The Standard - 2016 March 19 - Saturday

VOL. XXX  NO. 38  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  SATURDAY : MARCH 19, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Roxas hit for funds misuse

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BINAY, DUTERTE IN MUD FIGHT

Fist against crime. Presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte clenches his fist as he campaigned in Northern Luzon earlier this month. AFP FILE PHOTO

By Vito Barcelo and Rio N. Araja

PRESIDENTIAL candidates Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte flung mud at each other over allegations of corruption as the campaign heated up Friday.

Citing an official audit report, a spokesman for Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance said Duterte could face charges for his role in the mis-

use of P45.8 million in special education funds that were supposed to help students in Davao City.

“If he really were tough on crime

and corruption as he projects himself to be, why were there anomalies committed under his watch?” said UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan, citing a Commission on Audit report that cited irregularities in the use of the education fund.

Duterte’s spokesman Peter Laviña quickly denied the allegations, dismissing it as a “desperate… but nice try” to take the heat off the vice president.

“It’s a pity that the camp of Vice

President Jejomar Binay’s party is now attempting to paint everyone black out of its desperation to escape the burning allegations of massive corruption hurled against the United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer,” he said.

“We see UNA desperately trying to muddle and confuse the public as it evades the allegations of corruption hounding VP Binay right now,” Laviña added.

Earlier this week, UNA also used

CoA reports to highlight some P7.5 billion in unliquidated fund transfers at the Department of the Interior and Local Government when he was still its secretary.

In October, the Office of the Ombudsman found probable cause to file graft and malversation charges against Binay, his son, ousted mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr, and 22 others over the alleged overpricing of a public building when the vice president was Next page still mayor of Makati.

Poll hours to be extended to 12 hours 8 killed as troops By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan battle Abus

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voters a chance to cast their votes.

“We want to take advantage of light.

THE Commission on Elections said As much as possible, we want voting Friday it will most likely extend the to be finished while there is still dayvoting period to 12 hours to accommo- light,” Bautista said, adding that they date the printing of voter receipts dur- are open on extending the hours beyond 6 p.m. if needed. ing the May 9 elections.

Previously, the Comelec had set the In an interview, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said they plan to voting period from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Comelec said it would comply start the voting period at 6 a.m. and finish by 6 p.m. to give all registered with the Supreme Court order that

it issue printed voter receipts in response to a petition by former senator Richard Gordon.

During the oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, reprsenting the Comelec, said that it would take 20 voting hours to print the voter receipts.

But the justices threw out the Comelec’s motion for reconsideration Next page Thursday.

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Go sues Deguito over fake account

By Joel E. Zurbano, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

BUSINESSMAN William Go filed a criminal complaint against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch manager Maia Santos Deguito and former senior customer relationship officer Angela Torres in connection with the $81-million money laundering scandal being investigated by the Senate.

“They are lying and I know nothing about this,” Go told reporters after filing a case of falsification of documents before the Makati City Prosecutors Office on Friday afternoon.

Go, accompanied by his counsel Ramon Esguerra, also issued a statement that Truth Verifier Systems Inc. confirmed that Go’s signatures on the withdrawal slips for the P20 million that Torres allegedly gave Go were forgeries.

He also cited the testimony of former RCBC customer service head Romualdo Agarrado, who claimed that he saw P20 million in cash loaded into Deguito’s car.

Testifying before the Senate Thursday, Agarrado said Go was not present when the money was withdrawn from his account.

“There is no reason for Mr. Arragado to lie. On the contrary, Torres and Deguito have all the reasons to lie because

their complicity in the money laundering scheme has become clearer as the Senate Investigation progresses,” Esguerra said.

Torres earlier claimed Go personally received P20 million from his account at the Jupiter branch, which was believed to be part of the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank account in New York.

She said that she delivered the cash to Go. But Esguerra said his client did not have any knowledge of the opening of the account, where most of the alleged stolen money from the central bank of Bangladesh was consolidated before ending up in the hands of casinos and a junket operator.

“Mr. Go never opened an account with RCBC—Jupiter Branch here in Makati City. That account was opened without his knowledge, without his participation,” Go’s lawyer said.

Esguerra said the signature of Mr. Go was forged to open the US dollar bank account that allegedly consolidated the other accounts for eventual conversion into pesos.

In his complaint, Go also attached as evidence his specimen signature for his RCBC corporate account, not in Makati City, but in the Trinoma branch, which he maintains is his only account.

Earlier, the Justice Department summoned Deguito to appear before its preliminary investigation into the money laundering hcarges filed against her and four others by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

Asst. State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamarra subpoenaed Deguito to appear at a hearing on Apri. 12. The prosecutor also ordered the respondent to answer AMLC’s complaint for violation of Section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The Justice Department also compelled the appearance of four unidentified persons behind the aliases Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez, the supposed owners of the bank accounts where the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank went.

Legal offensive. Businessman William Go shows how his real signature appears in the criminal charge of forgery he filed against bank executives Maia Deguito and Angela Torres at the Makati City prosecutor’s office on Friday. DANNY PATA

Poll...

From A1 During the special en banc meeting on Friday, Bautista said the commissioners have already discussed the specifications for the purchase of 100,000 round edge scissors and 93,000 boxes for the printed receipts.

The poll chief said that they are allocating P1.2 million for the scissors and P28 million

for the receptacles.

He said the scissors would be needed to cut out the printed receipts so that the machines would not suffer a paper jam and shut down.

The Comelec has issued a resolution inviting all prospective suppliers to join the public bidding for the purchase of 1.1-million thermal paper rolls with a budget allocation of P85.8 million or P78 per roll.

With the issuing of the printed receipts, the Comelec might do away with on-screen veri-

fication, Bautista added.

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the Comelec to dismiss all talk about a postponement or a return to manual voting, and said there was no time to waste in complying with the Supreme Court order.

“The Supreme Court’s swift action on this crucial issue is laudable. Now that these issues have been settled the Comelec should stop floating scenarios that would cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of the coming

Binay...

From A1

On Friday, Ilagan said the CoA found that various expenses charged to the Special Education Fund were inconsistent with the provisions of the SEF Act. The commission said the misuse of funds disadvantaged public school students, who could have benefited from the program.

CoA’s audit of disbursement vouchers, Ilagan said, revealed that Davao City’s public schools had unauthorized expenses charged to SEF, including plane fares of coaches and students, fuel for various vehicles, insurance premiums for vehicles, accident insurance for coaches and students, grocery items, medical supplies, and payment for electricity, water, and telephone bills.

CoA said these expenditures should have been charged against the available funds of the Department of Education as the activities and programs were regular functions of the DepEd. “If the funds were misappropriated even though the money supposedly didn’t go to his pocket, as chief executive of Davao City, isn’t the mayor still liable for technical malversation?” Ilagan said.

“For someone promising to clean up the entire country within six months, why can’t he ensure the proper use of funds in his city?” the UNA spokesperson added.

On the sidelines of Duterte’s campaign sortie in Novaliches, Quezon City, his spokesman Laviña maintained the mayor’s innocence, saying that the issue had already been raised and answered las year.

“There is nothing new here. This is an old information made to appear fresh. I would say, this is a worthless piece of information. But, really, nice try,” Laviña said.

“Based on the information I received from the Department of Education, the questioned funds were used for the promotion of physical education programs, which is allowed under the law.”

Under the SEF Act, funds can be used to improve school facilities, print and buy books, pay wages of teachers, grant scholarships and promote physical education programs, he said.

“The funds were used to send athletes and their coaches to sporting events across the country.

These programs are basically designed to promote physical education programs. What’s wrong with that?” Laviña said.

No single case has been filed against Duterte and the other city officials in connection with Binay’s accusations, he said.

“Unlike Binay who is saddled with corruption cases, nothing was filed against Duterte,” he said. elections,” Marcos said.

Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez also urged the Comelec to uphold the law and refrain from making any statement that would undermine the timely and credible conduct of the May 9 elections.

“It should now work on activating the security features of VCMs as these would further strengthen the country’s democracy,” Romualdez said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

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Cash advances alarm Marcos CEBU CITY—Independent vice presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday expressed alarm over the Interior Department’s unliquidated cash advances totaling P7 billion that could have been set aside for the campaign kitty of administration bet Manuel Roxas II. Roxas has put the blame on local government units, insisting the responsibility for liquidation was now with the LGUs after the funds were transferred to them.

“That was one of the concerns, that it was going to be used for the elections,” said Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local governments.

Marcos was here to mount campaign sorties sans his standard bearer and fellow Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, who begged off from campaigning and attending the presidential debate on Sunday due to health reasons.

“Now we have the campaign and these lump sums that I have questioned in the previous budget are now coming to the fore,” Marcos said.

“We just hope that it is just the usual savings of government and not a fund that has been put aside for the use of Secretary Roxas for his campaign because we know that the use of public funds for any political purpose is not allowed.”

But the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan was convinced that President Benigno Aquino III and Roxas “shamelessly use government resources to promote the administration’s candidate.”

“What happened in San Fernando, Pampanga, [on Thursday] is another example of how the Aquino administration has used public funds to promote administration candidates,” group secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.

“They give the impression that the funds used for projects are their own and that the people owe them for infrastructure, for the conditional cash transfer, and even PhilHealth.

“It’s the same story everywhere. Conditional cash transfer or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries are being mobilized for the campaign rallies of the administration. The BUB [Bottom Up Budgeting] projects are being used to entice local politicians to support the administration.”

Reyes said Thursday’s campaign sortie in Pampanga was also an occasion “to hear testimonials for the 4P’s and PhilHealth beneficiaries.”

“Aquino likes to portray himself as the polar opposite of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, yet in the current campaign we see that he is no different,” Reyes said.

“His anointed one Roxas is also no different. All of them, once in power, will use the resources of the government for self-promotion and for partisan political activity.

“It is therefore also not surprising that Aquino and Roxas will find common ground with erstwhile Arroyo allies such as Governor Lilia Pineda. As the governor herself noted, the alliance was sealed because of billions of pesos worth of projects poured in by the administration to Pampanga, which has some 1.2 million voters.”

On Thursday, the opposition United Nationalist Alliance challenged Roxas to account for the P7 billion that included cash advances for foreign and local travels and “Yolanda” rehabilitation projects that remained unaccounted for.

UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan made the disclosure based on a 2014 Commission on Audit report showing that the DILG, under Roxas, failed to monitor the implementation of the projects and the liquidation of fund transfers and submission of financial reports.

LP campaign spokesman Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez insisted the entire P7 billion had been downloaded to individual LGUs, mainly as financial assistance for various Bottom-up-budget projects, and rehabilitation/reconstruction projects such as Bohol Earthquake Assistance and Recovery Assistance for Yolanda.

“The responsibility for liquidation is now with the LGUs. Many projects are still being implemented and have thus not been liquidated,” Gutierrez said.

Marcos said it was not Roxas’ job to provide livelihood projects or rehabilitation funds for victims of calamities because Roxas’ primary job was the monitoring and supervision of LGUs. Christine F. Herrera

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Walk for peace. Makati Mayor kid Peña and Rep. Abigail Binay anc other local candidates in Makati participated in the walk for peace at the University of Makati on Friday. DANNY PATA

Former Aquino ally backs Poe, Escudero BACOLOD CITY—With a promise to deliver at least 10 million votes, a former ally of President Benigno Aquino III on Friday led his more than 30 colleagues from the party-list bloc in the first “mass defection” of lawmakers to back the candidacies of Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero.

Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, a former Liberal Party provincial chairman, cited the need for the country to have new leaders who will truly serve the interest of the people.

“I believe in the integrity and

competence of Senator Poe to lead the country,” said Benitez, now the leader of the local political group “Love Negros.”

Liberal Party stalwarts on Friday said they were not surprised by Benitez’s move to support Poe instead of administration standard bearer Manuel Roxas II. Iloilo Rep. Jerry Trenas, member of the Visayan Bloc in the House of Representatives led by Benitez, said Benitez’s move to bolt the administration coalition had expected as there had earlier been reports on his plan to jump ship.

Benitez vowed to use all his influence

in the province to deliver the votes for Poe and Escudero.

It was the first mass defection of lawmakers to the Partido Galing at Puso after the Supreme Court, in a 9-6 vote, reversed the decision of the Commission on Elections cancelling her Certificate of Candidacy for president.

But Benitez said that as of the moment, the House Visayan bloc that he used to head was not part of his open declaration to support Poe and Escudero. Macon Ramos-Araneta and

Maricel V. Cruz

The Wong Chu King Foundation (WCKF) is nearing its completion of the Our Lady of Piat Chapel Extension located at Camp TirsoGador, Provincial Police Headquarters, Brgy. Baung, Piat, Cagayan Province. The chapel is scheduled for turnover on March 30, 2016 in line with the foundation’s 26th anniversary celebration. To help strengthen the value of piety among the protectors of our municipalities, the chapel aims to serve as a hub of faith and spiritual development of local police officers.

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3rd UNA candidate shot dead in Zambo

Gearing for Holy Week.

A young girl helps her family make wrought pal fronds outside the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City ahead of Palm Sunday which marks the start of Holy Week.

MANNY PALMERO

By Francisco Tuyay ANOTHER candidate of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance was killed in Zamboanga City on Thursday, spurring UNA to demand that the Commission on Elections step up security preparations for the May 9 elections.

The police said former Pangutaran, Sulu mayor Ahmad Nanoh, 55, was on board his Toyota Hi-Lux truck at Candido Street in Barangay Tetuan, Zamboanga City at 5 p.m. when two men riding a motorcycle stopped beside his vehicle and opened fire at close range.

Nanoh was rushed to a private hospital but died minutes later. Police investigators recovered four slugs from a .45 cal. pistol.

Zamboanga City police spokesperson Inspector Helen Galvez said they have yet to establish the motive behind the killing of Nanoh, but they are not ruling out political rivalry.

On Friday, UNA condemned the killing of Nanoh and urged the Comelec to ensure peace during the election period.

“We strongly condemn the killing of Mayor Ahmad Nanoh. We are saddened by the violence committed against UNA and Vice President Binay supporters. Mayor Nanoh was the third UNA members who were victims of election related violence, “ UNA spokesperson Mon Ilagan said.

Ilagan said Sto. Tomas, Batangas Councilor Damasino Mabilangan Jr., who was running for reelection, was gunned down by still unidentified armed men last Feb. 12. In less than a week, former Banisilan, North Cotabato Mayor Floro Allado was also killed in an ambush. Both were active supporters of Binay.

The vice president personally expressed his sympathy and condolences to the family of the late mayor Nanoh, Ilagan said.

Ilagan reiterated that election-related violence has become so prevalent and widespread that it has practically reached to an uncontrollable scale, adding that the spate of killings foreshadows sweeping poll violence in the coming May 9 elections.

8 killed, Abu leader hurt in Patikul clash

By Florante S. Solmerin AT leAsT eight Abu sayyaf members were slain while 22 others, including Abu sayyaf Group leader Radullan sahiron, were hurt when government forces clashed with about 100 bandits Friday morning in Patikul, sulu, the military reported on Friday.

Brigadier General Alan Arrojado, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu, said the battle started at 9:15 a.m. at Sitio Maggi, Barangay Panglayahan in Patikul and ended around 10:40 a.m.

“Operating units of the 10th Infantry Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Jacinto encoun-

tered more or less 100 Abu Sayyaf bandits under sub-leader Radullan Sahiron,” he said.

He said “seven unidentified bandits were killed and wounded.” Three of the wounded were identified as Radullan Sahiron, Asari Sajail and Almujer Yada, who was hit by bullet on the left

leg,” Arrojado said.

Arrojado said they are trying to verify initial reports that Sahiron was hurt.

On the government side, Arrojado said they suffered one casualty and 16 wounded.

Arrojado said they are now pursuing the fleeing extremists and more troops have been dispatched to possible exit routes in a bid to contain them in limited area where they can be hit by artillery and close air support.

“Operating troops from the 32nd and 44th IBs have moved to encircle the battle areas,” Arrojado said.

On Thursday, Arrojado said three Abu Sayyaf members, who are believed to be behind the killing of two military in-

telligence operatives earlier this week, were captured in Patikul.

He identified the suspects as Jemar Asgari, 22, and Alden Asmad, 29, both residents of Baragay Darayan in Patikul, and Dems Abtal, 28, of Barangay Lower Sinumaan in Talipao, Sulu.

The suspects were captured at 11:40 a.m. by a team led by Major Ibni Saddama in the vicinity of Barangay Bangkal.

“These individuals were seen tucking in with short firearm while riding in tandem on board Kawasaki Fury motorcycle with plate 7260 JD. They were chased by the joint security forces until they were cornered and apprehended,” Arrojado said.

SBMA sues city prosecutor

Drug den. About 17 people were arrested by the operatives of Philippine National Police National Capital Region in a buy-bust raid at a home in Barangay Tejeros, Makati City on Friday. The police found assorted pistols and some sachets of metamphetamine hydrochloride. DANNY PATA

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT— The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority filed a complaint of impartiality and bias against Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie Fe Delos Santos and asked the Department of Justice to transfer the complaint filed against an investor here before the city prosecutor’s office.

SBMA, through Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs Randy Escolango, said they filed the request for transfer because Delos Santos has been critical of SBMA’s personnel especially of its Law Enforcement Department and even questioned the authority of SBMA to investigate cases against violations committed within the freeport zone.

Escolango claimed Delos Santos was biased, partial and unprofessional which further compelled SBMA to request such transfer of the cases.

The SBMA lawyer cited an incident last

Feb. 26 during the ceremony of Philippine National Police Academy Adoption Rites where Escolango was invited as one of the inductees as honorary member of the PNPA “Tagapagbuklod” Class ’89. Delos Santos was there also as one of the honorary members.

The city prosecutor allegedly humiliated and dishonored the said SBMA official by questioning his presence in the ceremony and told her companions, “Randy is with the legal department of SBMA. In fact he has a case with me and subpoena him.”

Later in the same ceremony and in front of other guests, Delos Santos told Escolango, “Randy, aren’t you one of the complainants in the case under me. I will dismiss that, better settle with Cabrera,” referring to Isagani Cabrera, who had been the subject of a complaint by SBMA for perjury and falsification.

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Poe critics appeal SC ruling

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has been asked to reconsider its decision allowing Senator Grace Poe to run for president after upholding her being a natural-born Filipino and her 10-year residency preceding the holding of the May 9 presidential election.

In a 48-page motion for reconsideration, former senator Francisco Tatad, former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez, lawyer Estrella Elamparo and political science professor Antonio Contreras reiterated their claims that Poe failed to comply with two of the requirements for a presidential candidate—being a natural-born Filipino and being a resident of the Philippines for 10 years.

Tatad, Valdez, Elamparo and Contreras were the ones who petitioned the Comelec to cancel Poe’s Certificate of Candidacy for presidential election due to her alleged failure to comply with the said two vital requirements.

“The Decision of the Honorable Court, if not reconsidered, will go down the annals of judicial history as a 47-page perversion of the Constitution which, depending on the results of the forthcoming elections and succeeding events, will cause the election of a true nuisance candidate or the disenfranchisement of millions of Filipinos. Such ignominy will forever taint the Honorable Court’s legacy,” the appellants stressed.

According to them, if the Court will not reconsider its decision and Poe is elected without any successful election contest afterwards, the decision will be “the proximate cause of catapulting to power a candidate who does not comply with two of the most basic and important qualifications for the presidency.”

“If not reconsidered and election contest succeeds thereafter, the millions of Filipinos who are anticipated to vote for her will be effectively disenfranchised.

Their votes will be nullified and wasted,” the motion stated.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Perez, the SC granted Poe’s petitions seeking to reverse the Comelec ruling that disqualified her from seeking the presidency, saying that she is presumed to be a natural-born Filipino based on circumstantial evidence and statistical probability.

Voting 9-6, the SC declared Poe qualified to run for president in the May 9 general elections since a foundling like her is a natural-born Filipino, and that she satisfied the 10-year residency requirement prior to the holding to the polls.

Team Grace. Senator Grace Poe spares a moment with supporters in Bacolod City where she welcomed at least 30 congressmen who left the Liberal Party to support her candidacy.

Tollway integration lauded SENATE President Franklin M. Drilon lauded on Friday the integration of the North luzon Expressway and the SubicClark-Tarlac Expressway, an initiative that he pushed for to ensure a faster and smoother travel along the country’s major expressways.

“I am glad that our travelers can now enjoy a faster and more efficient experience when using the NlEX and SCTEX, which is important especially this Holy week period when the NlEX and SCTEX are expecting a 10 percent to 15 percent surge in traffic volume,” said Drilon, a reelectionist candidate of the liberal Party.

He said that people going on vacation or visiting their loved ones to provinces in Central and Northern luzon will save as much as 40 minutes of traveling time now that the NlEX-SCTEX Integration Project is operational.

The four-time Senate president explained that the project features the uni-

fication of the NlEX and SCTEX toll collection systems, which reduces toll collection stops to two instead of five from Balintawak to Subic. Also, it lessens toll collection stops between Balintawak to Tarlac to two instead of four. “reduced collections stops mean fewer queue lines and travel stops for motorists to deal with. Subic-bound motorists from Manila will just have to stop at Balintawak and Subic or Tarlac, rather than the present situation of having to go through a dizzying array of toll plazas five times,” he said. with the integration, motorists will no longer need to make a stop at Dau, Mabalacat and Subic Freeport toll plazas to pay or get tickets.

The integration project also features a unified ticketing system, electronic toll collection (Easytrip) and magnetic payment methods, which is projected to increase throughput up to 800 transac-

tions per hour, compared to manual lanes which could only service 200 transactions per hour.

“The improved toll system will benefit the more than 200,000 vehicles which use the NlEX daily, along with the 30,000 vehicles that ply the SCTEX on a daily basis, in terms of savings in time and vehicle operating costs,” Drilon underscored.

“The faster movement of people means less time on the road and more time for them to spend with their loved ones, while the efficient delivery of goods and services in these highways means financial savings for the private sector,” he added.

He then thanked the Department of Transportation and Communications, Manila North Tollways Corporation, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and Toll regulatory Board for the realization of this project.

Cavite leaders back Martin

By Maricel V. Cruz

Assessing El Niño. Roy Soledad, program manager of the British charity Oxfam,

discusses the repercussion of the El Niño phenomenon at a forum in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. MEL CASPE

AN oVErwHElMINg number of local officials of vote-rich Cavite led by incoming gov. Jesus Crispin remulla have endorsed the senatorial bid of leyte rep. Martin romualdez for showing genuine compassion to the plight of the poor, championing good governance, and empowering local government units. romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, reiterated that lgU’s should be given a bigger share of the national budget as an act of “malasakit” for them to do more for their constituents.

“we must empower our lgUs and their sanggunians. Every region, province, city or municipality has the potential for progress and development with the right support from the national government and an equitable share in the budget,” said romualdez, who ran unopposed in the last polls and a former chair of the House committee on ethics and privileges. remulla, who is running unopposed in the coming polls, called on the public to vote for romualdez whose proven competence would help the country achieve inclusive growth to the benefit of poorest of the poor.

He cited the latest proposal of romualdez, head of the House Independent Bloc and a three-term congressman who is running for the Senate, to institutionalize, expand and reform the conditional cash transfer by extending a maximum of P46,200 and a minimum of P24,200 financial support annually to each qualified household-beneficiary.

“His malasakit to the poorest of the poor is very commendable. His proven and impressive track record needs continuity in the Senate,” remulla, elder brother of Cavite gov. Jonvic remulla, said.

A6 Republic of the Philippines CO M M I SSI ON ON ELECTI O NS M anila

Invitation to Bid For SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF VOTERS RECEIPT RECEPTACLE IN CONNECTION TO THE MAY 9, 2016 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS (BAC Reference No. 03-2016-VRR) 1.

The COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS (COMELEC), through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites interested bidders to apply for eligibility and to bid for the SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF OF VOTERS RECEIPT RECEPTACLE IN CONNECTION TO THE MAY 9, 2016 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS with the total Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) of Twenty Seven Million Nine Hundred Thousand pesos (Php27,900,000.00) inc lusive of all ta xes, such as, but not limited to, value added ta x ( VAT ), inc ome ta x, loc al ta xes, and other f isc al levies.

Lot

Title/ Description

Quantity

Unit Cost

Total Cost (Approved Budget for the Contract)

Bidding Documents Fee

Voter Receipt Receptacle

93,000

P 30 0.0 0

Php27,9 0 0,0 0 0.0 0

Php25,0 0 0.0 0

TOTAL:

Php27,900,000.00

Bids received in excess of the ABC per item shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

Bidder s should have c ompleted, within f ive (5) year s from the date of submission and rec eipt of bids, a c ontract similar to the Project. The descr iption of an eligible bidder is c ontained in the Bidding Documents, par ticular ly, in Section II - Instr uctions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be c onducted through open c ompetitive bidding proc edure using a non - discretionar y “pass/ fail ” cr iter ion as spec if ied in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (R A) No. 918 4, other wise known as the “G over nment Procurement Refor m Act ”.

4.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, par tner ships, or organizations with at least six t y perc ent (6 0%) interest or outstanding c apital stock belonging to c itizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a c ountr y the laws or regulations of which grant similar r ights or pr ivileges to Filipino citizens, pur suant to R A 518 3 and subject to C ommonwealth Act 13 8.

5.

A c omplete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidder s who wish to par ticipate in the bidding proc ess from 21 M arch 2016 to 11 A pr il 2016 (b efore t he d eadline of t he sub mission of bid s), M ondays to Saturdays, from 8:0 0 am to 5:0 0 pm, from the address below and upon payment of a non - refundable fee for the Bidding Documents.

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Youth group slams govt for latest oil price hike

By Sandy Araneta

YOUTH group Anakbayan on Friday slammed the government of President Benigno Aquino III for allowing oil companies to hike oil prices this week, saying the increase will further weigh down on longsuffering Filipino people.

“We denounce the Aquino government for continuing to pamper local oil companies and allowing them to squeeze the greatest profits from the riding public as much as they please without any government regulation whatsoever,” said Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo.

The youth group also urged candidates for the 2016 elections to reject the Aquino administration’s oil deregulation policy and instead echo the Filipino people’s call to stop burdensome oil price hikes and junk the oil deregulation law.

Crisostomo said it is high time to finally scrap the oil deregulation law, which contrary to government rhetoric has not brought down

prices because of increased competition but instead resulted to the spiraling of oil prices in the past two decades.

Crisostomo also slammed local oil companies for the oil prices hike.

Just recently, he said, oil prices were increased by P1.60 per liter while diesel prices were likewise raised by P1.25 per liter.

“The recent oil price hike is not only unjust because global prices have remained low. It is a cross being carried by the Filipino people and will inevitably result in the increase of the price of food and other basic goods and services,” said Crisostomo.

The group said the local oil cartel is profiteering from the recent oil price increases, as oil prices in the world market continues to fluctuate between $20 per barrel to $40 per barrel which remain low when compared to the record high $97 per barrel price two years ago.

“Local oil companies hiking oil prices always claim that they are just following the movement of oil prices in the global market. In fact, there is no real justification for the hikes except for their insatiable appetite for sucking profits from the Filipino people,” Crisostomo said.

C opy of it may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine G over nment Electronic Procurement System (PhilG EPS) and the CO M ELEC website.

6.

The BAC will hold a Pre - Bid Conferenc e on 28 M arch 2016, 2:0 0 p.m. at the Per sonnel D epar t m ent Conferenc e Room, 5th Floor Palac io del G ober nador Bldg., Gen. Luna c or. Postigo Sts., Intramuros, Manila, to discuss Eligibilit y Requirements and the Technic al and Financial C omponents of this Project . A ll interested bidders may raise and submit quer ies or c lar if ic ations regarding the Bidding Documents.

7.

Submission of Bids shall be on 11 April 2016 on or before 9:00 a.m. at the BAC Secretariat Of fice, 7th Floor Palacio del Gobernador Bldg., Gen. Luna cor. Postigo Sts., Intramuros, Manila.Opening of Bids shall be on the same day, 11 April 2016, 10:00 a.m. at the Personnel Depar tment Conference Room, 5th Floor, Palacio del Gobernador Bldg., Gen. Luna cor. Postigo Sts., Intramuros, Manila.

8.

Bids will be opened in the presenc e of the Bidder s’ representatives who choose to at tend at the address below. A ll Bids must be ac c ompanied by a bid secur it y in any of the ac c eptable for ms and in the amount stated in BDS Clause 18.

L at e bid s shall not b e acc ept ed.

9.

The CO M ELEC reser ves the r ight to ac c ept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding proc ess, to reject all bids at any time pr ior to c ontract award, or to reduc e the c or responding A BC and Ter ms of Referenc e ( TOR), without thereby incur r ing any liabilit y to the af fected bidder or bidders.

For fur ther infor mation please visit or c ontact: BAC SECRETAR I AT OFFICE C ommission on Elections 7th Floor, Palacio del G ober nador Bldg., Gen. Luna c or. PostigoSts., Intramuros, Manila Tel. N o.: 527- 576 0 Telefax N o.:527-2774 E - mail Address: c omelecbac @gmail.com CO M EL EC Website: w w w.c omelec.gov.ph

HELEN ELEN G. AGUI L A- FLORES BAC Chair person ( T S - M A R . 19 , 2 016)

Light moment. Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (center) celebrates with employees of EPTI Food Manufacturing led by CEO Dino Cansana (left) and mother Ziony Cansana (center) during their anniversary party at Cummida China De Manila restaurant in Pasig City.

MMDA resumes ‘estero’ cleanup

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metro Manila Development Authority has resumed its campaign cleaning up clogged creeks and open waterways to prevent severe floods in the metropolis in time of the rainy season.

Baltazar Melgar, head of the MMDA Flood and Sewerage Management Office, said a total of 2,989 cu. m. or 288 truckloads of refuse and silt have been scooped out of five major esteros and sewers in their latest clean up operation in Manila.

Those already de-clogged are North and South Antipolo Open Canal, Estero de Kabulusan, Estero de Magdalena, Estero de San Miguel, and Estero de Quiapo.

Armed with heavy equipment, such as crane, dump trucks and spider backhoe, the MMDA men started cleaning up creeks mostly in severely silted and clogged up waterways on March 1.

MMDA chairman Emerson Carlos said some of his men had to use small boats or bancas to

fish out the floating debris and refuse from the waterways.

“With this regular cleanup, we expect that floods in low-lying areas of Metro Manila would quickly subside after heavy rainfall,” said Carlos, noting that agency personnel, along with barangay officials, should keep these waterways clear of any debris.

The campaign also aimed to maximize the “conveyance capacity” of open waterways in Metro Manila to enable it to accommodate larger volume of floodwaters during the rainy season, thus hastening the flood receding rate and minimizing flooding.

Carlos said the program is also part of the agency’s efforts towards urban renewal and disaster mitigation.

“We are calling on the public to participate in cleaning up their surroundings. We can do this more effectively if everybody is helping. We also encourage barangay officials to continue maintaining the cleanliness of their esteros, markets and surroundings,” he said.

s at u r d ay : m a r c h 1 9, 2 0 1 6

A7

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Cops raid Pampanga shabu lab

By Romeo Dizon

What do you need? Buyers look for locally made handicraft at a roadside shop on the Santa Fe National Highway in Nueva Vizcaya. EY ACASIO

DAR: Evacuate Mindoro farmers from homeland

By Robert A. Evora

SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro—The Department of Agrarian Reform has ordered the eviction of 48 farmer-families from the agricultural land in this municipality which they have been tilling for more than 60 years.

The 27 hectares of public land they are farming in Barangay Labangan here were awarded by former President Ferdinand E. Marcos to 11 original tenants in the latter’s land reform program under Presidential Decree no. 27.

Leaders of the farming community in this province have appealed to concerned govern-

ment agencies to avoid hasty decisions as these will only aggravate the already tense insurgency problem “ignited by partisan agrarian reform agenda.”

Martin V. Bernal, DAR’s provincial agrarian reform adjudicator, directed Provincial Sheriff Agustin F. Feria Jr. to implement the order of eviction of 48 farmer-families, or 400 individuals,

with the full force of the law. in his notice to vacate sent to the heads of 48 farmer-families, Sheriff Feria said that to “ensure the prompt and peaceful implementation” of the law, his office is allowed to seek the assistance of the Philippine national Police and units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines or other law enforcement agencies of the government.

Leaders of the affected farmers, however, reacted to Darab’s eviction order, saying that they could not just leave the land their parents had been farming since 1946 and already owned since 1972.

Florante D. Selga, leader of the 48 affected farmers,

said “as we are now landowners of this land based on the documents of ownership in our possession, how can the government evict us in favor of a rich and influential family that never has gone to our place and touch its soil?”

Selga, 49, is one of the 48 heirs of 11 original tenants who settled on the public land in Barangay Labangan here in San Jose.

President Marcos eventually awarded them certificates of land transfer on oct. 21, 1972 “abolishing the old concept of land ownership by a few and emancipating the tenant farmers from the bondage of tenancy.”

“Ang DAR ang puno’t dulo

ng hindi magandang usapin sa mga magsasakang binigyan nila ng lupa na di naman ipinagtanggol ng totoo hanggang umabot po sa usapin ng demolisyon,” Selga said. occidental Mindoro province is the hotbed of insurgency since 1969 because of numerous cases of land problems that are often blamed on DAR and other related government agencies.

The Register of Deeds, the DAR, the Department of Environment and natural Resources and the Bureau of Lands are often alleged as “conspiring with influential landowners to evict farmers from the lands they already owned.”

CAMP oLiVAS, Pa mp a n g a — Po lice raided a house which serves as a shabu laboratory inside an exclusive subdivision in Angeles City and seized materials and equipments worth P50 million Wednesday.

The targets of warrant of arrest, however, identified as Rosemarie Xiao and John Doe were not around during the raid.

Chief Supt Rudy R. Lacadin, regional director of Police 3 in Central Luzon, said that the successful operation was a joint project of the Angeles City police, Philippine national Police Anti-illegal Drug group, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the region.

Seized inside the house located at Timor Park Subdivision in Barangay Pampang, Angeles City were 99 sacks of sodium hydroxide, 19 sacks of identified substance used in the production of shabu, 25 pails of ammonia, red phosphorus, ethanol, cupric sulfate, and several equipments used in the production of shabu.

Lacadin said the house laboratory is capable of producing 10 to 15 kilograms of shabu a day.

Tingog Sinirangan Party-list champions women’s agenda

By Mel Caspe Tingog Sinirangan Partylist, a regional political party contending in the upcoming elections, calls for inclusion of women in the government’s development agenda.

Sharilee gaspay-Mauro, third nominee of Tingog Sinirangan Party-list, addressed hundreds of women community and barangay leaders. gaspay-Mauro gave a talk on the theme of the national Women’s Month: “Kapakanan ni Juana, isama sa Agenda!” or “Katungdanan ni Juana, ig-upod ha Adyenda.” in her talk, she explained the call for inclusion of

women’s concerns in leadership platforms and the government’s development agenda. She enumerated women issues that should be given attention and focus by the next administration.

Social development of women was the first on the list.

Access to women’s health care and services coupled with appropriate sex and gender education in school are deemed necessary for women.

“Reproductive health is a basic right of every Filipina.

Lack of access to these services has implications on maternal mortality rate, infant and child health, and sexually transmitted infections. Reproductive health is

the basis for having healthy children and happy families” she said.

Further, she suggested that an age-appropriate sex education will help curb the increasing teenage fertility in the country and in the region.

“Today, our youth engage in sex at a young age and a research conducted on the risk behaviour of teenagers in Eastern Visayas reported that only seven in 100 youth have discussed the topic of sex at home while growing up. So, half of the youth reported that they can find help in school regarding sex-related problems, with their classmates as the leading source of such support,” she explained.

Young helpers. Children help their parents harvest palay by threshing using their feet.

Empty stalks are removed while the grains are gathered for drying in Kabacan, North Cotabato. OMAR MANGORSI

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

CHRIST STOPS FOR US

[ EDI TORI A L ]

A MEASURE OF HAPPINESS THE World Happiness Report, released this week, saw Denmark reclaim its earlier distinction as the world’s happiest country. Close behind are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.

More than the ranking of the various countries of the world, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network-prepared report provides useful insight into what people of different cultures see as indicators of their well-being.

The researchers, for instance, found that most of the happiest countries were fairly homogenous nations with strong social safety nets, that inequality was strongly associated with unhappiness, and that those on the bottom of the list suffer poverty and destabilization caused by war, disease or both. Unemployment and major disabilities have a lasting influence on people’s sense of well-being and that migrants’ happiness approximates their new country, not their country of origin.

The scholars also found that three-quarters of the variation could be explained by six variables: per-capita gross domestic product, healthy years of life expectancy, social support, trust in government and business, perceived freedom to make life choices, and generosity.

Filipinos are the 82nd happiest lot among 156 countries.

This, despite the fact that we like to say we can find happiness in the direst of situations and generate jokes from the most oppressive of circumstances.

What does this tell us? Being able to make fun of adversity and refusing to take ourselves too seriously is hardly the definition of happiness.

Happiness is being able to thrive on one’s situation. Certainly, most Filipinos do not feel as though they were thriving where they are. Millions are not able to attend to their basic needs—how much more pursue the higher items in the hierarchy?

The measure, despite the method that goes with it, remains subjective.

Nonetheless it provides us—and our leaders—clues. Ultimately, all the programs will be evaluated on how they made people feel.

Happiness is fleeting, it is said, and may depend on an individual’s capacity for happiness. A general feeling of well-being however is not something one can imagine if the conditions are not there.

THE POE DECISION: WHAT HAPPENED? HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA (Part 2) DECADES after the Marcos regime, the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu were left to fend for themselves as to how to get back North Borneo, their ancestral land.

North Borneo was theirs all right, because Malaysia continues to pay them annual rental for it. If Malaysia owned North Borneo, why should it pay rent to the heirs?

By the time Ninoy’s son, President Benigno Aquino III, was in office, the heirs had had enough of government antipathy to their cause and so they launched an incursion into North Borneo to take back what’s lawfully theirs in the first place. Without any support from President Aquino, the Filipinos were overpowered

by Malaysian troops. A crackdown against Filipinos in North Borneo followed, and many Filipinos were injured in the process.

Adding insult to injury, President Aquino threatened to file criminal charges against the

Filipinos who went to North Borneo to help the heirs recover their land from the Malaysians.

When the Palace learned that the charges cannot prosper because the supposed crime took place in North Borneo and, therefore, “outside” Philippine territory, Aquino’s minions let the issue die away.

Imagine that! A Filipino president taking the side of the Malaysians against his own people!

Aquino’s behavior during that unfortunate incident in recent Philippine history made people suspect that when Aquino tried to get Congress (through

A9

Why then did the Supreme Court allow a liberal interpretation of the Constitution when only a solitary private interest— Poe’s desire to run for president—is at stake?

his minions, Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.) to railroad the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, Aquino was working for the Malaysians.

The Mamasapano Massacre and Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. put an end to that legislative nightmare.

Anyway, many Filipinos were furious at Aquino’s attitude regarding the North Borneo incident. Soon, the petition of the public interest advocate was filed in the Supreme Court to compel the Department of Foreign Affairs to press, once and for all, the Philippine claim to North Borneo in the appropriate international arbitration or adjudication tribunals of the

United Nations. This way, the integrity of the national territory of the Republic of the Philippines as defined in the Constitution will be realized.

Like the earlier petition involving political dynasties, the petition regarding North Borneo was summarily dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that the North Borneo issue concerns international relations which are best left to the executive department of the government, the DFA in particular.

In dismissing the petition, the Su-

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-

preme Court did not seem to give importance to the duty of the President of the Philippines to support and defend the Constitution, which is embodied in his oath of office. Likewise, the Court did not recognize any primacy in the provision of the Constitution which vests in the President full control over all executive departments, which obviously includes the DFA. Why these provisions of the Constitution did not merit the attention of the Court is a mystery.

Parenthetically, a fairly recent deci-

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

sion of the Supreme Court stressed that the Philippines has not abandoned its claim to North Borneo.

Anyway, when is a liberal interpretation of the Constitution warranted, and when is it unjustified? A non-lawyer will readily say that a liberal interpretation is warranted when it will result in the protection of the greater good or interests of our people as a whole, and a liberal interpretation is unjustified when it will benefit only an individual personal interest or the interests of a few.

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 Gospels vividly narrate Christ’s triumphal entry to Jerusalem. Astride a donkey, the Savior ascends towards Jerusalem amid the adulation of a throng of townspeople who lined up the streets, waving palm branches and spreading their cloaks on the road. As He passed, the crowd praises God: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”; of course, to the utter consternation of the Pharisees who asked Jesus to rebuke His disciples.

In biblical times, this kind of reception was customary practice to show homage to a triumphant leader. The scene evokes a similar ceremony known as the Roman Triumph where a victorious Roman general coming from a successful conquest is feted by the Roman citizens to celebrate and sanctify his success in the battlefield.

Humanly speaking, Christ’s triumph pales in comparison to its Roman counterpart. While the Roman general, bedecked with a crown of laurel and regalia of power, rides a four-horse chariot as he passes underneath the Triumphal Arch, Jesus wore the simplest of garbs while riding a lowly donkey, a far cry from his real nature as the Son of God, the King of the heavens and of the earth. His appearance concealed his true statute and dignity not to mention his real mission to save mankind from sin and bring about a spiritual kingdom where love and righteousness reign.

How mistaken the crowds were in thinking that Christ was coming as a liberator who would free them from the yoke of Roman oppression. His entry to Jerusalem which culminated on the cross was a big frustration to the Jews who failed to comprehend his real mission. In fact, the people who warmly welcomed him were the very same ones who clamored for the release of Barabas as when Pilate made them choose between the murderer and Jesus. Finally, they all cried out that Christ, an innocent victim, be meted the ultimate Roman punishment, which is death on the cross.

The Gospels continue—as Jesus neared Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.”

Here, Jesus Christ was prophesying the destruction of his beloved Jerusalem. In the year 70 the Roman army, led by the 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

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

CHRIST STOPS FOR US

[ EDI TORI A L ]

A MEASURE OF HAPPINESS THE World Happiness Report, released this week, saw Denmark reclaim its earlier distinction as the world’s happiest country. Close behind are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.

More than the ranking of the various countries of the world, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network-prepared report provides useful insight into what people of different cultures see as indicators of their well-being.

The researchers, for instance, found that most of the happiest countries were fairly homogenous nations with strong social safety nets, that inequality was strongly associated with unhappiness, and that those on the bottom of the list suffer poverty and destabilization caused by war, disease or both. Unemployment and major disabilities have a lasting influence on people’s sense of well-being and that migrants’ happiness approximates their new country, not their country of origin.

The scholars also found that three-quarters of the variation could be explained by six variables: per-capita gross domestic product, healthy years of life expectancy, social support, trust in government and business, perceived freedom to make life choices, and generosity.

Filipinos are the 82nd happiest lot among 156 countries.

This, despite the fact that we like to say we can find happiness in the direst of situations and generate jokes from the most oppressive of circumstances.

What does this tell us? Being able to make fun of adversity and refusing to take ourselves too seriously is hardly the definition of happiness.

Happiness is being able to thrive on one’s situation. Certainly, most Filipinos do not feel as though they were thriving where they are. Millions are not able to attend to their basic needs—how much more pursue the higher items in the hierarchy?

The measure, despite the method that goes with it, remains subjective.

Nonetheless it provides us—and our leaders—clues. Ultimately, all the programs will be evaluated on how they made people feel.

Happiness is fleeting, it is said, and may depend on an individual’s capacity for happiness. A general feeling of well-being however is not something one can imagine if the conditions are not there.

THE POE DECISION: WHAT HAPPENED? HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA (Part 2) DECADES after the Marcos regime, the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu were left to fend for themselves as to how to get back North Borneo, their ancestral land.

North Borneo was theirs all right, because Malaysia continues to pay them annual rental for it. If Malaysia owned North Borneo, why should it pay rent to the heirs?

By the time Ninoy’s son, President Benigno Aquino III, was in office, the heirs had had enough of government antipathy to their cause and so they launched an incursion into North Borneo to take back what’s lawfully theirs in the first place. Without any support from President Aquino, the Filipinos were overpowered

by Malaysian troops. A crackdown against Filipinos in North Borneo followed, and many Filipinos were injured in the process.

Adding insult to injury, President Aquino threatened to file criminal charges against the

Filipinos who went to North Borneo to help the heirs recover their land from the Malaysians.

When the Palace learned that the charges cannot prosper because the supposed crime took place in North Borneo and, therefore, “outside” Philippine territory, Aquino’s minions let the issue die away.

Imagine that! A Filipino president taking the side of the Malaysians against his own people!

Aquino’s behavior during that unfortunate incident in recent Philippine history made people suspect that when Aquino tried to get Congress (through

A9

Why then did the Supreme Court allow a liberal interpretation of the Constitution when only a solitary private interest— Poe’s desire to run for president—is at stake?

his minions, Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.) to railroad the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, Aquino was working for the Malaysians.

The Mamasapano Massacre and Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. put an end to that legislative nightmare.

Anyway, many Filipinos were furious at Aquino’s attitude regarding the North Borneo incident. Soon, the petition of the public interest advocate was filed in the Supreme Court to compel the Department of Foreign Affairs to press, once and for all, the Philippine claim to North Borneo in the appropriate international arbitration or adjudication tribunals of the

United Nations. This way, the integrity of the national territory of the Republic of the Philippines as defined in the Constitution will be realized.

Like the earlier petition involving political dynasties, the petition regarding North Borneo was summarily dismissed by the Supreme Court on the ground that the North Borneo issue concerns international relations which are best left to the executive department of the government, the DFA in particular.

In dismissing the petition, the Su-

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-

preme Court did not seem to give importance to the duty of the President of the Philippines to support and defend the Constitution, which is embodied in his oath of office. Likewise, the Court did not recognize any primacy in the provision of the Constitution which vests in the President full control over all executive departments, which obviously includes the DFA. Why these provisions of the Constitution did not merit the attention of the Court is a mystery.

Parenthetically, a fairly recent deci-

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

sion of the Supreme Court stressed that the Philippines has not abandoned its claim to North Borneo.

Anyway, when is a liberal interpretation of the Constitution warranted, and when is it unjustified? A non-lawyer will readily say that a liberal interpretation is warranted when it will result in the protection of the greater good or interests of our people as a whole, and a liberal interpretation is unjustified when it will benefit only an individual personal interest or the interests of a few.

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 Gospels vividly narrate Christ’s triumphal entry to Jerusalem. Astride a donkey, the Savior ascends towards Jerusalem amid the adulation of a throng of townspeople who lined up the streets, waving palm branches and spreading their cloaks on the road. As He passed, the crowd praises God: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”; of course, to the utter consternation of the Pharisees who asked Jesus to rebuke His disciples.

In biblical times, this kind of reception was customary practice to show homage to a triumphant leader. The scene evokes a similar ceremony known as the Roman Triumph where a victorious Roman general coming from a successful conquest is feted by the Roman citizens to celebrate and sanctify his success in the battlefield.

Humanly speaking, Christ’s triumph pales in comparison to its Roman counterpart. While the Roman general, bedecked with a crown of laurel and regalia of power, rides a four-horse chariot as he passes underneath the Triumphal Arch, Jesus wore the simplest of garbs while riding a lowly donkey, a far cry from his real nature as the Son of God, the King of the heavens and of the earth. His appearance concealed his true statute and dignity not to mention his real mission to save mankind from sin and bring about a spiritual kingdom where love and righteousness reign.

How mistaken the crowds were in thinking that Christ was coming as a liberator who would free them from the yoke of Roman oppression. His entry to Jerusalem which culminated on the cross was a big frustration to the Jews who failed to comprehend his real mission. In fact, the people who warmly welcomed him were the very same ones who clamored for the release of Barabas as when Pilate made them choose between the murderer and Jesus. Finally, they all cried out that Christ, an innocent victim, be meted the ultimate Roman punishment, which is death on the cross.

The Gospels continue—as Jesus neared Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.”

Here, Jesus Christ was prophesying the destruction of his beloved Jerusalem. In the year 70 the Roman army, led by the 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

A10

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

PRE-EMPTING THE PEOPLE’S WILL BACK­ BENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN IT IS anomalous, irregular, if not downright criminal, for a privately funded poll survey like the Social Weather Stations to make public that 66 percent of the Filipino voters agree to that highly questionable ruling of the Supreme Court. First, the operators of SWS should bear in mind that the issue now centers on whether the majority of the justices who voted to allow Poe to run was valid. Second, that the poll survey, as a matter of decency, ethics and respect to our judicial institution, should have refrained from conducting that kind

This is a sinister move by the Social Weather Stations.

of mockery as if to put pressure on those justices who voted to disqualify Poe by alleging that the so-called majority of the Filipino voters favor that she run for the office.

While ordinary Filipinos are not in a position to analyze why a person who renounced her citizenship and returned to claim allegiance because she is interested in becoming president, the fact is clear that the SWS is putting pressure on those justices to change their mind because public clamor demand that she be allowed to run as if the office is waiting for her. There is in this sinister move

by SWS to pull the issue out of the legal parameter which is fraudulent because it supplants the

legal issue with irrational and emotional process which they purport as a “democratic choice,” and that our laws including the Constitution must bend according to the wishes of the people.

While SWS can claim that its survey speaks of the truth, there is no such thing as truth until the happening of that event occurs. The truth must be made as a fact, and there are moral and legal limitations like the premature announcement of a decision in a litigated case or in conditioning the minds of the people in the name of freedom and democracy that one candidate is likely to win.

Any attempt to pre-empt the truth is to create a mental conditioning.

There is deceit because it renders their hooted democratic process a sham. It is like telling those justices to vote for Poe’s qualification; otherwise, they would be disobeying the will of the alleged 66 percent Filipino voters who want her to run.

In fact, SWS is lying between its teeth much that there is a whale of difference between not being allowed to run and from being disqualified to run. Poe is not being prohibited from running, but is disqualified to run, which means that it is the law that is prohibiting her, not those justices or the people. In fact, SWS went beyond by conditioning the minds of the people that Poe is going to win, and are holding to their propaganda they call “survey” as their evidence to dupe the people. In which case, SWS is maliciously changing the issue from a purely legal to one of alleged public clamor which is fraudulent.

By relying on its selfserving claim that 66 percent of the Filipino voters favor the candidacy of Poe, SWS has now placed the sword

WHAT TO DO WITH CHINA’S TRASH

By Adam Minter SHENZHEN, China’s high-tech boom town, sprung a surprise on its 12 million-plus residents this week. Construction has begun on three giant, state-of-the-art incinerators to handle the heaving tide of trash that the city tosses out daily. One of the megaburners—resembling an American-style football dome—will be the world’s largest wasteto-energy plant when it opens in 2018.

Far from being ominous, however, that giant burner is good news for Shenzhen—and for the environment.

Thirty years ago, with middle-class consumers still rare, China didn’t have to contend with the large volume of trash that affluent societies generate. But like so much else in China, garbage has changed, and in a big way. Today, China throws out more stuff by weight than the US, making it the world’s biggest trash generator.

By 2025, the World Bank estimates it will toss out 1.4 million tons of garbage a day—nearly tripling its current rate.

The trouble is that China already generates far more trash than it of Damocles above the head of those justices whose duty is simply to uphold the law no matter how unpopular the result may be.

In fact, discussing a pending case publicly case amounts to blackmail because it prevents those justices from deciding the case, which could be the subject of contempt of court.

There is no reason why this self-styled survey outlet had to bring the matter to the people much that we have an institution where legal issues are supposed to be ventilated.

In fact, when the shoddy survey was announced, it came out on the same day when the legal experts, made up of the law deans from the various law schools, denounced the mysterious ruling of the alleged majority

can safely handle. Last year, scientists determined that China was the largest contributor to the millions of tons of plastics that enter the ocean every year, via mismanaged (or not managed) waste dumps.

Drive to the outskirts of any Chinese city and you’ll run into a ring of informal landfills emanating all kinds of unrecyclable stench.

Shenzhen might be ground zero for this problem. In 1979, the city generated 50 tons of solid waste a day.

Now, it’s generating 15,000 tons a day. Its trash heap is growing by 6.1 percent annually. That growth comes with risks, and not just the environmental kind: In December, dozens of people were killed when an unlicensed landfill for construction debris collapsed.

Ideally, Shenzhen would recycle its problems away. For decades, Chinese scrap peddlers combed urban streets for anything reusable, and made a remarkable contribution to keeping cities clean. But the ranks of migrant laborers who flocked to that kind of work are thinning.

And city governments, with an eye on property

values, are pushing out the small-time recycling markets that enabled the trade. More pertinently, in a slowing economy, manufacturers simply can’t use everything that’s being recycled: The world is over-supplied in commodities, and that goes for bottles and cans, too.

Landfilling still has its place, but China’s drive to urbanize means that today’s remote garbage dump is tomorrow’s urban nuisance. That’s what happened in Shenzhen, where one major landfill has been expanded six times and now abuts newly built apartment towers, where residents understandably complain about the smell. The central government, meanwhile, is increasingly concerned about reducing soil pollution, preserving arable land and ensuring long-term food security.

Landfills don’t help any of those goals.

That leaves incineration.

In recent years, incinerators have caused protests and riots among Chinese concerned about their health and property values. They have a point: Historically, China’s trash incinerators have been environmentally hazardous. But lately, cities such as Shanghai

have been trying to emulate (and import) the advanced and environmentally secure wasteto-energy incinerators that Europe and Japan rely on. The projects underway in Shenzhen follow that model. According to the local government, they’ll actually exceed European Union emission standards.

That’s worth cheering.

But it shouldn’t be the end of the discussion.

For incineration to gain wider acceptance, local governments will have to be more transparent.

Waiting to announce an incinerator project until after construction has started—as Shenzhen did —doesn’t help. To ensure that incineration doesn’t undermine recycling, it should be paired with socalled pay-to-throw programs, in which residents are taxed on the volume of trash they’re tossing.

Finally, the government should use its considerable administrative power to encourage alternatives to the single-use, unrecyclable packaging that’s currently clogging China’s landfills and waterways.

There are no easy ways to take out China’s trash problem. But burning is a necessary step to addressing it. Bloomberg

of the justices.

The so-called 66 percent touted by SWS cannot be more knowledgeable than the legal luminaries. The survey is laden with malice for obviously, it was meant to throw a monkey wrench at those justices who voted to disqualify Poe, as if the vote of the seven justices is valid and binding.

In countries that know the mechanics of a real democracy, the practice of SWS or as some cynics would call it, Survey na Walang Saysay, constitutes a criminal act because the survey is irrelevant to people who have been entrusted to interpret the law. We would not even venture out to question the veracity of that survey but of the unethical and disrespectful manner they plug in their candidate.

People who have less interest in politics and likely to be persuaded by the claim of SWS that one candidate is popular or is likely to win would now be tempted to follow the fraudulent bandwagon laid down

by SWS. That trending, which in fact is a form of cheating, makes a mockery of our democratic institution by depriving the ordinary voters of their independent and intelligent judgment. In fact, it is a form of electioneering because the claim that 66 percent of the Filipino voters agreed to the decision of the Supreme Court is a judgment that Poe is just about to be declared the winner. There is no reason nor logic for SWS why more than 50 percent of the voters have already decided for Poe, and

that the court should allow her to run, for otherwise, it would be depriving the majority of our people of their choice, which is wrong.

In other words, we have gotten for ourselves a fraudulent manipulator of our fate who has assumed the role of a molder of public opinion, who discredits the law, and makes a mockery of our democratic choice to select candidates under the mischievous pretext that they are likely to win. The is no reason why the SWS and other poll surveys would come out every now and then with a preposterous survey indicating that this presidential and vice presidential candidate are topping the survey, and surprisingly many are amazed, for often they defy logic.

Continued on A11

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OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S NEXT REVOLUTION Bloomberg editorial IN MYANMAR’S fraught transition to civilian rule, two of the biggest political questions have been answered.

The military permitted free elections, but it still won’t allow the leader of the victorious opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, to become president.

Now, with Suu Kyi’s childhood friend and political ally newly elected to that office, the new government needs to turn its focus to the economy.

The economy is growing at near 8.5 percent, while foreign investment has taken off from virtually nothing in 2010 to a reported $8.1 billion in the last fiscal year. But the benefits of

Christ... From A9 future emperor Titus, laid

siege and eventually sacked the city as it fell, destroying the city and the temple.

This is symbolic because Jesus Christ’s coming ushered in a New Jerusalem or the Heavenly Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation that would replace the old city.

The New Jerusalem portends a spiritual revolution.

It is a revolution that engenders hope, love, righteousness and peace. This tells us that more than the physical reconstruction of a society, what people need more is spiritual conversion, a moral renewal that gives hope and peace to ourselves. Oftentimes, people put more value on their physical well-being over and above their spiritual welfare. This is precisely the reason why despite the tremendous amount of in-

The Poe... From A9 To state the obvious, the need to put an end to political dynasties, and the need to uphold the Philippine claim to North Borneo, cannot be denied or ignored.

These are matters of transcendental public interest involving the nation as a whole. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not see these matters in that perspective and chose instead a strict approach to the interpretation of the Constitution in both cases.

On the other hand, Poe’s case does not involve a need to put an end to a continuing curse to Philippine elections (like political dynasties), or a need to get back what is legally Philippine territory unlaw-

growth have yet to be widely felt. Corruption and cronyism are deep-rooted. Opaque state-owned and militarylinked companies continue to dominate key sectors.

So far, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy has been vague about its economic priorities and plans. That has to change. Expectations for the new government are running wild. While fundamental issues await attention, from uncertainty over land rights to the plunder ofnatural resources by the military and ethnic rebel groups, it will be important to notch a few quick wins before tackling them.

A lot can be done simply by lifting the government’s still-

heavy hand on the economy.

Farmers are constrained in what they can grow and when, for example, while banks are limited in how much they can lend to them. The government should start planning to privatize much of the extensive state sector, even if government-owned oil and gas giants remain off-limits for now.

Government spending will be bound to a budget passed by the previous Parliament.

But the new government can merge ministries and shift money around to areas where it can have a more immediate impact—focusing more on preventative health care, for instance, and on primary-

school education rather than on universities. Given its location, young population and low wages, Myanmar is perfectly positioned to develop a low-cost export industry. If it wants to create a more productive and modern workforce, however, it will have to keep kids in school longer and provide better skills training for those who have already left.

The new leadership can help itself by welcoming investment and expertise from wherever it comes. In the government, Suu Kyi has said she’s open to retaining the best administrators from the previous regime, and she’d be smart to tap the tal-

ented and growing pool of returned Burmese expatriates for their expertise. In the private sector,foreign banks can help improve efficiency at their smaller Burmese counterparts, freeing up capital for small and medium-sized businesses. Suu Kyi should also think seriously about asking the US to lift remaining sanctions on Myanmar, clearing the way for hesitant US players to join the Japanese, Korean, Thai and Singaporean companies already in the market.

This is unquestionably Aung San Suu Kyi’s moment, whether she’s president or not. To make the most of it, she’s going to need help.

vestments societies pour in to attain material advancements, moral decadence and with it all sorts of trouble continue to thrive.

A few weeks ago, Pope Francis reflected on the gospel story of Bartimaeus, the blind man. The Pope observed how it was his blindness that led Bartimaeus to poverty and to being lonely.

Sin, according to Francis, also has this consequence: “it impoverishes and isolates us”. Indeed, “it is a blindness of the spirit, which prevents us from seeing what is most important, from fixing our gaze on the love that gives us life”. This blindness makes us dwell on the shallow and superficial, and makes us indifferent to others and to what is good. According to Pope Francis: “How many temptations have the power to cloud the heart’s vision and to make it myopic! How

easy and misguided it is to believe that life depends on what we have, on our successes and on the approval we receive; to believe that the economy is only for profit and consumption; that personal desires are more important than social responsibility! When we only look to ourselves, we become blind, lifeless and self-centred, devoid of joy and freedom.

What an awful thing!”

Fortunately for us, and yes for our country, “Jesus is passing by; he is passing by, and he halts: the Gospel tells us that “he stopped”. Our hearts race, because we realize that the Light is gazing upon us, that kindly Light which invites us to come out of our dark blindness.

Jesus’ closeness to us makes us see that when we are far from him there is something important missing from our lives. His presence makes

us feel in need of salvation, and this begins the healing of our heart. Then, when our desire to be healed becomes more courageous, it leads to prayer, to crying out fervently and persistently for help, as did Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Lent began this year, Pope Francis exhorted: “Let us not waste this season of Lent, so favorable a time for conversion!” Last year, he invited us to live Lent as an opportunity for engaging in what Benedict XVI called a formation of the heart: “A merciful heart does not mean a weak heart. Anyone who wishes to be merciful must have a strong and steadfast heart, closed to the tempter but open to God. A heart which lets itself be pierced by the Spirit so as to bring love along the roads that lead to our brothers and sisters.

And, ultimately, a poor heart, one which realizes its own poverty and gives itself freely for others.”

As we end Lent with Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday tomorrow, and being aware that this election season can infect us with fear, judgment, anger, and hatred, let us all echo, in prayer silent and spoken, the words of Pope Francis and ask the Lord: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: “Make our hearts like yours!”

Jesus stops for us. Jesus stops for this country, for all our candidates, for all the partisan supports, for all citizens. We will receive hearts that are “firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference.”

fully taken from the sovereign Filipino people (like North Borneo). The Poe case involves only one person’s political ambition to be president, and nothing more. Worse, that person once upon a time turned her back on the Philippines, renounced her sacred Philippine citizenship, and sought greener pastures in America. Now that she is able to tell a great political opportunity when she sees one, that person is back in the country, with her alien husband and children in tow.

Why then did the Supreme Court allow a liberal interpretation of the Constitution when only a solitary private interest—Poe’s desire to run for president—is at stake?

Furthermore, to cloud

the issue and confuse the people (and the judiciary as well), Poe’s supporters conveniently labeled her disqualification cases as discriminatory attacks against foundlings. That, of course, is not true.

Poe’s case is solely about whether or not she is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, which is a requirement of the Constitution imposed on everyone seeking the presidency.

Moreover, enforcing the Constitution is not synonymous to discrimination against foundlings. Judging from how the Supreme Court ruled, however, it looks like Poe’s supporters succeeded in appealing to popular emotions rather than logic and reason.

Fortunately, Poe’s opponents will be seeking

a reconsideration of the decision of the Supreme Court. A reconsideration is not a far-fetched idea right now because recent juriprudence indicate that the Court has changed its mind in many of its decisions, sometimes even more than once. Two cases, one involving the status of certain municipalities, and another concerning Philippine Air Lines employees, immediately come to mind.

While the public waits anew for further developments, attention is invited to some interesting remarks on the social media. One site asks—Why should Grace Poe be allowed to run for president when her own husband and her children cannot even vote for her? That’s a very interesting question.

Facebook: Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

Pre-empting... From A10 This column hastens to say this because this good-for-nothing administration that hypocritically calls itself tuwid na daan is so unpopular, yet illogically, the survey reveals that their candidates or at least candidates suspected to be supported and funded by them are the ones who are leading.

The people need not even verify their claim.

All they need is to examine the logic behind the result. This is the same pattern that has evolved from the old and discredited CIA-funded front that style itself as the National Movement for Free Election or Namfrel. The difference is while the old election watchdog purports to safeguard and count the votes in the name of democracy, poll survey tells the people to vote for candidates likely to win to avoid wasting their ballots, and somebody would do the rest to make good their prediction. The mere fact that they accept jobs from candidates to conduct survey on how they are faring in their campaign sortie is an indication they have never been independent as they claim to be. rpkapunan@gmail.com

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Spurs stretch home win streak KAWHI Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 22 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Portland 118-110 Thursday, boosting their home record this season to 34-0 and stretching their overall NBA home win streak to 43 games.

Lee fires 62 to pace Founders Cup golf SOUTH Korea’s Lee MiHyang fired a tournamentrecord 10-under par 62, the lowest score of her LPGA career, to seize a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Founders Cup. The 22-year-old from Seoul made her historic run as another South Korean, legend Pak Se-Ri, announced her retirement after this season.

Lee began on the back nine at Phoenix, Arizona, and fired a 27, making seven birdies and an eagle to make the turn with a share of the lead. But Lee made only one birdie and eight pars on the front side, her second nine of the day, to miss a chance at a record-tying 59.

“First nine I didn’t know I shot nine-under,” Lee said, adding that she was never thinking about 59 during the round.

Lee claimed her only LPGA title at the 2014 Mizuno Classic in Japan, needing a birdie at the fifth extra hole to win a playoff. Lee also won the 2014 New Zealand Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour.

American Brittany Lang and South Korean Kim SeiYoung shared second on 63 with Italy’s Giulia Sergas another stroke adrift.

Pak, 38, said she would retire from the LPGA at the end of the 2016 season. The first player from her homeland on the women’s elite tour has won five major titles and 25 LPGA crowns overall, inspiring generations of players from her homeland to follow her into the ranks of the LPGA’s greatest talents.

“So basically 2016 is my final season for the fulltime tour,” Pak said. “It’s pretty hard to make (the) decision to be retiring. But I have so many successes and I’m trying to share all my skills and all these dreams (with younger players). AFP

Kawhi Leonard (no. 2) of the San Antonio Spurs goes to the basket against the Portland Trail Blazers at the AT&T Center in San AntonioTexas. AFP

England faces France in crucial match ENGLAND will seek to confirm their remarkable transformation from World Cup flops to Six Nations Grand Slam winners when they take on France on Saturday.

Now coached by Australian Eddie Jones, who masterminded Japan’s three victories at last year’s World Cup (including one over the mighty South Africa), the English have seen off Scotland (15-9), Italy (40-9), Ireland (21-10) and Wales (25-21).

That string of four victories gave Jones a Six Nations title at the first time of asking, so ending England’s run of four successive runners-up finishes under former coach Stuart Lancaster.

A victory at the Stade de France on Saturday, with the kick-off set for 2000 GMT, would go a step further by handing England a first Grand Slam since their World Cup-winning year

of 2003, when Jones was in charge of losing finalists Australia.

“We’ve won the championship, but the job feels half done for us at the moment,” said Jones, whose side has contrived to botch four other occasions to nab a Grand Slam since the Five Nations became Six in 2000.

“If we want to get better as a team, if we want to be the most dominant side in Europe, we’ve got to beat France.”

Jones made two changes to his team, bringing in prop Mako Vunipola and scrum-half Danny Care for benched duo Joe Marler and Ben Youngs.

Marler’s inclusion comes amid a furore after the Harlequins player escaped sanction for calling Wales’ Samson Lee a “gypsy boy” last weekend, opening a debate over whether what the Welsh player dubbed onfield banter should in fact have been

acted upon as racist abuse.

France’s 29-18 defeat by Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend scuppered their title hopes, coach Guy Noves responding by calling up back-row forwards Loann Goujon and Bernard Le Roux into his starting side at the expense of Yacouba Camara and Wenceslas Lauret in a bid to beef up his pack.

But Noves insisted he had been right not to introduce wholesale changes to his side that opened the campaign with wins over Italy (23-21) and Ireland (10-9) before going down to Wales (19-10) and the Scots.

Despite accusing his team of making “stupid mistakes” against Scotland, Noves said he had been “stubborn”.

“It’s not the fact that we were beaten

by Scotland that we’re going to have a change of heart,” the ex-Toulouse coach said. AFP

French guard Tony Parker added 18 points and 16 assists, his most since 2012, while Australia’s Patty Mills came off the bench to contribute 17 points in the triumph, which improved the Spurs to 58-10 this season.

Not since falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 12 of last year have the Spurs been defeated in San Antonio.

But that streak will receive a major test Saturday when the Spurs host the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the first of three meetings between the Western Conference powerhouses over the final month of the season.

The Warriors have lost 32 games in a row in San Antonio. Golden State has not beaten the Spurs in San Antonio since February 14, 1997, when Warriors star Stephen Curry was eight years old.

The Spurs’ streak is the third-longest in NBA history behind a 44-game Chicago run in 1995-96 and the ongoing streak of Golden State, which has won 50 home games in a row over two seasons.

San Antonio’s 34-0 home start is the second best home run to open an NBA season, trailing only the 37 in a row by Chicago in 1995-96. AFP

Azarenka crushes Rybarikova to advance VICTORIA Azarenka barely broke a sweat as the former world number one routed Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova 6-0, 6-0 to reach the Indian Wells semi-finals.

Two-time Grand Slam winner Azarenka is also a former champion in the joint WTA and ATP Tour tournament, taking the title in 2012 when she beat Maria Sharapova.

“I started well. I was really aggressive,” said Azarenka, who reached the Australian Open quarter-finals this year.

“The start was the key for me.”

There have been nine women’s draw double bagels in Indian Wells’ history but

Sharapova was involved in the most noteworthy when she was slammed 6-0, 6-0

by Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals of the 2005 tournament.

Sharapova did not take part this year because of a failed drug test and is awaiting a possible suspension from the WTA Tour.

It is the first double bagel in Indian Wells since 2014 when Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska hammered Annika Beck in the round of 32.

Only two of the top 12 seeds on the women’s side of the draw have reached the semi-finals—number one Serena Williams and

number three Radwanska.

They will square off in the other semi-final on Friday.

Two-time winner Williams is the only other former Indian Wells champion still in contention.

Rybarikova had to take an injury time out for a right leg problem in the second set and played the remainder of the match with the “She wasn’t feeling really well,” Azarenka said of her opponent.

Azarenka advances to face 18th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, who beat Azarenka in their most recent encounter last year in Brisbane, Australia. AFP

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns the ball to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women’s quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. AFP

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Globe gives fan his wish

Globe postpaid customer Dan Nuguid (third from left) with fellow winners Gabriel Martin Ong and Gabriel Joseph Natividad and Globe executives led by President and CEO Ernest Cu (second from left) and Vice President for Content Jil Go (leftmost) at the NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto, Canada.

SLAM Rising Stars Classic on Sunday ABS-CBN Sports via ABSCBN Sports + Action, in partnership with SLAM Philippines brings an action-packed All Star Game featuring 24 of the top high school basketball players in the country this Sunday in the SLAM Rising Stars Classic, which will be aired live on ABS-CBN Sports and Action.

This year’s All Star Game will feature high school standouts such as De La Salle Zobel star and DLSU commit Aljun Melecio (UAAP Jrs S78 MVP), Evan Nelle of San Beda College’s Evan Nelle (NCAA Jrs S91 Finals MVP), fresh Ateneo recruits and Batang Gilas stalwarts Jolo Mendoza and Shaun Ildefonso from Ateneo High School and Tyler Tio of Xavier School headline this year’s showcase, which also includes blue chip players Justine Baltazar and John Lloyd Clemente of the National University Bullpups.

In addition, also returning to this year’s SLAM Rising Stars Classic is highly touted wingman Ricci Rivero of La Salle Greenhills, and Michael Enriquez of Mapua-Malayan High School (NCAA Jrs S91 MVP).

ABS-CBN Integrated Sports head Dino Laurena believes that the SLAM Rising Stars Classic is a great opportunity for Filipino basketball-loving fans to watch and see the next generation stars of the hard court.

THE Air Canada Centre was brimming with energy and athleticism, with thousands of sports fans cheering for their favorite NBA superstars as they entered the stadium with much grit. One of the fans is Filipino Dan Nuguid who has flown for over half a day from Manila to Toronto to see the NBA games live, up-close and personal—with all the sweat, tears, and heat from the action-packed games that only an elusive few can experience.

“At first, it was disbelief. When it finally sank in, it was replaced with a surreal and exciting feeling. It was an awesome bucket list experience for us. The Globe team who accompanied us made it a more fun-tastic experience,” Nuguid shared Nuguid is one of the three lucky Globe customers who got the chance to watch the NBA All-Star 2016 live in Toronto, Canada – the first All-Star held outside the United States, as part of Globe Telecom’s NBA Fly Away Promo.

A Globe postpaid customer of 20 years, Nuguid flew with fellow Globe customers Gabriel Martin Ong and Gabriel Joseph Natividad as winners of the promo, which is part of the telco’s commitment to bring the NBA closer to Filipino fans. Joining them were Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Daniel Horan, Vice President for Content Jil Go, and Director for Sports Martin David.

Unheralded rider gets 2nd shot at education ROXAS CITY—For some cyclists, the LBC Ronda Pilipinas is a race to find glory and money.

For unheralded Ronnilan Quita of LBC-MVP Sports Foundation, it’s his way to find a second shot at education.

“I stopped going to school after Grade 6 because we’re so poor, we didn’t have money even for food,” said Quita, a 21-year-old native of San Jose, Tarlac, in Filipino right after an overachieving performance in the recently concluded Visayas Leg of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2016.

“I hope that through Ronda,

I will be given another chance to study and perhaps be just a welder so I can earn a permanent living for my family,” he added.

Quita came out of nowhere and finished 11th overall in the Visayas Leg dominated by more heralded foes, headed by eventual winner Ronald Oranza of the powerhouse Navy-Standard

Insurance team.

His biggest moment came in Stage 4 in Roxas City, where he gave the heavy favorites a run for their money and finished second behind 2009 Tour king Joel Calderon also of Navy.

It was Quita’s best-ever performance since he made the Negros team that joined Ronda last year.

And it could be his ticket to realizing his dreams.

“We’ll find a way to give him a scholarship after the elections, because we in LBC Ronda Pilipinas loves giving our riders a chance to succeed,” said LBC Ronda project director and LBC Sports Development head Moe Chulani.

Quita was one of the benefi-

ciaries of Ronda’s efforts to give cyclists from the far-flung areas a shot at making their dreams come true.

South Cotabato’s James Paolo Ferfas and Ranlen Maglantay joined the Mindanao Leg even though they competed underequipped, but were given race gears like jerseys, shoes, socks, gloves and helmets and loaned competition bikes later for overcoming the odds.

When the race goes up North for the Luzon leg scheduled April 3 to 9, LBC Ronda organizers hope to discover more Maglantays, Ferfas and Quitas.

“That’s our goal, to have more of them,” said Chulani.

Barredo granted badminton scholarship FILIPINO rising badminton young star Sarah Joy Barredo has been chosen for the Asia Olympic Project Scholarship for 2016 because of her sterling performance in recent local and international tournaments.

The Philippine Badminton Association, under the leadership of President Jejomar Binay, and Secretary-General Negros Occidental Representative Albee Benitez, is very thankful to the Badminton World Federation, for the scholarship grant to Barredo.

“It will help her improve her badminton skills,” said Benitez. “I am confident that she will become a stronger player after this.”

There are 20 junior players from the Asian region, selected by the BWF to be granted scholarships.

The Asia Development Team of Badminton Asia, under the BWF, will provide the chosen players from developing countries the proper training opportunities and competition participation.

“I’m so thankful that I was chosen by the BWF to be given this scholarship,” said the 16-year-old Barredo. “I will not waste this opportunity to become a better player. I will give my 100% percent effort in both training and during competitions.”

The players selected for the scholarship went through a series of technical assessments and were chosen on the basis of their current ranking in BAC/BWF-sanctioned tournaments.

The AOP is one of the development programs undertaken by the BAC under the BWF.

Sarah Joy Barredo in action during one of her local tournaments

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Salamat settles for bronze medal MARELA Salamat lived up to her billing as the country’s top female rider by bagging the bronze behind double-gold medal winner Romy Kasper of Germany on Friday in the World University Cyling Championships in Tagaytay City.

Salamat, gold medal winner in the women’s individual time trial of the

Singapore Southeast Asian Games in June last year, could have clinched the sil-

ver, but yielded in a sprint battle with Poland’s Nikol Plofaj in the 80-kilometer race won easily by Kasper.

Kasper, virtually led all the way from the Nasugbu start to the Tagaytay City finish in front of the Tagaytay International Convention Center clocking 2:42:48 over a highly technical course.

Plofaj was afar second

with four minutes and 12 seconds behind Kasper who completed a Germany sweep in the women’s road events of the discipline conducted by the Le Tour de Filipinas organizer Donna Lina in the women’s criterium at Canyon Woods on Thursday.

Salamat, fresh from her stint in a UCI race in Vi-

etnam, was a mere second behind to settle for the bronze medal.

“Pinilit kong kunin ang silver pero naipit ako ng magrematehan,” said Salamat, who complemented the gold medal won by another Filipino, boots Ryan Cayubit in men’s criterium also on Thursday at Canyon Woods.

Twenty-six cyclists from 12 countries answered the gun but half of them completed the race. Among those who did not finish were the entire Korea team (three members) and China (four).

Salamat’s teammate Avegail Rombaon finished 27 minutes behind while Ana Katrina Angelo rode the Sag Wagon.

UniOrient Cup table tennis tilt opens today EIGHTY-EIGHT schools and colleges; 960 students; 231 teams.

They’re participating in the 11th UniOrient Cup Interscholastic Table Tennis Championships opening today at the San Beda College gymnasium.

Two basketball courts will be the battleground for six events; college, men and women; high school, men and women; elementary, boys and girls in the two-day tournament.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV will serve the ceremonial ball at 9 a.m. today.

UniOrient Travel’s chairman, Stephen Teochico, said the tournament champions will win cash prizes and tickets to Beijing to play with or against the players undergoing training at Beijing’s Capital Institute of Physical Education. Three of the institute’s high school students are in Manila to observe the two-day championships and demonstrate their skill at the game.

SM Bowling...

From A15

Development Head CJ Suarez. “We received an overwhelming response from bowlers last year. We are working closely with the Philippine Bowling Congress. We look forward to this new season that will encourage the bowling community to better their skills not only for the competition but also for Philippine Bowling as a sport.”

Yet to be beaten is 21-year-old Dianne Galendez, who had consecutively won the Open Masters Division for both Seasons 1 and 2 of the SM Bowling Millionaire’s Cup. Galendez has earned a total of P3 million and a brand new car in a span of two seasons.

Mavelle P. Durian

Champion Romy Kasper (center) of Germany playfully bites her gold medal in the World University Cyling Championships in Tagaytay City. She is joined at the podium by second placer Nikol Plosaj (left) of Poland and bronze medalist Marella Salamat of the Philippines.

Rivera, Ortiz rule 1st leg of Phoenix national slalom MILO Rivera of Tough Gear Racing Team topped the opening leg of the 2016 Race Motorsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series Sunday at Robinsons Novaliches.

Rivera clocked 54.22 in bagging the production and overall best time of the day, followed by Dr. Peewee Mendiola of Team All Fish with a time of 54.62.

Milo’s brother and teammate Estefano Rivera came in third with 55.74.

Paolo Santos (56.96) and Paul Santos (57.28), both from Team All Fish, placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

For the Novice and Front Wheel Best Times, Dion Ortiz bagged the titles, beating his teammate Jevoy Moreno with a time of 57.52.

Both are from Auto Fastion Racing Team.

The 2016 Phoenix National Slalom Series is powered by Phoenix Premuim 98 and Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic oil and cosponsored by Federal Tyres, Outlast Battery and Robinsons Novaliches.

The event is also backed by Star-

bright Body Kits, Auto Transporter and Aeromed; and media [artners Stoplight TV, Inside Motoring, DZRJ-Am, Pinoy Speed sa mga Pahayagan, Spin.Ph (Sports Interactive Network), C! Magazine, Ride and Drive Philippines, Targa Pilipinas and Auto Industriya.

The first leg was participated in

by Team Comet of Tarlac, Sukelyas Racing Team, Team Orthodox, Special Stage Baguio City, Team Big Bird and Racing Unli.

All events are sanctioned and affiliated by the Automobile Club of the Philippines.

The second leg is set on April 3 at Robinsons Antipolo.

For details, contact Bing Bang Dulce at 09178119337 and 09228165344, email racemotorsportsclub@yahoo.com. or like FB page racemotorsportsclub and phoenixpetroleum.

Some of the official Results: Novice Stock Injected: 1st Mark de Castro 69.22 Novice Stock Carburated: 1st Joseph Ortega 64.92; 2nd Robert Macapagal 72.60

Milo Rivera of Tough Gear Racing is flagged off during the opener of the 2016 Phoenix National Slalom Series by Astrid Vislenio and RJ Amores of Phoenix Petroleum. With them is organizer Bing Bang Dulce.

Novice Modified A: 1st Dion Ortiz 59.70; 2nd Niel Flores 64.92; 3rd Reden Dizon 65.78; 4th Jun Bautista 71.46 Novice Modified B: 1st Reden Dizon 64.12; 2nd Franco San Andres 64.32 Pro Stock A: 1st Milo Rivera 54.50; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 54.90; 3rd Paolo Santos 57.36 Pro Stock B: 1st Milo Rivera 54.60; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 56.30; 3rd Paolo Santos 57.16; 4th

Estefano Rivera 58.46 Pro Stock C: 1st Milo Rivera 54.22; 2nd Dr. Peewee Mendiola 55.02l; 3rd Estefano Rivera 56.76; 4th Paolo Santos 57.14 Group 2A: 1st Martin Sanchez 62.04; 2nd Michael Bautista 64.56; 3rd Steven Valenzuela 68.80; 4th Emerson Dizon 69.52 Group 2B: 1st Martin Sanchez 62.04;2nd Mike Santos 63.98; 3rd Steven Valenzuela 67.86

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Fr. Martin Cup kings. Commissioner Robert dela Rosa (seventh from left) hands over the Fr. Martin Cup Collegiate Open championship trophy to winning team Arellano University. The Chiefs dethroned University of Perpetual Help Altas, 75-71, to wrest the 12th Fr. Martin Collegiate Open Cup basketball tournament honors.

Lee sweeps Champ Tour CARMONA, Cavite—Lee Jeong-hwa put on another comeback worthy of another ICTSI Champion Tour trophy in a victory that was more a triumph of the spirit and character of an emerging Korean star.

Four down with nine holes to play, Lee rattled off five birdies, including three straight from No. 13, to close out with a five-under 67 in scorching heat and nip Mia Piccio by one to rule the Manila Southwoods leg presented

by Champion and Taiwan LPGA Tour at the Legends course here yesterday.

Unlike in her Splendido win last week where she battled from two shots down in the last eight holes to edge Japanese Fumika Kawagishi, the 21-year-old Busan native needed to overhaul twice a deficit this time but proved up to the task just the same, winning it all with a fiery 31 for that 67 and 54hole total of 11-under 205.

“I didn’t expect to win but I was lucky I made it,” said Lee, who pocketed another $15,000 from the total pot of $75,000 put up International Container Terminal Services, Inc. “My putting did it for me.”

Piccio did play good too, closing out with a bogey-free 69 with an eagle to boot, but Lee, who turned pro at 18 after winning the Philippine Ladies Open at Wack Wack in 2012, proved better and finished stronger.

“I played relatively good. I could have won it outright had I made my four birdie putts at the back,” said Piccio, referring to her flubbed chances on Nos. 11, 15, 16 and 17 inside six feet.

The last could’ve forced a playoff but the

Bacolod ace, who earlier buried a 20-footer for birdie on No. 2 to move two-up and hit a solid 3-wood second shot from 250 yards to set up a five-foot eagle putt to pull away by four, had to settle for runner-up honors at 206 worth $7,500.

“Golf is like that—you are not sure of winning until the last hole. Maybe the tournament wasn’t meant for me,” said Piccio.

Amateur Sam Martirez held her ground against Lee and Piccio in the featured flight, fighting back into contention with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from No. 11, finishing with a 68 for solo third at 207.

Pauline del Rosario, Martirez teammate in The Country Club stable, also stayed in the hunt in second-to-last flight but ran out of holes and ended with a 69 for fourth at 210 while Thai Kanphanitnan Muangkhumaskul also shot a bogey-free 68 to tie Korean amateur Hwang Min-jeong, who also carded a four-under card, at 211.

Kawagishi turned in a 71 while compatriot Senno Yasufuku fired a 69 as they shared seventh place at 212 while Dottie Ardina finally broke par after two 72s, shooting a 69 to salvage a share of ninth with Taiwanese Wu Yiching, who made a 69, and Chen Yu-ju, who carded a 71, at 213.

Tumbling down the leaderboard with backto-back bogeys from No. 3, Lee put on a come-

Integrity is not negotiable INSIDE SPORTS RONNIE NATHANIELSZ

AFTER a series of tweets critical of PBA chairman Robert Non and the ten members of the PBA board, who voted to first accept the resignation of Marketing Director Rhose Montreal and then turned around and accepted her subsequent application as a new hire despite her confession that she falsified her academic documents, we requested the PBA Media Bureau chief Willie Marcial to arrange for an interview with chairman Non. Marcial did just that and

we had a chance to talk along the corridor of the Smart Araneta Coliseum before the San Miguel Beer-Alaska game on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, we got very little out of the conversation by way of answers to questions of substance since Mr. Non was prone to answer “No comment.”

He even declined to answer the criticism of former vice chairman of the PBA, JB Baylon although JB, in his remarks indirectly gave the PBA a boost when he said that sponsors go to the PBA because they want to be involved in the league and not because of any great selling acumen of the Marketing Director,

even as he pointed to the fact that Nickel Asia sponsored the last ALL-STAR Game because they wanted to be identified with the pro league and he got into it.

If there was anything positive about our conversation, it was the fact that there was no animosity that characterized a couple of previous encounters. For us, this is in itself was a welcome attitude change since we aim to keep track of developments and how the issues involving Rhose Montreal pan out.

Let me also make it crystal clear that I have nothing personal against Rhose and couldn’t care less whether her boyfriend was referee Aquino since that is some-

Lee Jeong-hwa celebrates her second straight win on the Taiwan LPGA Tour and ICTSI LPGT after holing out with a routine par

back to remember, birdying seven of the next 14 holes to rally from four down and snare the victory, completing a remarkable sweep of the second leg of the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour and the sixth stage of the TLPGA. She launched her fightback with a birdie on No. 10 then strung up three straight from No. 13 inside eight feet. As she waxed hot with her putter, Piccio groped with hers, missing key putts that would’ve stymied the Korean’s rally. thing personal and should never be our business or concern.

In fact, Aquino officiated in the San Miguel-Alaska game and did a creditable job.

All we got out of chairman Non was that Rhose will report for work on March 21 and had lost all her benefits accrued through some nine years with the PBA which was substantial.

Non said: “She will start as a new employee under six months probation and her future is up to the board.”

He indicated “her functions may not be the same,” and added that in some way her functions will be different. He did not elaborate on what would conceivably be different.

The most revealing in-

SM Bowling Millionnaire’s Cup returns THE SM Bowling Millionaire’s Cup returns for its third leg with bigger cash rewards, more chances of winning and a new and exciting format.

Following the resounding success of its past two seasons, the SM Bowling’s third offering is the most explosive one with over P6 million in cash prizes to be given away.

Unlike the past seasons, bowlers may play to their hearts’ content during the qualifying period to produce their best 3 sets.

The Top 8 bowlers of each branch will enter the monthly finals to earn points that will determine their standing in the national finals. The higher points accumulated in each monthly final, the bigger chance the bowler will have to qualify for the nationals.

With six monthly finals and two qualifying divisions per final, a bowler’s top score can be beaten at any time—no player is safe; it is any bowler’s game.

Monthly winners are automatically given cash prizes and corresponding points. The monthly champion receives 20 points and as much as P50,000, with the 1st runner up getting 15 points and P25,000.

The 4th placers receive 10 points and as much as P12,000, while the 5th placers and below, including monthly finals qualifiers and monthly participants, receive points that may still drastically increase in the next competing month.

“It is a privilege to support and promote bowling as a sport through SM Bowling and Leisure Center’s advanced bowling facilities found in various branches nationwide,” said former world bowling champion and now SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc.’s Sports

formation was that Commissioner Chito Narvasa, who is also the concurrent CEO of the league, will determine whether Rhose will be involved in PBA Properties or not.

The Commissioner is currently drafting systems and procedures that would be submitted for the board’s approval in a meeting scheduled for April 7.

Narvasa, who initially had nothing to do with the Rhose Montreal case is now involved and would, in the words of Non, “know what to do.”

I’m confident he will.

Of course, the most pressing question is why the Board, by a vote of 10-1 with one abstention decided to re-hire Montreal when she—by her own admission

Turn to A14

—was guilty of falsification of public documents which is considered a crime punishable by a prison term, if found guilty.

We are certain that the 10 companies, facing a similar situation within their own organizations, would terminate the individual’s services but possibly, in a humanitarian gesture, which they quoted in the rationale for rehiring the lady, gave her the benefits she had earned.

It’s an issue that puts to a serious test whether the PBA, under its present dispensation, shares the valued ideals of two eminent former Commissioners Leo Prieto and Rudy Salud that “integrity is not negotiable” or do they have a different seriously questionable perception.

Only time will tell.

S AT U R DAY : M A R C H 1 9, 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

Focused. Johnny Arcilla is a picture of concentration as he makes a forehand return to his opponent Calvin Canlas during the Peugeot Philippines Tennis Open 2016 National Finals at the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City on Friday. LINO SANTOS

Bolts back in the lead

Adamson nails 6th straight title in softball

BACK in sync.

Meralco got its rhythm back and mercilessly drubbed Blackwater, 106-83, to snap its two-game slide and regain sole possession of the top spot in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

By Peter Atencio

By Jeric Lopez

Arinze Onuaku was back to his steady self, scoring a game-high 27 points, while rookie Baser Amer knocked down all of his four triples to score 15 points as they backstopped the Bolts’ game-long assault.

The victory not only snapped the Bolts’ losing run, it also made them the first team to qualify for the

quarterfinals as they improved to a league-best 6-2 slate, half a game ahead of idle Alaska.

The Elite, on the other hand, continued to slip as they dropped to 3-5 all the way to 10th place.

The Bolts started taking control when they ended the first quarter with a 13-4 run to grasp a 30-21 lead going to the second.

Meralco continued its run in the second period with a swift 5-0 start, highlighted

by Amer’s triple to extend its lead to 14 points, 35-21, at the 10:55 mark.

The rejuvenated Bolts never looked back.

“It was a good overall team effort,” said Meralco coach Norman Black of his team’s dominant win.

“Defensively, we were very

solid and offensively, we moved the ball well. It just feels good to win after two straight losses.”

The Bolts even led by 17, 52-35, at the half.

The Elite were never in it and weren’t able to manufacture any sort of rally in the second half as the Bolts continued pounding hard on their helpless foe.

Ryan Buenafe was the other Bolt in double-figures as he added 11 markers.

It was also the first game for Meralco that it played without veteran gunner Gary David, who is now a free agent after he and the Bolts decided to part ways just last Thursday following the guard’s “lack of dedication” and “insubordination,” according to his now

Spurs stretch home win run

Lee sweeps Champ Tour

TURN TO A12

TURN TO A15

former team.

With his release, the 37-year-old David is now a free agent and can sign up with any team that wants to seek his services.

The scores: MERALCO 106—Onuaku 27, Amer 15, Buenafe Ry. 11, Alapag 8, Hodge 7, Buenafe Ro. 6, Caram 6, Hugnatan 6, Newsome 6, Bono 4, Dillinger 4, Faundo 4, Ferriols 2, Guevarra 0.

BLACKWATER 83— Lastimosa 16, Cortez 15, Dela Cruz 10, Rhett 8, Reyes 7, Vosotros 7, Erram 6, Sena 4, Cervantes 3, Bulawan 2, Gamalinda 2, Tiongson 2, Agovida 1, Ballesteros 0, Agovida 0.

Quarters: 30-21, 52-35, 81-62, 106-83.

SHORTSTOP Queeny Sabobo finished her collegiate career on a bright note as she led the Adamson Lady Falcons in turning back University of Santo Tomas, 5-3, Friday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Her two home-runs made it possible for the San Marcelino-based clouters to clinch their sixth straight championship in the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s softball.

The Lady Falcons finished their best-of-three series with a 2-1 record, and this gave them their 15th crown overall.

The Lady Falcons strung a total of 73 consecutive victories this season, before bowing to the Tigresses at the end of the eliminations.

They turned matters into their favor in the third inning, when Sabobo and fellow graduating Adamson player Annalie Benjamen homered for a 4-2 lead.

Sabobo slammed another home-run in the fifth inning to give the Lady Falcons a 5-2 advantage.

“This year, napakahirap ng pinagdaanan namin, pero ito na ang sweetest victory namin,” said Lady Falcons’ coach Ana Santiago.

SATURDAY: MARCH 19, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

Easing of bank secrecy law eyed

By Julito G. Rada

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. favors the easing of the bank secrecy law under certain conditions to effectively prevent the recurrence of money laundering activities in the country in the future.

At the sidelines of the Chamber of Thrift Banks annual convention held at Dusit Hotel in Makati City Friday, Tetangco said preventive measures were needed to make sure these kinds of illegal activities would not happen again.

“If you look at this, assuming it is an adequate legal framework, we have to make sure that the prevention

aspect would be there. Because when a case reaches AMLC, that is where investigation begins. So the incident has already happened and we need some kind of preventive measures,” Tetangco said.

“The prevention of this particular activity is being hampered by the very strict bank secrecy law. I’m for the lifting of

the bank secrecy law... easing or lifting under certain conditions,” Tetangco said.

The biggest single money laundering activity in the country recently surfaced, involving $100 million that entered the financial system allegedly through a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

in Makati. A report further said the funds were sold to a black market foreign exchange broker, brought to three casinos and subsequently taken out of the country.

Tetangco also said as the investigation went on and if the findings would show that further action had to be taken, the AntiMoney Laundering Council “is prepared to do that.”

“But I don’t want to give specifics right now. I’m constrained from discussing on the specifics about any case because of the confidentiality provisions under existing laws. But in principle, if there is liability discovered in the course of investigation, then the appropriate action should be taken,” Tetangco said.

He said the principles of AMLC

applied to its covered institutions, be it a specific bank or specific remittance company.

Tetangco, however, did not say if there could be any chance of recovering part of the foreign funds illegally transferred to domestic banks recently before these were taken out of the country.

“I don’t want to give specifics in this particular case. The investigation is still going on. As you know, we have already frozen certain bank accounts. Those are being looked at or looked into,” Tetangco said.

Tetangco, however, downplayed any potential impact on the standing of the country’s banking system or a possible ratings downgrade from major global credit rating agencies.

PSe comPoSite index Closing March 18, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,306.74 95.84

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing March 18, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.360

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.150 LOW P46.380 AVERAGE P46.270 VOLUME 700.900M

P400.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank P30.00-P39.32 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

New BAP president. The Bankers Association of the Philippines elects its new board of directors on March 14, 2016 at the Shangri-La Hotel Makati. BDO Unibank Inc. president and chief executive Nestor Tan (left) is elected president, replacing outgoing president Lorenzo Tan. The other four elected officers are Justo Ortiz, first vice president; Cezar Consing, second vice president; Abraham Co, secretary; and Roberto Panlilio, treasurer. Cesar Virtusio is the managing director.

PH poverty incidence falls to 26.3% of population

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, March 18, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.4430

Japan

Yen

0.008975

0.4168

UK

Pound

1.447600

67.2309

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128959

5.9892

Switzerland

Franc

1.034233

48.0329

Canada

Dollar

0.770179

35.7694

Singapore

Dollar

0.740686

34.3997

Australia

Dollar

0.763500

35.4592

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655267

123.3186

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266681

12.3855

Brunei

Dollar

0.737953

34.2728

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028752

1.3353

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

12.6451

Euro

Euro

1.131900

52.5688

Korea

Won

0.000866

0.0402

China

Yuan

0.154428

7.1721

India

Rupee

0.015013

0.6972

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.246518

11.4490

New Zealand

Dollar

0.683100

31.7252

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030952

1.4375 Source: PDS Bridge

POVERTY incidence in the Philippines fell to 26.3 percent of the population in the first half of 2016 from 27.9 percent three years ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

Results of the family income and expenditure survey also showed that subsistence incidence, or the proportion of Filipinos whose incomes are below the food threshold, also eased to 12.1 percent in the first semester of 2015 from 13.4 percent in the first half of 2012.

The National Economic and Development Authority said the 26.3-percent poverty incidence was the lowest in nine years, or since the FIES survey was first conducted in 2006.

Neda deputy director general Rosemarie Edillon said poverty incidence in the second half of 2015

was also expected to be better than in the first half.

“We note that family income in the second semester of the year is usually higher than the first semester. Thus, we expect that full-year poverty incidence will be lower than the 26.3 percent poverty incidence recorded in the first semester of 2015. The full-year estimate is between 23.6 percent and 23.8 percent. This is close to the high-end target of 20 to 23 percent for 2015,” she said.

The PSA said that in the first semester of 2015, a family of five needed at least P6,365 on the average every month to meet the family’s basic food needs and at least P9,140 on the average o meet both basic food and non-food needs.

“Importantly, we are seeing a steady decline in income inequality.

Increases in income are becoming more progressive, as incomes of the

bottom 30 percent of the population have been continuously rising faster than those in higher income classes,” Edillon said.

Latest data also showed that poverty incidence among families declined to 21.1 percent in the first six months of 2015 from 22.3 percent in 2012. The subsistence incidence among Filipino families also eased to 9.2 percent from ]10 percent.

Edillon said the rate of poverty reduction could have been faster if the country had not been exposed to several disasters such as the devastation left by super typhoon Yolanda.

“The rate of decline...in 2015 could have been faster, if not for the occurrences of major shocks, particularly from natural calamities like typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake and man-made disasters like the Zamboanga siege,” Edillon said.

Edillon said there was also an improvement in income distribution over the past three years. “Per capita income of the bottom 30 percent of households grew much faster. In fact, it was over 20 percent in 20122015 than the average income of all households, which grew by 15.3 percent,” she said.

“These numbers send a strong signal that our efforts in the past years to foster inclusive growth and good governance have translated into actual and tangible improvements in the lives of our people. The well-targeted social protection programs, such as the 4Ps proved vital in helping the poor to get back up after going through major shocks. At the same time, we know that the conditions imposed on the 4Ps beneficiaries will make for a more robust poverty reduction in the future,” Edillon said.

SATURDAY: MARCH 19, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Friday, March 18, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 890 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 19.6 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 59 2.65

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

4 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 6.75 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 1450 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 1.3 2.17

1.63 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.37 3.87 8.45 3 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 801 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 0.640 1.2

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

0.44 48.1 20.85 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 837 5.3

76 6.5 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 0.0670 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 3.43 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 0.550 2.26 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 1.99 1.75 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97

6.74 0.65 1.2 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.03 2.85 46.15 46 105.50 103.50 90.00 89.50 38.4 38 2.97 2.90 1.43 1.35 14.38 14.1 15.28 15.14 600.00 600.00 0.570 0.560 87.5 85.45 0.96 0.96 14.50 14.50 53.20 52.75 103 101.9 291 284 30 29.5 161.3 159.9 58.70 58.00 1.54 1.53 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp.

43.9 44.75 43.1 Agrinurture Inc. 4.82 4.82 4.51 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.73 0.75 0.73 Alsons Cons.

1.47 1.49 1.46 Asiabest Group 10.48 10.6 10.46 Bogo Medelin 47.8 47 47 Century Food 18.64 19.04 18.1 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 18 18.36 17.8 Concepcion 43.45 43.45 42 Crown Asia 2.4 2.4 2.36 Da Vinci Capital 6.7 6.94 6.02 Del Monte 11.6 11.8 11.56 DNL Industries Inc. 9.400 9.500 9.000 Emperador 7.80 7.91 7.52 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.17 6.22 5.96 EEI 7.17 7.20 7.10 First Gen Corp.

20.85 21.55 20.85 First Holdings ‘A’ 62.95 64.1 62.95 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.72 13.90 13.80 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.5 5.62 5.55 Ionics Inc 2.650 2.680 2.600 Jollibee Foods Corp.

232.00 232.00 231.20 LBC Express 10.48 10.48 10.24 Mabuhay Vinyl 2.8 3.19 2.8 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26 26.65 26.35 Maxs Group 19.3 21.3 19.26 Megawide 6.38 6.46 6.38 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 326.40 324.00 315.00 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.01 4.10 4.10 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.68 3.9 3.71 Petron Corporation 10.16 10.36 10.18 Phil H2O 3.34 3.5 3.31 Phinma Corporation 11.50 11.50 11.50 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.17 4.35 4.13 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.68 1.76 1.65 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.7 2.73 2.69 RFM Corporation 4.10 4.12 4.02 Roxas Holdings 5 5.04 4.9 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 163.1 169.5 167 Splash Corporation 2.46 2.49 2.42 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.159 0.163 0.156 TKC Steel Corp.

1.30 1.41 1.25 Trans-Asia Oil 2.72 2.78 2.72 Universal Robina 203 207 202.8 Vitarich Corp.

0.77 0.81 0.75 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.17 1.15 1.15 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.365 0.365 0.355 Aboitiz Equity 61.50 63.50 60.80 Alliance Global Inc. 16.00 16.08 15.88 Anscor `A’ 6.29 6.25 6.18 ATN Holdings A 0.285 0.290 0.285 ATN Holdings B 0.285 0.290 0.285 Ayala Corp `A’ 740 760 737 Cosco Capital 7.47 7.5 7.2 DMCI Holdings 13.36 13.78 13.50 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.03 5.15 5 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.98 5.00 4.87 GT Capital 1400 1415 1401 House of Inv. 6.04 6.00 5.95 IPM Holdings 9.74 9.75 9.72 JG Summit Holdings 76.00 79.00 76.00 Jolliville Holdings 3.36 4.4 3.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

6.15 6.45 6.15 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.73 0.74 0.68 LT Group 15.7 16.04 15.7 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.510 0.510 0.500 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.99 6.03 5.99 Pacifica `A’ 0.0350 0.0350 0.0330 Prime Orion 1.970 2.030 1.960 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.75 2.75 2.74 San Miguel Corp `A’ 78.00 77.95 77.50 SM Investments Inc. 958.00 997.50 960.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.12 1.11 1.09 South China Res. Inc. 0.79 0.78 0.77 Top Frontier 160.100 160.000 155.000 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3150 0.3250 0.3100 Wellex Industries 0.2100 0.2000 0.1930 Zeus Holdings 0.295 0.300 0.295 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.640 8.010 7.690 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.84 0.88 0.84 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.490 1.610 1.520 Ayala Land `B’ 34.850 36.800 35.150 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.04 3.07 2.83 Cebu Holdings 5.17 5.2 5.16 Century Property 0.550 0.56 0.550 Cityland Dev. `A’ 1.040 1.000 0.980 Crown Equities Inc. 0.128 0.128 0.128 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.500 0.530 0.485 Double Dragon 39.45 39.75 38 Empire East Land 0.880 0.890 0.870 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 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

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

Close

SHARES 16459185 128000160 194431483 173178458 224731117 543285840 1284285573

2.86 46 104.30 89.95 37.5 2.98 1.42 14.36 15.14 600.00 0.570 85.9 0.96 14.40 52.60 101.9 284.8 30.25 159.9 57.50 1.54

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.85 46.15 104.00 90.00 38.35 2.91 1.41 14.28 15.2 600.00 0.560 87.5 0.96 14.50 53.00 103 291 30 161 58.60 1.53

-0.35 0.33 -0.29 0.06 2.27 -2.35 -0.70 -0.56 0.40 0.00 -1.75 1.86 0.00 0.69 0.76 1.08 2.18 -0.83 0.69 1.91 -0.65

256,000 19,600 5,656,700 3,192,500 210,300 21,000 396,000 4,700 187,000 250 1,001,000 3,654,050 3,000 11,100 48,310 3,520 3,120 1,004,800 663,880 2,000 120,000

49,800.00 828,690.00 -17,088,881 135,427,533.50 -3,159,875.00

43.3 4.67 0.75 1.46 10.48 47 19 17.8 42 2.39 6.02 11.7 9.000 7.52 5.96 7.12 20.85 63.85 13.90 5.61 2.650 232.00 10.48 3.1 26.5 20.6 6.44 315.00 4.10 3.82 10.30 3.31 11.50 4.33 1.72 2.7 4.09 5.04 169 2.44 0.160 1.25 2.75 204.6 0.77 1.15

-1.37 -3.11 2.74 -0.68 0.00 -1.67 1.93 -1.11 -3.34 -0.42 -10.15 0.86 -4.26 -3.59 -3.40 -0.70 0.00 1.43 1.31 2.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.71 1.92 6.74 0.94 -3.49 2.24 3.80 1.38 -0.90 0.00 3.84 2.38 0.00 -0.24 0.80 3.62 -0.81 0.63 -3.85 1.10 0.79 0.00 -1.71

4,499,600 1,698,000 81,000 1,077,000 1,200 100 531,400 531,400 3,100 460,000 12,291,800 91,300 4,306,400 8,579,700 32,157,000 99,000 5,354,300 333,550 70,700 225,000 2,857,000 830,420 12,500 39,000 1,878,200 2,350,600 689,400 901,130 1,000 262,000 10,092,600 35,000 13,200 858,000 596,000 169,000 135,000 2,200 28,190 82,000 10,080,000 1,062,000 5,127,000 2,188,860 12,798,000 35,000

60,381,765.00 -751,260.00

0.355 63.40 15.88 6.18 0.290 0.290 737 7.2 13.56 5.1 5.00 1405 5.96 9.74 79.00 3.9 6.36 0.69 15.8 0.510 6 0.0330 2.010 2.75 77.50 990.00 1.09 0.77 155.000 0.3100 0.1950 0.295

-2.74 3.09 -0.75 -1.75 1.75 1.75 -0.41 -3.61 1.50 1.39 0.40 0.36 -1.32 0.00 3.95 16.07 3.41 -5.48 0.64 0.00 0.17 -5.71 2.03 0.00 -0.64 3.34 -2.68 -2.53 -3.19 -1.59 -7.14 0.00

150,000 3,005,940 8,190,400 73,300 890,000 520,000 688,700 6,101,200 8,188,900 231,200 53,000 261,485 69,200 1,235,400 5,617,670 25,000 5,795,500 1,297,000 4,269,300 32,000 54,400,400 76,300 792,000 33,000 242,510 633,000 423,000 125,000 14,060 8,870,000 5,410,000 340,000

8.000 0.87 1.610 36.600 2.83 5.16 0.550 0.980 0.128 0.500 38.95 0.880

4.71 3.57 8.05 5.02 -6.91 -0.19 0.00 -5.77 0.00 0.00 -1.27 0.00

1,759,900 1,667,000 1,962,000 26,961,200 8,351,000 35,000 2,612,000 124,000 10,000 6,360,000 7,891,400 232,000

-1,520,000.00 120,000.00 39,200.00 134,977,382.00 -430,827.00 -9,638,985 54,008,525.00

12,600 38,080.00 1,258,856.00 -663,838.00 -2,692,394.00 -3,639,898.00 -34,053,667.00 -9,555,295.00 -10,683,207.00 -556,000.00 -265,000.00 23,922,316.00 -15,497,745.00 4,131,042.00 4,303,402.00 -97,540,558.00 312,070.00 -450,858.00 -73,500.00 728,380.00 -1,720.00 216,090.00 1,739,307.00 0.00 359,680.00 119,879,058.00 -614,460.00

82,181,080.50 7,818,310.00

-53,927,160.00 -20,291,008.00 8,348,120.00 121,900.00 13,267,105.00 64,260.00 178,461,449.50 12,900.00 -11,286,041.00 -483,640.00 10,599,936.00 -71,707,379.00 9,900.00 -5,613,014.00 192,228,400.00 -205,970.00 -10,959.00

5,678,577.00 218,350,295.00 -14,956,670.00

-657,095.00 13,002,585.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

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

Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 2.6 7.67 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 12.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 2.53 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 8.72 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.01 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 0.315 1.14

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

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Discovery World DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

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

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 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 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 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 0.013 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `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’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 525 118 120 515 8.21 111 1047 78.95 84.8

33 500 101 101.5 480 5.88 101 1011 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen F First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. MWIDE PREF PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

VALUE 1351024549.25 1979654177.92 2906933839.89 2422910738.47 2040569487.74 389425569.3034 11166700831.57

FINANCIAL 1,622.95 (UP) 9.82 INDUSTRIAL 11,547.06 (DOWN) 58.08 HOLDING FIRMS 7,137.41 (UP) 131.57 PROPERTY 2,986.31 (UP) 60.85 SERVICES 1,568.91 (UP) 25.57 MINING & OIL 11,415.50 (DOWN) 81.52 PSEI 7,306.74 (UP) 95.84 All Shares Index 4,191.07 (UP) 32.04 Gainers: 100; Losers: 80; Unchanged: 40; Total: 220

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.160 1.00 1.75 1.32 4.05 0.093 0.2400 8.66 29.30 1.5 3.09 21.40 0.84 5.59 1.020 4.710

0.159 0.151 0.154 1.05 1.00 1.04 1.82 1.74 1.78 1.34 1.32 1.34 4.2 4.05 4.05 0.094 0.090 0.092 0.2320 0.2210 0.2290 8.66 8.64 8.66 30.30 29.20 29.20 1.5 1.48 1.48 3.09 3.09 3.09 21.70 21.40 21.45 0.85 0.82 0.84 5.62 5.62 5.62 1.030 1.010 1.010 4.770 4.660 4.690 SERVICES 7.41 7.5 7.36 7.36 58.4 58.7 58.35 58.6 0.530 0.560 0.530 0.540 5.30 5.54 5.29 5.30 0.0630 0.0660 0.0630 0.0650 3.17 3.45 3.19 3.38 87 90.3 87 90 1.56 1.52 1.52 1.52 6.44 6.44 6.28 6.28 2180 2200 2162 2190 6.86 6.97 6.86 6.92 18.14 18.14 18.14 18.14 1.25 1.28 1.25 1.25 66.7 69 66.95 69 5.50 6.19 5.31 5.99 28 37 28 37 11.4 11.6 11.4 11.6 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 0.270 0.285 0.270 0.270 1.3400 1.4100 1.3500 1.3700 2.13 2.15 2.13 2.15 7.97 8.19 8.00 8.18 3.70 3.75 3.66 3.70 1.30 1.35 1.17 1.29 2.72 2.75 2.61 2.75 25.00 25.00 24.90 24.90 0.540 0.540 0.540 0.540 1.88 1.94 1.94 1.94 2.77 2.91 2.77 2.83 3.98 4.01 3.89 3.90 0.285 0.280 0.270 0.280 0.890 0.900 0.850 0.860 5.00 5.04 4.85 5.00 105.00 105.00 100.00 105.00 22.00 22.05 21.80 22.05 1932.00 2020.00 1939.00 1978.00 0.450 0.460 0.450 0.455 0.930 0.960 0.930 0.960 37.55 37.80 37.55 37.65 72.00 72.00 70.60 71.80 6.10 6.25 6.02 6.15 3.42 3.54 3.42 3.44 0.530 0.550 0.520 0.530 1.74 1.73 1.64 1.73 3.85 3.83 3.68 3.69 0.325 0.345 0.340 0.340 4.880 4.820 4.780 4.780 MINING & OIL 0.0046 0.0046 0.0044 0.0045 2.12 2.11 2.08 2.08 4.70 4.70 4.54 4.61 0.240 0.245 0.234 0.238 0.62 0.62 0.61 0.61 0.495 0.510 0.470 0.480 8.02 8.02 7.78 7.88 0.820 0.860 0.830 0.840 0.295 0.300 0.295 0.295 0.295 0.295 0.290 0.290 0.300 0.310 0.300 0.305 0.0130 0.0130 0.0110 0.0120 0.013 0.013 0.012 0.013 2.11 2.25 2.12 2.12 5.5 5.71 5.55 5.63 2.6 2.73 2.62 2.63 0.5400 0.5400 0.5400 0.5400 1.2500 1.3400 1.2500 1.2800 0.0100 0.0110 0.0098 0.0098 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 3.84 3.80 3.79 3.80 5.97 6.25 6.00 6.00 1.95 2.50 1.98 2.50 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0120 138.00 138.00 135.00 135.00 2.69 2.94 2.66 2.76 0.0083 0.0085 0.0085 0.0085 PREFERRED 58 58.5 58.2 58.5 530 535 535 535 109.1 109.1 109 109.1 117.8 117.6 112.2 117.6 515 520 520 520 6.8 6.9 6.89 6.89 107 108 107 107 1010 1010 1009 1009 76.5 80 80 80 82 82 82 82 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.8 75.6 75.5 75.5 76.5 76.4 75.8 76.4 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.490 3.760 3.460 3.640 SME 3.65 3.65 3.65 3.65 3.12 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.36 3.6 3.38 3.4 16.92 17.4 16.92 17.1 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117 118.7 117.5 118.7

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

-3.75 4.00 1.71 1.52 0.00 -1.08 -4.58 0.00 -0.34 -1.33 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.54 -0.98 -0.42

530,000 5,275,000 14,559,000 291,000 37,558,000 3,990,000 4,020,000 7,400 8,031,400 43,000 7,000 24,742,200 2,490,000 100 509,000 9,130,000

-3,180.00

-0.67 0.34 1.89 0.00 3.17 6.62 3.45 -2.56 -2.48 0.46 0.87 0.00 0.00 3.45 8.91 32.14 1.75 0.00 0.00 2.24 0.94 2.63 0.00 -0.77 1.10 -0.40 0.00 3.19 2.17 -2.01 -1.75 -3.37 0.00 0.00 0.23 2.38 1.11 3.23 0.27 -0.28 0.82 0.58 0.00 -0.57 -4.16 4.62 -2.05

139,300 32,830 1,844,000 12,376,400 83,470,000 2,981,000 1,659,230 5,000 118,900 178,455 93,900 200 51,000 1,668,660 44,700 600 16,900 1,200,000 34,090,000 3,601,000 7,000 50,700 143,000 302,000 27,000 1,600 80,000 1,000 14,895,000 1,844,000 230,000 4,011,000 48,500 210 97,900 373,160 630,000 11,888,000 3,659,300 2,490,440 381,000 2,980,000 1,123,000 2,000 34,359,000 280,000 36,000

-148,912.00

-2.17 -1.89 -1.91 -0.83 -1.61 -3.03 -1.75 2.44 0.00 -1.69 1.67 -7.69 0.00 0.47 2.36 1.15 0.00 2.40 -2.00 0.00 -1.04 0.50 28.21 0.00 -2.17 2.60 2.41

54,000,000 152,000 7,319,000 -3,764,190.00 880,000 212,000 2,330,000 104,400 14,493,000 865,660.00 1,220,000 20,780,000 1,920,000 24,000.00 290,000,000 7,100,000 -60,000.00 477,000 6,663,500 3,273,391.00 77,000 50,000 388,000 39,000,000 7,400,000 8,000 16,260,200 -9,494,898.00 31,291,000 -4,335,870.00 31,400,000 75,000.00 826,000 -77,786,054.00 2,775,000 7,540.00 6,000,000

0.86 0.94 0.00 -0.17 0.97 1.32 0.00 -0.10 4.58 0.00 0.00 -0.40 -0.13

242,040 350 70 103,690 1,000 20,200 2,000 200 30 2,010 25,060 1,000 121,250

4.30

936,000

0.00 0.96 1.19 1.06

1,000 42,000 2,155,000 1,663,300

1.45

337,980

-2,106,710.00 535,710.00

47,800,140.00 22,200.00 -10,296,225.00 -6,631,030.00 -6,631,030.00

-2,663,037.00 64,000.00 23,796,448.00 -340,340.00 44,178,890.00

43,745,426.50

-20,000.00 -206,020.00 154,232.00

3,673,860.00 -67,950.00 -5,993.00 442,880.00 167,446,735.00 740,580.00 25,295,540.00 -23,036,429.50 -92,250.00 -732,120.00 -71,593,180.00

1,008,360.00

86,820.00 54,000.00

-1,642,880.00

-28,440.00 7,572,110.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Imperial Res. `B'

37

32.14

Da Vinci Capital

6.02

-10.15

PhilexPetroleum

2.50

28.21

Manila Mining `A'

0.0120

-7.69

Jolliville Holdings

3.9

16.07

Wellex Industries

0.1950

-7.14

Mabuhay Vinyl

3.1

10.71

Belle Corp. `A'

2.83

-6.91

Imperial Res. `A'

5.99

8.91

Cityland Dev. `A'

0.980

-5.77

Araneta Prop `A'

1.610

8.05

Pacifica `A'

0.0330

-5.71

Maxs Group

20.6

6.74

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

0.69

-5.48

Calata Corp.

3.38

6.62

Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2290

-4.58

Ayala Land `B'

36.600

5.02

DNL Industries Inc.

9.000

-4.26

8990 HLDG

8.000

4.71

Travellers

3.69

-4.16

SATURDAY: MARCH 19, 2016

B3

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

Market advances; Ayala, SM issues up STOCKS rose for a second day, sending the benchmark index to a five-month high, as Asian markets climbed on the lingering effects of the US Federal Reserve’s lower interest rate outlook.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 95 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 7,306.74 on Friday, the highest close since Oct. 27, as SM Investments Corp. and Ayala Land Inc. paced gainers. The bellwether was also up 5.1 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, rose 32 points, or 0.8 percent, to settle at 4,191.07, on a value turnover of P11.2 billion. Advancers led losers, 100 to 80, while 40 issues were unchanged Friday.

Twelve of the 20 most actives stocks ended in the green, led by property developer Ayala Land Inc., which climbed 5 percent to P36.60. JG Summit Holdings Inc., the investment company of tycoon John Gokongwei, gained 4 percent to P79, while SM Investments Corp. of tycoon Henry Sy added 3.3 percent to close at P990.

Meanwhile, Asian markets extended their gains Friday. The Fed’s decision Wednesday to scale back its forecasts on hiking borrowing costs—citing global turmoil and weak growth—was greeted with relief across most trading floors on Thursday, with shares rallying from Asia to the Americas.

It also provided a boost for emerging market currencies and sent the dollar tumbling, which in turn provided a boost to dollar-priced crude oil, with both main contracts surging above $40.

And the positive trend continued Friday, with most equities markets and emerging currencies pushing on with more gains.

“Markets are still settling down after the more-dovishthan-expected Fed,” Philip Borkin, a senior economist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd., said in a note to clients.

“It appears [Fed policymakers] have become more concerned with the outlook for the global economy,” he said, according to Bloomberg News.

With AFP, Bloomberg

Relief assistance. About 1,800 families affected by the recent fire in Barangays Guizo and Mantuyong in Mandaue City, Cebu receive

relief packs containing food and non-food items from Aboitiz Foundation, the social development arm of the Aboitiz Group. Shown are volunteers from Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Pilmico and Aboitiz Power Corp. packing and distributing the goods to affected families at the Cebu International Convention Center.

PH, Asian stocks near bull market

THE Philippines is poised to become the first Asian equity market to crawl back from a bear market this year, rising 20 percent from its closing low reached on Jan. 21.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 1.3 percent Friday to close at 7,306.74, the highest since Oct. 27.

“This rally looks sustainable,” said Soo Hai Lim, a Hong Kong-based money manager at Baring Asset Management, which oversees about $41 billion.

“In the run up to the elections, Philippine consumer stocks will benefit from increased spending. We remain positive on the Philippines. We’re not really too concerned about the outcome of the elections as long as the new government pushes through with infrastructure projects,” Lim said.

“We like Philippine consumer stocks,” Raymond

Kong, Singapore-based fund manager at One Asia Investment Partners, which oversees $2.5 billion of assets, said. “They’re not cheap because investors are paying a premium for growth. The elections will be beneficial for the consumer stocks.”

Filipinos will go to the polls on May 9 to elect the replacement of President Benigno Aquino, who is limited to a single six-year term that ends June 30. Aquino boosted growth in Southeast Asia’s fifth-largest economy as he raised taxes and increased infrastructure spending to a record.

Other Southeast Asian stocks are also bouncing back from a bear market, outpacing global indexes as foreign investors pour in amid recovering economies.

Benchmark indexes in Asia are close behind Manila, as emerging markets recover from a 22-percent drop from a November peak. Taiwan and Indonesia benchmark indexes are up 19 percent from last year’s lows, while Thailand equities have jumped 13 percent from a January low. The MSCI Emerging Markets In-

dex is up 19.5 percent after reaching a nearly seven-year low in January.

Southeast Asian markets are rebounding as accelerating economic growth and calmer currencies attract investors seeking refuge from the volatility rocking markets in China and Japan this year. That’s a reversal of fortunes from 2015 when the region’s equity gauge plunged 21 percent as prospects for higher US rates spurred capital outflows.

“The risk-on trade is back on. This is a short term rebound after a tumultuous fourth quarter,” Geoffrey Ng, director at Fortress Capital Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur, which oversees about $238 million, said by phone.

“This is fueled partly by greater certainties of the path of U.S. interest rates,” Ng said.

Southeast Asian assets have stabilized after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled in early February policy makers won’t rush to raise rates amid turbulence in global markets. The Fed earlier this week scaled back expectations for interest-rate increases this year. Bloomberg

ERC approves San Gabriel natural gas plant’s dedicated line

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the application of First Natgas Power Corp. to develop a dedicated line to connect the 450-megawatt San Gabriel natural gas power plant to the Luzon grid through the San Lorenzo switchyard in Batangas.

First Natgas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Gen Corp., is developing the San Gabriel power plant, a natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant located within

the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plant complex in Batangas.

The Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan supplies natural gas to the existing 1,000-MW Sta. Rita and 500-MW San Lorenzo power plant also owned by First Gen. The San Gabriel plant will also use natural gas from the Malampaya gas field.

The power plant will be connected to the existing San Lorenzo switchyard through a dedicated point-to-point facility. The switchyard will connect the plant

to the transmission system of the National Grid Corp. to allow it to deliver power to the grid.

ERC said the P117.87-million connection project would redound to the benefit of the power consumers in terms of continuous, quality, reliable and efficiency power supply.

“The application filed by FNPC for authority to develop, own and operate a dedicated point to point transmission facility to connect to the existing San Lorenzo switchyard, with prayer for provisional

authority, is hereby approved [subject to conditions],” it said.

It said the operational control of the switchyard of the San Lorenzo combined cycle natural gas plant should be transferred to National Grid, which operates the country’s transmission network.

“In the absence of an assurance that the subject facilities will be operated without any adverse effect to the reliability of the grid and considering the distance is only 200 meters, it is hereby recommended that the operation

and maintenance of said facilities will be through constant coordination with NGCP which was granted exclusive franchise to operate and maintain the transmission system,” it said.

Another condition is for First Natgas to operate the dedicated point-to-point transmission line and the facilities shall be developed and constructed in accordance with the system impact study and facility study requirements so as not to result in the degradation of National Grid’s transmission system.

SATURDAY: MARCH 19, 2016

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

IN BRIEF Hot money back REGISTERED foreign portfolio investments, or “hot money,” in February posted a net inflow of $58 million, a reversal of the $130-million net outflow in January but lower compared with the $1.2-billion net inflow a year ago, latest data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed.

Gross inflows in February reached $1.06 billion, lower than $2.54 billion a year ago, while total outflows stood at $1.011 billion, down from $1.359 billion for the same period last year.

“Outflows for the month grew by 6.4 percent from the January figure due to profit taking, lingering concerns on the slowdown of the Chinese economy, and oil price uncertainties. Year-on-year, however, outflows declined by 25.6 percent,” Bangko Sentral said.

About 77.1 percent of investments registered in February were in securities listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange, mainly holding firms, food, beverage and tobacco companies, property issues, banks and telecommunication stocks, while the 22.9 percent balance were in peso government securities. Julito G. Rada

ABS-CBN nets P2.6b ABS-CBN Corp., the biggest broadcasting company, on Friday said net income in 2015 rose 26 percent to P2.55 billion from P2.03 billion in 2014.

“We are happy to report that we exceeded our revenue and net income targets for 2015,” Aldrin Cerrado, the company’s chief financial officer, said.

The company’s profit guidance last year was P2.4 billion.

ABS-CBN’s revenues remained strong at P38.278 billion last year, up 14 percent from P33.54 billion in 2014.

The network’s earnings from TV and studio business grew 11 percent last year.

“We received a further boost in revenues after we adopted a new pricing scheme in May of last year—from a fixed cost per spot, to a cost per individual rating point system,” he added.

ABS-CBN maintained its leadership in terms of national total day audience share, which jumped to 43 percent as of December 31, 2015, according to data from Kantar Media.

ABS-CBN Group CFO Ron Valdueza said the company was confident of delivering even stronger results this year.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Integration of three north toll roads eyed

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Manila North Tollways Corp. said on Friday it is exploring the possibility of integrating the operations of North Luzon Expressway and Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway wtth TarlacPangasinan-La Union Expressway, which is operated by San Miguel Corp.

“That would be the natural next step, to try to talk their concessionaire and their operator to see if an integration is possible. That might be something we could eventually explore with their concessionaire and operator,” MNTC and Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said.

Franco said the Toll Regulatory Board encouraged MNTC and San Miguel to integrate NLEx, SCTEx and TPLEx.

“But of course integration is not a simple matter. It’s a very complicated process that’s why it has to be studied very carefully,” he added.

The P650 NLEx-SCTEx integration project was completed ahead of the expected 10 percent to 15 percent increase in traffic volume on Holy Week.

“Seamless and faster travel can now be experienced at NLEx and SCTEx as toll collection stops are lessened and additional payment

options are introduced at the SCTEx,” Franco said.

The project, which involves the conversion of NLEx and SCTEx toll collection systems into a single one, reduces toll collection stops to two, instead of five from Balintawak to Subic and back, and four from Balintawak to Tarlac and back.

“The integration speeds up the queues on toll plazas. Motorists who will drive from Manila to Subic will just have to stop for toll payments at Balintawak and Subic or Tarlac. This will save them up to 40 minutes of travel time,” Franco said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, who pushed the integration of the two toll systems, said the move “will surely create a faster and more efficient traveling experience in the NLEx and SCTEx, especially this coming Holy Week.”

“This integration of our tollways will be of huge help to our countrymen as more efficient movement of people means less time on the road and more time for them to spend with their loved ones,” Drilon said.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and chief executive Arnel Paciano Casanova said the integration was a game-changer that would greatly benefit the motorist in terms of faster travel time and convenience.

“It’s the first integration among expressways in the country and we are happy to be part of it and set the bar for others to replicate for the benefit of the public,” Casanova said.

To unify the system of NLEx and SCTEx, MNTC constructed seven new toll plazas. These include gates in Tarlac, Subic-Tipo, Sta. Ines and the northbound and southbound sides of Dau and Mabiga.

P500-m DMCI bonds THE property unit of DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji Group obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue another P500 million worth of bonds that aims to offer an alternative saving instrument for future home buyers.

Documents filed with the SEC showed that DMCI-Project Developer Inc., which is operating under the brand DMCI Homes, would issue the remaining P500 million out of the P1-billion HomeSaver Bonds registered with the corporate regulator in four tranches.

The tranche D bonds to be issued monthly for 36 month carry an interest rate of 4.75 a year, while the tranche E bonds to be issued monthly for 60 months fetch an interest rate of 5.25 percent per annum.

Tranche F due 2019 and tranche G due 2021, both to be issued one-time on the initial issue date as a single upfront investment and payable in lump sum, will carry an interest rate of 4.75 percent and 5.25 percent, respectively.

“The second offer is primarily intended to assist retail investors in accumulating savings to be used as down payment for a DMCI Homes unit,” the company said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

DTI backs startups THE Trade Department encouraged venture capitalists to invest in local startups as the country continues to improve in the global innovation index.

The Philippines climbed 17 notches in the global innovation index of the World Intellectual Property Organization to 83rd from 100th. Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado sees opportunities to enhance and develop the country’s national innovation ecosystem.

“There is no better time for the Philippines than now,” said Terrado on the current promotional initiatives for startups and innovation in the country.

The Philippines’ strong compliance to intellectual property rights protection also makes the country a strong contender for the next innovation hub in Asia.

The Philippines ranked second for both patent protection and intellectual property rights protection in 2014 in Asia.

One of the country’s top Philippine innovations is the Salamander by H20 Technologies, the world’s first amphibious tricycle. Othel V. Campos

Receiving the certification are (from left) BC executive director Isidro Alcantara Jr., BC AVP for audit Dale Tongco, BC VP for treasury Max Arceno, SVP for finance Lina Fernandez, VP for compliance Midge de Leon, BGO general manager Tony Buenavista, BNMI president Leopoldo Sison III, BNMI chief operating officer Glenn Duka, VP for HR and ISO certification head Chuchi del Prado, AVP for Corporate communications Anna Montes, AVP for budget Jean Alger, AVP for project cost control Nilo Rodriguez and BC OIC Sonny Sebial Jr.

Benguet’s gold, nickel operations receive ISO awards BENGUET Corp.’s gold operations and nickel business through BenguetCorp Nickel Mines Inc. received the ISO 14001:2015 certification on environment management, the first mining company in the country whose operations are now certified under the 2015 version.

The recognition reiterated the company’s commitment to monitor and mitigate the risks of its operations on the environment.

The ISO 14001:2015 is an internationally agreed standard that specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organization can use to enhance its environmental performance. ISO said the standard is used by the organization seeking to manage its environ-

mental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability.

“The whole organization is euphoric with this certification.

For us, it is a testament of our promise to imbibe environmental protection and care in our day-to-day operations,” BC president and chief executive Philip Romualdez said.

“BC will always strive to be a responsible custodian of the environment and its riches. This means making sure all our employees and business partners are involved in keeping the environment intact, mitigating the negative impact of our mining operations on our environment,” he said.

The TÜVRheinland®, an independent body in evaluating management systems headquartered in Cologne, Germany and a leader in international certification in the Philippines, granted the EMS certification to BNMI and BGO using internationally recognized standards.

TÜVRheinland® worked closely with BC’s ISO certification overall project head and vice president for human resources, administration and corporate governance compliance officer Chuchi Cole-del Prado in fostering a culture of excellence among BNMI’s and BGO’s key ISO implementers.

“This is the result of the dedication of the nickel and gold teams led by ISO site lead/HR

manager Kirsten Decrepito and VP and resident manager Glenn Duka for BNMI; AVP and OIC resident manager Tony Buenavistawith ISO Site Leaders/ HR manager Eloisa Segarra and Godfrey Atienza, mine geologist for BGO,together with their ISO core team members who worked tirelessly to ensure success in attaining this ISO certification”, del Prado said.

With the certification, both BNMI and BGO are now compliant with the latest administrative order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR DAO 2015-07) mandating all existing mining firms to secure the ISO certification on environmental management systems on or before May 2016.

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

B5

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Obama set for historic Cuba visit on Sunday WA S H I N G T O N — B a r a c k Obama touches down in Havana on Sunday to cap a long-unimaginable rapprochement with Cuba and burnish a presidential legacy dulled by Middle East quagmires and partisan sniping.

As Air Force One rolls to a stop, Obama will become the first sitting US president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge arrived on a battleship in 1928, before the discovery of penicillin or invention of the ballpoint pen.

With wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia in tow, Obama will tour Old Havana, sit down with Raul Castro―although not his brother Fidel―and speak directly to Cubans who have been inculcated in a lifetime of propaganda against the imperialist Yankees.

By making the high-profile hop across the 150-kilometer Straits of Florida, he will also want to dispense with tired stereotypes which Americans have of Cuba.

Obama’s strategy of pursuing economic engagement in the hope that political reforms follow depends on Americans booking holidays, trading goods and making Cuban contacts.

Yet many Americans still see Cuba as president John F. Kennedy’s “imprisoned island,” synonymous with conflagration, communism and repression.

Obama came to power seeking to unfreeze that time warp and complete the rapprochement Kennedy sought with revolutionary Cuba before he was cut down in Dallas.

Obama has sometimes found more joy negotiating with enemies than with America’s long-time allies as was the case with his landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

His strategic step back from the Middle East which he believes has been too prominent in America’s foreign policy for too long has irked the likes of Saudi Arabia.

Critics argue the results of that policy have been disastrous, claiming his withdrawal from Iraq and unwillingness to stop a brutal war in Syria have fueled the rise of the Islamic State group. AFP

WORLD

‘No bargaining over plight of refugees’ BRUSSELS—Turkish premier Ahmet Davutoglu warned there would be no “bargaining” over the plight of refugees as he entered crunch talks Friday with EU leaders about plans to curb the unprecedented numbers reaching Europe.

Day 2. Celeste Spina of Little Hurricane performs on Day 2 of SHOWTIME Roadies House at SXSW 2016 at Clive Bar. AFP

Davutoglu threw down the gauntlet to the leaders who overnight forged a common position including “red lines” that they will present to him at the talks in Brussels led by European Council President Donald Tusk.

“For Turkey, the refugee issue is not an issue of bargaining but an issue of values, humanitarian values as well as European values,” Davutoglu told reporters as he arrived for the summit.

European Union leaders agreed late Thursday on what was described as a common position but gave no new detail about the proposals, including a key provision that Turkey provide human rights guarantees for the migrants it takes back from Greece.

Europe is counting on the agreement to curb an unprecedented wave of migrants, 1.2 million of whom have arrived since the start of 2015, fueled by the war in Syria, but Turkey has made clear it will exact a heavy price for its consent.

Despite concerns in many EU states about Ankara’s rights record, it has demanded an acceleration of its longstalled bid for EU membership, billions of euros in extra aid and visa-free travel.

Critics have also raised concerns that the deal could violate international law that forbids the mass deportation of refugees.

The migrant crisis has left Europe increasingly divided, with fears that its Schengen passport-free zone could collapse as states reintroduce border controls and concerns over the rise of populist parties on anti-immigration sentiment.

Some European leaders voiced concerns that the deal -- under which the EU would take in one Syrian refugee from Turkish soil in exchange for every Syrian taken back

by Turkey from Greece -- would be illegal.

An EU-Turkey draft statement obtained by AFP refers to “Turkey’s commitment that migrants returned to Turkey will be protected in accordance with international standards”.

The aim of the “one-for-one” deal is to encourage Syrians to apply for asylum in the EU while they are still on Turkish soil, instead of taking dangerous smugglers’ boats across the Aegean Sea. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Thursday the plan was “very complicated, will be very difficult to implement and is on the edge of international law”. AFP

Seoul slams updated Japanese textbook SEOUL—South Korea on Friday protested Tokyo’s approval of updated high school textbooks that identify a cluster of small, Koreancontrolled islets as part of Japanese territory.

“We deeply deplore that Japan has approved high school textbooks that contain distorted views about history, including unjustified claims about our territory,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Dokdo islets, known as Takeshima in Japan, lie roughly halfway between South Korea and Japan in the East Sea (Sea of Japan).

“The Japanese government must

understand that a correct teaching of history is a duty, not only to its future generations, but also to neighboring countries that have suffered from Japan’s past aggression,” the statement said, urging a revision of the textbooks.

China is also embroiled in a territorial row with Japan over disputed islands controlled by Tokyo, which knows them as the Senkakus, and claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyus.

Asked about the textbooks, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters: “The essence of this issue is whether Japan can treat its history of aggression

correctly and show it to the public as it is.

“We hope that Japan can pass on a right view of history to its next generations and win back the trust of the international community with concrete actions,” he added.

South Korea and Japan reached agreement at the end of last year on their dispute over wartime sex slaves that had soured relations for decades.

Japan offered a “heartfelt apology” and a one-billion-yen ($8.3 million) payment to Korean women forced into Japanese military brothels during World War II. AFP

Explosiont. Haitians look at the damage caused by a fire after an

explosion at a gas station in Hinche, 110 km from Port-au-Prince.

At least seven people were burned and about 30 others seriously injured Thursday in Haiti by the explosion of a tanker carrying fuel for the oil company Total, according to the Haitian Civil Protection. AFP

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S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Rousseff faces impeachment SAO PAULO—Supporters of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called mass street rallies Friday in her defense, counter-attacking in a political crisis that threatens to drive her from office.

As police fired tear gas and stun grenades to keep at bay angry protesters demanding Rousseff ’s resignation late Thursday, her embattled left-wing support base mobilized.

They called rallies for Friday in more than 30 cities a chance for a

show of strength after three million people joined in anti-government demonstrations last weekend.

The rival protests followed a day of political drama as lawmakers on Thursday relaunched impeachment proceedings against Rousseff, 68.

Republic of the Philippines CITY OF SAN PEDRO Province of Laguna BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PR NO. 2016-0708 1.

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna through the 2016 Budget Approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsodintends to apply the sum of Php 4,078,260.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Supply and Delivery of Offices Supplies for Various Office/ Departments– City Government of San Pedro. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids for the following: QTY 1

UNIT lot

DESCRIPTION Office Supplies

Accounting Office Administrator’s Office Agriculture Office Architect’s Office Assessor’s Office Budget Office BJMP BPLO CENRO CFAU CHO-Sanitation CHO-Nutrition Office COA CPDC CSU CUDHO DILG DYSD Engineering Office BFP GALIC GSO JLAEH MTC Branch 1 MTC Branch 2 MTC-OCC LCR Office of the City Mayor OSCA PAIO PESO PLEB PNP POSO/TMU Population Office PWDO CHO-RHU I & II RTC Branch 31 RTC Branch 93 RTC-OCC Slaughterhouse Office SPO SPTC TCA Treasurer’s Office TRU PUP-San Pedro SPTI Comelec CSWD Prosecutor’s Office ILSP SPUR BUB-PMT CDRRMO Internal Audit Services Quality Management System Office Pharmacy Unit Xray Unit

3.

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PR NO. 2016-0576

Delivery of the Goods is required within twelve (12) months upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

In addition,bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:30AM to 9:30 AM only.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:30AM to 9:30 AM only.

Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

March 21 – April 4, 2016 8:30AM – 9:30AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm., City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

5. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before the specified date and time.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS:

April 4, 2016 10:00 AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

Bid opening shall be on the same date and time for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

6.

The City Government of San Pedro, Lagunaassumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid.

Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

The City Government of San Pedro, Lagunaassumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid.

Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

7.

For further information, please refer to: Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat San Pedro City Hall San Pedro, Laguna Telefax No. 847.1722

(signed) ENGR. FILEMON I. SIBULO Chairman Bids and Awards Committee

March 21 – April 4, 2016 8:30AM – 9:30AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna March 23, 2016

March 23, 2016

April 4, 2016 10:00 AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm.,City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna

PRE-BID CONFERENCE:

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before the specified date and time. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on the same date and time for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids for the following:

ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND BIDDING DOCUMENTS:

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS:

2.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

PRE-BID CONFERENCE:

6.

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna through the 2016 Budget Approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsodintends to apply the sum of Php 6,996,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Janitorial Services for City Hall, JLAEH and GALIC– City Government of San Pedro. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on thedate, time and address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php 10,000.00.

ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND BIDDING DOCUMENTS:

1.

Janitorial Service for City Hall, JLAEH and GALIC – City of San Pedro Laguna (12 Months Period Covered)

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on thedate, time and address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php 5,000.00.

5.

on Friday were expected in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, called by Rousseff ’s Workers’ Party, the major CUT union and other groups.

Organizers said in a statement the demonstrations aimed to fend off a “coup” and to defend Rousseff ’s social policies.

The CUT in Sao Paulo vowed the rallies would be peaceful.

Brazil grabbed world headlines in 2013 when it was gripped by mass riots against corruption and increased transport costs.

Rousseff was scheduled to attend a ceremony in northeastern Brazil to unveil a new social housing project on Friday morning.

Brazil’s lower house of Congress launched a committee Thursday to consider impeaching Rousseff over corruption accusations. AFP

Delivery of the Goods is required within thirty (30) days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

separate federal court in Rio de Janeiro upheld another lawsuit blocking Lula’s appointment.

Rousseff accused her enemies of mounting a “coup” against her.

Thursday’s events plunged Rousseff ’s government into deeper uncertainty as she struggles with public anger, economic chaos and the splintering of her coalition in congress.

Lula and Rousseff have between them governed Brazil for the past 13 years. He presided over a boom, but political and economic crises are now gripping Latin America’s biggest economy.

Anti-government protests erupted Wednesday when an anti-corruption judge leaked a wire-tapped phone call between Rousseff and Lula that suggested she appointed him to the new post to save him from arrest.

The biggest counter-demos

Republic of the Philippines CITY OF SAN PEDRO Province of Laguna BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

In addition,bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4.

The courts, meanwhile, blocked her bid to bring her powerful predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva into the cabinet.

Rousseff and her allies are fighting off corruption allegations and struggling with discontent over a deep recession.

The setbacks for the leftist leader came a day after new evidence in a corruption scandal: a wiretapped telephone call that pointed to connivance between Rousseff and her predecessor and mentor Lula.

Rousseff swore in Lula, 70, as her new chief of staff on Thursday.

A judge in Brasilia issued a ruling suspending that appointment over allegations that she was trying to protect him from corruption charges by giving him ministerial immunity.

That ruling was overturned late Thursday on appeal, but a

For further information, please refer to: Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat San Pedro City Hall San Pedro, Laguna Telefax No. 847.1722 (signed) ENGR. FILEMON I. SIBULO Chairman Bids and Awards Committee

(TS-MAR. 19, 2016)

(TS-MAR. 19, 2016)

N. Korea test-fires ballistic missiles SEOUL—North Korea test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles on Friday, just days after leader Kim Jong-Un promised a series of nuclear warhead tests and missile launches amid surging military tensions.

Friction on the divided Korean peninsula has deepened since the North carried out its fourth nuclear test on January 6, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

US defense officials said they had tracked two launches both believed to be medium-range Rodong missiles fired from road-mobile launch vehicles.

The Rodong is a scaled-up Scud variant with a maximum range of around 1,300 kilometers.

South Korean military officials said the first missile was launched from Sukchon in the country’s southwest at 5:55 am (2055 GMT Thursday) and f lew 800 kilometers before splashing down in the East Sea (Sea of Japan).

The second, fired about 20 minutes later, disappeared off radar early into its flight. AFP

S AT U R D AY : M A R C H 1 9, 2 0 1 6

PROPERTY

JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR

jdlacsamana@gmail.com

B7

Metropolis with a twist. Terrazza de Sto. Tomas, a 5.8-hectare master planned development by Ovialand, Inc. leads the communities that make Sto. Tomas, Batangas, an exciting gateway south of Metro Manila. Inspired by Italian architecture, the fast-growing ownship is located near important establishments, lifestyle destinations, road networks, and business areas. “The available infrastructure in the municipality is behind this growth,” said Fatima Olivares-Vital, business unit head of Ovialand, Inc. “The congestion in the big city capitals have urged many to look beyond the box. The charm of Sto. Tomas is that it is multi-dimensional when it comes to its growth. You have business progress, a colorful social life, and most of all a good community.”

MANILA OUTSOURCING BOOM SPURS MOST OFFICES IN QUARTER CENTURY P

Down by the river. Real estate developer CDC Holdings, Inc., recently completed

the construction and turnover of units for its newest project – the Manila Rivercity Residences in Sta. Ana, Manila. The company has built nine towers so far on the site of what was once a run-down warehouse nestled along the Pasig River. “The vision of providing value for money homes at a convenient location is now a reality with Manila Rivercity Residences,” said Elsie Chua, the company’s president and CEO. The event was highlighted with the turnover of the keys to homeowners in what is billed as one of the more dynamic communities in the area. At the turnover of one of the project’s high-rise towers, The Yangtze, were (from left to right): Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Mr Angel Ngu; past honorary president Tan Ching; and vice president Dr. Cecilio Pedro. Also present were Manila City Hall Engr. Roberto Bernardo ; Engr. Roger Legaspi; president of SEC Elevators, Suzuki Takao; and David Chua.

Visionaries at the helm. Property developer Ortigas & Co. recently announced the appointment of three new senior executives : Thomas F. Mirasol was named senior vice president and chief operating officer of the company’s residential and mixed-use developments, namely: Circulo Verde, Frontera Verde, Capitol Commons, Greenhills Shopping Center, and select projects within the Ortigas Central Business District.

Renee C. Bacani was appointed vice president and general manager of the shopping centers division. He will lead the retail front consisting of Greenhills Shopping Center, Tiendesitas, Industria at Circulo Verde, and Estancia at Capitol Commons. Davee M. Zuñiga took over as treasurer and chief finance officer. Jaime E. Ysmael is now president and chief executive officer of Ortigas & Co. Atty. Michael David I. Abundo III remains the company’s vice president and head of corporate resources division.

hilippine builders are adding the most office space in Manila in at least 26 years, catering to companies such as American Express Co. and International Business Machines Corp. that are outsourcing more jobs to the Southeast Asian nation.

About 710,000 square meters (7.6 million square feet) of office space will be built in the Philippine capital this year and more than 780,000 square meters in 2017, broker Colliers International estimates. Each is a record for work space built in a year, and combined represents a fifth of the stock at the end of 2015, according to the broker’s data stretching back to 1990.

“Demand for office space from the outsourcing sector is still very high, and we are answering this demand,” said Josefino Lucas, deputy chief operating officer of Eton Properties Philippines Inc., the real estate unit of billionaire Lucio Tan’s LT Group Inc. The flood of new office space is designed to meet demand from international corporates looking to place jobs such as auditing and information technology in countries with cheaper labor costs where call centers have traditionally driven the outsourcing boom.

Rents Pressured The new supply will cap rents and push vacancies higher, according to Colliers. Office rents won’t increase in Manila’s four biggest business districts tracked by Colliers this year, compared with an average rise of about 5 percent in 2015, the broker said. The vacancy rate is seen rising to 5.6 percent in 2016, compared with 3.4 percent last year, it said.

“While demand is seen to keep growing, the unprecedented level of new supply will exceed forecast demand, and it may take time to absorb that supply,” Julius Guevara, research director at Colliers in Manila, said.

Going up the value chain. need office space.

Manila was the number two city for business process outsourcing, known as BPO, last year, behind Bangalore in India, according to New York-based Tholons Capital’s list of top outsourcing destinations. The IT & Business Process Association Philippines, or IBPAP, estimates 2016 revenue at $25 billion, up from about $21.2 billion last year.

Rents in Manila’s central Makati business district average $230 per square meter a year, higher than the $134 per square meter in Bangalore and cheaper than $501 per square meter in Mumbai, according to broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Non-Voice Services Of about 80 percent of office space taken up by outsourcing tenants of Megaworld, the Philippines’s largest office landlord, at least 30 percent is occupied by call centers, according to the company.

Voice-related services accounted for 60 percent of office space a decade ago.

American Express this month opened its first Philippine outsourcing center for credit and fraud services, joining companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and IBM, which have placed jobs other than answering phone calls in the country.

About half of Megaworld’s 200,000 square meters of work space planned for the next two years is reserved, Go said. The demand prompted the company to increase its recurring revenue target by 1 billion pesos to 11 billion pesos for 2016, he said.

LT Group’s property unit is adding at least 200,000 square meters of office space for the next five years, said Eton Properties’ Lucas.

“Take-up of buildings we opened in 2015 has been very positive” and unveiling of new work space this year is “on track,” said Jose Emmanuel Jalandoni, senior vice president at Ayala Land Inc.

Bloomberg

BPO workers are forecasted to rise to 1.3 million this year from about 1 million in 2014. They will

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JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR jdlacsamana@gmail.com

PROPERTY

“Banging the drums.” Regional developments in Davao and Cebu are making their presence felt in the annual property event.

PHI PROPERTY TILT SEES BUMPER CROP OF ENTRIES

‘BOUTIQUE DEVELOPERS’ RECOGNIZED IN NEW CATEGORY IN 2016

By Othel V. Campos and Joel D. Lacsamana

ENTRIES to the Philippine Property Awards 2016 nearly doubled to 200 from 100 in 2015 as more small and emerging real estate firms came out in the open to compete with industry stalwarts in the upcoming property event.

This year, the annual property awards event will be also giving attention to smaller developers, springing a new category for boutique developers, in recognition of the growth of small-scale developments in the country, said stakeholders on Tuesday.a In a pre-event briefing held last week at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City, Property Guru managing director Terry Blackburn identified some of the smaller property firms shortlisted to compete in the property awards, including AppleOne Properties Inc,, and King Properties.

AppleOne Properties is a mixeduse and residential real-estate developer, while King Properties is a middle-income housing developer with three projects under its belt.

Blackburn considers property players that have two or three small developments as “boutique” developers. Lindsay J. Orr, chief operating officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines and chairman of the Property Awards’ independent

panel of judges, said the awards are more inclusive this year, as more project entries from Cebu and Davao have been submitted.

Blackburn, founder of the Asia Property, acknowledged the rise in quality, smaller developments that prompted the Philippine edition of the awards to include a Best Boutique Developer.

“We always try to reach more boutique developers. There aren’t as many here as in other countries, but we’re giving them a chance to compete among themselves,” he said.

It’s always been a category in other countries, but it’s the first time for the Philippines, and this year we’ve had quality entrants.”

The competition is usually dominated by several entries from big real estate firms such as SM Development Corp., Megaworld Corp. Vista Land, Alveo Land, Sta. Lucia Land and Century Properties Group Inc. Regional presence There are 23 categories up for

awards. These are Best Boutique Developer, Best Luxury Condo Development, Best Mid-Range Condo Development (Metro Manila), Best Affordable Condo Development (Metro Manila), Best Condo Development (Cebu), Best Housing Development (Cebu), Best Residential Development (Davao), Best Condo Development (Resort), Best Housing Development, Best Hotel Development, and Best Office Development, among others.

“Whilst there is still an emphasis in Metro Manila, there is an increase in the number of entries from Cebu and also Davao. What we need to do now is to continue to bang the drums and build the awareness for the Philippines Property Awards so that next year we make sure that we’ll have an even larger section of entries from other regions,” said Orr. Some regional firms will even compete against themselves, including Primary Homes Inc, with two nominations in the Best Condo Development (Cebu) category,

Emerging firms, industry stalwarts go head to head. Lindsay J Orr, chief operating officer, Jones Lang LaSalle Phlippines, and chairman of the independent panel of judges; Terry Blackburn, founder of the Asia Property Awards, and managing director of PropertyGuru International; and Marie Grace Ofamen, consultant, title sponsor Hansgrohe, field questions from the media at the pre-event briefing. and Cebu Land Masters, with two nods for the Best Housing Development (Cebu) award.

Major Manila-based developers are also broadening their property investments across the country.

For instance, four-time nominees Alveo Land and Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc will go up against Megaworld for the Best Residential Development (Davao).

But Metro Manila-based developers, as usual, dominate the nominations, as Andrew Tan’s Megaworld Corp. led the pack with 16 nominations across various development and design categories.

SM Group’s various subsidiaries garnered 10 nominations.

Megaworld’s top bets include the Uptown Bonifacio development

that received six nominations, spanning the retail, office architecture and luxury-condo development categories.

The SM Group’s nominations are for its commercial development arm, SM Prime Holdings, which had a strong showing in hotel, retail, and office sub-categories.

The Philippine Property Awards, now on its fourth year, is part of the regional Asia Property Awards program.

Top winners from Philippines this year will get the chance to compete with their counterparts from 8 ASEAN countries of the Asia Property Awards at the grand finals in Singapore in November at the South East Asia Property Awards 2016.x

MORE FILIPINOS EYE HOMES IN NEAR FUTURE MANY Filipinos are planning to move house or apartment in the near future, and almost 80 percent of them said their main reason for doing so is to buy their first home, according to a recent survey.

Global property website Lamudi Philippines recently released a report saying that other reasons for moving house, or apartment cited by the survey’s participants include area preference (either looking for a better area, planning to move to another city, or planning to live close to relatives) (14.66 percent), work-related relocation (2.4 percent), and proximity to schools (1.44 percent).

An overwhelming majority of the respondents said that they are looking for a house (94.86 percent), and only a small proportion are considering to buy a condo (2.42 percent) or a townhouse (1.21 percent).

More than half (55.05 percent) of the respondents cited Metro Manila as their preferred area for their property purchase, with Quezon City being the most preferred city (19.47 percent), followed by Makati (8.65 percent) and Manila (8.41 percent).

Cebu Province is the next most cited large area after Metro Manila. Almost 7 percent of the respondents said that they are plan-

ning to buy a property in Cebu. The province is followed by Cavite at 6.73 percent.

Internet savvy The survey also found that Filipino homebuyers are fast becoming internet savvy. Almost 80 percent of the surveyed participants cited the Internet as their starting point when researching about real estate. These survey participants cited real estate websites (such as online listings platforms), social media sites, and search engines as their usual starting point when researching about properties in the Internet.

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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

P oP cU LT U RE

LIFE

SummER READy

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UPdaTe yoUr sPring/sUmmer WardroBe WiTh Pieces insPired By some of oUr favoriTe chick flick characTers

he heat is on and stepping out of the shower now feels like you’re about to step into a Bikram yoga session, much more so when you head outdoors.

The weather calls for some light and airy clothing, and it’s time to put those jackets and leather back in the closet – unless you want to profusely sweat or hide in an air-conditioned room all day. Well, no one is stopping you.

Spring/Summer 2016 offers a lot of fun summery tones and cuts that still let you breathe from the heat without compromising style. We pulled some inspirations from popular chick flicks and the characters we’ve grown to love, and put together a summer ensemble that you can wear whether you’re going outdoors with friends, having coffee or going on a movie date with your BF.

hoW To Be single Dakota Johnson as Alice and Rebel Wilson as Robin

Dakota Johnson plays Alice, a newly single paralegal starting her new job at an NYC law firm; her character here is clothed far from her 50 Shades persona, and she wears dainty feminine casuals in contrast to Rebel Wilson’s character Robin, a free spirit with a rebel style who leads the misadventures of the two characters.

For Dakota: Brown hat, fuchsia sunglasses, Parisian gold strap sandals from The SM Store; Bershka floral off-shoulder mini dress; Forever21 brown belt For Rebel: Black sunglasses, pink satchel bag, gold Parisian pointed loafers, GTW printed pullover top from The SM Store; Bershka denim jeans

already TomorroW in hong kong Jamie Chung as Ruby

The Perks of Being a WallfloWer Emma Watson as Sam

Linda Farrow snakeskin sunglasses available at City of Dreams Manila; green top and floral skirt from Stradivarius; Cortefiel navy blue clutch bag; SM Accessories – necklace, earrings, rings, and Parisian white strap sandals available at The SM Store

Linda Farrow snakeskin aviator sunglasses available at City of Dreams Manila; Cortefiel printed scarf; SM Accessories’ gold bangles, Parisian metallic sandals, GTW denim shorts, all available at The SM Store; Bershka lace top Continued on C4

It’s a romantic story of a girl meeting a boy in a foreign place and falling in love. Ruby as played by young actress Jamie Chung is a Chinese-American toy designer from LA who came to Hong Kong for a business trip and met an American expat who showed her the city’s pulsing nightlife and magical landscape. Ruby’s character is feminine, classy, and stylish. For summer, take inspiration from her style and choose bold bright colors and pair with floral prints.

We all remember that unforgettable line, “We accept the love we think we deserve,” as Charlie repeats the words to Sam played by Emma Watson. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a comingof-age story about the joys of friendship, first love, and the painful pangs of life. It is also one of the movies that made us forget the Emma Watson of Hogwarts fame. Here, her character is a free spirit, lively, and magnetic to nerdy teen boys. Her style of clothing is casual with an “I-don’t-care attitude” yet girly and a little sexy for her age – well, especially to teen boys.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Summer in the Big City

By KriStel DaCumoS-lagorza

W

But there is a way to enjoy the summer in the comforts of the city, while fulfilling your thrill for adventure.

Here are a few fun and unique activities that will make you say “Yes!” to staying in the metro.

let me outta here! teSt your SKillS in Solving mySterieS

Fees are P650 per if five persons are booked, P750 for four persons, P850 for three persons, and P1000 for only two.

e all dream of the cool waters of the beach and the quiet escape from the big city. But with people flying out of the country or making their way to the nearby beaches, many of us aren’t too thrilled at the idea of joining the carmageddon that’s bound to hold NAIA, NLEX and SLEX at a standstill.

With 210 opened rooms worldwide, Escape Hunt Manila lets you practice your deductive skills in order to escape a “fun” room. It’s a “choose-your-own-adventure” type of night as you are given choices from among three mysteries: a jewel heist at the resort, murder at home, or trapped in a spa. Bring your closest friends and family, and learn to work together as you solve clues and piece together puzzles in order to escape within 60 minutes.

unDer the Sea: Be a mermaiD for a Day

Dip and dive, and sign up for classes at the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy (PMSA). Not only do they have branches in Manila, PMSA can also be found in Cebu, Boracay, and Anilao, Batangas. Depending on which branch you choose, PMSA can offer a 90-minute introductory class for P2,500, a four-hour scuba session for the more advanced, and a 30-minute photoshoot with your mermaid tail.

This is an awesome treat for your family especially if you have young kids. Delighting your daughters further, PMSA also has an array of colors and designs for you to choose from. They even offer a mermaid makeover, so that kids will truly feel and be part of Ariel’s world.

Visit Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy at Makati Sports Club, Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati; or at Celebrity Sports Club, Quezon City. For inquiries and other information, contact: +63 917 845 2752 or +63 922 845 2752 or karlaf@mozcom.com.

the Write Way: learn CalligraPhy

For something less physical and more creative, Ink Scribbler offers a good alternative to while away the time. Not just for kids, the calligraphy workshop helps you hone your decorative skills, and learn the lost art of lettering.

Be inspired and try your hand at making stylish monograms, personalized notecards, and decorative wall quotes, which will keep you entertained for hours.

The basic workshop costs P2,000, inclusive of a nib, holder, bottle of ink, worksheets, clipboard and some snacks.

Check out the Ink Scribbler at 408 Henrys Building, Greenhills, San Juan City with telephone number (02) 721 083. You may also email hello@inkscribbler.com.

CamP in Style: glamPing

Just a few hours away from Metro Manila, tucked in a quiet corner of Tagaytay is the Nurture Wellness Village. Already known for its beautiful accommodations and superb massage offerings, Nurture Wellness Village offers something even more unique for individuals who want to go camping without giving up the comforts of good food and great ambience.

Sleep in a well-ventilated tent while you gaze up at the stars or the beautiful canopy of trees. For your convenience, butlers are on standby to help you light your bonfire and to teach your family old-school games.

For a 22-hour overnight stay, the rate is P3,190 per person, minimum of two persons.

Nurture Wellness Village is in Pulong Sagingan, Barangay Maitim II West Cavite, Tagaytay with contact numbers +63 918 888 8772 or +63 2 710 9786. You may also email info@nurture.com.ph.

Escape Hunt Manila is at 5773 Ebro Street, Barangay Poblacion, Makati City.

Contact +63 (2) 751 9124 or +63 915 596 8989 or manila@escapehunt.com for more information.

leaP of faith: JumP anD fly

Get your kids off the couch and have them leap for joy at Jump Yard, the first indoor trampoline park in the Philippines.

Jump Yard offers many activities made more fun because of the trampolines, such as Dodge Ball, Cage Ball, and Slam Dunk Basketball. They also have a foam pit where you can try climbing, crossing balance beams and monkey bars, and swinging from one foam bag to another.

Rates are P250 an hour per jumper from Monday to Thursday (except holidays); and P350 an hour per jumper from Friday to Sunday including holidays.

Jump Yard (beside Fun Ranch) is located at Frontera Verde Complex, Ortigas Ave. cor. C5, Pasig City. For more details, call (02) 544 0703.

reDiSCover the City: eat your Way arounD the WorlD

Culture Shock PH promises to take you on a culinary journey around the world in one city. And guess which (surprising) city that is – Makati! Gain a new appreciation for the business district as the hip and young guides of Culture Shock PH allow you to savor the flavors of India, the Mediterranean, Africa, Korea, Mexico and many more countries as you hop from one food district to another.

The walking tour takes around four hours, and the price is P1,200 per head. Eat your way to happiness and enlightenment through Culture Shock PH. For more information, visit www.cultureshockph.com.

get reaD-y: Bring out the BooKWorm in you

Tuck away your gadgets, feel the satisfaction of turning a crisp page with your fingers, and settle down for a good read in this library-concept cafe. Unfortunately, reading has become a lost art, what with our cell phones and smart tablets that have made it almost impossible for us to pry ourselves from our social media accounts. Here, take a step forward in re-learning to sit back, relax, and travel to worlds hidden in the pages of a book.

Take a pick from a wide selection of recent releases, bestsellers and many other books which are waiting on the shelves. Book & Borders Cafe serves hot teas and signature coffee blends, as well as some refreshing juices and shakes. If you’re in want for something more satisfying, their menu offers an array of delicious sandwiches, pastas, and even rice meals.

With colorful comfortable seating, enjoy the day immersed in your book, whether you’re alone or with someone else.

Book & Borders Café is located at 281 Tomas Morato Street, Diliman, Quezon City. Call telephone number (02) 375 1213. You may also visit Unit RC-RCM, RD-RDM, BLDG. 5, Tuscany, Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City or dial (02) 835 5451 for additional information.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

It’s BEAch sEAsOn OncE AgAIn THE GIST

h

By ED BIADO

ere in the Philippines, there is only one question that needs to be answered when summer approaches: Do we go up the mountains where there’s respite from the sweltering heat or head to the beach where we can wear as little clothing as possible?

For most Filipinos, the beach is the obvious answer. There are after all thousands of islands that make up this archipelago, each with its own shore and coastline – a lot of which are pristine, untouched and awe-inspiringly beautiful. It just makes sense that we’d spend our vacation days lounging on the sand and getting that golden tan of the islands.

Beach culture here at home caters to everyone – from adventure seekers to thrifty travelers to partygoers to grandparents on their 50th wedding anniversary. There’s definitely a beach to fit every need, want, budget and persuasion.

Arguably the most hyped up scene is that of the party beach. Of course, leading this pack is Boracay, the pride of the country and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It’s a perennial favorite hotspot for hip Manila folk wanting to take the city’s club scene to the shore.

It’s literally party central during Holy Week and Labor Day (which is affectionately called Laboracay), with thousands of city dwellers flying off to the island paradise for a few days of fun, sunshine and overall hedonism.

(While the point of this story is to usher in this year’s beach season, it would be remiss to not note that the over-commercialism of once-undiscovered gems like Boracay severely unbalances and causes irreparable damage to the ecosystem. In fact, just a little over 20 years of tourism activities on Boracay diminished its coral cover by almost 71 percent. We love our little sliver of white sand, don’t we? So it should be up to us to make sure that we’ll still have it for a long time.)

Another thing about high-profile beach destinations being frequented by the hip and young is that they are trendy. No one will be caught dead frolicking in last season’s swimsuit styles. Or worse, the exact same bikini you were photographed in the exact same time last year. For shame! (LOL) It’s all about what’s hot and what’s new. Planning (and purchasing the bulk of) your four-day tropical wardrobe is a chore and event in itself. Every detail is meticulously set in place in order to achieve the quintessential island boy/girl look.

In fact, preparations start as early as New Year’s Day. Having gained all that holiday weight, one is pressured to get back to the gym as soon as January arrives so that one will have that perfectly ripped beach-ready body come mid-March, the unofficial start of beach season. But what’s it all worth if no one will see it as it happens in real time? Thus, the #mandatory #daily #bodycheck #mirrorselfie post on Instagram.

Even tanning is based on trends. We’ve done deep-and-dark, red-and-flushed, tank top lines, and Speedo lines. I think we’re back to sun-kissed perfection this year, perhaps due to the fact that we’ve all finally learned the dangers of sun overexposure and really, the noontime rays these days are just too harsh to bear.

As far as activities go, it’s also about what everybody else is into at the moment. One recent year, poi and fire dancing was all the rage. The next year, it was surfing. Yes, Manila’s young and beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) were taking lessons in droves – at Ayala Triangle and Burgos Circle for poi and Luke Landrigan’s La Union resort for surfing.

So what are these year’s beach trends? Take a walk along the shore and find out yourself.

It’s time.

I’m @EdBiado on Twitter and Instagram

An awe-inspiring sunset by the beach

Taking the club scene to the shore

Indulge in watersports this summer

Bask under the sun and get a golden tan

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SUmmER READY From C1

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Love, Rosie Lily Collins as Rosie Dunne

Love, Rosie is one of those movies where you wish the characters just told each other what they feel to stop the torment and avoided the bad relationships that were not meant

@LIFEatStandard

for them anyway. Lily Collins' character Rosie has a sweet feminine personality. Her wardrobe staple would consist of romantic flouncy dresses, gypsy tops paired with pants or shorts, loose comfortable tops paired with trousers perfect for a summer wear collection.

Brown wide brim bow hat from LCP; Bershka white bohemian top; blue stripe shorts, and white aviator sunglasses both from Zara; printed scarf from Elise Chalmin collection at Promod; brown fringe bag, Parisian white flat shoes all available at The SM Store

PaPeR Towns Cara Delevingne as Margo

The ChoiCe Teresa Palmer as Gabby

Plaid baseball hat, gray backpack bag, GTW Short denim jumper all from The SM Store; Zara brown aviator sunglasses; Stradivarius white lace top

Black bikini top from South Sartorial; Aviator sunglasses, white beach pants, striped Parisian espadrille sandals all available at The SM Store

Paper Towns is the third young adult novel written by John Green and was recently shown on the big screen with a breakout performance by Cara Delevingne playing the role of Margo, which as some say is so much like her real life character. Once again, there goes an unconventionally attractive fantasy girl whose only purpose is to stir the innocent blood of a young male and make him go cray-cray on the way to adulthood. They call this character the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, that mystery cool girl that teenage boys long to be in a romantic relationship with. Margo’s style is a little tomboyish, but there’s a girly subtlety and an almost sexy appeal.

The Choice is an American romantic drama based on Nicholas Sparks’ 2007 novel of the same title about two neighbors who fall in love. As with all of Sparks' characters, they always defy the odds, and give all of us a reason to run after Kleenex tissues. We will not give you spoilers as it is a new film and you might want to watch it before we talk about it. Anyway, the film setting is in a small coastal town, breezy and very laid back.

Gabby, Teresa Palmer’s character, just moved in and she’s the typical girl next door whose wardrobe staple is composed of loose trousers, tanks, casual dresses, and breezy shorts.

Creative DireCtion by tatum anCheta • Photos by star sabroso • styling by noreen Claire lim legasPi, assisteD by CrisCel bobis • shot on loCation at Crown towers manila, City of Dreams • sPeCial thanks to ms. Charisse ChuiDian, franCine Dayrit, anD Crizelle gloria

LCP is available at its flagship boutique located at 10th Avenue corner 39th Street, BGC. You may also check their online store once it launches this month at www.shoplcp.com.

South Sartorial is available online at www.southsartorial.com starting on March 20.

SAt uRDAy : m A RcH 19, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Broadcast journalist Karen Davila (third from left) receiving her awards for Best Am Radio Female Personality and Best Female News Anchor

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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Actress and “It’s Showtime” host Anne curtis (center) accepts the trophy for Best celebrity Advocacy for her work as uNcIEF ambassador

KapamIlya wIns BEsT Tv sTaTIOn agaIn

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BS-CBN Corporation continues to dominate student award-giving bodies by hauling in a total of 43 recognitions including two Best TV Station awards from the 3rd Paragala Awards and the 3rd UmalohokJUAN Awards this month.

Of the 43 awards, 16 came from the Paragala ceremonies, 17 from the UmalohokJUAN, and 10 from the 7th NSCART Awards.

The Paragala Central Luzon Media Awards is composed of 31 schools in Region III and is on its third year of handing out awards to the media. The Kapamilya network’s news arm earned citations from the 3rd Paragala Awards, like Best Male Field Reporter (Atom Araullo), Best Female Morning Show Host, Bernadette Sembrano of Umagang Kay Ganda that also bagged the Best Morning Show prize, and Best Educational Program (Matanglawin).

The network’s top-rating entertainment programs and artists also got much love from the youth of Central Luzon. Groundbreaking series Forevermore won Best Teleserye, Maalaala Mo Kaya, Best Drama Anthology, Gandang Gabi Vice, Best Celebrity Talk TV Show, Aquino and Abunda Tonight, Best Showbiz-Oriented Show, and ASAP, Best Musical Variety Show.

ABS-CBN personalities and celebrities were all given due recognition – Vice Ganda, (Best Talk Show Host, Best Noontime Show Host, and a Hall of Fame award, Boy Abunda (Best Showbiz-Oriented Show Host) Forevermore leading man Enrique Gil (Best TV Actor), and Maja Salvador (Best TV Actress for her role in Bridges of Love).

ABS-CBN Pampanga also took home the Best Local TV Station award that night.

Meanwhile, the UmalohokJUAN Awards established by Lyceum of the Philippines University gives due recognition to media practitioners on radio and television.

ABS-CBN’s brave and truth-seeking journalists and programs triumphed after being given Best AM Radio Station

(DZMM), Best News Program (TV Patrol), Best Female AM Personality and Best Female News Anchor (Karen Davila), Best AM Radio News Program (Kabayan), Best Male News Anchor (Ted Failon), Best Public Service Program (SOCO), and Best AM Radio Public Service Program (Aksyon Ngayon).

Meanwhile, the school gave the following additional honors for entertainment: Best Entertainment Program (Gandang Gabi Vice), Best Male TV Host (Vice Ganda), and Best Female TV Host (Toni Gonzaga), Best Youth-Oriented Program (Wansapanataym), Best Child Performer (Xymon Pineda of FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano), Best TV Actress (Jodi Sta. Maria for her role in Pangako Sa’Yo), and Best TV Actor (Coco Martin). It’s Showtime’s Anne Curtis was also given Best Celebrity Advocacy for her work as a UNICEF ambassador.

At the 7th NSCART awards, the first and only radio and television awards in Visayas, the students and judging panel gave the Kapamilya network the following awards: Best Actor in Primetime Teleserye (Coco Martin), Best Actress in Primetime Teleserye (Bea Alonzo), Best Supporting Actor in Primetime Teleserye (Ian Veneracion), Best Male Child Star (Zaijan Jaranilla), Best Primetime Teleserye (Forevermore), Best Talk Show (Gandang Gabi Vice), Best Educational Program (Matanglawin), Best Drama Anthology (Maalaala Mo Kaya), Best Reality Show (Pinoy Big Brother 737), and Best Business Oriented Program (My Puhunan).

The Best TV Station awards from the 3rd UmalohokJUAN and the 3rd Paragala Awards mark the third and fourth time the network has been given such recognition for the year. “We are glad that these student award-giving bodies recognize our continued efforts to put out programs that help teach them values and the tireless effort of the company to be of service to the Filipino people,” said ABS-CBN Integrated Corporate Communications head Kane Choa.

maja Salvador accepts the trophy for Best television Actress plum at the 3rd Paragala Awards for her role in “Bridges of Love”

comedian Vice Ganda receives his Hall of Fame award, along with Best talk Show Host and Best Noontime Show Host at the 3rd Paragala Awards

ABS-cBN Integrated corporate communications head Kane choa (center) and actress Anne curtis (fourth from left) receive Best tV Station award for ABS-cBN at the umalohokJuAN 2016 Awards

Intergrated corcomm head Kane choa delivering a speech while accepting the Best National tV Station award for ABS-cBN corporation

ABS-cBN news personalities Julius Babao, Gas Abelgas and Karen Davila receive the award Best Am Radio Station for DZmm

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SAt uRDAy : m A RcH 19, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

“miss Saigon” alumni Joanna Ampil, Lea Salonga and Rachelle Ann Go

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“miss Saigon” former cast members carla Guevara-Laforteza, Leo Valdez and Pinky Amador

ORIgInal FlIpInO casT mEmbERs shaRE ‘mIss saIgOn’ mEmORIEs

ea Salonga, the musical’s first Kim, says Miss Saigon showed the world how reliable, dependable the Filipino artist is, and that’s apart form the fact that he or she is able to interpret musical theater with the best of the musical world.

“We are artistically right up there, and it makes me proud when any one of us gets that moment in the sun on the international stage. To see many of my friends in the West End and on Broadway makes my heart feel full,” says Lea, who went on to win major awards for her performance.

Isay Alvarez played the original Gigi to Lea’s Kim. She too, is grateful that Miss Saigon paved the way for Pinoy artists to be recognized all over the world.

“Being in the musical was both fun and challenging,” says Isay and add, “One of the hardest things was learning to work with the sheet music.”

“Our counterparts read notes on sight. But the Pinoys were ingenious,” laughs Isay. “We brought our trusted tape recorders. In terms of adjustments (that we had to make), I’d say understanding the ways of our co-actors and production staff helped. Coming from a dif-

ferent culture was one thing, but they were understanding and Miss Saigon was a very mixed cast anyway.”

The auditions were also fun, but nerve-wracking. It was the first big test they all had to face.

“I was quite nervous, but during that time I was young and eager and my dreams were bursting out of my pores,” recalls Isay. “And to have the Cameron Mackintosh group in the audience was very exciting. They were very professional, and the English are proper anyway, and not intimidating at all. I should say they were very accommodating and I think they were really impressed that they found a mine of talents. They went to many cities and realized that Manila had what they needed.”

However, Carla Guevara-Laforteza says that passing the auditions was just the beginning.

“When we passed, we became scholars of the ‘Saigon School’ wherein we were taught the songs and the choreography of the show.

From there, we were handpicked on who would be assigned to go to what production (UK, Australia, Germany, and so on). Those chosen for Germany were required to learn

the show in German.”

Of course, adjusting to a whole new lifestyle was part of the deal.

Lea had to give up her ‘sheltered’ life to be able to do the things she did there. “The toughest adjustment was just living a less-than-sheltered life. In Manila, all I had to worry about was school and whatever work I happened to be doing. Now, I had to learn how to take public transportation, and write checks for the monthly utilities, in addition to study my music, dialogue, and figure out how to do kissing scenes with a romantic opposite for the first time.

Now, #TeamMissSaigon is back and looking for new talent. Auditions are presently ongoing with Atlantis Productions helping to coordinate the search.

Lea, Isay, Carla and other Miss Saigon alumni have words of encouragement and advice for those considering trying out for the musical.

The first thing, says Pinky Amador, is to realize that sure, it’s fun and it’s an honor to be chosen from among so many artists, but it’s also all about hard work and dedication from the moment one

sets foot on the audition stage.

Her advice is to keep in mind that it just isn’t the best singers who make it.

“I have always maintained that in the end, the choices aren’t just all about the best voices. They are about the best WORKERS. Remember, you will be working far away from home and facing many personal and artistic challenges. So they need to know that they can trust you. Be professional in every way. Show them they can invest you. Look at everyone they chose: they’re all people with high standards, all exacting and all with impeccable work ethic.”

As always, Lea’s advice is to be professional, even when one is just auditioning.

“First and foremost, show up prepared. Second, show up BEFORE your appointed time.

Third, have fun! Enjoy the experience for what it’s worth. You may or may not get the job, but at least you can say you sang for some of the best creative forces in the world. That’s a pretty huge deal in and of itself.”

For more information contact (0995) 5348371 or like the MISS SAIGON 2016 AUDITIONS page on Facebook.

Alpa Land and BPI turnover homes in mindoro Recently, Habitat for Humanity Philippines in partnership with Alpa Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and the Reyes family of Pinamalayan, turned over 68 homes to local government employees, and seven homes to public school teachers in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.

“As part of our BPI (Build-Promote-Improve) for Teachers Program, and with the valuable partnership of Habitat, we were

able to build 99 of the 150 homes for public school teachers. More than providing decent housing, Habitat restores the dignity of the marginalized. Through Habitat, we hope to empower and support more teachers in the future as they are the true pillars of our educational system,” Faye Concuera, executive director of BPI Foundation said.

The homes were turned over in a simple ceremony to the Guadalupe community’s Home

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Bill, briefly 5 Chirp 9 Route follower 12 Great Lakes state 13 Old Rome’s port 15 Judge’s bench 16 Hit the horn 17 River rapids 18 Banff’s prov. (var.)

19 Drive-through requests

21 Mirage 23 Roulette color 25 Nail the quarterback 26 Blank space 29 Ski lift (hyph.)

31 Dirty politics 35 Pop singer — Grant 36 Funny bone 38 Hindu’s true self 39 Canasta play

41 Egads!

43 Apartment mgr.

44 WWII movie staple (hyph.)

46 Ocean trenches 48 Paramedic’s skill 49 Single-file 51 Mini-play 52 Boastful knight 53 Campus figure 55 Sawmill discard 57 Encroaches 61 Half of a song 65 Very dry 66 Pop’s — Vanilli 68 Churchill successor 69 Gen. — Halftrack 70 Sci-fi thriller 71 TV’s Hawkeye 72 Down for the count 73 — Monster (Godzilla foe) 74 Hang onto DOWN 1 NYC district 2 Thursday’s god 3 — over matter 4 Subway fare 5 Could be 6 NASA counterpart 7 Sewing kit 8 Dosage units 9 Java neighbor 10 A law — itself

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2016

11 CAT picture 14 Strongman of myth 15 Hoops 20 From memory 22 NCAA Bruins 24 Beyond zealous 26 Full range 27 Pseudopod possessor (var.)

28 Bridge tower 30 Captures a bronco 32 One way to run? (var.)

33 Moon Unit — 34 Doorway 37 Year fractions 40 Papas 42 Overflowing 45 Summer job seeker 47 Linger awhile 50 Fluid rock 54 Simon and Diamond 56 Coffee — 57 Baroness Karen 58 Post-it message 59 Nudge 60 Willowy 62 Like some fears 63 Grant territory 64 Cold spell 67 Before Virgo

Owners’ Association with the local government officials of Pinamalayan.

Habitat is addressing the housing need in Mindoro where a big number of families live in sub-standard houses and shanties highly prone to damage due to storms.

“We believe in their cause and their efforts.

We believe in the values that propel them to go where the greatest needs are. We stand with Habitat,” Al McWalter D. Lim, Alpa Land gen-

eral manager said.

More than 400 homes will be built for families in Pinamalayan, Mindoro this April.

“We look forward to helping further more families in need, particularly in Mindoro. We are grateful to our generous partners who are building more sustainable Filipino communities, and transforming the lives of our fellow countrymen in need,” Charlie Ayco, Habitat Philippines’ managing director and CEO said.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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MORE awaRDs fOR KapusO nETwORK

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MA Network further strengthens its stature as the leading and most trusted broadcast company in the Philippines, bringing home various awards from St. Scholastica’s College and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

In a ceremony held on March 8 at St. Scholastica’s College-Manila, investigative journalist Malou Mangahas was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Hildegarde Awards for Women in Media and Communication.

Mangahas was recognized for her invaluable contribution in media through the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and Investigative Documentaries aired every Thursday night on GMA News TV. St. Scholastica’s College cited Mangahas’ dedication to give children, women, indigenous people, migrant laborers, and the urban poor the same attention they deserve in mainstream media.

Meanwhile, award-winning documentary programs Front Row and Reel Time were both chosen to receive the Outstanding Achievements in Broadcast Journalism award for sharing stories that reflect present day situations that are not only eye-opening but inspiring as well. St. Scholastica’s College saw how these shows have given voice to many people whose stories need to be heard and be recognized—stories that inspire and show the Filipinos’ strength and resiliency in the face of life’s trials.

Investigative journalist malou mangahas

the “Front Row” winning team (from left) Executive Producer Jc Rubio, researcher Princess Suyat and producer Ian carlos Simbulan

The Hildegarde Award are given in honor of St. Hildegarde von Bingen of Germany, considered a feminist in the patriarchal era of medieval Europe.

On Feb. 29, Front Row was selected as the sole recipient of this year’s Ani ng Dangal (Harvest of Honors) for Broadcast

Arts given by NCCA inrecognition the show’s achievement in winning multiple international awards for its documentary on ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) in 2015. The documentary won a Gold World Medal as Best Public Affairs Program in the 2015 New York Festivals and

ogie Alcasid wants to be Grace Poe’s cheerleader In the next Presidential debate tomorrow on TV5 live from Cebu City, singer/ songwriter Ogie Alcasid is volunteering to be the cheerleader for presidential candidate Grace Poe. Ogie failed to watch the first debate in Cagayan de Oro televised live on GMA

Network because he was in Australia then visiting his children with ex-wife Michelle van Eimeren.

“Sayang, hindi ko nga napanood ‘yung debate kasi nasa Australia ako, pero from what I saw, I think she did very well, so ‘yung susunod is with

Australian-American actor Simon Baker plays the lead role in the global hit series

TV5 and I’m excited to go to Cebu. I want to be there to give moral support to Grace,” Ogie said during the press conference for Happy Truck HAPPinas on TV5.

Tomorrow’s debate will be held at the University of the Philippines Cebu.

Simon Baker and Robin tunney in a scene from the final season of “the mentalist”

earned a Gold Camera Award in addition to winning the One World Award in the 2015 U.S. International Film and Video Festival (USIFVF).

NCCA honored other Kapuso personalities as well. Receiving an award for the third time, Superstar Nora Aunor was cited for her contribution to Philippine cinema. Aunor currently plays the role of Lola Annie on GMA’s Little Nanay. Rachel Ann Go was recognized for her role in dramatics arts.

Two Front Row documentarians were also lauded. Creative consultant Joseph Israel Laban was cited in the Cinema Category for Nuwebe, shown at the Cinemalaya 2013. The film earned him the Best Director nod in the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards (AIFFA) held in Malaysia in 2015. Another Front Row executive producer, Roderick Cabrido, was cited for the same category. Cabrido also directed a film for the Cinemalaya entitled Children’s Show in 2014. The film won the Special Jury Award in the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Portugal in 2015 and earned Cabrido a Best Director award in the Fantastic Cinema Film Festival in Arkansas, U.S. in 2015.

Through “Ani ng Dangal”, NCCA recognizes individuals who have earned international awards and accolades during the past year. The annual event concludes the Commission’s celebration of National Arts Month.

Divas in ‘nashville’ return Critically acclaimed country musical TV series Nashville returns for its 4th Season.

Known for naming each episode after country songs, this series follows the lives of country singers on and off the stage. Starring Connie Britton as a country music celebrity whose star has begun fading, and Hayden Panetierre, as the toast of the industry.

Season 3 ended with a cliffhanger, with viewers wondering if Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten) died. The series is already known to be an emotional roller coaster ride.

Rayna James’ (Britton) love life will quickly unfold early into season 4. With her career seemingly back on track, will she finally have everything by finding “the One?” Meanwhile, Juliette Barnes (Panetierre), is still a huge star at the top of her game but things seem a bit different off stage.

Follow the latest season on the lives of these two country divas on Sony Channel, premiering on Monday at 8:50 p.m. on Sony Channel.

Sony Channel is seen on SKYCable Channel 35, Cignal Digital TV Channel 60, Destiny Cable Channel 62, Cable Link Channel 39.

‘tHE mEntAlISt’ FInAl SEASon

The seventh and final season of The Mentalist kicks off this March on Warner TV. As Patrick Jane (played by Simon Baker) finally confesses his love for Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney), but will we finally see a romance unfolding between the two?

The Mentalist follows the story of Jane, a psychic-turned-consultant of the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp observation skills and psychological manipulation. As Jane is notoriously known for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium, CBI Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon

openly resists having him in her team at first but lets him join after eventually recognizing Jane’s skills.

After leaving the CBI in season six, Jane spent two years off the grid after tracking down and killing his nemesis, Red John — the serial killer who murdered his wife and daughter. He returns to Austin, Texas to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a consultant under a contract organized by FBI Agent Dennis Abbott (Rockmond Dunbar) and convinces Lisbon to join him. They work alongside former CBI agent Kimball Cho (Tim Kang), FBI analyst Jason Wylie (Joe Adler) and young, ambitious Agent Mi-

chelle Vega (Josie Loren) to investigate the murder of an undercover agent.

The sixth season wraps up with Jane realizing his affection for Lisbon and confessing his feelings. Lisbon accepts Jane’s confession, making them partners in both their professional and personal lives. Will Jane and Lisbon officially announce the start of their romantic relationship or will they choose to keep it a secret from their colleagues? How would their relationship affect their work in the FBI? Find out in the seventh and last season of The Mentalist, premiering on Wednesday, March 30, 9:50 p.m. on Warner TV

nashville cast connie Britton, Hayden Panetierre and charles Esten

sat urday : m a rch 19, 2016

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Isah V. rEd EDITOR NIcKIE WaNG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

TRuTh unfOlDs In lasT TWO WEEks Of ‘YOu’RE MY hOME’ ISAH V. RED

t

he Fontanillas have seemingly and finally picked up the pieces to rebuild their shattered home, but it might not be enough as an undeniable thing from the past comes back to haunt them in the last two weeks of the country’s late-night habit You’re My Home.

Years after the disappearance of Vince (Paul Salas) that ruined their family, love wins for Gabriel (Richard Gomez) and Marian (Dawn Zulueta), who recently decided to get back together and get married again.

Better days are also coming for Christian (JC De Vera), who has finally been accepted into the family as he is set to marry Grace (Jessy Mendiola).

The Fontanilla family is further brought together by Grace’s pregnancy, although Christian is still struggling to convince his parents, especially his father Victor (Tonton Guttierez) Vergara, to accept their relationship.

But no one is really spared from the truth, especially that Vince’s memory is bound to piece together details of his kidnapping.

Who really kidnapped Vince? Will the truth break apart the family that was once ruined by this incident? How does it affect

the Fontanillas and the Vergaras?

Meanwhile, Richard and Dawn shared what lessons they learned from the show that they want to share with viewers.

“Never give up on love, especially your children. If they make mistakes, we can correct or help them. Up until the end, we should not abandon them,” shared Richard.

Dawn, meanwhile, said, “I learned the value of love, protecting each other. That even though our loved ones made a mistake, we should always be there to support them.”

Jessy and JC, on the other hand, are thankful to fans who have gotten hooked on the love story of their characters, now known as “GraceTian.”

“Every time na nanonood ako ng You’re My Home, kinikilig din ako kay Christian at Grace. I fell in love with their characters, and their love story is really romantic. To all GraceTians, thank you so much, because we as actors get inspired to act because we know they get kilig from us,” said JC. “We want to thank those who stay up late to watch our show. The fact that they stay up late to wait for us and our show is heartwarming. We did not expect it would get high ratings and that our characters and the story would make a mark on them,” shared Jessy.

Tune in to the last two weeks of You’re My Home weeknights after The Story of Us on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.

For exclusive updates, log onto Twitter. com/StarCreativesTV and Instagram.com/ StarCreativesTV.

actor and “you’re my home” star richard Gomez

“you’re my home” cast members Jessy mendiola, dawn Zulueta and Jc de Vera

PGt hopeful gets ‘golden buzzer’ Twenty seven-year-old contortionist Mark Dune Basmayor just passed through the first round of competition, but it’s as if he already won the worldclass talent search Pilipinas Got Talent.

Because of Mark’s amazing body contortion skills, judge Freddie “FMG” Garcia chose him as his Golden Buzzer act this season, which means he automatically proceeds to the semi-finals.

Mark Dune’s luck didn’t stop there because Vice Ganda, upon learning that he and his girlfriend want to get married

before she gives birth to their first child, said that he would pay for their wedding, including the reception.

The lucky PGT hopeful, who juggles multiple jobs in hopes of providing his soon-tobe family a good life, tearfully thanked the judges for their kind words and gesture.

Pilipinas Got Talent airs Saturdays night after MMK, and every Sunday after Rated K on ABS-CBN. For updates, follow @officialPGT5 on Instagram and Twitter or like www.facebook.com/officialPGT on Facebook.

mark dune Basmayor before PGt judges Vice Ganda, robin Padilla, angel Locsin and Freddie Garcia

Golden Buzzer act mark dune Basmayor

mark dune Basmayor shows off his exceptional contortion skill

mark dune Basmayor and wife

horsing around: angel Locsin teases FmG after the latter presses the Golden Buzzer