The Standard - 2015 July 28 - Tuesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 168 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 tueSday: JuLy 28, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Aquino seeks ban on political dynasties

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noy bIds goodbye In two-hour sonA

By Sandy Araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III bid farewell and thanked all his Cabinet members Monday in a twohour State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) that will be his last before he leaves office in June 2016.

Despite saying that he was under the weather, Aquino spent two hours and nine minutes on an address that again attacked his predecessor, highlighted the gains of his reform program and gave thanks to 86 people—including his Cabinet secretaries, the Palace staff and even his maid.

While he acknowledged the presence of opposition Vice President Jejomar Binay at the start of his speech, he did not credit him for the work he did as a housing czar and presidential adviser on overseas workers until he broke with the administration in June. Next page

Scenes from the SONA. Anti-government protesters set fire to a giant effigy of President Benigno Aquino III (inset) along Commonwealth Avenue to signify their opposition to his government on the occasion of his last State-of-the-Nation Address. Inside the Batasang Pambansa, Aquino interrupts his speech (inset) at the House of Representatives with a bout of coughing. MANNY PALMERO/LINO SANTOS

Iglesia dissenter charged with libel

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Leftists steal the scene after SONA at the end of his last State-ofthe-Nation Address (SONA) Monday, raising placards that denounced him as the “Pork LEFTIST lawmakers jeered Barrel King” and taking him President Benigno Aquino III to task for Serbisyo Palpak

By Christine F. Herrera, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

(lousy public service).

Other placards raised by the seven legislators from the Makabayan bloc accused Aquino of being a lapdog of Next page

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Noy seeks OK of ban on political dynasties

By Sandy Araneta

President Benigno Aquino iii on Monday called on Congress to pass an anti-dynasty measure, the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law and the P3-trillion 2016 national budget during his sixth and last state of the nation Address at the Batasan Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.

While not mentioning Vice President Jejomar Binay and his children by name, Aquino appeared to be referring to them in his call for the passage of the anti-dynasty law.

“Why would we make a law in order to stop people from serving the country?

But I think it is wrong to give the opportunity to corrupt families or individuals to stay in power for life. It is time to pass an anti-dynasty law,” Aquino said.

Binay and his children are among those who have expressed opposition to the anti-dynasty bill and were present in the House gallery when Aquino delivered his speech.

Binay and his son, suspended Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., are facing corruption cases for allegedly earning kickbacks from the projects entered into by the city government.

Last year, Aquino said that while he is in favor of a law that will prevent political families from wielding power indefinitely, he expressed concerns that such a law will deprive his fellow

politicians of their rights.

Aquino also pushed for the passage of the controversial draft BBL, which embodies the peace deal signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The President asked the BBL’s critics, some of whom were present in the audience during his speech, not to stand in the way of change.

“Those who are against this, I think it is your obligation to work on a better solution. If you have no alternative, I guarantee you there will be no change,” he said.

Aquino also called for the timely passage of the proposed P3.002-trillion 2016 national budget, which will be submitted by the Executive to Congress for scrutiny this week.

“By tomorrow, you will be receiving the proposed national budget for next year. We have not failed to have the national budget approved in the past. I am hoping that the right policies will be implemented now that we have entered the last chapter of our administration,” said Aquino.

SONA presents K-12 ‘graduate’ PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III presented a video showing a girl who claimed to be a graduate of the K to 12 program, which is being fully implemented only this year, in his last State of the Nation Address yesterday.

Aquino said the experience of Rezia Joy Jianoran, a 19-year-old student who worked at CLP Metal Industries and Precision, was proof that the K to 12 program addresses the gaps in the previous 10-year basic education program.

In the video, Jianoran claimed she is a K to 12 graduate even if the full implementation of the program only began this school year.

“I know my family is [un-

able] to send me to college so I continued my studies using the K to 12 program. I chose drafting technology as my specialization. Part of the K to 12 program is career immersion and I was assigned to CLP Metal where I designed a machine to de-hair pigs,” Jianoran said.

“I am very proud to be a K to 12 graduate because I was able to support my family and I am learning while earning,” she added.

The video elicited queries on the social media networking site Facebook where netizens pointed out that there could be no K to 12 graduate yet as the program’s first graduates are scheduled to finish two years from now.

Dismay. Members of the Makabayan block in the House of Representative show their dismay over President Benigno Aquino III’s last State-of-the-Nation Address in the House of Representatives on Monday. DANNY PATA

Noy

From A1...

The President made no mention of his close friend, former national police chief Alan Purisima or the botched Mamasapaono operation in which 44 police commandos were killed and which eventually forced him from office.

Critics on the Internet observed that Aquino had to stop seven times because of coughing fits—and said these were the most honest part of the President’s speech. The Palace said the President was unwell, which was why he skipped the usual processional entry into the plenary hall of the Batasang Pambansa.

As in all his previous SONAs, Aquino again hit former President Gloria Arroyo, who has been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center since 2011 on plunder charges.

Aquino expressed gratitude to former members of the Dabinet ---- former Energy secretary Jericho Petilla and the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

He also thanked other

Leftists From A1...

the Americans, an oppressive landlord, and a human rights violator.

ACT-Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said they brought out their placards so that the public would know the real state of the nation.

Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan added: “We have had enough of Aquino and his Tuwid na Daan (straight path) rhetoric.

Any presidential candidate who vows to continue Aquino’s antipoor, anti-people policies and receives his endorsement will most likely earn the people’s ire the way Aquino did.”

Tinio, Ilagan, Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon, Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus, Bayan

members of the Malacañang family, including his staff, members of the Presidential Security Group, his family members and his maid.

Aquino, however, saved his most profuse thanks for Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who is the presumptive Liberal Party candidate for president in 2016.

Aquino praised Roxas, whom he is expected to endorse this week, for his competence and dedication to the government.

“To Secretary Mar, whether you are with the government or not, attackers of Daang Matudwid [the straight path] have not stopped their attacks against you,” Aquino said.

“Since you have the capability, they continue to put you down. Because they cannot raise themselves up, they want to put you down,” he added.

Aquino said the attacks against Roxas were proof that his political opponents were afraid of his integrity and competence.

Stopping short of endorsing Roxas for president, he encouraged the Interior

secretary to have faith in the public’s ability to discern.

“You can’t put a good man down. Just like the trust of my mother and father, have faith that the people know who would put the interest of the nation before themselves,” Aquino told Roxas.

During his speech, Aquino reported that 4.4 million households were now beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a straight dole to the poor.

Aquino said that number represented a significant increase from the 786,523 household beneficiaries when he assumed the presidency five years ago.

The 4Ps provides cash grants to the beneficiary families on the condition that their children attend school, and that mothers visit health centers.

The President said proof of the benefits of the 4Ps was the graduation of 333,673 beneficiary children from high school in March.

“They were the first batch of high school graduates (under the 4Ps). A total of 13,469 of them have received honors and different recognitions,” the President said.

He also said that two of the graduates even passed the entrance examinations at the University of the Philippines and are now enrolled in civil engineering courses.

Aquino said the government would recoup its investments in the poor students once they begin working and paying taxes.

The President also cited gains in the modernization of the Philippine National Police—but did not say a word about the Mamasapano debacle or the corruption scandals that caused widespread demoralization among the police.

Aquino said that for the PNP, the government rolled out 302 patrol jeeps, part of the total of 2,523 units to be distributed; 179 units of utility vehicles, out of 577 ; and 12,399 handheld radios.

He added that the government was set to procure 30,136 long firearms, 3,328 investigate kits and 16,877 radios.

“Together with new equipment, we increased the combat pay of our soldiers, and subsistence allowance of uniformed services,” Aquino said. With PNA

Muna Reps. Neri Colmenares and Isagani Carlos Zarate and Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap raised their protest placards shortly after the President finished his two-hour speech and the joint session of Congress was adjourned by Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. Drilon and other administration allies booed the Makabayan bloc lawmakers, but on live television it appeared that the Senate President was booing the President.

Dispensing with protocol, Aquino ignored his wellwishers and allies and headed straight for the rear entrance of the session hall, clearly irritated by the incident.

The protest by the left-

ist lawmakers provided a sharp counterpoint to the applause from the President’s allies.

House deputy majority leader and Quezon City Rep. Jorge Banal said the President’s speech was impeccable.

“I think it is important to remind our people of how things were before Daang Matuwid. Not just because we’re collectively known to have a very short memory, but also because we often fail to appreciate how far we’ve come. We need to continue the programs and reforms of this administration; it’s a long journey, but we cannot stop until the benefits of these undertakings are felt by all of our countrymen,” Banal said.

But House deputy mi-

nority leader and 1-BAP Rep. Silvestre Bello III said the President’s penchant for blaming his predecessor for his failures was obvious in his SONA. Zarate added that the President, whom he described as vengeful, was “true to form.”

“From beginning to end, he blames the past administration [and] his critics,” Zarate said.

Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, a member of the independent minority bloc in the House, said the gains claimed by the President have not benefitted the poor. – With Sandy Araneta, Rio N. Araja Julito G. Rada, Othel V. Campos and Vito Barcelo

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INC dissenter charged with libel THE former editor of the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s official publication was slapped with a libel suit before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office following his expulsion from the influential church.

Former “Pasugo” editor Isaias Samson Jr. was slapped with the libel complaint after he, his family and and other members of the church raised a public ruckus last week by claiming that they were illegally detained because of their criticism of corruption in the church.

Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Edwil Zabala declined to confirm or deny the filing of the complaint, saying he was concentrating on the church’s celebration of its anniversary on Monday.

Meanwhile, a US-based minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo resigned after he refused to read a church circular announcing the expulsion of Felix Nathaniel “Ka Angel” Manalo, the brother of Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo, and their mother Cristina Manalo or Tenny.

The expulsion of the mother and brother, as well as of several others, came following allegations of corruption in the church, a power struggle and an internal family conflict.

Louie Cayabyab told dzMM radio his conscience did not allow him to obey the order of the central office to read the circulars on the expulsion of Angel and Tenny and Samson, who is also an INC minister aside from being editor in chief of Pasugo.

“It was against my heart. It was difficult for me,” Cayabyab said.

He expressed fear for the lives of his family, saying they’d had to go away and hide.

Like Samson, he said, he also expected to be expelled from the church.

Cayabyab announced his resignation during a recent worship service in Fremont, Northern California.

“I decided, brothers, that I would not read the circulars. I knew in my heart, in my heart of hearts, that I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take it,” Cayabyab said in a six-minute video uploaded on Youtube.

Zabala said the central temple was not yet aware of Cayabyab’s move as the church officials had been busy as the INC marked its 101st anniversary on Sunday.

Holding the line. Riot police try to block protesters from marching on the House of Representatives hours before President Benigno Aquino delivers his final State of the Nation address. AFP

Palace: Yolanda relief a priority THE rehabilitation of the areas devastated by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” on Nov. 8, 2013, remains a priority of the Aquino administration, the Budget Department said Monday.

The agency said the government’s rehabilitation program for the stricken areas was independent of political influence or affiliation, and that the Aquino administration’s post-disaster aid was focused entirely on assisting Yolanda’s victims.

Yolanda—international name Haiyan—killed more than 6,000 people and dislocated hundreds of thousands more who remain in dire need of help.

The department issued its statement after Social Watch

said that the funding sources for Yolanda aid were “insecure,” with the group suggesting that “political pressure” was necessary to get Yolanda funds moving.

“Independent of media coverage and the approaching 2016 elections, the Aquino Administration continues the vigorous work of restoring normalcy in [the] Yolanda-affected areas,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

“Our biggest concern lies in protecting the welfare of [the] Yolanda victims, both in the immediate and long term. That is in fact reflected in the National Budget, which provides several funding sources for Yolanda aid.

These fund sources are far from uncertain; they are at once generous and reliable.”

Abad denied there is political pressure to get the Yolanda rehabilitation going.

“Political pressure is also not necessary for this Administration to exert all efforts for [the] Yolanda victims. We understand the urgency of the problem, as Social Watch itself clearly does,” Abad said.

“But we need to balance the need for rapid aid with our longterm disaster management goals.

Of course, we welcome criticism by concerned groups, but that criticism should not mislead and neither should it be supported by erroneous data.”

Abad said that as of June 30, 2015, P88.96 billion had been released for relief and rehabilitation operations in the devastated areas.

He said the sources for these funds included the FY 2012 Calamity Fund, the FY 2013 Regular Budget of agencies, the FY 2013 Calamity Fund, and the FY 2013 Unprogrammed Funds.

He said the reconstruction activities were likewise being supported by the FY 2014 Supplemental Appropriations, the FY 2014 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, the FY 2014 Regular Budget of agencies, and the FY 2014 Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program.

Sandy Araneta

No FVR backing, Chiz says

Senate ladies. Senators Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe and Nancy Binay pose in their finery while attending the opening of the third regular session of the 16th Congress at the Senate in Pasay City. Ey AcASio

SENATOR Francis Escudero said Monday former President Fidel Ramos made no commitments to support him or Senator Grace Poe when they met him recently.

“What he repeatedly told us, what he has always been saying, is that he is for the younger generation,” Escudero said.

But he said Ramos promised them nothing.

Some analysts say the tandem of Poe and Escudero will be a force to reckon with in next year’s elections, but the two have yet to make a final decision to run.

Poe has said she has not yet decided if she will

run, but that President Benigno Aquino III appears to want her to be the running mate of Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II. The stalwarts of the Liberal Party expect Aquino to endorse Roxas as the party’s standard bearer after his State-of-the Nation Address.

“It’s pretty clear that Secretary Mar wants to run for the presidency, so the talks that we’ve had were perhaps for me to be part of the team once I decided to run. I’ll probably be his vice president,” Poe told a television interview.

“But there’s been no definite statement from the President to say that

I should be the vice president,” Poe said.

She believes whoever becomes the next President can get some guidance from Aquino.

“I believe that in the next six years, it is very important to continue economic growth, but there are still many things to do,” Poe said.

During their meeting Friday night in Makati City, Escudero said they discussed many things.

“We talked about many things like his experiences, plans, his dreams and vision not only for the country but for the whole world,” Escudero said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

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Elect ‘unity’ leader in ‘16, voters urged

By Maricel V. Cruz

AS President Benigno Aquino III delivered his last State-of-the-Nation Addres, opposition leader Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez urged Filipino voters to elect a “forgiving and unifying” president next year to heal divisions in the country.

Romualdez, leader of the Independent Bloc in the House of Representatives, made the remark as his cousing, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said that the Aquino administration has been consistent in going after its political opponents.

More than experience and competence, Romualdez said the country needs a leader who will not only push for genuine reforms but also put an end to division caused by too much politicking and mudslinging.

“It doesn’t augur well for any leader to maintain divisions after being elected nationally. The next leader should be a unifying President, one who will unify the country after elections because at the end of the day, we are all Filipinos,” Romualdez said.

“We are all supposed to work

hard here in Congress and in the government for the Filipinos as a whole. We should not be measured by political color or persuasion,” he added.

Marcos, for his part, said the Aquino administration has consistently pursued a policy of political retribution in its five years in office.

“That’s consistent,” said Marcos in an interview after the opening of the 3rd regular session of the 16th Congress.

“If you are political opposition, it’s difficult.”

In response to the query if Aquino has been sparing his allies, Marcos said if is not him to make judgement. He said those. are for the Ombudsman to make, and that is her (Ombudsman) opinion.

The senator’s mother, former First Lady and Ilocos Norte

Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, shared a similar view.

Mrs. Marcos who lamented that President Benigno Aquino III “has not been nice” to the Marcos clan in the last five years of the latter’s presidency.

“There’s an obvious lack of empathy on the part of the President not just to our family, but also to those who have divergent political views,” Mrs. Marcos lamented.

Marcos, the widow of former President Ferdinand Marcos, expressed confidence that Filipinos will be smarter in electing the country’s next chief executive after the term of President Aquino whom she described as antagonistic to her family.

“I am sure that after six years, people will be smarter in choosing a President who will do great things for them, so this country will be great again,” Mrs. Marcos said.

“All I can say is something personal, they have not been nice to the Marcoses,” the former First Lady said.

“When you talk about the nation, you talk about democracy, when you talk about democracy, you talk about justice for all, not for one,” she said.

Back to work. Senators Grace Poe and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. walk to their tables at the plenary hall of the Senate as the 16th Congress opened its third regular session on Thursday. EY ACASIO

Bishop criticizes Binay over term extension bid

By Sara D. Fabunan

Queueing for take-off. Passenger jets line up for departure at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Monday after heavy rain forced many canceled flights over the weekend. RUDY C. SANTOS

AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) slammed on Monday the proposal of Vice President Jejomar Binay for the lifting of term limits for public officials.

In an interview, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCP Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, said he is not in favor for the removal of term limits since it will be used to maintain a hold on to the post for a long time.

“It should not be. There must be a limit to terms. Otherwise, it will just be used by the one in power to stay on and hold onto the position,” Pabillo said.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the President shall not be eligible for any re-election while the Vice-President can serve for two

successive terms of six years.

On the other hand, the Local Government Code provides that the term of office of all local elective officials shall be for three years and they can serve for three consecutive terms in the same position.

Earlier this month, Binay, who is eyeing to run for president in next year’s elections, was quoted as saying he is in favor of lifting the term limits for public officials.

Binay’s camp, subsequently, clarified that he was only in favor of lifting term limits for local officials, while adopting a four-year term with re-election for president.

But according to Pabillo, even such a proposal is not amenable since it will only divide the attention of the Chief Executive.

Critical school girl seeks court help on character certificate

By Rey E. Requejo THE Catholic high school salutatorian who criticized her school in her graduation speech last March has asked the Court of Appeals to compel her school to release her certificate of good moral character.

In an extremely urgent petition, Krisel Mallari and her father Ernesto through the Public Attorney’s Office asked the appelate court to compel the Santo Niño Parochial School in Quezon City to release her certificate of good moral character.

Mallaru said she needs the certificate to be able to enroll at the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila, where she has qualified for admission in the accountancy program.

“Without a certificate of good moral character from my high school, I cannot enroll. Hence, private respondents’ continued unjustified refusal to issue the said certificate would result to the denial of my application for admission in UST and forfeiture of my reserved slot in its accountancy program. It will put my education to a halt and my future in jeopardy,” Mallari’s petition stated.

Named respondents in the petition are the QC RTC Branch 216 Judge Alfonso Ruiz, SNPS and school registrar Mrs. Yolanda Casero.

The 16-year-old graduate also asked the CA to reverse an earlier ruling of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 216 dismissing her complaint for injunction with damages against the high school. She also accused Judge Ruiz of grave abuse of discretion when he allegedly prejudged the case.

“Rather than being confined to the incident then pending before the court —whether or not the application for

issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction/temporary restraining order was mooted by the issuance of the DepEd Order dated 18 May 2015—the RTC practically disposed of the merits of the application for injunctive relief and worse, of the case,” petitioner asserted.

“It bears stressing that when the hearing on Krisel’s application was discontinued, presentation of her evidence was not yet concluded; and SNPS and Mrs. Casero have yet to present their evidence,” the petitioner said.

Petitioner also claimed that the

judge erred in ruling that the school was reasonable in withholding the required certificate since Mallari’s actuations during the commencement exercises “did not at all taint her good moral character.”

“Their actions are founded on facts and motivated by the desire to seek the truth, and not intended to malign the school as defendant SNPS suggests. This does not, in any way, ruin Krisel’s good moral character… Mallari remains to be of good moral character. SNPS and Mrs. Casero failed to prove otherwise,” the petitioner stressed.

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Sandigan may tap savings to create 2 divisions THE Supreme Court has given Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang the go-signal to to use the anti-graft court’s savings from the regular appropriation for the construction of its new court divisions.

In an en banc resolution, the SC approved Tang’s request for authority to use these savings .

The SC added that Sandigan aims at housing two new divisions of the antigraft court under Republic Act No. 10660.

President Aquino under RA No. 10660 allowed the creation of two more Sandiganbayan divisions to the present five, totalling seven divisions, to speed up the resolution of corruption cases, including the high-profile pork barrel scam complaints.

The “Sandiganbayan law” which was signed by President Aquino last April 16, also changed the number of justices needed to constitute a quorum to two from the previous three.

The Palace acknowledged that the new law would help decongest cases and facilitate efficient disposition of graft and corruption cases before the court.

In allowing Tang to use the Court’s savings, the SC said that one of its purposes is to renovate or reconfigure the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) at the Fifth Floor into two court rooms.

The resolution dated July 7, 2015 also said that the reconfiguration would include six offices of the Associate Justices and two Offices of the Division Clerks of Court as per Summary of Estimates amounting to P72 million. PNA

Sona sidelight. Congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (left) greets Vice President Jejomar Binay and former President Fidel V. Ramos upon their arrival at the session hall of the House of Representatives before President Aquino delivers his State of the Nation Address. DANNY PATA

Election body sets party-list scrutiny

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday vowed to keep any bogus party listers from taking part in the May 2016 polls despite the ‘more liberal’ guidelines imposed by the Supreme Court on these special interest groups.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said party-list groups will have to undergo scrutiny in order to uphold the integrity of the system.

Oongoing hearings being conducted by the two Comelec divisions show how rigorous the screening process is for these organizations’ members, officials, and

their articles of incorporation, Bautista said.

However, the poll chief admitted that the recent SC ruling on the Atong Paglaum party-list case has made the accreditation process easier to comply with.

Under the SC ruling, the partylists are not required to be margin-

alized and under-represented before they are allowed to join the elections and that even advocates of the marginalized and under-represented sectors could become nominees, and, therefore, earn a seat in Congress.

With the 2013 SC ruling, the Comelec said the applicants only need to meet the requirements set by Republic Act 7941 such as having a constitution and by-laws; platform or program of government while not advocating violence; not a foreign party; not a religious sect or denomination.

Last May 8, a total of 243 party-list groups filed their respective Manifestations of Intent to Participate in the 2016 elections.

That number is higher than the

183 party-list groups that filed Manifestations of Intent to Participate in the 2013 midterm elections.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Lim said the poll body is hopeful that the voters would also take it upon themselves to screen the would-be party-list candidates.

Lim said that even though the Comelec accredits a party-list group for meeting the guidelines, the public can still prevent them from getting a seat in Congress if they feel that the organization is bogus.

“At the end of the day, it is still the voters who get to choose who they really want to represent them in the party-list system. I think, that is the best safeguard,” Lim said.

Israel beckons to health workers

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Foreign Affairs says Israel may start hiring Filipino caregivers and health workers with the early approval of a bilateral labor agreement between the Philippines and Israel.

Philippine Ambassador Nathaniel G. Imperial met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Silvan Shalom recently and discussed the agreement.

“Israel is host to about 20,000 Filipino caregivers who enjoy excellent labor conditions - perhaps the best labor conditions for OFWs in the Middle East

region, Imperial said.

Imperial and Shalom discussed the reduction of “mediation fees” that resulted in the decline in the number of Filipino workers in Israel.

The exorbitant “mediation fees” being charged by private recruitment agencies for Filipino caregivers in Israel compelled many OFWs to shy away from working in Israel.

The Israeli Deputy Prime Minister said that the practice is unfair for the workers.

The two officials agreed that this issue could be addressed through a Bilateral Labor Agreement (BLA), “which both the Philippine and Israeli sides are keen to sign at the earliest pos-

sible time.”

“Implementation of Israel’s BLAs with other countries has led to a significant reduction in the recruitment fees being charged to foreign workers in Israel,” the embassy said.

It added that Shalom and Imperial expressed support for the early resumption of negotiations on a BLA between the Philippines and Israel to boost the competitiveness of Filipino caregivers in Israel.

There are 100,000 Filipinos in Israel of which 40,000 to 50,000 have legal documents and 30,000 are workers whose permits have expired and stayed on illegally.

MOA Shake. The SM Mall of Asia Complex will stage a Shake Drill activity on July 30,

2015, at 10:30 a.m., in line with the ongoing earthquake drills being spearheaded by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. The drill will be participated in by properties within the MOA Complex, namely SM Mall of Asia, SM E-Com Centers (One e-Com Center, Two e-Com Center, and Five e-Com Center), SMX, SM Arena Annex, SMDC Residences, SM Corporate Offices, SM By the Bay, One Esplanade, Microtel and Archdiocesan Shrine of Jesus, according to an MOA statement.

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Loan relief eyed for SSS members

By Maricel V. Cruz

A lAwmAker has filed a measure condoning the penalties on delinquent contributions and loans of Social Security System (SSS) members.

In house bill 5807, Rep. Rene Relampagos of Bohol proposed to determine the monthly salary credits, schedule and rate of contributions, benefit increases and rate of penalty on delinquent contributions and unpaid loan amortizations of SSS members.

Relampagos said the bill authorizes the Social Security Commission to compromise or release, in whole or in part, any interest, penalty or any civil liability to SSS accruing from unpaid member loans subject to

the approval by the President.

The bill seeks to amend Republic Act 1161, otherwise known as the Social Security Law. “Under the present provisions of the Social Security Law, the Commission cannot increase the minimum and maximum monthly salary credits, the schedule and the rate of contributions as well as the rate of benefits without securing the approval of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

This process is usually tedious and takes a determinable time,” Relampagos, chair of the house committee on tourism, said.

Relampagos said the proposed amendment is similar to the powers given to the governing boards of Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the home Development Mutual Fund, Philhealth and the National Internal Revenue Code.

Relampagos said the governing boards of GSIS, Philhealth and hDMF can exercise these powers without the approval of the President.

“This proposal is based on the theory that operational details and accounts management are the province of the Commission and the SSS, the ones entrusted with the mandate of running the

affairs of the country’s social security system including the exercise of discretion and flexibility in managing its own affairs,” Relampagos said.

Relampagos said there is a big number of billing or demand letters issued against employersmembers of the SSS. he said the amount of contribution-delinquency is computed based on presumptive delinquency under SSS Law but subject to reconciliation records.

Relampagos said the Large Account Division of SSS has a collectible of P1.033 billion as of May 26, 2014 from delinquent employers. At least P408 million is accounted for by penalties and P625-9 million is for contributions that are due.

“By providing a breathing

space, we are actually helping SSS to immediately collect about P625.9 million overdue SS contributions which would otherwise be difficult to collect.

It is not a secret that companies choose not to pay what SSS demands of them because of penalties slapped upon them that have accumulated through the years which, at times, are actually bigger than the principal that should have been paid,” Relampagos said.

If passed into law, Relampagos said the bill shall provide for a strong incentive for those that have been in arrears in the payment of their employees’ contributions to immediately settle what is due and overdue, minus the high burden of dealing with the delinquency penalties.

Pump prices down for 6th straight week The country’s oil players cut pump prices for the sixth consecutive week, this time by P0.65 per liter of gasoline, P0.60 per liter of diesel and P0.45 per liter of kerosene.

Some oil players including eastern Petroleum Corp. lowered prices starting 6pm Monday but others were to follow suit at 12:01 am Tuesday.

Other oil firms that announced the price cut included Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines and PTT Philippines. eastern Petroleum on reduced gasoline and diesel prices by P0.65 and P0.55, respectively, effective at 6PM, July 27.

Fernando Martinez, eastern Petroleum chairman and chief executive, said the oversupply of petroleum products in the world market continues to soften world oil prices.

“Analysts have indicated that prices may continue to remain stable at its current low levels up to August, 2015. Thus, motorists can rest assured that local pump prices will be reflective of the price trend in the world oil market. however, prices for September appears to be on the upswing,” Martinez said.

Crude prices have been on downward decline following the announcement that Iran and major world powers reached a deal to monitor Tehran’s nuclear programme.

The energy Department’s monitoring said the West says the deal will curb Iran’s efforts to build a nuclear bomb.

It said compliance of Iran with the terms of the agreement will eventually pave the way for the removal of Western sanctions and the gradual return of Iranian oil to the global market next year. Alena Mae S. Flores

Shabu shipped in via parcel seized

By Vito Barcelo The Bureau of Customs seized 16 grams of methamphethamine hydrochloride or shabu worth more than P160,000 which was hidden inside a pair of ladies sandals in a parcel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Customs Deputy Commissioner for enforcement Ariel Nepomuceno said the illegal substance was found in several heat sealed transparent plastic sachets and wrapped in carbon paper concealed in the heels of the sandals.

The parcel, which also contained several shirts, underwear and another pair of sandals, was sent by a certain Adela Salmero to a Jennylen S. Simbrano c/o Jesse Youssef, with address at Khamis General hospital, Military City Road, Khamis Mushayat, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via an

international logistics company.

The BOC received a tip that a package containing illegal drugs will be sent via a parcel at the NAIA, prompting the eG’s Customs Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force , Customs police to examine the package.

“An X-ray examination showed several round shapes inside the heel of the shoes. A physical examination on the package revealed that three sachets of shabu were hidden in the right shoe while four sachets were hidden in the left shoe,” Nepomuceno said.

The drugs were turned-over to the Philippine Drug enforcement Agency.

“Drug smugglers are always experimenting on new ways to transport drugs and elude law enforcers. On our part we are exerting all efforts to curb the rampant smuggling of illegal drugs in the country.

Suzuki expands. The only integrated motorcycle and automobile company in the country, Suzuki

Philippines on Monday breaks ground for its latest car dealership Suzuki Auto Sta.Rosa. Soon to rise along Tagaytay-Balibago Road, it is the newest addition to the current roster of 32 Suzuki dealers nationwide, making the brand more accessible to motorists in the Southern Tagalog region. From left: Hiroshi Suzuki, Suzuki Philippines president; Shuzo Hoshikura, SPH general manager; Mayor Arlene Arcillas of Rosa City; and Felix Limcaoco III, president of Shaw Motor Plaza Corporation. TEDDY PELAEZ Sta.

20 Pinoys stranded in Greece repatriated AT least 20 Filipino crew members of the MV Golden Arrow III, a Panamanian flagged-bulk carrier, will be repatriated to the Philippines after being stranded for almost four months in Aleveri Port in Greece, the Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said .

The 20 were among 24 seamen on board the ship which was previously detained by egyptian authorities at the Port of Damietta in egypt in 2012 for not paying

the salaries of the 43 crew members, including the 24 Filipinos.

The DFA said the four Filipinos will continue to serve at the same vessel.

The 20 Filipino seamen will be sent to Aliaga Port in Turkey, after the ship management paid them their salaries and benefits with the help of a lawyer.

In a statement, the DFA said that the cement carrier sea vessel was not allowed to sail out of

Greece due to unpaid wages and other financial obligations to its crew members and creditors.

Prior to their arrival in Aleveri Port in Greece last April 5, the vessel was also stranded in Benghazi, Libya for three months.

The crew members expressed their gratitude to the Philippine Government for the invaluable assistance it has expected to them during this stay in Libya and in Greece. Vito Barcelo

T U E S D AY, J U lY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

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Two killed, 5 wounded in Pagadian encounter

By Florante S. Solmerin Two were killed and five were wounded including a cop and another suspect arrested after a firefight between policemen and a group of at least 17 armed men last Friday in Baragay Tulawas, Pagadian City, according to Pagadian City Police.

Padagian chief of police Superintendent Glenn Dulawan said the encounter was the result of continuous monitoring of reported armed men from the nearby town of Labangan out to avenge the death of a kin.

“The incident was rooted in the retaliation of the Talumpa family to the family of Ambona residing in Barangay Tulawas to avenge the death of their family member, Lible Talumpa Jr. alias Jumpio, who was killed by Mr. Roberto Ambona,” Dulawan said.

The two fatalities were Samrani Talumpa alias Badi, 24, and Kusi Ampatu, 54, both residents of Purok Greenfield, Barangay Dalapang, Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur. During the firefight Police officer 2 Hazel Manuel was wounded and was rushed to Zamboanga Del Sur Medical Center in Pagadian City for medical treatment. The three wounded armed men identified as Arham Salindat, 24, Amerudin Talumpa, 18, and Nhoc Navales Talumpa, 20, all of Labangan, were also rushed to the Mendero Hospital for medical treatment.

Cornered during the firefight and surrendered was Mohammad Guilly, 27.

Dulawan said the firefight started at round 5:20 p.m. and ended at around 7 p.m.

On both shoulders. A worker uses a pole to carry two baskets of salt from a field in Cavite City. DANNY PATA

Alaminos City to draw up coastal management plan ALAMINOS CITY—The city best-known for its Hundred Islands is looking at crafting an integrated coastal management plan to help in the protection and conservation of the its biodiversity.

This was disclosed by officer-in-charge city environment and natural resources officer, Narciso Aragon, after the conduct of the workshop on Integrated Coastal

Management on July 22-23 at the Alaminos City Conference Hall.

Aragon encouraged all concerned agencies and individuals to take part in the crafting of a skeletal integrated coastal resource management plan for the whole city.

As the two-day workshop emphasized that active community involvement is important in the ICM to resolve all related issues on coastal richness.

The workshop was conducted by the Department of Environment And Natural Resources (DENR) Region 1 to provide

technical assistance to all the concerned agencies and stakeholders in the locality.

The activity was anchored on Executive order No. 533 passed in 2006, which identified ICM as a national strategy to ensure sustainable development of the coastal and marine environment and resources.

Facilitators during the workshop Analyn Viray, Erika Gandeza, and Jesley Angelo Mariñas of DENR Regional office; and Eugenio Santos Jr., of the City Environment and Natural Resources office. Johanne Margarette R. Macob

Man stabbed near Manaoag minor basilica in Pangasinan

By Johanne Margarette R. Macob

Exhibit. Ifugao Rep.Teddy Baguilat and International Rice Research Institute Director General Robert Zeigler pose with The Standard photographer Dave Leprozo during an exhibit about rice culture in the Cordilleras.

MANAoAG, Pangasinan -- A man was stabbed on July 26, beside the Minor Basilica of our Lady of Manaoag, likely a result of a personal grudge, the police here said.

According to a report, authorities of Manaoag Police Station (MPS) responded at around 4:15 in the afternoon to an incident where a certain Ronaldo Castro was stabbed by a certain Raymond Abalos.

Castro, 28 years old, single, and a resident of Bugallon, Pangasinan sustained wounds on different parts of his body after Abalos, a resident of Manaoag, stabbed him with a knife.

Police also disclosed that while the

victim was seated at the said place with a certain Liezel Sembrana, the suspect suddenly appeared and stabbed the victim several times.

MPS chief of police, Superintendent Edison Revita, said motive was personal.

He remarked that the suspect had a live in partner with whom he had a child, and the victim tried to get close to the suspect’s partner. They chanced upon each other near the church.

The victim was then rushed to Manaoag Community hospital for medical treatment while the suspect voluntarily surrendered to the police.

A case for frustrated murder is now being prepared against the suspect.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T U E S D AY J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

AIN’T SEEN NOTHING PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III, who delivered his sixth – and thankfully his last – Stateof-the-Nation Address on Monday spoke for two full hours without telling the people anything new.

Those who expected him to communicate better, and more honestly, at the start of his final year in office were disappointed. Of course, they could also be faulted for entertaining unreasonable expectations. Why expect so much from someone who utters the words “move on”, “naman!” and “thank you, bow” in a crude effort to speak the language of the common man?

Despite coughing-induced interruptions, the President tried to show he was on top of his game, defending much-criticized programs such as the Conditional Cash Transfer program.

What transpired at the Batasan was textbook Aquino: spending precious minutes blaming his predecessor, invoking the dark days before he became leader of the land, making excuses for the government’s weaknesses and extolling his friends, allies and even hired help — even getting unduly sentimental as he addressed the select 86, one by one, in his speech.

Mr. Aquino rattled off figures that support his claim that things are better now than they have ever been. There are more investments, more infrastructure, more jobs, more dividends from government-owned and -controlled corporations, and more taxes collected. More Filipinos are optimistic about fa good future, he said.

He used the word “clear” several times, referring to the change he implies anybody would be stupid not to notice.

Despite the two-hour speech, however, Mr. Aquino refused to acknowledge the things we want to hear: What will be done about Mamasapano? Will Alan Purisima be made accountable? When will the Freedom of Information bill be made a priority?

He pilloried his immediate predecessor anew and recalled the scandals that rocked the previous administration without mentioning the ones that continue to hound his own – the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

This is just the beginning, the President said. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” How odd to hear this from somebody who is supposed to be winding down his term and from whom we should have seen a lot of things already.

But at least this much is true. Five years since Mr. Aquino became our president, we have not seen anything – and it’s not because we’re wearing blinders.

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NOYNOY’S MOMENT the decisions, actions and even the state of health (physical or menLOWDOWN tal) of anyone who occupies Malacanang.

JOJO A. But, of course, it is unreal to exROBLES pect Aquino to present both sides of the story of his administration.

THERE was no SAF 44 and no DAP Governments are not in the busiin yesterday’s speech, not even a ness of telling the whole truth – trace of an FOI. Actually, there was and what “truths” they do reveal very little truth in it, overall.

If the valedictory State of the Nation Address of President Noynoy Aquino proves anything, it’s that being in Malacanang PalThe only thing that ace allows you to paint all the rosy pictures you want and to not men- rang unquestionably tion anything that conflicts with your one-sided world view. And true in that overlong you can get about 300 congressspeech was the men seeking funds and projects the year before an election to apcoughing. plaud anything that comes from your mouth – even your phlegminduced coughing.

Aquino blabbered on for more than two hours at the reopening of Congress, saying nothing new or should, by definition, be self-servunexpected. But that is his annual ing, whether they simply seek to privilege; after all, if I may borrow be remembered fondly or if their a line from his defenders, the only principals are laying the groundtime you’d have the right to second- work for their legal defenses in the guess whatever Aquino does is if lawsuits that are sure to come when they step down. you become President first.

As for the omissions, well, these That, of course, is simply not true. Unless we’ve already been are easily explained. Because of the taken over by the People’s Repub- fungible nature of truth in speeches lic of China, I will insist that each like the one Aquino gave yesterday, of us still has the right to question all facts that cannot be pressed into MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Arnold C. Liong Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Jocelyn F. Domingo Ron Ryan S. Buguis

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer

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the service of a public relations “message” or that even highlight grave error or misjudgment must be excised as unnecessary and inconvenient.

(The Aiza Seguerra reference, in this light, is absolutely necessary.

It’s presidential “pabebe,” as they say, and serves the purpose of making President sound cute – or so he thought.)

So it’s pointless to argue about the truth of Aquino’s many assertions in more than two-anda-quarter hours of talking, interrupted only by the craven applause of fund-seeking legislators and nicotine-caused expectoration.

Truth is always the first casualty of any Sona.

And this President, in particular, has never been interested in the truth. If he was, he’d ask why his just-implemented K-12 program already has a “graduate” or why he can’t seem to purchase even one MRT coach. *** Why, after all, can’t Aquino seem to “move on” (to use another pabebe phrase in his speech) from blaming his predecessor? The blaming of Gloria Arroyo took up the better part of half an hour of Aquino’s long-winded speech – time he could have spent detailing more of his accomplishments, assuming he could point to any.

Continued on A11

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T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

FAILURE AS A LEGACY TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

EVERY President on his last year in office must have already built, over the past five years, his legacy.

In the case of President Aquino, I cannot think of anything positive he can leave us when he steps down from office on June 30, 2016.

He speaks of good governance along his “Daan Matuwid” and his “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap” policies. In other words, he wants us to believe that he has succeeded in his anti-corruption campaign. He loves to blame the past administration for many of the problems he is facing.

But we know that while the President speaks of good governance, he lies through his teeth.

Graft and corruption have been institutionalized by people around him, his friends and supporters. To make matters worse, Mr. Aquino’s straight-path policy applies only to his critics and political enemies.

What a lot of bull.

If the President thinks that having his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, detained despite her debilitating bone ailment is treading the daang matuwid, he insults our intelligence.

And if President Aquino thinks that impeaching, convicting and ousting Chief Justice Renato Corona is an achievement, then he is wrong.

People know that he used public funds through the Priority Develop-

ment Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program to bribe some lawmakers to achieve his vindictive aim.

The slaughter of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao by a combined force of Moro rebels belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters was BS Aquino’s biggest mistake.

We will remember him well for this.

Imagine, he made his BFF Alan Purisima take charge of the sensitive operations despite the fact that the latter was suspended at that time.

Talk about selective justice!

What will we remember President Aquino by?

Is President Aquino an honest President? He may not have been accused of stealing, but honesty entails so much more. Honesty includes fidelity to the truth, integrity, trustworthiness.

We can all remember Mr. Aquino for being vindictive, that is, against his critics and political enemies. At the same time, he protects his friends.

Look at those accused of benefitting from the pork barrel scam allegedly engineered by Janet Lim Napoles. Some of his allies are mentioned, too, but

#FAILOCRACY

MORE OF THE SAME PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III’s last State of the Nation Address yesterday featured more of the same griping and blaming that have characterized previous speeches. He started his speech by once again crucifying his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in the bar of public opinion, blaming her squarely for the problems of the country despite the fact that he had been in power for five years already and that most of the economic gains that the country is experiencing is widely credited to the infrastructures and programs put in place before he rose to power.

He would continue to take potshots and sarcastic asides all throughout his speech, but quite tellingly, spared his friends from his diatribe.

As such, what could have been a high point in his presidency – his valedictory address – was immediately dampened by negativity. The general sense of anticipation that hovered in the air as evidenced by the fact that he was given sustained and enthusiastic applause by the assembly prior to his speech was shattered; it would take a cameo appearance of author and inspirational speaker Alex Lacson to get people to start clapping their hands again.

As expected, the speech was long on statistics but painfully short on anecdotal evidence, validating the inability of government to pursue economic growth that is truly inclusive. However, what was clearly noteworthy in this year’s SONA was the President’s efforts to highlight the contributions of his cabinet members; unlike in the past when he tended to take sole credit for accomplishments, Aquino allowed some of his cabinet members such as Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and they have not been indicted at all. *** What’s happening to the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda can be classified as a “double tragedy.”

Yolanda claimed about 8,000 lives. And now, the rehabilitation of the government’s rehabilitation program has been much delayed.

Deputy presidential

ARE WE THERE YET? BONG C. AUSTERO Brother Armin Luistro to bask in the limelight.

What was also painfully clear yesterday was that Aquino’s smoking is taking a toll on his health. The Sona was interrupted many times by his coughing and his voice was strained halfway through the speech. *** The controversies that rock the Iglesia Ni Cristo are riveting. Most everyone has been trying to give the religious sect some kind of deferential treatment – there has been marked reduction in the hyperventilation and the sensationalist slant in most of the reportage – but there is no doubt that everyone is keeping a keen eye on whether the INC will be able to contain the scandals and repair the divisions within its ranks or if there will be more dissension, expulsions, and revelations of dirty secrets forthcoming.

The public attention is not actually surprising. Although the INC membership comprise a small percentage of the Philippine population, no other religious sect in the country has been able to wield as much political power. This is largely attributed to the fact that the INC can influence the results of elections because of its deeply entrenched bloc voting system. Many politicians owe their seats to the INC– from the barangay, municipal, city, provincial, regional, all the way to the national levels.

The INC’s influence also extends to the appointment of government of-

spokesperson Abigail Valte admitted that only P47 billion out of the P167.9 billion has been released to help the victims.

From the start, I have been urging the administration to make an accounting of all the donations poured into the devastated areas. *** The reported internal problems of the politicallyinfluential Iglesia ni Kristo

ficials – in fact, Bureau of Customs commissioner John Sevilla was supposed to have resigned from his post recently as a consequence of INC efforts to intervene in the appointment of senior officers in the bureau.

There have also been rumors of the involvement of certain government officials, particularly police officers, in the alleged disappearance of INC ministers and officials accused of instigating the exposes and revelations that eventually blew up as scandals. People are understandably concerned about the extent to which government officials are prepared to break laws or look the other way to accommodate the INC. But there are other reasons why the INC scandals are riveting to many. First, the scandals have the ingredients that comprise the successful telenovelas – a family feud involving a matriarch and some siblings allied against a powerful family member, allegations of abduction and hostage-taking, and accusations of corruption and high level conspiracy. Second, regardless of one’s religious persuasions, it cannot be denied that the INC is one of the most cohesive religious organizations in the country, renowned for strict adherence and obedience to its sacred doctrines.

We expect our religious leaders to practice what they preach. We expect religious organizations to showcase the highest standards of ethics, good governance, and integrity. While we it is difficult to make sweeping generalizations on the bases of accusations, there is reason to feel a general sense of disappointment and sadness that even organizations such as the INC are embroiled in practices that hint of entrenched corruption.

were bound to happen sooner or later.

I have heard about some of these anomalies before.

For example, I have heard that some of the deacons and ministers ask to be paid in exchange for INC support during elections.

I also heard that Eduardo Manalo, son of the late Erano Manalo, bought a mansion at Forbes Park worth P1 billion, and that he and the so-called “Sang-

gunian” of Council also bought in airbus plane and often traveled with Eduardo to other cities supposedly to followup their members and visit their hundreds of acres of land in the US Midwest.

I cannot predict how long this affliction would continue within the Iglesia and how it will affect its membership here and abroad. It’s something only the family can resolve.

CHONG ARDIVILLA

T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA EVERY time we assess the state of the nation, and yesterday was obviously a good day for that with President Aquino delivering his final State of the Nation Address, we should ask two questions: (1) Is the Philippines better off today from that day when he/she took over from the previous president? (2) Could we have done better today if only mistakes were not made and the right priorities were followed?

Answering my questions: Yes, we are better today without qualification, compared to when Aquino took over from Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (although I would not have spent precious Sona minutes enumerating the bad things the previous president did, all of which we are familiar with); And yes, things could have been much better in many areas if only the principles of good governance were consistently followed (and for these the Arroyo administration should not be blamed?)

In my view, an unbiased observer would recognize that the Aquino government has done right in several important areas while also failing us in some critical sectors. The same is true for the appointments made by the President: many have been excellent – like appointments in the Supreme Court, the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit, and the Comelec - while others have been mediocre, and in some cases – the choice of Alan Purisima for example as Philippine National Police chief the President committed a major disservice to the nation.

A BETTER STATE OF THE NATION The number one area of success is the economy – viewed in macro economic terms. The litany is well known, as Aquino recited yesterday: we are now the regional leader in economic growth, our credit ratings have been constantly upgraded, the fiscal situation is very good with revenue at record levels, and as Aquino pointed out yesterday, after a slow start, public-private partnerships on infrastructure are on the rise, etc. These economic achievements did not happen automatically but is a result of coordinated action by our economic managers led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco, Budget Secretary Butch Abad, NEDA Director-General Arsenio Balisacan, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, and BIR Commissioner Kim Henares. Critical also for the macro economic performance of the administration has been the reforms implemented by the National Competitiveness Council chaired by Sec. Domingo and co-chaired by Bill Luz and the Securities and Exchange Commission headed by Chair Tess Herbosa, all directed at making the country more competitive.

In education, we are moving in the right direction with the implementation of the K-12 program. There here are kinks, even major gaps, but the response is not to reverse a necessary reform but to solve those problems. I am confident that Secretary Armin Luistro’s excellent team in the Department of Education will implement the right solutions.

The Commission on Higher Education led by its Chair Patricia Licuanan also pitched in and supplemented the reforms in basic education.

The peace process in Mindanao is a success and I thank Secretary Teresita Deles, Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and their colleagues for that. The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is a singular achievement and the Aquino government can exit honorably on this issue even if it stops there.

In my view, if a good Bangsamoro Basic Law is elusive in the remaining months of Aquino’s term, so be it. Let the next administration own the peace process. That might actually be a good thing, better than a bad BBL. Finally, I believe the outcome of the conditional cash transfer program is also positive. The evidence is there to support that it has really made a difference for the poorest of the poor both economically and in making sure that the children of the poorest families are healthier and go to school. However, it should be clear to us that CCT is not a permanent solution to poverty and that by itself it will not lead to inclusive development.

This is the biggest failure of the Aquino government – yes, we have grown, but the fruits of development have not been equitably shared. We have failed miserably in inclusive development. Claims to the contrary just do not pass what I call the laugh test. Indeed, the scandal of our poverty is the inequity and injus-

tice that accompanies it. The lack of a a strong and coherent social reform agenda explains this failure; it has just not been a priority of this government to implement programs that benefit the basic sectors – workers, farmer, indigenous peoples, etc. The next president should adopt a rightsbased approach to development as that is the surest path to inclusive development.

Geographically, the saddest outcome of the Aquino government is its failure to reconstruct the Yolanda affected areas. While we are now better prepared for natural disasters with Undersecretary Alex Pama, a practical visionary, at the helm of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management secretariat, the same cannot be said for postdisaster programs. While Secretary Panfilo Lacson and his team did a good job in supervising the preparation of and consolidation of rehabilitation plans, little has been done to implement these.

In November this year, when we mark the second anniversary of that massive disaster, it will become obvious how badly we have done. Shame really on the government and us – not because we did not rebuild better, but because we rebuilt very little. This too is a failure of social justice.

The Aquino administration has also been remiss in investing properly in the public transportation, communications and energy infrastructure of our country. In years to come, there will be serious consequences to our country with the government’s inability to do something as ba-

sic as fixing the MRT/LRT problems, our slow internet, and an energy mix that is moving surely and disastrously to a state where majority of our electricity will come from coal power plants.

More than anything for me, these problems could have been addressed with good regulation and therefore with the right appointments in such agencies as DOTC, DOE, and ERC. I am not ready to make conclusions about climate change (I will await our commitments for the Paris climate negotiations, to conclude on how serious we are about mitigating and adapting to climate change), China (What will we do, win or lose, after the arbitration case is decided?) and corruption (Will Secretary Joel Villanueva and others close to the president be charged or will the accusation of selective justice stick? Will Aquino allow the FOI Act to pass?). But for the last, this I can say: I am happy that we have a President who is no corrupt, who personally and whose family has not benefited materially from his position. That too me is a blessing and especially because it will now be the standard for future presidents.

Is the nation in a better state?

Yes, in comparison to 2010. But it could have been better.

Thankfully, we can make it so under a new leader a year from now. Its time to move on and hear a Sona about the future and not the past.

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STATEMENTS IN OFFICIAL SENATE PROCEEDINGS ARE NOT ACTIONABLE HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA LAST week, the news media reported that Vice President Jejomar Binay lodged a civil suit for damages against his detractors led by Senators Antonio Trillanes and Alan Peter Cayetano, and former Makati City Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado.

The rest of the defendants include Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Caloocan City Representative Edgar Erice, defeated Makati City mayoral candidate Renato Bondal, and officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Binay accused them of maligning his character in an attempt to destroy his presidential bid in 2016.

A total of P200 million is sought as damages.

Binay said this sum is identical to the 200 million pesos in public funds his detractors say he embezzled. Binay’s lawyers also revealed that they are considering filing a libel suit against the critics of the vice president.

The merits of the case aside, the civil suit for damages and the contemplated libel suit will not prosper against any defendant for statements made in official proceedings of either the Senate or the House of Repre-

sentatives, including hearings conducted by either chamber purportedly in aid of legislation. Under the Revised Penal Code, such statements are in the nature of privileged communication, which means that the individual who made them may not be charged in court either for damages or for libel.

If it is established that the complaint against Senators Trillanes and Cayetano concerns utterances made by them in the course of official proceedings in the Senate, the two senators may not be held liable for those utterances pursuant to the doctrine of privileged communication, no matter how derogatory the utterances may be.

The same defense will be available to Mercado, if the complaint against him relates to his statements before the investigating panel of the Senate because the doctrine extends to anybody who testifies before a legislative assembly. If it turns out, however, that his statement is false, Mercado may still be charged with perjury likewise under the Revised Penal Code. He may also be charged with plunder or graft if his statements amount to admissions of such crimes.

-----------------------The State of the Nation Address delivered by President Benigno Aquino III before both

houses of Congress was his last.

Despite his attempt to sum up the accomplishments of his administration, his speech was nothing more than a series of motherhood statements which largely ignored the extent of the anomalies under his outgoing watch, and which was received warmly only by his allies in the Liberal Party who dominated the galleries. The regimented applause seemed so predictable and expected that it was almost as if everything was carefully rehearsed by his followers. Indeed, the President’s speech was pure political propaganda, and Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., who were seated behind the president, endorsed every bit of it as seen in their regular nods, smiles, and applause. What an opera!

It seems that the Sona has also become an unofficial competition as to who among the legislators will be in the best attire and, by way of opposite, in the worst outfit. Millions of pesos are spent on expensive gowns and similar attire for this one-afternoon affair. Entire wardrobes have to be new, including footwear and jewelry.

Society page reporters covering the SONA have a heyday in identifying who was the best dressed, and who wasn’t.

Since the Philippines is a poor nation, then the welldressed power players present

at the Sona are apparently unaware of it, or they just don’t care about poverty in this country.

-----------------------The 1920s-themed costume party recently held by officials and personnel of the Light Rail Transit Authority is certainly a case of needless expenditure of public funds, as well as a public demonstration of apathy on the part of public officials.

LRTA-operated trains have deteriorated badly through the months, and LRTA officials have not done anything about the problem. The trains and the tracks remain unmaintained, and accidents are now commonplace.

Corruption obviously made the trains the rolling coffins that they are – all waiting to get buried along with their unsuspecting passengers.

Instead of working on the problem, the LRTA decided to throw a lavish costume party.

The news media confirmed that LRTA officials and employees had to dress up in 1920s attire, and those who did not do so were not allowed to enter the grand affair. Fashion in the 1920s was virtually regal, with no room for innovations or substitutes. Filipinos of that era copied the way Americans dressed, and that meant fine haberdashery.

Since clothes which highlight this yesteryear era are

not readily available from the shelves of department stores, they have to be tailor-made just for the one-evening occasion.

This means that these clothes are very expensive. The shoes are very costly. Even one’s hair has to be dressed.

The expenses do not end there. Since the LRTA sponsored the costume party, it was held at the expense of the taxpayers.

A costume party held at government expense during these times of economic anxiety and extensive poverty by a government agency that has unashamedly neglected its responsibilities to the commuting public is absolutely uncalled for. Public interest advocates should take a look at this matter and sue the LRTA officials for graft.

Once these grafters are imprisoned, they will have to exchange their get up from the 1920s for orange prison uniforms.

-----------------------The National Food Authority imported so much rice last year that there is supposed to be a surplus of rice in the country today. Under the law of supply and demand, a surplus means the price of the commodity should go down. In the Philippines, however, a rice surplus only means valuable rice is rotting in NFA warehouses nationwide, while the price of remains prohibitive.

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Noynoy’s..

From A8 Why did Aquino once again cherrypick the increase in GDP growth, comparing his relatively quiet five years in office with the past 40, which were wracked with several recurring international monetary and financial crises and other economic upheavals that were not the fault of any of his predecessors? Why did he up the ante by saying that, if GDP growth hits a certain level for this year, his term will have supervised better growth compared to the last 60 years – again without taking into consideration all the other things that affect economic improvement?

Who cares about such things? The congressmen certainly didn’t; they were more interested in reading the political tea leaves, like the pointed omission of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the giant boost he gave to his BFFs Jojo Ochoa and Mar Roxas in the thanksgiving litany he gave, or his mention of both his yaya and the lawyer who serves as his manservant, the guy who carries a backpack containing his Coke, cigarettes and chicharon.

It was Aquino’s moment, after all, the final speech he would give to Congress before the country is finally rid of him and his Marlboro-smelling breath.

Aquino, more than anyone else in the Batasan session hall, understood that he could make any outlandish statement he wanted without fear of contradiction one last time, before he returns to his old life of slacking and living off his parents’ names.

And all the time he spent doing nothing in Malacanang will soon be forgotten, chalked off as just another period when this country could have really taken off and its government could have uplifted the poor, but didn’t.

The only consolation that anyone who no longer takes Aquino’s word as gospel can derive from yesterday’s Sona is that it will be his last.

Just don’t say that Aquino told the truth. The only thing that rang unquestionably true in that overlong speech was the coughing.

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Day wins Canadian Open via shootout TORONTO—Jason Day birdied the final three holes en route to a four-under 68 to capture the Canadian Open, holding off David Hearn and Bubba Watson in a final-round shoot-out on Sunday.

Jason Day of Australia celebrates after putting for birdie on the 18th green to win during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Canada. AFP

Vettel rules Hungarian GP for Bianchi BUDAPEST—German driver Sebastian Vettel delivered an emotional high-speed tribute to his late colleague Jules Bianchi on Sunday when he stormed to victory for Ferrari in a dramatic and incidentfilled Hungarian Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion claimed his second victory of the season and 41st of his career—drawing him level with the late Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna in equal third on the alltime list—after leading from the start to dominate a thrilling and unpredictable contest.

The Red Bull pair of Russian Daniil Kvyat and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished in

second and third respectively.

The ferocity of the contest, lit up by Vettel’s blazing speed and tenacity, served as an appropriate tribute to Frenchman Bianchi, who died on July 17 from injuries sustained when he collided with a recovery vehicle in torrential rain at last October’s Japanese Grand Prix.

A minute’s silence for Bianchi, a Ferrari academy protégé, before the race created an emotional atmosphere that was reflected in the action and in Vettel’s speech to the Ferrari team on his triumphant slow-down lap.

“Merci Jules, c’est a toi,” said the winner. “Thank you Jules,

You will always be in our hearts This win is for you.”

It was Vettel’s first victory in Hungary, and 21-year-old Kvyat’s first career podium —the best ever by a Russian driver—as Red Bull produced a reminder of their pedigree. It was the first podium this year without a Mercedes driver.

“Yes, an incredible day, but this victory is for Jules,” said Vettel, mindful the Frenchman’s family were in attendance.

“It has been an incredibly tough week for all of us and, for all the people at Ferrari, who know that, sooner or later, he would have been part of our team.”

Kvyat said he owed his podium to his own determination.

“After Turn One, I thought my race might be over because I had a massive flatspot, but my team told me to keep pushing and today I learned what it means to never give up,” said Kvyat.

Ricciardo said: “It was a crazy race. I had a contact at the restart with Lewis and thought my race might be over. I had contact with Nico and thought my race was over “I left it all on the track today. I gave it everything and I owe my race to Jules. I gained extra strength today and I owe that to him.” AFP

Thompson rallies to take Meijer title GRAND RAPIDS—American Lexi Thompson came from behind to earn her fifth career USLPGA Tour win Sunday, firing a six-under 65 for a oneshot victory in the Meijer Classic.

Thompson, who placed third at the Women’s PGA Championship earlier this year, finished the week at the Blythefield Country Club at 18-under-par 266.

Her score was four shots better than the previous tournament record of 270 set at the inaugural event

by South Korean’s Lee Mi-Rim and Park In-Bee in 2014 —when Lee beat Park in a playoff for the title.

American Lizette Salas began the day with a fourshot lead and closed with a one-under 70. She finished tied for second at 17-under 267 with Gerina Piller, who shot a seven-under 64.

“Really, the whole day I was just trying to play my own game,” said Thompson, who had eight birdies and two bogeys in a round capped by a two-foot putt for par at the final hole.

“I was just trying to focus on my own game, focus on my pre-shot routine and having fun in between shots and I think that’s what helped me shoot sixunder today.”

Thompson got off to a fast start in her bid to make up the deficit on Salas, nabbing four birdies with a bogey in her first seven holes before a birdie at the eighth gave her the lead. AFP

Paranaque sportsfest. Officials and employees of Paranaque City were able to showcase their skills in various sporting fields during the second Mayor Edwin Olivarez Inter Department Cup 2015, which started Sunday at the Paranaque Sports Complex. The annual sportfest, organized by the Office of the Mayor, is part of the employees’ wellness program and aims to scout potential athletes for the city’s training pool. Olivarez (center) gave an inspirational message and did the ceremonial toss to open the basketball competitions.

The 27-year-old Australian drained a 21-foot birdie putt on 18 to finish at 17-under 271 and beat two-time Masters champion Watson (69) by one stroke in the $5.8 million USPGA Tour event.

“There is no better feeling than coming down the wire and contending with these guys. It was back and forth all day,” said Day. “This is the fourth win of my career and I am so proud to be the Canadian Open champion.”

Crowd-favorite Hearn shot an even-par 72 and finished alone in third place, two strokes back of Day as he just missed out becoming the first Canadian to win the tournament in 61 years.

American Watson also closed with a string of backnine birdies at the Glen Abbey Golf Club, rolling in four straight as both he and Day vaulted past thirdround leader Hearn, who led for most of Sunday’s round.

Day, who was coming off a tie for fourth at the British Open, becomes the third Australian to win the event, joining Greg Norman (1984 and 1992) and Nathan Green (2009).

Day rolled in a 12-foot putt for birdie on the parfour 17th to take the lead from Hearn at 16-under,

and then sealed the win in emphatic style with his 20-footer on the 72nd hole.

“I am so glad I got that putt in. It just feels so good right now,” Day said. “I am going to soak it in as much as possible.”

Watson had a chance to force a playoff on 18 but his eagle effort from just off the green on 18 missed left.

Hearn, who was hoping to become the first Canuck to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954, saw his birdie putt at the final hole rim out, costing him a share of second place.

“I didn’t quite pull it off but I still gave myself a chance with three or four holes to go,” said Hearn.

‘Par wasn’t going to get it done’ “I felt like I was in control.

But I knew I needed to make some birdies today and even par wasn’t going to get it done.”

Two-time Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk came in fourth at 274 after closing with a 69.

Tom Hoge and Stewart Cink each carded 66s to tie for fifth at 275.

Canadian Adam Hadwin (68) and three Americans —Matt Kuchar (69), Austin Cook (69) and Charley Hoffman (70)—shared seventh place at 276. AFP

Abarquez scores rare Palawan tennis feat ELIZABETH Abarquez pulled off a rare feat in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis tournament, winning three titles, including the girls’ 18-and-under crown in the Maasin leg at the Maasin Tennis Club in Leyte yesterday.

Abarquez, who upended top seed Larriz Coderos, 6-0, 6-2, in the semis, recovered from a second set meltdown and dominated Angeli Albino in the decider, coming away with a 6-1, 2-6, 10-3 decision in the centerpiece 18-U section of the four-day Group 4 event presented by Technifibre.

The 13-year-old Abarquez, one of the rising stars from Carcar, Cebu, earlier lived up her billing as top seed as she took the 14-U crown with a 6-2, 6-2 romp over Albino then frustrated Albino again to pocket the 16-U diadem via a 6-2, 6-0 rout.

Joshua Ramon Torres of Baybay shared the spotlight by winning the boys’ 14-U plum via a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Jeff Paler although top seed Francis Hidalgo from Pardo, Cebu foiled his dou-

ble-title bid with a 6-2, 6-1 victory in the 16-U section of the tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association under president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

“The circuit has rarely seen one player dominating but Abarquez’s feat should inspire the other junior players to strive for more,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.

Second seed Norman Enriquez, another top bet from Pardo, frustrated Hidalgo’s drive for a second crown, snaring the 18-U crown with a 6-1, 6-2 romp while top seed Franconero Nuñez from Baybay survived Ghylem Basalo in a thrilling decider, 6-2, 2-6, 1311, to snare the boys’ 12-U title.

Top ranked Nicholas Olat bounced back from an opening set shutout with a dominant performance in the next two, scoring a 0-4, 4-1, 4-1 victory over fellow Ormoc City native and No. 2 Corazon Lambonao for the 10-unisex diadem. Lambonao, however, took the girls’ 12-U crown with a walkover win over Denamarra Alinsub.

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3 pitching aces lead Hall of Fame class

Tour de France 2015’s winner Great Britain’s Christopher Froome raises his arms in trimph at the podium on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, at the end of the 109,5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race. AFP

Froome’s 2nd tour title in the bag

PARIS—Chris Froome said he felt “incredible” after winning his second Tour de France title on Sunday in a competition that has seen him accused of cheating, spat upon and doused with urine.

The 30-year-old Briton crossed the line on Paris’s Champs Elysees arm-inarm with his Sky teammates to clinch a second Grand Boucle crown following his 2013 success.

“This is such a great race, what can I say? I feel a lot of emotion,” said Froome after finishing the 21st leg

of the competition.

“Of course it was a very, very difficult Tour, both on the bike and off it. I’m so happy to be here in yellow.

“There were a few difficulties, a few extra stresses outside of the race but that’s cycling in 2015.”

Froome has faced accusations of cheating since his last

victory at the Grand Boucle two years ago, and complained that a spectator had thrown urine on him while shouting “dope” during the 14th stage of this year’s race.

His victory comes as doping accusations have cast a shadow over the sport of cycling, particularly after Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record seven times, was stripped of his titles after a long-running scandal.

The British press toasted Froome’s victory nonetheless in the Monday editions, with tabloid The Sun sporting the headline “I’m no

cheat: Froome victory dig”, while the Telegraph chose “Believe in me”.

‘Suffered for his victory’ Germany’s Andre Greipel won the final stage of the competition, his fourth this year and 10th in total, ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard and Alexander Kristoff of Norway.

Colombian Nairo Quintana finished second overall with his Spanish Movistar teammate Alejandro Valverde taking third, his best finish on the Tour at the age of 35.

“I’m not disappointed at all, I’ve confirmed my ability and my status within the

team,” said Quintana.

“I’m only 25 so I have many more opportunities to try to win the Tour. “(Froome) is a great rival, he suffered a lot for his victory and was very strong— he deserves it.”

Rain had rendered the cobbles at the finish on the Champs Elysees dangerous so organisers neutralised the race from the moment it reached Paris.

It meant the official timing was stopped just after riders passed the finishing line for the first time ahead of 10 laps of the famous Parisian avenue. AFP

Cebu schools association ties up with Viva Sports

By Ronnie Nathanielsz THE Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation or CESAFI has tied up with Viva Sports in a major move to enhance the stature of the fiercely competitive collegiate league anchored in Cebu, through a regular coverage of the main game on each playing day to be telecast nationwide on primetime over IBC 13.

Viva Sports, which covered the Philippine Basketball Association, will fall back on that experience to enhance the viewership of CESAFI

games behind the compelling slogan of “CESAFI – Home of the Future Stars of Philippine basketball.”

The link between CESAFI and Asia’s premier professional basketball league has been underscored in recent years with the emergence of superstars as back-to-back winner of the Most Valuable Player award June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer, his emerging rival in the collegiate days, Greg Slaughter now of Ginebra San Miguel and veteran shooting star Dondon Hontiveros of Alaska.

Slaughter won titles for the Uni-

versity of Visayas in 2007, 2008 and 2009. UV romped away with nine straight titles from 2001 to 2009 when the team was coached by former PBA shooting stars Elmer “Boy” Cabahug and Al Solis.

When Slaughter transferred to Ateneo de Manila in 2010, Fajardo took over in 2010 and 2011, although they never had a rivalry, strictly speaking, because Slaughter transferred when Fajardo arrived, but they did play against each other a few times when Fajardo was still learning the ropes.

A hard-working big man, Fajardo quickly blossomed into a genuine “Tower of Power” and displayed his tremendous skills in the PBA, winning back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in dominating fashion.

The ties that link Cesafi and the PBA will be given added impetus by the fact that newly appointed PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa will be the guest speaker at the opening ceremony on Aug. 1 at the Cebu Coliseum, while Fajardo will be honored with a special award.

COOPERSTOWN—Lefthanded hurler Randy Johnson expected “goosebumps” upon his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and Sunday’s ceremony before nearly 50,000 people didn’t disappoint.

“It’s very humbling to look behind me and see the best who have played this game,” said Johnson -- who was one of a trio of pitching greats to go into the shrine along with slugger Craig Biggio.

Johnson and fellow pitchers Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz were all elected in their first year of eligibility, while slugger Biggio was elected in his third year on the ballot.

It was the first time since 1955 that the voting writers elected four players in the same year, and the first time that three pitchers were elected in the same year.

Johnson, a five-time Cy Young Award-winner with 303 career wins was a certain first-ballot selection.

His 4,875 strikeouts are the most ever by a left-handed hurler and second behind Nolan Ryan’s all-time major league record of 5,714.

The lanky lefty nicknamed “The Big Unit” pitched 22 seasons for Montreal, Seattle, Houston, Arizona, San Francisco and the New York Yankees. He enjoyed 20-win campaigns in 1997, 2001 and 2002 and was the 2001 World Series Most Valuable Player in sparking Arizona over the Yankees for the Major League Baseball crown.

His resume also includes a perfect game pitched for the Diamondbacks against the Atlanta Braves in 2004.

“So many of the reasons that I’ve been inducted into the Hall of Fame are long gone now. My fastball is gone. I no longer have a mullet. And my scowl is long gone,” Johnson said. “I’m so happy to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and be in the greatest fraternity of all time.” AFP

Nadal faces Verdasco in tough return

Golf Cup kings. Andres Guardado of Mexico and teammates whoop it up after defeating Jamaica in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mexico won, 3-1. AFP

HAMBURG—Rafael Nadal will mark his return to Hamburg after a seven-year absence with a tough opener against compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

Nadal, down at 10 in the world after a tortuous year in which he lost his French Open title and suffered another early exit from Wimbledon, has decided to play the clay court tournament in a bid to resurrect his fortunes before heading for the US hard court season.

Nadal, 29, has a 13-2 career lead over Verdasco but his compatriot has won their last two clashes—on the hard courts of Miami earlier this year and on clay in Madrid in 2012.

In his last visit to the German

city, Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the 2008 final.

He is 11-2 at the tournament, having only lost to Federer in 2007 and to former Roland Garros champion Gaston Gaudio in 2003.

“I am very happy to be back in Hamburg, I haven’t been here since 2008 so it’s great to be back in such a nice city. I have great memories about this tournament,” Nadal told www.atpworldtour.com on Sunday.

“I think probably defeating Carlos Moya in 2003 was a very important match for me at the time but also I remember very well the match against Novak Djokovic in 2008 which was very emotional.”

In his first tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal will be playing doubles also in Hamburg.

He is set to partner 18-yearold Jaume Munar, who also hails from Mallorca.

“I feel good, there are no problems. I look forward to this week,” said Nadal.

The Spaniard has already been defeated 12 times this year, including just a second career loss at Roland Garros and a second round exit to German journeyman Dustin Brown at Wimbledon.

In 2014, Nadal was beaten just 11 times. He was defeated only seven times in 2013 and lost a mere six matches in the whole of 2012. AFP

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Generals hold off Cardinals, make semis Games tomorrow 1 p.m.- Arellano vs St. Benilde 3 p.m.- NCBA vs NU 5 p.m.- La Salle vs La Salle-Dasma

St. Benilde’s Jannine Navarro (left) soars for an attack against UST’s Carmela Tunay (8), Marivic Meneses (18) and Ennajie Laure (9) during their Shakey’s V-League encounter at The Arena.

Lions test Altas’ mettle; Bombers take on Blazers

By Peter Atencio

EXPECT another monster game from Olaide Adeogun as defending champion San Beda College tests the mettle of University of Perpetual in today’s main game in the National Collegiate Athletic Associatiojn men’s basketball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

Averaging 26 points and 11 rebounds, Adeogun will do battle against the Altas’ imports Bright Akhuetie and Prince Eze in their 4

p.m. showdown, right after the College of St. Benilde and Jose Rizal University tiff at 2 p.m.

“Ola has to play like that

all the time. But hey, he’s injured,” said Red Lions coach Jamike Jarin, adding that Adeogun is slowly recovering from a hamstring and wrist injury.

The Lions and the Altas are currently locked in a three-way tie for No. 2 with the Arellano University Chiefs on similar 4-1 (winloss) cards.

The winner in this encounter will have a chance to gain solo second behind solo leader Letran (5-0).

Akhuetie and Eze are the Altas’ fearsome operators under the boards, the

two main reasons why the Altas are considered as title contenders. They are also looking to bounce back after losing to the Letran Knights, 71-79 a week ago.

Altas coach Aric del Rosario said they are looking forward to the game against San Beda, and considers their encounter as an important game.

“San Beda is our gauge on how we will do this season so it will be important in our campaign,” said del Rosario.

Meanwhile, the Heavy Bombers are expected to

draw strength from Tey Teodoro, who is coming off a season-best 25-point effort in their 75-60 win over the Pirates Friday. They take on the S.Benilde Blazers at 4 p.m.

In junior action, the San Beda Red Cubs will go for their sixth straight win when they fight the clash against the Perpetual Help Junior Altas at 12 noon.

Games today (San Juan Arena) 10 a.m. • St. Benilde vs Jose Rizal (jrs) 12 nn. • San Beda vs Perpetual Help (jrs) 2 p.m. • St. Benilde vs. Jose Rizal (srs) 4 p.m. • San Beda vs Perpetual Help (srs)

REIGNING National Collegiate Athletic Association champion Emilio Aguinaldo College withstood Mapua’s tough defense in the first two sets then rolled on in the third to fashion out a 2522, 26-24, 25-17 victory and clinch the first quarterfinal berth in the Spikers’ Turf Season 1-Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Power-spiking Howard Mojica, the NCAA Most Valuable Player, who helped power PLDT Home Ultera’s title conquest in the Spikers’ Turf ’s inaugural conference last May, unleashed a matchbest 19 hits, including 18 off attacks to lead the Generals to their third straight victory in Group A play of the two-division tournament presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

“Mapua played excellent defense in the first two sets, but we were able to survive it,” said EAC coach Rodrigo Palmero in Filipino.

Mojica came through with clutch hits to thwart the Cardinals in the first two sets, particularly in the second when the Muralla-based squad battled the Generals spike-forspike and hit-for-hit.

But the Generals proved steadier and escaped with the win before re-asserting their might in the third to complete a 77-minute victory.

Kerth Melliza and team captain Israel Encina backed Mojica with 11 and 10 hits, respectively.

While EAC secured its spot in the next round, Mapua found itself reeling to a third straight defeat and would need to sweep its last two matches to stay in the hunt for the last quarters berth in the tournament backed by Mikasa and organized by Sports Vision.

Shootout looms in 5th Aboitiz golf ABOITIZ Equity Ventures renews its commitment to Philippine golf as it stages the $100,000 Aboitiz Invitational for the fifth straight year on a new venue but still part of the Asian Development Tour and the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour calendars.

The long-running event will feature the cream of the country’s pro crop and the region’s leading players as they slug it out for the top $17,500 purse from Aug. 5 -8 at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club’ Legends course in Carmona, Cavite.

Jay Bayron, winner of the inaugural event in 2011 in Cebu, and recent ICTSI Luisita leg champion Charles Hong headline the local challenge alongside Elmer Salvador, who won the Aboitiz Invitational in 2012 and 2013, and a slew of local aces, including current ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit leader Miguel Tabuena.

Top players from across the region, including ADT OOM leader Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei, Malaysia’s Arie Irawan and Australian Jake Stirling have confirmed participation in the event, third ADT tournament to

be staged in the country after the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational and the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic last April.

Bayron and Hong graced yesterday’s launch of the blue-ribbon event and both predicted a shootout among the elite field in the four-day championship serving as the 17th leg of the ADT and 11th of the ICTSI PGT. “Players will look for those birdies, and even eagles, to have an edge in the first two days. It would be one tough tournament. The local guys must be ready for it,” said Bayron.

“Given the depth of the field, around 4- or 5-under per day will be perfect. But the key here is to reach the green in regulation consistently,” said Hong, who humbled a stellar international field to win the ICTSI Luisita Championship.

“I would like to thank Jay and Charles for gracing the affair and their continuous support. We are very happy with the success of the Aboitiz Invitational and we are grateful to be a partner of this event with Philippine Golf Tour, ICTSI and the Asian Development Tour,” said Aboitiz Equity Ventures senior vice president Ernest Villareal.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures senior vice president Ernest Villareal (third from left), Asian Tour associate director Irfan Hamid (third from right) and Pilipinas Golf Tour, Inc. general manager Colo Ventosa (second from left) join hands with (from left) pro Jay Bayron, Manila Southwoods golf director Jerome Delariarte and pro Charles Hong during yesterday’s launch of the 2015 Aboitiz Invitational at Southwoods’ Legends course. The Asian Development Tour event will be held Aug. 5-8.

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LA-Caguioa is Ginebra’s new Fast and Furious duo

By Dennis Principe

IS Ginebra’s acknowledged leader Mark Caguioa about to have a new “Fast and Furious” partner under new coach Tim Cone? During a recent interview with Radyo Singko’s “Aksyon Sports” last Sunday.

Cone named his potential starters of the team and chose Caguioa as part of his starting unit.

For the longest time, Caguioa and fellow guard Jayjay Helterbrand have manned the backcourt with aplomb and eventually earned the popular moniker.

Helterbrand, though, was slowed down by injuries the past few seasons and while he was able to fully recover from it of late, playing time later became an issue for him and Gine-

bra’s past coaches.

“It would be hard to say at this point, but off the top of my head, the obvious ones would be LA (Tenorio) and (Chris) Ellis as the guards. Mark and Japeth (Aguilar) at the wings and (Greg) Slaughter at center,” revealed Cone.

While Cone made hints about correcting the team’s imbalances specifically in their guard line-up, he might still consider the one-time Most Valuable Player awardee as one of his dependable off-

the-bench players.

For one, former Ginebra coach and now Alaska Aces assistant Jeffrey Caraiso believes Helterbrand, despite not being as quick as before, can still be a factor in Cone’s complex system.

“For sure he can still shoot, without a doubt. So I think in regard to just offense, as long as he buys in, I think he’ll be okay,” said Cariaso. “If Jayjay can buy into what we’re doing to the triangle and really trust the offense, he will be able to impart his game to that offense.”

Cariaso, a former player and coaching protégé of Cone, called the shots for Ginebra for two conferences where he tried to instill the triangle system.

“To be 100% honest with you, I had mixed signals whether they really bought into the tri-

angle when I was there,” said Cariaso. “You have to give it a chance. You’re used to a certain way, but with the triangle you need patience, you need discipline. You need to be able to read and react.”

Cone, meanwhile, believes the current Ginebra roster will appreciate the triangle only if each one of them will buy into what he would impart, specifically on defense.

“We will be infusing things outside of the triangle to make the transition easy. It’s often times about the right players in the right positions. I think they’ll enjoy it,” said Cone “The biggest key for me though is, are they going to come in everyday and play defense? If they want to win championships they have to do that too.”

James Yap, shown here shooting against Alaska’s Romeo Travis, expressed his gratitude to his former Star coach Tim Cone, saying “it was a privilege being coached by you.”

LOTTO RESULTS 6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0 M+ P0 M

Yap thanks Cone for his best years

By Jeric Lopez STILL yet to formally bid goodbye to his now former coach, Star superstar James Yap expressed his gratitude to mentor Tim Cone through the social media.

The two-time Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player expressed how grateful he is with his time with Cone as the Hotshots won a total of five championships under the tutelage of the league’s winningest coach.

Using his Instagram account, Yap thanked Cone for what he accomplished in giving the Hotshots the success that they envisioned when they got him as coach in 2011.

“Thank you for giving me my first 4-peat and my first ever Grand-Slam,’’ said Yap. ‘’I won 5 of my 7 PBA championships with you coach. I will forever be grateful. It was a privilege being coached by you coach Tim! Good luck and God bless.’’

In an interview last week during his official introduction as the new Barangay Ginebra coach in San Miguel Corporation’s press conference, Cone, though excited for his new challenge ahead, said that he will surely have a hard time parting ways with his players from Star given the bond and camaraderie they had in their successful run on their way to a total of five championships and a Grandslam in around four years.

“That was my initial thought. I know that it’ll be hard for me to say goodbye to the players since we had a lot of good experiences and memories together,’’ said Cone. ‘’When a team goes through those ups and downs, that’s when a deep relationship develops on and off the court and that’s us in Star. It’s sad to leave the guys.’’

There will certainly be more nostalgic moments for them when Cone formally bids Star goodbye when that opportunity comes and when Ginebra finally faces the Star come next season.

McTavish to referee Pagara-Rios tiff

By Ronnie Nathanielsz INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation Championship Committee chairman Lindsey Tucker has appointed New Zealand’s Bruce McTavish, who has lived in Angeles City in the Philippines for over 40 years, as the third man in the ring in the IBF Intercontinental super bantamweight title defense of Prince Albert Pagara against optional challenger Jesus Rios of Mexico in Dubai on Aug. 7.

Supervisor of the title fight, which will be held at the Dubai World Trade Center, will be Onesmo Ngowi of Tanzania, while the three judges appointed by the IBF are Filipino veteran referee/judge Silvestre Abainza and Thailand’s Sanong Aum-Im

and Somsak Sirianant.

In his email to ALA Promotions, which is staging the fight card titled “Duel in Dubai II,” in cooperation with ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel, particularly in the Middle East, Tucker requested that the officials be contacted “to make the necessary travel and lodging arrangements to insure that they are on location in sufficient time to participate in the rules meeting and weigh in that should take place on August 6, 2015.”

The undefeated Pagara recently engaged five-division world champion Nonito Donaire in a torrid sparring session, when the Filipino Flash trained at the famed ALA Gym in Cebu in preparation for his fight against former European champion Anthony Set-

toul, whom he dropped three times en route to a second-round TKO. Pagara hopes to put on an impressive performance before a predominantly Filipino crowd, who are expected to pack the larger venue as he looks forward to a possible title fight against IBF champion Carl Frampton on Britain, down the road.

ALA Gym head trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor told The Standard/ boxingmirror.com he is confident that Pagara will overcome the challenge of the tough Mexican Jesus “Chito” Rios, which will be the main event.

Villamor also believes that it would prime the unbeaten Pagara, who is currently ranked No. 5, for a possible title eliminator before going after Frampton’s crown.

Closing ceremonies. Pitbull performs during the closing ceremony on Day 16 of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, Canada. AFP

T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

Maroons vs Warriors in opener

SPORTS

Rainy playdate. Petron Sprint 4T’s Fille Cayetano, wife of Taguig Rep. Lino Cayetano, is shown during a rainy playdate of the PLDT Home Ultera-Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 at the Sands By the Bay in SM Mall of Asia. Cayetano and Alexa Micek eliminated the Cignal HD Spikers A of Cha Cruz and Michelle Laborte, 22-20, 21-15.

ROMAN PROSPERO

Possible Donaire foe to train at Roach’s Wild Card Gym

By Ronnie Nathanielsz WORLD Boxing Association super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg is heading to Los Angeles and the famous Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach with his family after handily disposing challenger Kiko Martinez in the Manchester Arena, the same night

Froome’s 2nd Tour title in the bag TURN TO A13

Nonito Donaire also battered former European champion Anthony Settoul in two rounds in Macau.

Sky Sports in Britain reported that Quigg could be forgiven for taking a break following his stunning second-round knockout.

“As one of the fighters known for training ferociously, he is likely to

spend his ‘holiday’ in the feted gym run by trainer Freddie Roach and frequented by the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto,” Sky Sports reported.

Quigg also told Sky Sports: “I’ll have a few days off, but I’ll be out there training. I’m off to Los Angeles with my family for a week -- or out to

Yap thanks Cone for his best years TURN TO A15

the Wild Card for a week! After four or five days having a rest and doing all that holiday stuff, I’ll be in the Wild Card.”

The WBA champion, whom Donaire described as “strong” continued: “I think we all know where I will be spending my days, getting some training in and some sparring!”

By Peter Atencio

FOUR new recruits, three of them from Cebu, will debut for the University of the Philippines Maroons when they see action in the opening match against the University of the East Warriors in the men’s basketball tournament kicking off the 78th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines on Sept. 5 at the Araneta Coliseum.

UP’s new recruits are Dave Moralde, a transferee from San Beda, former Philippine Youth team standout and former University of the Visayas varsity player Paul Desiderio, and ex-Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu recruits Pio Longa and Janjan Jaboneta.

Moralde is coming out of a year’s residency after playing for the multititled San Beda Red Cubs in high school in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He stayed with the San Beda Red Lions for a season, but decided to transfer after seeing limited time with the NCAA defending champions.

Moralde and the Cebu recruits will form part of the Maroons roster which will play the Warriors at 2 p.m. following a glittering ceremony slated at 1 p.m.

The Maroons are coming off tune-up games with teams from the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) and declared themselves ready for the coming season.

The Maroons-Warriors tiff will be immediately followed by the match between the University of Santo Tomas Tigers against the Adamson University Falcons at 4 p.m.

On Sunday, hostilities will shift to the Mall of Asia Arena where defending champion National University starts its title defense against De La Salle University in the first game at 2 p.m.

Season 77 runner-up Far Eastern University battles the Ateneo Blue Eagles at 4 p.m.

PSA tackles FIBA, tennis THE country’s coming campaign in the FIBA Asia Men’s Championship and other matters relating to plans and programs of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas for the final half of the year highlight today’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

SBP Executive Director Sonny Barrios is expected to delve on the preparations being made by Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic qualifying tournament slated Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 in Changsha, China, as well as the country’s serious bid to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the FIBA 3x3 Manila Masters set this weekend at Robinson’s Place in Ermita.

Also appearing in the public sports program aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and presented by San Miguel Corp., Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., are tennis national team coach Roland Kraut and Clementine Apacible, project lead for International Premier Tennis League Manila leg and Philippine Mavericks, together with the Adamson softball team.

B1

TUESDAY: JULY 28, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Hitachi eyes P200-b Clark Rail

By Darwin G. Amojelar

HITACHI Ltd. of Japan said Monday it is interested in teaming up with state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority in building the P200-billion Clark Rail Train System project.

“Clark development is one of the projects that we are currently trying to engage in. They need transportation. They need ecosystem,” Hitachi Asia Ltd. chairman Ichiro Iino told reporters at the sidelines of the 13th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative.

“We can provide light rail transit system and monorails.

We have various options. We have to find out the solution to meet the demands in Clark or anywhere else in the Philippines mass transport system,” he said.

BCDA earlier unveiled a plan to build the Clark Rail Train System Project that would serve as the backbone for the movement of goods, services and people to and from Manila, Clark Green City, Clark International Airport, Clark Special Economic Zone and Tarlac City Clark Green City is a 9,450-hectare master planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone, a former US military airbase that straddles the provinces of Pampanga

and Tarlac.

BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Paciano Casanova confirmed that Hitachi was interested in Clark Rail, an 82-kilometer system of back track between Malolos and Tarlac City.

It will have about 13 stations.

“We haven’t made a commitment yet, but they are studying the structure. They are very, very interested,” Casanova said, adding that there were very few rail companies and Hitachi is “very good in infrastructure and technology.”

“We are open to a partnership with them [Hitachi]. We are also looking at different players. definitely it would come in a form of a consortium. It’s a big project,” Casanova said.

Casanova said he expected to complete the negotiation with the prospective investors before

the end of the year.

Clark Rail will be connected to the Phase 1 of the North-South Commuter Railway project of the Transportation Department.

The P117.30 billion Phase 1 of the NSCR project involves the construction of a 36.7-kilometer narrow-gauge elevated commuter railway from Malolos to Tutuban.

The P177.22 billion NSRP South Line, on the other hand, will run run from Tutuban in Manila to Calamba City in Laguna, then proceed to Batangas, and further south to Legazpi City in Albay and Matnog town in Sorsogon.

The Transportation Department last week opened the auction process for the NSRP South Line, which will revive the operation of Philippine National Railways.

PSe comPoSite index Closing July 27, 2015

8500 8000 7500 7000 6500 6000

7,547.44 118.08

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JULY 27, 2015 42

P45.560

43

CLOSE

44 45 46

HIGH P45.510 LOW P45.570 AVERAGE P45.536 VOLUME 644.700M

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 Monday, July 27, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate

Carmudi forum. E-commerce on automobiles in the Philippines is flourishing given the steady economic growth, widespread use of the

Internet and the upward trend on vehicle sales. Potential buyers, according to a buyer survey of online-based classified ads page Carmudi, are being influenced by online sources, including manufacturer and dealer sites and general Internet searches. Shown during the forum organized by Carmudi are (from left) Rommel Gutierrez, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines; Elizabeth Lee, president and co-founder of EMotors Inc; and Albert Suansing, secretary general of Philippines Global Road Safety Partnership.

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

45.4660

Japan

Yen

0.008078

0.3673

UK

Pound

1.550700

70.5041

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129014

5.8658

Switzerland

Franc

1.039501

47.2620

Canada

Dollar

0.767106

34.8772

Singapore

Dollar

0.729182

33.1530

Australia

Dollar

0.728385

33.1168

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652238

120.5867

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266667

12.1243

Brunei

Dollar

0.726533

33.0325

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000074

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.028645

1.3024

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

12.3791

Euro

Euro

1.098400

49.9399

Korea

Won

0.000855

0.0389

China

Yuan

0.161044

7.3220

India

Rupee

0.015611

0.7098

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.262564

11.9377

New Zealand

Dollar

0.658198

29.9256

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031761

1.4440 Source: PDS Bridge

Peso declines to five-year low of 45.56 against the US dollar

By Julito G. Rada The peso on Monday dropped to a five-year low against the US dollar, losing by seven centavos to close at 45.56, as uncertainties in the global markets persisted and the expected rate hike in the US buoyed the greenback.

This was the local currency’s lowest level since closing at 45.62 against the dollar on May

19, 2010. Total volume traded reached $584 million, lower than $645 million on Friday.

“These are short-term episodes which are expected, given the continued uncertainty in the global markets following the expected normalization of US monetary policy,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message.

“But RP remains in strong

fundamental footing that will support it against these headwinds,” Guinigundo said.

He said the peso remained market-determined. He said the Bangko Sentral was not targeting any exchange rate and therefore “is generally neutral” to any exchange rate movements except when there was evidence of speculative play.

“In which case, the BSP par-

ticipates in the FX [foreign exchange] market to minimize volatility and ensure orderly trading in the market,” Guinigundo said.

Earlier, analysts said the latest US economic data, particularly the second-quarter growth, might also trigger additional volatilities in the financial markets.

Guinigundo earlier said the exchange rate target of P43

to P46 per dollar this year remained doable, despite the volatilities in the global financial markets.

He said the Philippines remained a resilient economy with strong growth prospects, lower inflation forecasts and robust external payments position.

Thus, the P43 to P46 exchange rate assumption continued to be realistic, Guinigundo said.

TUESDAY: JULY 28, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, July 27, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 17 30.45 10.4 890 1.01 100 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 12.02 19.6 6.12 625 0.225 78 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

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

4.7 72.3 104.90 96.55 45.7 2.52 16.16 20.25 6.50 815.00 0.415 90.35 18.54 26.00 63.15 89.8 315.4 38.4 149.7 1465.00 61.00 3.26

47 1.46 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 17 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 241 12.5 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 6.75 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26

35.9 1.01 1.86 7.92 32 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 8.61 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 173 8.65 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 3 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 161 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 10.02

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

Lafarge Rep Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

45 1.03 1.92 10.3 91.40 18.38 26.2 56.5 2.61 1.55 12.24 20.500 8.90 7.70 9.80 1.78 14.56 27.3 81.3 13.90 6.14 192.00 10.74 2.57 57.90 24.9 25.4 5.86 294.80 4.65 8.10 4.4 11.90 3.38 2.41 3.49 4.35 163 1.76 0.148 1.29 2.10 191.5 4.35 0.69 23.50

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 4.92 0.66 1455 76 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 6.55 9.66 1.61 2.99 84.9 3.5 974 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.26 0.152 837 49.55 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 4.5 3 0.550 2.26 59.3 1.5 751 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital JG Summit Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

Minerales Industrias Corp.

MJCI Investments Inc. Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.475 57.7500 23.50 1.22 6.84 0.260 0.255 787 7.81 12.60 4.30 0.202 1410 73.00 7.23 0.67 14.98 0.6 4.8 7.8 3.15 2.070 2.74 58.85 2.55 910.00 77.000 0.3200 0.2000 0.275

10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 41.4 5.6 5.59

6.74 12 0.65 1.2 30.05 3.36 4.96

8990 HLDG 7.790 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.77 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.72 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.220 Ayala Land `B’ 38.90 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.7 Cebu Holdings 5.06

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

SHARES 12,703,684 54,652,293 33,902,676 76,581,929 110,421,334 4,198,935,895 4,488,111,411

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 4.69 4.55 72.5 72 104.90 101.10 95.90 93.95 45.7 45.4 2.45 2.42 16.3 16.02 20.65 20.2 7.77 6.80 780.00 780.00 0.415 0.410 90.35 89.9 18.90 18.54 26.05 26.00 64.00 63.15 94.95 94.95 314 306.8 38.8 38.25 150.4 147.3 1415.00 1415.00 61.00 59.95 3.25 3.25 INDUSTRIAL 44.85 43.85 1.04 1.03 1.93 1.91 10.3 10.08 71.55 71.55 18.4 17.98 26.5 25.25 56.5 56.3 2.67 2.55 1.82 1.53 12.24 12.18 20.900 20.3 8.90 8.80 7.72 7.46 9.98 9.80 1.78 1.78 15.5 14.58 27.4 27 81.4 80 13.50 13.16 6.18 6 192.10 88.60 10.74 10.36 2.6 2.6 56.95 51.20 24.85 24.55 25.3 24.7 5.86 5.72 299.00 292.60 4.67 4.61 8.20 7.99 4.39 3.6 11.90 10.82 3.39 3.20 2.49 2.42 4 3.6 4.35 4.29 163.2 163 1.77 1.71 0.154 0.144 1.29 1.29 2.15 2.11 193.1 189.9 4.3 4.29 0.69 0.69 23.50 23.50 HOLDING FIRMS 0.475 0.475 57.8500 57.2000 23.30 22.80 1.23 1.23 6.99 6.80 0.250 0.249 0.250 0.250 787 771 7.82 7.62 12.60 12.32 4.35 4.30 0.212 0.210 1402 1393 73.00 72.10 7.3 7.1 0.68 0.65 15.5 14.7 0.57 0.57 4.81 4.66 7.8 7.37 3.74 3.74 2.070 2.030 2.74 2.61 58.85 57.95 2.54 2.07 910.00 900.00 76.800 76.800 0.3150 0.3100 0.1990 0.1890 0.275 0.270 PROPERTY 7.790 7.540 8.05 8.04 0.74 0.71 1.230 1.220 38.90 37.80 3.69 3.42 5.06 5.06

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

4.55 72.5 101.50 94.00 45.7 2.45 16.28 20.25 7.77 780.00 0.410 89.9 18.56 26.00 63.30 94.95 312 38.4 147.5 1415.00 60.00 3.25

-3.19 0.28 -3.24 -2.64 0.00 -2.78 0.74 0.00 19.54 -4.29 -1.20 -0.50 0.11 0.00 0.24 5.73 -1.08 0.00 -1.47 -3.41 -1.64 -0.31

244,000 4,470 5,661,630 652,410 34,700 4,000 1,074,400 659,900 23,300 20 250,000 2,793,590 76,300 800 61,820 10 31,320 18,300 1,074,460 55 32,120 4,000

44.5 1.04 1.92 10.26 71.55 18 26.2 56.35 2.55 1.82 12.18 20.300 8.90 7.50 9.98 1.78 15 27.1 81 13.30 6.14 190.00 10.46 2.6 56.95 24.75 25 5.72 298.00 4.65 7.99 4.39 11.90 3.37 2.45 3.65 4.31 163 1.75 0.149 1.29 2.11 190.5 4.29 0.69 23.50

-1.11 0.97 0.00 -0.39 -21.72 -2.07 0.00 -0.27 -2.30 17.42 -0.49 -0.98 0.00 -2.60 1.84 0.00 3.02 -0.73 -0.37 -4.32 0.00 -1.04 -2.61 1.17 -1.64 -0.60 -1.57 -2.39 1.09 0.00 -1.36 -0.23 0.00 -0.30 1.66 4.58 -0.92 0.00 -0.57 0.68 0.00 0.48 -0.52 -1.38 0.00 0.00

744,600 133,000 466,000 26,800 1,000 291,400 313,900 27,160 1,992,000 4,781,000 18,700 1,798,900 2,157,500 9,626,900 88,700 1,000 78,200 1,374,500 279,340 110,000 815,300 241,410 576,800 12,000 820 280,600 81,100 35,700 1,028,120 300,000 1,912,600 327,000 900 103,000 1,435,000 9,708,000 5,727,000 1,200 114,000 4,220,000 1,000 388,000 1,757,080 10,000 437,000 400

0.475 57.4500 22.80 1.23 6.80 0.250 0.250 775 7.75 12.44 4.35 0.210 1400 72.15 7.15 0.67 15.26 0.57 4.66 7.5 3.74 2.030 2.61 58.75 2.54 908.00 76.800 0.3100 0.1990 0.270

0.00 -0.52 -2.98 0.82 -0.58 -3.85 -1.96 -1.52 -0.77 -1.27 1.16 3.96 -0.71 -1.16 -1.11 0.00 1.87 -5.00 -2.92 -3.85 18.73 -1.93 -4.74 -0.17 -0.39 -0.22 -0.26 -3.13 -0.50 -1.82

20,000 935,850 3,573,000 30,000 109,200 480,000 150,000 153,720 702,500 3,714,400 52,000 130,000 79,955 898,930 590,000 106,000 3,840,400 10,000 8,653,000 363,900 1,000 6,404,000 2,000 288,270 21,000 284,700 520 440,000 300,000 320,000

7.700 8.05 0.74 1.230 37.80 3.56 5.06

-1.16 3.60 2.78 0.82 -2.83 -3.78 0.00

272,100 1,000 21,000 36,000 7,025,600 1,766,000 3,500

29,893.50 -114,968,326.00 -33,126,889.50 829,030.00 16,749,494.00 4,097,320.00

32,986,256.00 -232,555.50 -8,977,200.00 -449,330.00 6,171,465.00

-24,374,725.00 -16,640.00

712,992.00 -1,398,825.00 127,500.00 34,124.00 -912,265.00 -815,726.00 -20,853,827.00 452,171.00 -4,757,005.00 2,707,268.50 -1,305,134.00 -76,164.00 -24,905,635.00 3,367,236.00 -3,337,840.00 -51,780,796.00 514,990.00 -1,736,651.00 75,990.00 -178,560.00 -114,600.00 4,927,430.00

82,982,346.00

-15,194,613.00 -19,831,515.00

-4,713,665.00 53,344.00 -16,003,058.00 -89,960,195.00 -17,040,907.50 -603,339.00 -19,713,178.00 -15,670,690.00 -74,600.00 103,000.00 -7,921,687.00 -98,635,365.00

-631,263.00 8,049.00 -62,822,850.00 -36,280.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

1.44 1.97 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 8.59

0.79 1.1 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 5.73

Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 2.6 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 1.040 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1 11.6 0.85 10 1.9

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 0.37 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55 7.59 0.63 5 1.14

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

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Discovery World DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings NOW Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 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 0.0100

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 540 515 8.21 12.28

33 504 480 5.88 6.5

1047 76.9 78.95 84.8

1011 74.2 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15 12.88

3.5 5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Makati Fin. Corp.

Xurpas

High

VALUE 1,100,570,960.01 1,071,801,065.67 912,206,712.20 759,541,952.19 1,142,681,672.46 519,067,217.63 5,517,217,404.16

FINANCIAL 1,659.17 (DOWN) 30.37 INDUSTRIAL 11,445.66 (DOWN) 98.88 HOLDING FIRMS 6,843.91 (DOWN) 66.66 PROPERTY 3,074.30 (DOWN) 92.22 SERVICES 2,135.49 (DOWN) 27.88 MINING & OIL 12,038.55 (DOWN) 90.00 PSEI 7,547.44 (DOWN) 118.08 All Shares Index 4,320.13 (DOWN) 55.02 Gainers: 44 Losers: 123; Unchanged: 41; Total: 208

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.84 1.06 1.06 0.134 0.430 13.04 0.890 0.179 1.35 1.95 1.32 4.63 0.106 0.2900 7.38 28.40 1.65 3.31 21.30 0.73 7.050

0.85 0.83 0.84 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.04 1.04 1.04 0.136 0.130 0.133 0.430 0.430 0.430 13.4 12.5 12.5 0.880 0.860 0.860 0.175 0.175 0.175 1.35 1.28 1.29 1.97 1.92 1.92 1.30 1.29 1.30 4.83 4.62 4.62 0.105 0.104 0.104 0.2900 0.2900 0.2900 7.28 7.23 7.28 28.40 28.05 28.15 1.65 1.64 1.65 3.30 3.24 3.30 21.25 20.50 20.50 0.74 0.71 0.74 7.050 6.940 7.040 SERVICES 7.89 8.5 7.95 8.4 62.4 62.4 61.4 61.4 1.15 1.16 1.1 1.11 0.630 0.630 0.610 0.630 9.94 9.94 9.55 9.65 0.0810 0.0810 0.0790 0.0790 3.45 3.43 3.37 3.37 92.25 92.25 91.4 91.55 1.68 1.67 1.67 1.67 5.25 5.45 5.20 5.42 989 980 980 980 2526 2540 2520 2526 6.44 6.49 6.40 6.49 1.31 1.37 1.32 1.33 110.1 109.7 109.1 109.4 0.011 0.012 0.010 0.012 0.213 0.214 0.206 0.208 1.4400 1.4600 1.4300 1.4300 2.4 2.34 2.25 2.34 10.38 10.82 10.30 10.32 2.33 2.32 2.15 2.22 2.35 2.50 2.00 2.15 44.00 44.00 44.00 44.00 0.670 0.690 0.660 0.660 2.01 2 1.97 2 7.85 7.85 7.15 7.15 0.320 0.320 0.305 0.320 0.460 0.460 0.455 0.455 4.50 4.50 4.50 4.50 107.00 110.00 107.20 110.00 18.76 18.90 18.40 18.90 2948.00 2926.00 2890.00 2900.00 0.700 0.720 0.690 0.700 1.600 1.600 1.510 1.520 37.50 37.85 37.05 37.50 79.05 79.25 78.95 79.20 9.03 9.10 8.99 9.00 0.65 0.66 0.64 0.64 5.63 5.63 5.45 5.45 2.610 2.660 2.540 2.570 MINING & OIL 0.0068 0.0070 0.0067 0.0070 2.60 2.60 2.60 2.60 5.60 5.58 5.54 5.56 11.56 11.52 10.80 11.52 0.219 0.220 0.215 0.220 6.8800 6.88 6.88 6.8800 0.77 0.77 0.73 0.73 0.8 0.88 0.78 0.79 6.65 6.70 6.53 6.60 1.4 1.42 1.39 1.39 0.300 0.305 0.300 0.300 0.212 0.214 0.211 0.214 0.224 0.228 0.228 0.228 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.013 3.09 3.11 3.08 3.09 10.74 10.74 10.46 10.52 3.85 3.86 3.8 3.82 0.6400 0.6200 0.6200 0.6200 2.0000 2.0100 1.9600 2.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0096 0.0096 0.0130 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 4.23 4.23 4.18 4.23 5.54 5.600 5.500 5.55 1.73 1.700 1.650 1.66 0.012 0.012 0.011 0.012 120.00 121.80 119.00 119.00 9.88 10.42 10 10.26 0.0095 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 PREFERRED 61.5 61.9 61 61 515 528 527.5 527.5 526 522 522 522 6.39 6.5 6.4 6.4 1.09 1.09 1.09 1.09 1148 1102 1102 1102 1040 1035 1033 1035 75.5 75.5 75.45 75.5 82.6 84.9 84.9 84.9 87 87 86.95 86.95 WARRANTS & BONDS 4.240 4.500 4.210 4.290 SME 6.85 6.85 6.35 6.85 12 12.04 11.64 11.66 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 124.5 124.3 122.9 122.9

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

0.00 0.00 -1.89 -0.75 0.00 -4.14 -3.37 -2.23 -4.44 -1.54 -1.52 -0.22 -1.89 0.00 -1.36 -0.88 0.00 -0.30 -3.76 1.37 -0.14

851,000 10,000 1,000 3,640,000 240,000 5,253,100 4,000 20,000 1,729,000 13,936,000 35,000 24,439,000 2,990,000 30,000 52,800 664,800 159,000 101,000 8,690,000 206,000 1,734,800

-440,160.00

6.46 -1.60 -3.48 0.00 -2.92 -2.47 -2.32 -0.76 -0.60 3.24 -0.91 0.00 0.78 1.53 -0.64 9.09 -2.35 -0.69 -2.50 -0.58 -4.72 -8.51 0.00 -1.49 -0.50 -8.92 0.00 -1.09 0.00 2.80 0.75 -1.63 0.00 -5.00 0.00 0.19 -0.33 -1.54 -3.20 -1.53

1,977,000 29,840 228,000 238,000 7,233,100 11,740,000 107,000 327,650 1,000 124,000 30 130,940 813,800 157,000 332,900 11,500,000 3,500,000 809,000 21,000 4,907,000 4,073,000 1,574,000 1,000 59,000 112,000 13,723,100 240,000 130,000 18,000 160 478,100 71,300 2,756,000 30,566,000 1,829,400 820,350 956,900 4,816,000 1,107,000 556,000

2.94 0.00 -0.71 -0.35 0.46 0.00 -5.19 -1.25 -0.75 -0.71 0.00 0.94 1.79 0.00 0.00 -2.05 -0.78 -3.13 0.50 -4.00 -7.69 0.00 0.18 -4.05 0.00 -0.83 3.85 5.26

4,021,000,000 -125,400.00 10,000 93,700 -158,920.00 600 90,000 500 -3,440.00 1,502,000 -6,080.00 888,000 500 2,050,000 -38,700.00 230,000 1,110,000 5,010,000 55,000,000 329,000 -216,410.00 2,712,800 -1,668,348.00 511,000 -23,100.00 1,000 39,000 1,970.00 22,100,000 69,200,000 26,000 709,200 1,422,000 201,000.00 8,600,000 3,688,460 -305,387,052.00 311,400 104,000.00 2,000,000

-0.81 2.43 -0.76 0.16 0.00 -4.01 -0.48 0.00 2.78 -0.06

214,850 70 5,100 639,900 12,000 50 1,410 60,810 780 5,150

1.18

1,462,000

0.00 -2.83

400 908,300

837,798.00

-1.29

4,900

49,240.00

6,962,372.00 -489,450.00 -8,522,270.00 -27,023,170.00

-16,062,365.00 -179,850.00 -24,124,475.00 -2,971,793.00 633,358.00

-22,265,046.00 16,900.00 2,195,437.00 54,000.00 -145,217,520.00 -8,851,342.00 14,550.00 14,400.00 14,087,752.00 81,320.00

-3,480,117.00

-17,572.00 -1,417,260.00 -158,106,150.00 710.00 764,530.00 -25,927,380.00 30,190,867.50 567,927.00 -3,048,500.00 544,660.00

-195,976.50 -2,990,697.00

-385,410.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Filipino Fund Inc.

7.77

19.54

C. Azuc De Tarlac

71.55

-21.72

MJCI Investments Inc.

3.74

18.73

Melco Crown

7.15

-8.92

Da Vinci Capital

1.82

17.42

Macroasia Corp.

2.15

-8.51

IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

0.012

9.09

Oriental Pet. `B'

0.0120

-7.69

2GO Group'

8.4

6.46

Century Peak Metals Hldgs

0.73

-5.19

Phil. Savings Bank

94.95

5.73

Mabuhay Holdings `A'

0.57

-5.00

United Paragon

0.0100

5.26

Premium Leisure

1.520

-5.00

Pryce Corp. `A'

3.65

4.58

Republic Glass 'A'

2.61

-4.74

Forum Pacific

0.210

3.96

Liberty Telecom

2.22

-4.72

TA Petroleum

10.26

3.85

Global-Estate

1.29

-4.44

TUESDAY: JULY 28, 2015

B3

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

BDO’s income rises to P11.7b

By Julito G. Rada

BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by retail tycoon Henry Sy, posted a 5.8-percent increase in first-half net income to P11.7 billion from P11.05 billion a year ago on the strength of its core businesses.

BDO noted a sustained growth in lending and deposit-taking businesses, gains from fee-based and treasury activities and managed operating expenses.

“BDO’s sustained momentum in its core lending and deposit-taking businesses yielded a NII [net interest income] growth of 10 percent, which was tempered by the prevailing liquidity in the system,” the bank said in a statement.

Income from fee-based services and treasury activities increased 14 percent and further boosted the bank’s overall performance. Recurring revenue streams accounted for over 83 percent of total operating income.

BDO’s asset quality showed sustained improvement with gross non-performing loan ratio dropping further to 1.2 percent from 1.6 percent a year-ago. However, the

bank set aside provisions of P2.1 billion leading to a higher NPL cover of 198 percent against 174 percent in the same period last year.

The bank maintained a solid capital base of P181 billion, with both the capital adequacy ratio and common equity tier 1 ratio all comfortably above the regulatory minimum under the Basel III framework at 13.6 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.

“With a strong business franchise, sustained growth strategy and solid capital base, BDO remains well-positioned to take advantage of opportunities in a growing economy,” the bank said.

Earlier, president and chief executive Nestor Tan said the bank expected a net income of P25.1 billion, a 10-percent improvement over the P22.8-billion net profit in

2014. He said the income guidance was “realistic.”

Last week, BDO completed its acquisition of One Network Bank Inc., one of the biggest rural banks in the country, through a shareswap deal.

The acquisition is expected to expand BDO’s regional presence, especially its target market in southern Philippines, and open up business lines for the bank.

BDO is a full-service universal bank which provides a wide range of corporate, commercial and retail banking services. These services include traditional loan and deposit products, as well as treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, retail cash cards and credit card services.

CSR Expo. Members of the Asean Foundation and Asean CSR Network showed their strong support to this year’s CSR Expo organized by the

League of Corporate Foundations at the SM Aura recently. Shown are LCF executives led by Natalie Christine Jorge (seated, third from left), LCF chairperson and executive director of Bato Balani Foundation. She is joined by (standing, from left) Thomas Thomas, chief executive of Asean CSR Network; Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, a member of LCF board of trustees; Yanti Triwadiantini, chairperson of Asean CSR Network; Linda Atayde, a member of LCF board of trustees; Elaine Tan, executive director of the Asean Foundation; Rina Lopez-Bautista, LCF vice chairperson; Esther Santos, a member of LCF board of trustees; and Chito Maniago, LCF public affairs director. With them are members of the panel composed of (seated, from left) Titon Mitra, country director of United Nations Development Program Philippines; Budget Secretary Florencio Abad; Education Secretary Armin Luistro; Rafael Lopa, executive director of the Philippine Business for Social Progress; and Victoria Garchitorena, member of LCF advisory council.

Megaworld bares 20th residential tower in Makati

By Jenniffer B. Austria MEGAWORLD Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, said Monday it launched its 20th residential tower in the Makati central business district called San Antonio Residences, which is expected to generate as much as P2.1 billion in sales.

Megaworld in a disclosure to the stock exchange described the San Antonio Residence as a 40-storey residential tower rising along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.

It will offer 848 units ranging from studio (25 square meters)

to three-bedroom (93 square meters) structures.

“The fast take-up of our residential towers in Makati CBD is a clear indication that there is a continuing demand for condominium units in this city,” said Megaworld vice president for sales and marketing Eugene Em Lozano.

“While Megaworld continues to expand its township portfolio across the country, the company remains bullish in Makati CBD as it is already an established, stable and strong market for our residential offerings,” Lozano added.

Megaworld launched three new high-rise residential projects in the Makati central business district over the last last two years, namely the 30-storey Paseo Heights, the 31-storey Salcedo SkySuites and the 31-storey Greenbelt Hamilton Tower 1, Greenbelt Hamilton Tower 1 was sold out in less than six months while Greenbelt Hamilton Tower 2 and Three Central were nearly sold out.

“In Makati, location is always key. The demand is on the prime location which is the center of the CBD or within the area around the CBD,” Lozano said.

San Antonio Residences offers family-oriented lifestyle amenities that include a Parent-Kid B.O.N.D. (Begin, Open, Nurture and Discover) open area, swimming pool, children’s pool, pool deck, dance studio, fitness center, street fitness park, outdoor seating area and function rooms.

The residential tower is scheduled for completion in 2020.

Megaworld last year announced a plan to increase its portfolio of property developments, specifically residential and office towers, in the Makati CBD to more than 30 buildings by 2016.

Stocks slump; PLDT drops THE stock market sank Monday following a fourth successive selloff in New York, with investors weighing the US Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting and plans for interest rates.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 118.08 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,547.44 on a value turnover of P5.5 billion. The market closed just as President Benigno Aquino III was about deliver his last State of the Nation Address before Congress.

Losers swamped gainers, 123 to 44, with 41 issues unchanged.

BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender, fell 3.2 percent to P101.50, while sister SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest property developer, dropped 3.8 percent to P20.50.

Ayala Land Inc., a major property developer, lost 2.8 percent to P37.80, while rival Megaworld Corp. slumped 4.6 percent to P4.62.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, slipped 1.6 percent to P2,900.

Tokyo, meanwhile, fell 0.95 percent, or 194.43 points, to 20,350.10, Seoul gave up 0.35 percent, or 7.15 points, to 2,038.81 and in late trade Hong Kong shed 2.57 percent and Shanghai was 3.20 percent lower.

However, Sydney ended higher, adding 0.43 percent on gains by retailers.

Investors took a lead from their US counterparts, who continued to cash out on Friday as data showing sales of new single-family homes fell in June and May sales were much lower than previously reported.

The news, which followed a downbeat Chinese manufacturing report, trumped forecast-busting earnings from online retailer Amazon.

The Dow fell 0.92 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 1.07 percent and the Nasdaq sank 1.12 percent.

“Share markets are likely to remain volatile as we are still going through a seasonally weak period of the year for shares,” Shane Oliver, Sydney-based global strategist at AMP Capital Investors Ltd., told Bloomberg News.

“Uncertainties remain regarding Chinese economic growth and a likely Fed interest rate hike lies ahead for later this year.”

The focus is now on the Fed’s policy meeting this week. While it is not expected to raise rates, dealers are hoping for some forward guidance, with most analysts tipping a hike in either September or December. With AFP

B4

Domino’s branch. American restaurant chain Domino’s Pizza became the newest tenant at Tutuban Center as a part of the international franchise’s aggressive expansion in the Philippines. Shown are (from left) Tutuban Center leasing associate Jayson Aguirre, vice president for leasing and marketing Sylvia Tecson, Domino’s Pizza business development manager Jerson Miranda, business development officer Louie Reyes, Domino’s Pizza cadet engineer Armilyn Permalino and Tutuban Properties Inc. officer-in-charge Ron Sugapong.

Ayala, Puregold spending P2b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

AYAGOLD Retailers Inc., a joint venture of property developer Ayala Land Inc. and grocery chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc., plans to spend P2 billion to build 8 to 10 stores under the brand Merkado Supermarket over the next five years.

AyaGold general manager Cesar Cudala said in a news briefing Merkado Supermarket would target the broader middleincome market and would be located within Ayala Land’s malls or mixed-use community devel-

opments.

Minimum investment for one supermarket store is P200 million, with the average store size at 2,000 square meters to 2,500 square meters, officials said.

The first store, located at UP

Town Center, will open to the public on July 31, 2015.

Ayala Land vice-president Corazon Dizon said Merkado Supermarket extended the existing partnership between ALI and Puregold, with the latter serving as anchor supermarket at Ayala Malls Harbor Point in Subic and Fairview Terraces in Quezon City.

“Merkado Supermarket plays a significant role in ALI’s business portfolio. Not only does this strengthen and expand our retailing business which started with our convenience and department stores joint ventures, but is also a testament to our commitment in delivering a holistic environment

and experience to the mixed-use communities that we are developing,” Dizon said.

Ayagold president Anthony Sy said the introduction of Merkado Supermarket would enable Puregold to complete its product offerings and tap the broader market.

Puregold had 233 stores as of end-March 2015.

Sy said there were opportunities for Merkado Supermarket to grow in the domestic retail market despite the rapid expansion of other supermarket stores amid the continued growth of the domestic economy.

“The opportunity for Merkado

EcomCenters rides on growth of BPO SM INVESTMENTS Corp.’s property arm, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is poised to ride the wave of growth in the business process outsourcing sector with the expansion of EcomCenters in the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

The EcomCenter complex consists of OneEcom, TwoEcom and the FiveEcomCenter which was launched in May 2015.

“The Philippines remains one of the top BPO destinations in the world which has underpinned the growth in office demand. Our offices in the EcomCenters at the MOA Complex continue to offer world-class facilities, further enhanced by their proximity to major business districts, retail establishments, transport lines and major ports,” David Rafael, senior vice president of SM Prime Commercial Properties, said.

Industry analysts said the BPO industry was projected to earn $25 billion in revenues and employ 1.3 million and 3.2 million people directly and indirectly by 2016, equivalent to around eight percent of the Philippine economy.

Data from real estate consultancy KMC Research & Consultancy indicated that office take-up in the MOA Complex area increased by 11.8 percent in 2014 from last year. Prime rents rose by 8.5 percent to P602.60 per square meter a month while vacancy rates are likely to remain low at 2 percent.

In 2015, new supply will come from FiveEcomCenter which is already 80-percent pre-leased. With an investment of almost P3 billion, the new FiveEcom will have a gross floor area of 141,706 square meThe FiveEcomCenter at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. ters and an estimated gross leasable area of 83,000 sqm.

Supermarket to grow is quite big, as we see there are gaps in the market. So as long we can present different strategy and we are able to attract and hit the required target market, there is room for us to grow,” Sy said.

Cudala said while AyaGold was initially planning to build stores within Ayala Land malls, it was also considering the possibility of putting up stand-alone stores.

Cudala said Merkado Supermarket would offer a wide range of fresh and grocery items, an extensive line of local and imported goods and featured product lines from its own bakery and rotisserie.

T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

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

B5

Meralco’s profit climbs 22% Free time savers for the Mac THE Mac is a great machine out of the box, but junk can collect as you use it over time and slow it down.

Also, as good as OS X and the built-in Mac applications are, there are many ways to do things just a tad more efficiently and to extend the Mac’s functionality.

This week, we renew our search for free utilities and programs that address both these concerns. Here’s what we found.

Clean up your Mac. There are many utilities—some paid, others free—that tune up your Mac. A recent addition to this class of software is Mac Clean 2, a slick utility from iMobie (www.imobie.com/ macclean/) that can be downloaded free from the company’s website (It doesn’t seem to be in the App Store).

At its most basic level, Mac Clean 2 clears out the accumulated junk on your Mac. This includes junk left on your machine by your browser, including Internet cache files and cookies, browsing and download histories, sessions and site preferences.

Mac Clean 2 will also tag and clean out junk left by the system, including useless or outdated cache and log files, as well as unnecessary supporting files created during the installation or debugging of programs, and stuff that’s still sitting in your trash bin.

On my first run on my Macbook Air, Mac Clean 2 quickly scanned my system and recovered 2.3 gigabytes of disk space simply by cleaning out all this junk. If you are so inclined the program gives you control over what to keep and what to delete.

The program also comes with nine cleaning and tuning utilities that enable you to quickly locate old and large files and tag the ones you don’t need for deleting; find and delete duplicate files; permanently delete confidential files and leave no trace of them behind; remove thumbnail junk left by iPhoto; remove unwanted language files that come with OS X; shrink the size of applications by removing redundant binary files; uninstall programs without leaving any junk behind; manage extensions and plug-ins efficiently; and completely empty the trash bin by deleting its contents securely.

Instantly remove desktop clutter. I don’t really need this utility because I am very particular about keeping my desktop clean of data files, but I know a lot of Mac users who could use HiddenMe Free (in the App Store). The utility sits as a dot on the status bar—click it to instantly hide multiple rows and columns of desktop icons and click it again to show them. You can also set a hotkey shortcut to toggle between hiding and showing the icons.

Set alarms and reminders. From FIPLAB Ltd., the company that gave us the excellent MailTab for Gmail, the free utility Timeless (in the App Store) is billed as the best and most gorgeous alarm clock and reminder application for the Mac. The interface is certainly clean, colorful and absolutely easy to use. You can set an unlimited number of unique alarms and give each a descriptive title, and go into fullscreen nightstand mode. Choose from 20 alarm sounds or add your own custom sounds.

Control multimedia apps by touching air. ControlAir (in the App Store) is a nifty utility that lets you control multimedia applications like iTunes, QuickTime Player, Spotify and VLC by holding up a finger in front of the Mac’s camera and “air clicking” on controls that drop down from the top of the screen. The utility worked well enough when I tried it, though sometimes the dropdown controls took a while to appear. I’m not sure air control is any faster than moving the mouse through the trackpad, but hey, it’s a whole lot cooler.

Change screen resolution quickly. Display Menu (in the App Store) is a free utility that sits on the status bar that lets you change your display settings with a single click. This is particularly useful if you’re setting up a mirror of your screen on an LCD projector.

Check free disk space. Disk Space Tab (in the App Store) is a menu bar utility that displays graphically the amount of free space you have on hard drives, external drives, network drives, DVDs and CDs, memory cards and USB drives.

If your status bar is starting to feel a bit crowded after installing these utilities, don’t fret. You can get rid of the ones you don’t need. In my case, I rarely use Bluetooth, so I don’t need its icon taking up space on the menu bar. To remove an icon, simply position your mouse over it, hold down the Command key and drag the icon over to desktop.

Poof – no more unwanted status bar icon.

Column archives and blog at: http://www.chinwong.com

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER distributor Manila Electric Co. said Monday net income in the first half jumped 21.9 percent to P11.75 billion from a year ago, on higher demand for electricity during the period.

Meralco said core net income, which excluded extraordinary gains, also increased 17.9 percent to P11.64 billionfrom P9.87 billion in the same period last year.

Electricity sales volume grew 3 percent year-on-year to 17,753 gigawatt-hours, with an all-time high volume realized in the month of June at 3,441 gWh. “A favorable economic environment consisting of a healthy GDP growth, low inflation and interest rates, and excess liquidity in the banking system has provided the stimulus for sustained growth in energy sales,” Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

Commercial sales volume grew strongest in the first six months of 2015, registering a record 4 percent increase, with real estate,

hotels and restaurants and trade driving the growth.

Residential customers’ sales volume expanded 3 percent as per capita consumption of the mid-to-low customer segments was higher with record-low inflation rate of 1.2 percent at the end of the first half, the lowest in two decades.

Industrial sales volume grew 1 percent, supported by food and beverage, rubber and plastic products and basic metals.

Pangilinan said customer focus, smart spending and increased profit contributions from nonregulated business had enabled Meralco to register improved profitability in the first half.

Pangilinan, however, said the second-half financials faced chal-

lenges.

“A reduced distribution tariff from our last implemented rate in the third regulatory period of P1.5563 per kWh an interim average rate of P1.3810 per kWh, scheduled plant maintenance shutdown and higher operating expenses for project development costs of our subsidiaries, will weigh down on Meralco’s second half results,” he said.

Pangilinan said the lower interim average rate would have an impact to the company’’s finances of about P2.2 billion. However, the company’s P18.5-billion full year core net income forecast this year was still higher than the 2014 core net income of P18 billion.

“While we expect volume in the second half of 2015 to be slightly better than the first half, absent destructive weather disturbances, the lower interim rate implemented will weigh in on our results. On this basis, we guide our full-year results at P18.5 billion,” he said.

Consolidated revenues in the first half improved to P134 billion from P132.2 billion in the same period in 2014.

PhilExim director.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima swears in Tomasa Lipana as a member of the board of directors of the Philippine ExportImport Credit Agency. Prior to her appointment, she led the country’s second largest accounting firm, Isla Lipana & Co., a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

She was the first CPA/non-lawyer president of the Tax Management Association of the Philippines and was previously the vice president of the Management Association of the Philippines.

Investment pledges drop 16% to P139b

By Othel V. Campos INVESTMENT pledges approved by the Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority in the first five months dropped 16.3 percent from a year ago.

Data from the Trade Department showed combined investments in BoI and Peza in the January-May period amounted to P139.76 billion, down from P166.94 billion recorded a year ago.

Investments registered with Peza plummeted 39.8 percent in the five-month period to P61.08 billion from P101.48 billion a year earlier. The amount accounted for 43.7 percent of total investments in the period.

Investments approved by BoI grew 20.2 percent to P78.68 bil-

lion from P65.46 billion in the same period.

The two agencies posted a record investments of P742.16 billion in 2013, which declined 14.5 percent to P634.24 billion in 2014.

Data showed that in 2014, real estate led investments with P183.1 billion accounting for 28.9 percent share of the total and with a growth of 58.1 percent over P115.4 billion in 2013.

Electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply contributed P178.9 billion for a 28.2 percent share of the total. However, the industry also posted the biggest decline in investments of 48.1 percent from P344.7 billion in 2013.

Manufacturing, construction and administrative support followed with P123.9 billion, P63.9

billion and P31.55 billion investments, respectively, accounting for 19.5, 10.1 and 5 percent of the total investment in 2014.

Transportation and storage, accommodation and food service activities, and information and communication ranked 6th, 7th and 8th among the ten industries that contributed to investments each with P21.14 billion, P20.36 billion and P5.56 billion investments, respectively.

These industries accounted for 3.3, 3.2 and 0.9 percent share of total investments.

The ninth and final contributor to investments in 2014 were agriculture, forestry and fishing, and human health and social work activities with investments of P2.51 billion and P62 million, accounting for 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

TUESDAY: JULY 28, 2015

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

Inflation to fall further to 0.5%

By Julito G. Rada

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. sees inflation in July decelerating further to as low as 0.5 percent from 1.2 percent in June due to lower oil prices and power rates.

“Following the significant deceleration in inflation in June, BSP forecasts suggest July inflation could remain low and settle within 0.5-1.3 percent range,” Tetangco said in a text message to reporters.

“Downward pressure could come from the lower local pump prices and power rates for the month,” Tetangco said, adding deflation was “unlikely” in the coming months.

He said the Bangko Sentral would continue to monitor domestic and global developments to ensure the policy stance remained supportive of price stability and conducive to a balanced

and sustainable economic growth.

The Energy Regulatory Commission on July granted provisional authority to Manila Electric Co.--the country’s largest power distributor--to implement lower distribution, supply and metering charges.

ERC provisionally approved a distribution charge of P1.0114 per kilowatt-hour, supply rate of P0.2251 per kWh and metering fee of P1.3810 per kWh for Meralco. The ERC said the rates were 11.26 percent or P0.1752 per kWh lower than the previous average rate of P1.5562 per kWh. Oil companies on July 14 cut the price of diesel by P1.50 per li-

ter, gasoline by P0.55 to P0.60 per liter, and kerosene by P1.60 per liter to reflect the movement in world oil prices.

The government earlier predicted inflation this year to settle between 2 percent and 4 percent,or lower than the forecast of 3 percent to 5 percent for 2014.

Inflation averaged 2 percent in the first half of 2015, the lower end of the 2 percent to 4 percent target range. Inflation in June further decelerated to 1.2 percent from the 1.6 percent in May. The manageable inflation environment prompted the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral to keep the key policy rates steady at 4 percent for overnight borrowing and 6 percent for overnight lending in its latest meeting on June 25. It was the sixth time that the board maintained the benchmark rates since October last year.

The interest rates on term RRPs, RPs, special deposit accounts and reserve requirement ratios were likewise left unchanged.

Top travel agent. Emirates Airline hosted an awarding ceremony for top travel agencies for the

Philippine market. ATP-Instone Manila emerged number one out of the 13 identified travel agencies. Shown at the awarding ceremony are (from left) Emirates Philippines sales manager Jourdan Dimatulac, Emirates Philippines country manager Abdalla Al Zamani, ATP Instone general manager Mariecar Han and Emirates sales executive Niko Arca. Other travel agencies recognized during the ceremony were ISS GMT, Triple Eight International Travel and Tours, Fiesta Tours and Travel, Infinity Travel & Tours, Pan Pacific Travel, Uni-Orient Travel, Griffin Travel, Constellation Travels, Horizon Travel & Tours, Ark Travel Express and Spectrum Travel and Tours.

Pryce unit seeking rehab plan exit

By Alena Mae S. Flores PRYCE Gases Inc., majority owned by Pryce Corp., has sought the termination of its corporate rehabilitation proceedings with the Regional Trial Court-Makati Branch 146.

“The termination of PGI’s rehabilitation proceedings will enable it to return to normal operations and allow it fresh access to credit and capital sources...,” parent Pryce said in a disclosure Monday to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Pryce said the legal move would enable its unit “to further expand its operations and tap opportunities for business growth, which in turn

will put Pryce Corp. in a position of achieving its revenue and profit targets as a consolidated concern.”

Pryce Gases accounts for about 90 percent to 95 percent of the parent firm’s consolidated revenues.

Pryce Gases in engaged in the manufacture and distribution of industrial and medical gases and liquefied petroleum gas under the trade name Pryce Gas. It operates in Mindanao and Visayas.

Pryce Gases said in a petition that the only remaining creditors in the final tranche of debt were Josefina Multi-Ventures Corp. and Oro Oxygen Corp.

The two are affiliates of Pryce Gases and have endorsed the peti-

tion to termite the rehabilitation.

It said the tranche A debt had been fully paid by Pryce Gases in October last year.

“Moreover, the obligations due to trade creditors under the rehabilitation plan have been paid or assigned to affiliates,” Pryce Gases said.

The interim rules on corporate rehabilitation provides for the termination of corporate proceedings upon successful implementation of the rehabilitation plan.

Pryce Gases filed a petition for rehabilitation with the commercial court at Regional Trial Court Branch 138 (now Branch 149) of Makati in August 27, 2002.

Customs’ three principal concerns THE Bureau of Customs is mandated by law to perform two very important governmental functions. One function is the collection of customs duties and fees, in its capacity as a part of the Department of Finance structure. The other function is the implementation of laws regulating the movement of goods into and out of this country. When BoC performs this function well, governance benefits; when it underperforms, governance suffers.

These issues are matters of concern for, and are intimately bound up with, the operations of the BoC. They are world oil prices, the impact of word oil prices on domestic consumer prices and the volume of inputs for manufacturing, utilities and the rest of the industrial sector.

How this trio of BoC concerns played out during the first half of 2015 is discussed in the BoC’s preliminary report for that period.

In an era of steady diminution in the number of dutiable imports as a result of globalization, regional free trade arrangements and the establishment of the World Trade Organization, the revenue base of BoC has been gradually eroded, with the result that it can no longer be expected to account for the same percentage of total government revenues that it used to account for in the previous high-tariff world trade environment. With the advent of preferential trading arrangements, those days are gone and are unlikely to return.

But oil is a key element in the economic life of this country— providing the raw material for power, transportation and commerce—and oil imports continue to be a dominant item in the totality of Philippine import trade. Duties on oil imports account today for close to 30 percent of total BoC collections.

It goes without saying that that ratio is affected by movements in world oil prices. When oil prices fall sharply, as they have been doing for about a year, BoC’s expected and realized revenues from oil imports are likewise sharply affected. Revenues from $110-per-barrel oil are vastly higher than revenues from $50-perbarrel oil. World oil prices are still looking for the bottom.

How big a hit have BoC oil revenues taken during the current price slide? The new Commissioner of Customs estimated last week that the hit has been in the vicinity of P78 billion. That is a large chunk of the P430 billion that BoC was projected to collect during the current fiscal year. The downward movement of world oil prices and the resulting drop in collections from oil imports are stark realities and have to be factored in any revision of projected BoC collection performance in 2015.

Still, BoC revenues are only one part of this country’s economic equation. There are other parts. For one, there are consumer prices to consider. Reduced BoC collections are undoubtedly bad news for the financing of the 2015 national budget’s expenditures, but they are good news for Filipino consumers. While they may fret over the drop in their Bureau’s collections, BoC’s officials should be cognizant of, and be happy about, the benefits that consumers are deriving from the reduced fares, the reduced electricity charges and other consumer-price reductions being generated by the continuing weakness of the world oil market.

Duties on industrial imports are the other major source of BoC revenues. The trend of the volume of industrial imports is perhaps the best indicator of whether an economy like this country’s is on an upward or a downward trend, for industrial production in this country is heavily dependent on imports of raw materials, supplies and equipment. An honest BoC report that industrial imports rose or declined during a certain period is an excellent indicator of whether the nation’s industrial activity—and the nation in general—was vigorous during that period. According to the commissioner, imports of industrial items fell by 12 percent during the first six months of 2015.

The above concerns make up the trio of concerns that are of greatest importance to today’s BoC. Given the trends in international economy and the developments at home, the Aquino administration at the very least cannot expect a BoC performance better than that which the Bureau posted in 2015’s first semester.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

t u e s D aY : J u LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Call for end to US embargo SANTIAGO DE CUBA—Cuba marked the anniversary of Fidel Castro’s first armed uprising 62 years ago Sunday with calls for an end to the US embargo and the return of the US naval base at Guantanamo.

The ceremony—attended by Cuban President Raul Castro and some 10,000 of the country’s ruling elite and their guests, but not by the frail 88-yearold Fidel—was the first since the restoration of relations with the United States.

“Now begins a long and complex road toward the normalization of bilateral relations, which includes, among other things, the end of the blockade and the return of the Guantanamo naval base,” said Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, the number two of Cuba’s communist party.

Machado’s brief speech contrasted with the hours long antiAmerican orations Fidel was known for, particularly on the July 26, 1953 anniversary of the assault he led on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago.

Though a military failure that landed Castro in prison, the uprising is considered the start of a revolutionary movement that ultimately ousted the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

Across the country in Havana, 40 members of the Ladies in White opposition group and another 27 activists who were holding a weekly protest march were arrested and held for several hours, their leader Berta Soler told AFP. Cuban authorities do not confirm arrests.

Fidel stepped down as the country’s president in 2006 in poor health; his brother and successor Raul has presided over tentative economic

changes but the overwhelming majority of the Soviet-style economy is still governmentrun and in grim shape.

Cubans earn about $20 a month, oxen still plow fields and people face long lines for transport in Havana.

Cuba’s main ally and economic partner of more than a decade, Venezuela, is facing economic and political crises that some analysts fear could destabilize Cuba.

And on December 17, Raul Castro and US President Barack Obama stunned the world by announcing plans to restore relations severed for more than half a century. On July 20, the longtime Cold War foes reopened embassies in each other’s countries.

A US trade embargo remains in effect, however, with opposition to lifting it strong in the Republican-dominated US Congress.

The US naval base at Guantanamo on the southeastern tip of Cuba is now best know for a US prison holding suspected violent militants that Obama has so far unsuccessfully sought to close.

Cuba says the base is illegally occupied but the United States disagrees.

Washington says it is mindful of human rights concerns in Cuba, the only Communistrun, single-party state across the Americas.

But it appears for now to have stopped conditioning bilateral relations on changes it unsuccessfully pressed for over five decades. AFP

Obama in Ethiopia. US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn attend a welcoming ceremony in Addis Ababa on July 27. Obama officially begins a two-day visit to Ethiopia, the first-ever trip by a US president to Africa’s second-most populous nation and the seat of the African Union. AFP

Bangladesh has only 100 tigers in forest DHAKA—Bangladesh has only about 100 tigers living in the world’s largest mangrove forest, far fewer of the endangered animals than previously thought, following a recent survey, a top forestry official said Monday.

Some 440 tigers were recorded during the previous census conducted in 2004 in the World Heritage-listed Sundarbans, one of the world’s last remaining habitats for the big cats.

But experts said better methodology was the reason for the huge drop in the numbers, saying hidden cameras used this time around, rather than pug marks, gave a much more accurate figure.

Tapan Kumar Dey, the gov-

ernment’s wildlife conservator, said analysis of camera footage from the year-long survey that ended in April found numbers ranged between 83 and 130, giving an average of 106.

“So plus or minus we have around 106 tigers in our parts of the Sundarbans. It’s a more accurate figure,” Dey told AFP of the survey, which has not yet been publicly released.

About 74 tigers have previously been counted on the Indian side of the Sundarbans, which makes up nearly 40 percent of the forest straddling both countries over 10,000 square kilometers.

Bengal tigers live mainly in India, where nationwide there

are 2,226, with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar.

Monirul Khan, a zoology professor at Bangladesh’s Jahangirnagar University and the nation’s foremost tiger expert, said the new survey confirmed his worst fears.

“It seems the population has declined (in the past) to more than what we had feared,” Khan said, saying his studies showed the figure was no more than 200.

Khan said the government needed to do more to protect the animals, whose numbers were shrinking because of poaching and rapid development on the edge of the forest.

The World Wildlife Fund says tigers worldwide are in

serious danger of becoming extinct in the wild. Their numbers have fallen from 100,000 in 1900 to around 3,200 now.

Officials have conceded that the pugmark tracking system used in 2004 was unreliable and cameras were installed in trees throughout the forest for the latest survey.

Y.V. Jhala, professor at the Wildlife Institute of India, told AFP the new figure was the “reality”.

“The 440 figure was a myth and an imagination.

Bangladesh parts of the Sundarbans with its prey size can support up to 200 tigers,” he said, also urging authorities to act to better protect the cats. AFP

Woman jailed for sex with boy, 12

Blockade. Tractors are parked on a road in Kehl, Germany, to block the bridge linking Kehl and Stasbourg, France, on July 27. French farmers blocked roads from Spain and Germany to stop foreign products entering the country, the latest protest against a fall in food prices. AFP

MELBOURNE—A woman who had regular sex with her daughter’s 12-year-old friend and bore his child was Monday jailed for up to six years, with the judge saying she took away his childhood.

The Melbourne mother-ofthree, who cannot be named to protect the boy and the baby’s identity, was 36 when she began driving her daughter and her friend to school in 2011.

The Victoria County Court heard that she admitted developing feelings for the child and began a relationship with him, with the pair having sex

without using condoms.

The Melbourne Age newspaper reported that the abuse went on for two years and she became pregnant, giving birth to a girl in May last year when the boy was 14.

When the victim’s parents found out about the relationship, they confronted the woman and reported her to police. A DNA test confirmed he was the baby’s father.

“You failed to recognize that your feelings for the boy were completely inappropriate,” Judge Jane Patrick said. “You commenced and continued an abusive sexual relationship.”

In a victim impact statement the boy’s mother said the woman’s actions had affected her entire family.

“She has described how you have taken away his childhood and the difficulties he has had adjusting to fatherhood and what has happened to him,” the judge said, adding that the woman was supposed to be taking care of the boy and had breached his trust.

The woman was sentenced to a maximum of six years in jail after pleading guilty to the persistent sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16. She must serve at least three years and six months. AFP

T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 , 2 0 1 5

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cESAr bArrioqUinTo EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Whitney Houston’s daughter dead at 22 LOS ANGELES—Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of pop legend Whitney Houston and singer Bobby Brown, died Sunday aged 22, six months after she was found unconscious in a bathtub in her home.

“She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months,” a short family statement said, adding she was surrounded by loved ones as she slipped away.

Bobbi Kristina—sole heir to Houston’s estate—was discovered face down and unresponsive in her bathtub in her Atlanta, Georgia home on January 31.

She was revived by emergency crews but lost significant brain function and was placed in a medically induced coma. She died at a hospice in Duluth, Georgia.

She passed away, according to the TMZ celebrity website, after her family decided to “take her off all meds.”

Her death—which a source told Entertainment Tonight was linked to an apparent drug overdose—drew eerie parallels to that of her mother, who was found face down in a bathtub in a Los Angeles hotel on February 11, 2012, on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

Many Houston fans sent messages of support for the family on Twitter, saying Bobbi Kristina would be reunited with her mother.

“Rest In Heaven. You were loved, Bobbi Kristina Brown,” actress and singer Holly Robinson Peete said on Twitter.

Oprah Winfrey tweeted: “Peace at Last!”

Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliott tweeted: “My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy.”

Bobbi Kristina’s parents separated in 2006 and divorced in 2007, with Houston awarded custody of their daughter, amid claims of abuse and drug use in the high-profile relationship. AFP

‘Reach Up.’ From left, Benj Gershman of O.A.R., Marc Roberge of O.A.R., Madison Tevlin, Bree Bogucki, Cody Simpson, and Richard On of O.A.R.

perform the Coca-Cola Unified song “Reach Up” during the ‘Coca-Cola and ESPN Celebration Of The Human Spirit Of Eunice Kennedy Shriver’ at the Special Olympics World Games Founders Reception on July 26 in Los Angeles, California. AFP

No warm welcome for Greece’s creditors ATHENS—In Greece, hospitality is a concept as old as the Acropolis. But the country’s hated creditors cannot expect the usual warm welcome when they arrive this week to thresh out a third huge international bailout.

It has been more than a year since top negotiators from the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank—together known as the “troika”—last set foot in Athens, and the symbolism of their return is not lost on the Greeks.

The three institutions became a widely loathed emblem of the painful austerity

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demanded by Greece’s creditors in return for two previous bailouts, cuts many say brought the country’s economy to its knees.

“The troika represents pure brutalization,” said 28-year-old Marios as he smoked a cigarette in the doorway of his T-shirt shop in central Athens.

“They make these plans that affect our lives,” he said. “But things are getting worse and worse. I don’t know when we’re going to hit the bottom of the barrel. People don’t have work, they don’t have enough to eat.”

In late January a new government led by radical-left party Syriza came to power, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowing to confront the troika and restore “dignity” to Greece.

But six months later, the negotiators are on their way back to discuss a third rescue—

worth up to 86 billion euros ($94 billion)— which Athens hopes will prevent it from defaulting on its huge debts and crashing out of the eurozone. Again, the cash is conditional on more tough economic reforms.

They will come at a time when a quarter of Greeks are already unemployed and Standard and Poor’s rating agency predicts the battered economy will contract by another three percent this year.

All over Athens, graffiti reading “Oxi” (“No”) is a reminder of the 61 percent who voted against more cash-for-austerity in a referendum on July 5 urged on by Tsipras himself, who then went on to sign the country up for more unpopular reforms in exchange for the bailout.

The troika remains a sorely sensitive political symbol in Athens. AFP

T U E S D AY : J U LY 2 8 : 2 0 1 5

TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

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

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

A RTS, CU LT U RE & T ECH

LIFE

HUGO BOSS ASIA ART 2015:

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Spotlight on Six Emerging Artists

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elieving that art and fashion are intertwined disciplines guided by innovation and creativity, Hugo Boss initiated an Arts Sponsorship program to provide a platform for emerging contemporary artists to showcase their work.

In 1996, the German luxury and fashion house collaborated with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum in New York to establish the Hugo Boss Prize, which has become one of the world’s most renowned accolades for visionary contributions to contemporary art.

In 2013, Hugo Boss introduced the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, a biennial awardgiving body conceived and curated by the Rockbund Art Museum that focuses on promoting young emerging contemporary artists in Asia.

For the second edition of the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award, the work of artists from over 10 countries in Asia was carefully vetted and narrowed down to a selection of six finalists who will vie for the top prize to be announced this November. The work of these

artists will be shown in an upcoming group exhibition that will run from October 30, 2015 until January 3, 2016 at the Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai, China. Newly commissioned artworks will be created and unveiled specifically for the award, with the winner to receive a stipend of about $48,335 to further hone his or her creativity.

While the second edition of the Award puts focus on Greater China, it also includes exciting artists from Southeast Asia, highlighting the rich possibilities for cultural exchange and dialogue across the region.

“The Hugo Boss Asia Art Award is an important element in our Arts Sponsorship program. We are very happy to offer this platform to young talents for the second time, especially in such an important cultural context as Asia,” says Dr. Hjördis Kettenbach, Head of Cultural Affairs at Hugo Boss.

The six artists selected in recognition of their artistic practice include the Philippines’ very own Maria Taniguchi, Guan Xiao of China, Huang Po-Chih of Taiwan, Moe Satt from Myanmar, Vandy Rattana from Cambodia and Yang Xinguang also of China.

MOE SATT Myanmar

→Lives and works as a visual and performance artist in Yangon, Myanmar. Started creating art after graduating from East Yangon University with a degree in Zoology in 2005 and is part of a new generation of emerging Burmese artists. →Founded and organized Beyond Pressure in 2008, an international festival of performance art in Myanmar. →Recently participated in the 2nd CAFAM Biennale at CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, China, in 2014, and in the group exhibition “A Journal of the Plague Year” at Para Site Art Space in Hong Kong in 2013. The artist also curated the exhibition “General / Tiger / Gun” at Rebel Art Space in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2014.

Moe Satt, Hands around in Yangon, 2012

GUAN XIAO

Guan Xiao, The Documentary- Geocentric Puncture, 2012, installation, mix media, each 230 x 280 x 210 cm

China

→Participated in the 2015 New Museum Triennial “Surround Audience” at the New Museum in New York. Other recent group exhibitions include “Don’t You Know Who I Am? Art After Identity Politics” at Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen in Antwerpen, Belgium and “Degeneration” at OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT), Shanghai, China in 2014. Her work is also featured in the book “The Future Will Be…China”

by Hans Ulrich Obrist.

MARIA TANIGUCHI Philippines

→Received her MFA in Art Practice at Goldsmiths in London in 2009 and a BFA in Sculpture from the University of the Philippines. Was selected for “Art Statements” (2013), a section of solo presentations by emerging artists at Art Basel 44. →Received the Ateneo Art Award for her solo exhibition “Echo Studies” at the Jorge Vargas Museum and received the same award for the video "Untitled (Celestial Motors)” shown at Silverlens Manila.

Maria Taniguchi Studio Visit, 2014, artist’s notebooks laser etched on birch plywood, 61 x 44.5 cm

Moe Satt, The Bicycle Tyre-rolling event from Yangon, 2013

Maria Taniguchi, Untitled, 2014, acrylic, canvas, wood support, unframed, 274 x 488 cm Continued on C3

TUESDAY : J ULY 28 : 2015

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

SCRAP BEGETS NEW LIFE IN ADAMSONIAN ALUMNUS’ EXHIBIT

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o wood or material is ever thrown away once it gets into Engr. Reynaldo Araos’s hands. The imaginative engineer and entrepreneur, a BS Electrical Engineering graduate (1983) of Adamson University, and his equally creative family and friends recently premiered an exhibit at the Adamson University Art Gallery showcasing their exquisite handiwork.

From Scrap to Life: Restoring, Rebuilding, and Making Life Anew showcased wooden sculptures and furniture along with various photographs and paintings, all framed with reused wood. The furniture and frames were built together without using metal nails and finished not with varnish but only finishing oil, thus allowing people to feel the wood as naturally as it can get.

Joining Engr. Araos’s own works were the creations of his uncle Jerry Araos, Clifford Espinosa, Julian Araos, Babeth Lolarga, Jeffrey Araos, and Jemil Araos, which now belong to the engineer’s personal collection.

The creativity and functionality that Araos and other artists placed into their works extended to the pieces’ names. There is Under the Tables by Clifford Espinosa which at first glance looks like an intricate single table but which is actually composed of several pieces that can be removed to serve as low benches to surround the center table. The piece is majestic in its design and the use of wooden

pegs as nails will make sure that Tables will last for generations.

Then there is Bantana, made by Engr.

Araos himself – a chest made out of an old window and named so after the Tagalog words for chest (baul) and window (bintana).

Another creation was the Kamamesha (from the Filipino words kama, mesa, and hapag), a long table created from an old-fashioned window and fitted with rollers under the legs so it can be pushed over a queen-size bed to let the family have breakfast, read, or write while in bed.

The unusually shaped Luklukan by Jerry Araos is a chair that is not so much a chair but acts more as a perch answering the various sitting habits of Filipinos. Coffee tables and stools feature prominently in this exhibit as well, including Kaperaso, which is a coffee table made of small pieces of hardwood scraps

FAITH THROUGH ART Maximo Vicente sculptures on exhibit at San Beda Alabang museum

Maximo Vicente's works reflect strong faith and fine taste.

adorned with a matching blue flower vase.

Kaperaso is a contraction of the words kape (coffee) and kapiraso (small piece).

Engr. Araos’s penchant for making something new out of what others will throw away springs back from his life experience as a child. He came from an impoverished background and was once a scavenger on the city’s streets; this

experience imprinted on his mind that trash could be made into something that will be both useful and beautiful. Blessed as he is with capable mind and hands, Engr.

Araos has now built himself a collection of unique, wonderful artworks, showing excellent craftsmanship and versatility – with the Adamson a witness to the talent of one of its own.

The Bantana

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hose familiar w it h early sculptors and saint makers will have an opportunity to view the works of Maximo Vicente Sr. via “Lilok,” an exhibit of religious art at the San Beda College Alabang Museum.

Hailed as the master sculptor of religious imager y, Maximo Vicente, Sr. was also the most successful commercial santero of all time. He set up a shop called Talleres de Maximo Vicente at Calle Hidalgo in Quiapo, Manila in 1908 but later moved to M. Adriatico Street in Ermita.

To this day, owning a Maximo Vicente piece is an honor bequeathed to those of strong faith and fine taste. The talleres was known to produce images that could rival those made by the best artisans of Europe – every piece was perfect in artistry and workmanship. It took anywhere from three to 12 months to complete a commissioned image. It was this superior craftsmanship and his deep faith that made the creations of Maximo Vicente unparalleled.

The famed sculptor was born in Malabon to Antonina Vicente and a Spaniard named Guardamonte. He graduated from the UP School of Fine Arts in 1909, and was married

to Crispina Laxamana with whom he had 11 children. It was Maximo Jr. and his wife Soledad Hernandez-Vicente who carried on his father’s legacy at the talleres.

At one time, the talleres was also commissioned to make the “carroza triunfal” (boat-shaped carriage) of the Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario for the La Naval and restore the Sto. Niño in Tondo after it was stolen and dismembered in1972.

The Santo Niño de Praga of San Beda College in Mendiola and San Beda College Alabang, the Nuestra Señora delos Remedios which he fashioned to its original 1624 form, the Holy Trinity image in Balic Balic, the frescoes and murals at the Church of Santiago de Apostol in Betis, the Santa Maria Magdalena in Apalit, the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Iloilo, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Pagsanjan, the statues at the main and side altars of our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in New Manila, the crucified Christ in Trece Martires and Virgen Milagrosa are but a few of the handiworks of Maximo Vicente and his artisans.

The exhibit will run until August 16 at the Gallery 2 of San Beda College Alabang Museum.

TUESDAY : J ULY 28 : 2015

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HUGO BOSS ASIA ART 2015

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP

From C1

YANG XINGUANG

What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

China

→Graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China in 2007, and has since participated in various solo and group exhibitions in China and Hong Kong, including his recent solo exhibition “Yang Xinguang” at Beijing Commune in Beijing, China, and the solo exhibition “Immeasurably Fair” at Gallery EXIT in Hong Kong in 2013. →Also participated in group exhibitions such as “The System of Objects” at Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai, China, and The 2nd “CAFAM Future Exhibition – Observer-Creator, The Reality Representative of Chinese Young Art” at CAFA Art Museum in Beijing, China, in 2015.

Yang Xinguang Untitled (Stairs), 2014, stainless steel, oil paint, 150 x 80 x 210 cm

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Yang Xinguang, Fondle, 2009-2013, house beam, ink, 3300 x 500 cm, 18 pieces

VANDY RATTANA Cambodia

→A trained photographer who documents natural and manmade disasters in challenging conditions in his home country. Also experiments with photographic abstraction and video. Because Cambodia lost significant historical archives during the violent cultural cleansing campaign implemented by the communist Khmer Rouge regime, Rattana operates in a context in which the act of remembrance is a form of subversion. →Recent projects include his solo exhibition “Bomb Ponds” at Asia Society Museum in New York, USA; group exhibition “Time of Others” at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan, in 2015 and group exhibition “No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia” at Asia Society, Hong Kong, in 2013.

Vandy Rattana “Surface” 2012

HUANG PO-CHIH Taiwan

→Graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan in 2011 and has since participated in various group exhibitions including “Testimony of Food: Ideas and Food” at Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taipei, Taiwan in 2015, in the Taipei Biennale at Taipei Fine Arts Museum and The 8th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale at OCT Contemporary Art Terminal (OCAT) in 2014. →Has a diverse artistic practice that principally explores issues such as agriculture, economics, popular consumption and production, depicting and surveying local history and the evolution of society and the environment.

Huang Po-Chih, Production Line—Made in China & Made in Taiwan, 2014, installation, dimensions variable

EXHIBITS

WORKSHOPS

GINA OSTERLOH: NOTHING TO SEE HERE THERE NEVER WAS Silverlens Galleries, Makati City Ongoing until August 15 In the latest solo exhibition of Filipino-American photographer Gina Osterloh, 14 photographs and one 16mm film loop piece showcase the sense of absent presence that defies, exceeds and often belies expectations.

Her work, which is composed of images with handdrawn dots and lines, compels viewers to move a little closer to scrutinize their details, to examine whether what the eyes initially see is what they had expected or if there’s something more beneath.

For more information, visit www.silverlensgalleries.com

STORYTELLING WITH ARTS AND CRAFTS FOR KIDS Ayala Museum, Makati City August 1, 8, and 15, 2015 | 9 – 11 AM

MM YU: SUM OF ITS PARTS The Big Room, Art Informal, Mandaluyong City Ongoing until August 8 In MM Yu’s latest series, she attempts to connect distinguished images to the present and showcase the overlapping details that highlight the contrast in each photograph: chaos in the quiet, organic with man made structure, appealing and ordinary. The thirtysomething photographer and painter goes around cities to capture images of decaying wood, discarded furniture, plant growing in a cracked concrete, and a new building being constructed in the backdrop of a famous landmark, among others.

For more information, visit www.artinformal.com DATU ARELLANO: TAHIGAMI The Inner Room, Art Informal, Mandaluyong City Ongoing until August 8 From an obsession with a three-sided polygon back in 2011, Datu Arellano no exhibits his Tahigami creations. From the Filipino word tahi (stitch) and gami/ kami (paper), the UP Fine Arts-educated visual artist and musician showcases his rule-based drawings that feature geometric figures made of triangles – as the basic building block – stitched on paper.

Arellano attempts to inspire definitions and interest in each of his compositions that are made by connecting (dots), discovering common threads (in each lines formed), finding intersections and meaning (to create a three-sided polygon), and forming new relationships.

For more information, visit www.artinformal.com INEVITABLY IMPERFECT 2 Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, Makati City July 29 to August 15 Following the successful run of its inaugural exhibition in Bangkok in June 2013, the “Inevitably Imperfect” artist collective, organized

by Dexter Sy and Dan Barry, is coming together once again to feature eight artists from around the world.

The diverse pool of featured artists: Dan Barry (USA), Jane Brike (Latvia), Edward Robin Coronel (USA), Jittagarn Kaewtinkoy and Niwat Promma / Kai Chickenart (Thailand), Dexter Sy and Lynryd Paras (Philippines), and Akira Miyamoto (Japan) will showcase their personal interpretations – via multiple artwork – of the purposely ambiguous theme “Inevitably Imperfect.”

For more information, visit www.vinylonvinylgallery.com

Kids aged 3-10 will be treated to Saturdays of joy and laughter at the Ayala Museum in August when they join this workshop. Stories will come alive through the weekly storytelling sessions and the hands-on arts and crafts activities.

Per session rate costs P650 while the All Saturdays package is P1,570. Special discounts are applicable.

For inquiries and reservations, call 758-8288 or email education@ayalamuseum.org

THEATER PLAYS FLORANTE AT LAURA AFP Theater, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City July 31 and August 1

For its 38th season, Gantimpala Theater Foundation Inc. opens with its very own production of Francisco Balagtas’ “Florante at Laura.” This poetic art, which is one of the most enduring Filipino literary masterpieces that examines the nature of justice, truth and commitment to fairness, is written into play by Boni Ilagan and directed by Roeder Camañag.

After its premier at AFP Theater, the show will come at Star Theater in Star City (August 7) and SM Southmall (August 14 to 15).

For more information and booking reservations, call 998-5622 or text 0921-2513733 or send email to gantimpalatheatermarketing@yahoo.com

CONCERTS LUCA LITTLE LIVE IN MANILA 2015 Bernardo Sim Multipurpose Hall, Alliance Française de Manille, Makati City July 30 (6:30 pm)

After gaining a sizable fan base in the Philippines, Swiss singer/songwriter Luca Little is finally coming to the country to meet and perform for his Pinoy fans.

Little’s three concerts, which are free and open to the public, are organized and supported by the Embassy of Switzerland and the Swiss Cultural Fund Philippines.

Following his stop on July 30, Little will perform at Tiendesitas on the 31st (11 pm), and will serenade the crowd at Rizal Park on August 1 (6 pm).

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A Hermitism neckpiece as seen in the film Islands

Photo by Doc Marlon

A Hermitism headpiece as seen on the runway during a Santi Obcena show in Japan

Work in progress

CREEPY/BEAUTIFUL: Photo by Raymond Cauilan

Photo by Myk Yco

Wearable bone art Accessories made of bones are nothing new.

In fashion, they’re used mainly to i nj e c t a THE GIST g e n e r o u s

BY ED BIADO dose of shock value to an ensemble. In costume design, they help sell the narrative and deliver drama.

On their own, they evoke emotions, usually uncomfortable ones, which is precisely the point of them being created.

For 23-year-old mass communication graduate and “bone designer” Herminio Tan Jr., it’s about “making ugly things beautiful” and “useless things useful.” With absolutely no background in art and design, he began experimenting with bones in July 2013, having been inspired by a variety of things: Lady Gaga’s spine prosthetic in the Bad Romance music video, the hyperstylized work of Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, and computer games that he used to play as a child, among others.

The self-taught designer took to YouTube to learn all about manipulation and fabrication of materials and reached out to friends from the worlds of art and fashion for perspective and wisdom. He credits fashion designer Santi Obcena and visual artist Tokwa Peñaflorida as his mentors.

Mostly headdresses, masks, neckpieces and armors, the pieces are over the top. It cannot be said that they lack shock and drama. Piecing animal parts (ethically sourced, Tan insists) together – including the skeletons of dogs, cats, horses, goats, bulls and pigs – he designs wearable art creations that often have an eerie, dark and, at the same time, organic feel about them. There are even pieces with human teeth on them.

For more sculptural pieces, the designer chooses to work with fiberglass. The versatile material is molded to form antlers, solid armors and other parts of a design that call for specific shapes and dimensions.

Tan’s type of artistic expression really isn’t for everyone. His

pieces are bound to make some people queasy. According to him, a few items have actually scared off a fashion model or two at photo shoots because they’re too scary to put on one’s body. But isn’t that what art – even the wearable kind – is supposed to do?

Check out more of Herminio Tan Jr.’s work on www.facebook.com/HermitismX.

Herminio Tan Jr. wearing his own creation

T UES DAY : J ULY 2 8: 2015

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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Cinema ReHiyon 7 kiCks off in Cebu

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he seventh edition of Cinema Rehiyon, the flagship program of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) National Committee on Cinema, will run from Aug.t 6 to 9 in Cebu. With the theme Sa Kinasang-an sa Ikapito nga Alampat (At the Crossroads of the Seventh Art), the non-competitive event aims to promote and highlight the significance of local culture and the arts through cinema.

Around 70 films, representing the best from the different regions across the country, as selected by curators Katrina Ross Tan and Teddy Co (Luzon), Cinema Rehiyon 7 festival director Maria Victoria “Bambi” Beltran and Elvert Bañares (Visayas), and Rudolph Ian Alama and Dax Cañedo (Mindanao), will be shown in Colonnade Mall’s Oriente Theater, SM City Cebu cinemas, and the Film and Media Arts (FMA) International Academy, among others.

Leroy Salvador’s Badlis sa Kinabuhi (The Line of Life), 1968, will open Cinema Rehiyon 7. The film gave Gloria Sevilla, considered the Queen of Visayan films, her first FAMAS Best Actress award in 1969. It also brought her international recognition when it competed at the 16th Asian Film Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia and was exhibited at the Berlin Film Festival.

Expected to grace the opening night are Sevilla, Suzette Ranillo, Esteban Escudero, and Undo Juizan, the first Cebuano to win the FAMAS Best Child Actor award in 1955 for Salingsing sa Kasakit.

Apart from Badlis sa Kinabuhi, other Joe Macahor’s Manok ni San Pedro with Escudero and Teresa Diez, and Gene Labella’s “Alyana,” starring Chanda Romero and Bert Impas.

Soap Opera, the award-winning Remton Siega Zuasola’s entry to the 10th Cinema One Originals with Lovi Poe and Rocco Nacino will be show before the festival. Another Cinema One Originals entry, Bitukang Manok by International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) Cebu alumnus Alec Figuracion with Cebuano crew members, will also be shown.

by seymouR b. sanCHez

Cinema Rehiyon 7 will also feature short films from NCCA-funded regional and provincial film festivals such as CineKabalen (Pampanga), Pelikultura Calabarzon Film Festival (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon or Region IV-A), Pasale (Bicol or Region V), Lilas Binisaya (Cebu), Lutas (Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental), CineKasimanwa (Western Visayas or Region VI), Cinemagis Digital Short Film Festival (Northern Mindanao or Region X), CineAnimo (Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga peninsula), Nabunturan Independent Film Exhibition (Compostela Valley), Lantawan-Socsksargen (Region XII), Mindanao Film Festival, and the Bacollywood Workshops in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.

Apart from select films from the regions, documentaries related to Typhoon Yolanda such as the award-winning documentary Nick and Chai by Cha Escala and Wena Sanchez will also be screened.

There will also be a special showing of a rarely screened film by the late National Artist for Film Lamberto V. Avellana on the occasion of his birth centennial. In addition, the film festival offers in-depth discussions about cinema from the regions, film programming here and abroad, and the representation and/or misrepresentation of indigenous people in Filipino films. Outreach screenings will be held in orphanages and juvenile detention centers while outdoor screenings will also be held in Bogo City, one of the places in northern Cebu heavily devastated by Yolanda.

Scene from Badlis sa Kinabuhi

Poster of Bitukang Manok

Leonardo diCaprio in ‘The revenanT’

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

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ollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio with Tom Hardy and Academy Award winner director Alejandro González Iñárritu get together in an immersive and visceral cinematic experience in The Revenant.

Inspired by true events, it tells of a man’s adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit.

In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption.

20th Century Fox’s recent release of The Revenant trailer evokes of an epic journey of survival, which Iñárritu also wrote.

“The Revenant is a survival adventure, a story in a time where the word journey had a real meaning, and I

mean the unknown an uncharted territory where men from different cultures, nature and every creature were fighting for survival against each other. The story is inspired by true events about the ex-soldier, hunter, and trapper named Hugh Glass, who is betrayed by his own men and left for dead, but this is a father and son story.

I wanted to explore the adventure of a man who survived the unimaginable through a long exterior journey to seek revenge and an inner journey to understand and recover all that he has lost.

What comes after revenge? I wanted to tell the story without relying on special effects. I spent five years searching for the most powerful and unexplored landscapes, where we shot using only natural light in real time long shots on the rocky terrain of the remote wilderness of Canada, for a long period of time to evoke a very visceral response for the viewers,” shared Iñárritu.

The Revenant opens in January 2016 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox. Check out the film’s trailer debut here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4_kLjEI2h_A

T UES DAY : J ULY 2 8: 2015

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

The service staff at Power Mac Centre’s expanded store

POWER MAC CEntER’S ExPAnDED SM MEgAMALL StORE

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newly transformed SM Megamall store was recently unveiled by Power Mac Center, revealing a more dynamic presence of its first ever retail location in the Philippines. The landmark store’s makeover is seen to accelerate the growth of the country’s most reliable Apple partner and continue its efforts to bring innovative products and services that support and enhance a complete Apple experience.

With its major transformation, Power Mac Center SM Megamall now occupies the largest retail space within the company’s retail network to accommodate a full assortment of Apple products and premium third-party accessories, as well as in-store product demonstration gallery.

Power Mac Center Marketing Director Joey Alvarez said, “We couldn’t be more delighted to present the new look and feel of Power Mac Center SM Megamall. The additional space allows our first store to further its offerings and provide a more immersive and

enjoyable shopping ambiance for Apple enthusiasts.”

Located on the fourth level Cyberzone, Power Mac Center SM Megamall was successfully re-launched at the recently held Dare to Transform event that gathered company executives, trade partners and brand ambassadors to commemorate the store’s makeover.

Guests enjoyed special performances and exclusive offers as part of the celebration.

Power Mac Center SM Megamall has been updated with more than just innovative design elements to become more responsive to the needs of its valued clientele.

Highlighting the transformation is its newest feature, the Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP). Open seven days a week, the AASP provides optimal high quality repair and maintenance services to ensure maximum utilization of Apple devices.

The SM Megamall store revamp dovetails with Power Mac Center’s 20th year in the Apple business, accentuating the store’s significant role in the company’s history

and aligning with efforts to strengthen its industry foothold through a cohesive and aggressive development plan.

“When we opened the SM Megamall store for the first time in 1994, it was a remarkable feat that marked the entry of Power Mac Center in the Apple business,” said Alvarez. “Twenty years later, we re-launched our first store as our largest store that now boasts a new look and more capabilities to serve the growing community that shares our passion for Apple. Power Mac Center is deeply committed to bring a truly unique Apple experience to life.”

Since opening its first store in SM Megamall, Power Mac Center has grown its presence to 25 stores across Luzon and Mindanao. The company also established two training centers and eight service centers over the years. Building on its Apple expertise, Power Mac Center will continue to grow its network with the opening of additional stores and facilities in the country, raising the bar high in the lifestyle consumer electronics industry.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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Grate upon Even once Sported Assemble Dart-thrower’s quaff

Globe ‘s third and larGest Generation 3 store in Cebu Globe Telecom has recently opened its third and largest Generation 3 (GEN3) Store to date in Cebu, boosting its retail presence in the Visayas region and giving Cebuanos a new retail experience that is up to par with international retail outlets worldwide. The GEN3 store in Cebu is the telco’s first store in Visayas and is the biggest among the GEN3 stores that Globe has opened to date. It measures over 400 square meters and can accommodate up to 200 customers and store personnel at the same time. It houses four major lifestyle zones namely music, entertainment, life and productivity, each illustrating mobile and broadband technologies as connected solutions featuring the latest devices, apps, digital connectors and services that contribute to the total interactive customer experience.

With the store opening in Cebu, Globe is set to transform the retail experience and enable the digital lifestyle of Cebuanos and nearby markets. It boasts of a wide array of new innovations exclusively offered by Globe such as top-of-the-line speakers, powerbanks, GPS watches, interactive toys, as well as the Zagg machine, which allows customers to custom create a screen protector for their smartphones and gadgets.

Globe is first in Asia to have the Zagg machine available for consumers.

“Since we introduced the GEN3 stores last year, we have set a new global standard in retail and customer experience.

The focus is no longer on selling just another postpaid plan or a device, but on creating strong emotional connections between Globe as a global digital brand and our customers,” says Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu. Globe Head of Retail Transformation and Stores Management Joe Caliro shares, “Globe has always considered Cebu as one of the key areas in the Philippines where we strive to expand our presence in. We are very happy to finally bring our world-class GEN3 store here to give our customers a taste of world-class retail experience. With the concept and design of the Globe GEN3 Store in Cebu, we are able to set up a space

The new GEN3 Store in Cebu showcasing a world-class retail experience

GEN3 is also home to one-of-a-kind innovations

where everyone who walks in can have a totally different experience and come out learning something new every time.”

Designed by Tim Kobe, founder and CEO of Eight, Inc., his most famous work is the Apple Store in New York, alongside his other dynamic designs for international retail stores such as Nike, GAP and Coach, among others. GEN3 has veered away from the basic transactional set-up to a venue where customers can discover and learn new things in the digital space.

This year, Globe is set to open two more GEN3 stores at Greenbelt Mall in Makati by August and at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong by October. Globe also earlier announced the construction of the Globe Iconic Store that is set to be the biggest and grandest Globe store. Its pioneering design will feature a bridge that will link two Globe stores from opposite sides. The Globe Iconic Store will soon rise right above the Bonifacio Global City amphitheater at the Bonifacio High Street Central in Taguig City.

Globe is also set to convert the rest of its existing stores into GEN3 Stores to bring the world-class retail experience to more Filipinos nationwide.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Karylle performing with fellow artists Nikki Bacolod and Min Yasmin are the featured artists in the album 2 Voices

Malaysian songwriter/album producerJulfekar put a Filipino and a Malaysian in an album together Edu Manzano wants Ricketts’ SALN probed

Ronnie Ricketts is a respondent to a graft and corruption charges

The show features a set that resembles a living room

‘nExt AttrAction’ concErt bAck in August

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celebration of friendship forged since childhood is the essence of The Next Attraction that becamea hit on July 4 at the Music Museum.

The concert featured Isabella (daughter of Philippine Pop Diva Kuh Ledesma), Paolo Valenciano (son of Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano), Robin Nievera (son of Concert King and Queen, Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez), and Karylle Yuz on (daughter of Divine Diva Zsa Zsa Padilla) who have been friends since they were little kids and have grown up in and around showbiz and the music industry.

Taking their personal friendship and making it the core theme for the concert, the successfully staged Next Attraction was highlighted by their individual performances, group numbers and, not surprisingly, a who’s who of the local music industry as guests.

The show, directed by Paolo Valenciano and with musical direction by Robin Nievera, proved how the foursome has stepped out of their parents’ shadows and come into their own. Such was the reception to the show that it warranted a restaging.

Billed Next Attraction: The Repeat, it will be held at the same venue, Music Museum, on Aug. 14 and 15.

Karylle, who will sing her hits including “Sa’Yo Na Lang Ako,” will corner the pop genre. Isabella, will bust out not just an original song as well as some jazzy tunes and her own take on several classics.

From c8

Robin showcases his “Indie-acoustic rock” influences with his guitar-based originals, while Paolo revisits his rock roots in his solo numbers including some of his originals.

One of the most well applauded numbers in the original staging was the so-called “Parents medley,” where the headliners take a shot at their respective parent’s hits. In this particular segment, the biggest treat will be the duet between Karylle and Paolo on “Could We,” a song performed together by Zsa Zsa and Gary V. The fans can look forward to the special number that brings together the four performers in a fitting show closer that perfectly blend their individual talent and reinforces the thought that the future of OPM is here and in good hands.

Next Attraction: The Repeat will be at the Music Museum, 8 p.m. on Aug. 14, and 15. The show is sponsored by Sun Life Financial, Jet 7 Bistro, and 106.7 Energy FM. The Aug. 14 show is for the benefit of the college scholars of Mayor Leon C. Arcillas Foundation, Inc. headed by Sta. Rosa Mayor Arlene Arcilla.

For tickets inquiries and reservations, please call the DSL office at 659 3474; 0918-563-3781; 0943266-7101; 0933 519 8118, Music Museum 721 6726 and Ticketworld - 891 9999. #nextattractiontherepeat www.facebook.com/ DSLTheNextAttraction www. facebook.com/DSLEventsAndProductionHouse

HHHHH Edu MAnzAno wAnts probE on rickEtts’ sALn Former Optical Media Board (OMB) Chairman Edu Manzano is hoping suspended OMB Chairman Ronnie Ricketts would be investigated in relation to the case of graft and Manzano’s lawyers have gone to the office of the Ombudsman to file a petition to review Ricketts’ Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Manzano noticed changes in the SALN of Ricketts since appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as OMB Chair in 2009.

Manzano said he was doing it on behalf of officers who have been in OMB when he was still Chaiman and have been suspended along with Ricketts.

The Ombudsman recommended the filing of graft and corruption charges against the suspended officials in relation to a raid on Sky High Marketing Corporation in Quiapo, Manila on May 27, 2010.

During the raid, three Chinese nationals were apprehended and 100 boxes of DVDs and VCDs with unauthorized copies of movies and television shows the OMB team confiscated.

The items were brought to the OMB office but later a truck owned by Sky High took them back without any authorization from an officer.

The Ombudsman said it is “unjustified release of confiscated items,” and, apart from that, an unwarranted benefit for Sky High Marketing Corporation.

The Ombudsman said Ricketts should have filed charges against those who broke OMB’s rules.

Manzano said Ricketts fileda a motion for reconsideration to the Ombudsman,which denied it.

“Ricketts’ SALN is also a big revelation,” said Manzano. “When he assumed office at the end of 2009, he bought a new car and again in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Records at LTO said he had transferred another car’s ownership in 2014.” “ He also purchased lots in Alabang and Cavitet hat he bought for P2 million with P11 million appraised value now.”

Manzano insists that innocent employees at OMB have been implicated along with Ricketts in this problem. Ricketts, said Manzano, left those employees without the benefit of a lawyer.

HHHHH LEt thE voicEs bE hEArd The pairing of star acts on an album isn’t uncommon. But usually, a label produces only one collaborated single, which is why Julfekar (Julfekar Music’s) and Dato’ Hj. Saiful Bahri (Syaeba Pictures) latest offering, 2 Voices, combines two talented Asian artists, in three major languages.

Indeed, this is a rare achievement.

Filipino singer, actress and VJ Nikki Bacolod teams up with top Malaysian RnB artist Min Yasmin in this ambitious pop album. This is a brainchild of the most popular composer and producer in Malaysia, the award-winning Malaysian songwriter, record producer and Managing Director of MillenniumArt Sdn. Bhd. and Julfekar Music,

Malaysia, Julfekar Ahmad Shah.

Julfekar, a successful media mogul has a Filipino blood. His mother is a Tausug who migrated to Malaysia. No wonder his songs resonate that familiar Filipino flavor, warm and heartfelt.

With 2 Voices, Julfekar wants to spread his wings across the Philippine music arena and reconnects with his roots that made him fell in love with words and music in the first place.

The album has 11 songs in Tagalog, English and Malay. The carrier single is “Sa Iyo,” now hitting the top charts of various local radio stations. The song is the Tagalog version of Malaysian song “Hilangkanlah”, theme song of Malaysian hit teleseries Derhaka Seorang Madu on TV3.

It is also interesting to note that while Nikki B. a product of a major talent search of Kapamilya network, A Star In A Million, Min is a Malaysian singer and actress also known as a film, television and drama soundtrack singer.

Aside from the hugot single, “Sa Iyo,” the album also includes other potential hits like “Sayang Naman,” “#Dream,” “Fikirkan Kembali,” “Yakap,” “Sana’y May Bukas Pa,” “Pusong Duguan,” “Fairy Tale,” “Lafazkanlah,” “Ang Tanging Dasal.” and “Narito Ako.” Thesongs were recorded in Manila and Kuala Lumpur.

Julfekar penned and produced most of the songs in the album in collaboration with lyricist Roosevelt T.Itum (Raz).

PolyEast Records distributes 2 Voices in the Philippines.

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Paulo Avelino plays Carlos

Jericho Rosales is Gael

carlos and Gael face off in ‘BridGes of love’ finale ISAH V. RED The ultimate fight for love between brothers Carlos (Paulo Avelino) and Gael (Jericho Rosales) begins as the story like no other brought to viewers every weeknight by primetime series Bridges of Love enters its last three weeks.

After the sudden death of Muloy (Janus Del Prado) that caused Carlos and Mia’s (Maja Salvador) much-awaited wedding to be cancelled, secrets begin to unfold one by one.

The biggest truth was finally revealed in an intense faceoff between Gael and Carlos in which the latter blurted out who he really is to the former. In the middle of the brawl between the two, Gael threatened to kill Carlos who fired back and said he had already done it before.

How will Gael accept the fact that his arch enemy is his long lost brother JR? Will Gael’s love for Mia still prevail or will he give way to his brother? Will Carlos ever forgive Gael for the hurt he caused him in the past?

Since Bridges of Love premiered on Philippine television in March this year, viewers were instantly captivated by the story of brothers Carlos and Gael. From the start of their journey as kids when the two dreamt big together to the tragedy that set them apart, avid fans followed how the two grew up to be very different individuals and how their paths crossed many years later without any idea of who each other were. Things heated up even more when Mia entered the picture and sparked the rivalry for love between the two.

Bridges of Love has been consistently dominating its timeslot

in national TV ratings and is also one of the top five most watched programs in the country, according to Kantar Media. On Friday (July 17), the show hit its all-time high national TV rating of 26 percent versus rival program with only 11.2 percent.

Its viewership on air also translated online as the program continues to be among the top three most viewed programs on video-on-demand service iWantTV and the top trending topics on social media every night.

Bridges of Love is now in its last three weeks on the air. It comes right after Pangako Sa’Yo weeknights on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

HHHHH MossiMo Music suMMit 2015 seMi-finals phase The Mossimo Music Summit 2015, an annual talent search for the country’s next biggest singing sensation, is now on its semi-finals rounds of the competition.

The semi-finals will be held on Aug. 1 at the SM Megamall Event Center at 4 p.m. and on Aug. 8, 4 p.m. at Glorietta Activity Center.

The highly anticipated Grand Finals will take place on Aug. 21, 4 p.m. at the Trinoma Activity Center.

The Mossimo Music Summit 2015 boasts a panel of judges consisting of the country’s most respected and talented names from various fields of expertise in the entertainment industry.

Award-winning songwriter and record producer Jungee Marcelo will give a technical viewpoint in evaluating contestants, while Callalily’s Kean Cipriano, also in the panel of judges, will be the voice of the artists during the competition. MYX channel head Andre Alvarez will be representing the media while record executive Vic Valenciano of Curve Entertainment will bring in his mettle on talent management.

Paulo Avelino, Maja Salvador, and Jericho Rosales play the central figures in the soap opera Bridges of Love

The contest’s grand prize totals P500,000.00 in cash andprizes, with P200,000 in cash and oneyear clothing allowance from Mossimo worth P300,000. In addition to this, the grand winner will also become one of Mossimo’s brand ambassadors. The winner will also snag an exclusive recording and talent management contract with Curve Entertainment Inc. All finalists of the Mossimo Music Summit 2015 will get P25,000.00 in cash and Mossimo gift certificates worth P25,000.00.

The Mossimo Music Summit 2015 gives musicians a once-in-

Carmina Villarroel plays an important role in the drama series

a-lifetime opportunity to realize their dreams of becoming one of the country’s singing sensation.

To get the latest updates and for more information, please visit www.facebook.com/mossimomusicsummit. ➜ continued on c7

Mossimo Music Summit 2015 Judges: from left, Jungee Marcelo, Kean Cipriano, Andre Alvarez, and Vic Valenciano

The show aims to reflect every person’s struggle to provide for his or her family’s welfare and how good fortune is attained through one’s endeavor to live nobly