The Standard - 2015 September 04 - Friday

VOL. XXIX NO. 204 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 FRIday : SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Lina says he’s sorry for OFW box mess

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cOngress FigHts PaLace FOr Funds

By Christine F. Herrera and Maricel V. Cruz

CONGRESS has moved to regain full control of its own finances to insulate itself from encroachment by the Palace on its fiscal autonomy, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Thursday.

Belmonte said a resolution he filed to protect Congress’ budget from scrutiny by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already been approved on second reading, and is up for plenary debates.

“The Senate and the House of Representatives shall have full autonomy in determining the appropriations re-

quired for their operations,” Belmonte and other House leaders said in the resolution.

“The present budgetary policies formulated by the Executive, through the Department of Budget and Management, insofar as they apply to the Congress of the Philippines and the Senate, threaten its independence, encroach on its exclusive domain and

violate the principle of separation of powers, upon which the entire fabric of our constitutional system is based,” they added.

Their budgets shall not be subject to scrutiny, alterations and control of the DBM, the resolution said, adding that Malacañang should make impositions only on agencies under the Executive branch.

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New traffic enforcers. Quezon City policemen direct traffic on Edsa and Kamuning on Thursday, replacing traffic personnel from the Metro Manila Development Authority. MaNNy PalMero

Speaker airs doubts on LP-paid survey

By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Thursday he was not “100 percent convinced” about the results of a survey commissioned by the ruling Liberal Party (LP), which showed its standardbearer, Interior Secretary Manuel

Roxas II, being the top candidate for president in 2016.

Belmonte added that the reality is that the 2016 presidential elections will most likely not be a twocornered contest, as other public officials have hinted at joining the race.

Belmonte, LP vice chairman, said

that while the survey finding was a welcome development, he still wants to see “the big picture” when other candidates are involved.

Without citing the polling organization, the Liberal Party announced Wednesday that Roxas would beat Vice President Jejomar Next page

William Blair, friend of PH, passes away

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Congress From A1...

Senate hearing. From left, Deputy Commissioner Agatoj Uvero, Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina, and former Commissioner Ruffy Biazon attend a Senate hearing on the ‘balikbayan’ boxes controversy on Thursday. JanSen RomeRo

Customs boss apologizes for furor over OFW boxes “I’m sorry for that, you were not the target,” Lina said, referring to overseas workers during a hearing of the Senate ways and means committee on the Customs Modernization Act. He said the real targets were smugglers who used the names of balikbayans and overseas workers to bring in contraband.

Lina drew heavy criticism for the crackdown on balikbayan boxes, gift boxes that workers abroad send home to their families. His plan to randomly open and inspect them was later shot down by the Palace, which called for X-ray examination of all the boxes instead.

When Senator Juan Edgardo Angara pressed Lina to say if his “sorry” was an apology to all overseas workers, Lina said he “bleeds” with them.

“If that is what my friend Toots [Ople, a labor advocate] needs,” Lina

replied, adding that he was a protegé of her father, the late Senator Blas Ople, and that he supported the needs of the labor sector.

“I bleed with them. I am with them, but I was not referring to them,” Lina said.

He added that his sister was a worker in Oman.

Asked again if he was apologizing to the overseas workers, Lina said he would apologize only if he had “stepped on somebody.”

But he insisted they did not step on the overseas workers and was in fact giving them “200-percent” support.

He also assured overseas workers that the bureau has new procedures for them.

“Wait for them. Watch us,” he said.

He had earlier sought a list of legitimate overseas Filipino workers

from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for preclearance of their balikbayan boxes.

He assured the workers that this would make it easier to release their balikbayan boxes.

Earlier, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Lina to issue a public apology to all overseas Filipino workers in light of his agency’s “catastrophic communications blunder” that jeopardized the image and reputation of Filipinos overseas.

A public apology was the least Lina could do to finally ease the anxieties and anger of millions of OFWs, Marcos said.

“This apology must be made of public record so that the foreign employers and host governments would know that OFWs were never the real targets of the BoC’s anti-smuggling drive,” he said.

Marcos noted that the Palace had explained that the real target of the balikbayan box inspections were erring freight forwarding companies that allowed the insertion of contraband such as drugs and firearms in their consolidated shipments.

“By linking smuggling to the iconic balikbayan box used by millions of overseas Filipino workers worldwide,

Speaker

Thursday. ‘‘We have said the survey was commissioned by us but it does not mean that we are deceiving people. If we have intention to cheat, we are also cheating ourselves because we spent money for it,” Drilon said in an interview on radio dzRH. “This survey shows only that if [the race is] one-on-one, Secretary Roxas will win with 53 percent,” Drilon said.

So far, only Roxas and Binay have declared their intention to run for president in 2016.

Roxas got endorsement from Aquino on July 31 while Binay has repeatedly expressed his intention to run since 2010, right after he won the vice presidency.

Binay will run under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Other possible candidates for president are Senators Grace Poe, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano and Miriam Defensor Santiago, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and former senator Panfilo Lacson.

In the recent Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveys, Poe enjoyed a slim margin over erstwhile leader Binay, followed by Roxas and Duterte.

The Binay camp laughed off the Liberal Party survey.

“If this was the result of our elections today, we’ll have an uprising tomorrow! That could only come out from a hocus-PCOS, which our people will never accept,” said United Nationalist Alliance Secretary-General JV Bautista in an interview with The Standard.

“Roxas leading VP Binay in a survey is just surreal. Perhaps the Liberal Party pulled out an old 2009 survey for the VP position and rehashed it, or perhaps the LPs exclusively asked only their fellow LPs as survey respondents,” Bautista said.

“Who in his right mind is going to believe this?” he continued. “That survey is so ludicrous, it’s simply for the birds.

Erice and the LPs will be lucky if they find any sane men in the street willing to believe it.”

An opposition lawmaker said he

By macon Ramos-araneta

CUSTOMS Commissioner Alberto Lina apologized to overseas Filipino workers Thursday but said they were not the target of his campaign to randomly open up balikbayan boxes to stop smuggling.

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Binay in a two-way race, 53 percent to 27 percent, according to an LP-funded survey of 1,200 respondents.

But Belmonte said Senator Grace Poe, who has topped recent opinion polls, was not in the LP survey.

“We have to wait when the cards are on the table,” he said.

Nevertheless, Belmonte Jr. said he was happy that Roxas has begun getting the numbers after President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement.

Earlier, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, the LP’s chairman for political affairs, declined to reveal the name of the company that did the survey but said it was a credible one.

Opposition lawmakers brushed aside the LP-commissioned survey as self-serving.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, defended the survey

the Bureau of Customs has put at risk the reputation and image of our modern-day heroes. A public apology is necessary to correct whatever adverse impression the balikbayan controversy had made on the positive image of our workers overseas.

I am sure Commissioner Lina would understand the need to correct such misimpression because the jobs and collective image of our workers may be at stake,” Marcos said.

Marcos said it was not enough that the random checks on balikbayan boxes were halted through a presidential directive.

“The presidential directive must find its way into an official document and in the crafting of such document, the OFW sector deserves to be heard. As I’ve said earlier, no reforms can take place without the cooperation and support of key stakeholders,” he said.

At the hearing Thursday, Lina estimated that the government was losing P3 billion to P5 billion a year from balikbayan boxes that were not inspected by Customs.

On the other hand, overseas workers send home $20 billion to $25 billion through official channels a year, he said. believed the LP poll did not even exist, and that the announcement was just a propaganda ploy to take Poe out of the equation.

“I don’t think there was a survey. The spin was intended to discourage Senator Poe from running for president,” said 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III. If there was indeed the survey conducted, Bello added, the LP should disclose the complete results of the survey they commissioned and identify the polling company they used.

Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers called for transparency in the use of polling data.

“In the interest of greater transparency and full disclosure, all parties, including the LP, should name the survey firms from whom they source their data so that the public can make a more informed judgment on their claims. Otherwise, the findings should be dismissed outright as mere political spin and manipulation,” Tinio said. With macon Ramos-araneta and John Paolo Bencito

“The amount of appropriations as proposed and determined by the Senate and the House shall be included in the annual budget of the national government without reduction, alteration or modification,” the resolution said.

Belmonte’s House Resolution No. 10 is a measure “affirming, ensuring and operationalizing the fiscal independence of the Congress of the Philippines.”

The proposed 2016 budget for the 292-member House amounted to P7.99 billion from P8.54 billion in 2015 while the 24-member Senate proposed P3.65 billion from P3.61 billion in 2015.

Belmonte’s co-authors include Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona, chairman of the House committee on accounts; Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora.

The House leaders expressed concern over what they considered budgetary policies of the Executive department that threaten its independence as a co-equal branch of government, and said they were confident of Senate concurrence.

While the Judiciary and constitutional bodies enjoy full control of their financial affairs, Congress is subjected to regulations similar to those imposed on executive agencies, the House leaders said.

“The legislative power vested in the Congress of the Philippines is plenary, complete, unimpaired and subject only to such limitations as are found in the Constitution,” the signatories said.

The resolution proposes that appropriations provided for the Senate and the House under the General Appropriations Act and other appropriations laws be fully and automatically released, together with the corresponding Notice of Cash Allocation, by the DBM, at the start of the calendar year, without condition, limitation or restriction.

“The Senate and the House shall enjoy flexibility in the utilization of funds appropriated for their operations,” the resolution said.

The measure also said unexpended year-end balances of approved appropriations for the Senate and the House should remain valid and continue to be available for expenditure until fully spent.

The leader of the independent minority bloc in the House, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, supported the resolution.

“I am in favor of empowering the Congress to take back the power of the purse,” Romualdez said in a text message.

Madrona, a co-author of the resolution, said both the Senate and the House of Representatives have to maintain their fiscal autonomy, adding that it was not right that the Budget Department “controls Congress in its financial transactions and [the] release of funds.”

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, chairman of the House committee on energy, said the resolution must be enacted so that Congress will be able to maintain its freedom to manage and control its financial affairs.

Reps. Rodolfo Albano III and Silvestre Bello III, both ranking members of the House minority, said Congress must uphold its power of the purse at all times.

In the Palace, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the House resolution had been referred to the Senate committee on rules, but no action has been taken on it since March.

“We are in constant dialogue with leaders of Congress on how we can improve the implementation of the national budget,” Coloma said. With Sandy araneta

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NGO: 4M kids skipping meals

By Vito Barcelo

DESPITE the economic growth being flaunted by the Aquino administration, poverty continues to be a serious problem and children continue to bear the brunt with more than four million skipping meals or not eating at all in a day, according to Save the Children Philippines.

“At least 2.7 million malnourished Filipino children skip meals a day because they don’t have enough money to buy food while 1.5 million aged 0-10 years old go without eating for a day,” according to Save the Children Philippines country director Ned Olney.

Olney revealed the data as Save the Children Philippines, which is part of the global Save the Children movement in over 120 countries, launched the “Lahat Dapat” campaign to tackle child malnutrition and stunting in the country.

Olney said the Philippines is one of the countries in the world most heavily burdened with malnutrition.

Its 3.6 million stunted children makes it the 9th most afflicted nation. India tops the rankings followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Philippines, United Republic of Tanzania, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan.

“While the Philippine government committed itself to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 by addressing it through various programs, poverty and malnutrition show very moderate improvement,” he said.

The Philippine government efforts towards the achievement of MDGs may not achieve its target of halving the poverty and hunger by 2015.

He said poverty creates malnutrition and the government needs a broader economic policy to address the problem.

The SCP said one in every three Filipino children suffers from stunted growth, an indicator of chronic malnutrition.

The National Nutrition Survey 2013 which indicates that in the last 20 years, stunting rates have gone down by only 9 percent from 39 percent in 1993 to 30 percent in 2013.

The study also shows that children from poorer households in both rural and urban settings and those living in conflict and disaster-prone areas face greater risk of malnutrition.

“With the upcoming electoral campaign, Save the Children is calling on the government, civil society and the public to step up its efforts in reducing child malnutrition, especially the first 1,000 days of a child’s life,” Olney added.

The group urged the government to push for a equitable nutrition policies and programs with appropriate budgetary allocations that address the immediate, underlying and basic causes of malnutrition.

It also called on the government to increase LGU investments for community and facility based health and nutrition service providers, particularly regular and standard compensation of frontline health worker directly involved in the implementa-

tion of nutrition programs.

The government agency primarily responsible for children welfare is the Department of Social Welfare and Development, led by Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, which offers a range of services to children, including protective and therapy services, alternative family care and other social services.

However, the DSWD came under international criticism earlier this year after the British tabloid The Daily Mail reported that the agency locked up a number of street children to keep them off the street during the visit of Pope Francis last January.

Soliman later denied the story, but some of the children and families who were picked up during the cleanup

drive emerged and claimed they were sent to a beach resort for the duration of the Pope’s visit.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, while there has been no appreciable increase in data on malnutrition, there also has been no improvement.

“There’s still a big need for things to happen,” Unicef country representative Lotta

Sylwander said last year, adding that the country’s economic growth has not trickled down to the poor.

But Sylwander also stressed that the country has made progress in passing laws that strengthened, changed, or improved children’s rights, like the country’s polio-free status, the Milk Code, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

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Binay to consult business VICE President Jejomar Binay said Thursday he will work closely with the business community to achieve economic growth should he win the presidency in the 2016 elections.

Round table discussion. Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista and Commissioner Rowena Guanzon exchange pleasantries with leaders of different women’s groups during a round table discussion on the increasing participation of women in elections at the Bayleaf Hotel in Manila on Thursday. DANNY PATA

Poe for transport board SENATOR Grace Poe on Thursday called for the creation of a National Transportation Safety Board that will investigate accidents and make recommendations to improve the country’s transportation system on land, sea and air.

Her Senate Bill 2886, or the proposed National Transportation Safety Board Act of 2014, aims to pay sufficient attention to the nation’s transportation problems by creating a dedicated panel that will also oversee and coordinate the efforts of the various agencies involved in transportation management.

Speaking before the First National Commuters Forum sponsored by Ligtas Patrol, the National Center for Commuter Safety and Protection, Inclusive Mobility Network and the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies, Poe cited the daily dif-

ficulty experienced by the commuting public due to heavy traffic, poor facilities and the lack of safety standards for commuters and motorists.

“I personally experienced what it is like to ride the MRT and I saw what our commuters have to endure everyday: long queues, insufficient trains, broken elevators and escalators, non-functioning air conditioners, and the risk of accidents due to old trains and rails,” Poe said.

She said heavy city traffic significantly affects economic productivity, and that the estimated cost of the heavy traffic to the economy is P2.4 billion daily. The Japan International Cooperation Agency forecasts that this figure could go up to P6 billion daily by 2030.

Poe, the chairman of the sub-committee on public services, also noted the increasing number of road accidents in Metro Manila.

“We need to carefully study the con-

text of our road safety problems by looking into the overall transportation system of the country,” Poe said.

According to the PNP Highway Patrol Group, there was a 20-percent increase in road accidents in 2014 compared to 2013. The MMDA has reported an average of 250 accidents a day in 2014 involving mostly trucks, buses and motorcycles.

Poe also noted that, in addition to accidents, transportation-related crimes were also increasing.

She called for a centralized emergency response system that will ensure the delivery of high-quality emergency response services throughout the country.

“Through a centralized emergency response system, we can ensure adequate capability, equipment and resources to effectively respond to accidents,” Poe said.

He made his remarks during his speech at the Wallace Business Forum in Makati as he outlined his platform of government should he win the presidency next year.

“My basic policy of governance is anchored on competence, inclusiveness and compassion,” Binay said.

“I will focus on the proper implementation and monitoring of projects and programs and see to it that economic growth and progress are cascaded to the poor and marginalized as we had done in Makati.”

Binay said he will “periodically meet and consult with the business sector” to listen to its members’ thoughts and insights.

“We shall allow businessmen, our partners in economic growth and development, to freely say the good and the bad. Together we can arrive at more winwin situations,” Binay said.

He said he will also convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council and the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory Council “as often as necessary, but at least quarterly, to promote a better understanding on key issues requiring the support of the judiciary and Congress”.

He said a regular meeting with the LEDAC and JELAC will facilitate a consensus and even faster but sound decisions on key policy issues, as well as project a favorable image to the investor community “that the three branches of government are working closely together.’’

“For instance, the con-

troversy over the Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP could have been prevented or even resolved properly if only the President had consulted the judiciary and legislative branches,” Binay said.

On the constant problems encountered by the MRT, Binay said his administration will “honor the sanctity of contracts, which was not displayed in the contracts of this administration with the MRT-3 maintenance provider, among others.”

He said there will be a sense of urgency in all government processes required in the business registration system.

“From 16 steps over 34 days, we shall work towards reducing it to six steps over eight days to further improve the country’s competitiveness,” Binay said.

He said his long experience in local governance had taught him the importance of “continuity, predictability, and sustainability.”

“Development is a product of continued implementation of good reforms embedded with new ones,” Binay said.

“For instance, we should strive to further improve the country’s competitiveness rankings,” Binay said.

“From 2011 to 2015, the Philippines has moved up a total of 53 notches in the ease of doing business report. We shall continue reforms, spearheaded by the national competitiveness council, in order to push the country in the top third of the global rankings in 2016.” Vito Barcelo

Groups cry harassment SEVERAL groups have asked the Supreme Court to issue writs to protect them government operatives who they claim are harassing them and threatening their lives.

In a 27-page petition, the second of the same nature filed with the 15-member bench, the petitioners, through the National Union of People’s Lawyers, complained that they had been placed under surveillance and subjected to threats by government authorities.

Among the petitioners are Darby Santiago, head of the Health Alliance for Democracy Inc. or HEAD; Imelda Gerali, a registered nurse and administrative officer of Samahang Sagip Inc. or SOS and s member of the National Council of HEAD; Rebecca Abelong, national treasurer and administrative officer of the Drug, Food and Allied Workers Federation-Kilusang Mayo Uno; Neil Ambon, media liaison officer of the KMU; Renato Asa, secretary of KMU’s Public Information Department; Maritess Garte, a member of the national staff of KMU; Loreto Victori-

ano, KMU-Education and Research Department and Coordinator staff; Josephine Carlos Betana, Migrante Bagong Silang, Caloocan chapter; Lovely Carbon, secretary-general of the National Union of Students of the Philippines; Jessica Ferrera, student regent of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines; and John Paul Lapid, a member of the Kabataan party-list secretariat.

The groups petitioned the high court even as a lawmaker on Thursday said the Aquino administration was now waging a “war of attrition” against the lumads or indigenous peoples of Mindanao, saying the number of Lumads killed had risen to 13 in four massacre incidents in the past eight months in Mindanao alone.

“The Aquino administration is now apparently waging a ‘war of attrition’ against the lumads or indigenous peoples of Mindanao. This unjust war of attrition against the lumads must end,” Bayan Muna Rep. Isagani Carlos Zarate said.

Reenactment. Members of the Living History Group of the Philippines, dressed as

Japanese and Philippine-US soldiers of WWII, shake hands as they reenact the Japanese forces’ surrender while attending an international conference on the Pacific War as part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at the University of the Philippines in Manila on Sept. 3. AFP

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PCG hit for P6m cellphone load cards

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Audit took the Philippine Coast Guard to task for spending over P6.069 million in public funds for prepaid cell phone cards in 2014 without public bidding.

In a 2014 report released yesterday, the commission said the Coast Guard also employed the same kind of spending to buy scuba tank compressors, worth P1.499 million, last year through the splitting of transactions to avoid the required bidding process.

Citing the implementing rules and regulations of the Procurement Law, state auditors said purchases must go through public bidding, except in in exceptional cases subject to certain limitations and as long as it should not result from splitting of government contracts.

“The splitting of transactions as prohibited in the above-cited regulations was noted in the purchases of cellular phone cards and scuba tank compressors.

The purchases were divided into several purchase orders so as not to exceed the P500,000 limit to qualify for shopping as a mode of procurement,” the CoA report read.

“Considering the huge amounts involved, the procurement should have been done thru public bidding.

Such deviation is disadvantageous as it deprived the PCG to avail of the lowest price in the market that could have been attained if procurement had been widely disseminated for public bidding.”

The Coast Guard should consolidate all the purchase requests and conduct a public bidding in all its procurements in compliance with the law.

Assembled in the Philippines. Filipino and Chinese workers assemble a prototype coach for Metro Rail Transit 3 inside the Light Rail Transit Authority compound at Pasay City. EY ACASIO

House marathon to derail FOI bill

By Maricel V. Cruz and Sandy Araneta THE House of Representatives will hold a five-week marathon session beginning Sept. 6 in a bid to hasten the approval of the 2016 national budget and the Bangsamoro Basic Law, but endangering other key legislation, like the Freedom of Information bill.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. admitted that the FOI, economic Charter change and anti-dynasty bills will face an uphill battle because of the limited time left for Congress before it adjourns in October.

“They are still priority bills and remain on the agenda,’’ Belmonte told The Standard. But he admitted ‘‘we have a difficulty passing them [given the limited time we have]. ’’ House Majority Leader and

Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales, Jr. said that the House has so many priority measures on the table.

“But we really have to choose the most urgent ones,” Gonzales told The Standard, and the three measures were not included in the list.

“Effectively, we have five weeks to go before we adjourn in October. The two weeks will be devoted to passing the 2016 national budget while the three remaining weeks

will be devoted to other priority measures, including the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” Gonzales said.

At the same time, Malacañang rejected the suggestion of Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to hold a special sessions for the BBL. “It is premature to talk about special sessions. We hope that lawmakers would focus on passing the BBL,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., said at Malacañang on Thursday.

Gonzales II said the marathon session is intended to generate 10 extra session days to enable lawmakers to attend to their legislative functions without any delay at all.

Gonzales said the last two weeks of session from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9 will be allotted exclusively to pass the national budget while the first

three weeks from Sept. 7 to 25 will be devoted to approve the pending priority bills, including the BBL. Congress will adjourn session on Oct. 9 to give way to the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2016 elections.

“We agreed to hold a weekly fivesession day in the next five weeks starting Monday [Sept. 7],” Gonzales said.

“This is to ensure the passage of priority bills, including the BBL. The last two weeks before adjournment are exclusively for national budget’s approval,” Gonzales said.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, member of the House Minority Bloc, stressed the need for the House leadership to exert an extra effort to pass the important legislation, like the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget for 2016.

CARP law passage doubted

By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr., said on Thursday the passage of the proposed law extending the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program will not be a walk in the park due to stiff opposition from some lawmakers.

Belmonte said he does not see the measure to get passed in the 16 th Congress even if it is among the priority measures of Congress.

“Although it’s one of the priority bills, it is also facing opposition here,” Belmonte told reporters.

“I would have to find if those for the bill’s passage have succeeded in explaining, reconciling, and coming to terms with the group that’s not as enthusiastic about further extending the CARP,” he said.

President Benigno Aquino III has certified as urgent two bills on CARP extension with reforms (CARPER): House Bills 4296 and HB 4375.

While the Senate has already passed its

version of the measure, the House is having a hard time passing it because of the apparent lack of enthusiasm among lawmakers to support the measure, Belmonte admitted.

HB 4296 proposes “to renew the Department of Agrarian Reform’s authority to issue notices of coverage and provide funding for support services to agricultural landholdings not yet placed under CARP.” On the other hand, HB 4375 seeks “to create an independent Agrarian Reform Commission to review the accomplishment of CARP and investigate circumventions and violations of the CARP Law.” The Visayan Bloc, which composed of “wealthy and landed lawmakers,” headed by Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez was reportedly blocking the bill’s passage.

Earlier, Anakpawis party-list Rep. Fernando Hicap questioned the DAR’s allocation for CARP implementation, even as he acknowledged the absence of a law authorizing the agency to proceed with land distribution.

Pretrial conference. Suspected communist rebel leader Wilma Tiamzon confers with her lawyers during the pretrial hearing of the multiple murder charges she is facing at the Manila Regional Trial Court on Thursday. DANNY PATA

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Court paves the way for ‘Atimonan 13’ trial

By Rey E. Requejo

The Court of Appeals has affirmed the resolution of the Department of Justice approving the indictment for charges of multiple murder against policemen involved in the shooting incident in Atimonan, Quezon on Jan. 6, 2013 that resulted in the death of 13 people.

The CA’s 8th Division through Associate Justice Carmelita Salandanan-Manahan denied the petition filed by eight policemen who sought the dismissal of the charges filed against them.

The appellate court ruled that there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the DoJ in finding probable cause against the

petitioners-accused.

“A finding of grave abuse of discretion, wherein a court or tribunal acted in a capricious, whimsical, arbitrary or despotic manner cannot be sustained,” the CA declared.

The appellate court noted that all the elements for the crime of murder appears to be present.

“Here, the elements of Mur-

der appear to be present as stated in the respondent DoJ Investigating Panel’s Omnibus Motion—the 13 men died; the killing is not parricide or infanticide; the petitioners and their co-accused conspired and confederated with each other to eliminate the victims; and the killing was attended by the qualifying aggravating circumstances of evident premeditation, taking advantage of superior strength, treachery and with the aid of armed men,” the decision stated.

Associate Justices Japar Dimaampao and Franchito Diamante concurred with the ruling, denying the petition of C/Insp Grant Gollod, S/Insp John Paolo Carracedo, SPO3 Joselito de Guzman, SPO1 Claro Cataquiz,

PO3 Eduardo Oronan, PO2 Nelson Indal, PO1 Wryan Sardea, and PO1 Rodel Talento seeking the dismissal of the criminal complaint filed against them.

The DoJ had filed multiple murder charges before the Regional Trial Court of Gumaca, Quezon province against police Supt. Hansel Marantan and 12 other police officers involved in the Atimonan shooting incident that left 13 people dead.

According to the appellate court, the petitioners were also given a chance for “a fair and reasonable opportunity to explain their side of the controversy through their participation in the conduct of the preliminary investigation such as their submission of

counter affidavits, affidavits of their witnesses and other supporting documents.”

It stressed that finding of probable cause is within the province of the DoJ and all the defenses of the petitioners are evidentiary in nature and, it is best to put the case on trial.

“Furthermore, the bulk of petitioners allegations are evidentiary in nature and are best threshed out in the trial of the case on the merits,” the CA ruled.

The DoJ resolution, which was approved by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, ruled that there was sufficient evidence against Marantan, the alleged brains behind the operation, along with Supt.

Ramon Balauag and several other accused.

Budget hearing.

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo stresses a point during the hearing on the proposed budget of his department at the House of Representatives.

With Montejo is DOST-Scientific and Technological Services Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara.

MANNY PALMERO

Police urged: Step up hiring THE Philippine National Police has 23,820 vacancies, which if filled even by a fraction would give it a manpower boost that would allow it to be the lead traffic law enforcer not only in Metro Manila’s gridlocked roads, but also in other cities reeling from heavy traffic.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said one in seven authorized personnel slots in the police force is vacant.

“If the agency can only improve its fill-up rate, imagine how many policemen can be sent out to direct traffic or catch criminals,” Escudero said.

He said police recruitment should be more aggressive following President Benigno Aquino III directive to the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) to manage traffic in six-congested junctions of Efipanio de los Santos Avenue, the country’s busiest thoroughfare.

President Aquino also hinted of expanding the PNP-HPG’s mandate to cover the entire the country.

Escudero noted that prior to President Aquino’s directive, the PNP‘s manpower was already stretched. “If it has to take on more roles, then it has to take in more people.”

According to Escudero, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, the PNP has an authorized troop ceiling of 174,410 this year, of which only 150,590 positions are projected to be filled, leaving 23,820 vacant.

The same troop ceiling and fillup ratio is forecast next year, he said, citing the “Staffing Summary for 2016,” one of the budget documents Malacañang sends to Congress every year.

He cited the same document in pointing out the PNP’s “low and slow personnel recruitment” despite the creation of more police officers positions.

Escudero disclosed that the PNP’s total authorized permanent positions in 2014 was 148,409, but only 143,104 were filled.

He added that “on paper the most generous policeman-to-population ratio estimate at present is about 1 for every 674.”

“But the better gauge should be actual duty cop to population: kung ilan talaga ang nasa presinto o nagpapatrolya. Kasi maraming pulis, at any given time, ay off-duty, naka-assign sa headquarters, on leave, nasa schooling, or may administrative duties, or suspendido,” the lawmaker said.

He said if the PNP would hire more officers, all new recruits should be sent on patrol in order to increase police visibility. “We need more cops to run after more criminals. And we also need them to fix the mayhem in our streets.”

Revilla lists Drilon, Abad among pork scam witnesses

By Rio N. Araja

THE camp of Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. is urging the Sandiganbayan to summon Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya as possible witnesses of his defense in the plunder and graft cases he is facing in connection with the ‘pork barrel’ scam.

In a 66-page pretrial brief, Revilla requested the anti-graft court’s First Division to summon 34 individuals, including Abad, Drilon, Roxas, An-

daya and certain bank executives to take the witness stand.

He said Drilon could testify in his capacity as former chairman of the Senate finance committee from 2006 to 2010.

Also included in the list were former Commission on Audit chairperson Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan, Revilla’s former staff and co-accused Richard Cambe, alleged pork barrel fund scam architect Janet Lim Napoles, and whistle-blowers Benhur Luy, Marina Sula, Merlina Suñas and Ruby Tuason.

To shorten the proceedings, Revilla offered several stipulations to the prosecution panel, such as the previ-

ous manifestations of Luy that he never handed any money to him in person and Luy’s modification of the contents of his external hard drive after the item was placed in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.

The hard drive supposedly contained various files of soft copies of spreadsheet containing names, amounts, and dates involved in the payoff of kickbacks that went to several lawmakers.

Moreover, Revilla also appealed to the Sandiganbayan to allow the stipulation of the prosecution that Napoles never issued any check to him, and that there was no fund transfer

or similar bank transaction to his account done by Napoles, who is now detained at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City for serious illegal detention filed by her cousin, Luy, before a lower court.

The defense team said it intends to disprove that Revilla signed any project proposal, list of beneficiaries, accomplishment reports and certificates of acceptance pertaining to any of his Priority Development Assistance Fund projects as well as the prosecution’s claim that he received personal gain from such transactions.

Revilla is still detained at Camp Crame for plunder and 16 counts of

graft charges in the past 14 months.

He was accused of receiving P224 million in kickbacks from his PDAF channeled to the Napoles-linked fake foundations.

A pretrial is set on Sept. 13, during which the Sandiganbayan would come up with a final list of witnesses and documentary evidence to be presented by the prosecution and the defense panels during the trial.

Meanwhile, the Fifth Division ruled yesterday to revert the original hearing schedule of his bail plea petition for plunder case back to Monday’s from 8:30 a.m. until 12 noon.

f r i d ay : s e p t e m b e r 4 , 2 0 1 5

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editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Blair, friend of PH, passes away Former United States Ambassador to the Philippines William mcCormick Blair died in manhattan on August 29, 2015 due to hypertension complications. He was 98.

In the US, Blair was most known for being the law partner and confidante of Democratic presidential candidate Adlai E. Stevenson, and for helping raise money to complete the construction of the Kennedy Center.

Blair, who served as ambassador here from 1964 to 1967, was a friend of the Philippines and many families including the family of the late ambassador to the US Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez.

His time in the Philippines coincided with the escalation of the Vietnam War, and found himself defending US policy here. His effigy was burned by critics and a politician wanted

him expelled.

Blair was the scion of a wealthy family in Chicago that became rich from the invention of the mechanical reaper. He was the second cousin of staunch Republican Robert McCormick, publisher of Chicago Tribune.

Born in 1916, Blair served in World War II and went on to study law that landed him in a top Chicago law firm. Soon, however, he volunteered for Stevenson’s 1948 run for governor, displaying, in the words of a biographer, “talent for organization, liaison and general troubleshooting.”

He was an avid movie fan and tennis player.

An undated photo on the party for the Blairs given by President and Mrs. Macapagal of the Philippines.

Alaba slay: Cops tap two male witnesses CAMP RAVInA, Aurora —two male witnesses, including the court security guard, have been tapped by the Philippine national Police to help pinpoint the lone gunman in the broad daylight killing tuesday of Baler Regional trial Court (RtC) Branch 91 Judge Jude Erwin Alaba even as a 17man team of investigators has been formed to solve the case.

Senior Supt. Danny florentino, provincial police director, said security guard nestor natividad and another witness who had an “eyeball-to-eyeball” encounter with the suspect will help shed light on the killing of Alaba.

It was natividad who motioned the judge to park his vehicle in the compound when the gunman suddenly appeared and peppered the vehicle with bullets from a .45 cal. revolver.

Alaba, 45, was killed while his wife Margarita was wounded when the motorcycle-riding gunman fired at them at the compound of the RtC in Barangay Suklayin in the afternoon of Sept. 1. “the other witness we have could clearly identify the gunman if he sees him because they have seen each other eye to eye,” florentino said.

In fact, he said, the witness told police that after firing three shots at his target, the suspect who was wearing a bull cap tried to fire another shot directed at the witness but the gun misfired, prompting the gunman to escape.

Ferdie G. Domingo

Customs pushes tax perks for OFWs

Mobile clinic. Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) president and CEO Ramon-

cito S. Fernandez turns over the key to a brand new van ‘Mobile Clinic Para sa Buntis,’ to Kapampangan Development Foundation president and CEO Benny Ricafort on behalf of MPTC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. MPTC is the holding company of NLEX, SCTEX and Cavitex. The vehicle, equipped with ultrasound machine, will also be used to transport pregnant mothers to the hospital. Joining them are (from left) MNTC president and CEO Rodrigo E. Franco (second from left), MNTC vice president for corporate communication Marlene N. Ochoa (left), and KDF board members Jess Nicdao (second from right) and Sylvia Ordonez.

Agri-savvy solon eyed in budget talks ABono party-list Rep. francisco Emmanuel ortega III has called for the active participation of former Senate finance Committee Chairman francis “Chiz” Escudero in the 2016 national budget for agriculture, saying the possible vice presidential candidate can help pinpoint the best way to utilize and allocate funds meant to boost the country’s agricultural sector.

“Senator Chiz has always looked into the spending trends of agriculture agencies. He comes prepared. He knows his budget back and forth, inside and out, often more than the so-called budget and agri sector ex-

perts themselves,” said the legislator.

“We need Chiz in the budget talks. there’s a big, gaping hole when he’s not there.”

Escudero resigned as finance committee chairman on July 28, 2015 due to his public pronouncements on possible candidacy for higher office in 2016, citing propriety and delicadeza as primary motivators for his decision. the Senator had previously criticized the administration for underspending in agriculture projects, as the practice could threaten the country’s food security. He also cited poverty incidence was high among farmers, agriculture workers and fisherfolk.

the farmers’ representative in Congress added that the Bicolano senator’s familiarity with the intricacies of the General Appropriations Act would be a “big plus” when he formally announces his candidacy for vice president.

“Chiz is the only vice presidential candidate who has a firm grasp of the budget process, and that would make him an invaluable asset if he were to go to the Executive Department,” said the solon.

Aside from his knowledge of the budget, ortega said that Escudero’s sensible approach to problems faced by farmers also shows “an understanding of what farmers and the agri sector needs.”

A fIftEEn-folD increase in the exemption of household and personal goods being brought home in shipping containers by returning residents and a hundred-fold increase in the value of goods—shipped via parcels or balikbayan boxes from abroad—that can be exempted from taxes and duties is being pushed by the Bureau of Customs. the bureau on thursday called on the Senate to work with the House of Representatives to hasten the passage of the Customs Modernization and tariff Act (CMtA).

At the Senate hearing tackling the bureau’s policies regarding balikbayan boxes, BoC Commissioner Alberto D. lina told members of the Senate that the immediate passage of the CMtA would benefit filipinos abroad who “simply want to share their blessings with their loved ones here.” “the bureau is wholly supportive of measures to update the policies that govern the entry of balikbayan boxes,” said lina.

“At present the exemption for returning residents who bring home their personal and household goods contained in shipping containers is a measly P10,000; we believe it would be fair and compassionate to increase this to P150,000 or even more,” the BoC chief added.

In a presentation made to the Senate, lina also reported that the BoC would also support moves to raise the “outdated and unreasonable” tax threshold exemption currently at P10 to a de minimis value exemption of

P10,000, so that incoming goods brought in by parcels or balikbayan boxes and with a value of P10,000 or less will already be exempt from customs duties. the amount of P10,000 will be subject to periodic increase.

Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and operations Agaton o. Uvero also explained that the bureau would be putting in place measures that would reassure the public that packages sent from abroad would be treated with care.

“Lahat naman po tayo, kahit mga empleyado ng Customs, may mga kamag-anak sa ibang bansa. [All of us, even customs employees, have relatives in other countries.] We empathize with those who have aired their concerns about the balikbayan boxes they get from abroad and we commit to do all that we can to address these concerns,” Uvero stressed.

Uvero said that among the measures the BoC would implement are mandatory xray examination of balikbayan boxes and K-9 inspections to prevent the entry of contraband items, the elimination of random inspections, and the installation of CCtVs in inspection areas. only cargo found to be suspicious will be subject to physical inspection, and only in the presence of an overseas Workers Welfare office representative or ofW association representative, and a consolidator representative. “this combination of measures, we feel, will prevent the kind of irregularities that the public is concerned about,” added Uvero.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

METRO NEEDS NEW RESERVOIR WATER supply in Metro Manila and nearby provinces is getting scarce in the wake of the severe dry spell. The lone source of potable water—Angat Dam in Bulacan—is drying up and has forced the National Water Resources Board to reduce supply to Metro Manila’s two water concessionaires.

With El Niño expected to persist until May next year, the situation is expected to worsen and disrupt the delivery of water to the metropolis. The National Water Resources Board early this week said the government must manage the water level in Angat Dam to sustain supply to the public until El Niño ends next year.

Water level at the 47-year-old Angat Dam has not significantly increased before the onset of El Niño in the middle of the year.

Angat reservoir’s level is at about 186 meters, or below the year-end target level of 212 meters and the normal level of 210 meters.

Angat is just a few meters above the critical level of 180 meters.

Reminding the public and commercial establishments to conserve water can ease the shortage but building a new reservoir to augment Angat Dam provides the longterm solution to the problem. With El Niño becoming more frequent and the population growing rapidly, the new reservoir can well address the limitations of Angat Dam. Unfortunately, the government again is taking a long time to auction the contract to construct a new reservoir. President Benigno Aquino III in May last year approved the construction of the P18.7-billion Kaliwa Dam that will cover portions of the municipalities of Tanay, Antipolo and Teresa in Rizal and the towns of General Nakar and Infanta in Quezon under the public-privatepartnership scheme.

The proposed reservoir includes a water conveyance tunnel with a capacity of 2,400 million liters per day in preparation for the future construction of another dam, the Laiban Dam. The Kaliwa Dam project that will serve as catch basin of the Sierra Madre mountain range, however, may suffer the fate of other PPP projects. The government must be reminded that it does not have the luxury of time to act on the critical dam project.

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SURVEYGATE LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES

IN HIS National Heroes’ Day speech, President Noynoy Aquino quoted George Santayana’s most famous line, the one about people who forget the past being condemned to repeat it. And the leader of this most forgetful administration, which seems to think that it invented government, displayed no irony at all when he made the statement.

The forgetfulness of the Aquino administration, or at least its refusal to look back and see how this country’s political past is replete with examples of wrong-headed action leading to disastrous results, now extends to the campaign of its anointed successor, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, apparently. Really.

You see, Roxas and his Liberal Party seem to have forgotten that coming up with suspicious surveys ultimately does more harm than good. And I’m sure Roxas and his LP

minions were very much around when House Speaker Jose De Venecia, up against the runaway leader in the 1998 presidential elections, came up with survey after specious survey showing how he, in fact, was the frontrunner.

And we all know how that worked out for De Venecia. No matter how many survey companies no one ever heard of declared that the House speaker was ahead in the polls—and no matter how many media outlets dutifully reported this supposed fact—De Venecia still ended up at the tail end of the presidential race.

Now, Roxas has been declared the preferred choice in a survey funded by the LP, 53 percent to 27 percent, in a one-on-one contest with Vice President Jejomar Binay, if the race was held today. And Roxas, at least on the day of the release of the purported survey results, expressed his gratitude for “the support our countrymen are giving.”

I spoke to the LP official who divulged the results of the survey, Calo-

Roxas and the LP are guilty of insulting the intelligence of the Filipino voters.

ocan City Rep. Edgardo Erice, and he confirmed that he could not say what survey outfit conducted the LP-funded poll. It was a privately-funded poll, he explained, and the LP basically had the right to reveal only the portions of it that the party wanted to reveal.

That’s probably fine as far as it goes, I told Erice.

But didn’t it bother the LP that the results of the supposed survey’s credibility would suffer if the party couldn’t even say who conducted it?

Not at all, Erice said.

And the LP official brave-

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Ma. Isabel “Gina” P. Verzosa Head, Advertising Solutions Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

ly predicted that the results of this “secret” poll would be echoed in the upcoming survey that other outfits like Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations were conducting even as we spoke.

But what about the other questions asked in the supposed survey of 1,200 respondents nationwide? Erice told me that there were about 70 other questions asked—but that they chose only one, again because, in so many words, he said it was their survey and they could do whatever they damn well pleased with it.

And to what, I asked Erice, did he attribute this unprecedented increase in Roxas’ political fortunes?

Why, he responded, as if I were a little slow, of course it was because of Aquino’s endorsement of Roxas’ candidacy.

I knew I was talking to Erice, but the face that my mind’s eye saw was that of another congressman who had made it his job to defend to the death— and with the straightest of faces—a sitting President and his chosen successor.

I wonder what Prospero “Butch” Pichay is doing now. Continued on A11

Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

A10 LESS THAN FORTHRIGHT the issue of fact be raised. Let the petitioner assail her status FR. RANHILIO with competent evidence. She CALLANGAN enjoys the presumption that she is qualified for office, havAQUINO ing been admitted to candidacy IT was refreshing to listen to for public office by an agency Leni Robredo answer questions of government, having won an put to her in a television inter- election and having been sworn view with forthrightness: no into office. It is not for her to attempt to sound cute, no air of defend her citizenship but it is imperiousness, not the slight- her burden to rebut whatever est hint of bravura. Just simple, proof the petitioner may addirect answers that stand out duce against it! in relief against a background Whatever prevarication she of duplicity, calculated am- may now indulge in to “exbivalence and downright men- plain” her rather reckless redacity that have polluted the marks at the height of the INC environment of national dis- show of force, it was wrong of course. I particularly liked her even to hint that an agency that part where she was asked of State should buckle down in by the anchor person: “Do you the face of what was in fact a think someone who renounced call to set aside the law. The her Filipino citizenship should crowd that massed first at Palead the country as President?”, dre Faura before it trooped to to which she gave a simple, Edsa was neither engaged in direct, but unequivocal: “No”. worship, nor in the protected She had earlier declared that expression of belief or persuashe was interested neither in sion. It was using the might the presidency nor in the vice- of numbers to importune the presidency. While the vice- DoJ into exempting its leaders president is often deprecat- from the processes of law after ingly referred to as “the spare tire” whose constitutional office it is to wait for the death, incapacity or resignation of the president, Leni Robredo exhibIt is a sure sign ited such a high regard for the office that cannot but be adof things gone mirable: “A novice like me in politics is unprepared for the awry when the demands of such high office.” proper language And so, her “no” was not that of competitor for the same ofto use is fice, but of a citizen expressing doublespeak. her views, a lawyer giving voice to a conviction!

And now, for Grace Poe. She is facing a petition for quo warranto against her before the Senate Electoral Tribunal. As so very often happens in our in- it had been alleged, through creasingly unintelligent society, a criminal complaint, that a the petitioner has been pelted crime had been committed. with every kind of denigrating But I am willing to credit Ms. epithet. “Baliw”, “pakawala”, Poe with a higher degree of “bayaran”. We would all fare circumspection and a mature a little better were we to raise capacity for discernment. Is it a proper procedural issue: Is not possible that she spoke the he the proper party to petition way she did and said what she for such a prerogative writ? In said because she was convinced quo warranto proceedings, the that the crowd had massed for personality and the interests a just cause, a cause unknown of the petitioner are of utmost to the rest of the nation? That moment. But the substantive they were in fact protecting issues he raises are valid ques- themselves against bullying by tions, and it will not do to stage one who had set his sights on an impromptu gathering of or- some high office of the land phans, adopted children and and wanted to be assured of the foundlings and have Grace Poe church’s block vote? It is posshed some tears either of sym- sible, I grant, that Grace Poe pathy or of poignant remem- knew something that was kept brance of a painful past. “Stop from the rest of the nation and calling her a foundling”, we she was speaking, not so much have been asked by her drum- for them, as against him! beaters. But if we are to resolve Which brings me, as might this important issue, then we be expected, to the issue of have nothing else to go by ex- the deal. After a meeting becept the categories of law, and tween the sect’s leaders and the “foundling” is one such appli- representatives of the national cable category in this case. Let leadership, a “deal” was an-

PENSEES

F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A MISSED GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY PRESIDENT Ramon Magsaysay gifted us with a golden opportunity to have unemployment benefit as part of our social security program when he signed into law Republic Act 1161 or the Social Security Act of 1954.

That law took effect immediately upon its approval on June 18, 1954 to provide “the people throughout the Philippines… protection against the hazards of unemployment, disability, sickness, old age and death.”

Unemployment benefit— listed first among the five original set of benefits—was initially a principal component of the new program. Its rules of payment—set in the early 1950s — were surprisingly comprehensive and remained comparable in form and substance with today’s contemporary programs.

For instance, a covered employee is awarded “an allowance equivalent to twenty per centum of his daily rate of compensation, plus five per centum thereof for every dependent if he has any, but in no case shall the total amount of such daily allowance exceed six pesos, or fifty per centum of his daily rate of compensation, whichever is the smaller amount, nor be paid for a period longer than 90 days in one calendar year.”

Its payment “shall be suspended if his continued unemployment is due to his failure, without good cause, to apply for available suitable work, or to avail himself of a reasonable opportunity for suitable work, or to accept suitable work when offered to him.”

The act even defined “suitable work” as “the usual employment of the covered employee, or other employment for which he is reasonably fitted” and required him to register at “a public employment office.”

Immediately after signing the law, President Magsaysay appointed Dr. Manuel Hizon, the Actuary then of the Government Service Insurance System, as acting administrator of the newly created Social Security System.

That day was clearly the first day SSS started to exist, albeit without yet a single member registered and a centavo of contribution collected.

Dr. Hizon recruited quickly 37 employees from the GSIS to serve as the initial workforce of the SSS. Soon, too, President Magsaysay appointed Health Secretary Paulino Garcia as chairman of the program’s governing board Social Security Commission and Labor Secretary Eleuterio Adevoso, Social Welfare Administrator Pacita Gonzales, and GSIS general manager Rodolfo Andal as its members.

No doubt, the appointment of these top-caliber cabinet members highlighted the important role that President Magsaysay wanted the new program to play —serve as his administration’s flagship project.

However, when the newly appointed SSC members met the following day for their first board meeting, they decided that the program would only commence on December 1 that year.

Employer groups and labor unions—as if they were a mob —used this intervening period to oppose the law’s implementation through a series of protest rallies and meetings with the president.

The very strong opposition was so unlike the way social security was welcomed by Americans in 1935, or when a similar scheme was introduced at the GSIS for public servants in 1937.

Employer groups bannered our unpreparedness to implement this “premature” social security program, warning that it would “frighten foreign capital away” and “adversely affect the flow of investment capital” to the country.

Faced with these strong oppositions, the SSC decided— with the president reluctantly concurring—to suspend the implementation of R.A. 1161, and waited for the passage of amendments to some of its provisions.

President Magsaysay would perish in a plane crash on March 17, 1957 and a very supportive Vice President Carlos P.

nounced. No, they used a less intriguing term: understanding, they called it. What was there to understand? It is a lesson taken in a freshman college subject—Politics and Governance.

High school students also take it in araling panlipunan.

A complaint is investigated. So, the nation rightly demands to know from a less-than-forthright government: What was “understood”? What was the

deal? Trixie Angeles has every reason to be concerned. Her client’s cause is at stake. He had been wronged. And she wants to know whether his cause was bargained away and whether it was part of the “understanding” that his complaint would be left for the courts of heaven to resolve in the hereafter rather than disposed of on earth in this life!

It does not help tolerate a culture of duplicity. It is a sure

FILIPINO PENSIONER HORACE TEMPLO

Garcia would succeed him and pursue the passage of Republic Act 1792 on June 21, 1957.

The amended version may have satisfied most oppositionists but it also deleted unemployment benefit. We thus lost a golden opportunity to enjoy it, and maybe for good because 58 years after its deletion, never had it been seriously considered again.

It is obvious that our employers have consistently outmaneuvered their government and labor social partners in the development of social security, and would likely continue to succeed in preventing our private sector workers from enjoying unemployment benefit.

But the benefits that were not even contemplated in the 1954 and 1957 legislations—maternity, medical care and workmen’s compensation benefits—have become major branches of our country’s social security program.

Medical care was introduced in 1972. SSS initially administered it for private sector workers and GSIS for public sector employees. Now universal, the program is solely administered

by PhilHealth and funded by member contributions and government subsidies.

Workmen’s compensation benefit was restructured in 1975 from contributions that employers alone funded. It continues to be administered

by SSS for private sector workers and by GSIS for public sector employees.

Maternity benefit was added to the program of benefits in 1978 from contributions that are paid alone by employers.

Despite the deletion of unemployment benefit in Republic Act 1792, there is much to thank President Garcia for pushing through the law’s effectivity on Sept. 1, 1957—which was a Sunday—and for not heeding the 50 desperate labor leaders who called on him the day before to suspend again its effectivity.

Much is also owed to the first 607 firms and their 169,403 employees who had earlier wisely enrolled with SSS. Without them, the commencement of the social security program could have been a missed golden opportunity, too. sign of things gone awry when the proper language to use is doublespeak! But when, at every turn, we do not have forthrightness from those of whom we expect it, then it seems that we are mired in this fruitless and absurd game of the calculated perversion of communication! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 5

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

THE REALLY RICH FILIPINOS VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ FORBES magazine has published the 2015 list of the Philippines’ richest individuals.

The Top 35 richest Filipinos with their estimated wealth in US dollar millions, according to Forbes, are: 1 Henry Sy Sr. (14,400); 2 John Gokongwei Jr. (5,500); 3 Andrew Tan (4,500); 4 Lucio Tan (4,300); 5 Enrique Razon Jr. (4,100); 6 George Ty (4,000); 7 Aboitiz Family (3,600).

8 Jaime Zobel de Ayala (3,500); 9 David Consunji (3,200); 10 Tony Tan Caktiong (2,200); 11 Lucio and Susan Co (1,700); 12 Roberto Coyiuto Jr. (1,600); 13 Manuel Villar Jr. (1,500); 14 Yap family (1,400).

15 Alfredo Yao (1,300);16 Dean Lao (1,100); 17 Oscar Lopez (1,000); 18 Andrew Gotianun (910); 19 Betty Ang (905); 20 Roberto Ongpin (900); 21 Inigo and Mercedes Zobel (870).

22 Vivian Que Azcona (780); 23 Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. (770); 24 Beatrice Campos (740); 25 Ricardo Po family (640); 26 Jorge Araneta (560); 27 Carlos Chan (550); 28 Mariano Tan Jr. (520).

29 Ramon Ang (510); 30 Alfonso Yuchengco (500); 31 Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. (480); 32 Manuel Zamora (450); 33 Concepcion family (400); 34 Edgar Sia (390) and 35 Frederick Dy (310).

The Forbes list is an indicator of who in the Philippines have money, influence and power in the Philippines. But it is not a very reliable indicator of who the really rich Filipinos are.

For instance, Forbes greatly overstates the wealth of the family of No. 8 richest, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, the father of the brothers Jaime Augusto and Fernando ($3.5 billion), and No. 5 richest, Enrique Razon of owner of ICTSI and the moneylosing Bloomberry casinos ($4.1 billion).

The magazine grossly understates the wealth of Ramon S. Ang, the vice chairman, president and COO of San Miguel Corp., Iñigo Zobel, SMC’s single largest owner; and John Gokongwei Jr., the founder and chair emeritus of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Ang or RSA is ranked only 29th richest with estimated wealth of $510 million, while taipan John is No. 2 with $5.5 billion. Iñigo is estimated by Forbes to be worth just $870 million, No. 21 richest. His poorer cousins, Jaime Augusto and Fernando, are ranked higher, at No. 8.

In my book, John could indeed be the Philippines’ second richest, but with a wealth of $7.355 billion, not $5.5 billion per Forbes. Iñigo should be ranked No. 3, while Ramon should be No. 4, or No. 5 at the very least. Let me tell you why.

SMC, the Philippines’ largest industrial corporation in revenues and assets, had a market

Surveygate.. From A8 *** What Roxas and the LP are really guilty of in the “surveygate” controversy is ultimately insulting the intelligence of the Filipino voters. Not only do they think that they can start a bandwagon with the survey, they also want people to think that they can cherry-pick survey

#FAILOCRACY

capitalization, as of yesterday, of just P119.5 billion or $2.597 billion (at P46 to $1). SMC’s businesses have a value of more than $40 billion.

Iñigo owns 31 percent of San Miguel, RSA 24 another percent. About 31 percent of $40 billion is $12.4 billion. That’s the value of Iñigo’s holdings in San Miguel if the conglomerate’s businesses were properly valued.

In addition, Iñigo and his sister, Mercedes, own 24.5 percent of Ayala Corp. which has a market cap of P230.786 billion. The other 24.5 percent is owned by former Ambassador Jaime Zobel de Ayala, father of Jaime Augusto and Fernando. Get a fourth of P230.786 billion and you are richer by $1.229 billion. The $1.229 billion (not $3.5 billion as Forbes estimates) is the wealth of Don Jaime and his children.

The same $1.229 billion is the value of ownership of the siblings Iñigo and Mercedes – in Ayala alone.

However, Iñigo also owns 31 percent of San Miguel whose enterprise value is easily $40 billion. Get 31 percent of $40 billion, that is $12.4 billion. Add Iñigo’s holdings in Ayala, $1.229 billion, and the guy is easily worth $13.629 billion. That makes him the country’s second or third richest individual. Assuming I am half wrong. Iñigo will still be worth only $6.814 billion, behind Gokongwei’s $7.35 billion (my estimate and not $5.5 billion per Forbes).

On the other hand, RSA’s 24

results with impunity.

The LP-commissioned survey was so questionable that even the vice chairman of the administration party, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, found it very hard to swallow. “We have to wait [until] the cards are on the table,” Belmonte said, referring to the fact that it’s probably not going to be a one-on-one contest between Roxas and Binay, as the survey

percent of SMC’s $40-billion enterprise value is worth $9.6 billion, a fortune that is nearly 19 times the estimate of Forbes as the wily tycoon’s wealth.

Why do I say San Miguel’s businesses are worth $40 billion or more? The value of its beer business (90 percent of the market) is easily $6 billion, its food business (the biggest in the Philippines) $3 billion, packaging business $1 billion, and Ginebra San Miguel $800 million. These are the traditional businesses.

Add the new or non-traditional businesses which now contribute 71 percent of SMC’s total revenues. These are: Petron Corp. (including the Malaysian refinery and gas stations) $6 billion; power (SMC is the Philippines’ biggest power producer) $6 billion; and infrastructure (SMC is the biggest tollways operator, with no less than seven major infra properties) plus the the Caticlan airport and its adjacent 1,000 hectares which could be developed into a new Hawaii and make Boracay such a puny operation: $10 billion.

In addition, San Miguel owns among the Philippines’ richest nickel, coal and iron ore deposits and is the country’s single largest cement producer—16 million tons. The value of the mining and cement businesses: $18 billion.

Even if you remove the mining and cement businesses, SMC still has over $25 billion worth of businesses—$6 billion

wants to make everyone believe.

Of course, there were also those who defended, Erice-and Pichay-like, this most insulting of surveys. “If we have an intention to cheat [in a survey], we are also cheating ourselves because we spent money for it,” Senate President Franklin Drilon, Belmonte’s co-vice chairman of the LP, said.

(I tried thinking about who Drilon

beer, $3 billion food, $1 billion packaging, $800 million Ginebra, $6 billion power, and $10 billion infra.

Yet, the stock market values SMC at only $2.6 billion. What a joke.

If you don’t believe my listing of the really rich, here is the 2013 list of biggest taxpayers: 1.

Manny Pacquiao, P163 million; 2. Juanito Alcantara, P99.6 million; 3. Estelito Mendoza, P73 million; 4. Reynaldo Chico Jr., P67 million; 5. Andrew Tan, P67 million; 6. Lorenzo Tan, P60.89 million; 7. Jose Alvarez, P55.6 million; 8. Vivian Azcona, P51.6 million; 9. Oscar Reyes, P51 million; 10. Vicente Ayllon, P50,088,841; 11. Ronaldo Soliman, P46,636,876; 12. Ramon S. Ang, P46,471,324; 13. Lauro Baja, Jr., P45,194,110; 14. Piolo Pascual, P42,533,158; 15. John Lloyd Cruz, P41,976,592; 16.

Kris Aquino, P40,481,146; 17.

Federico Lopez, P39,899,018; 18. Victor Angeles, P39,762,021; 19. Sharon Cuneta-Pangilinan, P39,049,235; 20. Willie Revillame, P38,305,824; 21. Justo Aboitiz Ortiz, P37,225,922; 22.

Erramon Aboitiz, P35,819,446; 23. Nestor Tan, P33,563,178; 24.

Jose Ma. Lim, P33,024,233; 25.

Vicente Tan Lao, P32,924,363; 26. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II, P32,224,696; 27. Manuel Pangilinan, P31,636,324; 28. Raul Mendoza Ang, P31,247,155; 29. Victor Valdepenas, P31,151,270.35, and 30.

Francis Puno, P30,909,992. biznewsasia@gmail.com

reminded me of from the recent political past. And I’m sad to report that Drilon only reminded me of Drilon, as he always has been when he is defending the administration and the party in power.)

I end with this rejoinder-quote, from Albert Einstein, for Aquino, Roxas and the LP: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

CHONG ARDIVILLA

of a reasonable administration fee.

3.1.5

The Ticket is and remains at all times the property of the issuing carrier.

7.1.1

such action is necessary in order to comply with any applicable government laws, regulations, or orders;

3.1.6

Except in the case of an Electronic Ticket, you shall not be entitled to be carried on a flight unless you present a valid Ticket containing the Flight Coupon for that flight and all other unused Flight Coupons and the Passenger Coupon. In addition, you shall not be entitled to be carried if the Ticket presented is mutilated or if it has been altered otherwise than by us or our Authorised Agent. In the case of an Electronic Ticket, you shall not be entitled to be carried on a flight unless you provide positive identification and a valid Electronic Ticket has been duly issued in your name.

7.1.2

the carriage of you or your Baggage may endanger or affect the safety, health, or materially affect the comfort of other passengers or crew;

7.1.3

your mental or physical state including your impairment from alcohol or drugs, presents a hazard or risk to yourself, to passengers, to crew, or to property;

7.1.4

you have refused to submit to a security check;

3.1.7(a) In case of loss or mutilation of a Ticket (or part of it) by you or non-presentation of a Ticket containing the Passenger Coupon and all unused Flight Coupons, upon your request we will replace such Ticket (or part of it) by issuing a new Ticket, provided there is evidence, readily ascertainable at the time, that a Ticket valid for the flight(s) in question was duly issued and you sign an agreement to reimburse us for any costs and losses, up to the value of the original ticket, which are necessarily and reasonably incurred by us or another carrier for misuse of the Ticket. We will not claim reimbursement from you for any such losses which result from our own negligence. The issuing carrier may charge a reasonable administration fee for this service, unless the loss or mutilation was due to the negligence of the issuing carrier, or its agent.

7.1.5

you have not paid the applicable fare, taxes, fees or charges;

7.1.6

you do not appear to have valid travel documents, may seek to enter a country through which you may be in transit, or for which you do not have valid travel documents, destroy your travel documents during flight or refuse to surrender your travel documents to the flight crew, against receipt, when so requested;

7.1.7

you present a Ticket that has been acquired unlawfully, has been purchased from an entity other than us or our Authorised Agent, or has been reported as being lost or stolen, is a counterfeit, or you cannot prove that you are the person named in the Ticket;

7.1.8

you have failed to comply with the requirements set forth in Article 3.3 above concerning coupon sequence and use, or you present a Ticket which has been issued or altered in any way, other than by us or our Authorised Agent, or the Ticket is mutilated;

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE (PASSENGER AND BAGGAGE) ARTICLE 1- WHAT PARTICULAR EXPRESSIONS MEAN IN THESE CONDITIONS

As you read these conditions, please note that: “We”, “our” “ourselves” and “us” means Thai Airways International “You”, “your” and “yourself”means any person, except members of the crew, carried or to be carried in an aircraft pursuant to a Ticket. (See also definition for “Passenger”).

“AGREED STOPPING PLACES” means those places, except the place of departure and the place of destination, set out in the Ticket or shown in our timetables as scheduled stopping places on your route.

“AIRLINE DESIGNATOR CODE” means the two-characters or three letters which identify particular air carriers.

“AUTHORISED AGENT” means a passenger sales agent who has been appointed by us to represent us in the sale of air transportation on our services.

“BAGGAGE” means your personal property accompanying you in connection with your trip.

Unless otherwise specified, it consists of both your Checked and Unchecked Baggage.

“BAGGAGE CHECK” means those portions of the Ticket which relate to the carriage of your Checked Baggage.

“BAGGAGE IDENTIFICATION TAG” means a document issued solely for identification of Checked Baggage.

“CARRIER” means an air carrier other than ourselves, whose Airline Designator Code appears on your Ticket or on a Conjunction Ticket.

“CHECKED BAGGAGE” means Baggage of which we take custody and for which we have issued a Baggage Check.

“CHECK-IN DEADLINE” means the time limit specified by the airline by which you must have completed check-in formalities and received your boarding pass.

“CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT” means those statements contained in or delivered with your Ticket or Itinerary/Receipt, identified as such and which incorporate, by reference, these Conditions of Carriage and notices.

3.1.7(b) Where such evidence is not available or you do not sign such an agreement, the carrier issuing the new Ticket may require you to pay up to the full Ticket price for a replacement Ticket, subject to refund if and when the original issuing carrier is satisfied that the lost or mutilated Ticket has not been used before the expiry of its validity. If, upon finding the original Ticket before the expiry of its validity, you surrender it to the carrier issuing the new Ticket, the foregoing refund will be processed at that time.

3.1.8

A ticket is valuable and you should take appropriate measures to safeguard it and ensure it is not lost or stolen.

3.2

PERIOD OF VALIDITY

3.2.1

Except as otherwise provided in the Ticket, these Conditions, or in applicable Tariffs (which may limit the validity of a ticket, in which case the limitation will be shown on the Ticket) a Ticket is valid for:

(a) (b)

one year from the date of issue; or subject to the first travel occurring within one year from the date of issue, one year from the date of first travel under the Ticket.

3.2.2

When you are prevented from travelling within the period of validity of the Ticket because at the time you request reservations we are unable to confirm a reservation,the validity of such Ticket will be extended, or you may be entitled to a refund in accordance with Article 10.

3.2.3

“CONJUNCTION TICKET” means a Ticket issued to you with relation to another Ticket which together constitute a single contract of carriage.

If after having commenced your journey, you are prevented from travelling within the period of validity of the Ticket by reason of illness, we may extend the period of validity of your Ticket until the date when you become fit to travel or until our first flight after such date, from the point where the journey is resumed on which space is available in the class of service for which the fare has been paid. Such illness must be attested to by a medical certificate. When the flight coupons remaining in the Ticket, or in the case of an Electronic Ticket, the electronic coupon, involve one or more Stopovers, the validity of such Ticket may be extended for not more than three months from the date shown on such certificate.

In such circumstances, we will similarly extend the period of validity of Tickets of other members of your immediate family accompanying you.

“CONVENTION” means whichever of the following instruments are applicable: - the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage

by Air, signed at Warsaw, 12 October 1929 (hereinafter referred to as the Warsaw Convention); - the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague on 28 September 1955; - the Warsaw Convention as amended by Additional Protocol No. 1 of Montreal (1975): - the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague and by Additional Protocol No. 2 of Montreal (1975); - the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague and by Additional Protocol No. 4 of Montreal (1975); - the Guadalajara supplementary Convention (1961); - the Montreal Convention (1999)

3.2.4

In the event of death of a Passenger en route, the Tickets of persons accompanying the Passenger may be modified by waiving the minimum stay or extending the validity. In the event of a death in the immediate family of a Passenger who has commenced travel, the validity of the Passenger’s Tickets and those of his or her immediate family who are accompanying the Passenger may likewise be modified. Any such modification shall be made upon receipt of a valid death certificate and any such extension of validity shall not be for a period longer than forty-five (45) Days from the date of the death.

“COUPON” means both a paper Flight Coupon and an Electronic Coupon, each of which entitles the named passenger to travel on the particular flight identified on it.

3.3

COUPON SEQUENCE AND USE

3.3.1

The Ticket you have purchased is valid only for the transportation as shown on the Ticket, from the place of departure via any Agreed Stopping Places to the final destination. The fare you have paid is based upon our Tariff and is for the transportation as shown on the Ticket. It forms an essential part of our contract with you. The Ticket will not be honoured and will lose its validity if all the Coupons are not used in the sequence provided in the Ticket.

3.3.2

Should you wish to change any aspect of your transportation you must contact us in advance. The fare for your new transportation will be calculated and you will be given the option of accepting the new price or maintaining your original transportation as ticketed.

Should you be required to change any aspect of your transportation due to Force Majeure, you must contact us as soon as practicable and we will use reasonable efforts to transport you to your next Stopover or final destination, without recalculation of the fare.

“DAMAGE” includes death, wounding, or bodily injury to a Passenger, loss, partial loss, theft or other damage, arising out of or in connection with carriage or other services incidental thereto performed by us.

“DAYS” mean calendar days, including all seven days of the week; provided that, for the purpose of notification, the day upon which notice is dispatched shall not be counted; and provided further that for purposes of determining duration of validity of a Ticket, the day upon which the Ticket is issued, or the flight commenced shall not be counted.

“ELECTRONIC COUPON” means an electronic flight coupon or other value document held in our database.

“ELECTRONIC TICKET” means the Itinerary/Receipt issued by us or on our behalf, the Electronic Coupons and, if applicable, a boarding document.

3.3.3

Should you change your transportation without our agreement, we will assess the correct price for your actual travel. You will have to pay any difference between the price you have paid and the total price applicable for your revised transportation. We will refund you the difference if the new price is lower but otherwise, your unused Coupons have no value.

3.3.4

Please be aware that while some types of changes will not result in a change of fare, others, such as changing the place of departure (for example, if you do not fly the first segment) or reversing the direction you travel, can result in an increase in price. Many special fares are valid only on the dates and for the flights shown on the Ticket and may not be changed at all, or only upon payment of an additional fee.

“FLIGHT COUPON” means that portion of the Ticket that bears the notation “good for passage,” or in the case of an Electronic Ticket, the Electronic Coupon, and indicates the particular places between which you are entitled to be carried.

“FORCE MAJEURE” means unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond your control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.

“ITINERARY/RECEIPT” means a document or documents we issue to Passengers travelling on Electronic Tickets that contains the Passenger’s name, flight information and notices.

“PASSENGER” means any person, except members of the crew, carried or to be carried in an aircraft pursuant to a Ticket. (See also definition for “you”, “your” and “yourself”).

“PASSENGER COUPON” or “PASSENGER RECEIPT” means that portion of the Ticket issued by us or on our behalf, which is so marked and which ultimately is to be retained by you.

3.3.5

Each Flight Coupon contained in your Ticket will be accepted for transportation in the class of service on the date and flight for which space has been reserved. When a Ticket is originally issued without a reservation being specified, space may be later reserved subject to our Tariff and the availability of space on the flight requested.

3.3.6

“SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS” are an international unit of account, defined by the International Monetary Fund, based upon the values of several leading currencies. The currency values of the Special Drawing Right fluctuate and are re-calculated each banking day. These values are known to most commercial bankers and are reported regularly in leading financial journals.

Please be advised that in the event you do not show up for any flight without advising us in advance, we may cancel your return or onward reservations. However, if you do advise us in advance, we will not cancel your subsequent flight reservations.

3.4

NAME AND ADDRESS OF CARRIER Our name may be abbreviated to our Airline Designator Code, or otherwise, in the Ticket.

Our address is Thai Airways International, Head Office, 89 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900. Thailand.

“STOPOVER” means a scheduled stop on your journey, at a point between the place of departure and the place of destination.

ARTICLE 4 –FARES, TAXES, FEES AND CHARGES

“TARIFF” means the published fares, charges and/or related Conditions of Carriage of an airline filed, where required, with the appropriate authorities.

4.1

FARES Fares apply only for carriage from the airport at the point of origin to the airport at the point of destination, unless otherwise expressly stated. Fares do not include ground transport service between airports and between airports and town terminals. Your fare will be calculated in accordance with our Tariff in effect on the date of payment of your ticket for travel on the specific dates and itinerary shown on it. Should you change your itinerary or dates of travel, this may impact the fare to be paid.

4.2

TAXES, FEES AND CHARGES Applicable taxes, fees and charges imposed by government or other authority, or by the operator of an airport, shall be payable by you. At the time you purchase your Ticket, you will be advised of all applicable taxes, fees and charges not included in the fare, most of which will normally be shown separately on the Ticket. The taxes, fees and charges imposed on air travel are constantly changing and can be imposed after the date of Ticket issuance. If there is an increase in a tax, fee or charge shown on the Ticket, you will be obliged to pay it. Likewise, if a new tax, fee or charge is imposed even after Ticket issuance, you will be obliged to pay it. Similarly, in the event any taxes, fees or charges which you have paid to us at the time of Ticket issuance are abolished or reduced such that they no longer apply to you, or a lesser amount is due, you will be entitled to claim a refund.

“TICKET” means either the document entitled “Passenger Ticket and Baggage Check” or the Electronic Ticket, in each case issued by us or on our behalf, and includes the Conditions of Contract, notices and Coupons.

“UNCHECKED BAGGAGE” means any of your Baggage other than Checked Baggage.

ARTICLE 2 -APPLICABILITY 2.1

2.2

2.3

GENERAL Except as provided in Articles 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5, our Conditions of Carriage apply only on those flights, or flight segments, in respect of which we have a potential legal liability to you.

CHARTER OPERATIONS If carriage is performed pursuant to a charter agreement, these Conditions of Carriage apply only to the extent they are incorporated by reference or otherwise, in the charter agreement or the Ticket.

CODE SHARES On some services we may have arrangements with other carriers known as “Code Shares”. This means that even if you have a reservation with us and hold a Ticket where our name or Airline Designator Code is indicated as the Carrier, another Carrier may operate the aircraft. If in case of a Code Share flight we are indicated as the carrier operating the flight, these Conditions of Carriage also apply to such transportation. If such arrangements apply we will advise you of the Carrier operating the aircraft at the time you make a reservation.

For Code Share services on flights operated by another carrier, we are responsible for the entirety of the Code Share journey for all obligations to Passengers established in these rules. However, each Code Share partner has rules with respect to the operation of its own flights, which may differ from our rules for flights operated by us. Those rules are incorporated herein by reference and form a part of these Conditions of Carriage.

The rules with respect to operations that may differ between us and our Code Share partners include, but are not limited to: • Check-in time limits; • Unaccompanied minors; • Carriage of animals; • Refusal to transport; • Oxygen service; • Irregular operations; • Denied boarding compensation; • Baggage acceptance, allowance and liability

2.4

4.3

5.1

RESERVATION REQUIREMENTS

5.1.1

We or our Authorised Agent will record your reservation(s). Upon request we will provide you with written confirmation of your reservation(s).

5.1.2

Certain fares have conditions which limit or exclude your right to change or cancel reservations.

5.2

TICKETING TIME LIMITS If you have not paid for the Ticket prior to the specified ticketing time limit, as advised by us or our Authorised Agent, we may cancel your reservation.

5.3

PERSONAL DATA You recognise that personal data has been given to us for the purposes of: making a reservation, purchasing a Ticket, obtaining ancillary services, developing and providing services, facilitating immigration and entry procedures, and making available such data to government agencies, in connection with your travel. For these purposes, you authorise us to retain and use such data and to transmit it to our own offices, Authorised Agents, government agencies, other Carriers or the providers of the above-mentioned services.

you have previously committed one of the acts or omissions referred to above, or misconduct, on or in connection with a previous flight and we have reason to believe that you may do so again.

7.3

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE Acceptance for carriage of unaccompanied children, incapacitated persons, pregnant women, persons with illness or other people requiring special assistance is subject to our discretion and prior arrangement with us. Passengers with disabilities who have advised us of any special requirements they may have at the time of ticketing, and been accepted by us, shall not subsequently be refused carriage on the basis of such disability or special requirements.

ARTICLE 8 -BAGGAGE 8.1

FREE BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE You may carry some Baggage, free of charge, subject to our conditions and limitations, which are available upon request from us or our Authorised Agents and are included in our Handling Manual available in our main offices (Passenger Service Department).

8.2

EXCESS BAGGAGE You will be required to pay a charge for carriage of Baggage in excess of the free Baggage allowance. These rates are available from us upon request and are included in our Handling Manual available in our main offices (Passenger Service Department).

8.3

ITEMS UNACCEPTABLE AS BAGGAGE

8.3.1

You must not include in your Baggage:

8.3.1.1

items which are likely to endanger the aircraft or persons or property on board the aircraft, such as those specified in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations, and in our regulations (further information is available from us on request);

8.3.1.2 items the carriage of which is prohibited by the applicable laws, regulations or orders of any state to be flown from or to; 8.3.1.3 items which are reasonably considered by us to be unsuitable for carriage because they are dangerous, unsafe or by reason of their weight, size, shape or character, or which are fragile or perishable having regard to, among other things, the type of aircraft being used. Information about unacceptable items is available upon request.

8.3.2

Firearms and ammunition other than for hunting and sporting purposes are prohibited from carriage as Baggage. Firearms and ammunition for hunting and sporting purposes may be accepted as Checked Baggage. Firearms must be unloaded with the safety catch on, and suitably packed. Carriage of ammunition is subject to ICAO and IATA regulations as specified in Article 8.3.1.1.

8.3.3

Weapons such as antique firearms, swords, knives and similar items may be accepted as Checked Baggage, at our discretion, but will not be permitted in the cabin of the aircraft.

8.3.4

You must not include in Checked Baggage money, jewellery, precious metals, computers, personal electronic devices, negotiable papers, securities or other valuables, business documents, passports and other identification documents or samples.

8.3.5

If, despite being prohibited, any items referred to in Articles 8.3.1, 8.3.2 and 8.3.4 are included in your Baggage, we shall not be responsible for any loss or damage to such items.

8.4

RIGHT TO REFUSE CARRIAGE

8.4.1

Subject to Articles 8.3.2 and 8.3.3, we will refuse to carry as Baggage the items described in Article 8.3, and we may refuse further carriage of any such items upon discovery.

8.4.2

We may refuse to carry as Baggage any item reasonably considered by us to be unsuitable for carriage because of its size, shape, weight, content, character, or for safety or operational reasons, or the comfort of other passengers. Information about unacceptable items is available upon request.

8.4.3

We may refuse to accept Baggage for carriage unless it is in our reasonable opinion properly and securely packed in suitable containers. Information about packing and containers unacceptable to us is available upon request.

8.5

RIGHT OF SEARCH For reasons of safety and security we may request that you permit a search and scan of your person and a search, scan or x-ray of your Baggage. If you are not available, your Baggage may be searched in your absence for the purpose of determining whether you are in possession of or whether your Baggage contains any item described in Article 8.3.1 or any firearms, ammunition or weapons, which have not been presented to us in accordance with Article 8.3.2 or 8.3.3. If you are unwilling to comply with such request we may refuse to carry you and your Baggage. In the event a search or scan causes Damage to you, or an x-ray or scan causes damage to your Baggage, we shall not be liable for such Damage unless due to our fault or negligence.

8.6

CHECKED BAGGAGE

8.6.1

Upon delivery to us of your Baggage which you wish to check we will take custody of, and issue a Baggage Identification Tag for, each piece of your Checked Baggage.

8.6.2

Checked Baggage must have your name or other personal identification affixed to it.

8.6.3

Checked Baggage will, whenever possible, be carried on the same aircraft as you, unless we decide for safety, security or operational reasons to carry it on an alternative flight. If your Checked Baggage is carried on a subsequent flight we will deliver it to you, unless applicable law requires you to be present for customs clearance.

8.7

UNCHECKED BAGGAGE

8.7.1

We may specify maximum dimensions and/or weight for Baggage which you carry on to the aircraft. If we have not done so, Baggage which you carry onto the aircraft must fit under the seat in front of you or in an enclosed storage compartment in the cabin of the aircraft. If your Baggage cannot be stored in this manner, or is of excessive weight, or is considered unsafe for any reason, it must be carried as Checked Baggage.

8.7.2

Objects not suitable for carriage in the cargo compartment (such as delicate musical instruments), and which do not meet the requirements in Article 8.7.1 above, will only be accepted for carriage in the cabin compartment if you have given us notice in advance and permission has been granted by us. You may have to pay a separate charge for this service.

8.8

COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF CHECKED BAGGAGE

8.8.1

Subject to Article 8.6.3, you are required to collect your Checked Baggage as soon as it is made available at your destination or Stopover. Should you not collect it within a reasonable time, we may charge you a storage fee. Should your Checked Baggage not be claimed within three (3) months of the time it is made available, we may dispose of it without any liability to you.

8.8.2

Only the bearer of the Baggage Check and Baggage Identification Tag is entitled to delivery of the Checked Baggage.

8.8.3

If a person claiming Checked Baggage is unable to produce the Baggage Check and identify the Baggage by means of a Baggage Identification Tag, we will deliver the Baggage to such person only on condition that he or she establishes to our satisfaction his or her right to the Baggage.

8.9

ANIMALS If we agree to carry your animals they will be carried subject to the following conditions:

8.9.1

You must ensure that animals such as dogs and cats are properly crated and accompanied by valid health and vaccination certificates, entry permits, and other documents required by countries of entry or transit failing which, they will not be accepted for carriage. Such carriage may be subject to additional conditions specified by us, which are available on request.

For the rules and regulations of our Code Share partners, we refer you to their websites or your travel agency. You should review the rules for flights operated by another carrier under a Code Share agreement and familiarize yourself with such things as flight check-in requirements and policies regarding unaccompanied minors, carriage of animals, refusal to transport, oxygen services, irregular operations, denied boarding compensation and baggage acceptance, among others.

5.4

For flights arriving at or departing from an airport located in the United States, our Contingency Plan For Extended Tarmac Delays will apply to your flight only if we operate your flight. If a Code Share partner or any other carrier operates your flight, that operating carrier’s tarmac delay plan will apply.

5.5

RECONFIRMATION OF RESERVATIONS

5.5.1

Onward or return reservations may be subject to the requirement to reconfirm the reservations within specified time limits. We will advise you when we require reconfirmation, and how and where it should be done. If it is required and you fail to reconfirm, we may cancel your onward or return reservations. However, if you advise us you still wish to travel, and there is space on the flight, we will reinstate your reservations and transport you. If there is no space on the flight we will use reasonable efforts to transport you to your next or final destination.

8.9.2

If accepted as Baggage, the animal, together with its container and food, shall not be included in your free Baggage allowance, but shall constitute excess baggage, for which you will be obliged to pay the applicable rate.

8.9.3

Guide dogs accompanying Passengers with disabilities will be carried free of charge in addition to the normal free baggage allowance, subject to conditions specified by us, which are available on request.

5.5.2

You should check the reconfirmation requirements of any other Carriers involved in your journey with them. Where it is required, you must reconfirm with the Carrier whose code appears for the flight in question on the Ticket.

8.9.4

Where carriage is not subject to the liability rules of the Convention, we are not responsible for injury to or loss, sickness or death of an animal which we have agreed to carry unless we have been negligent.

5.6

CANCELLATION OF ONWARD RESERVATIONS Please be advised that if you do not show up for any flight without advising us in advance, we may cancel your return or onward reservations. However, if you do advise us in advance, we will not cancel your subsequent flight reservations.

8.9.5

We will have no liability in respect of any such animal not having all the necessary exit, entry, health and other documents with respect to the animal’s entry into or passage through any country, state or territory and the person carrying the animal must reimburse us for any fines, costs, losses or liabilities reasonably imposed or incurred by us as a result.

8.10

ITEMS REMOVED BY AIRPORT SECURITY PERSONNEL We will not be responsible for, or have any liability in respect of, articles removed from your Baggage by airport security personnel acting in accordance with any applicable regulations.

OVERRIDING LAW These Conditions of Carriage are applicable unless they are inconsistent with our Tariffs or applicable law in which event such Tariffs or laws shall prevail.

CONDITIONS PREVAIL OVER REGULATIONS Except as provided in these Conditions of Carriage, in the event of inconsistency between these Conditions of Carriage and any other regulations we may have, dealing with particular subjects, these Conditions of Carriage shall prevail.

ARTICLE 3 - TICKETS 3.1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

3.1.1

We will provide carriage only to the Passenger named in the Ticket, and you may be required to produce appropriate identification.

3.1.2

you fail to observe our instructions with respect to safety or security;

7.1.10

ARTICLE 5 - RESERVATIONS

If any provision of these Conditions of Carriage is invalid under any applicable law, the other provisions shall nevertheless remain valid.

2.5

CURRENCY Fares, taxes, fees and charges are payable in the currency of the country in which the Ticket is issued, unless another currency is indicated by us or our Authorised Agent at or before the time payment is made (for example, because of the non-convertibility of the local currency). We may at our discretion, accept payment in another currency.

7.1.9

ARTICLE 6 - CHECK-IN AND BOARDING 6.1

A Ticket is not transferable except as required by any locally applicable laws, In addition and upon request from you, we will issue a new ticket to somebody else to replace your ticket if your ticket has been issued as part of a package to which The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992, SI 1992/3288 as amended (the Regulations) apply, and you; 3.1.2.1 wish to transfer your booking under regulation 10 of the Regulations; 3.1.2.2 prove to us that you have satisfied the requirements of regulation 10 of the Regulations and are entitled to transfer the booking; 3.1.2.3 provide us with reasonable notice of your intention to transfer the booking before your date of departure; 3.1.2.4 provide us with the full name, address and contact number of the person to whom the new ticket is to be issued; 3.1.2.5 deliver your existing ticket to us; and 3.1.2.6 pay us a reasonable administration fee for issuing the new ticket.

3.1.3

Some Tickets are sold at discounted fares which may be partially or completely nonrefundable. You should choose the fare best suited to your needs. You may also wish to ensure that you have appropriate insurance to cover instances where you have to cancel your Ticket.

3.1.4

If you have a Ticket, as described in Article 3.1.3 above, which is completely unused, and you are prevented from travelling due to Force Majeure, provided that you promptly advise us and furnish evidence of such Force Majeure, we will provide you with a credit of the non-refundable amount of the fare, for future travel on us, subject to deduction

SEATING We will endeavour to honour advance seating requests. However, we cannot guarantee any particular seat. We reserve the right to assign or reassign seats at any time, even after boarding of the aircraft. This may be necessary for operational, safety or security reasons.

Check-in Deadlines are different at every airport and we recommend that you inform yourself about these Check-in Deadlines and honour them. Your journey will be smoother if you allow yourself ample time to comply with the Check-in Deadlines. We reserve the right to cancel your reservation if you do not comply with the Check-in Deadlines indicated. We or our Authorised Agents will advise you of the Check-in Deadline for your first flight on us. For any subsequent flights in your journey, you should inform yourself of the Check-in Deadlines. Check-in Deadlines for our flights can be found in our timetable, or may be obtained from us or our Authorised Agents.

6.2

You must be present at the boarding gate not later than the time specified by us when you check in.

6.3

We may cancel the space reserved for you if you fail to arrive at the boarding gate in time.

6.4

We will not be liable to you for any loss or expense incurred due to your failure to comply with the provisions of this Article.

ARTICLE 9 - SCHEDULES, DELAYS, CANCELLATION OF FLIGHTS 9.1

SCHEDULES

9.1.1

The flight times shown in timetables may change between the date of publication and the date you actually travel. We do not guarantee them to you and they do not form part of your contract with us.

9.1.2

Before we accept your booking, we will notify you of the scheduled flight time in effect as of that time, and it will be shown on your Ticket. It is possible we may need to change the scheduled flight time subsequent to issuance of your Ticket. If you provide us with contact information, we will endeavour to notify you of any such changes. If, after you purchase your Ticket, we make a significant change to the scheduled flight time, which is not acceptable to you, and we are unable to book you on an alternate flight which is acceptable to you, you will be entitled to a refund in accordance with Article 10.2.

ARTICLE 7 - REFUSAL AND LIMITATION OF CARRIAGE 7.1

RIGHT TO REFUSE CARRIAGE In the reasonable exercise of our discretion, we may refuse to carry you or your Baggage if we have notified you in writing that we would not at any time after the date of such notice carry you on our flights. In this circumstance, you will be entitled to a refund. We may also refuse to carry you or your Baggage if one or more of the following have occurred or we reasonably believe may occur:

9.2

CANCELLATION, REROUTING, DELAYS, ETC.

9.2.1

We will take all necessary measures to avoid delay in carrying you and your Baggage.

In the exercise of these measures and in order to prevent a flight cancellation, in exceptional circumstances we may arrange for a flight to be operated on our behalf by an alternative carrier and/or aircraft.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

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CEU Scorpions rule 4th NCBL THE Centro Escolar University Scorpions didn’t mind playing before a hostile crowd as they beat Technological Institute of the Philippines, 75-65, at the TIP-Manila Gym to rule the 4th National Collegiate Basketball League.

CEU coach Edgar Macaraya led the Scorpions to a 12-game sweep of the six-team tournament.

The Scorpions barely kept TIP at bay as they held a 35-32 halftime lead. The Scorpions then perked up after Coach Macaraya’s halftime huddle. The fiery former professional basketball player lashed out at his players for their lackluster showing in the first half.

Alfred Batino led the CEU charge starting the third quarter. He unloaded 15 of his 21 points in the second half. He also grabbed five rebounds to earn Freego Best Player of the Finals honors.

TIP’s Roldan Pinas drained two free throws to tie the score for the last time, 61-61, after he was fouled by JK Casino with 6:40 to go.

Defense again proved to be

the key for CEU. The Scorpions held the Engineers to a solitary free throw in a six-minute span to take complete control of the game as the home fans watched in stunned disbelief.

Batino, Rodrigue Ebondo and Samboy de Leon delivered the key hits during the Scorpions’ 12-1 run which pushed them ahead, 73-62, at the 1:05 mark. That proved to be the decisive run as TIP continued to fire blanks from the field as de Leon iced the game and the final tally with two free throws.

Ebondo and de Leon scored 11 and 10 points respectively. The CEU pair was later named to the tournament’s Freego Mythical Five along with Kim Medina of TIP, Dennis Santos of Manuel L. Quezon University and Von Tambeling of Philippine Christian University.

The Centro Escolar University Scorpions accept their championship trophy after beating Technological Institute of the Philippines Engineers, 75-65, at the TIP-Manila Gym to rule the 4th National Collegiate Basketball League.

Pinoy pugs see action at ASBC

By Ronnie Nathanielsz TWO Filipino boxes, light flyweight Rogen Ladon and welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, continue their gallant quest in the ASBC Asian Boxing Championships with both fighters seeing action in the semifinals Friday at the Thammasat University Gymnasium.

Light-flyweight Rogen Ladon, impressive in two victories over boxers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, faces Gan-Erdene Gankhuyag of Mongolia in the semis after enjoying a rest day.

Welterweight Eumir Felix Marcial, who made heads turn in this Thai capital, eyes a fourth straight win

when he tackles Suzuki Yasuhiro of Japan.

The 21-year-old Ladon and Marcial, who is only 19, represent the finest young boxers of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines under its president Ricky Vargas with ManNy Pangilinan as chairman and Ed Picson as executive director.

By reaching the semis, Ladon and Marcial also qualified to the AIBA World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October which is a qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Flyweight Ian Clark Bautista, who lost his quarterfinals match to Azat Usenaliev last Wednesday, can still make it to Doha if he lands in the top six of his division at the close of the competition here.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Red Lions roar to top of standings

By Peter Atencio

THE San Beda Red Lions celebrated the return of Baser Amer from a shoulder injury and then survived a scary finish to beat the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 83-75, yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

Arthur de la Cruz came up with his first ever triple double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Red Lions to their 11th victory in 13 games in the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

The Red Lions went on to post their 11th victory in 13 matches, and grabbed the solo lead after handing the Heavy Bombers their fifth setback against six wins.

Amer, who missed eight games, played for 22 minutes and contributed four

rebounds and five assists for the Red Lions, who got a scare in the last seven minutes of the final period when JRU charged back from a 6064 third quarter deficit.

Tey Teodoro sank 16 points and scored eight straight points in the remaining seven minutes to push JRU ahead, 69-67.

When the Red Lions finally regained their bearings, Ola Adeogun tied the match, 69-all with his charities and touched off an 8-0 spurt with Adeogun scoring on a pair of putbacks to put San Beda ahead, 75-69,

in the final 4:15.

Back after missing three “We did not take care of games because of a hamthe ball when they made that string injury, Nimes led the run.We credit them for that. Cardinals who struck hard in We were caught the fourth periGames today by surprise with od, hitting eight (at the Arena in San Juan) 8 a.m. Letran vs Lyceum (jrs) their press,” said points in the last 10 a.m. EAC vs St. Benilde (jrs) 12 p.m. Letran vs Lyceum (srs) Red Lions coach seven minutes of 2 p.m. EAC vs St. Benilde (srs) Jamike Jarin.

4 p.m. Perpetual Help vs. Arellano (srs) the fourth JRU’s 6-5 re- 6 p.m. Perpetual Help vs Arellano (jrs) He led a 7-2 cord allowed the run which alMapua Cardinals to gain a lowed the Cards to move share of fifth. away, 75-62, in the last 6:15.

Meanwhile, Josan Nimes “I don’t know how much returned to action with a my hams can take. But it was bang, knocking in 18 points perfectly fine. As far as playfor the Mapua Cardinals as ing, I’m not nervous at all,” they whipped the San Sebas- said Nimes, the team skipper. tian Stags, 87-78.

With their 6-5 win-

Junior Tigresses subdue UPIS

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Notice is hereby given to the LESSOR/S of Safe Deposit Box (SDB) Nos. 16 & 18 maintained with the Las Piñas Branch of Security Bank Corporation and Safe Deposit Box (SDB) Nos 1,2,3,6,7,12 & 22 maintained with the Sucat San Isidro Branch of Security Bank Corporation (Formerly Premiere Development Bank), to visit the Branch for the purpose of updating your records and/or to pay any outstanding balance for the use of the safe deposit box, plus daily accrued interest/penalty.

Failure to comply with the aforementioned notice shall result in the force-opening of the safe deposit box pursuant to the SDB Agreement.”

(TS-AUG. 28, SEPT. 4,11, 2015)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that 8990 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, with office address at 8990 Corporate Center, Negros St., Cebu Business Park, Cebu City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as new Developer of Economic and Low-cost Housing Project (Deca Homes Pavia Resort Residences) with a capacity of 1,689 economic and lowcost housing units on a non-pioneer status, with project site located at Barangay Pandac & Hibao-an, Pavia, Iloilo.

Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD.) RAFAELITO H. TARUC Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (TS-SEPT. 4, 2015)

N OTICE Notice is hereby given that 8990 HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, with office address at 8990 Corporate Center, Negros St., Cebu Business Park, Cebu City is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as new Developer of Economic and Low-cost Housing Project (Deca Homes Resort Residences Prime) with a capacity of 217 economic and low-cost housing units on a non-pioneer status, with project site located at Barangay Tacunan, Tugbok District, Davao City.

Any person with valid objection/s on the abovementioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD.) RAFAELITO H. TARUC Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Service (TS-SEPT. 4, 2015)

ERRATUM There were errors in the ad placement of LGU - Municipality of Balangiga dated August 11, 2015. The correct paragraphs should have read as follows: A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased on August 10, 2015 by interested Bidders from the BAC Secretariat, Municipal Building, Balangiga, Eastern Samar, and upon payment of a non-refundable fee in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Five Pesos (Php 25,000.00) only.

Pre-Bid Conference will be held for the procurement on August 17, 2015, 2:30 in the Afternoon at SB Session Hall, Balangiga, Eastern Samar.

Bids must be delivered to the above address on or before September 02, 2015, 2:00 P.M. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18, will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend on the date, time and place above stated. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Bid opening will be held on September 02, 2015, 2:30 P.M. at SB Session Hall, Municipal Building, Balangiga, Eastern Samar. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

loss record, the Cardinals stayed in contention for the Final Four as they tied Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (6-5).

The win comes a few days before the Cardinals’ next match against JRU which gives the Cardinals momentum according to Nimes.

Dela Cruz came through for the Red Lions in their first round meeting against the Heavy Bombers. Dela Cruz powered the Lions to an 88-69 victory after torching the opposition for 29 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and four steals.

Blistering volleyball action. Emilio Aguinaldo College’s Howard Mojica takes flight for an attack against La Salle defender Ralph Calasin (1) during their clash for the third semifinal berth in the Spikers’ Turf at The Arena in San Juan. Mojica put in another superb display of speed and power as EAC pulled off a 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 26-24 win to clinch a berth in semifinals.

Eagles, Tamaraws among elite teams in 78th UAAP season

By Peter Atencio THE rookie-laden Ateneo Blue Eagles are keen on making it far in the coming 78th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

Coach Bo Perasol said he has great expectations with his present roster, with the veterans now backed by talented rookies.

“I’m hoping na kahit bata, ay makakakuha ako ng quality games from them,” said Perasol.

Meanwhile, denied by the resurgent National University Bulldogs last season, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws are determined to not only get back into the finals, but to claim the 76th UAAP men’s

basketball championship.

For the Tamaraws, this isn’t just wishful thinking. After all, they have the material to again contend for the crown, starting with the team’s acknowledged leader, the veteran Mac Belo.

“That’s our target, getting back to the finals. Hopefully, we will have a different result,” said Tamaraws coach Nash Racela.

FEU made it to the finals opposite the Bulldogs last season after squeaking past La Salle, 2-1, in their Final Four playoffs.

With Belo at full strength and explosive guard Mike Tolomia expected to play even better, the Tamaraws are again installed as title contenders.

The Tamaraws will also rely on their other weapons in Ron

Dennison, Axel Inigo, Raymar Jose, Roger Pogoy, Al Francis Tamsi and Escoto siblings Russel and Richard.

The team also acquired seven rookies, namely Monbert Arong and Kevin Ebona from Cebu, former high school ace Wendell Comboy, Allen Trinidad, Norwegian-Filipinos Ken and Steve Homqvist, and Nigerian 6’8 center Prince Orizu.

Ateneo will have two shooting aces, Jerie Pingoy and Hubert Cani back in the fold.

These players were the subject of controversies following their transfer.

They will be joined by the Nieto brothers, Matthew and Mike, Nigerian big man Chibueze Ikeh.

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas rebounded from a second set loss to subdue UP Integrated School, 25-15, 23-25, 25-7, 25-11, and open its quest to regain the girls crown in style at the start of the UAAP Season 78 high school volleyball tournament over the weekend at the Adamson Gym. With veteran Eya Laure leading the way, the Junior Tigresses dominated the third and fourth set to clinch the win in the league’s first event of the season.

UST hopes to reclaim the throne it lost earlier this year after bowing to National University in the Finals.

In other girls results, last season’s third placer De La Salle-Zobel outlasted Far Eastern University-Diliman, 2517, 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13, while University of the East clipped Adamson University, 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 25-22.

The Lady Bullpups drew an opening day bye. National University opens its bid for a second straight girls championship against De La SalleZobel at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

The Junior Lady Bulldogs will miss the services of Rica Diolan and Jasmine Nabor, who have already moved up to the school’s women’s volleyball squad under coach Roger Gorayeb, but the Bustillos-based spikers still have reigning MVP Faith Nisperos to lead the campaign.

Meanwhile, Season 77 boys runner-up Ateneo opened its title bid with a 25-14, 25-19, 25-15 conquest of UPIS. NU downed FEU-Diliman, 27-25, 25-21, 25-20, while UST tripped De La Salle-Zobel, 2225, 26-24, 25-13, 25-23, to cap a heavy six-game bill.

The Junior Warriors, bidding for a record 12th consecutive crown, also drew a bye in opening day. UE opens its campaign against NU at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Elasto Painters leave no stone unturned THE Rain or Shine SPORTS CHAT E l a s t o Painters are leaving no stone unturned in their attempt to snatch another Philippine Basketball Association crown this season.

The E-Painters will travel to Australia to play local club team Adelaide 36ers in a tune-up game this Sunday at the Palmerston Recreation Centre in Darwin.

The Gilas Pilipinas squad was initially invited to the one-day event but the Nationals had to beg off as it chose to compete in the ongoing William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

“What we’re trying to do is bring high-profile teams even though it’s not a national team. Basketball is an obsession in the Philippines,” said Basketball NT Executive Officer Andrew Farley.

True enough tickets to the exhibition game have been sold out as posted in the venue’s website.

The 36ers, the second winningest ballclub in the history of the NBL, will be bannered by 6’11” center Daniel Johnson who is a three-time NBL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awardee.

Guiao meantime admits they are unfamiliar with the opposition but still welcomes the challenge and the trip as an opportunity to foster camaraderie.

“We know there are really strong basketball teams in Australia because they have a good basketball program so we’re expecting tough competition,” said Guiao.

Joining the Australia trip are rookie picks Maverick Ahanmisi and Don Trollano as well as veteran center Jewel Ponferrada who was acquired from GlobalPort for Jervy Cruz in a recent trade.

“Bonding lang ng team. We want to spend time and be able to polish our cohesion and our teamwork with the new guys,” said Guiao.

Except for the now-retired TY Tang, Guiao has maintained the core of last season’s roster that made the Finals of the Commissioner’s Cup where they lost to the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.

Also missing the trip down under is Gabe Norwood who is with the Gilas team in Taiwan while another rookie pick Josan Nimes is still playing for the Mapua Cardinals in the NCAA. DENNIS PRINCIPE

Princess Superal is all business as she hits a drive from the fairway. She submitted a two-under 70 in the second round to take the lead in the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Ladies Classic at Mt. Malarayat’s composite courses yesterday.

Superal shoots 70 to lead Malarayat Ladies Classic LIPA City, Batangas—Princess Superal cashed in on a three-shot swing on No. 14 and turned a one-stroke deficit into a one-shot cushion over South Korean Hwang Min Jeong with a two-under 70 in the second round of the ICTSI Mt. Malarayat Ladies Classic at Mt. Malarayat’s composite courses here yesterday.

Superal canned in a birdie from 12 feet on the par-4 14th then watched Hwang hole out with a six after an errant drive and a poor approach shot as the Filipina ace surged ahead after trailing by two in the early going of a fiercely fought duel between two amateur hotshots.

With a 36-hole total of 141,

Superal moved closer to nailing a second leg win on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour after the top The Country Club bet edged reigning back-to-back Order of Merit winner Cyna Rodriguez in a playoff at Wack Wack last April.

“I need to play my A-game tomorrow (today) to score another win since Hwang is playing solid,”

said Superal, who has won three titles in the country’s first ladies pro circuit sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Hwang’s 71 gave her a 142 aggregate, setting the stage for a final round shootout for the crown with Rodriguez and Jayvie Agojo laying three strokes off the pace at 144 after a 71 and 72, respectively.

The 14-year-old Hwang actually broke away from a four-way tie early, birdying Nos. 2 and 5 but Superal bounced back with her own birdies on No. 7 and 9 as the duo made the turn at 34 and left erstwhile co-leaders Rodriguez and fellow amateur Abby Arevalo

Team EGS rules NBA 3X Philippines 2015 TEAM EGS endured a highly physical match with Double Play to take the men’s open crown, 21-15, last weekend in the NBA 3X Philippines 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City.

The win capped an eight-game sweep for EGS, including six straight wins

in the elimination round to arrange a showdown with Double Play.

“We played a defensive game. We focused on our defense, kaya kami nanalo,” said Rutger Acidre, the team spokesman.

EGS, which is made up of Ian Garrido, Rocky, Mark Doliguez and Ac-

idre, retained its crown for a third straight time after getting past the Jeff Morillo-led Double Play.

Team adidas, made up of varsity players from the College of St. Benilde led by Kat Merilo, Tiffany Ngo, JP Gula and Nel Sinsioco, won over the Wildcats, 7-4, in the Women’s Open.

Team Alcaraz, made up of TV personality Marco Alcaraz, Rambo Nuñez, Derick Hubalde and Jose Sarasola, disposed of the Derek Ramsay-led Team Ramsay in the celebrity action.

Meanwhile, Animo Greenhills beat Ball is Life in the Boys’ Under-18 division, 21-18, to claim back-

Azkals call on Filipino fans for support WITH less than a week before the pivotal match against a strong Uzbekistan squad, the Philippine national football team, popularly known as Azkals, is appealing to Filipinos to show up at the game venue and cheer for the team.

Azkals coach Thomas Dooley and players Phil Younghusband, Neil Etheridge and Misagh Bahadoran said the fans’ presence and cheers will motivate

behind with 38 and 39, respectively.

Superal fell behind again with a bogey on No. 10 but went 2-up on that 3-shot swing although she dropped a shot on a missed-green bogey mishap on No. 16 and needed to match Hwang’s closing birdie to preserve a one-stroke lead.

Agojo recovered from a poor 38 start with three birdies in the first four holes at Mt. Lubo to wheel back into contention but the former Philippine Ladies Open champion and winner of the Riviera leg last year stumbled with a bogey on the par-3 17th and settled for a 72.

and spur on the team and have an impact on their game. They were interviewed after a late afternoon to early evening practice session last Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila.

The Azkals-Uzbeks match will be held on September 8 at 8 p.m. at the world-class Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan, as part of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Dooley acknowledged the difficulty of getting to the venue but said the fans could make the effort in order to boost and give their support to the national team.

“I love to see you guys during the game. It’s very important for us to win this match,” Dooley said as he stressed that the national team is preparing hard for the game.

He hinted that the fans will not get disappointed when they watch

the Azkals play live.

“We have a great team. Everybody is working for everybody.

We have a game plan, we have skilled players, we have a better plan, hopefully (we will win),” Dooley said.

Dooley said he always reminds the players to stay fit. “I told our players fitness is everything. It’s not me but the players. I give direction but in the end they have to execute the plays.”

to-back crowns.

WNBA All-Star 2015 alumni Panki David, Mika Pentecostes and Kyla Flores towed Team Mix the Girls’ Under-16 title, with classmate Sam Solosa, beating the Diliman Preparatory School Lady Conquerors, 13-7. Peter Atencio

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

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RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Novak Djokovic (right) of Serbia celebrates his third round victory over Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria by dancing with a fan during the US Open 2015 men’s singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Center in New York. AFP

Haddadi powers Iran past PH

By Jeric Lopez

NOT having Andray Blatche around finally took its toll on Smart Gilas Pilipinas as Iran’s Hamed Haddadi threw his weight around inside the paint.

Taking full advantage of its edge in ceiling, tournament-leading Iran turned in a methodical second half to turn back the Philippines, 74-65, to retain its place up top in the 37th William Jones Cup yesterday at the Xinchuang Gymnasium, Taipei.

The 7-foot-2 Haddadi, Iran’s star for a long time now, muscled his way inside the paint to complete a mammoth game with 22 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double.

He thus led the Iranians to another victory even as Asi Taulava barely

Superal grabs lead at Malarayat Classic TURN TO A15

held his own against Iran’s giant.

It was a rematch of the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championship finals which produced the same result with the Iranians coming out triumphant.

Iran improved its card to 5-1 and inches closer to winning the tournament while Smart Gilas Pilipinas, which saw its two-game winning streak snapped, slipped to 3-2 in the middle of the pack now.

Behind Hamed Haddadi’s inside play and presence, Iran was able to

gain some much needed distance from the pesky Filipinos in the third period after a close first half.

Iran was able to establish a sizeable double-digit lead, 54-42, with under a minute left in the third after a 20-11 spurt.

However, Smart Gilas then got a bit closer heading into the fourth after successive points from Calvin Abueva to end the third with Iran leading, 54-47.

The Philippines carried on from there and back-to-back baskets from JC Intal pushed Gilas to within a single possession as the lead went down to just three for Iran, 56-53, with under eight minutes left.

Smart Gilas remained in the thick of things after Intal knocked

Mojica carries Generals to semis TURN TO A14

down another basket, this time from downtown, with 3:41 remaining to make it 65-61 for Iran.

But Iran was able to counter as it swiftly responded with a dagger 5-0 run capped by Haddadi’s emphatic slam dunk to stretch the distance further to 70-61 with 2:14 left.

That proved to be the dagger as Iran held on and the Philippines wasn’t able to respond with necessary baskets down the stretch.

Despite being guarded by Haddadi, Taulava had a nice game, finishing with 12 points to lead the Philippines. Intal scored all of his 10 markers in the fourth period for Gilas Pilipinas.

Dancing Djokovic advances NEW YORK—Novak Djokovic is rapidly becoming the most affable man on the ATP circuit after engaging in a dance-off with a well known fan to celebrate his third round victory at the US Open.

A post-victory dance is usually something one would associate with Frenchman Jo-Wilfied Tsonga, but on day three at Flushing Meadows, it was the world No 1 showing off his moves.

It took Djokovic just 90 minutes to demolish Andreas HaiderMaurer 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in a match that had Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx on his feet.

Such was the ease of his the match, the Serb had plenty of energy to crack out some moves with the fan—well known for busting out some moves on Arthur Ashe—who went on to present him with a matching ‘I Love NY’ T-shirt.

Of course, Djokovic is no stranger to strutting his stuff.

In the past we’ve seen him boogie with Serena Williams to Night Fever, smash out a salsa with Rafael Nadal in Colombia, groove to Gangnam Style with Ana Ivanovic and channel his inner MJ to Thriller in Monte Carlo. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

B1

FRIDAY: SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Asian telecom confab. Delegates from 48 countries attend the 11th Asian Carriers Conference hosted by Philippine Long Distance and its mobile brands Smart and Sun, at

Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Cebu from Sept. 1 to 4. Shown cutting the ribbon at the ACC Exhibit are PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno (fourth from left), ePLDT president and chief executive Eric Alberto (third from left), PLDT Global Corp. president and chief executive Alex Caeg, PLDT vice president Gene Sanchez (right), along with event partners from PCCW Global, Orange, Huawei, IDT Asia, CSGI, Data Access Solutions, HKBN, Voxvalley, China Broadband Communications and Superloop.

Resilient growth shields peso—BSP

By Julito G. Rada

Oishi maker plans to list in Hong Kong

STRONG economic fundamentals and some $50 billion worth of annual foreign inflows will shield the peso from further fluctuation in the face of the expected interest rates hike by By Jenniffer B. Austria the Federal Reserve this year, Bangko Sentral LIWAYWAY Holdings Co. Ltd., maker of popular snack brand Oishi ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guini- owned by Filipino-Chinese businessman Carlos Chan, plans to list its shares with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in a bid to raise as much as gundo said. $200 million in proceeds.

Guinigundo made the statement as the local currency hovered near a five-year low, as fund managers withdrew capital from emerging markets. The peso closed at 46.73 against the US dollar Thursday, beyond Bangko Sentral’s target range of 43 to 46 per dollar this year.

“I have always maintained the position that the peso has the fundamental basis for stability,” Guinigundo, adding that the country received around $50 billion in foreign exchange inflows worth of remittances and business process outsourcing receipts annually.

“Remittances give us $24 billion to $25 billion a year. BPO by next year will also give as much.

So, [it’s] $50 billion every year that is providing support for the peso,” Guinigundo told reporters Wednesday evening.

“On top of that you have bonuses coming from tourism, and also from exports. Tourism has been quite resilient,” he said.

Guinigundo said the weakness showed by the peso against the greenback in recent weeks was due to market sentiment, which was a regional phenomenon. He

said people were speculating on the US dollar because of the impending normalization of monetary policy in the US, resulting in the greenback’s continuous strength against regional currencies, including the peso.

“But then, on top of the point that we have a fundamental basis for stability, we always say that once the market is able to digest what is happening abroad and here in the Philippines, they should be able to think twice before they leave the Philippine markets,” Guinigundo said.

Guinigundo said the Philippines has a resilient growth, manageable price environment, balance of payments surplus, current account surplus and strong banking system.

“What is important for capital is to realize the fundamental health of the Philippine economy.

Being an open small economy, we are prone to these volatilities and occasional weakening and strengthening of the peso against the dollar. [But] that to me does not fully reflect the fundamental health of the economy,” Guinigundo said.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Liwayway hired several banks for the possible share sale sometime next year, according to a report by Bloomberg, quoting people with knowledge of the matter.

Liwayway, which sells over 100 varieties of snack foods and confectionery products, emerged as a top food brand in China and the Philippines.

Its Oishi brand covers snacks, potato chips, milk-based soft candies, hard candies, marshmallows, ready-to-fry prawn chips, peanut-based products, wafers, biscuits, seafood products, popcorn, corn curls, chocolate snacks and peanut crackers.

The Shanghai-based Liwayway Holdings was founded in 1993 by Chan together with his brother Manuel.

Liwayway’s humble beginnings can be traced back to post-war Manila as a small family business engaged in repacking corn starch.

Chan in the 1990s spearheaded the growth of the business as he ventured into China, which back then was starting to open up to foreign investors.

Liwayway now has factories in strategic areas in China such as Harbin, Hubei, Zhengzhou, Suzhou, Xuzhou, Kunming, Jiangxi and Xinjiang.

The introduction of new products and expansion of sales distribution in urban and inner cities continue to pave for accelerated growth for the Oishi brand Forbes magazine recently ranked the 74-year old Chan as the 27th richest Filipino in 2015, one notch from last year’s ranking, with net worth of $550 million.

Chan is the brother of Bench owner Ben Chan.

This is not the first time the Liwayway was reported to be planning a share sale. The company has reportedly considered plans to go public since 2012.

The Shanghai-based company has more than 1,000 marketing staff in China.

Oishi also entered Vietnam in 1997 and Myanmar in 1999. Factories in Thailand and Indonesia were developed in 2006.

PSe comPoSite index Closing September 3, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

7,098.76 26.30

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P46.730

46.20

CLOSE

47.00

HIGH P46.720 LOW P46.800 AVERAGE P46.766 VOLUME 518.800M

P475.00-P675.00 LPG/11-kg tank P39.10-P45.35 Unleaded Gasoline P25.30-P28.55 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, September 3, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.7170

Japan

Yen

0.008317

0.3885

UK

Pound

1.530200

71.4864

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129034

6.0281

Switzerland

Franc

1.032205

48.2215

Canada

Dollar

0.753069

35.1811

Singapore

Dollar

0.706265

32.9946

Australia

Dollar

0.701311

32.7631

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651816

123.8849

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

12.4572

Brunei

Dollar

0.703779

32.8784

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.027950

1.3057

UAE

Dirham

0.272279

12.7201

Euro

Euro

1.123200

52.4725

Korea

Won

0.000845

0.0395

China

Yuan

0.157122

7.3403

India

Rupee

0.015117

0.7062

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.237699

11.1046

New Zealand

Dollar

0.634115

29.6240

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030769

1.4374 Source: PDS Bridge

FRIDAY: SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Thursday, sepTember 3, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 17 30.45 2.6 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 361.2 57 180 124 3.26 47 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 125 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 17 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 241 12.5 79 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 6.75 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17 0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 1455 7.5 76 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 6.55 9.66 0.0670 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 156 0.710 0.510 10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.97

STOCKS

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.89 2.51 68.2 68 98.55 96.00 86.00 84.55 42.15 41.8 2.36 2.35 15.6 15.6 20.25 20.1 1.63 1.63 0.390 0.390 83.95 83.25 0.93 0.93 18.60 18.40 59.70 59.00 305 297.8 35 35.05 140.5 136 54.00 53.10 2.93 2.93 INDUSTRIAL 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp.

43.5 43.9 42.5 1.86 Alsons Cons.

1.59 1.61 1.57 7.92 Asiabest Group 9.75 9.75 9.6 32 C. Azuc De Tarlac 90.00 81.05 80.50 15.32 Century Food 16.98 17.62 16.96 62.5 Chemphil 127 127 127 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 27.15 27.15 27 29.15 Concepcion 42.95 43.2 42.9 1.5 Crown Asia 2.67 2.75 2.65 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 1.29 1.29 1.27 10.72 Del Monte 11 11 10.9 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 11.100 11.540 11.08 9.04 Emperador 8.59 8.59 8.35 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.19 6.15 6.00 8.86 EEI 7.78 8.04 7.89 1.06 Euro-Med Lab 1.58 1.87 1.87 8.61 Federal Res. Inv. Group 12.9 14 12.9 20.2 First Gen Corp.

23.8 24 23 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 69 70.45 69.1 13.86 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 13.60 13.60 13.60 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.40 13.48 13.40 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.67 5.85 5.56 173 Jollibee Foods Corp.

192.30 191.80 189.00 8.65 Lafarge Rep 10.2 10.26 10.18 34.1 Liberty Flour 28.00 28.00 28.00 1.63 Mabuhay Vinyl 1.7 1.7 1.7 33 Macay Holdings 50.00 51.00 50.90 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 21.55 22.2 21.6 17.3 Maxs Group 21 21.95 20.85 5.88 Megawide 5.69 5.8 5.69 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 279.20 288.00 281.60 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 4.05 4.1 4.03 8.45 Petron Corporation 7.55 7.66 7.56 3 Phil H2O 3.83 3.99 2.63 10.04 Phinma Corporation 10.90 11.50 11.30 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.30 3.39 3.25 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 2.04 2.05 2.01 1 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.37 2.45 2.35 4.02 RFM Corporation 4.06 4.10 4.03 5.9 Roxas Holdings 5.6 3.8 3.8 161 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 148 150 144 1.55 Splash Corporation 1.75 1.85 1.8 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.138 0.136 0.135 1.02 TKC Steel Corp.

0.95 1.08 1.00 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 1.80 1.83 1.80 152 Universal Robina 187.9 193 189 4.28 Victorias Milling 4.3 4.84 4.48 0.640 Vitarich Corp.

0.65 0.65 0.63 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.01 1.10 1.09 HOLDING FIRMS 0.44 Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.435 0.430 0.420 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 55.7000 57.5500 55.6000 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 20.20 20.30 20.00 1.6 Anglo Holdings A 1.17 1.18 1.10 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.220 0.230 0.230 634.5 Ayala Corp `A’ 760 760 752.5 7.390 Cosco Capital 6.73 6.93 6.75 12.8 DMCI Holdings 11.10 11.38 11.12 2.6 F&J Prince ‘A’ 2.99 3.2 3.05 2.26 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.10 4.20 4.11 837 GT Capital 1250 1265 1251 5.3 House of Inv. 5.95 6.00 5.95 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 70.50 71.00 69.35 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

6.74 6.8 6.6 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.57 0.59 0.56 12 LT Group 12.8 13.18 12.8 0.580 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.55 0.59 0.57 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.01 5.1 4.99 4.5 Minerales Industrias Corp. 7 7.33 7.01 3 MJCI Investments Inc. 3.5 4.25 3.5 0.030 Pacifica `A’ 0.0450 0.0470 0.0430 0.550 Prime Orion 1.790 1.830 1.780 2.26 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.61 2.61 2.61 59.3 San Miguel Corp `A’ 50.25 51.70 50.05 751 SM Investments Inc. 881.00 887.00 882.00 1.13 Solid Group Inc. 1.16 1.16 1.16 80 Top Frontier 71.000 71.000 69.500 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2800 0.2850 0.2800 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.230 0.216 0.216 PROPERTY 6.74 8990 HLDG 6.980 7.010 6.850 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.67 0.67 0.63 1.2 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.280 1.280 1.150 0.192 Arthaland Corp.

0.210 0.220 0.220 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 36.40 36.80 35.85 3.36 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.06 3.14 3.06 4.96 Cebu Holdings 4.95 5.05 4.95 0.79 Century Property 0.68 0.7 0.68 1.1 City & Land Dev. 1.00 1.03 1.03 2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 12.02 19.6 1.02 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 276 41 118.2 59 2.65

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. COL Financial Eastwest Bank I-Remit Inc. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

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

SHARES 8,033,674 49,493,690 220,967,987 113,258,875 134,104,179 1,081,817,595 1,609,897,940

2.57 68 98.00 84.50 41.8 2.38 15.5 20 1.63 0.385 83.35 0.93 18.60 58.95 300 35.05 138 53.00 2.9

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.87 68.15 97.00 85.00 42.15 2.35 15.6 20.2 1.63 0.390 83.4 0.93 18.52 59.30 300 35.05 139 53.60 2.93

11.67 0.22 -1.02 0.59 0.84 -1.26 0.65 1.00 0.00 1.30 0.06 0.00 -0.43 0.59 0.00 0.00 0.72 1.13 1.03

137,000 15,460 3,151,500 1,266,320 19,400 60,000 7,000 114,100 1,000 80,000 1,358,950 70,000 82,100 50,690 72,000 34,300 757,520 4,960 1,000

43.5 1.6 9.75 80.50 17 127 27 42.95 2.75 1.29 10.9 11.080 8.58 6.00 7.89 1.87 13.8 24 70 13.60 13.48 5.75 191.00 10.26 28.00 1.7 50.90 22.1 21.95 5.79 281.60 4.05 7.59 3.99 11.30 3.25 2.01 2.4 4.10 3.8 150 1.85 0.135 1.00 1.83 192 4.8 0.63 1.09

0.00 0.63 0.00 -10.56 0.12 0.00 -0.55 0.00 3.00 0.00 -0.91 -0.18 -0.12 -3.07 1.41 18.35 6.98 0.84 1.45 0.00 0.60 1.41 -0.68 0.59 0.00 0.00 1.80 2.55 4.52 1.76 0.86 0.00 0.53 4.18 3.67 -1.52 -1.47 1.27 0.99 -32.14 1.35 5.71 -2.17 5.26 1.67 2.18 11.63 -3.08 7.92

2,122,000 259,000 1,200 200 203,800 60 612,000 676,900 2,012,000 14,000 721,800 8,293,100 247,000 10,306,800 112,700 1,000 132,300 784,900 250,000 100 14,000 142,300 357,870 977,100 41,800 4,000 300 986,000 543,700 1,013,000 633,050 139,000 4,153,500 4,000 3,200 644,000 320,000 285,000 471,000 100 3,560 802,000 780,000 213,000 111,000 2,285,790 6,549,000 691,000 143,000

0.430 57.5500 20.30 1.18 0.230 760 6.88 11.30 3.15 4.11 1260 5.95 70.55 6.8 0.57 12.96 0.58 5.02 7.29 4.25 0.0430 1.780 2.61 50.25 885.00 1.16 69.800 0.2800 0.216

-1.15 3.32 0.50 0.85 4.55 0.00 2.23 1.80 5.35 0.24 0.80 0.00 0.07 0.89 0.00 1.25 5.45 0.20 4.14 21.43 -4.44 -0.56 0.00 0.00 0.45 0.00 -1.69 0.00 -6.09

90,000 704,590 23,091,198.50 7,886,900 -112,742,425.00 11,000 90,000 249,740 20,965,050.00 2,294,600 1,373,877.00 3,341,000 5,465,496.00 184,000 6,000 479,110 -214,205,375.00 96,500 243,160.00 1,575,500 -15,752,054.00 1,929,700 3,108,103.00 57,000 3,653,200 -32,363,202.00 1,835,000 20,610,100 22,552,629.00 378,100 6,000 165,300,000 910,000 31,000 125,810 -4,634,858.50 217,530 -18,633,735.00 18,000 16,010 -1,902,214.00 740,000 10,000

6.900 0.67 1.150 0.220 36.00 3.14 5.05 0.68 1.03

-1.15 0.00 -10.16 4.76 -1.10 2.61 2.02 0.00 3.00

260,400 108,000 152,000 50,000 4,828,500 3,572,000 64,000 1,706,000 3,000

453,197.00 33,786,675 -50,762,353.00 453,825.00 1,792,740.00 31,200.00 -61,940,235.50 469,783.00 -21,534,000.00 -416,935.00 -11,807,264.00 -53,626.00 15,284,025.00 -39,850.00 1,699,890.00 67,500.00 -2,748,160 -30,210.00 7,700,000.00 41,530,190.00 -416,130.00 -10,969,983.00

-9,387,070.00 292,788.50 107,264.00 11,053,972.00

-6,346,270.00 20,900.00 39,764,940.00 498,210.00 -1,529,175.00 -2,006,400.00 -100,450.00 139,050.00 4,270.00 -96,800.00 -125,410.00 -94,593,573.00 5,462,260.00

271,942.00

-27,191,995.00 -6,116,700.00 -151,000.00 -586,830.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 27 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 23 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 7.67 4 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 12.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 22.8 185 22.9 3486 2.28 46.05 90.1

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 4.8 2.58 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 8.72 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 14.54 79 4.39 2748 1.2 31.45 60.55

STOCKS

Close

High

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

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

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

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

Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

7.59 SSI Group 0.63 STI Holdings 5 Travellers 0.315 Waterfront Phils.

1.14 Yehey

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

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

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

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

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 525 120 515 8.21 12.28 111 1047 76.9 78.95 84.8

33 490 500 101.5 480 5.88 6.5 101 1011 74.2 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15 88 12.88

3.5 13.5 5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Makati Fin. Corp.

IRipple E-Business Intl Xurpas

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,551.95 (up) 1.18 INDUSTRIAL 10,922.07 (up) 68.33 HOLDING FIRMS 6,576.46 (up) 49.08 PROPERTY 2,910.21 (down) 22.66 SERVICES 1,840.62 (up) 20.64 MINING & OIL 11,249.24 (up) 102.58 PSEI 7,098.76 (up) 26.30 All Shares Index 4,054.13 (up) 16.30 Gainers: 110 Losers: 59; Unchanged: 40; Total: 209

Close

Cityland Dev. `A’ 1.04 Crown Equities Inc. 0.104 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.410 Double Dragon 13.78 Empire East Land 0.830 Global-Estate 1.04 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.76 Interport `A’ 1.44 Megaworld 4.3 MRC Allied Ind. 0.083 Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2500 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 19.20 Robinson’s Land `B’ 28.70 Rockwell 1.6 Shang Properties Inc. 3.35 SM Prime Holdings 19.84 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.71 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.690 Vista Land & Lifescapes 5.850

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

1.05 1.05 1.05 0.107 0.101 0.102 0.400 0.400 0.400 14.88 13.78 14.7 0.750 0.750 0.750 1.11 1.06 1.07 1.81 1.75 1.76 1.51 1.44 1.51 4.36 4.28 4.34 0.089 0.076 0.089 0.2750 0.2450 0.2450 21.00 20.00 21.00 28.95 28.00 28.80 1.62 1.61 1.61 3.30 3.16 3.20 19.90 19.42 19.50 0.71 0.69 0.71 0.690 0.670 0.680 5.980 5.870 5.940 SERVICES 8.74 9.13 8.85 8.93 60.2 61.2 60.2 60.8 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.550 0.550 0.510 0.510 11.48 11.24 11.24 11.24 6.84 6.91 6.75 6.78 0.0610 0.0610 0.0600 0.0600 3.94 3.94 3.86 3.86 88 88.8 88 88.3 10 9.58 9.58 9.58 4.75 5.12 4.70 5.00 2.72 2.73 2.72 2.72 2574 2580 2572 2576 6.28 6.34 6.20 6.20 1.15 1.20 1.16 1.16 89 94 89.05 92 11.42 11.8 11.78 11.8 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.169 0.165 0.160 0.165 1.3700 1.4600 1.3500 1.3600 2.18 2.21 2.01 2.21 7.77 8.38 7.75 8.00 2.65 2.84 2.66 2.74 2.10 2.10 2.00 2.10 0.590 0.590 0.590 0.590 2 2 1.97 2 5.67 5.94 5.66 5.66 0.285 0.305 0.285 0.305 18.2 19.28 19.18 19.28 103.00 103.00 101.00 101.50 18.54 18.58 18.30 18.58 2412.00 2458.00 2428.00 2440.00 1.210 1.230 1.170 1.170 31.50 32.60 31.90 32.50 67.90 69.00 67.70 67.90 4.78 5.20 4.83 5.20 6.80 7.08 6.77 6.77 0.56 0.56 0.55 0.55 3.99 4.07 3.99 4 0.310 0.325 0.305 0.325 2.480 2.480 2.300 2.360 MINING & OIL 0.0047 0.0050 0.0048 0.0048 2.30 2.40 2.30 2.40 4.30 4.30 4.19 4.30 0.183 0.184 0.183 0.184 6.2900 5.7000 5.3600 5.7000 6.0500 5.76 5.5 5.5000 0.72 0.77 0.72 0.73 0.67 0.67 0.65 0.65 6.00 6.70 5.82 5.95 1.15 1.16 1.12 1.12 0.295 0.300 0.285 0.295 0.185 0.189 0.184 0.184 0.202 0.202 0.200 0.202 0.012 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 2.12 2.24 2.14 2.14 8.26 8.59 8.11 8.2 3.25 3.33 3.25 3.27 0.5300 0.5100 0.5100 0.5100 1.2400 1.3300 1.2400 1.3200 3.96 3.90 3.76 3.76 5.16 5.400 5.170 5.28 1.68 1.710 1.600 1.65 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 128.00 131.40 128.40 130.60 2.69 2.83 2.62 2.72 PREFERRED 59.9 62.45 60.2 61.5 528 525 525 525 540 527 526 526 115.5 115.5 115.5 115.5 520 520 520 520 6 6.01 6 6.01 1.11 1.08 1.08 1.08 108.5 108.5 108.5 108.5 1018 1018 1018 1018 75.55 75.55 75.55 75.55 78 78.05 78.05 78.05 81 83 82.9 82.9 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.150 3.370 3.150 3.300 SME 4.5 5.49 5.49 5.49 60.45 62.95 62.95 62.95 11.32 11.94 11.38 11.62 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 115.3 117 116.2 116.5

T op g ainerS VALUE 738,175,859.15 1,240,872,823.02 1,638,299,800.36 1,171,506,244.67 1,282,585,003.63 317,632,711.947 6,414,929,998.28

Low

0.96 -1.92 -2.44 6.68 -9.64 2.88 0.00 4.86 0.93 7.23 -2.00 9.38 0.35 0.63 -4.48 -1.71 0.00 -1.45 1.54

2,000 3,470,000 150,000 16,704,800 1,000 1,792,000 11,150,000 3,588,000 17,978,000 7,620,000 3,080,000 1,000 3,278,600 77,000 50,000 16,231,900 2,691,000 12,000 4,899,900

2.17 1.00 1.85 -7.27 -2.09 -0.88 -1.64 -2.03 0.34 -4.20 5.26 0.00 0.08 -1.27 0.87 3.37 3.33 0.00 -2.37 -0.73 1.38 2.96 3.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.18 7.02 5.93 -1.46 0.22 1.16 -3.31 3.17 0.00 8.79 -0.44 -1.79 0.25 4.84 -4.84

524,800 5,130 10,000 430,000 1,001,000 8,251,600 24,950,000 134,000 325,910 100 248,000 7,000 62,210 98,900 38,000 2,325,710 14,600 1,000,000 1,460,000 1,487,000 5,000 575,000 642,000 12,000 5,000 140,000 479,500 90,000 500 199,830 33,000 125,500 45,878,000 1,439,100 1,188,180 17,569,000 1,860,200 9,272,000 2,008,000 800,000 425,000

2.13 4.35 0.00 0.55 -9.38 -9.09 1.39 -2.99 -0.83 -2.61 0.00 -0.54 0.00 -8.33 0.00 0.94 -0.73 0.62 -3.77 6.45 -5.05 2.33 -1.79 0.00 2.03 1.12

699,000,000 14,400.00 30,000 5,563,000 43,000.00 200,000 909,200 245,000 4,058,000 75,000.00 52,000 -6,500.00 19,700 1,759,000 -299,760.00 620,000 38,540,000 70,000 71,600,000 41,800,000 97,000 8,421,200 4,284,787.00 611,000 -3,310.00 18,000 2,565,000 -15,100.00 7,410,000 1,133,800 -240,868.00 660,000 194,400,000 1,199,430 -36,597,196.00 628,000 -5,320.00

2.67 -0.57 -2.59 0.00 0.00 0.17 -2.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 2.35

5,900 6,000 34,000 26,000 700 122,000 247,000 200 1,710 5,930 100 12,930

4.76

200,000

22.00 4.14 2.65

2,000 50 2,217,800

1.04

1,490

-103,000.00 -7,915,362.00 6,540.00 -7,792,510.00 22,143,740.00 -162,250.00 -520,650.00 -25,033,115.00 -208,056,756.00 30,360.00 -12,995,517.00 -19,228.00

0.00 4,666,674.00 122,000.00 -8,134,981.00 -35,140.00 -15,999,670.00 -63,416,016.50 -11,000.00 139,000.00 439,219.00 240.00

-281,038.00 26,450.00 -1,010.00 -81,682,480.00 -11,196,450.00 31,475,480.00 -3,359,896.50 -732,740.00 -2,297,417.00 -5,001,380.00 -656,150.00

-102,150.00

-612,020.00

-377,750.00

2,308,586.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Makati Fin. Corp.

5.49

22.00

Roxas Holdings

3.8

-32.14

MJCI Investments Inc.

4.25

21.43

C. Azuc De Tarlac

80.50

-10.56

Euro-Med Lab

1.87

18.35

Araneta Prop `A'

1.150

-10.16

AG Finance

2.87

11.67

Empire East Land

0.750

-9.64

Victorias Milling

4.8

11.63

Benguet Corp `A'

5.7000

-9.38

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry

21.00

9.38

Benguet Corp `B'

5.5000

-9.09

SBS Phil. Corp.

5.20

8.79

Manila Mining `A'

0.011

-8.33

Vulcan Ind'l.

1.09

7.92

APC Group, Inc.

0.510

-7.27

MRC Allied Ind.

0.089

7.23

Zeus Holdings

0.216

-6.09

MG Holdings

0.305

7.02

Petroenergy Res. Corp.

3.76

-5.05

FRIDAY: SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

B3

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

First, inward

is a time for assessing and planning.

SM Investments awards. SM Investments Corp. executive vice president and chief financial

officer Jose Sio (left, left photo) is named Best Chief Finance Officer in the Philippines for the fourth time in a row by Alpha Southeast Asia magazine. Sio is known for his financial prudence while strongly supporting the phenomenal growth of the SM group of companies. Handing the award is Siddiq Bazarwala, chief executive and publisher of Alpha. SM Investments senior vice president for investor relations and corporate communications Corazon Guidote (left, right photo) also receives an award on behalf of the SM Group for Most Organized Investor Relations for the fifth year from Alpha. SM Investments overall bagged five awards from Alpha.

Ayala lowers stake in Ilocos wind farm

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Ayala Group has sold part of its stake in North Luzon Renewable Energy Corp., which owns and operates an 81-megawatt wind farm in Barangay Caparispisan, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, to a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp.

Ayala Corp. disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange unit Ayala International Holdings Ltd. sold on September 2, 2015 its interest in Luzon Wind Energy Holdings B.V to DGA NLREC B.V. “After the sale of Luzon Wind, AC Energy Holdings, Inc. still remains the largest owner of NLREC with an economic stake of approximately 36 percent,” Ayala said.

It did not cite the transaction cost. Ayala and Mitsubishi Corp. have been partners since 1974 when they signed an agreement

to jointly explore investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Luzon Wind owns part of Ayala’s stake in North Luzon Renewable held by wholly-owned subsidiary AC Energy Holdings, Inc. AC Energy previously owned 64 percent of North Luzon Renewable, which indicated it sold 28 percent to DGA NLREC, a unit of Mitsubishi.

Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure, or PINAI, a P26-billion fund owned the Government Service Insurance System, APG and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines)

Pte. Ltd., owns 32 percent of the Pagudpud wind project.

UPC Philippines Wind Holdco I B.V. holds the balance of 4 percent.

AC Energy president and chief executive Eric Francia earlier said the company was waiting for guidance from the government on the wind installation target and the expansion of the Pagudpud wind project, the country’s second largest wind project to date.

AC Energy, through affiliate North Luzon, completed the 81MW wind farm in Pagudpud on Nov. 11, 2014.

The Energy Department earlier said it would bid out the construction of wind projects outside the approved installation targets.

“We are waiting for guidance for the next round [of wind installation]... There is a potential increase [expansion of the Pagudpud wind farm] by less than double the size,” he said.

Stocks gain; DoubleDragon jumps THE stock market rose Thursday after gains in Wall Street overnight and as a public holiday on the mainland China allowed investors to focus on upbeat US data, helping push riskier assets higher.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 26.30 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,098.76 on a value turnover of P6.4 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 110 to 59, with 40 issues unchanged.

Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, climbed 2.2 percent to P192, while DoubleDragon Properties Corp. jumped 6.7 percent to P14.70.

International Container Terminal Services Inc., the largest port

operator, rallied 3.4 percent to P92, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. gained 2 percent to P130.60.

Meanwhile, a sense of calm returned to Asian trading Thursday after weeks of China-fueled volatility.

A healthy run-up on Wall Street provided a perfect start for regional dealers ahead of the release of a crucial jobs report out of Washington on Friday.

However, the more upbeat mood came against a backdrop of a warning from the International Monetary Fund that the recent turmoil from the China crisis was having a broader impact on the global economy.

“A major source of market disruption is sidelined as mar-

kets in China are now closed for the week,” Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets, told Bloomberg News. “Asia-Pacific investors are anticipating relief today.”

Tokyo ended 0.48 percent higher and Seoul ended slightly higher, while there were also comfortable gains for Singapore and Taipei.

Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed to mark World War II Victory Day commemorations in China.

However, lingering concerns about Australia’s economy kept Sydney in the red, with the ASX 200 ending down 1.44 percent, while the “Aussie” dollar struggled around six-year lows marginally above 70 US cents. With AFP

TOWARDS the end of August in the Philippines, the annual wave of college entrance examinations begins.

In the corporate world, the annual planning process is well under way. Essentially, the third quarter of the year

Cycle While many people think of strategic planning as a linear process beginning with assessment and ending with the creation of a plan, the reality is that plans, whether annual, medium-term or long-term are all part of a cycle.

At the Asian Institute of Management, we think of the planning cycle as being anchored by a few basic questions. The cycle itself often begins with one question: Where are we? This is the phase of strategic scanning or assessment. It asks questions about the external environment of the business, about the industry, about customers and about competitors. It also asks about the internal state of the company. This first question allows management to identify trends, spot opportunities, red flag potential threats, and relate these to the company’s directions, resources, strengths and weaknesses.

This first question is then followed by the other questions: Where do we want to be? How do we get there? What do we need to do and what will we need? How do we make sure we are getting there?

The last question in the cycle is the question that links up with the question of where we are. It is this: How are we doing? In a well-managed organization, the “How are we doing?” question can trigger mid-term changes, and even major review and repositioning.

Center However, at AIM, we like to remind managers that the first question should properly be: Who are we?

The reason for this is that every stage of the strategic management cycle must be anchored by the company’s purpose and identity. Some trends are relevant to some companies but not to others simply because of their industries or their positioning within the industry. Some strategies make more sense for certain companies because of their history or culture or values.

Consider, for example, that on its official website, the nearest thing to a mission statement that Apple has reads like a list of products but really clarifies two very important things about the company’s current identity: (a) the businesses it is in, and (b) its precision focus as a leading innovator aiming to be best in breed in the particular areas it focuses on.

Now, compare this to what The Body Shop says on its website: “We believe there is only one way to beautiful: nature’s way.” While there are more words on the page, this sentence captures what business The Body Shop is in as well as its core positioning.

Most students of strategy will correctly identify these statements as mission statements, the heart of what is often called “VMV”: Vision, Mission, Values. The two V’s are easy. Values explains the company’s principles and ideals. They explain how the company determines worth. They identify what things are so important, they must be upheld at all times. Values help us address that age-old adage: “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” Vision is the inspiration, the long-term goal that fuels corporate endeavors. Vision provides an anchor for the long-term objectives that are set within the strategic management cycle. Many planners and entrepreneurs begin with Vision, and then think about the Mission as a “How?” However, there is another way to think about mission, one that more precisely captures its meaning and explains the choice of the word: Mission is “reason for being.” Mission explains enduring purpose.

Leadership In the leadership classroom, this is one of the things we often discuss, the question of personal purpose.

Before we continue this discussion, let’s consider a report by Development Dimensions Intl. DDI’s leadership insights report summarizes the results of a 10-year study including over 20,000 executive assessments in over 20 countries. The heart of DDI’s report centers around three things: behavior, personality and context.

DDI identifies seven key leadership competencies: leading change, coaching, entrepreneurship, driving execution, empowerment, influence and leading teams.

What DDI concludes is that, by and large, behaviors lean towards management as opposed to leadership. Essentially, that executive tend to manage for shorter term results, often at the expense of innovation, and growth in human capability. How, they ask, can companies grow over the long-term if potential leaders are smart and decisive and can drive for results but don’t have the abilities to handle resistance to change or provide lower level leaders with enough latitude to grow their own skills?

DDI then goes on to explore the personality dispositions that lead to certain behaviors and then to identify enabling dispositions and derailing dispositions. On the brighter, enabling side, they list: being strategic/creative, being sociable and empathetic, and being driven and energetic. On the darker, derailing side, they list: micromanaging, being insensitive or detached, and being resistant to change. DDI identifies competencies involved in each of these six dispositions. However, the most important point they make is this: behavior is rooted in personality and personality is largely unchangeable. This does not mean that behavior cannot change, it simply means that some behaviors must be more closely monitored by the executive himself. It also means that executive development programs must take into account basic personality disposition.

Inward Which brings us right around to the question at the center. One of the things we always say about leadership is that strong leaders have a strong center. This is important because of the essential difference between leadership and management.

Management is simply about getting things done. Leadership is about forging new paths for many people.

In business, leadership is about forging new paths for the organization. New paths require change, often difficult change. The path of change requires not simply a clear vision, it requires courage and fortitude. It requires the ability to build that courage and fortitude in others. What most leaders will tell you is that they find their courage and their strength in purpose. Inside themselves they have a deep belief in the mission at hand. They mine this belief and commitment and use it to inspire and strengthen their team.

The other thing leaders will tell you is that leadership begins with the ability to manage the self, and this begins with knowing the self. Leadership also requires knowing the people in your team. This enables the leader to help them find their own purpose and strengths. This, of course, is clearly supported by the DDI report.

In the leadership classroom, we say this: The journey outward begins with a journey inward. Mission. Purpose. The things that define who you are. They ground your decisions.

Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr.com.

B4

FRIDAY: SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

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

WB offers $250-m housing loan

By Othel V. Campos

Robinsons Galleria’s non-customer friendly mall guards CUSTOMER friendly service is one of the reasons why diners keep going back to a restaurant or why customers frequent a mall or any other business establishment. This “customer friendly” mindset should not only be drummed into the consciousness of sales clerks but should extend to other mall personnel including security guards, because boorish and unreasonable behavior is enough to turn away existing and potential customers.

That was the case with one of our readers who private-mailed us about her unpleasant experience with one of the guards named JP Barsen from Genghis Khan security, the agency deployed at the Robinsons Galleria Mall along Edsa. Calling PC Supt Noel Constantino, chief of the Civil Security Group, Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies. Sir Noel Constantino, Sir! Maybe you should remind the agency that part of their responsibility is to see to it that their guards are not only trained on mall security but also to be customer friendly as their behavior can turn off customers.

Below are parts of the PM we received from the reader: “I usually fetch my sister from Galleria because she works in one of the buildings near the mall, and sometimes I would ask her to buy medicine or food from one of the stores inside,” the reader began. “When my sister is unable to come out just as we arrive in front of the Edsa entrance/exit to the mall, we would wait for her at the covered waiting shed nearby facing Edsa.

Besides, we were previously told almost a year ago by one of the security supervisors (I don’t recall if it was from another agency, though) that it was okay to wait for 10 to 15 minutes as long as we do not obstruct the flow of other vehicles going through the mall’s entrances/exits.

“So we proceeded to our usual waiting area, where there was already a taxi, another private vehicle and another taxi that was also waiting. Since there was a gap between the first taxi and the private vehicle, we took that space and we were inching closer to the side so as not to occupy more space than necessary when this security guard with name cloth Barsen JP from Genghis Khan accosted us and told us to leave.

“We told him, ‘Boss sandali lang may hinihintay lang kami, palabas na,’ but he was very insistent, telling us to just go around [pointing towards EDSA and making a circular motion with his finger]. That’s when I got out and asked him why of all the vehicles, ours was the one he chose to accost first? Was it because the vehicle looked old and we were being discriminated against? I told the guard so, and informed him that we have been fetching my sister for close to a year now and we did not have that kind of problem.

“He insisted that we can only wait for one to two minutes because it is ‘mall policy.’ If that were the case, then that is not very customer friendly.

Shoppers—wives mostly—are dropped off by their husbands at the mall and fetched later, and this one-to-two-minute only allowance for waiting at an area far from the entrance/exit does not encourage patronage. Asking us to go around Edsa and then Ortigas to ADB or wherever which could take half an hour because of the traffic – was very distressing because it took less than five minutes before my sister arrived.

“Such a policy, if that is indeed Robinsons’ order, is very discouraging.

But what really got me angrier was the way the guard answered, ‘ngingisingisi’ as we say it in Filipino, telling us to wait for his supervisor just as we were about to leave. More hassle? We just left because the exchange with him was already a waste of our time,” the reader said.

Such incidents make us compare the kind of customer-friendly service that people experience from other malls, like SM for instance. From the feedback we’ve been getting, people find shopping at SM Malls a pleasant experience because of the nice little touches like old ladies in SM shirts who smilingly greet you, “Good morning/afternoon, welcome to SM ____, Ma’am/Sir,” plus the fact that the mall operator is known for employing people with disabilities.

There’s a lesson here somewhere, and that is – boorish behavior is bad for business.

Canada recession: A case of karma?

Canada has officially entered recession and our buddies – bad timing for Canadian Minister Stephen Harper as this not-so-good news happened just before the elections scheduled this October. Our buddies, however, have a very different take: What’s happening is “karma” for dumping their tons of garbage into the Philippines.

The truckloads (over 100 containers according to reports) of waste have been here for two years but it’s still unclear how this stinky problem is going to be resolved, since many cities are thumbing down their noses at suggestions that the trash be buried in their backyards. Canada has played helpless in the controversy, saying they have no laws to compel the Canadian exporter to take back the garbage. Quezon City moms and dads have refused the refuse while Bulacan already said no way, saying if the other already refused, why should the province welcome the garbage?

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

THE World Bank is offering a $250-million loan to help the Philippine government provide affordable housing to informal settlers in the urban areas.

World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said the Philippines had a rising number of informal settlers in the urban areas, despite government efforts to relocate these people outside the cities.

“It is hard to imagine how the Philippines can achieve inclusive growth without addressing the precarious situation of the ISFs and providing solutions to lift them out of poverty,” Konishi said Thursday during the twoday Asia-Pacific Housing Forum at Manila Hotel.

The loan, which is up for

approval by the World Bank board, will also set up more pumping stations in Metro Manila so that informal settlers that are successfully relocated in the city will have access to clean and potable water.

“Even under Oplan Likas that advocates in-city resettlement, nearly 70 percent of the ISFs had to be resettled off-city, away from their jobs, services and social networks. And because many families struggle to find jobs, some return to Metro Manila.

We need to work harder to realize in-city resettlement for existing

ISFs, to prevent new slums form forming,” he said.

Government figures showed there were about 1.5 million informal settler families across the Philippines. Metro Manila hosts around 600,000 informal settler families or about 3 million people.

“This means that one out of every four people in Metro Manila lives in informal settlements,” said Konishi.

The government is currently implementing a P50-billion national resettlement program for informal settlers. Oplan Likas aims to move about 100,000 informal settler families out of danger zones in Metro Manila.

The local government units of Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Quezon City have also undertaken innovative initiatives to move informal settlers.

Road safety. Manila North Tollways Corp. president Rodrigo Franco (third from left) and Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines president Marivic Del Pilar shake hands after signing a memorandum of agreement that aims to promote a culture of road safety among users of the North Luzon Expressway. With them are (from left) Tollways Management Corp. vice president for traffic operations Gerry Aberilla, MNTC vice president for marketing Renie Ticzon, and PBOAP executive director Alejandro Yague Jr.

IN BRIEF Power rates stable in September POWER rates in September are expected to remain stable in September, because of higher dispatch from power plants in August, power retailer Manila Electric Co. said.

“Based on our initial information, there was higher dispatch level as far as power plants were concerned. This may possibly result into rates as being stable in a sense that there was more electricity available. Pressure for rates to go up is minimized as well,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Zaldarriaga said if power rates would not go down, prices would remain stable compared to August rates. Meralco’s generation charges averaged P4.55 per kilowatt-hour in August.

“We will get a better view when we get all the invoices from all our suppliers by next week, then we can see the actual picture,” he said.

Zaldarriaga said aside from higher dispatch of power plants, Meralco had less exposure to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, where prices were more volatile. “Based on initial information, there is a possibility of lower rates this September,” he said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Sumitomo opens Manila branch SUMITOMO Mitsui Banking Corp. opened its first Philippine branch in Makati City.

SMBC Manila is the first branch to be opened by a foreign bank in the country since the Philippine government enacted a new law in 2014 that allowed the full entry of foreign banks into the Philippines.

SMBC president Takeshi Kunibe said in Tokyo that the commencement of business its Manila Branch in the Philippines was part of its plan to expand its network in Asia.

The Philippines, with its abundant English proficient workforce and extensive investment incentives, is highly appealing to foreign investors and is expected to continue to achieve high economic growth, Kunibe said.

SMBC has been supporting its clients in the Philippines through a representative office since 1975. The opening of Manila Branch will enable SMBC to provide a wide range of banking services to meet the financial needs of its clients and provide tailored support for the expansion of their business in the Philippines.

Cignal eyes 2 million subscribers CIGNAL TV said Thursday it expects subscribers to hit two million as early as 2017.

Cignal chief operating officer Oscar Reyes Jr. said in a news briefing it reached its target of one million subscribers earlier than anticipated this year.

“We should grow over 1.1 million subscribers by end of the year and we are targeting another one million subscribers over the next two to three years,” Reyes said.

Cignal, the pay TV unit of MediaQuest Holdings Inc. owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.’s Beneficial Trust Fund has overtaken rival SkyCable and Destiny Cable with combined subscribers of 775,000.

Reyes said majority of its subscribers had switched from their former pay TV service providers.

“For this year, prepaid has been growing very, very well, but I expect postpaid would catch up because of the new plan, which we just launch last month. Right now, we are 35 percent, hopefully we will end up about over 40 percent next year,” he said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Next president should push reforms THE next president should build on the gains of the Aquino administration while instituting more reforms toward inclusive growth, according to top economists.

“To ensure that growth can be inclusive, the first step is to create new opportunities through which everyone can participate and contribute,” Prof. Epictetus Patalinghug, a convenor of Albert Del Rosario Institute said during a roundtable discussion sponsored by ADR Institute.

Participants in the roundtable discussion talked about different perspectives on the relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction.

Patalinghug said there should be an uninterrupted long-term, higher growth and sustainability where everybody has an equal opportunity to participate and contribute to economic growth.

Second, there must also be credible and effective institutions to enforce the rule of law, he said.

Dr. Vicente Paqueo, a visiting research fellow at the state-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies said the Philippines should nurture the seeds embedded in key policy reforms such as on foreign investment regulations, the K to 12 program, the Reproductive Health Law and the recently passed competition law.

TransCo names officer-in-charge THE board of state-owned National Transmission Corp. has elected Generoso Senal as the new officer in charge effective Sept. 1.

Senal serves as the OIC of TransCo, after the resignation of former president and chief executive Rolando Bacani who moved to Global Business Power Corp. as president. Bacani was TransCo president from February 2011 to end of July.

Senal has served as vice president for operations in TransCo for the past six years and has been with TransCo since 2003. Previously, he has worked for National Power Corp.

TransCo previously operated the country’s transmission highway until it was transferred to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in 2010 following the signing of a concession agreement. It now monitors National Grid’s compliance to the concession agreement.

TransCo also manages the feed-in tariff allowance fund, or the pool of incentives for renewable energy developers. Alena Mae S. Flores

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cESAR BARRIoquInTo EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Aussie PM slammed over IS comments SYDNEY—Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was slammed by Jewish groups Thursday after saying the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria were worse than the Nazis as they “boast about their evil”.

The Australian leader, who is considering extending Australia’s air campaign against IS in Iraq into Syria following a request by the United States, made the comments after describing the jihadist group’s actions as “unspeakable evil” and “medieval barbarity”.

“I mean, the Nazis did terrible evil but they had sufficient sense of shame to try to hide it. These people boast about their evil,” Abbott told Sydney commercial radio station 2GB. “This is the extraordinary thing—they act in the way that medieval barbarians acted—only they broadcast it to the world with an effrontery which is hard to credit and it just adds a further dimension to this evil.”

His comments were criticized by the head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Robert Goot as “injudicious and unfortunate”.

Goot said in a statement that IS’s crimes were horrific but “cannot be compared to the systematic round-up of millions of people and their dispatch to purpose-built death camps for mass murder”.

“Acts of terrorism are necessarily done in the full glare of publicity for their propaganda effect,” he added.

“In contrast, those responsible for ordering and implementing systematic state-sponsored genocide are high government officials who often operate in secret not out of any sense of shame, but to avoid being held criminally responsible for their actions.”

Abbott defended his remarks at a Melbourne press conference later and said he was “not in the business of trying to rank evil”.

“But I do make this point, that unlike previous evil-doers, whether we’re talking about Stalin, Hitler or whoever that tried to cover up their evil, this wretched death cult boasts about it,” he said. AFP

world

13m children denied education in Mideast AMMAN, Jordan—More than 13 million children are being denied an education by Middle East conflicts, the UN said Thursday, warning “the hopes of a generation” would be dashed if they could not return to classrooms.

There for ‘Everest.’ British actress Emily Watson arrives for the screening of the movie “Everest” presented out of competition for the opening ceremony of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2015, at Venice Lido. AFP

In a report on the impact of conflict on education in six countries and territories across the region, the United Nation’s children fund UNICEF said more than 8,850 schools were no longer usable due to violence.

It detailed cases of students and teachers coming under direct fire, classrooms used as makeshift bomb shelters and children having to cross active front lines just to take their exams.

“The destructive impact of conflict is being felt by children right across the region,” said Peter Salama, regional director for UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa.

“It’s not just the physical damage being done to schools, but the despair felt by a generation of schoolchildren who see their hopes and futures shattered.”

Last year alone, UNICEF documented 214 attacks on schools in Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Palestinian territories, Sudan and Yemen.

In Syria, it said education was paying a “massive price” after four year and a half years of conflict.

One in four schools have been closed since the conflict erupted, causing more than two million children to drop out and putting close to half a million in danger of losing their schooling.

In addition, more than 52,000 teachers have left their posts, saddling the country’s crumbling education system with an acute skills shortage.

“Even those Syrian teachers who have ended up as refugees in other countries have faced obstacles which prevent them from working,” the report said.

UNICEF said one of the worst direct attacks on a school in the region came in Yemen, where 13 staff and four children were killed in an assault on a teachers’ office in the western city of Amran.

“The killing, abduction and arbitrary arrest of students, teachers and education personnel have become commonplace” in the region, the report said.

Hundreds of schools and colleges have been closed since March, when a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on Iran-backed Huthi rebels who had seized the capital Sanaa and several parts of the country. AFP

Rape warning over ad sparks anger NEW DELHI—An Indian politician came under fire on Thursday for saying a condom advert starring a well-known porn star would trigger an increase in rapes, in the latest controversial remark over sexual violence.

Atul Kumar Anjan, Communist Party of India national secretary, told a rally on Tuesday the adverts featuring Indo-Canadian Sunny Leone should be banned for “developing sexuality and ruining sensibilities”.

“If condom ads like this are shown on Indian television and

in newspapers, then rape incidents will rise,” Anjan told the crowd in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

“This must be stopped,” he said.

Women’s groups slammed the comments as ignorant as a backlash against Anjan spiralled on social media in India.

Although the communist party plays a minor role in national politics, the comments fueled concerns about the lack of awareness among politicians of the causes of sexual violence against scores of women.

“Comrade—rape is caused by men’s sense of entitlement and lack of concern for women’s autonomy and consent. Not by pornography, naked women or any other ‘provocation’,” women’s activist Kavita Krishnan posted on her Facebook page.

The fatal gang-rape of a student on a moving bus in New Delhi in December 2012 sparked a massive public outcry and led to tougher laws for sexual offenders.

But India’s politicians have also been accused of trivializing such crimes. AFP

Protest. Breton farmers arrive in Place de la Nation in Paris to

take part in a national demonstration on September 3, 2015, to protest against the falling prices that they say are endangering their livelihoods. The protest comes after months of unrest as farmers in the dairy and meat industries become increasingly desperate in the face of plummeting food prices that they blame on foreign competition, as well as on supermarkets and distributors.

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WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Migrants storm train station BUDAPEST—Hundreds of migrants stormed Budapest’s main international rail station after police reopened it Thursday, in an escalating refugee crisis seared into European hearts by horrifying pictures of a drowned Syrian toddler.

At risk. Migrants walk on their way to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the town of Idomeni, northern Greece, on September 3, 2015. More than 350,000 migrants have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean this year, and some 2,600 have died while making the perilous journey to Europe, the International Organization for Migration said on September 1. AFP

PORT MANAGEMENT OFFICE OF AGUSAN Port Area, San Francisco Street, Butuan City 8600, PHILIPPINES Tel. No. (+6385) 342-5352,342-6451, 815-3449; Fax No. (+6385) 815-4434; Email: pmo_nasipit@yahoo.com

Invitation to Bid The Philippine Ports Authority, Port Management Office of Agusan, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for Engineering Projects, invites contractors registered with and classified by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) to bid for the hereunder contract: A. Contract ID B. Contract Name

: :

C. Approved Budget for the Contract D. Location E. Scope of Work

NRP-AGN-01-15 Repair of Port Lighting System Harnessing SolarEnergy, Baseport of Nasipit

: : :

P14,345,046.00 Nasipit, Agusan del Norte 1. Demolition, removal and disposal of affected concrete pavement 2. Construction of 4 sets concrete footings and pedestals and 22 units battery boxes 3. Supply and installation of steel doors and flooring of 22 units battery boxes 4. Supply and installation of 38 units, 80-Watt solar-powered lighting assembly on existing lamp posts 5. Supply and installation of 4 sets, 80-Watt solar-powered lighting assembly and 4 units lamp posts 150 c.d.

F. Contract Duration : G. Required PCAB Classification/Registration :

Chaos erupted as crowds of people burst into the flash point station and rushed towards a standing train, with Hungarian police seemingly absent following a two-day standoff with migrants trying to head to Germany and Austria.

The scenes of confusion in a deeply divided European Union came as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held urgent talks in Brussels on dealing with the world’s worst refugee crisis since World War II. “There is a divide... between the east and the west of the EU,” EU President Donald Tusk said ahead of the meeting with Orban.

“Some member states are thinking about containing the wave of migration, symbolized by the Hungarian (border) fence. Others want solidarity in advocat-

Republic of the Phillippines Department of Health National Capital Region Office VALENZUELA MEDICAL CENTER BIDS AND AWARD COMMITTEE

Port, Harbor and Offshore Engineering: Small B

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a single contract similar and with the same major categories of work to the Project to be bid having a value of at least 50% of the approved budget for the contract to be bid, updated to current prices using the NSO price indices and supported with corresponding certificate of completion/acceptance from project owner/agency.

Padrigal St., Karuhatan, Valenzuela City Telefax No. 294-4625 vmc_bac@yahoo.com

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships or organizations with at least 75% interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

Interested bidders are required to submit to the BAC Secretariat of PPA, PMO Agusan machine and original copies of the following documents for authentication before the issuance of Bid Documents: a) Letter of Intent; b) PCAB License; c) Contractor’s Registration Certificate; d) Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Order Form (Document Request List); e) CY 2014 CPES Rating; f) CY 2014 Income Tax Return (ITR) with Payment Slip thru the BIR Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS), and g) Certification of non-inclusion in the Consolidated Blacklisting Report issued by the GPPB.

ing a so-called obligatory basis for (refugee) quotas” to re-distribute refugees.

The EU is riven by frictions between transit nations where the migrants arrive by sea or land—mainly Greece, Italy and Hungary— and those where they hope to seek asylum, mainly in northern and western Europe.

France, Italy and Germany urged a rethink of European asylum rules to ensure “a fair distribution” of migrants throughout the 28-member bloc, as tensions soared between European states over how to tackle the huge influx.

In Britain, where Prime Minister David Cameron’s government has accepted just 216 Syrian refugees and a lower number of asylum-seekers in proportion to its population

than most EU countries, tens of thousands of people signed petitions demanding change.

Pressure for change was increased by the images of a tiny child lying face down in the surf at one of Turkey’s main tourist resorts, putting a human face to the dangers faced by tens of thousands of desperate people who risk life and limb to get to Europe.

Wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts, the child—identified as three-year-old Aylan Kurdi—is believed to be one of least 12 Syrians who died when their boats sank trying to reach Greece.

A Canadian newspaper reported that the family of the boy and his five-year-old brother, who also drowned, were trying to get to Canada from the Syrian flash point town of Kobane after fleeing to Turkey last year to escape Islamic State extremists.

The bleak image spread like lightning through social media and dominated front pages from Spain to Sweden, with commentators unanimous it had rammed home the horrors faced by those fleeing war and conflict in the Middle

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PROCUREMENT OF VARIOUS MEDICAL EQUIPMENT CY 2015 PUBLIC BIDDING NO. 2015-027 Dated September 24, 2015 1.

FUNDING SOURCE: The Valenzuela Medical Center (VMC) through INCOME/GAA/GOP intends to apply the amount of Thirty Nine Million Nine Hundred Ninety Four Thousand Pesos Only (Php 39,994,000.00), being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the provision of public bidding for various medical equipment . Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at Bid Opening.

A complete set of Bidding Documents will be available to interested Bidders from the address below upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos (P25,000.00), exclusive of VAT.

2.

This Office is not electronically-ready to handle documents, thus submission of bids/proposals electronically is not allowed.

The Valenzuela Medical Center now invites sealed Bids from eligible Bidders for various medical equipment.

The description of an eligible Bidder is contained in Section II of the Bidding Documents’ ITB.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criteria as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations Parts A (IRR-A) of Republic Act No. 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, and is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws and regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to Republic Act 5183 (RA 5183) and subject to Commonwealth Act 138 (CA 138). Only Bids from bidders who pass the eligibility check will be opened. The process for the eligibility check is described in Section II of the Bidding Documents, ITB. The Bidder with the lowest calculated bid (LCB) shall advance to the post-qualification stage in order to finally determine his responsiveness of the bid to the technical and financial requirements of the project.

The contract shall then be awarded to the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during the post-qualification procedure.

4.

Interested Bidders may obtain further information from Valenzuela Medical Center and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 9:00AM-4:00PM starting September 4, 2015 to September 24, 2015.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee in the amount of Php 500.00 (500,000 and below), Php 1,000.00 (More than 500,000 up to 1 Million), Php 5,000.00 (More than 1 Million up to 5 Million), Php 10,000.00 (More than 5 Million up to 10 Million) and Php 25,000.00 (More than 10 Million to 50 Million). The method of payment will be in cash. The Bidding Documents shall be received personally by the prospective bidder or his authorized representative. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

The Valenzuela Medical Center will hold a Pre-Bid Conference open to all interested parties on September 11, 2015, 10:00 AM at 4TH Flr. VMC Conference Room, Padrigal St., Karuhatan, Valenzuela City, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

7.

The Valenzuela Medical Center will hold a Public Bidding Conference open to all interested parties on September 24, 2015, 10:00 AM at 4TH Flr. VMC Conference Room, Padrigal St., Karuhatan, Valenzuela City which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

8.

Eligibility Check and Bid Opening will be on September 24, 2015. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below.

9.

Bids and eligibility requirements must be delivered to the address below on or before September 24, 2015, 10:00 AM, BAC Office. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security in the form of Cash, Manager’s Check or Cashier’s Check Bank Draft or Bank Guarantee of two (2%) percent, 5% Surety Bond and Bid Securing Declaration (Notarized) of the total amount to bid. Late Bids shall not be accepted.

The schedule of procurement activities is as follows: Procurement Activities Schedule Time Date Venue Period of Availability/ Issuance 9:00 AM Sept. 3, 2015 – Sept. 9, 2015 PPA, PMO Agusan Admin of Bidding Documents -5:00 PM Building, Port Area, Butuan City Pre-Bid Conference

9:00 AM

September 10, 2015

PPA, PMO Agusan Admin Building, Port Area, Butuan City

Deadline of Submission and 8:30 AM Receipt of Bids

September 22, 2015

PPA, PMO Agusan Admin Building, Port Area, Butuan City

Opening & Examination of Bids 9:00 AM

September 22, 2015

PPA, PMO Agusan Admin Building, Port Area, Butuan City

The Philippine Ports Authority, Port Management Office of Agusan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on September 10, 2015 @ 9:00 o’clock in the morning at the PPA, PMO Agusan Administration Bldg., Port Area, San Francisco Street, Butuan City, which shall be open only to all interested bidders who have purchased the Bidding Documents Bidders must submit their bids on the date, time and place specified in the above schedule. Late bid/s will not be accepted. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the forms and corresponding amount stated in the Bidding Documents. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below.

The Philippine Ports Authority, Port Management Office of Agusan reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. Similarly, the PPA Port Management Office of Agusan assumes no obligation, whatsoever, to compensate or indemnify any bidder of any expenses or loss that said bidder(s) may incur in its participation in the pre-bidding and bidding process nor does it guarantee that an award will be made.

For further information, please refer to: MS. ELEANOR M. DE LA VICTORIA Records Officer A/Acting HRMO III Head, BAC Secretariat-Engineering Projects PPA, PMO-Agusan Port Area, San Francisco Street, Butuan City 8600 Tel. Nos. (085) 342-6451/342-5352 Fax No. (085) 815-4434 Email Address: pmo_nasipit@yahoo.com (SGD) JUANCHO I. TALILI Executive Assistant A/ Acting Manager, Port Services Division BAC Chairperson, Engineering Projects (TS SEPT. 4, 2015)

10. The Valenzuela Medical Center reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all Bids at any time prior to the contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Bidder or Bidders.

(TS-SEPT. 4, 2015)

(sgd) DONA D. SALMOS, RN, MAN BAC Chairperson

East and Africa.

Circulating with the Turkish hashtag “KiyiyaVuranInsanlik” (“Humanity washed ashore”), the picture made it to Twitter’s top world trending topics.

“Tiny victim of a human catastrophe,” said Britain’s Daily Mail -which had previously spoken of a “swarm” of migrants trying to get into the country -- while Italy’s La Repubblica tweeted the words: “One photo to silence the world.”

The Sun newspaper, Britain’s most read, urged Cameron to take in more refugees.

The UN Security Council said late Wednesday it was discussing a draft resolution to address the crisis that diplomats said may allow an EU naval force to seize ships operated by migrant smugglers in international waters.

More than 350,000 people have made the perilous journey from North Africa to Europe this year, many trafficked by people smugglers from war-torn Libya, where nearly 3,000 migrants were rescued Wednesday close to the coast. AFP

Chinese barred from parade BEIJING—It was the best of shows, it was the worst of shows: as 12,000 troops and hundreds of tanks and missiles rolled through Tiananmen Square in front of invited guests and foreign leaders, Beijing residents were barred from watching.

Barricades were set up hundreds of meters from the parade marking 70 years since Japan’s World War II defeat, and squads of police and blue-shirted volunteers blocked access to the deserted streets.

Residents whose homes overlooked the route itself were ordered not to go onto their balconies or even open their windows.

Crowds of around a hundred citizens gathered at intersections to try to catch a glimpse of the hardware as it rolled by in the distance, but were disappointed. AFP

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MOTORING

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Toyota

launches all new

Avanza

Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

The all new version of Toyota’s best selling compact Mutli-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) the Avanza, was unveiled early this week with a variety of improvements in styling cues and capabilities.

Held at the Highlands Steakhouse in Estancia, Capitol Commons, Pasig City, the event was led Toyota Motors Philippines (TMP) President Michinobu Sugata. “In the spirit of providing better cars, the launch of this latest MPV reflects our commitment of constantly moving forward by improving and bringing changes to our products to delight our customers,” says Sugata.

The all-new Avanza is powered by a new 1500cc or 1300cc Dual VVTi, 4 cylinder, 16 valve DOHC engine that promises more power, improved fuel economy ratings and an enhanced level of suppressed Noise, Vibration, Harshness (NVH) levels for a more comfortable ride.

Visual changes were also made to

the exterior with its redesigned headlamp clusters, a new grille design and front bumper, plus a front fascia that is more upscale in its appearance.

With over 50,000 Avanza units sold since its introduction in 2006, this all-new variant aims to further solidify Toyota’s foothold in the domestic market as the most dominant car manufacturer.

The new Avanza is available in six different color hues, with the Nebula Blue Metallic being this writer’s choice because it brings out the character lines of the MPV. Price of the Avanza starts at P667,000 for the entry level 1.3J M/T up to the high end 1.5G A/T which has a sticker price of P910,000. It is now available in Toyota’s 46 dealers nationwide.

Toyota executives unwrap the Avanza MPV.

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The Avanza gets a two tone interior and more amenities

Nissan backs cross-continent trip NISSAN has thrown its weight behind a Dubai-based photographer and adventurer on an extraordinary and physically demanding three-month road trip from the UAE to romania.

In the true spirit of Nissan’s mantra, Innovation That Excites, award-winning lensman Catalin Marin will take his Nissan Patrol Safari with a roof-mounted tent ona 7645km journey, where he plans to travel, camp and capture stunning images ofthe desert, mountain and forest landscapes.

When Nissan heard about theincredible trip, the automaker did not hesitate to help him achieve his dream, providing financial support and the necessary technical servicing for his NissanPatrol Safari to ensure it could handle the arduous feat.

Nissan Middle East managing director Samir Cherfan says the Japanese auto makerdid not hesitate to support the exciting project: “This young photographer isembarking on a grand adventure in a Patrol Safari with his cameras

and campinggear. At Nissan, we identify with people who do things differently and take onchallenges, this is why we were happy to support Marin on his quest. All at Nissanare looking forward to seeing the photos that come from this marvelousadventure.”

Earlier this month, Marin started the epic journey by crossing the Strait of Hormuzby ferry from Sharjah. Then he will be rolling north-west through Iran, Armenia,Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Serbia and romania. The return trip willbe via Bulgaria, Turkey and Iran.

Marin is an award-winning photographer who runs a photography blog, which hasreceived more than one million views since its inception. He has more than 3,000followers on Instagram, 1,200 followers on Twitter and over 3,000

on Facebook.He says: “I have been in Dubai 10 years and I wanted to do something special tocelebrate.

It will be a grand adventure and I’ll record a sensational portfolio of themost diverse photos you can imagine. And if you are going to take on a challengelike this I can’t think of a better vehicle to be in than a Patrol. My heartfelt thanksto Nissan generally for all the help they’re giving me to help bring this dreamproject to reality.

“The vehicle is going to take some punishment, that’s for sure, but I know it can handle anything the terrain and conditions throw at it.”

Camp out with Rhino Racks ExPlOrING Mother Nature has never been better with family and friends, and some UV rays protection from rhino racks. The Sun-

seeker Awning of rhino racks is a brilliantly designed, easy to operate, roll out awning that will shade the side of your vehicle in a matter of moments.

Designed and engineered for ease of use, the Sunseeker Awning can be set up and packed away in minutes making it the perfect solution to protect you from the elements.

Stored in its own heavy duty PVC bag, the Sunseeker Awning comes complete with all the gear you need to set it up including telescopic poles, guy ropes and pegs. The solid frame consists of anodised aluminium and corrosion resistant hardware, so it won’t rust. The Sunseeker Awning is a quick and easy solution to protect you and your family from the elements, so whether your an avid camper, Traveler or Tradesman the Sunseeker Awning is a must have accessory when braving the outdoors.

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B8

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

MOTORING

The gentleman WRX and the brawler STi

ZOOMING IN: MAZDA MX-5

TWENTY-FIVE years since the first generation Mazda MX-5 two-seat roadster was introduced to the global market, the fourth generation Mazda MX-5 makes its ASEAN debut in the Philippines.

This is the fifth new-generation Mazda model to be launched in the Philippines that embodies the striking KODO: Soul of Motion design language as well as the latest implementations of Mazda’s groundbreaking SKYACTIV Technology chassis, engine and drivetrain innovations.

“The all-new MX-5 is the epitome of Mazda’s core ethos of providing pure driving pleasure on the road,” says Steven Tan, president and CEO of Mazda Philippines. “The amount of design and engineering effort that was put in by Mazda engineers into this latest generation MX-5 is intended to bring back the first MX-5’s calling to deliver joy in driving. We are confident that the all-new MX-5 will not only achieve its goals of providing unique top-down driving experience but will set a new benchmark in providing more smiles not only to its owners but to everyone who sees the car.”

Also present during the launch were Masashi Nakayama, the all-new Mazda MX-5’s chief designer; Hiroshi Inoue, Executive Officer of Mazda Motor Corporation; Hitoshi Takamatsu, the allnew Mazda MX-5’s deputy program manager for vehicle development promotion and Tom Matano, designer of the first- and second-generation Mazda MX-5. With the Philippines now brandishing a highly competitive emerging automotive market, Philippine-bound MX-5 units will sport a tuned 2.0-liter SKYACTIV gasoline direct injection engine designed to deliver heightened performance while satisfying environmental friendliness. “This top-of-the-line 2.0-liter SKYACTIV engine is specifically tuned for the MX-5 and is designed to deliver more torque and faster response,” Tan said .

Local models will come with either the quick-reacting SKYACTIV six-speed automatic transmission or the snappy six-speed manual gearbox.

The MX-5 also comes equipped with MZD Connect, Mazda’s in-car connectivity system first found on the current Mazda 3. Also included is the Mazda Active Display which projects relevant information on a heads-up panel and the highly effective i-Stop stop-start fuel-saving function.

Brains against brawn,

WRX is it!

I Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

f you can’t make heads or tails about your race car of choice, this will definitely help you settle the issue. It may even sway against the enthusiast popular opinion about the Subaru Impreza WRX and WRX STi. While both cars remain as the only model in their segment to offer a standard all-wheel drive, the cars in question have different characteristics, mannerisms and redeeming values. Their common denominator however is that both cars offer a fresh front end styling, improved infotainment system, advanced safety options, better fuel economy and with new engines.

The visually appealing dash layout of the WRX is subtle compared to the STi’s. red stitchings and carbon fiber accents that differentiate the STi’s dash layout from the WRX

I was lucky enough to test both cars recently, and once I got behind the WRX STi variant, it was clear to me that my choice for the better car would be the WRX version. Before sending out a contract on my head, read the rest of my piece and listen to reason.

We were told by our elders to not judge someone by their looks. They might look anonymous, but once you get to know that person, he/she might turn out to be caring, hilarious and fun to be with. The Subaru WRX is Clark Kent from the outside, but once you push it, the car transforms into Superman. The car’s new 268bhp, 2.0 liter turbo engine will guarantee a smile across your face once you gun the accelerator, although the acceleration is not as fierce as the STi’s old 2.5 liter, 305 bhp mill. Yes gentlemen, the STi is powered by the same 2014 STi engine, wth the new powerplant expected to be bolted on sometime next year once the WRX STi’s bloodline is cut in 2017.

The flat four bolted on to the WRX comes from the FA engine family that also powers the turbo fed Forester XT and the naturally aspirated BRZ. Being direct injected, the engine inhales 15.9 pounds o peak boost and has a 10.6:1 compression ratio. My test unit had an automatic CVT tranny, and power kicks in at 2000 to 5000 rpms with maximum power tapering off at 5,600 rms. This low end torque is perfect for urban duties.

The WRX STi on the other hand comes only with a six speed manual transmission. While both cars share body panels, one can differentiate the WRX from the WRX STi through its flared fenders and seemingly bulged up exterior.

This car is like an MMA fighter, waiting for the slightest provocation for it to beat you up senseless. The WRX is more behaved, like a gentleman who frequents the gym knowing that it has what it takes when push comes to shove. Driving the WRX along traffic stricken EDSA on a daily basis is more acceptable than the STi version. Plus points go to the WRX’s automatic transmission and the firm ride will not break your back.

Power delivery is just right and being a Subaru, both cars sit low to the ground and handles like a dream. This is where I drew the line, because in terms of practical usage, the WRX can be a family car that you can take to the track on weekends.

The WRX STi on the hand is sheer brutality on wheels. It is meant to the be driven hard on the track, and you’ll be frustrated on a daily basis knowing all that power is wasted on bumper to bumper traffic jams.

I might be wrong, unless your work requires you to race frequently or you take the NLEX or SLEX as your daily route. When choosing which car to buy, think of practicality and purpose.

Then get either one of them. Both cars, by the way, are engineering marvels.

F R I D AY : S E P T E M B E R 4 : 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 WRITER

life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ST Y L E & BE AU T Y

LIFE

EXTREME ANDROGYNY F a s h i o n’s l a t e s t obsession, androg yny, is interpreted by designers in a multitude of genderTHE GIST bending

BY ED BIADO ways to get their message across and translate the idea into wearable items.

Recent incarnations of genderlessness are far from the safe “unisex” compromises of the ‘90s. Today, the outlook is often audacious and transgressive, adding new dimensions to the blurred lines between male and female.

“Gender fluid,” as opposed to “gender neutral,” would be a more appropriate term to label contemporary applications.

Stockholm-based “multidisciplinary luxury fashion house” Acne Studios is taking this concept even further. The Swedish brand has, in past seasons, experimented with the androgynous aesthetic in its menswear line.

Today, it is bringing the philosophy to the current womenswear collection, Fall/Winter 2015.

Instead of seeing it on the garments, Acne Studios’ gender-bending point of view is visible on the collection’s supporting ad campaign materials that feature a slight and petite model. This isn’t a new look for the brand, which has always preferred androgynous models – women with buzz cuts and men with very little muscle definition.

But looking at the new images closely, this

edgy person with the super-trendy bowl cut really appears to be an actual boy. And that’s because he is. The model in the pictures is 11-year-old Frasse, son of Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johansson.

The designer said in a statement, “I’ve seen this new generation’s attitude to fashion where the cut, the shape and the character of the garment is the crucial thing, rather then seeking approval from society or to follow set norms. I immediately pictured Frasse, since he embodies this new breed to me. I asked him and I’m happy that he wanted to be a part of the campaign.”

The visuals were previewed on the brand’s Instagram and sent to the media earlier this week, ahead of their outdoor and online debut yesterday. Immediately, they caused quite a commotion. Some call it “awesome” and “powerful.” Others find it “troubling” that a prepubescent boy is used to market adult women’s clothing.

On the one hand, the campaign shows that garments need not be gender specific. Men, women and children should be able to wear whatever they want, regardless of the pieces’ perceived femininity, masculinity or ageappropriateness. Think 17-year-old Jaden Smith, who has grown fond of wearing clothes designed for women, including skirts and dresses.

On the other hand, as ad campaigns represent an ideal (at least, the brand’s ideal), this casting is problematic and may be seen as a statement of what the brand thinks is beautiful.

Are they proposing that grown women should aspire to look like preteen boys? Most probably not but it’s hard not to think that.

What is known for certain is that the androgynous effect is fully realized in these shots. And you have to admit, Frasse is really selling those garments!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @EdBiado

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Acne Studios funnel neck floor-length coat

Androgynous models don Acne Studios creations

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Anma Capri Two Toned Leather Tote

@LIFEatStandard

Grandee By Anma William Watch Roll

ANMA LIFESTYLE:

How travel turned a young woman into an entrepreneur

BY KAI MAGSANOC

I

n 2012, then 27-year-old Annick Marasigan was in Sydney, Australia, taking up Masters in Retail Management. She had been working as a brand manager in Manila, and had always been into selling since she was in college.

That trip sparked inspiration in Annick, who had always wanted to start a business that involved her love of traveling. The lack of good quality organizers and travel wallets challenged her entrepreneurial skills to create such.

In November that year, she started a luxury travel accessories brand called Anma Lifestyle (“Anma” comes from the first syllables of her first and last names).

“This brand was born out of a need for me to organize my travel documents,” says Annick. This eventually led to a collection of travel wallets, jewelry rolls, and tote bags.

“The products are all inspired by my stay in Canada, Korea, and Australia,” adds Annick, who is the daughter of a diplomat. “I love all aspects of traveling except the packing and unpacking part, so my brand is definitely geared towards making that part easier.”

Annick returned to Manila after her studies in Australia, and she also went back to working a day job. This affected the growth of Anma Lifestyle. “The progression was slower, as with any start-up business versus a corporate job. Effort fuels the expansion,” she says. She worked on her brand after work and on weekends.

Anman Lifestyle’s owner, Annick Marasigan

Anma Leatherette Travel Wallets in Red and Navy Blue

Anma Leather Add Ons - Card Holder & Luggage Tags

“I couldn’t be as hands on. I couldn’t enter into as many collaborations or be visible in many stores,” Annick recalls. Thus, she focused on growing her online business, joined two multi-brand stores, and joined bazaars occasionally.

Today, Annick balances a job as director of marketing, PR, and events at lifestyle startup GoodVibes.ph, and is more hands-on with Anma.

competitively priced alternative to the brand’s travel wallet. Every quarter, new designs and products are also released. Anma’s products range from P700 to P1,900 depending on the material.

“We have offerings that are more affordable, such as the add-ons in leatherette which start at P250, and our sets and clutches which start at P700,” says Annick.

Anma offers monogramming services to come up with a specialized product unique to every customer. She admits it took her supplier some time to get used to doing everything by hand.

THE PRODUCTS

Anma Lifestyle products are manufactured in Marikina, Annick’s hometown. She is proud to say her brand is homegrown. The leather comes from calf skin, and goat skin is used occasionally.

We ask Annick if the leather is a product of fair trade, to which she quickly replies, “Yes.” In 2012, Anma’s products ranged from leatherette travel wallets, leatherette jewelry rolls, leatherette passport holders, and leather travel wallets.

In 2013, the companyy started building its add-ons for the travel wallet. In 2014, Anma introduced its best-selling charger rolls and first leather tote, the Hamptons.

This 2015, another leather tote and travel clutch were released which serve as

FOR STYLISH TRAVELERS, YOUNG AND OLD

Anma is for all travelers who want to travel with ease. “We’ve had customers who are from high school going on their first trip abroad to families looking to organize all their documents,” Annick says.

“We’ve had young couples on their honeymoon with ‘his’ and ‘hers’ wallets, and fashionistas who want a monogrammed wallet for each of their trips,” she adds.

In an industry of artisanal start-ups, Annick says that what sets Anma apart is its competitive pricing. “Quality is not

Anma Leather Travel Wallet with Monogram

sacrificed, and the choice between leather and leatherette makes it easy on the budget,” she says. “Monogramming also makes it unique, perfect to give as a gift.”

Best of all, Anma is handmade. Every item will be different from the other. It is not mass produced.

We ask Annick about Grandee by Anma, which we spotted at the last Global Pinoy Bazaar in Rockwell Tent. “It’s the counterpart for men of Anma Lifestyle,” she says. “The attention to detail is unique, and it’s available only in leather.

Anma Lifestyle is just one of many Filipino artisanal brands you will see in bazaars happening this Holiday season. We ask Annick what makes such a business exciting, and she is quick to answer, “Diversity and knowing that you are helping out your countrymen.

“We have great materials in our country, and Filipinos always come up with great business ideas,” she says. “Supporting local brands means you’re helping shape our nation’s progress.”

For more information on Anma Lifestyle, visit www.shopanmalifestyle.com. Find them on Facebook (Anma Lifestyle) and Instagram (@anmalifestyle).

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

VANITY BOX ROUND-THE-CLOCK MOISTURE For soft, supple and younger-looking skin, experts say don’t skip moisturizer. Cleansemoisturize-protect, we’re often told. Knowing this, Avon launches its two new skin care products that promise to nourish skin from head to toe, day and night.

For your daytime nourishing needs, there is Avon Care Intensive Moisture Hand and Body Lotion made of royal jelly, honey and vitamin E – a unique formula that provides twice the moisture to make skin feel hydrated all day

Night Cream

long. The product is available in 250ml and 400ml sizes.

As your skin rests while you sleep, Skin So Soft Glutathione Whitening Night Face Cream helps repair the damage brought by the day’s harsh elements by adding extra moisture. Infused with glutathione, it also helps whiten dark areas of the skin.

Both products are now available through Avon Representatives. Visit www.avon.com.ph for more information.

Intensive Moisture Lotion

COFFEE BOOST FOR THE SKIN

CLEANSING WITH CHARCOAL

There is more in your cup of joe than caffeine kick to help you tackle the day.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants that boost skin health by encouraging the growth of new skin cells, and also helps stimulate the skin to reduce puffiness – it works when ingested and when applied directly on the skin.

From the Human Nature Care laboratories comes a body scrub made of cosmetic-grade Arabica Coffee to provide a gentler and natural exfoliant alternative to slough away dull and dry skin. Aside from coffee, Human Nature 100% Natural Coffee Body Scrub is also infused with aloe vera to soothe and moisturize skin with a relaxing hint of vanilla.

If you live and work in Metro Manila, chances are your skin is perpetually exposed to dirt and pollution that clog the pores. And when skin feels dirty, some tend to over-wash which then leads to the stripping of much-needed moisture.

Charcoal is the new hot ingredient when it comes to intensive cleansing. It is said that this black residue effectively draws out impurities and purifies skin.

And this cleansing wonder now comes

Get glowing, supple skin by using Human Nature 100% Natural Coffee Body Scrub two to three times weekly. It is available at Human Nature branches, dealers and at www.humanheartnature.com/buy

Coffee Body Scrub

in the new Palmolive Naturals Flawless Clean Soap. The charcoal powder in the soap helps wash away dirt from the skin, leaving it clean without drying it out.

Palmolive Naturals Flawless Soap is available in 115g carton and 55g f low wrap and is sold in leading supermarkets, department stores, health and beauty stores, drugstores, and sarisari stores nationwide.

Flawless Clean Soap

Chemical-free beauty

Healthy Options introduces Gabriel Cosmetics

W

ho says makeup has to be expensive, complicated and time consuming for a woman to achieve that seamless cosmetic perfection? In a recent event, Healthy Options showed ladies a different take on beauty the natural way with a demonstration by former TV host/model and former Miss Universe-Philippines Abbygale Arenas-De Leon.

Using Gabriel Cosmetics, Abby demonstrated how makeup can be done in 10 minutes and still achieve that fresh look.

The key, she says, is to know the right shade of foundation and the colors that are suitable to one’s skin tone. “When they first asked me to conduct a talk using Gabriel Cosmetics and told me that they are chemical free, I asked them to send the products first. I wanted to try them myself knowing that other brands also claim to

be ‘chemical free’,” she relates. After all, Abby has a reputation to protect being the president of the Association of Image Consultants International (Philippine chapter) and managing director/chief trainer of Personi-fi Image Studio, Inc. “I was very happy with Gabriel and was surprised that the colors are suitable for morena skin as we don’t want makeup that’s too white,” Abby says.

An all-natural, vegan and gluten free mineral cosmetics line, Gabriel Cosmetics Inc. was founded by Gabriel De Santino in 1992, starting out as a botanical skincare company whose products were based from the homeopathic practices of his grandmother whom he frequently visited in her home near the coast of Mexico when he was a child.

Gabriel Cosmetics started with a vision of natural beauty, espousing the philosophy of sustainable individual natural beauty while continuing to advocate healthy living.

This philosophy is translated through organic skincare and vegan and glutenfree cosmetics aimed at bringing out a woman’s natural existing beauty.

Gabriel Cosmetics combines the rejuvenating and healing powers of natural ingredients to nourish skin. The company brings mineral makeup to a whole new level with quality that can match professional makeup brands.

Today, the brand has vastly grown into a beauty empire with the addition of Gabriel Color, ZuZu Luxe, and Clean Kids Naturally, making up a diverse collection of cosmetics and children’s skincare products to join the existing Gabriel Organics Skincare.

A unique health topic on its own, Healthy Options’ talks meld cosmetics with natural living, a topic many would be glad to learn about as cosmetics are commonly perceived to be highly artificial and full of synthetic ingredients. With the

choice of mainstream products filled with lead and other heavy metals, parabens, phthalates, and other harmful chemicals commonly found in cosmetics, Healthy Options aims to enlighten consumers that there are natural and safer alternatives available to them.

At Healthy Options, you will find the most premium quality natural supplements, personal care items, nutritiously delicious foods, and health books to help give you better choices for a better life. Visit any Healthy Options store today and discover a world where Life is Beautiful.

Contact (632)637-8888 or e-mail marketing@healthyoptions.com. ph. You may also log on to their website: www.healthyoptions. com.ph, or join their Facebook community: www.facebook.com/ HealthyOptionsPhilippines and Instagram @healthyoptionsph.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Notice how Maxene Magalona’s look changes by filling in her brows in different ways.

DOUBLE-TIME BROWS Whenever I get the chance to meet ladies who follow my work, be it on print, POP-UP BEAUTY v i d e o or social media,

BY JIGS MAYUGA the question I get asked most often is how I do brows.

Filipina women are obsessed with eyebrows.

In the ’90s, I remember how every girl my age started over-plucking their brows into pencil-thin arches. And then in the late 2000s came the era of the filled-in, solid brow which was sort of an antithesis to how they were from the past decade. The brows of the moment are fresh and youthful, neither thin nor exaggerated. The rise of the feathered brows of the season complement the dewy skin and “imperfect” makeup we see on the runways for fall. As a matter of preference, I like keeping brows as natural as possible. But this does not mean that I restrict myself to just one technique or a single product when it comes to grooming brows. My style changes based on what is needed for the project, be it an editorial shoot that calls for stronger brows, an event where natural is best or TV makeup where brows are softly filled.

As a professional makeup artist, my work not only requires that I do things with precision. Most of the time I have to work at a fast pace since my clients are very busy and only have a limited time to sit on my makeup chair to get their faces ready for a big event. It helps to have products that not only fill in the sparse areas of the brows but also work double duty by combining other brow essentials in one handy packaging. Here are some of my picks:

REVLON Double Ended Eyebrow Brush

Watsons A brush, comb and spooley in a single wand. An angled brush to fill and contour eyebrows, a comb to separate lashes or brow hairs and a spooley brush to groom and blend brow color and gels.

EYE OF HORUS Dual Brow Perfect in Dynasty (Brown) ESTEE LAUDER Double Wear Stay-In-Place Brow Lift Duo

Rustan’s Makati This long-wearing brow pencil defines and emphasizes brows with precision and dimension that stays in place up to 12 hours.

It features a thin tip that provides on-point application for a natural brow look and a universal highlighter shade that enhances the brow arch for an instantly lifted appearance.

www.dtcmakeup.com This eyebrow pencil and brow gel duo sculpts, perfects and tints the brows.

It contours and fills in your brows with controlled artistry for perfect arches.

Add shape, color and definition in one streamlined tool, and use the gel brush on the reverse tip to tint and hold brows in that perfect arch.

K-PALETTE 24H Real Lasting 2Way Eyebrow Liner in Natural Brown

Beauty Bar The iconic liquid brow liner from K-Palette now comes in a dual sided liquid and powder pencil for that 3D eyebrow look. The liquid brush tip produces translucent ink that controls the intensity of the brows while the powder formula contains fine gold and pearl pigments for a soft and natural look that lasts all day.

E.L.F. Eyebrow Kit in Medium

SM Makati This eyebrow gel liner and powder duo creates brows that are fuller, thicker and more defined.

Best for those who like their brows über filled-in.

The brow gel liner gives lasting color payoff and definition while the soft powder sets the pigment in place. Comes with a mirror and an angled brush for precise application every time.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @jigsmayuga

F RIDAY : S EPT EMBER 4 : 2015

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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CandidatEs to MistErs 2015 prEsEntEd C ompetition for Misters 2015-The Pageant heats up as 30 dashing men were chosen as official candidates according to pageant owner Prime Event Productions Philippines, Inc. (PEPPS). They will be vying for four major titles – Mister International Philippines, Mister Model International Philippines, Mister Tourism International Philippines, and Mister Global Philippines.

The contestants representing the different provinces around the country, together with delegates of international Filipino communities in Australia, Germany, Italy and Great Britain, were presented to the media at One Esplanade, kicking off a series of activities leading to the finals night at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World on Sept. 13.

Early picks for the four titles at stake include Lipa City’s John Nicholo Zacarias, who was voted Darling of the Press, and the Filipino Community of Germany’s Siegfried Schmidt Bauer, who topped the online poll conducted by Events2images. Other favorites are Tacloban’s Rick Palencia, Bohol’s AR De La Serna, Australia’s Robert Mcnamara, Pagbilao, Quezon’s Reiniel Villareal, Butuan’s Marcel Stulir, Ilocos Norte’s JM De La Cruz, Pangasinan’s Jerome Tabayoyong, Cebu City’s Carlos Ching, and Manila’s Don Mcgyver Cochico, a police officer eyeing to duplicate fellow

police officer Neil Perez’s feat last year, winning the Mister International title in Seoul, Korea.

The rest of the candidates are Laguna’s John Edgar Adajar, Davao del Norte’s Ian Flores Alibo, Davao Oriental’s Red Bayron, Bulacan’s Paolo Caballero, Quezon City’s Jake Camarines, Great Britain’s Jules Chan, Koronadal’s Richard Domingo, Italy’s Kevin Fichera, Tarlac’s Church Hill Garcia, Australia’s Ari Kane, Quezon’s Mark Lester Latina, Olongapo’s Earlmond Lee, Rizal’s Robert Lopez, Pampanga’s Patrick Magtanong, Iloilo City’s William Pagayon, Melbourne’s Daniel Polbrat, , Santa Rosa’s Karan Singdole, Makati’s Jazzie Vasquez, and Bacolor, Pampanga’s Arcel Yambing.

Mister International 2014 Perez, who just came from Czech Republic to crown the representative to the Mister International 2015 pageant, to be hosted by the Philippines in November 2015, could not wait to hand over his title to his successor.

“I think, it will be a very exciting competition. I see a lot of potential among all the candidates this year,” said the popular celebrity cop. “It is heartwarming to know that we are able to make an impact to a lot of people in only three years of the pageant, and we are thankful that the media has been very supportive of our pageant, said Carlo Morris Galang, PEPPS president and Misters 2015 project director.

– Eton B. ConCEpCion

Policer Officer 1 Don Mcgyver L. Cochico of City of Manila

photo BY JoY arquil

ViCe Ganda in Hokkaido’s flower fields With his wit and drive to be defined more than just “that gay celebrity,” Vice Ganda is easily one of the most recognizable performers in the showbiz industry.

The versatile comedian and host carries the torch for the marginalized LGBT community.

This time, he breaks another barrier as the first openly gay man to be on the cover of the highly anticipated September Big Fashion issue of MEGA. This issue also marks the last edition of the #MakingMega campaign, that’s why it’s highly appropriate for it to be entitled #MakingMegaTheFinale. It is a fitting end to an illustrious journey, with one of the grandest stars. In this final blowout, Vice has been photographed amidst the scenic flower fields in Hokkaido, Japan.

From a stand-up comedian to one of the industry’s most bankable stars, Vice Ganda looks back to his humble beginnings, a simple childhood in Tondo, to his earlier projects when he started in show business. One of the most successful acts to date, Vice gives insight to why and how he is at the top of his game. He also

The cover of the September issue of Mega with Vice Ganda

shares a special connection with Japan while revealing a lighter and more vulnerable side that the public is not used to. The actor also raves about his unprecedented move together with Mega and shares how he deals with intrigue and negativity that comes with working under the public scru-

Vice Ganda in various poses for Mega Magazine

tiny, especially with this issue promising to change the landscape of Philippine fashion.

MEGA’s Big Fashion issue is this year’s thickest release and highlight 587 looks, picks and trends to browse on. Check out an article about Revlon’s hues to get you in full bloom and a guide

to accessorizing with scents. Get ready for a Fashion Invasion and marvel on this region’s cultural fashion. Take an exclusive peek on unexpected designer collaborations and this year’s Manila Fashion Festival. Also included in the September issue is MEGA Man, fronted by a more mature

and ready Enchong Dee fresh from his Pinoy Big Brother stint.

Grab a copy of the Mega September issue available in all bookstores and newsstands nationwide on September 9. Watch the #MakingMEGATheFinale documentary on Mega’s official website, MEGASTYLE.PH.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

PeOPle

...aRE taLkiNG aBOUt Wally Bayola as Lola Nidora

WaLLy BayOLa

While Alden and Yaya Dub are the central characters in Eat Bulaga’s “Kalye Serye,” we cannot discount the fact that the entire segment wouldn’t be as successful as it is today without Lola Nidora. Wally’s character plays a big part, if not the most important part why AlDub tandem is now considered as television’s love team to beat. Not to mention, that this whole thing made us almost forget about the sex scandal that hounded him not so long ago.

Ai Ai delas Alas will be part of CelebriTV

Rufa Mae Quinto

ELha NymPha

Who also goes by name of Gollayan Sisters, Cercados Sisters and MICA, is in the center of controversy after the vocal group appeared on The X Factor UK. The quartet got rave reviews from all four The X Factor judges which meant they’re through to the next round. But after the show, viewers felt slighted to find out that the sisters are actually professional singers who have also made the rounds of talent shows in the Philippines. We have yet to know what the fate of 4th Power in the reality show would be but one thing we’re certain about – they’re one gifted group.

Charlhone Petro thankful to olive-C for PBB Break

His entrance to big brother’s house was an instant worldwide-trending topic. Thanks to the good looks of Charlhone Petro, 22, the ‘soldiers’ boy of Pampanga.’ His first appearance was in It’s Showtime’s “Funny One” grand finals.

Charlhone Petro

Charlhone was introduced as the soldiers’ boy because he is surrounded by military men in the family. He admitted that being in the company of soldiers was not an easy life. He

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 51 55 56 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE 22 23 24 26 29 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

Prince Arn’s mother Edict Ketch cousin Do the trick Put in sequence Green fruit Cows’ bellows Ms. MacGraw Dumpster output Angrily Slippery — — eel Swamp

Jazz instruments Mesa’s cousin Reunited Ess moldings Meadow murmurs Ballet garb Hotel entrance Grow exponentially Jai — Reeves of “Speed” Doing nothing Gull relative Pilot or handbill Giza’s river Lullaby Barrette Tiny insect

DOWN 1 Pirate’s booty 2 Stride 3 A Guthrie 4 Mustier 5 Tara’s owner 6 Thesaurus man 7 Donkey serenade 8 Packing doc.

9 Mao — -tung 10 Saffron dish 11 Queen —’s lace 12 Part of GI 13 Gaelic pop star

21 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 34 37 38 40 41 43 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 57

ViCE GaNDa

Vice Ganda as fashion icon, Havey or waley?

had to follow some strict rules as disciplinary measures. Oftentimes, he said, he had to do things out of his free will. Though surviving under iron fists, Charlhone is thankful the situation made him stronger, more mature, respectful, and disciplined.

Charlhone’s father and brother wanted him to enter the military like them. But, asserting his freedom to choose, he took up a course in computer technology instead. He did everything to prove to his family that he can do better in pursuing his desire than being in the military.

This decision taught Charlhone to become fully independent. To support himself, he joined model-

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015

Monsieur’s son Leather punches Caterwauls Enemy opposite Soaring Broadcast portion In-between Supply the banquet Preference Fill with happiness Wines and — Warehouse clutter Joke response (hyph.)

Soothsayer’s job Lodge Neither one nor the other On the wane Adjusts a guitar Seize the throne Back muscles Bogus butter Dobbin’s digs Pyramid builder Thor’s father Clay pot Assemble Pizza Hut alternative Annex

GMA-7’s long-running showbiz talk show Startalk is set to be replaced by a new program. Titled Celebr iTV, the show will feature games, comedy skits and showbiz news. People appreciate that the network tries to reinvent its archaic programs but by the looks of it, what they are giving the viewers is just an extension of Sunday Pinasaya, Wowowin and Eat Bulaga rolled into one. No, we’re not excited to see this one.

The sexy starlet is in pain, to say the least. She used Instagram to share a photo of large bruises that cover a portion of her body. Rufa wanted everyone to learn from her experience and encourage them to choose their plastic surgeon wisely. Instead of telling people to be comfortable in their own skin, she still endorsed surgical enhancement that caused all her nightmares now. Poor thing.

4th POWER Elha Nympha

CELEBRitV

RUfa maE QUiNtO

Take her background story out of the picture and judge the kid by her singing skills alone.

What we’ve got is an undeniably talented kid who definitely deserved the votes of people who followed The Voice Kids from the very start. Now, put her life story back into the picture, what we got is another tear-jerking episode for Maalaala Mo Kaya.

4th Power during their audition at The X Factor UK

ACROSS 1 Masseuse employers 5 Moon track 10 Errand runner 14 Toad feature 15 Saddle parts 16 Erelong 17 Freedom org.

18 Tequila cactus 19 Jealousy 20 Chaucer’s name

...aRE NOt taLkiNG aBOUt

He landed on the cover of Mega Magazine’s September issue, which the glossy considers as their most anticipated and biggest fashion issue this year. They call it a ground breaking cover. Of course we wanted to believe that Vice Ganda is the embodiment of a real fashionista hence we are having our corrected vision checked for the nth time.

ing and pageantry.

In 2013, he joined the Mr. Olive-C Campus Model Philippines, where he landed in the Top 10.

Many talent scouts and managers were interested of building him up.

Everything started from there. Mr. Olive-C pageant has opened many doors of opportunities for Charlhone since then. After the pageant, Charlhone joined acting workshops and commercial auditions. Due to his striking Fil-Am looks, he often earned a spot in TV commercials.

The PBB 737 is Charlhone’s biggest break yet after Mr. Olive-C. “Olive-C family is so happy for Charlhone. This is his break. We will support him. We

are encouraging all his fans to support him as well. Olive-C is just so happy we have helped so many young people find their niche in the entertainment industry,” happily shared Jim Acosta, the Olive-C bigwig.

Olive-C has become a turning point for many successful teenagers in the likes of Miss Supranational 2013 Mutya Datul (Ms. Olive-C 2011 finalist); Ms. Philippines Earth – Water 2011 Muriel Orais (Ms. Olive-C 2011 winner); GMA-7 talent Ashley Ortega (Ms. Olive-C 2014 winner); GMA-7 talent Hiro Peralta (Mr. Olive-C 2011 winner); and ABS-CBN Star Magic talent Jon Lucas (Mr. Olive-C Campus Model 2013 winner).

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Coleen Garcia

Chiz and Heart

Liza Macuja interviewing John Aricilla

Liza having fum with Tres Marias

chIz and hIS TWInS go MaLLIng WITh hearT

c

hiz Escudero and Heart Evangelista were spotted recently with his twins at a mall in Quezon City.

While busy with their respective careers, the couple still find time to bond with the children, especially onweekends.

Chiz says he is still adjusting to the schedule of Heart, especially now that she’s busy taping for Beautiful Strangers.

“Artists live a different life. They may be famous, have fat talent fees, but life is difficult. Heart has tapings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She leaves the house at around 5: 30 in the morning, an she is bacj the following morning. “ Chiz says.

Apart from that, Heart is also busy with her modeling career.

Still she has a weekly showbiz talk show and has her painting to attend to when she has the time.

Chiz says that both Heart and he don’t meddle with each other’s career. In their conversation at home, both of them avoid the topics of show business and politics.

“What we talk about are those that happened with each of us during the day. If it’s about politics we don’t dwell on it, or if it’s about show business I refrain from making judgment of opinion.

Chiz and Heart will campaign

from c8

separately if the Senator decides to run for office in 2016.

“I told Heart that if I’d run for office, like I did in 2013, and if she wants to help me, we should not campaign together,” the Senator says.

According to Chiz, his schedule and that of his wife will be very difficult to synchronize, considering Heart’s commitments on TV and modeling. “She has tapings for her drama series that takes up the whole day and she still has shootings for her product endorsements.”

HHHHH MovIe/Tv perSonaLITIeS raLLy WITh fILIpInoS for azkaLS-UzbekS MaTch With just a few days before the much-anticipated Azkals-Uzbeks match on Sept. 8, movie industry personalities joined the call for Filipinos to support the Philippine national football team as it guns for its third straight win in the ongoing qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. In separate messages, TV hosts and actresses Coleen Garcia and Karylle and TV personality Ryan Bang called on people to watch the exciting game and buy their tickets now.

Their call came after Azkals players Juan Luis Guirado, Den-

nis Villanueva, Iain Ramsay, Daisuke Sato and Kenshiro Michael Daniels guested in the noontime show It’s Showtime on ABS-CBN. “Suportahan natin ang ating mga kababayan na Azkals sa darating na September 8. They will be competing at the Philippine Sports Stadium against Uzbekistan,” Karylle said.

She also mentioned that ticket holders will get a free entrance to the Palace Pool Club in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig after the match.

Coleen, who incidentally is niece of player Juani Guirado, said tickets to the game are already on sale at Ticketworld and urged fans to get hold of one now.

Kris Aquino was also seen wearing the pink Azkals shirt on her Instagram account.

Meanwhile, former professional basketball player and now sports radio anchor Freddie Webb said Filipinos have more chance of excelling in football than in basketball.

He said football does not require tall players and the height of Filipinos is suited to the game.

Kickoff time of the Azkals-Uzbeks game is at 8 p.m. The Philippine Sports Stadium is located in Bocaue, Bulacan, and is directly accessible through the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). The stadium is also accessible through public

Sun, DiSney weave magiC together

I

t’s a universal truth that Disney magic energizes every person’s spirit, young and old.

And while it’s possible to relive one’s Disney memories through films, Sun is going beyond the visuals as it activates senses of its sunbscribers by bringing Disney enjoyment a notch higher as it provides actual Disney experience to its wise-spending Filipinos.

By weaving its own brand of magic to this special and magical experience, Sun is bringing two well-loved larger-than-life Disney spectacles – Disney Live! Mickey’s Music Festival and Disney on Ice Disney Magical Ice Festival – to Manila. The said shows are bound to provide Sun subscribers immersive and interactive expe-

riences as Sun takes consumers right where the Disney magic and action unfolds via this Sun and Disney collaboration.

“Everybody has an unforgettable Disney childhood memory – from the staples such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to our favorite Disney characters like Cinderella and Snow White. And while it’s easy for us to keep the memory alive with small doses of Disney, we’re giving the practical Pinoys the chance to relive the Disney experience and bring it to life,” says Sun Vice President for postpaid marketing Joel Lumanlan.

Larger-Than-LIfe SpecTacLeS This year, Sun is hosting two mas-

sive Disney events for children and the child at heart. Until Sept.

6, Disney fans can catch Mickey Mouse and the rest of the Disney gang stage a fun-filled concert featuring remixed versions of the much-beloved Disney hits. Mickey will be joined by Minnie Mouse, Ariel, Ursula, Jasmine, Aladdin in a 90-minute Disney showcase.

And to make everything more magical, we can revisit the magical winter wonderland of Disney with the much-awaited annual event, Disney On Ice: Disney Magical Ice Festival where every Disney fan can catch their favorite Disney princesses, including the highly-anticipated debut of our favorite Frozen characters, perform live and more as they glide through the ice rink

transport from various directions.

Tickets for the Azkals vs. Uzbekistan game to be held at the Philippine Sports Stadium on September 8, 2015 are now available at www.ticketworld.com.ph.

Tickets are at P531.80 for Price Zone 1, P331.14 for Price Zone 2 and P125.40 for Price Zone 3.

HHHHH John arcILLa LeadS ‘arT 2 arT’ gUeSTS In SepTeMber Actor John Arcilla – who has been getting favorable reviews lately for his compelling performance in the epic film Heneral Luna – is the featured guest in Art 2 Art’s first episode for the month, airing on Sept. 6.

Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Company and hosted by prima ballerina Lisa Macuja, Art 2 Art is aired every Sunday, 3:30 to 4 p.m., on DZRH (666 khz on the AM band), on cable television via RHTV and online through DZRH Live Streaming.

Arcilla honed his acting skills in theater before trying out television and film where he became known as a character actor. He has won honors, inlcluding Best Actor for Mulanay, Gawad Urian Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ligaya ang Itawag mo sa Akin and 2010 Cinemalaya Best Actor for Halaw.

Art 2 Art presents other inter-

esting episodes and a host of fascinating arts personalities for the rest of the month.

On Sept. 13, Art 2 Art showcases what has become a much-awaited event for book lovers – the Manila International Book Fair, now on its 36th year. Maritess Agbay of the event organizer Primetrade Asia Inc. relates how the book fair began and has evolved, while Mark Flores of C & E Publishing discusses trends in the industry.

On Sept. 20, the music powerhouse known as Tres Marias storms the studio with their wit, laughter and music. Bayang Barrios, Lolita Carbon and Cooky Chua represent various genres but have banded together to perform music that’s totally their own while also representing causes close to their hearts. The trio renders two unforgettable numbers, accompanied by guitarist Andrew Barrios.

On Sept. 27, Nashville Ballet artistic director Paul Vasterling shares what’s in store for local audiences as his interpretation of the classic Romeo and Juliet is performed by Ballet Manila for its Asian premiere in October.

For inquiries, please e-mail art2artdzrh@gmail.com. On Facebook, check out the account Ballerina ng Bayan for updates on Art 2 Art episodes.

Joel Lumanlan

and perform a visual feast for fans.

These two events spell the grandest Disney events in the country this year as our favorite characters from the happiest place on earth come to life and ultimately allow everyone to relive and realize their long-relished childhood

memories and dreams.

So what are you waiting for?

Relive your Disney childhood memories with the entire family and friends and catch Mickey Mouse and the rest of the gang in these two magical, fun-filled and larger-than-life Disney events.

F RIDAY : S EPT EMBER 4 : 2015

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Going global: After their stint at local singing contests, the Cercado sisters, now known as 4th Power, impress The X Factor UK judges and audience

all-FIlIpIno gIrl group In ‘the X Factor uK’ ISAH V. RED Mylene, Celina, Irene and Almira Cercado, aged 19-27, had all four judges in The X Factor UK on their feet after their rendition of Jessie J’s hit “Bang Bang” for their audition on the first episode of the latest season of singing completion on TV. Seemingly demure before the music kicked in, according to judge Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, they turned into “bad girls” referring to the attitude and performance the ladies gave on stage.

Judge Rita Ora called them “minute monsters” who had the passion, the voices, the attitude and even went to say that she wanted to be their sister.

Simon Cowell called this audition one of the best he’s ever seen.

This all-Filipino girl group that is known by the name 4th Power moves on to the next round of The X Factor UK. With over two million views on YouTube and buzz on social media around the world, the all-Filipino girl group, have gone viral after their spectacular performance on The X Factor UK that “blew the roof off of Wembley Stadium” over the weekend.

But the girls are being bashed not by the British but by fellow Filipinos in the Philippines who posted on the social media that the girls are

actually the group that was previously known as the Cercado Sisters from Northern Luzon. The posts also said the girls are professional recording artists, hence, they have no right to be in The X Factor.

The X Factor seems unmindful of these things posted on the social media sites, the girls will go on to sing in the next round For those who missed the season premiere or would like to again watch the episode where the girls had all four judges on their feet, tune in to the regularly scheduled encore broadcasts of The X Factor UK exclusive on RTL CBS Entertainment on Thursdays at 9 p.m. and on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. and see for yourselves if they wouldn’t make you proud.

The X Factor UK airs first and exclusive on RTL CBS Entertainment HD as live via satellite on Sundays and Mondays at 10:30 a.m. with a primetime encore at 9 p.m. and with weekly episodes repeat on Thursday and Saturday.

RTL CBS Entertainment HD is available on SkyCable channels 53(SD) and 196(HD), Destiny Cable channel 53, Dream Satellite channel 17 and Cablelink channels 37(SD), 313 and 800(HD).

HHHHH Intense 1960s crIme drama on Warner tV Public Morals is an epic crime drama that follows the cops of New York City’s Public Morals Division as they walk the line between morality and criminality.

This intense new airs 9:50 p.m.

Mylene, Celina, Irene and Almira Cercado or 4th Power during the auditions for The X Factor UK

The Judges, including Simon Cowell, give the girls standin ovation

Mondays on Warner TV, soon after its original U.S. broadcast.

From writer/director/executive producer/star Edward Burns, Public Morals takes place in the 1960s and focuses on Terry Muldoon (Burns), a detective in the Public Morals Division. Muldoon is tasked with trying to maintain control over his tightly ordered world despite the profound cultural changes happening all around him.

With vice temptations threatening to get the better of them, Muldoon and his team confronts many challenges – from keeping a lid on prostitution and gambling rings, to being thrust into a deadly turf war that breaks out between the new and old factions of the Irish mob.

Together with Burns, Public Morals also stars Michael Rapaport as Charlie Bullman, Muldoon’s partner and Elizabeth Masucci as Christine, Muldoon’s wife.

The cast also includes Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Lt. King; Wass M. Stevens as Vince Latucci; Keith Nobbs as Pat Duffy; Austin Stowell as Sean O’Bannon; Patrick

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Murney as Petey “Mac” McKenna; Katrina Bowden as Fortune; Lyndon Smith as Deirdre; and Brian Wiles as Jimmy Shea.

Warner TV is available on SKYcable Channel 77, SKYcable HD Channel 197,Cignal HD Channel 119, Destiny Cable (Digital) Channel 77, Destiny Cable (Analog) Channel 80, and Cable Link Channel 30. For more updates on the best in action, comedy and drama, follow on facebook.com/ WarnerTVAsia.

Edward Burns directs and stars in Public Morals on Warner TV