The Standard - 2015 March 02 - Monday

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK VOL. XXIX NO. 18 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONday: MaRCH 2, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com

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Looking at the sea in a different light

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Texters alone at the top

‘JUST SAY SORRY,’ SERGE TELLS NOY Campaign chief Osmeña hits ‘super-hard-headed’ President Next page

From babes’ mouths. Children join a rally organized by the militant group Salinlahi, which called for the resignation of President Benigno Aquino III at the Welcome Rotunda in Quezon City Sunday. MANNY PALMERO

DoE hopes no plants break down

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‘Birdman’ returns to cinemas

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Explain JPE move, Sandigan tells PNP By nelson Flores THE Sandiganbayan has ordered the Philippine National Police to explain in three days why it transferred detained Senator Juan Ponce Enrile to the Makati Medical Center from the PNP hospital in Camp Crame on Thursday without informing it of the transfer.

Dennis Pulma, the clerk of court of the anti-graft court’s Third Division, said late Friday the PNP General Hospital had yet to submit a report on Enrile’s transfer to the MMC. He said the Sandiganbayan had earlier ruled that the PNP must first explain to it the necessity of transferring Enrile to another hospital before doing so.

Pulma made his statement even as detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada asked the Sandiganbayan to unfreeze his assets because he had no intention to conceal or dispose of those as claimed by government prosecutors.

Estrada, who like Enrile is facing plunder charges in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork-barrel scam, said he “has not concealed, removed or disposed of his property nor is he about to do so.”

The Sandiganbayan six days ago froze Estrada’s assets worth P184 million, the same amount that he allegedly received from the alleged pork-barrel scam.

The Sandiganbayan’s Third Division last year allowed Enrile to stay at the PNP General Hospital while facing the graft and plunder charges against him in connection with his alleged involvement in scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles.

The court said Enrile must not be transferred from the PNP General Hospital to any other medical facility except in cases of medical emergency, or if it was necessary for him to undergo medical procedures or examinations not available at the PNP General Hospital.

“Until now we have not received a report from the PNP [General Hosptal about Enrile’s transfer], Pulma said.

He said that while, Enrile’s lawyers had already submitted a report detailing the events that led to their client’s transfer to the Makati Medical Center, the Third Division had yet to receive a formal report from the PNP General Hospital.

Earlier, the PNP Health Service spokesman, Chief Inspector Raymond Santos, said Enrile was rushed to the MMC after the 91-yearold senator’s health got worse Wednesday night due to pneumonia.

Fare hike coming. Commuters alight from a PNR train at the Tutuban Station in Tondo, Manila, on Sunday. A five-peso fare increase will bring the minimum train fare to P15 from P10 soon. Danny Pata

Say you’re sorry, Serge Osmeña urges Aquino

By Macon Ramos-araneta

“SAY ‘I am sorry’,” Senator Sergio Osmeña III urged President Benigno Aquino III over DZBB radio on Sunday.

He said Aquino should apologize to the Filipino people for the death of 44 police commandos in an encounter with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25.

Osmeña, a close Aquino ally who served as Aquino’s campaign manager in the 2010 presidential elections, said it would be much better for the President to say “I am sorry,” just as former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo had said on national television at the height of the “Hello Garci” controversy.

Osmeña described Aquino as a “super-hard-headed” person who listens only to his friends.

“The President does not want to say sorry,” he said. But he believes

apologizing is the best thing the President can do. He said apologizing could help the President.

Osmeña made his statement even as the Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association Inc. on Sunday said it will hold a nationwide “Marches for Justice for the SAF 44” on Sunday, March 8, to mark the culmination of the 44-day period of mourning for the SAF heroes.

The marches, dubbed as “Walk with the Widows, Run for our Heroes,” will simultaneously be conducted at the regional, provincial, city and and municipal levels.

Asked if the Filipino people could forgive Aquino, Osmena shot back: “Filipinos are forgiving. They are very forgiving.”

Still, Osmeña said he could not tell if the Senate would find Aquino responsible for the botched Mamasapano incident in which 44 SAF troopers were “massacred” by Moro rebels.

“They control the Senate right now, said Osmeña as he hinted there might be a whitewash.

“So we will look on that and tell you if we feel there’s a whitewash,”

Osmeña said.

Senator Grace Poe, head of the Senate Public Order committee that led the senate inquiry into the Mamasapano incident, wrapped up the probe Tuesday last week after five hearings and five executive sessions in which resource persons gave their testimonies.

Poe assured the people of a transparent and partial report and brushed aside speculations of a cover-up.

But Osmeña said the public would not believe in the results of the Senate probe since the people had already decided who was to blame.

“Unfortunately, you have to prove you’re innocent because you are already guilty as far as the Filipino people is concerned,” said Osmeña, referring to the President.

“You will have the feelings, the beliefs and certainties that there was a whitewash. You will see it in the recitation of facts when there are several loopholes and gaps in the recitations of facts, there are things forgotten or deliberately plotted out, canceled out or not mentioned...It

was sort of engineered.

Osmeña warned that the people would be angry if the Senate and the PNP Board of Inquiry absolved the President.

“In the Senat, we should be fair.

There were many faults committed.

Whether it amounts to a hanging or just a simple spanking, we will know,” Osmeña said.

He said he regretted supporting the candidacy of President who, he said, had lost the people’s support, and especially as a result of the Mamasapano fiasco.

He said the President was “hardheaded.”

He said Aquino was stubborn, and that if he said one thing it should be done and there would be no room for adjustments.

“I think he should be patient and let democracy work,” Osmeña said, adding the people were fed up with Aquino.

He said the surveys showed that Aquino lost much approval from the Filipino people especially after the Mamasapano debacle.

With Francisco tuyay

Petilla hopes no more power plant breakdowns occur By alena Mae S. Flores ENERGY Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla hopes no more power plants will bog down on top of the projected 631-megawatt plant outages this month as that might cause rolling blackouts in Luzon.

Petilla said Luzon was entering a “critical period” this month as the Malampaya natural gas facility in northwest Palawan would go on a 30-day maintenance shutdown starting March 15.

Based on projections, he said,

Luzon was facing a 200-megawatt power shortage in March on a worst-case scenario, although that could be remedied by the interruptible load program.

“The best case scenario is no brownout. Based on our projection, you have a deficit of 200 megawatts without ILP. With ILP, this will already be covered,” Petilla said.

Under the ILP program, the participating captive customers may be requested to de-load for a period of time and use their own

power generating sets to avoid blackouts.

Petilla said blackouts were possible if more power plants would go on unexpected forced outages.

“For March, if demand is as projected, if supply is as projected, and if the forced outages of 631 megawatts is still the same, we’re going to be okay,” Petilla said.

“However, if the forced outages go way beyond 631 megawatts, may be 1,000 megawatts, then we have a problem.”

Petilla said they were also looking at possible “minor glitches” in other plants, like whether the 100-megawatt Millennium power plant would be able to go online on time and whether the 300-megawatt unit of GN Power would be back on the grid.

He said that, based on recent experience, the projected forced outages of power plants had been going up.

For example, he said, the forced outage for January was 300 megawatts but the actual

outage was over 700 megawatts.

He said the February average also likely doubled, prompting power stakeholders to express concern on the March outlook.

Manila Electric Co. said the ILP dry run on Feb. 18 for four hours showed that the ILP was able to spare over 500,000 consumers from blackouts.

Meralco senior vice president Alfredo Panlilio said about 457 megawatts were de-loaded out of the 617-megawatt committed capacity.

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Govt seeks to contain clashes

By Joyce P. Pañares

MALACAÑANG assured the public Sunday that government troops are doing all that is necessary to prevent a spillover of the ongoing offensive against the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu.

“The government is doing all that is necessary to prevent these lawless forces [from creating] chaos and uncertainty while ensuring that there is no collateral damage,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said.

“We are taking care of our citizens at all times,” he added.

Coloma said the government is also verifying reports that ASG top leader Radullan Sahiron, who carries a $1 million bounty offered by the United States, was wounded in an encounter in Patikul.

Over the weekend, an improvised bomb exploded at the gate of a church at Lamitan City in Basilan as security forces pressed an offensive in neighboring Sulu island.

Security officials said the blast may be part of an attempt to ease the attack on ASG, which entered its sixth day on Sunday.

Armed Forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said the ASG bandits were reportedly moving with three Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah members who were providing them with bomb-making training.

“This (offensive) will not stop until we put an end to the Abu Sayyaf,” Padilla said.

The Abu Sayyaf in the past have harboured JI terrorists, including Umar Patek and Dulmatin, key suspects in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people in Indonesia.

The leftwing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), however, said the intensified government offensive was not a war on terrorists but a war against the Moro people, as the attacks will only cause casualties among the civilian population.

“It is perplexing that all of a sudden, the AFP has set its sights on the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), after the Aquino administration was called accountable for the deaths of the 44 SAF officers, 18 MILF soldiers, and seven civilians,” the group said in a statement.

The all-out offensive, the group added, would distract the public from Aquino’s involvement in the ill-fated Mamasapano operation.

Suara Bangsamoro, a Muslim group, also condemned the offensive in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao that forced several civilians to flee their homes.

The combined forces of the Army, Marines and the Philippine National Police attacked Sitio Quary, Brgy.

Maitumaig in Datu Unsay, claiming to flush out elements of the BIFF. Residents were forced to flee their homes at 8 a.. when the combined military and police force started shooting at the community that was believed to have a BIFF presence, Suara Bangsamoro spokesman Jerome Succor Aba said.

Two hours later, the government troops began ground and aerial assaults, destroying some homes, Aba added.

Noria Kamid, 45, farmer and a resident of Sitio Quary, Brgy. Maitumaig in Datu Unsay, complained that military helicopters started shooting at their community while the residents were still in the area. A pregnant woman, Aga Zulkarnin, 27, a farmer, married with five children complained that, without warning, the military on the ground and helicopters started shooting.

Festival up north. Floral floats drive the streets of Baguio on Sunday as the city celebrates its flower fetival. DaviD Chan

Poll watchdog to bring new evidence vs Smartmatic By rey e. requejo A POLL watchdog on Sunday said it will submit to the Supreme Court new evidence to bolster its petition to blacklist technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) from joining any electionrelated process in the country and to nullify any contract it has signed with the Commission on Elections.

C3E, Automated Elections System (AES) Watch and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines have filed separate petitions before the Court asking that it nullify the P268.8 million contract that the Comelec signed with Smartmatic-TIM for violating the law that mandates the conduct of competitive

public bidding for all government procurement.

Before his retirement last month, Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes signed the P268.8 million contract with Smartmatic-TIM covering the diagnostics and repair of the voting machines, as well as replacement of units, if needed.

C3E co-convener Melchor Magdamo said Smartmatic-TIM made a mockery of the Supreme Cout when it claimed it was the manufacturer of the counting machines used in the 2010 and 2013 elections.

Magdamo said the new evidence would show that Smartmatic deliberately misrepresented itself before when the Court ruled in its favor in 2012.

“The belated discovery will no

doubt convince the Supreme Court to bar Smartmatic from doing electionrelated business in the country,” Magdamo said.

The evidence, he said, was a certification from Jarltech International to the Argentine government that clearly indicated that Smartmatic did not in any way manufacture the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines nor did it own the manufacturer, Jarltech.

This was contrary to its claims to the Supreme Court that the Taiwan manufacturer of the PCOS machines was a subsidiary, Magdamo said.

Early this month, C3E petitioned the Court to compel the Comelec to blacklist Smartmatic for violations of the Automated Election Law and

for misrepresentation. In seeking to blacklist Smartmatic-TIM, C3E told the court that Smartmatic misrepresented itself to be owner of the technology and the manufacturer of the PCOS supplied to the Comelec.

Separate petitions were also filed to nullify a Comelec resolution approving the award and to invalidate a P268.8 million refurbishment contract to Smartmatic for the upgrade of some 82,000 PCOS machines.

In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the supply contract between the Comelec and Smartmatic after the latter submitted Jarltech’s ISO-9001 certification as part of the requirements for eligibility to bid, claiming that they are a majority owner of Jarltech.

Wipe out Marwan’s legacy of bomb-making—Angara

By Macon r. araneta

Watermelons in season. Workers at the Balintawak market in Quezon City unload watermelons from the Ilocos, which are being sold at P180 to P200 each. Manny PalMero

THE government should wipeout the “lethal legacy” of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan so that any skills he passed on when he hopped from one rebel group to another in his long years in Mindanao will not be used to kill more people after his death, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said Sunday.

“If indeed there is arms manufacturing factory in Mindanao, whether it’s by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) of Abu Sayyaf, it should be destroyed,” Angara said.

Marwan was reportedly killed in a police raid in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that also claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Force commandos.

In the Feb. 24 Senate hearing on the Mamasapano bloodbath, chief government peace negotiator Miriam Ferrer admitted receiving reports on the existence of a facility to build improvised explosive device (IED) run by the BIFF. Angara said if the peace process

is near the decommissioning phase, then it would be futile to have another group increasing its inventory of arms. If there’s an arm race in the south, he said, it should stop by now.

“Marwan, after being driven out of Malaysia, sought refuge in camps run by an alphabet soup of rebel groups in Mindanao, [so] we have to assume that he trained many people. The graduates of his workshops must not be allowed to put what they learned from him to use,” he added.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, an ally of President Benigno Aquino III, said there was no rush to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), despite a determined push by the Palace.

Earlier, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairman of the committee on local governments, suspended hearings on the BBL after the Mamasapano massacre.

But Senate President Franklin Drilon assured the President that the BBL would be passed by June, or before Congress deliberates on the 2016 budget.

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Marcos tells students:

Prepare for integration

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has urged business educators and students to work together to prepare the country to face the challenges of the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region.

Marcos warned students that integration could be “cruel and competitive” and that they should prepare now rather than learn the hard way later “when all will be too late.”

He also urged educators to work hard to ensure that their graduates would have the skills to match or even surpass those from other Asean countries.

Marcos said Asean integration envisions one economic region with better inter-operability and interrelations among members characterized by a “free flow of capital and investments, free flow of goods, free flow of services and skilled labor.”

Speaking before the second ABEST (Association of Business Educators and Students of the Philippines) National Congress at Subic Bay Travellers Hotel, Marcos urged the students to study hard and take to heart the lessons they learn in school.

He said students should be trained to study regional markets and economies, consumer behavior, competition behavior, finance and marketing, as well as taking a comprehensive approach to monitoring the cost of doing business for increased competitiveness and profitability.

“It may be prudent to undertake curriculum reviews of our business courses at this crucial turning point of our history. We need to include subjects on the economy, culture and language of our Asean neighbors,” he said.

Marcos said schools should encourage and incentivize research and development, in order to spur business creativity and innovation among our Filipino students.

He said that while the Department of Trade and Industry is saying that the Philippines is ready for integration, “we should not be complacent.”

Meanwhile, Senate President Franklin Drilon called for the need to liberalize the Philippine legal profession to permit foreign lawyers to practice in the country and help their local counterparts keep pace with market and policy shifts as a result of the Asean integration.

“As integration calls for a free exchange of resources, we must ask ourselves: what does integration mean to the legal profession? What is its impact on the practice of law? In this era of integration, the ASEAN lawyer must learn to navigate multiple legal jurisdictions,” Drilon said.

Oath taking. Former Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association Inc. chairman Ben Tabing (top photo, second from left) inducts the new board of directors for 20152017 of USPAA Inc. led by Leyte Rep.Ferdinand Martin “FM” Romualdez (second from right) and Pablo Gancayco , Lauro de la Cruz, Ray Orozco , Domingo Palrca , Manuel Tan, Jose Rabago, Reynaldo Dario,Eric Pasion, Leopoldo Calixto , Paolo Gamboa , Gilbert Remulla , Jose Andres, Francis Yapchiongco and Raymund Nunez.

Bottom photo shows Tabing turning over the mallet and gavel symbolizing the turnover to new chairman Ray Orozco. VER NOVENO

End emissions racket, clean Hoopsters, celebs grace Panagbenga air advocates urge Abaya ClEAN air advocates have called on Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to stop alleged massive corruption in motor vehicle emission testing procedures at the land Transportation Office, which they said has greatly contributed to air pollution in Metro Manila.

Representatives of the Coalition of Clean Air Advocates of the Philippines trooped to Abaya’s office in Mandaluyong City recently to demand immediate action to end the practice of allowing “no shows” or “non-appearances” who are still given motor vehicle emission tests by the lTO and private emission testing centers.

CCAAP trustee Benito Atienza said various studies have shown that 80 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila comes from the emissions of motor vehicles. The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 requires all motor vehicles to undergo and pass a mandatory emission test before lTO can register them.

But due to corruption, he said vehicle owners easily circumvent the law by paying bribes to get their cars registered at lTO even without actually having them physically tested for compliance with emission laws.

“This is why we have lots of smoke-belching vehicles plying our roads. These smoke belchers continuously pollute the air we breathe, causing life-threatening respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, especially among children and the elderly,” said Atienza, a practicing pediatrician. Macon Ramos-Araneta

BAGUIO CITY – Well-known personalities in professional basketball and in show business stole the show during the grand float parade that was one of the highlights of this year’s Panagbenga or Baguio flower festival Sunday.

NlEX Road Warriors players Asi Taulava, Enrico Villanueva, Jonas Villanueva, Aldrich Ramos, KG Canieleta and Harold Arboleda, together with coaches Boyet Fernandez and Jojo lastimosa, joined executives of the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) in the beautifully decorated NlEX float which negotiated the five-kilometer parade route from Upper Session road up to the Baguio Athletic Bowl.

Ms. Earth Air 2012 Stefanie Stefanowitz rode one of the 16 floats as an endorser of a beauty products company, to the cheers of the crowd along the parade routes.

Celebrity spouses Oyoboy Sotto and Christine Hermosa also grabbed the attention of the over 1.2 million local residents and visitors who gathered along the city’s major streets to watch this year’s floats, which focused much on the importance of preserving and protecting the environment and the unique culture of Cordilleras. Dexter See

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Firemen battle blaze for 35 hours AFTER 35 hours, fire fighters put out a fire that struck a seven-story building in Quezon City, Supt. Jesus Fernandez, the city’s fire marshall, said on Sunday.

The fire was declared under control at 11 a.m. on Sunday since firemen had to contned with the highly combustible materials stored inside the Gateway 2000 located on Araneta Avenue, Barangay Tatalon, according to Fernandez.

The fire broke out on Friday at around 11:40 p.m. fire fighters were not allowed to go up to the fifth, sixth and seventh floors due to a possibility that the building could collapse, he said.

City hall officials, led by Isagani Verzosa of the Department of Building Official, inspected the building to determine if residents in the nearby place would Firemen’s caravan. Trucks and firemen belonging to the United Fire fighters of the Philippines hold a caravan in Metro Manila to create awareness on need to evacuate or not. Fire Prevention Month on Sunday March 1, 2015. DANNY PATA Rio Araja

No-meat Monday for QC restos proposed THE Quezon City government has called on restaurants not to serve any meat dish on a Monday to help promote vegetable consumption.

Mayor Herbert Bautista said he would support a resolution approved by the 32-member city council and authored by Councilor Jessica Castelo Daza of District 4 for meatless Mondays in restaurants.

The resolution calls for a Luntiang Lunes, the city’s version of a meatless Monday advocacy in the United States of Amercia to improve the nutritional requirements of the city residents. Rio Araja

Local govts get P3.4b in tobacco tax shares The government has released P3.45 billion to tobacco-producing local government units (LGUs) from the 2012 shares of the tobacco excise tax collection, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

The Special Allotment Release Orders and the notices of Cash Allocation (nCAs) have been issued to these LGUS which need to meet the documentary requirements to be able to withdraw the funds, it said.

Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said, the allotment of shares from the excise taxes to tobacco-producing

LGUs prove that the taxes Filipinos pay ultimately redound to the benefit of their countrymen. “Tobacco farmers will now have the budgetary support to develop their selfreliance through livelihood and cooperative projects that can help increase their productivity or enhance their income.”

LGUs producing burley

and native tobacco get a share from 15 percent of the incremental revenue collected from the excise tax on tobacco products under the law (Republic Act (RA) 8240).

Likewise, LGUs producing locally manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes get a share from 15 percent of the excise tax collection on the said cigarettes under RA 7171.

Abad however clarified that the P3.45-billion release is just a portion of the total tobacco excise tax shares yet to be allocated to the tobaccoproducing LGUs. Abad said that more than just strengthening the LGUs

that benefit from the releases, the proceeds from the taxes give these LGUs more economic opportunities. In the end, the progress of the tobacco industry also sustains the country’s overall economic expansion and inclusive development.”

Meanwhile, anti-smoking advocates are batting for the placement of graphic health warnings in electronic cigarette packs since e-cigars also contain chemical substances that could endanger the users.

Citing a research commissioned by Japan’s Health Ministry, Emer

Rojas, new Vois Association of the Philippines president, e-cigars have carcinogens, such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, in the vapor.

The study showed that formaldehyde in e-cigars was present at much higher level than what could be found in the smoke from regular cigars.

Formaldehyde is a substance also found in building materials and embalming fluids.

Other adverse health effects found to stem from ecigarettes are nausea, headache, cough and mouth or throat irritation.

Joyce Panares and Rio Araja

Pinoy workers languish in Saudi shelters THOUSAnDS of Filipino Workers in Saudi Arabia are living “desperately” in temporary shelters in the kingdom as the companies that hired them wobble in financial difficulties.

“Our countrymen are in a very serious situation in Saudi Arabia and they long to come home,” said OFW party list Rep. Johnny Revilla during his recent guesting at the national Press Club’s Meet the Press Forum.

Revilla said financial difficulties being experienced by Desperate. Some of the OFWs are holed up in temporary shelters in Dammam, Saudi oil-dependent industries there Arabia following the work stoppages in oil-dependent firms suffering from financial have led to the reduction, if not difficulties. OFW partylist Rep. Johnny Revilla described the OFWs condition as “desperate,” total stoppage, in the operations of huge firms such as the saying that these Filipinos wish to come home soon.

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Mohammad Al-Mojil Group in Dammam, which was one of the biggest employers of Filipinos in the past.

“For almost a year now, the company is in dire straits and as a consequence of this, several hundreds of OFWs working for MMG have not been paid and their benefits withheld, including vacation leave benefits,” Revilla said.

The lawmaker disclosed that the Filipino workers could not be repatriated because their Iqamas, or their work permits, have not been renewed.

For lack of a better opportunity back home, Revilla said the OFWs opted to “fight for their

rights” and await their rightful salaries and benefits.

“Majority of the OFWs remained steadfast in their position… They have since stayed in camps hoping for better days to come by,” according to the legislator, who spent for his own travel to Dammam to personally witness the condition of Filipinos there.

“I told them I am no superman that I can bring them back home at once. I assured them that I am doing something, meeting company officials and Philippine embassy officials so we can come up with a compromise,” the solon explained.

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Leyte solon grateful to Baguio BAGUIO CITY—Leyte, particularly Tacloban City, has drawn its inspiration from the disaster- resilient Baguio City, which was struck by a killer earthquake in July 16, 1990 – in order to cope with the devastation that it suffered during the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013.

This was the statement made on Sunday by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez who visited Baguio City to express the gratitude of his constituents to the people of Baguio and the Cordillera.

They were one of the first to respond to Leyte’s plea for help after the province was ruined by the strongest

typhoon that ever hit the Philippines, said Romualdez, the leader of the House independent bloc.

The assistance extended by the government and private institutions from Baguio and Benguet were instrumental in motivating the local residents to stand up and face reality as they strive for recovery, he said.

“My personal presence in Baguio and Benguet is a gesture of gratitude to the people who help and continue to help rebuild Leyte, especially Tacloban. We draw inspiration from what the people of Baguio had done to rise up from the ruins of the 100 killer earthquake and we want to bring that disaster resilience to our place,” Romualdez stressed.

The lawmaker said that Tacloban City will also develop its own festival that will try to emulate the Panagbenga or Baguio flower festival so that it will continue to bring hope to the people of the province that there is still ‘light and life at the end of the tunnel.’

Invitation to Bid NO. GOODS-021-2015 The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the Trust Fund21 intends to apply the below listed procurenrent w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

1.

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

Supply and Delivery of Communications & Rescue Equipments & Supplies to be used for response activities of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office

litical boundaries because it is the lives of the people and the state of living that are being jeopardized once the administration will use politics as a gauge on how to provide assistance to the calamity victims and how to work out the development of the affected areas in order to bring back the resilience of the people.

He appealed to kindhearted individuals and groups to continue extending assistance to the people of Leyte until such time that they will be able to fully recover from the devastation that they experienced and the blessings that they will continue to shower his constituents will return to them in greater magnitude.

SAN FERNANDO CITY—President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has declared March 2, 2015 (Monday) a special non-working day in La Union, which marks its 165th foundation anniversary.

The President, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, declared March 2 a holiday for the people of La Union to enjoy the celebration of the birth of the province.

“It is but fitting and proper that the people of La Union be given full opportunity to celebrate this milestone in their province’s history with appropriate ceremonies,” Aquino stated.

=P= 2,659,010.00

ORTEGA

The Provincial Government of Bataan now invites bids for the above listed Procurement.

Delivery of goods is required on or before the maturity date stipulated on contract. Bidders should have completed, within Ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section ll. Instructions to Bidders Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specific in the implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committee and inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract

zations that continue to work notwithstanding the government support that seemingly come in trickles due to the bureaucratic red tape.

“To say that we are fully satisfied with the support being given by the government to the calamitystricken areas will not be accurate. We have been receiving government support but not as extensive as what the people have expected,” Romualdez said.

He said that Leyte and Tacloban City still need help in order to recover from the wrath of the typhoon.

Romualdez explained that the assistance to be extended by the government should transcend po-

March 2 holiday in La Union

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE

Name of Project

According to the Leyte solon, the expert linemen that were able to restore power in the different Yolanda-stricken areas were from the Cordillera and that the provision of fresh vegetables to augment the food of the victims also came from Baguio and Benguet. That is why reciprocating their Samaritan gesture is fulfilling in the sense that the solon said, he was able to feel the concern of the people.

While the government had pledged to hasten the development of the Yolanda-stricken areas, Romualdez said it is the disaster relief operations and rehabilitation of numerous non-government organi-

5.000.00

More than 5 Million up to 10 Million

10.000.00

More than 10 Million up to 50 Million

25.000.00

More than 50 Million up to 500 Million

50,000.00

More than 500 Million

75.000.00

Approved Budget Lot No.

Item/Description Supply & Delivery of Line Extension Materials Supply & Delivery of Housewiring Materials

for the Contract (ABC) P31,233,502.23 P28,725,502.23

Delivery Period 30Cd

P 2,508,000.00

The schedule of bidding activities is as follows:

1,000.00

More than 1 Million up to 5 Million

BISELCO invites suppliers to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder list of items:

2

500.00

More than 500.000 up to 1 Million

for the Supply and Delivery of Line Extension and HousewiringMaterias for Forty Two (42) Sitios and One (1) Barangay for BUSUANGA ISLAND ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (BISELCO) Public Bidding No. 15-001 Source of Funding: 2013 & 2014 Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) Subsidy and 2014 Barangay Line Enhancement Program (BLEP) Subsidy

1

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso)

500,000 and below

INVITATION TO BID

The Provincial Government of Bataan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on March 5, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered on or before March 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. At Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 and Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities Schedule l. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid February 26- March 4, 2015 2. Eligibility Check Refer to date of Opening of Bids 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents February 26 - March 17,2015 4. Request for Clarification March 6, 2015 5. Opening of Bids March 17, 2015 The Provincial Government of Bataan reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: Engr. Josephine R. Valenzuela Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound Balanga City, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

ACTIVITIES Advertisement/Posting of Invitation Apply Eligibility And to Bid Issuance and Availability of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Bidder’s Due Diligence Deadline for Receipt Bids Opening Bids

SCHEDULE March 2, 2015 March 4, 2015 March 17, 2015 2:00 p.m. BISELCO Conference Room March 18 to 31, 2014 April 6, 2015, 1:00 p.m.

April 6, 2015 2:00 p.m. BISELCO Conference Room

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184 otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

The complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased at the BISELCO Office upon payment of non-refundable fee of FIVE THOUSAND PESOS (Php 5,000.00).

The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open to all interested parties; however, only those who have purchased the Bidding Documents may participate in the discussion at said conference.

The Pre-Bid Conference, Submission and Opening of Bids shall be held at BISELCO Office, Conference Room, Mabentangen Rd., Brgy. Poblacion 6, Coron, Palawan.

The bidders shall drop their duly accomplished eligibility requirements, technical and financial proposals in two separate sealed envelopes in the bid box located at the above mentioned address.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from BISELCO BAC Secretariat with CP # 09989548494 during office hours or e-mail to: biselco79@yahoo.com BISELCO reserves the right to waive any formality in the responses to the eligibility requirements and to this invitation. BISELCO further reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract, and makes no assurance that contract shall be entered into as a result of this invitation without thereby incurring any liability in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

(Sgd.) ENGR. SELWIN Y. ALILI BBAC Chairman Approved:

(Sgd). ENRICO T. YUZON BAC Chairman (MST-MAR. 2, 2015)

(Sgd.) RUTH L. GALANG General Manager (MST-MAR. 2, 2015)

The theme of this year’s celebration is “La Union@165 and Beyond: Fulfilling our Vision and Mission. Securing the Future for Sustained Peace, Unity and Prosperity through the Power of Love and Prayers.”

The celebration unfolds with Gov. Manuel Ortega’s delivering his state of the province address at the Capitol while the main event will be highlighted with the selection and coronation of the “Mutia ti La Union 2015” at the plaza here.

La Union was created as a province on March 2, 1850 through a historic superior decreto signed by then Spanish Governor-General Antonio Maria Blanco.

The province was founded by the “real father of La Union”, Captain General Narciso Zaldua Claveria who was considered as Spain’s most dynamic colonial executive in the 19th century.

La Union, which means unification, is the union of three contiguous geographical territories of the provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur and Benguet.

The first governor of La Union was Don Toribio Ruiz de la Escalera who was designated on March 4, 1850, two days after the creation of the province while the first civil governor was Don Juaquin Ortega.

Dexter See

M O N DAY : M A RC H 2 , 2 0 1 5

A7

NEWS

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Solid play. It’s family day on Sunday at

the QC Memorial Circle and a youngster finds it timely to put on a show. MANNY PALMERO

Health service wanting among LGUs, says solon

By Macon Araneta

DUE to the “decaying” health services in most areas of the country, a lawmaker has proposed that the operation and management of all hospitals currently under the local government units’s supervision to be returned to the Department of Health.

Apart from the low priority given by LGUs to health concerns, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV also attributed the deterioration of health services to corruption in the procurement of medicines.

As a result, Trillanes said it is not uncommon to hear that work-

ers are being denied benefits due them. LGUs most of the time can’t bear the financial cost of maintaining and operating hospitals and providing salaries and benefits to workers, he said.

For this purpose,Trillanes filed Senate Bill 25 which seeks to revert to the nation government, through

the DOH, supervision over all hospitals across the nation.

The country’s health care system was devolved to LGUs more than 20 years ago.

Under SBN 2577, health services and facilities devolved to the LGUs will be re-nationalized or returned to the operation and management of the national government, which, in effect, would repeal certain provision of the Local Government Code.

Upon implementation of this proposal, re-nationalized hospitals and Rural Health Units/Centers will be authorized to use the income they derived from their operation to improve and upgrade the services they provide, as long as the supporting financial and

work plans are first approved by the DOH. “Through this measure, we hope that LGUs would be freed from financial burden, while we upgrade and standardize healthcare throughout the country,” said Trillanes.

According to Trillanes, the healthcare system was initially devolved to the LGUs based on the assumption that local government executives would know where the need for such services is necessary and would be able to prioritize such needs.

But after several years of implementation, it was found out, however, that the quality of health services has slowly decayed in most areas of the country, he said.

Advocates push tighter tobacco control

By Joel E. Zurbano TEN Filipinos die every hour from diseases related to smoking, according to Health Justice Philippines and Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance.

Dr. Mary Assunta, SEATCA policy advisor, said the number of deaths from smoking is now at an alarming level as the group urged the Aquino administration to review the tobacco control program to minimize the number of casualties. `“Nicotine is considered addictive and so every individual must seriously consider the warning,” Assunta said.

Lawyer Ma. Paz Luna of Health Justice, considered death by smoking as a global epidemic with 87,600 the number of casualties a year, or around 240 daily deaths, in the Philippines.

World Health Organization data showed that

“tobacco kills nearly six million people worldwide each year and the death toll could rise to more than eight million by year 2030 unless immediate action is taken”.

It also showed that of the six million, five mil-

lion died due to direct smoking while more than 600, 000 are those exposed to second-hand smoke.

WHO study stated that anti-smoking campaign advertisements and graphic pack warnings, especially those that include pictures, help reduce the number of minors who start smoking smoking and increase the number of smokers who quit.

The graphic pack warnings is being enforced in Brazil, Canada, Singapore and Thailand.

But in the Philippines, according to HJP and SEATCA, the graphic health warning law requiring tobacco manufacturers to print photos of the ill effects of smoking have not been fully implemented.

This despite the Philippines being a signatory to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty in 2005 that resulted in the signing into law of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act.

P3.5-b shabu lab raided in Cagayan

By Jessica M. Bacud TUGUEGARAO CITY – A suspected shabu laboratory was raided by the operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Philippine National Police in Lasam, Cagayan.

Chief Superintendent Miguel Laurel, Cagayan Valley regional police director, said that chemicals for shabu-making, drumfuls of liquid substances and equipment were seized from a compound in Barangay Nicolas.

Laurel said the seven drumfuls of ephedrine seized during the raid could be processed into 700 kilos of shabu with an estimated street value of P3.5 billion.

The drug laboratory was allegedly operated by a politician, said PDEA regional director Juvenal Azurin.

“We have received information that the politican moved into the property sometime in July last year,” said Cagayan police director Senior Superintendent Ronaldo Olay.

Meanwhile, the owner of a warehouse in Barangay Newagac in Gattaran, Cagayan which yielded drug chemicals, was also arrested along with two of his alleged helpers.

Laurel said three 9mm pistols, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .357 Magnum revolver were also seized from the owner’s house.

A8

opinion [ EDI TORI A L ]

Scare tacticS WITh its peace plan fraying at the edges in the wake of the massacre of 44 police commandos at the hands of Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, the Aquino administration is trying desperately to rescue its agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) by ramming through the constitutionally flawed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) through Congress.

The effort includes private meetings with lawmakers to impress upon them the urgency of passing the draft law by the administration’s timetable, emphasizing speed over careful deliberation. The overriding concern seems to be to pass the law, hold a plebiscite and create a new Bangsamoro autonomous region before President Benigno Aquino III steps down from office.

The rush suggests a lack of confidence in the administration that will follow in 2016—or an overriding desire on the part of Mr. Aquino to leave behind a legacy as a peacemaker at any cost.

The BBL that the MILF wants and that the administration’s feckless negotiators were so eager to support will give the new region unprecedented autonomy, including its own police force, its own commissions on elections, audit and human rights that will operate independently of existing national agencies; a wealth-sharing scheme that will put the country’s other regions at a huge disadvantage, and a P70 billion budget allocation that will not have to pass congressional scrutiny.

The law also seeks to create a parliamentary government in the new region, inconsistent with the constitutional provisions specifying a presidential system.

Before the meeting at the Palace last week, congressional allies such as Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who heads the ad hoc committee on the BBL, vowed to water down the draft law to correct these constitutional infirmities. After the meeting, they changed their tune. Suddenly, Rodriguez and other lawmakers began talking of a new timetable for passing the draft law, and how there was no alternative to the BBL outside of the unthinkable—a return to war.

That argument comes straight out of the play book of the MILF and its the same line that this administration is peddling. Both the MILF and the administration are also adamant that the bill should not be watered down or altered in any significant way. The position undermines the independence of Congress, but this has not stopped Palace lackeys such as Senate President Franklin Drilon from insisting that the law will not be diluted.

The President has gone one step further, labeling all those who oppose the BBL as political opportunists who are taking advantage of the public outrage over Mamasapano.

“I can’t help but think that they do not want peace because they stand to benefit from chaos and violence,” the President said of those who oppose the BBL, or who to debate its provisions with greater care. “What they want is for Filipinos to become divided, for us to lose trust in each other to further their own personal agenda.”

“If we lose to those who are opposed to peace, it is as if we have allowed the violence in Mindanao to deteriorate further. If we give up on our efforts to push for the creation of the Bangsamoro, it is as if we have allowed that guns will again be inherited by the next generation of Filipinos,” he added.

This was standard rhetoric for the President, who likes to paint with a broad brush, dividing the country into two camps, those that support him and those that are against him, with no possible middle ground.

But Mr. Aquino’s credibility has been severely damaged by unanswered questions about his role in the ill-fated covert operation in Mamasapano. Amid mounting calls for his resignation, the President’s scare tactics ring hollow. Peace, after all, is possible—with or without this President.

Shifting boundarieS penSéeS fr. ranhiliO callangan aquinO The venerable Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, archbishop emeritus of Cebu, celebrated his birthday by going on nationwide television to declare that he could no longer support an administration that, while clinging tenaciously to power, continued to visit misery and woe on the nation. Members of the National Transformation Council earlier called on the President to relinquish his office, and then reiterated it at around the time the nation was supposed

to be remembering the heroism of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

SOJ Leila de Lima was quick to the draw, only that she was dueling a phantom! She warned those who continued to call for the president’s resignation and to demand “snap elections” that they had crossed over into seditious language and incitement to rebellion. She warned that she was poised to set her inquisitors to work and to stoke the flames at the stake! In what can only be perceived as a panicked reaction, the SOJ has attempted to re-draw the boundary between free speech and expression and actionable incitement! I am not surprised at the “overkill”. After

all, the government has always boasted of its supposed unparalleled popularity. It has gotten away with anything and everything because it was confident of the acquiescence of the populace.

Now activists and militants on the streets bearing placards denouncing hypocrisy, insouciance and sheer incompetence, and a respectable portion of the citizenry calling for the resignation of the president allow us all to sift fact from fiction, reality from conceit. It is a literary art-form to weave fiction from history, but no prestidigitation can continue foisting the myth of popular approval in the midst of a harsh winter of discontent!

When one calls on the president to resign, one has expressed a political belief. When one urges

We are totally bereft of this brand of statesmanship in this country of shadows.

on the government that it call for “snap elections”, no matter how audacious and outlandish the proposition, one is expressing a political preference and up until very recently, all that was covered by the protective mantle of free speech. Until the SOJ, of course, decided that seditious talk and

incitement to rebellion were doing a Putin—claiming more ground and shifting boundaries farther! I am sure that experts in criminal law will enjoy a field day debating the metes and bounds of criminal utterance as these supposedly collide with the rather jealously protected guarantee of free expression. What the present dynamic however underscores is the issue of accountability, and the unwieldy system we presently have for holding the national leadership to account for malfeasance or misfeasance. People take to the streets and angrily clang on the heavy gates that close Mendiola to protesters, while a cardinal, bishops, priests and laity, advocates and partisans, meet, plan and call for “snap elections” because there is hardly a way of

M O N D AY : M A R c h 2 , 2 0 1 5

opinion adellechua@gmail.com

ADELLE chuA eDitOr

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plumbline paStOr apOllO quibOlOy

What happens in Davao

making a government that has taken an oath of intransigence to own up to its responsibilities and admit its liabilities.

The Japanese hardly ever clamor for the government or its officials to resign, for so compelling is their code of honor that a minister or an official whose office has serious slipped up or bungled an affair needs no prompting to submit a remorseful resignation. Alas, in this country that has a fetish for surveys and polls, that has traded its sense of right and wrong for the illusions that manipulable numbers conjure, shame is but a fading memory.

Standard TODAY Manila

I teach Comparative Constitutions this semester at the Graduate School of Law of San Beda College, and once more, I engage students and colleagues alike in an exchange about how, by sheer adherence to convention, the British government can bring about its own demise by calling for a confidence vote, or by making the passage—or the failure—of legislation a matter of confidence, how the opposition can express its “lack of confidence in her Majesty’s government” and how, in turn, the Prime Minister can advise the monarch to dissolve parliament. Far better

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for a British statesman to lose office than to keep the entire nation hostage to the irreconcilable differences of parties and to a dysfunctional government. We are totally bereft of this brand of statesmanship in this country of shadows. The first striking feature of this system of accountability is that it is not even written into law. It belongs to that class of unwritten precepts called “conventions of the constitution”. And the other interesting thing about the way Britain does it is the relative ease with which a government Continued on A11

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

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The story is that on the few times the presidential convoy had gone to Davao City, it had to obey the local speed limit rules which range, depending on the location, from 30 kilometers per hour to 60 kph, tops. his guards can whisk the President off in breakneck speed in other parts of the country—except of course In Manila where his procession of muscle SUVs is no match to the immovable traffic—but in Davao, the car with the No. 1 license plate had to follow speed limits.

Some may not believe this story as true but the next one is challenge-proof: The smoker-in-chief can’t just light up anywhere in the country’s third biggest city.

Davao is one big no-smoking zone and anyone, ruler or pauper, who breaks the rule will be reproached, vocally if not by disdainful stares by citizens. even senators, generals, taipans who smoke know the rule when they go to Davao: before you enter, deposit your habit at the door.

They have, however, all the freedom to publicly rattle their smoker’s cough, even in the middle of a speech, but stealing just one quick puff in a public place is a nono.

And the police have been known to issue tickets to those who violate the law without fear or favor.

The ex-mayor of Davao, daughter of the incumbent, had to pay a fine when the car she was driving was clocked at 50 kph in a 40 kph zone.

The mayor’s personal lawyer, late for an appointment in which he was to represent the mayor himself, had to pay the fine after he was caught overspeeding.

Out-of-towners on government cars, thinking that they are exempt from traffic laws, learned too late that the red plates of their cars do not make them invisible to speed radars.

One general was reportedly given a nosmoking ticket by a PO1 when he smoked in a sidewalk in front of a hotel.

Though the ones related to smoking and speeding get to be retold , there are many stories on how ordinances on other matters are strictly implemented in Davao City.

The ones on taxi drivers, for example.

They have to flag down the meter, which in Metro Manila is become more of an option than a rule. They can’t be choosy with passengers or they get the boot.

In Manila , when a taxi driver returns a cellphone a passenger has left behind , he is feted for doing a rare act, short of pinning a Medal of Valor on him, when the same is a ho-hum, no-big-deal thing in Davao, where taxi drivers are expected Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Rolando G. Jojo Estabillo Publisher A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Jojo A.L.Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito Tomeldan Managing Editor Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Chin Wong/RayJoel S. Eñano Associate Editors P. Palacios News Editor Francis Lagniton CityCity Editor Francis Lagniton Editor Arman Armero Senior Deskman Arman Armero Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Leo A. Estonilo Senior Deskman Roberto Cabrera Chief Romel J. Mendez ArtPhotographer Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

A10 THEN AND NOW ONE can fairly say the 29th anniversary of the people power revolution RITA LINDA was a roaring sucV. JIMENO cess insofar as traffic was snarled, manhours were lost and precious fuel wasted. Other than these, this year’s people power anniversary was dismal as dismal can get. Except for the president, the vice president and some government personalities, together with the police and military men who were ordered to march to the EDSA shrine, arm to arm, the attendance was puny.

One might ask where the key players who used to religiously attend the EDSA 1 people power anniversary were. I am not just talking about former President Fidel V. Ramos whose deliberate nonattendance in the anniversary made news as he expressed his dismay over the leadership of President Benigno S. Aquino III. I am referring more to the Filipino people who, in reality, were the real heroes of EDSA 1. They are those who kept vigil on the streets around Malacañang and EDSA calling for Marcos to step down; those who courageously acted as human shields to stop tanks from moving forward; and those who went to the military camps offering roses and food to soldiers to persuade them to join the revolution and withdraw support from Marcos. I myself was on EDSA on all the days that led to the flight of Marcos and the beginning of what I believed then would be real democracy. I took pride having taken my oath as a new lawyer under a new regime in 1986.

Why has attendance in the commemoration of EDSA 1 been dwindling each year? People see it as a useless exercise because nothing has changed. Comments in the social media say that all that the people power revolution managed to do was remove Marcos. Netizens also say we have delivered in a silver platter the power to rule the country to two Aquinos yet, we are still where we have always been. Corruption in government has not been eradicated. If at all, the methods and modes of stealing from public coffers have only become more sophisticated and convoluted. The economy still basically subsists on the remittance of Overseas Filipino Workers.

Economists say that little progress has been made in changing a structure that, for decades, has been one of Asia’s worst rich-poor divides. Cielito Habito, a former economic planning minister, said back in 2013 that it is obvious that something is structurally wrong. The elite 40 richest families on the Forbes wealth list in the Philippines account for 76 percent of the country’s gross domestic product growth. This is the highest in Asia, compared with Thailand where the top 40 account for 33.7 per cent of wealth growth, 5.6 percent for Malaysia and just 2.8 percent for Japan, Habito said. He added that the path to riches for the few is helped by a political culture that allows personal connections to easily open doors.

Foreign observers say the Filipinos are not ready for real democracy. For instance, one said, we tolerate a president who has been lying to us and who has betrayed the Filipino people by entrusting a critical police operation to a suspended police chief who happens to be his friend, resulting in the death of 44 Special Action Force men. The Filipino people do not seriously demand that the president step down only because many of them do not wish the next in line to take his place, a writer said. We forget that rules under a democracy are there to be enforced no matter the consequence if only to send a message to would-be presidents and leaders that they cannot trifle with the people’s trust.

We are not happy and feel that our system of government has failed us but we do nothing and tolerate everything. We are a people who rile but accept things with a frightening sense of fatalism. By not attending the celebration of EDSA People Power 1, we think we have done enough to express our protest. But, the Filipino people must do more if they want change. Many opportunities, for instance, have been presented to us to make way for change through constitutional reforms but we have consistently rejected them. We have always feared the

OUT OF THE BOX

MONDAY: MARCH 2, 2015

OPINION adellechua@gmail.com

A ‘RECTO’ MENTALITY THERE is Recto the man, Recto the family, Recto the thoroughfare and ADELLE Recto the metaphor CHUA for fake academic claims.

There was a time when small kiosks along Claro M. Recto Avenue in Manila,near the universities, no less, peddled diplomas and transcripts—ready made to reflect superb academic achievement—or their services to alter such. This is how a 5 or 4 becomes a 1 or a 1.5. The services came complete with the school logo and dry seal, for an aura of legitimacy.

This was what enabled some people to land jobs or improve their chances of promotion despite being handicapped by their academic past. After all, who would bother calling up the schools and checking? With so many candidates for the job to evaluate, who would be so silly as to spend precious time and energy going to the individual schools and poring over individual records just so to check whether the candidate is accurate in his or her claims?

And if the job applicant can carry himself or herself in such a way that shows he or she is as smart and capable as claimed, then why go through the trouble of investigating at all?

But times change.

These days, with faster communication and freer flow of information, the fake diplomas and reinforced transcripts have lost much of their appeal. Schools can be contacted more easily, even campuses in other provinces, regions or countries.

One can easily shoot an email to the registry office, or obtain permission to search records.

And if it is found that the claims are not supported by facts, social media—also a product of technology—can be vicious. The embarrassment is magnified several times over, and the damage to one’s reputation for being a fraud could be severe, especially if one is a high-profile or high-ranking official.

The Internet provides a ready list of politicians and corporate executives who have resigned in shame or been fired after making false claims in their resumes.

In May 2012, Yahoo!’s chief executive Scott Thompson was separated from the Internet giant after an activist shareholder’s group exposed that he lied about having a computer science degree, when the university said it did not start offering the course until four years after he left.

In August 2014, South African MP (member of parliament) and anti-apartheid activist Pallo Jordan—known as Dr. Jordan—stepped down after a newspaper discovered he had no degrees or diplomas from the University of Wisconsin-Madison or the London School of Economics, two institutions cited in his resume.

And in September 2014, 40-year-old David Tovar, Wal-Mart’s vice president for communications, said he was quitting after the retail company discovered he did not actually earn a BA from the University of Delaware in 1996 as he claimed. The school’s records assistant said Tovar was discontinued, meaning he did not register to finish his required coursework.

CHASING HAPPY

unknown more than the reality that there is something seriously wrong with our political structures that is inherent in the centralized form of government which we have. Rather than withdrawing to our cocoons we should understand what seems unknown and weigh our rights vis-àvis what we now have.

At 32 per cent of income tax, ours is the highest in nearly much of the rest of the world. Yet, we do not get the infrastructure that could make life better especially for the broad masses of people such as a good mass transit system and a railway system from north to south that

What made this story sadder was that the discovery was made in the due diligence process because Tovar was up for promotion to senior vice president.

The thinking is that if one can lie about one’s academic qualifications, one can lie about so many other things. Honesty is a crucial virtue in crucial positions. *** Here at home, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been accused by the online newspaper Rappler of lying about the degrees he listed in his resume at the Senate Web site.

The resume claims Marcos has a BA in political science, philosophy and economics obtained from Oxford University, England (1975-1978) and a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, USA (1979-1981).

A report written by Marites Danguilan Vitug, initially published February 24, said Rappler’s fact-checking shows the senator’s name does not appear in records of both universities.

At Oxford, where Marcos claims to have graduated in 1978, the 1977-78 university calendar showing the names of those sitting for final exams does not include him.

Meanwhile, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania spoke with the director or the MBA program and provided Rappler the following information: “Marcos entered the MBA program in 1979 and attended until the fall of 1980. However, he withdrew sometime this period or early spring in 1981 and never graduated.”

On this one, Senator Marcos, through a statement released the same evening the article was published, said: “I... did post-graduate studies at the Wharton Business School....I was, however, unable to complete the course because I was elected Vice Governor of Ilocos Norte and had to return home to serve my provincemates.”

As to his BA, the senator said , “I earned a diploma in political science at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University in England in 1978.” He emphasized that all the information stated in his resume was accurate.

The ensuing online attention to this issue showed that people cared a lot about honesty from their top officials—and rightly so. The senator’s swift reaction also showed he recognized this could potentially be devastating to him if he did not address it at once.

Unfortunately, the Internet the following day was abuzz with the People Power anniversary traffic, and the mystery of the blue-and-black/ whiteand-gold dress thereafter.

But if you think that the idea of Recto the diploma mill, is dead, think again. I have not personally been to the famed avenue these days, but try taking the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and alighting at the Carriedo station. On your final steps descending the stairs, you will be greeted with not-so-subtle propositions from young men: “Diploma, transcript,” they say, which will leave you to wonder... don’t they realize what year it is?

Technology may provide some deterrence, but sadly, there is still some business to be made. adellechua@gmail.com

We are a people who rile but accept things with a frightening sense of fatalism.

can help farmers bring their produce to markets, without falling prey to abusive middlemen. We also do not get the peace and order we deserve because the protectors we pay with our taxes sometimes turn out to be our tormentors. I could go on and on but unless we realize that what democracy demands of us is to take an active part in ensuring that our elected leaders do what they are paid to do, we will always be where we have been for the last 50 years.

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

M O N D AY : M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

adellechua@gmail.com

A11

MAIL MATTERS

HEADLESS, NOT DIRECTIONLESS This pertains to Ms. Adelle Chua’s article entitled “Headless Commissions” published on Manila Standard Today on February 23, 2015.

Paragraph 12 of the article says: “While he was supposed to serve at the CSC until 2017, Duque seems to have chosen to step down earlier following a Supreme Court decision voiding Arroyo’s executive order that made him an ex-officio director or trustee of various other agencies concurrent to being CSC chairman, according to the PCIJ.” For accuracy, we wish to clarify that Dr. Duque’s term as CSC Chairper-

son ended at the close of office hours on February 1, 2015. Pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the CSC Chairperson and Commissioners are appointed for a fixed term of seven years. Since former Chairperson Karina Constantino-David ended her term on February 1, 2008, the succeeding chairperson shall fill the post for the next seven years or until February 1, 2015. Former Chair Ricardo Saludo served from July 2008 to September 2009. Thereafter, Dr. Duque was appointed in January 2010, leaving him with five years to complete the unex-

pired term of Mr. Saludo.

Thus, Dr. Duque left the CSC for no other reason but because his term of office as its chairperson has expired.

While the CSC remains “headless” up to this time, it does not necessarily mean that it is directionless. It continues to observe its mandate and functions. Since adopting the Performance Governance System in 2010, we have treaded the path toward our vision to become Asia’s leading center of excellence in strategic human resource and organization development—guided by a strategy map, annual enterprise

WHY IS KOREA INC. GOING SHOPPING?

By William Pesek NEWS that an affiliate of the Hyundai Group may be bidding for New York’s NYLO hotel is but the latest sign South Korea may have caught the overseas property bug. As my colleagues at Bloomberg News report, the company’s assetmanagement unit has already snapped up U.S. office buildings worth $361 million in the last six months. That’s a far cry from the big-ticket purchases made by Chinese companies recently—including the $1.95 billion purchase of the Waldorf Astoria. But still, the outbound push can’t help but evoke comparisons to Japan’s vanity purchases in the 1980s.

Each passing week brings reports of another big foray abroad. The shop with the biggest ambitions is the National Pension Service, by far Korea’s biggest investor. Armed with more than $400 billion of assets, equivalent to about 33 percent of gross domestic product, NPS is opening offices in New York, London and Singapore to raise its overseas investment tally (now 22 percent of total assets).

Companies like Mirae Asset Financial have been sniffing around the Four Seasons Hotel overlooking Sydney’s Circular Quay. Even giant Samsung, the biggest of Korea’s fabled family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, is similarly looking to enter the Australian property market.

The question is why. Aren’t there plenty of hotels closer to home to buy? With Chinese tourists flocking to Seoul, Jeju Island (nearly 3 million last year alone) and Busan, you’d certainly imagine so. And in

WHAT... From A9 not only to return but deliver left items to their owners.

While in many parts of the world, a taxi ride begins with the locking down of the fare and the doors, in Davao no such precautionary ritual is needed.

The mayor is even known to drive a taxi at night ( though he rarely does it these days, I am told) as his way of patrolling the streets, and get citizen feedback.

While he may be coy about sharing his nocturnal excursions, many of his passengers, however, have bragged about their nighttime chat with His Honor behind the wheel.

His detractors have tried to portray these as publicity stunts.

recent months, the government has actively sought to bolster the commercial property market. In August, Finance Minister Choi Kyung Hwan loosened banks’ mortgage restrictions in an effort to boost spending. At the time, office vacancies in Yeouido, Korea’s Wall Street area, were the highest since 2002—and more than double the post2008 crisis high in New York’s Wall Street.

The situation hasn’t improved much since then, so there would seem to be a bevy of glaring investment opportunities at home.

The problem is that despite decent headline numbers—2.7 percent GDP growth and unemployment at just 3.4 percent—Korea’s economy is looking increasingly shaky. The domestic market is aging and shrinking, while wage growth has been stagnant. (This week, Samsung Electronics imposed a wage freeze on its Korea-based workers as the company battles slowing smartphone sales.) Inequality is widening. And most worryingly, household debt continues to surge, reaching $992 billion at the end of 2014.

That’s constrained consumption and prevented the Bank of Korea from lowering rates, for fear of encouraging more unwise borrowing.

Headwinds at home are driving Samsung and others abroad. The trouble, says Hank Morris, Seoul-based adviser at Triple A Partners, is the “increasingly sclerotic-appearing Korean economy, which is prompting many of the chaebol to look for M&A opportunities overseas.”

As Kim Sang-jo of Hansung University told Reuters last month, “Samsung recognizes it has reached its limit on organic

This accusation however falls on the face for the simple reason that he is no publicity hound, a trait that is counter-intuitive among politicos.

Davao is no epal country. No giant tarpaulins bearing his image cast a large shadow on the city.

The norm it seems these days is for a local government executive to hang a giant streamer announcing the installation of the water faucet below, but that disease has not infected the Davao executive.

In his city, the mayor does not contribute to the visual pollution.

There are no “thru the efforts” billboard beside city projects.

No outdoor, oversized greeting cards, the ones which say ‘Happy Graduation’ , blot the landscape.

growth, and the company is going to turn to acquisitions abroad to achieve a breakthrough.”

While Samsung denies it’s buying Canada’s BlackBerry, it does seem interested in assets such as property that yield returns. For aging Korea, assets in the U.S. offer a ready opportunity to diversify into a faster-growing economy with an expanding population. Companies can pump up profits today and position themselves for future growth as the U.S. population expands, too.

At the same time, the buying spree represents a vote of no confidence in a domestic economy that’s still weighed down by structural impediments to growth, including overregulation and political paralysis. In 2012, President Park Geun Hye rode a wave of rising anxiety over Korea’s place in Asia into the Blue House.

Positioned midpoint between high-tech Japan and low-cost China, she argued, Korea’s only choice was to go upmarket —creating innovative new products and services that generate jobs and greater wealth. But Park’s efforts to craft a “creative economy” remain too vague and timid, and she’s been reluctant to challenge the politically powerful chaebol, who continue to squeeze out small-tomidsize enterprises.

Park clearly needs to accelerate efforts to boost growth in ways that don’t add to household debt. In the 1980s, Japan’s push abroad grew out of the strength of the domestic economy. Korea’s looks far too much like a sign of weakness.

Bloomberg

City programs are not branded according to his initials, which is de rigueur in other places There were attempts to name public infrastructure after his late parents , both eminent public servants in their own right, and he all shot them down.

In many cities, business permits come with tin plates, the same size as a car license plate, which are changed every year, clearly a money-making venture.

In his city, a sticker is just stamped on old plates as proof that the permit has been renewed which speaks volume on how ease in doing business is being pursued.

And speaking of permits, the mayor has been known to dress down city hall bureaucrats who

targets, and office and individual performance commitments. Rest assured that the CSC will continue to implement HR programs for the bureaucracy and render services to its clientele and stakeholders during this crucial transition period.

I hope that this letter would be accommodated in your publication to correct any misinformation among your readers.

(Sgd.) ROBERT S. MARTINEZ Commissioner Civil Service Commission

SHIFTING... From A9 can be shown the door or general elections can be called. And hardly has it ever been said of either Conservatives or Labour that the system has been abused and that dissolutions of parliament have been reckless.

Strange, is it not, that under one democratic regime, calling on the government to resign or for fresh polls to be held is an unquestioned and even accepted dimension of accountability, while we sound the alarm bells and intone the frightening provisions of the Revised Penal Code when the same call is made this side of the Pacific! Then too there emerges quite clearly that character of law as an instrument of social control. In this case, when you are ready to redraw boundaries by narrowing the latitude for free and protected speech in favor of criminalized language, then you are introducing a serious qualification to the accepted notion of democracy that may well nigh make it unrecognizable.

The immaturity of the people has been the frequent escape-goat, most especially in this Year of the (Escape) Goat but Mencius long ago brushed this aside by teaching: The virtue of the common folk is as grass against the wind. In whichever way the ruler bends, so will the common people. Blame the people for their immaturity? Blame the leaders the pathetic infantile retardation of our leaders! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

do not issue them on time.

He says businessmen who create jobs and pay taxes should be treated as heroes. There is this story of an emissary of a taipan who wanted to gift him with a gigantic ang pao of sorts , in appreciation for welcoming a big project to the city.

The mayor, barely controlling his anger, did not accept it and politely told the emissary that it should be the city which should be thankful for the investments it had received .

Some would dismiss the above as personalistic, paternalistic management styles which are of no use when one becomes the CEO of the country, where everything is macro and there’s no time for retail politics.

The other criticism is that street level problems should not bother the occupant of Malacanang.

On the contrary, I believe that so-called national problems today are municipal in nature, like traffic, street crimes, poor schools, garbage, flooding which one who had the experience in grappling with is in the best position to tackle on a national scale.

We need leaders who have encountered these in real life and not just in Powerpoint slides.

We have to search for leaders who have done things and not just take crash courses and memorize buzzwords the World Bank, the chamber of commerce, the NGO types love to hear and then package themselves as presidentiables.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Rafa aims for slice of history BUENOS AIRES—Reigning French Open champ Rafael Nadal defeated Carlos Berlocq in straight sets to reach the final of the Argentina Open where he will try to secure a slice of claycourt history.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Argentine tennis player Carlos Berlocq during the Argentina ATP Open semifinals, in Buenos Aires. AFP

Bulldogs make return trip to finals

By Peter Atencio THE National University Bulldogs returned to the men’s division finals Saturday after they smothered the University of Sto. Tomas Tigers, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23, in the 77th University Athletic Association of the Philippines Final Four do-or-die match at the Araneta Coliseum.

Peter Torres scored 13 points, including 10 on blocks as the Bulldogs forged a best-of-three championship showdown for the second straight season with the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Wednesday.

In the women’s side, National University kept the Far Eastern University Lady

Tamaraws at bay, 25-13, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23, to advance to the next stage of the women’s stepladder playoffs.

Skipper Reuben Inaudito hit 12 markers, while Edwin Tolentino sent in 10 kills off his 12-point performance for the Bulldogs.

NU had UST ace scorer Mark Gil Alafafara marked from the start and limited to only 17 points.

The Bulldogs took charge early and moved ahead to a 13-4 lead in the opening set.

The Lady Bulldogs weathered spirited rallies put up by the Lady Tams, with veterans Myla Pablo and 6’4” middle blocker

Sports execs to visit Clark in search of new training venue SPORTS officials from the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission will visit Clark Field, Pampanga to get a glimpse of a proposed venue for a new national sports training center.

POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. and PSC chairman Ricardo “Richie” Garcia will join members of the House Committee on Youth and Sports, led Representative Anthony Del Rosario (Davao del Norte, first district).

Garcia hopes that support for the establishment of a new training center in Clark Field, Pampanga can get approval from legislators this year.

“We are optimistic that we can implement this plan this year. We have the welfare of our athletes in mind,” said Garcia days before the visit.

Officials of the POC and the PSC will find out which places are feasible as venues for training.

Garcia said the PSC wants the athletes to feel important by addressing their needs with focus on

their training.

“It is just appropriate to transfer to a much favorable place. Our neighboring countries have centers, which have facilities and dorms for their athletes. We want our athletes to have an area where all their needs will be addressed,” he said.

A budget of more than P2 billion for the construction is set to be allocated to the PSC through three bills filed recently in Congress.

House Bills 4906 and 5083 proposes the establishment of a stateof-the-art sports complex.

It will be known as the Philippine Amateur Sports Training Center.

The bills will provide funds for the acquisition of property and construction of facilities, including its administration, maintenance and management.

Del Rosario (Davao del Norte, first district) and Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing (Cebu, 6th) recently filed two separate bills in support of the PSC’s plans. Peter Atencio

Jaja Santiago taking charge in the final stretch of the fourth frame.

This set up a battle against the second-seeded De La Salle Lady Spikers on Wednesday.

La Salle holds a twice-to-beat advantage in the last stage of the semis and are in contention for the right to face the thriceto-beat defending champion Ateneo Lady Eagles.

Pablo made all but one of her 22 points off kills, while Jorelle Singh chipped in 20 markers for NU. Santiago came up with 19 points with 16 smashes, a pair of service aces and a block for the Lady Bulldogs.

The 28-year-old left-handed Spaniard rallied in the opening-set tie-breaker from a 6-1 deficit to win, then clinched Saturday’s semifinal match when Berlocq hammered a forehand long on the first match point.

“I was serving short in the first set and he (Berlocq) was very aggressive,” said Nadal, who won 7-6 (9/7), 6-2. “In the second I was more aggressive and more dynamic with my shots. The tranquility and confidence gave me more energy at the end. I’m happy with the victory.”

Nadal next faces Argentina’s Juan Monaco in Sunday’s final where Nadal will be trying to equal Guillermo Vilas’ all-time record of 46 titles on clay.

Earlier in the day, Monaco beat Spain’s Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 to book his spot in the final.

Monaco reached his 20th career ATP final and is competing in his third final on home soil at the Estadio Billoch Caride.

Nadal is playing in this event for the first time in 10 years, when he reached the quarter finals. He is 5-1 lifetime against Monaco.

The Mallorcan native is trying capture his first title since claiming a ninth French Open crown in June.

“It is very important to play my first final of the year here in Buenos Aires,” Nadal said.

Berlocq threatened to steal the first set in a tie-break after surging to a 6-1 lead, but Nadal fought back, winning eight of the next nine points to grab the opener. After falling behind a break in the second set, Nadal rallied again, reeling off six consecutive games to claim the momentum for good.

Nadal breezed into semi-finals by defeating Facundo Arguello 6-4, 6-0 and Federico Delbonis 6-1, 6-1. He received a bye in the first round.

Nadal has dropped a combined seven games in his last three encounters with Monaco. Nadal cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win in their most recent meeting last year at the Madrid Open.

The Nadal-Monaco matchup means the Argentina Open will be won by an Argentine or Spaniard for the 13th consecutive year.

Since 2003, the champion has come from one of the two countries, including the past six

by Spain. AFP

From A16 $75,000 ICTSI...

hold a leg here, further boosting the local ladies pro tour, launched by ICTSI two years ago to provide a circuit for the country’s lady pros and a number of aces from the amateur ranks.

“Hosting a leg on the Taiwan LPGA speaks well of the LPGT repute as one of the rising circuits in the region,” said Colo Ventosa, general manager of the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “The upcoming tournament will not only boost local pro golf in terms of foreign participation but will also be a showcase of talents and skills of our local players,” she added.

Dottie Ardina and Mia Piccio have opted to take a break from the Symetra Tour in the US to spearhead the locals’ challenge in the event, sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., which also serves as the kickoff leg of this year’s

ICTSI LPGT. American Tiffany Tavee, who lost in a playoff to Thai Nontaya Srisawang in the TLPGA’s third leg – the Grand Royal Open – last month, banners the crack foreign field that includes a slew of Taiwanese and Thai aces.

The Thais actually won two of the first three legs with Pornanong Phatlum dominating the Hitachi Ladies Classic last January. And though Srisawang and Phatlum will not be around to go for a second crown, a talent-laden crew will be trying to extend the Thai’s domination of the circuit.

They include Saraporn Chamchoi, Thanuttra Boonraksasat, Sarauttaya Ngam-usawan, Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul and Alisara Wedchakama.

The huge Taiwanese contingent, meanwhile, will be led by Chen Szu-han, Chen Iwen, Yeh Hsin-ning, Lee Hsin, Hung Pei-wen, Liu Ching-ju,

Weng Li-ting, Pan Yen-ling, Chou Yi-tsen, Chen Chih-min and Liang Yi-ling.

But the locals are also out to prove their worth with Ardina raring to flaunt her skills and keep her perfect stint on the LPGT. The country’s top pro has won all her three stints on the country’s first-ever pro circuit, backed by Nike, Sharp and Custom Clubmakers.

Cyna Rodriguez, the backto-back LPGT Order of Merit winner, is also expected to crowd the favorites, along with Jayvie Agojo, Chihiro Ikeda and Piccio.

Thais Amolkan Phalajivin, who broke Rodriguez’s streak and scored a breakthrough win at LPGT Splendido, has also been invited to join the event sponsored by ICTSI along with fellow Thais Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, Hathaikarn Wongkaikijphaisal, Kurika Jang and Piyathida Ployumsri.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

NLEX cage clinic. An NLEX Road Warriors Youth Basketball Camp was held at Barangay Engineer’s Hill Barangay Baguio City. The basketball clinic was conducted

by coaches Boyet Fernandez, Jojo Lastimosa, and Allan Gregorio. The camp was a project of the NLEX, headed by MNTC’s Marketing President Renie Ticzon and the whole staff of MNTC marketing department. ROMAN PROSPERO

Argentines, Britons coming for polo tilt WITH a bevy of world-class players from Argentina and United Kingdom raring to show their stuff, expect another spirited and tense-filled action as 2015 Globalport Philippine Polo Championship – the country’s biggest polo tournament – starts tomorrow in two venues in Batangas.

Despite the presence of the entertaining Argentinean and Briton players, focus will be on the budding rivalry between Mikee Romero’s Globalport and Iñigo Zobel’s Ayala Philippines – two teams that figured in the final of the 1st Philippine Polo Open last year.

Through the inspired performance of Zobel, Ayala romped to a 9-4 win over Globalport, which sorely missed the lead-

ROMERO

ership of Romero, who skipped the final due to the death of a family member.

While Zobel’s Ayala remains as the team to beat, Romero is convinced they have what it takes to get back at their fierce rivals.

“It’s payback time,” said Romero, the brainchild of the

event that once again lured the rich and famous in the Asian region, including Tal Srivadhanpprabha, a scion of wealthy Thai businessman Vichai Srivadhanpprabha.

A gala show will also be staged during the five-day event, with the families of the “Fallen 44” as beneficiaries.

Also aching to foil Zobel’s back-to-back bid are Tang PoloChina, Polo Escape-Thailand, Kingpower-Thailand/UK and Tamaraos-Australia – all reinforced by pro players from Argentina, United Kingdom and Australia.

The six teams will be divided into two zones with GlobalportPhilippines, Tang Polo-China and Polo Escape-Thailand comprising Zone 1, while Zone II

will be comprised by Ayala-Philippines, Kingpower-Thailand/ UK and Tamaraos-Australia.

The top finishers in both zones will clash in a winnertake-all final on Sunday.

Romero said the presence of Argentineans guarantees another action-packed tournament – perhaps much intense than last year’s edition.

“While we are all friends, expect animated action right on opening day,” said Romero, who is leaving no stone unturned in his desire to make this year’s edition a huge success.

Aside from presence of pro players, full-sized horses with dazzling speed and docility will play a key factor in one’s bid to raise the championship trophy.

Harrington grabs lead at storm-struck golf PALM BEACH GARDENS (AFP)--Ireland’s Padraig Harrington completed a four-under par 66 Saturday to seize a onestroke lead over American Patrick Reed after the second round of the storm-hit US PGA Tour’s Honda Classic.

Thunderstorms on Friday pushed the conclusion of the second round to Saturday morning and they returned Saturday afternoon to swamp the course at PGA National, wiping out play early.

Only 24 of the 71 players who made the cut managed to complete a hole Saturday before high winds and heavy rain struck, pushing the resumption of round three to Sunday morning and setting up a bid for a 36-hole mara-

thon finish in order to complete the event on time.

Harrington, a three-time major champion who has slid to 297th in the world rankings, could have enjoyed a larger margin but a bogey-bogey finish left him on seven-under 133 after 36 holes.

“At times I get lost and distracted from the process,” Harrington said. “Ultimately that’s what has changed. I had it going out there for a while. I was struggling with it the last couple of holes.”

The 43-year-old Dubliner won the 2007 and 2008 British Open and 2008 PGA Championship, the last of those being his most recent PGA victory.

Reed, who won the Tournament

of Champions in January and defends his World Golf Championships title at Doral next week, fired a 67 to take second.

England’s Ian Poulter shot 64 to share third on 135 with American Brendan Steele while England’s Luke Donald was on 136 with Scotsman Russell Knox and American Jim Herman another shot adrift.

World number one Rory McIlroy missed the cut Friday, struggling to a second-round 74 to finish on 147, three shots over the trimming line.

Harrington, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, began his second round off the 10th tee Friday afternoon and birdied the 12th and 16th before darkness arrived.

He returned Saturday with a birdie at the 17th and added another at the first before finding troubles in windy conditions.

Harrington followed a bogey at the third with three birdies in a row, but stumbled at the finish to draw his rivals nearer.

Poulter’s sizzling round saw him birdie the par-5 third, eagle the fourth and birdie the par3 fifth. The Englishman added birdies at the eighth and 14th holes and answered his lone bogey at the par-3 15th with a birdie at the par-3 17th.

“It was always going to be tricky,” Poulter said of the windy conditions. “The round started to pick up. I putted nicely. I played a pretty steady round.”

Frampton stops Avalos in 5 rounds

By Ronnie Nathanielsz INTERNATIOAL Boxing Federation superbantamweight champion Carl Frampton scored a fantastic five-round stoppage of mandatory American challenger Chris Avalos in what Sky Sports described as “five fearsome rounds in front of a packed and passionate crowd at Odyssey Arena in Belfast.”

Frampton’s right was awesome and although Avalos gamely came forward and occasionally caught him, the Irishman dominated the fight most of the way before referee Howard Foster had no choice but to step in and call a halt.

The opening round was a feeling-out round for Frampton, before the champion nailed Avalos with a solid left-right combination in the second.

And after Avalos appeared to hurt his right shoulder in Round 3, the tide turned decidedly in favor of Frampton.

The fans were on their feet in Round 4, when Avalos went down but it was correctly ruled a push as the American appeared confused. Frampton caught him with a big left in Round 5, followed by a hook, which opened up Avalos for the former’s stinging right hands.

Albay-BUHS golf on Friday THE Albay-BUHS’ Pre-Centennial Golf Tournament will be held at the Valley Golf and Country Club (North Course) on March 6 (Friday).

Alumni of Albay-BUHS are being requested to sponsor, attend and/or support the golf tournament, which has a teeoff time of 7 a.m to 9 a.m. Ticket is P2,500 for non-Valley members and P1,500 for Valley members.

Non-alumni sponsors and/or golfers may also join the golfest, the proceeds of which will be used for the centennial and other activities of Albay-BUHS. For details, contact Atty. Paris G. Real at 893-3399 (IA-BUHS AAI, President); or Golf Chairmen Architect Goldwyn Baria at 0917 6267404 and Beda Melgar at 0917 8131044.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

San Andres honored by sportscribes

KaWaSaKI-JBS motocross Team’s Kenneth San andres (right) receives his award from manila Bulletin sportswriter nick Giongco during the 2015 PSa awards night.

Diones’ 5 golds carry JRU to athletics’ title

By Peter Atencio

CRIMINOLOGY student Mark Harry Diones of Jose Rizal University emerged as the most bemedalled performer at the close of the 90th National Collegiate Athletic Association athletics’ meet at the Philsports oval last weekend.

Diones finished with five medals, including his fourth gold in the 4x400 meter relay, to go with a silver in 4x100 meter relays.

The Diones-led 400-meter relay squad, which includes Aldrin Rey, Ramil Toledo and Pearnel Lobos logged a time of 3:19.01, beating rivals from Mapua and Arellano.

Diones could have gone home with another medal, but fatigue kept him from joining the high jump finals.

JRU came up with a three-day total of 892.5 points, with Arellano University and Mapua taking second and third with 401.3 and 398.

Emilio Aguinaldo College-ICA, led

by Kenneth Rafanan’s record-breaking feat in the shot put, took the top honors with 480.5 points, with Lyceum in second with 325 and San Beda in third with 318.

JRU also got a record-breaking performance from John Albert Mantua, who heaved 14.04 meters in the shot put, with teammate Ron Andawa taking the silver (13.38) and Chris Haluber settling for bronze (12.67).

Mantua set the old record in 2012 with a heave of 13.9 meters.

Rafanan hurled the ball to a distance of 13.54 meters, resetting the 13.45 meter juniors’ mark he set last year.

The Reymond Alferos-anchored Mapua team topped the 4x100 in 43.07, beating Diones’ team, which settled for the silver in 43.16.

Diones’ contributions helped the Jose Rizal University capture its fifth straight senior-division crown.

MULTI-TITLED Kenneth San Andres’ status as the country’s no. 1 rider was recently reaffirmed by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) during lavish rites at the 1Esplanade recently.

San Andres, who is backed by Kawasaki, Motul Philippines, Oakley Philippines, Fox Racing, Go Pro, Leatt Neck Brace, Pro Taper, Bell Helmet, Bridgestone Tires, Polisport, Foilacar Industries, Kia Global, Laus Auto Group, R33 Car Exchange, Xotics Carwash, Halrey, GCG Pipe, JBS Motorcycle Parts, JM Stickers and GM Mark Lapid, earned his eight straight Rider of the Year title from the National Motorcycle Sports and Safety Association.

The Valenzuela native earned the prestigious award after becoming the national champion in the Pro Open (MX1) and Pro 125 (MX2) of the 2014 NAMSSA National Motocross Development Program.

The Kawasaki-JBS Motocross Team star, who was also an eight-time National Junior Rider of the Year, was third in the FIM Asian Motocross Supercross.

Next stop for the reigning NAMSSA Rider of the Year is ongoing national NAMSSA series, followed by the Asian tournament.

“The ultimate dream is of course win the Asian title in the future,” said San Andres. “But I’m not in a hurry, I know my time will come.”

Nigerian suspended in NBA for throat grab NEW YORK—Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli, a backup big man to Australia’s Andrew Bogut with the NBA overall leaders, was hit with a one-game ban Saturday by the league.

Ezeli was suspended for grabbing the throat of Toronto Raptors center Tyler Hansbrough during Golden State’s 113-89 victory at Toronto on Friday.

Ezeli’s move sparked an altercation with 0.4 of a second remaining in the third quarter.

As a result of the ban, Ezeli will miss Golden State’s game Sunday at Boston.

Ezeli is averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds a game over 24 appearances with the Warriors, who at 45-11 own the best record in the NBA. Meanwhile, former NBA star Anthony Mason, a power forward who played 13 league seasons, died early Saturday morning at age 48, his family announced.

MasonhadsufferedamassiveheartattackearlierinFebruary.

“Overnight New York City and the world lost a legend, a friend, a brother... but more than anything our father, Anthony Mason,” said Anthony Mason Jnr., a college basketball standout at St. John’s University. AFP

AIMS ready for the big-time ASIAN Institute of Maritime Studies celebrated its 21st founding anniversary, highlighted by the traditional annual cheerdance competitions participated by selected department students, who displayed high-level performance and dynamic routines.

Cheering squads of Hotel Restaurant Management, Computer Science/Business Administration, Marine Transportation and Marine Engineering

performed their stunts and tricks with innovative dance steps, aimed at dethroning powerhouse Customs Administration.

But the reigning champs still captured their fourth straight title as they made it to the Hall of Fame.

AIMS President Arlene Abuid Paderanga, a cheerdance enthusiast, was so impressed with the competition, she declared that AIMS is all set, ready to compete in big-time collegiate competitions in the country.

“AIMS is ready. With this kind of talent we have now, I’m optimistic we can be competitive. We are now ready to face bigger challenges outside our institution. The management will fully support this endeavor. Kaya na nilang makipagsabayan sa ibang pangunahing collegiate cheerdance competitions,” said Paderanga, who instructed AIMS athletic director Engr. Ted Cada to prioritize the cheerdance event in their sports calendar.

HRM placed runner-up, followed by CSBA,Marine Transpo and Marine Engineering.

“Competition was not as easy as we thought. Other departments vastly improved and I give credit to our The AIMS Board of Executives is promising bigger celebra- cheering squad and coaching staff for staying focused to achieve our ‘four-peat,’” BSCA Department Head tions in the future. DS

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Members of the Customs Administration department show their championship form as they continued their winning tradition in the recent AIMS Cheerdance Competition 2015 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. DS Francis Clark Adriano said.

The cheerdance competition was held at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum last Feb. 24, while other activities were done inside the campus, spearheaded by top brass Paderanga, Engr. Cada, together with Janet Abuid Dandan and Jennifer Esteban, in collaboration with the different departments. Danny Simon

m o n day : m a rch 2 , 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Pacquiao’s sparmates box like Mayweather

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

AMERICAN trainer Freddie Roach had already lined up two, 21-year-old sparring partners for Manny Pacquiao, who arrived in Los Angeles yesterday to begin training for his May 2 fight with pound-forpound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. Roach, who just won his seventh “Trainer of the Year” award from the Boxing Writers Association of America, said Pacquiao’s sparmates are tall and capable of approximating the style of Mayweather.

Welterweight Rashid “Speedy” Lewis, who has a record of 10 knockouts in 13 wins with no losses and stands 5’9,” won his last fight by a

fifth-round TKO over veteran Joseph delos Santos of the Dominican Republic on Nov. 14, 2014.

Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. has a record of 5-0 with 2 knockouts and in his last fight on Jan. 9 this year, scored a sixth-round unanimous decision over Christian Steele.

Both fighters caught the eye of Roach when they were sparring ear-

lier this year at the Wild Card Gym because, as he pointed out, “they have the Mayweather look a bit.”

Sims reportedly used the shoulder roll defense for which Mayweather is well known for, when he sparred against two southpaws in January. Roach also has four other possible sparring partners on standby.

Before his departure for the US, Pacquiao, the playing coach of PBA giant-killers Kia Carnival, insisted in being with his team for one last game, with fans giving him a rousing sendoff at the San Juan Arena. The Carnival, however, bowed to the Blackwater Elite, 104-115.

Meanwhile, former fighter and

veteran trainer John Scully predicted that Pacquiao will be “meaner than he’s ever been,” when he battles Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In a story on boxingscene.com, Scully said he believes Pacquiao will be “at his most dangerous and the killer instinct will come out once he gets picked off with punches” by Mayweather.

Scully said Pacquiao’s corner will tell him he needs a knockout to win and then I think “the killer instinct will be very prevalent. It would be very much there. If Pacquiao wins by a knockout, it would be unbelievable for his career and it would basically be one of the greatest victories of all time.”

Southwoods reigns supreme. Team captain Thirdy Ramon Escano (center) of the Manila Southwoods’ team is carried by his teammates after the team won the championship in the 68th Philippine Airlines Interclub Golf at the Cebu Country Club. Members of the from are (from left) Jerome Delariarte, Theody Pascual, Ryu Ken Yasuma, Antonio Asistio, Justin Quiban, Manfred Guangko and Jose Jets Sajulga. LINO SANTOS

Robins, Adorna fastest in triathlon AUSTRALIAN Mitch Robins put on a blazing show, even as country’s pride Claire Adorna displayed her class to share the podium in yesterday’s ULAH Tri United 1 at the Dungaree Beach, Subic Bay. The 26-year-old professional triathlete Robins and the 21-yearold Adorna drowned the opposition, with their impressive performances in the swim leg to anchor their wire-to-wire victories.

A regular competitor in triathlon races in the country since 2012, Robins negotiated the 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run race organized by BikeKing, headed by Raul Cuevas and sponsored by Unilab Active Health in cooperation with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Tourism Department, in one hour, 55 minutes and 42 seconds.

A far distant second and third were Unilab Active Health triathletes John Chicano(2:02:44) and Benjamin Rama (2:05:01).

“It was a fast course and a very well organized race,” said Robins in this event also supported by Aboitiz, Enervon Activ, Active Health Sports Gel, Enervon HP and AboitizPower. “I was not sure of winning because the Filipino triathetes are very fast. I will be spending more time in the Philippines and absolutely you can expect me to compete in the next Tri United races,” added Robins.

Two other foreign pros took part in this race, namely Saranon Chantaraj from Thailand and Eneko Elosegui from Spain, but they failed in their bid for a podium finish in the race also backed by Orbea, Shimano, Maxxis, TIMEX, Gardenia, Gerry’s Grill, Pocari Sweat, Lighthouse Marina Resort Subic, Camayan Beach Resort and Court Meridian Hotel.

Adorna, also from ULAH, meanwhile, rode on her desire for a possible gold medal in the SEA Games in Singapore this June as she led dominated teammates Anna Stroh and Ani Karina Brown.

Pacman wants to improve his speed EIGHT-DIVISON world champion Manny Pacquiao has arrived in Los Angeles and was all smiles as he was greeted by scores of supporters and media.

Pacquiao, who had two weeks of training at his Pacman Wild Card Gym in his hometown of General Santos City, looked good but conceded that he wants to improve on his speed, which most boxing aficionados believe will be a crucial factor in his multimillion dollar showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2.

Pacquiao is expected to begin working out at the Wild Card Gym of celebrated trainer Freddie Roach on Tuesday (Manila time), while he waits for the return of his trainer from Macau, where he is handling China’s two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming in his March 7 title fight against International Boxing Federation flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng.

Not to be left behind, Mayweather, the undefeated World Boxing Council welterweight champion and the undisputed pound-for-pound king, has also started training in his Las Vegas Gym.

Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza told the Manila Standard/Viva Sports that Mayweather had started training already and just loosening up.

Ariza said he would consult with Mayweather on the strength and conditioning program he has drawn up for the WBC champion before they step up preparations for the Pacquiao fight.

American trainer Rick Staheli, who handled Pacquiao when he won his first world title with a spectacular eighth-round knockout over Chatchai Sasakul in December, 1998, told the Manila Standard that Pacquiao is a much more complete fighter now, recalling that when he won his first world title, “he was a raw puncher in those early days, but he is now the complete package.”

Despite this, Staheli said beating Mayweather is a very tough ask. “The style of Floyd will give Manny problems, as shown by his four fights with Juan Manuel Marquez, a counter puncher.

Mayweather is bigger, better and a faster version of Marquez and is an absolute genius defensively,” Staheli said. Ronnie Nathanielsz

PAL New York Fun Run champs. Philippine Airlines Executive Vice President Stewart Lim (extreme left) and Marketing OIC Ria Domingo (extreme right) present the prizes to the respective winners of the main event of the PAL New York Fun Run held recently at Bonifacio Global City. Photo shows the 16-k top finishers (female division) Aileen Tolentino, 2nd place; Irine Kipchumba, 1st place; and Menchie Dizon, 3rd place. The Fun Run was held to highlight PAL’s resumption of flights to New York starting March 15.

Part of the event’s proceeds will go to the Anawim Lay Missions Foundation, Inc.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK M O N DAY : M A RC H 2 , 2 0 1 5

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS $75,000 ICTSI Ladies’ Open lures top cast THE ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour gets a big shot in the arm as it hosts a leg of the Taiwan LPGA – the ICTSI Ladies Open at Southlinks Golf Club in Las Pinas on March 11 to 13 with a whopping total prize fund of $75,000 (P3.3 million) at stake.

The 54-hole tournament, presented

by Champion Infinity, will serve as the fourth stage of the 20-leg Taiwan LPGA and will feature a slew of foreign players from Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and the United States.

This also marks the first time that the long-running Taiwan LPGA will Turn to A12

Symetra Tour campaigner Dottie Ardina hopes to show her top form against an elite foreign field.

Texters alone at the top

By Jeric Lopez

TALK ‘N TEXT earned sole possession of first place after it pushed past GlobalPort, 96-88, to get ‘’We’ll take advantage of the All-Star break right back on track in the 2015 Philippine Basahead to try some new ketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the things and make some Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday. adjustments to become even better,’’ said coach Ivan Johnson and Ranidel De Games Tuesday Ocampo joined hands to propel the Jong Uichico.

Tropang Texters to their sixth victory.

Johnson was a monster on both ends with a game-high 35 points to go along with 20 rebounds.

De Ocampo had 25 markers, including 6-of-9 from downtown to go along with five rebounds and three assists, to backstop the Talk ‘N Text import.

The Tropang Texters improved to

(Smart Araneta Coliseum): 4:15 p.m. - Kia vs. Alaska 7 p.m. - San Miguel vs. Barako Bull

6-2 and now hold the top spot, halfa-game ahead of the Meralco Bolts and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who are both at 5-2.

Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico heaved a huge sigh of relief after the win as the the Tropang Texters

continued their push for at least a Top 2 finish. ‘’It’s a good win for us. Medyo nakahinga kami ng konti ngayon (We were able to gain some breathing room). We’re in a good and better position,’’ said Uichico.

‘’We’ll take advantage of the AllStar break ahead to try some new things and make some adjustments to become even better.’’

On the other hand, the inconsistent Batang Pier slipped to 4-4 in seventh place as the team couldn’t settle into a groove.

Talk ‘N Text banked on a key 14-2 run in the middle of the third to turn a 53-all deadlock to a comfortable 67-55 spread at the 5:35 mark of the period.

The Texters carried a slim 74-69 advantage heading into the fourth.

They quickly restored order and uncorked a decisive 6-0 spurt in the waning minutes that gave them their largest lead, 96-83, with 2:18 remaining after Johnson’s triple. This virtually put the game in the bag.

Calvin Warner had his own dou-

LOTTO RESULTS

PACMAN’S 2 SPARMATES

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

P16M

BOX LIKE

MAYWEATHER TURN TO A15

NADAL AIMS FOR SLICE OF HISTORY TURN TO A12

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

ble-double of 19 points and a gamehigh 27 rebounds. Terrence Romeo had a team-high 20 points but the two didn’t get enough support from their teammates.

The first half was very tight as the teams ended up tied at the end of the first quarter, 24-all.

Talk ‘N Text led by only three points, 49-46, at the half.

The scores: TALK N’ TEXT 96 - Johnson 35, De Ocampo 25, Rosser 13, Fonacier 8, Castro 5, Washington 4, Carey 4, Alas 2, Reyes J. 0, Seigle 0, Aban 0.

GLOBALPORT 88 - Romeo 20, Warner 19, Pringle 16, Jensen 10, Semerad 8, Miranda 4, Buenafe 4, Isip 4, Ponferrada 3, Caperal 0, Pinto 0, Nabong 0, Taha 0.

Quarter scores: 24-24, 49-46, 7469, 96-88.

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

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

B1

MONDAY: MARCH 2, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

SM to unveil 2 big projects GSIS cleared to sell bank

By Jennifer Ambanta THE Government Service Insurance System has received a go-signal from a Makati regional trial court to sell unit GSIS Savings Bank.

GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said over the weekend the Makati court lifted an injunction against the sale of the bank early this year, paving the way for the state pension fund to put the bank in the market.

“The RTC have lifted the injunction and the minority shareholders have consented to the sale of the bank,” Vergara said.

“In a couple of weeks we will have a public auction for bank,” Vergara said.

The sale of the bank in 2011 was put on hold as minority shareholders sought to stop the GSIS from disposing of the asset.

Vergara said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also reinstated the incentives it granted to the bank in the past.

“One of them was, if a savings bank buys our bank then it can be upgraded to a commercial bank,” Vergara said.

The GSIS Savings Bank has about 40 branches in Luzon, with the bulk operating in the southern part of the island.

GSIS owns 99 percent of the bank valued between P520 and P670 million.

The pension-fund manager ended 2014 with a P140-billion net income from P44 billion in the previous year.

“This is due to the shift in accounting system. We are valuing it, assets and investments, in their fair value based on market value at the end of the accounting period,” Vergara said.

B3

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SM PRIME Holdings Inc., the country’s largest integrated property developer, said it is ready to unveil in April the integrated master plan for the Pasay and Parañaque reclamation projects worth over P100 billion.

SM Prime president Hans Sy said the company would make a presentation and reveal the important components of the integrated master plan for the mixed-used community, which it earlier dubbed as the “future city.”

“It is a total development. I am really very excited about that project because it’s high time for the Philippines to have a development that is easy and convenient,” Sy said

project. Its targeted to open by end of November. But since it’s a destination mall, I really want to do it very well,” Sy said.

SM Seaside is envisioned to be the Mall of Asia in the south.

In China, Sy said the company was still pushing for the opening of SM Tianjin, the company’s biggest shopping mall in China with a gross floor area of over 530,000 square meters.

PSe comPoSite index Closing February 27, 2015

8000 7500 6840 7500 6180

7000

5520

6500

4860

6000 4200 3860 5500

7,730.57 33.82

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing FEBRUARY 27, 2015 45

P44.090

44

Hated bank. Members of the

CLOSE

43

French Communist party stage a mock protest outside the headquarters of British bank HSBC on the Champs-Elysees avenue on February 26, 2015 in Paris. The placards read ‘Shame on the villainous bank’ (L) and ‘I dream of a bank that finances local public investment.’ AFP

UK asks govt to support Shell

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

“We assure you it’s an integrated development which includes transportation that is unlike EDSA,” he added.

After bagging the 300-hectare Pasay reclamation and the 300-hectare Parañaque reclamation projects, SM Prime last year contracted AECOM, the world’s largest engineering design company, to do an integrated master plan for the two projects.

SM Prime earlier said it decided

to venture into reclamation projects because Metro Manila was already densely populated.

Both reclamation projects, however, are still up for government approvals, including the Philippine Reclamation Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority.

Meanwhile, SM said it would open up four shoppings malls in the Philippines and its biggest shopping mall in China this year.

Sy said the company would open SM San Mateo, SM Sanggandaan and the recently acquired mall SM Megacenter Cabantuan, and possibly the 430,000-square meter SM Seaside Cebu City in the South Road Properties.

“The SRP is actually a very big

42 41

HIGH P44.020 LOW P44.120 AVERAGE P44.082 VOLUME 662.300M

P508.00-P728.00 LPG/11-kg tank P37.80-P43.35 Unleaded Gasoline P27.90-P31.20 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P35.40-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, February 27, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate

B5

Nestlé, 2 others pass new incentive scheme

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

44.0870

Japan

Yen

0.008372

0.3691

UK

Pound

1.541100

67.9425

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128927

5.6840

Switzerland

Franc

1.049648

46.2758

Canada

Dollar

0.798913

35.2217

Singapore

Dollar

0.736214

32.4575

Australia

Dollar

0.789079

34.7881

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

116.9416

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

11.7559

Brunei

Dollar

0.733514

32.3384

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000078

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.030955

1.3647

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

12.0033

Euro

Euro

1.119800

49.3686

Korea

Won

0.000908

0.0400

China

Yuan

0.159772

7.0439

India

Rupee

0.016158

0.7124

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.277546

12.2362

New Zealand

Dollar

0.753920

33.2381

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031808

1.4023 Source: PDS Bridge

MONDAY: MARCH 2, 2015

B2

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

MST BuSineSS Weekly STockS RevieW STOCKS

FEBRUARY 23-27,205 Close Volume

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp.

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

4.09 69.8 111.00 96.45 46.6 2.41 2.60 16.2 25.5 7.70 0.75 1.78 735.00 0.520 92.55 0.96 18.40 31.95 83.45 95.30 355 46.1 160 1347.00 70.20 3.1

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cement Corp.

Alsons Cons.

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

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

Lafarge Rep Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp.

Macay Holdings 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 RFM Corporation Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

44.4 1.86 1.11

2 8.12 50 95.85 18.8 45 21.2 57 1.76 13 18.080 10.84 8.85 10.60 1.33 19.1 29.15 103.2 14.36 0.4900 14.70 6.63 0.610 219.80 10.4 38.05 2.6 2.43 52.05 31.85 29 8.100 280.00 4.20 4.58 10.22 4.5 10.76 3.96 2.68 5.80 6.4 205 1.84 0.175 1.54 2.26 218 4.72 0.72 20.80 1.53

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

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

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.470 56.85 23.80 1.41 7.10 1.71 2.82 2.97 717 9.72 15.80 3.15 4.58 0.370 1180 6.37 67.00 4.03 5.39 8.94 0.7 15.12 0.6 5.4 5.2 3 0.0420 1.330 0.720 2.39 77.50 2.80 880.00 1.22 0.95 107.00 0.5900 0.2550 0.330

FEBRUARY 16-20,205 Close Volume Value

Value

FINANCIAL 531,000.00 15,364,785.50 1,351,401,192.00 629,309,613.00 9,765,660.00 3,671,070.00 1,470,170.00 91,525,138.00 82,262,995.00 937,741 14,550 101,480.00 57,460.00 9,758,420.00 835,999,682.00 2,377,920.00 7,062,116.00 1,084,185.00 86,126,077.00 1,651,048.00 50,005,808.00 48,445,080.00 1,295,647,558.00 311,795.00 5,026,285.00 1,342,930.00 INDUSTRIAL 12,567,900 559,856,715.00 323,000 591,370.00 5,660,000 2,406,760.38 3,871,710 2,241,520.00 7,345,000 14,683,810.00 7,300 59,564.00 100 5,000.00 10 958.00 2,343,300 43,889,818.00 300 13,500.00 2,647,800 54,683,815.00 727,720 41,596,937.00 402,000 702,880.00 714,200 9,314,934.00 32,510,300 600,212,158.00 30,331,800 329,679,068.00 167,962,900 1,468,991,864.00 1,484,000 15,706,254.00 89,000 118,600.00 2,318,200 25,617,163.00 18,039,000 524,493,960.00 2,458,450 253,047,230.00 185,296 226,920.00 2,274,000 1,075,050.00 192,400 2,824,328.00 31,175,741 49,655,603.00 620,000 381,850.00 8,712,310 1,898,399,726.00 16,867,000 173,290,990.00 16,400 647,320.00 293,000 785,190.00 42,000 102,060.00 350,465 927,348.00 5,590,100 178,064,790.00 5,668,300 169,266,075.00 1,115,500 9,011,808.00 1,822,560 512,009,724.00 5,000 21,270.00 8,933,720 30,630,800.00 14,379,600 149,063,736.00 17,000 79,030.00 85,700 911,792.00 5,775,000 16,106,820.00 18,552,760 33,607,322.00 3,513,400 19,906,178.00 64,600 146,931.00 13,960 2,854,530.00 5,936,000 10,805,140.00 282,781,980 37,220,070.00 199,000 310,050.00 6,083,000 13,823,590.00 14,705,910 3,164,162,830.00 5,620,000 25,736,400.00 4,838,000 3,517,540.00 1,525 31,545.00 4,548,000 7,034,840.00 HOLDING FIRMS 770,000 364,200.00 6,013,070 345,962,398.00 32,004,900 782,152,410.00 596,000 840,010.00 230,500 1,637,632.00 274,000 454,080.00 9,458,310 26,257,869.00 1,607,430 4,108,066.00 2,124,400 1,549,979,230.00 40,045,400 385,234,980.00 56,655,500 881,742,494.00 12,000 38,080.00 1,030,000 4,711,000.00 54,423,600 20,612,300.00 126,975,415 529,033,715.00 1,045,700 6,655,929.00 9,761,090 652,078,947.00 50,000 201,500.00 14,600 79,176.00 44,403,600 335,614,556.00 2,614,000 1,827,020.00 13,376,300 202,919,694.00 9,247,000 5,586,510.00 375,967,847 1,138,529,685.00 229,900 1,013,319.00 3,000 9,000.00 80,400,000 3,640,700.00 30,000 40,260.00 3,875,000 2,758,270.00 29,000 70,520.00 706,890 54,935,976.00 3,000 8,400.00 3,235,170 2,937,712,965.00 282,000 339,190.00 772,000 740,790.00 39,680 4,267,175.00 619,052,000 335,865,815.00 33,140,000 8,658,040.00 2,390,000 786,100.00 PROPERTY 531,400 2,396,924 479,250,762 6,449,240 2,012,355 1,539,000 561,000 5,718,800 3,184,700 123,500 10,010 57,000 510 17,561,000 8,847,640 2,483,000 2,228,356 33,800 5,852,016 17,290 141,460 1,036,800 8,135,590 230 71,510 432,000

4.09 69.5 112.50 98.80 46.55 2.23 2.70 16.34 26.4 7.30 0.75 1.67 745.00 0.540 94.7 0.99 18.54 31.90 81.90 96.00 345 47.5 154.2 1200.00 70.45 3.12

4,000 314,010 4,198,370 2,739,680 254,200 52,000 1,088,000 109,900 3,878,600 14,400 280,000 155,000 4,210 39,840,000 7,842,970 179,000 91,800 105,000 846,840 3,930 59,380 2,618,900 1,631,150 415 78,834 4,656,000

16,360.00 21,476,968.00 474,706,867.00 271,411,119.00 11,812,980.00 118,200.00 3,020,300.00 1,784,970.00 103,885,985.00 105,366 205,400 263,380.00 3,156,620.00 22,685,120.00 746,217,458.00 178,210.00 1,700,764.00 3,377,275.00 69,845,050.00 376,760.00 20,286,768.00 120,545,700.00 250,523,206.00 574,040.00 5,578,067.00 14,048,810.00

44.65 1.94 1.11

8,176,600 215,000 9,043,000

364,133,010.00 412,820.00 10,148,400.00

2 8.14 47.6 95.90 18.78 43 20.05 59.8 1.79 13.1 18.480 11.08 8.70 10.60 1.35 25.6 29 102.9 15.00 0.5100 14.84 6.87 0.660 226.80 9.99 47.00 2.55 2.43 50.55 32.4 31.7 8.100 277.00 4.10 4.65 10.62 4.28 10.80 3.97 2.66 5.55 6.92 206 1.74 0.162 1.55 2.28 218 4.5 0.75 20.10 1.59

8,043,000 83,400 1,090 500 1,503,500 174,770 1,405,300 395,260 1,014,000 2,643,400 29,921,300 21,983,600 89,555,400 2,389,000 15,000 13,910,300 22,899,700 1,831,530 36,500 5,291,000 33,500 34,363,700 2,319,000 1,738,860 13,299,400 8,420 79,000 25,000 34,310 4,598,700 3,221,700 707,900 1,001,880 355,000 7,113,000 22,805,500 6,000 134,000 2,045,000 11,659,000 1,020,700 23,500 34,900 632,000 48,868,350 216,000 4,973,000 7,849,840 448,000 9,038,000 800 1,588,000

16,005,930.00 671,763.00 54,396.00 47,950.00 28,216,948.00 7,515,110.00 28,189,160.00 22,017,988.00 1,815,930.00 35,576,756.00 570,824,418.00 243,672,950.00 680,848,216.00 25,626,108.00 20,300.00 332,223,590.00 662,537,250.00 188,000,984.00 530,848.00 2,668,390.00 488,330.00 232,329,130.00 1,508,680.00 397,716,538.00 132,100,047.00 395,945.00 199,170.00 60,750.00 1,706,105.00 145,495,465.00 101,960,600.00 5,742,150.00 276,871,588.00 1,456,210.00 32,937,970.00 239,802,298.00 27,280.00 1,422,154.00 8,218,160.00 31,816,730.00 5,604,940.00 154,745.00 7,256,006.00 1,090,310.00 7,949,345.00 337,630.00 11,201,960.00 1,706,203,010.00 2,018,710.00 6,870,550.00 16,080.00 2,497,950.00

0.480 57.90 25.20 1.43 7.10 1.75 2.26 2.4 743 9.41 15.54 3 4.48 0.365 1205 6.28 67.80

1,900,000 3,855,500 24,045,600 303,000 585,400 424,000 180,000 12,000 1,014,200 14,998,200 33,699,300 28,000 194,000 47,730,000 435,945 3,752,800 72,656,606

898,900.00 219,055,392.00 593,862,955.00 434,470.00 4,149,841.00 745,640.00 395,350.00 29,090.00 744,695,880.00 142,798,126.00 528,487,704.00 85,360.00 870,040.00 18,289,000.00 521,945,725.00 23,613,559.00 464,522,552.50

5.5 8.55 0.7 15.36 0.62 5.04 5

100 60,366,000 1,709,000 13,988,200 642,442,000 164,201,400 262,000

550.00 498,213,075.00 1,206,060.00 214,450,336.00 2,804,360.00 832,629,514.00 1,327,280.00

0.0420 1.300 0.710 2.5 77.50 2.72 920.50 1.20 0.97 109.00 0.5200 0.2500 0.335

953,000 130,000 1,601,000 74,000 394,910 23,000 651,580 872,000 182,900 48,470 603,033,000 41,200,000 9,100,000

250,000.00 170,220.00 1,134,220.00 177,540.00 30,646,190.00 62,750.00 600,694,390.00 1,054,100.00 194,840.00 5,397,983.00 335,518,460.00 11,219,480.00 2,999,050.00

STOCKS

FEBRUARY 23-27,205 Close Volume

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

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

Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Megaworld Corp.

Megaworld Prop.

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

10.000 10.00 1.07 1.350 0.255 36.25 4.29 5.05 6.03 6.49 0.96 1.25 0.98 0.144 0.460 0.900 0.223 1.65 1.68 1.36 5.47 5.32 0.126 0.3650 0.5100 6.47 28.00 1.76 3.20 19.76 0.9 7.28 1.090 7.150

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.

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

Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons Retail SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

6.25 61.9 1.08 0.690 12.52 28 10.80 0.1090 4.25 90 10.44 1.75 5.90 2.80 1086 1905 6.30 1.55 112.1 4.01 16 11.88 0.015 0.275 1.3800 2.83 9.70 1.97 1.45 2.27 0.700 2 10.2 0.370 0.520 18.26 4.63 3.23 97.00 13.66 3162.00 0.590 1.630 39.40 85.00 9.95 0.71 2.02 6.98 0.375 1.370

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0053 2.91 9.97 10.82 0.265 7.2000 7.0100 1.03 0.9 7.57 2.82 0.360 0.260 0.265 0.0150 0.0160 5.93 29 3.2 0.7100 2.310 0.0140 0.0140 5.87 8.2 4.7 0.015 155.60 3.82 0.0110

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B SMC Preferred A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C Swift Pref

65.8 504 507 106.1 108.5 501.5 6.19 1.03 106 1012 1033 75.5 78.5 80.4 1.8

Leisure & Resort Warr.

4.200

Double Dragon Makati Fin. Corp.

Ripple E-Business Intl Xurpas

7.71 3.6 65 11.18

First Metro ETF

125.1

Value

7,354,500 73,327,719.00 22,000 220,000.00 2,333,850 2,144,432.00 435,000 580,930.00 450,000 116,150.00 74,950,300 1,616,275,980.00 26,067,000 111,674,180.00 229,600 1,152,827.00 20,900 131,427.00 2,000 12,980.00 28,500,000 27,067,820.00 10,000 12,500.00 275,000 270,910.00 105,437,150 42,869,290.00 6,320,000 2,918,850.00 2,730,000 2,486,230.00 23,450,000 5,235,090.00 4,272,000 7,122,520.00 181,300,000 302,630,910.00 1,797,000 2,487,390.00 168,688,900 909,793,711.00 20,853,800 189,730,588.00 207,680,000 27,739,590.00 2,640,000 955,450.00 229,000 114,520.00 4,511,100 28,232,356.00 14,491,800 352,278,605.00 7,186,690 8,417,170.00 258,000 823,830.00 215,809,100 3,978,523,303.00 9,935,000 8,984,120.00 28,559,700 204,019,885.00 2,988,000 3,164,110.00 77,677,300 557,722,710.00 SERVICES 3,974,200 23,823,344.00 1,257,460 79,438,190.00 179,000 197,510.00 4,749,000 3,299,430.00 1,322,600 2,033,692.00 400 11,200 68,565,500 659,451,568.00 62,924,440 6,815,685.00 4,395,920 11,095,020.00 2,445,340 219,354,582.00 164,518 341,308.00 169,000 289,480.00 360,000 2,221,522.00 4,000 11,200.00 3,070 3,177,795.00 282,090 540,421,725.00 439,600 2,755,335.00 2,485,000 3,893,100.00 232,089,283 340,329,649.00 2,000 8,020 113 5,500 56,900 631,476.00 218,096,000 5,252,000.00 1,427,480,000 405,159,910.00 6,876,000 9,309,010.00 17,994,000 67,072,550.00 4,015,200 39,276,689.00 267,000 539,030.00 339,000 481,790.00 212,000 468,790.00 2,422,000 1,700,440.00 67,000 134,450.00 29,893,600 307,687,450.00 12,610,000 4,847,450.00 1,109,000 569,350.00 237,500 4,382,514.00 191,000 893,940 168,000 539,520.00 9,950 959,179.00 1,974,600 25,969,750.00 621,960 1,974,555,360.00 43,443,000 26,530,350.00 61,104,000 104,276,690.00 32,664,700 1,245,227,385.00 7,116,810 596,328,183.00 18,904,500 192,907,275.00 3,089,000 2,148,230.00 10,000 20,200.00 8,088,200 56,652,323.00 5,410,000 2,011,000.00 27,520 30,150.00 MINING & OIL 6,345,000,000 34,583,800.00 168,000 487,120.00 4,257,900 37,053,272.00 7,500 81,960.00 8,270,000 2,201,500.00 13,500 101,414.00 15,000 105,750.00 23,007,000 23,665,690.00 3,208,000 2,868,450.00 221,700 1,683,487.00 97,516,000 265,685,440.00 1,490,000 515,850.00 174,800,000 45,741,850.00 22,930,000 6,075,900.00 964,400,000 14,470,700.00 88,300,000 1,408,700.00 4,524,100 26,287,251.00 190,865,280 446,876,680.00 20,135,740 40,826,282.00 13,103,000 9,767,080.00 1,740,000 3,990,310.00 56,657,300 737,176.00 16,500,000 233,800.00 37,600 220,063.00 31,564,888 21,144,660.00 928,200 4,446,459.00 2,426,700,000 38,239,500.00 5,695,460 883,643,083.00 686,000 2,621,910.00 78,200,000 890,200.00 PREFERRED 3,535,130 227,475,710.00 27,850 14,056,220.00 55,560 28,130,330 51,260 5,438,686.00 122,650 13,441,821.00 48,780 24,477,970.00 12,764,400 77,188,358.00 350,000 359,530 17,410 1,845,712.00 3,590 3,654,980.00 9,870 10,167,750.00 526,290 39,844,835.00 34,600 2,713,900.00 179,890 14,686,449.00 1,000 1,800.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 1,862,000 8,030,110.00 SME 5,567,609 8,321,725.00 3,000 10,810.00 17,660 1,166,019.00 36,954,600 406,859,190.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 121,600 15,348,747.00

FEBRUARY 16-20,205 Close Volume Value 10.120 10.28 1.12 1.330 0.260 35.95 4.41 5.05

18,425,900 57,300 6,148,000 1,505,000 2,870,000 48,218,600 13,326,000 252,100

184,131,161.00 573,084.00 6,668,240.00 805,840.00 739,950.00 1,720,182,340.00 58,664,780.00 1,278,669.00

6.5 0.93 1.25 0.98 0.147 0.470 0.930 0.216 1.69 1.65 1.35 5.32 5.3 0.122 0.3700 0.5200 6.02 27.30 1.77 3.20 19.68 0.89 7.2 1.010 7.450

7,000 11,368,000 5,000 62,000 316,500,000 6,503,000 3,750,000 2,290,000 3,041,000 50,688,000 1,606,000 14,700,200 142,751,700 9,960,000 3,460,000 62,000 2,410,400 11,210,400 2,649,000 333,000 45,565,400 27,022,730 16,165,100 3,907,000 65,810,800

43,580.00 10,611,220.00 6,250.00 61,510.00 46,475,730.00 3,077,520.00 3,483,460.00 471,420.00 5,110,700.00 82,243,540.00 2,167,940.00 78,382,106.00 761,953,617.00 1,189,970.00 1,296,850.00 31,125.00 14,215,589.00 298,651,265.00 4,720,550.00 1,064,680.00 903,875,509.00 23,654,266.00 114,056,178.00 3,979,320.00 477,781,687.00

5.35 60.5 1.12 0.700 12.6

2,422,800 623,570 195,000 2,186,000 295,300

12,203,738.00 37,821,203.00 231,070.00 1,533,740.00 3,646,602.00

11.72 0.1100 4.41 90 10.58 1.62 6.30

28,673,400 72,550,000 6,977,000 3,819,190 15,200 88,000 163,000

325,221,288.00 7,974,090.00 30,516,320.00 276,842,054.00 161,066.00 149,630.00 994,008.00

1215 1900 6.30 1.55 112.4

1,277,305 185,600 1,194,400 1,397,000 2,619,020

1,367,620.00 353,227,040.00 7,532,094.00 2,194,840.00 295,169,004.00

11.88 0.015 0.228 1.4000 3.25 9.75 1.98 1.4 2.29 0.700 2.09 10.38 0.375 0.540 18 4.75 3.06 96.70 12.74 3190.00 0.570 1.750 41.80 87.50 9.74 0.71 2.01 7.08 0.380 1.430

61,700 1,879,652,500 268,170,000 5,311,000 1,601,000 5,042,000 364,000 151,000 404,000 1,017,000 26,000 31,503,900 2,200,000 806,000 659,600 126,000 138,000 28,800 444,400 390,405 6,085,000 57,031,000 6,558,300 6,524,230 27,911,900 13,947,000 10,000 7,409,200 13,930,000 1,238,000

726,284.00 29,238,200.00 63,244,320.00 7,246,610.00 5,202,060.00 48,255,582.00 711,000.00 209,010.00 906,140.00 709,810.00 52,090.00 315,676,997.00 787,150.00 429,570.00 11,858,234.00 598,390 421,280.00 2,766,819.00 5,651,810.00 1,245,105,950.00 3,513,740.00 99,323,240.00 274,509,360.00 567,408,470.00 272,884,526.00 9,858,480.00 20,100.00 52,038,193.00 5,322,300.00 1,736,410.00

0.0057 2.90 9.47

3,526,000,000 20,882,200.00 227,000 669,620.00 2,326,700 21,375,495.00

0.265 7.3500 7.0100 1 0.88 7.80 2.62 0.355 0.255 0.260 0.0150 0.0150 5.8 26.7 3.21 0.8000 2.270 0.0140 0.0150 5.80 8.25 4.88 0.017 156.50 3.72 0.0110

1,560,000 93,400 175,900 11,907,000 4,845,000 493,300 81,573,000 4,090,000 70,520,000 35,710,000 162,500,000 125,900,000 2,228,800 13,779,600 20,312,000 21,217,000 3,425,000 3,800,000 10,900,000 133,800 2,650,800 824,000 3,082,400,000 1,441,050 772,000 26,200,000

414,100.00 722,865.00 1,259,190.00 12,269,990.00 4,326,370.00 3,991,174.00 220,878,480.00 1,436,600.00 17,942,950.00 9,271,950.00 2,515,900.00 1,948,500.00 13,048,947.00 376,384,635.00 67,219,040.00 17,268,160.00 8,031,130.00 51,600.00 153,400.00 779,679.00 21,756,569.00 4,042,990.00 52,890,100.00 226,193,315.00 2,845,000.00 272,300.00

61 501 507 106 107.7 502 6.05 1.03 108.7 1026 1030 76.55 78.5 81.9 1.8

3,504,620 50,040 80,720 16,060 61,650 30,040 2,807,600 422,000 66,460 1,440 7,015 815,260 220 291,320 13,000

215,315,233.00 25,136,735.00 40,825,785 1,702,370.00 6,698,955.00 15,058,644.00 17,169,579.00 431,380 7,105,022.00 1,455,040.00 7,189,900.00 61,821,937.00 17,270.00 23,798,703.00 23,400.00

4.300

7,359,000

33,016,640.00

7.72

7,290,700

58,092,169.00

72 10.78

47,690 25,849,200

3,327,615.00 287,771,292.00

126.5

79,880

10,036,193.00

MST WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS

Abra Mining Philodrill Corp. `A’ Island Info Manila Mining `A’ Unioil Res. & Hldgs Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Swift Foods, Inc. I.C.T.S.I. IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

VOLUME 6,345,000,000 2,426,700,000 1,427,480,000 964,400,000 619,052,000 479,250,762 375,967,847 282,781,980 232,089,283 218,096,000

STOCKS SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina SM Investments Inc. PLDT Common Jollibee Foods Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Ayala Corp `A’ Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Security Bank

VALUE 3,978,523,303.00 3,164,162,830.00 2,937,712,965.00 1,974,555,360.00 1,898,399,726.00 1,616,275,980.00 1,549,979,230.00 1,468,991,864.00 1,351,401,192.00 1,295,647,558.00

MONDAY: MARCH 2, 2015

B3

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

UK asks govt to support Shell

By Othel V. Campos

The British government has asked the Philippines to support the multi-billion-dollar investment of Shell Group of Companies in the development of the country’s liquefied natural gas industry.

“The Philippines does not have the bargaining power to secure 30-year contracts. Now is the good time to get into that market,” British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad told reporters at the sidelines of the opening of the Great British Festival Friday night at the Bonifacio Global Center in Taguig.

Ahmad said Shell Philippines, a unit of UK-listed Royal Dutch Shell, was committed to producing natural gas as well as bringing LNG into the country through planned investments for LNG storage terminals.

“What the country desperately needs, and this is the opportunity now, is gas because it’s a good time for the Philippines to get into the market. The prices have gone soft. Shell was willing to invest and if the market tightens up again, the country will lose the opportunity because you have big countries like Korea who are massive importers and China, as well,” said Ahmad.

Shell Philippines said it was waiting for government support to move forward with the investment, including support in terms of policies, clearing the lines for permits and making

sure that local government units cooperate to make the plan work.

The company is also working on off-take agreements with possible partners.

“You have to have the full supply chain, bottlers, power stations, people ready to take on the gas and that requires certainty.

We can’t have the situation when a local barangay objects to it or rules and regulations change,” Ahmad said.

The British government said it supported Shell’s position that the right time for LNG investment was now. It said the global call for alternative and cleaner fuel source was becoming stronger as climate change worsened.

Shell’s planned floating LNG storage facility will be completed in several phases. The first phase involves the floating storage and re-gassification facility.

The facility can deliver as much as 2,000 megawatts while the onshore facility can power up to 5,000 MW. Trade officials said the LNG storage project could qualify for tax incentives under pioneer status.

LNG is natural gas that has been converted to liquid for easier transport.

Asean pass. AirAsia introduced the ‘AirAsia Asean Pass’ and the ‘AirAsia Asean Pass+’ in an effort to make travel within the region a seamless experience. Shown during the launching of AirAsia Asean Pass are (from left) Thai AirAsia X chief executive Nadda Buranasiri, AirAsia Indonesia chief executive Sunu Widyatmoko, Indonesia AirAsia X chief executive Dendy Kurniawan, AirAsia X group chairman and cofounder Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Berhad chief executive Aireen Omar, AirAsia Zest chief executive Joy Caneba, AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes, Thai AirAsia chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld and AirAsia acting chief executive Benyamin Ismail.

Stock market likely to trade sideways

By Jenniffer B. Austria STOCKS are expected to move sideways this week, with a downward bias, as selling pressures build up after the market hit its 17th record high this year.

Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan advised investors to take profits on core positions to protect gains.

“Until a clear support base is determined, no strong repositioning is advised to prevent buying on false support levels,” Lim-

Robinsons gets Westin brand

Megaworld a latecomer to the powerhouse team WHEN four major companies announced they were forming Team Trident to bid for the government’s largest infrastructure project so far—the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project, many wondered if Megaworld Corp. of tycoon Andrew Tan was only belatedly included in the team.

Initial reports named SM Prime Holdings Inc., Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Ayala Land Inc. as potential partners for the project and they called the consortium as Team Trident, which means threepronged spear.

Megaworld officials, however, were quick to clarify the matter, saying the property developer had long been invited to be part of the consortium that would bid for the big-ticket project. A company source said Megaworld was invited by Ayala Land and Aboitiz Equity to be part of the consortium at the same time they talked to SM Prime.

The source said the consortium members agreed to only reveal the composition of the group on the last day of submission of the bid for the Laguna Lakeshore project. The same source said Megaworld agreed to be part of the consortium, even though it is very much capable of bidding for the project on its own.

So how will this consortium fare against the three other groups, namely San Miguel Holdings Corp., Alloy-PAVI-Hanshin LLEDP Consortium of Malaysia and Rainbow Holdings Corp. of Korea that have submitted documents to prequalify for the bidding of the P123-billion PPP project? Let’s wait until July 6, when the Public Works Department is set to open the financial bids of the four groups. Jenniffer B. Austria

AFTER bagging the 18.5-hectare lot owned by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Philippines through a bidding, we heard that Robinsons Land Corp. has won another contract. This time, Robinsons Land signed a contract with Starwood Group to open a hotel under the Westin brand in its Sonata complex property in Ortigas. The hotel is expected to be operational by 2020.

The Sonata complex, the former site of The Medical City, is a one-hectare property acquired

by Robinsons Land in 2007.

This will be the second Westin hotel that will be built in the country after Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., the listed gaming and resort developer owned by tycoon Andrew Tan in October, announced that Westin would be one of the international hotels that will open at Bayshore City Resorts World in Paranaque City.

Jenniffer B. Austria

lingan said.

BPI Asset Management said it expected the index to trade between 7,600 and 7,800 points this week, with a slight downward bias on continued profit-taking.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index last week posted its first weekly decline, as it dipped 1.2 percent to close at 7,730.57 on Friday, while the broader allshare index lost 0.9 percent to 4,498.61, amid sell-off pressures.

BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the encouraging corporate

earnings results initially pushed the local stock market to a fresh high of 7,862.91 during intra-day trade before posting a record finish of 7,844.06.

Investors, however, gave in to selling pressures in the latter part of the trading week due to profit taking.

All major sub-indices, except for property and mining and oil, posted weekly declines.

Holding firms dropped 2.1 percent and services sub-index decreased 1.3 percent.

Foreign investors were net

MVP speaks on common station

THE best solution to resolve the issue on common rail station on North Ave. in Quezon City is to build it somewhere between SM North Edsa and Trinoma shopping mall of Ayala Land Inc. Business honcho Manuel V. Pangilinan, or MVP made this unsolicited proposal.

As both malls are expected to benefit from the construction of a common station between them, MVP thinks the government should let the two mall operators spend their own money for the establishment of the common station.

Under the “two common stations” compromise proposed by the Transportation Department, there will be a station at Trinoma and another one at SM North. The proposal, however, is “not very efficient” because the distance between the two common stations is only a few meters.

MVP’s Metro Pacific is closely watching the issue, as the infrastructure conglomerate is a part of the consortium that won the LRT 1 line extension project. It is also eyeing the operation and management of LRT Line 2 and has recently revived its offer to take over MRT Line 3.

What the government should do, as suggested by MVP, is to build a common station somewhere in the middle of the two malls and let the two mall operators to pay for the cost of building the facility, as they will directly benefit from the station in terms of increased foot traffic.

MVP said the government got it right when it decided to build the NAIA Expressway project and let the casino four developers operating in the Entertainment City to shoulder part of the cost of the project, as they will also benefit from the new toll road.

SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy said the group will insist that the common station be built at SM North Edsa, not only because of a previous agreement with the government but also for the fact that more people are going to their mall. “I don’t even want to challenge the foot traffic.. but it would be nice to show and know that in terms of ‘criticality’ the common station should be with us,” Sy said.“I will insist on my right the common station should be with us. But if they want to do it also on the other side [Trinoma] it’s up to them,” Sy said. Jenniffer B. Austria

B4

BUSINESS

Puregold package. Puregold Price Club Inc. president Leonardo Dayao (right) and advertising and communications head Ivy Piedad (second from left) granted a Tindahan ni Aling Puring sari-sari store package to each of the families of the 44 slain Special Action Force troopers and the 15 injured in the in the Mamasapano massacre in Maguindanao province.

Former President Fidel Ramos and retired PNP General Reynaldo Velasco (third and fourth from left, respectively) witness the ceremony held on February 26, 2015 at the Multipurpose Hall of Camp Crame.

Mindanao has excess power

By Alena Mae S. Flores MINDANAO will have excess power supply this year, the first time since 2009 when the island experienced outages on lack of generation capacity.

“There are good things coming in for Mindanao and power is one of them,” said Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority, in a statement.

Antonino said compared with the situation last year and the years before, Mindanao’s power situation had seen significant improvement.

She said even with the ongoing maintenance shutdown of Steag’s 200-megawatt coal-fired power plant, the majority of Mindanao did not have rotating brownouts as reported by the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives.

She added Mindanao was even expected to have excess supply this year for the first since 2009, with the operation of the 300 MW

coal-fired plant of Therma South Inc. and the first 100-MW unit of the 200-MW coal station of Sarangani Energy Corp.

Antonino said the expected entry of more baseload capacities from coal-fired power plants totaling 2,000 MW until 2018 should be complemented by accelerated deployment of renewable energy projects, such as hydro, biomass, geothermal and solar.

The Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee in a meeting last week stressed the importance of advocating renewable energy as a prominent source of electricity for the island-region.

Manila port woes hike Subic’s income

By Othel V. Campos SUBIC Bay Metropolitan Authority registered a net profit of P1.5 billion in 2014, up 40 percent from P1.1 billion in 2013, partly boosted by increased port revenues, the agency said over the weekend.

“Revenues from port operations, tourism and industrial commercial leases rose to P2.442 billion or 21 percent from 2013 figures, while EBITDA or operating profit hit P1.391 billion or 51 percent over the previous year,” SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia said in a statement.

Garcia said the SBMA improved its financial performance in the last three years due to the implementation of strategic initiatives.

The port congestion in Manila, he said, prompted many importers to turn to Subic, resulting in a 45-percent increase in port revenues to P909 million on year.

SBMA says revenues from port operation, tourism and industrial commercial leases rose 21% to P2.4b Containerized volumes jumped 105 percent to 77,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, while export volumes increased 59 percent to $2.3 billion.

Tourism revenues rose 61 percent, driven by a 12-percent increase in tourist traffic, while meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions advanced 150 percent. Sports events climbed 75 percen,t making Subic Bay the number one tourist destination in Central Luzon, according to the Tourism Department.

Industrial and commercial leases hit P1.050 billion, up 13

percent from the previous year, as more businesses flocked to the free port.

Expansion projects of existing locators, along with tourism, boosted job generation from 89,584 in 2013 to 96,958 in 2014, or an increase of 8 percent.

Reflecting the agency’s robust growth on all fronts are cash collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue of P1.8 billion and the Bureau of Customs’ P15.290 billion, up 27 percent and 36 percent, respectively.

Tax collected from locators in the Subic Freeport rose 35 percent to P497 million on year.

About P199 million of the total tax collections went to eight local government units surrounding the Freeport, while P298 million was remitted to the national treasury.

The total contribution of SBMA to the national economy amounted to P17.638 billion, the agency said.

Antonino said the one-stop facilitation and monitoring of MPMC tracks 231 RE projects spread across Mindanao that could potentially generate at least 2,419 MW of sustainable power for the island between 2020 and 2025.

The government attributed the surge of RE power applications to the one-stop center web portal, an online database developed

by MinDA and the Energy Department, with the assistance of the US Agency for International Development.

The web-based mechanism aims to accelerate the duration of the permitting process for RE

projects to one to two years instead of the usual three to five.

The same online monitoring facility initiated in Mindanao was also adapted by DoE that led to the formulation of the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop, which will also provide the same services for power proponents in Luzon and Visayas regions.

“A diversified mix of fossil and renewable energy sources is integral to our overall strategy of pursuing balanced and holistic economic growth in Mindanao,” said Romeo Montenegro, MinDA’s director for investment promotions and public affairs.

PDIC closes, takes over ‘unhealthy’ Cavite bank THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, placed Community Bank (Rural Bank of Alfonso Inc.) based in Alfonso, Cavite, under the custody of Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. on Feb. 26, 2015 due to unhealthy financial condition, the first bank closed this year.

State-run PDIC as receiver took over the bank on the same day.

Community Bank is a three-unit rural bank with head office at Mabini St., Town Plaza, Alfonso, Cavite. Its two branches are located in Biñan, Laguna and Gen. Aguinaldo, Cavite.

The bank, according to an information sheet filed with PDIC as of June 30, 2013, is owned by Alfredo Roa III (37.52 percent), Ruby Roa (27.15 percent), Ma.Theresa Antonio (14 percent), Georgia Remulla (13.40 percent) and Gabriel Limjoco (2.50 percent). Its president is Vicente Betos and whili the chairman is Alfredo Roa III. Latest available records showed Community Bank as of March 31, 2014 had 26,923 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P245.5 million. Total insured deposits amounted to P241.1 million, or 98.2 percent of total deposits.

PDIC said it would gather, verify and validate all bank records.

The state deposit insurer assured depositors all valid deposits would be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000.

In 2014, 14 rural banks were placed by the Monetary Board under the custody of PDIC due to unsound financial condition.

Julito G. Rada

M O N D AY : M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 5

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

PLDT widens Disney offering

By Alena Mae S. Flores PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. and unit Smart Communications Inc. broadened its offering of Disney content to their over 75 million combined mobile and broadband subscribers nationwide.

The move is part of the expanded multi-year, multi-platform partnership of the PLDT Group with The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia, through its digital entertainment arm Disney Interactive.

“These new services form part of the growing Disney portfolio being offered by the PLDT Group across multiple touch points, enabling avid fans to experience the multi-screen Disney magic on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers,” PLDT and Smart president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said.

After initially providing access to Disney’s popular online games and e-books to Smart, the Disney Interactive portfolio will now be offered at home through PLDT’s home digital services unit PLDT HOME. The latest offering allows PLDT HOME subscribers to access over 300 online games through the Disney Portal, which will be hosted in the PLDT HOME web site www.pldthome. com.

PLDT HOME Telpad subscribers will also be able to download hundreds of Disney games and ebooks by just clicking the Disney widget on their Telpads.

The PLDT Group was the first Philippine telco to enter into a content partnership with Disney that allowed various units such as PLDT HOME and Smart to deliver Disney content to their subscribers.

B5

Nestlé, 2 others pass new incentive scheme

By Othel V. Campos

THE Board of Investments identified three agrobusiness companies as the first pilot projects that will qualify in the so-called Inclusive Business accreditation scheme being developed by the agency.

Documents obtained from the BOI show that Nestle Philippines Inc., Kennemer Foods Inc. and Rocky Mountain Arabica Co. will define the needs of the private sector for government support to overcome growth barriers in existing state programs on the national and local level.

The BOI is currently establishing the IB support services to promote investments that run along the criteria of guidance, access and facilitation. The incen-

tive program aims to promote the use of local materials and tap local resources to make the economic growth inclusive.

The initial plan to introduce IB accreditation covers agro-business and will expand to housing and tourism and later on to other sectors that have not yet been identified.

Each sector will be entitled for support programs that the BoI has yet to determine.

Inclusive business have a defined and measurable impact goal

in terms of reach and depth of job generation and the provision of relevant services and products for the the low-income segment.

Nestlé earlier outlined its food manufacturing expansion program targeting to source 100 percent of its raw materials for food ingredients from Filipino farmers by 2020.

This is part of it $120-million manufacturing expansion project that earned the approval of the BoI for additional incentives on a pioneer status as a strategic sector.

The expansion project aims to increase production capacities and capabilities across all its product categories.

Under the 2014 IPP policy, registered enterprises are encouraged to adopt the Inclusive Busi-

ness strategy that provides goods and services, income and decent work opportunities for the lowincome segment of the society within the enterprise’s supply or value chain, directly contributing to the improvement of living standards and poverty reduction.

The Asian Development Bank will provide technical assistance through its consultants to help the investment board draw up the Inclusive Business accreditation scheme launched in September 2014.

The document highlighted the role of the private sector in achieving inclusive growth by generating decent and sustainable jobs for the poor and provides relevant and affordable goods and services to the marginalized sector.

Aboitiz schools. The Aboitiz Foundation on Feb. 18 turned over last three additional technical-vocational workshop rooms to Taguig National High School and another three special science classrooms to Taguig Elementary School as part of its commitment to develop sciencebased skills among young students and bring alternative learning to high school graduates. Shown during the turnover ceremony are (from left) Aboitiz Foundation executive vice president and chief operating officer Augusto Carpio III, president Susan Valdez, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, Aboitiz Foundation trustee Stephen Paradies, Taguig-Pateros Schools Division Superintendent Danilo Gutierrez and Taguig NHS Principal Santiago Alvis.

Money supply grew 7.3% to P7.5t in January—BSP

By Julito G. Rada

First Metro-Sumitomo deal. First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking unit of the Metrobank Group, signed a memorandum of intent with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. and SMBC Nikko Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. The agreement serves as the premise of the business cooperation between First Metro and the SMBC Group in exploring further opportunities in Asia.

Signing the deal are (from left) SMBC joint general manager for investment banking Asia Yoshihiro Nishi, First Metro first vice president and head of regional business development division Stella Maria Piedad Torres, First Metro president Roberto Juanchito Dispo, SMBC director, general manager and head of investment banking department for Asia Noburu Kato and SMBC Nikko executive officer and head of international business Takahiro Yazawa.

MONEY supply in the financial system expanded at a slower pace in January this year, growing 7.7 percent to P7.480 trillion from P6.943 trillion a year ago, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show.

The January expansion was slower than the 11.3-percent revised growth in December last year, when money supply reached P7.709 trillion from P6.925 trillion a year ago, as previous measures implemented by the Bangko Sentral address excess liquidity in the previous months worked their way into the economy.

“Money supply continued to increase due largely to sustained demand for credit,” the Bangko

Sentral said in a statement.

Domestic claims grew 10.8 percent in January from 17.8 percent in December as credits to the private sector expanded at a slower pace.

The bulk of bank loans during the month were channeled to key production sectors such as real estate, renting and business services, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, utilities, financial intermediation, and transportation, storage and communication.

Public sector credit, meanwhile, contracted 2.2 percent in January after growing 19.4 percent a month ago as the deposits of the national government increased significantly due mainly to the proceeds from the auction of government debt papers as well as revenue collections of various agencies.

MONDAY: MARCH 2, 2015

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BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

PEMC tightens power trading Indie business model I SELDOM watch local films, but after seeing “That REYNALDO Thing Called Tadhana” (English: C. LUGTU JR. That Thing Called Destiny), it’s literally a breath of fresh air. It is now touted as the most commercially and critically successful local “indie” film bagging a multitude of awards and grossing P120 million in three weeks. Credit goes to rookie director and scriptwriter, Antoinette Jadaone, who has written several indie films scripts and clearly brought this genre the fore.

Gaining attention of consumers Indeed, indie has gained the attention of local consumers, and globally, there has been an upsurge in followers of “indie” materials. In fact, in the latest Oscar Awards, indie films Birdman and Boyhood fought it out for best picture where the former emerged as winner. But both films raked most of the awards in the 2015 Golden Globe Awards. In last year’s Grammy Awards, indie music took home 50 percent of the awards, the highest percentage of wins ever.

Even in digital book publishing, ebooks sales going to indie authors is pegged at 12 percent in 2014 and is forecasted to capture 50 percent of the US ebook market by 2020, according to indie ebook publisher Smashwords.

In the brick-and-mortar world of publishing, sales of indie books have grown 8 percent annually in the last few years, exceeding the growth of books sales itself, according to the Association of American Publishers.

This leads to the rebirth of indie bookstores, akin to the likes of nowextinct Borders.

Other brick-and-mortar business like indie craft beer joints is “about to boom” in the US, according to a report of Time. Craft beer is a type of beer made in a traditional or non-mechanized way by a small brewery.

Spreading like wildfire So why is indie spreading like wildfire? Short for independent, it refers to non-traditional film, music, art, or literature created outside the mainstream consciousness and without corporate financing. The indie concept has caught up with other businesses such as video games, television shows, crafts, fashion and modelling, supermarkets, coffee shops, and other brick-and-mortar business. All of these businesses are showing unprecedented growth.

And why? Two drivers explain this remarkable development.

First is technology. Digitization has allowed easy creation and delivery of content such as movies, music and ebooks. The Internet and search engine technologies have also allowed consumers to search, evaluate, and order such content, making it easier for them to look for indie content.

Related to technology is the growth in community groups and co-ops that bring together indie authors, movie, game, and music producers.

On-line forums and communities allow them to share best practices, gain bargaining power with distributors, and create a cooperative that sells indie products.

Second is the growing population of indie consumers who consciously avoid mainstream marketing and pledge allegiance to lesser known brands and products. All indicators point to this trend as more and more consumers break away from the traditional brands, and search for those that give more meaning.

Allowing the business to flourish These drivers allow an indie business to flourish. But for this to happen, an indie product or business should have six main characteristics.

First is the passion of doing it. The businessman or entrepreneur should love what he or she is doing, may it be writing a novel, or composing a song, or brewing craft beer.

Second is autonomy and freedom to explore and produce freely anything one loves doing. This means that the businessman or entrepreneur is free from the shackles of big corporate control.

Third is authenticity and idealism in producing the product. Like the movie “That Thing Called Tadhana”, the scriptwriter stuck to her roots of realism in life, avoiding the commonplace pageantry in romantic movies.

Fourth is originality and creativity to explore, experiment and create new things, such as new forms of music or art, or new concepts in movies. For an indie to succeed it must be more innovative than bigger and powerful competitors.

Fifth is experience—the ability to hook and enthrall customers through sensorially going through even the most abject realisms of life, like feeling the main character in a movie, or tasting a home-made beer, or sifting through the old pages of a lesser-known-authored book.

Lastly is cost-effectiveness in producing and distributing the indie product. The movie of Jadaone depended on a grant of P2 million from Cinema One Originals—she started working on the film, using the money to, “shoot the best way we can”.

Indie is here to stay, and even grow rapidly. There is obviously a business case for it.

••• Reynaldo C. Lugtu Jr. teaches strategy, management and marketing courses in the MBA Program of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. He may be e-mailed at rlugtu2002@yahoo. com, or visit his blog at http://rlugtu.blogspot.com.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty and its administrators.

Green LiGht

By Alena Mae S. Flores

Philippine Electricity Market Corp. will tighten the monitoring of violations on the trading of electricity, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said over the weekend.

Petilla told reporters PEMC, operator of the Wholesale Electricity Sport Market which acts as the trading floor of electricity, asked its enforcement and compliance office to expedite the investigation on trading rules.

“When I sat down with PEMC, it was investigating violations, two to three years ago. To me the most effective sanction whether reward or punishment is when you implement right away,” the energy chief said.

Petilla said PEMC would not be effective if it would not impose sanctions against erring power

players immediately. “So I said, effective immediately, all investigation will have to be as updated as possible,” he said.

Petilla said there was a time when the maximum penalty was only P3 million, but PEMC decided to move on with investigations and impose the corresponding sanctions.

Petilla also directed PEMC to add manpower to ensure a monthly investigation and imposition of sanctions.

“We should add people, if needed. Whatever it takes so we can do it monthly,” he said.

He said the penalties would be used to train stakeholders on WESM rules and its intricacies.

Petilla said he was also pushing for an accreditation of WESM traders.

“If you don’t have WESM accreditations, you cannot trade. If you don’t have the expertise, you can take an exam for it. People are trading and yet they do not know the aspects of WESM,” he said.

He said the penalties for the month of December 2013 violation was so big, “that we probably have to think of ways of disposing the fund, if we will give back to the people.”

PEMC imposed a P239-million fine against Therma Mobile Inc. owned by Aboitiz Group and a combined P89 million against the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. for breaches in the “must-offer” rules of WESM in November and December 2013.

Nigerian partners. Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr. (center) welcomes Permanent Secretary Abdulkadir Musa (right) of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment during a call on Feb. 2, 2015 at the Industry and Investments Building in Makati City. Musa led a 30-member high-level business delegation composed of government and private sector individuals. The delegation members intend to look for partnership and joint business ventures in sectors such as maritime, tourism, healthcare, oil and gas, power and alternative energy, business process outsourcing, housing and construction of malls.

D&L’s income climbs 27% to P2b

By Jenniffer B. Austria CHEMICAL producer D&L Industries Inc. said Thursday net income in 2014 surged 27 percent to a record P2.03 billion from P1.6 billion in 2013, driven by a double-digit volume growth in food ingredients, oleochemicals and other specialty chemicals.

D&L chief finance officer Alvin Lao said in a news briefing revenues in 2014 also grew 39 percent to P20.52 billion from P16 billion a year ago. Sales from high-margin specialties, which accounted for 59 percent of total sales, grew 22 percent.

The company’s strong financial performance of 2014 was also boosted by the acquisition of the remaining 65 percent of Chemrez Technologies that D&L didn’t own.

With the full ownership of Chemrez, D&L is in a better position than ever to capture opportunities.

D&L added 27 percent to topline and 16 percent to net income, reflecting the significant value created by the transaction.

D&L said net income in the fourth quarter jumped 37 percent to P557 million while sales rose 51 percent to P6.253 billion.

“With the full ownership of Chemrez, D&L is in a better position than ever to capture these opportunities going into 2015,” D&L said.

Lao said for 2015, the P2.4billion net income target of most investment houses for D&L “is achievable”.

Revenues are expected to go down this year because of expected decline in commodity prices, it said.

Exports as a percentage of revenues is also expected to go up from 18 percent in 2014 while domestic business is expected to remain strong due to robust consumer spending.

D&L is a Filipino company engaged in product customization and specialization for the food, plastics and aerosol industries.

The company’s principal business activities include manufacturing of customized food ingredients, specialty raw materials for plastics and oleochemicals for personal and home care use.

M o n D aY : M a r c H 2 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Venezuela to require visas for Americans CARACAS—President Nicolas Maduro plans to limit the US diplomatic presence in Venezuela and require American tourists to obtain visas, in a sign of growing tensions between the two countries.

The leftist president said the measures, announced Saturday, aimed to “control” US meddling in Venezuelan affairs.

Maduro has intensified in recent months his allegations of coup and assassination plans— often purportedly backed by the United States—as he faces a deep economic crisis and a sharp drop in popularity.

“In order to protect our country... I have decided to implement a system of compulsory visas for all Americans entering Venezuela,” he told supporters.

Under the new measures, Venezuela will start charging tourists the same visa fees the United States asks of Venezuelans, though it was unclear when the plan would be implemented.

But the restrictions could also have an impact on business travelers seeking to invest in one of the world’s biggest oil producers.

In his fiery speech outside the Miraflores presidential palace, Maduro noted that the Americans have 100 diplomatic staff in Caracas, compared to 17 Venezuelan diplomats in Washington.

He cited the Vienna Convention’s principle of the equality of states concerning the size of respective diplomatic missions in ordering his Foreign Ministry to “reduce, adjust and limit the number of US officials” at the American embassy in Caracas.

The US State Department said it had not received any diplomatic communication regarding a reduction in its embassy personnel or visas.

However, a senior administration official emphasized that Caracas’s “continued allegations that the United States is involved in efforts to destabilize the Venezuelan government are baseless and false.”

Additionally, Maduro singled out several US political figures as being unable to come to Venezuela because his government considers them “terrorists.” AFP

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Rebel deminers comb battleground town DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine—A week since pro-Russian rebels forced Ukrainian soldiers from the key transport hub of Debaltseve, the sound of explosions still reverberates around the eastern town.

Actress Felicity Huffman and actor Timothy Hutton attend the premiere of ABC’s ‘American Crime’ held at the Ace Hotel on February 28 in Los Angeles. AFP

This, however, is not the boom of artillery fire and combat—it is teams of Cossack deminers from the separatist side blowing up mines and unexploded ordnance littering this war-scarred railway junction.

Denis Zaitsev is the man in charge of three squads of sappers deployed by the insurgents in the wake of their victory here.

Sporting a black Cossack fur hat, Zaitsev points to the front door of a small building where one of his teams is working.

Ukrainian troops stored food in the building.

A white thread is suspended, some eight inches from the ground with one end tied to the pin of a grenade.

“The Ukrainians left us a lot of little surprises like this,” deminer Sergei Cherpakhin says with a smile.

A rebel in camouflage gear, but without any protective equipment, edges towards the booby trap and cuts the wire with pliers.

He then picks up the grenade with his bare hands and passes it over to his boss.

A few meters further on, three mortars are buried in the earth.

“These are anti-tank mines,” commander Zaitsev explains.

His team lays TNT on top and then, after some nearby fighters are ordered to take cover, they blow the charge, sending dirt flying into the air.

“We deactivate around twenty mortars, mines or booby traps every day and more are disposed of by soldiers who just don’t tell us about it,” Zaitsev says.

“We find them even in residential areas.”

Since the rebels captured Debaltseve, the fighting in east Ukraine has died down in recent days as a shaky ceasefire has begun to take hold.

Both sides say they are now pulling back heavy weapons from the frontline in line with a peace deal that seeks to give civilians across the conflict zone a much needed respite from over 10 months of fighting that has cost some 5,800 lives.

But for residents left behind in Debaltseve after the fighting, the deadly legacy of weeks of ferocious battles for the town can still be felt all around.

Tamara Slivinskaya, 61, stands waiting for her box of food aid from the Red Cross in the central Lenin square.

“Oh yes, the mines are very scary,” she says.

“We don’t have any running water here and you want to go and get some from the wells.” AFP

David Bailey, photographer to the stars MILAN—He may be a Swinging Sixties icon, but British photographer David Bailey up close is a wise-cracking crank who shrugs off his immense success as one of the world’s most famous celebrity photographers.

“I’m not proud, I don’t do proud,” he told AFP at the press opening of his Stardust exhibition, which is coming to Milan from March to June after a run at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Intimate portraits of stars such as Kate Moss, Jack Nicholson and Mick Jagger gaze down from the walls of the Padiglione D’arte Contemporanea, alongside photographs of his fourth wife, model Cath-

erine Dyer, and children.

A section dedicated to naked unknowns who posed for his “Democracy” project between 2001 and 2005 follows a series capturing the 1960s in the East End of London, where he was raised by his father, a tailor’s cutter, and machinist mother. “...what a lot of work,” Bailey says of the exhibition, but he won’t be drawn further, however, fobbing off questions with his characteristic bluntness: “it’s just my job, it’s what I do.”

The 77-year old famously suffered from dyslexia at school and truanted regularly before dropping out entirely, practically illiterate, aged 15.

“I didn’t know I was dyslexic until I was 30, I thought I was

a fucking idiot until then,” he says.

Bailey ended up selling suits and credits his interest in photography to a 1948 image

by Henri Cartier-Bresson of Muslim women wearing long cloaks in front of the Himalayas, a shot which he said made the women appear to be mountains themselves.

He crossed paths with the East End underworld including the notorious Kray brothers, who ran a protection racket and carried out a series of murders and robberies in the 1950s and 60s—and whose photographs he took in 1965.

He says he was beaten up several times during his life and found out a few years ago

that the Krays, who he spent a couple of weeks with during the shoot, had knifed his father.

But he does not regret the time spent with the gangsters, or anything at all for that matter— not even his three divorces.

“I have no regrets, and there’s no nostalgia in my life,” he said.

“That was the time I was living through. I live in the moment and always see the ridiculous side of life,” he adds, quipping: “you’ve got to seize the moment.

See that moment? It’s just gone!”

Bailey has been known to take portrait photographs on smartphones but is somewhat dismissive about the digital medium compared with oldfashioned film. AFP

A relative of one of the Chinese passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 cries before offering prayers at the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur on March 1. The visit to the temple comes nearly a year after Malaysian Airlines MH370 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board in March 2014. AFP

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M O N D AY : M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 5

CesAR bARRiOquiNtO EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

world ‘Jihadi John’ kin under close watch KUWAIT CITY—Kuwaiti authorities are closely monitoring several relatives of “Jihadi John” who live and work in the Gulf emirate where the Islamic State executioner was born, press reports said on Sunday.

A number of relatives of Mohammed Emwazi, named as the militant who has beheaded at least five Western hostages, are working in Kuwait and like him hold British citizenship, Al-Qabas newspaper reported.

“Security agencies have taken the necessary measures to monitor them round the clock,” the paper said, citing an “informed source.”

The daily did not say how many of Emwazi’s relatives are in Kuwait. Authorities have remained silent on the issue.

Al-Rai newspaper cited security sources as saying that Emwazi’s father, Jassem Abdulkareem, also a British national, is currently in Kuwait and is expected to be summoned by authorities.

Emwazi visited Kuwait sev-

eral times, the last of them between January 18 and April 26, 2010, Al-Qabas said.

He arrived from the United Arab Emirates using his British passport to obtain a Kuwaiti entry visa.

A year later, he was denied entry to Kuwait after his name came up during investigations into attacks in Britain, the newspaper said.

Emwazi’s visits to Kuwait were largely of a social nature and he was briefly engaged to a stateless Kuwaiti resident, the paper added.

The Gulf emirate has tens of thousands of stateless residents known as bidoons.

Emwazi’s family, who are of Iraqi origin, were among them.

They applied for naturalisation but their names were removed from the list of prospective citizens because of allegations that they collaborated with the Iraqi army during its seven-month occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991, Al-Qabas said. AFP

Japan urged to say sorry to sex slaves Honorees Lea Michele (L) and Becca Tobin sing onstage during the Family Equality Council’s 2015 Los Angeles Awards dinner at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 28 in Beverly Hills. AFP

March set for slain opposition leader MOSCOW—Supporters of Boris Nemtsov were preparing to march through Moscow Sunday afternoon in an outpouring of anger and grief at the brutal murder of the opposition leader and fervent critic of Vladimir Putin, who has vowed to bring the killers to justice.

The 55-year-old former deputy premier was shot in the back several times just before midnight Friday as he walked across a bridge a stone’s throw from the Kremlin walls.

Nemtsov’s killing turned an opposition protest he had planned for Sunday into a memorial march, with mourning supporters set to cross the bridge where he died, now laden with flowers and photos.

Putin on Saturday vowed to punish the killers, as Russian opposition figures denounced what they called a “political murder” and Western leaders called for a full probe.

Hours before the killing, Nemtsov had gone on a popular radio station to urge people to join the original Sunday opposition

rally on calling for “an immediate end to the war in Ukraine”, adding that Putin should resign. Moscow authorities had given approval for up to 50,000 people to attend.

The brazen assassination is the latest in a string of murders of opposition figures in Putin’s 15 years in power and recalls the shooting of anti-Kremlin reporter Anna Politkovskaya, gunned down on Putin’s birthday in October 2006.

Putin blamed the latest killing on foes trying to discredit the Kremlin, but vowed Saturday in a message to the victim’s mother to do all he could so “the organisers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve.”

Allies of Nemtsov, a longtime anti-corruption crusader who served as deputy premier under Boris Yeltsin, linked his death to his opposition to the Kremlin’s policies.

“This was ordered by Putin, without a shadow of a doubt,” said 59-year-old Alexander Badiyev. “They have shown us what the fate will be of all those who are against them.”

Investigators said gunmen fired at least eight shots from a car as Nemtsov walked with a woman named by Russian media as 23-year-old Ukrainian model Anna Duritskaya, who was unhurt.

Footage aired by Russian TVC channel from a distant camera showed the suspected killer running along the road and jumping into a waiting car which then sped off.

The camera angle left Nemtsov and his companion hidden from view.

“There is already a list of unsolved political murders and attacks in Russia,” Amnesty International said. “We cannot allow Boris Nemtsov to become just another name on this list.”

Opposition figures linked Nemtsov’s death to his open criticisms of Putin and in particular Russia’s policy on Ukraine.

They pointed the finger at a climate of hatred whipped up by the Kremlin.

“The political responsibility for this murder lies with the authorities and personally President Putin—those who started and are fighting a war and are running a propaganda campaign of hatred in its support,” former Yabloko liberal party leader Grigory Yavlinsky wrote on Facebook.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny questioned how Nemtsov could have been killed, saying he would have been under surveillance ahead of Sunday’s planned rally.

“I can’t believe that yesterday night he could have strolled towards the Kremlin without being watched,” he wrote on his blog.

It emerged Saturday that Nemtsov had expressed fears for his life over his opposition to Putin in the weeks before his murder, telling Russian weekly Sobesednik that his mother frequently warned him he would suffer deadly consequences for speaking out. AFP

SEOUL—South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Sunday repeated a call for Japanese leaders to apologize to former wartime sex slaves, warning that “time is running out” for Tokyo.

Mainstream historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia and other Asian nations, were forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during the World War II. The issue—a key sticking point in ties between the two neighbors—further strained relations in recent months amid an increasingly aggressive campaign in Japan to claim these “comfort women” were common prostitutes.

Park has urged Japanese leaders to offer an apology, and on Sunday repeated the call for Tokyo to use “all means” to resolve the issue as the number of survivors rapidly dwindles.

“We now have only 53 survivors, aged nearly 90 on average. Time is running out to restore their honor,” Park said in a speech marking the anniversary of the country’s 1919 uprising against the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule.

The victims have not been given redress for their treatment despite repeated efforts in the decades since the war.

Japan issued a landmark apology in 1993—known as the Kono Statement.

But a tranche of the political right, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, still claim the wartime army brothels were staffed by professional prostitutes.

Tokyo also embarked on a global campaign to promote more sympathetic version of Japan’s wartime atrocities in school textbooks.

Such efforts to “distort” the history also hurt relations, Park said. AFP

Demonstrators protest outside a Chicago Police facility on the city’s Westside on February 28 in Chicago, Illinois.

Demonstrators demanded changes after a British newspaper article recently claimed the facility was used by Chicago police as a ‘secret interrogation facility.’ AFP

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BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

LOOKING AT THE SEA IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT

W

hen we talk about the boating sector, most people would likely feel alienated picturing a group of rich, laid-back individuals seemingly enjoying the time of their lives aboard a cruising catamaran, sipping wine and basking in the sun.

However, in a country like the Philippines, which boasts of the world’s third longest coastline, the ideal picture of a thriving boating sector goes beyond all the glitz and glamour. For people and communities involved in this sector, itís really all about sustaining the distribution of resources even down to those at the bottom of the entire chain.

“People think sailing is a very exclusive sport, but what it really does is support and empower local communities that it Continued on C2

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

TRANSPORT

Some of the Philippines’ neighboring countries, like Vietnam, Thailand, and even Malaysia, have maximized the potential of their natural infrastructures and are now reaping the gains of their investments. “In these countries, you can see boating and cruising tourists come in, dock their vessels, tour the communities, and spend money to avail of the unique experience that place has to offer,” says Europa Yachts General Manager Robin Wyatt.

touches,” says Robin Wyatt managing director of Europa Yachts, the exclusive distributor of Azimut, Beneteau (sail and power) and Lagoon catamarans in the Philippines.

“The marinas, for example, would have to employ locals for facility maintenance, for leisure services, for repairs, to help them lure high-value tourists,” he adds.

A touring 100-foot leisure boat, for instance, spends about US $10,000 a day for accommodation, for repairs, for replenishing supplies, and other auxiliary servicesóall of which trickle down to the members of the community hosting them.

In February, SEA-EX event 2015 organizers, led by its chairman Angelo Olondriz, brought a couple of people over at the picturesque Club Punta Fuego Yacht Club to discuss the bigger purpose behind the initiative promoting support for the boating sector: to help strengthen the Philippines’ position as the Carribean and the Mediterranean of the Far East.

“What we’d like to showcase at SEA-EX is really the broad spectrum of elements within the leisure boat industry here in the Philippines, everything from the banca we are so used to

using in rural coastal towns to the yachts and the cruise liners,” shares Olondriz.

“What we are trying to do with the boat show is to bring the industry together, to further that industry to hopefully lobby with, and work with, the government to prioritize this very strong potential we have not barely touched. By championing this initiative, hopefully in the next two years we can at least push our boating sector to begin to rival some of our Asian neighbors, who have already focused much of their energy into this industry.”

One of the key highlights of the 7th edition of the expo was the three-day conference within the show that featured important themes related to the marine industry in the Philippines. SEAEX brought in international and local speakers to share their insights on a variety of topics: (1) promoting the Philippines as a Mecca for marine tourism; (2) developing the countryís boat manufacturing industry; and (3) sustainable development and protecting the Philippines’ marine biodiversity for ecotourism.

To know more about SEA-EX, visit http:// seaex.ph or go to Facebook at https://www. facebook.com/philseaexpo

(Above) Angelo Olondriz says that the maritime industry should be one of the strongest economic backbones of every country in Asia, particularly for the an archipelago of 7,107 islands like the Philippines.

(Left) European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) general manager and vice president, Martial Beck, Club Punta Fuego general manager Mikael Aruiz, SEA-EX chairman Angelo Olondriz, risk and crisis expert Amor Maclang, and Europa Yachts managing director Robin Wyatt.

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

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TECH

DA VINCI THE ROBOT SURGEON R enaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci - artist, architect, scientist, philosopher, perhaps the greatest man alive in 14th century Italy has provided inspiration time and time again to a diverse array of projects and gadgets.

Now comes a life-saving machine called the Da Vinci, which happens to be a surgical robot.

In a landmark surgery never attempted before in the Philippines, Dr. Rebecca Singson, a pioneer in Robotic Surgery, succeeded in removing a 23x17 cm, 2.7 kilo solid uterine mass (multiple myomas) from the abdominal cavity using only band aid incisions.

Despite being morbidly obese and diabetic, the patient was able to go home in the third post-operative day, happier, healthier and nearly three kilos lighter.

Dr. Singson performed the surgery with the aid of the Da Vinci.

The Da Vinci Surgical System is an advanced surgical platform composed of three components: a Surgeon’s Console, through which the surgeon operates with “joysticks” to manipulate the robotic instruments inside the abdomen; the Patient Sidecart, which has the robotics arms to hold the robotic instruments and camera through keyhole ports in the patient’s abdomen; and the 3-Dimensional Vision System, which allows the surgeon to see the structures 10-12 times bigger in 3D, thereby allowing depth perception.

The patient was obese, with an abdominal fat of 7 cm thick. Plus, with a medical complication like diabetes to add insult to injury, a foot long incision would have

SHELL DEBUNKS FUEL SAVING MYTHS

BY LITO CINCO

Take it from Pilipinas Shell , when it comes to helping motorists find ways to save fuel , this oil giant knows what should be and what should not be, and this time, they went a step further by debunking a lot of fuelsaving myths of Filipino drivers.

After a nation-wide survey of 1000 respondents, Shell came out with some interesting results starting off with the finding that 92% of drivers think saving fuel is important but surprisingly, 75% say they do not know how to do it, it is ironic that 88% often switch off the lights when they leave the house but only 42% frequently remove excess weight from their vehicle to make it lighter.

Now what are some of these widely-accepted fuel-saving steps that local drivers take believing these will help but according to Shell fuel experts, most of these practices do not help at all in saving fuel?

Top of the list, 80% think warming up the car engine before driving will help, then, 58% fill only half the tank, 57% think filling up at night

resulted in an extremely high likelihood of infection, heal badly and probably even end up with dehiscence (wound rupture and opening up).

Comparing the pain and healing potential of a foot long incision in an obese diabetic versus band aid incisions, the post operative pain from small incisions would be much less, and would require significantly less drugs to alleviate the

saves fuel, 53% feel that driving slowly will do the trick, while 45% are convinced that burping their car helps.

These interesting information came out in the Shell FuelSave Fact or Fiction Report and commenting on the findings, Anthony Lawrence Yam, VP for Retail, said, “ it shows how important saving fuel has become to motorists along with the incredible ways they try to be more fuel efficient, some of the beliefs revealed through the study were actually wasting fuel rather than helping to conserve it. “ The revelation was the culmination of Shell’s one day Fact or Fic-

pain. The downtime and hospital stay is significantly shorter, minimizing the risk for thromboembolism and pneumonia from prolonged immobilization.

The patient went home on the third post op day and was ready to travel to the province on the fourth hospital day. The greatest relief was, after so long putting up with a big belly, she was finally able to see her feet again!

tion Driving Challenge recently from Manila to Clark in Pampanga with Shell’s celebrity driver Bianca Gonzales and her team of 5 chosen students going head to head with invited media people aboard brand new Honda cars.

It was a good opportunity for the students who will be among the local entries competing against visiting teams from Asia and the Middle East in the Shell Eco Marathon this February in Luneta where around 130 teams composed of college students are expected to show their engineering skills and creativity to design, build, and test ultra energy efficient vehicles of tomorrow.

Rebecca B. Singson, MD, Fellow, POGS, ACS, AAGL, PSGE, PSCPC is an internationally certified Robotic Surgeon. She practices Robotic Surgery at St. Luke’s Global Medical Center for symptoms related to the female reproductive organ. Her advocacy is to inform inform women that there’s a shorter time of recovery with Robotic procedures.

Call 0917 800 3446 or 7897700 loc. 305 or drop by Rm. 305, St. Luke’s Global City.

Last year, Philippine teams made history when De La Salle University’s Eco-Car Team Electirc placed second in the Urban Concept Battery Electirc category with a consumption of 66.38 km. per KWH while the Technological Institute of the Philippines ( TIP ) took third place among 15 teams in the Urban Concept Diesel Category with a fuel consumption of 47.44 km. per liter.

The other participating students in this year’s Eco Marathon, which is the second time that the Philippnes is hosting it, were also invited at the H20 Hotel where the awarding of prizes for the driving challenge was held, and surpris-

FUEL SAVE FACT OR FICTION REPORT

ingly, the media team beat Bianca and her team.

Going back to fuel-saving tips, the best ways to do it would be to use the correct oil for the car, by driving smoothly, ensuring car tires are at the right pressure, having regular car tune-ups, using higher gears, ( 80 to 85 KPH driving speed is supposed to be the most efficient ), avoid over-revving, planning trips to avoid rush hour and using best route for multiple destinations, avoiding high speeds and excessive idling, reducing unnecessary weight that a car carries, and using cruise control in highways., now these are the facts and not fiction.

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

FOR PARTY ANIMALS ONLY

BOB ZOZOBRADO

A WORLD OF LUXURY It’s always a great feeling when I am surrounded by luxury items which are difficult to come by in my day-to-day existence. This giddy feeling came about when I recently attended a couple of events which highlighted items which are almost beyond the reach of ordinary mortals like us.

1 From left: Johnny Litton, Wilcon Depot senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Rosemarie Ong, GMA Network senior vice president for Radio and noted broadcaster Mike Enriquez with Wilcon Depot executive vice president and chief financial officer Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, president and chief executive William Belo, executive financial audit manager Careen Belo, and Wilcon Depot brand ambassador Tessa Prieto-Valdes

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LUXURIOUS COLLECTIBLES

Salcedo Auctions recently celebrated Art Fair Philippines 2015, together with Philippine Tatler, by hosting an exclusive post vernissage dinner for local and international art enthusiasts.

Its President, Karen Kua-Lerma, announced that she was very happy to have opened the doors for art connoisseurs in the country, for them to discover “the enduring and increasing value of collectibles.” The event marked the evolution of a tactful and respected venue for heirloom pieces and objects of value to be offered and discovered. These items were offered to guests for private sales exclusively for that evening.

The event also served as a preview of the lots being offered at the outfit’s forthcoming auction of Important Philippine Art on March 7.

For the past five years, Salcedo Auctions has been showcasing carefully curated works of art and luxury items chosen by a team comprised of some of the most respected names in Philippine art and collectibles. Art+Auction magazine named it as one of the top 250 auction houses in the world, and the only one in the country.

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE

:-D THE GIST

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Richie Lerma, Jonathan Que and Stella Que

Fe Rodriguez and Doris Ho

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Renna Angeles and Karen Lerma

3 Wilcon Depot assistant vice president for Sales and Operations Mike Tiong, 720∫ Consumer Connect, Inc.’s Weng de Guzman and Zia Gubatan with Wilcon Depot vice president for Product Development Eden Godino

Therese Santos, Paolo Martel and Cristina Martel

4 Careen Belo, Philip Cu-unjieng and Lorraine Belo-Cincochan

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LUXURY CAR

Manoling Poblador, Rica de Jesus and Kames De Jesus

Juliet Lao and Siso Lao

A man goes to a pet shop to buy a parrot. The man asks, ‘’How much is the yellow one?’’ The salesman says, ‘’$2000.’’ The man is shocked and asks the salesman why it’s so expensive. The latter explains, ‘’This parrot is very special.

He talks well and can type really fast.’’ ‘’What about the green one?’’ the man asks. The salesman says, ‘’He costs $5000 because he talks well, can answer incoming telephone calls, and takes notes.’’ ‘’What about the red one?’’ the man asks. “That one’s $10,000,’’ quips the salesman. The man asks, ‘’What does HE do?’’ The salesman counters, ‘’I don’t know, but the other two call him ‘Boss’.’’

‘I’LL HAVE A GRANDE ARIANA’

BY ED BIADO

2 Wilcon Depot assistant vice president for Sales and Operations Ruel Godino and Thunder Illustre with Wilcon Depot assistant vice presidents for Sales and Operations Gina Moreno and Francis Lazaro

S

Wilcon Depot, the trusted name in the homebuilding industry, had the final draw of its “Dream Big and Win Big” raffle promo at Chef Jessie’s 100 Revolving Restaurant, where they handed out the last of the five brand-new Mercedes Benz B180 sedans they gave out for the duration of their Promo.

President and chief executive officer William Belo and senior executive vice-president and chief operating officer Rosemarie Ong presided over the exciting event. Veteran broadcaster and respected news anchor Mike Enriquez picked out the lucky raffle stub, which belonged to Rodolfo Marquez, Jr. Added to the big winner, executive vice-president and chief financial officer Lorraine Belo-Cincochan also picked out 20 more stubs whose owners received Wilcon gift certificates.

Nearing its 40th year of operations, Wilcon Depot is coming up with many more promotional campaigns, the details of which may be obtained from www.wilcon.com.ph

imple word association has led Buzzfeed’s Loryn Brantz to think that Ariana Grande’s ”name sounds suspiciously like it could be a Starbucks drink.” So she went to her local Starbucks to see if the baristas would be kind and creative enough to whip up something inspired by the pint-sized singer.

And deliver, they did. Loryn happily reported that the resulting concoction tasted like a “disco techno circus party” in her mouth, which also reminded her of melted raspberry truffle.

“I wanted a disco techno circus party in my mouth,” chimed in Popsugar’s Macy Williams, so she also went to her own local Starbucks to get herself an Ariana Grande. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as lucky as Loryn and she ended up with “an overwhelming mix of chocolate, caramel and god knows what else.” Guess the barista who made her drink got a bit carried away.

Now, if you also want a disco techno circus party in your mouth, here’s Loryn’s recipe that you can share step by step with your barista: First, create a grande (natch!) Cotton Candy Frappuccino (a secret menu item consisting of vanilla bean and raspberry).

Add mocha syrup and mocha chips and

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrad@gmail.com

blend again. Top with whip and loads and loads of caramel drizzle. All the ingredients were added in liberal portions, or in Loryn’s words, “extra everything,” probably just how “Ariana [herself] would want it.”

So, snowballing on that idea, we have to wonder how other pop-star-inspired Starbucks drinks would be like. Just off the top of our head, we imagine a Taylor Swift to be a milky white chocolate but with a hint of bitter espresso. A Miley Cyrus would probably be something green with java chips and topped with at least two different kinds of syrup. A Katy Perry would be very sweet and airy, like a Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino, but more colorful.

Of course, a Beyonce would be a superexclusive limited-edition offering—full-bodied caramel coffee blended with spicy cinnamon and sprinkled with specks of edible gold. I mean, would you expect anything less?

(MuchMusic has a different take on the subject. Check out their list of popstars-as-Frappuccinos list here: http:// blog.muchmusic.com/what-would-yourfavourite-pop-star-be-as-a-starbucksfrappuccino-2/)

M O N D AY : M A R C H 0 2 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

‘I was interested in exploring the battles with the ego, the idea that no matter how successful you are, whether in money or recognition, it’s always an illusion. It’s temporary.

When you are chasing the things you think you want and empower the people to validate you, when you finally get them, you soon find an impermanence in that joy’ – Iñarritu

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SWEET TREAT

Michael Keaton plays Riggan, a washed up actor desperately trying to revive his career in theater

‘BIRDMAN’ RETURNS TO CINEMAS

T

his year’s big winner at the Oscars that bagged the Best Picture Award, also the the Best Director Award (Alejandro G. Iñárritu), Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki) and Best Original Screenplay Award (by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo) will be back in cinemas on March 4.

The widely acclaimed and celebrated Birdman, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s black comedy features Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) who hopes that by spearheading an ambitious new Broadway play he will,

among other things, revive his moribund career. In many ways, it is a deeply foolhardy move – but the former cinema superhero has high hopes that this creative gambit will legitimize him as an artist and prove to everyone – and himself – that he is not just a Hollywood has-been.

With the play’s opening night looming, Riggan’s lead actor is injured by a freak accident during rehearsals and needs to be replaced quickly. At the suggestion of lead actress Lesley (Naomi Watts) and the urging of his best friend and producer Jake (Zach Galifianakis), Riggan reluctantly hires Mike Shiner (Ed-

ward Norton) – a loose cannon who is guaranteed to sell tickets and get the play a rave review.

As he preps for the stage debut, he must deal with his girlfriend and co-star Laura (Andrea Riseborough), his fresh-fromrehab daughter and personal assistant Sam (Emma Stone), as well as his ex-wife Sylvia (Amy Ryan), who appears every so often to check-in with the intent to stabilize things.

Iñárritu notes that elements of Riggan’s story resonated with him, particularly the ephemeral nature of success and the question of relevance. “I was interested in exploring the battles

with the ego, the idea that no matter how successful you are, whether in money or recognition, it’s always an illusion. It’s temporary. When you are chasing the things you think you want and empower the people to validate you, when you finally get them, you soon find an impermanence in that joy.”

From 20th Century Fox to be “Birdman” will return to the big screen at the following cinemas: Robinson’s Ermita, Robinson’s Galleria, Metro East, Gateway, Powerplant and Greenhills. Follow 20th Century Fox (Philippines) at Facebook for more updates.

Villa del Conte brings a sweet treat every One Directioner will surely want. Luscious chocolate and One Direction (1D) all rolled into one seems too good to be true, but we know you want it! Villa del Conte promises to delight the One Directioner in you with the limited edition 1D chocolate bars featuring none other than your favorite band members on the cover. Simply name the band member that you want and you have it! Harry and Niall bars come in dark chocolate with salted caramel, while Liam, Louis and Zayn variants come in milk chocolate with cereal. There’s also a complete 1D group shot in a milk chocolate bar with hazelnut chips. Satisfy what your heart and taste buds desire. Visit Villa del Conte stores at Greenbelt 5, Century City Mall, Shangri-la Mall, Resorts World, Alabang Town Center, and Robinson’s Magnolia.

For bulk orders, please contact 893-2575 or 621-6101. Go to http://www.villadelcontecioccolato.com/ to know more about Villa del Conte, or follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VillaDelContePh, Instagram: http://instagram.com/villadelconte and Twitter: https://twitter.com/ VilladelConte

One Direction tees are available at the One Direction’s official merchandise store in the Philippines, 1D World, located at the 5th floor of the Mega Fashion Hall in SM Megamall until February 28

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1D WORLD POP-UP STORE

n one month’s time, the British boy band sensation One Direction (1D) will perform in Manila for 60,000 fans in a two-day concert on March 21-22, at the SM Mall of Asia Grounds.

Due to public demand, One Direction’s official merchandise store in the Philippines, 1D World, has replenished 1D’s most popular items for sale until the closing of the store on Feb. 28. A joint project of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc (SMLEI) with Music Management International (MMI), AEDI, and Ovation Productions, the opening of the very first 1D World Pop-Up Store was announced in December.

With the concert date nearing, 1D World creates unique involvement activities for fans. It is not only a merchandise store with the boy band’s original and exclusive items, but also a venue

where every Directioner gets to have the full 1D experience.

In 1D World, each Directioner can have souvenir items of the band—hoodies, T-shirts, and even portable standees. For a limited time, Directioners can take home exclusive items including iPhone cases, swallow logo necklaces, wristbands, tote bags, and 1D badges and posters of the band members.

Fans likewise have limitless photo opportunities at the mini stage with 1D standees and the London telephone booth. They can also sign at the freedom wall which will be sent to 1D during their concert tour in Manila.

MMI and SMLEI are inviting all fans of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlison, and Harry Styles to the pop-up store at the 5/F, Mega

Fashion Hall, SM Megamall.

The 1D World Pop-Up Store is open daily from 10 a.m. to10 p.m. daily. Get a limited edition British Invasion shirt for every purchase of the 1D World bundle — this is everything a fan of 1D could ever want.

Limited tickets to the concert are still available through www. smtickets.com.

SM Lifestyle Entertainment Incorporated or SMLEI is the lifestyle and entertainment solutions company of SM Prime Holdings Inc. that offers the best in movies, events, and leisure. SMLEI aims to promote bonding activities among Filipino families and friends, through entertainment and leisure facilities, while advocating the ease of use and personalized service created to complement the Filipino lifestyle.

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

CAN WINWYN MARQUEZ WIN THIS YEAR’S BB. PILIPINAS – UNIVERSE TITLE?

I

n this years Bb. Pilipinas beauty pageant, there’s a highly competitive batch of Filipinas vying for the various titles.

The batch is led by Teresita Sen Marquez, or WynWyn to most televiewers. She is Alma Moreno’s sexy daughter by Joey Marquez. Also in the group is Janicel Lubina, a former Miss Bikini Philippines and runner up to Megan Young in Miss World Philippines.

The 34 official candidates were presented to the press at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila recently where a short list of standouts has emerged for the top title as representative in the Miss Universe pageant.

Winwyn Marquez, a shoo-in for the Miss Talent award, and Lubina whose life is likened to Cinderella, are highly favored to claim one of the four titles at stake. Other contenders are Pia Wurtzbach, Christi Lynn Mc Garry, Renee Soraya Hassani, Kimverlyn Suiza,

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Princess Joy Camu, Paula Rich Barto- sang to the delighr of the big crowd at lome, Alaiza Flor Malinao, Anja-Van- the Gateway Mall.

While no one among the 2014 Bb. Piliessa Peter, Justine Beatrice Felizarta, Ann Lorraine Colis, Nancy Lee Leon- pinas winners managed to bring home a crown last year, it was still a ard and Patricia Lae Ejergood showing with the top citado, and Hannah Ruth 20-finish for Yvethe Marie Sison.

Many beauty Santiago in Miss SupranaThe Bb. Pilipinas talent contest tional 2014, 2nd Runner-up show was earlier held with aficionados are Marquez showcasing her for Kris Tiffany Janson in natural dancing prowess, hoping WinWyn Miss Intercontinental 2014 reminiscent of Moreno’s in and the most-talked-about would win at her Loveliness days, while least a title in top 10-finish of Mary Jean Lubina did a captivating Lastimosa in Miss Unithis year’s Hawaiian dance followed verse 2014.

Bb. Pilipinas

by Anabel Christine Tia The official candidates with a bossa nova number beauty pageant will be seen at the anticiand Inah Dominica Guerpated Parade of Beauties in rero’s traditional dance.

Araneta, Cubao on March Ejercitado showed her painting skills, 7. The 52nd Bb. Pilipinas’ exciting grand while Hassani did some magic tricks coronation night will be held at the and Mia Allyson Howell played the sax- Smart-Araneta Coliseum on March 15 ophone. Peter, Felizarta, Sison, Saman- and will be aired on ABS CBN Channel. tha Balbin and Jenny Feliz Gonzales – Eton B. Concepcion

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mart Infinity, the premium brand of wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc., encourages its members to unleash their inner “shopaholics” as it launched new and exciting gifts that come with its postpaid plans.

These shop-until-you-drop plans offer subscribers the best premium-brand perks imaginable.

“Smart Infinity has always been about having our members enjoy the lifestyle they want and deserve, hence our latest offerings featuring the Purple Card of our partner Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI),” said Julie Carceller, head of Smart Infinity. She added, “If you subscribe to our plans today, you will receive a generous amount of shopping GCs, a.k.a. Purple Cards, matched to your chosen package and/or your iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus device.”

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 46 48 51 52 54 59 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Dry goods 6 The “Elephant Boy” 10 Point a finger at 14 Embankment 15 Unrestricted 16 Pentathlon event 17 Ekberg or Loos 18 Stem’s end 19 Adage-spouting sleuth 20 Current 22 With determination 24 RV haven

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Whipped desserts Altitude That vessel Taxi accommodation (2 wds.)

Levant and Hammerstein Not the half — — Diamond stats Recap (2 wds.)

Big hairdo Jazzy Fitzgerald Form a butte Wall St. landmark Act Faked out

DOWN 1 Quahog 2 Late-night Jay 3 Latin love poet 4 Chapeau’s spot 5 Pay attention 6 Sun, in Baja 7 Take down —— 8 Puts up with 9 Not capable 10 Honey source 11 Orchard pest 12 Powdery

For Aspire Plan 3500 members, they will receive Purple Cards worth P19,000, while members availing of higher plans such as Prestige 5000 and Premium 8000 will receive Purple Cards valued as high as P35,000.

Purple Cards are accepted at all Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) shops, including Anne Klein, A/X Armani Exchange, Debenhams, Calvin Klein, Charriol, DKNY, Jimmy Choo, GAP, Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole New York, Lacoste, Marks & Spencer, Nine West, and Zara, among others.

For those who want their iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus under Smart Infinity’s customerpriority and pampering services, Purple Cards are available in the following amounts corresponding to specific iPhone plans: P10,000 when you avail of

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2015

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Counting-out start Eur. nation Drinks with scones Inquired about Hindu attire Ms. Dinesen Nursery rhyme trio Fannie — — — disadvantage Contract details UPS vehicles Newsman — Abel Some shirts Had kids — Moines Dancers cut them Surmised Go softly Melodramatic cry Easily offended Sultans’ kin Common furnishing Allen or Cusack Shower liner Salt or smoke On a rampage Uncivil Zoomed Crestfallen

Alma Moreno’s daughter one to watch for in Bb. Pilipinas 2015

Prestige Plan 5000 bundled with a free iPhone 6 (16gb); P5,000 for Prestige Plan 5000 plus one iPhone 6 (64gb); P21,000 for every Premium 8000 plan with an iPhone 6 (64gb); and P16,000 for every Premium 8000 plan with an iPhone 6 (128gb).

For iPhone 6 Plus offers, the Purple Card amounts will likewise be as follows: P5,000 with Prestige Plan 5000 with free iPhone 6 Plus (16gb); P21,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus free iPhone 6 Plus (16gb); P16,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus free iPhone 6 Plus (64gb); and P11,000 with Premium Plan 8000 plus a free iPhone 6 Plus (128gb).

Purple Cards are also bundled with Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy S5 premium smartphones.

New Smart Infinity members may receive Purple Cards in the amount of

P14,000 plus a Samsung Note 4 and Gear S with their Premium Plan 8000 subscription.

“As the premium postpaid brand of Smart, we at Smart Infinity constantly think of ways to complement the lifestyles of our members,” added Carceller.

James Chi, Marketing manager for Smart Infinity, stated, “This is one of Smart Infinity’s means to let our clients know that we are here to give the best of every mobile and data experience. It’s really one thing to give them plans that cater to their demands— such as network reliability and quality service—and it’s another fulfilling experience to know that your needs are being thought of.”

Chi added, “Previously, we bundled our plans with gadgets and premium appliances; this time, our subscribers get to shop for the premium brands they want for themselves.

M O N D AY : M A R C H 0 2 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

RICHARD YAP, JUDY ANN SANTOS TOGETHER IN A DRAMA SERIES

Luchi Cruz Valdez, Best Female News Program Anchor

Richard Yap and Judy Ann Santos will star in a drama series on ABS-CBN soon

After the highly successful run of his morning soap Be Careful JOSEPH PETER with My Heart, GONZALES Richard Yap’s next big project pairs him with no less than Judy Ann Santos.

“That’s right!” he says. “It’s still untitled though. We would still have a story conference and from there, I’ll have clearer details regarding the show.

Production says we might start taping middle of this month. This early, I’m simply excited!”

Many ask if he is under pressure since he came from a highly successful program.

“Honestly, I try not to pressure myself. Instead, I think positive. It’s a new show and it’s also light so I’m pretty sure TV buffs would like it.”

Be Careful with My Heart aired for almost two years. Does he think his latest project opposite Judy Ann also holds the same potential?

“It’s premature to say, so to speak.

My breakthrough soap was a certified hit. People loved it. I can only wish the same for my new offering. As I’ve said, it’s also light stuff, and it’s with Judy Ann. I promise to do my best to once again render an endearing performance to the viewers.

“They will definitely be treated to a new screen combination. I will also be working with a new set of co-stars. But to be honest, I wouldn’t expect that it will run on air as long as Be Careful with My Heart. From what I know, it’ll be shorter. But who knows, right? It would depend on the viewers’ reception,” states Richard.

He made it to the list of New Movie Actor nominees in the forthcoming Star Awards for the Movies. He was cited for his work in The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin.

“It’s a big honor! Being nominated is already an achievement. For me, it’s like bagging the trophy at stake. Win or lose, I’m proud to be recognized. I’m deeply grateful to the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC)!”

It seems that the charming actor is looking at a busy 2015.

“Well, hopefully, yes! First is my latest soap opposite Judy Ann. I wish it becomes another hit. It’s our maiden screen team-up so I hope the public will support us. Then, there’s this new film in which I’m part of the main cast. It’s not as grand as the Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin but still, it has an interesting and fresh concept that moviegoers will love.

I hope it will get the same level of support.”

Speaking of Praybeyt Benjamin, will he be keen on joining a third instalment if ever?

“With regards to that, I still haven’t heard of a possible third part yet. I think Vice (Ganda) is doing another project with Coco (Martin). Let’s wait and see,” ends Richard.

HHHHH According to Vin Abrenica, there’s no reason for his current steady Sophie Albert to get jealous of Yasi Presman, his leading lady in the latest edition of Wattpad Presents titled “My Fiance’ Since Birth.” “ There’s nothing like that because primarily, Sophie and I trust each other very well. We both know that it’s part of our job as actors. And speaking for myself, I don’t give her any reason to get jealous,” he avers.

Even if there are intimate moments that some scenes require, the appealing lad says it would not be a source of friction between him and his ladylove.

“Yes! Like kissing scenes? As I’ve mentioned earlier, Sophie and I try to be professional all the time. We are public properties so it’s one demand of the job. Perhaps, during the initial stage of our relationship, that’s possible.

“But now, we’re open-minded. In fact, when she did a kissing scene in her indie film # Y, I was even there during their dubbing. I was able to watch the scene and it was just okay with me. We are supportive of each other, especially if it’s for our growth as actors.

Even if they’re now doing separate projects with other stars, Vin reiterates: “Our relationship is not affected.

In fact, it’s getting stronger!”

LOVE TRIANGLE ON TV5: Sophie Albert (left) is jealous of Yassi Pressman (right), but Vince Abrenica (centre) says there’s no reason to be

C7

Martin Escudero, Best Actor for Positive

Tourism Promotions Board COO Domingo Ramon Enerio III

Sandara Park

Vicky Morales (third from left) receives the Adamson Media Award. With her are (from left) Bro. Henry Escurel C.M., VP for Academic Affairs; Dr. Servillano T. Marquez Jr., Dean of the College of Education and Liberal Arts; Fr. Gregorio Bañaga Jr., C.M., University President; Mr. Marc Pacoma, Chairperson of the Communication Department; Fr. Max Rendon C.M., VP for Finance; and Dr. Liria Dacanay, Dean of the College of Science.

DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez

L-R: TPB’s Nedalin Miranda, Margie Moran-Floirendo, Arnold Gonzales, Geraldine Gentozala and Ochie Cruz

VICKY MORALES IS 2015 ADAMSON MEDIA AWARDEE From C8

GMA News pillar Vicky Morales was hailed as the Adamson Media Awardee for 2015 in a ceremony held at the Adamson Theater on Feb. 18.

Morales, who co-anchors GMA’s flagship primetime newscast 24 Oras and hosts public affairs programs Wish Ko Lang (GMA) and Good News (GMA News TV), is the fourth Kapuso news personality to receive the accolade following Howie Severino (2011), Jessica Soho (2012), and Kara David (2013).

Besting 118 candidates from broadcast, print, and new media, Morales won through a survey conducted in select partner communities of Adamson University (AdU) and via a vote-casting among the various departments of AdU. Now on its fifth year, The Adamson Media Award recognizes media practitioners whose works “advocate poverty alleviation, education, and public information” and create “awareness among the public of the different critical and social issues” in the country.

HHHHH It was a day unlike any other, when the country’s stakeholders in the tourism industry joined forces at the Travel Tour Expo 2015 recently held at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. All were united with the same mantra, “Visit the Philippines Year (VPY) 2015,” the year-long invitation from the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) for everyone to discover and experience the country’s must-visit destinations and events.

Organized by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTTA), this year’s Travel Tour Expo is by far the biggest in its 22-year history, with nearly 300 exhibitors from hotels, airlines, resorts, domestic tour operators and travel agencies.

As a symbol of their unity, Department of Tourism Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito Bengzon and TPB Chief Operating Officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III led the ribbon cutting with the Travel Tour Expo 2015 Organizing Committee, PTAA Board of Trustees and other guests. In his speech, Bengzon praised PTAA’s efforts in opening new gateways in the country to promote domestic tourism.

The spirit of fun was alive throughout the expo’s opening, ignited by the cultural performance of San Pablo Dance Troupe. The guests were the first ones to enjoy visiting the booths at the country’s biggest convergence of stakeholders in the tourism industry.

During the expo, TPB presented VPY 2015 with an eyecatching booth, featuring tasty treats and images that showcased the country’s colorful festivals and must-see events.

Several exhibitors also signed up to support the campaign through the Visit the Philippines Year 2015 microsite: www.visitph2015.com.

HHHHH News5, TV5’s News and Information Division, emerged as the most awarded news organization in the recently concluded 13th Gawad Tanglaw sa Sining at Kultura awarding

ceremonies, which was held last week at the University of Perpetual Help System in Las Piñas City. TV5 bagged a total of 10 Gawad Tanglaw awards, six of which were for News5’s news and public affairs programs and hosts.

TV5’s primetime newscast Aksyon got the big honor as Best News Program while News5’s Head and Aksyon main anchor Luchi Cruz-Valdes was recognized as Best Female News Program Anchor. Cruz-Valdes also received the Gawad Tanglaw award for her public affairs program Reaksyon, which was cited as Best Public Affairs Program by the academe-based award-giving body.

Also honored with Gawad Tanglaw awards for News5 were Lourd de Veyra as Best Male News Program Anchor, T3: Enforced as Best Public Service Program, Aksyon sa Umaga for Best Morning Program.

TV5 also received recognition for its game-changing and quality entertainment and sports programs, with Martin Escudero bagging the Gawad Tanglaw Best Actor Award for the groundbreaking drama Positive. Long-running game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire was also honored as Best Game Show, along with TV5 flagship program Talentadong Pinoy as Best Reality Talent Show. Sports5, TV5’s sports production arm, also received a special Gawad Tanglaw Developmental Communication Award for Comprehensive Coverage for its 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup coverage.

C8

M O N D AY : M A R C H 0 2 : 2 0 1 5

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Anne Curtis makes summer even brighter in Plains & Prints 2015 Summer collection

ANNE CURTIS

SIZZLING IN SUMMER SIMPLY RED ISAH V. RED Summer is right at the fringes and the time is here to bring out the fun, flirty, and fresh pieces from the wardrobe and out into the sun.

Anne Curtis can’t be more excited for the hot, hot season.

But first, the ‘’National Sweetheart’’ says, summer is one season she totally prepares for.

For instance, she says it is important to have a ‘’fitspiration’’ and for Anne, it is no less than Victoria Secret model Candice Swanepoel.

‘’Her body is so beautifully sculpted, and one of my life-long goals is to have a body like that.

I am working out regularly. It gives me a sense of confidence, knowing that I am healthy and living a healthy lifestyle!’’ Anne excitedly reveals.

Diet and exercise are of utmost importance too, Anne adds. No rice please, it’s quinoa seeds for her, thank you, and more of lean proteins and less carbs.

Anne is also excited about dressing up this summer. Her first fashion musts—cool and comfy outfits to allow her more mobility amid the heat; bolder, more eyecatching hues; more interesting prints and fun cuts.

Plains and Prints has Anne’s

fashion musts in mind – and more—when the clothes company’s creative team designed its five 2015 Spring-Summer collections.

Already out in the stores is the Hawaiian pre-summer collection, inspired by the tropical vibe of the islands and featuring audacious prints in hues of green, yellow, salmon, and peach.

The second collection, the Tahiti pre-summer collection, represents the vibrant culture of the South Pacific and it showcases pieces in kaleidoscopic floral and feather prints.’

Anne swoons over the the Cape Cod collection, breezy pieces with intricate prints of bold flowers, and gemstones in shades of

yellow, blue, purple, blush, and white.

The Scandinavia collection takes inspiration from the clean, fresh dress styles popular in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, while the Metamorphosis capsule collection takes inspiration from bugs and insects in a fun mix of cute silhouettes and insect patterns.

The collections are available at Plains & Prints boutiques nationwide. For more information on release dates, promos and events, Like us at www.facebook.com/plainsandprints and follow @PlainsandPrints on Instgaram and Twitter. Experince online shopping at www.plainsandprints.com.

CONTINUED ON C7

The ‘’National Sweetheart’’ says, summer is one season she totally prepares for.

She says it is important to have a ‘’fitspiration’’ and for Anne, it is no less than Victoria Secret model Candice Swanepoel