The Standard - 2016 April 18- Monday by Manila Standard

VOL. XXX NO. 65 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONDAY : APRIL 18, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Bongbong absent at debate, is hit anyway

DUTERTE’S RAPE JOKE GOES VIRAL By Christine F. Herrera, Sandy Araneta and John Paolo Bencito

LEADING presidential candidate Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who runs on a hardline anti-crime platform, was condemned Sunday after a video surfaced of him joking about an Australian missionary who was raped and murdered by rioting inmates in his city in 1989.

In the video of speech delivered April 12, Duterte told supporters he got angry at a group of rapists not just because they committed the crime, but because the victim was so beautiful, “the mayor should have been first.” “When the bodies were brought out, they were wrapped. I looked at her face, son of a bitch, she looked like a beautiful American actress. Son of a bitch, what a

waste… What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up. I was angry because she was raped, that’s one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste,” the mayor added to laughter from the crowd. Duterte, who boasts of the extra-judicial killings of suspects by vigilantes during his time in Davao, was the preferred candi-

date in the run-up to the May 9 election, according to the latest opinion survey on April 3. His rivals, women’s groups and commentators on social media quickly denounced his remarks. President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesman Herminio Coloma Jr. said the comments show “his lack of fitness for the presidency” and his “utter lack of respect for women.” Next page

Women’s rights. Vice President Jejomar Binay, wearing traditional indigenous people’s attire, signs a covenant calling for equal rights and respect for women during a campaign sortie in Zamboanga City on Sunday.

Palace: No scheme to cut off electricity

LP leaders’ new tack: Envelopes for cheers By John Paolo Bencito TO GET an unenthusiastic crowd to roar, Liberal Party officials in North Cotabato were seen bribing audiences with envelopes—presumably filled with cash—just to cheer for administration candidate for president Manuel Roxas II, who made the rounds in the province on March 30.

A two-minute video, uploaded by Kutangbato Vlogger through Facebook, showed an unenthusiastic crowd in Pikit, North Cotabato, practicing the chants “Roxas na, Oras na!” to prepare for his visit. Roxas earlier in the day met with the central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, where he signed a

peace covenant. An emcee, who was not satisfied with the performance of the crowd, warned the crowd consisting of local officials and beneficiaries of the 4Ps government dole program who gathered at the Pikit Municipal Gymnasium that they would not be given their envelopes if they did not cheer well for Next page Roxas.

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A2 LP...

From A1

“The chant is weak here, you won’t get your envelope,” the emcee said in Filipino as he coached the crowd. “It’s also weak in the back—you won’t get your envelopes either.” “I want to hear it from here up to up there,” he added. “We all have to chant together.” The edited video also showed the crowd practicing the chant “Mabuhay ang Liberal Party!” In another part of the two-minute video, a woman who was asked who the administration candidate’s wife was responded “Ms. Korina Sanchez.” “The board of judges said that’s correct,” the emcee said, then gave an envelope to the woman wearing an abaya, a Muslim garment that covers the entire body. “Every correct answer gives you an envelope,” he added. Another woman who answered correctly was given another envelope. Roxas’ visit to Pikit town came days before the bloody dispersal of hungry farmers who were demanding government food aid amid a fivemonth drought brought about by the El Niño phenomenon in nearby Kidapawan City, North Cotabato on April 1. The Standard tried to reach the Roxas camp for comment. Also on Sunday, a fishermens group lambasted Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo, for using fishermen and farmers as political pawns for the coming elections. On April 15, the LP convened almost 5,000 farmers and fishermen in Pasay City to enlist their support for the administration candidates, saying the straight path was the way for genuine rural development. But Pamalakaya said they would not support the LP or Roxas, who had inflicted more hardships on the poor. “Mar Roxas is delusional... for thinking that he will get support from the sectors that suffered from the fantasies of Daang Matuwid,” Salvador France, Pamalakaya vice chairman, said in a statement. “Pamalakaya said that Roxas is acting like he has done anything to improve the agriculture and fisheries sector. The fact is he and his ilk are the number one implementers of policies and programs that are detrimental to the interests of farmers and fishers,” France said. With Sandy Araneta

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Bongbong skips unofficial debate, is skewered still

Marcos excused himself to celebrate his 23rd wedding anniversary with his wife after a campaign sortie in Batangas and several meetings. Another vice presidential candidate, Senator Gregorio Honasan, also failed to show up at the debate sponsored by ABSCBN due to prior commitments in Mindanao. Cayetano stepped up his attack and repeated the issues he raised against Marcos during the first and only Commission on

Elections-sponsored vice presidential debate at the University of Sto. Tomas on April 10. Cayetano and Trillanes taunted Marcos for “running away from the debate.” Two other candidates— Senator Francis Escudero of Partido Galing at Puso and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo of the ruling Liberal Party—repeatedly mentioned farmers in promoting their commitment to fight for the poorest of the poor.

Escudero said the violent Kidapawan dispersal—in which two farmers protesting for food aid were shot dead by police—would not happen under his and his running mate Senator Grace Poe’s leadership. “There will be no repeat of Kidapawan,” Escudero vowed in Filipino. “We will address the root of the problem, poverty. We will eradicate hunger, not the hungry.” Robredo said she was completely surprised that the Sumilao farmers would be marching from Bukidnon in Mindanao to Manila, which they did nine years ago when they demanded that lands be distributed to them. At the time, Robredo served as a lawyer for the Sumilao farmers pro bono. Trillanes, for his part, said he would push for the implementation of the national ID system to fight crime. He also vowed to

Duterte...

saying rape or any other form of sexual abuse was not a joke “nor something to be trivialized in a joke, especially by someone seeking the presidency.” In a statement, Duterte refused to apologize for his remarks and went into a lengthy narration of the two-day hostage taking in a Davao prison in 1989. He said at the time, those remarks were made not in jest, but in anger. “It was a bad remark. It wasn’t a bad joke. I was really angry so I said, ‘Son of a bitch, they even beat me to it...’ I had them all killed. I was the one who ordered them killed… and I was investigated by a congressional committee,” he said. In the April 12 speech, the mayor added, he was not joking but merely recounting the events of 1989. “Do not make me apologize for something which I did—which was called for at that moment,” Duterte said. “I can lose Gabriela and all…I don’t care. I’ve told you, I will not die if I will not become president. But certainly, as a matter of honor, I will stick to my guns. I said that in the heat of anger.” He added: “I am sorry in general.... It is my style. It is my mouth. I said that in the heat of anger but listen to the story behind it.” “If you don’t like the way I talk, you can go [for the candidates who speak good English]... You can vote for those who steal or those who do nothing,” Duterte said. He also asked Binay if he

had ever offered himself as a hostage as he had done. “All you do is steal. While I was risking my life and offering myself as a hostage, you were just stealing and stealing and doing nothing,” he said. Many Filipinos have embraced Duterte for his vulgarity-laced speeches, his boasts of sexual conquests and his promised war on crime. Even when he cursed Pope Francis in a speech last November, his followers in the devoutly Catholic nation quickly forgave him. Spokesmen for Duterte had no immediate comment and many of his followers brushed off the controversy. “We won’t apologize for he has done nothing wrong, it was a clear joke for God’s sake,” one Filipina supporter said on Twitter. In August 1989, Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill, 36, and four other hostages were among those killed during a two-day standoff that ended in a shootout between government troops and prison inmates. A gang of inmates raped Hamill and slashed her throat before troops stormed the prison in downtown Davao, killing all 15 hostage takers. Apart from Hamill, the hostages included a nineyear-old boy and nine women from the Joyful Assemblies of God, a Protestant group, who were holding a Bible service in the prison. Duterte’s spokesman Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexie Nograles tried to defend Duterte.

By Christine F. Herrera and Sandy Araneta

FRONTRUNNER vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. skipped the debate Sunday but his absence failed to deter his rivals Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV from attacking him on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of his family.

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Rival presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay called Duterte’s remarks “simply revolting.” “The rape and murder of a woman is not funny. Mister Duterte, do you not have a mother? Do you not have a daughter? Your statement is simply revolting. Nothing can justify such callous remarks,” Binay said in a statement. “You felt sorry because you were not able to rape the Australian minister? You are a crazy maniac who doesn’t respect women and doesn’t deserve to be president,” he added. Administration candidate Manuel Roxas II, who has trailed Duterte, Senator Grace Poe and Binay in most opinion surveys, also attacked Duterte. “Rape is a serious problem. Anyone who laughs at the ultimate assault on the dignity of women should not be allowed to wield power,” Roxas said. “A woman has rights and is not a plaything. This beastliness is not funny,” Roxas added. Poe, who is just behind Duterte in the latest surveys, called his comment “distasteful and unacceptable, and reflects his disrespect for women.” One Filipino remarked on Twitter: “I broke down after watching Duterte on Aussie rape. I can’t fathom how his followers can laugh at it.” Women’s group Gabriela attacked Duterte’s remarks,

stop K to 12 program. Cayetano promised a “leadership with political will” that could wipe out criminality in three to six months. During the debate, Robredo said she would recommend that the next president change all the Cabinet secretaries under President Benigno Aquino III. “This is because they could look into a different perspective. If a Cabinet secretary has been in a position for so long, he or she sees [the same work] differently already. I would advise the President not to choose people lightly,” Robredo said. Robredo also said it would be her mandate as vice president to support the president, whoever that was, but said her capabilities would be maximized if her running mate, Manuel Roxas II were elected president. Cayetano, on the other

hand, said he would get things done. “Let others present their plans. We will just do it,” he said. He reiterated his and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s platform: federalism, anti-crime, and anticorruption. If both elected, Cayetano said he and Duterte would implement bold solutions to suppress crime and corruption within six months of their term. He said only a federal form of government could create inclusive growth. Cayetano was at a loss, however, when asked to defend Duterte for his remarks about the rape of an Australian missionary by rioting inmates in 1989. A recording of that message posted on Facebook showed the mayor saying that the victim was beautiful and that it was such a waste—and that the mayor should have been first. With Rio N. Araja

“Mayor Duterte takes crime very seriously. Whatever the crime—rape, drugs, corruption, incompetence or disloyalty to country. To Duterte, this is no laughing matter. His only regret was not being able to save that woman,” Nograles said. Roxas’ spokesman and Liberal Party stalwart Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas said joking about the rape and death of a person was a reflection of the person’s true character. “Rape is no laughing matter. When it comes from the mouth of men who are supposed to be revered and followed by our people, joking about the rape and death of person is a reflection of their true character,” Treñas said. “We can see in his own words how small and irrelevant he thinks...women [are]. I just hope that this is an eye-opener for all the people who still think he is the person who can bring peace and progress to our nation,” Treñas said. A colleague of Hamill denounced Duterte’s candidacy in light of his statement. “On behalf of my sister in Christ, missionary Jacqueline Hamill, I publicly denounce the presidential candidacy of Duterte, in the Philippines. Jacqueline was raped and had her throat slit while ministering in the jails in southern Philippines in a 1989 hostage taking. Duterte was recorded this week saying in his political rally that while he ordered the killing of the hostage takers while he was mayor, he wished he could have raped her first, since she was

so beautiful,” wrote missionary Robin Haines Merrill on Facebook. Vice presidential candidate Francis Escudero said Duterte’s comment about the rape victim should be denounced. He noted that Duterte’s frequent use of women, regardless of their circumstance, as subject or object of his jokes during his presidential sorties is foul and offensive. “It is a distasteful attempt to woo voters at the expense of women and by demeaning the dignity of women,” Escudero said. Former Justice secretary and senatorial candidate Leila de Lima urged the public to take action against “Duterte’s malignancy.” “It is never a joke. If there is still some reason left in him, Duterte should apologize to women and all rape victims for his exceptionally abhorrent statement,” De Lima said. “This display of impunity simply cannot go on.” It was not the first time Duterte was accused of disrespecting women. The tough-talking mayor who admitted that he’s fond of women is seen kissing his female supporters. “I was also charged with acts of lasciviousness. But you know, the woman was really very, very beautiful that if I did not touch her, I will die. I was just saving my life,” Duterte said before members of the Rotary Club in January. The mayor eventually apologized for his acts. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, AFP

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NP’s local leaders backing Poe’s bid CAMARINES SUR—The Nacionalista Party led by its founding president, former Senate President Manny Villar, is yet to choose its presidential bet in the May elections, but its local party leaders have been declaring their support to the presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe. The latest to throw their support behind Poe’s candidacy were former Camarines Sur Gov. Luis VIllafuerte and his son, Camarines Sur Gov. Miguel Villafuerte. In an interview at the sidelines of Poe’s meeting with Camarines Sur’s leaders at the Oili Convention Center in Pili, the elder Villafuerte estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the NP members would be supporting Poe. He said it was only a matter of time before they came out to voice their support for the independent presidential candidate. However, the former governor said they were supporting their own congresswoman Leni Robredo, who is running against Poe’s vice presidential can-

didate Francis Escudero who hails from Sorsogon. Camarines Sur had about one million voters in the 2013 elections. Senator Cynthia Villar, wife of the NP’s founding president, has repeatedly told reporters their party will not support a particular candidate for president or vice president in the coming elections since three of their members are candidates. The three NP members running for vice president are Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV. Marcos is running along with Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago while Cayetano’s presidential candidate is Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Trillanes, an independent candidate, has no presidential candidate. Poe, who was overtaken by Duterte in the last few surveys, expressed hope for better numbers in the coming surveys. She also said her recent ratings showed her who her true believers were. Macon Ramos-Araneta

UNA criticizes SWS’ statistical methods THE United Nationalist Alliance on Sunday expressed displeasure with how the polling firm Social Weather Stations continued to lend credence to what it said was a technically flawed methodology via its mobile survey system. UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said that, by insisting on using a questionable statistical methodology, SWS had become a conscious instrument of political propaganda that had already fueled animosity, hatred and prejudice

among Filipino voters. “Apart from the convoluted surveys that are released weekly, the mobile survey is an extension of abuse and misuse of statistics,” Ilagan said. The results are never validated and are obviously designed to condition

the mind of the voters. The fact that SWS has embraced an experimental method already says a lot about the intent to mislead and obscure the realities on the ground. Ilagan said the “mobile survey” conducted by SWS was using a flawed methodology and a biased sample size of 1,200 respondents who were given smartphones to respond to text prompts. “Mag-ingat po tayo sa mga lima-singkong naglalabasang mga survey tulad nitong mobile survey ng SWS,” Ilagan said.

“Ang nakakabahala po eh pati po yung mga kilalang survey firms ay nagpapagamit sa propaganda ng ilang politiko para ilihis ang katotohanan sa tunay na pulso ng taumbayan.” According to Ilagan, the survey results being released on a weekly basis has already affected the conduct of the 2016 national campaign. “It is quite saddening that social media, as well as the mainstream media, have taken the results of these flawed surveys as irrefutable truths,” he said.

Cagayan lawmaker supporting Duterte A LAWMAKER from Cagayan, a stronghold of Vice President Jejomar Binay, on Sunday came out in the open to back presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte. Agbiag party-list Rep. Patrick Antonio, brother of Cagayan Gov. Alvaro Antonio, said he was impressed by what Duterte had done in Davao City. “I have been in Davao a

hundred times over the last two decades and I like what I have seen and experienced,” Antonio said. “The people are disciplined and they appreciate what Duterte has done for them and continues to do. All the others are trying to fool us, they are all traditional politicians.” On Friday, Duterte said there will be no discrimina-

tion under his presidency and that Christians Muslims and lumads are all equal under one flag. “We are one nation. There will always be one nation for us,” Duterte told the crowd during a sortie in San Pedro Friday night. Raising his right hand, Duterte reiterated his pledge to the Filipino people, something he has been doing since

hitting the campaign trail last February. “I am Rodrigo Duterte. I am a Filipino and I love my country, the Philippines. It is the land of my birth, it is the home of my people,” he said. Antonio said he had seen with his own eyes how Davao had grown into the safest and one of the most prosperous cities in the country. Rio N. Araja

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Palace: No plot to cut power By Sandy Araneta and Macon Ramos-Araneta MALACAÑANG on Sunday denied allegations that the government will stage power outages during the May 9 elections in order to cheat. “That is unfounded, illogical. The government is preparing and intensively engaged with the Department of Energy on the situation, and this is showed by the good cooperation between government and the private sector to ensure adequacy of electricity supply,” said Communications Secretary Her-

minio Coloma Jr. in an interview over state-run dzRB. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines earlier said longer power interruptions are expected in Mindanao due to the delayed repairs of electric towers bombed earlier in North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur. Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada also said an energy task force created specifically for the elections has started their work and is monitoring the situation to ensure sufficient power during the election period. House leaders earlier called on the Commission on Elections to set up a task force that would ensure enough

power on Election Day. Coloma said consultations and inspections of all power installations are being conducted by the DoE in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao due to the tight supply situation. Due to the unsueasonal heat, Coloma said more electricity is being consumed nationwide. “The Department of Energy is monitoring all of these. Their goal is to ensure reliability of the supply of electricity,” said Coloma. Meanwhile, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. yesterday called on energy officials to ensure there will be no power outages on

election day. Marcos aired the call after the Luzon grid was put on red alert for around three hours Friday afternoon due to a power supply deficiency. “The power supply situation is alarming and the government must do everything to ensure there will be no brownouts during the elections because it could put into question the results,” said Marcos. Power officials attributed the red alert to higher demand as well as the scheduled maintenance shutdown of several power plants, reduced capacity of some plants and unexpected breakdowns in several others.

Getting ready. Workers at the National Printing Office in Quezon City check printed ballots to be used in the coming May 9 elections for errors on Sunday. MANNY PALMERO

Methodists ask PNoy to follow ‘Jesuit way’ By Christine F. Herrera FULLY 240 United Methodists from five countries urged President Benigno Aquino III to uphold his “Jesuit principles” and see to it that the farmers involved in the violent April 1 dispersal of a rally in Kidapawan City are given food and allowed to exercise their rights without fear of punishment. A delegation of eight Methodist pastors went to the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles on April 14 to present a letter to President Aquino calling on him to stop treating desperately hungry people like criminals and to allow the Methodist Church in Kidapawan to function as their refuge. They expressed deep concern about the killing of two farmers who joined the protest and the harassment suffered of protesters who sought refuge at the Spottswood Methodist Mission Center by the police. The delegation met with Consul Rea Oreta in Los Angeles. “For the past 90 days, [the farmers] have been without food. They are hungry and without the means to sustain themselves. The blockade they set up on the highway was their urgent appeal to the government to address their needs, which was met not with food, but instead with bullets and bloodshed,” the letter said. “Jesuits believe that Christian faith demands a commitment to justice. This is a passion that is shared by us, and we again call on you to uphold your Jesuit principles,” the pastors told the President, a graduate of Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University.

CAAP to put up K-9 division to safeguard all 44 airports By Eric B. Apolonio BUTUAN CITY—The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will soon have its own K-9 division to secure all its 44 commercial airports nationwide. During a meeting held last April 11 at the Almont Inland Resort in Butuan City, director-general William K. Hotchkiss III ordered the creation of the unit as well as the construction of a K-9 division academy at the Butuan-Bancasi Airport in Agusan del Norte. Hotchkiss cited the initiative of CAAP area 12 manager Evangeline Daba in creating the agency’s first team of bomb-sniffing and narcotics-detecting dogs.

The K-9 unit now has 10 active dogs which are assigned to the five airports in CAAP’s Central Mindanao areas. “Her development of a K-9 unit is so effective that her effort has been widely acknowledged by local governments in her jurisdiction,” Hotchkiss said. According to Hotchkiss, Daba’s initiative has caught the interest of the community, which has responded positively and helped out by donating more dogs to expand the K-9 unit pool. “They know it is for the good of the community so they are pitching in. The K-9 unit is ultimately for their own welfare, because having safe and secure airports in the region would usher economic growth,” he said.

Pre-flight talk. Senator Grace Poe tells her youngest daughter Nica to relax as they prepare to fly. The presidential candidate and her daughter were guests at the International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Lubao, Pampanga on Sunday.

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More HS dropouts likely amid K 12 chaos—students By Sandy Araneta

The Department of education has been forced to reopen the application for Senior high School Voucher Program as a result of the chaotic condition over ShS enrollment, the League of Filipino Students said on Sunday. “The K to 12 chaos has started. Parents and students are in panic on how to go about the additional two years in high school. Thousands upon thousands are unsure where to go,” said LFS national chairperson Charisse Bañez, following DepEd’s decision to reopen the application for SHS Voucher Program. “There are several thousands of students who do not have any slots in any public DepEd SHS. These students are considering to apply in either a public

university or private school but unable to do so because of high matriculation costs,” Bañez said. “Students and parents are now frustrated that they are not getting any support from the government for them to finish senior high education,” said Bañez. The youth leader said the reopening of the voucher program is only a band-aid solution, taking note that up to a million students will drop out of high school education because of K to 12.

Oil price hike looms By Alena Mae S. Flores PumP prices of diesel, gasoline and kerosene will likely go up by as much as P1.50 per liter this week to ref lect the movement of world oil prices. Traders have been expecting a possible cut in production ahead of the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other fuel - producing countries over the weekend. “Based on our monitoring of international prices, gasoline, diesel and kerosene prices are estimated to increase between P1 and P1.50 per liter,” a source said. World oil prices have significantly gone down since late 2014 due to oversupply of oil from the uS, which has been compounded by the decision of Opec not to cut production. Last April 12, the oil companies implemented a rollback by P0.70 per liter for gasoline, P0.50 per liter for diesel and P0.55 per liter for kerosene. Oil prices initially declined early last week on renewed concerns over continuing supply, but the Energy department said mixed reports of renewed demand behind indications of moderate economic grow th in China and reassurance to hold Opec and non-Opec production levels at January 2016 levels sent prices back higher starting midweek. The statement of Saudi Deputy Crown Prince mohammed bin Salman that the country will not freeze oil output unless other major producers join the agreement initially set prices lower by more than $1. Oil prices rose anew in succeeding trading days behind reports of a big decline in uS crude stockpiles, moderate economic growth in China and reassurance by Kuwaiti Opec governor Nawal al-Fezaia that the upcoming April 17 meeting among Opec and non-Opec producers will deliver an agreement to hold output at January levels. The department, however, said analysts of Goldman Sachs noted that a freeze “at recent production levels would not accelerate the rebalancing of the oil market.”

While the government has billions of fund for the voucher program, it only guarantees the profit of private schools and capitalist-educators, Bañez said. The government should have allocated these funds to press for a free public education. “This chaos is just starting,” the youth leader said, and called for a stop to the K to 12 program as it will produce more outof-school youths in the country. The program will also pull down the workers’ wage through the surge of unemployed youth that it will create, Banez said. Bañez also noted that ultimately, the K to 12 program will worsen the crisis of our education system and the whole society. “We maintain that K to 12 must be stopped and junked. But enrollment in SHS has started and right now, there are hundreds of thousands up to a million

students who will not be able to continue high school education. We ask the government, what are the concrete steps that they are taking in order to prevent these students from dropping out of school,” said Bañez. Bañez cited the case of Polytechnic university of the Philippines SHS applicants who were prevented from enrolling due to lack of voucher. The youth leader said that thousands were affected and some were forced to look for another school. “We should not allow these students to drop out of high school education. This is a mess created by the K to 12 program. This is the chaos that the government has started. They should immediately address these concerns and resolve the matter without delay,” Bañez said.

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Malasakit in Manila. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (right) delivers his ‘malasakit’ message to at least 3,000 barangay officials and leaders of multisectoral groups at the Lyceum of the Philippines auditorium in Manila. VER NOVENO

Chiz vows tax cuts for workers By Macon Ramos-Araneta INDEPENDENT vice presidential contender Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Sunday vowed to bring about a reduction in income tax rates to increase the takehome pay of millions of Filipino salaried workers, who are among the most heavily taxed people in Asia. Escudero said that lowering the personal income tax rate, which at 32 percent is one of the highest in the continent, will be on top of the legislative agenda of her running mate, Senator Grace Poe, if she becomes president. In the House of Representatives, a similar advocacy was being espoused by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez as part of his “malasakit” to the working class. Romualdez, a senatorial candidate, is opposed to any new tax measures. Escudero said that if the government cannot raise the salaries of private sector employees, it might as well ease their tax burden to boost their take-home pay and help them keep up with the rising cost of living. There are around 39 million people comprising the nation’s labor force and about 36 million of them are in the private sector. While the country’s estimated 1.53 million state workers have been recently granted an increase in pay and benefits, private sector employees only received minimal pay increases in the last five years, the latest of which was in April 2015 when P15 was added to the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila.

Dam drying up, water conservation pressed By Sandy Araneta Malacañang on Sunday urged Metro Manila residents to conserve water and observe the proper way of collecting it. The Palace also assured the Metro Manila residents that there is still enough water supply. Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. cited the National Water Resources Board headed by Secretary Rogelio Singson as saying that “we have enough water supply for Metro Manila.” Coloma was quick to add, however, that it is still important to save water and observe the steps in collecting water, so as not to waste it. The NWRB warned that Angat Dam, Metro Manila’s main water source, suffers from speedy evaporation due to extreme heat brought about by the El Niño phenomenon. According to Secretary Singson, they have prepared for the actual usage (of water) with the evaporation. They have prepared for the hot environment and they have estimated how much water supply will be used considering these conditions such as the increased evaporation,

Coloma said. The NWRB has drafted an El Niño preparedness plan which includes measures given the Angat Dam condition. This is being implemented by the El Niño Domestic Supply Management Task Force composed of the National Water Resources Board, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, National Irrigation Administration, Maynilad and Manila Water, Coloma said. Coloma said they have already prepared guidelines for the allocation of water since last year in order to ensure proper allocation and supply. He said the campaign for the conservation of water has also started since last year so that the residents would know the importance of water conservation. On irrigation, he said, the government has given temporary permits for “shallow tube well” and “small water impounding facilities.” “The campaign has been continuing to inform the people to conserve and not waste water. We are also continuing to coordinate with local governments and various agencies to ensure that we have sufficient supply of water, especially for drinking water,” Coloma said. “There’s increased evaporation so we’re advocating wise use of Angat water to

help prevent shortage of this liquid,” said executive director Dr. Sevillo David Jr. of the NWRB. He noted conservation measures will help extend availability of Angat water. “We must guard against significant water loss in Angat,” he said. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that Angat Dam’s water elevation as of 6 a.m. Saturday reached 195.30 meters or 7.03 meters above the rule curve for the day. Rule curve is the desired water level for meeting a dam’s purposes. Angat Dam supplies water for power generation, irrigation and Metro Manila’s needs. “Even with El Niño, we think Angat’s reserve is still sufficient to meet such purposes,” said David. The government would prioritize supplying Angat’s irrigation water to agricultural fields needing this the most. The dam irrigates some 20,000 hectares of land in Bulacan and Pampanga. Pagasa said that El Niño is already weakening. Some models indicate El Niño will transition to neutral by mid2016. Pagasa expects seeing an active southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’ during 2016’s third quarter.

Ex-activists back Marcos Jr. By Christine F. Herrera

Sprucing up. Soldiers and students render their services to repaint the concrete wall surrounding the AFP Medical Center along V. Luna St. in Quezon City as part of a beautification campaign. MANNY PALMERO

FORMER anti-Marcos activists claimed over the weekend that the country is worse now than 30 years after the Marcos administration was ousted. For this reason, they have chosen to support the vice presidential bid of Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to arrest the problem. In a forum entitled “30 years after Edsa, Veterans unite for a better Philippines,” Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos, Pastor Grepor “Butch” Belgica, labor leader Terry Tuazon and coconut farmers’ group representative Ka Efren Villaseñor appealed for objectivity on the part of the public in viewing the events of the Marcos regime. They vowed to campaign for Marcos.

They addressed pressing issues that the country is facing three decades after Martial Law. During the forum, Abalos, who joined the People Power Revolt in 1986 and whose family has always been identified with the Aquinos because his father was made officer-in-charge or OIC of Mandaluyong after Edsa, urged the public to be fair and objective when it comes to the Marcoses. According to Abalos, he is pitching his support for Marcos because he believes that the senator is the most capable of the candidates running for the vice presidency. He said that while he and the others who attended the forum expect a public backlash for their support, he will still stand firm in his endorsement because this is what he believes is right.

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NEWS

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Lawmaker to oppose Heart Center, power plant privatization DIPOLOG CITY—If elected to the Senate, Rep. Martin G. Romualdez (1st District, Leyte) said that he will block any move to privatize government installations and institutions that are serving the poor, like the two hydroelectric power plant complexes in Mindanao and the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. “Those are really helping the poor. It will be contrary to our advocacy of a compassionate government if we will privatize those installations and institutions,” Romualdez told media during a visit here April 17. Romualdez added he would also block moves to privatize the Philippine General Hospital, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, the local hospitals and the electric cooperatives. “These...can serve the people better,” he stressed. The lawmaker said the PHC, built during the Marcos administration, has the most experienced and highly trained doctors. It is equipped with modern diagnostic and operating room equipment, and has 15 various cardiovascular surgeries a day with only 2.7 percent mortality rate. The cost of its services is also relatively low. Coronary artery bypass graft procedure at PHC costs half less than what patients usually spend in other private hospitals. “It’s just a pity that there are people who want to privatize it because it is lucrative, but it would jack up the cost on the part of the patients, and it would no longer be compassionate to the poor as what it is intended to be in the first place,” Romualdez stressed. Aside from the existing government medical institutions, Romualdez has also filed a bill that would create the National Cancer Institute.

Hot air. Forty-one hot air balloons from 20 countries join the third Lubao International Balloon Festival on April 14 to 17 at the Prado Siongco in Lubao, Pampanga. STAR SABROSO

Divers search for missing soldier on Samal Island By Florante S. Solmerin

Deep-sea divers continue to search for an army officer, reportedly a member of the philippine Military Class of 1999 who was declared missing after he failed to surface during a “proficiency diving exercise” saturday at a diving site in Island Garden City of samal. The Philippine Coast Guard has joined in the search together with the Naval Special Operations Unit. In a report, Captain Roda Leoncito, public affairs officer of the Eastern Mindanao Com-

mand, confirmed the incident but did not identify the officer pending the search and information to his immediate family. “At 8:30 a.m., we received report that one of the soldiers went missing during the con-

duct of the training. At the time being, we decided to not divulge yet the identity of the soldier to protect his family,” Leoncito was quoted as saying in said report. But a source from the Philippine Army told The Standard that the officer was Lieutenant Colonel Hector Bongcawil, a member of the PMA “Masikhay” Class ’99. Leoncito said a group of officers went diving with their commanding general, Eastmincom chief Lieutenant General Rey Guerrero, and arrived at the Angel’s Cove on Talikud Island, part

of IGACOS, at around 7 a.m. The divers were from Eastmincom and Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao, and NAVSOU. Leoncito said Guerrero regularly brought divers to the place to train. The Eastmincom is still investigating the cause of the soldier’s failure to surface. In June 2013, the late Brigadier General Daniel Lucero, then commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, drowned in a diving activity at Tabak beach in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur. He was a member of PMA “Matikas” Class ‘83.

NPA overruns Army detachment in Davao

Respite. Afternoon rain showers bring relief to La Trinidad, Benguet farmers given the record-high temperatures experienced in the past weeks. DAVID CHAN

MORE than 60 fighters of the New People’s Army overran an Army detachment Saturday and carted away 19 high-powered firearms, thousands of ammunitions and four hand grenades in Paguibato district, Davao City, a report from the Eastern Mindanao Command said Sunday. The rebels who belonged to the Pulang Bagani Command 1 of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee led by a certain alias Jinggoy staged the lighting attack against the detachment of the 72nd Infantry Battalion. The outnumbered soldiers and militiamen had to f lee for their lives. The rebels carted away 1 M-16 rif le with 13 magazines and 375 ammos, 9 M-14 rif les with 45 magazines and 1,000 ammos, 9 Garand rif les with 100 clips and 715 ammos, and 4 hand grenades. The Tactical Operations Group of the Philippine Air Force sent 2 Hueys to provide close air support to the pursuing ground troops. Florante S. Solmerin

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

FUNNY NUMBERS SHOW MONEY LEAVING CHINA

[ EDI TORI A L ]

THE BAD NEIGHBOR CAMPAIGNING in Puerto Princesa City over the weekend, the administration’s candidate for president Manuel Roxas II compared himself to “the long-time neighbor” that people already know, and said voters would come around to voting for him in May when they realize that he has been with them through thick and thin. He added that by May, he and not any of his opponents, would be “the flavor of the month.” The message to local allies in Palawan and elsewhere in the country was to stay the course and not defect to any of the other leading candidates whom Roxas had earlier vowed to overtake by this time in the campaign. There is something to be said for Roxas’ analogy—but if he is indeed our longtime neighbor, then he was the one who kept silent when burglars repeatedly broke into our house. As our “neighbor,” Roxas had many opportunities to raise the alarm—but he didn’t. When the President gave a pass to the incompetent officials who bungled the Luneta hostage crisis that led to the death of eight Hong Kong tourists in August 2010, Roxas said nothing. In 2012, when the President misused hundreds of millions of pesos in taxpayers’ money to bribe senators into convicting the sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at his impeachment trial, Roxas remained silent. When the government entered into an anomalous maintenance contract that would hasten the deterioration of the MRT city train system in 2012, Roxas watched— and said nothing. In fact, there is documentary evidence that as the secretary of Transportation and Communications at the time, he knew about the crooked deal. In January 2015, when 44 police commandos were slaughtered because of a covert operation illegally headed by the President’s friend, the national police chief who was suspended for corruption at the time, Roxas said he saw nothing—because he had been kept in the dark, even though he had command responsibility over the police as the secretary of the Interior and Local Government at the time. He called the incident “a mis-encounter.” When Aquino rejected a proposal in Congress to give millions of long-suffering workers a tax break toward the end of 2015, Roxas parroted the President, even though the Tax Management Association of the Philippines has shown that Filipinos are among the most heavily taxed in Asia. In 2016, when the President vetoed a bill that would have raised the paltry monthly pensions of 2 million Social Security System retirees, our neighbor Roxas fell in lockstep and kept quiet about the millions of pesos that the government paid out in scandalous bonuses paid to top SSS executives. In April, when two farmers were shot dead by police at a protest demanding food aid in Kidapawan City because of a five-month drought, Roxas chose his words so carefully he forgot to condemn the use of lethal force on civilians. The truth is, the last six years have given candidate Roxas so many opportunities to speak up or act as an insider to correct the defects in the government. He did neither. He never once spoke up for us. He never once raised the alarm. That is not the kind of neighbor worth keeping.

By Christopher Balding

A NASTY, NAGGING HEADACHE PENSÉES FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO WHENEVER election time comes around, PPCRV and other organizations like it come out of hibernation and are caught up in a frenzy of recruiting, training and commissioning volunteers. Like a bad headache that will not go away, vote buying is one complaint that poll watchers and election observers frequently voice. It persists, and has attained, in fact, the status of a “given” in Philippine elections, like air

resistance is a given in respect to falling bodies! But it betray our fundamental commitment to democracy for us, as a nation, to be reconciled to it and to give up on the crusade—no matter that it may seem more like a war of attrition—against it! Because of this flourishing, not-so-underground trade in votes, public office has become the preserve of the filthy rich for whom public office is some kind of divertissement from what to them is the really serious business of making even more money. The position of member of the Sangguniang Bayan is not so lofty in our hierarchy of local notables, but you cannot realistically aspire

When a candidate offers you money, you should be slighted, not delighted.

for the position unless you have a respectable war chest. For those not as fortunately endowed, on the other hand, the prerequisite for candidacy is not qualification, but the groveling and kowtowing before potential patrons with enough cash to spare and many concessions to demand of those who seek a sprinkling of their largesse. And yet, though we whine and rant about vote buyers (and votesellers), the practice is flourishing. It gets worse every election so that, now, only millionaires can set their sights on governorships and seats in congress, sometimes even on mayoralty positions in cities and large municipalities.

Presidential candidates, even those who put on appearances of virginal purity, are practitioners of political prostitution. A taxi driver provided me with the information, not too long ago, that at one rally in favor of a presidential aspirant, people were enticed to congregate at Padre Faura to rally for the candidate by a promise of lunch, a T-shirt and two hundred pesos! The offense is hardly ever prosecuted, most of time, because there are hardly any witnesses. Well-meaning volunteers are inadequately trained in respect to reporting incidents of votebuying and are not prepared to distinguish between acceptable

evidence and hearsay. And it will never do to ask some candidates to keep their purses tightly shut while the unwilling, uncooperative others continue to dole out coins and bills (hardly anyone cares for coins now!) prodigally and in criminal abandon! That is very much like asking one side in an armed conflict to lay down its arms, while the other side refuses to. If penologists are right that it is the certainty of punishment that truly deters would-be offenders, in the case of vote buyers, it is the certainty of escaping prosecution that emboldens them in their resolve to buy their way to office.

And vote buying is most execrable when it puts on the disguise of government attending to local needs and extending aid at election time. Projects that could have so easily been funded and attended to long before the election period sprout almost overnight. There are sinister meetings called: local officials are summoned to seats of power and are seen leaving carrying envelopes bulging with what most certainly are not documents of moment to governance! Vote-buying is most detestable when the machinery of government is used to perpetrate the crime, with money

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Published PublishedMonday MondaytotoSunday SundaybybyPhilippine Philippine Manila ManilaStandard StandardPublishing PublishingInc. Inc.atat6/F 6/F can canbebeaccessed accessedat:at: Universal UniversalReReBuilding, Building,106 106Paseo Paseode deRoxas, Roxas, ONLINE www.manilastandardtoday.com www.manilastandardtoday.com corner cornerPerea PereaSt., St.,Legaspi LegaspiVillage, Village,Makati MakatiCity. City. ONLINE Telephone MEMBER Telephonenumbers numbers832-5554, 832-5554,832-5556, 832-5556, MEMBER Philippine PhilippinePress PressInstitute Institute 832-5558 832-5558(connecting (connectingall all departments), departments), The TheNational NationalAssociation Association (Editorial), ofofPhilippine (Editorial),832-5546, 832-5546,(Advertising), (Advertising),832832PhilippineNewspapers Newspapers

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unconscionably withdrawn from public coffers. When a candidate offers you money, you should be slighted, not delighted. Such a candidate is one who thinks that everything is a commodity for sale, and obviously, your soul is just one of the items on the shelf, insofar as the vote buyer is concerned. Everything has a price tag—that is the credo of the vote buyer, and that is why he or she should be scorned and, whenever possible, shamed. There is nothing sacred or sacrosanct for such a Continued on A11

MST MSTManagement, Management,Inc. Inc. Philip PhilipG. G.Romualdez Romualdez Arnold ArnoldC. C.Liong Liong Former FormerChief ChiefJustice Justice Reynato ReynatoS.S.Puno Puno Jocelyn JocelynF.F.Domingo Domingo Ron RonRyan RyanS.S.Buguis Buguis Anita F.Grefal Grefal Treasury Manager Anita F. Treasury Manager

Chairman Chairman President President&&Chief ChiefExecutive ExecutiveOfficer Officer Board BoardMember Member&&Chief ChiefLegal LegalAdviser Adviser Director DirectorofofOperations Operations Finance FinanceOfficer Officer Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

NEWS that China’s foreign-exchange reserves rose by $10 billion in March rather than declining has quieted doomsayers. Worries that the reserves could dip to dangerous levels as soon as this summer—after shrinking by an estimated $1 trillion last year— appear to have been premature. Still, questions linger over exactly how much money is leaving China and why. The true picture may not be as rosy as the headline numbers suggest. Before the March upturn, capital had been flooding out of China at a rapid clip—an average of $48 billion per month over the previous six months, according to official bank data. The reasons were several. Fearing further declines in the value of the yuan, several companies paid off their dollar loans; others pursued big acquisitions abroad. Individual investors sought out higher returns as the Fed prepared to raise rates. The government spent billions to prop up the value of the currency. Some individuals and companies reduced their offshore yuan deposits. Still others looked to spirit money out of the country to safer havens. The question is how much money has been leaving for which reasons. Some analysts, including economists at the Bank for International Settlements, have argued that the bulk of these outflows are healthy, mostly involving companies paying down their foreign debt. However, the BIS study, which estimates that such repayments accounted for nearly a quarter of the $163 billion of non-reserve outflows in the third quarter of 2015, focuses on a very narrow slice of time. Foreign debt obligations grew rapidly in late 2014 and the first half of 2015, then shrunk dramatically in the third quarter. Moreover, what those official figures miss are hidden outflows, disguised primarily as payments for imports, which appear to have created a $71-billion current account deficit in the same quarter, according to bank payments data. In effect, enterprising Chinese are overpaying massively for the products they’re importing. Chinese customs officials reported $1.68 trillion in imports last year. Banks, on the other hand, claimed to have paid $2.2 trillion for those same imports. While the official balanceof-payments records a current account surplus of $331 billion in 2015, banks’ payments and receipts show a $122 billion deficit. Overpaying for imported goods and services is a clever way for Chinese companies and citizens to move money out of the country surreptitiously. Continued on A10 Rolando RolandoG. G.Estabillo Estabillo Jojo JojoA. A.Robles Robles Ramonchito RamonchitoL. L.Tomeldan Tomeldan Chin ChinWong/Ray Wong/RayS.S.Eñano Eñano Francis FrancisLagniton Lagniton Joyce JoycePangco PangcoPañares Pañares Adelle AdelleChua Chua Romel RomelJ.J.Mendez Mendez Roberto RobertoCabrera Cabrera

Publisher Publisher Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Managing ManagingEditor Editor Associate AssociateEditors Editors News NewsEditor Editor City CityEditor Editor Senior SeniorDeskman Deskman Art ArtDirector Director Chief ChiefPhotographer Photographer

Emil EmilP.P.Jurado JuradoChairman ChairmanEmeritus, Emeritus,Editiorial EditiorialBoard Board

M O N D AY : A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

FUNNY NUMBERS SHOW MONEY LEAVING CHINA

[ EDI TORI A L ]

By Christopher Balding

When a candidate offers you money, you should be slighted, not delighted.

MST MST

PPI PPI

Emil EmilP.P.Jurado JuradoChairman ChairmanEmeritus, Emeritus,Editiorial EditiorialBoard Board

M O N D AY : A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNANCE

LESSONS FROM A COAL GIANT’S COLLAPSE Bloomberg Editorial THE bankruptcy of Peabody Energy Corp., the largest US coal producer, is the most vivid illustration yet of the market’s deep and welcome shift away from coal. It could also be calamitous for the environment: If Peabody goes out of business, who will clean up the pollution it has left behind? Under federal law, companies must pay for the reclamation of the land they have contaminated though mining. The usual way to do this would be to require them to put up money or collateral to cover those costs. But some states, with the federal government’s blessing, allow companies to “self-bond”—essentially, to promise that when the time comes to clean up a mine, they’ll have enough money to do the job. Peabody’s bankruptcy shows the folly of this practice. Of the six states in which Peabody has mines, four— Wyoming, New Mexico, Illinois and Indiana —allow self-bonding. In those states, taxpayers could be on the hook for up to $1.15 billion. A federal bankruptcy judge has some discretion to force Peabody to make good on its commitments to states, and the judge should use it. Failing to clean up an old mine, beyond leaving behind an eyesore, can let toxins leak into the water supply, threatening animals and people alike. Leaving a surface mine unreclaimed can also prevent local communities from using the land for grazing, farming, hunting and recreation. Wyoming’s Powder River Basin alone will require an estimated $800 million. The broader question is

PLUMBLINE PASTOR APOLLO QUIBOLOY

how many more Peabodys there may be, and how to pay for the environmental damage they have caused. The company is the latest in a string of US coal producers to fail, in an industry that has lost 20,000 jobs and 94 percent of its market value since 2011. US coal production in the first three months of 2016 fell 38 percent from the same period last year. One thing states should do is not to allow the practice of self-bonding. In Peabody’s case, the federal government in February warned states that continuing to allow the practice was a bad idea. Yet Illinois, for example, continued to allow it even after the state’s attorney general raised concerns about Peabody’s ability to meet its obligations. Yes, requiring coal producers to bear the full cost of their cleanup obligations may push some into bankruptcy. And mining companies are some of these states’ largest employers. But states can’t halt the long slide of the coal industry by allowing coal companies to discount their environmental obligations. And even if they could, regulators’ responsibility is to the interests of the public. Better to insist on honest accounting, then let the market decide who survives. It’s an issue that affects more than just coal mining. The federal government allows oil and gas companies to self-bond, a practice now under review for companies working in the Gulf of Mexico. The case of Peabody is a warning to all levels of government about the risks of letting companies simply vouch for their ability to clean up after themselves.

THREE more Mondays and 54.4-million voters will troop to polling precincts—92, 500 clustered ones as of latest count. If Comelec’s roster of voters were a country, it would rank as the world’s 24 th most populous, bigger even than South Korea which is home to 49.2-million souls. Voting will stretch for 11 hours, with the army of watchers and teachers all up on their feet by dawn and all hoping that they’d be Cinderellas— home before the clock strikes midnight. Some will be burning the midnight oil, literally, as the betting is that the ongoing power outages in Mindanao, at the rate lamps there are flickering like Christmas lights, would continue until election day. On this, smart alecks who inhabit Facebook are having a heyday poking fun on the DOEterm for lack of power—Yellow Alert—which they say can also be applied to the anxious state of the party donning that color. Like many Filipinos, I couldn’t wait for the counting to be over and done with. We have invested so much time and energy in hearing the spiels and spins of a quartera-million applicants for 18,000 casual jobs. Money which should have gone to schools and hospitals are being spent to police the campaign, and tally the votes. Taxpayers are coughing up P16 billion for Comelec’s operations this year, when two national elections will be held, the second one for barangay officials in the last quarter. If we don’t want squander precious resources on what is basically a raucous triennial job fair to hire 18,000 elective officials, most of whom will be awarded three-year job contracts, then we must muster will to reform the way they are hired.

First is to cut the lengthy campaign period, from 90 days to 45 days for presidential, VP and senatorial candidates. Slash, too, the window for local candidates to buy votes from 45 days to 30 days. This courtship calendar was conceived during the pre-Internet age, before the cellphone explosion, when candidates have to leapfrog from one entablado to another to be heard and seen, when exposure was reckoned in the number of babies kissed, instead of YouTube views. Second is to trim the party-list clutter. The cost that comes with electing them is astounding. Proof is the space they hog in the ballot which now has more entries than a restaurant menu. There is cost not just in the acquisition of their mandates but also, and higher, in the exercise of their mandates. Their perks are equal to entitlements district congressmen enjoy. Besides, the economic background of the present crop of so-called marginalized representatives radically departs from the original intent of the framers of the basic law, as an affirmative action that will install descamisados into the corridors of power. Third is to put the bureaucracy on a diet, by subjecting the galaxy of elective posts to a slimming regimen. By one estimate, just cutting by one, just one, the number of seats in all legislative bodies, from the Senate to the House to provincial boards to city councils to town sanggunians, will result in annual savings of P4 billion. This estimate does not include how much will be saved if barangay councils pruned their membership by just one. We should also put a stop to the congressional hobby of further dividing political subdivisions. More towns and provinces created mean more seats to be filled and paid. The last time the United States admitted a state into the union was in 1959, when Hawaii

became the 50th star on the Stars and Stripes. At that time—56 years and seven presidents ago— Cotabato was one province—so were Davao, Surigao. Today, Cotabato has been cut up into five. Davao was halved, then quartered, now it has a newborn fifth offspring, which goes by the name of Davao Occidental (to add to its Oriental, Norte, Sur, thus completing the wind vane pointers, and Compostela Valley). Nationally, we have a bifurcated Congress, with 24 senators duplicating the job of 297 congressmen, making it a bipolar institution sometimes, 81 provinces, 114 cities, 1,496 towns, 42,028 barangays, and one regional government on its death throes. As a result we have to stage elections every 1,000 days to refill the natural bloat of these offices, like the one three Mondays from now to choose a president and the spare (or flat) tire, 12 senators, 297 congressmen, 81 governors and 81 vice governors, 772 provincial board members. Also in the ballot are 144 city mayors and 144 vice mayors; and 1,496 town mayors and the same number of deputies; and 11,924 city town and town council seats. The count and the cost of both money and human lives, however, do not end there. There will be an October sequel to the May polls, this time for about 672,000plus barangay posts: 42,208 chairmen, 294,196 barangay councilmen, and, because we train our politicos young, the same number of SK seats. So, if we want to economize and convert payroll into public services, then we should study the possibility of merging provinces, cities, towns, barangays. And downsizing Congress. If mergers in the world of business are the route to organizational efficiency and cost reduction, I don’t see why this can’t be applied to governance.

FUNNY... From A9

Let’s say a foreign country exports $1 million worth of goods to China. Chinese customs officials will faithfully record $1 million in imports. But when the importer goes to the bank, he’ll either use fraudulent documentation or bribe a bank official to record a $2-million payment to the foreign counterparty. Presumably, the excess $1 million ends up in a private bank account. While some discrepancies are to be expected in data like this, the size and steady increase in the gap since 2012 implies that something shadier is going on. When Chinese companies pay down debt, or make big acquisitions abroad, they do so openly. These other outflows—which topped half a trillion dollars last year—seem far more likely to be driven by individuals and companies simply seeking to get their money out of the country. The timing is also telling. The discrepancy began

to grow rapidly in 2012, just as growth peaked and concerns began to rise among affluent Chinese about the economy and a political transition. Since then, fake import payments have grown from $140 billion to $524 billion in 2015. During that period, growth in China has slowed, rates of return on investment have declined and surplus capacity has exploded. Investment opportunities have shrunk, while state-owned enterprises have crowded out private investors. Certainly the latter have good reason to seek better returns elsewhere. At the same time, President Xi Jinping’s anticorruption drive has netted tens of thousands of Party officials. Naturally, well-to-do Chinese are worried about being caught up in the dragnet even if innocent. They’re also just as concerned as anyone else about their children’s education and health. The demand for real estate abroad—

according to one study, two-thirds of highpriced home sales in Vancouver involve Chinese buyers—is only going to grow. Scrutinizing bank payments more closely and tightening capital controls would help slow down outflows. But just as businessmen discovered this new channel to move money offshore, they’re almost certain to find creative ways around any additional limits that are imposed. The Chinese economy is groaning under massive overcapacity, with growth slowing and financial risks rising. Neither a cut in interest rates nor another stimulus package is going to relieve that long-term pessimism. Reform— including legal reform—may. If China’s leaders want to prevent capital from leaving the country, they’re going to have to address the reasons for the flight, not just erect roadblocks in its way. Bloomberg

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A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

SCIENTISTS OF THE FUTURE WILL HAVE ONE WORD FOR THE PRESENT: PLASTICS

By Faye Flam

HISTORIANS may soon be looking back at the 20th and early 21st centuries as the time of computers and the Internet, bold ventures into space and the splitting of the atom. But what will scholars in the distant future find worthy of note? If there’s anyone around with a penchant for paleontology hundreds of thousands of years from now, a surprise awaits in the stratigraphic layers containing the remains of our time. Anyone digging into the earth would find a sudden, explosive increase in a new kind of material—plastic. Once underground, plastic will fossilize well, leaving a distinct signature. And there’s plenty of it. Until the 20th century, plastic was virtually nonexistent. Since then, humans have created 5 billion tons. The paleontologi st Jan Zalasiewicz has calculated that if it were all converted into cling wrap, there would be enough to wrap the globe. Until about 20 years ago, Zalasiewicz said, the idea that people could permanently change the planet was considered nonsense. Human beings were too puny and the planet too vast. “The scale of geological processes such as mountain building and volcanic eruptions have been held to be much greater than anything humans can rustle up,” he said. But over the last several decades, he added, it’s become clear that human-generated effects “can be big on a geological scale and can be more or less permanent.” Geologic maps of the future might refer to our time as the Slobocene era, or the Trashiferous period. Or maybe the name scientists recently coined—Anthropocene—will stick. It refers to the time when humankind started to make an indelible mark. Changes that characterize the Anthropocene include the widespread production of aluminum and concrete as well as plastics, and distinct changes in the chemistry of the atmosphere

Can we switch to something better than plastic? AFP

and oceans. Plastics have been important for distributing clean food and water, for medical devices, surgical gloves and affordable clothing. They’ve played a big role in health and sanitation. The fact that they don’t dissolve or decay is a plus for most of their intended uses. But there are unintended consequences. Some plastics are recycled, but most go into landfills or become litter. Recently, scientists have come to realize that much of the plastic in the environment is in the form of invisible particles. Some of these come from the breakdown of bags and other floating trash in the oceans, some from toothpaste and cosmetics, and much of it from clothes, which are mostly made from synthetic materials and give off plastic fibers every time they go through a wash. These “microplastics” can be measured in sand from beaches around the world, and in the

#FAILOCRACY

guts of many fish. Zalasiewicz was lead author on a recently published assessment of the very-long-term impact of plastics. It appeared in a new journal called Anthropocene. There, he and colleagues projected the likely chemical signature of the microplastics and the preserved bottles and other trash in shapes and sizes that could keep future paleontologists scratching their heads. A lot depends on the next few decades, he said. If plastics are produced at the current rate and there’s no increase in recycling, by 2040 there will be enough out there to cling wrap the earth six times. It’s also possible that people will switch to something better than plastic. Scientists at Stanford University recently succeeded in making a renewable plastic-like material from carbon dioxide and waste plant fiber. Widespread adoption of this or something like it could

radically change the view from the future. One of the lessons in the plastic assessment was that changes made over just decades—eye blinks in geologic time—can sometimes persist for eons. Atmospheric chemists say that the carbon dioxide that goes up this century won’t come down for tens of thousands of years. Changes in ocean chemistry and temperature could persist

even longer. Of course, even the tiny plankton that Zalasiewicz has studied can leave fossils, since they use hard materials to build protective coverings. But future paleontologists looking back at contemporary changes to the planet would see something unusual, he said. “There’s no real precedent for them any time in geologic history.” Bloomberg

A NASTY...

From A9 person. Such a menace is the worst affliction that is visited on society, because governance is for him, neither science nor art, not even prudence, but simply an item that can be purchased, and, of course, sold as well! That is the supreme insult to everything that human collective consciousness has achieved in the name of democracy and a free society. But vote buying thrives because it answers a visceral need—and that just underscores its malice and evil even more markedly, for it ultimately exploits the poverty of the needy and entices them to trade their birthright for hardly anything more than a bowl of thin soup! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

CHONG ARDIVILLA

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A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Donald leads; bad day for Jason Aussie Lee rallies to win Lotte title

Luke Donald watches a shot on the 16th hole during the third round of the 2016 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Australian teenager Min-Jee Lee saved her best for last Saturday by fashioning a 10-shot improvement in the fourth round to claim her second career LPGA Tour victory. The 19-year-old from Perth closed with a bogey free eight-under par 64, just 24 hours after shooting a two-over 74 at the Lotte Championship. “I had a not-so-great round yesterday,” Lee said. “I just came out with a fresh mindset.” She finished at 16-under 272 to beat South Korea’s Chun In-Gee and American Katie Burnett by one stroke at the Kapolei, Hawaii golf course. Burnett was the lone American golfer in the top six. Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, 21, finished in sole possession of fourth at 14-under after firing a 68 on Saturday. Jan Su-Yeon of South Korea rounded out the top five at 13 under after posting a finalround 71. Lee chipped in for eagle on the par-five 13th hole and had six birdies during a seven-hole run that launched her up the leaderboard. She rolled in a birdie putt on the par-four 17th hole and saved par with an up and down from off the green at No. 18 to claim her second North American win to go with a victory at the 2015 Kingsmill Championship. “I eagled the 13th hole and that was kind of the turning point,” Lee said. I made that eagle then followed it with two birdies.” Lee became the fifth player to win twice before her 20th birthday, joining Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Marlene Hagge and Sandra Haynie. She also finished in the top 10 (tied for ninth) at last year’s Women’s British Open. The red-hot Chun could have finished in a tie at the top but missed a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18. AFP

Nadal stuns Murray, faces Monfils in finals MONTE CARLO—Rafael Nadal returned to the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time in three years, the eight-time champion struggling to close out a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Andy Murray on Saturday. Waiting for him in his 100th ATP final is Gael Monfils, who hammered French compatriot JoWilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-3, with the loser drawing jeers as he left the court in after 69 minutes.

Monfils, making his second consecutive Monte Carlo semifinal start, never allowed Tsonga a chance in their match, breaking six times. Nadal will be playing his tenth final here and holds a solid 11-2 record over Monfils. He has not won a Masters title since Madrid, 2014. “It’s a very important week for me, being in a final here again in Monte Carlo, winning against very tough opponents,” the winner said.

US surprises Australia in Fed Cup BRISBANE—A below-strength United States booked a place in the Fed Cup World Group in 2017 when Coco Vandeweghe came from a set down to beat Australia’s Samantha Stosur on Sunday. Vandeweghe’s 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 win in the first of the reverse singles gave the Americans an unassailable 3-0 lead in their World Group play-off match on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane. The Americans later made it a clean sweep when Vandeweghe teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to down Australian pair Daria Gavrilova and Arina Rodionova 6-1, 6-4 in the doubles. The US came to Australia without their three best players, Serena and Venus Williams, and Sloane Stephens, but won both opening singles matches on Saturday as Madison Keys downed Gavrilova and Christina McHale outlasted Stosur.

US captain Mary Joe Fernandez said the American team had stepped up in the absence of the Williams sisters and Stephens. “It’s a team effort and everybody worked really hard all week with each other, supporting each other,” Fernandez said. Fernandez said it was important to give some of the lower-ranked players experience in the Fed Cup environment. “The more you put yourself in these positions, the more comfortable you get in them,” she said. “Experience helps so it’s good to put everybody out there as much as possible so when that pressure moment comes they’re ready.” Vandeweghe, who stepped in for Keys in the first of the reverse singles on Sunday, looked in big trouble early as Stosur raced through the first set in only 28 minutes then went up 2-0 in the second. AFP

“That’s a lot of great confidence, good news for me. “Let’s see if tomorrow I can play at the same level.” Spain’s fifth-seeded king of clay showed hints of the form which took him to multiple seasons of total dominance on the surface as he overcame second seed Murray in a battle lasting for more than two and a half hours. “I don’t want to talk every day about if I am back or I am not

back. I’m in the final of Monte Carlo. That’s a great news. “Every year is different. Every feeling is different. I don’t want to compare myself or trying to analyse if I am the same like before or not. “I want to be today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today, and after tomorrow better than tomorrow. That’s it. That’s my work today, and that’s my motivation. I don’t want to think about the past.” AFP

Coco Vandeweghe of the US hits a return against Sam Stosur of Australia during their women’s singles tennis match at the Federation Cup World Group play-off tournament in Brisbane. AFP

LOS ANGELES—Former world number one Luke Donald will try to end his run of near-misses at the RBC Heritage when he takes a one-shot lead into Sunday’s final round. Donald carded a twounder par 69 over Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Saturday to lead Americans Jason Kokrak and Charley Hoffman by one stroke. Seven players are within three shots of the lead, but that doesn’t include current world number one Jason Day. The overnight co-leader opened with a bogey and things went downhill from there. In a round that included a double-bogey at the third, he made six of his eight bogeys on the back nine en route to a 79 that left him tied for 40th. Day said that when he knew he had shot himself out of contention, he concentrated on not distracting playing partner Kevin Chappell, who is seeking a first PGA Tour title. “I really wanted to stay out of Kevin’s way,” Day said. “I know that he really wants to win a tournament. He’s had two second-place finishes already this year. And my bad play, I just felt like it may have affected him.” Indeed Chappell carded a four-over 75 that included two double-bogeys on the back nine to fall five shots off the pace. He’ll have work to do with Donald and his closest pursuers setting their sights on what has proved an elusive title. Donald has five topthree finishes without a victory at Harbour Town. Hoffman let a 54-hole lead get away in 2013. “I haven’t been in this position as much as I would have liked the last couple of years,” said Donald,who hasn’t won on the US or European Tour since 2012 and is now ranked 95th in the world. “But certainly I have been in this position many times, and I’ll draw from that. “I know especially around this place, I think if there’s one tournament I’ve been in this position the most, it would be this one.” Donald’s closest calls at Harbour Town came in 2011 -- when Brandt Snedeker forced a playoff with a final-round 64 and won it with a birdie at the third extra hole -- and in 2014, when Matt Kuchar chipped in from a bunker to win. Hoffman has also endured Heritage disappointment. He led by two through three rounds in 2013, but shot a finalround 77. AFP

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Bayking bags 3 HEAD titles BLISS Bayking won three titles, while Kristine Renee Salimbangon captured the 18-and-under girls’ singles title to lead all the winners in the third leg of 18th HEAD Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit recently at the Consolation tennis courts in Cebu. Bayking displayed her strong backhand to outlast Febbie Abayan, 6-0, 6-1, and claim the girls’ 14-and-under crown before sweeping Kristine Renee Salimbangon, 6-0, 6-0, to bag the girls’ 16-and-under singles’ trophy and win her second title. Bayking, who teamed up with Salimbangon, clinched her third title by winning the girls’ doubles 18-and-under trophy at the expense of Pherl Bless and Precious Larriz Coderos, 8-5, during the satellite circuit tournament organized by Dynamic Sports. Salimbangon defeated Precious Larriz Coderos, 6-0, 6-1, to claim the 18-andunder girls’ singles’ title and Julianna Maravillas beat CJ Thalia Suson, 6-3, 7-5, for the girls’ 12-and-under singles’ crown. The competition attended by more than 150 entries all over the regions of Visayas was supported by HEAD, Chris Sports, Toalson, 92.5 FM Aksyon Sports, Reach Magazine, Philippine Tennis Association, Pilipino Mirror, ANC, Impact Magazine and Podcast.ph. Vhon Tudtud blasted Matt Steven Palasan, 6-3, 6-4, to win the boys’ 18-under singles’ crown, but Palasan was able to rebound from that frustrating loss by beating Kevin Balundo, 6-1, 6-2, to bag the boys’ 16-and-under singles’ trophy. Mitch Largo outplayed CJ Thalia Suson, 5-4 (4), 4-0, for 10-and-under unisex crown.

Spence Jr. kayoes Algieri in Round 5 ERROL Spence Jr. scored a devastating fifthround stoppage of over-hyped Chris Algieri in a welterweight bout at Barclays Center in New York, Sunday morning in the main event of the Premier Boxing Championship card. While Spence Jr. did what eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and World Boxing Council Silver champion Amir Khan failed to do, it must be noted that the Pacman thrashed Algieri in a one-sided fight, scoring six knockdowns and dominating every minute of their 12-round welterweight title bout at the Cotai Arena in Macau before some 13,000-plus fans on Nov. 23, 2013. Khan also scored a comfortable unanimous 12-round decision at the Barclays’ Center on May 29 last year. The unbeaten Spence Jr., who improved to 20-0 with 17 knockouts, had his seventh straight knockout. Ronnie Nathanielsz

Bullfight. Bulls clash during a traditional Emirati bullfight in al-Qurayyah, north of the Gulf emirate of Al-Fujairah. AFP

Philracom academy to be headed by UP professor THE Philippine Racing Commission obtained the services of a retired veterinary medicine professor to administer the newly-established Philracom Jockeys and Trainers Academy. The academy, which offers two-year courses for those desiring to enter the two occupations, will be run by Ceferino R. Maala, professor emeritus and former assistant dean of the University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine. “This is in line with our commitment to provide the highest standards of training for jockeys and trainers,” said Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez.

The Philracom Academy will start the 2016 school year with the trainers course on April 28 at San Lazaro Leisure Park, Carmona, Cavite. The first semester for the first year will run from April to July 2016 with three subjects: equine anatomy and conformation, equine health and disease management, and equine nutrition. The second semester, from September to Decem-

ber, will feature stable management and horse training and fitness development. In the second year, the subjects animal welfare (legal aspects) and rules and regulations of horseracing will be taken up from January to April 2017. Apprenticeship as a practical subject will be conducted year-round. The supervision of the students will be undertaken by ten Philracomlicensed trainers. The fee is a minimal P1,000 per month. The training course for jockeys is being developed in coordination with the New Philippine Jockeys Association and details will be announced when ready.

Last March 9, the Commission approved the conduct of the jockeys and trainers courses that will provide basic knowledge on horsemanship and horse conditioning through classroom lectures and hands-on training. The objective of the courses is to professionalize the two occupations and equip graduates with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to work here and abroad. Philracom is negotiating with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for the official government accreditation of the courses. Interested applicants may call Philracom at 843-0971.

Asian Development Tour field braces for tougher battle

American John Michael O’Toole will lead the crack foreign challenge.

AFTER pounding the Manila Southwoods’ Legends course with a run of under-par scores, the men of the Asian Development Tour primes up for a demanding, more challenging week at Sherwood Hills Golf Club when the ADT winds up its twoweek Philippine swing with ICTSI Sherwood Classic ADT beginning Wednesday. The par-72 Sherwood layout has been in tip-top shape all year and spruced up to championship condition in time for the event as it hosted the national amateur stroke play championship last week.

With the dreaded wind, the hazards that come into play in most holes and the unpredictable greens, expect a grueling battle for the top $10,500 purse in the 11th leg of the ADT sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Forty-two players finished under par at Southwoods with Malaysian Gavin Green scoring a stirring victory over Thai Donlaphatchai Niyomchon and Deng Shan Koh of Singapore on a brilliant final round charge. But Green, 22, won’t be around to go for a sweep of the local ADT events

as he’s set to play on the Asian Tour in Japan also slated this week together with reigning Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit winner Miguel Tabuena. Still, the Sherwood field remains as deep as ever with American John Michael O’Toole leading the crack foreign challenge, hoping to complete an unfinished business in the 72-hole championship co-organized by ADT and Philippine Golf Tour. O’Toole set a course record 61 at the par-71 Legends course in the second round, took the lead in the third but faltered in the final day, settling for

joint fourth with Thais Pook Saksansin and Pijit Petchkasem. But the 23-year-old winner of the Clearwater Masters in Malaysia last month is raring to redeem himself at Sherwood where he finished third last year, along with a host of local aces eager to make up for forgettable campaigns at Southwoods. Tabuena emerged the best Filipino at joint 13th but Tony Lascuna, who failed to get going after a mediocre 71 start and finish for joint 30th, has vowed to bounce back strong at Sherwood, also the fourth leg of the local circuit

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Dubs carry momentum to playoffs OAKLAND—The streaking Golden State Warriors shook off an ankle ern Conference finals, Golden State harried Houston from tip-off, with injury to superstar Stephen Curry to thrash the Houston Rockets 104-78 on Saturday in their NBA Western Conference playoff opener. frustrated Rockets point guard Patrick Beverly scuffling with Curry less The reigning champion War- the bench for the fourth quarter he than six minutes into the contest. riors picked up where they left off didn’t play again. “That’s to be expected,” Kerr said. in their record-setting 73-win regKerr said he didn’t know the se- “It’s the playoffs. Both guys are ular-season campaign, bolting to a verity of the injury, calling Curry competitive. Beverly is a good de33-15 lead through one quarter and “questionable” for game two on fender, that’s what he does, he tries carrying on relentlessly from there. Monday, saying he wouldn’t take to get under your skin. He’s just doReigning NBA Most Valuable chances with his star with the ing his job.” Player Curry sent a tremor of ten- championship finals still a long way The Warriors answered with two sion through Oracle Arena when away in June. three-pointers from Curry in a 14-6 he twisted his right ankle defendTeam-mate Klay Thompson scoring run, limiting Houston to sixing Rockets star James Harden late thought Kerr’s caution was over- of-20 shooting in the opening frame. in the second quarter. done. The Warriors led 60-33 by halfCurry went to the locker room “He’ll be all right,” Thompson time, and held Harden to four for treatment and played briefly said of Curry. “We expect him out points before the break. early in the third period before here on Monday.” Harden, second to Curry in regcoach Steve Kerr called a timeout Curry inflicted significant damage ular-season scoring with an average and took him out of the contest. before his departure. His 24 points 29 points per game, perked up afCurry visited the locker room included 16 in the first quarter. ter the interval, hitting three threeagain, and though he returned to In a rematch of last season’s West- pointers to finish with 17 points,

but he didn’t get to the free-throw line once. “Very satisfied,” Kerr said. “I thought our defense was excellent. We made them earn every point.” Draymond Green, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, received the third technical foul of the contest in the fourth quarter for pulling Rockets big man Donata Motiejunas down from behind. “It’s the playoffs,” Kerr said again. The winner of the best-of-seven series face either the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers in the second round. Western Conference action continued later Saturday with the third-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Dallas Mavericks. Second-seeded San Antonio launch their campaign on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball during the game against the Houston Rockets in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

PH softball to hold Summer Grand Slam Year 10 THE 10th year of the highly anticipated Summer Grand Slam of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines begins on April 24 at the Batangas Sports Complex, Batangas City. Presented by Cebuana Lhuillier, the actionpacked national softball tournament will have four divisions—Men’s Open Division, Women’s Open Division, Men’s Club, and Women’s Club. Close to 50 teams from all over the country will

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC T his is to info r m t he public t hat S a m my B . B a l a g u e r is no l o ng er c o nne c te d w it h Ci r r u s G l o b a l , I n c . ef fe c t ive A p r il 16, 2016. A ny t r ans ac t i o n entere d into by t his p er so n f ro m t his date t hereaf ter shall not b e h o no re d by t he c o mpany. ( T S - A P R . 18 , 2 016)

vie for the tournament’s coveted cup. International softball teams from Indonesia and Malaysia will also participate in the Open Divisions. This is by far the biggest number of participants the tournament has ever had since it was launched in 2006. “I am very excited with this year’s Summer Grand Slam. Aside from commemorating a decade of witnessing great skills and talents in softball, we’re also celebrating the growing number of our participants year by year. With this year’s lineup, I am sure we’re about to witness the best softball tournament in the country,” ASAPHIL President Jean Henri Lhuillier said. Among the matches, those that feature last year’s defending champions are the most anticipated. Some of the teams coming back this year to once again prove their mettle include 2015 champions Adamson University (Women’s Open), University of the Philippines (Women’s Club), the Philippine Air Force (Men’s Open), and the San Antonio Bobcats (Men’s Club). Led by Lhuillier, who is also the President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier, the Summer Grand Slam will be

ASAPHIL President Jean Henri Lhuillier (pictured with one of the competing teams during the 2015 Summer Grand Slam) brings back the annual baseball tournament for its 10th edition.

hosted by the province of Batangas, led by Governor Vilma Santos-Recto and Vice Governor Mark Leviste. The tournament will last until May 30.

Lariba is 1st Filipino table tennis Olympic qualifier NATIONAL player Ian ‘Yan-yan’ Lariba captured the last remaining Olympic slot for table tennis, winning over Indonesian Lilis Indriani Saturday night in the women’s singles’ division of 2016 International Table Tennis Federation Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong. She became the first-ever Filipino table netter to qualify in the quadrennial meet since the sport was first introduced in 1988 in South Korea. After losing on her first try against Orawan Paranang of Thailand (6-11, 2-11, 4-11, 11-13) in Southeast Asia’s Stage 1 bracket, the 22-yearold De La Salle University lass swept her Indonesian foe during Stage 2 of the competition and bagged the last Olympic seat. Lariba has joined other Olympians Eric Cray (athletics), Rogen Ladon (boxing), Charly Suarez (boxing) and Kirstie Elaine Alora (taekwondo) in the Rio Summer Olympic Games in August. The La Salle standout, who won the UAAP Season 78 Most Valuable Player trophy after leading her school to the women’s title, was accompanied by veteran player Richard Gonzales and newcomer John Marie Nayre. Gonzales and Nayre both suffered elimination in the men’s singles class. Lariba won the classification phase over Maha Faramarzi of Qatar, 11-5, 11-1, 11-7, 11-4, before beating Mahjobeh Omran of Iran, 11-6, 15-13, 11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8. She was then stopped by her Thai opponent before winning against her Indonesian foe to claim the last seat in the Olympics. Table Tennis Association of the Philippines President Ting Ledesma, meanwhile, was impressed with Lariba’s huge achievement. “I’m thankful to those who helped us pursue Yanyan’s Olympic dream especially the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, among other sponsors,” said Ledesma. “Yan-yan should enjoy her achievement first before thinking how hard the competition is.” In 2012, Ledesma also competed in Thailand’s Olympic qualifying for the London Games but couldn’t qualify after losing in the classification phase.

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PH boxer’s loss to be reviewed By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WORLD Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman has ordered an immediate review of the hugely controversial split-decision victory of Australia-based Tanzanian Omari Kimweri over Filipino southpaw Randy “Razor” Petalcorin at the Melbourne Pavilion on Friday night. The decision, aggravated by the failure of referee Malcom Bulner to call four knockdowns by Petalcorin, shocked those watching the fight on live streaming in the Philippines, including some of the leading TV commentators and boxing writers. Co-managers Jim Claude Manangquil and multi-titled Australian promoter Peter Maniatis expressed their “shock and disgust” over the decision, with highlights of the fight for the vacant WBC Silver title showing the knockdowns, which Bulner unbelievably failed to count. This cost Petalcorin the fight after he relinquished his WBA light flyweight Interim title to fight Kimweri for the WBC Green and Gold Silver belt.

This reporter communicated with WBC president Sulaiman, who acted promptly and ordered a review, while waiting for copy of the fight, which Maniatis told The Standard he would send to the WBC president, along with a formal protest. In an overseas conversation early Sunday, Maniatis said he would ask for a reversal of the decision and if that is not granted, at least a rematch promoted by someone neutral party and not the manager of Kimweri, who, “violated the provisions of the Muhammad Ali Act” by appointing Bulner and all three Australian judges, including Bulner’s wife Samantha, who also scored the fight for Kimweri.

Time to get fit LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG TOP fitness coach Jim Saret and wife Toni wanted every Filipino to live well and longer, so the couple decided to spearhead a fitness advocacy called FitFil (Fit Filipino) Movement. After spending countless hours on the planning table, negotiating with partners and selling their idea, Saret’s dream of putting together the biggest gathering of stakeholders in the fitness industry finally became a reality. From blue-chip fitness gyms, Fitness First and Gold’s Gym, to the nutrition retailers like Century Tuna, stakeholders all came to connect and treat thousands of Filipino fitness enthusiasts for two days during the Milo FitCon (Fitness Convention) over the weekend at the Circuit Makati. “We have pretty much everything here, we have yoga, pilates, thread training, functional training, stationary cycling, crossfit, under armour challenge, boxing, MMA, health lectures, cooking demonstration and nutrition,” said Saret in describing the two-hectare enclave buzzing with activities. “We’ve seen this trend that fitness is growing in the Philippines. With the event that we have here, we’ve actually proven that it definitely is,” he said. Saret is one of the top fitness coaches in the country, owing to his first-rate education in

sports medicine. Along with wife Toni, who is also a certified fitness specialist in the US and UK, they created two of the country’s wellknown scientific programs, including APEX (Athletic Performance Enhancement Training Program). Saret said he expects the FilCon to connect the different fitness players with the healthconscious people, who are seeking something new and something better. “Our gol is to help Filipinos get fit and healthier,” said Saret. “This is going to be a game changer in the fitness industry. Once you do something like this, you tend to level up the next time, so this is good for everyone. From here, we’ll improve the next time because the gyms will try to outdo each other, and this will really benefit the consumers.” Guests and participants got to try all the exercises and activities offered by various gyms and equipment makers. They also were educated through the lectures conducted by certified fitness instructors. “People have not tried a lot of stuff, so here, they’ve trying new things. Example is the pole dancing, I was surprised how many guys have tried to do it earlier today and I’ve never seen so many girls try out crossfit,” added Saret. One of the most interesting activities in the festival was aerial hoops. It’s a sturdy, oversized rope hanging onto a metal base and the participant gets to do

various stunts there. Polecats Manila is the country’s pioneer school for aerial arts, whose disciplines include aerial hoops, silk hoops and the more popular pole dancing. Kayleen Ortiz, trainer and manager of the Polecats Manila, said after pole dancing, aerial hoops is getting popular among women because “it’s fun and the closest one can get to performing in a circus.” “It’s fun to be upside down, fun to be spinning, because after a while you get tired of the ordinary gym routine, so the aerial arts gives you an option to do something different and fun at the same time. That’s what makes it special,” said Ortiz, who, along with fellow trainer Duds Ignacio, competed in international competition for Aerial Arts. She said aerial arts develops one’s upper body strength and flexibility because “there’s a lot of upper body workout, lots of pulling. You have to engage your pectorals, your back and your arms to be able to pull yourself up the apparatus.” Last year in China, Ortiz and Ignacio competed against aerial arts athletes from Russia, China, Ireland and Finland, to name a few, and brought home a bronze medal in the pole dance doubles’ competition. They were also awarded a special award as Best Entertainers for having the best concept in the category. They look forward to another competition later this year and get new ideas to bring back home to the Philippines and share with their students.

2nd ADT title. Gavin Green basks after nailing his second Asian Development Tour crown in two months with a two-shot victory in the ICTSI Manila Southwoods Championship. Green pulled through in a pressure-packed, stretch-run shootout with Donlaphatchai Niyomchon and edged the Thai ace and Singaporean Deng Shan Koh by two on a closing 65 to snare the crown at the Legends course on Saturday.

Staheli: Pacman-Floyd is still the biggest fight By Ronnie Nathanielsz AMERICAN trainer Rick Staheli is certain that if unbeaten pound-forpound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. decides to come out of retirement and fights Manny, “that’s the biggest fight in boxing.” Staheli,who trained eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao when he won his first title in December 1998 against World Boxing Council flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul, told The Standard that while it won’t approximate the money they made in the first fight on May 2 last year, “they will still make a lot of money and Manny is not going to get hurt.” “It’s going to be like a sparring session. Floyd doesn’t hurt anybody. Manny will never get beat up by Floyd,” said Staheli. He noted that if Mayweather wants to surpass the 49-0 unbeaten record of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano and he wants to fight Pacquiao, the new 24,000-seat arena in Las Vegas could be the venue. While Pacquiao’s family wants Pacquiao to retire, “people want to continue to see him perform again. It’s hard to walk away from a million-dollar fight. It’s hard to retire as a champion.” Staheli remarked that Pacquiao’s shoulder, which underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff injury five days after the Mayweather fight because it was ag-

Albay wants to become co-host of SEA Games LEGAZPI, Albay—The province of Albay is willing to share the responsibility of hosting the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Governor Joey Salceda said this after the 2016 Palarong Pambansa ended Saturday with the National Capital Region once again taking the overall championship. Salceda said the province has the resources and the infrastructure to carry out their bid to manage and run the biennial games. “We want to host the SEA Games, or part of it. When the Philippine Sports Commission

and the Department of Education came and checked our system of running things in Albay, they saw what we have,” said Salceda. He said that the province has converted its ability to handle disasters into something more positive, something that involves sports events and management. They have organized a sports program for young and budding athletes called “Gintong Albay.” Infrastructures like the Albay Sports and Tourism Complex inside Bicol Uni-

versity is there. There’s access to facilities and accomodation, with plenty of hotels and billeting areas around. Lastly, there’s a management system which they use whenever there is activity in Mayon Volcano, or when a storm is around. “Pagdating sa joint operations command, incident monitoring, planning and execution, nandoon na,” added Salceda, who noted that police and emergency units responded well when a gas explosion involving the Palaro symbolic injured three people last Thursday. Peter Atencio

gravated in the fourth round of the fight, “looked good. His shoulder looked fine.” Staheli downplayed the chances of a fight against unbeaten light welterweight champion Terence Crawford and indicated that while he is “a nice fighter, he is never going to catch up with Manny at the box office. It’s not a big enough money fight for Pacquiao. I think he (Pacquiao) picked Timothy Bradley (whom he beat handily, dropping the American twice, once in Round 7 and once in Round 9) because he can make more money.” “If Mayweather wants to fight, take the fight, anybody else call it a day, because what a great way to end his career when he looked pretty good. Other guys at 37, including Sugar Ray Robinson didn’t look like that in their last fight,” Staheli said. Srength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who moved over to the Mayweather camp after his services with Pacquiao were terminated on the insistence of trainer Freddie Roach and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum because he reportedly caused dissension within the Pacquiao camp, told The Standard that while Mayweather is “obviously enjoying his retired life, he naturally gets the fire for boxing as an athlete and a competitor and tells himself ‘I can do this again,” said Ariza. “But it would be very difficult to work with Arum.”

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sports

Alaska’s Chris Banchero soars for a one-handed shot against three TNT defenders , led by Ranidel de Ocampo and Jayson Castro, in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup game won by the Texters, 106-99.

Painters, Texters whip foes by elmer manuel

RAIN or Shine pulled off an impressive comeback in the endgame to repulse crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra, 88-84, as it drew first blood in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals series at the Cuneta Astrodome Sunday night. games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 4:15 p.m.—NLEX vs. Meralco 7 p.m. – Star vs. San Miguel The Elasto Painters inched closer to a semifinal ticket as they lead their best-of-three series, 1-0, after an explosive performance against

the Gin Kings. JR Quinahan and Jeff Chan led Rain or Shine’s sizzling comeback after the team fell down by 19 points in the first half. Quinahan finished with 17 points, while Chan added 15 – including the game-clinching jumper in the dying seconds for Rain or Shine. Import Pierre Henderson-Niles

DonAlD grAbs 1-shot golf leAD turn to A12

made 12 points and 10 boards. “It’s a hard struggle every time we play Ginebra in the playoffs,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “But we just really kept our focus, played it possession per possession and just hung in there.” Ginebra started off hot with Mark Caguioa sparking a run that caught Rain or Shine offguard, scoring eight points to give the Gin Kings a 27-12 advantage. They padded their cushion to 19, 35-16, in the second quarter before the Elasto Painters clawed back in the game. Rain or Shine unleashed a crippling 22-4 run and pulled to within one, 39-38. Chan’s triple in the opening

minutes of the third quarter gave Rain or Shine the lead, 43-41. It was a seesaw battle since then with the game ending in a 70-all deadlock entering the final quarter. Talk N Text, meantime, relied on the heroics of rookie Troy Rosario to turn back Alaska, 10699, in their own best-of-three showdown. Rosario capped the night with a career-high 31 points, including seven big triples that thwarted the Aces’ rally in the endgame. The No.2 overall pick waxed hot all game, having 18 points and four out of six triples in the first half alone as the Tropang Texters held a 57-44 lead.

Dubs cArry momentum to plAyoffs turn to A14

Lopez fails to clinch Rio berth PAULINE Louse Lopez fell one win short of her Olympic dream, absorbing a 2-5 setback in the women’s -57-kilogram semifinals to Thailand’s Phanappa Harnsujin in the Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Manila Marriott Hotel Grand ballroom in Pasay City Sunday. Aiming to follow the footsteps of teammate Kirstie Elaine Allora, who earned a ticket to the Rio Olympics in placing second the women’s +87-kilogram event last Saturday, Lopez found herself behind 0-3 after the first round after being hit from an axe kick to the head by the Thai. National coach Japoy Lizardo questioned the judges’ decision since the hit failed to register on the electronic sensor, but the referee sustained the call and it was catch-up for the Pinay jin the rest of the way. “We were right to question the call because the hit on top of the head did not register in the electronic headgear,” noted former national coach Jess Morales. “It would have counted for three points if the hit was in the face but it did not.”

MONDAY: APRIL 18, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Interim LRT-MRT hub eyed By Darwin G. Amojelar

CEBU CITY—Light Rail Manila Corp., a joint venture between Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., proposed to build an interim station between SM City North Edsa and Trinoma mall along Edsa to connect the existing Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and the planned MRT 7. “I think our concession agreement stipulates the government will provide us a common station. We cannot dictate on them where that will be. What we’re trying to do is tell them, can we build an interim station in the meantime,” MPIC president and chief executive Jose Ma. Lim told reporters. LRMC, which won the contract for the LRT 1 Cavite extension project, including the design of the common station near Trinoma, currently operates LRT Line 1. Lim said the company broached the idea of an interim station for LRT Line 1, MRT 3 and MRT 7 in the latter part of 2015.

“The idea is to have just one station that will be ideal for us and for everyone because all the lines will just meet in that station. It has to be within that triangle of Trinoma and SM,” he said. Lim said if the proposed interim station concept became acceptable, it could later become a part of the permanent station. The Transportation Department, SM Prime Holdings Inc., San Miguel Corp., the proponent of MRT 7 have yet to resolve a conflict over the location of a common station for the Metro Manila’s overheard train system in Quezon City.

SM Prime earlier secured a Supreme Court stay order, barring the department from transferring the location of the common station to Trinoma mall of Ayala Land Inc. To resolve the conflict with the SM Group, the Transportation Department proposed building two common stations, one near SM North Edsa and the other beside Trinoma Mall. The Transportation Department decided to relocate the common station to Trinoma from SM North, saying the government could save P1 billion from the transfer. Under an earlier agreement between SM Prime and state-run Light Rail Transit Authority, the common station would be situated beside SM North Edsa. SM Prime already paid the government P200 million for the naming rights for the proposed station. MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan earlier said the best solution to resolve the issue on common station was to build it somewhere between SM North Edsa and Trinoma.

Luzon power supply OK, Visayas lacking By Alena Mae S. Flores LUZON is forecast to have adequate gross reserves of about 1,463 megawatts today but Visayas is expected to register thin reserves of 6 MW, according to the power situation outlook of National Grid Corp. National Grid, which operates the country’s power grid, said Luzon would have an available capacity of 11,045 MW on Monday against the peak demand of 9,582 MW. National Grid, however, said the figures were “subject to change depending on actual conditions.” Visayas will have a peak demand of 1,750 MW versus the available capacity of 1,756 MW. Viyasas’ generation capacity has been tight due to the derated supply from several power plants, namely 164 MW from 164 MW, 70 MW from the Leyte Geothermal Power Plant and 408 MW from Energy Development Corp.

Mindanao is forecast to continue to suffer power outages resulting from a generation deficiency of 22 MW. Mindanao is seen to have an available capacity of 1,437 MW on Monday versus the system peak of 1,459 MW. Mindanao needs an additional capacity of 500 megawatts this year as the region’s electricity demand surges due to rapid economic growth in recent years. Romeo Montenegro, director for investment promotions, international relations and public affairs of the Mindanao Development Authority, said Mindanao had been enjoying a robust economic performance in recent years, contributing 20.7 percent to the national economy in 2014. The Energy Department, meanwhile, lauded participants of the Interruptible Load Program for their cooperation in hurdling a critical power supply situation in Luzon on Friday.

MONDAY: APRIL 18, 2016

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

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW STOCKS

APRIL 11-15, 2016 Close Volume

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine Trust Co. Prudential Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

3.29 46 103.50 90.00 39.55 3.00 1.50 10 14.12 15.86 7.50 0.7 1.7 590.00 0.620 84 1.04 15.00 24.50 53.70 103.7 274 160 270.4 32.15 183.5 1360.00 57.50 1.6

Aboitiz Power Corp. Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Bogo Medellin C. Azuc De Tarlac Century Food Chemphil Conc. Aggr. À’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab. First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp. Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co À’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. À’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods À’ SPC Power Corp. Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

44.35 5 0.88 1.44 59 220.00 19.02 178.9 319.8 19.06 47.5 2.39 5.65 11.24 9.320 8.10 5.92 7.50 1.83 21.6 70.35 14.24 13.76 5.8 2.690 228.20 11.06 35.00 2.2 3.96 39.30 27 22.8 6.55 330.00 4.40 3.8 11.00 3.3 11.64 4.45 1.62 2.79 4.16 2.5 4.51 202 4.11 2.8 0.167 1.29 2.84 211 4.8 1.06 32.00 1.28

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ F&J Prince ‘B’ Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. IPM Holdings JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings À’ LT Group Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp. Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Transgrid Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.365 64.50 16.52 1.19 6.10 0.315 0.305 782 8.31 12.70 5.04 5.11 5.52 0.218 1400 6.48 9.75 82.50 4.94 6.19 5.01 7.32 0.67 15.82 0.490 5.99 3.45 0.0350 1.350 1.930 2.66 75.35 962.00 1.28 0.80 206.00 178.500 0.3150 0.2070 0.285

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ Cebu Holdings Centennial City City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport À’ Keppel Properties Megaworld Prop.

7.880 1.47 1.500 0.241 35.500 3.14 5.2 0.560 0.96 1.000 0.127 0.540 37.5 0.860 0.161 1.10 1.88 1.32 4.67 4.02

2,536,000 141,400 7,677,490 7,304,450 682,300 1,592,000 4,222,000 2,300 44,500 677,400 62,200 12,000 29,000 890 35,567,500 14,957,640 1,294,000 184,200 3,146,000 357,470 5,910 180 43,840 11,100 2,296,100 11,407,600 1,480 142,150 737,000

Value FINANCIAL 8,948,130.00 6,534,955.00 608,251,784 656,854,280.50 26,990,995.00 4,707,310.00 6,253,670.00 22,900.00 635,754.00 8,540,692.00 466,520 8,400 49,840.00 527,280.00 31,971,490.00 1,265,741,143.00 1,292,140.00 2,741,470.00 77,713,630.00 18,925,237.50 595,318.00 49,320.00

3,018,592.00 73,388,170 2,153,468,385.00 2,026,780.00 8,191,110.00 1,141,800.00 INDUSTRIAL 9,105,400 399,073,410.00 8,212,900 41,922,584.00 9,180,000 7,846,040.00 15,788,000 21,955,210.00 4,460 270,089.50 10 2,200.00 13,956,000 263,326,232 1,830 309,386.00 11,850 3,791,618.00 441,400 8,507,570.00 745,700 35,612,135 2,513,000 6,019,470.00 24,825,400 148,526,711.00 316,700 3,569,866.00 22,576,800 214,439,067.00 61,779,400 488,351,861.00 68,203,200 400,781,834.00 3,137,400 23,485,975.00 81,000 144,170.00 14,697,400 327,783,385.00 1,350,620 96,159,137.00 2,613,000 35,621,736.00 282,200 3,897,556.00 3,406,100 20,154,438.00 33,661,000 90,618,320.00 2,608,420 599,126,006.00 138,900 1,512,156.00 4,300 150,170.00 97,000 212,340.00 270,000 1,082,210.00 13,700 537,290.00 7,343,200 196,255,110.00 1,602,800 35,876,885.00 374,700 2,423,695.00 1,269,590 420,107,748.00 26,000 113,740.00 5,072,000 19,280,930.00 26,114,000 285,616,758.00 44,000 143,750.00 627,900 7,236,760.00 1,618,000 7,077,900.00 2,201,000 3,613,410.00 963,000 2,707,290.00 2,415,000 10,033,350.00 36,000 90,570.00 24,000 112,500.00 313,860 61,352,243.00 717,000 3,190,000.00 16,441,000 47,277,980 67,030,000 11,162,020.00 290,000 366,160.00 45,814,000 130,616,220.00 7,989,710 1,714,436,502.00 628,000 3,062,460.00 627,994,000 696,621,980.00 24,200 757,120.00 2,655,000 3,482,980.00 HOLDING FIRMS 3,800,000 1,350,150.00 5,376,180 346,462,263.00 14,158,000 236,654,410.00 536,000 618,600.00 116,500 710,830.00 55,600,000 18,170,150.00 13,120,000 4,163,300.00 2,052,780 1,585,990,415.00 17,831,500 203,014,054.00 46,828,000 597,786,696.00 489,500 2,558,145.00 2,900 14,819.00 3,515,400 18,689,958.00 2,290,000 515,970.00 718,010 1,004,228,375.00 49,900 320,326.00 6,877,000 66,951,500.00 11,263,550 923,592,623.50 21,000 103,740.00 15,000 89,007.00 2,300 11,105.00 34,210,300 245,410,866.00 1,253,000 836,610.00 14,410,700 229,556,208.00 1,020,000 504,350.00 165,937,100 1,000,077,177.00 45,000 160,300.00 656,200,000 23,453,700.00 82,001 114,910.00 3,360,000 6,498,380.00 349,000 955,530.00 689,530 52,512,626.50 1,620,770 1,559,639,525.00 9,114,000 11,618,950.00 674,000 562,660.00 670 131,516.00 105,080 19,313,302.00 72,530,000 24,102,400.00 10,030,000 2,081,020.00 1,040,000 291,650.00 PROPERTY 380,700 2,975,526.00 124,424,000 189,638,430.00 965,000 1,414,050.00 880,000 203,400.00 60,227,900 2,156,506,395.00 16,675,000 51,324,730.00 335,700 1,747,388.00 20,459,000 11,426,370.00 4,300 6,840.00 565,000 557,740.00 24,520,000 3,221,820.00 33,138,000 18,129,200.00 5,236,000 200,687,620.00 3,071,000 2,585,360.00 5,620,000 894,830.00 53,208,000 59,016,980.00 107,812,000 203,018,630.00 545,000 741,580.00 54,000 238,710.00 205,997,000 836,132,000.00

APRIL 04-08, 2016 Volume Value

3.34 46.3 102.00 89.75 39.75 2.90 1.32

2,856,000 114,000 10,846,780 5,121,760 309,800 50,000 325,000

9,382,870.00 5,243,995.00 1,102,115,780 460,800,785.00 12,176,035.00 143,330.00 433,630.00

14.38 15.44 7.70 0.63 1.81 600.00 0.600 85 0.94 14.64 23.70 53.00 103.8 270

81,700 1,286,500 10,300 7,000 149,000 30 31,497,000 8,162,410 557,000 405,900 900 115,640 2,120 140

1,796,407.00 20,376,368.00 78,391 4,350 257,990.00 18,700.00 20,280,070.00 688,629,591.00 532,050.00 6,006,422.00 21,330.00 6,092,505.50 220,191.00 26,360.00

280 31.15 179.3 1340.00 57.50 1.6

10,570 4,840,200 6,486,320 320 199,120 589,000

2,931,856.00 154,043,550 1,148,867,051.00 421,110.00 11,464,385.50 949,020.00

43.1 5.05 0.7 1.4 56.05

6,727,500 5,409,000 830,000 13,071,000 900

289,888,635.00 26,863,623.00 601,580.00 18,318,590.00 49,987.00

18.68 205 340 19.6 47 2.4 5.75 11.28 9.420 7.65 5.63 7.95 1.76 21.85 71.5 12.02 13.78 5.89 2.550 230.60 10.7 34.90 2.18 4.3 37.40 26.35 22.4 6.36 327.00 4.61 3.73 10.66 3.25 11.56 4.37 1.65 2.75 4.30 2.6 4.62 185 4.65 2.58 0.160 1.27 2.69 219 4.7 0.83 30.00 1.25

2,433,300 1,740 71,590 2,934,200 1,374,000 5,639,000 7,407,500 415,000 14,935,200 8,232,100 64,097,900 6,428,600 327,000 12,830,100 1,060,950 115,700 75,900 560,200 63,735,000 3,900,940 25,300 1,300 894,000 1,064,004 1,700 9,880,700 2,237,300 211,100 778,530 46,000 7,933,000 53,383,900 15,000 86,600 1,875,000 1,408,000 994,000 3,847,000 404,000 8,000 380,230 231,000 1,882,000 38,320,000 571,000 23,824,000 10,167,240 286,000 75,683,000 86,300 18,228,000

45,588,676 315,217.00 25,070,216.00 58,297,021.00 63,348,540 14,016,590.00 42,754,491.00 4,708,396.00 138,288,949.00 63,060,110.00 367,019,301.00 50,604,514.00 602,530.00 279,143,525.00 74,319,279.50 1,456,690.00 1,048,854.00 3,317,514.00 168,140,140.00 892,391,024.00 270,110.00 45,380.00 2,069,890.00 4,644,620.00 63,360.00 259,377,305.00 49,478,515.00 1,317,151.00 253,365,040.00 207,610.00 29,786,470.00 486,543,696.00 48,750.00 997,764.00 7,663,900.00 2,361,370.00 2,706,630.00 16,532,670.00 1,202,140.00 37,050.00 68,478,013.00 1,061,800.00 4,782,340 6,159,670.00 729,890.00 63,361,560.00 2,206,048,158.00 1,313,560.00 60,710,820.00 2,568,485.00 23,268,350.00

0.360 64.70 16.76 1.10 6.10 0.290 0.280 745.5 7.57 12.70 5.1 5.11 5.00 0.229 1356 6.33 9.79 80.90 4.96 6.2

1,270,000 4,552,510 21,231,700 1,288,000 56,800 3,880,000 1,310,000 923,940 7,707,600 26,756,200 286,500 8,000 1,225,600 90,000 629,225 916,000 11,059,100 6,557,450 10,100 32,400

449,950.00 292,436,026.50 354,216,628.00 1,531,460.00 342,826.00 1,127,000.00 383,000.00 690,296,695.00 57,562,739.00 340,585,394.00 1,448,256.00 40,950.00 6,101,280.00 20,610.00 862,979,780.00 5,779,755.00 107,944,080.00 520,528,999.50 50,365.00 193,094.00

7 0.68 15.9 0.490 5.82 3.44 0.0340 1.400 1.970 2.76 76.75 960.00 1.18 0.85 227.00 189.000 0.3000 0.2080 0.280

11,039,800 719,000 16,707,300 212,000 109,111,100 83,000 179,200,000 60,000 6,780,000 17,000 568,820 1,122,860 6,574,000 2,116,000 400 193,240 6,010,000 6,600,000 1,170,000

76,684,531.00 489,470.00 263,569,134.00 105,680.00 629,663,204.00 297,540.00 6,003,200.00 79,110.00 13,187,950.00 46,920.00 43,512,063.50 1,076,579,685.00 7,976,060.00 1,791,750.00 81,455.00 35,926,818.00 1,848,450.00 1,336,510.00 338,550.00

7.800 1.50 1.570 0.229 36.000 3 5.16 0.560 1.01 0.980 0.124 0.540 36.25 0.840 0.160 1.06 1.84 1.35 4.30 3.95

742,700 104,637,000 155,000 140,000 41,630,500 5,715,000 40,000 16,856,000 21,000 59,000 8,720,000 83,430,000 9,175,900 7,329,000 950,000 44,328,000 62,414,000 717,000 89,900 154,011,000

5,791,252.00 137,967,980.00 242,210.00 32,510.00 1,477,293,260.00 16,971,920.00 207,127.00 9,397,380.00 21,110.00 58,720.00 1,092,080.00 45,875,120.00 334,446,005.00 6,382,880.00 149,580.00 47,687,630.00 113,024,750.00 978,910.00 385,369.00 614,263,390.00

STOCKS

APRIL 11-15, 2016 Close Volume

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp. Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

0.091 0.2650 0.510 27.05 8.6 29.00 1.58 3.15 22.85 0.89 6.74 1.140 4.810

2GO Group ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp. Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons Retail SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils. Yehey

7.3 59.4 1.28 0.600 11.3 28.45 4.70 0.0640 3.12 90.7 9.7 1.7 7.00 2.92 1000 2154 7.24 24.05 1.20 68 16.48 200 11.3 0.0110 0.295 1.5900 2.29 7.69 3.91 1.19 2.83 23.00 0.590 2 2.57 4.10 0.280 2.460 17.5 4.99 5.1 8.75 111.00 22.00 1896.00 0.450 0.870 40.05 78.00 6.59 3.69 0.620 1.93 3.64 0.330 4.900

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

0.0042 2.16 4.22 0.260 8.7900 8.6000 0.77 0.570 8.20 0.880 0.290 0.260 0.265 0.0120 0.0120 2.17 5.15 2.49 0.5600 1.2700 0.0099 0.0099 3.85 5.40 2.40 0.0120 127.00 3.58 0.0092

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure & Resort Pref. MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

59.95 518 526 117.1 520 7.07 1.08 110.8 1000 1041 1014 103.7 77.5 80 77 75.6 76.95 77 75 75 2.2

Leisure & Resort Warr. Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp. Italpinas Xurpas

3.360 4.13 3.81 3.25 19.24

First Metro ETF

120.2

Value

9,870,000 2,820,000 2,534,000 18,700 867,000 7,699,500 1,836,000 6,050,000 40,121,100 9,826,000 86,700 19,980,000 14,812,000

911,790.00 741,190.00 1,319,210.00 618,980.00 7,405,350.00 222,479,855.00 2,948,460.00 19,648,820.00 914,786,795.00 8,489,390.00 556,878.00 23,316,870.00 71,246,300.00 SERVICES 508,400 3,684,450.00 492,990 29,046,323.00 274,000 359,120.00 8,185,000 5,023,610.00 6,900 76,762.00 100 2,845 27,282,000 128,904,610.00 246,260,000 15,665,780.00 5,685,000 17,670,430.00 2,723,200 247,308,264.00 35,600 346,715.00 1,698,000 3,270,890 4,013,000 27,406,482.00 50,000 152,700.00 855 870,180.00 326,020 686,011,870 1,547,200 11,191,609.00 6,800 187,880 1,025,000 1,233,130.00 3,671,870 242,018,838.50 362,200 6,055,326 110 22,000 10,100 114,280.00 2,800,000 230,800.00 116,790,000 35,166,200.00 36,865,000 57,859,680.00 270,000 614,190.00 1,301,400 9,909,117.00 903,000 3,484,400.00 26,000 32,170.00 3,000 8,430.00 5,600 117,065 3,114,000 1,909,720.00 257,000 512,980.00 116,889,000 291,175,110.00 69,866,000 288,976,600.00 5,750,000 1,648,400.00 298,349,000 715,220,130.00 9,626,300 169,347,102.00 393,500 1,971,643 43,000 110,140.00 20,000 175,000.00 12,930 1,419,235.00 350,900 7,693,810.00 585,015 1,100,756,620.00 51,250,000 24,664,750.00 110,818,000 96,876,720.00 24,311,500 971,762,950.00 86,522,376 926,376,484.50 14,698,600 97,739,882.00 122,166,100 472,360,240.00 37,125,000 23,359,050.00 81,000 151,730.00 6,335,000 23,145,080.00 1,960,000 647,850.00 1,883,200 9,916,406.00 MINING & OIL 1,809,000,000 7,873,000.00 577,000 1,222,260.00 1,650,000 7,055,180.00 10,550,000 2,655,950.00 178,900 1,360,778.00 126,100 984,714.00 34,080,000 27,165,040.00 46,167,000 26,610,390.00 1,900 15,287.00 113,498,000 99,700,810.00 9,800,000 2,863,300.00 171,400,000 44,971,500.00 106,180,000 27,735,250.00 494,000,000 5,911,500.00 197,900,000 2,474,100.00 2,956,000 6,420,170.00 15,477,300 81,962,531.00 373,000 933,140.00 310,000 171,630.00 295,000 382,650.00 29,000,000 280,900.00 3,800,000 37,900.00 288,000 1,114,920.00 3,908,900 21,476,787.00 19,930,000 48,159,910.00 112,000,000 5,163,200.00 2,875,930 366,801,572.00 17,428,000 55,497,630.00 1,000,000 9,200.00 PREFERRED 1,418,500 84,190,462.00 6,120 3,193,010.00 8,330 4,340,030 86,980 10,179,462.00 26,100 13,566,500.00 468,700 3,295,180.00 711,000 761,800 380 41,842.00 300 3,000,000.00 10 10,410.00 7,565 7,670,910.00 19,180 1,988,736.00 15,370 1,191,548.00 792,180 63,401,094.00 9,630 728,220.00 54,850 4,144,605.00 162,280 12,404,883.00 142,730 11,034,157.00 1,233,630 92,531,401.00 673,270 50,497,673.00 12,000 26,400.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 1,674,000 5,818,620.00 474,000 1,921,580.00 192,000 725,740.00 1,052,000 3,398,840.00 15,190,500 294,376,732.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 24,830 2,970,511.00

APRIL 04-08, 2016 Volume Value

0.091 0.2470 0.520 15.48 8.7 29.00 1.58 3.09 22.00 0.88 6.99 1.200 4.770

7,840,000 1,690,000 1,414,000 100 214,300 13,130,800 3,316,000 61,000 49,196,100 19,605,000 87,700 64,208,000 19,494,000

696,620.00 408,890.00 719,360.00 1,548.00 1,855,542.00 367,979,440.00 5,138,580.00 185,840.00 1,075,511,770.00 17,673,000.00 583,133.00 80,022,870.00 92,277,310.00

7.19 56.8 1.28 0.580 11 28.5 4.59 0.0620 3.12 90 9.9 1.64 7.00 3.11 965 2076 7.14 24.00 1.24 66.2 16.68 200 11.7 0.0110 0.320 1.4500 2.35 7.59 3.90 1.26 2.85 24.30 0.690 1.96 2.19 3.81 0.310 2.200 17.8 5.00 2.75

410,900 472,310 350,000 4,635,000 12,100 500 16,217,500 633,280,000 1,597,000 1,300,830 2,700 240,000 578,200 421,000 2,370 422,430 766,200 63,600 462,000 5,488,960 1,211,600 2,090 17,900 32,100,000 663,460,000 76,527,000 434,000 1,358,300 3,813,000 25,000 8,000 3,600 11,854,000 1,143,000 65,929,000 6,134,000 23,760,000 648,878,000 887,000 123,600 15,000

3,002,260.00 26,698,485.50 448,790.00 2,676,780.00 133,016.00 14,250 76,831,535.00 41,065,940.00 5,079,060.00 116,091,469.00 26,730.00 396,960 3,934,987.00 1,717,950.00 2,287,250.00 866,813,310 5,388,470.00 1,730,620 583,810.00 361,978,629.00 25,310,416 439,208 203,766.00 322,800.00 209,398,450.00 113,838,580.00 989,150.00 10,342,160.00 14,989,230.00 31,540.00 22,590.00 87,070 8,189,820.00 2,280,390.00 149,304,640.00 23,431,210.00 7,379,800.00 1,208,073,580.00 15,779,430.00 622,726 40,450.00

110.00 21.95 1828.00 0.480 0.880 39.10 77.00 6.44 3.48 0.630 1.97 3.63 0.325 5.120

91,300 473,200 686,590 39,650,000 27,029,000 22,360,400 6,863,920 12,176,400 16,372,000 89,165,190 310,000 7,391,000 1,010,000 3,558,900

10,382,025.00 10,339,280.00 1,270,316,655.00 19,079,550.00 23,746,860.00 833,742,735.00 514,471,037.50 77,432,896.00 56,037,360.00 57,179,090.00 589,830.00 26,860,490.00 328,650.00 19,233,601.00

0.0044 2.02 4.27 0.233 7.4500 7.6500 0.81 0.470 8.24 0.820 0.285 0.255 0.275 0.0120 0.0130 2.04 4.98 2.51 0.5900 1.2400 0.0096 0.0095 3.80 5.42 2.23 0.0120 127.00 2.5 0.0096

552,000,000 244,000 815,000 600,000 923,900 128,300 40,836,000 2,930,000 92,500 36,908,000 2,670,000 210,600,000 7,700,000 194,500,000 5,300,000 3,171,000 14,901,800 689,000 513,000 377,000 74,300,000 33,600,000 119,000 8,163,000 15,796,000 259,900,000 2,664,290 811,000 68,000,000

2,438,400.00 496,350.00 3,525,090.00 144,380.00 6,937,579.00 976,248.00 31,011,950.00 1,406,000.00 749,326.00 30,285,050.00 764,050.00 54,646,200.00 2,141,550.00 2,323,800.00 65,900.00 6,353,400.00 73,427,788.00 1,733,180.00 271,610.00 471,090.00 721,000.00 328,920.00 451,260.00 43,526,691.00 34,587,470.00 3,121,100.00 342,187,577.00 1,989,390.00 664,600.00

57.5 520 520 115.4 520 7.02 1.1 110 1030 1030 1014 104.5

578,210 2,810 4,780 3,510 50 195,200 100,000 840 5,000 5,000 7,580 3,210

31,900,347.50 1,461,250.00 2,516,370 405,031.00 26,050.00 1,361,155.00 110,000 92,014.00 5,150,000.00 5,150,000.00 7,659,540.00 332,845.00

79.75 80 75.6 76.5 77 75 75

232,980 51,500 103,750 137,850 310,060 692,380 1,348,210

18,639,119.50 3,960,190.00 7,845,028.00 10,573,003.00 23,618,211.00 51,943,460.50 101,117,892.50

3.130 4.19 3.78 3.07 18.38

1,627,000 299,000 193,000 1,505,000 16,909,400

5,101,550.00 1,262,530.00 692,800.00 4,714,130.00 313,068,348.00

118.7

21,960

2,599,866.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Pacifica À’ Vitarich Corp. Manila Mining À’ NOW Corp. Boulevard Holdings Megaworld Prop. Manila Mining `B’ Lepanto À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

VOLUME 1,809,000,000 656,200,000 627,994,000 494,000,000 298,349,000 246,260,000 205,997,000 197,900,000 171,400,000 165,937,100

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ Security Bank Universal Robina Ayala Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. Metrobank PLDT Common GT Capital Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. Puregold

VALUE 2,156,506,395.00 2,153,468,385.00 1,714,436,502.00 1,585,990,415.00 1,559,639,525.00 1,265,741,143.00 1,100,756,620.00 1,004,228,375.00 1,000,077,177.00 971,762,950.00

MONDAY: APRIL 18, 2016

BUSINESS

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

Century Properties spending P25b By Jenniffer B. Austria

CENTURY Properties Group Inc., the real estate unit of Ambassador Jose Antonio, said it allocated P25 billion in capital expenditures from 2016 to 2020 to expand residential and leasing assets. Century Properties said in a statement the programmed spending for the next five years was in line with the company’s thrust to complete 20 towers with close to 10,300 residential and units. These projects, with total gross floor area of 751,000 square meters, have a total sales value of about P58.95 billion. These projects were 95-percent sold. “We remain positive about the property sector and believe that the steps we have undertaken will pave the way to achieving our future plans. Our growing financial strength and thirty-year experience in the industry help ensure that we are adapting to the needs of the market and maximizing the potential of our growth priorities,” Century Properties director for investor relations Kristina Garcia said. Century Properties posted a net income of P1.53 billion and revenues of P10.38 billion in 2015. The company did not provide comparative numbers. Based on 2014 financial statement it filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange, the 2015 net income was down 28.8 percent from P2.15 billion in 2014 while 2015 revenue figure was lower by 18.6 percent than P12.76 billion in 2014. The company turned over six residential towers in 2016. These projects have a total of 3,068 units, 234,000 square meters of gross floor area and P15.20 billion in total sales value. It also continues to build new housing units at Century’s Canyon Ranch in Carmona, Cavite while site ground works are being conducted at The Residences at Azure North in San Fernando, Pampanga in preparation for land development and the subsequent construction of its first two towers. The property firm forged a strategic partnership with leading Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. last year to develop the world’s first Forbes Media Office Tower in Century City Makati. The company had total assets of P37.48 billion and total equity of P14.63 billion as of end-2015.

UE campus in Laguna. Eton City, the 1,000-hectare mixed-use flagship development of Eton Properties in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, will soon become home to University of the East Laguna campus, which will occupy a 25-hectare area. Lucio Tan Group of companies chairman and chief executive Lucio Tan (seventh from left) and his wife and LTG director Carmen Tan (eighth from left) lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the EU campus. With them are (from left) Eton chief operating officer Josefino Lucas, US trustee Cornelio Peralta, Philippine Airlines executive vice president Stewart Lim, PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista, UE president Ester Garcia, Sta. Rosa City mayor Arlene Arcillas, LTG director Juanita Tan Lee, UE trustee Dante Tinga and UE executive vice president Carmelita Mateo.

Stock index seen climbing toward 7,400 STOCKS are expected to move sideways with an upward bias this week, as investors continue to take cue from the international markets and domestic data releases. Analysts said investors would closely monitor the forthcoming April 17 meeting among oil producers to discuss a possible freeze in current production levels to boost oil prices. A cut in the production is expected to have a positive effect on the equities market. However, analysts said that if oil producers failed to reach an agreement, this might cause as

selldown in the market. With the earnings report now over, investors are likely to look overseas for market guidance. Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said he expected strong selling pressure this week, as share prices reached key resistance levels. Limlingan, however, said sustained rallies could push the index above the 7,360 to 7,400 range. “A range trade strategy is still in place but we advise traders to be more watchful for any pullback,” he said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 1 percent last week to close at 7,321.30 on April 15, while the broader all-share index gained 1.3 percent to 4,314.67. The market was up for most part of the week on positive developments overseas, such as better-than-expected economic data from China and positive corporate earnings. Except the industrial sector, which dipped 0.1 percent, all other major sub-indices ended in the green, led by services which climbed 3 percent, holding firms which climbed 1.4 percent and property which ad-

vanced 1 percent. Foreign investors, however, were net sellers last week by P1.26 billion, as total foreign selling reached P19 billion while foreign buying amounted to only P17.7 billion. Top gainers last week were retailer SSI Group Inc. which advanced 6 percent to P3.69, despite reporting an 18.8-percent decrease in 2015 net income and Ayala Corp., which jumped 4.9 percent to P782 as the conglomerate said net income was expected to reach P50 billion by 2020. Jenniffer B. Austria

BSP to issue more strict regulations covering pawnshops By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas is set to update regulations on pawnshops and loan providers to strengthen the financial system in the wake of the $81-million money laundering scam that rocked the domestic banking industry in February. Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said over the weekend the bank regulator was closely monitoring the activities of pawnshops and non-stock savings and loan associations. “There are upcoming circulars. One that is almost cooked is the comprehensive regulations updating our regulations on

pawnshops. As you know, pawnshops have actually evolved beyond our traditional construct of a corner establishment that you bring your jewelry and you have money as payback. It has evolved more than that,” Espenilla said during the San Miguel Corp.-sponsored 2016 Economic Journalists Association the Philippines business journalism seminar in Tagaytay City. “A significant chunk of pawnshop business is actually being derived from remittance activity and other kinds of cross-sold activities. You may not realize it but pawnshops today are the number one distributors of micro insurance more than banks, compet-

ing the traditional insurance agents. What can pawnshops do today? They do remittances, in addition of course to traditional loans, they do insurance, some even do money changing. So it’s a much more complicated business,” he said. Espenilla said the pawnshop law was based on presidential decrees that were issued during the martial law regime and implemented by Bangko Sentral. “We are going to issue [an upgraded one] that will cover the pawnshops... We are also upgrading regulations covering nonstock savings and loans associations. They are focused on certain type of markets--military, police,

teachers--these are sensitive markets and they also involved people’s money,” Espenilla said. He said shadow banking was an area of growing interest and concern because an unintended consequence of strengthening oversight over the formal banking system might result in the potential enlargement of shadow banking. “And the shadows can happen in the non-bank context, be that in real estate, in payment services etc... You will see in the coming months and days the growing intensity as well of the BSP’s focus on activity in the shadows,” Espenilla said. He said the challenge was that

the legal framework had its own limitation in terms of what it could do. He said Bangko Sentral tried to deal and work with other financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission, pulling their efforts together through the body called Financial Sector Forum established in 2004. “Through that process—although BSP is only responsible for banks in general and some other financial institutions like pawnshops etc., by combining our powers and our attention, we are able to cover the financial system reasonably well,” Espenilla said.

G-24 roundtable. The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty Four, or G-24, and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion jointly host a roundtable on financial inclusion at the sidelines

of the IMF/World Bank Group Spring Meetings on April 13, 2016 in Washington, D.C. The meeting focused on mitigating the impact of de-risking and embracing the digital financial services opportunity. Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr. (center) delivers the keynote remarks on the future trends in financial inclusion. He stressed the enormous potential of digitization of financial services in driving scale in financial inclusion.

Cordova set to OK SM Prime proposal By Darwin G Amojelar CEBU CITY—The municipality of Cordova and the Philippine Reclamation Authority are set to sign an agreement on the country’s biggest reclamation project proposed by SM Prime Holdings Inc. “On April 24, we will sign memorandum of understanding between the municipality of Cordova and Philippine Reclamation Authority for SM project,” Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy told reporters. The municipality of Cordova last year awarded the P138-billion reclamation project to SM Prime, the original proponent of the project. The project involves reclamation of 1,500 hectares of land in the province. SM Prime will own 49 percent of the total reclaimed area or 735 hectares, while the rest will be shared by the provincial government of Cebu, PRA and Cordova. “I require them to prepare the masterplan. They will put up land area first. Among the plans of SM is putting up a landing point, a wharf for cruise ship and maybe another shopping mall. Maybe an aquarium like one, like in Singapore,” Sitoy added. He also said the PRA would hold a Swiss Challenge to match the offer of SM Prime. SM Prime in November opened SM Seaside Cebu City, a 470,486.31-square-meter waterfront mall at the South Road Properties complex. It will soon have residential towers, hotels, convention centers, a school, hospital, and a onehectare Cebu Ocean Park slated for 2017. Earlier, Parañaque City accepted the proposal of the SM Group to develop and reclaim 300 hectares of land in Manila Bay within the city’s jurisdiction.

San Miguel readies 2 big infra projects By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said it will start construction of two big-ticket infrastructure projects this year—the P63billion Mass Rail Transit Line 7 and the P24-billion Bulacan bulk water—as the company pursues investments to support the growth of the country. San Miguel Holdings head of tollway project Alec Cruz said during a journalists’ seminar held in Tagaytay over the weekend the conglomerate recently secured all government approvals and funding for the projects. The contractor for the project—Hyundai Rotem-EEI consortium—has started developing the initial design for the project to enable it to start actual construction the project within the year. San Miguel, however, expects

the project to face challenges in the implementation period, especially on right-of-way issues, just like its much-delayed NAIA Expressway project. “Hopefully we have learned our lessons for our past projects and that the government will also be able to adjust,” Cruz said. The MRT 7 project involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 23-kilometer elevated railway line with 14 stations from San Jose Del

Monte, Bulacan to MRT 3 North Avenue in Quezon City. MRT 7 will have a capacity of 525,000 passengers, which could be expanded to 850,000 passengers. Another component of the project is a 22-kilometer asphalt road from Bocaue Interchange of the North Luzon Expressway to the intermodal terminal in Tala in Caloocan City. Cruz said the 22-kilometer road project would help decongest EDSA, as buses from Central Luzon used the highway up to proposed intermodal terminal in Caloocan city. The same passengers could use the MRT 7 up to SM North in Quezon City, which will be connected to two other railway systems—LRT 1 and the MRT 3. Cruz said the company would also start constructing the Bulacan bulk water project, which aimed to address the water supply requirements of Bulacan towns,

thereby reducing groundwater extraction and the use of deep wells which are being discouraged due to their adverse impact on the environment. The consortium of San Miguel and Korea Water Resources Corp. in January signed a concession agreement on the Bulacan water supply project after offering the lowest bulk water charge of P8.50 per cubic meter. The Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project, the first awarded under the public-private partnership program, is a 30-year concession deal. Under the agreement, the SMC-K Water group will finance the proejct, provide the detailed design and build and maintain the conveyance and treatment facilities and the water source for the duration of the contract. The project, which covers 21 municipalities and three cities, will benefit some 3.4 million residents.

DTI declares failure of bidding on Montero tests By Othel V. Campos THE Trade Department’s bids and awards committee declared a failure of bidding on the procurement of services of a third-party laboratory that will do a comprehensive test on the controversial Mitsubishi Montero Sport units. The body declared lone bidder SGS of Switzerland ineligible for failing to submit a document indicating it had completed a similar project. “Under the law, if the bidder is non-compliant, the Bids and Awards Committee will proceed in accordance with the govern-

ment procurement process. There will be a mandatory review as to why there was a failure of bid. We will convene this review committee immediately,” Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario Dimagiba said, The Trade Department conducted a fact-finding investigation last year to look into consumer complaints on the alleged sudden unintended acceleration of Montero Sport automatic units. Congress also sought the services of a technically competent third-party expert who would determine the occurrence of the SUA.

Fifty six complaints were filed before the Trade Department against the car models manufactured between 2011 and 2015. “We are bound by the results of the fact finding investigation as well as the resolution of the House. And if SUA is established, the Trade Department’s role is to decide on the proper actions provided for under the law to safeguard public safety,” said Dimagiba. The third party assessor is expected to be capable of conducting four separate tests, namely full vehicle assessment, electromagnetic compatibility, emissions

and component testing on radio disturbance or interference to determine if there was SUA or not. Trade and Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. will bring to the third party assessor five vehicles with SUA but which have not been touched by Mitsubishi maintenance team for repair. The Trade Department alloted P9 million for testing expenses while Mitsubishi committed to cover the expenses of transporting via air freight Montero units to be subjected to tests. Meanwhile, Trade said it recieved 19 more SUA complaints against Mitsubishi.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

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

Underspending slowing economy By Gabrielle H. Binaday

GOVERNMENT underspending in the last two years has hurt the country’s economic performance, with infrastructure and capital outlays in 2015 reaching just P345.3 billion, or 20 percent less than the programmed spending of P431.6 billion, the Budget Department said over the weekend. Budget said the bulk of capital spending for the last quarter of 2015, or P54 billion, was disbursed only in December, compared with P27.9 billion in October and P20.4 billion in November. “Although disbursements for infrastructure outlays this [fourth] quarter were already high at P102.3 billion, it still fell short of the program since, as discussed above, line agencies have only obligated most of their allotments in fourth quarter indicating that a large number of programs/

projects are still ongoing during the period,” Budget said. It said the payments were likely to spill over toward the first two quarters of 2016. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said last week he expected economic growth to settle at 6 percent in the first quarter, backed by robust infrastructure and election-related spending. “Underspending remained to be a challenge. Under infrastructure outlays, around P86.3 billion or 20 percent was not disbursed in view of low obligations of agencies arising from procurement difficulties and weak planning capacities,” the department said. Maintenance and other operating expenses rose 30.7 percent to P403.4 billion in 2015 but fell 5 percent short of the P428.8-billion target. Budget said underspending in operating expenses amounted to P21.4 billion, mainly due to payment or billing issues resulting from incomplete or non-submission of documentary requirements, progress billings and delayed encashment of checks of creditors or contractors. Underspending was also recorded in personal services expenses as they increased 10 percent to P664.4 billion in 2015 from 2014, but missing the P743.2-billion target disbursement.

With (from left) Dr. Jonathan David Flavier, executive director of the Philippine Council for Population and Development; Dr. Albert Domingo, Consultant to the World Health Organization; Dr. Eduardo Banzon, Chevening Alumnus and Senior Health Specialist to the ADB; and Commissioner Karen Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights

A roundtable discussion on universal health coverage THESE hot, summer days and nights of the El Niño bring to fore discussions on climate change and the environment. But there is one other concern that is as hot, if not hotter, because it is considered as one of those issues both presidential and vice presidential candidates need to address in their current campaign platforms and in the forthcoming elections. Even in the US, which is also in an election year, the topic of Universal Health Coverage or UHC has taken center stage, not just between Democrats and Republicans but within the parties themselves. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “universal health coverage means that all people receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship when paying for them. The full spectrum of essential, quality health services should be covered including health promotion, prevention and treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.” Recognizing the need to fully discuss UHC, the Chevening Alumni Foundation of the Philippines Inc. or CAFPI, the association of British government scholars here in the Philippines, together with the Health Sector Group Secretariat of the Asian Development Bank, held a roundtable discussion to bring together different perspectives that can make UHC better and more responsive to the needs of people. As an election issue, it is to see whether the UHC program under the Aquino administration—the Department of Health’s Kalusugan Pangkalahatan

Program as well as the National Health Insurance Program under Philhealth— had made significant impact on the greater number of the population and on what, if ever, the next administration would do to further UHC. I was invited to give the private sector perspective on UHC. I informed the audience that the MVP Group of Companies is partnering with government and eyeing more health care ventures to provide quality and affordable medical services to poor Filipinos nationwide. This includes acquiring more hospitals and increasing bed capacity from the current 2,000 to around 5,000 as well as improving services in existing hospitals. The Group has likewise initiated an e-health type of service that would provide for immediate health and medical needs from urban centers to far-flung barangays and communities, particularly during times of calamity, through the efficient use of telecommunications. At the end of the roundtable discussion, all speakers and resource persons agreed or perhaps iterated, that UHC is not just a government responsibility, although we look primarily to government for this, but also a responsibility of both the private sector and civil society.

Emirates in Cebu. Emirates celebrates the inaugural arrival of its DubaiCebu-Clark-Dubai circular service to the Philippines with a VIP delegation, contingent of international and local media and travel trade at the Mactan Ballroom, Shangri-la Mactan Hotel and Resort in Cebu. Shown attending the gala with the Emirates flight crew are (from third left) Badr Abbas, senior vice president of commercial operations in the Far East; Megan Young, Miss World 2013; Salem Obaidalla, senior vice president for aeropolitical and industry affairs; Gary Valenciano, multi-awarded musician; Jassim Saif, vice president for cargo commercial-West Asia and Southeast Asia; and Abdalla Al-Zamani, Emirates Philippines country manager.

Monsada sees Shell’s IPO in Q4 By Alena Mae S. Flores OIL refiner Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. will push through with its planned initial public offering in the last quarter of the year, the Energy Department said over the weekend. “They [Shell] said they will do it in the last quarter,” Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada told reporters. Shell’s planned IPO is in compliance with the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998, requiring oil refiners to list 10 percent of their shares in the local stock market. Shell, a unit of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, owns a 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Batangas, which recently underwent an upgrade to deliver Euro 4 compliant fuels. Shell’s IPO has been delayed for more than a decade due to unfavorable market conditions, low oil prices and regulatory

issues in the previous years. “They already have a transaction adviser, a long time ago. But they don’t have specific [timetable for the IPO],” Monsada said. Shell country chairman Ed Chua said in December the company was studying whether it could offer more than 10 percent of its shares to the public once it firmed up the IPO plan. “The minimum required by law is 10 [percent of total shares] but we will see if 10 [percent] is good or we should do more. It’s not yet final,” he said. Chua said the IPO would depend on timing, especially in the wake of the coming elections. “The Philippines is a good place to invest but of course it depends on those from outside the country whether they share the same view,” Chua said.

(From left) Elcid Pangilinan, CAFPI vice president ; Dr. Jonathan David Flavier; Human Rights Commissioner Karen Dumpit; Dr. Albert Domingo; Political Attache and First Secretary Stephen Lysaght of the British Embassy; and Dr. Eduardo Banzon

With Commissioner Karen Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights

Political Attache and First Secretary Stephen Lysaght of the British Embassy

MONDAY: APRIL 18, 2016

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

UCPB’s net proﬁt grows 5% to P3.3b ROWENA GARCIA-FLORES

By Julito G. Rada

UNITED Coconut Planters Bank said net income rose 5.1 percent last year to P3.3 billion from a year ago, driven by consumer loan business, noninterest income and strong performance of subsidiaries. LELAND VILLADOLID JR.

Law firm promotes 6 senior partners

“We are very glad that we exceeded our P2.7-billion full-year net income projection. This is a concerted effort among the UCPB Group composed of the parent bank and its subsidiaries UCPB Savings Bank, UCPB Leasing and Finance Corp., and UCPB Securities Inc.,” UCPB president and chief executive Jeronimo Kilayko said in a statement

over the weekend. “We are confident that we can sustain this upward trajectory even as we continue to look for a government-approved alternative to our suspended recapitalization program,” Kilayko said. Total loans grew 10 percent to P127.7 billion in 2015 from P116 billion in 2014. Consumer loans increased 29 percent to P49.5 billion while maintaining good loan quality. This was reflected in the bank’s overall net non-performing loan ratio at 1.98 percent. Consumer loan growth was supported by an 8.4-percent increase in deposits to P239.1 billion. The bank maintained a healthy 70:30 ratio in terms of its low-cost and high-cost deposits which lowered its expenses by 3.7 percent. The bank’s fee-based income grew 6.5 percent to P1.0 billion which was contributed by consumer loan, deposit and other product-

related fees. Trading income also increased 16 percent from P174 million in 2014 to P201.9 million in 2015. Operating expenses barely increased by 0.3 percent increase from 2014. UCPB subsidiaries posted an impressive growth in net income. UCPB Savings Bank’s 2015 net income jumped 22.6 percent to P437.4 million while UCPB Leasing Finance Corp.’ net income advanced to P173.3 million from P149 million in 2014. UCPB has a diversified range of financial services provided by the bank and its subsidiaries to its various clients. UCPB Savings Bank provides commercial financing and consumer loan financing to teacher and LGU employees. UCPB Leasing Finance Corp. provides leasing and The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in 2015, putting on hold the sale of government’s stake in UCPB, which stopped negotiations with interested investors.

Resorts World’s partners. Resorts

THE law firm of Angara Abello Conception Regala and Cruz Law Offices announced the promotion of six partners to senior partners. Promoted were Rowena Garcia-Flores (litigation and dispute resolution department), Jefferson Marquez (resident partner, Cebu Branch), Leland Villadolid Jr. (litigation and dispute resolution department), Brigida Aldeguer (corporate and special projects department), Ma. Iolanda Abella (supervising partner—Davao branch) and Ruby Rose Yusi (tax department). Accralaw, one of the country’s premier law firms, is consistently top-ranked in majority of its practice areas by leading worldwide legal publications and directories. The firm is a widely recognized by various international bar associations and law firms, operating in the main business capitals of the world.

KRISTIN LESLIE D. CHAN

GREEN LIGHT IT started as our group service learning project in Porac, Pampanga. It ended with our loving our partner community and our MBA subject on Lasallian Business Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics even more. We were looking for a community based in Metro Manila because of my and my groupmates’ challenging work schedules. However, my curiosity was piqued when I came across the website of Kara David in Pampanga. So I called the person in charge, who forwarded me the number of the local teacher assigned to the area. I discovered that the government has a program called Alternative Learning System, under which teachers go to their assigned communities. This is because the children sometimes fail to attend their classes to help their parents in farming or taking care of their siblings. Thus, the ALS aims to provide mobile learning to com-

World Manila, an integrated resort with a four-story mall, recognizes its retailers via the World of Winners Merchant’s Night at the Marriott Grand Ballroom. Resorts World Manila chief gaming operations and marketing ofﬁcer Hakan Dagtas (left), chief operating ofﬁcer Stephen Reilly (second from left), senior director for gaming events and promotion Jeff Evora (second from right) and assistant vice president and head of program and product management Rhosell Santero (right) give the Merchant of the Year (retail category) award to Beyond the Box operations manager Stonibert Lim (center).

Learning with and from the Aetas munities. Sir Dave, the mobile teacher from the Department of Education assigned to the Porac community, and I talked about possible programs for them. I was so happy that my groupmates did not object to the location and the program. Normally, other groups do their service learning activities in one or two meetings, but our group interacted with the community in four meetings so that we could carry out our programs. During our first meeting, we were welcomed by the community and were fed camote (sweet potatoes). The Aetas’ houses were very simple – typical cemented ‘bahay kubo’ combination and they had no televisions. The residents told us that previous visitors had only given them relief goods. While they were grateful for the help, relief goods were not what they needed most. Listening to them, I was amazed because they were very different from the beg-

gars in Manila. They knew that they have to work for a living and should not depend on others. We were brought to the area where they take a bath and get their drinking water. We had to walk far along a narrow walkway in a forest. For us city dwellers, the hike was like a near-death experience; one wrong step and we would have fallen somewhere deep. Despite their current set-up, they remain positive and driven. They were very excited about our proposed programs. After our first meeting, we waved goodbye and promised to see them again on the next three Sundays. I couldn’t help but appreciate my life. Here I am, sometimes complaining about my food while they uncomplainingly eat camote day in, day out! This experience really changed my perspective in life. We tend to complain about not having the things that we want; we need to consider that

other people have less than what we have, yet they are contented and grateful. Sadly, this service learning adventure also exposed me to the reality of heartless people. Because our Aeta friends have limited literacy skills, middlemen take advantage of them and buy their produce at dirt-cheap prices. On our second meeting, my groupmates and I taught the community basic reading, writing, addition and subtraction. On our third meeting, we taught them how to estimate their costs, check their competitors’ prices and minimize their transactions with middlemen so that they could earn more from their produce. And during our fourth and last Sunday with them, they trekked down the mountain to the nearest market and actually sold their produce at much higher prices than what they would have received from intermediaries.

An old Chinese proverb states, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Someone else has added, “Teach a man to sell fish, and he can eat whatever he wants forever.” By having interacted with our Aeta friends, we hope that we have helped them to maybe not eat whatever they want, but to get more of what is due to them. Kristin Leslie D. Chan is an MBA student of De La Salle University. She wrote this essay for her class on Lasallian Business Leadership, Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility during her second term in the program. She may be reached at kristin_chan@dlsu.edu.ph. The views expressed above are the author’s and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the De La Salle University, its administration and faculty.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Congress votes to impeach Rousseff

Campaign rally. US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves to the crowd during a campaign rally at the Southwest College in Los Angeles, California, on April 16, 2016. AFP

‘Trump’s foreign policy alarming world leaders’ PARIS—US Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump has rung alarm bells around the world with his proclamations on foreign policy, but his targets are increasingly shrugging off his barbs. By suggesting that Nato is “obsolete” and that Japan and South Korea should acquire nuclear weapons to rid the United States of the burden of protecting those countries, Trump has called into question some of the cornerstones of US foreign policy for decades. The property developer’s comments have earned sharp rebukes from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. An exasperated Obama said he was “getting questions constantly from foreign leaders about some of the wackier suggestions that are being made”. Obama said Trump “doesn’t know much about foreign policy, or nuclear policy, or the Korean

peninsula, or the world generally”. When Kerry visited the Hiroshima atomic bomb memorial on April 11, he described Trump’s proposals to provide nuclear weapons to Japan and South Korea as an “aberration”. Kazuhiro Maeshima, professor of politics at Sophia University in Tokyo, said Trump’s comments were “a bluff based on unrealistic views” because the US-Japan security alliance is clearly “contributing to the US national interest”. If Trump became president, “it would at the very least create confusion and carries the risk of triggering a major turning point for the Japan-US alliance and Japan’s overall diplomacy,” Maeshima said.

Although Trump leads the Republican primary race, he is projected to lose an election against the likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. But the question is whether Trump’s campaign could cause lasting damage to America’s foreign relations, or at the very least worry its allies and exacerbate strains with unfriendly nations. For example, he caused widespread consternation when he said his “number one priority” if he became president was to dismantle the carefully crafted deal between global powers and Iran on its nuclear program. The comments appear to have been an attempt to play to the proIsrael lobby in the United States because Israel ferociously opposed the deal. “When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a secondclass citizen will end on day one,” Trump told the powerful American

Israel Public Affairs Committee. Nimrod Goren, chairman of the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, said that even with such overt support for the Jewish state, “when it comes to Trump there are a lot of question marks as he is not a traditional Republican politician”. He said Trump—and his closest Republican rival Ted Cruz, who has also called into question the Iran deal—was actually unlikely to win votes from the pro-Israel lobby by talking tough on the issue. “It is not by chance you don’t hear about the Iran deal in the Israeli debate any more. It is considered a done deal. I don’t think any people think you can reverse it,” Goren said. In Iran, most people believe that if Trump somehow wins the presidency, the Washington machine will curb his ambitions, a Tehranbased academic said. “Candidates like Trump, despite

BRASILIA—Brazil’s lower house of Congress is set to vote Sunday on whether to authorize the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, bringing to a head a crisis that has paralyzed and divided Latin America’s biggest nation. Police were out in force across major cities in preparation for what were expected to be large rallies of both Rousseff supporters and opponents, with fears that the bitter atmosphere could fuel violence. In the capital Brasilia, Rousseff, 68, and her allies lobbied frantically in an 11th hour effort to turn a tide that appeared to be going against the country’s first female president. The opposition needs 342 votes of the 513-seat lower house of Congress—or two thirds—to send Rousseff to the Senate for a trial that could end in her being forced from office. Anything less and Rousseff would record a famous victory. Rousseff is accused of illegal accounting maneuvers to mask government shortfalls during her 2014 reelection. Many Brazilians also hold her responsible for the country’s worst recession in more than a generation, and a massive corruption scandal centered on state oil company Petrobras. Latest estimates showed the proimpeachment camp had amassed enough support by late Saturday. Folha de Sao Paulo and Estadao dailies both put the number of favorable votes at 347. However supporters of the leftist president continued to insist that they would scrape through. With deputies bargaining loyalty in exchange for government posts and an unknown number of them simply hedging their bets for as long as possible, it was possible that decisions could change. Already late Saturday protesters—dressed in the red of Rousseff ’s Workers’ Party or draped in Brazil’s yellow and green colors if from the opposition—gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia. During the voting Sunday, as many as 300,000 demonstrators were expected to descend on the esplanade outside Congress where a long metal barricade was erected to keep opposing camps apart. AFP

South Africa plans tax to fight obesity JOHANNESBURG—South Africa plans a new “fat tax” on sugary drinks to combat an obesity epidemic—but sweet-toothed consumers say its chances are slim of making them cut down. Ranked as one of the most obese nations on the continent, South Africa is joining a growing list of countries around the world, such as Britain and Mexico, trying to put a cap on fizzy drinks. But even health experts, who welcome the proposed levy, don’t believe the tax will single-handedly discourage South Africans from popping open bottles of sugar-

packed soda and sweetened juices. The levy, announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his budget in February, will come into effect in April next year. It is aimed not only at saving people from their own unhealthy appetites but at offsetting the economic costs of diseases related to obesity. In Zandspruit, a township west of Johannesburg, 30-year-old insurance broker Thulani Masango scoffs at the levy. “We know sugar causes diabetes and obesity, but... we cannot survive without sugar,” said Masango,

as he strolled down a dusty street. “As we speak, the price of meat has gone up, but we continue braaing [barbecuing]. Alcohol goes up almost every year, we still drink. “It’s the same with sugar. It’s something that is uncontrollable,” said Masango. A Zandspruit supermarket supervisor and mother of two, Anastacia Tshabalala, 53, agrees. She believes that sugar is addictive. “Sugar is sugar! We are going to take it no matter what. Even if the price goes up, we have to take sugar everyday -- you can’t live without it,” she said. AFP

Still waiting. A man carries a child on his shoulders at the migrant and refugee makeshift camp near the village of Idomeni on the GreekMacedonian border on April 16, 2016. AFP

M O N D AY : A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 6

B8 Japanese race to rescue victims MINAMI-ASO, Japan—Rescuers used shovels to dig through mountains of soil Sunday as they raced against the threat of more landslides to reach people still trapped by two big earthquakes in Japan. At least 41 people are known to have died in the double disaster, with 11 still missing—feared buried in shattered houses or under torrents of mud. Heavy rain forecast for the area around Kumamoto did not materialize Sunday, offering qualified relief for officials who cautioned that continued aftershocks might spark further mudslides. Tens of thousands of people had spent the night in temporary accommodation, or huddled in makeshift shelters as the rescue effort stepped up a gear. Up to 25,000 personnel fanned out through stricken villages where scores of traditional-style houses were shattered by the quake, or buried in the earth and rock that cascaded down hillsides. In badly-hit Minami-Aso, dozens of rescuers worked with handshovels in a delicate operation to reach at least one person who has not been seen since the 7.0 magnitude quake struck in the small hours of Saturday. Where four houses had once stood on a ridge, only three remained; the fourth washed away by a tide of earth that swept through the settlement. Yoko Eto, 38, said her neighbor, whom she identified as Mr. Katashima, had been found dead with his dog, but his wife was missing. Still visibly shaken, she spoke of her horror as a torrent of muddy water from a nearby reservoir gushed through her home. “I could hear a rumbling sound soon after the quake. It felt like only a few minutes before the water came rushing through the ground floor,” she told AFP. Eto scrambled to safety with her elderly father, but has been left with nothing. “I thought I might be able to find some important things, like ID documents,” she said as she scoured the ruins of her home. “But I could only find old photo albums.” In nearby Mashiki few of the traditional style wooden houses remained intact. AFP

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD Earthquake in Ecuador kills at least 77 people QUITO—At least 77 people were killed when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador, destroying buildings and a bridge and sending terrified residents dashing from their homes, authorities in the Latin American country said Sunday.

Day 2. Singer Zella Day, left, poses backstage during day 2 of the 2016 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Weekend 1 at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2016, in Indio, California. AFP

“Oh, my God, it was the biggest and strongest earthquake I have felt in my whole life. It lasted a long time, and I was feeling dizzy,” said Maria Torres, 60, in the capital Quito, which was rocked by the late Saturday quake. “I couldn’t walk... I wanted to run out into the street, but I couldn’t.” The quake, which struck at 2358 GMT about 170 km northwest of Quito, lasted about a minute and was felt across Ecuador, northern Peru and southern Colombia. Vice President Jorge Glas said the death toll will likely rise further in what he called the “worst seismic movement we have faced in decades.” “At this moment, the number of confirmed deaths has reached 77,” Glas said early Sunday, adding more than 588 people were injured. A state of emergency was declared in the six worst-hit provinces. Police, the military and the emergency services “are in a state of maximum alert to protect the lives of citizens,” Glas said. President Rafael Correa, on a visit to the Vatican, wrote on Twitter that he was immediately returning to Ecuador. In the Pacific port city of Guayaquil, home to more than two million people, a bridge collapsed, crushing a car beneath it, and residents were picking through the wreckage of houses reduced to heaps of rubble and timber, an AFP photographer reported. Ecuador’s Geophysical Office reported “considerable” structural damage “in the area near the epicenter as well as points as far away as Guayaquil.” The US Geological Survey said the 7.8-magnitude shallow quake struck off the northwest shore of Ecuador, just 27 kilometers from the town of Muisne. Glas gave a slightly lower measurement of magnitude 7.6. Ecuador lies near a shifting boundary between tectonic plates and has suffered seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher in the region of Tuesday’s quake since 1900, the USGS said. One in March 1987 killed about 1,000 people, it said. AFP

Myanmar’s president pardons scores of prisoners YANGON—Myanmar President Htin Kyaw pardoned dozens of political prisoners on the country’s traditional New Year Sunday, according to a watchdog group, as his fledgling civilianled administration seeks to cast off the shackles of nearly half a century of military rule. The new government, which is steered by veteran democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, has vowed to give priority to freeing the scores of political prisoners jailed by the country’s former military leaders. “According to our documents, 63 political prisoners are released from various

prisons by the amnesty of the president,” said the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), though it was not immediately clear how many would be permitted to leave their cells today. A presidential pardon published Sunday morning said 83 people would be freed but it did not specify how many on the list were political prisoners. The president’s statement, his first major political act since taking office, said the amnesty was intended to “make people feel happy and peaceful, and [promote] national

reconciliation during the New Year”. Myanmar’s nearly two-week new year holiday, a Buddhist celebration known as Thingyan, falls in mid April and sees most offices close while people line the streets to douse each other with water to wash off the past year’s sins. Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), which took power last month after sweeping historic November polls, is stacked with ex-political prisoners once jailed for their democracy activism under the former military regime. The army’s routine jailing of dissidents

was one of many repressive policies that garnered support for the party’s long democracy struggle. Suu Kyi’s new government oversaw its first wave of prisoner releases earlier this month, when authorities dropped charges against nearly 200 political activists ahead of the New Year holiday. Among those pardoned Sunday were five journalists handed 10-year sentences in 2014 over a report accusing the military of producing chemical weapons—which the government denied. AFP

m onday : a pril 18, 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

E aT, drinK , T r aV El

LIFE Love Locks at Two Lovers Point

On GuAm: ExplORInG An ISlAnD pARADISE

By pATRICIA ROmuAlDEz

f you ask people around you what they know about Guam, they’ll probably tell you about the world’s largest Kmart open 24 hours a day, the duty-free shopping, and the opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, snorkeling, and scuba diving. But a trip with the media delegation for Cebu Pacific’s inaugural flight to Guam and the Guam Visitors Bureau revealed that there’s much more to the paradise island destination. Aside from sunsets, sea, and shopping, learning more about the history and traditions of Chamorro culture was one of the highlights of the Guam experience. Tourism is the US territory island’s top industry, but only 12,000 of the recordbreaking 1.4 million tourists that visited Guam in 2015 were Filipino. Mark Manglona, the Guam Visitors Bureau’s marketing manager for the Philippines and Russia, believes the number of visitors from the Philippines may rise with Cebu Pacific’s new four-times-weekly flights from Manila to Guam. It’s the low-cost carrier’s first US destination and the first new flight for its 20th anniversary this year. At P7,203 all in, the lowest year-round fares are approximately 40 percent lower than other airlines’ flights. Alex Reyes, Cebu Pacific’s long haul division general manager, said that the airline hopes to make the island more accessible for Filipino travelers and also to serve Guam’s growing Filipino community. “Wherever Filipinos are, we fly there.” Guam and the Philippines share a colonial history and were influenced by a similar blend of cultures, so it’s no surprise that Guam’s many Filipino residents (they make up over one fourth of the population) feel right at home there. The Western Pacific island territory was claimed by Spain in 1565, ceded to the US in 1898, and occupied by Japanese forces during World War II. The US reclaimed Guam after the war and expanded its military interests. Strategically located between Asia and the mainland US, Guam became a center for economic and commercial development and a popular destination for visitors from both sides of the ocean. Around 71 percent of its annual visitors are from Japan, though Manglona says Korean tourism has increased 100 percent in the past year. Asian tourists like the balmy, fairly predictable weather; scuba diving and snorkeling; and the tax-free shopping. The island is accessible to neighboring Asian countries and the two- or three-hour time difference makes it ideal for a quick family getaway. Just 30 miles long and four to 12 miles wide, Guam can be easily navigated by rented car or tourist trolley, though the

Two Lovers Point (Puntan Dos Amantes), a cliff with a stunning view of Tumon Bay

At the Chamorro Village Wednesday Night Market visitors can enjoy turkey sticks made from a three-foot long sausage

roads aren’t pedestrian-friendly and public transportation and taxis can be hard to come by. For those who believe a new place is best explored on foot, there’s a two-mile, 17-stop Heritage Walking Trail through Guam’s historical sites. One of the must-see landmarks is Two Lovers Point (Puntan Dos Amantes), a cliff with a stunning view of Tumon Bay. The sightseeing highlight is named for an ancient Chamorro legend in which the daughter of a wealthy Spanish landowner fell in love with a Chamorro warrior. When her father demanded that she marry a Spanish captain, the girl ran away and met her Chamorro lover at the high point of the shore. Her father, the captain, and Spanish soldiers pursued them until they were trapped near the edge of the cliff. Because they couldn’t bear to leave each other, the lovers tied their hair together into a single knot and threw themselves off the cliff and into the sea. This story is important to the Chamorro people because it symbolizes their devotion, strength, and resilience. Travel from the highest cliff to the depths of the ocean by crossing the 1000-foot wooden boardwalk in Piti Bay to enter Fish Eye Marine Park, an underwater observatory 12 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. Descend a long spiral staircase to peer through the 24 windows that allow you to view over 200 species of tropical fish swimming through coral reefs. More water activities in this area include kayaking, snorkeling, and the SeaWalker underwater walking tour. On Guam (according to a Guam Visitors Bureau representative, they say “on Guam” not “in Guam” because it’s an island), the fiesta is considered a national pastime, and food plays a big part in bringing people together. Kelaguen is a signature Chamorro dish that is served as an appetizer, side, or main dish at almost every meal. Similar to ceviche and kilawin, kelaguen is made of chopped seafood, broiled chicken, or meat

Fort Santa Agueda

cooked in lemon juice, grated coconut, salt, and hot peppers. The peppers deliver a satisfyingly spicy kick that goes well with the tanginess of the citrus juice. Guamanians are also justifiably proud of Chamorro ribs and chicken barbecue, a fiesta staple served with red rice cooked with achote, garlic, peas, and bacon fat. Visitors can enjoy these dishes and more along with a cultural presentation of authentic Chamorro dance by Pa’a Taotao Tano at a beachside buffet at the Sheraton Laguna Resort & Spa. The group will perform at the upcoming 12th Festival of Pacific Arts, a two-week cultural event held every four years that will bring 2,500 performers, artists, and scholars from the remote island communities in the Pacific region to Guam to celebrate their cultures and exchange ideas. The festival will run from May 22 to June 4. For another glimpse of Chamorro culture and community, the Chamorro Village Wednesday Night Market is an event to plan a vacation around (the village is open every day but the night market only happens on Wednesdays). The scent of barbecue wafts through the air as live music entertains the crowded dance floor from the center court. Stalls and boutiques sell handmade jewelry and souvenirs next to food vendors showcasing the best of local cuisine. One of the most popular items with a prominent place at the entrance of the market is a whole smoked turkey leg. Those who don’t want to gnaw on a bone may opt for the more low-key turkey stick made from a three-foot long sausage. There’s also coconut sashimi, a unique street food that’s been featured on television in Korea and Japan. The thinly sliced young coconut meat is served with soy sauce and wasabi. Expect long lines for skewers of barbecued chicken and beef from Kris BBQ. For extreme eaters, there are indulgent American food fair favorites like deep-fried Oreo cookies and candy

bars. Wash it all down with refreshing fruit slushies that blend the best of local produce in one cold beverage. Of course, shopping is still an important part of visiting Guam. If you’re a serious shopper and you start early enough, it’s possible to visit five malls in one day. Some of the stores at Guam Premier Outlets open at 8:00 a.m. for bargain hunters who want to make the most of their time on the island. T Galleria by DFS, Guam – which houses international luxury brands Celine, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent and beauty brands La Mer, MAC, and Kiehl’s – closes at 11:00 p.m. Drop by the Macy’s department store in Micronesia Mall (owned by Lucio Tan) for one-stop shopping. For latenight last-minute souvenir hunting and drugstore product hoarding, there’s the aforementioned 24-hour Kmart. Shopping on Guam is so huge that there’s even an annual shopping event, the Shop Guam Festival, which runs from November 1 to February 15 and is the largest festival of its kind in the region. Last year, the Guam Visitors Bureau recruited YouTube sensation Mikey Bustos for an online video promoting the island as a shopping destination set to the tune of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” The festival also launched a free mobile app with maps, promos, and exclusive offers. The next Shop Guam event is bound to be even bigger. With that and the upcoming 12th Pacific Festival of the Arts, plus music festivals, culinary fairs, and sporting events lined up to attract new visitors, 2016 is set to be another recordbreaking year for Guam tourism. Cebu Pacific flies from Manila to Guam four times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday) for as low as P7,203. Visit cebupacificair.com to book a flight. Go to visitguam.com for more information about Guam’s activities and events.

Palmer & Co's Brandy Punch A La Thomas

m onday : a prIL 18, 2016

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

The Australian Pub Menu with a customary pint

Henry Dean at the Pallisades

ThE Land down UndEr (parT 1)

tipple tales By icy mariÑas

hat comes to most people’s minds when they hear or think of Australia? Do images of kangaroos and koalas, beaches, sharks, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman flash inside their heads? My first ever visit to the Land Down Under earlier this year wasn’t filled with scenes from the outback or the beach, or hobnobbing with celebrities. I went there for the Australian Open (tennis is one of my many favorite sports, just in case you need to know that for some future trivia game about yours truly), but I decided to take an extended vacation (stopping by Sydney for a couple of days before heading to Melbourne), to relax and do some research, and indulge in two of my favorite things: food and drinks. Australia is a mecca for amazing cuisine and drinks. They have great new world wines, fantastic dairy products, and a burgeoning cocktail scene that could rival that of any big city in the world. I was amazed by the quality of food and drink. It’s a foodie’s dream. Everything is well executed yet simple. This is partly because of their produce, which are fresh and of excellent quality. The ingredients taste like the way God intended them to taste, if that makes sense. They don’t have to do too much since the ingredients are already top notch. I’ve always said that quality ingredients go a long way. That does not mean that bars and restaurants there are lazy and safe. Quite far from that, actually. Using the fresh produce as their base, they have been able to mix flavors and push the envelope when it comes to food, and this has spilled on to their innovative cocktails as well. There seems to be a general ease with which they cook and concoct. Nothing feels forced or trying hard, just a flow that comes across as both familiar and inventive. Since this is still a column about alcohol, let’s get back on track and focus a bit on Australia’s drinking culture. I have been known as someone who can hold her liquor. But man, Australians can drink. And coming from me, that’s saying a lot. They drink ‘til they drop. Australia and alcohol have a long, tumultuous history. During the time when it was still a penal colony, rum was used as currency. It was even called a “rum state.” It is speculated that the inhabitants drank more alcohol per capita during that period than any other time in human history. Rum even supposedly figured in the only military coup in Australia – aptly named the Rum Rebellion of 1808.

Henry Deane's Coconut Pandan Daiquiri

Sydney's oldest pub Fortune of War greets visitors with this funny chalkboard message

Paralleling what happened in America, there were temperance movements to reign in the rampant drunkenness of the time, the high point of which came during World War I and the Depression, when alcohol consumption decreased dramatically in the English-speaking world. But as we know, these types of movements never last and in fact cause more harm than good. The backlash against the anti-alcohol movement grew in earnest after World War II, as the drinking rates climbed along with growing prosperity, cultural shifts and immigration from Europe. “Civilized drinking,” coined as the term for drinking with food (just like with Filipinos and our beloved pulutan) and in moderation, became the norm for a while. But because of large manufacturers, marketing, and consumerism, binge drinking eventually became fashionable. Today, Australians are more like connoisseurs and enthusiasts of alcohol than just plain drunkards. Their new world wines, beers, and ciders (this trip made a cider lover) are top of the line and their cocktails are divine. More than the effect, it’s the social aspect and taste that drives people to drink. There has also been a shift in Australian tastes from spirits to beer, as they rank 5th in per capita beer consumption but is not even in the top 20 when it comes to spirits.

My first stop in this lush vacation in this continent is Sydney. It’s a very cosmopolitan city and a melting pot of rich cultures. I had a list of places I wanted to go to and I was lucky enough to check out several of them. First up is Palmer & Co. It’s a speakeasy that lives up to being called that term, tucked away in an alley, hidden from the busy streets of Sydney in an old colonial building, cobble stones and heavy hard wood doors. It has all the cool details and elements of a speakeasy: dark, candlelit, with exposed brick and period-appropriate fixtures. Even the bartender and servers were on point, donning dapper suits, suspenders and flapper dresses. Every time I visit a new bar, I really take my time reading the menu. The longer I read, the more interesting the menu is to me. So, when I was in Palmer & Co., I found myself gravitating to its special section of “Lost & Forgotten Cocktails.” Being a cocktail enthusiast, the thought of experiencing recipes of the olden times gives me pleasure. My favorite was the cocktail called Brandy Punch A La Thomas. A taste of nostalgia for me is priceless. This cocktail was just what I needed. (Hennessy VS Cognac, lemon sherbet, fresh pineapple juice, raspberry cordial, citrus and aromatic bitters). The layers of this cocktail were in

The Kingfisher at TMBTP (This Must Be The Place) Darlinghurst, Sydney

symphony. Tasting the cognac’s fruity spicy notes, with the right combinations to round off the edges, allowed a well-balanced, thirst quenching drink. I could not stop sipping it till I could hear my slurping through the straw. I had to order one more! Next on the list was Henry Dean at the Pallisades, one of the newest rooftop drinking places in Sydney. With a breathtaking view of the harbor, it was ultra chic but laid back. Definitely the best place for cocktails at sunset. This particular concept, from amazing food, extensive wine and beer list, to simple elegant cocktails, is one of the best spots I have been too. A few more places worth mentioning are The Australian, one of the oldest bars in the city. I had some kangaroo pizza and discovered my love for cider! )I will write about cider next time!) I also checked out the Fortune of War. It’s the oldest pub in Sydney, having been established at 1828. Rockpool, by Neil Perry , was a great place as well. That’s it for Sydney. Come back next week, dear imbiber, for more Australian drinking culture info and my top picks for Melbourne. Cheers! Follow me at IG @sanvicentegirl or drop me a line at dixiemarinas@gmail.com

m onday : a prIL 18, 2016

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

A visit to William Shakespeare’s house is a major source of tourist revenue for the town

@LIFEatStandard

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre on the banks of the River Avon

ThE Bard oF avon merCury rising By BoB zozoBrado

f you know your English Literature, you’ll come to terms right away with what this column is all about. Stratford-on-Avon is a small market town of Warwickshire, England, a few hours from London on a leisurely drive. There are many bus tours leaving London daily that take tourists to this interesting destination, and to the other iconic attractions of England. The town’s tourism revenues, from approximately five million visitors yearly, come from its being the birthplace of the most popular English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, also known as the “The Bard of Avon.” Tourists get to visit the house where he lived from birth until five years after he married Anne Hathaway. Offering an interesting glimpse into Shakespeare’s early world, his house has become a shrine of sorts, having been the main attraction for millions yearly and which has also been visited by other famous writers like John Keats, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, and Walter Scott. Another attraction in town is the 12room farmhouse of the Hathaways, where Anne lived as a child. The appeal of this imposing abode is further enhanced by the attractive blooms in the beautiful garden right next to it. It is believed that this romantic garden setting prompted William to ask Anne for her hand in marriage. The other “must-see” destination in this small town is the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which first opened 84 years ago and holds a little over 1000 seats. It has a thrust

A live performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre showing its thrust stage

stage which brings the performers much closer to the audience. All throughout the year, there are performances highlighting the masterpieces of The Bard. Because of his ability to capture the essence of the human condition, I am a dyed-inthe-wool true-blue fan of Shakespeare, the reason why I rejoiced when I learned that the British Embassy Manila lined up a series of events celebrating his life and works. The 3-day British Festival not too long ago had, among many other interesting offerings, the Shakespeare Pavilion, a new attraction for this year, which housed a series of events and performances honoring the influential literary figures in the world and, of course, The Bard and his legacy. Budding artists joined the Children’s

The British Festival was officially opened by Shell Philippines VP Ramon del Rosario and country chair Ed Chua, British Ambassador Asif Ahmad, Education Ambassador Joyce Tan, and British Council country director Nicholas Thomas

Theatre Workshop conducted by the Philippine Education Theatre Association (PETA). Other events at the Pavilion were: Everyday Shakespeare Talks, by the Manila Shakespeare Company; excerpts from PETA’s highly applauded Shakespeare rap-musical, William; William Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits, by Word of Mouth Theatre; excerpts from A Comedy of Errors, performed by students from the British

School Manila; and pocket live performances of Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar and Twelfth Night by students of Miriam College. There were many other interesting features of this year’s well-attended Festival. First of all, the entrance archway was inspired by the iconic London Eye. Visitors had fun sampling the assortment of delicious British culinary fare as they went around having their Festival passport stamped, which took them around the entire venue. UK In Miniature gave them the chance to take selfies in front of smaller versions of British landmarks and pop culture icons. Amateur sleuths tried their luck at a mystery game created especially for the occasion. Embassy staff and PMAP models strutted on the catwalk in the latest summer togs from top British brands, while the main stage featured a singing contest with wannabes belting out songs from West End musicals, the winner of which received a round-trip ticket to UK via Etihad Airways. British Ambassador Asif Ahmad, British Council executive director Nicholas Thomas, and UK Education Ambassador Joyce Tan opened the festivities and were later joined by Shell Philippines country chair Ed Chua and vice president Ramon del Rosario. It was a fun event, as this year’s British Festival proved to be a showcase of the creativity, innovation and culture of what is popularly regarded as “the noble race” and also because it reminded everyone of the continuing universal influence of The Bard Of Avon. For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

yoUr MoNday CHUCKLE: It is said that when a woman closes her eyes, she sees the person she loves the most. But, when a man does the same thing, the slide show of attractive possibilities begins.

At the Quorn booth were Quorn CEO Kevin Brennan, Monde Nissin’s Henry Soesanto, Senator Loren Legarda, British Ambassador Asif Ahmad, and Chef Florabel Co

The colorful poster announcing the event

m onday : a prIL 18, 2016

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Shrimp carpaccio with apple and truffle honey served in a bowl with dry ice

“I

followed you on Instagram!” says 2-Michelin star chef Dani Garcia while I was getting my menu cards signed from his 10 Course Little Prince inspired Dining Experience. Well, I think he followed everyone who was posting photos from his dinner during the global culinary festival Madrid Fusion Manila held at the New World Manila Bay Hotel, but I was still so kilig (tickled pink) ‘cuz just like the feeling you get when you taste his food, he tries to make everyone around him feel special. 2-Michelin star chef Dani is an Andalusian chef who started his career in Spain at such an early age and was able to gain his first Michelin star when he was only 25 years old. He is known for his Andalusian cuisine infused with tradition, international flavors, imagination and a lot of innovative technique in cooking. He was one of the first Eurpoean chefs who used liquid nitrogen for culinary. In 2007, he was awarded his second Michelin star in the restaurant Calima. Today he manages the Dani García Restaurant located in Puente Romano Beach Resort Marbella in southern Spain’s Costa del Sol where he delights his guests with nostalgic taste sensations. During his two-night stint for Madrid Fusion in Manila, he brought with him his current storybook tasting menu from his restaurant inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince. “The Little Prince menu is inspired from the quote on the book –‘What is essential is invisible to the eye’– and for me the essential in the kitchen and in the food is the flavor and it is invisible to the eyes,” shares chef Dani. “I’m very happy to be here; it’s not easy for my team to be cooking out of our restaurant because we’re not acustomed to it,” shares chef Dani during the dinner, but he still managed to delight the guests with extra flair. The dinner started with Sublimation room where chef Dani welcomed everybody in a theatrical show of TV screens, ocean sounds, flaming torch and tuna tartare. We were eating the tuna from a huge panel screen while a torched Iberico ham drips on the tartare, and chef Dani entertained everyone with his stories. Sublimation is a popular restaurant in Spain run by Michelin 2-star chef Paco Roncero who utilizes molecular gastronomy and a multi-sensoral presentation of his menus. Chef Dani wanted to give his audience the feel of the ocean and duplicate the feeling of his gustatory journey from his restaurant in Marbella. People were then ushered to another room where appetizers were served in another theatrical fashion – a huge screens played The Little Prince scenes and an Impy Pilapil contemporary hanging sculpture that looks like a Christmas tree hung in the center where people can pick sugar glazed olives hooked on each stem. Then came the ballroom where guests dined on the tables

@LIFEatStandard

'We froze our lemons' and Meteorite

PrinsiPito: a multisensory journey of nostalgic taste sensations by Chef dani Garcia By tatum ancheta

The Little Prince, landscape of the Sahara

Chef Dani mixed up his tuna tartare in the Sublimation room

with a centerpiece of the famous glassed rose from the story of The Little Prince, and menus served in boxed cards where each dish is inscribed (which you can ask chef Dani to sign after the dinner). Prinsipito is his second storybook menu; his first one was another molecular experience with Alice in Wonderland as a theme. Imagine that! Colorful, magical, and at the same time making every guest feel like a kid in a trance. For Prinsipito, the guests opened their palates with the first course of

Patata Moai. It’s like a black mashed potato shaped in Moai, faced on a bed of black caviar served with charcoal mayo paired with an oyster and with crispy chicken skin. One of my favorite dishes was the second course which is Gazpacho Amarillo Con Tomate Nitro, a metallic pink colored tomato that bursts in your mouth like a soft mousse and gives you that oh-so-giddy feeling inside. The next course was followed by shrimp carpaccio with apple and truffle honey served in a bowl with dry ice so it’s smoking

while you’re digging in. An interesting dish is Afilando el lapiz or Sharpening Our Pencil; it’s Smoked Eel Mousse with foie gras that resemble the shavings of a sharpened pencil. Other courses were Fried Seabass; Black rice of octopus and calamari where they used local ingredients like the Banaue black rice; and Oxtail Ravioli with Sherry flavored consomme. A crowd favorite was the last two desserts which were candied lemon called “We froze our lemons” with a refreshing sherbet inside that melts quickly so you have to gobble it down (which was really the easiest part to do), chef Dani said he used local calamansi instead of lemons; the last one is called Meteorite, a bed of chocolate, brownies, with a little local Chocnut, and a ball of sweet in the center which you have to crack open with a spoon to reveal the soft yellow mandarin and vanilla inside. Funny thing is, while eating the dish, everyone seemed to be giddy, smiling, and well, just happy. I guess that’s the magic of chef Dani’s cooking. “You can eat this menu with your eyes closed and you will still enjoy it,” he says. For a good 10-course, the 90 guests on each night have proven this to be true. Asked about his next storybook menu and he says he’s not sure yet what he will come up with, but for sure, it’s something to delight the senses, and it might be worth the plane trip to Marbella for that next gustatory adventure.

m oNDAy : A pRIl 18, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

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Nicholas Galitzine plays a hip hop violinist in “High Strung”

In “High Strung,” film director michael Damian combines cutting edge hip-hop with contemporary and classical dance

like the role she plays in the movie, Keenan Kampa is a professional classical dancer in real life

DancE mOvIE ‘HIgH STRung’ STaRS WORlD’S mOST TalEnTED DancERS

city where only the best succeed, two radically talented people from opposite sides of the tracks need to find harmony to achieve their dreams in the highly-motivating fish-outof-water film High Strung starring awardwinner ballerina Keenan Kampa and multi-talented artist Nicholas Galitzine. On the heels of phenomenal dance movies such as Step Up and Street Dance, High Strung brings two different worlds together when Ruby Adams (Kampa), a dancer from the Midwest on scholarshipin New York City eventually crosses paths with Johnnie Blackwell (Galitzine), a British musician, playing for money in the subway tunnels. Ruby’s world is classical and disciplined; Johnnie’s is improvisational and street smart. When a hip-hop battle gone wrong throws these two artists together, they immediately clash but can’t deny it when sparks begin to fly. Their lives quickly get entangled in the pitfalls that come with competing in New York City. With the help of a dynamic dance crew called The SwitchSteps,

Ruby and Johnnie must find a way to save Ruby’s scholarship and keep Johnnie from being deported. In an action-packed extravaganza combining cutting edge hip-hop with contemporary and classical dance, the two must navigate their opposing worlds and prepare for a competition where winning or losing will change their lives forever. The movie is supported by standout performances from veteran actors Jane Seymour, Paul Freeman and Maia Morgenstern and features an original soundtrack of boundarybreaking commercial tracks blending styles of music in a way that already has the dance industry and social media talking. It’s brought to viewers by Broadway stars Michael and Janeen Damian and top choreographer Dave Scott and introduces the breathtakingly talented Keenan Kampa (Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet’s first American dancer) and Nicholas Galitzine (The Beat Beneath My Feet) alongside 62 of some of the World’s most exciting and original dancers from London, Paris, L.A. and New York.

“High Strung is inspired by Janeen’s experience when she was awarded a scholarship to Balanchine’s School of American Ballet in New York,” director Michael confides. “So it’s basically her story, her adventures, and what it was like for her moving to NY from a small town; like we have Ruby, our lead character in the film, coming from the Midwest.” Michael and Janeen started music and dance at a very young age under the tutelage of their respective mothers. Michael’s mother is a classical pianist, and Janeen’s was the artistic director of a ballet company. With music playing such an intense role in the film, the soundtrack also had to be something very special. Fortunately Michael, who has enjoyed success as a singer/ songwriter with hits like his 80s anthem “Rock On,” knew what he was looking for. “We were blown away by a piece of music we heard on So You Think You Can Dance by composer Nathan Lanier,” he explains. On top of that, Lanier is a virtuosic violin-

ist, so it was a marriage made in heaven.” “We wanted something epic: a mash-up of classical orchestration, hip-hop and electric violin,” Michael offers. “What Nathan created for us went beyond our expectations. The score is a major character in the film, and brings an emotional element. We’ve had a lot of people leaving screenings with goose bumps.” In addition to the original score, High Strung also has 13 original songs ranging from hip-hop to pop to EDM. “It’s quite an odyssey of music; I have quite a few connections, thank goodness - so I pulled every favor,” Michael confesses. “We’ve compiled some awesome songs by an incredible group of talented international artists.” The result is an original soundtrack of fresh commercial tracks along with a boundarybreaking original score blending styles of music in a way that is already leaving tongues wagging. High Strung opens April 20 nationwide from Pioneer Films.

Vietnam’s child brides

Imagine if the only way to escape a forced marriage was to abandon your own child. That’s the reality for some Vietnamese young women. Tricked into crossing the border by traffickers, they were sold for marriage to Chinese men. China’s one-child policy has led to a shortage of women and a thirst for Vietnamese brides. CNN International correspondent Alexandra Field speaks to escapees about their ordeal and goes to the border to see just how easy it is to smuggle women between the two countries.

Five girls… saved just in the nick of time. At a government support center on the Vietnamese-Chinese border, CNN’s Alexandra Field meets five 14-year-old girls saved by the police as traffickers were taking them across the border. She explains how they were lured into danger and sees an emotional reunion between a mother and daughter who were not so lucky. These two special CNN Freedom Project stories air week of April 18 8 p.m. on News Stream.

CNN International correspondent Alexandra Field in an interview with one of the escapees

“CNN Freedom project Vietnam” features young Vietnamese brides sold for marriage to Chinese men

m onDAy : A pRIl 18, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

BASHERS HounD RuRu AnD GABBI shTIcks JOsEph pETER GOnzalEs

uru Madrid and Gabbi Garcia are both victims of bashing after GMA-7 announced they would play important roles in the re-boot of Encantadia. Ruru will breathe life to the role of Ybarro, which Dingdong Dantes played in the first edition. Gabbi will play Sang’gre Alena, a part that propelled Karylle’s popularity then. Ruru said, “Actually, that same night after the announcement, the story trended on Twitter and I’ve read majority of the people’s comments. I got surprised because many of the messages weren’t really that encouraging. Of course, I admit to getting hurt. I’m just human. But I just stayed calm. “I understand that the public’s views vary. As an old adage goes, you just can’t please everybody. And I respect their opinion. I would just treat it as a booster for me to strive hard, to prove my detractors wrong and show to all and sundry that I deserve the role. Actually, it’s from the bash-

Gabbi Garcia and Ruru madrid are unfazed by negative comments from netizens

ers where I’ll get the inspiration to perform well as the new Ybarro.” Gabbi shares the same sentiment. “I’m very active on Twitter. It has become my hobby to read tweets every day. If I happen to read negative comments about myself, I simply ignore them. But if I see that the person has a point, I give weight to it. Especially if it’s for my improvement, I accept and try to do what is being suggested. “So I’m not really affected when it comes to this bashing thing. I want to think that I’m logical enough to handle the situation. I just learn from it and take it as a challenge which is good for my career,” she avers. Actually, the main point of their bashers is the fact that

they’re given a gargantuan task when they’re still new in the business and haven’t proven anything yet. In fact, they are even tagged as starlets. “Well, let them,” Ruru states. “In my case with Gabbi, we’ve already headlined a prime time show last year via Let the Love Begin, remember? We’re thankful for its successful run. At least now, they know us. And I think, once Encantadia begins, they will get amazed. GMA has really big plans for the show!” As for Gabbi, “I’m not hurt if they brand me as a starlet because it’s true: I’m really new in the field. I still have a long way to go. I humbly accept what they’re saying because it’s imperative to

Comedy queen Ai Ai delas Alas

prove my worth. Hope they can give us the time to show what we can offer and Encantadia is a very good vehicle.” They are always being compared to the original stars of the program. “It’s inevitable! Actually, we’re not here to replace them. What they’ve done before is already a classic. Our batch will just give a new and fresher version to update the present crop of viewers,” Ruru and Gabbi end in unison. ******** Ai Ai delas Alas and Megan Young top-bill a new Regal Entertainment project titled My Mighty Yaya. This is the first time that the A-1 comedienne and Miss World 2013 are starring in a movie together.

The movie is directed by Jose Javier Reyes and also stars Zoren Legaspi and Sofia Andres who worked together in the ABS-CBN soap Forever More headlined by Enrique Gil and Liza Soberano. Child stars Lucas Enrique and Alyson McBride are also members of the cast. Interestingly, this will be Ai Ai’s second film project for Reyes after the highly-successful 2015 MMFF entry My Bebe Love: Kilig Pa More with Vic Sotto, Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza. Many are excited with this new screen combination, which is Ai Ai’s comeback vehicle under Regal Entertainment. Her last project for the film outfit was the horror trilogy Shake, Rattle & Roll 2K5.

professorial chair for Tape’s Tuviera Geared towards improvement in preparation for its upcoming quadricentennial, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran established the Antonio Tuviera Professorial Chair in Communication. The professorial endowment fund is aimed to usher Letran’s flagship program, Communication, to the graduate level. Antonio Tuviera, president and CEO of TAPE Inc. (Television and Production Exponents Philippines), is an alumnus of Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and has been a prominent figure in the area of communications, being the man behind many television produc-

tions such as the longest running noontime show Eat Bulaga! In recognition of Tuviera’s contribution, Letran named the professorial chair after him during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Institute of Communication’s Excellance, which was held at the Sofitel. The specific goals that are set to be achieved with the establishment of the endowment fund in Communication are to have a roster of full-time faculty with vertically aligned masteral and doctoral degrees; upgraded and industry demand responsive

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ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE

ACROSS 1 In that case (2 wds.) 5 Blue Grotto isle 10 Potting medium 14 Smell 15 Tearjerker? 16 Perimeter 17 Undeveloped area 19 Nothing, in Nice 20 Stretchy bandage 21 Baton Rouge

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laboratory set-up and a more relevant student training program; a dynamic partnership with industry key players, preferably, alumni of Letran; and a collaborative research program. “I am humbled to be part of Letran’s continuing efforts in [getting] the best faculty. It is my hope that this [endowment]…will break new grounds in innovative teaching in Communication arts,” said Tuviera. The Tuviera Chair is the second one given this year; the Colegio named one after Cesar Cabreza Zalamea, an Accounting alumnus, last February.

MONDAy, APRIL 18, 2016

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Half a score Lass enoritas — de plume Mgmt.b iggie Internets urfer Saffrond ish Delicr epes Kind of tactics Berets Explodings tars Minee ntrances Woe is me! No sweat Steel-making process Dwell Water-park feature Bigb ankroll Underwater shocker Spat Demotedp lanet Ebb Shacks — Valley, Calif. Stuck-up Quechuas peaker TV genie portrayer Skips tones Wassail alternative MDe mployer

Antonio Tuviera, president and CEo of TApE Inc. (center) with officials from Colegio de San Juan de letran

m onDAy : A pRIl 18, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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‘GAmE nG BAyAn’ AxED, KApAmIlyA ExplAInS wHy

ame ng Bayan faded to black on April 15, leaving Robin Padilla, Alex Gonzaga, MJ Lastimosa, Eric Nicolas, and Negi out of a job. Many would like to think it’s temporary. ABS-CBN circulated a statement regarding the termination of the show. “We thank the hosts Robin Padilla, Alex Gonzaga, MJ Lastimosa, Eric Nicolas, and Negi, the whole production staff and

crew, the various barangays that participated in the game, and most importantly, the viewers for their support to the program. During its limited run, Game ng Bayan brought fun and entertainment to Kapamilyas around the world and enabled residents in participating barangays to provide the resources they need in their communities by working together in timebound challenges in the show. ABS-CBN, however, will con-

tinue to develop programs that will not only give viewers an enjoyable viewing experience but will also bring joy and cheers to barangays across the country. In the meantime, Robin Padilla will focus on Pilipinas Got Talent, which has started its semi-final rounds. Alex, MJ, Eric, and Negi, meanwhile, will also attend to other projects.” The statement was sent by Kane Errol Choa of ABS-CBN Corporate Communications.

“Game ng Bayan” hosts Alex Gonzaga and Robin padilla

Road named after FpJ Do you know that in Batangas there’s a road named after the late Fernando Poe, Jr.? Well, Senators Grace Poe and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, found that out when they went to campaign in Batangas. They even had a photo taken against the street sign. The Fernando Poe, Jr. Road is in Metro Turf along the stretch of Malvar-Tanauan. It was dedicated to the actor on Aug. 20, 2014 in recognition of the actor’s contribution to the local horseracing industry. The new racetrack is found at Metro Turf owned and managed by Metro Manila Turf Club, Inc. FPJ or more popularly known as Da King had been a horserace aficionado. His love for horses was also known among his fans as he loved doing Western-style movies. Grace Poe remembers the days she learned to ride the horse after her father taught her when she visited the sets in Baguio and Ilocos Norte. “Doon niya ako tinuruang sumakay ng

kabayo dahil yung mga kabayo naman sa San Lazaro ay hindi puwedeng sakyan ng bata,” Grace said. Chiz became close to Da King when the former became his spokesman when he ran for president in 2004. Meanwhile, the classic FPJ line “Isang bala kalang” is now immortalized as Viber stickers as well as his wife’s “Not once but twice.” If you subscribe to the Viber app you will be able to search for those stickers. The public can vividly recall Susan Roces’s line “You have stolen the presidency not once, but twice!” That was during the speech after Da King had died when she accused President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of cheating during the presidential elections in 2004. Along with FPJ’s and Susan’s Viber stickers are those from the camp of Grace Poe, like “Hello Poe!,” “God bless Poe!”, “Guapoe!”, “Iboto Poe,” “Push Mo Poe,” “Keep Calm and Carry Poe,” “Good Night Poe,” “Poe The Win,” “Gandang Umaga Poe!,” “Ur Welcome Poe!,” “WRU Poe,” Smile Poe!,” “Yes Poe!,” at “Kain na Poe!”

Axn’s Ultimate Thrill 2016: challenge accepted

Say Chiz! Senators Chiz Escudero and Grace poe

manzano thanks transport group’s endorsement

Senatorial candidate Edu Manzano today expressed elation over the unequivocal support of the National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NACTODAP) to his senatorial bid this May 9 elections. Manzano, who is running under the umbrella coalition of Partido Galing at Puso, said he is overwhelmed at the endorsement given to him by NACTODAP, one of the country’s biggest associations of tricycle drivers, operators and their respective families. “I am deeply honored for the trust and confidence of our tricycle driv-

Actor and senatorial candidate Edu manzano

ers and operators to my legislative agenda. With their support, I am confident that I can advance the interests not only of the transport sector but also of the commuting public,” he said. In its official Facebook account, NACTODAP, which is an association of tricycle drivers, operators and their respective families that is also seeking to represent them in Congress under the partylist law, has expressed its endorsement to Manzano’s Senate bid. “Makakaasa po kayo na kami sa NACTODAP Partylist ay nasa likod mo at sumusuporta sa iyong layunin at

adhikain,” Ariel P. Lim, NACTODAP president and first nominee, said. NACTODAP boasts 4.7 million members composed mostly of tricycle drivers and operators all over the country. Manzano, who once served as vice president of the Anti-Drug Campaign of the Philippines in 1998 when he was vice mayor of Makati City, noted that tricycle drivers may be tapped in the government drive against crime because they are familiar with the movements of the people as well as the suspected dens of criminal syndicates. “Our hardworking and brave tricycle drivers can become partners of our government’s law enforcement agencies in providing for vital information that could lead to the immediate arrest of criminals and the expeditious resolution of crimes,” he said. “They can be the eyes and ears of our police officers in running after criminal syndicates because they are more than familiar with the faces and places in their area of operations,” he added. Manzano is running on a platform of improving quality education for the youth and out-of-school youth, creating decent jobs especially in agri-tourism, BPO and ICT industries, and providing better opportunities and protection for Filipino families.

Summer screams adrenaline rush with AXN Ultimate Thrill 2016 as it stretches its competition from Manila to Boracay. AXN brings back its Big Thrill summer madness with the action-packed AXN Ultimate Thrill 2016. What is Ultimate Thrill? Well, it’s a summer break loaded with all the heat and excitement one can get from coursing through obstacles that challenge one’s agility, speed, endurance, and mental skills. What’s more, participants get to make their way to the finish line with their selected partner. There are two legs in Ultimate Thrill: the first is in Camp N Nuvali in Laguna and the second one is in Summer Place, Station 2, Boracay. Participants can choose which competition they would like to join: Nuvali to Boracay (called The Ultimate Thrill) or the one in Boracay only (the Thrill Seeker). Obstacles include rollercoaster zipline, free fall and paddle boating to name a few. AXN Ultimate Thrill 2016 kicked off at Camp N Nuvali, Laguna, on April 16. The second leg continues at 6 a.m. in Boracay on April 23. Qualified teams of two members each, 18 years old and up can do on-site registration one to two hours before the event . Pre-registration can be done for Boracay participants one week prior to the event at Summer Place, Station 2. AXN Ultimate Thrill 2016 is co-presented by Smart and sponsored by C2 Cool & Clean, Fisherman’s Friend, and Smirnoff Mule.

ATC Coenzyme Q10

Our heart’s main function is to pump blood to the rest of the body. It supplies oxygen and nutrients to the body. Without the heart, our body will stop functioning. That’s why it is of utmost importance to take care of our heart. This is something that is both hard and easy to do. Hard, because there are just far too many temptations around us. And easy, because of the different scientific developments and products that aim to protect our heart, like ATC Coenzyme Q10. Called the “heart energizer,” ATC Coenzyme Q10 improves the heart’s ability to pump more blood. It also lowers the viscosity of the blood, making it even easier for the heart to function normally. It functions as antioxidant, which protects body from damage caused by harmful molecules. Still, ATC Coenzyme Q10 is not a medicinal drug and should not be used to treat the symptoms of any disease. ATC Coenzyme Q10 is recommended to be taken two to three capsules a day, preferably with warm water. It is available at Mercury Drug and other leading drugstores nationwide for only P18 per capsule.