The Standard - 2015 September 08 - Tuesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 208 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 TUESday : SEPTEMBER 8, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Tagle gives blessing to Binay, Poe and Roxas

A5

quiT calls Rage

Tolentino must resign from MMDA now, Senate told

Test day. A member of the Highway Patrol Group directs traffic on Edsa and Cubao on Monday, when the group took over from the MMDA traffic enforcers in an attempt to get rid of the gridlock on Metro Manila’s perpetually clogged artery. Lino SanToS

Bishops demand action on rising crime incidents

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines raised the alarm over rising criminality after police records showed a 46-percent increase in crimes committed nationwide during the first six months this year.

“Who would not be concerned about rising crimes?” said CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas. “A crime is an offense versus human dignity so we should always be concerned about it.”

Next page

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

A TRANSPORT group on Monday called for the immediate resignation of Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino, citing his failure to solve the traffic problem in his five years in office.

In testimony before the Senate, Annie Giron, president of the transport group PS Link, said there was a leadership vacuum at the MMDA, and that the recent takeover by the national police

of traffic management on Edsa was all the more reason Tolentino should step down.

“He has proven his incapacity,” Giron said of the MMDA chief during a Senate hearing to explore

effective strategies to address the economic damage done by the worsening traffic problem in Metro Manila.

Giron added that the public had the right to demand accountability from Tolentino.

PS Link, an organization of public workers with 85,000 members, is also behind an online petition on the Change.org website urging Tolentino to resign. To date, almost 6,000 people have signed the petition.

“It is now 2015, and MMDA still has no concrete solution to Next page

T U E S d ay : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A2

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Comelec to be probed on printing SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he would grill Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista over the decision to award the printing of election ballots to a private company instead of the National Printing Office.

Day 1. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino rides an ordinary bus while monitoring the flow of traffic along Edsa on Monday, when the Highway Patrol Group took over the traffic management on the artery from his men. Danny Pata

Quit

From A1... our traffic woes and misery,” the petition reads. “In fact our traffic problems have worsened.”

“This administration is so callous that it continues to use public funds for the advanced campaigning of those running for public office under the slate of the administration. This includes MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino [who] ...cannot be seen in MMDA to supervise the traffic... While he is busy joining sorties, we are left to fend for ourselves in the traffic,” the petition adds.

The Palace brushed aside mounting calls for Tolentino to resign, saying that he still enjoyed the trust and confidence of President Benigno Aquino III. Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. described Tolentino as “a hands-on” manager and credited him for a recent earthquake preparedness drill in Metro Manila, and for helping to prepare for the visit of Pope Francis earlier this year.

Coloma added that it was Tolentino who proposed that the Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police take over traffic management along Edsa.

Coloma also defended Tolentino’s sorties in different provinces, saying this was part of his official functions—even though the law

Bishops From A1...

Villegas called on all Filipinos, not just the government, to fight crime by starting the effort at home and in school.

“Fighting crime is not just the duty of one sector of society, fighting crime is the duty of every human being, starting with parents [and the] family… we all have a duty in maintaining order in the community,” he said.

Villegas’ call came as Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles began a text message campaign to warn residents in Batangas about reports

“We will ask why there was a change in the system,” Marcos told The Standard.

“I see a change. But I don’t know if it’s irregular. I’ll be interested to hear their explanations,” he added.

Normally, he said, the NPO should do the printing.

Senator JV Ejercito said assigning the printing of ballots to a private entity was dangerous, since classified and vital government documents should be printed by the NPO. “It’s the reason NPO was there,” he said, adding that he would rather trust the NPO than a private company to do the job.

On Sunday, lawmakers from the independent

minority bloc in the House questioned the government’s reasons for awarding contracts worth P40 billion for the printing of sensitive official documents, including 60 million ballots for the 2016 elections.

The NPO union has sought the intervention by Congress after the government awarded a contract to the Comelec’s IT service provider, Smartmatic, to print 60 million ballots at P20 per ballot for 2016.

“That’s P1.2 billion off government coffers that would benefit the private contractor. It was the NPO that printed the ballots in 2013 at P5 per ballot, that suited the PCOS machines operated by Smartmatic,” said Rosa Muñoz, NPO Workers’ Association president.

Muñoz said even the P38-billion six-year ePassport contract that the NPO was mandated to print was awarded to a private contractor, Asian Production Unit, which has been linked to Malacañang.

“The government has deprived us the exclusive rights to print the ballots and the passports. While these major contracts had been subjected to public bidding, the NPO was barred from joining the bidding. We were relegated [to being] an observer,” Muñoz said. Macon Ramos-araneta

creating the MMDA limits the agency’s authority to the National Capital Region.

Tolentino, who is expected to run for senator as part of the ruling Liberal Party slate, has been widely criticized for using the resources of his office to promote his visibility in cities outside of Metro Manila.

Despite the scathing criticism of his performance, Tolentino said he would not resign.

Senator JV Ejercito, who presided over Monday’s hearing, threatened to cite for contempt the heads of agencies involved in traffic management for their failure to appear before the Senate.

Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board chairman Winston Ginez told the Senate committees on economic affairs and public works that during a recent meeting with the President, he suggested increasing the number of high-capacity vehicles such as buses to ease out the large number of private vehicles, which he said accounted for 70 percent of the vehicles on Edsa and other major thoroughfares.

But Ejercito argued that better infrastructure and a more efficient mass transport system would do more to solve traffic congestion.

Without a reliable and efficient mass transit system, he added, people would just buy more cars.

Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Cynthia Villar agreed.

“One way of solving gridlock is

to lessen the number of vehicles on Edsa especially buses [without a license to operate], but you have to improve the MRT and LRT. If you are not able to do it—improve the public transport, that’s only half of the solution, and the people might not feel it,” Marcos said.

In the House of Representatives, an opposition lawmaker opposed the deployment of armed traffic police on Edsa, saying they would frighten motorists.

At a hearing of the House committee on Metro Manila development, 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III asked HPG director Chief Supt. Arnold Gunnacao if he thought the police were better than the MMDA. When Gunnacao replied yes, when it comes to traffic management, Bello disagreed.

The enforcement of traffic law and discipline on the road would be better handled by the MMDA as this is within its mandate, Bello said.

He added that the MMDA could still do something about the worsening traffic problem with “proper planning.”

The leader of the independent minority bloc in the House, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, said the worsening traffic in Metro Manila has become a legitimate election issue because it hurts productivity.

“The Aquino government should show compassion for our commuters. The people are being tortured every time they report

for work, school and return home.

These ordinary commuters will ask the future leaders of the country if this kind of torture will continue,” Romualdez said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, who presided over the hearing, said the government needed to rationalize the number of buses in Metro Manila to remove excess capacity, and transfer some buses to the provinces where their services are in demand.

The Palace said the police takeover of traffic management along the 23.8-kilometer stretch of Edsa was effective on Monday, but said it still needed “fine-tuning.”

“We are calling on the public to give feedback... to improve the management of traffic by the HPG, as well as other government agencies,” Coloma said.

Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras on Monday asked the public for more patience, saying the government still needed to make adjustments in how traffic was managed.

Almendras issued his appeal after rush-hour traffic remained heavy along EDSA on the first day of the police takeover.

“Of course, we are making adjustments. We have to make some adjustments [and] we must monitor the area of Guadalupe. I saw during peak hour the traffic there was heavy,” said Almendras following a closed-door meeting with concerned government officials at

the MMDA main office in Makati City.

Almendras also acknowledged that there was some confusion among drivers regarding the rerouting of provincial buses from terminals in Cubao and Kamuning.

“I was worried about compliance.

I know there was some confusion. I was already in P. Tuazon at 5:30 a.m. and I saw the problem because there was a counterflow by those coming from Tuazon,” he said.

Under the new traffic scheme, provincial buses are not allowed to use Edsa from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. during weekdays, and instead must turn left to Tuazon and take C5 Road to get to their destination.

Almendras said there were some parts where the flow of traffic improved.

“After Boni Serrano [Avenue] up to Shaw [Boulevard] the bus lanes are good... buses and cars are moving well. We came up with this post implementation meeting because I’m also worried about the afternoon traffic,” he said.

“We have to watch the flow of traffic in Guadalupe until tonight and we will try to make it move. I expect the volume in Guadalupe to be very heavy by 5 o’clock,” Almendras added.

Also on Monday, Vice President Jejomar Binay appealed to the public and transport groups to follow traffic rules and observe road discipline to decongest Metro Manila’s roads.

that children were being abducted.

“The news of kidnapping of children in the province most especially in Batangas City is very alarming. Please alert everyone especially parents, elders and schools on this serious danger. The children may be victims of sex or organ trade syndicates—Archbishop Arguelles. Please pass,” part of his text message said.

Four children have gone missing in the province since Aug. 27.

The Philippine National Police earlier reported that crimes committed around Metro Manila decreased by 60 percent. But records from January to June 2015 showed that the number of crimes nation-

wide rose by 46 percent.

Crimes such as theft, car theft, physical injuries, and rape were among crimes that had a huge increase.

The PNP said 885,445 crimes were reported from January to June, compared to 603,085 cases during the same period last year.

There were 352,321 index crimes for the first six months of the year, which is 37.3 percent more than the 256,592 cases reported in the same period last year.

Two days ago, Steve Barreiro, 52, a columnist of the Ilocos Times was gunned down in Ilocos Norte.

In Surigao del Sur, the Commission on Human Rights reported the killing of a school director and two

leaders of the Lumad community allegedly by paramilitary forces.

CHR Chairman Chito Gascon urged law enforcers to pursue the killers of Emerito Smacra, executive director of Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development and community leaders Dionel Campos and Aurelio Sinzo.

Gascon also urged the government to address the humanitarian crisis that prompted over 2,000 residents to flee from their homes in Tandag City.

“We call for the disbandment of the Bagani to ensure the safety of the people,” Gascon said.

On Monday, Metro Manila po-

lice director Joel Pagdilao ordered the deployment of 314 more police officers and new graduates of the PNP Academy to ensure peace and order in the months leading to the Christmas season.

The move came on the heels of the directive of PNP chief Ricardo Marquez to strengthen police visibility and patrolling.

“The policemen will focus on street patrols along major thoroughfares, vital and financial installations, and places of convergence in Metro Manila such as Metro Railways and Light Railways Transit systems, bus terminals, and shopping malls,” Pagdilao said in his memorandum. Joel E. Zurbano, Pna

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A3

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Palace admits CCT list is faulty

BBL believers. Supporters of the Bangsamoro Basic Law press congressmen to assemble a quorum and pass the BBL amid doubts on some provisions of the Palace-backed measure. Lino SantoS

No amount in budget to aid Pinoys overseas THE Aquino administration has not allotted any amount in 2016 for legal assistance to the Filipinos working abroad, budget documents show.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, a member of the House minority bloc, noted the “conspicuous absence” of any particular item of appropriation for the Legal Assistance Fund or LAF. That fund was created by Republic Act 10022, or the amended Migrant Workers Act, which mandates the government to provide P100 million every year for legal assistance to the Filipinos working overseas. Of that amount, P30 million should

come directly from the national budget.

“However, no such allocation can be found under the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs] budget; nor is there a special provision that mentions the LAF,” Ridon said.

“The practical consequence of this move is that there is no separate budget for legal assistance [to Filipino workers abroad]. Instead, [Filipinos abroad] need to beg Philippine embassies and consulates for help each time

they need legal assistance.

“It is becoming apparent that the Aquino administration does not consider legal assistance for [Filipino workers abroad] as an essential government service.”

Ridon said President Benigno Aquino III also vetoed the appropriation for the LAF in the 2015 budget, effectively making it a “special fund” for “conditional implementation.”

He said the Philippine economy greatly depends on the remittances of the 15 Filipino workers abroad who make up a quarter of the Philippines’ labor force.

“Yet the Aquino administration does not even think it essential to provide enough

funding for legal assistance in case our [workers] face charges abroad,” Ridon said.

“This is primarily the reason why [workers] like Mary Jane Veloso fall victim to human traffickers and abusers and end up on death row despite their innocence.”

Data from Foreign Affairs shows there are more than 90 Filipinos on death row and 3,800 others in prison in various countries.

Citing Migrante International data, Ridon said seven Filipinos had already been executed overseas under the Aquino administration, the most number under any President in Philippine history. Maricel V. Cruz

MALACAÑANG on Monday admitted there are families in the government’s list of beneficiaries of the dole program even though they are not qualified to be in that list.

“According to the independent studies made by the ADB [Asian Development Bank] and World Bank, there is a small percentage of those who are not supposed to be beneficiaries of the CCT [Conditional Cash Transfer program],” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message.

“But as a whole, the management of the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] is good,” Coloma said.

He made his statement in reaction to Vice President Jejomar Binay’s statement on Sunday saying “only the true beneficiaries” will get the dole under the government’s CCT program if he wins the presidency in the 2016 elections.

“We will continue and improve the CCT program, but we will ensure a better targeting of beneficiaries,” Binay had said.

He said the CCT program would have to be complemented by a bigger government spending for health centers and hospitals and cheaper medicines.

“Access to health care is frequently denied the poor,” Binay said.

“Despite the increases in the public health budget in recent years, millions of Filipinos, particularly the poor and the destitute, do not have access to even the most basic health care.

“The health care system is fragmented and the public health workforce is diminishing in the face of increasing demand for health services.”

Binay said some poor local government units were unable to deliver health services to their constituents because they lacked manpower and facilities.

“It is a cruel joke that, until now, many decades after the phrase was first coined, we still have Mona Lisa public hospitals mostly in the provinces, where patients lie there and they die there,” Binay said.

“Our overarching goal should be to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all Filipinos of all ages.”

Binay said that, in the long term, the best solution to poverty was for the government to provide jobs to the people.

“To achieve that, we need to bring in more foreign investors to the Philippines by making our country a more competitive business and investment destination,” Binay said.

Sandy araneta

Less water for 900 villages in west zone MAYNILAD Water Services said Monday 900 villages in its concession area in the west zone will be affected by the reduction in its water allocation to preserve water during the onset of El Niño.

Maynilad provides water to some areas in Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon and Cavite.

Maynilad made its announcement even as Manila Water Co. Inc., the water supplier in the east zone, said its supply to custom-

ers will continue to be normal despite the cutback from Angat Dam. Earlier, the National Water Resources Board reduced Angat Dam’s supply to Metro Manila to 38 cubic meters per second from 41 starting September to preserve water.

Maynilad estimates that, with the reduction of the water supply from Angat Dam, some 900 villages or 56 percent of its concession area will be affected by the cutback.

Of the 56 percent, about 18 percent will be severely af-

fected as water will be available to them for less than 12 hours.

But Maynilad said it will strive to soften the impact of the water supply cutback by repairing leaking pipes and extending the operating hours of its pumping stations.

The company said it is ready to deploy its four portable water treatment plants to hard-to-reach areas, reactivate several deep wells, install stationary tanks, and send water tankers to the severely affected areas. anna Leah E. Gonzales

non-aPEC fans. Students hold a protest action on Mendiola Bridge in Manila on Monday against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting here in November. Danny Pata

T U E S D AY : S E p T E m b E r 8 , 2 0 1 5

A4

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

OIC insists on ‘convergence’

By Francisco Tuyay THE Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Monday insisted that any new peace agreement with the Moro people in Mindanao should also include the 1976 Tripoli agreement and the 1996 Jakarta peace accord, according to a special envoy of the 57-nation bloc.

Consensus building. Ambassador Sayed Al-Masry (center, in suit) presides over informal talks with representatives of the government (right) and the Moro National Liberation Front (left) ahead of a review of the implementation of the 1996 Jakarta peace agreement the government signed with the MNLF. FRANKIE TUYAY

Anti-dynasty law dropped

By Christine F. Herrera SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Monday said the leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed to drop the anti-dynasty bill for being a “mere showpiece” and a “toothless” measure that strengthens instead of dismantles political dynasties.

Belmonte said dismantling dynasties is to allow only one member of the family to enter politics.

In the bill supposedly up for second reading in the House, lawmakers allowed two members of a family to serve at the same time and are pushing for a third member to run simultaneously for national and local posts in the same polls.

“It is a toothless bill. So we agreed to drop it and not pass it in the last session of Congress. Let the next administration take that up,” Belmonte announced over radio dzBB. President Benigno Aquino III had earlier called on Congress to pass an anti-dynasty bill, a pronouncement that was most applauded by lawmakers, who were, ironically the ones vigorously

opposing the bill.

“If Noynoy wants dynasties out, he should start by asking all his relatives in government to resign,” said Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan chairman.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said he was wary of the President’s pronouncement because he also said in 2010 that it was time for a Freedom of Information law.

“But up till now even the gravely watered down FOI has not passed Congress,” he said.

As the primary author of the AntiPolitical Dynasty Bill now in its consolidated form House Bill 3587, Colmenares said he had hoped the President’s statement in his SONA was for real had he certified the bill as urgent.

Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, accused his clanish colleagues of being “greedy for power” after he said they blocked the passage of the anti-political dynasty bill during the last session day of Congress on June 10.

Castro, a member of the administration ally National Unity Party, said his colleagues, including

the administration lawmakers, wanted the already “less stringent” bill to be watered down some more that would make a third member of their clan qualified to run in another province.

“It is not political survival, but greed for power,” Castro told the radio morning program over dzBB. Castro blamed some House members on the failure of the plenary to vote on the measure’s second reading before Congress adjourned sine die on June 10.

Belmonte stressed that the pending anti-dynasty bill was “not a very powerful deterrent to dismantle dynasties.”

“It will just be a show piece. I don’t want it like that,” the Speaker said.

“Once you pass a show piece, the continuing rebuke is on us for not having done what the Constitution really wants but that will be meaningless because it will be toothless,” Belmonte admitted.

“Let’s face it. The Constitution talks about anti-political dynasty without defining it. But for it to pass, you have to define it but what they have come up with is not a deterrent,” Belmonte lamented.

“We should not lose the gains that we achieved in previous agreements and we should not waste the efforts that have been undertaken over the past 40 years,” OIC Ambassador Sayed AlMasry said at a meeting with representatives of the government and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Al-Masry arrived in the country Saturday to preside over technical informal meetings with the government and the MNLF ahead of the Tripartite Review Process that will be held in November to review and possibly terminate the 1996 Jakarta peace agreement with the MNLF. But the MNLF maintains that the 1996 Jakarta peace agreement and its precedent 1976 Tripoli agreement have not been fully implemented and the government is already pursuing a new agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“It’s in the agenda, how to converge, how to link the two accords and how to implement the new agreement without losing the gains acquired in previous agreements,” AlMasry said.

Al-Masry clarified that the OIC has no position on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, contrary to interpretations of the remarks of OIC secretary general Iyad Amin Madani when he visited the country in April.

“No position,” Al-Masry said if the OIC had decided what form of the BBL to support.

“When Madani came here, he was assured by legislative, administrative and even on very high level officials that we are not going to have a diluted version of the BBL as originally drafted,” he said.

“I would like to emphasize that the OIC does not endorse the MNLF neither the MILF. We are only helping the Muslim minority, the Bangsamoro people,” AlMasry said.

The OIC envoy noted that under the proposed Bangsamoro measures, honest and transparent elections are guaranteed.

“Whatever comes out from this elections is the opinion of the people,” Al-Masry said.

But MNLF spokesman Rev. Absalom Cerveza said it is virtually impossible to merge the 1996 Jakarta agreements with the MILF peace agreement BBL. “The OIC does not understand that the Jakarta accord cannot be implemented by another peace accord which is between the government and another party,” Cerveza said.

“The Jakarta agreement can only be implemented by the government through an organic act and will be passed and conformed to by the MNLF,” Cerveza explained Al-Masry conceded that three vital items relating to territories, transitional and mineral sharing in the Jakarta agreement have not been addressed, but it has also resolved 40 provisions of the pact.

SC restores plea vs dump

By Rey E. Requejo and Rio N. Araja THE Supreme Court has overturned its earlier ruling dismissing the writ of Kalikasan petition filed by residents of Payatas in Quezon City seeking closure of the sanitary landfill in their community.

In a four-page resolution dated Sept. 1, 2015, the SC ordered the reinstatement of the petition filed by Alyansa ng mga Samahang Nagkakaisa sa Payatas, which it had dismissed for being incomplete in form and insufficient in substance last March.

At the same time, 32-member Quezon City Council has passed a resolution, seeking the permanent closure of the Payatas dump.

“A landfill is no longer allowed under the law. But the Payatas dump still continues to operate,” QC councilor Ranulfo Ludovica told The Standard.

The council is just giving Mayor Herbert

Bautista one year to close the landfill’s operation, he said.

“The laws states that the resolution, if not approved by the mayor, within 10 days upon its receipt, is good as approved,” he pointed out, adding that only an ordinance can be vetoed by the mayor and not a resolution.

In its latest resolution, the high tribunal issued a writ of kalikasan and ordered Mayor Bautista and the Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesEnvironmental Management Bureau to answer the petition of the group led by Leonita Panoy within 10 days.

The SC also referred the case to the Court of Appeals for hearing and resolution.

The new resolution came after finding merit in the motion for reconsideration filed by petitioners last July 10.

In its earlier ruling, the SC dismissed the petition for being incomplete in form and insufficient in substance.

Alliance building. Vice President Jejomar Binay explains a point to members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, including party leaders former congressman Mark Cojuangco (center) and NPC president Giorgidi Aggabao (right) during a meeting at NPC clubhouse in New Manila, Quezon City. LINO SANTOS

T U E S D AY : S E p T E m b E r 8 , 2 0 1 5

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

A5

MRT glitch worsens commuters’ problems

By Joel E. Zurbano Commuters continued to suffer from glitches at the metro railway transit on monday after mrt’s operation was disrupted by a defective door during the morning rush hour.

Irate passengers were forced to take buses or taxis along epifanio de los santos Avenue amid crawling traffic after a southbound train made a sudden stop at the santolan station in Quezon City around 7 a.m. ramon Buenafe, mrt general manager, said the passengers were told to alight from the train and get out of harm’s way. He apologized to the public for the inconvenience caused by technical problems.

Buenafe assured the commuters that the railway system would soon improve with the arrival of the new train prototype acquired from China. the transportation department had decided to extend mrt operating hours to cut the long lines of passengers, but the public continued experiencing problems like the slow arrival of trains, apart from technical glitches. the senate recently called for an immediate probe of accidents involving malfunctioning mrt trains, one of which caused injuries to at least 40 people on Aug. 13 last year. the mrt-3 serves more than half a million passengers, exceeding its capacity of 350,000 per day.

Among the malfunctions or incidents involving the mrt-3 included the short-circuit that caused fire in one mrt coach at Kamuning station in November 2012; shutdown of mrt operations in october 2013; and abrupt stoppage of mrt at the

Riders’ woes. Amid heavy traffic on Edsa, train commuters also have their share of sad stories as MRT glitches ruin their Monday morning. LINO

SANTOS

Cardinal gives blessings to Binay, Poe and Roxas

By John Paolo Bencito Presidential aspirants interior secretary Manuel roxas ii, Vice President Jejomar Binay and senator Grace Poe all met with luis antonio Cardinal tagle, the leader of the most influential archdiocese in south east asia, for a “pray-over” on Monday night at Villa san Miguel—the official residence of the archbishop of Manila in shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City.

In a chance interview with members of the press at a gathering in Quezon City, roxas confirmed that he was meeting with tagle upon the latter’s invitation.

“As I understand, it is a pray over. I was just invited. I am the prayee, not the prayer,” roxas said.

For roxas, the pray-over is a wish for ‘guidance’ as he searches for a vice-presidential running mate.

“We always seek guidance from the Almighty in everything that we do,” roxas said. united Nationalist Alliance secretary general JV Bautista

to face Binay and Poe during the gathering.

While remaining apolitical in the previous years, the influential roman Catholic Church has been very vocal in its stand on various political issues, many of which shaped history.

In the drive of the Church to curb corruption, the late Jaime Cardinal sin of manila became instrumental in overthrowing two presidents—Ferdinand marcos in Tagle 1896 and Joseph ejercito estrada confirmed the attendance of Vice- in 2001 through the eDsA I and II. the Church also played a role in President Jejomar Binay in the highly divisive political issues in the gathering.

“Yes, he (Vice President Binay) country, often taking opposition will be meeting the Cardinal to issues, like the abolition of the tonight,” said Bautista in a text death penalty in the 1990s and issues on abortion, mining and message to The Standard. roxas said that he was ready care for the environment.

Marcos aims at ‘higher office’

By Macon Araneta seNAtor Ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr. on monday confirmed he would be running for higher office, but did not say whether it’s for the presidency or vice presidency. “my inclination right now—we’re talking about higher office. But of course, the senatorial race is an option. It does not go away. that’s always part of the consideration,” he said.

Asked if he is eyeing the highest office, marcos replied: “Higher, let’s leave it at that.”

He said he would come out with his final decision around the third week of september.

“It may even be sooner than that...

Actually the filing is in october, but beyond that, there was no real deadline made,” said marcos who

is eligible to seek another senatorial term. regardless of the position he would run for, marcos said he would stay with the Nacionalista Party. But still, he said he did not want to pre-empt the decision of his party since his two other senate colleagues are prospective candidates for vice president. senate President Franklin Drilon also mentioned senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio trillanes as the other vice presidential bets from NP. However, marcos said there are still many speculations..” I do not want to pre-empt the party— those announcements would have to come from the party. But once my role is clear I will announce it all to you. so once again I ask for patience,” he said.

No to jaywalking. While minding traffic, a member of the Highway Patrol Group also warns pedestrians jaywalking is prohibited along major roads like Edsa. DANNY PATA

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Immigration wants no part in the arrest of 16 Chinese

By Vito Barcelo

THE Bureau of Immigration on Monday refused to take into custody the 16 Chinese nationals who were among the 31 aliens rounded up by a joint operation of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National PoliceCriminal Investigation and Detention Group in Makati.

Immigration Commissioner Siegfred B. Mison ordered BI Intelligence chief Carlitos Licas and the BI Civil Security Unit to reject the transfer of custody of the 16 aliens from the NBI and PNP-CIDG operatives.

The NBI-CIDG team raided two online gaming offices in Makati

last Sept. 1, and apprehended the 31 Chinese nationals who were allegedly working without permit from the BI and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Mison, however, noted that the operation was not coordinated with the BI authorities in violation of rules and regulations.

The NBI-CIDG operatives also took three days before deciding to turn over the 16 remaining Chinese nationals.

The bureau likewise questioned the release of the 15 other Chinese by the arresting operatives, saying what were the basis for their questionable release.

A reliable source alleged that the 15 Chinese citizens were freed under questionable circumstances surrounding the release of half of the number of those apprehended on Sept. 1.

The BI said it doubted the motive of the joint operation as there was no coordination made with the BI, whose primary role is to ensure that all foreigners within its territorial jurisdiction

comply with existing laws, to enforce law in securing the tranquility of the state against foreigners whose presence or stay may be deemed threats to national security, public safety, public morals and public health; and residence and departure of all foreigners in the country.

Only recently the BI apprehended 73 foreigners from China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, America, Australia, Singapore and South Korea in a raid on a gambling den in Makati.

The 73 aliens were found working at a three-story office building in Makati allegedly for a syndicate running illegal online gambling operations masquerading as a call center business.

Teenage power. Students of Isaac Lopez Integrated School in Mandaluyong City take their oath as members of the 4.8-million strong #TeenWeekPH, a youth development program aimed at empowering future-ready teens created to help with the teens’ personal development, by educating them on proper hygiene and personal care habits which will in turn help boost their self-esteem and confidence. On its third year, #TeenWeekPH will roll out to 125 different high schools nationwide. Teens can look forward to the TeenWeekPH Fairs, a culminating activity that will be held in key cities nationwide. MANNY PALMERO

Pump prices up

by P1.90

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE country’s oil firms imposed a hefty price hike of as much as P1.90 per liter at the pumps effective Tuesday.

Eastern Petroleum Corp. said it would raise gasoline and diesel prices by P1.70 per liter and P1.90 per liter, respectively.

Eastern Petroleum, in a separate statement, attributed the price hike to the cut in supply from oil-exporting countries amid low demand.

“Analysts are hopeful that world oil prices have already seen its bottom price, while maintaining that the volatility in world oil prices would remain for the rest of the year,” Eastern Petroleum said.

Seaoil Philippines, for its part, said it will adjust its pump prices per liter effective 12:01 a.m. Sept. 8.

Seaoil raised the price of its gasoline products by P1.75 per liter for gasoline, P1.95 per liter for diesel and P1.85 per liter for kerosene.

Phoenix Petroleum also raised pump prices at the same level.

Other oil players have not announced the price hike as of press time but are expected to follow suit.

Industry and government sources earlier confirmed the hefty price increase of “almost P2 per liter” across all products.

“The start of the week [last week] showed an improvement in the US financial situation. There was also an increase in demand for gasoline and diesel in Africa,” the source said.

The Philippines imports over 90 percent of its petroleum needs from the world market.

Domestic pump prices, on the other hand, are adjusted on a weekly basis to reflect any movements in world oil prices.

The anticipated oil price increase this week ended the series of price cuts in the past several weeks due to the global oversupply and record stockpile levels of oil products.

Last Aug. 30, oil firms cut the price of gasoline by P1.45 per liter, P0.90 per liter of kerosene and P0.70 per liter of diesel.

The source, however, said “there is still oversupply of oil products in Asia” that will continue to impact on world prices.

Erring contractors face sanctions

IPs up in arms. Relatives of victims of extra-judicial killings condemn the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by militiamen against indigenous peoples in Surigao del Sur. DANNY PATA

THE Department of Public Works and Highways on Monday warned it would suspend private contractors who fail to meet safety requirements or delay projects.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson said that apart from suspension, the contractor who will violate work safety rules will not receive payment on corresponding items and related works.

Singson signed Department Order 125, directing all DPWH field offices to strictly enforce the requirements on road works safety, traffic management, and construction safety and health during the project construction and maintenance works.

He likewise warned contractors to complete their

projects on time so as not to inconvenience the public.

“To minimize disruption and inconvenience to the citizens brought about by ongoing public works projects, contractors found not observing good housekeeping in their construction sites must be held liable and that concerned project engineers supervising these projects are equally accountable,” Singson said.

DPWH implementing offices are tasked to monitor compliance to the various road works safety requirements such as the provision of warning signs and barricades, stockpiling of materials in proper places, removal from the project site of waste and excess materials including broken pavements and excavated debris.

To avoid accident in road projects, construction safety signages which are also visible at night and barricades shall be provided as a precaution and to advise the workers and the general public of the hazards existing in the worksite.

He said that in the interest of ensuring the protection and welfare of workers employed in the construction industry, and the protection and welfare of the general public within and around the immediate vicinity of any construction worksite, the Department of Labor and Employment guidelines on construction safety and health requirement shall also be strictly observed by construction firms and monitored by DPWH field units. Vito Barcelo

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Mayor peeved at absence of celebration on Victory Day

By Dexter A. See

Resourceful. Residents of Koronadal City make do with a makeshift bamboo raft in place of a bridge that collapsed in a recent flash flood.

AMIEL MARK CAGAYAN

Court: Release rebel spokesman’s daughter

By Florante S. Solmerin

A COURT in Mauban, Quezon has junked the murder case filed by the military and the police against Andrea Rosal, daughter of the late New People’s Army spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, Maria Kristina Conti of the National Union of People’s Lawyers said Monday.

Branch 64 of the Regional Trial Court in the town consequently ordered Andrea’s immediate release.

“The Quezon court has granted her motion to quash the false murder charge,” Conti said in a text message forwarded to The Standard by Karapatan secre-

tary-general Cristina Palabay.

Last year, a Pasig court also dismissed kidnapping charges against Rosal.

“Both cases were junked because absolutely no evidence linked her to the crimes as these indeed were harassment suits,” Conti said.

On March 27, 2014, Rosal, together with a male companion, was arrested by elements of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Bureau of Investigation at a rented apartment in Caloocan City. She was then seven months pregnant.

According to the military, Rosal—whom they tagged as secretary-general of the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People’s Army in Southern Tagalog—was facing charges for kidnapping and murder.

In May 2014, Rosal gave birth to a girl Diona Andrea, who died of hypoxemia or oxygen deficiency in the blood more than a day after her birth.

Rosal and her supporters have blamed the death of Diona Andrea to the stressful detention condition while still in her mother’s womb.

“We find the BJMP [Bureau of Jail Management and Penology] authorities, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and all government agencies responsible for the illegal arrest and detention of Andrea Rosal accountable for the death of Diona Andrea and the situation of Andrea. Their blatant disregard of the rights of Andrea, including her right to receive immediate medical care and be in an environment conducive for conceiving and delivering a healthy child, are apparent in this case,” said her supporters.

BAGUIO CITY—The mayor of this city said he was disappointed over the failure of the national government to give importance to the celebration of National Victory Day on Sept. 3 which signaled the end of World War II in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan made the reaction after the scheduled celebration of the formal surrender of Gen. Tomoyoki Yamashita, head of the Japanese Imperial Army on Thursday at the Ambassador’s Residence inside Camp John Hay was cancelled at the last minute.

The cancellation was allegedly caused by the lack of coordination between the Philippine and the US governments for the activity.

“We should not confine ourselves in celebrating our bizarre losses to our colonizers like the Fall of Bataan every April 9. Let us also celebrate our victory when Gen. Yamashita signed his surrender documents right in our city,” Domogan stressed.

According to history, the mayor said, the war in the Philippines and the Asia Pacific started and ended in Baguio City because after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Aug. 7, 1941, a fleet of 17 Japanese warplanes flew over the city and dropped bombs that ruined the John Hay air station gates.

He added that the war ended in Baguio City because it was inside the Ambassador’s Residence in John Hay where Gen. Yamashita signed his surrender documents that officially ended World War II. It can be recalled that Gen. Yamashita was arrested by combined Filipino and American forces in Kiangan, Ifugao on Sept. 2, 1945 and he was immediately brought to Baguio City where he subsequently signed his surrender documents.

Domogan suggested to concerned national government agencies to work out the declaration of every Sept. 3 as National Victory Day and a supposed official holiday to celebrate the end of World War II in the Asia-Pacific region and giving honor and pride to surviving veterans who fought the war up to its end.

Newsman Ben Gamos, 85, dies

By Orlan L. Mauricio VETERAN newsman and former Standard correspondent Ben Gamos passed away in his sleep yesterday morning at his residence in Malolos City, Bulacan. He was 85.

Gamos, once a long-time stringer of the Associated Press, also worked as correspondents for other dailies like the Journal Group of Publications (Times Journal, People’s Journal), covering the Central Luzon beat.

Before joining the Journal Group, he worked as a defense reporter of the nowdefunct Manila Chronicle.

Gamos, fondly called by his peers as “Mang Ben”, is a lifetime member of the National Press Club of the Philippines, the Pampanga Press Club and one of the found-

ing officers of the Bulacan Press Club.

His dedication to his work has endeared him to many public servants, police and military officers like President Fidel V. Ramos, former PNP chief and now Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., retired Gen. Edgardo Aglipay and Chief Supt. Richard Albano, chief of PRO-4A, to name a few.

His long-time colleague, Pampanga-based journalist Bong Z. Lacson once wrote in his column: “Sa kanyang pagkahirang bilang “Newspaperman of the Year” sa Gitnang Luzon noong Araw ng Konstabularya, labis ang ating kagalakan. Sa paggawad ng parangal kay Mang Ben bilang tanging mamamahayag ay masasabi nating ginawaran din niya ng

ibayong halaga ang dangal na iginawad sa kanya. Yaon bang sa Ingles ay He gave value to the honor bestowed upon him.”

At the time of his death, he was a contributing editor and editorial consultant of MetroNEWS Bulacan, the oldest Malolos-based English weekly in the province.

Gamos is survived by his sons Percival, Gabriel and newsman Emil; daughtersin-law Flor and Beth and grandchildren Aldrin, Gabrielle and Paul Angelo.

His remains lies in state at the Gamos residence at Del Carmen Village, Barangay Sumapang Matanda, City of Malolos, Bulacan. Interment will be on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Barasoain public cemetery in Barangay San Agustin, Malolos City.

Magnificent. The rice terraces as seen from Bayyo, Mt. Province. DAVID CHAN

A8

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T U E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

NOT SO REMOTE

IT IS easy to get worked up about the heavy, maddening traffic situation in Metro Manila, the frustrating condition of the Metro Rail Transit and the inability of authorities to protect ordinary citizens from crimes committed with impunity on our streets.

These are realities faced every day by the people —those, at least, who eke out a living in the big city and who often feel as though their own situation is the national situation.

It may be difficult to imagine the plight of the Lumad people from our comfortable offices, even our vehicle-clogged highways here in the capital, but it does not make their situation any less grave.

Some groups claim as many as 68 Lumad have been killed in the past five years, 13 of them since March 2015 alone. They are suspected of having ties with the New People’s Army and are targeted by a paramilitary group, the Mahagat Bagani, established to help the government address the insurgency.

In the most recent incident, among those killed was Emerito Samarca, known for running an alternative school for indigents without formal basic education. Samarca suffered multiple stab wounds; his throat was cut from ear to ear.

Tribal leaders Dionel Campos and his cousin Bello Sinzo, on the other hand, were shot dead, execution style.

Thousands of evacuees, mostly belonging to the Manobo tribe, have fled their hinterland communities in Surigao del Sur for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. They are now living in dire conditions in a sports center in Tandag City.

And now we hear reports that a 14-year-old Lumad girl has been raped by soldiers in the area.

This is their reality.

In the sheer number of issues that must be addressed in the country, and in the preoccupation with dominating the polls come May 2016, politicians may play down the human cost of this crisis down South.

After all, it is already a given that Mindanao is a strife-torn region. It is taken for granted that some groups of people enjoy more protection than others, especially those who are not in a position to air their grievances.

The plight of the Lumad is a sad one, but what is even sadder is that many are not aware of their own people’s struggles. Worse, those who are aware act as though the issue does not matter.

Indeed, many are abreast with what is happening in many places around the world, joining the bandwagon in calling for help to refugees from Syria or Myanmar. These would be good causes, too, if we weren’t conspicuously silent about what is happening to the Lumad and to the other unnamed victims within our borders.

The objective of all these is peace: the containment of insurgency, respect for indigenous peoples, and the eventual economic development of these communities. Any other violent outcome, occasioned by any force, is deplorable and must be stopped.

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

HOW THE LP CAN HELP LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES THE Liberal Party can solve a multitude of problems besetting our country today and take care of its own predicament of filling up its 12-person Senate slate at the same time, all in one blow. All the LP needs to do is to draft every single Cabinet member who’s been giving us such a hard time in the past five years and—at least for the remainder of President Noynoy Aquino’s term—allow us to take our chances with the replacements actually performing the work they were contracted for.

Take Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, for example. By now, everyone knows that what Tolentino wants is not to make sense out of the traffic problem in the metropolis; all he wants to do is to use his highprofile position to land a Senate seat.

I propose that the LP

give him the chance right away by asking Tolentino to step down as MMDA chairman so that he doesn’t have to look for an excuse to leave Metro Manila whenever he wants to do some early campaigning. There’s a whole country out there to campaign in, after all, and Tolentino won’t have to answer questions about why he is donating traffic signals in faraway Albay province.

Tolentino is really a politician, a former small-city mayor looking to make it to the big leagues by taking on a job that he thought would catapult him to national prominence and to a Senate seat. In five years on the job, he has proven that he really has no interest in solving the traffic mess or any other problem in the metropolis, if it doesn’t get him on television and in the newspapers; this is why you never see Tolentino going around without multiple video and still camera crews documenting his every move.

Besides, Tolentino’s main job as overall traffic

overseer in Metro Manila has already been taken over by the PNP Highway Patrol Group. There is really no need for his services, such as they are.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya

The fielding of Cabinet members in the coming elections can be a referendum on the performance of Aquino.

is another example of a politician moonlighting as a Cabinet member who should be allowed to campaign for higher office immediately, so the entire country can get rid of him.

There is a long, long list of wrongheaded and suspicious actions committed

by Abaya in office, but he deserves to be drafted im-

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

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

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

mediately into the LP’s Senate slate if only because he presided over the neartotal breakdown of the Metro Rail Transit.

If Abaya were allowed to leave his post right now and allowed to campaign posthaste, he would not feel put upon and forced to ride one of the trains that he has so callously allowed to deteriorate; Abaya detests his job so much that he had to bring along a manservant to hold an umbrella over his head as he gingerly boarded an MRT train.

Besides, as with Tolentino, nobody is going to miss Abaya’s absence from the DoTC. All he does is follow orders from the cabal of undersecretaries kept in place by his predecessor to retain control of the department even long after he’s gone; but more on that later. *** The people who have been clamoring for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to step down, even if they are not necessarily members 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

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor City Editor Senior Deskman Art Director Chief Photographer

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OUT TO CHEAT TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

WE know what the two known candidates—Vice President Jojo Binay and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas—stand for.

Binay says that he would be a unifying force in the country, fragmented as it is with so many forces with their own agenda, and with a huge gap between the rich and the poor. I believe in that. As a country, we must move on. We have to make job creation and poverty reduction our priorities.

Mar, on the other hand, is the anointed one of President Aquino. He says he would continue the administration’s Daan Matuwid, or straight path mantra.

This, to me, is meaningless.

We know that the President’s straight path is twisted and full of potholes.

In the case of presumptive presidential candidates like Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, I like his campaign for a real structural system of government, like a federal-parliamentary system.

This means a real system change, which can bring us new hope, along the lines advocated by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Puno’s “Bagong Sistema, Bagong Pag-asa.”

As for Senator Grace Poe, what does she stand for? In her informercials that are saturating the airlines on television and radio, it’s all about the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, the couple that adopted her.

Are they the candidates?

She claims she is honest and that she’s all for foundlings and adopted children.

But that’s all. *** Speaking of Poe, she submitted to the Senate Electoral Tribunal a certification from the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation that she is a naturalborn Filipino citizen.

But when Grace wanted to become a Filipino citizen again when she came back to the Philippines after her adoptive father, FPJ, died, she filed a petition “for retention and/or reacquisition of Philippine citizenship

under Republic Act 9229, known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003, requiring natural-born citizens by reasons of their naturalization as citizens of a foreign country to have reacquired Philippine citizenship upon taking the (prescribed) oath of allegiance to the Republic. This is known the Philippine Dual Citizenship Law. This is also required under Immigration Circular No. AFF-04-01.

Here’s the kicker. Since Mrs. Grace Poe Llamanzares is not a former natural-born citizen, having lost her citizenship through naturalization as a US citizen, Santa Banana, she is definitely not covered by RA 9225.

But did she submit to the BID, as mandated, a National Statistics Officeauthenticated copy of her birth certificate? BIR records should show this, and the SET must require this to be submitted for authentication.

My gulay, clearly the oath she took to reacquire her Filipino citizenship was null and void.

Here’s something worse for Grace. In her notarized

Is the Palace hiding something?

petition for retention and reacquisition of Philippine citizenship under RA 9225, she declared: “I am a natural-born Philippine citizen, born on Sept.

3, 1968 in Iloilo City to Ronald Allan Kelly Poe [FPJ], a Filipino citizen, and Jesusa Sonora Poe [Susan Roces], a Filipino citizen: I became an American national on Oct. 18, 2001, thereby lost my Philippine citizenship. I am a holder of a US passport with Passport No. 01737793, issued on Dec. 19, 2001 in Washington.”

For somebody who claims she is honest, this is a big lie. We all know that FPJ and Susan Roces were

How.. From A8 of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, would collectively give a sigh of relief if she is allowed to campaign early.

And unlike the other members of Aquino’s Cabinet who are quietly using their positions as staging grounds for higher office, De Lima has made no bones about her desire to run for the Senate.

De Lima actually has a good chance of winning, if recent

THE ALDUB PHENOMENON TRAFFIC around certain areas in Metro Manila and other key cities was unusually light last Saturday.

There were less people on the road; in fact, most were glued in front of their television sets. No, there wasn’t a Manny Pacquiao fight on. So instead of the usual cheers and boos, there was the intermittent shrieking and giggling as people swooned over the latest pop phenomenon to hit Philippine television: The Aldub romance, representing Alden Richards and Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza).

In case you have been living under a rock in the last two months, it’s a short segment of Eat Bulaga, the country’s longest-running noontime show. Eat Bulaga people have invented the term “kalyeserye” to describe the segment as most of the action happens literally on the street of whatever barangay the show is doing remote telecast from.

On the show, Richards and Mendoza haven’t met physically and are merely shown via a split screen, interacting mainly by lipsyncing snippets of popular songs a la dub smash, and by writing and flashing short messages for each other onscreen. Richards “performs” at the Broadway Centrum Studio and Mendoza out in the streets.

Mendoza plays the role of the yaya of the snooty Lola Nidora, who is adamantly against the relationship.

The Aldub phenomenon has shattered new records in Twitter and local TV ratings, which has befuddled many. So how do we explain the Aldub phenomenon?

I think the main attraction of the Aldub romance is that it has brought out our collective penchant for matchmaking, called “tuksuhan” in local culture. We enjoy setting people up for romantic situations and in this particular case, everyone in the show indulges everyone else’s in the game.

We’re all having the time of our lives teasing Richards and Mendoza no end, and the two are more than willing to accommodate.

There’s also the spontaneity factor; the whole thing is not scripted and it is clear that everything is made up as the show goes along. Everyone is improvising and the mishaps and foibles all form part of the show’s charm. In fact, they stumbled into the “romance” purely by accident; in one episode, Mendoza was caught on cam tickled pink by an on-cam Richards and the audience lapped it up. The show decided to pick it up and made it into the phenomenon that it is today.

It’s also a hit because for once the audience is not at the mercy of scriptwriters and directors who, most of the time, stretch

logic too far in local soap operas to the extent that dead people are resurrected and ill-fated lovers become siblings. Here the audience knows that all the plot complications are just for kicks, that Lola Nidora is a phony (he is a man, for crying out loud), and that everyone is in on the whole charade; there’s a lot of nudge-nudge, wink-wink going on and it’s all part of the deal. Everyone knows that everyone knows that everyone is just pulling everyone’s leg. Everyone can really have fun without the guilt and the second thoughts.

At the same time, the humor is organic. Because it is mostly improvisation, everyone has to mine the situation for laughs and end up bouncing ideas on each other. It’s like watching classic Pinoy stand-up comedy—sometimes they get a bit physical, or end up roasting each other, but all in the spirit of fun.

Because majority of the viewers (and those with the tendency to obsess) are women, younger people, and well, gay men, it is understandable that most of the adulation is directed at Richards. The shrieks released last Saturday every time Richards is shown on screen must have reached new decibel levels. There’s also the fact that Filipinos really do relate with the señorito-maid complication which has worked in countless hit movies and shows. I can understand how many women

can identify with Mendoza’s Yaya Dub/ugly duckling character. The divides that exist between the two characters on many levels (physical, aesthetics, social, etc) add more spice. We are a people that find great fulfillment in the classic “langitka-lupa-ako,” against-allodds syndrome. It is rooted deeply in our psyche; we are suckers for Pangako Sa ’Yo, Bilangin Ang Bituin Sa Langit storylines.

But we also know the Aldub phenomenon has a shelf life, which explains the many appeals to GMA7 to delay the meeting between the two for as long as possible. People know that when the lovers meet, it would be downhill from that point on. And finally, the show has wisely turned the whole thing into a multi-media event and of course people are always willing to jump at the opportunity to express themselves in social media.

I am not a fan of noontime shows (like most people, I have an 8-5 job so I don’t really get to watch noontime shows) so I don’t really know why the success of Aldub is being flaunted on the face of ABS-CBN’s Showtime hosts. For crying out loud, the Aldub romance may be new and charming and fun, but it has not elevated the overall quality of noontime shows.

But if it is any consolation, at least, on this one, we’re not total victims. For once, everyone’s in on what’s really happening.

childless and Grace was adopted. I don’t know how Grace can get out of the hole of her own making. She committed perjury, a crime.

The SET must not forget it. *** It was unfortunate that Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista’s confirmation by the Commission on Appointments was cleared when Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile brought up a critical issue on the sanctity and credibility of elections of 2010 and 2013 having an impact on the 2016 polls.

The issue was reported by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting: 12 million votes from more than 18,400 precincts were not counted in the 2013 elections, an issue which has been kept from the press

and never known publicly.

The issue raised by Enrile becomes more critical since Comelec has again entered into a contract wherein Smartmatic would furnish Comelec 93,000 OMRs or Optical Media Readers machines for next year’s polls.

Note that the 2013 polls was reported to have been rigged for a”60-30-10” pattern in favor of the Aquino administration. Thus, Santa Banana, the Comelec should explain why 12 million votes were not counted from more than 18,400 precincts. Bautista may not have any responsibility for this anomaly, but he is now Comelec chairman, and he must be able to explain.

Nothing could be more urgent than this issue, considering the fact that the 2016 polls must be fair,

honest and credible. If not, anything could happen to the country.

It was really unfortunate that Bautista’s confirmation as Comelec chairman was deferred. But, the Comelec must explain this anomaly, if it can. *** Here’s another worrisome development. Lawmakers from the independent minority bloc led by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez have uncovered a P40-million contract for the printing of 60 million ballots for the 2016 election to a private contractor with links to Malacanang.

Why a private contract, and with links at that with the Aquino administration, when there’s the National Printing Office, which is required by law to print

elections ballots?

This is clearly one instance where there is suspicion that the Aquino administration is bent on rigging the 2016 polls. My gulay, the entry again of Smartmatic is bad enough.

Now, this violation of the law to have a private contractor, Smartmatic linked with the Palace to print election ballots.

The NPO union has sought intervention by Congress after some government geniuses awarded a contract to Smartmatic to print 60million ballots at P20 per ballot for the 2016 polls.

Why Smartmatic again, when there’s a law against it?

Santa Banana, Smartmatic must have made Malacañang and Comelec drink a love potion that they simply cannot do away with it!

ARE WE THERE YET? BONG C. AUSTERO

popularity surveys are to be believed. And she’s done enough for Aquino as his chief legal Doberman to be given the chance to campaign early.

Her job at DoJ can ably be performed by someone who will actually not proclaim as a badge of honor ignoring orders from the Supreme Court. I guess that rules out one of her undersecretaries, who has been seconded to the Office of the Ombudsman to make

sure that a supposedly independent prosecuting body follows the dictates of Malacañang.

Of course, the LP has already drafted the Aquino Cabinet’s primus inter pares as its presidential candidate, the do-everything, beeverywhere Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. Because Roxas is the most “accomplished” of all Cabinet members, failing at everything all over the country, he really deserves

more than just a Senate seat.

And like every Cabinet member who only took on a government job to use it as a springboard for elective office, Roxas can only improve the DILG if he leaves right away. Since this is still the typhoon season, I think Roxas should step down, if only because we probably cannot afford the possibility of him being “on top of the situation” when yet another Yolanda-like tragedy takes place.

A Senate slate is only 12 seats, after all. I’m sure the wise politicians in the administration party can find at least twice that number of Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials who can fill the required slots.

The fielding of Cabinet members in the coming elections can be a real referendum on the performance of Aquino, who appointed them all. And I’m betting all of them will get the votes that they deserve—and only that.

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA AFTER Senator Grace Poe submitted her answer to the complaint filed against her by Rizalino David before the Senate Electoral Tribunal, it is now clear as day. Grace Poe is a naturalborn citizen. She renounced her Philippine citizenship and took it back as required by law, restoring her natural-born status. She has been a resident of the Philippines since 2005, more than 10 years ago. Her husband and children are Filipino citizens, he by birth and his children by the dual citizenship law. They are not government officials so they are not required to renounce their dual status.

It’s now time to stop the bigotry and cruelty. People should stop attacking her family especially those who have families, sons and daughters and parents, too. Those who attack families know that this will come back to them because whatever you do to your fellow human beings will be done to you. People should stop being anti-life, antiadoption, and anti-child. And stop being anti-migrant Filipino and anti-OFW that have to make hard choices of their residence and citizenship statuses. Instead, let’s now focus on the real issues for the elections.

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA LAST July 14, this column discussed the political turning points for Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, and General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., who recently retired as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of 56.

Roxas was told that if he could make the most of his advantages over his identified and unidentified challengers for the presidency in the May 2016 elections, he may win despite his objectionable ties to President Benigno Aquino III and the Liberal Party.

Catapang was urged to run for public office, possibly a seat in the Senate. His sterling credentials as a military officer and his unblemished record as a public officer, together with his heritage as a genuine hero of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, will definitely work to his advantage.

Now that Roxas is in the presidential race, it’s time for Catapang to make his move.

Catapang has credentials many candidates for high public office can only long for. He has degrees from the Philippine Military Academy and the University of the Philippines, thus giving him exposure to both the military service and the civilian world.

POE’S RESPONSE TO DISQUALIFICATION CASE On being an OFW or a migrant, choosing your status as permanent resident or naturalization in your host country has nothing to do with patriotism.

One does not love your country more or less whether you get a green card or not. Every migrant individual and family has their reasons when they make these difficult decisions.

I can admit publicly that if my wife and I decided to stay in the US in 2006, we would have gotten a green card. In fact we had already applied and it was already in the pipeline. That’s because I could no longer at that time stay any longer in the US as I have used up six years of the H1B visa. And if we had stayed on, and if I had continued to work as an international lawyer, I would probably have applied for US citizenship at some point just so I do not have to get visas to all the places I travel to.

Of course, I would reacquire my Filipino citizenship right away.

I did not have to do all of these because Ateneo de Manila offered me my dream job—to build a school of government —and gave me in that sense a golden (not financial but professional/spiritual) parachute back home. And I am always grateful

to my wife and sons for agreeing to return, including one son Rafael La Viña, then only 12 years old, voting to return on this argument: “Pa, if we stayed here in the US, we will all end up Americans but that would not be our choice but yours. I would like to make that choice—being a Filipino or American”.

In my view, if we want to support our migrants, we should not question motivations and instead allow them to fully assimilate back to our society without penalizing them for their choices.

The Grace Poe case is not the first nor the last case where migration is twisted to deny someone full status. While the Jesse Robredo case was completely different, the motivation was the same—exclude this threat, defeat him not by winning but via disqualification, using ethnicity as the reason for it, alleging in that case that Jesse was not a citizen, a complete lie, a distortion of the truth but believe me, under today’s atmosphere and the make-up of the Supreme Court, one cannot rule out that the lie would win.

It does not matter what Poe’s citizenship status was in 2005 —the fact is she was a resident since then as many foreigners or retiring Filipinos who are al-

ready citizens of another country become residents when they move here for good. Citizenship and residence qualifications are completely distinct and should be subject to unrelated and completely different tests.

In my constitutional law classes, I have always taught the liberal approach to citizenship.

Many Filipinos live abroad—we want them to get them the most favorable treatment as residents and citizens in their host country.

How could we do that if we mistreat them when they come back here? In other words, we should bend backwards to accommodate the various ethnic and migration contexts of Filipinos.

This advocacy should not be understood as an endorsement of Grace Poe for the presidency.

This is because I believe passionately and absolutely in the rights of children and migrants.

For the record, the Ateneo School of Government and I are helping out any candidate for any position that comes to us for our help so long as they know where we are coming from on our advocacy for good, ethical and effective governance. We do not make prejudgments against those who come to us for help.

We even help dynasties so long

as they are comfortable with our anti-dynasty stand, policy wise, and they understand that we are helping them because we believe a good—ethical and effective— dynasty politician is the best way to defeat dynasties in the long term. Good governance creates opportunities for new politicians and rivals to emerge.

Personally, I am waiting until March to decide whom I will publicly support, if I would go public at all. I am certainly looking with interest at Rudy Duterte, the first viable candidate from Mindanao. I want to see how Vice-President Jejomar Binay would survive and in fact grow, even convert and change to a better person, from all the attacks against him. There is something there—in the resilience of this 70-year-old man— that attracts me. And I am also watching if Secretary Roxas would be able to transcend class origins and if he could be decisive about the Bangsamoro Basic Law, Metro Rail Transit, Yolanda, etc. and how he differentiates himself from the Aquino administration.

So yes my vote and support are still up for grabs.

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs

IT’S YOUR MOVE, GENERAL CATAPANG! Known for his idealism, Catapang was one of the youngest soldiers who organized the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

When 75 Filipino soldiers went on a peace-keeping mission to war-torn Syria last year and, after fighting non-stop for seven days, found themselves surrounded by Syrian rebels, Catapang, as AFP chief, devised a successful strategy to get all 75 soldiers out of Syria safe and sound. A photograph of the war room at Camp Aguinaldo taken at the height of the military crisis and published in the newspapers showed Catapang in charge as every leader should.

The most important consideration is that Catapang never got involved in graft or corruption.

As a soldier, Catapang knows that many Filipino soldiers died in action in Mindanao, protecting the Republic of the Philippines from dismemberment by Muslim rebels. Despite the numerous lives lost, President Aquino and his follower led by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. have decided to dishonor the bravery of our departed defenders by pushing for the enactment of the controversial and divisive Bangsamoro Basic Law—designed to hand over Mindanao to rebels with obvious ties to Malaysia, and whose alleged leader does not even want to give the government his real name.

Widows, orphans, relatives, and descendants of soldiers who lost their lives defending Mindanao are obviously opposed to the BBL, but they cannot speak their minds for fear of losing whatever minimal benefits they are entitled to as surviving heirs of soldiers who died in action.

Retired soldiers who saw what happened in Mindanao share the sentiment. Soldiers in active service are also mum on the BBL for fear of retaliation from President Aquino as the commanderin-chief of the AFP. Almost all of these people are voters, and they need a champion against the BBL. That champion can be General Catapang.

If Catapang openly opposes the BBL, it is unlikely for him to get an invitation to run for the Senate under the LP—which is oozing with lots of campaign funds apparently generated from traditional sources. On the other hand, if Catapang is publicly seen as the principal opponent of the BBL, then all active and retired soldiers, and all military widows, orphans, relatives, and descendants opposed to the BBL will make up for the budgetary problem by giving Catapang their votes.

Even voters who are disinterested in the BBL cannot ignore Catapang as a candidate. Unlike the veteran

solons seeking reelection despite their incompetence and the corruption scandals that haunt them, Catapang has savvy and an unblemished name.

That should count for voters who have had enough with incompetent or corrupt politicians.

The illegal expansionist activities of Communist China in the West Philippine Sea have caused Filipino voters serious worries.

That problem is better addressed not by traditional politician like Belmonte, but by a tested military strategist like Catapang.

Actually, Catapang’s options are not limited to the Senate.

He can consider running for vice president, and he has a good chance of winning considering the kind of politicians who may run against him.

Senator Chiz Escudero, who is eyeing the vice presidency, is beholden to leaders of big businesses which are vulnerable to government regulation. Moreover, the issues regarding his marital life will not sit well with conservatives.

Like Senator Grace Poe, Escudero is viewed as a political opportunist. Poe and Escudero confirmed this when they denounced Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and sided with the block-voting Iglesia Ni Cristo religious sect at the height of the INC rally along Edsa last August. Even from

a simplistic perspective, one who hated the traffic nightmare caused by that rally will not vote for Escudero.

Another politician eyeing the vice presidency is Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. He has no track record in the Senate. Early on as a senator, he held secret talks with the communist government in Beijing over issues regarding the West Philippine Sea. After Beijing interpreted the backdoor negotiation done by Trillanes as a sign of Philippine weakness, Beijing embarked on its expansionist activities in the disputed maritime lanes. Senator Juan Ponce Enrile denounced Trillanes for what happened.

Although Trillanes frequently styles himself as a nemesis of corruption, the Commission on Audit scored him for hiring dozens of consultants (who include his relatives) far more than what the law allots to each senator. Despite these dozens of consultants, Trillanes has not authored any outstanding piece of legislation to justify his illegal, excessive expenditure of public funds. One can only imagine what abuses Trillanes will commit if he is elected to the vice presidency.

Now that the political environment is more or less defined, it’s time for Catapang to move.

Many are waiting.

A12

T UE S DAY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Stenson seizes Deutsche Bank lead NORTON—Henrik Stenson fired four birdies and an eagle in a six-under par 65 on Sunday to seize the third-round lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden walks off the 18th green during round three of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts. AFP

Que back in Order of Merit hunt ANGELO Que signed up for the rich ICTSI Open Championship firing off tomorrow at Wack Wack’s East, upbeat of his chances for a third leg victory and ready to re-claim the top ranking in the money race of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

With two victories at ICTSI Manila Masters and Anvaya Cove Invitational and a string of top 10 finishes, Que has lorded it over the field in the Order of Merit derby after 10 legs. But he skipped the last leg at ICTSI Summit to compete in Japan, enabling Tony Lascuña to snatch the lead heading to the last three legs of this year’s circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.

“I was in Japan the past two weeks and I’m playing good at the moment,” said Que, a three-time Asian Tour winner chasing his first OOM crown. “But it all depends on the breaks of the game. It’s a strong field, so it’ll be tough.”

The 93-player cast indeed looks formidable with the cream of the crop in the fold, including Lascuña, who snapped a long title spell with back-to-back victories at ICTSI Apo and ICTSI Classic at Mt. Malarayat last month and moved past Que in the OOM race with total earnings of P1,999,960 after placing second to Jay Bayron at ICTSI Summit two weeks ago.

But Miguel Tabuena, also a two-

leg winner at Splendido and Rancho Palos Verdes, is right behind with P1,951,917 with Que dropping to third but just within striking distance at P1,937,131.

With Elmer Salvador, winner at Riviera, and Bayron tied at fourth with P1,222,729, the upcoming P3.5 million event, sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., proves so crucial for the OOM contenders with P650,000 winner’s purse at stake.

Aware of Tabuena and Que’s strong charge, Lascuña said he’s been training hard during the break to polish his short game and putting, which will be key to victory at the fabled WW layout.

Dela Hoya’s cousin wins DIEGO De La Hoya, the 21-yearold cousin of the great Oscar De La Hoya, won the vacant World Boxing Council Youth super bantamweight title in a 10-round bout that highlighted the Estrella TV premier of LA Fight Club in Los Angeles.

In a bout that highlighted a night full of absorbing action, De La Hoya (12-0, 7 KOs) took on former world title contender Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz (32-7-5, 21 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout for the vacant WBC Youth Super Bantamweight Title.

The WBC reported that “despite some hard shots landed by Ruiz, De La Hoya was able to efficiently combine and coordinate movement, timing, speed, and power. De La Hoya countered effectively, avoiding many of the biggest intended shots thrown

by Ruiz, adding a liberal sprinkling of his own. And Diego won the bout via unanimous decision to become the new WBC Youth Super Bantamweight Champion. “ Ronnie Nathanielsz

World rowing tourney. Switzerland’s Jeannine Gmelin wins the A/B semifinal in the women’s single sculls in Aiguebelette-le-Lac, during the world rowing championships. AFP

The Swede’s 13-under total of 200 was one stroke in front of American Rickie Fowler, with American Sean O’Hair and Aussie Matt Jones a further stroke back on 202 after a day when world number one Rory McIlroy and PGA Champion Jason Day were unable to make a move up the leaderboard.

“It was a good day out there,” Stenson said. “I was striking it nicely today.”

Day, the world number three who came into the tournament with a chance to supplant McIlroy atop the rankings, had a double-bogey, three bogeys and three birdies in a twoover 73 that left him tied for 25th on four-under 209.

“There’s no excuse for poor playing,” said Day, who saw a run of 22 straight rounds of par or better end. “I just wish I had a little bit more energy.”

McIlroy, playing his second tournament since he was sidelined by an ankle injury in July, remained at 2-over after an even-par 71 at TPC Boston that included three birdies and threebogeys.

McIlroy, winner of the 2012 Deutsche Bank title,

birdied the par-five 18th to avoid a second straight over-par round.

But his inability to mount a challenge means Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth could again grab the number-one world ranking, even though the 22-yearold American missed the cut on Saturday and won’t be around for the Labor Day holiday finish on Monday.

If Day doesn’t win, and McIlroy finishes outside the top 10, Spieth could still regain the summit he reached with a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and held for two weeks.

“It’s a mathematical system with algorithms and all sorts of different things,” McIlroy said of the two-year rolling points formula for determining number one. “It’s not something I really worry about.”

Stenson, runner-up to Day last week at the Barclays, is gunning for a second Deutsche Bank title.

He won the event in 2013 on the way to winning the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff title and its $10 million bonus. AFP

Gesta hungry for boxing victory

By Ronnie Nathanielsz POPULAR Mandaue City, Cebu fighter Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta is hungry for victory when he battles former threetime world title challenger Martin “El Brochas” Honorios on Oct. 3 at the StubHub Center in Carson City, California.

Gesta’s official website reported that after failing to win the International Boxing Federation lightweight title against champion Miguel Vazquez in 2012, Gesta has, in his return to the ring as a super lightweight in 2014, “looked better than ever in stopping Edgar Riovalle and Luis Arceo. Most recently, Gesta fought world title contender Carlos Molina in April, delivering an exciting and evenly matched event resulting in a draw. Now Gesta, is hungry for victory and ready to prove his ring superiority on Oct. 3.”

Gesta battles former three-time world title challenger Martin “El Brochas” Honoriois, a tough fighter eager to get back in the ring and prove he is still in the running for world title contention.

With a victory over the popular John Molina Jr. and having faced tough contenders like Juan Carlos Salgado, Robert Guerrero and Antonio Orozco; and former owner of the NABF and WBO NABO lightweight titles and contender for the IBF Featherweight title, Honorio is ready to upset Gesta.

With a record of 32-9-1 with 16 knockouts, the Mexican lost a 10-round unanimous decision against Orozco, his third loss in a row following a split decision win in an IBF super featherweight title eliminator against Thailand’s Fahsai Sakkreerin on Dec. 11, 2011.

On the other hand, the southpaw Gesta was held to a 10-round draw against Carlos Molina in a bout, which Scot Christ of SB Nation reported was one which both fighters wanted to win, badly.

Christ reported that “each man fought as though it were indeed a must-win situation. Unfortunately, neither of them left with a W, as the judges scored their exciting 10-round fight a split draw at the Fantasy Springs in Indio, California last April 30.”

T UE S DAY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A13

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Sisters Serena, Venus face off NEW YORK—Serena Williams will play sister Venus for the 27th time as professional rivals in a US Open quarter-final Tuesday, but no prior matchup has had so much at history stake.

World number one Serena is three wins shy of completing the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988 and taking a 22nd Slam singles title to match Graf’s Open Era record, two shy of Margaret Court’s all-time mark.

“I have to play Venus Williams next. I have to deal with that pressure first,” Serena said. “It’s not easy. I have to be really ready.”

Exactly 14 years to the day after they met in their first Grand Slam final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the sisters will return for their 14th career Grand Slam meeting, one that might be the toughest hurdle between Serena and a rare feat she has not achieved.

“I don’t think anyone wants to be a spoiler. I think people love to see history being made,” Venus said. “But at the same time, you’re focused on winning your match.”

Serena, two years younger than Venus at 33, leads the Williams sibling rivalry 15-11 with an 8-5 edge in Grand Slam meetings, but they have split four US Open meetings, including Venus winning the 2001 final and Serena taking a 2002 rematch.

“The only player in the draw I don’t want to play, not only because she’s my sister, but for me she’s the best player,” Serena said of Venus.

“She has beaten me so many times. She’s a player that knows how to win, knows how to beat me and knows my weaknesses better than anyone.”

AFP

Djokovic makes slam’s last 8 NEW YORK—World number one Novak Djokovic reached his 26th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal Sunday but only after surviving a US Open scare against Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia stomps on his racket while playing Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain during their US Open 2015 fourth round men’s singles match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

AFP

Malaysia threatens to suspend FA KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia’s sports minister has threatened to suspend the country’s football body after last week’s record 10-0 drubbing which has already prompted their coach to quit.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he was prepared to take “drastic” measures against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) after the embarrassing World Cup qualifying defeat to UAE. Khairy warned he may come down hard if the body “still re-

cycle their earlier excuses,” the New Straits Times quoted him as saying.

Coach Dollah Salleh stepped down on Saturday, two days after presiding over Malaysia’s thrashing in Abu Dhabi which made history as their worst ever defeat.

Speaking on Sunday, Khairy said FAM officials must ask “after this embarrassing defeat if they are still qualified to hold office as they have been given a sufficiently long time but without results”.

He said one option would be

a move similar to that invoked

by Indonesia’s football body, which suspended the country’s top domestic league in April after a dispute with the sports ministry.

“I can call for a suspension of FAM, just like how Indonesia did to their national body,” Khairy said.

But he called this a “last resort” as it could trigger sanctions from world soccer body FIFA, which has suspended Indonesia from international competition. AFP

The 2011 champion won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set-up a clash against Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez in what will also be his ninth US Open last-eight place in a row.

Djokovic gave up a 4-2 lead in the second set and saw an early break clawed back in the fourth by the 23rd seeded Agut, a former junior footballer with Villarreal in Spain.

The Serb was also broken when serving for the match at 5-2 as Agut unleashed a barrage of deep, murderous forehands before steadying himself to claim his 60th win of the year.

“He fought and hung in there. It was a great match,” said Djokovic, who hit 42 winners but also committed 37 unforced errors.

“I had a couple of points to break for 5-2 in the second set but I didn’t capitalise and the match turned around.

“He made me work for it -- there were no free points.”

Lopez, 33, reached his first US Open quarter-final at the 14th attempt with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 win over Italy’s Fabio Fognini, the conqueror of Rafael Nadal in the previous round.

“Lopez is not the typical Spanish player. He comes into the net on first and second serve. He serves and volleys, uses a lot of slice,” said Djokovic.

Lopez, the 18th seed, said Djokovic will hold the cards having won all of the pair’s five meetings.

The Spanish left-hander has only ever taken one set off Djokovic and that was in their first meeting at the 2007 Australian Open.

“I will be 34 in September so it’s a great feeling to be playing like this and reaching my first US Open quarter-final,” he said.

- ‘No weaknesses’ “When Novak plays good, you don’t know what to do to be honest.

He has no weaknesses in his game.”

Lopez had put out 10th seed Milos Raonic in the third round after having been just four points away from defeat against Mardy Fish in the second round. AFP

Arcilla, Iglupas capture Tunafest Open tennis crowns JOHNNY Arcilla got back at Casey Alcantara to claim the men’s crown while Khim Iglupas kept her fine form and pocketed her second straight women’s plum in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Tuna Festival Open at the Gen. Santos Tennis Court in Gen. Santos City yesterday.

The second seeded Arcilla recalled his fierce form and dominated Alcantara, scoring an emphatic 6-3, 6-2 victory and avenging his semifinal round setback to the Cagayan de Oro bet in the recent Olivarez Cup. But the top seeded Iglupas continued to dominate the distaff side, although she needed an extra set this time to turn back No. 2 Edilyn Balanga, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, and score a follow-up to her straight set romp over Marian Capadocia in the Olivarez Cup. “It was a big confidence-boost for Arcilla after bowing to Alcantara the last time they faced. But it only showed the level playing field in men’s play with no particular player dominating,” said Philippine Tennis Association president and Parañaque City Mayor Ed-

Johnny Arcilla (fourth from left) and Khim Iglupas (third from left) show their trophies and medals after ruling the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Tuna Festival Open in Gen. Santos City. With them are (from left) Atty. Jun Lagare Jr., Gen. Santos City Tennis Club president Diego Samal and PPS-PEPP manager Cress Dumalay.

win Olivarez.

Arcilla, a many-time PCA Open champion, actually completed his title romp in the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop through COO Bobby Castro and backed by Technifibre as official ball without dropping a set, threatened only by Vicente Anasta, whom he repulsed, 6-2, 7-5, in the semis.

But he started out strong against Alcantara in the finals and sustained his charge in the second set with a dominant all-around performance, never giving his 23-year-old rival a chance to mount a comeback.

Iglupas, on the other hand, broke Balanga once in the opening set, lost her rhythm in the second but recovered her bearing in the decider where she outplayed her rival with a solid baseline game.

Arcilla and Iglupas capped their big week by teaming up to capture the mixed doubles plum, trouncing PJ Tierro and Christine Patrimonio, 6-4, 6-1.

T UE S DAY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Members of Perlas Pilipinas, headed by coach Patrick Aquino, and team manager Wilbert Loa of Blackwater, get a rousing welcome on their return home from the 2015 FIBA Asia Women’s Championship in Wuhan, China where they made history by qualifying to the Elite Level 1 for the first time in Philippine women’s basketball. Heading the PH delegation is Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas deputy executive director Bernie Atienza (sixth from left).

Diaz wins gold in Asian tourney OLYMPIAN Hidilyn Diaz took the gold in the women’s 53 kgs in the recent 45th Asian Senior’s Weightlifting Championships held in Phuket, Thailand.

Diaz bested a 6-woman field in sweeping all three gold medals at stake, according to official results.

Diaz, who is from Zamboanga, heaved 96 kgs in the snatch and recorded a 118-kg lift in the clean and jerk for a total of 214 kgs.

Her closest rival Kim Su Ryon of Korea, took the the silver with lifts of 95 kgs, 113kgs, and a total 208 kg.

It was Diaz’s biggest win since she moved down in weight from 58 kgs to 53 kgs.

Overall, Team Philippines collected a total of 5 golds and a silver after Nestor Colonia also won two golds and a silver in the 56 kg event in the men’s division.

The tournament served as tune up for both Diaz and Colonia, who are seeing action in an Olympic Qualifying World Championship tournament in Texas. Peter Atencio

PSA Forum tackles badminton, boxing THE boxing team which earned berths in the Doha world championships and the Bingo Bonanza National Open Badminton Championships make up for an interesting panel of guests appearing in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate today.

Philippine Badminton Association secretary-general Rep. Albee Benitez of PBA Smash Pilipinas will be going to talk about the annual badminton event featuring the country’s finest netters, together with tournament director and coach Nelson Asuncion and Al Alonte of Bingo Bonanza.

Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines secretary general Ed Picson returns to the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., but will now be accompanied by boxers Eumir Felix Marcial and Rogen Ladon and coaches Pat Gaspi and Nolito ‘Boy’ Velasco.

Castro re-affirms status as Asia’s top point guard

By Jeric Lopez

NO doubt about it, Jayson Castro is the top point guard in Asia.

Castro again proved it in the recent 37th William Jones Cup after he was named in the Mythical Team selection of the tournament, where the Smart Gilas Pilipinas took silver behind Iran.

It was the first silver medal for the Filipinos in the Jones Cup, and Castro was the fuel that led the nation-

als’ drive to finishing with an impressive 6-2 mark.

The cat-quick Castro averaged 13 points, 3.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest for Smart Gilas in the tournament, proving once again that he is ready to spearhead the National team’s quest in the upcoming FIBA-Asia tilt in Chansa, China later this month.

Along with Castro, other players who were named into the Mythical Team are champion Iran stars Hamed Haddadi and Mehdi Kamrani, South Korea’s Moon Tae-young and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chi-chieh.

Castro and his fellow awardees were cited during the tournament’s awarding ceremonies Sunday evening.

In the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championship held here in Manila, Castro was also named in the Mythical Selection as he likewise

led the country to a silver medal in that tournament, with his scintillating playmaking and scoring that helped Smart Gilas book a berth in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. And although rising star Terrence Romeo grabbed most of the spotlight in Gilas’ campaign in the Jones Cup, it was Castro who once again fulfilled his leadership duties by serving as the team’s stabilizing force in crucial situations.

With Castro, Romeo and another rising in Calvin

Abueva leading the charge, Smart Gilas finished strong in the tournament and showed a lot of promise despite missing the services of naturalized star Andray Blatche.

And as the days wind down toward the FIBA-Asia tilt and National coach Tab Baldwin needing to name his final 12 in the team’s official line-up for the big tournament in a few days time, Castro is one of the players everyone expects to be in the team, alongside Romeo and Abueva.

Bata named team captain of Asian team in Kings Cup

By Ronnie Nathanielsz EFREN “Bata” Reyes, the most successful and decorated player in the world has been named captain of Asia in the inaugural staging of the Kings Cup against the combined might of Europe and the USA from Nov. 19 to the 21 in a classic event produced by the eminently successful Dragon Promotions and hosted by the award winning Resorts World Manila Casino & Hotel.

Dragon promotions announced that four players on each side will be selected to represent their continent and compete in 10-Ball.

“Who could be better than the greatest player of all time to lead Team Asia, which is going to have an amazing supporting cast? The West (Europe and the USA) will have their hands full,” said Dragon Promotions executive producer of

the historic event Charlie Williams.

Reyes himself said: “Being named captain of Asia is a big responsibility. But I know our Team Asia players are all really good, so it’s going to be a joint effort.”

Regarded as the most popu-

lar and likable player by his colleagues in pool, Reyes explained what it’s like to be playing in front of his home crowd.

“It’s always more pressure at home. The fans expect so much of me. Anything can happen because all the other players want to beat me in front of the world. I have a target on my back and I know it,” said Reyes.

Reyes’ credentials are unmatched by any player in Asia. A true master of all disciplines, he has won the World 9-Ball Championship, World Bank Pool, World One Pocket, US Open 9-Ball, and numerous Asian Games and SEA Games gold medals. Reyes also won the biggest prize money tournaments in cue sports history, including the Million Dollar Tokyo Open and the World 8-Ball Open which paid him $500,000.

The Queens Cup was telecast

worldwide and exceeded ratings’ expectations, with many predicting that the Kings Cup is going to be a gigantic hit as it touches upon the rivalry between the East and the West.

TV commentator Bob Guerrero referred to the Kings Cup as “ a great concept. East and West are very closely matched in the world of pool, which is not common in other sports. It will be great to see how the hemispheres collide on the table. For sure the games will be very competitive.”

The format of the Kings Cup will follow in the footsteps of the successful Queens Cup. Teams will play in versatile styles including singles, doubles, triples, and quadruples each of the 3 days of the men’s competition. All matches will play 10-Ball.

The first member of Team West will be announced this week.

T UE S DAY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Chiefs try to move forward, take on slumping Lyceum 5 STILL smarting from a controversial 112-114 loss to the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers two weeks ago, Arellano University wants to move forward when they take on the slumping Lyceum Pirates in the featured match at 4 p.m. today in the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

Chiefs’ coach Jerry Codinera said the team has gotten over the loss to the Heavy Bombers, but added that they are not taking the game against the Pirates

(3-9) lightly.

“Nakapag-move forward na kami after JRU. I hope tuloytuloy na,” said Codinera.

The Pirates slipped past the

Chiefs last July 3, 80-78, and will welcome back Joseph Gabayni, who is back after a threegame suspension the school meted against him for playing in a tournament outside of the NCAA. Gabayni’s return will bolster a weakened frontline, anchored solely on Cameroonian Jean Victor Nguidjol the past three games.

A win by the Chiefs over the Pirates, however, will improve their current 8-4 record to 9-4 at second place, behind the University of Perpetual Help Altas.

The Chiefs will again rely on

Games today (San Juan Arena) 10 a.m. • JRU vs Mapua (jrs) 12 nn. • Lyceum vs Arellano (jrs) 2 p.m. • Jose Rizal vs Mapua (srs) 4 p.m. • Lyceum vs Arellano (srs)

the inspired plays of Jio Jalalon, who posted his second triple-double of 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in their 84-77 overtime win over Perpetual Help last Thursday.

In the 2 p.m. match, the Heavy Bombers and the Cardinals will try to break free from their two-way tie at 6-5.

Peter Atencio

France’s point guard Tony Parker (right) drives against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Alex Renfroe during the Group A qualification basketball match between Bosnia and Herzegovina and France at the EuroBasket 2015 in Montpellier. AFP

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

P0 M+ P0 M

National U, Sto. Tomas share high school volley lead REIGNING girls’ champion National University won twice over the weekend to gain a share of the lead with University of Santo Tomas in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 high school volleyball tournament at the Adamson Gym. The Bullpups opened their titleretention bid with a 25-21, 19-25, 25-10, 25-13 victory over De La Salle-Zobel Saturday followed by a 25-21, 16-25, 25-10, 25-20 decision over University of the East on the next day.

Not far behind are the Junior Tigresses, who also improved to 2-0 with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-17 win over Adamson University Sunday.

The Junior Lady Warriors are running third with a 2-1 record. Before losing to NU, UE defeated Adamson, 25-20, 25-11, 25-15.

Meanwhile, the Junior Warriors’ dropped a narrow 19-25, 25-23, 2325, 25-23, 12-15 loss to the Bullpups on Saturday to open their quest for a 12-peat in the boys’ division on the wrong foot.

NU, last year’s third placers, is running second with a 2-0 record behind UST, which beat UP Integrated School, 25-8, 25-22, 26-24, and Ateneo, 25-22, 25-21, 25-16 for a 3-0 card.

UE, which lost nine players to graduation, bounced back the next day with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-20 win over La Salle-Zobel.

Eagles claw Wildcats, near Spiker’s Turf championship tiff

NU’s Fauzi Ismail defies EAC’s April Pagtalunan (6) and Israel Encina (9) with a vicious attack during their Final Four showdown in the Spikers’ Turf Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

ATENEO came out fresh from a week-long rest and pounced on a weary National College of Business and Arts side, fashioning out a 25-9, 2522, 25-19 victory yesterday to move closer to a crack at the first Spikers’ Turf Collegiate Conference crown at The Arena in San Juan City.

Unlike in their tough fourset win over the Wildcats in the quarters last Aug. 24, the Eagles found the going smooth this time with Marck Espejo taking his familiar roll as attacker and Rex Intal and Joshua Villanueva manning their defensive fort upfront.

The result was a first set rout for the top seeded Eagles as the Wildcats struggled to find their

form and rhythm coming off a elims and the quarters, go for grueling playoff duel with the La a sweep and the first finals Salle Archers for the last semifi- berth tomorrow. nal berth last Saturday.

National U and Emilio NCBA did fight back in the Aguinaldo College were disnext two sets but puting the other Ateneo used its finals berth in Games tomorrow vaunted power 1 p.m. •National U vs EAC their side of the game to com- 3 p.m. • Ateneo vs NCBA best-of-three at plete the 69-minpresstime. ute sweep in the opener of “Ateneo played better than their best-of-three semifinal us, it’s as simple as that,” said series in the league presented NCBA coach Ernesto Balubar

by PLDT Home Ultera. in ruling out fatigue as factor “We just play more aggres- to their straight-set defeat. sive,” said Ateneo coach Oliver The Eagles indeed showed Almadro, who drew a pair of too much firepower, pooling 13-hit games from Espejo and 45 spikes, 20 more than the Intal and a combined 22-point Wildcats with Intal and Viloutput from Villanueva and lanueva combining for six of skipper Wilson Marasigan.

Atene’s nine blocks as against The Eagles, who swept the NCBA’s four.

A16

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS Andre Berto, former two-time welterweight world champion, spars during a media workout in preparation for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. , in Los Angeles, California. Mayweather will defend his WBC/WBA welterweight titles against Andre Berto on Sept.

12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. AFP

Tall order for Azkals as they play Uzbeks

By Peter Atencio

THE Philippine Azkals national men’s football team faces a tall order when it takes on the Uzbekistan men’s national football team, also known as the White Wolves, in their World Cup qualifying match at 8 p.m. today at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“Our goal is to finish in our best form.

We need to be in second place to qualify,” said Azkals’ coach Thomas Dooley during a press conference yesterday at the Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas Center.

Novak makes last 8 TURN TO A13

The White Wolves rank high up in the FIFA world rankings at no. 76, while the Azkals are 49 rungs behind at no. 125.

But while Dooley admitted that the Azkals are the underdogs going into the match, he said the nationals vow to fight and prove that they are the better team.

“You have to be more motivated and not underestimate the other team. If you are the underdog, they will fight and prove that they are better,” Dooley said.

The White Wolves are coached by Samuel Babayan, who just came aboard last July right after the team lost to North Korea, 4-2, in their recent qualifying match.

Babayan, who replaced Mirdjalal Kasimov, vows to neutralize the Azkals’ top scorer Phil Younghusband in their bid to get back on their feet.

“I would say it’s the team captain. If we can neutralize him (Younghusband) we can

build our game,” said Babayan.

The White Wolves boast of two veteran scorers in midfielder Server Djeparov and Odil Almedov, who have 23 and 12 total goals scored, with Djeparov having won the Asian Footballer of the Year award twice in 2008 and in 2011.

North Korea currently leads Group H after posting a third straight victory against the White Wolves, while the Azkals are at second place with two victories.

The Uzbeks are in third with their 1-0-1 win-draw-loss slate.

“If we’re going to lose against Uzbekistan, it’s normal. If we win, it’s not a miracle, but it’s hard work from us and we deserve it,” Dooley said.

Younghusband said, meanwhile, that he’s looking forward for a win. “(A win) will give us the confidence, and the advantage,” he said.

Bata is captain of Asian team TURN TO A14

Andre Berto: Floyd’ fall guy?

LAS VEGAS—Andre Berto is the fall guy for pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather’s supposedly final fight, an opponent regarded as game but not having the quality to deviate from the script.

Berto is a massive underdog for Saturday’s showdown against the unbeaten Mayweather, who will match the perfect 49-0 record of legendary heavyweight Rocky Marciano if—as expected—he retains his welterweight world titles in Las Vegas.

Few give Berto, a former two-time title holder, much of a chance, in what would be one of the greatest upsets in boxing history if he becomes the first man to stop Mayweather.

“I’m the best shape I’ve ever been in,” said a relaxed-sounding Berto (30-3, 23 KOs), vowing to go after the “crafty” and defensively brilliant Mayweather.

“I’m going to bring a combination of speed and power to the table and I believe I have better athletic ability (than Mayweather’s previous opponents).”

“I’m a young and hungry fighter coming in, and if I can take that (crown) away from him, that’d be huge. That’s my mindset,” he added.

Berto, 32 on Monday, is only now emerging from an ugly chapter in what had been a promising career.

He tested positive for a performanceenhancing drug in 2012, had shoulder surgery in 2013 that left him fearing for his career—“it shook up my whole world” —and is on a run of three defeats in his last six fights.

Berto says being the man to tear up the history books and prove his knockers wrong is all the inspiration he needs.

“Those critics aren’t there in the ring with us, they’re not in the gym,” he said. “I don’t get affected by the critics.” AFP

B1

TUESDAY: SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

July budget gap widened to P32b

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

THE government’s budget deficit widened to P32.2 billion in July, as tax and customs collections fell and public expenditures jumped the most in a year.

Data from the Finance Department showed the budget deficit in July eclipsed the P1.76-billion shortfall recorded in the same month last year but was still 54 percent short of the government’s deficit target of P69.43 billion for the month.

The figure brought the budget deficit in the first seven months to P18.5 billion, or 67 percent lower than the P55.74-billion gap recorded in the same period last year and 92 percent short of the P224.51-billion target for the sev-

en-month period.

Revenues in July grew just 7 percent to P178.5 billion on lower collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs, while expenditures jumped 25 percent to P210.7 billion.

“The pace of expenditure growth we are seeing has a clear positive trend since we adopted a whole-ofgovernment approach to addressing underspending. Expenditures are on track to drive our growth for the third quarter,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

“We will continue to unblock constraints to growth. It is encouraging to note that we are starting the quarter with a better footing on the public expenditure side,” Purisima said.

The gross domestic product grew by 5.6 percent in the second quarter, below the 2015 target range of 7 percent to 8 percent.

The government hopes that increased public spending will lift growth in the third and fourth quarters.

BIR collection declined 1.7 percent in July to P118.2 billion, which was also 19.6 percent short of the P146.26-billion programmed collection for the month.

Customs collection contracted by 0.4 percent to P30 billion and missed the P36.55 billion target in July.

The Bureau of Treasury’s contribution, however, jumped 89 percent to P14.2 billion from P7.5 billion last year, on the back of higher income from Bond Sinking Fund and Security Stabilization Fund investments and higher dividends on shares of stocks held by the government.

Other offices contributed P16.1 billion, with the bulk of the increase attributed to the P5.46 billion concession fee earned by the government from the CaviteLaguna Expressway Project.

Meanwhile, government spending in July increased 25 percent to P210.7 billion as interest payments in June increased 10 percent year-on-year.

Interest payments in July rose to P53.1 billion from 48.2 billion in 2014, on higher foreign interest payments.

PSe comPoSite index Closing September 7, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

6,926.82 124.96

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P46.920

46.20

CLOSE

47.00

HIGH P46.860 LOW P46.950 AVERAGE P46.913 VOLUME 569.300M

P435.00-P640.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.40-P41.00 Unleaded Gasoline P23.10-P26.77 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, September 7, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate

Sumitomo bank opening.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. opened its Manila branch at the 21st floor of Ayala Tower One and Exchange Plaza in Makati City recently. Shown cutting the ribbon to officially open the SMBC Manila branch are (from left) SMBC Manila branch general manager Yukio Asahina, Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines Kazuhide Ishikawa, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Ambassador of the Philippines to Japan Manuel Lopez and SMBC managing director and head of Asia Pacific division Shosuke Mori.

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.7370

Japan

Yen

0.008403

0.3927

UK

Pound

1.517800

70.9374

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129032

6.0306

Switzerland

Franc

1.028912

48.0883

Canada

Dollar

0.754091

35.2440

Singapore

Dollar

0.702247

32.8209

Australia

Dollar

0.691706

32.3283

Bahrain

Dinar

2.656184

124.1421

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266773

12.4682

Brunei

Dollar

0.699790

32.7061

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000071

0.0033

Thailand

Baht

0.027903

1.3041

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.7265

Euro

Euro

1.115100

52.1164

Korea

Won

0.000836

0.0391

China

Yuan

0.157334

7.3533

India

Rupee

0.014998

0.7010

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.234962

10.9814

New Zealand

Dollar

0.627392

29.3224

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030649

1.4324 Source: PDS Bridge

Peso drops further to 46.92 vs. US dollar on market jitters

By Julito G. Rada THE peso tumbled to a new fiveyear low against the US dollar Monday, losing P0.19 to close at 46.92 from 46.73 on Friday, as investors’ anticipation for a US interest rates hike this year, coupled with a weak Chinese economy, buoyed the greenback against most currencies.

It was peso’s weakest level since 47.1 on May 25, 2010. Total volume turnover stood at $569 million, higher than $393 million in the previous trading. The peso opened Monday’s trading at 46.95, P0.22 weaker than the close on Friday.

“The peso’s weakness is aligned with the rest of the regional currencies, which also declined

against the dollar,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa, research officer of the Bank of the Philippine Islands’ financial markets and treasury division, told The Standard.

“Another reason that contributed to the decline of the peso was the weak equities during the day,” Mapa said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 124.96 points, or 1.8 percent, to 6,926.82 on a thin value turnover of P4 billion. Story on B3.

Jun Calaycay of Philstocks Financial Inc., formerly Accord Capital Equities Corp., said in his daily report the stock market’s trading sentiment was “further dragged by China’s revision of its growth target, putting even more uncertainty

on the table...”

Earlier reports on Monday said China’s economy--the second-biggest in the world--grew slower in 2014 than first announced. Gross domestic product growth last year was revised lower by 0.1 percentage point to 7.3 percent.

The revision was triggered by the slower services industry growth of 7.8 percent in 2014, lower than 8.1 percent previously announced.

Aside from the fear of a slowdown in Chinese economy, Mapa said most investors also anticipated the US Federal Reserve to increase interest rates in its meeting middle of this month. “[I believe] they will raise interest rates on Sept. 17,” Mapa said.

Despite the peso’s weakness, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo earlier said the local currency had fundamental bases for stability amid the expected interest rates hike in the US this year.

Guinigundo said remittances from migrant Filipino workers amounting to around $25 billion a year, plus the business process outsourcing receipts contributing a significant amount, would provide support for the peso.

Guinigundo said “bonuses” coming from tourism and exports would also provide the needed shield for the peso. “Tourism has been quite resilient,” he said.

Guinigundo said the weakness

showed by the peso against the greenback was due to market sentiment, which was a regional phenomenon.

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

The peso--which has been trading above the 45-a-dollar mark since June 8 this year--breached the 46-a-dollar level on Aug. 12.

It closed at 46.26 from the 45.93 a day ago, after the People’s Bank of China reduced the yuan’s value against the dollar for the second day, trimming the reference rate by 1.62 percent and dragging the rest of the region with it.

TUESDAY: SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, SepteMber 7, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 0.92 890 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.74 625 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

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

Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

2.92 68.2 94.40 85.85 42 2.49 1.30 15.7 20.2 7.32 0.67 700.00 83.35 0.93 18.50 24.00 59.00 93.35 298.2 34.55 137.5 1475.00 52.00 2.95

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 17 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 12.5 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 7.34 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 32 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 8.61 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 8.65 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 1.65 5.9 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

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

Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SPC Power Corp.

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

43.5 1.54 0.98 1.57 9.6 80.50 16.9 27 42.5 2.62 1.29 10.64 10.860 8.49 5.89 7.85 1.87 14.1 23.4 69.4 13.60 13.42 5.65 0.550 191.30 10.04 22.2 21.8 5.5 279.00 4.05 7.50 11.30 3.25 2.02 2.4 4.05 1.95 5 4.24 1.87 0.135 1.00 1.82 189.5 4.75 0.65

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5 76 6.5 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 6.55 0.0670 1.61 84.9 974 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 5.3 49.55 3.43 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 4.5 0.030 0.550 59.3 751 170 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

Minerales Industrias Corp.

Pacifica `A’ Prime Orion San Miguel Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. Transgrid Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.430 57.9000 20.25 1.11 6.64 0.230 748.5 6.71 11.72 3.2 4.30 0.191 1258 5.95 70.70 3.7 6.69 0.57 12.72 0.57 4.99 6.91 0.0410 1.750 48.70 873.00 140.00 69.300 0.2700 0.1880 0.249

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192

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

6.830 0.65 1.150 0.220

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

SHARES 8,447,661 45,525,055 128,678,865 80,375,589 150,742,597 816,206,304 1,231,245,361

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.92 2.88 68.15 66 94.40 93.00 85.95 84.80 42 41.5 2.48 2.41 1.31 1.30 15.8 15.58 20.2 19.72 7.32 7.32 0.69 0.65 700.00 700.00 83.1 81.7 0.96 0.96 18.66 18.54 24.00 24.00 59.00 57.40 93.5 93.5 298.2 298 34.75 34.25 136 132 1405.00 1400.00 53.50 52.00 2.93 2.91 INDUSTRIAL 43.5 42.55 1.53 1.28 0.97 0.9 1.6 1.56 9.6 9.45 95.95 87.00 17 16.6 27 27 43.8 41.95 2.65 2.58 1.29 1.29 10.64 10.04 11.180 10.72 8.50 8.15 5.85 5.63 7.85 7.76 1.6 1.6 14.74 13.8 23.5 22.85 70 69.4 13.50 13.50 13.44 13.44 5.65 5.59 0.550 0.550 189.50 185.00 10 9 22.4 21.65 21.5 20.1 5.6 5.5 282.80 278.00 4.03 4 7.64 7.45 11.00 11.00 3.30 3.20 2.03 1.94 2.36 2.3 4.03 3.99 1.93 1.93 5.5 4.6 4.24 4.24 1.9 1.77 0.135 0.133 1.02 0.83 1.83 1.74 189.5 185 4.79 4.51 0.65 0.65 HOLDING FIRMS 0.435 0.420 58.4500 56.1000 20.30 19.50 1.18 1.18 6.61 6.61 0.235 0.230 748.5 725 6.72 6.64 11.70 11.20 2.82 2.82 4.30 4.30 0.176 0.173 1243 1225 5.95 5.95 70.00 67.05 2.89 2.88 6.58 6.39 0.57 0.53 12.78 12.6 0.55 0.53 4.95 4.84 7.29 6.91 0.0420 0.0400 1.740 1.680 49.85 48.70 873.00 855.00 160.00 155.00 69.500 69.050 0.2750 0.2650 0.1910 0.1800 0.216 0.216 PROPERTY 6.840 6.640 0.66 0.60 1.160 1.150 0.200 0.200

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.89 67 93.50 85.10 42 2.41 1.30 15.6 19.8 7.32 0.65 700.00 81.9 0.96 18.64 24.00 57.50 93.5 298 34.25 134.7 1400.00 53.00 2.91

-1.03 -1.76 -0.95 -0.87 0.00 -3.21 0.00 -0.64 -1.98 0.00 -2.99 0.00 -1.74 3.23 0.76 0.00 -2.54 0.16 -0.07 -0.87 -2.04 -5.08 1.92 -1.36

23,000 11,510 2,966,750 2,194,680 52,000 9,000 23,000 22,100 128,400 100 11,000 200 948,290 102,000 1,393,300 29,100 28,920 530 360 44,300 403,700 205 3,620 51,000

43.5 1.53 0.97 1.58 9.6 95.90 16.6 27 42 2.58 1.29 10.06 10.840 8.15 5.64 7.76 1.6 13.8 23 69.45 13.50 13.44 5.62 0.550 185.00 9.05 21.95 20.75 5.5 278.00 4.03 7.45 11.00 3.20 1.99 2.3 4.00 1.93 5.46 4.24 1.9 0.133 0.84 1.74 188 4.56 0.65

0.00 -0.65 -1.02 0.64 0.00 19.13 -1.78 0.00 -1.18 -1.53 0.00 -5.45 -0.18 -4.00 -4.24 -1.15 -14.44 -2.13 -1.71 0.07 -0.74 0.15 -0.53 0.00 -3.29 -9.86 -1.13 -4.82 0.00 -0.36 -0.49 -0.67 -2.65 -1.54 -1.49 -4.17 -1.23 -1.03 9.20 0.00 1.60 -1.48 -16.00 -4.40 -0.79 -4.00 0.00

919,500 13,000 10,000 110,000 200 230 2,444,800 401,100 132,500 1,256,000 11,000 585,300 5,957,800 820,800 5,306,300 146,700 1,000 37,200 2,439,100 80,560 100 12,900 121,800 76,000 259,060 140,200 135,700 764,900 1,085,000 62,660 3,154,000 1,762,300 200 416,000 277,000 290,000 4,962,000 2,000 64,300 1,000 2,216,000 880,000 95,000 1,306,000 1,445,990 92,000 200,000

0.430 57.9000 20.10 1.18 6.61 0.235 725 6.7 11.20 2.82 4.30 0.176 1237 5.95 67.30 2.88 6.55 0.55 12.68 0.54 4.9 7.29 0.0400 1.700 49.00 862.00 160.00 69.100 0.2700 0.1800 0.216

0.00 0.00 -0.74 6.31 -0.45 2.17 -3.14 -0.15 -4.44 -11.88 0.00 -7.85 -1.67 0.00 -4.81 -22.16 -2.09 -3.51 -0.31 -5.26 -1.80 5.50 -2.44 -2.86 0.62 -1.26 14.29 -0.29 0.00 -4.26 -13.25

60,000 673,470 3,812,900 2,000 2,000 20,000 150,560 1,736,200 4,445,300 170,000 1,000 100,000 91,415 110,700 1,357,070 5,000 1,113,600 4,000 12,773,300 340,000 13,249,000 396,400 84,000,000 2,668,000 75,000 183,410 80 1,950 330,000 620,000 10,000

6.790 0.62 1.160 0.200

-0.59 -4.62 0.87 -9.09

276,800 3,909,000 100,000 70,000

547,653.00 -971,760 21,629,969.00 2,053,800.00

55,216.00 -70,000.00 -4,074,558.00 -97,920.00 -25,690,434.00 698,400.00 -40,859.00 8,415.00 -26,565 -18,434,040.00 140,250.00

19,377,265.00

4,363,206.00 -21,340 7,740.00 136,824.00 25,925,748.00 526,505.00 -8,509,192.00 174,432.00 36,216,720.00 638,652.00

-24,597,998.00 25,180.00 -317,285.00 -2,305,390.00 5,802,500.00 5,101,568.00 1,359,520.00 1,550,414.00 -936,400.00 39,500.00 -6,615,860.00

-366,750.00 -47,670.00 18,068,097.00

15,745,114.50 6,419,359.00

-39,827,925.00 3,853,206.00 -14,301,018.00

-70,163,940.00 476,000.00 16,296,890.50 -133,875.00 -129,174,526.00 -23,103,800.00 729,000.00 -93,700.00 -714,560.00 -57,097,330.00 -58,054.00

-432,547.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.470 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.290 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

10.5 66 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 99.1 12.3 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 12.28 3.32 2.53 95.5 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 22.8 6.41 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

1.97 35.2 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 56.1 10.14 4.8 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 3.01 0.011 0.041 1.200 6.5 1.91 1.01 3.1 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 14.54 3 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

STOCKS

Close

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Century Property Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

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

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

7.59 SSI Group 0.63 STI Holdings 1.71 Transpacific Broadcast 5 Travellers 0.315 Waterfront Phils.

1.14 Yehey

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

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 6.5 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 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’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Oriental Peninsula Res. Petroenergy Res. Corp.

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 525 120 8.21 12.28 1060 1047 76.9 78.95 84.8

33 490 500 101.5 5.88 6.5 997 1011 74.2 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred A 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

High

VALUE 633,031,422.93 716,893,809.92 910,046,530.815 658,129,294.91 1,041,266,408.51 88,784,522.969 4,063,280,969.05

FINANCIAL 1,523.84 (down) 17.42 INDUSTRIAL 10,646.38 (down) 171.33 HOLDING FIRMS 6,406.85 (down) 131.06 PROPERTY 2,824.57 (down) 46.19 SERVICES 1,799.61 (down)34.31 MINING & OIL 11,172.67 (down) 141.00 PSEI 6,926.82 (down) 124.96 All Shares Index 3,965.01 (down) 58.59 Gainers: 36 Losers: 131; Unchanged: 42; Total: 209

Close

35.80 3.07 4.85 0.66 0.102 0.410 14.8 0.750 0.168 1.05 1.76 1.42 3.20 4.18 0.085 0.2500 28.75 1.59 3.27 19.06 0.72 0.670 5.820

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

35.55 34.40 34.65 3.07 3.02 3.02 4.76 4.76 4.76 0.66 0.6 0.63 0.101 0.100 0.100 0.405 0.400 0.400 14.8 14.3 14.68 0.760 0.760 0.760 0.161 0.161 0.161 1.07 1.02 1.03 1.77 1.73 1.73 1.48 1.43 1.48 4.80 4.80 4.80 4.24 4.15 4.22 0.084 0.084 0.084 0.2650 0.2550 0.2550 28.80 28.25 28.40 1.6 1.59 1.59 3.27 3.15 3.27 19.30 18.88 19.04 0.72 0.69 0.72 0.700 0.700 0.700 5.860 5.790 5.800 SERVICES 8.6 8.62 8.25 8.6 61.1 61.4 60.5 60.8 0.510 0.530 0.520 0.520 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 6.90 6.87 6.38 6.60 0.0620 0.0620 0.0550 0.0570 86.1 86.1 85 85.9 9.58 10.36 10.26 10.26 5.40 5.18 5.12 5.12 920 950 944.5 950 2560 2560 2512 2550 6.15 6.15 6.10 6.15 1.20 1.19 1.16 1.16 90.85 90.8 88 89 5.50 4.60 4.06 4.10 0.011 0.012 0.010 0.011 0.166 0.165 0.155 0.163 1.3400 1.3600 1.3400 1.3400 8.01 8.15 7.90 8.00 2.65 2.64 2.49 2.49 1.18 1.18 1.14 1.14 36.50 36.50 36.50 36.50 0.590 0.640 0.630 0.630 2 2 2 2 5.51 5.5 5.29 5.3 0.305 0.285 0.285 0.285 19 20 18.28 19.48 4.34 4.50 4.40 4.50 18.58 18.54 18.00 18.34 2444.00 2438.00 2392.00 2392.00 0.610 0.620 0.600 0.600 1.120 1.110 1.050 1.050 32.40 32.85 31.70 32.00 67.45 67.15 65.39 66.00 5.18 5.42 5.03 5.10 6.50 6.52 6.23 6.24 0.55 0.55 0.51 0.51 1.47 1.69 1.69 1.69 3.91 3.91 3.79 3.8 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 2.410 2.500 2.360 2.410 MINING & OIL 0.0048 0.0048 0.0047 0.0047 2.30 2.30 2.30 2.30 4.25 4.50 4.25 4.50 0.185 0.185 0.185 0.185 6.2000 6.2000 6.2000 6.2000 0.71 0.71 0.69 0.71 0.66 0.65 0.64 0.65 5.94 6.00 5.91 5.91 1.12 1.13 1.07 1.1 0.300 0.300 0.295 0.295 0.187 0.189 0.180 0.180 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 2.18 2.18 2.16 2.16 8.07 8 7.76 7.8 3.14 3.25 3.12 3.17 1.2600 1.2800 1.2400 1.2600 3.90 3.89 3.89 3.89 4.99 5.070 4.990 5.07 1.57 1.560 1.490 1.50 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 135.00 135.00 132.30 132.90 2.62 2.69 2.57 2.57 PREFERRED 62 60.75 60.6 60.7 528 528 525 525 526 526 526 526 115.5 115.6 115.5 115.5 5.99 6 6 6 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 1045 1045 1045 1045 1018 1025 1025 1025 75.65 76 75.8 75.9 81.45 81.5 80.85 81.5 83 83 82.5 82.5 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.430 3.300 3.150 3.200 SME 4.6 4.65 4.6 4.6 62.95 60 60 60 11.5 11.36 10.96 11.2 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 116 116 114.1 114.1

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

-3.21 -1.63 -1.86 -4.55 -1.96 -2.44 -0.81 1.33 -4.17 -1.90 -1.70 4.23 50.00 0.96 -1.18 2.00 -1.22 0.00 0.00 -0.10 0.00 4.48 -0.34

5,588,800 1,312,000 3,000 8,716,000 3,750,000 40,000 2,544,300 30,000 10,000 5,346,000 18,539,000 689,000 6,000 11,756,000 150,000 70,000 1,978,400 14,000 20,000 13,727,600 899,000 1,000 822,100

-45,324,715.00 1,107,740.00

0.00 -0.49 1.96 0.00 -4.35 -8.06 -0.23 7.10 -5.19 3.26 -0.39 0.00 -3.33 -2.04 -25.45 0.00 -1.81 0.00 -0.12 -6.04 -3.39 0.00 6.78 0.00 -3.81 -6.56 2.53 3.69 -1.29 -2.13 -1.64 -6.25 -1.23 -2.15 -1.54 -4.00 -7.27 14.97 -2.81 0.00 0.00

785,300 14,100 99,000 1,000 13,829,400 29,100,000 380,950 2,400 45,000 2,050 30,860 142,200 55,000 1,755,330 2,800 45,100,000 2,110,000 60,000 168,900 281,000 10,000 100 6,000 10,000 1,768,600 160,000 3,200 52,000 95,000 143,300 306,000 27,332,000 2,081,600 1,082,140 11,162,100 3,199,300 6,091,000 1,000 1,942,000 290,000 56,000

-2.08 0.00 5.88 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.52 -0.51 -1.79 -1.67 -3.74 0.00 0.00 -0.92 -3.35 0.96 0.00 -0.26 1.60 -4.46 -9.09 -1.56 -1.91

716,000,000 9,000 282,000 135,690.00 130,000 2,000 73,000 33,000 151,000 6,005,000 61,180.00 310,000 8,770,000 1,200,000 29,900,000 33,000 3,511,700 4,828,833.00 184,000 1,816,000 3,000 87,000 90,700.00 797,000 46,300,000 1,100.00 310,840 -16,237,873.00 220,000 21,040.00

-2.10 -0.57 0.00 0.00 0.17 0.00 0.00 0.69 0.33 0.06 -0.60

288,940 40 100 27,690 2,000 5,000 110 5 22,410 23,300 54,150

-6.71

111,000

0.00 -4.69 -2.61

2,000 140 1,258,300

4,188,272.00

-1.64

8,850

1,145.00

-2,580,040.00 -1,632,410.00 -414,880.00 -245,780.00 -68,260.00 2,382,495.00 -13,570,176.00 -210,070.00 -1,264,838.00 16,600.00

43,845,880.00 -9,342,975.00

-10,314,990.00 25,076,292.50 2,400.00 461,934.00

1,300,692.00

-162,092.00 -51,651,660.00 -4,171,060.00 55,561,795.00 4,573,069.50 -384,018.00 -6,312,474.00 -2,823,230.00 -1,150,700.00 -29,250.00

12,743,515.00 -3,184,335.00 -12,000.00

-1,214,400.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Keppel Properties

4.80

50.00

Imperial Res. `A'

4.10

-25.45

C. Azuc De Tarlac

95.90

19.13

Jolliville Holdings

2.88

-22.16

Transpacific Broadcast

1.69

14.97

TKC Steel Corp.

0.84

-16.00

Transgrid

160.00

14.29

Euro-Med Lab

1.6

-14.44

Roxas Holdings

5.46

9.20

Zeus Holdings

0.216

-13.25

Centro Esc. Univ.

10.26

7.10

F&J Prince 'A'

2.82

-11.88

Manila Bulletin

0.630

6.78

Lafarge Rep

9.05

-9.86

Anglo Holdings A

1.18

6.31

Arthaland Corp.

0.200

-9.09

Atlas Cons. `A'

4.50

5.88

Philodrill Corp. `A'

0.0100

-9.09

Minerales Industrias Corp.

7.29

5.50

Boulevard Holdings

0.0570

-8.06

TUESDAY: SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

B3

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

PH, global stock markets sink THE stock market sank Monday as investors weighed the timing of an increase in the nearzero US interest rates.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 124.96 points, or 1.8 percent, to 6,926.82 on a thin value turnover of P4 billion. Losers swamped gainers, 131 to 36, with 42 issues unchanged.

Shanghai led most Asian markets lower Monday as early gains were wiped out with dealers in a cautious mood after China revised down its 2014 growth figure and prepared to release more data that will give clues on the slowing economy.

A disappointing US jobs report reduced the chances of an interest rate hike later this month, analysts said, providing some support to the Australian dollar which is sitting at around six-year lows against the greenback.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, lost 2.1 percent to P2,392, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of billionaire industrialist John Gokongwei slumped 4.8 percent to P67.30.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. dropped 3.1 percent to P725, while unit Ayala Land Inc. fell 3.2 percent to P34.65.

International Container Terminal Services Inc., the largest port operator controlled by tycoon Enrique Razon, declined 2 percent to P89, while Bloomberry Resorts Corp., also owned by Razon, sank 4.4 percent to P6.60.

Data on Friday showed US unemployment fell to the lowest level since April 2008, even as nonfarm payrolls numbers missed estimates. The odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase at the Sept. 16-17 meeting held at 30 percent as of Friday.

“While concerns over the Fed rate can lead to outflows from emerging markets, the sooner they do it the better as it will remove huge uncertainties,” said Jeffrosenberg Tan, a portfolio manager at PT Sinarmas Asset Management. “Once the uncertainties about the rate are gone, it would be a good time to buy stocks.”

Eyes this week are again on Chinese indicators--from inflation and retail sales to trade and investment--that will provide a

handle on the state of the world’s number-two economy.

A painful growth slowdown has seen huge losses on global markets--including about 40 percent in Shanghai--despite Beijing’s attempts to provide support, including five interest rate cuts since November.

“The key focus this week would be China as the market reopens,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “Investors are increasingly concerned about the slowdown in the Chinese economy,” he said.

With AFP, Bloomberg

By Julito G. Rada

A pedestrian walks past a share prices board in Tokyo on September 7, 2015. Japan’s share prices rose 68.31 points to close at 17,860.47 at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, on late bargain-hunting after swinging between gains and losses following a weak session on Wall Street and worries over the Chinese economy. AFP

Meralco rate declines to 5-year low in September

By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. announced on Monday another reduction in the cost of electricity, saying the September rate will be the lowest in five years.

Meralco said power rates would drop by P0.57 per kilowatt-hour in September, marking the fourth consecutive month of price reduction.

“This brings the total reduction to P2.13 per kWh over the past five months. This month’s reduction also marks the seventh time this year that rates have gone down,” Meralco said in a statement.

Forex reserves stay at $80.3b

A typical household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours will see its monthly electricity bill go down

by P114.

Meralco said at P8.55 per kWh, this month’s overall rate would be lower by P1.81 than September 2014’s P10.36 per kWh. This is the lowest in more than five years or since January 2010.

The company attributed the reduction in the overall rates due to the generation charge, which fell P0.42 per kWh from last month.

“At P4.13 per kWh, this September’s generation charge is also the lowest since January 2010,” Meralco said.

Several large generating

units, including South Premiere Power (Ilijan), SemCalaca Power, Quezon Power and Therma Luzon (Pagbilao) improved their dispatch levels in August after experiencing plant outages during the July 2015 supply month.

Meralco said Ilijan plant increased dispatch level to 81 percent in August from only 48 percent in the July supply.

Ilijan 1 went on a scheduled maintenance in July (affecting 27 days) while Ilijan 2 was derated during the Malampaya gas restriction on July 13 to 16.

Meanwhile, lower fuel costs from Malampaya natural gas plat-

form brought down prices from the First Gen plants (Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo).

Apart from the lower generation costs, adjustments from prior months also helped bring down the generation charge for September.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the country’s trading floor of electricity on the other hand, registered an increase of P0.006 per kWh. Meralco secured 47 percent of power supply from its power supply agreements, 46 percent from its independent power producers and 7 percent from WESM in August.

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas maintained its gross international reserves at $80.3 billion in August, even as other Southeast Asian countries reduced their foreign exchange holdings to prevent the further depreciation of their currencies against the US dollar.

Data from Bangko Sentral showed the GIR barely changed from $80.3 billion in July but were slightly lower than $80.9 billion registered in August 2014.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said there was a small decline in foreign exchange operations of the bank in August.

“These foreign exchange outflows were partially offset by the national government’s net foreign currency deposits and the BSP’s income from investments abroad as well as revaluation adjustments on its gold holdings and foreign currencydenominated reserves,” Tetangco said.

He said the end-August reserves level remained sufficient to could cover 10.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income. It was also equivalent to 6.4 times the country’s shortterm external debt based on original maturity and 4.5 times based on residual maturity.

Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

Other Southeast Asian countries tapped their reserves to stem the drop in their currencies. Malaysian reserves have fallen 19 percent this year to $94.5 billion, reducing the central bank’s ability to stem a 17 percent drop in the ringgit, according to Bloomberg data.

Regional currencies are retreating across the board as sliding prices for Southeast Asia’s commodity exports coincide with a yuan devaluation and the prospect of higher US interest rates.

The peso also depreciated against the dollar this year, but Bangko Sentral said it was in line with the movement of regional currencies. The peso closed at 46.73 against the dollar Friday, down by 3.8 percent since the start of the year.

B4 Seaweeds farming.

Forty-five-year-old fisherfolk Jonel Vasquez gathers seaweeds on Johnson Island in Roxas, Palawan, the site of the P3.1-million project for start-up seaweeds nursery, production and marketing subproject under the Agriculture Department’s Philippine Rural Development Project. The intervention will be supported by a global environment facility grant on natural resource management that aims to capacitate communities to conserve, protect and revive marine protected areas, fish sanctuaries and other biodiversity areas. Palawan is one of the country’s top seaweeds producers, contributing 24 percent of the country’s total production.

11 LBC execs face estafa raps

By Julito G. Rada

STATE-RUN Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. filed syndicated estafa charges against former officials and employees of closed LBC Development Bank for misappropriating P60 million in the bank’s funds generated from the public by way of deposits.

PIDC said in a statement Monday it charged 11 directors, officers and employees of the bank, as well as two staff of LBC Development Corp., an affiliate company and a stockholder of the bank.

The complaint charged Ma. Eliza Berenguer (nee Ma. Eliza Gonzales), former president and

chairman of the board; former directors Juan Carlos Araneta, Fernando Araneta, Santiago Araneta, Joaquin Garcia and Antonio Longa; Ofelia Cuevas, former vice president oftreasury; Apolonia Ilio, former vice president of finance; Andrea Asegurado, former head of finance accounting

unit; and two unidentified signatories each from LBC Bank and LBC Development of conniving to defraud the bank an aggregate amount of P60 million through a two-pronged scheme.

Respondents were also charged with falsification of commercial documents under the Revised Penal Code and for conducting business in an unsafe and unsound manner in violation of the PDIC Charter.

LBC Bank was a 20-unit thrift bank ordered closed by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and placed under receivership by PDIC on Sept.

9, 2011.

The complaint alleged that respondents caused LBC Bank to

obtain a P30-million loan from a commercial bank and did not record it as a liability in LBC Bank’s books.

The loan proceeds were allegedly diverted by the respondents to LBC Development, which in turn, used the amount to reduce the outstanding balance of the advances of the LBC affiliates--LBC Express and LBC Mabuhay--to make it appear that they were paid back the advances made by LBC Bank in their favor.

The complaint further alleged that respondents used LBC Bank’s funds, which were primarily derived from the solicitation of deposits from the public, to pay for the unrecorded P30million loan.

The complaint claimed that all advances to the LBC affiliates, including those which funded their remittance operations, aggregated to P5.4 billion as of the bank closure.

“The filing of syndicated estafa charges against Berenguer [and her co-workers] is a welcome development in PDIC’s vigorous pursuit of legal action against erring bank owners, officers and personnel that aims to deter unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of the deposit insurance system and to protect the interests of the depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund, PDIC’s funding source for payment of deposit insurance,” PDIC said.

SBMA’s net profit doubles to P687m

By Othel V. Campos THE Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said net income in the first half jumped 104 percent to P687 million from P337 million recorded in the same period last year.

SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia said the unaudited figures showed very significant improvement.

“Revenues for the first semester were pretty good as well,” he said, referring to a 15-percent revenue increase from the same period in 2014.

Operating revenue, including port services and regulatory fees, increased by 29 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

“Meanwhile, SBMA’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased by 18 percent. This means that the agency is not only pursuing

effective strategic initiatives, but also implementing them efficiently as well,” said Garcia.

He said the first semester saw a much improved business climate in the Freeport which led to better bottom lines for the agency.

Garcia said this would encourage more Subic locators to increase employment which was on the brink of breaching the 100,000 mark.

Garcia said the agency was “looking forward to a more positive outcome to further strengthen and sustain the agency’s financial turnaround over the past three years.”

“We need to provide funds for strategic plans, including the implementation of the long overdue salary increases for SBMA employees and the procurement of badly needed equipment for security, maintenance and infrastructure development work,” he said.

Biggest Apple outlet. Apple Premium Reseller Power Mac Center inaugurates its eighth Apple authorized service provider at the Annex of SM City North EDSA. The newly-opened Apple outlet, which stands on 173.64 square meters, is the biggest in the country to date and is fully equipped ready to accommodate more Apple repairs and provide better service offerings to its customers.

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

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

B5

Megaworld invests in Pampanga Steve Jobs: The Man in The Machine IN DEATH, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs was bigger than life.

When he died of pancreatic cancer in October 2011 at the age of 56, millions around the world mourned his loss at Apple stores where they gathered for candlelit vigils and online in social media where he was venerated and remembered with hashtags such as #thankouSteve and #iSad. US President Barack Obama paid tribute to Jobs as a visionary, “brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

“When Steve Jobs died, I was mystified,” says Alex Gibney in his new documentary “Steve Jobs: The Man in The Machine.”

“What accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? I’d seen it with John Lennon and Martin Luther King but Steve Jobs wasn’t a singer or a civil rights leader.”

Gibney, who also directed “Going Clear,” a critical documentary on The Church of Scientology, admits to loving his iPhone, but pulls no punches in this tough and compelling two-hour critique of Jobs and Apple, the company he built into America’s most valuable company.

On one level, the film documents Jobs’ story through the devices he built, starting with the blue box that he and his buddy Steve Wozniak developed to get free phone calls, to the early Apple computers, the Macintosh, the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone.

On another level, the documentary explores the contradictions in Jobs’ public persona and his real life.

Through interviews with people who knew and dealt with Jobs, Gibney shows us that the driven and brilliant visionary the world now remembers was also a huge jerk.

In one segment, we learn about how Jobs cheated Wozniak by paying him only $350 for the game Breakout that they developed for Atari, when the company had paid Jobs $7,000.

“That hurts because we were friends, and that he would do that to a friend,” says Wozniak, who would later become co-founder of Apple.

We also hear about how Jobs went to court to dispute his paternity of his first child Lisa, and how he tried to paint the mother, Chrisann Brennan, as a woman with many sexual partners. Later, when a blood test proved his paternity, Jobs reluctantly agreed to pay Brennan child support of $500 a month--when he was already worth more than $200 million.

“Steve was so hugely successful and yet he treated so many people so badly,” recalls Daniel Kottke, a college friend and one of Apple’s earliest employees. “How much of an asshole do you have to be to be successful?”

A really big one, it seems.

Later in the film, Gibney documents how Jobs bullied the press and even had police raid the residence of the deputy editor of Gizmodo, who had written about an iPhone 4 prototype that had accidentally been left in a bar and that the finder had sold to the technology blog.

It also recounts how Jobs loved to park his silver Mercedes Benz in handicap parking spots around the Apple campus, and how he told people that philanthropy was a waste of time.

Yet even the people who suffered from their relationship with Jobs look back and see those interactions as something special.

One of the most poignant interviews in the film is with Bob Belleville, who, as director of engineering at Apple from 1982 to 1985, managed the team that developed the first Macintosh. Belleville admits that working at Apple consumed him and destroyed his marriage—but still sees those years as an incredible moment in his life, and breaks down in tears when he reads a eulogy he wrote for Jobs.

Gibney’s documentary reminds us, too, that although Apple is widely respected, its practices—including backdated stock options for its employees, the use of tax havens, and the terrible work conditions in the Chinese factories that build its iPhones—seem to contradict the image it projects.

Gibney doesn’t reveal anything new about his subject—most of these stories will already be familiar to people who have followed the news on Jobs and Apple. But it is something altogether different to see the people who were there and to listen to their stories, and to see old footage and photographs woven into the film.

In the end, Gibney doesn’t answer the question he started with, but suggests that we reflect on our own interactions with the devices that Jobs gave the world for clues.

“Why did so many strangers weep for Steve Jobs? It’s too simple to say it was because he gave us products we love without asking why we love them the way we do,” he says. “It’s too simple even to conclude that we love them because they connect us to a wider world and the people in our lives that are far away, because these machines isolate us too. Perhaps the contradictory nature of our experience with these gadgets mirrors the contradictions in Jobs himself. He was an artist who sought perfection, but could never find peace. He had the focus of a monk, but none of the empathy. He offered us freedom, but only within a closed garden to which he held the key.”

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

By Jenniffer B. Austria

MEGAWORLD Corp., the property unit of billionaire Andrew Tan, said it will spend P30 billion to develop its latest mixed-use development, a 35.6-hectare prime land beside the provincial capitol of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would spend the amount over the next 10 years.

“As part of our aggressive township expansion across the country, we are happy to announce our entry into Pampanga. This is the perfect time and opportunity to be present in this progressive province, where else but right at the heart of the provincial capital which is a prime location for an urban township development,” Megaworld senior vice president Jericho Go said.

The first mixed-use

development of Megaworld in Central Luzon, the project will adopt the live-work-play concept that the property company has been doing in the past few years.

“Just like our other townships, we will integrate residential, office, commercial, retail and institutional components in this development. As we see a potential pool of skilled talents for the BPO sector in the province, we are certain to build a cyberpark, bring in our partner locators to the township and generate thousands of jobs for the people of Pampanga,” said Go.

“This new township is also envisioned to expand and revitalize the Pampanga’s provincial capitol district,” he added.

The property is approximately 70 kilometers away from Manila and closely accessible via the North Luzon Expressway through the San Fernando exit and the Jose Abad Santos Avenue, also known as the Olongapo-Gapan Road. It is about 20 kilometers away from Clark International Airport.

The project is Megaworld’s 19th township development and the fourth to be launched this year. One more township is expected to be launched before the end of the year.

Earlier this year, the company launched two townships in Negros Occidental, namely Northill Gateway (50 hectares) and The Upper East (34 hectares); and another in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo called Santa Barbara Heights (170 hectares).

Creative work. Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo, Jr. (center) works with visual artist Joel Cobcobo (right) in creating an art piece during the recent Sikat Pinoy National Art and Fashion Fair on Aug. 14, 2015 at the Megatrade Halls of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. This piece uses various woodcarvings and stamps that depict progress and environment. With them is Trade Undersecretary Prudencio Reyes Jr.

IT firm launches mobile security app

By Darwin G. Amojelar GALILEO Software Services Inc., an information technology company established by former whistleblower Rodolfo Noel Lozada, said Monday it is in talks with local telecommunication companies and phone manufacturers to offer a mobile security application called Tara, or theft apprehension and asset recovery application.

“We are making it available to all telcos and phone manufacturers before the end of the year,” Lozada, who became famous as the NBN-ZTE whistleblower, told reporters.

The app service is available only to Smart Communications Inc. and Sun Cellular subscribers. The monthly fee for the package is P50 or an annual subscription of P500.

Lozada said Tara would render a stolen smartphone unusable

through a “kill-switch” feature that would prevent the mobile phone’s brain from functioning again.

A 2014 National Telecommunications Communication report showed at least 30 smartphones were lost every day to pickpockets or thieves and were easily disposed in the grey market and resold to private individuals.

“In most cases, there is a feeling of helplessness among those who lost their phones,” said Lozada.

Lozada said there was a need to increase awareness among smartphone users on how to protect themselves from thieves, and ensure that important files and data could be preserved if they lost their phones.

He said tthe feeling of helplessness when a phone was lost could be alleviated if users had high awareness on how they could

retrieve their personal data by knowing the benefits of having anti-theft apps on their gadgets.

Lozada said one can lock the stolen phone with a text message, or call a call center to have his or her phone deactivated.

Tara would render the mobile phone unit useless even if the SIM card was removed or replaced, or memory was reformatted or erased, he said.

Lozada said his company planned to launch the service in Asian countries.

“It could turn the Philippines into a winner when the Asean Economic Community kicks in,” he said.

The recent development of the Tara app could give the Philippines an advantage in the free flow of goods and services, at least in the tech services sector, once the Asean integration happens, he said.

Republic of the Philippines D E PA R T M E N T O F F I N A N C E

5.3

Roxas Boulevard Corner Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004

D E PA R T M E N T C I R C U L A R N O. 0 0 3 . 2 0 15 2 4 A u g u s t 2 0 15

In the exigency of ser vic e and to minimize operational impact a m o n g N G A s , G O C C s , a n d LG U s , D e p a r t m e n t C i r c u l a r N o . 01 2 015 i s h e r e b y a m e n d e d t o r e a d a s f o l l o w s : “xxx 6. TR ANSITORY PROVISIONS 6 .1

A l l N G A s , G O C C s o r LG U s m a i n t a i n i n g a c c o u n t s w i t h banks not compliant with the requirements of Section 5. 2, exc ept those allowed under Sections 5.3 and 5 . 4 , s h a l l h a v e o n e (1) y e a r f r o m t h e e f f e c t i v i t y o f this Circular to transfer all funds and cash balances to a bank compliant with the provisions of Section 5,2 h e r e o f.

6.2

6.3

6.4

5.4

D u r i n g t h e p e r i o d m e n t i o n e d i n S e c t i o n 6 .1, N G A s , G O C C s a n d LG U s m a y m a i n t a i n e x i s t i n g a c c o u n t s w i t h a non - c ompliant bank but may not increase deposit balanc es beyond what they were as of the ef fectivit y o f t h i s c i r c u l a r.

O n c e t h e p e r i o d m e n t i o n e d i n S e c t i o n 6 .1 l a p s e s a n d the bank is still unable to meet the requirements of S e c t i o n 5 . 2 , N G A s , G O C C s o r LG U s m a y r e q u e s t t h e Depar tment of Financ e (DOF) to ex tend the transitor y p e r i o d b y o n e (1) y e a r, s u b j e c t t o t h e s u b m i s s i o n o f a t r a n s i t i o n p l a n , f o r D O F ’s e v a l u a t i o n a n d a p p r o v a l .

The request for ex tension must be submit ted at least n i n e t y ( 9 0) d a y s b e f o r e t h e e n d of the transitor y period. DOF has until the last day of the transitor y period to evaluate, and approve or disapprove the request.

I f t h e N G A s , G O C C s o r LG U s ex tension, or if their request D O F, t h e s a m e m u s t t r a n s f e r balances to banks that meet Section 5.2.

I n v i e w o f E x e c u t i v e O r d e r N o . 5 5 , s e r i e s 2 011 removing revenue and expenditure f loats, the N G A I G O C C I LG U m a y e n g a g e t h e p a y m e n t and collection ser vices of a bank other than as referred under Section 5.2 thru a transaction fee based arrangement, without the need for prior a p p r o v a l f r o m t h e D O F, i n t h e c a s e o f G O C C s , o r, f r o m t h e B LG F, i n t h e c a s e o f LG U s : p r o v i d e d , that in the case of NGAs the implementation of any payment and c ollection system should require c o n c u r r e n c e o f B Tr f o r c o n s i s t e n c y t o t h e T S A f r a m e w o r k ; p r o v i d e d , f u r t h e r, t h a t t h e ( p r o p o s e d ) bank will only ser ve as a collection bank for t h e a c c o u n t o f t h e N G A I G O C C I LG U : p r o v i d e d , finally that, in the case of collection banks, all c ollections shall be transfer red to any of the GFls refer red in Section 5. 2 on the nex t banking day counted from the collection date.

Bank accounts with banks other than GFls referred in Section 5. 2 may be allowed for the NGAI GOCCI LG U u n d e r t h e f o l l o w i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s : 5 . 4 .1

Where the GFls referred unde Section 5.2 cannot provide the necessar y banking products and ser vices;

5.4.2

Where there are no ac c essible (within the t w e n t y (2 0) k i l o m e t e r r a d i u s) G F l s , a s referred under Section 5.2, or its collection f a c i l i t y. T h e R e q u e s t i n g A g e n c y s h a l l f u r n i s h t h e D O F/ B Tr / B LG F a c o p y o f the vicinity map showing the location and d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n t h e R e q u e s t i n g A g e n c y, t h e G F l s r e f e r r e d i n 5 . 2 h e r e o f, a n d t h e (proposed) bank; and, Where security and safety are the reasons for opening and maintaining an account in a (proposed) bank. The Requesting Agency s h a l l f u r n i s h t h e D O F/ B Tr / B LG F a n Independent Repor t or Cer tification from the Philippine National Police Provincial O f f ic e c onf ir ming the existenc e of the security risks.

5.4.3

do not request for an is disapproved by the all funds and cash the requirements of

I n t h e c a s e o f G O C C s a n d LG U s , a m a i n t a i n i n g balanc e may be allowed for operating expenses o f u p t o t h r e e (3) m o n t h s , a f t e r h a v i n g p e r f o r m e d a cost-benefit analysis, or up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation ( P O I C) of P 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 , w h i c h e v e r i s l o w e r. A l l f u n d s d e p o s i t e d shall be limited to operating funds and no other deposits shall be maintained for special projects or investment pur poses. A ny amount in exc ess of the authorized cash balance in Section 5.4 shall be transfer red to any of the GFls in Section 5. 2.

xxx” A l l s u c c e e d i n g s e c t i o n s o f D e p a r t m e n t C i r c u l a r 01 - 2 015 s h a l l b e r e n u m b e r e d a c c o r d i n g l y.

All orders, circulars, memoranda, issuances contrar y to or i n c o n s i s t e n t h e r e w i t h a r e h e r e b y r e v o ke d a n d /o r m o d i f i e d , a n d a l l c o n c e r n e d s h a l l b e g u i d e d a c c o r d i n g l y.

T h i s O r d e r s h a l l t a ke e f f e c t i m m e d i a t e l y u p o n p u b l i c a t i o n i n the Of ficial Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

5.5

C E S A R V. P U R I S I M A Secretar y

Where the Requesting Agency cannot meet all of the conditions set for th under Sections 5.2 to 5.4, it shall request for prior approval from the DOF f o r G O C C s / B Tr f o r N G A s / B LG F f o r LG U s , t o o p e n and maintain an ac c ount in the (proposed) bank other than those referred under Section 5.2.

5 . 5 .1

Republic of the Philippines D E PA R T M E N T O F F I N A N C E Roxas Boulevard Comer Pablo Ocampo, Sr. Street Manila 1004

In requesting for prior approval, the Requesting Agency shall submit the f o l l o w i n g s p e c i f i c r e q u i r e m e n t s t o t h e D O F/ B Tr / B LG F, a s a p p l i c a b l e: a.

Letter from the Head of the Requesting Agency or its duly designated of ficer requesting the approval from the O O F/ B Tr / B LG F c i t i n g t h e t e r m s o f the deposit, purpose for opening and maintaining an account with the (proposed) bank and specific reasons and circumstances for not meeting the conditions;

b.

In the case of a GOCC, it shall submit (i) a c opy of the Board Resolution authorizing the GOCC to deposit funds with the (proposed) bank, (ii) its latest audited financial statements i s s u e d n o t m o r e t h a n 18 m o n t h s a t t h e time of the submission of the request, (iii) its latest Schedule of Cash and Shor t-term Investment Balances and ( i v) a S u m m a r y o f i t s D a i l y C o l l e c t i o n Repor t for the last three months;

c.

I n t h e c a s e o f a n LG U , i t s h a l l s u b m i t (i) a Cer tif ic ation from the (proposed) bank that no elective or appointive local government of f icial of the LG U c o n c e r n e d i s a d i r e c t o r, o f f i c e r or stockholder of the bank, unless cer tified that it is the only bank operating in the territorial jurisdiction of the LG U , ( i i ) a c o p y o f t h e Resolution of the local Sanggunian c o n c e r n e d a u t h o r i z i n g t h e LG U t o deposit funds with the (proposed) bank with the approval of the Local Chief E xecutive and (iii) a c opy of the Cer tification from the Depar tment of I n t e r i o r a n d L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t ( D I LG) o n t h e S e a l o f G o o d H o u s e ke e p i n g o r a n y d o c u m e n t f r o m D I LG s h o w i n g t h a t t h e LG U h a s p a s s e d t h e S e a l o f G o o d H o u s e ke e p i n g ;

d.

In cases where security and safety are the reasons for opening and maintaining an account in a (proposed) bank other than the GFls referred under Section 5.2, the Requesting Agency shall submit an Independent Repor t or Cer tification from the Philippine National Police Provincial Office confirming the existenc e of the secur it y r isk;

e.

T h e ( p r o p o s e d ) b a n k ’s l a t e s t C A M E L S rating issued by the SSP;

f.

Vicinity map showing the location and distance bet ween the Requesting A g e n c y, t h e G F l s m e n t i o n e d i n 5 . 2 h e r e o f, a n d t h e ( p r o p o s e d ) b a n k ;

g.

N o t a r i z e d W a i v e r i n f a v o r o f t h e S Tr a n d t h e ( p r o p o s e d ) b a n k t o a l l o w S Tr in the case of NGAs to have oversight authority on the bank account and for the bank to provide any required r e p o r t s / s t a t e m e n t s t o S Tr ; a n d

h.

O t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h e D O F/ S Tr / S LG F m a y r e q u i r e i n t h e c o u r s e o f i t s evaluation.

D E PA R T M E N T C I R C U L A R N O. 0 0 1. 2 0 15 2 4 J u n e 2 0 15

TO

:

SUBJECT

:

HE ADS OF ALL NATIONAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES,GOVERNMENT- OWNED OR - CONTROLLED CORPOR ATIONS GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND PROVINCIAL , CIT Y, MUNICIPAL AND BAR ANGAY TRE ASURERS(LOCAL TRE ASURERS) REVISED GUIDELINES BANKS ON AUTHORIZED

DEPOSITORY GOVERNMENT

1.

LEGAL BASIS These guidelines are being issued in line with the m a n d a t e o f t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f F i n a n c e (“ D O F ” ) u n d e r t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i v e C o d e o f 19 8 7 a n d E x e c u t i v e O r d e r N o . 12 7, s e r i e s o f 19 8 7 f o r t h e s o u n d a n d e f f i c i e n t m a n a g e m e n t o f the f inancial resources of the Government, its subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities.

2.

C O V E R AG E T hi s Circ ular shall c ove r all N at i o nal G ove r nm e nt Ag e nc i e s (“ N G As ” ),G ove r nm e nt- O w n e d o r- C o nt r o ll e d C o r p o r at i o ns (“ G O C C s ” ) /G ove r nm e nt Financ i al I nst itut i o ns (“ G Fls ” ) / G ove r nm e nt I nst r um e nt alit i e s w it h C o r p o r ate Powe r s (“ G I C Ps ” ) / G ove r nm e nt C o r p o r ate Ent it i e s (“ G C Es ” ); an d Lo c al G ove r nm e nt U nit s ( “ LG Us” );.

3.

DEFINITION OF TERMS 3 .1

“Au t ho r ize d G ove r n m e nt D e p o s i t o r y B a n k ” r efe r s to a bank w h e re G ove r nm e nt Ag e nc i e s ar e all owe d by law to de p o sit G ove r nm e nt Fun ds an d m aint ain de p o sito r y ac c o unt s, o r by way of exc e pt i o n, a bank all owe d o r de s i gnate d by t h e O a F an d t h e M o n et ar y B o ar d to h o l d g ove r nm e nt d e p o s it s subj e c t to p re sc r ib e d r ul e s an d re g ulat i o ns.

3.2

“ G o v e r n m e n t F i n a n c i a l I n s t i t u t i o n s ( “ G F l s ” )” refer to financial institutions or corporations in which the government directly or indirectly owns majority of the capital stock and which are either: (1) r e g i s t e r e d w i t h o r d i r e c t l y s u p e r v i s e d b y t h e B a n g k o S e n t r a l n g P i l i p i n a s ( “ B S P ’ ) ; o r a r e (2) collecting or transacting funds or contributions f r o m t h e p u b l i c a n d t h e r e a f t e r, p l a c i n g t h e m i n financial instruments or assets such as deposits, loans, bonds and equity including, but not limited to, the Government Ser vice Insurance System and the Social Security System.

3.3

“G o v e r n m e n t F u n d s ” i n c l u d e p u b l i c m o n e y s o f ever y sor t and other resourc es per taining to any agency of the government.

3.4

“Government Instrumentalities with Corporate Powers (“GICPs”) / Government Corporate Entities (“GCEs”) refer to instrumentalities or agencies of the government which are neither corporations nor agencies integrated within the depar tmental framework, but vested by law with special functions or jurisdiction, endowed with some if not all corporate powers, administering special funds, and enjoying operational autonomy usually through a char ter including, but not limited to, the following: The Manila Inter national A ir por t A u t h o r i t y, t h e P h i l i p p i n e P o r t s A u t h o r i t y, t h e Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Metropolitan Water wor ks and Sewerage System, the L a g u n a L a ke D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y, t h e Philippine Fisheries D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y, t h e Bases Conversion and Development A u t h o r i t y, t h e C e b u P o r t A u t h o r i t y, t h e C a g a y a n d e O r o P o r t A u t h o r i t y, t h e S a n F e r n a n d o P o r t A u t h o r i t y, t h e Loc al Water Utilities Administration and the Asian Productivity Organization.

3.5

“G ove r n m e n t- O w n e d o r - C o n t r o l l e d C o r p o r a t i o n s (“G O CCs”)” refe r to any ag e nc y o r g anize d as a sto c k o r n o n - sto c k c o r p o r at i o n, ve ste d w it h f unc t i o ns re lat ing to pub li c n e e ds w h et h e r g ove r nm e nt al or p r o p r i et ar y in natur e, an d ow n e d by t h e G ove r nm e nt of t h e Phi lip p in e s dir e c t ly o r t hr o u gh it s inst r um e nt alit i e s e it h e r w h o lly o r, w h e re ap p li c ab l e as in t h e c as e of sto c k c o r p o r at i o ns, to t h e ex te nt of at l e ast a maj o r it y of it s o ut st an din g c ap it al sto c k .

Pr ov i de d, h oweve r, T hat fo r p ur p o s e s of t hi s Cir c ular, t h e te r m “ G O C C ” shall inc lu d e G I C P/G C E an d G FI as d ef in e d h e re in.

4. GENER AL PRINCIPLES 4 .1

A s t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’s s t e w a r d o f s o u n d f i s c a l p o l i c y, t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Finance formulates, institutionalizes and administers policies to ensure that the government resources are managed and mobilized judiciously in a manner suppor tive of the development objectives of the government in promoting the welfare of the people and accelerating e c o n o m i c g r o w t h a n d s t a b i l i t y.

4.2

T h e B u r e a u o f L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t F i n a n c e ( “ B LG P ’ ) , as the focal agency and authority in local f inance, shall assist the Depar tment of Finance in the formulation and implementation of policies on fund management.

4.3

P u r s u a n t t o E x e c u t i v e O r d e r N o . 5 5 (s . 2 011) , t h e government through the DOF and the Bureau of t h e Tr e a s u r y C B Tr ” ) i m p l e m e n t e d t h e Tr e a s u r y S i n g l e A c c o u n t ( “ T S A” ) s y s t e m f o r b e t t e r c a s h management and greater transparency in public financial management.

5.5.2

6. SANCTIONS A ny violation of this Circular shall be a ground for the imposition of the following sanctions:

7.

5.2

Pursuant to E xecutive Order No. 55, Government Agencies shall adopt the for the collection of fees, charges revenues and remit tance of the same to Tr e a s u r y.

all National TSA system and other the National

A s p a r t o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t ’s e f f o r t t o s t r e n g t h e n i t s o v e r a l l f i s c a l p o s i t i o n , a l l N G A s , G O C C s , a n d LG U s s p e c i f i c a l l y a l l o w e d b y l a w, r u l e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s t o r e t a i n i n c o m e a n d /o r f o r o p e r a t i o n s a n d /o r w o r k i n g balances shall deposit and maintain accounts with GFls with a universal bank license and a CAMELS r a t i n g o f a t l e a s t “ 3 ”.

6 .1

For the bank, other than those refer red under Section 5.2, the DOF shall recommend to SSP the cancellation of the authorit y to accept government d e p o s i t s i f o n e h a s a l r e a d y b e e n g r a n t e d a n d /o r disqualif ication to act as a government depositor y f o r n o t m o r e t h a n o n e (1) y e a r w i t h o u t p r e j u d i c e t o o t h e r s a n c t i o n s a s m a y b e i m p o s e d b y t h e S S P.

6.2

F o r N G A s / G O C C s / LG U s , t h e H e a d s o f N G A s / G O C C s / LG U s s h a l l be responsible for the compliance of this Circular without prejudice to c r i m i n a l a n d /o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l i a b i l i t y i n ac c ordanc e with existing laws, rules and regulations.

REPE A LING CL AUSE T h i s C i r c u l a r s u p e r s e d e s D O F O r d e r N o . 2 7- 0 5 d a t e d 0 9 D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 5 , D O F O r d e r N o . 3 2 - 0 3 d a t e d 10 N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 3 , D O F O r d e r N o . 11 - 9 9 d a t e d 2 4 F e b r u a r y 19 9 9 a n d a l l o t h e r D O F i s s u a n c e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s w h i c h are inconsistent herewith.

5. GENER AL GUIDELINES 5 .1

I n c as e s w h e r e t h e G Fl s m e nt i o n e d in S e c t i o n 5 . 2 h e r e of e st ab li sh e s o r o p e r ate s a b r anc h w it hin t h e te r r ito r ial jur i s di c t i o n o r in t h e l o c alit y w h e r e t h e N G A I G O C C / LG U o r any of it s b r anc h e s, f i e l d of f i c e s, d e par t m e nt s, di v i s i o ns o r o p e r at in g unit s h o l ds o r c o n duc t s it s of f i c e o r bus in e s s, o r where the c ir c um st anc e s un d e r S e c t i o n 5 . 4 i s n o l o n g e r p r evai lin g, t h e NGAI/ G O C C / LG U shall t r ans fe r all f un ds an d c ash balanc e s to G Fl s m e nt i o n e d in S e c t i o n 5 . 2 w it hin t hr e e (3) bank in g days f r o m t h e t im e t h e exc e pt i o nal c ir c um st anc e i s n o l o n g e r p revailin g, w hi c h eve r c o m e s f ir st: p r ov i d e d, t hat in t h e c as e of an N G A . p r o p e r r e p o r t in g of c ash balanc e s o n t h e bank ac c o unt s sh o ul d b e m ad e to t h e STr o r it s f i e l d of f i c e s b efo r e an d af te r t h e c l o sur e of t h e ac c o unt w it h t h e (p r o p o s e d) bank .

8.

EFFECTIVIT Y T h i s C i r c u l a r s h a l l t a ke e f f e c t 15 d a y s a f t e r i t s p u b l i c a t i o n in the Of ficial Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

C E S A R V. P U R I S I M A Secretar y of Finance ( T S - S E P T. 8 , 2 015 )

B6

TUESDAY: SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

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

What a low inflation rate indicates THE inflation rate for August announced by the government last weekend undoubtedly elicited mixed reactions from this country’s monetary policymakers and economic analysts. The announced figure, 0.6 percent, was lower than July’s 0.8 percent and was within the 0.2 to 1.0 percent range projected by the national monetary authority.

On the one hand, monetary policymakers and economic analysts will have welcomed the continued decline in the inflation rate--in June 2014 the rate was just over 4 percent--because of its impact on this country’s overall financial stability and on the purchasing power of the citizenry. What the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas considers a stable monetary environment is indicated by the 2 to 4 percent range that it has set for the 2015 inflation rate. Clearly BSP’s economists have reason to be pleased with the August outturn if the inflation rate is viewed from the monetary stability standpoint.

But inflation does not exist in a vacuum, and the inflation rate tends to be intimately related to--and may be said to be the mirror image of--the rate of growth of GDP (gross domestic product).

Recent trends in the inflation rate and the GDP growth rate have reinforced this close relationship.

Thus, while the inflation rate has been declining during the last two years, the growth of the Philippine economy has likewise been slowing. From the 2014 growth of 7.0 percent (apparently revised downward from 7.2 percent), Philippine GDP growth was recorded at only 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2015. In the second quarter, the growth rate was a disappointing 5.6 percent. The parallelism should be obvious even to a non-economist.

To a person with economics training, a rise in inflation usually takes place when, because of vigorous economic conditions, demand for the factors of production--labor, land, credit and raw materials and other production supplies--are exerting downward pressure on their availabilities, so that bidding up of prices results. Strong demand for GDP components drags factor costs, and therefore the inflation rate upwards.

There has been no such situation in the past two years. On the contrary, there has been a lot of slack in the economy: no upward price pressure in the markets for labor and the other factors of production.

Certainly not for labor, given that the Philippines, a Third World country, is by definition a labor-surplus economy.

However desirable, price stability is only one of the desiderata in the management of an economy. Other, more important desiderata are strong production growth, a high level of employment and steadily rising incomes. The ideal situation is one in which GDP was rising strongly but prices--especially consumer prices--were stable. BSP is projecting a 2016 GDP growth rate of between 6 and 8 percent and believes that such a projection is within the realm of attainability.

That GDP growth must be stronger in the coming days was indicated by the BSP governor in the statement he issued regarding the August inflation rate.

The beneficial effects on the inflation rate of the sharp drop in world oil prices--reductions in the power and transportation components of the cost of producing goods and services--was adverted to by Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. But the nation’s chief monetary policymaker warned about the likely effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon on the inflation rate. Food prices, the largest component of the CPI (consumer price index) could be driven up, Governor Tetangco said.

Any resulting rise in the inflation rate will hopefully be accompanied by a rise in the GDP growth number.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

Fake cigarettes seller nabbed SAN Jose City policemen arrested a suspect for supplying fake cigarettes to sari-sari stores in the northernmost city of Nueva Ecija.

San Jose City chief of police Supt.

Nolie Azuncion said his team responded to complaints from some wholesale stores that a vendor of fake Mighty and Marvels cigarettes was circulating around the city.

“Our police team apprehended the suspect yesterday onboard a tricycle while in possession of suspected fake Mighty and Marvels cigarette brands,” Azuncion said.

Upon inspection at the police station later that day, Mighty Corp. representatives confirmed the cigarettes as counterfeit.

Republic Act 8293, or the Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Law, hold storeowners and vendors liable if they are confirmed to be selling counterfeit

products on any kind.

Mighty, along with the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the National Bureau of Invesigation and the police, has launched a campaign against unscrupulous traders faking its brands and using bogus stamps Earlier, NBI agents arrested several suspects in Bulacan, Cebu City and Zamboanga for selling cartons of fake Mighty brand cigarettes.

Among the discrepancies found were the secret cigarette manufacturing code on the packs, quality of the tobacco used and misprints on the packaging such as misspelling of the word “Manufactured” to “Manufacture,” among others.

Nueva Ecija police provincial director Sr. Supt Manuel Cornel said the Philippine National Police was in full support of the government’s effort to put a stop to illicit trade.

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Greek crisis prompts rethink on food waste ATHENS—With little end to their economic misery in sight, Greeks are finding inventive ways to feed the poor while also fighting waste—a movement that is chipping away at traditional attitudes to food.

Three years ago, Xenia Papastavrou came up with a simple idea: take unsold food from shops and restaurants that was headed for the bin, and use it to feed the growing number of Greeks going hungry as the financial crisis took hold.

“In June, they gave us 3,000 kilos of melons; in August we got 7,200 cartons of milk,” the 39-yearold told AFP at her office behind Athens’ central market.

Boroume (“We Can”), the organization she founded, matches donated foodstuffs with charities in need—whether vegetables, bread or “even these 12 tiropita (cheese pies), which weren’t sold at the bakery”.

These days the food routed through Boroume provides an average of 2,500 meals a day

across Greece, from Athens to Thessaloniki in the north.

“Greece is a country that throws a lot away,” explained Papastavrou from behind a computer screen covered with data tables and the addresses of charities.

In Greek tavernas, if the plates aren’t piled with huge pyramids of food, a meal between friends can be considered a failure, she added.

“There isn’t really a mentality of paying attention to this,” she said.

“Here, it’s: ‘I’ve paid for it, so I can

Seoul emerging as fashion center SEOUL—Move over Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Seoul is emerging as Asia’s new fashion showcase, with the world’s top luxury firms seeking to cash in on the regional trendsetting popularity of South Korean pop culture.

Fast-growing Asia is a key market driving the global luxury industry, with purchases by Chinese consumers accounting for one third of global sales, according to market researcher Bain & Company.

And those consumers often take their style pointers from elsewhere, which is why many brand companies are increasingly focusing on the country described by Bain as Asia’s “trendsetter and influencer for fashion and luxury”.

Over the past year, leading global fashion houses have upped their game in South Korea in a bid to reach those well-heeled Asians who take their fashion

cues from popular Korean TV and pop stars.

French powerhouse Chanel held its 2015/16 Cruise Collection in Seoul in May—its first show in South Korea.

And in June, Christian Dior opened a six-story flagship store—the largest in Asia—in the upscale district of Gangnam, made famous by the eponymous hit by South Korean rapper Psy. The world’s top luxury group LVMH, which owns Dior and Louis Vuitton, has gone a step further by directly investing in Seoul’s thriving K-pop industry.

Last August, L Capital Asia—the investment fund arm of LVMH—bought shares worth about $80 million in YG Entertainment, a major K-pop agency.

The deal made the French luxury empire the second-largest shareholder of YG, whose roster of K-pop acts includes Psy, G-Dragon and the boyband BigBang.

“Global luxury firms have begun to realize that what’s popular in South Korea soon becomes popular across Asia,” said Lie Sang-Bong, a prominent fashion designer and head of the Council of Fashion Designers of Korea.

Lie said the luxury brands that had previously favored Hong Kong or Singapore as the center of their Asia business started to turn to Seoul about three years ago.

China’s influence as a trend setter will eventually catch up with its importance as a market, but for now, “Seoul is where they look to see the next big trend,” Lie said.

Famed fashion critic Suzy Menkes picked Seoul as next year’s host for what will be only the second edition of the annual Conde Nast International Luxury Conference.

“I think that (luxury brands) are thinking of this country as a hub, this city in particular as a hub, where people will go and buy things,” Menkes, the international fashion editor for Vogue, said during a visit to Seoul in July.

The real attraction for the brand names is the promotional reach into the rest of Asia and beyond provided by the so-called Hallyu (Korean Wave) of Korean TV shows and pop music.

The power of the Hallyu phenomenon was most recently demonstrated by the 2014 hit TV drama “My Love from Another Star”, which was enormously popular in China. AFP

do what I want with it.’”

But years of hardship have started to change habits in a country where official figures show a quarter of the population is at risk of poverty.

“In Greece, people used to think that good quality means high prices,” said Tonia Katerini, an architect who spends about 10 hours a week working in the Sesoula cooperative grocery store in Exarchia, downtown Athens.

But as Greece slumped into a deep six-year recession after the

Republic of the Philippines COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS Manila EN BANC IN RE: MANIFESTATION OF INTENT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PARTY-LIST SYSTEM OF REPRESENTATION IN THE MAY 9, 2016 ELECTIONS. ADVOCACY FOR SOCIAL, EMPOWERMENT AND NATION BUILDING THROUGH EASING POVERTY INC., represented by its Chairman Nick D. Medina, Petitioner. x------------------------------------------------------------------x

SPP Case No. 15-093 (PLM)

ORDER Acting on the Manifestation of Intent to Participate1 filed on May 6, 2015, the Commission en banc hereby directs ADVOCACY FOR SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT AND NATION BUILDING THROUGH EASING POVERTY INC. (KALINGA) to publish at its own expense in two (2) newspapers of general circulation the said manifestation together with the instant Order of the Commission within three days from receipt hereof.

Any interested party may file with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission a verified petition seeking to deny due course to the manifestation of intent to participate within five (5) days from the date of publication pursuant to Comelec Resolution No. 93662, Rule 3, Sec. 7, par. 13.

SO ORDERED. Given this 26th day of August, 2015, in the City of Manila, Philippines FOR THE COMMISSION (Sgd.) ANDRES D. BAUTISTA Chairman 1 2

3

Records, Office of the Clerk of the Commission Case Folder, pages 1 to 2.

Rules and Regulations Governing the: 1) Filing of Petitions for Registration; 2) Filing of Manifestation of Intent to Participate; 3) Submission of Names of Nominees; and 4) Filing of Disqualification Cases Against Nominees or Party-list Groups or Organizations Participating under the Party-list System of Representation in Connection with the May 13, 2013 National and Local Elections, and Subsequent Elections Thereafter.

“SEC 7. Petition to deny due course to a manifestation of intent to participate. - A verified petition seeking to deny due course to a manifestation of intent to participate.”

Demonstration. Farmers steering tractors arrive on highway E40 in Brussels on Sept. 7, 2015, for a farmers’ demonstration on the day of an extraordinnary European agriculture council. AFP

2008 financial crisis erupted, people began thinking harder about whether this was really true, she said.

The rice, lentils and olive oil on the shelves at the grocery are “on average 10 to 15 percent cheaper than in the supermarket,” said Katerini.

To achieve this, the grocery— like the 11 other cooperatives of its kind that have sprung up in Athens in recent years—skips the middlemen and negotiates directly with producers. AFP

TS(SEPT. 8, 2015)

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 , 2 0 1 5

B8

cESAR BARRioqUinTo EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Koreas begin reunion talks SEOUL—North and South Korean Red Cross officials kicked off talks Monday on organizing a rare and emotional reunion for families separated by the Korean War. The discussions at the border truce village of Panmunjom were the product of an agreement the two Koreas reached two weeks ago to end a dangerous military standoff and reduce cross-border tensions.

But given North Korea’s past record of manipulating the reunion issue for leverage over the South, there is no guarantee the planned event—only the second in five years—will go ahead.

Monday’s talks were expected to focus on confirming a date and venue for the event, with the most likely outcome a reunion at the North’s Mount Kumgang resort sometime in early October.

Millions of people were separated during the 1950-53 conflict that sealed the division between the two Koreas.

Most died without having a chance to see or hear from their families on the other side of the border, across which all civilian communication is banned.

About 66,000 South Koreans— many of them in their 80s or 90s—are on the waiting list for an eventual reunion, but only several hundred can be chosen each time.

“Most of these people are old and in poor health, and they are dying off in their thousands every year,” said Jung Jae-Eun, one of the Red Cross officials dealing with the separated families’ issue.

The reunion program began in earnest after a historic NorthSouth summit in 2000, and was initially an annual event.

But strained cross-border relations have allowed only one reunion in the past five years, with several being canceled at the last moment by North Korea.

For those on the waiting list, the reunion selection process is an emotional roller-coaster— raising hopes of a meeting they have longed for but which, statistically, they are very unlikely to experience. AFP

The exodus continues. Migrants cross the border line between Greece and Macedonia near the town of Gevgelija on Sept. 6, 2015.

Some 5,600 people crossed into Macedonia from Greece on Sept. 4, a jump that highlights the ever-rising numbers of migrants moving through Europe, the UN said on Sept. 5. Europe is facing a huge influx on all sides, with nearly 365,000 migrants and refugees having crossed the Mediterranean, often in flimsy boats and at the mercy of ruthless human smugglers, to reach the continent since January, according to fresh figures from the International Organization for Migration. AFP

Gulf nations’ actions on refugees a puzzle AMMAN—As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why the wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few.

By the end of August, more than four million Syrians had fled their country, but very few if any refugees have been officially accepted by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have donated billions to help refugees, but are facing in-

creasing scrutiny for their apparent unwillingness to accept migrants.

Why, ask many, as one of the greatest migration crises of modern times unfolds, are fellow Arab countries, with similar cultural and religious values and a relative proximity compared to Europe, doing little to help resettle people?

And, crucially, that criticism is being voiced not just in the West, but within the region itself.

In recent days, social media users in the Gulf have employed various hash tags, including “#Welcoming_Syria’s_refugees_ is_a_Gulf_duty”, to voice their disgust with the perceived inaction of the GCC states.

“The Gulf countries have to be ashamed when they see Europe’s doors open to Syrian refugees,

while they close before us,” Abu Mohammed, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee now living in Jordan, told AFP. An influx of Syrian refugees has swamped Europe this summer, with Germany alone expecting 800,000 new asylum applications this year and efforts under way to organize the relocations of tens of thousands more.

But in the oil-rich Gulf, the GCC states have been absent from talk of helping with the refugee crisis.

“Tragically, the cash-rich Gulf countries have not yet issued a statement on the crisis—much less come up with a strategy to help the migrants, who are overwhelmingly Muslim,” Qatar’s Gulf Times newspaper wrote in a recent editorial.

Sultan Al Qassemi, a prominent

Emirati blogger, wrote that the time had come for the Gulf countries to take the “moral, ethical and responsible step” of changing their policy towards accepting refugees.

Even the distraught father of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed ashore in Turkey, said at the funeral of his wife and two children: “I want Arab governments not European countries to see what happened to my children and, because of them, help people.”

Still, analysts say the outpouring of criticism is unlikely to bring about any quick changes in the GCC countries, none of which has signed the UN Convention on Refugees setting standards for the treatment and rights of those fleeing to a new country. AFP

China govt to manage public dancing

Longest-serving monarch. Stylist Luisa Compabassi poses with the re-styled wax figure of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II during a photocall at Madame Tussauds in central London on Sept. 7, 2015. The figure has been refreshed with a recreation of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee dress, in time for Sept. 9, when Queen Elizabeth becomes the longest reigning monarch in British history. AFP

BEIJING—A spate of noisy disputes between middle-aged women and nearby residents has prompted China’s communist leaders to step in and regulate dancing in public places, state media said Monday.

Groups of dancers often gather on China’s public squares and street corners performing choreographed routines to loud music, sometimes provoking anger from neighbors.

China will step up efforts to manage such dancers, creating a “public square dancing management mechanism” that will be “under government leadership”, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

“Public square dancing will enter

into the social management system,” Xinhua cited a joint statement from four central departments including the culture ministry and the civil affairs ministry as saying.

The agencies will manage dancing in accordance with existing laws, it added.

“Dancing in public squares, as a cultural sporting activity deeply loved by the masses... has enriched the spiritual lives of people,” the statement said.

But it added: “problems such as inadequate space and... disturbances to local residents by noise and defects in management mechanisms have gradually appeared”.

Square dancing has become a hot topic in China, with stories on dancing “damas”—a term referring to middle-aged and elderly women—lighting up state media.

But disputes have increased. A man in Beijing who could not bear the loud music played by local dancers was jailed for six months after he fired a gun into the air in protest, the state-run China Daily reported last year.

In the central Chinese city of Wuhan, a simmering dispute between enthusiastic “damas” and their irritated neighbors made headlines in 2013 when the residents threw coins, rocks and ultimately feces at the group in a bid to make them stop. AFP

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 : 2 0 1 5

C1

TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

A RTS, CU LT U RE & T ECH

LIFE Monica Amanda Gana and Garry Corpuz in the White Swan Pas de Deux

Earl John Arisola and Cyril Aran Fallar in Enrico Labayen's Cloth

Erl Emmanuel Sorilla in Alden Lugnasin's Cucurucucu Paloma

OF SWANS, BALLET AND HIV Photos by Jojo Mamangun

T

he rise in Human Immunodeficiency Virus cases by over 50 percent in the last three years is alarming, and yet many Filipinos are unaware of the prevalence of HIV. According to a study encompassing the period of January 2010 to April 2015, 84 percent of infections are acquired through males having sex with other males (MSM) as the predominant mode of transmission.

Reports of an average of 20 new cases daily this 2015 has compelled Ballet Philippines to raise its voice and spread awareness about the prevalence of HIV in the country.

This is the reason why BP opens its season with “Body Positive +, A Dance Gala for HIV Awareness” featuring excerpts from Swan Lake, Mark Bogaerts’ Bolero, Enrico Labayen’s Cloth, and other landmark pieces with the show celebrating the dancers’ innate athleticism in the context of the alarming rise of HIV in the Philippines.

According to Ballet Philippines Artistic Director Paul Alexander Morales, “When the HIV/AIDS epidemic struck many countries in the ’80s, the Philippines was mostly unaffected. Now it’s here, and it’s spreading at three times the rate that it did in 2012, but it’s hardly being talked about. Body Positive + is our small contribution towards changing that.”

One of the featured dances in the Body Positive + program is Enrico Labayen’s award-winning choreography, Cloth – a dance of two men that examines missed opportunities for meaningful

exhibit that will highlight health and well-being. The exhibit will be displayed at the CCP Little Theater lobby during the Body Positive +’s first weekend and will subsequently be toured to public venues all around Metro Manila.

Ballet Philippines (BP) is the flagship professional classical and contemporary dance company in the country. A resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, it was founded in 1969 by Alice Reyes and Eddie Elejar. It is widely recognized today as a cornerstone of the contemporary Filipino identity.

The Ballet Philippines Dance School continues to produce dancers of international caliber.

Jean Marc Cordero and Jemima Sanielle Reyes in the Black Swan Pas de Deux

Cyril Aran Fallar in Erl Emmanuel Sorilla's Requiem to a Cygnet

connections and unrequited emotions. Labayen’s works can be taken as a commentary on how society, politics and cultures deal with the plague from the Black Death in the dark ages up to the plague that haunts people today such as HIV/AIDS, SARS and the H1N1 virus. In 1997 Cloth won Labayen his first Isadora Duncan award for “Outstanding Achievement in Choreography,” and in 2011, he received the same award for his design and work entitled “en-Gulf-ed.” He is an

Jean Marc Cordero and Rita Angela Winder in Marc Bogaerts' Bolero

alumnus of Ballet Philippines and is a staunch AIDS advocate.

As expected from any Ballet Philippines production, fantastic dancing is involved, with several young ballerinas given the opportunity to shine with the White Swan and Black Swan Pas de Deux, as well as the iconic Cygnets pas de quatre from Swan Lake. Monica Amanda Gana and Garry Corpuz dazzle in the romantic White Swan, while Jemima Reyes and Jean Marc Cordero showcase their bravura in the Black Swan Pas de Deux.

These classical swans will also be joined by contemporary counterparts in Erl Emmanuel Sorilla’s “Requiem to a Cygnet.” Last performed this April at BP’s Young Dancers and Choreographers Showcase for International Dance Day, the piece features three male dancers in white tutus, mourning the death of their sibling.

Artletics Inc., a group of painters and visual artists convened by the social realist painter Manny Garibay, will join Ballet Philippines and show support by holding a 50-painting

Connect to Ballet Philippines online through the following social media networks: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ balletphilippine s; Tw it ter: @balletph; In stag ram: @ balletphilippines; YouTube: balletph. To join in the Ballet Philippines conversation, use the official hashtags: #balletph, #dancespring, #bodypositive, #bepositive. Body Positive + will be performed at the CCP Little Theater from September 12 to 19, 2015 at 6:00PM. For inquiries, visit www.ballet.ph, send an email to info@ballet.ph, or call Ballet Philippines at 551-1003. For tickets and reservations, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.

TUESDAY : SEPTEM B ER 8 : 2015

C2

VSCO Cam

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Insta Size

Textgram

@LIFEatStandard

Repost for Instagram

Insta Download

Instamessenger

Followers

7 APPS YOU NEED TO BE AN INSTAGRAM POWER USER For some, Instagram is just a photosharing app: “Let me take a picture of my lunch THE GIST and show my friends.”

BY ED BIADO Snap, filter, post, end of story. For others, Instagram is an art form, and dare I say that their feeds are curated like a real art gallery. Being an Instagram power user takes a lot of time, and requires some level of skill in the subtle art of digital photo manipulation and a bit of wit in captioning.

While we're not going to teach you how to style your feed, we will share with you some of the apps that these power users use to make their feeds as pretty as possible and along the process, gain more followers and fully control their Instagram experience.

Here we go:

VSCO CAM

Arguably the best editing app out there with a lot of moody vintage-style filters, VSCO Cam is a

social network itself where you can find other users within the community with beautiful pictures. You can, of course, take cues from them and apply their artistic nuances to your own shots.

INSTASIZE

Most people have uninstalled their autosizing app because Instagram recently added an orientation functionality that allows posting in landscape and portrait modes on top of the usual square mode.

But for artistic purposes, it's nice to post a landscape or portrait image in a square with plenty of white space around it. That's where InstaSize comes in, which does the job impeccably, allowing you to choose from a variety of borders. Plus, it's an editing tool as well.

TEXTGRAM

Want to share a quote?

A line from a movie or song perhaps? Use Textgram to add text to your images or a blank canvas and post

it directly to Instagram. Add stickers, text effects and other elements as you please. It's as easy as that. Need I say more?

REPOST FOR INSTAGRAM

This is quite selfexplanatory. Repost for Instagram lets you access anybody's public feed and copy their posts to your own feed. This is the most ethical way to repost because it attributes the image to the original poster.

The not-so-ethical way is to download or screencap the image and upload it directly, which honestly is quite tasking. So use this app instead.

INSTA DOWNLOAD

Sometimes, there are images that are so damn perfect (one of your crushes, perhaps?) that you simply have to save them to your phone. Instagram doesn't allow us to do that but thankfully, there's an app for that – and that is Insta Download.

You're welcome!

INSTAMESSAGE

Unlike the native Instagram Direct that limits direct messages to mutual followers (messages from people you don't follow appear as requests that you can either accept or deny), InstaMessage is a messaging app that lets you communicate with anyone on Instagram who has the app. Discover people around you, see who's online and know who among those you follow use the app. You can also follow Instagram accounts and like pictures on the fly.

FOLLOWERS

Instagram notifies you when you have a new follower, but it keeps mum when someone unfollows you. Followers is an account management app that lifts the veil and gives you all the dirt: new and lost followers, accounts that don't follow you back and accounts that you don't follow back. It even analyzes your stats to let you know what your fame and acclaim values are.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @EdBiado

Diageo Philippines empowers women through singing with Plan W 2015

D

iageo, the world’s largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine, aims to empower two million women from different socio-economic profiles across the globe by 2017 through its community investment program, Plan W. Globally, there are different programs depending on the culture of a particular country.

In China, the campaign trains migrant women in hospitality skills to support them in their roles in 4-5 star hotels in Chengdu. In India, they empower women by helping them become social entrepreneurs.

In Japan, the program teaches audiotyping skills for women and job seeking skills for single mothers through an e-learning program.

In the Philippines, Diageo wants to use “singing” as a medium to help women develop their skills, for instance by teaching participants how to conduct choirs. Singing has the potential not only to empower women,

The Philippine Madrigal Singers serenades the crowd during the launch of Diageo’s Plan W.

Diageo Philippines General Manager Jon Good and Sing Philippines choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio gesture ‘W” as a sign of support for women empowerment.

but to also bring communities together. Singing has always been a passion for Filipinos; we use the talent to compete globally or to work in hospitality businesses, or simply as a way to enjoy ourselves through karaoke.

“Through Plan W, Diageo Philippines affirms the Filipino’s gift for music and gives its women the opportunity to celebrate life in the way the country knows best: singing,” Diageo

Philippines General Manager Jon Good said. “Globally, Diageo knows that when women have access to learning and have an opportunity to pursue their passion, it creates a powerful ripple effect that impacts the society around them positively.

This is Plan W’s priority, and is part of the company’s 2020 Sustainability and Responsibility targets which aim to build thriving communities.”

Diageo partners with Sing Philippines to support the cause. Sing Philippines is the brainchild of the late Andrea O. Veneracion, National Artist for Music and founder of the Philippine Madrigal Singers. The organization has become known for embarking on provincial outreach tours to conduct workshops for self-taught music conductors. Today, the program is continued by current choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio. Together, Diageo and Sing Philippines share the same belief in uplifting the national Filipino spirit through singing in choirs.

Plan W targets women participants who are conductors and choral group teachers who have the potential and ability to teach music, but often have limited opportunity and access to formal training and education. These women will be provided with skills to organize and sustain choirs as they work towards uplifting the standards of choral singing in their respective communities.

To date, Pla n W has empowered more than 115,000 women and trained more than 43,000 men across 16 countries, impacting more than 575,000 people.

TUESDAY : SEPTEM B ER 8 : 2015

C3

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

EXHIBITS

CONCERTS

Box Forts for Big Children: Yasmin Sison Tall Gallery, Finale Art File, Makati City Ongoing until September 26

Le Petit Prince and Rhapsody in Blue Ayala Museum, Makati City September 9

In an attempt to relive and rediscover the childhood wonder that often gets lost in an adult, visual artist Yasmin Sison, in her latest exhibit, presents paintings, drawings, collages and tiny assembled objects inspired by, or at least named after, play and fairy tales.

Chaos and order come together in the paintings that “bring the outdoors indoors,” and in assembled objects and collages that use intuition, play and color to tell a narrative. While each piece aims to, in one way or another, reconnect with the inner child in everyone, Sison admits the process of creating this series was more technical than magical – all the more igniting that sense of wonder in an adult who tries something new for the first time.

Alliance Française de Manille, the French Embassy in the Philippines, in partnership with the Independent Philippine Art Ventures, present this musical adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Le Petit Prince and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue by the husband-and-wife tandem of pianist Thierry Huillet and violinist Clara Cernat.

Thierry and Clara have both performed alone and together in many countries across the globe, such as Brazil, China, Japan, Argentina, and Spain, among others. Joining the French couple in their performance is their son, Mael, who will interpret Le Petit Prince’s voice. Images of space courtesy of NASA will serve as the concert’s backdrop.

For more information about this ongoing exhibit, visit finaleartfile.com

Ticket prices range from P600 to P1,000; they may be availed at the Alliance Française de Manille, Independent Philippine Art Ventures Office, and Ticketworld. Dial (02) 891-9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph for more information.

Razzle Dazzle Artery Art Space, Quezon City Ongoing until October 31

Six Filipino contemporary artists join forces to dazzle audiences with a spectacle of creativity in this group exhibition with a simultaneous solo feature every week for the whole duration of the show. This exhibit showcases the creative inspiration in producing the works of Kris Abrigo, Dean Africa, Zeus Bascon, Gene Paul Martin, Carlo Ricafort and Tanya Villanueva.

At the first floor portal of the gallery lies the independent solo feature and fullyrealized outcomes of each artist’s work, while the second floor portal houses all of the featured artists’ artistic process. With varying themes and topics, the group exhibit is tied together by the six artists’ successful attempts at artistic pattern and design, fantastic narratives and configuration, Pop content and a surreal sense of wit.

Call (02) 725-2837 or email arteryartspace@gmail.com or visit arteryartspace.com for more details.

Pinoy Power Packs: Anting-Anting, Agimat and the Stories They Tell Bridgeway Gallery, Yuchengco Museum, Makati City Ongoing until November 7 Filipinos’ folk beliefs, spirituality and view of the world are highlighted and explored in this special exhibit that showcases talismanic amulets (known as anting-anting and agimat), sacred woods (dignum and alitagtag) and ephemeral materials (ink on linen or cotton and prayers on papers) from as early as the mid-19th century.

Pinoy Power Packs explores the animist symbols and icons found in the agimat, our modern interest in folk spirituality, and our unique way of seeking to approach God and hold the power of God within a medallion, handkerchief or vest. Along with the talismans are colonial religious sculpture and contemporary art by Ang Kiukok, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Leeroy New, and the late Santiago Bose and Roberto Villanueva.

For more information, call (02) 889-1234 or visit www.yuchengcomuseum.org

Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra 33rd Season: Claudia Yang Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater), Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila September 11 Opening the 33rd season of the Philippine Philharmonic O rche st r a i s note d Malaysian pianist Claudia Yang. Under the baton of Maestro Olivier Ochanine, Yang will play Franz von Suppé’s Pique Dame Overture (Queen Spades, 1864), Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (1830), and Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1, Op. 10 (1925).

Yang’s concert will also serve as the opening of Maestro Ochanine’s final season as the music director of the country’s leading orchestra.

Ticket prices are P1,500, P1,200, P800, P500, P400 and P300, with discounts available to students, senior citizens and groups. Subscription packages are also available for eight or four shows. For inquiries and reservations, call CCP Marketing at (02) 832-1125 loc.

1806, or CCP Box Office at (02) 832-3704, or Ticketworld at (02) 891-9999.

LECTURES Art and the Order of Nature: Conversations in Art Ayala Museum, Makati City September 15 to 20 Learn how to use geometr y and biomorphic principles to create traditional and contemporary design innovations across various creative disciplines, and understand how to apply the universal principles of design found in nature into traditional arts from the lecturers of the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts.

Learn from artist and art educator Ayesha Gamiet, ceramic designer and printer Samantha Buckley, and artist and consultant Leila Dear in this one-day, eye-opening lecture which is open to the public.

Tickets are available for P350 to P500. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 7598288 loc. 20 or email pstaworkshop@ayalafoundation.org

T U E S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 8 : 2 0 1 5

C4

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

FASCINATING PIECES IN LEON GALLERY’S SEPTEMBER AUCTION

D

iscriminating collectors will be delighted with the fascinating art pieces, objet d’art, and cuttingedge contemporary works that will be highlighted in Leon Gallery’s much-anticipated Magnificent September Auction slated this September 12.

Among the interesting artworks are two from the respective early shows of Anita Magsaysay-Ho (“Boti! Garapa!” circa 1946) and Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera (“Scavenger” from 1966) – each with fascinating histories and back stories.

Those familiar with MagsaysayHo would know that her paintings played an important role in the post-war rehabilitation efforts of the Commonwealth Government of President Sergio Osmeña who made it a goal to reconstruct our damaged cultural institutions and the “renascent vigor of Philippine culture." To highlight the effort, 47 artworks of Anita Magsaysay-Ho, including the oil on wood “Boti!

Garapa!” – were exhibited at the United States Information Library in Intramuros from February 23 to March 10, 1946, with First Lady Esperanza Osmeña as guest of honor during the opening reception.

Galo B. Ocampo, who at that time was the Chief of the Art Section, Office of the President, and incidentally, the artist’s classmate at UP, described the choice of Anita thus: “In the paintings of Miss Magsaysay, one sees an exceptionally gifted artist who will go on hurdling the obstacles that stand in the way.”

In 1966, the 24-year-old Benedicto Cabrera – or BenCab as the artist is more popularly known – together with his brother Salvador and friends Bibsy Carballo and Francisco Navarro, opened the Indigo Gallery in Mabini with his first solo show of some 16 artworks, including the piece “Scavenger.”

Debuting as well at this juncture was Sabel – the most recognized subject to appear in BenCab’s canvas – a real life vagabond who used to roam around Bambang district in Sampaloc where the artist grew up.

It is fascinating to note that Magsaysay-Ho’s “Boti! Garapa!” was retrieved from a garage sale for the trifling sum of $20 and BenCab’s “Scavenger” was found at a Salvation Army sale for $4.99!

Other items include an untitled work by Juan Luna – signed and dated 1884, oil on canvas – that features a comely European lady depicted in full figure in the formal dress of the time. The piece was acquired by National Artist Carlos Quirino, then the aide-de-camp of President Elpidio Quirino, during the latter’s state visit to Spain in 1951.

Two pieces from the Diaphanous series of preeminent modernist master Romulo Olazo, whose recent passing surprised the art word, stand as testaments to his indomitable commitment and devotion to his craft.

Art lovers will also be interested to see other items such as Fernando Zobel’s “Sin Titulo,” the stunning oil on canvas work from 1963, which presents a totally different approach and is perhaps one of

“Boti! Garapa!” by Anita Magsaysay-Ho

Untitled by Juan Luna

“Diaphanous” by Romulo Olazo

"Scavenger" by BenCab

the largest and more complex art pieces by Zobel. A pair of silver Paliteras (Palilleras) from the Suarez-Joven family of Bacolor Pampanga, harkens to a bygone, halcyon era – the 1850s – of refined and elegant living.

Capping the survey is a powerful round-up of contemporary art pieces from such artists as Ronald Ventura

with his untitled work from 2010 and a series in mixed media from 2005 and 2006. Jigger Cruz’s “Wandering Carnival,” signed and dated 2015, bares his trademark agitated, viscous style of deliberate defacement. Rodel Tapaya with his “The Fairy’s Flower Garden” is a powerful narrative where his vivid renditions give form to what people can only imagine.

Check out the Leon Gallery Magnificent September Auction 2015 on September 12, 2015, Saturday, 2 p.m. at the G/F, Eurovilla 1, Rufino corner Legazpi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City.

For more details, visit http://leongallery.com/ | info@leon-gallery. com | +632 856 2781

Local arts get boost from RWM and MBFI

C Resorts World Manila’s Director for Corporate Communications Owen Cammayo (2nd from left) together with Metrobank Foundation’s Assistant Program Manager Yvet Macayan (right) and MADE – N.O.W President Noell El Farol (left) hands over a donation to Ang Misyon, Inc. represented by Sistema for the Filipino Youth and Orchestra of the Filipino Youth Co-Founder and Artistic Director Jovianney Emmanuel Cruz (3rd from left).

hildren from deprived communities now have the opportunity to achieve their full musical potential, thanks to Strokes of Luck, a fundraising exhibit recently held in RWM’s Newport Mall, in partnership with Metrobank Foundation Inc. The exhibit showcased artworks by the artists of MADE – N.O.W. and served as an avenue for homegrown artists to put their works on display and raise funds to support projects spearheaded

by Ang Misyon and Project HeART. Ang Misyon is a donor-based organization that aims to ignite social change and youth development through the pursuit of excellence in classical music by providing an afterschool music program for children

from deprived communities. Project HeART on the other hand is an art psycho-social intervention program spearheaded by MADE-N.O.W. which encourages self-transformation and social identity among children in conflict with the law, children with autism, survivors of calamities and teachers through art.

As beneficiaries of the recent Strokes of Luck fundraising art exhibition, both programs each received P190,950.00 cash.

“Through this collaborative project, we were able to provide an avenue for homegrown artists to put their works and talents on display and at the same time raise funds to support projects that enable positive change in society,” said Owen Cammayo, RWM Director for Corporate

Communications. “We are glad to know that Ang Misyon, Inc. will use the funds to put out of school musicians back to mainstream schooling.”

RWM is committed towards achieving responsible corporate citizenship through sustainable projects such as the Pinoy Ultimate Jeepney (PUJ) Awards, Live & Love Green, League of Volunteer Employees (LOVE), Livelihood & Employment Assistance Program (LEAP), among others. These initiatives actively promote RWM’s three main advocacies: Philippine tourism and the arts, social development, and environmental sustainability.

Visit www.rwmanila.com/csr to find out more about Resorts World Manila’s Corporate Social Responsibility Programs.

T UES DAY : S EPT EMBER 8 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C5

1

CelebRity DaDS take oN CaRiNg RoleS R ecently, Dove Men+Care held the Plus Marks The Spot event to launch the new range of hair products and introduce the “new kind of man” – one that espouses strength through caring. Gone are the days when strength was defined by stereotypes of the quietly strong leader, the stoic provider and the unemotional hard-worker.

So, how does a man show his true strength?

Traditionally, the notion of strength has been equated to demonstrating power. But times are indeed changing. Now, we see the emergence of babysitting dads, bag-carrying boyfriends, and dog-hugging men. Indeed, new kind of man is ready to show that he cares.

Acknowledging the Filipino men known to actively exhibit their caring side, Dove Men+Care also introduced the newest #DoveMenPlus council.

Ryan Agoncillo : Host + Faith ful Husband and Father Doug Kramer : PBA Player + Devoted family man JC Intal : Athlete + Soon-ToBe Father Nico Bolzico : Businessman + Cheesy Husband-To-Be Mark Agas : Model + Caring Doctor Luke Landrigan : Surfer School Owner + Selfless Father Chappy Callanta: Strength and Conditioning Specialist + Loving Father James Deakin: Motoring Journalist + Social Servant The event was hosted by Marc Nelson and attended by some of Manila’s undeniably strong

and caring men such as Chucho Martinez and wife Mikaela, Patrick Garcia and wife Nikka.

Other prominent personalities include LA Aguinaldo, Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales, Cheska Garcia-Kramer, Phoemela Barranda, and Sam Valenciano.

You, too, can celebrate the #DoveMenPlus in your lives by visiting the www.DoveMenPlus.PH. NeW Dove MeN+CaRe FoRtiFyiNg ShaMPoo RaNge “And because Dove prides itself in giving real care to all, it is finally completing the Dove Men+Care Masterbrand by introducing a complete range of hair products for this new kind of man. Infused with caffeine, The Dove Men + Care Fortifying shampoo was developed to strengthen men’s hair, making it stronger + more resilient. It is also available in three variants: Strengthening, Anti-dandruff, and Refreshing Clean. The NEW and complete range of Dove Men+Care promises to provide the real care that men deserve. ” said Julia Ng, Dove Hair Brand Manager.

“Based on our research, men have weaker scalps and are more prone to hair fall due to breakage. Because of this, their hair concerns consists of hair flakes, freshness, and most off all, hair fall. So when it comes to choosing a shampoo, men look for products that are anti-dandruff, anti-hair fall and give a cooling sensation. Dove answers this with the recent introduction of its new range of hair products,” added Marlo Mangilin, Personal Care Research and Development director.

2

4

3

5

8

10

6

7

9

11

14

12

13

15

1 Marc Nelson, Chappy Callanta, Doug Kramer, James Deakin, Ryan Agoncillo, Mark Agas, Luke Landrigan, and Nico Bolzico 2 Apples Aberin, Unilever Head of PR, Gina Lorenzana, Unilever VP for Personal Care, and Doug Kramer 3 Cheska Kramer 4 Marc Nelson 5 Bituin and Chappy Callanta 6 Sam Valenciano 7 James Deakin 8 Patrick and Nikka Garcia 9 Felicisimo Agas Jr. M.D., Mark Agas, Filomena Agas M.D. 10 Nico Bolzico 11 Tweetie de Leon-Gonzales 12 Ryan Agoncillo 13 Unilever Head of PR Apples Aberin with Ryan Agoncillo 14 Kai and Luke Landrigan 15 Chucho and Mika Martinez

iPhoto

Mutya beauties at ResoRts WoRld Manila

W Mutya Philippines 2015 Beauties at RWM

inners at the recent Mutya Ng Pilipinas 2015 visited the offices of the country’s premier lifestyle and tourism destination, Resorts World Manila (RWM) which hosted this year’s search at its grand Newport Performing Arts The-

ater on Aug. 2.

With RWM Chief Operating Officer Stephen Reilly (center) are (from left) Mutya Ng Pilipinas-Overseas Communities Nina Josie Robertson, Mutya Ng Pilipinas-Tourism International Janela Joy Cuaton, Mutya Ng Pilipinas 2015 Julee

Ann Marie Bourgoin, Mutya Ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International Leren Mae Bautista, Mutya Ng Pilipinas 1st Runner Up Julee Ann Marie Bourgoin, and Mutya Ng Pilipinas 1st Runner Up Brenna Cassandra Gamboa, and Mutya ng VIVA Hershey Gajudo.

T UES DAY : S EPT EMBER 8 2015

C6

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

SM CinEMa, SnaCk TiME anD SMaRT PaREnTing bRing MOMS anD kiDS TOgEThER

C

elebrating Disney’s biggest movie of the year, Inside Out, SM Cinema and Snack Time held a parent-and-child workshop to encourage family bonding activities and to enlighten new parents on their children’s behavioral patterns, while enjoying a free afternoon of pampering, snacks, games, and other freebies.

Fulfilling SM’s goal to provide bonding activities for families through entertainment, SM Cinema and Snack Time, together with Smart Parenting, initiated a free parenting workshop filled with pockets of wonderful lessons for moms and moms-to-be guised

as exciting activities for parents and kids alike.

While children were left to enjoy activities at the kiddie corner, parents were invited to attend talks on effective parenting methods by seasoned speakers such as Roselle Miranda, Mark Dean Lim, and Aiza Tabayoyong. Capping of the afternoon, patrons were invited to proceed to SM Cinema to watch the advanced screening of “Inside Out.” From the creators of Up, Inside Out is the must-watch film for families.

Introducing the mind of a young girl with five personified emotions—namely Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger-- these

Kapuso child actor Migs Cuaderno among the characters of Inside Out

five emotions lead her through life as she encounters new and uncomfortable changes in a new city. Directed by Pete Docter and Filipino Ronaldo Del Carmen, Inside Out received critical praise for its concept and moving story

on family, which were successfully presented in an entertaining and easily understandable manner.

SM Cinema is the leading cinema brand in the Philippines garnering up to 60 percent of cinema and exhibition in the country.

Strongly supporting Disney, SM Cinema is showing Inside Out in its theatres nationwide. Buy your snacks and merchandise at Snack Time, found at any SM Cinema, to complement your movie-watching experience.

‘StorieS’ foCuSeS on Sex traffiCking Stories, CNN Philippines’ top-rated primetime documentary block, presents A Path Appears.

In this five-part documentary series, Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn continue their crusade against gender inequality and poverty.

A Path Appears is the continuation of the no.1 New York Times bestselling book-turned-documentary, Half the Sky: Turning

Stories focuses on sex trafficking of children

Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

The first episode of A Path Appears opens our eyes to sex trafficking in the United States.

The US Department of Justice estimates that there are 300,000

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 45 46 47 50 53 54 58 62 63 66 67 68 69 70 71 72

Hydrocarbon suffix Fencers’ blades Furnished Mighty — — oak Pocket watch chain Egg-laying mammals Movies, slangily Pushpin Priest’s place Lift anchor Woody’s son “The Wreck of the Mary —” Whodunit name Herr’s abode Uplift Dispatch

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Prima donna 5 Air-mass boundary 10 Hey, you!

14 Ginza purchases 15 Nonsocial person 16 Journalist — Ducommun 17 Gave temporarily 18 Open a gift 19 Loan figure 20 Uses, as influence

22 24 25 26 30 35 36 37 38 41 43 44

Cover crops Sigh of delight Latin I verb Miners’ job Thorax Facilitate Worn-out horse “M*A*S*H” locale Attic, often Braggart’s vacation? (2 wds.)

Heavy horns Writer Harper —

DOWN 1 Mete out 2 Alpine goat 3 Watermelon source 4 Houston team 5 Embarrassed, perhaps 6 L. — Hubbard 7 Toronto’s prov.

8 Simon and Diamond 9 Park features 10 Amazon source 11 — dunk 12 Construction —

children at risk of being trafficked into sexual slavery.

Kristoff, along with celebrity advocates Ashley Judd and Blake Lively visit the survivors of sex trafficking and prostitution. They look into the survi-

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

13 21 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 39 40 41 42 44 48 49 51 52 54 55 56 57 59 60 61 64 65

Jeans go-withs Playpen occupant Sticky-footed lizard Poached item Tend the turkey Like a happy face (2 wds.)

Hacienda brick No, to a laird Fashionable Goofed up Trawler gear Pre-recorded “Norma —” Mineral analysis Always, in poems Chaucer’s name Hosp. staffer Library abbr.

Wading birds Hammett sleuth Ran a fever Nile god Pasternak woman Bill of Rights org.

Round stoppers Mind Potter’s oven Hill slider — chi ch’uan Woof!

vors’ stories of struggle against abuse and violence. The survivors also share their journey to recovery with the guidance of their mentors from different foundations and programs across the country.

While A Path Appears shows us the grim reality of exploitation and oppression, it also points out that there are solutions.

Watch the first episode of Stories: A Path Appears on Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. only on CNN Philippines.

T UES DAY : S EPT EMBER 8 2015

C7

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

regAl Films driving ForCe

A

ugust is a special month for Mother Lily Monteverde. It is her birth month ( she was born Aug. 19) and the anniversary month of her movie company, Regal Films, Inc. From a struggling businesswoman, she forged on to dip her hands into the topsy-turvy world of movie production in which she hurdled major challenges and scored even bigger successes.

Her initial project served to inspire the then budding producer to churn out even bigger film projects which eventually gave birth to her very own stable of stars now popularly known as the Regal Babies.

Through Mother Lily’s sheer hard work, unquestionable gut feel, ideas and concepts that click with the masses, hands on approach in promotions and publicity, Regal Films grew to be one of the movie industry’s influential major players for decades.

The Regal matriarch did not content herself and stop with just box-office hits. She also dabbled and bankrolled socially relevant films that reaped recognition from local award-giving bodies and in international film festivals.

Times may have changed with the onset of social media and digitized filmmaking but Regal Films still remains to be a strong force and key player in film production.

It has interestingly kept with the pace and it has evolved in its manner of developing and producing projects.

Projects that manage to showcase the dynamism, tried and tested touch, heart and soul of Mother Lily.

Lily Monteverde celebrated her birthday and Regal Films anniversary last month

From C8

Competition may be rough and the cost of producing movies may be limiting, but for as long as Mother Lily is behind the wheel, Regal will continue to rise above the challenges and deliver the kind of entertainment its dear moviegoers deserve.

This year alone, Regal has released quite a number of projects.

It has also introduced its newest batch of Regal Babies that Mother Lily personally handpicked with daughter Roselle Monteverde.

For the last quarter of 2015, Regal has lined up four fresh offerings.

These are the horror-adventure teen barkada movie Resureksyon starring Paulo Avelino, Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Isabelle Daza, the romantic-drama No Boyfriend Since Birth with Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez under director Joey Javier Reyes, the Jennylyn Mercado-Sam Milby romantic-comedy The PreNup shot partly in New York City and the MMFF entry, The Haunted Mansion starring Janella Salvador, Marco Mortel and Jerome Ponce megged by award-winning writer-director Jun Lana, who is also at the helm of The PreNup. HHHHH

toFArm Film FestivAl The search and award for The Outstanding Farmer of the Philippines (TOFARM) will hold film festival. It will be known as TOFARM Film Festival, and it is the first ever to be held with the theme “The Plight of the Farmer: His Trials and Triumphs.”

A committee will select six films and given grants to produce them.

The grants to each winning screenplay is P1.5 million, released in

three tranches of P500,000.00 until completion of the film. Additional cost, if the production goes beyond the grant amount will be shouldered by the producer.

The deadline for the submission of screenplays is on Oct. 16 and the six screenplays chosen will be announced on Nov. 27.

TOFARM Film Festival will be officially launched on Dec. 4.

Entries should be submitted to TOFARM Secretariat, 10th Floorm Harvester Corporate Center, 158 P. Tuazon corner 7th and 8th avenues, Cubao, Quezon City.

For more details and rules on the contest, visit www.tofarm.org.

HHHHH

e! PAys triBute to JoAn rivers On the one-year anniversary of Joan Rivers’ passing, E! remembers the laughter and fun that the comedy icon brought to fans around the world with the 30-minute special, Celebrating Joan airing at 8p.m. tonight.

Hosted by daughter Melissa Rivers, the special will feature some of Joan’s funniest, most outrageous and most memorable moments from her years on Fashion Police. Highlighted in the 30-minute show will be the best of Joan’s bloopers and mishaps, her most unforgettable (and obviously hilarious) moments, along with some of the biggest and funniest guests from Joan’s four years on the series.

Plus the special will feature highlights of Joan’s conversations about the “Birds and the Bees,” along with footage of all the times she used her favorite word on Fashion Police.

E! pays tribute to Joan Rivers

CeleBrity grooming

Beauty seCrets of a Beauty queen

B

Marina Benipayo's tells her secret to maintaining her beauty

eing both busy and beautiful takes discipline and work. Supermodel-turned beauty queen-turned actress Marina Benipayo shares her regimen for lasting beauty.

“I maintain basic hygiene and skin care practices, which can in any way, help me maintain my skin and body,” Benipayo said. “Regular exercise and a balanced diet are always the best way to keep healthy.”

Models need to wear makeup on the job and that’s a fact. So skincare takes center stage, Benipayo noted. “The times when I have to wear makeup, cleansing and maintaining good skin can be a challenge. So, after cleansing, I apply Up&Up to make sure my skin recovers well.”

And while many of the uninitiated may think that a ‘party-harder’ lifestyle is part and parcel of a model’s daily bread, Benipayo

swears by getting enough sleep and relaxation: “I also make sure I get some rest in between schedules. Although, I also do the housework, I try my best to manage my time so I won’t feel too tired. It also helps that I see what good I can get from anything I do, for me to feel less tired.”

Benipayo also shared her Up&Up experience, saying “it definitely felt like it was starting to treat my face to an avalanche of vitamins to instantly improve.

By the second week, I noticed my face was clearer and younger-looking.”

“I appreciate the promise that Up&Up gives to women my age,” Benipayo said. “It gives us the hope that despite the busy schedule we have, there’s a product which will help us prevent or at least, keep at bay the onset of the signs of aging.”

“I think Up&Up will give its competitors a run for their money,” she added. “It’s an effective product, very suitable for Asian skin, and it causes absolutely no downtime at all. I can use it at any time of the day – in the morning, in evening, before I put on makeup. It’s an instant vitamin treatment for the face.”

“Staying beautiful doesn’t only entail good skin care and the right amount of physical activity,” Benipayo adds as a parting shot.

“Bad stress and negative thinking can also cause us to look older than our age. So, along with caring for our bodies, we should also learn to manage our time, stress levels and behavior.”

For more information, visit its website at www.beautique.ph; like its Facebook page BeautiqueManila; follow on Twitter @HyC150 or Instagram shop.beautique.

T UES DAY : S EPT EMBER 8 2015

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Luna briefing his soldiers

Historical films make a big comeback One of the battle scenes in the film

Paulo Avelino is General Gregorio del Pilar

ISAH V. RED Last year, Robin Padilla played Andres Bonifacio in what he said was the film that will make the audience understand the national hero all the more. Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo was honored in the Metro Manila Film Festival with a Best Picture award.

This probably inspired producers of the film to bankroll another historical movie, this time about the least understood hero in Philippine history.

Artikilo Uno Productions is presenting the life of General Antonio Luna (born Antonio Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta in Manila of Ilocano parents) in a film called Heneral Luna. It opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow.

According to the producers, “the film resonates with Filipino audience, particularly in terms of evoking patriotism and rekindling a deeper appreciation of Philippine history, politics, and nationhood.”

John Arcilla plays Gen. Luna, who said during the press conference at Victorino’s, “Malinaw po sa amin na ang ating movie goers ay mahilig sa rom-com and horror.

But we invite them to take a risk and watch this historical film because this is presented differently—isang masigla, masaya, at punong puno ng aksyon na pagbalik sa nakaraan.”

Joining him in this biopic on the life and times for the fierce General Luna are Mon Confiado as Emilio Aguinaldo, Epy Quizon as Apo-

better sense of fulfillment than to create that kind of impact with his audience, and I’m very happy that Heneral Luna has inspired a ‘cultural reawakening’ of sorts among today’s younger generations,” he said.

As an interesting sidelight, singer-songwriter Ebe Dancel wrote the theme song of Heneral Luna, titled “Hanggang Wala Nang Bukas.” The anthemic rock song is now playing on FM stations.

Himself a staunch advocate of patriotism, Ebe said, “I think there should be a little General Luna in all of us. Let us not be afraid to stand up for the things we believe in.” ➜ continued on c7

Gen Luna (Arcilla) and Jose Alejandrino (Alvin Anson) in a scene from Heneral Luna

linario Mabini, Leo Martinez as Pedro Paterno, Nonie Buencamino as Felipe Buencamino, Bing Pimentel as Doña Laureana Luna y Novicio, Mylene Dizon as Isabel, Ketchup Eusebio as Captain Pedro Janolino, Arron Villaflor as Joven Hernando, and Paulo Avelino as General Gergorio del Pilar.

Based on a script written in 1998

by E.A. Rocha and the late Henry Hunt Francia, Directot Jerrold Tarog found the material and revised it for a contemporary audience.

Set against the backdrop of the

Gen. Luna (John Arcilla) with fellow soldiers played by Alex Medina and Joem Bascon

Philippine American war, Heneral Luna dares to provoke strong reactions with its brutal depiction of history. The film asks some hard-hitting questions: Was General Luna a hero or a rogue? Why was he feared—not just by the soldiers of the revolutionary army— but also by certain elements in the newly formed and tenuous cabinet of President Emilio Aguinaldo?

And was Luna’s death the handiwork of an elaborate conspiracy?

“The issue here is bigger than the movie and even bigger than

General Luna himself,” John explained. “In more ways than one, this is a timely wake up call for all of us. It makes us question our Filipino psyche, and makes us ask why we, despite the hundred years or so that have transpired, haven’t really changed at all as a nation.”

Director Tarog, who is actively involved in the movie’s nationwide school tour in partnership with Dakila, is constantly amazed at the keen interest of students in the film and its themes.

“For a filmmaker, there is no

Set against the backdrop of the Philippine American war, Heneral Luna dares to provoke strong reactions with its brutal depiction of history