THE MANILA TIMES | MARCH 12, 2019

Net FDI misses target, drops to two-year low »Story on B1 ++

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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2019

House transmits 2019 budget to Palace AFTER weeks of delay and days of tradING BARBS WITH THE 3ENATE THE (OUSE OF Representatives on Monday transmitted the printed version of the enrolled 2019 budget bill to President Rodrigo Duterte FOR HIS SIGNATURE

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BAYANIHAN Residents of Sitio Mendez Pajo in Barangay Baesa, Quezon City pass pails of water to stop the fire that razed the neighborhood on Monday. PHOTO BY RUY L. MARTINEZ

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NKorea’s ‘no choice’ parliamentary elections; PH’s ‘false choice’ midterm elections First word ORTH K o rea and the PhilipPINES ARE both holding parliamentary/legislative ELECTIONS DURING THE kRST SEMESTER OF 4HIS -ARCH .ORTH +OREANS WILL ELECT ITS PARLIAMENT IN THE SECOND SUCH ELECTION SINCE +IM *ONG 5N CAME TO POWER

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OBSERVER YEN MAKABENTA

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Admission tests, freedom and police power

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OES police power justify requiring a screening test for students aspiring for admission INTO A PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM AND DOES such a sieve not run afoul of the academic freedom of the institution to CHOOSE WHO ITS STUDENTS WILL BE OR OF THE STUDENT TO CHOOSE HIS PROFESSION

FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

³AquinoA6 REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

Malacañang admits: Balutan resigned

BY RALPH U. VILLANUEVA

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EXPOSED

MAGUINDANAO AIRSTRIKES KILL 2 TERRORISTS RegionsA7 WHAT’S MWSS DOING ABOUT THE ‘WATER FAMINE’ IN METRO MANILA?

Dodo DulayA5

SUNS SHOCK WARRIORS, LOWRY SHINES FOR RAPTORS

SportsE1

SUMMER SEASON *ERIC 3EVILLA *R HEAD OF THE -ANILA 7ATER CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS SAID

THE #OURT OF !PPEALS #! ON -ONDAY AFkRMED THE RULING OF the Securities and Exchange ComMISSION 3%# THAT 2APPLER IS NOT A FULLY &ILIPINO OWNED COMPANY The court upheld its earlier decision junking the motion for RECONSIDERATION kLED BY 2APPLER )N A PAGE RESOLUTION THE CA’s Former Special 12th Division dismissed Rapplers’ motion FOR LACK OF MERIT STANDING PAT ON ITS kNDINGS THAT THE 3%# DID NOT err in its decision to revoke the COMPANY S BUSINESS REGISTRATION “After a careful scrutiny of the INSTANT MOTION THIS #OURT kNDS that it presents no compelling reason to justify the reconsideration of this Court’s decision dated 26 *ULY 4HE ARGUMENTS RAISED by petitioners are essentially the

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Balutan tendered his resignation through a letter SUBMITTED TO THE /FkCE OF THE 0RESIDENT /0

What’s inside

PALACE ASSURES MAHATHIR: PH WON’T FALL INTO CHINA NewsA3

CA throws out Rappler appeal

ALACAÑANG on Monday said former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes OfkCE 0#3/ 'ENERAL -ANager Alexander Balutan INDEED RESIGNED CONkRMING THE LATTER S CLAIM THAT HE WAS NOT kRED

SCARLET SNOW BELO’S ‘CORONATION DAY’

LifestyleF2

Edgardo Paredes Luib (second from right), who allegedly shot United Auctioneers Inc. founder and CEO Dominic Sytin, was presented to the media by PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde on Monday. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Story on A2

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WATER SHORTAGE TO LAST THE ENTIRE SUMMER

METRO Manila residents should start stocking up on water as Manila Water on Monday admitted that water service interruptions would last throughout the

Greek saved from plane crash by being late ATHENS: A Greek man would have been the 150th passenger on the Nairobi-bound Ethiopian Airlines Boeing plane that crashed killing all ON BOARD EXCEPT HE ARRIVED TWO MINUTES LATE FOR THE lIGHT “I was mad because nobody helped me to reach

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ADVANCING WOMEN’S RIGHTS

SM Aura Premier hosts the International Women’s Day Summit 2019: ‘Advancing the Rights and Representation of Filipino Women’ at the Samsung Hall. In partnership with the Office of the Vice President, SPARK!, the Embassies of Austria and Sweden, United Nations Population Fund, and the University of the Philippines Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, SM Aura Premier brought together powerful women and their allies in the fight for women’s empowerment and gender equality.

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News

˜ The Manila Times

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TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Dominic Sytin ordered killed by brother – PNP T

BY ROY D.R. NARRA

HE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday tagged the brother of Dominic Sytin as the mastermind in the killing of the businessman in Subic last year.

The arrested alleged gunman revealed that he and another man were his co-conspirators.

PNP chief Oscar Albayalde said Dennis Sytin was the brains in the killing of Dominic, the chief executive officer of the United Auctioneers Inc. The company was engaged in the importation of heavy equipment, machinery and other transportation materials.

Dominic was killed on Novem-

ber 28 in Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). His bodyguard, Efren Espartero, was injured.

Albayalde identified former United Auctioneers Inc. employee Ryan Rementilla and a John Doe as co-conspirators in the murder case.

The PNP gathered these information from the extrajudicial CONFESSION OF %DGARDO ,UIB ALIAS Inject, the alleged gunman. ,UIB WAS ARRESTED ON -ARCH

at the house of his live-in partner in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Forensic examination showed that one of ,UIB S FIREARMS MATCHED THE TWO BULLETS AND NINE kRED CARTRIDGE CASES recovered from the crime scene.

Albayalde said company disputes fueled by sibling rivalry sparked the killing.

Chief Supt. Joel Coronel, Central ,UZON REGIONAL DIRECTOR SAID THE Sytins had a disagreement over the control of shares of the company.

Chief Supt. Amador Corpus said the disagreement led to the kRING IN !UGUST OF $ENNIS

younger brother of Dominic, who was also accused of diverting money from United Auctioneers Inc. to his own company. “When he (Dennis) was removed, he was really off limits

in the company. There was one instance during the course of our investigation that he was barred by the guards of United Auctioneers Inc. [from] enter[ing] the buildING 4HAT S HOW kERCE THEIR RIVALRY was,� he said. )N 3EPTEMBER ,UIB WAS ALLEGedly contacted by Dennis through Rementilla and a John Doe to kill Dominic. Rementilla, at that time, was working for Dennis under the alias of Oliver Fuentes. ,UIB HAD A MEETING WITH THE three in a resort in Olongapo. The gunman was promised P1 million for the job. Corpus, however, said THAT ,UIB ONLY RECEIVED 0

Sytin and Rementilla are atLARGE ,UIB IS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Q BUDGET FROM A1

House House appropriations chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. said a copy of the 2019 General Appropriations Act signed by Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sent to MalacaĂąang through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). A separate copy was also sent to the Senate.

The House and Senate had been swapping criticisms over the delay in the transmittal of THE BUDGET BILL 3EN 0ANkLO ,ACson had claimed that the House continues to make changes in the BUDGET MEASURE THAT WAS RATIkED in February.

Andaya said changes could still be made since the bill has yet to be signed into law. “Ang bawal ho ay makialam ang sinong myembro ng kongreso sa post-enactment stage of the budget execution. ‘Di pa po applicable ang kasong ito‌ang sinasabi ng kasong ito, hindi raw po pwedeng makialam o magbigay ng detalye ang mga congressman pag napirmahan na ang budget at batas na ‘yan. Dapat malagdaan ng president at doon na po hindi pwedeng magbigay ng detalye ang mga mambabatas.

(What is not allowed is for any member of Congress to meddle in the post-enactment stage of the budget execution. This case is not applicable‌congressmen are not allowed to meddle or itemize details once the budget has been signed. Once the President had signed, that’s when lawmakers are not allowed to itemize anymore. We haven’t reached that phase yet),� he added. ,AST WEEK !NDAYA ADMITTED THAT

SEN. Joseph Victor “JV� Ejercito welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he would not allow the legalization of medical marijuana, saying he understands the leader’s change of heart. “We have to respect the President’s decision on medical marijuana. It’s the prevailing situation and circumstances probably that made him change his position.  He has access to intelligence and other info, he should have a better grasp of the situation than us,� Ejercito, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, said.  “Because of his frustration on the war against drugs, perhaps he is not taking any chances on the possible substance abuse on use of cannabis in the guise of medical purposes,� the senator surmised.  Buhay part-list also lauded the President’s decision to reject the legalization of medical marijuana. “The President has demonstrated correct political leadership in throwing out the bill seeking to legalize medical marijuana,� Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said.

Since the President has spoken, nobody would be “foolish enough to introduce a similar measure in the next Congress,�

Atienza added.

The former Manila mayor said Duterte’s stance was consistent with their view that legalizing medical marijuana was bound to open a “Pandora’s box� of drug abuse, which could lead to health and law enforcement problems.

Atienza had warned that some politi-

cians were raring to profit from medical marijuana by running dispensaries. “All the purported therapeutic values of marijuana are merely anecdotal. Puro kwento-kwento lang (They are merely stories). They have not been scientifically proven,� Atienza said on Monday. “What has been proven by science is that marijuana is a dangerous substance, mainly because it is highly addictive and can cause powerful hallucinations, including loss of sense of personal identity, among other short- and long-term sideeffects,� he added.

Duterte on Friday said he would not legalize medical marijuana because it could be abused. “Not in my time,� the President said.

In 2018, Duterte said he would sign a bill that would legalize medical marijuana.

Ejercito earlier expressed openness to tackle prospects of allowing the use of medical marijuana, especially for cancer patients.

He was referring to Senate Bill 1313 filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, or the proposed public health intervention for drug abuse, which is closest to a provision for medical marijuana.

Ejercito had discussed the matter with Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd, who had said there was no need to pass a measure on medical marijuana since Republic Act 9165 or the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002� already contains a provision on the matter.

JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

Q RESIGNED FROM A1

/FkCE OF THE 0RESIDENT OR #ONgress asks him or orders him to do something which “he cannot stomach.� “[Duterte] retired me early from the Marines to help him run his administration. In silence, I did and I excelled. I did not ask for anything from the President in return. The rest was history,� he said.

PCSO deputy spokesman Florante Solmerin also called on Balutan’s accusers to prove their allegations. “Those accusing him [of corruption] should really prove it.

What’s important here is he has a clear conscience. Whatever they sling unto him, they should prove it. As he said, he is open to an investigation, anytime, anywhere,�

Solmerin told The Manila Times in a phone interview. “These are merely serious allegations, allegations of serious corruption. Balutan said he is open to a full investigation to ferret out the truth so the truth will come out,� he added. ,AST YEAR "ALUTAN HAD A TIFF WITH PCSO board member Sandra Cam, who accused him of spending P10 million for a Christmas party in a kVE STAR HOTEL IN $ECEMBER Balutan denied it, saying the party had a budget of only P6 million.

MalacaĂąang

SIGNED AND DELIVERED

House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. holds the enrolled copy of the 2019 budget during a news briefing at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City.

PHOTO BY ROGER RAĂ‘ADA

A 0 BILLION LUMP SUM WAS APpropriated for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), a portion of which will be delegated to House members whose districts are in need of medical equipment and hospital rehabilitation.

The lawmaker defended the House’s move, saying the Senate also did some fund realignments.

Rep. Anthony Bravo also took up the cudgels for the House, say-

ING ,ACSON HELD THE BUDGET BILL hostage because of his “personal vendetta� against Arroyo. ,ACSON DISMISSED "RAVO S statement. “I have already forgiven all those who had wronged me in the past.

This is about the national budget.

This is about my personal antipork crusade and advocacy, not Speaker Arroyo or any congressman or senator,’’ he said.

Q APPEAL FROM A1

CA throws out Rappler appeal same as those that have already been discussed and were exhaustively passed upon in this Court’s decision,� it said.

The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Rafael Antonio Santos and was concurred in by Associate Justices Apolinario Brussels Jr. and 'ERMANO &RANCISCO ,EGASPI “In summary, a motion for reconsideration grounded on arguments already submitted to the court and found to be without merit may be denied summarily, as it would be a useless ritual for this Court to reiterate itself. Here,

JV welcomes Duterte stand on marijuana

petitioners did not raise any new matter of issue in its motion,� the court stressed.

The appeals court ruled that the SEC did not violate Rappler’s constitutional right to due process. “A substantial compliance with the requirements of procedural due process was clearly accorded to the petitioners. Therefore, the Court maintains that the assailed SEC en ban decision cannot be annulled on the ground that petitioners were denied due process,� it pointed out.

The CA opined that Rappler,

being a mass media entity, should be 100-percent Filipino owned. “Therefore, applying the Full "ENEkCIAL /WNERSHIP 4EST 2(# cannot claim that it fully owns the Rappler shares since it does not exclusively exercise the right to vote on the Rappler shares. By virtue of clause 12.2.2, Omidyar Network is granted the power to direct the voting on the Rappler shared,� it added.

4HE 3%# REVOKED THE CERTIkCATE of incorporation of Rappler Inc. and Rappler Holdings Corporation (RHC) for violating the

Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said Bravo’s tirade against ,ACSON WAS OFF TANGENT “Di naman buong Senado ang may problema dito. Di naman si Senator ,ACSON 4HIS IS NOT A PROBLEM OF THE ENTIRE 3ENATE )T IS NOT 3ENATOR ,ACSON alone). It is just that the senator is very vocal about it and he is very much against the pork barrel,� he said.

GLEE JALEA AND JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

Constitution and foreign equity restrictions in mass media .

Rappler issued over seven million Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) covering shares of Rappler, Inc. sold to US-based /MIDYAR .ETWORK &UND ,,# The investment involves over $1 million.

MalacaĂąang on Monday said it would keep its hand off the case.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated that the executive branch does not interfere with the affairs of its co-equal branch. “As we said, any case that has BEEN kLED BEFORE THE COURTS WE WILL not interfere,� Panelo told reporters. “We will let the law takes its course.�

JOMAR CANLAS AND CATHERINE S. VALENTE

The spokesman said Balutan “resigned out of delicadeza� over serious allegations of corruption in the charity agency. “The said written communication was, however, formally received by the OP only after the Palace has already announced his CESSATION FROM OFkCE u 0ANELO SAID in a statement.

The Palace official also conkRMED THAT THE FORMER MILITARY general requested President Rodrigo Duterte to order a fair and impartial investigation in order to “ferret out the truth.�

Panelo’s statement on Monday differed from what he said last WEEK THAT "ALUTAN WAS kRED DUE TO “serious allegations of corruption.�

In a statement on Sunday, Balutan said an impartial investigation is in order if there were indeed allegations of corruption against him. “If there are accusations of corruption, I beg for a full and impartial investigations,� he said.

Balutan had earlier said that he would resign if somebody from

Q LATE FROM A1

Greek the gate on time,� Antonis Mavropoulos said in a Facebook post titled “My lucky day,� in which he included a photo of his ticket.

Mavropoulos, president of the International Solid Waste Association, a NONPROkT ORGANIZATION WAS TRAVELLING to Nairobi in Kenya to attend the annual assembly of the United Nations Environment Program, according to Athens News Agency.

He was supposed to board the plane, but he reached the departure gate just two minutes after it was closed.

(E BOOKED A LATER lIGHT BUT WAS then prevented from boarding by airport staff. “They led me to the police staTION OF THE AIRPORT 4HE OFkCER TOLD me not to protest, but to pray to God because I was the only passenger that didn’t board the ET

lIGHT THAT WAS LOST u -AVROpoulos said in his post in which he admits being in shock.

The airport authorities explained that they wanted to question him because he was the only passenger booked on the doomed lIGHT WHO WASN T ON BOARD “They said they couldn’t let me go before cross-checking my identity, the reason I hadn’t boarded the plane etc.�

The Nairobi-bound Boeing CRASHED JUST MINUTES AFTER an early-morning takeoff Sunday from Addis Ababa.

People holding passports from more than 30 countries were on board, including a number of UN workers.

State-owned Ethiopian Airline had taken delivery of the Boeing -!8 PLANE ON .OVEMBER )T WAS OF THE SAME TYPE AS a plane that crashed in October after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. AFP

News

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TUESDAY

March 12, 2019

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Tulfo hit for ‘lazy Filipinos’ remark M

RALPH EDWIN U. VILLANUEVA

ALACAĂ‘ANG and workers on Monday rejected the claim of Ramon Tulfo, the special envoy to China, that Filipino workers are lazy.

Tulfo drew flak after saying THAT THERE IS AN INlUX OF #HINESE workers in the country because Filipino workers are always taking breaks.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said Filipinos were pre-

ferred by foreign employers beCAUSE THEY WERE EFkCIENT WORKERS g$EkNITELY &ILIPINOS ARE REALLY hardworking. In fact, the impression abroad is [Filipinos] are hardworking. We are preferred in other countries. The general

impression for Filipino workers abroad are very good. We are industrious, honest. We have a good reputation,� he said.

Panelo added that Filipino workers were not inferior to foreign workers. “Filipino [workers] are really great. If we put our hearts into it, Filipino workers are really good. There may be some who are lazy, but generally, we are hardworking,� the Palace official said.

Construction workers on Mon-

day challenged Tulfo to work with them to see for himself how hard they work.

The construction workers’ sector of the Construction Industry Tripartite Council (CITC) said Tulfo’s statement was utterly false and an insult to the working class. “We urge you to immerse in construction sites for three days starting 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Come live and work with us for three days before you make your conclusions. We have alerted

all our members in Metro Manila to assist and accommodate you in wherever constructions site you may want to immerse,� the group said in a letter-statement addressed to Tulfo.

The CITC is a tripartite body engaged in policy consultation and social dialogue regarding issues involving the construction industry. It is composed of workers, government and project contractors and owners.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the

Bukluran ng Manggawang Pilipino earlier demanded an apology from Tulfo.

The TUCP said contrary to Tulfo’s statement, Filipino workers were most preferred because of their ingenuity, diligence, creativity and hard work.

Panelo, however, said Tulfo had the right to express himself. “That’s freedom of expression.

Everyone is entitled to make his opinion on any matter concerning the country or the people or anybody,� he added.

ICC has no jurisdiction over Duterte – Palace MALACAÑANG on Monday insisted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over President Rodrigo Duterte amid the court’s move to continue its probe on allegations of state sanctioned killings in the government’s war on drugs.

In a press conference, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated Duterte’s argument that the Rome Statute could not be enforced in the Philippines because it was not published locally. g)N THE kRST PLACE FROM THE VERY beginning they cannot be doing any investigation because as we pointed out to them, it never acquired jurisdiction over the Philippines,� Panelo told reporters. “As argued by the President, there is a requirement of publication and that was never published, hence there’s no jurisdiction over his person and for that matter, over any person in this country,� he added.

4HE 0ALACE OFkCIAL SAID THE )## would violate its own laws if it would continue its investigation of Duterte’s role in the alleged death squad killings in Davao City, where he was the mayor for over two decades.

In March last year, the President withdrew the Philippines’ ratification of the Rome Statute, citing “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks� against him and his

administration as the reason for his withdrawal as a state party.

The move came after ICC special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda started a preliminary examination of the alleged human rights violations committed under the Duterte adminISTRATION S INTENSIkED WAR ON DRUGS Ruben Carranza, reparative justice director at the International Center for Transitional Justice, said the ICC was likely to continue investigating Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity “There are precedents where even after the withdrawal of a state from the ICC, a case that was investigated by the prosecutors continued,� he added.

Duterte is facing three communications at the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity.

4HE kRST COMPLAINT WAS kLED BY lawyer Jude Sabio, counsel for Edgar Matobato, a retired Davao police OFkCER WHO ACCUSED THE 0RESIDENT OF ordering assassinations when he was still mayor.

Magdalo party-mates Rep. Gary Alejano and Sen. Antonio Trillanes TH kLED A SUPPLEMENTAL COMPLAINT to Sabio’s case.

The third complaint was lodged by a rights group and families of several drug victims.

CATHERINE S. VALENTE

SMALL POOL COOLS Children stay cool in an inflatable pool amid warnings of a water shortage during the hot months.

PHOTO BY RUSSELL PALMA

Palace assures Mahathir: PH won’t fall into China MALACAĂ‘ANG on Monday assured the public that the Philippines would not fall into a “debt trap,â€? days after Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cautioned the country to carefully deal with loans from China.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said economic managers carefully evaluate loan agreements with China to ensure that “we are not at the disadvantage.� “Of course, we will take his advice and the economic managers are evaluating all kinds of loans that we are having with the Chinese government,� Panelo told reporters. “With respect to the Chico Dam, I think the eco[nomic] managers have explained that we are not at

a disadvantage,� he added.

Panelo was referring to the Chico River Pump Irrigation project, which China funded along with the Kaliwa Dam and railway projects.

Mahathir, who recently visited Manila, had warned the Philippines about the consequences of entering into unfair loan deals with China.

In a television interview, Mahathir said the Philippines should avoid repeating the mistakes made by other countries that suffered from unsustainable debt by accepting Chinese infrastructure investments.

Mahathir last year canceled a number of Chinese-funded projects worth $22 billion.

“If you borrow huge sums of money from China and you cannot pay — you know when a person is a borrower he is under the control of the lender. So we have to be very careful with that,�

Mahathir said.

President Rodrigo Duterte plans to spend trillions of pesos to bridge the Philippines’ infrastructure gap, and to do so he sought Beijing and other countries’ help for funding to reduce the strain on his government’s budget.

Critics have warned that the Philippines could be the next victim of China’s “debt trap diplomacy,� where Beijing gives “friendly� loans to bankroll infrastructure PROJECTS IN kNANCIALLY WEAK STATES in exchange for control over stra-

tegic assets.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said this was unlikely to happen in the Philippines, saying Chinese loans would account for just 4.5 percent of the country’s total debts by the time Duterte steps down in 2022.

He said Duterte’s ambitious infrastructure push would be funded mostly by new taxes and loans with “the lowest possible interests rates and the longest possible term arrangements.� “We borrow with great prudence, aware that it is their taxpayer and their children who will pay for this debt,� Dominguez said. “We made sure the country got the best deals possible.�

CATHERINE S. VALENTE

7 Filipinos detained in Libya home soon THE seven Filipino seafarers detained in Tripoli since 2017 on charges of oil smuggling, but were ordered released by the Libyan High Court, would be home soon.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said the seven crew of the

M/T Levante were en route to Manila.

They were accompanied by Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Affairs Abdullah Mamao.

Mamao flew to Libya upon instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secre-

tary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to personally thank Libyan authorities and bring the Filipinos home.

Locsin earlier welcomed the acquittal of the seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were sentenced to four years in prison in

November for allegedly attempting to smuggle 16 million liters of fuel.

On February 28, the Libyan High Court ordered their release.

There were about 3,500 OFWs in Libya as of September 2018.

BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

Europe shares satellite surveillance system THE European Union (EU) has introduced to the Philippine government its satellite surveillance and monitoring system that addresses environmental and security woes.

British geographer Allan Mills, European consultancy group COWI Belgium chief, said the EU wanted to share its Copernicus system with the country for better environment mapping, as it would help reduce risks from disasters and improve environment and food security.

Copernicus, dubbed as “Europe’s eyes on earth,� was previously known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). It is the European Program for the establishment of a European capacity for Earth observation. “We can provide enormous amounts of data, which would help map out the environment and lands to assess and better prepare for risks,�

Mills told reporters.

The Copernicus satellite system can provide daily information and analysis on the global atmospheric composition, climate forcing, emissions, marine environment, among

others through images and other data.

Oksana King, business manager of geoanalytics organization Rezatec, said their satellite data with Philippine water companies, for example, saw that Metro Manila needs to optimize land use to improve water quality among communities. “Through satellite analytics, we are able to map out risk areas for pollutant loading and see pollution in the waters,� she said.

Enrico Stampelli, EU delegation to the Philippines, said the organization seeks to enable Filipinos to access their data, which could help improve the quality of life among communities. “There are problems in the Philippines that need monitoring and addressing and we will continue to dialogue with the Philippine government to determine which kind of support the Philippines needs,�

Stampelli told reporters.

Stampelli said the Copernicus system received positive response from the Department of Science and Technology.

NEIL JAYSON N. SERVALLOS

Price manipulation for medicines Dear PAO, I am a pharmacist in a wholesale drug company. The management has ordered hoarding of a particular medicine in order to increase its selling price. Did my employer violate any law?

Rachel Dear Rachel, The law that addresses your situation is Section 24 of Republic Act 9502 or the “Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008: “Section 24. Illegal Acts of Price Manipulation. — Without preju-

combination or forming cartel, as DEkNED UNDER 3ECTION OF 2EPUBlic Act 7581, otherwise known as DEAR PAO the “Price Act,� and all other acts committed in restraint of trade.�

The same law provides a penalty for violation of the same, viz: dice to the provisions of existing “Section 25. Penalty for Illegal laws on goods not covered by this Acts of Price Manipulation. — Any Act, it shall be unlawful for any person or entity who commits any manufacturer, importer, trader, act of illegal price manipulation distributor, wholesaler, retailer, of any drug and medicine subject or any person engaged in any to price regulation shall suffer method of disposition of drugs the penalty of imprisonment for and medicines to engage in acts A PERIOD OF NOT LESS THAN kVE of price manipulation such as YEARS NOR MORE THAN kFTEEN HOARDING PROkTEERING OR ILLEGAL YEARS OR SHALL BE IMPOSED A kNE

PERSIDA ACOSTA

of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) nor more than Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00), at the discretion of the court. The court may also order the suspension or revocation of its license to operate, professional or business license. “Whenever any act of illegal price manipulation of any drug and medicine subject to price regulation is committed by a JURIDICAL PERSON ITS OFkCIALS OR employees, or in case of a foreign corporation or association, its agent or representative in the Philippines who are responsible

for the violation, shall be held liable therefor.�

It is clear from the abovementioned provisions that it shall be unlawful for any manufacturer, importer, trader, distributor, wholesaler, retailer or any person engaged in any method of disposition of drugs and medicines to engage in acts of price manipulation such as HOARDING PROkTEERING OR ILLEGAL combination or forming cartel, and may subject the offender TO A PENALTY OF kNE OR IMPRISonment, depending on the discretion of the court. In your

situation, your employer may be apprehended and penalized for hoarding medicine for purposes of increasing its selling price.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@ manilatimes.net

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Opinion

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

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E d i to r i a l Democratic politics a search for remedy, not debate

T

HE taunting between the Otso Diretso opposition slate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio would be enlightening and constructive IF IT HAD ANY SPECIkC BEARING ON THE -AY ELECTIONS OR if the parties are prepared to unwrap their platforms or the causes they support.

Similarly, the dust-up between Vice President Leni Robredo and Mayor Carpio over the question of honESTY APPEARS TO BE lIMSY .O ELECTION DEBATE SHOULD be necessary just to establish the importance of a facet of moral character that has always been universally accepted as a virtue.

The debate would be relevant only if the personalities involved were really serious about debating the important issues and policy platforms in the campaign.

VP Robredo debating would be a startling and pleasant surprise to us. But let’s get serious because election day is quite near.

The Otso Diretso candidates have valid grounds to want to debate, yet so far as we know, Otso has not issued a manifesto or policy platform to guide voters in the elections. All we have heard is its attempt to lure Hugpong ng Pagbabago candidates into debating on personal matters.

Mayor Sara Carpio’s party has also yet to present a complete manifesto of its policy aims and platform.

If VP Robredo really wants to be a factor in the campaign and the election, she should take time out to think clearly about her political stakes in the balloting.

What does she hope to gain from coming out of her foxhole? What is her message, other than a platitude about certain virtues?

It will be better if both camps will just strive to DEVELOP THEIR STAND ON POLICY ISSUES AND RElECT ON what problems are really in need of solutions in our national life.

By spending more time thinking and writing out their positions, they can show the public who they really are, and why they are worth listening to.

Democratic politics, the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has written, is “the search for remedy.� Its purpose is to solve problems and resolve disputes.

For any debate to be taken seriously, the proposed discussion must be turned toward a serious national problem and a matter of substance.

This is why no proposal has been made on the proposition to be debated.

This is why no group or institution is willing to moderate or organize it.

“It will be better if both camps will just strive to develop their stand on policy issues and reflect on what problems are really in need of solutions in our national life.�

~

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

The Manila Times

VOLUME 120 NUMBER 150

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 www.manilatimes.net • e-mail newsdesk@manilatimes.net 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.

75$326 $1' 7+(,5 œ3/$7)2506¡ Q MAKABENTA FROM A1

NKorea’s ‘no choice’ parliamentary elections; PH’s ‘false choice’ midterm elections In May, Filipinos will elect a new Congress, the 18th in the country’s history, and vote in local government executives across the archipelago.

There are striking contrasts between the two elections, that are not always favorable to the Philippines as many would suppose. What North Koreans lose in relative freedom of choice at the ballot box, they get back in terms of clarity and simplicity in the whole process.

In getting the chance to fully exercise suffrage, Filipinos are lOODED WITH A GREAT NUMBER OF choices and much wrangling over the electoral outcome.

North Korea’s parliamentary elections The BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.) reports that this March North Koreans are voting to elect the country’s rubber-stamp parliament. The data and information I relay here are taken from a BBC report on the balloting.

Voting for the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), North Korea’s parliament, is mandatory and there’s no choice of candidates. Any kind of dissent is unheard of.

Turnout is always close to 100 percent and approval for the governing alliance is unanimous.

North Korea is an isolated state, ruled by the Kim family dynasty.

Citizens are required to show complete devotion to the family and its current leader.

So how does it work?

On election day, the entire population aged 17 or older must come out and vote. North Korea has an estimated population of 25.5 million. “As a sign of loyalty voters are expected to turn up early, that means there’ll likely be long queues,� says North Korea analyst Fyodor Tertitsky, who is based in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Once it’s your turn to vote, you receive a ballot paper with just one NAME ON IT 4HERE S NOTHING TO kLL IN

no boxes to tick. You take that paper and put it into the ballot box, which

is located in the open.

There’s also a voting booth where you could vote in private, but doing that would raise immediate suspicion, analysts say.

Voters theoretically have the right to cross out the single candidate. But, according to Mr. Tertitsky, doing that would almost certainly mean the secret police will go after the voter and he will likely be declared insane.

Cheering is a key skill needed at all kinds of events in North Korea Once the voter leaves the polling station, he or she is expected to join the cheering groups outside to express their happiness about being able to cast their vote for the wise leadership of the country. “In state media, election days are portrayed as festive events, with people outside each polling station celebrating,� explains Minyoung Lee, an analyst with NK News, a North Korea specialist news website.

Because voting is obligatory, the election also works as a census for authorities to monitor the population of each constituency and to track deFECTORS WHO MIGHT HAVE lED TO #HINA What powers does the parliament have?

The Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) is a rubber-stamp body with no power. %LECTED EVERY kVE YEARS THE PARLIAment is the sole legislative body of North Korea. “I know that international media often hedge their reporting a bit, saying the SPA has ‘little’ power or INlUENCE ‡ BUT THAT S NOT CORRECT )T has zero,� said Mr. Tertitsky.

Laws are in fact written by the party apparatus and then merely approved by the SPA as a formality.

North Korea is a one-party state. The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), led by a member of the ruling Kim family dynasty, holds power in the state.

Philippines’ midterm elections In contrast to North Korea’s parlia-

mentary election, the Philippines’ legislative elections are an embarRASSMENT OF RICHES ‡ RICH IN ELECTIVE positions, rich in political parties, rich in grandiosity.

The legislative balloting combines with other elections to constitute the general election on May 13, 2019.

The general election is a midterm election where the winners will take OFkCE ON *UNE

MIDWAY DURING the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The following elective positions will be contested: – 12 seats in the Senate of the Philippines – All seats in the House of Representatives of the Philippines – All provincial-level elected positions in the provinces of the Philippines – All city-level elected positions in the cities of the Philippines – All municipal-level elected positions in the municipalities of the Philippines.

Consequently, the Filipino voter grapples with so much more than the North Korean voter.

Filipinos have to deal with a kilometric ballot that is arguably the longest in the world. They must choose from scores of names, instead of dealing only with one name.

They must weigh the comparative merits of scores of political parties.

They enter the polling booth wearied by all the advertising, gimmickry, and blandishments that candidates and parties put up to lure their vote.

A ‘false choice’ election I will borrow from the terminology OF % * $IONNE *R IN HIS kNE BOOK

Why Americans Hate Politics (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992), to describe the Philippine electoral situation today.

Dionne argued in his book that American politics had fallen victim to a false polarization perpetrated by the Democratic and Republican parties.

He contended that Democrats and Republicans, and liberals and

conservatives are framing political issues as a series of false choices. “Wracked by contradiction and responsive mainly to the needs of their various constituencies, liberals and conservatives prevent the nation from settling the questions that trouble it,� he said.

The cause of this false polarization, Dionne said, is the cultural civil war that broke out in the 1960s.

Just as the Civil War dominated American political life for decades after it ended, the cultural civil war of the 1960s, with all its tensions and contradictions, has shaped and entrapped American politics today.

I am tempted to apply the term “false choice� to the decision that is posed to the Filipino electorate in our May election.

There is ostensibly a choice, because there are a great number of candidates, and a great number of political parties. But in fact, there is no demarcation or polarization of policy positions between parties and candidates.

The administration and the parties in nominal coalition with it have not spelled out a clear political message or policy position before the electorate that can serve as a basis for choosing.

The opposition and the parties cobbled together to form it have not shaped a coherent political message and policy position for the election.

In truth, I believed we are faced here by candidates whose sole position and primary aim is just to get elected to Congress.

Whether they are running for the Senate or the House, the primary aim is to get into the Congress payroll, and secure a chance at getting the lucrative salaries and opportunities for pork barrel and earmarks.

This is a “false choice� election, because the parties and the candidates have nothing to offer the electorate at this point. All they can brandish are the false and commercial surveys.

yenmakabenta@yahoo.com

Hong Kong: A disdain for documents F

OR almost a year, Hong Kong’s MTR Corp. Ltd. has been mired in scandal. Reports of shoddy work in the US$12.4-billion Shatinto-Central Link project led to the setting up of a commission of inquiry, followed by the government’s disclosure that it couldn’t guarantee safety because most inspection documents couldn’t be located and apparently had never been submitted.

The saga highlights an administrative culture that plays down the importance of creating and preservING OFkCIAL DOCUMENTS RElECTED IN Hong Kong’s unique position in the developed world of having no archival law. This led to inconceivable problems over the years, and examples of disdain for documentation abound.

In 2013, after a ferry collision in which 39 people died, a commission of inquiry discovered that the

FRANK CHING Marine Department had decided years ago not to implement a law mandating safety features if the vessel had been built before 2008, when the law came into effect.

Officials who inspected ferries annually gave them a pass even though they did not meet legal REQUIREMENTS 4HE OFkCIALS TOLD THE commission that they were simply carrying out the department’s policy.

But they didn’t know who had set the policy, or when. There was no document regarding this issue.

In 2007, Justice Michael Hartmann presided over a judicial review of the government’s deci-

sion not to allow four Falun Gong members to enter Hong Kong.

When he asked the immigration department to produce papers on the case, it responded that they had all been destroyed. “The reasonable man on the street WOULD PROBABLY HAVE DIFkCULTY ACcepting that government would have destroyed all of its records going to why some 80 people were refused entry to Hong Kong,� the judge said.

The police department, too, doesn’t bother to preserve its records. This led to the anomalous situation in which a foreigner, Richard Butt, who had been commended by police for his role in a pickpocketing incident, was threatened with prosecution because an immigration OFkCER BELIEVED THE COMMENDATION to be fraudulent. The police had no record of the commendation. After Butt proved the commendation was genuine, he received a letter

saying the proceedings against him would be dropped because of gINSUFkCIENT EVIDENCE u It is odd that Hong Kong doesn’t bother with the preservation of documents. Britain, which governed it for over 150 years, has archival legislation. China itself has an unrivaled history of document preservation, with Beijing’s First Historical Archives boasting 10 million documents from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Modern China enacted an archives law in 1987, which has been praised by supporters of a Hong Kong archives law.

Currently, Hong Kong’s toothless Government Records Service relies on individual bureaus and DEPARTMENTS TO HAND OVER OLD kLES for assessment as to whether they should be preserved. Not many do so regularly.

Legislators, the media, a think tank,

ÂłChing A5

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Kill the narco-politicians Â

T

HE congestion problem at the Port Area in Manila eventually affects our economy in a bad way.

One of my sources told me that the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) and Asian Terminal Inc. (ATI) are inutile.

The very slow movement of incoming cargo from ships to pier, and the consequently delay in the release of shipments, contributes to the country’s high INlATION RATE Importers have to pay higher storage fees and demurrage. If a shipment is not released within 10 days upon discharge from the yards, importers have to pay around P10,000 per container every single day.

It already sounds like a lot of money is lost, and the scale grows as more shipments are affected. )MPORTERS ‡ MOST OF THEM big Chinoy BUSINESSMEN ‡ complain to this columnist that millions of pesos are added to the cost of shipments because of these delays.

The additional costs incurred in the delayed shipment of the goods are, of course, passed on to the end-users or consumers.

And there is also the problem with trucking companies. That’s because there is no place to store empty containers, due to port congestion.

Again, it goes back to ICTSI and ATI being execrable at their jobs.

There’s a vicious chain reaction.

Importers pass on their extra costs down the line, affecting manufacturers and consumers.

The delays and rising prices can cause the manufacturers to close down factories, and this contributes to workers losing

IN MY LINE OF SIGHT RAMON T. TULFO their jobs.

And with skyrocketing prices on the shelves of our stores and groceries, what will be left for the Pinoy to buy?

For our businessmen in the manufacturing industries, and our fellow Pinoys who work in the factories, these added costs make it harder to stay in business, to stay employed.

Investors, too, both foreign and local, will be discouraged by these shenanigans at the Port Area.

If they pull out their investments, the real losers are not the businessmen but we the Filipino people, because, again, that loss, will be passed on to us, as with the delays and higher costs.

Importers are seeking an audience with President Digong to complain about the bad state of cargo handling at the Port Area.

N N N Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate allegations that a syndicate is running an illegal drug trade by remote control inside the New Bilibid Prisons.

BuCor and NBI are both under the supervision of the Department of Justice.

Guevarra got wind of information that an NBP inmate, Rusico Ygot, has been running the syndicate from inside the prison using the internet.

The Justice secretary issued

the order after receiving reports from the Philippine National Police (PNP) that 28 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (street name: shabu) were seized in Cebu City.

Jocelyn Encilla, Ygot’s girlfriend, allegedly received instructions from the inmate through the internet, police said.

4HIS IS NOT THE kRST TIME THAT police has stumbled upon information about inmates running a crime syndicate inside the NBP. In July last year, police discovered that inmate Tyrone de la Cruz negotiated for a P15million ransom payment for the release of a Chinese merchant kidnapped in Laguna.

Central Visayas PNP director, Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas, has asked BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon to place Ygot in solitary CONkNEMENT P#@$%^&*! Why do you have to place him in solitary CONkNEMENT Exterminate that son of a bug (insect) so he won’t be able to do society further harm.

If I were President Digong I would rethink the appointment of Faeldon as BuCor director.

Faeldon is as incompetent as one could get. He was forced to resign as commissioner of the Bureau of Customs because a big shabu shipment came out of the customs zone during his watch.

N N N Faeldon replaced another nincompoop at BuCor, Ronald “Bato� dela Rosa, who’s running for the Senate in the May elections.

It was during dela Rosa’s watch at BuCor that a NBP inmate Tyrone de la Cruz, ran a syndicate that negotiated the release of a

Chinese businessman after his family paid a P15-million ransom payment.

And to think that dela Rosa, a retired PNP chief, promised to rid the NBP of convicted drug lords should they persist in going about their nefarious trade.

This dela Rosa has no shame.

He wants to bring his incompetence to the Senate.

N N N An unimpeachable source at the Philippine National Police who doesn’t want to be identikED SAID THERE ARE NOW MILlion drug users and pushers in the country.

That’s 7 percent of the Philippines’ 100-million population!

Dionisio Santiago, the former head of the Drug Enforcement Board, said two years ago there were 1.5 million drug users throughout the country.

If the PNP source was accurate IN HIS kGURES THAT MEANS THAT since President Digong took over in June 2016, the number of drug users has increased by leaps and bounds instead of dropping.

Law enforcement agencies have not yet hit the mother lode of the supply of shabu.

They’re just scratching the surface since shabu proliferates in the market despite the intensive anti-drug campaign.

Perhaps the PNP’s “Operation Tokhang,� which targets street pushers and dealers, should neutralize with extreme prejudice (read: execute without trial) all the so-called narcopoliticians or THE BIG kSH If the Duterte administration has airtight evidence against these bastards, why not just make them disappear from the face of the earth? Silently.

R

APPLER actually had a point when Pia Ranada said that honesty in public service was enshrined in Section 27 of Article II of the 1987 Constitution: “The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.� But what made their ARGUMENT FALL lAT ON ITS FACE WAS in its being driven by their usual PARTISAN lAVOR WHICH ONCE AGAIN spoiled what could have been a powerful point had it been cast as fair assertion, and not to quarrel with Sara Duterte. They missed realizing that the Constitution was actually referring to honesty and integrity in relation to public service, and not in a generic sense. This is precisely why the clause forms part of a provision that also talked about graft and corruption. #ERTAINLY PUBLIC OFkCIALS ARE enjoined by the Constitution to uphold honesty and integrity in the performance of their duties, but it is nowhere required that generic honesty, nor even integrity, is a requirement to RUN FOR OFkCE 4HIS MAY BE AN unpalatable statement, but that is a fact. It may sound offensive to the virtuous and the morally upright, but that is the way it is. Ranada and Rappler, in their earnest desire to troll Sara Duterte for her statement that all politicians lie, and that honesty is not a requirement to run, tried to impose their interpretation of a general principle to be upheld

BY PUBLIC SERVANTS AS A SPECIkC REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC OFkCE The truth of the matter is this. Sara Duterte simply called

ON THE CONTRARY ANTONIO CONTRERAS the elephant in the room. And it is not even a brazen admission of something that is morally unpalatable.

In fact, it is something that draws its logic, unknown to most people, from philosophy and political theory.

Politics has not always existed as something that must be absolutely practiced with virtue. British political scientist Sir Bernard Crick, who argued that politics is ethics done in public, in his enumeration of the political virtues in In Defense of Politics, did not consider honesty and integrity as important enough to be articulated and included in his list. He enumerated prudence (careful evaluation of results of prior steps before making the next move), conciliation (being friendly even with people with whom one has disagreement), compromise (giving up some things valued to get other things that are more valued), variety (offering diverse options, and celebrating diversity), adaptability (readiness to adjust to changing times) and liveliness (enabling a positive atmosphere).

Had honesty and integrity been important for Crick, he would not have left this out in the list and would not have simply relegated it to those others that can be implied as additional virtues.

Even some notable virtue ethicists, like Rosalind Hurst-

Q CHING FROM A4

Hong Kong: A disdain the ombudsman, the director of audit and a pressure group led by a retired judge have all called on the government to enact an archives law to replace the current administrative system.

Finally, it appears things may

be changing. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has asked the Law Reform Commission to look into the issue.

In December, a sub-committee issued a consultation paper to seek public views on an archives law. Now,

A5

What’s MWSS doing about the ‘water famine’ in Metro Manila?

O

house, deny honesty its absolute meaning outside the context of the totality of one’s persona. Hursthouse argued that “a virtue such as honesty or generosity is not just a tendency to do what is honest or generous, nor is it to be helpFULLY SPECIkED AS A @DESIRABLE or ‘morally valuable’ character trait. It is, indeed, a character trait‌but the disposition in question, far from being a single-track disposition to do honest actions, or even honest actions for certain reasons, is multi-track.â€? She elaborated further, asserting that virtue “is concerned with many other actions as well, with emotions and emotional reactions, choices, values, desires, perceptions, attitudes, interests, expectations and sensibilities. To possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of a person with a certain complex mindset.â€? Hursthouse thus argued against an absolute, single-dimensional construct of virtue like honesty; she even called the act of attributing virtue on the basis of a single action as an extreme form of recklessness.

It can be deduced from this that such recklessness would also be true in attributing total dishonesty on a single lie.

Aristotle has contributed a lot to the philosophy of virtue in reLATION TO POLITICS (E SPECIkCALLY listed truthfulness as one important moral virtue, in addition to wisdom, justice, fortitude and temperance, among others. However, Aristotle couched this in the context of the polis. Virtue ethics for Aristotle is found in the exercise of politics where the telos

IS TO kND MEANING IN RELATION TO the very end of the polis itself, which is to enable human beings TO lOURISH OR WHAT IS REFERRED to as eudaimonia. Virtue, when DEkNED AND OPERATIONALIZED IN the context of political practice, is a habit or quality that allows those who possess it to succeed in relation to their purposes or telos. In current practice, this can then be interpreted as the pursuit of the public good, and that the virtue of politics is for its agents to be able to serve the interest of the greatest number of people.

The current preoccupation with virtue as good moral character and total honesty as requireMENTS FOR PUBLIC OFkCE IS MAINLY drawn from the classical republicanism forwarded by Tacitus, where he feared that power and luxury could corrupt individuals and undermine liberty. Hence, for Tacitus, virtue is a necessary shield against corruption that threatens the Republic.

Whereas Aristotle would have focused on the platforms and track records of candidates as the main basis for judging their political virtues, Tacitus would have dwelt on their lies and dishonesty to imply that they do not possess integrity, and as such would be UNkT TO SERVE THE 2EPUBLIC !Ristotle talked about serving the polis as the virtue of politics, while Tacitus talked about virtue as a prerequisite for politics. Thus, Aristotle talked about public service as virtue, while Tacitus imaged public servants to be devoid of vices. We now know that Ranada, Rappler and Robredo, and the moralist crowd are modern-day incarnations of Tacitus.

BVIOUSLY nothing. As I write this column, my faucets have again run dry. This after -ANILA 7ATER BRIElY TURNED ON the tap in our Kapitolyo, Pasig, NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THE kRST TIME in four days.

Water supply has been erratic ever since Manila Water implemented a “surprise� water interruption starting Wednesday last week. Although Manila Water issued an online advisory about some “operational adjustments� with a listing of affected areas, the East Zone water concessionaire DIDN T GIVE ANY DEkNITE SCHEDULE of water interruption.

The unexpected water outage left many households, including mine, unable to store even a bucket of water. I had to drive across the metropolis to a friend’s CONDO TO kX MYSELF UP SO ) COULD go to work. Not a good way to start my morning. Manila Water later published a more detailed water interruption schedule, but it turned out to be wishful thinking as many residents barely got running water at the appointed time.

I have to admit that my daily routine has been upended by this sudden “water famine.� And I am pissed. Really pissed. How the f**k could this have happened?!

True, the onset of El NiĂąo may be around the corner, but this IS NOT THE kRST TIME THE COUNTRY encountered this natural phenomenon. The last El NiĂąo dry spell to hit the Philippines lasted from February 2015 to July 2106 but even at its height, I never had my WATER SUPPLY CUT OFF 4HE lOW MAY have been weaker, but it was never totally gone like it was recently.

The water levels at Angat Dam from where Maynilad and Manila Water source their supply are still currently way above the critical level. So, what was the difference between then and now? Someone please explain it to me.

Because of this sudden shortage, water suppliers are having a heyday, with prices triple what it usually was. Ordinary households have no choice but to bite the bullet. And for our less privileged kababayan, that means scrimping on food and other essential expenditures to pay for their (now, more overpriced) water needs.

It isn’t only households that are HIT HARD BY THIS ARTIkCIAL DROUGHT Many businesses and activities relying on a steady supply of water LIKE CONSTRUCTION SITES REkLLING STAtions, restaurants, laundry shops and even small carinderias, will see their water expense trebled.

Some may even close shop or stop work. After all, it’s only their water supply that stopped, but not their rental payments or operating costs. Not a few establishments in our district and surrounding areas have ceased operations for lack of water. If the water crisis continues, we might see more businesses going under, and if that happens, it is nothing less than economic sabotage.

We interviewed Manila Water spokesman Jeric Sevilla on our weekly radio show “Executive Session� (dzRH, 666AM), and he said this water famine might last until the rainy season begins. If true, that means millions of households and businesses will have to endure unnecessary hardship for the next three months.

Manila Water has been trying to mitigate the effects of this water crisis by sending out water tankers to different affected areas every day in order to provide residents with free potable water.

But with only a limited number of trucks to service millions of affected consumers, its deliveries definitely cannot meet the

it seems, certain questions have to be decided, such as the law’s scope, that is, whether it should only bind the government or whether it should include public bodies, such as the MTR Corp., the Hospital Authority, the Housing Authority, and so on.

Another question is penalties for those who violate the law.

The culture of slighting documen-

tation is deeply ingrained in public bodies as well, and the law should certainly apply to them. But since there are hundreds of such bodies, it may take a time to phase in an archives law.

As for penalties, the sub-committee’s chairman, Andrew Liao, has been quoted as saying, “If just a little bit of negligence will lead to

criminal liability, this will seriously affect the department’s morale.� On the other hand, if the law can be broken without any penalty, then what is being created is a toothless law.

Finally, the enactment of a good archives law by itself isn’t good enough. It is also necessary to proVIDE PUBLIC ACCESS TO OFkCIAL DOCUments. Hong Kong doesn’t have a

Virtue, politics and political philosophy

Opinion

FLIPSIDE ATTY. DODO DULAY daily water needs of everyone in its East Zone concession area.

Most, if not all, would have to fend for themselves to find other sources of water, somewhere, somehow.

7HAT ) kND PARTICULARLY BOTHERsome is that just last week, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Reynaldo Velasco assured the public that there was enough water supply for its customers. Velasco reportedly even pledged that there was no water shortage looming in the horizon for residents of Metro Manila and neighboring provinces despite the below-normal water level at La Mesa Dam. So, why is there no water coming out of my tap, Mr. Velasco?

4HE -733 2EGULATORY /FkCE 2/ ‡ THE OFkCE UNDER 6ELASCO that is supposed to monitor the compliance of the private concessionaires (i.e. Manila Water and Maynilad) with their obligation to continuously supply potable WATER TO CONSUMERS ‡ APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CAUGHT lAT FOOTED BY the widespread water outage in the metropolis. ) ALSO kND IT IRONIC THAT -733 RO recently made a big splash about cutting water rates for Manila Water and Maynilad customers this summer when large swathes of Metro Manila are currently reeling from water stoppages. What use is a water rate cut if people can’t even get any water?!! Anak ng pating.

As the government agency responsible for exercising regulatory powers over Manila Water and Maynilad, the MWSS-RO has been suspiciously silent about the ongoing water famine. Why hasn’t it called out Maynilad and Manila Water for not providing uninterrupted supply to its customers?

Is it because it’s MWSS fault that the concessionaires have not been able to build new water sources to cover the supply shortfall?

In August last year, Manila Water warned of a possible supply shortage in its concession area by 2021 unless MWSS green-lighted the East Zone concessionaire’s P13-billion Laguna Lake Water Supply System Project or “East Bay.� But Velasco allegedly wasn’t keen on approving the plan, preferring instead to roll out the government-led Kaliwa Dam project in Quezon, which will not be completed until 2023.

Other observers say, however, that the water concessionaires ARE MERELY CREATING AN ARTIkCIAL shortage to condition the mind of the public into accepting higher rates in return for uninterrupted water supply.

Whether this water famine is a prelude to a planned rate hike or a scheme by the concessionaires to pressure MWSS to approve their water projects, what is undeniable IS THAT IT IS THE PUBLIC ‡ AND THE ECONOMY ‡ THAT IS BEARING THE brunt of this water famine. This is why Velasco needs to solve this problem as soon as possible, not merely by telling the public to save water or use it wisely (as Filipinos already do given our expensive water rates) but by undertaking activities that will ensure consumers are insulated against future El Niùo events.

Above all, he should remember that President Rodrigo Duterte promised a comfortable life for Filipinos, and that certainly won’t happen without a stable and inexpensive supply of water for our countrymen. freedom of information act. It needs such a law. While it is important for OFkCIAL DATA TO BE PRESERVED IT IS JUST as important for the data to be accessible. Preservation and access go together, like love and marriage. You can’t have one without the other.

Frank.ching@gmail.com Twitter: @FrankChing1

A6

Opinion

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Why Filipino politicians lie: It’s the media’s fault

H

UH? Why is media to blame for such deceptions as bogus academic credentials and baseless claims and accusations?

It’s the politicians mouthing untruths, which journalists are supposed to report without comment or embellishment. So, why is it the messengers’ fault if the news contains unfounded or malicious assertions?

Well, ask anyone maligned on Facebook, twitter and other social media. While these online channels merely disseminate what users post, it’s now widely expected, if not legally required, that websites validate messages posted and stop fake news, terrorist exhortations and other harmful or false content from going viral.

News media commands much more authority and credibility than social media, so it, too, should be at least as vigilant as FB in validating claims, especially from politicians. Many of them bend or twist the truth for ulterior motives, especially during elections, so reporters and editors should always demand proof of politicians’ assertions.

Well, often in this country, proof isn’t asked, especially from the opposition. Take the recent

FAITH HEALER

RICARDO SALUDO claims of Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the House of Representatives inserted tens of billions of pesos in pork barrel items in the proposed 2019 national budget.

Did media ask proof from him? If it did, were the bases of his claims ever reported? And was Lacson asked to substantiate his claim that House Speaker Gloria Arroyo, whom he detests for the Dacer-Corbito murder CHARGES kLED AGAINST HIM WAS behind the alleged insertions in the proposed General Appropriations Act (GAA)?

By contrast, reporters are quick to require evidence when the government or administration officials make accusations, like the narcolist of local election candidates suspected of protecting or PROkTING FROM ILLEGAL DRUGS .EWS outlets are even more demanding of proof when one or some of them are accused of wrongdoing.

actly and why was it wrong for them to be included in the GAA? Rather than verifying claims with hard facts, news becomes a litany of he-says-she-says, with the reputation of contending voices deciding which side gets public acceptance. In the pork barrel squabble, Lacson keeps accusing Arroyo, maybe hoping that her low trust rating would win the argument for him, even without proof.

The art of ‘sabong When this writer was a Palace journalism’ OFkCIAL JOURNALISTS ROUTINELY ASKED for comment on opposition reAnother factor leading to lies in marks. The standard procedure politics is “sabong� or cockfight WAS TO kRST VERIFY THAT THE REPORTED journalism. With this habit, some statement was actually made. If it media don’t bother asking the basis was genuine, one would then ask if of allegations but, instead, turn to the reporter asked for the critic to those accused or criticized for their substantiate his or her allegation. retorts, no matter how unfounded The media would often query if the assertions may be. That’s exactly the Palace was demanding proof. what happened to the budget pork One would then repeat the quesbarrel story, with little validating ma- tion: Did you, the reporter, ask for terial presented, but lots of accusing proof, as a competent journalist soundbites exchanged. should? Once the opposition had Just think: Has there been any given the basis for their accusation, SPECIkC ITEM ALLEGEDLY INSERTED BY then the Palace would comment. the House or the Senate, which Invariably, reporters promised has been cited for being illegal, to get back to this writer with proof improper, or ill-advised? There was of the allegation. None ever came CRITICISM OF UNSPECIkED gINSTITU- back with evidence, and that ended TIONAL AMENDMENTSu AND glOOD many baseless stories.

Most government spokespersons control projects,� but which exIn short, there is a double standard in validating politicians’ statements, partly due to the adversarial stance of American media INlUENCING LOCAL PRESS SKEPTICAL toward the administration, but quick to accept opposition and citizens’ claims even without proof. Needless to say, that kind of coverage may lead to untruths outside the government.

quickly issue denials, however, instead of asking journalists to do their job by validating claims, not just kSHING FOR COMMENTS 3O INSTEAD OF retiring baseless accusations, Palace denials turn them into headline stories about MalacaĂąang denying this or that. That encourages more unfounded accusations.

A couple of times, the press did follow this writer’s urging to demand proof from accusers. In late 2005, ABS-CBN New Channel anchor Carmina Constantino asked then Sen. Serge Osmeùa to substantiate his claim that the Ombudsman at the time, Simeon Marcelo, quit over Palace pressure.

OsmeĂąa replied: “The people will just have to take my word for it.â€?

In 2007, Lacson himself was asked for proof that Philippine National Police (PNP) intelligence funds were the source of bags of money allegedly given to legislators at the Palace, as he claimed.

He said the PNP should open its funds to scrutiny.

In sum, Lacson wanted the PNP to prove its innocence by doing an utter no-no for any law enforcement agency, as the former PNP chief knew: publicizing its intelligence budget, which would alert lawless elements how to counter

Brown taipan rises I

T was not a surprise to see Manny Villar rise to the top of the totem pole as defined and measured by Forbes magazine. Sipag at tiyaga, right? Villar ranked No.1 in the Philippines with a net worth of $5.5 billion, taking the spot long held by SM malls founder Henry Sy, who passed away recently. Had the Sy wealth remained consolidated in one name, the Sys would remain No. 1. Villar today ranks 317th in the world, truly a feat from his start-up days.

Villar has completed the circle. He kRST RAN AS REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE LONE district of Las PiĂąas in 1992. After two terms, he became the 18th Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1998. By the end of his full term in 2001, Villar ran for the Senate as an independent but campaigned under the People Power Coalition. He ranked 7th out of 37 candidates, garnering 11 million votes. By 2007, he sought reelection under the Genuine Opposition coalition and secured the 4th spot out of 37 candidates with 15.3 million votes. He became the 25th Senate President by his second term, serving until 2008. Villar completed his term in 2013 after losing in his 2010 presidential bid, placing third.

Manny Villar clocked in 21 years in politics, but the brand remains, with wife Cynthia winning a Senate seat in 2013 and seeking a second term this year. Their son Mark, meanwhile, is leaving a mark in building the infrastructure of the country as public works secretary, THE kRST NON ENGINEER AND PROBABLY the youngest to hold the post. That’s a total of 27 years for the Villar

ZILCH MA. LOURDES TIQUIA brand in elective and government positions.

Villar was able to recover the investment he made in his presidential run in 2010 a year after. Instead of moping, he did roadshows abroad to attract investors. And he focused on his business and relished being a builder of dreams. Nine years AFTER HE FULkLLED HIS DREAM BEING the richest Filipino, the so-called “Brown Taipan.� He is not Chinese or Spanish. He is Filipino, brown as any Filipino entrepreneur could be.

Villar built his real estate empire and pursued complementary businesses to strengthen its core. Land is an asset he holds dear, and it appears he has landholdings in almost every province in the country (and stories abound on how he accumulated such vast holdings). He has opened grocery, hardware and coffee chains across the country. Recently, he secured a telco franchise that will soon disrupt the telco industry, with Villar townships serving as its platforms connecting the country.

As anyone who builds an empire IN HIS LIFETIME ‡ MIND YOU NOT INHERITED ‡ 6ILLAR IS THE EPITOME OF GRIT %VEN WHILE IN OFkCE HE WAS building. Unshackled by politics, he soared, and today Villar lacks just two titles in his trophy room:

that of the vice presidency and the presidency. Will he throw in his hat in 2022 and run again? It has been said, time and time again, that running for president is a one-time deal. You prepare and make a stab at it and move on.

The continuity card is important come 2022. We need to continue the TRACK DEkNED PAVED AND PURSUED BY 022$ ESPECIALLY IN THE kELD OF INFRAstructure development, opening up the economy, taxes, social services and battling corruption. Villar does not need training. He does not need seasoning or maturity. He is ready to take the helm, plus he is the only candidate who will not be co-opted by the elites and the oligarchs of the country. Villar is self-made. In fact, he is a lot better than the oligarchs of the land because he was able to win over them. But how he built his fortune could be the quicksand, if we are to believe the rumor mills.

022$ WILL DEkNITELY NOT COMPLETE his blueprint on #BuildBuildBuild come 2022. But if he is able to frame 2022 well, that would mean picking the right one at the right time.

Just like the Liberal Party’s internal memo in 2007 on pursuing 12 YEARS IN OFkCE SO CHANGE WOULD BE indelible, the continuity will have to be 12 years post-Duterte. That could only be realized if Manny Villar and 3ARA $UTERTE SIT TOGETHER TO DEkNE what they can do together, without talking or dealing first with who should be on top and who should PLAY SECOND kDDLE 3ARA S (N0 WILL be the party in the second term.

The Nacionalista party will secure

Q AQUINO FROM A1

Admission tests, freedom and police power 4HIS IS NOT THE kRST TIME THIS QUESTION has been raised. When the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) was newly required of aspirants for enrollment in colleges of medicine, the howl of protest was so great that it reached the Supreme Court. In Tablarin v. Guiterrez (1987) the high court ruled: “Turning to Article XIV, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution, we note that once more petitioners have failed to demonstrate that the statute and regulation they assail in fact clash with that provision. On the contrary we MAY NOTE ‡ IN ANTICIPATION OF DISCUSSION INFRA ‡ THAT THE STATUTE AND THE regulation which petitioners attack are in fact designed to promote ‘quality education’ at the level of professional schools. When one reads Section 1 in relation to Section 5 (3) of Article XIV as one must, one cannot but note that the latter phrase of Section 1 is not to be read with absolute literalness. The State is not really enjoined to take appropriate steps to make quality education accessible to all who might for any number of reasons wish to enroll in a professional school but rather merely to make such education accessible to all who qualify under fair, reasonable and equitable admission and academic requirements.�

Those who assail any admission test must therefore prove that the measure is unfair or unreasonable.

And in his characteristically crisp and forthright literary style, Justice Isagani Cruz, after having characterized the challenge to the constitutionality of NMAT as “mediocrity,� upheld police power as the principle justifying limiting admissions to colleges of medicine: “In other words, the proper exercise of the police power requires the concurrence of a lawful subject and a lawful method.

The subject of the challenged regulation is certainly within the ambit of the police power. It is the right and indeed the responsibility of the State to ensure that the medical profession IS NOT INkLTRATED BY INCOMPETENTS TO whom patients may unwarily entrust their lives and health.

The method employed by the challenged regulation is not irrelevant to the purpose of the law nor is it arbiTRARY OR OPPRESSIVE 4HE THREE lUNK rule is intended to insulate the medical schools and ultimately the medical profession from the intrusion of those NOT QUALIkED TO BE DOCTORS While every person is entitled to aspire to be a doctor, he does not have a constitutional right to be a

doctor. This is true of any other calling in which the public interest is involved; and the closer the link, the longer the bridge to one’s ambition.

The State has the responsibility to harness its human resources and to see to it that they are not dissipated or, no less worse, not used at all.

These resources must be applied in a manner that will best promote the common good while also giving the individual a sense of satisfaction.

A person cannot insist on being a physician if he will be a menace to his patients. If one who wants to be a lawyer may prove better as a plumber, he should be so advised and adviced.

Of course, he may not be forced to be a plumber, but on the other hand he may not force his entry into the bar.

By the same token, a student who has demonstrated promise as a pianist cannot be shunted aside to take a course in nursing, however appropriate this career may be for others.�

Similarly, one should reasonably be screened out who desires to be a lawyer but lacks the fundamental capacity to reason correctly or the facility of expression that the study of law demands.

But it is not only with respect of NMAT and PhilSAT that the issue of the lawful use of the police power of

the predominant majority this elecTION 4HE .ACIONALISTA IS AN AFkLIATE of HnP. There is the natural bond.

There are other names, of course. Since the protest is not getting anywhere, there is a Marcos (and he has to secure a seat in the Senate for his Manang in this election). There is a Sotto (Senate President) and there is a Cayetano (if he secures the speakership). The problem with Cayetano is he has earned the ire of almost everyone who helped him climb the political ladder, and it will be payback time when he decides to go for the presidency. Timing is a cruel factor, too.

But who will be crazy enough to battle a Villar? Mind you, rich candidates do not win the presidency.

In 1992, Danding Cojuangco tried it. Speakers do not win the presidency, too. Mitra attempted it in 1992 and De Venecia in 1998. Villar became Speaker and Senate President and had the moolah when he run in 2010. Timing is everything in politics. Will Villar remain a kingmaker only? Will he be the perennial Santa Claus who will drop P2 billion on a person he thinks has the makings of a president? Or would Cynthia be the candidate in an all-female cast in 2022? After all, she is the one with the political pedigree and the original source of the war chest.

One thing is clear, Villar has made IT TO THE TOP AND THE RAREkED AIR IS ONLY limited to a few who are disciplined enough to pursue a routine that may be boring for some but characterdefining for others. Exciting days ahead, indeed. the State arises. All policies, standards and guidelines issued by the CHEd from which private HEIs and even SUCs deviate only at their own peril are limitations on institutional academic freedom, and have, so far, been deemed to fall within the “reasonable supervision� power granted the State by the Constitution in respect to higher education.

As for the Supreme Court superINTENDING LAW SCHOOLS ‡ A PROPOSAL MADE A LONG TIME AGO ‡ IT SHOULD SUFkCE TO POINT OUT THAT IF THE COURT cannot even rid itself of its burgeoning backlog, how wise is it to burden it with the supervision of law schools?

But the more compelling reason is constitutional: The regulation of schools and programs of education is an executive, not a judicial function, and while the Supreme Court, in the exercise of its rule-making power, lays down the requisites for membership in the Philippine Bar, it does not have the power to lay down the course of study that law schools must follow, nor how such schools ARE ORGANIZED NOR THE QUALIkCATIONS of members of the faculty, without arrogating unto itself a non-judicial FUNCTION ‡ A PROPOSITION ANATHEMA to our constitutional order.

rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

L

its detective efforts.

To uphold truth, demand proof In 17 years of international journalism as editor-writer with Asiaweek magazine in Hong Kong, this columnist and his colleagues then always pressed politicians for proof.

Not only was it part of professional journalism; it was also needed in case the publication was sued. In libel cases in Hong Kong, crucial to the defense were efforts to verify claims, rather than just repeating them without asking proof.

But libel law may operate differently in the Philippines, which may further make sabong journalism the preferred way to get headline news hereabouts. Especially if asking for proof might just show many allegations to be baseless and unworthy of coverage.

But readers should not let sabong journalism blunt their quest for truth.

In reading news, one can check if there are any supporting facts and evidence given for statements quoted. If there is none, responsible media would say prominently: “No proof was provided for the allegations.�

If journalists did that, it would help stop untruth in politics.

The revolution we need

AST week, frustrated over the Commission of Elections ruling out any political debates between the senatorial candidates of Hugpong ng Pagbabago and Ocho Diretso, political pundit Richard Heydarian challenged me to a debate. He said it was “for the sake of entertainment.� I accepted the challenge, but felt it was such a condescending challenge. Our mutual connections started arranging it.

Since Heydarian and I do not know each other beyond our highly polarized political landscape, an atmosphere of distrust characterized the initial planning of our would-be debate. But life is charming strange, WE JOINTLY MADE EFFORTS TO kX THE TRUST DEkCIT IN OUR INTERACTION BY connecting on a much deeper level THAT WENT BEYOND WHAT WE SUPERkcially know about each other.

Below is our joint statement on our April 6 dialogue (details to be kNALIZED WHERE WE ARE GOING TO exchange views on the various issues our country is facing right now. It’s an attempt to go beyond the superkCIAL DIVISION BETWEEN THE SO CALLED DDS and Yellows.

Joint statement on April 6 debate Recent years have witnessed a troubling turn in our political culture, which has become dangerously polarized beyond recognition. The upshot is a destructive us-vs-them mindset, where our countrymen see one another as adversaries rather than fellow citizens. As Gore Vidal put it with his acerbic wisdom, we live in a world where for many people, “[i]t is not enough merely to win; others must lose.�

Let’s be clear: We believe in freedom of expression in a pluralistic society like ours. Friction is necessary in society, since it’s a precondition for creative solutions to our complex problems. Yet, friction can also become harmful if it only feeds mutual acrimony and societal fragmentation. What role kCTION WILL PLAY IN OUR SOCIETY IS ULtimately determined by ability and willingness to agree on a common set of rules.

You see, we realized that we should use our platform to generATE CONSTRUCTIVE INlUENCE THAT WE should responsibly channel the blessing of having a public voice.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we are playing angel and denying our past shortcomings. It’s true, often we both engaged in vicious and demeaning exchanges, which only FUELLED THE kRE OF POLARIZATION IN our society. At times, we were mere pawns to the political fault lines imposed by others. And along the way inspired our followers to do the same, to echo our follies.

Past is past, we can’t change it. But tomorrow is a chance for redemption if we learn from the

FOR THE MOTHERLAND

SASS ROGANDO SASOT mistakes of the past and atone for them sincerely. We realized that the energy we spent in undermining each other is better deployed towards triggering a discursive revolution.

You see, we are not only tired of our polarized discourse, but also the vacuous nature of our elections, where politicians would rather invest in jingles than in substantive discussions. This sham should stop!

Is this the best that our democracy can offer? We say no. And we say we can do something about it, if only we open our minds and hearts.

In his book On Dialogue, theoretical physicist David Bohm asked, “Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view or conform to those of others and without distortion and self-deception? Would this not constitute a real revolution in culture?�

Our dialogue on April 6 is about that kind of free exchange of ideas.

It’s not going to be a pissing contest. Sorry guys, you’re not going to have a gruesome gladiator match.

We aren’t going to be pawns of the Emperor and his mob. Certainly, we will have differences. Dialogue accepts that as a given. Instead of magnifying those differences, the POINT OF DIALOGUE IS INSTEAD TO kND common grounds. The goal is to listen, to understand, to build on each other’s strong points, and to help each other refine our views on the perplexing challenges facing our society.

It’s not going to be about who’s right or wrong, but instead about how we can expand our horizons for the betterment of our motherland. It’s not about winning or losING BUT OF kNDING WAYS TO INTEGRATE opposing views into a fresher and more thoughtful perspective. It’s about demonstrating to people how we can channel friction productively FOR THE BENEkT OF OUR SOCIETY 4HIS isn’t about ego or exposure. This is about contributing something for the collective good. And gladly, we all agreed that the proceeds from the event will go to the veterans and victims of the Marawi siege.

This way, we hope that our scholarly pursuits and years of activism will be of good service, no matter how humble, to our beloved country. So please, support our little effort if you truly want to heal our collective wounds and end the dangerous fragmentation of our beautiful motherland.

E-mail: srsasot@gmail.com

Regions CIDG-Pangasinan chief Maguindanao airstrikes face abduction raps kill 2 terrorists, soldier ˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

A BUSINESSWOMAN and her mother filed charges of alleged abduction against the chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Pangasinan AND EIGHT OTHERS BEFORE THE OFkCE of the Ombudsman on Monday.

Manilyen Mendoza, live-in partner of The Manila Times correspondent Jaime Aquino, and HER MOTHER !NALIZA 3ANCHEZ kLED two counts of forcible abduction with serious illegal detention, robbery, illegal arrests and violation of Republic Act 9262 or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Children’s Act� against Supt.

Philip Antang, CIDG-Pangasinan chief; Senior Police Officer (SPO) 4 Joey Barlaan, SPO2 Romeo Galisim, SPO1 Roosebelt de 6ERA 0OLICE /FkCER 0/ #HRISTIAN 0EREZ 30/ !NATALIO 2ILLERA Jr., SPO2 Ariston Noval 2nd, SPO2 Jerome Buscaino, and PO1 Mary Ann Baltazar.

Aquino said Mendoza and her mother were arrested during a raid at a mini-carnival in Malasiqui, Pangasinan on orders of Antang.

He said Mendoza, who was engaged in the money lending business, was in Malasiqui to collect payment for P100,000 she loaned to Jun Alcantara, the operator of the mini-carnival.

CIDG operatives led by Antang raided the mini-carnival for illegal gambling activities and to arrest Alcantara.

Aquino said the operatives then turned their eye on Mendoza and Sanchez after failing to locate Alcantara. “They were unable to arrest anyone [in the raid] so they chose to harass my live-in part-

ner and her mother. Then they forced them to get into their vehicle and brought them to CIDG headquarters in Pangasinan,�

Aquino said.

-ENDOZA SAID #)$' OFkCER "ALTAzar frisked them took her handbag containing her P60,000 collection.

"UT THE OFkCER ALLEGEDLY ONLY REcorded P29,000 in the report.

Later, Buscaino bought them to Antang’s offce where they were again frisked and Mendoza was ordered to be remove of her clothes. “We couldn’t do anything but cry inside the room where we were detained and stayed the whole night,� she said.

Attack vs journalist Aquino believes the incident was fueled by the CIDG’s frustration against him for publishing a story that allegedly tainted their image.

He was referring to the cases that Speedgame Inc. and the PhilIPPINE #HARITY 3WEEPSTAKES /FkCE kLED AGAINST !NTANG "USCAINO AND Galisim before the Ombudsman for allegedly protecting jueteng and the illegal numbers game in Pangasinan. “While they (Mendoza and Sanchez) were under the custody of the CIDG, they were told that I did something wrong to them (police) because I published stories and accused them of being protectors,�

Aquino said.

He also claimed that he was told to personally apologize to Antang for his articles to “patch up things and resolve misunderstandings.�

But he believes they were just waiting for a chance to kill him.

ROY D.R. NARRA

Nationinbriefs SUSPECT IN KILLING OF DAVAO NORTE NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER CHARGED PANABO CITY, Davao del Norte: A suspect in the killing of Dennis Denora, publisher of weekly newspaper Trends and Times in Davao del Norte was charged with murder, while two new witnesses surfaced to help bring justice to slain broadcaster Christopher Lozada of Surigao del Sur in 2018. Denora was shot dead on June 7, 2018. Authorities have identified the perpetrators as Richard Posas Bolastig and his unidentified cohort. Meanwhile, UnderSecretary Joel Sy Egco, executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, in a media briefing disclosed that Rolly Mahilum, former driver and aide of Bislig City Mayor Librado Navarro, was positively identified by a witness as the gunman in the killing of Lozada. The broadcaster was killed on Oct. 24, 2018 in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur. Navarro’s alleged involvement in the murder of Lozada was being eyed as the broadcaster filed an administrative case against the former mayor before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of a hydraulic excavator. The gunman’s alleged getaway vehicle was owned by the Bislig City government. Just before the killing and shortly after the release of the Ombudsman’s resolution, Lozada had received several death threats sent thru his Facebook account.

JULMUNIR I. JANNARAL

NBI NABS 2 FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN RIZAL THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested two alleged pimps, while 11 girls, including two minors, were rescued in Antipolo City. The suspects were identified as Christian Mabbayad, alias Jaika, and John Romel Bueno. The two were arrested during an entrapment by the NBI-Rizal District Office, following a tip-off by the Destiny Rescue Philippines, a nongovernment rescue organization.

NBI noted that Mabbayad and Bueno also operate in Pasig, Makati and Quezon City where the victims were paid P3,000 each. The two were presented for inquest before the Antipolo City Prosecutor’s Office for violation of the Expanded AntiTrafficking In Persons Act of 2012 and the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. GABRIELA G. BARON

DOLPHIN FOUND DEAD IN CEBU A FEMALE bottlenose dolphin was found dead by fishermen on Sunday night floating about 20 meters away from the shoreline of Barangay Atabay, Alcoy town, South Cebu. Cindy Plando, fisheries coordinator of the Municipal Agriculture Office of Alcoy, said the dolphin, which weighed about 70 kilos, had a length of more than 1 meter. The dolphin, which is rarely found in the area, had no wounds and looked healthy. Plando said the last time a dolphin was of sight in the place was about 15 to 20 years ago. Couple Ramil Pelarios and Rosemarie Bimos who went fishing, found the dolphin at past 9 p.m. and informed the authorities.

RHEA RUTH ROSELL

DUTERTE SIGNS LAW CREATING PHILIPPINE SPORTS TRAINING CENTER IN SARANGANI PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte recently signed Republic Act (RA) 11224 for the establishment of the state of the art Philippine Sports Training Center (PSTC) in Sarangani Province. The new law, which stemmed from Senate Bill 1712 filed

by Senator Emmanuel “Manny� Paquiao, has a P3.5-billion appropriated fund.

Construction of the PSTC will soon commence this year. Pacquiao, chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, filed the bill on Feb. 27, 2018, seeking for the creation of the PSTC. Its final version was approved on Oct. 8, 2018 which was cosponsored by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny� Angara. Under RA 11224, Sarangani and municipal government of Alabel, in coordination with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), were mandated to take the necessary steps to upgrade, improve and modernize existing facilities, equipment and personnel, and integrate them into the newly created sports training center. Funds for its construction and operation would be primarily provided by the local government units with support coming from the PSC and the Office of the President, as Pacquiao claimed it would be the country’s premier sports training center with indoor facilities. “Once the construction is finished, athletes can train themselves at the sports training center for the whole year round�, Pacquiao added.

JERRY N. ADLAW

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

BYÂ DEMPSEY REYES

T

WO terrorists were killed while six others were wounded during the conduct of a series of airstrikes and ground operations by the military in several towns in Maguindanao to ferret out an Islamic State (IS)-inspired terrorist group known to be hiding there.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6th ID), said the surgical air, artillery and ground operations started at about 5:50 a.m. in the towns of Datu Salibo, Pagatin,

Mamasapano, Shariff Aguak and Datu Unsay, which are part of the so-called “SPMS box.�

Sobejana also said that Salahudin Hassan, alias Abu Toraype, and the Singaporean terrorist and gREMAINING REMNANTu OF :ULKIlI

Abdhir alias Marwan, Mauwiyah, were spotted during the operations, He added that a sergeant under the 61st Division Reconnaissance 4EAM WAS KILLED IN THE kREkGHT As of Monday afternoon, he said the operation against the Toraypeled faction was still ongoing in the area.

The airstrikes were initially conducted in Datu Salibo, Pagatin, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak, then extended to Shariff Saydona Mustapha. “It started with a bomb run followed by rockets from our -' THEN INDIRECT kRE FROM our howitzer cannons, and we

A7

used air power as well. We also had ground maneuvers which resulted in multiple encounters,� Sobejana told reporters.

Around 200 members under Hassan’s command were hiding in the area, according to Sobejana, noting that they were sighted in the town’s adjacent villages.

Maj. Arvin Encinas, 6th ID spokesman, explained that two TOWNS WERE THE kRST TARGETS OF THE operations: Shariff Aguak and the boundary of Datu Unsay and Datu Salibo.

The operations started when civilians reported the presence of fully-armed men around the SPMS box.

Laguna welcomes Calabarzon’s adopted son CALAMBA CITY: Laguna spread the red carpet for former special assistant to the President and 2019 Senate candidate Christopher Lawrence “Bong� Go on Saturday when Calabarzon’s adopted son visited the province again.

Go first received the province’s overwhelming support when he visited Biùan City on February 23 with the senate slate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan for the party’s campaign sortie in Laguna.

On February 10, the governors of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon) signed a manifesto of support for Go and declared him as an adopted son of the region. “Thank you very much to my brothers here in Calamba,� Go told the huge crowd that greeted him and other senate bets of the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) during its kickoff rally at Rizal Plaza here.

Calamba Mayor Timmy Chipeco, Gov. Ramil Hernandez and Laguna 2nd District Rep. Joaquin Chipeco Jr. led Calamba residents and people in the province in welcoming the HnP stalwarts.

Go told his audience, “If you are happy with the way the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is running the

country, rest assured that if elected to the Senate, I will continue the changes that he has started.�

He also told the people of Laguna that he fully supports President Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.

Go added that among his top priorities was his advocacy to improve the delivery of health services in the country, which includes the establishment of more Malasakit Centers nationwide.

The Malasakit Center makes it easier for needy patients to avail of medical and financial assistance from the government through a one-stop shop that brings together in one room all concerns from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. He capped his visit to Laguna by gracing the People’s Night Extreme and Pyromusical Competition–Anilag Festival at the provincial capitol in Sta. Cruz, Laguna.

Q Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go

Sultans insist there is normalcy in Marawi MARAWI CITY: The Marawi Sultanate League (MSL) said the city is not a “ghost town� and insisted that there was normalcy in most parts of the Marawi City.

In a statement, the league said only the 24 barangay (villages) of the most affected area (MAA) remain isolated and unsafe because of unexploded ordnance that were buried there after the Maute siege.

While the military said it was now clearing the area of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices (IED), Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) started weeks ago to clear debris from the MAA. They were slowed down, however, by the difkCULTY OF ASCERTAINING THE BONAkDE property owners and other technicalities of the government’s procurement processes. “By normalcy, we mean that generally, the people are enjoying tranquility in their homes and are peacefully engaged in their usual business or livelihood undertakings,� the MSL said.

On February 1, The Washington Post came out with an article stating the city is still a ghost town, a declaration which TFBM chief, Sec-

retary Eduardo Del Rosario, belied.

He said in a media conference that the reality on the ground had nothing to show Marawi had become a ghost city “but instead it is full of economic activity.�

Del Rosario stressed that the most-devastated area in the city was only 250 hectares out of the city’s total area of 8,000 has.

But former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) vice governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr. said Marawi was a ghost town. “Why can’t we be truthful about it?�

He said, “It’s obvious the Post was referring to the MAA, which it is,� responding to others who called the article as merely semantics in describing Marawi City.

Marawi civic leader and opposition Senate aspirant Samira Gutoc belied the claim of del Rosario that the war-torn area was “alive and booming� and not a “ghost town.� “It’s really ghost. It is a ghost when you have the commercial capital in Marawi City burned and you have not yet rebuilt it after 20 months,� Gutoc told reporters.

Recently, it was reported that Maranao leaders sought the aboli-

tion of TFBM for its alleged failure to rebuild the city almost two years after it was devastated during the Marawi Siege.

Accusing the TFBM leadership of “incompetence,� the Maranao leaders said they were pinning their hopes on the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to rehabilitate the city.

controversial when the city’s royal traditional leaders questioned its moral authority to do so.

Sultan Abdul Hamidullah Atar, the reigning Marawi sulTAN SAID THE kVE MAJOR CLANS IN Marawi had nothing to do with the event the Sultanate League staged.

He said not one of the Sultan of THE kVE CLANS WAS PRESENT DURING the conferment of the title upon del Rosario.

Major clans Besides, Atar said, del Rosario never performed an excellent job MSL is an aggrupation of sultans on the rehabilitation of Marawi to and datus in Marawi founded deserve such a conferment. in 1954 by the late city mayor MSL has been working closely Sultan Bato Ali. Headed by Sul- with the Marawi City government tan Maamor of Dansalan Nasser and TFBM in the city’s rehabilitaSampaco, most MSL members are tion and recovery. high ranking traditional leaders.

Prominent MSL members are According to local Taritib (tra- closely related by blood to ofditions), Marawi is called Lima kCIALS IN -ARAWI #ITY AND AT THE Pumagsopa sa Marawi because it is national level.

COMPOSED OF THE kVE MAJOR CLANS MSL senior adviser Sultan CaREPRESENTED BY THE kVE SULTANS OF mid Gandamra is the father of Bacolod, Toros, Sakayo (Marawi), Marawi City Mayor Majul GanGuimba and Madaya. None of DAMRA 3ULTAN 3AMPACO IS THE kRST them is a member of MSL. cousin of Abdullah Mamao, PresiIn December 2018, MSL con- dential Assistant on Overseas ferred on Secretary del Rosario the Filipino Workers and Muslim title of “Adopted Son of Marawi Concerns and a TFBM member.

MASIDING NOOR YAHYA Sultanate League,� which became

A8

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

News

˜ The Manila Times w w w.manilatimes.net

Commission on women lauds QC

BY JAIME R. PILAPIL

T

HE Quezon City (QC) government was awarded by the Philippine Commission o n Wo m e n f o r i m p l e m e n t i n g comprehensive gender and development (GAD) programs.

The city government was recognized for its enactment of GAD ordinances that uphold human rights, gender equal-

ity and women empowerment along with six other local government units (LGUs).

6ICE -AYOR *OSEkNA g*OYu "EL-

monte, who received the award on Friday, said Quezon City had instituted programs for victims of gender-based violence and abuse. “In behalf of the Quezon City local government, I would like to thank the Philippine Commission on Women for recognizing our programs on gender development, and our efforts in providing a gender-responsive governance,� she said. “Quezon City has a comprehensive gender-fair ordinance and

we are the only one to establish a Quezon City Pride Council for our LGBT (lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender) community,� she added.

The QC Pride Council is a pioneer initiative of the city that “oversees the integration of all CITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS FOR THE LGBT community.� “Through the city GAD council, awareness and recommendation are promoted down to the barangay level through GAD

focal persons in every office.

The council also works and coordinates with the violence against women desks in police stations in the city,� Belmonte said. “Our City Social Hygiene Clinics were established to care to men who have sex with men and transgender people providing them with free, safe, non-discriminatory AND CONkDENTIAL ()6 TESTING ALONG with free counselling services,� she added.

Belmonte said the establishment of the social hygiene clinics was part of the city’s HIV response program which had been recognized a model for other cities by the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. “Now that our two GAD facilities have been validated and certikED AS LOCAL LEARNING HUBS WE ARE encouraged even more to sustain and expand the implementation of our programs and facilities,� she said.

P200K reward offered for arrest of waste dumpers Gasoline prices up by 90 centavos per liter

MANILA City Mayor Joseph Estrada has offered a P200,000-reward to anybody who can provide information on the identity of the truck driver who dumped human waste in a canal in Malate, Manila.

Estrada said that he would give P100,000 for the information on the identity of the driver and truck owner and another P100,000 when the suspects have been been charged and sentenced by the court. “Matagal na akong hindi nakakasapak eh. Sasapakin ko talaga yan ‘pag nahuli. Hindi gawain ng matinong tao yung magtatapon ka ng dumi sa kalye (It’s been a long time since I punched somebody. I will give them a beating. Throwing waste on the streets is not something that a person with a right frame of mind would do),� Estrada added.

The mayor ordered Manila Police District Director Vicente Danao to run after the owner of the truck.

A CCTV footage showed the truck parked in front of the Century Park Restaurant while discharging its human waste cargo in a canal that is directly connected to Manila Bay. The incident happened on February 4.

Estrada expressed belief that the

Q Mayor Joseph Estrada

ergy’s weekly monitoring.

Industry players raised pump prices as global oil prices gained.

Reuters reported on Monday that Brent crude futures rose 0.4 percent to trade at $65.02 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures increased 0.5 percent to settle at $56.36 a barrel. ,AST WEEK kRMS REDUCED THE price of diesel by 10 centavos per liter but raised the costs of gasoline and kerosene by 10 centavos per liter and 35 centavos per liter, respectively.

JORDEENE B. LAGARE

Chief justice’s son forgives vendor incident was “politically motivated� and was meant to put his administration in a bad light. “ Sinasabotahe ako ng mga kalaban ko sa pulitika. Kilala

ko naman kung sino sila (I am being sabotaged by my political enemies. I know who they are),�

Estrada said.

The mayor will go against for-

mer Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and former Vice Mayor Fransico “Isko� Moreno Domagisi in the May elections.

WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL

STILL NORMAL

The water level at Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan remains normal. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

CHIEF Justice Lucas Bersamin on Monday said his son, Lucas Bersamin Jr., and daughter-inlaw, Bianca, have decided to WITHDRAW THE CHARGES THEY kLED AGAINST A kSH BALL VENDOR WHO was arrested in Makati City on Saturday.

The couple filed charges of UNJUST VEXATION AGAINST #ONRADO Bingco.

Bianca was walking along Malugay Street in Barangay BelAir when she was reportedly harassed by Bingco because she DECLINED TO BUY kSH BALLS She reported the incident to her husband who in turn confronted Bingco.

Bingco was detained at the Makati police headquarters ON CHARGES OF UNJUST VEXATION

and threat.

4HE CHIEF JUSTICE SAID THE COUple decided to withdraw the case after consulting him after the incident. “Although the couple said that this is a serious matter that should not be taken lightly, moving on from the issue and desisting from prosecuting the case was deemed best for both parties,� Bersamin said.

The chief magistrate said that while the issue was a private matter, the rights of women must be protected. “The couple are pushing for proper legislature to protect women’s rights against catcalling and other forms of sexual harassment,� Bersamin said.

JOMAR CANLAS

Aquino to push ‘food bank’ bill

Q SUMMER FROM A1

WATER SHORTAGE TO LAST THE ENTIRE SUMMER service interruptions will persist because of the dwindling levels in TWO OF THE COUNTRY S MAJOR RESERVOIRS — Angat Dam and La Mesa Dam. “Itong mga water interruptions po na ito ay magpe-persist buong summer hanggang sa dumating ‘yung ulan hanggang sa tumaas po ulit ang mga tubig sa mga dams natin lalong lalo na sa La Mesa Dam (Water interruptions will persist during the entire summer until the rains come or until the water levels in dams, especially La Mesa, increase),� Sevilla said in a radio interview.

Households in several areas in Metro Manila have been affected by water service interruptions since last week as the water level in dams continue to recede.

On Monday, the La Mesa Dam’s water level went below the critical level of 69 meters above sea level.

Sevilla said at least 260 villages or over 50,000 households were affected by water interruptions in the cities of Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan and Quezon.

Residents of the cities of Marikina, Taguig, Mandaluyong and Antipolo, and Angono, Binangonan, San MaTEO 2ODRIGUEZ 4AYTAY AND *ALAJALA IN Rizal were also hit by water service interruptions last week.

OIL companies raised the cost of gasoline by 90 centavos per liter on Tuesday.

The prices of diesel and kerosene stayed the same. #ALTEX WAS THE kRST TO ADJUST ITS pump prices at 12:01 a.m., while Eastern Petroleum, Flying V, Jetti Petroleum, Petro Gazz, Pilipinas Shell, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, and Total followed at 6 a.m.

The latest hike in fuel prices brings the common price of diesel to P43.34 per liter, gasoline to P50.84-P55.69 per liter, and kerosene to P50.74 per liter, based on the Department of En-

Sevilla appealed for understanding, saying the water concessionaire’s service depends on the available supply of water.

He said the company would enforce a low-water or no-water policy across its concession area. “Kapos po talaga tayo ng supply at nagsisimula pa lang tayo ang tag-init, tapos may El NiĂąo pa. Mataas ang demand talaga (Our supply is really lacking and the summer season has JUST STARTED 7E ALSO HAVE %L .INO The demand is really high),â€? he said.

Manila Water advised its customers to frequently check its social media pages to be updated with scheduled water interruptions.

Low The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Monday said the water level at La Mesa Dam, which supplies water in Metro Manila, was at 68.93 meter, lower than its critical level of 69 meters.

Angat Dam, which supplies 97 percent of La Mesa Dam’s reserves, measured 200.59 meters, still 20 meters from its critical level.

The water levels in other dams have also declined but remain with-

in the normal range. Ipo Dam’s water level was 101.02 meters, 572.95 meters for Binga Dam, 265.62 meters for San Roque Dam, 204.95 meters for Pantabangan and 169.78 meters for Magat Dam. Ambuklao Dam increased by 0.02 meters to 749.20 meters, while Caliraya dam increased by 1.15 meters to 287.97 meters.

Critical low levels were set at 180 meters for Angat, 694 meters for Ambuklao, 555 meters for Binga Dam, 225 meters for San Roque Dam, 171.50 meters for Pantabangan Dam, and 160 meters for Magat Dam. MalacaĂąang assured the public that the government would take steps to address a water crisis.

Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said he was waiting for President Rodrigo Duterte’s directives about the water crisis.

He said he would also check if concerned government agencies had taken measures such as cloud seeding to address the problem. “That (cloud-seeding) is a possibility. In fact ‘yan yung naiisip ko kung bakit hindi gumagawa ng cloud seeding (I am wondering why cloud seeding is not being done),� he said.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Ser-

vices, on Monday urged the government to look into better technologies and infrastructure to harness the country’s natural water resources amid a looming water crisis.

The reelectionist senator said concerned agencies must find a sustainable way to use the country’s water supply. “In facing the looming water crisis, the government should be more proactive in addressing the problem by adopting a radical approach in tackling existing problems or shortcomings in the water supply system, she said. “This is literally the lifeblood of an agricultural country like the Philippines,� said Poe, adding that there was also a “need to capitalize on the fact that lots of typhoons that bring heavy rains frequently visit the country.� “We can hit two birds with one STONE ‡ PREVENT lOODING AND SOMEhow re-direct rainwater to arable agricultural lands or to treatment facilities, turning said water into home-friendly public utility for all our households,� she said.

FRANCIS EARL CUETO, DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ, BERNADETTE TAMAYO, AND CATHERINE S. VALENTE

SEN. Paolo Benigno “Bam� Aquino 4th on Monday said if reelected in the May midterm polls, he would refile in the 18th Congress his measure that seeks to create a “food bank.�

The senator filed in 2016 Senate Bill (SB) 357 or the “Zero Food Waste Act� to “ultimately end the cycle of having food end up in the trash instead of stomachs.�

Aquino deplored that his bill had become a “victim of fake news.�

He deplored that trolls twisted his measure and claimed that he wants to distribute “ pagpag � or leftover food. “We’re having fake news again for breakfast. Pero tuloy pa rin ang laban (But we will continue the fight). If reelected, this will be one of the measures we’ll refile,� he said on Twitter. “I think we just need a new name for it. Maybe ‘ Hindi Po Ito Pagpag Bill ’? Open to your sug-

gestions,� Aquino said in jest. “This was actually recently passed in the lower house. But with no Senate counterpart passed, we won’t be able to make it a law,� he added. “Food banks do not provide leftover food.

Many food items in supermarket, hotels and restaurants go to waste.

[These are] safe and edible food,� he said.  Under SB 357, foodrelated businesses will shoulder the costs of transporting edible food waste from business location to the food bank’s warehouse or distribution center and ensure its good condition upon arrival.

It will also require private individuals and local government units to participate in a segregation campaign to have food waste readily available for recycling into fertilizer or compost.

BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO

ASIAN STOCKS: V S h a n g h a i 1 . 9 2 %

W S i n g a p o re 0 . 1 4 %

P52.20 TO $1

PSEi 7,708.72 DOWN 1.13%

www.manilatimes.net

What’s inside BUFFER STOCK BOOSTED

BY RICE IMPORTS – NFA

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PH SEES BOOST IN TRADE WITH JAPAN

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FILINVEST LAND PROFIT GROWS 4% TO P6.08B

V To k yo 0 . 4 7 %

W Jakarta 0.26%

NOW: SHAREHOLDERS OK EQUITY RESTRUCTING

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%4 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT &$) INlOWS HIT A TWO YEAR LOW IN THE "ANGKO 3ENTRAL NG 0ILIPINAS "30 REPORTED ON -ONDAY ALSO MISSING THE FULL YEAR TARGET

At $9.802 billion — short of the CENTRAL BANK S BILLION GOAL AND THE LOWEST SINCE S BILLION ‡ NET INlOWS WERE DOWN PERCENT FROM S BILLION An analyst called the result “decent� but said slower economic growth and UNCERTAINTIES OVER THE GOVERNMENT S tax reform program could have been limiting factors.

"ROKEN DOWN NET INVESTMENTS OF EQ-

uity capital recorded the biggest fall of 33.3 percent even as the total remained positive at $2.267 billion, albeit lower THAN S BILLION 4HE "30 IN A STATEMENT SAID EQUITY capital infusions last year came mainly from Singapore, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan and China, and were INVESTED IN MANUFACTURING kNANCIAL and insurance; real estate; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply;

and arts, entertainment and recreation.

Reinvestments of earnings, meanwhile, dipped by 0.4 percent to $859 million, from $863 million in 2017, while net availments of debt instruments rose by 11.3 percent to $6.676 billion from $5.996 billion. “FDI still registered a decent print in 2018,� ING Bank Manila Branch senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said when asked to comment on the full-year data.

He pointed out that growth in debt instruments meant parent companies were still sending money to subsidiaries in the Philippines, while the slight drop in reinvested earnings could be attributed to the economy. g;4=HESE SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES HAVE

ÂłAvailments B4

W B a n g ko k 0 . 1 7 %

plowed back a good amount of their earnings back into local operations, albeit at a slightly slower pace from 2017, likely due to slowing growth in the Philippines,� Mapa said.

Gross domestic product growth eased to 6.2 percent last year — short of THE GOVERNMENT S DOWNWARDLY REVISED goal of 6.5-6.9 percent — from 6.7 percent in 2017.

The substantial contraction in net EQUITY PLACEMENTS MEANWHILE WAS ATtributed to base effects but Mapa also said “uncertainty over the tax reform PROGRAM MAY HAVE ;HAD= SOME INVESTORS w ;ADOPT A= WAIT AND SEE ATTITUDE u The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law, implemented at

ÂłLow B4

Stock market down anew, drops 1.13%

Rediscount availments up in Jan-Feb BANK availments of the Bangko 3ENTRAL NG 0ILIPINAS "30 PESO rediscount facility surged in the kRST TWO MONTHS OF THE YEAR DATA released on Monday showed.

Total loans rose to P34.895 billion, six times more than the P5.810 billion borrowed during the same two-month period a year ago.

The bulk or 57.97 percent was CLASSIkED AS OTHER CREDITS BY THE "30 3PECIkCALLY THE LOANS WERE used for capital asset expenditures (40.61 percent), permanent working capital (11.92 percent) and loans to other services (5.44 percent).

4HE REMAINDER WAS CLASSIkED AS

V H o n g Ko n g 0 . 9 7 %

B2

Net FDI misses target, drops to two-year low

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

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GERMAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION EBBS IN JAN

V Seoul 0.03%

BEYOND BUZZWORDS

W

TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2019

Business Times

CURRENCY RATE

B1

UNWANTED FRUIT

A tree decorated with banknotes that are worthless — as a result of inflation — is shown as people queue at a gas station (L) in Caracas on March 10, 2019 during a power outage.

National Assembly leader Juan Guaido said Sunday he would ask the Venezuelan legislature to declare a “state of alarm� in order to request international aid amid a massive power outage. AFP PHOTO

THE stock market opened the week on a down note, falling for a second straight trading day on account of net foreign selling and the lack of positive catalysts.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 1.13 percent or 88.39 points to close at 7,702.72 while the wider All Shares declined by 0.77 percent or 37.04 points to kNISH AT

%AGLE %QUITIES )NC RESEARCH head Christopher Mangun blamed FOREIGN FUND OUTlOWS AS HAVING dragged the index down.

Foreign funds bought P2.98 billion worth of issues and sold P3.26 billion for a net foreign selling position of P273 million.

P2P Trade Online sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez echoed Man-

GUN S VIEW AND ADDED THAT THE LACK of positive news was also a factor. g%RRATIC NET FOREIGN ;OUTlOWS=

coupled with more weakness in US markets could dampen sentiment moving forward,� Perez said.

7ALL 3TREET S THREE MAIN INDICES fell on Friday, with the Dow Jones dipping 0.09 percent while the 3 0 AND THE .ASDAQ DECLINED by 0.21 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively.

Most regional markets were in the green on Monday except for Jakarta and Singapore. which slipped by 0.18 percent and 0.08 percent, respectively.

Tokyo was up by 0.47 percent,

Âł1.13% B4

Higher alcohol taxes Jerome Powell says Trump can’t fire him to raise P237B – DoF A SENATE bill calling for higher excise taxes on alcohol products could generate P237 billion in ADDITIONAL REVENUES OVER A kVE year period, the Finance department said.

In a statement, Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua estimated that Senate Bill (SB) 2197 would raise around P32.3 billion in the first year of its implementation, P40 billion in 2020, P47.4 billion in 2021, P54.6 billion in 2022 and P62.4 billion in 2023.

Like a proposed hike in cigarette taxes, increasing taxes on alcohol products would help

close a P40-billion funding gap in the universal health care program, Chua added.

SB 2197 calls for an ad valorem TAX EQUIVALENT TO PERCENT OF the net retail price (excluding value-added and excise taxes) per PROOF AND A SPECIkC TAX OF 0 PER proof liter starting 2019.

4HE SPECIkC TAX WILL INCREASE

by P5 per proof liter every year thereafter until 2022, after which it will be raised by 10 percent annually.

The bill also proposes a P335 tax on sparkling wines and champagne for those costing P500 or

ÂłTaxes B4

WASHINGTON, D.C.: US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has faced bitter criticism from Donald Trump, said in an interview broadCAST 3UNDAY THAT THE PRESIDENT CAN T kRE HIM “The law is clear that I have a four-year term. And I fully intend to serve it,� Powell told CBS televiSION S g -INUTES u However, Powell refused to criticize Trump or discuss private conversations with him, saying “it would not be appropriate� for him to do so. “I try not to comment on the PRESIDENT ) JUST DON T THINK IT S appropriate for me to comment on the president or frankly any other ELECTED OFkCIAL u 0OWELL SAID g)F ) DO THAT ) THINK IT S A DISTRAC-

PH policy a hostage to mediocrity I A ROUGH PLAN to liberalize the importation of sugar HAS PROVOKED THE kLING OF “so many petitions� by the sugar industry against the MOVE A .%$! OFkCIAL SAID in a news item from yesterday morning, prompting the agency to plan a study of the issue.

Whether or not that study reaches any conclusions or is even completed, the fact that the government is even acknowledging THE COMPLAINTS WILL BE ENOUGH TO QUASH THE sugar liberalization idea, or render a policy so hamstrung by protective conditions as to be useless.

4HIS WEEK IT S SUGAR LAST MONTH IT WAS rice; last year, it was the insolent proposal TO MODERNIZE PARTS OF THE COUNTRY S PUBlic transportation fleet: Any policy that

tends to aim, however imperfectly, at competitive progress dies at the hands of those defending the “livelihoods� of the little people. It is policy reduced to the lowest common denominator, rather than policy aimed to raise the social and ECONOMIC lOOR AND THE LONGER IT CONTINUES

the less able the country is to break out of the pattern of mediocrity. ,ET S TAKE A LOOK AT THE SUGAR LIBERALIZATION ISSUE kRST ! DETAILED PLAN HAS NOT YET been presented, but presumably would involve tariff adjustments as well as loosening regulations on import permits. The rationale for liberalizing sugar imports is prices; local sugar prices are comparatively

TRADE BEN KRITZ

ÂłPerez B4

tion from the important job that we have.�

Last year, Trump angrily and VERY PUBLICLY DENOUNCED THE &ED S “crazy� interest rate hikes, breaking with traditional reserve from PRESIDENTS TOWARD THE WORLD S MOST powerful central bank.

The acrimony was such that it led to talk of Trump planning to kRE 0OWELL EVEN THOUGH HE WAS THE PRESIDENT S NOMINEE

Turning toward the economy at large, Powell noted that the growth rate was expected to slow this year, but denied there was a risk of a recession. “This year, I expect that growth will continue to be positive and continue to be at a healthy rate,� he said.

Powell pointed to concerns for cyber crime, calling it the “major focus in terms of big risks.� “Cyber risk is a con-

ÂłFire B4

Q Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during the 2019 Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) Economic Summit at Stanford University on March 08, 2019. AFP PHOTO

When leaving means living

T was a low time for me. I would wake up and drag myself to work, hoping that each new day would be better. I was not in good terms with my manager; and despite the efforts I put into my work, I was solely valued for my numbers.

Unfortunately, my numbers were not at their best. I was then put under a performance improvement plan (PIP) for one AND A HALF MONTHS m kVE MONTHS AFTER they noticed a gradual decline in the key performance indices (KPI) for our team that management had set.

Having access to the source of our performance reports, I tried to run the numbers and found that I was not the only one showing the same pattern of performance metrics. There were two or three outliers but most of us, in a team of 12 people, showed a decline on the KPIs IDENTIkED ) WAS NOT EVEN THE PERSON WITH the lowest numbers, yet, I was singled

of our team had to leave due to mental health concerns, and a couple of tenured team members decided to move to different departments. This left us shortstaffed with relatively new hirees and a few senior teammates to cope with all the challenges. out for the PIP. Despite these challenges, my managThe company merged with another ERS WERE kRM IN THEIR STAND OF LOOKING corporation. That brought organiza- SOLELY AT THE NUMBERS AS A DEkNITION OF tional changes and implementation of my performance. I remember being told various corporate actions. Some changes that, “at the end of the day, you are rated had major effects on the business unit BASED ON THOSE kGURES.�

In the end, I decided to leave the comwhich I was a part of, including a shift from one data provider to another with a pany. I was no longer happy and I felt the corresponding change in methodologies. better option was to resign and move on.

In my new company, people are given Aside from the change in data providers AND THE lOOD OF CLIENT QUERIES THERE value not only in terms of numbers, but were also organizational movements also as feeling, living human beings.

THAT MODIkED OUR TEAM S STRUCTURE AND People are not mere “resourcesâ€? to be UPPER MANAGEMENT S ROLES AND POSITIONS discarded or eliminated when no longer To make matters worse, one member ÂłMFS B2

MANAGING FOR SOCIETY

ALVIN MAE BADONG

B2

Business Times

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Buffer stock boosted by rice imports – NFA T

BY EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

(% .ATIONAL &OOD !UTHORITY .&! IS EXERTING ALL EFFORTS TO BOOST THE COUNTRY S BUFFER STOCK TO PROVIDE &ILIPINO CONSUMERS

PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM THE MARGINALIZED SECTOR

WITH AFFORDABLE RICE Latest data from the NFA showed a total of 203,000 metric tons (MT) of 25-percent broken long grain white rice from Thailand and Vietnam have arrived under government-to-government (G to G) tenders.

Of another 500,000 MT under the open tender scheme, a total of 478,050 MT has also been delivered with the balance already in transit and expected to arrive soon.

The imports, which are part of the 1.25 million MT ordered last year, were discharged in the ports of Manila, Subic, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos City, La Union, Surigao, Tacloban and Zamboanga.

The country has imported rice

from Thailand and Vietnam since these are the only ones with existing memorandums of agreement with the Philippines. The rice imports are meant to increase the .&! S MARKET PARTICIPATION AND beef up its own inventory.

With the implementation of Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, however, the NFA will no longer be allowed to import rice and will have to buy its buffer stock from local farmers.

The NFA said its current imported rice inventory stood to last until August this year, prompting the agency to ramp up its nationwide palay (unmilled rice) procurement PROGRAM )N THE kRST TWO MONTHS OF THE .&! S TOTAL PALAY PRO-

curement reached 232,447 bags, a 22-fold increase from the 10,960 bags procured a year ago.

NFA acting administrator Tomas Escarez said more farmers were now selling their harvests to the NFA after its policy-making body NFA Council approved an additional P3 per kilogram buffer stocking incentive (BSI) in October last year.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel PiĂąol also assured the NFA would CONTINUE BUYING FARMERS PRODUCE and sell rice at P27 per kilo in spite of its new role as a buffer stocking agency.

The NFA releases rice at P25 per kilo to accredited retailers who sell at P27 per kilo to consumers across the country.

Before the enactment of RA 11203, the NFA was mandated to have at least 15-days worth of buffer stock at any given time except during the lean seanson WHEN IT IS REQUIRED TO HAVE DAY buffer stock which could only be released during calamities and

emergencies.

Based on the amended implementing rules and regulations of the new law, the NFA will adopt the “rolling buffer stocking� scheme — buy palay from local farmers all-year round with an optimal level of buffer stock good for 30 days and release the aged stock once it reaches the optimal level.

In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to have at least DAYS WORTH OF BUFFER STOCK 4O bring down rice prices and ensure the availability of the staple food, THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO lOOD the market with impored rice.

Meanwhile, the NFA said it had readied a total of 303 palay buying stations nationwide as the agency prepares to procure a sizeable portion of the summer crop harvest starting this month.

The NFA currently maintains more than 300 warehouses across the country with total capacity of 22 million bags or about 30 days of national daily consumption REQUIREMENT

Trade, PH sees boost in trade with Japan investment dialogs held in Panay THE Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently collaborated with the local government and private sector to boost trade and attract foreign direct investments in Panay Island.

In a statement on Monday, the DTI-FTSC said Undersecretary Rowel Barba talked with Iloilo Mayor Jose Espinosa 3rd during a three-day regional visit last week.

Espinosa promoted exportable home-grown brands and industries where foreign investments are available. He ALSO REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FOR its trade fair participation in China next month. In response, Barba instructed the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Guangzhou, China to assist the Iloilo delegation.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Iloilo Federation for Information Technology and Gaisano Development Group participated in a trade and investment dialog held in partnership with DTI Region 6.

During the talks, Iloilo presented development opportunities in the area, introducing the Economic Triangle, a large area where the major developers like Megaworld, Ayala Land, Filinvest, Gaisano Grand, Double Dragon, Robinsons Group and the SM group have undertaken various commercial projects ranging from shopping malls, hotels, commercial spaces to residential buildings, the DTI said.

Attention was also given to the information technologybusiness process management industry in the discussion as it has become the “bedrock of IloiLO S DRAMATIC REAL ESTATE GROWTH u “The 27,000 college and 10,000 vocational technology graduates of Iloilo also adds to the attraction of the province to investors looking for highly capable and skilled workforce,� government representative Che Gavan said in a statement. “The regional visit is intended to bring us closer cooperation with the local government and the private businesses in the countryside to promote merchandise and service exports and facilitate inward foreign direct investments,� FTSC Executive Director Emman Ang said.

TYRONE C. PIAD

THE Philippines is expecting a boost in service exports and foreign direct investments following THE SIGNING OF THE kRST PROTOCOL TO amend the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean)-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) agreement.

In a statement on Monday, the Department of Trade and Industry $4) SAID THE !*#%0 S kRST PROTOcol was signed at the sidelines of the 7th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Intersessional Ministerial Meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia on March 2. “Under the protocol, several key features were agreed on that will facilitate the movement of service suppliers in the region,� Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

The DTI said the provisions were geared towards promotion, facilitation and protection of investments to fortify economic partnership among countries involved.

With strengthened relationship, the attractiveness of Asean as a

region and its member countries as an investment destination for Japan would improve, which can help generate more jobs, the DTI said.

Under the agreement, Filipinos can avail short-term to long-term business and investor visas to Japan. The Filipino professionals, in addition, can also be granted UP TO kVE YEARS OF STAY IN *APAN Included were in the fields of natural or human sciences, such as physical sciences, engineering, economics, law, business management and accounting, TAXATION OR SPECIALISTS IN THE kELD of humanities. “Entry and temporary stay will also be granted to accompanying spouses and children as ‘depenDENTS OF ANY &ILIPINO BUSINESS persons or professionals given permission to temporarily stay in Japan,� the DTI added.

Japan was among the countries with the most investment pledges in January at P202.1 million. As

OF *APAN IS THE 0HILIPPINES second major trading partner with $21.760-billion merchandise shipments. It was also the second highest east Asian country to employ OVERSEES kLIPINO WORKERS IN at 112,700. “This new development will ensure that Japan continues to be a strong anchor in regional trade.

With other initiatives that Asean and Japan are engaged in — such as the renewed Asean-Japan 10year Strategic Economic Cooperation Roadmap — Japan remains an important partner of Asean in its economic integration agenda,�

Lopez said.

The AJCEP is a free trade agreement between Asean member countries and Japan, eliminating trade tariffs among nations to boost two-way exports and product-sharing agreements. Japan IS !SEAN S FOURTH BIGGEST TRADING partner with merchandise shipments at $218 billion in 2017.

TYRONE C. PIAD

Industry M&A thresholds pushed COMPULSORY MERGER AND ACQUISITION - ! NOTIkCATION THRESHolds should be set on an industry basis, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said. “We agree, there should be different thresholds for industries depending on the capitalization REQUIREMENTS AND MARKET SIZE OF industries,� PCCI President Alegria Limjoco told The Manila Times on Monday.

Limjoco said she urged the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to “undertake industry benchmarking in setting thresholds.� Having the same thresholds for all sectors could “potentially arrest the expansion of smaller enterprises and industries,� she explained.

In conducting the industry review, the PCC should focus on

energy, manufacturing, retail and franchising because many M&A deals were being created in the mentioned sectors, she said.

PCC Chairman Arsenio Balisacan was reportedly not keen on SETTING INDUSTRY SPECIkC THRESHOLDS AS THE kRMS INVOLVED COVER DIFferent several industries as well.

As the ultimate parent entity will likely be handling varied businesses, Balisacan pointed that this poses a problem in choosing which unit to represent the parent, adding that other industries might also be too small to be considered as a relevant market.

A legislator last year urged the PCC to substantially increase its M&A review thresholds and CONSIDER SETTING INDUSTRY SPECIkC limits. At that time, Balisacan said the PCC would be looking into the benchmarking proposal. Under

the Philippine Competition Act, THE 0## SHOULD BE NOTIkED ABOUT - ! DEALS WITH SIGNIkCANT MARKET impact.

Last month, the “size of transaction� and “size of party� — the latter referring to the revenues/ assets of the ultimate parent of at LEAST ONE OF THE kRMS INVOLVED ‡ limits were raised to P2.2 billion and P5.6 billion, respectively, from P2 billion and P5 billion. The ADJUSTMENTS WHICH RElECTED THE COUNTRY S ECONOMIC GROWTH TOOK effect on March 1. To date, PCC has approved 164 transactions.

4HE 0## A QUASI JUDICIAL BODY established in 2016 under the Philippine Competition Act of 2015, is tasked with reviewing M&A for possible adverse effects on competition and initiating investigations into anti-competitive practices.

TYRONE C. PIAD

Honesty store an excellent people strategy H BEYOND ONESTY came to mind as it became a hot topic in recent days due to the midterm ELECTION FEVER "UT LET S SIDESTEP politics for a while and discover how honesty can be tapped as a management strategy with the kRST KNOWN COFFEE SHOP ESTABlished in 1995 in Batanes which prides itself as “a store that is too small for dishonest people.�

It took more than 23 years for very few organizations to try the honesty strategy like the G-Liner Bus Company plying Cainta to Quiapo and vice-versa and other routes. The trouble is that, when you check its Facebook page, YOU LL BE DIRECTED TO A LOT OF negative comments against the rude behavior of its drivers and conductors.

If the allegations are true, G-Liner may as well ditch its honesty fare system and instead focus on customer satisfaction.

"UT THAT S ANOTHER STORY Another example of an honesty strategy that came in the news recently was the attempt by the Manila Police Department to put up an honesty store selling food, noodles and beverages. It was closed for a while after an audit revealed it lost P20,000 to an insider who was discovered to have pocketed the money as shown by a closed-circuit television camera.

The store reopened after several weeks of closure.

The honesty strategy may raise SOME EYEBROWS "UT IF THERE S ONE MODEL WE D LIKE TO COPY IT CAN BE TDK Philippines Corporation, a Japanese manufacturing plant in Laguna. It has an honesty bake shop that caters daily to thousands of its employees.

The system is simple to start and maintain.

It has a transparent box under lock and key where employees pay P20 for a bag of bread. The SYSTEM IS PRACTICAL AND PROkTABLE for the following reasons: One, it is one form of low-cost employee motivational strategy.

Management is not spending money for it. It merely provides a small space for a concessionaire inside the factory where workers take their morning and afternoon breaks.

Two, it is convenient and costEFkCIENT FOR THE MINIMUM WAGE earner. The bakery concessionaire saves a lot of money for it does not have to assign a storekeeper for all kiosks in different parts of the factory. Whatever savings IT GETS IS lOWED BACK TO MAKE THE price reasonable for the workers.

Three, the system helps contribute in the improvement of THE COMPANY S LABOR PRODUCtivity as the 15-minute coffee break is strictly followed by ALL WORKERS 4HERE S NO REASON for them to delay their return to work after each break as everything is under their control.

No more interaction with a storekeeper.

Last, anticipated losses are borne by the external service provider. But who cares to steal a P20 worth of bread, anyway?

4HE WORKERS THINK IT S NOT WORTH to risk losing their job with that little amount. Management trusts THE SYSTEM &OR THEM IT S NOT worth it to install CCTV cameras in those areas.

Conclusion? An honesty-based

BUZZWORDS

REY ELBO store works best in private organizations. It may not be effective in situations where you have to deal with the general public like in the case of the bus company and a police station.

Amar Bhide and Howard Stevenson, writing for Harvard Business Review, say: Organizations “can be proud of a system in which people are honest because they want to be, not because they have to be. Materially, too, trust based on morality provides great advantages.�

Honesty is an important ingredient in business, but not in traditional politics. Even if the VOTERS HAVE BEEN BETRAYED IT S still a mystery for us to understand why the same people who have been indicted, imprisoned, bailed out and paroled continue to be elected and lord it over us.

According to Bhide and Stevenson, “(m)ore damaging to THE MORALISTS POSITION IS THE wealth of evidence against trust.

Compared with the few ambiguous tales of treachery punished, WE CAN kND NUMEROUS STORIES IN WHICH DECEIT WAS UNQUESTIONABLY rewarded.� If you want factual examples of dishonesty being rewarded, then read the full article of Bhide and Stevenson and take that risks. ) M NOT PROMOTING DISHONESTY here. Even if one thousand peoPLE ARE STUPIDLY DISHONEST THEY RE still called stupidly dishonest. No QUESTION ABOUT IT 4HEREFORE THE next time you think of putting-up an honesty store in your company, use a visual, graphic scarecrow like the one used by psychology professor Melissa Bateson who secretly ran an experiment in her OWN DEPARTMENT S BREAK ROOM The experiment was done in the early 2000 when CCTV cameras were not yet in vogue, if not very expensive to procure and maintain. Faculty members and employees at the Newcastle University paid for coffee, tea, and milk by dropping money into an honesty box. Each week, Bateson posted a small poster of new price list without changing the price, except for a photograph that accompanies it.

Each week, there was a picture OF lOWERS 4HE NEXT WEEK A PAIR of human eyes. The cycle goes on. No one suspected the secret experiment as the honesty store was already in place several years before the test. The result of the experiment shows the customers on average paid three times more when the pair of eyes is in the price list, rather than a phoTOGRAPH OF lOWERS ,ET S GO BACK TO POLITICS 7HAT would be the result of a similar EXPERIMENT IF INSTEAD OF lOWERS

WE LL ALTERNATE THE PHOTOGRAPHA OF "ENIGNO !QUINO ))) AND 2Odrigo Duterte in the price list of an honesty store?

Rey Elbo is a business consultant in human resources and TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AS A fused interest. Send feedback to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

Access to funds key to MSME innovation – survey THE lack of access to investment capital continues to hinder micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from innovating results of a recent survey conducted by the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) showed.

Philexport, in a statement, said results of its MSMEs innovation practices online survey conducted in December revealed almost half of the 24 respondents admitted being hampered by the lack

of access to funding capital to raise their innovation level and competitiveness.

Of the 24, all except three said they regularly implemented innovation into their operations. Of these innovation practitioners, about 83 percent allocated up to 25 percent of their budget for innovation initiatives. Philexport said almost 52 percent practiced product innovation to improve their products or services, while 26 percent integrated pro-

cess innovation into their operations, and a fraction engaged in marketing innovation.

Aside from the lack of access to funding, results of the survey indicated lack of access to human capital or “technologically literate workers� and modern technologies also prevent MSMEs to innovate. “Our MSMEs have the determination to innovate.

They just do not have enough access to resources and opportunities to help them discover

the type of innovation that will be fit for their companies,� the report said.

Philexport said support in gaining access to capital and investment was no. 1 for 48 percent of the polled companies, while 31 percent said they needed assistance to venture into new markets and value chains. “Lack of innovation plan remains a barrier for MSMEs to innovate. This suggests that there might be a lack of thorough understanding of MSMEs

on what innovation is and how it can work,� the report said.

Philexport said emphasizing the importance of innovation and highlighting who to consult for innovation practices via information dissemination drives could help local entrepreneurs.

It said using the local language of MSMEs, especially those located in the provinces, might help in the effectiveness of the information drives.

ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES

Corporate News

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

NOW: Shareholders OK equity restructuring NOW Corp. shareholders have approved an equity restructuring scheme aimed at improving the kRM S kNANCIAL PROkLE The listed technology company told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday that the move — priMARILY AIMED AT ERASING A DEkCIT that had hit P414.346 billion as of the third quarter last year — was approved during a special stockholdERS MEETING LAST &RIDAY -ARCH NOW earlier this year detailed THE EQUITY RESTRUCTURING TELLING THE PSE that it planned to decrease its capital stock to P1.5 billion from P2.12 billion and cut the value of common shares to 70 centavos from P1 apiece.

The company still needs to secure the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission. ./7 SWUNG BACK TO PROkT IN THE

THIRD QUARTER LAST YEAR EARNING 0 million compared to a net loss of P1.05 million a year earlier.

Revenues reached P41.254 milLION PERCENT HIGHER YEAR ON YEAR NOW focuses on providing wireless broadband service to CORPORATIONS GOVERNMENT OFkCES

and banks. /NE OF ITS AFkLIATES ./7 4ELECOM HAD EXPRESSED INTEREST IN bidding for a third telco slot promised by the government but later WITHDREW CLAIMING THE FREQUENcies on offer were not enough to mount a challenge to the PLDT'LOBE DUOPOLY

NOW shares plunged by 3.02 perCENT OR CENTAVOS TO CLOSE AT 0 each on Monday amid a 1.13-percent decline for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.

LISBET K. ESMAEL

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

B3

Filinvest Land profit grows 4% to P6.08B

BY ANGELICA BALLESTEROS

F

ILINVEST Land Inc. (FLI) saw net income grow by 4 percent last on the back of double-digit revenue growth.

)N A REGULATORY kLING ON -ONDAY &,) REPORTED PROkTS OF 0 BILLION UP FROM 0 BILlion a year earlier.

Revenues rose by 10 percent to P22.21 billion with earnings from rentals alone jumping 27 percent to P5.61 billion.

&,) #HIEF %XECUTIVE /FkCER AND President Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the company was optimistic about this year given the strong RESULTS &,) IS RAMPING UP PROJECT launches this year to P30 billion from only P16 billion last year

in line with a target to hike the RECURRING PORTFOLIO S CONTRIBUTION to net income. “Our strategic CBD (central business district) land bank in ;-ETRO -ANILA= #EBU AND #LARK PROVIDE THE PLATFORM FOR &,) S STRAtegic goal of doubling its leasable AREA BY u 'OTIANUN 9AP SAID !S OF END $ECEMBER

&,) HAD OFkCE AND RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS TOTALLING TO

square meters (sqm) of gross leasable area. )N THE PIPELINE MEANWHILE ARE 21 recurring income developments

THAT WILL ADD SQM &,) said this would help meet its target of 1.6 million sqm of leasable space by 2023. &,) IS THE REAL ESTATE SUBSIDIARY OF THE 'OTIANUN OWNED &ILINVEST $EVELOPMENT #ORP WHICH ALSO HAS BUSINESSES IN BANKING

TOURISM RELATED DEVELOPMENTS

SUGAR FARMING AND MILLING AND power generation. &,) SHARES FINISHED DOWN centavos or 1.99 percent on MonDAY AT 0 APIECE AMID A percent drop for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.

Megaworld to build P20-B Highland City Cebu Pacific to expand MEGAWORLD Corp. is planning to build a P20-billion new township in Cainta, Rizal in a bid to expand its mixed-use estate portfolio to 30 over the next two years.

Megaworld and affiliate Empire East Land Holdings Inc. on Monday said the 24-hectare Highland City would rise on the site of a former steel factory along F. Felix Ave. Megaworld Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew Tan said the project — expected to break ground in the second quarter of 2019 — would take 10 years and would be its first joint venture with Empire East.

It will include 38 Empire

East-branded residential towers comprised of 300500 units per building, the Highland Mall, 58,000 square meters (sqm) of retail space, a park with another 8,000 sqm of retail area, and a 500-seat church.

Highland Mall — to be placed under the Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brand — will constitute the first phase of development and is due for completion in 2020.

Tan said the firms would allocate four to six lanes for road development, 40 percent for green spaces, 40 percent for residential and 20 percent for mall, offices and mixed-use developments. “Cainta has around 400,000 population and we saw that there is ‌ big de-

mand in the area,� Tan said. “Most of the properties in the areas have been fully developed already into fully horizontal (house and lot) developments so with the lack of land area, we think there’s no other way to go but to go vertical (condominium) that’s why we decided to come in,� he added.

Highland City will be the 24th township development of Megaworld. “We will launch more and we target 30 townships within the next two years,�

Tan said.

Shares of Megaworld rose by 9 centavos on Monday to finish at P5.54 each, bucking the Philippine Stock Exchange index’s 1.13-percent drop.

ANGELICA BALLESTEROS

HOLDING FIRMS

Index PSEi

Value 7,708.72

Chg -88.39

%Chg Ĺş

All Shares

4,780.18

-37.04

Ĺş

Financials Industrial

1,735.47 11,404.98

-25.39 -175.41

Ĺş Ĺş

Holding Firms

7,680.72

-118.04

Ĺş

Services

1,545.70

-4.94

Ĺş

Mining and Oil

8,002.93

-136.22

Ĺş

Property

3,942.57

-3.11

Ĺş

SERVICES

Stock indices as of March 11, 2019

PSEi

ALL SHARES

MINING AND OIL

Clark, Cebu operations GOKONGWEI-LED #EBU 0ACIkC #EBU !IR )NC WILL BE ADDING lIGHTS TO ITS #EBU AND #LARK HUBS in a bid to expand its share of the travel market.

-ICHAEL )VAN 3HAU CHIEF OPERATIONS OFkCER OF #EBU 0ACIkC SAID THE LOW COST CARRIER WOULD BE LAUNCHING THREE NEW DOMESTIC ROUTES ‡ )LOILO

Bacolod and Puerto Princesa — to its Clark International Airport (CIA) operations. $AILY lIGHTS TO AND FROM )LOILO AND "ACOLOD will start on August 9 while the Clark route will open on October 9. #EBU 0ACIkC ALREADY HAS DIRECT lIGHTS TO #EBU

#ATICLAN 4AGBILARAN $AVAO 3INGAPORE -ACAU and Hong Kong from Clark.

The carrier is also planning to mount a new lIGHT BETWEEN #EBU AND MAINLAND #HINA AS IT seeks to strengthen its presence in North Asia. “The Philippines is the closest tropical destination from North Asia. Cebu and the 166 islands within the province alone boast of some of the BEST TROPICAL GETAWAYS IN THE WORLD u 3HAU SAID in a statement. g)T S A LOGICAL CHOICE TO BE OUR @BEACH HUB WITH

EASIER ACCESS TO WORLD CLASS BEACHES DIVE SPOTS AND RESORTS u HE ADDED &ROM #EBU HUB THE CARRIER CURRENTLY OFFERS lIGHTS TO "ACOLOD #ATICLAN "UTUAN #AGAYAN DE /RO #ALBAYOG #AMIGUIN #LARK $AVAO $UMAGUETE 'ENERAL 3ANTOS )LOILO +ALIBO ,EGAZPI

/ZAMIS 0AGADIAN 0UERTO 0RINCESA 3IARGAO

3URIGAO 4ACLOBAN :AMBOANGA (ONG +ONG

-ACAU 4OKYO 3INGAPORE AND )NCHEON g4HERE S STILL A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY FOR EXPANSION within the Philippines — inter-island connections FROM KEY CITIES LIKE #LARK AND #EBU u 3HAU SAID g7E BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A SIGNIkCANT UNTAPPED market in northern provinces in the Philippines.

Creating direct links between domestic destinations and our other hubs will spur tourism and MOVEMENT OF GOODS AND INVESTMENTS WHILST DOing away with having to pass through the main HUB IN -ANILA u HE ADDED Cebu Air Inc. saw its shares fell by 3.12 percent OR 0 TO CLOSE AT 0 APIECE ON -ONDAY AMID a 1.13-percent drop for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.

LISBET K. ESMAEL

TOP ACTIVE STOCKS No. Security Name 1 SM Investments Corporation 2 Megaworld Corporation 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Last Price Chg 925 -15 5.54 0.09

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Alliance Global Group, Inc. JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Ayala Land, Inc. BDO Unibank, Inc. San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Universal Robina Corporation PLDT Inc. Megawide Construction Corp.

GT Capital Holdings, Inc. Bank of the Philippine Islands Jollibee Foods Corporation Ayala Corporation Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company Wilcon Depot, Inc. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.

114 14.98 66 43.15 131.7 174.1 109.1 38 140.2 1,075.00 19.8 965 84 311 926 76.6 15.28 56.9

0 0.36 -1 0.15 -1.3 0 2.7 -0.1 -2.1 0 -0.1 -28 -2.3 -6.6 -13.5 -1.55 0.08 -1.9

%Chg -1.60% 1.65% 0% 2.46% -1.49% 0.35% -0.98% 0% 2.54% -0.26% -1.48% 0% -0.50% -2.82% -2.67% -2.08% -1.44% -1.98% 0.53% -3.23%

ź Ÿ Ÿ ź Ÿ ź Ÿ ź ź ź ź ź ź ź ź Ÿ ź

Volume 334,190.00 52,207,700.00

Value(P) 309,568,795.00 287,569,155.00

2,402,590.00 17,669,700.00 3,917,590.00 5,778,100.00 1,880,650.00 1,294,480.00 1,994,160.00 5,358,200.00 1,282,660.00 160,875.00 8,440,400.00 156,390 1,733,340 453,970 130,470 1,516,100 6,972,000 1,844,930

273,827,666.00 263,601,716.00 262,399,956.50 250,126,205.00 247,312,903.00 227,380,532.00 218,430,254.00 203,719,390.00 179,630,876.00 174,872,140.00 167,126,852.00 151,162,335.00 146,961,334.50 141,081,468.00 121,347,060.00 116,361,351.50 107,078,404.00 107,000,356.00

*amounts in peso, except for volume, %chg

TOP GAINERS

FINANCIALS

INDUSTRIAL

PROPERTY

INDEX HISTORY Date Mar 11, 2019 Mar 8, 2019 Mar 7, 2019 Mar 6, 2019 Mar 5, 2019 Mar 04, 2019 Mar 01, 2019 Feb 28, 2019 Feb 27, 2019 Feb 26, 2019 Feb 22, 2019 Feb 21, 2019 Feb 20, 2019 Feb 19, 2019 Feb 18, 2019 Feb 15, 2019 Feb 14, 2019 Feb 13, 2019 Feb 12, 2019 Feb 11, 2019 Feb 8, 2019 Feb 7, 2019 Feb 6, 2019 Feb 4, 2019 Feb 1, 2019 Jan 31, 2019 Jan 30, 2019 Jan 29, 2019 Jan 28, 2019 Jan 25, 2019

Open 7,815 7,869 7,807 7,675 7,700 7,632 7,712 7,920 7,962 7,996 7,940 7,947 7,849 7,923 7,925 7,965 7,960 8,040 8,077 8,088 8,092 8,093 8,091 8,132 8,039 7,999 8,039 8,087 8,071 8,076

High 7,824 7,884 7,882 7,821 7,735 7,698 7,754 7,920 7,973 7,996 7,962 7,947 7,945 7,939 7,964 8,000 7,996 8,040 8,084 8,106 8,096 8,127 8,214 8,149 8,166 8,099 8,047 8,087 8,144 8,116

Low 7,709 7,797 7,795 7,675 7,667 7,596 7,588 7,705 7,878 7,945 7,895 7,893 7,848 7,831 7,911 7,909 7,921 7,889 7,984 8,062 8,036 8,088 8,058 8,069 8,039 7,999 7,912 8,015 8,042 8,039

Close 7,709 7,797 7,882 7,821 7,671 7,675 7,642 7,705 7,889 7,988 7,962 7,931 7,939 7,834 7,911 7,909 7,991 7,920 8,010 8,062 8,071 8,100 8,058 8,069 8,144 8,007 7,980 8,051 8,054 8,053

CLOSE

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Security Name Phinma Corporation Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation Philippine Seven Corporation “Common�

Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. Primex Corporation LT Group, Inc. Century Properties Group Inc. Vulcan Industrial & Mining Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation Boulevard Holdings, Inc. Anchor Land Holdings, Inc. Marcventures Holdings, Inc. Crown Asia Chemicals Corporation Abacore Capital Holdings, Inc. Philippine Infradev Holdings, Inc. San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. Alliance Global Group, Inc. Ionics, Inc. Arthaland Corporation City & Land Developers, Inc.

Volume 1,500.00 1,700.00 2,620.00 13,436,000.00 165,000.00 2,051,700.00 18,300,000.00 5,671,000.00 56,000.00 45,070,000.00 19,500.00 516,000.00 42,000.00 8,540,000.00 4,018,000.00 1,994,160.00 17,669,700.00 24,000.00 4,074,000.00 243,000.00

Value 13,805.00 10,472.00 347,995.00 7,024,455.00 466,050.00 33,021,436.00 9,122,300.00 8,006,650.00 193,310.00 3,253,610.00 202,028.00 577,240.00 78,780.00 6,509,640.00 7,811,760.00 218,430,254.00 263,601,716.00 41,030.00 3,684,130.00 223,560.00

Last Price 9.3 6.16 135 0.52 2.88 16.3 0.5 1.41 3.6 0.073 10.5 1.13 1.91 0.77 1.94 109.1 14.98 1.69 0.9 0.92

Chg 0.49 0.29 5.8 0.02 0.1 0.5 0.02 0.04 0.1 0.002 0.28 0.03 0.05 0.02 0.05 2.7 0.36 0.04 0.02 0.02

%Chg 5.56% 4.94% 4.49% 4.00% 3.60% 3.16% 3.09% 2.92% 2.86% 2.82% 2.74% 2.73% 2.69% 2.67% 2.65% 2.54% 2.46% 2.42% 2.27% 2.22%

*amounts in peso, except for volume, %chg

TOP LOSERS

HIGH

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Security Name Philippine Bank of Communications Benguet Corporation “B�

Belle Corporation Agrinurture, Inc. Benguet Corporation “A�

Da Vinci Capital Holdings, Inc. Geograce Resources Philippines, Inc. Cosco Capital, Inc. Macay Holdings, Inc. )RUXP 3DFLÂżF ,QF Manila Mining Corporation “Aâ€?

DMCI Holdings, Inc. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. ISM Communications Corporation

Volume 2,200.00 866,000.00 3,826,000.00 627,800.00 10,000.00 4,600.00 5,470,000.00 1,360,100.00 16,700.00 100,000.00 9,000,000.00 2,781,600.00 1,844,930.00 6,928,500.00

Value 47,470.00 958,140.00 9,060,640.00 9,687,220.00 12,450.00 27,600.00 1,376,600.00 10,145,475.00 193,498.00 24,000.00 74,700.00 31,294,928.00 107,000,356.00 37,960,633.00

Last Price 21.55 1.1 2.43 15.28 1.24 6 0.255 7.46 11.52 0.24 0.0083 11.16 56.9 5.44

Chg -1.35 -0.06 -0.13 -0.62 -0.05 -0.24 -0.01 -0.29 -0.44 -0.009 -0.0003 -0.4 -1.9 -0.18

%Chg -5.90% -5.17% -5.08% -3.90% -3.88% -3.85% -3.77% -3.74% -3.68% -3.61% -3.49% -3.46% -3.23% -3.20%

15 16 17 18 19 20

First Gen Corporation Cebu Air, Inc. Araneta Properties, Inc. Doubledragon Properties Corp.

Now Corporation PXP Energy Corporation

3,930,400.00 349,520.00 12,000.00 534,000.00 2,022,000.00 1,096,100.00

85,100,870.00 29,420,399.00 22,830.00 11,201,755.00 5,914,310.00 15,945,758.00

21.5 82.35 1.9 20.85 2.89 14.38

-0.7 -2.65 -0.06 -0.65 -0.09 -0.42

-3.15% -3.12% -3.06% -3.02% -3.02% -2.84%

*amounts in peso except for volume, %chg

B4

Business Times

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Q LOW FROM B1

Net FDI misses target, drops the start of 2018, raised taxes on petroleum products and car sales, among others, in exchange for lower personal income tax rates.

The government wanted to follow this up last year with the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, which calls for the gradual lowering of the corporate income tax rate and the streamlining of investor incentives, but the measure remains mired in Congress.

-APA SAID HE EXPECTED &$) lOWS to stay steady in 2019 given upbeat prospects for the Philippines, with ONSHORE kRMS CONTINUING TO PLOW money back into the economy and

parent companies sending funds to subsidiaries. g;"UT= AS FOR FRESH &$) WE MAY need to get some more clarity on tax reform or substantial improveMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE QUALITY before we see this account rise again,� Mapa added.

For December alone, net FDI INlOWS DROPPED BY PERCENT TO $677 million from $712 million a year earlier. It was an improveMENT HOWEVER FROM .OVEMBER S $535 million and the highest since !UGUST S MILLION “The decline in FDI was due largely to the 57.6 percent drop in NET INVESTMENTS OF EQUITY CAPITAL TO $132 million from $312 million

a year ago,� the Bangko Sentral noted. %QUITY CAPITAL PLACEMENTS DURing the month came mainly from Thailand, the US, Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands.

These were invested largely in the kNANCIAL AND INSURANCE ELECTRICITY

gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; wholesale and retail trade; manufacturing; and real estate industries.

Reinvestment of earnings also declined by 6.9 percent to $61 million, from $65 million a year ago, while net investments in debt instruments increased by 44.7 percent to $484 million from $335 million.

Q TAXES FROM B1

Q AVAILMENTS FROM B1

Higher alcohol

Rediscount availments up

&OR FERMENTED LIQUORS THE TAX SHALL BE P40 per liter in 2019, regardless of where these are sold or manufactured, and will increase by P5 per liter until 2022.

The rate will then be increased by 10 less per 750-milliliter bottle and P937 for percent every year thereafter. those costing more than P500.

Chua said the higher taxes would Still wines and carbonated wines con- ONLY INCREASE INlATION BY PERCENTtaining 14 percent alcohol or less will age points. be taxed P40 per bottle while those with The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas more than 14 percent but not over 25 expects inflation to hit 3.06 percent alcohol will be taxed P80. percent this year and ease to The tax rates for wines will increase by 10 2.98 percent in 2020, fallpercent every year thereafter effective 2020. ing within the 2.0-4.0 &ORTIkED WINES CONTAINING MORE THAN percent target.

Q Finance Undersecretary 25 percent alcohol by volume will be MAYVELIN Karl Kendrick Chua. FILE PHOTO taxed as distilled spirits.

U. CARABALLO

Q FIRE FROM B1

Jerome Powell

stantly evolving risk. We devote very large amounts of time AND RESOURCES TO PROTECT THE &ED BUT ALSO TO PROTECT kNANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE kNANCIAL MARKETS !ND PRIVATE CORPORAtions do the same thing,� he added.

AFP

commercial credits with loans for importation taking up 31.18 percent and trading of goods accounting for 10.85 percent.

Rediscounting is a privilege given by the CENTRAL BANK TO BANKS QUALIkED TO OBTAIN LOANS OR ADVANCES USING ELIGIBLE BORROWERS PAPERS as collateral.

Under the rediscount window, a bank wantING TO LIQUIDATE OUTSTANDING CLIENT LOANS CAN run to the Bangko Sentral to swap these for cash at a discount.

The BSP also said that it had rediscounted rates for March. For loans under peso rediscount facility, rates have been set at 5.3125 percent per annum for loans with 1-90 days maturity and 5.3750 percent for loans with 91-180 days maturity. “The peso rediscount rates are based on the

latest available BSP overnight lending rate plus term premia,� it added.

Banks, meanwhile, did not tap the Exporters Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYFR) for the period.

For March, EDYRF rates were set as follows: For 1-90 days maturity, 4.61513 percent per annum for US dollar and 1.92167 percent for yen; for 91-180 days, 4.67763 percent for US dollar and 1.98417 percent for yen; and for 181-360 days, 4.74013 percent for US dollar and 2.04667 percent for yen.

The rates “are based on the 90-day London Inter-Bank Offered Rate as of 28 February 2019 plus 200 basis points plus term premia,� the Bangko Sentral said.

MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

Q 1.13% FROM B1

)N -ANILA ALL SECTORAL RESULTS kNISHED DOWN with the mining and oil index dropping the most by 1.67 percent.

More than 692 million shares valued at P5.48 billion were traded.

Losers led winners, 128 to 63, while 47 issues remained unchanged.

ANGELICA BALLESTEROS

Stock market Shanghai climbed 1.92 percent, Hong Kong jumped 0.97 percent, and Seoul and Bangkok both inched up by 0.03 percent.

Q MFS FROM B1

When leaving means living valuable. .OW ) AM MORE EXCITED TO FULkLL MY DUTIES I am always ecstatic to go to work because my colleagues have now become my friends. My company offers competitive compensation and BENEkTS A FACT ) PROUDLY SHARE WITH MY OUTSIDE FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES. I gladly offer to refer ANYONE WHO S INTERESTED 4HE COMPANY S CULTURE THE PEOPLE, and the security of compensation make me very

proud of my current company. Employees are taken cared of because we are looked at as the most valuable resource of the company and protected against exploitation and depletion.

The author is an MBA student at De La Salle 5NIVERSITY S 2AMON 6 DEL 2OSARIO #OLLEGE OF Business. This article was written as part of the Strategic Human Resource Management course.

Email: alvin_badong@dlsu.edu.ph

by rendering many of them mere workers, violating the ideal of land ownership. Those who proclaim themselves “pro-poor,� who shout the loudest about “inclusive growth,�

CAN T SEE PAST THAT high for a variety of reasons, none of which is And much the same attitude is applied actually acceptable considering that this is a against the idea that public transportation sugar-producing country.

SHOULD BE EFkCIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSWhen the circumstances are such that tainable. For the sake of maintaining “liveliimported sugar subject to tariffs of any level hoodsâ€? that do not and never will, no matter is still cheaper than domestically produced how much state intervention is applied, rise sugar, there is something deeply wrong with very far above the absolute poverty level, efthe local industry. The solution to that is not forts to bring the short-range public transit TO PRESERVE THE STATUS QUO BY BLOCKING IMPORTS network into the 21st century are heroically but to address the problems that make the resisted. local sugar sector so uncompetitive. As is the So the country is left with an economy that case with most agricultural commodities, the constantly lags behind achievable standards, path to competitiveness does not lie through where an enormous amount of input is necsupport for smallholder farmers, but in build- essary to obtain a relatively small output; ing economies of scale and critical mass. That agriculture, after all, comprises about a third is necessarily going to rob a lot of farmers of the workforce, but contributes only about a of their independence – small farms need to TENTH OF THE COUNTRY S GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT be consolidated – and that is unpalatable to None of this is news to anyone who has at least many people. even tried to look at the socioeconomic state of Much the same problem exists in the rice the Philippines objectively, but there is a lack sector. Before he was kicked upstairs to head of will – really, a complete absence – to make the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,, former HARD CHOICES AND RISK A FEW SACRIkCES FOR THE Budget Secretary Ben Diokno had the lack of greater good. grace to suggest that the Philippines would It will probably take a crisis, such as an absobe better off relying on imports for most of LUTE COLLAPSE OF THE FOOD SUPPLY FOR THE SIGNIkrice needs, and instead put its efforts into cant change the country needs to begin to take higher value agricultural products. “Oh, place. The only other way is for society itself but what about the poor rice farmers?â€? the to decide to change – for enough overworked defenders of “livelihoodâ€? wailed, led in this jeepney drivers, rice farmers, cane cutters to case by Agriculture Secretary Manny PiĂąol. stop all at once and say, no, I am no longer What about them, indeed? There should SATISkED PUTTING IN THIS LEVEL OF EFFORT TO MERELY not actually be “poor rice farmersâ€? among EXIST 4HAT PROBABLY WON T HAPPEN THOUGH THIS THE &ILIPINO POPULATION AND THERE WOULDN T society, and a fair part of the world at large, conbe, if the country would approach rice pro- fers a certain nobility on poverty. That makes it duction from a national-scale perspective, hard to convince someone that they would do MAXIMIZING YIELD AND SUPPLY CHAIN EFkCIENCY BETTER IF THEY DIDN T FEEL SO SPECIAL Unfortunately, doing that, while it would eliminate “poor rice farmers,â€? would do so Email: ben.kritz@manilatimes.net

Q PEREZ FROM B1

PH policy

Foreign Business Ghosn barred from Nissan board meeting ˜ The Manila Times

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

w w w.manilatimes.net

T

OKYO: A Japanese court on Monday barred Carlos Ghosn from attending a Nissan board meeting, as the bailed former chairman prepares his defence AGAINST CHARGES OF kNANCIAL MISCONDUCT

Nissan removed Ghosn as chief shortly after his shock arrest in .OVEMBER BUT HE CANNOT BE OFkCIALLY REMOVED FROM HIS SEAT ON the board without an extraordinary SHAREHOLDERS MEETING EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE ON !PRIL “Mr Ghosn requested to attend the board meeting but the court did not APPROVE HIS ATTENDANCE u THE 4OKYO District Court said in a statement.

The Japanese carmaker is holding a board meeting on Tuesday in 9OKOHAMA NEAR 4OKYO !ND 'HOSN S LAWYER *UNICHIRO Hironaka said earlier Monday that HIS CLIENT gHAD A DUTYu TO ATTEND THE board meeting and wanted to do so -- if the court gave the green light. )N LATER COMMENTS TO REPORTERS

Hironaka said Nissan had submitted a written opinion to prosecutors requesting Ghosn be prevented from attending the board meeting.

The lawyer added that he was considering an appeal against the

COURT S DECISION g7E DIDN T EXPECT .ISSAN WOULD OPPOSE IT SO STRONGLY u (IRONAKA SAID Ghosn was released on March 6 on bail of nearly $9 million.

5NDER THE TERMS OF HIS RELEASE HE is forbidden from contacting people WHO COULD BE INVOLVED IN HIS CASE

including Nissan executives likely TO ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS SUCH AS CEO Hiroto Saikawa. /THER CONDITIONS OF 'HOSN S BAIL include living in a residence monitored from outside by camera. He can only access a non-internet connected COMPUTER AT HIS LAWYER S OFkCE The former high-flying auto tycoon stepped out of a Tokyo detention centre after more than 100 days.

(E FACES THREE CHARGES OF kNANCIAL misconduct over allegations he under-reported his compensation and sought to transfer personal LOSSES TO .ISSAN S BOOKS Hironaka said he would meet

B5

his client on Tuesday to discuss whether Ghosnshould hold a much-anticipated news conference. “(Ghosn) wants to hold it at the best time and when he is in the best HEALTH u (IRONAKA SAID

‘Story of betrayal’ At the height of his powERS 'HOSN RAN A THREE WAY CAR ALLIANCE BETWEEN .ISSAN 2ENAULT AND Mitsubishi Motors that outsold all rival groups.

But his arrest exposed rifts between THE *APANESE AND &RENCH MANUFACTURers and he claimed in an interview WITH !&0 HIS DETENTION WAS A gSTORY OF BETRAYALu AS .ISSAN WANTED TO AVOID closer integration with Renault.

4HE TWO kRMS HAVE SINCE BEEN AT pains to present a united front and new Renault boss Jean-Dominique Senard will appear with Saikawa at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday after the Nissan board meeting.

According to sources close to the !LLIANCE A NEW STRUCTURE WILL BE CREATED TO COMBINE 2ENAULT .ISSAN and Mitsubishi Motors.

This structure will replace the current organisation that brings TOGETHER .ISSAN AND 2ENAULT WHICH

Q In this file photo taken on November 1, 2013, Japan’s auto giant Nissan Motor president Carlos Ghosn announces the company’s first half financial result ended September at the company’s headquarters in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo. Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn is seeking court permission to attend a board meeting at the Japanese automaker while out on bail, local media reported on March 11, 2019. AFP PHOTO is headquartered in Amsterdam.

The up-and-down saga of Ghosn has gripped Japan and the business world ever since Japanese prosecutors stormed his private jet at a Tokyo airport on November 19 brandishing accusations of serious kNANCIAL MALPRACTICE 4O GENERAL SURPRISE HE WAS ACcorded bail last week ahead of

HIS TRIAL WHICH COULD TAKE SEVERAL months to organise given the complexity of the case and the need to translate documents.

In yet another twist in the TALE 'HOSN EMERGED FROM THE DETENTION CENTRE IN A LABOURERS OUTkT complete with cap and mask in an apparent — and ultimately vain — attempt to give the media the slip.

/NE OF HIS LAWYERS WHO APPARENTLY CAME UP WITH THE SCHEME

LATER APOLOGISED FOR gTAINTINGu THE TYCOON S REPUTATION 3INCE HIS RELEASE MEDIA HAVE tracked down his residence and folLOWED HIS EVERY STEP EVEN PURSUING him to a central Tokyo park at the weekend when he went for a stroll with his family.

AFP

German industrial production ebbs in January US sanctions against FRANKFURT AM MAIN: Industrial output in Germany fell back in *ANUARY OFFICIAL DATA SHOWED -ONDAY ADDING TO A PICTURE OF A slowdown taking hold across the NATION EUROZONE &IRMS REPORTED OUTPUT PERcent lower month-on-month AT THE START OF THE YEAR FEDERAL STATISTICS AUTHORITY $ESTATIS SAID

disappointing forecasts for a small rebound from analysts surveyed BY &ACTSET But there was a bright spot IN $ECEMBER S DATA AS THE STAT-

ISTICIANS REVISED THAT MONTH S CHANGE TO AN INCREASE OF percent after initially reporting a 0.4-percent fall.

Looking to different elements of PRODUCTION IN *ANUARY CAPITAL AND producer goods makers both saw LOWER OUTPUT BUT CONSUMER GOODS kRMS BOOKED AN INCREASE And both energy generation and construction also reported expansion. “Given lower production in January and weak forward-lookING INDICATORS WE CAN CONTINUE

to expect subdued business CONDITIONS IN INDUSTRY u THE economy ministry in Berlin said in a statement.

Weakening growth across the single currency bloc prompted the European Central Bank last week to promise a new round OF CHEAP LOANS TO BANKS IN A bid to keep credit flowing and stimulate activity.

But Berlin also highlighted bottlenecks from new emissions tests in the vital car industry as well as other temporary braking

effects like strikes at supplier kRMS THAT WEIGHED ON THE kRST MONTH S DATA )N A SEPARATE RELEASE $ESTATIS kGURES SHOWED 'ERMANY S EXPORT motor continuing to run in January with an increase of 1.7 percent year-on-year in goods shipped ABROAD TO BILLION EUROS ($122.4 billion).

"UT IMPORTS GREW SIGNkCANTLY FASTER ADDING PERCENT TO REACH 94.4 billion euros — shriking the MONTH S TRADE SURPLUS BY BILLION EUROS TO BILLION AFP

Few trade war jitters as Macau’s casinos boom MACAU: The trade war may have sent ripples of uncertainty through the WORLD S SECOND LARGEST ECONOMY but one corner of China has so far remained steadfastly buoyant — the gambling enclave of Macau.

4HE CITY S FORTUNES DEPEND almost solely on its gambling INDUSTRY WHICH IN A SINGLE WEEK rakes in more gaming revenue than Las Vegas makes in a month.

The trade tensions between Washington and Beijing — and the general slowing down of ChiNA S ECONOMY‡ HAS HIT BUSINESSES hard across the region.

But in the past few weeks MaCAU S FOUR CASINO GIANTS ‡ 3*-

3ANDS #HINA 'ALAXY %NTERTAINment and Wynn — have all reported a bumper year of gaming REVENUES AND PROkTS #HEN *INJUN A YEAR OLD CAR GARAGE OWNER FROM EASTERN :HEJIANG PROVINCE SAYS HE HAS LITTLE interest in seeing much of the former Portuguese colony during HIS kVE DAY VISIT WITH FRIENDS “I mainly come for playing at THE CASINOS NOT SIGHTSEEING u HE TELLS !&0 SAYING HE EXPECTS TO DROP AROUND YUAN

g!PART FROM FOOD AND HOTEL

the rest will all be for gambling. !ND IF ) WIN SOME MONEY THEN ) LL BUY SOME LUXURIES LIKE HANDBAGS AND CLOTHES u Players like Chen are the oil that KEEP -ACAU S ECONOMIC ENGINE ticking — even in the midst of a trade war. “The Macau market actually had A VERY GOOD u 'RANT 'OVERTSON AN EXPERT ON THE INDUSTRY AT 5NION 'AMING TOLD !&0 “The good news... is that the mass-market segment continues to exhibit solid growth and is the market segment that drives operatING PROkTS FOR THE INDUSTRY u

VIPs and high rollers There was once a time when the casino giants paid little attention to the mass-market players like Chen. Instead they hungrily courted the VIPs and high rollers

Q In this photo taken on March 5, 2019, visitors use slot machines in a casino in Macau. The trade war may have sent ripples of uncertainty through the world’s second-largest economy but one corner of China has so far remained steadfastly buoyant — the gambling enclave of Macau. AFP PHOTO TO kLL THEIR COFFERS But a widespread corruption crackdown by Chinese President Xi Jinping saw a dramatic decline in VIP fortunes from 2014 as wealthy mainland gamblers — many of them officials with suitcases of illicit cash — tried to avoid attracting attention.

The VIP market has returned in the past two years although analysts noted a drying up in the latter HALF OF AS THE TRADE WAR BIT But the mass-market gamblers keep coming and up until January Macau reported 29 consecutive months of gaming revenue growth.

That contraction in January suggests Macau is far from invulnerABLE TO THE TRADE WAR ESPECIALLY IF THE CONlICT DEEPENS "EN ,EE A MANAGING PARTNER AT )'AMI8 A GAMING CONSULTANCY IN -ACAU SAID CASINOS IN THE CITY may have hit “the peak of this curRENT CYCLEu !LL EYES HE SAID WILL BE FOCUSED on whether the US and China can kND A WAY TO AVOID A NEW ROUND OF tariffs in their ongoing trade talks. “If the second tier of tariffs come in that will increase the magni-

TUDE OF IMPACT ON THE INDUSTRY

PARTICULARLY IN THE 6)0 SEGMENT u HE TOLD !&0 Govertson was more optimistic. “We still maintain a somewhat bullish outlook and expect the market to grow in the mid-single DIGITS WHICH INCLUDES HIGH SINGLE DIGIT MASS GROWTH AND lATTISH 6)0 u he said.

Record visitors Partly in response to the jitters caused by the corruption crackDOWN -ACAU S AUTHORITIES HAVE TRIED to make the city less exclusively reliant on the gambling SECTOR PUSHING IT INSTEAD AS A FOOD and family tourism destination.

The drive appears to have paid off in terms of visitor numbers.

The semi-autonomous city of JUST PEOPLE SAID MILLION PEOPLE VISITED IN A PERCENT JUMP ON THE YEAR BEFORE

fuelled in part by the opening of a massive sea bridge linking MaCAU TO THE NEARBY CITIES OF :HUHAI and Hong Kong.

The figures show Macau is still overwhelmingly reliant on

visitors from Hong Kong and the mainland who made up 32.6 million arrivals. #HEN A YEAR OLD WINE BUSINESS OWNER FROM (UBEI PROVINCE

is one of those gamblers who has ventured beyond the casinos during his stay in Macau. “I went to see the ruins of St 0AUL S CATHEDRAL THE USUAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS u HE TOLD !&0 AS HE TOOK photos in a square outside the 6ENETIAN CASINO A HUGE COMPLEX owned by US billionaire Sheldon !DELSON S 3ANDS #ORPORATION THAT FEATURES AN ARTIkCIAL CANAL COMplete with gondolas.

He said he tends to visit twice A YEAR SPENDING AROUND

yuan each time. g&OR GAMBLING ) VE VISITED SEVeral of the casinos to try my luck.

I won a bit of money and bought MYSELF NEW SHOES AND CLOTHES u he added.

"UT 8IAO A YEAR OLD RESTAUrant owner from nearby GuangZHOU WAS LESS FORTUNATE g) VE LOST MORE THAN

YUAN u SHE TOLD !&0 AS SHE LEFT THE Wynn casino. g) WANT TO GO HOME NOWu AFP

Venezuela scaring banks MIAMI: As the United States has quickly ratcheted up sanctions against Venezuela to pressure Nicolas Maduro, bankers say they are shying away from doing even legitimate business with the crisis-wracked oil-producing country for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

The sanctions target a growing list of individuals and companies linked to the Maduro regime — including state oil company PDVSA, the lifeblood of the Caribbean nation’s crumbling economy.

But because the penalties are complex and the cost of a violation is so high, some banks are beginning to avoid doing any business with Venezuela at all, said Daniel Gutierrez, head of the Florida International Bankers Association’s anti-money laundering committee.

Banks must review each transaction and examine the sanctions one by one, consulting lawyers to verify exemptions and requirements, at the risk of being hit with a fine of more than $1 million by the US Treasury Department if they get it wrong, Gutierrez told AFP. That not only presents a challenge for banks and businesses but for families in the United States, many in Florida, who send money to relatives left in Venezuela to help them weather the nation’s widespread food shortages and hyperinflation that could reach 10 million percent this year.

As a result, “there are many major banks in the United States that have made the decision to decouple from Venezuela,� said Gutierrez, who works with 60 domestic and international banks in Florida.

Washington targeted PDVSA in sanctions announced January 28 but granted a handful of exemptions, such as one that allows the banks to work with US oil industry giants Chevron and Halliburton, but forbids transactions involving diluents — chemicals used the thin the heavy crude that dominates Venezuela’s reserves.

“How am I supposed to know, as your bank, if for example a wire transaction is for the purposes of exporting a diluent?�

Gutierrez asked.

Huge business in remittances “The banks find themselves in a situation where they have to do a cost/benefit analysis on their clients.�

But the potential vacuum opens opportunities for some banks willing to take the risk, especially in the massive market for remittances.

Martin Litwak, lawyer based in Miami who specializes in offshore investments and anti-money laundering regulations, said the banks could begin “de-risking� — cutting off all operations — if the Venezuelan crisis is prolonged.

Otherwise, banks will “try to combat the situation and not take any drastic measures,� Litwak told AFP. “This is a business opportunity,� he said. “If a lot of banks back off, then some will continue doing transaction because they will be able to charge more or have more business� including handling remittances.

Manuel Orozco of the Inter-American Dialogue told AFP there was a conservative estimate showing $2.2 billion was sent to Venezuela from abroad last year and of that an estimated $650 million was from the United States.

Christine Savage, a partner at the law firm King & Spalding, said the US Treasury was “acting quickly� to roll out sanctions as the situation in Venezuela was changing rapidly.

But now they are “working out some of the unintended consequences of the rapid moves.�

The Venezuelan firm Ecoanalitica estimates 80 percent of cash payments from the country’s oil sales come from trade with the United States, since exports to Russia and China are primarily used to pay off debt.

AFP

Q In this file photo taken on November 14, 2017, the headquarters of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA, in Caracas. As the US has quickly ratcheted up sanctions against Venezuela to pressure Nicolas Maduro, bankers say they are shying away from doing even legitimate business with the crisis-wracked oil-producing country for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. The sanctions target a growing list of individuals and companies linked to the Maduro regime — including state oil company PDVSA, the lifeblood of the Caribbean nation’s crumbling economy. AFP PHOTO

TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2019

Public Square

B6

Public Square appears on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

For contributions, email to publicsquare@manilatimes.net

publicsquare@manilatimes.net

MIAS 2019 continues to elevate the way Filipinos travel N

OW on its 15th edition, the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) continues to uphold its enduring promise to elevate the way Filipinos travel with a presentation that will enable one to “Experience the Fun and Function� of the latest and most impressive auto and motor innovations.

Far from a typical car show, MIAS has always been known not only for its spectacular car launches and product displays but also, its exciting array of pocket events that give auto enthusiasts countless opportunities to bond with their friends and FAMILIES 6ISITORS CAN EXPECT TO kND A bigger and more staggering number of displays at this year’s show.

Meanwhile, addressing the

Q Watch out for various car club displays that will be launched to the public. growing demand for commercial vehicles and large trucks, MIAS 2019 is also thrilled to return with its Truck Display, which will be located at the North Wing side of the venue. On the opposite side of the spectrum, collectors are invited not to miss this year’s Miniature Die-Cast Car Collection Display.

MIAS will also be conducting test drives outside the venue’s main hall and a series of mind-blowing stunt performances by Guinness World Record Holder Russ Swift with his trusty Subaru cars.

Lastly, MIAS 2019 teamed up with Petron for another round of the Classic Car Competition

which is expected to feature over a hundred of entries of the most creatively executed car set-ups.

The 15th Manila International Auto Show is happening on April 4 to 7 at the World Trade Center Manila and North Wing. For more information, visit manilaautoshow.com.

POEA assists OFWs from Kuwait

ICTSI 2018 net income up 22% to $221.5-M INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is pleased to report audited consoliDATED kNANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ended Dec. 31, 2018.

Enrique Razon, chairman of ICTSI said: “I am pleased to report strong full year operating results for 2018. Our drive in maintaining positive volume growth organically and through M&A, our focus on cost AND OPERATING EFkCIENCY AND THE constructive global trade dynamics outside of the U.S.-China ‘trade war’ combine to provide a case for cautious optimism in 2019.�

ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 9,736,621 TEUs in 2018, six percent more than the 9,153,458 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) handled in 2017. The increase in volume was mainly due to continuous improvement in trade activities; new contracts with shipping lines and services; and the contribution of new termi-

nals in Lae and Motukea in Papua New Guinea, and Melbourne, Australia. Excluding new terminals, consolidated volume would have increased by three percent in 2018.

Gross revenues from port operations in 2018 increased 11 percent to $1.4 billion compared to $1.2 billion reported in 2017.

The increase in revenues was mainly due to volume growth; new contracts with shipping lines and services; increase in revenues from non-containerized cargoes, storage and ancillary services; tariff adjustments; and the contribution of the company’s new terminals in Lae and Motukea and Melbourne.

Consolidated EBITDA for 2018 grew 11 percent to $642.2 million from $578.0 million in 2017 mainly due to strong revenue growth and the positive contribution of the new terminals in Lae and Motukea, PARTIALLY TAPERED BY THE HIGHER kXED port lease expense at Melbourne.

Imee Marcos calls for El NiĂąo mitigation

PHILIPPINE Overseas Employement Administration Administrator Bernard Olalia (standing, left) renders assistance to a distressed overseas Filipino worker who was among the 30 OFWs repatriated from Kuwait at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, on March 4.

Dermplus launches summer campaign THIS 2019, Dermplus unveils its “Sun Ready, Fun Ready� summer campaign thatcelebratescountlessoutdooractivities without worrying about sun damage.

Dermplus boasts a formulation that maximizes a sunscreen’s potential: high SPF for superior sun protection, broad-spectrum with UVA and UVB protection, water-resistant and PABA-free to avoid allergic reactions.

Dermplus products are also dermatologist-tested and have a high Boot Star Rating, a European standard for sunscreen. Dermplus Moisturizing Sunscreens are formulated with titanium dioxide to prevent further skin damage and aging.

For more information, visit www.dermplus.com.ph

Q Dermplus media launch, from left: Jennifer Millan, training manager; John Ray Alipar, technical services and quality control manager; Jido Ramirez, marketing manager; Jess Tony Cruz, COO; Vinson Pineda, president; Arnold Pineda, creative director; Cristina del Rosario, national sales manager; RJ Ibanez, HR manager; and Greg Soriano, supply chain manager.

ippines this March in celebration of Women’s Month, International Day

of Happiness and Earth Hour.

For the ladies in your life and the women who’ve changed the world, pamper and rejuvenate with health and leisure discounts and an online exclusive dining offer available all month long.

Celebrate Women’s month with a 30 percent discount on Health Club membership, and a 20 percent off on body treatments. The hotel’s Bar27 is honoring all women with a 50 percent discount on cocktail drinks every Monday for the whole month of March.

On March 20, spread happiness and celebrate the International

Day of Happiness while you dine with family and friends in any of the restaurants.

Take your part in the conservation of planet Earth and preservation of Mother nature.

Raise a glass to this movement with a 60 percent discount on standard drinks at Corniche, Lobby Lounge, Yurakuen, Bar27 and Poolside bar on March 30.

The hotel encourages guests to participate in the Earth Hour and switch their lights out at 8:30 p.m. in support of this cause.

For more information, visit www.diamondhotel.com

FDMMC receive donations from Rotary Club

FE del Mundo Medical Center (FDM-# OFkCIALLY RECEIVED THE DONATION of two Apheresis Machines from the joint efforts of Rotary Club of San Francisco Del Monte and Rotary Club

Norte and Lanao del Sur. This means three consecutive months of 60 percent rainfall reducTION OR kVE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF AT least 21 percent rainfall reduction in drought stricken areas. In Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, farmers have started harvesting their crops such as corn earlier than scheduled before these are laid to waste by the high temperatures.

Ilocos Norte’s Sustainable Development Office Head Edwin Cariùo said the summit will gather representatives of various farmer and crop grower federations, the academe, research centers, and associations of irrigators in the PROVINCE AND CONCERNED OFkCIALS of the Department of Agriculture, National Irrigation Authority and Philippine Rice Research Institute.

BPI bags seven regional awards

Marvelous March at Diamond Hotel

EXCITING offers and discounts await guests of Diamond Hotel Phil-

ILOCOS NORTE Gov. Imee Marcos is calling for a Water Summit soon to plan out El NiĂąo mitigating measures and mobilize immediate assistance for affected regions as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warns the public to brace for a full-blown El NiĂąo this month. “The dry spell will trigger widespread drought. We must be proactive in bringing help to our farmers who will bear the brunt of El NiĂąo in affected areas,â€? said Marcos.

Pagasa identified several provinces already experiencing drought, namely Ilocos Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Maguindanao, Sulu, Bukidnon, Basilan, Lanao del

of Isesaki Japan in a recently turnover ceremony on February 21.

These Apheresis Machines will surely be a big boost in FDMMC’s campaign to treat various blood-re-

lated diseases according FDMMC General Manager Ramoncito Sta. -ARIA #HIEF /PERATING /FkCER *OSE Santiago Dela Cruz and Manuel Po, head of the Allergo-Immunology.

Rotary Club of San Francisco del Monte President Percy Aranas and Rotary Club Isesaki Japan President Yoshikazu Arai represented their respective club.

THREE of the leading finance publications in Asia presented BPI Capital, the investment banking arm of Bank of the Philippine Islands, seven awards for some of THE BEST kNANCE DEALS IN THE REGION in 2018.

4HE THREE REGIONAL kNANCE PUBlications are The Asset, Finance Asia, and Alpha Southeast Asia, recognize the best companies and DEALS IN BANKING kNANCE TREASURY

and capital markets in Asia.

The Asset Triple A Country Awards 2018 cited BPI as “Best Rights Issue� for Robinsons Land Corporation’s P20-billion stock rights offering; “Best Follow-on� for Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp’s $67-million preferred shares; “Best New Bond� for BPI’s $600-million bond; “Best Multilateral Bond� for IFC’s P4.80-billion green bond.

BPI was also commended in the Finance Asia Achievement Awards 2018 for San Miguel

Food and Beverage’s P34.1 billion ($637 million) follow-on, which won the “Best Philippines Deal� award.

Alpha Southeast Asia Best Deal & Solution Awards 2018 also gave BPI two awards: “Best Corporate Bond Deal in Southeast Asia 2018� for San Miguel Corp.’s P10-billion bond, and “Best Project Finance Deal in Southest Asia 2018� for GN Power Dinginin’s P22 billion PROJECT kNANCE FACILITY BPI Capital President Reggie Cariaso said the awards validate the company’s expertise and capabilities in landmark investment banking transactions. “Our commitment to deliver the best advice for our clients and our nation is possible because of the strength of the partnerships that we continue to harness,� said Cariaso. “We look forward to doing more of these deals that have a SIGNIkCANT AND POSITIVE IMPACT FOR our stakeholders.�

Belmonte signs covenant for women’s welfare in QC 15%:/. #ITY 6ICE -AYOR *OSEkNA “Joy� Belmonte recently vowed to uphold women’s rights and welfare in the city by signing a covenant with the city’s women leaders under the Quezon City Community Women Leaders’ Federation in time for women’s month. “As a leader, I stand with all the women in our city by promoting programs that support women’s rights and welfare,� said Belmonte during the Quezon City Women Convention on Friday.

Belmonte pledged to implement the programs listed in the group’s 10-point agenda which includes district hospitals with specialty clinic for women illnesses and mental health, district colleges or technical vocational center with state-of-the-art facilities; and a live-

lihood, training and showcase center for the women entrepreneurs.

The vice mayor has also vowed to create shelters and homes for abandoned senior citizens; special discount and privileges for solo parents and persons with disabilities (PWDs); a health and wellness center; free maintenance medicines; scholarship and financial grants; child-minding centers; a 24 hour emergency hotline; and a holistic anti-drug education campaign.

The Quezon City local government has lined up programs for the women’s month celebration including a month-long free breast and cervical cancer screening and a dance competition for women with the theme “We Can Make Change for Women.�

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Hun Sen mulls death penalty for child rapists PRIME Minister Hun Sen on Sunday mulled capital punishment for those found guilty of sexual violence against children.

While meeting with victims of sexual violence in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district yesterday, Hun Sen said he wants to “crack down on the beasts� preying on vulnerable children in the Kingdom. “I want an initiative to have the constitution amended to allow for the death sentence for anyone who rapes underage children, such as a father raping his children, a grandfather raping his grandchildren, or an uncle raping his nieces,� he said.

Cambodia abolished the death penalty in 1989 and in order for an amendment to the constitution to be made, a draft law would have to be introduced to the National Assembly before being sanctioned

by King Norodom Sihamoni.

However, Hun Sen said he would first hold a referendum in order to seek approval from citizens, noting that child rapists could not be forgiven. “The death penalty could be approved through a referendum because I want to crack down on the beasts in our society,� Hun Sen said. “I hope you will heed this warning,� he added. “If such cases still occur, a constitutional amend-

ment will be made.�

Thida Khus, executive director for the women’s rights group Silaka, yesterday said she was not in favour of the death penalty in Cambodia. Khus said the government should instead focus on enforcing existing laws and educating citizens. “I am not in support of this initiative — politicians should not use their power to change the law because that would oppose our culture and humanitarian stance,� she said. “We must solve this together because prison is still an option and so is education.� “Taking a life is not the better solution — if we kill fathers, who will be responsible for their families,� Khus added. “Preventive measures are better than punishment.�

Government spokesman Phay Siphan yesterday said Hun Sen wants the decision to be made by the people. “Samdech wants to give an opportunity for the public to decide their country’s fate, even if it will garner criticism,� Siphan said. “So let the people decide the country’s fate.� “Whether or not they will approve of the death penalty, it is up to them because their voices matter in a democratic society,� he added. “It’s up to the public.� AFP

Thai junta party woos opposition territory NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand: Hundreds shouted and waved flags emblazoned with the face of Thailand’s junta chief at a Sunday election rally held in territory with strong ties to the powerful opposition Shinawatra clan.

The army-aligned Phalang Pracharat party — which will push for General Prayut Chan-O-Cha to return as a civilian premier after the March 24 poll — campaigned across the northeastern Isan region this weekend in a bid to win over voters with deep antipathy to the military.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, party Secretary General Sonthirat Sonjirawong said a vote for Prayut would help end Thailand’s decade-long political gridlock. “Today, the Korat people will have to decide if you want to see General Prayut Chan-O-Cha keep the country in peace and move it forward,� he yelled at the crowd, using a local nickname for the city.

Hundreds of supporters chanted “Uncle Tu!� a nickname for Prayut, who was born in the province and WERE EAGER TO HUG AND TAKE SELkES WITH their local candidates.

But thousands of plastic chairs stood empty and the crowd dispersed quickly after the leaders left the stage.

World SKorea monitoring North’s ‘missile launch’ S

With the second largest number of constituencies after Bangkok, Korat holds to key to victory “so we have to win here�, said party spokesman Kobsak Pootrakool.

Aiding in the contest are a number of politicians poached from Pheu Thai, Thailand’s most popular party, which swept most of Isan in the previous polls. “It will help very much... You have to have the person who knows the locals,� Kobsak told AFP. Pheu Thai is aligned with former billionaire premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was booted from OFkCE BY THE MILITARY AND lives in self-exile.

4HIS MONTH S ELECTIONS ‡ THE kRST in eight years — will prove a test for Prayut, who masterminded a coup in 2014 ousting then-premier Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s younger sister. !LMOST kVE YEARS OF JUNTA RULE HAS seeded resentment in Thailand, and his party has scrambled to project a friendlier image of the gruff general as the clock ticks to the poll.

The election’s result will be governed by a new military-scripted constitution.

2ESULTS ARE DIFkCULT TO PREDICT

as dominant parties will likely have to broker alliances with smaller players to stitch together a majority.

AFP

EOUL: South Korea’s military said Monday it was closely monitoring North Korean facilities after a series of satellite images triggered international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch.

Analysis indicates increased activity at two key sites — the Samundong missile research facility and the Sohae rocket-testing facility. Any launch could send stuttering talks on denuclearization into disarray.

South Korea is “closely tracking and looking into all activity for possible scenarios, including a missile launch� across the border, in close coordination with the US, said Kim Joon-rak, spokesman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Satellite images of Samundong taken on February 22 showed cars and trucks at the site, as well as rail cars and cranes at a yard,

US news outlet NPR reported. “When you put all that together, that’s really what it looks like when the North Koreans are in the process of building a rocket,� Jeffrey Lewis, a researcher at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, was quoted as saying.

Located on the outskirts of Pyongyang, the Samundong facility was built in 2012 to support development of long-range missiles and space-launch vehicles.

As well as developing the Hawsong-15 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which analysts agree

is capable of reaching the whole US mainland, Samundong constructed the long-range rockets that were then transported and successfully launched from the Sohae satellite launch station IN AND North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed last year to shutter the Sohae site at a summit with the South’s President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang.

Satellite pictures in August suggested workers were dismantling an engine test stand at the facility.

But the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies suggested last week rebuilding was progressing quickly at the facility.

A moving structure that had been used to carry vehicles to a launch pad on rails had been restored, said respected research website 38 North project.

It added the work had started before last month’s failed meeting on denuclearization between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

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John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said Sunday the US sees “exactly what they are doing� in regard to possible missile or rocket launch moves by the nuclear-armed state. “We see it unblinkingly, and we don’t have any illusions about what those are,� he warned, adding his boss would be “pretty disappointed� if a nuclear-armed state conducted a new missile test.

North Korea has been banned by the UN security council from carrying out space launches, as some of its technology was similar to that used for ICBMs. Since the collapse of the Hanoi summit, Trump has been cautious in his forecasts, continuing to suggest a deal remains possible.

Trump said Kim promised he would carry out no more missile or nuclear testing, adding, “I take him at his word.�

AFP

Malaysia frees woman in NKorea murder case SHAH ALAM, Malaysia: An Indonesian woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother was freed Monday after Malaysian prosecutors dropped a murder charge against her, in a shock decision a year and a half after she went on trial.

Siti Aisyah smiled as she was ushered through a pack of journalists and into a car outside the court, where she had been on trial alongside a Vietnamese woman for the murder of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017. “I feel happy. I did not know this will happen. I did not expect it,� said the 27-year-old, who was wearing a red headscarf.

It was a surprise move as the Shah Alam High Court, outside Kuala Lumpur, had been due only to hear the testimony of the Vietnamese accused Doan Thi Huong on Monday.

Lawyers for Huong, who sobbed in court as the charge against Aisyah was dropped, said they were seeking an adjournment.

The women had always denied murder, saying they were tricked

by North Korean spies into carrying out the Cold War-style hit using VX nerve agent and believed it was a prank for a reality TV show.

Their lawyers presented them as scapegoats, saying that authorities were unable to catch the real killers. Four North Koreans — formally accused of the murder alongside THE WOMEN ‡ lED -ALAYSIA SHORTly after the assassination.

The trial, which began in October 2017, had been due to resume Monday, with the defence stage of proceedings after a break of several months.

But at the start of the hearing,

Worldinbriefs J A PA N M A R K S 8 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y O F F U K U S H I M A T R AG E D Y TOKYO: With flowers, silent prayers and tear ful tributes, Japan Monday marked the eighth anniversar y of a crippling ear thquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated its nor theastern coast and left some 18,500 people dead or missing. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, lawmakers and family members who lost their loved ones in the disaster bowed their heads in prayer at a ceremony in Tokyo at 2:46 p.m. (0546 GMT ) — the exac t moment the magnitude 9.0 quake struck . “ We can’t help but feel sorrow when we think about the suffering of those who lost beloved family members, relatives and friends,�

Abe said. Eight years on, he said reconstruc tion was making “steady � progress but vowed to continue government suppor t to tens of thousands still struggling in uncomfor table living conditions. Japan’s ageing Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko did not attend the ceremony this year, but were represented by their second son Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko.

AFP

C H I N A D E F E N D S 60 T H Y E A R O F R U L E I N T I B E T BEIJING: China is defending its often- criticized rule in Tibet 60 years after the Dalai Lama fled into exile amid an abor tive uprising against Chinese control, saying those who question its policies were merely showing their anti- Chinese bias. The statements in official media came as Tibetans and their suppor ters marked the anniversar y Sunday and called for greater international suppor t. D espite

EXILES Exiled Tibetans shout slogans during a march to mark the 60th anniversary of the March 10, 1959 Tibetan Uprising Day in New Delhi, India on Sunday. The uprising of the Tibetan people against the Chinese rule was brutally quelled by the Chinese army, forcing the spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and thousands of Tibetans to come into exile.

Every year exiled Tibetans mark this day as the National Uprising Day. AP PHOTO

CHARGES DROPPED

Indonesian Siti Aisyah (center) smiles as she leaves Shah Alam High Court in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Monday. The Indonesian woman, held two years on suspicion of killing North Korean leader’s half brother Kim Jong Nam, was freed from custody Monday after prosecutors unexpectedly dropped the murder charge against her. AP PHOTO prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad requested that the murder charge against Aisyah be withdrawn and that she be given a discharge, without giving a reason. “Siti Aisyah is freed,� judge Azmin !RIFkN TOLD THE COURT AS HE APPROVED the request. “She can leave now.�

Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia Rusdi Kirana told reporters outside court: “We are pleased with the court decision. We will try to lY 3ITI BACK TO )NDONESIA TODAY OR as soon as possible.�

Aisyah’s lawyer Gooi Soon Seng said he was grateful for the decision. “We still truly believe that she is merely a scapegoat and she’s innocent,� he said.

Prosecutors had presented their CASE IN THE kRST STAGE OF THE TRIAL Witnesses described how the victim — the estranged half-brother of Kim Jong Un and once seen as heir apparent to the North Korean leadership — died in agony shortly after being attacked.

CCTV footage seen in court during the trial showed the suspects rushing to separate bathrooms in the airport after the murder, before leaving in taxis.

Prosecutors likened the murder to the plot of a James Bond movie and argued the pair were welltrained assassins.

But their lawyers argued the four North Koreans were the master-

minds, and provided the women with poison on the day of the MURDER BEFORE lEEING In August, a judge ruled there WAS SUFkCIENT EVIDENCE THE SUSpects had engaged in a “wellplanned conspiracy� with the North Koreans to murder Kim, and ordered that the trial continue to the defence stage.

South Korea has accused the North of ordering the hit, which Pyongyang denies.

Malaysia had been one of the nuclear-armed North’s few allies, but the assassination badly damaged ties and led to the countries expelling each other’s ambassadors.

AFP

decades of such calls, however, the Himalayan region appears no closer to gaining greater autonomy, par ticularly as China’s global influence grows. China’s official Xinhua News Agenc y said in an editorial dated S aturday that economic growth, increases in lifespan and better education in the region refute the claims of critics that Tibetans suffer oppression from B eijing. O n Sunday, an editorial in the Communist Par t y-run Tibet Daily attacked the Dalai Lama, Tibet ’s traditional Buddhist leader, for what it said were his effor ts to “sow chaos in Tibet.�

AP

INDIA SETS APRIL POLLS NEW DELHI: India’s Elec tion Commission announced Sunday that national elec tions would begin April 11, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s Hindu nationalist par t y seeks a second term. About 900 million people are eligible to vote in a staggered process that allows the government to deploy tens of thousands of troops around the countr y to prevent violence and the capture of voting stations by par t y ac tivists. Chief elec tion commissioner Sunil Arora said the elec tion would be held April 11, 18, 23 and 29, and May 6, 12 and 19. The votes will be counted on May 23. Modi ’s Bhar tiya Janata Par t y, or BJP, hopes the government ’s recent tough stand against Pakistan will help it retain its popularit y despite suffering a setback in D ecember when it lost three key state elec tions to the opposition Congress par t y.

AP

H A I N A N T O O P E N WAT E R S T O F O R E I G N YAC H T S S O U T H China’s Hainan Province plans to simplify its entr y procedures and carr y out a pilot program that would allow overseas yachts to enter some of its waters. Fu Caixiang, vice governor of Hainan and deput y to the National People’s Congress, said at a plenar y session on Friday that the province would fur ther simplify its entr y procedures, expand the number of visa-free countries and implement a more convenient polic y for cruises and yachts. Fu said that the province would explore “negative list � management on its administered waters for the entr y of overseas boats. In the financial area, a negative list names the areas not open to investors, with those not on the list being open to investment. Exper ts said this approach usually offers greater openness. Hainan is the southernmost province of China, consisting of various islands in the S outh China S ea. The Nansha Islands and Xisha Islands are administered by the province.

G LO B A L T I M E S

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World

TUESDAY March 12, 2018

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

Boeing 737 Max 8 fleets grounded T

ULU FARA , Ethiopia: Ethiopia and China grounded fleets of Boeing 737 MAX 8 after the crash of a new passenger jet that killed all 157 people on board as the search resumed Monday for bodies and clues into the disaster.

Ethiopia’s parliament declared Monday a day of mourning over the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines JET WHICH PLOUGHED INTO A kELD some 60 kilometres (40 miles) east of Addis Ababa on Sunday — just six minutes after taking OFF FROM THE CAPITAL ON A lIGHT TO Nairobi, Kenya.

One witness told AFP the plane WAS ON kRE BEFORE CRASHING AND swerving erratically.

As inhabitants of the remote, rural part of Ethiopia

looked on from behind a security cordon, inspectors early Monday searched the site for plane debris, passenger belongings and human remains.

The single-aisle Boeing left a deep, black crater at the impact site, which was being dug up with a mechanical excavator.

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, said Monday it WAS GROUNDING ITS REMAINING lEET of six 737 MAX 8 Boeings “until further notice�.

China, too, ordered domestic airlines to suspend commercial

operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The country had eight nationals among the 157 people —149 passengers and eight crew — aboard THE ILL FATED lIGHT %4 Boeing has described the MAX series as its fastest-selling airplane ever, with more than 4,500 orders placed by July 2018 from 99 customers worldwide.

State-owned Ethiopian Airlines had ordered 30.

The plane that crashed Sunday was new, delivered to Ethiopia on November 15, the carrier said.

It is the same type as the Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October, 13 minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people from 35 countries on board.

At least 22 United Nations

(UN) staff were on the flight, many headed for an annual assembly of the UN Environment Programme which opened under a dark cloud in Nairobi Monday.

Delegates arrived with the UN lAG lYING AT HALF MAST HUGGING and comforting one another as they wondered who among the staff may have been on the plane.

Plane on fire

“Let us reflect that our colleagues were willing to travel and to work far from their homes and loved ones to make the world a better place to live,� UN Habitat head Maimunah Sharif told some of those gathered.

Among the dead were staff from the World Food Programme, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration, and Food and

Agriculture Organization, the agencies said.

Nairobi hosts the global headquarters of UNEP and UN Habitat, and is the regional seat of several other UN agencies. “Deeply saddened by the news this morning of the plane crash in Ethiopia, claiming the lives of all on board,� tweeted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

One witness, Tegegn Dechasa, told AFP at the site that “the plane WAS ALREADY ON kRE WHEN IT CRASHED to the ground. The crash caused a big explosion.�

Another, farmer Sisay Gemechu, said: “The plane seemed to be aiming TO LAND AT A NEARBY LEVEL OPEN kELD BUT crashed before reaching there.�

Ethiopian Airlines said the pilot had been given clearance to turn AROUND AFTER lAGGING DIFkCULTIES to airport authorities.

“A committee comprising of Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and Ethiopian Transport Authority has been set up to carry out the investigations,� the airline said. “Once the... deceased are identikED THEIR BODIES WILL BE DELIVERED to their families and loved ones.�

Details of the passengers have started to emerge.

Among them was Cedric Asiavugwa, a Kenyan third-year student at Georgetown University Law School in Washington, who had been due to graduate in the spring and was visiting home, the university said.

Kenya had the highest death toll with 32, according to the airline.

Canada followed with 18 victims, including Nigerian-born author Pius Adesanmi, who directed the Institute of African Studies at Carleton University.

Trump budget seeks $8.6 billion for wall

REDUCED TO PIECES

Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday. A spokesman says Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as a safety precaution, following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed. AP

MAY URGED NOT TO DELAY BREXIT LONDON: Two prominent Brexit backers are warning Prime Minister Theresa May not to seek a delay to Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure from the European Union (EU) if her withdrawal deal is rejected Tuesday.

Conservative Party lawmaker Steve Baker and Democratic Unionist Deputy leader Nigel Dodds wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that prolonging the Brexit process rather than making a clean break would lead to “political calamity.�

The two said slowing Britain’s departure would mean a “costly delay� for British businesses and irreparable

damage to public trust in politics.

Brexiteers who are ready to embrace a “no-deal� Brexit if no agreement is approved by Britain’s Parliament worry that a possible vote this week to seek an extension of the talks would eventually lead to a softening or cancellation of Brexit plans.

Their warnings are based on the widespread belief that May’s 585-page withdrawal agreement, reached after more than two years of rigorous talks with the EU, will be defeated in Parliament unless last-minute concessions are made

by European leaders.

Thus far, the terms are unchanged from the withdrawal plan that received a shellacking in Parliament in January, losing by some 230 votes, a record rejection of a sitting government.

The prospect of another defeat HAS ALL SIDES IN THE "REXIT CONlICT jockeying for position.

Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford said Sunday that his party will put forward an amendment giving it the authority to hold another independence referendum if Britain does leave the EU. 4HE 3COTTISH PARTY IS kRMLY OPposed to Brexit, and its leaders

point out that Scotland’s population voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum.

Blackford says the party seeks “a recognition that if the UK does leave the European Union that the people of Scotland should be able to determine their own destiny and in particular should have that power to have an independence referendum if we so choose.�

Scotland voted to remain part of the UK in a 2014 vote, but its leaders have complained bitterly that it was being dragged out of the EU against its will.

AP

Scandal may topple Trudeau in polls TORONTO: There’s no money, no sex and nothing illegal happened. This is what passes for a scandal in Canada. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denies any wrongdoing.

US President Donald Trump has been engulfed in allegations involving possible collusion with Russia and secret payments to buy the silence of a porn star.

Trudeau is facing a controversy that seems trivial by comparison, but it could topple him in elections later this year.

4WO HIGH PROkLE WOMEN MINISTERS in Trudeau’s Cabinet, including CanADA S kRST INDIGENOUS JUSTICE MINISTER

resigned in protest, and his top aide and best friend quit too.

The former justice minister and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, says Trudeau and senior members of his government pressured her in a case involving a major Canadian engineering company accused of corruption related to its business dealings in Libya. Trudeau reportedly leaned on the attorney general to instruct prosecutors to reach the equivalent of plea deal, which would avoid a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, because he felt that jobs were at stake. “People south of the border would be astonished to think that this is

the type of scandal that they have in Canada,� said Eddie Goldenberg, a former adviser to former prime minister Jean Chretien.

Many countries would be jealous of a scandal that went no further than a prime minster asking another minister to do something she is legally entitled to do, Goldenberg said. “I just don’t really see it as a scandal,� he said. “There is a political correctness here. Nobody wants to go after an indigenous woman minister.

It’s become politically incorrect to question the former minister.�

Trudeau has said he asked WilsonRaybould to revisit her decision, not to instruct prosecutors, and said she agreed to consider that. He denied applying any inappropriate pressure, SAYING HE AND HIS OFkCIALS WERE ONLY pointing out that prosecution could endanger thousands of jobs.

SNC-Lavalin has pleaded not guilty to fraud and corruption charges related to allegations it paid about $35 million (CA$47 million) IN BRIBES TO PUBLIC OFkCIALS IN ,IBYA between 2001 and 2011. “It’s a pseudo-scandal. It’s crap.

What the hell? You are doing business in Libya and you are not bribing?� said Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international

relations at the University of Toronto. “It does suggest to me that the director of public prosecutions ... is also nuts.

And so is Wilson-Raybould. These people are delusional.�

Wilson-Raybould was demoted from her role as attorney general and justice minister in January as part of a #ABINET SHUFlE BY 4RUDEAU 3HE HAS TESTIkED THAT SHE BELIEVES SHE LOST THE justice job because she did not give in to “sustained� pressure to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin.

That solution would have avoided a potential criminal conviction that would bar the company from receiving any federal government business for a decade. The company is a major employer in Quebec, Trudeau’s home province. It has about 9,000 employees in Canada and more than 50,000 worldwide.

The company publicly led the lobbying charge for a law that allows for deferred prosecution agreements as a way to resolve the criminal charges it faces. The new attorney general has not ruled out approving a settlement.

Wilson-Raybould has said herself that the pressure from Trudeau and others was not illegal and that she

was not explicitly instructed to do a remediation agreement.

Gerald Butts, Trudeau’s former principal secretary and best friend who resigned, said nothing inappropriate was alleged until after WilsonRaybould left the Cabinet, suggesting she felt sour grapes about losing her dream job.

O p p o s i t i o n C o n s e r va t i ve Andrew Scheer leader has demanded that Trudeau resign, saying he tried to interfere in a criminal prosecution. Canadian media had covered the story as intensely as American networks had covered Trump, noted Nelson Wiseman, a professor at the University of Toronto. “Trudeau would not be able to get away with what Trump does because the political cultures and the state of political polarization of the two countries are still quite different,�

Wiseman said.

The differences among Canadian media outlets, for example, are “relatively narrow compared to the chasms between Fox and MSNBC or CNN. The American media are reporting on two different worlds. The Cana dian media are reporting on the same Wilson-Raybould-Trudeau story,�

Wiseman added.

AP

WASHINGTON, D. C.: President Donald Trump is reviving his border wall fight, preparing a new budget that will seek $8.6 billion for his signature project, impose steep spending cuts to other domestic programs and set the stage for another fiscal battle.

Budget documents like the one Trump is releasing Monday are often seen as just a starting point of negotiation. Fresh off the longest government shutdown in history, Trump’s 2020 proposal shows he is eager to confront Congress again to boost defense spending and cut $2.7 trillion in nondefense spending over a decade.

Titled “A Budget for a Better America: Promises Kept. Taxpayers First,� Trump’s proposal “embodies fiscal responsibility,� said Russ Vought, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.  Vought said the administration has “prioritized reining in reckless Washington spending� and shows “we can return to fiscal sanity.�

Two administration officials confirmed that the border wall request was part of Trump’s spending blueprint for the 2020 budget year, which begins October 1. It would pay for hundreds of miles of new barriers along the border.

Trump’s budget proposes increasing defense spending to $750 billion — and standing up the new Space Force as a military branch — while reducing nondefense accounts by 5 percent, with cuts recommended to safety-net programs used by many Americans.

The plan sticks to budget caps that both parties have routinely broken in recent years and promises to come into balance in 15 years, relying in part on economic growth that may be uncertain.

The officials were not authorized to discuss budget details publicly before Monday’s release of the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity.

While pushing down spending in some areas, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the proposal would seek to increase funding in others to align with the President’s priorities, according to one official.

The administration will invest more than $80 billion for veterans services, a nearly 10 percent increase from current levels, including “significant� investments in rehabilitation, employment assistance and suicide prevention.

It would also increase resources to fight the opioid epidemic with money for prevention, treatment, research and recovery, the administration said. And it seeks to shift some federal student loan costs to colleges and universities.

By adhering to strict budget caps, Trump is signaling a fight ahead. The president has resisted big, bipartisan budget deals that break the caps — threatening to veto one last year — but Congress will need to find agreement on spending levels to avoid another federal shutdown in fall. To stay within the caps, the budget shifts a portion of the defense spending to an overseas contingency fund, which some fiscal hawks will view as an accounting gimmick.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Trump’s budget “points a steady glide path� toward lower spending and borrowing as a share of the nation’s economy. He also told “Fox News Sunday� that there was no reason to “obsess� about deficits, and expressed confidence that economic growth would top 3 percent in 2019 and beyond. Others have predicted lower growth. AP

Iran president goes on first visit to Iraq BAGHDAD: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Baghdad on Monday, Iraqi state television said, making HIS kRST OFkCIAL VISIT TO THE NATION THAT Tehran once fought a bloody war against and later backed in the battle with the Islamic State (IS) group.

Since Rouhani’s election in 2013, Iraq has relied on Iranian paramilitary SUPPORT TO kGHT )3 FOLLOWING THE MILItant group’s capture of the Iraqi city of Mosul and other territory in both Iraq and Syria.

Now with the militants facing a kNAL TERRITORIAL DEFEAT IN THE 3YRIAN village of Baghouz, Iran is looking for Iraq’s continued support as it faces a maximalist pressure campaign by President Donald Trump after his decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Rouhani was received by an honor guard on landing in Baghdad, where he was welcomed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Hakim.

(E IS TO kRST VISIT A 3HIITE SHRINE IN the Iraqi capital and then meet with both President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Abdel Abdul Mehdi, as well as visit other politicians and Shiite leaders.

Rouhani is accompanied on the three-day visit to Iraq by a highranking political and economic delegation.

It underscores how much has changed since the 1980s, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran, sparking an eight-year war that killed 1 million people. After the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam, Iran began a campaign of backing militants who targeted American forces in Iraq.

Tehran also made political connections with Iraq’s Shiite leaders, who had been persecuted by Saddam’s government. Iran’s former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad BECAME THE kRST )RANIAN PRESIDENT TO visit Iraq on a trip in 2008.

Iraq and Iran share a 1,400-kilometer-long (870 miles) border. Trump made a snap December trip to Iraq and made comments that U.S. forces should stay in Iraq to keep an eye on Iran, something dismissed by both Iran and Iraqi leaders, whom Trump did not meet on the visit.

Rouhani, who had visited Iraq privately before becoming president, HAD PLANNED AN OFkCIAL VISIT IN BUT IT WAS CANCELLED OVER UNSPECIkED “executive� problems.

This time, Rouhani, who is on a second four-year-term, is particularly vulnerable because of the economic crisis assailing the Iranian rial, which has hurt ordinary Iranians and emboldened critics to openly call for the president’s ouster.

AP

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TTUESDAY, TUESDA U E S DAY DAY AY, Ma March Marc arcch 12 12, 2, 2019 20199 20

Q Volvo PH officials flank the new Volvo XC40.

T H E M OTO R I N G S E C T I O N O F

New Volvo XC40 a confidenceinspiring SUV designed for city living V

OLVO Cars, Cars the premium carmaker, carmaker will bring a new standard of safety and user experience to the small 356 PREMIUM SEGMENT WITH THE OFkCIAL LAUNCH OF the new Volvo XC40 in the Philippines this summer.

Developed around the challenges of modern city life, the XC40 aims to make the daily urban commute less stressful and more enjoyable, as drivers in the segment can now rely on the awardwinning safety, connectivity and infotainment technologies known from Volvo’s acclaimed new 90 and 60 Series SUVs. g4HE 8# IS OUR kRST CAR IN THIS RAPIDLY GROWing segment and has a clear focus on navigating today’s hectic city environments. Building on Volvo’s heritage as the leader in safety, the new XC40 will offer the best possible safety standards combined with an easy-to-use interface and convenient connected services,” said Håkan Samuels-

son, president and chief executive.

4HE NEW 8# IS 6OLVO S kRST CAR OUT ON ITS new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) and includes a range of groundbreaking technologies kRST INTRODUCED IN ITS AND 3ERIES SIBLINGS based on Volvo’s larger Scalable Product Architecture (SPA).

Volvo’s approach to safety and user experience builds on a philosophy it calls the Circle of Life: a constant improvement of standards and technologies, based on consumer insights and real life data.

Safety and driver assistance features offered on

³VolvoC2

C 2

B

UDDING Audi fans from the Little Apprentice Preschool recently visited the Audi dealership in Westgate Alabang for their EDUCATIONAL kELD TRIP

The students spent an enjoyable day at the home of the German luxury car brand where they were educated about the different kinds of cars and road safety.

Representatives from Audi Philippines gave a tour of the establishment and the service center, showing the visitors the basic parts of an Audi car. The students were also introduced to the different people working in the car dealership, including the friendly sales executives

TUESDAY, March 12, 2019

Q Children from the Little Apprentice Preschool recently visited the Audi dealership in Westgate Alabang for their educational field trip.

Future owners of Audi visit dealer in Alabang and mechanics. g#ARS ARE DEkNITELY NOT ONLY FOR ADULTS

AND THIS kELD TRIP WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY for the young ones like the Little Apprentice students to appreciate automotive design and technology from Audi,� said

Audi Philippines head Benedicto Coyiuto Audi Philippines recently launched the top new model of the SUV family, the all-new Audi Q8. The all-new Audi Q8 IS A MOTIVATED BY A POWERFUL YET EFkCIENT LITER 4&3) TURBO FUEL STRATIkED INJEC-

tion) engine producing 335 hp. All-drive SYSTEMS ARE PARTICULARLY EFkCIENT THANKS TO the new mild hybrid technology (MHEV).

A generously dimensioned interior, state of the art operating, and suspension technologies as well as intelligent assistance

systems make the Audi Q8 the perfect companion for business and leisure.

For more information, contact Audi Philippines at 7270381 to 85 or visit any Audi showroom in Alabang, Global City, Greenhills and SM Seaside City Cebu.

Q VOLVO FROM C1

Driving is made easy New Volvo XC40 a with the Toyota Vios CVT confidenceONE frequently overlooked aspect in today’s vehicles is the difference between automatic transmission (AT) and continuously variable transmission (CVT). Whereas “stick-shift� or manual transmission (MT) cars are clearly set apart by their use of a clutch pedal to change the gears, the terms AT and CVT are often used interchangeably with each other.

This similarity holds true to a certain degree, but let us take a closer look at how the all-new Toyota Vios makes every day driving all the more easier and fuel efficient with its CVT. While both transmissions are generally easier and more comfortable to operate from a computer program that automatically controls shifting based on driver input, CVT uses a belt-and-pulley system rather than AT’s gears-and-cogs system. On actual road conditions that has stop-and-go traffic, the Toyota Vios CVT will offer a smoother ride than regular AT gearboxes by means of seamless shifting that reduces shift shock and transmission quietness. This leads to the subcompact’s better cabin comfort in otherwise tiring urban drives.

Advantages of CVT The Toyota Vios CVT gearbox also improves fuel economy and fuel mileage by consistently keeping the engine in its most efficient operating range.

The Vios CVT variants are known to be kinder and more forgiving to new drivers by automatically adjusting to human errors such as inconsistent foot pressure and pedal move-

inspiring SUV

ment. It lessens the vehicle’s jerky, sudden movements by reducing lag time through continuous altering of gear ratios.

As an added feature for more experienced drivers, select variants of the Vios CVT are equipped with Sequential Shift Mode and paddle shifters that mimic the sporty feel of manually changing gears. When used along with Drive Mode Select (a choice between Eco and Sport modes), the Toyota Vios offers a versatile and economical driving pleasure for everyone.

These make the Toyota Vios an

enduring icon on the road, and the preferred subcompact sedan of the Filipino people.

Currently, a total of five out of nine variants of the all-new Vios are equipped with CVT, with the latest being the Vios XE introduced last January.

At P735,000 SRP, the Vios XE is currently the best value CVT in Toyota’s wide Vios line-up. It suits the modern lifestyle and driving habits of young professionals in the city, while also catering to new and experienced drivers.

More than its affordable price tag, the Vios XE shares the signature “Quality, Durability and Reliability� present across all models that bear the Toyota badge. Choosing the Vios means worryfree ownership that gives customers peace of mind even with after-sales and regular maintenance.

The Vios XE is available in all Toyota dealerships nationwide. It comes in Thermalyte, Red Mica Metallic, Freedom White, and Alumina Jade Metallic.

For more information, visit TMP’s official website at www.toyota.com.ph and follow the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ToyotaMotorPhilippines.

the XC40 include Run-off Road protection AND MITIGATION #ROSS 4RAFkC ALERT WITH auto brake, and the 360-degree camera that help drivers maneuver their car into tight parking spaces. These and other technologies make the XC40 one of the best-equipped premium SUVs. “Modern city life presents complex challenges for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. With the XC40, we aim to reduce the so-called cognitive load on the driver. While our safety and driver assistance systems actively identify and mitigate potential CONlICTS YOU AS A DRIVER CAN RELAX MORE and therefore enjoy city driving,� said Malin Ekholm, vice president of Volvo Cars Safety Center.

While the starting point for each new Volvo is the most advanced safety and driver assistance systems, the new XC40 also benefits from the high levels of safety and infotainment found in its larger stablemates. g7E BUILT A CONkDENT EASY TO USE

and convenient everyday user experience based on real-life interaction and research, starting from our foundation of leading safety. The XC40 is a car for a generation of consumers that expect full connectivity. All screens have been OPTIMIZED FOR A SAFE EASY AND EFkCIENT interaction, to support active city driving,â€? said Ă–dgärd Andersson, vice president of Vehicle Software and Electronics at Volvo Cars. “Like the larger XC60 and XC90 SUVs, the XC40 features Volvo’s connected Sensus infotainment system, centered around the now familiar large, portrait oriented touchscreen. Easy to use and intuitive, the Sensus interface allows drivers to access a host of functions and services,â€? said Ă–dgärd Andersson.

The prices of the XC40 are: T5 AWD R-Design, P3.895 million; D3 R-Design, P3.495 million; and XC40 D3 Momentum, P3.350 million. Available colors are Bursting Blue, Onyx Black, Crystal White, Bright Silver, Osmium Gray and Fusion Red.

TUESDAY, March 12, 2019

Japan set to J test flying cars this year

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BY TYRONE JASPER PIADÂ

APAN IS SET TO START TEST lIGHTS THIS YEAR FOR ITS lYING CARS currently under development as it gears towards and air mobility revolution, hoping that they would be commercially available by 2023.

“The very core of air mobility revolution is THE EMERGENCE OF lYING CARS u +ENJI -IKAMI

director for Digital Strategy Manufacturing Industries Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said in JapaNESE DURING A RECENT PRESS BRIEkNG HELD BY Foreign Press Center Japan. “Mobility area used at the moment is faced to have bigger transformation juncture because of the emergence of drones and as well as self-driving cars,� he added.

4HERE IS NO gCLEAR CUTu DEkNITION YET for a flying car, Mikami said, but it is CHARACTERIZED AS IT BY BEING ELECTRIkED

autonomous, and having vertical takeoff and landing capabilities.

It offers convenience — reaching optimum distance and speed — because it

will not rely on the current infrastructure to operate.

Mikami said that producing and operATING A lYING VEHICLE REQUIRE LESS COSTS AS it has fewer number of components and lower maintenance costs, among others, compared to a helicopter.

In addition, with its autonomous feature, NO DRIVER IS NEEDED TO OPERATE THE lYING vehicle that decreases operational cost as well, Mikami said. “Air mobility will be offered to the masses,� he said. *APAN S INITIATIVE TO DEVELOP lYING CARS is in line with its aim to achieve total mobility services.

Mikami said that Japan was trying to make the transport link among air, land and

sky “seamless.� “The use of the sky at the moment in the world is limited but I’m sure the competiTION WILL GET kERCER AND kERCER u HE SAID "ESIDES DECONGESTING GROUND TRAFkC THE lYING VEHICLES ARE ALSO EYED FOR USE DURING disaster and calamities — rescue operations and delivery of relief goods — without relying on ground infrastructures.

4HE lYING VEHICLES COULD ALSO OFFER gEASIER access to rural areas which are inconvenient AND DIFkCULT TO ACCESS u HE SAID “By realization of such advanced MOBILITY SOCIETY WITH lYING VEHICLES

development of Japanese industries and overcoming social issues inside and outside Japan would be expected,�

Mikami said.

Xado Atomic Oils prove worth for small fishing vessels

Q Fluid Rx diagnostics can accurately determine the condition of fluids used by a vehicle by simply putting a drop on special papers.

THE use of Xado Atomic Oil can help MUNICIPAL kSHER FOLK MAKE UP TO OUTings to sea before changing the lubricant of their boats’ engines, which is a vast improvement over the 3-5 outings using mineral-based oils.

Xado Philippines head Marlo Colimbo SAID THAT MUNICIPAL kSHER FOLK WHO HAVE used Xado Atomic Oil reported making as much as 30 outings before changing the lubricant of their boats’ engines. “On the shorelines of Eastern Samar ARE MORE OR LESS kSHING BOATS which change oil every 3-5 outings. With Xado Atomic Oil contaning ‘revitalizant’ or ceramic metal treatment, we are able to extend oil use to up to 30 outings,� he said.

Also, given the durability of Xado !TOMIC /IL THE kSHER FOLK CAN VENTURE to as far as 150 miles from the shore, enabling them to catch more types of kSH LIKE TUNA The engines of the boats of municipal OR SMALL kSHER FOLK ARE USUALLY FOUR STROKE diesel engines that also power trucks and buses. Most are “surplus� or second hand, presenting challenges when it comes to maintenance.

According to Colimbo, Xado Atomic Oil contains the brand’s “Atomic Revitalizant’ formula, which acts as a protective shield between moving parts. The formula contains ceramic particles that binds with the tiny metal shreddings to help form a protective shield between the engine’s moving parts.

8ADO 0HILIPPINES WILL ASSIST kSHER FOLK in Borongan Guian to shift to using the brand’s Atomic Oil, which will also help protect the environment.

Colimbo said the use of Fluid Rx DIAGNOSTICS BY kSHER FOLK WILL ALSO ALlow them to determine the best time to replace their engine’s lubricant. Fluid Rx diagnostics can accurately determine the CONDITION OF lUIDS USED BY A VEHICLE BY

simply putting a drop on special papers.

The color that will be appear on the special paper will give an accurate condition OF THE lUID DETERMINING IF IT HAS TO BE changed or not.

Concern for the environment Colimbo said the use of Fluid Rx and Xado Atomic Oil will be a boon to the environment, as Xado Atomic Oil has a long drain interval. Fluid Rx also avoids premature oil changes.

The sad fact is the maintenance of muNICIPAL kSHING BOATS REMAIN FRAGMENTED or unregulated, which results in used oil from their engines getting dumped even into the sea. “Nobody should simply dump oil anywhere but should be required to bring it to a designated place for proper disposal or sent to a recycling plant,�

Colimbo said. “Also, nobody should be allowed to buy oil just because he/she got the money and he/she feels like changjng the oil,� he added.

Colimbo also said Congress should pass laws regulating the disposal of used OIL AS ONE DROPLET OF IT IS kLLED WITH TOXIC substances.

Xado Atomic Oil is highly recommended for cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles, especially those that are driven under more stressful conditions like carrying heavy loads and subjected to frequent use, espeCIALLY IN TRAFkC 356S THAT ARE ALSO DRIVEN FREQUENTLY OFFROAD CAN BENEkT GREATLY FROM using Xado Atomic Oil. Xado products are developed and manufactured in Ukraine and are available locally through Xado Philippines.

For more information on Xado products sold in the Philippines, visit http:// www.xadophil.com or https://www. facebook.com/xadophilippines/.

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TUESDAY, March 12 , 2019

THE REDESIGNED 2019 CAYENNE

The Porsche of SUVs is a Porsche

BY LARRY PRINTZ

A

RE you a 52-year-old woman with an income of $350,000?

Then you’re a potential customer for the redesigned 2019 Porsche Cayenne, according to Porsche.

Of course, even if you’re not a 52-yearold woman with an income of $350,000, who could blame you for lusting after one?

OK, most likely what you really want is a Porsche 911, Boxster or Cayman, and that’s understandable. They’re a blast to DRIVE ‡ AUTOMOTIVE THERAPY OF THE kNEST variety. But they’re not terribly handy if you have a family and actually want to transport them all at once, rather than one at a time.

Porsche knows this of course, and it’s WHY THEY CREATED THE #AYENNE IN THE kRST place. It allows you to carve through corners with your family and their lifestyle debris along for the ride. And for 2019, Porsche has launched the third generation of this fun family hauler.

They started by making it 120 pounds lighter than the previous model, thanks to greater use of aluminum. Next, they MADE IT MORE EFkCIENT BY REPLACING ITS 3.5-liter six-cylinder with a smaller, more

powerful 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 and new eight-speed Tiptronic S transmission.

Generating 35 horsepower more than the outgoing driveline, the 2019 Cayenne runs 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds on its way to a top speed of 156 mph with the optional Sport Chrono Package. That’s 1.6 seconds faster than before.

Porsche did this by placing the turbocharger inside the engine’s V, allowing for more compact dimensions, which in turn

allowed engineers to lower the Cayenne’s center of gravity. It also allowed for shorter exhaust paths between the engine’s combustion chambers and the turbocharger for quicker engine response. Ordering the Sport Chrono Package brings with it Normal, Sport, Sport Plus and Individual modes, along with a Performance Start mode for quick acceleration from a standstill. Similarly, a Sport Response button enhances responsiveness for 20 seconds.

Hybrid variant available

Not fast enough for you? Try the new 2019 Cayenne E-Hybrid. By adding a 134-hp electric motor, output increases to 455 hp, while 0-60 mph runs decrease to 4.7 seconds. It will also run up to 27 miles on electricity at speeds up to 83 mph.

If you’re wondering how the 2019 Porsche Cayenne drives, well, it drives like a Porsche Cayenne, which is to say it’s quite accomplished. Yes, this is easily the

most fun to drive SUV, with the athletic poise and agility you’ve come to expect from a Porsche. It stops, steers and brakes with incredible precision, making it the perfect driving tool. Credit should go to the rear-axle steering that provides quicker turn-in, as well as the electromechanical anti-roll bars and optional three-chamber air suspension that maintains the vehicle’s poise. It gets better once you head off-road, as there’s 9.4 inches of ground clearance. You can even ford 20.6 inches of water. Of course, if you’re going to do it, you should opt for the optional Off-road Package. It adds rock rails with integrated skid plates and reinforced protection for the engine and the rear axle.

Of course, the farthest off-road most Cayennes will ever go is when the driver runs over the bush at the end of the driveway.

The only jungle most Cayennes encounter is the urban one, which is why it keeps you CONNECTED WITH REAL TIME TRAFkC INFORMAtion, a Wi-Fi hotspot, four USB ports, Apple CarPlay, and the Porsche Connect App. Stylistically, the Cayenne pulls styling cues from Porsche’s car line-up, incorporating the 911’s wide shoulders, the Panamera’s rear tail lamp treatment. Up front, a large grille helps disguise the CayENNE S SIGNIkCANT HOOD HEIGHT )TS SHORT overhangs help give it a tough stance.

Inside, the driver faces an instrument cluster dominated by an analog tachometer lANKED BY A PAIR OF INCH DIGITAL DISPLAYS ! INCH HIGH DEkNITION TOUCHSCREEN anchors the center of the instrument panel and uses Porsche Communication Management software to manage infotainment and navigation.

It truly makes for a sporty yet practical package, one that could almost make you forget about dreams of owning a 911, Boxster, or Cayman. Well, almost. TNS

IMS Museum honors racing legend Andretti THE Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (IMS) will honor 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti and his illustrious racing career with the exhibit, “Mario Andretti: ICON,� presented by Shell V-Power NiTRO+. It will open to the public on May 1 and will run until November 10.

The exhibit is part of a comprehensive 50th anniversary celebration of Andretti’s victory at the Indianapolis 500. Andretti led 116 laps and delivered a popular, longawaited victory for colorful car owner Andy Granatelli, despite having to race in a backup car, battling race-long engine overheating issues, and being forced to run all 500 miles on the same right-rear Firestone tire.

Mario Andretti: ICON presented by Shell V-Power NiTRO+ will bring together MANY OF THE MOST SIGNIkCANT CARS IN !Ndretti’s career at the IMS Museum – cars THAT ALSO REPRESENT SIGNIkCANT MILESTONES in motor sports history given Andretti’s accomplishments.

The featured exhibits of Mario Andretti: ICON are a full representation of the Nazareth, Pennsylvania, resident’s diverse career. A sampling of this can’t-miss exhibit includes: The John Player Special Lotus Type

79-4, from the 1978 Formula One World Championship run; The 1974 Vel’s Parnelli Jones team Formula One car; 1967 Dean Van Lines Brawner Hawk II Indy 500 pole-winner; 1967 Watson Leader Card Sprint car; The 1967 Daytona 500-winning car;

A 1994 Lola T9400 from his “Arrivederci Mario� farewell season; and The Horn Offenhauser Sprint car, named g"ABY u FROM !NDRETTI S kRST 3PRINT CAR RACE “Winning the Indianapolis 500 changed my life and Indy has been like a second home for my family for a very long time, so I’m very much looking forward to ev-

erything the museum and the speedway have planned in May,� said Andretti. “To be called an ‘icon’ is extremely humbling, but the collection put together by the IMS Museum staff is phenomenal. I cannot wait to see this exhibit and share my story with the fans from around the world who will see it in the coming months.�

-ANY OTHER NOTABLE CARS kRESUITS HELmets and memorabilia will be part of the exhibit. An audio tour featuring stories from Andretti, longtime rivals AJ Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser and team owner Roger Penske will provide entertaining, behindthe-scenes insight into his career.

INDYCAR.COM

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Q The majestic Mt. Mayon volcano is the perfect backdrop for this fiery red colored Nissan Terra.

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

THE MOTORING SECTION OF

All ‘TERRAin’

driving fun with Nissan

N

BY MATTHEW EMMANUEL BUHION

ISSAN brought a number of motoring media to the beautiful “City of Fun and Adventure,� Legazpi, in the Bicol region. A quick hop on an airplane, and there we were, face-to-face with one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, Mayon. This makes sense, since we were here to drive Nissan’s contender in the most active segment in the Philippines, the Nissan Terra. bumper to bumper. It’s the same news at the rear of the Terra, having a clean The Nissan Terra has a very familiar front appearance, and noting too ostentatious. fascia, since it is shared with the Nissan 4HE MOST lASHY PART OF THE VEHICLE COULD Navarra. May it be the Terra or the Navarra, be the texture metal plate with the TERRA nothing would go wrong with the clean name by the rear cargo door latch.

STYLING BOTH VEHICLES HAVE 0ROkLE OF THE Nissan DNA doesn’t stop in the exterior, Terra shows its approach, and descent but is carried inside the Terra. Sitting in angles of 32.3 degrees and 26.6 degrees, the drivers seat will be very familiar for respectively, along with its 225-millimeter Navarra drivers. From the steering wheel (mm) ground clearance. No sharp lines to to the dash, and even the shift knob, the DISTRACT YOU FROM ITS CLEAN AND lOWING Terra shares them with its older brother. styling on all 4,885 mm of metal from 4HIS WRITER kNDS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE

DNA

Q The Nissan convoy takes a break before hitting the off road trail to Mount Mayon.

shared bits and pieces, because akin to the borrowed bits on the exterior, the interior is as clean and durable.

Under the hood, the Nissan DNA is also there with the robust YD25 DDTi Inline four-cylinder engine. Producing an output of 190 PS and 450 Nm of torque for pulling power, the Nissan Terra never gave moments of hesitation or worry during the day’s activities.

Through the paces Nissan’s Terra is quite fashionably late

Q Ramesh Narasimhan, president and managing director of Nissan PH, speaks before the media participants of the Terra test drive. to the party of the mid-sized diesel SUV segment here in the Philippines. Being dominated by its fellow Japanese manufacturers, which have gone through three generations already. The Terra has a lot of catching up to do and Nissan engineered it to be a belle at the ball.

4HE kRST DAY S ITINERARY CONSISTED OF A drive, which loops up to the coast, and back down to Legazpi City, which concluded with a surprise from Nissan, the special edition Nissan Terra in Fiery Red. Only 100 units will be made, and we had

the opportunity to view one.

Most Nissan Terra owners will be using their SUVs for public road use, with most, BEING A FAMILY VEHICLE 4HE VERY kRST THING this writer noticed is just how comfortable the Nissan Terra is compared to the closest competition, replacing the typical truck rear leaf spring for coil springs. In addition to that, the seats in the Nissan 4ERRA AND JUST BEAUTIFUL BOLSTERED AND kRM enough to translate to being one of the most comfortable vehicles in its class. No

ÂłNissan D4

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TUESDAY March 12, 2019

I

VW PH targets sales increase this year

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY DINO RAY V. DIRECTO 3RD

N view of the motoring media’s contribution to the growth and development of the brand, Volkswagen PH held an appreciation night recently at the Resorts World Manila leisure hotel.

Present were the top executives of the Ayala Group led

by JP Orbeta, managing director, chief human resources OFkCER AND GROUP HEAD FOR CORPORATE RESOURCES $INO 3ANTOS CHIEF OPERATING OFkCER OF +4- -OTORCYCLES -ANNY !LIGADA PRESIDENT OF +IA 0( "OB g%L *EFEu Palanca, Volkswagen vice president regional head, VolkSWAGEN DEALER EXPANSION HEAD +LAUS 3CHADEWALD CHIEF OPERATING ADVISER 6OLKSWAGEN 0( AND NEWLY MINTED Volkswagen PH President Felipe Estrella 3rd. “Thank you all for making it to tonight’s gathering.

This is a special night, as we celebrate friendships and partnerships. We have great plans for this year and we look forward to having a bigger, better and more

relevant company for 2019,� Estrella told Fast Times.

4HE FORMER CHIEF kNANCE OFkCER OF !# )NDUSTRIALS takes on the leadership of Volkswagen PH at a time when Ayala Corp. is in the process of expanding its presence in the motoring industry. AC Automotive, the motoring arm of the Ayala group of companies, ACQUIRED ITS kFTH BRAND PARTNERSHIP IN +IA LAST YEAR

forging a much stronger presence in the domestic car industry with four other brands such as Honda, Isuzu, KTM Motorcycles and Volkswagen PH. g%ACH OF THESE kVE BRANDS TARGETS A SPECIkC SEGMENT of the local market. For Volkswagen PH, our game plan is to bring German automotive engineering,

design and motoring lifestyle to more Filipinos. That IS PRECISELY WHY WE INTRODUCED kVE NEW MODELS LAST year, and we are working to introduce two new SUVs in the coming months,� Estrella said.

7ITH kVE NEW MODELS PLUS TWO MORE MODELS ON the pipeline this year, Volkswagen PH targets to better its sales record by 50 percent this year. Estrella also announced that it would expand its dealer network from the current eight to 12 within the year. “Volkswagen is committed to contributing to the development of the local automotive industry and for Filipinos to experience a much better and affordable motoring experience,� he added.

CALTEX OPENS ONE-STOP SHOP EDSA STATION CALTEX, marketed by Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), contines to build on the momentum it had last year with the opening of a new service station along the busy stretch of EDSA. The latest addition to CPI’s growing network of service stations across the country is located along EDSA corner Scout Borromeo Street in Quezon City, which experiences heavy traffic every day. Motorists and residents along the southbound lane of this intersection now have easier access to Caltex with Techron Platinum, Silver or Diesel fuels.

The company hopes to sustain the growth trend it achieved last year, and toward this end, is looking to continue expanding its retail network in the country. Caltex’s service station network in the country currently exceeds 600 stations, including six that opened in the past three months alone. “The energy economy of the Philippines has been robust and showed steady growth throughout the past year,� CPI Country Chairman Louie Zhang said. “We’re continuously working hard to be the partner of Filipino motorists for their fueling needs, and our retail expansion efforts have been strategically planned to support this vision.�

During the station’s grand opening, motorists who fueled up enjoyed a P10 per liter discount for Platinum with Techron, Silver with Techron and Diesel with Techron D, for up to 60 liters through a promo called Caltex Gimme 10. Along with this, a P50 per bottle discount was available for synthetic engine oils and a P20 per liter discount was given on premium mineral engine oils.

Customers also received free Happy Plus loyalty cards. Points earned using these cards can be used to redeem food products at Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich and Red Ribbon branches nationwide.

To further enhance customer experience and be a one-stop shop for motorists and clients, the new service station will host several retail stores in the next few months. These complementary stores include quick service restaurants to accommodate motorists’ snack and other needs when they visit the new Caltex station on their way to work, school or any other destination for the day.

Motorists can find the nearest Caltex station using the Caltex Locator app, available on both Google Play and App Store. Find out more about Caltex at http://caltex.com.

Kona, Santa Fe prove worth with latest awards

Q (Second from right to left) Chevron Philippines Inc. District Sales Manager Kit D’aran, Country Chairman Louie Zhang with TripleF Ventures Corp. President Dylan Ferrer open the newest Caltex station located along EDSA corner Scout Borromeo.

THE 2019 Hyundai Kona, alongside the Kona Electric CUV, was named North American Utility Vehicle of the Year by a jury of independent American and Canadian journalists and analysts. The award was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in *ANUARY 4HIS IS THE kRST TIME A (YUNDAI vehicle has won this prestigious award. “(The year) 2019 has only just begun, yet we at Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. welcome with great pride the multiple awards our vehicles have already earned internationally,� said Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) President and Chief %XECUTIVE /FkCER -ARIA Fe Perez-Agudo.

The Kona was also recognized as the best Subcompact SUV for the Money in

2019 by the US News and World Report, which judges vehicles of different classes on their quality and value for money. Finally, the Kona was among six models to earn 2019 Car and Driver Editors’ Choice Awards, which aim to provide car buyers with recommendations on the best vehicle options for each class.

This month, the 2016 model of the Santa Fe was named the most dependable mid-sized SUV by JD Power in its 2019 Vehicle Dependability Study. The study looked into issues owners of 2016 vehicle models experienced over the previous year.

This follows the results of the 2018 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, where the Kona, Santa Fe and Elantra received top marks for safety.

“These awards truly represent what Hyundai is all about. We aim to offer mobility solutions in all classes that boast unparalleled safety and reliability, while also introducing stylish yet affordable options like the Kona and, in 2019, the Reina,� Agudo added. (!2) THE OFkCIAL DISTRIBUTOR OF (YUNdai passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the Philippines, has been HAILED FOUR TIMES AS (YUNDAI !SIA 0ACIkC Distributor of the Year (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2013), and Hyundai Global Distributor of the Year 2010 and 2016. HARI boasts of its 42-strong dealer network, superior after-sales, dealer and customer relations support, and an enviable roster of bestselling commercial and passenger vehicles.

Tuned

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

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Valkyrie supercar gets a hybrid powertrain W

ITH THE kRST !STON -ARTIN 6ALKYRIE prototypes beginning to take shape, now is the time to reveal the full PERFORMANCE kGURES DELIVERED BY !STON -ARTIN Valkyrie’s hybrid powertrain.

The heart of the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s powertrain is its clean sheet Cosworth-built 65-degree naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine. Evoking the spine-tingling, ultra-high-revving F1 enGINES FROM THE S BUT BENEkTTING from two decades of progress in design, material and manufacturing expertise, it sets exceptional new standards for maximum rpm (revolutions per minute) and weight.

With a certified peak power output of 1,000 bhp (or 153.8 bhp per liter) at 10,500 rpm, it can continue on to a maxiMUM RPM 4HIS IS A WORLD kRST FOR A naturally-aspirated, emissions-compliant road car. Peak torque is 740 Nm at 7,000 rpm. The peak outputs are purely delivered by the internal combustion engine, with a further performance boost delivered by the battery hybrid system.

When describing the powertrain of a traditional road car, or even a conventional hybrid road car, it is easy to separate the main components and describe their individual roles. In the Aston Martin Valkyrie, where the design and

engineering of each and every part has been approached with the meticulous ethos of Red Bull Advanced Technologies, out of their Formula One DNA for MAXIMUM EFkCIENCY AND ULTIMATE PERformance, many key components do more than one job.

Using the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s powertrain as an example, both the V12 engine and gearbox casing act as stressed members of the vehicle structure. The latter provides rear suspension mounting points, while also helping provide even greater structural rigidity and eliminating the weight of an additional rear subframe.

The battery pack integrates all relevant sub-systems and serves as the carrier for the vehicle’s power electronics, while in addition to its power boost and energy recovery system functions, the E-Motor aids the mechanical performance of the gearbox. Aston Martin Valkyrie exemplifies intelligent engineering wherever you look.

A KERS-style boost system akin to THOSE kTTED TO & CARS THE !STON -ARTIN

Valkyrie’s hybrid system has been developed by two main technical partners: Integral Powertrain Ltd that supplied the BESPOKE ELECTRIC MOTOR AND 2IMAC FOR the lightweight hybrid battery system.

As a result, the full hybrid system contributes an additional 160 bhp of power and a further 280 Nm of available torque WITH THE CERTIkED MAX POWER OUTPUT OF Aston Martin Valkyrie standing at a stunning 1,160 bhp at 10,500 rpm. Equally, with the full hybrid system, peak torque would stand at 900 Nm at 6,000 rpm.

“Aston Martin Valkyrie is set to be the ultimate hyper car in the automotive WORLD AND THESE PERFORMANCE kGURES underline that statement. Red Bull Advanced Technologies, Cosworth, Rimac and Integral Powertrain Ltd. have been fantastic partners in the development of this powertrain, ensuring that we have

already created a hybrid system that is emissions-compliant and ready to begin kTTING TO OUR kRST PHYSICAL PROTOTYPES u said Aston Martin Vice President and 3PECIAL 6EHICLE /PERATIONS /FkCER $Avid King. “I am, as I’m sure the rest of the world is, incredibly excited to see and hear the kRST OF THESE CARS ON TRACK u HE ADDED Development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie continues under the guidance of Aston Martin Lagonda, Red Bull Advanced Technologies, and project partner AF Racing.

ĹŒÄžĆŒĹľÄ‚ĆŒĹŹÄžĆš

Blade is official partner of top brands ESTABLISHED in 2004, Blade Auto Center is the largest chain of car accessories shops in the country with over 50 stores nationwide. It as has carved a niche in the aftermarket industry with its extensive line of affordable automotive accessories and car care products that ranges from car audio-video down to air fresheners.

As the market leader in its segment, Blade offers globally recognized brands in its retail chain such as Sparco, OMP, Goodyear, Polaroid and Chupa Chups. “The brands we carry are all licensed and Blade is an official distributor of the aforementioned brands.

All branded merchandise that we carry are original and licensed,� explained Albert Go of Blade. “For brands such as Sparco, OMP and Goodyear, Blade caters to the consumer line of automotive products such as air compressors, seat belt pads, and car floor mats.�

Blade is located in all SM, Robinsons and Ayala

MAGNETITE FORGED WHEELS FROM BREYTON THE new Magnetite forged wheel by Breyton is now available in the Philippines. Breyton forged wheels are made from A6061-T6 aerospace grade aluminum material.

These super-light wheels promise a unique

Malls nationwide. Blade Auto Center’s line of car accessories and gadgets are reasonably priced from the company’s high purchase volume. “Savings are passed on to the customers. With our network of 50 locations, Blade is able to negotiate for the lowest cost,� Go added.

experience, providing ideal driving characteristics, lifting the spirits of every technically oriented and ambitious automobilist.

Breyton Wheels are

exclusively distributed by Concept One Wheels. Their showroom is located at 318 Santolan Road, San Juan. Also visit www. conceptonewheels.com or call 0917-880-1111

D 4

TUESDAY

March 12, 2019

Heavy Duty

Latest commercial trucks take center stage in truck show

T

HE Work Truck Show, North America’s largest work truck event, ran from March 5–8 at Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Educational sessions, Green Truck Summit, Fleet Technical Congress and the Manufacturer and Distributor Innovation Conference began on March 5, and the exhibit hall was open from March 6–8.

There’s no better place to see what’s new and what’s coming from the industry’s leading OEMs or original equipment manufacturers. Chevrolet commercial vehicles, Ford commercial vehicles, Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC), Freightliner trucks, Hino trucks, International Truck, Isuzu Commercial Truck of America Inc., Kenworth Truck Co., Mack Trucks Inc., MercedesBenz vans, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Inc., Nissan commercial vehicles, Peterbilt Motors Co., Ram Commercial, Volvo trucks and Western Star trucks gave exhibits at the event, with 15 of them also delivering exclusive chassis update sessions. During each update session, company representatives provided insights into their future plans related to the work truck industry, share technical information on latest chassis SPECIkCATIONS AND DESIGNS AND REVIEW BODY AND equipment installation options.

Ford, FCCC, Freightliner, International, Mack, Mitsubishi Fuso, Nissan and Ram also scheduled press conferences at the show.

To help attendees plan which booths to visit, 90 exhibitors showcased new products online in advance of the event as part of The Work Truck Show’s exclusive New Product Spotlight and Green Product Showcase programs. Offerings ranged from transmissions and suspensions to trucks and bodies. They include a variety of innovative power solutions, cargo management systems, and vocational equipment from snowplows to cranes. If it

Q NISSAN FROM D1

All ‘TERRAin’ driving fun

Terra graciously took all the tight turns, loose mud, water and rocks without even breaking a sweat. It makes the driver and PASSENGERS MORE RELAXED AND CONkDENT

The toys

During the off road section of our Terra experience, the Nissan Intelligent Mobility matter if you are on road or off road, the proved its names sake. Truly intelligent, comfort levels are to the highest standard. when doing off road, and having a perPerformance on road is brought via the sonal spotter with the 360-degree camera 2.5-liter diesel power plant mentioned aiding you in your every move. From the earlier. Terra is quick to pick up speed dash, the Nissan Intelligent Mobility also during passing maneuvers or just brisk shows you an off road mode, which details driving. Paired with that power plant is the vehicles pitch and roll, along with the a 7-speed automatic gearbox with a shift power delivery to all four wheels. gate. Consumption during my shift to In addition to smart tech in the drive roughly produced 12-13 kilometers Terra, Nissan Philippines equipped it per liter, but may perhaps perform better with the latest Blaupunkt Palm Springs during longer and more consistent stints. 800 touchscreen display. This 2-DIN Having a conversation with one of the or- Car Radio sits right in the center of the ganizers, having driven the vehicles from dash, and helps your command the Manila to Legazpi, the Terra used only a WHOLE VEHICLE WITH A TOUCH OF A kNGER fourth of the tank. I didn’t even require on the seven-inch display. Running on him to stop once. an android system, it’s as easy as using The second day in the City of Fun and a tablet, making paring devices and Adventure lived up to its monicker, be- playing media a hassle free experience. cause we went off road. The Nissan Terra, Run Apple Car Play or Android Auto which was assigned for your use the day functions to operate vehicle assist apps. before, did not magically transform into a Connect via Bluetooth, USB, AUX or hardcore off roader, nor did Nissan Phil- I0OD AND kLL THE CABIN WITH MUSIC VIA ITS ippines install upgraded equipment. All six-speaker system. The Blaupunkts Palm IT TOOK WAS A TWIST OF THE SHIFT ON THE lY Springs 800 also has multiple format four-wheel drive, and we were off to the PLAYBACK WITH A lIP DOWN SCREEN MIRsurrounding areas of Mount Mayon. The roring on the VE and VL models.

All in all The Nissan Terra, which is the supposed “Game Changer,� lives up to its moniker.

The combination of comfort, simplicity and technology is perfect for those who need a family vehicle, but isn’t a fan of the previous offerings. Yes, it may lack little

goes in or on a vocational truck — or helps AN UPkTTER INSTALL EQUIPMENT ‡ YOU CAN kND it at the show.

4HE ONLINE lOORPLAN AT WORKTRUCKSHOW COM lOORPLAN ALSO PROVIDED A VENUE FOR FEAtured exhibitors to show their products. “Every year at The Work Truck Show, the industry’s leading manufacturers of vocational vehicles, components and equipment converge on Indianapolis to showcase their newest products and share what’s coming next,� said Steve #AREY .4%! PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFkCER “With all the major players here, The Work Truck Show is the best place to take the pulse OF THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE COMMUNITY AND kND the equipment and education you need to continue to improve your operations,� he added.

Show attendees also had the opportunity to CHECK OUT PRODUCTS FROM kRST TIME EXHIBItors in a special New Exhibitor Pavilion that opened an hour before the exhibit hall on March 6-7. It was located across from the Hall I exhibit hall entrance.

4HE 7ORK 4RUCK 3HOW MAIN EXHIBIT lOOR covered more than 500,000 square feet. This included a variety of innovative power solutions, cargo management systems. Anyone who works with commercial vehicles, includING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRUCK lEET OPERATORS

manufacturers, dealers and equipment disTRIBUTORS WERE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO kND SOLUtions to their business challenges at the Show.

bits like a power tailgate, but instead you get these trick power folding rear seats, which tumble by a press of a button. In addition to that, you have the Nissan Intelligent Mobility system, and a plethora of family friendly features from storage bins to power outlets. If you’re used to the

handling and the driving feel of a sedan, but need seven seats and the height of an SUV, this should be a vehicle for your consideration. Perfect for the road and where ever your family adventures take you, let the Nissan Terra prove to you that they put the “Terra� in All TERRAin.

Sports

TUESDAY E1

MARCH 12, 2019

Suns shock Warriors, Lowry shines for Raptors L OS ANGELES: Phoenix guard Devin Booker scored 37 points as the Suns snapped an 18-game losing streak to the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors with a 115-111 victory on Sunday (Monday in Manila).

Q Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (No. 7) shoots over Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Miami. AP PHOTO

'OLDEN 3TATE HAD NO ANSWER FOR "OOKER S LATE CHARGE AS THE !MERICAN SCORED CONSECUTIVE POINTS DURING A KEY FOURTH QUARTER STRETCH FOR THE 3UNS 4HE WIN ENDED THE LEAGUE S LONGEST ACTIVE LOSING STREAK TO ONE TEAM WHICH DATED BACK TO .OVEMBER )T WAS ALSO THE kRST ROAD VICTORY FOR THE 3UNS IN GAMES AGAINST A 7ESTERN #ONFERENCE OPPONENT g7E ARE GETTING CHALLENGED WE ARE GETTING TEAMS BEST SHOTS u SAID 7AR RIORS SUPERSTAR 3TEPHEN #URRY +EVIN $URANT HAD POINTS FOR THE MISTAKE PRONE 7ARRIORS BEFORE LEAVING WITH A BRUISED RIGHT ANKLE MIDWAY THROUGH THE FOURTH QUARTER 'OLDEN 3TATE COACH 3TEVE +ERR SAID AFTER THE GAME THAT THE INJURY DID NOT SEEM SERIOUS AND THAT AN -2) WOULD LIKELY NOT BE NEEDED g) THINK HE S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT u +ERR SAID g(E HAD AN ANKLE CONTUSION BUT ) DON T THINK IT S BAD u "OOKER MADE ALL NINE OF HIS FREE THROWS AND HAD ASSISTS WHILE +ELLY /UBRE SCORED POINTS FOR THE 3UNS WHO WON THEIR FOURTH GAME IN THE LAST kVE

Arwind, LA reach another milestone in pro-career LAST Sunday night, sister teams San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra made their moves to fortify their bid for a seat in the quarterfinal round of the on-going PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

It was, too, one memorable evening for Beerman Arwind Santos and Gin King LA Tenorio, who both achieved another milestones in their storied pro-career that made them head and shoulder above their equals. Â Santos, drafted by Air 21 in the 2006 season, became

the eighth player in league’s 44-year history to block 800 enemy shots in that nine year-stretch to, likewise, emerge as the first among active players to have done so.

Tenorio, on the other hand, played his 596 consecutive games since picked up by the San Miguel Beer franchise, also in 2006, tying the same number of appearances of Alvin Patrimonio in a 17-year playing career with Purefoods until his retirement in 2005.

The now Gin Kings playmaker and scorer stands to break “The Captain’s� record kin Ginebra’s next outing on

March 20 against another sister club Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, following the Kings� 100-97 conquering of Phoenix Pulse lonk the same evening.

Santos, the league’s MVP in 2013, stopped NorthPort rookie Robert Bolick’s drive somewhere in the third quarter in the Beermen’s 113-107 win that allowed him to join an elite group PBA big men in the pro-league’s best defender Santos complemented June Mar Fajardo’s monster game of 40 points and 19 rebounds with another brilliant display of de-

fensive game in the Beermen’s victory over NorthPort Batang Pier that Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The pride of Lubao town in Pampanga, thus, joined slotmen Ramon Fernandez, Philip Cezar, Abet Guidaben, Manny Victorino, Benjie Paras, Jerry Codinera, and Marlou Aquino, all retired in that elite list of able defenders.

Despite achieving he milestone, Santos believes SMB has turned corner from a 0-3start of the season to this present four-game winning run and his feat only serves as a bonus.

"OOKER HIT A JUMP SHOT WITH kVE MINUTES TO GO IN THE FOURTH AND THEN DRAINED A THREE POINTER TO MAKE IT WITH REMAINING +LAY 4HOMPSON S TWO FREE THROWS WITH SECONDS TO GO BROUGHT THE 7ARRIORS WITHIN THREE !NDRE )GUODALA GRABBED A REBOUND AFTER TWO MISSED 3UNS SHOTS BUT #URRY MISSED ON A THREE WITH SECONDS LEFT "OOKER THEN CONVERTED TWO FREE THROWS #URRY kNISHED WITH POINTS ON SIX OF SHOOTING AND 4HOMPSON WENT OF TO kNISH WITH POINTS /VERALL THE 7ARRIORS WENT A LOWLY OF FROM BEYOND THE ARC 4HOMPSON CALLED THE GAME THE gWORST LOSS OF THE SEASONu AND CRITICIZED THE 7ARRIORS FANS

SAYING THEY ARE NOT CHEERING HARD ENOUGH

Raptors rout Heat %LSEWHERE +YLE ,OWRY kNISHED WITH POINTS AND ASSISTS AS THE 4ORONTO 2APTORS SNAPPED THE -IAMI (EAT S WIN STREAK AT FOUR GAMES WITH A BLOWOUT VICTORY ,OWRY DRAINED SIX THREE POINTERS AND 0AS CAL 3IAKAM ADDED POINTS FOR THE 2APTORS

WHO HAVE SWEPT ALL THREE MEETINGS WITH THE (EAT THIS SEASON 2APTORS STAR +AWHI ,EONARD DID NOT PLAY THE TEAM DID NOT GIVE A SPECIkC REASON BUT HE IS NOT BELIEVED TO BE HURT -EANWHILE *OEL %MBIID SCORED POINTS IN HIS kRST GAME BACK AFTER MISSING EIGHT WITH A SORE KNEE AS THE 0HILADELPHIA ERS BEAT THE )NDIANA 0ACERS

AFP

“Siyempre kapag kailangan ng stops, kailangan ding manalo.

Nakaka-block ka nga ng shots, natatalo naman ang team.

Mas maganda nga ang nangyari na nanalo kami,�he asserted, The former Far Eastern University King Tamaraw epressed belief he can still reach the 900-block plateau within the next three seasons.

Like Santos, Tenorio looks forward to breaking Patrimonio’s record and crown himself the league’s new “Iron Man.� “All the hard work, the discipline, all the sacrifices nagbubunga. Siyempre sana ‘di lamang dito matapos ito,� Tenorio said. “It doesn’t matter ilan na as long as I can play, I’ll play.�

EDDIE G. ALINEA

E2

Sports

The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

PSL’s Mojdeh, Basa claim 10 golds in Beijing P HILIPPINE Swimming League (PSL) tankers Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh and Julia Basa sizzled with 10 gold medals in the 2019 Beijing All-Star Swimming Championship held at the state-of-theart Water Cube National Aquatics Pool in Beijing, China.

An Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Paranaque standout, the 12-year-old Mojdeh pocketed gold medals in the eight events including seven new meet records in the girls’ 11-12 division.

She notched new marks in the METER BUTTERlY M )NDIVIDUAL -EDLEY M BREASTSTROKE M BUTTERlY

M )NDIVIDUAL -EDLEY

M BUTTERlY AND M BREASTSTROKE Mojdeh completed a sweep of all of her eight events by topping THE M BREASTSTROKE IN g7HEN WE kRST CAME TO "EIJING last year for a quick tour I was teasing her playfully that may the force OF -ICHAEL 0HELPS "EIJING VERSION be blessed upon her as she visited the historic Water cube here,�

said Joan Mojdeh, mother of the reigning Palarong Pambansa most bemedalled athlete. “After a year, I never even THOUGHT OF HER COMPETING IN "EIJING AND SWEEPING GOLD MEDALS AND BREAKING RECORDS CARVING HER NAME IN THE WALLS OF )3" )T may not be the Olympics but it is very reminiscent of how Phelps WON EIGHT GOLDS IN "EIJING Olympics,� added Joan.

"ASA ALSO MADE HER PRESENCE FELT by contributing two gold and three silver medals in the tournament THAT DREW MORE THAN TANKERS from different countries including host China and powerhouse Japan and South Korea.

"ASA NOTCHED NEW RECORD IN THE 200m backstroke after submitting

She earned another gold in the MIXED M FREESTYLE then placed second in the 200m FREESTYLE M BACKSTROKE AND M BACKSTROKE -OJDEH AND "ASA ARE BOTH PRODUCTS of the Susan Papa Swim Academy handled by veteran mentors Alexandre Papa and Marlon Dula under the supervision of multi-title swimmer and PSL president Susan Papa. “It was a fantastic campaign.

Once again, we proved to the world that we could compete against some of the world’s best swimmers. I am proud of these young kids who are both products of our PSL grassroots development program,� said Papa.

EMIL C. NOGUERA

San Sebastian blasts NU, keeps lead in D-League

Q Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh and Julia Basa show their medals during the awarding ceremonies of the 2019 Beijing All-Star Swimming Championship. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Cocolife Tigers top MPBL south elims DAVAO Occidental O id t l CCocolife lif Ti Tigers finished the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Datu Cup South Division elimination round on a bright note, ripping Muntinlupa Cagers in their own turf, 88-82, at the Muntinlupa Sports Complex in Muntinlupa City.

Game’s best player slotman Mark Yee put up another sterling double-double performance by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Philippine Basketball Association veteran Leo Najorda and Bonbon Cutodio also provided the spark offensively to take control of the game in the early goings enroute to a convincing victory for the Tigers owned by Claudine Bautista of DavOcc LGU backed by Cocolife president

Elmo FVP Joseph El Nobleza, N bl J h RonR quillo and AVP Rowena Asnan.

Homegrown Emman Calo and Louie Medalla ably filled the shoes left by court general Custodio who was ejected early in the fourth while bigman Bogs Raymundo manned the paint area effectively preventing an uprising from Munti Cagers led by Dave Moralde and Allen Mangahas.  The victory sealed Davao’s top spot with 20-5 card going to the playoff stage. The Cagers’ setback tied up with two other teams but by virtue of higher quotient, Batangas grabbed second spot while General Santos landed to fourth spot in the said division of the league organized by Sen. Manny Pacquiao.

RIDING on RK Ilagan’s stellar game, Valencia City Bukidnon-San Sebastian College smothered SMDC-National University (NU), 82-73, to solidify its grip of the group lead in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League) on Monday at the Paco Arena in Manila. Pint-sized hotshot Ilagan poured 21 of his 30 points in the second half, helping the Golden Harvest stay atop the Foundation Group with three wins in as many outings.Â

“You cannot ask for more (from Ilagan).

Even though he’s very tired, his effort was still there,� said Valencia City-San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya. Macaraya also lauded the entire team for showing solid composure down the stretch. “Right now, everybody wants to win.

I guess the character is already there,� he added. Ilagan knocked down six triples to power the Golden Harvest’s fiery shooting from beyond the arc against the

Bulldogs, 15-5. Allyn Bulanadi added 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists while seven other Baste cagers chipped in at least two markers. Valencia-San Sebastian pulled away from a tight game as Ilagan and Bulanadi sparked a searing 17-5 run for a commanding 36-20 lead in the second quarter. The Golden Harvest widened the gap to 43-22 on JM Calma’s layup but the Bulldogs threatened within 46-55 on Robert Minerva’s free throws late in the third frame.Â

Ilagan drained three triples to ignite a 12-4 blast that restored a 19-point advantage, 76-57, with 6:03 left in the game as San Sebastian kept SMDC-NU at bay from then on. Shaun Ildefonso led the Bulldogs with 21 points, six assists and four rebounds even as John Lloyd Clemente had a double-double of 19 markers and 12 boards. SMDC-NU’s woes continued as it remained winless in three games.  JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA

Albo bags two crowns in Prima badminton *%7%, !.'%,/ !,"/ pocketed two boys’ singles titles after beating separate opponents in the 12th Prima 0ASTA "ADMINTON #HAMPIonships at the Powersmash badminton courts in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. !LBO

OUTPLAYED ,YRDEN ,ABORTE

TO BAG THE BOYS UNDER CROWN and then defeated Francis 3ARMIENTO

FOR THE BOYS UNDER CROWN OF the tournament supported by the Smart Communications through MVP Sports Foundation and Apacs Makati.

Mikaela Joy Miranda De Guzman beat Jochelle Alvarez,

FOR THE GIRLS 5NDER TITLE WHILE !NTHEA -ARIE Gonzalez outplayed Viana -ERYL !NTONIO

FOR THE GIRLS 5 CROWN AND -ARK !NTHONY "ERNAL BESTED *OHN (ERBERT 0ERALTA

FOR BOYS 5 PLUM Niesha Mayce Matias De Guzman rallied past Kahrene :APANTA

TO BAG THE GIRLS 5 CROWN Jamal Rahmat Pandi blasted Chris Lorenz Manuel, 21-11

TO COP THE BOYS 5 division title and Mary DesTINY 5NTAL TROUNCED &RENTE -ACALIB OG

TO WIN THE GIRLS 5 TITLE 2YAN !LMARIO "ERNAL whipped Neil Angelo Yasa, 21

TO TAKE HOME THE BOYS 5 DIADEM AND *HIANE #LOE Sabarillo walloped Frances 'ABRIELLE 2AMIREZ

TO WIN THE GIRLS 5 CROWN %ARLIER MEN S open champion Malaysian Shahrul Shazwan defeated national player Ross Leenard Pedrosa,

IN THE kNALE TO

claim the men’s open singles crown while Maria Alyssa Roxas blanked Janelle Anne !NDRES

TO win the women’s open singles title.

The tournament was BACKED BY "OYSEN 0AINTS

Morning Star Milling CorPORATION -ABZ "UILDers, ILO Construction, Monocrete Construction, Pioneer Insurance, Promax International, Regent FoodsCorp.,RFM Corp, GardeniaandDel Monte Phils.

Q Jewel Angelo Albo CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

FOTON TO FIELD NEW IMPORT VS PETRON Q Milagros Collar of Spain (right) goes for a crosscourt hit during a Volleyball European Championship game in Italy. Collar will serve as Foton’s new import.

AFP FILE PHOTO

FOTON parades a pair of key additions when it battles reigning champion Petron in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Tornadoes will be bringing in a new import in Milagros Collar of Spain and the returning Dindin Manabat in their 4:15 p.m. battle with the Blaze Spikers.

Meanwhile, Generika-Ayala seeks to resume its winning ways when it clashes with PLDT at 2 p.m. while Cignal and Sta. Lucia collide in the 7 p.m. nightcap.

Still, all eyes will be on Foton.

After opening the season with a

rousing four-set win over United VC, the Tornadoes struggled, losing their next six matches to finish the first round at the bottom of the heap.

With that, the Tornadoes decided to tap Collar to replace the ineffective Selime Ilyasoglu of Turkey while bringing back Dindin Santiago, who spend several months competing as import for Toray Arrows in the prestigious V.Premier League in Japan.

Collar is coming in with sterling credentials.

A 15-year veteran for the Spanish national team, Collar saw action in vari-

ous club leagues in Spain, Italy, France and Romania. Her previous stint was for Hyundai E&C Hilstate in the Korean League, where she erupted for 36 points.

Also tipped to help the Tornadoes is Manabat.

Santiago said the 6-foot-2 middle blocker is in great shape and had already rejoined their training since arriving last Friday.

Aside from Collar and Santiago, also carrying the cudgels for Petron are import Courtney Felinski, Shaya Adorador, Maika Ortiz, Gyselle Sy, Ivy Perez and Elaine Kasilag.

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

Sports

E3

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IAMI: Italy’s Francesco Molinari unleashed the greatest putting performance of his career on Sunday (Monday in Manila), kRING A kNAL ROUND EIGHT UNDER PAR TO WIN THE 53 0'! !RNOLD 0ALMER )NVITATIONAL BY TWO STROKES The 36-year-old from Turin, who took an extended rest after a career-best 2018 campaign, sank every putt from inside 15 feet to CHARGE FROM kVE SHOTS BACK AND kNISH ON UNDER PAR WITH A BOGEY FREE kNAL ROUND AT "AY (ILL in Orlando, Florida. “Incredible,� Molinari said. “It’s high up there with the best wins I’ve had.�

An 18th-hole birdie from 43 feet closed out what reigning British Open champion Molinari called “probably my best putting round ever,� a claim supported by his 164.5 feet of putts made Sunday, the most by him in

any US PGA round.

Molinari, Europe’s hero in last year’s Ryder Cup victory over the United States in France, sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, made another birdie from 44 feet at the par-4 eighth, dropped yet another from 18 feet at the 13th and two-putted from 20 feet to birdie the par-5 16th. “I could have done a lot more than that to be honest,� Molinari said. “It was really amazing to see.�

England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 54-hole leader by a stroke over 2ORY -C)LROY kRED A TO SETTLE FOR SECOND ON WITH 3OUTH +OREA S

Im Sung-jae, England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Spain’s Rafa CaBRERA "ELLO SHARING THIRD ON Im took one of three available spots for the British Open to those not yet qualified with THE OTHERS GOING TO 3OUTH +OREAN +ANG 3UNG AND !MERICAN +EITH -ITCHELL WHO SHARED sixth on 280 with Northern Ireland’s McIlroy and England’s Matt Wallace.

For McIlroy, it marked the seventh time in the last 12 months THAT HE PLAYED IN THE kNAL GROUP on the last day without a victory to show for it.

-OLINARI kNISHED MINUTES

Q Francesco Molinari of Italy plays his shot from the 18th tee during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard at the Bay Hill Club on in Orlando, Florida. AFP PHOTO

ahead of the final group, then watched the last 10 pairings reach the clubhouse trying in vain to match his magical run to a third win in his past 12 US PGA starts -- this event named for one of Molinari’s sporting idols. “I’m just super glad,� Molinari said. “It’s great to get it done here at Arnie’s place, knowing my wife and kids are watching back home. “It’s a special, special one. Arnie was a special player but also a special person and a global icon. He and Jack (Nicklaus) were up there with the gods.�

Molinari said he didn’t approach the final round with any special ideas of clawing his way back, instead seeking opportunities as they came along. “No game plan really, just trying to hit good shots and give myself chances,� Molinarisaid. “I saw the course GOT kRM AND FAST u AFP

LPGT Southwoods unwraps today COMING off a punishing stint at The Country Club, the ladies of the Philippine Golf Tour take on a less-demanding but equally challenging Legends layout as they slug it out in the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Ladies Championship beginning today in Carmona, Cavite.

While the heat and the wind will remain a factor, the water hazards and other risks present in the TCC Ladies Invitational are not too much of a concern for the 54-player field this week although they will have to deal with the bunkers that littered on the 6437-yard Jack Nicklaus designed course.

But all have expressed confidence and strong chances for the coveted crown in the P1.5 million tournament serving as the sixth leg of the 201819 LPGT following their campaign in the TCC Ladies ruled by world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park of Korea. “I have a great experience last week and now I’m confident with my game,� said Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, spearhead of a crack Thailand side out to reassert its might in the circuit put up by ICTSI. The Thais won five of the 11 titles disputed last year with Kawinpakorn winning at Beverly Place and Summit Point. The veteran campaigner also topped the Pradera Verde stop of the new season last December though she struggled with new irons and limped at joint 32nd in the TCC Ladies. “I’m still trying to make some adjustments with my irons and I got my new coach. But I think I have strong chances

(of winning) with the course in great shape and I can play relaxed compared to last week where there were lots of consideration like wind and water,� added Kawinpakorn, who drew local ace Pauline del Rosario and Korean rising star Hwang Min Jeong in the featured flight at 7:20 a.m. on No. 1.

Superal, who had the rare chance of playing alongside Park in the championship flight before ending up fourth, hopes to put in harness the lessons she learned from the world’s best, particularly in handling oneself in pressure-packed situations.

Del Rosario, who racked up four victories in her rookie LPGT year to emerge the top player in 2017, also expects a strong showing, hinting at putting as the key to victory in this week’s event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Like Kawinpakorn, Superal and Del Rosario, Hwang, who reigned at Splendido last January, is also tipped to contend for the crown along with Lee Jeong Hwa, who won the Philippine Ladies Amateur here at Southwoods and hacked out a pair of victories in the inaugural season of the ICTSI Champion Tour in 2016, and Thais Tiranan Yoopan, Narisara Kerdrit, Saraporn Chamchoi and Piyathida Chaiyapan in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and M.Y. Shokai Technology, Inc.

Bullpups all set to defend NBTC crown NAZARETH School of National University (NSNU) will defend its title against 31 other premier high school teams in the 2019 Chooks to Go-SM-National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) League National Finals on March 18 to 24 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champions Bullpups will try to retain their NBTC crown against rival Ateneo De Manila High School, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) powerhouses Malayan High School and La Salle Greenhills and Metro Manila Basketball League (MMBL) heavyweights San Beda University and Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

Also vying for the 12th NBTC championship are six international teams in Fil-Am Sports USA led by US class of 2020 top recruit Jalen Green, Durham Crossover Canada, Auspinoy Australia, Camp David New Zealand, Team Italy Europe Basketball and Top Flight Hoops Vancouver.

Rounding out the stacked pool of participants are 16 regional champions and two wildcard teams.

“Being part of the NBTC is already a big honor for us. Whatever challenge comes to us, we’ll be ready to face it,� said NSNU head coach Goldwin Monteverde.

Featuring a win-or-go home format, the tournament will start with a seeding round on March 18, followed by the first round (March 19), Supreme 16 (March 20), Fantastic 8 (March 21) and the Fearless 4 (March 22).

An All-Star Game will take place on March 23 before the National Finals on March 24.

NBTC founder and program director Eric Altamirano was elated to see the program expand and develop high school standouts. “We’ve come a long way—from a coaching clinic, to a regional competition, to a national tournament with international teams,� said Altamirano.

Altamirano announced that one-time NBA champion Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest) will serve as one of the coaches in the All-Star Game.

The veteran mentor drew praise from basketball patron and Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. president Ronald MascariĂąas for his NBTC program.

JEREMIAH M. SEVILLAÂ

Illness ends Serena’s Indian Wells bid INDIAN WELLS: SerenaWilliams’s first tournament since the Australian Open came to an abrupt end on Sunday (Monday in Manila) as the ailing 23-time Grand Slam champion retired from her third-round WTA match against Garbine Muguruza at Indian Wells.

Muguruza was leading 6-3, 1-0 when Williams called it a day in the battle of former world number ones because of a viral illness. “Before the match, I did not feel great, and then it just got worse with every second; extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue,�

Williams said in comments released via tournament organizers.

The 10th-seeded American, continuing to work her way back up the rankings in the wake of time off to have a baby, had made a strong start, winning the first three games.

But she called for the

Q Serena Williams AFP PHOTO

trainer after dropping six straight.

After a long talk with medical personnel Williams took the court for the second set, but after Muguruza held serve at love Williams called a halt. “By the score, it might have looked like I started well, but I was not feeling at all well physically,�

Williams said. “I will focus on getting better and start preparing for Miami.�

It was the sixth meeting between Muguruza and Williams, all five prior coming in Grand Slams.

The last two of those were in finals, with Williams beating the Spaniard for the Wimbledon title in 2015 and Muguruza taking the 2016 French Open crown.

It was a tough draw for Williams, who defeated former world number one Victoria Azarenka in her second-round opener.

Muguruza was sorry to see it end the way it did. “We’ve played many times and it’s always supertough, super-exciting,�

Muguruza said. “I wish I’m going to see her soon and feeling better,� added the Spaniard, who advanced to a fourth-round clash with seventh-seeded Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, a 7-6 (12/10), 6-4 winner over Britain’s Johanna Konta.

AFP

Davao Marathon features Taiwanese innovation THE recently held 2019 Davao International Marathon featured Taiwanese innovation through the Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone for Dabawenyos to see how Taiwan Excellence products can enrich their lives.

With efforts previously focused in Manila, Taiwan Excellence is extending its ceaseless innovation to a broader Filipino audience. “For the past six years, we have built a strong and loyal following in Manila. During this time, we received an outpouring of support for our brands,� says Tony Lin, TAITRA Deputy Director of the Strategic Marketing Department. “This is why we have decided to broaden our reach this year and introduce much-needed innovation to more people.�

More than 30 topnotch products from cutting-edge brands joined the Taiwan Excellence Experience Zone including the gaming beast of ASUS ROG STRIX GL504 SCAR II; COMEUP’s Intelligence Dashboard Automotive Winch; bicycle company TERN’s FOLD UP BIKE ,INK ! &ITNESS company JOHNSON also showcased the Horizon Citta Upright

Q Participants line-up at the starting line at the start of Davao International Marathon in Davao City. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Bike as the integral element of their display.

Aside from tech products, several lifestyle brands will also be at the booth. This includes ALYA’s LINE OF SMART AND PORTABLE kLTRAtion systems, and DEYA’s quality backpacks made from recycled

ocean waste.

Lucky attendees and participants in the 3k at 5k marathon brought home the much coveted Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2.

Other events lined up for Taiwan Excellence include the Taiwan Excellence 3-on-3 Hoop Chal-

lenge, the E-sports Cup in Manila, the Internet-of-Things Business Platform, and the Taiwan Expo in Davao.

For more information about Taiwan Excellence, kindly visit their website at www.taiwanexcellence.org/ph.

E4

Football

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

The Manila Times

w w w. m a n i l a t i m e s. n e t

Ronaldo carries Juve hopes against Atletico T

URIN, Italy:- Juventus’s Champions League hopes are hanging on Cristiano Ronaldo pulling off another sensational comeback as the Italians trail 2-0 to defensive specialists Atletico Madrid going into the last 16, second-leg tie in Turin. “We didn’t expect TO LOSE THE kRST LEG BUT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AND WE WANT TO GIVE A GREAT RESPONSE IN OUR HOME IN FRONT OF OUR FANS u 2ONALDO TOLD *UVENTUS 46 AHEAD OF THE GAME IN THE !LLIANZ 3TADIUM g4HESE ARE THE GREAT NIGHTS THE FAN TASTIC ONES THE #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE NIGHTS u HE CONTINUED g4HE TEAM IS CONFIDENT OF PLAY ING A GREAT GAME AND ) AM TOO 4O THE FANS ) SAY THINK POSITIVE

LET S BELIEVE g'ET READY TO COME BACKĂœu 4HE SEVEN TIME REIGNING )TALIAN CHAMPIONS BOUGHT 2ONALDO LAST SUMMER FROM 2EAL -ADRID FOR MILLION EUROS MILLION TO END THEIR #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE HEARTBREAK GOING BACK YEARS 4HE YEAR OLD S STUNNING OVERHEAD KICK FOR 2EAL IN THE QUARTERkNALS IN 4URIN LAST !PRIL HAD DUMPED *U VENTUS OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT ONCE AGAIN %XPECTATIONS ARE HIGH THAT HE CAN REPRODUCE HIS IMPROBABLE HAT TRICK WHICH LIFTED 2EAL -A DRID PAST 7OLFSBURG IN !PRIL WITH THE 3PAN IARDS DOWN TO THE 'ERMANS AFTER THE kRST LEG

*UVENTUS HAVE COME FROM BEHIND IN THE ELITE %UROPEAN COMPETITION EIGHT TIMES INCLUDING IN THE QUARTERkNALS AGAINST 2EAL -ADRID ON THEIR WAY TO WINNING THE TITLE 4HEY ALSO LIFTED THE %UROPEAN TROPHY IN BUT HAVE kNISHED RUNNERS UP kVE TIMES SINCE THEIR LAST SUCCESS

INCLUDING TWICE IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS

Years of disappointments g#2 IS HERE FOR THAT u WROTE )TALIAN SPORTS DAILY #ORRIERE DELLO 3PORT OF gA GAME #RISTIANO CANNOT GET WRONG u g(E WASN T SIGNED TO WIN THE 3CUDETTO OR TO BOOST MERCHANDIS ING *UVE ARE WAITING TO END YEARS OF DISAPPOINTMENTS u 2ONALDO WON kVE #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE TITLES WITH -ANCHESTER 5NITED AND 2EAL -ADRID AND HAS SCORED A RECORD GOALS OF WHICH HAVE PROVED DECISIVE

4HE TOP SCORER IN THE #HAMPI ONS ,EAGUE FOR THE LAST SIX SEASONS

HE HAS HOWEVER SCORED JUST ONCE IN THIS YEAR S COMPETITION DELIVERING A PERFORMANCE FAR BELOW EXPECTA TIONS IN -ADRID 3INCE THE -ADRID GAME HE HAS NOT SCORED IN THE LEAGUE AND HAS BEEN OVERTAKEN AS THE TOP 3ERIE ! SCORER BY 3AMPDORIA S &ABIO 1UAGLIARELLA WHO HAS GOALS TO 2ONALDO S 4HE PROBLEM FOR *UVENTUS IS THEY NEED TO SCORE AT LEAST TWICE AGAINST A TEAM THAT SPECIALIZES IN DEFENSE $IEGO 3IMEONE S !TLETICO SECOND IN ,A ,IGA HAVE NOT CONCEDED A GOAL FOR kVE GAMES g%VERYONE KNOWS THAT THEY ARE A STRONG TEAM THEY DEFEND VERY WELL

THEY DON T TAKE A LOT OF RISKS AND THEY PLAY ON THE COUNTER ATTACK BUT WE ARE READY AND WE WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BEAT THEM u SAID 2ONALDO WHO HAS SCORED GOALS AGAINST !TLETICO AFP

CERES TAKES ON BECAMEX IN AFC CUP CCERES E RES N Negros FC seeks k to t stretch its group lead when it duels Becamex Binh Duong FC in the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup tonight at the Go Dau Stadium in Thu Dao Mot, Vietnam. The two-time Philippine champion club kicked off its campaign with a narrow 3-2 win over Shan United FC of Myanmar last February 26 at the Panaad Park

andd St Stadium di iin BBacolod l d Cit City. Leading Group G with three points, Ceres Negros will gun for a second victory against Vietnamese titlist Becamex Binh Duong at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. in Manila). But the Yellow Busmen’s captain Martin Steuble said it would be a tough match. “I expect a tough opponent. It’s not gonna be an easy game but I think we will prepare well and I hope we can get a good result,� he said. The Philippine Azkals defender also

said id th thatt th the Ri Risto t Vidakovic-coached Vid k i h d booters are keen on avoiding the same mistakes they did in the previous match, wherein they conceded two late goals. “We analyzed the game and saw the mistakes we made. Our coach showed us what to do. Day in and day out, we’re working on it and we try to avoid doing the same mistakes moving forward.â€? Ceres will bank on local forward OJ Porteria and Spanish striker Bienvenido MaraĂąon to lead the attack. Porteria

struck t k a brace b while hil MaraĂąon M Ăą scoredd th the other goal in the last win. On the other side, Becamex will shoot for its first win in Asia’s secondary club tourney after settling for a goalless draw with Persija Jakarta of Indonesia also two weeks ago. The host will rely on Brazilian midfielder Wander Luiz, American forward Victor Mansaray and local stalwarts Nguyen Anh Duc, To Van Vu and Din Hoang Max. JEREMIAH M. SEVILLAÂ

Q Cristiano Ronaldo

AFP PHOTO

FIFA urged to probe Qatar World Cup allegations LONDON: FIFA has been urged to launch an investigation amid claims world football’s governing body was offered a secret television deal by Qatar’s state-run broadcaster AlJazeera just three weeks before it awarded the 2022 World Cup to the Gulf state.

Documents published by The Sunday Times appear to show that executives from Al Jazeera signed the television contract as the bidding campaigns to host the World Cup came to a close.

The alleged contract included a fee of $100 million (£77 million) that would be paid into a designated FIFA account if Qatar was successful in the World Cup ballot in 2010.

In December that year, Qatar surprisingly beat rival bids from the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan to host the tournament.

Al Jazeera was owned and controlled by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who was the driving force behind the bid.

The Sunday Times also alleges that a further $480 million was offered by Qatar three years later.

Damien Collins, who is the chairman of the British government’s digital, culture, media and sport committee, called on FIFA to freeze the payments from Al Jazeera and launch an investigation into the apparent contract that “appears to be in clear breach of the rules�.

In an email response to questions from the Sunday Times on Friday, FIFA wrote that “allegations linked to the FIFA World Cup 2022 bid have already been extensively commented by FIFA, who in June 2017 published the Garcia report in full on FIFA.com. “Furthermore, please note that FIFA lodged a criminal complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, which is still pending. FIFA is and will continue to cooperate with the authorities.�

The allegations were first made in a book by a whistleblower from inside Australia’s failed 2022 bid, Bonita Mersiades, in January.

Mersiades’s book claimed FIFA executives were concerned that Qatar winning the World Cup bid would leave a financial shortfall for the governing body in 2022.

However Al-Jazeera, which is now beIN Sports, allegedly agreed the secret contract if Qatar won the vote.

The bonus was agreed, the book alleges, with the involvement and knowledge of then FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, who was later banned for nine years from football for corruption.

AFP

Relief for Solari as Madrid battles back to beat Valladolid VALLADOLID, Spain: 2EAL -ADRID S LOSING RUN IS OVER BUT A CHAOTIC VICTORY OVER STRUGGLING 2EAL 6ALLADOLID ON 3UNDAY -ONDAY IN -ANILA MAY STILL NOT KEEP 3ANTIAGO 3OLARI IN HIS JOB +ARIM "ENZEMA SCORED TWICE INCLUDING ONE FROM THE PENALTY SPOT BETWEEN STRIKES FROM 2APHAEL 6ARANE AND ,UKA -ODRIC AS -ADRID CAME FROM BEHIND AT THE *OSE :ORRILLA 3TADI UM AFTER !NUAR

Q Santiago Solari

AFP PHOTO

4 U H A M I H A D G I V E N 6A L L A D O L I D A DESERVED FIRST HALF LEAD 4HEY COULD HAVE BEEN FOUR UP HAD 6!2 NOT TWICE CANCELLED OUT GOALS FROM 3ERGI 'UARDIOLA WHO LATER ALSO HIT THE POST WHILE 2UBEN !LCARAZ BLASTED AN EARLY PENALTY HIGH AND OVER THE CROSSBAR )T WAS A FRANTIC OPENING HALF AN HOUR TO A FRENZIED NIGHT WHICH BEGAN WITH THE LIGHTS GO ING OUT AFTER A POWER FAILURE BEFORE KICK OFF AND

ENDED WITH #ASEMIRO BEING SENT OFF ONLY FOR -ODRIC TO ADD -ADRID S FOURTH 2EAL STAY THIRD IN ,A ,IGA POINTS ADRIFT OF "ARCELONA AND kVE BEHIND !TLETICO 6ALLADOLID WERE THE OPPONENTS FOR 3O LARI S FIRST LEAGUE GAME IN CHARGE BACK IN .OVEMBER WHEN ANOTHER RATHER FLATTERING VICTORY SET THE TEAM OFF ON A RUN OF EIGHT WINS FROM NINE GAMES "UT THREE CONSECUTIVE DEFEATS AT HOME TO "ARCELONA TWICE AND !JAX IN THE #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE MEANT ANY SENSE OF SUCCESS THIS TIME WAS MORE MUTED 4HE RESULT WAS EMPHATIC BUT AGAINST A 6ALLADOLID SIDE THAT HAD SCORED ONLY ONCE IN THEIR LAST kVE GAMES THE PERFORMANCE LESS CONVINCING WITH CLUB PRESIDENT &LORENTINO 0EREZ WATCHING ON IN THE STANDS 3OLARI S TENURE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY END IN THE SUMMER AND PERHAPS SOONER IF EITHER RESULTS TAKE ANOTHER TURN FOR THE WORSE OR A SUITABLE REPLACEMENT CAN BE FOUND *OSE -OURINHO AND :INEDINE :IDANE WERE BOTH LINKED WITH RETURNS LAST WEEK

'ARETH "ALE 6INICIUS *UNIOR AND ,UCAS 6AZQUEZ WERE ALL INJURED BUT THERE WAS STILL NO PLACE IN THE SQUAD FOR )SCO WHILE 3ERGIO 2AMOS ALSO MISSED OUT SUSPENDED 6ALLADOLID MIGHT HAVE BEEN FOUR UP IN THE kRST MINUTES BUT -ADRID HAD TO 6!2 TO THANK TWICE AFTER !LACARAZ HAD ALREADY BLASTED HIS SECOND MINUTE PENALTY HIGH OVER THE CROSSBAR !LVARO /DRIOZOLA HAD BEEN CAUGHT THE WRONG SIDE OF /SCAR 0LANO AFTER A SIMPLE BALL OVER THE TOP AS 6ALLADOLID WERE CUTTING THROUGH WITH EASE PARTICULARLY DOWN THE FLANKS 'UARDIOLA WAS ON THE RECEIVING END BUT SAW TWO GOALS RULED OUT FOR OFFSIDE

THE FIRST A TAP IN AND THE SECOND A HEADER

AS 6ALLADOLID S FANS COULD HARDLY BELIEVE THEY WERE NOT AHEAD &INALLY THEY WERE AS 'UARDIOLA THIS TIME SUPPLIED THE CROSS FROM THE RIGHT

WITH !NUAR UNMARKED AT THE BACK POST 4HE CHEER FOR -ADRID KICKING OFF CON FIRMATION 6!2 HAD NOT INTERVENED WAS ALMOST AS LOUD AS FOR THE FINISH 3OLARI SHOOK HIS HEAD BUT HIS TEAM IM PROVED AND WAS SOMEHOW LEVEL AT HALF TIME

AS .ACHO S JUMP FOR A HIGH BALL PREVENTED *ORDI -ASIP FROM A CLEAN CATCH AND 6ARANE WAS PERFECTLY PLACED TO POKE IN AFP

Arsenal dents Manchester United’s top four bid LONDON: /LE 'UNNAR 3OLSKJAER CLAIMED REFEREE *ONATHAN -OSS SHOULD BE gDISAPPOINTEDu WITH HIS DECISION TO GIVE !RSENAL A CONTROVER SIAL PENALTY IN THEIR WIN OVER -ANCHESTER 5NITED ON 3UNDAY -ONDAY IN -ANILA 3OLSKJAER WAS FURIOUS THAT -OSS RULED &RED S CHALLENGE ON !LEXANDRE ,ACAZETTE WAS WORTHY OF A SPOT KICK IN THE TH MINUTE 4HE 5NITED MIDFIELDER MADE ONLY THE SLIGHTEST CONTACT WITH ,ACAZETTE AS HE LENT INTO THE &RANCE STRIKER WHO IMMEDIATELY TUMBLED TO THE TURF 7ITH 5NITED ALREADY TRAILING TO 'RANIT 8HAKA S OPENER THE DECISION WAS A HAM MER BLOW AS 0IERRE %MERICK !UBAMEYANG SLOTTED HOME THE PENALTY TO EFFECTIVELY SEAL THE THREE POINTS g4HE REFEREE WILL BE DISAPPOINTED WHEN HE SEES IT AS ) DON T THINK IT IS A PENALTY u 5NITED INTERIM MANGER 3OLSKJAER COMPLAINED (OWEVER 3OLSKJAER REFUSED TO CONDEMN 5NITED KEEPER $AVID DE 'EA AFTER HE WAS LEFT FLAT FOOTED BY 8HAKA S SWERVING LONG RANGE EFFORT g$AVID DE 'EA IS DISAPPOINTED EVERY TIME HE CONCEDES A GOAL 4HE BALL MOVES SO STRANGE AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT GOES TO $AVID S LEFT AND IT CHANGED DIRECTION u HE SAID )T WAS 5NITED S kRST 0REMIER ,EAGUE DE FEAT SINCE $ECEMBER AT ,IVERPOOL IN *OSE -OURINHO S LAST GAME IN CHARGE &OR 3OLSKJAER WHOSE SIDE ENJOYED A STUNNING #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE WIN AT 0ARIS 3AINT 'ERMAIN IN MIDWEEK THIS WAS HIS kRST LOSS IN DOMES TIC MATCHES SINCE BEING APPOINTED ENDING A CLUB RECORD RUN OF NINE SUCCESSIVE AWAY WINS 3OLSKJAER ADMITTED 5NITED S TAME OPENING MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN PART CAUSED BY FATIGUE AFTER THEIR %UROPEAN HEROICS g)N THE kRST MINUTES WE WERE TOO SLOW

Q Manchester United’s English defender Ashley Young (left) tackles Arsenal’s German midfielder Mesut Ozil during the English Premier League football match at the Emirates Stadium in London. AFP PHOTO

AND NEVER PUT THEM UNDER PRESSURE u HE SAID g-AYBE A BACKLASH FROM 7EDNESDAY NIGHT

BUT WE CREATED CHANCES AND WHEN THEY GET THE kRST GOAL IT BECOMES A DIFFERENT GAME g7E CREATED SO MANY MORE CHANCES TODAY THAN WHEN WE BEAT THEM IN THE &! #UP 3OME TIMES IT HAPPENS WE HIT THE WOODWORK TWICE

g)T HAS BEEN FANTASTIC SO FAR BUT TODAY IS THE LOWEST WE HAVE BEEN BECAUSE WE LOST AND MISSED THE CHANCE TO PUT PRESSURE ON 3PURS u !RSENAL MOVE ABOVE 5NITED INTO FOURTH PLACE AS THE RACE TO QUALIFY FOR NEXT SEASON S #HAMPIONS ,EAGUE GATHERS PACE 4HE 'UNNERS ARE TWO POINTS AHEAD OF

5NITED AND ONLY ONE POINT BEHIND THIRD PLACED 4OTTENHAM WITH SIXTH PLACED #HEL SEA THREE POINTS ADRIFT OF THE TOP FOUR WITH A GAME IN HAND !RSENAL BOSS 5NAI %MERY WAS DELIGHTED WITH A STATEMENT RESULT THAT SHOWED HIS TEAM CAN HOLD THEIR OWN AGAINST THE LEAGUE S ELITE AFP

TTUESDAY U E S DAY MARCH 12, 2019

Entertainment

F1

www.manilatimes.net

GRETCHEN AND CLAUDINE BARRET TO

After all this time, sisters realize blood is thicker than water F

OR sisters Gretchen and Claudine Barretto, the age-old truism “Blood is thicker than water� apparently still holds water after all this time.

It’s been a while since the differences early in February after sisters fell out but Gretchen and a scheduled meet-up at a plush #LAUDINE kNALLY IRONED OUT THEIR hotel in Pasay City.

The long-overdue, good news was posted by the youngest of the Barretto sisters in her Instagram account.

It read, “I’m very, very happy

Q The Barretto sisters have truly ironed out their differences — Claudine even surprised Gretchen during the latter’s birthday.

GUESS

WHO Former actress dishes out on politico’partner’s generosity

A former actress (FA) — partner to a popular politician (PP) of many years — hosted dinner for her former college friends recently.

Seated at the kabisera of the long table, FA had less than a dozen guests whom she regaled with not a few tales unknown to them.

The first “ chika � dwelt on popular actress (PA) who PP partner had asked to campaign for him one election. “In fairness to PA — who had A RUMORED lING WITH MY 00 ‡ she didn’t charge him anything.

But I insisted that my partner give her a ‘little something’ in exchange for her efforts,� FA told her guests.

That “little something� turned out to be way above PA’s expectations as it included a property in the eastern part of Metro Manila already paid for, a brand-new car and a franchise of a popular fast food chain. “ Naloka na lang ako ,� FA intoned in a gay manner. “After two months, PA had

sold the car. A month or so later, yun namang bahay ang naibenta niya. The last to go was the franchise to think that had she spared it, buhay na buhay na siya she didn’t have to work!�

Second chika was her confession about her renal problem.

FA didn’t conceal the fact that she direly needed a donor as one of her kidneys was only 13 percent functioning. “That time, I wanted to see my daughter (by PP) get marRIED ) TOLD 00 TO GO kND A KIDney donor so I could be at the wedding and see her walk down the aisle while I was still alive.

Luckily, he found one, in fact, a gay donor whom we had to pay a dear price,� FA said.

FA didn’t say why she hasn’t had the transplant though.

Here's a clue on who they are: FA hosted dinner at one of her four buildings in the city where her PP is running again this coming elections.

RC3

tonight because of my ate.�

Happily, the often warring sisters have both been making efforts to reach out to one another since then, with Gretchen sending food and a large huggable pillow when #LAUDINE WAS CONkNED IN HOSPITAL shortly after; and most recently, with Claudine surprising her “Ate� on her March 7 birthday with a bunch of balloons.

The touching scene was uploaded on Instagram as well with video showing Gretchen running to Claudine with an embrace and saying “I thought you won’t come, eh.�

Claudine replied she wouldn’t have missed the occasion for anything, handing her the balloon arrangement as friends cheered them on.

VIGNETTES RONNIE CARRASCO 3RD

Q The Barretto siblings with talent manager Dolor Guevarra. “She thought I was not going to see her on her birthday. I ended up not going home. I missed u @ gretchenbarretto...� wrote Claudine in the caption.

But here’s the the catch amid the siblings’ reconciliation. Many believe that Gretchen’s move still has something to do with her online war with Kris Aquino, since siding with the latter’s arch nemesis Nicko Falcis.

In Gretchen’s IG post weeks ago, she revealed how Kris allegedly

called up Claudine and asked her to pass on message to her older sister that she will sue Gretchen and have her jailed. #LAUDINE HOWEVER lATLY DEnied having been threatened by Kris, let alone speaking with the online celebrity.

Whatever her motives though, Vignettes — and many showbiz denizens are simply happy to see the Barretto sisters together no matter what led to their reconciliation. Family is family!

Carlo Aquino, Angelica Panganiban star in romantic digital short, ‘Solb’ The popular song “Sana� of This is where Mang Inasal’s selfGOING viral among netizens at the moment is a thought-provoking, folk artist I Belong to the Zoo assuring message that “one can still be BITTERSWEET DIGITAL SHORT kLM HELMED COMPLEMENTS THE DIGITAL kLM S happy regardless of one’s relationship status.� In reality, reby ace director Dan Villegas, starring romantic narralationships end even versatile actors and on-screen — and tive, especially as once off-screen — partners Carlo the couple is shown having a between two people who seem to be misunderstanding, with Carlo perfect for each other. And when it Aquino and Angelica Panganiban.

A digital short produced for the trying his best to comfort a crying does, the important thing is to know homegrown Mang Insal fast food Angelica. They part ways, in tears. that life does not end there. People chain, the threeminuter captures This is followed by a montage will eventually be okay, and that it a very contemporary view on ro- of the characters doing their fa- is okay to be single, that it is okay mance and relationships in a way vorite things by themselves. The to love yourself.

The closing line goes: “Kahit that only Villegas and “CarGel� can twist at the end lays the truth that the two are no longer together. single, in a relationship, or it’s deliver spot on. complicated, solb pa rin ang buhay, y, Dubbed #SolbAngBuhay, ddi ba? (Whether o the video ushers viewers into you’re single, in a yo the happy couple’s relation-rel relationship, or ‘it’s ship, which give them much complicated, you co fulfillment. In other words, can still enjoy life to they feel completely “solb,� the fullest).� which is the Filipino slang for being satisfied. ““The film feels The first half of the vidvery real, as everyeo showcases the engaging one does experience Q Carlo Aquino and Angelica Panganiban give viewers chemistry of the couple as heart heartbreak once in a a contemporary view on love and relationship. portrayed by CarGel, including while. It’s our postwhil their most kilig moments — playBut even with h a tinge off sadd Valentine l treat to our customers fully washing the dishes, texting ness, the couple still manage to and CarGel fans, where we want sweet messages to each other, and be happy. As the two are shown to show the other side of love, sharing their love for Mang Inasal eating in a Mang Inasal store by where you don’t have to be in a Chicken Inasal. Their characters their lonesome, a loving moment relationship with anybody to be express what they think about that they used to share together, happy. We want to tell everyone each other, and how one cannot they seem to be contented eating that there is such a thing called live without the other. alone by themselves. ‘self-love,’ and this is the most po-

Âťstreaming

tent of all kinds of love. It inspires one to discover happiness within, AGAINST TRYING TO kND IT IN SOMEONE else,� said Mang Inasal Marketing Director Michael Dumaual.

The digital short is a reunion for Angelica, Carlo and Direk Dan, coming off from the highly successful romantic drama “Exes Baggage.�

Birth of loveteam Aquino and Panganiban were child stars in the ‘90s who made names for themselves for their superb acting and talent. They were paired in many TELEVISION SHOWS AND kLMS UNTIL THEY became real-life lovers. The two eventually ended their relationship and went their separate ways, pursuing their own careers in showbiz. But Exes Baggage reignited the comeback of the CarGel loveteam. To date, many fans still root for the couple, who now star in ABS-CBN’s “Playhouse.�

7ITH THE DIGITAL kLM S RELEASE ON February 25, Dan Villegas continues his streak of tearjerkers like “Never Not Love You,� “All of You,� and “The Breakup Playlist.� Villegas was the award-winning force behind “Hintayan ng Langit� and highly successful TV drama series “On The Wings of Love� and “Till I Met You.�

‘Captain Marvel’ rockets to historic $153M debut NEW YORK: “Captain Marvel,� Marvel Studios’ first female-fronted superhero movie, launched with $153 million domestically and $455 million globally, according to studio estimates, making it one of the biggest blockbusters ever led by a woman.

Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, a character who first debuted in Marvel Comics in 1968, had never before made it into the movies and was previously lesser known than many Marvel heroes.

But “Captain Marvel,� which came in at the high end of the Walt Disney Co.’s expectations, ranks as one of Marvel’s most successful character debuts.

Only “The Avengers� movies, “Black Panther,� ‘’Captain America: Civil War� and “Iron Man 3� have opened better in the Marvel cinematic universe. “She definitely pushed us higher, further, faster,� said Disney distribution chief Cathleen Taff. “Captain Marvel� rocketed up other record books, too. It sets a new worldwide mark for a film directed or codirected by a woman. “Captain Marvel� was helmed by the filmmaking team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who previ-

ously made the indies “Half Nelson� and “Mississippi Grind.�

It’s the sixth largest worldwide debut ever. The only movie with a female lead that’s opened better globally was “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,� which grossed $529 million when it debuted in 2015.

Âťglobalspotlight Like the “Force Awakensâ€? sequel “The Last Jedi,â€? ‘’Captain Marvelâ€? had to tangle with trolls who sought to lessen the film’s impact.

Some fans claimed Larson’s hero didn’t smile enough, a charge she responded to with doctored pictures of previous male Marvel superheroes with awkwardly full grins. Others took issue with Larson’s statements about making her press interviews for the film more inclusive and not “overwhelmingly white male.�

The anti-�Captain Marvel� campaign included the flooding of Rotten Tomatoes audience scores, which artificially drove down the film’s score to 55 percent fresh from more than 44,000 votes as of Sunday. To combat the down-voting

issue in advance of “Captain Marvel,�

Rotten Tomatoes (which doesn’t require users to verify that they’ve seen a movie that they’re scoring) removed the ability to rate movies prior to release.

Taff declined to address “Captain Marvel� foes but applauded Marvel and Kevin Feige for propelling a movie that expanded the Marvel universe. “What they believe is that the more you diversify perspective and experience in front of and behind the camera, the better the movies and the stories are,� said Taff of Marvel. “You see that in their track record. I think you see that in their box office. And I think you see that in the broadening of their fan base.�

CinemaScore, which relies on interviews with audience members coming out of theaters, found crowds very much liked “Captain Marvel,� giving it an A rating. Reviews were less enthusiastic but still good, landing 79 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

It was easily the best opening of any movie thus far in 2019. The box office had been frigidly cold coming into the weekend with ticket sales down 26 percent, according to Comscore. “Captain

Q Brie Larson is the female superheroine Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel.

Marvel� single-handedly chopped almost 5 percent off that figure with a weekend that overall was up 47 percent from the same last year. “The box office year of 2019 officially started this weekend,� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “We’re going to have one of the biggest box-office years ever but looking at the first two months, you wouldn’t know it.�

For Disney, it’s a strong start for a year littered with tentpole releases, some of which are sure to surpass “Captain Marvel,�

including: “Avengers: Endgame,�‘’Toy Story 4,� a remake of “The Lion King� and the next “Star Wars� movie.

Last week’s top film, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,� slid to a distant second place in its third weekend of release with $14.7 million. In its second weekend, Tyler Perry’s “A Madea Family Funeral� dropped 55 percent with $12 million. It’s made $45.9 million in 10 days. “Captain Marvel� scared away any new wide releases. Vincent D’Onofrio’s directorial debut, “The Kid,� was largely overlooked by moviegoers. It sold

$505,000 of tickets in 268 theaters.

A24’s “Gloria Bell,� Sebastian Lelio’s remake of his own Chilean drama, opened strongly in limited release with $154,775 in five theaters. The film stars Julianne Moore and a middle-aged Los Angeles divorcee. “Apollo 11,� the acclaimed moon landing documentary featuring newly discovered and restored footage, continued to pack theaters. It made $1.3 million from 285 locations, including many IMAX screens.

AP

Lifestyle Scarlet Snow Belo’s ‘coronation day’ F2

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

BY NIKA ROQUE

F

OR a kind, beautiful, and intelligent young lady like Scarlet Snow Belo — who has been bringing joy to her 3 million Instagram followers with snaps of her daily life, her prayer time, and her adorable //4$S OUTkT OF THE DAY ALL CAPPED WITTILY — a princess coronation day in lieu of a reguLAR BIRTHDAY PARTY IS ALL THE MORE kTTING Moreover, a coronation day is more apt for this social media royalty who was officially given her princess tiara as fast food giant Jollibee’s newest JolliKid ambassador. “There’s really no better ex-

ample of a JolliKid than Scarlet Snow. She’s kind, smart, and a real bundle of joy, making her THE PERFECT kT FOR OUR CHAIN 7E RE very excited to welcome her to the family and we hope that she enjoys growing up with us as a

Q With doting parents Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho.

Q Gifts galore for the social media princess.

JolliKid,� said Charisse Sumulong, Jollibee Senior Marketing Manager and Head for Channels and Kids Marketing.

Witnessing her grand coronation as Princess Jollikid were her parents Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho. Understandably quiet at the beginning of the program, the young Scarlet lit up the room when she wholeheartedly led the prayer before meals. “First of all, whenever we choose endorsements for Scarlet, it has to be really something she likes,� said Belo. “We’re very very excited with this one because Scarlet really loves the food here,� her celebrity doctor mom shared. “In fact, every time she goes swimming — one of her regular activities — after that, mandatory na may Chicken Joy. From school, kailangan ng Cheesy French Fries.

However, since the item is no longer available, we still have to go and get the plain fries and make our own cheese sauce at home,� chuckled her dad.

The proud parents also agree their Scarlet is a perfect embodiment of the brand. “When I think of the brand Jollibee, it’s about giving joy to others and that’s exxactly what Scarlet is about — she wants to o make people happy. y.

In her own words, she ‘wants hearts to be happy,’ so I think it’s a perfect match,� continued Kho. “For Scarlet, we really want to instill Filipino pino family values and love forr country. So we see that in all her posts on social media already.�

Asked how they feel about Scarlet almost completely growing up in the public eye, Belo and Kho replied this is the very reason they make sure to be very hands-on in

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

Q Scarlet Snow Belo is crowned Jollikids Ambassador on her birthday.

an. When we pray, may values na -reciprocate. I really credit

raising her and treating her as a normal kid at home. “We don’t want her to grow up spoiled, so we’re very careful. Madami nagpapadala ng

regalo, di namin binibigay kaagad. Kailangan binabantay-

Hayden because he’s such a good father,� explained Belo. “I’m really proud of Vicky too kasi siya ang nagtuturo kay Scarlet how to be nurturing, intimate and caring. I think it’s a man’s job to help give the identity of a child but there are things a man cannot do. Yung pagiging malambing ni Scarlet and the way she always thinks about the well-being of others, lahat yun galing kay Vicky,� related Kho, demonstrating their complementing parenting styles.

Q Scarlet is all about making people happy.

STAR MAGIC WORKSHOPS momhacks Harnessing kids’ The cool mom’s checklist to throwing potential to be stars the best children’s party FAR from the typical birthday party fare of fried chicken, classic Filipino-style spaghetti, hotdogs and marshmallows on sticks, along with pabitins and games, children’s parties nowadays are on a whole new level. Some parents turn parties it into a one-of-a-kind event with themed stage and table decorations, costumes, games, entertainment, and even menu.

But for parents who want to give their kids the best party yet don’t have a clue on what to do, then this checklist that El Real Pasta shared with The Manila Times might come in handy.

Decide on the theme Still don’t have a party theme?

Discover what your kids are into

these days. What are they watching? What are they craving for?

What songs are they singing along or dancing to? Knowing the things that currently interests your little ones and making that the overall theme of their birthday bash can help ensure your kids and all the invited guests will have a blast.

Choose a location Decide whether to throw the party at home or at another venue. Choose a location the soonest since you need enough time to clean up the house or the backyard if you want to throw it at home. You also need time to look for venues and make reservations if you want to have the party elsewhere. Whichever you

choose, what’s important is to stick to your budget and theme.

Keep a guest list Prepare a list of invitees and do RSVPs. Make sure you keep your kids’ friends and favorite people on top of the guest list. Having guests RSVP also helps you out in deciding the menu, the location, the games, and the loot bags. So, don’t forget to send out Save The Dates before the actual invitations.

Prepare party food with a twist It’s undeniable that kids love their pasta at parties. The key is adding a fun twist to pasta dishes by experimenting on some Spaghetti and Meatball on a stick — it’s basically

the classic spaghetti pasta wrapped around a stick, with a meatball stuck on top of it. There’s also the Hotdog Pasta which you can make by sticking pasta on hotdogs before boiling them.

Score smiles from your kids by being extra creative with colorful PASTA DISHES You can also try making Fruity Pasta and Brown Sugar Pasta by checking out the recipes at www. facebook.com/iloveelreal/.

Don’t forget to let your imagination shine through because fun and creative ideas can make kids squeal and giggle in excitement at parties. Remember, it’s all about making your sweet little kiddos happy, so make them the priority in your preparations.

Q Put a twist to classic pastas by incorporating unusual yet delicious ingredients — care for sweetened or fruity macaroni?

WITH summer just around the corner, parents are surely looking for activities their kids can can learn from.

And no, summer activities need not be contained in sports programs.

On top of the established and reliable acting, voice and dance workshops, Star Magic’s training group led by director-scriptwriter and Star Magic Workshop head Rahyan Carlos is spearheading a new class for kids, and adults, who are willing to go out of their comfort zone and explore new facets of themselves.

The Star Magic Workshop is adding a Conversational Tagalog Class for NonTagalog Speakers in the curriculum. This specific class, which will be taught by Weena Sadorra, aims to improve the students’ Tagalog proficiency.

After years of being limited to Star Magic artists alone, the said class will now be available to public workshoppers starting this summer. “We’re introducing this new workshop because as you notice, most of our young and adult actors are halfFilipinos. That’s the reason why we’re doing it already it in Star Magic, but this time, we’re opening it to the public because of the TFC (The Filipino Channel), madami pong parents na gustong maging artista ang anak nila. Part of it, mahirap po maka-penetrate kapag hindi marunong mag-Tagalog,� Carlos shared in a press conference.

In order to make the intensive training a lot more exciting and conducive for learning, the Star Magic Workshops is also debuting their newly-renovated training halls this year.

Moreover, the training group is also set to launch the Artist Registry in collaboration with ABS-CBN Production teams. The students, who have shown notable aptitude and impeccable discipline and passion, would have the chance to be selected by Carlos and Johnny Manahan for the soon-to-launch plat-

form aimed at providing acting opportunities within the network’s shows. “We want to reintroduce to the public that we are no. 1 in the Philippines in terms of training for the performance arts such as acting, voice and dance. In fact, we have recorded a total of 1,400 enrollees last year alone,� Carlos mentioned.

Carlos is the only certified Chubbuck Technique teacher behind the molding of some of the most sought after and award-winning actors of today such as Julia Barretto, Jake Cuenca, Christian Bables and Arjo Atayde, just to name a few.

Meanwhile, the kids’ acting classes are still handled by Edna Mae Landicho and HB Benitez, while the teen and adult acting classes are still handled by Carla Martinez and Rubi Rubi along with Lynette Conception, Heart de Guzman and Air Paz Pablico.

The dance classes, on the other hand, are divided into three different genres namely jazz, funk, hiphop and urban led by Nesh Janiola of Hotlegs, Brion Lim of Manouvres Ignite and Geejay Romano, respectively.

Finally, voice classes will be led

by Philippine Madrigal Singer alums Luningning San Jose, Julie Anne Reyes and Roland Roldan anew. “Like Ivana Chubbuck always says, we can change the world through arts. And the arts are evolving, that’s why I believe in constant learning,� Carlos said.

Kids and teens who aspire to be trained by professional and practicing teachers in acting, dance, voice and language are all welcome to join the workshops. These classes are also available for adults. Enrollment will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Registration starts on March 16 and 17. For inquiries and enlistment, call ABS-CBN Star Magic at 415-2272 local 5142, 5243 and 5244.

˜ The Manila Times

w w w.manilatimes.net

Funtimes

TUESDAY March 12, 2019

F3

Solution to Mega Maze

» CROSSWORD

BY EUGENE SHEFFER

»HOROSCOPE Today’s Birthday (03/12/19). Expand your professional boundaries this year. Rely on the support of a strong team. Give in to a strong attraction this summer, before overcoming a group difficulty. Your community rallies next winter, before a creative challenge twists. Together, stand for what you love.

BY NANCY BLACK LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Monitor news and conditions carefully. While breakdowns and distractions are possible, travels and studies can take solid ground. Research and document your findings.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) -- Today is a 9 -- Work together to advance on a shared financial goal. Find creative solutions to a challenge. Listen to diverse views. Choose what’s best for family.

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) -- Today is an 8 -- You’re especially brilliant today and tomorrow. Apply creativity and concentration to solve a puzzle. Provide backup for someone in your network. Your message inspires.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) -- Today is an 8 -- Listen to your partner, and remain open to compromise. Notice where you might be stuck. Collaboration allows you each to contribute strengths and protect weaknesses.

TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) -- Today is a 9 -- You can make extra money for a few days. Take advantage of a lucky break to push ahead. Maintain positive cash flow through careful monitoring.

CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- The pace quickens, and your heart gets pumping. Practice your physical moves and maintain physical routines for growing energy. Nurture your health and wellness.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20) -- Today is a 9 -- Put on your power suit. Energize a cause close to your heart. Document your findings.

Someone’s saying nice things about you. Speak out for others.

CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22) -- Today is a 6 -- Finish a project in private through tomorrow. Organize and file. Put things away. Prepare your space for what’s coming next. Clear your mind and rest.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Pull together with your team to get ahead. It takes a village. Discover something surprising about someone you thought you knew. Strengthen your collaborative infrastructure.

VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Can you mix business with pleasure? Travel could serve both purposes. A professional goal has your attention. Keep your eye on the target and prepare.

» SUDOKU

AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) -- Today is a 7 -- Listen to your heart. Enjoy the company of someone you love. Romantic scenarios could unfold. Prioritize family and fun when choosing activities. Relax.

PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) -- Today is an 8 -- The next two days could get busy at home. Domestic chores and upgrades blend with family DFWLYLWLHV DQG JDWKHULQJV &RRUGLQDWH VFKHGXOHV DQG GLႇHULQJ QHHGV

(Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Black’s legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @LindaCBlack. For more astrological interpretations like today’s Gemini horoscope, visit Linda Black Astrology by clicking daily horoscopes, or go to www.nancyblack.com.)

NANCY BLACK. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

BY ROGER SEVILLA

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 square contains the digits 1 to 9 with no repeats.

Solution from yesterday’s puzzle.

3/11/19

The Manila Times

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TUESDAY March 12, 2019

INFOTECH ENTERPRISES LIMITED – PHILIPPINE BRANCH NOTICE OF CLOSURE Notice is hereby given that INFOTECH ENTERPRISES LIMITED – PHILIPPINE BRANCH, a foreign company organized and existing XQGHU WKH ODZV RI ,QGLD DQG GXO\ OLFHQVHG WR HVWDEOLVK D %UDQFK 2I¿FH in the Philippines by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) per Company Reg. No. FS201416858 dated 04 September 2014, will ¿OH D 3HWLWLRQ IRU WKH :LWKGUDZDO RI LWV OLFHQVH WR WUDQVDFW EXVLQHVV LQ WKH 3KLOLSSLQHV DQG KDG IRUPDOO\ FORVHG LWV 3KLOLSSLQH EUDQFK RI¿FH operations effective 13 November 2018. $OO SHUVRQV KDYLQJ FODLPV DJDLQVW WKH EUDQFK RI¿FH DUH KHUHE\ requested to present the same to PARKER FAUSTINO PAGAYATAN LAW OFFICES with address at Unit 203 Le Metropole Bldg., H.V. Dela Costa cor. Tordesillas Sts., Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines.

This announcement serves as notice to all concerned of the closure of Infotech Enterprises Limited – Philippine Branch.

MT - Mar. 12, 18 & 25, 2019

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION AND CLOSURE OF BUSINESS

NOTICE OF CLOSURE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that MENDALSA REALTY, INC. (“MRI�) has shortened its corporate term to until 30 April 2018 as approved by the Board of Directors and Stockholders.

Notice is hereby given that NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD – MANILA BRANCH with SEC No. FS201305509 issued on 22 March 2013, has permanently ceased operations effective 31 July 2015.

All persons having claims against MRI are requested to present the same at Unit 203 Le Metropole Building, H.V. Dela Costa cor.

Tordesillas Streets, Salcedo Village, Makati City for immediate settlement.

All persons having claims against NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD – MANILA BRANCH are hereby enjoined to present their claims to the Securities and Exchange Commission (Secretariat Building, PICC &RPSOH[ 5R[DV %RXOHYDUG 0HWUR 0DQLOD IRU SURSHU YHUL¿FDWLRQ DQG VHWWOHPHQW RI WKHLU YDOLG FODLPV ZLWKLQ ¿IWHHQ GD\V IURP WKH SXEOLFDWLRQ RI WKLV QRWLFH

This announcement serves as notice to all concerned of the legal dissolution of MRI.

This acknowledgement will serve as notice to all concerned of the closure of NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD – MANILA BRANCH

GAY JOSEFINA M. CORRAL Corporate Secretary MT - Mar. 12, 18 & 25, 2019

MT - Mar. 12, 18 & 25, 2019

Atty. Rodolfo M. Bauza Resident Agent

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w w w.manilatimes.net NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late MERCEDES JIMENEZ was the subject of a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate executed on January 15, 2018 by and among her heirs and acknowledged as Doc. No. 31 on Page No. 7 of Book No. II Series of 2018 before Atty. Francisco J. Malate, Jr., a notary public for and in the City of ParaĂąaque.

MT – Mar. 5, 12 & 19, 2019

Republic of the Philippines 2IÂżFH RI WKH 3UHVLGHQW HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD Lupong Nangangasiwa sa Pabahay at Gamit ng Lupa SOUTHERN TAGALOG REGION – (STR) PAUNAWA Ipinagbibigay alam na ang TWIN LAKES CORPORATION (Mayari at Debeloper) ay naghain sa Tanggapang ito ng sinumpaang aplikasyon para sa pagbebenta ng mga “Residential Condominium Unitsâ€? sa THE BELVEDERE na matatagpuan sa Brgy. Dayap Itaas, Laurel, Batangas at sinasakop ng mga Lote Blg. 5, Bloke 3 (bahagi lamang); Lote Blg. 1, Bloke 3 (bahagi lamang) at Lote Blg. 6, Bloke 2 (bahagi lamang) na may sukat na 8440 sq.m. sa ilalim ng mga Titulo Blgs. 0562016000552; 056-2016000548 at 0562016000542.

Ang nasabing proyekto ay ginagamit ang Participation Through Investment Incentivized Compliance sa pamamagitan ng pag deposito ng P5,672,313.74 sa Trust Account sa ilalim ng Escrow Agreement sa pamamagitan at gitna ng TWIN LAKES CORPORATION, HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD (SOUTHERN TAGALOG REGIONAL OFFICE) at BDO UNIBANK, INC. - TRUST AND INVESTMENTS GROUP bilang pagsunod ng Seksyon 18 Batas Republika Blg. 7279 na naamyendahan ng Batas Republika Blg. 10884.

Ang mga kasulatang kaugnay nito ay maaring suriin ng sinumang tao na nagtataglay ng ligal na interes doon pagkatapos ng wastong aplikasyon at kaukulang bayad.

Pagkaraan ng limang (5) araw mula sa huling araw ng pagkalathala ang proyektong nabanggit ay ituturing na rehistrado na at maaring bigyan ng sertipiko bilang katibayan nito kapag wala nang sagabal na ligal.

Lungsod ng Calamba, Laguna, ika-04 ng March 2019 Recommending Approval: (SGD.) ENGR. EMMANUEL G. GLIPO Head - Planning, Registration and Licensing Division (PRLD) Approved by: (SGD.) Engr. FRANCIS D. ORDENIZA 5HJLRQDO 2IÂżFHU MT - Mar. 5 & 12, 2019

Republic of the Philippines 2I¿FH RI WKH 3UHVLGHQW HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD Lupong Nangangasiwa sa Pabahay at Gamit ng Lupa SOUTHERN TAGALOG REGION – (STR) NOTICE Notice is hereby given that TWIN LAKES CORPORATION (Owner/ Developer) KDV ¿OHG ZLWK WKLV 2I¿FH a sworn registration statement for the sale of Residential Condominium Units in THE BELVEDERE located at Brgy. Dayap Itaas, Laurel, Batangas and more particularly described as Lot 5, Block 3 (portion only), and Lot 6, Block 2 (portion only) containing an area of 8,440 sq.m. and covered by TCT Nos. 0562016000552; 056-2016000548 and 056-2016000542.

The foregoing project is utilizing the Participation Through Investment Incentivized Compliance by depositing the amount of P5,672,313.74 in Trust Account under Escrow Agreement by and among TWIN LAKES CORPORATION, HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD (SOUTHERN TAGALOG REGIONAL OFFICE) and BDO UNIBANK, INC. - TRUST AND INVESTMENTS GROUP as its compliance to Section 18 of Republic Act No. 7279 as amended by Republic Act No. 10884.

All papers relative thereto shall upon request and payment of processing fee, be available for inspection during business hours by any person having legal interest thereon.

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 157 PASIG CITY CANCELLATION/CORRECTION OF ENTRY UNDER RULE 108 OF THE RULES OF COURT MARIA KRISTINA O. KIM, Petitioner, -versus -

R-PSG-19-00306-CV

BONG CHAN KIM and the CITY CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE/ REGISTRAR OF PASIG, Respondents. x----------------------------------------x ORDER 7KLV LV D YHULÂżHG SHWLWLRQ IRU &$1&(//$7,21 &255(&7,21 2) (175< 81'(5 58/( 2) 7+( 58/(6 2) &2857 ÂżOHG E\ 0DULD .ULVWLQD 2 .LP WHEREFORE, notice is hereby given that the said petition will be heard by this court sitting at the Fourth Floor, Bulwagan ng Katarungan, Pasig City on April 12, 2019 at 8:30 in the morning at which place, date and hour aforesaid, all interested persons are hereby cited to appear and show cause, if any they have why said petition should not be granted.

Let this order be published in a newspaper of general circulation, to be GHWHUPLQHG LQ D UDIĂ&#x20AC;H LQ DFFRUGDQFH ZLWK H[LVWLQJ ODZV RQFH D ZHHN IRU WKUHH (3) consecutive weeks. )XUWKHU IXUQLVK WKH 2IÂżFH RI WKH 6ROLFLWRU *HQHUDO WKH /RFDO &LYLO 5HJLVWUDU RI 3DVLJ &LW\ WKH 2IÂżFH RI WKH &LW\ 3URVHFXWRU RI 3DVLJ &LW\ WKH 3KLOLSSLQH 6WDWLVWLFV $XWKRULW\ WKH 2IÂżFH RI WKH &OHUN RI &RXUW RI WKH 5HJLRQDO 7ULDO &RXUW 3DVLJ &LW\ copies of this Order together with the copy of the petition and its annexes at the H[SHQVH RI WKH SHWLWLRQHU ZLWKLQ ÂżYH GD\V XSRQ UHFHLSW RI WKH 2UGHU )DLOXUH WR do so will be a ground for dismissal of the petition.

SO ORDERED. Pasig City, February 15, 2019.

(SGD.) MARIA PAZ R. REYES-YSON Acting Presiding Judge (SC AO 168-2018) MT - Mar. 12, 19 & 26, 2019

Republic of the Philippines /RFDO &LYLO 5HJLVWU\ 2IÂżFH Province of Aklan City/Municipality of Makato Republic of the Philippines) MAKATO, AKLAN ) SS CFN-000-2019 PETITION FOR CHANGE OF FIRST NAME I, BELEN TORTUYA PELAYO, of legal age, FILIPINO, and a resident of BAYBAY, MAKATO, AKLAN, after having duly sworn to in accordance with law, hereby declare that: 1.) I am the petitioner seeking the Change of First Name in: ____________________.

2) I was born on May 13, 1959 at MANDALUYONG FORMERLY RIZAL now METRO MANILA, PHILIPPINES 3) The birth was recorded under registry number 1959-395 4) The first name to be changed is from NELSON to ROBERTO

7KH JURXQG IRU ÂżOLQJ WKLV SHWLWLRQ DUH WKH IROORZLQJ , KDYH habitually and continuously used ROBERTO and I am SXEOLFO\ NQRZQ LQ WKH FRPPXQLW\ ZLWK WKDW ÂżUVW QDPH 6) I submit the following documents to support this petition: COLB* NSO, BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE, MARRIAGE CONTRACT, SCHOOL RECORD, NBI CLEARANCE, POLICE CLEARANCE, COURT CLEARANCE, NONEMPLOYMENT CLEARANCE, VOTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AFFIDAVIT, VARIOUS I.D.;

, KDYH QRW ÂżOHG DQ\ VLPLODU SHWLWLRQ DQG WKDW WR WKH EHVW RI my knowledge, no other similar petition is pending with any LCRO, Court or Philippine Consulate.

8) I have no pending criminal, civil or administrative case in any court or any quasi-judicial body.

, DP ÂżOLQJ WKLV SHWLWLRQ DW WKH /&52 RI 0$.$72 $./$1 LQ accordance with R.A. No. 9048 and its implementing rules and regulation.

(SGD.) BELEN TORTUYA PELAYO VERIFICATION I, BELEN TORTUYA PELAYO, the petitioner, hereby certify that the allegations herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(SGD.) BELEN TORTUYA PELAYO SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 19th day of FEBRUARY 2019 in the city/municipality of MAKATO, AKLAN, SHWLWLRQHU H[KLELWLQJ KLV &RPPXQLW\ 7D[ &HUWLÂżFDWH 1R 24996589 Makato, Aklan on February 13, 2019.

(SGD.) DINAH MYRA V. TEJADA $GPLQLVWHULQJ 2IÂżFHU MT - Mar. 5 & 12, 2019

Absent legal impediment, the abovecited project is deemed registered DQG D FHUWLÂżFDWH LQ HYLGHQFH WKHUHRI VKDOO IRUWKZLWK EH LVVXHG DIWHU ÂżYH

days from the last day of publication.

Calamba City, Laguna, 04th day of March 2019.

Recommending Approval: (SGD.) ENGR. EMMANUEL G. GLIPO Head - Planning, Registration and Licensing Division (PRLD) Approved by: (SGD.) Engr. FRANCIS D. ORDENIZA 5HJLRQDO 2IÂżFHU MT - Mar. 5 & 12, 2019

EDITORS AND DESKMEN Competencies â&#x20AC;˘ Excellent command of written and spoken English â&#x20AC;˘ Degree holder preferably in journalism, communications, or related discipline (e.g. political science or economics with journalism experience) â&#x20AC;˘ Experience in editing news, analytical reports and columns â&#x20AC;˘ Strong news judgment and familiarity with local issues, as well as an understanding of relevant world affairs â&#x20AC;˘ $ELOLW\ WR ZULWH DQG HGLW ZLWK Ă&#x20AC;DLU DQG VSHHG WR PHHW WLJKW GHDGOLQHV â&#x20AC;˘ )DPLOLDU ZLWK 0LFURVRIW 2IÂżFH VRFLDO PHGLD DQG VHDUFK HQJLQHV â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to lead and organize a team well â&#x20AC;˘ Good attitude, willingness to adjust to new systems and ability to respect authority within the organization REPORTERS Competencies â&#x20AC;˘ Excellent command of written and spoken English â&#x20AC;˘ Degree holder preferably in journalism, communications, or related discipline â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to establish and maintain a network of contacts in government and the private sector as source of information and analysis â&#x20AC;˘ Ability to identify the angle of news from a raft of available information or seek out information to build a solid news story â&#x20AC;˘ Familiarity with local issues and an understanding of relevant world affairs â&#x20AC;˘ $ VHQVH RI VSHHG DQG DFFXUDF\ LQ ZULWLQJ DQG ÂżOOLQJ UHDO WLPH VWRULHV to the news desk to meet tight deadlines â&#x20AC;˘ Knows Microsoft Office, social media and search engines â&#x20AC;˘ A good team player, but is able to work independently within the perimeters of a given assignment â&#x20AC;˘ Good attitude, willingness to adjust to new systems and ability to respect authority within the organization Interested applicants, please send a full resume, specifying your subject of expertise, with links to samples of online work or appropriate attachments.

Please email your resumĂŠ at: hrd@manilatimes.net, or you may apply personally at 2/F Sitio Grande Bldg., 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila (Formerly TRB Bldg.), or you may call Irish de Guzman at 524-5664 local 122.

Ë&#x153; The Manila Times

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TUESDAY March 12, 2019 Republic of the Philippines Regional Trial Court National Capital Judicial Region 2I¿FH RI WKH ([HFXWLYH -XGJH Hall of Justice, Pasay City NOTICE OF HEARING Notice is hereby given that a summary hearing on the PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT as NOTARY PUBLIC for and in the City of Pasay of ATTY. KARL VINCENT B. RASO ZLWK RI¿FH DGGUHVV DW CEBU AIR, INC.-LEGAL AFFAIRS, CEBU PACIFIC BUILDING, DOMESTIC ROAD, BARANGAY 191 ZONE 20, PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA, shall be held on MARCH 14, 2019 at 2:30 Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON, at the OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE JUDGE, RM. 207, HALL OF JUSTICE BUILDING, F.B. HARRISON STREET, PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA. Any person who has any cause or UHDVRQ WR REMHFW WR WKH JUDQW RI SHWLWLRQ PD\ ¿OH D YHUL¿HG ZULWWHQ opposition thereto, received by the undersigned before the date of the summary hearing. /HW WKLV QRWLFH EH LQFOXGHG LQ WKH UDIÃ&#x20AC;H IRU SXEOLFDWLRQ RQ February 21, 2019, at 2:00 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock in the afternoon, to be published once in The Manila Times, a newspaper of general circulation and to be SRVWHG LQ WKUHH FRQVSLFXRXV SODFHV LQ WKH 2I¿FH RI WKH ([HFXWLYH -XGJH 2I¿FH RI WKH &OHUN RI &RXUW DQG LQ WKH OREE\ RI WKH +DOO RI Justice Building.

Pasay City, Metro Manila, February 19, 2019.

MT â&#x20AC;&#x201C; March 12, 2019

(SGD.) DIVINA GRAMIA L. PELIÃ&#x2018;O Executive Judge

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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.

Cosmos Street corner Daisy Street, Amparo Heights Camp 7 Baguio City, Philippines 2600 Website: www.helpinghandsministries.com Phone +63 074 422 3745 childrenshome@helpinghandsministries.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Helping Hands Healing Hearts Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (HHM) Home is looking for Ruth Camwa Cunanan, biological mother of Jenifer Camwa Cunanan, 9 years and 6 months old, female. Jenifer was re-admitted to our HHM Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Recovery Unit (CRU)-Baguio on June 07, 2018 for medical purposes as she started having seizures while at the Haven for GirlsDSWD CAR. Her medical needs was addressed and staying at the Helping Hands Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Recovery Unit is not advisable for her and the biological mother whereabouts is not known by the referring Social Worker of the Municipal Social Welfare and 'HYHORSPHQW 2I¿FH /D 7ULQLGDG WKXV KHU UHIHUUDO to HHM Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home and was admitted on November 12, 2018 for residential care and further case management.

Anybody who can give information about the parents or relatives of the child is requested to report to Helping Hands, Healing Hearts Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Home located at Cosmos Street, Corner Daisy Street, Amparo Heights, Camp 7, Baguio City with contact no. (074) 422-3745 and look for their Social :RUNHUV -RYLWD 0 /LX RU 0LQD / 0DQDRLV RU FRQWDFW \RXU ORFDO 6RFLDO :HOIDUH 2I¿FH

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