Prosecutors reportedly wanted to question her on a voluntary basis over suspicions company money allegedly misused by Ghosn could have transited through a business that was run by his wife.

Nissan shareholders on Monday voted to remove Ghosn from the board, along with his righthand man Greg Kelly, who also faces charges in Japan.

He was replaced by Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard.

AFP

Asian markets mostly up, EU’s Brexit extension decision awaited HONG KONG: !SIAN MARKETS MOSTLY ROSE 4UESDAY AS DEALERS AWAIT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE #HINA 53 TRADE TALKS WHILE INVESTORS LOOK AHEAD TO A KEY %UROPEAN 5NION SUMMIT THAT WILL DECIDE "RITAIN S IMMEDIATE FUTURE IN THE BLOC 7HILE THE BROAD TREND REMAINS UPWARDS SENTIMENT WAS GIVEN A KNOCK BY NEWS THAT 53 0RESIDENT $ONALD 4RUMP HAD TRAINED HIS SIGHTS ON THE %5 BY THREATENING TARIFFS ON BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF GOODS %ARNINGS SEASON ALSO KICKS OFF IN EARNEST THIS WEEK WITH EXPECTA TIONS LOW BUT OBSERVERS HOPING FOR SOME POSITIVE FORWARD GUIDANCE "EIJING AND 7ASHINGTON HAVE lAGGED PROGRESS IN TRADE NEGOTIA TIONS HELPING GLOBAL MARKETS PUSH TO MULTI MONTH HIGHS THIS YEAR

THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN FEW DETAILS g'LOBAL GROWTH CONCERNS ARE EASING AS 53 #HINA APPEAR TO BE CLOSE TO A DEAL BUT WITHOUT DETAILS AND WITH VEILED THREATS IF THE DEAL IS NOT THE BEST MARKETS ARE TREAD ING CAREFULLY u SAID /!.$! ANALYST !LFONSO %SPARZA (ONG +ONG WAS ENDED UP PERCENT WHILE 4OKYO kNISHED PERCENT HIGHER 3EOUL ADDED PERCENT WHILE 3YDNEY WAS MARGINALLY HIGHER WITH 4AIPEI "ANGKOK AND *AKARTA ALSO UP (OWEVER 3HANGHAI AND 7ELLING TON EACH ENDED DOWN PERCENT

WHILE -UMBAI WAS OFF PERCENT )N EARLY %UROPEAN TRADE ,ONDON AND &RANKFURT EACH DIPPED PER CENT WHILE 0ARIS SLIPPED PERCENT 4RADING WAS HIT BY NEWS THAT THE

53 HAD THREATENED LEVIES ON UP TO BILLION OF A HOST OF %UROPEAN PRODUCTS IN RESPONSE TO SUBSIDIES RECEIVED BY AIRCRAFT MAKER !IRBUS AS PART OF A LONG RUNNING ROW 4HE MOVE COMES AS "RUSSELS AND 7ASHINGTON ARE ON THE VERGE OF A STAND OFF OVER THE AUTO SECTOR

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MUST ASSUME THAT THE %UROPEAN CATASTROPHE FOR THE COUNTRY IF THAT "OTH MAIN CONTRACTS ARE AROUND #ENTRAL "ANK WILL TAKE A RATHER HAPPENS SIX MONTH HIGHS BOOSTED BY HOPES DIM VIEW OF THE SITUATION WITH (OWEVER EVEN IF SHE GETS THE FOR THE #HINA 53 TALKS AN OUTPUT REGARDS THE GROWTH OUTLOOK u EXTENSION -AY IS STILL STRUGGLING TO CUT BY /0%# AND NON MEMBERS GET BACKING IN "RITAIN S PARLIAMENT INCLUDING 2USSIA AND SANCTIONS May’s big week FOR THE EXIT DEAL SHE AGREED WITH THE ON 6ENEZUELA AND )RAN %5 MONTHS AGO g)T S VERY BULLISH MARKETS WHEN /N CURRENCY MARKETS THE POUND !DDING TO MARKET CONCERN IS TRADERS NOT ONLY IGNORED LAST WAS STANDING ITS GROUND DESPITE THE FACT SHE IS ALSO FACING A REVOLT WEEK S UNEXPECTED 53 INVENTORY "REXIT UNCERTAINTY WITH 0RIME BY PRO "REXITERS WITHIN HER #ON BUILDS BUT COMPLETELY SIDESTEPPED -INISTER 4HERESA -AY HOLDING A SERVATIVE 0ARTY OVER HER DECISION &RIDAY S "AKER (UGHES SURGING RIG SERIES OF MEETINGS WITH %5 LEADERS TO HOLD TALKS WITH THE OPPOSITION COUNT u SAID 3TEPHEN )NNES AT 30) TO WIN BACKING FOR A SECOND DELAY ,ABOUR 0ARTY !SSET -ANAGEMENT TO "RITAIN S EXIT FROM THE BLOC /IL PRICES WERE BARELY MOVED g5SUALLY THIS BEARISH COMBI 4HE "RITISH PREMIER HAS AP AFTER A RECENT SURGE FUELLED BY NATION WOULD HAVE THWARTED THE PEALED FOR THE DIVORCE DATE TO BE INCREASING UNREST IN KEY PRODUCER ONGOING RALLY u PUT BACK TO *UNE AND WILL LEARN ,IBYA WHERE THERE IS FEAR OF A $EALERS ARE KEEPING TABS ON A "RUSSELS DECISION AT A SHOWDOWN CIVIL WAR AS IT IS ENGULFED IN VIO KEY %#" MEETING WHILE MINUTES SUMMIT 7EDNESDAY LENT POWER STRUGGLES BETWEEN AN FROM THE &EDERAL 2ESERVE S -ARCH )F THE REQUEST IS DENIED "RITAIN ARRAY OF ARMED GROUPS FOLLOWING POLICY GATHERING ARE ALSO DUE TO BE WILL CRASH OUT ON &RIDAY WITH THE OVERTHROW OF DICTATOR RELEASED GIVING AN INSIGHT INTO ITS ANALYSTS WARNING OF AN ECONOMIC -OAMER +ADHAk OUTLOOK FOR THE 53 ECONOMY AFP

World

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

May woos foes, EU leaders over Brexit LONDON: Prime Minister Theresa May wooed domestic political opponents and European leaders Monday as she sought to break Britain’s Brexit impasse and secure a delay to the country’s departure from the European Union.

May’s Conservative government and the main opposition Labour Party were clinging to hope of kNDING A COMPROMISE "REXIT DEAL

two days before EU leaders decide whether to grant an extension to the UK’s departure from the bloc. )F THEY REFUSE "RITAIN FACES A SUDden and chaotic departure on FriDAY THE "REXIT DEADLINE PREVIOUSLY set by the EU. May has asked for a new delay UNTIL *UNE TO GIVE "RITAIN S DIVIDED POLITICIANS TIME TO AGREE

approve and implement a withdrawal agreement. The bloc’s leaders are due to meet Wednesday in Brussels to consider the request.

An extension requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU national LEADERS SOME OF WHOM ARE FED UP with Brexit uncertainty and reluctant

to prolong it further. French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly resistant to the idea OF FURTHER DELAYING "REXIT SAYING the EU can’t be held “hostage� to Britain’s political crisis.

-AY S OFkCE SAID THE PRIME MINister spoke to multiple European leaders by phone Monday and will dash Tuesday to Berlin and Paris for face-to-face talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Macron.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt urged European leaders TO BE COOPERATIVE SAYING -AY gIS totally and utterly determined to deliver Brexit.� “They want Brexit to be resolved AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE u (UNT SAID OF the other 27 EU leaders. “So do we.�

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was “open to extending the deadline.� g4HERE WILL BE DIFFERENT VIEWS

but I am confident that we will REACH ;AN= AGREEMENT u HE SAID AFTER meeting chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Dublin.

AP

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Lee, Mahathir vow to ease border issue

P

UTRAJAYA, Malaysia: Singapore and Malaysia’s leaders vowed to cooperate to solve disputes Tuesday after tensions between the neighbors over airspace and maritime boundaries arose following a change of government in Malaysia.

They have had fractious relations since Malaysia evicted Singapore from the Malaysian &EDERATION IN ENDING A BRIEF and stormy union of the former British colonies.

Ties have gone up and down over the years but have been shaky since Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad — who has long had a prickly

relationship with Singapore — returned to the premiership with a shock election victory last year.

Tensions begin rising again a few months ago after Singapore accused Malaysia of sending govERNMENT BOATS INTO ITS WATERS AND the city-state then proposed new landing procedures at an airport that Kuala Lumpur claimed would

violate its airspace.

But in recent days the neighbors suspended overlapping maritime CLAIMS TO ALLOW FOR TALKS AND THE city-state halted the contentious LANDING PROCEDURES AHEAD OF A visit on Tuesday to Malaysia by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

After holding talks in the adMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL 0UTRAJAYA ,EE and Mahathir — 93 and in his second stint as premier — hailed the moves to ease tensions. “We agreed that the fundamental principle is to resolve issues of concern in a friendly and conSTRUCTIVE MANNER u -AHATHIR TOLD A

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court found Tuesday nine leaders of 2014 prodemocracy demonstrations guilty of PUBLIC NUISANCE AND OTHER CHARGES

in a verdict that activists say likely presages more restrictions on free expression in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Those convicted included law PROFESSOR "ENNY 4AI RETIRED SOCIOLogy professor Chan Kin-man and pastor Chu Yiu-ming. Two current LAWMAKERS ONE FORMER LAWMAKER

two student leaders and a political activist were also found guilty.

The nine were leaders of the nonviolent “Occupy Central� campaign that demanded the right of the city’s population to choose its own leader rather than merely approve a candidate picked by Beijing. g(ONG +ONG COURTS

BY LABELing peaceful protests in pursuit OF RIGHTS AS PUBLIC NUISANCE ARE sending a terrible message that will likely embolden the government to prosecute more peaceful activISTS FURTHER CHILLING FREE EXPRESSION IN (ONG +ONG u -AYA 7ANG

senior China researcher at Human

Judge blocks Trump’s asylum seekers’ policy A US judge decided Monday (Tuesday in Manila) to block the Trump administration’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for an immigration court TO HEAR THEIR CASES BUT THE RULING is on hold for several days.

Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco granted a request on behalf of 11 asylum seekers from Central America and legal advocacy groups to halt the practice WHILE THEIR LAWSUIT MOVES FORWARD

but he held off on enforcing his decision until Friday to give the government a chance to ask an appeals court for a review.

4HE POLICY LACKS SUFkCIENT PROtections to ensure migrants don’t face “undue risk to their lives or FREEDOMu IN -EXICO THE JUDGE said. Seeborg also said a law that

President Donald Trump’s administration cited as its authority to send back migrants does not apply to asylum seekers such as those who sued.

It was not immediately clear whether the administration would ask an appeals court to put the ruling on hold. The US Department of Justice declined to comment.

Trump tweeted that the ruling was “unfair to the US.�

The launch of the policy in January at the nation’s busiest border crossing — in San Diego — marked an unprecedented CHANGE TO THE 53 ASYLUM SYSTEM

GOVERNMENT OFkCIALS AND ASYLUM experts said. Families seeking asylum typically have been released in the US with notices to appear in court.

AP

INDIAN POLLS Indian paramilitary troopers patrol outside a central jail in downtown

Srinagar, one of the provinces in Kashmir, a region jointly controlled by India and Pakistan. Security is tight in the area as 930 million Indians will go to polls starting Thursday, April 11, to elect a new prime minister and hundreds of thousands of council members. AFP PHOTO

MIGRANTS UNITE

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex� Alles has been pushed out of the Trump administraTION AMID A BURGEONING SHAKE UP IN the upper echelon of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday (Tuesday in Manila) that President Donald Trump had selected career 3ECRET 3ERVICE OFkCIAL *AMES -URRAY TO LEAD THE AGENCY SAYING HE WILL ASSUME THE ROLE next month. She added Alles would be gLEAVING SHORTLY u THOUGH THE AGENCY LATER said he would leave in May. Alles’ departure stems from a personALITY CONFLICT WITHIN THE AGENCY THREE OFkCIALS SAID SPEAKING ON THE CONDITION of anonymity to discuss the personnel MATTER 4HE OFkCIALS SAID IT WAS UNRELATED to the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and a recent security breach at the president’s private club in Florida.

3TILL IT COMES AMID A SPATE OF TURNOVER across DHS that began last week when Trump withdrew his Immigration and Customs Enforcement director’s nomination to stay on permanently. !FTER .IELSEN S DEPARTURE AN EMPOWERED 3TEPHEN -ILLER THE IMMIGRATION HAWK AND 7HITE (OUSE SENIOR ADVISER

is also eyeing the removal of Lee Francis #ISSNA ACCORDING TO TWO OF THE OFkCIALS Cissna is director of US Citizenship and )MMIGRATION 3ERVICES WHICH RUNS THE legal immigration system.

AP

Huffman to plead guilty in college bribery scam BOSTON: “Desperate Housewives� star Felicity Huffman and a dozen other prominent parents have agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions bribery scam that ensnared wealthy families and athletic coaches at some of the NATION S MOST SELECTIVE UNIVERSITIES

federal authorities said Monday.

The actress and the other parents were charged last month in

THE SCHEME WHICH AUTHORITIES say involved rigging standardized test scores and bribing coaches at such prestigious schools as Yale and Georgetown.

(UFFMAN

WAS ACCUSED OF PAYING A CONSULTANT DISguised as a charitable donation to boost her daughter’s SAT score.

Authorities say the actress also discussed going through with the

Worldinbriefs

LIBYA CLASHES DEATH TOLL HITS 51

BENGHAZI, Libya: Clashes between rival Libyan forces for control of Tripoli escalated on Tuesday as the death toll from days of fighting rose to at least 51, including both combatants and civilians, and the city’s only functioning airport said it was hit by an airstrike. The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter who last week launched the push on Tripoli, acknowledged striking the Mitiga airport, barely 8 kilometers east of the city center. Hifter’s forces have clashed with rival militias which support the UN-backed government that controls Tripoli and the western part of the country. The escalation has threatened to plunge the fractured North African nation deeper into chaos and ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gadhafi.

AP

3 US SOLDIERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN

Migrants seeking asylum in the United States hide in migrant shelter tents in Tijuana, Mexico. A US federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico. The judge also said Trump’s orders of deporting permanent immigrant seekers is overstepping the authority of the US Homeland Security. AFP PHOTO

press conference in the city.

Lee added: “As close neighBOURS 3INGAPORE AND -ALAYSIA must expect issues to arise between us from time to time but provided we can address them IN A CONSTRUCTIVE SPIRIT WE CAN manage... the side effects.�

The leaders also announced talks on their maritime boundaries would begin in a month.

Ties were warm between the neighbors under the last Malaysian leader Najib Razak — who lost power after being accused of plundering state coffers — but have quickly started to fray since the return of Mahathir.

AFP

Trump pushes out US Secret Service head

HK convicts 9 prodemocracy leaders 2IGHTS 7ATCH SAID IN A STATEMENT Prior to the verdict’s announceMENT #HAN SAID HE AND THE OTHERS had no regrets for their actions but WERE CHIElY CONCERNED WITH THE movement’s legacy.

While the verdicts will have an IMPACT ON THE INDIVIDUALS gWE ARE more concerned about how this movement will be recognized by the PEOPLE OF (ONG +ONG u #HAN SAID Hong Kong’s biggest popular PROTEST IN RECENT YEARS ALSO KNOWN AS THE UMBRELLA MOVEMENT LAID SIEGE TO government headquarters and paraLYZED (ONG +ONG S kNANCIAL DISTRICT for 79 days. Thousands staked out encampments on major thoroughfares. Several hundred were arrested.

4HE MOVEMENT kZZLED WITHOUT winning concessions from the Hong Kong government for free elections and the pro-democracy movement has struggled to retain A HIGH PROkLE IN RECENT YEARS -ORE THAN SUPPORTERS SOME raising yellow umbrellas that were A SYMBOL OF THE PROTESTS GATHERED at the courthouse in the West Kowloon district.

AP

B5

KABUL, Afghanistan: Three American service members and a US contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb near the main US base in Afghanistan, the US forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The US and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four Americans were killed near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, while three others were wounded in the explosion. The base in Bagram district is located in northern Parwan province and serves as the main US air facility in the country. The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical care, the statement said. It added that in accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the names of service members killed in action were being withheld until after the notification of next of kin.

AP

NETANYAHU’S FATE HANGS IN POLLS JERUSALEM: Israeli voters headed to their ballot boxes Tuesday for crucial parlia-

same plan for her younger daughter but ultimately decided not to.

She will plead guilty to a single CHARGE OF CONSPIRACY AND FRAUD

according to court documents.

Those charges are punishable by UP TO YEARS IN PRISON BUT THE plea agreement indicates prosecutors will seek a sentence of four to 10 months.

Experts have said they expect

some parents will avoid prison time if they quickly accept responsibility. All of the defendants will have to return to Boston to enter FORMAL GUILTY PLEAS BUT NO NEW court dates were set.

Other parents charged in the SCHEME INCLUDE PROMINENT kGURES IN LAW kNANCE FASHION THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AND OTHER kELDS AP

mentary elections that will determine whether longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power. Clouded by a series of looming corruption indictments, Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term in office. It would make him Israel’s longestever serving leader, surpassing founding father David Ben-Gurion. He faces a stiff challenge from retired military chief Benny Gantz, whose Blue and White party has inched ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud in polls. Netanyahu still appears to have the best chance of forming a coalition, though, with a smattering of small nationalist parties backing him.

AP

GLOBAL WARMING SHRINKING GLACIERS WASHINGTON, D.C.: Earth’s glaciers are melting much faster than scientists thought. A new study shows they are losing 369 billion tons of snow and ice each year, more than half of that in North America. The most comprehensive measurement of glaciers worldwide found that thousands of inland masses of snow compressed into ice are shrinking 18 percent faster than an international panel of scientists calculated in 2013. The world’s glaciers are shrinking five times faster now than they were in the 1960s. Their melt is accelerating due to global warming, and adding more water to already rising seas, the study found. “Over 30 years suddenly almost all regions started losing mass at the same time,� said lead author Michael Zemp.

AP

TERROR PLOT ON COLOMBIA PRESIDENT BARED BOGOTA: The Colombian attorney general on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) announced authorities had uncovered a suspected terrorist plot to target a meeting between President Ivan Duque and indigenous leaders over ongoing protests. “We have reliable information that... some armed organized groups, which have infiltrated this social and indigenous movement, would like to carry out a terrorist act that could affect the safety of the president himself,� said Nestor Martinez. Without offering details, the attorney general said his office had “electronic evidence� and “testimony from reliable sources� on the suspected plot.

AFP

B6

Classified Ads

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

ERRORS & OMISSIONS Any incorrect advertisement published in The Manila Times Classified Ads must be brought to our attention on the same day the advertisement came out. We will not be held liable for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD Expanded National Capital Region )LHOG 2I¿FH 6th Floor, Sunnymede IT Center, Quezon Avenue Quezon City

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Maritime Marina issues permit for BIMP-EAGA Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

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BY GENIVI FACTAO

HE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has encouraged domestic shipping companies to explore new shipping routes within the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-MalaysiaPhilippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) to increase cross border business linkages.

Marina Administrator Vice Admiral Narciso Vingson Jr. approved Marina Advisory 2019-03, or the issuance of special permit for operation of domestic ships exclusively in the BIMP-EAGA routes.

In the advisory, only the Marina Administrator, Marina 2EGIONAL /FkCE -2/ 0ALAwan, MRO 9, MRO 10, MRO 11 and MRO 12 were authorized signatories to special permit

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

for domestic ships that will ply BIMP-EAGA routes, including the MINIMUM SAFE MANNING CERTIkcates attendant thereto.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and its Philippines on establishing and PROMOTING EFkCIENT AND INTEGRATED sea linkages was signed on Nov.

4HE -/5 IDENTIkED THE BIMP-EAGA gateway ports and areas of connectivity.

For Brunei Darussalam, the designated BIMP-EAGA gateway ports were Kuala Belait and Muara.

)N )NDONESIA THE IDENTIkED ports were Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Bitung, Jayapura, Makassar, Nunukan, Pantoloah, ParePare, Pontianak, Sorong, Tarakan and Ternate.

In Malaysia, they named the Bintulu, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Menumbok, Miri, S a n d a k a n , S e p a n g g a r / Ko t a Kinabalu, Sibu, Tanjung Manis and Tawau as BIMP-EAGA ports.

Marina said the application for special permit outside the aforementioned BIMP-EAGA routes would be treated as regular special permit and would be signed solely

by the Marina administrator.

Roland Berger, a leading global STRATEGY kRM SAID THE TOTAL TRADE between the BIMP-EAGA countries grew at a rate of 10 percent during the period 2015 to 2017, or at $31 billion in 2017.

Growth across the BIMP-EAGA region is at 3.9 percent, which is relatively slow, while showing wide variations between the various sub-regions.

According to Anthonie Versluis, managing partner of Malaysia Global Head of Ports Practice Roland Berger, in his presentation during the Ports and Shipping

B7

Conference that direct shipping trade within the BIMP-EAGA region is limited due to lack of direct value chain linkages. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The different islands within the BIMP-EAGA region all mainly focus on agriculture and mining exports. There is limited movement up the value chain between islands. Exports and trade were not within the region but rather from the region to larger hub ports,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Founded in 1967, Roland Berger is a leading global strategy kRM WITH SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS IN all major international markets.

Sustained assistance New guidance for seafarers released for repatriated seafarers THE Labor department has assured the seven Filipino seafarers recently repatriated from Libya of sustained assistance, including making representation with their manning agency for the payment of their unclaimed wages and benefits. !PART FROM kNANCIAL AND LIVELIhood aid, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd said the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) would extend necessary assistance to the seafarers and their families to help them start anew. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will coordinate with the manning agency to hasten the payment of their unpaid wages onboard and your other monetary benefits. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is also ready to provide extended assistance for their reintegration through livelihood assistance and skills training,â&#x20AC;? Bello said.

The seafarers and their respective families visited DoLE recently to thank Bello for the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help in having them released from Libyan detention last month, and asked for assistance as their manning agency, the Bright

Maritime Corp. (BMC) failed to REMIT THEIR BENEkTS INCLUDING ACcrued salary from February 2018 to March 2019.

Ship captain Arturo TaleĂąo, who is among those repatriated seafarers said their agency was still not providing their hazard pay, insurance pay on their lost belongings, as well as their post-medical expenses. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are grateful to DoLE for providing us necessary assistance to get back on track and we hope that they can help us again in CLAIMING OUR UNPAID BENEkTS FROM our agency,â&#x20AC;? TaleĂąo said.

While waiting for their money claims, Bello encouraged the repatriated seafarers to avail of the reintegration programs of OWWA, such as the Balik-Pinas! BalikHanapbuhay! Program, Enterprise Development and Loan Program, and educational scholarships for their children.

The seafarers were detained in Libya in 2017 for alleged fuel smuggling and acquitted by the Libyan High Court on February 28. They returned home on March 12 through the close coordination among government agencies.

NEW guidance is now available to assist welfare organizations dealing with incidents of seafarers being abandoned and vessels being detained.

The booklet, entitled Arrested and Detained Vessels, and Abandoned Seafarers, was produced by the International Seafarersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Welfare and Assistance Network (Iswan) in partnership with InterManager, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) and the International Transport

Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Federation (ITF).

Arrested and Detained Vessels, and Abandoned Seafarers aims to assist port welfare committee members and welfare agencies in reviewing the best practice in these situations.

The new guidance outlines the responsibilities of the authorities and other organizations that might become involved when problems are identified aboard a vessel whilst in port. It builds on information

contained in guidance originally produced by the United Kingdom Merchant Navy Welfare Board, and is designed to be adapted by other national welfare boards to suit their particular circumstances.

Roger Harris, Executive Director of Iswan, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unfortunately seafarers are still being abandoned in ports around the world. This timely guide, produced in partnership with InterManager, ICS, ITF and ICMA, gives practical information and advice on how to deal with a situation when a vessel is abandoned.â&#x20AC;?

Natalie Shaw, director of employment affairs at ICS, pointed out: â&#x20AC;&#x153;In cases of abandonment it is often difkCULT FOR AFFECTED PARTIES to know what needs to be done, who needs

to be contacted and how progress can quickly be made to get seafarers returned home in a short time. It is hoped that if parties involved in supporting affected seafarers follow the advice contained in this document, cases will be able to be resolved much QUICKER TO THE BENEkT OF BOTH THE affected seafarers and their families.â&#x20AC;?

Dave Heindel, chairman of the ITF seafarersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; section, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;No seafarer should have to go through the experience of abandonment. Unfortunately, the rate of abandonments around the world remains high AND DIFkCULTIES IN RESOLVING THESE cases persist. Given the hardship faced by abandoned seafarers, it is crucial that assistance is provided as quickly as possible. We hope that this guidance will help concerned parties in providing this assistance as we work towards eliminating the scourge of abandonment.â&#x20AC;?

Arrested and Detained Vessels, and Abandoned Seafarers is the latest good practice guide to be issued by Iswan, which works to promote and support the welfare of seafarers all over the world.

Q Roger Harris, Executive Director of International Seafarersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Welfare and Assistance Network

VISAYAN MARITIME AC ADEMY PRESIDENT ELIZ ABETH SAL ABAS

Maritime industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s matriarch of discipline

BY YASHIKA F. TORIB ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S a common knowledge. The maritime industry used to be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world.â&#x20AC;? One woman though stepped out of her comfort zone to work alongside veteran sailors and establish an educational institution that would later become the biggest maritime school in Bacolod, Negros Occidental. )T WAS %LIZABETH 3ALABAS

a grade school teacher, braved the odds of leaving her profession to work with the Department of Social Service and Development (DSSD), the regional arm of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, as guidance counselor to juvenile delinquents. Beth, as she was known to her friends, continued upholding discipline and morale when she started working for the Department of Justice (DoJ) as probation and parole /FkCER FREQUENTLY MANAGING MALE co-workers and detainees. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was almost always working with men. It had been different jobs and different circumstances, but being a woman never posed as a problem when it comes to leadership,â&#x20AC;? Salabas said with the strong conviction akin to that of a soldier.

Come 1987, Salabas, her brother John, a seafarer with the rank of Fourth Engineer, and two other friends, stepped into the world of maritime education and established Visayas Maritime Academy (VMA). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The struggles came in early for us. Our capital was only enough to pay our teachers.

When we assumed full ownership after three years, we had

to start from scratch because our facilities and equipment were taken by people whom the company owed money. Basically, we assumed ownership with nothing,â&#x20AC;?

Salabas recalled.

Salabas is known among her family and colleagues to be an optimistic and cheerful woman. It was with these virtues that helped her raise VMA to the institution it is today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My late husband helped me to start over again. He used to be with the Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine National 0OLICE AND HE KNEW HOW TO kX things; he helped in the restoration of our school along with his friends. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough money back then and what they came up with was really not much,â&#x20AC;? Salabas said.

Armed with the knowledge and experience on behavioral management based on her masteral education with the University of the Philippines, Salabas ran her school with the same discipline as she did the DSSD and DoJ. Her reputation as a disciplinarian was such that delinquent students from other schools were sent to hers.

It was then that VMA

earned the reputation in Bacolod as a strictly disciplined school.

Despite being small, struggling, and stringent, VMA slowly rose to prominence. It caught the attention of a joint-auditing group composed of the Department of Education, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), and the Philippine Association of Maritime Institutions (PAMI) headed by Marylou Arcelo, president of the largest maritime school in Iloilo, the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU).

â&#x20AC;&#x153;They were searching for the Top 10 maritime schools in the country, and despite our lack of equipment, we made it to the Top 10!â&#x20AC;? gushed Salabas. Good fortune went on for VMA as its students were chosen in the Model Cadet Competition where its deck and engine cadets won top placers.

Keeping up with the times Salabas ran VMA with the heart of a mother but with the hand of a disciplinarian father.

She nurtured her students by helping them discover and cultivate their capabilities and limitations. At the same time, she enforced discipline through military-like regulations. While it helped VMA rose through the ranks, stringent discipline eventually became the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vulnerable point. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I used to think that authority is tantamount to respect. I maintained that traditional kind of leadership amongst my students and teachers until it worked no more. Times have changed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would let everyone go through a Neophyte Orientation Program where their determination is challenged. Some of my teachers have protested for such severe regulations, their dignities and egos were struck by the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rules that

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got so many things going on at the same time. I was president of VMA, and then I also served as the president of PAMI for so many years. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been an active member of the Philippine Association of Maritime Training Centers Inc., the Philippine Association of Manning Agencies and Ship Managers, and a volunteer leader in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) of which I currently hold the rank of Commodore. And then now, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve nothing much to do,â&#x20AC;? Salabas narrated with sadness as the reality of retirement kicks in.

The veteran educator mused over the bright memories of receiving the Outstanding Medal Award from the PCGA as handed over to her by the Philippine President; of the day she was conferred the Banwahanon Award, the highest and most prestigious recognition given by the city of Bacolod for her projects that benefited the community; and of many other awards that could very well adorn an entire wall of her home. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now, I am very much looking forward to the teambuilding event of the PCGA Team Sandigan, as I will be able to see and speak with my colleagues and friends again. We all used to serve under an administration where I was able to perform all of my passions in community relations and marine environment protection.

Knowing that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be seeing them Bittersweet soon gives me something great days of retirement to look forward to and be excited about,â&#x20AC;? Salabas enthused.

Now in her early 70s, Salabas has While she slowly relaxes into REDUCED HER DIVERSE AFkLIATIONS IN retirement, Salabas still radiates the various sectors of maritime the energy and youthful enthuindustry to enjoy her retirement; siasm of a person who is willing the portly, cheerful woman loves to step into missions that could ballroom dancing. stretch the boundaries of old â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sometimes I get depressed be- society into a modernized and cause I used to be a multi-tasker, inclusive culture.

THEY OPTED TO LEAVE !T kRST ) WAS persistent; VMA means discipline anyway,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was 1995. My children, who was then running the school with me, complained that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s becoming too much and we need to change with the times. They wanted to offer HRM, Tourism, IT and Business Management courses, all of which cannot work with the kind of discipline I do with the maritime courses.

I was at the crossroads,â&#x20AC;? Salabas recounted with the gentle voice that is typical with Bacolod natives. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At the end of the day, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to lose my teachers as much as the school that we have worked hardly upon. I loosened up a bit and let the new generation improve our systems,â&#x20AC;? she said.

Such transformation was coupled with technological advances to keep pace with the automated trends of the maritime industry. The Japanese shipowners and principals of their family-owned manning agency, Orophil, steadily backed up this development. Improvements with VMA swelled through the years that their Japanese partners, at one time, visited the school by bulk, â&#x20AC;&#x153;they informed us that three of them would join our graduation day, but ACTUALLY ARRIVEDĂ&#x153;u VMA, since then, surged forward in the maritime education sector and became known as VMA Global College and Training Centers Inc.

Maritime IMO mandates info swap between ships, ports T B8

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

HE International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a requirement for its contracting country to introduce electronic information exchange between ships and ports starting April 8.

The new requirement aims to make cross-border trade simpler AND THE LOGISTICS CHAIN MORE EFkcient for the more than 10 billion tons of goods traded by sea annually across the globe.

In a statement, the IMO said the requirement, mandatory under IMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Convention on Facilitation OF )NTERNATIONAL -ARITIME 4RAFkC &!, #ONVENTION WAS PART OF A package of amendments under the REVISED !NNEX TO THE &!, #ONVENtion, adopted in 2016.

The main objective of the IMO&!, #ONVENTION IS TO ACHIEVE THE MOST EFkCIENT MARITIME TRANSPORT

as possible, looking for smooth transit in ports of ships, cargo and passengers.

4HE &!, #ONVENTION WHICH HAS 121 Contracting Governments including the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; contains standards and recommended practices and rules for simplifying formalities, documentary requirements and procedures on shipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; arrival, stay and departure. g4HE NEW &!, #ONVENTION requirement for all Public Authorities to establish systems for the electronic exchange of information related to maritime transport marks a significant

Ë&#x153; The Manila Times w w w.manilatimes.net

EDITOR: Carmela I. Huelar

move in the maritime industry and ports towards a digital maritime world, reducing the administrative burden and increasing the efficiency of maritime trade and transport,â&#x20AC;? IMO Secretary'E N ERAL +ITACK ,IM SAID The statement furthered that the Facilitation Convention encourages use of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;single windowâ&#x20AC;? for data, to enable all the information required by public authorities in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo, to be submitted via a single portal, without duplication. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The requirement for electronic data exchange comes into effect as IMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facilitation Committee MEETS FOR ITS RD SESSION !PRIL !LONGSIDE OTHER AGENda items, the Committee will continue its ongoing work on harmonization and standardiza-

Q Maritime cadets from Crystal E College in Bohol undertaking simulator training . PHOTO BY SYLVAN LIECHTE tion of electronic messages,â&#x20AC;? the statement further reads.

Phase one of the review of the IMO Compendium on Facilitation and Electronic business, including the data elements of THE &!, #ONVENTION IS EXPECTED to be completed and the revised

Guidelines for setting up a single window system in maritime transport are set to be approved.

It added that the Committee would also receive an update on a successful IMO maritime single window project, implemented in Antigua and Barbuda, with Nor-

Ports authority issues guidelines on transfer of overstaying cargoes 4(% Philippine Ports Authority 00! HAS LAID DOWN THE PROCEDURES for the transfer of overstaying cargoes, including their sale in case of ABANDONMENT TO BRING EFkCIENCIES IN PORT SERVICES THAT WOULD BENEkT the entire supply chain.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago issued Administrative /RDER !/ OR THE g'UIDElines on the immediate transfer of overstaying import cargoes from terminals to designated ports,â&#x20AC;? which took effect on April 5. â&#x20AC;&#x153;PPA takes action to expeditiously address high import dwell time PROMOTE OPTIMAL TERMINAL EFkCIENCY in managing increased trade and demand for cargo clearance facilitation at Manila International Container 4ERMINAL -)#4 AND 3OUTH (ARBOR and cause the immediate accelerated transfer of all import cargoes already cleared for delivery or withdrawal from the terminals container yards to their proper designated ports,â&#x20AC;?

Santiago said.

PPA has resolved the issues on overstaying cargoes and empty containers for better turn-around time, thus reducing the cargo dwell time in the ports. It said that port services should be efficient and expeditious in handling ships to reduce their stay time in port.

Government agencies and stakeholders have collaborated to advance the overall interests of all sectors, in order to serve the â&#x20AC;&#x153;common goodâ&#x20AC;? to make the port and shipping industry more competitive.

PPA has authorized terminal operators, International Container 4ERMINAL 3ERVICES )NC )#43) AND

!SIAN 4ERMINALS )NC !4) TO MAXI MIZE THE TERMINALS OPERATING EFkciency by undertaking operational and strategic measures to increase competitiveness of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier international gateways.

By doing so, it will reduce shipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waiting time to berth and prevent the unwarranted wasteful utilization of the terminal yard space as permanent dumping ground for abandoned and seized cargo imports STORED FOR INDEkNITELY LONG PERIOD of time by traders and importers.

The order would apply to all imported good whether containerized or not and which remain within the PREMISES OF THE -)#4 3OUTH (ARBOR and their designated ports beyond the prescribed free storage period &30 AND WERE ALREADY CLEARED BY government agencies concerned.

The order would apply to all cleared import cargoes by PPA and by other government agencies such AS THE "UREAU OF #USTOMS "O#

which remained inside the port for more than 30 days from discharge.

PPA said an import cargo is transferred to a designated port when import cargo is discharged at MICT or

Q Asian Terminals Inc., Manila. PHOTO BY ATI

3( WITH A RELEASE VIA ONLINE RELEASE SYSTEM /,23 AND WHEN THE IMPORT cargo incurred a dwell time of up to 30 days. The transfer arrangement would be secured by a bond to cover the terminal operatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s liability.

In case of abandoned cargo, the PPA reserved the right to sell for accrued charges any cargo or equipment which was abandoned by shippers, consignees, owners or agents after notice has been delivered to interested parties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If no response was received within 10 days, the Authority has the right to sell the cargo or equipment for accrued charges and all costs and expenses of selling or appropriately disposing of the property less any sales proceeds received by the Authority should it exercise its discretion to sell the property.

Abandonment of cargo deemed hazardous under existing laws, rules or regulations is forbidden,â&#x20AC;? the AO read.

Terminal operators can collect from cargo owners, importers or consignee or from agents and brokers the applicable transfer costs, terminal fees and other charges.

The government agencies and various port stakeholders, including ICTSI, ATI and international shipping lines signed a Manifesto of Support on March 15 for the EFkCIENT UTILIZATION OF -ANILA PORTS Stakeholders were asked to immediately retrieve the overstaying and empty container to designated ports and off-dock depots. #HRISTIAN 2 'ONZALEZ )#43) global corporate head hailed collaborative and complementing efforts of PPA, the Department of TransporTATION $O4R $EPARTMENT OF 4RADE AND )NDUSTRY $4) AND THE "O# TO resolve the issue of overstaying cargo at Manila ports, and ensuring their swift disposition.

Even before the manifesto was

signed, ICTSI took the lead along with Association of International 3HIPPING ,INES !)3, !LLIANCE OF Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations and Container Depot Alliance of the Philippines to undertake immediate measures in alleviating problems connected with returning empty containers.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The healthy yard utilization happened despite higher volume handled, especially in March where MICT handled a record monthly volume,â&#x20AC;? it said in the statement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The terminal was able to accept almost double the number of empty containers it was receiving, freeing up trucks in the process which, in turn, resulted to more import pull MICT realizes 70% outs. Shipping lines have now been yard utilization able to bridge the gap in achieving their weekly empty container evacON Monday, the MICT hit the ideal uation targets,â&#x20AC;? the company added. yard utilization rate, almost a month Import dwell time has also been after the government imposed cut from 11 days in January to 6 days heightened crackdown versus over- this month, resulting in zero ship staying cargoes. queues compared to Decemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ICTSI said yard utilization fell peak season. by 20 percent to 70 percent this In March, PPA and DOTr revealed !PRIL AGAINST THE RECORDED a boosted crackdown against overpercent in January. staying cargoes through a the signing of the manifesto of support for the GOVERNMENT S EFFORTS ON THE EFkCIENT utilization of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ports.

PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the agency ordered to free up the spaces in the South (ARBOR AND -)#4 OCCUPIED BY CUStoms-cleared cargoes.

The manifesto, which was signed

BY THE $/4R 00!

"O# AND OFkCIALS FROM )#43) !4) AND !)3, STATED THAT once the cargo owners and shippers failed to comply with the order, the overstaying cargoes would be shipped out to a different inland container depot.

Port operators ICTSI and ATI were assigned for the move out of the cargoes, the manifesto read. The costs of the transfer would be shouldered by cargo owners, shippers, consignees, logistics operators, and custom brokers, it added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The BoC shall regularly dispose of seized or abandoned containers TO ENSURE THAT -)#4 AND 3( REMAIN Q International Container Terminal healthy,â&#x20AC;? it also said.

Services Inc. Global Corporate head GENIVI FACTAO WITH Christian Gonzales. PHOTO BY ICTSI LISBET K. ESMAELÂ

wayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support. The source code developed for the system established in Antigua and Barbuda will be made available to other interested Member States. A presentation on the system will be made during the Facilitation Committee.

RAFFY AYENG

Angkla: A maritime champion in Congress O

NE of the strengths of the Philippine maritime industry is having a voice in Congress through the parATTY. BRENDA V. ty-list Angkla. It is indeed a PIMENTEL unique opportunity for an archipelagic country to have in the legislature one who will champion the maritime agenda.

In record time since Angkla, with its nominee Atty. Jesulito Manalo, took a seat in Congress, several maritime laws were passed. The enactment of the landmark law on the designation of a single maritime administration is attributed to the persistence of Angkla in resolving the overly extended issue of multi-agency implementation of the Standards of Training, #ERTIkCATION AND 7ATCHKEEPING 34#7 #ONVENTION 2EPUBlic Act 10635, designating the Maritime Industry Authority as the single maritime administration, is that piece of legislation which attests to the solemn commitment of the Philippines TO PUT IN ORDER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 34#7 #ONVENTION Time and again, this writer laments government indifference to maritime concerns in this archipelago despite its immense marine resources, its being host to many water-based livelihood and economic activities and a home to thousands of seafarers. One wonders how sunrise industries like BPOs deserve much attention compared to an industry which dekNES THE VERY ESSENCE OF WHAT IT IS TO BE A MARITIME COUNTRY Nonetheless, there is a need to acknowledge past high-level maritime initiatives led by no less past Philippine presidents. President Ferdinand Marcos restructured the administration of the maritime industry with his issuance of Presidential Decree 474 creating the Marina, PD 505 reorganizing the port administration in the Philippines and several other maritime-related issuances. President Corazon Aquinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Executive Order 125/EO 125-A further tried to rationalize maritime functions aimed at simplifying systems and processes by consolidating related activities into the minimum number of agencies. Pole-vaulting the maritime industry was a program advocated by then President &IDEL 2AMOS HIGHLIGHTING THE ARCHIPELAGIC CHARACTER OF THE 0HILIPPINES 4HE 3TRONG 2EPUBLIC .AUTICAL (IGHWAY is largely attributed to the leadersip of President Gloria Arroyo. President Benigno Aquino 3rd is acknolwdged for his pushing for the maritime legislative agenda which FACILITATED THE ENACTMENT OF 2!

The projected outcomes of these Presidential issuances AND DIRECTIVES SPREAD ACROSS kVE DECADES REQUIRE FURTHER LEGISLATIVE AND PROGRAMMATIC AMPLIkCATION 3UCH LEAVES MUCH to be expected from Congress and the agencies mandated to implement the maritime policies enunciated by the President.

SEATHROUGH

Journey to Congress Attempts in the past to get Congress to work on maritime legislation was often described as a sisyphean effort, endless and with no chance of success â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until Angkla took a Congressional seat. Initially running on a platform to support the seafaring sector, Angkla has expanded its advocacy to cover the wider maritime industry.

Angkla has become a strong partner of maritime stakeholders not only in pursuing legislative concerns but more so in the exercise of Congressional oversight over the IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS 2ECOURSE IN SEEKING THE LEGISLATIVE intent of laws has become quite easy as there is one maritime mainstay in Congress. In maintaining high visibility during dialogues and discourses pertaining to maritime issues and concerns, Angkla has gained the unprecented support of the various stakeholders.

Now a byword among maritime stakeholders, Angkla has built its own base of supporters who are trying to muster the votes to bring it back to Congress. And it is for good reason, the pending maritime bills need a champion, and for many Angkla has assumed that role.

Too, many believe this is the time for Angkla to get at least two seats in Congress!!

Sports

WEDNESDAY W AAPRIL 10, 2019

C1

www.manilatimes.net

Jordan the G.O.A.T for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NBA stars â&#x20AC;&#x201C; poll LOS ANGELES: -ICHAEL *ORDAN AND NOT ,E"RON *AMES IS THE GREATEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME ACCORDING TO A SURVEY OF ."! PLAYERS PUBLISHED BY 4HE !THLETIC ON -ONDAY 4HE SPORTS NEWS WEBSITE POLLED ."! PLAYERS BETWEEN -ARCH AND !PRIL FOR ITS INAUGURAL ANONYMOUS PLAYER SURVEY ASKING SUBJECTS A RANGE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPORT /N THE QUESTION OF WHICH PLAYER DESERVED TO BE RECOGNISED AS THE greatest in history, the verdict of the PLAYERS WHO ANSWERED THE QUESTION WAS UNANIMOUS !CCORDING TO THE SURVEY BELIEVE SIX TIME ."! CHAMPION *ORDAN IS THE GREATEST PLAYER THE SPORT HAS SEEN *AMES CAME in second with OF VOTES

ahead of +OBE "RYant with

T h e POLL ALSO REVEALED THAT *AMES (ARDEN IS MOST PLAYERS PICK TO WIN THIS SEASON S -60 HONOURS ( O U S T O N 2O C K E T S S T A R ( A R D E N T H E

-60 WAS CHOSEN BY of respondents, with -ILWAUKEE S 'IANNIS !NTETOK-

O U N M P O J U S T B E H I N D W I T H OF THE VOTES /KLAHOMA #ITY 4HUNDER S 0AUL 'EORGE WAS THIRD WITH !NTETOKOUNMPO HOWEVER WAS THE CLEAR FAVOURITE FOR PLAYERS ASKED WHO THEY WOULD ATTEMPT TO BUILD A NEW FRANCHISE AROUND 4HE TOWERING 'REEK STAR WAS CHOSEN BY OF PLAYERS ASKED WHO THEY WOULD SIGN kRST IF THEY WERE BUILDING A ROSTER FROM SCRATCH .EW /RLEANS 0ELICANS ACE !NTHONY $AVIS WAS SECOND WITH OF VOTES WHILE *OEL %MBIID

w a s THIRD AFP

Q Michael Jordan AFP PHOTO

Q TNTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s veteran guard Jayson Castro dribbles past former teammate Terrence Romeo of San Miguel Beer during Game 2 of their best-of-three quarterfinals series in Season 44 PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday.

PBA MEDIA BUREAU PHOTO

4 teams plunge into do-or-die Game 3 action

A

CTION explodes today as four teams BATTLE FOR TWO SEMIkNALS BERTHS IN 'AME OF THE BEST OF THREE QUARTERkNALS OF 3EASON 0HILIPPINE "ASKETBALL !SSOCIATION 0HILIPPINE #UP AT THE !RANETA #OLISEUM 4.4 +A4ROPA FACES DEFENDING CHAMPION 3AN -IGUEL "EER IN THE P M kRST GAME FOLLOWED BY -AGNOLIA "ARANGAY 'INEBRA 3AN -IGUEL TUSSLE AT P M 4.4 FORCED A SUDDEN DEATH 'AME WITH A WIN OVER THE "EERMEN ON -ONDAY g!S ONE OF THE VETERANS ) NEED TO STEP UP "UT ) THINK IT S STILL GOING TO BE THE SAME COMPETITION AND INTENSITY BECAUSE 3AN -IGUEL "EER

Virginia topples Texas Tech to claim US college title LOS ANGELES: The University of Virginia captured THEIR kRST 53 MEN S COLLEGE BASKETBALL CHAMpionship on Monday night, with a 27-point PERFORMANCE FROM $E !NDRE (UNTER TO BEAT 4EXAS 4ECH IN OVERTIME (UNTER LED THE OFFENSIVE CHARGE FOR THE #AVALIERS MAKING A GAME TYING THREE POINTER WITH SECONDS LEFT IN REGULATION AND THEN ANOTHER THREE WITH JUST OVER TWO MINUTES REMAINING IN OVERTIME TO GIVE 6IRGINIA THE LEAD FOR GOOD 6IRGINIA CLAIMED THE .#!! CROWN ONE YEAR AFTER BECOMING THE FIRST NUMBER ONE SEEDED TEAM TO BE KNOCKED OUT OF THE .#!! TOURNAMENT BY THE TH SEEDED TEAM WHEN THEY LOST IN THE OPENING ROUND TO UNHERALDED 5NIVERSITY OF -ARYLAND "ALTIMORE #OUNTY !FTER GOING SCORELESS FOR THE kRST MINUTES AT 53 "ANK 3TADIUM IN -INNEAPOLIS

-INNESOTA (UNTER kNISHED WITH A CAREER HIGH POINTS +YLE 'UY FINISHED WITH POINTS MADE

BY JOSEF T. RAMOS

FOUR THREE POINTERS AND WAS NAMED MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER g7E ALL HAD THE SAME GOAL IN MIND AND THAT WAS TO WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 4O BATTLE THROUGH EVERYTHING WE DID AND COME OUT ON TOP IS A FANTASTIC FEELING u SAID 'UY It was the second heart-stopping victory FOR 6IRGINIA IN A ROW AS THEY NEEDED A LAST SECOND ESCAPE TO BEAT !UBURN IN THE SEMIS ON 3ATURDAY 4HIS WAS THE THIRD &INAL &OUR APPEARANCE FOR THE #AVALIERS AND kRST SINCE .UMBER THREE SEEDED 4EXAS 4ECH WAS SEEKING ITS kRST TITLE IN SCHOOL HISTORY AND TO BECOME THE kRST TEAM SINCE THE 5NIVERSITY OF #ONNECTICUT TO GO UNDEFEATED IN ITS kRST APPEARANCE IN THE kNAL FOUR "RANDONE &RANCIS HAD POINTS OFF THE BENCH TO LEAD 4EXAS 4ECH *ARRETT #ULVER AND )TALY S $AVIDE -ORETTI EACH HAD IN THE LOSS 4HE 2ED 2AIDERS BEAT -ICHIGAN IN THE SEMI kNALS

AFP

Q The Virginia Cavaliers celebrate their teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders to win the the 2019 NCAA menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Final Four National Championship game at US Bank Stadium on Tuesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP PHOTO

IS A VERY STRONG TEAM u 4.4 GUARD *AYSON #ASTRO SAID g/UR MOTIVATION SO FAR IS TO GET INTO THE SEMIkNALS 7E KNOW THAT WE RE CAPABLE OF WINNING AGAINST THEM u #ASTRO kNISHED WITH POINTS AND NINE ASSISTS IN 'AME 3AN -IGUEL "EER COACH ,EO !USTRIA BELIEVES 'AME IS A GAME g7E HAVE TO WATCH THE kLM kRST AND STUDY THEIR GAME )T S A

BALL GAME AND BOTH TEAMS HAVE A CHANCE OF WINNING u SAID !USTRIA

noting that strong defense is the KEY TO VICTORY g) THINK WE HAVE TO PLAY A BETTER DEFENSE ,AST NIGHT WE LIMITED THEM TO POINTS BUT TONIGHT THEY SCORED AND THAT S POINTS MORE THAN IN OUR LAST GAME 3O THE NAME OF THE GAME IS DEFENSE AND NOT ONLY OFFENSE u 7INNER OF 3AN -IGUEL "EER 4.4 SERIES WILL FACE 0HOENIX 0ULSE IN THE BEST OF SEVEN SEMIkNALS 4HE VICTOR BETWEEN 'INEBRA AND -AGNOLIA WILL FACE THE %LASTO 0AINTERS IN THE SEMIS g)T IS ELIMINATION GAME FOR BOTH TEAMS 3O WE EXPECT PERCENT EFFORT FROM BOTH TEAMS AND EVERYONE S ! 'AME TO COME OUT u SAID

THE FOOTER 'REG 3LAUGHTER g7E MUST BE ABLE TO HIT SOME OUTSIDE shots and open things up in the LANE LET OUR TEAMMATES TO GET INVOLVED AND JUST COME UP WITH MORE INTENSITY u 4HE 'IN +INGS DOMINATED THE (OTSHOTS

IN 'AME ON 3ATURDAY BUT THE LATTER TOOK 'AME ON -ONDAY

)AN 3ANGALANG SCATTERED POINTS AND COLLECTED NINE REBOUNDS WHILE 2OBBIE (ERNDON CONTRIBUTED POINTS IN 'AME 4OP SEED AND TWICE TO BEAT ARMED 0HOENIX AND .O 2AIN OR 3HINE ARE ALREADY ASSURED OF A SEMIkNALS SEAT AFTER WINning against their respective OPPONENTS NAMELY !LASKA AND .ORTHPORT ON 3UNDAY

C2

Sports

Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Ateneo crushes St. Clare to emerge solo second R

BY JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

IDING on a strong second half, CignalAteneo De Manila University thrashed St. Clare College-Virtual Reality, 8866, to emerge solo second in their group in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League) on Tuesday at the JCSGO Gym in Quezon City.

Ivorian center Angelo Kouame powered the Blue Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; rally in the closing quarters as they CRAWLED OUT OF AN POINTS DEkCIT en route to taking the No. 2 spot in the Aspirants Group with an improved 5-1 record. g)T HALFTIME TALK WAS DIRECT TO THE point. We werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing what we said weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do before the game. We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make any adjustments and we just went back to basics,â&#x20AC;? said CignalAteneo head coach Tab Baldwin.

3IX FOOT +OUAME kNISH HUGE

with 24 points and 29 rebounds â&#x20AC;&#x201D; just one board shy of the league record. He poured 20 big points in the second half to ignite the Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comeback.

Isaac Go racked up 11 points while Thirdy Ravena and Adrien Wong chipped in 10

FAJARDO TARGETS 6TH BPC AWARD

markers apiece in the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third straight win.

Cignal-Ateneo saw itself trailing behind 28-46 early in the third quarter as Joshua Fontanilla sparked a 28-7 run for St. Clare-Virtual Reality.

Kouame triggered the Eaglesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; quick turnaround in the same frame, taking a 65-55 lead heading into the payoff period.

Cignal-Ateneo did not relent from then on.

Darwin Lunor had a a doubledouble of 12 points and 16 rebounds even as Paul Santos also had 12 markers for the Saints, who FELL TO .O WITH THEIR kRST defeat against four wins.

Earlier, Allyn BulaNADI CAUGHT kRE AS 6Alencia City BukidnonSan Sebastian College bounced back

big at the expense of Wangs Basketball, 96-64.

Bulanadi posted a game-high 28 points on an 11-of-21 shooting clip to help the Golden Harvest rebound from a 65-71 loss to Centro Escolar University.

Valencia-San Sebastian joined Metropac-San Beda University at No. 2 in the Foundation Group with a similar 4-1 slate. g4HE BOYS EXECUTED OUR GAME plan and we played good defense,â&#x20AC;? said coach Egay Macaraya as the Golden Harvest limited the Couriers to a paltry 35 percent shooting FROM THE kELD Kenneth Villapando tallied 15 points while RK Ilagan and Ian Calma added 13 and 10 markers, respectively, in the win.

Ronan Santos had 15 points and eight boards even as Radge Tongco had 12 markers and Axel IĂąigo had 10 for Wangs, who slid to 3-2.

Q June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer defends against Yousef Taha of TNT during Game 2 of their bestof-three quarterfinals series in Season 44 PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

PBA MEDIA BUREAU PHOTO

FIVE-TIME Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer is eyeing his sixth straight Best Player of the Conference (BPC) plum.

Fajardo is leading the statistical race so far with 42.2 statistical points per game average. He is also averaging 22.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in the Philippine Cup. Challenging Fajardoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dominance are Sean Anthony (37.1) and Stanley Pringle (36.0) of Northport, Calvin Abueva (34.9) and Matthew Wright (34.3) of Phoenix, and Roger Pogoy (34.7) of TNT. Completing the top 10 are Moala Tautuaa of Northport (33.3), Ian Sangalang of Magnolia (33.0), Japeth Aguilar of Ginebra (31.9) and Jayson Castro of TNT (31.0).

JOSEF T. RAMOS

OCR in SEA Games: Bureaucrats, plunderers, crooks and destabilizers I Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S not yet sure if obstacle course racing (OCR) will be included as a medal sport or as just an exhibition event in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games that the Philippines is hosting in November and December. *UST THE SAME /#2 QUALIkERS

according to a report, are being held to determine the composition of the national team in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier, biennial competition among 11 countries, including Timor Leste or East Timor.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also not yet sure if five young Aetas from Pampanga will make it to the national training pool of obstacle course racers, BUT THEIR DREAM TO BE BONAkDE athletes--Filipino, not Aeta--is also reportedly being nurtured

by Allianz Philippines.

The report quoted Gae Martinez, Allianz Philippines chief MARKETING OFkCER g!LLIANZ IS SUPPORTING THE QUEST OF THE kVE !ETA youth from Villa Maria in Pampanga to be part of the national training pool. We are not putting a timetable, but whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important as of this point is they get the training they need. We are giving them a chance to excel in the sport and the life skills to discover new opportunities along the way.â&#x20AC;?

While we wish the young (age 16 to 22), indigenous persons the best in their quest to possibly BE ABLE TO GIVE HONOR TO lAG AND country, we can only emphatize with non-tribal Filipino athletes, whether they be javelin throwers or mountain bikers, whom we perceive have to conquer their OWN OBSTACLES OFF THE kELD OR the terrain.

Those who are a cinch to make it to the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; official roster of athletes to the Manila SEA Games are already at this point receiving allowances for their training and stuff needed for them to make a decently respectable performance in their disciplines in the top sports extravaganza this side of Asia.

The band of bureaucrats, who are watching them, could make their life miserable if they as much as forget to liquidate their cash advances and there go their preparations for the arguably biggest stage of their life, ruined by a division manager who hardly goes TO HIS OFkCE TO SIGN PAPERS

FREE KICK ROMY P. MARIĂ&#x2018;AS

The pack of accused plunderers can only chuckle at the bad luck of tracksters or tankers who perhaps sometimes have to worry about tattered jerseys or yellowing swimsuits, if not at the thought of whether the stadium for athletics or pool for aquatics will be ready for them to train in with just a little over seven months left for them to get in SHAPE AND IN kGHTING FORM Why, some of these alleged bigtime thieves are even running for seats in the May 13 mid-term elections, and when Team Philippines MAKES IT AS gOVERALLu CHAMPION of the 30th SEA Games in Manila and Tarlac and other cities and provinces would probably have the gumption to claim part of the credit for the remarkable run of the Filipino athletes.

Well, talk about some people being fortunate to keep other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money and, who knows, would end up keeping theirs supposed hoards by decree.

The cabal of crooks could be waiting in the wings for the various biddings for athletic supplies or even masking tapes, in the apparent hope of making a killing also off folders and envelopes, pencils and ballpoint pens.

Then, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the den of destabilizers who had been also accused as such and, arguably, are not with the nation in at least taking pride in the recognition given by other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for us to hold the conclave and shower our Asean friends with the hospitality that we are famous for.

The last people we need are party poopers masquerading as selfless civil servants, incorruptible politicians, straight arrows and peace makers at a time when we have to put our best foot forward.

Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;mon guys, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only for a few days for you to be the good sport that you, well, could possibly be, but better if you could sustain it in the next 10 editions of the Southeast Asian Games.

Tigresses, Lady Tams set eyes on F4 UNIVERSITY of Sto. Tomas (UST) and Far Eastern University (FEU) aim to strengthen their Final Four bids when they take on separate foes in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volleyball tournament today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

UST and FEU, sitting on joint third with identical 7-4 records, collide WITH SEMIkNAL CONTENDER 5NIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) at 4 p.m. and also-ran National University (NU) at 2 p.m., respectively.

4HE 'OLDEN 4IGRESSES FORTIkED THEIR Final Four chances with a 25-20, 2520, 25-16 romp over ousted University of the East (UE) last Saturday. g7E ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK u SAID 534 HEAD COACH +UNGFU 2EYES g!LL the things we learned from this game (UE), weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll bring it to our next game.â&#x20AC;?

With only three teams in the runNING FOR THE THREE REMAINING SEMIkNAL spots, graduating captain Sisi Rondina urges the Tigresses to keep buckling down on work. g7E STILL NEED TO WORK AND ) M always telling my young teammates not to end the season on a sad way.

We have to do our job to keep our peak form and help each other,â&#x20AC;? said Rondina, whose team missed out on the Final Four last year.

Rondina will lead the fight for the EspaĂąa-based squad along with rookie spiker Eya Laure while Ysabel Jimenez and Kecelyn Galdones are expected to step up anew.

On the other hand, UP (6-5) is eager to bounce back from a 21-25, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25 loss to FEU and also boost its Final Four campaign.

Veteran spikers Tots Carlos and

Justine Dorog are tabbed to take the scoring cudgels as State U mentor Godfrey Okumu hopes that Season 78 Rookie of the Year Isa Molde will fully recover from her ankle injury.

Meanwhile, last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s runner-up FEU will try to sustain its winning form against the eliminated NU (3-8).

But coach George Pascua warns his Lady Tams not to take the Lady Bulldogs LIGHTLY SAYING g!LL TEAMS ARE UNPREDICTable. It depends on the character.â&#x20AC;?

Pascua will bank on fourth-year hitter Heather Guino-o, who scored a career-high 22 points in the previous game, and other veterans in Jerrili Malabanan and setter Kyle Negrito.

Rookie spikers Princess Robles and Ivy Lacsina are expected to spearhead the attack of the Norman Miguelmentored NU side.

JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

LeBron defends Luke Walton's record LOS ANGELES: LeBron James has defended Luke Waltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s record amid ongoing speculation concerning the Los Angeles Lakers coachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future with the franchise.

Walton is widely expected to be shown the door by the Lakers at the end of the season after a disappointing campaign which saw them fail to make the playoffs for a sixth straight year.

However James said injuries and suspensions throughout the campaign left Walton short of resources for key parts of the season.

James cited the suspensions handed down to Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram in the first game of the season as well as a litany of injuries as reasons for the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s problems.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one expects for a suspension to happen on opening night,â&#x20AC;? James told Spectrum Sportsnet television in an interview. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one expects for injuries to happen the way they did with our franchise this year. Where your starting point guard is out for numerous games. Your starting small forward is out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not talking two or three games here, everyone is back in the lineup. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking like 15, 20, 25 games.â&#x20AC;?

The Lakers injury toll also included James, who missed 17 games between the end of December and February after suffering a groin strain.

The NBA superstarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absence -- the longest injury layoff of his career -- triggered a slump which saw the team fall out of playoff

contention in the Western Conference.

James said that when all of the Lakersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; key personnel was fit, the team had been a match for most other sides in the league. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had a defensive rating of fourth in the NBA, and we were like seventh in offense when we played together over 23 games,â&#x20AC;? James said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As good as that is, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not enough for Luke to even know what he has on a consistent basis, when you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a consistent roster every night during the season. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like you said, control what you can control and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got to play the hand youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dealt. I think he played the hand as well as he could.â&#x20AC;?

The Lakers wrap up their campaign on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers. AFP

Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Sports

C3

Fowler more ready than ever for major win A UGUSTA, United States: Rickie Fowler, eight times a top-five major finisher without winning, says he has never been so prepared for a breakthrough triumph as he is at this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Masters.

The 30-year-old American, second at Augusta National last year when a late charge fell short, took CONkDENCE AFTER WINNING &EBRUARY S Phoenix Open to snap a two-year US PGA Tour victory drought. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more ready than Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever been,â&#x20AC;? Fowler said Monday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not saying that I can sit up here and tell YOU ) M DEkNITELY GOING TO GO WIN

but I like my chances.â&#x20AC;?

Ninth-ranked Fowler, now in his 10th PGA campaign, famously had TOP kVE kNISHES IN ALL FOUR MAJORS in 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a full-year feat only Jack .ICKLAUS 4IGER 7OODS AND *ORDAN Spieth have matched.

But unlike those US stars, Fowler

couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t claim a victory, sharing second at the US and British Opens, third at the PGA Championship and kFTH AT THE -ASTERS &OWLER SHARED kFTH AT THE 53 Open and PGA Championship then chased eventual champion Patrick Reed over Augusta Nationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back nine in a DRAMATIC BID FOR A GREEN JACKET Fowler made birdies on six of the last 11 holes to challenge Reed after starting THE DAY kVE STROKES ADRIFT A CLOSING BIRDIE pulling him within a shot. But Reed sank A kVE FOOT PAR PUTT AT AND A FOUR footer at 18 for a one-stroke triumph. g,AST YEAR WAS BIG JUST PLAYING WELL ON THE WEEKEND EXECUTING THAT kNAL nine and hitting shots when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re

under the gun in the moment and under all that pressure,â&#x20AC;? Fowler said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I also think that getting a win earlier this year at Phoenix, getting over all the stuff that happened there, yeah, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more ready than Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever been.â&#x20AC;? $ON T MISTAKE CONkDENCE FOR THE cockiness of a more youthful Fowler, who challenged Augusta customs by wearing a cap backwards in speaking with reporters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think you could ever say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is my time. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to go win,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Fowler said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have to go win it and then say it afterwards.â&#x20AC;?

Good Masters memories Unlike many top players, Fowler

played last week in Texas rather than skip the week before the Masters, honing his golf game to sharpness. g$EkNITELY FEEL GOOD WHERE THE game is at,â&#x20AC;? Fowler said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was able to check a lot of boxes leading into this week and make sure everything IS EITHER WHERE ) WANT IT OR kGURE OUT the few things I want to work on and tighten up going into this week.â&#x20AC;?

After shooting 65-67 on the weekend last year, Fowler has good memories to draw from if he can once again put himself in the hunt FOR A MAJOR TITLE ON 3UNDAY â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just have to do one better,â&#x20AC;? &OWLER SAID g! LOT OF CONkDENCE was taken from last year. The way I executed on the back nine Sunday LAST YEAR WAS DEkNITELY SOMETHING I pull from, and it was a lot of fun to be in the mix. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Have a chance. But time to do one better.â&#x20AC;?

AFP

Q Rickie Fowler of the United States plays a shot during a practice round prior to The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday in Augusta, Georgia. AFP PHOTO

Saso joins hunt as Manila Golf Classic unwraps Rolida, Gabasa top ASIAN Games gold medalist Yuka Saso returns to the scene of her latest triumph to challenge the best of ,0'! OF 4AIWAN 4,0'! AND THE ,ADIES 0HILIPPINE 'OLF 4OUR ,0'4 as she toughens up the cast in the rich ICTSI Manila Golf Ladies ClasSIC STARTING TODAY 7EDNESDAY !PRIL AT THE -ANILA 'OLF #LUB INSIDE the posh Forbes Park. &RESH FROM HER JOINT THIRD PLACE EFfort in the historic Augusta National 7OMEN S !MATEUR AT THE HOME OF the US Masters last Saturday, the FilJapanese will be bringing with her A FORM AND CONkDENCE BOOSTED BY HER kVE SHOT TRIUMPH TO RETAIN THE Philippine Ladies Amateur Open crown last February.

The long-hitting 17-year-old Saso also placed second to world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park in the inaugural The Country Club Ladies InvitaTIONAL LAST MONTH THEN lAUNTED HER world class form by rallying from JOINT TH WITH A CLOSING TO kNISH in the top three in Augusta, Georgia.

That makes her one of the marked players in the star-studded $100,000 championship with the likes of TLPGA No. 3 Babe Liu, Thai Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, reigning LPGT Order of Merit champion Princess Superal and fellow Symetra Tour campaigners Mia Piccio and Cyna

Rodriguez all ready to dish out their best to stop the talented amateur from coming on top in this seventh leg of the LPGT and third stop of the TLPGA sponsored by ICTSI. Liu, who placed second in the kRST ,0'4 SANCTIONED TOURNAMENT â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Party Golfers Ladies Open â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in Taiwan last October, gets the chance to test Saso as they clash in THE A M lIGHT ON .O WITH 4HAI veteran Chonlada Chaya n u n J O I N I N G the group.

A flight ahead are Superal, Lin Tzu-Chi of Taiwan and another Thai Chakansim Khamborn while 2 01 7 L P G T OOM winner Pauline del Rosario tees off at 9:40 a.m. against Taiw a n e s e Chen Meng-Chu and Mina Nakayama of Japan.

Mia Piccio is also tipped to get into the early mix as the Symetra Tour veteran slugs it out with Thai Thanut-

tra Boonraksasat, winner of the last LPGT leg at Southwoods and amateur Chang Tzu-Yi of Taiwan while multi-titled Yupaporn Kawinpakorn launches her drive for a followup to her Pradera Verde romp last January against J a p a n â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Miki Yamashita AND 7ENG Liting of Taiwan at 8:40 a.m., Q Yuka Saso CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

ALSO ON THE kRST HOLE Taiwan, including last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LPGT/TLPGA Midlands leg winner Ching Huang, has 25 players vying for top honors in the event co-sanctioned by TLPGA and the Philippine Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and M.Y. Shokai Technology, Inc., while Thailand, which dominated last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LPGT by ruling six of 11 tournaments, has ENTRIES IN THE PLAYER kELD Launching their title bids at the backside of the tight, par-71 layout are LPGT leg winners Onkanok Soisuwan, who clashes with Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lee Tai-Ling and Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Amelia Yong at 7:40 a.m.; Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, who mixes it up with compatriot Mookharin Ladgratok AND *APANESE -IMORI (II AND 7ANnasiri Sirisampant, who tees off at 9:50 a.m. with local bet Alex Etter and Tsai Hsin-En of Taiwan.

Still, focus will be on Saso, who has generated so much interest following a series of impressive performances with the event also serving as HER kNAL TUNEUP BEFORE FACING OFF THE REGION S BEST IN THE SECOND 7OMEN S !MATEUR !SIA 0ACIkC #HAMPIONSHIP in Ibaraki, Japan on April 25-28.

MVPSF regâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l elims JACOB Rolida survived a backside meltdown to gain the low medal honors with a 147 after a 75 while Junia Gabasa topped the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; elims with a second 74 in the fourth MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championships at Cebu Country Club on Tuesday.

Rolida broke away from a threeway tie with a two-under 34 start but FUMBLED WITH A CLOSING kVE OVER card marred by a double-bogey on the last hole which he bucked to clinch the top seeding among the 16 QUALIkERS FOR TODAY S 7EDNESDAY start of the match play phase.

Rolando Pila birdied the last hole to salvage a 74 for a 148 then nipped Aidric Chan, who bogeyed the 18th for a 74-148, in the countback for the No. SPOT IN THE KNOCKOUT QUARTERkNALS of the weeklong event serving as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Tour and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Chan, winner of last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Philippine Junior Open, settled for No. 3 followed by Joaquin Gomez, who matched Rolidaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opening 72 but hobbled with a 78 for a 150.

Gabasa also wavered at the tough backside of the tight, tree-lined

layout, ending up with a 38 for that 74 and a 36-total of 148, three shots ahead of Pamela Mariano, who rallied with a three-under 69 to snare the No. 2 spot with a 151.

Grace Quintanilla placed third with a 154 after a 78, followed by +RISTINE &LEETWOOD !SHLEY ,LENA #LEER &LORES

-ARIE 3UELO AND 7ILMA &ANTONIAL Others who advanced in menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play of the event, sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT Group, #IGNAL AND -ETRO 0ACIkC AND HOSTED BY ### WERE 0AOLO 7ONG WHO limped with a 78 for a 151, the same output put in by Martin Mendoza, who fought back with a 74, and Joseph Alvarez, who carded a 75, while Harvey Sytiongsa and opening day co-leader Carl Corpus pooled 152s after a 78 and 80, respectively.

Completing the match play cast ARE 3ANTINO ,AUREL -IKHAIL 9BAĂ&#x201E;EZ -ASAICHI /TAKE

!LFREDO #ABAJAR

-ARK $Y 7EI 9U 'AO AND &ERNANDO -ONDARES

WHO EDGED 0IERRE .ERI on the second playoff hole for the last spot and a faceoff with Rolida.

Escote, THANKS, ADAMSON, THANKS, COACH ANA! Cantela earn nat'l team slots LEONEL Escote whipped Roniel Pansacula and Juan Samson Guillermo Cantela blasted Chrisus Joseph Sanchez ensure their spot to the Asean Age Group-bound national team after 10 rounds in the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Under-16 division of the Gov. Amor Deloso National Age Group Chess Championships at the Zambales Sports Complex in Iba, Zambales yesterday.

The wins kept Escote at the helm with eight points while Cantela stayed at second with 7.5 points while it sealed them spots in the Myanmar tilt this June for a chance to earn outright International Master and FIDE Master titles and possibly Grandmaster norms.

Escote was playing Clyde Harris Saraos while Cantela was battling Chrisus Joshua Sanchez in the 11th and final round at press time in this tournament sponsored

by Gov. Deloso and Congressman Cheryl Deloso, the Philippine Sports Commission and NCFP president Butch Pichay.

In the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Under-16, Ma. Elayza Villa dumped Irish Yngayo to zoom to the top with 7.5 points, half a point ahead of erstwhile co-leaders Mary Joy Tan and Ruth Joy Vinuya, who battled to a draw.

Tan and Vinuya skidded to a share of second with seven points apiece.

In the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; U-14, Lovely Ann Geraldino pulled the rug from under former leader Heart Padilla to steal the solo lead with eight points with still a round remaining.

Padilla slipped to No. 2 with 7.5 points.

7(!4 National University lost, Adamson University gained.

Arianne Vallestero was a mainstay of the Sampaloc-based Lady Bulldogs for two years in the UAAP womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s softball tournament but due to circumstances beyond her control she had to move to San Marcelino campus to end her varsity leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playing career.

Donning the Lady Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; blue and white uniform, the 23-year-old slugger from Baras, Rizal, not only helped her new team capture a pair of UAAP diadems, she, too, nearly swept all of this seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual honors she, probably, wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lid her hands on had he remained a Lady Bulldog.

After helping Adamson annex its 18th UAAP trophy, she will be hanging her Lady Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sneakers WITH HER kRST SEASON -OST 6ALUABLE Player silverware she never dreamt of winning.

After the smoke of the softball championship, battle had extinguished last week, the braced-tooth pride of Baras went home, too, as the leagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s batting champion, the

most Runs Batted In, Most Home runs she shared with University of Santo Tomasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sales Ma. Charlotte and Most Stolen Bases honors she shared with with fellow Lady Falcon Gabrielle Ma. Angelu.

The only trophies that escaped Vallesteroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; grip were the Best Pitcher and Final MVP that were both awarded to teammate Lyca Basa and Rookie of the Year that belonged to Charlotte. â&#x20AC;&#x153; Napakasaya at excited,â&#x20AC;? the ever-smiling young child of Andres and Chuchie Vallestero giggled in an interview with this writer over the weekend. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hindi ko man lang pinangarap na mapapanalunan ko itong mga karangalang ito. Salamat sa Adamson at kay coach Ana!â&#x20AC;? he blurted out. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thanks din kay COACH :ACKY 7HO RECOMmended me to coach Ana.â&#x20AC;?

Vallestero was referring to coaches Ana Santiago of the Lady Falcons and Zacarias Bacarisas, her old mentor at National U, whose ouster from the school ushered in her transfer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nang lumipat ako sa Adamson, nagkaroon ako ng peace of mind.

Q Vallestero displays her trophy collection after the UAAP womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s softball championship awarding ceremony at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Sumaya ang athletic life ko kasi naramdaman ko welcome na welcome ako,â&#x20AC;? Vallestero attested. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Si coach Ana din ang naging instrument para maging member ako ng Philippine Blu Girls at makapag-

represent ng country sa Southeast Asain Games, Asian Games, Canada Cup and EVEN 7ORLD #UP u SHE RECALLED â&#x20AC;&#x153;Malaki talaga pasasalamat ko sa Adamson kasi kahit matatapos na playing years ko sa UAAP, pinapa-

yagan nila akong makapagpatuloy tapusin ang marketing management course ko,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Malaking bagay â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yun sa magiging future ko. u7HY THEY EVEN GIVE ME INCENtives for my performance this year, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Valletero said with chuckle. She refused to divulge, though, how much, except to say: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Basta malaki!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even when she was playing against us, nakita ko na ang potential niya. Malakas at laking softball kasi,â&#x20AC;? Santiago said of her prized recruit, who started playing the SPORT AT AGE kVE The well-built Vallestero grew up under the shadow of the Baras ElEMENTARY 3CHOOL S PLAYING kELD WHERE she learned the rudiments of softball and fell in love with the game.

Pretty soon, her parents along with siblings Archie, Arvin and Rose would be accompanying her see ACTION kRST IN TOWN TOURNAMENTS

then provincial, then the regional Southern Tagalog Athletic Association meets and Palarong Pambansa where she polished her game.

EDDIE G. ALINEA

Padilla, Bandolis seek to stop Denopolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PPS dominance JUDY Ann Padilla and Kristine Bandolis try to put an end to Angel Denopolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domination of the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 14-and-under PLAY AS THEY BANNER THE kELD IN THE 003 PEPP Kapatagan national age-grouper which got under way at the Kapatagan and Maranding courts in Lanao del Norte over the weekend.

Padilla gets the top seeding while Bandolis heads the lower draw of their age group division which the third

ranked Denopol ruled in Misamis Occidental and Molave, Zamboanga the last two weeks of the long-running tournament presented by Dunlop.

But the 12-year-old Denopol, from Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, appears a cinch to make it three straight in row in her age bracket though she remains wary of her rivals led by Kristina Bandolis, Hannah Caberte, May Gonzales, Rio Aguinid, Erl Dominguez and Nina

Bantilan among others.

Meanwhile, Kristine Bandolis, Angel Vosotros and siblings Judy Ann and Carmel Padilla are tipped to dispute the 16-U crown with Carmel Padilla and Zeiah Toribio bannering the premier 18-U side of the Group 2 tournament put by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro and hosted by Byron Atay.

For details, call 09154046464.

Eric Tangub also eyes a two-title feat in the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; category with the Tucuran, Zambo del Sur bet bracing for a tough challenge from Lex Estillore, Steven Sonsona and Brent Cortes in the 18-U class and from Nash Agustines, Sebastian Lagamon, Estillore and Cortes in the 16-U division.

Agustines, from Oroquieta, and Aslan Carbonilla face a tall order in the full-packed 14-U roster which also

drew RJ Cagatan, Christop Sonsona, Kurt Bandolis and Miguel Iglupas while Vince Bering, Sean Esick, Cyd Villamar and Andrei Tan set out to dispute the 12-U diadem while Pete Bandala, Vincent Nadal, Aix Estillore and Cielo Gonzales vie in the 10-unisex side of the kVE DAY TOURNAMENT SANCTIONED BY THE 5NIkED 4ENNIS 0HILIPPINES MADE UP OF 003 0%00 #EBUANA ,HUILLIER 7ILSON

Tobyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.

Football Hazard stuns West Ham as Chelsea goes third L

C4

Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

WEDNESDAY APRIL 10, 2019

O N D O N : E d e n H a z a r d â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s m a g n i f i c e n t double earned Chelsea a 2-0 win over West Ham on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) and moved Maurizio Sarriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s men up to third in the Premier League.

Reports continue to link Hazard with a summer move to Real Madrid with the Belgian refusing to extend his contract at Stamford Bridge beyond 2020. !ND HE UNDERLINED ONCE MORE HOW much Chelsea will miss their number 10 should he depart for the SpanISH CAPITAL WITH A DAZZLING DISPLAY

capped by a sensational solo goal to open the scoring.

Hazard collected the ball just inside THE 7EST (AM HALF BUT STRODE FORWARD jinking past three defenders before COOLLY SLOTTING PAST ,UKASZ &ABIANSKI after 24 minutes.

The hosts and Hazard had to wait until stoppage time to secure the three points as this time he controlled inside the box and kRED INTO THE FAR CORner for his 19th goal of the season.

Victory moves Chelsea two points clear of Tottenham and three ahead of kFTH PLACED !RSENAL IN THE RACE FOR A TOP FOUR kNISH BUT BOTH THEIR ,ONDON RIVALS AND -ANCHESTER 5NITED kVE points back in sixth -- now have a game in hand on Sarriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s men. )N CONTRAST TO (AZARD S FORM 'ONZALO Higuain has managed just three goals SINCE JOINING #HELSEA ON LOAN IN *ANUARY

all against already relegated opposition IN (UDDERSkELD AND &ULHAM 4HE !RGENTINE STATED HIS DESIRE before kick-off to make his move permanent should Chelsea successfully appeal a one-year transfer ban imposed BY &)&!

BUT HE HAD ANOTHER NIGHT TO forget in front of goal.

3HORTLY AFTER OPENING THE SCORING A wonderful looping Hazard pass picked out Higuain inside the area but a comBINATION OF &ABIANSKI AND THE POST denied him a much-needed goal from a narrow angle.

-ARKO !RNAUTOVIC WAS THEN FORTUnate to avoid conceding a penalty for BARGING INTO (AZARD BUT THAT seemed the Hammersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only way of stopping the Belgian captain.

Callum Hudson-Odoi was handed just his second Premier League start and the teenage England international was only denied HIS kRST TOP lIGHT GOAL BY A lYING SAVE FROM &ABIANSKI TO tip his rising drive over.

(IGUAIN S LACK OF CONkDENCE WAS IN evidence as he passed up the chance to HEAD HOME . 'OLO +ANTE S CROSS AND INSTEAD SAW HIS SHOT DElECTED BEHIND after taking a touch to control on his chest.

Hazard on the other hand was demanding the ball at every opporTUNITY AND WAS kRST TO THREATEN AGAIN AFTER THE BREAK WITH A SHOT THAT lASHED across the West Ham goal.

(OWEVER HAVING FAILED TO MUSTER A SINGLE ATTACK OF NOTE BEFORE THE BREAK

the visitors sparked into life in the second half and could have made Chelsea pay for their failure to kill the game off.

AFP

Q Chelseaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jorginho (right) vies for the ball with West Hamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Manuel Lanzini during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and West Ham at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London. AP PHOTO

Liverpool eyes double crown LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his players are reveling in the pressure to win every game as they chase a Premier League and Champions League double.

Kloppâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s men host Porto in the first leg of their European quarterfinal tie on Tuesday after scoring late winners to beat Fulham, Tottenham and Southampton to edge two points ahead of Manchester City in a titanic title race.

City still have a game in hand on Liverpool, meaning the title remains in the English championsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands, and there is precious little room for error for the Reds in their remaining five league games.

But Klopp believes being in the running to win both competitions is inspiring his squad not to give up late in games. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such a good time. We get up every morning and the weather is good as well which is pretty rare. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s warm

outside, spring is coming and we are in the two big competitions, but we have to use the situation,â&#x20AC;? he said on Monday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have not finished the season, we have not finished our development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to write a few proper things on the pages of that season book. We are on fire to be honest, you can see it in training, but other teams as well. We all play for a lot.â&#x20AC;?

After squeezing through a difficult group containing Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli on goals scored and overcoming German giants Bayern Munich in the last 16, Porto were seen as a softer draw in the last eight.

Liverpool thrashed the Portuguese side 5-0 in last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Champions League last 16, but Klopp said the tie is tougher than it seems. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People around said so many things, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;you want Portoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, they only look at numbers and

names, stuff like that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People with a proper idea about football didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to have Porto, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the truth. But nobody wanted Liverpool as well by the way.â&#x20AC;?

Klopp will be forced into a change at left back, with Andy Robertson suspended, while Joe Gomez will not be rushed back into action despite returning to training after a lower leg fracture.

Liverpool has largely coped without Gomez thanks to Virgil van Dijkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s towering presence at the heart of a much-improved defense.

And the Dutchman believes he and his teammates will be able to hold their heads high even if they fall short of ending a 29-year wait to win the Premier League due to Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brilliance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone is dreaming of it and the unlucky bit for us is another team in the league has been amazing as well,â&#x20AC;? said Van Dijk.

AFP

PSG misses chance to wrap up French title Q Paris Saint-Germainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Colin Dagba (left) vies with Strasbourgâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lionel Carole during the French L1 football match at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. AFP PHOTO PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain squandered the chance to clinch the Ligue 1 title in record-equaling time after being held to a 2-2 draw at home

by Strasbourg.

PSG were handed the opportunity to win their sixth French crown in seven seasons after second-placed Lille drew 1-1 at Reims earlier.

That left Thomas Tuchelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side knowing that three points at the Parc des Princes would see them retain the title and wrap it up with eight games to spare, matching the speed with which Laurent Blancâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team became champions in 2016.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting gave them an early lead, and it looked as though the home side would get the job done despite Kylian Mbappe being left on the bench at kick-off

and Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria all missing out due to injury.

However, Strasbourg came into this game fresh from winning the League Cup last weekend and they fought back to lead before half-time with Nuno Da Costa turning in a Lionel Carole cross to equalise and Anthony Goncalves lashing home from 22 yards to make it 2-1 in the 36th minute.

Mbappe came off the bench on the hour mark but it was another substitute who made it 2-2 with eight minutes remaining. Julian Draxler sent in a corner from the right and Germany defender Thilo Kehrer headed home.

However, having drawn at home to PSG back in December, mid-table Strasbourg then held on for a point.

A huge 20 points clear at the summit and with a game in hand, PSG will now hope to secure the eighth league title in their history when they go to Lille next weekend.

A point will be enough in that game, but PSG should HAVE kNISHED THE JOB HERE Â&#x2021; Choupo-Moting somehow managed to turn a net-bound Christopher Nkunku shot onto THE POST IN THE kRST HALF IN ONE of the worst misses you are ever likely to see, and Dani Alves hit the bar after the break.

Earlier, Jose Fonteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 56th-minute header had Lille on course to take all three points away to Reims in Champagne country, but substitute Remi Oudinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TH MINUTE LEVELLER Â&#x2021; INITIALLY ruled out for offside but then GIVEN AFTER A 6!2 REVIEW Â&#x2021; DEAFP nied the visitors.

WEDNESDAY W E D N E S DAY APRIL 10, 2019

Lifestyle

D1 Things to do if afflicted with hypertension

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Effective management of hypertension is key to lower risk for stroke H

YPERTENSION or high blood pressure remains the leading cause of illness and untimely death in the Philippines. According to the Department of Health, over 12 million Filipinos suffer from this debilitating disease but more than half are unaware of their condition, making them walking timebombs as victims of this â&#x20AC;&#x153;silent killer.â&#x20AC;?

Undiagnosed or untreated hypertension can lead to stroke or heart attack, resulting to either disability or death.

IS A SILVER LINING STROKE IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS CAN BE PREVENTED â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hypertension is the single MOST IMPORTANT MODIkABLE RISK FACTOR FOR STROKE -ODIkABLE REFERS Link between TO A RISK FACTOR WE CAN CHANGE OR hypertension and control. Hypertension doubles to stroke quadruples your risk for stroke BEFORE THE AGE OF #ONTROLLING Uncontrolled hypertension in- your blood pressure can reduce CREASES THE PRESSURE OF BLOOD lOW- your risk for stroke,â&#x20AC;? explained ing through the arteries, causing Rochelle Valera, an endocrinoloTHEM TO NARROW RUPTURE OR LEAK gist and country medical lead of Damaged arteries can also reduce 5PJOHN A 0kZER DIVISION BLOOD lOW TO THE BRAIN DEPRIVING the brain of oxygen and the nutri- Reducing risk for ENTS IT NEEDS Â&#x2021; AND THIS IS WHEN stroke by managing stroke strikes. hypertension Age is a risk factor for stroke: the RISK OF STROKE DOUBLES EVERY YEARS !CCORDING TO 6ALERA FOUR OUT OF BETWEEN THE AGES OF AND YEARS PEOPLE WHO DIE FROM STROKE COULD old. In the Philippines, stroke is the HAVE BEEN SAVED IF THEY HAD REGUsecond leading cause of death for lated their blood pressure. males and the fourth in females. g)T IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE REGULAR Despite these numbers, there CHECK UPS WITH A DOCTOR AND TO MONI-

Q Undiagnosed or untreated hypertension can lead to stroke or heart attack, resulting to either disability or death.

tor your blood pressure to determine WHETHER YOU RE HYPERTENSIVE OR NOT u the endocrinologist said. g)F YOU ARE DIAGNOSED TO HAVE hypertension, it is important to COMMUNICATE OPENLY WITH YOUR doctor so that you understand your condition and its management. Make the necessary lifestyle CHANGES IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN Â&#x2021; EAT A WELL BALANCED diet, limit alcohol and salt intake, BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE MANAGE YOUR

STRESS LEVELS AND QUIT SMOKING u she explained. g)F YOU ARE DIAGNOSED WITH hypertension, your doctor may prescribe a medication to help LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE !LWAYS ensure that you take your medicaTION AS ADVISED BY YOUR PHYSICIAN You must also keep your appointMENTS WITH YOUR DOCTOR SO THAT your condition and your blood PRESSURE LEVELS CAN BE MONITORED u Valera added.

HIGH blood pressure is the most modifiable cardiovascular risk factor, and treatment does not automatically mean that one needs to take pills for life. There are several essential lifestyle changes that can be made to successfully manage blood pressure.

Limit Salt. In populations that don'teat salt, there's little to no high blood pressure. Therefore, one most important advice is for people to limit sodium intake, or salt. Modern Western or Asian diet is overloaded with salt, where both groups currently consume almost five times the recommended daily amount of sodium.

Processed foods and many restaurant meals are very high in added sodium, so in addition to not adding salt to meals, avoiding these processed foods and limiting eating out is critical. It is also essential to read the labels on foods to try to keep sodium intake below 2000mg a day. It is not enough to buy low-salt options, as these often still have very high levels of sodium.

Lose Weight. Weight loss is critical for blood pressure control. Losing 20 lbs. can cause blood pressure to drop by as much as 20 points (mmHg).

Exercise is also important, and with an appropriate diet, it can help with achieving weight loss.

Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol is often overlooked as a contributor to high

blood pressure. One small glass of wine a day may be fine, but certainly no more, and binge drinking may be particularly bad for blood pressure as well.

Problems sleeping. Not enough sleep or poor sleep quality may also be a factor. If one is told that he snores badly or seem to stop breathing while sleeping, ask doctor if needed to be evaluated for sleep apnea.

What about caffeine? Caffeine can raise the blood pressure in individuals who seldom drink or eat it. However, as there is less of an effect on blood pressure among regular coffee drinkers, it is not currently recommended that one gives up a morning cup of coffee or tea.

Take hypertension medications as prescribed. Medications are frequently needed, and if given a prescription, make sure to take medications regularly and as instructed. If feeling dizzy or lightheaded while taking them, blood pressure may be too low that needs reevaluation from the physician.

It is also advisable to hold blood pressure medications if vomiting, have diarrhea or one is dehydrated.

If despite medications and yet blood pressure is still high (above 120/80), one needs to be evaluated by a hypertension specialist or nephrologist.

Source: blog.atriushealth.org by Dr. Adam Segal Posted on Sept. 21, 2016

Q Hypertension doubles to quadruples risk for stroke before the age of 80. Controlling blood pressure can reduce risk for stroke.

Âťwhat'sonwhere 'Haircut for a cause' in MakatiMed to benefit cancer patients today MAKATI -EDICAL #ENTER -AKATI-ED HAS PARTNERED WITH (EADS

by Volu-Med Salon for free haircut FOR A CAUSE WITH CANCER PATIENTS AS beneficiaries. #ALLED g'IFT /F 9OUR (AIR u THE HAIR DONATION DRIVE IS OPEN TO

THOSE WITH HAIR AT LEAST NINE INCHES long â&#x20AC;&#x201D; any hair type, including GRAY AND WHITE HAIR Â&#x2021; ON !PRIL FROM A M UNTIL P M AT THE #ANCER #ENTER ST &LOOR 4OWER .OW THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR THAT THE -AKATI-ED #ANCER #ENTER

ORGANIZED THE ANNUAL HAIR DONATION DRIVE THE CUT HAIRS WILL BE CAREFULLY MADE INTO WIGS WHICH CANCER patients can use.

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D2

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

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Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

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P 2.4 B hydro power plant in Mindoro inaugurated

ORMIN Power Inc. Chairman Jolly Ting (2nd from left) briefs guests during the inauguration of the P 2.4 B Inabasan hydro power plant in Oriental Mindoro on March 23.

With Ting are Calapan City Mayor Arnan Panaligan, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, and Oriental Mindoro (2nd district) Representative Ray Umali.

Cafe Amazon now open in historic Cavite City CAVITEĂ&#x2018;OS can taste the authentic Thai Milk Tea and Best-selling Green Tea as the Cafe Amazon is now open in historic City of Cavite, starting March 18, located at located at PTT Gas Station, Manila-Cavite Road, Sta. Cruz, across San Sebastian College Recoletos (SSCR) de Cavite main.

The shop opens daily from 7:00am to 11:00pm to cater the tea and coffee lovers in town according to Franchise Owner Bernice Angeles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are proud of our authentic Thai milk tea, CaviteĂąos will surely love it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a different kind of coffee shop experience that the consumers must try, come and visit our outlet,â&#x20AC;? Bernice Angeles said.

CafĂŠ Amazon brings its oasis-inspired coffee experience to Filipino consumers and has branches at SM North EDSA Annex, PTT SCTEX, PTT Dasmarinas, and PTT Pulilan.

Established in 2002, CafĂŠ Amazon was conceptualized by the PTT Group to complete the customer service experience in all PTT gas stations.

More than 2,500 branches worldwide with branches in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Oman, Myanmar, Philippines CafĂŠ Amazon is a chain of Thai cafes founded by PTT Public Company Limited. The cafes are primarily found inside of gas stations. There are 2,557 Amazon CafĂŠs located inside and outside of PTT gas stations, of which 168 are international outlets that operate in five countries. Most in Southeast Asia.

Enjoy the effects of cosmetic procedures in a bottle NEW to the Philippine market is the topical, non-invasive alternative to cosmetic procedures and surgery.

Skin Doctors Cosmeceuticals bridges the gap between traditional cosmetics and cosmetic surgery with a full range of clinically proven products that work on the cellular level of the skin, delivering visible and lasting benefits.

The Australian brand offers solutions for every skin problem, from expression lines to pigmentation, from spider veins to dark circles. For anti-aging treatment, Skin Doctors has a product range that addresses thining and drying skin.

The Skin Doctors Beetox with Manuka Honey is a product that PLUMPS AND kRMS WITHOUT THE STING Bothered with the first signs of expressions lines and wrinkles? Skin Doctors offers the Relaxaderm, which reduces those concerns by up to 50 percent in just 28 days. Meanwhile, the Super Facelift improves cell renewal, firmness, tone, and moisture to reduce forehead wrinkles and crowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet.

It also offers several resur-

facing and pigmentation treatments, starting with the Gamma Hydroxy , the most advanced athome cosmetic chemical peels.

Meanwhile, the SD White and Bright claims to reduce the visible signs of existing pigmentation and skin discoloration.

The Eye Tuck helps reduce the appearance of eye bags by tightening the skin with a smoother and brighter glow, while the Eye #IRCLE IMPROVES kRMNESS OF THE EYE AREA AND kGHTS THE VISIBLE signs of aging due to dark circles.

The Supermoist claims to moisturize the skin by 450 percent within 30 minutes and is designed to provide hydration and environmental protection for 24 hours.

Skin Doctors was founded in 3YDNEY IN )TS kRST PRODUCT

the Vein Away, became the number 1 selling cream through pharmacy that year. The brand is now globally distributed in over 40 countries, including the Philippines.

Public Square

WEDNESDAY April 10, 2019

Dumaguete named Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sports tourism hub D

UMAGUETE is known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The City of Gentle Peopleâ&#x20AC;? due to the extraordinary warm hospitality and kind nature of its people, not to mention the genteel way of life despite being the capital and urban center of Negros Oriental.

Last year, it was awarded by The Philippine Retirement Authority as the top in their Retirement Area Deemed as Retiree-Friendly (Radar) index which measures a placeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compliance with global lifestyle standards set by the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and International Living.

It was also named as worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fifth best place to retire by the prestigious Forbes Magazine.

But despite its laid-back aura, its â&#x20AC;&#x153;gentle peopleâ&#x20AC;? is an active population engaged in a variety of sports from sunrise to sundown. Locals from all social classes indulge their chosen physical activityâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;jogging or biking at the scenic Rizal Boulevard, zumba at the public plaza, or a set or two at the badminton courts.

In the afternoon, village of Daro becomes an attraction for the â&#x20AC;&#x153;binaryo,â&#x20AC;? a MODIkED FOUR ON FOUR STREET VOLLEYBALL

which features tricycle drivers who spike hard in the game after a hard dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.

Over at the baywalk, the area is abuzz with volleybelles at the beach volleyball courts purposely built by the City Government for tournaments.

Q Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo (center) receives the Phil Sports Tourism Award for Dumaguete from DOT Central Visayas Regional Director Shalimar Hoffer Tamano. With them are city officials and department heads.

According to Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, they have been positioning the city as a sports hub in the central Philippines by organizing and hosting national events.

In line with its 70th charter anNIVERSARY AND kESTA LAST YEAR THE CITY hosted the Dumaguete Triathlon, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Games, the Dumaguete Dragon Boat Challenge and the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour.

Moreover, the Philippine University Games has made the city their default venue because of its strategic location, splendid facilities, reasonable costs, conducive environment, and warm hometown crowd.

Earlier in 2017, Little League Philippines Series, National Frisbee ultimate Championship, Philippine National Games, Batang Pinoy, Philippine Super Liga Spike on Tour, 1st Southeast

Asian Beach Handball have made the city their playground.

In-mid February this year, Dumaguete hosted the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association, the regional qualifying round of the Palarong Pambansa where the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sports excellence and trademark hospitality were once again put to the fore.

These initiatives have translated into an exponential growth in tourism arrivals and earned the city the coveted Organizer of the Year (Government) in the Philippine Sports Tourism Award late last year organized by Selrahco Management and Consultancy Services. Dumaguete is also a runner-up in the Sports Destination of the Year category, which was won

by Subic Bay Freeport.

The awardees were selected by a panel of judges from various sectors, includ-

ing the Department of Tourism (DOT), Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This award will top off all the tourism awards we got. I always believe that sports is a great equalIZER AND UNIkER u 2EMOLLO SAID IN the PSTA ceremonies.

To build on the momentum of its being a sports tourism capital, he said the city will embark on the Dive Dumaguete program this June to encourage the residents to engage in scuba diving, which can be later used for water safety and protection of the marine ecosystem.

He also disclosed that the city will be hosting the 20th Asean University Games in 2020, the biggest regional sporting event for students from the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Sarangani rolls out P 103-M watershed rehab project THE provincial government of Sarangani recently rolled out a multimillion-peso rehabilitation project of the 7.9-hectare Saub watershed ecosystem in Maitum town.

Dubbed as Watershed Ecosystem Rehabilitation and Flood Risk Reduction for Increased Resilience, the project would cost P 103 million with counterpart fund sharing of P93,597,439.90 from the Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Survival Fund and the P9,325,125.10 from Sarangani.

The watershed covers nine barangays with a total of 1,747 households living along the 100-meter riparian zone which are placed at high risk exposure TO lOODING AND OTHER CLIMATE HAZARDS According to governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, the memorandum of agreement (MOA) sets the terms and conditions for the release of the P93.5-million grant from the naTIONAL GOVERNMENT S lAGSHIP kNANCE climate program (PSF).

The PSF was created by Republic Act No. 9729 or the Climate Change

Act of 2009, and aims to help vulnerable communities prepare for the adverse climatic events. It is a special fund in the National Treasury for the financing of adaptation programs and projects based on the National Strategic Framework on Climate Change with at least P1 billion annual supplementary allocations to relevant climate-related program funding of the local government units.

Partnering with the province in the undertaking are the municipality of Maitum, and the Mindanao State University (MSU), Mahintana Foundation, Inc. and the Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation, Inc. (CLAFI), which will provide technical assistance in the research, formulation of Saub Watershed Management Plan, project monitoring and evaluation.

3INCE EXTREME lOODING IN Maitum has caused destruction to agricultural and structural properties, and loss of lives.

The Environmental Conservation

Q Saub river in Sarangani and Protection Center (ECPC) of SaRANGANI NOTED THAT lOODING IS THE most common hazard experienced in the area. Flood susceptibility is computed to be 10,001 hectares for high, 5,881.65 hectares for moderate and 2,604.26 hectares for low.

The project will develop Saub watershed ecosystem resiliency and

community protection through watershed governance, build the capacities of Maitum municipal government, DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS BENEkCIARIES AND STAKEHOLDERS TO ADAPT TO lOOD risks and impacts of climate change variability, alleviate poverty through agro-forestry development, and establish riverbank protection.

Financial marketplace celebrates women entrepreneurs NOW is a good time to be a woman-trepreneur in the Philippines.

Just last year, the Philippines was rated as the ninth best market for women entrepreneurs in the world in a report by global payments company Mastercard.

The Philippines made the top 10, the only market not in the developing world to do so. The only other Southeast Asian country in the top 10 is Singapore.

The report found that women enTREPRENEURS IN THE 0HILIPPINES BENEkT from what is considered a genderfriendly business environment.

Online financial marketplace eCompareMo.com salutes hardworking and ambitious Filipino entrepreneurs. As part of their advocacy to help Filipinos make betTER kNANCIAL DECISIONS THEY WANT to help the Filipina in her drive to become a successful entrepreneur.

In line with that, eCompareMo. com hosted â&#x20AC;&#x153;#SHERules: Filipinas Who Change The Way We Do Business,â&#x20AC;? a roundtable discussion on empowering women through entrepreneurship, which took place at the Rockwell Club in Makati City. #SHERules esteemed panelists included Department of Trade and Industry Regional Operations Group assistant secretary Blesila Lantayona; Financial Literacy Advocate Daniela Laurel; and Camille Villar, managing director of Vista Land and Lifescapes and daughter of recently named Forbesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Richest Filipino, Manny Villar. They join eCompareMo.comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief /PERATING /FkCER #HED ,IMSON

in speaking about the unique challenges and triumphs faced by Filipina entrepreneurs today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The power of women is often underestimated, both by them-

Q #SHERules esteemed panelists include Department of Trade and Industry Regional Operations Group Assistant Secretary Blesila Lantayona; Financial Literacy Advocate Daniela Laurel; Camille Villar, managing director of Vista Land and Lifescapes; and eCompareMo.comâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chief Operating Officer Ched Limson. selves and others. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so proud ACCESS TO kNANCING THROUGH A WIDE to be able to highlight just how selection of loans with low interthe Filipina can harness her inner est rates and light payment terms. strength and channel it through Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for seed capital or extra funds to expand entrepreneurship,â&#x20AC;? said Limson. g4HROUGH OUR ONLINE kNANCIAL your business, we can help you marketplace, we give everyone find the right loan to suit your who wants to grow their business needs,â&#x20AC;? she added.

QC declares Gloria III Subdivision roads for public use

SHFC awards land titles to 51 Pasig partner-homeowners

THE Quezon City Council has passed a resolution proclaiming abandoned roads, open spaces, and excess lots of Gloria III Subdivision in Barangay Culiat as properties for public use.

City Resolution 7204-2017, introduced by Councilor Donato Matias, states that the said subdivision owned by Saf Associates Realty and Builders Corporation has been abandoned for the past years and the administration and utilization of its facilities and road lots were shouldered by the homeowners.

Based on the certifications issued by Securities and Exchange Commission, the developer Saf Associates Realty and Builders Corporation has been in inactive status.

THE long wait was over for 51 partner-homeowners from Napico Homeowners Association, Inc. (HOAI) Phase 3 as they received THEIR RESPECTIVE TRANSFER CERTIkCATE of title from the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC).

Held on March 8 in Barangay Manggahan, Pasig City, the ceremony was led by Ofelia Nisperos, OIC-Manager of NCR South Area Operations, and Prandy Vergara, OIC-Chief of Division, NCR South Area Operationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Loan Administration Division. They were joined by team members from the Legal Department and Strategic Communications Division.

Napico HOAI Phase 3 is composed of 254 members and is

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was attempt in the past to donate the road lots and open spaces but it did not materialize for unknown reasons. Likewise, the inaction of the developer to donate said open spaces and road lots as provided in Presidential Decree No. 1216 and the efforts of the homeownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s association to locate the developer proved to be futile,â&#x20AC;? the resolution read.

City Ordinance 2298-2014 declared that dissolution or cessation to exist of developers, owners and operators that have not turned over such open spaces to the city shall not preclude the city government from maintaining, preserving, and developing the same as abandoned property.

D3

currently led

by Roseller Fortich. They are now part of the more than 310,000 families who have received security of tenure since the launch of the Community Mortgage Program (CMP), Q The 51 partner-homeowners from Napico Homeowners Association Inc. scheme in which they can borrow secure land tenure through shelter SHFCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flagas a group to purchase the land they kNANCING AND DEVELOPMENT SOLUship initiative in 1988.

CMP aims to improve the living occupy or would like to relocate to. tions by Building Adequate Livable SHFC is the lead agency assisting Affordable and Inclusive (BALAI) conditions of low-income families by PROVIDING THEM AFFORDABLE kNANCING underprivileged communities to Filipino communities.

WEDNESDAY W E D N ESDAY APRIL 10, 2019

Entertainment

D4

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Jessy, Arjo go from teleserye to the big screen A

Q Jessy Mendiola and Arjo Atayde play two strangers stranded together on a night â&#x20AC;&#x201D; worlds apart in character and beliefs, they unexpectedly fall for one another in the movie.

Talent is all in the family. On Tuesday, seasoned actress Sylvia Sanchez-Atayde, who just won Best Actress for her riveting portrayal of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jesusaâ&#x20AC;? on Sunday nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sinag Maynila Festival Awards ceremony, held a thanksgiving luncheon with children Ria and Arjo, who have clearly inherited her acting genes. With goodness also in the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DNA, Sanchez was speechless with gratitude over her continued success in showbiz, which her equally gifted offspring are also achieving on their own. The proud mother asked guests to support son Arjo in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grand opening of the Regal Entertainment movie, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stranded,â&#x20AC;? while excitedly looking forward to her daughter Riaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all-new original series for IWantTV. TMA

Atayde expressed at the movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s press conference, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nasanay kasi sila na kontrabida ako on 46 AND kRST TIME ko 'to na bida in a love story so Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hoping matanggap nila ako in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Strandedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as a leading man. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thankfully, Jessy and I have known each other for quite some time and it really helped in shooting the movie that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re friends â&#x20AC;&#x201D; walang ilangan â&#x20AC;&#x201D; since a big part of the movie shows just the two of us talking WITH THE kLM S PREMISE OF TWO strangers relating to one another after they get stranded on a rainy night. We both had ideas on how interpret our characters but again, thankfully, Jessy is very collaborative.â&#x20AC;?

Sharing the same sentiments, Mendiola said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grateful din ako

On the other hand, Atayde portrays the role of Spencer, the man she meets, who always lives his life to the fullest albeit without direction. Locked up in a building overnight, he and Julia discover things about themselves they never thought were there all along.

But just like chalk and cheese, the accidental pair disagree on everything and ironically find themselves attracted to one another. Julia and Spencer realize that despite their opposing views they still have something in common â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they are both searching for happiness.

Stranded is Ice Idananâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second FEATURE kLM FOLLOWING g3AKALING Hindi Makaratingâ&#x20AC;? (The Amazing *OURNEY OF THE ,ETTERS A kNALIST at the Cine Filipino Independent Film Festival in March 2016. She took home seven awards out of 10 nominations for her debut lICK INCLUDING "EST $IRECTOR "EST

na napadali ang trabaho namin kasi si Arjo ay isang napakagaling na aktor. Like he said, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been

friends for a long time now so we

Perfect families, shadowy scenarios T

HERE are two horror movies both worth see more of his material return on the big screen.

WATCHING RIGHT NOW THE kLM VERSION Updated â&#x20AC;&#x153;Salemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lot,â&#x20AC;? please? of the Stephen King classic, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pet Semataryâ&#x20AC;? and Meanwhile, Peeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Us was actually inspired by Jordan Peeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usâ&#x20AC;? (which comes on the heels â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mirror Image,â&#x20AC;? a Twilight Zone episode he saw OF HIS BREAKTHROUGH kLM g'ET as a child. You could enjoy Us as Outâ&#x20AC;? and released on the eve A CREEPY SOMETIMES FUNNY kLM of his â&#x20AC;&#x153;Twilight Zoneâ&#x20AC;? series).

Or you could dig a bit deeper and "OTH kLMS START OUT WITH discuss the social commentary in a perfect family of four â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a it. While Pet Sematary connects happy husband and wife, a the fear to grief, death, loss and daughter (older child) and the ability to deal (or not deal) a son. But things start to turn upside down with it, Us plays around with our fear of for them. dopplegangers. Seeing our â&#x20AC;&#x153;selvesâ&#x20AC;? or people As to which one is better would be a matter of we know where they are not supposed to be taste but I preferred Pet Sematary just a bit more is often considered an ill omen. Is that a because it was a great retelling of a well loved story tangible ghost? Does it mean death because with its own stamp; Dr. Louis youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re both not supposed Creed and his family decide to to exist on the same plane? move out of busy Boston to a Adelaide Wilson (Lupita quieter country home near the Nyongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;o) and her husband woods in Maine.

Gabe (Winston Duke aka Take a nice walk behind â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Pantherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sâ&#x20AC;? unforgettable their home though and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;baku of the Jabari tribe) and kND THE 0ET 3EMATARY WHERE their children go on a beach departed fur children go. But vacation in Northern California. as we all know and suspect, if One night, they receive some THIS IS A HORROR kLM THOSE ARE unwanted guests at their door, not just woods and that is no ONLY TO kND OUT gIT S US u ordinary â&#x20AC;&#x153;sematary.â&#x20AC;?

Peele has explored angles as Co-director Dennis Widto â&#x20AC;&#x153;why seeing yourself is so meyer says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Out of all of Stescary.â&#x20AC;? He offers, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one really phen Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books, this is the wants to look at their faults, one that deals with the most their guilt, their demons. We all human emotion of all: grief.â&#x20AC;? Q Lupita Nyongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;o goes to war with want to look elsewhere.â&#x20AC;?

He remembers reading the herself in Jordan Peeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Us.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Us producer Ian Cooper said book as a teen and being terrisomething that resonates for both kED BY IT g)T DEALS WITHwA MAN S WILLINGNESS TO movies though: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about recognizing how somedo the unthinkable to save his family, not some thing that is problematic in oneself could radiate outside force, that starts everything. It felt like out to your partner, your children, your friends and A VERY DANGEROUS BOOK TO READ AND IT DEkNITELY possibly, beyond that.â&#x20AC;? stayed with me for a long time.â&#x20AC;?

Alas, it seems something sinister always wants It helps that the cast is great â&#x20AC;&#x201D; JetĂŠ Laurence to infect the outwardly perfect. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usâ&#x20AC;? opened March 17 and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pet Semataryâ&#x20AC;? stands out at Ellie, Dr. Creedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sweet and curious DAUGHTER WHO kRST EXPLORES THE WOODS AND MEETS OPENED !PRIL 9OU CAN STILL CATCH BOTH kLMS the solitary and elderly neighbor, Jud Crandall Q Ellie (JetĂŠ (the always great John Lithgow). I just canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give Lawrence) and her out too much about Ellie as her story is different cat, Church â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or is it? from the book and the 1989 movie.

Props also go to Tonic and Leo, the Maine coons who played the living and undead â&#x20AC;&#x153;Churchâ&#x20AC;? (short for Winston Churchill). Apparently both cats were constantly given treats and loving attention while they completed their scenes. Well done, felines.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just really happy the last two Stephen King kLMS ) VE SEEN UPDATED VERSIONS g)Tu AND 0ET Sematary, were great and I am truly hoping to

FAN GIRL KAREN KUNAWICZ

CHEERS!

BS-CBN stars Jessy Mendiola and Arjo Atayde top-bill maverick director Ice Idananâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movie â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stranded,â&#x20AC;? which opens today under Regal Entertainment, Inc. And it is a huge albeit welcome challenge for the popular TV celebrities who want to show the public they can also bring their talent for the teleserye to the big screen.

THE T-ZONE TESSA MAURICIO -ARRIOLA were comfortable agad to work work with each other. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Si Direk Ice naman is a very good director and so easy to work with kasi sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very open to suggestions from Arjo and myself para mas mapaganda ang interpretation namin sa eksena.

She really collaborates with her stars and very concerned kung paano mapapaganda ang visuals niya on the big screen.â&#x20AC;?

In Stranded, Mendiola plays the role of Julia, a woman who never imagined that meeting a stranger on one stormy night could change her life forever, when everything about her had been stable until then. Her career, her love life.

Cinematography and 1st runner up for Best Picture. For the same kLM )DANAN ALSO WON "EST )NDIE Cinematographer in 2017 from the PMPC Star Awards for Movies, and and in 2018 received an International Category Excellence Award at the Asia TourismInduced Film and TV Arts week in Taizhou China.

3UFkCE IT TO SAY MUCH IS EXpected from the feisty lady director with Stranded.

She confessed, however, â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the challenges of shooting a kLM THAT IS PERCENT INDOORS is to keep the images interesting with proper blocking â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but with THESE AMAZING ACTORS ) M CONkdent we did it.â&#x20AC;?

Written by Easy Ferrer and Jeps Gallon, Stranded also stars Miko Raval, Mich Liggayu, Miggy Marty, Pinky Amador and Johnny Revilla, and introduces Gretchen Ho in her VERY kRST MOVIE )T OPENS TODAY IN cinemas nationwide.

Âťpopcornmatch A darker â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Hellboyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; FANS of the fantasy-heavy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hellboyâ&#x20AC;? ment organization called Bureau for of visionary writer/director Guillermo Paranormal Research and Defense.

While in pursuit of the giants, del Toro in 2004 and 2008 will be in for a darker reboot when the much- Hellboy encounters Nimue the Blood awaited return of the legendary half- Queen, played by stunning â&#x20AC;&#x153;Resident demon superhero unfolds in cinemas Evilâ&#x20AC;? star Milla Jovovich. A vengeful nationwide today. This reboot is more 5th century sorceress, she wants to get grounded in horror and comprised him on her side so that together they of a new cast and creative team that can end mankind. includes Mike Mignola, the creator of While the movie will the Hellboy comic books, acting cting as a co-executive producer.

Now directed by award-winning director Neil Marshall (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dog Soldiers,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Game of Thronesâ&#x20AC;?), Hellboy stars two-time Emmy Award Best Supporting Actor nominee David Harbour (Chief Jim Hopper in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stranger Thingsâ&#x20AC;?) in the titular role.

The movie opens with Hellboy being called to the Q The reboot is more grounded in horror and English countryside to battle a comprised of a new cast, led by David Harbour is trio of rampaging giants. This as the new Hellboy. nis part of his job in the govern-

rshow some explanation on the background of Hellboy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how he was summoned from the depths of hell on a stormy island off the coast of Scotland â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it begins right in the middle of the action. It is also â&#x20AC;&#x153;truer to the comic,â&#x20AC;? says Mignola, â&#x20AC;&#x153;in that Hellboyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been out in the world and not a top-secret, hidden away guy.â&#x20AC;? nutshell, he has a â&#x20AC;&#x153;been there, In a nut that vibe,â&#x20AC;? a trait that Midone th after his Korean gnola patterned p veteran father.

War ve Harbour further says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In our Har movi movie, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very much dealing with his own being ostracized from society. He is a lot more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;emo â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;emotionally explosiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; compare pared to the Hellboy version of Ron Perlman. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a classically com complicated hero.â&#x20AC;?

Hellboy also stars Ian McSh Shane, Sasha Lane and Danie iel Dae Kim, and is distribu uted in the Philippines by V VIVA International Pictures and MVP MV Entertainment.

Getting ready for the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Endgameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; THE grave course of events set in motion

by Thanos compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studiosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; grand conclusion to twenty-two films, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Avengers: Endgame.â&#x20AC;? And everyone, everywhere just cannot wait for this cinematic phenomenon to unfold.

Adding more excitement to the countdown to the biggest movie of the summer come April 24 in the Philippines â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two days before it opens worldwide â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are promos and activities that will thrill all Marvel fans.

Q SM Cinema's 'Avengers: Endgame Experience' is an interactive exhibit sure to delight Marvel fans in the lead up to its Philippine premiere on April 24.

Free tickets Interactive exhibit Globe Prepaid is giving a 200 GMovies tickets for Avengers Endgame every week from now until April 30 to lucky pre-paid patrons. All they need to do is subscribe to GoSakto90 and register for the raffle promo by texting Promo Avengers all in capital letters with their name, birthday, email and home address to 2600. Winners will be drawn from registrants every week. Additional information is available via globe. com.ph/avengersendgame.

As the Philippinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; largest film exhibitor, SM Cinema kicked off its ongoing Avengers: Endgame campaign, in cooperation with The Walt Disney Company Philippines, via the grand launch of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Avengers: Endgame Experienceâ&#x20AC;? interactive exhibit at the SM Mall of Asia Event Atrium.

Since the unveiling, Marvel fans have been able to stand with Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mightiest heroes by walking through the New Avengers Facility. There, they can test their strength and

endurance in different activity zones, such as shooting arrows like Hawkeye; measuring their strength against Hulk and Thor at the Power Up Station; leading the team at the Train Like Cap Station; and enduring the fight to the end like Iron Man at The Armory Station.

The interactive exhibit will be at SM Mall of Asia until April 14, and will move to SM Megamall from April 16 to 28, and April 13 to 19 at SM City Clark.

Stay updated with more Avengers: Endgame updates via The Manila Times Entertainment.