The Standard - 2016 March 8 - Tuesday

VOL. XXX NO. 27 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 TUESday : MaRCH 8, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

AFP, PNP still most corrupt agencies

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milF: isis PuttiNg uP Ph stroNgholD KUALA LUMPUR—The Islamic State is trying to establish a stronghold in Mindanao, the head of the nation’s biggest Muslim rebel organization warned Monday.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Murad Ebrahim said the extremist IS seeks to capitalize on growing frustration over the

Account for P1.5b from dole, Dinky told

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breakdown of efforts to end a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion in the southern Mindanao region.

The peace process has been frozen since Congress failed last month to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law that would have granted greater autonomy to the region.

“Now, after the non-passage of the [bill], we are quite concerned that they [the IS] can capitalize on this, because the sentiment of

the people in the area is now very strong. The frustrations after the non-passage of the law—they can capitalize on that,” Murad told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Gunmen pledging allegiance to the jihadists controlling vast swathes of Iraq and Syria have instigated a series of deadly battles

with the Army in Mindanao since Congress failed to pass BBL. Murad said the MILF was seeking dialogue with IS-allied militants to dissuade them for further attacks.

But the military questioned Murad’s assessment, saying the

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Chiz still leads VP race; Cayetano fading

By Joyce Pangco Pañares SENATOR Francis Escudero maintained a six-point lead over his closes rival in the vice presidential race, the latest The Standard Poll showed.

Escudero led with 30 percent, followed by Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (24 percent), Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo (20 percent), Senator Alan

Cayetano (11 percent), Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (seven percent) and Senator Gringo Honasan (4 percent).

The nationwide survey of 3,000 respondents, conducted from Feb. 24 to March 1, showed that Cayetano lost the most in terms of voter support, dropping four percentage points from 15 percent in January.

Cayetano’s rating went down across

all major geographic areas, but especially in the National Capital Region and Mindanao where his running mate, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, has been doing well in previous surveys.

Cayetano went down 10 percentage points in Metro Manila (from 17 percent in January to 7 percent in February) and five percentage points in

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MILF: ...

From A1

MILF was merely using the IS—also referred to as Daesh—to gain attention.

“We believe that the names of big groups like the Daesh are only being brought into the conversation because of their desire to get further attention from many of the players out there in the field,” said Brig. Gen. Resituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Padilla dismissed reports about the presence of Islamic terrorists.

“There is no direct verifiable and credible presence of any international groups within the area,” he said.

Padilla said the military did not put much stock in Murad’s statement, but took seriously the ability of local terrorist groups to recruit young members.

Vice presidential candidate Senator Gregorio Honasan II on Monday urged the intelligence service of the AFP to verify and validate the presence of the Daesh in Mindanao.

Violence has plagued Mindanao for decades during a Muslim separatist insurgency that has claimed 120,000 lives.

The MILF signed a peace accord with the government in 2014 to end its struggle for independence, which began in the 1970s.

Despite the non-passage of the BBL, the MILF has pledged to honor a ceasefire while it awaits elections at mid-year.

“We cannot completely abandon armed struggle, but we always believe we have to give supremacy, primacy to the peace process because we believe the solution to the problem is still political,” Murad said.

Dinky asked to account Chiz... for P1.59b in handouts From A1

By Christine F. Herrera

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga—The opposition United Nationalist Alliance demanded Monday that Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman account for P1.59 billion from her department’s 4Ps dole program which the Commission on Audit said did not reach poor households in eight regions as intended in 2015.

UNA issued its statement after Soliman criticized its presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, for saying he would expand and improve the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the government’s P62-billion dole program.

“Instead of sneering at UNA standard-bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay’s plans to solve the failures and expand the valuable features of the government’s flagship anti-poverty program, perhaps Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman would like to inspect the price of her agency’s incompetence,” UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said.

In its 2015 consolidated audit report on official development assistance programs, the CoA found that the 4Ps program administered by Soliman was riddled with “inaccuracies in the list of beneficiaries, distribution gridlocks, non-receipt or underpayments, noncompliance with requirements, and verification issues.”

“Help was either delayed or not given at all, based on the [CoA] report.

The DSWD has not been successful in carrying out its mandate to extend assistance to those in need. Even worse, the 4Ps has constantly been riddled with problems,” Ilagan said.

The 4Ps had a budget of P62.3 billion in 2015, but after some P15.32 billion was downloaded for the overthe-counter payment of cash stipends to qualified families in eight regions, the DSWD was only able to distribute P13.72 billion, the CoA report said.

“This means that P1.59 billion did not reach poor households as intended. Furthermore, it showed millions of pesos in costs for the program’s OTC disbursements to its 499,648 beneficiaries,” Ilagan added.

For this reason, he said, CoA ordered a strict continued monitoring on the 4Ps “to ensure efficient fund utilization and timely delivery of assistance to various beneficiaries.”

“The CoA report showed 1,872 cases of double entries and the uncollected fees by 6,687 beneficiaries, and 7,613 complaints of lack of payment or underpayment even though the beneficiaries had compliance certificates,” Ilagan said.

In Region 6, Ilagan said, CoA noted that some 4,445 4Ps qualified beneficiaries were given “deficient” cash grants for November to December last year due to the delay in updating the database.

There were also 7,613 complaints of non-receipt or under payment despite certification of full compliance to requirements, CoA said.

CoA also noted “non-submission or much delayed submission of disbursement vouchers rendering doubtful the validity of claims.”

The main objective of 4Ps was to

provide monetary assistance to extremely poor families for their immediate needs and ensure social development by “breaking the poverty cycle by investing in the health and education of poor children” in all 17 regions in the country.

The program covers 79 provinces, 132 cities, and 1,484 municipalities.

As of June 24, 2015, the program has 4,436,732 registered household-beneficiaries and 10,888,887 schoolchildren aged 0 to 18.

“Why has the program not covered more when we have so many Filipinos languishing in poverty? How many years has Secretary Soliman spent at the helm of the DSWD? Why has she not solved the problems in the system?” Ilagan said.

A total of P17.75-billion cash grants were released to eligible beneficiaries as of June. From this amount, P7.95 billion went to educational expenses, and P9.8 billion went to health needs.

A beneficiary gets a health grant of P500 a month or P6,000 a year and educational assistance of P300 per child every month for 10 months or a total of P3,000 per child. Each household can register a maximum of three children.

Ilagan said the DSWD has only enrolled 36,003 beneficiaries for educational assistance, and only 4.4 million beneficiaries were covered under the National Health Insurance Program.

Binay, in his visits to provinces during the campaign season, has vowed to improve and expand the 4Ps to include senior citizens.

“To Secretary Soliman, fix your agency first, then if there’s still time to spare which we doubt, you may nitpick on the platforms of your chosen presidential candidate’s opponents,” said Ilagan. With Vito Barcelo

Mindanao (from 24 percent to 19 percent) where Duterte’s rating went up 13 percentage points to 49 percent during the same survey period.

Retired admiral Reuben Lista, co-convenor of the Alyansang Duterte-Bongbong (AlDuB), said he does not attribute Cayetano’s declining rating to the AlDuB movement.

“All I can say is that AlDuB believes that Duterte and Marcos will be the best leaders this country will ever have as they are espousing what our people are yearning for—peace and order and moving forward as a nation through national unity,” Lista said in a phone interview.

Cayetano’s rating decreased across major regions in Mindanao except in Caraga where his rating rose five percentage points to 18 percent.

His numbers went down in Zamboanga Peninsula (19 percent to 12 percent), Northern Mindanao (26 percent to 20 percent), Davao Region (38 percent to 31 percent), Cotabato Region (22 percent to 14 percent), and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (24 percent to 15 percent).

When asked for their top reasons for not voting for Cayetano, the survey respondents gave the following answers: they do not know Cayetano (17 percent), they have not heard of any project he was done (16 percent), he does not have enough experience in government (15 percent), and he is all talk and no action (13 percent).

Escudero and Marcos were tied in the top spot in NCR with 31 percent each. The two were statistically tied in Mindanao with Escudero getting 22 percent and Marcos, 21 percent.

Escudero led in South Luzon/Bicol (41 percent), Marcos took North/Central Luzon (43 percent) and Robredo retained her lead in the Visayas (33 percent).

Escudero remained the top choice among voters from both urban and rural areas with 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively.

Across economic classes, Marcos led in the upper and middle classes ABC with 32 percent while Escudero had a clear lead among Class D (30 percent) and Class E (30 percent) voters.

The survey had 3,000 respondents—all of whom are registered voters with biometrics and who said they are sure to vote in the May elections—from 79 provinces across the country, 40 highly urbanized cities and the 17 cities in the NCR.

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Lumad raise plaint to UN

By John Paolo Bencito and Maricel V. Cruz

In women’s shoes. Volunteers of the National Youth Commission try to walk in women’s shoes during a march for Women’s Month on Monday. AFP

‘PNP, AFP still most corrupt govt agencies’

By Florante S. Solmerin

FOLLOWING local government units, the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are still the most corrupt government agencies, the Ombudsman said in a report released Monday.

“For five straight years, officials from local government units [LGU] and members of the Philippine National Police [PNP] topped the chart as the agencies with the most number of cases filed with the Office of the Ombudsman,” Morales said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is at third place followed by the Department of Education (fourth); Department

of Environment and Natural Resources (fifth); State Universities and Colleges (sixth); Department of Agriculture (seventh); Department of Finance (eighth); and Department of Agrarian Reform (ninth).

“Based on the report submitted by the Finance and Management Information Office, cases against LGU officials rose by 31 percent, an increase from 2,053 cases in

2014 to 2,697 in 2015, while cases against members of the PNP increased from 1,258 in 2014 to 1,265 in 2015,” Morales said.

Surprisingly, Ombudsman Conchita Morales there has been a “downward trend” of corruption cases at the Bureau of Customs, now at 10th place.

“In contrast, the Bureau of Customs, at 10th place, registered a downward trend with 177 cases in 2011 to 81 cases in 2012, 76 cases in 2013, 84 cases in 2014 and 70 cases in 2015,” she said, noting the cases filed included both criminal and administrative complaints.

Morales released the report a month after Transparency International noted in its annual Cor-

ruption Perceptions Index that the Philippines slipped 10 notches in ranking of corruption perception in 168 countries.

In the 2015 CPI released late January, the Philippines got a score of 35 out of 100, 10 notches lower than its ranking last year. Philippines scored 34 in 2012, 36 in 2013, and 38 in 2014.

The scores in the CPI, which could be from a scale of 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), are based on “expert opinions of public sector corruption.”

Transparency International also observed that two-thirds of the 168 countries have scores below 50, adding that no country in the world is completely corruption-free.

ASSISTED by human rights activists, Mindanao tribal folk filed a formal complaint before the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons over the burning of a refugee camp for displaced indigenous people, or lumad, in a church compound in Davao City.

Michelle Campos, daughter of slain lumad leader Dionel Campos, submitted the complaint to UN Special Rapporteur Dr. Cheloka Beyani assisted by rights group Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay and its coordinator Dr. Naty Castro.

Palabay said the continuing harassment of lumad evacuees seeking refuge at the UCCP Haran Compound, and the insistence of state actors to force them back to their communities, show a lack of understanding of their plight and a lack of concern for their safety and welfare.

In July 2015, Dr. Beyani was in the Philippines for an official visit to investigate the human rights situation of people displaced

by Typhoon “Yolanda”, communities affected by mining activities and those who were forcibly evacuated from their communities because of military operations.

In his exit statement, Beyani expressed alarm at the incident and said tribal leaders “reported that their communities were consistently being manipulated and divided and that they had been harassed and received threats when they expressed their opposition.”

Ping: Why was witness at rally?

By Christine F. Herrera, Vito Barcelo, John Paolo Bencito and Macon Araneta

Witness on the stump. Former Makati City vice mayor Ernesto Mercado tries to explain to journalists why he was at a political rally of the Liberal Party although he is under the government’s Witness Protection Program. LINO SANTOS

CLARK FREEPORT—Opposition United Nationalist Alliance senatorial guest candidate Panfilo Lacson Jr. on Monday questioned the presence of whistleblower Ernesto Mercado in a political rally of the Liberal Party, saying Mercado had no business being in the rally and the casinos.

Lacson immediately blamed the Department of Justice for sanctioning Mercado’s “escapades” when he was supposed to be confined in a safe house at all times.

“I have no qualms. I won’t mince words.

WPP [Witness Protection Program] has a lot of explaining to do. I don’t see any business for [Mercado] to be in casinos much less in [place far from Metro Manila],” Lacson said.

“I think WPP should really explain why they secure their witnesses in such a manager. The witness, under the WPP, is supposed to be confined in a safe house because the national government is using our taxes and he can only get out if it was related to his being a witness,” said the senator, who used to be director general of the Philippine National Police.

“How can you protect a witness in a casino? Or in a political rally? Something doesn’t add up.”

The Binay camp on Monday also pressed for a probe on the LP’s alleged funding of the cockfighting and casino gambling spree of Mercado, who was seen wearing a yellow shirt at Monday’s campaign rally of Roxas at the Makati Coliseum, two days after he lost and gambled away P300,000 in the casinos here.

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SC warned over Grace’s cases CLARK Freeport, Pampanga—A ranking opposition official on Monday cautioned the Supreme Court justices against toying with the Constitution on the disqualification cases against presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe of the Partido Galing at Puso or they would face impeachment proceedings.

Campaign sortie. At the prodding of the crowd, presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II kisses his wife Korina Sanchez during a campaign sortie at the Makati Coliseum on Monday. LiNo SANtoS

Supreme Court to vote on Poe’s petitions THE Supreme Court’s justices are scheduled to hold special en banc sessions starting today to resolve the petitions of Senator Grace Poe seeking to reverse the Commission on Elections’ decision canceling her Certificate of Candidacy for this year’s elections.

A highly placed source said the justices would likely vote on Poe’s petitions assailing the Comelec ruling disqualifying her from running for president because she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen and she failed the 10-year residency requirement.

Retired Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban on Monday said there was no reason why the Supreme Court should uphold the Comelec’s cancellation of Poe’s Certificate of Candidacy.

He said even if the entries on Poe’s citizenship and residence were false, Poe’s CoC could not be canceled in the absence of

proof that those misrepresentations are “intentional, deliberate and willful.”

Poe on Monday said she remained hopeful that the high court would find for her.

Poe, who continues to lead the pre-election surveys, said the merits of her case and the positive statements of the magistrates including Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno were giving her hope.

“We are continuously praying and hoping based on what we have been hearing from the Supreme Court,” Poe said.

The high court insider said the justices initially set the deliberations in a regular session today following the submission of a draft decision last week.

However, since the concurring and dissenting opinions had yet to be submitted by some justices today, they decided to just hold a special session for the voting.

The draft decision of the assigned justice reportedly affirmed the Comelec decisions disqualifying Poe for material misrepresentation in her Certificate of Candidacy by claiming that she met the 10-year residency requirement before the May elections.

It also appeared that the draft decision was silent on the issue of Poe’s eligibility for being a foundling since the justice-in-charge believed that the high court could resolve the case without the need to rule on such contentious issue.

The source said the other magistrates were expected to disagree on this opinion with the belief that the senator was eligible for the presidency and would meet the required residency.

Observers in the judiciary said Poe’s petitions would likely be granted by the majority of the high court justices.

The source cited the sym-

pathetic opinions by some of the magistrates.

“Based on the opinions made by Chief Justice [Maria Lourdes] Sereno and the other justices appointed by President Aquino, you can observe that they are inclined to agree with the arguments of Poe’s lawyers during the oral arguments,” the source said.

The source was referring to the opinions expressed by Sereno, Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Francis Jardeleza that tended to support Poe’s petitions that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it canceled her CoC for the May 9 elections.

“The Sereno bloc, which is composed of six justices, will just need at least two more justices to vote in favor of granting Poe’s petition to set aside the Comelec decision and allow her to run for president,” the source said. Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Former House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, who is running unopposed for the congressional seat representing Quezon, issued the warning a day before the high tribunal hands down its decision on whether or not Poe is qualified to run for president.

“The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the highest law of the land and the Constitution’s mandate is very clear on the residency requirement,” said Suarez, the campaign manager of Vice President Jejomar Binay who is running for president under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance.

“A presidential candidate, to qualify for the race, must have resided in the country as a Filipino citizen for a minimum of 10 years. Misinterpreting the Constitution is a ground for impeachment.”

Apparently not wanting to get embroiled in the impeachment issue, UNA communications director Joey Salgado clarified Suarez’s statement was not the opposition party’s official position.

Suarez contradicted the positions of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Francis Jardeleza, who invoked the rights of the senator as a foundling.

In last month’s hearing, Jardeleza questioned

Commission on Elections Commissioner Arthur Lim and the magistrate insisted Poe was deprived of her right to due process when the poll body disqualified her.

“How was Poe deprived? She was asked to present her evidence to support her claim she is a natural-born citizen, but those were not enough to convince the Comelec,” Suarez said.

“Why are they zeroing in only on the foundling issue? There are other issues enough to merit Poe’s disqualification according to the SC justices themselves based on their previous ruling. All they have to do is go back to their decision on the cases of the Kauswagan and the Basista mayors.”

Suarez said that in October 2015, the high court disqualified Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte Mayor Rommel Arnaldo in the 2013 mayoral elections for having continued to use a foreign passport even after he renounced his US citizenship.

Last January, the same set of high court justices again affirmed the Comelec’s ouster of another winner of the 2013 mayoralty race in Basista, Pangasinan, Manolito de Leon, over the same offense, using his passport even after he had renounced his United States citizenship. Christine F. Herrera

LP says Roxas, Robredo will win THE ruling Liberal Party on Monday expressed confidence the tandem of former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo will win this year’s elections.

“The latest Laylo survey proves what we’ve always said: It’s a tight race,” Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez said in a statement.

“We’re pleased with the steady rise of our candidates.

The important thing is to be number 1 on May 9, and we’re confident that Mar and Leni will be number 1 then.”

The latest The Standard Poll conducted by resident pollster Junie Laylo placed Roxas in close second with 22 percent behind presidential front runner Senator Grace Poe with 26 percent, Duterte with 24 percent, and

Vice President Jejomar Binay with 23 percent.

Poe, Duterte and Binay were all statistically tied for first.

Another presidential candidate, Senator Miriam Santiago, received only 2 percent.

On Monday, Roxas questioned the claims by his rival Vice President Jejomar Binay as he visited Makati City, Binay’s stronghold.

Roxas said Makati would have gone much farther if Binay, who ruled the city for more than two decades, did not steal from the local government.

“Maybe this is not the time for politics,” Roxas said during the International Women’s Day celebrations at the Makati Coliseum.

“But what happened in 30 years? One thing’s for sure:

In their thirty years of leadership, Makati would have gone very far if only they were clean and they didn’t steal any public money.”

Roxas, who is being backed in Makati by Acting Mayor Kid Peña, said the city had gone far because Makati is already Yellow!

But former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado said Roxas would have a hard time winning in Makati.

“For president, it will still be Binay because this is his territory but he won’t take a commanding lead here,” Mercado told reporters.

Mercado’s daughter Karla is running for vice mayor alongside Peña who is facing Makati Rep. Abigail Binay in the mayoral race. John Paolo Bencito

UNA bets in Pampanga. Vice President Jejomar Binay, his running mate Gregorio Honasan II and their senatorial bets campaigned in several towns on Sunday.

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Anti-PDAF crusader hits De Lima for ‘selective persecution’ With only five former congressmen now facing charges in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, anti-PDAF crusader Levi Baligod chided former Justice secretary and now Liberal Party senatorial bet Leila De Lima for the “selective and prejudiced” application of justice as he revealed that he had provided the Department of Justice with information implicating 120 congressmen in the pork barrel scam.

Baligod, who is also running for a seat in the senate, lamented that despite providing a list of officials that were implicated in the pork barrel scam that included 14 senators, 120 congress representatives, and several bogus NGOs, “under the watch of De Lima... cases were filed only for the three opposition senators—tagged as Pogi, Sexy, and Tanda by my client Ben hur Luy—and 25 members of the house.” “the former DoJ secretary runs for the Senate under the banner of justice without fear or favor,” said Baligod.

“But in the much celebrated case against the scammers of the legislative pork barrel, the state prosecutors are working at a snail’s pace.”

Baligod said that with “the slow disposition of justice against legislators who plunder the nation’s coffers” he could not help but question the platform of De Lima. “i believe that the scales of justice were selective and prejudiced during her term.”

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales last week affirmed the findings of probable cause to indict former representatives Rozzano Rufino Biazon of Muntinlupa City, Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro, Marc Douglas Cagas iV of Davao del Sur, Arrel Olaño of Davao del Norte, Arthur Pingoy Jr.of South Cotabato and several others in connection with the PDAF scam.

Soon to rise. Streetchildren play at the signage of the MRT-7 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. Work on the MRT-7, which will run from the QC Circle to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, will start on that site. MANNY PALMERO

Get Abad for pork, militant solon urges

By Maricel V. Cruz Three years after the pork barrel scam was exposed, a militant lawmaker on Monday renewed his call for concerned agencies to prosecute the ‘corrupt’ officials, particularly those allied with the Aquino administration. “it has been three years since the pork barrel scandal exposed the billion-peso corruption of the people’s money. But the Aquino administration is only quick to punish its perceived enemies but very slow, if none at all, in punishing its own people and its allies,” Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said. “the indictment of a few gov-

ernment officials involved in this big-time corruption case is but trimming the hedges of the wellentrenched corrupt system that bleed our country dry. the head honchos, especially the chums of President Aquino, still have their already dirty hands on public funds,” Zarate added. topping the list would be Budget Secretary Florencio

Abad who said to be the architect of the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program of the Aquino administration, Zarate said.

“First off, why is Secretary Butch Abad still in the reigns of the Department of Budget and Management despite his invention of the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program or most notoriously known as the Presidential Pork Barrel?” Zarate asked.

“SecretaryAbad, together with President Aquino violated the constitution in the level of P157 billion. Fiscal impunity under this government is so rampant that we let this big time corruption cases go un-

punished,” Zarate pointed out.

Zarate added that other administration stalwarts such as North Cotabato 2nd district Rep. Nancy Catamco and 37 other administration allies who are implicated in the pork barrel scandal should also be held accountable for taking advantage of the people’s money.

Catamco stands accused of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam that surfaced in 2004, and the P10-billion Napoles pork barrel scam, Zarate said. “Secretary Abad has been busy inserting ‘hidden pork’ in the budget in huge lump sum allocations. the perpetuation of the pork barrel is ensured by Aquino’s cohorts,” Zarate said.

Pump prices rise P0.80 per liter

By Alena Flores

Kapihan guests. Samahang Plaridel’s Kapihan sa Manila Media Forum

continues to draw in people of different persuasions. This time, guests include (from left): architect Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox Jr., urban planner and environmentalist; former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, also professor at the UP school of economics; and lawyer Manuelito Luna, counsel for the petitioner to disqualify Grace Poe. LINO SANTOS

the country’s oil firms raised oil prices by as much as P0.80 per liter amid speculations of a supply freeze in the world market. the oil firms raised gasoline prices by P0.80 per liter and diesel by P0.65 per liter effective 6 a.m. tuesday.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines assistant vice president Raymond Zorilla said the latest adjustment was “due to the price movements in the world market amid speculations of a possible freeze in oil production.”

So far, only the small players like Phoenix Petroleum, Ptt Philippines and Unioil Philippines issued advisories of the oil price increase. Other oil compa-

nies are expected to follow suit.

Last March 1, most of the oil companies implemented a decrease of P0.10 per liter for diesel and increase of P0.20 per liter for gasoline. the oil firms also increased cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas prices by P0.30 per kg starting March 1 due to the increase in LPG contract price this month by US$5 per metric ton to US$311 per Mt from US$306 per Mt in February. traders have been worried in the past two weeks the deal to freeze output among key producers would not gain traction. the energy Department said in its monitoring report that analysts were also concerned on iraq and iran that reacted coldly

to the freeze proposal. earlier reports disclosed that iran has been ramping up output after nuclear-linked Western economic sanctions were lifted early this year.

While oil prices fluctuated last week, when US crude inventories posted fresh record highs that hit 67.5 million barrels in the week ending February, it bounced back again on reports that Venezuela reaffirmed a mid-March meeting of oil producers to include Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar. the price uptick came after China moved to boost its slowing economy, a drop in crude output from the Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries and the United States, and a pledge by Saudi Arabia to limit market volatility.

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A6 Narc fails to tell all on shabu

By Rey E. Requejo MARINE Lt. Colonel Ferdinand Marcelino failed on Monday to disclose the reason behind his presence in the illegal drug facility in Manila where 64 kilos of suspected shabu were seized last January.

Marcelino, a former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency official, was scheduled to give a tellall testimony containing “sensitive information” in a clarificatory hearing at the Department of Justice.

Marcelino sought the attendance of Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, National Bureau of Investigation Director Virgilio Mendez, Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Arnold Quiapo during a closed-door hearing.

None of these officials, however, attended the proceedings despite earlier invitation from investigating Senior Deputy Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva.

The former PDEA official did not proceed with his testimony and instead requested to undergo a liedetector test.

But the investigating prosecutor denied his appeal and ordered the detained officer to submit his rejoinder to the charges of conspiracy in manufacture and possession of illegal drugs under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 tomorrow (Wednesday) before the submission of the case for resolution.

Marcelino and his Chinese companion Yan Yi Shuo are facing charges of conspiracy in manufacture and possession of illegal drugs under Republic Act 9165.

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Ex-Iglesia minister skips hearing, flies to Vietnam

By Rey Requejo, Rio Araja and Vito Barcelo

EXPELLED Iglesia ni Cristo minister Lowell Menorca II left the country on Saturday ahead of his testimony on Monday before the Court of Appeals in connection with the writ of amparo petition filed by his brother and a sister-in-law.

Menorca’s lawyer, Trixie Angeles, said Menorca had received death threats.

The Bureau of Immigration confirmed Menorca took a flight bound for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam at 10:45 p.m. It said it allowed Menor-

ca to leave since he was not the subject of a hold order.

The appellate court’s Seventh Division summoned Menorca to appear for a crossexamination on his petition for a writ of amparo filed against the INC leadership,

but it was only Angeles who was able to attend the continuation of Menorca’s supposed cross-examination.

Angeles claimed her client was missing, and that the last time that she and Menorca had talked to one another was last Sunday at 8 p.m. when the latter called her up and informed her that he, and his wife Jinky and daughter Yurie Keiko were prevented from going out of the country.

She told the court that Menorca could not be reached.

Later, Angeles validated Menorca’s exit.

She claimed the Menorcas were allegedly sent a

March 7 photograph of his daughter whose face was marked with an “X.” The photo was placed on his vehicle’s windshield.

“It scared him so much that he proceeded to the airport so that he could secure his family,” Angeles said.

As far as the INC is concerned, Menorca is a fugitive from justice.

At a news conference, INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said Menorca was just trying to evade the cross-examination.

“Fearing that more of his lies and sins would be exposed had he faced the last stage of the scheduled crossexamination this morning,

he chose to abscond. Beset by several libel suits, and an adultery charge to boot, he took the cowardly option.

He took a hurried flight last night bound for Vietnam.

He is now a fugitive from justice,” he said.

“He saw his case crumbling, just as the two other similar complaints filed the other expelled ministers, hence the decision to leave the country.”

According to Zabala, a Filipino couple spotted the Menorcas in Vietnam, and that they communicated with the INC officials to inform them about Menorca’s presence in Vietnam.

Councilors’ choice.

Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (center) waves to more than 2,500 councilors during the Philippine Councilors League’s National Assembly at the Iloilo Convention Center. He is flanked by PCL National Chairman and senatorial candidate Alma Moreno (left) and PCL national president Mabelyn DC Fernandez.

VER NOVENO

Health rules out Zika virus outbreak

NLEX widening project. Officials of the Manila North Tollways Corporation and its contractors, First

Balfour Inc., and Haidee Construction and Development Corporation/4B Construction Corporation (joint venture), break ground for the P2.6-billion NLEX road widening project covering Segment 2 (Sta. Rita to San Fernando, Pampanga) and Segment 3 (Dau to Sta. Ines) of NLEX’s 93-km expressway. Leading the groundbreaking ceremonies are MNTC chief operating officer Raul Ignacio (6th from left), First Balfour president and COO Anthony Fernandez, HCDC president and authorized managing officer of the joint venture Rommel Concepcion, and 4BCC vice president for administration and finance Eric Viacrusis (2nd to 4th from right, respectively).

MALACAÑANG on Monday said there is no epidemic or an outbreak of the deadly Zika virus in the Philippines. “[Health] Secretary [Janette] Garin has pointed out this is a single case and that there is no epidemic and no outbreak,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in a statement.

“Most importantly, the DoH is prepared in terms of detection, isolation and treatment of those who could possibly be infected by the virus,” Coloma said.

“Hence, the public should stay alert, informed and calm,” Coloma said.

The Department of Health confirmed that the Zika virus has resurfaced in the country, after an American tourist tested positive for the virus after visiting the country earlier this year.

Garin, however, said there is no need to panic as it is an isolated case.

Garin said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had informed her that a US resident who stayed in the Philippines for four

weeks in January had apparently developed symptoms in her last week before returning to America.

“We were informed that shortly after returning home to the US, an evidence of Zika virus infection was detected from the patient,” Garin said in a statement.

“Currently, we are coordinating with US-CDC for the profile of the patient, including information on places she visited in the Philippines,” Garin said without giving details of the patient.

Health Department officials said they still had no clue how the American was infected while in the Philippines.

The only previous known case of Zika in the country was a 15-year-old boy infected in 2012. He recovered after three weeks.

The mosquito-borne disease is usually not life-threatening but has been linked to a rise in birth defects in other countries, where hundreds of babies have been born with unusually small heads in recent years. Sandy Araneta

t u e s d ay : m a r c h 8 , 2 0 1 6

A7

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Misamis town hosts world’s largest coco charcoal plant

By A. Perez Rimando

Formations. This rock formation in Marabut, Samar draws local and foreign tourists alike. Mel CASPe

Clark airport bids out P500-m design for passenger terminal

By Romeo Dizon

Clark Freeport—The management of Clark International airport is bidding out the P500-million plan for its mixed-use passenger terminal this month.

Clark International Airport Corp. president and chief executive officer Imigdio Tanjuatco said over the weekend that the bidding was the result of the rejection of the year-long planning and designing prepared by the Aeroport De Paris on a grant basis.

Tanjuatco told newsmen that the board of the National Economic and Development Authority rejected the plan because it was “too ambitious” for eight million passengers who are expected to use the airport by year 2022.

According to Tanjuatco, the Neda board was worried that the airport, once completed, will only become a white elephant because its designed capacity is only for one million passengers a year.

With the junking of the ADP plan, the completion target year of 2017 of the airport is now in limbo; it will take a new course to prepare another new plan.

The board has instead decided to implement, on staggered basis, three phases for the anticipated 8 million passenger capacity.

The Clark airport hosts only seven budget carriers—Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Dragon Air, Jin Air, Tiger Air of Singapore, Air Asia Berhad and Cebu Pacific Air with estimated 1.3 million passengers a year.

Another airline, Dubai-based Emirates, will reassume its operation here on March 30, 2016.

Seven other budget airlines are planning to operate from Clark— V Air of Taiwan, Jet Star of Singapore, regional carrier Thai Smile, Rayani Air of Malaysia, Express Air of Indonesia, Air India, and Airline 4.0 from the US. The budget of P500 million for the amalgamated use of the new passengers terminal comes from the General Appropriation Act of 2015 and 2016 which released

P1.2 billion and P2 billion, respectively. The amounts are part of the P15-billion total budget of the airport for 15 years, the airport executive said.

The new plan and design will include architecture and detailed engineering for the diverse use of the airport.

“Whoever the new tenant of Malacañang would be, we hope he will continue the project because the foundation is already there,” Tanjuatco added.

For almost a year, the Aeroport De Paris has prepared the architecture and engineering plan and design of the airport including passengers terminal, control tower, aircraft hangar and maintenance facilities until it was rejected, junked and ignored by the government.

TAGOLOAN, Misamis Oriental—A Japanese-owned company inaugurated last month the Jacobi Carbons AB, considered the world’s largest coconut-based plant, at the economic zone of Phividec Industrial Estate here, an official said.

Chief executive Anders Skeini of JC AB said the new plant, which utilizes latest carbon activation technology, “would produce 20,000 metric tons of granulized charcoal for export.”

It seeks to provide jobs to some 1,000 qualified workers in Northern Mindanao when fully operated.

The firm also maintains other plants in China, Vietnam and Sri Lanka with its main headquarters based in Sweden and its parent firm in Japan, Skeini said.

He added that the facility “includes a charcoal granulation plant and multiple activation kilns with grinding and pulverizing capacity specializing in impregnation and water/ acid washing.”

Sansaluna Pinagayao, zone administrator of Philippine Economic Zone Authority, said the “entry of JC will boost the country’s overall status of economic zones.”

Consequently, “the country’s $563-billion exports generated from the 3,500 companies in its 366 economic zones nationwide would increase by next year 2016,” Pinagayao said, noting that “this new milestone will upgrade Mindanao’s coconut industry.”

The Jacobi Carbons Group was founded in 1916 and acquired by Japan’s Osaka Gas Chemicals Co. in 2014. It “produces a full range of activated carbon products based on coal, coconut shell, wood and other raw materials.”

Cordillerans angry over historian’s ‘improvement of the race’ comment

By Dexter A. See

Thrills. A man tries the Sablayan Zipline Adventure in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, which is considered the world’s longest island-to-island zipline. RoBeRT A. evoRA

BONTOC, Mt. Province—A group of Cordillera residents has denounced the insinuation that Igorots obtained their facial features from foreigners who had settled in the area as missionaries.

This came about as Jeyrick Sigmaton, from Barlig town, became famous on social media being dubbed as “carrot man.”

Interviewed by a television program which featured Sigmaton last week, historian Jimmuel Naval said the features of the boy could be due to the intermarriage between Caucasian missionaries/colonialists with Cordilleran people, resulting in the “improvement of the race.”

“At this very moment, it is highly likely that we are not alone in writing about this blunder. We are more than willing to join the fray. ‘Improvement of the race’ is just so wrong in so many levels,” read a statement

from the Habi Collective posted online.

A regional journalist castigated the television anchor for “the poorly researched story that has deeper repercussions with the Igorots.”

Another netizen referred to the claim as downright discriminatory to the Igorots, pointing out that Igorots were not an inferior race before the coming of the missionaries.

Other commenters called Naval’s statement shocking and suggested he go back to school to study Igorot ancestry.

Other comments allege poor research on the part of the producers of the show, as they point out that it could have transcended the physical attributes of Sigmaton and delved instead on the number of out-of-school youth in the region.

Challenges faced by the agriculture sector in the Cordilleras in the wake of the Asean integration should have also been mentioned.

T u E S D AY : M A R c h 8 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

Human rigHts, ecosystems, and climate cHange

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Bogus claims It may be that it is easier to absorb information and store it somewhere in our brains if certain memory aids are available.

It is easier to work through the history of an event or the evolution of a product by attributing sponsorship or development to a single person or group. thus we say, such and such is the father of this industry, yet another fellow is the mother of this cause. this individual is the personification of all virtue. the tags and the generalizations make the stories easier to tell, their brands easier to sell.

For example, presidential candidate manuel Roxas II likes to go around telling anyone who would listen that he was responsible for the birth and subsequent growth of the business process outsourcing industry in the country. He claims he is the father of the sector.

Roxas served in various capacities in past administrations, but it was his stint as Secretary of trade and Industry under former President Gloria macapagal arroyo he likes to remember best.

He recalls that in the beginning, people laughed at him upon the mention of BPO because just a few knew what it meant. Now, he boasts, it is an industry of one million jobs.

Indeed the growth of the BPO sector not just in metro manila but in other areas in the country has generated valuable employment and boosted personal consumption, driving the economy.

But for Roxas to claim that he is responsible for all this is a bit of a stretch, as an industry pioneer lately remarked. the man who led the It and Business Process Outsourcing association of the Philippines from 2007 to 2011 said credit should go instead to arroyo because Roxas served only briefly at the DtI, at a time when there were only 2,400 jobs in the sector. the industry grew 65 percent every year until 2009, the last full year of mrs. arroyo’s term, and at a time when Roxas was already too preoccupied with being a politician. the It pioneer would know better, of course, but even the attribution to the former president could be arguable. the success of the BPO industry was the result of a collective effort from people in government and business, as well as the early workers who gave it a good name.

Filipinos should be suspicious of tags like “father” or “mother” or anything similar. this is downright insulting because those who claim this assume that the people do not have the capacity to see through their false or exaggerated claims.

The alduB effecT

DIgong Duterte is gaining, but the numbers of his running mate, Alan Cayetano, are heading inexorably south. Call it the Aldub Effect—proof that the acceptability of one candidate in a presidential-vice presidential teamup doesn’t necessarily help the other.

“Aldub” here, of course,

doesn’t refer to the popular noontime show love team, but to what is probably the most prominent political split ticket in the coming elections, which goes by the same name. Aldub is supposedly “Alyansang DuterteBongbong,” or the cross-party tandem of Duterte and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Allow me to explain: During a recent campaign sortie in Ilocos norte and Ilocos Sur, leaders of the Duterte-Cayetano tandem tried to convince the senator from Taguig

not to join his running mate.

After all, the provinces of Region 1 supposedly lie at the heart of Aldub country, where Duterte is considered by some political groups as something of an adopted son who is a perfect fit for the real native, Marcos. But Cayetano insisted that he wanted to join the campaign sortie, even if he knew that he was going into Marcos territory.

True enough, my sources in the campaign told me, Cayetano was not made to feel welcome during the trip. And

A9

For the life of me, I don’t know how Cayetano can continue to just grin and bear the treachery.

while the locals embraced Duterte (probably because he reminded them of the old “Apo” Ferdie at the height of the strongman’s powers), no one of note paid Cayetano any mind.

But because the senator is a seasoned politician, he didn’t let on that he was disappointed. But he probably will know better next time than to join Duterte when his popular presidential candidate visits other perceived strongholds of Marcos—or any other leading vice presidential candidate.

Indeed, according to the new poll by The Standard, Duterte enjoyed a new spike in his latest poll numbers. Ap-

parently, according to our in-house pollster Junie Laylo, this was because of his strong showing in the first Commission on Elections-sponsored presidential debate in Cagayan de oro City, the most significant political event that took place during the survey period of Feb. 24-March 1.

Indeed, because the debate was held in Mindanao, where the Davao City mayor enjoys “native son” status, respondents to the Laylo survey showed

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-

just how much they love Duterte. From an already-gaudy 36 percentage points in all of Mindanao in the previous survey in January, Duterte shot up to what looks like an insurmountable 49 percent. *** on the other hand, Cayetano’s numbers in the same survey tracked the other way. overall, while Duterte’s poll numbers and ranking significantly improved, Cayetano appeared to be the biggest loser in the same survey.

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

In the entire country, Cayetano’s numbers fell 15 percent to 11 percent.

In Mindanao, it was no different; Cayetano shed five points, from 24 to 19.

But while the advocates of Aldub openly discuss their favored split ticket, they will not directly say that they are dumping Cayetano.

(In a recent golf tournament at the Philippine navy golf Course held by the leading lights of Aldub, Continued on A11

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

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

ThE Paris Agreement is definitely not perfect, as I wrote in my last column, but embedded in it is guidance on how to undertake climate actions while ensuring socially and ecologically sustainable outcomes. In a recent article published in the website of the Center for International Forestry Research, I argue this important point with colleagues Rosalind Reece and Purple Romero. I borrow language from that article in this column.

We are all affiliated with the REDD+ Safeguards Working group, a northSouth coalition of more than 40 human rights, environmental and indigenous organizations pushing for the effective implementation of REDD+ safeguards.

REDD+ refers to the approach or mechanism in the climate change convention that provided policy incentives for developing countries to implement climate change mitigation programs in their forests. REDD+ programs, projects and activities are subject to human rights, governance and environmental safeguards.

The Paris Agreement introduces a set of principles to guide climate actions in its Preamble. In particular, the Preamble states that countries should, “respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity.”

The Agreement also recognizes the “importance of the conservation and enhancement, as appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of the greenhouse gases referred to in the Convention” and notes “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity … when taking action to address climate change.”

Although some are disappointed that references to human rights and ecosystem integrity are not included in the operative text of the Agreement, the language used in the preamble clearly shows the intent to bind governments to implement its provisions.

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 : M A R c h 8 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

Human rigHts, ecosystems, and climate cHange

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Bogus claims It may be that it is easier to absorb information and store it somewhere in our brains if certain memory aids are available.

It is easier to work through the history of an event or the evolution of a product by attributing sponsorship or development to a single person or group. thus we say, such and such is the father of this industry, yet another fellow is the mother of this cause. this individual is the personification of all virtue. the tags and the generalizations make the stories easier to tell, their brands easier to sell.

For example, presidential candidate manuel Roxas II likes to go around telling anyone who would listen that he was responsible for the birth and subsequent growth of the business process outsourcing industry in the country. He claims he is the father of the sector.

Roxas served in various capacities in past administrations, but it was his stint as Secretary of trade and Industry under former President Gloria macapagal arroyo he likes to remember best.

He recalls that in the beginning, people laughed at him upon the mention of BPO because just a few knew what it meant. Now, he boasts, it is an industry of one million jobs.

Indeed the growth of the BPO sector not just in metro manila but in other areas in the country has generated valuable employment and boosted personal consumption, driving the economy.

But for Roxas to claim that he is responsible for all this is a bit of a stretch, as an industry pioneer lately remarked. the man who led the It and Business Process Outsourcing association of the Philippines from 2007 to 2011 said credit should go instead to arroyo because Roxas served only briefly at the DtI, at a time when there were only 2,400 jobs in the sector. the industry grew 65 percent every year until 2009, the last full year of mrs. arroyo’s term, and at a time when Roxas was already too preoccupied with being a politician. the It pioneer would know better, of course, but even the attribution to the former president could be arguable. the success of the BPO industry was the result of a collective effort from people in government and business, as well as the early workers who gave it a good name.

Filipinos should be suspicious of tags like “father” or “mother” or anything similar. this is downright insulting because those who claim this assume that the people do not have the capacity to see through their false or exaggerated claims.

The alduB effecT

DIgong Duterte is gaining, but the numbers of his running mate, Alan Cayetano, are heading inexorably south. Call it the Aldub Effect—proof that the acceptability of one candidate in a presidential-vice presidential teamup doesn’t necessarily help the other.

“Aldub” here, of course,

doesn’t refer to the popular noontime show love team, but to what is probably the most prominent political split ticket in the coming elections, which goes by the same name. Aldub is supposedly “Alyansang DuterteBongbong,” or the cross-party tandem of Duterte and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Allow me to explain: During a recent campaign sortie in Ilocos norte and Ilocos Sur, leaders of the Duterte-Cayetano tandem tried to convince the senator from Taguig

not to join his running mate.

After all, the provinces of Region 1 supposedly lie at the heart of Aldub country, where Duterte is considered by some political groups as something of an adopted son who is a perfect fit for the real native, Marcos. But Cayetano insisted that he wanted to join the campaign sortie, even if he knew that he was going into Marcos territory.

True enough, my sources in the campaign told me, Cayetano was not made to feel welcome during the trip. And

A9

For the life of me, I don’t know how Cayetano can continue to just grin and bear the treachery.

while the locals embraced Duterte (probably because he reminded them of the old “Apo” Ferdie at the height of the strongman’s powers), no one of note paid Cayetano any mind.

But because the senator is a seasoned politician, he didn’t let on that he was disappointed. But he probably will know better next time than to join Duterte when his popular presidential candidate visits other perceived strongholds of Marcos—or any other leading vice presidential candidate.

Indeed, according to the new poll by The Standard, Duterte enjoyed a new spike in his latest poll numbers. Ap-

parently, according to our in-house pollster Junie Laylo, this was because of his strong showing in the first Commission on Elections-sponsored presidential debate in Cagayan de oro City, the most significant political event that took place during the survey period of Feb. 24-March 1.

Indeed, because the debate was held in Mindanao, where the Davao City mayor enjoys “native son” status, respondents to the Laylo survey showed

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-

just how much they love Duterte. From an already-gaudy 36 percentage points in all of Mindanao in the previous survey in January, Duterte shot up to what looks like an insurmountable 49 percent. *** on the other hand, Cayetano’s numbers in the same survey tracked the other way. overall, while Duterte’s poll numbers and ranking significantly improved, Cayetano appeared to be the biggest loser in the same survey.

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

In the entire country, Cayetano’s numbers fell 15 percent to 11 percent.

In Mindanao, it was no different; Cayetano shed five points, from 24 to 19.

But while the advocates of Aldub openly discuss their favored split ticket, they will not directly say that they are dumping Cayetano.

(In a recent golf tournament at the Philippine navy golf Course held by the leading lights of Aldub, Continued on A11

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

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

ThE Paris Agreement is definitely not perfect, as I wrote in my last column, but embedded in it is guidance on how to undertake climate actions while ensuring socially and ecologically sustainable outcomes. In a recent article published in the website of the Center for International Forestry Research, I argue this important point with colleagues Rosalind Reece and Purple Romero. I borrow language from that article in this column.

We are all affiliated with the REDD+ Safeguards Working group, a northSouth coalition of more than 40 human rights, environmental and indigenous organizations pushing for the effective implementation of REDD+ safeguards.

REDD+ refers to the approach or mechanism in the climate change convention that provided policy incentives for developing countries to implement climate change mitigation programs in their forests. REDD+ programs, projects and activities are subject to human rights, governance and environmental safeguards.

The Paris Agreement introduces a set of principles to guide climate actions in its Preamble. In particular, the Preamble states that countries should, “respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity.”

The Agreement also recognizes the “importance of the conservation and enhancement, as appropriate, of sinks and reservoirs of the greenhouse gases referred to in the Convention” and notes “the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity … when taking action to address climate change.”

Although some are disappointed that references to human rights and ecosystem integrity are not included in the operative text of the Agreement, the language used in the preamble clearly shows the intent to bind governments to implement its provisions.

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 : M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Binay-Marcos? iMpeachMent of sc justices Why not? discussed in social Media WITH two months exactly today still to go before the May 9 polls, it’s still anybody’s game in the presidential race. The fact that The Standard Poll conducted from Feb. 24 to March 1 showed that Mrs. Llamanzares, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Du-Dirty” and Vice President Jejomar Binay are statistically tied shows us that the coming elections will be a tight race.

Having been a journalist for 66 years now and having witnessed presidential races since the time of the late Ilocano President Elpidio “Apo Pediong” Quirino, I know that you cannot always rely on popular-

I am not making any bets, but I am inclined to go for them.

ity, even poll surveys, in predicting the outcome of the elections. I can only cite poll surveys of presidential aspirants who had been ahead in surveys but didn’t make it, like Miriam Santiago in 1992 when Fidel V. Ramos and in 2004 when former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won.

This goes to show that poll surveys should only be seen as landmarks at a certain time and place.

This, considering the many “imponderables” in an election for the presidency, the bottomline of which, Santa Banana, is money.

This is why I’m not ready to consider administration candidate Mar Roxas as out of the picture yet.

BS Aquino’s greatest fear is that he could land in jail after he steps down

on June 30. It is likely cheating would happen. Bear in mind that the administration has control of the more than P3-trillion national budget for 2016. That may just spell the difference.

Another imponderable is the status of Mrs. Llamanzares as a presidential candidate. Will she or won’t she be disqualified for lack of the mandated 10-year residency before election day by the Supreme Court? Will she be disqualified for not being a natural-born Filipino as mandated by the Constitution? If Mrs. Llamanzares is not qualified in either or both requirements, she has to say goodbye to her dreams of the presidency.

That is, if the gods of Mount Olympus on Padre Faura stick to the letter of the fundamental law of the land. Then again, they can also interpret the Constitution liberally according to their own biases and sentiments or any other reason for self-protection.

If this happens, then the Constitution will just become a mere scrap of paper.

Having witnessed national and local elections since the 1950s, I know for a fact that for a presidential candidate to have a chance of winning, he or she must have a well-funded political grassroots machinery. Of the five presidentiables, only two— administration candidate Mar Roxas and Vice President Jojo Binay—have political grassroots machinery.

The vice presidential race is something else. The way I see it, it’s now a fight between Senators Bongbong Marcos and Chiz Escudero.

The fact that Bongbong suddenly had a surge in his ratings according to poll surveys can only validate his Solid North following, even his constituency in the Tagalog provinces, his Eastern Visayas hold because of the Romualdezes and then his Mindanao following among the Ilocanos there.

In other words, the fight between Bongbong and Chiz will be determined by their home base. Bongbong has the solid north, while Chiz has Metro Manila and Bicol. But Bicol is divided with other vice presiden-

WHEN this essay was submitted for publication, the four disqualification cases filed against Senator Grace Poe, a candidate for president in the May 2016 elections, remained unresolved in the Supreme Court. Without the gift of prophecy, a writer cannot predict precisely when that will happen. Meanwhile, a press deadline must be met.

At any rate, the disqualification cases filed against Poe have become emotionally charged for Poe critics and allies. Those who seek Poe’s disqualification have invoked the mandate of the 1987 Constitution that only natural-born Filipino citizens, and those who have been residents of the Philippines for at least 10 years prior to the election, are qualified to run for president.

Having run out of valid legal arguments, Poe’s supporters have resorted to extra-constitutional and highly emotional appeals—foundlings like Poe should not be discriminated against, and that the voters should decide Poe’s qualifications at the ballot box, even if that means an outright violation of the Constitution.

Poe isn’t president yet, and she already disregards the Constitution. One can only imagine what Poe will do to the Constitution if she does become president.

The social media are awash with speculation from the public about how the justices of the Supreme Court will decide the disqualification cases against Poe. Some believe that the three justices who ruled against Poe in the separate disqualification case filed against her before the Senate Electoral Tribunal are not expected to change their minds, and that from the way the hearings went, two more justices seem to share their view. Others say that three other justices appear sympathetic to Poe’s cause inasmuch as these justices disapprove of both the way the 1987 Constitution has been worded, and its supposed inexcusable failure to protect foundlings like Poe against discrimination—views that suggest a judicial amendment of the charter, which is a proposition frowned upon in Constitutional Law. While many commentaries are properly supported by legal doctrines and principles, the opposing tial candidates like administration’s Leni Robredo, Greg Honasan and Alan Peter Cayetano, whose wife is also a Bicolana.

Just like in the presidential race, I am not making any bets, but I am inclined to go for Bongbong as I am also inclined to go for Binay.

Binay-Marcos? Why not? *** My wife and I learned

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA views are mere emotional arguments devoid of support in either the Constitution or in existing legislation.

Nonetheless, there is a distinction between a lay person and a justice of the Supreme Court. A lay person is entitled to express his or her own opinion, no matter how insignificant, incorrect or radical, or even if the opinion is incompatible with the Constitution. The justice, on the other hand, does not enjoy that liberty. Under the established rules, where the case involves an unavoidable constitutional question, the justice must resolve the case on the basis of what the Constitution provides, and not on the basis of what the justice personally thinks or feels by way of emotion and sympathy.

The Supreme Court, after all, is a court of law. It is not a charitable institution or a welfare agency like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office where appeals anchored on emotion and sympathy are often made.

Indeed, courts in the Philippines are both courts of law and courts of equity, but equity must yield when the law, especially the fundamental law of the land, is clear and explicit. Moreover, where the law is clear, compliance, not judicial interpretation, is the correct course of action.

The proposition that the Supreme Court is both a court of law and a court of justice is a needless distinction. Justice may temper the law, but if justice is invoked when the law is bent or violated simply to suit a particular individual, it ceases to be justice. It becomes injustice in its baldest form because nobody is above the law, especially where the law concerned is the Constitution.

A number of citizens using social media are unsettled by the possibility that some justices of the Supreme Court will resolve Poe’s disqualification cases not on the grounds set forth in the Constitution, but on grounds manifestly outside of the constitutional realm, such as emotional sympathy for foundlings.

Some citizens warn that to do so

of the demise of our friend Pabling Sen, former PR counselor of the Hong Kong consulate. He was 94.

We are saddened because all through these years that he had been with the consulate, we never hesitated to call on him and his wife, Josefina “Baby” Go Sen. Our stay in Hong Kong would never be complete without Pabling and Baby joining us for dinner at

will invite prospects for impeachment. They cite Section 2, Article XI of the Constitution, which provides that a justice of the Supreme Court may be impeached and removed from office for, among others, culpable violation of the Constitution or betrayal of the public trust.

To warrant impeachment, the violation of the Constitution must be culpable or deserving of blame.

Possible examples of culpable violation of the Constitution may include a deliberate or whimsical misreading of the provisions of the charter, or the use of a whimsical rule or inconsistent standard as to when a provision of the charter should be treated strictly or liberally. Since the Constitution itself states that public office is a public trust, and considering that all court decisions should be arrived at judiciously, a capricious or constitutionally untenable court ruling or vote qualifies as a betrayal of the public trust.

Evidently, there will be a need to establish that a justice who bases his vote on Poe’s disqualification cases on a ground that is not warranted under the Constitution actually committed a culpable violation of the Constitution or a betrayal of the public trust.

The Constitution also provides that a verified impeachment complaint may be initiated by a member of the House of Representatives, or by a citizen whose complaint is endorsed by a member of the House. Impeachment by the House only means that the corresponding complaint has been filed with the Senate. Therefore, once the public officer concerned is impeached by the House, a trial automatically ensues in the Senate. If the public officer is acquitted by the Senate, then he stays in office. On the other hand, conviction by the Senate results in his ouster from office.

In May 2012, Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, a controversial appointee of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, was ousted from office after his conviction in his impeachment trial. Corona’s impeachment was initiated by President Benigno Aquino III, a political foe and the successor of President Arroyo.

Spring Deer restaurant.

Pabling was always ready to help our migrants there.

Baby is also a good friend of my wife, both being from Cotabato City. Both are graduates of Notre Dame University run by Oblate fathers. Baby went along with us in our Holy Land pilgrimages.

To the family, my wife and I extend our deepest

condolences. There will never be another Pabling Sen at the Philippine consulate in Hong Kong.

Speaking of the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, another consul official who was always ready to help Filipinos there was the late Domingo Capistrano, cousin of my late father-in-law. That was in the late 50s, 60s and 70s.

May they rest in peace.

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

From the glass ceiling to a carpet oF shards

By Ban Ki-moon As A boy growing up in postwar Korea, I remember asking about a tradition I observed: Women going into labor would leave their shoes at the threshold and then look back in fear.

“They are wondering if they will ever step into those shoes again,” my mother explained.

More than a half-century later, the memory continues to haunt me. In poor parts of the world today, women still risk death in the process of giving life. Maternal mortality is one of many preventable perils. All too often, female babies are subjected to genital mutilation. Girls are attacked on their way to school. Women’s bodies are used as battlefields in wars. Widows are shunned and impoverished.

We can only address these problems by empowering women as agents of change.

For more than nine years, I have put this philosophy

into practice at the United Nations. We have shattered so many glass ceilings we created a carpet of shards.

Now we are sweeping away the assumptions and bias of the past so women can advance across new frontiers.

I appointed the first-ever female Force Commander of United Nations troops, and pushed women’s representation at the upper levels of our Organization to historic highs.

Women are now leaders at the heart of peace and security—a realm that was once the exclusive province of men. When I arrived at the United Nations, there were no women leading our peace missions in the field. Now, nearly a quarter of all UN missions are headed by women—far from enough but still a vast improvement.

I have signed nearly 150 letters of appointment to women in positions as assistant secretary-general or undersecretary-general. some

human... From A9 It was not a walk in the park to get human rights and ecosystems integrity language into the Agreement.

Indeed in Paris, the RsWG worked hard to keep the critical provisions in place and saw crucial support from Mexico (which took the lead on human rights, forming a Friends of the Principles group) as well as from the Philippines, Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Tuvalu and Indonesia. In the meantime, the Philippines and Turkey took the lead in pushing the language on ecosystem integrity in the Preamble.

We in RsWG campaigned hard for the inclusion of ecosystem integrity, human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples in the operational part of the text. We stressed that 1.5 degrees Celsius would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve without ecosystem integrity. We reminded negotiators that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change contains many provisions on ecosystems, including in the Objective (Article 2) and the Commitments (Article 4). We emphasized that inclusion of ecosystem integrity in the Preamble is not enough, and would be a backsliding from the Convention itself.

In the second week of the Paris meeting, COP presi-

the aldub... From A9 there was much rousing oratory about a Duterte-Bongbong ticket during the awarding ceremonies—even if no one really declared that the group was basically dumping the senator. And yes, Cayetano calls Taguig City, where the event was held, his home, so the event could not have escaped his attention.)

To me, the only reason for the Aldub advocates’ reticence is the widely-

came from top government offices with international renown, others have moved on to leadership positions in their home countries. All helped me prove how often a woman is the best person for a job.

To ensure that this very real progress is lasting, we have built a new framework that holds the entire UN system accountable. Where once gender equality was seen as a laudable idea, now it is a firm policy. Before, gender sensitivity training was optional; now it is mandatory for evergreater numbers of UN staff.

In the past, only a handful of UN budgets tracked resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment; now this is standard for nearly one in three, and counting.

Confucius taught that to put the world in order, we must begin in our own circles. Armed with proof of the value of women leaders at the United Nations, I have

spoken out for women’s empowerment everywhere. In speeches at parliaments, universities and street rallies, in private talks with world leaders, in meetings with corporate executives and in tough conversations with powerful men ruling rigidly patriarchal societies, I have insisted on women’s equality and urged measures to achieve it.

When I took office, there were nine parliaments in the world with no women. We helped to drive that number down to four. I launched the UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign in 2008; today, scores of leaders and ministers, hundreds of parliamentarians and millions of individuals have added their names to the action call.

I was the first man to sign our HeForshe campaign, and more than a million others have joined since. I stood with activists calling for the abandonment of female geni-

dent Laurent Fabius announced the creation of new informal consultation groups, including one on the Preamble facilitated by Claudia salerno, Venezuela’s lead climate negotiator. As talks entered their final days, under heavy pressure from the civil society inter-constituency group and the Friends of Principles, countries mustered political will, resulting in what Ambassador salerno described as “a revolutionary Preamble.”

It provides clear social and ecological framing for all climate actions taken under the Paris Agreement, and represents a powerful set of guiding principles for climate actions that send a strong signal which cannot be ignored. The Agreement also provides for the development of guidelines and procedures over the next five years, opening the door for the adoption of further social and ecological protections when the Agreement enters into force.

The preamble is revolutionary for several reasons. First, human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples and ecosystem integrity were not included in the 1992 Convention or the Kyoto Protocol. Now we have an agreement that affords them a clear role in battling climate change. Further, the new climate deal tasks countries to ensure the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and to protect biodi-

held belief that the senator’s main job is to bankroll Duterte’s campaign. In other words, they don’t want to hurt Cayetano’s feelings—even if they have no problem with declaring that they want another candidate to team up with the popular mayor of Davao City.

And for the life of me, I don’t know how Cayetano can continue to just grin and bear the treachery. Perhaps the senator knows that his is a campaign that really doesn’t have a lot of “legs,” as show folk say;

tal mutilation and celebrated when the General Assembly adopted its first-ever resolution supporting that goal. I am echoing the calls of many who know women can drive success in achieving our bold 2030 Agenda for sustainable Development and advancing the Paris Agreement on climate change.

On this International Women’s Day, I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls—but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement. Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world.

There is no greater investment in our common future.

Ban Ki-Moon is secretarygeneral of the United Nations.

versity when taking action on climate change. This finds stronger and solid footing in Article 5.1, which states, “Parties should take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases” (i.e. “biomass, forests and oceans, and other terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems”).

When taken together with the Preamble, the Agreement states loud and clear that all countries, both developing and developed, are mandated to conserve and enhance the integrity of ecosystems in a way that also respects human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples and protects biodiversity.

The next step in the negotiations will set the stage for countries to give substance to the Paris Agreement’s references to the protection of human rights, the rights of indigenous peoples and ecosystem integrity.

The coming years will be a test of countries’ will to ensure the ‘revolutionary Preamble’ effects real change. We have the right signal from the Paris Agreement; with global resolve and political will, we can work together to turn this signal into effective climate actions.

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

perhaps he just consoles himself with the idea that if Duterte wins, he will assume the role of Mar Roxas in a Noynoy Aquino presidency—even if Cayetano, unlike Mar in 2010, will simply return to serve the second half of his six-year term in the senate.

Of course, for people who never considered politics as a career (or a family business), it’s very difficult to understand why some people like Cayetano seek an office that they obviously aren’t going to win. Or why

politicians seek any office, whether they can win or not, for that matter.

I know people who have spent their entire lives seeking (and sometimes winning) political office. And I still don’t know why they do it.

Maybe they do it, like the guy who first climbed Mount Everest—because it’s there. If I ever run into Cayetano, I’ll ask why he seeks the vice presidency even when people appear unwilling to give it to him.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Scott captures Doral golf title ADAM Scott made two double bogeys in the first five holes then roared back with six birdies over the next nine to fire a finalround 69 and claim the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship.

Djokovic makes Davis Cup q’final NOVAK Djokovic and Andy Murray spent almost 10 hours on court between them on Sunday as they steered Serbia and Great Britain into a blockbuster Davis Cup quarter-final showdown.

World number one Djokovic needed four hours and 57 minutes to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to pull Serbia level at 2-2 with Kazakhstan in Belgrade.

Viktor Troicki then beat world number 200 Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to put 2010 champions Serbia into a July 15-17 quarter-final with defending champions Great Britain.

Djokovic hit 19 aces and 37 winners but committed 94 unforced errors in his epic win over Kukushkin.

“This was one of the most difficult matches in my career both physically and mentally,” said 28-year-old Djokovic, who again was feeling the effects of a shoulder twinge.

World number two Murray needed four hours 55 minutes in Birmingham to defeat Kei Nishikori 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in another epic duel as his side took an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Japan.

Murray had seemed set for a comfortable afternoon against sixth-ranked Nishikori by taking the first two sets against a player he had defeated five times in six previous encounters.

But Nishikori battled and was even a break to the good in the deciding set before Murray stormed back for victory.

“The crowd helped for sure. I was struggling a little at the end of the third and a little bit throughout the fourth,” said Murray, who had been looking at the prospect of losing from two sets up for the first time in 11 years. AFP

Adam Scott of Australia plays his second shot on the par 4, 18th hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral Blue Monster Course in Doral, Florida. AFP

NFL icon Manning confirms retirement PEYTON Manning confirmed his retirement from the National Football League, the Denver Broncos said on Sunday, bringing the curtain down on a glittering 18-year career just weeks after becoming the oldest quarterback to win the Super Bowl.

The 39-year-old had vowed to take his time over a decision about his future after helping the Broncos to an upset victory over the Caro-

lina Panthers on February 8.

However, Manning, who has passed for more yards than any other quarterback in history, has informed the Broncos he is to retire and will formally announce the decision at a press conference on Monday.

In a statement on the Broncos website confirming the move, Denver general manager John Elway paid tribute to the two-time Super Bowl champion’s contribution since

Wiggins, Cavendish steer Britain to dramatic victory BRADLEY Wiggins and Mark Cavendish ended the Track World Championships in London with a dramatic win for the host nation in the Madison event, a result that left Britain top of the medals table.

The pair, who have both tasted multiple successes in the Tour de France, claimed the fifth gold medal of the five-day Championships, the overall tally of nine beating Germany by one.

The popular pair capped a successful week for British cycling with a masterful ride in the two-man Madison, winning early sprints to collect points before launching a late attack that pipped the French pair of Morgan Kneisky and Benjamin Thomas for gold.

arriving in Colorado after leaving the Indianapolis Colts in 2012.

“When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it’s easy to see how fortunate we’ve been to have him on our team,” Elway said.

“Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more, not only for the football team but in the community. I’m very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos,

and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career,” Elway added.

Confirmation of Manning’s retirement decision draws a line under one of the greatest NFL careers in history.

Manning retires as the NFL’s alltime leader in passing yardage with 71,940 and in passing touchdowns with 539 and his 186 career wins match Brett Favre as the most by any quarterback in league history.

It was a particularly sweet success for the British riders as the race represented Wiggins’ last competitive ride on the velodrome where he set the world hour record last year and Cavendish is still trying to prove his worth to gain selection for the omnium in the Rio Olympics.

“It’s my last race on this track so it wasn’t a bad one was it?” said Wiggins who kissed the track at the end of his winning ride.

“We knew we had the legs the later we got into the race so we kept biding our time because we knew everyone else was on their knees. It was now or never, we didn’t come here to finish fourth, but that Britain’s Mark Cavendish handslings Britain’s Bradley Wiggins in the Men’s Madison final during was bloody hard!” AFP the 2016 Track Cycling World Championships at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London. AFP

The 35-year-old Australian, whose lone major crown came at the 2013 Masters, won in back-toback weeks after capturing the nearby PGA Honda Classic last Sunday.

Scott, who was second to US star Bubba Watson at Riviera two weeks ago, took his 29th worldwide triumph and 13th US PGA event victory with a 72hole total of 12-under 276 to edge two-time Masters champion Watson by a single shot at Doral’s Blue Monster course.

Scott said Sunday he feels like when he is playing his best he cannot lose.

“I feel that is where my game has been the past couple of weeks and I’d like to keep it there the next few weeks,” Scott said. “To win back-toback weeks feels great. I hope to keep it going.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Danny Willett shared third on 278 with 45-yearold, five-time major winner Phil Micklelson fifth on 279 after a closing twounder 70.

Scott, expected to rise three spots to sixth in the world rankings, has had to adapt a conventional putting style after a ban started in January on the anchored-style putting he used for many years.

But Scott appears to have shaken off the switchover, having bounced back from a quadruple bogey to win last weekend and double bogeys at the third and fifth holes on Sunday for impressive titles.

“I’ve used my experience to my advantage the last couple of weeks,” Scott said.

“I know even though you don’t want quads and doubles you still have a chance.

I was able to play through it.”

After his early stumble, Scott bounced back with his birdie binge, including three in a row to begin the back nine and another at 14 after he put his approach three feet from the cup and made the birdie putt to reach 12-under.

That put Scott two ahead of Willett, Watson and Mickelson, who had birdied 16 after putting his approach two feet from the pin.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Petron tests Cignal tossers Games Today (The Arena) 4 p.m.—Petron vs Cignal 6 p.m.—F2 Logistics vs San Jose Builders

THE vaunted firepower and new-found chemistry of heavyweight Petron will be put under the microscope when it clashes with Cignal in the resumption of the 2016 PLDT Home Ultera Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference women’s volleyball tournament Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan.

Action starts at 4 p.m., while F2 Logistics and San Jose Builders battle in the 6 p.m. encounter in a bid to kick off their secondround campaign on a wininng note in this topnotch inter-club tourney bankrolled by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller and Grand Sports, with TV 5 as official broadcast partner.

Three-time champion RC Cola-Army emerged on top of the first round after sweeping its three-game assignment.

F2 Logistics, on the other hand, finished with a 2-1 win-loss mark, while Foton and San Jose Builders shut down the opening round of this FIVB Grand Prix format with 1-2 and 0-3 cards, respectively.

The top three teams after the three-round battle will advance to the final round, where they will be joined by a foreign team—Thai League superpower Bangkok Glass.

Dance Sports holds tourney THE DanceSport Council of the Philippines Inc. will hold the 2016 DSCPI 1st Quarter Ranking and Competition at the Philsports Multi-Purpose Arena in Pasig City on Saturday.

DSCPI President Becky Garcia said there are 240 DanceSport athletes all over the Philippines competing in the ranking competition supported by Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Calata Corporation, Flawless, Manila Pianos Inc., Muebles Italiano, Vitug Beach Resort, Retro DCGFM 105.9 and The Greenery Bulacan.

Tickets are available at the DanceSport Training Center, Philsports Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City and at the entrance of the Philsports Multi-Purpose Arena on March 12.

For other inquiries, please call Anna or Lorien at 637- 2314.

Coming over are six World DanceSport Federation licensed adjudicators in Sante Mandolini from Italy, Markus Zunker from Germany, Christian Bradbury from Hong Kong, John Chong from Malaysia, Roger Hou from Taipei and Keiji Ukai from Japan, who will act as the Chairman of Adjudicators.

Sports diplomacy. Eleven young basketball players from Colombia visited the Philippine Basketball Association on Friday as part of the sports diplomacy program by the Colombian foreign ministry. The program aims to inspire and encourage these athletes and keep them away from recruitment by criminal elements. Mariana Ocampo, a staff of the Colombian foreign ministry and head of delegation, said they selected the PBA as to part of their tour because of its popularity next to the NBA. During the brief encounter, PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa discussed the popularity of the league as well as the stages a basketball player has to go through to get to the PBA. The athletes aged 11-17 years old were accompanied by three coaches – Julian Hooker Smith, Efrain Castro and Dave Gordon. The delegation is scheduled to watch to the PBA games on March 9.

Silver, bronze for PH bets in Malaysian tilt THE country’s duathletes John Chicano and Mirasol Abad grabbed a silver medal and a bronze, respectively, and carried the day for the gritty Filipinos in the tough World Series 2016 Powerman Asian Championships Malaysia in Putrajaya, Malaysia yesterday.

Chicano fought eventual champion Aussie Thomas Bruin and French Gael Le Bellec neck and neck for the most part of the second run.

When the latter faded, Chicano tailed Bruin, who finally cut loose in the last three kilometers.

Chicano and Abad covered the 10-kilometer run/60km bike/10km run course in 2 hours 39 minutes and 19 seconds and 3:15:40, respectively.

Abad finished 37th in the field of 1,137 competitors from 41 countries.

Emma Pooley of Unit-

ed Kingdom dominated the elite female division behind a 2:57:37 clocking in wire-towire fashion with Japanese Airi Sawada, current Asian duathlon champion, settling for the silver medal in 3:13:40.

Abad’s national teammate MiscelleGilbuena checked in at 3:17:13, good for fourth position despite being hounded by her bike’s mechanical trouble.

Three Filipinos occupied the next the three places outside of the podium in the elite men’s division with Robeno Javier, former Team Philippines member playing out of Standard Insur-

ance, landing fourth with a time of 2:46:25.

National team member Robinson Esteves wound up fifth in 2:48:21 and another Standard Insurance standout and ex-national, Joey de los Reyes, sixth in 2:50:57.

Gerald Vadez and James Allado finished 10th and 11th in the elite division. Cipriane John Topia missed the bronze medal in the 25-29 years age category, losing to a German by a minute and 12 seconds.

Philippine Sports Commission backed the Team Philippines’ stint with the support of Philippine Olympic Committee.

Isuzu-backed Kaya FC ready for Asian Football Cup

Robert Lopez Mendy (left) in action

KAYA FC plays Maldivian champion and many-time Asian Football Confederation Cup campaigner New Radiant in Tuesday’s AFC at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The matchup is set at 7:30 p.m. and will be aired live on ABS-CBN Sports+Action 23.

They are coming off a heartbreaking 0-1 loss to Kitchee in Hong Kong.

But, they remain upbeat on their chances to gain three points in Group F. “We will just stick to the

plan. We will just a little in our transition and in our speed,” said Kaya coach Joel Villarino.

Continued Community Support Committed to supporting Kaya FC, Isuzu Philippines Corporation recently sponsored season passes for Kaya FC fans with the intention of encouraging a larger spectator turnout at UFL matches, especially Kaya FC games.

“Isuzu has always been an active supporter of sports in the Philippines, and with the Kaya season pass,

we want to see more and more people at the stadium watching the games. We are hoping that other clubs will take on this practice as well and help in promoting the local football community,” said Isuzu vice president for sales Daisuke Inaba.

Journey with AFC Besides playing at the UFL, Kaya FC is also participating in the 2016 AFC Cup. As last year’s UFL Cup champions, Kaya was drafted into Group F, playing against teams from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Maldives.

Kaya already played their first match against Kitchee SC at Hong Kong’s Mong Kok Stadium on Feb. 23. Despite a valiant effort from the team, their first AFC Cup away match ended with a penalty goal from Kitchee forward Rufino del Burgo.

This month, football fans here at home will have the chance to catch the AFC Cup live at Rizal Memorial Stadium. Kaya FC takes Balestier Khalsa FC on March 15. For more information, visit www. kayafc.com.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

4 Rio Olympic hopefuls picked

Members of Philippine taekwondo teams for the Asian qualifying event, Asian championships and Asian Poomsae competition are shown here. Among those in picture are Samuel Thomas Morrison, Pauline Louie Lopez, Francis Aaron Agojo, Levita Ronna Ilao, poomsae champions Dustin Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella and Rodolfo Reyes Jr.

TWO Southeast Asian Games gold winners and two other international medalists have been named by the Philippine Taekwondo Association to compete in the Asian qualifying event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games scheduled on April 16-17 at the Marriott Convention Center Grand Ballroom, New Port Complex in Pasay City.

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These are Samuel Thomas Morrison and Pauline Louise Lopez, both 2015 SEAG champions, Francis Aaron Agojo, 2015 SEAG silver winner and Levita Ronna Ilao, bronze medalist in the 2015 SEAG and the Asian Games.

Kyorugi (free sparring) fighters from 40

other countries eye Olympic participation thru the Asian qualifying event hosted by the Philippines and sanctioned by the World Taekwondo Federation.

“It is an honor for our country to stage this important qualifying competition,” says Sung Chon Hong, PTA chief executive officer. “It will also boost the spirit of our jins, since they will be performing before their countrymen.”

The PTA has also been chosen to stage the

2016 Asian Taekwondo Championships (senior kyorugi) and the 4th Asian Poomsae championships right after the qualifying competition.

Members of the Philippine teams in the Asian qualifying, Asian championships and Asian Poomsae are expected to do well in the coming events because of their long training and preparation.

Among the Filipino poomsae participants are 2015 SEAG gold medalists Dustin Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella and Rodolfo Reyes Jr.

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION (PAMBANSANG PANGASIWAAN NG PATUBIG) Region 3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES PROVINCE OF BATANGAS MUNICIPALITY OF BAUAN Bids and Awards Committee

Bulacan-Aurora-Nueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office Municipal Government of Bauan Bauan, Batangas

Office Address: Telephone Nos. Email Address:

Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan (044) 766-3888/766-4142/766-0157/766-3524 niabaneimoafs@yahoo.com

Standard Form Number: SF-GOOD-05 Revised on: July 29, 2004

INVITATION TO BID

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID

March 4, 2016

The Municipal Government of Bauan, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites suppliers to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder contracts:

PROJECT TITLE/ LOCATION

PROJECT REF. NO.

Purchase of additional furniture`s and fxtures for use of the new municipal building of Bauan, Batangas

BG-2016-06

Purchase of three (3) units Diesel-fed 2.5L Displacement Ambulance with accessories to be used in the disaster medical response of MDRRMO at Bauan, Batangas

DESCRIPTION

APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT

SOURCE OF FUND

MODE OF PURCHASE

Supply & Delivery

3,000,000.00

Trust Fund

Bidding

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Bulacan-Aurora-Nueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office (BANE IMO) Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan, through its Bids and Award Committee (BAC), invites Contractors to bid for: ITB No. R3-BANE-RRECIS-2016-NE-55 CALAANAN CIS,Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is P9,089,205.88with contract duration of 90 calendar days. Bid Documents cost P 9,000.00 Only those, Letter of Intent together with the company profile, submitted by the owner or its authorized liaison officer will be accepted.

BG-2016-07

Supply & Delivery

4,890,000.00

General Fund

Bidding

Prospective bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project within the last two (2) years, with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed items for bidding. The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the preliminary examination of bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Post – qualification of the lowest calculated bid shall be conducted.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Evaluation of Bids, Post-qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

ACTIVITIES Issuance of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Opening of Bids Bid Evaluation Post-Qualification Notice of Award

Interested bidders must have experience in undertaking similar project within the last three (3) years with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding.

Any bid above the ABC as stated above each ITB shall be rejected outright.

Issuance of Bid Documents; (upon payment of non-refundable amount as stated above each ITB) Schedule of Activities;

The complete schedule of BAC activities is listed, as follows:

1.

2.

2.

3.

4.

5.

SCHEDULE March 10 - 21, 2015 March 09, 2015 March 21, 2015 March 22, 2015 March 23, 2015 March 30, 2015

The BAC will issue bidding documents only to bidders declared by the BAC to be eligible for the bidding upon payment of non-refundable amount to the Municipal Government Cashier.

The Municipal Government of Bauan assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of Bauan reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to declare the bidding a failure, not to award the contract, to annul the bidding process, to waive any defects or informalities therein, without incurring any liabilities to the affected bidder(s) and to accept the proposal considered most advantageous to the Government.

(SGD) Dr. NOEL C. BAUTISTA BAC Chairman

Pre-Bidding

March 8, 2016 @ 10:00 AM NIA BANE, Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan Submission/ Opening of Bids

NIA, BANE IMO ITB No. R3-BANE-RRECIS-2016-NE-55 March 11, 2016 3:00 PM

March 23, 2016 3:45 PM

The NIA-BANE assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of bids.

Also, NIA reserves the right to reject any or all bids at any time prior to award, waive any defects therein and to declare the bidding a failure for whatever reasons it may deem appropriate.

Approved by: (TS-MAR. 5 & 8, 2016)

Telefax No. (044) 766-3888 TIN 000-578-009-000

(TS-MAR.8, 2016)

SGD.ROBERTO J. DELA CRUZ Chairman – BAC

Forum tackles Asian kickfest, Palaro TWO big sporting events in the Asian Taekwondo Championships and Palarong Pambansa will be tackled today in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Philippine Taekwondo Association secretary general Monsour del Rosario, competition manager Raul Samson, organizing committee chairman Tina Hong Garcia, and taekwondo jins Samuel Thomas Morrison, Pauline Louie Lopez, and Dustin Mella are gracing the public sports program to discuss the country’s hosting of the coming Asian Championships.

The other half of the session to be aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and presented by San Miguel Corp., Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. is the staging of the 2016 Palarong Pambansa in Albay, which will be talked about by Department of Education assistant secretary Tonisito Umali and Cesar Abalone, DepEd representative from LGU of Albay.

PSA president Riera Mallari of The Standard enjoins all members to attend the 10:30 a.m. session.

T UE S DAY : M A RCH 8 , 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

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

You are a sportswriter if...

I’VE long wanted to do this piece but had somehow forgotten about it. But Holy ARMAN Week is just around D. ARMERO the corner, and at the risk of being sacrilegious and melodramatic at the same time, I say that us sportswriters need to reflect on the essence of our existence, on why, day in and day out, we spend most of our waking hours writing about sports events and dissecting the lives of sports personalities.

In short, who are we and why do we keep on doing what we’re doing?

In my 20-plus years as a sportswriter, I have come to realize that most sportswriters look at themselves as a special breed of people. That’s usually the feeling I get when we come together to cover an event or attend a press conference, but this is magnified when we, garbed in our finest coats-and-ties combo, attend the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night, an annual event honoring the Filipino athletes’ accomplishments.

But who are we, really? Are we really that special?

Or are we just a bunch of insecure and cowardly writers who chose this profession because, well, writing a sports story is a lot “safer” than writing a police or a political story?

I listed some of the quirks and qualities needed to be a legit sportswriter and after reading these, you be the judge whether we’re really special, or just weird and different.

First off, I can say that strictly speaking, you’re not a sportswriter if you write about only one sports discipline. If you write only about basketball, then you’re a basketball writer. The same goes if you write only about golf, baseball, chess etc.

All right. Here goes. You’re a sportswriter if...

1. Every single day you go to cover or write about a sports event or tournament assigned to you by your sports editor. That’s basic, because the job happens to be your bread and butter.

2. You know what PBA, NBA, POC, PSC, AIBA, Fiba, FIVB, NCAA, WNCAA, PSL and the boxing alphabets WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF means, among others. But, if you know what AYOS means, then you’re a veteran sportswriter. (For the newbies, AYOS is the acronym for Association of Young and Old Sportswriters. It is also the nickname of Inquirer sportswriter Roy Luarca).

3. You enthusiastically attend a press conference of a specific sports event not only because your editor asked you to do so, but because there’s free lunch and free giveaways, which are most welcome.

4. In relation to no. 3, you have a pile of giveaways at home, ranging from pens, mugs, t-shirts and even caps. Printed on these items are the words ‘Cup,’ ‘Championships,’ ‘Open’ or anything related to a particular event.

5. You are at first-name basis and even friends with some of the popular athletes in the land. If you’re a veteran sportswriter, you probably have a couple of athletes and sports officials, who stood as principal sponsors to your wedding, or your son or daughter’s christening. (Case in point, Purefoods team manager Alvin Patrimonio and coach Eric Altamirano of National University are both my “kumpares.”)

6. You personally know The Standard’s Peter Atencio, one of the hardest-working sportswriters in the country and Clyde Mariano, a veteran sportswriter who won’t just stop writing for other tabloids even after the Bulletin retired him a year ago. Peter and Clyde are the stuff of legends, at least during press conferences.

7. Since one of our mottoes is “be a sportswriter and see the world,” you should have at least covered a sports event outside your comfort zone in Manila, or outside the country, such as the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games and the Olympics. Rookie sportswriters, however, will have to wait for their turn.

8. You are familiar with sports jargons and sometimes you invent some of the new ones. Floaters, small ball, step back, breadbasket, header, parking lot, treys, fightback, power tips, approach, etc. are some of the sports terms you probably use in your writing.

9. You’re idea of relaxing after a day’s work is a bucket of beer at a nearby bar. (Some of the younger ones, however, play basketball or badminton and other sports after their coverages. That’s not normal, though.)

10. You own at least a coat and a tie and a pair of black shoes that you wear once a year during the PSA Annual Awards Night.

11. And lastly, you are a member of good standing of the PSA, whose current president is my good friend and The Standard sports editor Riera Mallari. (Sipsip lang ‘pag may time).

Email me at armero_23@yahoo.com

STEP BACK

Back-to-back regatta champ. Crew members of Centennial III, helmed by the country’s top sailor Judes Echauz, flash the No. 1 sign after winning the overall championships in the seventh Standard Insurance combined Subic Bay to Boracay Race and the Boracay Regatta Cup in the world-class beach of Boracay over the weekend. It was the second straight year that Echauz ruled the event that continued to draw some of the finest sailboats, big and small, from China, Hong Kong, Australia, Russia and Germany. The annual sailing event is organized by the Philippine Sailing Association and the Subic Yatch Club and backed by Cebu Pacific, Tanduay Rum, Seawind Boracay Hotel, The Lighthouse Marina Resort, PLDT SME, and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Sharapova to make ‘major announcement’ LOS ANGELES—Former world number one Maria Sharapova has scheduled a news conference Monday in Los Angeles to make a “major announcement,” raising questions about her tennis future after months of nagging injuries.

The 28-year-old Russian has played in only three WTA Tour events over the past eight months and has not taken to the court competitively since losing to Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January.

Sharapova, ranked seventh, withdrew from the upcoming event at Indian Wells due to a left forearm injury.

She missed last year’s US Open because of a right leg injury that curtailed her tournament schedule for the remainder of the 2015 campaign.

Sharapova is involved in several business ventures off the court, notably her “Sugarpova” candy line, and won a silver medal for Russia at the 2012 London Olympics.

She has won 35 career WTA titles and is among 10 women who owns a career Grand Slam. She won the 2004 Wimbledon crown, the 2006 US Open title, the 2008 Australian Open and the 2012 and 2014 French Opens.

But in between her success, she has often been plagued by injury, notably long running problems with her shoulder.

Meanwhile in Mexico City, Britain’s Heather Watson rallied to defeat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday to win the WTA Monterrey Open final for her third career crown.

Watson’s prior WTA singles titles came in 2012 at Osaka and last year at Hobart.

The 25-year-old Englishwoman, ranked 84th in the world, took her first victory in three meetings with the 73rd-rated Belgian, having lost in the second round at Indian Wells in 2011 and round one at Washington in 2014.

Watson fired seven aces, six of them in dropping the opening set, before fighting back to win after one hour and 57 minutes.

Flipkens, 30, lost a chance for her second career WTA crown, the first having come in 2012 at Quebec City.

Unbeaten Japanese champ mauls PH boxer for TKO win

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Accelerators eliminate Aguilas. Phoenix’s Alfredo Tamsi drives to the basket against two defenders from Mindanao Aguilas in a 2016 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup elimination game won by the Accelerators, 90-80. Phoenix showed the door to Mindanao (1-7).

UNBEATEN Japanese flyweight Daigo Higa smashed Filipino challenger Romel Oliveros to win by a second-round technical knockout in a World Youth flyweight title fight in Tokyo to improve his record to 9-0, all wins by knockout.

Higa was coming off a 10thround TKO over another Filipino Renren Tesorio last Nov. 7 in Tokyo, while Oliveros, who dropped to 6-2-1 with a single knockout following his loss, was beaten in his last fight by another Japanese Takayuki Okumoto on Dec. 5, 2015, dropping a unanimous 10-round decision.

The best fight of Higa’s impres-

sive young career so far was when he travelled to Thailand to face a fellow unbeaten fighter, impressively bullying Kongfah CP Freshmart and bludgeoning his rival into a seventh-round defeat.

“Prior to the bout, I thought that I could not win against him without a KO since it was an away match. However, I managed to go forward to beat him anyway and, therefore, I was able to fight, according to my prior wishes. In addition, I could punch both head and body and have my body move quickly,” Higa said.

No Japanese fighter has won a world title fight in Thailand, and the win by Higa was considered a significant victory.

T U E S DAY : M A R C H 8 , 2 0 16

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Lowly Lakers stun mighty Dubs Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers breaks away from Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors during the second half of the basketball game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. AFP

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Lakers posted one of the biggest upsets of the NBA season Sunday with an unlikely 112-95 victory over the reigning league champion Golden State Warriors.

Pre-game hype Sunday was all about Kobe Bryant’s final contest against the Warriors, but the crowd of 19,000 at Staples Center arena got more than they wished for with a rare win by the cellardwelling Lakers.

“This helps out our team’s growth,” Bryant said. “The learning curve comes from trusting our defense.

“We paid attention to detail very well.

“For the young guys, I think it’s extremely important to see the results of it.

When you pay attention to little details, good things happen.”

Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points and D’Angelo Russell tallied 21 as the Lakers handed the Warriors only their sixth loss of the season against 55 triumphs.

The Warriors are chasing the all-time best season

in NBA history, the 72-10 campaign of the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96. To match the mark, Golden State must now win 17 of the final 21 games this season.

Based on the winning percentage difference of .727 between the teams before Sunday’s game, the result is the largest upset in NBA history.

Bryant, who has been hampered by injuries of late, had 12 points on four-of-14 shooting in 24 minutes of court time.

It marked the 37-yearold Bryant’s first game back at Staples Center arena since February 2.

He missed three of the last

four regular season games with a sore shoulder.

“I feel terrible not being able to be out here for every single game,” said Bryant, who is retiring after the regular season.

“If I can give it a go I will go out there and try.”

Asked how many of the Lakers’ final 18 games that he would be able to play Bryant said, “hopefully all of them. I know it is wishful thinking.”

Stephen Curry finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, but shot just one-of-10 from beyond the arc for the Warriors, who saw their seven-game win streak snapped.

“We didn’t have much energy,” Curry said. “Just one of those nights you want to avoid at all cost.”

Curry’s backcourt partner Klay Thompson scored 15 points, but missed all eight of his three-point attempts and shot seven-for-20 overall.

Golden State played without forward Andre Iguodala, who had an injured left hamstring.

Rockets jettison host Raptors James Harden tallied a game-high 40 points as the Houston Rockets ended a couple of significant streaks with a 113-107 victory over the host Toronto Raptors.

The Rockets not only snapped the Raptors’ 12game home winning streak but they won in Toronto for the first time in nine games.

Harden had 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter as the Rockets erased an 8577, third-quarter deficit to avoid a second consecutive loss overall.

Corey Brewer came off the bench to score 23 points and Dwight Howard added 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Toronto was led by 21 points from Luis Scola.

DeMar DeRozan added 19 points and seven assists while Kyle Lowry had 17 points and nine assists. AFP

Borlain sisters stamp class in IronKids Triathlon tourney

Children listen intently to race organizers giving instructions before the start of the 2016 Alaska IronKids held in Subic Bay last weekend.

SUBIC BAY—The Borlain sisters of Tara, Sam and Chezka continued to stamp their class in the country’s biggest triathlon competition for the young when they ruled their respective categories in the 2016 Alaska IronKids Triathlon here last weekend.

Tara Borlain took first place in the girls’ 11-12, a category so competitive the time of the first three girls were better than the winner of the boys’ category.

Micaella Barlin and Alison Ann Noble placed second and third.

Zedrick James Borja,

Eric Almendral and Johann Carlos Manubay won the boys’ category.

Samantha Borlain and Juan Francisco Baniqued won the 13-14 years old category. Samantha was followed by Everly Macalalad and Pia Suarez. Baniqued finished ahead of Joe Bernard Sarmiento and Joshua Alexander Ramos.

Chezka Borlain won the 6-8 year old category for girls, while Connor Hodges topped the boys’ category.

Kyle Enialle Toledana and Zurielle Kenzie Galo followed Chezka. Gabriel Gaw and Ythnmthw Orellana

were second and third.

Alaska gave free roundtrip airfare tickets to Cebu to the winner (and one accompanying adult) in each event, a two-night stay in a hotel and free entry to the Alaska Iron Kids at the Shangri-La Mactan on Aug. 6.

Alaska promotes healthy and active lifestyle among children through the winning combination of proper nutrition and physical activity. The Alaska IronKids is one of the sports development programs that Alaska conducts regularly to engage children to come out and play.

TUESDAY: MARCH 8, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

FIT to hike power rates soon

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE electricity bill of a typical household with power consumption of 200 kilowatthours a month will increase by P24.80 in April, after the government approved the collection of feed-in-tariff allowance for renewable energy projects.

The Energy Regulatory Commission provisionally approved the application of the National Transmission Corp. to collect a feed-in tariff allowance of P0.1240 per kilowatthour from power consumers this year. TransCo was designated as the FIT-All fund administrator, on behalf of renewable energy producers.

“The commission already ap-

proved the FIT-All and the order is now being finalized for the signature of the members of the commission,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

“We provisionally approved the amount of P0.1240 per kWh,” he said.

This means a residential consumer, with a monthly electricity consumption of 200 kWh, will

pay P24.80 more by April or at the start of the FIT-All collection.

The feed-in tariff allowance refers to the uniform charge billed on power consumers, to reflect the higher rates enjoyed by completed renewable energy projects, such as solar, wind and biomass facilities.

The 2016 feed-in tariff allowance will be used to pay renewable energy projects amounting to P6.925 billion, with the bulk going to wind projects at P2.788 billion, solar at P2.591 billion, biomass at P1.263 billion and hydro at P282.516 million.

TransCo predicted wind projects in 2016 would be able to generate 977,205 megawatt-hours, followed by biomass at 682,407 MWh, solar at 632,686 MWh and hydro at 187,342 MWh.

The government allowed the installation of 500 MW of solar power projects, 400 MW of wind power projects, 250 MW of hydro and 250 MW of biomass projects.

ERC approved a feed-in tariff rate of P6.63 per kWh for biomass, P5.90 per kWh for hydro, P9.68 per kWh for first phase of solar, P8.69 for second phase of solar, P8.53 per kWh for first phase of wind and P7.40 per KWh for second phase of wind.

TransCo sought the regulators’ approval in December collect a FIT-All of P0.1025 per kWh from consumers starting this year, but the ERC approved a higher rate based on certain assumptions.

“We assessed the list of the existing FIT COCs [certificate of compliance] and those gencos

[power generation companies] with pending FIT COC applications which are the most certain to become operational before the March 15 deadline. The list totaled 1,054 MW. Using this capacity, we computed the FIT-All to be P0.1240 per kWh,” Salazar said.

TransCo, in a filing to the regulator, said that pending the hearing on the merits of the present application, a provisional authority should be issued to collect the feed-in tariff allowance starting January.

It shall be set by the ERC on an annual basis, taking into account the forecast annual required revenue of the eligible renewable energy plants, previous year’s under or over recoveries, administration costs, forecasted annual electricity sales and other factors.

PSe comPoSite index Closing March 7, 2016

8000 8340 7880 7420 6960 6500

6,892.69 6.38

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing March 7, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.910

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.760 LOW P46.920 AVERAGE P46.821 VOLUME 469.500M

P417.00-P627.00 LPG/11-kg tank P33.30-P40.75 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P20.40-P23.80 Diesel

Sky-high rent. High-rise residential buildings are seen in Hong Kong on March 6, 2016. Property prices in Hong Kong, famous for its sky-

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene

high rent and super-rich tycoons, have more than doubled in six years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China. AFP

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, March 7, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.9560

Japan

Yen

0.008778

0.4122

UK

Pound

1.422600

66.7996

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128810

6.0484

Switzerland

Franc

1.007557

47.3108

Canada

Dollar

0.750188

35.2258

Singapore

Dollar

0.727167

34.1449

Australia

Dollar

0.740000

34.7474

Bahrain

Dinar

2.658019

124.8099

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266688

12.5226

Brunei

Dollar

0.724533

34.0212

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028249

1.3265

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

12.7844

Euro

Euro

1.099300

51.6187

Korea

Won

0.000835

0.0392

China

Yuan

0.153690

7.2167

India

Rupee

0.014930

0.7011

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.243250

11.4220

New Zealand

Dollar

0.678600

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030777

31.8643 1.4452 Source: PDS Bridge

Metro Pacific readies toll arbitration against govt

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said Monday it is ready to file an arbitration case against the government, if the Toll Regulatory Board will not act on its petition for a toll increase next week.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the TRB would decide until March 13 on the company’s petition for toll increase at North Luzon Expressway and Cavite Expressway.

“It will depend on their feedback. We are ready for arbitra-

tion,” Franco said.

Manila North Tollways Corp., a unit of MPTC which operates NLEx, filed a petition with TRB in September 2014 for the bi-annual toll adjustment that was supposed to start on Jan. 1, 2015, as provided for under its concession.

The new petition is on top of the petition the company filed in 2012, for the toll hike scheduled in January 2013. This would bring the cumulative toll adjustment to 15 percent, of which 12 percent was long overdue.

Tolls at NLEx from Mindanao Avenue to Sta. Ines currently amount to P218 for Class

1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans), P544 for Class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans) and P652 for Class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles).

MNTC was asking for a P2.4billion compensation claim for failure to increase the toll in the last three years.

Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. also proposed a toll hike for Class 1 vehicles to P27 from P22; Class 2 vehicles to P54 from P44; and Class 3 vehicles to P81 from P66.

The two companies said the periodic toll rate adjustment was

a contractual right the toll operators were entitled to under the toll operation agreement.

Operators of South Luzon Expressway and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road also filed a doubt-digit increase in toll.

TRB executive director Edmund Reyes earlier said extending the concession period was an option being considered as a compromise with the operators of NLEx, South Luzon Expressway, Cavitex and Southern Tagalog Arterial Road after the government failed to approve their petition for higher charges.

TUESDAY: MARCH 8, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, March 7, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 124 3.26

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

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

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

2.95 45.05 99.00 83.70 36.15 3.12 1.40 14 14.92 1.75 675.00 0.560 77.05 0.92 15.00 52.00 98.3 274 33.5 143.2 56.50 1.54

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 32 15.32 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

79 3.95 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 238 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26 2.17

34.1 2.3 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 1.65 161 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 10.02 1.2

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings 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. San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ SPC Power Corp.

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

43.55 5.5 0.69 1.49 10.58 180.00 17.6 51.9 19 40 2.43 5.36 12.2 9.000 7.70 6.03 7.05 1.51 19.96 61.6 13.80 5.51 2.750 225.00 9.1 32.50 1.95 2.99 37.45 26.85 17 5.88 327.00 3.24 9.90 11.50 3.91 1.74 3.02 4.14 2.31 143 4.05 2.48 0.158 1.11 2.25 201 4.6 0.74 22.50 1.14

0.59 59.2 30.05 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 4.92 1455 7.5

0.44 48.1 20.85 6.62 0.225 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.26 837 5.3

76 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 1.23 0.550 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

6.74 12 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79

High

Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.320 Aboitiz Equity 59.95 Alliance Global Inc. 15.30 Anscor `A’ 6.17 ATN Holdings A 0.250 ATN Holdings B 0.255 Ayala Corp `A’ 734.5 Cosco Capital 7.64 DMCI Holdings 12.96 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.80 GT Capital 1349 House of Inv. 6.00 IPM Holdings 9.78 JG Summit Holdings 72.90 Lopez Holdings Corp.

5.46 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.7 LT Group 16 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.495 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.7 Pacifica `A’ 0.0300 Prime Media Hldg 1.410 Prime Orion 2.010 San Miguel Corp `A’ 74.80 SM Investments Inc. 910.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.07 South China Res. Inc. 0.77 Top Frontier 167.500 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3150 Wellex Industries 0.2080 Zeus Holdings 0.295 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.270 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.60 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.88 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.450 Arthaland Corp.

0.222 Ayala Land `B’ 34.000 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.22 Cebu Holdings 5.26 Century Property 0.560

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

Close

SHARES 21,080,562 141,590,622 103,011,039 135,412,986 376,276,227 689,107,187 1,469,817,727

Low

FINANCIAL 3.1 2.91 45.1 44.1 100.70 99.70 83.95 83.70 36.5 36.1 100.70 99.70 1.48 1.35 14.2 14.16 15.22 15.1 1.8 1.7 606.00 606.00 0.650 0.560 77.95 77.1 0.92 0.91 15.00 15.00 52.50 51.90 98 98 279.8 274 33.6 33.25 144 143.1 57.50 55.25 1.54 1.52 INDUSTRIAL 44 43.85 5.5 5.28 0.71 0.7 1.55 1.49 10.58 10.3 175.00 170.00 17.72 17.46 52 52 19.42 18.78 40.9 39.5 2.51 2.31 6.5 5.25 12.6 12.18 9.110 8.860 7.91 7.72 6.09 6.01 7.15 7.06 1.6 1.6 20.55 19.9 61.9 61.65 13.98 13.82 5.55 5.47 2.960 2.750 228.20 223.60 9.69 9.12 34.20 32.50 1.99 1.95 2.85 2.7 36.95 35.10 27 26.75 17.26 16.9 5.95 5.81 330.00 325.60 3.34 3.26 10.18 9.92 11.70 11.54 4.05 3.91 1.70 1.63 3.13 3.02 4.13 4.00 2.42 2.42 157 142 4 4 2.51 2.43 0.160 0.153 1.23 1.09 2.28 2.21 204 200 4.6 4.6 0.91 0.74 23.00 23.00 1.13 1.12 HOLDING FIRMS 0.340 0.330 60.15 59.70 15.60 15.38 6.20 6.08 0.255 0.231 0.255 0.255 738 710 7.78 7.64 13.30 12.96 4.80 4.60 1361 1320 6.04 5.71 9.80 9.77 73.50 72.20 5.5 5.36 0.7 0.69 16.1 15.9 0.485 0.485 5.85 5.72 0.0310 0.0300 1.430 1.430 2.030 2.010 76.00 73.05 927.00 898.00 1.22 1.13 0.75 0.75 174.200 167.200 0.3200 0.3100 0.2040 0.2040 0.295 0.295 7.270 6.90 0.92 1.480 0.219 34.200 3.35 5.3 0.56

7.200 6.90 0.87 1.400 0.219 33.950 3.25 5.13 0.530

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.98 45.1 100.70 83.85 36.25 100.70 1.40 14.16 15.22 1.8 20.00 65.000 77.8 0.91 15.00 52.40 98 275 33.4 143.3 57.40 1.54

1.02 0.11 1.72 0.18 0.28 3,127.56 0.00 1.14 2.01 2.86 -97.04 11,507.14 0.97 -1.09 0.00 0.77 -0.31 0.36 -0.30 0.07 1.59 0.00

225,000 13,700 4,258,350 1,290,350 281,400 4,258,350 223,000 1,100 129,300 57,000 12,120 10,902,000 1,297,180 1,081,000 13,600 22,190 500 1,770 29,100 685,690 14,410 330,000

43.95 5.46 0.71 1.5 10.58 175.00 17.6 52 18.8 40.5 2.31 6.33 12.18 8.870 7.81 6.04 7.06 1.6 20 61.8 13.82 5.5 2.780 225.00 9.69 34.20 1.99 2.7 36.30 26.9 17.2 5.86 327.00 3.27 10.00 11.54 4.03 1.65 3.07 4.00 2.42 155 4 2.45 0.158 1.13 2.28 203.4 4.6 0.87 23.00 1.12

0.92 -0.73 2.90 0.67 0.00 -2.78 0.00 0.19 -1.05 1.25 -4.94 18.10 -0.16 -1.44 1.43 0.17 0.14 5.96 0.20 0.32 0.14 -0.18 1.09 0.00 6.48 5.23 2.05 -9.70 -3.07 0.19 1.18 -0.34 0.00 0.93 1.01 0.35 3.07 -5.17 1.66 -3.38 4.76 8.39 -1.23 -1.21 0.00 1.80 1.33 1.19 0.00 17.57 2.22 -1.75

1,049,700 1,427,000 31,000 810,000 300 20 1,166,800 1,600 648,200 523,400 6,821,000 19,934,400 126,100 1,701,600 5,799,000 19,816,000 147,800 13,000 3,121,000 105,210 38,800 21,900 11,216,000 234,970 5,300 17,600 8,000 36,000 6,700 913,800 207,900 115,300 116,450 72,000 6,257,200 61,500 584,000 1,528,000 789,000 181,000 3,000 100,230 20,000 230,000 3,350,000 618,000 1,991,000 1,013,630 15,000 44,196,000 100 249,000

0.335 60.15 15.46 6.20 0.255 0.255 720 7.72 13.14 4.80 1323 6.04 9.78 72.40 5.5 0.69 15.9 0.485 5.79 0.0300 1.430 2.010 76.00 901.50 1.16 0.75 169.100 0.3150 0.2040 0.295

4.69 0.33 1.05 0.49 2.00 0.00 -1.97 1.05 1.39 0.00 -1.93 0.67 0.00 -0.69 0.73 -1.43 -0.62 -2.02 1.58 0.00 1.42 0.00 1.60 -0.93 8.41 -2.60 0.96 0.00 -1.92 0.00 #DIV/0!

-0.28 -9.21 4.55 1.38 -1.35 0.59 2.80 -2.09 -3.57

280,000 926,960 7,318,100 2,000 820,000 50,000 145,720 2,406,500 3,228,500 142,000 139,035 6,000 2,900,000 1,697,430 2,879,300 18,000 607,300 20,000 30,551,000 36,700,000 1,000 2,665,000 574,850 293,520 4,381,000 17,000 147,160 3,230,000 40,000 690,000

7.250 6.90 0.92 1.470 0.219 34.200 3.31 5.15 0.540

197,300 100 1,000,000 217,000 20,000 7,149,200 11,907,000 70,200 13,664,000

576,540.00 76,183,641 -42,658,449.00 76,183,641.00 -1,102,222.00 1,800.00 -57,680.00 15,172,086.50 426,487.00 -49,000.00 812,505 -7,655,371.00

29,184,435.00 209,870.00

11,193,092.00 209,425 2,302,020.00 11,705,319.00 -218,328.00 4,405,056.00 -10,054,216.00 14,334,285.00 91,731.00 14,630,237.00 290,266.50 -440,678.00 -404,270.00 5,099,654.00

-17,159,280.00 1,996,126.00 -42,921.00 -22,866,750.00 131,850.00 -4,086,356.00 66,400.00 -46,250.00 -404,060.00 -13,429,515.00 80,000.00 15,400.00 2,529,160.00 34,691,926.00 69,000.00 1,110,130.00

30,350,740.50 25,906,002.00

-10,544,415.00 4,228,522.00 12,869,364.00 623,880.00 44,231,195.00 50,048,695.00 -3,214,616.00 2,218,112.00 -14,278,640.00

1,687,965.00 -65,975,705.00 25,620.00 -39,048.00

967,577.00 1,800.00 8,658,195.00 -31,762,330.00 -74,610.00 527,960.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

High

1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.72 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.39 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

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

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

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

0.960 0.119 0.425 29.5 0.830 0.155 0.96 1.53 1.27 3.82 0.090 0.445 8.46 27.50 1.43 3.09 20.90 0.85 5.59 1.000 4.500

10.5 2.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 15.2

1.97 1.2 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 6

0.62 1.040 6.41 4 18 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 3 2.28 8.8 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

6.73 3 55.7 1.15 0.485 4.87 0.0510 3.13 85.95 10 1.6 6.15 1745 6.59 1.19 61.05 0.214 1.2000 2.1 7.71 4.42 2.58 24.00 0.570 2.39 3.84 0.265 0.720 4.55 2.4 8.95 100.00 22.10 1797.00 0.440 0.930 33.80 62.50 6.10 3.30 0.510 3.74 0.335 4.920

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

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

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

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 525 120 515 8.21

33 490 500 101.5 480 5.88

1047 84.8

1011 75

1.34

1

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F Swift Pref

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

VALUE 760,528,151.46 1,613,639,077.32 1,240,271,995.02 1,059,008,569.024 2,029,931,681.445 253,211,044.81 7,001,710,851.275

FINANCIAL 1,518.24 (up) 11.84 INDUSTRIAL 11,452.86 (up) 67.23 HOLDING FIRMS 6,732.78 (down) 35.01 PROPERTY 2,842.73 (up) 21.10 SERVICES 1,386.44 (down) 19.72 MINING & OIL 11,115.90 (up) 33.07 PSEI 6,892.69 (down) 6.38 All Shares Index 3,995.24 (up) 8.58 Gainers: 114; Losers: 69; Unchanged: 39; Total: 222

Close

0.990 0.960 0.121 0.119 0.445 0.430 31.9 29.8 0.850 0.820 0.150 0.150 1.03 0.97 1.55 1.53 1.28 1.26 3.9 3.79 0.091 0.089 0.445 0.420 8.47 8.46 28.05 27.00 1.5 1.43 3.12 3.1 21.40 20.95 0.85 0.82 5.7 5.7 1.030 1.000 4.550 4.470 SERVICES 6.8 6.72

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.960 0.119 0.435 31.9 0.830 0.150 1.00 1.55 1.28 3.85 0.090 0.445 8.47 27.50 1.48 3.12 21.10 0.83 5.7 1.030 4.550

0.00 0.00 2.35 8.14 0.00 -3.23 4.17 1.31 0.79 0.79 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.00 3.50 0.97 0.96 -2.35 1.97 3.00 1.11

6.77

0.59 -100.00 55.35 -0.63 1.17 1.74 0.490 1.03 4.80 -1.44 0.0550 7.84 3.1 -0.96 86.8 0.99 9.9 -1.00 1.59 -0.63 6.30 2.44 1715 -1.72 6.65 0.91 1.25 5.04 61.75 1.15 0.205 -4.21 1.2400 3.33 2.1 0.00 7.71 0.00 4.19 -5.20 2.61 1.16 17.84 -25.67 0.580 1.75 2.42 1.26 3.74 -2.60 0.270 1.89 0.860 19.44 4.91 7.91 2.4 0.00 8.95 0.00 100.00 0.00 21.00 -4.98 1730.00 -3.73 0.435 -1.14 0.920 -1.08 33.90 0.30 64.75 3.60 6.02 -1.31 3.34 1.21 0.500 -1.96 3.78 1.07 0.330 -1.49 4.930 0.20

56.2 55.35 1.17 1.17 0.490 0.475 4.98 4.70 0.0560 0.0510 3.15 3.1 87 85.75 9.9 9.9 1.61 1.5 6.30 6.10 1740 1702 6.66 6.57 1.26 1.19 62 61.5 0.220 0.205 1.2500 1.1900 2.1 2.1 7.71 7.71 4.59 4.19 2.61 2.53 17.84 15.50 0.580 0.570 2.55 2.41 3.90 3.70 0.270 0.260 0.860 0.710 4.91 4.55 2.4 2.4 8.95 8.95 100.00 99.00 22.10 21.00 1808.00 1717.00 0.440 0.430 0.970 0.910 34.40 33.80 65.00 62.90 6.10 5.90 3.37 3.30 0.530 0.500 3.83 3.75 0.330 0.320 4.930 4.900 MINING & OIL 0.0045 0.0045 0.0044 0.0045 2.16 2.15 2.09 2.09 4.28 4.42 4.22 4.29 12.80 12.80 11.00 12.80 0.248 0.245 0.243 0.245 0.61 0.63 0.61 0.61 0.435 0.440 0.430 0.430 7.50 7.52 7.31 7.38 0.710 0.820 0.740 0.790 0.285 0.295 0.285 0.285 0.310 0.320 0.300 0.300 0.330 0.345 0.315 0.315 0.0130 0.0130 0.0120 0.0120 0.014 0.014 0.012 0.013 2.13 2.38 2.26 2.35 5.68 6.09 5.69 5.7 2.75 2.84 2.73 2.81 0.5400 0.5400 0.5300 0.5400 1.2400 1.2900 1.2400 1.2400 0.0096 0.0094 0.0094 0.0094 3.35 3.54 3.45 3.54 6.01 6.13 6.06 6.09 1.68 1.76 1.68 1.70 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 126.00 127.00 126.00 126.60 2.34 2.38 2.32 2.34 PREFERRED 54.95 56.65 54.8 54.8 538 544 526 526 532 531 530 530 118 118 118 118 527 522 522 522 6.52 6.5 6.48 6.48 1061 1100 1100 1100 1018 1025 1018 1025 82 80.15 80.05 80.05 76.5 76.5 76.5 76.5 77 77.5 77 77 2 1.9 1.8 1.87 WARRANTS & BONDS 2.710 2.940 2.760 2.790 SME 3.56 3.74 3.55 3.7 3 3.1 3.1 3.1 2.55 2.78 2.58 2.65 15.4 15.82 15.1 15.7 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 112.7 113.2 112.7 112.7

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

35,000 640,000 1,650,000 4,548,900 3,476,000 110,000 14,626,000 14,291,000 395,000 27,627,000 1,780,000 30,000 7,000 5,429,300 589,000 57,000 13,877,400 3,989,000 100 1,888,000 6,113,000

25,713,795.00 -205,800.00 2,657,180.00 3,780.00 -16,344,350.00

12,882,635.00 -240,240.00 15,116,780.00

1,911,010.00

42,500 35,460 1,000 870,000 7,057,000 -905,300.00 131,900,000 -2,000.00 3,606,000 -18,610.00 638,220 -8,701,423.00 3,900 107,000 159,700 157,340.00 68,440 -31,220,570.00 42,300 537,000 88,450.00 991,990 20,536,963.50 60,530,000 673,650.00 1,170,000 7,000 1,400 1,549,000 21,000.00 96,000 -51,600.00 200 153,000 48,676,000 -8,838,610.00 5,101,000 5,420,530.00 520,000 48,010,000 1,738,990.00 36,000 10,000 400 180 1,900.00 496,500 269,045.00 279,225 -123,006,810.00 300,000 35,717,000 -12,844,990.00 1,310,400 -16,121,600.00 2,565,540 44,351,272.50 958,900 21,440.00 1,831,000 133,830.00 4,876,000 -25,500.00 1,146,000 -509,280.00 280,000 67,000

0.00 -3.24 0.23 0.00 -1.21 0.00 -1.15 -1.60 11.27 0.00 -3.23 -4.55 -7.69 -7.14 10.33 0.35 2.18 0.00 0.00 -2.08 5.67 1.33 1.19 0.00 0.48 0.00

230,000,000 112,500.00 196,000 1,199,000 -722,020.00 2,500 630,000 603,000 43,700.00 1,020,000 14,900 143,317,000 -11,789,580.00 40,000 101,760,000 22,870,000 491,000.00 22,400,000 119,100,000 2,582,000 -92,800.00 8,350,400 -4,051,467.00 590,000 560,000.00 9,000 2,650.00 45,000 30,000,000 6,000 1,507,900 -1,319,770.00 958,000 172,920.00 1,600,000 194,860 10,071,052.00 93,000

-0.27 -2.23 -0.38 0.00 -0.95 -0.61 3.68 0.69 -2.38 0.00 0.00 -6.50

127,790 8,720 3,000 550 150 22,900 5 1,970 10,000 10,500 97,690 44,000

-44,791.00

2.95

2,201,000

-57,800.00

3.93 3.33 3.92 1.95

8,000 1,000 591,000 2,734,100

91,050.00 20,402,174.00

0.00

5,000

-2,371,715.50

102,000.00 114,750.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

NOW Corp.

0.860

19.44

Manila Broadcasting

17.84

-25.67

Da Vinci Capital

6.33

18.10

Mabuhay Vinyl

2.7

-9.70

Vitarich Corp.

0.87

17.57

Anchor Land Holdings Inc.

6.90

-9.21

Ferronickel

0.790

11.27

Manila Mining `A'

0.0120

-7.69

Marcventures Hldgs., Inc.

2.35

10.33

Manila Mining `B'

0.013

-7.14

Solid Group Inc.

1.16

8.41

Swift Pref

1.87

-6.50

San Miguel'Pure Foods `B'

155

8.39

Liberty Telecom

4.19

-5.20

Double Dragon

31.9

8.14

Phoenix Semiconductor

1.65

-5.17

PAL Holdings Inc.

4.91

7.91

Philweb.Com Inc.

21.00

-4.98

Boulevard Holdings

0.0550

7.84

Crown Asia

2.31

-4.94

TUESDAY: MARCH 8, 2016

B3

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

Cirtek award. Cirtek

Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., receives an achievement award as Semiconductor Assembly and Test Supplier of the Year 2015 from Bourns Inc.’s communications division. At the awarding ceremony are Craig Shipley, vice president and general manager of Bourns communication division; Steven Phelps, operations director of Bourns; Jerry Liu, chairman of the Cirtek Group; Jorge Aguilar, president of CEC; and the Cirtek and Bourns project team.

Megaworld set to invest P55b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

MEGAWORLD Corp. of tycoon Andrew Tan said it will spend P55 billion in 2016 to build more office and shopping malls to boost its rental portfolio.

Megaworld’s programmed spending this year includes the investment requirement of other subsidiaries, namely Global-Estate Resorts Inc., Empire East Holdings Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc..

Megaworld plans to spend at least 75 percent of the P55-billion capex for the construction of new malls, commercial centers, office buildings and residential projects in townships.

The balance will be spent for

land acquisition and investment in properties.

Megaworld senior vice president Jericho Go said the property firm would start developing new townships in Pasig City, Bacolod City and Pampanga province. It will accelerate office and mall developments across existing townships.

“We are bullish on the office and retail sectors because we see a remarkable growth in these businesses,” Go said in a statement to

the stock exchange.

The group is set to launch 14 office towers, malls and commercial centers in McKinley West, Uptown Bonifacio, The Mactan Newtown, Iloilo Business Park, Arcovia City, Southwoods City, The Mactan Newtown and Alabang.

“We will certainly achieve the P11-billion rental revenue target by year-end,” Go said.

The company is to launch 14 residential projects in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Iloilo, Tagaytay, Cavite, Davao, Baguio and Batangas this year.

The Megaworld Group in 2015 completed 16 residential projects and six BPO office towers with retail components across the integrated urban townships.

Megaworld currently has 20 in-

tegrated urban townships across the country, with total land bank totaling over 4,000 hectares across the country.

“Several townships are already mature, which means, we have already built in them the substantial components of a complete ‘livework-play’ community, such as Eastwood City and McKinley Hill.

We are moving towards making our other townships mature as well, especially those outside of Metro Manila,” Go said.

Megaworld owns 100-percent of Suntrust Properties Inc., 82 percent of Global-Estate Resorts and 82 percent of Empire East Holdings Inc. It has already built over 350 residential, office and commercial towers across the country.

Megaworld last year said it

would spend P30 billion to develop a 35.6-hectare prime land beside the provincial capitol of San Fernando, Pampanga 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,” Go earlier 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.

Manila-Calamba cargo train revived Stocks down in mixed

By Darwin G Amojelar trading; PLDT declines STATE-RUN Philippine National Railways said Monday it expects before the end of March to sign an agreement with a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. and International Container Terminal Services Inc. to revive the ManilaCalamba cargo train.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said PNR was awaiting a legal opinion from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel on the non-exclusive track usage agreement with MRail Inc. and ICTSI. PRN general manager Joseph Allan Dilay said the agency expects to sign the agreement before the end of March.

The agreement with MRail and ICTSI was earlier set for signing in January, but was deferred due to the right-of-way issue raised by Philippine Ports Authority.

MRail, whose primary business focus is rail investments, operations

and maintenance and technical services, has formed a strategic alliance with ICTSI, a leading international port operator, to revive and run the cargo freight service in the country.

ICTSI, which used to operate the rail line for cargo from 1998 to 2002 from Manila to Calamba, operates Manila International Containers Services.

Under the agreement, MRail will operate a freight train service in the existing PNR tracks or a minimum of eight round trips per day with an average daily container transfer of 600 TEUs from the to the ICTSIowned Laguna Gateway Inland Container Terminal and vice versa.

MRail assured no interference in the PNR commuter service plying the Tutuban-to-Alabang route.

It will be running the freight train 24-hours a day.

MRail president and chief executive Ferdinand Inacay MRAIL earlier said the project would help the economy and resolve the congestion at the Manila ports.

“It’s a good project, we voluntarily propose it to bring some relief on the congestions that we are all experiencing in the road. It’s going to be a game-changer, but just like what they said, maybe good things will have to wait a little bit longer,” Inacay said.

He said the company would build tracks inside the MICT to connect to Tutuban Station in the existing PNR line.

“It will be the same model. It will be a joint undertaking between MRail and ICTSI,” he said.

Inacay sees no issues about the project, saying ICTSI has the obligation on developing the port under the concession area.

“ICTSI owned the property and we are developing it,” he added.

Inacay said MRail planned to spend about P900 million to acquire three cargo trains and P300 million to construct tracks to connect MICT to Tutuban station of PNR. PNR, meanwhile, allotted over P300 million to build new tracks exclusive for the cargo train.

THE stock market fell slightly Monday in mixed trading, weighed down by index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 6.38 points, or 0.09 percent, to 6,892.69 on a value turnover of P7 billion.

Gainers beat losers, 114 to 69, with 39 issues unchanged.

PLDT, the largest telecommunications firm, tumbled 3.7 percent to P1,730, while rival Globe Telecom Inc., the secondbiggest, dropped 1.7 percent to P1,715.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty, which has interests in banking, automotive, property and power generation, declined 1.9 percent to P1,323.

Most Asian stocks, meanwhile, began the week in buoyant mood Monday, cheering a strong pick-up in US job creation

while weighing China’s weekend decision to lower its growth target but expand spending.

Energy firms were again among the biggest gainers as oil continued its recovery thanks to the jobs data and as US producers cut the number of rigs in operation to combat a global supply glut that has hammered prices.

Shanghai stocks ended up 0.8 percent, with investors also cheered by an expected delay in a plan to speed up initial public offerings.

Among other markets, Sydney rose one percent and Seoul put on 0.1 percent. There were also gains in Taipei, Wellington and Bangkok.

Hong Kong dipped 0.1 following last week’s gains, but Tokyo slipped 0.6 percent after climbing around six percent over the course of last week. With AFP

B4 New BSP rules good for banks —Moody’s GLOBAL debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service said Monday the Basel 3 liquidity rules adopted by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas are credit positive for domestic banks.

“The proposed LCR rules are credit positive for the Philippine banks because they will strengthen their liquid asset buffers and reduce their liquidity risks. The LCR rules will increase safeguards in the bank’s asset liability management, particularly prudent in light of the strong 16-percent average credit growth between 2011 and 2015,” Moody’s said.

“The LCR requirements will ensure that banks maintain sufficient liquidity buffers and focus their funding on stable sources such as customer deposits, as opposed to market-sensitive wholesale funding,” it said.

Bangko Sentral announced last week the imposition of a liquidity coverage ratio to ensure that Philippine banks had ample high-quality liquid assets to withstand a 30-day liquidity stress scenario.

The minimum LCR requirement will initially be set at 90 percent, effective January 2018, and subsequently increased to 100 percent from January 2019 onwards.

The banks will start reporting their LCR data to BSP in July 2016.

Moody’s said most rated Philippine banks were well positioned to comply with the minimum LCR requirements because they had strong core customer deposits and ample buffers of qualifying liquid assets.

“We expect banks such as BDO Unibank Inc., Philippine National Bank and Bank of the Philippine Islands to have an advantage in meeting the new requirements because they benefit from having a particularly large share of retail savings deposits, which have lower outflow assumptions in the 30-day stress scenario than corporate deposits,” Moody’s said.

It said Philippine banks were 85-percent deposit-funded on average and relied less on wholesale funds.

Moody’s said local banks also held high-quality liquid assets —mostly cash and Philippine government securities—that amounted to over 38 percent of their total liabilities on average, providing sizable buffers against the assumed cash outflows in these banks’ LCR calculation.

Fitch Ratings earlier said universal and commercial banks in the Philippines would be able to comply with the liquidity coverage ratio because of their strong financial status.

It said ample domestic system liquidity and banks’ balance sheets being mostly funded by deposits were positive structural factors that would help banks comply with the liquidity coverage ratio requirements.

Julito G. Rada

Aboitiz agreement. Aboitiz Foundation, the social development arm of the Aboitiz Group, forges a partnership with the Center for

Agriculture and Rural Development Inc. to strengthen the implementation of its enterprise development program. Shown are (from left) Card deputy director for corporate communications Cleofe Figuracion, Aboitiz Foundation president Susan Valdez, Card chairman Jaime Aristotle Alip, Aboitiz Foundation chairman Erramon Aboitiz, Card president and executive director Elma Valenzuela and Aboitiz Foundation executive vice president and chief operating officer Augusto Carpio III.

Foreign reserves increase to $81.3b

By Julito G. Rada

THE country’s gross international reserves climbed 0.6 percent to $81.3 billion in February from $80.8 billion a year ago, on higher foreign exchange holdings of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Data from Bangko Sentral also showed the GIR increased from $80.69 billion registered in January this year, despite the financial volatility.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement the increase was due mainly to revaluation adjustments on Bangko Sentral’s foreign currency-denominated reserves and gold holdings resulting from the increase in the price of gold in the international market.

Other reasons for the improved reserves were the net foreign currency deposits by the national

government and Bangko Sentral’s income from investments abroad.

“These were partially offset

by Bangko Sentral’s foreign exchange operations and payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations,” Tetangco said.

He said at $81.3 billion, the February GIR level could cover 10.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income.

It was also equivalent to 5.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 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 longterm loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between Bangko Sentral’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, also increased $600 million to $81.3 billion as of endFebruary 2016 from $80.69 billion in January.

Data showed the value of Bangko Sentral’s gold holdings in February increased to $7.815 billion from $7.040 billion in January.

Bangko Sentral expects foreign reserves to increase to $82.7 billion by end-2016, or equivalent to 9 months’ import cover, from $80.67 billion in 2015.

The projected increase would be led by the expected improve-

ment in overall balance of payments position this year to a $2.2-billion surplus from $2-billion surplus in 2015.

The current account in 2016 is expected to remain in surplus at $5.7 billion, but lower than $8.9 billion in 2015 on expected large increase in the imports of goods, notwithstanding improvements in the services and secondary income accounts.

Bangko Sentral uses the reserves to stabilize the value of the peso against the US dollar to avoid any fluctuation and disruption in the economy. The peso closed at a four-month high of 46.91 against the US dollar on Monday.

Remittances, business process outsourcing revenues and international tourism receipts have offset weak merchandise exports to keep the country’s BoP position in surplus, leading to an increase in foreign reserves in recent years.

Filipino businessmen have high debt—Manulife

By Gabrielle H. Binaday FILIPINO businessmen tend to have high levels of personal debt which could jeopardize their long-term financial security, a survey commissioned by insurance company Manulife Financial showed Monday.

The latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index showed four of 10 Filipinos carried debt, with the proportion being higher among those aged 35 and below. This was the second highest proportion in Asia, after Malaysia, according to the insurance company.

About 41 percent of Filipino respondents had relatively small amounts of debt ranging from P5,000 to P24,999, while 7 percent had debts of P500,000 or more.

“A third of respondents cited daily living expenses as the main factor contributing to

their debt, which could indicate that investors’ ability to save regularly may rely on the use of credit to pay for day-to-day living expenses,” Manulife said.

“While it’s positive that Filipinos demonstrate good financial discipline, effective financial management is about much more than just tracking your expenses and saving regularly. Investors also need to ensure they are managing their day-to-day spending to avoid falling into debt, and that they have clear plans to get the most out of their savings in the long run,” said Manulife Philippines president and chief executive Ryan Charland.

Manulife Investor Sentiment Index is halfyearly proprietary survey measuring and tracking investors’ views across eight markets in the region on their attitudes towards key asset classes and issues related to financial planning.

It said while Filipinos were prudent savers, more than 80 percent regretted some investment decisions, suggesting they were unable to effectively invest their savings for the long term.

The survey, however, found out that Filipino investors were among the best in Asia in terms of their savings and expense tracking behaviors.

Almost all investors surveyed (99 percent) tracked their expenses regularly and managed to save part of their income each month, which were key indicators of good financial discipline.

“Apart from daily living expenses, a large share of the debt is driven by outlays for children’s education, medical expenses and discretionary expenses, indicating the relevance of wealth management products to help in wealth accumulation and disciplined financial management,” the study said.

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 6

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

No to backdoors IN a fiercely compet it ive industry, it isn’t often that technolog y companies come together to support one of their own. Yet this is just what Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and about 29 other leading Internet, social media and technology companies did this month in a case that pits Apple against the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This unlikely story began in December 2015 in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting that killed 14 people and wounded 22 others at a San Bernardino, California health center. The shooters, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, a married couple, died hours after the attack in a shootout with police, but investigators want to know if they acted alone. The key, the authorities say, may be locked inside the iPhone 5c that Farook used. Last month, to a federal court, where a judge has ordered Apple to break into its own phone.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook opposed the order on the grounds that doing so would endanger the safety and privacy of all iPhone users.

“Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them,” Cook wrote on the company’s website. “But now the US government has asked us for something... we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone.

“Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.

“The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.”

The list of companies who agree on this issue reads like a who’s who of the technology world, and includes Amazon, Box, Cisco, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nest, Pinterest, Slack, Snapchat, Whatsapp and Yahoo, which filed a brief of animus curae (friend of the court) in support of Apple.

Like Apple, the companies questioned the FBI’s use of the All Writs Act of 1789, to compel a technology company to bypass its encryption protection would set a dangerous precedent that would affect the entire industry. It would be dangerous, they added, to extend the 227-year-old law to cover situations that were never envisioned when the law was first drafted.

Apple is clear that the FBI demand poses a threat to the privacy of all users.

“The implications of the government’s demands are chilling,” Cook said. “If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.”

The federal court is likely to decide on Apple’s appeal later this month, but no matter how it rules, the case is likely to be stuck in the appeals process for a few years, particularly since Apple has said it is ready to go all the way to the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, people who feel strongly enough about their privacy can add their voice to an e-mail petition by Access Now, an organization that defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world. The campaign, called “Stand Up for Encryption: No Backdoors,” sends an email to US President Barack Obama, and can be found on Access Now’s website at accessnow.org. *** This week saw the passing of the inventor of e-mail, Roy Tomlinson at 74. Tomlinson was working for a research company called Bolt, Beranek and Newman, which played a big role in developing Arpanet, the predecessor of the Internet, when he came up with the idea in 1971 of sending electronic messages from one network to another—and for using the @ symbol in e-mail addresses.

B5

Meralco rates likely to decline in March

By Alena Mae S. Flores

MANILA Electric Co., the country’s largest power retailer, said Monday power rates will likely drop this month after an increase in February on improved plant dispatch and less scheduled outages.

“There are indications that IPPs [independent power producers] and PSAs [power supply agreements] will register improved dispatch levels, which typically lead to a lower generation charge,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Zaldarriaga said there were less scheduled outages in the February supply month, compared inJanuary.

“Masinloc 1 also returned from its scheduled maintenance in January and Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo also saw improved output levels in February,” Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco, which has over 5.8

million customers in its franchise area, is set to release the final generation rates this week.

Meralco earlier submitted an explanation to the Energy Regulatory Commission on the P0.42 per kWh rate increase in February.

The distributor said the February power rates reflected the normal power costs compared to the January rates which included computation on the outage allowances of the power plants.

“It is further emphasized that the Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] and its implementing rules and regulations allow the automatic pass through of these charges,” it said.

“After the true up of the capacity fees every December of each year to account for the unutilized outage allowance of the power plants for the full calendar year, the capacity charges normalize in January of the following year,” Meralco said.

Meralco said for the January billing, generation charges went down by P.049 per kWh brought about by the reconciliation of outage allowances of the Pagbilao, Sual, Calaca and Ilijan power plants.

It said the February billing merely reflected the normal generation costs from the power plants supplying power to Meralco under their respective PSAs. The PSAs approved by the ERC provide for a forced and unforced outage allowance for each plant. Each of the PSA plants has a fixed capacity fees spread over 12 months by dividing the total by the number of days in a year, less outage allowance to arrive at a daily capacity fee rate.

Meralco-UP partnership. Meralco and The University of the Philippines hold a gathering of

business and academic leaders to discuss partnership in science and technology initiatives. Shown are (from left) Meralco president and chief executive Oscar Reyes, UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation president Tito Aliga, Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan, UP College of Engineering dean Aura Matias, Tallwood Venture Capital chief executive Dado Banatao, UP president Alfredo Pascual, Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology president Filemon Berba, UP College of Engineering associate dean for institutional linkages Rhodora Gonzales, Phinma vice chairman Mag Albarracin and Meralco senior vice president and human resources head Ramon Segismundo.

Pagudpud wind farm is back online THE 81-megawatt Caparispisan wind power project in Pagudud, Ilocos Norte resumed delivering power to consumers, after its operator built temporary towers to connect the plant to the Luzon grid.

“It’s back online as of Feb. 26 using temporary towers,” AC Energy Holdings Inc. president John Eric Francia said. The project was disconnected from the power grid, after explosives toppled two transmission towers on Feb. 19.

AC Energy, the energy arm of Ayala Corp., owns 36 percent of North Luzon Renewable Energy Corp., which operates the wind farm. DGA NLREC, a whollyowned subsidiary of Mitsubishi

Corp. owns 28 percent while Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure, a P26-billion fund composed of the Government Service Insurance System, APG and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd., owns 32 percent. UPC Philippines Wind Holdco I B.V. has the remaining 4 percent.

The Caparispisan wind farm is the second largest wind project in Ilocos Norte.

North Luzon Renewable said that in the early morning of Feb. 19, two transmission towers in Barangay Tadao, Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte were toppled. The towers are located outside the wind

farm facility.

Initial investigations showed that explosives were used to take down the transmission towers.

No one claimed responsibility over the attack, which caused no fatalities or injuries.

“NLR will continue to work with local and national law enforcement agencies, as well as the local government, to continue investigating this incident,” North Luzon Renewable said.

“NLR is working to ensure that we are connected to the grid at the soonest possible time,” it said.

North Luzon Renewable completed the 81-MW wind farm on Nov. 11, 2014. Alena Mae S. Flores

TUESDAY: MARCH 8, 2016

B6

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

PCSO to settle unpaid taxes Steag says repair of coal plant completed

By Alena Mae S. Flores STEAG State Power Inc. has completed a preventive maintenance on the 210-megawatt Mindanao coal-fired power plant, which is now running at full capacity and contributing to the Mindanao grid.

Steag recently conducted a twoday preventive maintenance for Unit 1 in preparation for an anticipated tighter Mindanao power supply during the dry season. The unit has a net generating capacity of 105 MW. Unit 1 went offline on March 5 for a scheduled preventive maintenance and was synchronized back to the Mindanao grid at around 10:17 pm on March 6 as planned.

Steag president and chief executive Bodo Goerlich said the initial preventive maintenance in the first quarter of 2016 aimed to ensure that the power plant was optimally available during the dry season.

“We are carrying out the necessary preventive maintenance activities ahead of the summer season to ensure optimum availability of our capacity, especially during the critical summer months when demand is at its peak while supply is historically at its low,” Goerlich said.

Steag owns and operates Mindanao’s first coal-fired power plant at the Phividec Industrial Estate in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental province. The power plant has two identical power generating units with a capacity of 105 MW each, or a total combined net generating output of 210 MW. Steag is principally owned by a leading German power producer STEAG GmbH and local partners Aboitiz Power Corp. and La Filipina Uygongco Corp.

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

STATE-RUN Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said Monday it will settle with the Bureau Internal Revenue the unpaid documentary stamp tax on small town lottery operations.

PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said the agency was willing to end the dispute with BIR and comply with the requirements of the tax-collecting agency.

“The PCSO will coordinate and will clarify and comply with the BIR,” Rojas II said.

Rojas stressed the present board of the PCSO initiated and implemented the DST with the small town lottery operators in 2015.

“When the board came in 2010 there was no DST for STL. There was no BIR on that matter. Nevertheless because of the intention to enhance and improve all PCSO gaming activities which include STL, the present board put in place the DST,” he added.

The BIR during a recent congressional hearing estimated the unsettled DST of PCSO at close to P3 billion.

BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares earlier said the PCSO was required to pay the DST on the sale of lottery tickets, based on the final and executory ruling of the Supreme Court.

Rojas had said his office had not received any “adverse opinion” on the DST from the BIR or the Commission on Audit.

Computations made by PCSO showed the unpaid DST of the anti-jueteng gaming operation in 2013 and 2014 alone reached P879.40 million, representing the 10-percent levy on betting tickets.

Under the National Internal Revenue Code, a P0.10 documentary stamp tax is charged for every P1 bet in jai alai, horse race, lotto, or other authorized numbers games, like STL. PCSO said it planned to expand the operations of STL program to other cities and provinces to increase the revenue of the agency.

The PCSO board said the ticket sales of STL had the capacity for further expansion, as they merely

accounted for about 12 percent of the charity office’s annual gaming income. Lotto is the main source of PCSO’s revenues.

The PCSO board in 2014 passed a resolution expanding STL operations nationwide on the recommendations of its gaming, product development and marketing sector and branch operations.

STL sales account for just about 12 percent of PCSO’s revenues from games, with lotto still the number one source of revenues.

But PCSO chairman Erineo Maliksi wanted to revoke the authority of all STL operators in the country and give it exclusively to a maximum of two nationwide.

Maliksi had proposed “to amend pertinent laws to abolish PCSO’s mandatory contributions to various government agencies.”

Irrigation project. National Irrigation Administration administrator Florencio Padernal (third from left) personally visits various projects, including the P759-million Upper Tabuating Small Reservoir Irrigation Project in Nueva Ecija on March 3, 2016. UT-SRIP can potentially irrigate at least 700 hectares benefiting at least 350 farmers in barangays of Nazareth, Bago, Rio Chico of General Tinio, and Barangay San Mariano of Peñaranda Nueva Ecija. With Padernal is Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems acting department manager Florentino David (second from left).

Five Presidential criteria voters will consider NORMALLY a Filipino voter selects a candidate for President of the Philippines on the basis of one or more of the following four criteria, namely academic preparation, experience, professional track record and personality. In the 2016 election the voter will have to consider a fifth criterion—professional integrity—because of the candidacy of an individual who refuses to answer publicly aired charges of corruption.

Academic preparation. All of the five candidates have adequate academic credentials.

Three of them—Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte—are lawyers. Former Senator Manuel Roxas II has a Master’s degree from one of the most prestigious schools. And Senator Grace Poe has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast communication from a well-known US university. No problem for the voter as far as academic preparation is concerned.

Experience. Unquestionably the most experienced of the five Presidential candidates are Mar Roxas and Miriam Santiago. After a brief career in a New York investment house, Mar Roxas was appointed Secretary of Trade and Industry, which he parlayed (as “Mr. Palengke”) into a Senate membership. Subsequently he was appointed to two other Cabinet positions, namely Secretary of Transportation

and Communications and Secretary of the Interior and Local Government. Miriam Santiago has held positions in all three branches of the government: the judiciary (as RTC judge), the Executive Department (as Secretary of Agrarian Reform and Immigration Commissioner) and as a senator.

Jejomar Binay served many terms as mayor of Makati City before being elected Vice President. Rodrigo Duterte was a member of the government prosecution service, then practiced law and is currently the long-serving mayor of Davao City. Grace Poe served as chairman of MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) before winning a Senate seat in the 2013 election.

Professional track record. This is the biggest chink in Mar Roxas’ armor because he does not appear to have left large footprints in the three sensitive Cabinet departments that he headed.

Miriam Santiago was a courageous RTC judge under martial law, and she has made her mark as a Senator, but she was less than successful as Secretary of Agrarian Reform.

Jejomar Binay’s claim that he made Makati City what it is today is totally without basis, for the undisputed fact is that it was the Zobel de Ayala business conglomerate that developed Makati’s cogons and rice fields into the finan-

cial powerhouse that it now is. Indeed, there remains a progress disparity between the Makati barangays that have been touched by the Ayala development prowess and the barangays that have not. Binay likes to speak of “what we did in Makati” but it was the Ayala conglomerate, not Binay and Co., that did it.

Rodrigo Duterte has not held a national office, but he can at least claim that Davao City—unlike Makati City—is virtually free of crime. And whatever freebies he has been able to give the Davao City citizenry have been the fruits of his own efforts, not those of a private land developer.

Grace Poe ran a tight MTRCB ship when she headed it, and she is widely believed to have done a good job of chairing last year’s Senate hearings on the Mamasapano massacre.

Personality. Undoubtedly the candidate who is scoring the most points in the personality stakes is Jejomar Binay. Marketing himself as Nognog, the height-challenged Vice-President shakes any hand that he can reach and dives into every so-called boodle fight. The next most simpatico candidate is the mayor of Davao City. Rodrigo Duterte’s franck and earthy language and down-to-earth demeanor has been resonating well with the crowds that she has been addressing, especially the Cebuano-speaking groups. Try as she does to not do

so, Grace Poe comes across as schoolmarmish and unexciting. Mar Roxas’ dry and uncharismatic persona is undoubtedly one of the main reasons why he continues to languish in the No. 3 position in the preference polls surveys.

Personal integrity. Voters in the coming election will have to consider one more criterion than usual—personal integrity—because of the inclusion of Vice President Jejomar Binay among the candidates. Where suspicion of corruption is concerned, the four other candidates enjoy clean bills of health. Binay, on the other hand, has staunchly refused the slew of serious charges of official wrongdoing—dismissing them airily as electoral persecution—leveled against him by his close subordinates in the Makati City administration that he headed. The voters will consider a mix of the above criteria when they go to the polls on May 9. In the cases of candidates Roxas, Santiago, Poe and Duterte, they will only have four criteria to consider. In the case of Binay, they will have to consider the additional criterion of personal integrity.

Let’s see which mix of the above-stated criteria they will consider foremost in their choice of President of the Philippines. And let’s see whether they will accord heavy weight to the additional criteria of personal integrity in the case of the Vice President.

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Former first lady Reagan dies; 94 LOS ANGELES— Nancy Reagan, devoted wife and trusted confidante to the late president Ronald Reagan and who became the most ardent guardian of his legacy, died on Sunday, aged 94.

The former first lady, who suffered heart failure at her home in Los Angeles, will be buried next to her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, her spokeswoman Joanne Drake said.

Late in life, Reagan earned praise for many of the very qualities that saw her savaged by critics during Ronald Reagan’s two White House terms from 1981-1989: her fierce protectiveness and outsized influence on the president.

Perceived as regal and cold, she was feared by White House aides who often found themselves butting heads with her over policy and personnel appointments.

She made her own mark as first lady with her signature “Just Say No” drug-awareness campaign, launched in 1982.

But after she left the White House, as she nursed Reagan through his 10-year descent into Alzheimer’s disease until his death in 2004, America softened its view of the former movie starlet.

Warm tributes noting Nancy Reagan’s steadfast dedication to her husband poured in, with President Barack Obama and wife Michelle calling her a “proud example.”

“We remain grateful for Nancy Reagan’s life, thankful for her guidance, and prayerful that she and her beloved husband are together again,” the Obamas said in a statement.

Former first lady Barbara Bush said she was “totally devoted to President Reagan, and we take comfort that they will be reunited once more.”

“Mrs Reagan was fiercely loyal to her beloved husband, and that devotion was matched only by her devotion to our country,” said her son, former president George W Bush.

“Her influence on the White House was complete and lasting.” AFP

B7

Iraq’s largest dam could kill more than a million people WANA, Iraq—Amid growing talk that Iraq’s largest dam risks bursting, residents of the town of Wana, which would be wiped out within minutes of a breach, are both sceptical and anxious.

Wana lies a bit more than 10 kilometers downstream from the Mosul dam on the Tigris river, the first town on the path of a possible doomsday wave.

A major failure of the dam would unleash millions of cubic meters of water down the valley and Wana would be

swept by a wave experts say could reach more than 50 feet in height.

Yet life goes on as usual in the small town of around 10,000 inhabitants where children continue to play and cows to graze on the shores of the river every day.

Some residents choose to trust the lo-

cal authorities, who have downplayed the alarming assessments by the Iraqi prime minister’s office and the US army.

“We are relying on Iraqi experts who tell us there is no risk the dam will burst. That is all media hype,” said Fadhel Hassan Khalaf, a 52-year-old civil servant who remembers when the dam was built in the early 1980s.

The US embassy recently released an overview of a breach scenario and said 500,000 to 1.47 million Iraqis

living in the areas most exposed to the flood wave would probably not survive if they were not evacuated.

People in the Mosul and Tikrit areas would have to move five or six kilometers away from the riverbank to reach safety, it said.

Bashir Ismail, 63 years old and a father of

INVITATION TO BID All interested parties are invited to participate in the actual bidding for this one (1) LOT listed below: LOT – I

2.

INVITATION TO BID

3.

4.

PPA OWNED PASSENGER TERMINAL BUILDING (PTB) AT THE PORT OF NASIPIT

5.

6.

1.

2.

3.

4.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), through the PMO - Agusan Bids and Awards Committee (BAC,) invites potential bidders to submit Letters of Intent (LOI) for the public bidding of the above mentioned PTB. The Passenger Terminal Services to be bid shall include the Lease, Management, Operation and Maintenance of existing PPA Owned PTB, including all the spaces for passengers, the facilities and amenities therein and other PTB related services. The Contract for the aforesaid PTB services shall be for a period of Five (5) years.

Bidders (company or any member of its Board of Directors, and all of its key officers) should have experience relative to the operation and management of a port terminal complex, passenger terminal building (seaport, airport, passenger bus, railroad, logistics center, etc.) Shipping companies that operate passenger vessels or combination (combo) passenger-cargo vessels shall not be eligible to participate in the said bidding, either as a sole bidder or as a member in a joint venture. However, individual stockholders of said shipping companies are allowed to be members of a joint venture provided that the individual share holdings shall not exceed 5% nor the aggregate share holdings of all such stockholders coming from one company shall exceed 10% of the total share of the corporation that will be formed if it will be declared the winning bidder. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

The bidder with the Highest Calculated Bid shall advance to the post-qualification stage in order to finally determine its responsiveness as to eligibility and bidding requirements. The contract shall then be awarded to the Bidder with the Highest Calculated and Responsive Bid (HCRB) who was determined as such during the post- qualification process.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Technical Working Group and/or BAC Secretariat at PMO Agusan, Port Area, Butuan City, Telephone Nos. (085) 342-5352; (085)3426451; telefax (085) 815-4434 during regular office hours.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested bidders starting March 7, 2016 upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of five thousand six hundred pesos ( Php 5,600.00) (VAT- inclusive).

7. The schedule of bidding activities from the issuance of Bidding Documents up to Opening of Bids is as follows: Bidding Activities

Date

1. Issuance and Availability of March 7-14, 2016 Bidding Documents

Time 8:00 AM5:00PM

2. Pre-Bid Conference

March 28,2016

9:00AM

3. Deadline for Submission of Bid

April 11, 2016

9:00AM

4. Opening of Bid Documents

April 11 , 2016

9:30 AM

Place PMO Agusan, Admin Bldg., Port Area, Butuan City PMO Agusan, Admin Bldg., Port Area, Butuan City PMO Agusan, Admin Bldg., Port Area, Butuan City PMO Agusan, Admin Bldg., Port Area, Butuan City

8.

All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the Instructions to Bidders.

9.

The PPA assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders of any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

10. The PPA reserves the right to reject any or all bids, declare a failure of bidding at any time prior to the contract award, or not to award the contract, without thereby incurring any liability, and make no assurance that a contract shall be entered into as a result of the bidding (SGD) CARMELITO FABIAN C. ABITONA BAC Chairperson

(TS-MAR. 8, 2016)

the dam will collapse, and many residents are thinking of leaving their homes and moving to Kurdistan,” the young man said.

Early this month, a contract was signed between the Iraqi government and Italian company Trevi for the repair work needed to prevent a disaster. AFP

ORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (O R M E C O) Simaron, Calapan City

1.

Port Management Office of AGUSAN Port of Nasipit, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte

13, owns a small convenience store on Wana’s main street.

“If the dam was going to collapse, they would have told us to leave the area... It’s impossible that they would not tell us,” he said.

Zyad Saeed was less sure.

“I won’t lie to you. We are now very scared that

7.

8.

Supply of Security Services Approved Budget Cost: Php 4,429,493.28 Source of Funding: General Fund Starting Schedule: May 1, 2016 Number of Security Guards: 31 GENERAL GUIDELINES

Interested parties may secure BID DOCUMENTS / INFORMATIONS from the Procurement Section, ORMECO, Inc., Simaron, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. A non-refundable fee of Php 20,000.00 and shall be collected as payment for BID DOCUMENTS. Interested Bidder must be accredited as contractor before joining the pre-bidding and must send us your Letter of Intent from March 9, 2016 of 8:00a.m. until March 10, 2016 of 5:00p.m. You can call at telephone number 043-2882349 or email at ormeco_coop@yahoo.com, and accreditation will start on March 11, 2016 of 8:00am until March 15, 2016 of 5:00p.m.

PRE-BID CONFERRENCE will be held at ORMECO, Inc. compound at 2:00 p.m. of March 16, 2016.

SEALED PROPOSALS will received at 2:00 p.m. of March 29, 2016, immediately after which, the said proposals will be opened during the actual bidding in the presence of the attending bidders.

ALL BIDS must be accompanied by a BID BOND payable to ORMECO in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT issued by a reputable bank equivalent to TWO PERCENT (2%) of the ABC. No Bid Bond in the form of Surety Bond shall be accepted.

The winning bidder shall issue FIVE PERCENT (5%) in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT from a reputable bank, representing the PERFORMANCE BOND. If the bidder who submitted the best offer refuses to push through with his / her proposed BID during and after the bidding, his / her Bid Bond shall be forfeited, and failure of bidding shall be declared.

ORMECO reserves the right to reject all Bids, declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnity bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

ORMECO, INC. ENGR. PATROCINIO M. PANAGSAGAN, JR. General Manager

(TS-MAR.8, 2016)

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION (PAMBANSANG PANGASIWAAN NG PATUBIG) Region 3

Bulacan-Aurora-Nueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office Office Address: Telephone Nos. Email Address:

Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan (044) 766-3888/766-4142/766-0157/766-3524 niabaneimoafs@yahoo.com

Telefax No. (044) 766-3888 TIN 000-578-009-000

INVITATION TO BID

March 7, 2016

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Bulacan-AuroraNueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office (BANE IMO) Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan, through its Bids and Award Committee (BAC), invites Contractors to bid for: ITB No. R3-BANE-RRENIS-2016-BU-56 ANGAT RIS (AMRIS) – Improvement of Lat. G and Various Irrigation Facilities,Pulilan, Bulacan. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is P18,922,302.79with contract duration of 120 calendar days. Bid Documents cost P 19,000.00 Only those, Letter of Intent together with the company profile, submitted by the owner or its authorized liaison officer will be accepted.

Interested bidders must have experience in undertaking similar project within the last three (3) years with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding.

Any bid above the ABC as stated above each ITB shall be rejected outright.

Issuance of Bid Documents; (upon payment of non-refundable amount as stated above each ITB) Schedule of Activities;

March 8, 2016 @ 10:00 AM NIA BANE, Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan

Pre-Bidding

NIA, BANE IMO ITB No. R3-BANE-RRENIS-2016-BU-56 March 11, 2016 4:00 PM

Submission/ Opening of Bids

March 23, 2016 4:30 PM

The NIA-BANE assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of bids. Also, NIA reserves the right to reject any or all bids at any time prior to award, waive any defects therein and to declare the bidding a failure for whatever reasons it may deem appropriate.

SGD.ROBERTO J. DELA CRUZ Chairman – BAC (TS-MAR.8, 2016)

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 6

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

N. Korea threatens attacks over drills SEOUL—North Korea threatened preemptive and “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States on Monday, as the two allies kicked off their annual, large-scale military exercises.

The drills always raise tensions on the divided Korean peninsula and the situation is particularly volatile this year, given the North’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch and its fury over the tough UN sanctions imposed in response The participation in the joint exercises—known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle—has been bumped up this year to involve 300,000 South Korean and around 17,000 US troops, as well as strategic US naval vessels and air force assets.

In a statement issued hours before the drills began, North Korea’s powerful National Defense Commission said it was prepared for an “all-out” military counteroffensive.

Describing the exercises as “nuclear war drills” aimed at undermining North Korea’s sovereignty, the statement said the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army was ready to launch a “preemptive and offensive nuclear strike” in response.

The threat came just days after leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the country’s nuclear arsenal to be placed on standby, in response to the sanctions resolution adopted last week by the UN Security Council.

Pyongyang has issued similar dire warnings of nuclear attack in the past, usually during periods of elevated military tensions.

While the North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system.

The National Defense Commission said the plans for what it called a “preemptive nuclear strike of justice” had been ratified by Kim Jong-Un. The plans would come into operation in the event of “even the slightest military action” by the North’s enemies, it said. AFP

Ritual. People swirl fire balls on March 6, 2016, near a bonfire to chase away evil spirits in the village of Lozen at sunset during the Orthodox Christian holiday called ‘Sirni Zagovezni’. AFP

Greeks put woes aside to aid hapless refugees ATHENS—Their own wages and pensions have been slashed by the debt crisis, but thousands of Greeks are putting their own economic woes aside to help desperate refugees trapped in the country by the Balkan border blockade.

People old and young, from couples with babies to pensioners and teenagers, came to Athens’ Syntagma Square on Sunday loaded with bottles of water, medicine, pasta, nappies and clothes.

Panagiotis, a 32-year-old accountant, was just one of those determined to help.

“Greek people know what it is to be a refugee,” said Panagiotis, a volunteer with the Red Cross at the Sunday donation organised by a social solidarity network.

“My grandmother came from Turkey in the 1920s. She had to leave everything there and she arrived in Thessaloniki with nothing. A lot of people in Greece have grandparents who experienced this exodus. This is maybe why we are helping those people,” he said.

With Greek state services overwhelmed by the arrival of around a million people in a year—most en route to countries in northern Europe—the support of volunteers and private donations has been

invaluable in helping aid groups manage the crisis.

Like Panagiotis, many donors say they are motivated by the suffering of family relatives who became refugees themselves in the 20th century when Turkey progressively expelled a sizeable Greek minority from Istanbul and Asia Minor.

Yiorgos and his wife have came to Syntagma Square with bags of food and clothes after seeing television images of migrants stuck at Idomeni on the Greek side of the Greek-Macedonian border where over 13,000 people are camping in miserable conditions waiting to cross.

The Macedonians are only allowing a few hundred people through every day, while thousands more

continue to arrive from Turkey.

“The only thing we want is to help those people. We saw them on TV in Idomeni. A friend of mine says that we stopped being human as soon as we became citizens ourselves,” said the 70-year-old pensioner.

Alexandra Fitas, a 22-year-old sociology student, brought packets of pasta.

“I heard about it through some friends on Friday. I couldn’t bring more, but if everybody brings a little we can make something good,” she said.

Not everyone has been so eager to help. Some refugees coming from the islands say they were offered food and water at exorbitant prices and asked to pay shop owners to charge their cellphones. AFP

Less study for Australia’s ‘ugly’ animals

Stranded. A child carries a received blanket in a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni where thousands of refugees and migrants are stranded on March 6, 2016. AFP

SYDNEY—Koalas and kangaroos are subject to more scientific study than Australia’s twitching rodents and bats, according to new research which finds ‘ugly’ animals attract less funding and investigation.

The bias towards more attractive creatures means that while ‘ugly’ animals make up 45 percent of Australia’s native fauna, they are rarely subject to intense scientific scrutiny, said a study to be published in Mammal Review this week.

Researcher Trish Fleming said once mammals were classed as ‘good’ (such as kangaroos, echidnas and koalas), ‘bad’ (introduced species including cats and rabbits) or ‘ugly’

(native bats and rodents), the latter group had very little written about it.

“Australians are probably surprised to know how many species of native bats and rodents we have,” Fleming told AFP Monday.

“We know so little about them, we tend to ignore them completely.

But everyone knows what a koala and kangaroo look like.”

Fleming, a wildlife biologist at Western Australia’s Murdoch University, said this bias had a potential impact on conservation, with an incomplete understanding of the importance of these often small and nocturnal animals on ecosystems making them more

vulnerable.

“The major problem is that if you don’t know anything about their biology you could manage their environment in a way that’s detrimental to them,” she said.

Fleming said while global and national conservation funding largely overlooked the ‘ugly’ species—which include hairy rodents and the carnivorous ghost bat with its oversized, fleshy ears and sharp teeth—these were the ones arguably most in need of research.

“For the majority of species, researchers have been able to do little more than catalogue their existence,” Fleming said in a statement. AFP

tuesday : m arch 8, 2016

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tatum aNcheta EDITOR

BING PareL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BerNadette LuNas WRITER

life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFeatstandard

a rts, cuLt u re & t ech

LIFE

The BMW Touch Command tablet can adjust the rear seats and front passenger seat, air conditioning, ventilation, seat heating in the rear, the interior lighting with Ambient light, the blinds for the glass sunroof and the roller sunblinds

Maricar Parco, president of Asian Carmakers Corporation and Governor Jose Alvarez, Chairman Emeritus of Alvarez Group of Companies present the new BMW 7 BMW Gesture Control can select functions by means of defined hand movements series during the launch PhOtO By star saBrOsO such as swiping or pointing

BMW ALL-NEW 7 SERIES REDEFINES THE FUTURE OF DRIVING LUXURY

a

sian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), the authorized importer and distributor of BMW in the Philippines, recently unveiled the all-new BMW 7 Series at a gala event held at the Grand Ballroom of the new ShangriLa at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City.

Heralded as the most innovative in the series, luxury car aficionados definitely welcomed this milestone that showcased BMW’s technical evolution that combined groundbreaking features in design, functionality, efficient dynamics, and the utmost in comfort that is set to redefine the future of contemporary automotive luxury.

“Since 1977, BMW has been delivering ground-breaking innovations and setting new standards with our flagship BMW 7 Series. From the electronic speedometer, to Park Distance Control, to the revolutionary iDrive operating system, all of which have become an industry benchmark for modern cars. Today, this sixth-generation BMW 7 Series has made yet another breakthrough by introducing new technologies such as carbon core that reduces overall weight by up to 130kg, and a full suite of innovations like Touch Command, Gesture control, Sky Lounge with Panorama Glass Roof, just to name a few,” said ACC president Maricar Parco. “This all-new BMW 7 Series embodies our quest for modern mobility, the highest quality and absolute precision.

This is truly a masterpiece from BMW, and probably the best car we have ever built,” the executive added.

The main variant of the series to be offered in the Philippine market is the all-new BMW 740Li while only a limited number of the range-topping BMW 750Li will be readily made available.

A six-cylinder engine with TwinPower Turbo technology powers the BMW 740Li, with the crankcase, cylinder head and oil sump all made from aluminium. The allnew BMW 740Li can produce an output of 326-hp and can accelerate from xero to 100kph in just 5.6 seconds. Its average fuel consumption of 6.6 liters per 100-km is an increase of up to 16 percent from its predecessor – and green conscious car

The BMW 7 Series shows the typical BMW design in its most elegant form

owners will welcome the improved average CO2 emission of 154 g/km.

Now if you think the BMW 7 series was already the ultimate in luxury, wait till you get your hands on the all-new 2016 BMW 750Li that boasts a V8 unit that has undergone extensive redevelopment.

It features a displacement of 4.4 liters and BMW TwinPower Turbo technology, TwinScroll turbochargers featuring flow-separated, bank-specific exhaust manifolds made from thin-wall castings that promote greater engine efficiency.

All these modifications enable the allnew BMW 750Li to produce an output of 450hp, and the need for speed is certainly answered as it can accelerate from zero to 100-kph in just 4.7 seconds. Its average fuel consumption has also improved by eight percent.

The weight of the all-new BMW 7 Series models has been reduced by up to 130 kilograms despite all the added innovations like a new chassis technology that would have increased the weight – thanks in large part to “intelligent lightweight engineering.”

The highly sophisticated, precisionhoned chassis technology offers both sharper driving dynamics and superior ride comfort, with drivers having more choices in configuring their ideal set-up, whether to go for more sportier handling

or greater ride comfort via the standard Driving Experience Control switch. The level control can be operated manually, allowing the ride height to be raised by 20 millimeters when driving along a rough stretch of road or in multi-storey car parks with particularly steep ramps for example.

Executive Drive Pro also incorporates an anticipatory chassis control function.

The advance information for regulating the combination of chassis systems is gleaned from the driving style analysis readings, the data from the navigation system and a stereo camera, and helps to considerably enhance ride comfort and driving safety.

Another groundbreaking technology is the iDrive operating system’s Control Display that comes in the form of a touch display for the first time in the all-new BMW 7 Series that presents numerous functions that can alternatively be selected and activated by simply touching the screen’s surface. This adds a highly intuitive input method to the iDrive system’s control logic, ensuring supreme ease of operation in any situation. This is especially useful, for instance, when the driver is selecting the venue he wishes to navigate to by instinctively pointing to the exact location on the map as displayed on the Control Display.

The iDrive system furthermore comes with the standard BMW gesture control,

BMW Laserlight or Remote Control Parking allows the driver to conveniently hop out of the vehicle before parking it via remote control

which is being premiered in the all-new BMW 7 Series. By making specific hand movements in the vicinity of the centre console, where they are registered by a 3D sensor, commonly used infotainment system functions can be controlled very intuitively and conveniently. The various gestures serve, for instance, to adjust the audio volume, control the 3D surround view display and accept or reject incoming phone calls.

The strain of driving will become a thing of the past with the massage function for the driver and front passenger seats that can be activated via the iDrive controller, with a choice of eight different massage functions in the backrest and seat surface in order to stimulate or relax muscles to help lessen pressure on the spinal discs.

There are three settings that come with the eight massage programs: mobilization, relaxation and vitalization. The mobilization function not only massages individual body parts such as the pelvis or the upper back, but also the entire body. The spinal column is also relieved with the help of specified active exercises. The back, shoulders and lumbar region are gently massaged by the relaxation function. The vitalization function leads to a noticeable relaxation and invigoration of the body, which is particularly beneficial on long journeys.

For sure, it’s not only the driver who gets to enjoy the revolutionary features as a new dimension in travel comfort await rear passengers, with generous levels of space accentuated by its horizontal surfaces and lines, the driver-focused cockpit design, the fusion of exquisite materials and precision craftsmanship and the sophisticated functionality of the control and display elements. The Design Pure Excellence interior package lends the cabin an elegant and choice ambience through the use of Exclusive Dakota leather trim for the 740Li and Exclusive Nappa leather trim for the 750Li. What’s more, the same massage options are also available for rear passenger seats equipped with the Vitality Programme and Rear Seat Entertainment, controlled via the BMW Touch Command.

tuESday : m arch 8, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

ExhibiTS

ThEATER PLAyS

Sugar & Spice Galleria Quattrocento, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Ongoing until March 20

Carmen Cinema 5, Greenbelt 3, Makati City March 8; 6:30 p.m.

Having observed the way Filipinos practice feng shui and employ methods to boost or attract luck, visual artist Clairelynn Uy exhibits her latest series of artwork that feature feng shui objects. Each of Uy’s pieces aim to show how everyone wants to call upon “luck” and serve as a commentary on how people turn to things that can supposedly bring on luck.

The Fine Arts graduate from the Philippine Women’s University illustrates through her works how these values – which are consequently shared with our traditions – influence and give our culture a contemporary twist.

Filipino audiences will meet the fiery gypsy Carmen as the CCP Met Opera brings this Georges Bizet production here in the country straight from the Metropolitan Opera of New York.

Directed by Richard Eyre, the show stars Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili in the title role, a part she has sung to acclaim at many of the world’s leading opera houses. Aleksandrs Antonenkosings plays the obsessed soldier Don José. Meanwhile, soprano Anita Hartig makes her highly-anticipated HD debut as Micaëla, and Ildar Abdrazakov portrays the toreador Escamillo. This performance is led by Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, with Christopher Wheeldon creating the choreography.

To know more about this ongoing exhibit, call (0917) 891-1322 or (02) 823-0935.

La Vallée Alliance Total Gallery, Alliance Française de Manille, Makati City Ongoing until April 29

The Alliance Française de Manille, with the support of the Embassy of France and in partnership with the National Museum, present this photography exhibition by French photographer Pierre de Vallombreuse.

The exhibit features the most recent photographs taken by Vallombreuse in Palawan which he documented for 28 years. The French photographer lived with a Palawan tribe called Taw Batu or People of the Rock in the Signapan Valley for nearly three decades. He followed the tribe in their life in the valley from the late 1980s when no road existed, until today when the community now lives in an accelerated pace.

Visit www.alliance.ph for more information on this exhibit.

Ang Kiukok: The Golden Years Third Floor Galleries, Ayala Museum, Makati City Ongoing until June 26 In celebration of the 85th birthday of National Artist for Visual Art Ang Kiukok, 50 of his works – including paintings, ceramic vases and plates – from 1954 to 2004 are currently on exhibit. The artworks were personally selected by the the late painter’s son, Andrew Ang, who is also the exhibition’s guest curator.

The show is presented in three sections representing the early, middle, and late periods of Ang Kiukok’s artistic career. Many of the objects that are part of the show have never been documented nor publicly exhibited, including blackand-white and colored works from the private collection of the late National Artist’s family.

Call Greenbelt 3 cinemas Customer Service Hotline (02) 757-7883 or CCP Sales and Promotions at 832-3706, or e-mail ccpsalesandpromo@gmail. com for inquiries and more information.

Batang Rizal Hotel de Oriente Convention Centre, Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, Bataan March 11 and 12 In a bid to preserve F i l i p i n o culture and heritage, Philippine Educational T h e a t e r Association stages this well-loved play for two nights at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.

The show will take audiences back to the beauty of the Spanish colonial period of the country.

The story follows the journey of a young boy named Pepito who meets another young boy, Pepe (aka Jose Rizal), in the colonial Calamba town of Laguna. Pepito takes Pepe to the future where they go through events that feature revelations about heroes, love and friendship.

Ticket prices start at P799 for adults and P399 for kids nine years old and below. Show tickets with heritage tour and dinner options are also available. Those staying overnight can avail of a special promo price with room accommodation, heritage tour and tickets for two starting at P8,000. For ticket inquiries, log on to www. lascasasfilipinas.com or call (02) 332-5338, (02) 332-5268, and (877) 4501-02.

CONCERTS Bach vs Beatles II: Let it ‘B’ Ground Floor Lobby, Ayala Museum, Makati City March 9; 6:30 p.m.

The Manila Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Prof. Arturo Molina, are set for a concert “revolver” as the premier orchestra once again plays the iconic music of German composer Johann Bach and British band Beatles.

The MSO will perform an all new lineup of musical works by towering geniuses of the 18th and 20th centuries, following the success of their 2015 Bach vs. Beatles concert.

For inquiries and reservations call (02) 759-8288 or email hello @ayalamuseum.org.

Standing room only tickets are available at P300 each. Limited tickets available. To get the latest updates on the availability of tickets, call (02) 759-8288 local 31 and 35 or email concerts@ayalamuseum.org.

tuESday : m arch 8, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

T EC H TA L K

Toshiba Canvio® Connect II Portable Hard Drive Delivers

u

sers who find themselves in need of more and more space have an option with the Canvio® Connect II Portable Hard Drive whose launch was recently announced

by Toshiba Singapore. With up to 3TB of storage capacity, remote access capabilities, cloud backup and the ability to share and stream content, the Toshiba Canvio® Connect II takes portable storage to the next level.

In today’s digital world, data mobility has become of paramount importance, which is why the new hard drive is coupled with Pogoplug® PC Software that allows users to leave the Canvio® Connect II at home and still stream files via iOS/android app from a smartphone

(or vice versa) as long as the hard drive is connected to an internet-enabled PC. “Digital content creation has grown exponentially. The Canvio® Connect II was created with this understanding in mind,” explained Wong Wai Meng, senior manager of Toshiba Singapore. “With expanded storage capacity, sleek design and five vibrant color options, the Canvio® Connect II takes portable hard drive storage to a new level,” she added.

A free 10GB cloud storage comes along with the Canvio® Connect II, and all users have to do is download or upload files using a web browser or app on smartphone. Sharing of large files on cloud storage is also made easy as users can easily select the files visible to recipient via a web link.

And since the hard drive’s core function is to back up files, Canvio® Connect II has the ability to clone a PC’s OS, applications and settings, and users can choose to recover a file, folder or restore a laptop from PC crash with NTI® Backup Now EZ™. The preloaded NTI® Backup Now EZ™ software also makes scheduling and securing backups with user-defined password possible.

Toshiba’s Canvio® Connect II is pre-formatted with NTFS for Windows PC and comes with an NTFS driver for Mac, which allows users to store and access files from their PC and Mac without need to reformat. The hard drive comes with a three-year limited local warranty.

Supercell launches clash royale game in Ph through Smart We’re sure you have a friend or two, or three, or even you who were or still are addicted to Clash of Clans. Well finally, Supercell launches another exciting game after the global success of Clash of Clans (CoC). The new addictive game is called Clash Royale, an exhilarating “I’d-rather-play-it-game-thansee-my-girlfriend” kind of thing.

It has the same formula as Clash of Clans where you duel with other online players in a race to knock down each other’s castle, but instead of just strategy it also involves a card game. What’s more fun is that it is somewhat still affiliated with CoC because in order for you to play the game, you need to draw from a deck of eight cards containing familiar CoC characters, defenses and spells – and unleash all their powers in the arena. During the game, the winning user gets more cards, trophies and glory, which then allows him to upgrade his characters, unlock new arenas, and ultimately build his clan and battle community to share his cards with.

Helsinki-based mobile game developer Supercell has launched Clash Royale in the Philippines, and Filipino players can now make the most of it with Smart Prepaid’s PasaData, which allows one to share data with friends anytime and anywhere for more online gaming fun.

So far, the game has had rave reviews from online gamers and a highlight of the good reviews is the use of card and arena game formats to spice up the game. Prior to its worldwide launch, Clash Royale was initially rolled out in select markets in Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and New Zealand.

“We are thrilled to finally make Clash Royale available to Filipinos, who are very engaged CoC players,” says Erlend Christoffersen, director for Global Expansion at Supercell. “We can’t wait for them to have as much fun and enjoyment while playing our new game with their family and friends anytime, anywhere.”

Smart Communications has welcomed the game and is encouraging users to bond with friends using Smart Prepaid’s PasaData, which gives you the convenience and flexibility of passing internet data use to your friends.

“We welcome the launch of Clash Royale in the Philippines, and we expect it to follow the success of the massive hit Clash of Clans as it introduces another exciting way for friends to bond and interact with each other online,” says Katrina Luna-Abelarde, head of Wireless Operations at Smart. “Filipino mobile gamers can definitely make the most of this new game with Smart Prepaid’s PasaData, which gives you the convenience and flexibility of passing on a chunk of your Big Bytes Barkada offers to your friends – the first service of its kind in the country,” she adds.

PasaData can be used with both Big Bytes Barkada 99, which comes with 700MB that is valid for seven days and Big Bytes Barkada 299 which offers 2GB valid for 30 days. You can use the Big Bytes Barkada to play Clash Royale and other mobile games, stream videos and music on apps like YouTube, iflix, and Spinnr, and stay active on all your other apps, such as Facebook, Viber, and Instagram, among others.

Clash Royale is the latest game from the makers of the popular strategy game Clash of Clans

During the game, the winning user gets more cards, trophies and glory, which then allows him to upgrade his characters and unlock new arenas

To register for Big Bytes Barkada offers, simply text BBB99 or BBB299 to 9999, respectively, or dial *121# – the all-access portal for all Smart Prepaid promos. Once registered, you can easily make use of PasaData for your friends anytime and anywhere by simply texting SHARE<SPACE>No. of Recipient<SPACE> (Amount)MB to 808.

To get updates on Smart’s latest offers, follow its official account on Facebook via SmartCommunications, and Twitter and Instagram at @LiveSmart. To know more about the game, visit www.clashroyale.com.

A player can build his clan and battle community

tuESday : m arch 8, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

A celebrAtion of colors At Holi festivAl 2016

The throwing of gulal or colored powder symbolizes friendship, unity and a sense of revelry

h

oli Festival is a practice that originated in Hindu countries. It is an annual festival celebrated on the full moon day in the Hindu month of Phalguna – typically February or March in the Gregorian calendar. For the Hindus, it is a season of joy and hope to celebrate the arrival of spring in India, Nepal and other places with a Hindu population. Known as a festival of colors or the festival of sharing love – Holi brings so much fun and joy to people that when you mention it to the locals it always almost puts a smile on their faces.

There are so many stories affiliated with the festival’s origin and the most popular to Holika Dahan and the legend of RadhaKrishan. Holika Dahan means lighting of bonfires, a ritual that came from celebrating the victory of good over evil. The story goes that demon King Hiranyakashyap wanted to kill his son Prahlad through the help of his sister Holika, but a protected cloak that could not burn saved Prahlad, and Holika was burnt alive. Since then the day has been celebrated in memory of the victory of good over evil.

A closer legend to the colorful practice during Holi is the story of lovers Radha and Krishna, whose blue skin made him too shy to approach the beautiful, fair-skinned Radha. After following his mother’s advice to paint Radha’s face with color, Krishna and Radha fell in love. This ancient legend made the ritual of coloring their beloved as an expression of love.

During the Holi Festival, people highlight the colors of spring by throwing gulal – a kind of colored powder – at each other and up in the air, making everyone’s faces light up

with bright colors. This activity symbolizes friendship, unity, and a sense of revelry.

Today, the festival has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of the world. In the Philippines, Asia Society Philippines and SM by the Bay will be leading celebrations for the 4th annual Holi Festival in Manila on March 20 at the SM by the Bay Central Park. It will be a fun filled colorful weekend as people get immersed in a colorful and cultural celebration.

Holi in Manila will have the actual throwing of gulal as part of the festivity.

There will also be a live show of traditional Indian and Bollywood songs together with fun dances, live drummers, and a DJ from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Games and prizes can also be expected during the fest, with authentic Indian cuisine and Indian wares to be made available in the festivity grounds.

A traditional mehndi or henna tattoo booth can also be found on the day of the fest.

Holi Festival 2016 is co-organized with the Embassy of India, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce, Indian Ladies Club, and SingIndia Music of the Soul.

Holi Festival 2016 is sponsored by India Tourism and supported by Air Asia and New India Assurance, with special support from Ambica, Jockey, Oakley, Speedo, RK Manufacturing and WiPro. Tickets are now pre-selling for P150 and will be sold for P200 on-site. Tickets are available at all SM Tickets outlets. For more information call 02-477-2222. For tickets, inquiries, and volunteer opportunities, contact Asia Society Philippines at info@asiasociety.org.ph. Use the hashtag to keep up to date about the festival #HoliMNL2016.

Kids can enjoy games and prizes during the festivities

Hindus celebrate with joy and exuberance

People commemorate the triumph of good over evil during the Holi festival

Traditional and Bollywood songs and fun dances will be performed

t uES DAy : m A RcH 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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Film director Robert Schwentke promises immersive scenes from the film

MOsT-awaITED yOung-aDulT fIlM OpEns ahEaD Of u.s.

t

he first of the last part of the bestselling trilogy The Divergent Series book-to-movie blockbuster franchise, The Divergent Series: Allegiant is about to explode with epic action scenes, spectacular vistas and unexpected twists in cinemas on March 9, one week advance of its US release.

The Divergent Series: Allegiant follows Tris, Four and their comrades as they escape the walled city of Chicago and embark on their most astonishing adventure yet. With Chicago on the verge of an all-out civil war, Tris (Shailene Woodley) leads Four (Theo James), Christina (Zoë Kravitz), Peter (Miles Teller), Tori (Maggie Q) and Caleb (Ansel Elgort) on a harrowing escape from the walled city, chased by armed guards loyal to selfappointed leader Evelyn (Naomi Watts).

Outside Chicago for the first time in their lives, the five find themselves being pursued by Edgar (Jonny Weston) through a toxic wasteland known as the Fringe before being rescued and escorted to the ultra-high-tech compound of the Bureau of Genetic Welfare.

Once there, Bureau mastermind David (Jeff Daniels) singles out Tris for being genetically “pure” and enlists her to champion his mysterious cause. While Tris receives special treatment, including access to “memory tabs” that enable her to relive her own family history, Four joins Bureau soldiers on a supposedly humanitarian

mission to remove children from a ragtag Fringe encampment.

Discovering that David plans to use the Bureau’s astonishing technologies for inhumane ends, Tris hijacks his private aircraft and returns with her team to Chicago.

Faced with a shocking betrayal, they must try to stop Evelyn before she unleashes a memory-erasing gas on the city’s entire population, including the Allegiant rebel force led by Johanna (Octavia Spencer).

At the heels of the previously released hit movies from the books by author Veronica Roth, The Divergent and Insurgent, the latest installment The Divergent Series: Allegiant goes on a different world for the heroic team to finally discover what being a Divergent truly means.

Woodley, too, relished the challenge of pushing her character toward new horizons. “When we first met Tris in Divergent, she empowered herself,” says the actress.

“In Insurgent, she’s guilt-ridden and winds up being betrayed by her brother Caleb. In Allegiant, Tris goes outside of Chicago because she feels its part of her destiny.”

Director Robert Schwentke wanted to immerse audiences in the world beyond Chicago by filling the screen with bigger visual effects, more monumental vistas and more exciting action sequences than anything featured in the previous films. Between setups, cast members were literally left hanging. “You’d just be there for hours,” Woodley laughs. “It’s not very comfortable.”

Allegiant, the next installation to the Divergent series opens in cinemas on march 9

theo James as Four

Shailene Woodley plays the main character tris

Woodley, James, Kravitz, Teller, Elgort and Q, spent three days at the quarry, plus five more days shooting on a smaller, less steeply angled wall built to make it easier for the actors to say their lines while climbing. Elgort, an experienced rock climber in real life, had to forget everything he knew to portray his character properly. “Running up a real wall vertically was pretty sick,” he

recalls. “My challenge was making it look like I didn’t know what I was doing because Caleb can’t run and climb. I had to slam my body against the wall. I wore all these pads so it didn’t cut me up, but those scenes completely chewed up my costume.”

The Divergent Series: Allegiant opens March 9 in cinemas nationwide from Pioneer Films.

New FBI Drama tackles serious crime across international borders

the cast of the new police drama criminal minds: Beyond Borders

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders looks at the specialized International Division of the FBI tasked with solving crimes and coming to the rescue of Americans who find themselves in danger while abroad.

Created by Erica Messar as a spin-off to the highly popular Criminal Minds franchise, this new series examines cases of abductions, hostage taking, extortions, threats and other criminal activities posed by increased cross-border travel, globalization, and technology freedom.

The backdoor pilot was first introduced as an episode on the flagship show

where an innocent family of four was abducted while vacationing in Barbados.

The new series will continue to travel to Spain, Tokyo, Thailand, Mumbai and Paris investigating crimes that include the religion, culture and politics of the different countries.

Starring Gary Sinise as Unit Chief Jack Garrett a seasoned 20-year veteran of the Bureau, his team includes Clara Seger a smart, well-traveled and multilingual cultural anthropologist played

by Alana De La Garza. Heart throb Daniel Henney is Matthew Simmons, a

former military hero while Tyler James Williams plays the unit’s compassionate, brilliant tech analyst, Russ “Monty” Montgomery. Annie Funke rounds out the group as Mae Jarvis, the team’s fearless and fun medical examiner.

These exceptional agents are dedicated to protecting US citizens and returning them home by profiling and identifying criminals who target them beyond borders.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders premieres on March 17 at 9:45 p.m. first and exclusively on AXN, within 12 hours of the U.S telecast.

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t uES DAy : m A RcH 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

GERalD’s sEcRET TO succEss

ing my best efforts no erald Anderson matter what. One of my recently celstrong points actually is ebrated his tenth having focus. Even as a year anniversary kid. I was the type who in show business. Asked JOsEph pETER wanted to excel in all what the secret of his GOnzalEs the endeavors I would success is, the handsome enter. I’m thankful that heartthrob avers, “Peruntil now, my perspechaps, I just love what I do! That’s the main key there. Over tive remains the same, the reason the years, I was able to adjust very why I want to accomplish a lot in well in this field. I can safely say that my showbiz career!”

The appealing lad is serious with at this point, everything about the his acting craft. ‘biz, I already learned to love!”

“As a performer, I want to be reDoes this include even the not so membered as someone who always pleasant parts?

“You mean, like the controver- gives his best in every project he apsies? I guess it is part and parcel of pears into and is not afraid of chalthe field. I’ve learned to embrace lenges. I also like to be an inspirathe system. Another is the loss of tion to my fellow actors specially the privacy. The public will always have younger crop. When I was just a neosomething good or bad to say about phyte in this field, there were also actors whom I looked up to and served you so you just have to be flexible.

“It all boils down to my love for as role models before I reached my the craft. The support I receive from present stature. Like a cycle, I want to the fans all these years is simply en- pay it forward,” says Gerald.

Interestingly, where does he see couraging and inspiring for me to continue honing my skills and giv- himself in the next ten years?

After appearing in the sleeper hit Always Be My Maybe opposite Arci Muñoz, the talented Kapamilya star is set to play an offbeat character in his next silver screen outing.

“That’s right! There’s no final title yet. Remember the film On the Job where I shared the frame with Piolo Pascual? It is somewhat similar to that so this early, I’m simply thrilled. The cameras will grind weeks from now so I’m preparing myself,” ends Gerald.

shTIcks

Kapamilya actor Gerald Anderson

“To be honest, I don’t have any concrete plans yet regarding that.

As of now, it’s okay that I enjoy life along with people who are dear to me. I guess you really can’t plan everything in detail because life is very unpredictable. You don’t know what will happen in the future. So I think it’s better to just enjoy each passing day.”

******** Benjamin Alves sheds light on the issue linking him romantically with Glaiza de Castro.

“Actually, there’s no issue because we are good friends. It’s the same as before, only, given color by the media. It just got magnified but we’re still friends,” he states.

Curiously, do they still go out on dates?

“Well, in the past, we did but of late, both of us have been busy so we weren’t able to dine-out togeth-

er just like before. But to reiterate, even if we don’t see much of each other nowadays, our friendship remains. Our communication lines are open.”

The good-looking Kapuso actor reveals Glaiza’s next big show.

“She is part of the grand reboot of Encantadia. Many are already excited with this project. With her vast talents, I think Glaiza is a very worthy member of the remake. The original show ran on air for more than a year.

I’m positive that the reboot will also score it big in the ratings charts!”

When it comes to his next project for GMA, Benjamin says, “I hear a lot of things from the management and I’m raring to start.

My last prime time show was Beautiful Strangers, so I guess it’s been awhile. I was advised I’dchave pairing session with some of the network’s popular female stars in the coming days, so we’ll see.

I trust my home studio when it comes to running my career. They know what’s best for me!”

ABS-cBN SwEEpS top 10 pRoGRAmS The Kapamilya network is still the most-watched TV network based on recent data from Kantar Media.

It dominated the Top 10 programs for February, averaging an audience share of 45 percent from combined urban and rural homes nationwide vs. GMA 7’s 35 percent.

FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano (43.2 percent) is still the no.1 program and has not let go of the top spot since it aired five months ago. It is followed

by Pangako Sa ‘Yo (40.1 percent), which repeatedly broke its ratings record during its final month.

This is the first time both shows breached the 40 percent mark for its monthly average rating since they premiered.

Another show that ended in the Top 5 was Dance Kids (35.2 percent) at the 3rd spot, followed by the new primetime favorite Dolce Amore (34.6 percent), and the weekend program Pilipinas Got Talent Season 5 (32.7 percent).

Completing the Top 10 are MMK

(31.6 percent), TV Patrol (30 percent), the only newscast in the Top 10, Wansanapataym (29.8 percent), Home Sweetie Home (26.7 percent), and Rated K (24.6 percent).

Kantar Media uses a nationwide panel size of 2,609 urban and rural homes that represent the total Philippine TV viewing population, while the other ratings data supplier AGB Nielsen reportedly has only 2,000 homes based solely in urban areas that represent only 57 percent of the Philippine TV viewing population.

The Kapamilya network dominated the primetime block as the network recorded an average audience share of 51 percent versus GMA’s 32 percent in February.

Apart from those mentioned above, primetime programs Pasion De Amor and On The Wings of Love, also did well, both ending with a bang with an average national rating of 18.1 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively to finish in the

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answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

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17 1492 vessel 18 Nervous about

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19 Ditty 20 Looks daggers at 22 Kept within limits 24 Scruggs and Hines 25 Lament 26 Franc’s replacer 28 Swig down heartily 32 Wine label info 35 Comic-strip caveman 37 False

38 “— Shook Up” 39 Mind’s-eye view 41 Muscle spasm 42 Cat or rat 45 — -la-la 46 Focal points 47 Aquarium scavenger 48 Kind of ant 50 Indifference 54 Ph.D. exams 58 Kind of cooker 61 Pounds 62 Sand, silt and clay 63 Duplicity 65 Breezy greeting 66 Film terrier 67 Beat around the bush 68 In addition 69 Monster-hunter’s loch 70 Gave it a go 71 Heavy metal

DOWn 1Car-wash step 2 Mohawk Valley city 3 Sir, in Baja 4 Shrimp boat 5 Mach 2 fliers 6 Floor 7 Thief’s need 8 — salts

Top 20. The primetime block is the most important part of the day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment in to reach more consumers effectively.

Meanwhile, It’s Showtime (18.1 percent) was also able to sustain its strong January, thanks to the success of its “Tawag ng Tanghalan “segment, enabling it to beat Eat Bulaga (14.9 percent), which has already dropped out of the Top 20 programs. Be My Lady, on the other hand, continued to dominate its rival program Princess in the Palace, averaging 17.5 percent to its competitor’s 8.7 percent. The station’s afternoon block also garnered a 42 percent nationwide rating vs.

GMA’s 37 percent.

ABS-CBN’s new original singing game show in the weekend, I Love OPM is also off to a great start, with an average rating of 20.1 percent, enough for its inclusion in the Top 20 programs. Completing the week-

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016 9 Office worker of yore 10 Entourage 11 Leave speechless 12 Barn topper 13 Implored 21 Baton Rouge campus 23 Online info 25 Derrick arm 27 Make cloudy 29 Limousine, e.g.

30 Acct. insurer 31 Points of convergence 32 Orange veggies 33 Dash 34 — mater 36 Mr. Sajak 37 Orchard produce 40 Overcast 43 Swamp gases 44 Swiss peaks 46 Melodious 49 A Stooge 51 Anything whatever 52 More genuine 53 Swiss miss 55 Like an acrobat 56 — apso 57 Bore 58 Think ahead 59 Trellis coverer 60 Chows down 61 Pesky plant 64 Size above med.

end cast for ABS-CBN in the Top 20 are Goin’ Bulilit (21.4 percent), and Ipaglaban Mo (18.7 percent).

ABS-CBN also fared better than its competition in other territories such as Balance Luzon (areas in Luzon outside Mega Manila) where it scored a national average audience share of 46 percent versus GMA’s 36 percent; in Visayas with 55 percent versus GMA’s 26 percent and in Mindanao with 57% vs GMA’s 26 percent.

Kantar Media is a leading television (TV) audience measurement provider with capabilities in gathering TV viewing data in both digital and analog platforms. It is a multinational market research group that specializes in audience measurement in more than 80 countries, has TV networks, ad agencies, and pan-regional networks subscribing to its ratings services.

Among its local current subscribers are ABS-CBN, Peoples Television Network Inc., The

Huddle Room Media Inc., JRA Advertising (J. Romero and Associates), 720 Consumer Connect, Viva Communications Inc., Manprom, CNN Philippines, Starcom, Havas Media Ortega, and Media Agency groups IPG Mediabrands (Touch BPN, UM), Dentsu Aegis Network (Dentsu, Mediaforce, Carat), Omnicom Media Group (OMD, PHD and M2M) as well as Group M (Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, and Maxus).

International subscribers to Kantar Media include Turner Broadcasting System Asia, NBCU Global Networks Asia Pte Ltd, Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Home Box Office (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Scripps Networks Interactive (Asia) Pte. Ltd., MTV Asia, Fox International Channels, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd, CSM Media Research (China), AETN All Asia Networks Pte Ltd, Celestial Tiger Entertainment and Sony Pictures International.

t uES DAy : m A RcH 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

Kim chiu and Xian Lim, otherwise known as KimXi, star in a new romantic drama, “the Story of us”

P

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Pokwang and melai cantiveros play sisters in a tale of romantic misadventure

2 nEw KapamIlya shOws InsTanT hIT amOng auDIEncE

okwang-Melai tandem captures viewers’ hearts. Audience nationwide instantly got hooked on the feel-good story of We Will Survive.

The show stars comediennes Pokwang and Melai Cantiveros, and debuted on Feb 29. Its pilot episode recorded a national TV rating of 16.7 percent, higher than that of its rival program Wowowin (14.4 percent), according to data from Kantar Media.

We Will Survive shows the beauty of friendship as Wilma (Pokwang) and Maricel (Melai)

buoy each other up when they experience heartbreak.

Also adding to the fun are Sheila (Regine Angeles) and Ana (Bea Saw).

The pilot episode of the primetime series also received praises online as the show’s official hashtag #WWSFromTheStart trended on Twitter.

Follow Wilma and Maricel’s story of friendship in We Will Survive, weeknights before TV Patrol. For updated follow @ wewillsurviveTV on Twitter and Instagram.

Meanwhile, The Story Of Us debuts to strong ratings on primetime.

ABS-CBN’s newest primetime drama drew strong viewership and beat its rival program in its pilot telecast on Feb. 29, says Kantar Media.

Audience welcomed warmly Kim Chiu and Xian Lim’s return to primetime TV. It posted a national TV rating of 18.2 percent, compared with its rival program on GMA, Because of You, which hit 14.1 percent only.

The pilot introduced viewers to the endearing Tin (Kim) and Macoy (Xian), whose friendship

will be strengthened even more as they grow up and face life’s challenges together.

As a kid, Tin grew up timid, longing for the affection of her mother (Zsa Zsa Padilla), who suddenly left her and her father.

She found a friend in Macoy, a diligent kid who is eager to please his dad (Gardo Versoza).

The pilot episodes of the Kapamilya show did not only get strong ratings but was also talked about online as the show’s official hashtag #TSOUWorldPremiere trended on Twitter.

SKYcable postpaid subscribers can catch-up on all the latest episodes of the two shows for free through SKY on Demand, the video-on-demand service exclusively available to SKY subscribers. Go to www.skyondemand.com.ph to watch on your laptops and PC or download the app via The App Store or Google Play to watch on mobile.

The Story of Us airs after Dolce Amore weeknights on on ABSCBN Primetime Bida.

For exclusive updates, follow @ StarCreativesTV on Twitter and Instagram.

Grace EnVIRonmEntAL RAcE to 5 countRIES never felt she was an adopted child Senator Grace Poe (Llamanzares) said she never felt that she is an adopted daughter of Susan Roces and Fernando Poe, Jr. She said this when she and running mate Senator Chiz Escudero went to Tuguegarao recently in reaction to what she heard on radio and read in the newspapers about her being a foundling.

Poe admitted that her life is kind of melodramatic because she is a foundling but that wasn’t her choice.

She is thankful that her adoptive parents never made her feel she wasn’t their own child.

“Ako ay tinanggap, pinalaki, minahal, inaruga ng aking mga kinikilala nang magulang, si FPJ at si Susan. Lumalaki akong kasama nila. Talagang maalaga sila at hindi nila ako trinato na parang kaiba sa kanila,” Poe told her audience in Tuguegaro. “Hindi nila sinabi na ako ay ampon nila, ang sinabi nila ‘anak’ sa akin.”

It is painful for her that up to this day she doesn’t know who her biological parents, yet she is still happy that her adoptive parents showered her with love.

Considered one of the biggest and fastest-growing running events in the Philippines, National Geographic Channel’s Earth Day Run will be going international when it marks its seventh year on April 17.

In celebration of seven years of promoting fitness and caring for the environment, Earth Day Run 2016 will be happening simultaneously for the first time in five cities across the region: Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tai Chung, and Manila. Each city’s race will be using support from the registration of all participants to help raise money for World Wide Fund for Nature and its projects.

On April 17, Earth Day Run 2016 will be held in all cities, with the Manila leg expecting 20,000 runners to participate in a race course that spans Bonifacio Global City and McKinley West.

NGC will once again partner with Cherifer Premium to help make the Manila race its biggest Earth Day Run thus far. Combined with thousands of runners from the other cities, Earth Day Run 2016 will be the largest collection of running Eco Warriors in the history of the race.

NGC’s Earth Day Run has consistently helped in promoting sustainable living and supporting environmental advocacy utilizing the popular platform of running in its seven years of operation.

As a result, participation in Earth Day Run in the Philippines has increased year on year, allowing

NGC to contribute significantly to various environmental causes.

Massive participation in Earth Day Run throughout the years has made it possible for NGC to plant 36,000 fruit-bearing trees in a watershed in the Abuan watershed in Isabela, in the Sierra Madres region. Not only was the watershed partially reforested but local farmers were also allowed to care for and harvest these trees for themselves. In 2014, Earth Day Run’s proceeds went to training fishermen affected by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) on how to make and use fiberglass boats, which can better withstand the hard weather common in the Philip-

pines and allow them to continue with their livelihood. Last year, NGC was able to provide portable solar-powered lighting kits to the Tawbuid Mangyan tribesfolk in Mindoro, giving them and Forest Rangers’ camps safe and sustainable light sources off the grid.

Earth Day Run 2016 expects to register 20,000 runners this year, and slots for 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K are open via online registration through the regional site http://www.natgeoearthdayrun. com, which leads to the Nat Geo EDR sites for each country. Onsite registration for the Manila leg will be open until March 31 at the Ground Floor of SM Aura Pre-

mier in BGC. NGC is seen on SkyCable Ch.41, Destiny Cable Ch.55, Cable Link Ch.58,Dream Ch.28, Cignal Digital TV Ch.76, GSat Ch.14 and over 300 cable operators nationwide.

NGC, together with its partners, aims to create awareness on the benefits of climate change solution, endangered species protection, watershed management, and food security through the World Wide Fund for Nature. It is hoped that Earth Day Run 2016 will reach more people throughout the region and inspire them to care more for the environment and find more sustainable ways of living.

t uES DAy : m A RcH 8, 2016

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Presidential candidates (from left) Jojo Binay, miriam Defensor-Santiago, Rodrigo Duterte, Grace Poe and mar Roxas during the “PiliPinas Debate 2016”

KapusO unRIvalED In uRban luzOn anD MEga ManIla ISAH V. RED

B

roadcast giant GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) sustained its total-day lead in the viewerrich areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila in February based on household data from the industry’s widely trusted ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

From Feb. 1 to 29 (with the dates of Feb. 21 to 29 based on overnight data), GMA outranked rival networks in Urban Luzon, which accounts for 77 percent of the total urban TV households nationwide, with 40.1 percent, up 7.1 points against ABS-CBN’s 33 percent, and up 33.1 points versus TV5’s 7 percent.

GMA also remained largely ahead of competition in Mega Manila, which now makes up 60 percent of the urban TV household population in the country. GMA registered 41.7 percent, leading ABS-CBN’s 30.2 percent by 11.5 points and TV5’s 7.4 percent by 34.3 points.

GMA bested other networks across all day parts in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila.

The Kapuso Network, meanwhile, continued to be the most watched channel among national urban viewers during daytime. GMA posted a 33 percent household share in the morning block in NUTAM (National Urban Television Audience Measurement), ahead of ABS-CBN’s 32.5 percent and TV5’s 10.6 percent. GMA likewise kept its lead in the afternoon block with 38.9 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 35.7 percent and TV5’s 7.1 percent.

February was indeed a momentous month for GMA as it successfully mounted the first leg of PiliPinas Debates 2016 on Feb. 21 in Cagayan de Oro together with its print media partner The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI). The live cov-

erage of the debate organized by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), GMA, and PDI posted a commanding 24.8 percent household rating (based on overnight data) in NUTAM, and a notable 30.5 percent in Urban Mindanao, where it rated highest among all areas.

PiliPinas Debates 2016 also emerged as the highest-rating Kapuso program in NUTAM and Urban Luzon, and landed in the top 30 listing in Mega Manila, Urban Visayas, and Urban Mindanao.

Compared with its closest competitor, more shows on GMA ranked among the highest rating programs, including specials, in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila during the covered period.

Besides PiliPinas Debates 2016, other toprating Kapuso shows included in the lists are the recently launched Lip Sync Battle Philippines, which rated highest among all GMA programs in Mega Manila, Pepito Manaloto, Magpakailanman, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, 24 Oras, Eat Bulaga, Little Nanay, Ismol Family, That’s My Amboy, Sunday Pinasaya, 24 Oras Weekend, Because of You, Vampire Ang Daddy Ko, Wanted: President, IMBG 20 I Am Bubble Gang, another newly launched program Dear Uge, Celebrity Bluff, and Wowowin.

Nielsen has a nationwide urban sample size of 2,000 homes; while in Mega Manila, it increased its sample size to 1,200 homes effective this year.

As the leading ratings service provider, Nielsen TV Audience Measurement service boasts a total of 31 clients/subscribers including eight TV networks, four regional clients, two blocktimers, and 17 media agencies.

GMA subscribes to Nielsen along with TV5 and Aksyon TV, CNN Philippines, Net 25, Ebiquity-Faulkner CBN Asia and TAPE Inc., and major advertising and media agencies such as Dentsu Aegis Network (Carat, Mediaforce Vizeum, Dentsu), GroupM (Mediacom, Mindshare, MEC and Maxus), Omnicom Media Group (OMD, PHD and M2M), Zenith Optimedia, and Starcom Mediavest.

Iya Villania

Jessica Soho

“Lip Sync Battle Philippines“ host and “Pepito manaloto” star michael V

mel tiangco