The Standard - 2016 April 4 - Monday

VOL. XXX NO. 51 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONDAY : APRIL 4, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

One Cebu decides to back Duterte

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CHR: FARMERS ON THEIR KNEES SHOT

By Rio N. Araja and Christine F. Herrera

THE director of the Commission on Human Rights for Region 12 said Sunday police in Kidapawan City who fired their weapons at protesting farmers had clearly violated their human rights.

“There were violations of human rights and the United Nations guidelines on the use of force by the law enforcers. The farmers were already on their knees when shot by policemen,” said CHR Re-

gion 12 Director Erlan Deluvio.

Deluvio said five members of the regional CHR team had gone to Kidapawan City to investigate the incident.

“We were able to gather infor-

mation, witnesses and affidavits sworn under oath. We have a formal report,” he said.

Television footage of the violent dispersal showed a prima facie case of human rights abuses that the policemen were the assailants, he said.

He added, however, that the CHR team has yet to get the side of the police, or examine the culpability of the provincial police director or even the chief of the Philippine National Police under the doctrine of command responsibility.

About 6,000 farmers and lumad blocked the Davao-Cotabato Highway to dramatize their demand for the immediate release of calamity funds and 15,000 sacks of rice because they were starving as a result of the drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

The protesters said instead of getting rice, they received bullets, water cannons and batons.

They claimed the firing began when Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista arrived at the protest site.

Deluvio said the failure of the government to provide the farmers with food amid severe hunger is also a human rights violation.

“There is negligence, too, on the part of the local officials. Food deprivation is a violation of human rights. For their part, these officials should have primarily addressed the problem of hunger. If we cannot force them to give food provision [from their own funds], they must have taken other actions. There are other ways to seek food aid,” he said.

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Stand-off. Heavily armed police forces block around 300 farmers from Makilala, North Cotabato, who wish to go to the Spottwoods United Methodist Church compound in Kidapawan City to seek food relief due to the drought.

Aquino refuses aid for Tacloban

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Lights out at Terminal 3: 14,000 miss flights A POWER outage plunged the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 into darkness overnight, forcing flight cancellations that stranded thousands on Sunday.

As many as 78 flights by the country’s largest carrier Cebu Pacific were canceled, affecting nearly 14,000 passengers, the company said in a statement.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines also

said some of its flights were cancelled or delayed but could not immediately say how many.

The blackout hit Terminal 3, which services mostly domestic flights, late on Saturday and power was not restored until before dawn on Sunday.

Exhausted passengers sprawled on the floor as check-in counters and luggage carousels shut down. Long queues

formed outside the terminal as entrances were closed until power was restored.

Terminal 3 handles an average of 350 domestic and international flights daily, according to data from the Transportation Department.

It is one of four terminals in a complex that was once dubbed by the travel website Guide to Sleeping in Airports as the Next page

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A2 Lights...

From A1 world’s worst due to leaking toilets and creaking facilities.

“We are looking into the root cause of this problem,” Terminal 3 general manager Octavio Lina told dzMM radio.

Manila power retailer Meralco said a transmission line tripped briefly but was restored in minutes, suggesting that the problem could be with the airport’s systems. Airport officials, on the other hand, said full power was not restored until 2 a.m. Sunday.

The four Manila airport terminals were designed for 17 million passengers annually, but overuse has made the airport notorious for flight delays.

Plans to build a new airport outside Manila have not materialized under Aquino. An excruciatingly slow infrastructure overhaul has led to chronic commuter train breakdowns and traffic jams.

The power outage hit 8:45 p.m. on Saturday. The terminal’s standby generator set could only sustain the lights.

X-ray machines and the computers used by the different airlines operating at Terminal 3 were knocked out of commission until regular power was restored.

Immigration personnel had to process international passengers manually, while health officials had to rely on a portable thermal scanner to clear incoming international passengers.

Security personnel had a hard time inspecting luggage of departing passengers, causing long queues at the entrance gates.

About 31 flights were affected Saturday evening, and holding time for flights was over an hour.

Two Cebu Pacific flights were canceled—5J467 Manila-Iloilo and 5J579 Manila-Cebu—while three international flights were delayed.

On Sunday morning, 36 flights for Cebu Pacific were canceled and two more international flights were delayed.

A spokesman of Meralco, Joe Zaldariagga, told radio dzBB that they double-checked and were sure that there was no tripping on their side, and that the problem was at the airport.

Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya blamed Meralco for the fivehour outage, but admitted the 10 standby generator sets enough to power the terminal failed to work and transmit power.

In an interview with radio dzBB, Abaya refused to acknowledge that the generator sets were ill-maintained and insisted the public had to wait for the result of the ongoing probe because the priority of the airport officials was to restore power.

“I have to check. That could be a possibility. Was it fully drained, there was no charging prior to this or was it charged but it didn’t switch power. We will find out before we can say why they didn’t work,” Abaya said.

While power returned at 2 a.m., another outage hit the terminal at 5 a.m., Abaya said.

Abaya said the generator sets did not kick in because no power was transmitted to the building. He said he would alert all other airports nationwide to prevent similar problems with their standby generator sets.

“We will have this checked. If the problem was maintenance, then we have to check [the maintenance procedure] not only in Manila... but all other airports nationwide. But let’s find out what was the real reason the generator sets failed. They have not pinpointed this because last night, the priority was to restore power,” Abaya said. Eric B. Apolonio, Christine F. Herrera, AFP

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Armed cops face off with Cotabato peasants anew Security forces blocked the farmers, who arrived aboard a rented truck from nearby Makilala town in North Cotabato, citing an order from authorities not to let anyone enter or exit the Methodist Center compound in Kidapawan.

The farmers had hoped to get their share of the 260 sacks of rice donated by actor Robin Padilla and residents of Davao City that were delivered to the Methodist Center, where protesters involved in Friday’s bloody dis-

persal sought refuge.

“Before lunch, more than 300 farmers wanted to get their share of the rice but the police are barring our entry to the Methodist Church,” said Antonio Flores, secretary-general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng mga Pilipinas.

“When we insisted on entering the church compound, we had a heated confrontation with them because they claimed that their immediate supervisors disallowed anyone from

entering the church compound,” Flores said.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza, in a press briefing with Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento and Philippine National Police chief Ricardo Marquez, fumed about the “communist infiltration” of the protesters’ ranks.

She vowed to give rice only to legitimate residents of North Cotabato and would arrest all the others who were responsible for the protests.

“Don’t make North Cotabato a staging ground,” Mendoza said, referring to politicians who vowed to help the nearly 4,500 hungry farmers who blocked portions of the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Kidapawan City to demand food aid.

Kidapawan Mayor Joseph Evangelista said the farmers could have proceeded to their respective barangays instead of rushing to Kidapawan, where groups led by action star Robin Padilla and some supporters

CHR: ...

#Nasaan ang Pangulo?” said Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general.

Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon taunted the President for being always “silent and missing in action” when crisis and tragedy befell the nation.

“Where is the President? He’s out campaigning for Mar [administration candidate for president Manuel Roxas II]. But he has not said a word or done anything about the Kidapawan shootings,” Ridon said in Filipino. “That’s the same thing he did during the Mamasapano tragedy. He’s always missing in action.”

“We particularly note President Aquino’s deafening silence in the aftermath of the Kidapawan massacre.

His Cabinet members and Palace spin doctors are in a rush to cover up the incident, yet the President has not uttered a single word himself days after the incident—not even words to commiserate with the victims,” Ridon said.

Reyes added: “What are the orders of the President in this dire situation?

There are demands for immediate rice support and the release of calamity funds. There are calls for an impartial investigation of the way the police handled the dispersal of protesters. Is the President even on top of the situation? What agencies is he mobilizing?”

Reyes added.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas also slammed Aquino’s silence on the Kidapawan incident.

KMP chairman Rafael Mariano also lambasted President Aquino’s mouthpiece, Manolo Quezon III, for failing to see the direct relation between “the government’s unparalleled incompetence and criminal negligence to address the prolonged drought” and the government’s counter-insurgency program.

“Aquino’s continuing silence and the lines mouthed by his numerous mouthpiece betrays the President’s official position both on the issue of drought and the Kidapawan massacre,” Mariano said.

“Aquino’s deafening silence shows that he is used to violent dispersals and massacres as a habitual practice of the landlord president in dismissing farmers’ just, legitimate, and moral demands,” he said.

Worse, Mariano said, “Aquino and his bunch of spokespersons are now justifying and covering up the Kidapawan massacre through their blamethe-victim template and by spreading blatant lies that the protest is illegal

and the protesters are infiltrated by outsiders and communists.”

Mariano also blasted North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza’s statement blaming KMP and other progressive groups for the barricade.

“We would like to remind TaliñoMendoza that it is her responsibility to address the increasing drought and intensifying hunger in North Cotabato,” Mariano said. “It was TaliñoMendoza’s failure and Aquino’s criminal negligence that pushed farmers to collectively assert their right to food.

The farmers’ action was not a simple airing of grievance, it was a just and legitimate people’s action seeking direct and concrete response from the government.”

The KMP said that since January 2016, at least 50,000 hectares of rice and corn farms in North Cotabato had been wasted by rising temperatures with more than 25,000 farmers losing their only source of income.

Agriculture losses have reached P1 billion due to drought affecting the towns of Alamada, Pigcawayan, Kabacan, Matalam, Aleosan, Mlang, Magpet, Pikit, Tulunan, Carmen and Kidapawan, Mariano said, citing Agriculture Department records.

“The drought did not only start in January 2016. It has been dragging on for more than a year now and both the national and the provincial governments are doing nothing to address the drought and hunger crisis in the province,” he said.

“Aquino, Taliño-Mendoza, the corrupt DA Secretary Alcala, the police and military are all in chorus in repeating the same old rotten line used by no less than then Tarlac congressman Benigno Simeon Aquino III during the Hacienda Luisita Massacre,” Mariano said recalling that Aquino then called the 2004 Hacienda Luisita farm workers’ strike as illegal.

Quezon, in a news conference, said the slogan on the protesters’ shields— calling for an end to the government’s anti-insurgency program—was not even related to the plight of droughtstricken farmers asking for assistance.

“What’s the connection between [the anti-insurgency] program and the farmers?” Quezon said.

But Mariano said the harassment of farmers and the militarization of their communities was precisely the Aquino administration’s response to the prolonged drought.

By John Paolo Bencito

POLICE in full battle gear faced off once again with some 300 farmers in Kidapawan City on Sunday, just two days after they shot and killed two protesters in the same city while breaking up a protest to demand government food aid in dealing with a months-long drought.

From A1 “There must be actions, instead of saying there is no other way of helping them [farmers].”

Deluvio said he, the investigators and a forensic team from CHR central office in Quezon City will be conducting another probe soon so that they can submit a report by April 8.

“We will be talking to the police and local government. We want to formalize everything. We need statements under oath and duly notarized.

We will follow due process,” he said.

Their recommendations will be sent to the House of Representatives and the United Nations, he said.

Amid widespread condemnation of the Kidapawan shooting, militant groups and critics of the administration tore into President Benigno Aquino III for keeping silent, three days after the bloody incident.

On social networks, President Aquino’s silence on the bloody dispersal revived the hashtag #NasaanAngPangulo—first used when the Chief Executive remained quiet for three days after 44 police commandos were killed in a covert operation in Mamasapano that he approved and oversaw in January 2015.

Some 6,000 farmers, suffering from drought and government inaction, had blockaded the CotabatoDavao highway since Wednesday to dramatize their plight and to prod the government into helping them. The protest in front of the National Food Authority warehouse stranded hundreds of vehicles and commuters on both sides of the 220-kilometer freeway connecting Cotabato and Davao.

The police use of lethal force to clear the highway on Friday was widely condemned by human rights and church groups, lawmakers, leftist organizations and administration critics.

Commission on Human Rights chairman Jose Luis Gascon, appointed by Aquino, said pending the results of an exhaustive fact-finding report by CHR investigators, police “should not be using live ammunition in crowd dispersal operations.”

“The whole nation is aghast at what happened to the protesting farmers.

Condemnation of the violence has come from across party lines. In this time of crisis, where is the President?

of presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte donated sacks of rice to alleviate the hunger experienced by residents.

Flores slammed the local government’s claims, saying that the farmers would not have gone to Kidapawan City if there was rice in their respective barangays.

Flores demanded that the farmers be allowed to get their share of donated rice, and that those hiding inside the church be allowed to go back to their homes.

One of the 4,000 farmers who were forced by the provincial government to stay inside—Militon Awod, a Manobo farmer from the town of Arakan, said that he just wanted to go home and leave the Methodist Church, with or without rice.

Local government officials said they were not the ones forcing the farmers to remain inside the church, but the protest organizers who prevented them from leaving.

“Instead of addressing the drought by extending support to farmers, the landlord government that Quezon serves responded with fascist measures to silence the farmers,” Mariano said.

Bayan pointed out five urgent things the Aquino administration should do in the aftermath of Friday’s bloody dispersal.

• The siege of the Kidapawan Methodist church where the farmers are gathered should end. The farmers should be allowed to leave without fear of being arrested.

• The 78 detained protesters should be released. It is not even clear what charges are being filed against them while they are being held.

• The wounded and injured should be given medical attention.

• The demands for rice support and release of calamity funds should be met. There is no reason to prolong the process given the gravity of the situation. There is sufficient rice supply on the part of government. It should be released to the farmers as soon as possible.

• Police officials involved in the dispersal and shooting of farmers should be relieved pending an impartial investigation.

Bayan also condemned what it described as a “grand cover up” taking place after the violent dispersal.

“The government is trying to cover up the truth in Kidapawan. They are peddling the same lies that we’ve heard each time there is a state-perpetrated massacre. It’s the same lie from the Mendiola massacre to the [Hacienda] Luisita Massacre,” Reyes said.

Reyes also disputed police and Mendoza’s claim that the protesters were armed and fired the first shot— an account that he said is not borne out by videos of the actual dispersal.

“How convenient too that after failing to find guns in the Methodist Church in Kidapawan where the farmers are staying, the police suddenly claim that a gun was found beside one of the dead farmers. Never mind the drought. It’s planting season for the PNP. They’ve resorted to planting evidence to prop up the lie that the protesters were armed.

This is exactly the reason why all police officials involved in the incident should be relieved. They are using their position to cover up and muddle the issue,” Reyes said. With John Paolo Bencito and Sandy Araneta

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One Cebu party goes for Duterte FORMER Government Service Insurance System chief Winston Garcia of the One Cebu party on Sunday vowed to deliver one million votes to presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte.

Garcia, who is facing graft raps before the Sandiganbayan for awarding the GSIS eCard project to Union Bank of the Philippines in May 2004, announced the full support of One Cebu party to Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano.

The party members reached the decision to back Duterte after a recent meeting, during which it “became a logical and clear stand for One Cebu to support one of its own, Garcia,” said.

“WinNer ta, Duterte pa,” he said.

Garcia made his statement even as Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager, said he was happy to hear that the Garcia-led One Cebu had finally decided to throw its support behind the Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“We welcome the expression of support of any individual, organization or party because ours is an inclusive campaign,” said Evasco, the outgoing mayor of Maribojoc town here.

He confirmed that Duterte and One Cebu’s Winston Garcia, a candidate for governor in the voterich province of Cebu, met late Saturday night.

Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesman, said Duterte’s rivals were “already running scared” over One-Cebu’s support of him.

“We expect more mudslinging as the scared camps try to stop this bandwagon,” Laviña said.

Duterte traces his roots to the voterich Cebu City of 2.7 million registered voters, where his father Vicente became mayor. Rio N. Araja

Rally. Presidential candidate Grace Poe greets a crowd during a rally in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City. She is escorted by Recom Echiverri who is running for mayor of the city.

Poe says 2-m fishing families need govt help PRESIDENTIAL candidate Grace Poe said Sunday the next administration should help close to two-million fishermen and their families get out of poverty although the Philippines is 7th among the top fish-producing countries in the world.

Poe said the country produces 4.7-million metric tons of fish each year, contributing 2.46 percent of the total world production. It is also the world’s third-largest producer of aquatic plants including seaweeds, harvesting 1.56 million metric tons a year and contributing

5.78 percent of the total world production.

But she said the farmers were not getting the benefits of economic growth.

Poe, the leading presidential candidate based on the surveys, said she would push for the inclusion of more fishermen and their families to the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer program or dole to the poor, increase their membership in the National Health Insurance Program, and provide them with sustainable livelihood opportunities with the help of local government units and the

private sector.

She called on the University of the Philippines and other state universities to help improve access to fisheries education by opening additional courses and offering scholarships to the fishermen and their children.

“It is ironic that in an archipelagic country where fishing communities dominate all islands, people are so poor and are unable to get essential government services,” Poe said.

“My platform of inclusive growth and my promise that the poor must not be left behind

makes the plight of our fishing communities a centerpiece concern of my presidential campaign.

Earlier, Poe said that under her administration, P300 billion would be set aside from the national budget every year for the agriculture sector, which includes the fisheries sector.

Alongside basic services for the fishermen, she said, government resources should also be used to educate the coastal communities on the practice of sustainable fishing to help them adapt to climate change. Macon Ramos-Araneta

‘Only Binay can act on poverty’

Sortie. Vice presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is joined by youngest son William Vincent as he addresses residents of Isla Puting Bato during a motorcade campaign sortie, in Tondo, Manila. EY ACASIO

ONLY Vice President Jejomar Binay can address the issue of poverty decisively among the presidential candidates, his campaign spokesman Rico Quicho said Sunday.

“Unless you have experienced poverty yourself, you can never truly understand what it means to be poor,” Quicho said in a statement.

“The Vice President grew up in poverty and only he knows how and what it means to be poor.”

Quicho said Binay was focused on one thing in this elections: eliminating poverty and helping the poor.

“This election is about poverty. The Vice President believes the Filipinos don’t deserve leaders who don’t look out for the poor when disaster strikes,” Quicho said.

“As a former human rights lawyer, he does not believe in a government that guns down poor farm workers when they cry for aid.”

Quicho said the voters should ignore candidates who utter platitudes but lack any experience or record of achievement in fighting poverty.

“We have candidates who do not understand what it means to be poor.

We have candidates who are not bold enough to change the face of poverty in this country once and for all,” he said.

“Fighting poverty was what the Vice President did when he was mayor of Makati. And this is what he will continue to do when he is president.”

Quicho said Binay will leave the bickering to the other candidates while he focuses on solving poverty in the country.

“This election is about the people, not politics. About helping the poor, not the powerful,” he said.

He chided Senator Grace Poe for saying she was not an on-the-job trainee when it came to the presidency.

“With all due respect to Senator Poe, I believe it was she herself who said just a little over a year ago that she was not ready to become president,” Quicho said.

He said it was important to take Poe at her word when she said that “the presidency is not for the unprepared” and that she “still had a lot to learn.”

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Japanese sub, ships pay visit to Subic

Japanese arms. Japanese submarine Oyashio is escorted by destroyer JS Ariake as it arrives at the former US naval base in Subic Bay. Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine docked at Subic, near disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing’s assertive behavior has sparked global concern. AFP

Aquino refuses to allow P3-b grant to Tacloban

By Christine F. Herrera

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has refused to guarantee a P3-billion concessional loan offered by the World Bank to Tacloban City to rehabilitate and reconstruct the city after Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”

World Bank and government documents show the package was 90-percent grant and 10-percent loan for the rehabilitation of Tacloban City, meaning the government would pay only less than P300 million of the total funding of P3 billion.

Aquino’s refusal to give a sovereign guarantee that only he can grant prompted the World Bank

to withdraw the offer, according to Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

The fund would have paid for the rehabilitation and construction of hospitals, public markets, a multi-purpose evacuation center, the city hall and shore protection, dike construction and rehabilitation of drainage systems, among others, Romualdez told The Standard.

The loan was offered by the World Bank in early 2014, the mayor said.

On July 24, 2014, World Bank senior urban specialist Christopher Pablo wrote to Romualdez updating the mayor on the status of the loan.

“We have informed LBP [LandBank of the Philippines] of your interest and their Lending Center will be in touch with your office shortly and advise you on the documentary requirements of SSLDIP [Support for Strategic Local Development and Investment Project],” Pablo told Romualdez.

“We understand that LBP is meeting with the Department of Finance [DoF] and the Department of Budget and Management [DBM]

weekly to finalize the financing arrangement and that once finalized, SSLDIP can start providing the funding to LGU sub-projects, hopefully in August 2014,” Pablo added.

Pablo also said the LBP was formalizing with the Department of Public Works and Highways the technical assistance that can be provided to the LGUs in the preparation of detailed designs, in procurement and construction supervision support.

“As soon as this formal agreement between the DPWH and LBP is reached, Tacloban may coordinate with LBP on specific engineering support that could be sought from DPWH,” Pablo said.

SUBIC BAY Freeport Zone —Two Japanese destroyers and a submarine docked at a Philippine port on Sunday near disputed South China Sea waters, where Beijing’s increasingly assertive behavior has sparked global concern.

Manila is seeking to strengthen ties with Tokyo as tensions mount over the disputed waterway, almost all of which is claimed by China.

Japanese submarine Oyashio and destroyers JS Ariake and JS Setogiri docked in the Subic port Sunday for a routine visit at this sprawling former US naval base just 200 kilometers from a Chineseheld shoal.

“The visit is a manifestation of a sustained promotion of regional peace and stability and enhancement of maritime cooperation between neighboring navies,” Philippine Navy spokesman Commander Lued Lincuna said.

The Ariake was equipped with an anti-submarine helicopter, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

The port call came on the eve of war games between the United States and Filipino soldiers in the Philippines, which is seen as a showcase of a long-standing military alliance that the Philippines is counting on to deter China.

Seriously outgunned by its much larger rival China, the Philippines has turned to allies like the United States and Japan to upgrade its armed forces in recent years.

In February, Japan agreed to supply the Philippines with military hardware, which may include anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft and radar technology. AFP

Hacking imperils overseas vote

By Rey E. Requejo

Teaching peace. Artists belonging to the Teach Peace, Build Peace Movement paint over graffiti with images of Filipino culture on the walls of V. Luna military hospital in Quezon City on Sunday to raise awareness on peace and other human values. EY ACASIO

LESS than a week before the holding of overseas absentee voting, the Commission on Elections has yet to fully restore its web application meant to help registered voters abroad find out where they can cast their votes.

A check with the Comelec website showed that the Post Finder feature is still undergoing maintenance.

The maintenance work was undertaken after the Comelec’s website was defaced by hackers belonging to the group Anonymous

Philippines last week.

The hacking affected several applications on the website, particularly the post finder, video demonstrations, and the search function.

The Comelec’s Information Technology Department and Web Development Team have been working to restore all functions of the website.

Until the website is back to normal, Comelec has advised overseas voters to send an e-mail to info@ comelec.gov.ph in order to allow the Comelec to address their concerns.

The finder is an applica-

tion set to be used by overseas voters and seafarers to locate Philippine posts abroad, where they can cast votes.

There are a total of 1,376,067 registered overseas absentee voters, including 1,326,728 landbased and 49,339 sea-based Filipinos.

Thirty of the 85 Philippine posts overseas are set to use the automated election system, according to the Comelec.

A total of 26 posts will be using a manual voting system, with voters filling up ballots in designated polling precincts.

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Romualdez presses for return of ‘power buns’

By Christine F. Herrera SENATORIAL candidate Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez over the weekend vowed to bring back the power bread “Nutribun” that sustained hungerstricken “Yolanda” victims at the height of the crisis.

At the Saturday Forum @ Anabels, Romualdez said his cousin, Ilocos Norte Rep. Aimee Marcos made possible the distribution of the nutritious Nutribun to augment the delayed and lack of distribution of relief goods in Tacloban.

Nutribun, made of whole wheat, was popularized during the Marcos years when schoolchildren were being given a big piece of the bun for breakfast to fight malnutrition.

“There is no debate that Nutribun is nutritious and helped fight malnutrition and made our schoolchil-

dren intelligent,” Romualdez said. “We will bring back Nutribun in all schools nationwide.”

He said the return of the Nutribun is one of his advocacies to institutionalize the feeding program to bring back “malasakit” especially to the schoolchildren belonging to the poorest of the poor.

Romualdez said he would see to it that once he got elected to the Senate, he would push for the expansion of the controversial Conditional Cash Transfer program and tap the P700 billion in savings to fund the feeding program and free schooling for the indigents.

Opposition United Nationalist Alliance standardbearer Vice President Jejomar Binay also vowed to utilize the government’s budget to fund programs for the poor with the number of Filipinos languishing in poverty up at 26 million under an “underspending government.”

On PWD law. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez admires the courage of 2010 La Salle bar

exam bombing victim and candidate for councilor Raissa Laurel during their meeting at the proclamation rally of Partido Magdiwang in San Juan City. Laurel who lost both legs thanks Romualdez for shepherding the passage of the PWD Law. At left is Senator JV Ejercito. Ver NOVeNO

De Lima nemesis’ deportation upheld By rey e. requejo

The Court of Appeals has affirmed a Manila City court’s decision declaring as valid the deportation order against former Basketball Association of the Philippines Secretary-General Graham Chua Lim.

Winning their hearts and minds. Movie-TV actress Heart Evangelista poses for a photograph with a

motorcyclist as she campaigns for her husband, vice presidential candidate Francis Escudero in Cartimar, Pasay City.

Disqualify-Poe petitions up at SC By rey e. requejo

THE Supreme Court is expected to deliberate this week the motions for reconsideration filed by the Commission on Elections and other respondents seeking a reversal of its March 8 decision declaring Senator Grace Poe qualified to run for president in the May 9 election.

A Court insider revealed that the MRs of the Comelec and the four petitioners who sought the disquali-

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fication of Poe at the Comelec have been included in the agenda of the justices when they hold their first summer en banc session in Baguio City on Tuesday.

The SC magistrates are expected to resolve the appeals of the movants to reconsider their 9-6 ruling that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in disqualifying the senator for material misrepresentation over her citizenship and residency issues.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno earlier said the high court considers Poe’s cases and other election related cases a “priority” considering there is just about a month left before the May 9 polls.

In its 56-page motion for reconsideration, the Comelec asked the SC to reconsider the March 8 decision and instead affirm its disqualification of the senator for material misrepresentation in her Certificate of Candidacy.

In a 16-page decision penned by Associate Justice Eduardo B. Peralta Jr., the CA’s 4th Division ruled that the Manila Regional Trial Court is correct when it held that the Bureau of Immigration and former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it ordered his deportation and inclusion in the bureau’s blacklist.

The CA stressed that “no reversible error committed” by the trial court when it sustained the BI and De Lima’s order.

It cited the finding that Lim is a Chinese citizen as he himself admitted in his bid to be naturalized as a Filipino, as well as the ruling of the Supreme Court on the same matter.

“Certainly, the Supreme Court resolution already denied his pleas for review of the finding that he is an undesirable alien.

Therefore, as things stand, he is an undesirable alien who should be removed from the Philippines,” the appellate court ruled.

The CA added that the claim of statelessness “was a mere ploy to avoid deportation.”

On questioning De Lima’s

authority to review the deportation order, the appellate court pointed out that De Lima was only enforcing the deportation order which has become final.

Lim was born on Feb.7, 1957 in the Philippines to Chinese parents How Ang Lim and Mary Lim Chua. In 1992, he married Filipina Racquel P. Lim, also the petitioner in this case.

In 2003, a complaint for deportation was filed against Lim, saying he was posing as a Filipino while undergoing naturalization proceedings.

The BI then charged him as an undesirable alien under Commonwealth Act 613 and the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 for misrepresenting himself as a Filipino citizen and securing a Philippine passport.

That same year, the Department of Foreign Affairs informed the Immigration Bureau that Lim’s passport has been cancelled due to his Chinese citizenship.

Two years later, the BI learned that Lim was a Taiwanese citizen.

Lim filed a motion for reconsideration which was denied by the BI. He then took his case to the Office of the President who upheld the BI’s ruling.

Lim’s case reached the Supreme Court, but it was summarily dismissed.

On Dec. 7, 2009, Lim was arrested by virtue of a warrant for deportation. In 2010, he filed a petition that he be released on bail invoking his statelessness pointing out an alleged communication between a certain Nenita V. Mendoza and Mr. Wang ChiaChi, Senior Advisor of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office allegedly declared Taiwan is not in a position to accept him.

M O N D AY : A p r i l 4 , 2 0 1 6

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Firemen, cops get new vehicles

By Sandy Araneta The Bureau of Fire Protection will be distributing 135newly procured fire trucks today (Monday) as part of its capability enhancement program, Malacañang said on Sunday.

The turnover ceremony will be spearheaded by President Benigno Aquino III at the Quezon City Memorial Circle along with representatives of recipient-cities and and municipalities all over the Philippines.

This is the fourth and last batch of the scheduled distribution of the BFP’s newly procured fire engines that will coincide with the distribution of 144 patrol cars to the Philippine National Police.

The first as well as the second batch of the fire trucks were already distributed last year, while the third batch with a total of 155 units fire engines were turned over to its recipients last Feb. 19 of this year.

This is the first and the biggest fire truck procurement in the history of the BFP with a total of 469 units, 244 of which are 1,000 gallons capacity while 225 are 500 gallons capacity that amounted to P2.5 billion.

“These new additional fire trucks will aid in the filling up of shortages on its assets and will intensify fire suppression capability of the BFP. It will not only boost the capability of our firefighters, it will also help them to be more effective and efficient in performing their mandated task, similarly these new equipment will also lift the morale of our Prowl cars. Some of the police vehicles and fire trucks go through final inspection at the Quezon City Memorial Circle before firefighters because the dilapidated fire trucks will their formal turnover in rites which President Aquino will spearhead. EY ACASIO be replaced by the new ones,” Aquino said.

With the standard ratio of 1:28,000 or one fire truck for every 28,000 population, the BFP still needs at least 1,000 fire trucks to achieve the minimum requirement considering that at present there are 2,215 fire trucks being utilized by the stressed.

12,800,” he added.

BFP all over the Philippines catering to almost 100 By Rio Araja “It has wasted away the most Prime rice lands that once lined million population.

As the Fire Prevention Month culminated this ANAKPAWIS Rep. Fernando Hicap is both sides of the highways going to productive lands, driving the April, the BFP has recorded at least 1,909 fire batting for a ban on the conversion of Central Luzon and Southern Luzon dispossessed farmers to marginal incidents nationwide with P169.3 million worth of prime agricultural lands into other uses have been practically erased in just areas of the hinterlands, thus damages for the month of March 2016. greater pressure to to avoid food shortage and protect the a matter of four years from 1990 to adding As the summer season is experienced, the hot environment and ecology. the country’s depleting land 1994, he said. weather condition will contribute to the incidents “Even the highly irrigated rice lands resources,” he said.

The party-list lawmaker authored of fire as evidenced by the spontaneous grass and Under the proposed measure, have not been spared to give way to nonHouse Bill 5563 citing that land use forest fires occurring in some parts of the country conversion ultimately is a “grave productive projects that have narrow the Department of Agriculture is like the Mt. Apo in Davao.

Meanwhile, the PNP has procured 186 units of threat” to the country’s food security as and short-term benefits such as real mandated to conduct a survey, with the Patrol Jeep 4x2 (Mahindra Enforcer) as repeat order it continues to significantly reduce the estate ‘developments’ that mainly serve involvement of the National Mapping from the savings generated from the procurement size of land available for rice and other the luxuries of the elite,” he raised. and Research Information Authority to of 1,470 patrol jeeps sourced out from the Capability crop production.

Citing a report of the National delineate prime agricultural lands from Enhancement Program fund CYs 2011-2013.

Between 1991 and 2002, the total Statistics Office, over 800,000 hectares non-prime agricultural lands.

The procurement of additional mobility assets It shall strictly prohibit land use national farm area hectarage has of lands have already been converted to for police stations and different PNP units will conversion of prime agricultural lands improve police visibility and response to any dramatically shrunk by 304,078 other uses since 1972, Hicap said.

The loss of prime agricultural lands until Congress has enacted a national hectares, he said. eventuality in crime-prone areas.

The patrol jeeps can also be used during relief “In Cavite alone, from 1983 to to land use conversion has been a land use plan. and SAR operation, Internal Security Operation 1989, the number of hectares of factor to the further weakening and Hicap said the bill aims to reverse the and other related activities, Malacañang said. rice lands decreased from 14,710 to deterioration of agriculture sector, he slide toward total food insecurity.

Ban on farmland conversion sought

Marcos: Probe poll workers’ plight

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

Reusable. Workers at a junk shop in Quezon City load sackfuls of empty plastic bottles to be delivered at the melting plant in Valenzuela City. MANNY PALMERO

VICE presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has called for an investigation on the alleged non-payment of wages and substandard working conditions of workers at the Commission on Elections warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Marcos, an incumbent senator, said that more than a hundred Comelec employees have gone on strike over the weekend, citing poor working conditions and not receiving compensation.

“We’ve received word that workers in Comelec have been poorly treated. This should be investigated immediately, and if proven true, should be resolved the soonest possible time,” Marcos said.

The workers at the Comelec warehouse were in the production and dispatch of more 90,000 vote counting machines for

the May 9 elections.

Workers at the Comelec warehouse held a noise barrage last March 31 after they were not paid their wages from the contractor of technology provider Smartmatic with many of them refusing to go to work on April 1, according to Marcos.

The workers were also complaining of substandard working conditions because of poor ventilation in the warehouse.

While the workers later on reportedly received their wages, Marcos said the incident is a very serious matter which Comelec chairman Andres Bautista should look into.

“This should be looked into by no less than the Comelec Chairman. Our election workers should be treated well because their roles are crucial in the conduct of elections. They do not deserve such kind of treatment,” said Marcos.

M O N D AY : A p r i l 4 , 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

NGO restores Death March landmark

By Romeo Dizon CITy of san Fernando, Pampanga—a non-government organization is adopting a landmark train station in barangay sto. Niño that played a vital role during the bataan Death March to restore its glory and develop it into a main tourist attraction of the city.

Wilfrito Mah, president of the giant lantern Foundation, said they are spending an initial P1 million for the restoration of the station located in 1,887 square meters of public land.

“We will restore it to its [original state from 1942] and at the same time develop the other areas into a modern park,” Mah said.

“The station is the only thing that we can offer to the young generation to learn more of our history and for other people who will visit us,” he said.

He said the renovation will be undertaken by restoration engineers and park developers anytime soon.

The station was part of the b a g b a g-M a b a l a c at-M a n i l aDagupan Railway system which is also known as Kilometer 102.

The station, however, was closed 20 years ago when the northbound of the Philippine National Railways was suspended.

City Mayor Edwin santiago has approved the restoration program of the foundation in line with public private partnership of the government. after a 55-mile march from Mariveles to balanga of the bataan peninsula, the americans and Filipino soldiers, reached the landmark train station and were herded into waiting boxcars on their way to Capas, Tarlac to travel another eight kilometers before reaching their final destination, Camp o’Donnell.

The Death March started on april 9, 1942 with 72,000 soldiers, both americans and Filipinos. only 54,000 reached their final destination and about 10,000 perished. others escaped.

Island tour. Local and foreign tourists visit the historical lighthouse on Capul Island, Northern Samar. MEL CASPE

Authorities tighten security for Ecija Balikatan exercises FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija—Authorities have tightened security measures in this camp as hundreds of American and Filipino soldiers arrived here for the annual 32nd joint Balikatan war exercises. army Capt. Rozelle Ticar, spokesperson of the 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division based in this military camp, said that they are ready to receive american soldiers for the war exercises amid security concerns with measures have already been laid out inside the camp as part of the routine.

“Everything is much under control and preventive measures

were laid out,” Ticar said, adding that series of planning and coordination were conducted as per instruction of commanding general, Maj. gen. angelito de leon. last year, four american soldiers lost their belongings to thieves who gained entry inside the camp. army staff sergeants scotty Wilson and Dwayne Massey

and lieutenants Patrick Tierney and Thomas Dunne lost their belongings consisting of army boots, wallet containing $2,000, an undetermined amount of pesos and other personal belongings.

They were part of the 700-soldier contingent who plunged into the war exercises inside this military camp along with 900 Filipino soldiers. a report said that unidentified suspects gained entry into the unlocked building by boring a hole beneath a perimeter fence. said belongings were recovered.

“I am assuring that the said theft incident will not happen anymore. our soldiers stepped up

for all preventive measures for the activity,” he said.

This camp was one of five areas identified last March 18 by the Us and Philippine governments that will be utilized by american troops under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation agreement which they signed in april 2014 as political tensions rose between the Philippines and China due to disputes in the West Philippine sea. aside from Fort Magsaysay, the deal also allows rotating Us military presence at the antonio bautista air base, basa air base in Pampanga, lumbia air base in Cagayan de oro and the Mactan-benito Ebuen air base in Cebu. PNA

Phivolcs tells Calbayog residents: Be on your toes

Newbies. New soldiers of the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army stand at

attention during a ceremony. MEL CASPE

Is Calbayog City safe from tsunami because it does not face the Pacific ocean and there are islands that can block the upsurge?

The Department of science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and seismology resident geologist Jeffrey s. Perez says “no,” debunking the belief that this city in Eastern samar is free from the effects of any seismic activity within and outside the province, especially tsunamis.

In his presentation on the overview on geological hazards and warning systems at the recent science for Resilient business and government services seminar-Workshop at Calbayog City Convention Center recently, Perez advised the samar-based participants to be always prepared for

any disaster, especially earthquakes and tsunamis that can possibly hit the province.

For many years now, the residents of Calbayog City have thought they are safe from the severe aftermath of disasters as the city lies on the west side of samar, away from the Pacific ocean. but Perez reiterated the possibilities of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis hitting the city, based on the historical records of seismic activities of Region VIII. The people also had the belief that since there are three islands at the samar sea, namely sto. Nino, Tagapulan, and almagro, that are “blocking and protecting” their city from the Pacific ocean, it is impossible for a tsunami to hit them.

M O N D AY : A p R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDitor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

The repuBlican delegaTe machinaTions Begin

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Bullets for rice

By Jonathan Bernstein

WITH blood on its hands, the Aquino administration is blaming leftists for the death of three farmers in Kidapawan City Friday, but no amount of spin can justify the act of armed police firing their M-16 rifles into a crowd of unarmed protesters.

The farmers, suffering from drought and government inaction, had blockaded the Cotabato-Davao highway since Wednesday to dramatize their plight and to prod the government into helping them.

The protest in front of the National Food Authority warehouse stranded hundreds of vehicles and commuters on both sides of the 220-kilometer freeway connecting Cotabato and Davao.

Their demands could hardly be considered excessive: 15,000 sacks of rice for as many starving families to tide them over the long dry spell. After all, a basic duty of government is to come to the aid of those suffering from natural calamities, such as drought.

But to hear the protesters tell it, the government has done precious little in the last five months to help farmers in Cotabato province, which has been suffering from drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon since November 2015. To date, crop damage has been estimated at more than P1 billion—and farmers and their families are starving.

None of this seemed to matter, however, to local officials who negotiated with the farmers, or to the national government that could not be bothered to get involved.

By Friday, Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista declared that the farmers had had “enough time” to air their grievances, and said they needed to clear the highway because businesses in the area were suffering from the blockade.

The first provocation, witnesses agree, came from the local government, which sent in social workers to “rescue” women and children who had joined the protest.

But the women and children at the picket line were not there against their will—and would not have needed “rescuing” had the authorities not intended to use force to break up the protest.

Police with shields and batons moved into the crowd, which pushed back. Protesters were beaten with truncheons; some fought back with their fists and rocks. Amid the chaos, police with M-16 rifles fired on the farmers, killing three of them, and wounding many others.

The protesters fled to a nearby Methodist Church, which has since been surrounded by soldiers and police, with a warning from the mayor that they would be arrested if they set foot outside the church.

Is this the way this government “rescues” those in need? The hungry farmers wanted rice, but this government fed them bullets instead. Instead of expressing regret at the deaths, this government surrounded the church and threatened the farmers with arrest.

In the aftermath of the bloody dispersal, the police said lab tests had shown that one of the dead farmers had gunpowder residue on his hand, and that a .45-cal. gun was found near his body. The findings were neither surprising—nor particularly credible, since we have no reason to believe that police who condone the firing M-16 rifles at civilian protesters are also capable of conducting an honest and independent investigation of their own men. The hasty findings scream cover-up.

Why, we are compelled to ask, did the Department of Interior and Local Government rush to pin medals on the Kidapawan police involved just one day after the bloody dispersal, before a credible and thorough investigation could clear them of wrongdoing?

Declarations from the national government supported the accusation from North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza and the mayor of Kidapawan City that the farmers had been infiltrated by communists.

A spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III blamed leftist groups for ferrying in supporters and said that those manning the barricades were not even residents of North Cotabato and were brought onto the scene for propaganda purposes.

“Have you realized who can summon thousands of farmers from outside North Cotabato and linger there for several days? Who feeds them on a daily basis? ...The leftists have been at this game for the longest time,” the spokesman said on his Facebook page.

But the presidential spokesman, Governor Mendoza and Mayor Evangelista need to be reminded that none of their arguments justifies the use of lethal force on civilian protesters assembling peacefully to seek redress of grievances. The last time we looked, that is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. And if leftist groups had, in fact, fed the hungry farmers, that is one thing more than this government has ever done.

The vagaries of hisTory pensées fr. ranhilio callangan aquino Adolf Hitler, not by any means brilliant, did manage to win over virtually an entire nation to the cause of his madness by historical narratives. In fact, his claims at racial sovereignty for the German nation and the corresponding inferiority, if not decadence, of other

peoples was his rendering of history. People rallied to him, and rabidly! He whipped up a frenzy that left in its wake not only six million Jews but the map of Europe rewritten and our collective faith in humanity, sorely tested.

When the story of the Crusades is told—better, when stories are told—things almost always end up badly for the Catholic Church, so Crusaders stories come in very handy for anyone who has a beef with the Catholic Church! Much

the same thing is happening today. like mushrooms following a thunderstorm, recollections, reminiscences, historical accounts of martial law blossom and sprout. This made me go back to something I had read years back that I find most helpful to return to now: Paul ricoeur’s masterful Time and Narrative, particularly Volume III where he takes up the problem of the reality of the past. one thing with the past is that it is no longer, but

A9

there will always be alternate readings, alternate narratives.

the historian claims to be dealing with its reality. As a consequence of this initial paradox, there are three movements through which the writing of history must go: the Same, the other and

the Analogous. The historian claims to be able to recover the past. He claims, by his narrative, to make the past present again. Under the rubric of the Same, this is nothing short of asserting

that the chasm between past and present has been bridged. But the very awareness that he is retelling what happened, remembering what took place, recalling the past leaves him with the sobering relation that the bridge just will not hold! At the other extreme is the demand of the other, the constant chastisement that follows from the sobering, if salutary reminder that one is always treading on alien ground. It is the deliberate rejection of all pretensions

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-

at familiarity, the eschewing of the conceit that one knows “what happened, how it happened.” necessary as this movement may be, exaggerating it makes ricoeur write one of his most beautiful lines in this three-volume tour de force: “So we are brought back again to the enigma of temporal distance, an overdetermined enigma owing to the axiological shift that has made us strangers to the customs of past times, to the point that the otherness

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

of the past in relation to the present is more important than the survival of the past in the present. When curiosity gains the upper hand over sympathy, the stranger becomes the alien.” finally, there is the filter of the Analogous. A predicate, taught the unsurpassable Aristotle, is analogous when it is affirmed of different subjects in a manner “partly the same, partly different.” obviously, this makes

Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager

Continued on A10

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

ACCordInG to Time, donald Trump’s about-face on his pledge to support the republican nominee is causing him some heartburn in South Carolina: “The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on the primary ballot. Though Trump won all of the state’s delegates in the feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to Trump because of his reversal on the pledge Tuesday.” oops!

It’s too early to say whether anything will come of this particular flap, but once the republican national Convention is gaveled into session, 1,237 delegates—a majority—with the convention chairman on their side can do pretty much anything they want.

They can change the rules, unbinding the delegates. They can unseat some delegates and fill those slots with an alternate slate.

(Even before the convention begins, the republican national Committee will hand over responsibilities to committees of delegates, who will take a first cut at any rules or credentials controversies. They can be overruled by the convention as a whole, but the convention may also choose to defer to their judgement.)

That’s always been true, but there hasn’t been any uncertainty on the republican side since 1976, so the loyalty of the delegates to the nominee didn’t really matter. That will still almost certainly be the case if Trump sweeps the remaining states. But otherwise, everything may be up for grabs. once the convention votes, there’s no one to appeal to. As long as the convention is in session, the convention is the (formal) party. Whatever it decides is final. don’t expect the courts to intervene, either; courts do not interfere with the internal workings of political parties.

We don’t know whether any candidate will have a working majority at the convention. We do know, however, that because republicans in many states separate delegate allocation from delegate selection, the actual people picked may not support

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

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

M O N D AY : A p R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDitor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

The repuBlican delegaTe machinaTions Begin

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Bullets for rice

By Jonathan Bernstein

WITH blood on its hands, the Aquino administration is blaming leftists for the death of three farmers in Kidapawan City Friday, but no amount of spin can justify the act of armed police firing their M-16 rifles into a crowd of unarmed protesters.

The farmers, suffering from drought and government inaction, had blockaded the Cotabato-Davao highway since Wednesday to dramatize their plight and to prod the government into helping them.

The protest in front of the National Food Authority warehouse stranded hundreds of vehicles and commuters on both sides of the 220-kilometer freeway connecting Cotabato and Davao.

Their demands could hardly be considered excessive: 15,000 sacks of rice for as many starving families to tide them over the long dry spell. After all, a basic duty of government is to come to the aid of those suffering from natural calamities, such as drought.

But to hear the protesters tell it, the government has done precious little in the last five months to help farmers in Cotabato province, which has been suffering from drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon since November 2015. To date, crop damage has been estimated at more than P1 billion—and farmers and their families are starving.

None of this seemed to matter, however, to local officials who negotiated with the farmers, or to the national government that could not be bothered to get involved.

By Friday, Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista declared that the farmers had had “enough time” to air their grievances, and said they needed to clear the highway because businesses in the area were suffering from the blockade.

The first provocation, witnesses agree, came from the local government, which sent in social workers to “rescue” women and children who had joined the protest.

But the women and children at the picket line were not there against their will—and would not have needed “rescuing” had the authorities not intended to use force to break up the protest.

Police with shields and batons moved into the crowd, which pushed back. Protesters were beaten with truncheons; some fought back with their fists and rocks. Amid the chaos, police with M-16 rifles fired on the farmers, killing three of them, and wounding many others.

The protesters fled to a nearby Methodist Church, which has since been surrounded by soldiers and police, with a warning from the mayor that they would be arrested if they set foot outside the church.

Is this the way this government “rescues” those in need? The hungry farmers wanted rice, but this government fed them bullets instead. Instead of expressing regret at the deaths, this government surrounded the church and threatened the farmers with arrest.

In the aftermath of the bloody dispersal, the police said lab tests had shown that one of the dead farmers had gunpowder residue on his hand, and that a .45-cal. gun was found near his body. The findings were neither surprising—nor particularly credible, since we have no reason to believe that police who condone the firing M-16 rifles at civilian protesters are also capable of conducting an honest and independent investigation of their own men. The hasty findings scream cover-up.

Why, we are compelled to ask, did the Department of Interior and Local Government rush to pin medals on the Kidapawan police involved just one day after the bloody dispersal, before a credible and thorough investigation could clear them of wrongdoing?

Declarations from the national government supported the accusation from North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza and the mayor of Kidapawan City that the farmers had been infiltrated by communists.

A spokesman for President Benigno Aquino III blamed leftist groups for ferrying in supporters and said that those manning the barricades were not even residents of North Cotabato and were brought onto the scene for propaganda purposes.

“Have you realized who can summon thousands of farmers from outside North Cotabato and linger there for several days? Who feeds them on a daily basis? ...The leftists have been at this game for the longest time,” the spokesman said on his Facebook page.

But the presidential spokesman, Governor Mendoza and Mayor Evangelista need to be reminded that none of their arguments justifies the use of lethal force on civilian protesters assembling peacefully to seek redress of grievances. The last time we looked, that is a right guaranteed by the Constitution. And if leftist groups had, in fact, fed the hungry farmers, that is one thing more than this government has ever done.

The vagaries of hisTory pensées fr. ranhilio callangan aquino Adolf Hitler, not by any means brilliant, did manage to win over virtually an entire nation to the cause of his madness by historical narratives. In fact, his claims at racial sovereignty for the German nation and the corresponding inferiority, if not decadence, of other

peoples was his rendering of history. People rallied to him, and rabidly! He whipped up a frenzy that left in its wake not only six million Jews but the map of Europe rewritten and our collective faith in humanity, sorely tested.

When the story of the Crusades is told—better, when stories are told—things almost always end up badly for the Catholic Church, so Crusaders stories come in very handy for anyone who has a beef with the Catholic Church! Much

the same thing is happening today. like mushrooms following a thunderstorm, recollections, reminiscences, historical accounts of martial law blossom and sprout. This made me go back to something I had read years back that I find most helpful to return to now: Paul ricoeur’s masterful Time and Narrative, particularly Volume III where he takes up the problem of the reality of the past. one thing with the past is that it is no longer, but

A9

there will always be alternate readings, alternate narratives.

the historian claims to be dealing with its reality. As a consequence of this initial paradox, there are three movements through which the writing of history must go: the Same, the other and

the Analogous. The historian claims to be able to recover the past. He claims, by his narrative, to make the past present again. Under the rubric of the Same, this is nothing short of asserting

that the chasm between past and present has been bridged. But the very awareness that he is retelling what happened, remembering what took place, recalling the past leaves him with the sobering relation that the bridge just will not hold! At the other extreme is the demand of the other, the constant chastisement that follows from the sobering, if salutary reminder that one is always treading on alien ground. It is the deliberate rejection of all pretensions

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-

at familiarity, the eschewing of the conceit that one knows “what happened, how it happened.” necessary as this movement may be, exaggerating it makes ricoeur write one of his most beautiful lines in this three-volume tour de force: “So we are brought back again to the enigma of temporal distance, an overdetermined enigma owing to the axiological shift that has made us strangers to the customs of past times, to the point that the otherness

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

of the past in relation to the present is more important than the survival of the past in the present. When curiosity gains the upper hand over sympathy, the stranger becomes the alien.” finally, there is the filter of the Analogous. A predicate, taught the unsurpassable Aristotle, is analogous when it is affirmed of different subjects in a manner “partly the same, partly different.” obviously, this makes

Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager

Continued on A10

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

ACCordInG to Time, donald Trump’s about-face on his pledge to support the republican nominee is causing him some heartburn in South Carolina: “The Palmetto State was one of several that required candidates to pledge their loyalty to the party’s eventual nominee in order to secure a slot on the primary ballot. Though Trump won all of the state’s delegates in the feb. 20 primary, anti-Trump forces are plotting to contest their binding to Trump because of his reversal on the pledge Tuesday.” oops!

It’s too early to say whether anything will come of this particular flap, but once the republican national Convention is gaveled into session, 1,237 delegates—a majority—with the convention chairman on their side can do pretty much anything they want.

They can change the rules, unbinding the delegates. They can unseat some delegates and fill those slots with an alternate slate.

(Even before the convention begins, the republican national Committee will hand over responsibilities to committees of delegates, who will take a first cut at any rules or credentials controversies. They can be overruled by the convention as a whole, but the convention may also choose to defer to their judgement.)

That’s always been true, but there hasn’t been any uncertainty on the republican side since 1976, so the loyalty of the delegates to the nominee didn’t really matter. That will still almost certainly be the case if Trump sweeps the remaining states. But otherwise, everything may be up for grabs. once the convention votes, there’s no one to appeal to. As long as the convention is in session, the convention is the (formal) party. Whatever it decides is final. don’t expect the courts to intervene, either; courts do not interfere with the internal workings of political parties.

We don’t know whether any candidate will have a working majority at the convention. We do know, however, that because republicans in many states separate delegate allocation from delegate selection, the actual people picked may not support

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

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 rice politics tARpAUlInS are being produced in industrial scale pastor in this part of apollo the world.

Aside quiboloy from the blare of campaign jingles, the only other thing being churned out nonstop are those posters that further blight our already blighted landscape.

If only such tarps were used to dry palay, they would have saved mega-millions of kilos of palay from post-harvest losses.

But alas, those billboards, with the photoshopped visage and performance of those on them, are used instead, mostly, for false advertising. hopefully, they can be recycled for something of true value, as drying mats of palay, copra, corn. If the MMDA people continue to confiscate trucks of them, my advice is that they be donated to farmers’ cooperatives that can repurpose them into something useful. here’s also my advice to politicos: hope your trapal-displaying spree would extend beyond the first Monday of May. You can wallto-wall the countryside studies show that we w i t h ta r pau lins lose 16.5 percent of our for as long rice output to lack of, as they’re spread out or poor, post-harvest as drying facilities or practices. mats on the ground and crunch the numbers. not hang vertically as oversized hallmark greeting cards.

This brings me to the topic, silent in the stump oratory of presidential wannabes, of how we love rice but waste billions of kilos of them.

There is this joke about how countries prevent their roads from deteriorating. The Germans pour sealants on cracks, the Japanese top theirs with asphalt and the Filipinos spread palay on them— because anything covered with grains will be spared the wear-and-tear caused by vehicular traffic.

And it is the time of the year when philippine rural roads turn golden brown. This seasonal change in highway hue is caused by the fact that you can’t mill palay without drying it first. here’s Rice 101. Drying unglues the grain from the husk, preserves it, makes it strong, so when milled, it would easily separate from the chaff, and will come out as a polished whole and not as broken grits or, worse, pulverized.

So this is one of rice’s many idiosyncrasies. take for example, drying. Simple as it may seem, palay follows a tiring demoisturizing ritual. palay has to be bagged, transported, unbagged, spread out, raked, rebagged, and transported again to storage.

In 2014, the philippines produced 19 million tons of palay, or 380 million bags, each of which must be dried, mostly under the sun and a miniscule portion in mechanical dryers fed by biomass and other fuels.

Because sun-drying is the norm, farmers have no choice but to find any heat-conducting flat surface.

Thus, plazas are taken over, and in basketball courts this substitution is called: players out, palay in.

But most go to national roads which, for lack of non-street pavements. Obviously, palay on the road poses a danger to motorists. It slows down traffic and makes our already congested roads narrower.

The bigger the swath of the road commandeered for palay drying, the bigger danger it poses to motorists. Food security is also hit, big-time.

Studies show that we lose 16.5 percent of our rice output to lack of, or poor, post-harvest facilities or practices. Crunch the numbers. This means that even

plumbline

M O N D AY : A p r i l 4 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

BlacKouts aNd the BurdeN of uNcertaiNty

By Narayana Kocherlakota In the US, people largely take the constant flow of electricity for granted. Uncertainty about availability doesn’t affect decisions. Businesses and households don’t have to think about, or plan around, fluctuations in electrical power.

When I visited India many years ago, the situation was quite different. the availability of electricity fluctuated throughout the day, often in apparently random ways. It was a focus of planning, thinking, and conversation in a way that, while entirely natural, was quite unusual to me as an American.

(Unfortunately, it appears that there has not been much improvement since my visit.)

I see an analogy with the global economy.

From the mid-1980s through 2008, central banks had the tools, the will, and the knowledge to protect the economy from sharp swings in the demand for goods and services. they raised interest rates to head off surges, and lowered rates to prevent severe slumps. As a result, households and businesses could count on an economy in which aggregate demand grew relatively steadily. nobody had to think about, or plan around, the possibility of persistent shortfalls in prices and employment. that has changed. Since 2008, central banks haven’t been able or willing to defend against a sharp and highly persistent fall in aggregate

the republican.... From A9 the delegate they are required to vote for, at least on the first ballot. however, they are not required to support that candidate’s position in any rules or credentials fights.

That means we need to think about two sets of numbers: Delegates who are bound (or unbound but committed) to a candidate, and delegates who are loyal to a candidate. Those categories will overlap, but they’re not at all the same. We may have delegates bound to trump but loyal to ted Cruz, delegates bound

demand. they have used much of their toolkit, and seem reluctant to employ the tools that remain. As a result, the flow of demand has become uncertain.

Market participants and others are focused on what could go wrong, and how central banks might—or might not—respond.

Before 2008, global aggregate demand was like electricity in the US—just something in the background that everyone could count on.

After 2008, it became like electricity in India— desperately needed, but subject to random and persistent shortages. Just as the uncertainty of electricity provision hobbles India’s economy, the uncertainty of aggregate demand impairs the global economy. to reduce uncertainty and promote higher growth, both systems need overhauls. how should the world overhaul its system for providing aggregate demand? to me, this is the key question facing macroeconomists today.

Answering it will require a big change in the discipline. Before 2008, most macroeconomists studying the US and europe largely ignored the possibility of long-lasting shortfalls in demand. this may (at least arguably) have been appropriate for most questions of interest before 2008. now, however, they need different models and approaches to understand the effects of aggregatedemand uncertainty, and figure out how best to eliminate it. Bloomberg

to Cruz but loyal to no candidate, or any other combination.

Bound delegates, along with unbound but committed ones, will give us our best estimate of the first ballot for the nomination.

But loyal delegate counts—and most delegates haven’t been chosen yet, so it’s too early to even guess what the final totals will be—are the best estimates of how the voting will go on everything else. And credentials and rules votes come before the candidate ballot.

Also, loyalty only stretches so far. Suppose Cruz is willing to win ugly, by throwing out elected

if our yearly grain output climbs to 20 million metric tons yearly, 3.3 MMt will be lost lack of dryers, dearth of storage, outdated milling technology.

That’s 66 million sacks of wasted rice, enough to gift each of the 105 million unli-rice-loving pinoys 31 kilos.

Or if annual per capita rice consumption in this part of the world is 114 kilograms, then all that wasted rice would be enough to meet the rice needs of 22 million Mindanaoans, pro-BBl or not, for one year and four months.

Government is addressing drying losses through Rice processing Complexes, or RpCs which have a paved drying surface on their yard.

But even if government builds more RpCs, these won’t be enough to meet the demand. each can only accommodate 600 sacks of palay in its biomass-fed dryers every eight hours. And there’s the element of cost. the fee of p40 per bag is hard to bear for farmers struggling with thin if not negative profits.

A recourse is to build more solar dryers, either by paving farm-to-market roads so these could function as drying surfaces during the harvest season, or build more barrio basketball courts with a dual purpose. these, however, come at a cost.

trump delegates on technicalities.

It’s possible that the texas senator may have 1,237 delegates willing to vote for him for the nomination— but also that a decisive number aren’t willing to go that far for him. nor do delegates who were loyal to Cruz or trump when chosen in the spring need to stay loyal at the convention in July.

Messy for sure and potentially even worse than that. Which is one more reason that Republicans should do everything they can to settle the nomination during the pre-convention period.

Bloomberg

the DpWh price tag for a kilometer of concrete road is about p20 million.

But there are practical solutions which do not burn a hole in the taxpayer’s pocket, things which have escaped the attention of planners used to big-ticket items.

One of which is to give farmers a couple of 60-square meter trapals, which are effective drying mats, and which can be bought for less than p1,000 in Divisoria.

If a farmer has a rubberized trapal, he will no longer lug his palay to the nearest public road for drying. he can do it in his just harvested field. he will not impede traffic, and grains will not be blown away by cars whizzing by.

When it rains, his palay is protected. And he can use his trapal as canopy for fiestas, baptism and emergency roofing during typhoons.

It is cheaper, too. One-fourth kilometer of concrete road cum solar dryer will cost millions and takes years to build. Or, for a fraction of that cost, plus quick delivery, and a drying surface thousands of times larger, government can supply farmers with trapals as a supplemental drying equipment.

Actually, government has been buying trapals in bulk, by the millions. the only problem is that they’re used for epal tarpaulins.

M O N D AY : A p r i l 4 , 2 0 1 6

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

IndonesIa needs more taxpayers wealth. As a result, the country has a tax-toGDP ratio of barely 12 percent—lower than WITH some 255 million people and 17,000 most of its neighbors and far lower than in the islands, Indonesia is big in many ways except developed world, where ratios from 25 percent one: its tax base. Only 27 million citizens are to 50 percent are common. registered taxpayers, and in 2014 less than a Indonesia can’t count on a quick rebound million of them paid what they owed. For in oil and gas prices to lift that ratio. Nor Indonesia to live up to its potential, that number can it afford to postpone crucial investments has to increase. in infrastructure, health and education. A Indonesia has missed its revenue targets dramatic increase in infrastructure investment for several years running. Last year, with the at the end of last year pushed the government plunge in oil prices, tax collections fell short uncomfortably close to its mandated fiscal limit by $17.2 billion. One fix, to be debated when of three percent of gross domestic product. The parliament reconvenes next month, is a tax International Monetary Fund and World Bank amnesty plan meant to raise more than $4 have already lowered growth forecasts for 2016 billion by persuading Indonesians to bring in part because of fears that some spending will home money from overseas. Yet amnesties don’t have to be scaled back for lack of revenue. always work so well in countries like Indonesia, In addition to the amnesty legislation, the where taxpayers face little credible threat of government has begun taking steps to improve punishment for not coming clean. tax collection—for example, by moving toward In any case, the only long-term solution a single taxpayer number for individuals and is to widen the tax base. Most Indonesians, exploring the use of third-party data, from especially in rural areas, work in the informal property records to auto sales, to sniff out tax sector and thus fall outside the tax net. The evaders. Both efforts will require improving the country has fewer than 40,000 tax inspectors, tax department’s IT systems and hiring more and their reputation for being sticky-fingered inspectors. Meanwhile, amended banksecrecy discourages citizens from declaring their true laws could give authorities a better picture of

Bloomberg editorial

the vagaries.... From A9 analogies very troublesome (because it is not easy to say where the sameness and the differences lie)—but for this reason, and consonant with the polysemic character of language, also very useful. But analogy— both in Aristotle and in Ricoeur—is not only about the way we talk about things, but about the way things are. So just as seeing is never plain seeing (with the resulting conceit that one rejects all other ways of seeing) but always “seeing as,” similarly, historical reality is “as we put it, as we read the documents, as we decipher inscriptions on monuments, as well appreciate remains, and relics and traces.”

Here, Ricoeur borrows a key concept of Levinas: the trace. The Other (person) is such that what I see, hear from, receive of her are traces, for the Other always eludes the clutches of my totalizing grasp. The trace then, says Levinas, signifies without making anything appear.

#failocracy

What the history writer has are traces—documents (even if these be sworn statements, eyewitness accounts, photographs), monuments— and these are at the very most and the very best traces of the past. Nothing to be lamented about this because it is folly to lament what we cannot truly have: a revival or a return of the past that crosses the divide between past and present. But what is important is the overarching norm of analogy: A historical account is the past as the historian narrates it. Obviously, no historical narrative will surrender its claim to being a rendition of past reality, otherwise, there would be nothing to distinguish it from fiction, but whoever reads history will do well to go, with the historian, through the necessary movements: the Same— an attempt to bridge the distance of the past, the Other—a chastening realization that the past is terra aliena,

where assets are hidden, and moving the tax directorate from the ministry of finance to the president’s office could increase its budget and clout.

Most important, the government needs to bring more citizens, in both the informal and formal economies, into the tax net. The best way to do this is to broaden the reach of the value-added tax—now riddled with unnecessary exemptions—and raise rates.

Income tax rates could be revised as well, both to bring in more money and to stem rising inequality. The current system treats someone earning a little more than $35,000 the same as someone who makes $350,000. Employees with a single source of income should simply receive a bill rather than being required to file returns. And the government should eliminate exemptions and holidays for specific sectors and investment projects, as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has urged.

These reforms are difficult, and none would raise money as quickly as a successful tax amnesty could. But Indonesia’s revenue crunch is a long-term problem that demands lasting change. Bloomberg

and Analogy —that the reality of the past is AS the historian deals with his sources and tells his story!

Many think that the writing of history starts with sources that a historian “objectively” peruses before he proceeds to his narrative reconstruction. But the historian is actually the master of his sources.

Gadamer, drawing on Heidegger’s thinking on thinking, pointed to the “projection” that is the precondition for all understanding. The historian too “projects” what happened, and on the basis of this projection, goes through the data available, deciding which he should pay heed to and which he should relegate to unimportance.

There will then always be alternate readings, alternate narratives—not all enjoying the same degree of plausibility, to be sure, but how often has it happened that the implausible reading of an

earlier generation becomes the favored rendition of a later? rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

baCK Channel alejandro del rosario Ambassador Del Rosario’s column will resume soon.

out of the box rita linda v. jimeno Atty. Jimeno’s column will resume soon.

chong ardivilla

m o n day : a p ri l 4 , 2 0 1 6

A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Medvedeva mesmerizes the world BOSTON – Russian teenager Evgenia Medvedeva underscored her status as the new star of women’s skating on Saturday with a recordbreaking victory at the World Figure Skating Championships.

Seattle Sounders smother Impact LOS ANGELES—United States international Clint Dempsey scored the game’s only goal as the Seattle Sounders bagged their first Major League Soccer win of the season with a 1-0 victory over a depleted Montreal Impact on Saturday.

Dempsey headed home from a corner on 79 minutes to settle a hard fought encounter against a Montreal side still missing star striker Didier Drogba, who is nursing a knee injury.

The win came as a welcome relief for Seattle, who were desperate to get off the mark after losing their opening three fixtures.

Seattle created the better chances throughout, setting the tone for the match early on when Nelson Valdez and Cristian Roldan both had attempts on goal in the opening minute.

The breakthrough came with just over 10 minutes remaining, when former Fulham star Dempsey lost his marker to meet an Andreas Ivanschitz corner at the back post with a header to score.

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s sluggish start to the season saw them held to a disappointing 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada.

The big-spending Californian club’s season has been hampered by injuries to former England captain Steven Gerrard and Republic of Ireland record goalscorer Robbie Keane, who faces several weeks on the sidelines.

The absence of Keane was all too obvious on Saturday as the Galaxy failed to break down a Vancouver team reduced to 10 men when Matias Laba was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Mike Magee.

Last season’s beaten MLS Cup finalists meanwhile, the Columbus Crew, are still waiting for their first win of the season after being held to a 1-1 draw by FC Dallas in Texas on Saturday. AFP

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia performs her free skate during the Ladies competition at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, April 2. AFP

Real Madrid finally beats Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain—Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winner as 10man Real Madrid came from behind to end Barcelona’s 39-game unbeaten run 2-1 in El Clasico at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Gerard Pique’s towering header put the hosts in front on the night they honoured legendary former player and coach Johan Cruyff.

Yet, Karim Benzema quickly levelled before Ronaldo fired home

five minutes from time after Madrid captain Sergio Ramos had seen the 21st red card of his career.

Victory reduces Barca’s lead over third-placed Madrid to seven points with seven games remaining.

Atletico Madrid closed the gap on the leaders to six points with a 5-1 thrashing of Real Betis earlier on Saturday.

“I liked everything from my

players both defensively and offensively against a great team with very good players,” said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane after a successful first Clasico in charge.

“When I see the team like this, fighting for their teammates, it is the best thing for a coach.”

There was an emotive homage to Cruyff before kick-off with over 90,000 fans holding up a display reading “Thank you Johan” along-

side a Barca jersey with the number 14 the Dutch great adorned during his playing career.

Yet, it was a sad end to a spectacular run for the European champions as they tasted defeat for the first time since losing at Sevilla in October.

“Their first goal damaged us and disorientated us and caught us out of position,” said Barca coach Luis Enrique. AFP

Dixon rules Phoenix GP LOS ANGELES—Reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon swept to victory at the Phoenix Grand Prix on Saturday to open his account for 2016.

The New Zealander, who had finished seventh in the season-opener won by rival Juan Pablo Montoya in Florida last month, led the final 155 laps at the Phoenix International Raceway to take maximum points.

The victory moved Dixon up to fourth on the all-time list of race winners with 39, alongside Al Unser. Michael Andretti is next with 42 and A.J. Foyt leads with 67.

Dixon however did set a new IndyCar record by winning a race for a 12th consecutive season. He had previously shared the mark of 11 with Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio Castroneves.

“It was tough, definitely one of the toughest races on these short ovals,” Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dixon said.

“The car was super-fast. I think we had the best car out there on strategies and pit stops.”

Dixon took control of Saturday’s race when two Team Penske drivers suffered tire problems and were forced into the pits.

Helio Castroneves, who had started on pole for the 46th time in his career, lasted only 39 laps, with his car suffering a cut tire on lap 40 which forced both Montoya and Tony Kanaan to take evasive action to avoid hitting the Brazilian. AFP

Scott Dixon of New Zealand, driver of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet IndyCar celebrates after winning the Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. AFP

The 16-year-old broke the record for the highest free skate score ever, amassing 150.10 points to surpass by .04 the mark set by Kim Yuna at the 2010 Olympic Games.

The teenager also scored a notable first by becoming the first world junior champion to win the senior title the following year.

Medvedeva’s spectacular performance set to the soundtrack of Madonna’s film W.E. launched her from third after the short program to the top of the podium with 223.86 points.

Medvedeva – heavily tipped to win gold heading into the competition – lived up to expectations and then some, nailing every one of her seven triple jumps and two double Axels.

“I don’t have any emotions right now. I left it all on the ice with my performance today. I think I won’t realize soon that I won. One year ago I was still skating in juniors,” Medvedeva said through an interpreter.

“I was actually less nervous than usual and I felt very comfortable out there. I was focused and I took one element at a time.

“This is really an incredible moment for me and it’s going to be a remarkable moment in my life,” added Medvedeva who also won the Grand Prix and European titles this season.

When advised that her score was record-setting, the teen could say only “Wow.” Veteran Ashley Wagner of the United States skated last and into the silver medal position with an emotionallycharged performance to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack.

She succeeded with seven triple jumps woven into masterful choreography which earned 142.23 on the night -her total score 215.39.

It was almost impossible to hear the music as Wagner entered her final combination spin with the capacity crowd at TD Garden in full roar and on their feet.

“This was absolutely incredible. I don’t think anyone can prepare you for skating last at the world championships after your rivals have skated a great performance,” Wagner said.

The bronze medal went to unheralded Russian Anna Pogorilaya who also skated her Sheherazade program without any significant faults. Her finale earned 139.71, giving her a total of 213.69.

Overnight leader Gracie Gold of the United States saw her medal hopes evaporate with a fall on her opening jump combo and a planned triple lutz turned to a double. AFP

m o n day : a p ri l 4 , 2 0 1 6

A13

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Villanova advances to NCAA title game LOS ANGELES—The Villanova Wildcats turned the tables on the Oklahoma Sooners and Bahamian star Buddy Hield on Saturday with an historic 91-51 rout to reach the prestigious US collegiate basketball championship game.

Guard Josh Hart scored 23 points and the Wildcats connected on 71 percent of their shots as Villanova won by the biggest margin of victory in the history of the national tournament semi-finals dubbed the “Final Four.”

Villanova will the University of North Carolina in the title game at NRG Stadium on Monday after the Tar Heels downed Syracuse in Saturday’s other semi-final.

The presence of US Vice-President Joe Biden, a noted Syracuse alumni, was not enough to inspire the Orange as North Carolina advanced 83-66.

The cavernous retractable-roofed home of the NFL’s Houston Texans is host to the final stages of the hugely popular 68-team National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament known as March Madness.

The tournament was still in the offing when Oklahoma notched a 23-point early season victory over Villanova in December.

But the Wildcats, now back in the final for the first time since they beat Georgetown for the title in 1985, avenged that defeat when it counted.

Not only were the Sooners unable to get defensive stops, they shot just 32 percent from the floor.

Villanova held national player of the year Hield, a surefire first-round pick in the next NBA draft -- to nine points on four-of-12 shooting, including one-ofeight from three-point range.

Hield, in the last year of his college career, entered the contest averaging 25.4 points this season. He had scored 25 or more points in 18 games with a high of 46.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said the one-sided nature of his team’s defeat had hurt.

“It becomes embarrassing right there,” Kruger said. “You know, we lost our composure there obviously and things came apart. You never like handling things like that. We’d liked to have handled their run a little bit better.” AFP

Boris Diaw (33) of the San Antonio Spurs shoots against the Toronto Raptors during the game on April 2 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

Spurs extend streak LOS ANGELES—A late points spree by Kawhi Leonard saw the San Antonio Spurs preserve their remarkable unbeaten home record on Saturday with a 102-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Leonard weighed in with a career-best 33 points— including eight in the final minute—as the Spurs extended their winning streak at the AT&T Center to 39 games this year, 48 unbeaten overall since last season.

San Antonio’s unbeaten run at home is the second longest in NBA history behind the Golden State Warriors’ record of 54, which came to an end with an upset defeat against Boston on Friday.

The Spurs have only two regular season home games remaining—including one against the Western Confer-

ence leaders San Antonio— which means they will have to wait until next year for a chance to set a new record.

Leonard’s decisive contribution came in the closing stages with San Antonio looking vulnerable as they clung to an 88-84 lead.

However Leonard’s presence settled the Spurs, and he nailed two contested jumpers before sinking four straight free throws to ensure the win.

San Antonio’s victory saw them improve to 64-13 for the season, a franchise record for wins which surpassed the 2005-2006 team’s

previous best mark of 63-19.

Significantly as they look towards the postseason, the Spurs have beaten every team in the NBA this year.

San Antonio’s latest win also saw LaMarcus Aldridge contribute 31 points and 15 rebounds while Tim Duncan made 11 rebounds.

Toronto’s points scoring was led by Norman Powell with 17, one of six players to make double figures on the night.

The Raptors improved to 51-25, cementing their place as the second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers who lead with 54-22.

Chicago’s hopes of reaching the playoffs receded further after Reggie Jackson scored 22 points and Tobias Harris 21 to help the Detroit Pistons to a 94-90 win over the Bulls at the United Center.

Detroit are now in control

of their playoff destiny with a record of 41-36 in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Indiana Pacers occupy the eighth and final playoff spot from the conference, moving to 40-36 after beating the Philadelphia 76ers by 115-102.

The Pacers were made to sweat for the win however, taking the lead with 3:39 left after C.J. Miles sunk a three-pointer, part of a personal haul of 25 points from the bench.

“We’re satisfied with winning,” said forward Paul George.

“We’re not satisfied with how we won. Give them credit. They play hard, they played us all the way through, made us win this at the last two minutes.”

Chicago meanwhile are just outside the postseason places at 38-38, putting them at risk of missing the postseason for the first time since 2008. AFP

Thompson grabs lead at ANA Inspiration LOS ANGELES—Lexi Thompson conjured up a scintillating finish to open up a one-shot third-round lead in the ANA Inspiration on Saturday, setting up what promises to be a thrilling final round battle for the first major of the season.

The 21-year-old American star – aiming to repeat her victory in the event in 2014 – produced back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th to move within one shot of the lead at Rancho Mirage’s Mission Hills Country Club.

But Thompson saved her best for last on the par-five 18th, reaching the green in two with a superlative shot from the fairway which left her with a 15-foot eagle putt which she duly drained.

That gave Thompson a three-under-par 69, putting her on 10-under 206 for the

tournament, one clear of a pack of three players led by world number one Lydia Ko, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and South Korea’s Chun In-Gee. “To finish like that really turns around my confidence. I feel really good going into tomorrow,” said Thompson, who battled through a shaky spell earlier in her round which saw her bogey the par-three eighth and the par-four 10th.

“This is probably the best I’ve hit it this season,” added Thompson.

New Zealand prodigy Ko, meanwhile, hit a solid if unspectacular round comprising three birdies and 15 pars as she chases the second major of her career following last year’s win at the Evian Championship.

The 18-year-old attributed her 69 to a more aggressive approach to her putting

as well as her unerring accuracy off the tee.

“I felt like I struck the ball a lot better today and I hit a few more fairways,” Ko said. “The less time you’re spending in the rough the better.”

Thailand’s Ariya meanwhile fired a fiveunder-par 67 to remain firmly in contention on nine under.

The 20-year-old from Bangkok – who made worldwide headlines in 2007 when she became the youngest ever player to qualify for an LPGA Tour event at the age of 11 – carded five birdies and no bogeys in a flawless third round.

Chun, who began the day one off the pace, appeared to be determined to take sole possession of the leaderboard after making a flying start with birdies on her first three holes to move to nine-under.

But the 21-year-old’s momentum stalled over the remaining holes of the front nine, with bogey fives on the par-four fourth and sixth holes, followed by a further bogey on the par-three eighth which cancelled out her superb start.

Chun however settled back into her rhythm over the back nine, with birdies on the 11th, 15th and 18th helping her to a third straight 69.

Another youngster, 20-year-old English talent Charley Hull, was two shots off the lead after posting a three-under-par 69 for the second consecutive round following Thursday’s opening 70.

Hull looked to be slipping off the pace after recording bogeys at the eighth and 10th holes to leave her twoover for the day. AFP

M O N DAY : A P RI L 4 , 2 0 1 6

A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Morales tops Ronda Stage One STA. ROSA, Laguna—Navy-Standard Insurance’s Jan Paul Morales displayed the same form that won him the Mindanao Leg and topped Stage One of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2016’s Luzon Leg at the Paseo de Sta. Rosa grounds here in Laguna yesterday.

Re-energized after two-week break, Morales, 30, showed great form and conitioning and handily took opening stage victory in one hour, eight minutes and 5.37 seconds to set in motion his bid of seizing another leg.

“I prepared hard for this because I was a little bit tired in the Visayas,” said Morales, who managed just a sixth place finish in the Visayas Leg last month after getting spent by

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his Mindanao Leg triumph.

It was an impressive performance for Morales, who won it by almost a minute and a half ahead of LBC-MVP Sports Foundation’s George Oconer and another Navy bet Rudy Roque, who checked in second and third in 1:09:30.30 and 1:09:33.19, respectively.

“I was just focused on winning,” said Morales.

The lap win was Morales’ third this year after he also

N OT I CE O F D I S SO LUT I O N The public is h e r e by notified that C R I M S O N LO G I C P H I L I P P I N E S , I N C . a c o r p o r a t i o n o r g a n i z e d a n d ex i s t i n g u n d e r Philippine laws, with registered address a t 2 5 t h F l o o r, 8 8 C o r p o r a t e C e n t e r, 141 Va l e r o S t r e e t c o r S e d e ñ o S t r e e t , S a l c e d o V i l l a g e, M a k a t i C i t y, P h i l i p p i n e s , w i l l b e D I S S O LV E D t h r o u g h s h o r t e n i n g of corporate term in accordance with S e c t i o n 12 0 o f t h e C o r p o r a t i o n C o d e . T h e c o r p o r a t i o n`s d i s s o l u t i o n w i l l t a ke e f f e c t u p o n a p p r ov a l by t h e a m e n d m e n t m a d e o n t h e c o r p o r a t i o n`s A r t i c l e s o f I n c o r p o r a t i o n to shor ten its corporate term. ( T S - M A R . 21, 2 8 & A P R . 4 , 2 016)

ruled Stagees Three and Four of the Mindanao Leg in Cagayan de Oro and Manolo Fortich two months ago.

And it looked like Morales is on his way to another leg triumph.

“I’m in good condition to win again,” said Morales.

Vowing a better effort after a disappointing 11th place finish in the Visayas, Oconer delivered on his promise and beat Morales and Roque for the stage win.

Five other LBC-MVPSF riders also made it into the top 10 including Rustom Lim, who ended up at No. 4 in 1:09:38.74.

LBC-MVPSF’s Ronald Lomotos was at No. 6, Julius Mark Bonzo at No. 7, Jerry Aquino, Jr. at No. 9 and Ronnilan Quita at No. 10 with clockings of 1:09:51.78, 1:10:06.09, 1:10:08.82 and 1:10:08.86.

El Joshua Carino (1:09:40.00), and 2009n Tour king Joel Calderon (1:10:07.64) were the other Navymen in the Stage One top 10.

Oconer later said he was just tired of losing.

“I’m determined to make up for my performance last time,” said Oconer, last year’s runner up.

Ronnel Hualda, who is rep-

Republic of the Philippines NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY REGION 10 BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City

A nt i - M o n ey L au n d e r i n g C o u n c i l Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex M a ni l a, Phi li p p i n e s I nv i t a t i o n t o B i d f o r 1 L o t S t o r a g e A r e a N e t wo r k (S A N) 1.

2.

3.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council, through the e-Government Fund, intends to apply the sum of PhP4,000,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the 1 Lot Storage Area Network (SAN) project. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected on bid opening.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council now invites bids for the 1 Lot Storage Area Network (SAN) project. Completion of the project is required 45 calendar days after issuance of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two 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.

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

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.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Atty. Eileen S. Guerrero-Lapuz at telephone no. 302-3975 and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:00AM to 4:30PM Monday to Friday.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders starting 4 April 2016 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of PhP5,000.00.

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

6.

7.

A Pre-Bid Conference is set on 11 April 2016 9:30AM at the AMLC Conference Room, Room 612, 6/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila. Attendance of the bidders shall not be mandatory. However, only those who have purchased the Bidding Documents shall be allowed to participate in the pre-bid conference and raise or submit written queries or clarifications.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 25 April 2016 10:00AM. 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 25 April 2016 10:01AM at the AMLC Conference Room, Room 612, 6/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below.

Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council 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 AMLC also reserves the right to waive any required formality in the responses to the eligibility requirements and to this invitation.

9.

For further information, please refer to:

Atty. Eileen S. Guerrero-Lapuz or Guerrero-LapuzES@bsp.gov.ph BAC Secretariat - AMLC Room 507, 5/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila Telephone Number: +632 302-3975 Fax Number: +632 708-7909 www.amlc.gov.ph (SGD.) VENCENT L. SALIDO AMLC BAC Chairman ( T S - A P R . 4 , 2 016)

resenting Team Light Science, was at No. 11 in 1:10:09.43 while Visayas Leg titlist Ronald Oranza of Navy managed just a 12th place finish with a time of 1:10:09.67.

Morales gained 15 points for his win while Oconer and Roque 13 and 11 classification points.

Rounding up the top 10 in the overall standings were Lim (9), Carino (7), Lomotos (6), Bonzo (5), Calderon (4), Aquino (3) and Quita (2).

Expect another battle between Navy and LBC-MVPSF when the race resumes today for the Individual Time Trial Stage Three that starts in Talisay City, Batanghas and ends in Tagaytay City.

Antipolo City will host Stage Three with a criterium on April 6 before LBC Ronda closes with a Stage Four road race from Dagupan City, Pangasinan to Baguio on April 8 and another criterium on Baguio on April 9.

The event, organized by LBC Express, is sanctioned by PhilCycling and sponsored by Manny V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation, Petron and Versa RadioTech 1 Corp. with Maynilad and NLEX as minor sponsors.

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE SUPPLY OF SECURITY SERVICES FOR NFA REGION 10 FOR CY 2016 (Re-Bidding)

The NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY (NFA) REGION-10, through its Corporate Operating Budget for CY 2016, intends to apply the sum of ELEVEN MILLION NINE HUNDRED TWENTY THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED EIGHT PESOS & 40/100 (PhP11,920,208.40) being the APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (ABC) to payments under the contract of security services for NFA Region 10 for CY 2016 (May-December) as follows: NFA PROVINCIAL OFFICE NO. OF SECURITY (USER) GUARDS 1. BUKIDNON 26 2. CAMIGUIN 7 3. LANAO NORTE 12 4. MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL 12 5. MISAMIS ORIENTAL 31 TOTAL 88

APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (ABC) (Php) 3,493,719.80 931,525.53 1,633,637.32 1,625,208.77 4,236,116.98 11,920,208.40

The scope of work, requirements and specifications of the Contracts include the provision and deployment of duly licensed security guards and firearms (including live ammunitions), vehicles and communication equipment and the design and implementation of security systems and procedures aimed at maximizing protection for NFA personnel, stakeholders and properties.

Bidders should have completed within the immediate last three years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible bidder and the minimum qualification requirements are contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section II. Instructions to Bidders (ITB).

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criteria as specified in the implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested bidders on April 4, 2016 – April 26, 2016 (working days only) from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable bidding fee of Php 25,000.00.

The NFA Region 10 Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) will hold a Pre-bid conference on April 12, 2016 at 1:30 P.M. at the 2nd Floor, NFA Building, Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bid must be delivered to the address below on or before April 26, 2016 at 1:30 P.M. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Bid opening shall be on April 26, 2016 at 1:31 P.M. at the 2nd Floor, NFA Building, Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representative who choose to attend.

For further information, please inquire from: MS BEVERLY M. NAVARRO BAC Head Secretariat National Food Authority 2F, NFA Building Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City Telephone Numbers (088) 855-2721; (08822) 73-2215, Fax Number (088) 855-2723 NFA 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.

(Sgd.) VICTORIA R. DURAY Asst. Regional Director/ RBAC Chairman The Standard – April 4, 2016

MVPSF regional match play underway RUPERT Zaragosa and Harmie Constantino set out as the favorites in their respective sides as the first MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championship gets going today (Monday, April 4) at the Cebu Country Club in Cebu City.

The huge field, featuring the country’s top players and rising stars, vies in the 36-hole stroke eliminations in the first two days with the top 32 in the men’s division and the top 16 in the ladies side advancing to the knockout phase on Wednesday, according to the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Joining Zaragosa, a many-time junior champion and national titlist, in the hunt for match play berths are Gilbert Gamolo, Gab Manotoc, Mark Dy, Bayani Garcia, Jolo Magcalayo, Jovi Neri, Chepe Dulay and Mark Sarmiento along with Harvey Sytiongsa, Marco Mendoza, Armand Guangko, Jufil Sato, Jaylord Abadilla, Nelson Yuvallos, Jojo Tiongko, Daniel Yap and Jefferson Rivera.

Constantino, on the other hand, looms as the player to beat in the ladies side owing to her runaway triumph in the recent NGAP Philippine Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Eagle Ridge.

But a host of local aces will be out to foil her bid, guaranteeing a fierce battle in both categories of the weeklong event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT, Metro Pacific Invesments Corp. and the Philippine Sports Commission and held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour.

LK Go, Mirasol Panong, Riko Nagai and Mariestela Borres along with Jona Magcalayo, Junia Gabasa, Grace Quintanilla, Kristine Torralba, Renafe Arnado, Wilma Fantonial and Divina Lapasaran are the other players to watch in the ladies section of the event which also kicks off a series of NGAP tournaments.

M O N DAY : A P RI L 4 , 2 0 1 6

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

PSL squads test mettle of Thais

LOCAL squads test the mettle of Thai heavyweight Est Cola in the final round of the 2016 PLDT Home Ultera Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference women’s volleyball tournament starting this Thursday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Filipino hospitality takes a back seat as local teams do their best to beat the visiting team.

After emerging empty-handed in the ThaiDenmark Super League, PSL stars from F2 Logistics, Petron and RC Cola-Army are all eager to bounce back and clinch the crown of this topnotch inter-club tourney bankrolled by Senoh, Mikasa, Mueller, Asics and Grand Sport with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

Cha Cruz, Aby Marano and F2 Logistics will be the first to test the mettle of the Thais before Petron and three-time champion RC Cola-Army take their respective turns in the penultimate day of this single-round battle patterned after the format of the FIVB Grand Prix.

Petron coach George Pascua admitted that they are still licking the wound created by their sorry setbacks to Bangkok Glass, Idea Khonkaen and 3BB Nokhonnont in the Thai-Denmark Super League and only a victory in front of their home crowd will ease the pain away.

“It’s going to be a very exciting battle,” said Pascua, the two-time champion coach who guided the PSL All-Stars in the prestigious Thai tourney recently. “We learned a lot playing against the Thais and I expect the team to use that experience to its advantage when we face Est Cola in the PSL. It will surely be an emotional game because we all want to redeem ourselves against them.”

Sulaiman honors PH boxing LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG THE past week was a bustling one for the Philippine boxing community as the best Filipino pugilists—from the past and the present—as well as major stakeholders like the managers and promoters, gathered together in two major events.

Putting in a major significance and prestige to both the events was the attendance and active participation of no less than the president of the World Boxing Council, Mauricio Sulaiman.

The amiable Mexican executive joined the Elorde family in honoring the top Filipino boxers of last year during the 16th Gabriel “Flash” Elorde Boxing Awards Banquet of Champions at the Hotel Sofitel Manila.

Among those honored were back-to-back awardees World Boxing Organization lightfly king Donnie Nietes and International Boxing Organization miniflyweight titlist Rey Loreto. Also in attendance to receive special citations were former WBC superfeatherweight champion Rolando Navarette, the fighter called “Bad Boy” from Dadiangas (General Santos City).

Navarette, who now makes both ends meet from dole-outs and can barely walk, had his right fist cast for display at the boxing museum soon to be erected at the Elorde Sports Complex.

Sulaiman never failed to give tribute to Filipino champions like Gabriel Elorde and Navarette whose career he has followed back when he was tagging along with his father, Don Jose.

“Boxing is the sport that brings opportunities to the less fortunate in the world. Boxing gives greatest moments to countries that usually do not have success in other areas, and it was Gabriel Elorde, idol of my dear father, Jose Sulaiman, who gave this great country, honor and glory by showing his greatness of an extraordinary boxer,” said Sulaiman. *** The next day, Sulaiman flew to the City of Smiles, Bacolod, to attend the 2016 Convention of the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation, that was attended by more than 200 delegates from member countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Philippines.

Sulaiman actively participated in the deliberations on innovations in officiating and judging. The Bacolod City Council also came up with a resolution making the charismatic Sulaiman an adopted son of Bacolod City.

On the final day of the convention, Sulaiman was treated to a slam-bang Triple Championships that lived up to expectation with two matches ending up by stoppages and the other in a split draw.

Hard-punching Carlo Magale of Highland Boxing wrested the OPBF Bantamweight Silver title following a technical decision

over local favorite Mark Gil Melligen while Rene Dacquel of Japan-based United Boxing Gym knocked out Thai Lucky Thor Buamas in the 8th of their 12 round OPBF Superflyweight Silver championship tussle.

Magale, who gained notoriety for fatally knocking out an Australian foe for the IBF Asia title last year, punished Melligen with solid punches to the head and body all night long and was ahead by a mile on the judges’ scorecards when the fight was stopped due accidental head butt in the middle of the 10th canto.

Ring doctor found Melligen unfit to continue as he sustained a deep cut on his right upper eyelid. He also has cuts on the left eyebrow and bruises on his faces, all caused by legitimate punches.

Magale, who improved his record to 20 wins (11 KOs), 7 losses and 3 draws, now has two regional belts and is looking forward to finally nail a crack at a world title.

“There’s an offer for him to defend his IBF Asia title and we are also looking at going for the regular OPBF championship belt. One or two more wins and Carlo is ready to get a world title fight,” said Santig, who promoted the Triple Championship with Naris Singwangcha.

The other OPBF silver title fight in the bantamweight division between Rey Megrino and Japan-based Jonathan Baat ended in a split draw with two judges giving the win to each of the fighter and the third scoring it even.

ICTSI champion. Tony Lascuña (center) proudly shows his trophy after

scoring a runaway four-shot romp over Korean Park Jun Hyeok in the ICTSI Luisita Championship, the second leg of this year’s PGT, last Saturday.

Beside him are Luisita Golf and Country Club’s Jeric Hechanova (left) and Luigi Tabuena of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour.

Frayna shares early lead in Natl Age Group chess

By Arman Armero LAOAG City—Woman International Master Janelle Mae Frayna picked up her second straight win in as many rounds on Sunday to figure in a three-way tie for the early lead in the Open Under-20 category, even as WIM Bernadette Galas, Woman National Master Jean Karen Enriquez, and Luzon leg winner Virgenie Ruaya emerged tied with 1.5 points each in the girls side in the 2016 National Age Group Chess Championship Grand Finals at the Mariano Marcos State University auditorium here.

The 19-year-old Frayna, the lone female participant in the Open (men’s) division in the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and hosted by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, turned back James Rhey Bantugan in the opening round late Saturday, and followed it up with another strong win over Joshua Arias in the second round.

The successive wins pushed the no. 3 seed Frayna in a tie with Austin Jacob Literatus and Romy Fagon, who also had two wins to show going into the third round today.

Literatus, seeded no. 4 here, beat Adrian dela Cruz and Bantugan for a similar output, while Fagon upset Jonathan Jota in the first round, before defeating Arias in the second round in the round-robin tournament also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Calma scores big in PPS-PEPP Butuan TOP SEED Mary Aubrey Calma of Cagayan de Oro lived up to her billing and pocketed two titles while Surigao’s Rupert Tortal posted a win and a runner-up finish in the Butuan City leg of the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit at the Butuan Capitol Tennis Club recently.

The 15-year-old Calma subdued No. 2 Jazzelle Madis, 6-4, 6-2, to cop the girls’ 16-U crown then the Corpus Christi

High School mainstay wore down Madis in the 18-U finals and scored a 1-0 (ret.) win to lead the winners in the kickoff leg of the PPS-PEPP summer tour and 12th stage overall of the country’s premier agegrouper sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Tortal also stamped his class and clobbered unseeded Marco Andre, 6-2, 6-4, to claim the boys’ 12-U title but the 11-yearold rising star from Surigao Pilot School fell

short against second seed Joris Pantujan from Padada, Davao del Sur, who took the 14-U diadem, 6-3, 7-5.

Sultan Kudarat’s April Bentillo matched Calma’s twin-title romp as she trounced Tenielle Madis, 6-3, 6-2, for the 12-U crown and overpowered Angela Novis, 6-3, 6-1, for the 14-U title in the Group 2 event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusively distributor of Slazenger, the official ball.

In the girls side, the no. 4 seed Galas opened her campaign with a win in the first round, but was held to a draw in the second round by Ruaya in the second round.

Ruaya, a second year Electronic Communications Engineering at the University of the East, also opened her campaign with a win over Mabel San Juan before the draw with Galas.

Also with 1.5 points is Enriquez who also won her first assignment against Venice Vicente before settling for a draw with Woman Fide Master Antoinette San Diego in the second round.

In other men’s category result, John Merill Jacutina and Jeth Romy Morado both stayed unbetean after two rounds to lead their group, while three players --- John Marvin Miciano, Dennis Gutierrez Jr., and Dale Bernardo share the lead with similar two points in the boys’ Under-16.

Meanwhile, Reishi Boy Polan and Dennis Gutierrez share the lead with points each in the boys’ Under-14, even as Daniel Quizon remained the only unbeaten player after two rounds in the boys’ Under-12.

In the boys U-10, Elijah Opriasa, Mark Jay Bacojo and Robert James Perez remained tied for the lead with two points apiece, while Gladimir Chester Romero and Ghian Micheal Aleria figure in a three-way tie for the lead with two points each.

In other girls’ side results, Samantha Glo Revita emerged the solo leader with two points, while WFM Alanney Doroy and Bea Mendoza share the lead in the girls’ Under-16.

LOTTO RESULTS

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m o n day : a p ri l 4 , 2 0 1 6 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

Mahindra Enforcers import Augustus Gilchrist (0) tries to fake off Meralco Bolts defender Arinze Onuaku (left). The Bolts rose to the occasion down the stretch to beat the Enforcers 9486 in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Bolts rally to beat Enforcers

By Jeric lopez

THE Meralco Bolts had to shake off some rust following a 16-day lay-off but in the end showed why they were the tournament leaders thus far. games tuesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum): 4:15 p.m. - NLEX vs. San Miguel 7 p.m. - GlobalPort vs. Rain or Shine With its place at the top at stake, the Bolts rose to the occasion down the stretch to come through against a gutsy challenge from the Mahin-

dra enforcers and post a hard-fought 94-86 victory in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Cliff Hodge was in his element, playing big with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds, for a doubledouble, on top of three assists to lead the Bolts to the tough win against the feisty Enforcers.

The pace-setting Bolts are now in a better position to clinch one of the top seeds which presents a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals along with it. They remain at the top with their 7-2 card with two games left on their schedule.

“It was a big win for us. This keeps in first place,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

It was a game of spurts throughout and it was Meralco who had the last laugh in the most crucial stretch and Hodge was at the forefront of it.

Trailing 78-84 with under five minutes left, the Bolts were on the verge of losing their third game but they had

other plans in mind.

Meralco stepped it up and ended the game with burly finishing kick.

It unleashed a 16-2 run in the final four minutes to blank Mahindra and snatch the victory emphatically.

The game was still up for grabs with under a minute left as Meralco’s edge was just three, 89-86, but Hodge’s three-point play with 48 seconds left cemented the win for his squad as the Bolts’ lead was stretched to a safer 92-86 count.

“Mahindra played us very, very tough,” admitted Black. “I was a little concern also for this game.

We’re coming off a 16-day lay-off and that’s very long.”

MedvedevA MeSMerizeS At world chAMpionShip

SpurS extend winning StreAk

turn to A12

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Tamaraws overwhelm Warriors in football DEFENDING champion Far Eastern University overwhelmed University of the East, 3-0, to remain on top of the UAAP Season 78 men’s football table yesterday at the McKinley Hill Stadium.

Val Jurao scored twice (5th and 40th minute) while rookie Rico Andes nailed a 25th minute goal for the Tamaraws, who rose to 23 points.

In a late Saturday match, De La Salle needed two stoppage time goals to beat National University, 3-2, and arrest a twomatch losing skid.

Greggy Yang scored the free kick for the clincher in the fivegoal thriller, three minutes after Nicko Villacin found the back of the net from a Jose Montelibano assist for the equalizer.

Yang actually had a brace, entering the scoresheet in the 42nd minute for the Green Archers to level at 1-1.

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MONDAY: APRIL 4, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Pagcor donation.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman and chief executive Cristino Naguiat Jr. (third from right) and Stephen James Reilly (center) of Resorts World Manila turn over the symbolic key to Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez (fourth from left) to the newly-constructed state-of-the-art Parañaque Science High School building in Barangay Sto. Nino. The donation of the four-storey 24-classroom school building is part of Pagcor’s ‘Matuwid na Daan sa Silid-Aralan’ project in partnership with the Department of Education , the Department of Public Works and Highways and the city government. With them are DepEd’s Concepcion Bernaldez, Parañaque First Lady Janet Olivarez, Ma. Magdalena Lim, Parañaque Rep. Eric Olivarez and Vice Mayor Rico Golez.

PSe comPoSite index

Bidding for new LRT 1 trains fails

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Transportation Department announced a failed bidding for the P30billion contract to supply 120 brand-new light rail vehicles for Light Rail Transit Line 1, the oldest metro rail transit in Southeast Asia.

“I think there was a failed bid. No one submitted,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said, when asked about the result of the bidding for the procurement of new trains for LRT Line 1.

The agency earlier identified Marubeni Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. as prospective bidders for the procurement of 120 brand-new LRVs.

Only Japanese companies or groups were allowed to participate in the auction, as the project will be funded through a loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency.

“So, we are consulting with Jica on the options to take in terms of procurement,” Abaya said.

The winning bidder will cover the technical design of the coaches, procurement of materials required for manufacturing the LRVs and ensure compliance with technical specifications through testing.

The 120 LRVs will be configured into 30 four-car train sets to allow the rail line to accommodate up to 750,000 passengers daily.

The winning bidder will have three years to complete the delivery of the new LRVs, which will be done in two tranches. The first delivery is set in 2017 and the second in 2018.

The government allocated P30 billion for the 120 new coaches of LRT Line 1 under the P64.9-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project, which was awarded to Light Rail Manila Corp.

Closing April 1, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,245.13 17.17

LRMC will construct the Cavite extension over the next four and a half years, making the entire line operational by the fourth quarter of 2020.

LRMC, a joint venture between Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., has been operating and maintaining the existing LRT-1 system since the functions were handed over by Light Rail Transit Authority in September 2015.

LRTA remains the regulator of the railway, while the Transportation Department is the implementing agency of the 32-year publicprivate partnership concession agreement with LRMC. LRMC said the company planned to start the construction of LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project in the second half of 2016.

The consortium would spend over P40 billion to rehabilitate and expand LRT Line 1.

Eight new stations will be provided with three intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Pinas City and Cavite.

PAL, Cebu Pacific waive rebooking fees for canceled flights PHILIPPINE Airlines and Cebu Pacific are waiving rebooking fees for passengers affected by flight delays or cancellations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 due to power supply interruptions.

A total of 78 one-way Cebu Pacific flights have been cancelled and about 13,950 passengers were affected due to the incident.

Cebu pacific is coordinating with the Manila International Airport Authority and the Civil

Aeronautics Board in providing assistance to all guests of the disrupted flights.

Passengers of the cancelled flights, and all other guests who were not able to take their flights from April 2 at 8:30 p.m. to April 3, 11:59 p.m. were also provided the option to rebook, refund, or convert their flights into travel fund, without penalties.

“We sincerely hope for our guests’ understanding as this situation is due to factors beyond the airline’s control. We

will provide updates as soon as available,” the airline owned by the Gokongwei group said.

PAL also said it was waiving rebooking fess for its passengers affected by power supply interruptions at NAIA 3.

PAL said the waiver covered passengers who opted not to push through with their flights due to long queues at NAIA 3 counters; those who decided not to proceed to NAIA T3 upon learning of flight delays due to power interruptions;

and passengers with delayed flight arrivals in NAIA T3 who missed their connecting flights in NAIA T2.

Passengers arriving in NAIA T1 and T2 with delayed or cancelled connecting flights in NAIA T3 are also covered in the waiving of rebooking fees.

Affected passengers have the option to refund or rebook their flights within 30 days from original flight date. Rebooking and penalty charges are waived.

Darwin G Amojelar

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing April 1, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.015

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P45.950 LOW P46.125 AVERAGE P46.065 VOLUME 832.000M

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

oPriceS il P today

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, April 1, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

45.9890

Japan

Yen

0.008887

0.4087

UK

Pound

1.436800

66.0770

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128926

5.9292

Switzerland

Franc

1.040474

47.8504

Canada

Dollar

0.770238

Singapore

Dollar

0.741950

34.1215

Australia

Dollar

0.766400

35.2460

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653928

122.0515

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266695

12.2650

35.4225

Brunei

Dollar

0.739208

33.9954

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.028425

1.3072

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.5222

Euro

Euro

1.138400

52.3539

Korea

Won

0.000874

0.0402

China

Yuan

0.155063

7.1312

India

Rupee

0.015094

0.6942

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.256410

11.7920

New Zealand

Dollar

0.691400

31.7968

Taiwan

Dollar

0.031027

1.4269 Source: PDS Bridge

MONDAY: APRIL 4, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW STOCKS

MARCH 28-APRIL 01, 2016 Close Volume Value

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp.

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

3.08 46.3 102.00 88.65 39.2 2.85 1.31 10 14.62 15.64 7.35 0.7 1.72 640.00 0.620 82.6 0.98 14.58 23.65 52.65 104 275 30.3 172 1375.00 57.45 1.6

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp.

Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ SPC Power Corp.

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

43.5 4.9 0.75 1.43 10.6 55.05 240.00 19 230 206 19.7 43.2 2.47 5.78 11.38 9.650 7.46 5.78 7.55 1.67 22.5 66.65 13.62 13.90 5.94 2.660 227.20 11 35.00 1.95 4.01 26.7 22.55 6.4 332.00 4.75 3.78 10.36 3.2 11.50 4.40 1.75 2.8 4.15 175.1 4.5 2.5 0.159 1.34 2.70 218.2 4.6 0.73 33.75 1.24

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. IPM Holdings JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `A’ LT Group Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Transgrid Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.360 64.95 16.48 1.10 6.00 0.290 0.295 757 7.44 13.00 5.15 5.75 5.03 0.231 1388 6.25 9.70 77.80 5 5.8 7.48 6.98 0.69 15.62 0.500 5.8 3.46 0.0330 1.460 1.970 2.75 76.50 2.4 960.00 1.20 0.76 230.00 177.800 0.3100 0.2050 0.290

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

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Centennial City City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Keppel Properties Megaworld Prop.

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

7.800 1.27 1.550 0.236 35.400 2.99 5.15 0.560 1.00 0.990 0.127 0.520 37.6 0.850 0.153 1.03 1.83 1.42 5.00 4.11 0.092 0.2490

FINANCIAL 2,440,510.00 2,262,520.00 1,135,820,993 671,879,248.50 19,588,500.00 28,420.00 521,590.00 1,000.00 1,176,084.00 14,657,312.00 446,957 7,000 427,800.00 230,390.00 7,597,730.00 1,208,434,750.50 166,620.00 2,695,968.00 21,285.00 7,830,923.50 444,395.00 16,155,634.00 529,843,660 1,291,921,860.00 459,450.00 3,321,598.50 9,988,410.00 INDUSTRIAL 9,090,200 400,404,570.00 9,057,300 45,874,471.00 247,000 183,280.00 12,142,000 18,223,880.00 16,000 169,686.00 18,530 1,250,905.00 1,880 397,120.00 6,471,400 120,539,244 4,380 911,500.00 55,980 13,955,759.50 4,933,600 93,681,808.00 93,300 4,343,610 4,734,000 11,840,260.00 6,488,600 38,257,520.00 351,300 4,087,868.00 69,104,000 660,012,749.00 25,972,700 198,024,682.00 78,544,900 464,911,835.00 1,395,500 10,338,800.00 19,000 32,920.00 21,066,100 463,968,160.00 686,180 44,933,964.00 204,200 2,544,286.00 79,800 1,102,400.00 1,948,600 11,481,080.00 28,026,000 78,972,210.00 3,588,130 818,889,386.00 658,700 7,609,654.00 8,535 297,905.00 533,000 1,132,820.00 3,666,003 19,918,100.00 4,304,500 115,194,150.00 7,967,000 177,860,525.00 545,900 3,468,883.00 1,195,290 387,555,478.00 588,000 2,734,920.00 3,762,000 14,259,750.00 27,233,400 285,639,714.00 139,000 466,150.00 28,200 324,540.00 1,548,000 6,777,530.00 2,617,000 4,578,210.00 2,048,000 5,732,120.00 2,437,000 10,185,180.00 225,220 39,008,485.00 575,000 2,625,120.00 1,540,000 3,887,150.00 19,820,000 3,164,750.00 1,098,000 1,426,330.00 46,665,000 129,992,690.00 14,113,290 3,031,559,164.00 48,000 221,120.00 35,795,000 26,840,340.00 65,200 1,857,635.00 2,393,000 2,996,220.00 HOLDING FIRMS 840,000 301,700.00 7,860,280 506,867,321.50 33,518,700 565,208,404.00 23,000 25,570.00 263,600 1,605,691.00 18,270,000 5,447,500.00 2,580,000 767,650.00 1,876,560 1,399,492,805.00 20,537,600 151,191,010.00 20,604,300 275,625,136.00 1,251,200 6,681,154.00 43,100 254,615.00 1,501,700 7,517,558.00 2,820,000 659,860.00 767,715 1,085,620,505.00 731,600 4,481,690.00 9,398,600 91,309,871.00 10,404,780 824,005,495.00 428,900 2,521,386.00 154,300 1,193,712.00 21,300 158,576.00 32,340,900 224,506,329.00 1,351,000 940,880.00 8,974,400 141,545,064.00 837,000 415,150.00 189,254,700 1,107,801,077.00 174,000 719,780.00 273,300,000 9,110,300.00 7,000 9,820.00 2,942,000 5,844,450.00 11,000 30,150.00 964,190 74,031,837.50 105,000 242,880.00 1,711,860 1,640,821,515.00 6,734,000 7,910,250.00 323,000 249,920.00 7,580 1,675,898.00 237,790 42,954,894.00 9,570,000 3,009,800.00 10,790,000 2,234,610.00 13,070,000 4,219,550.00 PROPERTY 904,400 7,099,450.00 112,833,000 125,326,990.00 584,000 922,200.00 1,030,000 238,350.00 59,569,600 2,092,802,820.00 5,899,000 17,548,930.00 45,100 232,573.00 38,466,000 21,999,250.00 29,000 27,740.00 82,000 81,550.00 7,730,000 997,300.00 84,924,000 45,563,235.00 7,850,300 303,925,775.00 2,110,000 1,814,440.00 860,000 132,830.00 19,991,000 20,952,360.00 144,040,000 259,074,860.00 6,287,000 8,760,170.00 608,800 3,467,754.00 157,737,000 653,659,950.00 19,820,000 1,775,630.00 12,300,000 3,206,440.00 793,000 49,000 10,936,950 7,547,520 501,700 10,000 385,000 100 81,300 951,400 60,700 10,000 245,000 360 12,543,000 14,422,050 177,000 185,800 900 146,860 4,280 56,690 17,653,400 7,579,880 335 57,890 5,777,000

MARCH 21-23, 2016 Close Volume Value 2.96 46.25 106.30 91.40 38.5 2.96 1.32

421,000 23,100 8,276,280 4,438,740 396,200 11,000 280,000

1,267,570.00 1,066,740.00 873,088,971 401,475,794.50 15,195,440.00 32,660.00 378,120.00

14.1 15.2 6.52

8,900 557,000 500

127,180.00 8,500,720.00 3,332

1.81 620.00 0.570 86.45 0.95 14.50 23.60 53.60 104 287 29.6 163.6 1350.00 57.50 1.55

179,000 590 834,000 6,111,880 428,000 231,900 2,400 173,850 15,400 32,890 2,339,700 2,686,720 35 50,270 5,039,000

324,030.00 375,830.00 475,490.00 531,530,698.00 408,020.00 3,363,130.00 59,230.00 9,333,088.50 1,577,297.00 9,566,604.00 68,542,795 435,435,504.00 47,175.00 2,905,616.00 7,710,810.00

43.55 5.13 0.74 1.43 10.98 43.5 188.00 18.62

7,656,300 6,535,000 246,000 2,728,000 19,700 300 200 2,588,400

334,586,080.00 32,284,950.00 180,870.00 3,917,760.00 209,322.00 13,050.00 34,180.00 48,664,718

67 17.2 43 2.45 5.9 11.38 9.320 7.39 5.94 7.38 1.66 20.9 64.25 12.30 13.80 5.72 2.950 234.40 10.5 33.00 1.85 3.15 26.8 21.45 6.24 320.00 4.22 3.92 10.96 3.36 11.52 4.34 1.75 2.7 4.19 167

820 2,178,800 4,000 6,090,000 4,464,800 337,200 5,552,100 9,907,700 57,167,900 700,500 2,000 13,238,400 623,390 6,700 70,200 469,500 72,679,000 2,790,290 19,400 6,300 18,000 27,000 1,954,600 4,282,400 1,491,300 741,650 36,000 5,523,000 40,663,500 22,100 59,000 765,000 1,004,000 389,000 1,519,000 4,180

50,290.00 38,111,576.00 171,890 15,255,470.00 26,473,648.00 3,865,660.00 51,794,013.00 72,372,410.00 339,638,087.00 5,059,288.00 3,320.00 275,220,265.00 39,966,354.00 77,182.00 970,580.00 2,673,022.00 218,445,600.00 644,824,212.00 204,832.00 199,950.00 33,300.00 83,440.00 52,265,730.00 91,988,570.00 9,426,655.00 238,067,898.00 150,710.00 21,775,360.00 429,832,030.00 71,930.00 677,532.00 3,306,870.00 1,745,240.00 1,052,730.00 6,364,850.00 693,570.00

2.52 0.159 1.25 2.68 211 4.68 0.72

5,218,000 17,610,000 809,000 17,528,000 6,154,120 71,000 16,028,000

12,818,990.00 2,814,780.00 1,011,160.00 47,648,030.00 1,288,618,350.00 327,000.00 11,742,730.00

1.15

134,000

158,400.00

0.365 63.05 16.94 1.11 6.18 0.270 0.280 742 7.32 13.50 5.05 4.8 5.05 0.213 1450 6.09 9.75 81.00 4.5 5.89

250,000 4,082,390 33,573,500 10,000 27,300 1,720,000 110,000 1,334,360 2,936,300 17,394,000 420,700 1,000 1,002,300 10,000 712,185 2,400 3,648,900 10,337,410 19,000 1,100

87,650.00 260,193,652.50 548,144,684.00 10,560.00 167,507.00 473,000.00 30,950.00 995,027,835.00 21,622,259.00 235,990,076.00 2,124,460.00 4,800.00 5,015,838.00 2,130.00 1,026,631,550.00 14,619.00 35,505,236.00 833,504,945.00 81,460.00 6,479.00

6.65 0.69 15.76 0.500 5.9

18,770,500 392,000 20,818,400 82,000 107,243,700

123,069,896.00 272,300.00 329,738,798.00 41,200.00 638,975,737.00

0.0330 1.410 1.980

265,000,000 120,000 565,000

9,032,300.00 159,880.00 1,120,460.00

77.00 2.2 990.00 1.10 0.76

2,171,540 41,000 1,423,720 546,000 85,000

168,067,316.00 89,700.00 1,413,012,635.00 603,910.00 64,600.00

175.000 0.3100 0.1910 0.285

206,850 5,130,000 4,090,000 230,000

35,061,485.00 1,589,150.00 791,400.00 67,000.00

7.750 0.88 1.630 0.225 35.850 2.95 5.19 0.570

625,900 2,418,000 1,679,000 1,400,000 34,656,200 5,878,000 38,705 73,541,000

4,891,481.00 2,086,090.00 2,775,010.00 315,350.00 1,268,221,115.00 17,096,900.00 205,297.00 42,319,380.00

1.010 0.130 0.500 39.5 0.870 0.153 1.09 1.80 1.35 3.50 4.11 0.093 0.2300

16,000 2,690,000 3,798,000 2,873,300 5,341,000 1,300,000 24,010,000 40,500,000 1,662,000 1,000 86,967,000 9,810,000 1,830,000

16,040.00 636,140.00 1,881,105.00 112,763,205.00 4,779,800.00 198,900.00 25,952,860.00 73,019,050.00 2,226,710.00 3,500.00 356,598,070.00 919,310.00 421,900.00

STOCKS

MARCH 28-APRIL 01, 2016 Close Volume Value

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

0.500 8.69 27.60 1.5 3.05 22.15 0.9 6.41 1.130 4.700

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI 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.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.42 57.2 1.24 0.560 10.64 28.5 5.08 0.0720 3.27 89.65 9.9 1.9 6.98 3.39 975 2092 6.99 20.55 1.21 67.5 21.70 280 11.34 0.0100 0.280 1.3400 2.3 7.80 3.75 1.33 2.85 20.20 0.550 1.94 2.5 3.85 0.290 1.290 17.9 5.04 2.4 8.56 109.00 22.05 1920.00 0.430 0.900 36.45 74.00 6.12 3.41 0.590 1.81 3.71 0.360 4.820

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0045 2.11 4.19 12.78 0.250 7.3900 8.2000 0.62 0.480 8.30 0.830 0.290 0.270 0.285 0.0120 0.0120 2.06 5.09 2.53 0.6000 1.2600 0.0100 0.0094 3.76 5.50 2.33 0.0120 130.50 2.47 0.0091

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ BC Pref. A First Gen F First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure & Resort Pref.

MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

56.6 525 528 44.55 108.1 115.6 525 6.75 1.1 106 1075 1056 1015 103.6 107 80 81.9 75.5 76.5 76.8 75.6 75 75

Leisure & Resort Warr.

3.270

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

4.47 3.64 3.25 17.92

First Metro ETF

118.5

MARCH 21-23, 2016 Close Volume Value

2,424,000 13,593,300 12,072,000 979,000 447,000 70,673,600 26,370,000 540,500 12,652,000 41,817,000

1,201,050.00 923,734.00 341,671,255.00 1,469,750.00 1,368,730.00 1,564,126,090.00 23,610,090.00 4,311,364.00 13,977,140.00 194,230,990.00 SERVICES 536,100 4,007,018.00 216,420 12,520,026.00 4,780,000 6,763,190.00 4,512,000 2,702,690.00 14,100 150,402.00 600 16,760 15,511,600 79,057,079.00 489,700,000 35,337,380.00 3,186,000 10,525,730.00 2,464,860 223,652,009.00 17,300 37,616.00 262,000 447,180 2,468,800 16,840,592.00 20,000 64,120.00 2,190 2,107,780.00 655,195 1,420,457,170 526,000 3,666,360.00 53,700 1,691,740 373,000 455,420.00 4,146,780 276,395,157.00 3,225,400 97,074,765 11,150 2,609,046 3,700 41,982.00 28,300,000 298,600.00 283,990,000 81,078,350.00 14,010,800 21,109,510.00 4,436,000 11,527,000.00 632,300 4,958,510.00 2,579,000 9,576,720.00 15,000 19,220.00 387,000 1,075,450.00 2,300 53,650.00 245,110.00 442,000 59,000 113,860.00 81,980,000 206,771,100.00 6,149,000 23,949,350.00 1,210,000 337,100.00 299,682,000 345,214,000.00 28,000 491,750.00 344,400 1,734,907 23,000 59,650.00 300 2,568.00 449,380 45,070,966.00 341,800 7,494,610.00 618,020 1,211,043,770.00 2,690,000 1,156,050.00 69,425,000 63,230,210.00 8,511,600 313,618,320.00 14,903,860 944,180,280.00 17,911,200 112,003,421.00 108,316,000 386,952,100.00 32,843,000 19,103,020.00 802,000 1,471,900.00 5,494,000 20,961,550.00 1,410,000 491,400.00 265,000 1,264,410.00 MINING & OIL 432,000,000 1,956,300.00 224,000 462,740.00 3,688,000 15,658,640.00 3,300 41,584.00 5,110,000 1,274,360.00 2,791,000 31,482,159.00 1,655,100 18,564,021.00 1,120,000 705,090.00 1,550,000 742,200.00 188,800 1,549,923.00 131,802,000 112,973,630.00 3,400,000 968,750.00 171,210,000 47,516,950.00 21,060,000 6,169,250.00 263,900,000 3,175,600.00 199,900,000 2,494,200.00 2,181,000 4,564,300.00 20,540,400 110,371,140.00 652,000 1,661,760.00 955,000 561,570.00 627,000 794,330.00 46,600,000 459,400.00 4,800,000 45,120.00 240,000 902,640.00 5,922,600 33,487,373.00 13,266,000 31,105,760.00 272,800,000 3,376,800.00 2,964,610 389,144,297.00 1,200,000 3,034,440.00 20,000,000 258,800.00 PREFERRED 1,165,230 67,160,484.50 85,010 44,685,640.00 2,010 1,061,350 3400 114,115.00 2,800 302,920.00 75,220 8,529,576.00 101,620 53,038,530.00 162,500 1,089,902.00 2,000 2,200 26,560 2,818,232.00 145 155,175.00 325 343,850.00 13,445 13,603,190.00 1,230 128,310.00 15,780 1,692,210.00 36,260 2,891,600.00 276,010 22,499,610.50 863,700 65,230,580.00 383,450 29,073,320.00 253,650 19,454,501.00 319,580 24,178,277.00 618,060 46,365,885.00 729,800 54,735,335.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 1,682,000 5,726,930.00 SME 826,000 3,369,850.00 1,237,000 4,607,840.00 2,244,000 7,488,010.00 15,647,200 276,900,570.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 73,940 8,859,717.00

0.460 8.7 28.45 1.53 3.05 22.40 0.88 5.9 1.090 4.550

120,000 2,409 7,736,700 442,000 39,000 53,338,900 16,769,000 290,200 46,896,000 14,324,000

54,450.00 28,380.00 221,731,875.00 663,820.00 118,660.00 1,184,221,935.00 14,455,840.00 1,693,889.00 53,853,160.00 66,318,520.00

7.35 559.6 1.22 0.600 10.7

148,700 111,130 9,000 8,882,000 322,000

1,095,562.00 6,588,193.50 11,420.00 5,387,470.00 3,445,700.00

5.23 0.0740 3.28 90.4 9.9 1.52 6.63

10,027,200 385,320,000 2,512,000 808,360 3,600 50,000 837,400

52,722,135.00 27,261,670.00 8,610,530.00 72,341,138.00 35,130.00 76,940 5,412,587.00

2106 6.95 20.80 1.22 68.1 15.00 103.5

457,885 157,000 47,400 490,000 3,954,820 655,800 9,590

980,259,460 1,090,100.00 985,900 602,860.00 270,765,119.50 8,099,476 729,662

0.0110 0.310 1.2900 2.1 8.00 3.62 1.18 2.80 20.50 0.550

101,400,000 279,890,000 5,291,000 10,000 115,400 397,000 37,000 64,000 1,000 74,000

1,004,900.00 83,311,150.00 6,947,220.00 21,120.00 910,378.00 1,441,500.00 44,650.00 177,570.00 21,815.00 40,580.00

2.69 3.92 0.270 0.880 17.5 5.00 2.49 8.99 100.00 22.15 1978.00 0.435 0.950 37.00 70.15 6.25 3.37 0.540

39,272,000 3,466,000 2,710,000 34,947,000 15,700 105,200 31,000 100 77,250 238,200 543,420 6,060,000 36,209,000 5,030,000 2,173,210 1,872,700 8,193,000 2,442,000

108,744,470.00 13,521,920.00 724,900.00 31,274,330.00 274,750.00 519,230 77,620.00 899.00 7,725,494.00 5,265,780.00 1,056,081,870.00 2,657,850.00 34,664,110.00 185,209,405.00 152,683,838.50 11,650,030.00 28,114,850.00 1,314,470.00

3.91 0.320 4.720

16,197,000 1,220,000 14,000

62,337,530.00 393,000.00 66,480.00

0.0046 2.05 4.50 12.68 0.250

261,000,000 277,000 1,223,000 5,400 690,000

1,160,000.00 572,330.00 5,565,520.00 62,408.00 168,110.00

5.2000 0.61 0.470 8.07 0.820 0.285 0.290 0.300 0.0120 0.013 2.07 5.52 2.53 0.5200 1.2700 0.0097

1,000 422,000 1,540,000 48,500 35,365,000 1,640,000 58,070,000 7,450,000 97,000,000 3,800,000 1,033,000 7,205,400 527,000 151,000 558,000 2,000,000

5,200.00 258,700.00 736,450.00 389,363.00 29,302,470.00 469,650.00 16,674,850.00 2,229,650.00 1,165,000.00 46,500.00 2,171,770.00 40,113,108.00 1,328,980.00 79,580.00 721,800.00 19,600.00

3.69 5.82 2.40 0.0120 131.50 2.53

41,000 3,500,700 44,353,000 146,300,000 3,605,320 2,314,000

150,240.00 20,569,475.00 108,928,460.00 1,764,700.00 474,915,707.00 6,162,360.00

58.6 520 530

484,400 8,060 10

28,357,010.00 4,191,295.00 5,300

113 527 6.94 1.09 106 1070

75,940 100 79,900 10,000 75,800 10

8,553,254.00 52,700.00 549,386.00 10,900 8,099,450.00 10,700.00

1010 105

4,345 2,280

4,383,710.00 236,700.00

82 75.35 75.7 76.5

68,670 97,020 17,150 92,470

5,625,889.00 7,328,127.00 1,296,955.00 7,054,310.00

3.620

801,000

2,868,100.00

3.69 3.84 3.57 17.84

77,000 107,000 3,362,000 5,194,800

269,630.00 384,970.00 11,870,000.00 90,938,154.00

120

58,080

6,963,508.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Boulevard Holdings Abra Mining NOW Corp.

Island Info Pacifica `A’ Philodrill Corp. `A’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Lepanto `A’

VOLUME 489,700,000 432,000,000 299,682,000 283,990,000 273,300,000 272,800,000 263,900,000 199,900,000 189,254,700 171,210,000

STOCKS Universal Robina Ayala Land `B’ SM Investments Inc. SM Prime Holdings Globe Telecom Ayala Corp `A’ Security Bank PLDT Common Metrobank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc.

VALUE 3,031,559,164.00 2,092,802,820.00 1,640,821,515.00 1,564,126,090.00 1,420,457,170.00 1,399,492,805.00 1,291,921,860.00 1,211,043,770.00 1,208,434,750.50 1,135,820,993.00

MONDAY: APRIL 4, 2016

B3

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

Bank of Tokyo infuses P36.5b

By Julito G. Rada

SECURITY Bank Corp. on Friday received P36.5 billion from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. as payment for the acquisition of 20 percent of the local bank to complete the strategic partnership agreement they signed on Jan. 14 this year.

The capital investment was so far the largest by a foreign financial institution in the Philippines. Security Bank, in turn, issued to BTMU 150,707,778 common shares and 200,000,000 preferred shares, representing BTMU’s 20-percent owner-

ship of the voting stock in Security Bank.

The deal obtained the approval of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Feb. 24.

BTMU is now the second largest shareholder of Security Bank, while Security Bank is now an equity affiliate of BTMU. The Dy Group remains the biggest shareholder of Security Bank with majority voting control.

As a result of BTMU’s investment, Security Bank’s shareholder capital increased to P90.2 billion pro-forma as of April 1, 2016 from P53.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015.

Security Bank’s book value per share increased 36 percent to P119.53 pro-forma as of April 1, 2016 from P88.17 as of Dec. 31, 2015, putting it among the five largest private domestic universal banks in the country in terms of capital. The additional capital will be used to accelerate the execution of Security Bank’s growth strategies.

“We will be able to more effectively deliver our service-oriented BetterBanking brand to our customers through a larger branch network and a more comprehensive range of financial services. We hope to accelerate growth of our retail banking business as well as better coverage of the SME sector,” Security Bank president Alfonso Salcedo Jr. said in a statement.

“With BTMU’s expertise in project finance, we expect to participate more actively in PPP [public-private partnership] and infrastructure projects. Additionally, in partnership with BTMU, Security Bank will be able to penetrate the Japanese business community,” Salcedo said.

Security Bank chairman Alberto Villarosa said with bigger capital and the combined strengths of Security Bank and BTMU, “we look forward to serving our customers better than before.”

Go Watanabe, chief executive BTMU

Asia and Oceania, said the strategic alliance with Security Bank was aligned with the bank’s expansion plan in Asia.

“We are very excited with the opportunity to work closely with Security Bank.

We have started exploring various areas for collaboration including work-site business and PPP projects. By partnering with Security Bank, we can expect to expand our business platform and identify new business areas for BTMU in the Philippines,” Watanabe said.

Watanabe earlier said the Philippines would play a vital role in BTMU’s goal of becoming the top-tiered bank in Southeast Asia by 2020. He said the Philippines was an important market for BTMU. He cited potentials in the Philippine market, with its robust economic growth that has been one of the fastest in the region for the past few years, and its more than a hundred million population.

Market likely to stay above 7,100 level

By Jenniffer B. Austria STOCKS are expected to trade sideways this week, as investors closely monitor markets abroad and wait for local data releases such as the March inflation rate.

BPI Asset Management said the Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company bellwether, was expected to trade within a range of 7,100 and 7,250 points this week.

Luis Limlingan, managing director of Regina Capital Development Corp., said the benchmark would continue to trade in a corrective mode, on concerns over valuation, after the market’s strong performance in March.

“Traders are still advised to keep their stop triggers close, because we expect volatility to remain. In case of rallies, we advise taking advantage of those to unload positions because we sell heavy resistance at 7,400,” Limlingan said.

Analysts said the volatile trading in the first quarter was expected to remain in the second quarter because of the developments overseas and the upcoming presidential elections in May. Foreign investors are slowly coming back to emerging markets including the Philippines, following US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s dovish statements regrading interest rate hike.

After five consecutive weeks of increases, the PSEi lost 1.6 percent last week to close at 7,245.13 on April 1, while the broader allshare index also went down by 0.6 percent to settle at 4,196.74.

The market started the week on a lower note as investors remained defensive ahead of Yellen’s speech and as the local bourse tracked weaknesses elsewhere in the region.

While the index posted a midweek rally, as investors priced in dovish statements from the Fed, investors started cashing on gains by the end of the week, forcing the market to succumb to profit-taking.

Globe-Tramigo deal. Globe myBusiness, the small and medium enterprise arm of Globe Telecom, teams up with Tramigo Ltd. of Finland to develop one of its latest business solutions for SME clientele—the Globe myBusiness Tracker. Shown during the launching of the new product are (from left) Tramigo director for research and development Henrik Sharp, Globe myBusiness vice president Barbie Dapul and Tramigo product consultant Mikko Huumonen.

ABS-CBN and GMA-7 both claim higher ratings

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE country’s two largest broadcast networks separately claimed higher television ratings nationwide in March.

GMA Network Inc. said it grabbed supremacy in National Urban Television Audience Measurement ratings of Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, with a 36.6-percent household audience share from March 1 to 31, beating ABS-CBN’s 36.1 percent and TV5’s 8.2 percent.

GMA said it also strengthened its leadership position in the viewer-rich areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, which respectively accounted for 77

and 60 percent of all urban TV households in the country.

GMA said it overtook closest competitor ABS-CBN in Urban Luzon with 41.5 percent, 10.5 points ahead of the latter’s 31 percent. GMA was also ahead of TV5’s 7.3 percent by 34.2 points.

The company said that along with continued leadership in Urban Luzon, it kept its robust performance in Mega Manila with 43.2 percent, higher than ABS-CBN’s 28.2 percent by 15 points, and TV5’s 7.7 percent by 35.5 points.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Corp. said most TV households tuned in to its programs last month, after garnering an average audience share of 44 percent from

combined urban and rural homes versus GMA 7’s 35 percent.

ABS-CBN, which uses Kantar Media for its TV audience measurement, said it led in the primetime block after hitting an average audience share of 49 percent, compared to 33 percent of GMA 7.

The primetime block is the most important part of the day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment to reach more consumers effectively.

ABS-CBN said while TV ratings continued to be high, its programs were also being watched on the Internet, another proof that the company had gone beyond TV.

The company said through its pioneering video-on-demand and live streaming website iWanTV, it was able to respond to audiences’ preference to watch content online.

The website had a grand total of 34.42 million views across all programs of ABS-CBN led by “Dolce Amore” with 6.89 million page views, “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano,” with 5.20 million page views, and the most-watched daytime program “Be My Lady” with 2.11 million views.

The online platform has its own app that can be used by subscribers of ABS-CBNMobile, ABS-CBN’s own mobile telephony company.

B4 Charges readied vs 12 energy companies

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Regulatory Commission will hire external lawyers to assist in the filing of cases against 12 companies that allegedly engaged in anti-competitive behavior in November to December 2013.

“The Commission has already decided on the mode of hearing the cases. We’re now putting in place the administrative requirements for the same and I will issue the appropriate office orders in the coming days,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

“Based on our agreed timeline, the process will commence, at the latest, first week of May,” he said.

ERC’s investigating unit filed complaints in June 2015 against 12 companies for anti-competitive market behavior that led to price spikes during the Malampaya maintenance shutdown in November to December 2013.

“We want to emphasize that this is actually priority for us. So the IU cases will be prioritized over all other cases, we know the public is now awaiting our resolution with respect to this issue,” Salazar earlier said.

The companies include Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (for Malaya and Casecnan plants); Therma Mobile Inc.; Manila Electric Co., 1590 Energy; CIP II Power Corp; Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp.; AP Renewables, Inc.; Udenna Management Resources Corp; Strategic Power Development; GN Power Mariveles and SEM-Calaca Power Corp.

“I guess we have to already move on whether there is liability on the part of the respondents, whether we already say they are not liable at all,” Salazar said, adding ERC planned to wrap up the investigation before the end of the year.

Commissioner Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc earlier said the rules of the ERC allowed the application of methods under the rules of court.

“We’re seriously considering a board, or a tribunal, composed of only three or a hearing officer. Just like division but not cast in stone yet, because we are also aware of what the limitations of the competition rules... We’re seriously studying what the constitutive body will be,” Yap-Taruc said.

Boost to abaca. The German government’s international development cooperation company, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale

Zusammenarbeit GmbH, and wholly Filipino-owned Manila Cordage Co. based in Calamba City, Laguna sign a partnership to sustain the local production of abaca. Klaus Schmitt (second from left), principal advisor of GIZ’s Forest and Climate Protection Panay II program, and Mando chairman and president Roberto Fernandez shake hands after signing the agreement to promote the sustainable production of abaca in Panay Island, a major abaca-producing region in the country.

Court affirms change in Harbor ownership

By Darwin G Amojelar

THE transfer of 285.49 million shares owned by businessman Reghis Romero in Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. to his son, Michael Romero, is “legal and valid,” court documents show.

Citing an affidavit filed by R-II Builders Inc. before the Regional Trial Court Branch 24 of Manila, Harbour Centre Port Holdings Inc. said the elder Romero through R-II Builders owned up to the transfer of the 285.49 millions shares valued at P285.49 million in HCPTI to Harbour Holdings, which is controlled by the younger Romero.

R-II Builders and Harbour Holdings signed the affidavit on March 2, 2011. “This confirms the legal position by Michael Romero that he is the majority holder of HCPTI since 2011

when his dad signed two deeds of dssignment to sell and transfer his shares to him and which were recorded in the financial statements and books of Reghis Romero’s companies, R-II Builders and R-II Holdings,” Harbour Holdings said in a statement.

The younger Romero is the president of Harbour Holdings, which controls HCPTI, the majority owner of Manila North Harbour Port Terminal Inc. On May 6, 2015, Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. presiding judge of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 26 ruled that the younger

Romero’s HCPHI remained as the majority stockholder of HCPTI and its board of directors, including Romero, could still exercise authority over the port terminal.

Pampilo said younger Romero’s majority ownership of HCPTI were reflected in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 general information sheets.

The judge also ruled that “the Deeds of Assignment involving 68.11 percent share very clearly vested ownership to HCPHI [Harbour Centre Port Holdings Inc.] which controls majority of the outstanding capital stocks of HCPTI.” The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office declared in December that “since Harbour Holdings has not transferred its shares in HCPTI over to R-II Builders Inc. and R-II Holdings Inc., Harbour Holdings remains as a stockholder of HCPTI.” San Miguel Corp. earlier acquired a majority stake in MNHPI after subscribing 13 million com-

mon shares of the company at a subscription price of P100.00 per share.

The subscription resulted in San Miguel Holdings Corp. owning a 43.33-percent equity interest in MNHPI. Prior to the transaction, MNHPI was 65 percent owned by HCPTI and 35 percent held San Miguel-owned Petron Corp.

With San Miguel’s acquisition of an additional 43.44 percent stake, the conglomerate as a group now controls a 78.33-percent interest in the port terminal company.

MNHPI won the 25-year contract to manage, develop and operate the 52-hectare seaport terminal.

The company earlier committed to invest P14.5 billion to develop the port facility. Aside from developing passenger port terminal with a capacity to serve two million to three passengers per year, the company plans to build a container yard.

DMCI in talks with Meralco, Marubeni on coal power plant

By Jenniffer B. Austria DMCI Holdings Inc., the listed holding company of the Consunji family, is in talks with Manila Electric Co. and Marubeni Corp. of Japan to build a 700-megawatt coal power plant in Batangas province.

DMCI chairman and president Isidro Consunji said his company was in preliminary discussions with the two groups and hoped to finalize an agreement within the year.

Initial negotiations point to DMCI and Meraclo owning 40 percent each in a consortium that

will build and operate the planned coal power plant, with Marubeni holding the balance.

The proposed power plant project is the second phase of the planned expansion of the Calaca coal-fired plant facility.

The current Calaca facility consists of two 300-MW generating units designed to utilize local coal from the Semirara mines in Antique DMCI-owned Semirara Mining and Power Corp. in 2014 approved the planned investment in two new units, each with a 350MW capacity.

Meanwhile, DMCI said it earmarked a record P40 billion in capital spending this year, more than doubling the commitment of P19.3 billion in 2015.

DMCI said the significant increase in the group’s capital expenditure was aimed support the growth in its real estate and power generation businesses.

“This is our biggest annual capex program to date. There is still considerable room for growth in the property market and power industry so we are focusing our resources on these areas,” said Consunji.

The group’s real estate unit

DMCI Homes will account for the bulk of the capital commitment at P32.5 billion.

DMCI Homesplan to spend P27.5 billion for development of new projects to be launched in 2016 and P5 billion to fund land acquisitions.

Among the big projects of DMCI Homes this year is a highend condominium in Asia World, Parañaque, which will be the company’s first luxury residential development. It will also begin developing its first mixed-use building in Makati.

Plans are also underway for the

mid-segment developer to expand outside Metro Manila and enter the low-cost housing market.

The conglomerate is spending around P7.2 billion on energy projects under Semirara and DMCI Power Corp. and P700 million for the group’s mining and construction unit DMCI said it was participating in a number of infrastructure projects up for auction this year, either as a bidder or contractor.

DMCI Mining, meanwhile, plans to increase its nickel output to help weather the slump in commodity prices.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6

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

B5

SMC proposes road bid option

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SAN Miguel Corp. president and chief operating officer top Ramon Ang urged the government to award road contracts based on the lowest toll offer instead of the highest premium bid, saying the mode is more beneficial to the public.

Ang’s suggestion followed the government’s failure to bid out the P123-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike contract, the biggest infrastructure project that the Aquino administration had offered so far under the public-private partnership program.

“I think the best thing the government should do next time is to seek the lowest toll bid instead of asking investors to come up and pay the government premium,” Ang said.

He said the strategy was more beneficial to the public instead of a bid premium, which was an additional cost for the proponent that would eventually be passed to the public in terms of higher toll.

“I think that is more beneficial to consumers in term lower toll and lower tariff

rate rather than asking for a premium and let the consumer pay so much,” Ang added.

The Aquino administration has sought the highest premium front-end payment and the least total project cost.

San Miguel’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Corp., which won the P15.86billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport contract, offered an P11-billion premium bid when it bagged the PPP project.

The AF Consortium of Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. secured the P1.72-billion Automated Fare Collection System project after offering to pay government a P1.088-billion negative bid.

The tandem of Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure of India, meanwhile, offered a premium bid of P14.4 billion to secure the P17.52-billion contract to develop, operate and maintain the Mactan-Cebu International Airport for 25 years.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. won the P35.4 billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway project after submitting a premium bid of P27.3 billion for the 47-kilometer toll road.

The Light Rail Manila Consortium last year made a P9.35-billion premium payment for the P64.9-billion Light Rail Transit 1 Cavite Extension Project. The lone bidder on the project is composed of MPIC, Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings Philippines PTE Ltd.

OceanaGold advocacy. OceanaGold (Philippibes) Inc.’s sales contracts allow Analeen Alopop and other members of the ‘Samahang Mananahi sa Lupang Arendang’ in Taytay, Rizal the opportunity to expand their businesses. OceanaGold has teamed up with Grameen Australia Philippines in its initiative to combine microfinance with entrepreneurial education and mentoring for the poor people living in Manila’s informal settlements to help them develop income-producing businesses as a means of alleviating poverty. OceanGold’s grant increased the loan pool providing Analeen with the opportunity to take out a second loan of P15,000 to establish a sari sari store, her second business where she sells day-to-day items and sews rags.

Presidential aspirants (from left) VP Jejomar Binay, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sen. Grace Poe and former DILG Sec. Mar Roxas during the second round of the PiliPinas Presidential debate held at the University of the Philippines in Cebu. (Photo by Kriz-John Rosales)

The Second PiliPinas Debates 2016 THE circus, as the election campaign is often called, came to town, so to speak, to the Queen City of the South with the holding of the second PiliPinas Debates 2016, the debate series administered by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in preparation for the National Elections come May 09.

And what a circus, or show, it was, making the already dry weather in Cebu City even feverishly hotter, with fireworks exploding even before the actual debate proper could start. It was the turn of TV 5, Philippine Star, Business World, Bloomberg TV Philippines, The Freeman Cebu, and Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) to host this leg of the series for broadcast, with veteran broadcast journalist and Head of TV5 News and Public Affairs, Luchi CruzValdes, doing a yeoman’s job as moderator.

Suffice it to say that in spite of the challenges that were faced even before the show came on air, Luchi and TV5 were able to pull it through. My hats off to TV 5 head honcho Noel Lorenzana and his team!

Even after the delay – one prominent government official said that perhaps it was

guished members of the panel – the Philippine Star’s editor-in-chief Amy Pamintuan and associate editor Marichu Villanueva, TV5’s Erwin Tulfo and Lourd De Veyra, RMN’s Rufil Banoc, and Bloomberg TV Philippines”s Tony Abad – propounded several incisive and pointed questions on the topics for this debate which included, among others, the pending Freedom of Information Bill, corruption, taxation, Yolanda rehabilitation, and the coco levy. In the end, I believe the choices of the voting populace were made more clear.

Debates of this nature are always a big help in elections, and I commend the COMELEC, under the able leadership of Chairman Andy Bautista, for this initiative.

Hopefully, in the near future, we can have debates that tackle more the issues of nation-

Vice President Jejomar Binay at the Go Negosyo’s Meet the Presidentiables Series at Manila Polo Club.

PDP-Laban standard bearer, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte at the Go Negosyo’s Meet the Presidentiables Series at Fairmont Hotel Makati.

Senator Grace Poe during the third leg of the Go Negosyo Meet the Presidentiables Series held last December 2 at the Grand Ballroom of the Solaire Hotel.

Liberal Party standard bearer , former Senator and DILG secretary, Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas II at the Manila Polo Club last Nov 9 during the Go Negosyo’s Meet the Presidentiables series.

deliberate to further whet the waiting public’s appetite – the debate proceeded well enough. In fact, a great many say it was well worth the wait. The format was far better than the first leg, if I must say. Here, the candidates were given an opportunity to pick the brains, and even the emotions, of the opponent assigned to them. The distin-

al concern, such as mining, foreign direct investment and infrastructure development, as well as the candidates’ respective platforms of government, rather than look more at the personalities of the candidates or, to a mundane extent, what they are wearing or who they are with at a particular time.

No need to debate on that.

Philam Life posts P7.5-b profit

By Gabrielle Binaday PHILIPPINE-American Life Insurance Co. posted a net income of P7.5 billion in 2015, making it the most profitable insurer last year, a top official of the Insurance Commission said over the weekend.

Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc said Philam Life, based on the unaudited quarterly figures submitted by companies to the agency, ranked first in the industry in terms of profits in 2015.

“There are some companies whose gross premium or net premium is not that high, and yet maybe because of better management and investment, they generate a much higher income,” Dooc said.

Philam Life was followed by Manufacturers Life Insurance Corp. (Manulife Philippines) with a profit of P4.256 billion.

PruLife Insurance Corp of UK ranked third with P1.82 billion, followed by Insu-

lar Life Assurance Corp. with P1.53 billion and Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp. holding the fifth spot at P1.4 billion.

Sun Life of Canada topped the industry for the fifth consecutive year in 2015 with P32.81 billion in gross premiums acquired but landed on the eighth spot with a net income of P934.94 million.

Dooc said a good insurance company should also focus on making investments aside from underwriting profits they make.

Dooc earlier said the insurance regulator was expecting around P280 billion to P300 billion in gross premium for 2016.

He cited risks to the growth of the industry following the money laundering controversy in the country.

Dooc said the insurance industry would still book the gross premium target and survive the money laundering controversy involving Rizal Copmmercial Banking Corp.

MONDAY: APRIL 4, 2016

B6

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Clark airport remains viable

By Rendy O. Isip CLARK International Airport remains viable for passenger and cargo services that will help link Cebu and Clark to the rest of the world, according to an official of Emirates Airlines.

Emirates Airlines officially commenced its daily Dubai-Cebu-Clark circular flights on March 30, utilizing Boeing 777-300ER that will further connect the Philippines to 150 destinations in the world.

“Yes, Clark remains viable,” Badr Abbas, senior vice president for commercial operations in the Far East of Emirates Airlines said, when asked by reporters.

“Whenever we start any destinations, we look at the passenger and cargo demand, so we believe that is sufficient in Clark,” Abbas said.

“We believe there is enough passenger and cargo demand and we believe it will be a successful operation,” Abbas said.

Abbas said Emirates decided to have circular service linking Cebu and Clark because around 75 percent of Filipinos working in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar are from Central and Northern Luzon. “Clark Airport is very near,” he said.

“This is also one advantage and reason for starting our circular services. And also in Cebu, people living in the Visayas and Mindanao will benefit from our services,” Abbas said.

Abbas said close to a million OFWs are in the UAE and the Gulf. “The Gulf is the second largest after the United States for Filipino overseas workers,” he said.

Abbas said Emirates decided to return to Clark because “a circular service to Cebu-Clark will be very good for Emirates to connect and to give more connectivity and options for the Filipinos, tourists and businesses and cargo.”

DTI ready to tweak rules on car program

By Othel V. Campos

THE Trade Department said it may relax the implementing rules and regulations of the new vehicle incentives program to entice manufacturers to fill up the third and last available slot.

“It’s possible to tweak [the rules] but as long as it’s not unfair to the first two applicants. If ever we change the procedures, it’ll be most likely for improving the process,” Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said over the weekend, referring to the guidelines to implement the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program.

Cristobal said changes might take place in the area of building stronger monitoring mechanism “to ensure that these projections and investment commitments are met.”

He said improving the fine details would not necessarily modify the set of required activities needed to qualify for the program, such as the volume of production

and timelines.

The department expressed optimism the interagency committee on Cars program would come up with the decision by May 2016.

Toyota Motor Corp. Philippines and Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. are the only vehicle manufacturers that submitted the application to join the Cars program before the March 15 deadline.

Mitsubishi earlier revealed a plan to invest P4.3 billion to locally manufacture a sedan unit in the Philippines with the ultimate goal of exporting the same. Toyota has yet to disclose its own plan.

Mitsubishi said its investment would be spent to establish a stamping facility and additional trimming lines for big auto parts

such as door panels, hood and front and rear bumpers to increase local content and create more employment opportunities.

It also brought 20 big parts manufacturers and suppliers from Japan to initiate a reliable auto parts supply chain for the company’s domestic production line-up.

Toyota committed to produce the Vios model, the best-selling compact sedan in the Philippines.

The Cars program is the biggest and most ambitious automotive incentives program the Philippine government has offered.

It commits P27 billion worth of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that will be given to three participating car companies, all timebound within the next six years.

Center of excellence. Davao City is recognized for efforts to improve the business environment as the leading destination for ICT-BPM companies during the recent 2015-2016 Awarding Ceremonies on Center of Excellence, Top Next Wave Cities and Top 10 Emerging Next Wave Cities for IT-BPM Operations at Makati Shangrila Hotel. Shown receiving the award is ICT Davao president Samuel Matunog (third from left) from the officials of Leechiu Property Consultants, Information and Communications Technology Office and IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines.

Save lives … a business social responsibility ANA LIZA ASIS-CASTRO

GREEN LIGHT

MOTORCYCLISTS are 26 times more likely to die in a traffic crash, compared to car passengers, according to the 2012 US National Center for Statistics and Analysis.

The Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways Summary of Accident 2011 report shows that the main cause of accident in the National Capital Region was human error. Of the 8,360 accidents recorded that year, 561 were due to human error.

Other causes of accidents were vehicular defects, which represented 27 out of 599 and road defects, which accounted for six out of 161.

About seven of 1,058 were due to alcohol and drug accidents. The Philippine National Police reported there were 4,229 motorcycle accidents of the 11,285 motor vehicle accidents in the first half of 2015. This means that motorcycle accidents represented 37 percent of the total vehicle accidents during the period.

Increasing motorcycle sales Despite these shocking numbers in motorcycle accidents, there have been consistent positive sales of motorcycles since 2012 in the Philippines, according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Automotive Federation. Increase in yearly sales volume ranged from 5 percent to 8 percent, with 702,599 units sold in 2012 and 850,509 units sold in 2015.

Although a total of 3.1 million motorcycle units were sold in the Philippines during these years, this was less than Indonesia’s 29.5 million unit sales and Thailand’s 7.5 million units, the Philippines ranked third in Asean in terms of sales volume, ahead of Malaysia (1.9 million units) and Singapore (104,277 units).

Data from the Philippine Land and Transportation Office show that there was an average of 1.1 million new motorcycles and tricycles registered per year from 2011 to 2013. The average motorcycle and tricycle-recorded renewals during these years were 3 million units, summing to about 4 million average registrations. Additionally, on average, compared to other types of vehicles, motorcycles and tricycles registration is the highest at 28 percent, together with trailers also at 28 percent, then utility vehicles at 18 percent, sports utility vehicles at 14 percent, trucks at 5 percent, and buses at 3 percent.

The Philippine Statistics Authority data show that on average, privately owned motorcycles and tricycles accounted for 81 percent of the total number from 2007 to 2012, while 19 percent were for hire, and only 1 percent was government-owned.

Could it be possible that increasing sales is associated to employment?

Motorcycle employment Motorcycle messengers have been around since the early 1900s. Their work has contributed to business expediency in booming and highly populated cities like Metro Manila. Motorcycle messengers help businesses send and receive small deliveries on schedule.

In the Philippines, the average salary of a motor-

cycle messenger ranges from P15,000 to P20,000 a month. Some companies that hire messengers may require messenger to own their motorcycles.

Timely pick-up and delivery of packages is the work of messengers. Thus, the work of a motorcycle messenger requires agility and speed. Rain or shine, motorcycle messengers brave the streets of Metro Manila. Even if they are wearing their helmets, the streets they daringly maneuver remain risky.

Unsafe driving behavior However, it is truly unspeakable that there are motorcycle messengers who do not follow traffic laws and ignore safety conducts. They race their bikes inbetween vehicles as if they are in alleys, putting drivers off-guard because they carelessly pass other vehicles on the right or left rapidly and suddenly. For some reason, they are not mindful of the high probability of crushing their legs when they fearlessly squeeze into narrow spaces in-between vehicles speedily.

In other situations, motorcycle messengers position themselves in front of queued vehicles at a stop light. Even before the light turns green, motorcycles messengers have already zoomed across the intersection. They risk their lives without thinking that in a split second, a crossing vehicle that has the rightof-way can smash into them. There are times when a motorcycle messengers would run three or more red traffic signals, always in urgency to get to their destination. They will have no wasted movement as they fluidly and without fear, go for the run through the congested traffic.

Creating a safety culture Therefore, given that driving motorcycles leads

to one’s employability, and that there is great risk of accidents and potential harm for motorcyclists, businesses can create a culture of safety in their companies. According to Adam Gorny, a safety culture in an organization is important for occupational safety.

He argued that if being bad and immoral incurs losses, any losses due to undesirable safety culture, would also equate to being bad and immoral. A socially responsible business would make sure to define principles and guidelines in its operations that encourages and establishes safety.

Thus, only a solid dedication to safety measures will avoid dangerous behaviors. Human resource management is key to establishing a safety culture in the company. By educating motorcyclists to become responsible drivers, businesses fulfill their social responsibility. By ensuring safety in our streets and workplaces, businesses gain profit as their messengers go about their duties without harming society and themselves.

Ana Liza “Pinky” Asis-Castro teaches corporate social responsibility and corporate governance at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She is also enrolled in the DBA Program. She is a professional real estate broker with over 25 years of practice. She can be reached at ana.liza. asiscastro@gmail.com.

The views expressed above are the author’s and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the De La Salle University, its administration and faculty.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Refugees tell their stories on film D U B A I — ” D a d d y, where are you now? In Turkey or Sweden?” a Syrian girl asks her father in her first voice message to him since he joined hundreds of thousands fleeing the war.

The recording, sent by smartphone, is one of many messages between Syrians that Jordanian photographer Tanya Habjouqa has compiled into her short film “Syria Via WhatsApp”.

The film is showing at an exhibition in Dubai focused on the plight of refugees and migrants, including Syrians, as Europe struggles with its biggest migration crisis since World War II. The show, “If I leave, where will I go?”, also displays images by Syrian director Omar Imam and late FrenchMoroccan photographer Leila Alaoui.

Habjouqa’s film features voice recordings and images exchanged

by Syrian family members separated by a five-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and pushed nearly five million into exile.

The messages are sometimes sentimental and full of longing, but also include everyday questions: “How’s the weather?”, “What did you eat today?”

A father tells his daughter he has sent her flowers and a kiss by way of WhatsApp emojis, while one girl asks her father for “a white dress, as well as gray and pink”.

One refugee in Europe tells his wife: “I want to get you out of the Arab world where there is only humiliation. I swear I will bring you here to live the best life... you’ll live with dignity.”

“I miss you a lot,” he says. “I miss sitting with you and making you coffee in the morning.”

The film also shows selfies sent by those who have managed to reach Europe.

The messages are often the first contact between family members after “long periods of time when they don’t have Internet and there’s no word” from those who departed, says Habjouqa.

AFP

B7

Dry fields force Thailand to look beyond rice crop NONTHABURI, Thailand— Thailand has long served as one of the globe’s main rice bowls, but chronic water shortages are pushing the country to move away from a grain that dominates its fields and has defined a way of life for generations.

Laddawan Kamsong has spent the past forty years coaxing rice from her plot in central Thailand, but she is tired of watching her farmland squeezed dry by increasingly severe droughts.

“I plan to replace some rice paddies with limes,” she told AFP after attending a government-run workshop urging farmers to diversify their crops.

Thailand is one of the world’s top rice exporters.

But four consecutive years of below-average rainfall have drained

water reserves and strangled production, pushing many farmers into debt.

The current drought, the worst the country has seen in decades, has hit nearly a third of Thailand’s 76 provinces, particularly in the rice-heavy central and northeast.

Reservoirs are also dropping to historically low levels.

The kingdom’s military government is now organizing training sessions to encourage millions of rice farmers to diversify into crops that require less irrigation.

Unlike nearly all other crops, rice grows best in a flooded field, with the stalk’s base completely submerged for most of the growing season.

At an army-run workshop held in patch of shade in a field in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok, Laddawan was sold the merits of cultivating fruit trees.

In other regions, they are suggesting sugarcane or peas.

These alternatives will drastically reduce water consumption but also break the mono culture that has deteriorated Thai soil for decades.

“We have no choice, we need to adapt,” Laddawan said, explaining that she used to plant three rice crops annually, but next year will only have enough water for one.

As the drought bites, some 2,000 Thai villages are surviving off water delivered by the government, while ‘rainmaking’ airplanes are flying over parched plains, sending an iodine solution into the air in an effort to seed clouds.

After last year’s especially weak rainy season—which falls between June and October—the ruling military junta asked farmers to abandon their winter rice crop, which is normally cultivated through irrigation

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming public bidding for the Procurement of Services for ISO 9001-2008 Certification under ITB No. PB16-016.

Brief Description

I. 1 UNIT 4WD BOOM TRUCK WITH DIGGER with the following specifications: LIFTING

Maximum Load: 3.0ton (6,600lbs)Capacity : 3.0ton x 4.5m (6,600lbs x 15.1ft) Maximum lifting height : 14.15m (46.4ft)

AUGER

Max drilling depth: 5.2m (17.1ft)Drilling Diameter: 0.45m (1.47ft) Wok Range: 190° from rear (95 degrees to left and right)

OUTRIGGER

Extended Width: Front: 1,980 - 3,950 (78 - 155 in) Rear: 1,980 - 3,780 (78 - 149 in) Outrigger Stroke: Front: 980mm (38.6in) Rear: 900mm (35.4in) Jack Stroke: 440mm (17.3in)

ROTATION DEVICE

Rotation Angle: 360 degrees

BOOM

Length: 4.875 - 12.275m (16 - 40.3ft)

2.

Assess conformity of PAGCOR’s QMS with ISO 9001:2008 standards covering its Core Processes (Gaming Operations, Casino Licensing and Regulation, and Corporate Social Responsibility) in its three (3) Corporate Offices and Casino Filipino – Tagaytay as pilot branch; and Provide training for transition to and subsequent conformity assessment to ISO 9001:2015.

Contract Duration

Three (3) Years from the effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

The ABC for the project is in the total amount of Three Million Forty-Six Thousand Pesos (PhP3,046,000.00), VAT-Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction.

Source of Funds

Internally Funded

OTHER DEVICE:

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.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

Activities 1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents

Schedule April 4 to 26, 2016

2. Pre-Bid Conference

April 13, 2016; 2:00 p.m.

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

April 26, 2016; 10:00 a.m.

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

April 26, 2016; 10:00 a.m. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Bids and Awards Services Department (BASD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable bidding fee in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP5,000.00) from the address below.

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the non-refundable bidding fee not later than the date of the submission of bids. The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidders. Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Bidding Fee Slip, which may be secured from the BASD, or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two or more bidders have been postqualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.

The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Please address all communications to the Bids and Awards Committee through BASD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: 524-3911, 521-1542 locals 223 or 617.

(Sgd.) CELESTINA R. ADOR Chairperson BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC) 4

ACCESSORIES:

Up: 55m/min (180ft/min) Down: 40m/min (130ft/min) (pump at 2000rpm) Hydraulic Circuit (Hydraulic relief valve, Holding valves on elevation and extension cylinders, Auger over winding prevention device, Winch over winding prevention device), Parallel hook movement device, Alarm horn, Hook stopper, Load meter, Boom angle meter, Auger holding device.

Engine start and stop device, Jack check valve guard, Variable pole support horns, Water tank with electric pump, Hydraulic power outlet, Toolsbox, Work light.

Jack base, Tire chocks, Grounding wire wheel, Sling.

ABC : 8,200,000.00 pesos II. BRAND NEW LINEMAN’S UTILITY VEHICLE with the following Specifications:

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION

4-cylinder, water-cooled, in-line OHV w/ automatic Engine Stop Device, turbo-charged w/ intercooler, direct injection; S-Speed w/ Over Drive; Synchromesh on all Forward Gears, short lever & remote control type; Bore & Stroke: 83x102 (mm); 50A Alternator Displacement (cc): 2,800

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before 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. 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”.

1.

2.

SAFETY DEVICE:

To procure the services of a Certifying Body (CB) competent and qualified to: 1.

Fuel Tank Capacity (Lit): 75

SUSPENSION

Semi Elliptical Steel Leaf Spring and Hydraulic Double Acting Telescopic Shock Absorber

BRAKES

Service: Drum type, hydraulic dual circuit w/ vacuum assist; Front: Two Leading, Rear: Dual Leading Parking: Mechanical, lnternal Expanding at Rear of Transmission, Lever Type

CLUTCH

Dry, Single-Plate Diaphragm Springs, Hydraulic Control

CAB TYPE

Tilt Cabin and Monocoque Construction customize designed for lineman use.

ABC : 1,202,000.00 pesos

Delivery Period: 70 Days (MANILA PICK-UP) Both vehicles shall be with LTO Registration.

Prospective bidders must have completed within the last five (5) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract to the similar to the Project. The criteria to be used by BAC in the eligibility of the prospective bidders shall be a non-discretionary “pass/ fail” basis. As such, non-submission of any of the eligibility requirements will result in the disqualification of the prospective bidder.

The complete schedule of activities are as follows: No.

Activities

Schedule

1

Issuance of Bid Documents

2

Pre-Bid Conference (only those who have purchased the Bidding Documents shall be allowed to participate the pre-bid conference)

April 18, 2016, 2:00 PM at BISELCO Main Office Board Room

3

Submission and Opening of Bids

May 4, 2016, 2:00 PM at BISELCO Main Office Board Room

4

Announcement of Winning Bidder

May 9, 2016

April 5, 2016

Complete set of bidding documents may be obtained at BISELCO BAC Secretariat through e-mail address biselco79@yahoo.com or mobile number 09159551913; upon payment of non-refundable fee of 10,000.00 pesos. Bids shall be submitted at BAC Secretariat, Busunga Island Electric Cooperative, Inc., Bgy. 6, Coron, Palawan.

BISELCO BAC reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to annul the bidding process, declare a failure at any time prior to the contract award, or not to award the contract, without thereby incurring any liability, and makes no assurance that a contract shall be entered into as a result of the bidding. Likewise, the BISELCO BAC assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

Noted by: (Sgd.)ENGR. SELWIN Y. ALILI BAC Chairman/TSD Manager

( T S - A P R . 4 , 2 016)

Commerce, the drought could shave between 0.5 and 0.8 percent off Thailand’s GDP growth, with its annual rice production predicted to drop almost 30 percent to 25 million tonnes.

Thailand is also facing increasing competition from Vietnam and India, who have been jockeying for the top exporter spot and at times surpassed Thailand’s output in recent years.

The junta says Thai rice is no longer sustainable on its current scale.

AFP

Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BISELCO), through its Bids and Award Committee is inviting all prospective Bidder to pre-qualify and to Bid for the supply and delivery of the following equipment:

WINCH

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES FOR ISO 9001-2008 CERTIFICATION UNDER ITB NO. PB16-016

and not rainfall.

“The amount of water in storage is low and now we expect that this year’s rainy season will be delayed because of El Nino,” said Suphot Tovichakchaikul, who leads the country’s water management department.

The El Nino weather phenomenon tends to weaken the annual monsoon, which is a lifeline to farmers across the region.

According to a study from the University of the Chamber of

(Sgd.)RUTH L. GALANG General Manager ( T S - A P R . 4 , 2 016)

M O N D AY : A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Festival. Believers of the Wakamiya Hachimangu Shrine carry portable shrines bearing phalluses during the Kanamara Festival in Kawasaki, a suburb of Tokyo, on April 3, 2016.

More than 20,000 people gathered to enjoy the annual festival in which Shinto believers carry giant phalluses through the streets. AFP

Tight security as airport reopens BRUSSELS—Brussels Airport was to reopen on Sunday with three “symbolic” flights and strict additional checks for passengers, marking a new highsecurity era for air travel in Belgium after attacks by Islamic State suicide bombers.

The key travel hub has been closed since two men blew themselves up in the departure hall on March 22 in coordinated blasts that also struck a metro station in the Belgian capital, killing a total of 32 people.

The departure hall was badly damaged, and a tent-like check-in facility is being used as a temporary substitute.

The attacks at the heart of Europe shocked the country and many hope the airport’s reopening, even on a limited scale, will help turn the page on the traumatic events.

Brussels Airport chief executive Arnaud Feist on Saturday said the partial resumption of services would start with three “symbolic

passenger flights” to the southern Portuguese city of Faro, Athens and Turin, northern Italy.

“These flights are the first hopeful sign from an airport that is standing up straight after a cowardly attack,” Feist said.

Tough new checks will be in place after police threatened to go on strike if security were not improved, and travelers have been asked to arrive three hours before departure time.

One of the biggest changes will be that only passengers with tickets and ID documents will be allowed into the makeshift departure hall, and their bags will be checked before entering. Once inside, passengers will also undergo the usual security checks.

The airport will initially only be accessible by car. Vehicles will be screened and subject to spot checks, while extra police and soldiers will be on patrol throughout the airport zone.

The first flight was to leave for Faro at 1140 GMT. Drew Descheemaeker, a travel agent for Thomas Cook who has a family of 11 booked on the flight, said customers appeared to be taking the new security measures in their stride.

“The clients seemed happy,” he told AFP, after calling the holidaymakers to confirm their departure.

As for the new checks, “everybody is aware of it... there are no concerns there”.

“People have been rather impatient for Brussels to reopen,” he added.

The number of flights will be stepped up gradually, although the airport will be only be able to work at 20 percent capacity using the temporary facilities, handling 800 to 1,000 passengers an hour. AFP

Greece readies to send first migrants back ATHENS—Greek authorities are gearing up to send hundreds of failed asylum-seekers back to Turkey, which is racing to set up reception centers under a controversial EU deal.

Some 750 migrants are set to be sent back between Monday and Wednesday, Greek state news agency ANA said, the first wave of deportations under the muchcriticized agreement struck last month.

All irregular migrants now face being sent back from the Greek islands to Turkey, as Europe grapples with its worst migration crisis since World War II. Greece has been struggling to get the infrastructure in place under its side of the deal, which has been met with skepticism by EU

members like Austria, while the United Nations argues it is illegal.

“Planning is in progress,” Yiorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for Greece’s refugee coordination unit, told AFP. ANA said the migrants would be sent back from the island of Lesbos to the Turkish port of Dikili, adding that EU border agency Frontex had chartered two Turkish leisure vessels for the operation.

There will be one Frontex agent onboard for every single migrant, ANA said. Kyritsis declined to comment on the report.

On the other side of the Aegean Sea, work is under way on a center to host those sent back in the Turkish tourist resort of Cesme, town mayor Muhittin Dalgic said. AFP

Thai officials seize ‘political’ red bowls

Offering. An ethnic Chinese-Malaysian man offers paper money to his ancestors’s grave at a cemetery in the backdrop of Malaysia’s landmark twin towers on the eve of the annual ‘Qingming’ festival in Kuala Lumpur on April 3, 2016. AFP

BANGKOK—Thai authorities have confiscated nearly 6,000 red bowls bearing a message from an ousted ex-premier, a police officer said Sunday, in the junta’s latest attempt to block the resurgence of the political party it toppled.

The seizure followed the arrest last week of a woman seen posing with one of the bowls in photos on social media. She has been charged with sedition, a move described by a rights group as absurd.

The plastic scoops, used for pouring water in Buddhist ceremonies during Thailand’s upcoming new year, bear a note signed

by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose political bloc has spent the past decade vying for power with a military-backed elite.

Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives in exile, while the government run by his sister Yingluck was toppled by the current junta in 2014.

The bowls—n the Shinawatras’ signature red color—were first distributed at a temple fair last week in the northern province of Chiang Mai. The message printed on the side reads: “The situation may be hot, but brothers and sisters may gain coolness from the water in-

side this bucket.”

On Saturday police and soldiers seized 5,800 of the water scoops from the home of a former MP from the Shinawatras’ Puea Thai Party in the northern province of Nan, according to a local police officer.

“If we allow these bowls to be distributed, it could benefit some political parties or result in losses to others,” officer Prayoon Chamnankong told AFP. The woman arrested last week could be jailed for up to seven years if convicted of sedition. Rights groups slammed the charge as absurd. AFP

m onday : a pril 4, 2016

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

E aT, drinK , T r aV El

LIFE

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dadS TrEaTS GradUaTES To a GloBal FEaST For making momma and poppa proud, graduates deserve to get a treat for a job well done. The proud moment when mom or dad goes up on stage to pin the medal on the achiever or receive the diploma as a symbol that all those years of hard work and sacrifice have paid off deserve a celebration of global proportions.

DADS World Buffet has prepared a delightful array of sumptuous dishes to make the celebration even more memorable – a global feast in fact – with famous menu items from around the world.

Delectable premium dishes available daily for lunch and dinner include US roast beef, US roast turkey, ham, New Zealand roast leg of ham, lechon de leche and pritson de leche.

There’s also premium sushi, sashimi selection, and more.

Families can dig into delectable and flavorful specialties from Asia, which includes China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India; the Mediterranean’s Spain, Greece, and Italy; and the Americas with the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.

And the biggest surprise is that graduates – kindergarten, elementary, high school, and college – who dine in on the day of their graduation and up to seven days thereafter can enjoy the buffet feast for free when accompanied by two adult guests. All that is needed to avail of this treat which runs until April 30 is for the graduate to present either a diploma, graduation photo or graduation program/ ceremony invitation with his or her name, together with the school ID. For reservations and inquiries, contact DADS World Buffet branches: SM Megamall at 636-3785, 633-1758, or 0917 896 1757; Glorietta 3 at 892-8897, 8928898, 0917 8978896; Edsa at 705-1807, 0917 8988124; West Avenue at 372-8845, 374-3767, 0917-898-8844; Manila at 528-1723 to 24, and 0917-8971722.

For more details, like dadsworldbuffet on Facebook and on Instagram at @dadsworldbuffet.

m onday : a prIL 4, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

The hotel’s main structure, surrounded by a beautifully landscaped garden

THE HENry... My STory merCury rising

By BoB zozoBrado

W

hen I first heard of this hotel, I was reminded of one of the authors whose works I enjoyed in my high school English Literature class, William Sydney Porter, known by his pen name O. Henry. His short stories were famous for their wit and surprise endings. His “The Gift of the Magi” was my all-time favorite in my teenage years.

This hotel’s name also reminded me of Henry VIII, the King of England who, my high school World History class taught me, was the reason why the Church of England broke away from the Catholic Church.

He was the king who had his wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded, primarily because she couldn’t give him a male heir.

But what makes The Henry memorable to me is the first time I had the chance to visit it. As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Philippines Chapter, I had to go along with my colleagues who decided to “try out this new hotel” and hold our board meeting there over lunch. That was early last year. I asked for directions and they told me that it is located “in that part of Harrison Street going towards Baclaran.”

Since my office is in Intramuros, my driver took Roxas Blvd. and turned north on Edsa to turn right on Harrison St. going towards the direction of Baclaran. We spent a good 45 minutes going up and down that portion of the street, but couldn’t find the hotel. I asked for help from my colleagues who couldn’t wait for me and had already started their lunch, but they insisted on its location by repeating the same directions they gave me earlier. Already upset and frustrated, I nevertheless asked the driver to check one more time, the entire length of the street, to be sure we didn’t miss it. After more than an hour of wasting gasoline and, by then, very hungry, I decided to head back to the office and skip the board meeting, and swore never to entertain thoughts of ever visiting the hotel again!

But, I probably must have been destined to get to know the hotel because, a few weeks before last Christmas, my former Hyatt Regency colleagues decided to hold our quarterly reunion dinner at the same hotel.

I immediately rejected the idea and shared with them my aggravation over its location.

The spacious single room reminds you of your own bedroom

Hotel owner Henry Lee III

The refreshing pool at the center of the garden

They told me that I was given the wrong directions and, instead, they gave me simple instructions – “it is located behind our former hotel, the Hyatt Regency (now the Midas), inside a gated compound diagonally behind it.” Having been with the Hyatt Regency for so many years, I am all too familiar with Midas’ location so, this time, I easily found The Henry... and was immediately mesmerized by it, at first glance. Thank goodness I allowed myself to have that second chance.

The Henry is a 34-room boutique hotel, a little over a year old, which prides itself for being the only one of its kind in the country, and I’m inclined to agree with that. Its adaptive re-use design came to fore as its owner, Henry Lee III, decided to use existing Liberation-style houses inside a compound, and transformed them into attractive guest accommodations with Art

deco-inspired Scala grilles and baldoza tiles for that authentic 1940s look.

The hotel has this unique charm that, as I entered the gate of the compound that evening, I was immediately awed by its serene beauty... lush greens all over the place, made more attractive by strategically installed accent garden lights. The luxuriant vegetation served as the perfect frame for the impressive guest accommodations lined up on one side. The elegant white main house at the end of the row serves as the property’s centerpiece where the reception desk and the main dining area are located.

The beautiful garden was designed by National Artist for Landscape Architecture Ildefonso Santos, and it adds to the hotel’s clever mix of old world romance and modern convenience. I’m not surprised that the hotel was declared Winner in the Luxury Boutique Hotel Category of the recent international Luxury Travel Guide Awards.

Interior designer Eric Paras made sure that no two guest rooms are the same in decor and aesthetic furnishings, so that repeat guests will always have something new to look forward to. The spacious rooms are designed to take guests back to the days when life was much simpler, further highlighting its old world charm, Filipino version. Of course, the food, which is supplied by top-notch Food and Beverage concessionaire, Apartment 1B, is of superior quality.

And, I’m happy to know that for those who are ready for a beautiful surprise in Cebu accommodations, The Henry Cebu is there, too, ready to captivate anyone who has the knack for the good things in life!

The Henry’s website describes itself as “a delightful surprise in highly urbanized Metro Manila... providing its guests an entirely unique experience.” Nothing could be closer to the truth than that! Having visited the hotel quite a few times after that first visit, I find myself always looking forward to the next one. I guess its charm grows on people like me who are always easily fascinated by beautiful things in the industry. Will I ever have enough of The Henry? I hope not.

yoUr MoNday CHUCKLE: Whisky is a brilliant invention for husbands¼ start feeling SInGLE again!

one doUBLE and they

m onday : a prIL 4, 2016

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LIghtS, camEra, Eat!

How to create dishes that are as delectable as they are Instagrammable

By Bernadette Lunas

T

he age of social media has given birth to diners who don’t lift a fork – not before saying grace – but before taking photos of their food, dozen attempts notwithstanding.

People restraining their friends to touch their meal for a couple of snaps, people standing up on their chair to get an overhead shot of the entire spread, and people not talking to each other as they are busy writing the wittiest caption that would get them the most number of “likes” possible have all become a regular sight nowadays because it’s hard to pass up an opportunity to document the beauty of a dish served.

This phenomenon has, in turn, challenged chefs and food artists to come up with the most visually arresting presentations of every meal.

For someone who has zero experience in food plating or food photography, it would seem a Herculean task to replicate something that looks delectable in person and on screen. But behind every artfully plated dishes and photos worthy of the hashtag #foodporn, are simply a few tricks that anyone can recreate at home using everyday ingredients.

Grilled Rustic Bread with mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, egg yolk jam and herbs

Grilled Ribeye with fried sweet potato, sweet potato puree, grilled mushroom and gravy

PLate what feeLs right

San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center challenged chef and food artist AJ Reyes of Privatus Private Dining to whip up scrumptious dishes using their products and make the said food items look mouthwatering.

Having spent most of his culinary career in premier hotels and restaurants, Chef AJ admitted that using local products in making fine dining fare was something new to him.

“When you work in high end restaurants, they tend to get ingredients from the US, Japan and Europe... and when you think of San Miguel, you think of food cooked by your mom. Making it fine dining was really a challenge,” he told The Standard Life.

Vitty and Marie Gutierrez’s quaint Bee House in Antipolo served as Chef AJ’s kitchen as he demonstrated his food plating skill using seared Monterey ribeye, fried sweet potatoes, grilled oyster mushrooms, fresh arugula and amaranth, and Wandah! All-Around Mix gravy. In less than five minutes, Chef AJ served a plate of his creation that pleased the palate and the eyes.

“When you plate, just go with what you feel. There is no precise art or way in food plating,” he advised.

uP your food PhotograPhy game

Even the most appetizing looking food – like that juicy steak or colorful salad – can easily look drab and unsavory in photos when it is taken the wrong way. On the

From left: San Miguel Pure Foods Culinary Center pastry and field chef Rene Ruz, SMPFCC food service chef RJ Garcia, SMPFCC finance and administrative assistant Rowena Balanga, SMPFCC projects coordinator Muny Moreno, Chef AJ Reyes of Privatus Private Dining, Great Food Solutions vice president and general manager Helene Pontejos, SMPFCC culinary services manager Llena Arcenas, SMPFCC on premise selling trainer Victor Miranda and Salad of Arugula, Amaranth and Frisee Fried Chicken Lollipop SMPFCC chef supervisor Pam Obieta

other hand, even a bland dish can look like the next food magazine cover if you know how to snap right.

To help struggling food photographers improve their food photos, SMPFCC tapped food and travel blogger, professional food photographer and Manila Eat Up (a site that advocates the local food scene) founder Sheryll Anne “B’ley” Villones to share her tried and tested tricks on getting the best food shot using a smartphone.

1. Find the right light Take advantage of natural light when taking food photos as, according to B’ley, it helps enhance the colors of the food instead of washing them out the way white flash does.

The best times to “find the light” is from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning for yellow to bluish-gold light, 2:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon for warm light, and from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. for shadow effects. In case it’s dark, say you’re taking a photo of your food in a dimly-lit bar, B’ley suggests using a

BBQ Pork Belly

flashlight and covering the bulb with tissue paper or napkin, to diffuse the light.

sandwiches, desserts or anything that is high in calories or high in cholesterol.

2. Know the best angle There are currently three popular angles when taking food shots. You can try them all, but if you’re in a rush (because the food is getting cold or you and your companions are impatient to dig in), it pays to know the best angle for every particular dish or meal situation.

The overhead shot, or more popularly known as flatlay, is best used when showcasing the variety of the spread, particularly the different shapes and colors of food and plates. Flatlay also works best when showing action, such as hands of the diners partaking of the meal.

For food items that don’t have much texture like soups, the 45-degree is the best bet as photos shot from this angle allow other elements in the background, such as utensils or towels, to become part of the image.

The head-on or eye-level angle is used for featuring the layers of decadent and ridiculous food items, such as steaks,

3. Explore background and negative space “Food photos don’t necessarily have to be always just food,” opined B’ley. Integrating elements that are not part of the meal, like walls or tables or utensils that complement the focal point, will help give the photo a fresh look and a dynamic feel.

Filling the photo with objects, without leaving a blank space, was previously considered better. But B’ley said negative space actually makes the photo look more cohesive as well as creates a certain kind of zen.

4. Utilize mobile apps Take advantage of free and trial versions of photo editing softwares available on smartphones. B’ley’s top picks are Photoshop Express, VSCO and Snapseed.

So there, you’re now ready to take photos that – who knows – could become the next cover of a food magazine.

VItaLIS VILLaS: SantorInI In ILocoS Sur

“O

MG, are you in Greece?” was a message I got from a friend in the States after posting photos of Vitalis Villas on my social media feed. I could have said yes, and she wouldn’t have known the difference since a square image on Instagram doesn’t really give away that you’re still in the Philippines. Santoriniinspired resorts are very popular in the world, and in our country, the whitewashed walls, blue picket fences and window designs are always attached to luxury. So yes – I was, in a little way, in Greece.

The Grecian appeal never seems to get old and today, you can experience the luxury resort after just a four- to five-hour

By tatum ancheta

drive from Manila and 45 minutes away from the historic town of Vigan. Located in Santiago Cove is the latest addition to Artstream Hospitality Management Group Inc.’s roster of hospitality offerings. From Hotel Rembrandt in Manila, Le Monet in Baguio, and Hotel Luna in Vigan, Vitalis Villa is one of the management’s sexiest and most promising hotel destinations. And just like its partner hotels, the resort is aptly named after an artist, Ilocos Sur-born visionary painter Macario Vitalis whose works are honored in Paris where he spent most of his life as an artist and where most of his work was created.

The resort soft opened on the third week of January and with the influx of tourist coming to and from the town of Vigan, even at its infancy the resort gained a lot of bookings and inquiries, especially from people who like to travel to a quiet and serene destination for their vacations. Even foreigners would just walk in and inquire and book on site.

Vitalis Villas is the second resort under the same name and management after they’ve acquired Vitalis Resort and Spa a few years back, and is the first luxury resort in Santiago. Currently, the resort’s finished facility houses two zones with 22 units available for booking. It offers Santorini-

style architecture in a one-bedroom villa, two-bedroom villa, and prime two-bedroom villa with access to the private pool. Still on the pipeline is the creation of five more zones that will include a construction of a function hall that can accommodate up to 500 to 1,000 people, and a chapel perfect for weddings. Prices for the units start at P11, 450 to P20,900 with full board meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Current activities within and outside the resorts are non-motorized activities like kayaks and pedal boats; a visit to the Vitalis hilltop adventure where you can see donkeys, zebras, ponies; diving on three continued in c4

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Vitalis Villas' partially finished facilities

VItaLIS VILLaS...

From C3

wreck sites; a sunset cruise where you can enjoy sipping glasses of wine with cheese and cold cuts; and a half-day tour to the heritage city of Vigan with a visit and free lunch at Hotel Luna – the museum hotel that houses over 200 priceless pieces of art.

The hotel also has a zip-line facility that starts at the tower by the hilltop where you can see a view of the entire Vitalis Villas as well as the neighboring resort Vitalis Resort and Spa where you will eventually be picked up after zip-lining across the waters.

A butler is assigned per zone to tend to the guests in each villa. They will greet you politely by your name when they see you in the premises and will be available for all your needs throughout your stay, be it for a glass of cold water or to tour you around the facility. According to the resort’s general manager Dennis Doroja, 99 percent of all their service staff is of local Ilocano stock. Not only does the facility provide training and jobs for neighboring residents, it also supports one of the livelihoods in the area which is the weaving of abel, the traditional woven product of Vigan and the Ilocos region.

Most of the curtains used in the facility are made by the locals; in the future once the facility is completely done, there will be an abel weaving demonstration within the resort which will serve as an avenue for locals to sell their products.

AHMGI hospitality is known for its delectable dishes as prepared by Chef Robby Goco, the same one in charge of all the other sister hotels. Here, the food is as fresh as they come: uni and seaweed is harvested straight from the shore and delivered by the resort’s divers straight to your table. The food and beverage offering touches flavors of the Mediterranean Coast but is infused with local produce that is native to Ilocos Sur. The menu is composed mainly of pita breads, dips, hummus, pizza, and tzatziki.

Signature dishes like Katuray Pizza, Bagnet Pizza, Uni Pasta are the resort’s unique offerings as well as dishes with Malaga fish which is inherent to Ilocano dishes.

“Our services is not limited to just the menu items. If the guests have any request prior to their stay, we try our best to serve them within the limits of our resources,” shares Doroja. I haven’t had katuray flowers in a while so I requested for the kitchen to make me a special ensalada with it and the kitchen obliged. One of the most enjoyable spreads is the fun boodle fight style set served in a bed of Aligue Rice (crab fat rice), with chicken adobo, liempo, inihaw na pusit, tokwa’t baboy,

Two-bedroom villa

The resorts infinity pool overlooking the beachfront

View from the prime two-bedroom villa with access to the private pool

Katuray Pizza, Uni Pasta, Sabangan Shrimp Pasta, Meatballs Pasta, All Meat Pizza

pakbet with bagnet, ensaladang mangga, sinigang na Malaga, and minatamis na saging and leche flan for dessert.

The best time to visit Vitalis Villas to enjoy the open waters of the West Philippine Sea

Boodle fight feast set served in a bed of Aligue Rice (crabfat rice), with chicken adobo, liempo, inihaw na pusit, tokwa’t baboy, pakbet with bagnet, ensaladang mangga, sinigang na Malaga, and minatamis na saging and leche flan for dessert

is from January up to summer just before August. For groups that want to stay in the rustic town of Vigan, best to ask Vitalis for package offers partnered with the sister hotel so they can arrange it for you.

Vitalis Villas is located in Sabangan, Santiago, Ilocos Sur. To keep updated with the resort, visit VitalisVillas on Facebook or www.vitalisresort.com. For bookings and reservations, call +63 2 3733333.

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whistle bait bodies. Bb. pilipinas official candidates during the press presentation held at the poolside of novotel Hotel at the Araneta Center (PHOTO BY DannY PaTa)

PIa juDgE aT BB. PIlIPInas 2016 swImsuIT PRElImInaRIEs

T

he weather was hot but excitement filled the air with the presence of Miss Universe 2016 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach at the Bb. Pilipinas 2016 candidates press presentation at the poolside of Novotel Hotel Tuesday afternoon at the Araneta Center.

Wurtzbach is home to help promote in the Philippines, Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft charity organization which helps raise issues faced by children born with cleft lip and palate in developing countries, in partnership with the Miss Universe Organization (MUO).

The 40 lovely Binibinis wore pink swimwear by Pegarro. The presentation was at the same time a pre-pageant swimsuit competition to decide the semi-finalists. The Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) Committee, led by Stella Marquez-Araneta and Wurtzbach sat at the judges table. Bb. Pilipinas 2015 beauties Janicel Lubina, Rogelie Catacutan and Christi Lynn McGarry hosted the press presentation.

Pia spoke to the girls to give encouragement, “This is a good opportunity for you to win a beauty title, to have your own platform and to have doors of opportunities opening for you and for your career in the future.”

Pia asked the fans to support the Bb. Pilipinas 2016 candidates’ activities including the Fashion Show at Kia Theater on April 6, the Parade of Beauties on April 9, and final-

Binibining pilipinas’ new bevy of beauties in pegarro swimwear (PHOTO BY TEDDY PElaEZ)

ly, the grand coronation night on April 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and telecast live on ABS CBN, where Pia be gracing to crown her successor.

A fearless forecast of possible semi-finalists could be the following (in no particular order): Apriel Smith – a black Fil-Am beauty from Cebu and the daughter of the late/ former PBA player Daryl Smith Nichole Marie Manalo – Nursing graduate and younger sister of Bianca Manalo Kristine Angeli Estoque – a statu-

esque BS Biology graduate at Davao Medical School Angelica Lopez – a model and student of Tourism Management Jennifer Hammond – cum laude Nursing and PMAP model Kylie Verzosa – a pre-school teacher and Business Management graduate at Ateneo de Manila University Maria Mika Maxine Medina – a PAL flight attendant and a graduate at Philippine School of Interior Design

Maria Gigante – A graduate of Philosophy and Indie film actress from Bantayan island of Cebu Vina Openiano – a hotel and restaurant services graduate at Montessori Professional College Dindi Joy Pajares –a flight attendant and student to be a piloto Maria Lina Prongoso – an accounts payable analyst from Iriga City Sarah Christine Bona – a registered nurse, licensed widwife and caregiver Angelica Alita – a professional chef from Puerta Galera, Oriental Mindoro Alexandra Faith Garcia – a graduate of Tourism, swimmer and Iron Man triathlete placer from Olongapo City Kimberle Mae Penchon – a member of WCARP, an NGO for orphans of Baguio City Paula Rich Bartolome – a HRM graduate and former Super Model Philippines finalist Edjelyn Joy Cay Gamboa – a student of customs and administration from Oriental Mindoro Jeslyn Santos- a Broadcast Communication graduate and volleyball player Joanna Eden – a student of international studies at De La Salle University and a flute/saxophone player Nicole Cordoves – an employee of the Department of Finance and member of Iris Philippines, an NGO for the welfare of women and children. – Eton Bonifacio

plDT HomE bags the best digital innovation award

plDT Vp and Home marketing Director Gary Dujali, Jr.

PLDT HOME, the home digital services unit of telecoms leader PLDT, has been recognized for its leadership in digital innovation in Asia for its pioneering data sharing initiative, in partnership with Smart Communications (Smart), in the recent CIO Asia Awards.

It won in the Leadership category and is one of only five outstanding companies in the region included in the Roll of Honour list at the 15th Annual CIO Asia Awards .

“The PLDT HOME DSL data sharing offer is just the beginning of more game-changing converged innovations from PLDT and Smart. This recognition from CIO Asia fuels our inspiration to raise the bar and continuously break new ground in digital and mobile technology,” PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali, Jr. said.

The converged data sharing service

from PLDT HOME and Smart is a product of collaboration between the Business and IT teams of the country’s digital and mobile leaders. It is the Philippines’ first data plan that enables subscribers of Home DSL service to share their data allocation with their family’s Smart-powered mobile phones.

It is offered under the Speedster Fam Plan 1299 which gives PLDT HOME DSL subscribers speeds of up to 10 Mbps and a monthly data allocation of 50 gigabytes. By upgrading their Speedster Plan with a Smart Mobile Plan 399 or Plan 600, subscribers can share up to 6 gigabytes of their monthly allocation to their mobile phone lines which they can use even outside the home.

In its citation, CIO Asia Awards said that PLDT HOME and Smart’s data sharing service is “particularly relevant

in the Philippines where large, closelylinked family units are common.”

Also in the Honour Roll in this year’s awards are Singapore’s National Library Board for the Innovation category, Philippines’ Manila Water for Transformation, US’ Avnet Inc. for Growth, and Malaysia’s Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad for Performance.

The CIO Asia Awards is a “prestigious annual listing of the top Asian companies that have deployed information and communications technology to derive the highest strategic value and to yield the greatest returns for their key operations and businesses.” It was organized

by CIO Asia, a leading resource for IT and digital developments in the region.

To know more about the PLDT HOME Speedster Fam Plan 1299, log on to pldthome.com

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PRINCESS BACK AS KAPAMILYA shTIcks JOsEph pETER GOnzalEs

P

rincess Punzalan is back in Kapamilya grounds via the prime time soap The Story of Us top-billed by Kim Chiu and Xian Lim. “Yes! I’m really excited. It’s a nice development since I missed working with ABSCBN. Imagine, 15 years after Mula sa Puso!

That’s quite some time already. It just feels good to be back,” she avers.

Her Selina character in Mula sa Puso is simply unforgettable and became the yardstick in portraying the modern villainess on screen.

“Wow! Thank you. I must admit that until now, that character is still associated with me everywhere I go. That’s why when ABS sent me a character sketch of the role I would portray in The Story of Us, I felt super-excited. Apart from the fact that I miss acting before the cameras, I was looking for a new challenge after my iconic portrayal of Selina.

“It’s good the Kapamilya management thought of casting me in The Story of Us. I’m the mother of Bryan Santos in the soap.

It’s a ‘contravida’ part but I’ll attack it in another way. That’s where the challenge lies.

It should be a fresh take that would stir excitement among viewers.”

People are curious if she didn’t feel rusty in breathing life to a bad character again considering that it’s been a long time ago since she did Mula sa Puso.

“Oh, I didn’t. Actually, I’m already used to the public’s expectation that whenever I have the opportunity to act on screen despite

Jonalyn Viray now goes by the name Jona

Seasoned actress princess punzalan is back in the Kapamilya network after 15 years

my current status in which I’m based in the States, it will always be a villainess part. I’m just so happy to be part of the soap. Everybody knows that acting is my passion. I’m grateful to be given the chance once again to share my talent with the audience.

“In fact, I told my husband that it’s different when you’re passionate about something. In my case, acting is my first love. It doesn’t matter if you lack sleep due to the taping schedule which at times reaches until the wee hours of the morning. If I really want to do a project, I will amidst the inconveniences or challenges in exchange.”

Speaking of her husband, Princess reveals her marriage was the reason why she had to temporarily leave the ‘biz then.

“That’s right. There are various times or seasons in our lives. When I married him during those times, I opted to shy away

from the limelight to concentrate on being a homemaker. I had to prioritize it so I migrated to the US. But once in a while, I take vacations in the Philippines and accept guest stints in some shows. The last before this one is GMA’s Yagit.”

Until when will she be in the country with her inclusion in The Story of Us? “I can’t really say at this point but definitely, it’ll be longer since I’m doing a soap opera which lasts for months.”

Lastly, how is it working with Kim and Xian?

“I only have good words for them.

They’re serious with their craft. Actually, I love the whole production because everyone is so professional. Our working atmosphere is so positive and light,” ends Princess. ***

Jona officially sheds light on the issue that she is the root cause why her group La Diva (along with Aicelle Santos and Maricris Garcia) was disbanded.

“Well, I guess there comes a point when you feel you need to grow as an artist. You have to move on to better your craft. So, I arrived to the decision that I would go back to being a solo singer. But actually, it was the management’s decision as well since for some time, we became stagnant. I think, it bore positive results for the three of us considering the opportunities which came our way after that,” she states.

Would she say she’s still friends with her two former group mates?

“Of course, although we’re not as close as before when La Diva was still intact. On my part, I’ve never and will never say anything offensive against them. I respect both Aicelle and Maricris.”

The talented songstress, who just turned Kapamilya is glad with this new phase in her career.

“I’m thankful because they’ve lined-up projects for me right away. I sang the theme song of the new soap We Will Survive starring Ms. Pokwang and Ms. Melai Cantiveros. I’m also one of the official interpreters in the upcoming Himig Handog plus my maiden album for Star Records is already in the works,” says Jona.

iphOTO

sMaRT at ‘Batman v superman: Dawn of Justice’ premiere Apart from scoring advanced screening tickets and raffle prizes at the recent event, Smart users also got a chance to experience the Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne-inspired adventures via an ongoing fly-off promo to Japan and Hong Kong every time they subscribe to Big Bytes 50.

Smart’s biggest mobile data offer yet, Big Bytes 50 now comes with a super-sized 700mB – up from the previous 350mB - for more streaming and surfing – plus another 600mB for use on other apps like youTube, Spinnr, iflix, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Dubsmash and SkypeQik – all valid for three days for only p50.

To subscribe, simply text BIG50 to 9999 and follow Smart’s official accounts on Facebook (www.smart.com.ph/ SmartCommunications), Twitter (@liveSmart) and Instagram for more details.

cROsswORD puzzlE 46 48 49 51

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 San Francisco hill 4 Kite-flyer’s need 8 Message concealer 12 Poet Alexander — 13 — fixe 14 Sip a drink slowly 16 Prefers charges 17 Huge 19 One of nine 21 Apply makeup

22 Complacent 23 Kewpie 25 No — luck!

27 Pericles, e.g.

31 Peanut, to some 35 How — things?

36 Ran its course 38 Dits-y guy?

39 Flag down 41 Toothed wheels 43 Monsieur’s pate 44 Murphy or Rabbitt

Small porch Swell (hyph.)

Condescends Candle alternatives (2 wds.)

53 Cops, to a felon 55 Gauge 56 Anything but —!

59 Calgary Flames org.

61 Perot, for one 65 Missing essentials 68 The rain in Spain?

69 Sty dwellers 70 Epps or Sharif 71 Housefly or ant 72 Dry plains shrub 73 Leery 74 Four-footed pal DOWN 1 It may be proper 2 Frank 3 Right next to 4 Squirming 5 Snake River loc.

6 Brain, maybe 7 Painter of ballerinas 8 TV news channel 9 Beat Annie Oakley 10 Marching-band need 11 Hairy twin 12 Air-pump meas.

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016

15 MIT grad 18 Put — — in one’s ear 20 Fourth piggy’s portion 24 Fills the hull 26 Web suffix 27 Exclaimed over 28 Line of work 29 Children’s classic 30 Groovy 32 Minnow kin 33 Bar legally 34 Is malodorous 37 R2-D2 or C-3P0 40 Illumination 42 Like a hermit 45 Capt.’s heading 47 Frolic 50 Firing on all cylinders 52 Yokums’ creator (2 wds.)

54 Hurl 56 QB objectives 57 Chops down 58 India’s locale 60 Sand mandala builder 62 Pointed arch 63 Send packing 64 “Unforgettable” singer 66 Poor grade 67 Road goo

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JESSy mEnDIolA AnD Elmo mAgAlonA At CEntuRy tunA pRE-FInAlS WEEkEnD

S kapamilya stars and Superbods Jessy mendiola and Elmo magalona at the Century tuna pre-Finals Weekend held at the BgC Ampitheater

Rez Cortez finds abandoned baby Character actor Rez Cortez tells his friends that he found a baby abandoned in his garage on Jan. 15.

The actor has four children with wife Candy, yet embraced the foundling as their own as they feel it was a belated Christmas gift from God. They named the child Cassandra Grace, like Grace Poe who is also a foundling before

uperbods Jessy Mendiola and Elmo Magalona, two of the country’s hottest young stars, joined the 26 Superbods finalists in the Century Tuna Superbods Nation 2016 Pre-Finals Weekend last Friday and Saturday at the BGC Ampitheater, Bonifacio Global City.

The event was staged in the run up to the Century Tuna Superbods Nation 2016 finals night o reach out and engage with consumers to encourage

them to be fab and fit men and women—just like the Superbods.

Jessy Mendiola joined Chef Nadine Tengco in a delicious cook-out session on Friday, while Elmo Magalona the team of Coach Jim Saret in an intense yet fun Fitness Session also on the same day.

Other activities included the Circuit Training Session, the Yoga session with Bubbles Paraiso, a Hip Hop dance class with the G-Force, and the meet and greet with 26 Superbods finalists.

Dennis trillo and Heart Evangelista daring in new soap

Fans of both Dennis Trillo she was adopted by Fernando and Heart Evangelista are now Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces.

Until now, no one has excited to watch the new soap titled Juan Happy Love Story. The claimed the baby, said Cortez.

Cortez is inspired by what reason for their excitement is the Da King and Susan did when rumor that both stars have agreed they adopted the baby now to go sexy in the series.

Dennis and Heart play husband running to be President of the and wife in the series –Juan and country.

He supported FPJ’s candida- Happy. Heart has been posting cy in 2004. Now, he is support- photos taken during the taping ing Grace’s bid in the coming of the show on her Instagram account making the fans even more elections in May.

excited to watch the new series.

One of the photos she uploaded on Instagram showed her with a whip while Dennis is seated and seems nervous. The fans have become curious what the scene is all about.

So, guys, watch out as Dennis and Heart will soon make your nights more delightful in #juanhappylovestory (that’s the hashtag if you’re posting on Twitter or Instagram.

Dennis trillo and Heart Evangelista in the upcoming kapuso soap “Juan Happy love Story”

legendary designer Calvin ‘Hi School klein in Cnn’s ‘talk Asia’ love on’

Cnn’s mallika kapur and American fashion designer Calvin klein

The Calvin Klein name is one that’s truly global - after all, millions of people around the world wear it on their waistbands every day.

But what’s become of the man who founded the brand in the 1960s and grew it into the fashion empire it is today? Since selling the company that bears his name more than a decade ago, Klein has chosen to spend more

time out of the media spotlight, and rarely grants interviews.

Next month on Talk Asia, the legendary designer sits down with CNN’s Mallika Kapur in Mumbai, India, to discuss the changing face of luxury and why he believes the future of fashion lies in Asia. He reveals the secret of his success, what he’s most proud of and his thoughts on the power of social media.

In this candid interview he also shares his opinion on iconic Calvin Klein advertising campaigns from Brooke Shields to Justin Bieber, why he hates selfies and whether he prefers boxers or briefs.

CNN Talk Asia airs 4:30 p.m. on April 7 and 11:30 a.m. on April 8. Replays are scheduled on April 9, 16 and 17 on CNN International.

pHIlEXCEl Art Center inaugurates Jack nasser Collection Philexcel Business Park President Ariella Nasser-Moskovitz (right) and visiting Brazilian neo-pop artist Romero Britto cut the ribbon at the inauguration of the Jack R. Nasser collection of the Philexcel Art Center located within the Philexcel Business Park in Clark Freeport, Angeles City, Pampanga.

Finally opened to the viewing public, the said collection consists of paintings from Filipino artists representing the Mabini Art genre, a Philippine art form once disparaged by local patrons but which of late has been receiving deserved

appreciation. The collection is a result of Philexcel founder the late Jack Nasser’s 60 years of patronage of Mabini artworks.

Special guest at the launch was internationally renowned Brazilian neo-pop artist Romero Britto, whose 12 paintings were also exhibited at the west wing of the Philexcel Art Center for a limited time only.

Britto’s visual expression of hope and happiness – mixing influences from cubism with pop art and graffiti to create an iconic style – is likened to the Filipino’s cheerful outlook in life.

(From left) Joanne de Asis Benitez, Romero Britto, Vicky Zubiri, and margie moranFloirendo grace the Jack nasser Collection inauguration at the philexcel Art Center

brings an angel to gmA

Fall in love this summer via the newest feel-good series of GMA Network, Hi School Love On, which tells the story of Macy (Kim Sae Ron)—a guardian angel who harbors the curiosity of what it is like to be human. Her task is to collect the souls of people who are destined to die, but she accidentally saves a life instead.

Using her powers, she instinctively prevents the fall of high school heartthrob Mikey (Nam Woo-Hyun) from a ledge. They both pass out and wake up in the hospital with Macy realizing that she has turned mortal.

Will Macy survive the human life? Will she ever go back to being an angel?

What would Mikey do if he finds out that Macy was once an angel who saved his life? Follow their story on Hi School Love On weekday mornings before You’re The Best on GMA.

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Debutante Janella Salvador receives birthday wishes from her mom Jenine and younger brother

JanElla SalvaDOR TuRnS 18 ISAH V. RED

S

howbiz “It Girl” and OPM Pop Sweetheart Janella Salvador got the biggest surprise of her life on March 29. She walked on the red carpet wearing her nude Pepsi Herrera gown not knowing that her dream debut is about to happen.

With her elegant look styled by Perry Tabora and hair & makeup by Chris Rodil and Mickey See, Janella looked like a Hollywood star when she sang “I See the Light” and entered the Palazzo Verde ballroom. She can’t contain her emotions and she was surprised to see familiar faces who

Elmo suprises his leading lady on the latter’s 18th birthday

welcomed her with big smiles.

Fellow Star Magic artist Robi Domingo, officially started the program with the traditional 18 roses. Janella’s on-screen fathers Richard Yap and Erik Quizon,

Co-manager Manny Valera, showbiz friends Jon Lucas, Mccoy De Leon, Tom Doromal and Marlo Mortel were among the gentlemen who danced with the debutante. Janella got emotional

when her brother, Russel stepped on stage for her last dance.

After the 18 roses, her godmother Jaimie Rivera sang “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” followed by the 18 candles.

Part of Janella’s 18 candles were Vina Morales, Jane Oineza, Joj Agpangan, Claire Ruiz, Roselle Monteverde, godmother Jaime Rivera, Julia Barretto and her mom Jenine Desiderio.

“You always call me Mama every time, ‘mama this, mama that’ but now I can’t hear it often, it’s shows that you know what to do already without me.

You can do as you please. I will always be here when you need me, if you need me,” says singeractress Jenine who was on top of all the debut preparations.

Janella’s mom, Jenine also rendered an emotional and touch-

ing surprise rendition of “Someone who Believes In You” for her first born.

A surprise guest that night was Elmo Magalona, Janella’s leading man in Born For You, who came from a prior commitment.

Janella can’t contain the happiness she feels that night.“I feel very blessed that I have experience having a debut and I’m so thankful to everyone who thought of pushing through with this. I am so thankful for her [mom] and sasabihin ko na lang sa kanya lahat in person”, says Janella.

Her debut wouldn’t be extra special without the help of the following people: Christine Ong Te Events, Juan Carlo Caterer, LST Lights and Sounds, Teddy Manuel, Palazzo Verde, Honeyglaze Cake, Instamug , Party Bitz and Pieces and Nice Print Photo

Animated feature on St. la Salle to air on EWTN

An animated feature on the life of St. John Baptist De La Salle created by animation students and faculty of De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde (DLSCSB) will be aired exclusively by EWTN Global Catholic Network in all its affiliated channels and stations worldwide.

This was agreed upon during the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between officials of DLS-CSB and EWTN recently.

Frere De La Salle: Patron Saint of Teachers is a 46-minute film produced by DLS-CSB’s ToonBro Animation Studio in celebration of the centennial of Lasallian presence in the Philippines. It details the life and legacy of St. De

mTRCB Chairperson Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, EWTN Asia pacific regional manager Edwin lopez, Benilde president Br. Dennis magbanua FSC, Vice president for lasallian mission and Student life Carmelita lazatin

La Salle, who pioneered teaching in the vernacular rather than Latin to make education inclusive.

DLS-CSB President Br. Dennis Magbanua, FSC, said “Frere De La Salle was made to inform the Catholic community in the Philip-

pines on the life of St. De La Salle.

This opportunity given to us

by EWTN is special, because our work is to spread the good news of the Lord and the beauty of our life, because this is God’s gift to us. We look forward to this great

collaboration for we believe that this will not be the last, because our students and faculty will make more products that are for spreading the Lord’s good news.”

EWTN Asia Pacific Regional Manager Edwin Lopez said the network is privileged with the collaboration. By screening Frere over its affiliate channels and stations in Asia, millions of viewers will be able to enjoy and learn from the life of St. De La Salle.

“We’re reaching out to 260 million homes with 13 satellites,” Lopez said. “Three satellites are under my region: Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand. In the Philippines alone, your production would be carried by more than 900 cable TV

affiliates. Cignal TV, who is also our affiliate, already reaches out to one million homes. We’re also reaching out to Indonesia; we have partnered with the largest paid TV network, the Lippo Group. So, this means that even your “Frere” would reach out to East Timor, Myanmar, and Vietnam.”

The MOA was signed by DLSCSB Vice President for Lasallian Mission and Student Life Carmelita Lazatin and EWTN’s Lopez. Witnesses during the ceremony were Br. Magbanua, Movie and Television Review Classification Board Chairperson Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, Ronald Yabut,and Patrick Manlapaz of EWTN.