The Standard - 2015 March 11 - Wednesday

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK VOL. XXIX NO. 27 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 wedNeSday: MaRCH 11, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com

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Napeñas denies being solely responsible

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20 injured as ship rams Cebu port

PNOY CAUGHT IN ‘UNENDING LIES’

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No to fare increase. Some members of a consumer group picketed the PNR’s España Station on Tuesday to protest against the five-peso fare increase on the PNR trains. DaNNy Pata

Filipino creativity at forefront

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Gin Kings test Road Warriors

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Congressmen cross party lines to reopen probe

By Maricel V. Cruz LAWMAKERS crossed party lines Tuesday in asking the leadership of the House of Representatives to resume the congressional probe into the Mamasapano debacle in which 44 police commandos were killed.

At a press conference, 94 members of the House joined the widows and loved ones of the 44 police commandos to express their dismay with President Aquino III and his administration’s handling of the controversy, and insisting that the President lied through his teeth when he said sacked Special Action Force commander Getulio Napeñas had fooled him.

The lawmakers, led by the leader of the independent minority bloc, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, and House Minority Leader and San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, said the House needed to resume its investigation into the Mamasapano bloodbath to ferret out the truth.

“We need to know the truth and we are united in calling for the reopening of the investigation to achieve justice,” Romualdez told reporters after the widows and families of the SAF 44 met with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to voice their concerns.

“We can’t talk about BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) without determining the truth behind Mamasapano incident. The widows and loved ones of Fallen 44 are here, they come on their own with one message which is to continue with the hearings,” Zamora said.

At least 94 lawmakers from various political groups, including Romualdez, signed the resolution authored by the Makabayan bloc, calling on Belmonte to resume the House investigation.

Dolly Cordero, sister of PO3 Roger Cordero of General Santos City, one of the Fallen 44, pressed members of the House to resume their probe.

“The SAF 44 were already killed and butchered, now they (Aquino government) started to kill the case,” Cordero said.

The widows of the SAF 44 were one in saying that President Aquino III was lying again when he said Napeñas fooled him about the operational lapses that led to the death of the 44 policemen.

Earlier, the President said he “felt betrayed and lied to” by then-suspended Philippine National Police chief director general Alan Purisima.

The widows said the President should tell the truth behind Mamasapano, noting that the buck shoul stop at Malacañang.

“No (we don’t believe) in what the President was saying. His story keeps changing. We don’t believe him. Now he’s blaming Napeñas. Wasn’t Purisima involved? My son texted me and said he could not come home because of orders from high up,” said Telly Sumbilla, mother of PO3 John Loyd Sumbilla from Samar.

“President Aquino cannot say he didn’t know,” Cordro added.

The mother of PO3 Nicky Nacino of Isabela, Feliias Nacino, said: “President Aquino should tell the whole truth. We need to hear the whole truth.”

Suzette Tucay, fiancé of Police Chief Inspector Gary Erana from Pagadian City, said they were unhappy with the Senate investigation because so much of it was held behind closed doors.

“We were left hanging,” she said.

The Palace on Tuesday denied it was involved in a whitewash and said the President had no intention of preempting the police board of inquiry or exonerating Purisima.

“There is no cover-up. There is no whitewash or ‘yellowwash,’” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma.

“Our intent on this is for our people to know the truth,” he added.

Coloma said that the statement of Aquino during a prayer meeting at the Palace Monday was just “a general overview” of what happened during the Mamasapano mission.

He also said Aquino had no intention to blame Napeñas but was merely “narrating all the relevnat facts” in the Mamasapano incident.

“The statement of the President is part of a general explanation. We can say in here, it is not his intention to blame anyone,” Coloma said.

He added that the President offered his personal opinion, which would not affect the findings of the police board of inquiry.

But he also said the board and the Senate could use the President’s remarks as “inputs” for their final reports on the Mamasapano incident.

On Monday, Mr. Aquino defended his decisions and blamed Napeñas for the Mamasapano debacle.

“If only I knew that that was his plan, I would have disapproved it,” Aquino said, referring to Napeñas.

“What should have been a successful mission became mission impossible,” Aquino added, blaming Napenas for fooling him about the status of Operation Exodus, which aimed to capture or kill wanted terrorists hiding in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

Plea. Relatives of the 44 police commandos slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25 met with Reps. Ronaldo Zamora

(standing fifth from right) and House Minority Bloc leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (right) on Tuesday to ask them to continue the hearing on the Mamasapano incident. Ver NoVeNo

‘Cycle of unending lies’ stymies PNoy

By Maricel V. Cruz, Macon r. Araneta and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III was “disingenuous” in his palusot [excuse] during his explanation on Monday regarding his involvement in the deadly secret Mamasapano operation and it has turned out to be a cycle of “never-ending” lies, the party-list group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said on Tuesday.

“The problem with starting out with a lie is that you end up spinning more lies. The lies have become never-ending,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. after Aquino explained for the third time in Malacañang his role in the mission that resulted in the death of 44 police commandos.

“The gist of the President’s speech was that it was all Napenas’ fault,” Reyes said, referring to Aquino’s remarks to religious leaders where he blamed relieved Special Action Force chief Getulio Napeñas .

“It was Napenas who misled the President. It was Napenas who failed to coordinate. It is very likely that the [Philippine National Police board of inquiry] report will not veer away from the pronouncements of the President,” Reyes said.

Reyes said the timing of Aquino remarks last Monday was meant to “preempt whatever results that would be borne out of the Board of Inquiry investigation.”

Opposition leader and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco echoed the sentiment and said Aquino’s remarks pre-empted the findings of the BOI and only cleared himself and his “best friend” Purisima.

“Can we expect the BOI members to say otherwise when the President absolved himself of any blame, barely mentioned his BFF Purisima, and dumped the blame on Napenas?” Tiangco said.

Aquino made the remark on the same day the PNP BOI announced that they would have to postpone the release of the investigation because of the voluminous documents regarding the case. “[But] the President hardly even mentioned [relieved PNP chief] Purisima,” Reyes said, noting that a Senate investigation showed that Purisima was directly reporting to the President and “advising” Napeñas who claimed he was following orders from Purisima who had already been suspended.

Aquino also “failed to explain why he himself did not inform his other officials of the sensitive operation” when he, “as commander-in-chief, was in a position to inform the AFP and the PNP leadership as well as the government peace panel.”

“Mr. President, the people are not satisfied with your latest, self-serving statements,” Reyes said.

At the same time, Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon also assailed

Aquino for claiming he was deceived by Napeñas when “at the end of the day, we have to return the question: who greenlighted the mission? Who authorized the offensive?”

“Mr. President, how many versions of the story will you put out?... If there’s a mambobola [deceiver] around, it’s President Aquino,” Ridon said, calling Aquino a “compulsive liar.”

“Stop fooling the Filipino people Mr. President. You’ve fooled the Filipino people many times over and triple shame on you. Instead of continuing with your compulsive lying, why don’t you resign instead?” Ridon added.

At the Senate, Senator JV Ejercito said Aquino’s explanation is “unbelieveable” because the President has the luxury of confirming all the information being given to him by Napenas when he is surrounded by security experts.

“If you are the commander in chief, why would you rely on one person if you have the luxury getting access to info from all top officials with you the whole day. It’s hard to believe because everybody was there. They were with him the whole day,” Ejercito said.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed that the President’s own admission that he was deceived

by Napenas showed weak leadership.

“It was inevitable that this was the outcome of his using an alternative or informal chain of command,” Marcos said.

Had Aquino employed the correct command structure, even if one or two lied, “still this would not be the result, this kind of massacre would not happen and the deaths of the 44 would not have occurred,” Marcos said.

“I feel sorry for the families

of the slain SAF, MILF and civilians, who are the ones that would be really disappointed with this development,” Marcos said, noting that the delay in the release of the BOI report only prolongs the agony of the bereaved families.

Senator Grace Poe said the delay triggered some doubts as to what happened for their failure to come out with the report last Monday.

“They have given their words that they will be prepared so others are asking what happened last Saturday and Sunday that they suddenly asked for additional time,” said Poe, whose committee on public order led the investigation on the Mamasapano incident.

Meanwhile, reacting to the refusal of Purisima to be interviewed by the BOI, Senate President Franklin Drilon replied, “Maybe, he has something to hide... I do not really know,” Drilon said.

The reactions to Aquino’s remarks on Monday spurred Palace officials to again explain the President’s explanation and disputed the claim of BOI chairman Benjamin Magalong that Aquino did not reply to invitations for an interview with the probers.

“Hindi totoo yan,” Coloma said during the daily Palace briefing. “According to PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo, who was present during the press briefing of the PNP-BOI and Camp Crame yesterday, and I quote, he was quoting, in turn, director Magalong: He did not say that the BOI need to interview the President,” Coloma said.

But Coloma admitted that he was not aware if there was indeed an invitation for the President to speak with the BOI.

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Consumers to pay more for power in hot months CONSUMERS will be paying more for electicity as a result of the projected power crisis in Luzon this summer, a House official said on Monday.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, chairman of the House committee on energy and the head of the House contingent to the bicameral conference committee on energy, said Congress would not be able to pass the bill giving President Aquino emergency powers due to a deadlock on whether to pass on to consumers the expenses to be incurred in the interruptible load program.

Umali said the House will remain firm on its stand on a ‘no pass-on’ provision that the Senate, led by Senator Serge Osmena, is opposing.

“I am a hopeless optimist. I am still hoping this [no pass-on] will happen because this will provide relief to our people,” Umali told reporters.

I am hopeless optimistic, and still hope this will happen, this will provide immediate relief to our people.”

Umali made his statement even as the special powers the Aquino administration had been asking for from Congress was not granted on Monday after lawmakers disagreed on who should pay for the cost of the companies that use their own generators to help ease the expected power shortage this summer.

But Senator Sergio Osmeña III, who heads the Senate committee on energy, said it really mattered little whether Congress passed Joint Resolution No. 12, which provides for the special powers, because the Electric Power Industry Reform Act and other energy policies had already authorized it anyway.

“We will have to conduct another bicam if we agree. If we don’t agree, then there will be no resolution...but believe me, the [Interruptible Load Program] is working anyway,” Osmeña said.

The deadlock emerged during the second bicameral conference committee meeting that was supposed to reconcile the differences between the versions of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The House’s version charges the cost of the ILP to the Malampaya funds, while the Senate’s passes it on to consumers at a rate of 4 centavos per kilowatt hour, but the legislators concluded their meeting without an agreement.

Umali said the House leadership will stand by its version of the House Joint Resolution 21 that the government should not impose additional electricity cost on consumers.

“The House is standing firm [on our version of the HJR 21]. We have consulted the House leadership on this.

We can only hope things will be clearer soonest,” Umali said.

Given the impasse, Umali said, the projected power crisis in Luzon will cost a huge amount to the economy. Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Mild El Niño, but long dry season up ahead

By Rio N. Araja

THE country is experiencing a mild case of El Niño that could prolong the dry season, the weather bureau said Tuesday.

“The dry spell is not defined. That is why it is called a weak El Niño,” said climatologist Anthony Lucero in a radio interview.

Bureau officials and climatologists are meeting to get an accurate forecast, said Venus Valdemorro, public information officer at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Based on the latest data of international climate monitoring agencies in Japan and Australia, there is a 50 percent to 60 percent that the El Niño episode will last until June.

An El Niño event occurs when sea surface temperatures in the central and easter equatorial Pacific become warmer than normal.

The weather bureau said the dry spell occurs every two to nine years and may persist up to nine months, causing a reduction in the amount of rainfall.

In General Santos City, Mindanao, the dry spell has devastated about 300 hectares of corn and rice farms.

The city and other parts of Region 12 are among the most vulnerable to the effects of the El Niño, the weather bureau said.

The Agriculture Department has begun taking measures, such as the distribution of water pumps and engines, as part of its preparation for the effects of the dry spell.

The National Water Resources Board, meanwhile, has assured residents in Metro Manila of a sufficient supply of potable water despite the dry months.

The Energy Department said dams operated by the National Power Corp. are still at normal operating status but the El Niño could eventually reduce the dams’ ability to deliver power.

“DOE is undertaking energy conservation and water management,” Energy Department director Mylene Capongcol said.

The Angat dam in Bulacan, which supplies the bulk of Metro Manila’s water supply reported, water levels at 201.52 meters above sea level on Tuesday, dipping from 201.78 MASL on Monday. The Angat dam has a normal water level of 212 MASL and a minimum operating level of 180 MASL. The Ambuklao dam in Benguet also showed a slight drop in water level to 749.42 MASL from 749.44 MASL a day before. The Ambuklao dam, however, has a normal water level of 752 MASL and a minimum operating level of 740 MASL. The Binga dam, also in Benguet, reported a water level of 571.12 MASL as of March 10, lower than the 571.26 MASL recorded the day before. The Binga dam has a normal water level of 575 MASL and minimum operating level of 563 MASL. The San Roque dam in Pangasinan showed a slight dip in water levels to 254.64 MASL on Tuesday from 254.94 MASL the day before. The San Roque dam’s normal water level is at 280 MASL while minimum operating level is at 225.50 MASL. Water levels at the Pantabangan

Tuition blues. Students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines burn a mock PUP receipt inside the campus to protest the school’s decision to increase its tuition by P6,000. Danny Pata

Napeñas denies being solely to blame for carnage

By Francisco Tuyay A DAY after President Benigno Aquino III publicly blamed former Special Action Force commander Chief Supt. Getulio Napeñas for the Mamasapano debacle in which 44 police commandos were killed, the beleaguered police officer lashed back through his lawyer at the Chief Executive.

Vitaliano Aguirre, legal counsel of Napeñas, said the tragic incident was triggered when Aquino allowed his friend, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Alan Purisima control the sensitive operations of the SAF mission to ar-

dam in Nueva Ecija dropped to 190.60 MASL from 190.88 MASL for only a two-day period.

The Caliraya dam in Laguna showed no decrease as its water levels remained steady at 288.29 MASL for the past two days. Normal water levels at the Caliraya dam is at 288 MASL while minimum operating level was at 285.50 MASL. “All hydro inflows are below last year for the same period. This was expected. That’s why we have told NIA (National Irrigation Administration) that they have to conserve water this summer,” First Gen Corp. executive vice president Ernesto Pantangco said.

First Gen Hydro Power Corp. operates the Pantabangan-Masiway hydro power plant in Nueva Ecija.

Napocor earlier pushed for the creation of the Philippine Dam Regulatory Authority to further promote dam safety and ensure compliance to international dam standards.

Napocor president Ma. Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita said the Philippines is now one of the few countries in the world without a Dams Regulatory Authority. – With Alena Mae Flores and Anna Leah E. Gonzales

rest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifly bin Hir, alias Marwan and his Filipino henchman Abdul Basit Usman in an area controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Why did he not mention the role of General Purisima? Why is the President not responsible?”

Aguirre said in TV interview.

In a speech before 300 members of various born-again Christian groups at the Palace Monday, the President blamed Napeñas for the lapses he allegedly committed and for giving him false information about the status of Operation Exodus.

During his speech Monday, the President never mentioned his

close friend Purisima, who was suspended at the time over corruption charges.

Testimony before the Senate showed that it was Purisima who called the shots in Operation Exodus, although the resigned PNP chief denied being in charge.

In his speech, Aquino accused Napeñas of disobeying his order to coordinate with the military before executing his plan.

But Aguirre said if Aquino wanted proper coordination, he should have called in Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and PNP officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina during the briefing sessions

on Operation Exodus.

“And why was Purisima giving Napeñas orders when he was already suspended by the time of the Jan. 9 briefing? Why were Espina and Roxas not at that briefing?” Aguirre said.

At the Senate, Napeñas testified that only he, Purisima, PNP Intelligence Group director Senior Supt.

Fernando Mendez and Aquino were present during the briefing.

Aguirre also assailed Aquino for being too quick to lay the blame on Napenas when the PNP board of inquiry has yet to complete its report on the Mamasapano incident.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENT President Benigno S. Aquino III has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (C.A.) for confirmation the ad interim appointments of the following officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs: Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia and Jesus S. Domingo – Chief of Mission, Class I; Charmaine Serna-Chua, Lilibeth P. Almonte-Arbez, Pamela F. Durian-Bailon, Mary Luck S. Hicarte, Arnel M. Sanchez and Hans Mohaimin L. Siriban– Foreign Service Officer, Class I; Alena Grace S. Borra, Gilbert L. Segarra, Maria Sheila U. MonederoArnestoand Mary Joy B. Ramirez– Foreign Service Officer, Class II; Enrique Voltaire G. Pingol, Rhenita B. Rodriguez, Ivan Frank M. Oleaand Stephanie Beatriz O. Valera - Career Minister The public may submit any information, written report or sworn complaints or oppositions in forty (40) copies on the above appointments to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, DiosdadoMacapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 551-7532, 831-0893, 831-1824, 834-2706, 831-1566 and 834-2713.

10 March 2015.

(TNS-MAR. 11, 2015)

ARTURO L. TIU Secretary

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New Chinese reclamation projects ‘as big as malls’

By Joyce P. Pañares

“Running priest” Robert Reyes leads environmental groups BAN Toxics, Greenpeace and Ecowaste Coalition in a protest run along the streets of Makati’s Business District to demand the immediate re-exportation of the 50 Canadian container vans filled with hazardous wastes now in the Port of Manila. AC Dimatatac/BAN Toxics

Elite teams sent out to find Basit Usman

By Florante S. Solmerin

SKILLED snipers and close-quarter combatants have been sent to pursue the bomber Abdul Basit Usman and some foreign terror suspects being protected by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), military officials said Tuesday.

“The fleeing terrorists and their BIFF coddlers have splintered into small groups but our combat boots on ground quickly adapted to their escape and evasion tactics by inserting our elite forces to relentlessly hunt them,” said Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala, Armed Forces spokesman.

“We will not let them rest until they are cornered and captured. Fresh troops will be coming in from time to time to keep them away from seeking sanctuary in civilian communities,” he added.

Kakilala said there were some skirmishes Monday night and early Tuesday morning in Barangay Pusao, Mamasapano with small BIFF groups but no casualties have been reported so far.

“According to our ground commanders, these skirmishes showed strong resistance from the enemy, which make them believe that Usman and his foreign cohorts were still in the area and the BIFF is protecting and defending them. While close-quarter battles continue, our infantry were sealing pos-

sible escape routes of the enemy as our elite forces are penetrating the target areas,” Kakilala said.

The second three-day extension for the all-out offensive launched by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division led by Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan against the BIFF and Usman’s group was set to expire Tuesday midnight.

But Pangilinan said pursuit operations will continue to keep the BIFF fighters and the terrorists from taking refuge in civilian communities.

He said all possible supply routes going to areas where the BIFF and the terrorists were in hiding have already been sealed.

The groups on the run include those of Kagi Karialan, chief of staff of BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato; Mohammad Ali Tambako, Kato’s nephew, who formed his own Justice for Is-

lamic Movement (JIM) with a handful of followers, and a certain commander Bungos.

Kakilala said forensic experts of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were doing cross matching of the serial numbers of the high-powered firearms that were taken from the slain BIFF fighters Saturday in Shariff Saydona.

Kakilala said it was possible that these came from the 44 Special Action Force police commandos who were killed in Mamasapano on Jan. 25.

On Saturday, government troops recovered an M60 machine gun and two M14 rifles.

Since the Army launched an all-out offensive against the BIFF, 73 of the bandits have been killed and 33 have been wounded. Four were captured.

On the government side, four troopers have been killed, and 29 have been wounded.

CHINA’S reclamation projects in Cuarteron (Calderon) and Gaven (Burgos) reefs are as big as the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, one of the biggest malls in Southeast Asia, Defense spokesman Peter Galvez said.

Galvez said new reclamation projects in Mischief (Panganiban) and Subi (Zamora) reefs in the disputed Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) have also been confirmed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Galvez said the structures in Cuarteron and Gaven have even earned the moniker “Mall of KIG.” “(The reclamation) is causing a lot of apprehension. We know that they are drilling, but what is it for? The mere fact that you are building infrastructure that is potentially security in nature is alarming,” he said.

“You can assume there is hightech equipment involved. What’s stopping them from declaring another ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone) in the area?”

Galvez added.

Beijing’s ADIZ in the East China Sea, which requires aircraft to provide flight plans when traversing the area, covers disputed Tokyo-controlled islands – known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

“They (China) are literally rocking the boat in the West Philippine Sea. They are destroying the marine eco-system in the area. Their words that they are for freedom of navigation are contrary to their actions,” Galvez said.

“China should dismantle all these structures,” he added.

Galvez said there are more than a dozen Chinese ships in the disputed areas within the West Philippine Sea, which he said “increase the chances of untoward incidents.”

Over the weekend, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the reclamation projects in disputed territories are necessary as he insisted that these areas are well within China’s jurisdiction.

“We are not like some countries which have carried out illegal building in other people’s home, and we won’t accept unwarranted remarks about work on our own home,” he said in a press conference in Beijing.

‘Most beheadings under PNoy’

By Ronald O. Reyes MIGRANTE International on Tuesday called for an investigation of why, it said, the most number of Filipino workers were executed during the Aquino administration after another Filipino was beheaded in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

“The most number of [Filipino workers] on death row [abroad] were executed under [the] Aquino [administration],” group chairman Garry Martinez said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday confirmed the beheading of Joven Esteva, a

resident of General Santos City, for killing his employer in 2007.

“We have provided Mr. Esteva all necessary and appropriate legal and consular assistance, including providing a lawyer, since his arrest in 2007,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.

“Regrettably, despite the efforts of the Philippine government, the family of the victim refused to grant forgiveness,” Jose said.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is also Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ Concerns, expressed sadness over Esteva’s execution.

He said there were 80 Filipinos on death row abroad, and of those 27 were in Saudi Arabia. He said Esteva’s execution brought to 40 the total number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year.

Malacañang said it had not been remiss in helping Esteva and other Filipinos working abroad.

“Our Department of Foreign Affairs and other agencies, such as the Department of Labor and Employment, have always monitored the situation of all Filipinos working and living abroad,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

Two women cadets belonging to the Philippine Military Academy ‘s “Sinaglahi” class of 2015, Carolina Nacion (right), fifth in the top ten of the graduating class, and Julaiza Camposano, who was given an athletic saber and a leadership award, pose for a photograph during the celebration of International Women’s Month. DAVE LEPROZO

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18 roses. Candidates vying for the title of Miss San Fernando City 2015, 18 of them, pose for photographers at the Kibkibungan Falls, the new summer destination of San Fernando City, La Union. The pageant is part of San Fernando’s 17th cityhood anniversary celebrations. CHRISTINE JUNIO

Massacre suspect’s bailout draws flak

By Rio Araja NEwSMEN and campus journalists on Tuesday hit out at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for the release of the key suspect in the Maguindanao massacre.

The National Press Club and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, along with the College Editors Group of the Philippines expressed disappointment over RTC Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes decision to set Sajid Islam Ampatuan free and raised fear for the course of the search for justice for the 58 massacre victims.

NPC issued a statement denouncing the rash of bail being granted by the RTC judge. “we are still trying to gather more details but if it were true that Judge Solis-Reyes again resorted to ‘legal technicalities’ to justify the granting of bail against Sajid Islam Ampatuan who admitted to being present while the details of the massacre is being discussed by his family is an indictment of our criminal justice system and a gross travesty of justice,” said NPC. The NUJP through its national president Rowena Paraan said they were “terriby disappointed” over the release of Ampatuan, son of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.

K-12 flaws exposed

“Why only now?”

This was the question posed by senator Antonio “sonny” F. Trillanes iV to those involved in the implementation of the K to 12 program.

Palace spokesman Herminio Coloma admitted over the weekend that consultations were being conducted by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) “so that there will be a clear understanding of the K to 12 program and to ensure a smooth and proper transition by school year 2016 from the current school program.”

Coloma earlier revealed that DepEd, CHED, and TESDA “conducted consultations with various stakeholders from public and private schools” after the effectivity of RA 10533 and its implementing rules and regulations.

But according to Trillanes, education officials “should have done all these comprehensive consultations before pushing for a law the government was ill-prepared to implement.”

The Bicolano senator added that consultations are a “twoway mechanism” the government should have extensively employed during the deliberations of RA 10533.

“Aside from properly explaining the implications of the K to 12 program to the sectors involved, proper consultations would have allowed for the feedback of the affected stakeholders so that government could determine the feasibility of the program,” said

Relocation timeline holds, high court tells Big Three Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court decision rendered last November requires the Big 3 oil companies to remove the oil depot facilities from Pandacan, Manila, and not merely to cease operations.

In its en banc session, the SC issued this clarification even as it dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum and stressed that the relocation deadline holds.

“The Court denied the motion for reconsideration of Shell because the reasons given had already been decided upon by the Court and there was no need for the Court to rule upon them

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anew,” the Court ruled Acting on the clarification sought by Chevron (formerly Caltex Philippines Inc.), the SC stressed that there are overwhelming reasons stated in its previous ruling to support the pronouncement of the Court that the very nature of depots has no place in a densely populated area.

The high court cited the history of the Pandacan terminals where flames spread over the entire City of Manila when fuel storage dumps were set on fire in December 1942 and another incident involving an explosion—both of which were discussed in an earlier challenge to the oil depots.

Trillanes.

At the House of Representatives, a ranking lawmaker sought a feasiblity study on the K-12 in light of the many issues confronting the program.

The DedEd was not ready to implement the K-12 program, said Rep. Roman Romulo, but added that there was enough time to prepare for it.

Last Saturday members of the Council of Teachers and Staff of Colleges and Universities in the Philippines (COTESCUP), faculty, nonteaching staff, parents, labor centers, federation, unions and faculty associations called for the suspension of the government’s K to 12 program— citing the inadequate preparation of the country’s educational system for the implementation of the new education program—and launched a broad coalition that seeks to convince government to shelve the controversial program.

Manila The coalition, headed by ProfesStandard

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sor Rene Luis Tadle, is preparing to conduct a nationwide information campaign about the program and will later file a petition in the Supreme Court to ask for its suspension.

According to Tadle, the coalition was formed because “based on the consultation we conducted, we found out that the country’s education system is woefully ill-prepared

for this program.”

The academic added that the majority of the country’s schools did not have enough classrooms and facilities to accommodate “the additional number of students as a result of this program” and added that K to 12 was aside “an additional burden for our already grossly underpaid teachers.”

“Even most of the parents are not aware of the details of this program, including the inconvenience it would cause them.”

With Maricel Cruz

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A6 IN BRIEF Syjuco faces graft raps OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of graft charges against Augusto Syjuco Jr, former director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and several other officials for violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices law.

The accused were alleged to have been involved in the anomalous procurement of 250,000 copies of Salabat for the Filipino Soul, a career guidance book for school children, amounting to P9,250,000.00 that did not undergo public bidding.

The Ombudsman said Syjuco and the Bids and Awards Committee resorted to the alternative mode of limited source bidding when they awarded the project to Grand C. The Commission on Audit noted that “there was irregular expenditure in the procurement for the printing of SALABAT” which was “disallowed in audit by COA-TESDA on 21 May 2008.” Nelson Flores

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Plunder case to proceed as SC junks Jinggoy plea

By Rey E. Reqeujo and Nelson Flores THE Supreme Court on Tuesday denied with finality the petitions of detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada last year seeking to restrain his trial for plunder in the Sandiganbayan over his alleged involvement in the anomalous use of his pork barrel funds.

In an en banc session, the SC resolved to junk Estrada’s motion for reconsideration and affirmed its ruling on Jan. 21 upholding the indictment of the senator by the office of the Ombudsman after findings of probable cause in preliminary investigation.

“The Court denied the motion for reconsideration filed by petition Senator Estrada on the ground that no

substantial argument was raised to merit a reconsideration,” SC spokesperson Theodore Te said.

Estrada had asked the SC to nullify the Ombudsman’s finding of probable cause for the filing of plunder and graft charges against him over alleged violation of his right to due process and equal protection under the law.

He stressed that the Om-

budsman’s resolution “grievously ignored, trampled upon and violated” his Constitutional rights to due process when it first denied his request and then later on filed charges against him using those affidavits which he added were “not disclosed to him.”

Among the affidavits that Estrada requested are the affidavits filed by Ruby Tuason and former Technology Resource Center chief Dennis Cunanan, the counter-affidavits of National Livelihood Development Corporation President Gondelina Amata and Department of Budget and Management Undersecretary for Operations Mario Relampagos, the consolidated reply of the National Bureau of Investigation, as well

as the documents submitted by the other respondents in the pork barrel scam case and or additional witnesses for the government.

The detained senator said he needed these affidavits and counter-affidavits so that he can be informed of the charges against him.

However, he told the Court that the Ombudsman denied his request in a resolution issued last March 27, 2014 followed by the announcement a day after that it has issued a resolution charging him before the Sandiganbayan with plunder and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. According to Estrada, the decision of the Ombudsman to deny his request violated the Ombudsman’s own Rules

of Procedure, Rules 112 of the Rules of Court, Article III of the Constitution and various decisions issued by the high court.

But the senator still has another pending petition in the SC – which questions the Sandigabayan’s decision to reject his bail petition.

Estrada and his colleagues, Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. were among the government officials charged in connection with the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam allegedly perpetrated by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in connivance with lawmakers who channeled their pork barrel allocation to bogus non-government organizations she established.

JPE’s medical bulletin sought THE Sandiganbayan directed the Makati Medical Center to submit by Friday the latest medical bulletin of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile who was transferred from the Philippine National Police General Hospital where he was under detention while facing plunder and graft charges in relation to the pork barrel scam.

Lawyer Dennis Pulma, 3rd Division’s clerk of court, said the order stemmed from the notice given by the PNP General Hospital regarding Enrile’s transfer.

The 91-year old lawmaker was transferred to the MMC from the PNPGH last month after his health condition deteriorated due to pneumonia.

Enrile is among the three senators being tried for plunder. The other two are Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla. Nelson Flores

Bidding set for P133-m PNP guns THE Philippine National Police has set a bidding for the supply of 743 units of sub-machineguns valued at P133,740,000, according to Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., spokesman.

The opening of bids will be held on April 17 at 9 a.m. at the PNP Main Conference Room at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“Under the IRR, the delivery of goods is required within 150 calendar days divided into two tranches upon issuance of the permit, 400 on the 1st tranche required within 90 calendar days and 2nd tranche, 343 units within the remaining period, Cerbo said.

Police Director Juanito Vaño Jr., Chairman of the PNP Bids and Awards Committee said bid documents are now available for P50,000 from March 4 to April 17.

Florante S. Solmerin

Plastic pollution. Workers sort plastic bottles that they would sell to a plastic recycle factory in R10, Tondo, Manila. The Philippines ranks 3rd in a list of countries with most plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. China is ranked first as the top plastic polluter in the oceans. per year with an estimated 2.4 million tones, or about 30 percent of the global total, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Bangladesh. DANNY PATA

MMDA to open four new ferry terminals in May

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metro Manila Development Authority on Tuesday announced that four new Pasig River Ferry terminals will be opened in May to accommodate more passengers.

The new terminals are situated in Hulo Station in Mandaluyong City, Valenzuela Station in Makati City, and Lawton and Lambingan stations, both in Manila.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the agency also plans to extend its ferry service in the areas of Libis in Quezon City and in Marikina City River Bank.

“This is our way to help the people find an alternative mode of transportation.

We all know that major roads are congested because of numerous projects like the Skyway Stage 3 and the Naia elevated expressway,” he said.

Presently, the Pasig ferry system operating from 6 am to 6pm daily has seven terminals- San Joaquin and Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City, Guadalupe in Makati City, and Escolta, PUP Sta. Mesa, Sta. Ana and Plaza Mexico, all in Manila.

Beginning March 15, the MMDA will offer 50 percent discount for elementary, high school and college graduating students who will patronize the ferry system.

The usual fare ranges from P30 to P95.

“We want to recognize our hardworking students who will be graduating by offering them this discount,” said Tolentino. “Just present their school ID to avail the discount.”

He said the fare discount will be offered until the day after their graduation date, saying that the agency will acquire a list of the dates of commencement ceremonies of all public and private schools in Metro Manila.

Train woes.

Passengers pack a PhIlippine National Railways coach at the Espana Station. The government plans to increase the trains’ minimum fare from P10 to P16 in the next few days. DANNY PATA

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK W E D N E S D ay : m a r c h 1 1 , 2 0 1 5

A7

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Nasty cat. SuperCat’s St. Seathiel docks at a pier in Cebu with damages to its bow after it rammed a concrete portion of the pier while manuevring, At least 20 passengers were hurt in the incident. The injured were immediately brought to the nearest hospital. RALPH PIEZAS

20 hurt as 2GO ship rams Cebu port

P4.4m marijuana plants destroyed in Cordillera

By Junex Doronio

By Florante S. Solmerin

CEBU CITY, Cebu— Twenty persons suffered injuries after 2GO’s SuperCat vessel St. Sealthiel from Bohol rammed Pier 1 at the Cebu port yesterday (Tuesday) morning.

SuperCat General Manager Angelito Salvio said St. Sealthiel experienced maneuvering control failure causing it to ram Pier 1 at 8:25 a.m. and damaged the vessel’s bow.

He said 17 passengers and three crewmen sustained minor injuries. They were immediately brought to the nearest hospital in Cebu.

Salvio said 2GO will shoulder all needed medical expenses and treatment.

All other 106 passengers and eight crewmen were safely disembarked.

Dismissing insinuations of overloading, Salvio said 2GO’s St. Sealthiel has a total capacity of 314 and there was only a total of 113 passengers and 11 crewmen on board yesrerday morning.

Combined agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the police over the weekend swooped down and destroyed marijuana plants with an estimated market value of P44,426,250 in at least three locations in Barangay Tacadang, Kibungan in Benguet, Superintendent Cherry Fajardo, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Cordillera, said Tuesday.

The marijuana plants in Sitio Lanipew has a total of 350,000 grams of dried

Marijuana leaves, 8,000 marijuana stalks and 250 seeds Sitio Bekes yielded a

total of 2,000 fully grown marijuana plants.

The team was led by Se-

nior Police Officer 2 Andres G. Pablo.

Another team composed of the members of Kibungan police and also assisted by the Benguet Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) destroyed more or less 350 fully grown marijuana plants in two other different sites, also in Lanipew.

Meanwhile, PRO-Cordillera director Chief Superintendent Isagani ner-

ez said they will continue with their marijuana eradication campaign until all plantations planted with marijuana are destroyed in the Cordilleras which has earned the tag as the country’s “MJ capital”.

“More forceful, intensive and unrelenting campaign against the cultivation and use of illegal drugs will be implemented region wide,” nerez said.

Planting of trees under electric lines bewailed

New schoolbuildings. BDO and SM Foundation officials pose during the turnover rites for the new schoolbuildings they jointly built for the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

CAGAYAn de Oro City— the national Grid Corporation of the Philippines (nGCP) is facing a growing problem in maintaining power grids in Mindanao, especially in Lanao del Sur province.

Avelino Dawis, head of District 3 (Lanao del Sur, Marawi and Iligan cities) Operations and Maintenance, said that several residents have planted trees under nGCP’s high-tension wires, which he said caused power interruptions in its Mindanao grid.

Dawis said that since the nGCP took over the helm of the transmission operations from Transmission Corporation (TransCo), many people have started to plant trees under the power lines.

“People have learned to earn money in big amounts by planting trees and claiming payments because nGCP is going to cut them down,” Dawis said.

The affected power lines connect the Agus to Balo-I Sub Station which also connects to Kibawi town in Bukidnon.

In 2014, nGCP spokesperon Cynthia Alabanza, warned the public during a forum of the risks of planting trees under the transmission towers, which she said also breached “right of way’ clearances.

Alabanza said that the nGCP is on the lookout for private landowners who either intentionally and or unintentionally plant trees under the transmission lines.

Lance Baconguis

A8

opinion [ EDI TORI A L ]

Looking guiLty LIKE an immature child pointing a finger at somebody else when caught in an infraction, President Aquino is desperately trying to pass off the blame for the Mamasapano debacle in which 44 police commandos were killed.

The ploy will not work because the public is not as gullible as Mr. Aquino believes, and the more he tries, the more guilty he looks.

At a prayer meeting of Christian leaders who still support him, the President beat the dead horse that is the sacked chief of the Special Action Force (SAF), Getulio Napeñas, who was the ground commander of the covert Mamasapano operation to capture or kill two wanted terrorists.

In a most un-Christian way, the President spewed a litany of sins that Napeñas allegedly committed, and tried again to peddle the fiction that the SAF chief acted on his own. The SAF commander, Aquino said, disobeyed his direct orders to coordinate the police action with the Armed Forces, failed to get his commandos in place early, and also failed to abort the mission when it was apparent that conditions on the ground had changed.

There was one glaring omission in the President’s tale, however: the role that his close friend, resigned police chief Alan Purisima, played in the whole affair. It was Purisima, after all, who called the shots, even though he was already suspended at the time on corruption charges.

Despite the President’s silence on this point, we now know from testimony before the Senate that Mr. Aquino worked directly through Purisima, who then gave orders to Napeñas. In fact, it was Purisima who had told Napeñas that he would take care of informing the Armed Forces about the operation, and that he should keep the OIC of the Philippine National Police in the dark until the commandos were already on the ground.

This testimony directly refutes Aquino’s incredible claim that Napeñas acted on his own. That the President failed to even mention Purisima makes it all the clearer that he has something to hide, and that Napeñas is being made the scapegoat for the President’s own fatal incompetence.

Encouraged, perhaps, by the fawning supporters at the prayer meeting who “beseeched” him to stay the course and finish his term, the President also used the prayer meeting to lambast his critics, calling them attention seekers (kulang sa pansin) who cannot think clearly, are uncaring and lacking in faith.

But the President was preaching to the choir. Catholic bishops who have been far less gullible and pliant, and who have urged Mr. Aquino to step down over his spectacular failures, were not invited to the prayer shindig. If they were, that would have required that this craven President confront his critics face-to-face, a move that would require much more courage than he has shown thus far with his cowardly and unseemly attempts to deflect blame.

The ‘blame duck’ Lowdown jojo A. robLes A friend in the academe has come up with a neologism that perfectly describes President noynoy Aquino these days, as he simultaneously strives with all his might to escape culpability for the Mamasapano massacre and to keep himself relevant in the national conversation at the twilight of his term. Aquino, this friend said, has transmogrified into a “blame duck” President.

Aquino’s blame duck-ness

makes him point to anyone except himself as responsible when things go wrong. And it also forces him to salvage whatever remains of his relevance as he shambles, in his trademark newly-circumcised walk, to the end of his term – assuming he even makes it there.

The blame duck President, who once could do no wrong, has transformed himself into someone who is responsible for nothing that did not go right.

And he has lost all is vaunted power to influence what will happen after he steps down, whether in 2016 or earlier. *** The most compelling argu-

ment to explain Aquino’s surreal speech last Monday was that he had received an advance copy of the Board of inquiry’s report on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano massacre. And that he used the Malacanang prayer session with a group of evangelical leaders to head off the conclusions of the report by presenting his own, bizarre version of the events of that day, while causing the delay in the official report’s release.

There is no other conclusion that can be made. except perhaps that, all things considered, Aquino should stick to his policy of disappearing whenever a crisis occurs because it’s when he opens his mouth that he re-

Aquino’s problem is that he disappears when he should speak and speaks when he should be quiet.

ally gets into trouble.

Aquino had a mouthful to say to his audience of Christian leaders at Malacanang last Monday, during which prayers were said for him that he may

weather the continuing controversy about his handling of the Mamasapano massacre. And it basically revolved around his earlier contention that director Getulio napenas, the dismissed commander of the Special Action force, was solely to blame for the bloody encounter that left 44 commandos dead.

The President stuck to his original position that napenas was responsible for the whole fiasco. And he added the new assertion that the police official repeatedly fooled and deceived him.

Throughout his lengthy speech, Aquino harped on napenas’ culpability. But he never mentioned his own or that of the man who acted, by

W e d n e s d ay: M a R c h 1 1 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION adellechua@gmail.com

adelle chua EDITOR

A9

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

Barreling the BBl through Congress

all accounts, as his go-between in giving orders to the SAF commander – suspended national police chief Alan Purisima, his close associate and good friend.

It was as revisionist as any speech given by Aquino in his nearly five years in office. And it seemed calculated, in Aquino’s strange way, to pre-empt the still-unreleased report of the police Board of Inquiry which has been investigating the incident.

Consider: Why would Aquino unequivocally declare Napenas’ guilt

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even before it has yet to be officially established, especially by the BOI? Why would he absolve himself and not even mention Purisima, even if it has already been established in various Congress hearings that all three of them knew what was happening that fateful Sunday, while almost every other official was kept in the dark?

Did the President really intend to depict himself as someone so easily fooled in order to establish that he did nothing wrong? Did he think that he had eliminated any responsibility by

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declaring that a mere police officer was calling the shots in a top-secret operation to grab a wanted international terrorist and remanding all his direct orders, as well as the “advice” proffered by his good buddy Purisima?

Now that the President himself has pinned the blame on Napenas for the massacre, shouldn’t charges be filed posthaste against the general for willful disobedience to direct orders from his Commander-in-Chief, resulting in the death of so many commandos?

Continued on A11

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All stops have been pulled by the Palace to barrel through Congress the Bangsamoro Basic law. Select congressmen--Aquino allies and presumably those who can be won over-- have been invited to Malacanang purportedly to be briefed on President Aquino’s role in le affaire Mamasapano Aquino, using the same occasion, made overtures to the congressmen and allied senators to do everything possible to pass the BBl with the message that if the BBl is not passed, the prospects of war is the alternative.

This is the same recurring theme MIlF chief negotiator and spokesman Mohagher Iqbal is trying to convey in his appearance at the Senate and other public forum.

The lawmakers invited to the Malacanang meeting know their pork barrel depends on passing the BBl. Yes, the pork barrel still exists under the President’s humongous discretionary funds and because 2016 is a national and local election year, the congressmen’s winning depends on lots of campaign funds.

But from all indications, the BBl still faces rough sailing in both House and the Senate given that public outrage is still running high over the 44 members of the PNP Special Action Force waylaid by MIlF and BIFF rebels in Mamasapano,Maguindanao. But the public’s attention span is as good as the next sensational headline. Congress has given itself a June 30 deadline to pass the BBl in time for Aquino to crow about it in his last State of the Nation Address in July.

But there is a growing number of House members who are not willing to do the Palace bidding without the BBl going through a fine tooth comb.

Among them is Buhay Party list lito Atienza who has raised some valid points against the BBl as originally proposed.

Congress cannot be a party to creating a sub-state within the Republic which is what the BBl, if not revised, will do. Soon, we might see a Bangsamoro breaking away to declare a separate state which will result in the disintegration of the nation,” warns Atienza.

Atienza also said the proposed BBl if and when passed by Congress cannot just be approved in a plebiscite to be held only in the Mindanao region by the intended beneficiaries.

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 Admitting his role

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OPINION adellechua@gmail.com

lAme duck, hidden weAlth

MALACANANG,

By June this year, President to the true to form, is beBenigno Simeon (BS) point littling the entry Cojuangco Aquino III will start of international emil p. being a lame duck. Nobody will human rights lawjurado listen to him nor obey him. He yer Amal Ramzi will continue to strut or quack Clooney, wife of popular Hollywood actor George Clooney, into like a duck, but for all the the case of former President Gloria Macapagal perks and powers of the one of Arroyo. The former president is now on hospital the most powerful presidencies in the world, BS detention despite her debilitating bone ailment for Aquino will be a lame duck. a plunder case filed against her.

A lame duck, per Wikipedia, “is an elected offiA Palace spokesman dismissed Clooney as just cial who is approaching the end of his/her tenure, an Arroyo hireling.

Hireling or not, Clooney’s involvement interna- especially one whose successor has already been tionalizes an act of persecution and violation of elected. The official is often seen as having less inhuman rights. The Aquino administration only fluence with other politicians due to their limited shows its vindictiveness against a political enemy.

Clooney appealed for an investigation of the time left in office.”

Adding to BS Aquino’s woes as a lame duck are criminal proceedings against Arroyo and demanded that appropriate measures be taken against two major failures: one, his failure to reduce povthose responsible for violating Arroyo’s rights. erty during the first four years and a half of his She said this included a public apology from the six-year presidency; and two, the Mamasapano Aquino government and adequate compensation.

Massacre of Jan. 25, 2015, in which at least 44 The former President has been under hospital arrest for more than two years, deprived even of Special Action Force (SAF) commandos were her right to talk to other people with the confis- mercilessly killed by enemy fighters of the Moro cation of her mobile phone. Santa Banana, even Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro her visitation rights are limited. She is also not al- Islamic Freedom Fighters of Maguindanao provlowed to watch television. ince.

Clooney filed last February 26 before the UN According to the state Philippine Statistics Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. This is a body looking at violations of human rights. Authority, poverty incidence was 25 percent of the Clooney also appealed to the Aquino administra- population in 2015. This seems like a slight imtion to free Arroyo on humanitarian consider- provement from 26.3 percent poverty incidence in ations.

2009, a year before BS Aquino became president.

Mrs. Arroyo has also sought treatment abroad; But the population of the Philippines in 2015 is her request was denied.

101.6 million, an increase from 92.2 million in Clooney is reportedly convinced that the former President is a victim of political persecution by 2009.

Now, 26.3 percent of 92.2 million is 24.24 milPresident Aquino.

It will be interesting to find out how this case will lion; 25 percent of 101.6 million is 25.4 million. develop. I hope it will be resolved before Aquino This 25.4 million is 1.16 million higher than the steps down next year.

24.24 million poor in 2009. So instead of decreas*** ing, the number poor Filipinos during Aquino’s I heard President Aquino’s answer, in the form of a soliloquy, to a prepared question on what re- watch actually increased.

Using his campaign slogan, “kung walang corally happened to the Mamasapano, Maguindanao rupt, walang mahirap” (If no one is corrupt, no slaughter of 44 police commandos.

After analyzing the tactical attempt to neutralize one will be poor), Aquino had anchored the sucMalaysian terrorist Marwan and Filipino terrorist cess of his presidency on reducing poverty draBasit Usman (everybody, including Mr. Aquino, matically. Dramatic means at least two million is suddenly an expert on armed conflicts in hindsight), the President blamed sacked PNP-Special Filipinos dropped from the rolls of the poor evAction Force commander Getulio Napenas for ery year. By this time, some ten million Filipinos the slaughter of the “Fallen 44”. According to the should have become non-poor (two million times President, Napenas did not follow the plan to co- five years). Instead, the ten million remained ordinate with the Armed Forces of the Philippines contingent in the area.

What was very revealing was The President at that so-called the President’s failure to menprayer meeting also blamed tion Purisima in his over-an-hour Napenas, who the President monologue. Purisima certainly claimed knew the Mamasapano like he was still police chief, terrain, for the delayed entry into His monologue acted calling both Napenas and the the Moro Islamic Liberation conPNP-SAF intelligence officer to a trolled territory. It rendered the use said it all.

Bahay Pangarap meeting with the of night-vision goggles useless, he President. Poor Napenas, he will said. not only get it in the neck but will Strangely, the President did not even be deprived of his pension mention the participation of his and all over benefits due to him former bodyguard and friend, resigned Police Chief Alan Purisima, who was under when he retires, not counting his administrative suspension at that time. It was Purisima whom the and criminal liabilities. *** President ordered to oversee “Oplan Exodus” from The PNP Board of inquiry, after a three-day deDay One. I don’t know if President Aquino realized what lay, will submit to the President its report tomorhe was saying, but that monologue about the row. For sure, it will be sanitized report after the botched “Oplan Exodus” also revealed his role President and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa as Commander-in-Chief, something he did not have gone over it. The President had already said own up to this date. Santa Banana, for how could he was not responsible for the slaughter of the Purisima and Napenas pursue “Oplan Exodus” by Fallen 44.

We can only recall what happened to Justice their lonesome selves without the President orderSecretary Leila de Lima’s Internal Incident ing them to do it? We were not born yesterday.

poor. And they were joined by at least 1.16 million new poor.

Virtual The Mamasapano Massacre, reality meanwhile, reduced the credtony ibility of BS Aquino as a leader, dramatically. He has been lopez caught lying, and lying dramatically.

Aquino approved, funded, and managed Oplan Exodus – which was to extricate two highvalue terrorist targets from the MILF camp in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province— Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, the alleged bomber in 2002 in Bali, and his Filipino cohort, Abdul Basit Usman, head of the BIFF’s special operations group and a notorious bomber himself.

About 392 SAF commandos were deployed for Exodus, including 38 men of the SAF 84th company which attacked Marwan’s hut in Mamasapano, and 36 men of the SAF 55th company which provided the blocking force. The remaining 318 SAF commandos sat idly by the highway 5 kms south of Marwan’s hut, awaiting orders.

Nine of the SAF 84’s 38 men died; 35 of the SAF 55’s 36 men died, a total of 44. SAF claims to have killed Marwan but did not produce his body.

Usman escaped. The army failed to provide fire cover to the retreating men of SAF 84 and 55 after they were overwhelmed by more than 1,000 enemy fighters. Somebody told the army to stand down. Somebody told the remaining 318 SAF commandos by the highway to stand down. Who is that person? Aquino?

Meanwhile, anyone wishing to become the next president must have formed his or her party and lineup for the May 2016 presidential elections.

The deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy is October this year. Thus, by June this year, a presidential wannabe must recruit his/her vice president, and the candidates for -- 12 senators; 290 district and party-list congressmen; the governors, vice governors and provincial legislative council members of 100 provinces; the mayor, vice mayor and members of legislative councils of 144 cities; and the mayors, vice mayors and members of legislative councils of 1,590 towns in the Philippines. That’s a total of about 19,000 candidates – named and validated in less than seven months.

Next page Committee Report she submitted in 2010, after the Rizal Park hostage tragedy.

When Malacanang came out with the report, it was a real “yellow-wash” with all those close to the President exonerated. This resulted in years of soured relationship with China and Hong Kong.

Mr. Aquino never apologized for it.

The statement of BOI Chairman Benjamin Magalong that they were just waiting for a chance to interview the President was a give-away. My gulay, did Magalong expect the President to accept blame and accountability? He must be dreaming.

The people’s hope is now pinned on Senator Grace Poe’s committee report since the Senate hearings including executive sessions clearly revealed the President’s role in the Mamasapano clash. I had said in an earlier column that the Senate report would be an acid test for Poe. If the Poe committee report will be like what we can expect from the Board of Inquiry, all I can say is that Grace Poe, the senator we all expect to be truthful and independent-minded, has become Next page just another politician.

W e d n e s d ay: M a R c h 1 1 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

adelle chua EDITOR

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AsiA is running out of pilots

By Adam Minter ASIA’S aviation market is booming, but the supply of pilots isn’t nearly keeping pace with the demand for flights. Airlines are already struggling with shortages in staff. Two Japanese carriers recently cut back on flights because they couldn’t find pilots, and the international budget airline JetStar held off on expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific region for the same reason.

Clearly, Asia needs more people who can fly planes. The question is: who should be training them?

So far, airlines and governments in the region haven’t done much to prepare locals for the job. It’s time for aviation companies in the West to lend them a hand.

Last year, Boeing estimated that, between 2014 and 2033, the AsiaPacific region will need 216,000 new pilots. But according to a 2011 study from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nation’s aviation agency, the region is only capable of training 5,000 pilots per year. For anyone who can’t earn a spot in a local flight school (many of which are government-run or affiliated), the only option is to apply to one outside the region.

But foreign schools, especially those in the West, tend to be far too expensive for aspiring pilots from Asia. A 2014 survey by the British Airline Pilots Association found that more than half its members spent between 75,000

to 100,000 pounds ($114,220 to $152,300) on pilot certifications. A typical applicant from Thailand, say, could never afford that sum -- especially given the relatively meager salariesoffered to entry-level pilots by the budget carriers that increasingly dominate the Asian market. (And given their tight profit margins, the budget airlines that dominate Asia are unlikely to raise entrylevel salaries anytime soon.)

One way for Asian airlines to get more people in the cockpit, of course, would be to lower the bar for entering it. Japan did as much when it recently announced it would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 64 to 67.

That’s two years higher than the retirement agerecommended, for safety reasons, by ICAO. The older pilots will be subject to stricter health checks and shorter hours.

But it’s hard to justify taking risks where safety is concerned.

The better solution would be for Asian countries to open more civilian flight schools, ones that people in the region can afford to attend. If local airlines feel they can’t afford to do that, or lack the necessary experience, Western companies like Boeing, Airbus and other plane manufacturers should pick up the slack. They would have a direct interest in doing so -- they’re depending on more Asian flights for their own future profits, after all. (Boeing recently predicted that over the next two decades airlines in

The..From A8 Shouldn’t we stop waiting for the BOI to complete its investigation and immediately act on Aquino’s allegations instead?

These are very important questions that have been raised

by Aquino’s outburst against Napenas. And unlike his usual ranting against his supposed attention-seeking critics (something he delivers every other speech he makes), this is not just Noynoy being Noynoy.

The Mamasapano probe is a matter of life and death for the Aquino administration. And all the President’s attempts

Admitting..From A10

*** If there’s anybody to blame for the confusion caused by the decision of the Arbitration Tribunal created by the Baguio Regional Trial Court to resolve with finality the controversy between the Bases Conversion Development Authority and Robert Sobrepena’s Camp John Hay Development Corp., it’s BCDA’s president Arnel Casanova and BCDA lawyers.

the Asia-Pacific region will buy 13,460 passenger jets.)

Boeing already owns and operates flight training centers in China, Singapore, South Korea and Australia. But Western companies should focus on ways to expand the pool of applicants, while lowering students’ costs.

For example, Western companies could open new training centers in partnership with Asian universities, military academies, and even high schools with aviation and engineering programs. The local institutions could shoulder some of the costs -sparing students additional tuition -- while the companies could offer their expertise in teaching commercial flight.

There are precedents for such partnerships. Last year, Nok Air, a Thai budget carrier, partnered with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, a pre-existing flight training center in Bangkok, and Assumption University (Thailand’s first university with a flight training program), to create a flight-training center. According to Nok Air, the facility will cut its costs of training pilots by 50 percent -- money that can be passed onto students in the form of lower tuition.

Emulating that program won’t be cheap or easy. But Boeing and other Western manufacturers should offer their support. It may be the only way to ensure that somebody is qualified to safely fly all the airplanes they plan on selling to Asian airlines.

Bloomberg

to influence police probers – who cannot be expected, unlike Napenas, to go against his wishes by debunking his version of the “truth” – just leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Aquino just comes off as being in full panic mode, grabbing every opportunity to dissuade the people from believing “truths” that are different from his own. It’s pathetic, really, when a President resorts to blame-tossing to wiggle his way out of a situation that he directly created.

But Aquino’s real problem, I think, is that he disappears when he should speak and speaks when he should actually be quietly awaiting the results of an official investigation.

Aquino is his own worst enemy, missing or speaking.

They have come out with the argument that if the Arbitration Board had ruled that CJHDevco was mandated to leave the Camp,since lease agreement of CJHDevco with BCDA had been rescinded for mutual breaches of contract, all the contracts of locators, unit owners and sub-lessees entered into with CJHDevco are in effect non-existing.

I don’t know what kind of lawyers BCDA has, but any lawyer will tell you that there are such things as

vested rights of locators, unit owners and sub-lessees. They are all in good good faith because they are not participants to the controversy.

My gulay, with that kind of argument, no wonder the development of Camp John Hay is now at risk.

It’s really a pity since Baguio as a tourist destination in the North also at risk with the kind of officials and lawyers BCDA has. In fact, the full development of Camp John Hay is at a standstill.

A11

Barreling...From A9 The referendum must be nationwide since the P75- billion start-up fund will be drawn from the national budget which comes from all of the country’s taxpayers,” said Atienza.

Good point. Residents outside Mindanao who live in Metro Manila and other provinces should certainly be able to vote in a plebiscite for the Bangsamoro that will spend taxpayers money Professor Miriam Coronel Ferrer, the government’s chief peace negotiator, has been quoted as saying that if the lawmakers watered down the BBL as drafted by her panel, Congress might as well reject it. Such a display of hubris doesn’t sit well with many of the Congressmen. It can only generate more head wind in the BBL deliberation.

Atienza flayed Ferrer for what he sees as arrogance that must have been drawn from the power President Aquino had vested her. He said that what Congress wants to do is review the flawed BBL measure and revise the parts that do not conform to the Constitution. He explained that Congress seeks to remove controversial aspects of the BBL to find a compromise acceptable to all parties concern.

The independent minority bloc in the House headed by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez includes Atienza, and Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz. Together with the militant representatives and other well-meaning members of the House they will hold the line to stop Malacanag and its minions from railroading the bill without amendments.

Even Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez , chairman of the ad hoc committee on the proposed Bangsamoro, vowed the BBL bill will not pass without the necessary amendments. But there are other congressmen who could wilt under pressure from the Palace or succumb to enticements.

Atienza, on the other hand, remains steadfast to his principles .A former street parliamentarian and member of the Interim National Assembly during the Marcos years, he abhors anything rammed down on the throat of the people. Also a former three-term mayor of Manila, he is seeking higher office as a senatorial candidate in the opposition United Nationalist Alliance party of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Lame..From A10 To be viable, a candidate for president must raise from P2 billion to P5 billion.

Compounding the problem of finance is that starting Jan. 1, 2016, all peso bills printed before 2010 – 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 denomination – will have to be phased out. So grafters in government and the corrupt and racketeers in the private sector will be forced to produce these billions.

Hidden or stolen money will have to come to the surface. But if it goes into the banking system, the Anti-Money Laundering Council will monitor it up and question its owners. Remember, every time you deposit or withdraw or make a transaction with a bank worth P500,000 and above, the bank’s computer automatically raises a red flag which in turn alerts the computers of the AMLA. No bank manager can do anything to override this system.

So holders of hidden or stolen wealth, bring out your cash now. You have less than ten months to launder your money without attracting suspicion and prosecution.

This huge cash hoard may partly explain why the local stock market index keeps climbing a new record high, with almost daily regularity. biznewsasia@gmail.com

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A12 Saludar can’t fight on March 28

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Hawks score 20 triples to rout Kings, 130-105 ATLANTA—Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll each scored 20 points to pace a balanced scoring attack as Atlanta ripped Sacramento 130-105 Monday for the Hawks’ 50th victory of this NBA season.

PROMOTER Sammy Gello-ani made it clear that he will not allow Froilan “The Sniper” Saludar to fight tough Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico for the Filipino’s World Boxing Organization flyweight title in Merida on March 28 (March 29 in the Philippines).

“No way. It cannot be. I refused the offer because Saludar is not ready for a March 28 fight,” Gello-ani told the New Standard/ Viva Sports.“But if the fight is sometime in May, it is acceptable because I want Saludar to be in good shape.”

The 25-year-old Saludar is recovering from a stunning second-round TKO loss to Puerto Rico’s McWilliams Arroyo on June 19, 2014 in an IBF title eliminator, which was his first setback.

Since then, Saludar has won by a second-round TKO over Juan Purisima and followed it up with a 10-round unanimous decision over Michael Escobia last Feb. 14.

Dr. Rajan Yraola, in whose Quezon City Gym Saludar trained for the Arroyo fight under Jun Agrabio, is reportedly training in Cagayan de Oro, since Agrabio is in the US with Marvin Sonsona and Johnreil Casimero.

‘Visit to Pacman special’ WORLD Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman, who visited WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his Las Vegas Gym last Friday and then dropped by the home of World Boxing Organization champion Manny Pacquiao in Los Angeles on Saturday, said the visit to the Filipino ring icon was “very special to me.”

In a telephone conversation with the New Standard/ Viva Sports from Mexico, Sulaiman said they spent time talking about his esteemed late father and former WBC president Don Jose Sulaiman, during whose time Pacquiao won his first WBC title, a flyweight crown with a spectacular eighth-round knockout of Thailand’s Chatchai Sasakul in December 1998. Pacquiao later won the super featherweight, lightweight and light middleweight titles of the world’s leading pro boxing organization.

Ronnie Nathanielsz

Jeff Teague (right)of the Atlanta Hawks drives against the Sacramento Kings at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Hawks buried the Kings with 20 triples to win, 130-105. AFP

Korver sank six of a team-record 20 3-pointers on 36 attempts that the Hawks made on their way to a 13th consecutive triumph in meetings with the Kings.

Jeff Teague and Al Horford each added 18 points for Atlanta, with Teague also passing out a game-high 13 assists as the Hawks finished with a team total of 42 assists, the most by any club in an NBA game this season.

Paul Millsap added 13 points and Dennis Schroeder added 12 off the bench for the Hawks.

At 50-13 and with 30 wins in 34 home starts, the Hawks stretched the Eastern Conference’s best record to 11 games ahead of second-place Cleveland.

Atlanta led 76-54 at half-time and stretched the lead at times in the second half on the way to a fifth consecutive home triumph in the team’s final appearance before home supporters ahead of a six-game road trip.

Rudy Gay led Sacramento with 23 points while deMarcus Cousins grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Kings, who fell to 21-41.

In Chicago, Memphis star Marc Gasol scored a game-high 23 points and outshone brother Pau in a sibling rivalry matchup of Spanish big men as the Grizzlies beat Chicago 101-91 Monday.

Jeff Green added 19 points for Memphis while Zach Randolph scored 16 and pulled down nine rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 45-18, the third-best record in the NBA. Memphis, two games ahead of Houston atop the Southwest division, closed the game on a 17-3 run and avenged a home loss to the Bulls earlier this season.

Tony Snell scored 21 points to Chicago, 11 of them in a 23-6 run to put the Bulls ahead 88-84 around the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

The Bulls updated the injury status of Derrick Rose, who said he expects to return this season from a right knee injury. AFP

Marikina offers Summer Sports Clinics TO promote an active, healthy way of spending summer vacation, the city government of Marikina offers Summer Sports Clinic to its Marikina residents aged 7 to 16 years old.

The sports clinic provides free tutorial on arnis, basketball, swimming, mixed martial arts, baseball/softball, football/soccer, karatedo, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, badminton at wrestling. Classes are held in the months of April and May at the Marikina Sports Center.

In a statement, Mayor Del De Guzman urged Marikina’s youngsters to take advantage of the opportunity to take up and be proficient in at least one sport.

To sign up, interested individuals must submit the following: photocopy of his/ her parent’s voter’s identification card or Barangay Certificate; photocopy of his/her school identification card; and 1x1 photo.

“Sports teaches not just techniques and strategies, but also important values such as discipline, sportsmanship

and perseverance. These are life skills which will guide your choices and actions as you get older,” he explained.

For Brgy. Concepcion Uno resident Jaime Olivarez, joining in the said sports program is an effective way to make his children become productive.

His three children have been participating in the Summer Sports Camp in the past four years.

“Every year, when the school year is about to end, we would always ask our kids as to which among the sports disciplines

offered (in the summer program) they would like to enroll in. This is a great program for us because the venue of the training is near and the training is offered free of charge,” Olivarez said.

For Eric Derada, chairman of Sports Committee of Twinville Homeowners’ Association in Brgy. Concepcion Uno, staging sports activities can help in curbing the incidence of violence in a community, thus promoting peace and order in a city like Marikina.

“When we started staging

our sports tournament, there was a decrease in such incidents because these teenagers have started to participate in our sports tournaments and made friends with each other,” Derada said.

Meanwhile, interested parties who wish to join Marikina’s Summer Sports Camp may sign up at the Marikina Sports Center from Mondays to Fridays. Trainings are offered on a “first-come, firstserved” basis.

For questions, call telephone numbers (02) 6461635.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Kappel, Tio share kiteboard plums

Training center for the Carnival. Columbian Au-

tocar Corporation, exclusive distributor of Kia Motors vehicles in the Philippines, and Century Properties Group Inc. tie up for Team Kia Carnival’s official training arena at the Azure Urban Resort Residences. Present during the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Azure Gymnasium are (from left) Arch. Bernard Artates, Design Manager, Century Properties Group, Inc.; Jose Marco Antonio, Chief Operating Officer, Century Properties Group, Inc.; Ginia R. Domingo, CAC President and; and Hernando D. Gañac, Jr., CAC Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

Romero bats for creation of PH association for polo EMBOLDENED by the success of the Philippine Polo Open 2015, businessman-sportsman Mikee Romero is now pushing for the creation of the national polo association that will soon pave the way for the professionalism of one of the elite sports in the country.

“With the continued rise of polo in terms of popularity and acceptance, I think it’s high time that we formed a national association so that we can bring the competition to the next level,” said Romero, who bankrolled the staging of the first 12-goal tournament in the country. “We need a national identity.”

Romero said there are group of polo players, but stressed there’s no national association that governs them.

That’s why the owner of the Globalport Batang Pier in the PBA

plans to meet up known polo players and aficionados and persuade them that they create a working committee, who will set the guidelines for the establishment of the association.

Romero noted that interest in the sport have intensified since professional players from Argentina, Australian and England started playing in the country three years ago – not to mention the continued participation of the traditional powers of Asia like China, Thailand and Brunei in the country’s premier tournament.

“We now have a slew of young players eager to play, and I heard that some kids in the South are also interested to take up the sport,” said Romero. “That’s why it is important now that we create a national association to sustain the growth of the sport.”

Before buying a PBA franchise three years ago, Romero was the president of the shooting association. Before that, he also headed the national association of cycling.

“We have so many big-time players, but we need to form a national group to have an identity,” added Romero, Meanwhile, the pros and their guests in the recent PH Polo Open were so delighted with the firstclass hospitality showed by the hosts that they vowed to come back next year.

For one, Los Tamaraos English pro Max Charlton came to

ROMERO

the country with his parents. He eventually emerged as the big star of the week-long event after scoring five goals in the team’s 8-7 win over Tang Polo of China in the one-game final.

SWEDE ace Atte Kappel and Filipina Liezl Tio squeezed out a pair of thrilling victories to chalk up the TwinTip Race titles while Christian Tio and Norway’s Malin Amle restamped their class in Freestyle at the close of the ICTSI Philippine Kiteboarding Tour-Season 2 in Puerto Princes, Palawan recently.

Kappel stepped up his act in the last three of the fiverace event, breaking off a tie with Jay Ortiz after two races en route to clinching the Masters crown he also won in close fashion over the Philippine Kiteboarding Association president in the tour’s third in Camarines Sur last month.

Liezl Tio, on the other hand, leaned on her experience and foiled compatriot Irene Lara from Aklan in the women’s TwinTip race of the event organized by the PKA and sponsored

by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Doque delos Santos, meanwhile, dominated the men’s TwinTip races with five aces, outclassing French Pierre Vogel, Christian Tio, Julius Non and Reynard Gajisan.

Lithuanian Deivis Maciulis placed third in the Master with Carlo Leongson and Eddie Garcia taking the next two spots in the event supported by the City of Puerto Princesa, the Emerald Playa and Nature Park, Microtel by Wyndham, Kuyba Alomoneca Meditation Garden, Printhub Solution, Chez Rose Beach Bar and Restaurant, Katabom Bar, Blue Palawan Resort and Fluidsurf.

Ad Masters golf tourney lures top advertising execs THE country’s top advertising executives and golfing aficionados will once again converge on the fairways this April 27 at the Alabang Country Club to mark the 10th year of the Ad Masters Golf Championship, the only branded fellowship building tournament in the industry.

As in previous years, individual players will vie for the championships in their respective categories. Class/division champions will gun for the Overall Championship, the Morales Perpetual Cup donated by the Ad Foundation founding chairman Louie Morales since 2002.

“We look forward to re-establishing and strengthening ties of friendship and camaraderie over a round of golf or two with our colleagues in the marketing communications field as well as with special “friends” of our institution,” said Linda Gamboa, Ad Foundation Assistant Board Secretary and

Industry top honchos are shown during the 10th Ad Masters’ kick off meeting held recently. In photo are (standing from left) Ed Estrada, Creative Production Committee Head; Louie Kierulf, Admin/Logistics Head; Jimmy Alanis, Tournament Director; Butch Canoy, 10th Ad Masters Overall Chairman; Ricky Alegre, PR, Information and Promotions Head; Daryl Abueva (seated from left) Matec Villanueva, Programs Committee Head; Louie Morales, Ad Masters Core Group Member and Ad Foundation Founding Chairman; and Linda Gamboa, Ad Masters Core Group Member and Ad Foundation Executive Director.

Executive Director.

This year’s edition of the Ad Masters will commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas, as confirmed by Jun Nicdao, who currently heads both the KBP and Ad Foundation as President and Chairman of the Board, respectively.

Presiding over the tourney will be Butch Canoy, as 10th Ad Masters Overall Organizing Chairman.

All previous tournament chairs will be feted for their contributions to the tourney during the awarding ceremony.

For more details, please call the Ad Foundation Secretariat staff, Eilyn Tolentino at 8126231, 8126702, or email at eilyn0203@ yahoo.com, lgamboa.adfound@ gmail.com.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

DavNor 98% ready for Palaro Davao City kicks off 17th HEAD net meet THE 17th HEAD Graphene XT Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit starts this week in the Davao City as hundreds of young participants in the south are expected to compete for Philippine Tennis Association junior ranking points.

“We are very excited as we kick off the tournament’s first leg here in Davao City, together with Globe Telecom, which has sponsored the series of tournaments that will run in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon until June 7. Davao is considered to be a tennis hotbed in Mindanao, where players play with a lot of discipline and passion,” said Liza Tang-Yuquico, Managing Director of Head Philippines.

The Davao leg will run from March 10 to 14 at the Ecoland 1 and 2 Tennis Club.

Players are expected to come from

Isulan, Kidapawan City, Koronodal City, Digos City, Sta. Cruz, Panabo City, Tagum City, M’lang, Mati City, Kabacan, and Davao City, among other provinces in the Davao Region.

The tournament is backed by Globe Telecom and Head Philippines, together with Chris Sports, Head ATP Tennis Balls, Graphene XT, Toalson, Philippine Sports Commission and Philta, along with Sports Radio 918AM, Home Radio 97.9FM Natural, Boracay Informer, Todo 88.5FM Aklan, Radyo Inquirer990AM, Power Wheels Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, Balikbayan The Asian Journal Magazine, Wazzup Pilipinas, Reach Magazine, Oishi, AMAX Inn Makati, and is Organized

by Dynamic Sports Corporation.

TAGUM City—Davao del Norte organizers passed a technical inspection conducted on Monday with flying colors that even if the Palarong Pambansa were to be staged tomorrow, the province would be more than ready.

The Palaro is scheduled May 3 to 9, but everything—from playing venues to billeting areas and local transportation and medical and security concerns—got the thumbs-up sign from inspectors.

“Davao del Norte is 98 percent ready,” said Cesar Abalon,

the Department of Education’s Schools Sports Events and Activities Unit Head.

Monday’s technical conference drew 23 tournament managers from different national sports associations.

“There is something unique in every host. But with Dav-

Nor, it is the playing facilities, the billeting [both very good preparation] and the warmth of the people of Davao del Norte and the all-out support of the Governor [Rodolfo del Rosario] with his drive to make this the best Palaro ever,” Abalon added.

Representatives from DepEd (10 from the main office and five regional heads), national sports associations (23 tournament managers) and the country’s 17 regions (34 representatives) attended Monday’s technical conference along with Davao del Norte organizers led by del Rosario.

Reiss is referee of Nietes match

For fast ad results, please call

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Advertising Department

521-8507 (DL); 521-8340 (Fax); 521-4887 loc. 303

(TNS-MAR. 9/10/11/12/13, 2015)

Net champs. Ozamis City bet Nash Agustines (left), who topped the 10-unisex

and boys’ 12-Under classes, poses with fellow twin title winners Tracy Llamas (girls’ 14- and 18-U) of La Carlota and Cebu’s Jan Godfrey Seno (boys’ 18- and 16-U) after sharing top honors in the Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group presented by Technifibre-Mactan leg in LapuLapu City, Cebu recently.

Republic of the Philippines

Republic of the Philippines

MUNICIPALITY OF CABUGAO

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Ilocos Sur

Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004

NEGOTIATED PROCUREMENT – TWO FAILED COMPETITIVE PUBLIC BIDDINGS

Office of the Bids & Awards Committee

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION

Privatization of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Program of Municipality Of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur

In view of the two (2) failed biddings for the negotiated procurement of Supply, Delivery and Installation of Test and Development Environment for the Asset Information Management Program (AIMP) , the DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE (DOF) through its Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) invites Phil-GEPS registered suppliers, to apply for eligibility and to participate in the negotiation for the Procurement of Supply, Delivery and Installation of Test and Development Environment for the Asset Information Management Program (AIMP) in accordance with Section 53.1 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (R-IRR) of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

The Approved Budget for the Contract is Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000.00).

Invitation to Bid for the

1.

The Local Government Unit of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, through the 20% Development Fund CY- 2014 intends to apply the sum of TWO MILLION, THREE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (Php. 2,350,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of the projects to payments under the contract for Contract No. 15-03-004. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The Local Government Unit of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur now invites bids for the Privatization of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Program. Duration of the project is required for 365 calendar Days. Bidders should have completed at least 50% of the approved budget which is similar to the project to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

3.

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

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Local Government Unit of Cabugao and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on March 10 - 30, 2015 until 10:00 a.m from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos Only (Php. 5,000.00).

The schedule of bidding activities are as follows: ACTIVITIES

SCHEDULE

Posting of Request for Quotation

March 11, 2015

Issuance and Availability of Request for Quotation

Starting March 11, 2015

Preliminary Conference

March 18, 2015, 10:00 a.m.

Issuance of Amendments / Clarifications

March 23, 2015

Submission of Eligibility, Technical Components and Financial Documents

March 30, 2015, 11:00 a.m.

The complete set of Request for Quotation may be purchased at the th BAC Secretariat c/o General Services Division, 7 Floor EDPC Building, Roxas Blvd., P. Ocampo St., Malate, Manila upon payment of a nonrefundable fee of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP5,000.00). Suppliers who have been declared “eligible” during the first two-failed biddings need not pay for the tender documents.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before March 30, 2015 until 10:00 a.m. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

7.

Bid opening shall be on March 30, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. at Conference Hall, Mun. Hall, Cabugao Ilocos Sur. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The suppliers shall drop their duly accomplished quotation proposals inth sealed envelopes in the box located at the General Services Division, 7 Floor, EDPC Building, Roxas Blvd. cor. P. Ocampo St., Malate Manila.

Interested suppliers may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat at telephone number 526-84-75 during office hours.

DOF reserves the right to waive any formality in the responses to the eligibility requirements and to this invitation. DOF further reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or declare a failure of quotation or not award the contract, and makes no assurance that the 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 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations.

(SGD.) GIL S. BELTRAN Undersecretary and SBAC Chairman (TNS-Mar. 10, 2015)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows: Issuance of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Opening of Bids Bid Evaluation Post Qualification Issuance of Notice of Award Contract Preparation & Signing of Contract Notice to Proceed

March 10 - 16, 2015 until 10:00 a.m March 17, 2015 @ Conference Room March 30, 2015 @ 02:00 p.m @ Mun. Hall, Cabugao, Ilocos Sur March 31, 2015 April 6, 2015 April 7, 2015 April 8, 2015 April 10, 2015

8.

The Local Government Unit of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur 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.

9.

For further information, please refer to:

SGD. ENGR. HERMES A. ASIT LGU- BAC- Secretariat Tel No. 077-728-5128, Fax No. 077-728-5565

SGD. CRESCENCIO MARCOS C. FORMOSO BAC- Chairman (TNS-MAR. 10, 2015)

WELL-KNOWN American referee Jack Reiss has been appointed by World Boxing Organization president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel as the third man in the ring for the World Boxing Organization light flyweight title defense of Donnie “Ahas” Nietes against Mexico’s Gilberto Parra on March 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Reiss was a referee in the Nietes-Carlos Velarde title fight on “Pinoy Pride 28” last Nov. 15 at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City.

Originally from New York, Reiss moved to Los Angeles when he was 23 and became an accredited referee in 1998.

The widely respected Reiss, who lives is Oxnard, California also served as referee when former flyweight champion Brian Viloria faced Armando Vasquez in Glendale, California on Dec. 6 last year.

Appointed as judges for the Nietes-Parra fight were Takeo Harada, William “Bill” Lerch of Chicago and popular boxing judge Max De Luca, son of Dr. Mike De Luca, who was an amateur boxer in college and a ringside physician for more than 30 years.

Max De Luca was named Judge of the Year by the World Boxing Council in 2010 and worked for three seasons in the “Contender” series. He also portrayed referee Harry Kessler in the Muhammad Ali-Ernie Terrel fight in the Ali movie.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Sanctions in Money Talks’ incident JENNY ORTUOSTE

THE HOARSE WHISPERER STEWARDS, who made a controversial decision in a Feb. 22 race at the San Lazaro Leisure Park are likely to face heavy fines or other stiff sanctions to be imposed by the Philippine Racing Commission.

Philracom Board members will be meeting today in caucus to decide on the exact nature of the penalties to be borne by the Manila Jockey Club Board of Stewards for their decision to relegate Money Talks, the horse that reached the wire first, to second place behind Juachenzo’s Run. The decision was assailed by many racing fans and industry insiders who believe the MJC BoS interpretation of the race was in error.

The Commission’s resolution on the matter, containing their findings on the incident, is expected to be released soon, if not later today.

Another resolution that will be passed today is one that gives an additional prize of P5,000 to the winning horseowners of all classdivision races.

According to Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez, “This is an immediate solution to the concern of horseowners whose prizes have shrunk due to challenging conditions in the sport, rendering them barely able to maintain their racing operations that create jobs, raise taxes for the government, and provide other economic benefits.

“We are also exploring proactive, medium-term measures to increase sales and grow prizes for the benefit of all industry stakeholders.” ***** Gentle Strength, a filly owned

by Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos, won the Mar. 6 trial for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office 3YO Open at the Philippine Racing Club’s Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.

Jockey Jonathan Hernandez guided Gentle Strength in a relaxed 1:47.6 (27-25’-26’-28’) for the mile to reach the finish line five lengths ahead of Incredible Hook (1:48.4).

Behind them arrived, in order: Erik the Viking, Stargazer, Prince Jed, Air Supply, Sigma’s Treasure, Make Him Known, Dominatore, Legionnaire, and Winning Move last.

The actual race will be held Mar. 21 at Santa Ana Park.

The full lineup of declared entries, with the names of owners and riders and other information, was carried in my previous column (please check out the Sports archives at manilastandardtoday. com), though withdrawals and scratches might still be made. ***** Congratulations to Emmanuel Santos, owner of Kid Molave, chosen the Philippine Sportswriters Association Horse of the Year last Feb. 16 on PSA Night.

Named PSA’s jockey of the year was Jonathan Hernandez, who last year booted many stakes winners such as Hagdang Bato. ***** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Blog: http://jennyo.net

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Cheers! Members of the Arellano University team celebrate after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association Cheerleading Competition at the Mall of Asian Arena. SONNY ESPIRITU

La Salle relishes underdog billing

By Peter Atencio

THE La Salle Lady Green Spikers will be the underdogs in their championship showdown with the defending champion Ateneo Lady Eagles at the start of the 77th University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s volleyball finals today at the Araneta Coliseum.

Without injured open spiker Ara Galang, the Green Spikers are scrambling to find a fitting replacement, who will be able to fill in her shoes when Game 1 commences at 3:30 p.m.

Galang twisted her knee after delivering a point-scoring spike and finished with 25 hits to carry the Lady Green Spikers to a 26-24, 2125, 25-18, 25-21 triumph in their do-or-die semis encounter with the NU Lady Bulldogs last Saturday.

Eventually, doctors at the Makati

Medical Center found out that La Salle’s ace hitter sustained an ACL tear, to go with MCL and bone bruises.

Because of this, she will be out of commission for at least eight months and is expected to be back in time for the next season, according to La Salle’s Office of Sports Development Director Nong Calanog.

“This will be an exciting series.

But, because of what happened to our no. 1 player, the team is in a quandary as to who will replace her. But, definitely, this will not

Guardini...

From A16

After a breakaway of six riders highlighted the day, with Malaysia’s Loh Sea Keong, brothers Adiq Husainie Othman of TSG and Afiq Huznie Othman of NSC, Hengxiang’s Liu Jianpeng, Synergy Baku’s Elchin Asadov and Pegasus’ Rastra Patria having a go at victory, it was Guardini who rose above the rest to confirm his early season winning form was no fluke with what was also his third stage win of the year.

After the breakaway swept all intermediate points on offer after the first intermediate sprint of the day at kilometeR 14 in Pokok Sena, the peloton moved to reel them back with 20km to go and though Sea Keong and Asadov made a last ditch attempt at a duet to the finish, but were swept up by a surging peloton with 6km to go.

keep the team from playing well.

Hopefully, coach Ramil de Jesus will find somebody,” said Calanog during yesterday’s weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Shakey’s Restaurant in Malate, Manila.

The Lady Green Spikers went deep into training yesterday morning, with Galang’s substitutes, Christine Joy Soyud and Desiree Cheng expected to pick up the slack.

This will be the fifth time that La Salle has gone into the finals after winning a three-peat from 2011 to 2013, before bowing to Ateneo last year.

And that makes them a very dangerous team, according to Ateneo team manager Tonyboy Liao.

“This will not be the first time for us to face La Salle in the finals.

La Salle is very tough team, having won a three-peat twice already.

Luckily for us, we won last year.

Sana suwertihin ulit,” said Liao.

In the final sprint Guardini made the first move as Ewan tagged along but the Australian was no match for the Italian again, with Southeast’s Jakub Mareczko taking third spot, sloghtly ahead of TSG’s Harrif Saleh.

“I think Ewan is strong but maybe in this first two stages it didn’t suit him. Tomorrow is a tough stage with a climb in the earlier part and he has a strong team to bring him up and go for the finish, so maybe tomorrow will be a good day for him,” said Guardini.

“Our team had to work hard to catch the breakaway today and we were only helped by the other teams in the final 20km, but then we had a good sprinter. This time I had to make the move on my own and went to the front first, but I had good form and managed to stay ahead.”

Guardini remains in the yellow jersey and blue jersey as leader of the overall and points classification respectively, while United Healthcare’s Kiel Reijnen remained in the lead of the mountains classification.

PH memory bets joining Singapore tilt

By Randy Caluag THE newly created Pinoy Memory Athletes Association, headed by the father of Philippine Memory sport Robert Racasa, is sending new faces to the Singapore Open Memory Championship slated March 14 to 16 at the Singapore Polytechnic Graduates Guild.

Backed up by Hotel Sogo and Marikina Mayor Del Duzman and the City Council, the Philippine memory team will be composed of head delegate Mari Ann Andrade Yambalia, competitors Richard Sarcos, Joel Micus Lolong, Dorothy Elenzano, Philip Benitez and Nico Angelo Esperanza.

Acting as head coach is Racasa, who personally handled the training of the athletes, who are out to show their wares in the Singapore tourney that gathered the best memory athletes in the world.

“This is their chance to show what they have learned from our intensive training. We are thankful to Sogo Hotel’s continued support,” said Racasa, co-founder of the Pinoy Memory Athletes Association.

Hotel Sogo provided the team’s registration fee, plane tickets and hotel accommodation for the competition.

Racasa said this year’s edition will be tougher with the presence of some of the top players in the world, including world no. 2 Simon Reinhard from Germany and Asia’s top memory athletes from Mongolia, China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and India.

The annual tournament, which brings out the greatest minds in the world, is sanctioned by the World Memory Sports Council. It covers competition with 10 separate memory disciplines, where competitors will demonstrate their ability to memorize numbers, words, dates, abstract images, cards, spoken numbers and names and faces.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK W E D N E S D AY : M A R C H 1 1 , 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

Guardini makes it 2 in a row SUNGAI PETANI—Astana’s Andrea Guardini registered an emphatic second straight win in a bunch sprint to take Stage 2 of Le Tour de Langkawi 2015 from Alor Star to Sungai Petani today after the Italian edged Orica GrenEdge’s Caleb Ewan to the win again.

The victory meant Guardini, 27, increased his record number of victories in LTdL to 16 as he mounts yet another multiple assault on stage wins in the race that has become synonymous with his name.

Continued on A15

Italian rider Andrea Guardini of Astana Pro Team flashes the no. 2 sign after a back-to-back stage win in Sungai Petani. RAMON BOADO

Rosales favored as golfest starts TWO-TIME LPGA Tour winner Jennifer Rosales skipped yesterday’s proam but didn’t avoid being tagged as the player to beat in the 70-player field slugging it out in the rich ICTSI Ladies Open beginning today at Southlinks Golf Club in Las Piñas.

Rosales, in her first competitive tournament here in nearly two decades, opted to rest yesterday after testing the par72 layout Monday then declared she’s ready for the $75,000 event, starting with her 8 a.m. flight with Thailand’s Amolkan Phalajivin and Taiwanese Chen Szu-Han on No. 1.

“I’m ready and I hope to have a good start although the course looks daunting and the field appears to be talent-laden. So

it’s going to be tough out there,” said Rosales, whose mere presence is expected to further boost the country’s first-ever ladies pro tour sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. In fact, the 54-hole tournament, the kickoff leg of this year’s ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, serves as the fourth stage of the 20leg Taiwan LPGA circuit, thus drawing a slew of foreign players from Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Japan and the US. “It’s good that we have plenty of them (foreign players). That should motivate the Filipina players to play more intense and they should be on their toes always,” added Rosales.

Gin Kings test Warriors’ mettle

By Jeric Lopez

REFRESHED from the All-Star break, teams are now looking to push as hard as they can to get better positioning in the homestretch of the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup. Barangay Ginebra (4-3) and NLEX (3-4), both carrying two-game winning streaks, see who between them gets to continue its ascent in the standings when they go at it at 7 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Earlier, two struggling teams near the bottom fight for survival as Alaska (2-5)

Hawks bludgeon Kings, 130-105 TURN TO A12

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

and Blackwater (2-6) clash at 4:15 p.m.

Slowly getting their bearings, the Gin Kings now find themselves in solo fifth place and can gain a fourth-place tie with Purefoods should they win against the Road Warriors.

A victory will also boost Ginebra’s bid for a quarterfinals berth and keep it con-

tending for a Top 2 finish.

Ginebra coach Ato Agustin hopes that his squad can ride the momentum from its recent victories. ‘’May momentum kami ngayon. Sana madale namin kasi kailangan pa namin manalo ng manalo,’’ said Agustin, whose Gin Kings last walloped Blackwater, 8982, less than two weeks ago.

The same can be said of Coach Boyet Fernandez’s Road Warriors, who suddenly have life now after a tumultuous start near the bottom of the heap.

NLEX, which got a morale-boosting win over erstwhile top-ranked Meralco, 89-76, in its last outing, is

now closing in on a Top 8 spot as it is currently in ninth place and is very much in the race for a quarterfinals berth. ‘’We’re playing with confidence now and we’re starting to believe that we belong and that we have a chance at beating any team. I hope we can keep this up for more wins to make the quarterfinals,’’ said Fernandez, whose Road Warriors can actually tie up Ginebra, Barako Bull and GlobalPort for fifth with a win.

Games Today

(Ynares Center, Antipolo City) 4:15 p.m. • Alaska vs. Blackwater 7 p.m. • Barangay Ginebra vs. NLEX

LOTTO RESULTS La Salle relishes 6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 underdog 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 billing 6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0 TURN TO A15 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

B1

WEDNESDAY: MARCH 11, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

PSe comPoSite index Closing March 10, 2015

8000 7500 6840 7500 6180

7000

5520

6500

4860

6000 4200 3860 5500

7828.48 8.19

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing MARCH 10, 2015 45

P44.270

44

CLOSE

43 42 41

HIGH P44.225 LOW P44.300 AVERAGE P44.263 VOLUME 634.300M

P508.00-P728.00 LPG/11-kg tank P37.95-P43.30 Unleaded Gasoline P27.50-P30.80 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P36.75-P43.42 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG

BIMP-EAGA plan. Trade Undersecretary Prudencio Reyes Jr. (seated, second from right) along with Mindanao Development Authority director Romeo Montenegro enjoined clusters and working groups of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia–Philippines East Asean Growth Area on Feb. 16, 2015 at Royale Chulan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to facilitate projects and deliverables for the blue print 2015-2016. Also shown are (seated, from left) delegates Susanna Chew of the BIMP-Facilitation Center and senior officials Hjh Tutiaty Wahab of Brunei Darussalam, lr. Rizal Affandi Lukman of Indonesia, Dato Azman Nik Abdul Majid of Malaysia and Alfredo Perdiguero of Asian Development Bank.

John Hay locators told to seek refunds

By Othel V. Campos

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, March 10, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

44.2500

Japan

Yen

0.008255

0.3653

UK

Pound

1.512700

66.9370

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128911

5.7043

Switzerland

Franc

1.013993

44.8692

Canada

Dollar

0.793714

35.1218

Singapore

Dollar

0.724795

32.0722

Australia

Dollar

0.773575

34.2307

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652520

117.3740

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

11.7994

Brunei

Dollar

0.722178

31.9564

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000077

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.030731

1.3598

UAE

Dirham

0.272257

12.0474

Euro

Euro

1.085400

48.0290

Korea

Won

0.000900

0.0398

China

Yuan

0.159632

7.0637

India

Rupee

0.016013

0.7086

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.273898

12.1200

New Zealand

Dollar

0.737681

32.6424

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031652

1.4006 Source: PDS Bridge

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority urged right buyers and sub-lessees of Camp John Hay in Baguio City Tuesday to ask for refunds from Camp John Hay Development Corp., saying the company was avoiding its liability in lease contracts.

BCDA president and chief Arnel Paciano Casanova advised locators and sub-lessees in Camp John Hay to seek legal counsel to ensure their rights and interests would be protected.

“The last thing we want to happen is for their contracts to

be a worthless piece of paper like what happened with the College Assurance Plan,” Casanova said, referring to the pre-need educational insurance company of businessman Robert John Sobrepeña.

CJHDevCo is owned and

managed by Fil-Estate Corp. headed by Sobrepeña, who also controlled and managed CAP and Metro Rail Transit Development Corp.

CAP defaulted on its obligations to plan holders, Casanova said all buyers, sublocators, hotel unit owners and sub-lessees should not believe they were not affected by the recent decision of Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. PDRCI ordered BCDA to return to CJHDevCo P1.42 billion, which CJHDevCo paid to the agency as lease payments.

“Simply put, CJHDevCo will be refunded the entire amount it paid to the BCDA, but there seems

to be no action on the side of CJHDevCo to refund the buyers and sub-lessees,” Casanova said.

PRDCI also ordered CJHDevCo “to vacate the leased premises and promptly deliver the leased property, inclusive of all new constructions and permanent improvements introduced during the term of the lease as reckoned from the execution of the original lease agreement to [BCDA] in good and tenantable condition in all respects, reasonable wear and tear excepted.”

Casanova urged the buyers, sub-locators, hotel unit owners and sub-lessees to run after CJHDevCo.

Maynilad asks govt to pay P3.44b as sovereign compensation

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales WEST zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Tuesday asked the government to pay P3.44 billion as sovereign compensation for revenue losses it incurred from Jan. 1, 2013 to Feb. 28 this year, after state-run Metropolitan Waterworks & Sewerage System refused to honor an arbitral decision ordering rate

B3

Ayala’s income rises 46% to P18.6b

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

adjustments.

Maynilad in a second letter sent to the Finance Department said the amount would accumulate as long as MWSS administrator Gerardo Esquivel, Regulatory Office head Joel Yu and MWSS trustee Emmanuel Caparas continued to “violate their plain legal duty” to implement a final and executory ruling.

Maynilad won an arbitration case in

B4

December at the International Chamber of Commerce, allowing tariff adjustments.

State regulator MWSS deferred the ruling on new water rates, pending a decision on a similar case involving east zone concessionaire Manila Water Co. Maynilad accused the three officials of trying to “cover up their serious mistakes and gross mismanagement” when MWSS reinterpreted its contract with Maynilad,

Investments hit record $6.2b

triggering the arbitration where it lost to Maynilad.

“We do not need to stress that Messrs. Esquivel, Yu and Caparas have thoughtlessly created this unnecessary, massive government liability which they could and should have easily avoided, by respecting a valid contract, and now by complying with a lawful ruling,” Maynilad said.

B5

Puregold’s net profit up by 18% to P4.5b

WEDNESDAY: MARCH 11, 2015

B2

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

MST BuSineSS Daily STockS Review Tuesday, March 10, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

2.7 75.3 99.4 105.2 63 2.3 4.2 19.6 31.6 22.5 2.95 890 1.01 92.9 30.5 75 99 140 392 59 146.8 130 2.8

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. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Union Bank Vantage Equities

4.42 70 114.00 100.00 47.5 2.32 2.50 16.08 25.7 7.96 1.67 730.00 0.550 94.5 18.60 32.00 84.00 95.40 356.4 47 167.5 69.85 3.09

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Bogo Medelin Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Federal Res. Inv. Group First Gen Corp.

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

Lafarge Rep Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor 4.88 RFM Corporation 2.28 Roxas Holdings 210 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 4.1 SPC Power Corp.

1.7 Splash Corporation 0.102 Swift Foods, Inc. 1.6 TKC Steel Corp.

1.37 Trans-Asia Oil 111.3 Universal Robina 1.58 Victorias Milling 0.550 Vitarich Corp.

1.33 Vulcan Ind’l.

45.8 1.7 1.09 2.05 8.3 50.1 18.88 21 58 1.83 12.8 20.500 11.18 8.86 10.56 18 30.8 106.2 0.4750 14.86 6.81 0.640 219.80 10.12 35.00 2.7 52.95 26.5 29.05 8.100 274.40 4.62 10.54 4.5 11.40 3.97 2.91 5.99 6.47 207 4.5 1.79 0.193 1.54 2.30 217 4.5 0.74 1.55

0.7 61.6 31.85 7.39 2.7 3.29 2.05 747 11.34 84 5.34 0.23 1060 59.8 8.9 6.55 0.9 19.9 0.75 5.4 5.35 9.66 0.0550 0.84 88 866 2.2 1.39 156 0.285 0.245 0.510

0.46 45.75 21.95 6.3 1.550 1.8 1.04 508 7.470 47.25 4 0.144 706 36.7 4.96 3.95 0.58 12.96 0.580 4.06 4.5 3 0.027 0.355 54.5 680 1.04 0.85 58.05 0.158 0.150 0.295

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.475 59.00 24.00 7.12 1.65 2.75 2.71 732 9.27 15.68 4.82 0.395 1292 67.10 4.03 9.13 0.7 16.1 0.63 4.81 5.25 3 0.0420 0.720 74.20 911.00 1.21 0.97 106.00 0.5800 0.2600 0.325

9.03 1.99 2.07 0.375 35.3 6.15

5.51 0.99 1 0.185 23.7 4.41

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

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’

10.360 1.05 1.300 0.260 38.25 4.41

42.6 6.1 1.66 2.3 17.98 113 17.2 15.8 56.8 4.57 39.5 14 12.98 8.15 12.34 17 27.1 90.5 0.014 15.74 9.4 0.98 199.8 10.98 79 5.2 45.45 30 90 14.7 317 5.37 14.48 7.5 14.5 7.03 6.68 8.1 275 5.5 2.25 0.191 2.5 2.68 188.6 5.5 1.3 2.17

1.55 63.5 67.5 82.5 50 1.9 1.1 14.5 23.2 6.84 1.75 625 0.175 69.35 20.45 58 76 119 276 41.5 105.1 116 2.25

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 6.49 4.83 70.4 69.4 115.90 114.10 101.00 100.30 47.5 47 2.28 2.22 2.57 2.50 17 16.52 25.7 25.4 8.14 7.95 1.79 1.78 730.00 730.00 0.530 0.510 94.5 93.75 18.60 18.40 33.00 31.70 83.70 83.50 95.40 95.30 353 358 46.5 46.25 172 169.1 70.00 69.30 3.1 3.1 INDUSTRIAL 47 45.4 1.78 1.71 1.11 1.08 2.07 2.05 8.39 8.2 50.2 50.2 18.98 18.72 22 21 57.7 57.4 1.88 1.77 12.8 12.7 20.950 20.2 11.18 11.12 8.91 8.61 10.48 10.30 18.38 17.8 30.9 30.4 109 105.8 0.5000 0.4750 15.08 15.00 6.83 6.7 0.620 0.620 217.20 215.00 10.16 10.02 38.10 35.00 2.6 2.6 52.50 51.00 26.25 25.2 28.95 28.5 8.100 8.050 277.00 274.80 4.57 4.5 10.54 10.48 6.4 5.3 11.60 11.40 4.02 3.95 2.91 2.89 5.95 5.91 6.49 6.47 208 207 4.5 4.49 1.77 1.76 0.200 0.185 1.60 1.50 2.31 2.26 217 214 4.68 4.5 0.75 0.73 1.57 1.55 HOLDING FIRMS 0.480 0.470 59.00 58.00 24.70 24.30 7.14 7.10 1.66 1.60 2.74 2.67 2.71 2.6 743 730.5 9.6 9.31 15.76 15.38 4.90 4.65 0.400 0.390 1285 1264 66.55 65.95 4.8 4.71 9.25 9.1 0.72 0.69 16.2 16 0.63 0.59 4.95 4.75 5.25 5.15 3.5 3.38 0.0420 0.0420 0.720 0.720 74.80 74.25 915.00 900.00 1.24 1.21 0.95 0.95 106.00 105.00 0.6200 0.5600 0.2700 0.2500 0.325 0.320 PROPERTY 10.500 10.340 1.06 1.03 1.310 1.290 0.295 0.275 37.70 37.40 4.45 4.4

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

6.09 70.1 114.20 100.90 47 2.28 2.50 16.7 25.5 8.09 1.79 730.00 0.520 94.1 18.50 31.70 83.50 95.30 358 46.25 170.8 70.00 3.1

37.78 0.14 0.18 0.90 -1.05 -1.72 0.00 3.86 -0.78 1.63 7.19 0.00 -5.45 -0.42 -0.54 -0.94 -0.60 -0.10 0.45 -1.60 1.97 0.21 0.32

1,172,000 36,560 6,165,690 4,048,290 42,800 12,000 204,000 115,900 1,283,600 269,357 11,000 10 1,077,000 10,446,080 133,100 4,600 17,920 4,710 48,470 223,900 790,370 18,480 40,000

912,270.00 1,109,408.00 74,351,123.00 22,135,150.00 759,750.00

45.4 1.75 1.1 2.07 8.3 50.2 18.8 22 57.5 1.77 12.7 20.750 11.16 8.70 10.34 18 30.55 106 0.5000 15.00 6.71 0.620 217.00 10.16 38.10 2.6 52.50 25.55 28.85 8.090 275.00 4.57 10.50 5.5 11.60 4.00 2.89 5.91 6.47 207 4.49 1.76 0.191 1.56 2.29 215 4.5 0.73 1.55

-0.87 2.94 0.92 0.98 0.00 0.20 -0.42 4.76 -0.86 -3.28 -0.78 1.22 -0.18 -1.81 -2.08 0.00 -0.81 -0.19 5.26 0.94 -1.47 -3.13 -1.27 0.40 8.86 -3.70 -0.85 -3.58 -0.69 -0.12 0.22 -1.08 -0.38 22.22 1.75 0.76 -0.69 -1.34 0.00 0.00 -0.22 -1.68 -1.04 1.30 -0.43 -0.92 0.00 -1.35 0.00

2,762,600 84,000 489,000 3,064,000 4,900 40 175,600 666,000 79,190 456,000 566,200 7,627,400 3,372,600 15,674,000 278,800 132,000 1,664,700 1,116,610 540,000 34,000 508,100 3,000 45,563,368 972,200 7,000 11,000 2,040 4,295,700 549,000 33,400 234,160 431,000 1,798,400 258,000 110,400 654,000 925,000 897,400 6,100 230 53,000 236,000 3,934,580 1,660,000 1,029,000 2,179,820 28,000 483,000 75,000

46,571,790.00 47,880.00 -114,360.00

0.470 58.60 24.70 7.14 1.60 2.74 2.71 741 9.33 15.38 4.65 0.410 1271 65.95 4.71 9.15 0.69 16 0.61 4.93 5.25 3.49 0.0420 0.720 74.45 914.00 1.24 0.95 105.50 0.6000 0.2550 0.320

-1.05 -0.68 2.92 0.28 -3.03 -0.36 0.00 1.23 0.65 -1.91 -3.53 3.80 -1.63 -1.71 16.87 0.22 -1.43 -0.62 -3.17 2.49 0.00 16.33 0.00 0.00 0.34 0.33 2.48 -2.06 -0.47 3.45 -1.92 -1.54

210,000 683,300 16,115,000 197,400 9,000 394,000 13,000 557,030 3,966,000 12,118,500 135,000 3,680,000 79,280 2,199,980 20,100 4,972,800 2,974,000 821,300 4,712,000 67,341,000 164,200 8,000 1,500,000 240,000 88,750 177,710 96,000 10,000 27,750 28,575,440 2,670,000 910,000

10.400 1.05 1.290 0.275 37.55 4.42

0.39 0.00 -0.77 5.77 -1.83 0.23

3,340,700 151,000 491,000 5,540,000 5,372,700

506,620.00 452,105.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

6.1 2 2.51 1.5 0.201 0.98 1.09 0.370 2.25 1.77 1.6 5.3 0.180 0.470 4.45 24.8 2.06 3.6 19.62 1.02 6.66 1.96 6.5

5 1.22 1.21 0.97 0.068 0.47 0.87 0.175 1.22 1.18 1.19 3.12 0.070 0.325 2.5 18.72 1.45 2.9 14.1 0.58 3.05 0.87 4.37

3.25 43.7 1.09 12.46 14 0.1640 4.05 71 12.3 9 2008 9.04 2.02 118.9 0.017 0.0653 2.2800 6.99 9.67 2.85 2.2 4.32 1.97 2.45 14.46 0.62 1.040 22.8 6.6 107 11.3 3486 0.710 2.01 48.5 74

1.55 27 0.59 10 8.28 0.0960 2.97 44.8 10.14 4 1580 7.12 1.2 94.4 0.012 0.026 1.560 1.95 5.82 1.15 1.1 1.9 0.485 1.42 10.14 0.35 0.36 14.54 5.2 81 4.39 2572 0.250 0.26 32.2 48

Close

Cebu Holdings Century Property 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 MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

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

High

Low

Close

5.07 0.94 1.28 1.00 0.160 0.475 0.900 0.216 1.65 1.75 1.43 5.45 0.132 0.3650 7.65 28.65 1.77 3.20 19.90 0.96 7.28 1.060 7.490

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

5.07 5.07 5.07 0.95 0.92 0.92 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.01 1.00 1.00 0.162 0.156 0.161 0.485 0.470 0.475 0.900 0.900 0.900 0.215 0.215 0.215 1.63 1.60 1.63 1.80 1.75 1.79 1.52 1.47 1.50 5.65 5.5 5.52 0.131 0.125 0.125 0.3600 0.3600 0.3600 7.39 7.25 7.25 28.60 27.70 27.95 1.79 1.76 1.78 3.21 3.17 3.21 19.86 19.66 19.70 1.02 0.95 0.98 7.28 7.28 7.28 1.070 1.020 1.060 7.620 7.450 7.500 SERVICES 8.35 10.5 9.65 10.32 64.45 64.5 63.5 64.5 0.700 0.690 0.690 0.690 12.84 12.8 12.7 12.8 11.04 10.86 10.62 10.70 0.1130 0.1120 0.1100 0.1110 4.34 4.24 4.09 4.09 89.3 89.55 88.55 88.7 10.84 10.88 10.86 10.88 6.39 6.50 6.45 6.50 1940 1950 1930 1939 6.46 6.85 6.46 6.85 1.63 1.66 1.62 1.62 112.4 113.3 112.1 113 0.014 0.015 0.014 0.015 0.300 0.315 0.300 0.310 1.3500 1.3500 1.3300 1.3500 2.8 2.76 2.76 2.76 9.35 9.42 9.19 9.19 1.96 2.00 1.95 2.00 1.69 1.76 1.56 1.68 2.27 2.28 2.20 2.26 0.700 0.710 0.700 0.700 2 2 2 2 10.4 10.74 10.56 10.7 0.375 0.380 0.365 0.375 0.520 0.520 0.510 0.510 18.26 18.02 18 18 4.60 4.55 4.45 4.45 98.50 100.50 98.00 100.50 13.88 13.86 13.80 13.84 3100.00 3100.00 3080.00 3092.00 0.600 0.590 0.590 0.590 1.670 1.680 1.640 1.640 40.80 42.00 41.10 42.00 84.20 87.50 85.50 86.15 10.86 10.98 10.60 10.84 0.71 0.74 0.72 0.73 2.05 1.97 1.94 1.94 7.49 7.63 7.34 7.57 0.370 0.385 0.370 0.380 1.390 1.400 1.300 1.400 MINING & OIL 0.0061 0.0064 0.0060 0.0061 2.90 2.89 2.89 2.89 9.94 9.78 9.72 9.73 0.265 0.265 0.265 0.265 1.12 1.15 1.04 1.1 0.9 0.97 0.9 0.94 7.62 8.15 7.56 7.65 2.71 2.72 2.67 2.69 0.345 0.355 0.345 0.350 0.255 0.250 0.249 0.250 0.260 0.255 0.250 0.250 0.0150 0.0150 0.0140 0.0150 0.0160 0.0150 0.0150 0.0150 5.7 5.77 5.71 5.71 28.75 28.65 28.2 28.3 3.3 3.47 3.3 3.35 0.7100 0.7300 0.7100 0.7300 2.300 2.350 2.310 2.310 0.0140 0.0130 0.0130 0.0130 0.0140 0.0140 0.0140 0.0140 5.86 5.85 5.56 5.85 8.16 8.19 7.99 8.05 3.9 3.75 3.28 3.3 0.016 0.016 0.015 0.015 166.40 162.50 160.30 161.70 4.35 4.44 4.23 4.29 0.0110 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 PREFERRED 66 66.95 65 66 517 510 508.5 508.5 517 520 519.5 519.5 115 114 114 114 6.4 6.75 6.5 6.75 1.05 1.09 1.08 1.09 108 108 107 107.5 76.1 76.75 76.75 76.75 81 81 81 81 83 83 82.7 82.7 2.2 2 2 2 WARRANTS & BONDS 4.100 4.120 4.040 4.050 SME 7.8 7.87 7.83 7.85 71.95 71.7 69 71.7 11.4 11.34 11.1 11.3 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 126.5 126.5 156.4 126.4

0.00 -2.13 -2.34 0.00 0.63 0.00 0.00 -0.46 -1.21 2.29 4.90 1.28 -5.30 -1.37 -5.23 -2.44 0.56 0.31 -1.01 2.08 0.00 0.00 0.13

10,100 9,553,000 27,000 258,000 26,970,000 1,040,000 13,000 200,000 724,000 17,697,000 1,605,000 42,374,500 5,860,000 100,000 372,200 2,951,500 288,000 265,000 15,258,400 36,361,000 1,100 1,481,000 12,907,200

23.59 0.08 -1.43 -0.31 -3.08 -1.77 -5.76 -0.67 0.37 1.72 -0.05 6.04 -0.61 0.53 7.14 3.33 0.00 -1.43 -1.71 2.04 -0.59 -0.44 0.00 0.00 2.88 0.00 -1.92 -1.42 -3.26 2.03 -0.29 -0.26 -1.67 -1.80 2.94 2.32 -0.18 2.82 -5.37 1.07 2.70 0.72

2,088,500 -2,949,974.00 43,010 120,000 1,195,200 10,215,940.00 4,606,000 10,017,074.00 118,460,000 -778,000.00 1,011,000 330,460 -2,575,535.00 7,800 3,600 -650.00 57,935 -12,501,675.00 1,044,900 200,000 900,040 37,531,385.00 20,000,000 46,870,000 -324,400.00 826,000 -42,880.00 95,000 137,800 9,270.00 126,000 146,000 32,000 14,040 92,000 -60,000.00 6,634,982 33.00 1,490,000 -51,800.00 186,000 76,960.00 4,700 57,000 7,300 585,706.00 95,500 -69,200.00 131,055 -20,690,070.00 1,612,000 19,834,000 21,542,030.00 6,398,600 225,753,420.00 2,460,140 2.00 5,535,000 -422,190.00 5,535,000 -422,190.00 12,000 3,654,500 -1,600,447.00 920,000 38,000.00 4,000

0.00 -0.34 -2.11 0.00 -1.79 4.44 0.39 -0.74 1.45 -1.96 -3.85 0.00 -6.25 0.18 -1.57 1.52 2.82 0.43 -7.14 0.00 -0.17 -1.35 -15.38 -6.25 -2.82 -1.38 9.09

2,226,000,000 -12,400.00 22,000 100,300 680,000 -15,900.00 5,305,000 412,900.00 4,903,000 27,600 -2.00 66,756,000 162,481,060.00 940,000 17,460,000 1,040,000 2,500.00 15,900,000 10,000,000 429,400 3,521,200 -86,121,330.00 7,950,000 -232,860.00 297,000 310,970 20,000,000 200,000 29,600 489,400 8,000.00 1,681,000 364,480.00 46,700,000 689,720 -53,760,777.00 347,000 72,900,000

0.00 -1.64 0.48 -0.87 5.47 3.81 -0.46 0.85 0.00 -0.36 -9.09

835,800 30,000 20 37,630 234,100 3,005,000 90,710 1,000 2,000 67,270 13,000

-1.22

95,000

0.64 -0.35 -0.88

247,900 570 864,100

-0.08

21,880

-2,644,830.00 8,200.00

4,231,170.00 589,114.00 1,310.00

MST 31.75 2.51 0.88 1.25 9.58 40.2 14.6 9.82 21.5 0.82 17.3 5.98 9.05 4.25 8.68 8.61 12.2 48.9 0.0097 12.8 2.05 0.32 150.8 8.55 48.5 2.8 16 20.35 12 10.1 246 4 11.56 5 9.94 4.33

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

SHARES 25,950,595 76,621,966 192,387,699 197,746,191 258,723,370 2,504,671,487 3,257,235,758

-48,715,603.00

1,056,405.00 -57,210.50 -10,797,494.00 -8,788,615.00 32,648,482.00

171,472.00

-227,221.00

47,866,870.00 3,740,916.00 -56,648,214.00 -577,708.00

7,503,430.00 -37,062,234.00 -49,000.00

153,716.00

-51,575,005.00 3,257,010.00 -810.00 10,878,206.00 507,270.00 -1,035,814.00 18,120.00 493,750.00

1,293,227.00

7,500.00 -227,500.00 -258,934,882.00 121,500.00

7,223,895.00 92,690,450.00

59,423,960.00 -4,037,846.00 34,917,026.00

-32,000.00 -45,202,965.00 -54,207,490.00 7,633,710.00

3,886,624.00 59,000.00 144,963,550.00

-2,423,458.50 185,635.00 41,140.00 -1,268,497.00

9,930,660.00 224,900.00 8,700.00 33,098,905.00

0.87 2.95 11.46 0.435 1.6

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

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

DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. 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. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SSI Group 0.59 STI Holdings 1.68 Transpacific Broadcast 7.78 Travellers 0.305 Waterfront Phils.

1.04 Yehey

0.0086 5.45 17.24 0.325 1.2 1.73 10.98

0.0028 1.72 11.48 0.225 0.5 0.76 4.93

0.46 0.455 0.730 0.024 0.026 8.2 48.85 3.35 1.030 3.06 0.021 0.023 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.042 420 9 0.016

0.385 0.3000 0.2950 0.012 0.014 1.960 14.22 1.47 0.220 1.24 0.016 0.017 4.02 7.8 6.5 0.031 123 4.3 0.0087

44.1

26.3

60 116 9.04 9.67

30 102 6.76 5.82

77.3 78.95 81.85 1.34

74.2 74.5 75 1

2.42

0.0010 LR Warrant

10.96 35

2.4 7.74

Double Dragon IRipple E-Business Intl Xurpas

119.6

94

First Metro ETF

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

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 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF SMC Preferred A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C Swift Pref

T op g ainerS VALUE 2,314,383,046.31 1,442,780,642.294 2,023,321,260.43 1,227,095,981.29 1,593,286,215.89 465,593,765.635 9,080,931,241.85

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,811.50 (UP) 3.62 INDUSTRIAL 12,776.92 (DOWN) 37.99 HOLDING FIRMS 6,901.01 (UP) 25.60 PROPERTY 3,120.53 (UP) 5.11 SERVICES 2,217.32 (UP) 11.29 MINING & OIL 16,279.90 (DOWN) 144.20 PSEI 7,828.48 (UP) 8.19 All Shares Index 4,553.77 (UP) 8.40 Gainers: 97; Losers: 71; Unchanged: 50; Total: 218

362,500.00 16,002,995.00 81,630.00 79,899,884.00 -49,000.00

-222,360.00 -5,467,422.00

-35,849,772.00

-102.00 -35,970.00

-57,378.00 6,030,758.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

AG Finance

6.09

37.78

PhilexPetroleum

3.3

2GO Group'

10.32

23.59

Swift Pref

2

-15.38 -9.09

Phil H2O

5.5

22.22

Oriental Pet. `A'

0.0130

-7.14

Jolliville Holdings

4.71

16.87

Manila Mining `B'

0.0150

-6.25

MJCI Investments Inc.

3.49

16.33

Philodrill Corp. `A'

0.015

-6.25

United Paragon

0.0120

9.09

Calata Corp.

4.09

-5.76

Liberty Flour

38.10

8.86

MEDCO Holdings

0.520

-5.45

I-Remit Inc.

1.79

7.19

Transpacific Broadcast

1.94

-5.37

IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

0.015

7.14

MRC Allied Ind.

0.125

-5.30

GMA Network Inc.

6.85

6.04

Primex Corp.

7.25

-5.23

WEDNESDAY: MARCH 11, 2015

B3

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Ayala’s net income rises 46% to P18.6b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. said Tuesday net income in 2014 jumped 46 percent to P18.6 billion, fueled by the solid performance of its real estate, telecommunications and electronics manufacturing units and boosted by a net gain from the sale of its business process outsourcing asset.

Minus the impact of the accelerated depreciation from the telecom unit’s network transformation initiative in the previous year, the conglomerate’s core net income grew 25 percent in 2014.

Ayala said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues in 2014 rose 15.5 percent to P184 billion from P159.2 billion in 2013.

Ayala attributed the positive

financial performance to the strong equity earnings contribution from its business units, which reached P24.9 billion, up 42 percent a year ago.

Equity earnings from Ayala Land Inc. rose 28 percent while Globe Telecom Inc. more than doubled its contribution. Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.’s share expanded threefold. Ayala, in addition, booked a P1.8-billion

net gain from its divestment in Stream Global Services Inc. The strong equity earnings from the business units more than offset the relatively flat contribution from the Bank of the Philippine Islands, which registered lower trading income during the year.

“We are very pleased with the performance of our business units as they continue to benefit from the aggressive growth strategy they executed a few years ago.

This has, in turn, allowed us to optimize earnings and value at the parent level,” Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said.

“We continued to invest in new areas of growth, particularly in power generation and transport infrastructure. As our business units sustain their growth mo-

mentum and the overall business environment continues to be encouraging, we are optimistic we can achieve our net income target of P20 billion this year, a year ahead of the plan,” Zobel de Ayala said.

The conglomerate is boosting its investment in power and transport sectors.

Ayala put up 700 megawatts of attributable capacity in both conventional and renewable power generating assets, raising its committed equity investments in the sector to $700 million over the past three years.

In the transport infrastructure, Ayala bagged two public-private partnership projects in 2014 along with various strategic partners, namely the Automated Fare Collection System and the LRT 1 Cavite Extension projecst.

Vietnam delivery.

The first A350 XWB for Vietnam Airlines, featuring the airline’s updated distinctive blue and gold lotus livery, rolls out of the Airbus paint shop in Toulouse, France. The aircraft, which will be leased from AerCap, is now entering the advanced stage of production. This will include installation of the engines, completion of cabin furnishing, and cockpit fitting, followed by ground and flight tests. The aircraft is scheduled for delivery by the middle of the year.

MPIC, Puregold lead market rise STOCKS rose Tuesday, following overnight gains in Wall Street, and after more companies reported strong profit growth in 2014.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 8 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,828.48. The benchmark was also up 8.3 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 8 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,553.77, on a value turnover of P9 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 97 to 71, while 50 issues were unchanged.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., an infrastructure conglomerate, climbed 4.7 percent to P4.93, emerging as the biggest gainer among the 20 most active stocks. Retailer Puregold Price Club Inc. rose 3.2 percent to P42, after reporting that net income in 2014 improved 18 percent to P4.52 billion.

Chemical producer D&L Industries Inc. gained 3 percent to P20.75, while miner Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. added 1.5 percent to close at P2.69.

Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. gained 1.5

percent to P86.15. Conglomerate Ayala Corp. rose 1.2 percent to P741, as the company said profit surged 46 percent last year to P18.6 billion.

Meanwhile, Asian shares brushed off a positive Wall Street lead to retreat for a second-straight day Tuesday, while official data pointed to further weakness in China’s economy.

The euro continued to flounder against the greenback a day after the European Central Bank launched its stimulus “bazooka”, although the dollar pushed towards an eight-year high against the yen as dealers bet on a US interest rate hike.

News that China’s consumer price inflation rebounded in February from a more-than-five-year low was overshadowed by a steep drop in consumer prices, indicating more softness down the line.

In afternoon trade Hong Kong was 0.77 percent lower and Shanghai gave back 0.34 percent.

Tokyo fell 0.67 percent, or 125.44 points, to 18,665.11 and Seoul shed 0.40 percent, or 8.05 points, to end at 1,984.77. However, Sydney was flat, edging up 2.9 points to 5,824.2.

With AFP, Bloomberg

Primex obtains loan of P300m PROPERTY developer Primex Corp. said it obtained a P300million five-year term loan from Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to fund expansion plans.

“The company intends to avail of the credit facility to fund its expansion plans in real estate development and strategic business activities which it foresees will generate benefits and values for its public shareholders and the investing public,” Primex said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

Primex director Karlvin Ang said the company’s business strategy involved purchasing prime properties in prime locations.

“That business model now translates into a property holdings portfolio that has expanded its values in multiples far beyond its book values from the time of acquisition 20 to 30 years ago,” Ang said.

Several companies have expressed interest in forging joint venture partnerships with Primex, because of the strategic locations of its holdings in Metro Manila and the surrounding areas such as Antipolo and Tagaytay, The company’s properties in Makati, New Manila, Mandaluyong, Lipa and Meycauyan are among Primex’s landholdings that have received strong interests from investors.

“A conservative approach and efficient cost management policy have spurred local and foreign investor interest in the company’s future expansion plans and growth strategy,” Ang said.

Sister company Primex Realty Corp. recently topped-off The Stratosphere, a 31-story residential condominium in Salcedo Village, Makati City.

The high-rise condominium project is scheduled to be completed by end of 2015.

Jenniffer B. Austria

SME-tailored postpaid offers now available in Smart Stores nationwide WIRELESS services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) is making available a suite of specially designed postpaid plans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and interested parties can conveniently subscribe to these services in any of the over 100 Smart Stores nationwide.

SME owners can choose from Unli plans; TriNet plans that offer unlimited calls and texts to Smart, Talk ‘N Text, and Sun Cellular subscribers; and Infinity plans which come with premium devices and lifestyle perks.

“SMEs will benefit from our value-packed plans which are bundled with the latest handsets, and are powered by the largest network in the country,” said Katrina Luna-Abelarde, Smart first vice president (FVP) and head of the small medium enterprise group.

“We have made it easier for SME owners to get postpaid plans that suit their business communication needs. Our Smart Stores will provide endto-end processing of their applications – from receiving the documents, to evaluating their applications, up to the releasing of handsets,” Luna-Abelarde said.

“Our Smart Store personnel will also help entrepreneurs determine which plans are most relevant to their businesses. This is in line with our customized service approach where we don’t just sell technology and postpaid plans to interested clients. We want to get to know their businesses first so we could help them decide which business bundles best suit them,” said Smart retail support head Maloo Agoncillo.

B4

BUSINESS

Investments hit record $6.2b In BrIef Globe borrows P7b

GLOBE Telecom Inc., a unit of ayala Corp., signed a seven-year, P7-billion term loan with Philippine National Bank to finance its capital expenditures and general corporate requirements this year.

Globe said in a statement the new programmed capex for 2015 was approximately $650 million, with 75 percent for data-related projects as the demand for data and Internet connectivity grows.

These include investments in Tattoo LTE mobile and Tattoo Home Broadband, especially broadband DSL augmentation, mobile and wireless broadband capacities and coverage rollout for 3G, HSPA+ and DSL network, as well as capacity upgrades for transmission, international cable facilities and its core network.

Globe said it would spend the balance of the capex to invest in new platforms and business support systems.

“And as we see the actual pace of spending then we will do the next tranche in the second half,” he said.

The company expects the market to remain challenging and competitive this year, given the shifting focus of the customer’s lifestyles and usage into the digital world.

Alena Mae S. Flores

By Julito G. Rada

FOREIGN direct investments registered record net inflows of $6.2 billion in 2014, well above the target of $4.4 billion last year, driven mainly by the sustained confidence of investors on the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.

The 2014 figure was also 65.9 percent higher than the $3.737-billion net inflows registered in 2013.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday showed FDI registered net inflows of $557 million in December, or up 445 percent from $102 million year-on-year.

Net equity capital infusion last year rose 206.7 percent to $2 billion from $664 million in 2013 due to the 6.2-percent increase in equity capital placements,

who attended the recent 7th Filipina Entrepreneurship Summit of the Go Negosyo at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. Villar, Naga Rep. Leni Robredo and Teresita Sy-Coson, chairman at BDO Leasing & Finance Inc. (second and fourth from left, respectively) are the main speakers during the summit. Villar encouraged more people to start their own small business to stimulate the local economy. With Go Negosyo, she said micro, small and medium enterprises are afforded the much-needed boost that can generate employment in different parts of the country.

GAS Natural Fenosa of Spain, the joint venture of Gas Natural and Union Fenosa, is looking opportunities in power generation and distribution in the Philippines seven years after divesting from Manila Electric Co. David Gallardo, Gas Natural Fenosa director for business development and promotion, told reporters in a recent forum the company had been in talks with local companies, including Meralco, for possible business opportunities in liquefied natural gas, coal and even renewable energy.

“Now we are just single company with assets worldwide especially in Latin America and now we want to come back to the Philippines,” Gallardo said.

Gallardo said Gas Natural Fenosa was studying the government’s plan for a natural gas industry and waiting for a natural master plan to guide the company’s investment direction.

“We are planning, we are expecting to receive the master plan whenever is ready, we want to see and read the regulation. That’s the main goal in my presentation, is to understand what is the plan of the government once Malampaya is finished,” he said. Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company, an industrial process outsourcing firm, announced it will hire over 2,000 workers to serve key liquefied natural gas projects in Russia and Australia.

The workforce expansion, following a successful year in 2014, including winning one of the largest export contracts in Philippine history, is another milestone for the company.

“AG&P continues to play a pivotal role in establishing the Philippines as an engineering and construction hub for key projects in markets such as North America, Australia and Russia, AG&P chairman William Ottiger.

“Leveraging our fabrication and assembly expertise, we aim to deliver some of the largest LNG modules ever built, accelerating project construction and minimizing the time to commercial operation,” he said.

He said AG&P would create thousands of jobs to build the complex and modules to the highest levels of safety and quality in the company’s yards in Batangas.

quarrying; real estate; manufacturing; and information and communications sectors. Reinvestment of earnings increased 21.7 percent to $56 million from $46 million.

“Meanwhile, the decline in investments in debt instruments to $19 million from $116 million a year ago partially tempered the growth in FDI in December as significant repayments for intercompany loans [$270 million] were made during the month,” the Bangko Sentral said.

The 2014 FDI target of $4.4 billion net inflows was surpassed in September, when FDI net inflows in the first nine months stood at $4.9 billion.

FDI net inflows in 2013 stood at $3.7 billion, higher than $3.215 billion a year ago. The 2013 net inflows also exceeded the central bank’s projection of $2.1 billion for the year.

Entrepreneurship summit. Sen. Cynthia Villar (third from left) answers questions from participants

Fenosa returning

AG&P hiring 2,000

coupled with the 67.8-percent decline in equity capital withdrawals.

“Equity capital investments came mostly from the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.

These were channeled mainly to financial and insurance; manufacturing; real estate; mining and quarrying; and wholesale and retail trade sectors,” the Bangko Sentral said.

Investments in debt instruments or inter-company borrow-

ings grew 26.1 percent to $3.3 billion. Meanwhile, reinvestment of earnings expanded 94.8 percent to $819 million.

Net equity capital infusion in December contributed largely to the increase in FDI net inflows during the month as it reversed to $482 million in net inflows from $60 million net outflows on year.

“The increase in net equity capital investments was brought about by the 1,465.7-percent expansion in equity capital placements and the 10.7-percent decline in equity capital withdrawals,” the central bank said.

The bulk of equity capital investments in December 2014 came largely from the US, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea and Singapore.

These were channeled to financial and insurance; mining and

PH exports slightly declined to $4.36b in January

By Jennifer Ambanta PHILIPPINE exports fell 0.5 percent in January to $4.36 billion from $4.38 billion year-on-year, dragged down by weak demand from manufacturers, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

“The decline is negligible as compared to most trade-oriented economies in selected East Asian countries that posted negative outturns in merchandise exports during the period,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

“This is also in view of weaker demand conditions and fragile

manufacturing sectors in some of our major trading partners, Japan, Korea, and Singapore,” he said.

Exports of mineral products, however, rose 34 percent, while shipments of agro-based items climbed 12.9 percent.

The National Economic and Development Authority said weaker demand in manufactures and lower sales from petroleum pulled down total exports.

Mineral products increased to $201.0 million in January from $150 million on year on higher shipments of copper metal, copper concentrates and iron ore agglomerates.

Decline negligible compared with those in East Asian countries.

Export earnings from agrobased products grew to $313.9 million in January from $278.2 million in January on increased shipments of sugar and coconut products Meanwhile, exports of manufactured goods declined 1.6 percent from $3.8 billion in January

to $3.7 billion on year due to lower outbound sales of other manufactured goods, wood manufactures, electronic equipment and parts, and chemicals Despite the slowdown, exports of electronic products remained strong with a 14.6-percent yearon-year increase in January.

The PSA said this was largely backed by the 16-percent increase in outward shipments of semiconductors, which accounted for almost 69 percent of the country’s total electronic exports Export receipts from petroleum products were affected by the decline in global crude oil prices

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BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

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Financial aid for poor students UniFAST tracked SCHOOL is about to end but financially hard-up parents are already sweating over the thought of sending their children to college especially with the reported petition for tuition hikes from 400 colleges and universities across the country. This has been vehemently denied by the Commission on Higher Education, saying the number is “improbable,” but chances are hundreds of educational institutions will be granted their tuition hike petitions if we are to base is from previous experience. During the 2014-2015 school year, CHED approved tuition increases in 287 private higher education institutions while in academic year 2013-2014, 354 HEIs got approval for tuition hikes.

Education is supposed to be the great equalizer, the tool that could lift families out of poverty, so it’s no exaggeration to say that parents would move heaven and earth to provide education for their child, especially when they see that he is exceptionally bright or talented.

Oftentimes, help comes in the form of scholarships but these are mostly from generous private institutions and even then, the criteria are very stringent which also makes coverage limited, aside from the fact that resources are also limited.

There’s a bit of good news though with the approval of a proposed measure that would give the poor wider access to public-funded scholarships and other forms of financial assistance. The Senate education committee recently approved the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) Act, or Senate Bill 2679 that provides scholarships grants for those who have shown exemplary academic performance, and will also give grants-in-aid for the underprivileged, especially those that come from families that receive help from the government’s conditional cash transfer program.

The House version of the bill, which was passed on third and final reading in June last year, will improve the distribution of post high-school scholarships, study grants, grants-in-aid and low-cost educational loans to hard-up college students, House committee chair on higher and technical education and Pasig Congressman Roman Romulo said. The proper targeting of potential beneficiaries as well as the adoption of uniform standards for selection and retention via UniFAST is expected to reinforce the delivery of all public-funded scholarships and other forms of financial aid to college students from marginal households, he added.

Although government has more than 62 financial assistance programs channeled through 17 agencies, studies commissioned by the Committee on higher education showed that many college students who are in desperate need of financial assistance are being left out of these patchy aid programs, while students from higher income families who don’t need it as desperately as the marginalized ones are the ones benefiting from these financial assistance programs.

This year, government has allocated some P7.7 billion for postsecondary scholarships, with the country’s 112 state universities and colleges having a combined P3.5 billion available for scholarships.

This does not include the P2.2 billion allotted by CHED for student financial aid. Romulo authored the Iskolar ng Bayan Program, or Republic Act 10648, which provides scholarships in state universities and colleges for the top 10 graduates of public schools, and he has been batting for greater public access to scholarship programs.

Careless Uniqlo personnel bad for business Those who plan to shop at Uniqlo over at The Block of SM North Edsa, better make sure that the cashier removes the security top from your purchase, to save yourself from the embarrassing experience of getting accosted by store security personnel and made to feel like a shoplifter. This was the experience of film director Joey Reyes who posted his unfortunate experience about being accosted because the security alarm twittered as he was leaving the store. Apparently, some cashier or personnel was either too lazy or careless, forgetting to remove the security tag when the director paid for his purchase.

“The embarrassment of having my bag searched, my receipt verified because [of] the stupidity of your employee tells me, Uniqlo, that I love H&M !” the director fumed.

Reminder to self: Never remove receipts while in store/mall premises in case you neeed proof that you are not a shop lifter.

Nibbler: Citibank needs new VP Citibank is on the lookout for a new VP for corporate communications who could help promote the Citi brand in the country via communication programs that cover a wide range of financial services from corporate and investment banking to treasury, etc., across traditional and non-traditional channels. Judging from the responsibilities outlined, Citibank prefers a candidate with vast media contacts and naturally the requisite experience to manage events and press activities, pitch stories and arrange meet and greet/face-to-face meetings with editors and target media persons.

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

Cheers!

Teaching aids. Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Luis Antonio Calvo (starting third from right),

Education Undersecretary Dina Ocampo and Mapfre Insular president and chief executive Javier Warleta initiated the turnover of Road Safety Teaching Aids for public elementary schools in the country between from FundacionMapfre to the Education Department. The materials were given to improve the teaching-learning process in schools so that students may be aware of how to safely navigate Philippine roads, particularly the busy streets of Metro Manila.

Puregold’s profit up by 18% to P4.5b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PUREGOLD Price Club Inc., the second largest grocery retailer in the Philippines owned by billionaire Lucio Co, said core net income in 2014 rose 18 percent to P4.52 billion from P3.83 billion in 2013.

Puregold said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues increased 16 percent last year to P84.7 billion from P73.2 billion in 2013, on strong consumer demand and aggressive store expansion.

“I believe that 2015 will be another record year of profits for Puregold as we continue with our expansion strategies of opening 25 Puregold stores per year and two S&R stores per year for the next five years excluding acquisitions as well as the continued increasing consumption from our customers,” said outgoing Puregold president Leonardo Dayao.

Puregold added 33 stores in its portfolio last year, bringing to 248 its total number of stores with a net selling area of 405,000 square meters.

It said of the 33 stores that were opened, 28 were Puregold stores, one was S&R outlet and four were quick service restaurants under S&R New York Pizza.

Puregold said this year, it expected net sales to grow 12 percent to 15 percent as it planned to open another 25 stores and two S&R Shopping stores.

Net sales this year are expected

to be boosted by the recent acquisition of nine store chains owned

by NE Inc. of the Uy family, it said.

Puregold said it would continue to expand into new store formats and pursue acquisitions.

It also plans to expand in other locations.

Capital spending for 2015 is expected to reach P5.5 billion, of which P2.5 billion will be for the opening of 25 new Puregold stores and P1 billion for setting up two S&R stores.

Puregold said it would allot P500 million for the roll out of 50

to 100 Lawson convenience stores and another P1.5 billion for acquisitions.

Funding for this year’s capital expenditures will come from internally generated funds and short-term untapped credit lines, it said.

Puregold formed joint venture partnership of Japan’s Lawson last year to develop a chain of convenience stores in the Philippines.

Share price of Puregold on Tuesday climbed 3.19 percent to close at P42.

Congress has little time to okay key bills –ECCP

By Othel V. Campos FOREIGN investors have expressed concern that the limited time left for the Aquino administration will not be enough to see the passage of legislations that seek to improve the economy and the way people are doing business in the Philippines.

“There’s only limited time left for the 16th Congress to approve economic measures,” European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines vice president Guenter Taus said Tuesday during a membership meeting at the Shangri-La hotel in Makati City.

The foreign investors have urged Philippine lawmakers to speed up the approval of more important bills, such as the fiscal incentive rationalization and the customs modernization and tariff act.

Among the bills that recently approved to ease doing business in the Philippines are the

amendment to the Cabotage Law or Co-Loading that is expected to lower the cost of shipping goods, and the amendment to R.A. 7721, or allowing the full entry of foreign banks to the Philippines.

The chamber noted the government’s efforts to institute reforms, especially the review of foreign ownership and the apprenticeship act.

But Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, said it would take awhile before his committee could act on them.

“So many portions of our tax system need reforms. And we are not without experts to help us identify solutions for them.

But perhaps the more important issue is timing--which reform should be first. And this is where we will need to carefully weigh the options and make sure that we keep our objectives clear throughout this balancing act,” he told the businessmen.

WEDNESDAY: MARCH 11, 2015

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BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Manufacturing grows 3.3%

By Jennifer Ambanta

THE manufacturing sector grew at the slowest pace in 10 months in January this year, following the decline in demand after the holiday season, the National Economic and Development Authority said Tuesday.

BMAP directors.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. recently inducted the new set of officers and directors of the Bank Marketing Association (Philippines) Inc. Shown are (from left, seated) former BMAP president Maximino Edralin Jr., BSP director for corporate affairs Fe Dela Cruz, Tetangco, BMAP president Miguel Angelo Villa-Real (Phil. Veterans Bank) and BMAP director for industry relations Allan John Tumbaga (East West Bank). Standing are (from left) BMAP elections committee chairman Ma. Luz Javier (Avanza, Inc.), director for banking code Estela Calderon (Metrobank), secretary and director for publicity Bennett Alfred Zerrudo II (BancNet), auditor Belen Lim (Security Bank), vicepresident Mary Ann Ducanes (China Bank), ways and means director Ma. Carmina Marquez (BPI) and treasurer Emmanuel Mari Valdes (RCBC).

Metrobank prices rights offer at P73.50

By Jenniffer B. Austria METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co., the country’s second-largest lender, has priced its planned rights offering at P73.50 per share.

The final offer price represents a 21.75-percent discount to the stock’s volume weighted average price for the last 10 days prior to pricing. It also represents a 21.6-percent discount to the stock’s closing price on Monday of P93.85.

Metrobank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would offer 435.371 million common

shares to eligible stock holders as of record date March 18, 2015.

Eligible shareholders are entitled to subscribe to one right share for every 6.3045 common shares owned as of record date.

The bank is expected to raise P32 billion from the rights offering which will enable it to pursue business prospects and support accelerating growth momentum.

Offer period will be from March 23, 2015 to March 27, 2015 while listing date was set on April 7, 2015.

The bank hired J.P. Morgan

Securities Plc and UBS as global coordinators, lead managers and joint international underwriters for the offering.

First Metro Investments Corp. is the domestic lead manager, book runner and domestic lead underwriter for the offering.

Metrobank posted an 11-percent decline in net income last year to P20.1 billion from P22.5 billion in 2013 on lower trading gains.

The bank’s core businesses remained strong, especially loans and deposits. Deposits increased 17 percent to P1.2 trillion, providing the bank with

stable low-cost funding to fuel its healthy loan expansion while loans and receivables went up 24 percent to P759.5 billion with the commercial segment posting the strongest year-on-year increase.

Metrobank in 2014 opened 64 branches to increase its domestic presence with 920 branches, still the largest in the industry.

More than half of the network is located outside Metro Manila, placing the bank in a position to better service the demands of the regional growth areas of the economy. The bank has 2,100 automated teller machines nationwide.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the volume of production index rose 3.3 percent year-on-year in January, slower than the 6.7-percent growth in December and 4.4-percent rise in January 2014. It was also the slowest growth since March 2014, when the index rose 2 percent.

Food manufacturing, the biggest contributor to the index, fell 20.3 percent in January from a year ago while footwear and wearing apparel declined 22.7 percent.

The value of production index, which measures both volume and prices, dropped 1.8 percent in January, the steepest decline since May 2013, dragged down by petroleum production, data from the PSA showed.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the total production indices of the manufacturing sector was dragged down by lower food production due to postholiday tempering of consumer demand and due to firms keeping their production at manageable levels at the start of the year.

“The sudden drop in food manufactures dragged the positive output of the majority of the manufacturing subsectors including printing, leather products, basic metals, beverages and textiles which were listed as the highest performers in January 2015,” Balisacan said.

Las Piñas gets award for best management LAS PIÑAS City received the 2014 Good Financial Housekeeping recognition from the Department of the Interior and Local Government for compliance of full disclosure policy and from the Commission on Audit for efficient financial management.

The city is among the 16 local government units in the National Capital Region evaluated based on transparency and accountability in using public funds for services responsive to the needs of the people.

It is one of the components for conferment of the seal of good local governance in recognition of the LGU’s integrity and competence in local governance.

“We appreciate the recognition by the DILG. This inspires us to keep our sight in raising the bar for the welfare of our people and the continuing progress by maximizing our limited income without

sacrificing transparency and public accountability,” Las Piñas Mayor Vergel Aguilar said.

With the citation, Las Piñas is eligible to avail of loan from government financial institutions. Las Piñas, however, has not considered securing a credit line to sustain its operations.

The city, despite its meager income, has consistently provided substantial funding for programs and projects through practical planning and prudent spending.

Las Piñas has annual revenues of P1.7 billion. Drawn from this income are free college and IT education, free skills and livelihood trainings; education and health care programs, including free hospitalization in private medical facilities; urban development and infrastructures; environmental care and other social services.

Cassava production. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala listens to Polo Samahang Nayon Multi-

Purpose Cooperative Manager Karen Darugo (right) during a visit to the cassava chips and granules processing plant in Polomolok, South Cotabato. Polo SN is set to implement a P39.3-million cassava granules production project and marketing plan, tagged by the World Bank as a ‘world-class’ business plan, which aims to improve the quality and volume of cassava yield and increase farmers’ income.

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WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Dollar up on hopes for US rate hike TOKYO—The dollar hit a near eight-year high against the yen Tuesday on mounting speculation that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates by midyear as the US economy picks up strength.

In Tokyo, the greenback briefly surged to a high of 122.02 yen in mid-day trading, around levels not seen since July 20 07.

The dollar later settled back to 121.68 yen, but was still up from 121.15 yen in New York.

The euro was hovering around 11-year lows on the dollar as the European Central Bank embarked on its longawaited bond-buying stimulus program. The single currency slipped to $1.0797 from $1.0854 in US trade, and to 131.39 yen from 131.49 yen.

“The US economy is moving in the right direction, and expectations of a rate hike should continue until the Fed’s meeting next week, which means the yen could continue to weaken against the dollar,” Toshihiko Matsuno, chief strategist at SMBC Friend Securities, told Bloomberg News.

Friday’s jobs data added to growing evidence that the US economy is the recovery track and fanned expectations that the Fed will lift rates as early as June.

On Monday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher warned of a recession risk if a rate hike was delayed.

“Fisher’s comments have added spice” to the dollar rally, said Daisaku Ueno, chief currency strategist in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

The dollar has surged after the Fed wound up its bondbuying quantitative easing (QE) in late 2014.

That came just as the Bank of Japan stepped up its own similar programme, while on Monday, the ECB embarked for the first time on QE as it tries to fend off deflation in the eurozone.

Investors are also keeping an eye on Greece as it prepares for technical talks on extending its crucial bailout on Wednesday.

The Greek government on Monday outlined reforms demanded by lenders in exchange for further cash at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels. AFP

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Solar plane resumes round-the-world bid MUSCAT—Solar Impulse 2 took off from Oman Tuesday bound for India, on the second leg of its epic bid to become the first plane to fly around the world powered solely by the sun.

This is a picture of the burning wreckages of two helicopters that collided mid-air near Villa Castelli, in the Argentine province of La Rioja, on March 9. Eight French nationals, including sports stars, filming a reality TV show were killed Monday along with two Argentine pilots when their helicopters collided in mid-air in northwestern Argentina, officials said. AFP

The aircraft took off from Muscat at 6.35 am (0235 GMT) for what is expected to be a 16-hour, 1,465-kilometer journey over the Arabian Sea to Ahmedabad in India.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard was at the controls, taking over from fellow Swiss aviator Andre Borschberg. “I will remember #Oman forever!” Piccard tweeted prior to take-off.

More than two hours after leaving Muscat, Piccard was over the Arabian Sea, according to a website monitoring his progress.

On Monday Borschberg had touched down in Muscat after the first leg of the journey, 13 hours and two minutes after leaving Abu Dhabi.

“The adventure has started,” Solar Impulse chairman Piccard, 57, said just after Borschberg took off in the early morning from Abu Dhabi’s Al-Bateen airport, on a journey that the aviation industry ridiculed when it was first unveiled.

Borschberg spoke of an “emotional” trip, telling reporters in Muscat he cruised at 6,000 metres (almost 20,000 feet) because the trip was “short”.

Piccard is set to fly higher on the trip to Ahmedabad, Borschberg said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon hailed the venture and congratulated the pilots.

“With their daring and determination, we can all fly into a new sustainable future,” his spokesman said.

Si2’s takeoff, which had originally been scheduled for Saturday but was delayed by high winds, capped 13 years of research and testing by the two Swiss pilots.

The pair are hoping the project will boost technology and awareness surrounding environmentally sustainable transport.

Live video streaming on the www.solarimpulse.com website monitoring the unique aircraft’s progress showed the pilot, wearing an orange jumpsuit, breathing using an oxygen mask.

The wingspan of the one-seater Si2 is slightly bigger than that of a jumbo jet, but its weight is around that of a family car.

From Muscat, it will make 12 stops on an epic journey spread over five months, with a total flight time of around 25 days.

Later legs will take it to Myanmar, China, Hawaii and New York. AFP

Threat to poison NZ’s baby formula

Actor Jack Falahee, Emma Croft and actor Max Fowler attend the series premiere of Sony Television’s “Powers” at Sony Pictures Studios on March 9 in Culver City, California. AFP

WELLINGTON—New Zealand has received an “eco-terrorist” threat to poison baby formula, Prime Minister John Key said Tuesday, in a scare that risks further denting the country’s “clean, green” reputation.

Police said they were taking the issue seriously after small packages of baby formula containing poison were sent with anonymous letters to the National Farmers Federation and dairy giant Fonterra.

“Whilst there is a possibility that this threat is a hoax, we must treat the threat seriously and a priority investigation is underway,” deputy commissioner Mike Clement said.

Authorities warned parents to examine packaging for signs of tampering and supermarkets removed formula cans from shelves to storerooms so shoppers could not access

them directly.

Police said the motive behind what they termed a blackmail attempt was the use of a poison called 1080 for pest control, which some critics say kills native wildlife.

Asked how he would characterize the threat, Key replied: “It’s a form of eco-terrorism without doubt.

“The person’s motive is to try and bully the government into not using 1080 (but) the reality of anyone carrying out this threat are extremely low,” he added.

Even if it was a hoax, the scare comes at a sensitive time for New Zealand’s dairy industry, which is recovering from a botulism scare last year involving Fonterra.

It was eventually declared a false alarm but not before potentially toxic formula was yanked off shelves

from China to Saudi Arabia.

New Zealand is the world’s largest dairy exporter and infant formula is a major component, with annual exports to China alone totaling NZ$3.0 billion (US$2.2 billion).

Infant Formula Exporters Association chairman Michel Barnett said the industry did not need another crisis.

“This could be extremely damaging for New Zealand’s exports offshore,” he told TVNZ. “Not just dairy, not just milk formula, our whole reputation as an exporter of food is at risk as a result of this nutter.”

The New Zealand Food and Grocery Council said extra testing had been introduced to reassure parents, adding that it had “absolute confidence” that products were safe. AFP

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CESAR bARRioquiNto EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

world

People buy fruits and vegetables at a market in Beijing on March 10. China’s consumer inflation rebounded in February from a more-than-five-year low, official data showed on March 10, but a plunge in factory gate prices added to persistent concerns about deflation in the world’s second-largest economy. AFP

‘Interview' may be sent to North Korea SEOUL—South Korean activists vowed Tuesday to sneak copies of Hollywood satire “The Interview” across the border by propaganda balloon later this month, in defiance of North Korea’s repeated threats.

Up to 10,000 copies of the film—a comedy about a fictional CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un— and 500,000 political leaflets are scheduled for a balloon-launch around March 26.

An earlier plan by activists and the US-based Human Rights Foundation to send 100,000 copies of the film in January was postponed until after last month’s Lunar New Year.

However they went ahead with plans to send 100,000 anti-Pyongyang leaflets.

The upcoming launch will mark the five-year anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010, with the loss of 46 sailors. The South pinned the blame on the North and effectively froze all inter-Korean

trade and investment ties.

No details have been given about the content of the leaflets, though propaganda sent in the past has denounced North Korea’s ruling family.

Seoul insists the activists have a democratic right to send the leaflets, but has appealed for restraint to avoid overly provoking the North.

“We will set the exact date and location for our operation in consideration of weather conditions, but it will not be publicized,” said Park SangHak, a former defector who has led a series of balloon launches.

The North has already warned that Park will “pay for his crimes in blood” if copies of the film make it across the border.

On March 2, the North’s state-run website Uriminzokkiri warned that Pyongyang would respond to any balloon launches with “not just a few shots of gunfire but cannons or missiles”. AFP

Doubts over ban on organ harvests BEIJING—China has banned the harvesting of transplant organs from executed prisoners, a senior official said, but international medical practitioners warn that inmates’ body parts may simply be reclassified as “donations” instead.

High demand for organs in China and a chronic shortage of d onations mean that death row inmates have been a key source for years, generating heated controversy.

Since the start of this year, authorities have demanded all hospitals stop using organs harvested from executed prison-

ers, Huang Jiefu, head of the China Organ Donation Committee, reaffirmed on the sidelines of annual legislative meetings underway in Beijing, according to reports.

“China’s organ donation industry has entered a new stage of development in which voluntary donation will be the only source of organs,” Huang, a former vice health minister, said in an interview with China Business News published Tuesday.

Yet experts have voiced skepticism about the pledge, arguing that organs will continue to be harvested from inmates but that they will now be classified as “donations”.

In a letter to The Lancet, a group of five medical professionals from the United States, UK and Australia—including the executive director of non-profit Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting—wrote that “current statements from China have a disconcerting sense of deja vu”.

“China has avoided the end of use of organs from executed prisoners for a long

time, with failed promises dating back to 2008,” the five wrote in a letter in this week’s issue of the medical journal.

“Additionally, prisoners have been redefined as citizens with the right to donate their organs, but the practice has not stopped,” they wrote.

In a separate letter, four specialists from the United States, Germany, and Canada called on China to open its system to international inspections.

“China still uses organs from executed prisoners,” they wrote. “The only difference is that these organs are now categorized as voluntarily donated organs from citizens. This change would officially bypass international ethical guidelines, and the unethical practice might never end.”

They pointed to an interview last year in which Huang told the Beijing Times that death-row prisoners are still citizens and thus “they also have the right to donate organs”. AFP

British official warns of threat from Russia

Relatives of victims of the US firebombings during World War II pray during a memorial service to commemorate the 100,000 victims of the bombings at the Tokyo Memorial Hall in Tokyo on March 10. US forces bombed Tokyo on March 9-10, 1945, in what is now known as the Great Tokyo Air Raid. AFP

LONDON—Russian actions in Ukraine are undermining the security of nations in Eastern Europe, British foreign minister Philip Hammond is to warn in a speech on Tuesday.

His remarks come as NATO prepares for a major exercise in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, where Russian involvement in an 11-month war in Ukraine has jangled nerves.

“We are now faced with a Russian leader bent not on joining the international rulesbased system which keeps the peace between nations, but on subverting it,” Hammond will tell the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, according to pre-released re-

marks.

“President Putin’s actions— illegally annexing Crimea and now using Russian troops to destabilize eastern Ukraine– fundamentally undermine the security of sovereign nations in Eastern Europe.”

Moscow denies Western accusations that it backs the heavily armed separatist militias fighting against Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged ordering the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, in a move that sparked international condemnation.

The conflict has killed over 6,000 people according to the United Nations, and a shaky

truce was strained on Monday as Ukraine accused the separatists of firing on government positions.

Britain and other Western governments were accused by former British army head Peter Wall on Tuesday of being “caught napping” amid threats from Russia and extremists such as Islamic State.

Wall urged the government to meet a NATO defense spending target of 2 percent of GDP, and criticized cuts to defense spending he said were based on an assumption of a “reasonably benign security environment for this decade”.

“We can now see those consequences playing out in our reticence to counter Russian

expansionism, and her interference in our airspace and offshore waters,” Wall wrote.

The comments follow a report by RUSI that said Britain’s defense spending would inevitably drop below the 2 percent target due to austerity measures.

The report predicted that the military’s strength could be reduced by 30,000 personnel, leaving just 115,000 in the combined armed forces by the end of the decade.

The government has said that it is committed to spending 2 percent of GDP on defense, and that regular armed forces should not be “reduced below the level that they are now”. AFP

W E D N E S D AY : M A R C H 1 1 : 2 0 1 5

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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

Chair, KISH

Wingchair, A. Garcia Crafts

LUXURY

FILIPINO CREATIVITY

Chair, Cancio

AT THE FOREFRONT IN THE PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL FURNITURE SHOW

BY LITO CINCO

I

t’s another feather in the Philippines’ cap. The creativity of the Filipino has been winning accolades for decades - as artists, thespians, singers and craftsmen. Increasingly, Filipinos are earning raves in the field of furniture design, and the world is taking notice.

One such designer is Cebuano Kenneth Cobonpue, a multi-awarded designer who was given the Top Pick Award for Innovation by the American Society of Interior Designers at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in March 2012, the same year he won Best of the Year Award for Furniture Outdoor Seating in November. He has also been recognized in Canada, France, Japan and Hong Kong, aside from mainland USA. In fact he counts among his international clients the likes of Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. Continued on C2

Chair, Murillo Export

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C2

LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

TESORO’S, CROSSING GENERATIONS AND BOUNDARIES

Marking its 70th year in business, Tesoro’s Philippine Handicrafts has not only crossed generations, but also boundaries.

A Light fitting, Felix

Bench, Tumandong Crafts Walis Tingting Hanging Light, Murillo Export

BY LITO CINCO

nd if co-founder, the late Salud Tesoro were alive today, she would be celebrating her 100th birthday, surely happy that the business has continued and even flourished with the second generation children she and husband Nestor Tesoro produced taking good care of the business. Their youngest daughter Maribel Tesoro is Group CEO, and eldest child Alice Guerrero is Chairwoman. Salud Tesoro was legendary. When she passed away in 2000, outliving her husband who died in 1973, she was still actively running her company.

The business actually started in 1945 from the ashes of the American liberation of Manila following the end of World War II as Sally’s Gift Shop in Escolta. It was renamed Tesoro’s, meaning treasure in Spanish.

At this time she put into effect her business model of “ all under one roof “, gathering in her store all the quality local crafts that showcased the best the country had to offer, goods that she had personally sourced from all over.

In time, the the couple’s reliability, honesty, and integrity won them many regular clients and the store became a mandatory stop for tourists in the ensuing decades, this reputation for personalized service and consistent quality products made Tesoro’s the shopping destination for Philippine handicraft items and apparel, especially the “ barong Tagalog “ The death of her husband spurred Dona Salud to grow the business even more, expanding into exports and real estate, and from its humble beginnings, Tesoro’s metamorphosed into a multi-million group of companies involved in retail merchandising of Philippine handicrafts to building and property management, following its successful diversification.

Fast-forward to the present, under the helm of Maribel, the business continued expanding as she blended the best qualities of a professionally-run corporation with the patience and long term view of a family business, “ we remain connected with our loyal customers while we reach out to new ones. We support hundreds of employees and thousands of key suppliers so we can provide world class Filipino products, “said Maribel, continuing the legacy of her mother who was acknowledged as the “ Mother of Philippine Handicrafts.”

Tesoro’s has managed to cross boundaries by supporting young talents who provide new and innovative ideas while working with the second generation children of its suppliers, maintaining a unique trans-generational commercial relationship founded on mutual trust and benefit. Presently with ten stores in Makati, Manila, and different airports, Tesoro’s already offers on-line shopping through its website both here and abroad.

In honor of Dona Salud, the family will have a year long celebration of her 100th birth anniversary, starting with the recent launch at its flagship and newly-renovated store in Arnaiz Ave. in Makati with prominent members of Manila society coming as requested in Filipiniana costumes, lending an elegant air to the cocktail event.

The event also saw the launch of a commemorative stamp by the Philippine Postal Corporation for the grand old lady of the Tesoro family. Next up is a book launch . Edited by Mary Grace Tirona, the book will feature photographs and unforgettable anecdotes , tracing the beginnings of Salud Tesoro and her story of guts, genius, and determination that led to her success.

A fitting salute and recognition for Dona Salud.

Bamboo Chandelier, Murillo Export From C1

This week, from March 13 to 16, local furniture designers, especially those from Cebu and Pampanga, will be presenting their designs at the Philippine International Furniture Show ( PIFS ) at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia, with international buyers from the USA, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Turkey, and India expected to come, according to the organizers led, by overall event chairman Christina Gaston. “ This is a Filipino collection, an opportunity to show the world how we interpret world trends and in many cases take the lead in design innovation, “ said Gaston.

The local designers’ design identity has been defined as being marked by craftmanship, design innovation, and eco-sustainability, sometimes adapting environmentfriendly concepts like mixing materials with a dose of recycling and re-purposing resulting to entirely new looks for things, from multipurpose storage boxes, bureaus, and office accessories.

What will add, too, to the international flavor of this event will be the presence of Mary McDonald and Nathan Turner of the American reality TV show Million Dollar Decorators.

The pair will also talk about the latest design trends during their visit to PIFS. Another highlight of the 4-day event will be the Interior Lifestyle Vignettes to be curated by architect-designer J. Antonio Mendoza, who also serves as the event’s creative director, as he combines the past with contemporary furniture.

PIFS is organized in cooperation with the Cebu Furnitures Industries Foundation, the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, and the Pampanga Furnitures Industries of the Philippines. For additional information, visit Philippines International Furniture Show or email info@pifs.ph.

Salud Tesoro at the very first store in Escolta.

Tesoro’s Souvenirs and fashion accessories

Commemorative Salud S. Tesoro Birth Centenary stamp

Group CEO of Tesoro’s Maria Isabel “Beng” Tesoro

(L-R) John Benjamin Tesoro, Dettie Tesoro- Carunungan, Dolly Tesoro- Arit, Bobby Tesoro, Beng Tesoro, Mita Tesoro- Gutierrez, Atty. Tito Tesoro, Atty. Lulu Tesoro-Castañeda, Alice Tesoro-Guerrero

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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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FILIPINO CLASSICS REDEFINED With its rich culture and dramatic history, the Philippines is a territory that deserves continuous rediscovery. The diversity of the Filipino aesthetic continues to flourish and become distinct by looking back into its heritage from different perspectives. With furniture, decorative pieces, and dinnerware now being offered, the new I T O K I S H collection is composed of timeless Filipino pieces breathing new life.

ITO KISH x MAISON ASIA Opening its first show outside of Paris in 2014, Maison & Objet Asia was received to some outstanding success. I T O K I S H was among a team of selected Filipino designers who represented “Design Philippines” in the show’s debut year held in Singapore. With growing ventures, I T O K I S H emboldens and joins Maison & Objet Asia as its own independent brand.

For its debuting event, I T O K I S H launches its latest developments.

Art Deco and the Manila Metropolitan Theater, Filipino architect Juan Arellano’s masterpiece, influenced the Arellano vase. Sculpted from fine bone china, these handmade vases of angles, sunburst patterns and linear design personify that era.

Originally in natural and white finishes, the Baluster Collection transforms its latest line of pieces into edgier works of art. The Raides, a series of tables, is made from gmelina wood with a Philippine (Romblon) marble top and black painted finish.

Dubbed as “the most beautiful chair” at last year’s show, the white Gregoria chair sheds its pristine image. Its darker color enhances the distinct figure of the balusters.

An icon and a classic, the B-Luxe is the revamped Batibot, a popular Philippine chair from the 60’s. It is larger in scale and uses new materials of plated metal in chrome, copper, brass and acrylic seats etched with chevron and plaid patterns.

The Rosario, inspired by the candelabras found in cathedrals, expands with these table and floor lamps. Contrasting their silhouettes are the stingray details and Ikat woven shades.

Alongside the latest features are two of the brand’s most distinct pieces: the armoire from the Basilisa collection and the multipurpose Santamaria stools/containers.

For a first look on what is new and a further appreciation on what is current, visit I T O K I S H at stand A29 in Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center from March 10-13, 2015.

THE SCENT OF QUALITY

BY ED BIADO

The best kinds of fragrances are those that keep you smelling good the whole day. Not only that, the effect should also be achieved in the most subtle manner. The scent should not be a distraction or a loud statement; it should not clash and compete with your natural scent; and it should never ever be overpowering.

Taking a stroll at the mall, walking down the street or anywhere that there’s a crowd, one can encounter a myriad of people wearing different fragrances that assault the senses. That’s the tendency of inexpensive youthtargeted scents that are marked by intense sweetness, by way of either fruity or floral or both at the same time.

“Cheap perfume tends to smell sweeter than average.

This isn’t because sweet smelling ingredients are just cheaper than others (although they can be), but because cheap perfume tends to be marketed for younger people (who tend to have less money). Younger people,

particularly teenagers tend to have a poor sense of smell, so these sweeter scents are more subtle for them than they would be for a more developed nose,” explains “exaromatherapist” Tatiana Estevez on Quora.

Aside from that, mass-market perfumes use substandard or diluted fragrance oils that evaporate quickly and leave you smelling like alcohol, hairspray or cotton candy an hour or two after spraying. Higher-quality perfumes, on the

ROSARIO LAMPS These floor lamps are the simpler versions of the cathedralinspired candelabras.

Contrasting their dark silhouettes are the t’nalak woven shades and stingray details.

GREGORIA CHAIR & RAIDES CONSOLE This collection is inspired by the near omnipresence of balusters in vintage Philippine design. From seating and storage, to decorative staircase details, this icon is now given a new twist. It is also a tribute to the designer’s mother, after whom the Gregoria chair/ lounge is named.

ARELLANO VASES Art Deco influenced angles, sunburst patterns and linear design. These vases of fine bone china personify the era and the Manila Metropolitan Theater, Filipino Architect Juan M. Arellano’s masterpiece.

other hand, are more long-lasting because of the way the notes and accords interact with one another, partly due to the quality and purity of the oils. The more exquisite and stable the base notes are, the longer they stay on the skin and ground the preceding notes, reverberating like a quiet symphony. Quality, of course, comes at a price.

Le Labo, a craft perfumery which scents average at $140 per ounce, believes in that philosophy. “Usual manufacturers are able to cheapen their products by selling them in million of quantities, all over the world, and using cheap fragrance oils that sometimes cost 30 times less than ours,” it says on its Web site.

“In perfume terms, what quality means is concentration.

In a nutshell, concentration is judged by...the duration of time that it actually lasts on your skin. Quite frankly, I think that it’s probably the most luxurious because it’s absolutely invisible. It sits closer to your skin than lingerie, couture or jewelry,” quips Clive Christian brand ambassador Victoria Christian, as quoted by StyleCaster.

Clive Christian is famously tagged as “the world’s most expensive perfume.” Its flagship fragrance, No. 1, retails for $2,150 per ounce.

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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 FILIPINO ELEMENTS, REINTERPRETED: capiz lights, wrought iron balustrades, and an embroidery motif digitally manipulated in the new Tesoros façade

GO FOR THE BOLD

Two designers who happen to be lighting specialists, light up a Filipino retail institution their way

BY BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE

T

ongue-in-cheek retro are not exactly words associated with Tesoro’s. It may be an institution, but it’s always been better known as that temple of Philippine souvenir shopping, where you’d go to buy wooden spoons, Spanish-style fans and pina tablecloths, perhaps. But a store with a funky vibe you might want to hang out in, maybe even have a cup of coffee or two?

Think again, because Tesoro’s has undergone a facelift, as well as a reinvention of its identity, with a striking new façade and clever lighting, thanks to the dynamic duo behind the two year-old firm, WE Design, Mark Wilson and Nikki Escalona-Tayag.

Funnily enough, Wilson and EscalonaTayag, who met while both were studying at Parsons School of Design in New York, were finishing up their first major commission, a complete renovation, encompassing the interior design and lighting design of

another Philippine crafts store, Kultura, at SM Makati, when they met Beng Tesoro.

“At a wake, of all places,” says Wilson.

“In fact, we also got our first major client, Tessie Sy-Coson [of SM] at a wake. So wakes, weirdly, have been good for us!”

“Well, you know, here, wakes are kind of social occasions,” chimes in Escalona-Tayag.

“You never know who you’ll meet. As they say, you gotta network to get work!”

“So Beng says to us, ‘I have 20,000 eyeballs that pass my street everyday.

There’s so much going on, the new Ayala car park right in front of me and right beside them these new towers, so eyeballs, eyeballs, eyeballs. I want to use my façade to gather more eyeballs,’” recounts Wilson.

“So immediately my thoughts went to Robert Venturi, learning from Las Vegas.”

The American architect had spent of lot of time in Las Vegas and realized that the façade of a building could be treated as a signboard.

Artist’s rendering of the finished façade

“Like you see in Times Square, too. So we took that, the signboard concept, the façade of the building as a form of media.”

Adds Escalona-Tayag, “If you notice, every façade along Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road) is gray and brown. Tesoro’s is the only thing that stands out. Day and night. Now, you see the full façade from a distance, as you’re walking, in your car… you can already see the difference next to all these other buildings. And it’s still the original building designed by Gabby Formoso in the mid-90s.”

That was the first linchpin of the project.

The second involved exploring the DNA of the brand. That’s where the term “tonguein-cheek retro” comes into play.

“Tesoros was born in 1947,” says Wilson, “Manila is in love with the US, in love with Hollywood, and in love with glamor.

In fact, Beng used to have in her store Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy, these

Another view of the façade and ground floor entrance

WE Design principals and partners Nikki Escalona-Tayag and Mark Wilson

billboards of them wearing pearls… So we explored this retro DNA.” The upcoming 100th birthday of the founder, the late Salud Tesoro, provided the pretext to reinvigorate the brand and reposition it as a market leader.

The façade, in turn, provided the perfect canvas.

“The initiative to revitalize the façade led the client to study their brand, and put a finger of their essential identity. Looking into their history, Tesoros realized that their expertise lay in fabric, specifically embroidery on textile such as jusi and pina,” explain Wilson and Escalona-Tayag.

In fact, what they ended up doing was taking an embroidery motif from a barong Tagalog fabric, creating a composition from high-resolution photography (36 megapixels). They then put this image into Photoshop, desaturated it to grayscale, and made it the basis of a digital artwork. The motif was then panelled onto the non-glass façade of the flagship store, almost like a bas-relief, simultaneously creating pattern, depth, surface texture that then directs the eye towards the focal point, which is the glass showcase. Not only does the façade seem more interesting, the window display stands out more, too.

They added a wrought iron balustrade at the side, which according to Wilson, plays up that Hollywood connection. “It’s evocative of the 50s, very mid-century.”

While it was tempting to “douse” the building with light, spotlighting the digital artwork on the façade, both designers decided not to. “We decided to use yellow light. So when you walk past at night, there’s this yellow glow where everyone else is a white-blue. So we’re also distinguishing it in that way. Besides, yellow light is very romantic, soft, old-fashioned.”

Adds Escalona-Tayag, “It stands out.

And we used LED, but we aren’t using that color temperature.”

“Again, it’s evocative of an older period,” says Wilson.

Any way you look at it, the skilful melding of Venturi and “burda” in a souvenir shop is pretty radical.

“They were iffy at first,” says EscalonaTayag of the Tesoro family’s reaction.

“Yes,” adds Wilson, “they were sort of in shock that we were going to cover the façade with the grayscale Photoshopped iteration of the barong motif. First of all, we always go with the bold option. I mean, why are you painting us to paint your walls grey? So it was very bold, and Beng, she liked it very much. But it took her a few weeks to say, right, this is it, it’s fabulous.”

“It also took a lot of convincing on her part to get the rest of the family on board with the design, because she had brothers and sisters who were also very involved with the decision-making,” says EscalonaTayag. “But once she believed in the concept, she was able to sell it to them, definitely. And she stood by it. She was really into it, and that was really exciting.”

One more thing Wilson and EscalonaTayag convinced Tesoro do – and it impacts both positively and subtly on this new brand identity – was to drop the apostrophe in Tesoro’s and change the name to TESOROS. It’s a clever play on the family name, while highlighting the merchandise inside: tesoro in Spanish means “treasure.”

So, in going for the bold option once more, the duo is having the new name spelled out in individual letters, each one a meter high, and set into the ledge atop the building in bright, unapologetic neon.

And why not? Wilson and EscalonaTayag wanted the store to stand out against a row of bland concrete bathed in white light. I’d say they’ve succeeded spectacularly.

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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ANDROID PHONE CAN BE KEY TO FAME

osted by Ogie Alcasid and Venus Raj, TV5’s newest primetime offering is the competition for the selfie generation—a chance for homegrown talents to rise from phone to fame and become the country’s next musical sensation A revolution is coming to your television screens this summer with the upcoming premiere of RisingStars Philippines, a groundbreaking singing competition that is set to air on TV5 starting March 14.

RisingStars Philippines provides a game-changing concept and a refreshing way to engage its audience through the staple of Filipino culture—the Karaoke.

After searching through 20 cities from across the country, putting up booths in over 200 stops in major malls, barangays and schools, and finding musically gifted individuals with the potential to become a star, they are still looking for more.

The competition puts a premium on showcasing talent and bringing people closer to their dreams.

Aside from the booths, auditions were held in the comfort of people’s

homes through the RisingStars Philippines Mobile App. Available on the Google Play store for Android phones, the mobile app makes joining the contest easy and hasslefree, with no money or time spent on long lines and traveling.

Auditions were also held via the RisingStars Philippines website (www. risingstars.ph) where hopefuls could record and submit entries. Any Filipino over the age of 13 is eligible to enter the competition.

After months of screenings, online voting, and eliminations, the semi-finalists of each city were pitted in the regional live shows to screen and determine the cast for the televised finals. With 12 live shows held in various malls, thousands of guests and supporters cheered on their favorite contenders.

What makes this competition stand out from all the others is how it reaches out to the entire nation and takes advantage of the digital age. An entirely new degree of audience participation awaits viewers, as they can become part of the show at any given time: through the mobile app or website, anyone can sing, while those who didn’t make it to the initial screenings can still record and submit a challenge entry against any of the current finalists and get a chance to replace their slot on the show.

This unique challenge concept presents a more level playing field, providing everyone their own chance to shine by showcasing their talents live on national television.

Mico Aytona joins Ogie and Venus as roving reporter. Ogie is excited about the show and for TV5.

“There is no doubt that all of them are good, but we are looking for a rising star,” he says. “That is another ingredient we are looking for.”

A former pageant contestant herself, Venus shares, “The journey is more important than the destination. We all want to win and have the prize, but it is merely secondary. What is important is that you prove yourself, that you overcome the trials within you.”

RisingStars Philippines has a distinguished panel of judges comprised of acoustic singer/songwriter Jimmy Bondoc,, Diamond Soul Siren Nina, and Radio DJ/love guru Papa Jack.

The show premieres this March 14 at 9 p.m. on TV5 and airs every Saturday and Sunday.

For more contest details and updates, see posters, print ads, and log-on to the RisingStars website (www.risingstars.ph), or follow social media updates via Facebook /risingstars.ph or Twitter @RisingStarsasia.

Ogie Alcasid hosts the new singing contest on TV, Rising Stars, with Mico Aytona and Venus Raj. Singers Jimmy Bondoc, Nina, and radio DJ Papa Jack are the judges that will determine along with the audience who wins the contest

GMA NETWORK STAYS AHEAD IN COMPETITION

G

MA Network held on to its unbeaten record in the important areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, where it continued to lead across all dayparts, in the month of February.

According to data from the industry’s widely-trusted ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, GMA outperformed rival networks from Feb.1 to 28 (with the dates of Feb. 22 to 28 based on overnight data) by substantial margins.

In Urban Luzon, GMA recorded a total day household audience share of 36.9 percent, 6.9 points higher than ABSCBN’s 30 percent and 28 points higher than TV5’s 8.9 percent.

The Kapuso Network also retained its dominance in Mega Manila with 38.7 percent average, surpassing ABS-CBN’s 26.7 percent by 12 points and TV5’s 9.2 percent by 29.5 points.

Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 77 and 59 percent, respectively, of all urban TV households in the country.

Meanwhile, GMA came ahead of its counterparts in NUTAM (National Urban TV Audience Measurement) in the daytime blocks. GMA’s morning audience share reached 32.8 percent, up 2.1 points from ABS-CBN’s 30.7 percent and up 22.9 points from TV5’s 9.9 percent.

In the afternoon block, GMA beat competition with its 35.8 percent average, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 30 percent by 5.8 points as well as TV5’s 10.3 percent by 25.5 points.

Internationally-recognized news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho took the number one spot in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, while leading the roster of Kapuso programs in NUTAM. Compared to its closest competitor, more entries from GMA also made it to the list of top 30 regular programs across NUTAM, Urban Luzon and Mega Manila.

Among those included in the list, besides KJMS, were Magpakailanman, 24 Oras, Ismol Family, Celebrity Bluff, The Half Sisters, Empress Ki, Pepito Manaloto, Eat Bulaga, More Than Words, and Once Upon A Kiss.

Among the top-rating shows on GMA 7 include Celebrity Bluff with Eugene Domingo, Sona with Jessica Soho, Magpakailanman with Mel Tiangco and Ismol Family with Ryan Agoncillo and Carla Abellana

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

RICHARD GERE FINDS HIS MUSE

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ow that The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is full with its long-term residents, co-managers Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) and Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) have a dream of expansion, and they’ve found just the place – The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

With plans underway, Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) venture into the Jaipur workforce, wondering where their regular breakfast dates will lead.

Meanwhile, Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) navigate the swirling waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two very eligible suitors, and recent arrival Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) finds a muse in Sonny’s mother, Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey) for his next novel. As his marriage to Sunaina (Tina Desai), the love of his life, quickly approaches, Sonny finds his plans for the new hotel making more claims on his time than he has available. Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is

Madden and then of course, there was this cast. It’s widely accepted that Judi and Maggie are royalty in the film industry. They’re such appealing individuals to see up on the screen, but in terms of who they are as people...they have wicked senses of humor!”

The energy of the entire cast, no matter their chronological stats, was exhilarating to him. “You can’t be an actor and not have a youthful spirit,” he says. “It doesn’t happen any other way. I was in dance rehearsals right off the plane basically, so there was an immediate sense of joy and fun. A lot of that feeling comes from John, as well. He’s someone who is delighted by people, by performances, by the culture in India and I think he brings all of that out in this production.”

Richard Gere is back as Guy Chambers in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The actor is the new arrival in Gere was also drawn to the sophisticated the ensemble for the comedy. wit of the comedy. “At times it’s almost Muriel, the keeper of everyone’s secrets. As be in the film irresistible. “I thought the first like a Shakespearean comedy of manners, the big day nears, family and guests alike film was terrific,” he says. “You see fewer with all these human foibles on display,” he find themselves swept up in the irresistible and fewer films about the real dilemmas of muses. “And it seems that all the characters our lives, so it was a rare thing. And then to are mostly focused on modifying the damintoxication of an Indian wedding.

The latest arrival at the Marigold Hotel see such a really good script the second time age Sonny wreaks on everything! As for is an alluring mystery– the American Guy around; that doesn’t happen all that often. Chambers, Gere demurs: “I can’t say much Chambers who might or might not be the John and Ollie developed something won- except that he has a lot of secrets...“ key to Sonny’s dreams, but is definitely about derful... and it’s the most extraordinary cast Watch Richard Gere’s timeless charm as to shake things up one way or the other. The to bang heads with.” he dance Bollywood style in The Second Gere couldn’t resist joining the crew. “I’m Best Exotic Marigold Hotel on March 18 exrole brings the Golden Globe® winning actor Richard Gere into the ensemble. Gere, who always happy to do anything in India,” he clusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas from 20th plays Guy Chambers, found the invitation to says. “I’ve always wanted to work with John Century Fox.

REO BROTHERS OF TACLOBAN LAUNCH DEBUT ALBUM

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The Reo Brothers of Tacloban have become a natural occurrence in the local music industry after they were launched on the music scene by ABS-CBN in a Christmas special in 2013. They now have an eponymous album

he REO Brothers of Tacloban, composed of the Otic siblings, Reno (drums), Ralph (bass), Raymart (rhythm guitar) and RJ (lead guitar), continue to rock the Philippine music scene with their self-titled debut album under Star Music.

According to the band leader RJ, their name REO represents their family. He explained, “R is the first letter of our names; E is for our mother’s maiden name, Evasco; and O stands for Otic, our surname.”

The story of the disco, pop-rock band became an inspiring tale of survival after super typhoon Yolanda ravaged their hometown Tacloban in 2013.

Their mind-blowing musical talent has sent waves of nostalgia through their renditions of hit songs of ‘60s and ‘70s music icons like the Beach Boys, Dave Clark 5, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and The Beatles.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 45 47 49 50 51 54 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Tijuana locale 5 Please, to Fritz 10 Slimy crud 14 Hula-dance fete 15 Different 16 Rose Bowl org.

17 Elevator guy 18 Secluded valleys 19 Left the plane 20 Burrows (hyph.)

22 Marshy hollow 23 Same old grind

24 25 29 33 34 36 37 38 39 40 42 43

Garden-pond fish Enchanting Run aground Outer garment Similar Murder and such Spoil Making a bow Go-ahead Temple pier Cronyn of “Cocoon” Mecca resident

Self-guided tour?

(2 wds.)

On an incline Wolf Man portrayer Rap-sheet letters — and dined Copper patina Georgetown alum Sharp-smelling Freeway access Totally amazes Reinforce Barely open Miss Kitty’s friend Chemical compound Quite a few

DOWN 1 Sci-fi menace 2 Traffic clogger 3 Clink or cooler 4 Lipizzaner’s home 5 Andean capital 6 “— never fly!”

7 You, formerly 8 Gymnasts’ goals 9 Um cousins 10 Mouse sound 11 W. Coast campus 12 Claw or talon 13 Klondike — 21 He was a Finn

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015

22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 35 38 41 43 44 46 48 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 61

Not worth a — Big ape?

Jazz singer Carmen — Moving right — Must (2 wds.)

Easy basket Punishes a leadfoot Glazed goody Crumble away Overhauled Kipling classic Watery No fewer than (2 wds.)

H.H. Munro Door re odor Lightning — Painter’s tool “Kapow!”

Plains state “Da” opposite DVD predecessors The E in QED Wedding confetti Rani’s spouse “— — Old Cowhand” Nimble “Honest” fellow

“We started playing in Tacloban as REO Brothers in 2009 and we’re formally launched here in Manila on the ABS-CBN Christmas Special in 2013,” the band shared.

“We were so tense that night because we were lined up with many big stars in the program. But everything turned out well and we’re overjoyed because we’re given standing ovation by everyone at the Araneta Coliseum.”

With their debut album now out in the market, REO Brothers, also dubbed by fans as the Pinoy Beatles, are so excited to share their album with the people who believe in their music and in their dreams to conquer the recording scene.

“From international bands, we are now paying tribute to the music of OPM legends like VST & Company, Hotdog, and Juan dela Cruz band. Through our album, we want to introduce the beautiful Manila

Sound to the young people like us,” the REO brothers said.

Featured in “REO Brothers of Tacloban” album are four revivals and two original songs composed by veteran hitmaker Vehnee Saturno.

They band made a revival of VST & Company’s “Awitin Mo Isasayaw Ko,” Hotdog’s “Manila,” Juan dela Cruz’s “Titser’s Enemy Number One” and Orange & Lemons’ phenomenal hit song, “Pinoy Ako.” The two original tracks are titled “O Bakit?” and the album’s carrier single is titled “Ako’y Tinamaan.” All six tracks have minus one versions in the album.

The “REO Brothers of Tacloban” album is now available at all record bars nationwide for only P199. Digital tracks can also be downloaded worldwide via online music stores such as iTunes and Mymusicstore.com.ph.

For more information, visit Starmusic.ph or follow Star Music’s official social media accounts at Facebook.com/starrecordsphil, Twitter.com/starrecordsph and Instagram. com/Starmusicph.

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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WITHOUT WANG 2 Wilson Tieng, founder and CEO, and Brillante Mendoza, festival director of Sinag Maynila at the launch at SM Aura

BY NICKIE WANG

Winners in the recent Star Awards for movies include Bonifacio with Robin Padilla, John Lloyd Cruz as Best Actor for The Trial and Nora Aunor as Best Actress for Dementia

UNPOPULAR FILMS WIN BIG AT STAR AWARDS

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istorical action drama Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo scooped the Movie of the Year plum at the glitzy Star Awards for Movies staged by the Philippine Movie Press Club last Sunday.

One of the biggest box office bombs of the previous year, the win was not a surprise for the Robin Padilla starrer. It also won the major awards at the Metro Manila Film Festival in December. It was like deja vu when it walked home with the Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editor, Best Production Design, Best Musical Score, Best Sound Engineering, and Best Original Theme Song awards.

The second most decorated film of the night was the Cinemalaya movie The Janitor. The action-thriller, which was released commercially in October, won five major awards in the indie section including Indie Movie of the Year, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editor and Best Sound Engineer.

Another unpopular movie, in terms of box office performance, performed well in this annual gathering of movie stars. John Lloyd Cruz won

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Best Actor as a mentally challenged man in The Trial. The film, released in October last year and earned around P50 million at the tills, won two more trophies – Sylvia Sanchez and Gretchen Barretto both bagged the Best Supporting Actress award.

In its 31-year history, the PMPC is very much consistent in giving out the same award to two nominees. Last Sunday was no exception. John Lloyd shared the Best Actor award with Piolo Pascual who won for his role in Starting Over Again. And Miggs Cuaderno, nominated Best Supporting Actor at the International Filmmakers Festival of World Cinema in London and won Best Actor at the 20th Chéries-Chéris Paris Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in France for Asintado, tied with Bimby Yap for his role in The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin 2 for the Movie Child Performer of the Year award.

It’s good to note that the PMPC members didn’t have the hard time in choosing the Best Actress winner this year. They all agreed that Nora Aunor deserved to be among the winners as Best Actress for Dementia.

ANOTHER FILM COLLABORATION

he country’s biggest film outfits known for holding the record of most successful co-productions on local movie scene are joining forces once again for another romantic teen flick.

Featuring the phenomenal love team of James Reid and Nadine Lustre that made an astronomical rise via the blockbusters Ang Diary ng Panget and Talk Back and You’re Dead, the new big screen project is based on a Wattpad series titled Para sa Hopeless Romantic.

The story revolves around the juvenile love affair of high school lovers Nikko (Reid) and Rebecca (Lustre), whose relationship abruptly fell apart.

To cope with her broken heart, Rebecca writes a story slightly similar to her failed romance with Nikko. Her story’s characters are Maria and Ryan,

portrayed by another promising tandem of Julia Barretto and Iñigo Pascual.

The film is said to be a big project in terms of its likelihood to be a blockbuster hit.

But content-wise, even if Star Cinema and Viva Films promote this as a good story, it lacks the depth and doesn’t seem to care more on character development.

But as we predict, this flick will make another box office record. Obviously, Star Cinema and Viva Films know their market very well. These are the people who go to the movie houses to get entertained and not be pulled in by compelling plots, state-of-the-art visuals or outstanding character arcs.

We know they mean business but when will they finally pay it forward and leave a valid legacy in Philippine Cinema?

Mendoza handpicked the filmmakers participating in the new film festival

ANOTHER INDIE FILM FESTIVAL From C8

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inag Maynila is the country’s newest independent film festival that features and thought-provoking movies from young Filipino filmmakers.

Established by Wilson Tieng along with film director Brillante Mendoza, Sinag Maynila awards grants to filmmakers for development of their material to fulllength films for public exhibition.

The festival focuses on films that reflect Filipino culture, while presenting social issues deserving of discussion among audiences here and abroad.

“With more festivels, the chance to tell stories has greater chances especially among independent filmmakers,” Mendoza said.

Tieng is also the chief executive officer while Mendoza is the festival director.

For Tieng, the festival does not only up the ante. “Working with Brillante Mendoza, we hope to give our homegrown filmmakers the chance to tell the stories of Filipinos in the most compelling visual narrative possible,” he said.

This early, Tieng commends the five feature films “for showing great promise of high recognition not just locally but in international independent film festivals as well.”

For the inaugural year of the festival, both Tieng and Mendoza handpicked five of the country’s reputable independent filmmakers with whom they collaborated in producing this year’s selection of definitive films.

From story concept, to scripts, filming and editing, Tieng and Mendoza have worked closely with the directors so audiences

are assured of world-class pieces from the festival.

“We don’t want to just produce films. We want to produce good films. We want the audience to watch not one but all five films,” Mendoza said.

Here are the films premiering in Sinag Maynial.

Balut Country, by Paul Sta. Ana, follows the journey of Jun, an heir to the duck farm left to him by his late father. He must decide whether to sell the property to secure his future, or spare the land’s loyal caretakers of inevitable displacement.

Bambanti, by Zig Dulay, questions the prejudice of the rich towards the poor when a son of a househelp is suspected to have stolen the employer’s missing golden watch.

Imbisibol, by Lawrence Fajardo, tells the tale of illegal Filipino immigrants in Japan and their plight to evade authorities.

Ninja Party, by Jim Libiran ,is a coming of age story of two teenage coeds who find themselves in a compromising situation when they get involved in secret debauchery.

Swap, Rempton Zuasola, takes us to the internal conflict of a young father, torn between solving a crime and committing another crime when one day his only son is kidnapped and the criminals demand him to steal another kid in exchange of his son’s life.

The films will be screened on rotation basis daily from March 18 to 24, 2015 in a designated SM Cinema at SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM Manila, SM Fairview, SM Southmall, SM Mall of Asia and in SM Aura

Premier where the red-carpet opening ceremonies will be held.

After the festival period, Sinag Maynila plans to screen the films in other SM Cinemas as well as in universities and colleges.

The Sinag Maynila Awards Night will be held on March 21 at SM Aura Premier Sky Park.

In a rather intimate evening, the festival will be recognizing excellence in film, direction, performance, screenplay, cinematography, and production design.

SM will give a special citation to the People’s Choice movie. ★★★★★ Impersonator Ate Gay, Gladys Guevarra, Candy Pangilinan, and Ruffa Mae Quinto are featured in a show titled 4 Da Best + 1 on March 13 and 14, 8p.m. at the Music Museum.

Actually, this is a repeat of the show that had been previously mounted last year.

According to Andrew De Real, producer of the show, this is a comedy and musical that is sure to entertain the fans of the four.

An addition to the show is Kim Idol, so the +1 in the title.

There had been shows with the same title previously, and the fun and laughter had always been the same. The new staging, says De Real is something similar, only the performers are different.

Candy, Ruffa Mae, Gladys, and Ate Gay say they are honered that De Real cast them for this edition of the long-runnning musical comedy show.

This time, Soc Mina is directiong.

For tickets, go to Music Museum. The prices are very affordable—VIP P2,500, Patron P2,000, Balcony P1,500.

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W E D N E S D AY : M A R C H 1 1 : 2 0 1 5

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

PIOLO PASCUAL WANTS YOU TO HAVE PERFECT VISION SIMPLY RED ISAH V. RED Why not? If that would be the only way to see Piolo Pascual in the clearest possible way, hence admiring his perfection 20/20.

In response to reports that over 20 million Filipinos are in need of visual correction, top global ophthalmic lenses manufacturer Essilor has launched a public awareness campaign on the importance of good vision, with top celebrity Piolo Pascual as brand ambassador.

Essilor is the world leader for corrective lenses. The success of the company, which is present in more than 100 countries, is the result of a strategy that has been driven by innovation for more than 160 years. It has been awarded by Forbes magazine as “The World’s Most Innovative Companies” for four consecutive years.

From design to manufacture, Essilor develops a wide range of lenses to protect and correct eyesight. Its

mission is to enable everyone in the world to see well using lenses tailored to their needs. The company devotes 150 million euros a year on research and development to offer increasingly efficient products.

“Across the globe, four billion people need visual correction, and in the Philippines, over 20 million individuals need visual correction.

As a leader, we feel it is our responsibility to do something to alleviate the situation and this is the reason we are doing this campaign,” said Dr. Emelita Roleda, Essilor general manager.

“Essilor’s ‘Seeing the World Better’ campaign is our company’s way of helping the world see better by raising awareness about the importance of healthy vision and address the alarming number of visual impairment cases in the country. We also hope that through this campaign, Filipinos will start paying more attention to their eyes so they can see the world in a clearer and brighter view,” Dr. Roleda added.

Piolo Pascual appears in Essilor’s latest TVC and educational materials. A sportsman and a known health

buff, Piolo believes prevention is the first step towards healthy vision.

“Good eye health is a serious matter because it is essential to performing practically all our daily tasks. Without good vision, we can only do so much and this limitation can stand in the way of achieving our goals.”

Pascual has a 20/20 vsion and doesn’t need corrective lenses, but he says he wears a pair of spectacles to prevent his eyes from the damaging effects of sunlight. Everybody knows that the actor is a health and fitness

Pascual has a 20/20 vision and doesn’t need corrective lenses, but says he wears a pair of spectacles to prevent his eyes from the damaging effects of sunlight when he is outdoor

buff and does a lot of outdoor activities like running.

He says that Essilor has lenses that help prevent the UV rays in preventing the sun from causing damage to his eyesight.

To raise awareness, Essilor launched its latest infomercial featuring Pascual performing various activities – swimming, reading, driving – and how good vision helps him accomplish these tasks effectively.

The newest TV is seen in primetime on select cable channels.

The campaign will drive three important messages: Prevention: Essilor lenses help prevent age-related eye diseases, 2) Protection: It also helps provide everyday protection from ultraviolet (UV) rays and harmful blue light 3) Correction: promote the initial purpose of Essilor which is to help correct eyesight.

Dr. Roleda cites the plethora of electronic devices that we are exposed to everyday, which emits harmful blue lights that damage the retina. “Repetitive exposure to blue light posts threat to our eyes.

It may cause oxidative damage, and may be responsible for causing

age-related macular degeneration, which can result to blindness.”

Wearing protective lenses like Crizal Prevencia, she adds, can do a lot in preventing the detrimental effects of harmful blue light. Crizal Prevencia is the only clear lens that selectively filters harmful blue light from gadgets, LED and UV light while letting through the healthy blue light.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays, on the other hand, contribute to the development of cataracts. Wearing Crizal Forte UV lenses can protect our eyes from these harmful rays.

For those starting around age 40, our eyes can gradually lose the ability to focus on nearby objects; this is an unavoidable condition but it can be corrected, says Dr Roleda.

“Essilor Varilux progressive lenses offer a smooth transition from distance vision through intermediate vision to near vision. This means that instead of having just two different viewing zones (near and distant), like with bifocals, Varilux provides the most natural vision correction,” said Dr. Roleda.

Continued on C7