The Standard - 2016 April 12 - Tuesday

VOL. XXX NO. 59 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 TUESDAY : APRIL 12, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Duterte leads Poe in 3 new surveys

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‘EXCESSIVE FORCE’

Intl rights group assails PNP action in Kidapawan

By Sandy Araneta and Christine F. Herrera

AN INTERNATIONAL human rights group on Monday took the government to task for using lethal force to break up a protest by farmers in Kidapawan City on April 1, resulting in two shooting deaths and dozens of injuries.

“The Philippine government needs to determine why the police found it necessary to fire at protesters,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“Some protesters were throwing stones, but lethal force may only be used as a last resort to save lives,” Kine said.

The police used batons and guns against the protesters, including women and children, during the April

1 dispersal.

Darwin Sulang, 22, and a bystander, Enrico Fabligar, 30, were fatally shot, and dozens who were injured required hospitalization for gunshot and other wounds. The police also reported injuries to their officers.

In the aftermath, police have detained 78 protesters and charged 74 of them with offenses including assaulting a police officer.

Three separate investigations into the incident are under way by the official Commission on Human Rights, the Philippine National Police, and the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

Human Rights Watch urged the government to make sure the investigations into the police use of force are credible, transparent and impartial.

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Take that! A protester throws paint bags at the photos of President Benigno Aquino III and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala during a rally in front of the Department of Agriculture office in Quezon City on Monday. Demonstrators decried the violent dispersal of hungry farmers in Kidapawan City on April 1 and the alleged inaction of government in addressing drought in the countryside. MANNY PALMERO

Robredo fan hits bullying online

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Army chief: Slain Moroccan was ISIS conduit

By Florante S. Solmerin, Sandy Araneta and Francisco Tuyay ARMY chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año said Monday the Moroccan killed in the government offensive against the Abu Sayyaf was the conduit between the bandit group and Islamic State terrorists.

“Last year, he came up on the radar of

our intelligence service because he was trying to link up the Abu Sayyaf to the Middle East terrorist group,” Año said, referring to Mohammad Khattab.

Khattab, a bomb expert, has been living in the country for the last three years, Año said.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said Monday at least 13 more Abu Sayyaf gunmen died as the

military pressed more attacks Sunday against the fleeing bandits in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.

On Saturday, at least 18 soldiers and five bandits were killed when the Abu Sayyaf ambushed the advancing soldiers.

Padilla said bad weather prevented the Air Force from sending close air support for the ground troops that day. Next page

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NEWS

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Social Weather Stations: Digong, Bongbong rising

By Sandy Araneta

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is now leading in the presidential race, the latest Social Weather Stations survey showed Monday.

The latest national scores in the presidential race showed Duterte with 27 percent, followed by Senator Grace Poe, 23 percent; Vice President Jejomar Binay, 20 percent; administration candidate Manuel Roxas II, 18 percent; and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, 3 percent.

The First Quarter 2016 Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 30 to April 2, 2016 via face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide (of whom 1,377 or 92 percent were validated voters) and with sampling error margins of ±3 points.

The SWS survey also showed Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leading solo in the vice presidential race. Marcos’ closest contender, Senator Francis Escudero, saw his score fall from previous comparative surveys.

In the race for the presidency, Duterte saw a four-point gain from 23 percent in the March 8 to 11 survey—the last time face-to-face interviews were employed—but was down four points from 31 percent in the March 30 Bilang Pilipino-SWS Mobile Survey (that also surveyed those who participated in the March 8 to 11 poll).

Poe was down six points from 29 percent in the March 8 to 11 survey and by 11 points from her 34 percent in the mobile survey conducted last March 30.

Binay’s score settled at 20 percent in the latest survey from 22 percent last March 8 to 11, though it edged up from 17 percent on March 30.

Roxas, the ruling Liberal Party standard bear-

‘Excessive...

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Witnesses told Human Rights Watch that the police began donning their crowd-control gear at about 9 a.m. on April 1.

Minutes after the crowd was ordered to disperse, a phalanx of police officers and SWAT unit personnel used batons to push through the crowd. When protesters responded by throwing rocks, fire trucks used water cannons against the stone throwers. A video shows protesters advancing toward the police followed by apparently uncoordinated gunfire that continued sporadically.

Since the incident, local and national government officials have alleged that groups linked to the insurgent communist New People’s Army organized the protest. Protesters have denied any such links.

The mayor of Kidapawan City, Joseph Evangelista, told Human Rights Watch that he tried to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the protest with the assistance of the local Catholic diocese beginning March 30, but said that protest organizers refused to meet. He described the police decision to fire into the crowd as “warning shots” intended to protect two policemen allegedly “about to be killed” by protesters.

The North Cotabato police chief, Alex Tagum, said that police fired on protesters “to defend the people who are helpless and about to be killed,” but provided no details. Police Supt.

Jerson Berrey, who supervised the police operation, said police had “reliable reports that there were armed elements that [were] maybe accompanying the [protesters].”

er, also settled at 18 percent from 19 percent last March 8 to 11 and from 17 percent last March 30.

Santiago swas steady at 3 percent, with no change from March 8 to 11, and up from one percent last March 30.

In the vice presidential race, Marcos took the solo lead at 26 percent in this latest survey from March 8 to 11 (25 percent) and March 30 (also 26 percent).

Escudero, Poe’s running mate, lost seven points to 21 percent from 28 percent last March 8 to 11 and 10 points from 31 percent last March 30.

The administration’s vice presidential candidate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, who at 19 percent was in a statistical tie with Escudero, dropped three points from 22 percent last March 8 to 11 and dropped by six points from March 30’s 25 percent.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, running mate of Duterte, climbed slightly to 13 percent from 12 percent in March 8 to 11 and 13 percent on March 30.

Senator Gregorio Honasan II, Binay’s running mate, climbed to five percent from four percent last March 8 to 11 but increased four points from one percent last March 30.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who has no presidential running mate, was tied with Honasan with five percent, flat from March 8 to 11 and steady from three percent last March 30.

The March 30 to April 2, 2016 survey has two Liberal Party candidates, one Nationalist People’s Coalition candidate, and one independent candidate in position to take the top four seats in the senatorial elections.

It had four independent candidates, three LP candidates, one United Nationalist Alliance candidate, one Akbayan candidate, one NPC candidate, and one Lakas candidate in statistical contention for the last eight seats.

Leading the circle of 12 are 1. Frank Drilon (LP)

He said that this concern, along with Kidapawan City’s history of being “very prone to terror attacks and bus burnings and kidnappings,” prompted him to order the deployment of a SWAT unit to help deter potential “terror attacks and [situations in which] the police will be made sitting ducks.”

Human Rights Watch said it has been unable to confirm Berrey’s assertion of possible “armed elements” among the protesters.

The non-government Health Alliance for Human Rights reported at a press conference on April 6, that at least 40 protesters sustained injuries, 30 of them gunshot wounds. Human Rights Watch was not able to corroborate those numbers because police and hospital administrators have blocked access by media and human rights researchers to local hospitals where injured protesters are undergoing treatment.

However, Human Rights Watch interviewed six injured protesters who either remained at the scene of the shootings or were held by the police at the city gym. They included two protesters with gunshot wounds to the leg and ankle, and four others with heavily bruised arms, torsos, and faces that they alleged were inflicted by police wielding truncheons and rifle butts.

Neither local government officials nor the Kidapawan City police have released details of the numbers of protesters injured or the type or severity of those injuries. The Philippine National Police in Manila reported on April 3, that nearly 100 policemen were also injured at the protest site on April 1.

They include an officer currently in the intensive care unit of the Kida-

45 percent, 2. Vicente Sotto (NPC) 42 percent, and 3-4. Francis Pangilinan (LP) and Panfilo Lacson (IND), each with 37 percent.

The last eight seats are being contested by 5-7.

Leila De Lima (LP), Miguel Zubiri (IND) and Manny Pacquiao (UNA), each with 31 percent; 8-11. Risa Hontiveros (Akbayan), Sergio Osmeña III (IND), Ralph Recto (LP), and Dick Gordon (IND), each with 30 percent, 12. Joel Villanueva (LP) 28 percent, 13. Win Gatchalian (NPC) 25 percent, 14. Francis Tolentino (IND) 24 percent, and 15. Martin Romualdez (Lakas) 22 percent.

Using the ballot box technique, 32 percent of the survey respondents chose a full slate of 12 names, with the average number of names chosen at 7.9.

The April 2016 Social Weather Survey was conducted from March 30 to April 2, 2016 using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide, 300 each in Metro Manila, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Of the 1,500 sample adults, 1,377 or 92 percent are validated voters, 268 in Metro Manila, 278 in North Luzon, 272 in South Luzon, 280 in Visayas and 279 in Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao).

The vote percentages are based on the sample of validated voters only; they exclude adults who are not validated voters. The area estimates were weighted by the 2016 Commission on Elections data on validated voters to obtain the national estimates.

A statement released by Binay’s campaign said “a closer reading” of the SWS results showed declines for both Duterte and Poe, while the vice president was rising steadily on the strength of his core supporters.

“He will work harder—together with our various support groups—as Election Day nears,” the statement said.

pawan Doctors Hospital with severe head injuries that police alleged was the result of a beating by protesters.

A video from a police aerial drone appears to show a protester repeatedly striking a policeman with a board.

“In Kidapawan, a difficult situation got out of control,” Kine said.

“Transparent and impartial investigations are needed to find out what went wrong, who should be held accountable, and what is needed to restore trust in the police.”

Kidapawan City prosecutors on Monday blocked a move by 78 farmers who were arrested to have their bail lowered from P12,000 each to P2,000.

The human rights group Karapatan denounced the move by prosecutors as an example of “picture-perfect oppression.”

“Let us not forget that the peasants were in Kidapawan to seek the release of rice because they are hungry and could no longer plant. How on earth could they post bail amounting to more or less PhP1 million when they could not even afford a kilo of rice? Where’s the justice here?” said Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary-general.

“The farmers are victims of natural calamity who are victimized many times over by the regime’s neglect and brutality, illegal arrest and detention. Now, they are required to pay P12,000 each for their temporary liberty,” she added.

The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Monday demanded that the “clueless and do-nothing” President Benigno Aquino III take a leave of absence from campaigning for Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II and attend to the national calamity brought about by

the prolonged El Niño phenomenon.

“Stop campaigning and focus on drought. The El Niño has become a national calamity from Cagayan Valley to North Cotabato,” said Renato Reyes Jr., Bayan secretary-general.

“A clueless and do-nothing President aggravates the already dire situation faced by our farmers,” Reyes said.

Gabriela twitted President Aquino’s “comatose response” to the Kidapawan farmers’ demands for food aid.

“Wake up and release Kidapawan detainees and food aid. Excruciatingly slow government response to urgent demands for food assistance makes you think President Aquino was in a coma,” Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said.

Instead of trying to whitewash investigations and twist itself out of accountability, De Jesus said the Aquino government should prioritize resolving starvation in droughtaffected farms and release all those it arbitrarily arrested and continue to detain, especially the elderly, pregnant and minor persons who were part of the Kidapawan protests last week.

In North Cotabato alone, Reyes said agricultural losses have reached P1 billion.

“Farmers are demanding immediate government intervention,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the President seems more interested in campaigning for his party than attending to the needs of the people,” he added.

“He does not even seem concerned that women and elderly have been arrested after the violent dispersal of protesting farmers in North Cotabato,” Reyes said. With John Paolo Bencito, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

Army...

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Because the attack helicopters and bomber planes such as the OV-10 were grounded by bad weather, ground commanders had to rely on their artillery bombardment targeting enemy positions.

He denied public criticism that casualties could have been avoided if the troops had enough equipment and air assets during the critical moments of the battle.

The national headquarters of the military and police and all camps of the uniformed services across the country flew the flag at half-staff over the death of the 18 soldiers.

“Flags are flown at half-mast to mourn the death of our soldiers, our heroes who offered the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, last Saturday, our national Day of Valor,” Padilla said. “We fly it at half mast to honor their gallantry and sacrifice.”

On Sunday night, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri informed President Benigno Aquino III last Sunday night on the progress of continuing operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines against Abu Sayyaf and other lawless elements in Basilan after their return from Zamboanga City, Malacañang said on Monday.

“These operations were intensified since December 2015 and have resulted in neutralizing high-value terror suspects, including Malaysian Mohd Najib Hussein (a.k.a. Abu Anas), Moroccan Mohammad Khattab and Ubaida Hapilon, son of senior ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in a statement.

“Both officials informed the President that, in accordance with his instructions, pursuit operations are still being conducted and that the troops are fully equipped and adequately supported,” said Coloma.

Eighteen soldiers were killed while six were critically wounded during a 10-hour firefight in Barangay Baguindan in Basilan’s Tipo-Tipo town Saturday.

The military said five were killed on the enemy side, including Khattab and Ubaida Hapilon, son of senior ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon.

Padilla said the terrorists attempted to behead two of the slain soldiers but were prevented from doing so.

Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said the wounded soldiers were all taken to military hospitals in Zamboanga City and were undergoing treatment as of Sunday.

“Military operations will continue without letup as we seek the withdrawing bandits and hold them accountable for their crimes,” he said.

“Our soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice so that the people of Basilan will be free from terrorists and secure a peaceful and bright future for their next generation,” he added.

On Friday, police in Zamboanga City arrested a close relative of the Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Hapilon.

Criminal Investigation Detection Group Director Victor Deona identified the ASG member as Bantong Basinti, uncle of commander Hapilon, who was involved in the kidnapping of plantation farmers in Basilan province.

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NEWS

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Duterte beats Poe in 3 surveys THE election campaign has a long way to go and there should be no celebrations yet, presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign strategist said Monday following three different survey results that had the Davao City mayor going past erstwhile leader Grace Poe.

Visit. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and military chief General Hernando Iriberri visit one of the 53 wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Zamboanga on April 10, 2016, a day after soldiers clashed with the extremist Abu Sayyaf group. AFP

‘Liberal Party the real threat to democracy’ THE camp of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte on Monday rebuked the ruling Liberal Party for describing him as a “threat to democracy” and whose politics was a “politics of fear.”

Peter Laviña, the Davao City Mayor’s spokesman, said the real threat to democracy was the Liberal Party clique and the ruling elite whose only concern was protecting their interests.

“Like the rest of the presidential candidates who are threatened by a Duterte presidency, Roxas and his minions fear they will lose the trappings of that political power they have been holding on and clinging to for so long,” Laviña said.

Roxas on Monday described Duterte as a “threat to democracy” and a liar, comparing him to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

“Duterte is the most dangerous thing to happen to our country since Ferdinand Marcos,” Roxas said.

“He’s a threat to democracy because it’s his way or no way. He is a threat to our way of life because if you will confront him with the truth, he will answer you with invectives, insults or bullets.”

Meanwhile, vice presidential candidate Antonio Trillanes warned the electorate against the “false hopes and promises” of his rival Alan Peter Cayetano and Duterte that

they could wipe out criminality in three to six months.

“Get real, who are you kidding?” Trillanes told Cayetano.

After news broke that Duterte topped the latest SWS survey—the same survey that placed Roxas second to last— Akbayan partylist Rep. and LP spokesman Barry Gutierrez slammed Duterte and described his politics as the “politics of fear.”

But Laviña said Roxas’ camp was now rattled by the looming defeat of their standard bearer.

“It is not democracy that is being threatened by Duterte.

It is Mar Roxas and his ambition to become president and

the ruling class, the same ruling class represented by Poe and Binay,” Laviña said.

“At the very least, these candidates offer blind servitude to their elite masters— something that cannot be expected of Duterte.”

Laviña said Duterte’s support was coming from ordinary people: the farmers, workers, the members of the lower and upper middle class and a section of the elite.

“These are the people that the camp of Roxas and the other presidential candidates are afraid of—the people they have angered and alienated by their inept leadership,” Laviña said. John Paolo Bencito and Christine F. Herrera

“While we are elated with the results of the recent surveys of SWS, Pulse Asia and Manila Standard, we still believe the final arbiter of who will be rightfully elected president is the people,” Leoncio Evasco Jr. said.

“That will be known on May 9, the day of the elections.”

The former rebel priest and outgoing mayor of Maribojoc town in Bohol said Duterte’s lead was still very tenuous and there was much work to do.

“It is not over until it is over,” Evasco said.

Reps. Karlo Nograles and Silvestre Bello III, Duterte’s supporters, on Monday welcomed the latest Social Weather Stations survey where the mayor topped the race for the presidency.

Nograles expressed hope that the survey result would be reflective of the actual result of the May 9 general elections.

“We are humbled by the results of the latest survey showing Mayor Duterte for President on top of all aspirants,” Nograles said.

He said the survey result magnified the Filipinos’ quest for the true leader who had the strong political will to end criminality and poverty.

Duterte was in Maguindanao and South Cotabato over the weekend when news of his survey lead came out.

A day earlier, he had to snake his way into a sixhour traffic jam as people lined up for his motorcade leading to Parañaque in Metro Manila, where he spoke before a largely upper- and middle-class crowd.

Duterte will be back in Metro Manila today to resume his campaign in Luzon, where he hopes to build on his momentum.

He has repeatedly said he does not mind being at the bottom, middle or on top of the surveys.

What would count was the result of the election itself.

It was the first time that Duterte had taken the lead in all three major poll surveys since the election campaign started on Feb. 9.

With less than 30 days to go before the elections, Evasco said, they hoped to expand Duterte’s lead and consolidate his gains.

“We urge our followers and supporters to continue to work harder and make sure the support and the results of the surveys are translated into votes,” he said. Maricel V. Cruz and Rio N. Araja

Binay’s backers say he’ll lead by 4 million votes THE May 9 presidential election will be between Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II but Binay, the United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer, will have a lead of more than 10 percent or more than four million votes against the Liberal Party candidate, UNA said Monday.

UNA secretary-general JV Bautista said Binay had the full support of the 12.1-million poor Filipinos who comprised more than a fourth of the Philippine population of nearly 97 million.

“The lower middle class who earn less than P20,000 a month and wanting to get a higher take-home pay support Binay’s program of abolishing the income tax of workers earning less than P30,000 a month,” UNA said.

The biggest concentration of the middle class is in Luzon, especially in Metro Manila, and neighboring Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna,

Batangas and Quezon) and Central Luzon.

In a radio interview, Binay expressed confidence he would win the 2016 presidential elections by a landslide of four million votes against Roxas, whom he defeated in the 2010 vice presidential elections.

Binay, whose poll rating has slid from first to third place, said he would win the election.

He claimed they had already calculated their solid votes in the Visayas, Luzon and the grassroots in Metro Manila.

Binay recalled that in 2010 he won with 14,645,574 votes against Roxas’ 13,918,490 votes, or a lead of only 727,084 votes.

Bautista said Roxas would only win the elections through cheating.

He said Roxas’ other rivals— Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte—had only started making local alliances and were only banking on the popularity of their names. Vito Barcelo

Campaigning in Mindoro. Senator Grace Poe is mobbed in Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro.

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NEWS

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Duterte backers’ ‘bullying’ assailed

By Rio N. Araja and Christine F. Herrera

Legal help desks. Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista signs an agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,

represented by president Rosario Reyes, and the Philippine Association of Law Schools, led by its president Dean Soledad Mawis, over the establishment of legal assistance desks in selected polling precincts during election day to help voters with their legal questions. DANNY PATA

Marcos: Debate was fun, despite brickbats

By Macon Ramos-Araneta DESPITE being ganged upon by his rivals during the vice presidential debate on Sunday, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he had fun during the debate and dismissed the mud-slinging as part of the game.

“It was fun. The debate last night was fun,” Marcos said during a media conference in Iloilo City where he was campaigning on Monday.

“More importantly, we were able to outline the programs that we are planning to implement if given the opportunity to serve,” said the 58-year-old senator.

He said he did not begrudge his opponents for ganging up on him at one point in the debate.

“This is a standard political strategy. If you want to have

good numbers, you attack the one who is leading. I expected that so I was not surprised,” said Marcos.

“So I hope that we can raise the level of discussion higher than what it was and bring it to the programs and the projects that we plan to do in the next administration,” he said.

“I hope that even after the elections, we can set aside politics and go back to our old friendships,” he added.

Marcos also pointed out

that he still considered the attacks as constructive. He said the exchange of words cannot be avoided in debates and a few noise and entertainment.

Also on Monday, Marcos was met by an estimated 5,000 volunteers and supporters, cheering, screaming or waving flags and campaign banners as he entered the jam-packed Jaro Plaza Gymnasium in Iloilo City shortly before noon.

Marcos thanked his supporters, noting they remained in the gym despite the brownout that unexpectedly hit the gym starting a few hours before his arrival.

“I’m sorry that you had to wait in this heat. I don’t understand why we suddenly have this brownout here. We really need to do more to ensure we won’t have brownouts, particularly when your candidate arrives here,”

said Marcos.

“But the effect of this brownout is that your welcome became a lot warmer,” he added.

Organizers said the power outage only affected the gym but BBM volunteers chose to stay on despite the heat just to hear the senator speak.

However, Marcos refused to comment on speculations the brownout may be a deliberate ploy to sabotage his campaign in the province. While Iloilo is the home province of Marcos’ presidential running mate, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, it is considered to be largely a bailiwick of the ruling Liberal Party.

Marcos led his supporters in a formal oathtaking where they vowed to abide the laws and help in civic programs of their organization, among others.

A SOCIAL media campaigner filed police complaints against supporters of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte who bullied her online after she expressed disapproval of the Davao City mayor’s candidacy.

But the camp of Duterte blamed impostors for the cyber-bullying of Renee Juliene Karunungan, advocacy director of Dakila (Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism), who recently declared support for Leni Robredo.

“Duterte is a lazy choice. No one man can solve the problem. Discipline comes from ourselves,” she said in her original post that was shared about 4,000 times and got more than 11,000 reactions and almost 1,400 comments.

The post resulted in a barrage of nasty comments from Duterte’s supporters who maligned her morals, criticized the size of her breasts and imperfections of her face “They call you stupid, to remind you of your inferiority. And if still you relent, they threaten you with rape and then tell you it’s your fault, for speaking up, for causing drama, for seeking attention,” she said.

“I usually express my thoughts through writing. I have also been working in the development sector and thus, hold some things of high value—human rights, climate justice, freedom of expression, gender rights to name a few,” she stressed.

Because of her views against Duterte and outspoken campaign against Duterte, she was bashed by too many netizens.

“I have gotten thousands of comments and messages from his supporters, some of whom I have engaged in constructive discussions, but most have attacked me as a person and have used my womanhood against me,” her message read.

But, Duterte’s official spokesperson Peter Laviña denied the mayor and his campaign organization had anything to do with the verbal abuse of Karunungan.

17 party-list wins likely

By Sandy Araneta THe women’s group Gabriela leads 17 other party-list groups that will likely get at least one congressional seat, according to results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey released on Monday.

According to the survey of 1,500 respondents from March 30 to April 2, the top party-list groups would likely be Gabriela with 6.20 percent, Amin with 5.77%, Kabayan 5.19%, Senior Citizens 4.62%, Agri 4.41%, Ang Kabuhayan 4.17%, ACT Teachers 3.25%, Bayan Muna 3.13%, An Waray 3.05%, Agap 2.93%, Akbayan 2.86%, Buhay 2.75%, Kalinga 2.71%, Asenso 2.58%, Ako Bicol 2.20%, AAMBIS-OWA 2.12%, and Yacap 2.07%.

SWS said these groups would likely get 17 seats out of the maximum 59 seats reserved for the party-list system.

The remaining 42 seats will be allocated to the parties next in rank until all available

seats are distributed on the condition that any qualified party is entitled to a maximum of only three seats.

The next ranking parties are Ang edukasyon, A Teacher Inc. Abakada, Magdalo, COOP-NATCCO, PBA, Kabataan, Abono, Anac-IP, Abamin, 1Pacman, 1-Care, Acts-OFW, 1-Pabahay, Awat Mindanao, Tama, Butil, LPGMA, 1-Sagip, Asean Inc., Alay Buhay, Abang Lingkod, Aangat Tayo, Global and Diwa.

The vote percentages are based on the sample of validated voters only; they exclude adults who are not validated voters.

The area estimates were weighted by the 2016 Commission on elections data on validated voters to obtain the national estimates.

A validated voter is a registered voter whose biometrics have been captured digitally (i.e., digital images of his/her photograph, fingerprints, and signature have been recorded) by the VRM.

Comelec checkpoint. Air Force troopers and policemen hale vehicles for random checks at one of the many Commission on Elections-mandated checkpoints all over the country.

DANNY PATA

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Poor workers’ ranks swelling

By Vito Barcelo The number of poor Filipino workers who are working in the informal economy and cannot afford the cost of living standard of P19.50 per meal a day has reached 27.1 million since January this year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said on Monday.

Leyte’s supporter. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (left) hands a plaque of appreciation to veteran radio

broadcaster Joe Taruc for helping the victims of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in Tacloban City and other parts of Leyte. Apart from distributing relief goods and medicines the dzRH radio stations nationwide reported the events that took place during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda. Looking on is dzRH veteran reporter Milky Rigona. VeR NoVeNo

Ex-MRT manager faces 2nd graft case

By Rio Araja FORMeR MRT general manager Al Vitangcol III is facing another graft charges before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly trying to extort $30 million from a Czech company that is into the procurement and maintenance of trains.

The Office of the Ombudsman ordered the filing of two counts of violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices against Vitangcol, along with Wilson de Vera, one of the incorporators of the Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corp.

The Ombudsman said Vitangcol and De Vera conspired to demand $30 million from Inekon and insisted on that company to enter into a joint venture with a group of

persons for the maintenance of MRT line 3.

The Ombudsman said Vitangcol was guilty of two counts each of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and unlawful solicitation and ordered Vitangcol’s dismissal from government service.

“Due to his separation from the service, however, the penalty of dismissal is convertible to a fine equivalent to respondent’s one year salary,” the Ombudsman statement read.

Vitangcol was also ordered perpetually disqualified to hold public office with forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of eligibility and bar from taking the civil service examination.

Investigation showed payment in advance

by Inekon of $30 million, later reduced to $2.5 million, and entering into a joint venture by Inekon with a group proposed by

Vitangcol were imposed as pre-conditions

by Vitangcol in conspiracy with De Vera for Inekon to be awarded the contracts for the supply of additional light rail vehicles and maintenance of the MRT3 line in connection with the P3.7- billion MRT3 expansion project in 2012.

After considering the evidence, including the statements of Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar and Inekon representative Joseph husek as well as Vitangcol’s and De Vera’s conflicting statements, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales found that the “totality of x x x circumstances, taken together with the affirmative declarations of complainant’s witnesses,” convinced that there was a failed attempt to extort from Inekon as a condition for Inekon to secure the contract for the supply of trains was made upon the behest of Vitangcol.

TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the informal economy or “underground economy” sector refers to poor individuals who operate business that are very small in scale and not registered with any national government agency.

“Workers in the informal economy sell their services in exchange for subsistence wages or other forms of compensation,” he said.

The National economic Development Authority and the Philippine Statistics Authority said a family of five needs P8,778 a month which is equivalent to P292.60 a day or P19.50 per person for three meals a day in 2012.

The two agencies said workers in the informal sector economy, for the same year, earn an average income of P5,750 a month or P221.15 a day. Both agencies are expected to release government poverty standard in July this year.

Using this equation, Tanjusay said poor workers need a minimum of P3,028 more a month or P100.93 more a day in order to survive. he said informal sector workers are working people most vulnerable to risks and engage in variety of schemes for them to cope.

“Despite of their significant contribution to the growing economy, government intervention for them to survive or to cope is very small. They have no choice but they rather on their own try to cope and meet both ends by the day not by weeks or by months. Most of them borrow money from loan operators despite exorbitant 6 to 10-percent interest rates.

Some bet in daily, small-time illegal gambling.

Some are engaged in sideline,” Tanjusay said.

Informal sector workers includes jeepney and tricycle drivers, wet and dry vendors, bus and truck drivers and conductors, truck assistants, salesladies, barbers, beauticians and port workers.

According to PSA’s Labor Force Survey released in March this year, there are 27.1 million workers in the informal sector economy out of the 67.153 million total work force beginning this year.

Pump prices down by 70c per liter

By Alena Mae S. Flores The country’s oil firms carried out a price cut of P0.70 per liter of gasoline, P0.55 per liter of kerosene and P0.55 per liter for diesel effective today (Tuesday) following the drop in world oil prices.

Petron Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., PTT Philippines, Seaoil Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum and eastern Petroleum issued separate advisories of the price cut. energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said the rollback reflected the prices at the world market last week which was initially low during the early part of the week but went up later in the week as the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum exporting Countries and nonOpec countries draws near.

Monsada said Opec and nonOpeccountries will meet on April 17 to discuss the possible cut in oil pro-

duction. Traders are keenly awaiting the decision from the meeting.

Monitoring of the department showed that Opec president and Qatar’s energy minister Mohammed al-Sada has said the output freeze is supported by 15 countries, which account for 73 percent of worldwide production.

Opec-member Libya will not attend, and also Iran as it seeks to increase output and regain lost market share after years of international sanctions.

Oil prices have been fluctuating due to concerns of oversupply.Traders, who were once optimistic about a production freeze were doubting its positive effects, stating that even if a production freeze is agreed, this would have limited impact on supply as Opec output has already been stable at high levels of 32.4-32.6 million barrels a day since last June.

Dignity. Members of the Dignidad Alliance demand a life of dignity with the promise to fight for the right to food and for other forms of social protection measures that will ensure a life of dignity for all.

Photo taken during press conference held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. MANNy PALMeRo

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editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Bagatsing, Lim expose Estrada spending spree Manila mayoral candidates amado Bagatsing and alfredo lim are both calling the attention of the Commission on Elections, the Commission on audit and the Department of interior and local Government to the massive spending spree incumbent Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada is engaged in during the campaign period.

According to them, Estrada is practically “flooding the city with huge amount of cash after close and trusted political allies and poll surveys his group conducted showed him trailing Bagatsing and Lim in voters’ preference.

“Erap is heading to a sorry loss comes the May 9 local polls. He is even losing the support of the masses, the classes C, D, and E of the populace. His [Erap’s] only answer or solution to this impending defeat

“is to f lood, literally, the city with plenty of money. Will this suffice?

Will this work?” Councilor Bernie Ang, a close confidant and trusted friend of Estrada, confided to The Standard recently.

Another Estrada ally, former councilor Felix Espiritu, allegedly sought the assistance of Bagatsing to have his son running for councilor, Bobby, and Estrada’s official running mate, Honey Lacuna, “be adopted by the LABKabaka team [Bagatsing and vice mayoral hopeful Councilor Ali Atienza tandem], hoping, perhaps, for

a victory.

Still another Erap’s cogroup, three-term Councilor Cristy Isip, opted to be an independent and to support Lim’s mayoralty bid instead.

On top of this, a contractor-sympathizer of Estrada, who requested anonymity because of the “delicate and serious” issue involved, disclosed that a recent survey ordered by the mayor—after he gave and handed cash to barangay officials, senior citizens, teachers and students, vendors and stallholders, job order and casual workers, and policemen

and firemen but not to any regular city hall employee—showed a dismal result.

Bagatsing topped the survey with 48 percent, followed by Estrada at 23 percent, and Lim, 22 percent, a source said.

The people must be vigilant and the voters should be wise and not to be swayed and influenced by “money politics,” even as Bagatsing and Lim told the Comelec, CoA and DILG “to caution and warn Estrada not to overspend,” “or else they will be compelled to file charges against him.”

Tony Macapagal

Immigration on terror alert THE Bureau of Immigration was placed on alert status with a focus on foreign nationals arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport amid renewed terror threat.

Immigration commissioner Ronaldo Geron instructed newly appointed BI Intelligence chief Rommel de Leon to ensure that wanted foreign persons and terrorists with links to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria will not use the Philippines as their hiding place and jump-off point to their foreign targets.

De Leon, who is barely weeks old in his seat, already made his mark as the bureau’s top intelligence official when his group intercepted a Korean national wanted in his home country for various crimes, including extortion and blackmailing his countrymen living in the Philippines.

BI Deputy Intelligence Chief Cirilo Bautista identified the fugitive as Choi Yeongik, who also used fraudulent Philippine passport under a Filipino name Bryan Cruz Chua, last week.

Choi claimed that he was born in Motiong, Samar to gain easy entry at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

He also holds a Philippine driver’s license, while his Philippine passport was allegedly issued in Cebu province, according to the BI report.

The BI was also alerted after a Chinese national was held at the Naia Terminal 1 last April 7. vito Barcelo

Cop’s bike gone in five minutes

Water rate hike. An unidentified man inspects rows of water meter at Barangay Old Balara along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City amid an impending water rate increase of 11 centavos per cubic meter starting April 2016. MANNY PALMERO

A MANILA policeman lost his motorcycle in just five minutes after he and his wife parked his vehicle and left to buy groceries at a mall in Monumento, Caloocan.

P01 Glenmore Agustin, assigned at the Manila Police District, claimed he parked his newly bought motorcycle (1480 UV) in front of the Victory Mall along Samson Road last Saturday.

When he returned after a few minutes, his motorcycle was gone, the policeman said.

The traffic division of the Caloocan police said the incident happened at about 5:45 p.m. inside the parking lot of Victory Mall.

He immediately reported the incident to the mall security guard and the police for possible recovery but, he was told by witnesses that an unidentified man approached the motorcycle and drove away.

As of press time, police were reviewing the CCTV in the area to identify who stole the cop’s motorcycle. Jun David

Another investment scam revealed; trader faces raps

By Rey E. Requejo THE Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed before the Department of Justice another criminal complaint against a businessman who allegedly involved in another investment fraud.

In a complaint, SEC, through director for investigations and prosecution Jose Aquino, accused trader Royvil Peramide of violating Republic Act No. 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code.

The SEC acted on the com-

plaint filed by Rosita Dizon, who lost P300,000 in investments to the alleged scam.

Dizon claimed that Peramide promised her return of investment and interest of 20 percent after just 15 days through the scheme that supposedly involved foreign currency exchange.

The complainant said Peramide’s promise did not materialize. Peramide’s scheme did not have permit, SEC said.

Aquino has called on other victims of Peramide to come out and support their

case in the DoJ. Just last week, the SEC filed similar charges against trading firm Hyper Program International over an alleged multimillion-peso pyramiding investment scam.

The commission accused the firm and three affiliate firms—HPI Direct, HPI Holdings and Business Icon Premier Trading—of engaging in a “pyramiding scam” or selling investments to the public at a high interest or profit without required permit.

Obstruction. Illegal acts such as double parking and building of unauthorized terminals as well as cargo trucks are impeding traffic flow along Samson Road in Caloocan City everyday but motorists’ complaints remain unheeded by authorities. JuN DAviD

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news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Probe on Cebu hospital sought

By Maricel V. Cruz

Summer hues. Twilight in Baguio City is bathed in dark red as summer descends in the city. DAVID CHAN

Duterte fever sweeps Bulacan, big rally set

By Orlan L. Mauricio

MALOLOS CITY—There’s no stopping the snowballing of support for presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, an indication that his victory in the province is imminent.

In the latest unreleased but official survey result from Pulse Asia, Duterte had registered a five-point lead over Grace Poe and by a whopping 10 points over Vice President Jejomar Binay. Duterte had an 11 points lead over Liberal Party and administration bet Mar Roxas.

The Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS Bulacan-Malolos Volunteers) have finalized all preparation for the biggest political rally of the Duterte-Cayetano team slated on April 13 at the 7,500–capacity Malolos Sports & Convention Center.

The venue, located along McArthur hi-way, Bulihan, Malolos City, is less than a kilometer away from the Bulacan

State University and the Provincial Capitol.

Among other senatorial candidates, Martin Romualdez will speak before an expected fullcapacity crowd to address the Bulakenyo die-hard supporters of the clench-fisting presidential candidate.

An advance party team of Mayor Duterte has also finalized security preparations for the rally in Baliuag to be held at Sagrada Familia Montessori School that will precede the rally at the historic capital city of Bulacan.

Duterte’s barnstorming of Bulacan is set to start with a motorcade in the morning in San Miguel town where thousands of Duterte supporters have promised

the Davao mayor a huge turnout particularly from the silent supporters of mayoralty candidate Allen Dela Cruz (Independent) who is enjoying a slight lead over rivals Vice Mayor Ivy Coronel and Ferdie Tiongson.

Bulacan residents who are planning to join the biggest-ever political rally for Duterte are advised to see the ‘Road Map Guide’ to the Malolos rally venue.

The Malolos rally will be the exclamation point to the groundswelling of support for Duterte, said Mary Rose Ortega, a volunteer who took charge of all the tarpaulin and flyers for the event.

‘DU30’ ballers, posters and Tshirts printing are also donated by supporters in almost all the motorcade routes. In Baliuag town, the free T-shirt printing has become a family affair for retired ex-police general Vidal Querol in Brgy. Sabang.

In Bocaue, the clan of a prominent lawyer Atty. Peter Gonzales, whose father served as mayor for two terms, have set

up various points in the town where free T-shirt prints of ‘Duterte’ images can be availed of. The information are posted in almost all Facebook groups in Bulacan.

Avid Duterte supporters and followers in the social medium Facebook have decried the apparent effort to downplay and deliberately give equal space for the political rallies of Duterte which are always jampacked with audience.

MetroNEWS Bulacan, the oldest Malolos-based English weekly, have been actively filling up the information gap for the provincial sorties of Duterte and other candidates which were not carried or given enough space by Manilabased tabloids and dailies.

Over the weekend, the Duterte-Cayetano tandem created another sensational audiovisual hit on social media when they barnstorm Metro Manila and capped their sortie with a massive crowd turnout at the Alabang, Muntinlupa estimated at more than 15,000 to 20,000.

Power outages to hit 10 Baguio City towns BAGUIO CITY—Ten out of 13 Benguet municipalities, including Baguio City, will experience an 11-hour power outage on April 13, Wednesday, and another on April 15 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Lilibeth Gaydowen, Information officer of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, on Monday said the power outage is due to a regular preventive maintenance activity.

On April 13, more than 100,000 households will be affected in Baguio City, along with Benguet, which is being serviced by the Benguet Electric Cooperative and the Mountain Province Electric Cooperative.

The NGCP will conduct the Annual Preventive Maintenance and Testing (APMT)

of La Trinidad SS 69kV Bus 1 Breaker and feeders which include 53LT4-feeder breaker for La Trinidad-Mankayan (L1)Sagada (MOPRECO) 69kV T/L and 55LT4-feeder breaker for La Trinidad-Sablan (Calot) 69kV T/L. On April 15, more than 29,000 households will also be affected by the APMT of La Trinidad SS 69kV Bus 2 Breaker and feeders which includes 58LT4-feeder breaker for La Trinidad-Itogon SS-Ampucao (Philex) 69kV T/L and 56LT4-feeder breaker for La Trinidad-Lamut 69kV T/L. Gaydowen said the company will exert all efforts to restore power transmission service earlier or as scheduled and cautioned the public to always consider all lines energized. PNA

Beach front. Philippine Marines take position during a beach landing as part of the 11-day ‘Balikatan’ annual joint US and Philippine military exercises at the San Jose airport in Antique province in central Philippines. US and Philippine troops began major exercises on April 4 as China’s state media warned ‘outsiders’ against interfering in the South China Sea territorial disputes. AFP

ThE Gabriela Women’s Party on Monday sought a congressional probe into what it described as unfair labor practice done by the management of a privatelyrun hospital in Cebu.

In filing house Resolution 2682, Gabriela partylist Rep. Emmi de Jesus urged the house committee on labor and employment to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation into the operations of the Cebu Maternity house Independent Employees Union following complaints from some of its workers which were elevated to Congress through the Gabriela.

De Jesus stressed the need for Congress to probe into the hospital’s alleged “unfair labor practice and illegal lockout that violated the rights of its health workers and the resulting denial of access by women to maternal health services.”

Founded in 1920 by the Cebu Women’s Club, the facility also known as Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity house, employs 12 resident doctors, 63 nurses and midwives, four medical technicians, two dieticians and 59 support staff that serve 25,000 patients annually.

After collective bargaining agreement for a P20 daily pay raise last March 2015, De Jesus said the management abruptly changed its offer to one peso on the say-so of the hospital board of trustees. The board from then on refused to meet with the union on the bargaining table, the lady lawmaker added, citing complaints from CMhIEU workers.

De Jesus said on January 29th, the hospital stopped admitting patients by declaring “temporary cessation of operations due to labor conflict and impending strike.”

“On International Women’s Day on March 8, the union staged a fasting protest action to draw attention to the rights of Cebu women to access to affordable health care that were compromised by the standoff,” De Jesus said.

A week later, the hospital barred entry to some workers from the hospital, prompting the workers to seek help from the Gabriela Party-list leaders in the city, she added.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T U E S D AY: A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

REASONS TO GRIEVE EIGHTEEN soldiers died in Basilan Saturday night, killed by Abu Sayyaf bandits who had set a ransom for foreign hostages and had threatened to behead some of them if demands were not met by Friday, April 8.

The bandits beheaded four of the 18 soldiers in the 10-hour fight.

Five died from the Abu front, including a Moroccan working to affiliate all kidnap-forransom groups with an international terrorist organization.

The bandits were led by Isnilon Hapilon, who is included in the list of terrorists in Asia most wanted by the United States government. Hapilon has a $5-million bounty on his head and has recently pledged allegiance to Islamic terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

An Italian priest had been freed on Friday, but there is no word on the condition of the 18 remaining hostages.

The slaughter of our soldiers occasions only rage and indignation, happening during the last few weeks of this callous administration and just when the people are being wooed to vote for their next leaders. How the sitting party—as if there were clear delineations among political organizations outside of convenience—could tell us we need to have more of this same indifference and self-righteousness in the face of utter inability to protect those who risk their lives for us is beyond our comprehension.

Recall that in January 2015, it took President Aquino several days to make a statement on the murder of 44 members of the Special Action Force directed to the enemy lair to arrest a terrorist, as if terrorists would raise their arms in surrender when shown a warrant.

When he did open his mouth, it was to both confound and astound us with his insensitivity and lame excuses, most unpresidentially blaming others at a time he should be showing leadership and compassion.

The same tendencies surfaced when he waited a full week to say something—anything—about the killing of farmers who were only asking for rice, bludgeoned as they were by hunger and poverty made worse by El Niño.

This joke of a leader announced that it took him a while to respond to what happened because he had been sick—the difficult job of the presidency was taking its toll on his health, he said.

He also said nothing about the bizarre awarding of medals to the men who dispersed the desperate farmers and local leaders—his political allies, by the way—blaming the farmers and the communists for what had happened.

Given this track record, it would be too much to expect a swift, decisive action, compassion or even good sense from Mr. Aquino. As the families of the fallen men grieve for them, killed in action on Day of Valor, we grieve too for what the Aquino leadership has brought us, only finding consolation in the fact it is bound to end soon.

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.

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GONE FOR GOOD LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES

REMEMBER Al-Barka? I do.

Nineteen soldiers died in that sixth-class municipality of Basilan province in October 2011, just a little over a year after President Noynoy Aquino took over the highest post in the land. A group of 40 soldiers from the Army’s Special Forces, sent to AlBarka to pursue a gang of kidnappers, encountered a superior force of 90 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front; the troopers were ruthlessly gunned down by the Moro rebels, who claimed the government forces had intruded into their territory.

Aquino was much more energetic back then.

He called a command conference in Camp Aguinaldo right after the killings, even if he knew that his government was deep into peace negotiations with the Muslim rebels.

What a difference five years make. Over the weekend just past, 18 soldiers were killed by a big force

of alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group in TipoTipo town, also in Basilan; the soldiers had also been pursuing kidnap-for-ransom gangs and were part of a bigger operation that began earlier this year.

Aquino has not made his presence felt this time around. There has been no statement from the President as of late yesterday, even if—like in the aftermath of Al-Barka in 2011 —the military has already ordered the lowering of flags in all military bases to half-mast in honor of the slain troops.

Truth to tell, nothing did come out of Aquino’s posturings after the AlBarka killings. Perhaps the MILF’s insistence that it was just fending off attacking soldiers and the implied threat that leaning on the rebels too hard would endanger the peace talks had something to do with that.

But now, when Aquino’s heart’s desire of a new peace agreement with the MILF has gone down the Palace drain, he seems to have completely lost interest in the death of the soldiers under his command.

Actually, Aquino appears to

Aquino doesn’t care if people live or die.

These days, he doesn’t even care to comment anymore.

have lost interest in almost everything, with the possible exception of campaigning for his Liberal Party’s candidates, so that they may “continue the gains” of his administration.

Over the past couple of weeks, Aquino has only grudgingly commented (or said nothing at all in public) about the killing of three farmers who were demanding rice in Kidapawan City and the five-hour blackout at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that

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

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inconvenienced 14,000 airline passengers.

Compare Aquino’s quick congratulatory reaction to the victory of Manny Pacquiao in his latest boxing match and his deathly silence regarding those three far more important incidents and you’ll get my meaning. (Aquino has publicly discussed the Kidapawan incident, yes— but only to explain that he learned about it only after the farmers had been violently dispersed and that he was ill at the time.)

I’ve long been convinced that Aquino doesn’t really care if people outside his family and his close circle of friends and political allies live or die. These days, he doesn’t even care to comment anymore. *** Of course, there was also that strange incident involving the 44 slain members of the PNP Special Action Force, whose arrival in coffins in Manila in January last year was ignored by Aquino—who just had to attend the opening of a carassembly plant on the same day. I guess dead soldiers are just not that high on the list of people that Aquino, Continued on A11

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T U E S D AY: A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

PH ELECTIONS ARE ALL LOCAL TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

IN MY over 66 years as a journalist, having walked the corridors of power and knew all the Presidents on first-name basis, except BS Aquino, since I never stepped into Malacañang after he became President in 2010, nor welcomed, I say that BS Aquino is the worst President.

Never has a President been so incompetent, so insensitive and lacking compassion to the poor, the aggrieved and the needy, and so vindictive to his political enemies in Malacañang. And Santa Banana, no other President ever had an administration and members of his Cabinet just as incompetent, lacking in sensitivity and compassion to the poor, the aggrieved and the needy. They are a pack of lapdogs always ready to do their master’s wishes.

I can write a whole column about BS Aquino as the worst President the country ever had, but I’m actually glad that he’ll step down in June 30 when the next president takes over, unless of course, the next president will just be as bad, or even much worse.

Never have I seen a President “Noynoying” and so totally unaware of the violent dispersal of hungry farmers and their families composed of women and their children gathering in a national highway at Kidapawan, North Cotabato, and begging for rice only to be shot at close range by M-15 wielding policemen. My gulay, that takes the cake for any administration.

BS Aquino’s excuse that he was sick and that he only knew about it when DILG secretary Senen Mel Sarmiento told him about it when he was on his way to Kidapawan to hand down medals for policemen responsible for the violent dispersal. That was a double insult on the hungry farmers.

Add this to the excuse of another incompetent Ninoy International Airport general manager Angel Jose Honrado, an Aquino relative, when he said that the Naia 3 blackout was because of “bad luck,” and would now have a feng shui expert trace the bad luck.

It was not bad luck at all, but utter incompe-

tence that canceled over a hundred domestic and international flights. Just why Honrado and much more Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya have not been fired, to me, can only attest to the fact that birds of the same feather flock together.

Rather, they deserve each other. *** With less than a month before Election Day, it’s still anybody’s game in the race to Malacañang. While poll surveys may show that Mrs. Llamanzares and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Du-Dirty may be leading, I still believe, and this fact can be attested by those who have been there and done it, that the next three weeks will be a fight between popularity at the polls and grassroots political machineries. That’s the reason why it is said that all elections are local because it’s the grassroots political machinery that delivers the votes, not popularity.

What I like about Bongbong during that vice presidential debate is that he remained calm throughout even if Cayetano and Trillanes attacked him, and he answered all the questions thrown at him the best he could.

And, Santa Banana, don’t forget that among the five presidentiables, only Vice President Jojo Binay and administration candidate Mar Roxas have that grassroots political machinery.

These grassroots political machinery of Binay and Roxas may not be as visible as it is in Metro Manila, but go to the provinces two weeks from now and be told that all tricycles, jeepneys and buses have already been contracted to ferry voters from their homes to the precincts. My gulay, voters in the province and barrios won’t walk for seven to 10 kilometers to vote. They wait to be ferried since they know that they will be paid after

JUSTICE LEONEN CHAMPIONS HUMAN RIGHTS LAST Saturday, the Supreme Court released its resolution denying the motions for reconsideration that sought to reverse its initial decision declaring Grace Poe qualified to run as president. This removes all obstacles to Poe’s candidacy.

While respecting the rights of parties in a case to avail of all remedies, I would have advised them not to bother in this case. A reading not just of the main opinion by the majority but also of the concurrences yields the conclusion that the justices have strong positions on the Poe case and they would not be moved.

Certainly, that is the case with Justice Marvic Leonen as reflected in his concurrence.

Those who witnessed Justice Leonen’s impassioned plea during the oral arguments before the Court hearing the Poe cases were surprised that the good justice sided with the majority in granting Poe’s consolidated petitions. His concurring opinion is confirmation of this position.

In his separate opinion. Leonen, much like similarly minded magistrates, said that in implying that Poe’s lack of intent to establish domicile from the actions of her husband the Comelec committed willful misappreciation of the evidence presented.

The Comelec’s posture in effect infers that the wife cannot establish domicile separated from the husband which, to Leonen, is contrary to the state of Philippine law, which requires fundamental equality between men and women.

Like the other justices who concurred with the ponencia, Leonen also found that the Comelec failed to appreciate an overwhelming pieces of evidence presented by Poe such as: First, the husband was both a Filipino and American citizen; second, the husband and the wife uprooted their children, removed them from their schools in the United States, and enrolled them in voting when they show those electronic receipts which showed who they voted for.

It’s a fact that in most provinces, voters always rely on political leaders who to vote for local and national leaders, including for president. After all, the very same people always rely on their political leaders when they are in need for so many various things, knowing that national candidates won’t have time for them.

They rely on local political leaders for burial expenses, trips to Manila, uniforms for basketball teams in their barangays and so on and so forth.

And only a well-oiled grassroots machinery can deliver all these.

Technically speaking, Mar Roxas should have this advantage since the administration has all the

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA schools in the Philippines; third, one of their children, a baby, was likewise uprooted and brought to the Philippines to stay here permanently. Fourth, arrangements were made to transfer their household belongings in several container vans from the United States to the Philippines. Fifth, petitioner did not seek further employment abroad.

Sixth, petitioner’s husband resigned from his work and moved to the Philippines, among other evidence.

Leonen stated that the evidence on which petitioner reckoned her residency, she did not commit material misrepresentation. Thus, it was not only an error but grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Comelec to trivialize the pieces of evidence presented by Poe in order to justify its conclusion.

Touching on the authority of the Comelec, Leonen said that the poll body may validly take cognizance of petitions involving qualifications only if the petitions were filed after election and only with respect to elective regional, provincial, city, municipal, and barangay officials.

Agreeing with the petitioner’s argument, Leonen said that Poe correctly posited that Section 78 should be read in relation to Section 74’s enumeration of what Certificates of Candidacy must state.

He explained that under Section 74, a person filing a Certificate of Candidacy declares that the facts stated in the certificate “are true to the best of his [or her] knowledge.”

The law does not require “absolute certainty” but allows for mistakes in the Certificate of Candidacy if made in good faith. This, according to him, is consistent with the “summary

LGUs or Local Government Units, and of course, the money. But, Binay also has it since his political machinery has been intact ever since he became mayor of Makati. This is what I mean by all elections are local.

Past elections where popular candidates lost to less popular presidentiables can attest to what I have been saying. The late Senator Raul Manglapus lost to incumbent President Carlos P. Garcia; Senator Miriam Santiago lost to President Fidel V. Ramos; and movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. lost to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. They were not cheated. The winner had the needed grassroots political machinery, and this will be repeated on May 9. *** The pathetic duo of Senator Alan Peter Cay-

character of proceedings relating to Certificates of Candidacy.”

Leonen categorically stated in his concurring opinion the absence of material misrepresentation with respect to Poe’s conclusion that she was a natural-born Filipino.

Simply stated, her statement was not false. On this issue, he asserted that neither private respondents nor the Commission on Elections was able to disprove any of the material facts supporting the legal conclusion of the petitioner.

Leonen explained that in an action for cancellation of a Certificate of Candidacy under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code, the person who filed the petition alleging material misrepresentation has the burden of proving such claim. Private respondents who initiated the action before the Commission on Elections failed to establish a prima facie case of material misrepresentation to warrant a shift of burden of evidence to petitioner, for which reason, according to him, the Comelec should have dismissed the petitions.

Using common sense approach, Leonen pointed out that Poe’s admission that she is a foundling merely established that her biological parents were unknown. It did not establish that she falsely misrepresented that she was born of Filipino parents. It did not establish that both her biological parents were foreign citizens.

In asserting as they did, private respondents and Comelec will arrive at the unjust and unwarranted presumption that all newborns abandoned by their parents even in rural areas in the Philippines are presumed not to be Filipinos. This approach would then give rise to the unreasonable requirement that those who were abandoned—even because of poverty or shame—must exert extraordinary effort to search for the very same parents who abandoned them Continued on A11

etano and Senator Antonio Trillanes zeroed in on Senator Bongbong Marcos on the old and rehashed issue of Martial Law, obviously thinking their poll survey ratings will improve being at the bottom of the totem pole during the vice presidential debates last Sunday evening. Sad to say, they won’t.

By constantly repeating the same old rehashed issue of Martial Law, more people will graviate to the young Marcos since they know credentials and track record. Besides, people know that the sins of the fathers cannot be inflicted on their sons. Santa Banana, when Cayetano argued that if Bongbong were to be elected, he will steal not only $10 billion which the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos allegedly plundered, but $100

billion more.

My gulay, would you vote for somebody like Cayetano who cannot even think logically and with reason? And here comes Trillanes again accusing Binay for corruption, an old refrain.

In my book, Trillanes should withdraw because he has no chance against Bongbong in the vice presidential race. Just like Cayetano, Trillanes is pathetic.

What I like about Bongbong during that vice presidential debate is that he remained calm throughout even if Cayetano and Trillanes attacked him, and he answered all the questions thrown at him the best he could.

And the reason why the people gravitate to him, making him No. 1 in all poll surveys, is that he Continued on A11

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IN THE POE DECISION

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA (Part 1) ALTHOUGH the Supreme Court has ruled with finality that Senator Grace Poe may run for president in the May 2016 elections, its pronouncement left several unanswered questions.

The Constitution provides that no person may be elected president of unless he is a natural-born citizen, and a resident of the country for at least 10 years immediately preceding such election; that the Commission on Elections has the power to decide all questions affecting elections (except those involving the right to vote); and that the decisions of the Comelec may be reversed by the Supreme Court if the same was attended with grave abuse of discretion.

According to the Supreme Court, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, which is composed of all of the justices of the Court, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election and qualifications of the president, after he is proclaimed president

by Congress.

It is also provided in the Constitution that no decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based, and that no motion for reconsideration may be denied without stating the legal basis therefor.

There other legal considerations as well. The decision of the Comelec is presumed to be regular, that is, valid and correct, until overturned by a doctrinal decision of the Supreme Court. A doctrinal decision is one that is supported by a majority of the justices who participated in the deliberations.

If there is no doctrinal decision to overturn it, the decision of the Comelec must be upheld pursuant to that presumption of regularity.

The decision of the Supreme Court favoring Poe should be evaluated against the foregoing legal considerations.

After Poe filed her Certificate of Candidacy for president last year, four disqualification cases were filed against her before the Comelec on the grounds that Poe did not comply with the citizenship and residency requirements for the presidency.

The Comelec eventually ruled against Poe—she is not a natural-born citizen, and that she failed to satisfy the residency requirement.

The Comelec acted well within its jurisdiction when it rendered judgment against Poe because, as stated earlier, the Constitution vests in the Comelec the power to decide all questions affecting elections, and the PET can act only after a candidate has been proclaimed president by Congress.

Justice... From A10 and might not have wanted to be identified in order to have a chance to be of public service.

On the issue of Poe’s citizenship, Leonen said that petitioner Poe did not undergo the naturalization process but rather she reacquired her Filipino citizenship through Republic Act No. 9225; in effect she reacquired natural-born citizenship. Hence, to consider petitioner, a foundling, as not naturalborn will create a class of citizens

PH... From A10 goes around without any personal attack against his rivals, but makes known his platform of uniting the country to enable it to move forward. Bongbong has the brains of his late father, and the charisma of Imelda. *** My former high school student at the Ateneo de Manila Loyola Heights, Roberto “Bobby” V. Ongpin, cannot stop. Hardly had his “Aegle Wellness Center” settled down, a P350-million wellness center both at the Alphaland Makati Place (City Club) and the island paradise of

Poe elevated the case to the Supreme Court. According to a long line of jurisprudence, the only ground by which the Court may overturn the decision of the Comelec is a doctrinal finding that the Comelec committed a grave abuse of discretion when it ruled against Poe. If no such doctrinal finding is made, then the Comelec decision must be upheld pursuant to the presumption of regularity mentioned earlier.

Since all 15 justices of the Supreme Court participated in the deliberations of the disqualification cases against Poe, the concurrence of at least eight justices is necessary to constitute a doctrinal decision.

Only seven justices led by Justice Jose Portugal Perez opined that Poe is presumed to be a natural-born citizen, and that she met the residency requirement for a valid run for the presidency. Five disagreed, and three believed that the issue concerning her citizenship need not be passed upon.

A total of nine justices ultimately said that the Comelec acted with grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Poe. In fine, a plurality of the Supreme Court said that Poe is presumed to be a natural-born citizen based on the statistical inference of the Solicitor General that foundlings born in the Philippines between 1965 and

who are stateless due to no fault of theirs. This would also mean that we should teach our foundling citizens to never aspire to serve the country in any of the above capacities.

This belief, for Leonen, is not only inconsistent with the text of our Constitution’s citizenship provisions, which required only evidence of citizenship and not of the identities of the parents. It unnecessarily creates a classification of citizens with limited rights based on the circumstances of their births—which is discriminatory.

Balesin Island off Quezon province, and now he has opened another multi-million peso property development in Baguio City— the Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges consisting of 300 log homes, and masterplanned in a 76-hectare property just 8 km from the Pacdal Circle, Baguio City proper.

The new development of Ongpin was acquired by Alphaland Corp., and has an elevation of 5,200 feet, compared to Tagaytay Highlands where the highest point is only some 2,000 ft.

With the Tarlac Pangasinan-La Union Expressway started three years ago by

1975, which ostensibly includes Poe, were born to Filipino parents, and based likewise on the physical features of Poe. Three justices were of the view that only the PET, and not the Supreme Court, may pass upon the qualifications of a president, and that it will be premature for either the Supreme Court or the Comelec to entertain the disqualification cases against Poe. In effect, the Court said that the Comelec cannot prematurely prohibit whoever it considers disqualified under the Constitution from running for the presidency, because that function exclusively belongs to the PET, but only after the candidate concerned is proclaimed the winner.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Bar Association criticized the supposed majority ruling, particularly its reliance on statistical inference and physical features.

Sadly, however, the motions for reconsideration were denied with finality last week. One party intends to file a second motion for reconsideration, citing a past occasions when the Supreme Court reversed itself several times on separate motions for reconsiderations.

Even so, there are still unanswered questions.

To repeat, nine justices declared that the Comelec com-

In Justice Leonen, it was not just Grace Poe that found an advocate but all foundlings and global Filipinos benefited from his positions.

In Leonen, who famously said that there is a reason why members of the Supreme Court are not called legalists but justices. Human rights and basic decency also found a champion in Leonen. Since he will be in the Court for many years, that gives me a lot of comfort.

Facebook: tonylavs5 or Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

Ramon Ang of San Miguel, the travel time from Metro Manila to Baguio City will be cut down to only three hours. TPELEX is scheduled to be finished within the year all up to Rosario, La Union.

Santa Banana, Alphaland Mountain Lodges will not only be secured and completely enclosed by a concrete eight-feet perimeter fence with a total of more than seven km which will provide total and absolute security, but will have highend restaurants for the lodge owners.

It will not be a membership property development, and the price range

for the first fully furnished units will be between P35 to P50 million, depending on the size of the house. Each house will not cost more than P100,000 per square meter, including the deck.

Actually, more than half of the first 50 units have already been reserved by Alphaland members and friends.

That’s Bobby Ongpin for you—the Aquino administration loves to hate out of pure envy. As I have been saying all along, you just can’t pull a good man down.

Despite everything, Bobby Ongpin keeps on investing in the Philippines knowing its bright future.

mitted a grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Poe. According to them, Poe committed “honest mistakes” when she declared under oath, or made it appear in her Certificate of Candidacy for president, that she was born to Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife, even if she knew she is a foundling, and also when she stated in her Certificate of Candidacy for senator in 2013 that she was a resident of the Philippines only for six years and six months, which means that by May 2016, she will be six months short of the required residency of 10 years.

Good grief ! At 48 years old, Poe is unable to tell the difference between being born to specific parents and being a foundling? At 48 years old, Poe is unable to count until 10? If incompetence were a ground for disqualification in the presidential derby, Poe will be in serious trouble.

This “honest mistake” precedent created by the Poe decision is fraught with troublesome consequences. Persons charged with perjury for making false statements under oath in official documents can simply claim that they made an “honest mistake” in accomplishing the document, and thus escape prosecution. Oaths and affidavits will be rendered meaningless. (To be continued on Saturday)

Gone... From A8 the nominal commander-in-chief of the military, is “dying” to meet.

As for protesting and beaten-down peasants, they’re so three decades ago. When Aquino’s mother unleashed the bloodthirsty Manila police on hundreds of farmers seeking genuine land reform outside of Malacañang, killing 13 of them, Noynoy was just assaying the role of the fun-loving bachelor president’s son and could not be bothered. (Years later, in 2004, as nominal—yes, that word again—head of security of his family’s Hacienda Luisita, Aquino would witness the killing of 14 protesting peasants on their estate; it never seemed to bother him afterwards.)

Now, it seems, it would take nothing short of a catastrophe of, say, Yolanda-like proportions to get a rise out of Aquino, 80 days before he steps down. But since we know, from painful experience, just how lacking in empathy Aquino was after the typhoon hit, there’s not even a guarantee that a cataclysmic event would rouse the President from his current stupor.

Last week, a sympathetic newspaper report, probably written to convince us that Aquino had no intention of staying one day longer than his contracted six years in office, said that the President has started packing preparatory to moving back to his mother’s old house on Times Street. Given the deafening silence from Aquino since all hell seems to have broken loose, I think Aquino has already long left the Palace building in spirit.

Of course, you can actually argue, given Aquino’s performance-challenged rule, that he was never there all throughout. The only good thing I can see in all this is, by end of June, Aquino will really be gone for good.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Tats: RC put an end to Thai dominance RC COLA-ARMY did not only clinch the title when it defeated Est Cola in the finals of the 2016 PLDT Home Ultera Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference; it also made history as it put an end to Thailand’s 23year of mastery of the Filipinos in women’s volleyball.

PSL president Ramon “Tats” Suzara expressed elation over the outcome of the heart-stopping finals showdown last Saturday, saying the Lady Troopers displayed the heart and grit of true Filipino champions before a massive local crowd.

An old hand in volleyball and a ranking official of the Asian Volleyball Confederation and International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), Suzara bared that it is the first time for a local club team to win over the Thais since the Filipinas

Cage camp. Carly Monreal, Lalaine Gonzales, Jonalyn Bongalos, Lindsey Nacional, Ma. Cecilia Quilenderino,

Magdalioui Flores, Dianne Camille Nolasco and Princess Marie Villarin make up the eight girls, who will join 16 others in the boys’ side in the national training camp of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA presented by Alaska on April 22 to 24 at the Don Bosco Institute, Makati and SM Moa. The boys’ roster includes Jericho Ross Paglinawan, Nicole Lucban, Miguel Rey Luistan, Devon Dein Diez, Luis Gabriel Aguila, Reich Randell Villegas, Andrei Philip Lechoncitto, Russel Dukames, Mark Glenn Gabon, Prince Junnel De Belen, Jhondhel Austria, Jeanrilo Nunez, Partik Lance Inting, Pauloh Villarin, Anjelo Rahael Argente and Kai Zachary Sotto with Jeffrey Cariaso and Craig Brown as coaches.

Forum tackles fitness event A FITNESS extravaganza and a beach volleyball festival will be the topic of discussion in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Shakey’s Restaurant in Malate Manila.

Proponents of the MILO NUTRI UP FITCON 2016, happening at the Globe Circuit Events Ground in Makati on April 16 will talk about the whole-day fitness event, which will have non-stop classes, expert talks, exclusive discounts, competitive challenges and even a workout party to inspire adults to be more active. Over 60 fitness organizations will participate in the event.

Appearing at the Forum supported by San Miguel Corp., Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Shakey’s and Accel, and aired live over Sports Radio 918, are Robbie de Vera, MILO Sports Executive representing MILO NUTRI UP; Tin Majadillas, Managing Director of One of a Kind Marketing Inc (Under Armour); Rochelle Vandenberghe, Brand Marketing Head of FWD Life Insurance Corporation and Don Velasco, President/Founder of Flying Don (Guest Speaker, Event Presentor).

reigned supreme in the 1993 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

He said all is not yet lost for the Philippines in the regional arena and Filipinos can still regain their lofty status given the right training, players, exposure and overall national team program.

“RC Cola-Army’s win over Est Cola proves that there is still hope as far as our national team program is concerned,” said Suzara, one of the spearheads in the Philippines’ golden age of volleyball during the early 1990s.

“That’s why we have to sustain this momentum. We have to rally around our players and give them all kinds of international exposure they need. We still have what it takes to win over other countries. It’s not yet too late.”

Lascuna eyes 2 ADT win nd

TONY Lascuña sets out for a follow-up to his runaway triumph at ICTSI Luisita Championship, confident of his chances but wary of a talent-laden international field in the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Championship ADT beginning Wednesday at the Legends course in Carmona, Cavite.

LASCUÑA

Lascuña pounced on the sudden withdrawal of top pick Miguel Tabuena in the second round to seize control then flashed vintage form in the final round to rout the Luisita field, winning by four over Korean Park Jun Hyeok two weeks ago.

But while he maintains he’s in tip-top shape coming into the 72hole event, the former three-time ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit remains cautious of the opposition, saying talent per se won’t be enough to net him another championship.

“I like my chances. I’m hitting the ball pretty well and I’m confident coming off a win,” said Lascuña. “But I think I would still need some luck or good breaks

to win again because the field is strong and formidable.”

Truly, the 144-strong field features a mix of the leading players on the PGT and Asian Development Tour, this being the first of two events co-sanctioned and part of the Asian Tour farm league’s calendar.

From Southwoods, the men of the tour head to Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Trece Martirez, Cavite next week for the fourth leg of the PGT and the 11th stage of the ADT. Both events offer a prize fund of $60,000 each.

Aside from the momentum, Lascuña also hopes to cash in on his local knowledge of the bunker-laden layout, his home course, which will play to a par71 after organizers made it more

challenging by converting the par-5 15th to a par-4.

Meanwhile, Lascuña and the other leading pros, including Tabuena and a number of ADT leg winners, test the course one last time today (Tuesday) as they vie in the traditional pro-am tournament with guests and officials of the event’s chief backers, including Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Sharp, Summit, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade and Champion.

“Everybody has a chance here but I hope to be in contention in the final round and let’s see what happens,” said Lascuña, who picks Tabuena, Clyde Mondilla, Elmer Salvador and Jay Bayron as the local players and a slew of foreign aces ready to duplicate their sweep of last year’s ADT legs at Sherwood and Eagle Ridge.

They included former ADT leg champions John Michael O’Toole and Josh Salah of the US, Malaysian Gavin Green, Japanese Shunya Takeyasu and Thais Poom Saksansin, Wisut Artjanawat, Thammanoon Sriroj, Rattanon Wanasrichan, Nirun Sae-Ueng and Itthipat Buranatanyarat, who ruled the ICTSI Sherwood ADT last year.

Rivera, Ortiz rule Phoenix slalom BIRTHDAY boy Milo Rivera of Tough Gear Racing celebrated his special day by again ruling the 2016 RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series, which staged its second leg on Sunday at Robinsons Antipolo.

Rivera clocked 51.32 seconds in bagging the production and overall best time, followed by Dr. Peewee Mendiola of Team All Fish with a time of 51.70.

Rivera’s brother Estefano Rivera came in third with 52.50, while Dion Ortiz and Abet Reyes placed fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 54.10 and 54.46 seconds.

Ortiz also bagged the Novice and Front Wheel titles.

Winners of the March 13 first leg received four liters of Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic motor oil and sports bottles.

The 2016 Phoenix National Slalom Series is powered by Phoenix Premium 98 and Phoenix Accelerate fully synthetic oil and co-sponsored by Federal Tyres, Outlast Battery and Robinsons Antipolo. Other backers are Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter and Aeromed, media partners Stoplight TV, Inside Motoring, DZRJ-Am, Pinoy Speed sa mga Pahayagan and Spin.Ph Sports Interactive Network, C! Magazine, Ride and Drive Philippines, Targa Pilipinas and Auto Industriya.

The second leg was participated in by Team Comet of Tarlac, Sukelyas Racing Team, Team Orthodox, Special Stage Baguio City, Team Big Bird and Racing Unli, with privateers.

All events are sanctioned and

affiliated by the Automobile Club of the Philippines.

The third leg is set on April 24, to be held for the first time at Robinsons Las Pinas, while the first stop of the Phoenix Slalom Invitational will be on April 17 at Robinsons Calasiao Pangasinan.

For details, contact Bing Bang Dulce at tel. no. 09178119337, email racemotorsportsclub@ yahoo.com or FB page racemotorsportsclub and phoenixpetroleum.

Some of the official results: Executive Class: 1st Fil Gulfin 60.16; 2nd Oski Nuke 62.98; 3rd Robert Macapagal 63.98; 4th Lito Dulce 75.04 Novice Stock Carburated: 1st Robert Macapagal 64.36; 2nd Joseph Ortega 65.56; 3rd Ino Ortega 67.86

Mike Simbulan of Team Comet Tarlac City is shown prior to his turn in the 2016 RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series at Robinsons Antipolo.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Willett is shock winner of Masters AUGUSTA—England’s Danny Willett was the shock winner of the 80th Masters on Sunday thanks to a bogeyfree final round and an epic back-nine collapse by defending champion Jordan Spieth.

Marquez extends MotoGP reign LOS ANGELES—Marc Marquez extended his reign in the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas on Sunday, piloting his Honda to victory in Austin, Texas, for the fourth straight year.

Marquez, fresh off a win in Argentina, won in 43min 57.945sec, with Yamaha rival Jorge Lorenzo second 6.107sec behind and Italian Ducati rider Andrea Iannone third 10.947sec back.

Two-time world champion Marquez also strengthened his hold on the top spot in the overall standings while nine-time world champ Valentino Rossi, who came into the race eight points behind Marquez, crashed out on his Yamaha.

With his second win of the 19-race season Marquez preserved a perfect record on US soil after starting first on the grid.

Another Spaniard, the reigning world champion Lorenzo, who like Yamaha team-mate Rossi has struggled on the track tucked into the hills outside the Texas capital, roared off the start line to seize the lead going into turn one.

But he went wide exiting the turn, allowing polesitter Marquez to move in front, and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso powered into second on the back straight as Spain’s Aleix Espargaro moved into fourth on his Ducati.

Rossi’s challenge ended on the third lap, when he lost the front end of his bike at turn two and crashed, his run of 24 races with a topfive finish ending.

Meanwhile Marquez and Dovizioso were separating themselves, Marquez building his lead to a second midway through the fourth lap.

AFP

Jordan Spieth (left) of the United States helps Danny Willett of England put on his the green jacket after the Briton won the final round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. AFP

Danny wasn’t even going to Augusta AUGUSTA—Danny Willett wasn’t even going to come to Augusta National if new son Zac had been born on his due date, which was Sunday, the same day his daddy won the Masters.

Instead, wife Nicole gave birth to Zac on March 30, the 28-year-old Englishman flew to the year’s first major last Monday and departed with a green jacket after a final-round meltdown by defending champion Jordan Spieth handed him a shocking victory.

“It has just been the most ridiculously awesome 12 days,” Willett said. “Words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now.”

Willett fired a five-under par 67 without a bogey to finish on five-under 283, three shots ahead of Spieth and England’s Lee Westwood.

But if Zac hadn’t done his thing, Danny wouldn’t have even been there, so it’s no wonder the baby is going to get his time in the green jacket.

“They said try to bring the green jacket home for the little one. I don’t think he’ll fit into it right now but he will grow into it,” Willett said.

“It’s mental. Little man was due today. Obviously coming 12 days

early, he listened to his dad. Fate, one thing or the other.”

Two life-changing events proved impossible to rank in any order.

“It has been crazy,” Willett said.

“I’m not quite sure which is better, this day or (Zac’s birth day) Tuesday.

They are very, very, very close there. I don’t know which one I should say to be politically correct.”

He phoned home to share the winning moments with his wife.

“She said, ‘Well done.’ The line was a bit crackly. I’ve got massive thanks for everything she does for me. Take this little green jacket back for her.”

In his joyous moment, Willett’s heart went out to Spieth, whose bid for a wire-to-wire repeat win, never seen in any major, fell nine holes short with a quadruple bogey at the par-3 12th.

“You can empathize. He played great all week,” Willett said. “What happened was just a bad beat. Them things happen.”

Even when Willett took the lead, he said he could not believe the manual scoreboard number hanger was not teasing him.

“I was thinking it was a little joke,” he said. “I was waiting for someone to put a 7(-under) back up there.”

Spieth had to present Willett with his green jacket in a ceremony after the finish.

“He just said, ‘Really well played,’” said Willett. “He shook my hand like the true gent he is. he’s a class act to be able to hold face like that, hurting like I imagine he would be. Just shows the character of the guy you’re going to have around the world number one spot for the next many years.”

- Mind Boggling Coming to grips with his major breakthrough in only his second Masters start took Willett a while.

“You dream about these kind of days,” he said. “But for them to happen, there’s four a year, so to actually be sat here, it’s still mind boggling.”

Willett, the son of a preacher and a math teacher, became only the second Englishman to win the Masters after three-time champion Nick Faldo, whose most recent victory came 20 years ago and helped him to have the honorific sir before his name now. AFP

Willett fired a five-under par 67 for a three-shot victory that brought the 28-year-old Englishman the green jacket symbolic of victory at Augusta National as well as a $1.8 million top prize from the $10 million purse.

“It’s crazy. It’s surreal,” Willett said. “Words can’t describe the emotions and feelings. You do something special and it still doesn’t quite sink in what you have achieved.”

Willett, five down to Spieth with six holes to play, birdied the par-5 13th, par-4 14th and par-3 16th to charge into the clubhouse while the 22-yearold American endured a nightmare meltdown with bogeys at 10 and 11 and a quadruple bogey at the par3 12th.

“I just put a couple of weak swings on it and suddenly I’m not leading anymore,” said Spieth. “I’ll be disappointed with that one.

“It was a very tough 30 minutes for me. I hope I never experience it again.”

Willett finished 72 holes at five-under 283, with Spieth and English playing partner Lee Westwood sharing second on 286.

Westwood, trying to win his first major title at age 42, shot 69 while Spieth, who defends his US Open title in June at Oakmont, fired a 73.

Spieth, as defending champion, presented Willett with the green jacket that he looked to make his own for most of the week, leading after all three prior rounds. AFP

Retiring Kobe leaves indelible stamp on league LOS ANGELES—With breathtaking skill and a ruthless will to win Kobe Bryant stamped his authority on the NBA, leaving a mark that will linger long after the Los Angeles Lakers guard plays the last game of his 20-year career on Wednesday.

Bryant, 37, will walk away with five NBA titles, having secured his place not only among such Lakers icons as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jerry West but also in the pantheon of NBA greats still presided over by Michael Jordan.

“I studied him, wanted to be like him,” Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player, said when Bryant announced in November that this season would be his last.

“He was our Michael Jordan,” Durant said, “a guy who changed the game for

me as a player mentally and physically .. someone I’m always going to look to for advice for anything. Just a brilliant, brilliant intelligent man.”

Such accolades have poured in since November, even fans in long hostile arenas showering Bryant with affection as a dismal Lakers season evolved into a Kobe farewell tour that concludes at Staples Center against the Utah Jazz.

Courtside seats for what promises to be a glittering event were going on ticket resale site StubHub for just under $20,000, with the cheapest seats going for more than $600.

Those who don’t get in can still attend a Lakers-sponsored fan-fest outside the arena.

“He deserves it after 20 years,” said Eric Pincus, who covers Bryant and the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times and

Basketballinsiders.com. “Very few players play 20 years of basketball, a typical career might be five years, seven years.”

The celebrations are an ironic final twist in the career of a player whose uncompromising nature has made him a polarizing figure.

Bryant has produced some of the NBA’s most dazzling scoring performances— topped by his 81-point outburst against the Toronto Raptors in 2006—and stands third on the league’s all-time scoring list behind only Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone and ahead of Jordan.

- ‘Count to 5’ But critics have hammered him as an “inefficient” shooter, selfishly unwilling to share the ball with team-mates, a knock Bryant dismissed on Twitter last year with the succinct comment: “Count to 5”. AFP

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks at a postgame press conference after the game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. AFP

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Maroons near Final 4; Lady Archers not perfect anymore UNIVERSITY of the Philippines moved on the cusp of clinching the first Final Four berth in the UAAP Season 78 men’s football tournament with a 1-0 squeaker over a 10-man National University side late Sunday at the McKinley Hill Stadium.

Daniel Gadia’s 77th minute spot kick from a handball by Bulldogs defender Eddie Alivio, who was eventually sent off, was

enough for the Fighting Maroons to grab the top with 27 points.

Rookie Jarvey Gayoso nailed the marginal goal in the 80th minute as Ateneo nipped defending champion Far Eastern University, 1-0, to gain full three points.

Ateneo climbed to fourth place with 21 points, slipping past University of Santo To-

mas, which batlast Thursday.

Matches Thursday tled to a 1-1 draw De La Sal(Moro Lorenzo Field) against Adamson 2 p.m. – Ateneo vs DLSU (Men) le, meanwhile, 4 p.m. – UST vs NU (Men) on Saturday. blanked University It was the second of the East, 2-0, to straight match where the Tama- seize solo third place with 23 raws, who are now in second points. The Growling Tigers place with 24 points, failed to fell to 19 points, putting a dent score a goal. FEU, which went on their semifinals aspirations, on a six-match winning streak while the Bulldogs remained in before its recent struggles, bat- sixth with 16. tled to a 0-0 draw against NU In women’s play, early final-

N OTICE TO TH E PU B LIC

Davao bet shatters 36-year-old record

By Peter Atencio

N ot i c e i s h e r e by g i ve n to t h e p u b l i c t h at M r. Ro m m e l L .

A m u r a o, f o r m e r S e n i o r C o r p o r ate S a l e s , i s n o l o n g e r au t h o r i ze d to a c t a n d r e p r e s e nt U n i - O r i e nt Tr ave l, I n c . ef f e c t i ve A p r i l 0 5 , 2 016 .

A l l t r a n s a c t i o n s h a n d l e d by M r. Ro m m e l A m u r a o p r i o r to A p r i l 0 5 , 2 016 m u st b e r ef e r r e d to U n i - O r i e nt f o r c o nf i r m at i o n a n d va l i d at i o n at Te l. N o. (0 2) 70 5 -2 2 2 2 o r at C P # 0 917- 8 9 019 9 0 o r at e m a i l a d d r e s s: info@uniorient.net ( T S - A P R . 12 , 2 016)

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY Invitation to Bid The National Housing Authority (NHA), through the Corporate Budget approved by the NHA Board for the year 2016 intends to apply the sum of the Approved Budget for the Contracts (ABCs) to payments for the following contract: Ref. No. 2016 -04165

ABC/ Source Duration Work Description (c.d.) of Funds (P) Contract of Transport 9,712,560.00 365 Rental of 12 units Services for Relocation NG Subsidy Service Vehicles Activities of Select NCR for the use select AMO Project Office NCR-AMO Project Offices in relocation activities Project

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

The NHA now invites bids for the above-cited contract. Delivery of the Goods is required within the duration herein cited upon receipt of Notice to Proceed.

Bidders should have completed, within five years from the date of submission of bids, a single contract similar to the Project costing at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/ sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

A complete set of Bidding Documents shall be issued only to bidders/authorized official representatives or employees of the bidder who can show proof of Notarized Authority to secure bid documents for the specific Project and Official Company ID upon submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and upon Cash Payment of non-refundable fee of P10,000.00 at the Office of the NHA-BAC 2 Secretariat, 2nd Floor NHA Main Building, Diliman, Quezon City starting on April 12, 2016.

For further information, the NHA BAC 2 Secretariat may be contacted at Tel/FAX. No. 928-8272.

The NHA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on April 21, 2016, 9:00 a.m. at the Operations Center, 3rd Floor NHA Main Building, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, which shall be OPEN only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered at the Operations Center, 3rd Floor NHA Main Building, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City on May 5, 2016, not later than 9:00 a.m.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount as stated in BDS. Bid opening shall follow immediately after the deadline of submission of bids at the same venue. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The NHA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

(SGD) VICTOR C. BALBA Chairperson, Bids and Awards Committee 2 (BAC 2) NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY ( T S - A P R , 12 , 2 016)

ist De La Salle’s bid for a perfect elimination-round campaign went down the drain as it settled for a 2-2 draw with UP. The league-leading Lady Archers now have 16 points.

FEU and UST battled to a goalless draw to share points.

The Lady Tamaraws remained in third spot with eight points, one clear of the fourth-running Tigresses.

LEGAZPI, Albay—Fifteen-year-old Mea Gey Ninura fought it out with old nemesis Jie Ann Calis for the third time in three years.

But this time, she got the better end of her showdown with Calis as she shattered the national junior record in the secondary girls’ 3000-meter steeplechase Monday at the start of the 2016 Palarong Pambansa athletics’ meet at the Bicol University-Albay Sports Complex oval.

Ninura, a 10th grader at Capatagan National High School in Davao del Sur, claimed the first gold medal of the five-day meet in 10 minutes, and 3.4 seconds.

She overtook Calis of Looc Plaridel, Misamis Occidental after the 800 meters and never let go of the lead.

Ninura never even had an inkling that she smashed the 36-year-old record which Rosalinda Catulong established in the 1980 National Open in 10:09.95. Even her rival Calis went below Catulong’s clocking by 2.15 seconds.

“Na-challenge ako, kasi iyung kasunod ko (Calis), gold medallist siya last year at tied kami,” said an emotional and tearful Ninura, who has challenged Calis thrice for the gold for the last three years, losing twice.

Last year, they both established meet records when Calis made it in 10:10.6, and Ninura followed in 10:11.13. This time, Ninira was 8.9 seconds faster than her clocking during the 2015 Palarong Pambansa in Tagum City.

Ninura is now seriously considering applying for scholarships in the United States, from University of California-Los Angeles and University of Southern California, through athletics’ expert Andrew Pirie.

The daughter of a poor farmer, Ninura is under the care of her coach-guardian Mayleen Quimque.

Meanwhile, Cebuano John Marvin Marvin Rafols tied Jaymark Gascon for the gold in the secondary boys’ long jump after he matched Gascon’s 6.91-meter feat on his sixth and last attempt.

But Rafols, a 10th grader from University of Cebu, earned the gold after officials considered his first attempt of 6.71 meters, to Gascon’s 6.61.

Western Visayas bet Ronald Lacson came off with

Dubs...

From A16

my legs felt good, and you have nights like this,” Bryant said of a performance that turned back the clock.

Harden enjoyed matching up with an on-song Bryant one last time.

“He made some big shots, which he has been doing in his 20 years of playing,” Harden

the secondary boys’ javelin throw gold with a 55.81-meter heave, with Davao Region’s Marjoe Icbalic and IV-B Noel Balutan settling for the silver (55.45 meters) and bronze (55.14 meters), respectively.

Daniella Camonoga won the first gold for Bicol Region after heaving 9.42 meters in the elementary girls’ shot put, with Emgiel Duran of Negros Region and Nino Asores (Region VIII) taking the silver and bronze.

Meanwhile, 16 gold medals will be at stake when the swimming competitions begin today at the Bicol University poolside.

Archery competitions will be held in Camalig, Albay.

In the ballgames, defending champion National Capital Region won its first game in secondary boys’ basketball, stopping CARAGA, 141-71. Southern Tagalog Region, behind San Beda-Taytay smothered Western Visayas, 96-80.

Central Luzon prevailed over Bicol Region, 83-79.

In baseball, Mimaropa defeated ARMMAA, by default, while the host province defeated CARAA, 5-0.

Western Visayas won over CARAA, 15-0, in secondary girls’ softball, while Bicol Region stopped Caraga, 21-14.

Mea Gey Ninura during her record run PETER ATENCIO

said. “It was an exciting game.

It was something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

The Rockets are in ninth place in the Western Conference, one game behind Utah for the eighth and final berth.

The Jazz helped their cause with a 100-84 victory over the Nuggets in Denver and are one game behind seventh-placed Dallas, whose playoff push was slowed by a 98-91 loss to the

Los Angeles Clippers.

Pacers punch playoff ticket The Indianapolis Pacers locked up the final Eastern Conference playoff berth with a 129-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Myles Turner led the Pacers with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

George Hill added 18 points, five rebounds and four assists as Indiana reached the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.

AFP

T UE S DAY : A P RI L 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Roach wants Pacman to continue boxing...

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao, who gave millions of his fans a farewell fight to remember with a dominant performance against Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, said he is 50-50 on the issue of retirement, prompting trainer Freddie Roach to pounce on the seeming indecision by saying he would like the Filipino ring icon to continue fighting.

Sky Sports in Britain quoted Pacquiao’s post-fight interview in which he said he was retiring to spend more time with his family before concentrating on his political career in the Philippines.

“I would like to see him fight again, yes,” said Roach, stressing he would back Pacquiao whatever he decided.

The Hall of Fame trainer added: “We’ve had a great 15 years together. If he retires, I’ll be happy for him. That’s kind of up to him.”

The 37-year-old Pacquiao showed no

signs of ring rust in his first fight since undergoing shoulder surgery in the wake of his loss to undefeated pound-forpound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a disappointing “Fight of the Century” last May 2.

But with Pacquiao’s shoulder injury obviously not bothering him after surgery, Roach noted: “I know he’s in physical shape to keep fighting, his speed is good, his legs are good, his work ethic is great.

He could continue to fight on, but if he retires and spends more time with his

family and he enjoys life, and has something to fall back on, then I’ll be 100 per cent behind him.”

Sky Sports recalled that Roach “rejected calls by his trainer Eddie Futch to retire and lost five of his last six fights before quitting the ring.”

Roach, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 26 years ago after fighting “maybe two or three” bouts too many, admitted he wonders whether Pacquiao will be haunted by regret at his decision to hang up his gloves.

“You know, it’s a difficult sport to quit, it’s really, really hard to retire and I think he hasn’t realized that yet. But he will soon. We talked about it being his last pro fight and I said ‘Go out with a bang, let’s look good doing it.’ And he did that.

I thought at moments tonight he looked better than he has done in a really long time. When I see Manny aggressive like that, that’s the best Manny Pacquiao. I saw him smiling quite a lot in the ring tonight and that just tells me how much he loves the sport,” Roach said.

Manny Pacquiao (right) throws a left at Timothy Bradley Jr. in the seventh round of their welterweight fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao won by unanimous decision. AFP

...but Donaire wants him to retire now, a winner FIVE-DIVISION world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, who at age 33 puts his WBO super bantamweight title on the line against former Hungarian Olympian and world No. 4 ranked Sol Bedak of Hungary, has advised 37-year-old eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao should “take a bow

and hang up his gloves.”

On Sunday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao scored a dominating unanimous-decision victory over Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley.

Donaire told The Standard that for his last fight against Bradley, “he fought well. Very smart and calculating in his punches. It was more of a tac-

tical Pacquiao. He did very well in dropping Bradley twice which is something he wasn’t able to do before. He did well.”

The WBO champion noted that Manny was “patient in seeing what Bradley might do and based his attack on that. But he wasn’t as explosive as I thought he would be. He was very calculating

and did a really good job.”

He said if Pacquiao wants to preserve his legacy, then “yes, yes he should take a bow and know that he was one of the elite fighters in the sport of boxing.”

Donaire conceded that the ultimate decision is up to Pacquiao, but he would like “to see him leaving at his height.”

Ronnie Nathanielsz

One more for the Dubs BEFORE the weekend, there were doubts that ARMAN the Golden State D. ARMERO Warriors could surpass the 72-10 mark that the Michael Jordan led-Chicago Bulls set in the 19951996 season.

That was understandable, since they were going up against the equally efficient San Antonio Spurs, a team which was out to protect a 49-game winning streak at home.

Like the Warriors, the Spurs are known for their pass-first mentality and an impregnable defense and could easily match up with the visitors in any position.

But the Dubs’ 92-86 victory over the Spurs yesterday (Manila time), erased any tinge of uncertainty that the Warriors are determined to enter a new page in the NBA record books.

The win incidentally already tied the Warriors with the 1995 Bulls’ record of 72 wins in the regular season, but you can bet your house that Stephen Curry and company will play their guts out to establish a new milestone when they play the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) at their own turf in Oakland.

A win would be special, since the Dubs could celebrate the feat right before their adoring fans, but coach Steve Kerr reminded his wards that the “win meant nothing come playoff time.”

Still, it was a feat so special because no one had expected it to happen, perhaps even the Warriors themselves, but with Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the rest of the Dubs playing like there’s no tomorrow, that awe-inspiring Bulls’ record could come crashing down on Thursday. *** Like most Filipinos, I followed Manny Pacquiao’s boxing career with keen interest. But I didn’t make an effort to watch the third fight between the Pacman and Timothy Bradley via pay-per-view being shown in theaters and other venues.

You see, I didn’t see Pacquiao losing this fight, despite the hoopla that Bradley had become a different, better fighter under Teddy Atlas’ tutelage.

I caught the replay last night, and sure enough, Bradley had shown some improvement in his movements and tried to be a counter-puncher in the first few rounds. But Pacquiao’s power punches changed all that. That leftright combination in the 7th round that dropped Bradley doomed his corner’s strategy as Bradley reverted back to the brawler-fighter that he is. It was then a matter of time before Pacquiao imposed his will on the hapless American for that unanimous decision.

Now, the wait is on whether Pacquiao’s victory against Bradley could translate into a knockout in the voting polls.

STEP BACK

Email me at armero_23@yahoo.com

LOTTO RESULTS 6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0 M+ P0 M

T U E S DAY : A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 16

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Chan is week’s best cager

Dubs match Bulls’ 72-win record

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors drives in front of David West of the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Warriors won 92-86, tying the all-time record for wins in a season with 72. AFP

LOS ANGELES—The Golden State Warriors notched their record-equalling 72nd victory of the NBA season on Sunday, beating the Spurs in San Antonio 92-86 in a Western Conference heavyweight clash.

The reigning NBA champion Warriors improved to 72-9, matching the league record for regular-season wins set by the 72-10 Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan in 1995-96.

The Warriors can break the record with a victory on Wednesday, when they conclude the regularseason against the Memphis Grizzlies at home in Oakland.

“We’ve got a great group of guys,

Willett is shock Masters’ champ TURN TO A13

that really sacrifice every single night,” Warriors star Stephen Curry, who scored 37 points, said of what it took to reach the milestone.

“We’re competitive, we’re hungry. We care about each other. I think we try to play the right way.”

The Warriors’ hopes of matching or exceeding the Bulls’ mark had dwindled with losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics this month.

Golden State eked out a 100-99 victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis on Saturday, but the clash with the Spurs, who were a perfect 39-0 at home this season going into the contest, was seen as a major hurdle.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr called it one of the team’s best wins of the season, as his players coped with the second night of a back-to-back in hostile territory.

“It was a true team win,” Kerr said. “Steph was just amazing and so was Draymond (Green). Particularly against the kind of defense that we saw, both guys were just brilliant.”

With that said, Kerr noted that the victory “means nothing come

playoff time”.

San Antonio had won 48 straight regular-season games on their home floor dating back to last season, and the Warriors hadn’t won a regularseason game there since 1997.

With both teams playing tough defense it was a close game, but Golden State turned the tide in the fourth quarter.

Forward Harrison Barnes had three key baskets as the Warriors took a six-point lead. Curry and Klay Thompson helped the Warriors build their advantage to 90-79 with 1:34 remaining.

The Spurs pulled within four points in the closing seconds, but wouldn’t get any closer.

Roach wants Pacman to continue fighting TURN TO A15

JEFF Chan underscored his readiness for the playoffs with back-to-back clutch performances to earn his 1st Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award for the period of April 4 to 10 in the Oppo-PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The 6’2” Rain or Shine gunner knew the gravity of each win as he stepped up big, with combo guard Paul Lee still working back to game shape.

The 33-year-old Chan triggered Rain or Shine’s second-half assault, firing 15 points spiked by four triples as the Elasto Painters bucked a lethargic start to register a runaway 11694 whipping of GlobalPort last April 5.

The Bacolod sniper showed he was far from down because five days later, Chan struck again, firing five crucial points in the final period to as the Elasto Painters hammered Blackwater Elite, 118-107.

He finished the game with 12 points.

Chan bested San Miguel star slotman June Mar Fajardo, Meralco’s Jimmy Alapag, Tropang TNT guard Jai Reyes and GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo for the weekly citation.

Rain or Shine’s two-game sweep last week vaulted the Asian Coating franchise to solo third spot in the standings with its 7-4 record.

The Elasto Painters, who early in the conference, limped off to a 1-3 card, have won six of their last seven contests as they enter the playoffs with their conference at a high.

Rockets stay in chase Fans in Houston were in full voice for visiting Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, who his hurtling toward his final NBA game.

But Rockets guard James Harden didn’t have time for sentiment, scoring 40 points in a 130-110 victory over the Lakers that boosted Houston’s slim playoff hopes.

Harden scored half his points in the fourth quarter and added 13 assists to help the Rockets withstand a 35-point outburst from Bryant, who will retire after the final game of his 20th season on Wednesday.

“The jump shot was falling, Turn to A14

TUESDAY: APRIL 12, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

B1

Donation for children. Property developer Ayala Land Inc. turns over a donation to Children’s Hour at the latter’s 15th annual benefit lunch. This is in support of the nonprofit organization’s One Hour campaign, which encourages both individuals and organizations to donate an hour’s worth of salary for funding of projects that cater to children’s needs.

Shown are (from left) Ayala Corp. chairman and Children’s Hour founding chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land external affairs manager Paolo Paterno, employee relations senior associate Jasper Alfonso, employee relations associate manager Reynand Viñan, sustainability manager Anna Gonzales, urban and regional planning operations head Gilbert Berba, external affairs head Dindo Fernando, Ayala Property Management Corp. president Laurent Lamasuta and Children’s Hour chairperson Emily Abrera.

Luzon grid under yellow alert PSe comPoSite

index

Closing April 11, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,291.43 44.23

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing April 11, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.120

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.060 LOW P46.180 AVERAGE P46.115 VOLUME 558.600M

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

oPriceS il P today

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, April 11, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.1920

Japan

Yen

0.009255

0.4275

UK

Pound

1.412700

65.2554

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128901

5.9542

Switzerland

Franc

1.049759

48.4905

Canada

Dollar

0.769764

35.5569

Singapore

Dollar

0.741015

Australia

Dollar

0.754400

34.8472

Bahrain

Dinar

2.657666

122.7629

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266702

34.2290

12.3195

Brunei

Dollar

0.738280

34.1026

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028382

1.3110

UAE

Dirham

0.272264

12.5764

Euro

Euro

1.141000

52.7051

Korea

Won

0.000870

0.0402

China

Yuan

0.154607

7.1416

India

Rupee

0.015029

0.6942

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.256410

11.8441

New Zealand

Dollar

0.680500

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030831

31.4337 1.4241 Source: PDS Bridge

By Alena Mae S. Flores

CUSTOMERS of Manila Electric Co. suffered a 15-minute rotating blackout Monday, after 2,196 megawatts of power capacity in the Luzon grid went offline at 3:14 p.m. amid soaring temperature.

Power supply in the affected areas of the Meralco franchise was restored at 3:29 p.m.

“At around 3:14 pm [Monday], an automatic load dropping occurred when Sual unit 2 [647 MW] tripped out due to still undermined cause,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Unit 2 of the Sual coal plant allegedly tripped due to “boiler

feed pump” and was expected to be back online Monday midnight.

Therma Mobile Inc.’s unit 3 with a 67-MW capacity also tripped.

“Yellow alert is still in effect,” Zaldarriaga said as of 4:30 p.m.

Monday.

A yellow alert means the grid has a limited or thin reserve power, according to Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada.

Affected areas included parts of Quezon City, Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, Manila, Malabon, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Navotas, Pasay City, Parañaque and Manila.

Monsada told reporters more than 861 MW of capacity were on scheduled planned outage while the other plants went on unplanned shutdown Monday, including Sual (647 MW), Therma Mobile (67 MW) and Calaca (300 MW).

Monsada said Luzon had a forecasted demand of 9,179 megawatts amid high temperature, although the actual demand reached only 8,808 MW, while available capacity stood at 9,885 MW.

She said the regulating reserves, which were critical to grid stability, already included the projected capacity, but the contingency reserve of about 647 MW was not met.

“Our team is currently assessing the power supply situation by closely coordinating with the National Grid and the power plant owners/operators in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to make sure that the generating facilities which are currently on maintenance shutdown will be back online ahead of the election period,” Monsada said.

Monsada said the plants on maintenance shutdown were expected to return online by end of April.

World Bank expects PH economy to expand 6.4%

By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE World Bank on Monday maintained its 6.4-percent growth forecast for the Philippines in 2016, on the back of robust private consumption and strong public spending ahead of the national elections in May. “Faster growth in 2016 would be driven by robust private consumption, aided by low inflation and spillovers from increased spending due to the upcoming general elections,” World Bank Philippines senior country economist Karl Chua said.

The Washington-based multilateral lender said it expected the country’s gross domestic product growth rate to ease to 6.2 percent in 2017 and 2018.

The economy expanded 5.8 percent in 2015, slower than the 6.1-percent growth in 2014 and 7.1 percent in 2013.

The World Bank lowered its

growth forecast for this year for developing East Asia and Pacific countries to 6.3 percent from 6.4 percent. Growth is set to ease from an estimated 6.5 percent in 2015, it said.

For China alone, the World Bank is forecasting 6.7-percent economic expansion this year, unchanged from its October estimate. Excluding China, the region is projected to grow 4.8 percent this year, up from 4.7 percent in 2015 and 0.1 percentage point lower than previously predicted.

In Southeast Asia, the biggest downgrades in growth forecasts were for Indonesia and Malaysia, both commodity exporters. Indonesia—estimate for 2016 was lowered by 0.2 percentage points to 5.1 percent, while Malaysia was cut by 0.3 points to 4.4 percent.

The largest forecast upgrade was for Thailand, with the World Bank now projecting expansion of 2.5 percent this year, up from 2

percent in the earlier report.

While developing nations in East Asia—from Indonesia to China—have benefited from careful economic policies, global risks are considerable and threaten the region—outlook, the lender said.

Among these are a slowdown in high-income countries, the slump in exports and financial market volatility.

The World Bank said among the developing Southeast Asian economies, the Philippines had one of the strong growth prospects along with Vietnam, which was expected to grow 6.7 percent this year.

Chua said investments would likely support growth in the Philippines as the implementation of the key public-private partnership projects accelerated.

The bank said election related spending would spur private consumption, contributing 1 percentage point in the country’s growth in the first semester of 2016.

“Growth this year will be supported by stronger government spending related to the election which could stimulate private consumption and in turn increase GDP growth by 1 percentage point in first half of 2016,” the World Bank said.

“In the Philippines there is a lot of election spending which boosts demand, and that that is one of the reasons that growth should be reasonably robust,” World Bank chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific region Sudhir Shetty said via a video conference from Washington D.C. Chua said despite the strong economic performance of the Philippines amid the external volatilities, there were still risks to growth, including the uneven recovery of high income economies, the slower-than-anticipated growth of large emerging market economies and slower remittances from oil exporting economies.

TUESDAY: APRIL 12, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, april 11, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 80 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 52 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

47 5 1.46 2.36 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 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

3.95 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 1450 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26 2.17

2.3 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.37 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 801 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 10.02 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 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 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435

49.55 3 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.85 3.34 46.4 45.05 102.90 102.20 90.40 89.45 39.75 39.5 1.37 1.36 14.4 14.22 16 15.46 0.680 0.600 85 83.55 1.04 0.94 14.72 14.70 53.60 52.40 274 274 280 270 31.55 31.1 186.5 178.9 1370.00 1370.00 57.50 57.20 1.67 1.57 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp.

43.1 43.3 43.1 Agrinurture Inc. 5.05 5.22 5 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.7 0.75 0.73 Alsons Cons.

1.4 1.41 1.36 Bogo Medelin 56.05 54.05 52 Century Food 18.68 18.8 18.68 Chemphil 205 200 166 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 340 350 300 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 19.6 19.7 19.12 Concepcion 47 48.9 47.2 Crown Asia 2.4 2.46 2.38 Da Vinci Capital 5.75 5.84 5.6 Del Monte 11.28 11.38 11.18 DNL Industries Inc. 9.420 9.500 9.360 Emperador 7.65 7.75 7.60 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.63 5.88 5.65 EEI 7.95 7.99 7.72 Euro-Med Lab 1.76 1.8 1.8 First Gen Corp.

21.85 22.75 21.9 First Holdings ‘A’ 71.5 72 71.3 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 12.02 13.00 12.04 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.78 13.96 13.76 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.89 6 5.81 Ionics Inc 2.550 2.600 2.470 Jollibee Foods Corp.

230.60 232.00 230.20 LBC Express 10.7 11 10.2 LMG Chemicals 2.18 2.2 2.13 Mabuhay Vinyl 4.3 4.3 4.03 Macay Holdings 37.40 41.35 37.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26.35 26.7 26.1 Maxs Group 22.4 22.4 22 Megawide 6.36 6.37 6.36 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 327.00 328.80 325.00 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.61 4.50 4.20 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.73 3.85 3.76 Petron Corporation 10.66 10.84 10.70 Phinma Corporation 11.56 11.74 11.50 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.37 4.35 4.22 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.65 1.72 1.62 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.75 2.77 2.7 RFM Corporation 4.30 4.32 4.26 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 185 188 185 SPC Power Corp.

4.65 4.7 4.64 Splash Corporation 2.58 2.77 2.6 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.160 0.171 0.160 TKC Steel Corp.

1.27 1.27 1.24 Trans-Asia Oil 2.69 2.80 2.69 Universal Robina 219 219.4 217.2 Victorias Milling 4.7 4.88 4.88 Vitarich Corp.

0.83 1.22 0.84 Vivant Corp.

30.00 33.80 29.40 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.25 1.32 1.24 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.360 0.365 0.360 Aboitiz Equity 64.70 64.50 64.05 Alliance Global Inc. 16.76 16.98 16.76 Anglo Holdings A 1.10 1.28 1.09 Anscor `A’ 6.10 6.10 6.10 ATN Holdings A 0.290 0.355 0.295 ATN Holdings B 0.280 0.350 0.295 Ayala Corp `A’ 745.5 760 741.5 Cosco Capital 7.57 7.8 7.58 DMCI Holdings 12.70 12.98 12.60 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.1 5.03 5.03 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

5.00 5.03 5.00 Forum Pacific 0.229 0.229 0.229 GT Capital 1356 1382 1355 House of Inv. 6.33 6.40 6.40 IPM Holdings 9.79 9.79 9.61 JG Summit Holdings 80.90 82.45 78.30 Keppel Holdings `A’ 6.2 6.2 6.15 Lopez Holdings Corp.

7 7.02 6.86 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.68 0.7 0.67 LT Group 15.9 16 15.7 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.490 0.495 0.490 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.82 5.85 5.8 Pacifica `A’ 0.0340 0.0370 0.0340 Prime Media Hldg 1.400 1.370 1.370 Prime Orion 1.970 1.970 1.930 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.76 2.70 2.7 San Miguel Corp `A’ 76.75 76.60 76.15 SM Investments Inc. 960.00 969.00 959.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.18 1.22 1.19 South China Res. Inc. 0.85 0.85 0.81 Top Frontier 189.000 189.000 184.100 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3000 0.3600 0.3050 Wellex Industries 0.2080 0.2110 0.2000 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.800 7.800 7.740 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.50 1.65 1.38 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.570 1.550 1.420 Arthaland Corp.

0.229 0.229 0.229 Ayala Land `B’ 36.000 35.950 36.150 Belle Corp. `A’ 3 3.1 3 Cebu Holdings 5.16 5.23 5.16 Century Property 0.560 0.57 0.550 Cityland Dev. `A’ 0.980 0.980 0.980 Crown Equities Inc. 0.124 0.135 0.126 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.540 0.570 0.550 Double Dragon 36.25 38.7 36 AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil. National Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

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

Close

SHARES 26,092,914 341,608,003 422,667,129 201,454,604 242,883,593 484,339,481 1,719,674,793

3.34 46.3 102.00 89.75 39.75 1.32 14.38 15.44 0.600 85 0.94 14.64 53.00 270 280 31.15 179.3 1340.00 57.50 1.6

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

3.69 46.4 102.50 89.75 39.55 1.36 14.38 15.7 0.670 84.55 1.02 14.72 52.55 274 270.2 31.4 186.4 1370.00 57.50 1.63

10.48 0.22 0.49 0.00 -0.50 3.03 0.00 1.68 11.67 -0.53 8.51 0.55 -0.85 1.48 -3.50 0.80 3.96 2.24 0.00 1.87

1,203,000 24,600 1,117,790 3,101,320 124,400 19,000 19,900 190,700 1,359,500 4,449,120 705,000 7,900 53,570 160 8,770 96,000 1,355,830 95 1,270 19,000

28,470.00 1,022,930.00 5,859,066 26,637,468.50 1,437,820.00

43.1 5.16 0.74 1.37 52 18.68 170 330 19.6 47.2 2.4 5.65 11.38 9.420 7.70 5.76 7.78 1.8 22.5 71.5 12.60 13.80 6 2.580 230.80 10.9 2.19 4.03 41.20 26.7 22.2 6.37 327.00 4.44 3.76 10.78 11.50 4.34 1.69 2.72 4.30 188 4.66 2.77 0.170 1.26 2.75 218 4.88 1.2 31.00 1.29

0.00 2.18 5.71 -2.14 -7.23 0.00 -17.07 -2.94 0.00 0.43 0.00 -1.74 0.89 0.00 0.65 2.31 -2.14 2.27 2.97 0.00 4.83 0.15 1.87 1.18 0.09 1.87 0.46 -6.28 10.16 1.33 -0.89 0.16 0.00 -3.69 0.80 1.13 -0.52 -0.69 2.42 -1.09 0.00 1.62 0.22 7.36 6.25 -0.79 2.23 -0.46 3.83 44.58 3.33 3.20

663,700 5,211,655.00 3,730,300 -368,422.00 244,000 4,053,000 600 77,700 373,212.00 310 5,270 94,200 10,600 -52,690 442,000 200,910.00 874,100 57,500.00 67,800 5,640.00 2,059,900 2,885,515.00 4,565,500 -22,988,969.00 14,011,600 -38,137,811.00 169,700 -111,655.00 60,000 4,678,200 39,812,645.00 734,060 20,605,935.50 2,900 168,200 -2,208,000.00 1,530,600 -312,997.00 4,653,000 90,910.00 465,950 -584,100.00 3,300 25,000 45,000 5,300 1,016,600 23,911,455.00 137,500 -107,800.00 28,800 -152,126.00 213,210 22,143,460.00 17,000 106,000 21,950.00 5,189,900 1,465,698.00 423,100 402,000 445,000 116,000 113,000 -266,470.00 49,440 3,514,446.00 121,000 9,400.00 2,664,000 26,960,000 -50,300.00 30,000 6,438,000 768,570.00 586,880 46,775,292.00 17,000 252,495,000 679,170.00 3,500 587,000

0.360 64.50 16.90 1.11 6.10 0.325 0.320 760 7.78 12.72 5.03 5.02 0.229 1373 6.40 9.75 82.00 6.2 7.02 0.67 15.86 0.490 5.81 0.0360 1.370 1.950 2.7 76.50 960.00 1.19 0.82 189.000 0.3550 0.2110

0.00 -0.31 0.84 0.91 0.00 12.07 14.29 1.95 2.77 0.16 -1.37 0.40 0.00 1.25 1.11 -0.41 1.36 0.00 0.29 -1.47 -0.25 0.00 -0.17 5.88 -2.14 -1.02 -2.17 -0.33 0.00 0.85 -3.53 0.00 18.33 1.44

210,000 482,420 4,239,277.00 824,300 -4,542,038.00 392,000 6,500 33,550,000 10,280,000 -481,900.00 241,210 34,827,195.00 2,728,300 5,701,983.00 6,328,800 -35,517,660.00 34,500 39,500 600,000 168,675 28,145,245.00 10,000 64,000.00 1,252,600 2,271,440 60,327,972.50 2,200 6,742,000 -12,653,677.00 147,000 1,526,900 -10,614,702.00 400,000 15,678,400 -9,779,989.00 293,000,000 140,000.00 1 8,220.00 438,000 11,000 193,930 -1,221,254.50 148,640 28,397,095.00 195,000 104,000 14,660 -124,740.00 43,120,000 -35,000.00 920,000

7.760 1.44 1.550 0.229 36.150 3.08 5.23 0.560 0.980 0.134 0.560 38.7

-0.51 -4.00 -1.27 0.00 0.42 2.67 1.36 0.00 0.00 8.06 3.70 6.76

24,700 50,742,000 447,000 480,000 14,061,800 9,368,000 93,400 6,370,000 7,000 16,940,000 12,251,000 1,142,800

-2,421,086.00 -56,700.00 -45,395,430.50 -2,322,627.00 -586,905 96,622,139.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

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

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

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

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 12.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 2.53 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 8.72 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.01 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 4 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 14.54 3 2.28 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

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

Pacific Online Sys. 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 Waterfront Phils.

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 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 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 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 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’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Petroenergy Res. Corp.

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 515 8.21 111

33 490 480 5.88 101

1047

1011

78.95 84.8

74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

2,810,700.00 -13,161,735.00 1,198,350.00 -1,253,280.00 6,860.00 13,400.00 -72,800.00 6,179,830.00

Close

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

High

VALUE 1,051,281,610.15 1,095,486,698.40 1,167,782,696.44 1,011,307,740.51 1,054,505,343.933 110,580,445.82 5,499,708,576.158

FINANCIAL 1,638.18 (up) 8.96 INDUSTRIAL 11,918.82 (up) 39.27 HOLDING FIRMS 7,1167.32 (up) 43.77 PROPERTY 3,016.81 (up) 35.79 SERVICES 1,522.69 (up) 20.36 MINING & OIL 10,791.67 (up) 162.26 PSEI 7,291.43 (up) 44.23 All Shares Index 4,293.52 (up) 32.68 Gainers:123; Losers: 69; Unchanged: 43; Total: 235

Close

0.840 0.160 1.06 1.84 1.35 4.30 3.95 0.091 0.2470 0.520 8.7 29.00 1.58 3.09 22.00 0.88 6.99 1.200 4.770

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.850 0.830 0.850 0.168 0.156 0.156 1.13 1.06 1.13 1.90 1.82 1.90 1.38 1.38 1.38 4.30 4.28 4.29 4 3.95 3.98 0.092 0.089 0.092 0.2600 0.2460 0.2500 0.540 0.495 0.500 8.63 8.47 8.63 28.95 28.25 28.50 1.64 1.58 1.62 3.1 3.05 3.1 22.80 22.00 22.50 0.88 0.84 0.88 6.9 6.85 6.85 1.260 1.200 1.220 4.840 4.770 4.810 SERVICES 7.19 7.3 7.18 7.3 56.8 57 56.1 56.75 1.28 1.31 1.3 1.31 0.580 0.600 0.570 0.600 4.59 4.70 4.56 4.66 0.0620 0.0620 0.0610 0.0610 3.12 3.21 3.02 3.14 90 90 88.8 90 9.9 9.9 9.9 9.9 1.64 1.8 1.64 1.8 7.00 7.00 6.50 7.00 3.11 3.08 3.07 3.07 965 1046 1046 1046 2076 2120 2076 2098 7.14 7.25 7.16 7.18 1.24 1.24 1.22 1.22 66.2 67 65.15 67 16.68 19.00 15.80 18.00 200 200 200 200 11.7 11 11.6 11.6 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 0.320 0.320 0.300 0.310 1.4500 1.6500 1.4600 1.5900 2.35 2.3 2.23 2.23 7.59 7.70 7.59 7.59 3.90 3.88 3.83 3.87 1.26 1.34 1.26 1.29 24.30 20.60 20.55 20.55 0.690 0.690 0.620 0.620 1.96 2.03 1.99 2.01 2.19 2.42 2.2 2.42 3.81 3.95 3.81 3.90 0.310 0.315 0.285 0.295 2.200 2.170 1.890 1.920 17.8 17.8 17.8 17.8 5.00 5.10 5.00 5.10 2.75 2.75 2.4 2.74 110.00 114.90 104.00 107.00 21.95 21.95 21.50 21.95 1828.00 1874.00 1830.00 1860.00 0.480 0.510 0.470 0.485 0.880 0.890 0.870 0.890 39.10 39.90 38.40 39.50 77.00 79.00 76.90 78.30 6.44 6.68 6.44 6.50 3.48 3.58 3.44 3.50 0.630 0.650 0.610 0.620 1.97 1.99 1.93 1.93 3.63 3.7 3.61 3.67 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 5.120 5.120 4.800 4.890 MINING & OIL 0.0044 0.0045 0.0044 0.0044 2.02 2.04 2.02 2.02 4.27 4.40 4.26 4.37 0.233 0.245 0.244 0.245 7.4500 7.44 7.1 7.1100 7.6500 7.8000 7.3000 7.8000 0.81 0.88 0.77 0.8 0.470 0.490 0.470 0.480 8.24 8.20 7.98 8.20 0.820 0.850 0.820 0.830 0.285 0.285 0.280 0.285 0.255 0.265 0.255 0.265 0.275 0.290 0.280 0.285 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 2.04 2.15 2.04 2.06 4.98 5.24 4.96 5.24 2.51 2.57 2.49 2.53 0.5900 0.5900 0.5400 0.5500 1.2400 1.3200 1.3000 1.3000 3.80 3.87 3.80 3.80 5.42 5.57 5.42 5.43 2.23 2.30 2.20 2.25 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 127.00 128.50 127.00 127.90 2.5 2.52 2.4 2.42 PREFERRED 57.5 57.5 56.95 56.95 520 520 520 520 520 520 518 520 7.02 6.96 6.9 6.95 110 108.1 108.1 108.1 1030 1041 1041 1041 1014 1014 1014 1014 104.5 103.6 103.6 103.6 80 78 78 78 79.75 80.9 80 80 80 79 79 79 75.6 75.6 75.5 75.5 76.5 77 76 77 77 77 76.9 77 75 75.05 75 75 75 75 75 75 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.130 3.250 3.160 3.160 SME 4.19 4.4 4 4.4 3.78 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.07 3.21 3.08 3.21 18.38 18.42 18 18.28 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 118.7 119.7 118.7 119.7

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

1.19 -2.50 6.60 3.26 2.22 -0.23 0.76 1.10 1.21 -3.85 -0.80 -1.72 2.53 0.32 2.27 0.00 -2.00 1.67 0.84

1,521,000 4,610,000 19,867,000 26,547,000 100,000 22,000 17,027,000 1,000,000 200,000 673,000 755,000 410,000 740,000 5,000 7,274,600 5,126,000 1,800 1,822,000 1,814,000

-410,870.00 -428,800.00 -4,865,100.00 -12,125,630.00

1.53 -0.09 2.34 3.45 1.53 -1.61 0.64 0.00 0.00 9.76 0.00 -1.29 8.39 1.06 0.56 -1.61 1.21 7.91 0.00 -0.85 0.00 -3.13 9.66 -5.11 0.00 -0.77 2.38 -15.43 -10.14 2.55 10.50 2.36 -4.84 -12.73 0.00 2.00 -0.36 -2.73 0.00 1.75 1.04 1.14 1.02 1.69 0.93 0.57 -1.59 -2.03 1.10 0.00 -4.49

142,400 24,550 101,000 162,000 7,474,000 40,400,000 2,354,000 554,920 1,900 140,000 53,500 5,000 330 78,245 467,600 86,000 223,930 153,000 110 100 2,100,000 31,290,000 17,925,000 84,000 940,800 129,000 10,000 1,300 1,239,000 136,000 20,489,000 1,259,000 1,190,000 59,045,000 194,900 36,400 40,000 2,730 62,800 79,100 6,220,000 27,714,000 4,584,500 1,217,180 2,594,800 4,851,000 5,273,000 7,000 692,000 30,000 683,600

0.00 0.00 2.34 5.15 -4.56 1.96 -1.23 2.13 -0.49 1.22 0.00 3.92 3.64 0.00 0.98 5.22 0.80 -6.78 4.84 0.00 0.18 0.90 0.00 0.71 -3.20

221,000,000 39,000 161,000 -52,320.00 120,000 20,800 20,000 19,710,000 -839,780.00 310,000 300 7,807,000 98,800.00 660,000 33,800,000 2,110,000 187,400,000 405,000 25,080.00 2,510,000 3,128,960.00 45,000 12,000 2,000 27,000 1,248,900 -1,744,012.00 1,685,000 12,450.00 4,600,000 14,400.00 376,800 -42,391,150.00 255,000

-0.96 0.00 0.00 -1.00 -1.73 1.07 0.00 -0.86 -2.50 0.31 -1.25 -0.13 0.65 0.00 0.00 0.00

6,380 1,000 7,000 194,000 20 10 870 2,300 300 60,460 30 4,560 127,420 30,300 97,400 275,000

0.96

88,000

5.01 -2.12 4.56 -0.54

130,000 5,000 106,000 379,500

1,151,370.00

0.84

8,170

-1,187.00

-16,478,880.00 -46,800.00 468,950.00 -2,132,815.00 119,660.00 53,764,280.00

802,190.00

-23,071,090.00 289,750.00 -1,293,300.50 -27,400.00 43,590,910.00 7,855,823.00

-31,800.00 -115,000.00 770.00

-15,448,290.00 1,462,650.00 -739,360.00

21,000.00 -12,960.00 86,589,590.00 -74,000.00 651,880.00 -72,917,400.00 17,373,526.00 -232,833.00 326,100.00 113,920.00

165,359.00

76,000.00 207,900.00

60,000.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Vitarich Corp.

1.2

44.58

Chemphil

170

Unioil Res. & Hldgs

0.3550

18.33

Manila Broadcasting

20.55

-17.07 -15.43

ATN Holdings B

0.320

14.29

NOW Corp.

1.920

-12.73

ATN Holdings A

0.325

12.07

Manila Bulletin

0.620

-10.14

MEDCO Holdings

0.670

11.67

Bogo Medelin

52

-7.23

Melco Crown

2.42

10.50

Omico

0.5500

-6.78

AG Finance

3.69

10.48

Mabuhay Vinyl

4.03

-6.28

Macay Holdings

41.20

10.16

Jackstones

2.23

-5.11

Discovery World

1.8

9.76

MG Holdings

0.295

-4.84

ISM Communications

1.5900

9.66

Benguet Corp `A'

7.1100

-4.56

TUESDAY: APRIL 12, 2016

B3

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

Concepcion-Ionics tie-up. Concepcion Industrial Corp. and Ionics Inc. sign an agreement to form a strategic partnership with the aim of adapting their systems to develop

Internet of Things/Smart solutions for CIC’s product ranges, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, building controls and elevator and escalator. Shaking hands after signing the agreement are Raul Joseph Concepcion, chairman and chief exeuctive of CIC (second from right), and Lawrence Qua, chairman and CEO of Ionics (third from right). With them are CIC executive vice president Rafael Hechanova Jr. and CIC EVP Sean Byrne.

BDO wins award for best retail bank in PH THE Asian Banker awarded BDO Unibank Inc. the coveted Best Retail Bank in the Philippines in the recentlyconcluded International Excellence in Retail Financial Services 2016 Awards.

The Singapore-based group, one of the region’s respected providers of business intelligence to the financial services community, attributed BDO’s win to three key factors—offering of extensive products and services, leadership in deposittaking and integration of alternative channels for banking transactions.

Responding to the challenge of including more people in the Philippine banking system, The Asian Banker noted BDO’s efforts in constantly finding ways to reach the unbanked population and retain the existing clients.

“Through careful acquisition such as its takeover of One Network Bank, extended banking hours and days, and seven-day banking in shopping mall branches, BDO has widened its footprint and is fulfilling its promise of We Find Ways,” it said in a statement.

The Asian Banker also highlighted the bank’s continued dominance in deposit-taking business, expanding it by 12 percent at the end of 2015.

BDO’s strategy to integrate its products and services across various electronic channels (online, mobile, and ATM) to provide convenience to clients is also a winning point, according to The Asian Banker.

“In 2015, half of its transactions were already self-served, and half of the total customer base was active on both mobile and online banking platforms,” it added.

BDO is a full-service universal bank providing a wide menu of corporate, commercial and retail banking services, which include among others, traditional loan and deposit products, treasury, trust banking, investment banking, private banking, rural banking, cash management, leasing and finance, remittance, insurance, and credit card services.

Meralco offers to fix row with Millenium

By Alena Mae S. Flores

MANILA Electric Co., the biggest power retailer, said Monday it was open to a settlement agreement with Millennium Energy Inc., the operator of the 100-megawatt diesel-fired power plant in Navotas, but the electricity generator rejected the offer.

Meralco senior vice president and customer retail services, corporate marketing and communication head Al Panlilio said the company was merely applying the distribution rates to “similarly situated customers and generators.”

“It’s not exorbitant. What Millennium wants is for us to waive it... In fact, we have been discussing to work on a settlement but they just refuse to pay,” Panlilio said.

Millennium decided to stop supplying power capacity to the wholesale electricity spot market after incurring losses due to the wheeling charges collected by Meralco.

WESM acts as the trading floor of electricity and is being operated by Philippine Electricity Market Corp.

Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said while the distribution wheeling rate issue

was the concern of the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Energy Department conceded that the diesel plant could add capacity to the grid during the dry months.

“If it can run again, it will help improve the supply situation,” Monsada said. Power supply is historically tight during the dry months when demand is high.

“We will coordinate with ERC about Millennium. The issue is compensation. We cannot force anybody if it is not properly compensated,” Monsada said.

ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar earlier said Millennium decided to rescind its contract with Meralco and notified PEMC that it would cease membership in WESM effective April 1.

“Millennium decided to rescind its contract [with

Meralco]. It did not want to pay anymore saying that the contract was unreasonable,” Salazar said.

“Millennium is embedded to Meralco, so it is being charged the wheeling charges... This is one thing that is crucial with the agreement. Millennium will have to pay Meralco despite the fact that it is not earning from the market. It is like the highway that even if you don’t use it, you pay for it and it based on the capacity that you can actually offer to the market,” he said.

Sources said Millennium was required to pay Meralco P25 million a month under the wheeling agreement, on top of the transmission charges of National Transmission Corp.

Millennium also owns the 620-megawatt Limay power plant previously owned by San Miguel Corp.

Stock market climbs; Vitarich, Security Bank up THE stock market rose Monday on prospects of a strong economy this year to buck the slump in most Asian shares.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 44.23 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,291.43 on a value turnover of P5.5 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 123 to 69, with 43 issues unchanged.

The World Bank on Monday kept its 6.4-percent growth forecast for the Philippines in 2016 on robust private consumption and strong public spending ahead of the national elections in May. “Faster growth in 2016 would be driven by robust private consumption, aided by low inflation and spillovers from

increased spending due to the upcoming general elections,” World Bank Philippines senior country economist Karl Chua said.

Poultry feed maker Vitarich Corp. jumped 44.6 percent to P1.20, while Security Bank Corp., the fifth-largest lender, climbed 4 percent to P186.40.

First Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group advanced 3 percent to P22.50, while SM Prime Holdings Corp., the largest integrated property company, added 2.3 percent to P22.50.

Most Asian stocks, meanwhile, fell, as losses in Japanese equities on a stronger yen offset gains in Chinese shares and commodity producers.

Benchmark gauges in Japan,

Australia and South Korea slid.

Chinese markets bucked the trend as the Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.6 percent. About 509 shares declined and 436 rose on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which was little changed at 126.36 as of 5:12 p.m. in Tokyo.

Global stocks are lower in April amid concern over the potency of central bank stimulus efforts and a selloff in Japanese equities. The yen held near the strongest level since October 2014, while China data showed producer prices posted their first gain since September 2013. The focus now turns to firstquarter earnings in the US. “Yen strength is really hurting at the moment,” Steve Brice, chief

investment strategist at Standard Chartered Bank, told Bloomberg TV in Singapore. “It’s shaken a lot of people’s confidence in Abenomics and the underlying thesis behind holding Japanese equities. The extent of the strength we’ve seen hassurprised pretty much everybody.”

Japan’s Topix index declined 0.6 percent after a report showed machine orders dropped in February for the first time in three months. The yen rose in the previous six sessions.

The equities gauge is down 17 percent in 2016, the steepest decline in global markets behind Italy. BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, is among firms ending bullish calls on Japan equities. With Bloomberg

B4 Competition rules.

Philippine Competition Commission chairman Arsenio Balisacan (center) said the Philippines will adopt best practices in other countries in drafting the local competition law’s implementing rules and regulations.

Shown with Balisacan during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ first business roundtable discussion, supported by Max’s Group Inc. in Makati City are National Competitiveness Council chairman Guillermo Luz (left) and Globe Telecom director for policy Ariel Tubayan.

FDIs rose 123% to $587m in January

By Julito G. Rada NET inflows of foreign direct investments jumped 123 percent in January to $587 million from $263 million a year ago, on investors’ sustained confidence in the Philippine economy, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.

“This developed as all FDI components recorded increases, signaling investor optimism in the growth potential of various local industries,” Bangko Sentral said in a statement.

Net equity capital inflows rose 10 times to $257 million, contributing the largest to the investment’s growth in the period.

“This was on account of the surge in equity capital placements of almost five-fold to $260 million, while withdrawals amounted to $3 million only during the month,” it said.

Equity capital placements came mainly from Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Taiwan, the United States and Singapore.

The bulk of these placements were channeled to financial and insurance; real estate; electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply; manufacturing/ and information and communication activities.

Net investments in debt instruments, or lending by parent companies abroad to their local affiliates to fund existing operations and business expansion, also increased 54.3 percent to $257 million from $167 million in January 2015.

Reinvestment of earnings rose 3.7 percent to $73 million.

Bangko Sentral’s statistics on foreign direct investments cover actual investment inflows, which could be in the form of equity capital, reinvestment or earnings and borrowings between affiliates.

Bangko Sentral’s FDI data include investments where ownership by the foreign enterprise is at least 10 percent.

Net inflows reached $5.72 billion in 2015, or 5 percent below the $6-billion target. It was also 0.3 percent lower than the revised $5.74 billion net inflows in 2014.

Debt instruments declined to $3.1 billion in 2015 from $3.3 billion in 2014, while reinvestment of earnings fell 14.8 percent to $747 million.

Govt set to review corporate mergers

By Othel V. Campos

THE newly-formed Philippine Competition Commission is set to review existing business mergers and partnerships, its top official said Monday.

PCC chairman Arsenio Balisacan said the government was preparing an assessment paper that would give “the guidance of conduct to a more in-depth analysis of the Philippine business milieu, understanding the problems and crafting measures that will improve competition.”

“From June to August, we will be reviewing all existing business mergers. In about that time also, we will be coming up with a study identifying laws and provisions that are anti-

competition,” Balisacan said during a round table discussion organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines.

Telecommunications has been identified as one of the industries that would be looked at.

Balisacan said as the commission identified laws considered anti-competition, the process was more complicated in evaluating whether the inefficiencies stemmed from the players themselves, from the business environment, from policies or from all of them, creating one big anti-competitive climate.

National Competitiveness Council cochairman Guillermo Luz said the council supported the Commission in identifying obsolete and uncompetitive laws that hindered fair competition among industry players.

“We will be assisting the government in what laws they might be thinking of repealing . They can’t be thinking of new laws when they have

not stripped the old laws yet,” Luz said.

Both agencies agreed to allow local government units to create ordinances to create fair and healthy business competition in their own localities.

PCC is speeding up the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations for the Philippines Competition Act. It expects to release the IRR by June 2016. It is looking at both the US and the European Union as model governments in the crafting of the IRR. The commission is a quasi-judicial body that will enforce and implement the provisions of the competition act, including its implementing rules and regulations.

The IRR is seen to ensure an efficient market competition in providing a level-playing field among businesses engaged in trade, industry and all commercial economic activities.

Govt loses P250m in unused 700-Mhz band—Globe

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said Monday the government is losing hundreds of millions annually for failure to reallocate an unused mobile frequency held by San Miguel Corp.

“Government is losing at least P250 million in annual spectrum users fees with the embargo of the 700-megahertz frequency— revenue that the country needs for public welfare and public services,” Globe director for policy division, corporate and legal services group Ariel Tubayan said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines’ business forum in Makati City.

Tubayan said Globe would ask the Philippine Competi-

tion Commission to look at San Miguel’s control over the entire 700-Mhz band.

“I think it would be more appropriate to approach the PCC, maybe after election,” Tusayan said.

PCC plans to publish the implementing rules and regulations of the competition law by June this year.

San Miguel Group owns 100 Mhz of spectrum in the 700MHz band, of which 80 Mhz was assigned to wi-Tribe Telecommunications Inc., 10 Mhz to High Frequency Telecommunications Inc. and 10 Mhz to New Century Telecommunications Inc. “Control over a key resource such as a valuable frequency for providing LTE [long term evolution] is potentially anti-compet-

itive and reduces completion in the 4G space,” Tubayan said.

Tubayan said frequencies needed to be allocated to continue expansion either by open tender or public auction.

Under Republic Act No. 7925 or Public Telecommunications Policy Act, radio frequency spectrum is a scare public resource that should be administered in the public interest and granted to the most qualified service providers who will use it efficiently and effectively, he said.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Smart Communications head of public affairs Ramon Isberto earlier described San Miguel’s holding of the entire 700MHz band as “anti-competitive.”

He asked the government to

reassign the 700 MHz to other existing telco players.

Spectrum is the “real estate” on which telecommunication operators develop their respective network to deliver services to customers.

Utilizing the 700 MHz would allow the deployment of a highcapacity LTE based wireless and fixed broadband network to deliver higher data rate and LTE wireless broadband service.

With the use of the 700 MHz frequency, broadband prices can go down further benefiting consumers.

San Miguel president Ramon Ang earlier turned down the request of Globe and PLDT to share some of its 700 Mhz, as it plans to offer its own mobile broadband this year.

T U E S D AY : A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

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

The mind behind Linux A VIDEO uploaded on Ted.com this month features a question-andanswer session with Linux creator Linus Torvalds recorded in February at TED 2016 in Vancouver.

In the interview with TED curator Chris Anderson, Torvalds talked openly about the personality traits that prompted his unique philosophy of work, engineering and life.

Some highlights from the chat, edited for brevity: On his ideal workplace The way I work is... I want to not have external stimulation. You can kind of see (referring to a photo of his sparse office)...the walls are this light green. I’m told that at mental institutions… use that on the walls.

It’s like a calming color. It’s not something that really stimulates you.

The main thing I worry about in my computer is -- it doesn’t have to be big and powerful, although I like that -- it really has to be completely silent. I know people who work for Google and they have their own small data center at home, and I don’t do that. My office is the most boring office you’ll ever see. And I sit there alone in the quiet. If the cat comes up, it sits in my lap. And I want to hear the cat purring, not the sound of the fans in the computer.

On working alone and with others I still work alone. Really--I work alone in my house, often in my bathrobe. When a photographer shows up, I dress up, so I have clothes on.

And that’s how I’ve always worked. This was how I started Linux, too. I did not start Linux as a collaborative project. I started it as one in a series of many projects I had done at the time for myself, partly because I needed the end result, but even more because I just enjoyed programming… I was looking for a project on my own and there was no open source... on my radar at all.

At the University of Helsinki, I had a friend who… introduced me to the notion that, hey, you can use these open-source licenses that had been around.

It didn’t even start by people contributing code, it was more that people started contributing ideas…. That was a huge thing for me.

I was 21 at the time, so I was young, but I had already programmed for half my life, basically. And every project before that had been completely personal and it was a revelation when people just started commenting, started giving feedback on your code.

I don’t really love other people – But I love computers, I love interacting with other people on e-mail, because it kind of gives you that buffer. But I do love other people who comment and get involved in my project. And it made it so much more.

On growing up a nerd I think I was the prototypical nerd. I mean, I was ... I was not a people person back then. That’s my younger brother (refers to a photograph). I was clearly more interested in the Rubik’s Cube than my younger brother.

My younger sister, who’s not in the picture, when we had family meetings… would prep me beforehand. Like, before I stepped into the room she would say, “OK. That’s so-and-so ...” Because...I was a geek.

I was into computers, I was into math, I was into physics. I was good at that.

On conflict with others in the community Sometimes I’m... shall we say, “myopic” when it comes to other people’s feelings, and that sometimes makes you say things that hurt other people. And I’m not proud of that. But, at the same time, I get people who tell me that I should be nice. And then when I try to explain to them that... maybe you should be more aggressive, they see that as me being not nice.

What I’m trying to say is we are different. I’m not a people person; it’s not something I’m particularly proud of, but it’s part of me. And one of the things I really like about open source is it really allows different people to work together. We don’t have to like each other -- and sometimes we really don’t like each other.

You need... the people-people, the communicators, the warm and friendly people who… really want to hug you and get you into the community. But that’s not everybody. And that’s not me. I care about the technology. There are people who care about the UI (user interfaces). I can’t do UI to save my life. I mean, if I was stranded on an island and the only way to get off that island was the make a pretty UI, I’d die there.

Of visionaries and engineers I’ve actually felt slightly uncomfortable at TED for the last two days, because there’s a lot of vision going on, right? And I am not a visionary.

I do not have a five-year plan. I’m an engineer… I’m perfectly happy with all the people who are walking around and just staring at the clouds and looking at the stars and saying, “I want to go there.” But I’m looking at the ground, and I want to fix the pothole that’s right in front of me before I fall in. This is the kind of person I am.

On companies profiting off his work It doesn’t piss me off for several reasons. And one of them is, I’m doing fine. I’m really doing fine.

But the other reason is -- I mean, without doing the whole open source and really letting go thing, Linux would never have been what it is.

Column archives and blog at: http://www.chinwong.com

B5

Vehicles sales rose 22% in first quarter

By Othel V. Campos

VEHICLE sales jumped 22 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, marking the fourth straight year of record quarterly sales, two industry groups said Monday.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report members sold 76,479 units in the January-March period, up from 62,882 units delivered a year earlier.

Campi said the growth momentum was expected to be sustained in the rest of 2016, as the country’s economic fundamentals remained strong.

“This is another remarkable achievement for the automo-

tive industry. It has been a good start for 2016 and we hope that the momentum can be maintained in the coming months,” said Campi president Rommel Gutierrez.

Data showed that in March alone, sales reached 27,521 units, up by 9.4 percent from 25,150 units in February. It was also 16.8 percent higher than 23,557 units sold in March 2015.

Both passenger cars and commercial vehicles showed robust sales following the introduction

of all-new and refreshed models.

Sales of passenger cars or sedans increased 19 percent in the first quarter to 29,796 units from 25,051 units sold in the same period last year.

In March alone, passenger car sales surged 38 percent to 11,345 units from 9,819 units a year ago.

Passenger cars accounted for 39 percent of the first-quarter sales.

Meanwhile, sales of commercial vehicles category jumped 16.8 percent in March to 16,176 units from 13,855 vehicles sold in March 2015.

All segments within the commercial vehicle category performed well, with heavy-duty trucks and buses or Category V posting the biggest growth of 97.9 percent.

PTT’s new products. PTT Philippines launches its new lubricant products to accommodate

motoring innovations during the Manila International Auto Show at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Shown leading the launching are PTT Philippines president and chief executive Sukanya Seriyothin (fourth from left) and marketing director Thitiroj Rergsumran. MANNY PALMERO

International visitor arrivals jump 20%

By Othel V. Campos INTERNATIONAL visitor arrivals grew 20 percent in February from a year ago, the highest growth rate in the tourism sector under the Aquino administration, the Tourism Department said Monday.

Data showed visitor arrivals in February hit 549,725, up 20.4 percent from 2015. This was faster than the 13.2-percent rise in arrivals in January with 542,258 visitors.

The Tourism Department said the February figures were the highest growth rate and the biggest volume of visitor arrivals in 62 months.

“The biggest change during this administration is that we now have the Filipino people more enthusiastic about tourism itself. And the growth that we see

today is precisely the result of our people’s renewed confidence,” said Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. “We, as a country, believe that we can deliver an experience to tourists that is more fun because we allow visitors to take part in our joy. And the whole world is as convinced that more people should visit and revisit the Philippines,” Jimenez said.

Arrivals in the first two months reached 1.092 million, up by 16.7 percent from the same period last year.

East Asia was the biggest source of arrivals with 565,971, constituting more than half of the total visitor volume.

South Korea continued to supply the biggest arrivals to the country with a total of 284,763 arrivals. This market accounted for 26.08 percent of the total ar-

rivals.

Except for Hong Kong, all countries from the East Asian markets posted increases, with China reflecting the biggest growth of 107.88 percent.

Visitors from China reached 130,916 in the first two months, up from 62,976 in the same period in 2015. China ranked third among sources of foreign visitors.

Another high-growth market was Taiwan which posted an increase of 30.89 percent.

The United States was the second largest visitor-generating market with 155,796 visitors, constituting 14.27 percent of the total and recording a 9.54 percent increase from 142,226 in the same period of 2015.

Japan ranked fourth with 92,531 visitors, comprising 8.47 percent of the total inbound traffic.

B6

TUESDAY: APRIL 12, 2016

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

Global Ferronickel’s profit falls

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Agriculture support.

NICKEL miner Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. said net profit in 2015 fell 77 percent to P1.1 billion from P4.8 billion in 2014 on lower production and the decline in the prices of the commodity in the world market

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (right) and Mimaropa regional executive director Cipriano Santiago (left) turn over to the Quezon Seed Producer MultiPurpose Cooperative of Quezon, Palawan the P1.87 million worth of combine harvester which can reap, harvest and winnow rice grains in a single pass during harvesting. Alcala was in Palawan on March 18, 2016 to personally hear the qualms of farmers and fishers and provide speedy interventions. Alcala also led the distribution of various agricultural support to farmerbeneficiaries from Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española, Brookespoint, Bataraza, and Puerto Princesa City, amounting to more than P27 million.

GMA Network bullish on earnings this year

By Darwin G. Amojelar GMA Network Inc. is optimistic about its earnings this year on higher television ratings and advertising sales, according its executive.

“We expect GMA’s financial performance to exceed expectations this year,” GMA Network chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon said Monday.

Gozon earlier said the company posted a net income of P2 billion in 2015 from P1.01 billion in 2014.

The company has not yet reported the audited full-year net income in 2015. Nine-month profit jumped 80 percent in 2015 to P1.804 billion from a year ago, as revenues climbed 16 percent to

P10.31 billion.

GMA, which airs on channel & on free TV, grabbed the lead in nationwide ratings in March on the back of its stronger performance in the key areas of Urban Luzon and Mega Manila based on Nielsen TV Audience Measurement data.

For the period March 1 to 3, GMA garnered a 36.6-percent household audience share in National Urban Television Audience Measurement ratings against ABS-CBN’s 36.1 percent and TV5’s 8.2 percent.

The network also ruled across all dayparts including primetime in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, where majority of the urban TV household population are found.

The network also approved the

declaration of a cash dividend of P0.40 per share totaling P1.944 billion.

The company will pay the dividend on May 16 to shareholders of record as of April 25, 2016.

Since its IPO launch in 2007, the network has consistently delivered a high shareholder return, paying out cash dividends equivalent to almost 100 percent of its net income.

Total dividend per share and total dividends declared from 2008 onwards amounted to P3.58 and P17.4 billion, respectively.

GMA Network Inc. said on Tuesday it expanded its global footprint with the launch of its international channels in the Middle East and Singapore this

month.

The broadcasting network earliet said GMA International rolled out its three international channels in the Middle East and North Africa through OSN, the dominant pay-TV network in the region with 25 countries within its reach.

The linear channels are GMA’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV, Filipino lifestyle channel, GMA Life TV, and international news channel, GMA News TV International.

GMA Pinoy TV and GMA Life TV were also launched in Singapore via one of the country’s major pay-TV operators, StarHub, which boasts of 536,000 households subscribed to its service.

Global Ferronickel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange total volume exported in 2015 stood at 5.352 million wet metric tons, down 15 percent from the 2014 volume of 6.303 million WMT. Exports of high and medium grade ore rose 288 percent and 83 percent, respectively, while low grade ore shipments dropped 84 percent.

“Our operations encountered unusually heavy rainfall during the months of June and August that affected ship loading activities due to the need to reduce moisture content to the desired level of 33 percent. This brought down total shipments to 99 vessels as compared to 117 vessels in the previous year,” the mining company said.

“In addition, the decrease in shipment volume was exacerbated by the decline in nickel ore prices from 2014 average of US$43.30/ WMT to US$26.69/WMT average for 2015, lower by US$16.61/ WMT or 38.4 percent,” it added.

Despite a very challenging environment caused by falling commodity prices, the company said it still managed to emerge as the second largest nickel ore producer in 2015.

Global Ferronickel plans to implement cost-cutting measures in 2016 to trim expenses on low fuel prices.

The company also reported that the results of its exploration efforts in Surigao would be completed in the second quarter of 2016, while Ipilan mine in Palawan was in the process of securing a permit.

Economy cannot afford a Cory-type Presidency WITH the Presidential election only a month away and Senator Grace Poe continuing to be the frontrunner in the poll opinion surveys, prudent Filipinos ought to begin contemplating what the new administration will be like in the event that Fernando Poe Jr.’s adopted daughter, recently given the Supreme Court’s imprimatur to run, were to win the election.

Considering her gender, the rational thing to do would be to compare her, in terms of her educational background, her personality and her professional record, with this country’s two female former Presidents, Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Is Grace Poe likely to be a Chief Executive in the mold of former President Cory Aquino, or is her Presidency likely to resemble former President Gloria Arroyo?

In my view, a Poe Presidency is unlikely

to resemble the Presidency of Gloria Arroyo, for several reasons. The first relates to educational preparation. Gloria Arroyo received training as an economist, topped by a doctorate in economics from the University of the Philippines.

The second reason is that, by the time she was shoehorned into the Presidency by a judicial coup d’ etat, Gloria Arroyo already had abundant professional experience— as an economics professor, as an assistant secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry, as a Senator and as Vice President of the Republic. Lastly, Gloria Arroyo was an assertive, driven President with experience of living in a Presidential environment during her younger days.

To be sure, Cory Aquino was more than the “mere housewife” that her detractors considered her to be. But at the time of her election to the Presidency in 1986, Cory Aquino did have, as credentials, only a degree from a small US college and experience as the wife of a provincial governor and Senator. In other words, Cory Aquino was not possessed of the kinds of professional preparation and administrative experience

that Gloria Arroyo had when she entered upon the responsibilities of the Presidency.

For these reasons, a Grace Poe Presidency is likely to resemble a Cory Aquino Presidency.

The taunt that the minions of Ferdinand E. Marcos threw against Cory Aquino during the 1986 elections—and that her post-election critics flung at her gleefully— was that she was “walang alam” and that she was entirely dependent on her advisers, who, they said, manipulated her for their unholy ends.

The situation in Malacanang during Gloria Arroyo’s occupancy was totally different. Diosdado Macapagal’s little girl knew what she was doing—because she was trained and had a mind of her own—and knew what she wanted. Gloria Arroyo knew where she wanted to go—unfortunately for this country, often in the wrong directions— and could not be pulled every which way by advisers and vested interests.

In contrast, concerned observers fear— and I fear along with them—that a newly elected Grace Poe will be pulled in all sorts of directions by her advisers and vested-interest

supporters and will be unable to withstand their importunings. This will come to pass, the concerned observers say, because Grace Poe will know no better. Grace Poe may be honest and well-intentioned, they say, but there is no substitute for personally knowing things and for doing things of one’s own volition.

My other fear about a Grace Poe Presidency is that, as a result of her narrow knowledge and inadequate experience and her being without major-party election support, FPJ’s daughter may already have made promises and concessions that will not be in the best interests of Philippine society.

The years 1986 to 1992 are not so long ago that the Filipino people have forgotten what Corazon Aquino and her Presidency were like. They largely were years of political instability, social discord and economic uncertainty. Those who have fears and misgivings about Grace Poe fear that hers will be a Cory-type Presidency.

The economy cannot afford such a Presidency.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

‘Star Wars: The force Awakens’ wins at MTV awards LOS ANGELES—Space Opera “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was the big winner at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, taking best film and breakthrough performance for its star Daisy Ridley.

It also scooped best villain for Adam Driver’s turn as the nefarious Kylo Ren, although Ridley lost out in the best hero category to Jennifer Lawrence, recognized for her role in the final “Hunger Games” movie, “Mockingjay Part Two.” Leonardo DiCaprio took best

male performance for “The Revenant,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s epic tale of survival and revenge, which won the filmmaker and his star Oscars in February.

Charlize Theron took the honor in the female category for her turn as rebel soldier Imperator Furiosa in George Miller’s post-apocalyptic action movie “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

The South African actress, who put on 30 pounds and won an Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster” (2003), sparked con-

troversy last week for complaining that she had lost out on film roles because she was too “pretty.”

“On behalf of all the Furiosas out there, you are all the true warriors,” she told the Los Angeles crowd, paying tribute to her “own little Furiosa,” her baby daughter.

The audience reserved its loudest cheer for Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine, who celebrated winning best kiss for “Pitch Perfect 2” by recreating the amorous smooch on stage.

“It’s quite incredible we won

India police file charges over fireworks deaths KOLLAM, India—Indian police said Monday they have filed initial charges against six people over a massive explosion during a banned fireworks display that killed more than 100 people and left many more with horrific burns.

Thousands had packed into a Hindu temple in the southern state of Kerala on Saturday night for the show when a stray firework apparently landed on a stockpile of them, triggering a huge blast that tore through concrete buildings.

Three people died of their injuries overnight, taking the death toll from the disaster to 109.

Hundreds more are still being treated.

Police said they were investigating who was responsible for the fireworks display going ahead even though authorities in Kerala’s Kollam district had refused permission for it.

“A case was registered yesterday against six people,” said the head of Kerala police crime branch S. Ananathakrishnan.

“Six people have been named in the case— three from the temple committee, three who were contractors for the fireworks display.”

Initial charges against the six include culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he said.

None of the six has yet been arrested. Police said one was in hospital and the other five had gone missing.

Police also said they were questioning five

temple workers involved in staging the fireworks display. They faced no charges at this stage.

Witnesses told how the force of the explosion sent concrete slabs and roof tiles slamming into the panicked crowd of onlookers in the early hours of Sunday.

Thousands had gone to the temple to celebrate the Keralan festival of Vishu, marking the Hindu new year.

Local resident Shiva Kumar said many families had left the display by the time the explosion occurred and the victims were mostly young men competing to set off the most explosive crackers.

“It was a sort of competition between two groups,” he told AFP. “The firecrackers are sponsored by families who get them made, they are locally manufactured and don’t follow the usual norms.

Sometimes they use gunpowder to get that extra firepower.”

He described scenes of chaos after the fire broke out, with onlookers having to ferry the wounded to nearby hospitals using their own cars and motorcycles.

One man living near the temple told how his

son Adiraj, a factory worker, had gone to the display with three old friends. Only one survived.

“He was with his friends near the structure where the firecrackers were kept,” said Baba, 46, giving only one name.

“He had dressed up for the festival after having dinner and said he will be with his friends.

We saw his body afterwards at the hospital morgue... his memory will haunt us every year on this day.”

Firefighters and police battled to douse the fire that broke out after the explosion and to rescue those trapped at the complex, but some victims were charred

beyond recognition.

More than 30 have yet to be identified and a team of specialist doctors was deployed from New Delhi to treat the horrific burn injuries.

Some buildings at the temple complex were completely flattened by the force of the blast, while others had their roof tiles blown off or plaster ripped from the walls.

The main temple building had its windows blown out.

Dozens of shoes lay scattered on the dusty ground outside.

Fires and stampedes are not uncommon at temples and during religious occasions, often because of poor security arrangements and lax safety standards. AFP

C I TAT I O N FO R FR E E D O M FRO M PA R E NTA L CUSTO DY A N D CO NT RO L

Yo u a r e a d v i s e d t h a t i f t h e p a r e n t (s) a r e p r e s e n t a t t h e t i m e a n d p l a c e a b ove s t a t e d t h e judge will read the petition and, if requested, m ay ex p l a i n t h e e f f e c t o f t h e g r a n t i n g o f t h e petition and, if requested, the judge shall ex p l a i n a ny t e r m o r a l l e g a t i o n c o n t a i n e d therein and the nature of the proceeding, its procedures and possible consequences and m ay c o n t i n u e t h e m a t t e r f o r n o t m o r e t h a n 3 0 d ay s f o r t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f c o u n s e l o r t o g i ve counsel time to prepare.

T h e c o u r t m ay a p p o i n t c o u n s e l t o r e p r e s e n t the minor whether or not the minor is able t o a f f o r d c o u n s e l . I f a ny p a r e n t a p p e a r s a n d is unable to af ford counsel, the cour t shall appoint counsel to represent each parent who appears unless such representation is k n o w i n g l y a n d i n t e l l i g e n t l y w a i ve d .

I f y o u w i s h t o s e e k t h e a d v i c e o f a n a t t o r n ey i n t h i s m a t t e r, y o u s h o u l d d o s o p r o m p t l y s o t h a t y o u r p l e a d i n g , i f a ny, m ay b e f i l e d o n t i m e . ( T S - A P R 5 /12 /19 / 2 6 , 2 016)

The superhero blockbuster has dominated the box office since its February release, only slipping out of the North American top ten this weekend.

Starring Reynolds as a Marvel Comics character, “Deadpool” has taken $759 million worldwide after clocking the fastest rise of any R-rated movie in history.

The awards, which have been taking a sideways look at Hollywood since 1992, honor films and their actors with “golden popcorn” statuettes. AFP

SOCIAL HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR THE REBIDDING OF PROJECT NO: 2016-10 PROCUREMENT OF CONSULTING SERVICES FOR NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN 1.

The Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC), through its Corporate Budget for 2016, intends to apply the sum of Three Million Pesos Only (Php3,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) payment under the contract for the Procurement of Consulting Services for Network Infrastructure Analysis and Design. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the financial proposals.

2.

SHFC now calls for the submission of eligibility documents for:

Project

Procurement of Consulting Services for Network Infrastructure Analysis and Design

Location

BDO Plaza, 8737 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

Objective

Assist, guide and provide Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) the latest state of the art ICT solutions, designs, functionalities, features and technologies based on the current and future ICT requirements and directions of SHFC and aligned with global standards and best practice sharing methodologies. The solutions and designs shall be in alignment with the Information Systems Conceptual Framework of the SHFC Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP).

Outputs/ Deliverables

1. Inception Report (30%) which includes the ff: 1) Affirmation of the Consultant’s team’s understanding of the engagement; 2.) Affirmation of the approach and methodology.

2. Compliance of Part III - Scope of Consultancy Services (30%).

3. Finalized Consultancy Report Deliverables as enumerated in Part IV (30%).

4. Upon acquisition of hardware necessary for the network design as enumerated in Part IV and completion of other Consultancy services as enumerated in Part III (10%).

4. The Firm must have the following minimum qualifications: A. B. C. D.

5.

The firm must have a Project Leader with at least Bachelor’s degree related to Network Design; The firm must have a Project Leader with at least three (3) years of experience in projects related to Network Design; The firm must have handled at least three (3) projects of this nature within the past five (5) years and at least one (1) contract whose value must be at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC to be bid; and The firm must have a Project Leader who attended a training/seminar in Structured Cabling Technical, Wired Data Networks Technical, E.5) Wireless Technical, IP Telephony Technical, IP Surveillance / CCTV Technical, Server/Storage Technical, Network Security Technical and Network Health Assessment Technical.

Interested firm must submit their Project Leader and its technical staffs’ Curriculum Vitae and Eligibility Documents on or before 25 April 2016 at 10:00 am (also the date of opening of eligibility documents) at 5th Floor Board Room, Banco De Oro Plaza, 8737 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.

Applications for eligibility will be evaluated based on a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion.

The required documents and criteria are provided in Section 24. Eligibility Requirements and Short Listing for Consulting Services of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act.”

6.

The BAC shall draw up the short list of consultants from those who have submitted Eligibility Documents and Curriculum Vitae of the Experts to be employed andhave been determined as eligible in accordance with the provisions of RA 9184 and its IRR. The short list shall consist of three (3) prospective bidders who will be allowed to purchase the Bidding Documents and are entitled to submit bids. The criteria and rating system for short listing are: Applicable experience Qualification of project leader& technical staff Current workload relative to capacity Total

= = =_ =

40 % 40% 20 %_ 100 %

7.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA 9184.

8.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

9.

The Procuring Entity shall evaluate bids using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/Selection (QCBE/QCBS) procedure. Only bids whose Technical proposals pass the minimum technical evaluation score of Eighty percent (80%) shall have their Financial Proposals opened and evaluated. The Technical Proposal shall carry Eighty percent (80%) weight in the evaluation. The bidders shall be ranked in descending order based on the combined numerical ratings of their technical and financial proposals and identify the Highest Rated Bid. The criteria and rating system for the evaluation of bids shall be provided in the Instruction to Bidders (ITB).

10.

Contract duration is One (1) to two (2) months although actual project duration is dependent on the analysis and design of the selected Consultant.

11.

Short Listed Bidders may purchase a complete set of Bidding Documents from 28 April 2016 until 12 May2016 at the address below, for a non-refundable fee of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) Only. The fee for the Bidding Documents must be paid to the SHFC Cashier only. The cost of bidding documents corresponds to the ABC.

12.

SHFC will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on 29 April 2016 at 10:00 am, at the SHFC Board Room, 5th Floor, BDO Plaza 8737 Paseo De Roxas, Makati City, which shall be open only to all short listed bidders who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

13.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 12 May 2016 at 10:00 am. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

14.

Bid opening shall be on 12 May 2016, 10 am, at the SHFC Board Room, 5th Floor, BDO Plaza 8737 Paseo De Roxas, Makati City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.

15.

SHFC assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify Bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid. SHFC reserves the right to waive any or all formal requirements, and it shall likewise not be held liable for any defects or typographical errors in all documents received by the Bidder, which shall be presumed to have been read and understood by the bidders to be mere defects in form only.

16.

SHFC reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject a bid at any time prior to the contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

17.

For further information, please communicate with:

To: C h r i s t i a n To r r e s Yo u a r e a d v i s e d t h a t y o u a r e r e q u i r e d t o appear in the Superior Cour t of the State o f C a l i f o r n i a , C o u n t y o f S a n D i e g o, C e n t r a l D i v i s i o n , J u ve n i l e c o u r t , 2 8 51 M e a d o w L a r k , S a n D i e g o, C A 9 212 3 , i n D e p a r t m e n t 10 o n 0 5 - 2 7-16 , a t 9 : 0 0 a m ., t o s h o w c a u s e , i f y o u h ave a ny, w hy C e a n a S a n t o s m i n o r s h o u l d not be declared free from parental custody a n d c o n t r o l (f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f p l a c e m e n t f o r a d o p t i o n) a s r e q u e s t e d i n t h e p e t i t i o n .

this award, because in real life we have absolutely no sexual chemistry,” said Wilson, insisting that she wasn’t aroused by DeVine’s “little cabbage patch face and his tight little bubble butt.”

But the pair then came together in a jokey tryst so faux-passionate that they ended up tumbling to the floor together.

Another offbeat award, best fight, went to Ryan Reynolds and Ed Skrein for “Deadpool,” with Reynolds going on to take best comedic performance for the same film.

Joselito A. Cada Head, BAC Secretariat Social Housing Finance Corporation 6th Floor BDO Plaza, 8737 Paseo De Roxas Makati City Trunkline: 750-6337/46 loc. 732 Direct Line: 817-3168 procurement@shfcph.com

( TS- A P R . 12 , 2 0 1 6 )

(SGD) ANNICIA D. VILLAFUERTE Chairman, BAC

T U E S D AY : A P R I L 1 2 , 2 0 1 6

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Songkhran Festival. People take part in water battles with elephants as part of celebrations of Songkhran, the Thai new year, in the city of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, on April 11, 2016.

The Songkhran Festival is marked throughout Thailand with water fights during the days around the new year on April 13. AFP

Top N. Korea officials defect Macedonia’s strategy on migrants criticized IDOMENI, Greece—Greece on Monday lashed out at Macedonia for using “excessive force” after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets on migrants trying to breach the closed border to enter the EU. Macedonian police accused crowds of hurling stones and other objects at them on Sunday in a bid to break down a fence at the border with Greece, saying they had used tear gas to protect themselves.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said 260 people were treated for injuries: 200 for breathing problems, 30 for wounds caused by plastic bullets and 30 for other injuries.

There are an estimated 11,000 migrants and refugees stranded at the flash point Idomeni crossing,

many of them fleeing war in Syria and Iraq.

They have been living rough in the Idomeni camp since midFebruary after Balkan states closed their borders, cutting off access to northern Europe.

The spokesman for the Greek migration coordination agency Giorgos Kyritsis blasted the Macedonian reaction as totally unwarranted and out of proportion.

He told Vima radio station that there had been “an excessive and asymmetrical use of force” that had created a “very difficult situation on Greek soil.”

A police source said the situation was “calm” on Monday in the sprawling Idomeni camp with only two people remaining in hospital. AFP

SEOUL—South Korea said Monday a North Korean colonel in charge of spy operations had defected to the South, along with a diplomat and three family members.

The army colonel had handled espionage targeting South Korea at the North’s General Bureau of Reconnaissance before arriving in Seoul last year, the South’s Yonhap news agency said.

The unification and defense ministry spokesmen in Seoul confirmed the report but declined to give details such as the officer’s name and exact date of defection.

“He is the highest-level military official to have ever defected to the South,” said a government official quoted by Yonhap.

The officer is believed to have given details about the bureau’s operations against South Korea to authorities in Seoul, the unidentified official said.

The unification ministry spokesman also confirmed a report by Dong-A Ilbo daily on Monday that a North Korean diplomat posted

in an African nation had defected to Seoul last May with three family members.

The news came days after Seoul announced that a group of 13 North Koreans working in a staterun restaurant outside the country had fled to the South in a rare mass defection.

The group—one male manager and a dozen women—arrived in the South Thursday. They had reportedly been working at a restaurant in China’s southeastern port city of Ningbo before coming to the South through a third country in Southeast Asia.

Seoul rarely confirms defections

by North Koreans, especially senior officials, citing the potential threat to their safety. It also does not want to damage diplomatic relations with the countries through which they travel.

China is the North’s sole major ally. Pyongyang reportedly has often lodged protests with transit nations used by defectors en route to Seoul.

The highly unusual disclosures prompted Seoul’s main opposition party to accuse the government of trying to rally support among conservatives before Wednesday’s parliamentary election.

The vote for the 300-seat national assembly is seen as a referendum on the policies of President Park Geun-Hye and her ruling conservative Saenuri Party The unification and defense ministries denied political motives, saying the disclosures were made in the public interest.

In the past some defections were made public only after months of questioning and with the approval of the person concerned.

This was out of consideration for the safety of their families in the North, said Cheong Seong-Chang of Seoul’s Sejong Institute think tank. AFP

HK pro-democracy protester on trial HONG KONG—A Hong Kong pro-democracy protester who was allegedly beaten by police in an attack captured by television cameras and beamed around the world stood trial on Monday over allegations he assaulted officers.

Political activist Ken Tsang stands accused of splashing liquid on police officers during mass street rallies in 2014—the same night he was beaten in an attack.

The incidents took place at the height of the protests seeking free leadership elections in Hong Kong, rocking the reputation of the city’s

police force.

The police who allegedly beat him, who are not the same officers Tsang is accused of assaulting, are to stand trial separately.

The pro-democracy Civic Party member has pleaded not guilty to five charges—two of assaulting a police officer and three of resisting a police officer.

On the opening day of the fiveday trial, a courtroom packed with reporters and members of the public was shown video footage of officers pointing to a masked man who poured liquid onto the city’s

Lung Wo Road, close to government buildings.

In another piece of footage, taken from a local broadcaster, Tsang is shown being arrested.

Tsang, dressed in a suit, sat attentively on the defendant’s bench.

He donned a yellow ribbon-shaped badge, the symbol of the Umbrella Movement, named after the umbrellas used to ward off sun, rain, tear gas and pepper spray during the protests.

Outside court, the 40-year-old refused to say whether he would testify during the trial. AFP

Clashes. Anti-riot policemen run through tear gas smoke during

clashes with protesters as part of a demonstration on April 9, 2016, in Paris against the French government’s proposed labor law reforms. AFP

tuesday : april 12, 2016

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

a rts, Cu lt u re & t eCH

LIFE

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My Sweet Blooms, a lovely, dreamy collaboration between special needs artist Lorenzo Calleja and Saturday Group members Danny Pangan and Tessie Picana

nEW VISIOnS On DISplAy The Fun and PurPose arT exhibiT For a Cause

r

achel Harrison has a new vision, and it’s beautiful.

Perhaps calling it new isn’t entirely correct. It’s the same vision, it just keeps on growing, infecting more people, inspiring more involvement, touching more and more lives, and most importantly, changing them. When we at The Standard met her last year, we thought her vision was already big. Big enough, in fact, to recognize her at the first Standard Visionary Awards.

On April 2, we got another closer look at Rachel’s vision and its fruits at The Fun and Purpose Art Exhibit For A Cause. Featuring amazing works of artists with special needs, some in collaboration with the renowned Saturday Group of Artists as well as student artists from De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde, the exhibit ran from April 1-3 at the Green Sun Hotel.

ThE VISIOn

The exhibit was for a good cause: The establishment of a Community Art Center at Zambawood in San Narciso, Zambales.

To the people involved, The Art Center is not just a pretty building – it will serve as the setting for a vision: the integration and inclusion of people with special needs into the community.

Here, people with special needs will find a haven where they are free to express themselves, take steps toward healing, and most importantly, learn and sharpen their talents and skills by giving them fun and purpose that will enable them to lead productive and happy lives within their communities.

Underseascape by Vico Cham

by JuDITh AlbAnO

ThE ExhIbIT

In fact, the exhibit itself was a study in demonstrating how productive and talented people with special needs are.

Many of the works offered a peek into the minds of the artists, and a view of the extent of their talents.

It was not coincidental that the exhibit dinner was on April 2. Designated World Autism Awareness day by the United Nations General Assembly, it was the perfect day to celebrate the unique capabilities of people with autism and learn more about what makes them different, and more importantly, shed light on the facts and fallacies about autism.

Enlightening attendees on the subject of autism was Dr. Francis Dimalanta, a Developmental and Behavioral pediatrician who Rachel says was instrumental in her son Julyan’s journey towards a happy, semiindependent life.

But the biggest source of light was the artists themselves. The bright, bold strokes of Julyan Harrison, the idyllic landscapes of Samantha Kaspar, the expressiveness of JA Tan and more, along with the works that showed the heart of the Saturday Group of Artists and the students from De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde – all of these showed that with understanding and empowerment, people with autism and other special needs will not only become productive and able to work within the community, but also help inspire the rest of us to look beyond and see a larger vision than what just stares us on the face.

For more on Zambawood, visit www.zambawood.com or like it on Facebook.

Samantha Kaspar's Idyllic landscapes

Rachel Harrison, offering the welcome remarks at the exhibit

A vision of the community art center where people with special needs can find the skills and talents to integrate into the community with Fun and Purpose

Samantha Kaspar's A-1

Julyan Harrison's vibrant Elephish was one of the first works sold on the first day

tuESday : aprIL 12, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

fESTivALS Lubao International Balloon Festival Pradera Verde, Prado Siongco, Lubao, Pampanga April 14 to 17 The skies of Lubao, Pampanga will be dotted once again with colorful hot air balloons as the biggest annual hot air balloon festival in Southeast Asia is back for the third time this year.

The Lubao International Balloon Festival 2016, which is now a major tourist attraction in the province, promises to be even bigger and better as 40 hot air balloons from different countries join the four-day affair.

Aside from breathtaking hot air balloon flights and aerial exhibitions, the festival will also include fun on-ground entertainment such as street activities, land activities and exciting musical performances by top Filipino artists True Faith (Apr. 14), Sabado Boys (Apr. 15), Bamboo, Mitoy and D’Draybers (Apr. 16) and Ely Buendia (Apr. 17). The fun and magical experience doesn’t stop at night as the skies will light up with a shower of colors during the fireworks display.

Shoppers will enjoy browsing around the bazaar, while foodies will be delighted to indulge in Pampangueño delights and other food items available at the food fair.

With a wide array of activities lined up for guests of all ages, the organizers—Lubao International Balloon Festival, Inc. & Forthinker and the Arts, Culture and Tourism Office of Pampanga—expect more than 100,000 visitors from all over the country to join in the fun.

For tickets to the four-day hot air balloon festival, log on to www.smtickets.com or call (02) 470-2222. For more information and local accommodation suggestions, visit www.lubaoibf.com.

wORkShOPS Book Making Workshop for Kids Ayala Museum, Makati City April 17 and 24

Children can let their imagination run free and their artistry overflow as they create their very own book—from cover to cover—in this workshop headed by husband and wife tandem Jomike and Haraya Tejido.

This workshop will teach kids, age seven and up, how to bring their ideas and creativity to life on print and come out with a handcrafted book.

ExhibiTS What’s My Name Video Room, Finale Art File, Makati City Ongoing until April 30

The workshop fee of P4,800 (per session) is inclusive of materials, handouts, snacks, a certificate, one-day free admission to the museum and one-day free access to the library.

For inquiries, call Marj at (02) 759-8288 local 25 or email villaflores.md@ayalafoundation.org.

Visit www.ayalamusem.org for more details.

The idea of dualities—say, Bruce Wayne and his batinspired persona—is explored and presented in the first oneman exhibition of JapaneseFilipino artist Taichi Kondo.

Kondo shows, through his primitive-style paintings, how diversity is produced through the merging and meeting of binary or dual forces such as heaven and hell, creation and destruction, humanity and divinity, and civilization and chaos.

For more information on this ongoing exhibition, visit www.finaleartfile.com.

PETA Summer Program The PETA Theater Center, Quezon City April 13 and 16 Teenagers and adults eager to learn the basics of theater performance and production may take the plunge this summer as the Philippine Educational Theater Association opens its regular summer workshops for the second batch of enrollees this April.

The theater company opens the Integrated Theater Arts for Teens course on April 13 and the Theater Arts Production Workshop on April 16.

The curricula for these courses are customized to focus more on the mounting and creation of a performance.

Enrollment for the additional courses is ongoing.

For more information, contact PETA at (02) 725-6244 or 0905-3696003 or visit www.petatheater.com/summer-workshop/.

tuESday : aprIL 12, 2016

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

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OF FLOraLS, pEdIcabS, and wOrkS OF art

International artist Michael Lin has transformed the entire length of a wall in the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design into a gigantic floral garden

T

he Tokyo-born Taiwanese artist Michael Lin holds his first exhibit in the Philippines entitled “Michael Lin: Locomotion” and displays the bold floral patterns for which he has become internationally recognized. The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) comes alive with the bright and bold, colorful splashes of gigantic floral patterns, which many find as a refreshing change from the usual whitewashed walls of a gallery or an exhibit area.

Known for reconfiguring public spaces and transforming traditionally aseptic exhibit venues into dynamic, lively settings by which to showcase his work, Lin attempts to transform the way art is perceived by the public, reworking unusual places into engaging exhibit spaces, for instance – a bookstore, sprawling tennis court, expansive atriums and community centers and halls, and these have become popular in in Switzerland, Hawaii, China, the US, Japan, France and Portugal.

The artist treats each surface where he places his art as not mere canvases but spaces in which humans can engage and interact. According to Lin, he wants his art to be part of the community and his artworks allow engagement with the public, which should come as

no surprise therefore that for Locomotion, he has collaborated with local pedicab drivers who lent the source of their livelihood, and the ordinary man’s mode of transportation, to become part of Lin’s exhibit. Inside the exhibition hall, students and visitors can sit around on the floral chairs and outside the streets and eskinitas of Manila, one may just chance upon Lin-painted floral pedicabs roaming the city.

The exhibit area itself lends a happy vibe, as if the artworks themselves are smiling as people pass by with a twinkle in their eyes, making one feel that the whimsical effect of the space has rubbed off on visitors. And as for the 15 pedicab operators driving around Manila with their tarps painted in bouquets of pink, orange and yellow flowers, Lin will forever be ingrained in their memories. – Charmaine Loveria Michael Lin: Locomotion can be viewed at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Ground Floor, DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts Campus, Dominga Street, Malate, Manila.

The show runs until May 21 and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays to Fridays, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Visit mcadmanila.org.ph for more information.

The floral walls adorned the MCAD exhibition area

Michael Lin surrounded by Untitled Gathering, his chair-puzzle hybrid

De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde president Brother Dennis Magbanua FSC, MCAD curator Joselina ‘Yeyey’ Cruz and artist Michael Lin during the opening ceremonies of the exhibit

A pedicab, having turned over its old shell, is treated to a facelift of Lin’s signature blooming patterns

Michael Lin, Melissa Lara, Patricia Ana Paredes, Mica Agregado, Fatima Manalili, Aya Caringal and Juan Carlos Salamat

tuESday : aprIL 12, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Danish artist Kristian Kragelund and his works titled Silhouettes #1 and Silhouettes #2 (2015), acid and chemicals on canvas with homemade steel-infused paint

t

@LIFEatStandard

Kristian Kragelund makes use of 'staged expressionism' where art is created through reactions of materials and chemicals

KRISTIAN KRAGELUND’S CHEMICAL ROMANCE

rying to compartmentalize Danish artist Kristian Kragelund’s works of art as either painting or sculpture would be unproductive, as his opus are more semantic rather than formal. Or so went a review about the young London-based artist. Rather, his style lends itself to what he describes as a paradigm that could be referred to as “staged expressionism” wherein “everything within the picture plane is created through reactions of materials and chemicals.”

Although he considers himself a painter and calls his works as paintings, he does not use actual paint in his practice, preferring instead to use primary materials. “I coat the canvas in a homemade mixture of acrylic binder and a variety of metal powders, then I introduce an acid to the surface and thus allow oxidation, deterioration or alteration of the ‘painted’ surface,” he explains.

“This process allows me to, on one hand, have complete control of the initial stages of the work and yet at the same time having to let go and watch how the chemical reactions occur and creates their own compositional arrangements,” he explains, adding that the approach helps him reconfigure how relationships between art and the spectator are established and sustained.

In a nutshell, Kragelund combines control and random reactions to produce a one-of-akind work of art. Control comes in his use of the homemade mixture that he spreads on the canvas, and the random part comes via the chemical reaction of the acid with the ingredients, resulting in oxidation that alters the surface of the canvas.

He likens his technique, and to a large extent, his creations, as an attempt to examine the way people seem to continuously “apply layer after layer upon our identities in an attempt to live up to idealized versions of realities, where we are defined not by who we are but how we appear,” he observes.

If focus is directed on those qualities that people inherently possess, then it should follow that something important and genuine can be expressed – certainly through his art (which some refuse to pin down as either painting or sculpture).

The works exhibited for Reactive Painting form part of a bigger ongoing research project in which Kragelund, through this work with process based paintings and sculptures, “seeks to examine and trace the relevance of a Western structural dominance reflected in contemporary art and culture.”

Having obtained his BA Fine Arts from the Central Saint Martins in 2014, he has since exhibited his work across the UK and Europe including a solo show at the Copenhagen based gallery Tom Christoffersen and one forthcoming at Display Gallery in London.

Kragelund’s works have earned for him nominations for several awards such as The NeoArt Prize in 2012, the 2013 Sixth Annual Digital Graffiti Award, and the 2015 Bloomberg New Contemporaries award.

Filipino art aficionados will have the opportunity to view the works of this young man via an exhibit dubbed Reactive Painting that runs until April 30 at the Upstairs Gallery of Finale Art File located at Warehouse 17, La Fuerza Compound (Gate 1), 2241 Chino Roces Ave., Makati City. For information on schedules and other inquiries, contact +63(2) 813 2310 or +63(2) 812 5034.

Untitled I (2016), acid on canvas with metal-infused paint

Untitled IV (2016), acid on canvas with metal-infused paint

Untitled V (2016), acid on canvas with metal-infused paint

Untitled VIII (2016), acid on canvas with metal-infused paint

t uES DAy : A pRIl 1 2, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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LEvI’s gIvEs TIckETs TO kanyE WEsT-LED musIc fEsT

ip hop royalty Kanye West is headlining this year’s International Music Festival and Levi’s Philippines is giving you a chance to watch him.

Levi’s Philippines is celebrating the birthday of the iconic Levi’s 501 and it has gifts to its loyal fans for making the jeans well loved through the years.

The biggest treat will be free tickets to the music fest that features the Award-winning hip hop artist on April 9 at the Paradise Grounds in Aseana City, Paranaque.

The in-store promo allowed shoppers to win exciting instant prizes that include concert tickets and Levi’s merchandise. For every minimum single purchase worth P3,500 of any Icons and Essentials item (501, 511, CT, Trucker and core tops), you get to pick a stub from a box to determine your prize.

In Greater Manila Area and North Luzon outlets, Levi’s lovers have the chance to win flash drives (USB), Levi’s e-plus card (1 pass), tumblers, and tickets to Paradise International Music Festival.

Levi’s fans in Visayas and Mindanao get the chance to win flash drives (USB), tumblers, and tickets to Zouk Out for Laboracay.

The more purchases you make, the more chances you have of winning. The promo is ongoing until May 1.

This treat is part of the new global campaign dubbed as “We Are Original,” which is geared to connect with millions of Levi’s lovers on social media.

In recognition of the priceless heritage of the brand, Levi’s has tapped celebrities and global influencers who will inspire all Levi’s lovers out there to share their stories with the brand on social media.

French music producer, writer, and model Caroline de Maigret, American DJ duo Classixx, and Chinese multimedia artist Yi Zhou are sharing their experiences as Levi’s advocates on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

“We Are Original” is part of Levi’s multifaceted global brand campaign, Live in Levi’s—a digital platform that was launched in 2014 and which engages the global

Levi’s launches “We Are Original” campaign that aims to connect with millions of Levi’s lovers on social media

Full mechanics of Levi’s new promo.

community of Levi’s fans through their shared experiences.

To help celebrate how the world “Lives in Levi’s,” fans generate original content to tell their stories and share these through social media channels.

Whether you’re an influencer, rock star, student, artist, mother, brother, friend or neighbor, you can share your 501 story on social media using the hashtags #WeAreOriginal and #LiveInLevisPH. “We are proud to be part of this campaign that celebrates

the millions of people who wear Levi’s 501 Jeans,” Kaths Laudit, Levi’s Philippines marketing head, says.

This is affirmed by Jennifer Sey, chief marketing officer at Levi’s. “The people who wear Levi’s have always been the inspiration for our brand. This innovation is a way for us to invite participation from all over the world by allowing users to shop for iconic Levi’s products.”

For more details, follow Levi’s Philippines on Instagram at @levis_ph or on Facebook at Levi’s PH.

Kapuso stars stay true to value of giving GMA Artist Center always extends their support to its talents’ personal advocacies, and the Kapuso March birthday celebrants made sure of a fruitful celebration by filling their hearts with gratitude and sharing it with the people who matter.

Wish I May lead actress Bianca Umali opted to celebrate her 16th year with a cause, together with some of her fans on March 2 at One Events Place in Ortigas.

She set up a humble get-together with the Payatas Choir Kids while her on-screen partner Miguel Tanfelix surprised her

with a bouquet of flowers—a little gesture that was big enough for BiGuel fans to swoon over.

For GMA Network Excellence Award lead advocate Benjamin Alves, there is no better way to celebrate his birthday than to share his passion for the literature and arts. The Kapuso actor encouraged the students of Asia Pacific College on March 18 to share their written thoughts. They eventually took turns in overwhelming the room with their gripping slam poetry performance.

Dion Ignacio wit the residents of Camillus Medhaven in Marikina City

Benjamin Alves shares his passion for literature on his birthday

Starstruck titleholders Klea Pineda and Aljur Abrenica have another thing in common: a big heart for kids. Klea spent her birthday with the beneficiaries of Meritxell Foundation in Marikina and gave them an inspiring message of hope. Aljur, on the other hand, tied up with World Vision Foundation to celebrate with the children of Baseco Compound in Manila to share a meal with them and read stories together.

Meanwhile, Dion Ignacio took over Camillus Medhaven on March 28 to put a smile on all the community members’ faces.

Bianca umali celebrates her birthday at One Events place

Miguel tanfelix and Bianca umali

After being warmly welcomed, he returned the favor by taking his time in talking to the elderly and listening to their stories.

The DSWD Sanctuary Center for Women took in Rocco Nacino on March 31 and shared a very precious moment together.

The event was not only to celebrate Rocco’s birthday, but also to cherish the significant improvement in the cases of the mentally challenged women in the facility. They all sang together, shared a meal with one another, and expressed their gratitude for another chance in life.

Rocco Nacino at the DSWD Sanctuary Center for Women

Aljur Abrenica has a big heart for kids

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

MR. CHow IS now DR. KEn q&a

JaO GavInO

W

e all know Ken Jeong for the almost scenestealing, comedic supporting roles he played in The Hangover trilogy as the loud, flamboyant kind-ofprotagonist mobster Mr. Chow, and, in Community, as the erratic, almost-insane Señor Ben Chang.

While he is well-known for his great talent in portraying ridiculously funny, mentally-unhinged Chinese characters, what is less known is the actor himself – Jeong is often overshadowed by the larger-than-life personalities of Mr. Chow and Señor Chang.

In a bizarre twist of fate, however, Jeong, who is actually a licensed physician (in addition to his comedic acting career) now finds himself playing a role in a sitcom that hits notes a lot closer to home – that of Dr. Ken Park, in the upcoming sitcom, Dr. Ken. We sat down for a brief interview with Ken Jeong, and found out that truly, nothing is stranger (or funnier) than real life.

The Standard (TS): Hi, Ken! First and foremost, we’d like to ask you how the show was conceived.

We’ve heard that you’re one of the show’s lead writers and the show’s creator. So how exactly did you come up with the show’s concept?

Ken Jeong (KJ): Well, I wanted to do a show based loosely on my life as a doctor in California, and also, as a married father of two.

And that’s kind of where the similarities end. I wanted to have the characters a little bit different from reality, … I wanted to have that artistic freedom to go different places comedically, but I also wanted it [to be] inspired by reality, … to go places where didn’t go, in terms of emotional or life decisions.

TS: Well, you mentioned that the character you played is a little

Chinese comedian Ken Jeong stars in a comedy show “Dr. Ken”

bit different from reality, and, that goes for your previous supporting roles, like The Hangover’s Mr. Chow and Ben Chang in Community. In Dr. Ken, however, you are the lead character, not the supporting character. How is the additional responsibility for you?

How is it different from just playing a supporting role?

KJ: It’s definitely more responsibility in terms of the creative aspects of the show, not only as an actor, but also as a writer and executive producer. I wear many more hats on this show than I have on, not only Community, but any other project I’ve been on. I have so much responsibility … it’s really the most creatively gratifying

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Star followers 5 Illustrious 10 Fall softly 14 The “G” in GTO 15 PABA part 16 Hindu royalty 17 Unloads 18 Sympathy 20 Sean Penn, Nick Nolte movie (2

wds.)

22 Managed to avoid 23 Encompass 25 Desdemona’s enemy 26 Emptiest 27 Explain further 28 Foretelling 32 Anagram of mire 33 Raises one’s voice 35 Two pounds, plus

36 Air rifle ammo 37 Spike or Ang 38 — Palmas 39 Toast topper 41 Robins and wrens 43 Box office 44 Genuine nuisance 45 House site 46 Stayed up in the air 48 Publicize loudly 50 Quick raids 51 Takes time to enjoy 54 Gumshoe’s finds 55 Fire-stealing Titan 57 Think positive 61 Quechua speaker 62 Ham it up 63 Dueler’s sword 64 Archie or Jughead 65 Pinkish wines 66 Good buy DOWN 1 Ball club VIP 2 Jackie’s second 3 Flit 4 Policy seller 5 Knack 6 Dean Martin’s “That’s —” 7 Wisc. neighbor 8 Draw to a close 9 Baubles 10 Make beforehand

year of my career, because of the opportunity that I’ve been given … I normally don’t get that opportunity. It’s been amazing. I think because of what you talked about, what you’re pointing on, Hangover and Community, I’ve been able to apply what I’ve learned from those projects, onto my own show. The Hangover, it changed my career overnight. It changed my life from black and white to Technicolor.

TS: So we’ve read that you are a licensed physician. How does the experience of being a doctor in real life translate into your role as Dr. Ken? Any similarities or differences?

KJ: It’s different in the fact that in real life, I’m way more serious

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2016

11 12 13 19 21 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 31 34 40 41 42 43 47 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 58 59 60

Rangy Almost never Dappled Pull laboriously QB objectives Take a chance Van Gogh painting Loafed around Jazz genre Watchful Aristocratic address Buoys up Snooped around Crime fighter — Ness Hassock Blow hard Married people Ground, as teeth Sooner than anon Natural resource Champagne glass Barbecue need Handel contemporary Sotto — Execs Med. plan Unseal, to Blake “In a beautiful — -green boat” Sushi morsel

and respectful to my patients. I was very serious as a doctor, and a lot of people were surprised when they found out I did stand-up comedy as a hobby at that time.

TS: Drawing on that real-life inspiration, what makes Dr. Ken stand out from your average TV sitcom?

KJ: One thing that makes us stand out is that, because I was a real physician, I’m able to apply real-life experiences into the show that other writers could not do, unless they have that kind of background. It’s really rare that a performer actually has that background is able to apply that in, not only in writing, but in his own performance.

TS: Finally, do you have a favorite episode from the show’s production?

KJ: Absolutely. We did one episode dealing with Ken’s favorite patient, a comedian. His cancer has returned, and he’s dying. It’s a very delicate, and moving episode of how a physician addresses the terminal, basically how to help a dying patient. It was so emotionally moving – every day we performed it or rehearsed it, I was crying every day – it was a very emotional episode.

Dr. Ken premieres April 17, Sundays 7:30 p.m. on Sony Channel seen on SKYCable Channel 35, Cignal Digital TV Channel 60, Destiny Cable Channel 62, and Cable Link Channel 39.

t uES DAy : A pRIl 1 2, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C7

JAmES, NADINE bRINg ‘kIlIg’ tHIS SummER

D

on’t miss the adventures of real-life couple James Reid and Nadine Lustre as they bring extreme kilig this summer season in the fourpart special JaDine Flying High on Love Special,” that started airing 10:30 a.m. last Sunday.

Relive the magic and join the On the Wings of Love stars as they discover the wonders of Middle East and Europe.

Watch JaDine’s kilig moments on the streets of Paris, France in Love is Romance on April 17.

Catch more of their sweet moments in London, England in Love is Precious on April 24. And on May 1, James and Nadine will heat up the summer even more in

James Reid and Nadine lustre

Love is Forever with their visit to Milan, Verona and Rome in Italy.

JaDine Flying High on Love Special on ABS-CBN or on ABSCBN HD (SkyCable ch 167).

Catch up via iWanTV.com or skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

power couple Nadine lustre and James Reid in london

Vic Sotto joins grace-Chiz campaign The crowd got rowdy during the fourth rally of Partido at Galing at Puso (PGP) in Cebu recently. Not only the presence of Senators Grace Poe and Francis “Chiz” Esudero excited the crowd but also Vic Sotto’s. The comedian surprised the Cebuanos with his presence Vic is the brother of Sen. Tito Sotto who is running as a re-electionist under the Chiz and Grance tandem.

Pauleen Luna who recently tied the knot with Vic was also there.

There had been some interesting remarks when Pauleen met her ex, Congressman Sherwin Gatchalian, who is running for senator under PGP as well.

This is the first time that the comedian openly admitted he is supporting the candidacy of Grace and Chiz.

Chiz promised the Cebuano electorate that his wife Heart Evangelista will join the campaign “one of these days.”

In the Cebu rally, Bela Padilla

Vic Sotto and wife pauleen luna

who is Susan Roces’ co-star in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano was also there, also Dabarkads Ruby Rodriguez and so was Grace’s only

son Brian Llamanzares.

Brian performed for the Cebuano crowd dancing to Dawin’s “Dessert” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.”

marian Rivera hosts gmA’s morning show Kapuso’s primetime queen is now conquering daytine TV, first with Sunday Pinasaya in which she co-stars with AiAi delas Alas and other talents from the network and ATP. Now, she will host a morning show in which she will share her experiences as a new mother and housewife. It will be called Yan Ang Morning!

“Yung talk show na ito hindi pilit. Base ito sa experiences ko, doon siya iikot. Syempre, gusto ko yung alam ko ang sinasabi ko kapag nag host ako at makaka relate ang bawat isa,” Mrs. Dantes said.

Last week, the emerging daytime TV queen posed for publicity shots for her upcoming show.

marian Rivera host gmA morning show, “yan Ang morning!”

Carmen dies in ‘FpJ’s Ang probinsyano’ Carmen’s (Bela Padilla) failed attempt to escape from the hands of syndicate leader and father of her husband Tomas (Albert Martinez) led to her unexpected death in the country’s number one teleserye FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.

After finding out about the illegal activities of Tomas’ family, Carmen tried to escape from being held captive to reveal all the information she learned. But unfortunately, Joaquin’s (Arjo Atayde)

father caught her and shot her, which led to her instant death.

“My character for Ang Probinsyano’was originally only for eight weeks. I’m so thankful that they extended my character and gave me a nice exit,” said Bela, who became emotional as she watched her character’s death in the series.

“I never had so much highlights in my previous projects. Thank you to everyone from Ang Probinsyano and Dreamscape,” she added.

And now that Carmen’s gone, how can Cardo (Coco Martin) give justice to her death? Will he find out that Tomas is the reason behind her death?

Don’t miss the action-packed scenes in the number one teleserye, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, weeknights on ABS-CBN or on ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable Ch 167). Viewers can also catch up on the program’s past episodes via iWanTV.com and skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

bela padilla as Carmen in the action series “FpJ’s Ang pronbinsyano”

iPHOTO

PAL, Habitat partner to show heart of filipino Flag carrier philippine Airlines and Habitat for Humanity philippines vowed to continue its strong partnership in addressing the needs of the underprivileged sectors of society.

Habitat for Humanity philippines’ #Webuild Vision 2020 through the pAl Foundation, its community relations arm, addresses the poorest members of society, the differently-abled and the elderly.

In a courtesy call held recently at the pAl Headquarters in pasay City, Habitat for Humanity philippines (HFHp) congratulated philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the philippines, now celebrating its 75th year of existence.

Shown in a #Webuild posterity shot are (5th and 6th from right) Jaime J. bautista, philippine Airlines president and COO and Charlie Ayco, HFHp CEO and managing Director, with from left, Allan Visitacion, HFHp’S pR and Special Events manager, pinky m. balagtas , pAl - Internal Communications manager, Shirley H. Vicario, pAl consultant to the Office of the president, Atty. Seigfred b. mison, senior vice president for legal and general counsel, gina Virtusio, HFHp communications director.

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t uES DAy : A pRIl 1 2, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ Dennis trillo and Heart Evangelista reunite in a new Kapuso prime series “Juan Happy love Story”

HEaRT anD DEnnIs LOOkIng FOR a Happy EnDIng

heart Heart Evangelista are back together again in the upcoming series Juan Happy Love Story.

This program is the perfect combination of sexy and naughty peppered with ISAH V. RED romance and comedy as the versatility of Dennis and Heart are showcased to delight wo of the country’s FITSPOs (fit in- their fans. spirations) because of their to-die-for Both Kapuso stars express their excitesexy physique come together to do an ment for their latest project on GMA as extremely hot and sometimes naughty this is the first time that they will be dabproject entitled Juan Happy Love Story! bling in a light-hearted, sexy and naughty Dennis Trillo is Juan, girls’ dreamboat. comedy series.

He is esponsible and go-getter. He has a way “I’m very excited but at the same time with girls, and is also clever in business who kinakabahan rin kasi naughty, sexy, love rose from just a car salesman to used car story ito. It’s very fresh so pampasaya siya shop owner. And his business is doing great. ng buhay. Never pa ako nakagawa ng ganito Nothing can go wrong at this point in his life. and this role is very challenging. So, thank Heart Evangelista is Happy, the dreamer you sa GMA for always giving me challengwho wishes to meet “the one”. She has had ing roles,” said Heart. boyfriends but no one fit of her ideal, “the Dennis, on the other hand, will certainly one.” She is feisty, loyal and family-orient- win the hearts of women because of his ed. Nothing is going right though at this character in the show and like Heart, he is point in her life. equally thrilled to offer something new to This May, Kapuso Network’s Drama King the viewers. “Iba ito sa mga ginawa namin Dennis Trillo and Philippine TV’s Sweet- dati, siguro mas medyo makulit yung char-

t

acter ko ngayon. Refreshing makagawa ng ganitong project, kaya salamat sa GMA dahil nabibigyan kami ng proyekto na hindi pa namin nagagawa before.”

Juan Happy Love Story, an original concept by GMA Entertainment TV Drama Department, is made more amusing with its unique “he said, she said” method of narrative presentation.

Viewers get to appreciate their own love stories as they share Juan and Happy’s journey, how a man and a woman who are worlds apart in their views about life and love find themselves in a whirlwind romance and end up getting married. When they experience difficulty having their own child, they will decide to adopt a little girl who helps them rekindle their love for each other and eventually save their marriage.

Juan is raised by her Mamu and Papi, Mameng and Caloy (Gloria Romero and Nick Lizaso).

Happy is the middle child of Boyong and Isay (Gardo Versoza and Lotlot De Leon). Her older sister is Joy (Ericka Padilla) and her youngest brother is Lucky

(Vincent Magbanua).

Dominic Roco will play Henry, Happy’s brother-in-law and Juan’s trusted mechanic who will be caught between the crossfire when Juan and Happy’s marriage starts failing.

Making Juan and Happy’s married life more colourful (and challenging) are Bob (Joross Gamboa) and Agatha (Kim Domingo).

Juan Happy Love Story unfolds this May on GMA Telebabad.

Final title of Louise and Juancho’s new show

Remember the item in my column last Sunday about the Kapuso network developing another fantaserye with Juancho Triviño and Louise delos Reyes. I said it would be called Ang Dwende at ang Herederang Gusgusin.

We just go word tha the show will now be known as Magkaibang Mundo.

Aside from Louise and Juancho, the series also stars Gina Alajar, Rez Cortez, Assunta de Rossi, Maricar de Mesa, James Teng, Liezel Lopez, Marika Sasaki, Balang, under the direction of Mark Sicat dela Cruz.