The Standard - 2016 April 8 - Friday

VOL. XXX NO. 55 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 FRIDAY : APRIL 8, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Enrile slams ‘3-day president’

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NOY BEHIND RAPS, MARCOS DECLARES

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

VICE presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday President Benigno Aquino III was likely behind the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to file plunder charges against him earlier this week.

“That’s clear… He has been leading the attacks against me,” Marcos said, adding that he expected more accusations thrown at him in the remaining weeks of the campaign.

He noted that in the last several

weeks, the President had attacked him several times, urging voters to reject his vice presidential bid because he has failed to recognize the “sins of Martial Law,” which was imposed by his father in 1972.

But Marcos, who is tied for first

place in the vice presidential race according to most opinion surveys, said the non-stop tirades have given him even more supporters.

“The attention they’re giving me was so big. I’m thankful for the non-stop attention to my candidacy,” Marcos said.

In an interview in Quezon City, Marcos shrugged off the attacks as being “just part of politics.”

Marcos said he would not be goaded into mudslinging, saying it was a candidate’s platform that was most important.

“I am not politicking by maligning [others]. I am just answering the questions of people about how I can improve their lives. I explain to them my program of government,” he said.

In Parañaque City, Marcos met with 13 of the city’s 16 barangay chairmen at a fastfood outlet near the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran.

“I am glad that you are willing to listen to our call for national unity,” Marcos told the barangay officials in a city acknowledged as a Liberal Party bailiwick.

Having served as governor of Ilocos Norte, Marcos said he is aware of the concerns of local government officials, particularly in the barangay level, and that he would always work to promote the interest of local government units.

The Palace on Thursday denied it was involved in Marcos’ plunder case.

“Contrary to the claims of Senator Marcos, [the] government has no involvement in the reported case for plunder filed against him by an anti-corruption group. If the Next page

Seeing red. Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is mobbed by red-clad supporters during a campaign sortie on Thursday in Quezon City. EY ACASIO

Duterte curses Governor Mendoza

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Intl lawyers’ group blasts Kidapawan violence

By Rey E. Requejo AN INTERNATIONAL group of lawyers from more than 20 countries denounced the police attack against thousands of farmers in Kidapawan on April 1, saying it violates international human rights treaties that the Philippines has committed to uphold.

The International Association of Dem-

ocratic Lawyers, a non-governmental organization with consultative status in the United Nations, also criticized President Aquino for his silence over the attack, which signifies that he tacitly supports the illegal police action.

“The actions of the Filipino police violate the rights to life and to be free from arbitrary detention enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights; and the right to food guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,” IADL said through its president, Jeanne Mirrer.

On April 1, police armed with M-16 rifles broke up a four-day blockade by about 6,000 farmers on the CotabatoDavao highway, killing two protesters.

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Senate grills cops, local execs The chairman of the Senate committee on human rights, Teofisto Guingona III, asked why protesting farmers who were demanding food received bullets instead.

“As a result of the merciless dispersal of their mass action, a few have died and more than a hundred are still nursing injuries. I am sad that their misery continues to this very day,” said the senator from Mindanao.

Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Gwendolyn PimentelGana told the Senate panel there were indeed disturbing findings which we are still pursuing in terms of the investigation. She admitted they are baffled by some data that arose during the initial investigation.

“We are still assessing data gathered by our field investigator, but we already saw some disturbing incidents,” she said.

She said they discovered that pregnant women and senior citizens were among those arrested and detained by policemen following the dispersal.

“I have talked to three pregnant women in the detention center. We have observed that a lot of senior citizens have indeed been picked up, both women and men. There are questions whether they are even directly involved or the ones who committed the direct assault,” said Gana.

“I am appealing to the PNP to please individually review their cases and see if there are indeed evidence against these people,” said Gana.

Cayetano called on the PNP to release all illegally detained farmers during the Senate’s investigation.

The farmers who attended the Senate hearing turned emotional as they related the events of the dispersal. They insisted that it was only hunger that drove them to stage the protest action to get the attention of the government.

The Palace on Thursday denied Cayetano’s allegations that the funds for the El Niño victims had been withheld by the Aquino ad-

ministration.

“Senator Cayetano’s allegation is untrue and unfounded. Since the creation of the Cabinet-level El Niño Task Force, funds and resources were deployed to mitigate the effects of El Niño and assure stable food and water supply,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., in a statement.

“The comprehensive Roadmap to Address the Impact of El Niño [RAIN] that was drawn up last August 2015 is still being implemented and fine-tuned to ensure that gaps in service delivery are addressed,” Coloma said.

“Government is aware that the El Niño crisis affects the poorest and most vulnerable among our people and is firmly determined to see to it that our people’s needs are met in a timely manner,” said Coloma.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad also denied Cayetano’s allegations.

“Government agencies have their own funds for calamity and emergency requirements included in their regular budgets,” Abad said.

“Aside from this, they also have quick response funds. These funds are included in the comprehensive release which were received early by the agencies,” Abad said.

But vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. today said Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala had a lot of explaining to do on how it was spending the budget of his department.

He said he suspected the budget was being used for politics rather than programs to help farmers cope with the El Niño phenomenon and the drought that it brought.

For 2016, records show that the department had a budget of more than P2 billion for El Niño mitigation programs.

A Kidapawan City court on Thursday lowered the bail to be posted by farmers who were charged for assaulting a policeman during the bloody dispersal on April 1.

Ephraim Cortez of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, citing a ruling from the Kidapawan City Regional Trial Court Branch 17, said that instead of P12,000, the 81 farmers will only have to pay P2,000 each for their temporary liberty.

Earlier, Presiding Judge Arvin Balagot served a search warrant for the seven buildings inside the

church compound on Saturday, claiming that the farmers brought guns and ammunition, but they did not find any there.

In Kidapawan City, Jerome Aba, spokesman of Moro human rights group Suara Bangsamoro, told The Standard that 600 farmers still remain inside the Spottwoods United Methodist Church in Kidapawan City, just waiting for trucks to pick them up so they can go home.

Aba, in a text message, confirmed that 1,125 farmers were given 25 kilos of rice on Wednesday from the donations of various individuals and groups.

While hearings were being conducted in Davao City, Philippine National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez announced in Manila that Tagum, the police provincial director of North Cotabato who managed the bloody dispersal of farmers, has been formally relieved of his post.

“This is a matter of procedure during an investigation,” Marquez said.

Under questioning at the Senate hearing in Davao City, Tagum said nobody gave the command to open fire. He also said that firing warning shots is not allowed—a reason why he used a megaphone to warn the protesters.

Marquez said that there has already been an acknowledgment that some police personnel opened fire on the protesters during the dispersal and that the investigation by a PNP fact-finding team he had ordered created would “found out their reasons for using their firearms.”

But Cayetano cited Section 10 of the Batas Pambansa 880 saying that “the members of the law enforcement contingent shall not carry any kind of firearms but may be equipped with baton or riot sticks, shields, crash helmets with visor, gas masks, boots or ankle high shoes with shin guards.”

Also on Thursday, the camp of Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II slammed Cayetano, a vice presidential aspirant himself for “politicizing” the Kidapawan probe.

Cayetano, along with Senator Aquilino Pimentel III and Senator Teofisto Guingona III, a senatorial candidate running under the LP banner, is leading the ongoing probe. With Sandy Araneta

“The attack against unarmed civilians also violates the 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Law, to which the Philippine government is a party,” the IADL said.

“These illegal police actions are tacitly supported by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, as exemplified by his silence on the matter,” the group added.

IADL called on the Philippine government to indicate immediately its unequivocal support for the Human Rights Council Resolution; to release immediately those being arbitrarily detained; and to bring all those responsible to justice.

The group also recognized the work of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, its Philippine affiliate in working with the farmers and lumad to obtain justice and accountability for the violence against them and their communities.

The international aid group Oxfam, meanwhile, called on the government to provide immediate and adequate food and livelihood assistance to affected farmers and their

families, especially in the hardesthit areas of Mindanao.

“In times of crisis, the most vulnerable must be supported and protected, and therefore, Oxfam decries the use of force against the drought-stricken farmers,” said Jermaine Bayas, Oxfam’s DRR and emergency preparedness and response coordinator.

Oxfam had earlier warned about the impending disaster and the threat of food insecurity in areas that were projected to be hardest hit by the strong El Niño.

To date, as many as 135,000 families are already affected across the country, 95 percent of which are in Mindanao.

“At this point when food and water relief is essential, a long-term view must also be taken. Evidence of the economic impact must be collected and analyzed, so that a timely response continues beyond the food packs, towards how farmers and fishers can recover their livelihoods and incomes in the next six to 12 months,” Bayas said. “We have a very small window to prepare to meet the needs of the people in a

timely manner.”

Oxfam, together with its partner civil society groups, has been supporting communities to prepare for and adapt to climate-related events for the last five years in 10 municipalities in Mindanao.

During the forum held in Koronadal, farmers said they were first advised about El Niño in October 2015 when the local agricultural office went around the different villages in the municipality. Four months later, many farmers suffered crop damage as a result of lack of rain and rat infestation. Since then, they have not been able to plant anything.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve experienced anything like this.

There’s no food around—nothing. There are no agents who lend money. All the water sources have dried up. Everyone is struggling so we can’t even ask our neighbors for help. We had to sell our carabao six months ago because we absolutely had nothing. It’s the worst we’ve ever seen,” said Maceda Sibya, 36, from Pigcawayan, North Cotabato, while holding back tears.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATORS investigating the April 1 bloody dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan City questioned police and local officials Thursday about the presence of M-16 wielding personnel at the protest site.

Cotabato provincial police director Senior Supt. Alexander Tagum, however, told the Senate hearing in Davao City that policemen from the Civil Disturbance Management Unit were unarmed. Personnel who were seen in combat gear and armed with assault rifles did not belong to their group, he said, suggesting they could have come from another tactical security group.

Despite the two deaths and more than 100 injured, Tagum said his men observed maximum tolerance, and showed a video showing protesting farmers beating up a fallen policeman.

But Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said police units assigned to Kidapawan did not seem to follow the proper regulations for enforcing a dispersal.

“Why did the police have long firearms and live ammunition? It is clear in the law the enforcers should not carry firearms,” Cayetano said.

“Why did they have guns? Why were the SWAT members there?

They are trained in anti-terrorism,” he added.

He also said a video taken during the dispersal showed policemen aiming their guns at protesters.

When Cayetano asked Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza about reports that communist rebels infiltrated the dispersal, she said they had no such reports but said she would look into it.

Earlier, she had claimed the farmers’ ranks had been infiltrated by communist rebels.

Cayetano questioned the absence of national leaders at Thursday’s hearing.

“Most of my questions are for the secretaries. The problem is, I only see one undersecretary here.

Not even one secretary is here. This is a national issue and they are not here? I hope we don’t have to issue subpoenas to these secretaries if we aren’t satisfied with the findings today,” Cayetano said.

Intl...

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The farmers had gathered to press the government into giving them food aid amid a five-month drought that had left them and their families hungry.

Some 116 people from both sides were hurt, and about 78 farmers were arrested and detained.

Some 3,000 others sought refuge in a Methodist Church, which was quickly surrounded by heavily armed police.

The international lawyers group reminded Philippine authorities that the 1990 United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provides that law enforcement officials may only use arms under stringent conditions and only when strictly necessary. Under the 1985 Philippine Public Assembly Act, the carrying, use and discharge of firearms by members of any law enforcement agency in a public assembly is prohibited.

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good senator strongly believes that he has nothing to do with the charges levelled against him, it is best that he respond in the proper forum,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in a statement.

Former Zambales congresswoman Maria Milagros Mitos Magsaysay on Thursday challenged the Akbayan-led group to file similar plunder charges against Marcos’ rivals in the vice presidential race, administration Senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano, who were named by alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles as having dealings with her.

Magsaysay said that in the spirit of fairness, the Ibalik ang Bilyones ng Mamamayan (iBBM), which singled out Marcos in its plunder raps before the Ombudsman, should also file charges against the other vice presidential candidates and other pro-administration officials like Budget Secretary Florencio Abad who Napoles tagged as her “teacher.”

The iBBM is mostly composed of youth leaders of Akbayan, whose top official Risa Hontiveros is a senatorial candidate of the ruling Liberal Party of Manuel Roxas II, the party’s standard bearer.

Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez is spokesman of the Liberal Party campaign, while some members of iBBM were volunteers of Roxas’ vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, rival of Marcos.

On Thursday, opposition Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito posted P30,000 bail in connection with a graft case filed against him over the purchase of high-powered firearms when he was still mayor of San Juan.

He arrived at the anti-graft court, went directly to the Fifth Division and posted a bail.

He said he would not besmirch his reputation just for a P2.1-million transaction.

He blamed the Zamora clan, the political rival of her mother, San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez, and the Ejercitos, as being behind the graft case.

Vice Mayor Francis Zamora, who is running against Ejercito’s mother for mayor, said Ejercito’s claims was “ridiculous,” adding that the Ombudsman’s decision to slap him with charges proved that the transaction was marred with irregularity.

Ejercito accused House of Representatives Minority Floor Leader Rolando Zamora of encouraging members of the city council, whom he led as mayor, to pin the blame on him on the P2.1-million firearms purchase for the police.

“When we were still allies, Ronnie Zamora called all councilors and wanted them to point the finger at me, but the councilors did not comply,” Ejercito said.

The case arose from the purchase of 20 high-powered firearms from HK Technical Defense System Inc. using San Juan City’s calamity funds when Ejercito was then the mayor in 2008.

The senator was accused of conspiring with the other local officials to use the city’s calamity funds to buy the guns. With Christine F. Herrera, Sandy Araneta and Rio N. Araja

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Duterte curses Cotabato gov DAVAO CITY Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had some choice words for Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza for calling him “epal” [an opportunist] for sending rice to the hungry farmers in Kidapawan City to push his presidential bid.

Challenge. As the world celebrated World Health Day on Thursday, the Philippines’ health groups challenged the World Health Oganization to address the global roots of ill health. DANNY PATA

Marquez to relieve four if guilty of partisanship POLICE Chief Ricardo Marquez on Thursday vowed to relieve four active police officers if the evidence showed they met with people associated with Liberal Party presidential bet Manuel Roxas II in a hotel in Cubao, Quezon City, on Saturday.

For now, however, Marquez cleared of wrongdoing the four police generals who were allegedly spotted with the close associates of Roxas at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Still, Marquez said that if someone came forward and said otherwise, he would immediately order the relief of the four officials for partisanship.

He made his statement even as an Army general who was earlier

reported among those who had met with Roxas and other upperclassmen from the Philippine Military Academy denied the report.

“I find it disturbing that my presence at Novotel the other day was interpreted in a malicious manner,” Maj. Gen. Oscar Lactao, inspector general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said in a text message on Thursday.

The meeting was reportedly held at a function room of the Novotel.

Roxas is an honorary member of the PMA Class of 1984, of which Lactao is a member.

Marquez identified the four officials as director for Intelligence Generoso Cerbo Jr., Southern

Tagalog regional director for administration Chief Supt. Ronald Santos, Cagayan Valley police regional head Chief Supt. Rainier Idio, and Western Visayas police regional commander Chief Supt.

Bernard Diaz.

The four officials were said seen inside the Novotel having breakfast with retired Deputy Director General Marcelo Garbo Jr. Marquez said the four officials were given up to Friday to air their side before the Directorate of Personnel and Records Management.

Based on the initial explanation of the four, Marquez said they just had a breakfast meeting with Garbo, the former number-two man in the PNP hierarchy who retired

last March 2.

“They said it was more of a personal meeting, nothing related to the elections,” Marquez said.

“They said if they were indeed trying to do some partisan activity, why would they do it in a public place?”

Meanwhile, Marquez and AFP Chief of Staff General Hernando Iriberri on Thursday signed the AFP-PNP Joint Operational Guidelines for this year’s elections.

“Under the guidance and direction of the Comelec, rest assured that we will continue to pursue and cultivate the decrease of election-related incidents,” Irriberi said. Francisco Tuyay and Florante S. Solmerin

“May gusto akong sabihin kay Lala. P*t*ng *n* mo, wala akong pakialam dyan leche ka ha,” Duterte told reporters Wednesday night.

He denied donating sacks of rice to the Kidapawan farmers who had been demanding food aid from the Cotabato provincial government.

He cursed Mendoza for saying his rice donation was “a publicity stint.”

He also slammed administration standard bearer Manuel Roxas II when Roxas said his vow to stop crime, drugs and corruption was “pambobola.”

Duterte’s supporters had sent hundreds of sacks of rice to the farmers holed out at the Spottswood Methodist Center compound in Kidapawan after government security forces violently dispersed their highway blockade on Friday.

At least three farmers were killed and scores of others were wounded.

The incident sparked a spontaneous outpouring of support from Duterte’s supporters, many of whom brought sacks of rice to Davao City Hall for delivery to the farmers the following day.

Mendoza, however, took offense at the donations. She told a press conference: “Huwag n’yong gawing staging ground ang North Cotabato. Bigla kayong darating, magbibigay nang bigas? Nang-i-insulto ba kayo o namumulitiko kayo?”

Duterte said he was unaware of the donations. He said he was in Toledo, Cebu, when the rice donations were being collected.

“Somebody either in good faith or as a bad joke [sent sacks of rice to Kidapawan],” he said.

Addressing Mendoza, Duterte said: “Huwag mo akong tawaging epal-epal. Kayo ang epal dyan, mga Liberal. Rio N. Araja

Binay criticizes Duterte’s summary killings stance PRESIDENTIAL candidate Jejomar Binay on Thursday admonished his rival, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, for advocating extra-judicial killings as his main platform of government.

Binay, a human rights lawyer during Martial Law, said children were among the victims of extra-judicial killings in Davao City.

“Bale ba naman ang pinapatay diyan, gruesome ha, if you can only see a picture noong isang batang 14 years old. Pinagsasaksak ‘yon,” Binay said.

He was referring to the siblings Richard Alia, 18, Christopher Alia, 17, and Bobby Alia, 14, who were reportedly executed by the Davao Death Squad in 2001 and 2002.

All three were knifed to death, Binay said.

“Abogado ako, I am a human rights lawyer. Iyong pagpatay, ‘yung extra-judicial killing, mali ‘yon,” he said in a radio interview.

He said summary killings had no place in a country governed by laws.

The Roxas camp said Duterte’s “vapid pronouncements” only offended the people’s sensibilities and sense of decency.

Liberal Party spokesman Barry Gutierrez described Duterte as “rude, sexist and violent.”

“With his cursing, insults, and narrow-mindedness, can any one of us imagine Mayor Duterte being capable of doing this?” Gutierrez said.

“But if he becomes president, our lives and freedoms will suddenly become dependent on the whims of a volatile, foulmouthed, temperamental man.”

Said Binay: “Extra-judicial killing was based on suspicion only. Kapag napagtsismisan ka, ‘yong papatay sa ‘yo na taong gubyerno ay maniniwala, papatayin ka na agad. That’s wrong. We don’t observe due process anymore.”

Christine F. Herrera and Vito Barcelo

Vow. United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer Jejomar Binay on Wednesday vowed to give priority to the needs of indigenous peoples under his presidency.

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Dismissal of CHR official sustained

By Rey E. Requejo

War heroes. Two World

War II veterans reminisce about their experiences when they were both stationed at Corregidor Island in Manila Bay during the Japanese invasion of The Philippines in 1942.

The two were among the guests in a tribute to war veterans at the Filipino Heroes Memorial on Corregidor. DANNY PATA

Enrile hits Aquino’s ‘three-day presidency’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Sandy Araneta SENATE Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile slammed the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III and described it as a “three-day presidency” that frequently cannot provide timely action on pressing national concerns.

“My God, they are sleeping,” said the 92-year-old Enrile. “This is a three-day presidency. Three days during the Mamasapano, three days during [Typhoon] ‘Yolanda.’ It took them three days before they acted on these matters, just like in Kidapawan [City].”

Enrile was referring to the deadly 2015 Mamasapano

operation last year that resulted in the death of 66 people, typhoon Yolanda that battered the country in 2013 that claimed thousands of lives.

The Kidapawan incident in Cotabato province was the violent dispersal of about 6,000 droughtstricken farmers who were demanding food aid that resulted

in the death of three farmers and injuries to scores of others in Kidapawan City.

Enrile said Aquino could have prevented the violent dispersal and the fatalities had he acted immediately in a timely manner.

“What did they do the first day there was a gathering of that size?

You have to ask yourself, what’s happening there?” Enrile said.

If he were the president, Enrile said he would have flown immediately to Kidapawan, distributed rice to the farmers and dispersed them “to see whether that’s a legitimate rally or one that is contrived to provoke a conflict.”

But Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino intensively focuses on all important

events happening in the country and the whole world in order to ensure the protection and immediate addressing by the government on all needs of the Filipinos in the country and abroad. ‘‘The President is in partnership with members of the Cabinet and officials of the government in their work as a team. Maybe, Senator Enrile said this because he was used to the style of government when he was part of the Cabinet of former President [Ferdinand] Marcos under a dictatorial and military rule,’’ Coloma said.

But Enrile said the same thing happened during the Marcos administration when there was a food shortage and he was made the officer-in-charge.

THE Court of Appeals has upheld the decision of the Ombudsman to dismiss from government service former human rights commissioner Cecilia Rachel “Coco” Quisumbing for grave misconduct and for violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

In a two-page resolution, the CA’s Former Special Sixteenth Division through Associate Justice Jane Aurora Lantion denied Quisumbing’s motion for reconsideration.

“After a thorough study of petitioner’s motion for reconsideration, this court finds that the arguments raised in the subject motion have been amply discussed and passed upon in the assailed decision. There being no convincing or impelling reason for us to reconsider, alter, modify, much less, set aside our previous legal stand. We deny the motion for reconsideration,” the resolution reads.

Quisumbing was a former newscaster of RPN Channel 9 and the daughter of retired Supreme Court Justice Leonardo Quisumbing and the late CHR chairperson Purificacion Quisumbing.

In ruling against the appellant, the CA affirmed the Ombudsman ruling insofar as it pertains to the penalty of dismissal from the service for grave misconduct and violation of Section 7(d) of R.A. No. 6713 meted out Quisumbing.

Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Carmelita Salandanan Manahan concurred with ruling.

The case arose from the complaint made by Ma. Regina Eugenio, Elizabeth Diego-Buizon, Alexander Fernandez and Jesse Ayuste who were co-terminus employees of Quisumbing at the CHR. In September 2013, Eugenio filed a complaint against Quisumbing alleging that she was hired by the respondent in 2008 as CHR Administrative Aide VI and that during her more than four years of employment, she and her officemates were always mistreated, shouted at and humiliated by Quisumbing.

Beheading deadline looms

By Florante S. Solmerin THE clock is ticking on the April 8 deadline for the P3-billion ransom being demanded by the Abu Sayyaf who have threatened to behead three foreigners and a Filipino whom they kidnapped from a resort in Samal island last year.

But the military which was tasked to rescue the victims remained unfazed.

“Whatever will happen to the hostages, it is their [ASG’s] responsibility and we will hold them responsible,” said the military’s public affairs chief Colonel Noel Detoyato, who also said there are ongoing “focused” military operations in target areas in Sulu.

“Rest assured that our troops are operating, there is no let up in operation.

That was the last order of Chief of Staff General [Hernando] Iriberri,” he added, referring to the mandatory retirement of

Iriberri who turns 56 on April 22.

Just last March, the ASG came up with a video and posted it on the Internet showing Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend Marites Flor begging for their lives.

The ASG reiterated their threat to kill their captives if the P3-billion ransom is not delivered on or before April 8.

The captives were seized by armed men on Sept. 21 at the Oceanview-Samal Resort in Barangay Camudmud in Babac district in Island Garden City of Samal.

They were brought to Sulu and handed to the ASG. Reports said that the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) had reshuffled some top commanders under its command particularly those in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi allegedly because of the rising number of kidnappings in said areas.

Royal visitor. His Serene Highness Albert II, the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, joins President Benigno S. Aquino III during a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace Grounds on Thursday.

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‘Rules on PWD law out soon’ The Cabinet official who will lead the writing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the expanded Persons with Disability Benefits Law said such will be “speedily crafted,” a promise which has elated the measure’s principal author in the Senate.

The house version of the PWD bill was authored by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

Malasakit for OFWs. Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (2nd from left) is endorsed by Overseas Filipino Workers Party-List 1st nominee Roy Señeres Jr. (left), 2nd nominee Hannah Señeres (2nd right) and Monique Señeres for his ‘malasakit’ advocacy for OFWs during their meeting at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City. Ver NOVeNO

Comelec set for absentee voting

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan all systems go for the overseas absentee voting on april 9, an official of the Commission on elections said on thursday.

Comelec commissioner arthur lim, who is currently in Hongkong to oversee the automated polls for overseas Filipino workers and immigrants, said that a “good turnout” of the 1,386,087 registered oaV can be expected. lim, the head of Comelec oaV office, appealed to Filipinos overseas to “come out and vote early” starting april 9 until May 9, 2016 instead of waiting for the last day. according to the Comelec, 30 posts will be utilizing the vote counting machines (VCMs).

the 30 posts include agana, Chicago, Honolulu, los angeles, new York, ottawa, San Francisco, toronto, Vancouver, Washington, london, Madrid, Milan, rome, Hong Kong, Kuala lumpur, osaka, Seoul, Singapore, tokyo, abu Dhabi, Beirut, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Manama, al Khobar, riyadh, and tel aviv. a total of 26 posts will be using the personal manual voting system, or the manual casting of votes in the designated polling precincts.they are lisbon, Bangkok, Brunei, Chongqing, Dhaka, Dili, Guangzhou, Islamabad, Jakarta, Macau, Manado, Kaohsiung, taichung, taipei, new Delhi, Phnom Penh, Shanghai, Vientiane, Xiamen, abuja, amman, Cairo, Muscat, nairobi, Pretoria, and tehran.

another 26 posts overseas will adopt the postal manual voting system, wherein the ballots will be mailed directly to the registered voter, who will then mail it back to the polling center after accomplishing it. these are Brasilia, Buenos aires, Mexico, Santiago, ankara, athens, Berlin, Berne, Brussels, Budapest, Geneva, Holy See, Moscow, oslo, Paris, Prague, the Hague, Vienna, Warsaw, Beijing, Canberra, Hanoi, Port Moresby, Sydney, Wellington, and Yangon. as for the Philippine posts in Baghdad, Damascus, and tripoli, there will be no elections to be conducted due to the prevailing conflicts in these areas.

Instead, the voters in conflict areas will be allowed to cast their votes in adjacent Philippine posts, Comelec said.

Senator ralph recto said that Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman promised the immediate crafting of the Irr of the law to ensure that PWDs will enjoy their latest privileges.

“I am glad that Secretary Dinky has made that promise. I am looking forward to the express delivery of the Irr,” recto said citing a statement e-mailed to him by the DWSD official. recto explained that the Irr is “the crucial missing link because in this land, the reality is that laws can only be implemented after the rules have been promulgated.” the newly signed republic act 10754, the “act expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability,” tasks the DSWD, in consultation with the Department of Health, Department of Finance and the national Council on Disability affairs to formulate the law’s Irr. recto also welcomed Soliman’s assurance that “persons with psychological disabilities” and their caregivers will enjoy the benefits of the law. “aside from the physiological disabilities, there are also psychological disabilities which should be taken into consideration in the Irr,” Soliman said. recto said the inclusion of those with psychological disabilities as beneficiaries “was in concurrence with the spirit of the law as envisioned by the authors.”

Citing government data, recto said mental illness is the third most common form of disability next to visual and hearing impairments. one in 14 PWDs, or 133,407 out of the 1.88 million reported in the 2015 national census, suffers from mental disability. all of them will now be granted sales and tax discounts of up to 32 percent on selected goods and services. ra 10754 also grants a P25,000 personal income tax deduction to those who care for them, recto said.

Chiz for lifting of bank secrecy Senator Francis “Chiz” escudero said the “Panama Papers” tackling leaked documents on the vast amount of wealth stashed by politicians and famous personalities using offshore companies should occasion the lifting of the Philippines’ bank secrecy law on bank deposits of public officials. “the scandal surrounding the illegally amassed deposits of public officials from around the world, including some of our own public officials, kept in secret foreign accounts is a renewed reminder that we should pass a law compelling all our state workers—from the president down to the lowest clerk—to sign a waiver on their bank deposits in favor of the ombudsman,” escudero said.

“We’ve been repeatedly told and warned: a public office is a public trust. every single peso of the people’s taxes should be handled with care, sincerity and honesty. every peso paid by a taxpayer should be used to advance public good, not one’s private good,”

explained the leading vice presidential candidate based on all pre-election surveys. the so-called Panama Papers details transactions by a Panamanian legal company showing an insider’s view of the massive offshore wealth of prominent politicians and public figures in different parts of the world.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned on april 5, becoming the first casualty of the Panama Papers, so named because the documents came from a Panamanian law firm. the documents detailed paper trail and transactions of extremely rich individuals taking advantage of offshore companies to hide their wealth. the Panama Papers gave proofs that premier’s wife owned an offshore company with big claims on Iceland’s banks, an undeclared conflict of interest for Gunnlaugsson. this revelation forced many citizens to call for his resignation.

LGBT challenge. Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community challenge the presidential candidates to reveal their stand on LGBT-related issues and on HIV and AIDS situation in the country. MANNY PALMERO

f r i D AY : A p r i l 8 , 2 0 1 6

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Lee faces P20-m tax evasion 3 suspects yield 5 kg shabu in Alabang

By Joel E. Zurbano LAwMeN arrested three suspected drug traffickers and seized from them five kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) valued at P25 million during a buy-bust operation in Alabang, Muntinlupa City on Thursday.

The suspects—Akmad Hassan Bagal, Halil Sulaiman Said and Kamar Bayantol Marham—are now detained and placed under interrogation at the Southern Police District Headquarters in Taguig City.

Seized from the suspects were five kilos of shabu worth P25 million, according to SPD spokesperson Jenny Tecson. She said the prohibited substance will be brought to the SPD crime laboratory office for examination.

Combined elements from the SPD Anti-Illegal Drugs Division and Special Operation Task Group conducted the drug raid following a week-long surveillance on the suspects.

The latest operation is part of the National Capital Region Police Office’s continuing crackdown against most wanted men and suspected drug dealers in Metro Manila.

Last week, the police nabbed a Chinese national and seized 10 kilos of shabu worth P10 million, also during a buy-bust operation in San Juan City.

The suspect Jinfa wang, 38, a native of Fujian, China, was arrested in front of a fastfood restaurant at Virra Mall in Greenhills.

By Rey E. Requejo

DetaineD property developer Delfin Lee is facing another legal problem after the Bureau of internal Revenue on Thursday asked the Department of Justice to prosecute him for alleged non-payment of P20 million in taxes for the years 2009 and 2010. Lee is also charged with syndicated estafa for using his Globe asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. in an alleged fraudulent means to obtain state housing loans through “ghost borrowers.”

This time, the BIR accused G.A. Concrete Mix Inc. and its corporate officers Delfin Lee and president-treasurer Dexter Lee (Delfin’s son) of violating the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 for “willfully attempting to evade or defeat the pay-

ment of tax” and “deliberately failing to supply correct and accurate information in their corporate income tax returns for taxable years 2009 and 2010.

GACMI is one of GA’s suppliers engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, buy-

ing, selling and dealing at wholesale or retail on goods such as ready mix products, equipment, materials and other supplies used in the manufacture if such finished products.

BIR records showed that GA made income payments to GACMI amounting to P34.06 million in 2009 and P15.31 million in 2010.

However, the BIR noted that GACMI only declared sales of P13.40 million in 2009 and P10.63 million the following year, thereby “underdeclaring its taxable sales by 154 percent or P20.66 million in 2009 and P4.68 million or 44 percent in 2010.”

Because of this, the BIR said the respondents’ tax liability stood at P20.50 million, inclusive of surcharges and interests.

Apart from the tax case, Lee has also been charged with syndicated estafa or allegedly using “ghost borrowers” so that his company can take out P6.6 billion in loans from Pag-IBIG to finance its housing project in Pampanga.

He is presently detained at the Pampanga provincial jail while the cases against him are being heard by the San Fernando, Pampanga RTC. Meanwhile, the BIR also filed similar charges against businesswoman Lilibeth Quiroz Nuque and Dr. Mildred Manalac-Mariano, a doctor of medicine and one of the stockholders and incorporators of the Pampanga Medical Specialist Hospital Inc. She also operates several clinics in Pampanga.

In its complaint against

Nuque, the BIR said she has tax liabilities of P228.02 million for taxable years 2010 to 2012.

According to BIR, Nuque owns and operates the LQN gasoline station in Dinalupihan, Bataan.

The BIR said the respondent underdeclared her sales by 117.96 percent or P85.27 million in 2010, 129.19 percent or P134.25 million in 2011 and 101.58 percent or P93.41 million in 2012.

In the case of Mariano, the BIR said she underdeclared her taxable incomes from 2002 to 2012 with the highest underdeclaration in 2012 of 9, 570.31 percent.

The BIR said Mariano’s tax liabilities stood at P25.81 million for the entire taxable period, or from 2002 to 2012.

Brave souls. Operatives from the Philippine Navy Special Operation Group successfully rescue a woman from her captors during a mock rescue operation on the beach of Corregidor Island in Cavite on Thursday, April 7, ahead of the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Bravery) in honor of Filipino soldiers. DANNY PATA

2 more terminals at Pasig Ferry

Summer cooler. Three children cool down themselves with icedrops at a Manila street.

EY ACASIO

THe Metro Manila Development Authority will open two new Pasig River Ferry terminals to accommodate more passengers in the commercial district of Quezon City and eastern part of the metropolis.

MMDA chairman emerson Carlos said the opening of the Rosario and eastwood stations will coincide with the launching of two new ferries set to arrive before the end of the month. He added the brand new 25-seater commuter boats will arrive via Cebu. “we encourage the people to try our ferry system. Our main purpose is to help them to have an alternative mode of transportation and skirt traffic on major roads in Metro Manila,” said Carlos.

The arrival of the new boats

brings to 16 the total number of operational ferries.

Last November, the MMDA introduced two commuter boats—MB Inocentes and MB Tolentino—named after former MMDA chairman Oscar Inocentes and Francis Tolentino. The new fiberglass ferries are capable of carrying at least 35 passengers, including crew, and can travel up to 12 knots.

At present, the ferry system covers 12 other terminals in Pinagbuhatan, and San Joaquin in Pasig City; Guadalupe and Valenzuela in Makati City; Hulo in Mandaluyong City; PUP Sta. Mesa, Sta. Ana, Lambingan, Lawton, escolta, and Plaza Mexico all in Manila.

The system operates from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Mon-

days to Sundays.

MMDA records showed that the total ridership of the ferry system has reached more than 150, 000 as of December last year.

The MMDA revived the Pasig River system in 2014 as a means to decongest Metro Manila’s major roads affected by road construction projects being implemented by the Aquino administration in the next two years.

Carlos said the program also aimed to boost Metro Manila’s tourism and can be used for disaster and rescue purposes as well.

The government stopped the Pasig River Ferry operations in 2011 following complaints from passengers about the long waiting time at the terminals and the river’s foul smell. Joel E. Zurbano

F R I D AY : A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Clark chief quits

Batanes residents reject RP-Taiwan maritime deal BASCO, Batanes—Residents of this island province rejected the proposed maritime law enforcement agreement between Taiwan and the Philippines.

By Romeo A. Dizon CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—Clark Development Corp. president Arthur Tugade has announced his resignation, citing health and politics.

His resignation will take effect April 26, sources said.

Tugade announced his decision before 700 Clark employees during the flag ceremony Monday.

Tugade, who is openly campaigning for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, his classmate at the San Beda College of Law, also said he did not want to be labeled as an opp or tu n i st — st ay i ng with the government while campaigning for another candidate.

During his incumbency as president and chief operating officer of CDC, Tugade was able to raise the income of the Freeport and remitted P720 million this year to the national government.

The source also said he is most remembered for prohibiting employees from receiving gifts neither in cash or in kind from the locators inside the base.

How high? A boy from Bokong, Sagada enjoys the falls. DAVID CHAN

DoLE to hire 2,760 Zambo students for summer jobs

By A. Perez Rimando ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga Sibugay—The Department of Labor and Employment Region 9 office has started screening for 2,760 slots of summer vacation working students under the government’s Special Program for the Employment of Students here.

DoLE City Field Office Chief engineer Wesley Tan

A7

said the program seeks to provide poor but deserving students an opportunity to pursue their education by encouraging them to work during summer and Christmas vacations.

To be specifically employed, Tan said, are 2,760 students—1,400 of them from college and 1,360 from secondary school which, incidentally, was recently lengthened by the Depart-

Caves. The cave in Basey, Samar awaits visitors. MEL CASPE

ment of Education under its K to 12 program from four to six years, broken down to four years junior high school and two years senior HS. Tan said the hired college students will comprise the first batch who “will work from April 11 to May 6 while the second group of HS learners will function on May 5-28 with each of them to receive a daily pay of P280, the current daily minimum wage of em-

ployees in Zamboanga Peninsula region.”

The DoLE will shoulder 60 percent of the students’ salary while the remaining 40 percent will be paid by their employer, the city government, Tan said, adding that the labor department recently appropriated for locally hired studentworkers P11 million which includes payment for their insurance.

Provincial information officer Nathan Alcantara said a resolution on the proposed maritime law Enforcement Agreement between Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and Manila Economic and Cultural Office was submitted to the provincial board for discussion last year.

As part of the process, the provincial board conducted a public consultation on the issue where majority of the Ivatan attendees and other sectors rejected the proposal of the Taiwan government.

Itbayat town condemns the rampant poaching activities in the waters off Batanes, depriving the local fishermen their source of livelihood, Alcantara said.

He said there are many reasons on the rejection of the maritime proposal to include continuous poaching of Taiwanese fishermen in Batanes.

The proposed maritime agreement only benefits the Taiwanese as there are no Filipinos or Ivatans dishing in seas off Taiwan,” said Itbayat Mayor Reuel Ibañez.

The mayor and other local officials in the province appealed to concerned officials to reject the proposed agreement of the Taiwanese government.

Local officials also asked for the authorities to uphold the generally accepted principles of the international law and strengthen the maritime law enforcement in the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of the country.

F R I D AY: A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

CONSTITUTIONAL WRONGS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

EL NIÑO VIOLENCE EL NIÑO has brought out the worst in the government. Two farmers died in Kidapawan City, Cotabato province on April 1 after police violently dispersed a demonstration to protest government’s inaction on the dry spell.

The farmers’ demand was basic—they need rice to feed their family after El Niño parched the lands they were tilling. The National AntiPoverty Commission summed it up: the demonstrations only reflect the magnitude of the El Niño crisis and the government’s lack of commitment to agriculture.

The agency added that provoked or not, the demonstration was a legitimate form of action. Regardless of the rallyists’ affiliations, the use of firearms by the local police was unnecessary.

It is very clear that Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala and the rest of President Benigno Aquino’s administration failed to comprehend the severity of the drought, especially in Mindanao, where thousands of hectares of farm lands were rendered unproductive.

The farmers’s protest in Kidapawan City to demand the release of 15,000 sacks of rice and food subsidies to alleviate their plight can happen again in other areas similarly suffering from the effects of El Niño. The protest actions could also turn bloody if the government continues with its apathetic behavior.

The government must take the blame for the violent results of the demonstration and for being passive in containing the effects of El Niño. For one, the government should have dispersed droughtresistant rice and other crops to farmers to prepare them for the weather phenomenon.

The worsening drought that prompted Cotabato farmers to take extra-legal measures also showed that the government still lacks long-term solutions to address El Niño. Mindanao, with its vast water resources, could have shielded itself from the dry spell.

The National Irrigation Administration could have taken the intiative to build more mini-dams and irrigation canals to water rice fields and other farm lands. Rice is a vital commodity that the government should not have taken lightly.

A LABOR DAY ALTERNATIVE FILIPINO PENSIONER HORACE TEMPLO AS OF today—less than a month before this year’s observance of Labor Day—our laborers and their leaders aren’t telegraphing any of their demands unlike in previous years.

Are they planning something big in their march from Liwasang Bonifacio to Chino Roces Bridge which they still prefer calling Mendiola Bridge? Why are they so quiet?

In fact, the workers have at least a dozen basic issues and demands that are worth fighting for at this moment—low wages and pensions despite high costs of food, water, medicine, electricity and transportation fare.

They have unmet housing needs for the urban poor, unreliable and dangerous mass transportation systems, petty crimes and lawlessness, and graft and corruption in government.

Hardship and poverty have become an unavoidable fate for workers whether they are employed, underemployed or unemployed.

Perhaps, the recent bloody and violent dispersal of protesting farmers at Kidapawan City —which is now considered a massacre—has distracted them.

About 5,000 hungry farmers who have been victims of the drought or El Niño phenomenon in North Cotabato were only asking for the release of rice to tide them over. Anyway, the provincial government had earlier allocated funds for them as part of its disaster relief preparations.

The Kidapawan massacre must have reminded our workers of the Haymarket massacre

Mr. Aquino can do the following.

A9

that took place 130 years ago on May 4, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois.

It was also a bloody dispersal of thousands of workers who started their strike and protest march days before on May 1.

May 1 would eventually be commemorated as International Workers’ Day. Are our labor leaders busy preparing for the May 9 election?

Maybe, but among the major labor unions, only the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is fielding its own partylist candidates. The Federation of Free Workers and the Kilusang Mayo Uno continue not to field any candidate as in previous elections.

But the drivers, teachers, nurses and other worker groups

have formed their own party-lists and are now busy campaigning.

They have, in fact, succeeded to get elected in the past, mostly by getting support from mainstream political parties that bankrolled part of their campaign expenditures.

From being full-time labor leaders, they have metamorphosed into fullblooded politicians via the party-list system. They justify their presence in Congress as being necessary to introduce pro-labor proposals. They have indeed filed such bills but they have not

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

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

moved at all because those representing the interests of big businesses have either openly opposed their bills or have not supported them.

The more pragmatic labor leaders have simply hitched alongside politicians who still practice the spoils or patronage system. Despite their lack of credentials and merit, they have succeeded in getting appointed to the boards of government corporations because they supported the candidacy of the sitting president.

Dare any senior labor leader to deny

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

that he has never been given a government post or that none of his trips abroad to attend labor conferences in Geneva, Switzerland was funded by Malacañang.

No one would accept this challenge except the dyed-in-the-wool labor leaders of the KMU. Undeniably, many of us prefer to be mere fence-sitters while our placardbearing workers march the streets and shout noisy and provocative demands.

But at the end, we benefit more than Continued on A11 they do.

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

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

LEGAL luminary Manuel “Lolong” Lazaro, the chair and CEO of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), addressed the Rotary Club of Manila yesterday.

He talked about defects in the 1987 Constitution and how those defects have affected national life and the economy. The basic law of the land is wordy (almost 22,000 words), creates many unwanted and useless offices, makes the armed forces the protector of the people (which is a license for them to stage coups d’ etat. This is the only constitution in the world, outside of Turkey, with such a provision); talks of God, rather than Divine Providence (which is God’s care for man and order in the universe); and makes divorce and abortion unconstitutional.

According to Lolong, the Constitution has 97 provisions subject to laws to be approved by Congress. The most important is the ban on political dynasties. Since Congress is controlled by dynasties, the provision cannot be enacted into law to be effective.

The provision on term limits of elected officials—one term for president, two six-year terms for senators, and three consecutive three-year terms for congressmen, mayors and governors— was supposed to stop dynasties from ruling forever.

Instead, term limits produced the opposite effect. They expanded dynasties.

So you have wives, children, siblings and other relatives of incumbents taking over to overcome the term limits. You then have families like the Binays ruling over Makati for the last 29 years, a full generation.

Often dynasties divide the political spoils and control constituencies between themselves, resulting in a nocontest between them and no choice for the electorate.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial of April 6 talks of coronations, of 542 candidates running unopposed.

They include “former President Gloria Arroyo, who is running for a third term as representative of her congressional district in Pampanga; Pampanga Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda; and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos. In Metro Manila, six reelectionists face a clear field: Representatives Miro Quimbo in Marikina City, Carlo Lopez in Manila; and, in Quezon City, Winnie Castelo, Jorge Banal, Continued on A11

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO Ambassador Del Rosario’s column will resume soon.

Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

F R I D AY: A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

CONSTITUTIONAL WRONGS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

EL NIÑO VIOLENCE EL NIÑO has brought out the worst in the government. Two farmers died in Kidapawan City, Cotabato province on April 1 after police violently dispersed a demonstration to protest government’s inaction on the dry spell.

The farmers’ demand was basic—they need rice to feed their family after El Niño parched the lands they were tilling. The National AntiPoverty Commission summed it up: the demonstrations only reflect the magnitude of the El Niño crisis and the government’s lack of commitment to agriculture.

The agency added that provoked or not, the demonstration was a legitimate form of action. Regardless of the rallyists’ affiliations, the use of firearms by the local police was unnecessary.

It is very clear that Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala and the rest of President Benigno Aquino’s administration failed to comprehend the severity of the drought, especially in Mindanao, where thousands of hectares of farm lands were rendered unproductive.

The farmers’s protest in Kidapawan City to demand the release of 15,000 sacks of rice and food subsidies to alleviate their plight can happen again in other areas similarly suffering from the effects of El Niño. The protest actions could also turn bloody if the government continues with its apathetic behavior.

The government must take the blame for the violent results of the demonstration and for being passive in containing the effects of El Niño. For one, the government should have dispersed droughtresistant rice and other crops to farmers to prepare them for the weather phenomenon.

The worsening drought that prompted Cotabato farmers to take extra-legal measures also showed that the government still lacks long-term solutions to address El Niño. Mindanao, with its vast water resources, could have shielded itself from the dry spell.

The National Irrigation Administration could have taken the intiative to build more mini-dams and irrigation canals to water rice fields and other farm lands. Rice is a vital commodity that the government should not have taken lightly.

A LABOR DAY ALTERNATIVE FILIPINO PENSIONER HORACE TEMPLO AS OF today—less than a month before this year’s observance of Labor Day—our laborers and their leaders aren’t telegraphing any of their demands unlike in previous years.

Are they planning something big in their march from Liwasang Bonifacio to Chino Roces Bridge which they still prefer calling Mendiola Bridge? Why are they so quiet?

In fact, the workers have at least a dozen basic issues and demands that are worth fighting for at this moment—low wages and pensions despite high costs of food, water, medicine, electricity and transportation fare.

They have unmet housing needs for the urban poor, unreliable and dangerous mass transportation systems, petty crimes and lawlessness, and graft and corruption in government.

Hardship and poverty have become an unavoidable fate for workers whether they are employed, underemployed or unemployed.

Perhaps, the recent bloody and violent dispersal of protesting farmers at Kidapawan City —which is now considered a massacre—has distracted them.

About 5,000 hungry farmers who have been victims of the drought or El Niño phenomenon in North Cotabato were only asking for the release of rice to tide them over. Anyway, the provincial government had earlier allocated funds for them as part of its disaster relief preparations.

The Kidapawan massacre must have reminded our workers of the Haymarket massacre

Mr. Aquino can do the following.

A9

that took place 130 years ago on May 4, 1886 in Chicago, Illinois.

It was also a bloody dispersal of thousands of workers who started their strike and protest march days before on May 1.

May 1 would eventually be commemorated as International Workers’ Day. Are our labor leaders busy preparing for the May 9 election?

Maybe, but among the major labor unions, only the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is fielding its own partylist candidates. The Federation of Free Workers and the Kilusang Mayo Uno continue not to field any candidate as in previous elections.

But the drivers, teachers, nurses and other worker groups

have formed their own party-lists and are now busy campaigning.

They have, in fact, succeeded to get elected in the past, mostly by getting support from mainstream political parties that bankrolled part of their campaign expenditures.

From being full-time labor leaders, they have metamorphosed into fullblooded politicians via the party-list system. They justify their presence in Congress as being necessary to introduce pro-labor proposals. They have indeed filed such bills but they have not

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

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

moved at all because those representing the interests of big businesses have either openly opposed their bills or have not supported them.

The more pragmatic labor leaders have simply hitched alongside politicians who still practice the spoils or patronage system. Despite their lack of credentials and merit, they have succeeded in getting appointed to the boards of government corporations because they supported the candidacy of the sitting president.

Dare any senior labor leader to deny

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

that he has never been given a government post or that none of his trips abroad to attend labor conferences in Geneva, Switzerland was funded by Malacañang.

No one would accept this challenge except the dyed-in-the-wool labor leaders of the KMU. Undeniably, many of us prefer to be mere fence-sitters while our placardbearing workers march the streets and shout noisy and provocative demands.

But at the end, we benefit more than Continued on A11 they do.

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

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

LEGAL luminary Manuel “Lolong” Lazaro, the chair and CEO of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), addressed the Rotary Club of Manila yesterday.

He talked about defects in the 1987 Constitution and how those defects have affected national life and the economy. The basic law of the land is wordy (almost 22,000 words), creates many unwanted and useless offices, makes the armed forces the protector of the people (which is a license for them to stage coups d’ etat. This is the only constitution in the world, outside of Turkey, with such a provision); talks of God, rather than Divine Providence (which is God’s care for man and order in the universe); and makes divorce and abortion unconstitutional.

According to Lolong, the Constitution has 97 provisions subject to laws to be approved by Congress. The most important is the ban on political dynasties. Since Congress is controlled by dynasties, the provision cannot be enacted into law to be effective.

The provision on term limits of elected officials—one term for president, two six-year terms for senators, and three consecutive three-year terms for congressmen, mayors and governors— was supposed to stop dynasties from ruling forever.

Instead, term limits produced the opposite effect. They expanded dynasties.

So you have wives, children, siblings and other relatives of incumbents taking over to overcome the term limits. You then have families like the Binays ruling over Makati for the last 29 years, a full generation.

Often dynasties divide the political spoils and control constituencies between themselves, resulting in a nocontest between them and no choice for the electorate.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer editorial of April 6 talks of coronations, of 542 candidates running unopposed.

They include “former President Gloria Arroyo, who is running for a third term as representative of her congressional district in Pampanga; Pampanga Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pineda; and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos. In Metro Manila, six reelectionists face a clear field: Representatives Miro Quimbo in Marikina City, Carlo Lopez in Manila; and, in Quezon City, Winnie Castelo, Jorge Banal, Continued on A11

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO Ambassador Del Rosario’s column will resume soon.

Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

F R I D AY: A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

THE PANAMA A CONVENTION COUP PAPERS ACTUALLY ENDANGERS REPUBLICAN PARTY

By Francis Wilkinson REFLECT PRETTY WELL ON CAPITALISM

By Megan McArdle THE leak of confidential documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca has had many interesting results. We’ve seen the biggest dump of confidential documents in history. Prominent international figures have been revealed as the holders, or nearholders, of shadowy offshore accounts. The prime minister of Iceland has resigned over allegations of impropriety.

Less interesting is the predictable result: a flurry of people rushing to blame “global capitalism.”

“The documents, which show the extraordinary lengths the global elite have gone to in order to shield their wealth from taxation, are at once big news and old hat,” says my friend Freddie deBoer in Foreign Policy. “They provide the nasty details of the kind of business most savvy people assume goes on all the time. You and I pay our taxes; the wealthy find ways to avoid them. For some, reading about the Panama Papers will feel like being told by your parents that Santa isn’t real: merely the final confirmation of a suspicion that you have harbored for a very long time. The game is rigged, and unless you are part of the global one percent, it isn’t rigged to help you.”

A libertarian of my acquaintance wrote to inquire whether this is going to sour people on global capitalism.

It shouldn’t. What we’ve seen from the papers so far is not so much an indictment of global capitalism as an indictment of countries that have weak institutions and a lot of corruption. And for all the outrage in the United States, so far the message for us is pretty reassuring: We aren’t one of those countries.

Consider the big names that have shown up so far on the list.

With the notable exception of Iceland, these are not countries I would describe as “capitalist”: Russia, Pakistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Egypt. They’re countries where kleptocratic government officials amass money not through commerce, but through quasilegal extortion, or siphoning off the till. This is an activity that has gone on long before capitalism, and probably before there was money. Presenting this as an indictment of global capitalism is like presenting Romeo and Juliet as an after school special on the dangers of playing with knives.

The only American I’ve so far seen identified was a Chicagoarea financial coach I’ve never heard of. Moreover, even the folks who may be putting money offshore won’t necessarily be doing so to avoid taxes or hide nefarious activity. Hedge funds, for example, are often incorporated in the Caymans for boring reasons having to do with quirks in the US tax code Continued on A11

THERE are three plausible outcomes awaiting the Republican Party at its July convention in Cleveland.

Each scenario offers a unique, unhappy-family style of misery to its members.

Trump wins This still seems to me, as of April 6, the most likely outcome.

To date, Trump has acquired 743 delegates, Cruz has won 517 delegates and Ohio Governor John Kasich, who appears to be playing a different sport on a distant field, has 143.

The American system of elections is not immutable. It has changed considerably over the years. Sometimes the changes are huge—as when constituents began directly electing their US senators or when women gained the vote. Sometimes, they’re relatively small, as when Nebraska changed its formula for apportioning the state’s electoral votes.

However, one theme runs consistently through American history: The candidate with the most votes wins, just as in sports, where the team with the most points wins. Sometimes it’s a lucky shot that puts you in the winner’s circle. Sometimes it’s an electoral college majority trumping the popular vote. But one way or another, you need the most points to win the game.

Trump will almost certainly have the most points heading to Cleveland. It may be well and proper, under party rules, to deny him the nomination. It will also be widely considered

—by his supporters, above all— as undemocratic, un-American and crooked. As political conventions go, this one would be a doozy.

Cruz wins One scenario might mitigate much of the negative fallout of bypassing Trump. If Trump continues his erratic ways, his campaign maintains its apparent dysfunction and Cruz increases his vote share in the primaries to edge closer to Trump in total delegates, he might have a viable claim to overtake Trump at the convention. Cruz could point out that Trump’s momentum stopped after voters got a good, long look at him, and that Republicans then switched their loyalty to Cruz.

Cruz is a smart politician with an effective organization.

(He had this whole thing figured out until Trump dropped in from outer space.) He also possesses, or at least pretends to, some of the anarchic qualities that make Trump so appealing to voters who have given up on conventional politics. His core voters may hate slightly different things than Trump voters hate, but Cruz could prove politically skillful enough to build a bridge of loathing between them. (Politics can be beautiful that way.)

Establishment fantasy scenario This is the outcome that many Republicans in Washington, D.C., who fear Trump and detest Cruz, seem to dream about. In this case, Trump and Cruz go into the national convention having won the vast

majority of delegates between them. In voting for Trump and Cruz, this majority has proved contemptuous and distrustful of Republican elites, and eager to humiliate and punish them for perceived failures and betrayals.

Under the fantasy scenario, members of that detested elite then finagle a nomination that disrespects and repudiates the votes of those millions of Republican primary voters.

Instead, in an outcome that will variously be described with words such as “backroom” and “coup” and “treason,” the establishment engineers a nomination for someone such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, who didn’t compete in the primaries, or, even more unlikely, the Ohio governor who did compete—and lost and lost and lost.

There is much consternation among Republican leaders that a Trump nomination would break the party. But the outcome most likely to break the party is the one in which Republican elites crown one of their own. Such a candidate would be perceived as illegitimate—not by every Republican, surely, but by enough Trump and Cruz voters to court disaster.

The party can survive and lose with Trump. It can survive and possibly win with Cruz, who is wily enough to do better in a general election than many suspect. It’s not at all clear that the GOP can survive a Ryan or a Romney or a Kasich as its nominee. That just might provide the very death blow that party leaders fear. Bloomberg

HOW BAD IS CHINA’S DEBT PROBLEM, REALLY?

By Christopher Balding FOR months now, China’s regulators have been warning about the dangers of rapidly expanding credit and the need to deleverage. With new plans to clean up bad loans at the country’s banks, you might conclude that the government is getting serious about the risks it faces.

But there’s reason to doubt the effectiveness of China’s approach.

In fact, it’s running a serious risk of making its debt problems worse.

After the financial crisis, China embarked on a credit binge of historical proportions. In 2009, new loans grew by 95 percent. The government offered cheap credit to build apartments for urban migrants, airports for the newly affluent and roads to accommodate a fleet of new cars.

Yet as lending grew at twice the rate of gross domestic product, problems started bubbling up. Companies gained billion-dollar valuations, then collapsed when they couldn’t profit.

Enormous surplus capacity drove down

prices. Excessive real-estate lending led to the construction of “ghost cities.”

Asset bubbles popped and bad loans mounted.

China’s policy makers say they recognize these problems. The government’s most recent five-year plan, released in December, notes the need for deleveraging. The People’s Bank of China has talked up the party line about slowing credit growth and making high-quality loans.

Yet officials still say that only about 1.6 percent of commercial-banking loans are nonperforming. Some analysts put the real figure closer to 20 percent.

And Beijing’s primary plan to address the problem—allowing companies to swap their debt with banks in exchange for equity—actually creates new risks.

For one thing, while a debt-for-equity swap may help excessively indebted firms, it will wreak havoc with banks.

Directly, a given bank will no longer receive the cash flow from interest and principal payments. Indirectly, it won’t be able to sell equity to the PBOC or to other banks as it could with a loan.

Valuing the equity could present a bigger problem. In China, banks must count 100 percent of loans made to non-financial companies against their reserve requirements. When they invest in equity, however, they must set aside 400 percent of the value of the investment. If the debt isn’t worth face value to the bank, it seems unlikely that the equity is worth far more— suggesting that large write-downs will be required.

The swaps program also creates a number of big-picture problems.

Consider the tight relationship between banks and large governmentlinked companies. If banks were under pressure to roll over loans when they were creditors hoping to get repaid, what will their incentive be when they own the firm and have essentially unlimited lending capacity?

Another problem is that Chinese industry exists in a deflationary debt spiral: Prices have been falling for years, raising the real cost of repaying loans. If companies are relieved of their debt, they’ll have an incentive to

reduce prices to gain market share, thus worsening one of the primary causes of the current malaise.

All this leads one to think that the government doesn’t recognize the severity of the problem. Debt-forequity swaps and loan rollovers simply aren’t long-term solutions for ailing companies on the scale China faces.

While the government will probably approve a 1 trillion yuan plan to address bad debts, for instance, this should only be considered a down payment: Solving the problem will likely require recapitalizing the banks. Likewise, if failing firms are relieved of their debts but allowed to stay in business, it will only perpetuate the problems of excess capacity and moral hazard. Until firms are allowed to fail, they’ll keep coming back, hats in hand, asking for more bailouts—thus increasing the debt and ultimately the cost of restructuring.

In short, China needs to face up to its debt addiction. It was able to outgrow a similar problem a decade ago. It’s unlikely to catch lightning in a bottle twice. Bloomberg

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A labor... From A9 On May 1, we would see and hear them once again do their traditional marching and protesting, but most of them have likely been egged and funded by opposition parties to denounce the incompetence and apathy of PNoy’s officials and his anointed candidates.

On that day, they would shout slogans denouncing his failure to implement certain labor standards that could have corrected the exploitative labor practices of the country’s big businesses.

Foremost of these is the abolition of contractualization law that allows companies to hire employees on a 6-month contractual basis.

Ironically, it was a prominent labor leader who authored it in 1989— the late Senator Ernesto Herrera.

Twenty-seven years after, its abolition is being supported by the leading presidential candidates.

Vice President Jejomar

Binay vowed to stamp-out contractualization.

Senator Grace Poe, on the other hand, declared that: “It contributes to poverty, is unfair and unjust” and “helping workers to have more long-term careers should bolster productivity.”

Mayor Digong Duterte asserted that: “How can they sustain the needs of their family, fend for their children if you employ them for 3 months only? They do not have security which results in unrest and instability back home.”

All three presidential candidates have also committed to pursue the P2,000- pension increase of the Social Security System that Rep. Neri Colmenares had proposed and which Congress had approved but PNoy vetoed.

The senator would enact a measure to implement it within the first 100 days of her administration.

The vice president criticized PNoy for vetoing the proposal, and promised to prioritize its approval

because retirees “should be allowed to enjoy their due.”

The mayor was more emphatic, declaring that he would allow the pension increase but simultaneously raise funds for SSS. For him, “if there’s a will, there’s a way.”

PNoy’s anointed candidate has no choice, of course, but to toe the line of his Daang Matuwid mentor: oppose pension increase and tolerate contractualization.

May 1 would be an excellent occasion for us to know their stand on wages and other labor issues.

We then would be able to assess if they are aligned or not with the International Labor Organization’s comprehensive objectives to “promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection, and strengthen dialogue on workrelated issues.”

Hearing them on that day would be a welcome alternative to the usual messages of protests of our labor leaders.

ture—a key ingredient to economic dynamism and success in governance.

Alfred Vargas, and Kit Belmonte (or in four out of The Philippines’ global ranking, per the latest World six congressional districts). The storyline is repeated Economic Forum World Competitiveness 2016, is 47th in many other places; in Cavite, for instance, four (the last among the Asean 5). Singapore is second, of the seven districts feature unopposed candidates Malaysia 18th, Thailand 32nd, and Indonesia 37th. (three of them reelectionists). In Agusan del Sur, Please note: The citizens of these countries are Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza is unopposed; in Agusan no more talented nor more intelligent than us, Filidel Norte, his two sisters, Ma. Valentina and Evelyn, pinos, and their countries are no better endowed in are running for reelection as representatives, also resources than the Philippines. If you ask me, the unopposed.”

Philippines has the best among resources of the AseWhat is the impact of such a setup? Abuse and an Five, has the most strategic location, and has the impunity. And perpetual tyranny. best people—100 million Filipinos, the 12th largest The Inquirer cites the case of Lala Mendoza, the population on earth. governor of North Cotabato where three farmer-proWhat is the problem then? One word: Leadership. testers were gunned down on April 1, by the police We have had bad leaders. They have come from a and military after they refused to disperse following very small gene pool—in a nation of 25 million famifour days of protest march to ask the government for lies or 100 million people. rice because farmers in the area were hungry.

In the last 55 years, our leaders have come from After the killings, Mendoza took responsibility, only four families—Marcos (Ferdinand and his cousnot to owe to the crime of murder but to the effect in Fidel V. Ramos, 26 years); Macapagal (Diosdado like, “why are you complaining?”

Macapagal and his daughter Gloria Arroyo, 13 and a Says the Inquirer: “Virtually unopposed, she acts half years); Cojuangco-Aquino (Corazon Aquino and with the bold assurance of a politician certain of the her son, BS Aquino III, 12 years and four months); sources of her power—not the support of a plurality or and Ejercito-Estrada (Joseph Estrada, three years). an outright majority of the voters in her province, but Singapore had no toilets, no water, very few peothe understanding of the political elite in her province ple, almost no land, and hardly any resource when it that she cannot be defeated at the ballot box. began 50 years ago.

Lawyer Lazaro notes that of the 97, only 10 proviHalf a century ago, the Philippines was the richest sions have been carried out by Congress into law. country in Asia.

What is the impact of a useless Constitution?

Today, Singapore is the richest economy in Asean Among the five original countries of the Associa- and the third richest in the world in per capita GDP tion of Southeast Asian Nations (Philippines, Malay- ($82,762 per IMF 2014)—thanks to a man named sia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand), the Philip- Lee Kuan Yew, who singlehandedly built a nation pines has the worst environment for doing business. from scratch. The Philippines is 119th, with $6,962 In Asean, the Philippines is No. 5 or the worst, in per capita GDP. global competitiveness. The Philippines is also the

worst in Asean in quality and level of infrastrucbiznewsasia@gmail.com

Constitutional... From A9

#FAILOCRACY

The Panama... From A10 (which would tax foreign investors on certain types of transactions) rather than to hide income or let Americans avoid their legally owed tax liabilities.

For that matter, even foreigners who are trying to hide their names might not be doing so for entirely unsavory reasons. People living under unstable regimes may have very good reasons to want to move assets outside the country; Jews in 1930s Germany did not put money in Swiss accounts because they were trying to lower their tax bill, but because they were trying to ensure that they would have enough set aside to flee the genocidal maniac ruling their country.

Trying to lump all these behaviors together under the rubric of “global capitalism” distorts the term to uselessness. While the economy is certainly more global than it used to be, most capitalism is local.

There is, of course, a fair amount of interaction between economic elites. Nonetheless, most of those people still live under local law and local government, and make their money in a particular local economy.

When some of those people break their local laws, this is not some sort of collective enterprise that indicts everyone, everywhere.

But there’s a common tendency, when talking about “global capitalism” to forget that borders and governments still exist. A few weeks back, I was the designated capitalist punching bag on a panel well attended by socialists. A woman in global development stood up and delivered a heartfelt rebuttal to my arguments on the grounds that places like Saudi Arabia had immense and wild excess, while their near neighbors had desperate poverty. This, she said, was something that we needed to fix.

That discussion rapidly went south when I asked her how many troops she wished to commit to this project. Saudi Arabia is its own country. Even if the rest of the world went socialist, we’d probably have to give them something in exchange for their oil, which would mean that there would probably be wealth disparities between them and their nearest neighbors.

“We” are not going to rectify this situation without some pretty old-school empire building, in which we invade and seize the lands of folks who happened to end up sitting atop some valuable natural resources, and then reassign those resources to uses that “we” deem more appropriate. By “we,” of course, I mean educated affluent white people in Western countries.

Projecting our concerns onto the governance problems of Pakistan, or pretending that the Russian oligarchs are part of some club that jointly rules the world with the Walton family, is a convenient way to give our local complaints extra oomph by projecting them onto the world stage. But while it may be emotionally satisfying, it’s worse than useless, because it suggests terrible policy solutions to those complaints, or no solution at all.

What we seem to have learned from the documents so far is that this particular sort of corruption isn’t a big local problem for the US We do of course have some law breakers, because there is no such thing as a law that won’t be broken. But it seems to be a minor, furtive thing, rather than the mass habit you see in parts of the developing world.

The IRS is very good at finding offshore tax cheats, and getting better all the time. I am confident that if US scofflaws should be revealed by LOWDOWN these documents, the tax authorities will waste no JOJO A. time ensuring that they get ROBLES what is coming to them.

Other governments Mr. Robles’ column will resume may fail to enforce their soon. laws, perhaps because the named figures sort of are the local government.

That is a big problem. But PENSEES that doesn’t mean that it’s our problem. Global FR. RANHILIO capitalism didn’t create CALLANGAN the issues plaguing weak AQUINO states. And global anticapitalism won’t fix them, Fr. Aquino’s column will resume soon. either. Bloomberg

CHONG ARDIVILLA

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Ringia, Velez bag CdO tennis crowns

An Indian student demonstrates his martial arts skills by crushing a block of ice using his head during a sports event at a college in Amritsar. AFP

Negros Island bets ready

By Peter Atencio THE newly formed Negros Island Region is expected to make a stir in the 206 Palarong Pambansa.

The NIR will be sending athletes to compete, bets who are 100% ready and confident with their performances.

Three gold medalists last year are among those expected to take center stage and will be part of the newly formed Region 18 as they fight for precious gold medals in the Palaro slated from April 10 to 16 in Legazpi City, Albay.

Alexis Soqueno, who broke the record anew in the secondary boys’ high jump, and topped the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x100meter relays as well, will be back in the games, this time for NIR, and so will long jumper Jerry James Belibestre and discus thrower John Christian Capasao.

“Although this is the first time, we will do our best to compete [with the other regions]. We are ready [and] we are vying for championship,” said Department of Education -NIR Regional Director Gilbert Sadsad.

TOP seed Janus Ringia and Patricia Velez of Davao overcame tough, talented rivals to hack out a pair of threesetters and bag the 16-andunder crowns in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit at the Golden Friendship Tennis Club in Cagayan de Oro last Monday.

Ringia, one of Koronadal City’s top junior players, survived third seed Christian Llavore, 7-5, 7-6(5), in the semifinals then stopped No. 2 Matt Palasan, 3-6, 6-2, 0-1 (ret.) to clinch the boys’ crown while Velez upended No. 1 Gennifer Pagente, 3-6, 6-3, 10-6, to snare the girls’ title in the Group 2 event that drew a slew of aces and rising stars from Mindanao.

Ringia and Velez, however, failed to complete a twinkill in the tournament sponsored

by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger with the former yielding to Allen Manlangit, 0-5 (ret.) in the 18-U semis and the latter dropping a heartbreaking 4-6, 7-6(2), 8-10 decision to local ace Janelle Llavore.

Manlangit, from Iligan, went on to cop the crown with a 1-0 (ret.) win over Palasan then teamed up with Geo Serino to rout Joenard Vosotros and Roy Antonio, 8-1, for the boys’ 18-U doubles title.

“With no player able to win two titles only underscores the level playing field that has been the norm in all our tournaments. By providing this series of tournaments, they are able to keep in the step with the opposition in terms of form, styles and techniques,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Arias, Frayna in 2-way battle for Under-20 title LAOAG City—Joshua Arias and Woman International Master Janelle Mae Frayna figure in a two-way race for the top spot in the premier Open-20 (Boys) division as they take on separate foes in the last two rounds in the 2016 National Age Group Chess Championship at the Mindanao State University campus here.

Arias, a senior student from Adamson University, prevailed in the eighth and ninth rounds against Adrian Dela Cruz and James Rhey Bantugan, respectively, to hold a half-point edge over Frayna with 6.5 points.

Frayna, the only female entry in the Open-20 division, slipped to second place at 6.0 following two successive draws against Jonathan Jota and Romy Fagon in the eighth and ninth round.

She is expected to bounce back when she plays John Rey Batucan and Dela Cruz in the 10th

and 11th round in the Open-20 of the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and hosted by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte.

Arias, who takes a bye in the 10th round, takes on top seed Janleigh Aguete in the 11th and final round.

In the girls’ Under-20, Woman International Master Bernadette Galas, who had so far collected 6.5 points, also holds a slim edge over WNM Jean Karen Enriquez (6).

Galas, who downed Michelle

Yaon in the eighth round, is heavily favored as she takes on lightweight Mira Mirano (4.5 points), while Enriquez battles Luzon leg top qualifier Virgenie Ruaya in the ninth round.

Also on course to pocket a title is WIM Shania Mae Mendoza, also of FEU, who currently leads the girls’ Under-18 with five points, half a point over Janin Crisologo (4.5).

In the girls’ Under-16, Allaney Doroy has virtually locked on the title despite a draw in the eighth round that snapped an eight-game winning run.

Doroy, a student of National University, is up front with 8.5 points and two full points ahead of Rizalyn Jasmin Tejada (6.5).

Over at the boys’ side, John Merill Jacutina, another FEU student, inched closer to the Under-18 crown as he has so far collected 7.5 points after 11 rounds.

A full and a half points behind are Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano and

Romulo Curiosa, who shares second to third spots with six points.

Meanwhile, John Marvin Miciano also kept his distance against his closest pursuers after beating Israelito Rilliorazz in the eighth round to improve to 7.5 points, a full point clear of solo second placer Dale Bernardo (6.5) in the boys Uner-16.

Also on their way to pocketing titles in their respective age categories are Stephen Rome Pangilinan (7 points) in the boys’ U-14, Daniel Quizon (8.5 points) in the boys’ U-12, Mark Jay Bacojo (9 points) in the boys’ Under 10 and Ghian Michael Aleria (8 points) in the boys’ Under 8.

In the girls’ side, also gaining headway going into today’s final day of competition are Kylene Mordido (6.5 points) in the Under-14, Ruth Joy Vinuya (5.5) in the Under-12, Marjeri Janapin (7.5) in the Under-10 and Ruelle Canino in the Under-8.

Walker dares Masters’ curse AUGUS TA—Ji m my Walker risked the Masters curse by winning the Par-3 Contest in record fashion Wednesday at Augusta National, where a recordshattering nine aces were fired on the eve of the 80th Masters.

On a day when 80-yearold Gary Player fired his fourth career ace in the Par-3 event to set two records and Augusta National fans booed defending Masters champion Jordan Spieth after he couldn’t match back-to-back holesin-one, Walker stole the show.

The 37-year-old American fired an eight-under par 19 on the 1,060-yard layout, smashing a record that had stood for half a century and risking the jinx of no Par-3 winner having ever captured that year’s Masters title.

“I think we’ll do it,” Walker said of ending the hoodoo. “I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been feeling good and I feel good coming into this week.”

Walker fired six birdies and added a hole-in-one to break the old nine-hole mark of 20 set by Art Wall

in 1965 and matched by Gay Brewer in 1973.

“It was sweet,” Walker said. “About aced the first and did ace the second and kept it close.”

He beat runners-up Craig Stadler and Keegan Bradley by three strokes.

South African legend Player became the oldest golfer in Par-3 history to hit an ace, breaking the age mark of 75 set last year by playing partner Jack Nicklaus.

“I played with Jack last year and he did it so this year he said it’s my turn,” Player said. AFP

Gary Player putts during the Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. AFP

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SPORTS sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Mavs edge Rockets in key West duel LeBron to produce 1st movie NEW YORK—Basketball megastar LeBron James will produce his first movie, based on a real-life prank in which a humor writer fooled people into believing he was an NBA draft pick, a source told AFP Wednesday.

The movie, which the Cleveland Caveliers forward is producing with New Line Cinema, is the first film for his production company, SpringHill Entertainment, which signed a contract in July with New Line’s parent company, Warner Brothers.

The film is inspired by a hoax carried out by Connor Toole, a writer for the humor website Elite Daily, a source briefed on the project told AFP, confirming a report on entertainment industry website Deadline Hollywood.

In June, Toole posed as a player selected as a second-round pick during the draft, where NBA basketball teams select new players from American universities and from overseas.

At six-foot ten-inches (around two meters), all Toole had to do was put on a suit and mill about Barclays Center in Brooklyn where the draft took place.

Mistaken as a player, he next headed out on the town in New York wearing a cap with the Utah Jazz’s emblem, and was regularly stopped by passersby for selfies.

Toole visited several bars where patrons and bartenders even offered him free drinks, and toasted him.

The less than three minute video of his escapades caught the attention of another production company, Madica, which proposed a collaboration with SpringHill. AFP

LOS ANGELES— JJ Barea scored 27 points and Dirk Nowitzki delivered a key defensive stop Wednesday as the Dallas Mavericks held off the Houston Rockets 88-86 in a crucial NBA Western Conference clash.

Jose Juan Barea of the Dallas Mavericks soars for the lay up against the Houston Rockets at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. AFP

Russia faces tough task in Rio bid MOSCOW—Dmitry Shlyakhtin, a little-known regional official, landed one of the toughest jobs in sports when he was elected to head Russia’s scandal-ridden athletics federation.

Three months into the job, the 48-year-old bureaucrat is working to overturn a ban by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over allegations of systematic doping that could see Russian track and field stars sidelined from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August.

While world track and field authorities remain sceptical about the country’s prospect of competing in Rio, Shlyakhtin insisted in an interview with AFP that Moscow is making progress.

“The process has started, maybe not as fast we would have wanted,” Shlyakhtin told AFP. “Of course we have lots to do. But many things are

being done.”

Shlyakhtin—a low-profile junior runner whose election came as a surprise to Russia’s athletics world —told Russian media upon his election that there was a “50 to 60 percent” chance the country would see its track and field stars in Rio. Today he is more optimistic that Russia will take part in the Games but shies away from providing a detailed assessment of the progress made and the work that lies ahead.

“To say which stage we are at now would be biased and wrong,” he added.

The current turmoil in Russian athletics was sparked when a report from a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) independent commission published in November laid bare evidence of state-sponsored doping and high-level corruption in sport in the country.

The report alleged that senior ARAF officials enabled the use of performance-enhancing drugs and covered up doping violations, among other damning accusations.

To compete at Rio, Russia’s athletics federation must now fulfil the reinstatement requirements set out by the IAAF, including severing its ties with staff with any past involvement in doping, and abide by all WADA regulations.

The IAAF recognised last month that Russia has shown “significant progress” in the wake of its November suspension.

But Rune Andersen, the independent chair of the IAAF Taskforce overseeing the reform process, nonetheless “stressed that there is still considerable work to be done in order to meet the reinstatement conditions,” the IAAF told AFP. AFP

The Mavericks improved to 40-38 with their fifth straight victory and took a two-game lead over Southwest Division rivals Houston (38-40) going into the last four games of the regular season.

It was a vital victory, with the Mavericks and Rockets locked in a three-team battle with the Utah Jazz (3939) for the final two playoff berths in the West.

The Rockets have the most work to do, having lost six of their last nine games to fall to ninth place.

Barea, already enjoying his first Western Conference player of the week honor —in the same week he celebrated the birth of a daughter—connected on 10 of 16 shots from the floor, including four of seven from threepoint range. He also handed out eight assists.

Barea’s recent strong play has helped the Mavs overcome Nowtizki’s prolonged shooting slump.

But longtime Mavs superstar Nowitzki came up big on the defensive end when it mattered, stripping James Harden as the Rockets’ star drove to the basket in the final seconds with Dallas up by one point.

“It was fun,” Barea said of the neck-and-neck duel.”Dirk made a big play there at the end, but it was a team win, and a great defensive game.”

Harden led Houston with 26 points, but he made just eight of 22 shots from the field and coughed up six turnovers. AFP

Local aces seek redemption in ADT tilt THE country’s top shotmakers vow to mount a fightback against the region’s leading campaigners as the Asian Development Tour makes a welcome return to the Philippines for another two-week swing, starting with the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Championship ADT on April 13 to 16 at the Legends course in Carmona, Cavite.

The foreign bets swept the two ADT events last year with Malaysian Arie Irawan beating Miguel Tabuena by four and Tony Lascuña by five for the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invi-

tational crown and Thai Ittipat Buranatanyarat edging Orlan Sumcad by one and Frankie Miñoza by three.

But Tabuena, Lascuña, Sumcad and Miñoza are all primed up for the upcoming event, eager to get back at the ADT regulars and upcoming stars in the $60,000 event sponsored

by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. The Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martirez, Cavite will host the next ADT stop on April 20-23.

“We are glad to welcome the ADT back to the Philippines. We hope the staging

of these events will continue to provide opportunities for players in the region to showcase their talents and advance their careers onto the Asian Tour,” siad ICTSI chairman and president Ricky Razon.

The twin events also stakes world ranking points where players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT. Tabuena is currently at No. 36 while Angelo Que, who will be campaigning in the Japan PGA Tour, is at No. 49.

Foton signs up Laure, Rondina. Foton signed up two of the most promising collegiate

volleyball players in EJ Laure and Cherry Ann Rondina, presently playing for the University of Sto. Tomas as part of the team’s build-up for the coming All Filipino Conference of the Philippine Super Liga and the Asian Women’s Club Championship, where Foton will join after winning last year’s PSL Grand Prix. Laure and Rondina will be joining veterans Jaja Santiago, Ivy Perez, Maika Ortiz, Angelie Araneta, Patty Orendain in the team. Shown here after the contract signing are (from left) Rommel L. Sytin, Foton president, Rondina, Laure and Alvin Lu, Foton Vice President for Dealer Development and Team Manager.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Morales to stick with closest rivals DAGUPAN, Pangasinan—Jan Paul Morales of NavyStandard Insurance will shift gears from aggressive to defensive when the Luzon Leg of the LBC Ronda Pilipinas 2016 resumes today with the Stage 4 road race unfurling at the Dagupan City Hall here and ending at Burnham Park in Baguio.

With the title almost in the bag after snaring the first three stages including Wednesday’s Antipolo City criterium, Morales, 30, is planning to slow down and just stick with his closest LBC-MVP Sports Foundation rivals George Oconer and Rustom Lim. “I will just try to race safe and stick with them,” said Morales, who hails from Calumpang, Marikina, in Filipino referring to Oconer and Lim. After three stages, Morales, who also reigned supreme in Stage 1 in Paseo de Sta. Rosa Sunday and Stage 2 in Tagaytay the next day, has accumulated a whopping 45-point total--15 each for topping the first three stages--that gave him a big cushion against Oconer and Lim, who have 31 and 29, respectively.

Stage 4 is a 94.41-kilometer road race that will negotiate the back-breaking mountain pass of Kennon Road.

And there, Morales knows he can’t afford to make mistakes.

“Champions were made and broken in Baguio. If I could do well there, I’ll have a chance,” said Morales, who topped MIndanao two months ago and wound up sixth in the Visayas last month.

For Oconer, whose best performance in Baguio was fifth four years ago, hope springs eternal.

“You can count on me not to give up,” said the 24-year-old Oconer, who finished second to last year’s champion Santy Barnachea.

There are several other riders that should also go all out to catch up on the leaders, among them LBC-MVPSF’s Ronnilan Quita, who has climbed up the ladder after jumping from No. 10 to 8 overall with 12 points.

It was Quita, a native of San Jose, Tarlac who is using his participation here to get a second shot at education, who made heads turn in the Visayas Leg where he finished second to 2009 Tour king Joel Calderon of Navy in Stage Four in Roxas City.

Quita, 21, actually had a chance to duplicate or even surpass the performance after he caught up with Morales and Oconer late in Stage 3, but he lost steam and ended up seventh.

It was enough though to move him up the standings.

“I will definitely go for it again,” he said.

At Nos. 4 to 7 are Camingao (25 points), LBC-MVPSF’s Ronald Lomotos (16), Calderon (15) and Navy’s Rudy Roque (13).

Rounding up the Top 10 1re Navy’s El Joshua Carino (10) and LBCMVPSF’s Arnold Marco (9).

The fifth and final stage, another criterium, is also set in Baguio Saturday.

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

Fancied bets seal title duel

A triple-team defense proved no match to Jovelyn Gonzaga of RC Cola, who scores against Petron’s Mina Aganon, Joy Rosario and Aiza Maizo-Pontillas. ROMAN PROSPERO

Est Cola lives up to billing

Republic of the Philippines Office of the President

University of the Philippines Manila The Health Sciences Center

National Irrigation Administration

BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE 3

(PAMBANSANG PANGASIWAAN NG PATUBIG) Region 3 Bulacan-Aurora-Nueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office Office Address: Telephone Nos.: Email Address:

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

crucial stretch of the deciding set.

“I know No. 3 (Aby Marano) and No. 11 (Cha Cruz) are their key players because I already saw them compete,” said Est Cola coach Chamnan Dokmai. “That’s why we tried to hit them from the service box to interrupt the flow of their offense. I’m glad that it worked.”

Marano and Cruz served as anchors of the PSL All-Star team that saw action in the Thai-Denmark Super League in Bangkok two weeks ago, giving them a sneak peak of what to expect against top-caliber international teams like Est Cola.

Marano delivered five kills, two blocks and an ace for an eight-point effort, while Cruz had six kills and an ace for seven markers for the home squad, which is getting used to the international brand of play due to the exposure given it by the PSL.

LIVING up to pre-tournament billing as heavy contender, Est Cola hardly encountered trouble in crushing F2 Logistics, 25-14, 25-15, 25-17, Thursday in the Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference women’s volleyball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Center.

Unleashing their fast plays and heavy sets at the onset, the Thais were impressive throughout the 66-minute battle to tally their first win in the final round of this prestigious club tourney bankrolled by Asics, Mikasa, Mueller, Senoh and Grand Sport with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

Veteran international campaigner Sutadta Cheuwulim, a last-minute replacement to teen sensation Chatchu-on Moksri, poured all her 18 points on spikes, while Sasipaporn Janthawisut had 12 markers for Est Cola, which pushed F2 Logistics out of its comfort zone early on before going for the kill in the

2nd Floor, Joaquin Gonzales Hall, Interactive Learning Center (ILC) Room University of the Philippines Manila P. Faura St. corner Ma. Orosa St., Manila Telefax # 525-43-22 / 526-22-75

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

INVITATION TO BID 1.

INVITATION TO BID April 6, 2016 The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Bulacan-Aurora-Nueva Ecija Irrigation Management Office (BANE IMO) Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan, through its Bids and Award Committee (BAC), invites Contractors to bid for:

The University of the Philippines Manila through its Bids and Awards Committee III (BAC 3), invites suppliers/manufacturer/distributors/contractors to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder projects:

Name of Project:

Supply of 1st and 2nd Rice Subsidy for FY 2016

Requesting Unit/Location:

UPM-PGH

Approved Budget for the Contract:

Php 15,030,000.00

Bid Documents

Php25,000.00

Contract Duration:

90 Days

PR No.:

2016-0061/Pur16-03-0344 to 45

Source of Fund:

184

Ateneo rips UE

ITB No.R3-BANE-RRECIS-2016-BU-58 ANGAT RIS (AMRIS), - Improvement of NMC and Various Irrigation Facilities, San Rafael, Bulacan. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is P9,739,693.30 with contract duration of 120 calendar days. Bid Documents cost P 10,000.00

2.

Only those, Letter of Intent together with the company profile, submitted by the owner or its authorized liaison officer will be accepted.

Prospective bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project within the last two (2) years with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding.

The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Post-qualification of the lowest calculated responsive bid shall be conducted.

3.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR).

4.

The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

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

Activities

Schedule

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

1

Issuance of Bid Documents

Starting – April 8, 2016

2

Pre-bid Conference

April 12, 2016, 1:30 p.m.

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

April 8, 2016 @ 10:00 AM NIA BANE, Tambubong, San Rafael, Bulacan

3

Opening of Bids

April 26, 2016 – 1:30 p.m.

4

Bid Evaluation

Within two (2) weeks after the opening

5

Post-qualification

Within one (1) week after the bid evaluation

Schedule of Activities; NIA, BANE IMO

Pre-Bidding

6

Issuance of Notice of Award

Seven (7) days after Post-qualification

April 18, 2016

ITB No.R3-BANE-RRENIS-2016-BU-56R 9:00 AM

Submission Opening of Bids May 2, 2016 9:00 AM

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

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

5.

Bid Documents will be made available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount stated above for each project to the U.P. Manila Cashier’s Office.

6.

UP Manila assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

7.

The University of the Philippines Manila reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any formality or defects therein, or to accept such as may be considered most advantageous to UP Manila.

8.

All inquiries shall be directed to the BAC III Secretariat at tel. no. 525-4322 / 5262275. This is also posted at the UP Manila Official Web: http://www.upm.edu.ph/ procurement.

(SGD) TRISTAN NATHANIEL C. RAMOS, DMD chair, Bids and Awards Committee III

SGD.ROBERTO J. DELA CRUZ Chairman – BAC (TS-A P R . 8 , 2016)

(SGD) ARLENE A. SAMANIEGO, M.D. Vice-Chancellator For Administration

CEBU—Rupert Zaragosa and Rolando Pila held off their respective semifinal rivals while Lois Kaye Go and Harmie Constantino sealed a women’s title clash with lopsided victories in the first MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championship at the Cebu Country Club here yesterday.

The top-seeded Zaragosa swept the Magcalayo brothers to earn a crack at the championship, fending off Jonas, 3&1, in the morning quarterfinals then stopping Jolo, 3&2, in the semis for a showdown with the No. 2 Pila, a local caddie who ended Gabriel Manotoc’s surge, 2&1, in the Last 8 and thwarted Marko Sarmiento, 3&2, in the afternoon semis.

Go and Constantino likewise arranged a faceoff for the coveted crown in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Philippine Sports Commission with the former drawing inspiration from the local crowd to whip Ryoko Nagai, 9-7, in the quarters.

The low medalist sustained her form in the afternoon play, swamping Junia Gabasa, 4&3, to cruise into the finals of the event held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and organized and conducted by the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

TS-APR. 8, 2016)

THE defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles quickly got past winless University of the East, 26-24, 25-21, 25-15, Wednesday in the second round of the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s volleyball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

Two-time MVP Marck Espejo showed the way with 15 points for the Blue Eagles, who emerged as the top team for the second straight season.

The Blue Eagles earned the top seed for the Final Four and they will meet either UP or FEU in the playoffs.

With a game left in the second round, the Eagles improved to 12-1 behind a 10-game winning (TS-DEC. 1, 2015) streak. Peter Atencio

F R I DAY : A P R I L 8 , 2 0 16

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

The Main Event airs TV special on trilogy A RIVETING one-hour special on the third encounter between eightdivision world champion Manny Pacquiao and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley will be telecast at “The Main Event,” 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, the eve of the showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, over Pinoy Box Office on Sky Cable nationwide, with a replay at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The special will include interviews with Pacquiao, Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, his

Filipino assistant Marvin Somodio, strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune and highlights of the ring icon’s training at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, all done by Crystina Poncher of Top Rank.

It will also feature their first fight, which ended in a hugely controversial decision, bitterly criticized by the media and Bradley’s suffering as a result of the backlash.

Pacquiao obviously wants to

win handsomely, which would enhance his standing in his bid for a seat in the Philippine Senate in the presidential elections in May while a defeat could be disastrous.

He realizes this and is determined to win what he hopes will be an exciting, toe-to-toe battle.

Pacquiao says he wants to prove that “the hunger and aggressiveness are still there,” which set the stage for the Sunday (Manila time) showdown.

Five-division world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire believes that if Pacquiao keeps his focus, he should win because he is more skillful, has the speed and the power to beat Bradley, whom he effectively beat in their first two meetings, although the American, under veteran trainer Teddy Atlas, is a different fighter now as shown in his ninth-round stoppage of Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios.

Ronnie Nathanielsz

Pacman eyes farewell-fight fireworks

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

HALL of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who is skeptical about eightdivision world champion Manny Pacquiao’s third fight with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley being his farewell bout, said that the Filipino ring icon “is training like it’s going to be his last fight.”

Welterweight boxers Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. pose with promoter Bob Arum during their final news conference at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr., will meet for their third fight on April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AFP

Bradley determined to pull off an upset win DESPITE the pains experienced from training with Teddy Atlas and the consensus among observers favoring Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley is confident of his chances in the match airing on SKYcable Pay-Per-View on April 10.

The fighter who calls himself “Dessert Storm” has a history of staging upsets in the past.

Bradley is what many refers to as an elite fighter, having faced a whole list of champions in the past with an impressive amount of success.

Aside from winning against his opponent in the coming fight, the fourth-ranked in the pound for pound list by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board is much younger than his opponent and has won via close unanimous decision against Ruslan Provodnikov in 2013 to capture the WBO Welterweight Championship. He has also won against Ring no.

3-ranked pound for pound and Ring no. 5-ranked junior light-

weight and WBO junior welterweight champion Juan Manuel Márquez in 2013.

The erstwhile undefeated boxer Jessie Vargas was also among Bradley’s triumphs going into a bout for the WBO Welterweight Interim title. And just late last year, he beat former Lightweight champion Brandon Ríos to retain the WBO Welterweight title.

The fighter who is five years younger than Pacquiao is also confident as his training under Atlas has given him a positive outlook on the fight.

See Bradley deliver the punches commercial free, live and in high definition on April 10, 9 a.m. for only P999 by subscribing to SKYcable or Destiny Cable Pay-Per-View.

Plus, get exclusive access to Donaire vs Bedak on April 23, 6 p.m. (except if you’re in Cebu).

The offer is also available to SKYcable Prepaid subscribers who may load at selected SM

branches, at Load Central outlets such as Sta Monica Pawnshop, SVY Domingo Pawnshop, RLS Money Changer and Remittance Center, Phoenext Cellphone Accessories, Santolan Pawnshop, De Leon Pawnshop, Tagala Pawnshop and GRJ Jaro Pawnshop, and at ECPAY outlets such as MLhuillier, Netopia, SST Laptop, 1BRO Retailers, USSC and ViaExpress.

To know more about SKY payper-view and other SKY services, visit mysky.com.ph or text APPLY —space—followed by your name to 23662.

SKY continues to offer viewers with diverse options to enjoy TV entertainment with its value and premium service offerings. Only SKYcable provides quality home entertainment with the widest range of standard and high definition channels and other top-of-the-line services such as flexible subscription options via SELECT, iRECORD that re-

cords, pauses, and rewinds live TV, as well as real-time coverage of live concerts and sporting events via FREE VIEW and PAYPER-VIEW. To subscribe and to know more about SKYcable, log on to www.mysky.com.ph, text APPLY <space> your name to 23662, or call the 24-hour customer service hotlines at 3810000 for Metro Manila, CAMANAVA, and Rizal; 484-4701 for Cavite; 534-2814 for Calamba and Binan, Laguna; 520-8560 for San Pedro, Laguna and Carmona, Cavite; 693-5877 for Bulacan; 421-1818 for Cebu; 305-5456 for Davao; 442-4841 for Baguio; 432-0051 for Bacolod; 300-1210 for Iloilo.

Enjoy over 90 channels in clear digital signal with Destiny Cable.

For inquiries about the services and promos of Destiny Cable call 418-0000. You may also contact Destiny Cable via their email address, weserve@destinycable. com.ph.

“I personally don’t know if this will be Manny’s last fight, but he is training like it’s going to be his last fight. Manny has achieved so much in his boxing career and if this is going to be his swan song, I know he wants to go out blazing with a spectacular performance,” Roach said.

The longtime trainer of Pacquiao indicated: “If the opportunity for a knockout presents itself during the fight, he’s going to go for it. He knows how to close the show and he wants this show closed with fireworks. He wants to finish the book on his boxing career with a spectacular ending. I do think Manny has more quality fights in him. His power, speed, work ethic are still superior to most others.”

The 56-year-old Roach, who has worked with numerous world champions, including the likes of Mike Tyson, Miguel Cotto and Oscar De la Hoya, ranks Pacquiao as the greatest he has trained.

“Manny is the greatest fighter I have ever worked with. I have never seen another fighter accomplish so much. Forget the raw talent and drive to win, Manny was a great student who never rested on his laurels. He was a sponge who was always willing to learn new things.

He challenged me to teach him new things. He made me a better trainer,” Roach said.

The trainer conceded that for him, “it’s been an experience unique to Manny. I wish I had a million fighters with as much drive and a willingness to learn new things.”

Five-time world champion Bradley has been praised for his recent performances since switching trainers to Teddy Atlas and many expect the Californian to give Pacquiao his toughest test in their trilogy.

However, Roach does not think there has been much change in Bradley’s style and expects him to revert to his old ways once he feels Pacquiao’s power.

A16

F R I DAY : A P R I L 8 , 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

Almost but not quite for Torres SLOWLY but surely, Marestella Torres is regaining the form that made her Southeast Asia’s long jump queen.

Marestella Torres makes her gold-winning leap in the long jump finals of the 2016 Ayala PH National Open Invitational Athletics Championships at the Philsports track and field arena in Pasig City. ROMAN PROSPERO

The 35-year-old Torres had her best showing in her favorite long jump event since giving birth to her first born as she leapt 6.6 meters on her fifth attempt in the finals of the 2016 Ayala-Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships Thursday at the Philsports track and field arena in Pasig City.

The Philippine team standout was a mere .1 meter (10 centimeters) short of the Olympic qualifying standard when she won one of the 20 gold medals at stake on opening day of the athletics’ competition that lured a thousand athletes from seven countries, including the Philippines.

“This is a good start. Nakuha nang paunti-unti,” said Torres, adding that the leap was her personal best in two years since giving birth to her son Elimar.

“Sa next competition, paghahandaan ko pa lalu,” added Torres, who gets the chance to go for the Olympic standard of 6.70 meters in the Singapore Open in the last week of April.

Torres said inconsistencies in her approach in her sixth and final attempt kept her from improving on her distance, but her fifth leap was enough to beat two up-and-coming Malaysian rivals in Noor Shahidurin Nadia Mohd Zooki and Kirthana Ramamasamy, who settled for the silver and bronze, respectively.

The 20-year-old Mohd Zooki came just 5 cms shy of the Malaysian national record (6.29) when she cleared 6.24 meters.

“I’m very happy with my distance,” said the long-legged Mohd Zooki, who is mentored by Russian coach Viktor Sotkinov.

Her teammate, Ramamasamy had a 5.8-meter leap for the bronze on her third attempt in the trackfest presented by Ayala Corp., and also backed by Milo Nutri-up, Philippine Sports Commission, Foton Philippines, PCSO, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Appeton, Asics Watch, L TimeStudio and media partners Business Mirror, Business Mirror Health and Fitness Magazine and radio station Mellow 94.7.

Meanwhile, reigning UAAP champion Angel Carino cleared 5.62 meters for the gold in the girls’ long jump, with University of Santo Tomas Alyssa Andrade and Carino’s schoolmate Mary Diesto taking the silver and bronze respectively, with leaps of 5.38 and 5.36 meters.

Army standout Richard Salano overtook former collegiate rival Rafael Poliquit in the last 300 meters, to grab the men’s 5000-meter gold in 15 minutes 32.2 seconds.

Poliquit was 1.1 second behind and earned the silver.

Unheralded Fernando Reyes ruled the boys’ 5000-meter in 17:08.1, with Marven Realda behind by 1.3 seconds.

Far Eastern University bets Joida Gagnao and Catherine Bristol made it a 1-2 finish for their school with respective times of 11:53.7 and 12:34.4 in the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase.

FEU’s Joneza Mie Sustituedo took the top honors in the girls’ side in 12:34.3.

Chiang Kai Shek’s Francis Edward Obiena took the boys’ pole vault gold with a clearance of 4.0 meters, with Runrio’s Roi Saragena and San Sebastian’s Jon Emmanuel Reyes in second and third, with leaps of 3.4 meters each. Peter Atencio

Top PBA teams clash; SMB acquires David

By Jeric Lopez IT’S all about the tale of opposite directions as the league’s best and worst teams go on a collision course in the homestretch of the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup. The two frontrunners finally cross paths as league-leading Meralco (7-2) puts its top rank on the line against secondplacer Alaska (6-3) at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, even as lower-tier squads Phoenix (3-6) and GlobalPort (2-8) meet at 4:15 p.m.

The Bolts are currently having one of their best runs in their fiveyear stint in the PBA and another win will further enhance their chance

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

of finishing in the Top 2, where they will earn a twice-to-beat edge in the next round as well as close in on the top seed.

“Our last win kept us in first place and it feels good at this point,” said Meralco coach Norman Black. “We’re hoping to get more wins to claim a spot in the top two.”

But that will not be the easiest task as they will have to go through the battle-tested Aces, who are also chasing a win to tie the Bolts and strengthen their bid for a Top 2 finish as well.

“It’s the crucial stretch now and we need to play even better to put our-

selves in the best possible position,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

Meanwhile, already packed with firepower, San Miguel Beer boosted its offensive prowess even more with the entry of streak-shooting Gary David into its roster.

David told his manager Danny Espiritu that it was the SMB management, which called him up to acquire his services, after his falling out with the Meralco Bolts.

David was suspended for one game by Meralco for refusing to enter a game. He was later released by the Bolts as an unrestricted free agent.

The former Lyceum Pirate will have to fight for his playing time inside a crowded SMB guard rotation.

B1

FRIDAY: APRIL 8, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

January budget deficit hit P3.5b

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

THE national government incurred a budget deficit of P3.5 billion in January 2016, as both revenues and public spending rose, the Finance Department said Thursday.

Data from the Treasury showed the budget shortfall in January was 46-percent lower than the P6.5-billion deficit registered in January 2015. Netting out interest payment, the primary balance yielded a surplus of P42.1 billion in January, or 6 percent lower than the primary surplus of P44.9 billion posted in the same month last year.

“We’re starting the last year of this administration on a good note and in great shape. Both revenue and expenditure sides of our

finances are sustaining a healthy amount of growth. We remain in a firm position to finance the commitments in our social contract with the Filipino people. As always, fiscal sustainability is top of mind,” said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Government revenues in January grew 9 percent to P182.2 billion from P166.652 billion in January 2015 while government expenditures increased 7 percent to P185.7 billion.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue

collections increased 7 percent year-on-year to P129.7 billion while Customs collections increased 6 percent to P31.1 billion.

The Bureau of Treasury’s income declined 11 percent to P7.930 billion. Collections from other offices surged 88 percent to P13.56 billion.

The government plans to boost state spending by more than 30 percent to help shield the economy from a global slowdown this year. Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra said the record proposed expenditure this year would support economic growth of as much as 7.8 percent.

“We are a small country in an open economy but we have some degree of freedom and that is your government spending,” Esguerra said. “That is being ramped up.

Sure, the global environment is not great but you have your domestic sources of growth.”

The Budget Department said it would roll out a three-year program to boost the country’s infrastructure spending.

The program contains the pipeline of strategic projects needed to sustain rapid economic growth.

These projects include basic infrastructure services and facilities linked to climate resiliency, competitiveness, agricultural sustainability, governance, security, and bridging gaps in poor, hazardprone, and emerging growth areas.

“Closing the gap between planning and budgeting could lead to GDP growth rates between 9 and 11 percent within 15 years,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said, citing a 2016 International Mon-

etary Fund working paper exploring the macroeconomic effects of improving public infrastructure in the Philippines.

A study commissioned by the Trade Department showed the country needed P5.7 trillion in infrastructure in infrastructure spending under the next administration to maintain an average annual growth of 5 percent.

Enrico Basilio of the United States Agency for International Trade’s Advancing Philippine Competitiveness Project said the logistics industry’s forward linkage in the Philippines lagged behind other countries in the region.

He said the country should maintain infrastructure spending at 5 percent of the gross domestic product. With Othel V. Campos, Bloomberg

PSe comPoSite index Closing April 7, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,232.97 52.42

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing April 7, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.100

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.065 LOW P46.170 AVERAGE P46.125 VOLUME 738.500M

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

Total-Filoil venture.

Total and Philippine oil company Filoil agreed to create a joint venture for the fuel sales business in the Philippines.

The combined business will increase Total’s network from 206 to 442 stations and its retail market share from 3 percent to 6 percent. Shown signing the agreement are (from left) Total Philippines vice president for operations Chito Poblete, managing director Dilip Vaswani, Total marketing and services for Asia Pacific Francois Dehodencq, FilOil Energy Corp. chief executive Raffy Villavicencio, Total Oil vice president for operations in AsiaPacific Olivier Chalvon-Demersay and Filoil legal counsel Manuel Gonzalez.

Megawide asks govt to pursue regional airport deals

By Darwin G. Amojelar GMR-Megawide Consortium on Thursday asked the Transportation Department to proceed with the bidding of five regional airports worth P108.2 billion before President Benigno Aquino III steps down in July.

“We are sending a letter to inquire about the directions because there’s no clear direction.

We want them to set direction,” GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. president Louie Ferrer said, referring to the Transportation Department.

The department earlier deferred

the bid submission date for the five regional airports from March 28 to a maximum of 30 days, from the date when all final clearances and approvals were obtained from the concerned agencies.

“We’d rather submit bid now because the process was transparent. The next administration might review the project again and it will take time,” Ferrer said.

The Transportation Department earlier pre-qualified Maya Consortium led by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Philippine Airports Consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., San Miguel Holdings Corp.-IIAC Airport

Consortium, GMR-Megawide Consortium and FilinvestJATCO-Sojitz Consortium for the project.

Aboitiz Equity teamed up with Vinci Airports of France to form the Maya Consortium, while San Miguel Holdings Corp. tapped Incheon International Airport Corp. to create SMHC-IIAC Airport Corp.

Metor Pacific teamed up with Aeroports de Paris Management SA, while Filinvest tapped Japan Airport Terminal Corp. and Sojitz Corp.

The five provincial airports in the PPP bundle are the P20.26-

billion Bacolod-Silay International Airport and the P30.4-billion Iloilo International Airport under package 1, and the P14.62-billion Laguindingan Airport, P2.34-billion New Bohol (Panglao) Airport and P40.57-billion Davao International Airport under package 2.

The winning concessionaires for each airport bundle will handle the operation and maintenance of the airports for 30 years and expand the facilities. Aside from the operation and maintenance, the contract will require the winner to expand the terminal, apron, airside and landside facilities to address future demand.

oPriceS il P today

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, April 7, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.2570

Japan

Yen

0.009113

0.4215

UK

Pound

1.412300

65.3288

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128936

5.9642

Switzerland

Franc

1.046572

48.4113

Canada

Dollar

0.763709

35.3269

Singapore

Dollar

0.742446

34.3433

Australia

Dollar

0.759800

35.1461

Bahrain

Dinar

2.656607

122.8867

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266731

12.3382

Brunei

Dollar

0.739700

34.2163

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028329

1.3104

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.5952

Euro

Euro

1.139800

52.7237

Korea

Won

0.000866

0.0401

China

Yuan

0.154276

7.1363

India

Rupee

0.015039

0.6957

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.255493

11.8183

New Zealand

Dollar

0.681700

31.5334

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030850

1.4270 Source: PDS Bridge

FRIDAY: APRIL 8, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Thursday, april 7, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 80 361.2 57 180 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 52 276 41 118.2 59 2.65

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Union Bank Vantage Equities

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 20.75 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 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

79 3.95 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 6.75 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 2.3 1.63 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.37 3.87 8.45 3 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

Aboitiz Power Corp.

42.8 Agrinurture Inc. 5 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.74 Alsons Cons.

1.39 Asiabest Group 11 Bogo Medelin 58.7 Century Food 18.68 Chemphil 200 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 372 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 19.38 Concepcion 47 Crown Asia 2.45 Da Vinci Capital 5.62 Del Monte 11.22 DNL Industries Inc. 9.050 Emperador 7.69 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.86 EEI 7.80 Euro-Med Lab 1.61 First Gen Corp.

21.6 First Holdings ‘A’ 69.55 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 13.80 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.76 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.91 Ionics Inc 2.670 Jollibee Foods Corp.

228.00 LBC Express 10.9 Liberty Flour 34.90 LMG Chemicals 2 Mabuhay Vinyl 4.3 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26 Maxs Group 22.1 Megawide 6.32 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 329.00 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.63 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.74 Petron Corporation 10.20 Phil H2O 3.2 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.34 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.68 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.7 RFM Corporation 4.25 Roxas and Co. 2.9 4.6 Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 180 SPC Power Corp.

4.62 Splash Corporation 2.5 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.158 TKC Steel Corp.

1.23 Trans-Asia Oil 2.64 Universal Robina 215 Victorias Milling 4.6 Vitarich Corp.

0.78 Vivant Corp.

33.00 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.31

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 5.3

76 5.29 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 9.66 0.0670 2.31 1.61 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 390 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 3 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 3 0.030 1.23 0.550 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 170 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 0.375

6.74 12 0.65 1.2 0.192

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

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

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

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

High

3.27 46.3 101.10 89.70 39.2 2.88 1.37 14.42 15.6 7.60 1.76 630.00 0.590 84.5 0.96 14.88 23.65 52.70 120 280 31 175.6 57.45 1.58

0.350 64.00 16.64 1.16 6.06 0.285 0.290 743.5 7.36 12.60 5.18 4.96 0.229 1352 6.33 9.78 78.00 5.4 6.93 0.68 15.64 0.480 5.79 3.4 0.0330 1.460 1.930 76.60 944.50 1.18 0.78 230.00 187.000 0.3100 0.1960 0.290

8990 HLDG 7.800 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.74 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.20 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.580 Arthaland Corp.

0.241

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

Close

SHARES 11,150,642 75,944,916 77,381,289 130,034,018 353,806,590 222,407,445 873,304,935

Low

FINANCIAL 3.45 3.18 46.3 45.25 102.80 101.10 90.35 89.50 39.8 39.45 2.82 2.82 1.38 1.32 14.42 14.16 15.6 15.36 7.75 7.60 1.74 1.69 600.00 600.00 0.620 0.590 86.05 84.7 0.96 0.95 15.30 14.90 23.70 23.70 53.50 52.30 180 140 280 275 31.5 30.95 177 175.8 57.80 57.50 1.57 1.55 INDUSTRIAL 43.1 42.8 5.16 4.88 0.75 0.73 1.4 1.38 11 10.9 58.7 56 18.66 18.6 260 200 412 375 19.78 19.02 47.3 46.5 2.44 2.35 5.74 5.62 11.5 11 9.300 9.050 7.75 7.58 5.90 5.75 8.00 7.75 1.94 1.71 22 21.6 72.2 69.7 12.50 12.50 13.88 13.78 5.91 5.81 2.700 2.560 233.40 228.40 11.2 10.14 34.90 34.90 2.5 2 4.65 4 26.3 25.95 22.5 21.8 6.32 6.2 329.00 325.00 4.64 4.64 3.75 3.73 10.60 10.20 3.25 3.25 4.34 4.22 1.71 1.65 2.79 2.7 4.35 4.20 3.3 2.6 4.75 4.62 184 180 4.65 4.62 2.56 2.48 0.158 0.156 1.25 1.22 2.74 2.64 217 214.4 4.6 4.55 0.8 0.76 39.50 31.00 1.38 1.27 HOLDING FIRMS 0.365 0.350 64.45 64.00 17.00 16.60 1.22 1.11 6.20 6.01 0.280 0.280 0.280 0.280 756.5 743 7.45 7.36 12.82 12.70 5.15 5.15 5.00 4.94 0.229 0.229 1384 1345 6.33 6.30 9.79 9.73 80.00 78.00 6 5.35 6.97 6.81 0.68 0.67 15.84 15.64 0.500 0.470 5.88 5.81 4.1 3.38 0.0340 0.0330 1.390 1.280 1.980 1.920 77.00 76.00 964.50 946.00 1.22 1.17 0.77 0.77 227.00 227.00 190.000 182.700 0.3100 0.3050 0.2100 0.2000 0.280 0.280 PROPERTY 7.800 7.720 8.00 7.74 1.33 1.17 1.570 1.570 0.240 0.230

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

3.3 46.3 102.00 90.35 39.7 2.82 1.32 14.2 15.4 7.70 1.74 600.00 0.600 85.75 0.95 15.00 23.70 52.30 180 275 31.5 175.8 57.50 1.56

0.92 0.00 0.89 0.72 1.28 -2.08 -3.65 -1.53 -1.28 1.32 -1.14 -4.76 1.69 1.48 -1.04 0.81 0.21 -0.76 50.00 -1.79 1.61 0.11 0.09 -1.27

615,000 31,000 2,157,870 1,191,670 67,500 13,000 21,000 16,500 285,800 1,400 7,000 10 3,086,000 1,848,420 180,000 116,500 900 66,940 110 1,260 378,000 960,860 4,340 98,000

43.1 5.1 0.73 1.39 11 56.05 18.62 204 391.8 19.12 47 2.4 5.63 11.2 9.180 7.68 5.86 8.00 1.9 21.7 71 12.50 13.78 5.82 2.600 231.00 10.8 34.90 2.32 4.3 26.05 22.3 6.3 329.00 4.64 3.73 10.56 3.25 4.34 1.65 2.79 4.30 2.6 4.62 183.9 4.62 2.48 0.158 1.22 2.66 215.2 4.55 0.78 34.00 1.28

0.70 2.00 -1.35 0.00 0.00 -4.51 -0.32 2.00 5.32 -1.34 0.00 -2.04 0.18 -0.18 1.44 -0.13 0.00 2.56 18.01 0.46 2.08 -9.42 0.15 -1.52 -2.62 1.32 -0.92 0.00 16.00 0.00 0.19 0.90 -0.32 0.00 0.22 -0.27 3.53 1.56 0.00 -1.79 3.33 1.18 -10.34 0.43 2.17 0.00 -0.80 0.00 -0.81 0.76 0.09 -1.09 0.00 3.03 -2.29

2,037,400 1,661,700 33,000 1,581,000 4,300 340 206,500 290 9,880 211,800 96,300 1,640,000 339,700 25,800 2,127,000 486,100 6,031,300 3,008,100 252,000 2,476,600 474,350 97,300 16,900 116,300 6,557,000 830,170 6,800 800 740,000 4 1,225,200 458,600 152,600 49,030 4,000 3,796,000 14,816,900 15,000 1,015,000 561,000 103,000 2,042,000 159,000 3,000 77,180 3,000 344,000 3,340,000 121,000 2,723,000 2,106,290 187,000 5,879,000 10,600 5,149,000

0.360 64.45 17.00 1.14 6.18 0.280 0.280 756.5 7.4 12.76 5.15 5.00 0.229 1357 6.33 9.73 80.00 6 6.97 0.68 15.7 0.470 5.83 3.6 0.0330 1.380 1.940 77.00 959.50 1.20 0.77 227.00 190.000 0.3050 0.2100 0.280

2.86 0.70 2.16 -1.72 1.98 -1.75 -3.45 1.75 0.54 1.27 -0.58 0.81 0.00 0.37 0.00 -0.51 2.56 11.11 0.58 0.00 0.38 -2.08 0.69 5.88 0.00 -5.48 0.52 0.52 1.59 1.69 -1.28 -1.30 1.60 -1.61 7.14 -3.45

680,000 699,190 5,695,300 315,000 8,400 350,000 150,000 177,070 2,504,000 8,836,200 100 146,000 10,000 80,850 213,300 1,452,000 1,893,200 1,000 3,210,700 2,000 4,722,300 80,000 19,313,500 43,000 15,200,000 19,000 2,743,000 196,960 312,250 565,000 194,000 10 49,060 1,060,000 3,790,000 80,000

7.800 8.00 1.26 1.570 0.230

0.00 3.36 5.00 -0.63 -4.56

-180,740.00 776,220.00 -42,926,364 -4,246,266.50 639,740.00

-2,249,212.00 1,740.00 183,500.00 11,460,928.00 -95,000.00 -16,390.00 -862,766.00 280,000.00 2,049,470 -28,406,920.00 -2,300.00 52,698,025.00 -324,340.00

1,978,532.00 -28,680.00 -71,205 24,000.00 -666,102.00 -816,061.00 -15,992,760.00 -5,190,256.00 -5,670.00 -2,323,340.00 12,066,191.00 -1,216,250.00 -18,014.00 120,600.00 -2,480,456.00 5,110.00 1,633,760.00 -23,212,995.00 34,375.00 -935,386.00 -85,830.00 35,088,964.00

1,008,870.00 1,360,780.00

159,480.00 6,203,106.00 845,500.00 11,850.00 39,900.00 21,994,429.50 -11,702,114.00

-42,000.00 45,074,620.00 7,011,098.00 -64,222,744.00 500,000.00 -18,584,795.00 64,566.00 65,923,115.50 -1,440,114.00 -5,851,756.00 73,974,062.00

-362,000.00 1,248,843.50 82,640,780.00 -60,500.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

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

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

Phil. Realty `A’ 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 2.6 7.67 4 1700 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 2.58 830 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 6.41 4 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 3 2.28 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) Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys 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 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.7 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 6.5 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

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

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

TA Petroleum

70 120 515 111 1047 84.8

33 101.5 480 101 1011 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

First Gen G GLOBE PREF P MWIDE PREF PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

-9,135.00

77,800 363,876.00 2,300 -17,028.00 12,425,000 3,000 110,000

Close

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

High

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

35.850 35.100 35.850 2.98 2.94 2.97 5.2 5.2 5.2 0.57 0.550 0.560 1.020 0.980 0.980 0.126 0.124 0.124 0.570 0.500 0.570 36.9 36 36.25 0.860 0.850 0.860 0.159 0.158 0.158 1.09 1.05 1.05 1.84 1.78 1.84 1.39 1.39 1.39 4.20 4.20 4.20 4.08 3.97 3.99 0.091 0.087 0.091 0.2480 0.2340 0.2480 0.520 0.480 0.480 28.55 27.75 28.40 1.63 1.53 1.55 3.05 3.02 3.03 21.70 21.65 21.95 0.89 0.86 0.89 7.06 6.25 6.97 1.250 1.150 1.210 4.750 4.680 4.700 SERVICES 7.3 7.3 7.18 7.19 55.6 56.5 55.8 56.1 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.26 0.580 0.590 0.580 0.580 4.72 4.81 4.60 4.60 0.0630 0.0630 0.0610 0.0620 3.24 3.2 3.1 3.1 89.95 90.5 89.05 89.35 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.69 6.85 6.98 6.65 6.74 3.34 3.21 3.12 3.12 975 965 965 965 2050 2070 2008 2050 6.98 6.95 6.72 6.88 24.05 27.25 24.00 24.00 1.26 1.32 1.26 1.27 64.5 66.4 64.75 66.4 19.00 20.10 17.50 17.52 220 220 195 200 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 0.300 0.320 0.300 0.315 1.4300 1.5200 1.4100 1.4300 2.22 2.45 2.25 2.3 7.78 7.78 7.60 7.61 3.97 3.97 3.81 3.90 24.35 24.95 24.30 24.30 0.550 0.760 0.550 0.680 1.96 1.96 1.96 1.96 2.26 2.35 2.17 2.2 3.86 3.87 3.83 3.83 0.300 0.325 0.300 0.310 1.710 2.230 1.740 2.200 5.10 5.10 5.10 5.10 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 117.00 120.00 117.00 120.00 21.90 21.90 21.60 21.90 1910.00 1908.00 1798.00 1798.00 0.420 0.430 0.420 0.430 0.880 0.890 0.860 0.890 37.00 37.45 37.00 37.20 74.50 77.30 75.30 76.00 6.33 6.47 6.22 6.30 3.48 3.51 3.42 3.44 0.610 0.600 0.600 0.620 2.09 2.05 1.85 1.97 3.61 3.69 3.59 3.63 5.130 5.500 5.070 5.250 MINING & OIL 0.0044 0.0045 0.0044 0.0045 2.05 2.05 2.02 2.02 4.35 4.39 4.31 4.39 0.250 0.248 0.235 0.235 7.7500 7.68 7.18 7.1800 7.9700 7.9600 7.2800 7.2800 0.63 0.66 0.63 0.66 0.490 0.485 0.475 0.480 8.25 8.25 7.96 8.25 0.810 0.840 0.810 0.820 0.285 0.290 0.280 0.280 0.255 0.260 0.250 0.255 0.270 0.280 0.275 0.280 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0130 0.0130 0.0130 1.96 2.04 1.96 1.97 4.74 5 4.76 4.97 2.61 2.63 2.49 2.59 0.5900 0.5900 0.5400 0.5900 1.2500 1.2400 1.2400 1.2400 0.0097 0.0100 0.0096 0.0096 3.80 3.82 3.80 3.80 5.40 5.41 5.36 5.39 2.22 2.37 2.22 2.23 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0120 128.00 130.00 127.50 127.70 2.5 2.62 2.44 2.5 PREFERRED 55 56 54.65 56 115.4 115.4 115.4 115.4 525 520 520 520 109.9 109.5 108.1 109.5 1010 1014 1014 1014 80.95 80.5 80.3 80.3 75.6 80 78 80 75.5 75.6 75.6 75.6 76.75 76.9 76.8 76.9 76.3 77.7 76.5 77.4 75.05 75.05 75 75 75 75 75 75 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.220 3.370 3.130 3.130 SME 4.26 4.26 3.91 4.2 3.68 3.78 3.58 3.7 3.1 3.24 3.1 3.16 18.54 18.5 17.8 18 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 118 118.5 118 118.4

2.43 0.68 0.97 -1.75 -2.00 -1.59 11.76 -2.29 -2.27 2.60 0.96 2.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.11 1.64 -7.69 2.34 1.97 -2.26 0.23 0.00 5.29 5.22 -0.42

3,352,100 2,184,000 9,000 2,756,000 21,000 2,320,000 35,349,000 1,752,600 54,000 330,000 4,668,000 9,797,000 1,000 4,000 18,070,000 5,610,000 250,000 252,000 3,977,000 1,817,000 37,000 12,681,800 2,902,000 54,000 2,794,000 6,363,000

76,743,340.00 1,515,000.00

-1.51 0.90 0.00 0.00 -2.54 -1.59 -4.32 -0.67 -0.59 -1.61 -6.59 -1.03 0.00 -1.43 -0.21 0.79 2.95 -7.79 -9.09 -9.09 5.00 0.00 3.60 -2.19 -1.76 -0.21 23.64 0.00 -2.65 -0.78 3.33 28.65 0.00 0.00 2.56 0.00 -5.86 2.38 1.14 0.54 2.01 -0.47 -1.15 1.67 -5.74 0.55 2.34

155,900 -320,436.00 157,300 121,000 165,000 4,325,000 -6,380,730.00 23,210,000 701,000 157,950 370,649.50 14,000 30,500 29,000 2,350 76,960 -28,127,230.00 72,300 4,500 258,000 226,960 1,181,317.00 135,200 150 18,800,000 46,200,000 47,500.00 7,348,000 -18,000.00 224,000 51,000 145,464.00 488,000 76,800.00 2,700 9,206,000 44,000 21,638,000 -16,950,370.00 455,000 3,900.00 17,300,000 15,500.00 184,705,000 -13,492,280.00 1,100 1,000 1,940 59,700.00 116,000 -37,090.00 332,775 -444,931,770.00 310,000 12,600.00 3,554,000 172,000.00 1,327,100 -13,371,900.00 1,359,360 64,240,263.50 515,400 15,875.00 2,560,000 -277,200.00 2,563,190 31,000 -46,380.00 2,891,000 -329,370.00 44,500

2.27 -1.46 0.92 -6.00 -7.35 -8.66 4.76 -2.04 0.00 1.23 -1.75 0.00 3.70 0.00 8.33 0.51 4.85 -0.77 0.00 -0.80 -1.03 0.00 -0.19 0.45 0.00 -0.23 0.00

96,000,000 35,000 213,000 60,000 86,200 900 281,000 980,000 200 4,798,000 240,000 23,850,000 160,000 45,400,000 2,100,000 713,000 1,528,000 80,000 8,000 132,000 13,000,000 68,000 571,400 2,819,000 27,000,000 487,510 176,000

1.82 0.00 -0.95 -0.36 0.40 -0.80 5.82 0.13 0.20 1.44 -0.07 0.00

680 1,730 40 570 840 4,000 16,800 40,000 13,840 32,130 167,800 598,520

-2.80

219,000

-1.41 0.54 1.94 -2.91

46,000 35,000 186,000 2,307,700

0.34

4,730

-1,065,680.00 1,960.00 124,000.00 -678,000.00 -2,824,885.00 222,480.00 11,977,280.00 -33,123,300.00 24,000.00 32,855,315.00 645,580.00 -180,204,035.00 -66,200.00 -1,274,340.00

254,360.00

1,300.00

27,440.00 -2,578,440.00

-1,352,655.00 -29,630.00 33,600.00 -27,344,240.00 -13,100.00

-54,230.00 -4,077,510.00

T op L oSerS

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,629.72 (up) 12.76 INDUSTRIAL 11,836.55 (up) 66.24 HOLDING FIRMS 7,123.39 (up) 101.22 PROPERTY 2,959.68 (up) 36.56 SERVICES 1,482.12 (down) 28.75 MINING & OIL 10,649.59 (up) 79.71 PSEI 7,232.97 (up) 52.42 All Shares Index 4,219.50 (up) 48.76 Gainers: 110; Losers: 91; Unchanged: 37; Total: 238

Close

35.000 2.95 5.15 0.570 1.000 0.126 0.510 37.1 0.880 0.154 1.04 1.80 1.39 4.20 3.99 0.090 0.2440 0.520 27.75 1.52 3.1 21.65 0.89 6.62 1.150 4.720

T op g ainerS VALUE 685,953,309.99 1,239,292,381.71 131,567,5436.81 750,513,436.16 1,478,841,137.41 95,740,887.152 5,609,046,955.63

Low

Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Philippine trust Co.

180

50.00

Roxas and Co.

2.6

NOW Corp.

2.200

28.65

Ginebra San Miguel Inc.

12.50

-10.34 -9.42

Manila Bulletin

0.680

23.64

Imperial Res. `B'

200

-9.09

Euro-Med Lab

1.9

18.01

IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

0.0100

-9.09

LMG Chemicals

2.32

16.00

Benguet Corp `B'

7.2800

-8.66

Cyber Bay Corp.

0.570

11.76

Imperial Res. `A'

17.52

-7.79

Keppel Holdings `A'

6

11.11

Phil. Realty `A'

0.480

-7.69

Manila Mining `B'

0.0130

8.33

Benguet Corp `A'

7.1800

-7.35

Wellex Industries

0.2100

7.14

Easy Call "Common"

3.12

-6.59

MJCI Investments Inc.

3.6

5.88

Basic Energy Corp.

0.235

-6.00

FRIDAY: APRIL 8, 2016

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

B3

Atlas cuts copper output by 33%

By Jenniffer B. Austria

ATLAS Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. will reduce copper production by 33 percent in 2016 and 2017 due to the slump in copper prices in the world market.

Atlas said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce mill throughput at the Carmen copper mine in Cebu province from its nameplate capacity of 60,000 tons per day to 40,000 TPD.

Atlas approved revised milling and mining plan in response to the recent decline in copper prices. The average copper prices dropped significantly to $3.11 a pound in 2014 to $2.49 in 2015 and to $2.11 in the first quarter of 2016.

“Management continues to vigorously pursue measures to reduce operational and administrative costs as well as to achieve improved levels of operational efficiency,” Atlas said.

“While the board of director views the long term outlook for copper positively, in the short term the company must respond to current market conditions to optimize cash flow, while protecting its large mineral resources for the longer term and to position the company to enhance

performance and throughput when copper prices improve,” it added.

The mining company in 2013 embarked on an aggressive program to expand Carmen’s existing 40,000 ton-per-day capacity by 50 percent to 60,000 with a capital expenditure of about P5.4 billion.

Carmen Copper Corp., a wholly-owned unit of Atlas said in 2014 it secured $90 million worth of loans from local and foreign banks.

Atlas Mining signed loan agreements with Security Bank Corp. for P1.1 billion, Maybank Philippines Inc. for $10 million, Maybank International Labuan Branch for $10 million, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. for $19.5 million and United Overseas Bank Limited for $25 million.

“The proceeds of the loans will be used

by Carmen Copper to fund its capital expenditures and to refinance its outstanding short-term loan obligations,” Atlas said.

Carmen Copper operates the Toledo copper mine covering 1,674 hectares in Toledo City, Cebu.

Meanwhile, Atlas will seek shareholders’ approval to cut the par value of the stock to P1 apiece from P8 per share, which will result in the reduction in the company’s authorized capital stock to P3 billion from P24 billion.

Atlas said it would again increase the company’s authorized capital stock to P6 billion from P3 billion after the decrease to enable it to have sufficient shares of stock to allow it to raise fresh funds if deemed necessary.

Market advances; Petron, Jollibee up THE stock market rose Thursday as oil surged and investors returned to riskier assets after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting affirmed its gradual approach to raising interest rates.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed 52.42 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,232.97 on a value turnover of P5.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 110 to 91, with 37 issues unchanged.

Petron Corp., the bigger of the two oil refineries, advanced 3.5 percent to P10.56, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fastfood chain, gained 1.3 percent P231.

Technology stock Now Corp. jumped over 28 percent to P2.20, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. added 1.6 percent to P959.50.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, dropped 5.9 percent to P1,798.

A gauge of developing-nation stocks rebounded from a three-week low, with all 10 industry groups advancing. Equity benchmarks in Dubai, South Africa, Turkey and the Philippines rose, while Chinese shares fell for a second day. South Korea’s, won Indonesia’s rupiah and Malaysia’s ringgit led gains as a gauge of emerging currencies climbed from its lowest level this month.

“Investors are reacting positively to signs that the Fed is dovish and to the rebound in oil prices,” said Rafael Palma Gil, a trader at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., which manages $1.7 billion of assets. “As long as interest rates stay low, or near zero, funds will flow back into emerging markets for higher yields.”

Developing-nation assets have retreated in April, after surging in March, amid concerns that risks to a global economic recovery are increasing. While the Fed’s minutes showed broad agreement on a go-slow strategy, opinion was divided with some saying it might send the wrong signal. The dollar slipped for a second day, reaching a 17-month low against the yen, as traders assign zero chance of a Fed rate increase in April. With Bloomberg

Lean in

IT WAS a rare moment of levity at a strategic planning meeting. I had just physically pushed away from the table after our meeting facilitator had called for volunteers to the task force that we had just voted into existence. I realized I had done the exact opposite of leaning in.

About three years ago, the book Lean In authored by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, topped international bestseller lists. The book remains controversial with experts disagreeing about the advice Sandberg gives. Whether you disagree with Sandberg or not, nobody really seems to dispute certain facts. First, that, internationally, women are generally underrepresented in the halls of leadership, and second, that many of those who do occupy leadership roles actively seek them.

Now, let’s point out that Sandberg’s book was definitely about women in leadership roles. However, much of what she says is true regardless of your gender. For example, the leanin.org website says that the “book challenges us to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can do.” Now, remove the focus on women and you will find advice that will resonate with every manager on earth. If you want to get things done, you need to focus the conversation not on what cannot be done but on what can be done.

So, this week, let’s talk about leaning in.

The merit myth At one time or the other, especially if you are very young, someone will have told you that, if

Job opportunities. Republic Cement & Building Materials Inc. pesident Renato Sunico (left) and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz shake hands after signing an agreement to provide employment opportunities for returning migrant Filipino workers through employment matching and technical training programs. Under the agreement, private companies such as Republic Cement will identify various manpower vacancies within their organizations and have them posted on the PhilJobNet portal.

you work hard and do well, someone will take notice and you will be rewarded. What almost everyone eventually learns—and usually quite early in life—is that even being in a position to be able to exhibit how good you are requires that you put yourself forward.

And that’s just the first step. While the idea of self-promotion seems anathema to many, the reality is that virtually every person in a top leadership position learned how to create visibility. Some people are shameless self-promotors. Some are more discreet. But every single one of them somehow made sure that those who are in a position to further their goals and careers know about them, their capabilities, and their accomplishments.

This takes a particular sort of mindset.

Goal After Lean In was released in 2013, Susan Adams, wrote in a Forbes article that Sandberg actually gets many things right. One of those things Adams believes Sandberg gets right is that internal obstacles hold women back. In the book, Sandberg says “We lower our own expectations of what we can achieve.”

Try this experiment. Find the people you admire most. The ones who are in leadership positions, the ones who have changed the world.

Ask them how they got started on their path.

You will get a smattering of people who will say that it was luck or happenstance that started them on this path. But, virtually without exception, each of them will point to a day when they made a commitment: “I will do this. I will chase this goal.”

Ambition Ask any human resources (HR) officer about recruitment and promotion and they will tell you that desire or ambition is something they look for in candidates. In a choice between an

applicant who really wants the job and another who is lukewarm, unless there are vast competency or qualification differentials, the applicant who wants it will get the job. Why? Because the person who really wants the job—in fact, the person who wants to have the job in order to accomplish other things, say a promotion, or some other larger goal such as making credit more available—is more likely to work hard at it, and hence, more likely to succeed.

And, yes, in a negotiation exercise, obviously the applicant who is lukewarm about a position will be in a stronger position to negotiate a compensation package – but this only happens if the applicant is already the overwhelming first choice and there are no other comparable candidates.

In other words, unless you are so good that they aren’t even considering anyone else—in which case, it is a good negotiation tactic to not seem like you are dying for the position—being seen as wanting the position is more likely to get you the job.

This means actually being able to say you want that job and explaining why you want it. Generally, it also means being able to explain why you believe you are the best person for the job. People who truly want a position understand that they have to sell themselves. If you don’t truly what the job, or are not confident about being able to do it, you are not likely to get it.

Motivation Why would anyone not want a promotion?

When I was young, I thought everyone would see a promotion as desirable. I was very quickly stripped of this wrong belief. I had an employee who almost laughed when I explained to her how working harder would get here a promotion. In summary, she told me this: “My husband works in another country. He has a really good job. I have

one child. I want to spend as much time with her as I can. The main reason I work is that I would get bored during the hours my child is in school.

Why would I want a promotion? I’m not aiming to be a department head. We don’t need more money. I don’t want to work too hard. I don’t want the work to take so much energy, I won’t have it for my child.”

And that, in a nutshell, is a large part of why many individuals, not all of them women, decide at some point that they are happy where they are.

The reality is that every person needs to take a long, hard look at what they want to accomplish on the job, and what they wish for themselves in their personal lives. Achieving some level of balance is critical.

What makes all of this even harder is that we live in a culture where being successful often marks you for criticism or dislike. This is even worse for women. If you happen to be female and successful—and, heaven help you, even moderately attractive—you will be accused of flirting or even sleeping your way up the ladder. In many cultures, while the aggressive male is admired, the aggressive female is pilloried. One is confident, the other is bitchy. This makes it harder to desire high level positions.

The other tragedy is when individuals fail to aim for something more simply because they cannot build the necessary support systems to do more at work and still have time and energy for their personal lives. But that is a matter for another day.

Just for this week, consider this: Are you leaning in? or leaning out? And why?

Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://integrations.tumblr.com.

B4

FRIDAY: APRIL 8, 2016

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

IN BRIEF iRegalo launches service IREGALO, a new e-commerce player, has launched a service targeting overseas Filipinos with unique gift packages. It assembles a comprehensive healthcare lineup that assures OFWs their earnings are really spent on their family’s specific medical needs. iRegalo’s health care line up covers the most important bases. One package helps keep their teeth and gums healthy for a whole year. Another provides a consultation with a licensed optometrist plus a new pair of glasses perfectly fitting the requirements of the patient. iRegalo plans to add more services, ensuring that OFW families get the healthcare coverage they need.

“We are excited to introduce this new way of sending gifts, something that was not easy to do, nor even available online before,” said iRegalo president Martin Nery.

“This is the first time that a gift service offers terrific healthcare choices for the overseas Filipino,” he said. iRegalo has taken the necessary steps to secure the entire process, using encryption that has been rated A+ by QualysSSL Labs, an independent testing service.

“We made sure that not only are our packages compelling, but that the entire process is worry-free,” said iRegalo chief finance officer Gilbert Paras.

FastCat adding 20 vessels ARCHIPELAGO Philippine Ferries Corp., operator of FastCat roll-on/roll-off ferries, is acquiring 20 more Catarman vessels from Australia to expand its network nationwide and expand routes to other Southeast Asian countries.

“Right now, we have 10 vessels. We are building two and there is an order for three more. Hopefully, we will have 20 vessels by 2018. Before 2020, we will have the entire 30 vessels,” APFC chairman Christopher Pastrana said in a news briefing at Milky Way Cafe in Makati City Thursday.

APFC, which was incorporated in 2010, embarked on a re-fleeting program in 2010 by teaming up with Sea Transport Solutions of Australia, the leading designer and builder of Catarman vessels. Pastrana said with 10 vessels, the company could serve three million passengers a year, a number that could triple by 2020.

Pastrana said each vessel costs $8.3 million to $12 million. “It is a large investment. We are putting our resources to where it should be, because it really requires a lot of expenditures,” Pastrana said.

“We want every Filipino to enjoy a ‘ferry’ safe, ‘ferry’ fast, and ‘ferry’ convenient trip,” said Pastrana.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

ERC lifts moratorium on new retail suppliers

By Alena Mae S. Flores

GENERAL Santos City— The Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday it lifted the suspension on the issuance of licenses for new retail electricity suppliers.

“We have lifted the suspension,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar told reporters here.

The regulator issued a resolution in October 2014, putting on hold the evaluation of retail electricity suppliers’ licenses to provide regulatory guidance for new players.

“The suspension has already been there

for almost two years, and there is now a clamor from the industry to issue rules,” Salazar said.

Salazar said the commission could now act on numerous pending applications for licenses, following the issuance of a resolution.

Meanwhile, Salazar said compliance to the 1-megawatt threshold under the retail competition and open access regime was moved to Dec. 26, 2016, while compliance to the 750-kilowatt threshold was moved to June 26, 2017.

Retail competition and open access allow large power users to choose their own power suppliers with the aim of bringing in competition to bring down power costs.

The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 mandates that the threshold for open access can be lowered to 750 kW

Madrid Fusion opening. Tourism

Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. (right) leads the hoisting of the Madrid Fusion Manila 2016 sail to mark the opening of the 2016 edition of the event. He is assisted by (from right) Jesus Gracia, Secretary of StateInternational Cooperation, Kingdom of Spain, Foro de Debate general manager Lourdes Plana, Tourism Promotions Board chief operating officer Domingo Enerio III and Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Luis Calvo. The three-day congress, on April 7 to 9, also features a trade exhibition, showcasing food and beverage companies, gourmet products, ingredients, new technologies and services in the food industry.

Forex reserves rise to $82.6b GROSS international reserves climbed to $82.6 billion

in March, the highest in more than two years, Bangko Sentral said Thursday.

Data showed reserves increased by $2.1 billion from $80.5 billion in March 2015. The figure was also up $700 million from $81.88 billion in February.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the increase in reserves was due mainly to net foreign currency deposits by the national government which included proceeds from the issuance of global bonds amounting to $495 million and from program loans extended by the Asian Development Bank.

Other contributors were Bangko Sentral’s income from investments abroad and the revaluation of Bangko Sentral’s foreign currency-denominated reserves.

“These were partially offset by payments made by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings resulting from the decrease in the price of gold in the international market,” Tetangco said. Julito G. Rada

7% growth possible ECONOMIC growth may hit 7 percent this year, representing the lower end of the government’s mid-term growth target, a London-based think tank said.

International research and analytics firm Capital Economics said the $300-billion Southeast Asian economy was poised to grow between 6 and 7 percent over the medium to long term despite the change in political leadership.

“But there are good reasons to think that [President Aquino’s] achievements will outlast his presidency. We remain optimistic that the Philippines will continue to grow strongly over the coming years,” Capital Economics said in its latest report.

The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee set the gross domestic product growth target at 6.8 percent to 7.8 percent this year, 6.6 percent to 7.6 percent in 2017 and 7 percent to 8 percent in 2018. The economy grew 5.8 percent in 2015.

Meanwhile, British bank Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. raised the Philippines’ growth outlook this year to 5.9 percent from an earlier estimate of 5.7 percent, on robust private consumption.

“The economic outlook for the Philippines is robust for the time being. However, there are long-term issues that may come back to haunt the country if not resolved,” HSBC said in a report. Gabrielle Binaday

Group bucks FIT collection ELECTRICITY consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reform Inc. called on the Energy Regulatory Commission to suspend the imposition of the feed-in tariff charge.

Nasecore in a statement cited reports that several renewable energy developers did not follow the Energy Department’s guidelines for feed-in tariff eligibility.

The group sent a letter to ERC chairman Jose Salazar requesting for the suspension of the feed-in tariff until all doubts about the compliance of supposedly FIT-eligible companies were cleared.

“Considering that it is the electricity consumers who will in effect spend for the incentive the Renewable Energy companies are going to enjoy, it is only fair that the public be given the right to know whether or not their hard-earned money is being spent properly,” Nasecore president Pete Ilagan said in a letter to Salazar.

Salazar, however, said the feed-in tariff and the feed-in tariff allowance were part of the Renewable Energy Law. “That [suspension] will depend on our legislators,” he said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Marcventures eyes plant MARCVENTURES Holdings Inc. on Thursday unveiled a plant to build a nickel processing plant and acquire a mining company to boost output and exports.

Macrventures said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board had granted company president Isidro Alcantara the authority “to seek potential investments in establishing a nickel processing plant in the Philippines.”

The facility would be the country’s third nickel plant. The company said it would also look into acquiring a mining company or property to supply additional ore for the processing plant.

Marcventures’s board of directors also approved the increase the company’s authorized capital stock to P2.5 billion from P 2 billion.

Marcventures, through wholly-owned subsidiary Marcventures Mining and Development is engaged in exploration and mining of nickel mine in Surigao del Sur. Jenniffer B. Austria

from 1 MW two years upon implementation. Open access was implemented in December 2013.

“It seems that because of the delay in finalization of rules...with rules of contestability, definitely 1,000 kilowatts [1 MW] will still be voluntary until Dec. 26, 2016,” Salazar said.

ERC expects around 671 customers in Luzon and the Visayas with a demand of one megawatt and above to switch to the retail electricity suppliers under the retail competition and open access regime by June.

ERC released a resolution adopting the 2016 rules governing the issuance of licenses to retail electricity suppliers to promote free, fair and true competition in the power industry.

Running scared IT’S CONFIRMED – the yellow administration is running scared after the latest surveys showed Senator Bong Bong Marcos or BBM emerging as the top pick of voters for the position of vice president. No wonder, the yellow minions are resorting to harassment, filing a case of plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman for—of all things—the Priority Development Assistance Fund a.k.a. pork barrel that pork queen Janet Lim Napoles allegedly masterminded. But the hilarious thing about it is that Napoles herself has cleared Senator Bongbong of any involvement in the pork scam, as attested to by the judicial affidavit she submitted at the height of the Senate hearings.

We can only surmise that Malacañang’s “Plan A” (Leni Robredo) and the so-called “Plan B” (Chiz Escudero) for the vice presidential race don’t look so promising anymore so they have launched “Plan C” which is to go after Marcos.

But then again, President BS has only himself to blame for the surging popularity of the Ilocano senator, because every time he opens his mouth to speak ill of BBM, he gives the latter free media mileage and publicity.

Ilda Ilda, the grand doyenne of the Get Real Philippines community, put it very well when she wrote (http://www.getrealphilippines.com/ blog/2016/02/bongbong-marcos-has-becomepopular-because-noynoy-aquino-sucks/): “Why has Senator and vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos become so popular with Filipino voters? There are plenty of reasons why but the number one reason is because of his Number One critic, current President Benigno Simeon Aquino.

“A lot of voters have become disillusioned by BS Aquino’s performance over the six years he’s held office. They realize that he is quite an unpleasant man who is only good at blaming other people for his own failures. His character is such a turn-off. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have a face that could launch a thousand ships. It is a cringe-worthy experience watching the president speak in public.

“BS Aquino is just so uninspiring. He has never been one to inspire unity in Philippine society anyway. In fact, his speeches are quite often about how ‘evil’ his rivals are compared to him. People have noticed how hypocritical he is by casting himself as pious while throwing negative propaganda against his political enemies. A truly pious person will never speak ill of others.

“Because Marcos Jr. is a threat to the so-called Aquino ‘legacy’, BS Aquino has shifted to full gear in trying to knock the senator’s popularity down. BS Aquino, the son of the late ‘democracy icon’ and former President Cory Aquino would be a laughing stock indeed, when the Marcoses return to Malacañang.

“Ironically, the more BS Aquino talks negatively about the Marcoses, the more people give Marcos Jr. a second look. It appears that BS Aquino and his supporters do not understand the concept behind public relations. They inadvertently help give Marcos Jr. free publicity at the height of campaign season for the presidential elections. As they say, all publicity is good publicity.”

That the plunder case was filed at the height of the campaign season should tell you that this was timed to derail the vice presidential campaign of Bongbong Marcos – which is all the proof you need that BBM is definitely winnable.

Asean Law Association calls for resolution of issues Asean Law Association chair for legal information Atty. Mike Toledo shared that ALA president Avelino Cruz has announced a resolution from the 10-nation organization that calls for the “amicable resolution of all existing issues in Asean through the rule of law” at ALA’s annual Governing Council Meeting held on April 2 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

The compromise resolution was reached following Vietnam National Committee’s call for a strong resolution by ALA against possible transgression of international law in the South China Sea. Philippine National Committee chairman, former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban said this compromise was reached after Brunei, along with other national committees, cautioned the group against politicizing its action beyond the scope of the ALA Constitution.

The substitute resolution initiated by ALA Singapore and later concurred by ALA Vietnam referred to all issues including those on international law amongst the Asean countries, ALA secretary general, Atty. Regina P. Geraldez, noted. During the meeting, Philippine Senator Edgardo Angara, founding oresident of ALA, suggested that the organization consider conducting a separate in-depth study of all the legal issues undertaken in the deliberation.

••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo.com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www. facebook.com/happyhourmanilastandard.

We’d be very happy to hear from you. Cheers!

— d f a e t y, y e

y

F R I D AY : A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

B5

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Another killing. Bangladeshi students block the road and stage a protest following the murder of a law student by four assailants the night before in Dhaka on April 7, 2016. AFP

Another secular activist killed Anger over on-camera attempted kidnapping BEIJING—The choking, assault and attempted kidnapping of a Chinese woman at a Beijing hotel in full view of security cameras and multiple passers-by has sparked a social media firestorm, with more than two billion views.

It is the latest in a series of flashpoint incidents in China where witnesses have stood by doing nothing, sparking debate about whether the country is turning into a society of bystanders.

A woman using the screen name “Wanwan” on Tuesday posted a video of surveillance footage showing her being assaulted by a man in the hallway of a Yitel hotel, an economy chain.

Her assailant choked her, pulled her hair and tried to abduct her while she shouted, “I don’t know you, let go of me!”, she said.

A hotel staff member who as-

sumed that they were a couple having a fight observed them at close proximity for several minutes and asked them take their dispute elsewhere, but did not intervene, she added.

After a failed attempt to flee via the lifts, she was eventually rescued by a female passerby who came to her aid, the footage showed.

“The whole incident lasted five to six minutes, in a place entirely covered with surveillance cameras, yet not a single security or hotel management staff member came out to help me,” Wanwan lamented.

The most popular of many hashtags referring to the incident had accumulated over two billion viewings by Thursday afternoon on China’s Twitter-like Weibo— around 50 percent more than the number of people in the world’s most populous country. AFP

DHAKA—A Bangladeshi law student who posted against Islamism on his Facebook page has been murdered, police said Thursday, the latest in a series of killings of secular activists and bloggers in the country.

Nazimuddin Samad, a 26-yearold atheist who had taken part in protests against Islamist leaders, was attacked late on Wednesday near his university in Dhaka by unknown assailants carrying machetes.

“They hacked his head with a machete. As he fell down, one of them shot him in the head with a pistol from close range. He died on the spot,” deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Syed Nurul Islam told AFP. “It is a case of targeted killing.

But no group has claimed responsibility,” Islam said, adding police were investigating whether Samad was murdered for his writing.

The killing—the sixth such murder of secular activists in 15 months—sparked protests in Dhaka. More than 1,000 students

blocked a busy road to demand the attackers be brought to justice, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Police said at least four assailants followed Samad on Wednesday night when he was returning home after an evening class.

The Dhaka Tribune said they shouted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) as they attacked Samad on a busy road near Dhaka’s Jagannath University, where he was a law student.

Imran Sarker, who leads Bangladesh’s largest online secular activist group, said Samad had joined nationwide protests in 2013 against top Islamist leaders accused of committing war crimes during the country’s war of independence.

“He was a secular online activist and a loud voice against any social

injustice. He was against Islamic fundamentalism,” said Sarker, head of the Bangladesh Bloggers Association.

At least four atheist bloggers and a secular publisher were hacked to death last year.

Police have arrested members of a banned group called the Ansarullah Bangla Team over those murders, although no one has yet been prosecuted.

Secular groups have called nationwide protests and rallies to demand more protection for publishers, bloggers and writers, some of whom have fled the country or gone into hiding.

Several foreigners have also been murdered in recent months in Bangladesh, which has also suffered attacks on minority Sufi and Shiite Muslims.

A long-running political crisis in the majority Sunni Muslim but officially secular country has radicalised opponents of the government and analysts say Islamist extremists pose a growing danger. AFP

New Shakespeare First Folio found LONDON—A new William Shakespeare First Folio, part of the original collection of 36 plays published in 1623, has been discovered on a Scottish island, the University of Oxford said Thursday Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford University, authenticated the First Folio as genuine, making it one of the most valuable books in the world.

The discovery brings the total of First Folios known to survive to 234, and comes shortly before celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the English playwright’s death, on April 23, 1616.

The Folio was discovered at the Mount Stuart mansion on the island of Bute, where it will be on display to the public until October.

The three-volume work formerly belonged to 18th-century literary editor Isaac Reed, according to Smith.

“When the team at Mount Stuart first told me they thought they had a First Folio, I must admit I thought ‘yeah, sure, and so do I!’,’ she said sardonically.

“But when I went up to investigate, I could tell from the story of the book’s origins, the watermarks and the idiosyncrasies of the text that it was genuine. It was a really

exciting moment.”

The professor described the goatskin piece as “unusual, because it is bound in three volumes and has lots of spare blank pages that would have been used for illustrations.”

The book is part of the Bute Collection, one of Britain’s most important private collections of artwork and artifacts that is kept at Mount Stuart.

“In terms of literary discoveries, they do not come much bigger than a new First Folio, and we are really excited that this has happened on Bute,” said Alice Martin from Mount Stuart. AFP

Forum. Queen Mathilde of Belgium looks on during the UN

Development Cooperation Forum on April 7, 2016, in Brussels. AFP

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F R I D AY : A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Looking for water like looking for gold TEUSTEPE, Nicaragua— Nicaragua may boast a southern lake that is Central America’s biggest body of freshwater, but in the center of the country years of drought have taken a severe toll.

“This is like looking for gold,” Pedro Membreno, a 55-yearold resident said as he dug into the rocky earth near the town of Teustepe, one of 33 communities in a parched corridor.

His hole was already 50 feet deep, and still there was no water.

He and hundreds of other rural dwellers are desperately searching for aquifers, underground layers of water in permeable rock.

But many have simply dried up under the drought that has dragged on for three years now.

Nicaragua’s central region has

witnessed an absence of rain and temperatures hovering around 36 to 39 degrees centigrade (97 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit).

Conditions worsened further over the past year with El Niño, the cyclical climatic phenomenon that warms the eastern Pacific, heating up and drying out much of Central America. The change accelerates deforestation and prompts farmers to divert scarce water for their crops.

The result has been despair for the towns of Teustepe, Ciudad Dario, Las Banderas, San Francisco Libre and Tipitapam, stretching from the center to the north of the country, one of the poorest in the Americas.

Their towns lie in arid fields, among bald hills where plants have shriveled, and dry riverbeds.

Mexican women learning to fight

China largest market for ‘Panama’ law firm

ECATEPEC, Mexico—The slender, 24-year-old Mexican female nurse faces off with a much bigger gun-toting man, twists his hand to snatch the weapon, points it at her attacker and pulls the trigger.

Fabiola Arteaga is not being threatened on the streets, but is taking part in a practice bout at a martial arts academy in a sprawling Mexico City suburb.

Arteaga is among a growing number of women and teenage girls taking self-defense classes at several training centers in Ecatepec, a crime-ridden city of 1.6 million where killings of women have surged in recent years.

Students learn techniques such as disarming a man with a gun or a knife, kicking him, breaking his nose, escaping a chokehold, or twisting his arm when he tries to grab them from behind.

Some 600 women have been murdered in the State of Mexico, which nearly surrounds Mexico City, in the past four years, with most homicides taking place in Ecatepec, according to the nongovernmental National Citizen Observatory of Femicides.

The bodies of women turn up every week in the rough suburbs of the capital. They are abandoned at the foot of hills or dumped in canals. The corpses are often burned or bear the scars of abuse.

The State of Mexico now competes with Ciudad Juarez, the city bordering the United States that became infamous for its spate of femicides, for the grim title of the most dangerous place for women in the country.

“These are crimes that are clearly filled with hatred” against the victims because they are women, said Maria de la Luz Estrada, head of the observatory.

Determined not to join the grim list of victims, Arteaga has been learning tang soo do, a Korean martial art, for the past five years at the Xtreme Martial Arts academy, in a poor and dimly lit neighborhood of Ecatepec. AFP

Women and children can be seen walking along the roads with empty containers, looking for water.

Despite the apocalyptic scenes, and worried protests that have sprung up in some outlying suburbs of the capital Managua to the west, environmentalists say there is no danger of the entire country going thirsty.

Still, said Denis Melendez, a coordinator for an environmental umbrella group called the National Platform for Risk Management, the drought was having a sharp impact.

“We knew that the climatic phenomenon was going to affect severely affect us. That was clear. But this prolongation of nearly three years has exacerbated the situation,” he said. AFP

Annunciation Day. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill releases a white dove to mark Annunciation Day at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 7, 2016. In Christianity, Annunciation celebrates the relevation to the Virgin Mary that she would bear a son, Jesus. AFP

BEIJING—Nearly a third of the business of the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal came from its offices in Hong Kong and China, reports said Thursday, with the Asian giant assailed by corruption and capital flight.

Protest. A demonstrator holds a poster during a protest outside parliament in Reykjavik

on April 6, 2016, as the prime minister stepped down amid massive public protests over a hidden offshore account revealed in the so-called Panama Papers. AFP

More than 16,300 of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca’s active shell companies were incorporated through its Hong Kong and China offices, 29 percent of the worldwide total, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which co-ordinated a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5-million documents.

The investigation found that relatives of at least eight current or former members of China’s Politburo Standing Committee, the ruling party’s most powerful body, have been implicated in the use of offshore companies.

Such vehicles are not illegal in themselves and can be used for legitimate business needs. But they commonly feature in corruption cases, when they can be used to secretly move ill-gotten gains abroad.

Graft is rife in China, which Transparency International rates in 83rd place out of 168 in its most recent Corruption Perceptions Index.

At the same time growth in the world’s secondlargest economy is slowing, and its wealthy have increasingly sought to move funds abroad, but have to contend with Beijing’s strict exchange-control regime.

Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has launched a much-publicized anti-graft drive, but has not instituted systemic reforms such as public declarations of assets.

Xi’s brother-in-law and family members of two current members of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), Zhang Gaoli and Liu Yunshan, have offshore holdings, the ICIJ reported.

Deng Jiagui, the husband of Xi’s sister, was previously a shareholder in three companies: Supreme Victory Enterprises, Wealth Ming International and Best Effect Enterprises, reports said. The companies were closed before Xi took power in 2012.

Relatives of past PSC members Jia Qinglin, once the fourth-ranked leader in China, Li Peng, who led the Tiananmen Square crackdown, Hu Yaobang, ex vice-president Zeng Qinghong, and Tian Jiyun were named by The Guardian, which took part in the investigation.

The documents also named movie star Jackie Chan, billionaire heiress Kelly Zong Fuli, and shopping-mall magnate Shen Guojun. AFP

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MOTORING

RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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East side drive with Ford Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

DESPITE the presence of the latest generation Japanese SUVs such as the Mitsubishi Montero and the Toyota Fortuner, the Ford Everest is holding its own and digging in for the long haul in the tough-as-nail sales race in the domestic market.

And in an effort to strengthen its foothold in the SUV market, Ford Philippines hosted a ride and event in the province of Rizal. “We are truly happy that the all-new Everest remains to be one of the most sought after SUVs in the market,” says Lance Mosley, Managing Director of Ford Philippines.

Ford’s SUV is an end product of the manufacturer’s Asia-Pacific design and product development team, after an extensive four seasons test and being subjected to severe weather and harsh offroad conditions.

The Ford Everest was built from the ground up, building on its versatile and durable reputation. Ford put into the Everest their global SUV expertise and experience to come up with a rugged and comfortable go -anywhere sports utility.

The drive started at the Ford dealership in BGC and the convoy drove up East, in the hills of Tanay where the twisty roads and long straights provided the participants some accurate onroad feedback.

The 3.2 liter Duratorq five-

cylinder TDCi diesel engine with 200bhp delivered the power to negotiate the steep inclines of Tanay, while the intelligent suspension system gave the grip needed to tackle the sharp turns and S-curves of the famed “Tanay-burgring”.

Despite the searing summer heat, all four of us gearheads inside the Everest kept our cool thanks to the strong A/C and the modern interior of this American SUV. The panoramic moon roof allowed us to enjoy the clear blue skies, and flexible seating gave us no problems with our cargo requirements.

“The all-new Everest reaches new levels of rugged capability and refinement, helping drivers navigate challenging terrain with ease and confidence while also offering an exceptional ride comfort and agile handling. It is the truck you want,” Mosley brags.

Sticker price of the new Everest starts at P1.399M for the entry level Ambiente 4x2 M/T while the high end 3.2 liter 4x4 Titanium is priced at P1.899M.

The windmills provide an excellent backdrop for the Ford Everest

FACT or FICTION: Should you keep your engine running?

LET’S face it, life in a megacity like Metro Manila means regularly getting caught in traffic jams—sometimes short waits in intersections, which could occasionally stretch into a grueling all-night affair of waiting to move inch by single inch. Like the majority of Filipinos, you’re probably worried about sitting there in the middle unmoving traffic which burns your gasoline needlessly.

And to save fuel and cut down on your fuel expenses, do you turn off your engine, or do you choose to keep it running wor-

ried that constantly having to turn your engine on and off actually increases your fuel usage?

Studies show that over half (54%) of drivers in the Philippines believe that keeping their engine running to avoid frequent restarts will improve fuel efficiency. This was one of the findings in the Shell FuelSave Fact or Fiction Report, a nationwide study from Shell polling 1,000 Filipino drivers aged 18-40 on their fuel efficiency beliefs and behaviors.

What is even worse, around 9 out of 10 Filipinos actually

keep their engine running as a habit. Unfortunately, this practice, which is a form of idling, is a myth. Idling gets you nowhere but burns fuel. It is more fuel efficient to turn off your engine when you are not moving and restart it when needed.

Contrary to misperception, the power initially required to start an engine comes from the battery. This means that turning on the engine does not use up a lot of fuel. In other words, you should turn off the engine if you know you will be stationary for more than 10 seconds, which is

often the case in the Metro. That means when you’re going to pick up something from a store, or waiting for your kid to step out of school, you should turn off the engine if you want to lower your fuel consumption.

It is worth knowing that modern vehicles are often fitted with intelligent battery recharging mechanisms, such as the use of regenerative braking—that which

automatically convert the vehicle’s kinetic energy into electrical energy during braking to recharge the battery. Modern engines will consume less fuel when turning off and restarting than idling for extended periods. In fact, some modern cars now have an incorporated technology called “auto stop-start”, which automatically shuts off the engine when the car comes to a stop.

Engine oil for Scooters One of the findings in the Shell Fact or Fiction Report, a nationwide study from Shell polling 1,000 Filipino drivers aged 18-40, showed that over half (54%) of drivers in the Philippines believe that keeping their engine running to avoid frequent restarts will improve fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, this practice is a myth and is actually a form of idling, which gets you nowhere but burns fuel. It is more fuel efficient to turn off your engine when you are not moving and restart it when needed.

SHELL Advance has launched a new range of engine oils for the growing scooter market. From left: Serge Bernal, Shell Lubricants Marketing Manager for Thailand and Philippines; Recca Menchavez, Shell Advance Brand Manager, Vivek Pareek, Global Advance Brand Manager, Dennis Javier, Shell Lubricants Business Manager for Thailand and Philippines and Karlo Tugaff, Shell Advance Global Associate Brand Manager during the product launching.

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RAMON L. TOMELDAN EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

MOTORING SHOWPIECE THE 12th Manila Internatioinal Auto show, touted as the biggest motoring event of the year, has unfolded with auto industry leaders, foreign dignitaries, event organizers under Worldbex Services Incorporated spearheading the official kickoff rites. Andre Buhl, Embassy of Germany Commercial Councilor; WSI's Director, Tessie Roque; APP President Gus Lagman; WSI's Managing Director Jill Ang; WSI's Founding Chairman, Joseph Ang; Corazon Jimenez, MMDA General Manager; Pasay City's Chief of Staff, Albert Paredes; WSI's Co-founder, Levi Ang; and Glen Dasig, president of Peugot Philippines led the ceremonies early morning Thursday. Among the cars on display during the four- day extravaganza, the Suzuki Jimny customized

by Project O of Olson Camacho stands out. The show runs until April 10, 2016 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

OF WHEELS AND WARRIORS Black Rhino launches SUV rims Text by Dino Ray V. Directo, III

WHAT better way to test a new set of wheels than drive a 4x4 SUV to one of the most destructive volcanoes of the 20th century? This was exactly what Sammy Liuson of Wheel Gallery had in mind when he launched the Black Rhino’s latest set of SUV wheels dubbed as the Warlord.

The new Black Rhino Warlord truck rims live up to that aggressive name in more ways than one. The first thing that hits you visually are

the eight brawny spokes, bifurcated as they reach the thick, detailed lip. It’s a beefy, take-no-prisoners design, entirely in keeping with

the spirit of stock and lifted trucks prepped for off highway gambols.

Warlord off-road wheels are aggressively sized, too, from 17x8, 17x9, 18x8, 18x9, 20x9 and up to 22x10, all with oversized lips to provide a sturdy bead seat for the big fat tires off-roaders prefer.

Warlord truck wheels are available in 5, 6 and 8-lug bolt patterns, including5x110, 5x114, 6x120, 5x120 for the VW Amarok and the newer 6x130 pattern for Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon and 8x180 for bigger GMC trucks. Offsets range from -23mm to +12mm. Versions

are also available for Sprinter vans and CUVs. Just before sunrise, The Black Rhino convoy drove off to Tarlac, with an impressive lineup of three customized Jeep Rubicons, two Toyota FJ Cruisers and the lead SUV of Liuson, a black Land Cruiser 80 Series shod with Black Rhino’s latest wheels, the Black Rhino Warlord.

Joining the off-road adventure was Ryan Gallagher, Head of sales for Black Rhino USA. “My previous visit here in 2014 was the road trail up in the mountains of Sierra

Madre, and it inspired us to come up with the “Tanay” aftermarket wheels. Now, Sammy has organized another off-road adventure, this time driving through the lahar land of Mt. Pinatubo which I am sure will put our latest product to the test,” adds Gallagher.

Warlord wheels are available in a striking matte gunmetal finish and in matte black with a machined dark-tint lip. Like all Black Rhino wheels, Warlord off-road rims are engineered for strength, durability and long-lasting good looks.

THE BLACK RHINO FLEET CONQUERS THE PINATUBO TRAIL

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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

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

ST Y L E & BE AU T Y

LIFE

Singer/actress Arci Muñoz wears the pair of Dickies Intimates undergarments she designed in collaboration with Dickies Philippines

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Dickies Intimates offers a wide range of daily undergarments in a variety of colors, prints and styles

A pAIR Of ARCI MuñOz

rci Muñoz is known as the young hopeful who joined a reality talent show and recently, as the sultry telenovela actress and the charming leading lady in a box office romanticcomedy film. But when Arci steps out of the big and small screens and on to the stage, she assumes her other persona as Ramona Thornes, the vocalist of heavy metal band Philia.

“I have a double personality,” Arci says candidly.

She continues, “I’m artista in the morning and rock star at night. Ramona is my persona even before there was Arci. It’s my first love, music – rock music in particular.”

The actress playing the traumatized sister and the idealistic makeup artist gets lost in oblivion when Arci (Ramona Muñoz in real life) holds the mic and head bangs to the emphatic rhythms of heavy metal music.

“I told myself, if I can do both at the same time, why not? Ramona is like the weirder, darker side of Arci,” she shares.

Arci’s band Philia has been around for nine years, during which they recorded one album and played in various locations and festivals in the country. “We just really love what we’re doing,” enthuses the 27-year-old actress-singer.

With her two differing but somehow complementing personalities, Arci was tapped to be the face and the body of the “older and more daring” lingerie line of global street wear brand Dickies.

Formerly known as Dickies Girl, which was launched in 2008, the underwear line has morphed into Dickies Intimates.

The subsidiary brand offers daily undergarments in a variety of colors, prints and styles to give women of today a boost of confidence while providing comfortable choices.

“Women of today are more daring while comfort-seeking,” says Dickies Intimates marketing manager Jerrinah Cheng. “There is a need for continuous

By BERnADETTE LunAS

underwear, but to also explore the world of fashion,” divulges Arci.

Suffice it to say that being actress/rock star/fashion designer is a dangerous but enviable combination.

Arci Muñoz assumes her darker persona as Ramona Thornes when singing as the vocalist of heavy metal band Philia

The need for continuous innovation in the clothing industry has pushed global street-style brand Dickies to revamp its underwear line Dickies Girl into the more stylish and more mature Dickies Intimates

innovation of garments, especially in underwear. Designs are made specifically for a certain generation and factors are constantly changing.”

As the endorser of the grown-up brand, Arci believes that Dickies Intimates, with all its new product offerings made of high quality materials, truly embodies the women of today.

She relates, “When they asked me to be the endorser of Dickies Intimates, I said ‘yes’ right away. I didn’t think twice because it represents the women of our generation now: bold, sexy and conservative but a little bit liberated.”

With comfort and confidence at the core, Dickies Intimates also upholds the identity of the Dickies brand. “Dickies is

very rock, street-style fashion. Thus we injected our own fashionable, sexy, comfortable glam rock style into the Dickies Intimates,” explains Cheng.

The brand also worked with Arci in designing some of the pieces in the collection, one of which is the pair she wore during her official launch as Dickies Intimates’ endorser.

At the launch, Arci walked in a pair of black underwear that exudes a sexy vibe but looks comfortable that women wouldn’t probably hesitate wearing it everyday.

Cheng reveals that the brand is doing another collaboration with Arci, which will come out this year.

“I really wanna try designing, not just

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The women’s line features the new Ultra Stretch series

F R I D AY : A P R I L 8 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

The men’s range features a design that eliminates neck and cuff seams

UNIQLO expands its 2016 AIRism innerwear range

CooL thE hEAt Pain-Free waxing At wIth UnIqLo California nails & Day Spa AIRISm InnER wEAR

T

he hot, humid temperature calls for innovative but comfortable underclothing, and the welcome news is that Uniqlo is expanding its AIRism innerwear range this year.

AIRism combines several fabrics to create a clothing material that draws sweat away from the body and keeps the skin feeling fresh and dry by controlling the air inside the garment. Over the years, AIRism has made quite an impression, taking the world by storm by keeping people dry and comfortable anywhere, and in any kind of weather.

The new items are seamless and ultra stretch, making them perfect even in regions where wearing innerwear under regular clothing is not part of the local custom.

A new addition to the men’s range is the Seamless AIRism line that is designed to eliminate neck and cuff seams to make innerwear both comfortable and barely noticeable under business shirts and other apparel.

And since the V-neckline is deeper and the sleeves are shorter, the innerwear remains completely concealed under polo shirts and other open-necked items. The shoulders are sewn to provide greater stretch and ease of movement for especially active men.

Enhancing deodorizing properties and stretch optimize comfort for men, with AIRism fibers incorporating an anti-odor function to maintain that fresh and comfortable feel even in the most humid of conditions. Even after countless washes, the deodorizing property of AIRism continues.

The women’s range on the other hand features the new Ultra Stretch line which feels even smoother than regular AIRism. It features a new stitching and fabric that is seamless

and stretches more, making it more gentle on the skin. What’s more, the Uniqlo AIRism innerwear is still comfortable even while the wearer actively moves around. And since the items are lengthened, they will stay tightly tucked in. If you are the type who wants to be fully coordinated, then the camisoles, tank tops and shorts that can be worn as sets are for you. Shorts are also designed to stay flat on the waist and around legs, which eliminates panty lines. The smoother fabric protects women’s delicate skin, while its outstanding breathability minimizes stickiness.

Because the very young normally perspire more profusely than adults, another welcome introduction this season is the AIRism line for babies via the new Mesh series that offers superior breathability.

In AIRism, the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity are realized. The line is part of UNIQLO LifeWear, designed to exude modern elegance to the point that individual style is reflected. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people’s lives.

The AIRism collection is available at UNIQLO stores nationwide.

With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere.

For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.

Summer is the best time to flaunt your body, but first, you have to rid it of unwanted hair, and it’s important to feel light when you hit the beach in your daring new swimwear.

For ouch-free waxing, check out California Nails & Day Spa, fast becoming a favorite among women.

Visit California Nails & Day Spa branches at BF Pergola, SM Southmall, SM Mall Of Asia, Festival Supermall, Starmall Prima Taguig, Greenhills Shoppesville, EVIA Lifestyle Center and Market!

Market! You may also call 820-1569 / 825-3419 or check out www.californianailsandayspa.com. Like them on Facebook at CalifOfficial and follow Calif_Nails on Twitter

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

SUMMER #ADVENTUREWITHKIEHLS

“S

un, sun, sun here it comes…” we can all hear The Beatles song as the summer heat comes into full play this April. While being out in the sun, sand, and water makes it an exciting activity for the holidays, it’s also the time when the harmful rays of the sun come into full contact with our skin.

Arming yourselves with protection from the UV rays is a must especially if you will be staying out for long periods of time.

An American cosmetics brand pioneer of premium natural skin care since 1851 has developed new formulas to protect and restore skin from damage brought by the harsh elements of the sun. Dermatologist Solutions and Clearly Corrective might be the perfect skincare kit you need for the summer heat. The formulas are specifically developed to address skin concerns that emerge from UV damage.

Kiehl’s sun defense offers two variants for Dermatologist Solutions – Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF 50 and Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50. The sunscreen is an ideal protection to avoid wrinkles, roughness, lack of elasticity, and hyperpigmentation caused by the sun’s harmful radiation.

Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF 50 is packed with blends of sunscreen filters and Vitamin E that help hydrate the skin and aid in sun protection. It’s ideal for everyday use even when you’re just headed for work or coming out to play under the sun. Daily use of sunblock helps in the prevention of premature skin aging. This bottle is fragrance-free so you won’t even notice you’re wearing it. It is also oil-free so the heat of the sun doesn’t make you feel icky and melting, and it is non-comedogenic so you don’t need to get scared that it might cause blackheads with continuous and prolonged use.

The Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 is formulated for sensitive, acne-prone skin. Its main

component, Titanium Dioxide, is a 100 percent mineral-based filter that helps in deflecting UV rays designed specifically for acne-prone skin. The same with the first range, each bottle also contains Vitamin E to support the skin.

If your skin has already been damaged prior to using sunblock, Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective line of regimen might do

the job as it is an effective solution to skin discoloration. The regimen is composed of the Dark Spot Solution, Skin Brightening Exfoliator, and Clarity Activating Toner. The trilogy adds as an added protector against harsh elements and helps prevent signs of skin aging and restores skin tone. It is a complete regimen that contains White

Birch, Peony Extract, Activated C, and Ceramides –ingredients that help maintain skin suppleness and radiance.

For more information about Kiehl’s, visit www.kiehls.com, or follow KiehlsPhilippines on Facebook and @KiehlsPhilippines on Instagram and @KiehlsPH on Twitter.

THE bLAcK STRIKES bAcK YSL BLack Opium EDp fEaturES a mOrE intEnSE ScEnt When Yves Saint Laurent launched its Black Opium Eau de Toilette, many women became addicted – so to speak – to its intense scent that almost felt empowering.

Building up from the momentum the EDT has built, YSL Black Opium introduces a stronger, more mature follow up in the form of Eau de Parfum.

YSL Black Opium EDP features that same strong coffee notes, but with a harder hitting effect that makes it more addicting, which in turn will make women wearing the perfume undeniably more tempting.

The newly launched EDP version elevates the line’s position as the first of its kind to combine black coffee and floral essences, upgrading it to a more potent, intense scent. The tug of floral and woody notes v i a orange flower, patchouli and cedarwood establish a fresh layer of fragrance, while the black coffee note perfectly creates a striking balance from the florals, distinguishing the scent as a unique perfume experience.

With such strong features, it’s sufficient to say that the EDP, like the EDT, is not for the weak-hearted – it’s for the upbeat chick whose high-rolling spirit sustains her all night.

Much like its contents, the YSL Black Opium EDP bottle is just as irresistible.

The square flask is coated in bold blackon-black and decked with hundreds of miniscule jewels – true to the youthful rock culture that the modern Saint Laurent woman stands for.

Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Eau de Parfum will be available at SM Store, Robinsons, Rustan’s and Landmark department stores nationwide. Black Opium EDP comes in 30ml (P3,500) and 90ml (P6,500) bottles.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Green thong slip-on from the Arty line, P1,625

@LIFEatStandard

A classic sandal from Sophisticated Chic line, P1,895

Ipanema wIth Starck

Brazilian shoe Brand ipanema collaBorates with world-renowned creator philippe starck

“W

hen one hears his name on a product, one thinks of beauty, timeless elegance and minimum-simple, not heavy; no attachments, and very sleek,” says president of ELRO Retail Corporation Francisco Elizalde about Philippe Starck, the famous French designer globally known for his designs on various items and infrastructure, during the launch of Ipanema’s latest collaboration with the designer.

From interior, home products and furniture, industrial and architectural design, Starck’s signature minimal design in elegance is now brought into the world of sandals through the Brazilian shoe brand Ipanema. Finally available in the Philippines, this dynamic collection is inspired by the different facets of a woman, with the lines ranging from Arty, Glamour, Nature and Sophisticated Chic, allowing women the freedom to choose from the many options it offers.

The collaboration started when the Ipanema owner met Starck at a social gathering. One thing led to another and after four years in development comes now an environment friendly line of sandals, flats and flip-flops using 30 percent recycled materials. The signature design comes in black and white, neutral and citrus tones, and each sole bears the Starck symbol of elegance. The careful simplicity in each design makes it look like a sophisticated piece that every woman would want, especially for the summer. No buckles, no heavy trimmings, no elaborate design, just sleek, functional sandals perfect for wear while on a bikini, maillot, or a summer dress. With the neutral and citrus tones, there are so many style options and pairings you can do for the summer.

The Glamour pairs are perfect for that summer beach wedding, soles are mostly in sleek black with thin straps in citrus tones, black and white, acid yellow, orange, rose, transparent yellow, and transparent orange. Sophisticated Chic, as the name suggests, is indeed very sophisticated. The soles and straps are all in black or white, and one can probably pull it off with a quirky club get-up and actually head out for the night. For fun and quirky women, colorful offerings are in the Arty range, with soles and straps that are designed in neon and bright tones, while the dainty neutral lover can choose from the Nature category with earth tone straps and white soles.

“It is a privilege to work with renowned designer Philippe Starck in our newest Ipanema collection,” says Cecille Loretizo, marketing manager of ELRO Retail Corp. “His passion, creativity and commitment to the environment give us a certain pride that he will create timeless and accessible elegant designs ideal for our wearers.”

Currently, the collections are mainly for women, but the Ipanema collaboration with Starck may soon create a line specifically for men. Now, that is something we can all look forward to so we can gift it to the men in our lives.

“The Ipanema with Starck collection explores the territory of high elegance paired with the utmost minimalism. When you reach elegance with a few dollars or euros, this is no longer magic; it is a modern miracle,” says Philippe Starck.

To see more designs, catch #IpanemawithStarck on Instagram and visit IpanemaPhilippines on Facebook for more updates.

Glamour white thong sandal, P1,895

Chic thong sandal, P1,895

World-renowned French designer Philippe Starck

Chic black thong slip-on, P1,625

f RIDAy : A pRIl 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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KapusO REvEals nEw sang’gREs In ‘EncanTaDIa’ 2016

G

MA Network proudly announced the stars that will play the Sang’res in the reboot of Encantadia in 2016.

Kylie Padilla, Gabbi Garcia, Sanya Lopez and Glaiza de Castro bagged the much-coveted roles of the four Sang’gres. The Kapuso actresses participated in a series of auditions and delivered convincing performances all throughout, making them perfect for the roles of the four sisters: Pirena, Amihan, Alena and Danaya.

Kylie Padilla will portray the role of Amihan, the keeper of the Jewel of Air. Gabbi Garcia will play Alena, the keeper of the Jewel of Water. GMA Artist Center’s Sanya Lopez will play the role of Danaya, the keeper of the Jewel of Earth.

And Glaiza de Castro will breathe life to Pirena, the eldest among the Sang’gres and keeper of the Jewel of Fire.

Completing the new Encantadia cast are Kapuso Primetime King and Queen Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera-Dantes as Raquim and Ynang Reyna, respectively.

Also in the cast as Mga Lirean are Solenn Heussaff as Cassiopea, Pancho Magno as Hitano, Carlo Gonzalez as Muros, Kate Valdez as Mira, Mikee Quintos as Lira and Rocco Nacino as Aquil.

The show will also introduce to the soap opera audience the Starstruck winners Klea Pineda as Muyak and Migo Adecer as Anthony.

Playing Mga Hathor are Rochelle Pangilinan as Agane, Vaness del Moral as Gurna and John Arcilla as Hagorn and Mga Mandirigma – Christian Bautista as Apitong, Buboy Villar as Wantuk and Ruru Madrid as Ybarro.

Keepers of balance in Encantadia: Danaya (Sanya lopez), Alena (Gabbi Garcia), Amihan (Kylie padilla) and pirena (Glaiza de Castro)

During the series’ story conference, director Mark Reyes said they can only promise one thing. “We will do our best to make this even better than

the first one. That’s all we can promise. Pinaghirapan po namin ‘to. Nakita niyo how special this is. Storycon pa lang, ganito na ‘yung set up so ex-

pect bigger and more exciting things about Encantadia.”

Watch out for the return of Encantadia on GMA Telebabad.

Stars and celebrities at Century Tuna Superbods Nation finals night The glitziest and most glamorous night is about to happen as some of the country’s hottest stars, celebrities, and past Superbods winners come together on April 10 at the Palace Pool Club for the Century Tuna Superbods Nation 2016, the sexiest, most awaited health and fitness event of the decade.

Together with ultimate Superbods Anne Curtis and Derek Ramsay, Century Tuna’s past and present celebrity endorsers Gerald Anderson, Isabelle Daza, KC Concepcion, Aljur Abrenica, Phil Younghusband, Xian Lim, Paulo Avelino and Solenn Heussaff will walk the runway in a grand reunion event, that celebrates 10 glorious years of the Superbods competition.

At the same time, the fiery competition between the Superbod hopefuls—each one pushing themselves to be the best they can be—reaches its climax.

As the appointed date draws ever closer, the finalists—Olivia Medina, Carmela Fernandez, Ambra Gutierrez, Nancy Leonard, Chet Abella, Maria Martinez, Cassie Umali, Mirtle Gimenez, Kaara Tan, Carla Meneses, Anja Peter, Natalia Lalonde and Tanya Hyde, Jerome Tan, Ryan Sy, Kel Padilla, Erie Obsena, Jake Khan, Pio Luz, Tom Esconde, Cedric Roxas, Shawn Stansbury, Ali Khatibi, Clint Bondad, Andrew Aurellano and Ameen Sardouk—have been busy raising their game as they prepare to prove themselves worthy at the exclusive Palace Pool Club.

Not to be missed too is the chance to win exclusive invites to the finals night, by simply downloading the Superbods App and voting for your favorite contender until the April 9 deadline.

Boys Night Out DJ’s Slick Rick, Sam yG, and Toni Tony once took the challenge of becoming Superbods

Century Tuna endorser and ultimate Superbod Anne Curtis

Ultimate Superbod Derek Ramsay

Actor and Superbod Elmo Magalona

Century Tuna celebrity endorser Jessy Mendiola

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f RIDAy : A pRIl 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

pEOplE ¼

are talking about

¼

are not talking about

Robin padilla

Kylie padilla

A lot of celebrities are showing sympathy to the farmers in Kidapawan City, but it was the actor who made the first move. Robin made his way to the now troubled city where at least two people were killed and many others injured during a protest. As soon as learned of the incident, he flew to the city, brought with him sacks of rice for distribution to the protesters and personally checked the condition of the farmers. It’s clear, Robin, who is not a politician, is doing what many of those in position chose not to do.

There’s so much buzz happening around the reimagining of Encantandia. People are excited about seeing the new set of actors who will breathe life to the well-loved characters of the fantasy series. But the same thing cannot be said on Kylie’s inclusion as a cast member playing a pivotal role. You see, it’s hard to defend an actor who can’t act to begin with.

Teejay Marquez

Manny pacquiao

People may not be familiar with the name Teejay as they are to Alden, James or Daniel. But this name is slowly making waves in Indonesia where the aspiring actor is known as a social media celebrity. He’s been featured in numerous TV shows and is also being considered as an international star. With a movie project underway, Teejay feels he’s more popular in Indonesia than in the Philippines. Actually, he’s right.

While we were busy, the boxing champ was attacked by an unknown assailant as he was about to leave a Japanese restaurant along Hollywood late afternoon on Sunday (Monday in Manila). The man was heard cursing and calling Pacman homophobic. This leads us to think that this year is a bad year for him. Yes, the year is still far from over. So, we are expecting for more things to come.

‘little Nanay’

Matteo Guidicelli

The primetime series went off the air with viewers not even noticing that it’s no longer part of the program lineup. Probably, everyone was busy vacationing or perhaps observing the lent when the last episode was aired. This cannot be a glaring indication that people were not moved by the advocacy of the series, they were actually. What they didn’t appreciate was the confused portrayal of a person with ID (intellectual disability).

He knows a better way to shrug off critics. When Teddyboy Locsin, Jr. said that his portrayal of an Italian in the series Dolce Amore was pathetic, the Filipino-Italian mutt just took it lightly and thanked the journalist without any hint of bitterness or sarcasm. He didn’t even defend himself…because there were people, a lot of them, who did it for him. Sometimes, taking a different route is better and celebrities should learn that.

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Bloke’s streetcar 5 Hum 9 Fossilized plants 13 Festive log 14 Stock holding 15 Island near Corsica 16 Rod’s companion 17 Specks 18 Must-have 19 Fly the coop

21 Three before V 22 Ratted on 23 Fiddling despot 25 Designer — Schiaparelli 27 Wallaby or joey 31 Showed how 35 The chills 36 Pulpit 38 Title below abbot 39 Walk softly

40 Tall peak 42 Happy feeling 43 Saint’s attribute 46 Clunker 47 Fixes corn 48 Write back 50 Most icky 52 Tarzan’s pals 54 RBI or ERA 55 Mountainous st.

58 Drag along 60 Pawned 64 Online journal 65 Peace goddess 67 Irwin of the PGA 68 Sunblock additive 69 Wading bird 70 Funny Bombeck 71 Tear to bits 72 Alfalfa or oats 73 Skylight locale DOWN 1 Londoner’s spare 2 Feels badly about 3 Waugh or Baldwin 4 Potpourri 5 Sci-fi “Doctor” 6 Pillboxes 7 Steamed 8 Upshot 9 Half-man, half-horse 10 Toast topper 11 Director — Gance

FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2016

12 14 20 24 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 37 41 44 45 47 49 51 53 55 56 57 59 61 62 63 66

Cheryl or Alan Muir locale Edible seed Energy, plus Maple-tree product Phi Beta — Once more Birthday suit wearers Drama awards Toy soldier (2 wds.)

Wickets Secret meeting Dreaded exams Nickname of a sort Plucked a guitar Oater response Ballpark figure Kind of map — Zedong Groundswell Aspen transport (hyph.)

La femme Time to eat “Pretty Woman” lead Corn syrup brand Cookie Bumstead’s neighbor Turn a — ear Beatty of films

f RIDAy : A pRIl 8, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

K

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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‘It’S SHowtImE’ kIckS off SEARcH foR ‘JunIoR HASHtAgS’

ids are set to take center stage in It’s Showtime this summer via its newest segment “Junior Hashtags,” a search for ”gigil ambassadors” that possess the moves and charm of the noontime program’s all-boy dance group.

Every day, three solo performers aged five to 12 show off their moves à la Hashtags and face off on the dance floor. The kid who gets the highest score from the jurors will be named winner and will take home P10,000 and compete in the weekly finals.

Aspiring “Junior Hashtags” may audition at the ABS-CBN audience entrance from Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. just look for Noli Espenosilla or Bing Ramos.

The segment was launched on April 2 when Maricell Callo and Mary Gidget Dela Llana were declared the winners of the first semi-finals of “Tawag ng Tanghalan.”

Viewers nationwide indeed tuned in to the highly anticipated competition. It’s

pasig city’s nicoli lista (9) is “Junior Hashtags” first daily winner

Showtime recorded a national TV rating of 21.58 percent, beating rival program Eat Bulaga, which only got 14.8 percent, ac-

cording to data from Kantar Media.

It’s Showtime airs Monday to Saturday on ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN HD (SkyCa-

Heart remembers days when chiz was just her crush

kapuso star Heart Evangelista

Heart Evangelista who is starring in a racy romcom on GMA 7 called Juan Happy Love Story remembers the times when she had a terrible crush on her now husband, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. And she always tells her friends about this.

Recently, she posted on her Instagram account a photo of her husband back when he was still a student at the UP College of Law with the caption, “Cute #SayChiz .”

Heart admits that she has long admired

her husband’s intellect and gift of gab.

“Mga 2007 pa lang po, crush na crush ko na po si Chiz. Nakita ko po siya sa La Union kaya sobrang fan na fan po ako at iniidolo ko siya,” she recalls.

“Nung nakilala ko ulit siya nung 2012 eh lalo akong na-in love sa kanya kasi napakabuti niyang tao. Simple lang, hindi mo akalain na para makakilala ka ng isang senador na simple lang gumalaw,” the Kapuso star adds.

“I’m very, very blessed na si Chiz yung napangasawa ko,” she says.

ABS-cBn keeps overall lead in nationwide ratings Many Filipinos today watch ABS-CBN programs not only television, but also online.

The Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company, once again won the nationwide TV ratings leadership based on the survey of Kantar Media for the month of March, while it also continued to enjoy great viewership of its programs on the web via its pioneering video-on-demand and live streaming website iWant TV. The Kapamilya Network, which has evolved from a broadcasting network to become the leading multimedia conglomerate in the land, had the most TV households tuned in last month, after garnering an average audience share of 44 percent from combined urban and rural homes compared with GMA 7’s 35 percent.

Proof that the company has gone beyond TV is the total of 34.42 million page views recorded on iWant TV. ABS-CBN’s livestreaming page had a total of 5.38 million views, 4.43 million of which were via the online platform’s mobile app. This app is available to subscribers of ABS-CBNmo-

bile, the network’s own mobile telephony brand, which again is another platform for ABS-CBN to address audiences’ preference to watch content online, anytime and anywhere they are.

Among ABS-CBN programs, Dolce Amore had the most page views with 6.89 million, followed by ABS-CBN livestreaming, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, with 5.20 million page views, the most-watched daytime program Be My Lady with 2.11 million views, and And I Love You So, with 1.70 million views.

Back on TV, ABS-CBN stands mighty in the primetime block after hitting an average audience share of 49 percent compared to GMA’s 33 percent, with FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano’s average national TV rating of 41.2 percent and followed by Pilipinas Got Talent Season 5 with 35 percent.The primetime block is the most important part of the day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment in to reach more consumers effectively.

The Lopez-led media company’s noon-

coco martin as cardo in the top-rating series “fpJ’s Ang probinsyano”

time and afternoon blocks also garnered 43 percent and 40 percent nationwide audience shares, respectively, versus GMA’s 36 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

ABS-CBN also fared better than its competition in other territories such as Balance Luzon (areas in Luzon outside Mega Manila) where it scored a national average audience share of 45 percent against GMA’s 37 percent; in Visayas with 55 percent against closest rival’s 26 percent and in Mindanao with 55 percent while GMA posted a mere 28 percent.

ABS-CBN Corporation, which began as a broadcasting network, has evolved through the years to become the leading media and entertainment company in the land.

It has gone beyond radio and television to also become the leader in the local music, film, cable TV, and publishing industries.

Also the pioneer in digital television in the country, ABS-CBN has ventured to other businesses including telecommunication services, money remittance, cargo forwarding, TV shopping services, theme park development, among others.

liza Soberano and Enrique gil, stars of romantic prime soap “Dolce Amore”

ble ch 167). Catch its latest episodes on iwantv.com.ph or skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

Atc grape Seed oil is an all-natural extract that contains antioxidant

Healthy skin equals no filter selfie

In this day and age, there’s a widespread obsession with digitally capturing moments and sharing them on social media.

Vanity compels many to put their best foot forward. In anticipation of those perfect social media photo sharing moment, more and more people are dressing up in almost all occasions. That’s why it’s no surprise that people are becoming more fashionable.

However, when it comes to looking good, people tend to overlook skin care. With the emergence of phone photo editing apps, removing blemishes and enhancing appearances have become too easy. In real life though, there is no app to edit our skin. Make-up can only do so much. It’s a good thing there is a natural supplement that is packed with ingredients that produces healthy and radiant skin.

ATC Grape Seed Oil is an all-natural extract containing “Oligomeric Procyanidin,” an antioxidant 50 times more potent than Vitamin E and 20 times stronger than Vitamin C. This antioxidant, found in ATC Grape Seed Oil, is said to have the ability to protect our bodies against free radicals, which damage cells, allowing us to have healthier and more radiant skin.

Taking ATC Grape Seed Oil regularly may also help in lowering the level of bad cholesterols in the body. It also helps relieve the pain and swelling caused by arthritis, by repairing and strengthening capacities of damaged capillaries and blood vessels. Aside from that, ATC Grape Seed Oil may help in boosting the immune system and blood circulation, but be reminded that this is not a medicinal drug and should not be used to treat the symptoms of any disease.

ATC Grape Seed Oil is to be taken two to three times a day or as prescribed by your doctor. Take ATC Grape Seed Oil every day and let it work to make you feel good on the inside and look great on the outside. At P7 per capsule, ATC Grape Seed Oil is available at Mercury Drug and other leading drugstores nationwide.

f riday : a pril 8, 2016

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iSaH V. rEd EDITOR NiCKiE WaNG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

luis Manzano hosts the new season of “family feud”

‘FamIly FEuD’ RETuRns On KapamIlya ISAH V. RED

i

presumed this game show would never be on Philippine TV screens after TV 5 decided to end its partnership with FremantleMedia in 2002 and after the Kapuso network picked it up for several seasons and dropped it altogether.

But tomorrow, Philippine TV will host another season of Family Feud, this time on the Kapamilya network.

I used to watch this game on black-andwhite TV screens in the late 70s until colored TV monitors became more affordable. And in 2001, I was given the chance to oversee the writing of the show (along with another show The Price is Right with Dawn Zulueta) when it was produced for the first time in the Philippines on ABCTV5 (before the new owners took over and the Malaysian group got hold of producing content for the network) with Ogie Alcasid as host. The show lasted until 2002.

GMA Network picked it up after winning the franchise from FremantleMedia and went on air with Richard Gomez in 2008 and then Dingdong Dantes took over when Gomez ran for an elective post in 2010. The network tried to up the ante with Family Feud: The Showdown Edition with Edu Manzano in 2011. And the show faded to black and we never heard of it again... until last Monday when the Kapamilya network held a press conference launching the show with Luis Manzano as host.

The show premieres tomorrow.

Well, there is nothing new to the show, except that it is being hosted by the son of one-time host of the same show on another channel.

When asked how he felt when he was chosen as host of the popular game show franchise, Luis said, “It is always

The cast of CineMo’s newest sitcom “funny Ka pare Ko,” (from left) Bayani agbayani, Beverly Salviejo, Karla Estrada and Jayson Gainza

overwhelming to be chosen to host a show of this magnitude and there is always added pressure since I am a personal fan of the show.”

Luis has always had a strong bond with his own family and his natural comedic personality ensures laughter and enjoyment for everyone.

Before the presscon went to the question and answer portion, the production people held a game, albeit, abbreviated, similar to what is seen on TV with members of the press as members of the two teams.

That emphasize that the show also not only features immediate families but also extended families, friends, officemates, and the likes As we know it, especially those who had the watched the original American versionin the 70s, Family Feud begins with the “Face Off ” round where one representative from each family is asked to identify the most popular answers to survey questions answered by a hundred survey respondents.

The player who guesses the more popular answer or the most popular answer, called the “Number One Answer,” gains control

and enters the “Completing the Board” round with the rest of their family.

In the “Completing the Board” round, the rest of the family take turns in giving an answer without conferring with one another, however, if the family accumulates three strikes or three incorrect answers they lose control of the board and the other family has the chance to steal the points.

Whichever family has earned most points after both rounds then proceeds to the “Fast Money” round.

The “Fast Money” round is the final round where two members of the family are given 25 seconds to answer five questions and their accumulated points determines the winnings of the family.

In the past, ABS-CBN has been the Filipino master in localizing world renowned game show franchises, such as in Deal or No Deal, 1 vs 100, Wheel of Fortune, and The Price is Right. It has been the most trusted media and entertainment company by various franchises because of its high production value, wider reach of audiences, and high ratings.

So, we will watch how Family Feud goes on the Kapamilya channel every Saturday after SOCO and every Sunday after Kapamilya Blockbuster on ABS-CBN and ABSCBN HD (SkyCable ch 167).

Catch up via iwantv.com.ph or skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers. For updates on the program, like facebook. com/familyfeudabscbn on Facebook and follow @familyfeudph on Twitter and Instagram.CineMo Revives Classic Comedy With A Twist CineMo -the first and only all-day movie channel on digital free television exclusive to ABS-CBN TVplus offering range of genres such as action, comedy and horror both locally produced films and even international movies. With a tagline, “Hari Ka Rito”, CineMo caters to Pinoy male audiences.

The exclusive movie channel will soon launch its first locally produced content entitled Funny Ka Pare Ko. The show is a mixture of sitcom and stand-up comedy combined to bring allout comedy on Philippine television.

Funny Ka Pare Ko pursues to capture the hearts of every Filipino in strengthening their family ties through laughter.

The cast includes Bayani Agbayani, Karla Estrada, Jayson Gainza together with the new generation of comedians, It’s Showtime’s “Funny One” grand winner, Ryan Rems Sarita and finalists Nonong Ballinan, No Direction’s Steven, Sadam and Bangkay and Crazy Duo Diego and Gedent. The show relives the legacy left by King of Comedy- Dolphy, and other Pinoy comedy movie icons- Tito, Vic and Joey, Rene Requestas, Chiquito, Babalu, Redford White, Vhong Navarro – and many more with distinct attack on comedy that will surely hit the Filipino viewers’ taste.

Funny Ka Pare Ko premiered on April 3 in celebration of CINEMO’s National Funny Day. For more information, visit tvplus.abscbn.com or call 4152272 local 6572.