The Standard - 2016 January 04 - Monday by Manila Standard

VOL. XXIX NO. 326 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONday : JaNUaRy 4, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Supreme Court must end bullying’

aFp-npa CLaSheS to reSume Soon By Florante S. Solmerin

CLASHES between government troops and communist rebels are expected to resume as the truce declared by both sides expired Sunday, and the military accused the other side of violating its own ceasefire four times.

“Back to the old ways,” said Armed Forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla, after the suspension of military operations was lifted. The communist New People’s Army was the first to declare its unilateral ceasefire from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3. The military followed suit. “As soon as the Somo ends and the unilateral ceasefire with the CPP [Communist Party of the Philippines] and NPA comes to a halt tonight, the Armed Forces will cease from its active defense mode and will switch back to full military operations against all

enemies of the state,” Padilla said. While the ceasefire was in effect, the military accused the NPA of attacking government troops in Samar and Camarines Sur. Padilla said the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, also launched attacks against troops in the provinces of Surigao, Compostela Valley and Bukidnon during the holidays. The NPA, which marks its 47th founding anniversary in March, has not issued a statement. The military says that the number of NPA combatants has fallen from 24,000 in the

1980s to about 4,000 today, but the CPP and its negotiating arm, the National Democratic Front claim the number of NPA fighters has risen to 10,000. Despite all the modern infantry, air and naval equipment purchased to combat internal security threats, the Armed Forces has been unable to crush the communist insurgency or various terrorist movements in Mindanao. The Palace on Sunday said the government did not violate its own ceasefire as the NPA attacked the military in Camarines Sur on New Year’s Day. Next page

Back to school. An employee at the Pedro Guevara Elementary School in Sta. Cruz, Manila, cleans up in preparation for its pupils’ return after the holidays. Danny Pata

Foreign monitors worried about BBL

Abaya: PNoy was just being over-eager By Sandy araneta

TRANSPORTATION Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said Sunday that President Benigno Aquino III’s boast that he and Abaya would let themselves be run over by a train if they failed to extend the LRT line to Cavite by 2015 was simply “an expression of eagerness.” Interviewed on radio dzBB, Abaya

echoed Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, who said the President’s promise “should not be taken literally.” Instead, he said, the vow made more than two years ago just showed his eagerness to pursue and complete the project. Abaya added that he had just been appointed to the Cabinet when Aquino

issued the statement during a campaign sortie for his senatorial slate in April 2013. “At that time, they were in the very early stages of PPP [public private partnership] procurement. Unfortunately, there were two failed biddings. I’m sure the President did not plan for the failed biddings. Nor did we plan them,” Next page Abaya said in Filipino.

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Raking it in. Business was brisk for the fortune tellers in Quiapo, Manila, on Sunday. Diana B. noche

Terrorists eyeing Nazarene feast AFP-NPA... From A1

“According to the report of the Southern Luzon Command, the incident happened last Friday, Jan. 1, in Barangay Scout Fuentebella, Goa, Camarines Sur, where eight soldiers and six Cafgu [Citizens Armed Geographical Unit] where fired upon by about 10 rebel NPAs,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. on state-

Abaya: ... From A1

“The statement showed an eagerness to explain that we wanted this done, but of course, the unpredictability of the procurement law is a fact of life,” Abaya added. A month before the 2013 midterm polls, Aquino said that he and Abaya would be willing to be run over by a train if the LRT-1 extension project to Cavite was not completed by the end of 2015. “By 2015, not only will we

run radio station dzRB. Coloma said there was no report of injuries among the government forces, and that government forces recovered several firearms and weapons from the NPAs in the area. “Despite the encounter, the Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to follow the Unilateral Declaration of Suspension of Military Operations which would end before midnight [Monday],” said Coloma. Coloma said the Armed Forc-

es is still on alert, as well as the Philippine National Police. “But due to the prevailing ceasefire the military has not conducted any offensive action since they recognize the ceasefire. However, they continue to raise the alert status in order to ensure the security of our countrymen,” Coloma said. Coloma said the Somo started at 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 23, 2015 and would end at 11:59 p.m. of Jan. 3, 2016. With Sandy araneta

speed up travel from Baclaran to Bacoor, but we will also be able to accommodate 250,000 more passengers because of the LRT Line 1 extension,” Aquino said in Filipino at the time. “And if that does not happen, Secretary Abaya who is in charge of this project and I will be willing to be run over by a train,” he continued. Abaya said the Light Rail Manila Corp. is set to begin work on the P64.9-billion project in the first half of 2016. LRMC will manage the LRT1 for 32 years, during which it

will also extend the line by 11.7 kilometers to 32.4 km from the current 20.7 km. As the year wound down toward the President’s self-imposed deadline, Coloma said Aquino’s statement should not be taken literally. “The President was speaking with a sense of urgency when he announced his desire to see the project within two years,” Coloma said. “Any reasonable person would understand this to have been an aspirational statement. Despite the delays, the government continues to pursue the project.”

THE police and military are on the alert for possible terrorist attacks during the Feast of the Black Nazarene, which draws tens of thousands of devotees to Quiapo Church every year on Jan. 9. Police are already enforcing stricter security near the church, the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila. “So far we have not intercepted any information of security threats,” an anti-terrorism expert said. A Manila police officer said they, too, have not detected any security threat, but remained alert given the recent terrorist attacks in Europe and Africa. “There is no intelligence report about [any threat] but we consider what happened in Paris, the shooting rampage in California and what is happening in Mindanao,” Police Chief Insp. John Guiagui said in local radio interview. At least nine farmers were shot point blank by bandits belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters while they were tending their farm on Christmas Eve shortly after rebels attacked military posts in Sultan Kudarat. Philippine National Police

spokesman Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor said police remained on heightened alert despite the end of the holiday season due to the Feast of the Black Nazarene. The PNP is working closely with the Manila City government in the security preparations aimed at ensuring the safety of millions of devotees who will participate in the traditional procession of the Black Nazarene on Saturday. On Friday, the image of the Black Nazarene will be brought to Quirino Grandstand for the yearly vigil. Some 3,500 police officers will be deployed in Quiapo to enforce smooth flow of traffic and security along the route of the procession. Motorists and pilgrims are advised to observe the routes and plan ahead to avoid traffic and overcrowding on the day of the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Francisco Tuyay

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‘SC must stop bullying of Poe’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo

SENATOR Francis Escudero said on Sunday he hopes the Supreme Court justices will stop the Commission on Elections from “bullying” Senator Grace Poe when the magistrates convene on Jan. 19 to hear the oral arguments on her petitions. Escudero said certain actions of the Comelec which led to its Dec. 23 decisions upholding Poe’s disqualification from the presidential race “constitute grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.” “If it’s not bullying or harassment, I don’t know what it is,” said Escudero, referring to the way the poll body handled Poe’s disqualification cases. The leading vice presidential

candidate lamented how Comelec acted with dispatch on Poe’s disqualification ahead of the obvious nuisance candidates like those calling themselves “Lucifer” and “Intergalactic Ambassador.” He noted that the poll body also refused to consolidate the four petitions against Poe. “To top it all, the Comelec threw out her appeal two days before Christmas,” he said. “The Comelec worked overtime

in order for the en banc to disqualify her two days before Christmas and the holidays, thus giving her very little time to seek redress,” Escudero said. The only good thing, he said, is that the magistrates led by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno made themselves available even during their recess to grant Poe a muchneeded relief. By issuing two restraining orders in favor of Poe, Escudero said the court has once again showed that it is just and impartial. He accused Comelec of pretending to be an independent commission when it has actually been acting as Poe’s inquisitor and persecutor. He said Comelec is wrong, unfair and a bully. Meanwhile, if the decision to grant the restraining orders was

any indication, the Supreme Court would act swiftly and impartially on the two sets of disqualification cases against Poe, the lawmaker’s lawyer said. Lawyer George Garcia said the Supreme Court can rule as early as this month on the case of Poe. “I believe that because this is a case of transcendental importance. The Supreme Court will give priority to this,” said Garcia in a statement issued on Sunday. As this developed, the three justices in the Senate Electoral Tribunal who earlier dissented in the majority decision declaring Poe qualified to run for senator in the 2013 elections cannot be compelled to inhibit themselves from the resolution of her appeals at the Supreme Court, a noted election lawyer said on Sunday.

Calm before the jam. Motorists enjoy the light traffic on both directios of Edsa on Sunday, the last day of the long Christmas holidays. Traffic is expected to return to its normal heavy flow today as both office work and school resume. MANNY PALMERO

Health coverage for village execs SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday urged the government to give health insurance to barangay officials now that the funds for the benefit are already available. He said the financial requirements for health insurance can be taken from the huge “sin tax” collections. One of the purposes of Republic Act 10351 or the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012 that took effect on Jan. 1, 2013 is to bankroll the government’s universal health program, Marcos said. The health insurance entitlement of barangay officials is mandated under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991. “Since the enactment of the

Local Government Code, not a single barangay official has been covered by health insurance. The government said it has no money, but that was before,” he said. The latest data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue said in the first 10 months of 2015 alone, the taxes collected from tobacco and alcohol “sin” products reached P105.5 billion. For the same period in 2014, the collection was P86.5 billion. “The government cannot argue anymore that there are no funds. There is funding. It’s in the law that barangay officials be given this benefit and it should be followed,” he said. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Balloon day. Young mothers purchase balloons for their children in front of the Quiapo Church after hearing mass on Sunday. MANNY PALMERO

Monitoring team airs concerns about BBL THE independent body that tracks the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro has expressed concerns about the delay in the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress. “There is an ongoing, indeed increasing, uncertainty regarding the possible outcome of the legislative process concerning the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” said Third Party Monitoring Team chairman Alistair MacDonald in a letter to peace panel chairmen Miriam Coronel Ferrer of the Philippine government and Mohagher Iqbal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. MacDonald noted “concerns about the delays in the legislative process,” the “content of any BBL which might be adopted by Congress” as well as about the “continuity of the process, if indeed a BBL cannot be passed under this administration.” MacDonald said the observations arose from its December meetings with MILF members led by Chairman Murad Ebrahim and the MILF Central Committee on the rebel side and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita QuintosDeles on the government side, members of the House of Representatives and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission. MacDonald described as “encouraging” a meeting last Dec. 8 called by President Benigno Aquino III with “a large number of members of the House, and that thereafter the House was able to at least close the period of interpellation in the final days of its December session” despite its inability to establish a quorum over the past several months. However, he noted that there has been no significant progress in the Senate. Meanwhile, Rep. Martin Romualdez, a senatorial aspirant, on Sunday urged peace negotiator Ferrer to justify in full detail the constitutionality of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law version being pushed in Congress. With four months before the May 9 elections, Ferrer must not rush Congress into passing a half-baked BBL that may soon be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Romualdez said. Ferrer must ask Congress to address unresolved legal questions on the measure, Romualdez added. Sandy Araneta and Rio Araja

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Beijing rejects protests over plane landing BEIJING—Beijing has rejected a protest from Vietnam after a Chinese plane landed on a contested reef in the South China Sea, saying the operation took place within Chinese territory.

Devotion. Devotees line up to kiss the statue of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, on Sunday. Danny Pata

A Chinese “test flight” landed on Fiery Cross reef, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in an online statement late Saturday. Vietnam also claims the reef. In Manila, Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said Sunday they intended to follow Vietnam’s example. “We are also lodging a protest in due course,” he said. China has asserted its claim to almost all of the South China Sea by rapidly building artificial islands, including airstrips said to be capable of hosting military jets. It began work in 2014 on a 9,842-foot runway on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys island group, around 1,000 kilometers from China’s island province of Hainan. Hua said the test flight was civilian in nature, adding that the “relevant activity falls completely within China’s sovereignty”. Hanoi earlier strongly protested against the flight, labeling it a violation of sovereignty that “influences peace and stability in the South China Sea”. “Vietnam resolutely protests China’s abovementioned action, asking China to immediately

end while not repeating similar move,” said foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh in Hanoi. Vietnamese officials also said they had asked Beijing to investigate the ramming and sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat by a suspected Chinese boat. The fishermen were around 60 nautical miles from Con Co Island in central Quang Tri province on Friday when a foreign boat crashed into their craft. The 11 crew members were rescued but the boat sank, the fishermen told the VNExpress news site. The captain was quoted as saying that he saw Chinese characters on the foreign boat. Ha Le, deputy head of the Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance Department, told AFP Chinese officials had offered to check on the report if more details became available. Relations between the communist neighbors have grown tense in recent years over the disputed Spratly and Paracel island chains. Rioting broke out in Vietnam after Beijing sent an oil rig into contested waters in 2014, and at least three Chinese people were killed. Since then, the two sides have tried to mend relations. China’s President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi in November but that visit also saw anti-Chinese protests. Hanoi has stepped up cooperation with the US in what analysts say is a hedge against China’s rising power. Several other claimants have also built facilities in the South China Sea but at a slower pace than China. aFP

51 New Year bullet-firing incidents hurt 41 persons THE police Operations Center recorded 51 stray-bullet incidents, including 41 bullet-related injuries, from Dec. 16, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016, Chief Supt. and police spokesman Wilben Mayor said Sunday. But Mayor said the number could be higher as they expected more reports to come in until Jan. 5. He made his statement even as the total number of fireworks-related injuries reached 760 as the 15-day monitoring and surveillance by the Health Department entered its 13th day on Jan. 3, 2016.

But the department’s Irma Asuncion said the total was 18 percent or 168 cases lower compared to the five-year average from 2010-2014 for the same period. And in comparison with the 839 cases recorded in the same period last year, the fireworks-related injuries from Dec. 21, 2015, to Jan. 3, 2016, were lower by 79 cases or nine percent, Asuncion said. “Majority of the cases or a total of 427—equivalent to 56 percent— were from the National Capital Region,” she said.

In Malacañang, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. praised the Health Department and Health Secretary Janette Garin for the lower firecracker injuries recorded during the celebrations to welcome the year 2016. “The campaign for the safety and healthy ways against the dangerous use of firecrackers was led by the Department of Health,” Coloma said. He said it was up to Congress to amend the laws on the regulation of firecrackers to prevent more injuries

if that was needed. Mayor said the youngest victim of a stray bullet was 3-year-old girl from Zamboanga del Norte. “Of the total number of stray-bullet-related- injuries seven were children. But the current number today could change because we have until Jan. 5 to record and wrap up our final report,” Mayor said. The police implemented its campaign against the use of guns and dangerous firecrackers On Dec. 16. “Our data shows no fatality from these reported incidents, but last

year we had 45 stray-bullet- related injuries and a lone fatality,” Mayor said. “Anyway, at least nine people have been arrested for illegally discharging their firearms. We will charge them in court.” In Camp Aguinaldo, Colonel Restituto Padilla said they had no report yet of any soldier violating the military’s prohibition against the firing of guns to toast the New Year, although the police had one on record. Florante S. Solmerin and Sandy araneta, with Pna

Pay hikes need funding assurance HOUSE majority floor leader Neptali Gonzales II said Sunday only a funding assurance from Malacañang could break the impasse over Salary Standardization Law 4 should senators insist on including retired military and police officers in the proposed salary increase for government personnel. He said the salary adjustment for workers in the government service was being stymied because of the senators’ insistence on covering military and police retirees in SSL 4. But he said President Benigno Aquino III had nothing to do with the senators’ demand, and neither was there an endorsement from the Budget Department. “The inclusion is not in-

cluded in the original proposal... and the President and the DBM have not endorsed it,” Gonzales said. He added that the senators’ proposal did not have budgetary support. He said only P57.9 billion was included for the implementation of the first tranche of the P226billion four-year SSL 4 under this year’s budget. But Gonzales assured government employees that Congress would do its best to pass SSL 4. “Definitely, we will work and find a solution to break the impasse. But right now we cannot entertain additional items because there is no guaranteed available funding in a form of certification from DBM,” Gonzales said. “The objective of the wage

increase through SSL 4 is to make state workers get salaries closer to the prevailing rates enjoyed by workers in the private sector.” Congress and the Senate failed to pass SSL 4 before the Christmas break after the Senate moved to reconsider the approval of their own version to include retired soldiers and police officers. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the inclusion of military and police retirees in SSL 4 in the salary adjustment plan would involve a lot of money. The salary adjustment would cost taxpayers P226 billion over four years, broken down into P57.906 billion in 2016, P54.393 billion in 2017, P65.976 billion in 2018 and P47.544 billion in 2019. Rio n. araja

Homeward bound. Passengers await their turn to board their buses on their way home after spending the holidays in Baguio City. DaviD CHan

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10K runners. More than 10,000 runners join the Color Manila Carnival Tour race at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Sunday Jan. 3, 2016. DANNY PATA

Scandal-wracked LTO chief quits; Cabrera in By Sandy Araneta and Rio Araja

LAND Transportation Office chief Alfonso Tan Jr. has resigned from his post “due to family reasons,” Malacañang said on Sunday. Tan will be replaced by lawyer Roberto Cabrera III, executive director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, who is expected to assume his new post today. Tan’s superior, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Abaya insisted that he

did not fire the LTO chief who would be stepping down on Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. “He wasn’t sacked. He voluntarily resigned in November because of family,” Abaya said. But other sources said that Tan’s ouster was a result of mounting criticisms over his

Bongbong pushes shift to cash crops SENATOR Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has proposed the shift to organic farming, particularly of high-value crops. Marcos aired the proposal as part of his call for safety nets meant to cushion the adverse impact on local farmers of the influx of duty-free commodities expected after the Asean Economic Community came into force last Dec. 31. The senator said the government should not only provide assistance to small and medium-scale farmers who wish to produce traditional crops but also ramp up the drive to promote the shift to organic and high-value crops. “Shifting to organic, highvalue crops could provide our

small farmers the edge they need to compete with their counterparts in our neighboring countries as demand for organic food continues to increase worldwide,” Marcos said. He noted that according to the market research company Organic Monitor, global market for organic products in 2013 reached $72 billion, with the United States as the leading market, followed by Germany and France. While the US was once a net exporter of organic food, increasing demands have outstripped the capacity of local suppliers so much so that reports said it now spends around $1 billion annually for imported organic food.

handling of the backlog of drivers’ licenses and plates. Cabrera for his part vowed to resolve the issues hounding the agency. In an interview over dzMM radio, Cabrera said he would meet with the legal department to take up these issues. Cabrera said the LTO may start releasing new plates and licenses by May. But he also admitted that he couldn’t tell as yet when the backlog would be fully resolved. “At this point, it will be difficult for me to tell how long will I take to deliver them in a span of weeks or months. But we are fast-tracking all,” Cabrera said. Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., quoting Abaya “requested Tan to hold on until a new appointment is made by President [Benigno Aquino III]. The recommended replacement is Roberto Cabrera. We have yet to receive a copy of the appointment. We hope to get a copy of the appointment by tomorrow,” Coloma said on Sunday. Tan, an appointee of former Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, has been LTO chief since September 2011 when he replaced Virginia Torres, who died of heart attack last Saturday. Torres was forced to retire from the LTO after a video footage showed her playing in a casino despite the ban on government officials. Even after her term at LTO, Torres also figured in a controversy with the Bureau of Customs

CABRERA

for supposedly using her influence and dropping the name of President Benigno Aquino III for the release of container vans of merchandise. Tan got embroiled in a controversy as thousands of drivers and vehicle owners waited for months before being able to get their new driver’s licenses and license plates. Tan used to be part of the bidding committee which granted the P480-million license plate contract to Knieriem BV Goes and Power Plates Development Concept Inc. (JKG-PPI) which was disallowed by the Commission on Audit last year. Tan blamed the CoA for the massive snafu when the watchdog stopped LTO’s payment to its card supplier for the last 20 years Amalgamated Motors Philippines Inc. in 2013. It took LTO years before it finally awarded a new contract to a card maker. Among the major legal problems Cabrera will face is the Manila regional trial court ruling stopping the award and payment of the driver’s license card supply contract to Allcard Philippines Inc.

Smoky PUV? Penalize owner, not the driver By Rio N. Araja OWNERS, not the drivers, of any public utility vehicle, should be penalized for smoke-belching, according to a Quezon City lawmaker. Rep. Alfred Vargas has filed House Bill 6298 to boost the provisions of the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, or Republic Act 8749, by transferring the liability for smoke-belching from the driver or even the operator of the vehicle to the owner. Under the measure, Vargas seeks to amend Section 46 on Validation of Standards for Motor Vehicles of RA 8749 that penalizes the drivers and operators of motor vehicles in violation of the emission standards. “These motor vehicles are mostly comprised of trucks and PUVs,” he said. The drivers of PUVs are just employers of the owners, and that they do not necessarily have the proper means and control over major repairs of the vehicles, he said. “With the driver held liable, owners are not compelled to make the necessary vehicle repairs or part replacements in order to comply with the emission standards. Thus, the problem of smoke belching is not effectively addressed,” he added. According to Vargas, the people in Metro Manila are highly vulnerable to develop cardiovascular illnesses and respiratory diseases due to the worsening air quality in the region. Noting a partial report of the National Emissions Inventory, he said 85 percent of air pollution in the National Capital Region came from vehicles.

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P6.5b set aside for road repair The national government will be spending some P6.5 billion for the rehabilitation and upgrading of roads in 73 provinces, with the allocation of funds based on performance, as Congress recently approved the appropriation in the 2016 General Appropriations Act. These qualified provinces have not only met good governance standards and social development bench-

marks, they have also established monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, Budget Secretary Florencio

Abad said on Sunday. Dubbed Kalsada (Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran), Abad said the program is “an innovative devolution program that aims to institutionalize good governance by enabling and shepherding local government units on local road management.” The program will rehabilitate and upgrade provincial roads and transfer these road assets permanently to the provincial government,

which will maintain them, Abad said. It will also develop the Provincial Road Network Development Plan for each province and promote the use of an online open data portal as a mechanism for monitoring and evaluation of provincial roads, Abad said. Provinces were selected based on their compliance with the Department of Interior and Local Government’s Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping and submission to the

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By Sandy Araneta

Department of Budget and Management of their Local Public Financial Management Assessment Report. Allocations were determined by a combination of performance and need criteria, such as inclusion in the Budget Priorities Framework provinces, utilization and completion of local road projects under the Special Local Roads Fund, as well as regular appropriation and use of maintenance funds for local roads.

Reward up for info on Guinto’s killers By Rio Araja A P200,000 reward is now being offered by the family of the slain Rufino “Amang” Guinto, a businessman from Nueva Ecija, to any person who could provide information leading to the arrest of his killers. Sr. Supt. Ricardo Villanueva, commanding officer of the Philippine National Police’s Provincial Public Safety Company, announced the offer to be able to identify those behind the attack on Guinto two days after Christmas. Villanueva assured the confidentiality of the informer and protection for the witness to the case in court. He said he received a tall order from no less than Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali to track down the killers and to do everything to solve the case. Police are closely monitoring possible leads that could establish the real motive behind Guinto’s killing. The victim is the uncle of National Press Club of the Philippines president, Joel Sy Egco. Malacañang through Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. directed National Police chief Ricardo Marquez Jr. to take immediate actions to arrest the killers and help attain justice for the Sy Egco and Guinto kin. Marquez instructed Nueva Ecija provincial police director Manuel Cornel and Gapan City Police station chief Supt. Nelson Aganon to investigate and identify the suspects. On Dec. 27, Guinto was on his way home in Barangay Castellano, San Leonardo in Nueva Ecija when armed men shot him to death. The victim sustained two gunshot wounds to the head.

Lucky charms abound at a store along Ongpin St. in Manila. Wearing them or having them in your household is believed to bring good fortune, according to the store salesman. MANNY PALMERO

PH fails to achieve dev’t goals, senator claims By Macon Araneta SENATOR Grace Poe on Sunday said the Philippines should work doubly hard to achieve the new goals set by the United Nations, which includes achieving food security, ensuring healthy lives and promoting inclusive growth after the country failed to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals last year. Acknowledging that this is a tough challenge, Poe, however, noted that it is not an impossible one. The presidential bet said inclusive growth is also a pillar of Poe’s government agenda, which she presented when she declared her presidential bid last September.

Apart from inclusive growth, Poe is also pushing for global competitiveness and transparency in government. “As we educate our people about proper nutrition, we must also make sure that everyone can afford nutritious food. At the same time, quality health care must be made available at the barangay level to address the needs of malnourished children and other vulnerable sectors,” Poe said. The senator lamented that malnutrition among Filipino children and pregnant women are still evident among poor families, revealing major disparities across the country. She said the number of malnourished children in the country is devastating: 3.6 million

children 0-59 months old are underweight, and around four million are stunted, according to a Unicef report. A report by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute also found that 25 percent or one in every four pregnant women is undernourished. “No child must be deprived of his basic right to life and health; no mother must be deprived of quality health care. From the day of conception, we must see to it that the mother and child are nourished and protected,” said Poe. Poe has filed two policy measures to address the challenges of hunger and malnutrition. One of the two measures provides for free lunch for public school children, in response

to the increasing number of school dropouts, not because of stiff school fees, but because of insufficient food. To supplement the measure, Poe filed Senate Bill 2755 or “First 1,000 Days” bill to ensure that children are protected and properly nourished from their first day in the womb up to their second birthday, when they are most vulnerable. “The most crucial period in the development of a child is the first 1,000 days from conception. Malnutrition begins at the womb. We must see to it that they are nourished and protected because damages to health and brain development suffered during this time are often irreversible,” said Poe.

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E. Visayas sees less serious holiday injuries

PH’s 5 poorest towns found in Lanao Sur, Maguindanao By A. Perez Rimando

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao— Five of the country’s poorest municipalities are found in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, with all of them registering a significant increase in poverty incidence since the last research period, a Philippine Statistics Authority executive said.

By Mel Caspe The number of holiday injuries recorded in eastern Visayas was slightly higher than the previous year’s but all of the cases were from minor blasts and there was no victims of stray bullets, a regional health official said. At least 79 people were hurt during the holiday revelry, with 37 from Northern Samar, 24 in eastern Samar, 12 in Leyte, five in Samar and one in Southern Leyte, according to Roderick Boyd Cerro, chief of the DOh regional epidemiology and surveillance unit. “We still consider the ‘Iwas Paputok’ campaign successful since injuries this year were less serious than in the previous years,” he said. Seventy injuries were recorded from December 2014 to Jan. 2015. Majority or 80 percent of cases were injured due to “piccolo” ignited by children below 11 years old. The government has launched its monitoring of Christmas and New Year revelries on Dec. 16, 2015 and will conclude on Jan. 5, 2016.

Keeping it alive. A man from Barangay Pinagburnayan, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur makes terra cotta jars to preserve the local culture and attract tourists. JOHN PAOLO BENCITO

Foreign firm eyes Basilan for banana plantation COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao—An international agricultural company is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Basilan for banana plantation. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv hataman said John Paul C. Parrine, president of Unifruitti Group of Companies, told him that they were considering ARMM as an investment area after Parrine had personally visited a banana farming venture in Datu Paglas town. This town became a model for development when its late mayor, ebrahim Paglas, partnered with a multinational firm to develop some 1,000 hectares for a banana farm using rebel returnees as workers, hataman said. Parrine told hataman last week that Basilan and other parts of the region have fer-

tile lands suited for banana plantation which, if properly developed, could boost socioeconomic growth and development. ARMM Public Works Secretary Don Mustapha Loong noted that Parrine found it easy to invest in Muslim Mindanao and his company did not wait for the eventual setting up of the Bangsamoro entity to replace the ARMM as through the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Basilan District engineer Soler Undug said the recent completion of the Basilan circumferential road could play a key role in the realization of Parrine firm’s proposed project. Parrine said he had partnered with the World Bank and the Department of Agriculture’s Mindanao Rural Development Program to develop his Basilan banana plantation project, add-

ing his firm has also eyed Camp Iranon in Maguindanao as another area for banana plantation. Maguindanao Gov. esmael Mangudadatu said some

3,000 hectares of the camp are now being prepared for planting Cavendish banana to be bankrolled by the World Bank through MRDP. A. Perez Rimando

Getting by. A woman and her child share a meal after their Tacloban City home was razed by a fire on New Year’s Day. MEL CASPE

The ranking was based on the last national statistical research conducted in 2012. Zita Albacea, executive director of the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute, announced during a recent regional forum at the Davao Convention Center said that the poorest towns are Bacolod Kalawi, Lumbayanague and Piagapo in Lanao del Sur and Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Talayan in Maguindanao. Bacolod Kalawi registered the country’s highest poverty incidence with 84.8 percent. This means that for every 100 people in the locality, 85 are poor. The town’s poverty incidence worsened from 29.4 percent in 2009, the previous research period. Albacea defined poverty threshold as “the minimum income/expenditure required for a family/individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements.” The country’s annual per capita poverty threshold was pegged at P18,935. Datu Saudi Ampatuan ranked second poorest with a poverty incidence of 83 percent, which increased from 43.4 percent in 2009. The third poorest town was Lumbayanague with a poverty incidence of 81.9 percent in 2012, also up from 55.7 percent in 2009. Piagapo was fourth poorest with a poverty incidence of 81.4 percent in 2012, up from 37 percent in 2009, with Talayan coming fifth at 80.3 percent, up from 43.4 percent in 2009.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

GOING ‘HOVERBOARD’

[ EDI TORI A L ]

TALKING TO THE WRONG PEOPLE IT SEEMS inconceivable that anyone would engage another party in serious negotiations for six years before realizing that they were talking to the wrong people. Yet astonishingly, this is exactly what the government’s chief negotiator with the communist rebels said he realized toward the tail end of the Aquino administration’s six years in office. “We are talking to the wrong people in the NDF,” said the government’s chief peace negotiator, Alex Padilla, referring to the National Democratic Front, represented by the self-exiled founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Ma. Sison, and his seemingly tenuous connection with the party’s armed wing, the New People’s Army. “The NDF has no control over NPA. That is very clear to us now…The one that gives orders to the NPA is the CPP. Now if the CPP gives orders to the NPA, then we should be talking to the CPP, not the NDF,” Padilla said. He added: “It’s been 30 years that we have been talking to the NDF. I maybe am the fifth panel head and we have been talking to one and the same panel that is principally in Utrecht. So my question is, is the NDF the right group to talk peace with?” Padilla also urged the next administration to initiate direct talks with the rebels on the ground, rather than its advisers in The Netherlands. Padilla’s belated epiphany suggests that as in so many other matters, the Aquino administration has proved incompetent in seeking peace with the communists. How long, we wonder, did it take our top peace negotiator to realize that Sison, ensconced in his Utrecht cocoon, had no say in the operations of the NPA? Why, if he had realized this early on, did he continue talking to the NDF? But Padilla should not be singled out for talking to the wrong people. The government’s top peace negotiators with the Muslim rebels have also been guilty of talking to the wrong people by focusing exclusively on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to the exclusion of other groups who also have a stake in a peaceful settlement of the Muslim insurgency in Mindanao. Where Padilla’s team achieved nothing in the last six years, the team of Miriam Coronel Ferrer and Secretary Teresita Deles went the other way, going overboard and bending the Constitution to give the MILF rebels almost everything they demanded to the detriment of the national interest. Perhaps it is the rebels, after all, who are talking to the wrong people. They should be talking to competent peace negotiators who can carefully analyze the situation on the ground before they start opening their mouths.

A UNIVERSAL HOPE, A SIGN IN THE HEAVENS “2016”—watch out for the dates on negotiable instruments—and with the rather FR. RANHILIO dreary national elections CALLANGAN that we face is the universal AQUINO hope of new beginnings, a THE Magi were not Jews, fresh chance, a crisp page. but they rejoiced at the por- That hope was in the air, and tent that the King of the Jews it sent the Magi asearching. had been born...They repre- It still does today, except sent the universal hope for a that, lacking the wisdom new beginning of the world. of the Wise Men, we scurry What fires all the merriment about, often searching in at New Year (monsoon rains vain. Then there was the notwithstanding), the excite- sign in the heavens. A star ment with new calendars and so bright (supernova, conwith getting used to writing junction of planets, comet—

PENSÉES

...and another route.

it could have been anything, because God uses anything) would have been seen by all who could look beyond their noses. Trouble is: Not everyone was wise and even when they had the chance to be wise—as Herod and his advisers were given such a chance—they let fear of losing their positions of prestige make them really dumb! Having found the child and worshipped him, the wise men—really wise—decided to return through another route. That is a New Year

—deciding another route. If we trudge the same wellworn path, then 2016 will be as dull as our unimaginative selves make of it. But to part from dictators and would-be messiahs, to part from “daan matuwid” in order to truly tread “daan ng Diyos,” that is what will make this year new. We have tried this before: trying out the new, only to have our noses rubbed in the dust. Derrida called it “the strategic bet”: You construct on the new on former

ground, and what you have is not really new, but a new version of the old. On the other hand, if you do away with the ground altogether, what do you build on? It all depends really on what you take to be your ground, your anchorage. Herod trembled—and curiously, the Gospel says, “and all Jerusalem with him”. The vain and cruel king had taken his power as the ground on which he raised the edifice of his ego.

Jerusalem too thrived by power, influence and prestige. All this was shaken by the rather innocuous question: “Where is the newborn King of the Jews?”—because it was nothing short of an announcement that the ground on which they had planted citadels to their own vainglory was nothing more than sinkhole! When Archbishop Soc Villegas, as president of CBCP, offered guidelines to voters some days back,

5550. 5550.P.O. P.O.Box Box2933, 2933,Manila ManilaCentral Central Post PostOffice, Office,Manila. Manila.Website: Website:www. www. manilastandardtoday.com manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: E-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph contact@thestandard.com.ph

Published PublishedMonday MondaytotoSunday SundaybybyPhilippine Philippine Manila ManilaStandard StandardPublishing PublishingInc. Inc.atat6/F 6/F can canbebeaccessed accessedat:at: Universal UniversalReReBuilding, Building,106 106Paseo Paseode deRoxas, Roxas, ONLINE www.manilastandardtoday.com www.manilastandardtoday.com corner cornerPerea PereaSt., St.,Legaspi LegaspiVillage, Village,Makati MakatiCity. City. ONLINE Telephone MEMBER Telephonenumbers numbers832-5554, 832-5554,832-5556, 832-5556, MEMBER Philippine PhilippinePress PressInstitute Institute 832-5558 832-5558(connecting (connectingall all departments), departments), The TheNational NationalAssociation Association (Editorial), ofofPhilippine (Editorial),832-5546, 832-5546,(Advertising), (Advertising),832832PhilippineNewspapers Newspapers

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many welcomed the aid to discernment. Predictably, others wanted the church to keep to its corner and not to “meddle” in politics. In the first place, if the Church is to be wise and to truly seek her King, she can recognize no safe corner within which to keep herself. The star’s light shone on the whole world: for the wise, it brought rejoicing; to the petty, it brought terror and quaking. What the guidelines in essence

Continued on A11

MST MSTManagement, Management,Inc. Inc. Philip PhilipG. G.Romualdez Romualdez Arnold ArnoldC. C.Liong Liong Former FormerChief ChiefJustice Justice Reynato ReynatoS.S.Puno Puno Jocelyn JocelynF.F.Domingo Domingo Ron RonRyan RyanS.S.Buguis Buguis Anita F.Grefal Grefal Treasury Manager Anita F. Treasury Manager

Chairman Chairman President President&&Chief ChiefExecutive ExecutiveOfficer Officer Board BoardMember Member&&Chief ChiefLegal LegalAdviser Adviser Director DirectorofofOperations Operations Finance FinanceOfficer Officer Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

A PRIEST who went “hoverboard” in trying to connect with parishioners was told by his diocese to take a leave of absence and reflect on his action. The Diocese of San Pablo, Laguna didn’t take kindly to Fr. Albert San Jose of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish for his antic in riding a hoverboard during church mass. Instead of making his parishioners reflect on the words of Christ, the priest drew attention to himself and flak from netizens for his act of impropriety. The repentant priest owned up to his mistake which is more than what some errant priests accused of the more grievous sin of molestation have done. Davao City Mayor and presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte confessed he was once a victim of fondling by a priest. Is he trying to one-up foundling Grace Poe? *** Jejomar Binay regained the top preferred presidential candidate in the latest Pulse Asia survey. The polling firm’s own analysts explained the corruption charges against the Vice President was not in the public consciousness at the time the survey was taken. A coffee shop resident wit said the Veep went under the public radar because he was small and dark, something Binay himself does not mind saying in his infomercials. The self-deprecatory description identifies him more with most Filipinos. “Mag-ingay sila sa itaas. Gagapangin namin sila sa ibaba (Let them make noise in the airwaves, we will win the battle on the ground)” is proving to be an effective Binay campaign strategy. *** An A is supposed to indicate good marks in academic or public service performance. Do the 4 As—Aquino, Abaya, Abad and Alcala—deserve the public’s high marks after five and half years? *** Boxing promoter Bob Arum announced Manny Pacquiao will fight Timothy Bradley in a trilogy on April 9 this year. No, Steve Harvey is not going to be the ring announcer of the judges’ decision. Bradley won the first fight via a controversial split decision while Pacquiao got his revenge in the return bout. Manny must score a knockout so he does have to worry about an announcer who can’t read or judges who can’t count. Earlier, Pacquiao who was the top-ranked absentee in the House of Representatives, said it would be his last fight before retiring. He’s running for the Senate and like a true politician who can’t keep his promise, Manny now says he would probably have another fight or two before hanging up the gloves. He must be hard up making payments to BIR Commissioner Kim Henares. Continued on A11 Rolando RolandoG. G.Estabillo Estabillo Jojo JojoA. A.Robles Robles Ramonchito RamonchitoL. L.Tomeldan Tomeldan Chin ChinWong/Ray Wong/RayS.S.Eñano Eñano Francis FrancisLagniton Lagniton Joyce JoycePangco PangcoPañares Pañares Adelle AdelleChua Chua Romel RomelJ.J.Mendez Mendez Roberto RobertoCabrera Cabrera

Publisher Publisher Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Managing ManagingEditor Editor Associate AssociateEditors Editors News NewsEditor Editor City CityEditor Editor Senior SeniorDeskman Deskman Art ArtDirector Director Chief ChiefPhotographer Photographer

Emil EmilP.P.Jurado JuradoChairman ChairmanEmeritus, Emeritus,Editiorial EditiorialBoard Board

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

GOING ‘HOVERBOARD’

[ EDI TORI A L ]

PENSÉES

...and another route.

MST MST

PPI PPI

Continued on A11

Emil EmilP.P.Jurado JuradoChairman ChairmanEmeritus, Emeritus,Editiorial EditiorialBoard Board

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

RELATIONSHIPS AND HAPPINESS OUT OF THE BOX RITA LINDA V. JIMENO MAKING a list of resolutions, or simply mulling about the New Year and what it has in store will, perhaps, never fade as a universal practice. Perhaps it is because happiness—that one thing we all strive to attain—has been perpetually elusive. Studies say that the millennials believe that happiness and the good life can be found in fame and wealth so I thought I ought to share in this column a message—a video, actually— which I recently received. From the 12-minute video of psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, speaking as a director of the 75-year-old study done in Harvard Uni-

Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.

versity about adult development titled, “What makes a good life: lessons from the longest study on happiness,” I culled the following major points. If you think that what makes us happy and healthy as we go through life are fame and money, you are not alone, but you are mistaken, Dr. Waldinger says. So, what are the lessons derived from the tens of thousands of pages of information that the researchers in the study have gathered on the lives they studied? First big lesson: good relationships keep us happier and healthier, Waldinger says. Elucidating, he adds, social connections are good for us and loneliness kills. People who are more connected to family, to friends, to community are happier. They are physically healthier too and live longer lives than people who are less connected. The experience of loneliness turns out to be toxic. People who are more isolated find that they are

less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning declines sooner and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely. You can be lonely in a crowd and in a marriage. The second big lesson gathered from the study, Waldinger says, is that it is not the number of friends you may have or whether you are in a committed relationship or not, but the quality of your close relationships that matters. Living in the midst of conflict, or in a relationship with no affection, turns out to be very bad for our health, even worse than divorce, he says. The men the researchers followed, who lived to be the healthiest at age 80 were not those who had good cholesterol levels at age 50. Rather, they were those who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50. Good, close relationships seem to buffer us from the slings and arrows of getting old, Waldinger said. The most happily partnered men and women reported that on days of physical pain, their mood stayed happy while those in unhappy relationships had magnified physical and emotional pain. The third biggest lesson learned, Waldinger says, is that good relationships don’t just protect our bodies, they protect our brains, too. Being in a securely attached relationship is protective. People in relationships where they feel they can count on the other person in times of need have memories that stay sharper longer. On the other hand, people in relationships who feel they can’t count on the other person are the ones who experience earlier memory decline. Yet, our relationships do not have to be smooth all the time, he says. Some of the octogenarian couples whose lives were followed in the study, could bicker with each other, day in and day out, but as long as they felt they could really count on the other when the going got tough, their arguments did not take a toll on their memories. While the wisdom learned from the study is as old as the hills, Dr. Waldinger says, we find it hard to learn because we are looking for quick fixes. Relationships, he says, are messy and complicated, and

LONG-TERM THINKING files and you won’t find an economic forecast beyond 2025. No forecasts for the fourth decPASTOR ade of the century. I doubt if APOLLO there is even a 2020 vision. QUIBOLOY In the local level, the time APPLICANTS for entry-level frame to garner achievements government jobs must pen an is all the more constricting, essay as their admission ticket three years or a little over 1,000 days. to the bureaucracy. At a time when big projects But if the wannabe is eyeing the highest-paid casual job are bred in long gestation periin the government, he churns ods, what can be done in under out a platform of government, 60 weeks? Nothing of the highusually an encyclopedic take on impact kind, only flash-in-thethe state of the nation in which pan types dripping with gimno issue is undiscussed and no mickry. These only promote name recall which comes in province is unforgotten. The problem, however, with handy during the re-election these lengthy prescriptions is drive. The result is an over-reliance that they only detail what must be done within a six-year presi- on retail projects such as libreng kasal, libreng gupit, or libreng dential term. It covers the inauguration to bag, projects which can be put the hour he takes his succes- in one paper bag—or completed sor on that customary limou- in one hour. In the meantime, the needsine ride to the place where he ed overpass remains unbuilt, took his oath six years before. We all know that in a life of for the construction schednation six years is a speck, the ule surpasses three years—well the term for which no equivalent of the light speed beyond travel that catapults Star bragging rights can be milked for re-election. Wars ships through space. As a flimsy substitute for Cramming all to-dos withschools and in a single presidential term performance, truncates vision, discourages footbridges are merely reforesight, and promotes official painted because the threeyear term only allows for myopia. And that is what has been cosmetic makeover, so new ailing us since the birth of our livery introduced and the republic—the inability to take incumbent’s slogan , patterned a longer view the aversion to after his initials, will be painted over his predecessor’s . long-term planning. This fetish for self-adverFor example, national economic plans span six years, tisement spills over the streets coterminous with the leader’s and blots the landscape. Tarps time on the throne. Other of politicos, expressing every countries forge 10-year to 20- happy wish imagined, there’s year development blueprints , even one for All Souls’ Day on which won’t fly here as a decade cemetery gates, have become is treated by officialdom as akin all-weather curtains hanging from power lines. to an Ice Age. Gone is the era when parliaGovernment investment plans follow the same sched- mentarians wrote great speechule. There is even an abbreviat- es or good laws. They now ed version, good for one year. merely write Hallmark-type Spending cycle is annual, and greetings on tarpaulins. Ink on paper is passé. The there is no problem with that, but in other countries, the in thing is paint by the barrel, trend is to have at least a multi- to daub traffic islands with the new color of victor, or year expenditure framework. Rifle through government to produce streamers by the

hundreds. So this is the reason why police cars, road signs change colors like the political season, by order of the chameleons in office. One year it is red, in three years it is flamingo pink. The bottomline is this: Projects are designed not for the civic good but for political careers. And the latter require that projects must be finished before expiry of term so it can be used for re-election purposes. When common good is overrun by personal agenda, development suffers and the nation stagnates. So what must we expect from presidential aspirants as they churn out platforms to seduce us to vote for them? I hope they shun the instant gratification for long-haul work that building this nation needs. When shallow but swift achievements are paraded out, we only conceal our problems with the thin veneer of false performance. I would like our candidates to have a long-range view of things and fix them like a North Star that will guide our journey. Their first gift to us should also be their final legacy : a vision that transcends administrations. But first, it must spring from their candor that the problems of this country will not be solved in a year, or in six years. That nation building is not a sprint but a slog. What is important, however, is that next generation’s burden is made lighter by the labors of the present. Countries which made the great leap forward were guided by strategic vision, not by tactics. By broad leaps and not by baby steps. The next leader should point to us the long road ahead. When we lurch from election to election, when our plans are dictated by the electoral calendar, we are handicapped by shortsightedness which makes us future-blind, instead of future-ready.

it is hard to tend to family and friends. Neither is the job sexy or glamorous, he says. It is also lifelong and never ending. The people in the 75-year-old study who were the happiest in retirement were the people who had actively worked to replace workmates with new playmates. Just like the millennials, Waldinger says, many of the men who were happy at 80, also believed when they were young adults, that fame and wealth and high achievement were what they needed to go after to have a good life. But over and over, the study has shown that the peo-

surf the Internet with their gadgets and work by texting or emailing, using their cellphones. We live in a generation of social media that connects us to people and the world faster but alas, the number of marriages falling apart are increasing and the number of people who say they are lonely is growing. If we seek happiness, it is well to learn lessons from Harvard’s 75-year-old study on happiness and the good life.

PLUMBLINE

ple who fared the best were those who learned to lean in to relationships with family, friends, and community. The age of Internet and high technology, while the bearer of the easy and convenient life, has unwittingly taken away much from the young generation. Children no longer invent their own toys from what they pick around them; they no longer play on the streets or in playgrounds with playmates. They stay in rooms with computers. People sitting side by side in public places or gatherings no longer talk to each other much—they

Email: ritalindaj@gmail. com Visit: www.jimenolaw. com.ph

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A BINAY REDUX SO I SEE LITO BANAYO JUST before Christmas, three poll surveys released their last quarter quantitative research on the same week: The Standard’s Junie Laylo, Pulse Asia, and Social Weather Stations. Without having to mention the specific numbers, as it would be mental indigestion to write here the gaggle of numbers, two things can be clearly read: (1) It will be a tight race among the top four contenders; and (2) there is a revival of what seemed like the flagging hopes of a Binay victory in May 2016; a Jojo Binay redux. Of course, those were the snapshots in the first to second weeks of December. Remarkably captured were Duterte’s cussing of the traffic, using the Pope as unfortunate example; Poe- Llamanzares’ disqualification by one division of the Comelec; and in the SWS field research of 12-14 December, the beginnings of the word war between Roxas and Duterte on the former’s Wharton credentials and the latter’s Davao crime index. Except for the revival of his 2010 ad message where the Makati freebies are once again highlighted, Binay was quiet and out of the spotlight. For sure, all four had their share of TV advertorials in the weeks preceding the survey period. Roxas

and his solo perorations on good governance and “daang matuwid” coupled with his duets with showbiz celebrity Boy Abunda; Grace with her promises of taking care of the sick and elderly as well as her promising to “fix” the MRT; Binay with the revival of his Makati showcase; Duterte and Alan Cayetano in tandem ads decrying crime proliferation and promising change. (The precedence of enumeration is directly proportionate to the air time allocations and of course, the money spent, from biggest spender to lowest.) And except for Duterte who was either in Davao or Manila, the presidential candidates were moving all over the country. Miriam, the other candidate of note, was virtually unseen and unheard from. Barring any final disqualification by either Poe or Duterte, it will be anybody’s game for the four. The eventual winner will probably get 33-35 percent of the national vote, pulling away only in the last two weeks of the campaign from a tight four-way race. The second and third placers should be close to each other at 2225 percent; and the fourth placer, from whom the winner will get most of his lastminute bandwagon votes from, will be in the 15-17 percent vote band. And the fifth will predictably get 4 to 5 percent of the votes cast. But more of such forecasts will come out, this time backed by survey numbers,

GOING... From A9 ***

Old peso bills were demonetized starting Jan. 1. Make sure your votes are not paid for with old peso bills. *** Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the public should not take everything President Aquino says literally, particularly the one about throwing himself and Jun Abaya under a speeding train because of some unfulfilled promise. Sonny, speaking in his usual straight-faced demeanor, never fails to make us laugh with how he explains gaffes uttered by his boss.We will miss him and Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda for their convoluted explanations of presidential pronouncements. This early, they should

as the campaign heats up. SWS and Pulse Asia and perhaps The Standard through Junie Laylo, should be coming up with monthly surveys the results of which would be unveiled starting end-January 2016. What is unmistakably evident in all three surveys is the Binay redux. In mid-2014, the vice president was virtually “unbeatable” with 40 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him as president then, and the 60 percent divided among eight others, including Poe, Roxas, Duterte, Estrada, Santiago, Escudero, Cayetano, and Trillanes. By mid-2015, after several Senate Blue Ribbon hearings and Ombudsman woes, that 40 percent had been halved, with most of Binay’s 20-percent loss going to the Poe and Duterte columns. The question five months ago was whether Binay had reached his “solid” base, or whether the 20 percent could yet be eroded. For the administration candidate, Mar Roxas, it seemed that a two-way race, between Binay and himself was ideal. It would be his “daang matuwid” versus his accusation of Binay being the “daang baluktot.” Voters would have no other choices other than black or white. Whether true or not, the perception created in the last five months was that the administration candidate’s handlers were hell-bent on eliminating all others in the race, except Binay. Or, if luck

be clearing their desks for the next Palace mouthpieces. For sure, they will be appointed to sinecures with fixed terms like Coloma who we heard will be named Civil Service commissioner. Whatever their next public office would be, we wish them well. It’s not easy speaking for this President but at least he takes care of his friends. ** A drunken New Year reveler, in his own version of being a suicide bomber, blew himself up by hugging the giant firecracker “Goodbye, Philippines.” It goes to show alcoholic drinks are more dangerous than firecrackers. A relentless campaign of warning and raiding merchants selling illegal firecrackers brought down New Year revelry injuries to an all-times low of 384. The government now

and machination would prevail, all of the opponents of Mar would be out of the race: Poe and Duterte disqualified (in mid-2015 no one in fact could say for sure that Duterte would go for the presidential sweepstakes); Binay in detention. Of course, that was a stretch. Even if Mar’s handlers salivated at the prospect of putting Binay in detention, I seriously doubt if either Mar or PNoy, especially PNoy, would have countenanced the same. Take note of the numbers, though. Since mid-2015, after Binay’s numbers were halved, they steadied at the 20s, give or take the nationwide margins of error at plus or minus three. They just stayed there, as the Mona Lisa song warbled. Would they “die” there? Meanwhile, Poe’s numbers which zoomed to the 40s after her declaration have been shaved to the high 20s; Duterte shot up to the high 30s, then plummeted to the mid-20s; and Roxas remained static at 20. But Binay remained steady, keeping his base, even gaining a few points in the last quarter of this year. If this is a solid base, then the prospects for the other candidates are going to be tough. The contest will be very, very tight. There are three very important findings borne out by the tale of the numbers game. One: some 35-40 percent of the respondents say they could still change their mind

wants to raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Ouch, now that really hurts. *** The country’s population is projected to grow to 104 million in 2016, up from 102 million last year. This was according to the Commission on Population which monitors and tracks how many babies are born every year. The downside to the Popcom report is that government economic and social amelioration program will be outpaced again by the runaway population, one of the highest in the world. Perhaps there’s some sense in what actress-turned-senatorial candidate Alma Moreno says after all. Keep the lights on at night, worry about your electricity bill later. Happy New Year to one and all!

on their current choices. Remove this from the universe, the numbers are firm only for some 60-65 percent of the voters. In the order of firmness of current choice, Binay tops, Poe and Duterte are tied up at second, and Roxas last. What happens during the campaign will determine where the seemingly undecided, the “parkers” I call them, will go. They “parked” with Poe, wandered towards Duterte, then now still in limbo, looking for their idea of a “savior.” I suspect that this time, with the millennials showing high interest, the debates will be closely watched. And social media will be very important. So how the candidates campaign in the next four months leading to May will spell the difference between victory or defeat in this close, close race. Two: the “yellow” vote is estimated at 11-12 percent of the nationwide total. Most of these will go to the MarLeni tandem. Three: the message of continuing the “daang matuwid” is failing to resonate. The ABC income level respondents are demanding performance; the D1 want change; the D2 also want change and seem more tolerant about perceptions of corruption; the E want a better life, corruption allegations notwithstanding. The last paragraph explains why the Binay numbers are firming up at a solid 20 percent, why there is a Binay redux.

A UNIVERSAL... From A9 reminded Catholics to do was to glorify God by their vote. And no matter that Smartmatic and the “hocus-pocus” machines may very well turn gold, frankincense and myrrh into dross, the good Archbishop wasARDIVILLA merely remindCHONG ing Catholics to bring their votes to the King as proof of their fealty to him. Final remark: Any Epiphany scene with Joseph in it alters the story. Matthew very clearly says that when the Magi entered the house, they found “the Child and his Mother.” Why no Joseph? The point of the evangelist is clear—the Incarnate Word comes to the world through Mary, of a Father that is not human and not of this world, hence he was worth the search of the nations! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

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Rooney 2nd all-time scorer MANCHESTER United manager Louis van Gaal paid tribute to Wayne Rooney after his winner against Swansea City lifted him to second place in the club’s all-time list of goal-scorers. Rooney superbly flicked in Anthony Martial’s cross with 13 minutes to go at Old Trafford on Saturday to give his side a 2-1 victory that ended their nine-game winless run and left them fifth in the Premier League. The United captain’s third league goal of the season took him past Denis Law to 238 goals -- behind only Bobby Charlton’s club record of of 249 -- and Van Gaal hopes a first home victory since 7 November will trigger an improved run for both

Rooney and his side. Van Gaal, who had overseen United’s longest sequences of matches without victory since 1990, said: “It is amazing and that at the age of 30 years. “You have to say that of course now we are playing much more matches, but still it is an achievement. For me, it is more important he scores now and he scores today (Saturday). “He scores also a fantastic goal, with his left foot behind his right

foot, and you cannot imagine what a goal that is. A great goal. “All the players have done their utmost best and that is very important for the manager. I hope it is a fantastic starting point for the team and for him.” United, whose 0-0 draw against Chelsea last Monday meant that they had failed to score in five of their previous eight home games, produced an improved performance. As well as creating the winning goal, Martial headed in the game’s opening goal two minutes into the second half and Ashley Young, who set him up, also stood out. Van Gaal described his starting formation, with a three-man defence

and Young and Martial as wingbacks, as “risky”. He was in danger of seeing more points dropped when Swansea, who had won their previous three games against United, equalised through a Gylfi Sigurdsson header with 20 minutes to play. But Rooney’s goal was a reward for a more adventurous approach by the United manager. “Amazing is that you can perform the game plan like we have done in the first half and the second half in a risky style under this pressure. That is positive, I think,” Van Gaal said. “Also against Chelsea we played very risky because we want to press. The players want to press. It is a risk to play that. AFP

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova prepares to receive the ball during her match at the Brisbane International. The unseeded Russian swept aside fifth-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 6-2, 6-1 Sunday. AFP

Russian upsets seeded Swiss

BRISBANE, Australia - Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova caused the only upset on the first day of the seasonopening Brisbane International when she swept aside fifth-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 6-2, 6-1 Sunday. The powerful Russian took just over an hour to defeat Bacsinszky and set up a clash against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet. Cornet booked her place in the second round when she beat fellow countrywoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-4. Former Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova survived a scare from Belgian Yanina Wickmayer to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the tournament’s first match at the Pat Rafter Arena. The Slovakian was down 4-3 in the third set before storming home to see off Wickmayer in two hours and 11 minutes. “Today I was really, really strong, especially mentally,” she said. “For the first match it was tough because [in] these first tournaments of the season...you never know what to expect. AFP

Swimmer injured in shark attack

Top triathletes to train abroad By Peter Atencio TRAINING camps in Portugal and Australia await the country’s top athletes in triathlon. Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) president Tom Carrasco, who is also the Philippine Olympic Committee chairman said they have plans to send their top four elite athletes to a highperformance training camp in Portugal and in Australia. Carrasco their coming stints will make them ready for two big races in Asia the first half of 2016. “It will depend on the season. If its winter in Europe, these camps will be brought closer to Asia,” remarked Carrasco. Claire Adorna, Kim Mangrobang and Nikko Huelgas, who have won medals in the recent 28th Southeast Asian Games are among the top candidates. Two upcoming bets, Jonard Saim and Edward Macalalad could take the last spot. They are all preparing for the Asian Championships in China this April, and for the Asian Cup in Korea later on.

Elorde nemesis passes away By Ronnie Nathanielsz JAPANESE featherweight Shigeji Kaneko, who beat Gabriel “Flash” Elorde four times in fights in Japan, passed away Saturday night in Tokyo. Kaneko’s son Misako, who accompanied his father when he was a special guest at the Annual ‘Flash” Elorde Awards and Banquet of Champions, informed Elorde’s eldest son Gabriel “Bebot” Elorde of Kaneko’s passing but gave no other details. In a strange coincidence, Kaneko passed away some hours after the Elorde family, led by matriarch Laura Elorde and her family, and friends celebrated Mass at the

Shigeji Kaneko, who beat Flash Elorde four times, gets a haircut in this file photo.

Manila Memorial Park in memory of Elorde’s 31st death anniversary. Elorde died at the age of 49 while Kaneko passed away at the age of 84. Although boxrec.com lists four wins by Kaneko over Elorde, two of those decisions were highly controversial. Elorde,

who became firm friends with Kaneko, never complained. In paying tribute to Elorde at his Annual Awards Night, Kaneko told this reporter, “Flash Elorde was a good and decent man. He was a good fighter and I learned so much from him.”

A SWIMMER suffered wounds to his arms and legs Saturday after he was mauled in a suspected shark attack off Queensland state on Australia’s east coast, officials said. The latest reported attack comes during the busy summer season, and as authorities in neighbouring New South Wales implement a range of shark-prevention measures to reduce encounters after a spate of maulings in the state last year. The 30-year-old man was swimming off Rosslyn Bay some 670 kilometers (420 miles) north of Brisbane just before 12:00 pm when he was believed to have been bitten by a shark, the state’s ambulance service said. “(He has) lacerations to the arms and legs,” an ambulance spokesman told AFP. “He is still being assessed. He’s just arrived to the shore now and will be transferred to Rockhampton Hospital shortly.” AFP

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Japanese champ foils Saludar’s title quest By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors celebrates after rolling in the go-ahead basket in overtime to push the Golden State Warriors to a 111-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets. AFP

Warriors remain unbeaten at home KLAY Thompson drove for a go-ahead basket with 15.6 seconds left in overtime as the Golden State Warriors kept their NBA home winning streak alive with a bruising 111-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Warriors improved to 16-0 at home this season, and posted their 34th straight win at Oraclet Arena in Oakland, a streak stretching back to last season. They aren’t the only team dominating on their home floor, and the San Antonio Spurs became just the third Western Conference team ever to open a season 20-0 at home with a 121103 victory over the Houston Rockets. But the Warriors and Spurs had to battle to keep their streaks alive. In Oakland, a Warriors team missing five injured players were buoyed by the return from injury of Stephen Curry and exploded for a 37-13 first-

quarter lead. But the Nuggets outscored them in each of the next three quarters, the Warriors unable to keep them at bay after Curry departed at halftime having aggravated his bruised left shin. Power forward Draymond Green helped fill the void with a triple double of 29 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Thompson, who finished with 16 points, rolled in his goahead basket in overtime after Denver forward Kenneth Faried buried a contested shot to knot the score at 108-108 with 33.3 seconds left in the extra session. Faried was then injured in a collision with teammate Will Barton. He missed the final seconds

and was taken from courtside on a stretcher after the contest ended with his neck in a brace -- raising his arm and giving a “thumbs up” as he was wheeled away. Barton, who forced overtime with a driving bank shot, had two chances to tie the game in the last seven seconds of overtime. But he missed a running fivefooter and after Thompson had stretched Golden State’s lead to 111-108 with two free throws Barton was off-target with a lastgasp three-point attempt at the buzzer. “We stuck together,” Green said of the win. “When stuff started going wrong, nobody fought and nobody complained to each other. We just stuck together.” Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds and guard Danny Green broke out of a shooting slump with six three-pointers for San Antonio, who have now won 29 straight games at home dating back to last season. AFP

A VICIOUS shot to the liver by WBO minimum weight champion Kosei Tanaka ended Vic “Vicious” Saludar’s hopes of winning the WBO world title in Tokyo, Japan. Saludar had dropped Tanaka in the fifth round and was comfortably ahead on points on the scorecards of all three judges before the Japanese youngster unleashed a deadly blow to the liver that decked the Filipino for the full count. Saludar’s trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor said he was confident, after the fifth round knockdown scored by Saludar who had the champion in serious trouble, the Filipino would win and become the Philippines third world champion alongside stablemate Donnie “Ahas”

Nietes and WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire. But it was not to be. Villamor said it was an exciting bout with both fighters willing to engage in rapid-fire exchanges. Saludar was in command in the fifth round after the knockdown and continued to dominate the early part of round six. The 20-year-old Tanaka suddenly exploded with a left hook to the liver sending Saludar to the canvas grimacing in pain with referee Carlos Ortega counting out the Filipino at 2:50 of the 6th round. It was Tanaka’s first defense of the title he won from Mexico’s Julian Yedras in a twelve round decision last May. It pushed the champion’s record to 6-0 with three knockouts. Saludar, in his first fight abroad, dropped to 11-2 with nine knockouts.

Palawan Pawnshop promises bigger tennis events in 2016 THE Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis tour has lined up 52 events next year, including seven Open tournaments, making it the country’s longest running and most comprehensive age-group circuit. The Visayas leg of the nationwide tour, backed by new presentor Asiatraders Corp., will have 18 age-groupers and three Open championships while the Mindanao and Luzon swings will hold 14 and 13 juniors tournaments, respectively, and two Opens each. “It has been our long-time commitment to help develop and promote the sport at the grassroots level and after another banner season, we are inspired to put up more tournaments next year, both in junior and Open ranks,” said Palawan Pawnshop CEO/president Bobby Castro. “With Asiatraders Corp. as our new partner, we have come up with a year-long calendar that will keep our youth, especially those from the countryside, busy all year,” said Castro, referring to the country’s authorized sole distributor of Dunlop and Slazenger

sporting goods. “We are honored to be the presentor of this prestigious agegroup tennis tournament that has continued to produce talent for future national pool and teams,” said Asiatraders Corp. vice president John Christopher Tan. The 2016 circuit will kick off Jan. 7-11 in Roxas City while Dumalag, Capiz, Tacloban City and LapuLapu, Cebu will host the next three legs on Jan. 14-18, Jan. 21-25 and Jan. 28-Feb. 1, respectively, according to tournament organizer and supervisor Bobby Mangunay, also the PPS-PEPP sports program development director. Mangunay said that aside from the regular Philta rankings, the PPS-PEPP will have its own ranking system. “Asiatraders’ entry as the PPSPEPP presentor comes at a time when Philippine tennis, particularly the juniors ranks, is enjoying a boom with tournaments held almost every week spiced up by a number of events for the country’s elite players,” said Philta president and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Calma rules Season 2 of Vios Cup HE was expected to carry on the legacy of his father Philippine Basketball Association great Hector Calma. The 20-year-old lean and buff 6’2” Dela Salle University sophomore has the ideal build to make it big in the pro caging scene. However, he chose his own path. His passion for racing drove Andres Calma of Toyota Alabang to prove himself. He earned more distinction recently as the Vios Cup Season 2 Overall Champion. He was introduced to karting at age nine and racing became his new-found love as he dreamt of becoming a race car driver. After his karting years, he

continued to pursue a racing career. He was among the first to acquire a Vios upon learning that Toyota Motor Phillppines would be launching its flagship project, the Vios Cup. Calma was the first privateer to emerge Vios Cup champion. For his win, he received a brand new Vios Manual 1.5G, one of the biggest prizes in local motorsports which is supported by Toyota Racing Development, Bridgestone, ROTA, Motul, Denso, AVT, Brembo, OMP and Tuason Racing.com “I’m happy that what was once my dream is now a reality. I’m thankful for the all-out sup-

port of my parents and the trust given by our boss Mike Lee and the whole Toyota Alabang Team. I share my win with my hard working chief mechanic, Gino Memije, and my other mechanics who tirelessly worked on my car so we could achieve our goal,” said Calma. Calma, who came into the last leg as the series points leader, was able to maintain his position by driving well and keeping his cool. The pressure for him to perform was magnified because the championship points was up for grabs due to double Andres Calma (inset), son of Philippine Basketball Association legend Hector points that will be awarded for Calma, earned more distinction recently as the Vios Cup Season 2 Overall Champion. He rode the Vios Manual 1.5G in photo to victory. the Subic Leg.

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Bradley not an easy fight for Pacman By Ronnie Nathanielsz

THE trainer, who steered Manny Pacquiao to his first world title – the World Boxing Council flyweight championship when he knocked out Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul in the 8th round on Dec. 3, 1998 -- doesn’t believe the Pacman’s third fight with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley will be an easy fight.

Timothy Bradley, shown here getting hit on the face by Manny Pacquiao during their second fight, is the same old guy, who will box to be effective but he can’t go in there and bang with people, said trainer Rick Staheli.

Korean heads PH amateur title chase HWANG Min Jeong, a 14-year-old Korean ace who won a pro event last year, banners the ladies cast in the Philippine Amateur (Stroke Play) Open Golf Championship which gets going tomorrow at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club’s Aoki course in Gen. Trias, Cavite. Hwang humbled the cream of the country’s pro crop, including fellow amateur and former US Girls’ Junior champion Princess Superal, to win the Mt. Malarayat leg of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour last year. This makes the ninth grader at Holy Infant School in Muntinlupa the player to watch in the 72-hole championship serving as the kickoff leg of this year’s PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT

and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. She will be up against an equally talentladen field, including veteran Nur Durriyah Damian and fellow Malaysian Genevieve Ling I-Rynn along with Koreans Koh Euna and Jang Yoon Ji from Riviera and Lee Eun Kyung from Valley Golf. Also in the fold are Regina de Guzman and Cassy Isagawa, who teamed up to rule last week’s NGAP National Doubles Amateur, national team mainstay Harmie Constantino, Weifang Gao, Junia Gabasa, LK Go, Kristine Torralba, Laja Barro, Jona Magcalayo, Riko Nagai, and Koreans Jeong Su Ji and Jeon Hye Rim. Meanwhile, pro-bound Jobim Carlos and national junior champion Rupert Zaragosa headline the men’s field that also includes

a slew of foreign aces led by Tom Ferguson of the US, Koreans Sim Seung Jae, Kim Yong Uk, Ko Myeong Hun, Jun Jhon, Lee Geon, Lim Soo Min, Yang Ju Young and Kang Dong Guk, Singaporeans Joshua Shou and Jeryl Tan, Japanese Toshinori Iwasaki, Christian Boshoff, Lee Ji Hyeon and Conor Earl Morley. Other Filipinos tipped to contend for the crown in the event organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines and hosted by Eagle Ridge GCC are Jelbert Gamolo, Carlo Gatmaytan, Jama Reyes, Wei Wei Gao, Weiyu Gao, Migs Guerrero, Rocky Brobio, Bong Brobio, Jolo Magcalayo, GH Katigbak, Aidric Chan, Ira Alido Ivan Monsalve, Ryan Monsalve and Inigo Raymundo.

The showdown is set for the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 9, some 11 months after Pacquiao dropped a unanimous 12-round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the “Fight of the Century” on May 2, 2015. “Manny will have to work for 12 rounds and the long layoff plus all the political stuff in running for a Senate seat is bound to make it difficult.” Rick Staheli said. In fact, Staheli believes the fight will be “a toss up and I won’t be surprised if it ends in a draw.” He also noted that that while “this is a big moment in Manny’s life, you’ve got to consider the age factor,” pointing out that Pacquiao is 37 years old while Bradley is 32. Staheli hoped Pacquiao would pick “somebody different” but indicated that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum “wants to keep it in-house.” He said: “They mentioned the name of Adrien Broner and that would have been an interesting fight.” “Bradley is the same old guy. He will box to be effective but he can’t go in there and bang with people,” Staheli said. While there’s been a lot of talk about Bradley’s stoppage of Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, trainer Staheli noted that Rios “was not the same Rios who fought Pacquiao and lost a lopsided decision.” He recalled that Rios trained really hard for the Pacquiao fight, but Manny dominated him. He was not as prepared against Bradley and it was no surprise that he got stopped after being hurt early with body shots.

Novak starts season in Qatar DOHA—Six weeks after completing one of the greatest seasons in tennis history, Novak Djokovic begins his 2016 campaign and warm-up for his Australian Open defence in Qatar. The Serbian, also current holder of Wimbledon and the US Open, heads a strong field at the Qatar Open starting in Doha on Monday, which also includes Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych and defending champion David Ferrer. All eyes though, at least at the start, will be on Djokovic to see if he can maintain the exceptional heights he achieved last year and to gauge his form ahead of

the first Grand Slam of the year, which begins in Melbourne on January 18. The 28-year-old dominated men’s tennis last year, all but sweeping away the competition to take three majors, make 15 consecutive tour finals and win more than $21 million (19 million euros) in prize money. He also became the third man to reach all four Grand Slam finals in a year, losing out only in the French Open to Stan Wawrinka. Given his achievements last season, Djokovic must be looking to become the first player since Rod Laver, in 1969, to win all four Grand Slams in a single

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season. There is also the extra prize of a “fifth major” this season, with an Olympics gold medal up for grabs in Rio in August. “Here we come again to a new season,” Djokovic said in an upbeat statement before arriving in Qatar on December 30. “I’m so excited to come back and perform at my best in this season opening tournament, stay tuned!” Last year though, Doha represented one of his rare failures. The big serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic beat him in three seats in the quarter-finals. The other big story in Doha is Rafael Nadal. AFP

Team Kramer composed of pro cager Doug Kramer, actress Cheska Garcia and their children Kendra, Scarlett and Gavin, graced the 2015 Tempra Run Against Dengue Family Run at the Quirino Grandstand. They are joined here by Cleo Roda Nodado, Marketing Manager of Taisho and Tito Tolentino, Country Manager of Taisho Pharmaceutical (Philippines). Also backed by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Deuter, Toby’s, Guard Insect Repellent, Maynilad and Malaya Business Insight, the fun run lured 2,893 dengue busters. This Fight Against Dengue project of Tempra returns later this year with a bigger staging, but with a different format.

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Racela expects tough season; 6 Tams graduating By Peter Atencio

WITHOUT six veterans who are graduating at the end of the school year, Season 79 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament will be a tough one for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. Mac Belo won’t be around to help the Tams defend their crown and extend their reign. Neither will five other Tamaraws, namely Russell Escoto, Roger Pogoy, Mike Tolomia, Francis Tamsi and Achi Inigo. With all six expected to join the rookie draft of the Philippine Basketball Association, Racela is looking for players who are currently listed in Team B to fill up spots in the team. “We are replacing them with players who are in team B. We have a 25-man pool where we

can choose the players,” said Racela. Off-season exposure in the Fr. Martin Cup, the Got Skills and other tournaments are expected to give Racela and members of his coaching staff a chance to see how far these players have developed their skills. The players, who are from the provinces, including some from the United States, New Zealand and Norway, are expected to show how good they are in the next six months when the Tams play in pre-season tournaments.

These players are described as “diamonds in the rough” because they have potential, but need more help with their skills development. Cebuano players like Joel Lee Yu are among the bright spots in team with his shooting prowess, along with Allen de los Santos of Zamboanga, Kim Lee Bayquin of Bacolod and Fil-American Stephen Rocas, who is from California. Racela is also hoping recruits like Barkley Ebona of Cebu, and Joseph Nunag of New Zealand can prove their worth.

World Series of Fighting set LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG MIXED Martial Arts is getting bigger and bolder in the Philippines. ONE Championship, Asia’s biggest MMA organization, has been regularly holding two events every year at the Mall of Asia Arena, while the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has already made inroads to this part of Asia with a Fight Night held last year also at the world-class venue. Filipino fans have responded with enthusiasm, not only to the two major organizations, but to other local MMA events like the URCC and the Pacific Extreme Championship. Local MMA events have also sprouted to provide continuous stream of talent. Henry Kobayashi is unfolding his biggest Balikatan MMA tournament yet on Jan. 30 in Marikina City, while Emmanuel Sabrine of the Philippine Muay Thai and Kickboxing Council has an ongoing Southeast Asian Fighting Championship in Angeles City, Pampanga. The combat sport community has every reason to be more excited with the arrival of the World Series of Fighting-Global Championship through the Underground Battle MMA of Ferdie

Munsayac, a former Navy chief who relocated back to the country to pursue his passion. The WSOF is an American MMA promotion based in Las Vegas and founded in 2012 by Ray Sefo, a New Zealand kickboxer and MMA fighter. Sefo is a sixtime Muay Thai world champion and eight-time K-1 World Grand Prix finalist. WSOF events are shown live in the United States by network giant NBC Sports, TNS2 in Canada and TV Esporte in Brazil. It is now slowly making its progress in Asia, beginning with the UGB MMA. *** UGB MMA is one of the more successful local promotions in the country featuring the top amateur fighters. There were struggles and successes along the way and this recent development has made Munsayac more optimistic about the future of MMA in the country. “Maybe we are doing something good,” Munsayac would always tell this corner. “There will always be ups and down, lovers and haters, but I am here to unite the industry, from the promoters, trainers to the fighters. I will always adhere to my league’s principle: For the fighters, by the fighters.” Munsayac said things happened so fast. He was reached by WSOF through social media.

They held a few discussions and in a week’s time UGB MMA and WSOF were locked in a threeyear partnership. Their joint venture will have an acid test on Jan. 22 when they hold an MMA promotion dubbed Foreign Invasion at the Makati Coliseum featuring the Filipino power-striking Mark Palomar of Hyper MMA and former ONE Championship standout Brad Robinson for the inaugural UGB MMA middleweight title. A pair of co-main events will spice up the 10-fight card with local bet Rodian Menchavez taking on Pakistani Ahmed Mujtaba for the featherweight belt and foreign fighters Welmil Graves disputing the bantamweight belt with Uloomi Karim. WSOF-GC president Shawn Wright said this is the first step in reaching the Philippine audience. The perfect word, according to Wright is partnership, not invasion. “It has never been our intention to come into a new market and try to take away from what other fine organizations are already doing. We want to work with other promotions to help grow their brand with ours and assist in that exposure any way that we can. The Philippine people are some of the greatest fight fans and we are excited to have our brand represented there,” Wright said.

Chinese driver Meiling Guo (center) is pictured inside her Mini after she ran into the crowd during the 11km prologue of the 2016 Dakar Rally, in the province of Buenos Aires. The Dakar Rally will see participants race across Argentina and Bolivia in a two-week test of endurance. AFP

Car smashes into race spectators ARRECIFES, Argentina—A speeding car careened off the road and smashed into spectators during the prologue of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, leaving at least 10 people injured, five of them seriously. The incident, which involved the Mini of Chinese driver Guo Meiling, saw the prologue— which takes place before the first stage Sunday—“neutralized” and immediately suspended in horrific scenes, race organisers said. Guo’s car veered off the course at the 6.6-kilometer mark of the 11-kilometer prologue on a stretch of straight country road near Arrecifes, a small town 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. Race chiefs immediately deployed four medical helicopters, three medical vehicles belonging to the organisers and eight local ambulances to the scene of the accident. A man and his 14-year-old son were the two most serious cases and had to be rushed to hospital, Carlos Mondino, the health secretary of Arrecifes, told channel Todo Noticias. “In total, we had 10 patients, including four children and one pregnant woman, who is ok,” said Daniel Modesto, head of the local hospital. Etienne Lavigne, the race director, said in a statement that a

Olympic City must cart away 315 tons of trash RIO DE JANEIRO—The two million revelers who ushered in 2016 on Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana Beach left behind a calling card Friday: 315 tonnes of trash for the Olympic host city to cart away. An army of nearly 1,200 workers and a fleet of 250 trash trucks began working at dawn to haul away the mountain of refuse

strewn over six kilometers (four miles) of beach. In some instances, workers had to carry on their clean-up duties while weaving between exhausted New Year’s partygoers who stayed on the beach catching up on their sleep long after most of the merry-makers had gone home. Within about four hours of

starting their labors, the beach was restored to its mostly pristine state, and was ready to welcome a new round of visitors on what looked to be scorching beach weather to start the New Year: sunny and about 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). New Year’s Eve festivities in Brazil’s biggest party town

included more than 30,000 fireworks launched from 11 barges anchored off its tropical coastline. Even with the Friday cleanup, Rio’s legendary New Year’s celebrations are a cash cow for the city, and were expected to bring more than $680 million to the local economy this year, the best in five years. AFP

dozen people were hurt, including Guo. The accident left Guo’s car battered, its bonnet strewn on the ground, as emergency workers carted the injured off on stretchers. Between 50,000 and 60,000 people were expected along the route of the prologue. In 2015, Polish motorbike rider Michal Hernik died at the end of a stage, but the last accident involving spectators at the Dakar Rally was in 2011, when one person was killed. Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb had safely negotiated the prologue in his debut on the Dakar Rally. Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke, driving a Toyota, had claimed victory, taking 6min 08sec to cover the 11 km special, beating Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) and Xavier Pons (Ford Ranger). Loeb is seeking to follow in the footsteps of Ari Vatanen, who won the Dakar in his first attempt in 1987, back when it was raced in Africa. “It was important to clear the prologue and avoid any mistakes on the first day,” said Loeb, driving a Peugeot 2008 DKR, having raced almost exclusively for another French manufacturer, Citroen. Sunday’s first stage is between Rosario and Villa Carlos Paz.

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sports

Daria Gavrilova of the Australia Green team hits a return against Sabine Lisicki of Germany during their first session women’s singles match on day one of the Hopman Cup tennis tournament in Perth. AFP

SEMIFINAL BATTLES BEGIN

Aces, Batang Pier clash by Jeric lopez

IT is on! The semifinals of the 2015-16 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup kicks off pitting a veteran team against an upstart as the Alaska Aces and the GlobalPort Batang Pier start their best-of-seven series. The top-seeded Aces and the gritty No. 5-ranked GlobalPort, a first-timer in the semifinals, clash in Game 1 of their war at 7 p.m. today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. These two squads took contrasting routes to the semifinals. Alaska had a comfortable path to get here as it earned one of the two outright semis berths after finishing with the best record after the elimination

game today, Jan. 4, Game 1, Semifinals Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City 7 p.m. - Alaska vs. GlobalPort

round at 9-2. On the other hand, the Batang Pier had to dismantle Barako Bull and then squeak past Barangay Ginebra in a dramatic finish in the two phases of the quarterfinals to get a berth in the last four.

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Alaska coach Alex Compton cited two factors that his team needs to focus on to be able to have a good showing against the Batang Pier in the semis. The Aces mentor said that defense and team chemistry will be keys to victory against GlobalPort. ‘’Our defense is pretty solid right now. We need to continue that but we also need to get better. We need to come together and be at our best in the semifinals,’’ said Compton. Heading in, it seems like the Aces are the favorites given all their talent and championship experience, but the confident Batang Pier is certainly an entertaining challenger. Led by its two dazzling superstars in Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle, GlobalPort finally got the breakthrough that it had been looking for as

it finally got past the quarterfinals. GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio kept his answer short when asked what his team needs to do against the loaded Aces. ‘’We need to work harder pa. Iyan ang kailangan namin talaga against a tough team like Alaska,’’ said Jarencio. Romeo, who is the league’s leading scorer, admitted that Alaska is a tough team to face and what Jarencio said was exactly what his team needs. ‘’Kailangan mag-ready kami kasi sobrang hirap kalaban ng Alaska. Kailangan maituloy namin ‘yung good habits pa namin,’’ said Romeo. ‘’Masusubukan talaga kami dito against Alaska.’’ The prolific scorer said the Batang Pier is in high spirits entering the semis given its momentum along with the confidence gained after making it this far.

brAdley not An eAsy fight for PAcmAn turn to A14

Kyrgios tunes up for Murray at Hopman PERTH—Precocious Australian Nick Kyrgios warmed up for an early season test against world number two Andy Murray with an impressive come-from-behind win on the opening day of the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Sunday. Kyrgios, 20, who raised eyebrows with his on-court behaviour last year, was too good for fellow young gun Alexander Zverev in a match played that played out at a frenetic pace. Kyrgios dropped the first set but steamed through the second two to beat the teenage German in just over an hour, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Kyrgios will face Murray when Australia Green -- one of two teams representing the host nation in the event -- plays Great Britain on Wednesday, at match he said he was keenly anticipating. “I have been looking forward to that for a long time now so I’m going to go and do everything I can to physically prepare for that battle,” he said. Murray has won all four of their encounters, most recently at last year’s US Open, and Kyrgios has taken just one set off the Scot. Zverev, at just 18, is tipped, along with Kyrgios, to be one of the stars of the men’s game for the next decade. AfP

MONDAY: JANUARY 4, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

First ﬁve-star hotel closes. Intercontinental Hotel

Manila, the ﬁrst ﬁve-star hotel in Makati City, closed its doors to the public on Jan. 1, 2016, after operating for 46 years. Property developer Ayala Land Inc., owner of the 332-room hotel at the corner of Edsa and Ayala Ave., said a mixed-use development with transport terminal, will rise on the site in place of the old hotel. RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ

BUSINESS

PSe comPoSite index Closing December 29, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

6,952.08 31.53

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing DECEMBER 29, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P47.060

46.20

47.00

HIGH P47.040 LOW P47.165 AVERAGE P47.118

P25.03-P28.48 Diesel

PAL, Cebu Paciﬁc bag Moscow flights

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene

By Darwin G. Amojelar

VOLUME 372.750M

P487.00-P682.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.15-P42.40 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, December 29, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.1660

Japan

Yen

0.008311

0.3920

Pound

1.487900

70.1783

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129027

6.0857

Switzerland

Franc

1.012863

47.7727

Canada

Dollar

0.719424

33.9324

Singapore

Dollar

0.710631

33.5176

Australia

Dollar

0.726480

34.2652

Bahrain

Dinar

2.656042

125.2749

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

12.5766

Brunei

Dollar

0.708115

33.3990

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000073

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.027678

1.3055

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.8433

Euro

1.097000

51.7411

Korea

Won

0.000856

0.0404

China

Yuan

0.154131

7.2697

India

Rupee

0.015132

0.7137

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.232829

10.9816

New Zealand

Dollar

0.684697

32.2944

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030481

1.4377 Source: PDS Bridge

THE Civil Aeronautics Board has granted the request of flag carrier Philippine Airlines and low-cost airline Cebu Pacific to fly between Manila and Moscow, the capital city of Russia, under a new bilateral air service agreement. CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said the aviation regulator had allocated five frequency entitlements to PAL and three frequency entitlements to Cebu Pacific. PAL was requesting for fivetimes weekly flights between Manila and Moscow; three times weekly between Manila and Khabarovsk; and four times weekly between Cebu and Khabarovsk. PAL, as a designated carrier on

the route, has been promoting Russian tourist travel to the Philippines by operating Manila-Vladsvostok flights and Kalibo-Valadivostok flights over the last two years. “We now hope to develop the Philippine Russia tourist and travel market,” PAL vice president for external affairs and partnerships Maria Socorro Gonzaga earlier said. Cebu Pacific was also request-

ing to fly three times weekly between Manila and Moscow and between Manila and Vladivostok. Vladivostok is the nearest major Russian city to Asia. The CAB also designated PAL Express and AirAsia Inc. as official Philippine carrier to Russia, under the air service agreement between Manila and Moscow. The Tourism Department said about 40,000 Russian tourists visited the Philippines each year in the past, a number that was expected to rise following the signing of a new air service agreement. Russia along with the Middle East, Europe and Japan are considered as high-yield tourist markets for the Philippine, with $1,000 spending per visitor. The Tourism Department said the Philippines would likely meet

its 5.2 million international visitor arrivals target this year, after the actual number reached more than 4 million in the first 10 months. The Philippines recorded 4.39 million foreign visitors in the January-October period, up 11.3 percent from 3.96 million a year ago. The top markets for the Philippines in the 10-month period were Korea with 1.1 million visitors; the United States, 636,658; Japan, 417,147; China, 415,868; Australia, 188,971; Singapore, 150,405; Malaysia, 129,120; the United Kingdom, 123,414 and Canada, 120,903. Other high growth markets were Spain with 19,208; New Zealand, 15,724; France, 37,135; Saudi Arabia, 44,339; Netherlands, 22,620; Hong Kong, 104,075.

PH businessmen third most optimistic in the world By Othel V. Campos BUSINESSMEN in the Philippines are the third most optimistic in the world in 2016, a survey by international accounting and auditing company Grant Thornton shows. Grant Thornton said in its quarterly international business report business optimism in the Philippines for the next 12 months reached 84 percent, next

to India’s 89 percent and Ireland’s 88 percent. Optimism is measured in terms of business expectations for revenue, selling prices, employment and profitability. The study said business optimism across the Asia Pacific region increased to 31 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, higher than 20 percent in the third quarter and 27 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2014.

It said while business optimism slightly dropped in the Philippines to 84 percent in the fourth quarter from 86 percent in the third quarter, the country remained in the top list, globally. Businesses in Thailand recorded a drop in optimism from 26 percent to 10 percent in the fourth quarter while Malaysia also saw a decline from 30 percent to 20 percent. China reported a 10-percent increase in the

same quarter. “Fears over the slowdown of the Chinese economy caused a shock to the system in 2015, and in Q4, the optimism of Asia Pacific businesses plummeted. The good news is that it has improved since then. This is partly because the rebalancing of the Chinese economy creates new opportunities; demand for raw materials will not reach the heights we saw in recent years but as the need for

services will continue to grow,” said Punongbayan & Araullo chairman and chief executive Marivic Españo. P&A is the Philippine partner of Grant Thornton. “At the same time, increasing numbers of firms across Asia Pacific are looking further afield in 2016 and exploring growth opportunities around the world. This is reflected in their improved levels of optimism,” Españo said.

MONDAY: JANUARY 4, 2016

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

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW DECEMBER 28-29, 2015 Close Volume AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank PB Bank Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine Trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

2.86 46.15 105.00 83.85 37.2 1.32 10 15 18.94 0.74 1.85 695.00 0.490 80.5 16.98 52.00 102.9 122 275 33 142 1440.00 57.05 3.14

Aboitiz Power Corp. Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Asiabest Group Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab. First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp. Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

41.7 4.73 0.79 1.34 10.28 16.48 20.75 43 2.35 1.6 13.44 9.150 8.95 6.20 5.40 1.66 22.6 65.05 14.24 5.64 2.460 219.00 12 26.00 1.77 3.1 24.8 19.98 6.2 320.00 3.95 3.68 6.99 3.7 11.80 3.65 1.61 2.38 3.95 2.4 4.79 129 2.46 0.144 1.00 2.18 186 4.7 0.6 1.08

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ Ayala Corp À’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. IPM Holdings JG Summit Holdings Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp. Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion San Miguel Corp À’ SM Investments Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.380 57.9500 16.10 1.05 6.38 756 8.2 13.80 5.81 4.40 0.225 1320 5.51 9.94 73.30 6.6 0.69 14.78 0.47 5.2 3.5 0.0310 1.200 1.830 49.90 864.00 0.71 67.600 0.2800 0.2100 0.255

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. À’ Centennial City City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. Double Dragon Empire East Land Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport À’ Megaworld Prop. MRC Allied Ind.

7.100 0.75 1.120 0.220 34.450 2.91 5.18 6 0.56 0.97 1.03 0.120 0.445 24.4 0.770 1.03 1.81 1.13 4.25 0.082

Value

FINANCIAL 383,370.00 3,322,410.00 407,534,867 65,275,124.50 4,080,640.00 68,950.00 6,000.00 9,000.00 4,128,272.00 1,110,000 218,570.00 13,900.00 366,950.00 213,936,916.50 4,636,086.00 4,210,273.00 1,895,186.50 61,000.00 11,049,914.00 171,071,110 157,166,500.00 699,150.00 6,356,321.00 2,135,030.00 INDUSTRIAL 2,392,000 99,334,725.00 500,000 2,337,550.00 349,000 273,680.00 2,338,000 3,140,910.00 1,600 16,398.00 193,400 3,195,266 5,668,900 117,342,815.00 219,300 9,532,140 774,000 1,811,940.00 565,000 903,270.00 378,600 5,029,544.00 5,690,000 52,427,236.00 147,100 1,316,951.00 13,547,900 83,860,529.00 1,155,000 6,243,135.00 20,000 33,200.00 1,598,200 36,146,515.00 294,630 19,390,656.00 1,000 14,240.00 115,000 651,531.00 8,118,000 20,430,430.00 1,704,740 376,278,864.00 136,200 1,627,590.00 2,900 76,650.00 153,000 272,310.00 5,000 15,500.00 857,600 21,136,690.00 3,808,300 76,926,302.00 901,900 5,430,300.00 126,670 40,331,274.00 1,000 3,950.00 1,079,000 4,195,950.00 14,581,100 103,518,938.00 9,000 31,790.00 87,000 1,018,320.00 77,000 293,900.00 584,000 927,560.00 320,000 722,600.00 35,000 139,290.00 2,050,000 4,920,000.00 2,000 9,570.00 52,830 6,636,462.00 258,000 637,870.00 1,820,000 262,790.00 66,000 65,740.00 482,000 1,049,350.00 3,175,310 585,311,435.00 2,000 9,250.00 247,000 147,840.00 205,000 221,400.00 HOLDING FIRMS 40,000 15,200.00 2,398,800 138,766,100.00 7,126,400 118,547,952.00 74,000 75,590.00 3,100 19,570.00 377,810 285,271,420.00 7,011,300 58,348,063.00 2,009,500 27,676,266.00 26,500 153,920.00 185,000 803,870.00 20,000 4,500.00 131,310 175,551,235.00 35,000 192,850.00 2,007,600 19,580,701.00 1,358,790 101,492,283.50 3,612,600 23,881,308.00 377,000 255,980.00 3,342,200 49,756,914.00 20,000 9,400.00 27,585,900 144,082,977.00 15,000 52,500.00 54,800,000 1,659,700.00 10,000 12,000.00 1,076,000 1,989,370.00 534,700 26,532,815.00 231,360 199,067,445.00 57,000 40,470.00 53,020 3,661,703.00 1,070,000 302,500.00 2,080,000 405,930.00 130,000 31,350.00 PROPERTY 573,800 4,078,350.00 1,448,000 1,095,030.00 10,000 11,200.00 560,000 117,400.00 9,358,100 323,606,500.00 4,940,000 14,085,970.00 29,900 153,670.00 10,000 60,000.00 5,088,000 2,799,260.00 34,000 32,980.00 92,000 94,750.00 770,000 92,720.00 510,000 227,000.00 2,075,500 50,692,345.00 106,000 81,600.00 2,187,000 2,215,560.00 9,950,000 18,023,280.00 75,000 86,160.00 41,867,000 179,497,640.00 10,000 820.00 133,000 72,500 3,897,920 778,110 109,600 53,000 600 2,200 217,700 1,500,000 119,000 20 729,000 2,635,260 275,700 81,200 9,080 500 39,530 5,262,100 1,118,100 485 111,440 687,000

DECEMBER 21-23, 2015 Close Volume Value 2.98 46.2 105.00 85.40 37 1.25

2,137,000 48,200 3,797,520 3,378,910 433,000 85,000

6,621,860.00 2,211,575.00 396,358,926 284,631,650.00 16,230,070.00 106,250.00

15 18.98

87,800 140,500

1,313,776.00 2,625,518.00

1.79 760.00 0.510 79.5 16.70 51.40 100 122 280 32 138 1440.00 56.95 3.1

8,000 50 1,858,000 2,505,850 168,100 91,040 40 2,000 7,420 122,300 798,940 5 339,200 85,000

14,140.00 38,000.00 910,030.00 200,160,245.50 2,817,278.00 4,693,279.50 3,990.00 244,000.00 2,095,962.00 3,896,970 110,338,987.00 7,200.00 19,324,205.00 264,710.00

41.35 4.65 0.7 1.33 10.28 16.54 20.05 41.5 2.3 1.6 13.26 9.260 8.98 6.07 5.39

13,242,700 926,000 9,000 3,378,000 9,300 431,200 3,025,900 437,300 1,055,000 1,784,000 1,044,600 20,842,000 1,896,300 19,644,100 36,123,215

534,413,060.00 4,380,090.00 6,380.00 4,497,850.00 93,964.00 7,093,820 61,258,680.00 18,292,720 2,422,530.00 2,832,300.00 13,827,054.00 192,534,201.00 16,778,150.00 84,520,419.00 17,742,175.00

22.4 65.4 14.24 5.8 2.420 220.00 12 26.00

3,880,900 543,430 68,900 994,400 88,819,000 2,728,930 183,400 9,600

87,540,350.00 35,765,262.00 982,102.00 5,757,050.00 251,323,520.00 592,917,130.00 2,211,550.00 255,075.00

3.04 24.8 19.92 6 312.00 4.00 3.95 6.98 2.97 11.60 3.85 1.56 2.21 3.95 2.3 4.54 125 2.46 0.144 1.00 2.18 185.9 4.7 0.6 1.11

4,200 1,826,700 4,447,300 88,700 279,640 7,000 952,000 2,897,000 4,000 129,500 187,000 1,686,000 550,000 1,505,000 1,000 3,000 238,820 725,000 5,490,000 381,000 1,731,000 2,562,870 18,000 954,000 200,000

18,770.00 44,791,050.00 89,068,376.00 528,700.00 88,161,634.00 28,020.00 3,737,960.00 20,247,166.00 11,860.00 1,459,252.00 716,810.00 2,546,640.00 1,220,880.00 5,947,100.00 2,300.00 13,640.00 29,084,166.00 1,780,910.00 787,720.00 383,460.00 3,734,140.00 474,594,555.00 81,710.00 599,680.00 224,000.00

0.370 57.9000 16.72 1.05 6.39 759 8.08 14.00 5.91 4.10 0.210 1345 5.50 9.30 73.50 6.6 0.7 15

1,980,000 4,919,180 11,058,300 301,000 21,000 394,070 3,587,000 8,642,400 229,600 7,000 650,000 365,615 39,000 977,000 3,930,140 5,521,600 11,000 11,442,200

728,850.00 283,112,553.00 183,266,340.00 311,080.00 132,372.00 296,657,300.00 28,890,505.00 119,383,474.00 1,364,740.00 29,420.00 136,710.00 480,701,405.00 214,500.00 9,418,795.00 286,484,540.00 36,479,775.00 7,630.00 169,742,692.00

5.24 3 0.0300 1.290 1.860 49.00 865.00 0.75 69.550 0.2850 0.1950 0.240

33,917,400 1,000 35,500,000 13,000 911,000 593,700 320,660 1,000 3,006,880 1,370,000 750,000 370,000

177,948,105.00 3,000.00 1,070,200.00 15,930.00 1,686,450.00 28,011,515.00 273,772,490.00 750.00 210,030,267.50 384,300.00 150,900.00 88,800.00

7.280 0.77

1,272,000 6,369,000

9,265,234.00 5,048,110.00

0.208 35.700 2.7 5

70,000 16,548,600 17,585,000 110,900

14,560.00 586,378,195.00 48,212,470.00 534,279.00

0.55 0.97 1.05 0.120 0.445 24.5 0.750 1.03 1.81 1.17 4.31 0.078

1,751,000 66,000 6,000 2,900,000 4,010,000 2,899,700 9,289,000 2,536,000 23,338,000 116,000 36,442,000 4,300,000

964,470.00 64,020.00 6,200.00 349,400.00 1,770,300.00 69,912,875.00 7,387,230.00 2,603,310.00 42,451,400.00 134,570.00 156,762,540.00 330,210.00

STOCKS

DECEMBER 28-29, 2015 Close Volume

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

0.2850 0.4450 27.50 1.4 3.13 21.70 0.78 7 0.840 5.180

2GO Group ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp. Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons Retail SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils. Yehey

6.88 61.9 1.26 0.450 11.7 28.5 4.54 0.0410 3.29 82.35 9.89 5.30 1852 6.90 17.80 1.17 70.3 11 0.0053 0.155 1.4000 2.03 7.63 4.36 1.08 2.35 29.90 0.540 2 2.29 3.98 0.280 0.750 18.48 4.59 2.99 9.4 100.00 23.10 2060.00 0.490 0.640 34.70 63.00 6.18 3.45 0.430 4.4 0.340 4.100

Abra Mining Apex À’ Atlas Cons. À’ Basic Energy Corp. Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Semirara Corp. TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0050 1.80 4.07 0.210 5.5000 0.6 0.58 7.22 0.69 0.275 0.174 0.202 0.0100 0.011 2 6.25 2.8 0.5700 1.4000 0.0100 4.40 1.30 0.0120 136.50 2.28 0.0072

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen F GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure & Resort Pref. PCOR-Preferred A PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

62.7 523 549 120 522 7.22 1.11 1070 1029 103 106 83 85 76 79.9

Leisure & Resort Warr.

2.400

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp. Italpinas Xurpas

3.28 2.83 3.25 15.22

First Metro ETF

113.5

DECEMBER 21-23, 2015 Close Volume Value

Value

350,000 300,000 2,207,700 136,000 93,000 38,805,200 4,631,000 100 638,000 2,398,100

89,400.00 122,850.00 59,990,165.00 194,670.00 286,750.00 841,469,435.00 3,527,540.00 700.00 527,920.00 12,432,881.00 SERVICES 55,300 379,160.00 114,390 7,105,947.00 65,000 80,310.00 5,710,000 2,618,750.00 5,000 58,568.00 2,100 59,850 11,101,000 50,427,150.00 23,900,000 972,000.00 6,059,000 19,921,520.00 556,130 45,676,251.50 4,900 47,981.00 54,600 287,063.00 90,070 171,696,040 101,100 694,720.00 51,900 923,820 52,000 30,940.00 2,360,370 165,119,695.00 600 6,600.00 2,000,000 10,600.00 6,520,000 1,038,370.00 161,000 223,250.00 31,000 62,670.00 288,800 2,218,398.00 889,000 3,851,600.00 20,000 21,600.00 1,000 2,350.00 1,300 37,190.00 78,000 41,540.00 232,000 460,270.00 36,239,000 81,514,630.00 26,459,000 104,524,130.00 320,000 88,700.00 11,971,000 9,250,210.00 6,000 108,480.00 19,000 84,030 28,000 83,720.00 160,300 1,478,447.00 25,060 2,506,000.00 374,400 8,539,175.00 122,440 251,676,160.00 1,840,000 884,600.00 163,083,000 106,071,330.00 2,911,600 100,548,090.00 2,035,480 128,223,496.00 1,165,500 7,183,437.00 4,234,000 14,530,240.00 3,030,000 1,280,100.00 55,960,000 240,891,810.00 360,000 117,250.00 87,000 364,050.00 MINING & OIL 127,000,000 632,900.00 59,000 106,940.00 133,000 540,250.00 230,000 46,530.00 5,000 27,500.00 293,000 173,850.00 121,000 69,680.00 3,800 27,474.00 2,781,000 1,906,320.00 160,000 44,100.00 3,190,000 556,750.00 110,000 22,220.00 307,300,000 3,110,700.00 1,000,000 11,000.00 426,000 851,450.00 1,335,700 8,320,939.00 66,000 182,250.00 2,000 1,140.00 1,138,000 1,586,320.00 1,000,000 10,000.00 4,103,000 18,088,230.00 351,000 453,960.00 146,500,000 1,688,900.00 720,960 97,859,656.00 292,000 623,300.00 1,000,000 7,200.00 PREFERRED 174,620 10,989,226.00 44,680 23,278,600.00 60 32,940 10 1,200.00 100 52,200.00 50,800 366,440.00 180,000 199,800 8,975 9,553,500.00 12,990 13,366,410.00 7,500 772,500.00 15,300 1,628,050.00 111,910 9,287,854.50 73,100 5,750,553.00 24,420 1,873,600.00 20,660 1,650,558.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 74,000 172,510.00 SME 39,000 121,980.00 96,000 277,000.00 2,957,000 9,702,230.00 1,010,500 15,476,622.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 62,810 7,152,623.00

0.2400

500,000

121,310.00

27.15 1.46 3.08 22.40 0.74 6.99 0.840 5.200

5,622,700 250,000 580,000 51,024,800 403,654,000 1,500 1,595,000 3,920,000

152,721,700.00 346,340.00 1,783,950.00 1,132,731,850.00 302,708,230.00 10,177.00 1,343,770.00 19,950,941.00

7.04 63.9 1.12 0.485

169,600 8,180 62,000 30,000

1,171,065.00 519,393.00 71,960.00 14,550.00

26 4.28 0.0400 3.29 80.5 9.53 5.08 1900 6.88 17.80 1.17 69.75 11.24 0.010 0.152 1.4000 2 7.62 4.32 1.10 2.35 26.00 0.550 1.97 2.03 3.83 0.280 0.810 18 4.65

500 11,771,000 25,000,000 6,290,000 1,078,940 5,800 129,300 71,715 84,900 65,100 157,000 2,068,800 8,911,000 8,500,000 2,030,000 229,000 227,000 3,360,000 410,000 107,000 49,000 1,200 314,000 30,000 75,584,000 14,598,000 1,150,000 21,069,000 2,300 20,000

13,000 50,118,190.00 1,015,900.00 21,022,690.00 86,823,820.50 55,451.00 640,139.00 142,037,885 579,275.00 1,364,250 182,330.00 143,245,850.50 100,005,240.00 79,150.00 304,910.00 314,610.00 478,130.00 25,919,113.00 1,773,740.00 118,170.00 111,570.00 30,100.00 164,280.00 59,100.00 151,259,570.00 54,310,210.00 295,650.00 17,303,320.00 41,400.00 90,070

9.44 100.00 21.70 2076.00 0.470 0.600 34.70 62.45 6.14 3.40 0.430 3.4 0.310 4.100

5,000 400 177,700 366,075 490,000 200,875,000 2,983,800 3,194,010 3,691,700 18,964,000 5,080,000 910,000 310,000 124,000

47,200.00 40,010.00 3,773,645.00 751,225,500.00 230,950.00 121,478,840.00 102,463,730.00 199,958,330.00 22,728,989.00 64,668,720.00 2,211,900.00 3,096,490.00 102,550.00 507,100.00

0.0050 1.82 4.03 0.203 6.5000 0.59 0.56 7.25 0.69 0.275 0.175 0.185 0.0110 0.011 2 6.25 2.78 0.5400

192,000,000 111,000 308,000 290,000 15,000 713,000 324,000 35,800 87,588,000 1,050,000 3,890,000 2,110,000 1,268,100,000 141,300,000 509,000 6,984,600 26,000 12,000

941,200.00 199,820.00 1,246,000.00 58,340.00 87,480.00 421,990.00 179,570.00 37,791.00 59,655,250.00 288,750.00 675,020.00 391,060.00 4,653,200.00 1,489,300.00 1,019,490.00 57,096,730.00 72,020.00 6,480.00

0.0094 4.31 1.29 0.0120 134.00 2.12

20,000,000 855,000 231,000 45,600,000 772,630 242,000

197,030.00 3,754,650.00 299,070.00 519,500.00 103,354,491.00 509,140.00

64.5

249,090

16,142,032.50

522 6.8 1.13 1060 1019 103.5 106.5 83 78.4 78.35 79.8

9,240 168,000 40,000 4,680 7,500 64,510 15,920 48,260 1,520,890 547,080 2,240,520

4,806,280.00 1,119,943.00 45,410 4,960,800.00 7,631,180.00 6,669,782.00 1,697,999.00 3,943,980.00 118,708,436.00 42,672,625.50 176,557,794.00

2.440

523,000

1,327,140.00

3.12 2.86 2.97 15.5

68,000 44,000 2,921,000 787,000

213,840.00 122,500.00 8,556,150.00 12,121,908.00

114.1

116,740

13,148,101.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Manila Mining À’ Premium Leisure Philodrill Corp. À’ Abra Mining Travellers Pacifica À’ Megaworld Prop. SM Prime Holdings Melco Crown Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

VOLUME 307,300,000 163,083,000 146,500,000 127,000,000 55,960,000 54,800,000 41,867,000 38,805,200 36,239,000 27,585,900

STOCKS SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Jollibee Foods Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Ayala Corp `A’ PLDT Common Travellers Metrobank SM Investments Inc.

VALUE 841,469,435.00 585,311,435.00 407,534,867.00 376,278,864.00 323,606,500.00 285,271,420.00 251,676,160.00 240,891,810.00 213,936,916.50 199,067,445.00

MONDAY: JANUARY 4, 2016

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

Who gets Malampaya’s banked gas? THE banked gas at the Malampaya natural gas field northwest off Palawan has been partially awarded, according to a government official. “I think there was a partial award already,” Energy Department director Melita Obillo said, when asked about the banked gas bidding update. Banked gas, which refers to the stockpile of Malampaya reserves owned by Philippine National Oil Co. and the consortium led by Shell Philippines Exploration Corp., is reportedly enough to fuel a 400-megawatt natural gas power plant. The government is conducting a joint tender for the banked gas. Obillo did not comment on who won the fuel supply contract or on whether the gas awarded was the share of PNOC or the Malampaya consortium led by Spex, The invitation to prospective investors for the banked gas earlier stated that Spex, Chevron Malampaya LLC, PNOC Exploration Corp. and PNOC would jointly tender their respective gas volume entitlements under service contract 38. The total quantity of gas available is up to 227.995 petajoules, with average daily quantity of up to 78.1 terajoules. It will be available for delivery as early as Jan. 1, 2016 and up to Feb. 23, 2024. The banked gas is estimated to fuel a natural gas plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts. Spex officials earlier said a “significant” number of power companies were interested in the banked gas. The transaction is expected to cost about $1 billion. Spex, the operator of SC 38 or the Malamapaya service contract, holds a 45-percent stake. Other consortium members are Chevron Malampaya LLC with 45 percent and PNOC Exploration with 10 percent. The government also wants to complete the banked gas sale soon to help secure the country’s long-term power requirements. “Let’s put it this way, the Malampaya phase 3 is now commissioned and ready to go. It is the desire of government to try to get the power out asap. There are people who have put power plants on the ground as we speak so they are looking for gas,” Spex managing director Sebastian Quiniones said earlier. He said Spex was helping PNOC monetize the banked gas. Alena Mae Flores SM building an S-shaped office tower SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall operator and developer, is building an S-shaped office tower near SM Megamall in Ortigas central business district. Global engineering consultant Aurecon said the 50-story office project called SM Megamall Towers would have 124,200 square meters of floor area, including three levels of underground parking, plus above-ground parking. The SM Megamall Towers will have first-class amenities and will have a direct link to SM Megamall, one of the world’s largest shopping malls. Aurecon was reportedly appointed by SM Prime to provide structural engineering design services for the SM Megamall Towers. For this project, Aurecon will work closely with Arquitectonica, an architectural firm known for high-rise office building designs, from the concept engineering phase to the design development. Aurecon said the SM Megamall Towers would add to its growing portfolio of landmark projects globally, including the Shanghai Tower, the Mapletree Business City and VivoCity in Shanghai; Wembley National Stadium in London; Motion Gate in Dubai; and the World Tower Melbourne. Jenniffer B. Austria

Relief assistance. Management members and volunteers of SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc., led by as-

sistant vice president and plant manager Willy Ferrer, distribute close to a thousand relief packs to barangays affected by Typhoon Lando. The relief packs, containing rice, canned goods, instant noodles, powdered milk and bottled water, benefited 509 residents of Barangays Malalam and 411 residents of Cabisera 8 in Ilagan, Isabela.

Stock market seen to start weak in 2016 By Jenniffer B. Austria

STOCKS are expected to move sideways in the first trading week of 2016, as investors look overseas for direction in the absence of developments in the domestic market. Regina Capital Development Corp managing director Luis Limlingan said the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index was expected to struggle below the 7,000-point level. “Unless the prices break the 50and 100-day moving average resistance points, we are looking at a sideways to down trade for the next two weeks,” Limlingan said. Analysts, however, remain bullish on the domestic economy, given the upcoming elections which are expected to boost spending. “In 2016, we expect the election season to spur spending and boost corporate earnings. While

low commodity prices are seen to persist, the low oil prices might translate to increased consumption. US Fed rate increases will also cause volatility but the sound Philippine economic fundamentals will support the market along the way,” RCBC Securities analyst Ralph Christian Bodollo said. The PSEi settled at 6,952. 08 in the last trading week of 2015, down 50 points or 0.7 percent from previous week’s close, after the expected year-end windowdressing failed to lift the market The PSEi lost 3.9 percent yearon-year in 2015, dragged down by weak commodity prices, Chi-

na’s economic slowdown and the US Fed interest rate hike. Foreign investors were net sellers by P59.71 billion in 2015, as total foreign selling reached P1.061 trillion while foreign buying amounted to P1.001 trillion. Total market capitalization reached P13.465 trillion as of end-2015. Top gainers last week were Travellers International Hotel Group Inc.. which jumped 29.4 percent to P4.40; Benguet Corp. “A” shares which climbed 22.2 percent to P5.50; and Cebu Property Venture and Development Corp., which rose 19.7 percent to P6. Heavy losers last week were IP E-Game Ventures Inc., which fell 46 percent to P0.0053; Manila Mining Corp. “A” shares which dipped 9.09 percent to P0.010; and Now Corp., which shed 7.4 percent to P0.75.

Philippine Primark plans to open 25 community malls in 2016 PHILIPPINE Primark Properties Inc., a community mall developer that plans to go public, said it will open outlets in 25 new locations this year. Philippine Primark identified several locations for its new community malls, including Binmaley (Pangasinan), Paliparan (Cavite), Cauayan (Isabela), Arayat (Pampanga), Gerona (Tarlac), Teresa (Rizal) and Munoz (Nueva Ecija). Average size of these community malls will range from 2,800

square meters to 10,300 square meters and will cost P48 million to P208 million, the company said. The company currently has eight community malls, including Primark Cabiao, Primark Silang, Primark Sorsorgon 1, Primark Sorsorgon 2, Primark Sta. Cruz, Primark Sorsogon 3, Primark Echague and Primark Guagua. Two malls are also under renovation, including Primark Quezon-Araneta and Primark Tugeg-

arao. Philippine Primark said it aimed to further accelerate its expansion plan by opening 30 town centers every year until 2020. The company said its strategy was to capitalize on strong experience in construction and retail by quickly rolling out town centers in underserved emerging cities and first to fourth-class municipalities ahead of competitors. The company said its business model was closely similar to that

of CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. of DoubleDragon Properties Inc. and SM Investments Corp. Philippine Primark, however, said said CMCCI’s developments were bigger in size and scale and outside of downtown centers. Primark town centers are mostly located within the vicinity of the public plaza. “This business model results in fast construction time [averaging 4 to 6 months], smaller capital cost per town center, and a faster

expected capital recovery period. In addition, the inclusion of local micro- entrepreneurs provides a venue that is familiar to the local community,” the company said. Philippine Primark said it would use the proceeds from the planned P1.2-billion initial public offering to construct new town centers. Under the plan, the company will sell up to 704.46 million common shares at P1.70 apiece. Jenniffer B. Austria

B4 Bullish on 2016.

About 84 percent of businesses in the Philippines are optimistic about the prospects for the next 12 months, making the country the third most bullish in the world, according to a survey by international accounting and auditing company Grant Thornton. Shown are the new residential and office space buildings that are rising in Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila. See related story on B1. RODERICK T. DELA

NTC eyes national broadband By Darwin G. Amojelar THE National Telecommunications Commission is seeking financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank to develop a five-year national broadband plan. “They are ready to consider providing financial assistance,” NTC deputy commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said, referring to ADB. Cabarios said the proposed blueprint aimed to improve telecom and broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas in the Philippines. “We are getting information from telcos and regional offices

and we are targeting to finish the blueprint before the end of the administration,” he said. Cabarios earlier said the government was unlikely to meet its goal to provide an Internet download speed of at least 2 megabits per second to 80 percent of households across the country by 2016. Cabarios said at the rate of P60-billion annual invest-

BFAR identifies areas with red tide algae By Anna Leah E. Gonzales THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said over the weekend the coastal water of Roxas in Capiz is now free from red tide algae. BFAR director Asis Perez said, however, that the coastal waters of Balite Bay in Mati, Davao Oriental; Dauis in Bohol; Daram Island in Daram, Villareal, Maqueda, Irong-Irong and Cambatutay Bays in Western Samar remained positive for red tide toxin. Perez said the coastal waters of Pilar and Sapian Bay in Capiz, Altavas, Batan and New Washington in Batan Bay, Aklan were also positive for red tide. Gigantes Islands in Carles, Iloilo and the coastal waters of Naval, Biliran Island province are also still positive for paralytic shellfish poison that is beyond the regulatory limit, he said. Perez said all shellfish or ‘alamang’ gathered from these areas are not safe for human consumption. “Fish, squids, shrimps and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” Perez said. Perez said areas which continued to be free from toxic red tide were the coastal waters of Cavite, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Navotas, Bulacan and Bataan ( Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal), Bolinao, Anda, Alaminos, Sual and Wawa, Bani in Pangasinan, and Masinloc Bay in Zambales.

ment by telcos, it would take 10 years to meet the target, if there was no government intervention. He said the investment requirement for at least 2 Mbps for 20.17 million households by 2016 would cost P800 billion. The government of Thailand invested $114 million to provide Internet service as part of its economic policy. Malaysia, meanwhile, spent $4.5 billion over a period of 10 years to lay fiber optic lines to every home in Malaysia’s urban areas. The International Telecommunication Union said only 18.9 percent of the Philippine house-

holds had Internet connection in 2012. The NTC proposed a law to require telecommunication companies to remit a small portion of their earnings to the government to fund broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. Under the draft bill titled An Act Institutionalizing A Universal Access Fund, one-fourth of 1 percent of the gross revenues of all public telecommunications entities should be collected and automatically appropriated to the UAF. The UAF should be used to provide ICT or broadband infrastructure in unserved and under-

served areas. The country’s two largest telecommunications companies in 2014 reported combined gross revenues of P264 billion. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. registered revenues of P165.1 billion while Globe Telecom Inc. posted P99 billion. The proposed bill will also require the NTC to remit 90 percent of the annual spectrum users fees paid by the telcos to the UAF as an automatic appropriation. The NTC collects nearly a half a billion pesos annually from the telcos and broadband operators for the use of frequencies.

Banks’ total branches increase to 10,606 By Julito G. Rada THE total number of bank branches in the country increased by 78 in the third quarter to 10,606 from 10,528 outlets in the second quarter, as domestic lenders continued their aggressive expansion. Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ supervision and examination sector showed that while the total number of branches increased, the list of banks’ head offices declined by three to 635 as of end-September from 638 as of end-June. This was a result of mergers and consolidations as well as the exit of weaker players from the system. The number of head of-

fices of universal and commercial banks increased to 37 from 36 a quarter ago while their combined branch network expanded to 5,969 from 5,946 in the second quarter. Thrift banks had a total of 2,052 offices, including branches as of end-September, higher than 2,013 in the second quarter. Rural and cooperative banks’ total number of offices went down 2,585 in the third quarter from 2,569 a quarter ago. Bangko Sentral said savings and time deposits remained the main sources of funds for domestic banks in the third quarter. Banks’ total deposits as of end-September 2015 grew 7.8

percent to P6.9 trillion. “Savings and deposits expanded by 9.3 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively. Time deposits, on the other hand, declined by 1.4 percent or P24.1 billion during the review period,” Bangko Sentral said. Foreign currency deposits owned by residents grew by 13.7 percent year-on-year to P1.5 trillion. Meanwhile, outstanding loans of commercial banks rose 12.6 percent year on year. “The continued broadbased growth in bank lending supported the sustained expansion of the productive sectors of the economy in the third quarter,” Bangko Sentral said.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6

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

Metrobank expands power deals BIR set to issue rules on perks law By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE Bureau of Internal Revenue is expected to issue implementing guidelines of the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act, which aims to enhance transparency and confidence in granting tax perks to companies. Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul Jr. said the BIR would issue the guidelines for the recently enacted law. “We’re going to work together with the different agencies on that, but what’s important is the law will still be implemented [even] without the implementing rules because that should be self executory. The BIR in fact is preparing revenue regulations on this already,” Paul said. President Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act No. 10608 into law on Dec. 10. It seeks transparency in granting fiscal incentives by the country’s various investment-promotion agencies and improve the investment climate in the country. Under the new law, registered business entities must file in their IPAs complete annual tax incentives report which will be submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of Customs and the Finance Department. The Finance Department shall also maintain single database of tax incentives granted and submit to the Budget Department othe actual amount, estimated claims and the current year’s programmed amount and the succeeding year’s expected amount of tax incentives. The DBM will then make the data and information available in the annual budget of expenditures and sources of financing which will be called Tax Incentives Information section.

By Alena Mae S. Flores GLOBAL Business Power Corp., the energy unit of the Metrobank Group, said it is expanding its power generation projects this year with the addition of a 150-megawatt coal plant capacity in Iloilo City in August. The company is also pursuing the construction of a biomass power plant in the Visayas, which is due for completion by late 2017. Global Business Power president Rolando Bacani said Panay Energy Development Corp., the operator of the coal plant in Iloilo, would commission another 150-MW unit in August. “GBPC will also undertake biomass project which is targeted to be completed late next year,” Bacani said. The company has an ongoing 150-MW expansion project in Iloilo City through unit PEDC. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held in March 2014.

Panay Energy’s 150-MW expansion project can serve power requirements of the entire Visayas, including Panay, Boracay, Negros, Cebu and Leyte, at a rate of P5.05 per kilowatt-hour. Global Business Power and partner Roxas Holdings Inc. are also putting up a 40-MW co-generation facility in Negros Occidental, which is estimated to cost around $100 million by 2017. “We are in the final stages. By end of this year, we will be able to come up formally with our entry into renewables. [It is] the first biomass bagasse project that we will do,” Global Business executive vice president Jaime Azurin

said earlier. The joint venture partners earlier tapped Pöyry Energy Inc. for the front-end engineering design of the power plant. “We are very careful on this because this is the first big plant that will be built here using bagasse and we are all aware biomass is not as easy as we think it is,” Azurin said. He said the biggest challenge would be logistics to ensure enough fuel for the power plant. The output of the facility will be under the feed-in tariff regime. “We have to catch up with the feed-in-tariff. Nobody’s catching up with biomass because it’s difficult to undertake. We’re sure that we will be one of the first to be able to touch the biomass 250MW FIT allocation by September of 2017,” he said. He said another challenge was the efficiency of the sugar mills, as most of them were built in the 1960s. “So how do you put in a very

efficient power plant in an inefficient environment? That’s a big challenge,” he said. He said the sugar mills would supply bagasse to the power plant. “After this final engineering design, we will all decide if it’s a go, then part of the agreement would be the ownership structure,” he said. The co-gen plant will cater to the energy requirements of the sugar mill and contribute excess power to the grid. Roxas Holdings is the country’s largest integrated sugar and ethanol business while Global Business Power is the power generation arm of GT Capital Holdings Inc. Global Business Power also bared plans to put up a power plant in Luzon. “Yes, we’re looking at Luzon. Yes [coal] but it has to be bigger in size to be able to lower the cost. Very soon. I cannot tell you because a lot of people are looking for a safe spot,” Azurin said.

Singapore envoy’s visit. Labor

Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz (right) gives a coffee table book as token of appreciation to Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Kok Li Peng during the latter’s courtesy call at the Office of the Secretary in Intramuros, Manila. Secretary Baldoz also extends her gratitude to the Nanyang Polytechnic University in Singapore for providing the Labor Department numerous training slots in its productivity scholarship programs.

Govt losses P11.1b annually to repair provincial roads By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE national government losses P11.1 billion annually because of the high cost of maintaining provincial roads, according to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson. Singson said the amount pertained to the extra fund used in road rehabilitation in all 81 provinces annually. “Every time a province undertakes capital works to rehabilitate 1 kilometer of road, it uses

funds that should have funded 4 to 5 km of road maintenance. This continuous drain from maintenance funding has effectively cut maintenance funding and asset life-spans in half,” Singson said. “Provincial roads are the largest and most important asset being managed by provincial local governments. These road networks link national roads to areas of economic development, allow access to basic services, and serve as im-

portant conduits during conflict, crises, and calamities,” he said. Data from the Budget Department showed the national government would spend P6.5 billion for the rehabilitation and repair of provincial roads this year. DBM said the budget for the rehabilitation of provincial roads in 73 provinces was already appropriated in the P3.002 billion 2016 national budget. The agency also said the prov-

inces were chosen based on the compliance with good governance standards of the Department of Interior and Local Government. “These qualified provinces have not only met good governance standards and social development benchmarks, they have also established monitoring and evaluation mechanisms,” said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. Abad said the project called Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan

at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran was “an innovative devolution program that aims to institutionalize good governance by enabling and shepherding local government units on Local Road Management.” Provinces were selected based on their compliance with the DILG’s seal of good financial housekeeping and submission to the DBM of their local public financial management assessment report.

MONDAY: JANUARY 4, 2016

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Is the bell curve still applicable? EVER since it gained popularity in the 1980s, the bell curve has been a common approach by most companies in evaluating their employees. Under this appraisal system, companies reward a small percentage of top performers, encourage a large majority in the middle to improve, and lay-off or “punish” the bottom performers. Companies believe that such pay-for-performance system encourages employees to perform better. The bell curve is also known as Forced Ranking System because it assumes that all the employees in a company can be segregated and ranked as top 20-percent performers, middle 70- percent average performers, and bottom 10-percent low or non-performers. Some HR professionals believe that a bell curve is the best way to identify the top performers and low performers, whereas others believe it compels the appraiser to use a forced rating instead of a fair one. Pros and cons of using the bell curve Advocates of the bell curve pose that using the bell curve compels managers to make decisions and differentiate between the performances of different employees and reward them accordingly. Workers who are high performers are motivated to keep improving themselves because of the incentives, may it be monetary or otherwise. Similarly, average performers are provided with opportunities to enhance themselves through training or other tools of improvement which in turn would increase company’s competence as a whole. For the low performers, on the other hand, the bell curve serves as their warning to improve and increase productivity. In a way, the bell curve system helps the organization grow. However, critics of the bell curve argue that it is not the best way to evaluate employee performance and that using it as the basis of giving rewards and incentives would be unfair to others. The bell curve model might turn out to be too rigid in cases where the employee strength in the organization is less. Here, the manager might be forced to put employees in specific ratings just for the sake of bell curve requirements. Given that in the bell curve model, evaluators can give only a limited number of employees in the top performers category, employees who have actually performed exceedingly well through the year might be forced to be categorized in the average performers’ category because of the bell curve requirements. For example, a common practice by companies is to allocate 15 to 20 percent of their employees to the top performer category. Does this mean that only 15 to 20 percent perform exceedingly well? What if an employee’s performance deserves to be in the top performer category but because of the limit imposed by the bell curve the manager would be forced to rank him as an average performer? Situations like this will lead to loss of morale among the employees and may in turn be detrimental to the organization. Studies also show that small companies are more affected by the forced ranking system because with fewer employees, the categorization cannot be done properly, and the results are mostly erroneous. Moreover, the bell curve does not guarantee overall improvement of the company because it focuses on past performance instead of current and future performance. Abolishing the bell curve system At present, big companies such as Accenture, Microsoft, GE, Cisco and most recently, Infosys have already abolished the bell curve system in their performance reviews. “From this quarter, we have removed the forced ranking and in the October appraisal, employees will be appraised on the open ranking. From now on, the managers will take a call and reward,” said Richard Lobo, senior vice president of the human resources department at Infosys. Microsoft’s head of human resources said the company would end the practice in favor of a new and more flexible system intended to encourage better collaboration among employees. Their new approach will make it easier for managers and leaders to allocate rewards in a manner that reflects the unique contributions of their employees and team. GE, on the other hand, developed a mobile application for performance appraisal called “PD@GE” for “performance development at GE. Each employee has a series of near-term goals, or “priorities.” Managers are expected to have frequent discussions, called “touchpoints,” on progress toward those goals and note what was discussed, committed to, and resolved. The benefits of the bell curve still apply and up to now, it is still considered as the most common method of performance appraisal. But given that even major companies who are big players in the industry have already shifted from the bell curve to a more open and flexible system, managers must rethink, restudy and re-evaluate whether or not the bell curve is the most suitable and beneficial appraisal system to employ.

MA. AIRA ANGELICA A. GEMENTIZA

GREEN LIGHT

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This article is part of her reflections for the course on Human Resource Management with Organizational Behavior. She can be reached at airaafrica@yahoo.com. The views expressed above are the author’s and does not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its administration, and faculty.

EDC to pursue Chile geothermal drilling By Alena Mae S. Flores

ENERGY Development Corp. wants to resume drilling for the Mariposa geothermal project in Chile this year, after deciding to postpone it in October, a company official said. “We’re looking to resume drilling this year,” EDC chief finance officer Nestor Vasay said. He said the company was watching the movement of world oil prices. EDC decided to postpone the three-well drilling campaign for the Mariposa project amid the continuing decline in world prices. Oil prices fell because of oversupply in the US and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision not to cut back production. “In the light of the challenging

project economics resulting from the recent fall in prices of competing fossil fuels, EDC has decided to postpone the three-well drilling campaign for the Mariposa project in Chile originally scheduled mid-October this year,” the company said earlier. EDC said it continued to pursue development activities at the Mariposa project with greater focus, including conducting further environmental and technical studies for the steamfield, power plant and transmission line interconnection.

“Efforts will likewise be undertaken to identify potential customers and test the pricing levels at which they are willing to enter into long-term power off-take agreements given today’s fossil fuel prices,” it said. EDC is also negotiating with the Inter-American Development Bank to secure funding support under the exploration risk mitigation program administered by the bank. The project, located in the Andes Mountains some 300 kilometers south of Chile’s capital city of Santiago, covers two geothermal exploitation concessions, Pellado and Laguna del Maule, the rights to which are owned by Compañía de Energía Limitada where affiliates of EDC and Canada-based Alterra Power Corp. hold 70-percent and 30-percent stakes, respectively.

Lucky bags.

An employee walks past “Fukubukuro” lucky bags displayed for sale at a H2O Retailing Corp. Hanshin department store in Osaka, Japan. The yen headed for a record fourth annual decline against the dollar as the divergence between US and Japanese monetary policy showed no sign of ending. BLOOMBERG

ERC readies rules on cross ownership

THE Energy Regulatory Commission is set to come up with recommendations on cross ownership in January in a bid to prevent abuses in the power sector. ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar told reporters the regulator tapped the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, and the Grid Management Committee to conduct a study on market share restrictions. “It’s still ongoing. We are discussing with PEMC, GMC— PEMC, because we want to know the impact of the decisions that will have to be made and GMC, because we want to know the implications in between when we implement the options that are

going to be presented to us,” Salazar said. He said the ERC’s distribution management committee would advise on the impact on distribution utilities while GMC would provide inputs on the impact on transmission sector. Salazar said a part of the study would cover the limits to be set on the capacities owned by the power generators. “It’s ongoing and hopefully by January we’re already finished… We are pressuring PEMC to submit their report...they have a preliminary position. We told them to give their final position on this and put it in writing,” he said. “We want GEMC to submit their report by second or third week of January so we can com-

pare these two decisions and determine how we’re going to move forward,” Salazar said . Salazar earlier said the regulator was revisiting the provision on cross-ownership and market share restriction under section 45 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 “in order to prevent anti-competitive behavior and market abuse by certain companies.” Section 45 of the Epira law states that “no participant in the electricity industry may engage in any anti-competitive behavior including, but not limited to, cross-subsidization, price or market manipulation, or other unfair trade practices detrimental to the encouragement and protection of contestable markets.” Alena Mae S. Flores

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Milk bank saves African babies JOHANNESURG— Patrick, a premature baby weighing a minuscule 2.65 pounds, was “saved” by a breast milk bank in South Africa, where child mortality is high despite being the continent’s most developed economy. “It was a question of life and death because of the fact he could not go on formula,” said his 39-year-old mother Annerleigh Bartlett. “There was no way. He was too little.” Bartlett, from Cape Town, wasn’t producing her own milk yet, and the formula can damage premature babies’ intestines. So, for the first two weeks of his life, Patrick relied for his survival on breast milk donated by anonymous women. The principle of milk banks is simple: mothers donate milk, which is tested, pasteuriZed, andthen delivered to babies in need. “Every drop counts,” said a poster at the headquarters of the South African Breastmilk Reserve, a network of milk banks that supplies 87 hospitals and feed over 2,800 children this year. “Human milk banks should be promoted and supported as an effective approach to reduce... mortality for babies who cannot be breastfed,” said South Africa’s ministry of health in a recent report. “South Africa has a much higher nutrition problem than countries at comparable income levels.” South Africa’s infant mortality rate was 32.8 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013—far higher than countries such as Egypt, Algeria or Indonesia. Children who are exclusively breastfed are 14 times more likely to survive in the first six months of life than formula-fed children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. But South Africa has very low breastfeeding rates at just 7.4 percent, partly as a result of prevalent poverty and effective marketing by baby formula companies. Soon after having their babies, many poor mothers need to get working again. AFP

Young fan. A young boy listens as Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speaks at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on January 2, 2016, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Trump, who has strong support from Southern voters, spoke to thousands in the small Mississippi city on the Gulf of Mexico. Trump continues to split the GOP establishment with his populist and controversial views. AFP

Hindu nationalists gather for massive rally PUNE, India—Tens of thousands of Hindu hardliners, dressed in khaki shorts, white shirts and black hats, gathered for an elaborate rally in western India on Sunday in a massive show of strength. It was set to be one of the largest ever gatherings of the controversial Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, a group seen as the ideological parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. More than 150,000 activists, almost all men, had registered for the rally at which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was due to deliver a speech from a stage designed to resemble a fort. A marching band composed of 2,000 RSS volunteers was also scheduled to play. A giant saffron flag, the color most associated

with Hinduism, was to be hoisted on a post over 20 meters high at the 450-acre rally site in Pune, Maharashtra state. Analysts say the RSS’s influence has never been greater following the election in May 2014 of Modi, a former RSS foot-soldier. Attendees, who arrived in their hordes throughout the morning, were in bullish mood. “People in the RSS look up to Modi as an example of what we can become. He gives our organization a great image,” Vinayak Deshpande, 32, told AFP. Another volunteer, who asked not to be named, said the RSS had witnessed a 20 percent increase in activists since Modi became prime minister. “With Modi as prime minister the RSS is on the right track,” he said.

The RSS, formed in 1925, is India’s biggest grassroots religious organization and is believed to have around five million activists, known as “Swayamsevaks”. It styles itself as a cultural organization devoted to protecting India’s Hindu culture but critics accuse it of being an anti-Muslim pseudo-fascist organization with a history of fueling religious tensions. The RSS is notoriously secretive: volunteers do not formally register as members and communications are often done verbally. Sunday’s event was rare for its size and for its open invitation to the media. Pravin Dabadghav, a senior RSS official in Maharashtra who helped organize the gathering, said it was set to be the largest ever meeting of RSS volunteers in

western and southern India. The previous high was in 2010 when 90,000 attended a gathering in Kerala. The RSS has been banned three times in post-independence India, including after a former member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 and following the 1992 demolition of a mosque in Ayodhya which led to deadly nationwide riots. It favors a uniform civil code for India rather than personal laws for different religions, the protection of cows—which are sacred to Hindus— and the construction of a temple on the disputed Ayodhya site. Modi helped the group out as a boy and became a full-time volunteer as a young adult, taking the requisite vow of celibacy, for more than 15 years before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. AFP

Poland warned over new media law

Year of the Monkey. This overhead view shows visitors looking at

a 24m x 25m image of two monkeys displayed to celebrate the ‘Year of the Monkey’ from the Chinese zodiac at the Hitachi Seaside Park in the Japanese city of Hitachinaka in Ibaraki prefecture. AFP

BERLIN—EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger on Sunday threatened to put Poland on notice for infringing on common European values by passing legislation giving the government control of the state media. The move would start a series of steps that, if the law remains in place, could eventually see Warsaw lose its voting rights at the European Council, the organization that groups the leaders of all 28 EU nations. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or FAZ newspaper, Oettinger,

who is commissioner for the digital economy and society, warned: “Many reasons exist for us to activate the ‘Rule of Law mechanism’ and for us to place Warsaw under monitoring.” His remarks come after Poland’s conservative government on Wednesday took control of state media after new legislation was passed giving it the power to directly appoint the heads of public broadcasters, and despite EU concern and condemnation from rights watchdogs. According to FAZ, European Commission President Jean-

Claude Juncker has placed the issue on the agenda of the commission’s next meeting on January 13. The newspaper reported that Juncker was seeking to start a procedure in place since 2014 to protect against “systemic dangers to the rule of law”. Under that procedure, if the country in question does not accept changes to proposals put forward by the commission, the commission can initiate a “procedure over the violation of fundamental European values”, FAZ said. AFP

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

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WORLD

Address. Actress Amber Heard speaks onstage at the 27th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center on January 2, 2016, in Palm Springs, California. AFP

Crowds set fire to Saudi embassy Tehran vows revenge over cleric’s execution TEHRAN—Saudi Arabia will face “divine revenge” over its execution of a top Shiite cleric, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday after protesters attacked the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran. “The unjustly spilled blood of this martyr will have quick consequences,” Khamenei told clerics in the capital, referring to Nimr al-Nimr who was executed along with 46 other men on Saturday. “This scholar neither encouraged people into armed action nor secretly conspired for plots but the only thing he did was utter public criticism rising from his religious zeal.” Khamenei called the killing of Nimr “a political mistake by the Saudi government”.

“God will not forgive... it will haunt the politicians of this regime,” he added. Angry crowds in Iran set fire to the Saudi embassy and consulate late Saturday night, with officials saying on Sunday that 40 people had since been arrested over the attack. “The Saudi government supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari said. It will “pay a high price for following these policies”, he warned. Saudi foreign ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki called Iran’s reaction “irresponsible”, and Riyadh summoned Tehran’s envoy in protest. AFP

TEHRAN—Angry crowds protesting at Saudi Arabia’s execution of a top Shiite cleric set fire to the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran Saturday and stormed the building before being cleared out by police, ISNA news agency reported. In Mashhad, Iran’s second biggest city, demonstrators meanwhile set fire to the Saudi consulate, according to news sites, carrying pictures of the alleged assault. The incidents came hours after the announcement of the death of 56-year-old cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a key figure in anti-government protests in the kingdom since 2011. The execution prompted strong condemnation from Shiitemajority Iran and Iraq. “There are flames inside the embassy... demonstrators were able to get inside but have since been cleared out,” ISNA said. “The fire has destroyed the interior of the embassy,” an eyewitness told AFP. “The police are everywhere and

have dispersed the demonstrators, some of whom have been arrested.” Protesters had been able to climb to the roof of the embassy before they were made to leave, ISNA added. Websites carried pictures of demonstrators apparently clutching the Saudi flag, which had been pulled down. Iranian media quoted foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari as asking police to “protect Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad... and prevent any demonstrations in front of these sites.” Nimr, who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, was among a group of 47 Shiites and Sunnis executed Saturday on

charges of terrorism. Predominantly-Shiite Iran, the Sunni kingdom’s longtime rival, said in reaction to Nimr’s execution that “the Saudi government supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution.” It will “pay a high price for following these policies,” Jaber Ansari had warned before the attacks took place. In response, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Iran’s envoy to protest at the “aggressive Iranian statements on the legal sentences carried out today”. The Saudi interior ministry said the men had been convicted of adopting the radical “takfiri” ideology, joining “terrorist organizations” and implementing various “criminal plots”. An official list published included Sunnis convicted of involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed Saudis and foreigners in 2003 and 2004. AFP

11 dead in assault on Indian air base PATHANKOT, India—Four more Indian soldiers including a top officer have died of injuries after an attack by suspected Islamists on an air force base near the Pakistan border, taking the total death toll to 11, officials said Sunday. Seven soldiers in all, including a champion shooter and four attackers, were killed at the Pathankot base in the northern state of Punjab after heavily armed gunmen suspected to be from the Pakistanbased Jaish-e-Mohammed group infiltrated the key station early Saturday. The assault—a rare targeting of

an Indian military installation outside disputed Kashmir—threatens to undermine the improving relations with Pakistan. It came just a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Pakistan, the first by an Indian premier in 11 years. The US State Department described the assault as “a heinous” terrorist attack and urged the two rivals to work together to hunt down those responsible. An Indian army official, who declined to be named, told AFP one of the dead was a lieutenantcolonel in the elite commando unit

National Security Guard. The official said the officer and two other soldiers were injured Sunday when a bomb they were trying to defuse exploded during a search of the site. Air force spokeswoman Rochelle D’Silva said three of the 12 soldiers injured in the battle died in hospital on Sunday. “Nine are being treated in hospital and are stable,” she said. One of those killed, Subedar Fateh Singh, was a gold medalist at the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championships in New Delhi, she said. AFP

After the attack. An Indian army soldier takes up position on the perimeter of an airforce base in Pathankot on January 3, 2016, during an operation to ‘sanitise’ the base following an attack by gunmen. The deadly assault near the Pakistan border was “a heinous” terrorist attack, the United States said, urging the two rivals to work together to hunt down those responsible. AFP

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS WRITER

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LIFE

Maculabo Island in Paracale

Pulang Daga Beach in Paracale

Colasi Falls in Mercedes

CAMNORTE BECKONS

ne of the provinces that is steadily gaining traction in terms of visitors is Camarines Norte in the Bicol region. Mention Daet to surfing enthusiasts and chances are they’d tell you all about Bagasbas Beach – a top destination for surfing greenhorns because of its sandy bottom and consistent waves whole-year round. The beach is recognized as the world’s 62nd spot in the surfing circuit and the first in the country to be included in the same. No wonder the Department of Tourism is pulling out all stops to highlight the province in its Visit Philippines Again 2016 campaign in efforts to attract travelers to visit CamNorte again this year. Governor Edgar Tallado enumerates a lot of reasons why the province is worth revisiting. For one, the province offers the

Cadig Cave in Labo

irresistible triumvirate of culture, adventure and nature, and a mouth-watering cuisine which makes it a complete experience. Every year, guests and their families as well as friends are invited to “come again to CamNorte” to explore new sites and join new festivals and special events. Calaguas Islands shot to prominence when it was named the top Tourism Gem in an online poll of Isla Lipana & Co. The heart of the Calaguas archipelago is Tinaga Island which is known for its milelong powdery sand and crystalline water. Fine beaches are also a source of pride for the province, among them San Jose Beach (Talisay), Pulang Daga (Paracale), Cayucyucan (Mercedes), Mangcamagong (Basud) and Calalanay (Panganiban). In Mercedes town, one of the popular locales is Siete Pecados consisting of the islands of Quinapaguian, Canton, Canimog, Apuao Grande, Apuao Pequena, Caringo and Malasugui, each with a distinct feature. Visitors can paddle around the islands aboard a kayak, while at the town’s Baybay Beach, one can ride the waves aboard a kayak. Another activity worth exploring is kiteboarding which combines surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and wakeboarding with flying a kite. Bagasbas beach has also become a haven of international kiteboarders due to presence of the Pacific wind. Tallado noted that since making tourism one of his flagship programs, CamNorte has been one of the country’s most promising tourism getaways. According to data from the DOT Bicol regional office, the province registered 211,013 tourist arrivals in 2014. CamNorte is blessed with enchanting cascades with tall drops, such as the 70-

Kiteboarding in Bagasbas by Chito Vecina

Kayak surfing at Baybay Beach

foot tall Colasi waterfalls in Mercedes, Nacali Falls in San Lorenzo Ruiz, and San Felipe Twin Falls in Basud. In Labo, three waterfalls stand out: Malatap, Binuang and Maligaya Falls. Mananap Falls in San Vicente is ideal because of its short hike, refreshing sights and cool waters. Meanwhile, tucked in the bosom of Mt. Cadig in Labo town is Cadig Cave, a showpiece for those who want to be initiated to spelunking. Composed of several dark compartments of stalactites and stalagmites, this cave offers moderate difficulty in trekking and exploration. Also in Labo are the caves of Mambuaya and Pintong Gubat which can heighten one’s craving for spelunking with the caves’ rich speleological properties. Another must-see is the historic First Rizal Monument in Daet – a white stone obelisk built in 1898 and the first to be

constructed in honor of Rizal, antedating the one at the Luneta by 13 years. Across the park is Daet Heritage Center, the former municipal hall, which serves as the town’s museum and socio-civic center. Bulawan Museum at the Provincial Capitol Complex showcases Cam Norte’s noble heroes, archaeological finds, a portrait by noted Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo. For the religious, Bicol’s 400-year-old religious heritage is best represented by the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Church in Paracale, founded by Franciscan missionaries in 1581 and which became a parish in 1611. Other historic churches are St. John the Baptist in Daet, the St. Peter the Apostle in Vinzons, and Capalonga Church, home of the Black Nazarene. For more on Camarines Norte, visit ww.camarinesnorte.gov.ph.

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Mga Kuwentong Pagkain features the flavorful food stories of Puerto Princesa

MAMA SITA FOUNDATION AND ATENEO CELEBRATE PUERTO PRINCESA FOOD TRADITIONS

ocal cuisine is a window to a people’s research methods in documenting features culture and identity. From the sour of the locale’s cultural heritage. The presentations highlighted samples of pork stew known as laoya to the authentic Palawan cuisine, Vi e t n am e s e cooking methods, and the influenced chao long cultural background of each noodles, the Palaweño dish. They identified three kitchen offers Palaweño food traditions: adventures as exciting Tagbanua, Cuyonon, and and varied as the Vietnamese. The Tagbanua island’s geography. tradition emphasizes the “One way by which relationship of the people a people expresses with nature by incorporating its interpretation of local vegetation in activities the world is through and chores. For example, its kitchen,” said Dr. kulyat seeds, extracted from Fernando Zialcita, fruit that can be found director of Ateneo around the trunks of forest de Manila’s Cultural trees, are eaten during long Heritage Program, in journeys across mountains his introductory speech and rivers to strengthen the for Puerto Princesa’s immune system. Cuisine: A Creative Palawenos craft beers shipped from Encounter, a celebration Puerto Princesa to give a taste of Palawan The Cuyonon tradition of Palawan’s food and a creativity during the dinner. uses tropical sour fruits research endeavor for the preservation of rather than spices or condiments to flavor cultural history through cuisine. The event, dishes. Calamansi, sampaloc, kamias, mango, which took place in Alab Restaurant in Scout and tomato balance the saltiness of fish and Rallos, Quezon City, was conceived by the meat. Dishes such as the laoya, a pork or beef Cultural Heritage Program and sponsored stew, also use lumabeng beans. The lumabeng by the Mama Sita Foundation. beans originate from the Agutaynen river of Guests from Palawan, professors of Northern Palawan and are used to provide Ateneo de Manila, and the media watched an earthy counterpoint to the soup. The presentations from students of Dr. Zialcita’s Vietnamese tradition of Palawan is a curious Introduction to Cultural Heritage class. A thing; the cuisine is rooted in the Vietnamese requirement of the class was an immersion “blueprint” but it has evolved significantly in Palawan to apply basic qualitative through its immersion in the Palawan way of life. The Vietnamese pho, called chao long in Puerto Princesa, is paired with a French-Vietnamese bread called banh mi. Cecille Nepomuceno, Information Officer of Mama Sita Foundation, introduced Mga Kuwentong Pagkain, an annual food writing competition sponsored by the Mama Sita Foundation. In accordance Professor and Ateneo Cultural Heritage Studies Program head Dr. Fernando with Mama Sita Foundation’s Zialcita, Chef Myke Sarthou of Alab Restaurant with the hosts of the evening, advocacy of preserving Briel Lising and John Sanchez

Do-it-yourself Kinilaw: a wide array of fresh seafood, vegetables and condiments including a selection of Mama Sita’s All-Natural Vinegars

Inato, grilled pork and chicken flavored with young sampalok leaves and lemongrass

Chef Myke Sarthou’s take on Inasleman, boiled pork hocks with local beans and jackfruit

Ateneo Professors and Mama Sita Foundation join Palaweños in celebrating Puerto Princesa Food. From left: Dean of Social Sciences Dr. Fernando Aldaba, Cultural Heritage Studies Program head Dr. Fernando Zialcita, Palawan Brewery’s Ayah Javier and Malu Lauengco, Mama Sita Foundation’s Cecille Nepomuceno Gamad, Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, Mama Sita Foundation president Clara Reyes Lapus and daughter Joyce Lapus Sandoval

food heritage, Mga Kuwentong Pagkain seeks to spread awareness of food heritage by gathering stories of Filipino cuisine and unique methods of food preparation. A night celebrating cuisine calls for the consumption of good food. Alab’s Chef Myke Sarthou prepared a special dinner menu featuring authentic Palawan dishes. Guests were first treated to kinilaw – raw portions of oysters, tuna, and shrimps with onions, tomatoes, ginger, chilies, and various Mama Sita vinegars. This was followed by a pot of inasleman, or boiled pork hocks with local beans and jackfruit. The main course was a Puerto Princesa staple: charcoal-grilled native chicken and pork liempo. A welcome surprise of the night came when Alab waiters began handing out craft beers from Palaweño Brewery, the first and only craft beer brewery in Palawan. Guests tasted five different flavors of Ayahay (which means “relaxing”) craft beers – American Amber Ale, Belgian Wheat Beer, Honey Kolsch, AyahayIpa, and Honey Nut Brown – all of which are created in Palawan. The dinner ended with a serving of pinasingaw, rich egg yolk and honey custard (leche flan) coupled with toasted Palawan cashew, and sticky rice balls cooked in coconut milk, drizzled with wild Palawan honey and a Palawan mango-and-cashew fruit jam.

In his speech, Dr. Zialcita said, “Through experience, we have found out that one way to elicit enthusiasm for Filipino heritage is by making the kitchen the centerpiece of attention.” In this respect, Puerto Princesa’s Cuisine: A Creative Encounter was a great success.

Now on its third year, Mama Sita Foundation’s Mga Kuwentong Pagkain Food Story Contest continues to support the projects of Ateneo’s Cultural Lab in exploring little-known Filipino food stories to enrich our food history

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GINEBRA SAN MIGUEL INC. (GSMI) is taking cocktail hour to mixed drinks aficionados with the launch of Ginebra San Miguel Gin on the Go. In photo is 2016 Ginebra San Miguel Calendar Girl Arci Muñoz playing bartender for the night

GINEBRA SAN MIGUEL’S ‘GIN ON THE GO’

hen you think of the ultimate Pinoy alcoholic drink, memory would sweep you to the tagay culture by the side street, gin pom maybe? One particular brand that always comes to mind is tagay with Ginebra. For 180 years, Ginebra San Miguel has been in the heart of the Filipino and has been heralded as the No. 1 selling gin in the world according to leading global drinks journal Drinks International. Last December, Ginebra San Miguel Inc. launched Gin on the Go at Mercato Centrale, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and showed the public what the product can be in terms of creating cocktails. GSMI took cocktail hour to mixed drinks aficionados with the pop-up brown “vintage” truck, outfitted with a back bar, bar wells and a mini-kitchen that offers cocktail drinks artfully crafted by some of the best bartenders in the country today. At the same time, the brand treated die-hard basketball fans to a pop-up store of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings merchandise. “With Gin on the Go, we will have everything you would find in a cocktail bar. With so many weekend food bazaars and holes-in-the- wall around Metro Manila, Gin on the Go is a way of giving our consumers a more premium and pleasurable gin drinking experience to

Ginebra San Miguel Gin on the Go offers artfully crafted cocktail drinks developed by some of the best bartenders in the country today

go along with their food tripping,” says Ginebra San Miguel assistant brand manager Winchie Tobias. Gin on the Go created refreshing ways for Filipinos and visitors to experience Ginebra San Miguel, G.S.M. Blue, G.S.M. Blue Flavors and Ginebra San Miguel Premium Gin. Cocktails served were Manila Sunrise (Ginebra San Miguel blended with orange and freshly roasted coffee), All Nighter (Ginebra San Miguel with energy drink and a hint of blue curacao), Blue Royal Fizz (G.S.M. Blue and orange soda with a twist), Mojito Slush (G.S.M. Blue Flavors Mojito with mint and

lime) and Sweet Lemony Martini (Ginebra San Miguel Premium Gin with freshly squeezed lemon and simple syrup). “Drinkers and bartenders are now rediscovering the versatility of the juniperbased alcohol and part of its growing popularity all over the world has been fueled by the use of both locally sourced products and imported ingredients that add new flavors and dimensions to it,” says GSMI Marketing manager Nelson Elises. For details on the next stops, visit and like the official Facebook fanpage of Ginebra San Miguel www.facebook.com/barangayginebra or log on to www.ginebrasanmiguel.com.

The eye-catching brown ‘vintage’ truck of Ginebra San Miguel Gin on the Go is outfitted with a back bar, bar wells and a mini-kitchen

Select Mercato Centrale stalls offer gin-food pairings such as all-time favorites isaw, bagnet and beef salpicao.

Night owls enjoyed cocktails made with Ginebra San Miguel, GSM Blue, GSM Blue Flavors and Ginebra San Miguel Premium Gin variants

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The sand-sea-and-sky antidote to stress

The beautiful sunset set amidst the colorful vintas of Zamboanga

VISTA DEL MAR MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

was supposed to travel to Tokyo with my sons during the APEC holidays but the closure of the airport and that of the roads leading to it dampened my desire to travel. I didn’t want to spend my time getting stuck in traffic on the road and on the tarmac, so I cancelled my trip, much to the dismay of my sons who can’t be fazed by challenges like that potential “carmageddon.” My eldest son, who had already psyched himself up for a trip, decided to travel on his own, but to a southern destination. He was raving about it when he returned, so I decided to let him tell you, first-hand, his experience. Here’s my son, Juan Carlos’ chronicle of his “Southern Escapade”:

“Zamboanga City is not at all the way it is portrayed in print media and in talk shows as a place where terror floods the streets and where danger lurks everywhere you go. On the contrary, everyone feels safe and secure, and greets you with a smile. “Just 15 minutes away from the Zamboanga International Airport is a beautiful beach resort aptly named, Vista Del Mar (View of the Sea). One’s immediate thought would be its safety, in the face of that recent kidnapping by Muslim rebels in a beach resort in Samal Island. Well, Vista Del Mar is very safe because a whole battalion of Special Action Forces of the Philippine National Police has made it their home for the past decade. I have to admit that their presence made me sleep soundly at night. “Over the next few days, I immersed myself in Vista Del Mar’s most valuable offering, the magic combination of ‘sand, sea and sky.’ Nowhere else have I been enthralled by the mesmerizing beauty of the sunrise and the awesome grandeur of the sunset, with the colorful

The row of casitas at Vista del Mar

rays of the sun shimmering on the bluish waves of Basilan Strait. It was a calming scene I looked forward to every day, a commodity which is also being sought after by the day guests, overnight customers and long-staying residents the resort caters to. “For accommodations, day guests rent either the sheds or the picnic huts, depending on the size of their group. Those who stay one or several nights and are on a tight budget go for the dormitorytype accommodations. “Of course, those who want deluxe accommodations choose the air-conditioned casitas, each of which, although furnished with the same accoutrements of modern hotels, has a different interior design and façade. For those who want something unusual, there are also treehouses, or casitas up in the trees, which offer a fantastic view of the surrounding area. “The resort has an events/ convention hall for all types of functions, and multi-purpose huts lined up along the kilometerlong resort, for smaller gatherings. These huts may even be used by guests for that relaxing massage by the sea that weary city dwellers like me always look forward to. “But what Vista del Mar also prides itself in is its culinary offerings. Nowhere else can you find an abundant supply of Zamboanga’s iconic seafood, curacha. As I looked around the resort’s restaurant, everybody had it on their table. Being allergic to shellfish, I had to content myself with the delectable chicken barbecue and other fish dishes on the menu.

The Events Hall with an adjoining treehouse

But my appetite was perked up by a special salad called chamba, a mix of eggplant, mango, and a few other things I couldn’t quite make out. It was just heavenly! “Over the course of my stay, I got hooked on two comfort foods that fired up my energy every single day – bagoong gata, which I happily paired with mango slices, crackers, bread and even rice, and saging rebosado, fried banana slices crusted with sugar. It was only when I returned to Manila, when my palate started to crave for them, that I realized I had them every single day while at the resort. “There were many other things I enjoyed about Vista Del Mar but the cathartic sun-sea-and-sky scenery and gustatory delights are really all I care about. No wonder

it labels itself ‘Vista del Mar Resort and Re-Creation Center.’ I thought at first this was just a typo but my weeklong stay made me realize that the place did ‘re-create’ me. It changed me, breathed more energy into me, and gave me a lot of reasons to smile about. “Visa Del Mar did not just give me a breathtaking view of the sea… it gave me a rosy view of everything in the world around me. It even gave me a beautiful view of ME.” Hearing this from my son, I’m almost tempted to book myself on the next flight to Zamboanga. If you feel the same way, here are some important contact details: zamboanga.vistadelmar@gmail. com or +63.917.8002214. For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE: A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, “I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine’s Day. What do you think it means?” “You’ll know tonight,” he said. That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Thrilled and delighted, she opened it excitedly¼a nd found a book entitled “The Meaning of Dreams.”

Drive to the Philippines Nissan launches campaign to support local tourism

he Philippines is teeming with stunning spots and dazzling destinations. But the problem with our tourism is that only the popular places are accessible to the public and the not-so-known sites are difficult to reach. In a bid to boost our local tourism, Nissan Philippines, Inc. recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board, the marketing and promotions arm of the Tourism department, to launch its “Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan” program. The campaign aims to strengthen road travel to specific tourist destinations recommended by the TPB. Leading the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement were TPB chief operating officer Domingo Ramon “Chicoy” Enerio III and NPI president and managing

director Antonio Zara. Also present at the event were TPB project development officer Milo Oropeza and NPI general manager for marketing SJ Huh. During the ceremony, Zara said, “We believe that the Philippines has a lot to offer by way of classic destinations and undiscovered spots alike. “We intend to support the DOT, through its marketing and promotions agency, the TPB, by offering our revitalized fleet for the road trips,” he added. The fleet includes Nissan’s new Juke sport crossover, the allnew NP300 Navara, the all-new NV350 Urvan, the X-Trail, and the new sedan models Almera, Altima and Sylphy. “By working together with the DOT through the TPB, we hope to raise awareness on the tourism possibilities by

Present during the Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony are (from left) Philippine Tourism Promotions Board project development officer Milo Oropeza, TPB chief operating officer Domingo Ramon 'Chicoy' Enerio III, Nissan Philippines, Inc. president and managing director Antonio Zara and NPI general manager for marketing SJ Huh

highlighting discoveries waiting to be revealed through road travel,” Zara said. “It’s not just about getting to the destination, it’s also making the journey itself an exciting and enjoyable experience.” The “Visit the Philippines, Drive to Discover with Nissan” campaign will run for one year, beginning November 2015 until late 2016.

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 4, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

Films we’d like To waTch in FirsT Two monThs oF 2016

here are films we can anticipate and there are films we can just ignore. But the films on this list are those I personally like to watch on the big screen. For someone like me who has to really plan going to the movies (thanks but no thanks to the very hectic schedule of a journalist covering the entertainment beat, choosing the movies to watch carefully is the best way. And for the those that we can ignore watching on the multiplex, we wait for the DVD copies, or watch it online, via HOOQ or iflix. Or, if the budget permits, purchase on iTunes. So, here are the titles of films. * 13 Hours: THe secreT soldiers of BengHazi (US release date: Jan. 15) As his follow-up to Transformers: Age of Extinction, director Michael Bay is turning his attention to 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, a new action thriller based on the 2013 book of the same name. Set on September 11, 2012, the film centers on the true story of a six-man security team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi. The film’s politically charged subject matter may seem like a bit of a change of pace for Bay, whose films tend to lean toward ac-

tion spectacle. Still, the patriotic themes and military focus should give the divisive director plenty of opportunity to put his signature stamp on the tale, and its ensemble cast — which includes James Badge Dale, John Krasinski and Max Martini — seem like strong fits for the the real-life men they are portraying. * THe 5TH Wave (US release date: Jan. 22) With The Hunger Games seemingly over (for now) and the Divergent series chugging along towards its own conclusion, The 5th Wave could easily end up the next big franchise based on a series of young adult novels. Chloë Grace Moretz plays Cassie Sullivan, a teenage girl navigating the barren wasteland left in the wake of an alien invasion in the hopes of rescuing her young brother (Zackary Arthur). Moretz has proven time and again that she’s a capable, versatile talent, but — aside from reprising her role as Hit-Girl in the Kick-Ass sequel — the young actress has yet to secure her own franchise. If The 5th Wave connects with moviegoers, don’t be surprised for the remaining sequels based on Rick Yancey’s trilogy of novels to be announced shortly thereafter.

* dirTy grandpa (US release date: Jan. 22) After wowing audiences with his over-the-top comedic turn opposite Seth Rogen in Neighbors, Zac Efron has entered an entirely new phase of his film career, and Dirty Grandpa — which pairs the actor with a particularly rambunctious Robert De Niro — could be the next step in establishing Efron as a marquee comedy actor, a boost that the young star could use after the disappointing performance of musical drama We Are Your Friends. Directed by Dan Mazer — perhaps best known for co-writing the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat film — Dirty Grandpa also marks new territory for De Niro, who has mostly stuck to less zany performances in films like The Intern and Joy in recent years. This new project may not appeal to all audiences, but as far as raunchy comedies go, it might just fit the bill. * Mojave (US release date: Jan. 22) Fresh from his popular performance as Resistance pilot Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and a similarly scene-stealing turn in Ex Machina), Oscar Isaac is back in Mojave as a homicidal drifter who crosses paths with a near-suicidal artist (Garrett Hed-

Robert De Niiro and Zac Efron in Dirty Grandpa

Oscar Isaac in Mojave

lund) in this crime thriller written and directed by William Monahan, who earned a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his work on The Departed. The film initially premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last spring and is currently available on DirecTV Cinema. However, the film — which also stars Mark Wahlberg, Louise Bourgoin and Walton Goggins — is finally set to hit theaters in limited release this year, giving moviegoers eager to see Isaac up on the big screen yet again the chance * THe finesT Hours (US release date: Jan. 29) Over the years, Disney has become a reliable source of inspirational dramatizations of true events, and The Finest Hours is the studio’s next such effort, as the film is loosely based on the Pendleton rescue mission attempt in 1952 by Coast Guard ships. Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz and Eric Bana lead the cast. While director Craig Gillespie’s filmography ranges from quirky indie films like Lars and the Real Girl to more mainstream fare like the 2011 Fright Night remake, the filmmaker has previously tread the familiar narrative waters of films like The Finest Hours, having directed sports drama Million

Dollar Arm for Disney. With such a strong team behind the project and even stronger material, The Finest Hours could prove to be a surprise hit this month. * jane goT a gun (RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 29) Several years after winning her Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan, Natalie Portman has kept her bigscreen appearances limited largely to her role as Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Thor films. However, this month she’s bringing another character named Jane to life in director Gavin O’Connor’s Western Jane Got a Gun. In the film, Portman plays Jane Hammond, a woman who must recruit an ex-lover (Joel Edgerton, reuniting with his Warrior director) to help rescue her husband from a vicious gang that tormented her in the past. Between Portman, Edgerton and Ewan McGregor — who plays the gang’s leader — Jane Got a Gun marks a reunion for three of the stars of the Star Wars prequel trilogy (Edgerton played the young Owen Lars). If the film lives up to its screenplay’s listing on the 2011 Black List of the best unproduced scripts, the film could be a highlight of all three of its stars’ careers and in particular the best performance from Portman since her chilling Oscar-winning role. –IVR

Chloe Grace Moretz in The 5th Wave

Chris Pine in The Finest Hours

Natalie Portman in Jane Got A Gun

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 4, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

‘HERmanO PULi’ PUSHing tHROUgH JOSEPH PEtER gOnZaLES Aljur Abrenica couldn’t contain his happiness now that Ang Hapis at Hinagpis ni Hermano Puli would finally push through. It can be remembered that originally, this Gil Portes project was intended for the recently concluded Metro Manila Film Festival, but the previous producer pulled out. Now, the production continues with funding from businessman Rex Tiri. “I’m really happy that at last, the cameras will start grinding for this film, which tackles the life story of religious leader Apolinario de la Cruz who started a revolt in Tayabas in the 19th century. It’s a very good project and playing the title role is both an honor and challenge to me,” Abrenica avers. What are his preparations for the role? “I really gave time to research about the character. The Internet has not much information about Hermano Puli so, I went out of my way to familiarize myself with him. I spent three days roaming the province of Quezon to learn salient facts about him. It was exciting and educational at the same time.” Aljur is on a mission in doing this movie. “Through this film, I want to stir awareness among the public regarding the life of Hermano Puli. When I was doing the research, I talked to many people and many of them didn’t really know Hermano Puli that much. It’s frustrating be-

cause he hailed from the Quezon province but not everyone knows about his heroism. They have many questions that need answers. I hope that after watching the movie, most of their queries would have been addressed.” When is the target exhibition of Ang Hapis at Hinagpis ni Hermano Puli? “Perhaps, in the middle of 2016. Last December, we’ve shot some scenes already and we will resume shooting this month. This early, I’m very excited with how the movie will turn out. I’m certain it will be a landmark role for me!” Apart from this, the sexy hunk will also be seen in two upcoming potboilers. “Yes, in Mabalasik and Expressway, which are both directed by Ato Bautista. I hope the public will support my movies when they get shown in the coming days,” ends Aljur. HHHHH For her maiden silver screen offering via My Bebe Love # Kilig Pa More, Maine Mendoza won the Best Supporting Actress award in the Metro Manila Film Festival awarding ceremonies held at the Kia Theater on Dec 27 last year. While AlDub fanatics rejoiced with her victory, the popular lass got flak from bashers who couldn’t believe that she has beaten established actresses like Iza Calzado and Nova Villa who both gave highly competent portrayals in their respective entries. According to them, Maine’s performance as Vic Sotto’s daughter in the record-breaking comedy vehicle paled in comparison with the two considering that it was just her maiden film. Maine wasn’t present during

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 45 47 48 50 52 56 58 59 64 65 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Dings a door 6 “Madam, I’m —” 10 Bake sale item 14 Seize the throne 15 Name in jeans 16 Mighty steed 17 More feasible 18 Trucker, often 19 Nerve network 20 Dogpatch’s — Joy Juice

22 24 25 26 30 32 33 35 40 42 44

Fix Put on Tasty egg dish Steam bath garb A phobia Moffo solo Worker’s safety org. Equip again Thaw Chic Revise

Bone, in combos Jai — Fall birthstone Subscribes again Tune out Twisted Be half-asleep Gets happy (2 wds.) Mane possessor Aftermath Set free Threat ender Blissful spot Tribal adviser Musher’s vehicle Long time periods Comb, in a way

DOWN 1 The edge of night 2 Morales of “La Bamba” 3 Now, to Caesar 4 Go on safari 5 Stretch out 6 Aluminum giant 7 Ms. Kerr of film 8 Gladiator’s hello 9 It reflects on you 10 “— diem!” 11 It’s been — — pleasure!

Aljur Abrenica as Hermano Puli

the awards night because she was abroad together with her family. But after she learned about her Best Supporting Actress recognition, she instantly posted her reaction in her Twitter account, which reflected her surprise: “Why me? But many thanks, anyway! Good morning to everybody!” This somehow showed that the funny lady was already anticipating the reaction of bashers. Apart from Maine’s Best Supporting Actress nod, My Bebe Love # Kilig Pa More which also top-bills Ai Ai delas Alas and Alden Richards wonThird Best Picture and the recipient of the Gat Antonio Villegas Cultural Award.

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2016

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“— Went to Haiti” Thumbs-down critic Baja bucks Atlanta campus Mock fanfare (hyph.) Town near Provo Helen, to Menelaus Deserve Movie’s need Ancient colonnade Pizzazz Dossier What “vidi” means (2 wds.) Not that Hounds’ trails Earth, to Pierre Abate, as a downpour Teeny-tiny Grommet Runs in neutral Barbecue Loop in a rope Had “— dinner?” Cattle-call reward Kind of fountain Resorts to Dijon dad Hubbub

Maine Mendoza in My Bebe Love

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 4, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

NiNgNiNg returNs tO isla baybay

Jana Agoncillo

from C8

ingning (Jana Agoncillo) is all set to return to her simple life in isla Baybay to see the beauty of her hometown for the last time before she loses her eyesight and to celebrate her birthday in the last two weeks of the top-rating morning weekday Kapamilya program. After Ningning asked her tatay Dondon (Ketchup Eusebio) if they could go home to isla Baybay because of her health condition, Dondon happily tells Ningning that he will fulfill her wish to go back to their beloved hometown because he has realized it is what’s best for her daughter since the island is a much safer place than Manila. But before Ningning and Dondon move out of the big city, Ningning finds time to memorize and remember the faces of the people she has met in Manila who have had a great impact in her young life. Will Ningning realize that she is actually the one who serves as an inspiration to the people in Manila who have become part of her life? Find out in the last two weeks of Ningning, weekdays before It’s Showtime on ABS-CBN. HHHHH CiNema ONe OrigiNals Calls fOr film eNtries Cinema One Originals, the country’s premier Filipino film festival is ready to shake things further in the film industry as it adds the documentary film category to the annual film festival, now accepting entries until Jan.15. Adding the documentary film category for 2016 is Cinema One Originals’ way of encouraging more Filipino filmmakers to go to great lengths in exploring other forms of storytelling. To submit an entry, interested filmmakers need to download and fill out the entry form for the documentary film category or full-length feature film category available in Cinema One Originals’ official Facebook page. The 10 finalists shortlisted will receive P2 million. That’s the seed money they can use to produce their films in time for the festival. Deadline of entries is on Jan. 15. Join the growing community of movers and shakers in the

film industry by becoming part of Cinema One Originals 2016. For more information, visit Cinema One Originals (facebook. com/CinemaOneOriginals). HHHHH miss COlOmbia mad abOut the miss uNiverse debaCle After more than a week when Steve Harvey made an unforgettable gaffe announcing Colombia as Miss Universe 2015, the world has yet to move on. Both Miss Colombia (Ariadna Gutierrez) and Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach have spoken out in a graceful manner about what happened. Yet, Miss Colombia isn’t feeling so graceful anymore. A report in an online news website, Gutierrez, in a recent radio interview, turned on the Miss Universe experience, said she harbors some angry feelings related to the pageant. “It was very humiliating for me, but also for the whole country and for all the people not only from Colombia but the other Latinos that were in the auditorium. “I guess you can only play the graceful beauty queen for so long before your true feelings emerge,” she said. About a week ago, Gutierrez commented that everything happens for a reason and that “life goes on.” She also congratulated Miss Philippines on her actual pageant win. However, while she may not harbor any ill feelings towards Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, it’s clear that even if she does believe in destiny, she’s still more than a little miffed about what happened. While talking with Colombia’s Spanish-language W Radio, Ariadna Gutierrez admitted that she thought the whole thing was actually just Steve Harvey messing around and trying to be funny. “[I thought] this is going to be a joke, because in the rehearsals he used to play around with questions and I thought he was going to continue with that same tone to make people laugh,” she added. Obviously, Harvey’s announcement of the wrong winner was a flub and not a joke. Equally as obviously, Gutierrez doesn’t find it

to be a laughing matter. At this point, it’s in everyone’s best interest just to laugh the whole thing off. HHHHH Natalie COle dead at 65 Sadly, Natalie Cole, the daughter of the late Nat King Cole, has died. The beloved singer-songwriter was confirmed dead by multiple sources on New Year’s Eve. Her cause of death is reportedly from congestive heart failure. She was 65-years-old. According to an AP tweet, Natalie Cole died Thursday in Los Angeles, California’s Cedar Sinai Hospital. The Grammy Award-winning singer was hospitalized for treatment of ongoing medical problems until things took a turn for the worse. The singer’s son, Robert Yancy and sisters Casey and Timolin Cole, read a statement about the death of Natalie Cole. “It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our

Mother and sister’s passing. Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever.” Cole was born into music. At 11, she auditioned and sang with her famous father, who passed away in 1965. Natalie recorded her first album, Inseparable in 1975. It received positive reviews and won her two Grammy awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” and another for Best New Artist. Her greatest success in music came when she recorded her 1991 album, Unforgettable ... With Love, a tribute to her father’s timeless music. According to TMZ, Natalie Cole suffered from underlying medical conditions. She had a kidney transplant in 1995, required

frequent dialysis treatments, and struggled through Hepatitis C for most of her adult life. Cole also was a recovering drug addict. She admitted to abusing narcotics until she finally entered rehab in 1983. Natalie Cole

A young Natalie with father Nat

Minutes after Steve Harvey corrects his gaffe announcing Colombia as winner of Miss Universe title, Philippines’ Pia Wurtzbach looks confused

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 4, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali

Miguel, Bianca usher new prograMs on Kapuso networK ISAH V. RED The new year has begun, and in a couple of weeks the nation’s biggest broadcasting companies unveil their new shows, signs that the network wars, which could be a threeway battle in 2016, continue and might even become more intense. Let’s focus first on GMA Network, which in the latter part of the year, has claimed to have wrestled the leadership nationwide citing figures from AGB and NUTAM. Of course, the guys over at Mother Ignacia can only raise their eyebrows in disbelief as the figures they have from Kantar Media say otherwise. So, what’s in store for the loyal Kapuso this month and next? Fans of the long-running series The Half Sisters could be wearing black as a sign of mourning as their favorite daytime series bids them goodbye on Jan. 15. The series has

been on the Kapuso screen since June 9, 2014 and should have ended in April last year but the network extended it to stay on the air until its finale next week. The series cemented the love team of Barbie Forteza and emerging matinee idol Andre Paras. It also upheld Thea Tolentino as the next important character actress in the network. Yet, as The Half Sisters’s cast takes its final bow next Friday, Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali are all set to take center screen on Jan. 18. We met Miguel and Bianca at a restaurant in Quezon City days before the holidays last year and the two (who said they’re not romantically involved, not yet anyway, but seem unaware of their PDAs (public display of affection) described their roles in the new afternoon series. “We are childhood friends that get separated later. When we met again we fall for each other only to find out it’s bawal,” the two chimed in between bites of red velvet cake.

They ate cake like lovebirds but the two insist they’re just comfortable with each other. “We are very close as friends, and we treat each other that,” again they chimed like they have rehearsed those lines for a long time anticipating the movie press would ask them about their relationship. Miguel and Bianca were the featured stars in Once Upon A Kiss in GMA’s Telebabad. The two try daytime TV in their new soap Wish I May. The theme song is sung by the nation’s newest sensational matinee idol Alden Richards, from the star’s multi-platinum album of the same title. The series also features Camille Prats, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Alessandra de Rossi, and Neil Ryan Sese. It should be an interesting series with the seasoned actors providing able support to the young love team. I am glad the series is finally taking off as many actors like Sese has been in limbo while waiting

Barbie Forteza and Andre Paras

for it to roll. So, Wish I May is the opening salvo of the Kapuso network. Another show will premiere on Jan. 25. Guess who stars in it? Barbie Forteza and Andre Paras, that’s who. I am not sure if That’s My Amboy replaces Marimar, which ends in two weeks time. If that’s the case, I am glad GMA Network has realized they have another potential love team that can become a major ratings magnet. While Viva Entertainment is insisting Paras be tied to the Andre Paras-Yassi Pressman love team the company is trying to push, the Kapuso has built a massive following for the two in the less than two years they have been together in the afternoon soap The Half Sisters. Others show the Kapuso network will launch in the first two months of the new year include The Abandoned with Derrick Monasterio and Bea Binene. I am not quite sure if the audience would embrace this combination. But loyal Kapuso fans will take

Derrick Monasterio and Bea Binene

any combination, I think, to show their love for the network. Eugene Domingo who has taken a respite from appearing in movies, takes on another hosting job for Dear Uge. I don’t have the details of the show, but I guess it will be some sort of an advice show and it will commence on Valentine’s Day. Finally, Michael V goes on a side trip away from Bubble Gang and Pepito Manaloto to host a game show called Lip Sync Battle. We see something like this on Comedy Central with Hollywood celebrities participating. I am not sure if this show that will have Iya Villania as co-host will have local celebs as participants. This will premiere on Feb. 27. So, that’s it Kapuso. These are the shows you will look forward to watching this month and next. And dear Kapamilya, I know you have something ready to face the competition. Let the ratings race begin! ➜ continued on c7