The Standard - 2015 July 22 - Wednesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 162 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 WEDNESDAY : JULY 22, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Aquino defends allies in Congress

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MAR AS ‘FACE-SAVER’ Aquino will be forced to pick Roxas, says Osmeña

By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Sandy Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

TO save face, President Benigno Aquino III will be forced to anoint Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II as the Liberal Party standard bearer for 2016, despite his being a “consistent tail-ender” in all opinion surveys by independent polling companies, Senator Sergio Osmeña III said Tuesday.

“They also extoll the LP as the biggest, the most powerful, the one with the most resources, but they have no presidential candidate,” said Osmeña.

“So if I were to guess, [the President] will endorse Mar,” said Osmena, a political strategist who served on Aquino’s campaign when he ran for president in 2010.

Osmeña said it would be embarrassing for Aquino to endorse the current leader in the opinion polls, Senator Grace Poe, if she decides to run outside the LP. Neither Roxas nor Poe have declared their intention to run for president in 2016.

Poe, however, has dislodged Vice President Jejomar Binay in the latest opinion surveys of the presidential candidate preferred by most voters. In the June survey, Roxas placed fourth. Next page

Japan blasts Beijing for use of ‘coercion’ in sea dispute Rizal is cleared. A security official checks out a member of the Knights of Rizal, who told him he represented the spirit of the national hero, before letting him enter the Supreme Court for the oral arguments on the Torre de Manila controversy on Tuesday. DANNY PATA

Bagatsing to battle Erap, Lim

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Lawmakers seek probe of new pork

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JAPAN slammed Beijing’s bid to reclaim land in the South China Sea Tuesday as a “coercive attempt” to force through sweeping maritime claims, in a defense paper that comes as Tokyo tries to expand the role of its military.

Tokyo said China was acting “unilaterally and without compromise,” as it also highlighted concern about North Korea’s nuclear program and Russian moves in violence-wracked Ukraine.

The white paper accused Beijing of “raising concerns among the international community” in ramped-up criticism from last year’s report, an annual summary of Japan’s official view on deNext page fense matters.

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Mar From A1...

Dinner meeting. Lakas Party president and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez meets with Senator and PDP Laban president Aquilino Pimentel Jr. at the Chef Jessie Restaurant in Rockwell Makati on Tuesday with other members of the two political parties. VER NOVENO

Lawmakers seek probe of pork in 2016 budget Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the leader of the bloc, said Congress must go down to the nitty-gritty of the 2015 budget in the light of Lacson’s allegations that pork was inserted in this year’s spending plan.

“We call on the House leadership to look into the claim of Sen. Lacson on the huge discretionary funds for sake of regularity and

transparency,” Romualdez said.

The Supreme Court declared pork barrel to be unconstitutional in 2013.

Lacson earlier disclosed that based on his team’s studies, some lawmakers got more pork barrel through re-alignment and insertions.

But Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Lacson’s claims were base-

less and unfounded, and said the national budget this year complies with the Constitution.

“Everything is in order and complies with the SC decision regarding national budget,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte said that Congress is now gearing up for the deliberations of the Palace’s proposed P3trillion national budget for 2016.

“We have deliberated thoroughly on the 2015 national budget. There was no any pork insertion made in it,” Belmonte said. “We have to move on to the 2016 budget.”

Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, a member of Romualdez’s bloc, pointed out that pork barrel funds should no lon-

Japan

Sino-Japanese scuffle could set off an armed conflict.

Separately, Japan has complained that China may have started offshore drilling for gas in the disputed waters.

“Japan has repeatedly lodged protest against China’s unilateral development and demanded the termination of such works,” the report said.

The document repeated Tokyo’s concerns over China’s growing assertiveness and widening naval reach in the Pacific and over what it calls the “opaqueness” of Beijing’s sky-rocketing military budget.

But it also noted that China has worked to set up an emergency hotline with Tokyo to prevent unintended conflicts at sea.

Last week, China criticized Tokyo after the lower house of parliament passed bills that could see Japanese troops fight abroad for the first time since World War II.

The move is deeply unpopular at home with approval ratings plummeting for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who insists the changes are crucial to counter security concerns in the region.

Japanese forces launched a fullscale invasion of China in 1937 and the wartime history between the Asian powers still heavily colors their relations today.

Referring to the Ukraine crisis, the report said Russia “has engaged in so-called ‘hybrid warfare’ that is difficult to identify definitively as an armed attack by a country, and has attempted to change the status quo by force or coercion.”

“The Russian attempt is considered to be a global security issue possibly affecting the whole international community including Asia,” it said.

On North Korea, the report warned of a greater risk of Pyong-

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE independent minority bloc in the House of Representatives called for a congressional inquiry Tuesday into claims by former senator Panfilo Lacson that at least P424 billion in lump-sum or discretionary funds were allocated to 11 major line agencies in the P2.6 trillion national budget for 2015.

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“China, particularly over maritime issues, continues to act in an assertive manner, including coercive attempts at changing the status quo, and is poised to fulfill its unilateral demands without compromise,” said the report titled “Defense of Japan.”

China is locked in disputes with several neighbors over its claims to almost the entire South China sea and is currently pursuing a rapid program of artificial island construction in the region.

It is locked in a separate dispute with Japan over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islands -- which it calls the Diaoyus -- in the East China Sea, as Chinese ships and aircraft regularly test Japanese forces in the area.

Observers have warned that the

ger exist in the national budget after the SC ruling declaring the so-called graft-ridden Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF), a lump-sum budgetary item, unconstitutional.

“Transparency should always be the main consideration especially with the involvement of huge amounts of public funds,” De la Cruz said.

Lacson earlier said the P424 billion in lump-sum appropriations could be higher because his team had yet to finish its review of the budget while Senator Sergio Osmeña III backed Lacson’s claim.

Pork barrel projects were known to be sources of hefty kickbacks for lawmakers. yang deploying ballistic missiles mounted with nuclear warheads “that include Japan in their range.”

In Manila, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay said the Philippine legal team led by foreign lawyers were able to offer the “best arguments” on why the UN tribunal should take jurisdiction over the country’s territorial dispute with China.

“We believe, based on our understanding of the case, that we have presented--including the answers we have given--the best forms of argument possible from our side,” Hilbay told reporters in an interview.

He said that while they could not ascertain how the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration received the arguments presented by the Philippine side, it was his impression that they presented strong arguments on the country’s case agains Beijing. – AFP, Rey E. Requejo

Osmeña denied insinuations that he tried to dissuade Poe from running for President to give Roxas a better shot at the presidency next year.

Earlier, Osmeña said Poe would be better off running for vice president and serve six years to gain the experience to become a better president.

Osmeña’s son, Jose Lorenzo Osmeña, is set to marry Roxas’ niece, Ana Cristina Maria Roxas Ojeda in January 2016, but the senator said this had nothing to do with his suggestion to Poe. “That proposal to Grace [Poe] to run for vice president was in response to a question on the better route to great for presidency for her. Obviously, the more experienced [she is], the better,” Osmeña said.

Liberal Party leaders believe Roxas has a better chance of winning the presidency if Poe does not run.

The President met Poe on five occasions, but they have failed to reach an agreement on a common, unified ticket.

Osmena said the results are going to be the same no matter how many meetings they have, and that there was no stopping Poe from running for president in 2016, with or without the President’s endorsement.

“Grace Poe will still run as an independent,” he said.

Osmeña, to whom Poe goes to for advice, said she should choose her running mate carefully, and that her friend Senator Francis Escudero had “excess baggage.”

“As of today, there’s no issue against Grace Poe. She is honest. She’s straightforward. She’s charming. She has no issue, so why would she pick a partner who has excess baggage? Not just a baggage, but excess baggage,” he said.

During her last meeting with the President, Poe said she felt the President was in a very difficult position.

“I understand and sympathize with his predicament and situation. I consider him a true and sincere friend and he has my utmost respect,” she said.

Poe said the President reiterated his desire for all of them to continue working together, and that he believed that like him, they could and would do the best for the country.

“In the end, we both agreed to continue, in whatever capacity, striving and working for our countrymen and for the betterment of our children’s future,” she said.

The President’s meeting with Poe Monday afternoon, which lasted five hours, came after last week’s dinner with her, Roxas and Escudero.

Poe has said she is more comfortable running with Escudero who is her close friend, but they have not yet made a final decision to run for higher office.

Poe said Monday’s meeting with the President “is perhaps our last meeting before the SONA (State of the Nation Address) and we both agreed that we both have the best interest of our country in mind in whatever decisions we will make in the coming days.”

Aquino had said he would announce his administration’s presidential candidate after the SONA on July 27. Political observers said the President wants an administration tandem composed of Roxas and Poe. Osmeña said the President’s endorsement of Roxas should not be seen as payback for Roxas’ decision to slide down to the vice presidential race in 2010 to give way to Aquino.

He said “give way” was inappropriate because even then, Roxas had no chance of winning the presidency.

“Yeah, it’s true. He sacrificed for the party. But you know the usual phrase that I gave way... Hello? He didn’t have a chance,” Osmeña said.

After last week’s dinner with Poe, Escudero and Roxas, the President said he was closer to naming his anointed presidential candidate, but it was apparent that no decision had been reached on a common ticket.

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PNoy defends Congress allies

By Sandy araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday defended his allies in the Senate and the House of Representatives, challenging his critics to show proof that they are not working as he signed into law two landmark legislation.

Two new laws. President Benigno Aquino III signs into law Republic Act 10667 and the amendments to the Cabotage law in Malacañang as he is surrounded by officials. Malacañang Photo Bureau

Binay wants court to stop Trillanes’ ‘abuse’

By Vito Barcelo THE Camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday said Senator Antonio Trillanes III’s “bullying and arrogance” and his habit of using his position to intimidate his political enemies must be stopped by a competent court.

“It is about time Senator Trillanes’ bullying and arrogance was reviewed and stopped by a court of competent jurisdiction after a fair and impartial administration of justice,” Binay spokesman Rico Quicho said.

He made his statement even as Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said the P200-million suit that Binay had filed against, Trillanes and other officials

was a mere tactic to divert the people’s attention from the issue of corruption against him.

“A case to intimidate is the defense of a corrupt,” Cayetano said.

He and Trillanes are the two senators investigating the alleged anomalous transactions in Makati by the vice president and his family.

Quicho said the attack against Binay started when the vice president publicly announced his intention to seek the country’s top post, hence jeopardizing the Aquino administration’s ambition to make Interior Secretary Mar Roxas III the next President.

Binay continues to top the poll surveys followed

by Senator Grace Poe while

Roxas is in fourth place.

Quicho dismissed Trillanes’ claim that Binay had filed his P200-million suit against him and 12 other respondents after Binay panicked over the investigations against him “The complaint filed by the vice president against certain parties including Senator Trillanes is a legitimate redress of grievances.

This also shows that the rule of law is non-negotiable,” Quicho said.

Binay accuses Trillanes and 11 other officials of colluding to malign Binay’s name and reputation.

“For the past 11 months, the vice president has received the unkindest of accusations bereft of any merit that are deeply rooted in a concerted effort to

discredit and humiliate him,” Quicho said.

“Senator Trillanes has, time and again, slandered private individuals, sitting justices and legitimate entities without any proof. This must be stopped and it is time to bring back decency and responsibility to Senator Trillanes’ vocabulary.”

Quicho said Binay had faced his accusers in court while Trillanes was hiding behind parliamentary immunity.

“He has chosen to face his accusers squarely in a court of law and is not hiding behind parliamentary immunity like Senator Trillanes or the Witness Protection Program like the other accusers,” he said. With Macon ra-

“Go ahead, find proof that our representatives in both Houses are not doing service to the country,” Aquino said after signing Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act and Republic Act 10668 or the Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act (Liberalization of Philippine Cabotage) before government officials and businessmen at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang.

Aquino made his statement even as Senate President Franklin Drilon said the entities that will engage in unfair business practices will be fined up to P250 million with the fines adjusted for inflation every five years with the enactment of the Philippine Competition Act. The Budget Department said the Aquino administration would be pushing for digital payments in the government to get rid of graft and corruption.

In his speech, Aquino stressed the importance of the Philippine Competition Act and the amendments to the Cabotage Law, which were among the priority measures in the Congress.

The Philippine Competition Act aims to enhance economic proficiency and promote free and fair competition in trade, industry and all commercial eco-

nomic activities.

It seeks to prevent economic concentration that will control production and distribution and unduly stifle competition and distort markets.

Under the law, a Philippine Competition Commission will be established, with the President appointing a chairman, four commissioners and an executive director.

The PCC can impose administrative fines of P100 million in the first offense and P250 million for the second offense for abuse of dominant position and prohibited mergers.

The law also prohibits agreements between and among competitors that have the effect of substantially preventing, restricting or lessening competition.

The Foreign Ships CoLoading Act, on the other hand, allows foreign vessels to transport and co-load foreign cargoes for domestic trans-shipment.

It aims to help importers and exporters enhance their competitiveness in the light of intensifying international trade and to lower the cost of shipping export cargoes from Philippine ports to international ports and import cargoes from international ports. With Macon ramos-araneta

mos-araneta

Bagatsing to battle Estrada, Lim for mayorship

By Joel e. Zurbano REP. Amado Bagatsing on Tuesday announced he is running for mayor of Manila, where his late father Ramon Bagatsing had served for 15 years.

Bagatsing, who has been described by political observers as the alternative candidate for mayor in the capital city, will challenge incumbent Mayor Joseph Estrada and former mayor Alfredo Lim. “A number of people want a new face who will address the very basic needs and the right services for the people, especially the poor,” Bagatsing, 67,

told The Standard.

Bagatsing will team up with Ali Atienza, the son of former Manila mayor and now Buhay Party List Rep. Lito Atienza, under the local party Kabalikat ng Bayan sa Kaunlaran or Kabaka.

“Ali Atienza will be my vice mayor. He has the youth and a lot of experience and he comes from a good family,” Bagatsing said.

“His father is a former mayor of manila just like my father. So both of us have so much at stake and our love for the city cannot be questioned.”

If elected, Bagatsing said, he would give prior-

ity to health, education, employment, police empowerment, peace and order and sports development for the youth.

“Collective role from businesses and individuals is important,” he said.

If given a chance to serve as mayor, he said, he would ask the business sector to give priority to hiring the legitimate residents of Manila.

He would emphasize youth development and sports programs in Manila.

“My observation is that there is something missing when it comes to sports development,” Bagatsing said.

“We want our youth to

be more competitive in sports because everybody wants to deal with the winner. We want them shifting to sports from drugs and delinquency.”

Peace and order would be properly addressed.

“Everybody must participate in crime prevention,” Bagatsing said.

“We have to equip the police force, clean up the image of Manila physically.

Police enforcement against drug abuse will be fully implemented.”

He would ask all the six congressmen representing the city of Manila to help the programs initiated by the city government.

Manila on his mind. Rep. Amado Bagatsing said Tuesday he will run for mayor of Manila in the 2016 elections. BoBBy CaBrera

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UN rapporteur finally in PH

By Christine F. Herrera UNITED Nations Special Rapporteur Dr. Chaloka Beyani is in the country on an official visit from July 21 to 30 to look into the human rights situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), their specific needs and protection concerns.

The visit of the UN envoy, who first expressed his interest in coming to the country to probe reports of rights abusesn in July last year, also aims “to examine the government’s response to internal displacement, including law and policy frameworks and governance structures.”

Beyani, a special rapporteur for IDP, met with Karapatan and other human rights groups Tuesday in Quezon City and discussed the forced evacuation of peasants and indigenous people in the country, particularly in Mindanao.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the civilian population of Mindanao has taken a heavy toll from the combat operations of some 55 battalions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Palabay said the case of massive evacuation, especially in Mindanao, was also tackled at the recently concluded International People’s Tribunal held in Washington, DC last July 16-18.

She said the tribunal found both the Aquino regime and the US

government “…in concert with each other, willfully and feloniously committed gross and systematic violations of Filipino people’s basic human rights.”

A copy of the verdict was given to Beyani.

Karapatan requested the meeting with the UN as a follow up to the meeting with Beyani at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland last June 2014. The UN officially sent Beyani.

At yesterday’s meeting, tribal chieftain Tungig Mansimoy-at, an evacuee from Talaingod, Davao del Norte, relayed to Beyani their plight at the evacuation center and the continuing encampment of soldiers in their communities and Lumad schools.

The military has tagged the Lumad learning center as “NPA schools,” Mansimoy-at said.

The schools were initiated by the Lumad and were built through the support of advocate groups and nongovernment organizations.

Engr. KENNETH JOSEPH YU UY 1973-2015

Big Boss Daddy

Dead after late arrival. Empty baggage carriers are left scattered at the tarmac outside Bay Seven of of Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal One. RUDY C. SANTOS

Victims rap ‘pyramid’ firm

By Rey E. Requejo VICTIMS of the P3-billion investment scam from Lipa City, Batangas have asked the Department of Justice to prosecute the officials of One Dream Global Marketing Inc. for syndicated estafa after its representatives supposedly duped them into investing into its pyramiding scam.

Accompanied by Lipa Mayor Meynardo Sabili and Batangas Vice Gov. Mark Leviste, the 18 complainants filed criminal charges against One Dream president Arnel Gacer and 10 other officers.

Besides Gacer, also named respondents were One Dream vice

Sports Enthusiast Business Leader Events Organizer Mover

Returned to his Creator at the age of 41 last July 16, 2015. He is survived by his loving mom Lucita and brother Kervin and was predeceased by his father Victorino.

Memorial services will be held on July 21 to 22, 2015 at Sanctuarium, Araneta Ave., Quezon City.

Remains to be cremated on July 23, 2015 at Sanctuarium, Quezon City.

Interment of ashes will be on July 26, 2015 at 9:00am at the Chinese Cemetery, Tacloban City.

His family and friends request the pious readers to pray for the eternal repose of his soul.

In lieu of fl owers, cash donation is preferred, which will be turned over to Tzu Chi Foundation in memory of Kenneth Joseph Y. Uy

president Jobelle de Guzman and other officers identified as Ariel Gacer, Richard Ramos, Jay-Ar de Guzman, Marlon de Guzman, Judith Itoh, Jun de Guzman, Lui de Guzman, Linda de Guzman and Joel de Guzman.

The complainants personally subscribed their joint complaint affidavit before Asst. State Prosecutor Rohairah Lao-Tamano before it was filed with the DOJ docket for preliminary investigation.

The victims accused One Dream executives of allegedly duping them into investing their savings into the multi-level marketing scheme since May this year.

The complainant said One Dream’s operation and recruitment of prospective investors were administered using the system profit scheme.

Under the scheme, an investment or “pay-in” of P888 was supposed to grow to “pay-out” of P1,300 after just four days.

The victims also alleged that the company also offered a P44-per-slot commission for every direct referral.

“Buoyed by our natural desire to similarly profit from such scheme and because of the company’s continuous assurance and pretensions that we will indeed profit, we placed various sums of money with the company and obtained several referrals,” the complainants said.

Comelec seeks advisors

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Commission of Elections is now scrambling to get useful advice from experts to meet its timetable and avoid a manual election scenario in the 2016 polls, sources said on Tuesday.

The source, who is privy to poll preparations, claimed the new batch of Comelec officials are in disarray in automating the national and local elections, given the series of petitions filed before the Supreme Court and uncertainty on which technology to pursue.

“What I know is they are scrambling now,” said the source, who asked not to be identified for fear of offcial retribution.

The source said the Comelec has consulted former poll commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Gregorio Larrazabal on its preparation to automate the poll exercises next year.

In an interview, Larrazabal confirmed that Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista sought for his advice but stressed that it is normal for any incumbent official to ask questions of his predecessors.

“They can ask (questions) since it is common,” he said, declining however to specify matters that were discussed.

“Basically [Bautista] only asked about the problems in 2010, the challenges and some insights that can help prepare better for the 2016 elections,” Larrazabal said. “If people ask me, I share with them what happened and what are the problems.”

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On PNoy’s last Sona: Full House expected

By Maricel V. Cruz The house of representatives will be spending p2.2 million for the sixth and last State of the Nation Address of president Benigno Aquino III on July 27. house Secretary General marlyn Barua-Yap on Tuesday said much of the amount was earmarked for the food and other needed preparations for guests at the Batasan complex where Aquino would deliver his SONA. Yap said however that the house did not spend any amount for the facelift of the Batasan Complex as partner agencies such as the Quezon City government, public Works and highways department and the metro manila Development Authority provided the budget and manpower to complete the renovation.

“Our last year’s budget was p2.3 million, this year we don’t want to exceed that budget. Our estimate is p2.2 million,” Yap said.

“We managed to have savings but we don’t want to compromise the quality of the program, this is the last and we will make it special just like the other SONAs.” Apart from the DpWh and the mmDA, other agencies which provided the support for the house for SONA preparations include Department of environment and Natural resources, philippine National police (pNp) and the Armed Forces of the philippines (AFp).

Since the upcoming SONA of president Aquino III will be the last, Yap said the house—being the host agency for the even— would expect more visitors than the usual invitees.

As of press time, Yap said the house already sent 2,700 invitations.

The capacity of the plenary, where the president will deliver his SONA, has a capacity of 2,700. The guests entering the plenary should be inside the gallery one hour before the speech starts at 4 p.m.

Harbor Link. The Manila North Tollways Corporation’s Nemy G. Castillo, Vice President for Construction Management Sevices ( left), gives mediamen an update on the progress of construction of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in Malabon City. MANNY PALMERO

Ex-CJ Puno calls for summit to examine national problems While public attention is focused on the possible contenders for next year’s presidential elections, former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno has another thing in mind— he wants an examination of the state of the nation and a change in the political system, not just a changing of the guard.

On Wednesday (July 22), puno is convening a summit of leaders of different sectors and advocates of political, economic, and social causes to tackle what he considered as “seven challenges facing the nation” and forge a consensus on changing the political system by revising the 1987 Constitution.

About 100 political

leaders and heads of various organizations are expected to attend the meeting, dubbed “Securing the Country’s Future: A Summit for Change,” at the historic Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, where in 1986, then presidential candidate Corazon Aquino took her oath as president following the people power revolution.

Former Vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr. leads a power cast of speakers that includes puno, former Senate president Aquilino pimentel Jr., Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis h. Jardeleza, former Budget and Finance Secretary Salvador enriquez Jr., former 1986 Constitutional Commission member rene V. Sarmiento, former university of the philippines president Jose V. Abueva, manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick pabillo, and economist and author Calixto Chikiamco.

In convening he summit as part of the Bagong Sistema, Bagong pag-asa: A call for System Change advocacy launched last June, puno said that the philippines needs a change in the system more than just a change in leadership. “everybody is already talking about who the captain of our ship should be when the more crucial task is to examine the condition of our ship so that we can assemble the right crew,” puno said.

In his speech at the launch of Bagong Sistema, Bagong pagasa in June, puno had likened the philippine to a ship “full of leaks and holes.” “para tayong nasa isang barko, isang barko na napakarami ng butas, napakarami ng leakages,” he said, citing the Bangsamoro problem as just one of the “holes” that need to be plugged. “Ang BBL ay isa lamang sa mga butas ng ating barkong sinasakyan at

kahit na ‘yan ay tapalan natin, kung hindi natin tatapalan ang ibang butas, lulubog at lulubog po ang barko—at iyan po ang bayan natin,” he said.

Wednesday’s summit is meant to examine the many “holes” of the ship that is the philippines, or what the convenors prefer to call the “challenges confronting the republic.”

These are: the balancing of government powers among the three branches of government and between the national government and the local government units and autonomous regions, which will be discussed by pimentel; establishing a stronger, more efficient, responsive and representative political structure to be taken up by Abueva; making the electoral system inclusive and merit-oriented by Sarmiento; achieving inclusive economic growth by Chikiamco; and promoting social equity and equality by pabillo.

Magistrate inhibits self from ‘Torre’

By Rey E. Requejo A Supreme Court associate justice has inhibited himself from taking part in the resolution of the petition against the Torre de manila condominium project, which is said to be obstructing the sight line of the monument of national hero Jose rizal in Luneta park.

Associate Justice Jose perez opted to recuse himself from the deliberation and resolution of the case to avoid any suspicion of partiality or bias, SC spokesman Theodore Te said on Tuesday.

But SC insiders revealed that perez inhibited himself from the case because his son is a unit owner in the condominium.

This came as the SC started on Tuesday the oral arguments on the controversial case. Chief Justice maria Lourdes Sereno, and Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Bienvenido reyes were on leave.

During the hearing, petitioner Knights of rizal through its lawyer William

Jasarino, argued that the project should be abandoned as it would give a bad precedent if allowed to be finished.

Jasarino said the rizal monument and the rizal park should be left unobstructed as they “represent the soul of the nation.” “remove the park, then you don’t have that anymore,” he said.

The lawyer also defended the petitioner’s decision to go straight to the SC instead of bringing their action first before the lower court.

According to him, bringing the case before the trial court would only delay their bid to halt the project.

“By now, it will not have been resolved.

Torre de manila would have already been up,” Jasarino said.

Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, during interpellation, grilled the petitioner’s apparent delay in seeking relief considering that the construction of the building has reached 19 storeys or 22.83 percent complete.

Flotation device. Meralco’s athletes show how to use the “salba-bote,” an improvised flotation device used for rescue operations. Residents of Marikina’s flood-prone areas became the first recipients of the device which One Meralco Foundation (OMF) is distributing to communities and rescue organizations as part of its disaster preparedness. LINO SANTOS

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A6 191 Chinese rounded up at gambling den AT LEAST 191 Chinese nationals were arrested by Immigration agents for illegally working in an online gambling den in Pasay City that catered to high-stake gamblers in Mainland China.

Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison said the campaign against illegal aliens was part of the bureau’s relentless campaign against undesirable foreigners in the country.

The operation, led by BI’s technical assistant for Intelligence and Counter intelligence unit Col. Jeofrey Tupas, raided the Yathai Holdings Corps. located at the 6th and 7th floors of the Star Cruz Center in Newport City in Pasay City.

Tupas said that 15 Chinese were nabbed at the 6th floor while the 176 were caught on the 7th floor while operating online gambling computers.

The foreigners were found to be working without the necessary work permit while others were holding visitors and tourist visas.

Mison said that 21 of the 191 were released for presenting visas issued by the Cagayan Export Zone Authority , which allows foreigners to work in the country.

The Chinese were brought to Bicutan jail and will face deportation charges. Vito Barcelo

Anti-dengue campaign FOLLOWING the order of Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, the City Health Department launched their full force campaign against dengue.

Aside from the heightened seminars that will be conducted by the department, fogging or misting will also be done every Saturday starting August.

According to the memorandum issued by CHD head Dra. Maybelle Sison, “the priority of the fogging operation will be all elementary and secondary schools around Caloocan.”

She also directed all sanitation inspectors to check all school canteens and advise all security guards assigned at the gate not to allow ambulant vendors to sell infront of the school.

Meanwhile, Malapitan said that he is expecting the full cooperation of the school heads, faculties, students, and all Caloocan residents to fight dengue specially now that incessant rains are expected to hit the country. Jun David

Global beauties.

Miss Global 2015 candidates perform a lively number during the press presentation held at the Rembrandt Hotel in Quezon City. SONNY ESPIRITU

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Philhealth draws flak over eye clinics

A SENIOR citizens group has denounced Philhealth’s unilateral decision to withhold payment to eye doctors and eye clinics for cataract operations that have been performed allegedly due to some irregularities, saying that such decision is tantamount to letting hundreds of thousands of Filipinos, including many senior citizens, go blind.

Lawyer Hernan Nicdao, legal counsel of the Senior Citizens party list, said senior citizens and all members of Philhealth in good standing have the right to avail of the free cataract operations offered by private eye clinics since these are benefits that come with membership in Philhealth.

“Philhealth’s decision to stop processing payments to eye clinics for cataract operations that have been performed due to alleged irregularities is very suspicious and is very detrimental especially to senior citizens, many of whom suffer

from cataract,” he said. “I think the real reason for Philhealth’s refusal to pay the eye clinics is that it is running out of funds.”

Nicdao said Philhealth’s “Bulag na Daan” policy must be fully investigated by Congress because it will lead to more blindness in the country. He said authorities must also look into Philhealth’s finances to determine its ability to pay for the claims of its more than 86 million members.

“What is the actuarial life of Philhealth at present? Did it conduct a study on the financial im-

pact of the claims from its tens of millions of members? Is Philhealth being mismanaged, and are the so-called padded billings it accuse the eye clinics of committing actually the works of people inside the agency?” he asked.

Senior citizens, Nicdao said, will be the most severely impacted sector should Philhealth pursue its suspension of payments to eye clinics and doctors because government health facilities do not have the capability to serve the needs of cataract sufferers nor the doctors to perform such highly specialized procedure.

The Department of Health has said that cataract is the number one cause of blindness in the Philippines, and that there are more than 400,000 mostly poor Filipinos who have cataract.

Nicadao said government facilities alone could not accommodate the number of people seeking cataract operations, and that private eye

clinics are the ones that have taken up the slack, operating on Philhealth members for free in exchange for Philhealth reimbursement.

“Now, Philhealth is saying that it will not pay private eye clinics because of alleged irregularities. I think the real irregularity is Philhealth’s cruel decision to leave cataract patients in the dark, with nowhere to go.

“All of these simply because Philhealth, in my opinion, is suffering financially and did not expect that there will be a groundswell of cataract patients demanding free operations,” he said.

Philhealth’s website shows that it has more than 86.2 million members, and more than half, or 43.7 million, are indigents. There are also more than four million senior citizens and dependents, lifetime members and others who, as Philhealth members, are all entitled to free cataract operations. Macon Ramos Araneta

PCSO’s 47th. Officials of the Philippine Charity Sweep-

stakes Office led by its Vice-Chairman and General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II (right), Director Francisco Joaquin III (center), and Assistant General Manager for Branch Operations Remeliza Gabuyo (second from left), together with former Antique Governor Exequiel Javier (left) and Mayor Rony Molina of San Jose Buenavista, Antique throw candies and coins for good luck at the inauguration of PCSO’s Antique branch office at San Jose Trade Town, Dalipe, San Jose de Buenavista on July 21. This is PCSO’s 47th branch office nationwide. Also in photo is Romeo Lago Diocesan Bishop of Antique. JOSEPH MUEGO

80,000 ‘Iskolars’ exempted from college entrance tests

By Christine F. Herrera SOME 80,000 ‘Iskolars’ are exempted from UPCAT and other college entrance tests, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, announced Tuesday.

The top 10 graduates of every public high school under the Iskolar ng Bayan Program are entitled not only to college scholarships, they are also free to enter the state university in their region, without having to go through the institution’s entrance test, Romulo said.

“The scholars do not have to

take the competitive entrance tests of state universities, including the University of the Philippines College Admission Test, or the UPCAT. All that they have to do is apply for admission, and they will be allowed in, as long as they choose the campus in their home region, and provided that the school’s quota for the Iskolar ng Bayan is still not full,” said Romulo, in a press statement.

Romulo is author of the Iskolar ng Bayan Act 2014, which provides the top 10 graduates of every public high school with scholarships in the country’s 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs).

More than 80,000 graduates

from 8,000 public high schools are expected to benefit from the program on its first year of implementation.

The Iskolar ng Bayan Law has a transitory provision exempting all scholars under the program from taking the entrance tests of SUCs during the first six years of the implementation of the law, according to Romulo.

“This is an affirmative action policy that guarantees disadvantaged but gifted public high school graduates slots in SUCs, without having to go through a rigorous screening or elimination process, which is basically what an entrance test is,” Romulo said.

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news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Abad warns local officials versus scam

By Dexter A. See

Break of dawn. Fishermen begin their day at the Pacific coast at Barangay Norte Alabat, Quezon Province. PNA

Two miners die of gas poison in mine tunnel TUBLAY, Benguet July 21—Two pocket miners died of suspected gas poisoning inside a mine tunnel at Sitio Piket, Barangay Caponga here late Friday. evening.

Senior Inspector Ronnie Albino, chief of the Tublay Municipal Police Station, identified the victims as Francis Michael Sagudin, 39, a native of Batan, Kabayan, Benguet and Marlon Baristo Agsalo, 21, a native of Betwag,

Kabayan, Benguet.

Initial police investigation showed the victims, together with their colleagues, came out of their working area at around 4pm on Friday.

Agsalo decided to go back inside as he wanted to check

the state of his subway tunnels which might have been affected by the continuous rains.

When Agasalo did not come out of the tunnel after over an hour, Sagudin decided to check on what happened to his companion. he also never came out.

Their colleagues then decided to conduct rescue operations where they found the lifeless bodies of the victims. Rescuers immediately tried to revive them but

their efforts were in vain, considering that they had been inside the tunnel for several hours prior to the discovery of their bodies. earlier, Gov. Nestor B. Fongwan called on pocket miners in the province not to enter their working areas during continuous monsoon rain to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents.

The mine is owned by elvis Depaynos, 36, and a resident of Shilan, La Trinidad, Benguet.

BAGUIO CITY—Budget Secretary Florencio Abad warned local chief executives against being hoodwinked by individuals pretending to be officials of the budget department, demanding money in exchange for the immediate release of funds earmarked for various projects.

Abad said among the local officials who complained to him regarding the scam were those from Maragusan, Compostela Valley; Ragay, Camarines Sur; San Luis, Aurora and Loreto, Dinagat Island.

“We will not tolerate such kind of modus just to extort from local officials. We have been firm in our previous commitment to administer our meagre resources with utmost transparency and accountability. Local officials should not easily believe anomalous acts by those who want to ruin the gains of the Aquino administration, especially in appropriately managing our national budget,” Secretary Abad stressed.

Abad said almost 95 percent of the national budget was already downloaded to the concerned government agencies and local government through various forms. he called on local officials to report such incidents to the nearest Budget regional offices in their places in order for them to be updated on the real status of their requests for funding.

Abad said the department would continue to practice the equitable and judicious utilization of the country’s meagre resources through the approved national budget. The possibility of additional releases would be remote at this time.

Secretary Abad said the agency is also investigating the scam.

18-year-old Abu hostage talks about daring escape in Sulu

By Ben Cal

‘Bags of Hope’. More than 800 students of Lias Elementary School receive backpacks from Convergys Philippines. MANNY PALMERO

The 18-year-old girl who escaped Monday after being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Sulu jungle said prayers and her faith in God saved her.

Ledejie Tomarang escaped from her captors in the boundary of Barangays Kagay and Sawaki, Indanan town in Sulu after running away as soon as Abu Sayyaf members ran to all directions following an explosion.

Tomarang said she saw the soldiers firing at her captors,

and she continued running.

“I slowed for a while to see if my kidnappers were following me, but there was none,” she said.

Col. Alan Arrojado, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu (JTGS), earlier ordered a military operation upon receiving an intelligence report that Abu Sayyaf terrorists were holding their hostages in Indanan town.

Tomarang wandered around the jungle for about an hour and then asked a civilian to bring

her to a military outpost.

The civilian brought her to Bud Dato, the highest mountain peak in Sulu.

She was kidnapped by the ASG bandits on March 30 this year in her hometown of Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur where she was on a summer job in a bakery.

From Sulu, Tomarang was escorted by soldiers led by Army Capt. evelyn Audencial back to her hometown in Pitogo, where she was reunited with her family.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR W E D N E S D AY, J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

AFTER THE NOISE, AN EERIE SILENCE

THE contrast was stark.

Following the conclusion of hearings before a UN tribunal in The Hague, administration officials are uncharacteristically silent on what questions were posed by the judges who will decide whether they should assume jurisdiction over the country’s territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea. In contrast, the same officials could not stop talking in the run-up to the oral arguments, and even played up its “powerhouse” delegation to The Hague and the various arguments it intended to raise before the judges.

Never mind that only three of the 35 officials actually had any role in the oral arguments. Critics of this squandering of public funds were dismissed as attention seekers, and the official line was that the size of the delegation and its composition was to impress upon the Permanent Court of Arbitration that the nation was united behind the effort to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. It is unclear if the presence of so many cheerleaders— certainly a good approach in a basketball game—was particularly effective in serious legal proceedings, or if such an approach became a source of ridicule for the country.

In any case, the public was then treated to a blow-by-blow account of what transpired from a presidential spokeswoman who was part of the official delegation.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, we were told, made an “impassioned plea” for the tribunal to recognize its jurisdiction due to the importance of the case not just to the Philippines but to the entire world, given its impact on the application of the rule of law in maritime disputes.

The court concluded its hearings on jurisdiction on July 13 after oral arguments from July 7-9 and a second round in which the judges asked the Philippine representatives for clarifications.

The Philippines was also given until July 23 to submit written answers to the questions posed by members of the five-member tribunal.

Unlike the run-up to the oral arguments, however, administration officials were eerily silent on what clarifications were sought and what the Philippine replies to these questions were.

Instead, we were given a generalized assessment from the Department of Foreign Affairs that the second round of questioning augured well for the Philippines as it signaled that the court was seriously considering assuming jurisdiction over the case.

“For us, that’s positive. That means they are exhausting all possible questions and erase any doubt on their jurisdiction,” said Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose.

He added that the decision of the court to hold a second round for questions did not mean that the Philippine presentations were insufficient.

“Sometimes, they just need to hear the clarifications and elaborations again; it does not necessarily mean something is lacking,” he added.

Neither the spokesman nor any of the other 30-odd members of the “powerhouse” delegation, however, bothered to inform the public what transpired during the second round of questioning, including details on the clarifications that were sought.

Why were these questions not revealed to the public?

The absence of this information highlighted the lack of transparency that has marked the administration’s approach to The Hague mission from the start, beginning with the exact composition of the delegation and how much the junket would cost the Filipino taxpayer.

The Foreign Affairs Department’s reassurances notwithstanding, the second round could just as well have been a sign that the judges were dissatisfied with what they heard from the Philippines during the oral arguments.

Instead of sugarcoating its analysis of developments, the administration would probably be better off in reporting honestly what happened during the second round and what questions were asked as a way of managing public expectations. This way, the people can assess for themselves—based on solid information—the country’s chances for success before the UN tribunal.

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FRIEND-ZONED LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES PERHAPS President Noynoy Aquino should schedule regular meetings already with Senator Grace Poe, with or without Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas or Senator Chiz Escudero. I’m sure it would make life easier for his schedulers in Malacanang Palace if a certain regularity to the Poe meetings was instituted, since he seems to always want to meet with the senator every chance he gets, anyway.

In the past two weeks, Aquino has met with the senator – whom he is trying to convince to give way to Roxas and become the secretary’s running mate – three times. And that’s not counting the meeting the President called with Poe before he left on his trip to the US and Canada – the meeting where most people first heard of his

plans to draft Poe into the administration’s ticket.

And if Aquino will not call regular meetings with Poe, perhaps the senator should take the initiative and tell the President that she would appreciate it if she is allowed to schedule the chats herself. After all, the fiveand six-hour meetings that Aquino asks her to attend take up so much real estate in her regular schedule that they should be given their own time slot.

I’m proposing this only partly in jest. I understand that Poe cannot very well refuse an invitation from the President, even if he only keeps beating around the bush before popping the same question, so to speak.

Alternatively, Poe can also at some point tell Aquino that his quest is hopeless, and that she will no longer entertain the President’s insistent proposal because her heart is set on following Heart’s husband. She can tell Aquino that he’s been friendzoned, as the young people call platonic relationships these days.

Of course, Aquino can keep courting Poe, regardless of her resistance. He is President, after all, even if he is beginning to look like a hopeless and miserable suitor pursuing someone who’s already been taken.

Simply because he can, I expect Aquino to keep summoning Poe to meetings.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Poe must really be getting uncomfortable about her meetings with Aquino, which is why she keeps saying that she “understands perfectly the difficult situation he’s in.” When a woman you’re

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pursuing says that, you know it’s time to bail.

Of course, simply because he can, I expect Aquino to keep summoning Poe to meetings to try to convince her to see it her way. But it’s really insane, as Einstein said, this endless repetition in the expectation of a different result.

Better than getting a room, which Aquino already has, he should really get a regular schedule. *** US President Barack Obama typifies the kind of forward-looking leader who wants to leave something behind that will outlive his administration.

The resumption of full diplomatic ties with Cuba has removed a longtime thorn on American’s Caribbean side – and is only the latest landmark achievement of Obama’s two terms.

Earlier, the Obama administration pushed Congress long and hard for approval of his expanded health insurance program (nicknamed Obamacare) Continued on A11

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W E D N E S D AY: J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A WEAK LEADER TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO IT’S truly a striptease.

Senators Grace Poe and Chiz Escudero are still reluctant to tell us about their plans for 2016. From the looks of it, they will run as independents.

Why else would they be going together in South Cotabato if they do not intend to run? They were not there for the weather, were they? The idea, obviously, is to make the people keep talking about their tandem.

It’s an old propaganda trick – but they are insulting our intelligence.

From the looks of it, President Aquino failed to impress upon Grace and Chiz the need for them to keep the coalition intact.

That’s precisely the reason the President wants to have Grace run alongside Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, knowing full well that Mar is not a winnable candidate for president.

With the Grace-Chiz tandem running in 2016, President Aquino also knows that opposition candidate Vice President Jojo Binay’s chances of winning will improve. This is what he fears.

He will surely land in jail.

With President Aquino’s failure to convince Poe to be Mar’s running mate, his (Aquino’s) leadership of the coalition is now in question. It’s a reflection of his weakness.

The Interior Secretary would be stupid to think that the President’s dinners with Grace were all about making Mar winnable. The President obviously believes Mar could win only if Grace “shares” her popularity with him.

This makes Mar a doormat, in my view.

It was bad enough that the President kept him out of the loop in “Operation Exodus” where 44 police commandos were killed by a combined force of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

That, to me, was a supreme insult to Mar, as if he were slapped on the face. He did not protest when any selfrespecting person would. *** There’s a palpable sense of panic at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as it scrambles to prepare for the 2016 national and local elections given a tight time frame.

Comelec officials, particularly the commissioners who have been in office for some years now, have nobody to blame but themselves. Since the 2013 polls, they have had at least

two years to resolve not just the issue about the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines, but the main matter of electronic voting itself. In fact, these could have been addressed immediately after the 2010 elections.

It seems, however, that Comelec devoted time and energy on the controversy surrounding its favorite supplier, Smartmatic-TIM. This Venezuelan firm has faced numerous accusations concerning its PCOS machines, the disabling of certain security features of the gadgets, the lack of transparency in the voting process and in the canvassing and transmission of election results.

From all indications, it is doubtful if the Comelec is on the ball at all with respect to recent developments not only regarding automated elections, but equally important, about the honesty, reliability and corporate integrity of Smartmatic.

We have read, for instance, that Smartmatic performed rather miserably

The President’s failure to convince Poe says much about his ability to lead the coalition.

when it was awarded the task of consolidating and canvassing the election results last month in the state of Tabasco, Mexico.

Reports say that the agreement was for Smartmatic to provide provisional vote results every 20 minutes, beginning 8 p.m. of June 7 up to 8 a.m. the following day. It turned out, however, that the Smartmatic system bogged down on June 7, before it could even start the job. Smartmatic was able to provide results only in the morning of June 8 and only about two percent of the results were consolidated. Even after 24 hours, Smartmatic, reports said, was able to consolidate only 50 percent of the results in one election and 30 percent in the other.

Reportedly, Smartmatic even botched the eight mock elections that it carried out as part of the agreement. This was supposed to demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of the system. And on election day, Tabasco officials were dumbfounded upon discovering that the Smartmatic system had crashed which resulted in the failure to process the results.

The failure reportedly compelled election authorities in Tabasco to take over the job. This was fol-

BS AQUINO’S TWO BIGGEST FAILURES CAMPAIGNING for president in 2010, Benigno Simeon “BS” Cojuangco Aquino III declared “kung walang kurap, walang mahirap”. (If no one is corrupt, no one will be poor). Aquino declared war on two fronts – poverty and corruption. That is the meaning of so-called Matuwid na Daan (“Straight Path”) slogan.

Today, say Matuwid na Daan is nothing more than BS – bullsh*t, hogwash, garbage, worse than the hundreds of tons of garbage the good Canadian government is trying to dump, in the Philippines, and of all places, in Aquino’s home province of Tarlac.

Perhaps, Canada, one of the cleanest governments in the world, is trying to send a message to the President, which unfortunately, he cannot get or comprehend. Why would a normally sensible Canada ship 100 40-foot containers of sh*t 13,000 kilometers away to Manila? Surely, it cannot be all about money and corruption. There is a subliminal message there.

Aquino failed in both reducing poverty and battling corruption.

In Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perception Index, the Philippines ranked No. 85. That’s an amazing improvement of 44 rungs from No. 129 in 2011, the first full year of President Aquino.

If you think that’s a big deal, consider what Transparency International thinks about corruption in the Philippines in 2013, the third year of President Aquino. It asked respondents how the level of corruption has changed under Aquino. Only less than 2 percent said corruption decreased a lot.

Not surprisingly, per TI, the police were considered the most corrupt in the Philippines with 69 percent saying it is corrupt or extremely corrupt.

One in five people (19 percent) pays bribe to the police. One in seven pays bribe to registry or permits people.

One in ten pays bribe to the land registration and judiciary people.

Not to be outdone, public officials and civil servants were considered by 64 percent in the TI survey to be corrupt or extremely corrupt.

More disturbing, 58 percent of respondents felt political parties in the Philippines were corrupt/extremely corrupt.

The most corrupt people in the Philippines are (drum roll, please): No. 1 the police (according to seven out of every ten people), No. 2 politicians and public officials (six out of every ten say so), and No. 3 judges and justices (56 out of every 100 or nearly six in every ten say so).

Thus, under Matuwid na Daan, we have in our government today hoodlums in uniform (the police), hoodlums in suits and barongs (the politicians), and hoodlums in robes (the lowed by demands that Smartmatic should not be paid and that it be required to return the partial payments given to it. Just to get a complete story on Smartmatic’s Mexican debacle and verify the reports, perhaps, the Comelec can ask our embassy in Mexico to look into the matter.

Back to the Philippines, I don’t know why Comelec has not required Smartmatic to incorporate a process that

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ judges and justices).

Fifty-six percent of TI respondents said the judiciary is corrupt or extremely corrupt. Those who say these institutions are corrupt or extremely corrupt: Congress, 52 percent; military, 43 percent; education systems, 32 percent; doctors and hospitals, 31 percent; business, 30 percent; NGOs, 25 percent; religious bodies, 15 percent; media, only 14 percent.

The United States is the biggest investor in the Philippines, with $1.2 billion or 19.3 percent of total foreign direct investments in 2014 and $1.869 billion or 32 percent of total portfolio investments. The US is also pro-Aquino since he is rabidly proAmerican, having opened the entire Philippine archipelago to US soldiers to do as they please.

Still, says the US State Department in 2014 on the Philippines’ investment climate: “Corruption is a pervasive and longstanding problem in the Philippines.

Recent government efforts have improved the country’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index from 94 in 2013 to 85 in 2014. Nevertheless, the World Economic Forum’s 20142015 Global Competitiveness Report ranked corruption as the top problematic factor for doing business in the Philippines. Although President Aquino has made fighting corruption a central part of his presidency, the problem is too endemic to change in a short time.”

In the Social Weather Stations survey in 2013 of the 24 government institutions rated for sincerity in fighting corruption, five improved, nine did not change all, 10 were downgraded, and two were included for the first time.

On poverty, the Philippines is one of the few countries in Asia that failed to halve extreme poverty, between 1990 and 2015. The entire Asia and in fact, the whole world met the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty in 25 years.

The Philippines ranks poorly in the world in terms of multidimensional poverty. It is No. 42 among 101 countries surveyed by Oxford University’s Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI). The higher the ranking, the higher the level of multi-dimensional poverty.

MPI measures not just lack of money or income – the common notion of poverty.

“Poor people themselves consider

would provide a paper trail in its supposedly highlyadvanced technology. This would address the doubts about the transparency and credibility of the entire election process, particularly the counting and canvassing of votes.

I’m also wondering if the Comelec is aware at all that these faults in electronic voting have prompted the Supreme Court of Germany to ban automated voting sys-

their experience of poverty much more broadly,” explains Oxford. “A person who is poor can suffer from multiple disadvantages at the same time – for example they may have poor health or malnutrition, a lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or little schooling. Focusing on one factor alone, such as income, is not enough to capture the true reality of poverty,” Oxford’s MPI Project explains. It adds: “Multidimensional poverty measures can be used to create a more comprehensive picture. They reveal who is poor and how they are poor – the range of different disadvantages they experience.”

In the Oxford survey, 11 percent of Filipinos suffer from multi-dimensional poverty. They have poor health or nutrition. They lack clean water, electricity, schooling and quality work. Out of a population of 100 million, 11 percent is 11 million.

Nearly half or 47 percent of poor Filipinos are deprived of what I call essentials of life – health, nutrition, water, electricity, education, quality work. The 47 percent is what is called intensity of deprivation.

There is another measure called vulnerable to poverty. These are people who lack 20 to 32 percent of the essentials of life. About 6 percent of Filipinos are vulnerable to poverty, or 6 million people.

If the deprivation is more than 50 percent of the essentials, such people are called destitutes. In the Philippines, destitutes are 2.1 percent, or 2.1 million Filipinos.

In 2011, there were 95.053 million Filipinos, 5 million less than today.

Applying the ratios of 2013 to the 2011 population, there were 10.4558 million Filipinos who were multidimensionally poor, 5.7 million who were vulnerable to multi-dimensional poverty, and 1.996 million who were plainly destitutes.

Thus, between 2011 and 2013, the number of multi-dimensionally poor Filipinos increased by 545,000; the number of those who are vulnerable to multi-dimensional poverty rose by 300,000; and number of destitutes, swelled by 104,000.

The total increase in all three categories – 949,000. Divide that by 4.5, the number of people per family, 949,000, is equivalent to 210,000 families.

Aquino failed to curb corruption and failed to reduce poverty. We are not even talking yet about the fact that under Aquino, more kids fail to finish elementary school and more mothers die giving birth than in 1990.

And the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest FDI inflow in the Asean.

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tems in the country as early as 2009. I understand electronic voting is also banned in Switzerland, Ireland and Canada, all first-world countries, highly advanced in information and communication technology. Yet, in spite of the supposed speed in generating election results, they are quite distrustful of the lack of transparency in the process.

My gulay, what ever happened to the uncontested

charges that Smartmatic had lied about its ownership of the PCOS technology and about its being the manufacturer of these machines?

Santa Banana, this is tantamount to perjury which is punishable under our laws.

Is the Comelec blind?

It would do well for Comelec Chairman Andy Bautista to look into all these. After all, anomalies in the 2016 elections would be his responsibility.

W E D N E S D AY: J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO NEARLY buried on page 3 of the Standard on Monday was the news story with the headline “Poe unsure if she needs 6-year job.”

Unless denied or clarified, or unless her statement was taken out of context by Standard reporter Macon Ramos Araneta, this is a significant story. It is turning out Senator Grace Poe does not have the stomach for the awesome responsibility of the presidency. In an interview with radio station dzBB, Poe said she now has doubts because it would involve a six-year contract with the Filipino people.

“The most important is what I can do as President in case I join the race.

If I see I can improve the lives of our people and maintain honesty in government, why not? But at this point, I have not reached a decision to run,” explained Poe. So, when will she take that leap of faith the Filipino people are willing to take with her?

After leading in both Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia voter preference surveys, Ms. Poe’s wishy-washy stand does not speak well of her fitness for the job. We

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO ONE of the outdated observations in Philippine political practice is the so-called “command” vote. It hardly exists.

Perhaps we had pockets of the same in Muslim Mindanao in the previous elections. Or perhaps some island provinces ruled by dynastic warlords. But the net effect on a presidential candidacy of the socalled command vote has become less and less significant through the years. Credit media for that, and in latter years, the pervasive influence of the internet.

If memory serves me right, in 2004, the late FPJ carried Pangasinan, though with a nontoo-decisive margin over GMA. Both claimed roots in the province, as FPJ’s father was native to San Carlos City. And GMA’s mother, Dona Evangelina Macaraeg, my mom’s classmate at the UST College of Medicine, came from Binalonan in Ilocano-speaking Eastern Pangasinan.

Standing out was the town of Sto. Tomas, where Mayor Bebot Villar reigned. The whole town voted for GMA, all 7,000 voters and more, and gave FPJ a zero. Now that is a command vote.

The Ampatuans could likewise deliver so-called command votes, as they did in 2007 when they gave the Lakas senatorial slate a clean sweep.

But all these are now passé.

The other theory I have always held is that the average Filipino voter keeps his vote for president distinct from his vote for local officials, congressman included. He can even allow the local official he loyally votes for to influence his list of senators, but not the president he wants to elect. He will be loyal to the mayor, or the congressman who gives him and his family care, but his presidential vote is his own—it is for his

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Friend-zoned..

WISHY WASHY have to elect a president who’s decisive and who has a vision of what the presidency is all about. What a disappointment.

How this would affect the next SWS and Pulse Asia surveys would reflect how voters now perceive Poe. It may or not may make a dent on Poe’s credibility in much the same way Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s ambivalent “ I don’t need to be president” and “when I become president” posturing have not affected his third-place ranking in the polls.

What was the reason for the senator’s sudden change of heart?

Everyone has the right to change her mind, the lady more so. But because she figured in the news since she topped the senatorial elections in 2013, Grace Poe has managed to stay in the public consciousness and has given rise to false hopes she might be the answer to real, meaningful change after five years of President B.S Aquino’s empty rhetoric of reform.

Could it be Grace Poe is afraid the issues and question on her residency and citizenship have ba-

sis after all? First raised by United Nationalist Alliance spokesman Rep. Toby Tiangco of Navotas, who reaped a whirlwind when he did, Poe’s citizenship challenge is anchored on the timeline of when she renounced her US citizenship. Was it before she accepted the government position as chairperson of the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board, or before she ran for the Senate? These are serious questions that need straightforward answers before the 2016 presidential elections.

Perhaps Poe is thinking that if she does not run for President, her political detractors will leave her alone and let her stay on as senator until 2019 when her term ends.

Where does that leave Senator Francis Escudero? Chiz has been hoping Poe would be anointed by PNoy and she would insist that he be her vice presidential running mate. There are now reports that the Liberal Party is looking at Batangas Governor Vilma Santos as the vice presidential bet of Interior Secretary Secretary Mar Roxas. The wife of Senator Ralph Recto would

be more acceptable to Roxas than having Escudero. It will be recalled Escudero and the Aquino sisters backstabbed Roxas in the 2010 elections by throwing their support behind Jejomar Binay even after Mar stepped aside for PNoy to win the presidency.

After the six-hour dinner meeting at Malacanang hosted by the President for Poe, Escudero and Roxas which failed to reach a consensus, Aquino met again last Monday with Grace for five hours.

The senator said it will probably be their last meeting as the President indicated he would make known his choice for successor after his last State of the Nation Address before a joint session of Congress on July 27.

So far we have a three-way race for president in 2016 despite Poe’s and Duterte’s ambivalence. Still to decide before the October deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy is Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. who’s being paired with the Davao mayor by the old guards of his father’s Kilusang Bagong Lipunan.

GEO-RITHMETIC “kursunada”.

Otherwise, Joe de V should have won over Erap. And Tata Monching Mitra should have prevailed over FVR and Miriam. And so on through succeeding elections.

The “masa” treasure their vote for the president of the land, which is why if we finally get around to replacing the present Constitution, that direct vote for president must be retained, if we are to consider acceptability by the public. More like the French system rather than a purely parliamentary model. Or, shorn of dictatorial characteristics, the Marcos model.

Now let’s segue into the realm of geo-rithmetic, or political geographic arithmetic. Does a favorite son vote exist? Simply put, will the Filipino voter come 2016 place high on his hierarchy of “likes” the fact that he has ethno-linguistic, even regionalistic similarities to the candidate?

In times past, and as amply demonstrated by Ferdinand Marcos, there was a Solid North vote. The so-called Ilocano nation voted for Marcos, and never forsook him, even when Cory Aquino ran against him in 1986. That bloc of votes, comprising some 10-15% of the vote then, began in Rosales, Pangasinan all the way to the tip of Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte (west), to the entire Cagayan Valley (Region 2) in the northeast of Luzon, and the Montanosa provinces now known as the CAR. Half of Tarlac and Zambales as well.

It bears watching if the same would be a commanding “baluarte” for Bongbong Marcos. Or what percentage of the same. And likewise, whether it is something transferable to his supported presidential candidate. In 2010, he supported Manny Villar, and he delivered part of the “solid” North, the two Ilocos provinces.

The Tagalogs are not known to

vote on the basis of ethno-linguistic bias. Pampangos do, but they are just a little over a million votes.

The last time the Tagalogs delivered solidly was for Erap. In fact, Nueva Ecija, the country’s rice granary, gave Erap 90 percent of their vote, and his father’s Laguna 80 percent of the total vote. But never again.

Not even similar margins for FPJ, Erap’s best friend. He carried these provinces in 2004, but not in the magnitude of Erap’s victory in 1998.

How much diminished would the support be for FPJ’s Grace? It bears watching, should she finally decide to make a go for the top post.

Batangas has a native son vote.

Even when Tito Doy Laurel and Rene de Villa were clearly going to lose, they elected their comprovincianos. Which means in 2016, albeit with a diminished majority, Jojo Binay will likely carry his father’s native province. And, if Congressman Rodito Albano is correct, Isabela likewise, because Binay’s mother is from there.

But will Binay, who is halfBatangueno and half-Ibanag, carry Regions 2 and 4? With the reach of media, that does not look like a sure bet. Even the pre-campaign surveys show it quite clearly. Poe has edged him out in these regions.

Bicol always votes for a native son. For senator that is, even giving their native sons a “solo voto”, as in filling up the list of 12, or 24 in the past, with just their Bicolano senator, giving him or them a multiplier despite Bicol being just 2.5 percent of the national vote. Grace and Chiz, if the pairing runs, will likely get this 2.5 percent.

I don’t know if the Ilonggos will vote solidly for Mar Roxas, of Capiz and Negros Occidental. The total Ilonggo-speaking vote is around 7 to 8 percent, and in the surveys, Miriam Defensor Santiago is competing against Mar, even in her sick bed. Would the Iloilo “foundling”

Grace, with a Negrense mother, Susan Sonora, also deprive Mar of a solid Ilonggo vote?

For the first time in remembered history, a Mindanaoan of Cebuano and Southern Leyte roots, is running for president. That’s Rodrigo Duterte of Davao, who despite his protestations that he is not running, is clearly and seriously thinking of taking the plunge.

Nobody before, neither Teofisto Guingona Jr., of Bukidnon, Agusan and Guimaras, who was appointed vice-president by GMA after the Erap putsch, nor Emmanuel Pelaez of Medina in Misamis Oriental, who lost the nominating convention of the Nacionalista Party to Ferdinand Marcos in 1965, ever got so close to running for the top post, mismo.

Mindanao is 24 percent of the national vote. Bisaya, or Cebuanospeaking Visayas is 10 percent, or more than half of the entire Visayas vote of 19-20 percent. In the language of geo-rithmetic, Dutere should win heavily here. That’s 34 percent of the total vote. Assuming he gets 65 percent average, and the initial surveys indicate such a possibility, that’s a solid 22 percent of the vote.

And there are plenty of Bisaya in NCR and nearby provinces as well.

Please note that the last time the Bisaya had a president was when they elected Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol in 1957, after Magsaysay died in a plane crash. His opponents, an Ilocano-Tagalog, Manuel Manahan, an Ilonggo-Lagunense, Jose Yulo, and a Batangueno-Quezonian, Claro M. Recto, divided Luzon among themselves, leaving the Bisaya voting for a native son, and winning.

Even Erap did not vote for Garcia.

His first vote was cast when Marcos trounced Macapagal. Fred Lim perhaps did vote in 1957.

Will geo-rithmetic matter in 2016? Vamos a ver.

From A8

in Congress. And then he campaigned – and also won – in the US Supreme Court the legalization of samesex marriage.

Obama’s initiatives may be controversial, but his campaigning for reforms is real, as real as the changes he is pushing for themselves.

Obama is on a mission and a work ethic, which is why he gets things done.

Hereabouts, our President has decided to spend his remaining time in office choosing a successor, something he can’t even accomplish after meeting several times with the people he wants to replace him. And despite his Herculean efforts to get approval for what he believes is his most important piece of legislation – the Bangsamoro Basic Law – nothing has happened there, either.

Even in the matter of accomplishing the bare minimum required of a President, stuff like new roads, bridges and school buildings, President Noynoy Aquino has not delivered.

The infrastructure programs of this administration are a bad joke, and Aquino is almost certain to leave office with the distinction of not having built anything – to say nothing of getting real reforms done.

But Aquino is oblivious to criticism, has long been that way. Only yesterday at Malacanang, he crowed about the accomplishment of Congress to pass what he considers important legislation – the Philippines Competition Act and amendments to the aging cabotage law – while failing to point out that his BBL and his promised Freedom of Information Act have fallen off the radar.

The irony of it all is that, during the 2010 presidential campaign, Aquino was sold as the Philippines’ version of Obama, when his handlers weren’t selling his as the son of heroes. Nearly six years later, everyone knows that, just like any other Aquino campaign promise, his vow to institute real reform (and even just to work hard and “hit the ground running” from Day One) just isn’t going to happen.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Azkals to play three more games in front of PH fans THE Philippine national football team is scheduled to play only three more games in the country in the ongoing qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup as the rest of its matches will be held outside the Philippines.

“Let’s take advantage of the hometown matches by watching the Azkals play in person. The Azkals will be playing for the country’s honor. The fans’ support will count a lot,” Team Manager Dan Palami said.

The next Azkals game is scheduled on September 8 against a tough Uzbekistan squad at the spanking Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan. Kickoff time is at 8 p.m.

Palami said playing before a home crowd will be motivating for the Azkals, especially if the players see the all-out support of fans turning up in droves for the games.

“We are fortunate to see our Azkals playing more home games, unlike in the 2011 qualifiers where they had only two home games,” he said.

For the ongoing World Cup qualifiers, the Azkals were lined up to play four games in the Philippines -- with the first game already held last June 11 against Bahrain at the Philippine Sports Stadium -- and another four games outside the country under a round robin format. The first home away game of the Azkals happened last June 17 in Doha, Qatar, when it trounced

Summer champs. LAS VEGAS, NV - The San Antonio Spurs celebrate after winning the Las Vegas Summer League Championship against the Phoenix Suns on July 20, 2015 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP Yemen, 2-0.

After the September 8 game against Uzbekistan, the next Azkals matches in the country are on November 12, 2015, against Yemen and on March 29 next year against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), both at the Philippine Sports Stadium.

The rest of the Azkals games scheduled outside of the country are on October 8, 2015, against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Pyongyang; on October 13, 2015, against Bahrain in Ma-

nama, and on March 24 next year against Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

There are eight groups with five teams each. The top team in each group plus the four second-best teams to be determined by goal difference across all groups will advance to the next round. The Philippines, Uzbekistan, People’s Republic of Korea, Bahrain, and Yemen are in Group H. The 12 teams will compete in the 2016 qualifiers, which will determine the final group for the World Cup in 2018 to be held in

Russia. The 12 teams will also automatically qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup. “Our ultimate goal is to play in the World Cup, the most followed sporting event worldwide and which is every nation’s dream,” Palami said.

Tickets for the Azkals vs. Uzbekistan game to be held at the Philippine Sports Stadium on September 8, 2015 are now available at www.ticketworld. com.ph. Tickets are at P531.80 for Price Zone 1, P331.14 for Price Zone 2 and P125.40 for Price Zone 3.

Pason, Ibaoc cop Shell Minda chess plums TOP seed Allan Pason swept his last four matches, including a seventh round victory over erstwhile solo leader Albert Diolola Jr., to capture the seniors crown while No. 7 Tristan Ibaoc took the juniors title in the 23rd Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship Northern Mindanao leg at SM CDO City Event Center in Cagayan de Oro Sunday.

Pason actually won his last seven games after a second round defeat to Dexter Echalico in a big comeback by the Univ. of San Jose-Recoletos standout, who emerged solo champion with eight points in the premier 17-20 age division of the twoday tournament serving as the third qualifying leg of the nationwide talent search sponsored

by Pilipinas Shell. He outplayed Rowena Padro of Univ. of San Carlos in the sixth round, then toppled Diolalo, Alvin Acas and Kenneth Tabada.

Second seed Diego CaparinoClaro, who scored 4.5 points after five rounds of the nine-round Swiss system tournament, dealt Diolola’s first loss in the sixth round then trampled Harold Taganas trounced Keith Ibaoc in the final round to make up for his eighth round setback to Tabada. The Univ. of Cebu mainstay finished with 7.5 points for solo second and took the other berth in the national finals set in September.

Tabada and Diolola wound up tied at third with seven points .

Padro won her last two rounds to finish with six points for joint seventh and clinch the lone female berth in the grand finals.

Federer launches childcare centre in Malawi LUNDU, Malawi—Tennis star Roger Federer on Monday swapped his racket for a pair of scissors to cut the ribbon at a new childcare centre in Malawi funded by his foundation.

About 10 kilometers (six miles) west of the capital Lilongwe, the windswept village of Lundu has neither water or electricity, let alone basic education facilities.

Head shot.

Paulina Armeria of Mexico takes a kick to the head from Cheyenne Lewis of the United States during their gold medal contest in the women’s taekwondo -57kg division of at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada. AFP

But the new centre, Federer predicted, would be a “pre-school of excellence and an important milestone” in the lives of children.

“Too many children are waiting for good preschools and early chilhood development centres,” the 17-time Grand Slam champ told officals and villagers at the opening.

Federer’s foundation has been working in Malawi since 2011 and has already built 80 pre-schools across the country, though this was the world number two’s first visit to the impoverished southern African nation.

Gevretta Kutchedwa, 70, who walked five kilometres to attend the ceremony, said the centre would “give hope

to young ones to strive for school.”

“My grandchildren started school very late because there was nowhere to go,” she said.

Federer urged politicians to do more for early education.

“We need everybody and in particular the government of Malawi on board.

Malawi needs more efforts

and more funds,” he said.

About $13.5 million (12.44 million euros) has been ploughed into the project which Federer hoped would provide support to about 150,000 Malawian children by 2021.

Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati said as many as 1.4 million of the country’s children had no

access to pre-school facilities.

She praised Federer’s work, saying her country needed to “mobilise all fathers to invest in these children rather than breed more children who lack support.”

Landlocked Malawi is one of the world’s most denselypopulated and least-developed countries. AFP

2k jins vie in SMART/MVP t’kwondo tilt THE country’s biggest taekwondo event – the 39th SMART/MVP Sports Foundation National Championships – will hug the spotlight on July 25-26 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Organizing Committee Chairman, Grand Master Sung Chon Hong, says around 2,000 fighters representing 250 to 300 teams from Philippine Taekwondo Association chapters, 12 different regions, including ARMM, CAR, CARAGA and NCR, all AFP branches and PNP will vie for honors in the two-day event.

Members of the Philippine team will also compete for their respective home teams.

Among the teams that have already signified their participation are the Central Gymnasium, DLSU, CSB, Ateneo, UST, UP, UE, FEU, LSGH, San Beda College, UP Diliman, DPS, DLSZ, Las Pinas, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Philippine Navy, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Army and Philippine National Police.

Competition will be conducted in Senior, Junior, Cadet

and Gradeschool for both male and female.

The tournament will utilize taekwondo’s different systems to eliminate human error and upgrade the event. These are PSS (Protective Scoring System), ESS (Electronic Scoring System), Daedo PSS and IVR (Instant Video Replay).

Elimination matches will start at 9 a.m. on both days.

However, the opening ceremony is slated at 1 p.m. on July 26.

This will be highlighted by the performance of the Philippine Demonstration Team.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Ababa eyes 2nd title in ICTSI ladies golfest DESPITE a long layoff and the presence of top Thailand players, Sarah Ababa is brimming with confidence as she kicks off her drive for a second straight championship in the ICTSI Luisita Ladies Challenge today (Wednesday) at the Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.

A four-day build-up on the range and workout on her short game yielded positive results and boosted Ababa’s confidence heading to the start of the 54-hole championship serving as the sixth leg of the eight-stage ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “It’s all range and improving my short game. I didn’t really have the chance to familiarize myself with the course but this is definitely long and the greens are tough to read,” said Ababa, who pounced on Chihiro Ikeda’s backside meltdown to nail her maiden win at LPGT Sherwood last month, in Filipino.

But while Ikeda and fancied Cyna Rodriguez begged off for this week’s event to honor previous commitments abroad, four Thais are entered in the P500,000 tournament, ready to spoil Ababa and the rest of the local bets’ title bid.

Faking it. FIFA president Sepp Blatter looks on as fake dollar notes fly around him, thrown by a British comedian during a press conference at the FIFA world-body headquarter’s on July 20, 2015 in Zurich. The 79-year-old Swiss official looked shaken as the notes thrown by Simon Brodkin, stagename Lee Nelson, fluttered around him in a conference hall at the FIFA headquarters. Brodkin was taken away in a Swiss police car after the stunt. AFP

Blatter not running in FIFA election ZURICH—FIFA chiefs on Monday recommended proposals to reform the scandal tainted world football body and a special election on February 26 to replace president Sepp Blatter who finally declared he will not be a candidate.

On a dramatic day Blatter was showered with fake dollar bills by a British comedian at the start of a press conference at which he fielded questions about the corruption storm that has engulfed FIFA. The veteran FIFA president— who has been in charge since 1998

—hailed the reforms being recommended but refused to fall in line with one of the key proposals and declare his salary.

He was also repeatedly asked about whether he would stand for office again and finally said: “I will not be a candidate for the election in 2016

and there will be an election for a new president. I cannot be the new president because I am the old president.”

Potential candidates are already planning campaigns for the most high profile job in sports politics.

French favourite Michel Platini will announce within a fortnight whether he will throw his hat into the ring, according to a source close to the UEFA president.

“He (Platini) is seriously considering running. He will make a decision in the next two weeks maximum and then make an an-

nouncement,” the source said.

A US corruption investigation which led to the arrest of seven FIFA officials in Zurich on May 27 has left world football reeling and sparked widespread demands for radical change.

Blatter, who has been FIFA president for 17 years, won a fifth term as president two days after the police raid. But on June 2 he produced his equally stunning announcement that he would stand down.

“I had, with my conscience, to do something for FIFA,” Blatter said af-

ter an executive committee meeting which set the new election date.

FIFA had been engulfed in “a tsunami”, he acknowledged at a press conference delayed by British comic Simon Brodkin—who is a notorious prankster and most recently disrupted rapper Kanye West’s performance at the Glastonbury Festival—as he threw fake dollars at him before being hauled away by security guards.

Blatter hailed the moves toward reforms that government leaders around the world as well as football administrators have demanded.

Ex-Laker Shaw heads NBA Fit Week in PH WBC remembers Elorde’s NBA Champion and former Head Coach Brian Shaw will tip off NBA FIT Week by providing advanced basketball instruction at this year’s Gatorade NBA Training Center in the Philippines, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Gatorade announced yesterday.

Returning for the second consecutive year, the Gatorade NBA Training Center gathers elite instructors in the fields of basketball, fitness and conditioning, and nutrition to share the latest techniques with elite Filipino athletes and coaches. The 2015 Gatorade NBA Training Center will be held at the Gatorade Hoops Center at Man-

daluyong City on July 29.

NBA FIT Week highlights the importance of healthy living through three pillars: be active, eat healthy, and play together. Additional activities lined-up for NBA FIT Week include an NBA Cares clinic with Project Pearls on July 30 for 40 children from the community of Barangay Bocaue, Bulacan, as well as the NBA FIT Adi Nation Skills Camp on July 31 featuring nine to 13-year-old youth varsity players.

Shaw will share personal drills and training techniques with PBA player L.A. Tenorio and Filipino college basketball players including

De La Salle University’s Jeron Teng, National University’s Gelo Alolino, Ateneo’s Von Pessumal, Far Eastern University’s Mike Tolomia, and University of Santo Tomas’ Kevin Ferrer. Shaw will also share his coaching philosophies with professional and collegiate coaches in a special coaches’ session. ìI look forward to visiting Manila and witnessing first-hand the passion of the Filipino players and coaches,î said Shaw. ìThe Philippines has produced great basketball talent, and I’m excited to share my knowledge with the participants to help them take that next step.î

Special Ballers. Photo show some of the members of a 35-man team of special athletes who will represent the coountry in the Special Oympics in Los Angeles, California on July 23 to August2, 2015..

The athletes left yesterday on board Philippine Airlines flight PR102 RUDY C. SANTOS

epic victory vs Saddler

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

THE World Boxing Council has remembered the epic victory of Gabriel “Flash” Elorde over American Sandy Saddler in a 10-round non title fight in Manila on July 20, 1955 when Elorde stunned the boxing world as he outpointed world featherweight champion Sandy Saddler .

The WBC website said “Filipino idol and one of the greatest fighters his country has ever produced, southpaw Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, defeated lanky American Sandy Saddler, the world featherweight champion by unanimous decision in ten rounds in a non-title bout.”

The WBC recalls that “the memorable action took place at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. The event was presented by flamboyant promoter Lope Sarreal (Elorde’s father-in –law.) The third man in the ring was Jack Sullivan.”

In a Viva Sports documentary entitled “The Flash Elorde Stiory” we wrote “ it was a ring battle etched in the memories of many for the sheer gallantry of Elorde against a veteran world champion who was regarded by most as one of the dirtiest fighters in the business.”

Renowned journalist Teddy Benigno didn’t give Elorde a chance but when it was over Benigno in his usual masterful fashion wrote - “his legs almost shot from under him, his face a rucksack of welts, cuts and bruises, his eyes mere slits, Elorde would pull that courage from some inner, invisible scabbard and turned the tide.”

Boxrec.com in its account of the fight reported that Elorde, the Philippine bantamweight champion “kept the puzzled champion off balance most of the night by swarming over him with flurries of punches and outscoring Saddler on an average of 3-1. Saddler, relying mainly on his left hook was forced to use every trick in the book against Elorde but just couldn’t pull the fight out of the fire.”

The report said referee Jack Sullivan “warned Saddler on several occasions for butting and elbowing and each incident prompted a fresh barrage of orange peelings and bottles aimed at Saddler’s corner.”

“The 126 pound titlist was especially warned in the `1st. 3rd and 6th rounds but persisted with his rough style.”

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

POC to screen Olympic hopefuls

By Peter Atencio

The Philippine Olympic Committee said yesterday that athletes from 23 sports disciplines are seeking qualifying berths for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Following a meeting with national sports associations, POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. formed a cluster committee to address the needs of the

athletes involved.

“It (committee) was formed in this meeting to be able to address their concerns in their efforts to qualify,” said POC presi-

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT

Notice is hereby given that the estate of Andres K. Altamirano, who died on July 3, 1999 in Quezon City Metro Manila, had been settled extrajudicially by his heirs as evidenced by Document no. 71, Page no. 15 Book no. 1 series of 2015. dated May 28, 2015 in the notarial books of Atty. Arlyn S. De LeonGregorio, Notary Public until December 31, 2016 PTR No. 0178448/1.05.15 Parañaque City, Supreme Court Roll No. 63852 IBP lifetime member no. 012979. MCLE Compliance No. V-0004901/12.16.2014.

Notice is hereby given that the estate of Gertrudes K. Altamirano, who died on April 9, 1990 in Manila, had been settled extrajudicially by her heirs as evidenced by Document no. 70, Page no. 14 Book no. 1 series of 2015. dated May 28, 2015 in the notarial books of Atty. Arlyn S. De LeonGregorio, Notary Public until December 31, 2016 PTR No. 0178448/1.05.15 Parañaque City, Supreme Court Roll No. 63852 IBP lifetime member no. 012979. MCLE Compliance No. V-0004901/12.16.2014.

(TS-JULY 15,22 & 29 2015)

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT Notice is hereby given that the estate of Crisanto B. Gusion, Sr., who died on June 12, 1995 in Makati City, had been settled extrajudicially by his heirs as evidenced by Document no. 307, Page no. 60 Book no.

17 series of 2013. dated May 17, 2013 in the notarial books of Atty.

Abigail A. Portugal, Notary Public until December 31, 2013 PTR No. 98009028/1.02.13 Parañaque City Supreme Court Roll No. 45535 IBP 903696. MCLE Compliance No. III0021257/11.12.2011.

(TS-JULY 15, 22 & 29 2015)

FOR FAST AD RESULTS, PLEASE CALL Advertising depArtment 832-5547 (DL); 832-5550 (TeleFax) emAiL Us @ advertise@thestandard.com.ph

dent Jose Cojuangco Jr. POC chairman Tom Carrasco of triathlon, Romeo Magat of tennis, Bettina Pou of gymnastics and staff member Remy Birondo were tasked to lead each of the four clusters.

Among the sports disciplines who will have athletes seeking qualifying berths include athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, archery, gymnastics, cycling, taekwondo, triath-

(TS-JULY 15,22 & 29 2015)

EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH ABSOLUTE SALE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Carlos Ranudo Villanueva has been extrajudicially settled among his heirs namely Josephine P. Villanueva (spouse)Catherine Villanueva-Balarbar (child), Christina P. Villanueva (child) and Teresita Villanueva-Rivera (child).

As per Doc. No. 309; Page 61; Book No. XIII, Series of 2015 before Notary Public Atty. Nestor C. Fernandez

( T S - J U LY 8 ,15 , 2 2 , 2 015 )

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES TARIFF COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING/CONSULTATION Pursuant to Sections 401/402 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended, the Tariff Commission will conduct public hearing/ consultation on the proposed elimination/binding of tariffs on products in the expansion list of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

The Declaration on the Expansion of Trade in Information Technology Products provides for two (2) attachments. Attachment A defines product coverage by specific 6-digit HS codes. These fall under the following HS2007/2012 heading Nos.: 35.06, 37.01, 37.05, 37.07, 39.07, 84.14, 84.19, 84.20, 84.21, 84.23, 84.24, 84.42, 84.43, 84.56, 84.66, 84.72, 84.73, 84.75, 84.76, 84.79, 84.86, 85.04, 85.05, 85.14, 85.15, 85.17, 85.18, 85.19, 85.21, 85.22, 85.23, 85.25, 85.26, 85.27, 85.28, 85.29, 85.31, 85.36, 85.38, 85.39, 85.42, 85.43, 88.02, 88.03, 88.05, 90.01, 90.02, 90.10, 90.11, 90.12, 90.13, 90.14, 90.15, 90.18, 90.21, 90.22, 90.23, 90.24, 90.25, 90.27, 90.28, 90.30, 90.31, 90.32, 95.04.

Attachment B defines ITA product coverage through product descriptions but not through any corresponding HS code. The descriptive approach in Attachment B allows for product coverage regardless of specific HS codes. Potentially, these may be covered under the HS2012 Chapters 25-97: Multicomponent integrated circuits (MCOs); Light-emitting diode (LED) backlights modules; Touch-sensitive input devices (so-called touch screens); Ink cartridges; Printed matter which grants the rights to access, install, reproduce or otherwise use software (including games), data, internet content or services, or telecommunications services (including mobile services); Self-adhesive circular pads of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of semiconductors or flat panel displays; Boxes, cases, crates and similar articles, of plastics, specially shaped or fitted for the conveyance and packing of semiconductor wafers, masks or reticles; Vacuum pumps of a kind used solely or principally for the manufacture of semiconductor or flat panel displays; Plasma cleaner machine; Portable interactive electronic education devices primarily designed for children.

Attachments A and B are posted in our website at http://www.tariffcommission. gov.ph/.

Interested parties will be given the opportunity to be heard and to present evidence in support of their positions.

The public hearing/consultation is on 30 July 2015 (Thursday) at 10:00 A.M. at the Tariff Commission Conference Room, 5th Floor Philippine Heart Center Building, East Avenue, Quezon City.

For particulars, please inquire with the Research, Investigation and International Trade Analysis Services (RIITAS) at telephone numbers 926-87-31 or 928-84-19.

Issued this 20th day of July 2015, Quezon City, Metro Manila.

EDGARDO B. ABON Chairman (TS JULY 22, 2015)

lon, equestrian, golf, table tennis, lawn tennis, basketball, judo, shooting, sailing, rowing, canoeing, rugby, wrestling, weightlifting and fencing.

“We are identifying the athletes right from the beginning and their chances,” Cojuangco added.

So far, the POC said only sprinter Eric Cray has qualified for the Olympics, while another athlete, boxer Charly Suarez is moving closer to a

sport for the Rio Games.

Suarez solidified his bid to qualify to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics after he notched his second straight win in the AIBA Pro Cycle One Round 2 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan over the weekend.

Fil-American swimmer Chloe Isleta, meanwhile, surpassed the Olympic B qualifying mark in the 2015 Summer Super League long course championships last Friday in Los Angeles.

Romeo aims to shine brighter in PBA

By Jeric Lopez FOLLOWING a stellar showing in the recent Philippine Basketball Association and after winning the Most Improved Player award, Terrence Romeo is looking to further solidify himself as one of the country's premier basketball stars.

The GlobalPort spitfire is looking to carry the momentum he got from last season to next season as he wants to perform even better when he enters his third year in the league.

“Masaya ako sa tinatakbo ng career ko sa PBA so far tapos nakakuha pa ako ng award. Kaya mas magwo-work hard pa ako lalo para mag improve pa at mas makatulong sa team next season,” said the pure scoring combo-guard.

Ever since he entered the PBA, Romeo quickly made everyone notice his abilities and talents as he continues to prove that he can play with the big boys.

“Gusto ko lang patuloy na i-prove na kaya ko makipagsabayan dito sa PBA kahit marami talagang magagaling,” added Romeo, who was also included in the Mythical Second Team selection along with Rookie of the Year teammate Stanley Pringle.

Aside from his personal goals, Romeo is also optimistic that the Batang Pier will be able to sustain its rise after a very promising season.

“Patuloy namin yung improvement nung team namin and sana mas makapagcontribute pa kami lahat next season para mas malayo pa yung marating namin.”

The past season was a positive one for GlobalPort as it was able to evidently show drastic improvement and is starting to come along as a dangerous squad.

The Batang Pier, led by the high-octane play and production of Romeo and Pringle, was able to finish No. 4 and earn its first twice-to-beat incentive for the franchise in the recent Governors' Cup before falling short in the quarterfinals to defending champion Star despite the advantage it had.

Nonetheless, it was still the best finish in its franchise history and with Romeo and Pringle continuing to rise, the future looks bright for GlobalPort.

There's little doubt on who GlobalPort's main gunner will be in its future ahead.

“Alam naman natin yung kakayahan at kayang gawin ni Terrence (Romeo) kaya isa siya sa leaders namin talaga sa team. Nagma-mature pa lalo yung laro niya. Iyong kumpiyansa niya maganda so alam namin mas makakatulong pa siya sa suc-

GlobalPort guardd Terrence Romeo in action

cess ng GlobalPort,”' said Batang Pier coach Pido Jarencio of his star guard.

Meanwhile, Tim Cone's move to Barangay Ginebra was already made official by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) big boss Ramon S. Ang according to reports.

As Cone moves to try and turn the fortunes around of the Gin Kings, his protege Jason Webb will take over the head coaching chores over at Star after a season of being an assistant.

Cone just came back yesterday from his U.S. trip to do some scouting in the NBA Summer League and is reportedly about to receive an official memo from the SMC management that will formalize his transfer to Ginebra.

Casimero faces Arroyo in title eliminator FORMER IBF light flyweight champion and current No.1 ranked flyweight Johnreil Casimero will fight McWilliams Arroyo in a title eliminator for the right to face champion Amnat Ruenroeng with the winner earning a mandatory crack at the Thai champion.

Sammy Gello-ani co-promotes Casimero with Sampson Lewkowicz and despite Casimero having fought an eliminator once before to earn the right to face Ruenroeng, the promoters of the Filipino have agreed to go through an eliminator once again.

When asked by the New Standard/boxingmirror.com why Casimero has to figure in an

eliminator once again instead of a rematch with Ruenroeng who retained his title in a foul-infested fight in Bangkok where referee Larry Doggett was blasted by the media for allowing the champion to engage in a series of MMAMuay Thai style takedowns and several instances of holding one of which lasted as long as 40 seconds, Gello-ani said he and Lewkowicz had agreed that “it is for business so Casimero can earn some money.”

Gello-ani said he is confident that the Bangkok experience won't be repeated and that Casimero “can handle McWilliams Arroyo.

We are not scared.”

However, Gello-ani admitted facing Arroyo “is a risk we are go-

ing into and as long as there is no problem with the officials which we can handle.”

He said details of the title eliminator will be finalized soon.

The 29-year old McWilliams Arroyo, the twin brother of McJoe who won a hugely controversial 10th round technical decision in El Paso, Texas to grab the vacant IBF super flyweight title against previously unbeaten King Arthur Villanueva, has a record of 14 knockouts in 16 wins with 2 losses, one of which was a controversial twelve round split decision against Ruenroeng in Bangkok last September 10, 2014 despite having dropped the Thai in the 6th round. Ronnie Nathanielsz

W E D N E S D AY : J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Tenorio out to protect Cone’s legacy at Ginebra

By Dennis Principe ONE of Tim Cone’s longtime triangle disciples feels compelled to protect the legacy of the multi-titled coach, who is set to take over the coaching chores of Brgy. Ginebra.

According to Ginebra point guard LA Tenorio, it is a must for him and his teammates to make Cone’s stint with their team as remarkable as the American’s previ-

ous coaching gigs.

Cone was the architect of two of five PBA grand slam titles, one each with Alaska and San Mig Coffee and is currently the league’s all-time winningest coach with 18 jewels.

San Miguel Corporation big boss Ramon S. Ang ordered the transfer of Cone to Ginebra and replace rookie coach Frankie Lim who lasted for only one conference.

SMC owns three franchises in

the PBA namely Ginebra, Star Hotshots and Philippine Cup and Governors’ Cup champion San Miguel Beer.

“It’s up to us players to have the right character and attitude that will help coach Tim succeed with us. We also have to realize ‘yung sacrifice ng management kasi nakita naman natin ‘yung naging reaction ng Purefoods fans. It was not an easy decision to make sa side ng

management,” said Tenorio.

In terms of personnel, Tenorio believes they have the right pieces that Cone would need to make his vaunted triangle offense work with Ginebra.

Widely considered as the league’s top draw, Ginebra once flirted with the complex offensive strategy when one of Cone’s coaching students Jeff Cariaso handled the squad early last season.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

Knights roll into 4 win, Lions score th

By Peter Atencio

MARK Cruz sizzled with 29 points, including four timely treys in the fourth period to power the Letran Knights past the San Sebastian Stags, 82-76 yesterday in the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation men’s basketball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

Cruz capped his long-game trey and two freebies. brilliance with a four-point Earlier, San Beda College play in the final 55.1 sec- leaned on a strong second unit onds to put the Knights into led by Donald Tankoua to rethe lead for good enroute to pulse Lyceum of the Philiptheir fourth straight victory. pines, 97-74 and clinch its third Letran’s fourth consecutive in four games. victory, which tied it with UniTankoua, taking over from vesity of Perpeutal Help at the the injured Olaide Adeogun, top, was its finest start since had 22 points while Arthur 2008 when it also racked up dela Cruz added 13 points four straight victories at the and 14 rebounds for the Red start of the season, with the Lions, who were coming off a fourth win also 80-93 loss to the coming against Letran Knights Games Tomorrow (San Juan Arena) the Stags. last week.

LSGH vs San Beda (jrs) Kevin Racal 1012a.m.

Adeogun nn UPHSD vs Letran (jrs) only had seven 2 p.m. CSB vs San Beda (srs) had 10 points points, but it 4 p.m.UPHSD vs Letran (srs) in 17 minutes was he who before going started the Letran’s huge out for good because of an comeback from a 53-66 defi- injury. cit with a trey, one of five In the junior division, the which the Knights unloaded San Beda Red Cubs drew 17 in the last eight minutes. points apiece from Eduardo “Try naming bumalik nung Velasquez and Pedro Alfaro to second hald. Try namin ang turn back the Lyceum Junior best namin, hindi kami tu- Pirates, 91-81, for their fourth migil,” said Cruz, Letran’s win in a row. skipper.

In the other juniors game, Jon Ortuoste led the Stags Shareed Saliddin scored three with 25 points, but made a crucial charities at endgame crucial passing error that al- to lead the San Sebastian Stalowed the Knights to retake glets past the Letran Squires, Allyn Malabanan of Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates attempts to swipe the ball from San Beda Red Lions’ Josemari Presibitero during their game yesterday in the 2015 NCAA at the San Juan Arena. The Red Lions won, the lead on Rey Nambatac’s 75-71.

97-74. SONNY ESPIRITU

ABAP is running out of time—Picson Ed Picson, Executive Director of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines, responds to questions from sportswriters when he guested in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum yesterday at Shakey’s Malate in Manila.

EY ACASIO

THE Association of Boxing of Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) is running out of time forming and preparing its team to next month’s Asian Boxing Confederation elite men’s championship in Bangkok.

“We’re way behind schedule.

Gahol na gahol na sa oras (Time is running out),” said ABAP executive director Ed Picson in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Picson said the core of the national boxing team, most of them members of the military, have been recalled by their mother units last June 30.

These boxers, just a few of the 118 military athletes in the national pool, need the detailed service (permits) from the AFP. Without this, they cannot leave

their barracks.

There are eight boxers, including gold medalists in the recent Singapore Southeast Asian Games, and eight coaches still waiting for their DS, just over a month before the Asian championships.

The event in Bangkok, scheduled to start Aug. 25, serves as qualifying to the World Championships in Doha Qatar in October, which in turn serves as qualifier to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“Right now we have no team to the Asian championships because we don’t have the chance to evaluate our boxers,” said Picson during the forum also presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s and Pagcor.

The ABAP official has made an urgent appeal to the AFP to give the boxers and coaches that will form the team to the Asian

championships the green light.

“I hope they give us due consideration. We can’t blame the military. We understand the protocol that’s why we are appealing,” said Picson.

It takes more than a month to prepare for such tournament. This is as urgent as it can get. We’re hoping they could see it in the manner that we do,” he said.

The Philippines plans to field entries in seven or eight of the 10 categories to be disputed in Bangkok, and since most of the boxers are in their barracks, their hands are tied.

Among the boxers affected by the absence of DS forms from the AFP are Mark Anthony Barriga, Rey Saludar, Wilfredo Lopez, Eumir Felix Marcial, Dennis Galvan, Junel Cantancio, Nico Magliquian, and Mario Fernandez.

A16

W E d N E S d AY : J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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 Johnson wins thrilling Open

US golfer Zach Johnson kisses the Claret Jug, the trophy for the Champion golfer of the year as he poses for a photograph after winning the three-way playoff on day five of the 2015 British Open Golf Championship on The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. AFP

ST ANDREWS—Zach Johnson won the British Open on Monday, emerging victorious from a gripping four-hole playoff against Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.

It was the 39-year-old American’s second major title win after he triumphed at the 2007 Masters.

“It sounds beautiful. It still sounds extremely surreal. The tone to it is very humbling. I feel blessed to be the champion and honoured to be part of the history of this game,” Johnson said.

Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, missed getting into the playoff by one shot and thus saw his hopes shattered of becoming just the second player to win the Masters, US and British Opens in the same year.

Johnson, Oosthuizen and Leishman all finished with totals of 15-under 273 after Johnson and Leishman had 66s and Oosthuizen a 69.

Blatt not running in FIFA election turn to A13

That forced the first British Open playoff since Stewart Cink defeated Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009 and the first threeway playoff since 1999 when Paul Lawrie triumphed.

It was a gripping end to what had been an enthralling day that saw a packed leaderboard go hammer and tongs at grabbing enough birdies to take possession of golf ’s most coveted trophy on just the second occasion in it’s 155-year-long history when it concluded on a Monday.

Torrential rain on Friday and high winds on Saturday had seen to that.

Played over holes 1, 2, 17 and 18, Oosthuizen and Johnson im-

mediately distanced themselves from Leishman with opening birdies to his bogey.

Johnson then went clear with a birdie at the second, but he hit a poor approach to the notorious 17th, the Road Hole, and bogeyed, only for Oosthuizen to miss a fourfooter to get back on level terms.

It all came down to the famous 18th hole with its historic town centre backdrop, and a par was enough for Johnson with Oosthuizen narrowly missing an eight-footer to force sudden death.

“To don my name on that trophy is humbling and surreal,” said Johnson, whose superb wedge-play and putting were key to his win.

“It has been a week of patience, courage and trust. I can’t play any better than I did. I just stayed in it, waited for the opportunities and made a few putts.

“I don’t like seeing it end on a miss. Louis is a buddy, a friend and a tremendous competitor.”

Knights roll into 4th win, Lions score turn to A15

Oosthuizen, who was looking to make it back-to-back Open wins at St Andrews having triumphed at the Old Course by seven strokes in 2010, said that he had done well just to get into the playoff.

It was the second time he had lost a major in a playoff after losing to Bubba Watson for the 2012 Masters green jacket.

“But I’ll take a lot out of this week,” he said.

“I was really motivated to win this championship this week. I love this place, I’ve said it a thousand times. I can’t wait for it to come back here again,” added the 32-year-old, who finished tied for runner-up as well in this year’s US Open behind Spieth.

The playoff followed a sensational day of aggressive shot-making under the drenching Scottish rain when it soon became clear from the nature of the early scores that the Open crown would go to the lowest of the low. AFP

Spieth to defend Australian Open SYDNEY—Two-time Grand Slam winner Jordan Spieth will defend his Australian Open title in Sydney in November, organisers said on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Texan, winner of both the Masters tournament and the United States Open this year, has committed to the Australian Open at The Australian course from November 26-29.

Spieth fell just short of winning a third consecutive major in the British Open at St Andrews on Monday, finishing one shot out of a playoff, won by compatriot Zach Johnson.

Had he managed a third major in a row, Spieth would have joined Ben Hogan and set off for an unprecedented Grand Slam of professional majors at the year’s remaining major, the US PGA Championship.

Spieth played one of the greatest rounds in the history of the Australian Open at The Australian course last November to win the Stonehaven Cup by six shots.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to return to Sydney,” he said in a statement.

“I had a fantastic time in Australia. I can’t wait to come back and hopefully defend the Stonehaven Cup.” AFP

B1

WEDNESDAY: JULY 22, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

business@thestandardtoday.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

WTO dialog.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (left) shakes hands with World Trade Organization director Roberto Azevedo after a meeting at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on July 3, 2015. Both leaders made the commitment to work together toward a better global trade. Alcala gave his commitment on DA’s participation in the negotiations for the concluding Doha Development Agenda and the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference on Dec. 15 to 18, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.

PSe comPoSite index Closing July 21, 2015

Right-of-way woes hinder harbor road

By Darwin G. Amojelar

MANILA North Tollways Corp. said Tuesday the resolution of right-of-way problems by the government is critical to complete the P10.5-billion North Harbour Link Project by December 2016.

“If we get the right of way within the year, the Segment 10 is likely to be completed by December 2016,” said Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Ramoncito Fernandez. MPTC is the parent firm of MNTC. Segment 10 of the North Lu-

zon Expressway, a 5.6-kilometer elevated highway in northwest Metro Manila linking MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City and C3 Road in Caloocan City, was only 15 percent complete since construction started in May 2014.

Fernandez said the government

should deliver about 75 percent of the right-of-way requirements this year to enable MNTC to complete the project by December 2016.

“The right of way in the north rail section of the Segment 10 project is critical,” he added.

MNTC expects a daily traffic of 30,000 vehicles in Segment 10.

MNTC president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the company expects to spend another P5.1 billion to extend the NLEx Harbor Link from C3 Road in Caloocan City to Radial Road 10 in Tondo, Manila.

“If we get the necessary permits

Ban on aerial spraying opposed

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales THE Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association on Tuesday expressed their opposition to a bill which aims to ban aerial spraying over banana plantations and other agricultural farms.

PBGEA said in a statement aerial spraying was a generally accepted agricultural practice by the World Trade Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations under certain limitations which the banana industry was strictly adopting, otherwise importers might stop buying from them.

PBGEA said a multi-sectoral monitoring team that focused on banana plantations was overseeing the compliance of these regulations.

Several civil society groups earlier urged Congress to immediately pass a bill which aims to ban the use of aerial spraying.

Under consideration by the House committee on ecology chaired by Rep. Amado Bagatsing is House Bill 3857, entitled ‘An Act prohib-

iting aerial spraying as a method of applying chemicals and similar substances on agricultural crops.’

The bill is authored by Gabriela Women’s Partylist Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus; Bayan Muna Reps. Neli Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate; ACT Teachers’ Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio; Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Fernando Hicap; and Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon.

PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig said the allegations against aerial spraying were recycled and were answered long time ago.

“We invite the proponents to visit Davao and see for yourselves how we do things. If need be, you can talk to the people in Camocaan or talk to your colleagues, the former members of the committee on ccology, some of whom are still in Congress while others are still in the same committee,” Antig said.

“We are hopeful that the critical-mindedness and scientific objectivity of our government policy makers will prevail,” Antig said.

from the Toll Regulatory Board, we can start the project immediately,” Franco said.

The company aims to start the construction of 2.60 kilometers of elevated expressway from C3 to R10 by September this year and complete it by December 2016.

MNTC completed and opened the P1.59-billion Segment 9 of the NLEx Harbor Link, a 2.42-kilometer expressway, to the public in March.

Segment 9 connects NLEX from Smart Connect Interchange to MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, Valenzuela City.

The new road is expected to serve as many as 27,000 vehicles daily in the first year and ease traffic in major thoroughfares.

Meanwhile, Franco said parent MPTC was looking at toll road projects in Indonesia.

MPTC expanded its regional presence through a P4-billion equity investment and financing transaction with Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company last year.

In another development, the operators of Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway signed an agreement to make a seamless interchange for the two expressways in the south of Manila.

Ayala Corp. told the stock exchange the company, its 80-percent owned subsidiary MCX Tollways Inc., South Luzon Tollway Corp. and Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. signed an agreement on the interoperability of MCX, formerly Daang HariSLEX Connector Road, and SLEX on July 21.

8500 8000 7500 7000 6500 6000

7,627.96 86.79

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JULY 21, 2015 42

P45.280

43

CLOSE

44 45 46

HIGH P45.250 LOW P45.310 AVERAGE P45.282 VOLUME 442.800M

P475.00-P675.00 LPG/11-kg tank P40.55-P46.70 Unleaded Gasoline P27.90-P31.15 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, July 21, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

45.2590

Japan

Yen

0.008046

0.3642

UK

Pound

1.556700

70.4547

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129021

5.8394

Switzerland

Franc

1.037129

46.9394

Canada

Dollar

0.769586

34.8307

Singapore

Dollar

0.729501

33.0165

Australia

Dollar

0.738280

33.4138

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652238

120.0376

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

12.0681

Brunei

Dollar

0.726850

32.8965

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.029059

1.3152

UAE

Dirham

0.272257

12.3221

Euro

Euro

1.082700

49.0019

Korea

Won

0.000865

0.0391

China

Yuan

0.161038

7.2884

India

Rupee

0.015723

0.7116

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.262667

11.8880

New Zealand

Dollar

0.657419

29.7541

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032002

1.4484 Source: PDS Bridge

WEDNESDAY: JULY 22, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Tuesday, July 21, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 0.92 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 124 3.26 47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 17 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 241 12.5 3.95 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 7.34 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 1.3 2.17 0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 4.92 3.68 1455 7.5 76 6.5 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 6.55 0.0670 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510 10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

STOCKS

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 5.37 4.9 73.35 72.8 105.50 103.60 95.85 93.20 45.65 45.5 2.53 2.50 1.57 1.46 16.2 16.08 20.75 20.4 6.52 6.50 0.72 0.72 1.80 1.80 815.00 815.00 0.440 0.415 91.5 90 0.98 0.98 19.10 17.90 27.95 27.95 63.50 63.20 94.95 89.1 310 307 38.3 38.5 153.6 152 60.10 59.90 3.21 3.21 INDUSTRIAL 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp.

43.75 44.75 43.75 1.11 Agrinurture Inc. 1.36 1.36 1.31 1.01 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.04 1.04 1.02 1.86 Alsons Cons.

1.94 1.95 1.92 7.92 Asiabest Group 10.18 10.2 9.98 15.32 Century Food 18.36 18.4 18.26 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 26.85 26.4 25.65 29.15 Concepcion 58 58 55.1 1.5 Crown Asia 2.45 2.69 2.47 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 1.47 1.5 1.43 10.72 Del Monte 12.5 12.5 12.46 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 21.000 21.000 20.9 9.04 Emperador 8.51 9.00 8.70 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 7.50 7.56 7.47 8.86 EEI 9.71 9.92 9.71 8.61 Federal Res. Inv. Group 13.1 13.76 13.1 20.2 First Gen Corp.

25.75 26.1 25.75 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 79.7 81.2 80.2 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.50 13.80 13.12 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 6.06 6.15 6 173 Jollibee Foods Corp.

189.00 192.00 189.50 10.78 10.8 10.5 8.65 Lafarge Rep 2.3 LMG Chemicals 2.16 2.1 2.06 1.63 Mabuhay Vinyl 2.52 2.53 2.53 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 24.7 25.5 24.3 17.3 Maxs Group 25.5 25.6 25 5.88 Megawide 5.96 6.11 5.85 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 290.60 294.80 290.00 3.37 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 3.90 3.91 3.90 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 4.8 4.83 4.68 8.45 Petron Corporation 8.15 8.30 8.16 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.30 3.42 3.30 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 2.45 2.50 2.46 1 Pryce Corp. `A’ 3.1 3.27 2.98 4.02 RFM Corporation 4.05 4.34 4.06 1.65 Roxas and Co. 1.85 1.85 1.82 5.9 Roxas Holdings 5.76 5.8 5.76 161 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 167 168 164 1.55 Splash Corporation 1.8 1.79 1.68 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.151 0.150 0.145 1.02 TKC Steel Corp.

1.37 1.30 1.30 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 2.14 2.17 2.14 152 Universal Robina 182 183 180.1 0.640 Vitarich Corp.

0.72 0.72 0.7 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.19 1.24 1.17 HOLDING FIRMS 0.44 Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.480 0.485 0.470 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 58.0000 58.6000 57.2000 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 22.50 23.45 22.55 1.6 Anglo Holdings A 1.22 1.28 1.22 6.62 Anscor `A’ 6.88 7.00 6.88 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.249 0.249 0.240 634.5 Ayala Corp `A’ 758 780 761 7.390 Cosco Capital 7.56 7.59 7.55 12.8 DMCI Holdings 12.46 12.76 12.40 2.26 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.30 4.30 4.30 1.15 F&J Prince ‘B’ 3.4 3.1 3.1 837 GT Capital 1375 1386 1374 5.3 House of Inv. 6.60 6.60 6.41 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 72.05 74.00 71.95 3.43 Jolliville Holdings 3.85 3.98 3.64 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

7.3 7.58 7.28 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.68 0.68 0.66 12 LT Group 13.28 14.46 13.2 0.580 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.57 0.57 0.57 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 4.78 4.83 4.75 4.5 Minerales Industrias Corp. 7.6 7.81 7.61 0.030 Pacifica `A’ 0.0300 0.0310 0.0300 0.550 Prime Orion 2.110 2.140 2.010 2.26 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.7 2.61 2.61 59.3 San Miguel Corp `A’ 59.00 59.85 58.30 751 SM Investments Inc. 902.00 918.50 895.00 1.13 Solid Group Inc. 1.20 1.23 1.23 170 Transgrid 189.00 177.00 170.00 80 Top Frontier 76.100 76.700 76.150 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3150 0.3200 0.3150 0.179 Wellex Industries 0.1960 0.1960 0.1940 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.295 0.290 0.270 PROPERTY 6.74 8990 HLDG 7.550 7.970 7.550 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.73 0.74 0.71 1.2 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.250 1.210 1.210 0.192 Arthaland Corp.

0.235 0.240 0.240 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 38.00 38.50 37.80 3.36 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.4 3.49 3.41 4.96 Cebu Holdings 5.08 5.1 5.09 0.79 Century Property 0.85 0.86 0.84

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.74 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 59 2.65

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

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

SHARES 9,111,808 70,099,799 73,336,535 110,895,998 167,757,022 2,488,504,827 2,922,713,749

5 73.35 103.50 95.85 45.6 2.53 1.58 16.04 20.7 6.75 0.72 1.80 815.00 0.415 90.5 0.97 17.90 26.30 63.50 95 307.4 38.4 152.7 60.00 3.21

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

4.9 73.3 105.00 94.50 45.65 2.53 1.57 16.16 20.6 6.50 0.72 1.80 815.00 0.415 91.5 0.98 18.40 27.95 63.45 94.95 307.2 38.4 152.4 60.00 3.21

-2.00 -0.07 1.45 -1.41 0.11 0.00 -0.63 0.75 -0.48 -3.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.10 1.03 2.79 6.27 -0.08 -0.05 -0.07 0.00 -0.20 0.00 0.00

316,100 6,860 4,361,500 819,940 34,000 18,000 80,000 70,800 477,500 3,100 12,000 5,000 920 430,000 1,392,650 15,000 263,400 1,000 47,110 170 5,740 261,400 320,240 110,800 58,000

44.5 1.31 1.04 1.92 10.1 18.3 26.3 55.15 2.65 1.5 12.46 21.000 8.94 7.50 9.73 13.74 26 80.7 13.80 6 192.00 10.56 2.06 2.53 25.4 25.6 5.9 294.20 3.90 4.8 8.20 3.31 2.47 3.13 4.22 1.82 5.8 165 1.77 0.145 1.30 2.15 182.5 0.7 1.19

1.71 -3.68 0.00 -1.03 -0.79 -0.33 -2.05 -4.91 8.16 2.04 -0.32 0.00 5.05 0.00 0.21 4.89 0.97 1.25 2.22 -0.99 1.59 -2.04 -4.63 0.40 2.83 0.39 -1.01 1.24 0.00 0.00 0.61 0.30 0.82 0.97 4.20 -1.62 0.69 -1.20 -1.67 -3.97 -5.11 0.47 0.27 -2.78 0.00

1,178,900 14,000 396,000 277,000 44,200 299,400 211,800 66,880 12,803,000 80,000 18,000 1,816,900 3,465,900 6,659,600 362,200 13,800 1,717,800 323,920 16,400 475,100 426,080 493,500 7,000 3,000 1,287,200 68,500 286,900 180,780 30,000 320,000 3,447,400 747,000 1,505,000 4,864,000 15,105,000 15,000 67,200 10,590 275,000 4,970,000 4,000 694,000 1,998,590 910,000 307,000

0.475 58.6000 23.40 1.28 6.88 0.249 780 7.57 12.56 4.30 3.1 1380 6.60 74.00 3.98 7.44 0.68 14.26 0.57 4.83 7.81 0.0300 2.030 2.61 58.30 910.00 1.23 170.00 76.550 0.3200 0.1950 0.275

-1.04 1.03 4.00 4.92 0.00 0.00 2.90 0.13 0.80 0.00 -8.82 0.36 0.00 2.71 3.38 1.92 0.00 7.38 0.00 1.05 2.76 0.00 -3.79 -3.33 -1.19 0.89 2.50 -10.05 0.59 1.59 -0.51 -6.78

480,000 931,670 8,541,400 4,000 119,900 2,070,000 209,080 2,602,300 15,258,400 14,000 20,000 67,455 9,300 2,682,370 2,000 2,960,500 2,000 8,742,400 1,351,000 7,518,000 901,900 2,600,000 11,666,000 10,000 270,400 216,150 1,000 100 1,480 350,000 840,000 2,420,000

7.690 0.74 1.210 0.240 38.50 3.47 5.09 0.84

1.85 1.37 -3.20 2.13 1.32 2.06 0.20 -1.18

1,804,100 269,000 3,000 10,000 11,788,800 899,000 30,100 3,513,000

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 4.88 0.180 0.470 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 2.75 0.090 0.290 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

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

10.5 66 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 7.67 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 12.5 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 2.53 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1 11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

1.97 35.2 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 4.8 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 8.72 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.01 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55 7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IPeople Inc. `A’ Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting 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 STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.7 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 6.5 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 0.013 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

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

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

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 525 515 8.21 12.28 1060

33 490 500 480 5.88 6.5 997

-36,753.50

1047 76.9 78.95 84.8

1011 74.2 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C

-7,991,826.00

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15 88 12.88

3.5 13.5 5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

472,868.00 -48,800,001.00 -22,383,534.50 1,226,000.00 462,134.00 4,762,420.00

749,800.00 -13,050.00 -21,046,217.00 -2,941,200.00 -578,884.00 307,000.00 1,633,060.00 -23,766,399.00 3,309,254.50 43,328,940.00 -18,750.00

-1,201,780.00 11,600.00 -1,047,840.00 158,630.00 -7,467,800.00 9,787,132.00 -44,949.00 7,210.00 -131,400.00 2,696,095.00 -2,315,613.50 -56,820.00 691,334.00 12,252,301.00 2,840,664.00 24,580,960.00 -306,995.00 10,710,462.00 1,123,160.00 -1,298,254.00 -1,242,830.00 -74,860.00 2,337,820.00 -32,564,730.00 1,649,850.00 73,300.00 10,750.00 -145,208,889.00

16,885,041.50 64,237,365.00 -401,970.00 67,001,930.00 -3,875,138.00 -30,837,228.00 16,461,340.00 62,184,585.50 4,873,631.00 45,015,550.00 3,800,050.00 -183,500.00 -11,450,825.00 43,857,320.00

-52,157,815.00 365,470.00 -7,635.00 736,650.00

Makati Fin. Corp.

IRipple E-Business Intl Xurpas

High

VALUE 751,730,685.14 1,090,390,926.08 1,401,885,039.70 1,576,935,037.63 1,382,312,996.50 364,157,293.434 6,604,155,811.48

FINANCIAL 1,687.61 (UP) 3.52 INDUSTRIAL 11,341.81 (UP) 107.62 HOLDING FIRMS 6,901.15 (UP) 125.20 PROPERTY 3,153.00 (UP) 38.52 SERVICES 2,142.82 (UP) 13.42 MINING & OIL 12,429.15 (DOWN) 107.64 PSEI 7,627.96 (UP) 86.79 All Shares Index 4,355.72 (UP) 46.94 Gainers: 99 Losers: 75; Unchanged: 43; Total: 217

Close

1.01 0.130 0.435 10.84 0.870 0.173 1.21 2.02 1.29 4.88 0.110 0.3000 7.38 28.15 1.65 3.34 21.00 0.74 7.15 0.830 6.940

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

1.04 1.01 1.04 0.130 0.128 0.128 0.435 0.435 0.435 11.96 10.86 11.8 0.890 0.870 0.890 0.173 0.169 0.172 1.30 1.20 1.28 2.02 1.96 1.97 1.30 1.26 1.30 4.96 4.84 4.92 0.114 0.110 0.113 0.2950 0.2900 0.2950 7.38 7.38 7.38 28.75 28.00 28.20 1.68 1.64 1.64 3.32 3.25 3.25 21.65 21.00 21.40 0.73 0.71 0.72 7.2 6.76 7.2 0.840 0.820 0.840 7.050 6.930 6.990 SERVICES 6.5 6.8 6.55 6.65 62.3 62.75 62 62 0.640 0.630 0.620 0.630 13 13 13 13 9.41 9.90 9.32 9.90 0.0800 0.0820 0.0800 0.0800 3.46 3.47 3.4 3.4 88.6 91.1 88.8 90.4 6.00 6.26 4.80 5.80 2528 2548 2520 2544 6.38 6.39 6.30 6.32 1.26 1.28 1.23 1.28 110.3 111 109.5 110.6 11.6 11.62 11.62 11.62 0.215 0.215 0.205 0.206 1.4500 1.4700 1.4200 1.4300 2.35 2.44 2.23 2.44 9.60 9.66 9.56 9.65 2.80 2.80 2.64 2.70 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 2.35 2.40 2.38 2.40 44.00 43.40 44.00 39.00 0.660 0.660 0.660 0.660 2.01 2.03 2.02 2.02 6.3 6.8 6.21 6.8 0.300 0.310 0.310 0.310 0.465 0.460 0.460 0.460 19.46 21 19.46 20 4.46 4.70 4.65 4.65 114.90 115.00 105.00 105.00 18.86 18.86 18.30 18.84 2948.00 2946.00 2920.00 2942.00 0.670 0.700 0.660 0.680 1.520 1.550 1.460 1.500 36.00 36.25 35.90 36.00 74.60 77.20 75.40 77.00 8.55 9.10 8.55 9.10 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.65 5.2 5.64 5.19 5.57 0.315 0.320 0.320 0.320 2.570 2.700 2.510 2.600 MINING & OIL 0.0062 0.0065 0.0062 0.0064 2.70 2.79 2.60 2.70 5.69 5.68 5.55 5.60 0.225 0.223 0.220 0.220 6.9000 7.0000 7.0000 7.0000 6.8800 6.88 6.88 6.8800 0.86 0.86 0.84 0.84 0.79 0.79 0.74 0.75 6.57 6.60 6.57 6.58 1.46 1.46 1.42 1.44 0.310 0.315 0.300 0.310 0.217 0.218 0.216 0.217 0.232 0.226 0.226 0.226 0.012 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.015 0.014 0.014 0.014 3.18 3.2 3.07 3.09 11.5 11.5 11.38 11.38 3.7 3.78 3.71 3.72 0.6800 0.6600 0.6000 0.6000 2.0200 2.0200 1.9700 2.0200 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 0.0120 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 4.25 4.26 4.25 4.26 5.71 5.700 5.600 5.68 1.73 1.750 1.700 1.70 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 123.50 127.50 122.20 122.50 10.9 11.1 10.7 10.7 PREFERRED 62 62.3 62 62 527 528 257 527 548 548 548 548 525 525 525 525 ™6.25 6.35 6.35 6.35 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.1 1080 1080 1080 1080 1148 1148 1148 1148 1048 1054 1035 1040 75.45 75.45 75.35 75.45 85 85 84.8 84.8 87.5 87.3 86.5 86.5 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.810 3.880 3.790 3.850 SME 6 6.9 6 6.9 65.5 67.95 65.4 67.95 11.74 12.2 11.74 12 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 123 124 123 124

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

2.97 -1.54 0.00 8.86 2.30 -0.58 5.79 -2.48 0.78 0.82 2.73 -1.67 0.00 0.18 -0.61 -2.69 1.90 -2.70 0.70 1.20 0.72

10,000 3,640,000 10,000 12,924,000 105,000 2,380,000 3,837,000 9,722,000 156,000 15,031,000 70,000 150,000 200 1,355,800 903,000 54,000 37,107,500 849,000 62,100 111,000 4,080,100

2.31 -0.48 -1.56 0.00 5.21 0.00 -1.73 2.03 -3.33 0.63 -0.94 1.59 0.27 0.17 -4.19 -1.38 3.83 0.52 -3.57 0.00 2.13 1.38 0.00 0.50 7.94 3.33 -1.08 2.77 4.26 -8.62 -0.11 -0.20 1.49 -1.32 0.00 3.22 6.43 0.00 7.12 1.59 1.17

260,700 18,580 2,993,000 400 13,976,400 11,830,000 243,000 1,482,600 147,800 80,840 48,300 506,000 611,680 400 30,580,000 1,195,000 122,000 161,800 388,000 2,000 50,000 2,100 47,000 11,000 19,182,700 100,000 50,000 34,000 15,000 157,640 62,600 74,465 6,773,000 33,186,000 2,072,500 1,473,330 8,099,200 3,613,000 24,446,900 200,000 3,083,000

3.23 0.00 -1.58 -2.22 1.45 0.00 -2.33 -5.06 0.15 -1.37 0.00 0.00 -2.59 8.33 -6.67 -2.83 -1.04 0.54 -11.76 0.00 0.00 -8.33 0.24 -0.53 -1.73 0.00 -0.81 -1.83

2,342,000,000 77,000 119,600 -238,640.00 800,000 100 300 -2,064.00 1,147,000 4,205,000 37,500.00 4,200 2,665,000 1,183,800.00 1,970,000 1,410,000 100,000 58,900,000 8,000,000 100,000 320.00 1,469,600 -1,369,928.00 525,000 213,000 65,000 26,800,000 300,000 47,000 510,900 -110,774.00 907,000 17,100.00 32,900,000 1,926,390 -44,339,965.00 533,500 -183,000.00

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.60 1.85 0.00 0.00 -0.76 0.00 -0.24 -1.14

5,100 2,660 10 90 327,100 4,000 60 1,800 6,805 149,580 12,500 208,980

12,370.00

1.05

34,000

34,650.00

15.00 3.74 2.21

600 570 3,001,600

-7,848.00 14,809,652.00

0.81

4,990

41,466,096.00 34,000.00 -736,560.00 -2,105,420.00 33,287,860.00

-15,254,540.00 -1,083,060.00 406,935,125.00

-10,220,428.00

-12,955,167.00 -20,760.00 15,246,601.50 16,038,370.00 843,677.00 44,050.00 -50,050.00 904,785.00 24,920.00

39,098,489.00 31,000.00 14,060.00 239,450.00 51,226,560.00 -111,440.00 4,000,275.00 94,344,968.50 13,054,454.00 -150,150.00 -54,676,769.00 -577,020.00

-2,077,085.00

78,300.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Makati Fin. Corp.

6.9

15.00

Omico

0.6000

-11.76

Double Dragon

11.8

8.86

Transgrid

170.00

-10.05

Manila Mining `A'

0.013

8.33

F&J Prince 'B'

3.1

-8.82

Crown Asia

2.65

8.16

Phil. Seven Corp.

105.00

-8.62

Melco Crown

6.8

7.94

Oriental Pet. `B'

0.0110

-8.33

LT Group

14.26

7.38

Zeus Holdings

0.275

-6.78

Travellers

5.57

7.12

Manila Mining `B'

0.014

-6.67

SSI Group

9.10

6.43

TKC Steel Corp.

1.30

-5.11

Phil Bank of Comm

27.95

6.27

Coal Asia

0.75

-5.06

Global-Estate

1.28

5.79

Concepcion

55.15

-4.91

WEDNESDAY: JULY 22, 2015

B3

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

Market rebounds; Melco, LT rise

Megaworld spending P20b in 12 Fort towers

STOCKS rebounded Tuesday, as concerns eased about the Greek debt crisis and Asian markets cheered signs that China’s recovery is continuing.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 86 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 7,627.96 on Tuesday. The gauge was up 5.5 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, rose 46 points, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 4,355.72 on a value turnover of P6.6 billion.

Gainers outnumbered losers, 99 to 75, while 43 issues were unchanged.

DoubleDragon Properties Corp. was the biggest gainer among the 20 most active stocks, as it jumped 9.8 percent to P11.90. LT Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Lucio Tan, climbed 7.7 percent to P14.30.

Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. gained 6.5 percent to P5.54, while Melco Crown (Philippines) Resorts Corp. added 4.3 percent to close at P6.57. Alliance Global Group Inc. rose 4.2 percent to P23.45.

Meanwhile, Asian markets advanced Tuesday, with Tokyo boosted by a weaker yen and Shanghai’s recovery continuing, but falling commodity prices fueled fears about global growth.

With concerns easing about the Greek debts crisis and Chinese market rout, dealers are now focusing on when the US Federal Reserve will hike interest rates as the US economy gets back on track.

Tokyo rose 0.93 percent, or 191.05 points, to 20,841.97 -- close to an 18-year high -and Sydney climbed for a sixth straight session, putting on 0.35 percent, or 19.8 points, to 5,706.7.

Seoul gained 0.50 percent, or 10.31 points, to 2,083.62.

In afternoon trade, Shanghai was 0.99 percent higher, breaking the key 4,000 point barrier, and Hong Kong added 0.70 percent.

Buying was also supported by another positive lead from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq ended at a record high for the third straight session, adding 0.17 percent.

The Dow gained 0.08 percent and the S&P 500 finishing up 0.08 percent higher, just short of an all-time high. With AFP

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. said Tuesday it will spend P20 billion to build 12 office towers in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City by 2018, amid continued strong demand from the business process outsourcing industry.

Megaworld senior vice president Jericho Go said in a news briefing the construction of 12 office buildings would more than double its office space inventory in Fort Bonifacio to 650,000 square meters from the current 300,000 sq. m.

Under the plan, Megaworld will build four office buildings within the 15.4-hectare Uptown Bonifacio township project in the north-

ern part of Fort Bonifacio near Kalayaan Avenue.

These include the 15‐story Uptown Tower 1 (30,000 sqm), the 15‐story Uptown Tower 2 (30,000 sqm), the 20‐story Uptown Tower 3 (40,000 sqm) and the 25‐story Alliance Global Tower (50,000 sqm).

Alliance Global Tower will serve as corporate headquarters of the

companies under Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of Megaworld chairman Andrew Tan. “We envision Uptown Bonifacio to rise as a bustling CBD of Fort Bonifacio. At present, several multinational companies have already signed up to set up their operations here,” Go said.

Go said Uptown Towers 1, 2 and 3 were already 90-percent leased out.

Megaworld will also construct six campus-type office buildings within the 34.5-hectare McKinley West.

Each tower is five‐story high with 10,000 square meters of leasable office space.

Go said while the two remaining office towers were still being finalized, these would have a total

of 140,000 square meters of office leasable space and would also be completed by 2018.

“We remain upbeat in maintaining our leadership as the biggest developer and lessor of office spaces in the country,” Go said.

“We are on track to reach or even surpass one million square meters of office space within the next three years,” Go said.

Go said Megaworld’s aggressive rollout of office towers would boost the company’s rental income, as Taguig is considered one of the cities that enjoy high rental rates of P700 to P900 per square meter.

Megaworld currently has 19 office towers in McKinley Hill covering around 300,000 square meters of office space.

PSBank’s award. Philippine Savings Bank was conferred the Pagtugon Award by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas during the 12th awards ceremony and appreciation lunch for BSP Stakeholders held recently at the BSP Executive Lounge in Malate, Manila. Shown during the awarding ceremony are (from left) BSP monetary board member and chairman of the board of judges Juan de Zuñiga Jr., PSBank senior vice president/marketing and customer experience head Emmanuel Tuazon, PSBank executive vice president Jose Vicente Alde, PSBank senior vice president and chief finance officer Perfecto Ramon Dimayuga Jr. and BSP Governor Amado Tetangco, Jr.

Phoenix Petroleum’s net income grew 5.8% to P425m in first half

By Alena Mae S. Flores INDEPENDENT oil player Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. said Tuesday consolidated net income grew 5.8 percent in the first half to P425 million from P401 million in the same period last year.

Phoenix Petroleum said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the higher net income was driv-

en by the 25-percent increase in sales volume of petroleum products in the January-June period.

The company, however, said gross revenues fell to P14.4 billion in the first half from P18.5 billion a year ago, because of lower oil prices.

“The growth in sales volume was driven by a 31-percent growth in its retail station sales and a 29-percent growth in

its retail station sales and a 29 percent growth in commercial, industrial and aviation sales,” it said.

Phoenix Petroleum said the higher sales volume was due to the company’s strategy to focus expansion on the retail station network. Same store sales grew by 12 percent.

Phoenix Petroleum had 443 stations as of end-June, up from

418 stations in end-2014.

The company said at least 3 million vehicles visited the Phoenix retail network monthly.

“At the same time, despite a decline in the wholesale/distributor sales segment, total sales to commercial accounts, primarily to the shipping, fishing, mining, power and transportation sectors registered continuous growth during the year,” it said.

Phoenix Petroleum said it would continue to expand its logistics, storage and infrastructure to support both network expansion and commercial and industrial clients.

Phoenix Petroleum is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products and lubricants, operation of oil depots and storage facilities , shipping, logistics and allied activities.

B4

Globe buys rest of BayanTel

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GLOBE Telecom Inc. agreed to buy the remaining stake of the Lopez family in Bayan Telecommunications Inc. for P1.83 billion after the government allowed the Ayalaowned company to convert BayanTel’s debt into equity.

Globe Telecom told the stock exchange it would purchase from Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Corp. and Lopez Holdings Corp. all the equity in the capital stock of BayanTel held by BTHC and LHC, valued at about 1.83 billion.

The transaction involves up to 70,763,707 BayanTel shares and

increases Globe’s equity interest in BayanTel from 56.87 percent to 98.57 percent of the outstanding capital stock.

The deal came after the National Telecommunications Commission approved the conversion BayanTel debt by Globe into equity as provided under the ruling of a rehabilitation court.

The regulator’s approval will give Globe a 54-percent ownership stake in the BayanTel owned by the Lopez Group.

Globe acquired 98.26 percent of BayanTel’s loans and 100 percent of Radio Communications of the Philippines Inc.’s liabilities. RCPI, a unit of BayanTel, is owned by the Lopez Group.

The acquisition cost of $130 million was lower than the $400-million face value of BayanTel. Globe president Ernest Cu had said his company and BayanTel were looking into various forms of collaboration that would benefit both companies, including DSL (digital subscriber line) and broadband.

Globe secured NTC approval of the joint use of BayanTel’s frequencies in the 1750-1760 megahertz/1845-1855 megahertz range.

The joint use agreement will allow Globe to address the increasing demand for voice, SMS and mobile data services, and BayanTel to offer its mobile telecommunications services to customers.

Besides frequency, Bayan has an existing nationwide network, which is composed of satellite, terrestrial and land/submarinebased cable facilities.

The NTC approved the takeover of BayanTel by Globe Telecom Inc. amid opposition from rival companies.

The NTC said “the acquisition by Globe of controlling interest in BayanTel pursuant to the court-approved amended rehabilitation plan and master restructuring agreement neither poses any prejudice to the public interest and convenience nor will make the service fail to operate or function better,” the NTC said in a 19-page decision.

The regulator said the joint application of BayanTel and Globe would enhance competition in the cellular mobile and broadband markets, rejecting the claim of rival Smart Communications Inc. that it would result in grossly disproportionate assignment of radio frequency.

Peso dips to 45.28 against US dollar

By Julito G. Rada

THE peso declined further against the dollar Tuesday, losing P0.05 to close at 45.28 from 45.23 Monday due to concerns over the anticipated interested rate hike in the US this year and a slower Chinese economy.

The peso fell to its weakest level in 17 months, or since the 45.30 recorded on Jan. 23, 2014.

Total volume traded reached $442 million, higher than the $346 million on Monday.

“The dollar has gained strength ahead of a still-to-be-timed rate increase which by all indications from the Federal Reserve itself should happen this year,” said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. in a daily market report.

The peso opened Tuesday’s trading at 45.30 against the USA dollar, or P0.07 weaker than the close on Monday. The peso dropped to an intraday low of 45.31.

Earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the probability of a US monetary tightening during the second half had gone up after Fed chair Janet Yellen affirmed the continued recovery of the world’s biggest economy.

In her testimony to US Congress last week, Yellen said a long-awaited interest rate rise would come “at some point this year” if “the economy evolves as we expect.”

Most observers predict a rate hike either in September or December.

Guinigundo said it seemed “ripe for US interest rates to move up and the dollar to appreciate.”

Yellen’s statement strengthened the dollar against most currencies.

However, Guinigundo said the exchange rate target average of P43 to P46 to a dollar this year remained doable despite the volatilities in the global financial markets.

Startup talks. Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo (center) and Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr. (left) confer with Stanford University US-Asia Technology Management Center director Richard Dashe at the sidelines of the Slingshot MNL 2015, a conference focused on startups, on July 7, 2015 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Domingo said the startup sector had so much opportunity and that the government must take a serious look on how to support and move it forward in of terms improving policy, providing training and financing.

SEC approves Aboitiz Equity’s P25-b bond issue

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved the P25-billion retail bond offering of conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. “AEV bond offering was approved,” SEC officer-in-charge at the office of the commission secretary Armando Pan told reporters after the SEC en banc meeting.

Aboitiz Equity will issue the bonds in tranches, with the first amounting to P10 billion and with an oversubscription of up to P5 billion in case of strong demand.

The bonds will have tenors of five-, seven and 12-years.

Aboitiz Equit hired BPI Capital Corp. and First Metro Investments Corp. as the issue manager and book runner of the offering.

“Proceeds from the bond is-

Proceeds to be used as additional capital into its units, including AboitizLand Corp., Apo Agua Infrastructure Inc. and AseaGas.

suance will be used to partially finance planned acquisitions, future investments and other general corporate requirements,” Aboitiz Equity said.

The bonds will be listed with Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.

AEV plans to infuse additional capital into its units, including AboitizLand Corp., Apo Agua

Infrastructure Inc. and AseaGas. ApoAgua, is a joint venture between AEV and J.V Angeles Construction Corp. in the Tamugan Surface Water Development project, while AseaGas is the company’s unit that is constructing a pilot plant that will produce liquid biomethane from organic wastes.

A portion of the proceeds will also be used to fund planned investments, including the conglomerate planned venture into infrastructure.

“AEV has recognized the huge demand for infrastructure in local and regional markets. Encouraged by this development, the company has added infrastructure and infrastructure-related businesses as the fi ft h leg of its core businesses,” the company said.

Among that infrastructure projects that Aboitiz Equity plans to actively participate in-

clude the LRT Line 2 operation and maintenance, the bundled airports and the Laguna Lakeshore Expressway-Dike.

The conglomerate earlier acquired a 51-percent stake in Petnet, a Philippine money remittance business with anational footprint of around 2,500 locations.

It entered into an exclusive agreement with CRH Plc of Ireland to co-invest in the acquisition of the majority shares of Lafarge Republic Inc. Aboitiz ended the first quarter with a consolidated income of P4.1 billion, down seven percent year-on-year, and a flat core profit.

The power business contributed 79 percent to the income in the first three months of 2015, while the profit share of the banking, food and property units accounted for 9 percent, 10 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

W E D N E S D AY : J U LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

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

What a Fil-Am judge did for love A FILIPINA-AMERICAN judge in New Jersey is facing 10 years in the slammer for allegedly harboring her fugitive boyfriend who was facing arrest for robbing a pharmacy in 2013 and threatening the owner with a crowbar. The judge, who has been identified as Carlia Magpantay Brady, is now the favorite topic among Facebook users for doing what she did for... love? Not in the eyes of Governor Chris Christie, though, who remarked, “deplorable and frankly stupid.”

Whether the remarks were meant for the judge herself or the whole situation or the charges is really unclear.

The judge was accused of allegedly harboring her live-in boyfriend, Jason Prontnicki, in her home in June 2013 for a total of one hour while police were hunting him down. Brady, who has been suspended, had received flak for failing to report the presence of her BF and worse, even allegedly gave him money, clothes and transportation to evade arrest.

No sympathy for her there as a grand jury indicted her last May for hindering the apprehension of a fugitive plus another count for official misconduct. Brady made the news for being the first FilipinoAmerican judge on the Superior Court in New Jersey in 2013 and her term would have ended in 2020. Unfortunately, she was suspended before she even had time to warm her seat because of her boyfriend’s case.

Brady’s lawyer though described her indictment as irresponsible and outrageous, claiming that the charges against her are unfounded. Records showed that she left two messages for the Woodbridge police to amend a report she filed earlier that her boyfriend stole her car, saying the vehicle had been returned. Prosecutors argued that Brady admitted she knew of the arrest warrant but did not tell police he was staying with her. Brady’s lawyer said his client could not be accused of official misconduct while in the role of a private citizen (that is, she was not in the bench at the time and was considered off duty), and that it is not a crime to not help the police apprehend a fugitive (meaning one does not violate the law if one does not act at all to help the police get a suspect).

One wonders what the judge must have seen in Protnicki who had previously pleaded guilty of receiving stolen property from doctors and using forged prescriptions to get drugs, and also violated his probation. A case of what we call “opposites attract”?

No UPCAT for top 10 public school graduates?

The upcoming UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) this August 30 will drive traffic again along Katipunan, Commonwealth and its environs. For sure, applicants will be in a frenzy reviewing while some parents will most likely offer eggs to Sta. Clara for their kids to pass.

Debates, however, are beginning to surface about Pasig City representative Roman Romulo’s Iskolar ng Bayan Act 2014, which provides the top 10 graduates of every public high school with (assured) scholarships in the country’s state universities and colleges. While many laud the initiative, many (UP alumni who sweated it out like may others to pass the UPCAT) have mixed feelings about allowing these top 10 grads to enter the state university without going through the requisite admission test.

“The scholars do not have to take the competitive entrance tests of state universities, including the University of the Philippines College Admission Test, or the UPCAT. All that they have to do is apply for admission, and they will be allowed in, as long as they choose the campus in their home region, and provided that the school’s quota for the Iskolar ng Bayan is still not full,” Romulo said in a press release.

More than 80,000 graduates from 8,000 public high schools are expected to benefit from the program on it first year of implementation, Romulo disclosed, explaining that the Iskola ng Bayan act is an affirmative action policy that “guarantees disadvantaged but gifted public high school graduates slots in SUCs without having to go through a rigorous screening or elimination process which is basically what an entrance test is.”

Under the said law, each SUC can limit the number of students it can admit under the Iskolar ng Bayan Program if the number of applicants eligible and applying for admission is more than five percent of the average number of the first-time freshmen admitted to the SUCs during the first two academic years preceding the entry of the applicant, Romulo explained. However, he didn’t say what criteria will be made to determine who will be allowed to enter in case the five percent limitation is exceeded. Besides, there are also a lot of gifted, underprivileged public school graduates who never land in the top 10 but are far smarter, some of our buddies pointed out, with one even commenting that whichever way you look at it, it would still be better if one enters UP because “nakapasa, hindi nakapasok lang.”

••• 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!

B5

Meralco goes into renewable energy

By Alena Mae S. Flores

MANILA Electric Co. plans to create a renewable energy unit that will look into opportunities in the sector, its chairman said Tuesday.

“Meralco will create a renewables unit separate from the legacy power plants, to take a look at the prospects of renewables and including distributed power grid,” Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said at the sidelines of the launching of a new building.

Pangilinan said the renewable energy unit would be incorporated soon after the company named a chief operating officer, whom he did not identify, to lead the company.

Pangilinan said the new unit would be separate from Meralco PowerGen Corp., the company’s power generation unit.

Meralco PowerGen has been focused primarily on coal-fired

power projects with two, namely the 455-megawatt San Buenventura coal plant in Quezon and the 600MW Redondo Peninsula station, in advanced stages of development. “[The new unit will] invest in renewables and look at the distributed power grid. Renewables into solar energy, solar energy will not work really unless there is storage capacity,” Pangilinan said.

He said Meralco would invite partners for the battery storage side of the renewable energy sector, especially solar.

Pangilinan, meanwhile, said the P150-million Power Tech facility within the Meralco compound set to be operational by early 2017

would also be partly powered by renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Power Tech will be a two-storey, green architecture structure occupying 3,139 square meters in Meralco, Ortigas.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes said the company was searching for means to improve its services and products to consumers and new techniques and methods to enhance the skills of employees.

He said Power Tech would be the country’s first innovation, research and development, and technical training facility featuring the use of smart grid.

He said trainings would not longer rely on audio visual presentations, citing that Power Tech would serve as a simulator.

Meralco’s engineers will now have the chance to see lessons and actually have an “actual feel”the situation. This will also serve as a vehicle for bridging the gap between the existing and the evolving technologies.

84th year. Premier property developer Ortigas & Co. celebrates its 84th anniversary with a renewed

commitment to transform the Metro Manila landscape and build for life. Ortigas announced recently its newest residential tower called Maven--a 62-storey structure within its most popular mixed-use development, Capitol Commons. Maven (photo) offers studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units with an area of up to 115 square meters. It is expected to be completed in 2020. The 62-storey Maven at Capitol Commons will feature a five level amenity bar which will provide future residents with facilities unique to the tower.

PLDT introduces new quadplay service PLDT HOME, the country’s leading residential digital services provider, is setting the bar for ultimate connectivity with the introduction of quadplay, adding a mobile package to its suite of already industry-leading services.

“We are once more leveraging our integrated approach to connectivity as our data, voice, and Cignal over fiber services are packaged with a mobile bundle.

This further solidifies our leadership in the broadband market,” said Ariel Fermin, executive vice president and Consumer Business Group head of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Smart Communications Inc. “For this quadplay service, we’re pleased to have on our side

the country’s leading mobile provider Smart Communications to help us bring connectivity and convergence to a whole new level,” Fermin added.

More than one million PLDT HOME subscribers may now avail the exclusive quadplay service for just an additional P500 per month with a free iPhone.

The new offer also provides HOME customers to free 500 minutes worth of calls to Smart and PLDT landline subscribers; 2,000 SMS to all mobile networks; 250Mb Internet data; and unlimited music streaming via Spinnr every month, all conveniently charged to just one PLDT bill.

“The quadplay service will reinforce the trusted benefits of

PLDT HOME brands. With this offer, we will be able to offer our customers a one-stop shop for all their communications and multimedia needs, enabling them to experience a richer digital lifestyle,” said Gary Dujali, PLDT VP and head of home marketing.

“Bundling a data-rich mobile phone service with their fixed line services enables HOME customers to enjoy a wide range of digital services outside their homes, wherever they may be,” he added.

The quadplay offer will be available nationwide and is also seen as key to expanding PLDT Group’s subscriber base, which already accounts for over 70 percent of the country’s competitive broadband market.

WEDNESDAY: JULY 22, 2015

B6

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

BDO completes big rural bank purchase

By Julito G. Rada

BDO Unibank Inc. said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of One Network Bank Inc., the largest rural bank in the country, through a share-swap deal.

“BDO Unibank Inc. has today successfully completed its acquisition of One Network Bank, Inc. [A Rural Bank], making ONB the latest member of the BDO group,” the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

“In a share-swap transaction completed today, BDO acquired 99.59 percent of the outstanding capital stock of ONB. In payment, BDO crossed in favor of the selling shareholders of ONB a total of 64,499,890 listed common shares and issued an equal number of

new shares from its unissued capital stock in a top-up and borrowing transaction with a substantial BDO shareholder,” the BDO said.

Under the transaction, ONB shareholders received 0.2618 BDO share per share in the rural bank.

BDO conducted a tender offer to the minority shareholders of ONB in compliance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as ONB is deemed a public company with over 1,700 shareholders.

BDO said the number of possi-

ble ONB shares to be acquired or disposed was “up to 247,373,833 common shares, and 20,560 government preferred ‘A’ shares, each with par value of P10.

“The final purchase price was based on the adjusted net asset value of ONB and was fixed at completion date. Final price per share was set at 0.2618 BDO share per one ONB share,” BDO said.

BDO said the acquisition of ONB expands its regional presence, particularly in its target market in the southern Philippines and opens up business lines for BDO. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on March 16, 2015 approved BDO’s acquisition of ONB. ONB is one of the biggest rural banks in the country and has 105 branches and micro-banking offices in Mindanao and Panay. BDO’s acquisition of ONB was first disclosed to the

public on Dec. 23 last year.

ONB was majority-owned by the Consunji Group and headed

by Victor Consunji as chairman and Alex Buenaventura as president.

Available data showed that ONB had total assets of P28.1 billion, net loans of P19.7 billion and deposits of P17.9 billion as of Sept. 30, 2014.

BDO earlier said the addition of ONB to the BDO Group would give BDO access to new market segments in Mindanao and Panay Island, which are among the bank’s targeted growth areas.

ONB, formed in 2004 through the consolidation of Network Rural Bank of Davao del Sur, the Rural Bank of Panabo of Davao del Norte and the Provident Rural Bank of Cotabato, is the largest rural bank in the Philippines in terms of assets.

San Beda pillar. San Beda College Alumni Foundation Inc. recently celebrated the 100th birthday of their school co-founder, Rev. Fr. Benigno Benabarre (center) through an inaugural unveiling of his monument and the Garden of 100 Native Trees in Filinvest Land’s Havila in Angono, Rizal.

Shown with Rev. Fr. Benabarre’s bust are (from right) SBCAFI trustee Tomas Africa, SBCAFI president Jaime Galvez Tan, SBCAFI technical partner Imelda Sarmiento, San Beda College alumni Vicente Genato and Abbot Eduardo Africa,.

Pagcor says profit in June up by 200% STATE-RUN Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said it achieved a record net profit in June despite the stiff competition in the local gaming industry and the challenging gaming outlook in Asia.

Pagcor said it posted a net income of P293.1 million in June, up by over 200 percent or P197 million from P96 million in June 2014.

Pagcor chairman and chief executive Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the record profit could be attributed to the increase in the agency’s gaming revenues and the reduced expenses incurred by the state-owned gaming firm.

“We are happy to report that our gaming operations enabled us to generate gross revenues of P3.47 billion for June 2015 alone. This amount reflects a substantial increase of P423.83 million or 13.91 percent compared to June 2014,” he said.

Naguiat said Pagcor continued to make judicious use of its funds. “This enabled us to pare down our operating expenses by 4.20 percent compared to last year and save over P53 million in expenses. This only goes to show that with the right strategies, sound management and marketing plans, we can pull through despite the competition,” he said.

Apart from the remarkable increase in Pagcor’s net profits in June 2015, the corporation’s total revenues in the first semester increased 24.2 percent from a year ago.

“Our gross revenues from January to June 2015 reached P24.80 billion. This is P4.83 billion higher than the P19.96 billion revenues that we recorded during the first semester of 2014. Meanwhile, our net income in the first semester of 2015 reached P2.38 billion or 81.08 percent higher compared to the P1.31 billion net income during the first semester last year,” Naguiat said.

The Pagcor chief said the record income in the first half translated into more contributions for the government’s nation building efforts.

Monetary Board likely to reduce reserve requirement ratio—BPI

By Julito G. Rada THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, may consider reducing the reserve requirement ratio of banks this year to support economic growth, an economist of Bank of the Philippine Islands said Tuesday.

“We believe that the RRR for universal and commercial banks will be lowered by a total of 2 percentage points [or at least 1] before

the end of 2015 to bolster GDP, inflation, bank credit, M3, and NG [national government] spending growth which are all slowing down,” BPI lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. said in a report.

“The fact that our RRR for KBs and UKBs are one of the highest, if not the highest in the world, can justify a BSP RRR cut,” Neri said.

He said this scenario might happen during the Aug. 13 policy meeting of the Monetary Board.

Currently, universal and commercial banks have a 20-percent reserve requirement ratio. Reserve requirement, also called cash reserve ratio, is a central bank regulation that sets the minimum fraction of customer deposits and notes that each commercial bank must hold as reserves rather than lend out.

Neri also said a lower RRR could help temper unhedged foreign exchange borrowers in both the private and public sector from aggres-

sively taking on more FX liabilities than they currently already have.

“We believe that our extremely lofty RRR ratio has encouraged local banks to intermediate [i.e. generate deposits and lend] more in FX than in PHP,” Neri said.

Neri also said that inflation might settle at 2.4 percent this year, which could be lower than BPI’s earlier forecast of 2.8 percent for 2015 “as long as oil prices do not spike.”

He said Bangko Sentral might also raise the special deposit account rate by at least 25 basis points before the end of 2015 to mirror the expected policy decision in the United States later this year.

The Monetary Board on June 25 kept the key policy rates steady at 4 percent for overnight borrowing and 6 percent for overnight lending for the sixth time since October last year due to low inflation and strength of domestic demand.

W e D n e s D aY : J u LY 2 2 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

‘Official’s fall a political move’ BEIJING—The Chinese Communist Party’s expulsion of a former top aide to ex-president Hu Jintao for corruption is a political move reinforcing Xi Jinping’s power, analysts said Tuesday.

Following an internal Party investigation Ling Jihua, once one of Hu’s most senior advisers, was expelled and handed over to prosecutors who formally arrested him, authorities said Monday.

The development came three years after his son was killed in a Ferrari crash that also injured two female passengers, one of them naked, a scandal that triggered his downfall.

Ling, 58, will almost certainly face trial, with a guilty sentence and jail term

effectively guaranteed to follow.

Since coming to power Xi has overseen a high-profile crackdown on graft that has deposed several senior officials, but in the absence of systemic reforms critics say the drive is open to being used for political faction-fighting.

The campaign also risks reinforcing perceptions of widespread corruption in the ruling organization.

The previous scalps include former security chief Zhou Yongkang, who was jailed for life earlier this year, and Xu Caihou, once China’s second most senior military officer, who died of cancer earlier this year while under investigation.

Joseph Cheng, professor of political science at City University of Hong Kong, said Ling’s targeting suggested President Xi was confident of taking on high-profile cadres associated with his predecessors.

Retired leaders in China are seen as continuing to wield influence behind

Premiere. Actress Rachel McAdams attends the ‘Southpaw’ New York Premiere at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on July 20 in New York City. AFP

Up for award over shark help SYDNEY—An Australian surfer who paddled towards fellow professional Mick Fanning as he fought off a shark in South Africa played down his heroics after being nominated for a bravery award Tuesday.

Julian Wilson was in the water competing against his countryman in the final heat of a world tour event at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province on Sunday when the shark struck.

As Fanning was knocked off his board and desperately punched the animal, Wilson frantically paddled towards him to help rather than head to shore, before rescue boats picked up both men.

Queensland Premier Annastacia

Palaszczuk said she had written to the state’s governor-general nominating the 26-year-old, a Queenslander, in recognition of his actions.

“What we saw in South Africa was Queensland mateship at its best,” Palaszczuk said in a statement. “I’ve written to Government House nominating Julian Wilson for a bravery award.

“He put his own safety aside and disregarded the obvious risk to his life so he could help a fellow Queenslander. Anyone who paddles towards a shark attack instead of away from it is pretty brave, in my books.”

Fanning, a three-time world champion who emerged unscathed from the incident, said it was a wonderful gesture. AFP

the scenes, including regarding their allies, and Zhou has links to former Chinese president Jiang Zemin.

“By prosecuting figures formerly associated with first Jiang Zemin, and then Hu Jintao, certainly means that Xi Jinping

wants to demonstrate his determination to get rid of all resistance to his policy program irrespective of their affiliations and associations,” Cheng told AFP. “It certainly generates pressure on the previous leaders including Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao,” he said.

Republic of the Philippines Province of Oriental Mindoro M U N I C I PA L I T Y O F P I N A M A L AYA N ooOoo B I D S A N D AWA R D S C O M M I T T E E INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID I T B 2 015 – 6 6 1

The Municipal Government of Pinamalayan, Province of Oriental Mindoro through its joint Bid a n d A w a r d s C o m m i t t e e ( B A C) i n v i t e s b i d d e r s / suppliers to apply for the eligibility and to bid for the hereunder project: N a m e o f Pr o j e c t : M a te r i a l s f o r C o n s t r u c t i o n o f M D R R M C B u i l d i n g - B r g y. S t a . R i t a L o c a t i o n: P i n a m a l aya n O r i e nt a l M i n d o r o Approved Budget: 2 ,74 8 , 5 5 5 . 9 0 (G e n e r a l Fu n d)

2

Bidders shall deliver activities, to wit;

the

following

ser vices/

Item N o. I t e m D e sc r ip t i o n

Q t y.

Unit of Issue

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Calsomine C a s i n g 1” x 1” x 12 ’ C e m e nt Pa i l C H B 4 ” x 8 ” x 16 ” C H B 5 ” x 8 ” x 16 ” C h e c k Va l ve 1 1/4 ” Ø C h e c k Va l ve 1“ Ø C i r c u i t B r e a ke r 2 0 A m p e r e s C i r c u i t B r e a ke r 3 0 A m p e r e s C i r c u i t B r e a ke r 6 0 A m p e r e s C o m m o n W i r e N a i l s 1 1/4 ” Common Wire Nails 3” Concrete Nail 3” Concrete Nails 4” Concrete Neutralizer Door Hinges 4” x 4” Door Knob D R S B 10 m m Ø x 6 m (s t d.)

D R S B 12 m m Ø x 6 m (s t d.)

D R S B 16 m m Ø x 6 m (s t d.)

E l e c t r i c a l Ta p e ( b i g) Ent r a n c e C a p 1” Ø E x h a u s t Fa n 12 ” Fine Wire Mesh F i n i s h i n g N a i l s 1” Finishing Nails 2” F l a t En a m e l F l ex i b l e P i p e 3 /4 ” Ø Floor Drain F l o o r T i l e s (0 . 3 0 m x 0 . 3 0 m) F l o o r T i l e s (0 . 6 0 m x 0 . 6 0 m) G . I . P i p e 4 ” Ø (S c h d. 4 0) G.I. Plain Ga. 22 G I e l b o w 1“ Ø G I N i p p l e 1” x 12 ” G I N i p p l e 1” x 4 ” GI Pipe #2 s- 40 G I P l u g 1“ Ø G I R e d u c e r B u s h i n g 1 ¼ x 1” GI Reducer Coupling 1 ¼ x 2” G I R e d u c e r Te e 1 ¼ x 1” G I U - Pa t e nt e 1“ Ø G l a z e d T l e s (0 . 3 0 m x 0 . 3 0 m) Glazing Putty

Hong Kong and Taiwan-based media have speculated that Ling along with Zhou, Xu, and former party rising star Bo Xilai, who was jailed in 2013 after a murder and graft investigation had formed a political faction opposed to Xi. AFP

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G r ave l & S a n d G r i n d i n g D i s c 14 ” Gypsum board w/ Runner and Hanger Hacksaw Blade J u n c t i o n B ox Kilowatt Hour Meter L a t ex F l a t L a t ex G l o s s L ava t o r y L o n g E l b o w 1” Ø M a r i n e P l y w o o d 1/4 ” x 4’ x 8 ’ Motor Pump 1 HP O r d i n a r y P l y w o o d 1/4 ” x 4’ x 8 ’ O ve r h e a d Ta n k 2 , 0 0 0 l i t e r s Pa i nt B r u s h # 2 Pa i nt B r u s h 4 ” Pa i nt t h i n n e r Pa l e t t e Pa n e l B o a r d (6 h o l e s) P i n l i g ht w / 3 w a t t s L E D b u l b P i n l i g ht w / 5 w a t t s L E D b u l b P l y b o a r d 3 /4 ” x 4’ x 8 ’ P o l ye t hy l e n e P i p e 3 /4 ” Ø P o r t l a n d C e m e nt P r e s s u r e Ta n k 21g l. 1H P P VC B l u e C o u p l i n g 3 /4 “ Ø P VC B l u e E l b o w ½ “ Ø P VC B l u e E l b o w ¾ “ Ø P VC B l u e M a l e A d a p t o r 1/ 2 ” Ø P VC B l u e P i p e ½ “ Ø P VC B l u e P i p e ¾ “ Ø P VC B l u e P i p e 1“ Ø P VC B l u e R e d u c e r C o u p l i n g ¾ x ½ P VC B l u e Te e ½ “ Ø P VC B l u e Te e ¾“ Ø P VC E l b o w 2 ” Ø P VC e l b o w 3 ” Ø P VC E l b o w 4 x 4 P VC e l b o w 4 ” Ø P VC P i p e 1” Ø P VC P i p e 2 ” Ø P VC P i p e 3 ” O r a n g e P VC P i p e 4 ” Ø P VC P l u g 4 ” Ø P VC S o l ve nt 4 0 0 c c P VC t e e 2 ” Ø P VC t e e 4 ” Ø P VC W ye 4 ” Ø Q D E (c o l o r e d ) Q D E (w h i t e) Q u a r t e r R o u n d M o u l d i n g - 1” x 1” x 10 ’ Red Oxide R e d u c e r Te e 4 ” x 2 ” R i b Ty p e L o n g S p a n R o l l U p D o o r s A l u m i n u m 3 .70 m x 3 . 0 0 m R o l l e r B r u s h w / Tr ay R o u n d B a r 12 m m x 6 m (S t d.)

S h o w e r Va l ve 1/ 2 ” Ø Single Switch Stainless Gutter Stikwel Strainer 4” x 4” wheel Te k s c r e w Te p l o n t a p e ¾ T H N N # 10 (S t r a n d e d W i r e) T H N N # 12 (S t r a n d e d W i r e) T H N N # 14 (S t r a n d e d W i r e) T H N N # 6 (S t r a n d e d W i r e) C o d e d 3 c o l o r s Tie Wire T i e W i r e # 16 T i l e s A d h e s i ve T i nt i n g C o l o r Tr a n s f o r m e r 10 k VA U t i l i t y B ox Wa t e r C l o s e t We l d i n g R o d We l d i n g R o d (5 kg s . / b ox) W i r e M e s h 1”

3

The complete schedule of activities is listed as follows: I s s u a n c e o f B i d D o c u m e nt s Pre- Bid Conference Opening of Bids

4

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J u l y 2 0, 2 015 t o A u g u s t 6 , 2 015 Fr i d ay, J u l y 24, 2 015 Fr i d ay, A u g u s t 07, 2 015

Bids must be delivered to the address o r b e f o r e A u g u s t 7, 2 015 a t 2 : 0 0 P M . must be acc ompanied by a bid securit y the acceptable forms and in the amount Invitation to Bid as follows:

below on All Bids i n a ny o f stated in

FO R M O F B I D SECU R I T Y

Minimum Amount in % of Approved Budget for the Contract to be Bid

Cash, certified check,cashier’s, manager’s check, bank draft or irrevocable letter of credit

Two perc ent (2%)

Bank G uarantee

Two Perc ent (2%)

Suret y B ond

Five Perc ent (5%)

5

The Municipal Government of Pinamalayan reser ves t h e r i g h t t o a c c e p t o r r e j e c t a ny b i d , t o a n n u l t h e b i d d i n g p r o c e s s , a n d t o r e j e c t a l l b i d s a t a ny t i m e prior to c ontract award, without thereby incur ring a ny l i a b i l i t y t o t h e a f f e c t e d b i d d e r o r b i d d e r s

6

F o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n p l e a s e r e f e r t o: M R .

E N R I Q U E N . M O C L I N G , M G A D H I / B A C S e c r e t a r y, Loc al Government of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.

(S G D .) M AU R O P. H E L E R A Municipal Administrator BAC Chairman (TS - JUL. 22, 2015)

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B8 Circus bears are offered sanctuary in Romania ZARNESTI, Romania—Circus bear Mura wound up in the world’s biggest brown bear sanctuary in the heart of Romania’s Carpathian mountains after refusing to perform any longer, following five years of unbearable abuse.

Caged, beaten and starved by their owners, 80 bears rescued from captivity have been taken in to be healed of trauma at the “Libearty” sanctuary, but the process can be slow.

Mura, for instance, instinctively begins to dance at mealtimes.

“She’s still afraid she won’t be fed if she doesn’t dance,” Libearty guide Paula Ciotlos told AFP. After doing tricks for the Globus circus in Bucharest for five years, Mura one day obstinately refused to keep performing and was finally handed over to the sanctuary by her owner.

Set up in 2005, the 69-hectare complex was itself the result of a storm of outrage caused by the plight of a self-mutilating bear named Maia, who hurt herself in protest against the cruel conditions she was kept in, and who eventually died of her wounds.

“The establishment of this sanctuary was inspired by Maia,” said Cristina Lapis, president of the “Millions of Friends” animal rights support group.

The first two bears at the sanctuary were Lidia and Cristi, who for seven years shared a small pen measuring a mere five square meters by a restaurant whose clients amused themselves by giving the animals beer.

Their paws still bear traces of cuts from the glass bottles.

All of the bears in the sanctuary have a “sad but educational” story, said Ciotlos.

By opening its doors to tourists, though for no more than three hours every day, the sanctuary hopes people will gain a new perspective on animals in captivity.

British tourist John Hancock is one of the converted. He said he “no longer wants” to see animals at the zoo after seeing some of the effects of captivity first hand. AFP

cESAr bArrioqUiNto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world Top Toshiba executives quit over $1.2-b scandal TOKYO—The president of Toshiba and seven other high-level executives and directors resigned on Tuesday over a $1.2-billion accounting scandal blamed on management’s overzealous pursuit of profit that has battered one of Japan’s best-known firms.

In attendance. Actress/singer Katharine McPhee attends CBS TV Studios’ panel for

“Scorpion” during Comic-Con International 2015 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 9 in San Diego, California. AFP

Hisao Tanaka and vice chairman Norio Sasaki also a former president stepped down after an independent report found senior management complicit in a years-long scheme to pad profits.

In a stinging indictment, the report by a company-hired panel said managers were involved in “systematically” inflating profits over several years, in one of the most damaging accounting scandals to hit Japan in recent years.

“It has been revealed that there has been inappropriate accounting going on for a long time, and we deeply apologize for causing this serious trouble for shareholders and other stakeholders,” said a company statement.

“Because of this Hisao Tanaka, our company president, and Norio Sasaki, our company’s vice chairman... will resign today.”

Tanaka, 64, and Sasaki, 66, both joined Toshiba in the early Seventies.

Sasaki served as Toshiba president between June 2009 and June 2013, covering most of the period during which the company inflated the profits.

Chairman Masashi Muromachi will take over as president in the interim, the company said.

The embarrassing findings come less than two months after the country adopted a long-awaited corporate governance code that backers hoped would usher in a new era of transparency for shareholders in Japanese firms.

They will also deal another blow to corporate Japan’s image after a huge scandal at camera and medical equipment maker Olympus. In 2013, a trio of former executives at the firm were handed suspended jail for their roles in a $1.7-billion accounting fraud.

That story grabbed international headlines as its first foreign executive exposed the coverup that led to his colleagues’ downfall.

The Toshiba panel, headed by a former Tokyo prosecutor, painted the picture of a corporate culture where underlings could not challenge powerful bosses who were intent on boosting profits at almost any cost. AFP

Jordan battles to save top earner tourism AMMAN, Natural wonders it has in abundance, but natural resources are lacking. And now one of Jordan’s main money-earners tourism is being killed off by regional conflicts.

A haven of peace surrounded by war, Jordan is turning to contingency measures to try to revive its tourism industry which is suffering because of the raging violence in its neighbors Iraq and Syria.

Tourism in 2014 contributed 14 percent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product, to the tune of $4.4 billion (4.0 billion euros), the second highest earner after remittances from expatriates.

But the flow of tourism revenue

is becoming a trickle.

“For three days I haven’t had a tourist come in here,” said 30-yearold Mohammed of his souvenir shop in central Amman.

“Things are slowing down, and each year seems to be worse than the last.”

The Hashemite kingdom has no shortage of acclaimed wonders, both natural and man-made.

Its rose-pink rock-hewn city of Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world, and the Roman ruins at Jerash in the north of the country near the border with Syria are among the region’s most impressive.

The desert at Wadi Rum and

the Dead Sea have always figured high on the list of the country’s natural attractions.

Until recent years, such sites attracted hundreds of thousands of Western tourists on the trail of the first great civilizations.

But now they are devoid of visitors, frightened off by regional unrest in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and North Africa.

In those four years, the number of people who visit Petra every year has nearly halved from just under a million in 2010 to around 600,000 last year. Ten hotels there have had to shut their doors. AFP

Voting time. Residents line up before casting their vote in the village of Buye, the hometown of Burundi’s president in Ngozi province, northern Burundi, on July 21. Burundians voted on July 21 amid gunfire and grenade blasts, with President Pierre Nkurunziza widely expected to win a third consecutive term despite international condemnation and thousands of people fleeing feared violence. AFP

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

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

BERNADETTE LUNAS WRITER

life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

H OME & L I V ING

LIFE

Crown Spa Suite

The Vitality Pool

Crown Spa single room

CROWN SPA:

A Tranquil City Oasis

BY TATUM ANCHETA

W

ith the hustle and bustle of work and daily grind, it is almost impossible to get a good night’s rest and let the body heal for the coming days. A spa and massage treatment is always a haven to reduce stress and anxiety for city dwellers like me.

“What would you like to achieve after this treatment, Ma’am?” asks the therapist who welcomed me with a shot of refreshing mango and berry smoothie as I sat to look at the list of treatments in the newly opened Crown Spa at Crown Towers Manila, City of Dreams. I just had a massage two weeks ago and my masseuse doesn’t usually ask me what I want to achieve after my treatment, I usually just tell them what kind of massage I want and they just oblige. I got excited to answer back, “I need to rest my mind and be able to get a good night’s sleep!” I looked at the treatment list and found the perfect treatment, ‘Clear Your Mind’ – an exclusive treatment using products by the award-winning British brand Aromatherapy Associates.

It is a traditional aromatherapy massage with Ayurvedic scalp and

Aromatherapy Associates’ facial hydrating range, all used for ‘Clear Your Mind’ treatment

facial treatment to help lessen stress and refocus the mind.

“We ensure that every need is met if not exceeded,” explains Brett Hickey, General Manager of Crown Towers Manila. “Our team of professional and highly experienced therapists pay utmost care and attention to the service they provide so that guests will feel completely refreshed, rejuvenated, and revitalized.” And they do, indeed. Crown Spa is a 654-square meter facility that offers six treatment rooms including two spacious spa suites with private showers, salon, pedicure chairs, and

soaker tubs – perfect for couples or a group of friends who want to enjoy a day in the spa. Designed for an invigorating experience, the walls greet the guests with flowy textures, easy and relaxing to the eyes, complemented by a series of art pieces by noted international and Filipino artists. The surrounding facility has steam rooms, sauna, locker rooms, and vitality pools – best enjoyed before the actual treatment. The outdoor Crown Pool and Pool Cabana is an extension of the spa experience, where a group of four can enjoy the cabana and pool for four hours complete with lounge seating, flat screen TV, and a serving of fruits and complementary drinks.

The luxurious spa offers a wide variety of bespoke treatments from facials, hand, foot, and full body massages ranging from 60 to 120 minutes of therapy and pure relaxation, combined with the aromatic essential oils of Aromatherapy Associates. You get to choose from different precious oils to help revitalize your senses – De-stress Muscle, De-stress Mind, Relax Light, and Relax Deep, each has key ingredients that specifically target what your mind and body need. The oils can be used as a

Pre-massage feet cleansing area

perfume, as a relaxing oil, and bath or shower oil. For the facials, the products vary depending on your skin type, whether it’s oily, dry, or a combination of both. These products are also available in the shop if you want to extend the experience at home.

My treatment started with a cleansing feet ritual– washed in rose petal water and scrubbed with Aromatherapy Associates products.

It took a while before I laid on the massage bed as I was so busy sending some emails and messages.

My therapist smiled and calmly said, “Ma’am, during our treatment it is better if we turn your phone on silent mode so you can really enjoy the massage and calm your mind.”

Yes, to clear my mind of stress and anxiety, I was reminded why I came here. I smiled, turned off my phone and put it away. The music in the room swayed in my ears for a good 10 minutes, my mind is still jarred with so many thoughts – deadlines, follow ups, shoots – she started with gentle to deep strokes, and then I drifted off. I was gone for almost 60 minutes until I was asked to turn around for my facial treatment.

The air smelled of rose oil, calming and refreshing at the same time, as

she applied different strokes and products on my T-zone, cheeks, and under the chin. The best part of the entire process is the Ayurvedic scalp massage, focused not only on the head but on my neck, shoulders and upper back. I just wanted to lie there and think of nothing for a while.

After the massage I returned to my senses as my therapist whispered that the treatment is done – that is usually the part where your relaxed mind screams for more. As I prepare to fix up I asked about the facial treatment and the products. I was surprised by the long and careful application of nine Aromatherapy Associates’ facial hydrating range products.

I was so deeply in a trance that I didn’t even notice the careful application process that almost seemed like an art technique. I got home feeling calm and relaxed and woke up the next day from the best good night’s sleep I’ve had in a month.

Crown Spa is a relaxing and luxurious new refuge in Crown Towers Manilathe third hotel to open in City of Dreams Manila. For bookings and reservations call 800 8080 or email guestservices@cod-manila.com.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Rendered perspective for Mrs. Fields Philippines for the store in SM Makati.

INSTAGRAM X DESIGN aged 18 to 34 years old in 2015, and Instagram – the online app to share photos and videos through mobile – is enjoying its widespread popularity within this group.

CALEIDOSCOPE WORLD

BY CAL TAVERA

“O

kay, let us go through the list,” client says during the initial briefing.

1. The café has to accommodate a seating capacity of around 180 people. Check.

2. The design needs to feel industrial and young. Check.

3. The overall style has to be Instagram-worthy. Noted…

THAT requirement is fast becoming a staple in designing commercial projects this year.

The sentiment of wanting their walls and corners to go viral on IG stems from Instagram’s rising trend as an effective marketing tool to reach the millennials.

According to the latest PEW Research (a US-based think tank), the Millennials are defined as adults

INTRODUCING INSTAGRAM, THE POPULAR KID

This free mobile service created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Kriger in 2010 has grabbed the attention of more than 100 million users by the time 2012 rolled around. By the end of 2014, those numbers jumped to over 300 million. Out of those millions, 41 percent belongs to the 16 to 24 age bracket and 35 percent goes to the 24 to 34 age range, based on the statistics found on econsultancy.com. On the average, these Instagram users allot 21 minutes viewing pictures and videos every day.

Miguel Escueta, co-manager and partner of Frank and Dean coffee shop in BGC, credits Instagram for spreading the word about their establishment. Despite being a newcomer in the coffee scene in soft opening mode, they were welcoming early risers into their shop as early as seven in the morning. Since the building they were leasing at was not yet finished, it was a bit of a challenge to find the place. Fortunately for the

CRATE & BARREL OPENS FLAGSHIP STORE

Latest destination for quality, affordable products

The author’s Instagram post for #frankxdean.

owners, Instagram paved a way for them to be discovered.

Miguel shares, “Even before we met with the interior designers, we already knew we wanted the end result to be Instagram-friendly. We wanted to create spaces that would grab the attention of users online.

That was the game plan all along.”

Even international brands like Mrs. Fields in the Philippines are coming onboard. Their current

T

clientele now consists of the young to middle age professionals.

They feel this market appreciates experiences coupled with quality.

To appeal to this new customer base, their store designs have been revamped, welcoming fresh colors and whimsical touches. New couches and lounge chairs were added for their comfort along with a strong Wi-Fi connection for the guests. While the store and operations still play an important role in translating interest to sales, the marketing team admits that social media plays a very important role in the marketing spectrum. They reveal that digital marketing has become an efficient tool in stirring awareness. Of course it will. Based on further research, Instagram followers post an average of 70 million pictures daily and interact by liking a post around 2.5 billion times.

With all these numbers, it is easy to get lost and ignored. For posts to stand out, users need to get creative with their posts. If they can’t, hire. Styling for Instagram is now a job opening waiting to be filled. Aside from being a blogger for her own content on www.livingthecuriouslife.com and designing on the side, Love Ocampo now styles vignettes

imeless style, vibrant design, great value.

These adjectives best describe the products from international retail chain Crate & Barrel that very recently opened its flagship store at the SM Annex in Makati City.

At more than 2,800 square meters, the new location serves as Crate & Barrel’s largest store in the Philippine, offering quality and top-notch customer service. The store will showcase the popular brand’s “Shore” Spring Collection and

Crate & Barrel’s largest store in the Philippines is located at the Ground Floor of the SM Makati Annex.

Frank and Dean Cafe. One of the Top 3 favorite spaces guests post on Instagram with the hashtag #frankxdean.

Photo by Love Ocampo (@_loveocampo)

that will be posted for Instagram.

As a former managing editor for MyHome magazine, Love now lends her skills to social media, putting together looks for brands such as Aranaz, a local artisanal brand celebrated globally. To create more Instagram-worthy designs, Love advises designers and business owners to invest in interesting elements and accessories. Natural lighting helps as well in creating good photos.

According to Digital Marketing Philippines, around 39 percent checks their social media accounts before any other activities online.

Present company included. My daily morning ritual consists of coffee and checking both my Facebook and Instagram accounts before work.

The good news for brands with a social media presence is that an impressive 64 percent of Filipinos rely on information from these social media platforms to make a decision.

So designers, keep creating good concepts and keep these numbers in mind when you design. It will give your clients that edge. Now, time to check my Instagram.

For more information on Frank and Dean, follow their Instagram account @frankxdean Follow me on Instagram @cal_tavera

other signature collection of house ware, seasonal accessories and a complete line of indoor and outdoor furniture.

The new store was designed with both the local aesthetic and customer convenience in mind.

The architecture features attractive, understated materials such as warm-toned wooden siding, glass and brick for the exteriors complementing the cedar, pickled pine and painted white wood interior. Abundant entry windows shower the store with natural light and provide a dramatic setting for the brand’s collections.

Since it first opened over 50 years ago, Crate & Barrel has become the leading home furnishings destination for the highest quality of products at an affordable price. Expanding its global footprint worldwide with its stores in the US, Canada, Mexico, UAE, Turkey and Singapore, the brand has evolved into a Lovebrand and become a source of inspiration for contemporary design enthusiasts worldwide.

Crate & Barrel opened its doors to the Philippine market in November 2014, as a franchise through SM Retailer subsidiary HMS Development Corporation. The flagship store in SM Makati is its third in the Philippines after stores at Mega Fashion Hall and SM Aura Premier.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

I have a confession to make. I haven’t yet figured out, this close to my ha lf-centur y mark, why it LIV.E SIMPLY was so popular

BY LIV E. decades ago to write on grad pics, yearbooks, or even the occasional groovy slam book (do kids even have that today?) this unsolicited advice: “Don’t ever change.”

Why? Isn’t change the very thing that’s sure to happen in life? Leaves fall, currents shift, even the sun makes way for the moon.

Children inevitably grow into adults. And a good number of those adults take the journey further, bind themselves together, and turn into parents. Now that’s a one-way trip – once a parent, always a parent – that brings a whole host of other changes, some tiny and some so huge that you’d probably have to be it to believe it.

Well, I’ve been it and believed it, and as proof, here are just 12 of the infinite ways that your child’s first cry in this world can turn yours around a full hundred-eighty degrees:

@LIFEatStandard

GOT CHANGE?

You learn that it’s okay to not be perfect, that you won’t always know all the answers, that sometimes a time-out could do you good, too. You learn that tears can mean joy and sadness and sometimes both simultaneously.

You learn that sometimes you’ll lose your patience and be all that you swore you’d never be, but it’ll pass and you’ll be okay.

You learn that a quiet hug can express much more than all the words in the world.

11. YOU CHANGE YOUR DEFINITION OF LOVE.

You find yourself falling in love with your hubby all over again, for reasons you would never have considered when you were a young starry-eyed romantic and you thought getting married was the ultimate ticket for going to sleep and waking next to your loved one. Oh, well, the thrill of that doesn’t change, ever, but suddenly “sleeping together” means both of you literally zonked out two minutes after hitting the bed, and you’re totally okay with that. Seriously.

Your spouse taking over homework duty or buying that last-minute school requirement or taking your kids out so you can get an hour of “me time”: all enough to make you clutch your heart and swoon!

Forget eight hours of sleep; you could get by on three and still function the next day.

What do you think those sleepless nights on college exam week were for? Nothing else but training for real life! It doesn’t get more real than this, whether you’re nursing your baby on your breast or a child with 40-degree fever.

2. YOUR MUSIC REPERTOIRE EXPANDS.

You know all the lyrics of songs across genres, anywhere from Sesame Street’s “Sunny days” to Alicia Keys’ “This girl is on fire”… and you can sing it in your sleep (which is a truly special talent, because you will on more than one occasion fall asleep faster than your kids).

One that actually enjoys talking about baby poop color, the best cures for everything from colic to upset stomachs, the travails of homework, the challenges of the dreaded Teenager-hood... and on and on.

4. YOUR VOCABULARY CHANGES.

Drastically.

Four-letter exclamations transform into “Poop!” or “Geez!” The word “stupid” becomes taboo. Even your name changes and you start answering to “Mom” or “Pop” (even in public: gasp!).

5. YOUR PREFERENCES SHIFT.

You declare your favorite food, drink, shirt (insert here whatever it is that your child

12. YOU DISCOVER THE VALUE OF KNEES.

“One Womb, One Mother” – Sculpture by Daniel De la Cruz at Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo

wants) as your least favorite, just so you keep them guilt-free when you offer it to them instead.

6. YOU LOSE YOUR BED¼ YOUR BATHROOM.

AND

Privacy? What privacy? Kids have an uncanny ability to barge in on you when you’d really rather they didn’t, and they somehow think that your bed is that size because they’re meant to fit in it alongside you and the hubby.

7. YOU EVOLVE INTO SOME KIND OF SUPERHUMAN.

Self-preservation ceases to be an instinct.

When faced with anything that threatens

Ayala Land cited for building sustainable communities

Nuvali, Laguna

The TV series champs ain’t got nothing on you.

Lost toy? Found with five minutes to spare.

Two Parent-Teacher Conferences on the same day? Chicken feed. Medical emergencies that require rushing your kid to the ER because he cut his foot on broken glass? First place!

10. YOU BECOME A STUDENT ALL OVER AGAIN.

1. YOU HAVE ZOMBIE GENES.

3. YOU GAIN ACCESS TO AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB.

9. YOU’RE THE AMAZING RACE GOLD STANDARD.

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the well-being of your child, you’re right at the forefront, ready to tackle any monster, whether it’s two-legged or four-wheeled, just so you can protect your precious ones.

8. YOU GROW NEW BODY PARTS.

You have an eye at the back of your head (so you can make sure no one’s doing anything potentially dangerous, like attempting to fly from a sofa). You have bionic legs (so you can grab a child’s hand and run across the room to stop another from toppling over a pitcher of water in two minutes flat). You have 10-feet-long arms (so you can give great big mommy-hugs that reach even the reluctant teenagers who pretend they don’t need them).

or its commitment to building sustainable communities, Ayala Land, Inc. has been cited for Corporate Social Responsibility at the recently held Philippines Property Awards, a part of the Asia Property Awards, which for 10 years now has been giving recognition to leading companies and professionals in the real estate industry across the region.

Known for its masterplanned communities spanning 45 growth centers across the country, Ayala Land’s efforts in sustainability and corporate governance are made visible in the design of its large-scale integrated mixed-use developments.

“We recognize the importance of building with minimum impact to the environment and maximum benefit to people. This is why all the property components in our integrated developments are designed

Because you get down on them often. You’re best friends with your children’s guardian angels. You’ve established hotlines to heaven, whether it’s to ask for a sick child to get well or for your son to get home safely from a party or for good spouse material for your quickly-maturing kids. But more than any other prayer, yours is consistently one of thanks. Because, for all the challenges and trials and changes that parenthood wreaks on you, you realize just how incredibly much you have been blessed. And you’re fuller and happier and more grateful than you ever dreamed you could be.

So, back to that advice, “Don’t ever change”?

Nah. You’d be missing out on so, so much. I say go forth and embrace change. And let your voice ring loud and clear and sure as you shout out: Change! I’ve got you! Bring it on, baby!

Follow me on Twitter @ LivE_LiveSimply and on Facebook/liv.esimplywithLiv Or send me feedback at liv@livesteban.com

to promote interaction and increase economic opportunities,” said ALI Chief Finance Officer Jaime E. Ysmael, expressing his thanks to the organizers and judges for recognizing the company’s deepening commitment to sustainability, with its principles integrated in the way they operate the business.

Such commitment is “demonstrated in every project that we do,” Ysmael added, noting that it is their way of contributing significantly and positively to society.

Sustainability focus has become the blueprint of every Ayala Land development and the company’s motivation in fulfilling its vision of continuously enhancing land and enriching lives for more people. According to Anna Maria M. Gonzales, ALI Sustainability Manager, Ayala Land makes sure that it chooses the proper locations and

carefully studies the condition of the land prior to developing a project.

“We recognize that respecting the natural terrain and native vegetation increases site resilience. We make sure our developments are connected to public transport and encourage walking. Lastly, the business districts we are known for become platforms for local economies to grow and flourish. For us, these elements result in sustainable communities,” explained Gonzales.

In addition to this major award for CSR, ALI’s residential brands also garnered multiple awards and commendations, among them Ayala Land Premier’s Park Terraces in Makati for Best Residential Architectural Design; Alveo’s Abreeza Residences and Solinea for Best Residential Development in Davao and Best Condo Development in Cebu, respectively.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

PREMIUM MATTRESS GALLERY: The Gift of Sleep

The Simmons mattress showcase

“Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

ELUSIVE SLUMBER

In this age where we are always running, hurrying, and scrambling to meet the innumerable demands of our day, it seems that there’s just not enough time to get everything THE BUSY QUEEN P done. Even when it’s already time for us to rest, sleep eludes

BY PAULYNE FERMIN us. Instead we toss, turn, and try to find the most comfortable position until we finally head on to dreamland.

Did you know, however, that the right kind of mattress can really guarantee a good night’s sleep? According to comprehensive studies done by Research Triangle International, even the minute differences in mattress support (soft, medium, hard) can affect the quality of sleep.

The question is, where do we go to find the right kind of bed?

up the gallery in 2011. Some prefer mattresses with good lumbar support to help with their back problems. We recommend the Orthocare Harmony Mattress to them.

Others tell us that they are looking for beds that will ensure uninterrupted sleep so we lead them to our bestsellers – the Sensory Memory Ultima which helps regulate temperature for a cooler night’s sleep and the Premium Touch Viscoluxe which combines the comfort of our advance pocket spring system and memory foam. We offer a very wide array of

sleep solutions but the final decision lies with the buyer,” says Cherry Tan, marketing director of Uratex Philippines.

The 400-square meter gallery, which decidedly caters to the AB market, showcases three premium brands of mattresses. All 15 beds from the URATEX Premium Mattress collection are neatly lined up in the main hall.

The arrangement is quite systematic, really. There’s a detailed description on the top of each mattress. You can try each bed if you wish or you can read the information first and narrow down your choices. My 11-year-old son did the first, while my husband and I went on the informed route. Both processes ended in excellent purchases.

Other high-end mattresses on display are the Technogel series and Simmons collection. Italian brand Technogel is touted as the ultimate indulgence in mattresses while Simmons is known for its pocket coil system. It delivers unsurpassed support, maximum comfort and minimum motion transfer.

TRUSTED BRAND

URATEX Philippines has been voted as one of the most trusted brands in the country for 2015 (Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Survey). Consumers know and are assured of the superior quality of its multifarious products.

Come and visit the Premium Mattress Gallery located at the 2nd floor of the Ronac Art Center, Ortigas Ave., North Greenhills. You will surely find the mattress that’s just right for you!

QUALITY SLEEP SOLUTIONS

A visit to the Premium Mattress Gallery (PMG) located at the second floor of the RONAC Art Center totally changed my perception about purchasing mattresses. Gone are the days when shoppers would just pinch, poke and probe the bed before purchasing it. The most that I ever did before was to sit on the edge of the mattress while the salesperson delivered his pitch.

“We highly encourage our customers to take the time and lie down on the beds. That’s the reason why we put

With a pocketful of glitter,

Eye catching modern art installations inside the showroom will definitely make your visit more interesting. Just look at this Magis-like styro puppy with multicolored plastic toy soldiers stuck on it.

Cherry Tan and Uratex Philippines executive vice president William Lee.

– Thomas Dekker

Follow me on Twitter, IG and Facebook.

Visit www.thebusyqueenp.com/ for more interesting reads!

Uratex uses Sleep Science Technology and designs its beds according to the specific needs of the customers.

All mattresses are also subjected to the strictest durability tests.

W EDNES DAY : J ULY 2 2 : 2015

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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A GUIDE TO WHAT’S IN CINEMAS THIS WEEK MINIONS

Minions

Evolving from single-celled yellow organisms at the dawn of time, Minions live to serve who find themselves working for a continual series of unsuccessful masters, from T. Rex to Napoleon. Without a master to grovel for, the Minions fall into a deep depression. But one minion, Kevin, has a plan. Accompanied by his pals Stuart and Bob, Kevin sets forth to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow.

PG

ANT-MAN

PG The Marvel character Ant-Man gets the big screen treatment with this film focusing on Henry Pym (Michael Douglas), a scientist who develops powers to grow and shrink in size with the Ant-Man suit. He gets the service of a con man (Paul Rudd) to protect the secret of his discovery and pull off a heist that will save the world.

PG Adapted from the best-selling novel of John Green, the film is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin (Nat Wolff) and his enigmatic neighbor Margo (Cara Delevingne). After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears-leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quickwitted friends on an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving.

SEX ED - NEW

R18 This comedy follows Eddie (Haley Joel Osment) as he lands his first teaching gig at an inner city middle school, where he quickly finds that his highly pubescent pupils are receiving no form of sexual education.

Eddie isn’t exactly equipped to teach them, for one thing, he’s a virgin.

THE GALLOWS - NEW

R13 Twenty years after an accident during a small town high school play results in death, students at the school resurrect the failed stage production in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy - but ultimately find out that some things are better left alone.

PAPER TOWNS - NEW

SOUTHPAW - NEW

The Gallows

MAGIC MIKE XXL

R16 Retired male stripper Magic Mike (Channing Tatum) decides to help his friends put on one last show, as the crew embarks on a road trip to Myrtle Beach to perform at an exotic-dance convention. Along the way, they brighten the lives of several women, including that of an aspiring photographer (Amber Heard) and a diva (Jada Pinkett Smith) from Mike’s past.

Magic Mike XXL

R13 At the height of his fame and success, Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is convinced by his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) to retire from the sport in order to spend more time with their daughter. On the night of his retirement announcement, a rival boxer calls out Hope and an altercation breaks out, killing Maureen. Hope’s self-destructive behavior worsens, and his daughter is taken away by child services. Now he fights to redeem his life and get his daughter back.

CHAIN MAIL - NEW

PG A usual chain mail is forwarded to a group of people. Some pass it while others simply ignore it. When someone dies and then followed by series of sudden and unexplainable deaths of others, the chain mail becomes the suspect. Soon after, the mystery begins to unfold affirming that the chain mail is cursed. The origin and mystery behind the chain mail must be uncovered to stop the misfortunes it may cause anyone who fails to pass it.

TED 2 - NEW

R16 The comedy flick is back with its second installment. This time around, Ted (Seth Macfarlane) is attempting to raise a child with his sweetheart, Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). But in order to qualify to be a parent and adopt a child, Ted will first have to prove that he is human.

COMPILED BY NICKIE WANG

Casa Maserati opens in Milan

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he exclusive retail store and lounge bar opened recently on Piazza San Fedele in the heart of Milan.

Casa Maserati offers a location for purchasing Maserati Collection products and booking a test drive to learn all the driving secrets and discover the performance of the models in the Maserati range.

The brand’s first retail store and lounge bar will be made even more prestigious by the presence of all the cars in the Maserati range. The luxurious Quattroporte limousine, the Ghibli executive sedan, the splendid GranTurismo four-seat coupé and

the GranCabrio convertible will alternate on display on the Casa Maserati forecourt. It will also be possible to book a test drive of the Quattroporte and Ghibli sedans alongside a professional instructor from former Formula 1 driver Andrea de Adamich’s Master Maserati Driving School.

The elegant store, open from 10am to 10pm seven days a week, will immediately become a key location for the most glamorous events in the Milan Fashion District, and will remain in operation until the end of January.

This concept store in the heart of Milan has enabled Maserati to rein-

force its relationships with its corporate partners - Ermenegildo Zegna, Bulgari, La Martina and Dr. Vranjes.

The store will also feature a number of other outstanding Italian brands - Poltrona Frau, Venini, Frigerio, Unopiù, Caffitaly and Montante. Major associations have also been established with the partners who work with Maserati on a permanent basis during the seasonal Winter and Summer Tour events - Gruppo De Angelis Costruzioni, Cantine Ferrari, Samsung, Pirelli, Courmayeur Montblanc and Cortina Turismo - who, together with new additions - Excelsior Hotel Gallia and Elite Model Management,

help to enrich Casa Maserati’s scope and lifestyle offering.

Maserati’s presence in the heart of Milan, a city particularly in tune with the brand since it shares the same pure Italian style values, to coincide with Expo 2015 is extremely appropriate, if not de rigueur.

Here in the Philippines, the latest Maserati models are on display at the Maserati Lifestyle Center located at Crescent Park West, 32nd Street corner 4th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. For inquiries, call 801-7777, email sales@ maseratiphils.com or visit www. maseratiphils.com.

Entrance to Casa Maserati

The chic interior of Casa Maserati

One of the Maserati models clients can look at the Casa

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

nO, ‘it takES GUtZ tO bE a GUtiERREZ’ iS nOt SCRiPtED niCkiE WanG At the trade launch of E! Philippines and NBC Universal, Annabelle Rama proudly said that the reality series starring her and her whole family does not follow any script – everything is candid, in other words.

The matriarch of the Gutierrez family told the press and advertisers during the special event that she’s always asked whether or not It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez is scripted.

Rama confidently said it would be hard for her and her children to act in front of the camera if they’re depending on a story line by scriptwriters.

“In the previous seasons you didn’t see me talk too much. I was a bit reserved and didn’t want to show the real side of me because I wasn’t used to seeing cameras following me around. Pero ngayon wala na akong pakialam. Magmumura ako kung gusto ko mag mura,” the feisty Rama blurted. “So if you’re asking me if the show is scripted, no it is not.”

Rama, together with children

Ruffa and Richard, was also pleased to announce some of the highlights of the new season, which include the family’s trips to the United States and Bali, Indonesia; Ruffa launching her new line of kids’ clothing; a potential new love interest for one of the Gutierrez men; and a surprise marriage proposal.

“The show has opened a lot of doors for us. We are now known all over Asia, that’s why we wanted to give our viewers the most polished season of our show. We have a new director so we can assure you that this is going to be the best season,” Richard told the media.

Apart from It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez, new shows were also introduced including E! Philippines Top 5 hosted by Sam YG and Erin Lim, How Do I Look? Asia, and StyleList, Inc. featuring fashion editor and stylist Rex Atienza.

CinEmaLaya REbOOtS, ExPanDS The biggest independent film festival is opening its doors once again for its 11th edition from Aug. 7 to 15.

Just like in the previous years, venues will be the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Greenbelt 3 in Maka-

ti. But the competition will be very different this year because competition will be held only in the short film category. The competition process for the full-length feature category is still ongoing and the screening of the competition films is in August 2016.

“We have reset the timetable for our competition process so that it will give the finalists one year to make their films rather than six months,” Cinemalaya Foundation President Laurice Guillen told members of the press during the 11th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition media launch.

The veteran actress also revealed that by the end of the month, the organizers will finalize the list of 10 full-length finalists, which will be announced during the indie fest’s closing night.

The ten finalists in the Short film Category this year are: Apasol by Ryanne Murcia; Gatilyo ng Baril by Glenmark Doromal and Eero Yves Francisco; Kyel by Arvin Belarmino, Lisyun Qng; Geografia by Petersen Vargas; Mater by Annemikami Pablo; Nenok by Milo Tolentino; Papetir by Darwin Novicio; Pusong Bato by Martika Ramirez Escobar; Sanctissima by

The Gutierrez family on E!'s It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez: from left Elvis with wife, Raymond and Ruffa, Richard and Sarah Lahbati, Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama

Kenneth Dagatan; and Wawa by Angelie Mae Macalanda.

The winner of the short film category will receive P150,000.

In addition to the competition, Cinemalaya expands with screenings of Asian films and it also introduces new sections: The Independents: Asia (independently produced films in the region), Indie Nation (feature films premiering at Cinemalaya), Cinemalaya Restrospective (Best Films of Cinemalaya from 2005 to 2014), Indie Festival’s Best, Documentaries, New Short Films in Exhibition, Cinemalaya Winners, and Gawad CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula.

“Those which cannot be shown in their own countries because of some kind of censorship, you can show it here, because we have the freedom,” said Guillen.

Brillante Mendoza's Taklub opens this year's Cinemalaya filmfest

She furthered that the Philippine indie scene, compared to other parts of the Asian region, enjoys the most creative freedom. Filmmakers who have difficulty getting their movies shown in their own country are very much welcome at the Cinemalaya.

Jake Gyllenhaal studied Manny PaCquiao

Rachel McAdams is Billy Hope's wife in Southpaw

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the boxer Billy “The Great” Hope in Southpaw

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rom acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua comes a hard hitting blow by blow account in Southpaw– the story of Billy “The Great” Hope, Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World portrayed by the multi-talented actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Billy has it all, wealth, health, a world title, a loving wife and a lovely daughter but lost it all when his wife tragically dies.

Fighting for the custody of his daughter, Billy enters the battle of

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 48 49 50 52 53 57 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Dalai — 5 Sparkle 10 Cougar 14 Touched down 15 Vietnam’s capital 16 Crazed captain 17 — be a cold day...

18 Gavel-banger’s cry 19 One-and-only 20 Swain’s offering 22 Percolated 24 Cambodia’ s Lon —

25 Double helix 26 Horse’s carriage 29 Med. plan 32 Library fixture 36 In — — (stuck) 37 Puck stopper 39 Make after taxes 40 In suspense (3 wds.)

43 Brown of renown 44 Late-news hour 45 Trifling amount 46 More cunning

Deighton or Cariou More confident Messy place Underwater shocker Extirpates (2 wds.)

Job opening “Jaws” rival Dog genus Finish-line marker Bulb measure Duplicate Outback mineral Wild plum Facilitated Coarse file

DOWN 1 Bear’s pad 2 Low voice 3 Wire thicknesses 4 On and on (2 wds.)

5 Horror flick extra 6 Piecrust ingredient 7 Midwest st.

8 “The First —” 9 Bushed 10 Philosopher Blaise — 11 Oops! (hyph.)

12 Stag attender 13 Under the covers

his life as he struggles to become a contender once again to win back his daughter and their life.

Apart from psyching up as Billy, like his previous roles, Gyllenhaal stepped into the core of his character by undergoing a dramatic body transformation. According to director Fuqua, Gyllenhaal had trained in the boxing ring for seven days a week for six hours a day. In recent interviews, the director further revealed that, “I had him train at Floyd Mayweather’s gym in Ve-

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U2’s first album Disturbing emotion Cries loudly Archangel of light Full of nerve Package tour feature Writer — Binchy Bygone Walking — — Davis or Midler Early anesthetic Gas pump qty.

King — Saud Lahr and Parks Software work-around Tycoon’s home Brut Desert plant Cut some slack Plies the oars Ph.D. exam 8 as a prefix Sanskrit dialect Morning glory Auto-parts store 1040 experts Shrill bark Non-verbal OK

gas and we watched Floyd’s fights, and the Manny Pacquiao fight.

He trained in New York at Church Gym with real fighters. We literally turned him into a beast. He was training like a fighter. I had him sparring, really getting hit. I put him in situations where I wanted to see what he was made of. No one but fighters understand the sacrifice it takes to be a fighter.”

Gyllenhaal, on the other hand shares that such transformation was a necessity for the role, phys-

ical and psychological, “Physicality is a way into the mental state of a character. I get off on knowing that my energy has shifted.”

Southpaw features an impressive cast that includes Rachel McAdams, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, and Rita Ora, plus music produced by Eminem.

The greatest tale of redemption starts in the ring when “Southpaw” opens in Philippine cinemas today from Pioneer Films.

W EDNES DAY : J ULY 2 2 : 2015

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

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LegaL reMedies for food poisoning

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he number of food poisoning incidents has risen over the past two months, the latest one being the durian candies that hospitalized 1,900 students in Surigao del Sur. These alarming incidents have caused lawmakers and concerned groups to call for the stricter enforcement of the Food Safety Act of 2013.

from C8

The Food Safety Act ensures that all food products, whether imported or local, sold in the Philippines are safe and fit for consumption. Aside from the tighter implementation of the law, citizens are also encouraged to be more cautious in buying and consuming food.

To further guide the public on the legal actions for food poison-

Atty. Karen Jimeno anchors Legal HD on CNN Philippines

ing cases, Atty. Karen Jimeno invites representatives from the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines.

Learn about the legal remedies available in cases of food poisoning in Legal HD on Sunday, 1 p.m. only on CNN Philippines. It is also seen every Tuesday.

HHHHH Queen wanTed The stage is set for the search of Queen of Quezon City. This will highlight the contributions to society of talented and gifted gay and trans-citizens through the city government’s first ever search for the Queen of Quezon City. This is in celebration of the city’s historic ordinance on gender fairness.

The pageant, open to all gays and trans who are at least 18 years old, is now accepting application forms from bona fide Quezon City residents who will best showcase the inherent talents and potential contributions of trans or gay citizens as equal and productive members of our society.

The Queen of Quezon City pageant brings attention to the comprehensive anti-discrimination policy on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity of expression or ordinance #2357 of the city. The ordinance is designed to eradicate discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens in workplaces and the Quezon City community in general.

The chosen queen should best embody the ideals of gender fairness and should be able to advocate it.

Applicants must present, together with the application form, a voter’s ID or COMELEC certificate, a close up passport size colored picture, a whole body 5R colored picture, photocopy of birth certificate, a barangay-issued certificate of good moral character and transcript of record or any valid proof of educational attainment.

Other qualifications include a height of at least 5, 5”, proportional body measurement, college level educational attainment, physical and mental fitness, good moral character and good sense of social awareness. Contestants must also be willing to sign a management contract in the event of winning any of the major awards.

Entry forms are available at the Office of the Mayor, 4th floor, high-rise building, Quezon City hall compound or at the official face book of account of the pageant, which is www.facebook. com/queenofqc.

Deadline of application forms is July 24, 5 p.m. while screening of candidates on July 31. Pageant night is on Sept. 12.

HHHHH MuTya BeauTy TourisM power Mutya ng Pilipinas is a non-stock, non-profit pageant organization now on its 46th year. Key events will start this month with finals in early August. Mutya has the distinction of having the support (with substantial participation) of various locations among the Overseas Filipino Communities in Europe, Asia, and North America There are three aspiring beauty queens who will vie for the crown

Haier’s NobuHito HayasHi’s Goal: to wiN Customers’ CoNfideNCe aNd loyalty

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aier’s mission in the Philippines doesn’t stop at bringing its world-leading products to Filipino homes. It continues to aspire to be the most trusted brand of appliance in the country; and its newly appointed president and CEO Nobuhito Hayashi makes it his personal goal to win his customers’ confidence and loyalty.

Haier has gone a long way since its introduction in the Philippines in 2012, when it acquired Japanese electronics company Sanyo, a brand that has always been part of the many Filipino households; but building better awareness for Haier is a task that Hayashi never takes lightly.

“Sanyo is a very well-known brand in the Philippines and we appreciate that greatly, but as CEO of the company, it is my job to usher in the new DNA, which is Haier,” he says. Having only as-

sumed his position in January of this year, Hayashi admits there is quite a lot on his plate, but building the image of the brand is one of the first orders of business. It could be a challenge, with strong competitors in the Philippine market, but it is one he is very excited to take on.

His first couple of months was very hectic. He never wasted any time, flying all over the Philippines to meet the customers and see how the brand is doing in Visayas and Mindanao. “It’s always very important to know the customers and to know your products,” says Hayashi. “That way, you can keep up to date with the demands of the consumer and you’ll know what to offer them, how to keep them happy with the products that you come out with,” he explains.

Armed with passion, enthusiasm, and fresh new ideas, Hayashi also works at taking the

business to new heights. Increasing corporate business and offering IT-related products are some of the things he has on his list.

“I want to be able to expand the business and make everything double in three years,” he says.

Strengthening his team, building awareness, and doubling the efforts when it comes to product development, he believes, are the primary steps in accomplishing that goal. He recognizes the need for speed, to catch up with market. For him, falling behind an inch is not an option.

“We have to be as quick as possible.” At 39—the youngest to ever take the position— and with so much passion and energy for what he does combined with a modern approach to business, Hayashi seeks to make exciting new changes with the company.

With him at the helm, Haier is bound to take higher leaps in the coming years.

Yoshiaki Ito, Haier Asia president and CEO

Nobuhito Hayashi, Haier Philippines CEO

Mutya ng Pilipinas Asia-Pacific, Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism International and Mutya ng Pilipinas Overseas Communities.

From the “land down under,” Mutya Australia is 23-year old Shannon Bridgman. She dreams of pursuing a career in criminology and be involved in humanitarian work. “I already saved three lives by donating blood,” she recalls. This sports minded lass is into running, kayaking, volleyball and hiking.

Mutya Arizona is 19-year old Jessie Delprete. “I want to volunteer more to non-profitable events in the Philippines.” This Fil-Am college freshman proudly promotes her Filipino side in social celebrations in the US of A by showcasing various Filipino folk dances. “I want to learn more about traditional Filipino culture to make myself better.” Her strict military-type family background molded her into one super friendly and bubbly belle.

I’m very excited to go back home and visit Boracay, Palawan and Cebu!” quips Kerlyn Horn from Northern California. This 20-year old runway model considers modeling her biggest talent. “I admire my Filipino culture. My mom taught me to be a strong and independent woman, Viva Communications, Inc. is collaborating with the organizers in launching the 47th Edition of Mutya ng Pilipinas National Pageant Event which will be staged at the premier amusement spot, Resorts World Manila.

The swimsuit competition will again be held at the world-class haven Sheridan Beach Resort & Spa in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

W EDNES DAY : J ULY 2 2 : 2015

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

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Fiber essential to athlete’s diet ISAH V. RED Donning the Philippines’ colors in the biggest sporting event in Southeast Asia—the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), which recently concluded in Singapore— Filipino athletes showed that they could slug it out with the best athletes from neighboring countries.

The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has new programs for the SEA Games representatives in order to realize their full potential and ensure that they are at their peak condition during this muchhyped event and other international sporting events in the future.

The Philippines’ foremost sportsmen successfully translated these programs into more wins after improving the country’s seventh place standing during the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, to a sixth place finish, bagging 30 more medals in this edition of the Games.

POC enlisted the help of professionals in the fields of sports science, sports psychology, sports vision, sports rehabilitation, sports training, and nutrition in order to whip the athletes into shape and to achieve their optimal fitness level.

Before heading to Singapore, athletes from different sporting events went through rigorous training and special programs that rendered them more competitive than usual.

“Ngayon mas naging doble yung hirap na ginagawa namin compared sa ibang international competitions; mas mahirap talaga yung training for SEA Games. Parang gusto na naming sumuko minsan pero pinip-

ilit namin kasi para ‘to sa country,” said olympic rowing representative Justine Vinas, who missed the podium after settling for fourth place.

Emmanuel Escote, a spiker with the silver medalist Sepak Takraw team, said they trained intensely to top their successful performance in the recently concluded King’s Cup Sepak Takraw World Championship in Thailand. “Mas binubugbog namin ‘yung sarili namin ngayon!

Siyempre kung ano ‘yung skills mo ngayon, kailangan mo pang higitan.”

While athletes have varying motivations for playing for the national team, they share one cause—to bring home a win and make their fellow Filipinos proud.

Acknowledging the important role of good nutrition in an athlete’s performance, POC created a sports nutrition program to make meal plans for the athletes depending on their specific needs.

In the process, POC nutritionists learned that many of our national athletes are constipated and lack an understanding of proper nourishment in achieving optimum health.

To address this issue, the POC partnered with a leading supplement brand in the country, C-Lium Fibre. With the tie-up, fiber was incorporated in every athlete’s meal plan in order to reach the 25 to 30 grams of recommended daily fiber intake. Athletes were asked to take C-Lium Fibre in husk form mixed with water, first thing in the morning. “’Nung dumating kami, many of them are constipated kasi unang-una sa lahat hindi nila alam kung ano ‘yung mga dapat nilang kainin. Ang ginawa naming approach is to make sure na balanced ‘yung kinakain nila at ma-achieve nila ‘yung required daily fiber intake with the help of

C-Lium,” said POC nutritionist Luningning Caravana.

“Ang fiber naman kasi, in general, ay tumutulong para mailabas ‘yung dumi sa katawan natin, mapababa ‘yung cholesterol, and, at the same time, nakakatulong sa weight management para mas makapag-perform ng maayos ‘yung mga athletes natin,” she added.

“I think it’s one of the most important supplements we need to take as individuals. C-Lium Fibre is actually a very good product and its very convenient and so there’s no excuse for you not to be able to get the right amount of daily fiber because it’s so accessible,” said Coach Jim Saret.

Coach Toni Saret, who is co-heading POC’s program with her husband, said nutrition also plays a big role in an athlete’s performance.

“You cannot work out with poor nutrition. Fitness and sports are always tied up with proper nutrition; you cannot have one without the other or else you cannot attain your optimal performance as an athlete,” said the female coach.

With new partnerships such as that with C-Lium Fibre, POC has high hopes that our representatives will perform better in different international sporting events like the Olympic Games and this will translate into medals for the country.

“You can never question the Filipino spirit. We will always fight; they will always continue to fight despite the odds and being the underdog; lalaban at lalaban pa din ang Pilipino. So that makes me really proud to be a part of this program,” said Jim Saret.

C-Lium Fibre is a product of Pascual Laboratories, Inc., and is available in major drugstores nationwide. ➜ Continued on C7

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1 Philippine Olympic Committee enlisted the help of professionals in the fields of sports science, sports psychology, sports vision, sports rehabilitation, sports training, and sports nutrition in order to whip the athletes into shape and to achieve their optimal fitness level. From left, SEA Games sepak takraw silver medallist Emmauel Escote, POC nutritionist Luningning Caravana, SEA Games decathlon silver medallist Jesson Ramil Cid, POC nutritionist Yancy Liwanag and Rowing representative Justine Karyle Vinas) 2 Coaches Jim and Toni Saret believe that fiber is one of the most important nutrients that the body needs 3 Coaches Jim and Toni Saret believe that fiber is one of the most important nutrients that the body needs. 4 Sepak Takraw standout Emmanuel Escote, whose team won silver in 2015 SEA Games