The Standard - 2016 April 6 - Wednesday by Manila Standard

VOL. XXX NO. 53 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 WEDNESDAY : APRIL 6, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Morales indicts Purisima, Napeñas

ANGRY CHURCHES Prelates condemn attack on Kidapawan farmers By John Paolo Bencito

CHURCH leaders on Tuesday condemned the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan City that led to the death of three protesters on April 1, saying it is never a sin for the hungry to demand food. A Methodist bishop whose church was being threatened with legal action for giving refuge to the farmers after last week’s violent dispersal denounced the govern-

ment for pushing farmers “to the brink of starvation.” “It is never a sin when poor farmers demand for food, but it is a sin to deny them food. And

when the might of the bullets and guns [is] used against the poor in their rightful demand for their basic needs, a monstrous violation of what is decent, upright, and just has been committed,” Bishop Ciriaco Francisco of the Spottwoods United Methodist Church, said in a pastoral statement. “The shooting of the poor farmers that claimed the lives of three people on April 1 during their protest is condemnable. There is no justification for this murderous

act of some concerned members of the PNP.” Francisco slammed the government’s response to the simple plea for bread, as “their cries for food were answered through the barrel of the gun.” “As bullets rained upon them and pierced their bodies, the gathered crowd sought only the fulfillment of a simple prayer: rice for their families,” the prelate said. The Catholic Church on Tuesday joined in condemning last

week’s violent dispersal of the protesting farmers. “This is not the way to react to the grievances of the farmers that the government was not able to address in the first place,” said Manila Auxiliary Bishop and public affairs chief of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Broderick Pabillo. “The El Niño is not like a typhoon that can [catch] the government unprepared. It had already Next page

Die-in. Activists reenact the killing by policemen of starving farmers in Kidapawan City last week by lying down on the road leading to Mendiola Bridge outside Malacañang Palace in Manila on Tuesday. DANNY PATA

Duterte biggest gainer in latest Standard poll By Joyce Pangco Pañares

POLL

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was the biggest gainer among the candidates seeking the presidency in next month’s elections while Vice President Jejomar Binay suffered his steepest rating drop since the start of the campaign period, the March 26 to April 1 The Standard Poll showed. Duterte, who got 30 percent, was sta-

tistically tied with Senator Grace Poe with 27 percent given the survey’s national error margin of +/- 1.8 percent. Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II came in third at 21 percent, overtaking Binay who dropped five percentage points to 18 percent. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago was at the fifth place with 2 percent. Duterte has surged in the latest The

Standard Poll, with at least 30 percent of the respondents saying they will vote for him if the elections were held today. The survey, which covered 79 provinces and 40 highly urbanized cities— including 17 cities in the National Capital Region, had 3,000 respondents, all of whom are registered voters who said they are sure to vote in the May 9 polls. Next page

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A2 Duterte... From A1

“Duterte has the momentum at this time compared to other presidential candidates. There is consolidation of support for Duterte in Mindanao. In bailiwicks of other candidates like in Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and NCR, he also posted significant increases,” said Junie Laylo, resident pollster of The Standard. Duterte’s rating went up across all major geographic groupings—up 7 percentage points in the National Capital Region (30 percent), 7 pecentage points in North and Central Luzon (18 percent), 5 percentage points in South Luzon and Bicol (19 percent), 8 percentage points in the Visayas (31 percent), and 4 percentage points in Mindanao (53 percent). In contrast, except in Mindanao where his rating remained flat at 11 percent, Binay’s numbers went down 5 percentage points in NCR (23 percent), 5 percentage points in North and Central Luzon (28 percent), 9 percentage points in South Luzon and Bicol (18 percent), and 4 percentage points in the Visayas (13 percent). Duterte was the top choice of respondents from both urban (33 percent) and rural (28 percent) areas. Across economic classes, a plurality of respondents from Classes ABC and D said they will vote for the Davao City mayor at 37 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Duterte and Poe were tied at the top spot with 29 percent each for respondents belonging to Class E. Laylo also attributed Duterte’s steady increase to the respondents’s choice on who can solve the country’s most important problems among the five presidential candidates. Respondents identified the country’s top problems as follows: poverty (26 percent), illegal drugs (21 percent), corruption (20 percent), unemployment (11 percent) and criminality (8 percent). A plurality of respondents said Duterte can solve the problem of illegal drugs (37 percent), corruption (35 percent) and criminality (36 percent) while Poe can solve poverty (34 percent) and unemployment (30 percent). At least 36 percent of the respondents also said that Duterte performed best during the second presidential debate in Cebu, followed by Poe (32 percent), Roxas (17 percent) and Binay (10 percent). However, 38 percent of the voters said it was Poe who showed the best character as a would-be-president among the candidates who participated in the debate. The camp of Duterte welcomed the survey result, saying it was reflective of the groundswell of support for the mayor. “We have seen our numbers getting even bigger, validating what we are seeing on the ground. That Rody is on top means the people are on top. However, that Rody is on

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top exposes him to attacks. We believe that his popularity now is the reason why the Aquino administration has unleashed a string of attacks against Duterte, hoping that they can prevent his surge,” said Bohol Mayor Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager. “That he is the presidential candidate to beat is becoming clearer and clearer for his rivals now, a truth courtesy of the Filipino people whose overwhelming show of love for Rody is enough to drown even the most finely orchestrated of attacks. Slowly, we are are getting closer to our goal of ensuring victory not only for Rodrigo Duterte but for the Filipino people who are desperate for change, desperate to end criminality, poverty and corruption that hounded the nation so long now,” he added. Binay’s camp downplayed the decline in the vice president’s ratings, saying the real survey would be on May 9. “We thank the people for their continued trust and confidence in the vice president despite the irresponsible and malicious misinformation campaign being perpetrated by his political opponents and some media outfits,” UNA spokesperson Mon Ilagan said. Roxas echoed the position of Binay: “It is the elections in May that is the most important survey. From what we can see, the race remains tight. And I am confident that I will win come election day.” Poe’s camp said the senator will continue to harness the data drawn from The Standard Poll to calibrate their next move. “The information from this poll, we will use to fine tune our next steps,” said Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian. Meanwhile, Senator Francis Escudero and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were statistically tied with 25 percent and 28 percent, respectively in the vice presidential race. Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo remained on the third spot with 21 percent, followed by senators Alan Cayetano (15 percent), Antonio Trillanes IV (5 percent) and Gregorio Honasan (3 percent). Reelectionist Senator Vicente Sotto III was the top choice for senator with 51 percent of respondents saying they will vote for him if the polls were held today. Rounding up the top 15 senatorial candidates are Francis Pangilinan (45 percent); senators Ralph Recto and Franklin Drilon with 43 percent each; Panfilo Lacson with 39 percent; Juan Miguel Zubiri and Joel Villanueva with 37 percent each; Risa Hontiveros (36 percent); Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian (35 percent); Senator Teofisto Guingona III, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Richard Gordon with 31 percent each; Leila de Lima (30 percent); Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao (29 percent); and Senator Sergio Osmeña III (28 percent). With Rio N. Araja, Macon RamosAraneta, Vito Barcelo

Ombudsman indicts Purisima, ex-SAF chief Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales found probable cause to file charges of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. Purisima and Napeñas coordinated a top-level meeting on Oplan Exodus with the Armed Forces of the Philippines despite Purisima’s preventive suspension, she noted. Based on investigations, Purisima ordered Napeñas to deploy his men

to serve the arrest warrants of Malaysian terrorist Zulfkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January last year, and to brief President Benigno Aquino III about Oplan Exodus. “During the period of Purisima’s suspension, he had no authority to perform the duties and functions, much less supervise and/or participate in the conceptualization, mission planning, and execution of a high risk police operation,” Morales’ resolution read. Purisima kept acting PNP chief

Leonardo Espina out of the loop when he did not inform him about the operation during the turnover of his duties upon his suspension. On the other hand, Napeñas usurped authority when he took orders from the suspended Purisima. “Purisima wielded his power and influence as chief PNP, to induce Napeñas, who willingly allowed himself to be so induced, to violate the PNP chain of command, by giving instructions to, receiving recommendations from and approving the actions of Napeñas,” Morales said. In June last year, the Ombudsman dismissed Purisima from public service and perpetually disqualified him for reemployment. He also forfeited his retirement benefits. Napeñas retired in July 2015. At least 44 SAF members were killed in an encounter with the combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in the pursuit of Marwan.

Angry...

caused economic sabotage to the businesses and welfare of the constituents,” Mendoza’s letter dated April 1 read. “With these, please be informed that your action of harboring these protesters is punishable by law. We might be constrained to take legal action against you unless you cooperate with us in addressing this issue formally and legally.” The farmers who had sought refuge inside the church accused the city and the police of illegal detention by refusing to allow them to leave without facing arrest. Since Sunday, heavily armed police have barred some 300 farmers from entering the church compound to get their share of rice donated by private individuals. In his pastoral letter, Francisco defended his decision to let the farmers seek refuge inside the Methodist center, saying the church was only asserting “its right to protect the vulnerable.” “By offering our sanctuary, we are not just being hospitable to our farmers and hungry ones, but we are making them as one among us. When we welcome them in our ‘home,’ our sanctuary, we did not only give our best, but we share with them our deep kinship. By offering them our sanctuaries, we recognize their suffering and hopes, their struggles and aspirations.” Evangelista, the Kidapawan mayor, also wrote the church warning that its permit might be revoked for making the compound “headquarters [for] billeting and harboring leaders and members of illegal rallyists [wanted] for unlawfully barricading or blocking public roads.” But Emmanuel Mahipus, the legal counsel of the United Methodist Church, sought the legal basis for the mayor’s threat. As a public officer, [you need] to maintain your office as a public trust and refrain from using your office in furtherance of any injustice,” Mahipus’ letter to Evangelista said. On Tuesday, an independent probe slammed the national government and local officials for their on-going “cover up” of the police attack on protesting farmers. “In a desperate attempt to dodge accountability, the Aquino government is pulling all stops on the ground to cover up the role of the Philippine National Police, the local government units and the powers-that-be in the violent dispersal of the farmer’s protest actions in Kidapawan,” Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan, one of the

groups participating in the National Fact-Finding Mission said. Palabay added that there was “an impression of martial law, there’s increased restriction on freedom of movement among the people particularly in the Methodist Center and in the hospital.” The NFFM also pointed to several “maneuvers” by the police and local government officials to destroy evidence by clearing the crime scene and burning personal effects confiscated from the protesters before and after last week’s dispersal. The police also prevented para-legals and quick reaction teams from leaving the Spottswood compound to gather important details and documentation on the incident, and provide emergency support to the victims and their families. “Armored personnel carrier[s]... along the road, [a] military and police encampment within the United Methodist Church compound, and police in full battle gear roving the hospitals where farmer-victims are confined and places where farmers who were illegally arrested and currently detained—these are all clear and visible signs...of a state of undeclared martial law in Kidapawan,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Secretary-General Antonio Flores, who also co-heads the NFFM delegation. On Tuesday, NFFM members saw at least three APCs in Makilala and roving tanks in Kidapawan City. At least 25 members of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, most with long firearms, were seen in the vicinity of the hospitals and just outside the rooms where the farmer-victims were confined. At least six victims and injured individuals in two hospitals were all charged with direct assault. There were also at least 46 police surrounding the Kidapawan Gym and the Kidapawan City Convention Center. After negotiations by the humanitarian mission, the police finally allowed the 300 Makilala farmers and their children to enter the Spottswood Methodist Center to rest and get their share of the food relief donated by citizens and media from Mindanao. The farmers were barred by police since Sunday from entering the Methodist Center. Some 100 participants in the factfinding mission coming from South Cotabato, where another protest of farmers for food relief occurred, arrived at Spottswood Methodist Mission Center to consolidate their reports. With Christine F. Herrera and Maricel V. Cruz

By Rio N. Araja

THE Office of the Ombudsman has indicted ex-Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former Special Action Force head Getulio Napeñas for the ill-fated Mamasapano operation that took the lives of 44 police commandos on Jan. 25, 2015.

From A1

been forecast two years ago. It... hit the country [in] September last year. The government has not done anything to address this problem,” said Pabillo in a statement on the Radio Veritas website. The bishop said the Catholic Church has been calling the government’s attention to the problem for months, but to no avail. Despite the declaration of states of calamity in areas in Mindanao, the farmers have not received any help that they can feel, the bishop added. “It is very troubling that the police and the military are always being sent to harass, wound and kill the poor— whether they be farmers, lumad, urban poor, or workers who protest and rally because they suffer and their rights are not being addressed. They are blamed in the name of national security and are accused [of being] led by communists,” Pabillo said. The prelate also assailed the protection provided by the police and the military to rich corporations, particularly mining companies and corporate plantations as well as politicians—entities that oppress the poor and the marginalized. He also criticized the callousness of the Aquino administration towards the plight of the poor, the farmers, and indigenous peoples, saying it should be held accountable for the Kidapawan city deaths. On April 1, police broke up a fourday protest barricade set up along a major highway in Kidapawan to prod the government into providing them with food aid amid a five-month drought. Local officials led by North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza and Kidapawan Mayor Joseph Evangelista defended the violent dispersal that killed three farmers and injured hundreds of protesters and police. They have also filed charges against the protesters and have warned the Methodist Church against giving them refuge. Mendoza, in a signed letter to Francisco, insisted Friday last week that the Methodist prelate should expel the farmers seeking refuge inside the church compound, saying that they had already violated several local laws. “This protest rally which have occurred for four days already have greatly impaired if not paralyzed mostly the daily routine of the people of the city and the province as a whole and have

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Petition filed against Comelec A PETITION has been filed in the Supreme Court against the Commission on Elections over its preparation for the conduct of the elections in May this year.

Rally. Presidential candidate Grace Poe throws ballers to the crowd during a campaign rally in Valenzuela City Monday night.

Duterte’s former wife campaigns for him FOR the first time since the election campaign started, Elizabeth Zimmerman on Tuesday came out to support the presidential bid of her former husband Rodrigo Duterte. Zimmerman is battling stage-3 breast cancer, and for the Byaheng DU30 monthlong campaign she asked her doctor to suspend her radiation treatments until the campaign was over. “I am doing this for the country’s future. We are doing this for change, real change,” she said. For a month starting Tuesday, Zimmerman will be on board a bus—a Duterte bus— that will travel across Mindanao and the Visayas.

Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio and 20 other volunteers for Duterte will be with her. Inday Sara’s children Sharkie and Stingray are two of the seven children who joined the trip. Inday Sara said Byaheng DU30 was the brainchild of Zimmerman. “It was her idea that we go around the Visayas and Mindanao on board a bus,” the mayoral candidate of Davao said. “She wants to meet the people and answer their questions about Rody.” When asked about her decision to join the campaign despite her condition, Zimmerman said: “I have already had 15 sessions of the series of sessions. It can wait.”

“All my medicines are in my bag.” Earlier, when she told her doctor about her plan to join the campaign, there was concern about the radiation sessions she would be skipping. “My doctor told me I could skip for just a week, but I told him no, I wanted to be in the campaign for one month,” Zimmerman said. For the 30-day caravan, Inday had also shelved her in vitro fertilization schedule. Zimmerman was married to Duterte for almost 25 years. But despite the annulment of their marriage, they remained good friends. When Zimmerman was rushed to the hospital in De-

cember because of an infection, Duterte was with her. It was also Zimmerman who convinced her children to support Duterte’s candidacy. “We may have been separated but we are friends,” Zimmerman said. “We may be annulled in the courts but we were married in the church and the Catholic church never annulled our marriage.” Zimmerman’s bus will stop in the major cities of Mindanao and the Visayas. Inday Sara said they were expecting that Zimmerman and Duterte would have a “bittersweet” reunion during a sortie, and probably in the Visayas.

In their petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus dated March 31, 2016, the losing bidders Northern Worx KPO Inc., NextIX Inc. and Kit Properties Inc. Joint Venture asked the Supreme Court to stop the Comelec from awarding the contract for the establishment of the National Technical Support Center or NTSC for the May 9 elections to Smartmatic-TIM. The petitioners also asked the Supreme Court to compel the Comelec to have the project awarded to them for having submitted the lowest bid. The petitioners made their move even as the Comelec on Tuesday warned voters they may face an election offense by bringing home their voters’ receipts and reporting petty claims during the voting on May 9. Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said they were looking to file election offenses case against voters who would escape from the polling precinct with their receipts and then file “frivolous complaints” that could delay the election process. “Our problem is, for example, there were 800 ballots cast and yet we only have 700 voters receipts,” Bautista said. “That is a possibility.” The NTSC is the unit mandated to render technical assistance to each component of the elections. Named as respondents in the petition were the Comelec and the Joint Venture of SmartmaticTIM Corp., Total Information Management Corp., Smartmatic International Holtint BV, Jarltech International Inc and LRA Pacific Management Consulting Inc. In a pre-bid conference conducted on Jan. 11, 2016, only two bidders participated: the joint ventures of Northern Worx and Smartmatic-TIM. The project has an approved budget of more than P122 million. On Jan. 25, 2016, the Comelec-Bids and Awards Committee declared Northern Worx as the one who submitted the lowest bid of P90.88 million against Smartmatic-TIM which bid of P122.71 million. However, the BAC, in a resolution dated Feb. 15, 2016, disqualified Northern Worx after the post-qualification conducted by the BAC’s Technical Working Group. The petitioner’s joint venture protested their disqualification but it was denied by the Comelec en banc on the ground that the net financial contracting capacity was not at least equal to the approved budget for the contract. PNA, with Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

Duterte, Cayetano slam critics Lacson, Escudero PRESIDENTIAL candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday slammed senatorial bet Panfilo Lacson and vice presidential bet Francis Escudero for doubting that Duterte could solve the drug problem, criminality and corruption under his presidency in three to six months. “This is not a bravado statement. This is to put pressure on me to immediately work and fast,” Duterte said. Lacson, a former head of the Philippine National Police, said Duterte’s selfimposed deadline was not doable. Solving crime needed strategic and tactical planning that would entail so much time, he said. Cayetano challenged Escudero to a one-on-one debate after Escudero said Duterte’s promise to stamp out crime, drugs and corruption was not realistic. “To those who lack political will, nothing is possible. But to those who have a clear vision for real change and the strength of character to do what is

right, any goal can be accomplished,” Cayetano said. He dared Escudero to withdraw if he lost in the debate. Escudero said it was impossible for Duterte to make good on his promise to end crime and corruption in just six months. “It can’t be done. Not within his term. The problems are too serious and deeply rooted that these cannot be easily defeated,” he said. But Cayetano said Escudero’s cynical attitude illustrated his “lack of conviction” to end the country’s pressing problems. “With all due respect to Senator Escudero, I’d like to reiterate what I said before. Failure is guaranteed for those who do not even want to try,” he said. “It’s frustrating to see our fellow public servants lacking the passion and optimism to change the country. They continue to offer the same solutions that failed miserably in the past.” Rio N. Araja

Root cause. Presidential candidate Jejomar Binay said Tuesday the government should accept that

poverty is the root cause of the farmers’ protest in Kidapawan, North Cotabato, that ended in a bloody dispersal in which three farmers were killed.

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RCBC can open 4 accounts By Macon Ramos-Araneta

Proof of innocence.

RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. said on Tuesday it is now able to open the four accounts through which the $81-million stolen from Bangladesh Bank were channeled after it was determined that the accounts were opened under fictitious names. At the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing into the biggest cyber bank heist, RCBC lawyer Maria Cecilia Estavillo said the controversial accounts are no longer covered by the Bank Secrecy Law because it was determined that accounts were opened with fake driver’s licenses. Estavillo said the bank can now close the four accounts because they were opened under the names of Michael Cruz, Alfred Vergara, Enrico Vasquez and Jessie Lagrosas as shown in the driver’s licenses presented to the bank, along with initial deposits of $500 each, at the time of the opening. “[But] the [Land Transportation Office] licenses given to the four were all fake. This is already a legal basis to close those accounts, and with that, I hope you will open those accounts,” said Bam Aquino, presenting certifications issued by the LTO. RCBC president-on-leave Lorenzo Tan noted that dismissed RCBC-Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito opened the accounts through which the $81-million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank’s accounts in the United States were transferred last February. Tan accused Deguito of trying to muddle the issue to downplay her role as one of the masterminds of this caper and said she “had already testified under oath in a previous Senate hearing that I have never instructed her to open any account at

the RCBC-Jupiter branch, and that she merely assumed that I knew of the transaction.” He said Deguito misrepresented and attempted to portray him (Tan) as complicit in her actions as she prefaced her written statement with a claim that she is simply a mother who is working to earn a living with her husband and who simply desires to be promoted in the bank. In a prepared statement read before the senators, Deguito said she has unwittingly allowed herself to be set up as a scapegoat. “We of course know where Ms. Deguito is coming from when, out of the blue, she said in Tuesday’s resumption of the Senate probe that she was a mere victim of this cyber heist and that her only fault was in obeying the supposed order from her erstwhile boss, Mr. Tan, for her to take care of his friends,” Tan’s lawyer Francis Lim said. “Her latest statement is but the latest episode in her wild narrative about my client’s alleged involvement in this cyber crime just to obfuscate the issues and downplay her role as one of the masterminds of this caper,” he added. But senators took turns in grilling her about her direct involvement in the money laundering and her supposed role in the theft was bolstered by Estavillo’s testimony that the bank’s Head Office was supposed to freeze the laundered money at the Jupiter branch.

After returning $4.63 million and P38.28 million, businessman Kim Wong said during a Senate hearing that he is preparing to return P450 million more within 30 days. The funds were deposited in the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. after they were stolen from the US Federal Reserve accounts of the Bangladeshi central bank. LINO SANTOS

Manila airport chief won’t resign By Joel E. Zurbano MANILA International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado said on Tuesday he will not resign over the five-hour brownout at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 which resulted in the cancellations of more than 80 flights over the weekend. “Service is our priority,” Honrado said. “If every time there will be a problem every month you ask the official to resign, then you are looking

for a problem every month,” Honrado said during a press conference. Honrado called the news briefing after Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. demanded that he and Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya resign for the many problems that have emerged under their management of their assigned agencies. Marcos said Abaya’s department has been the biggest source of problems in government. He pointed out that the five-hour power

outage was just one of the many incidents showing the incompetence of people in the DoTC. “With Secretary Abaya, I’m sorry but DoTC has been the source of so many problems and when he came in we had hoped we would be the one to rationalize his department but he has been a disappointment because nothing good has happened,” Marcos said. As for Honrado, Marcos said he has been calling for his resignation for years.

“I’ve been calling for his resignation for years. He does not know his job. I asked him during the [evidence planting] hearings what his job was as a general manager. I remember him saying he coordinates but he does not control the people in the airport. If there is no control, how does he manage?” Marcos said. He said he later learned that Honrado had more than P1 billion in intelligence fund but it would seem the money is not being put to good use.

Poe hits Roxas camp meet By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Sara D. Fabunan INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe said President Benigno Aquino should look into reports that some active police generals met with the camp of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas to squelch speculations of electioneering among government employees. But Roxas II denied that he met with the highranking Philippine National Police who were caught in a meeting with a known Roxas supporter at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections on Tuesday scrapped the controversial P26.6million contract for the purchase of 300,000 bib vests for public teachers who will serve as election inspectors in next month’s election. “This is my appeal to the PNP and military not just because I am a candidate here but it is provided in our law. They should be neutral especially during election day and the cam-

paign period,” Poe said. “I am also making this call not only to the President but to the government. While they are in position, it does not mean they would be controlling everything. They have a sworn duty to serve not only themselves but the entire public,” said Poe. She noted that the police and military are responsible to ensure the safety of everybody and all political parties. During the reported meeting of the four police generals with LP staffers in a hotel near the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Poe expressed hope they met to discuss the safety and protection of everybody. The four generals were seen in a meeting with retired police general Marcelo Garbo Jr., a supporter of Roxas, and Thea Reyes, a staff of Roxas. The four generals were identified as Director Generoso Cervo Jr., chief of the PNP directorate for intelligence; Chief Supt. Renier Idio, Cagayan Valley police chief; Bernardo Diaz of the Western Visayas police and Ronald Santos, deputy regional director for administration of the Southern Tagalog police.

Me resign? Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel

Honrado summoned airport reporters on Tuesday to explain the reason for the weekend power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He is accompanied by MIAA spokesperson Dave Decastro and Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga. DANNY PATA

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Message of hope. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (right) delivers his ‘malasakit’ message to tens of thousands of supporters during the celebration of Kalindugan Festival 2016 at the Odiongan Football Field in Romblon. Romualdez vows to support Romblon to boost its tourism industry. Ver NoVeNo

Pemberton most favored convict, says lawmaker

Poe’s day on April 9—sc May 9—SC

By Maricel V. Cruz

The Supreme Court resolved on Tuesday motions for reconsideration filed by the Commission on elections and other parties seeking a reversal of its March 8 decision declaring Senator Grace Poe qualified to run for president in the May 9 general elections.

A MEMBER of the Makabayan Bloc on tuesday criticized the decision of the olongapo Regional trial Court to reduce the sentence of US Marine Lance Corporal joseph Scott Pemberton, who was convicted last year for killing Filipina jennifer Laude. From the 12-year maximum sentence, the court decided to reduce it to 10 years, in consideration of the “mitigating circumstances” of the case. “Lowering Pemberton’s sentence is an affront to our justice system and the Filipino people. We cannot accept the fact that a convicted murderer has been able to easily sway the court in his favor just because he is a US citizen. it speaks volumes about our nation’s continued subservience to the US,” Kabataan party-list Rep. terry Ridon said. Ridon added that the reduction of the US marine’s jail time adds to the list of favors granted to Pemberton. “First, Pemberton was allowed to stay, not in a regular prison facility, but in Camp Aguinaldo. then we have the court affirming his conviction yet reducing his jail time. All these speak of preferential treatment only accorded to US servicemen—the hallmark of unjustifiable subservience of our government to Washington,” Ridon said.

By rey requejo

the high tribunal, however, decided to defer the release of its decision until the justices have submitted their concurring or dissenting opinions. During the summer en banc session in Baguio City, the 15-member bench agreed to make the announcement on Saturday, April 9. “the decision will be announced on Saturday, 9 April 2016,” SC spokesman theodore te said, in a media briefing. te said the magistrates did not offer an explanation why they set the release of the ruling on Saturday, which falls on a holiday (Araw ng Kagitingan) and is exactly one month before the May 9 general elections. A highly placed source in the judiciary revealed that the justices agreed to not to make any pronouncements about the decision until after the main ruling and various opinions have been submitted for their signatures. When the SC decided to grant

the petitions of Poe in regular session last March 8, the Court spokesperson immediately announced the 9-6 voting in favor of Poe. However, when the main decision and concurring and dissenting opinions were released to the public three days after, various sectors raised issues of confusion and uncertainty on the ruling on Poe’s citizenship and residency eligibilities. Senior Associate justice Antonio Carpio stressed in his dissenting opinion that there was no majority ruling to establish Poe’s eligibility as a natural-born citizen, saying only seven justices in the majority voted in favor of petitioner on this citizenship issue. Carpio, along with four other justices in the minority ruling, took the position that foundlings like Poe cannot be considered as a natural-born citizen eligible for election to national posts, while three others—Associate justices

Diosdado Peralta, Mariano del Castillo and Benjamin Caguioa—opted not to take a stand on the issue, believing it was premature to do so. Former University of the East College of Law dean Amado Valdez, one of the four petitioners in the disqualification cases against Poe, urged Peralta, Del Castillo and Caguioa to reconsider their stand and instead take a vote on the citizenship issue so as to settle the controversy before the elections. the three other disqualification petitioners—former senator Franciso “Kit” tatad, De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras and former Government Service insurance System counsel Estrella Elamparo—also filed their joint motion for reconsideration last month and asked the SC to reconsider its ruling. the Comelec, in its separate appeal, also urged the high court to hold another voting on the issues on citizenship and residency, agreeing with Carpio’s dissent that there was no majority vote finding Poe as a natural-born Filipino qualified to become president. the Comelec and the four detractors of Poe all insisted that the senator is not eligible for the

presidency for not being a natural-born citizen and not meeting the 10-year residency requirement under Article Vii Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution. in the assailed ruling penned by Associate justice jose Perez, the SC held that there was no material misrepresentation on the part of the Senator when she declared in her Certificate of Candidacy that she is a natural-born Filipino and a resident of the Philippines for 10 years. the SC held that Poe is presumed to be a natural-born Filipino based on circumstances such as physical appearance as well as statistical probability. the tribunal sided with the office of the Solicitor General’s assertion that Poe is probably natural-born based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing that more than 99 percent of babies born in the 1960s and 1970s, both in iloilo and the entire Philippines, were natural-born. the SC said Poe is probably natural-born because she was found at a Catholic Church in iloilo and possesses “typical Filipino features such as height, flat nasal bridge, straight black hair, almond shaped eyes, and an oval face.”

‘Relocate state agencies to provinces’ By Maricel V. Cruz A joint panel in Congress has urged the government to adopt an in-city housing policy and relocate government agencies in provinces to address the increasing number of housing backlogs and informal settler families in Metro Manila. At the culmination of the national Housing and Urban Development Summit held on tuesday at the San juan Arena, negros occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez and Senator joseph Victor Ejercito, chair of the House committee on Housing and Urban Development and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning and Shelter and Resettlement, respectively, said their proposal will be able to address the 5.5-million housing backlogs and 584,425 iSFs in the national Capital Region. “there are good housing laws already in place yet, we still face the age-old problem of increas-

ing number of informal settlements in the urban centers, housing backlog, and lack of access to affordable housing units,” Benitez said. Several stakeholders attended the 10-month long summit, which is a joint initiative of the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development and the Senate Committee on Urban Planning and Shelter and Resettlement. “the problem is that the government and the beneficiaries do not see eye to eye when it comes to housing solutions which make our housing programs fail. the in-city housing concept is something that the government can actually do as it is cost effective and it is what the iSFs prefer,” Benitez added. Under the in-city housing approach, informal settlers families will not be relocated outside the cities where they presently reside but rather, the government will find idle lands inside the city where the medium-rise building will be constructed.

Police volunteers. NCRPO Chief Director Joel Pagdilao (middle) administers the oath of office on volunteers of Oplan Lambat Sibat at the NCRPO board room at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City during the signing of memorandum of understanding. Pagdilao distributes IDs to the volunteers during the event. MANNY PALMero

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Game-changing alliance cited The political alliance forged between PDP Laban presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and the One Cebu party led by the Garcia family could well be the game changer for both candidates in the May elections. Jun evasco, campaign manager of presidential bet Duterte, referred to the new political alliance between the Davao City mayor and One Cebu as mutually beneficial. “Mayor Duterte can gain more votes in the vote-rich province while One Cebu gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia will also benefit from Duterte’s popularity among Cebuanos,” evasco said. “With this strong alliance, I predict that Cebu will go all-out for the two candidates and Duterte and Garcia will trounce their respective rivals in the May 9 polls,” evasco said. Cebu has the biggest voting population in the country with 2.7 million voters. PDP Laban spokesperson Paola Alvarez, for her part, also welcomed the Duterte-Garcia alliance forged in Cebu over the weekend as “a powerhouse combination that will no doubt spell the big difference for Duterte not only in Cebu province, but also in the Visayas and Mindanao where there are many Cebuanos.” Alvarez said the PDP Laban has adopted the WinNer tandem, referring to the teamup of Winston Garcia and his vice gubernatorial bet, Nerissa Soon, and thrown its full support behind their candidacies. Duterte, who is running for the highest elective post with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as his vice presidential candidate, is campaigning on a platform of “Tunay na Pagbabago” anchored on a tough anti-crime and anti-corruption stance drawn from his long experience as mayor of Davao City. Garcia is running for Cebu governor with a comprehensive platform of infrastructure development designed to make the province another Singapore or hong Kong in the future. “The inclusive economic growth program of Mayor Duterte is in perfect sync with One Cebu’s vision of a truly progressive and modern Cebu that can compete with other vibrant and dynamic economic centers in this part of the world,” Alvarez said. evasco said the Duterte-Cayetano tandem’s recently forged alliance with One Cebu will allow the two sides “to reinforce each other’s strengths and create a bandwagon effect not only in the southern parts of the country but also in Luzon and Metro Manila, with more politicians switching loyalties and extending all-out support for Duterte’s presidential bid.” Garcia and Soon have already declared their full support behind the vice presidential bid of Senator Peter Cayetano, whom they described as an “adoptive son of Cebuanos.” Rio N. Araja

Vice presidential candidate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is endorsed by One Cebu bets led by gubernatorial candidate Winston Garcia and his vice gubernatorial running mate Nerissa Soon.

PhilHealth execs told to give back P147m By Rio N. Araja

THE Commission on Audit has directed the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to turn to the national coffers P147.735 million in unauthorized allowances and cash benefits paid to company officials in 2012. In a separate decision, the CoA’s Commission Proper ordered Philhealth to reimburse the agency of P63.57 million in illegal bonuses received by its personnel in 2011. Audit Chairman Michael Aguinaldo and Commissioner Jose Fabia signed all three rulings that junked petitions for review filed by Philhealth officials who sought the lifting of the notices of disallowance. Philhealth president and chief executive officer Alexan-

der Padilla filed the first petition for review on the notices of disallowances on hazard pay of P58.839 million and subsistence and laundry allowances of P32.318 million. The second petition was filed by Philhealth-Region 8 vice president Walter Bacareza seeking recall of the notice of disallowance issued on May 13, 2013 covering “various allowances and benefits” for personnel of the regional office at P56.577 million. Based on the 2012 au-

dit report of CoA, Philhealth granted P1.448 billion in “benefits and allowances without legal basis” that were all disallowed by government auditors. Of the said total, P384.663 million went to Philhealth personnel and executives in the head office, while P1.063 billion to various regional offices. Included in the disallowances were 13 different kinds of bonuses, incentives, allowances, cash gifts or rewards to regular personnel; other nine kinds of cash gifts and allowances, and monetary assistance to “contract employees.” The Commission disallowed such disbursements by Philhealth, but the management ignored its rulings and continued with the payment of unauthorized benefits.

Philhealth claimed it had the power to fix the compensation of its personnel under Republic Act 7875, the law that created Philhealth. CoA, however, said the Supreme Court, in a 1999 ruling in the case of Intia vs. CoA, affirmed its stance that the discretion of the governing board of a government-owned or -controlled corporation on the matter of setting the compensation of its employees was not absolute. The high court agreed with CoA that the compensation system must conform with the same rate implemented in other government agencies and any board resolution adjusting the rate must have the prior approval of the Department of Budget and Management.

Poll body told to explain Ejercito plea; TRO unheeded By Rey E. Requejo

Saturation drive. Plaza Miranda Police Major John Giagui shows assorted firearms and

shabu after a saturation drive inside the Golden Mosque on Globo de Oro Street in Quiapo, Manila. At least 28 people were arrested for various cases. DANNY PATA

The Supreme Court did not heed the plea of the son of ousted Laguna Gov. emilio Ramon “eR” ejercito for immediate relief to compel the Commission on elections to delete his name in the official ballots for theMay 9 elections. In its en banc summer session in Baguio City, the SC denied Jorge Antonio ejercito’s prayer for issuance of a temporary restraining order stopping the Commission on elections from printing ballots for Laguna. Instead, the tribunal directed the Comelec to answer the petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days, according to court spokesman Theodore Te.

After the filing of the comment, the SC will then decide on the merits of the case. Without a TRO, the Comelec may proceed with the printing of the ballots for the province of Laguna. In his petition filed last week, ejercito asked the high court to immediately order the Comelec to remove his name from the ballots for the province following his withdrawal from the gubernatorial race last February. Petitioner told the SC that he already filed his motion to withdraw last Feb. 1 but the poll body has since not acted on it. Through lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Jorge questioned the decision of the Comelec not to re-

move his name from the ballots “would cause confusion among the voters of Laguna which may lead to their disenfranchisement” because his father is also running for the same position. Since eR is again running for governor, Jorge said there would be two ejercitos in the ballots running for governor and voters might still consider voting for him despite his withdrawal from the gubernatorial race. Petitioner questioned before the high tribunal why the Comelec denied his motion for deletion of his name in the ballots despite his withdrawal of candidacy. The poll body cited “tight timelines” as ground for rejecting the plea.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

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OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

POE VS. DUTERTE: WHERE IS BINAY?

[ EDI TORI A L ]

NO RIGHT TO GOVERN THE police killing of three farmers in Kidapawan City who joined a protest last week to demand food aid in the face of a five-month drought is proof positive that President Benigno Aquino III and his chosen successor have lost the right to govern. After all, if a government cannot meet its fundamental obligation to protect its own people, what possible reason do we have for keeping it in power? Faced with the terrible realization that they would be held accountable for the deaths, government officials and the police turned to the time-tested tactic of finger pointing. They blamed leftist groups for encouraging the farmers to gather as they did to blockade the Davao-Cotabato highway over a four-day period to prod the government into helping them. They suggested that a presidential candidate from the same region was politicizing the farmers. Like the boy who cried wolf, they shouted communist infiltration. The President, on the other hand, chose to remain silent—allowing his lieutenants to deal with the fallout. But above this noise and static, several facts ring true and cannot be denied—not even by the authorities. First, the farmers and their families in North Cotabato had been suffering from a drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon since November 2015. Second, in the five months since the drought started, neither the national nor local governments did enough to help them, despite numerous statements that they were prepared for the El Niño and were undertaking drought-mitigation measures. The proof of this failure is simple: no farmer would leave his own farm to petition the government for sacks of rice if they and their families were not hungry. Third, the provincial and city government could have easily defused the situation by giving food aid to the suffering farmers, who simply wanted some 15,000 sacks of rice to tide them over the long dry spell. Instead, they let the protest last four days, then ordered its dispersal by force. Fourth, the use of lethal weapons and live ammunition—such as the M-16 rifles that the police in Kidapawan were seen carrying—for a crowd dispersal operation violates the principle of “maximum tolerance” that the authorities claimed to be following. None of what the government or the police are saying now affects these truths, or diminishes their significance. Even granting that leftist groups had egged the farmers on, they would not have budged if they weren’t hungry—and there is no law against private groups or individuals helping the less fortunate. If the local government or the national government had done their jobs over the last few months in the first place, the protest would never have been organized, and the three farmers might still be alive today. In fact, if they delivered the sacks of rice as the farmers had sought on the first day of the blockade, the protesters would most likely have dispersed peacefully to their homes. Sadly, none of what happened was the fault of the farmers whom the police now want to arrest, or of the leftist groups that helped them. To add insult to injury, one day after the bloody incident, the Interior secretary handed out medals to the police who were involved in the violent dispersal—even before the impartial investigation he promised had started. The President’s silence, which can be interpreted as a tacit approval of the way things went down, is a clear sign of failed leadership. That his chosen successor has failed to decisively condemn the killings and runs on a platform of continuing Mr. Aquino’s dubious program of government is reason enough not to vote him into office when we go to the polls next month. Neither of them have the right to govern.

DUTERTE DID IT LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES THE mere mention of Rodrigo Duterte’s name is apparently enough to sow panic and force government officials to make bad decisions. One account of what really went down in Kidapawan last week seems to lead inevitably to this conclusion. Davao City Mayor Duterte may have really caused the forced dispersal of starving farmers in Kidapawan City last

week, which left three dead after police fired their guns at the assembled peasants—even if he never even showed up at the scene. And that is not merely Malacañang’s version of events, but one narrated by a known friend and longtime associate of Duterte himself. According to former North Cotabato governor Manny Piñol, provincial officials were apparently so scared that Duterte would make an appearance in front of 6,000 protesting farmers demanding rice from the government that they ordered the violent dispersal last Friday. In addition, Piñol said

that when the ill-trained group of about 50 local policemen ordered to disperse the farmers met resistance from the protesters, they started firing their guns, resulting in the carnage. But let’s backtrack a little. According to Piñol, he was on his way to meet Duterte in Davao City on Thursday when he passed the blockaded Cotabato-Davao highway, where the protesting farmers had camped out since Tuesday. Piñol said that he had to take alternate routes to get out of the capitol, just like all other people who wanted to use the important connecting road. That was

Kidapawan was a recipe for a disaster of Aquinoadministration proportions.

when he decided to bring up the matter with Duterte in their meeting. “When we met later on Thursday, I told him, ‘Rody, why don’t you take a chopper tomorrow [Friday] and see for yourself what’s happening in Kidapawan,’” the former governor related. “Duterte got so worked up that he called up his chief legal officer in the city late at night, asking for advice on how to give food aid to the protesting farmers.” Upon his return to Kidapawan the following day, Friday, Piñol said he went directly to the blockaded highway again. There, he mentioned to his province-mates that Duterte just might make an appearance

at the protest site, to donate rice and to show solidarity with them. Word of Duterte’s planned visit apparently reached North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza. It was then, Piñol said, that Mendoza decided to order the police to disperse the crowd assembled on the highway, so fearful was she of the presidential candidate from Davao turning the protest against the government and into an impromptu pro-Duterte campaign stop. The trouble was, Piñol explained, the policemen securing the area were not

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trained in crowd control. “They were SWAT members who got angry when the crowd resisted, which led directly to the shooting,” the former governor explained. When the crowd, which Pinol acknowledged had been infiltrated by leftist groups and even New People’s Army rebels from out of town, started jeering at the police and pushing and shoving them, the cops lost control of the situation. That’s when they started firing their guns. “I can’t really blame the police because

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they were not trained for a situation like this,” Piñol said. “Even the water cannons from fire trucks behind them were spraying them with water; they weren’t properly equipped, since they were wearing ball caps, not helmets, and using plywood boards instead of proper shields.” Think about it: 50 armed policemen were trying to disperse thousands of farmers, who had been camping out on the highway for four days, angry, hungry and fighting back. It was a recipe for a disaster of Aquino-administration Continued on A11 proportions.

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TWO interlopers—one from the United States and the other from the Philippine south—are about to grab the presidency from longtime frontrunner Vice President Jejomar Binay. In the Pulse Asia survey of Dec. 4-11, 2015, Binay was still the No. 1 choice of voters, 33 percent. The killer mayor of Davao City Rodrigo Duterte had 23 percent and freshman senator and formerly American Grace Poe Llamanzares 21 percent voter preferences. Four months ago, Binay was No. 1 in Metro Manila with 30 percent, No. 1 in Balance of Luzon 34 percent, and No. 1 in the Visayas 34 percent. He was also No. 1 among the D class with 40 percent and E class, 42 percent. In other words, it was a sweep for Makati’s can-do former mayor. Today, Binay no longer has ascendancy in any major constituency, like Metro Manila, entire Luzon except NCR, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Even the masa—D and E income classes—seem to have abandoned him. In the March 15-20, 2016 Pulse Asia survey, Binay is a poor third in NCR with 26 percent to Poe’s 35 percent and Duterte’s 30 percent. He is No. 2 (26 percent) to Poe’s 35 percent in Balance of Luzon; No. 2 like Poe and Duterte with identical 20 percent, to Mar Roxas’ 37 percent in the Visayas; and No. 3 with 19 percent to Duterte’s 43 percent and Poe’s 21 percent in Mindanao. In the D income class, Binay (22 percent) has been dislodged by Poe (27 percent) and Duterte (25 percent). In the lowest or E income bracket, Binay (28 percent) has lost to Poe (30 percent). Between early December and the third week of March this year, Binay lost 9 percentage points (pcp) or 450,000 votes in Metro Manila; 8 pcp or 1.546 million votes in Balance of Luzon; 14 pct or 1.584 million votes percent in the Visayas; 11 pcp or 1.389 million votes in Mindanao. Total voter losses: 4.969 million votes. I cannot quantify the 18-percentage point loss in number of votes in the D and 14 percent in the E income classes. Since the poor are more than 50 percent Continued on A11

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OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

POE VS. DUTERTE: WHERE IS BINAY?

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Kidapawan was a recipe for a disaster of Aquinoadministration proportions.

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I SAW HISTORY IN THE MAKING (5) TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO THE principal beneficiary of Edsa 1 was President Cory Aquino, although she was never there. In fact, she only made it as far as the corner of Ortigas and Edsa before hiding at the Pink Sisters’ Convent in Quezon City during those turbulent days. She was made president after Marcos and his family were taken into a helicopter to Clark, and then to Honolulu, Hawaii. Those were the days when the RAM (Reform the Armed Forces Movement) tried to topple the revolutionary government of Cory Aquino nine times. It was also a time when no less than 300 corporations, where the First Couple was suspected to have interest, were sequestered by rapacious “fiscal agents” appointed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government headed by the late Senate President Jovito Salonga. It was also a time when President Cory appointed heads of local governments. In 1987, President Cory named her own delegates to a Constitutional Convention to amend the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions. The result was a charter that was reactionary to the 17 years of the Marcos regime, 14 years of which were under Martial Law. Cory tried to erase everything that reminded the people of Marcos and Imelda, mothballing the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Bataan that could have prevented the “dark ages” after her regime. At that time, residents of Luzon, principally in Metro Manila, suffered 10 to 12 hours of blackouts every day. Just to show the communist insurgents that she was their friend, Mrs. Aquino granted amnesty to all of them. They surfaced as left-leaning party-list candidates for Congress under the Cory Constitution. Santa Banana, Cory even sent the late Butch Aquino and former Senate President Nene Pimentel to Egypt to ferry Nur Misuari back home. This eventually led to the resurgence of the separatist

Muslim movement, led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke away from the MNLF. My gulay, those were the years of recrimination and vindictiveness. These seem to be trademarks of the Aquino presidencies. There was an attempt to recover the alleged hidden wealth of the Marcoses in an operation called “Operation Big Bird,” conceived by investment banker Michael de Guzman and then-Brig. Gen. Jose Almonte. Some $7 billion were identified in some Swiss banks and in other hidden wealth havens, but the operation was aborted by Salonga and Solicitor General Sed-

Have we not had enough of the Aquinos?

frey Ordoñez because they were afraid that the recovered wealth would be stolen. This had no basis in fact and the late Vice President Salvador Laurel called it the “biggest failure” of Mrs. Aquino. Space constraints prevent me from citing more instances of Cory’s failure, which disappointed the large segment of the nation that expected much from her. When President Fidel V. Ramos came to power, he had to use emergency powers to end the blackouts by securing electric barges from abroad. If Ramos must be remembered for his presidency, he was instrumental in the privatization of the American-owned PLDT, the privatization of Philippine National Bank and the government-controlled Philippine Airlines, the entry of foreign banks and foreign insurance corporations, the privatization of Nawasa and Meralco and the mass transit system. Ramos was also instrumental in the Jakarta Peace Agreement of 1996 with Nur Misuari’s MNLF. I recall that during the campaign period of Ra-

DECLARING WAR ON VINTAGE CARS EVERYMAN

By Robert Harland FROM April 17, the Philippines will be the only country in the world that discriminates against the owners of vintage cars. In the LTO’s Administrative Order No. RPC-2016-033, officially known as “Registration and/or Recording of Vintage Motor Vehicles,” owners of vintage cars will be required to register their vehicles with the LTO—whether they will be used on public roads or not. Not only that, it also states that registered vintage cars will only be allowed on public roads on weekends and during holidays. In the order, which comes into effect on April 17, the LTO defines ‘vintage’ as any car manufactured prior to 1975. Needless to say, owners of classic cars are crying foul describing the order as absurd and ridiculous and suggesting that LTO officials are totally out of touch with reality. Top Gear Philippines legal columnist and Land Rover enthusiast Robby Consunji says the order is unconstitutional. “The means employed in the new LTO memorandum is not necessary for its avowed purpose. It is a deprivation of property or the right to use the vintage motor mos, I was a member of the so-called “Wednesday Club,” with Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas as the congenial hostess. My fellow regulars were former Chief Justice Art Panganiban, Tony Carpio, Joe Almonte, Pancho Villaraza, Avelino “Nonong” Cruz and others I can no longer remember. Soon after Ramos became President, this “Wednesday Club” became some kind of a power club outside Malacañang. Santa Banana, would you believe that soon after Ramos became president, he asked me to become his press secretary? I declined, and I pointed to veteran newsman Rod Reyes. It was the second time I was offered that position. The first time was during the Marcos regime and the third time was during the presidency of Joseph Estrada. I also recall that during the state visit of Ramos to Moscow, I had an idea of make the business delegation (of which I was a member) relevant. The group would accompany Ramos and other presidents after him to attract foreign investments. Ra-

vehicle; it is oppressive to the vintage motor vehicle owners; and the LTO enforcement drive encourages and entails a selective and arbitrary roadside apprehension,” he said. Meanwhile, many are scratching their heads wondering why the LTO has decided to pick on vintage cars at a time when there are many more important safety problems with motor vehicles on the roads today. What is even more mindboggling is the LTO’s decision to exclude jeepneys, buses and cargo trucks, yet says the antivintage car order concerns cars’ roadworthiness and emissions To the vast majority of motorists, elderly, smokebelching jeepneys, buses and cargo trucks are the real problem both in terms of pollution and traffic congestion. Yet, the LTO is excluding them from this order. There is a vast difference between a classic vintage car kept in tip-top condition and an old banger held together with sticking tape and string. Heaps of junk should indeed be banned regardless of their age. Most vintage car enthusiasts keep their much-loved vehicles

mos caught on the idea and called it “Team Philippines,” which has been renamed Philippine Inc. now headed by Tonyboy Cojuangco as chairman and Tony Lopa as president. Both are cousins of President Aquino. After Edsa 1, there was a falling out between President Ramos and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. I must now say I was instrumental in having the two meet at Mandarin Hotel to smooth things out. Now, they are the best of friends. When my former Ateneo High School student, Estrada, became President in 1998, he also asked me to be press secretary. Again, I declined. My gulay, I cannot imagine myself in government kowtowing to the whims and caprices of a president. But I was glad that my former student, whom I taught while he was still in his short pants, became chief executive. To some extent, I contributed to the victory of Erap against then-Speaker Joe de Venecia. Jointly also with my former student, Reli German, a former classmate of Erap,

in excellent shape. Owners like American Rick Eisenhauer says his 1958 Willy’s M3-B Military Jeep is in better working condition then 75 percent of vehicle on the roads here. The Philippines has a strong vintage car culture—more than most nations in the region. Up an down the country, classic icons of the past are being lovingly restored by teams of devoted enthusiasts. But at a stroke, the LTO has declared war on these links to motoring history. The new order will almost certainly discourage the ownership and preservation of vintage cars. In my own country, the UK, cars of any age are permitted on our roads any time provided they’ve passed what is known as an MOT (Ministry of Transport) test for roadworthiness. If such a test were introduced here, probably 99 percent of jeepneys, buses and cargo trucks would fail, but more than likely most vintage cars owned by enthusiasts would pass! One can only hope that one day commonsense will prevail at the LTO. Robert Harland is a British national and vintage car enthusiast. He is based in Bacolod City.

we compiled all the Erap jokes in one book called “Eraption.” It became an instant hit. Estrada’s presidency, however, lasted only for two and a half years. He was impeached and tried. The Sandiganbayan Special Court later convicted him of plunder, but he was pardoned by his successor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Estrada was vindicated when his wife, Loi Estrada, and his sons JV and Jinggoy also became senators. Erap himself became mayor of Manila and is now running for reelection. When President Gloria came to power, I recall being approached by former presidential legal counsel Nonong Cruz, who later on became secretary of national defense, that Gloria wanted to see me. When I had that one-on-one meeting with Gloria, she asked me if I could also support her. I told her that when I thought she was doing right, I would, but when I consider her doing wrong, I would not. That was good enough for her. Among all the presidents I have known, Gloria

was the most hardworking of them all. I knew for a fact that members of her Cabinet would not go to sleep until after past midnight because she would call them in wee hours. When I asked her how she could visit three places nationwide in one day, she told me: “time management.” When the so-called Hyatt 10 broke away, triggered by the “Hello Garci” call of Gloria, I supported her. All the Hyatt 10 wanted was to remain in power with a president they could manipulate. Fortunately, De Castro declined the offer. Well, they are still in power under BS Aquino. I think they are opportunists and hypocrites. In 2010 when BS Aquino was catapulted to power, vindictiveness ruled the land. Aquino used Gloria as the poster child for his “Daang Matuwid” and his “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap” slogans. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona was made the same. Arroyo was accused of plunder and economic sabotage and has spent Continued on A11

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

MAIL MATTERS

DSWD IS NOT CAMPAIGNING FOR ROXAS

I saw... From A10

WE WRITE to clarify the issues raised in the article entitled “Party-list group hits gov’t employees’ electioneering” published in your paper on March 31. It was mentioned in the article that the Abakada Party-list called for an immediate investigation into reports that conditional cash transfer beneficiaries are being prevented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development from attending the political rallies of the

opposition and forcing them to vote for administration presidential bet Mar Roxas II. The article went on to say that in Barangays San Isidro and San Jose in Rodriguez in Rizal and in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa in Quezon City, DSWD personnel conducted activities on the same day as the organization’s yearly Kalbaryo ng Maralita (Calvary of the Poor). Rest assured that the DSWD management would investigate these allegations.

We would also like to clarify that DSWD is not campaigning for Roxas or any political party or a particular candidate. As government employees, we are prohibited from doing such acts under the law. We respect our beneficiaries’ decision as to whom they will support this upcoming election. Likewise, we are not prohibiting beneficiaries from attend-

Poe... From A9

million votes—the excess of Poe’s 12.163 million votes over Duterte’s 10.42 million votes. Binay enjoys a 23 percent plurality or 9.991 million votes, just 428,800 votes less than Duterte’s and 2.169 million votes less than Poe’s. The Pulse Asia survey’s margin of error is 1.5 percent, plus or minus. That’s 651,600 out of 43.44 million votes. That means Poe’s margin of 1.737 million votes over Duterte may not be that convincing or substantial. Part of it could be an error. And when you add that 1.5 percent margin of error—the 651,600— to his 10.42 million, Duterte gets 11.0716 million. Deduct the same 651,600 (margin of error) from Poe’s 12.16 million, she gets 11.508 million instead and she skates on thin ice to victory with just 436,800 votes, a 1 percent margin. That’s the smallest winning margin ever by an elected president. Before 2016, the smallest margin, in percentage terms, was that of incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, by 3.48 percent—12.905 million votes (39.99 percent) to challenger Fernando Poe Jr.’s 11.782 million votes (36.51 percent). Earlier in 1992, another hair-

line victory was scored by Fidel V. Ramos, by 3.86 percent, 5.342 million votes vs. second placer Miriam Santiago’s 4.468 million. Arroyo had a troubled presidency, owing to allegations of electoral fraud in 2004. She, however, became a very good president, presiding over the longest economic expansion in the country’s history—36 quarters of continuous economic growth. Ramos had a successful presidency because he was basically a unifier president and reached out to his political enemies— the separatist Muslims (whose leader, Nur Misuari he maneuvered to get elected as governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao), the rightist coup plotters (they were given amnesty and choice government positions), and the communist New People’s Army (a ceasefire was declared). It helped that the West Point-trained general had a long experience in management, from the time he graduated from the US military academy in 1950 to the time he sought the presidency in 1992—a span of 42 years. Grace Poe could barge into the presidency with barely three years stint as senator of the republic, and two years as chief of

the government censors board for film and television. In the Senate, it was easy to grandstand without a senator feeling responsible for his/her advocacy. At the censors board, it is easy to judge which film or TV show is good or bad for the masa. Poe’s most difficult decision ever perhaps was choosing between an American citizenship, which she embraced, and Philippine citizenship, which she abjured and later reacquired. On March 8, 2016, the Supreme Court, or seven justices of the high court cited statistical probability or her looks in deciding she is probably natural born. The legal and political controversy about her being natural born and her apparent lack of 10-year residency could hamper a Poe presidency, especially given massive poverty (25 million Filipinos are poor), massive hunger (15 million Filipinos say they are hungry), massive unemployment (more than 6 percent of the labor force have no jobs), and massive disillusionment with the incumbent administration (only 20 percent of voters want Daang Matuwid’s Mar Roxas, BS Aquino III’s anointed successor). biznewsasia@gmail.com

almost three years under hospital detention. Corona, on the other hand, was impeached, convicted and ousted for not stating in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities Net Worth his peso and dollar accounts. This is not an impeachable offense—but that’s BS Aquino for you. Having walked the corridors of power since the early fifties, I would consider BS Aquino the worst President, and his administration the worst one. It has the highest number of incompetent and insensitive officials. Aquino refuses to fire them despite everything. I can name them—Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Naia general manager Jose Angel Honrado, an Aquino relative, Proceso Alcala, and Butch Abad. BS Aquino’s abuse and misuse of people’s money is already history. His mishandling of, ultimate liability and culpability for the Mamasapano massacre is the ultimate testament to his incompetence, lack of compassion and insensitivity to the plight of the poor. Daang Matuwid, which Mar Roxas intones nationwide in his campaign for the presidency, is hypocritical. It applies only to Aquino’s political enemies, but not to his KKK— “kaklase, kabarilan and kapartido.” Now, we have starving farmers killed by the police when BS Aquino could just have had the National Food Authority Warehouse opened for them. Both Cory and BS Aquino are known for shooting innocent protesters— the Mendiola massacre, the Hacienda Luisita massacre, and now the Kidapawan massacre. My gulay, have we not had enough of the Aquinos?

a choice: They could have given out the rice demanded by the protesting farmers or they could have dispersed them as violently as they did. “It’s truly unfortunate that they chose dispersal,” Colmenares said. “It’s not like a

typhoon where the government is confronted with a situation where it has no other course of action.” Among the many sad facts attending the Kidapawan incident is that the government chose to revert to its old strategy of not

acting when it should have and then expending all its energy in blaming others for its inaction when things go wrong, according to Colmenares. “This is how this administration always treats the people—ignoring them and then finding some-

one to blame after an avoidable crisis erupts,” he said. If Piñol’s account of what took place is accurate, then maybe Duterte is really to blame. And if I were Duterte, it’s the sort of blame I would readily accept.

of the population, Binay’s remarkable loss in number of votes is by now, irretrievable. Still, the fact that Binay has a strong third place finish, with 23 percent or 9.99 million votes, after significant to substantial voter support losses, is an indication of one or two things: Binay has intrinsic strength and resilience, thanks to his machinery and hard campaigning. Or his rivals are quite weak or inadequate, to snatch the vote losses of the vice president. There is hope. The 2016 Philippine presidential election has come down to a two-way tussle between a freshman senator of unknown ancestry and a tough-talking southern city mayor who says he will not hesitate to kill criminals, sans due process. Manila-based Grace Poe Llamanzares leads Davao City Mayor Digong Duterte by four percentage points, 28 percent vs. 24, per the PulseAsia survey of 4,000 respondents March 1520, 2016. There are 54.3 million voters. Assuming a turnout of 80 percent on election day, 43.44 million voters will cast their ballot on May 9, 2016. Four percent of that translates into 1.737

Duterte... From A9 *** Of course, as Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares insists, Mendoza and other officials involved in the disastrous Kidapawan incident had

#FAILOCRACY

ing activities that concern their communities. Prohibiting them from participating in these activities is contrary to the Pantawid Pamilya’s goal of empowering beneficiaries. We, however, cannot compel them should they decide not to attend or participate. CESARIO JOEL ESPEJO Director Social Marketing Service Department of Social Welfare and Development

CHONG ARDIVILLA

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Zaragosa, Go top MVP golf elims CEBU—Rupert Zaragosa rebounded from an opening round mishap with a brilliant four-under 68 as he shared low medal honors with Lois Kaye Go in the first MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championship at the Cebu Country Club here yesterday. The fancied Zaragosa, who groped for form with a 76 in the opener of the 36hole stroke play elims Monday, birdied three of the first seven holes to spark his rally then hit four more birdies against three bogeys the rest of the way to produce the tournament-best 33-35 card at the tight CCC layout. With a 144 aggregate, the diminutive Zaragosa took the top seeding in the match play phase, which starts today, with the reigning Philippine Junior Stroke Play champion fancied to get past Victor Advincula, who grabbed the 32nd spot with a 234 after a 132. Go added a 76 to her opening 75 but the local ace still dominated the ladies side with a 151 for a first round knockout match with Renafe Arnado, who pooled a 209 after a 106 in the week-long 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. Jason Day: Golf’s no. 1

Adam Scott: Coming off wins at the Honda Classic and WGC Championship

Messi denies tax evasion BARCELONA—The family of Lionel Messi denied on Monday that he was involved in tax evasion after the Barcelona star emerged as one of many personalities accused of shady offshore dealings in the Panama Papers scandal. “The Messi family wants to make clear that Lionel Messi has not carried out any of the acts attributed to him, and accusations he created a...tax evasion plot, including a network of money-laundering, are false and insulting,” it said in a statement. The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups made public a year-long worldwide investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents leaked from a Panama-based law firm that exposed a tangle of offshore financial dealings by the elite. AFP

Norman: Day or Scott will win Masters’ title SYDNEY—Former major winner Greg Norman says he will be shocked if fellow Australians Jason Day or Adam Scott don’t pull on the champion’s green jacket at the US Masters this week, with both players having the “mojo” to win. The retired star, who reigned as world number one for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s, said it was hard to split his countrymen, who are both in a rich vein of form. “I’d be shocked if I didn’t see Jason or Adam wearing the green jacket at the end of the

week,” Norman told News Corp Australia newspapers in comments published Tuesday. “They clearly have that energy and mojo from being recent winners in their favour. “Mentally, they’ve seen the shots, hit the shots, made the putts and felt the feeling. It’s

so fresh in the head they don’t have to summon enormous concentration to bring positives forward.” Day enters the tournament at Augusta as world number one after back-to-back wins in the lead-up while Scott is seventh in the global standings, fresh off tournament triumphs at the Honda Classic and WGC Cadillac Championship. While Norman sees them as likely winners, he said the field was one of the best he has seen in years. “The depth of great players is as deep as I’ve seen on a global front at the Masters and I first played

there in 1981,” he said. “With no Tiger Woods there, 10-12 players at this Masters all have a shot at winning but the Aussie guys have put themselves in prime position.” As well as Day and Scott, he cited Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson as in with a realistic shot. If he had to pick one player to win the 80th Masters, he nominated Day. “Jason is probably the oddson favourite. I think he’s a better green reader than Adam and one of the very best out there,” Norman said. AFP

Calma bags 3 titles in Cebuana tennis CAGAYAN de Oro City bet Mary Aubrey Calma was the most dominant player at the recent Baybay City leg of the ongoing nationwide 2016 Cebuana Lhuillier AgeGroup Tennis Championship Series, winning all three categories where she was entered, while local bets and siblings Aeesha and Aaliyah Bandalian salvaged honors for the host city after bagging separate titles. The event, which attracted 127 entries and supported by Dunlop as the official ball, saw Calma beating 14-under champion Elaine Rose

Bahonsua, 4-6, 6-4, 108, for the 16-under girls’ crown, duplicated it in the 18-under with a victory over Maasin, Leyte’s Janzen Angel Albino, 6-2, 6-3, before teaming up with Jeminah Jabines to post an easy 8-3 win over the duo of Albino and Johanna Velasco to add the 18-under girls’ doubles’ title to her collection. Aeesha easily beat townmate Mark Loreto, 4-1, 4-0, for the 10-under unisex title, while older sister Aaliyah showed no mercy in beating Aeesha in the finals of the girls’ 12- under, 6-1, 6-2. Meanwhile, the win of

Philippine Tennis Association’s no. 3-ranked netter in the under-14 boys in Venz Anton Louise Alforque in the same category of the tournament served as a good tune-up for him as he leaves to represent the country in the World Junior Tennis Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. Alforque also finished second in the 16-under, losing to champion Marc Nicole Suson, 4-6, 4-6. Suson, meanwhile, partnered with 18-under boys’ champion Marc Pradel to win the 18-under boys’ doubles’ event, beating Jules can and Joshua Torres, 8-3.

Tennis winners. Ma. Aubrey Calma of Cagayan de Oro (second from left) and Surigao City’s

Rupert Tortal display their trophies and medals as they pose with Capt. Moreno Estrada, president of Butuan Capitol Tennis Club and PPS-PEPP area manager Mary Ann Hista-Tuyor after dominating the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit at the Butuan Capitol Tennis Club recently.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Buzzer-beater carries Wildcats to title LOS ANGELES —The Villanova Wildcats clinched victory in US college basketball’s championship game on Monday after junior guard Kris Jenkins sunk a buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal a 77-74 win over North Carolina.

Shaq, Yao, Iverson enter Hall of Fame LOS ANGELES—Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming are among 10 members of the class of 2016 who will be enshrined in basketball’s Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in September, it was announced Monday. The trio of NBA stars will be honored at a ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts on September 9. Other inductees include 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, trailblazing African-American coach John McLendon and fourtime WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes. “The impact the Class of 2016 has had on the game of basketball is gigantic,” John Doleva, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame president, said in a statement. “To have several icons of the game be recognized in the same year makes this class one of the most memorable to date. We look forward to honoring each of these inductees during Enshrinement in September.” USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo said the new crop of inductees were “big in stature, personality and impact.” “These ten inductees have each contributed to the game in their own meaningful way and we are very pleased to honor them in Springfield,” Colangelo said. O’Neal, who won four NBA Championships during spells with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in a 19-year career, welcomed his induction on Monday. AFP

Members of Mapúa’s Team Aguila with their car, Aguila III, for the Prototype Gasoline Category of the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2016 at the Rizal Park in Manila.

Mapua’s team 2nd in Eco-Marathon MAPUA Institute of Technology’s Team Aguila soared to greater heights on the seventh year of Shell Eco-Marathon Asia held recently at the Rizal Park in Manila, ranking second among 35 competitors in the Prototype Gasoline Category. This year’s SEM Asia continued to challenge teams of students from different colleges and universities to build a car designed to run the longest distance with the least amount of fuel. The four-day event saw a total of 118 teams from 17 participating countries across Asia, Australia, and Middle East battling it out for supreme energy efficiency. Team Aguila stood out in the most competitive category as it recorded a fuel consumption of 335 kilometers per liter, the highest mark the Philippines has made so far. The Prototype Category showcased the most aerodynamic and innovative student-designed cars that competed for maximum efficiency. Cars under this class operated on gasoline, diesel, battery-electric, CNG, hydrogen, or alternative fuel. Team Aguila’s adviser Engr. Sherwin Magon said the team focused on the engine performance as they constantly improved their fuel effi-

ciency. The Mapúa students started enhancing their self-built car as early as July last year. “Team Aguila was immersed in critical adjustments and replacement of vital parts of the engine mechanical systems, lightening heavyweight moving parts to decrease inertial forces, and ultra-fine tuning the fuel delivery system to match the engine’s performance,” he explained. “This is coupled with periodic test runs, practice driving runs in daytime and night time conditions.” Team Manager Jude Ricafort also noted that the team consulted technical partners in developing Aguila III’s engine and drivetrain. The Institute has partnered with different firms in the field of engineering to further provide support to Team Aguila. “The experience has been shaping us to become better engineers. Aside from learning how to manage our time, we also acquired skills such as application, designing, and machining,” Ricafort said. This is one of the clear manifestations of the advancements Mapúa has been making since its implementation of the outcomes-based education system, a learner-centered educational approach enabling an

institution to equip its students with skills and abilities that meet global academic and industry standards. Mapúa’s School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering dean Engr. Roel John Judilla believes that the key to providing quality education is a relevant curriculum backed up by dedicated faculty members and functional laboratories and classrooms. “Innovative teaching techniques and providing technical challenges that push the students’ imagination to the limits would also enhance further their skills,” he added. Mapúa has been a known contender in SEM Asia, consistently earning a spot in the Top 10 through the years. It also bagged the Safety Awards in 2010 and 2011 and snatched the Technical Innovation Awards in 2013. “Team Aguila has consistently joined and performed very well in the Shell Eco-Marathon’s most competitive category, Prototype Gasoline. I am naturally very proud of this,” Mapúa president and chief executive officer Dr. Reynaldo B. Vea concluded. “Over the years, we have improved our vehicle and we intend to make bolder technological improvements in the years to come.”

Jenkins’ thrilling late winner was the last act of a pulsating final which appeared to be heading to overtime after Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige hit a three-pointer to tie at 74 moments earlier. Phil Booth top scored for Villanova with 20 points while Ryan Arcidiacono weighed in with 16. Game-winner Jenkins finished with 14 and Josh Hart 12. Arcidiacono later revealed that Jenkins’ winning play had been planned. “We knew what play we were going to at the end of the game, because we work on it every single day in practice,” Arcidiacono said. “I wanted to be aggressive. If I could get a shot, I was going to shoot it. But I heard someone screaming in the back of my head. It was Kris. I just gave it to him, and he let it go with confidence.” Tar Heels star Paige meanwhile was his team’s standout with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, just ahead of Joel Berry with 20 points. “You know, just that feeling of walking off the court, feeling the confetti fall, but it’s not for you,” Berry said. “It’s a horrible feeling.” Jenkins’ winning threepointer gave Villanova their first title since 1985. AFP

Cobra paddlers 3rd overall in Asian tilt FIELDING a crew less than half the size of its main rivals, the Cobra-PAL PDBF squad gamely battled the opposition and emerged third overall in the recent 12th International Dragon Boat Federation Asian Championships held at the AM Ramsay Rowing Course in Adelaide, Australia. With only a complement of 28 paddlers, the Filipinos displayed grit and determination to win two silvers, including runnerup finishes in the men’s 200-meter small boat and women’s 200-meter small boat divisions.

In the men’s 200-meter small boat event, they matched paddle for paddle in the first 150 meters with the Chinese, who needed a big surge in the last 20 meters in clinching the gold with a time of 48 seconds flat, while the latter clocked 50.54. Hong Kong was third in 51:56. China, however, proved too strong in the women’s 200-meter small boat race in emerging on top with a time of 56.90 seconds, while the Philippines was second (59.04). Host Australia was a close third in 59.91 and settled for the bronze.

The Filipinos narrowly lost the battle for silver in the men’s 500-meter small boat finals to the Singaporeans, who secured second with a time of 2:12.29 to the former’s 2:12.535, with the Chinese runaway champions in 2:06.035. The PH contingent powered by Cobra Energy Drink and supported by Philippine Airlines also copped the bronze medals in the mixed 500-meter small boat, mixed 500-meter standard boat, mixed 200-meter standard boat and mixed 200-meter small boat divisions.

The Cobra-PAL PDBF team members pose with their medals after placing second in the mixed 200-meter small boat event of the recent Asian Dragon Boat Championships in Adelaide, Australia.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

1 ABAP slot reserved for Pacman By Randy Caluag

THE Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines has a slot ready for People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao in case he decides to carry the country’s tri-colors in the Rio Olympics in August in Brazil. ABAP executive director Ed Picson on Tuesday said that the 64-kg (lightwelterweight) slot is open for Pacquiao if he wants to become the first Filipino professional boxer to see action in the Olympics. So far, two ABAP boxers—Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon—have already qualified for Rio on account of their medal finishes in the recent AsianOceanian Olympic Qualifiers in Qian’An, China. Picson said they are still within their target of sending six boxers to the Olympics and Pacquio could be the seventh. “We are realistic with six qualifiers to the Olympics in the 49, 52, 56, 60 and 69 kilograms. Nilaktawan namin ang 64 kilograms.

We’re looking at Dennis Galvan pero meron pang isa, baka kilala niyo, si Manny Pacquiao,” said Picson “Pinag-uusapan namin ‘yan (about Pacquiao). Although he has not given his firm commitment, parating sinasabi niya sa akin interesado siya,” added Picson, who however, clarified that it has yet to be discussed if Pacquaio will still go through the regular qualifying or get a free ride to the quadrennial event. It looks as though that AIBA is very much interested to have Pacquiao in the Olympics. “Nitong nasa China kami, kinausap kami ni Dr. Wu Ching-Kuo (president of AIBA), kung interesado ba talaga si Manny and sabi

niya may bakante ka 64-kg lightwelter,” said Picson of the weight perfect for Pacquiao. The ring icon is currently in the US, preparing for his third meeting with

American Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in what could be he farewell professional fight. During his preparation

Top Rank: Pacquiao looked good in last sparring session

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE SUPPLY OF IN-WAREHOUSE HANDLING SERVICES FOR NFA-REGION 10 FOR CY 2016

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

The NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY, through its Corporate Operating Budget for CY 2016, intends to apply the sum of THIRTEEN MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT THOUSAND FIFTY-SEVEN PESOS& 70/100 (Php13,458,057.70) being the aggregated APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (ABC)to payments under the contracts of in-warehouse handling services for NFA-Region 10 for CY 2016:

PROVINCE

TOTAL NUMBER OF STOCK MOVEMENTS

APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (ABC) (INCLUSIVE OF VAT) PER BAG PER MOVE (Php)

TOTAL (Php)

BIDDING FEE (Php)

BUKIDNON

326,708

4.00

1,306,832.00

CAMIGUIN

255,600

3.80

971,280.00

1,000.00

III

LANAO DEL NORTE

563,553

4.00

2,254,212.00

5,000.00

MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL

MISAMIS ORIENTAL

5,000.00

454,208

4.00

1,816,832.00

5,000.00

1,597,506

4.45

7,108,901.70

10,000.00

TOTAL 3,197,575 13,458,057.70 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 is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section II. Instructions to Bidders (ITB). Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion 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 6, 2016 to April 26, 2016 (working days only) from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable bidding fee as specified in this Invitation. National Food Authority Region 10 shall hold a Pre-Bid conference on April 12, 2016 at 10:00 A.M.at the 2nd Floor, Regional Office 10 Bldg., 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 10:30 A.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 10:31 A.M. at the 2nd Floor, Regional Office 10 Bldg., Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representative who choose to attend. The National Food Authority 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. For further information, please refer to: Ms. Beverly M. Navarro BAC Secretariat Head National Food Authority Region 10 2nd Floor NFA Regional Office 10 Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City Tel. No. (08822) 732215 (088) 8552721 Fax No.(088) 8552723 (Sgd.) VICTORIA R. DURAY Assistant Regional Director and Chairperson, BAC The Standard – April 6, 2016

the Olympic medal as the only one missing in his collection. “Sabi nga niya, hindi pa siya nakakapunta ng Rio at gusto raw niyang pumunta,” said Picson.

Trainer Freddie Roach (left) works out with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California. Pacquiao is in final preparation for his 12-round welterweight championship fight against Timothy Bradley, Jr. on April 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Roach has vowed to back Pacquiao if the boxer decides to take advantage of rule changes which could see professional fighters allowed to take part in this summer’s Olympics. AFP

Republic of the Philippines NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY REGION 10 Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City

CONTRACT NO.

for the fight, Pacquiao was heard muttering: “Olympics, Olympics.” Picson revealed that during his meeting with Pacquiao in Doha, Qatar, he was joking about

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao looked very good in his final sparring session at the Wild Card Gym of Hall of Fame trainer Fredie Roach. “Pacquiao looked very fit, very fast as he sparred four rounds with Lydell Rhodes and knocked him across the ring at one point,” Top Rank publicist Fred Sternberg told The Standard. Sternberg said the mood is good and everything is “going well. There’s a lot of interest in the fight and tickets are selling well.” At the same time, the Top Rank publicist revealed that Pacquiao’s opponent in the trilogy at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 10 (Mania time) in

Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley was also “looking terrific.” “We are going to have an explosion,” said the publicist. Pacquiao was quoted by Boxing Scene and said: “The last thing I want to do is make a comeback. I want to be sure that boxing is completely out of my system when I hang up my gloves. In my mind, this could be my last fight.” He added: “I want to spend more time with my family and in public service. I will evaluate everything after my fight with Tim Bradley. I know the end is near and Freddie and I have trained as if this is my last fight. If this is the end of my boxing career, I want to leave the ring with a performance that will make the fans happy.”

Batang PBA listup under way THE Philippine Basketball Association is now accepting enrollees for the Batang Philippine Basketball Association Clinic 13-16 years old category. Interested participants should fill up an application and waiver form and submit it at the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City along with two 2x2 ID pictures and current school ID, original NSO birth certificate and P500 entry fee. The application form may be down-

loaded from the PBA website (www.pba. ph) and PBA official facebook page (www. facebook.com/pba official), or participants may visit the PBA office in Libis and look for Miss Jo Gomez or Rouselle Ighot. Deadline for registration is on April 25. Screening of all participants will be on April 26 (Tuesday) at 10 a.m. for 13 and 14 years old and April 27 (Wednesday) at 10 a.m. for 15 and 16 years old at the PBA office.

The first two sessions of the clinic will be held on April 30 and May 1 at the Philippine Science High School Multi-purpose gymnasium, along Agham Road, Diliman Quezon City. The next two sessions will take place on May 7 and 8 at the UP CHK gym Diliman, QC. Besides the four sessions, participants also have a chance to play in the Annual Batang PBA Summer League with free one set of uniform.

W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Navy’s Morales shoots for another stage win ANTIPOLO CITY—Navy-Standard Insurance’s Jan Paul Morales shoots for another victory and widen his lead even further as the Luzon Leg of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2016 gets back on the road with a Stage 3 criterium unfolding and ending at the Hinulugang Taktak here Wednesday. Displaying superb conditioning and preparedness, the 30-year-old Morales took Stage 1 in Paseo de Sta. Rosa in Laguna Sunday and

the Talisay-Tagaytay Stage 2 individual time trial Monday to grab the solo lead. The pair of impressive feats gave Morales 30 general classification points--15 each from topping a stage—and a full 10-point lead over fiercest rival Rustom Lim of LBC-MVP Sports Foundation, who was at No. 2 with 20 points. Last year’s second placer George Oconer, another LBC-MVPSF cyclist who finished second in Stage

1, is at No. 3 with 18 points and should also be a dangerous threat to Morales’ bid for a second title since topping the Mindanao Leg. And Morales is aware he will have to be on guard to pull a race hat-trick. “I’m confident of my chances because of my conditioning,” said Morales, who was a little spent after a sixthplace finish in the Visayas last month. For Lim, he went to the Antipolo Church during Tuesday’s break to pray for a safety race and voyage.

“I prayed for a good and safe race,” said Lim, the 22-year-old Guimba, Nueva Ecija native, who was third overall in the Visayas behind eventual winner Ronald Oranza and second placer Rudy Roque of Navy. Ranlen Maglantay, a diminutive but big-hearted rider from Marbel, South Cotabato who is now riding for LBC-MVPSF, for his part, used the break to recover from a spill he suffered after he accidentally hit a tricycle in Stage Two.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

PH athletics gets boost from Ayala A NEW backer of Philippine athletics is here and it wants to stay in the long haul. The Ayala Corporation is supporting the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association beginning in the Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships all the way to the 2018 Southeast Asian Games and beyond. This was announced on Tuesday by PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Shakey’s Restaurant in Ma-

late, where they launched the National Open, slated from April 7 to 9 at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City. “The Ayala group, which of course, is led by Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala, expressed their interest in supporting track and field for several reasons, one of which is we will be hosting the 2019 SEA Games and they want to ensure that we do well in the centerfield event, with athletics having the most number

of medals on a stand-alone basis,” said Juico. “This partnership is broad, is very comprehensive, because it covers elite sports and it supports talent identification, going all the way down to the grassroots. This is also for strengthening the PATAFA as an institution. So malalim ito. I have been authorized to say that yes, there is this longtime partnership that we are forging, I’m sure this will be for the benefit of Philippine sports,” said Juico, who was joined at the Forum by his secretary general Renato Unson, national athletes Caleb Stuart

and Chris Ulboc, Milo Sports Executive Robbie de Vera and Asic’s Judith Staples. That support begins in the coming National Open, where the Philippines’ best athletes, led by Rio Olympic Games qualifier Eric Cray, SEA Games’ hammer throw record holder Stuart, pole vault specialist Emerson Obiena, long jumper Marestella Torres and steeplechase master Ulboc, among others, will pit guts and skills with up-and-coming Filipino standouts and participants from seven visiting countries.

sprints in the SEAG, but the Singaporean went on the beat the Fil-Am for the gold in the 200-meter dash Because of the talentpacked rivalries expected to happen, the three-day meet will serve as a perfect ground to prepare members of the national team and budding athletes as well for top-caliber international meets in the coming years. “Don’t look at the Philippine Open as just a way to qualify for the Olympics. Those joining are also preparing for events beyond 2016,” said Juico.

“There is a lady from Singapore (Veronica Shanti Pereira), who gave Kayla Richardson a good fight in the 200, she’ll be here, and also one fellow from Korea but I forgot the name. There are many athletes here who are expected to give our athletes a run for their money,” added Juico in the public sports forum backed by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Shakey’s and Accel. Pereira took the bronze behind gold medalist Richardson in the women’s 100-meter

Frayna grabs lead; 3 chessers perfect But it was Doroy, Japitana and Bacojo, who continue to turn heads as they remained unscathed after six rounds in their respective categories in the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and hosted by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte. Doroy, a native of Agusan del Sur who moved to Manila to study at the National University, had so far collected six points in as many rounds in the girls’ Under-16, while Japitana, a resident of Taguig City, also remained perfect with a similar six-point output. Bacojo, meanwhile, whitewashed all his six opponents so far to pace the boys’ 10-under category. In the girls’ Under-20, top seed and Woman National Master Bernadette Galas grabbed the solo lead after six rounds.

By Arman D. Armero

PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico (third from left) announces PH athletics’ partnership with the Ayala Corp. during his guesting at the PSA Forum. He is joined here by (from left) Milo sports executive Robbie de Vera, PATAFA secretary general Renato Unso, SEAG hammer throw record-holder Caleb Stuart and steeplechase specialist Chris Ulboc. LINO SANTOS

LAOAG City—Woman International Master Janelle Mae Frayna turned back Austin Jacob Literatus in their anticipated match-up in the Open-20 category, even as Allaney Doroy, Marjeri Janapin and Mark Jay Bacojo remained as the only players with perfect scores going into the last two days of the 2016 National Age-Group Chess Championship Grand Finals at the Mariano Marcos State University campus here. The 19-year-old Frayna, a psychology student at Far Eastern University, raised her total to four points after five rounds, while Literatus, an IT student at National University, dropped to second spot in a tie with Kyz Llantada, who recorded a win and a loss in the previous two rounds.

18th Gintong Lahi Awards to honor achievers THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE

THE Philippine Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Organization recently released the list of nominees for its 18th Gintong Lahi Awards that recognizes accomplishments in horseracing and Thoroughbred breeding. The award has two major categories, equine and

human, which are further divided into sub-categories. The nominees for 2015 are: Champion 2YO Colt: Dewey Boulevard, Sky Dancer, Underwood, Spectrum; Champion 2YO Filly: Garlimax, Guatemala, Most Trusted, Port Angeles, Subterranean River; Champion 3YO Colt: Caravaggio, Magnetism, Money Talks, Sky Hook, Wanderlust; Champion 3YO Filly: Court of Honor, Gentle

Strength, Miss Brulay, Princess Ella, Superv; Champion Older Horse: Dixie Gold, Low Profile, Messi, Hagdang Bato; Champion Sprinter: Cat’s Silver, Malaya; Champion Imported Horse: Oh Oh Seven, Silver Sword, Strong Champion; Horse of the Year: Court of Honor, Gentle Strength, Low Profile, Malaya, Miss Brulay, Subterranean River; Jockey of the Year: JB Hernandez, JPA Guce, KB

Abobo, MA Alvarez, PR Dilema; Trainer of the Year: AL Francisco, CM Vicente, NE Manalang, RC Hipolito, RS Tupas; Owner of the Year: Benhur C. Abalos, Ruben B. Dimacuha, Joseph C. Dyhengco, Narciso O. Morales, Running Rich Racing; Breeder of the Year: Herma Farms and Stud, Joseph C. Dyhengco, Mariano V. Tirona, Narciso O. Morales, SC Stockfarm, Inc.; Broodmare of the Year:

Lacquaria (for Cat’s Dream and Low Profile); Stallion of the Year: Cat Brulay, Hook and Ladder, Quaker Ridge, Sky Mesa, Ultimate Goal. The awarding ceremony will be held on Apr. 17 at San Lazaro Leisure Park. The GLA was, for nearly 20 years, the industry’s only recognition program until the establishment a couple years ago of the Philippine Racing Commission’s honors program. *** The Philippine Charity

Sweepstakes Office Racing Committee canceled the 3YO maiden race scheduled for Apr. 30 at Metroturf after the race declaration on Mar. 31 drew fewer than six runners, the minimum number to run. The next stakes race of note is Philracom’s 3YO Fillies and Colts stakes on Apr. 17 at SLLP, with the declaration to be held on Apr. 11. *** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Instagram: @jensdecember

A16

W E D N E S DAY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 16 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

SMB’s Marcio Lassiter drives to the lane where he is met by NLEX’s import Al Thornton in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup game won by the Beermen in triple overtime.

SMB wins triple-OT classic By Jeric Lopez

IN ONE of the toughest and most thrilling games in recent memory, San Miguel Beer survived its battle of attrition with a pesky NLEX team as it pulled off a 131-127 triple-overtime grinder in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Scoring explosions from two of the league’s best imports, along with a nip-and-tuck battle, made this one a classic, but it was the San Miguel Beer which emerged victorious from the grueling showdown. The Beermen took home the win despite the 69-point explosion of NLEX super scorer Al Thornton.

1 ABAP slot reserved for Pacman TURN TO A14

But Tyler Wilkerson also had a spectacular showing, scoring a team-high 58 points for the Beermen. Reigning Most Valuable Player Junemar Fajardo took charge in the third overtime period, scoring San Miguel’s first seven points as he helped the Beermen finally close out the marathon game.

Fajardo’s blitz in the third extension gave San Miguel the needed separation, 125120, as it finally was able to close the door on NLEX. “I have to give credit to the players, they really want to win, maybe because of their experience gusto nila manalo kahit napakahirap ng game. This is like a championship game,” said SMB coach Leo Austria. “The importance of this game is parehong ayaw magpatalo. They’re (Warriors) also a contender with their import.” San Miguel led throughout the game and was in control for most part, but NLEX kept in step and stayed within striking distance to give itself a chance in the end. The Road Warriors kept chipping away on the Beermen’s lead

Games Friday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:15 p.m. - Globalport vs. Phoenix 7 p.m. - Alaska vs. Meralco

and in dramatic fashion, sent the game to overtime with a spectacular play from the red-hot Thornton to end regulation. Down 96-99 with ball in hand, NLEX went to Thornton and the explosive import sank a tough desperation triple at the buzzer to tie it at 99-all and force the first extension. In overtime, the teams continued to trade baskets resulting in a 108-all tie. Still, after five more minutes, there was still no winner as both teams once again ended up knotted at the end of the second extension, 118all, paving way for yet another overtime period.

PH athletics gets boost from Ayala TURN TO A15

The win put San Miguel back in familiar territory, tied with Alaska for second place on similar 6-3 marks. The win boosted its bid for a Top 2 finish as well. On the other hand, the loss put the Road Warriors in a tie with Mahindra for slots No. 7 to 8 at an even 5-5 mark. The scores: SAN MIGUEL 131— Wilkerson 58, Cabagnot 20, Fajardo 18, Santos 15, Lassiter 11, Ross 7, Semerad 2, De Ocampo 0, Espinas 0, Arana 0. NLEX 127—Thornton 69, Anthony 24, Taulava 13, Villanueva E. 6, Villanueva J. 6, Alas 3, Borboran 3, Cardona 3, Apinan 0, Enciso 0, Lanete 0, Reyes R. 0. Quarters: 30-16, 52-45, 8073, 99-99, 108-108, 118-118, 131-127

Donaire bucks heat By Ronnie Nathanielsz FIVE-DIVISION world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire sparred five rounds in the sweltering heat of the “In This Corner” Gym, run by boxing man Dante Almario in Sucat, Paranaque and this probably helped him lose four pounds in his quest to make the 122-pound super bantamweight limit. Donaire, who engaged Virgil Puton in an action-packed session aided by the fact that it was a very small ring, told The Standard: “I am very pleased with the sparring.” He plans to spar at night on Friday to try and beat the almost unbearable heat and humidity. “I can’t really control the sparring because the ring is small,” said Donaire. “But my power is still there.” Donaire, who was sweating profusely, said he and trainer/father Dodong Donaire watched tapes of Bedak’s fights and noted that the Hungarian, who is ranked No. 4 by the WBO, is not as powerful a puncher as Vic Darchinyan, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nicholas Walters.

WEDNESDAY: APRIL 6, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

business@thestandardtoday.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

Metro Paciﬁc sues government By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE tollyway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said on Tuesday it filed an arbitration case in Geneva against the government for failure to increase road toll since 2013. “With the receipt of the notice by the TRB [Toll Regulatory Board] yesterday the arbitration case has commenced already. The venue is Geneva,” said Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. and Manila North Tollways Corp. president Rodrigo Franco. MNTC on April 4 issued a notice of arbitration and statement of claim to the government

through the TRB, consistent with the dispute resolution procedures under the existing Supplemental Toll Operation Agreement. The operator of NLEX was seeking for a P3-billion compensation claim as of last year for the TRB’s inaction on lawful toll adjustments which were due since January 1, 2013. “Despite compliance with ap-

plicable legal requirements and submission of proper petitions, and even acceding to TRB’s requests to extend the amicable settlement period by more than 90 days, MNTC has not received any feasible settlement offer from the TRB,” MNTC said. MNTC said it was compelled to deliver the notice to preserve its rights under the STOA. MNTC filed a petition with TRB in September 2014 for the bi-annual toll adjustment that was supposed to start on Jan. 1, 2015, as stipulated under its concession. The new petition is on top of the one the company filed in 2012 for a toll increase scheduled in January 2013. This would bring the cumulative toll adjustment to

15 percent, of which 12 percent was long overdue. Tolls at NLEx from Mindanao Avenue to Sta. Ines currently amount to P218 for Class 1 vehicles (cars, jeepneys, pickup trucks and vans), P544 for Class 2 vehicles (two-axle trucks, buses and vans) and P652 for Class 3 vehicles (trucks and trailers with three or more axles). Cavitex Infrastructure Corp., the operator of Manila-Cavite Expressway also plans to file an arbitration case against the government, requesting an P800 million compensation for failure to increase toll rates. “Cavitex is still obtaining its internal approvals,” Franco said. Cavitex also proposed a toll

hike for Class 1 vehicles to P27 from P22; Class 2 vehicles to P54 from P44; and Class 3 vehicles to P81 from P66. The two companies said the periodic toll rate adjustment was a contractual right the toll operators were entitled to under the toll operation agreement. TRB consultant for traffic management and safety Albert Suansing had said the Commission on Audit was reviewing the petition of MNTC and Cavitex Infrastructure for toll increases. Suansing, however, said the current administration was unlikely to complete the review process and “probably the next administration” would act on the toll hike petition.

PSe comPoSite index Closing April 5, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,219.23 35.30

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing April 5, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.260

44.00

43.00

HIGH P45.160 LOW P46.270 AVERAGE P46.222 VOLUME 660.760M

P400.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank

Sun Cellular partner. Sun Cellular announces a new and exclusive postpaid and broadband offers to the members of USANA Philippines

distributor group XTRM 1-11, arming it with practical mobile solutions where they can get more than what they pay for. XTRM 1-11 is a distributor group of USANA products in the Philippines. Shown at the launch are (from left) Sun postpaid senior manager Ethan Koe Sanchez, Smart retail group head Malou Agoncillo, XTRM 1-11 founder Billy James dela Fuente, Sun group head and ﬁrst vice president for wireless consumer division Kat Luna-Abelarde, Smart retail partner management center head Louie de Guzman and Sun Broadband senior manager Jaja Jesalva.

BSP: Remittances not affected by laundering probe By Julito G. Rada REMITTANCE flows are not affected by the $81-million money laundering involving a Philippine bank and a remittance company, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said Tuesday. Espenilla, however, said the $81-million heist was a cause of concern in the remittance sector. Espenilla said during the fourth Senate hearing on the biggest money laundering in the country Bangko Sentral had not received reports of any increase in remittance transactions cost yet. “With respect to this particular

development, there is no evidence yet that it has affected the cost of remittances. But having said that, it was also pointed out earlier that the Philippines actually is experiencing increasing difficulty… because of the perception on the problems of the environment in the country in terms of money laundering,” Espenilla said, in response to a question from Senator Ralph Recto. Espenilla also said there was no reported slowdown in the flow of remittances. “Some of the remittance companies are having difficulties [on] how to find correspondent banks abroad to deal with them. This development...

actually... we cannot connect this [money laundering] to that situation but that situation has been felt and a situation like this [laundering] may make that situation harder,” Espenilla said. Some $81 million worth of funds deposited by Bangladesh’s central bank in the New York Federal Reserve was reportedly stolen by computer hackers and wired to a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in February this year. The money was reportedly converted into pesos by remittance company Philrem Service Corp., before the money found its way into several casinos. Recto said overseas Filipinos

and their families in the Philippines should not worry because there was no collateral damage yet from the $81-million money laundering activity, such as difficulties in sending money and increase in remittance cost. A representative of Philippine National Bank also said during the hearing the bank did not increase remittance cost as of the moment. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. president and chief executive Lorenzo Tan, who was on leave after his bank was linked to the money laundering issue, said that “we have not seen evidence that cost has gone up.”

P30.00-P39.32 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, April 5, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.0170

Japan

Yen

0.008986

0.4135

Pound

1.426900

65.6617

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128959

5.9343

Switzerland

Franc

1.042862

47.9894

Canada

Dollar

0.764643

35.1866

Singapore

Dollar

0.739973

34.0513

Australia

Dollar

0.760200

34.9821

Bahrain

Dinar

2.656678

122.2524

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266738

12.2745

Brunei

Dollar

0.737246

33.9258

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028369

1.3055

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.5298

Euro

1.139300

52.4272

Korea

Won

0.000869

0.0400

China

Yuan

0.154140

7.0931

India

Rupee

0.015134

0.6964

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.256279

11.7932

New Zealand

Dollar

0.682500

31.4066

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030878

1.4209 Source: PDS Bridge

WEDNESDAY: APRIL 6, 2016

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Tuesday, april 5, 2016

52 Weeks

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

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

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 20.6 125 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 15.32 62.5 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

79 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 7.34 1450 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26 2.17

34.1 1.63 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 1.65 5.9 801 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 10.02 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455

0.44 48.1 20.85 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837

76 6.5 5.29 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 9.66 0.0670 1.61 84.9 3.5 974 1.66 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 3.43 3 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 3 0.030 0.550 59.3 1.5 751 1.13 170 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 1.99 41.4 5.6 1.44 1.97 1.48 0.201

6.74 0.65 30.05 3.36 0.79 1.1 0.97 0.083

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.19 3.08 46.4 45.55 102.20 101.20 90.90 89.85 39.35 39 1.39 1.32 14.5 14.1 16.3 15.82 1.76 1.7 640.00 640.00 0.700 0.620 83.45 82.9 0.98 0.96 14.80 14.60 52.90 52.55 103.9 103.9 289 285 32.4 31.1 178 175 57.60 57.40 1.65 1.56 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp. 43.35 43.9 42.75 Agrinurture Inc. 4.91 4.98 4.78 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.75 0.77 0.74 Alsons Cons. 1.41 1.42 1.4 Asiabest Group 11 11 10.8 Bogo Medelin 55.05 55.05 55.05 Century Food 19 19 18.7 Chemphil 160 200 170 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 309 455 325 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 19.98 19.98 19.6 Concepcion 45 47.5 45 Crown Asia 2.53 2.6 2.5 Da Vinci Capital 5.8 5.8 5.6 Del Monte 11.44 11.48 11.16 DNL Industries Inc. 9.500 9.500 9.180 Emperador 7.64 7.88 7.50 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.87 5.88 5.79 EEI 7.76 7.75 7.55 Euro-Med Lab 1.76 1.76 1.75 First Gen Corp. 22.35 22.4 21.25 First Holdings ‘A’ 67.5 68.15 67 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.98 13.98 13.78 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.9 6 5.91 Ionics Inc 2.560 2.620 2.390 Jollibee Foods Corp. 227.00 230.00 226.60 LBC Express 11 11 10.16 Liberty Flour 35.00 35.00 34.90 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.68 3.7 3.5 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26.5 26.3 26.1 Maxs Group 22.8 23 22 Megawide 6.19 6.39 6.3 Mla. Elect. Co À’ 322.60 324.00 320.00 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.76 3.77 3.76 Petron Corporation 9.86 9.90 9.61 Phinma Corporation 11.50 11.54 11.50 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.40 4.39 4.20 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.70 1.70 1.68 Pryce Corp. À’ 2.8 2.8 2.67 RFM Corporation 4.16 4.25 4.16 Roxas and Co. 2.83 2.79 2.79 Roxas Holdings 4.8 4.62 4.6 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods À’ 177 178.1 177 SPC Power Corp. 4.6 4.6 4.52 2.52 2.46 2.51 Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. 0.159 0.162 0.158 TKC Steel Corp. 1.32 1.37 1.32 Trans-Asia Oil 2.70 2.70 2.63 Universal Robina 219.2 219.2 216.6 Victorias Milling 4.6 4.6 4.6 Vitarich Corp. 0.77 0.86 0.78 Vivant Corp. 30.90 29.50 23.50 Vulcan Ind’l. 1.27 1.30 1.24 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. À’ 0.360 0.360 0.360 Aboitiz Equity 64.50 64.50 63.35 Alliance Global Inc. 16.54 16.60 16.42 Anscor À’ 6.00 6.10 6.00 ATN Holdings A 0.295 0.300 0.285 ATN Holdings B 0.295 0.295 0.290 Ayala Corp À’ 750 760 743 Cosco Capital 7.47 7.47 7.38 DMCI Holdings 12.64 12.84 12.66 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.06 5.25 5 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 5.00 4.95 4.95 Forum Pacific 0.231 0.229 0.229 GT Capital 1404 1430 1369 IPM Holdings 9.74 9.77 9.55 JG Summit Holdings 79.25 79.15 77.60 Jolliville Holdings 5.37 4.98 4.94 Keppel Holdings À’ 6 6.25 5.35 Lopez Holdings Corp. 6.98 6.96 6.83 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.68 0.7 0.68 LT Group 15.7 15.8 15.66 Mabuhay Holdings À’ 0.520 0.510 0.480 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.76 5.76 5.7 MJCI Investments Inc. 3.45 3.43 3.42 Pacifica À’ 0.0330 0.0340 0.0330 Prime Orion 1.970 1.980 1.960 San Miguel Corp À’ 76.60 76.60 76.00 Seafront À’ 2.4 2.46 2.45 SM Investments Inc. 967.50 970.00 955.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.23 1.23 1.15 Transgrid 187.00 230.00 187.00 Top Frontier 180.000 185.000 175.500 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3100 0.3150 0.3050 Wellex Industries 0.2040 0.2000 0.2000 Zeus Holdings 0.280 0.300 0.280 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.850 7.850 7.700 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.28 1.32 1.11 Ayala Land `B’ 35.400 35.450 34.900 Belle Corp. À’ 3 3.01 2.97 Century Property 0.570 0.57 0.550 City & Land Dev. 1.04 1.03 1.00 Cityland Dev. À’ 0.980 0.980 0.980 Crown Equities Inc. 0.127 0.128 0.126 AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC À’ Security Bank Union Bank Vantage Equities

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

SHARES 17,384,331 100,017,145 88,321,406 127,145,603 933,980,921 418,187,969 1,695,828,025

3.14 46.4 101.70 90.00 39.2 1.39 14.2 16.1 1.72 640.00 0.650 83.5 0.98 14.58 52.50 104 271.2 32.5 177.3 57.50 1.56

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

3.1 46.4 101.50 90.90 39 1.32 14.46 15.98 1.76 640.00 0.620 83 0.96 14.80 52.60 103.9 287.5 31.9 176.9 57.60 1.56

-1.27 0.00 -0.20 1.00 -0.51 -5.04 1.83 -0.75 2.33 0.00 -4.62 -0.60 -2.04 1.51 0.19 -0.10 6.01 -1.85 -0.23 0.17 0.00

181,000 9,300 1,945,000 1,026,950 22,900 61,000 18,500 236,400 89,000 10 10,207,000 1,293,230 117,000 45,000 17,600 10 560 373,900 1,131,790 112,310 120,000

43.05 4.8 0.75 1.41 11 55.05 18.8 200 360 19.7 45.3 2.5 5.6 11.16 9.200 7.69 5.84 7.70 1.75 21.75 68 13.96 5.92 2.600 230.00 11 35.00 3.53 26.25 22.2 6.3 323.00 3.77 9.90 11.50 4.39 1.69 2.68 4.23 2.79 4.6 178 4.56 2.5 0.158 1.32 2.65 218 4.6 0.81 28.00 1.24

-0.69 -2.24 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.05 25.00 16.50 -1.40 0.67 -1.19 -3.45 -2.45 -3.16 0.65 -0.51 -0.77 -0.57 -2.68 0.74 -0.14 0.34 1.56 1.32 0.00 0.00 -4.08 -0.94 -2.63 1.78 0.12 0.27 0.41 0.00 -0.23 -0.59 -4.29 1.68 -1.41 -4.17 0.56 -0.87 -0.40 -0.63 0.00 -1.85 -0.55 0.00 5.19 -9.39 -2.36

920,000 646,000 228,000 499,000 300 20 676,600 750 20,890 414,000 532,900 1,771,000 737,700 171,900 3,255,800 2,042,700 4,615,300 442,900 6,000 3,827,200 160,480 6,400 20,900 14,537,000 1,346,350 6,100 300 77,000 3,378,100 244,600 3,000 145,580 39,000 5,371,400 19,200 229,000 141,000 463,000 264,000 4,000 5,000 98,740 43,000 46,000 3,530,000 5,000 8,870,000 1,601,740 28,000 37,421,000 20,700 190,000

0.360 64.00 16.60 6.10 0.285 0.290 743 7.43 12.78 5.25 4.95 0.229 1369 9.77 78.50 4.94 5.35 6.96 0.68 15.76 0.480 5.7 3.43 0.0340 1.970 76.60 2.46 960.00 1.17 230.00 185.000 0.3100 0.2000 0.290

0.00 -0.78 0.36 1.67 -3.39 -1.69 -0.93 -0.54 1.11 3.75 -1.00 -0.87 -2.49 0.31 -0.95 -8.01 -10.83 -0.29 0.00 0.38 -7.69 -1.04 -0.58 3.03 0.00 0.00 2.50 -0.78 -4.88 22.99 2.78 0.00 -1.96 3.57

110,000 430,910 2,534,400 19,900 970,000 470,000 123,430 684,900 2,230,400 165,300 4,000 70,000 51,375 3,945,700 1,033,090 4,600 10,500 1,252,300 106,000 594,500 31,000 35,837,000 5,000 31,100,000 352,000 82,930 15,000 124,190 2,094,000 300 36,150 2,270,000 140,000 660,000

7.770 1.14 35.000 2.98 0.550 1.00 0.980 0.126

-1.02 -10.94 -1.13 -0.67 -3.51 -3.85 0.00 -0.79

100,700 15,544,000 6,532,000 635,000 3,950,000 3,000 10,000 1,640,000

352,005.00 -63,187,711 21,091.50

-1,018,192.00 1,760.00 207,300.00 2,365,010.50 -17,816.00 -598,645 12,744,213.00 -2,588,674.00 10,665,710.00

2,203,104.00

-21,901,705 -300,628.00 -2,570,765.00 -2,706,110.00 2,636,283.00 241,467.00 -3,470,200.00 175,484.50 13,834.00 -6,000.00 72,460.00 5,492,188.00 55,000.00 -35,030,685.00 -22,390.00 -14,464,360.00 5,506,724.00

-230,350.00 281,740.00 -4,766,937.00 -50,600.00

1,985,960.00 96,034,204.00 41,400.00 -3,570,630.00

15,967,134.00 5,231,136.00

18,964,855.00 4,067,920.00 -14,853,240.00

-31,513,350.00 -19,105,585.50 -802,830.00 794,136.00 -11,614,384.00

-708,788.00 -10,834,505.00 327,200.00

9,598,510.00 334,360.00 67,000.00 9,800.00 53,340.00

52 Weeks

High Low

STOCKS

0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 12.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 8.72 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 1.14

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp. Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” 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 Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Yehey

0.0098 17.24 25 0.330 12.7 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 0.020 0.021 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 6.47 9.43 0.236 6.5 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 0.012 0.013 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

Abra Mining Atlas Cons. À’ Atok-Big Wedge À’ Basic Energy Corp. Benguet Corp À’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Semirara Corp. TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 525

33 500

8.21 111 1047 84.8

5.88 101 1011 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ BC Pref A GMA Holdings Inc. MWIDE PREF PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

3.5

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp. Italpinas Xurpas

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

High

VALUE 664,752,401.00 1,439,776,508.77 805,268,527.22 848,447,195.44 1,701,676,939.93 130,346,335.95 5,784,845,860.31

FINANCIAL 1,621.18 (UP) 0.85 INDUSTRIAL 11,809.82 (DOWN) 35.27 HOLDING FIRMS 7,065.16 (DOWN) 54.89 PROPERTY 2,937.16 (DOWN) 34.49 SERVICES 1,523.66 (UP) 6.65 MINING & OIL 10,678.24 (DOWN) 91.71 PSEI 7,219.23 (DOWN) 35.30 All Shares Index 4,184.28 (DOWN) 19.45 Gainers: 63; Losers: 124; Unchanged: 42; Total: 229

0.510 38 0.890 0.153 1.07 1.82 1.41 4.90 4.03 0.093 0.2490 0.520 8.6 27.70 1.5 3.08 22.30 0.92 6.41 1.300 4.790

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.520 0.510 0.510 38 35.2 38 0.880 0.850 0.850 0.155 0.155 0.155 1.12 1.04 1.05 1.82 1.78 1.80 1.39 1.38 1.39 4.50 4.20 4.20 4.07 3.95 3.96 0.091 0.091 0.091 0.2490 0.2440 0.2490 0.550 0.500 0.520 8.68 8.6 8.68 28.20 27.50 28.00 1.53 1.49 1.52 3.08 3.08 3.08 22.30 21.75 21.90 0.94 0.92 0.93 6.41 6 6.35 1.380 1.160 1.170 4.870 4.700 4.760 SERVICES 7.43 7.48 7.4 7.47 57.1 57.25 57.05 57.15 1.31 1.27 1.25 1.26 0.570 0.600 0.570 0.580 4.99 4.98 4.71 4.75 0.0690 0.0680 0.0610 0.0610 3.24 3.24 3.21 3.22 89 8934 88.2 89.1 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.9 1.61 1.61 1.61 1.61 6.98 6.96 6.71 6.96 3.39 4.90 3.20 4.20 2020 2098 2030 2060 7.00 7.00 6.92 6.98 27.50 27.50 25.00 25.00 1.27 1.22 1.22 1.22 67.75 67.5 65.2 66 22.00 23.80 18.22 18.32 279.8 245 200 200 11.34 11.7 11.6 11.7 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 0.335 0.355 0.290 0.295 1.3600 1.6200 1.3400 1.4700 2.3 2.39 2.2 2.2 7.69 7.67 7.63 7.63 3.88 3.99 3.90 3.96 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 20.55 24.85 24.85 24.85 0.550 0.580 0.560 0.560 1.96 2.02 1.96 1.96 2.35 2.34 2.24 2.31 3.85 3.84 3.79 3.80 0.295 0.275 0.275 0.275 1.720 1.950 1.480 1.660 18 17.8 17.8 17.8 5.04 5.10 5.00 5.00 125.00 124.00 109.00 118.00 22.00 21.95 21.70 21.90 1896.00 1969.00 1888.00 1930.00 0.420 0.420 0.420 0.420 0.900 0.890 0.870 0.890 36.35 37.30 36.30 37.00 74.00 73.80 72.00 73.70 6.33 6.36 6.50 6.33 3.49 3.52 3.34 3.49 0.660 0.670 0.630 0.630 1.88 2.2 2 2.06 3.62 3.68 3.61 3.62 5.500 5.840 5.230 5.230 MINING & OIL 0.0044 0.0045 0.0044 0.0045 4.32 4.33 4.30 4.30 12.78 12.70 11.50 12.70 0.245 0.245 0.240 0.240 7.8600 8.32 7.08 7.4800 7.3000 7.8000 6.9000 7.6800 0.63 0.66 0.62 0.63 0.480 0.480 0.480 0.480 8.35 8.34 8.00 8.25 0.830 0.840 0.800 0.810 0.280 0.290 0.280 0.285 0.255 0.260 0.250 0.255 0.280 0.280 0.270 0.280 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 2.04 2.04 1.95 2.02 5.19 5.19 4.92 4.98 2.53 2.63 2.52 2.61 1.2500 1.3200 1.2500 1.2500 0.0100 0.0100 0.0098 0.0098 0.0094 0.0095 0.0095 0.0095 5.16 5.35 5.15 5.32 2.12 2.13 2.01 2.07 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0120 131.30 132.00 129.40 129.40 2.39 2.39 2.36 2.36 0.0091 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 PREFERRED 56.6 57 56.4 56.5 533 528 528 528 44.55 44.55 44.55 44.55 6.85 6.85 6.85 6.85 106 109.9 109.9 109.9 1010 1013 1010 1010 81.85 81 80 81 76.5 76 75.5 75.5 76.65 76.8 76.6 76.8 76 76.1 76 76.1 75 75.1 75 75.1 75 75.3 74.9 75 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.150 3.140 3.000 3.010 SME 4.3 4.3 4 4.28 3.56 3.6 3.53 3.54 3.16 3.16 3.1 3.1 18.2 19.18 18.26 18.82 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 119 118.8 118.2 118.5

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

0.00 0.00 -4.49 1.31 -1.87 -1.10 -1.42 -14.29 -1.74 -2.15 0.00 0.00 0.93 1.08 1.33 0.00 -1.79 1.09 -0.94 -10.00 -0.63

4,969,000 1,305,500 841,000 80,000 10,059,000 9,365,000 36,000 57,000 23,684,000 230,000 180,000 354,000 6,500 4,220,100 808,000 1,000 10,173,600 4,763,000 13,900 23,365,000 3,425,000

102,000.00 8,195,630.00

0.54 0.09 -3.82 1.75 -4.81 -11.59 -0.62 0.11 0.00 0.00 -0.29 23.89 1.98 -0.29 -9.09 -3.94 -2.58 -16.73 -28.52 3.17 0.00 -11.94 8.09 -4.35 -0.78 2.06 0.00 20.92 1.82 0.00 -1.70 -1.30 -6.78 -3.49 -1.11 -0.79 -5.60 -0.45 1.79 0.00 -1.11 1.79 -0.41 -0.47 0.00 -4.55 9.57 0.00 -4.91

82,700 11,205.00 54,340 69,000 975,000 7,297,000 -13,343,730.00 387,200,000 307,510.00 122,000 -16,180.00 693,490 5,081,241.00 1,000 6,000 150,100 364,000 94,705 3,473,550.00 51,800 500 7,000 3,965,810 -240,929,653.00 259,000 1,400 2,900 700,000 300,990,000 541,800.00 38,692,000 -325,270.00 80,000 69,500 38,250.00 1,800,000 -354,270.00 2,000 400 17,000 244,000 9,980,000 207,690.00 1,879,000 2,438,440.00 240,000 143,471,000 3,326,220.00 3,500 7,600 1,340 66,000 112,350 73,038,865.00 80,000 25,200.00 7,113,000 527,810.00 9,028,800 -67,385,535.00 854,770 21,707,080.50 1,289,500 -112,650.00 7,081,000 1,101,420.00 7,045,000 256,000.00 19,000 470,000 -341,000.00 471,000 -23,200.00

2.27 -0.46 -0.63 -2.04 -4.83 5.21 0.00 0.00 -1.20 -2.41 1.79 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.98 -4.05 3.16 0.00 -2.00 1.06 3.10 -2.36 0.00 -1.45 -1.26 -10.99

207,000,000 21,000 10,300 200,000 40,200 18,100 882,000 430,000 62,200 11,686,000 410,000 29,790,000 610,000 83,300,000 617,000 5,435,200 114,000 90,000 6,300,000 2,000,000 3,067,600 3,211,000 61,300,000 435,030 147,000 1,000,000

-0.18 -0.94 0.00 0.00 3.68 0.00 -1.04 -1.31 0.20 0.13 0.13 0.00

53,180 1,800 200 1,300 10 2,790 37,450 20,000 10,010 223,080 180,000 279,900

-4.44

681,000

-0.47 -0.56 -1.90 3.41

40,000 102,000 393,000 8,251,400

15,600.00 -4,586,306.00

-0.42

4,250

11,880.00

-26,250.00 1,118,360.00 -8,280.00 -23,809,280.00

-27,950,325.00 239,500.00 -33,470,185.00 498,990.00 1,619,440.00

-8,620.00

105,350.00 835,940.00

-10,100,430.00

-19,000.00 -11,674,996.00 44,500.00 10,800.00 -19,860,099.00 -47,800.00 -1,771,559.50

2,807,900.00 81,000.00 76,100.00

60,000.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Chemphil

200

25.00

Imperial Res. `B'

200

-28.52

Easy Call "Common"

4.20

23.89

Imperial Res. `A'

18.32

-16.73

Transgrid

230.00

22.99

Keppel Properties

4.20

-14.29

Manila Broadcasting

24.85

20.92

Island Info

0.295

-11.94

Conc. Aggr. 'A'

360

16.50

Boulevard Holdings

0.0610

-11.59

Transpacific Broadcast

2.06

9.57

United Paragon

0.0081

-10.99

ISM Communications

1.4700

8.09

A. Brown Co., Inc.

1.14

-10.94

PSE Inc.

287.5

6.01

Keppel Holdings `A'

5.35

-10.83

Benguet Corp `B'

7.6800

5.21

Suntrust Home Dev. Inc.

1.170

-10.00

Vitarich Corp.

0.81

5.19

Vivant Corp.

28.00

-9.39

WEDNESDAY: APRIL 6, 2016

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

Megaworld’s profit hits P10.4b By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONDOMINIUM and office builder Megaworld Corp. said core net income grew 10.6 percent in 2015 to P10.4 billion from P9.4 billion in 2014 on strong real estate states. Megaworld said core net income excluded the P181million non-recurring gains booked in 2015. Megaworld said consolidated revenues, excluding nonrecurring gains, rose 9.4 percent year-on-year in 2015 to P44.81 billion from the previous year’s P40.97-billion.

Core businesses, including residential, rental and hotel operations, posted doubledigit growth in 2015. The group’s leasing business saw the fastest growth in 2015, as rental income grew 23.46 percent. Leasing income from malls, commercial centers and

offices reached P8.73 billion in 2015, up from P7.07 billion in 2014. “Our rental business had been growing exponentially the last five years. We are confident that we will reach the P11-billion target by the end of this year as we see continuous growth in consumer spending as well as further expansion of BPO companies, particularly in key growth areas in Visayas and Mindanao where Megaworld is already present, ” Megaworld chief finance officer Francis Canuto said. Canuto said the company

also remained focused on developing more integrated township projects across the country. “We have already mastered the art of township development. What we want to put focus on now is how to further grow our rental portfolio, which is integral to being a township developer. Malls and offices are key components of an urban township,“ Canuto said. Megaworld earlier said it would spend P55 billion in capital expenditures this year primarily to build more office

and shopping malls to boost rental portfolio. It said at least 75 percent of the P55 billion would be used for construction of new malls, commercial centers, office buildings and residential projects in townships. The remaining 25 percent will be used for land acquisition and investment properties. Megaworld said it would start developing new townships in Pasig City, Bacolod and Pampanga. It will also ramp up office and mall developments across existing townships.

Market slumps; Xurpas, PLDT up STOCKS fell Tuesday amid thin trading, as oil prices extended their recent losses and most markets tumbled again, raising questions on whether a recent rally may have run its course. The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 35 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,219.23. Despite Tuesday’s loss, the bellwether was still up 3.8 percent since the start of the year. The heavier index, representing all shares, dropped 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,184.28, on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 124 to 63, while 42 issues were unchanged. Seven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by technology company Xurpas Inc. which advanced 3.4 percent to P18.82 and Globe Telecom Inc. which climbed 2 percent to P2,060. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. added 1.8 percent to close at P1,930, while Puregold Price Club Inc. gained 1.8 percent to P37. Meanwhile, regional investors were handed a negative lead from Wall Street, where the plunge in crude also hammered oil-linked plays and all but wiped out Friday’s jobs-fuelled gains. Hopes that an upcoming meeting between the world’s top oil producers would lead to an output freeze were dealt a blow last week when kingpin Saudi Arabia said it would only do so if other major countries followed suit. With Iran, which has only just been allowed to resume exports, saying it is unlikely to take such action yet there are now concerns no agreement will be met -- exacerbating a global glut at a time of weak demand. Both main crude contracts fell Tuesday in Asia, with Brent down 0.5 percent at $37.50 and West Texas Intermediate 0.8 percent lower at $35.40, having broken above $40 a barrel in March. With AFP

ADP volunteers. ADP Philippines associates Jayson Santos, JC Retardo and Yves Bibiolata repaint a part of the outer walls of a classroom for Aeta children during an outreach program organized by ADP Circle’s Community & Learning Pillars at Villa Maria, a community for indigenous people in Porac, Pampanga. Forty seven associates from ADP Philippines, a business process outsourcing company, volunteered for the activity, with some of them spending time refurbishing classrooms used by students in the community.

Emperador’s net income increased 12% to P7b in 2015 EMPERADOR Inc., the liquor unit of tycoon Andrew Tan, said net income rose 12.2 percent in 2015 to P7 billion from P6.2 billion in 2014 on aggressive offshore investments. Emperador said in a disclosure to the stock exchange revenues climbed 36.4 percent to P43.5 billion in 2015, including those of foreign operations such as unit Whyte and Mackay. The years 2013 to 2015 saw the offshore growth of Emperador business, the company said. The group acquired Bodegas Las Copas and Bodega San Bruno in Spain in February 2014

and early 2013, respectively, and Whyte and Mackay of the UK in October 2014. It signed a deal to acquire Terry Centenario, Spain’s number one selling brandy; Tres Cepas, the number one brandy in Equatorial Guinea; and Harveys, the number one selling sherry wine in the United Kingdom in November 2015. It took over the Spanish assets in March. The liquor firm said it posted the highest quarterly net income in the fourth quarter of 2015, with P2.26 billion, up 38 percent yearon-year and 56 percent quarteron-quarter. Emperador chairman Andrew

Tan said the fourth quarter of 2015 also marked a significant milestone in Emperador’s history as an agreement with Beam Suntory Inc. was reached to buy Fundador, the Philippines’ bestselling premium brandy and an iconic brand for more than 150 years. Emperador president Winston Co said after making significant acquisitions, a new era began for Emperador in 2016, as it now had a much bigger product portfolio of brandy and whisky with greater global reach. Co said the core local product, Emperador brandy, was expected to benefit from this international

route, given the export opportunities in other countries. “The group is best positioned to capitalize on premiumization opportunities with its broad spectrum of products available locally ranging from standard value to premium to super premium to luxury. Emperador brandy remains to be the leader in the local spirits industry,” Co said. “And the group has a compelling presence in foreign brands in the Philippines with the single malt Scotch whisky products, The Dalmore and Jura, and now the Fundador brandy de Jerez,” Co said. Jenniffer B. Austria

B4 Salim’s flour mill gets P1-b BDO loan By Julito G. Rada BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest bank in the country, signed a P998-million, seven-year loan agreement with Mabuhay Interflour Mill Inc., the local subsidiary of Interflour Group Pte Ltd. of Singapore. The loan will partly finance the construction of its flour mill within a 5.2-hectare property in Subic Bay Gateway Park Phase II. Interflour Group Pte Ltd. of Singapore, owned by the Salim Group, is one of the largest flour millers in Asia. Salim also owns Bogasari, Indonesia’s biggest flour mill, and PT Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk., the biggest producer of instant noodles in the world. “The project, which is expected to be completed early 2017, involves the milling of wheat into food flour for direct sale to consumers, distributors and retailers in the country, as well as for the export market,” BDO said in a statement Tuesday. The flour mill has a capacity to produce 500 metric tons of flour per day, which may be doubled to 1,000 metric tons by 2019. “The investment of Interflour in the Philippines is a welcome development. BDO supports initiatives by conglomerates that generate employment opportunities in fast-growing business districts like Subic,” BDO said. With an estimated 25,000 bakeshops operating in the country, Interflour considers the Philippines an important market in the region. We welcome the support of BDO and thank them for the cooperation in working with us to develop local employment and more affordable flour for the Philippine community in general, Interflour chief executive Greg Harvey said in a statement.. Interflour has nine flour mills in operation--eight in South East Asia and one in Turkey--and has a wheat milling capacity of 6,500 tons per day. Its entry in the Philippines was established in June 2014 through the signing of a 50-year lease agreement with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Travellers donation. Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., owner and operator of integrated entertainment complex Resorts World Manila, empowers the Filipino youth through education by funding the development of computer laboratories for five schools in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan. Travellers International chief operating officer Stephen James Reilly (right) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman and chief executive Cristino Naguiat personally inspect one of the donated computer laboratories.

March inflation rate rose slightly to 1.1% By Gabrielle H. Binaday

THE inflation rate in March inched up to 1.1 percent on slight increases in food and oil prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.

Latest data from PSA showed inflation slightly rose from 0.9 percent recorded in February but declined from 2.4 percent in March 2015. The March inflation rate this year was within the forecast range of 0.6 percent to 1.4 percent of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The National Economic and Development Authority said inflation in food items rose to 1.6 percent in March from 1.5 percent in the previous month. Neda attributed the uptick to increases in the prices of meat (1.2 percent from 0.9 percent), fish (2.8 percent from 2.3 percent), and milk, cheese, and eggs (1.2 percent from

1.1 percent). Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra noted that despite the El Niño, rice prices remained lower than in the previous year, citing a decline of 2.0 percent and 1.7 percent in February and March, respectively. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the monetary policy stance remained appropriate at the moment even if inflation slightly increased to 1.1 percent in March. “Inflation for March of 1.1 percent is within the BSP’s forecast range of 0.6 to 1.4 percent. This is also consistent with our latest runs showing that over the policy horizon, inflation will slowly move up to within target,” Tetangco said in a text message to reporters Tuesday. “For 2016, we see inflation close to the low end of the government target range [of 2 to 4 percent]. We will continue to monitor developments. But right now we see no urgent need to change stance of policy,” Tetangco said.

Esguerra said the price of vegetables fell to 2.9 percent in March from the previous month after peaking in January 2016. “We have been closely monitoring price movements and looking at factors that influence commodity prices, especially food consumed by the poor,” said Esguerra. “Aware of El Niño, government has put in place a program to mitigate the impact of drought. We need to ensure adequate supply of food and provide assistance to affected farmers,” he said. Domestic oil prices climbed, with gasoline rising 5.03 percent, liquefied petroleum gas by 0.58 percent, diesel by 8.6 percent and kerosene by 7.06 percent. “Outlook for oil prices in the medium term remain modest given a backdrop of strong world crude oil supply growth and weak global demand. Overall, the continuing environment of low international oil prices remains a positive development for the country considering that we are a net importer of oil,” said Esguerra.

Japan now prefers PH after Bank of Tokyo’s investment THE Philippines is now considered among Japan’s favored investment destinations in Asia after the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. infused P36.9 billion into Security Bank Corp., Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said Tuesday. The Bank of Tokyo, Japan’s largest financial institution, finally completed its 20-percent investment in Security Bank on Friday. The amount was the biggest investment so far by a foreign company in the country’s financial institution, “The completion of the deal em-

phasizes how the Philippines is now among Japan’s most favored investment destinations in Southeast Asia,” Cristobal said in a statement. Cristobal said BTMU’s capital infusion came at a time as the government ratchets up the country’s investment priorities plan to put more weight on cooperation with foreign investors and ensure stability in the country’s business climate. “Japan’s outlook of the Philippines has been quite favorable more so because the country is showing robust economic growth.

Our track record of consistent growth has been catching the attention of Japanese investors and it has become more attractive compared to other economies in the region,” Cristobal said. The country’s sustained economic growth and its young, burgeoning population are among the reasons why Japanese companies including small and medium enterprises are looking at the Philippines as part of their investment strategies in Asia and Oceania. “The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi’s entry has surely prompted

not only other foreign financial institutions but prospective foreign investors in business and industry to take a more serious look at the Philippines and what it has to offer,” Cristobal said. The strategic tieup between Security Bank and BTMU aims to deepen BTMU’s presence in organic communities and provide its strong base of Japanese customers with better banking services through Security Bank. Security Bank received a capital investment of P36.9 billion from BTMU. In turn, the bank issued

150,707,778 common shares and 200,000,000 preferred shares to BTMU, representing Japan’s top lender 20-percent ownership of the voting stock in Security Bank. Go Watanabe, chief executive officer for BTMU Asia & Oceania, said the strategic alliance with Security Bank was aligned with the bank’s expansion plans in Asia. BTMU is now the second largest shareholder of Security Bank, while the Dy family remains the biggest shareholder of Security Bank with majority voting control. Julito G. Rada

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

4 more firms give support to RCBC

BELEAGUERED Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. on Tuesday received more support from big companies amid the ongoing Senate investigation on the illegal transfer of $81 million to country’s financial system through the bank’s branch in Makati City. Four more firms were added to the growing list of companies that expressed their support for RCBC. These were San Miguel Corp., CLSA Exchange Capital Corp., All Asian Countertrade and Liwayway Group. In separate letters sent to RCBC chairperson Helen YuchengcoDee San Miguel, CLSA, All Asian Countertrade and Liwayway have reassured their trust and confidence on RCBC banking system. “We are confident that with the stable foundation with which RCBC was built on, and with the solid shareholders and strong leadership of its board of directors, the issue that the bank is now facing will make them even stronger and more committed to provide excellent service to clients such as the San Miguel group,” San Miguel treasurer and chief financial officer Ferdinand Constantino said in a statement. “The long-standing partnership we have had with them is proof of the kind of quality and trusted service that we rely on in banking with RCBC,” he said. CLSA Exchange chairman and chief executive Luis Juan Virata expressed the same support to RCBC. “In my dealings with RCBC, I have been witness to the professionalism, stringent moral fiber and strict adherence to work ethics of this institution led by its chairperson Helen Dee and its president/CEO Lorenzo Tan. My trust and confidence in Helen, Lorenzo and the whole RCBC team is as strong as ever, and the strength of this institution will weather this unfortunate circumstance,” he said. Carlos Chan of the Liwayway Group, meanwhile, assured RCBC of the company’s continued faith and support, saying that “the relationship between RCBC and the Liwayway Group dates back to June 2005 and in that more than a decade, we have been very satisfied with the service of the bank.” “We are confident that RCBC will be able to withstand the controversy and take necessary actions against those accountable from within its ranks,” Chan said. Michael Escaler, president of All Asian Countertrade Inc., reassured the company’s trust in RCBC. “With our partnership, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Escaler said. Earlier, Andrew Tan of Megaworld, Manuel Villar Jr. of Vista Land, Injap Sia of Double Dragon and Liberato Laus of Laus Group of Companies vouched for RCBC’s integrity being long-time clients of the bank. Julito G. Rada

Puregold, Lawson bare plan to open 300 outlets By Jenniffer B. Austria and Othel V. Campos

PUREGOLD Price Club Inc. plans to compete more aggressively in the convenience store sector in the next three years through its joint venture with Japan’s Lawson, with at least 300 stores slated to open by 2018 in strategic areas in the greater Manila area. Lawson and partner Puregold earlier planned to put up 500 stores by 2020, with 50 percent operated as franchised outlets. Lawson, Japan’s top convenience store chain, is accelerating its expansion in the Philippines with the opening of 50 to 100 stores this year in a move to catch up with rivals in the Philippines. Lawson president and chief executive Genichi Tamatsuka said in a briefing Tuesday following

the opening of its 20th Lawson store in 6789 Tower along Ayala Avenue the company might conduct trial franchising this year to speed up store expansion. “We are now starting to formulate our model for franchising. As soon we have confidence, we will pursue franchising model which is suitable for this country,” Tamatsuka said. “At this stage, we are almost ready to accelerate. More effort is

being dedicated for store development. We’re starting with GMA first, where we see that a good 500 stores will not be difficult to fulfill. Then we’ll be spreading to other regions,” he said Tamatsuka said franchising had been a strategy for growth of Lawson in Japan where it had 99-percent franchised stores of 12,000 outlets. Only a little over 100 stores are company-owned. Tamatsuka said he saw huge potential in the Philippine market despite the presence of several players, namely FamilyMart, a joint venture between Ayala Land Inc., Itochu Corp. and SSI Group Inc., 7-Eleven via Philippine Seven Corp., Mini-Stop though Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. and All Day, the local franchise brand owned by business tycoon Manuel Villar. “We have 12,000 stores in Japan but eventually we want our

overseas stores to exceed that number. We want 10 to 20 percent of our overseas stores in the Philippines,” he said. Puregold investor relations head John Hao said the company would earmark P450 million in capital expenditures for the 75 Lawson stores in 2016. Each store costs about P5 million. Hao said the company aimed to open stores in business districts, business process outsourcing areas and in populated areas like those near schools and universities, and within the metropolis as well. Lawson has been expanding its presence in the Asia-Pacific, with the Philippines its fifth overseas location. The chain has some 12,395 branches in Japan, 741 in overseas of which 655 are in China, 46 in Thailand, 38 in Indonesia and 2 in Hawaii.

Bull market may hit bump on valuations—BDO PHILIPPINE stocks may retreat within weeks after the benchmark gauge’s biggest monthly gain in five years made equities among the most expensive in Asia, according to the nation’s largest money manager. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index, which surged more than 20 percent from a January low to this year’s high of 7,376.41 in March, could slide to as low as 6,900, or a drop of almost 7 percent, said Fritz Ocampo, chief investment officer at BDO Unibank Inc. Stocks will rebound after that as valuations become more “reasonable” and campaign spending for next month’s presidential and national elections spur economic growth, he said. Two of the bank’s four equity funds tracked by Bloomberg are the best performers in March with returns of

at least 12 percent. “We are overbought, we are trading at very rich valuations,” Ocampo, who helps manage about $20 billion, said in an interview. “We are actually taking some profit.” The Philippines became the first Asian equity market to enter a bull market this year as global funds piled in, sending valuations to the second-highest in the region after New Zealand. Asian shares rebounded in March as rising oil prices, bets that the US Federal Reserve won’t rush to raise interest rates and signs that China’s economy is stabilizing bolstered appetite for riskier assets. Philippine shares are trading at 17.8 times 12-month projected earnings, near the highest level since August and versus its 10year average of 14.7, data com-

piled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has a multiple of 12.4 while New Zealand’s stock measure is valued at 18.5. The Philippines will choose a successor to outgoing President Benigno Aquino on May 9. Aquino’s record in curbing corruption, boosting growth and trimming the budget helped the nation secure an investmentgrade debt rating for the first time in 2013. The election and what the new government will do with state spending will lure back overseas funds that withdrew in 2015 and drive the equities index to rise to between 7,600 and 7,800 in the second half, Ocampo said. The election will help spur economic growth to exceed 6 percent this year while corporate earnings are projected to expand as

much as 15 percent after a disappointing 8 percent gain in 2015, Ocampo said. Gross domestic product growth weakened to 5.8 percent last year, the slowest pace since 2011. “There are still plenty of of investors who aren’t coming in because they want to know who will lead Philippines Inc. and what will be the priority of the new chief executive,” Ocampo said. “Concerns over currencies, commodities and China will also continue to hog the limelight so the rally won’t be a diagonal line.” The Philippine stock gauge jumped almost 9 percent in March as global funds poured in $203.86 million, halting a record 11 months of outflows. The equity index has climbed 4.1 percent this year versus a 5.2 percent drop for the MSCI Asia Pacific measure. Bloomberg

WEDNESDAY: APRIL 6, 2016

B6 PNOC investing P8.4b in oil, gas

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

GrabTaxi to provide real-time traffic data

By Alena Mae S. Flores By Darwin G. Amojelar STATE-OWNED PNOC Exploration Corp. said it will invest P8.4 billion in the Malampaya natural gas and other petroleum exploration projects this year. The amount is slightly higher than the approved budget in 2015 of P8.039 billion. PNOC Exploration issued a resolution on the 2016 work program and operating budget, with the bulk or P6.129 billion allocated for petroleum exploration projects. The company also budgeted P1.365 billion for the Malampaya gas project in northwest Palawan, where the company has a 10-percent stake. The oil and gas arm of Philippine National Oil Co. derives bulk of revenues from the Malampaya gas to power project. PNOC Exploration appropriated P184.56 million for coal exploration project and P148.28 million for other project developments. The company also allocated P81.26 million in capital expenditures and P491.44 million for operating expenses (net of depreciation). PNOC Exploration reported an unaudited net profit of P1.426 billion in 2015, down 41 percent from P2.43 billion precorded in 2014. PNOC Exploration’s revenues also softened to P4.717 billion last year from P6.6 billion in 2014, representing the decline in world oil prices. The company posted lower expenses of P587.749 million in 2015, compared to over P1.1 billion in 2014. PNOC Exploration has been looking at ways to mitigate the impact of low oil prices on operations. Among the the company’s previous plans was to increase international oil and gas trading by appointing trading partners to supply oil and petroleum products in countries that favor a government to government transaction. It also planned to team up with British Petroleum for the establishment of depot facilities in the country and form business tieups with Nigeria, China, Oman and Russia to market their products in the country.

GRABTAXI Holdings Pte, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing company with operations in 30 cities, said it is working with the World Bank to start providing free, real-time traffic data to the Philippine government to help ease perennial congestion in the country’s cities. Under the OpenTraffic initiative, data gathered by Grab drivers will be used to analyze and visualize traffic information so that government agencies can better manage the flow of vehicles on the streets of Metro Manila and Cebu City, Grab said in a joint statement with the World Bank and the Philippines’ Transportation Department.

Southeast Asia is a key battleground for car-booking companies such as Grab and Uber Technologies Inc. because it is home to 620 million people, where an increasing number of people live in large cities and face rush-hour traffic jams. “Using big data is one of the potential solutions to the challenges faced by our transport systems,”

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emiliio Abaya said in a statement. Grab and the World Bank have been developing free, opensource tools that translate Grab’s voluminous driver GPS data into traffic statistics, including speeds, flows and intersection delays. These statistics power big data open source tools such as OpenTraffic, for analyzing traffic speeds and flows, and intersection delays, for identifying road incident blackspots and improving emergency response. Grab and the World Bank plan to make OpenTraffic available to other Southeast Asian city governments in the near future. The World Bank and the Transportation Department trained more than 200 government staff from the agency, the Philippine

National Police, Metro Manila Development Authority, Public Works Department and the Cebu City Transportation Office on the use of the OpenTraffic platform. “We are proud to collaborate with the DOTC and World Bank on the OpenTraffic program to help address congestion along Metro Manila’s major thoroughfares, making local public transportation systems safe and accessible for commuters,” said Poch Ceballos, head of Grab Taxi. “We share a common objective of using big data to make critical decisions about traffic and infrastructure management. With Grab’s network of drivers travelling across Philippine cities every day, there is a rich real-time GPS dataset now readily available to DOTC,” he said.

New BoI official. Newly-appointed Board of Investments executive director for industry development services Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa (center) takes her oath of office before Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. (left). Witnessing the event is undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo. Dichosa is in charge of overseeing the various industry development programs and projects of BoI, making sure that these initiatives are geared towards the development of globally-competitive industries.

Prices of construction materials rise amid strong demand By Othel V. Campos PRICES of construction materials rose in the past two months, driven by rising demand from contractors of infrastructure projects. The Trade Department said based the latest price monitoring report of the consumer protection group, the prices of steel bars, marine plywood and cement showed upward move-

ments. The report covering the week of March 28 to April 1 showed prices of steel rebars produced and sold by Cathay Pacific Steel Corp. rose to P110 per bag from P95 during the period March 21 to March 23. The Trade Department’s price monitoring report is based on existing retail prices. Cemex Holdings Philippines, a cement manufacturer, advised

dealers and distributors about a P10-per-bag increase starting April 10. Rizal Portland cement, one of the brands manufactured by Cemex in the Philippines, will be sold at P227 per 40-kilogram bag, up from P217 per bag previously. Prior to the impending price hike, the brand also increased its price by P6 in the month of February.

Meanwhile, Holcim Philippines Inc. plans to bring in imported cement. Industry monitoring showed that imports were coming in at P212 per bag. Holcim Philippines plans to bring in imported cement from Vietnam at P212 per bag, the pervading rate in Palawan. Recent industry figures showed that cement sales in 2015 reached 24.36 million

metric tons, up by 14.3 percent from 21.3 million MT sold in 2014. The Cement manufacturers Association of the Philippines attributed the increase to the huge budget of the Public Works Department for infrastructure and the increasing private sector confidence in government, better weather due to less rain and new housing financing with low interest rates.

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Iceland PM finds self in hot seat R E Y K J AV I K— I c e land’s prime minister is in the hot seat after the leaked “Panama Papers” sparked allegations that he and his wife used an offshore firm to hide milliondollar investments, with thousands taking to the streets demanding he quit. Huge crowds poured into the square outside parliament in Reykjavik late Monday calling for Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to step down over financial records showing that he and his wife bought a company in the British Virgin Islands in 2007. He sold his 50-percent share to his wife Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir for a symbolic sum of one dollar at the end of 2009. But when he was elected to parliament for the first time in April 2009, as a member of the center-right Progressive Party, he neglected to mention his stake in his declaration of shareholdings. As the crowds gathered outside parliament, he told public broadcaster RUV he regretted not revealing this sooner. The issue is particularly sensitive in Iceland, a country marked by the excesses of the 2000s when senior bankers used shell companies in tax havens to conceal their dealings in risky financial products. Police said the crowds that turned out in Reykjavik on Monday night outnumbered the thousands who in 2009 brought down the rightwing government over its responsibility in Iceland’s 2008 banking collapse. Iceland’s big banks collapsed in October 2008 after borrowing beyond their means to fund ambitious investments abroad. Before their collapse, their liabilities were worth more than ten times Iceland’s total GDP. The crash led to an unprecedented financial crisis, a deep recession and a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Gunnlaugsson, a former journalist, insists that despite the financial turbulence he was never tempted to move his money offshore and that his wife paid all her taxes in Iceland. AFP

Azerbaijan, Armenia clash over Karabakh STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan— Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces killed at least 13 people Monday in a third day of fighting over Nagorny Karabakh, as Turkey fueled tensions following the worst violence in decades in the disputed territory. Russia and the West have scrambled to call for an end to the fighting, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a firm ally of Azerbaijan, insisted that the Armenian-controlled region

would “one day” return to Baku’s control. On the ground, the death toll since fighting erupted on Friday night rose to 46 after Armenia’s defense ministry said five Armenian “volunteer” fighters

were killed when a bus in which they were traveling was hit. Earlier, the Armenia-backed separatist authorities in Karabakh—which claims independence but is supported by Yerevan—said three civilians and two more soldiers were killed in fierce shelling. Baku said three of its troops were killed overnight when Armenian forces shelled its positions using mortars and grenade launchers.

Azerbaijan has claimed to have captured several strategic positions inside Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, in

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PR NO. 2016-0379 1.

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID PR NO. 2016-0339

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna through the 2016(GAD) Budget Approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsodintends to apply the sum of Php 3,499,650.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Supply and Delivery for Balik Eskwela (Gamit Eskwela for 16,650 Day Care & Grade 1-6 Students) of City of San Pedro Laguna. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids forthe following: QTY UNIT DESCRIPTION Day Care Students 2500 pcs Pad Paper 2500 pcs Crayons 8’s 2500 pcs Big Pencil 2500 packs Art Paper (assorted color – 10’s) 2500 packs Bond Paper (10’s) 2500 pcs Sharperner 2500 pcs Eraser 2500 pcs Notebook 2500 btl Glue 2500 pcs Crayons 8’s 2500 pcs School Bag 2500 bklt Day Care Service Program (Parents Handbook) 2500 bklt Early Childhood Care & Development Checklist Grade 1-6 Students 14150 pcs Pad Paper 14150 pcs Crayons 8’s 14150 pcs Pencil 14150 pcs Ballpen 14150 pcs Eraser 14150 pcs Sharpener 56600 pcs Notebook 14150 pcs Expanding Plastic Envelop w/ Handle Delivery of the Goods is required within thirty (30) days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. In addition,bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138. Interested bidders may obtain further information from City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:30AM to 9:30 AM only. Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on thedate, time and address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php 5,000.00. ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND April 5 - 19, 2016 BIDDING DOCUMENTS: 8:30AM – 9:30AM (Re-Bid) BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna PRE-BID CONFERENCE: April 7, 2016 Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before the specified date and time. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ELIGIBILITY April 19, 2016 REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS: 10:00 AM (Re-Bid) BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna Bid opening shall be on the same date and time for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted. The City Government of San Pedro, Lagunaassumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid. Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. For further information, please refer to: Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat San Pedro City Hall San Pedro, Laguna Telefax No. 847.1722

(signed) ENGR. FILEMON I. SIBULO Chairman

Bids and Awards Committee

(TS-APR. 6, 2016)

“ceasefire would only be possible if the militaries of both sides return to the positions” they held prior to the outbreak of hostilities. AFP

Republic of the Philippines CITY OF SAN PEDRO Province of Laguna BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE

what would be the first change in the front line since an inconclusive ceasefire ended a war over the region in 1994. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said a

The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna through the 2016(GAD) Budget Approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsodintends to apply the sum of Php 2,000,265.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Supply and Delivery Cataract Supplies FY 2016. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids forthe following: QTY UNIT DESCRIPTION 20 bot Tropicamide Eye Drops (Mydriacyl) 20 pc Lidocaine 2% 5ml Preservative Free (Eurocaine) 22 bot Alcaine Eye Drops 5 gal 10% Povidine Iodine 5 gal 7.5% Povidine Iodine 20 pc Ploymyxin B Sulfate Neonycin Sulfate 20 pc Dexamethasone Eyedrops 10 bot Distilled Water 600ml (absolute) 5 box Blade Size 11 (Feathers) 5 box Blade Size 15 (Feathers) 10 bot Denatured Alcohol 20 pc Blurex/Trypan Blue 10 roll Suture Nylon (10.0) Aurolab/Alcon 20 pc Miostat (Carbachol) 20 pc Vigamox/Occumox (Moxifloxacin Preservative Free) 20 pc Antibiotic Steroid Ointment (tobramycin+Dexamethasone) 20 pc Prednisone Eye Drops (Pred Forte) 20 box Eye Pad Sterile (50’s) 120 pc Eye Shield (goggles) Intra Ocular Lens (Neo Eye) 5 pc Size: 17 5 pc Size: 17.50 10 pc Size: 18 10 pc Size: 18.50 10 pc Size: 19 10 pc Size: 19.50 10 pc Size: 20 10 pc Size: 20.50 10 pc Size: 21 10 pc Size: 21.50 10 pc Size: 22 10 pc Size: 22.50 5 pc Size: 23 5 pc Size: 23.50 5 pcs Size: 24 20 pc Balanced Salt Solution (Euromed) 1L 20 pc Balanced Salt Solution (Euromed) 500ml 5 box Disposable Syringe 3cc 5 box Disposable Syringe 1cc 5 box Disposable Syringe 5cc 5 box Disposable Syringe 10cc 5 box Tegaderm/Eye Sheet (10cmx12cm) 10 box Ciprofloxacin 500mg 10 box Mefenamic Acid 500mg 30 pc Acetozolamide 250mg 20 pc Curagel (FDA Approved) Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose 2% 2.0ml 5 gal Stersol - Glutaraldehyde Alkaline (soaking solution) 5 gal Hydrogen Peroxide 5 bots Formalin 120 pc Macroset 60 pc Oxygen Mask with Tubings 1 box Ophthalmic knife 2.75mm (Mani) 10 box Sterile Gloves Size 6.5 10 box Sterile Gloves Size 7 10 pack Paper Stem Cotton Buds 5 box Sterilization Pouch (small) 5 box Sterilization Pouch (medium) 5 box Sterilization Pouch (large) Delivery of the Goods is required within thirty (30) days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two (2) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. In addition,bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138. Interested bidders may obtain further information from City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:30AM to 9:30 AM only. Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on thedate, time and address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Php 5,000.00. ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND April 5–April 19, 2016 BIDDING DOCUMENTS: (Re-Bid) 8:30AM – 9:30AM BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna PRE-BID CONFERENCE: April 7, 2016 Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before the specified date and time. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ELIGIBILITY April 19, 2016 REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS: 10:00 AM (Re-Bid) BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Rm. City Administrator’s Office City Hall Bldg., San Pedro, Laguna Bid opening shall be on the same date and time for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted. The City Government of San Pedro, Lagunaassumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid. Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. For further information, please refer to: Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat San Pedro City Hall San Pedro, Laguna Telefax No. 847.1722

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

(TS-APR. 6, 2016)

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B8 Young Russians toast beer revolution MOSCOW—Bearded hipsters and bespectacled 20-somethings sip pale ales and dark stouts at Garden Beer, one of Moscow’s new craft beer bars serving “made in Russia” brews to an increasingly discerning clientele. While the craft beer revolution swept North America and Western Europe years ago, Russia is now catching up at a time when it is trying to shrug off a vodkaswilling reputation. “We are tired of Russia being perceived as a country of alcoholics,” Pavel, a customer at Beer Garden, told AFP as he relaxed after work. “Old people still drink vodka, but we young people prefer goodquality beer.” Renowned for their harddrinking habits, Russians in recent years have started cutting down on booze as the government has tightened controls to curb rampant alcoholism. Last year, the average Russian drank some 11.5 liters of pure alcohol, down from 13.5 liters in 2014, according to a health ministry official. The beer market has seen overall consumption fall, but while the big brands have suffered niche producers have started flourishing as drinkers’ tastes have got increasingly sophisticated. “A new craft beer bar opens in Moscow almost every day,” said Natalia Petrova, editor-in-chief of Real Brew, a magazine targeting Russia’s amateur brewers. “There are already more than 1,000 microbreweries” in Russia, she added. Garden Beer owner Yan Stopichev said his bar—which opened in September—serves 4,000 liters of more than 60 brands of Russian craft beer every month. “These are microbreweries, young Russians who learned how to make good-quality beer from YouTube videos,” Stopichev said of his suppliers as he poured a pint of Jaws Lager, brewed in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. Nestled in a maze of abandoned factories outside Moscow, Green Street Brewery is one of the many such establishments fueling the craft beer boom. AFP

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD Libyans breathe easier with new government TRIPOLI—Residents of Tripoli have started to breathe a little easier since the head of a new unity government came to town promising a way out of Libya’s political and economic crises.

Premiere. Actress Katherine McNamara attends the premiere of Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ at the El Capitan Theater on April 4, 2016, in Hollywood, California. AFP

Prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj’s arrival last Wednesday came at a time of sandstorms combined with fears of clashes between rival armed groups that have failed to materialize. “I don’t know if it’s just me, but people seem to be more relaxed,” said Abdelmajid Naas, a 36-yearold petroleum engineer. Sarraj’s arrival had drawn fury from a rival administration that has ruled the capital since mid2014. But the situation has remained calm and the new UN-backed government has won the support of the city’s main armed group and of key institutions. Since a militia alliance including Islamists overran Tripoli a year and a half ago, leaving gunmen on the streets, residents’ lives have been filled with worry over how to support their families in a worsening economy. Siham, a mother of two, said she and her family were always scared: “We never knew what would happen the next day—even at the end of the day.” But with Sarraj’s arrival, Siham’s husband, Adel Abderahman, 42, said he is confident the situation will improve. “Now at least, we have a government that can take things in hand,” he said. “It’s as if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.” Support has grown for Sarraj’s government, even as the two rival administrations it seeks to replace—the Tripoli authorities and a government in eastern Libya backed by an internationally recognised parliament—continue to reject it. Late Sunday, the Tripoli-based Libyan Investment Authority threw its support behind Sarraj’s Government of National Accord. “The establishment of the GNA in Tripoli represents an important development towards bringing stability and unity to Libya,” LIA chairman Abdulmagid Breish told AFP. “The GNA can play an important role in negotiating international economic support for Libya and, over the longer term, rebuilding Libya as a destination for international investment and commerce.” AFP

47 policemen get life for killing pilgrims LUCKNOW, India—A special court in India has sentenced 47 policemen to life in prison for killing a group of Sikh pilgrims in 1991 whom they had claimed were militants, a prosecutor said Tuesday. The officers were convicted of shooting dead the pilgrims to try and earn promotions in Uttar Pradesh state, which at the time was hit by Sikh militant activity, the Press Trust of India said. The officers stopped a bus carrying the pilgrims and their families before later marching 11 of them into a jungle area of the northern state and carrying out

the killings, prosecutor SC Jaiswal said. “The court observed that there was ample evidence to award life sentences to the guilty,” Jaiswal told AFP of the court’s decision on Monday. “The court specifically observed that a crime of such magnitude could not have happened without the knowledge of those higher up and they too should have been charged.” The court of the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s leading investigative agency, found the police guilty of carrying out a “fake encounter”.

The term is commonly used term in India for staged confrontations in which police or military forces execute unarmed suspects and later claim it as self-defense. At the time of the killings, militants were fighting in the region to try to create a Sikh homeland called Khalistan. The Supreme Court, acting on a lawyer’s petition, ordered the CBI to investigate the case. The CBI charged 57 police in 1995 but 10 of them died during the eventual trial that took years to conclude in India’s notoriously slow legal system. The remaining 47 were found guilty on Friday. AFP

Landing point. A man looks at the sea near the port of Chios, where refugees and migrants who managed to leave the VIAL detention center a few days ago are camping out on April 5, 2016. Greece sent a first wave of migrants back to Turkey on April 4 under an EU deal that has faced heavy criticism from rights groups. AFP

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BiNG pArEl

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BErNADETTE lUNAS WRITER

life @ thestandard.com .ph

@liFEatStandard

H oME & l i v iNG

LIFE

Brem Living Room showcases a perfect combination of Brem ‘s Coffee Table and Entertainment with Meda’s Sofa

GAuTIER FREnCh FuRnITuRE nOW In MAnIlA

ust like fashion, the French style in furniture design has a reputation for impeccable aesthetic and it usually provides inspiration for interior designs all over the world. In the Philippines, Filipinos are developing a growing penchant for French furniture, be they contemporary or vintage in design. Blims Lifestyle Group (BLG) marked the company’s venture into the luxury market by recently taking premium French furniture brand Gautier under its wing at a new store in Shangri-La at the Fort, Bonifacio Global City, assuring the market of authentic French furniture through carefully selected pieces in the new showroom. Gautier is known for its chic and functional design that brings forth a brand philosophy that dates back to its founding in 1960 by Patrice Gautier and his wife Annick. The careful attention to detail is what made the brand popular globally, with the company now boasting of over 100 outlets in France and across the globe. About 95 percent of the furniture is manufactured in Gautier’s French factories while the rest is made in neighboring European countries. According to Katrina Samantha Lim, general manager of Gautier, Filipino shoppers will get nothing less than authentic Frenchmade furniture when they visit Gautier in Manila, especially since the market is saturated with China-made designs and faux

European furniture brands. “Our team has been to France and other European cities on six different trips to immerse ourselves and try to appreciate the beauty, experience the mood and feeling and to truly understand the design philosophy of Gautier,” she shares. “Our most unique and memorable experience was when we attended sessions where Gautier hired an artist-philosopher to teach us how certain music, wine, and light create the mood and the environment to complement Gautier’s core philosophy of ‘joy of living’,” she adds. Aside from authenticity, Gautier is a brand that not only delivers quality designs but also is adamant in its genuine civic commitment to environment-friendly practices and has implemented eco-design measures to minimize its carbon footprint. From its use of raw materials, manufacturing, packaging as well as shipping, Gautier assures that consumers can enjoy their furniture without feeling guilty about its impact to the environment. “Consumers today support a brand that not only sells excellent products but has a heart that cares,” says Frederick Lim, president of the Blims lifestyle group. Gautier is the first French furniture brand to obtain triple ISO certification in quality, security and environment.

Dining Room showcase featuring white lacquer finish 'Y' leg table; yellow and grey Glen chairs

Adulis Dining Room showcase with modern design sideboard; oval dining table with matching round backrest chairs

Gautier is located at the 2nd floor of ShangriLa at the Fort, 30th Street corner 5th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Tactil bookshelf and desk collection appeals to teenagers because of its function, comfort and style

Preface Composition Bookcase created to fit any space, whether straight or corner

W E D N E S D AY : A p r i l 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@liFEatStandard

iN DEFENSE oF thE EAStEr BuNNY, SANtA, AND All thiNgS MAgicAl Liv.e SimpLy By LIv esteBan

n the eve of Easter, barely 24 hours after we arrived from a weeklong out-of-town family trip, I climbed into bed, nudged the sleeping hubby half-awake, and softly whispered in his ear what are probably the last words any husband expects to hear from his wife in the middle of the night: “We have no eggs from the Easter Bunny for the kids tomorrow.” The hubby peeled one eye open in a sleepy glance and gently chided me, “For someone who knows what Easter Sunday is really all about, I’m surprised you’re worrying about bunnies and eggs. Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.” Then he smiled, turned over, and returned quickly to dreamland. So I lay there in the dark, wondering if I should or shouldn’t make a mad scramble in the middle of the night to hastily prepare and hide Easter eggs. A quick glance at the clock made me ditch that futile plan and instead think up possible excuses, in case the kids asked the next morning why the Easter Bunny called in absent this year. By that time, my mind was not only wide awake but on overdrive as well, so it wasn’t difficult to move on to torturing myself with more considerations: Is the Easter bunny incompatible with the whole reason for celebrating Easter Sunday (He is risen, alleluia!)? Would my failure to provide an early morning egg hunt for my kids elicit guilt-inducing tsk-tsks from my MarthaStewart-Pinterest-inspired supermommy friends? Or would it earn me I-told-youso glances from friends on the other end of the spectrum, who proudly declare that they don’t “do” Santa lest their kids lose touch with the real meaning of the Christmas season? Speaking of Santa, does this man in the red suit with his sack of gifts muck up the message of peace, love, and joy of the Babe in the manger? For that matter, does the Tooth Fairy turn my kids into gullible fools living in a fantasy world? You can see how this was going (I’m thinking now perhaps midnight ruminations should come with a warning label: Don’t do it, or you might go a little nutty). Nutty or not, though, this motley jumble of thoughts wasn’t entirely useless. They actually all led up to the same end-questions: Is it a disservice to our children to perpetuate the myth of the Easter Bunny, Santa, the Tooth Fairy and their whole coterie of childhood-inspired imaginary characters? Ultimately, which makes us better parents: teaching our children how to believe in magic or ditching all things fantastical in favor of raising them with perfect awareness of the hard facts of reality? It’s not an original question. It’s been asked before. Studies upon studies have been performed to determine whether believing in Santa and his cohorts is healthy or not (do a Google search if you don’t believe me). But it’s a question that I never seriously considered until I found myself caught in this no-eggs-for-Easterhunting dilemma. Amazingly, my search for answers (or, okay, multiple reassurance that I wasn’t wrong in worrying about the Easter Bunny’s no-show) led me to tons of studies where psychologists and scientists alike attest that believing in Santa and the Easter

When we view the world with magical eyes, we find beauty and awe in the simplest, everyday things

Bunny et. al. is not only important for kids, it’s also normal, healthy, and essential for their cognitive and creative development. The traditions associated with these beloved childhood characters give rise to good values as well: When kids leave cookies and milk for Santa or shout “Thank you, Easter Bunny!” as they gather their egg loot, they’re showing generosity and gratitude that warms many a parent’s heart. The facts show that kids readily believe in magic and accept the Impossible without much question. It’s when they grow up that things change, and logic and reality push magic far back into the subconscious. Is trading magic for logic a good thing? It must be: The real world functions on logic and reason, after all. But I’ll confess to this: I’m a big proponent of keeping some childhood magic alive all the way into adulthood. Why? Because I firmly believe that there’s a precious child inside each of us – whether we’re 18 or 28 or 80 – and that inner child should never lose the wideeyed wonder, amazement, and appreciation of the little simple things in life. I think of my boys who’ve written letters to Santa, their wish lists peppered with I-love-you’s. These are the same kids who’d strive to make at least one sacrifice each day of Advent so that they could put a bit of straw on the wooden manger of our traditional Belen, filling it up daily with sacrifice-straws so that Baby Jesus would have a softer bed to lie in when He came on Christmas Eve.

Believing in childhood magic gives us the power to shoot beyond the moon to shine like the stars

And I’m struck by the realization that if their belief in Santa never took away from the true meaning of Christmas, then neither would believing in the Easter Bunny take away from the glory of Christ’s resurrection. In fact, I’d take it a step further and suggest that it’s precisely the exposure to childhood magic that helps us reach beyond existing limitations and transforms our dreams into reality. Think about it: would the Wright brothers have dared to invent the airplane if someone didn’t first marvel at the magic of birds in flight? Would Neil Armstrong have taken that first step on the moon if someone didn’t first look up and dream of leaping across space and stars to land on unchartered craters? Could Albert Einstein have given us e=mc2 if he didn’t first recognize that “Logic will get you from A to B but imagination will get you everywhere”? I think much of what we now take for granted around us first sprouted from the seeds of fantastical imaginings combined with fearless daring and the determination to keep pursuing dreams no matter how impossible they appeared to the rest of the world. It’s so much easier to just put a Christmas gift with a Love-from-Mom-and-Pop tag under the tree instead of stealthily delivering it to the front door at midnight while the children are kept busy. It’s also much easier to put chocolates and candies on a breakfast bowl instead of tucking them in Easter eggs hidden all over the

house. So why do I bother to do it year after year until the day the kids outgrow the childhood traditions? Because it’s fun for the kids. Because it makes them happy. Because it infuses their day with a little bit more magic. And because I think that kids need to believe in childhood magic in order to understand the bigger magic of life. It helps us move beyond what’s possible and probable, and believe, hope, and have faith in what we may not see, taste, and touch at present. And even as we grow up and magic gets tucked away to make space for logic and realism, I truly believe that we ought to make sure that a little bit of magic remains in our hearts. Because maybe, just maybe, it’s that residual belief in magic that helps us have faith when faced with what seems insurmountable. It’s what gives us the ability to suspend cynicism and bitterness and arms us with the power to find beauty and awe in the simple, ordinary every day. It’s what infuses us with the energy to continue hoping and believing and reaching beyond what’s in front of us in order to shoot for the moon and shine like the stars. And really now, with such a great Return on Investment like that, who could resist the temptation to indulge in a little bit of childhood magic? Follow me on Twitter @ LivE_LiveSimply Like my page, follow all my articles, and send me feedback @ Facebook/liv.esimplywithLiv

W E D N E S D AY : A p r I L 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ThE TruTh AbouT AIr coNDITIoNErS

he Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has predicted rising temperatures this summer, and the fever hot weather will make people turn to their air conditioners to cool them down. However, the thought of an astronomical electricity bill is enough to make household owners break into a sweat and make them think twice or even thrice about turning on the AC. But will the use of air conditioners really send people into the poor house? Apparently, some of the notions about air conditioners are really more hype than truth. Here’s a few common myths about ACs and the real score about them. Myth: I can’t use my AC the whole day because it will blow up my electric bills. Fact: It all really depends on how people use the air conditioner and the kind of technology it has. A programmable thermostat allows the comfortable temperature at home to be maintained while conserving energy when it isn’t needed. A good option would be a unit with a DC Inverter Technology like the Inverter Split Type Aircon from global appliance manufacturer Midea. The technology allows the AC to switch between the compressor and the fan after reaching ideal temperatures to save on energy. Myth: The AC won’t run as much (and use too much electricity) if you use it with fans. Fact: Fans only move the air around and do not have the capability to cool the air. Although fans can lower body temperature, they do not have the ability to manage the heat inside a room. The key is to use the AC sensibly by keeping the thermostat at an efficient setting. Better yet, get one with energy-saving features. The Midea Genesis White Model, for example, has a Turbo DC Inverter that comes with a wide range of frequency and voltage options to make it more efficient in

saving energy. The feature switches from the compressor and the fan once the room has reached ideal temperatures to save on power. The compressor running uses the most energy, to it saves you money if it can be on standby mode. Myth: AC units are very noisy and can disturb sleep. Fact: If your air conditioner is ancient and is older than your eldest, then that rattling and disturbing noise is no mystery. Most old air con models can be noisy, but if your unit is not that ancient, check out if it only needs servicing. Investing in an inverter split type unit designed to function without noise might be a good idea, and Midea’s units have a Quiet Mode that promises a noise free performance. The Genesis White model, specifically, has a large diameter cross flow fan that limits indoor unit noise by lowering the fan speed for the soundest of sleeps. Myth: The AC does not need regular servicing. Fact: Air conditioners need time to rest, and they will also appreciate some tender loving care just like any other regular domestic appliance. Regular servicing and maintenance will go a long way in keeping the unit running efficiently and smoothly, and prevent sudden breakdowns. Nowadays, there are air conditioners that are equipped with self-cleaning and maintenance features, like the Midea Genesis White that has a Self Clean and

Refrigerant Leakage Detection

Choose air con units that are efficient and have energy-saving features

technology that keeps the unit free from molds and detects refrigerant leakage. A good after sales service is also

provided by the Midea After Sales Service for all its inverter air conditioning units (Midea Genesis White, Mirror Black, and Primera) can ensure that the unit is supported by a good network for a worry free performance. So who says people need to sacrifice comfort to keep electricity bills down? It may take something as practical and easy like finding the right appliance with the right set of features to keep you comfortably cool even during the hottest days of the year.

important. Professional maintenance, like the one

pet pulse

pet parents fete furry babies during ‘Love Your pet’ day celebration

Igor the pup seems to like his caricature

Pet parent Vanessa Matsunaga proudly beams as her big furry baby gets a massage treat

Pet parent Ram de Castro shows off his furry baby in full ‘Miss Universe’ regalia

The four-legged and hairy members of the family certainly felt the love during the recent “Love Your Pet” day activities held at Greenbelt 5 Fashion Walk and organized by premier all-natural products store for cats and dogs Bow & Wow, and CARA (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) Welfare Philippines. Fur babies of many breeds and shapes and sizes had the time of their life munching on the premium quality all-natural treats at the pet buffet spread laid out by Bow & Wow and All 4 Pets Party. And it didn’t end there. Certified canine massage therapist and pet care advisor Sheryl Peralta gave some lucky dogs a relaxing massage, while the others enjoyed the exciting and fun booths at the venue that included a photo/kissing booth and a pet caricature station. Genie Singer and Caezar Vizcarra on the other hand serenaded the guests, who also enjoyed the fun games during the event. CARA Welfare Philippines, which is noted for caring rescued pets, also utilized the occasion to solicit the support of animal lovers to help spread education and awareness about the benefits of spaying and neutering pets. One of the stars of the show were sweet Pamela (a rescued mixed breed) and charming Brutus (among the rescued pit bulls that have gone through a gruesome ordeal at the Laguna dog fighting ring) at the CARA Welfare Philippines’ adoption

booth. They are just two of the adoptable dogs currently under CARA’s care. Of course, the occasion will not be complete without the requisite selfies, with eager pet parents sharing snaps of their furbabies on social media. Special Bow & Wow boxes laden with all-natural pet goodies, including Buddy Biscuits, Natural Balance pet food, Kong toy, and other ultra premium quality dog food were given to the winners of the Instagram contest – two Shih Tzu pups named Art and Belle, and a Chow Chow named Neggie. Pet parent Ram de Castro’s Chihuahua, dressed up in full Miss Universe regalia, was also given a prize. Showing love to pets does not require a special day or occasion, but Bow & Wow’s “Love Your Pet Day” event was a perfect occasion to shower extra special attention on pets that have enriched the lives of their pet parents and families. For pet care tips and pet product finds, visit Bow & Wow located at Level 6 of Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City (tel. no. 6383372); at the lower ground floor of Greenbelt 5, Makati City (tel. no. 501-3681); at the 2nd floor, Al Fresco, Robinsons Magnolia, Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City (tel. no. 477-2963); at the ground floor of Excelsior in Eastwood City, Libis, Q.C. (tel. no. 650-3010); and Ayala Center, Cebu. For pet-related pointers and information, visit the Bow & Wow website at www.bowandwow.com.ph.

W E D N E S D AY : A p r I L 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Muji’s Stacking Shelves allow customers to stack basic two, three and five rows both vertically and horizontally

The CompaCT Life:

a New mode of affLueNCe

ity living usually always calls for minimal and functional furniture since spaces are starting to become smaller, and areas tend to get crowded with the many accumulated things people stack up on. But even with the available furniture in the market, people still want something that expresses their personal style without having to break the bank. Japanese lifestyle brand Muji introduces its vision of The Compact Life with a series of Naoto Fukasawa versatile products that can be used for everyday life and which embody one’s personality and preference. Naoto Fukasawa, internationally acclaimed product designer, personally had a hand in developing Muji’s numerous projects since 2002 and his creations are known for integrating function and design in minimal form. According to Fukasawa, The Compact Life concept shows a return to our origins. “The concept of the Muji brand came about in an age when the Japanese economy had grown rapidly and people were enjoying material wealth,” shares Naoto Fukasawa. “In the original concept, there was a very strong element of having one’s day-to-day needs already met. This was an attitude formed because people were saturated with material wealth. Now, the concept accurately captures the direction in which today’s society is moving,” he adds. Fukasawa’s signature style is carried on Muji’s wall mounted CD player, hard carry travel suitcase, pop-up toaster, rice cooker with paddle, electric kettle and the sofa bench. Today, The Compact Life highlights Muji’s Stacking Shelves, a versatile piece that allows customers to stack basic two, three and five rows both vertically and horizontally – perfect as a display shelf, file organizer, book shelf. It can also function as an AV rack, or of any use it may be for the consumer. Your imagination is the limit to what purpose it can serve and what form it ends up in your house as it can be combined in numerous ways to fit your space requirement. With no backboard, the shelves are open on both sides, making them ideal as a room divider that creates a perfect interior. Shelving could carry a growing book collection, files kept inside drawers or rattan baskets and function as an AV rack. The Compact Life is heading towards a new mode of affluence, defining a well-designed life as seen not only in minimal procession and proper organization of things but in utilizing objects that define oneself and use it for everyday life function. “We are gradually moving toward a world in which form will disappear and only function will remain. It should be possible in the future to live without material objects at all. However, the more we prioritize function and efficiency, the more richness we lose. And at that point, we find objects cannot be contained as extensions of a wall or of our bodies,” explains Fukasawa. Muji aims to help consumers choose products that adapt to this new mode of lifestyle, giving each consumer the freedom to create home furnishings without really losing their personal style. Fukasawa adds that the idea of The Compact Life “describes a style of incorporating spaces that fuel us personally as bits of luxury.” In the Philippines, MUJI is located at C1 Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 3, Power Plant Mall, Robinsons Magnolia, Shangri-La Plaza East Wing, SM Mall of Asia and Ayala Center Cebu. For updates and more information on their products visit www.muji.com/ph or follow muji.ph on Facebook, @muji_ph and @ssilifeph on Instagram for more information.

The shelves are open on both sides without a backboard, making it the ideal room divider, book shelf, shelves for your files with insertable drawers or rattan baskets. They can even function as an AV rack for your living room

wEDnES DAy : A pRIl 6, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

CNN ‘STylE’ ON TV

NN Style is coming to TV screens – 15 years after the iconic Elsa Klensch was last seen on the network, and on the back of style being reimagined for the digital age in 2015 with the launch of cnn.com/style. The first 30-minute monthly CNN Style show will air on CNN International from April 9 fronted by journalist and author Derek Blasberg. With exclusive access to the biggest names and events, Blasberg will bring the worlds of art, luxury, fashion, autos, architecture and design to life for CNN’s global audience. He will build on the unique legacy of style on CNN – epitomized by the iconic Elsa Klensch who defined style for viewers around the world for over 20 years. In 2016, CNN Style will be at the definitive events in the style calendar – biennales, expos, fashion weeks, design festivals. The launch episode focuses on the contemporary art world, set against the backdrop of Asia’s pre-eminent international art fair, Hong Kong Art Basel. In her first major international TV interview in almost two years, the undisputed queen of the art world Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, sister of the Emir of Qatar and Chairman of the Qatar Museums, speaks to CNN about her role in preserving and growing the family’s extraordinary collection of art. In recent years she has made bold moves to bring some of the world’s greatest contemporary artists to Qatar - Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami among them. Now, she’s turning the spotlight to China - enlisting the country’s most explosive artist Cai Guo Qiang to curate an exhibition of 15 contemporary Chinese artists in the Qatar Museum Gallery al Riwaq. From Doha to Beijing, CNN Style travels to discover the art scene in China – with painter Li Songsong, who emerges from the same group of trailblazers as Ai Weiwei. The best of British art is on show in Hong Kong, with Tracey Emin (the Young British Artist who changed the face of contemporary art in the 90’s with her Turner Prize entry “My Bed”) opening her first exhibition in Greater China. Conrad Shawcross, British sculptor whose moving sculptures caught Saatchi’s eye in 2003, is showcasing his dancing robot “Ada Project” in an unexpected location. Pop star Rita Ora is passing through Hong Kong to collect the Chinese Music Award for best internation-

Chinese Music Awards Best International Artist Rita Ora in a sit-down interview with “Cnn Style” Derek Blasberg

al artist - she takes a moment with Derek to discuss how Chinese culture influences her creativity and style. Over a bowl of the best local noodles, CNN Style speaks exclusively to F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton about his new found passion away from the track: contemporary art. ‘CNN Style’ accompanies him around the fair as he looks to grow his collection. In the coming months, ‘CNN Style will be at New York’s Met Ball, Milan Design Week, the Venice Architecture Biennale and more. CNN Style isn’t just a monthly TV show – its multi-media content will feature right across the CNN International network, with new segments and reports all under the CNN Style banner. The first of these will be The Invitation – a regular feature that will air in prime time shows CNN Today and The World Right Now with Hala Gorani. Starting on April 20, CNN invites

viewers to experience the personal workspace and headspace of the world’s most celebrated creatives, the homes they design, the runways they furnish, the exhibition spaces they fill. The return to TV follows the successful launch of ‘CNN Style’ on digital in July 2015. Since then, cnn.com/style has become a global destination that has collaborated with guest editors from Olivier Rousteing to Daniel Libeskind and Glenn Lowry, commissioned stylized content for CNN digital platforms and direct to social media, attracted a range of luxury advertisers and built a large audience with an average of 5.5 million unique users every month. Ellana Lee, senior vice president, CNN International, said, “We are taking inspiration from CNN’s rich past in style and reverse engineering the DNA from our hugely successful digital product to bring CNN

Style to TV viewers worldwide. With Derek Blasberg at the helm, our mission is to interview the most interesting people at the definitive events. This will be a surprising and elegant journey through the concepts and worlds of style.” Derek Blasberg said, “Style is so much more than getting dressed, or looking at pictures on a wall. Artistic expression comes in a variety of mediums and is an international, multi-billion dollar a year industry. What I’m excited about with CNN Style is peeling back the layers of the worlds of art, architecture and design, and taking hard looks at the fashion, luxury and automotive industries to show how they affect the world at large. My career has introduced me to creative people from all walks of life, and it’ll be a pleasure to bring them to viewers around the world.” CNN Style premieres at 8:30 p.m. on April 9.

Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in ’Criminal’ The star-studded and high-octane action film Criminal headlines Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Oldman in a fresh, provocative spin on the espionage actionthriller that probes the secret world of memory and identity, as it propels an unwitting death row killer into the consciousness of a dedicated CIA agent in a ferocious race against time. Ryan Reynolds plays top CIA agent Bill Pope on an important mission. In order to extract vital information, his memories, skills, and training were transplanted into hardened criminal Jericho Stewart’s (Kevin Costner) brain. The procedure performed by a neuroscientist (Tommy Lee Jones) under the orders and close monitoring of the CIA chief (Gary Oldman) enabled Stewart to absorb the other aspects of Pope’s memories, particularly his love for family and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. The fallen agent’s wife, Jill Pope (Gal Gadot) helps convince him of his purpose. For the first time in his life, the criminal was able to clearly distinguish right from wrong and sets about to save the world.

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds as CIA agent Bill pope in the British-American action thriller “Criminal’

Director Ariel Vromen – who came to the fore with his previous work in the chilling crime story “The Iceman” – saw in “Criminal s action-packed story a chance to create

a hybrid: to fuse elements of an unnerving psychological battle and mind-twisting scifi with the classic cat-and-mouse espionage game. He was drawn to the story’s scientifi-

cally provocative central idea: memory transfer, the ability to lock a person’s most intimate and individual sensations, hopes and flashbacks into a total stranger’s brain. Though amnesia and memory loss have long been staples of the cinematic thriller, this story came at it in an opposite way. For Criminal is the story of a man gaining memories that both put him on a collision course with a terrorist and change the very foundations of who he believes he is. The mix of searing, high-octane action with the psychological intensity of a man trying to figure out if he is killer or savior was irresistible. “This is a big thriller. We have massive action sequences with cars, helicopter and the huge Airbus 400, along with intense fight scenes and excitement,” Vromen points out. “However, I believe today’s audiences are also looking for something beyond thrilling explosions and car crashes. I felt the unique journey of Jerico’s growth into a different person could be just as exciting as the non-stop action.” Criminal opens on April 13 International. Watch the trailer here: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=OKPZ67eumew

wEDnES DAy : A pRIl 6, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

JADInE mAgIc In A nEw SummER moVIE wIThOuT wang2 nIckIE wang

ollowing their top-rating and massively successful primetime series On The Wings Of Love, James Reid and Nadine Lustre are back in a highly anticipated project, this time on the big screen, this summer,. Viva Films released the official movie poster of the upcoming movie on March 26, then the teaser trailer on March 28. It instantly caught fire and became a hot topic on social media. Fans thought that the movie the couple is starring would be the sequel to Talk Back and You’re Dead (2014), which earned almost P100 million at the tills, because last year, Nadine confirmed that they are already working on it. Since the recent announcement that James and Nadine are indeed making good music together, Never Talk to a Gangster, the working title of the said movie, would need to take the backseat. The couple needs a more romantic flick to delight the fans that religiously followed their romance on and off cam. Entitled This Time, the summer romantic flick tells the love story of Coby (James Reid) and Ava (Nadine Lustre) who are

James and nadine take their sweetness to the big screen via “This Time,” a romantic movie from Viva Films

entangled in a long distance relationship they only see each other during the summer. The title is inspired by Freestyle’s classic hit song with the same title. The movie, which marks JaDine’s muchawaited comeback to the big screen after starring in the sleeper hit movie Diary ng Panget in 2014, promises a more grown up attraction

between two people. It’s the same theme that the couple has been portraying since they became one of the hottest pairs in local Tinsel town. The well-loved couple that started as a love team in the entertainment industry and turned real life sweethearts had to shoot daily before embarking on a world tour concert. They will be back to finish the

film in time for its commercial release. This Time, helmed by Nuel Naval, also stars Yam Concepcion, Bret Jackson, Donnalyn Bartolome, Issa Pressman, Candy Pangilinan, John Lapus, Al Tantay, Nova Villa, and Freddie Webb. It will be released on May 4 or days before James and Nadine celebrate their third month of being an official couple on May 11.

magical world of Disney with plDT Home Telpad

Husband and wife oyyo Boy Sotto and Kristine Hermosa with their daughter ondrea

PLDT Home Telpad, the Filipino family’s all-in-one entertainment device and kids’ favorite gadget at home, levels up its content portfolio with fresh and fun Disney activities for kids in time for summer vacation. “This summer, PLDT Home Telpad aims to cultivate a rich and entertaining experience for kids at home,” PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said. “Introducing new Disney content is the perfect way to engage kids and families. A timeless entertainment organization, Disney offers a spectacular range of wellloved classics and modern content—more than enough for kids to learn, to discover, to imagine and to be entertained.” The favorite home gadget of kids and kids-at-heart is now pre-loaded with 50 free Disney games, e-books and apps. Kids can now put their critical thinking skills to the test with fun puzzle games like Fro-

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Speakeasy risk 5 Rocket trajectories 9 Tommy Lee — 14 Jai — 15 You, formerly 16 Battery terminal 17 Heirs, often 18 Shower liner 19 Bridge expert

20 Russian poet and dramatist 22 Farm worker, often 24 Jet jockey 26 Blushing 27 Dromedary milieu 30 Braced (2 wds.) 35 Bell town of fiction 36 Unstable lepton 37 Ms. McEntire 38 Diamond —

39 Least humble 42 Down for the count 43 Fair-hiring org. 45 Emperor 46 Hippie’s money 48 Pizza topping 50 Nice and warm 51 — -pah band 52 Sealing a deal 54 Gear on the slopes (2 wds.) 58 Away from the wind 62 Says “yeth” 63 Centrally located 65 Buffalo’s lake 66 Mooring site 67 Dark blue 68 Scaleless fish 69 Hero’s acts 70 Fencing weapon 71 Surrealist painter DOWN 1 Rough file 2 Slugger Moises — 3 Holm and Fleming 4 Suds container 5 Hun honcho 6 Jungle charger 7 Cartoon frame 8 Look like 9 Mick, the Stone 10 Not in stock (2 wds.) 11 Ibsen heroine

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2016

12 13 21 23 25 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 36 40 41 44 47 49 50 53 54 55 56 57 59 60 61 64

Delightful place On its way Bolshoi rival Does a laundry chore Seaquake aftermath Witch-hunt locale Leave-taking Moon rings Garden tiller Fakes out, on the rink “Das Boot” craft (hyph.) Rice field Japanese soup Element’s units Carnivore’s delight (hyph.) Bit down Hay fever culprit Meat counter buys Wild T-shirt (hyph.) Novelist — Cussler Lost traction Cattle, old-style Ocean sighting Batman creator Length x width Small brook Ricky Ricardo Explorer’s sketch

zen Free Fall and Where’s My Water? 2, and unleash their creative storytelling abilities with the help of mom using story theatre apps like Disney Princess: Story Theater. A virtual hub for kids and parents alike, the Telpad lets them enjoy exciting and familyfriendly apps that revolve around other Disney treasures like Inside Out, Toy Story, Sofia the First, Star Wars and many more. “The Telpad serves as a digital entertainment portal which, just like Disney, is designed to be part of a child’s upbringing and create happy moments for families,” Dujali added. “Whether it’s through an adventurous game, an animated e-book or special edutainment activities, the Telpad’s upgraded suite lets kids of all ages experience the magical world of Disney.” Downloading Disney games on the Telpad comes in a simple three-step process. Users can: 1) go to the Telpad’s knAPPsack

which is similar to the Google Play Store of Android devices; 2) click on the Disney icon and 3) select a game and download. Unlike other content stores, the Telpad’s knAPPsack offers these all-inclusive Disney selections for free. Families can easily upgrade their PLDT HOME DSL plan to a Telpad plan by adding as low as P500 to their monthly subscription. With a Telpad plan, they can enjoy a landline, HOME DSL connection, speed boost and multifunctional tablet. And for an additional P199 per month, they also get a Smart Watch with a SIM slot, camera and Bluetooth which can be connected to the Telpad, truly making it the center of the connected home. For more great offers for kids, visit pldthome.com, like PLDT HOME’s official Facebook page and follow @pldthome on Twitter and Instagram.

wEDnES DAy : A pRIl 6, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

AmAzIng kIDS fRom ASIA AnD ARounD tHE woRlD

four-year-old piano prodigy and world champion salsa dancers are just two of the amazing acts featured in the highly anticipated premiere of DIVA’s Little Big Shots. The new comedy/variety series is executive produced by comedy legends Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. Harvey also hosts the feel-good, family-friendly series that celebrates phenomenal kids and goes toe to toe with them in hilarious conversations and interviews. From pint-size break dancers to five-year-old piano virtuosos, these gifted performers will awe viewers with their talents, slay us with their cuteness and wow us with their accomplishments. These phenomenal kids show us once and for all that talent is born, not made. “I’ve been amazed at how smart and talented these kids are,” said Harvey. “They may be small in

television producer Steve Harvey hosts “little Big Shot,” the big show for talented kids

stature, but they’re giants in what they’re able to do.” Based on the incredible suc-

cess over its first two episodes, U.S. network NBC has already renewed the series for a second

season. “I am so excited there’s going to be a second season of Little Big

Shots,” said DeGeneres. “It’s such a great family show.” In the U.S., the preview episode of Little Big Shots was watched by 12.8 million viewers overall, making it the highestrated unscripted alternative series premiere or preview on any network in Adults 18-49 since The X-Factor in September 2011. The episode also generated the largest time-shift viewing uplift for an unscripted series premiere ever, hitting 14.7 million viewers in total. The show then hit 14.8 million viewers in its timeslot premiere (Nielsen Media Research), making it NBC U.S.’s most-watched Sunday regularly-scheduled entertainment program (excluding post-Super Bowl shows) since March 2005. In the Philippines, Little Big Shots airs on DIVA with new episodes, same day as the U.S., every 7 p.m. Monday.

plDt Home fibr and Sony pS4 team up for ultimate gaming at home Following a historic year marked by successful partnership launches with renowned global brands like iflix and Fox Entertainment Channels for content, and Microsoft and Intel for the TVolution Stick, PLDT Home, the digital services unit of leading telco PLDT, is back in the spotlight, this time, to herald the arrival of a new era in ultimate gaming at home. After bagging the best digital innovation honor at the recently concluded CIO Asia Awards, PLDT HOME’s most powerful brand, Fibr, in partnership with multinational entertainment giant Sony, is set to provide the best home gaming experience with an exciting partnership offer for funloving Filipino families and gaming enthusiasts. Considered by gamers as one of the most powerful gaming consoles in the world, the PS4™ provides deeply immersive experiences through rich and highfidelity graphics. It is powered by a custom chip that contains eight x86-64 cores and a state of the art

1.84 TFLOPS graphics processor with 8 GB of ultra-fast GDDR5 unified system memory. This translates to easier game creation and enhanced richness of content achievable on the platform. One of the most popular games for PS4 is the Nathan Drake series dubbed Uncharted. Widely known as one of the most revered game series of all time, it is recognized as a genre-defining epic that changed the game for adventure storytelling. After three successful installments, a fourth chapter entitled Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is expected to be released this year. It picks up several years after the last adventure of retired fortune hunter Nathan Drake as he is forced back into the world of thieves. PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said, “Last year, we raised the bar for home entertainment with our compelling product and multimedia content portfolio. This year, we’re bringing gaming into the fold and leveling up the experience for our subscribers by empowering them to enjoy ultimate gaming at home.

PLDT HOME Fibr will be bundled with a Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4™) gaming console for an additional P749 per month within a 36-month period. And for only an additional P100 at P849 per month, subscribers will also get complimentary copy of Uncharted 4: A Thief ’s End when it launches on May 10th. “We’re thrilled to be working with a like-minded digital leader like PLDT HOME.” President and Managing Director of Sony Philippines Nobuyoshi Otake added. PLDT HOME Fibr delivers the first and fastest Internet of up to 1 Gbps, allowing high-speed browsing of multiple websites and the country’s first symmetrical speed service. Fibr is now available in over 1,600 Fibr-powered villages nationwide including Valle Verde 1-6, Forbes Park, Dasmarinas Village and Ayala Alabang Village, among others. For more information on the country’s most powerful broadband, visit pldthome.com/fibr. PlayStation Network is currently not available in the Philippines.

plDt Vp and Home marketing Director gary Dujali (center) joined by executives from multinational entertainment giant Sony

Actress Heart Evengelista and husband Chiz Escudero

Daniel matsunaga

Jericho Rosales

Chiz jokes about wife’s ex boyfriends Recently, during a sortie in San Manuel, Pangasinan with Senator Grace Poe, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero had an awkward moment. It was after the vice presidential candidate acknowledged the presence of San Manuel Mayor Alain Jerico S. Perez. Naturally, the senator couldn’t ignore the fact that the town mayor’s name was the namesake of Heart Evangelista’s former boyfriend, Jericho Rosales. “Maraming salamat, Mayor Jerico! Parang yung pangalan ni Jericho….,” Chiz said amid cheers from the crowd at the mini-rally. “Bakit kayo tumatawa? Buti na lang ang vice mayor ang pangalan

‘Badong,’ hindi Daniel,” Chiz added smiling. Before he became Heart’s boyfriend, she was with Daniel Matsunaga who is now Erich Gonzales’ boyfriend. Chiz was incredulous when he became Heart’s husband. “Sa gandang lalaki ng mga exboyfriend nya ba’t naman papatol sa akin hindi ba?,” Chiz said in an interview. Heart said that Chiz became her “super crush” the first time they met in 2007 in La Union when both of them were judges at a beauty contest. That time, she and Jericho Rosales were very much together.

w ednes day : a pril 6, 2016

isaH V. red EDITOR niCKie wanG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

DIsappOInTIng WEEkEnD WITh TOm JOnEs’ cancEllED cOncERT

What happened then to the supposed commercial load and political ad limit? Did TV5 suddenly change its mind when advertisers unexpectedly – and very unusually – became interested? Or was it another case of miscommunication involving the same Kapatid executive who was mainly the reason behind the 90-minute delay in the airing of the debate? Just asking.

ISAH V. RED

etro Manila’s baby boomers were angry after the Araneta Coliseum posted on the box office notice of the cancellation of Tom Jones concert on April 2. Most of them were looking forward to singing along the songs like “Delilah,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “Thunderball,” “I (Who Have Nothing)” and his most recent hit “Sex Bomb.” The coliseum was quiet that Saturday night and the fans went home just wanting to have their tickets refunded. Some spent drinking coffee at nearby cafes or had dinner before heading home. We got a statement from the management of Tom Jones on the cancellation. It said: “Due to serious illness in his immediate family, Tom Jones has regretfully had to cancel his performance in Manila this evening (April 2). He extends his deepest apologies to both the organizers and the fans, who he is most sad to disappoint. There are no further details at this time.” The organizers decided to refund. For tickets purchased at Ticketnet outlet and the box office, refund will be available until May 5 at the Ticketnet office located at the Yellow Gate of Araneta Coliseum. Ticketnet office is open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ticket holders must surrender tickets when claiming refund. For tickets purchased online at www. ticketnet.com.ph, refund will automatically be reverted back to their credit card. No need to go to the Ticketnet office. So there goes, Tom Jones fans, he’s never gonna make it to Manila. Not in the near future, I guess.

summer ‘sakto Deals’

welsh singer and actor Tom Jones regretfully cancels his Manila concert due to serious illness in his immediate family

in reaction to the public clamor for fewer commercials during the debate, didn’t happen. It was not even close.

If one would just take a look at the debate proper, excluding the very long delay, TV5 had a total of 38 commercial minutes!

What load limit?

TV5, when it mounted the second leg of the PiliPinas Debates in Cebu recently, didn’t walk the talk. Luchi Cruz Valdez, TV5’s News and Public Affairs head, prior to their hosting of the debate announced that the network will be limiting its commercial load to just five minutes, with another five minutes allotted for political ads. This pronouncement, which was clearly

The author (center) with Joby linsangan Moreno (second from left) with her husband lawrence ( in white polo) together with partners of Orange Blush salon

entrepreneur Joby linsangan Moreno

The staff of Orange Blush salon with its owners and partners

This summer, keep your hair in tip-top shape with special summer ‘Sakto Deals’ at Orange Blush Salon. “Just like with any other hair treatments, hair should be treated with extra care this summer due exposure to sun, to chemicaltreated water, and salt water,” says Orange Blush owner Joby Linsangan Moreno According to Joby, once hair is treated—whether re-bonded, highlighted or colored—it should always be treated with conditioners regularly to avoid dryness and split ends. Those who have had hair re-bonding should also have treatments, like hair spa, hot oil with essential oils on a regular basis. To make caring for hair easier for clients this summer, Orange Blush is introducing three package deals at special prices. Sakto Deal 1 (for P999) includes re-bond with cellophane, keratin treatment, hair spa and hair shine treatments. Sakto Deal 2 (for P1499) includes re-bond with permanent color, cellophane, keratin treatment, hair spa and hair shine treatments. Sakto Deal 3 (for P2499) includes re-bond with Brazilian keratin treatment, cellophane, hair spa and hair shine treatments. Aside from the above-mentioned packages, Orange Blush Salon is also introducing Cooling Hair Treatments to beat the summer heat – mentholated hot oil and hair spa, mentholated foot scrub and bright, happy colors for nails. Furthermore, all services come with a warranty (to ensure that services were done properly, and to ensure that customers are satisfied with the services), a biscuits buffet and orange juice for total comfort and protection of their clients. With these packages, says Joby, you shouldn’t be afraid to have your hair treated, especially rebonded, this summer. So visit Orange Blush Salon and let the experts show you how to get that stunning summer look now.