The Standard - 2016 May 03 - Tuesday

VOL. XXX NO. 80 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 TUESDAY : MAY 3, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Digong fails to give BPI waiver

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AQUINO ASKS INC TO PICK MAR-LENI Bloc-voting Iglesia denies backing Duterte’s bid

By Sandy Araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III visited the Iglesia ni Cristo central office on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City Monday, a week before the May 9 elections to seek an endorsement for administration candidates Manuel Roxas II for president and Leni Robredo for vice president.

Aquino’s convoy entered the INC compound at 9 a.m. and left the church about an hour later.

In an interview after his visit, Aquino said he spoke with INC executive minister Eduardo Manalo and thanked him for supporting the administration.

Aquino said he also shared with Manalo his vision for the country after he steps down from office on June 30.

“First, I thanked him because

we really felt their support,” Aquino told reporters in Filipino.

“As usual, I was received warmly by Ka Eduardo. I have no complaints,” the President said, without explaining what he meant when he said he also made “the usual... political appeals.”

In a statement issued later, Aquino said: “I asked for the meeting. I thanked him for the support he and his brethren have extended

to us. I enumerated the gains under Daang Matuwid. Lastly I expressed the hope that these gains will not only be continued but built upon in the future.”

Several politicians have sought the endorsement of the INC, whose support could translate to about 1.5 million to 1.8-million votes on Election Day, according to the research company Pulse Asia.

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Campaign trail. President Benigno Aquino III campaigns for his candidates in front of giant images of Liberal Party bets Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo at the Cagayan National High School in Tuguegarao, Cagayan on Monday. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Martin signs truth covenant

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Tribal leader killed by military, lumad claim

By John Paolo Bencito MORE indigenous people are being killed as the Aquino administration comes to a close, a lumad rights group said Monday, citing the death of a tribal leader allegedly at the hands of the military in Surigao del Norte last week.

“The Aquino administration has no compassion for the people. They contin-

ue to kill the lumad…in the mountains that soldiers continue to terrorize,” the group Kahugpungan sa mga Lumadnong Organisasyon sa Caraga (KasaloCaraga) said in a statement.

Cristina Palabay of rights group Karapatan, said the administration had a grim track record.

“As of March 2016, there were 318 victims of extrajudicial killings under the

BS Aquino presidency, 89 of them are indigenous peoples,” Palabay said. “There were 152 victims from Mindanao, and 64 from the Bicol region,” she added.

The latest victim was identified as Datu Arnel Nayer, a vocal Mamanwa tribal leader who opposed a government plan to award an ancestral land claim by the Manobo tribe in 2013. He was found Next page

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No waiver on bank account from Rody

By John Paolo Bencito

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte reneged on his promise Monday to open his bank account at the BPI branch on Julia Vargas in Pasig City to scrutiny, amid allegations by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that he had P211 million deposited there that was not declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Instead of a waiver that would have allowed the opening of his account, Duterte issued a special power of attorney for the bank to issue a certification that he didn’t have P211 million in his account.

Trillanes and Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, were supposed to meet at the bank branch to make public the contents of his joint account with his daughter Sara.

But Trillanes, who was first to leave the BPI branch, blurted out to reporters that Duterte’s “macho” response that he will show his bank transactions were just a “farce.”

“As expected, Duterte chickened out... he’s scared of the truth,” Trillanes said in Filipino as he left the bank.

In a television interview with GMA News’ Balitanghali minutes after he left, Trillanes said Duterte’s condition for opening the account was for the senator to issue an affidavit detailing his accusations against him.

“They didn’t show anything ... they didn’t show anything. I told them, ‘Here’s my affidavit. So you said on record that they would sign a waiver.’ But they did not bring a waiver. They don’t really have any intention to open these [bank accounts],” Trillanes said.

Copies of the special power of attorney given by the Duterte camp to the BPI branch showed that the mayor had only requested the bank to issue a certification that there was never a deposit “either singly or collectively of Two Hundred Eleven Million Pesos” as claimed by Trillanes in BPI Savings Account No. 2433-0695-39.

In an affidavit that he gave to the camp of Mayor Duterte as a condition to release his bank records, Trillanes disclosed that he got the information about Duterte’s millions from a certain Joseph de Mesa— a former Duterte supporter.

“Mr. De Mesa said he decided to withdraw his support for Mayor Duterte when he saw documents showing that the Mayor maintained numerous bank accounts where hundreds of millions if not billions of pesos were deposited/transferred over the years,” Trillanes’ affidavit read.

“Mr. De Mesa said he got hold of documents from a close relative who was working with an agency involved in investigating ill-gotten wealth of government officials,” he added.

“I asked the help of accountants and finance specialists to tally and figure out just how much money was actually deposited and/or transferred into the subject bank accounts. Their final tally shows that a total of P2,407,272,103.75 flowed into the subject bank accounts from 2006 to 2015,” the senator added.

But Panelo dismissed Trillanes’ affidavit

as “worthless” because all it contained was “double hearsay.”

He said bank officials confirmed he did not have P211 million deposited in the branch.

“I asked the BPI if they have seen P200 million in the accounts of Mayor Duterte.

They said that there was none,” the lawyer said.

He added that bank officials asked for seven days to consult with their lawyers before they would release the bank transactions history because of the controversy the issue has generated.

“Since I had an SPA, the bank allowed me to look at the account history since it was opened but I did not see any P200 million since the time the account was opened,” Panelo said.

At a campaign sortie in Manila, Duterte questioned the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Anti-Money Laundering Council about how Trillanes gained access to his private bank accounts.

“I am now questioning the central bank and the AMLC, why big shots in government can look into these accounts while we have no such access,” Duterte said in Filipino.

Trillanes continued to taunt Duterte.

“We can see now that Mayor Duterte is a sham, he’s only tough in words but the truth is that he’s a coward,” he said.

“He didn’t dispute my allegations. If my allegations are wrong, he could have easily filed cases against me. He shied away from the truth,” he added.

During their meeting, Trillanes said he was informed by Panelo that they can ask the bank to produce only the balances of the accounts under the mayor’s name, but without a transaction history to show prior withdrawals.

Trillanes said he immediately left the bank after Panelo said that he was not authorized by Duterte to issue a waiver for the opening his bank accounts to include a transaction history.

Duterte at first dismissed Trillanes exposé as a fake, but later acknowledged that he had a joint account in the BPI branch with his daughter Sara.

He also admitted that the deposits in that bank account amounted to “a little less than P211 million” and they were deposits from “some friends.”

Duterte said there was no need to disclose the entire history of his bank trans-

actions just to prove that he had no undeclared wealth.

He also questioned how Trillanes got the documents, saying banks are prohibited by the Bank Secrecy Law to divulge the financial records of their clients.

He added that BPI also confirmed that the evidence against Duterte did not come from them.

“The fact alone that there is such a law, no banking officer, no banking employee will issue that because they will be subjected to criminal prosecution. This will already tell us that the documents being provided by this Trillanes is coming from a polluted source,” Panelo said.

Monetary officials on Monday denied being the source of the leaked bank records, however.

“We would like to categorically state that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] and the Anti-Money Laundering Council [AMLC] are not the source of the documents and information being cited by a vice presidential candidate regarding the alleged bank accounts of a certain presidential candidate,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Vicente Aquino, said in a statement.

“We assure the Filipino people that the BSP and the AMLC are not engaged in partisan politics and will never allow themselves to be used as a tool for political persecution or harassment, or as an instrument to hamper competition in trade and commerce,” Aquino added.

In the stock market, share prices fell for the seventh straight day as investors played play it safe amidst fears of a Duterte presidency.

Share prices in the main Philippine Stock Exchange index were down 173.61 points or 2.43 percent lower to 6,985.68 at noon trading on Monday, while the broader All Shares dropped 82.27 points or 1.94 percent to 4,163.62.

Market analyst Alex Castillo, president and managing director of First Grade Finance Inc. said that the decline could be attributed to investors “playing it safe” ahead of the local polls.

Also on Monday, action star and Duterte supporter Robin Padilla threatened to withdraw his money from BPI to protest Trillanes’ allegations against the mayor.

“It’s all about politics. That is clear,” Padilla said. With Macon Ramos Araneta, Julito G. Rada and Rio N. Araja

Banking day. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV arrives with his lawyers and bodyguards at the Bank of the Philippine Islands Julia Vargas branch to check the bank records of presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Monday. MANNY PALMERO

Aquino...

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The INC claims to have five million members who vote as a bloc.

This month, presidential candidates Roxas, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago took turns visiting the INC Central Office.

The INC previously endorsed the candidacies of Aquino and his two predecessors, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and President Joseph Estrada.

The INC did not comment on Aquino’s visit, but denied a report (not in The Standard) that it was endorsing Duterte. “The letter [expressing support] is not from Brother Eduardo Manalo,” INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said. “The moment we identify the persons responsible for this fraudulent letter containing the forged signature of Brother Eduardo Manalo, we will charge them in court.”

On Monday, the President asked the Filipino people if they wanted to continue his “straight path” policies.

“It is up to you whether you would want to continue and further strengthen this,” Aquino said.

Meanwhile, in Tarlac City, Poe said that neither the Catholic charismatic movement El Shaddai nor the INC has endorsed anyone, adding that their support would boost her bid to become president.

She said when she talked to El Shaddai founder Mike Velarde, he said the movement had not yet decided who to endorse.

“Whatever the decision of the organization, of course, it’s their prerogative and we will respect it,” she said. “We were just giving courtesy and asking for help.” With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Tribal...

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dead along the mountain road of Sitio Kalatingga, Brgy. Camam-onan, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte on April 24.

The day before, Datu Arnel was among the six Mamanwa who went to their farms in Sitio Kalatingga to get some sweet potatoes. At around 1 p.m. however, as they rested, 10 soldiers in full combat gear about 20 meters from them opened fire, witnesses said.

Datu Arnel’s other companions—Lino Mansumay, 25, Anthony Anrique 55, Esmoter Anrique, 55, Ronel Anrique, 27, and Binbin Patusa 26, survived because they were able to run. Mansumay suffered splinter wounds on his back of his left shoulder and arm.

Nayer’s body was found Tuesday in a neighboring sitio, “buried in a small and shallow pit, covered by dirt and dead leaves,” the group Kasalo-Caraga said.

In November 2015, the Mamanwa community in Sitio Kalatingga were evacuated due to aerial bombings of the 36th Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army and other augmentation forces from the 4th Infantry Division.

Palabay said that last Tuesday April 26, four farmers from Dagami-Isabela were illegally arrested and detained for allegedly occupying their land being claimed by a landlord, Manuel Tio of Surigao del Sur. Police dispersed them violently, Palabay said.

“Many of the victims were minors. The next day, farmers Marlon Matusalem, Rogelio Gameng, Dennis Gameng and Renato Gameng were released from detention but are facing charges of trespassing,” she added.

A recent fact-finding mission found that members of the 30th and 29th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army were responsible for the strafing of civilians and the murder of Nayer, Palabay said.

Narsing Nayer, wife of the late datu, told the mission, “I want justice for my husband.”

Kasalo-Caraga believes that the “plunder of ancestral lands” is the reason behind the lumad killings in the area.

“Gigaquit is targeted for coal mining by Timberwolves Resources Inc. This is the reason for the worsening militarization of our communities,” the group said.

Liberal Party senatorial bet Leila de Lima expressed concern over the investigation of the conflict affecting lumad communities after militant groups voiced their disappointment over her failure to bring to justice the killers of three lumad leaders and the displacement of hundreds of families in Surigao del Sur.

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NEWS

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‘Human rights must be priority’ PRESIDENTIAL candidate Miriam Defensor Santiago, an elected judge of the International Criminal Court, on Monday challenged her rivals to include human rights concerns in their list of priorities.

Motorcade. Presidential candidate Grace Poe is shown here with Reps. Neri Colmenares and Susan Yap during a motorcade in Tarlac City on Monday.

Binay family approaches Roxas to make peace THE beleaguered Binay family is ready to forgive their detractors after the May elections, and the healing started when they exchanged “peace be with you” with Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II during a mass before the signing of the “truth covenant” at the Manila Cathedral, Senator Nancy Binay said Monday.

She said it was the Binays that first approached Roxas to make peace.

She said the Binays felt awkward at first because they shared the same pew with Roxas during the mass.

“We did not expect that we would be made to share the same pew and

be seated side by side,” Binay said.

She said she felt relieved after the mass and after praying for the strength to grant true forgiveness.

“It’s because even us must have hurt some people and they hurt us as well,” Binay said.

“We hope that after the elections, everything will come to pass. Let’s all move on and help our country. I prayed for that because that’s really difficult. And to accept whatever is in store for us and what’s the will of God, the will of the people come May 9.”

Binay said the exchange with Roxas, the bitterest rival of her father Vice President Jejomar Binay,

the standard bearer of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance, was “cordial.”

She said her encounter with Roxas was really not that difficult.

“I guess because I learned from my Dad not to be vindictive. You just have to move on, he always tells us,” she said.

The vice president, along with his wife and children, have been accused of corruption, and in particular the alleged overpricing of the P2-billion Makati City Hall Parking building.

The vice president has directly accused Malacañang and Roxas of being behind the demolition job

against him.

Senator Binay has maintained that no evidence has been presented against her father.

She said the 242 bank accounts containing billions in funds that were supposedly uncovered by the Anti-Money Laundering Council turned out to be false after the council admitted to the court that there was only one account in the name of Vice President Binay that contained P1.7 million.

The senator said the Binay family was grateful that her father was able to reach the “homestretch” despite the controversies hounding the family. Christine F. Herrera

Poe upbeat Tarlaqueños will again support her TARLAC CITY—Independent presidential candidate Grace Poe is upbeat that the province mates of President Benigno Aquino III will deliver the votes to make her win the presidency as they did when they made her the No. 1 senator in Tarlac in the last elections.

Poe’s being a rival of Aquino’s presidential bet Manuel Roxas II did not stop the Tarlaqueños from welcoming her during her 30-minute motorcade from the Tarlac Cathedral to the Diwa Convention Center here.

People rushed out of their houses and from business establishments to get a glimpse of the foundling, the adopted daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. and retired actress Susan Roces.

The cheering crowd lined up on the streets and waved to Poe while chanting her name as her vehicle passed in front of them.

Addressing the jampacked crowd at the Diwa Convention Center, Poe thanked the Tarlaqueños whom she said gave her one of the biggest votes during the 2013 senatorial race.

“Despite all the challenges you have not abandoned me, and I haven’t forgotten my promises. Now is the time

for the realization of what you want for yourself and for your family,” said Poe who is running in tandem with Senator Francis Escudero.

Escudero was not around when Poe returned to Tarlac. She was accompanied by Bayan Muna Rep. Neil Colmenares, who is running for senator under the Poe’s “Gobyernong May Puso.”

While not mentioning her rival Rodrigo Duterte by name, she told the audience that bullets would not stop poverty or send their children to school or help increase the income of farmers. She also said bullets would not give the people permanent jobs.

After attending the mini-political rally at the convention center, Poe proceeded to the Tarlac Provincial Capitol building where she was warmly welcomed by outgoing Gov. Victor Yap, a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Yap is seeking a congressional seat in the province’s second district. His sister, Rep. Susan Yap, is running for governor.

Before the motorcade, Poe paid a courtesy call on Bishop Florentino Cenense to seek his blessings. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Welcome. Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos welcomes United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer Jejomar Binay and other UNA candidates in Laoag on Monday.

She said three of her four rivals for the presidency had failed to respond to the questionnaire sent by the group Human Rights Watch.

HRW has said only Santiago and Liberal Party bet Manuel Roxas II shared its views on human rights.

Santiago said Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte did not answer HRW’s questionnaire.

“Human rights should be at the forefront of the agenda of any person running for public office. A rights-based approach in public policy has historically proven to be most effective,” Santiago said.

As early as March 22 HRW quizzed the candidates on the issues of impunity, violence against indigenous groups, the Reproductive Health Law, the killing of journalists, summary executions, the Anti-Torture Law, people displaced due to conflicts, and the HIV/AIDS situation.

“The Philippines has made broad strides in human rights policy in the past decade,” Santiago said, citing the passage of important laws that she either authored or supported in the Senate.

She also considered as gains the Philippine commitment to the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons, and its accession to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, both in 2011.

But Santiago said the “policies aimed at promoting human rights are meaningless unless fully and wholeheartedly implemented.”

She cited as challenges the failure to convict a perpetrator of torture despite the passage of the Anti-Torture Act, and hurdles in the implementation of the RH Law amid a hold order on contraceptive implants and congressional budget cuts.

She said the culture of impunity threatened to perpetuate human rights abuses.

She said the cases that needed to be immediately resolved included the continuing disappearance of activists working in the countryside allegedly because of military operations, the deaths of some 50 media workers in Maguindanao and the recent deadly skirmish between policemen and Moro rebels in Mamasapano.

The senator also tagged as urgent the need to protect the rights of vulnerable members of society including children, women and indigenous groups especially in times of disaster and conflict.

“Child labor remains rampant, with underage workers reported even in the most dangerous of sectors such as small-scale mining.

Children are also being recruited by rebels, terrorist and paramilitary groups,” Santiago said. Macon Ramos-Araneta

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Group protests hacker’s detention

Truth covenant.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Rosales and Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista show the covenant for truthful, responsible, upright, transparent, and honest elections that was signed by presidential candidates Jejomar Binay and Mar Roxas along with 15 senatorial candidates.

LINO SANTOS

By Rey E. Requejo

34 Duterte supporters face raps for bullying

By Rey E. Requejo FOURTEEN supporters of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte were charged with grave threats before the Department of Justice for harassing and threatening a Duterte critic online.

Human rights advocate Renee Julienne Karunungan filed the criminal complaint against 14 pro-Duterte Facebook users for grave threats under the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act. Karunungan also went to the Commission on Elections to

file separate cases of violation of election laws against 20 other Facebook users.

Karunungan narrated that the threats against her arose from a Facebook meme she created describing Duterte as “a lazy choice” after the second presidential debate last month that went viral.

Her original post went viral, earning over 13,000 reactions and more than 4,000 shares, before it was taken down by Facebook over complaints from supporters of the presidential frontrunner.

“Obviously, the supporters were offended by it. A lot of them reported it and it was taken down.

I was also blocked by Facebook for four days,” Karunungan said, in a press conference prior to the filing of the complaint with the DoJ. According to her, when she was allowed by Facebook administration to return to the social networking site, Karunungan said she received more threats of rape and death via comments and messages on her Facebook account.

She posted an album compiling the threats and harassment by Duterte supporters, but was once again banned by Facebook for three days due to complaints from them.

Among the messages the complainant received were: “I have friends who want to kill you.

You have the money anyway, save that for your hospital expenses.”

“I hope you get raped, or get mugged. That’s what you want, right? You don’t want change because you are against Duterte. I hope one of these days you get raped so you’ll come to your senses.”

Her lawyer Jose Jesus Disini Jr. stressed that the Facebook users behind such messages and comments can and should be held criminally liable.

CLAD in Guy Fawkes masks, people claiming to be members of the hacker group Anonymous Philippines picketed the Department of Justice to demand the release of the two young men accused of hacking the website of the Commission on Elections.

The group said 23-year-old Paul Biteng, who was charged with illegal access, data interference and illegal use of devices under Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, should instead be hired to protect the Comelec database.

“Instead of putting him into jail, why not recruit him and other hackers who have skills to protect the system? Why are we being arrested when we are only concerned and defending the cybersecurity of our country without asking for a single peso?” stated a banner they held in front of the DoJ. “Why [do] corrupt officials remain at-large while a fresh graduate of IT known in Facebook as a security expert is arrested and jailed? Where is justice? This is why we in Anonymous will continue to be on guard,” one of their members who requested anonymity said, in an interview.

The group claimed they only hacked the Comelec website to disprove the poll body’s claim that it has put sufficient cybersecurity safeguards.

According to them, Biteng, who was arrested last April 21, only defaced the website and that it was the second hacker arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation, Jonel de Asis, who was responsible for the theft of the voters’ information.

De Asis, a member of another hacker group LulzSec Pilipinas who was arrested last week, reportedly downloaded 340 gigabytes of data from the Comelec website to prove that it can be easily hacked.

He also allegedly leaked the Comelec data, which includes the personal information of 55 million registered voters.

Farmers: Zero vote for Mar

By Christine F. Herrera A MONTH after the violent Kidapawan dispersal that killed two farmers and injuring a hundred others, human rights group Karapatan and the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas vowed to deliver “zero votes” for administration presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II and two other local Liberal Party officials.

Karapatan and KMP trooped to the Department of Justice in Manila Monday to decry the continuing absence of justice.

The farmers and activists urged the electorate to junk the ruling Liberal Party candidates, particularly Roxas, reelectionist North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou TaliñoMendoza and reelectionist Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista in the May polls.

They demanded that police authorities and government officials responsible for the killing be made accountable.

KMP secretary-general Antonio Flores said acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas is ignoring the drought-hit farmers’ plea for justice and due process.

More than 70 individuals, mostly farmers and indigenous peoples who were illegally arrested and detained last April 1 by the North Cotabato Philippine National Police were released on bail last April 16 but they are still facing charges filed by the police.

“We demand that the charges against protesters be dismissed and that justice be served to farmers,” the peasant leader said.

“One month after the violent dispersal of the barricade set up by 6,000 farmers who were asking for food aid after their farms were seriously hit by the El Niño phenomenon, those who opened fire on the farmers and those who ordered the killing remain scot-free,” Flores said.

Quest for justice. Human rights and farmers groups picketed the Department of Justice to protest what they described as selective administration of justice in the case of the Kidapawan dispersal on April 1 that resulted in the death of two farmers and injury to scores of others.

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Romualdez signs Truth covenant

By Maricel V. Cruz

Truthful.

Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (center) signs the Truthful, Rightful, Upright, Transparent and Honest Covenant in the presence of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle (left) and Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.

Presidential candidates Jejomar Binay and Manuel Roxas II as well as other senatorial bets also signed the covenant. LINO SANTOS

Senatorial candidate leyte rep. Martin romualdez on Monday signed a covenant for truthful and honest elections as a show of “malasakit” or compassion to the future of the Philippines.

Vitangcol presses SC for fraud-proof polls an interview.

A MAC address is a globally unique The Supreme Court has been asked to identifier assigned to network devices. It compel the Commission on elections to is often referred to as hardware or physical employ necessary measures intended to address of the device while IP address is prevent electronic cheating during the the numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network.

May 9 general elections.

A MAC and IP addresses are like In a 17-page petition, former general manager of the Manila Rail Transit Al fingerprints of individuals.

In 2010, Vitangcol claimed that there Vitangcol III also pleaded that the Comelec should also be directed to conduct an were reports that some 60 units of Precinct inventory of identification numbers of Count Optical Scan recovered in the house of a Smartmatic-TIM technician in voting machines.

Vitangcol said the Comelec should Antipolo City.

There were allegations that the “rogue” provide a list of all the IP (Internet Protocol) and MAC (Media Access Control) addresses machines were used to manipulate the that it will use in its Virtual Private Network, results of the elections. “however, nothing can be ascertained together with their geographical locations.

“We want to know these details so that in because Comelec does not have the records case there will be electronic cheating, there of the MAC addresses of their legitimate will be a way to trace it,” Vitangcol said in PCOS machines and computers nor the

By R. Requejo and S. Fabunan

list of IP addresses that were assigned to the devices during the 2010 elections,” Vitangcol stressed.

“Without such inventory of MAC addresses and IP addresses, the public— even Respondent Comelec would end up scratching their heads, wondering what went wrong,” he said.

Vitangcol filed the case in his capacity as the country’s first e-Commerce Council certified Computer hacking Forensic Investigator and author of several law and technology books. however, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said that if there is one thing that worries the poll body this coming elections, it is the scorching summerin the country.

Bautista said due to the summer heat, voters might be discouraged to come out and vote.

At the same time, Romualdez expressed confidence that the Commission on elections can protect the integrity of the 2016 presidential polls. “naniniwala ako sa malasakit nila [Catholic Church] para sa ating mga Pilipino. I have my faith also that the Comelec will not compromise the future of this country by ensuring just, honest, clean, and peaceful elections,” said Romualdez, leader of the house Independent Bloc Romualdez went to celebrate the Mass at the Manila Cathedral officiated by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle before taking part in signing the Truthful, Responsible, Upright, Transparent and honest (TRUTh) elections to ensure clean, honest and peaceful elections.

During the homily, Tagle said candidates should always remember that the blessing of running a government post has a huge responsibility.

The covenant is about the support of candidates to right to suffrage of everybody and junking “politics of personalities and patronage,” and “refrain from using guns, goons and gold.”

It also said that candidates should “strongly admonish [their] relatives, friends, followers and supporters to desist from using violence, deceit, fraud and other unfair and dishonest practices.”

While exercising vigilance, Romualdez called on the public to support the poll body’s preparations to guarantee credible elections.

“While we should give our support to the Comelec, the electorate should remain vigilant as their active participation would prevent incidents of cheating in this year’s political exercise,” Romualdez stressed.

Former Interior secretary Mar Roxas, presidential candidate of Team Daang Matuwid of the ruling Liberal Party and Vice President Jejormar Binay, standard-bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance, among those seeking the country’s highest public office, attended the Mass and participated in the covenant signing Monday morning.

Oil firms shift gears, hike prices

By Alena Mae S. Flores The country’s oil firms adopted a hefty price increase of P1.50 per liter effective 6 a.m. Tuesday to reflect the market sentiment in the world oil market.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines, PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines issued their respective price advisories on the P1.50 per liter increase for gasoline, P1.40 per liter for kerosene and P1.35 per liter increase for diesel.

Other oil companies are expected to follow suit.

“This is to reflect the movement in the international petroleum market,” Seaoil said.

This followed the P1.38 per kg price increase equivalent to P15.18 for 11-kg tank in cooking gas prices over the weekend. energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said oil prices went up as traders were still hoping that oil producing countries could come to an agreement to curtail production.

Monsada said increased demand

from Vietnam and refinery shutdown also fueled the higher oil prices.

“Vietnam’s demand was unusually strong due to dry conditions. They were affected by el Niño, thus importation of diesel and gasoline supply went up.

Many refineries are also undergoing maintenance shutdown,” Monsada.

The energy Department’s monitoring showed that for gasoline and diesel, supply in the Asia Pacific and Middle east looked set to tighten further as import demand continued to mop up the available barrels.

A recent slew of buy tenders pointed to increasing buying interest from regular importers in the region, which was adding to the sharp rise in demand from India.

Platts, an oil industry think thanks noted upbeat demand in May than for the first four months of the year but a likely slowdown in domestic demand from China may push more surplus gasoline into the market, while refineries returning from turnarounds will also add to output levels.

Ready for the polls. With soldiers standing guard, delivery men from a cargo forwarding company unload boxes containing Vote Counting Machines and other election paraphernalia at the Araullo High School in preparation for the May 9 elections. DANNY PATA

t u e s D AY : m AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Fil-Chinese bets gaining in Manila

By Tony Macapagal

Call it a surprising phenomenon, but Filipino-Chinese candidates for councilor in Manila’s six congressional districts are leading the pack, city hall observers said.

Six local lawmakers are elected in each of the six districts. Thus there are 36 of them that comprise the city council.

Two sectoral representatives, the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay and the head of the Sangguniang Kabataan, are also regular members of the council. All told, there are actually 38 members of the city council.

In District 1 (Tondo) former Councilor Bobby Lim is on top of the heap; District 2 (also in Tondo), it’s businessman Darwin Sia; District 3 (San Nicolos, Binondo, Sta. Cruz and Quiapo) topping the totem pole is veteran eight-time legislators Councilor Bernardito Chua Ang; District 4 (Sampaloc) No. 1 aspirant is comebacking Councilor Doc Louie Chua,

District 5 (port Area, Intramuros, ermita, Malate, and San Andres) is bannered by young trader Irwin Tieng, and District 6 (San Miguel, Sta. Mesa, pandacan, and Sta. Ana) the top choice is reelectionist Councilor Christian Joey uy.

All six bets that are expected to land in the upper crust of the council polls derby are sporting Chinese surnames-Lim, Sia, Ang, Chua, Tieng and uy.

There are an overall sum of 150 hopefuls vying for 36 council seats.

Meanwhile, a “group of patriotic pro-Filipinos” coming from different parts of Manila vowed to

launch anytime soon “an anti-foreigners campaign aimed at junking any alien individuals seeking political positions in government.”

The still unnamed association is patterned after the 1995 group dubbed “Bawal ang Intsik sa Third District” that resulted in the defeat of Fil-Chinese or “Tsinoy” candidates for councilors that year.

Among those who fell “victims” to such a drive were then Councilors Chika go, Manny Quin, Susie ong and also Ang. The so-called anti-Tsinoy movement was then spearheaded by “engi-

neer Jun Ducat” from Blumentritt, Sta. Cruz, Manila, the same man who later got involved in two hostage-taking incidents; the first one that had a priest from the San roque church as the victim during the time of then Mayor Mel Lopez, and the second time when a bus load of schoolchildren were the victims and brought to the Mehan garden compound near city hall during the term of then Mayor Lito Atienza. only one candidate for city dad, who sported a Filipino name, reelectionist Councilor Jhosep

Lopez, survived the Ducat-led crusade against the Tsinoy hopefuls.

Lopez eventually became the chief city prosecutor of Manila, and is presently an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

Also, the new antiTsinoy group is being organized to express its vehement protest against the Chinese occupation of philippine-owned territories in the West philippine Sea, and the practice of contractualization being perpetrated here by big supermarkets, department stores and shopping malls.

Military in all-out bid to save Abu hostages

By Florante S. Solmerin The military on Monday said it is hell-bent on rescuing all the remaining hostages of the Abu Sayyaf group based in Sulu amid news that the employer of the 10 Indonesian sailors paid p50 million for their safe release on May 1.

Military spokesman Brigadier general restituto padilla insisted the military was not aware of any ransom payment made by the Indonesian tugboat owner, saying that the state troopers are focused on freeing the kidnap victims.

“The [military] has been fully focused on the conduct of military operations in the area for the past couple of weeks.

We have devoted full attention to the rescue of the victims and the decimation of the kidnap-for-ransom groups in the island. We are not aware of any ransom payments or negotiations to that effect. We are not also aware of the actual circumstances for their release,” padilla said.

The 10 Indonesians whom the ASg abducted recently off Tawi-Tawi were dropped off by unknown men Saturday night in front of the residence of Sulu gov. Abdusakur Tan II. padilla said they expect concrete results from the ongoing military operations to rescue the kidnap victims.

“We do believe that the ongoing operations we have launched since the other week have a profound effect on the ability of these groups to conduct their activities at will. We assessed that we have made their world smaller and in due time we will come to a decisive engagement to force them to release the remaining hostages they current hold,” padilla said. he also reiterated the government’s no ransom policy and the military will adhere to it.

“We want to end this series of criminal acts. The payment of ransom, besides being against the government’s policy, will only encourage further activities of the same nature,” he explained.

4 world records. Iglesia ni Cristo General Auditor Glicerio B. Santos Jr. and other INC leaders proudly receive the plaque from Guinness World Record adjudicators certifying the four new world records broken during the Aid to Humanity charity and outreach activity in Moriones, Tondo on Friday, April 29, 2016.

De Lima’s campaign fund source stirs question—anti-graft group

Bar results. Supreme Court’s maintenance men on Monday, May 2, 2016, prepare the venue for the ceremonial release of Bar examination results on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at the SC compound on Padre Faura, Manila. DANNY PATA

A group advocating for a clean government on Monday strongly urged former Justice secretary Leila de Lima to reveal the financiers of her senatorial bid in the name of transparency.

Joyce Doromal, secretarygeneral of Laban ng Bayan Tungo sa Malinis na pamahalaan or Laban, said her group’s demand to De Lima is to once and for all prove that she never received funds from Janet Lim Napoles and drug lords from the New Bilibid prisons.

Doromal stressed that they make it a point that De Lima whom they support

is clean in her first attempt to enter politics, thus, her group is strongly urging her to reveal the names of her financial backers.

Napoles has been slapped with plunder charges in connection with the p10billion priority Development Allocation Fund scam, but was later on allowed by the Sandiganbayan to post bail due to weak pieces of evidence.

The anti-graft body’s decision was seen by many observers as a move that only shows that the crusade of the Aquino administration against graft and corruption

was never serious after all— and De Lima knew this from the very start.

As a Justice secretary, De Lima launched a series of attacks at the New Bilibid prison in Muntinlupa City, where she cornered and pinned down accused big-time drug lords at the time she seriously contemplating to run for a Senate seat.

During that time, De Lima claimed in a number of media interviews that she has no sufficient funds to finance her senatorial bid, but she would still pursue her ambition.

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Abra mayor, father face murder raps

By Dexter A. See

High-value crop. Farmers in Balaoan, La Union harvest tobacco. DAVID CHAN

E. Visayas party-list group hits 1-m membership mark

By Ronald O. Reyes and Mel Caspe

TACLOBAN CITY—A week before the May 9 elections, a new regional party-list in Eastern Visayas has reached a million memberships already.

“We are happy that our members have already reached this number at this point of the campaign.

We started with 143 municipal leaders and 4,932 barangay leaders. But now, we already have 906,441

members. We are so close to a million and we hope to reach our one million target before May 7,” said Jude Acidre, first nominee of Tingog Sinirangan.

The memberships mostly came from Eastern Visayas

and some parts of Luzon.

According to Acidre, as the first regional political party in the region, they sought membership through its Project Aghat (or Encourage) that started in February. “‘Project Aghat’ is the membership program of Tingog Sinirangan. We are an organization, as an organization we are supposed to have members,” said Acidre, adding that their group seeks to give voice to Eastern Visayas’ people, as

well as to bring in the development of the region.

“For the past years, we noticed that party-lists engage the voters only during elections. After elections, party-lists forget their constituents and come back next election. Thus, Tingog wants to change the relationship between the people and the partylist as an organization. As a true political party, we want to have members.

To Tingog Sinirangan, the members are not only vot-

ers, they are partners in regional development,” he said.

“They are our first believers, in Tingog’s vision for the region. However, this does not mean that Tingog will only serve its members.

We want to be of service to all sectors and to the whole Eastern Visayas,” he said.

Eastern Visayas, known as the second poorest region in the country, has 2.7 million registered voters who will cast their votes this May 9.

BANGUED, Abra—The acting provincial prosecutor of this province has recommended the filing of murder charges against congressional candidate and incumbent La Paz Mayor Joseph Sto. Niño Bernos and his father, Danglas Vice Mayor Andres Bernos, after finding probable cause against them as principals in the murder of a 22-year-old male individual in 2002.

In a four-page resolution penned by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor of Ilocos Norte and Acting Abra Provincial Prosecutor Rommel G. Calupig believes that the filing of the said cases against the father and son is not procedurally infirm but is allowed under existing jurisprudence.

As to the issue of the belated execution of the affidavit of Mario Suibal to the killing of a certain Joel Afos, Calupig pointed out the same had been sufficiently explained by him that is he feared for his life.

“Delay in reporting what a person had witnessed when adequately explained does not impair his credibility,” Calupig stressed.

He added a suspect in a crime need not be named by a witness in a hurried manner and delay or vacillation in making a criminal accusation does not necessarily adulterate the credibility of a witness, thus, the initial reluctance of witnesses to volunteer information about a criminal case and their unwillingness to be involved in criminal investigations out of fear of reprisal are common and have not been judicially declared to affect credibility.

Police tag politics as motive in Samar killing

By Mel Caspe TACLOBAN CITY—A killing in Taft town in Eastern Samar on April 29 has erased the zeroelection related death record of the province.

P/SSupt. Romeo Campomanes, Eastern Samar Provincial Police Office Provincial Director said the shooting incident took place in Barangay Polangi.

The casualty was identified as Jeorge Mayor, a resident of the said barangay.

The suspect was identified as Filomino Chicano, a neighbor of the victim.

Mayor, 35, was known to be a political leader of Taft mayoralty candidate Maricon Adalim (LP) while the suspect is known as supporter and relative of incumbent Mayor Marian Libanan. The sitting mayor is a daughter of gubernatorial candidate Marcelino Libanan. According to authorities, the victim was driving a motorcycle when Chicano flagged him down and eventually shot the former with a short firearm.

The victim was hit on the head and many parts of his body. He died instantly.

The suspect fled via mo-

torcycle immediately after the incident. The getaway vehicle was later recovered at his residence.

Taft police also recovered nine pieces of fired cartridges for 9mm pistol and one (1) magazine for .45 caliber pistol loaded with eight live ammunition.

Adalim’s camp was fast to declare that the killing of Mayor was politically instigated. They claim that they can unseat the incumbent Libanan in this election. Libanan’s camp has still to release a statement regarding the allegation.

Pledge. Military and police officials vow to work for a peaceful election at Camp Diego Silang in Carlatan, San Fernando City, La Union. CHRISTINE JUNIO

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

VOTING FOR A HAPPY PHILIPPINES

[ EDI TORI A L ]

JITTERS EVERYWHERE WITH six days to go before May 9, candidates, their supporters and the general public are all on the edge about the outcome of the elections.

Even the market is displaying uncertainty with stock prices falling to their lowest level in seven weeks. On Monday’s trading, the Philippine Composite Index fell 2.4 percent, its seventh straight day of losses. The peso also weakened further against the US dollar from Friday’s close.

Analysts say the market jitters are caused by the specter of a win for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, especially after his appearance before the business community. Traders have described their meeting with Duterte as disappointing, with the candidate uttering vague statements on economic policy despite promises to boost the micro-, small and mid-sized enterprises.

The Davao mayor is leading the poll surveys despite—some say because of —his controversial pronouncements on various topics ranging from crime, women’s rights, the environment, and political reform. The most recent is whether he declared his assets accurately in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

But lest the mayor gets intoxicated with the thought that he alone is causing the uncertainties reflected by the stock and currency markets, we would hasten to add that there are other more fundamental things that we are worried about outside of the personalities cultivated by candidates like himself.

Foremost, we are concerned whether the elections will truly reflect the people’s will and will not be the subject of a bidding contest among the fraud experts.

What will be the effects of the recent data breach of the Commission on Elections website, not only on the elections but on the private transactions of the more than 50 million registered voters? What about the allegations that the machines used in overseas absentee voting produced receipts that indicated a different name than what the voters actually chose?

We are worried that the next president may have oversold himself or herself to a gullible people so hungry for real change, and who would believe just about anything so long as it is the opposite of what they are currently experiencing.

The disillusion may come sooner than expected.

We wonder, too, whether the next administration will tolerate dissent and criticism from the press, giving way to a healthy, substantive debate instead of dismissing them as agents of the enemy or threatening to silence them in any way.

Finally, we wonder whether the nation can transition smoothly from one administration to the next, focusing on genuine development and inclusive growth instead of bringing actual and imagined foes down.

We cannot wait for this circus to be over. Of that, we are certain.

DESPERATION LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES THE guy has guts, I’ll give him that. Or else, he’s really incurably dense and hopelessly forgetful—or just incredibly desperate.

It turns out that President Noynoy Aquino didn’t go to the Iglesia ni Cristo headquarters in Quezon City yesterday to ask the influential bloc-voting church to vote for administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas. According to my

sources, Aquino swallowed his pride—more on this later—to ask the INC to endorse his vice presidential bet, Leni Robredo.

Aquino needn’t have bothered. As politely as possible, he was told by executive minister Eduardo Manalo and other elders of the church that his candidates are simply not on their list.

In the case of Robredo, in fact, the issue has already been settled, Aquino was reportedly told. All indications (confirmed by my own sources in the church) point to a firm decision by the Iglesia to vote for Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos,

even if it has not yet declared its choice for president as yet.

Besides, Aquino was already too late when he went to “Sentral,” as INC members call their church’s headquarters.

One highly-placed source in the church told me that the sample ballots for INC members have already been prepared and printed and may be distributed to the faithful as early as today—even if no one except for Manalo and a few top-ranking advisers of his know its contents.

I cannot confirm if Aquino followed the usual protocol before visiting Sentral. A sitting

A9

As politely as possible, Aquino was told by the INC that his candidates are simply not on their list.

president who goes to Sentral usually sends feelers first to designated INC liaison officers, through his own liaison people in Malacañang.

If Aquino did any kind of prior intelligence-gathering and liaising, he would have saved himself the embarrassment of personally hearing his request turned down (no matter how nicely) by the church’s leaders.

And the INC, out of courtesy, would certainly not stop him from paying them a visit, even if they already knew that they were not supporting the President’s candidates.

But what Aquino seems to have gotten right is the futility of pushing for Roxas—before the INC or anywhere else. And the

push for Robredo could be motivated purely by the supposed “winnability” of the congressman from Naga City or part of a more complicated plan to keep the Yellows in power through an alleged “Plan C” that involves ousting the winner in the presidential race, in order to install Leni as a Gloria-like president afterwards.

Whatever motivated Aquino to visit Manalo and the INC, it certainly wasn’t because he suddenly realized that he was a friend of the church.

Because, if you know the back story,

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

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

he most certainly is not. *** It’s true that the INC, which is believed to command around two million votes, supported Aquino’s presidential run in 2010. But the thanks they got for that was to be told

by Aquino, in a meeting with church leaders early in his term, that they could expect no favors from him.

Aquino apparently told Manalo and other INC leaders that he didn’t need the votes because he would have won anyway without them. This was the

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

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can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

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first major offense of Aquino against the church, which is widely believed to leverage the votes it delivers to winning candidates for strategic appointments and other favors for the benefit of its membership.

During the impeachment trial of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in the first part of 2012, the INC was supposedly opposed to the plan to unseat the top magistrate.

The INC held a massive “prayer rally” at Manila’s Rizal Park to express its Continued on A11

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

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

IT’S LESS than a week before elections and citizens are making their final choices. As of the last surveys, it is Mayor Rody Duterte’s elections to lose.

While I think Grace Poe still has a shot at overtaking Duterte, that is dependent on whether women will come out in big numbers in her favor and whether she can regain the lead in Metro Manila.

There is always the possibility of Poe, Roxas and even Binay campaigns getting together to defeat Duterte. The basis for such an alliance would be to prevent an outcome that could lead the country to a dictatorship and possibly a military takeover to countenance that. This is a classic prisoner’s dilemma: there is clearly a need for cooperation between different political factions but none of them are able to yield to make that cooperation possible. The end result is the outcome that all of them do not want.

It is way above my pay grade to suggest how this prisoner’s dilemma can be resolved. I see that the only person that can make this happen is President Aquino. Faced with a double whammy—the victory of Duterte and Bongbong Marcos and a repudiation of his record, only Aquino has the clout to bring the key actors. Sacrifices have to be made, concessions given, and hard decisions taken are required of everyone. Nobody should come to that table feeling entitled to a position and condescending to others.

In the meantime, I know whom to vote for. As I have written in an online media platform, that is Grace Poe, for the following reasons: First, Senator Poe has the best vision for the country: one where no one is left behind. “Sa gobyernong may puso, walang maiiwan,” captures the two pillars of the senator’s vision. She will build on the good governance gains of President Aquino’s administration but it will depart radically from the latter in being solutions-oriented, inclusive, and compassionate. We will see a lot more empathy in a Poe administration, especially for children and families. It’s not a perfect platform. It has some gaps for sure. But it is the best that is being offered.

Second, the work ethic of Senator Poe is exemplary. The senator is tireless. She is always prepared for our meetings. She takes time to read voluminous briefing papers prepared for her. She reaches out to experts whenever necessary. Being a good manager and an excellent organization person, she will not tolerate division in her team and will make sure everyone acts as one.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

VOTING FOR A HAPPY PHILIPPINES

[ EDI TORI A L ]

JITTERS EVERYWHERE WITH six days to go before May 9, candidates, their supporters and the general public are all on the edge about the outcome of the elections.

Even the market is displaying uncertainty with stock prices falling to their lowest level in seven weeks. On Monday’s trading, the Philippine Composite Index fell 2.4 percent, its seventh straight day of losses. The peso also weakened further against the US dollar from Friday’s close.

Analysts say the market jitters are caused by the specter of a win for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, especially after his appearance before the business community. Traders have described their meeting with Duterte as disappointing, with the candidate uttering vague statements on economic policy despite promises to boost the micro-, small and mid-sized enterprises.

The Davao mayor is leading the poll surveys despite—some say because of —his controversial pronouncements on various topics ranging from crime, women’s rights, the environment, and political reform. The most recent is whether he declared his assets accurately in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

But lest the mayor gets intoxicated with the thought that he alone is causing the uncertainties reflected by the stock and currency markets, we would hasten to add that there are other more fundamental things that we are worried about outside of the personalities cultivated by candidates like himself.

Foremost, we are concerned whether the elections will truly reflect the people’s will and will not be the subject of a bidding contest among the fraud experts.

What will be the effects of the recent data breach of the Commission on Elections website, not only on the elections but on the private transactions of the more than 50 million registered voters? What about the allegations that the machines used in overseas absentee voting produced receipts that indicated a different name than what the voters actually chose?

We are worried that the next president may have oversold himself or herself to a gullible people so hungry for real change, and who would believe just about anything so long as it is the opposite of what they are currently experiencing.

The disillusion may come sooner than expected.

We wonder, too, whether the next administration will tolerate dissent and criticism from the press, giving way to a healthy, substantive debate instead of dismissing them as agents of the enemy or threatening to silence them in any way.

Finally, we wonder whether the nation can transition smoothly from one administration to the next, focusing on genuine development and inclusive growth instead of bringing actual and imagined foes down.

We cannot wait for this circus to be over. Of that, we are certain.

DESPERATION LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES THE guy has guts, I’ll give him that. Or else, he’s really incurably dense and hopelessly forgetful—or just incredibly desperate.

It turns out that President Noynoy Aquino didn’t go to the Iglesia ni Cristo headquarters in Quezon City yesterday to ask the influential bloc-voting church to vote for administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas. According to my

sources, Aquino swallowed his pride—more on this later—to ask the INC to endorse his vice presidential bet, Leni Robredo.

Aquino needn’t have bothered. As politely as possible, he was told by executive minister Eduardo Manalo and other elders of the church that his candidates are simply not on their list.

In the case of Robredo, in fact, the issue has already been settled, Aquino was reportedly told. All indications (confirmed by my own sources in the church) point to a firm decision by the Iglesia to vote for Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos,

even if it has not yet declared its choice for president as yet.

Besides, Aquino was already too late when he went to “Sentral,” as INC members call their church’s headquarters.

One highly-placed source in the church told me that the sample ballots for INC members have already been prepared and printed and may be distributed to the faithful as early as today—even if no one except for Manalo and a few top-ranking advisers of his know its contents.

I cannot confirm if Aquino followed the usual protocol before visiting Sentral. A sitting

A9

As politely as possible, Aquino was told by the INC that his candidates are simply not on their list.

president who goes to Sentral usually sends feelers first to designated INC liaison officers, through his own liaison people in Malacañang.

If Aquino did any kind of prior intelligence-gathering and liaising, he would have saved himself the embarrassment of personally hearing his request turned down (no matter how nicely) by the church’s leaders.

And the INC, out of courtesy, would certainly not stop him from paying them a visit, even if they already knew that they were not supporting the President’s candidates.

But what Aquino seems to have gotten right is the futility of pushing for Roxas—before the INC or anywhere else. And the

push for Robredo could be motivated purely by the supposed “winnability” of the congressman from Naga City or part of a more complicated plan to keep the Yellows in power through an alleged “Plan C” that involves ousting the winner in the presidential race, in order to install Leni as a Gloria-like president afterwards.

Whatever motivated Aquino to visit Manalo and the INC, it certainly wasn’t because he suddenly realized that he was a friend of the church.

Because, if you know the back story,

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

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

he most certainly is not. *** It’s true that the INC, which is believed to command around two million votes, supported Aquino’s presidential run in 2010. But the thanks they got for that was to be told

by Aquino, in a meeting with church leaders early in his term, that they could expect no favors from him.

Aquino apparently told Manalo and other INC leaders that he didn’t need the votes because he would have won anyway without them. This was the

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

first major offense of Aquino against the church, which is widely believed to leverage the votes it delivers to winning candidates for strategic appointments and other favors for the benefit of its membership.

During the impeachment trial of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in the first part of 2012, the INC was supposedly opposed to the plan to unseat the top magistrate.

The INC held a massive “prayer rally” at Manila’s Rizal Park to express its Continued on A11

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

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

IT’S LESS than a week before elections and citizens are making their final choices. As of the last surveys, it is Mayor Rody Duterte’s elections to lose.

While I think Grace Poe still has a shot at overtaking Duterte, that is dependent on whether women will come out in big numbers in her favor and whether she can regain the lead in Metro Manila.

There is always the possibility of Poe, Roxas and even Binay campaigns getting together to defeat Duterte. The basis for such an alliance would be to prevent an outcome that could lead the country to a dictatorship and possibly a military takeover to countenance that. This is a classic prisoner’s dilemma: there is clearly a need for cooperation between different political factions but none of them are able to yield to make that cooperation possible. The end result is the outcome that all of them do not want.

It is way above my pay grade to suggest how this prisoner’s dilemma can be resolved. I see that the only person that can make this happen is President Aquino. Faced with a double whammy—the victory of Duterte and Bongbong Marcos and a repudiation of his record, only Aquino has the clout to bring the key actors. Sacrifices have to be made, concessions given, and hard decisions taken are required of everyone. Nobody should come to that table feeling entitled to a position and condescending to others.

In the meantime, I know whom to vote for. As I have written in an online media platform, that is Grace Poe, for the following reasons: First, Senator Poe has the best vision for the country: one where no one is left behind. “Sa gobyernong may puso, walang maiiwan,” captures the two pillars of the senator’s vision. She will build on the good governance gains of President Aquino’s administration but it will depart radically from the latter in being solutions-oriented, inclusive, and compassionate. We will see a lot more empathy in a Poe administration, especially for children and families. It’s not a perfect platform. It has some gaps for sure. But it is the best that is being offered.

Second, the work ethic of Senator Poe is exemplary. The senator is tireless. She is always prepared for our meetings. She takes time to read voluminous briefing papers prepared for her. She reaches out to experts whenever necessary. Being a good manager and an excellent organization person, she will not tolerate division in her team and will make sure everyone acts as one.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OUR DEFINING MOMENT TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

ON MAY 9, some 54 million registered voters will choose the next leaders of our land. This will be the defining moment of our nation.

The choice, to me, is clear. Will we choose the road to perdition masquerading as “daang matuwid,” a reign of incompetence and insensitivity, hypocrisy and selective justice?

Will we choose a leader of dubious citizenship and residency?

Will we go for the self-confessed killer and womanizer with a foul mouth, even as he promises drastic change?

Or will we choose one who is known to be propoor and who wants to heal the political wounds of this nation?

I am discounting the candidate who is afflicted with Stage 4 lung cancer. I believe she should not have run in the first place.

I am worried that most Filipinos, 80 percent of whom are Catholics, seem to be fascinated with that candidate who lacks decency and moral values.

It is said that his rise in poll surveys is actually a protest against BS Aquino. My gulay, this may be so, but why do many voters appear enamored with a candidate whom even Catholic leaders dislike? In fact, in a pastoral letter, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines cautioned the faithful against voting for him.

Santa Banana, have we come to this point?

I am also worried about how the country can move forward after everything that has been said and done by the candidates (and their supporters) during the campaign.

If Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Du-Dirty gets elected (God forbid), he will surely face impeachment for not declaring in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities Network his alleged P211-million hidden wealth. Note his reply: “If I am impeached, I will abolish Congress.”

Santa Banana, the

only way he could do it is to proclaim a revolutionary government and abolish the Constitution.

Article VII, Section 18 of the fundamental law is clear that it’s Congress that approves the declaration of Martial Law. I suggest Du-Dirty read it.

It will be a turbulent administration with DuDirty as president. I am sure of it. His promise to kill all criminals and to end corruption is simply not doable. Not unless he becomes a dictator. My gulay, that’s an invitation for the Armed Forces of the Philippines to come to the aid of the country and the people as mandated by the Constitution. If Du-Dirty’s supporters revolt, the result is civil war. Do we really

The choice, to me, seems clear.

want this to happen?

If Mrs. Mary Grace Natividad Kelly Poe Llamanzares gets elected, do you think that those who filed petitions questioning her citizenship and residency before the the Senate Electoral Tribunal, the Comelec and the Supreme Court will just accept it? They will go to the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to renew their protest. The Supreme Court itself opened the gate for such a petition that only the PET can finally decide on Grace Poe’s qualifications.

In the case of administration candidate Mar Roxas, I believe that it’s only massive fraud that can make him president.

It’s only they who have the motivation and capability to frustrate the people’s will. We know how BS Aquino III will do anything to prevent himself from landing in jail after he steps down on June 30. But will the people accept it?

Vice President Jojo Binay may well be the people’s choice. But, Santa Banana, do you think

ESCUDERO, THE SUPER ‘BALIMBING’ AND TRILLANES, TOO SENATOR Chiz Escudero, the vice presidential bet of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, is desperately downplaying the increasing popularity of his most formidable opponent, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. According to Escudero, he opposes Bongbong to prevent a repetition of what he considers “the abusive regime” of Bongbong’s late father, President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

Escudero’s tactic is sheer political duplicity. In local political parlance, he is a balimbing—a super balimbing even.

As discussed in this column last week, Escudero deliberately concealed from the voters that his late father Salvador Escudero was a devoted cabinet minister of President Marcos. Long after President Marcos passed away in 1989, the elder Escudero continued to publicly identify himself with the ex-president by sporting the colors of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), the martial law era political party of the late president, on his shirts.

Therefore, if the martial law era was the “abusive regime” Escudero now wants to portray to the voters, then his attack against Bongbong is an admission that Escudero and his relatives were staunch supporters of the same “abusive regime.”

The scheming and ambitious Escudero knows that if he admits to the voters his past ties to the martial law administration, his attacks against Bongbong will be empty rhetoric. That is why Escudero has been conveniently silent about his very close ties to the Marcos administration durthat Antonio Trillanes, Alan Peter Cayetano and PDP Laban president Senator Koko Pimentel will stop throwing dirt at him? They will also try to impeach him.

The point I am driving at is that we will continue to be a fragmented country after election.

Our greatest affliction as a people is our crab mentality.

This reminds me of an old joke. At a public market, there were three crab baskets. Two were completely covered and one was open. When somebody asked why, the one in charge said: “Sir, the two covered baskets are from Thailand and Indonesia, while the open basket consists of Filipino crabs. And the reason why it’s not covered is that when a crab goes up, the

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA ing the campaign.

Correctly or incorrectly, Bongbong finds nothing objectionable about the martial law era. Bongbong admits, however, that he cannot disassociate himself from his father’s name and legacy. Unlike Bongbong, however, Escudero is silent about his ties to the martial law regime. This inevitably indicates that Escudero publicly detests the martial law administration not because it is detestable, but because Escudero hopes that his public criticism of the martial law regime will make voters assume that he was never a beneficiary of martial law, and that voters will not learn about a past he now prefers to forget.

Speaking of martial law, Escudero’s political patron in the NPC, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., was another loyal ally of ex-President Marcos. Cojuangco was in charge of the KBL campaign machinery in Central Luzon. He joined the Marcos family abroad during the 1986 Edsa uprising, and returned to the country years later.

In 1992, Cojuangco organized the NPC. Soon thereafter, almost every politician identified with the martial law regime found sanctuary in the NPC. One of them was the late Arturo Tolentino, an ex-KBL assemblyman and the vice presidential running mate of President Mar-

other crabs pull it down.”

And that’s the reason why I am voting for Jejomar Binay and Bongbong Marcos for president and vice president, respectively. We need leaders who are committed to healing our nation. This could start by burying former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. After all, he was a president, commander in chief and veteran. It’s in the law. *** When presidential spokesman Sonny Coloma released a message of condolence for the family of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, it was the height of hypocrisy.

We know that the untimely death of Corona due to heart attack was due to his persecution by

cos in 1986.

Another NPC stalwart is Estelito Mendoza, Marcos’ favored solicitor general who defended the martial law regime in the Supreme Court. Mendoza has been Cojuangco’s personal lawyer for decades now.

Since very close ties exist between the NPC and many politicians linked to martial law, Escudero’s affiliation with the NPC and its martial law supporters deprives him of any moral authority to attack Bongbong and what Escudero duplicitously brands as “the abusive” martial law regime.

Political observers associate Cojuangco with the controversial coconut levy funds, which currently involves billions of pesos. Early into the political campaign, however, Escudero and his running mate Grace Poe publicly cleared Cojuangco of any culpability. How they arrived at that conclusion objectively, considering their ties to Cojuangco, is a mystery.

When Escudero got married a second time around recently, most of the principal sponsors of his wedding were big-time industrialists who own enterprises subject to strict regulation by government agencies directly under Malacañang. Can Escudero really turn down those wedding ninongs or ninangs in the event they run to him for help whenever their enterprises breach the law?

Escudero’s television advertisements focus on poverty and the inability of the poor to get a college education.

a vindictive President.

Mr. Aquino wanted to make Corona, along with former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, his poster child for “Daang Matuwid.”

From the start, BS Aquino III never had any love lost for Corona. The latter ruled that tenants of Hacienda Luisita must be given higher compensation. Recall that when Mr. Aquino took his oath of office in 2010, he did not even recognize the presence of then-Chief Justice Corona. He had Corona impeached and convicted by the Senate, bribing the senators— except Miriam Santiago, Bongbong Marcos and the late Joker Arroyo, who did not vote for Corona’s conviction and ouster.

And then we see Mrs. Arroyo who continues

Continued on A11

to languish in hospital detention because of an unproven P336 million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office transfer of funds. The irony is that all her co-accused have been allowed to post bail.

“Daang Matuwid” is directed only at BS Aquino’s political enemies.

His friends, supporters and allies go by a different rule.

The President has the temerity to consider himself the best president the country ever had. I almost fell out of my chair upon reading his claim. Can’t he even wait for somebody else to say that?

I’ve been around a long time—66 years as a journalist. In fact, I would say BS Aquino III is the worst president we’ve ever had.

He is a hypocrite and a conceited liar.

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

MEXICO’S FALTERING FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION Bloomberg editorial CORRUPTION in Mexico is not just a legal and moral problem. It is an economic one. The annual cost amounts to 5 percent of gross domestic product, according to one report, which also found that almost half of business owners said officials have sought money in exchange for contracts or business opportunities. Worse, those who are caught have rarely been punished: Only 1.5 percent of corruption cases lodged in Mexico end in conviction. (In Singapore, in contrast, the share is

80 percent.) In fact, many Mexicans say they’re more concerned about government corruption than even security and the economy.

The sooner Mexico’s leaders take charge of the battle to clean up government, the sooner they can ease people’s concerns— and those of their friends and neighbors abroad. It’s been almost a year since Mexican citizens secured the passage of a series of constitutional reforms to limit corruption —an achievement rightly hailed by President Enrique Pena Nieto as a “paradigm shift.” But, unfortunately, the

president’s own Institutional Revolutionary Party is now holding up laws that are needed to make those reforms stick.

Pena Nieto’s administration has made admirable health and energy reforms.

Yet rampant corruption still casts a pall over commerce and undermines public support for future economic liberalization. The president needs to push his party to pass the bills, even if it means calling the legislature back for a special session.

The so-called “three out of three” bill—which Mexican civil society groups drafted

Escudero... From A10

Voting... From A9

The advertisements suggest that if Escudero is elected vice president, that problem will be solved. Really? Under the Constitution, the sole role of the vice president is that of the president’s replacement. Escudero did nothing to stop poverty when he was senator. How then can he stop poverty as vice president?

Escudero’s duplicity should not be rewarded with victory at the polls.

Incidentally, the same may be said of the equally ambitious Leni Robredo, the Liberal Party’s candidate for vice president, who has made promises which a vice president, by himself, is powerless to deliver. Her recent surge in some surveys is statistically impossible, considering that she has not participated in any ground-breaking issue sufficient enough to improve her fourth place ranking which she consistently held for the past several months. *** Senator Antonio Trillanes claims Davao City Mayor Duterte, who is leading in the latest surveys in the presidential derby, has secret bank deposits. If that is so, Trillanes’ timing is highly suspect because election day is a just days away. Why is he making this revelation only now?

The suspicious delay strengthens public suspicion that Trillanes was ordered by Malacañang to run for vice president for the sole purpose of throwing black propaganda at the political opposition, without making Mar Roxas, the administration bet, look bad and underhanded. That’s plausible because Trillanes owes President Benigno Aquino III a debt of gratitude after Aquino ordered his release from the military stockade in 2010. This is also confirmed by the failure of Trillanes to maintain a credible campaign.

Last year, Trillanes failed to produce any evidence to support his accusations against a ranking government official under investigation by the Senate. Why should the people believe Trillanes now?

Makati City voters aghast at being made to chose between candidates identified with the Liberal Party and those supporting the Binay family are pleased to discover that there is an independent bet for the congressional seat allotted for the city’s first district—Desiree Lastimer, an alumnus of both UP Los Baños and the University of London. If elected, Lastimer intends to use the economic bounty of the city to improve its health and education facilities to a caliber that fits the status of Makati.

Her being a woman, mother, wife, and daughter is my third reason for voting for Poe. Double standards that marginalize women and favor men prevail in all areas of our society—in politics, in economics, in our culture.

It would be good to have a woman lead the effort to change that. In a Poe presidency, many women will be appointed to the cabinet and to all government positions and the judiciary.

My hope is that more than half of the cabinet will be women and that by the time her term is over, more than half of the Supreme Court will be women.

Poe is fully engaged with her family, attending recollections and graduations even at the height of the campaign. A Poe presidency will be good for families because she understands what we are all about.

Fourth, her being a foundling means she will always prioritize children and the human rights of all. I look forward to a president whose number one priority is children because she herself experienced very directly the precariousness of being alone as a child. Because she has a direct experience also of the importance of human rights, a president Poe will be a strong advocate of the human rights of all, including the mothers of disappeared political activists or OFWs that are imprisoned or sentenced to death in foreign lands.

Fifth, Poe’s campaign shows she will also be an effective and ethical president. She has refused to do personal attacks and go dirty. I have never seen Senator Poe panic even in

Desperation... From A9 displeasure over Aquino’s plan to remove Corona—even if the church didn’t protest when the President eventually had his way.

Finally, last year, in the middle of the controversy surrounding the internal uprising in the INC involving the mother and siblings of Manalo himself, the church took offense that then-Justice Secretary Leila de Lima—a known Aquino hatchet-woman—seemed to be giving credence to the allegations of Lowell Menorca and other

and put on the legislative agenda after gathering more than 600,000 signatures of support—would require public officials to declare their assets, tax returns and private interests.

Among other measures, this legislation would give more power and autonomy to a special prosecutor and create a framework for coordinating the government’s overall anti-corruption effort.

Mexico’s two biggest have backed the bill. But the PRI has balked at marking it up in open session, has sought to water it down (proposing, for instance, that officials in

some cases be able to duck prosecution for misusing public funds by making restitution), and has argued that the requirement for public disclosure might spark witch hunts. And this has delayed the change Mexico’s needs.

Corruption feeds not just domestic outrage but also the kind of toxic distortions about Mexico that Donald Trump and other outsiders peddle. Defending Mexico’s reputation abroad will become easier when the government begins to lead, not hinder, the fight against corruption at home.

the face of crises and what seem to be overwhelming challenges. I saw only a grounded and recollected Poe when it seemed she would lose her disqualification cases. That’s what I see in her now, a time when she is trying to catch up in the polls.

In Grace Poe, we will have a listening president. This is the sixth reason my vote goes to her. Poe will be a listening president, not only on policy and governance matters, but also on an interpersonal basis. She has what we call in Jesuit parlance cura personalis.

The country saw this in action in the last presidential debate when she was the only one who addressed and later approached the child Jhesa and her mother, telling them she understood her situation being, a mother herself.

Grace Poe will be a president who will be equally comfortable listening to a business magnate, policy expert, farmer, worker, and a young child and her mother.

Seventh, Grace Poe is tough and will make right decisions. I have seen how she deals with conflicting opinions and advice, that she weighs everything, asks the right questions, and proceeds to make a decision based on her core values. She also values complete staff work and reaching out to a range of views before making decisions. Moreover, all major decisions will be characterized by transparency and inclusiveness.

Eighth, Grace Poe will inspire all of us to be servant leaders like her.

There are many of us who are helping in the Poe campaign. Some are very prominent and senior in business, governance, and politics. Oth-

ers are her close friends from St. Paul in grade school, Assumption College in high school, and her UP Manila days—their loyalty and commitment to Poe tells me a lot about her leadership. But a big majority in her campaign are young people, fresh out of college or still in school. She has inspired all of us, such that I am willing to reconsider my plan to retire from governance to join, if requested, a Poe administration.

Ninth, the Filipino people will be united under a Poe presidency. I want that in a president—someone who can unify us, not make us a cacophony of dissonant voices, always fighting for both petty and serious reasons. I would like a president that inspires us to be better than we are now, to rise about our quarrels and share a common vision of a prosperous, peaceful and just Philippines.

And finally, in choosing Grace Poe as our president, we will be voting for a better Philippines: a country with less poverty, reduced crime, better social justice, where human rights are fully respected; a country that is kinder—to children and women especially, to people with disabilities, to the less fortunate.

Grace Poe has all the qualities of a great servant leader. And most of all, she has deep faith and spirituality, a strong dependence on Divine Providence. With Poe as our president, we will have a happy country and people—not afraid, full of hope. For this alone, she is my choice.

revolting clergymen. This led to yet another protest rally on Edsa, which thankfully did not result in violence.

For all these reasons, it’s clear to see that the INC has no love lost for Aquino and his administration.

And why, I’m told, the church’s choice for a new president was quickly narrowed down to either Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte or Vice President Jejomar Binay.

This is why I say that it took a lot of guts for Aquino to show up at Sentral on that fool’s errand of his.

I really can’t say if Aquino is totally

clueless or if he honestly forgot all about the INC’s grievances against him and his administration.

But maybe Aquino isn’t clueless or forgetful. Maybe he’s just really, really desperate to stay out of jail after his term ends on June 30, now that it appears clear that neither of his top two candidates are going to win.

Desperation is a powerful motivation. And Aquino, for all his tough talk and empty claims of being the best president ever, is clearly one scared, soon-to-bepowerless ex-president.

Facebook: tonylavs5 or Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Top seeds Kerber, Radwanska fall MADRID—Top seeds Agnieszka Radwanska and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber crashed out of the Madrid Open in the first round on Sunday in major setbacks ahead of Roland Garros.

Poland’s Radwanska, the number one seed in the absence of Serena Williams, lost 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 to the rejuvenated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

Radwanska, a semi-finalist in 2012 and 2014 in the Spanish capital, already knew the dangers posed by Cibulkova after her opponent came within a point of victory in their last meeting at Indian Wells in March.

Cibulkova, a former world number 10 and Australian Open runner-up, was always going to be a dangerous floater having won her fifth career title

Germany’s Laura Siegemund returns the ball to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in their semifinal at the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany. AFP

Rio-bound boxers to grace Forum THE country’s top two prospects in the coming Rio Olympics will join the victorious De La Salle Lady Spikers in the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at Shakey’s Malate today.

Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez, along with the coaching staff of the national boxing team, are going to talk about their training and preparation for the Summer Games set August 5 to 21.

Sharing the limelight with the boxers in the public sports program aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. are the Lady Spikers, who just regained the UAAP women’s volleyball title by beating rival Ateneo Lady Eagles in the deciding game of their title series over the weekend.

Finals’ MVP Kim Dy is expected to lead the team’s appearance in the forum starting at 10:30 a.m.

last time out in Katowice three weeks ago.

Second-seeded German Kerber was dumped out by the Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova 6-4, 6-2 with her defeat coming just a week after she had retained her title in Stuttgart.

However, Kerber was outplayed by world number 33 Strycova, who she had beaten 6-1, 6-1 in Miami back in March.

“I’d win four games in the matches we played before,” said Strycova.”I went into this match thinking I had nothing to lose.

I mean, it can’t be worse than Miami.”

Losses for Radwanska and Kerber mean Garbine Muguruza is the highest seed left at the key clay-court event and the fourth-ranked Spaniard sealed her place in round two with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Anna Schmiedlova. AFP

Foreign bets eye big Manila Masters finish ELEVEN Koreans banner the strong 26-player foreign contingent setting out to break into the stranglehold of the local aces when the P3.5 million ICTSI Manila Masters is fired off beginning Wednesday at the Eastridge Golf Club in Binangonan, Rizal.

Park Jun Hyeok put on a sizzling windup to finish second to Tony Lascuña at ICTSI Luisita Championship last month with the Korean shotmaker hopeful of turning in a strong start and a stronger finish to build some momentum for another crack at the crown.

The foreign bets have gained grounds on the local players with Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Japanese Toru Nakajima finishing tied for fourth at ICTSI Anvaya Cove Invitational

won by Miguel Tabuena and Park stringing a 67 and 65 in the final two rounds to snatch runner-up honors at Luisita.

Although the Asian Development Tour regulars dominated the ICTSI Manila Southwoods leg ruled by Gavin Green of Australia last month, Nakajima placed second to Swede Oscar Zetterwall and Van der Valk tied for sixth at ICTSI Sherwood Classic.

Though Nakajima won’t be around to reinforce the foreign

bets’ challenge in the 72-hole championship sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc., the likes of young Park Min Ung, Park Jun Song, Park Chan Jung, Min Jun Seok, Chang Chang Guo, Hong Soon Hyup, Hwang Soon Hyup, Kim Chang Hoi, Kim Chang Yeon and Kim In Jae are in the fold, ready to do backstop their compatriot’s bid against the cream of the country’s cop.

Van der Valk is also due for a big finish along with Sam Ayotte, Daniel Inocencio, Dylan Jackson, John Jackson, Dillon Soldwisch and Chris Oetinger of the US, and Ausies Nelson Turner, Ben Ratcliffe, Nathan Park and Kevin Marques.

Some of the foreign bets will be among a select group of pros vying in today’s (Tuesday) pro-am tournament along with the guests and officials of the event’s chief

backers, including Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.

Defending champion Angelo Que, Miguel Tabuena and Lascuna remain the favorites to slug it out for the top P650,000 purse in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. with Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Cassius Casas, Mars Pucay, Mhark Fernando and Clyde Mondilla alsos tipped to contend for the crown.

Rookie pros Jobim Carlos and Justin Quiban are also expected to be in the mix with the veteran campaigners with the former hoping to ride the crest of his stirring 64 finish at ADT Sherwood and the latter out to recall the form that netted him an impressive joint third place finish with Que at Luisita.

Sacapano, Andrade score net twin-kill AVERILLE Sacapano lived up to her billing while Al Francis Andrade bucked the odds and upended his fancied rivals to nail two titles each in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis tournament at the Puerto Princesa and Camp 570 Tennis Club Monday.

Sacapano stamped her class in the girls’ 16-and-under play with a run of straight-set victories, including a 6-3, 6-1 romp over Franzyn Billones in the finals. The 14-year-old rising star from Boracay also swept her way to the 18-U crown, capped by a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Khyshana Hitosis in the championship.

But it was the fifth-ranked Andrade who provided the spark in the Group 2 tournament presented by Slazenger as the New Washington, Aklan bet crushed top seed Maxine One, 6-1, 6-0, in the semis then whipped Lance

Hitosis, 6-1, 6-1, to annex the boys’ 16-U plum. He later wore down Lorenzo Legaspi, 6-0, 5-2(ret.), to rule the premier division of the tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusive distributor of Slazenger.

“Andrade’s feat underscored the level playing field that has been the norm in the circuit which continues to produce promising talents, particularly in the countryside,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Earlier, local talent Billones derailed Sacapano’s bid for a three-title sweep as she snared the 14-U diadem with a tough 6-4, 6-3 victory over her topseeded rival while Jade Micayabas, another rising Puerto Princesa netter, held off Chisha Santos, 6-4, 6-4, to clinch the girls’ 12-U crown in the five-day event sanctioned by the Phil-

ippine Tennis Association headed by president and Paranaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Meanwhile, Hitosis, also from the host city, rebounded from his setback to Andrade with a 7-6(4), 6-0 win over Jennard Gonzales to nail the 14-U title while third seed Luis Ong took the 12-U crown with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over James Banac.

Olongapo’s Darwin Cosca, on the other hand, survived Justin Micayabas, 4-5(5), 4-2, 4-1, in the semis then clobbered Andreaskoeph Ubay, 4-2, 4-1, to capture the 10-unisex title.

Meanwhile, over 300 participants have so far signed up for the next PPSPEPP leg in La Carlota, Negros set May 5-9. For details, call Bobby Mangunay, PPS-PEPP regional age group tennis event organizer and Sports Program Development director at 0915-4046464.

Joint leader. Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela hits his

tee shot on the second hole during a continuation of the third round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana.Vegas birdied two of the five holes he squeezed in before the weather hit on Sunday, joining Brian Stuard atop the leaderboard. AFP

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Air Force spikers rule Pistay Dayat

By Peter Atencio

Red Lions in US for 2-week cage camp MEMBERS of the San Beda Red Lions are in the United States for a twoweek training camp in Las Vegas.

Team manager Jude Roque said this after the squad signed up for the Impact Basketball Academy of notable NBA trainer Joe Abunassar and drillmaster Andrew Moore.

Roque said the first week of the camp had been both fun and formidable for the team, especially for the seven first-timers in the squad.

He added that the camp gave them drills on individual offensive and defensive skills, transition attacks, and strength and conditioning.

“It’s part of the build up for the coming NCAA season where the Red Lions are eyeing to regain the title they lost last year,” said Roque in his dispatch.

Point guard Baser Amer and Ola Adeogun, who played their last season last year, are not around.

In the camp are veterans Amiel Soberano, Ice Reyes and Roldan Sara.

Players from Team B, who could make it to Team A are also there, including Jeramer Cabanag, Javee Mocon, Jose Mari Presbiterio, Ranbill Tongco, Alfred Sedillo and Donald Tankoua.

Tankoua, a Nigerian big man, has been in Team B for the last two years. Two prospects, shooters Robert Bolick Jr and Kenneth Alas, are also there.

Bolick just finished his residency after transferring from La Salle. Alas, younger brother of former Letran standout Kevin, has also been in Team B for some time. Peter Atencio

THE Philippine Air Force team of Jennifer Manzano and Judy Ann Caballejo captured the 2016 Pistay Dayat beach volleyball title after holding off defending champion Jessa Aranda and Jonafer San Diego of Rizal Tech, 21-15, 21-9, at the Capitol beachfront in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

Air Force’s Jennifer Manzano (2) and Judy Ann Caballejo (1) are shown during the awards ceremonies of the 2016 Pistay Dayat beach volleyball tournament. At left is host/organizer Gov. Leopoldo Bataoil (left). They are also joined by runnersup Jessa Aranda and Jonafer San Diego.

Romero bats for ‘godfather system’ FOR his desire to help the country win its first Olympic gold medal, 1Pacman party-list No. 1 nominee Dr. Mikee Romero will not only give up his monthly salary, but will also seek more funds for elite and promising athletes if he wins a congressional seat in the coming elections.

“I will not get my salary if given the chance to serve the country as a member of the Congress. I will form a team to select young and promising talents, who will receive my financial help,” Romero said.

The 1Pacman candidate, one of the youngest billionaires in the country, is likewise calling for the return of the “godfather system” in Philippine sports in preparation for the Tokyo Games in 2020.

“It’s high time that we brought back the godfather system in sports,” said Romero, who built a world-class passenger terminal at North Harbor aside from being a part owner of AirAsia Philippines.

Romero knows very well the role of a “godfather,” having served as chief backer of the Philippine basketball team that produced several firsts during the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand.

Led by current PBA stars like Jayson Castro, Beau Belga, and Gabe Norwood, the 2007 PH team got top class training through the support of Globalport owner and virtually turned the SEA Games competition into its own playground.

For elite athletes, the Globalport owner plans to talk to several giant corporations and convince them to adopt one or two of them, providing them additional financial help which he said is essential in their quest for glory and honor for the country.

“Kailangang mabusog ng pagmamahal ang mga atleta natin and we can only do that if we provide them all they need – pera para sa pamilya nila bukod sa first-class

training na kailangan nila,” said Romero.

With his vast connections, Romero said he will also try to convince some of his friends to help him out in providing financial assistance to deserving athletes.

“Kapag nasa competition ang mga atleta natin, especially in the Olympics, dapat worry-free sila para maganda ang chance nilang manalo ng ginto,” he added.

Romero also plans to boost the country’s ties with some European powers so that the transfer of technical knowledge to Filipino athletes will cost only little to the government and be a lot easier.

The 1Pacman candidate also bared plans to invite coaches who made good imprints in the Olympic Games.

“I will make sure to invite coaches with huge success in the Olympics so they can share their winning formula to our athletes,” said Romero.

Manzano and Caballejo used their height advantage and their vast experience in stopping Aranda and San Pedro.

The win also earned them the P20,000 top purse at stake in this two-day spikefest.

Now on sixth year, the tournament, organized by Gov. Leopoldo Bataoil, is held for Pangasinan teams playing against Manila teams.

“Happy ako dahil nanalo kami in front of my kababayans, sobrang nakakaproud,” said Manzano, who is from Lingayen, Pangasinan and played for La Salle Dasmarinas during her collegiate years.

“Masaya ako dahil first time ko lang sumali dito tapos nanalo pa kami.

Hindi ko alam na ganito pala karami ang nanonood ng beach volleyball dito,” added Caballejo.

The Airwomen reached the finals after topping the Manila division via a 3-game sweep.

They won over the Pangasinan State University team of Grachelle Ann Galico and Karen Mae Vinluan, 21-18, in the semis.

On the other hand, RTU won over LGU Lingayen’s Joanne Marie Fernandez and Hanna Relex, 21-8.

PH junior amateur match play gets going JUNIOR players take center stage beginning Tuesday when the 2016 Philippine Junior Amateur Match Play Golf Championship unwraps at the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa.

With last year’s champion Rupert Zaragosa now with the men’s ranks, the battle for this year’s boys’ title is expected to be fierce with Korean Tom Kim seeking a sweep after winning the Philippine Amateur stroke play crown three weeks ago.

But he will be up against a talentladen field, which includes Dan Cruz, Carlo Villaroman, Jolo Magcalayo, Ira Alida, Marc Corrales, Aldo Barro, Ralph Lauron, Aniceto Mandanas and Adrian Romero.

Also in the fold are Koreans Kim

Tae Hun and Ko Myeong Hun, Liam Cully, Pierre Ticzon, William Chua, Luis Castro, Riggs Illescas, Jaime Oposo, Chadric Lazaro, Paolo Barro, Nathan Kawpeng, John Jun and Peter Tyler Po. Harmie Constantino and Yuka Saso, meanwhile, gear up for a repeat of last year’s title duel in the girls’ side of the annual event held as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, PLDT, Smart, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Out to spoil their bid are Yun Ji Jang, Kang Da Yun and Koh Eun A of Korea, Annika Guangko, Kristine Torralba, Jona Magcalayo, Ashia Nocum and LK Go.

While Constantino boasts of a number of victories, including the Philippine Amateur Stroke Play Championship early this year, Saso is coming off a stint with the national team in the Queen Sirikit Cup where the Philippines placed third.

Saso is also aiming to score a repeat over the reigning national champion and veteran SEA Games campaigner, whom she dominated in last month’s Philippine Amateur Junior Open at Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite.

The field slugs it out in the 36hole stroke play elims with the top 32 in the boys’ side and the top 16 in the girls’ division moving to the knockout phase starting Thursday with the boys playing two rounds.

Golf queen.

Jenny Shin celebrates with LPGA legend Kathy Whitworth after Shin’s two-stroke victory at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club 2016 in Irving, Texas. AFP

Republic of the Philippines Senate Pasay City 2 016 - 0 0 2 POLICY ORDER NO. ______________(OSP) Series of 2016 SUBJECT

:

RULES AND GUIDELINES ON THE RECEPTION OF THE CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS AND ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE MAY 9, 2016 ELECTIONS FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT

WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 4, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution provides that the returns of every election for President and Vice President, duly certified by the Board of Canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate; WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 9369, Republic Act No. 8436, and other relevant election laws and COMELEC Resolutions, which authorize the Commission on Elections to use an automated election system, provide for the transmission of election results to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate; WHEREAS, COMELEC Resolution Nos. 10063, 10052, 10045, and 10048, adopted pursuant to Republic Act No. 9189, Republic Act No. 10590, and other relevant election laws on overseas absentee voting, provide for the transmission of election results to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate; WHEREAS, COMELEC Resolution Nos. 10062 and 10003, adopted in accordance with Republic Act No. 10380, Executive Order No. 157, and other relevant election laws on local absentee voting, provide for the transmission of election results to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate; WHEREAS, the city or municipal board of canvassers, the district board of canvassers, the provincial board of canvassers and the special board of canvassers for overseas and local absentee voting, shall transmit the duly certified Certificates of Canvass and/or Election Returns to the Congress as the National Board of Canvassers for President and Vice-President, directed to the President of the Senate; WHEREAS, in order to ensure faithful compliance with the Constitutional mandate and to provide for an orderly and systematic proceeding, the following Rules and Guidelines on the Reception of the Certificates of Canvass and Election Returns for the May 9, 2016 Elections for President and Vice President are hereby adopted: Rule 1 RECEPTION OF PHYSICALLY TRANSMITTED CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS AND ELECTION RETURNS A. VENUE, RECEPTION AND STORAGE AREAS Sec. 1. The reception of the Certificates of Canvass and Election Returns shall be at the Senate of the Philippines located at the GSIS Building, Pasay City.

Sec. 2. There shall be separate reception areas for the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns.

The ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and supporting documents and paraphernalia, if any, shall be received at the Senators Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel Rooms at the second floor of the Senate of the Philippines. The ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns and supporting documents and paraphernalia, if any, shall be received at the ground floor lobby of the Senate of the Philippines.

Sec. 3. The storage area for the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass shall be at a place designated in the Senator Claro M. Recto Room. The storage area for the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns shall be at the covered parking area adjacent to the ground floor lobby.

The storage areas for the Certificates of Canvass and Election Returns shall be covered, on a twenty-four hour basis, by closed circuit television cameras.

Sec. 4. Only authorized Senate personnel, accredited representatives and COMELEC officers as defined hereunder shall be allowed access to the reception and/or storage areas.

“Authorized Senate personnel” are Senate employees who are members of the Ad Hoc Committee and its reception teams created pursuant to Senate Special Order No. 2016-027, and such persons designated by the President of the Senate to receive and safeguard the Certificates of Canvass, Election Returns and other election materials and paraphernalia transmitted to the President of the Senate.

“Accredited Representatives” are representatives of presidential and vice presidential candidates, representatives of political parties fielding presidential and vice presidential candidates, representatives of citizens’ arm, and members of the media.

“COMELEC officers” are COMELEC officials, members of the Board of Canvassers, and the Chairmen of the Special Board of Canvassers under Republic Act No. 9189, as amended

by Republic Act No. 10590, governing Overseas Absentee Voting, and under Executive Order No. 157 and Republic Act No. 10380 governing Local Absentee Voting, and their respective authorized representatives,.

Sec. 5. Identifying tags provided by the Senate shall be worn at all times by authorized persons entering the reception and/or storage areas. For the Senate personnel, they shall, in addition to the identifying tags, wear their official Senate identification card.

Sec. 6. Whenever required by the proper Senate authorities, other identifying documents to show authorization to enter the reception and/or storage areas shall be presented on demand.

Sec. 7. Only the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, upon prior approval by the President of the Senate, is authorized to issue tags to any person seeking access to the reception and/or storage areas. The Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) shall provide the appropriate colorcoding for personnel granted access to these areas.

Upon presentation of authority and proper identification, the representatives of the accredited citizens’ arm, the accredited political parties, the presidential and vice presidential candidates, and members of the media shall be entitled to the issuance of identification tags.

B. SECURITY MEASURES AND HOUSE RULES Sec. 8. Legislative pages shall be stationed at the ground floor lobby at all times. One page shall accompany the COMELEC officer and escort/s to the second floor for the reception of the Certificates of Canvass, while another shall accompany the COMELEC officer and escort/s to the ground floor lobby for the reception of the Election Returns.

Sec. 9. Firearms shall not be carried within the Senate premises, including the parking areas.

The COMELEC officer and/or escort/s shall be required to deposit their firearms, if any, with the OSAA. Sec. 10. Smoking shall be strictly prohibited within the Senate building.

Sec. 11. The OSAA shall ensure that all fire-fighting equipment of the Senate shall be ready and serviceable on a twenty-four (24) hour basis.

Sec. 12. In case of emergency or calamity, the OSAA shall be responsible for the orderly and secure evacuation of the personnel and the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns in the custody of the Senate.

Sec. 13. Effective May 9, 2016, only vehicles carrying ballot boxes purportedly containing Certificates of Canvass and ballot boxes purportedly containing Election Returns and such other vehicles that the President of the Senate may authorize shall be allowed entry into the Senate covered parking area.

Sec. 14. Absolutely no withdrawal of COMELEC ballot boxes and other receptacles inside the storage areas shall be allowed, except when expressly authorized in writing by the President of the Senate.

Sec. 15. The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms shall enforce these policies.

C. ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY Sec. 16. The Senate shall assume responsibility over the security of the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns only upon issuance of the official receipt duly signed by the team leader of the respective reception teams.

D. PROCEDURE FOR RECEPTION OF THE CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS AND ELECTION RETURNS Sec. 17. The reception of ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing Election Returns shall start on May 9, 2016, at six o’clock in the evening (6:00 p.m.).

Sec. 18. Each presidential and vice presidential candidate, every political party fielding a presidential and/or vice presidential candidate and the accredited citizens’ arm are entitled to one (1) representative in each of the reception areas. They shall be allowed to witness the reception of the ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass, ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing Election Returns and other election documents/paraphernalia, as well as note the condition of said ballot boxes/receptacles upon receipt thereof by the reception teams and other particulars relating to the same.

Sec. 19. The President of the Senate shall receive the first delivered ballot boxes/ receptacles purportedly containing the Certificate of Canvass. Subsequent ballot boxes/ receptacles purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns shall be received by the reception teams as provided herein.

Sec. 20. There shall be at least two (2) Secretariat reception teams per shift which shall receive the ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and shall be composed of the following personnel per team: (a) a team leader, preferably a lawyer; (b) a stenographer; (c) a clerk; and (d) a utility aide.

There shall be three (3) Secretariat reception teams per shift which shall receive the ballot boxes/receptacles purportedly containing the Election Returns and shall be composed of the following: (a) a team leader, with the rank of at least LSO V; (b) an assistant team leader; and (c) a utility aide.

Sec. 21. The reception teams shall be on duty on a 24-hour basis, with each team observing an 8-hour shift. All members of the reception teams shall report for duty at least one (1) hour before the start of their shift and shall remain at their post until relieved by the next reception team.

Sec. 22. The members of the reception teams and shift supervisors and such other personnel as may be necessary shall be designated by the President of the Senate.

All members of the reception teams shall undergo a training/seminar on their reception duties.

Sec. 23. Reception proceedings for the Certificates of Canvass shall be recorded by a stenographer and shall be covered by video and still cameras. In the case of Election Returns, reception proceedings shall be covered by video and still cameras.

RECEPTION OF CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS Sec. 24. The COMELEC officer and escort/s delivering the Certificate of Canvass shall register in the entry logbook provided for by the OSAA at the ground floor lobby. They shall be provided with Senate identification tags, and thereafter escorted to the reception area at

Senators Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel Rooms.

Sec. 25. At the entrance to the reception area for the Certificates of Canvass, the COMELEC officer shall register in the COC Logbook and thereafter present to the team leader the ballot box with a transmittal receipt, and the said COMELEC officer shall state whether the purported Certificate of Canvass delivered is complete or only a partial canvass.

The team leader shall describe, in the presence of the COMELEC officer, the condition of the ballot box, state its serial number, the number of keys and locks turned over, and the serial number of the self-locking seal. The COMELEC officer shall be asked to conform to or comment on the description or observation made by the team leader.

The team leader shall only receive the ballot box(es) purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass but shall not open the same.

The team leader shall then turn over the ballot box purportedly containing the Certificate of Canvass to the Senate OSAA for storage.

Sec. 26. There shall be a prescribed Senate form incorporating the details mentioned in the immediately preceding section. The form shall be signed by the team leader and the COMELEC officer, and attested to by the representatives mentioned in Section 18 hereof.

The representatives of the accredited political parties, the presidential and vice presidential candidates, and the citizens’ arm shall each be entitled to a duly accomplished copy of the aforementioned Senate prescribed form.

Sec. 27. The team leader shall sign for and on behalf of the President of the Senate, the Senate official receipt for the purported Certificate of Canvass in two (2) copies. The team leader shall retain the first copy and the second copy shall be given to the COMELEC officer who shall acknowledge receipt of the same.

The official receipt shall describe the condition of the ballot box purportedly containing the Certificate of Canvass as herein provided.

Sec. 28. Whenever the purported Certificate of Canvass is not placed in a ballot box or is contained in a receptacle other than a ballot box, the COMELEC officer making the delivery shall state the reason for the purported Certificate of Canvass not being placed inside a ballot box.

The team leader shall describe the condition of the receptacle, and then the COMELEC officer shall open the receptacle and take out the envelope purportedly containing the Certificate of Canvass. Thereafter, the team leader shall describe the condition of the envelope, indicate whether it is sealed or not, state whether there are signatures appearing therein, its serial number, and such other relevant comments and observations. The team leader shall ask the COMELEC officer to place it and all the contents of the receptacle in a ballot box and shall seal and padlock the same. The ballot box, seal and padlock to be used shall be provided by COMELEC. In no case shall the envelope purportedly containing the Certificate of Canvass be opened. However, if an envelope is open upon delivery, the contents thereof shall not be taken out; the fact that the envelope was already open upon delivery shall be recorded in writing.

Sec. 29. The ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass shall be arranged by the OSAA inside the storage area in the order received by the reception teams.

RECEPTION OF ELECTION RETURNS Sec. 30. The COMELEC officer and escort/s delivering the Election Returns shall register in the attendance logbook provided for by the OSAA at the ground floor lobby. They shall be provided with Senate identification tags, and thereafter escorted to the reception area at the ground floor lobby.

At the reception area, the COMELEC officer shall describe the condition of the ballot box, state its serial number, the number of keys and locks turned over and the serial number of the self-locking seal/s.

The team leader shall only receive the ballot box(es) purportedly containing the Election Returns but shall not open the same.

When the envelopes purportedly containing the Election Returns are contained in receptacles other than ballot boxes, the COMELEC officer making the delivery shall state the reason for the purported Election Returns not being placed inside a ballot box. The COMELEC officer shall describe the condition of the receptacle, state the number of keys and locks turned over and the serial number of the locks, if any. The COMELEC officer shall then be asked to take out the envelope purportedly containing the Election Returns and put it and all the contents of the receptacle in a ballot box and seal and padlock the same. The ballot box, seal and padlock to be used shall be provided by COMELEC. Sec. 31. The COMELEC officer delivering such ballot boxes and/or receptacles shall indicate in the transmittal receipt whether the delivered Election Returns contained in the ballot boxes and/or receptacles are complete or partial. The first copy of the transmittal receipt shall be given to the team leader, while the COMELEC officer shall retain the second copy and acknowledge receipt of the same. The team leader shall issue an official receipt indicating the number of ballot boxes or receptacles received.

Sec. 32. The ballot boxes shall be arranged by the OSAA in the storage area by region and by provinces in alphabetical order and within sight of everybody. Such ballot boxes shall remain in the Senate premises until further orders by the President of the Senate.

RECEPTION OF THE FIFTH COPY OF THE MUNICIPAL/COMPONENT CITY CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS Sec. 33. All ballot boxes and/or receptacles purportedly containing the fifth (5th) copy of the Municipal/Component City Certificates of Canvass and their supporting documents and paraphernalia, if any, sent to the President of the Senate shall be received in the same manner as that for the ballot boxes and/or receptacles purportedly containing the Election Returns as provided in in the preceding sections.

Such ballot boxes and their supporting documents or paraphernalia shall be stored and secured in a separate area next to the storage area for ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns at the covered parking area adjacent to the ground floor lobby of the Senate premises. The said ballot boxes shall be arranged and labeled in the same manner as that for ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns. They shall remain in the Senate premises until ordered otherwise by the President of the Senate.

The concerned reception team leader and/or supervisor shall duly record the transmittal to the Senate of said ballot boxes and issue the corresponding receipt therefor.

E. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 34. A guard designated by the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be stationed at the entry of the storage area. He/she shall record in a logbook the arrival and removal of envelopes and ballot boxes.

Sec. 35. The keys to the locks on the ballot boxes shall be properly tagged and placed in two separate glass encased cabinets with locks, one for the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass and another one for ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns. These cabinets shall be within the sight of everybody.

Sec. 36. The Secretariat, through the Secretary of the Senate or, in his absence, the Deputy Secretary for Legislation, shall submit daily advisories to the President of the Senate as to the number of Certificates of Canvass and Election Returns already received and their respective places of origin. For this purpose, the Secretary shall designate a Records Officer who shall be responsible for the collection and safekeeping of all accomplished forms obtained at the reception areas.

Sec. 37. All forms to be used in the reception areas shall be accountable forms.

Accomplished forms, documents, video films, still photographs and such other materials related to the reception and canvassing shall be turned over to the Senate Legislative Archives Service for safekeeping after the proclamation of the duly elected President and Vice President.

F. TRANSMITTAL TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Sec. 38. Only upon written order of the President of the Senate shall the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass be transferred to the House of Representatives.

Sec. 39. Upon transmittal to the House of Representatives, the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Certificates of Canvass shall be deposited in the Plenary Hall under the joint responsibility of the House and Senate Sergeants-at-Arms.

Sec. 40. The ballot boxes purportedly containing the Election Returns and the ballot boxes purportedly containing the Fifth (5th) Copy of the Municipal/Component City Certificates of Canvass shall remain at their respective storage areas in the Senate premises. Withdrawal of any of the ballot boxes shall be made only upon written order of the President of the Senate.

Rule 2 RECEPTION OF ELECTRONICALLY TRANSMITTED CERTIFICATES OF CANVASS Sec. 41. The reception of the electronically transmitted Certificate of Canvass directed to the President of the Senate shall be at the House of Representatives. The designated area shall be manned by authorized Senate personnel and secured by the Senate OSAA in coordination with the House of Representatives.

Sec. 42. After the initialization by the President of the Senate of the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS) to be used for the reception of the electronically transmitted Certificates of Canvass, only members of the Ad Hoc Committee, the members of the reception teams and security teams as may be hereafter constituted, and other persons designated by the President of the Senate shall man, monitor, observe and secure the CCS. Sec. 43. Upon the direction of the President of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall submit periodic reports to the President of the Senate as to the place of origin and the number of Certificates of Canvass already transmitted to and received in the CCS. No person, including those personnel assigned to man, monitor, observe and secure the CCS shall access or try to access any information or data relating to the results of the elections as contained in the transmitted Certificates of Canvass.

Sec. 44. The Senate shall assume and exercise responsibility over the CCS from the time of its installation and initialization until the convening of the Congress in Joint Session to canvass the votes for President and Vice-President.

Sec. 45. The Senate shall adopt adequate, effective and secure measures to ensure the integrity of the Certificates of Canvass transmitted electronically.

Sec. 46. The representatives mentioned in Section 18 hereof are authorized to observe the proceedings in the reception of the electronically transmitted COCs. Rule 3 IMPLEMENTATION Sec. 47. The Secretary of the Senate is hereby authorized to issue such orders as may be necessary to carry out the effective implementation of these Rules and Guidelines.

Sec. 48. Violation of any of these Rules and Guidelines shall subject the offender to disciplinary action in accordance with Civil Service rules and regulations and/or other pertinent laws.

Rule 4 EFFECTIVITY AND PUBLICATION Sec. 49. These Rules and Guidelines shall take effect upon approval and shall be published in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and in the official website of the Senate of the Philippines.

SO ORDERED. April _ _ _ _ _ _ 2016, Pasay City HON. FRANKLIN M. DRILON President of the Senate Recommending Approval:

ATTY. OSCAR G. YABES Secretary of the Senate

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La Salle, UST fight for UAAP overall crown

By Peter Atencio DE La Salle University can win the general championship of the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines if it grabs the women’s football crown on Thursday.

Their chances improved last Saturday after the Lady Spikers dethroned the Ateneo Lady Eagles, 19-25,25-21, 25-16, 25-16, in Game 3 of the women’s volleyball finals at the Araneta Coliseum.

They have 260 points and are behind University of Santo Tomas, which has 266.

La Salle can overtake UST on Thursday if they beat the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons in the women’s football finals.

The match is set at 3 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Ateneo takes on UP at 5:30 p.m. in the men’s finals.

So far, La Salle has won six championships this season in women’s volleyball, women’s beach volleyball, women’s chess and men’s table tennis.

Rio Olympicsbound Yan Lariba contributed to La Salle’s effort when she led the Lady Green Paddlers to the women’s table tennis honors.

La Salle also asserted itself in men’s baseball.

UST has so far won crowns in women’s athletics, men’s taekwondo and women’s judo.

UST’s bid for the overall honors got snagged after losing to University of the Philippines in the men’s football semifinals last Thursday.

La Salle claimed its first general title in Season 75, halting UST’s run of 14 consecutive overall championships.

UST won it back the following season, before La Salle reclaimed it last year.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Marestella gains berth in Rio Olympic Games

By Peter Atencio

LONG jumper Marestella Torres-Sunang has been officially nominated under the Universality principle for a slot in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Sumang’s nomination was confirmed by Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico, who said that he received confirmation of the nomination from no less than the Technical Delegates of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The confirmation was e-mailed by Carlo de Angeli, IAAF Competition DepartmentSenior Manager to the PATAFA recently.

Juico said the principle of Universality is one of the fundamental principles of the Olympic movement.

In practice, Juico said, the principle involves, among others, accepting the participation of both genders in the Olympics, especially when one country or territory is represented either by only one gender or no athlete of both genders from a territory fails

to attain the Olympic qualifying standard.

Torres-Sunang has qualified under the principle since she had participated in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and was allowed free entry into the long jump event even if at this point, she still has not met the qualifying standard of 6.70 meters.

The 35-year-old veteran thus becomes the sixth Filipino athlete to earn a ticket to the Olympics after table tennis player Yan Lariba, Eric Cray of athletics, Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez of boxing, and Kirstie Elaine Alora of taekwondo.

IAAF officials explained that Cray, who met the qualifying standard in the 400 meter hurdles as early as May last year is, as of now, the only official male entry of the Philippines in athletics.

Juico explained that in order to ensure

participation of a Filipino female athlete, the PATAFA took the step of requesting the acceptance by the IAAF of Torres-Sumang under the said principle should she not meet the July 11, 2016 deadline of achieving the Olympic qualifying standard.

Cray’s and Torres-Sunang’s participation in the Olympics will be officially announced by the IAAF on July 12.

Juico said Torres-Sunang is very close to qualifying not as a result of the operation of the Universality Principle, but based on her most recent performances.

Recently, she did 6.60 meters during the Ayala 2016 Philippine National Open at the Philsports track oval on April 7.

She followed this with a jump of 6.4 meters during the Singapore Open over the weekend.

There will be three more opportunities to qualify on her own in the Masters competition of the Singapore Open, the Taipei Open from May 19 to 20 and the Hong Kong Intercity Athletics Challenge in the first week of June.

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

Aldeguer: Magsayo is no Pacquiao, for now

By Ronnie Nathanielsz THE president of ALA Promotions Michael Aldeguer has shown his realistic attitude towards his assessment of one of the most promising and exciting young fighters in the ALA Gym—unbeaten Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo.

The Standard carried a story

by Sky Sports of Britain, which stated that Magsayo scored a spectacular victory over touted American Cris Avalos before 25,000 wildly cheering fans at the Cebu City Sports Center last April 23.

Sky Sports reporter Isaac Robinson said: “The youngster served up drama aplenty against Avalos. The Cebu crowd were enjoying their man’s aggression, but were

suddenly aghast in the third round, when Avalos (26-5KO19) felled the home fighter with a left hook. Magsayo made the sign of the cross and rose to his feet to grimly survive the remaining minute and a half of the session.”

“Having consolidated in the fourth, Magsayo found a sweet counter-left of his own to wobble Avalos late in the fifth. The ruthless manner in which he capitalized— throwing left hooks and right hooks with fluency—evoked memories of Pacquiao on the charge. At the bell that briefly postponed his defeat, Avalos was leaning stunned on the ropes, the crowd going wild,” he continued.

“With fans baying for an emphatic finish, it took him a min-

ute of the sixth to truly find the American again but when he did, a brutal four-punch combination was interrupted by a towel sailing in from the visiting corner,” Robinson added.

Robinson conceded: “It wasn’t polished and it was fraught with danger and adversity, but Magsayo had once again exhibited a style in victory that is bound to attract attention, sponsors and support... just as he did on his US debut in October 2015, when he stopped Yardley Suarez inside the opening round.”

However, Aldeguer who is in the US finalizing fight cards in San Francisco and the StubHub Center in Carson City, California said “the young prospect will never be another Manny Pacquiao. “

“As much as we welcome Sky Sports of Britain, the International, National and Local Media, and the Fans in taking notice of Magsayo, we feel that he has not accomplished anything yet and has a long way to go. It is embarrassing to compare Magsayo to Pacquiao as there will never be a Pacquiao in the next 500 years,” Aldeguer said.

He noted: “Magsayo still has so much weakness in his arsenal that needs work in the gym as shown in the Avalos fight, it was definitely a tough fight as some boxing experts were against it because of Mark’s inexperience against a veteran warrior who has fought the best but Mark needed that kind of fight to see if he can go to the next level.”

The Green Factor THE Golden State Warriors quickly got up to ARMAN a 1-0 headstart D. ARMERO with a 118-196 victory against the Portland Trailblazers in the semifinal round of the NBA Playoffs on Monday (Manila time), their third straight win despite missing ace playmaker Stephen Curry, who has been sidelined by a knee injury.

Klay Thompson had 37 points built around seven treys to lead the Warriors, who continue to prove doubters wrong that they can win without Curry in the active line-up.

The Warriors continue to roll because of an almost fool-proof system put in place by Steve Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff, who emphasize constant ball and player movement.

It does not hurt that they have players, who are not afraid to shoot at any given situation and works as hard in the defensive end.

One special player that I think the Warriors can not afford to lose at this stage is Daymond Green, the team’s no. 1 stopper, triple-double specialist and vocal leader.

In Game 1 against the Trailblazers, Green finished with 23 points, 13, rebounds and 11 assists, and Warriors’ fans actually sort of expected him to record a couple of such because he’s been doing this with amazing regularity in the regular season.

Green also had the unenviable task of guarding the opposite team’s big men, and against the Trailblazers, he did not merely hold his own, but even outplayed and outsmarted his counterparts in the shaded area. In one sequence in the third quarter for instance, Green grabbed an offensive rebound against three big Portland players and scored off a putback.

After the game, Green was very vocal about what the Warriors need to do if they want to get past the Trailblazers in the series.

“Listen, we know they’re not going to have games like this every night,” said Green, referring to a Blazers’ team, whose five starters made just 23 of 75 attempts.

“But if we can make them take tough shots ... we think they’ll wear down throughout the course of the series.”

With Curry still out, the Warriors should double their collective prayers that Green remains healthy and injury-free. Green is Golden State’s x-factor, a major piece of the puzzle that makes the Warriors a tough nut to crack. *** Still on the Warriors, Kerr’s assistant Luke Walton accepted the offer of the Los Angeles Lakers to coach the underachieving team starting next season. It was an offer Walton could not refuse. Not only did the Lakers organization put up a handsome salary package, it also gave him the opportunity to coach the team where he won two championships as a player. Walton has been on the radar of NBA teams since leading the Warriors to a 24-0 record at the start of the season when Kerr was recuperating from a back injury. This is a welcome development for the Lakes, but Walton will be sorely missed in the Golden State bench, *** e-mail me at armero_23@yaho.com STEP BACK

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

P0 M+ P0 M

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RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors goes for the lay up against the Portland Trail Blazers in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

Dubs keep cruising; Heat, Raptors clash

LOS ANGELES—Klay Thompson and Draymond Green made sure the Golden State Warriors barely missed injured superstar Stephen Curry on Sunday in a 118-106 victory over Portland in the first game of their NBA Western Conference second-round playoff series.

Thompson scored 37 points and Green notched the first post-season triple-double of his career as the reigning champion Warriors leapt to a quick lead and never looked back on their home floor in Oakland, California.

Thompson drained a three-pointer 17 seconds into the contest and the Warriors rolled from there.

Air Force spikers top Pistay Dayat TURN TO A13

Thompson scored 18 of his 37 points in the first quarter—when Portland scored just 17 points total.

The Warriors led 37-17 after the first frame, and the Trail Blazers never got the gap under nine points.

Australian big man Andrew Bogut delivered a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, as did Har-

rison Barnes. Shaun Livingston, starting in place of Curry, chipped in 12 points and six assists.

Curry watched from the sidelines, and indicated he’d like to be back on the floor by game three next Saturday.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr was making no promises about the return of Curry, who sprained a knee ligament in game four of the first-round series against Houston.

But his Warriors are managing just fine without the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player.

“It helped us to have to play most of the Houston series without Steph,” Kerr said. “We just got into a good

groove, and that carried over to tonight. Our guys have an understanding of how we have to play without Steph.”

Green said the Warriors won’t expect Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and the rest of the Trail Blazers to struggle so much in every game.

But he’s confident the Warriors have what it takes to beat them, with or without Curry.

“Listen, we know they’re not going to have games like this every night,” Green added of a Blazers team whose five starters made just 23 of 75 attempts. “But if we can make them take tough shots ... we think they’ll wear down throughout the course of the series.”

Torres earns Olympic berth TURN TO A15

Raptors hold off Pacers While the Warriors were setting a tone for the second round, the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat finally wrapped up first-round series victories to set up an Eastern Conference semifinal showdown.

In Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and the Raptors held off the Indiana Pacers 89-84 to win their first-round series four games to three, while the Heat thumped the Charlotte Hornets 106-73 in game seven of their series.

Toronto’s first post-season series triumph since 2001 ended the longest active drought between playoff series wins. AFP

Painters motivated, says Guiao

By Jeric Lopez THOUGH naturally reserved and hard to please, Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao didn’t hold back in praising his Elasto Painters for their latest accomplishment.

For the second year in a row, the Elasto Painters are in the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup and Guiao is glad that they were able to find their way back despite obstacles along the way.

And they did it at the expense of the league’s most dominant team in the past two seasons, San Miguel Beer, knocking out the Beermen, 3-1, in their best-of-five semifinal series to finally have some success in their rivalry.

After three import changes and various injuries to deal with, the Elasto Painters were able to hurdle the roadblocks on their way to the grand stage with a chance to win the franchise’s second championship in the league.

“I’m really proud of the resiliency of the team. I like to give credit to the coaching staff and to the players, who are already motivated by themselves,” said Guiao, who made his 15th overall finals appearance in the PBA, 11th in an import-laden conference.

“I’m really happy with what’s happening to the team. Most of these are all about the players’ effort. This team has been motivated from the start. We’ve been in the semifinals for the ninth straight time and we wanted to make the finals again. I didn’t need to motivate them much further,” said Guiao.

As of this report, Alaska is trying to finish off Meralco in their own best-of-five semis series as they are battling it out in Game 4.

TUESDAY: MAY 3, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

B1

ADB-AIIB partnership. Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao (right) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president Liqun Jin sign a memorandum of

understanding in Frankfurt, Germany on the sidelines of ADB’s 49th annual meeting of the board of governors. ADB and AIIB agreed to strengthen cooperation, including cofinancing, at the strategic and technical levels on the basis of complementarity, value added, institutional strengths and comparative advantages and mutual benefit.

Stocks, peso fall on poll jitters PSe comPoSite

index

Closing May 2, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,053.88 105.41

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing May 2, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.965

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P46.930 LOW P47.040 AVERAGE P46.999 VOLUME 591.000M

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

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, May 2, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.8870

Japan

Yen

0.009417

0.4415

UK

Pound

1.458500

68.3847

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128919

6.0446

Switzerland

Franc

1.044496

48.9733

Canada

Dollar

0.796495

37.3453

Singapore

Dollar

0.743660

Australia

Dollar

0.759200

35.5966

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652661

124.3753

Rial

Duterte had 33 percent support in the Pulse Asia for ABS-CBN survey that was released after the markets closed on Friday, followed by Senator Grace Poe with 22 percent. While he’s promised a “bloody war” on criminals, Duterte hasn’t given out much information on his wider agenda and his lead has contributed to the peso weakening the most in Asia in the past month. He ranked third, behind Mar Roxas and Poe, in a Bloomberg survey last month that asked analysts who was the best candidate to run the economy.

“Election jitters have taken over,” said Rafael Palma Gil, a trader at Rizal Commercial Bank-

ing Corp., which manages $1.7 billion of assets. “This electionrelated weakness will continue until investors know who is the next chief executive and what is the plan for the economy.”

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 1.5 percent to 7,053.88 at the close, the biggest drop since Feb. 29 and lowest close since March 10.

The gauge has fallen 2.8 percent in a seven-day losing streak.

The peso weakened to 46.965 from 46.89 a dollar Friday after reaching a two-month low earlier. It has declined 2 percent in the past month.

Twenty-six of 30 companies in the Philippine index fell, led by

a 4 percent loss in DMCI Holdings Inc. The gauge is valued at 17.3 times its 12-month estimated earnings, the most expensive in Asia, according to data compiled

by Bloomberg. It’s still up 1.5 percent this year following a 3.9 percent decline in 2015.

Foreign investors pulled $34 million from local stocks last month, after adding $204 million to their holdings in March, exchange data show. The presidential vote, which happens once every six years, will be held May 9.

“Local investors are stepping aside and seeing how the elections will play out,” said Rizal’s PalmaGil. “Foreign investors are also keeping their powder dry as they aren’t familiar with the front-runner and would like to know more about his economic platform.”

“Overall it’s still anxiety ahead of the elections with just seven days to go before we troop to the

polls and there still is no clear front runner based on credible surveys,” Nicholas Antonio Mapa, research officer at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, said in an emailed statement.

Mapa said the sustained selling in the bond and equity markets by foreigners also forced the peso to weaken, adding that the trend might continue this week until a clear front runner is seen.“I don’t think the sell-off has been candidate specific… it’s general anxiety over who will win. If there’s a clear front runner we may see markets calm down a bit,” Mapa said.

The currency weakness is mainly politically driven, said Alan Cayetano, head of foreignexchange trading at the BPI. Offshore investors are “aggressively buying dollars” and their onshore counterparts are following suit, he said.

Julito G. Rada, Bloomberg

SM Prime’s core net income increases 12% to P5.8b

P19.25-P22.75 Diesel

Saudi Arabia

STOCKS fell the most since February after a poll showed tough-talking Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte maintaining a comfortable lead a week before the presidential election.

0.266652

34.8680

12.5025

Brunei

Dollar

0.740905

34.7388

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028645

1.3431

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.7674

Euro

Euro

1.146400

53.7513

Korea

Won

0.000875

0.0410

China

Yuan

0.154371

7.2380

India

Rupee

0.015057

0.7060

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.256213

12.0131

New Zealand

Dollar

0.697000

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030979

32.6802 1.4525 Source: PDS Bridge

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest integrated property company, said Monday core net income climbed 12 percent in the first quarter to P5.8 billion, driven by the strong performance of mall business and steady contributions from office and residential units.

SM Prime said in a disclosure to the stock exchange first-quarter consolidated revenues also grew 10 percent to P18.2 billion.

“SM Prime’s massive expansion last year propelled our performance this quarter. Our strong balance sheet coupled with consistent recurring revenue and in-

come should allow us to pursue our growth plans this year and in the medium term,” SM Prime president Hans Sy said.

Revenues from mall operations jumped 11 percent in the JanuaryMarch period to P11 billion from P9.9 billion a year ago, following the opening of new malls and expansion of existing malls.

The company said excluding the new malls and expansions, same-store growth averaged 7 percent.

SM Prime now has 57 malls in the Philippines, including the newly opened SM City San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, with a gross floor area of 101,000 square meters.

The company is set to open four more malls this year, including SM City Trece Martires, SM City East Ortigas, Cherry SM Congressional and Cherry SM Antipolo. It also plans to expand two existing malls.

The group’s residential unit posted revenues of P5.8 billion in the first three months of the year, up 5 percent year-on-year, on higher construction accomplishments of SM Development Corp. and an increase in reservation sales.

SM Prime launched two new projects and an expansion of existing development equivalent to 4,000 units in Las Pinas, Bicutan and along Roxas Boulevard in the

first quarter.

SM Prime is also set to launch an additional 10,000 to 12,000 units located at the Mall of Asia Complex, Tagaytay, Quezon City, Bulacan, Cavite and Cabanatuan.

SM Prime’s commercial properties group registered a 16-percent increase in revenues to P1 billion following the opening of two new office towers with total GFA of 171,000 sqm.

These office buildings currently enjoy an average occupancy rate of 99 percent.

Revenues of the group’s hotels and convention centers business grew 22 percent in the first quarter to P617 million.

TUESDAY: MAY 3, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, May 2, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 0.92 2.6 1.01 100 30.5 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.74 1.02 0.225 78 17.8 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

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

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 89 148 20.6 125 85 36 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 0.62 5 5.25 12.98 6.75 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 1450 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26 2.17

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 40.3 32 15.32 62.5 20.2 10.08 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 0.335 3.37 3.87 8.45 3 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 801 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 10.02 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 76 6.5 5.29 6.66 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 3.5 974 1.66 1.39 390 156 0.710 0.435

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 49.55 3.43 3 3.52 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 1.5 751 1.13 0.93 170 80 0.211 0.179

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 0.201 0.69

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.083 0.415

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.88 2.85 45.6 45.2 99.95 97.00 90.95 88.40 39 38.05 3.00 2.90 1.69 1.48 14.2 14 15.4 15.16 7.14 7.14 0.67 0.67 1.68 1.68 0.600 0.570 81 78 14.52 14.38 51.20 50.40 102 102 270 260 31 30.55 173 166.9 1381.00 1381.00 57.60 57.80 1.5 1.5 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp.

44.9 44.9 44.4 Agrinurture Inc. 4.48 4.55 4.1 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.8 0.79 0.75 Alsons Cons.

1.41 1.42 1.38 Asiabest Group 14.18 14.14 12.9 Bogo Medelin 53.15 55 53.15 C. Azuc De Tarlac 238.60 239.00 238.60 Century Food 18.9 18.88 18.82 Chemphil 135 135 135 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 191 204 190 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.84 17.84 17.78 Crown Asia 2.29 2.32 2.26 Da Vinci Capital 5.14 5.4 4.51 Del Monte 10.94 10.94 10.8 DNL Industries Inc. 9.000 9.000 8.750 Emperador 7.94 8.00 7.85 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.89 5.86 5.62 EEI 7.25 7.30 7.18 Euro-Med Lab 1.67 1.82 1.8 First Gen Corp.

20.25 20.3 19.48 First Holdings ‘A’ 66.6 66.6 64.5 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 15.00 13.90 13.90 Holcim Philippines Inc. 14.04 14.20 14.02 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.7 5.7 5.62 Ionics Inc 2.310 2.310 2.200 Jollibee Foods Corp.

229.60 230.00 222.00 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.99 4 3.95 Macay Holdings 38.00 39.45 37.00 Manila Water Co. Inc. 27.75 27.6 27 Maxs Group 21.1 21.1 19.92 Megawide 6.3 6.4 6.22 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 343.00 342.00 338.00 MG Holdings 0.285 0.285 0.270 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.25 4.35 4.35 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.71 3.7 3.6 Petron Corporation 10.66 10.64 10.50 Phil H2O 3.16 3.16 3.16 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.73 4.78 4.60 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.55 1.57 1.51 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.71 2.75 2.65 RFM Corporation 4.18 4.18 4.15 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ 205 207.8 200 SPC Power Corp.

4 3.98 3.98 2.6 2.51 2.42 Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. 0.153 0.154 0.151 TKC Steel Corp.

1.20 1.26 1.17 Trans-Asia Oil 2.55 2.55 2.51 Universal Robina 208.4 208 199.8 Victorias Milling 4.89 4.9 4.89 Vitarich Corp.

0.88 0.92 0.85 Vivant Corp.

35.90 35.90 35.90 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.31 1.34 1.26 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.340 0.365 0.350 Aboitiz Equity 66.40 66.40 65.25 Alliance Global Inc. 14.50 14.52 14.10 Anglo Holdings A 1.13 1.14 1.11 Anscor `A’ 6.04 6.03 6.00 ATN Holdings A 0.380 0.400 0.375 ATN Holdings B 0.375 0.405 0.375 Ayala Corp `A’ 771 765 750.5 Cosco Capital 7.94 7.94 7.68 DMCI Holdings 12.48 12.30 11.80 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.15 5.06 5.06 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

5.45 5.45 5.35 Forum Pacific 0.222 0.221 0.201 GT Capital 1367 1350 1328 JG Summit Holdings 81.50 80.55 79.65 Jolliville Holdings 4.9 4.9 4.8 Keppel Holdings `A’ 5.3 5.3 5.3 Keppel Holdings `B’ 6.29 5.21 5.21 Lopez Holdings Corp.

7.31 7.15 6.98 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.69 0.7 0.68 LT Group 15.4 15.4 14.94 0.450 Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.470 0.475 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.8 5.8 5.63 Pacifica `A’ 0.0330 0.0340 0.0320 Prime Media Hldg 1.620 1.450 1.450 Prime Orion 1.870 1.870 1.800 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.78 2.70 2.65 San Miguel Corp `A’ 67.00 68.00 66.05 Seafront `A’ 2.14 2.14 2.14 SM Investments Inc. 944.00 943.00 923.50 Solid Group Inc. 1.15 1.16 1.13 South China Res. Inc. 0.79 0.94 0.75 Transgrid 190.00 190.00 190.00 Top Frontier 140.000 147.000 140.000 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3200 0.3350 0.3050 Wellex Industries 0.1920 0.1930 0.1890 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.990 8.000 7.650 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.15 1.22 1.08 Araneta Prop `A’ 2.280 2.290 2.000 Arthaland Corp.

0.260 0.265 0.260 Ayala Land `B’ 34.650 34.150 33.550 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.04 3.04 2.94 Cebu Holdings 5.1 5.1 5.1 Century Property 0.550 0.56 0.530 Crown Equities Inc. 0.135 0.134 0.126 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.460 0.460 0.455

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

Close

SHARES 8,000,976 47,833,169 119,290,462 151,874,909 205,461,260 533,750,210 1,066,858,275

2.95 45.6 100.00 90.50 38.5 2.98 1.59 14 15.32 7.60 0.7 1.69 0.600 81.25 14.52 51.20 102.9 266.2 31 170 1380.00 57.70 1.5

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.86 45.5 99.95 90.95 39 2.90 1.50 14 15.2 7.14 0.67 1.68 0.580 78.5 14.52 50.45 102 267 30.55 167.9 1381.00 57.70 1.5

-3.05 -0.22 -0.05 0.50 1.30 -2.68 -5.66 0.00 -0.78 -6.05 -4.29 -0.59 -3.33 -3.38 0.00 -1.46 -0.87 0.30 -1.45 -1.24 0.07 0.00 0.00

37,000 27,000 1,141,710 706,190 136,500 59,000 351,000 3,600 383,500 1,300 8,000 3,000 1,510,000 2,079,330 9,000 118,310 24,860 2,790 142,900 385,880 10 195,870 55,000

44.55 4.35 0.75 1.39 14.14 55 239.00 18.86 135 202 17.82 2.28 4.61 10.8 8.780 7.90 5.70 7.22 1.8 19.52 64.8 13.90 14.20 5.62 2.220 230.00 3.95 38.00 27.6 20.55 6.23 339.00 0.285 4.35 3.65 10.64 3.16 4.74 1.51 2.72 4.15 207.8 3.98 2.5 0.152 1.25 2.53 201.6 4.89 0.86 35.90 1.29

-0.78 -2.90 -6.25 -1.42 -0.28 3.48 0.17 -0.21 0.00 5.76 -0.11 -0.44 -10.31 -1.28 -2.44 -0.50 -3.23 -0.41 7.78 -3.60 -2.70 -7.33 1.14 -1.40 -3.90 0.17 -1.00 0.00 -0.54 -2.61 -1.11 -1.17 0.00 2.35 -1.62 -0.19 0.00 0.21 -2.58 0.37 -0.72 1.37 -0.50 -3.85 -0.65 4.17 -0.78 -3.26 0.00 -2.27 0.00 -1.53

2,571,300 419,000 278,000 357,000 200 220 70 419,500 120 1,400 48,600 564,000 2,423,798 75,700 4,925,300 683,000 14,375,700 160,300 6,000 3,444,800 155,910 3,900 139,100 313,900 1,922,000 430,230 9,000 5,700 618,700 278,300 34,900 177,400 60,000 1,000 290,000 2,082,000 3,000 480,000 302,000 566,000 126,000 11,260 3,000 519,000 960,000 12,000 1,463,000 2,003,040 2,000 4,029,000 300 1,958,000

0.355 66.00 14.36 1.12 6.00 0.385 0.385 760 7.68 11.98 5.06 5.45 0.201 1340 79.70 4.8 5.3 5.21 7.13 0.68 15 0.450 5.67 0.0330 1.450 1.800 2.7 67.50 2.14 930.00 1.14 0.75 190.00 145.000 0.3050 0.1930

4.41 -0.60 -0.97 -0.88 -0.66 1.32 2.67 -1.43 -3.27 -4.01 -1.75 0.00 -9.46 -1.98 -2.21 -2.04 0.00 -17.17 -2.46 -1.45 -2.60 -4.26 -2.24 0.00 -10.49 -3.74 -2.88 0.75 0.00 -1.48 -0.87 -5.06 0.00 3.57 -4.69 0.52

11,530,000 1,025,180 3,303,600 13,000 56,300 20,130,000 4,180,000 165,840 801,100 4,381,300 11,000 60,900 520,000 75,875 2,069,310 8,000 20,400 200 2,164,700 59,000 3,395,000 70,000 30,737,100 12,500,000 37,000 1,478,000 74,000 156,400 75,000 224,380 277,000 549,000 30 4,630 17,980,000 260,000

7.750 1.11 2.280 0.260 33.800 2.97 5.1 0.540 0.130 0.460

-3.00 -3.48 0.00 0.00 -2.45 -2.30 0.00 -1.82 -3.70 0.00

151,800 10,295,000 8,340,000 350,000 11,577,600 1,867,000 50,000 6,202,000 19,380,000 740,000

104,860.00 6,086,295 32,255,183.00 1,550.00 -178,000.00

-570.00 -70,353,871.00 -3,302,907.50 -16,320.00 26,000.00 -1,012,130 32,976,091.00 349,303.00 49,215,910.00 -8,430.00

6,568,134.00

5,400.00 -978,620.00 -127,245.00 -22,926,090.00 -262,966.00 -6,429,278.00 -3,838,261.00 -917,910.00 1,633,734.00 51,400.00 -30,057,820.00 12,104,875.00 -786,035.00 -6,400.00 302,516.00 507,650.00 -1,333,264.00

234,120.00 395,910.00 1,333,780.00

557,020.00 -142,237,569.00 886,510.00

35,000.00 12,631,755.00 -21,949,200.00

77,000.00 17,427,735.00 -1,629,232.00 -11,892,672.00

-17,150,235.00 41,531,998.00

-791,785.00 3,195,998.00 -47,131,367.00

-183,200.00 607,880.00 15,267,110.00 156,000.00

248,590.00 -383,230.00 -9,796,215.00 1,210,060.00 125,110.00 5,200.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

High

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.4 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.39 23 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

Double Dragon 39 Ever Gotesco 0.150 Global-Estate 1.01 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.83 Interport `A’ 1.33 Keppel Properties 4.50 Megaworld 3.77 MRC Allied Ind. 0.083 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.560 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 28.00 Primex Corp.

8.53 Robinson’s Land `B’ 27.10 Rockwell 1.56 Shang Properties Inc. 3.06 SM Prime Holdings 22.65 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.9 Starmalls 6.59 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.050 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.800

-0.13 0.00 -2.97 -1.09 -6.02 2.22 -3.45 2.41 3.57 5.18 -0.12 -0.74 1.92 -1.31 0.44 -4.44 -1.37 -2.86 -2.08

838,700 30,000 2,375,000 9,188,000 40,000 6,000 49,186,000 1,420,000 2,557,000 300 174,200 3,202,600 983,000 81,000 8,387,300 5,200,000 100 965,000 3,886,000

10.5 66 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 12.5 0.017

1.97 35.2 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 8.72 0.011

0.8200 2.2800 5.93

0.041 1.200 2.34

12.28 3.32 2.53 3.2 1 2.46 15.2

6.5 1.91 1.01 1.95 0.650 1.8 6

1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

-2.30 -0.71 -1.75 1.90 -1.64 -5.17 2.64 -0.79 1.27 0.57 -3.20 -1.72 -2.46 -1.19 -0.21 0.00 -0.15 -11.50 -11.20 -4.00 0.00 -0.10 -4.05 -3.18 -1.38 -1.13 -2.34 0.78 4.55 0.00 -1.72 0.00 0.00 -2.31 -11.60 -3.64 0.00 -6.52 -1.06 -1.57 2.35 -3.45 -2.36 -0.06 -1.77 0.61 -3.28 -2.37 0.00 -1.85

175,100 55,270 2,876,000 2,600 1,431,000 20,370,000 4,415,000 550,000 500 13,000 591,400 3,000 98,045 102,000 400 17,000 480,260 594,600 710 1,000 700,000 560,000 77,200,000 12,576,000 31,000 900 60,500 247,000 40,000 3,000 130,000 60,000 8,949,000 769,000 41,039,000 7,100 1,000 1,080 61,700 179,295 500,000 12,375,000 1,426,400 1,145,080 1,206,300 2,308,000 9,333,000 1,304,000 120,000 17,000

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 12.7 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 6.5 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

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

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

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

TA Petroleum

2.44 4.39 1.91 -0.48 -0.80 -1.20 -1.45 -5.66 -2.17 -1.08 -1.69 6.00 9.62 8.33 7.69 0.50 -0.94 -4.67 -1.75 -1.55 -2.06 -3.85 6.60 -2.17 0.00 -1.18 -11.11

179,000,000 180,400.00 369,000 -435,460.00 145,000 -42,150.00 1,500 10,000 26,500 156,000 921,000 10,800 -84,180.00 38,918,000 15,110.00 240,000 206,360,000 23,280,000 -1,079,300.00 18,300,000 2,000,000 607,000 2,591,700 74,725.00 176,000 46,000 453,000 6,000,000 29,000 8,266,900 -1,736,461.00 1,217,000 42,100,000 542,770 -31,355,362.00 1,959,000

70 553 525 120 515 8.21 12.28 111 1060

33 490 500 101.5 480 5.88 6.5 101 997

84.8

75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I

-3.28 0.39 0.00 0.00 -0.95 -5.00 -0.93 0.09 0.00 0.29 1.85 -1.10 0.00 -0.38 0.00 -0.53 0.00

40,040 12,000 8,900 10,000 590 47,000 35,000 1,080 50 10,000 5,000 4,960 1,200 8,510 620 677,000 183,750

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

-10.49

1,134,000

-2.43 -4.00 -1.09

57,000 131,000 444,500

-1.36

14,780

Alterra Capital Italpinas Xurpas

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,581.23 (down) 11.07 INDUSTRIAL 11,593.76 (down) 202.18 HOLDING FIRMS 6,958.51 (down) 116.48 PROPERTY 2,905.65 (down) 40.27 SERVICES 1,452.98 (down) 20.48 MINING & OIL 10,946.14 (up) 136.91 PSEI 7,053.88 (down) 105.41 All Shares Index 4,193.69 (down) 52.20 Gainers:47; Losers: 157; Unchanged: 35; Total: 239

Close

10.96 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

39 37.6 38.95 0.150 0.150 0.150 1.01 0.97 0.98 1.83 1.80 1.81 1.25 1.25 1.25 4.60 4.40 4.60 3.8 3.55 3.64 0.085 0.081 0.085 0.580 0.530 0.580 29.45 27.00 29.45 8.53 8.52 8.52 27.85 26.40 26.90 1.59 1.45 1.59 3.05 3.02 3.02 22.80 21.80 22.75 0.92 0.86 0.86 6.5 6.5 6.5 1.030 1.000 1.020 4.760 4.650 4.700 SERVICES 7.4 7.35 7.15 7.23 56.6 56.6 56.05 56.2 0.570 0.580 0.560 0.560 11.58 11.9 11.78 11.8 4.26 4.25 4.10 4.19 0.0580 0.0590 0.0550 0.0550 3.03 3.19 3.07 3.11 89 88.9 88 88.3 9.43 9.55 9.55 9.55 1.76 1.77 1.77 1.77 7.18 7.17 6.50 6.95 2.91 2.89 2.86 2.86 2194 2178 2078 2140 6.70 6.80 6.60 6.62 24.05 24.00 24.00 24.00 1.15 1.19 1.15 1.15 65 64.9 62.5 64.9 20.00 20.50 17.00 17.70 225 225 160 199.8 12 11.52 11.52 11.52 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 9.60 9.60 9.50 9.59 0.370 0.390 0.350 0.355 2.2000 2.2000 1.9500 2.1300 2.18 2.16 2.11 2.15 10.62 10.5 10.5 10.5 7.70 7.72 7.52 7.52 3.84 3.96 3.85 3.87 1.10 1.15 1.10 1.15 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 0.580 0.580 0.570 0.570 2 2 1.97 2 2.3 2.32 2.22 2.3 3.89 3.85 3.74 3.80 3.190 3.390 2.800 2.820 17.6 17.9 16.96 16.96 4.90 4.90 4.90 4.90 115.00 107.50 107.50 107.50 23.50 23.50 22.75 23.25 1717.00 1730.00 1678.00 1690.00 0.425 0.435 0.420 0.435 0.870 0.860 0.820 0.840 40.20 40.15 38.50 39.25 77.00 77.00 76.80 76.95 6.21 6.19 6.05 6.10 3.29 3.36 3.26 3.31 0.610 0.610 0.590 0.590 3.38 3.39 3.3 3.3 0.345 0.345 0.325 0.345 5.410 5.450 5.300 5.310 MINING & OIL 0.0041 0.0042 0.0041 0.0042 2.05 2.17 2.08 2.14 4.18 4.26 4.18 4.26 12.56 12.50 10.32 12.50 0.250 0.248 0.248 0.248 8.3100 8.86 7.8 8.2100 0.69 0.71 0.68 0.68 0.530 0.520 0.500 0.500 8.28 8.10 7.99 8.10 0.930 0.970 0.920 0.920 0.295 0.295 0.290 0.290 0.250 0.275 0.255 0.265 0.260 0.295 0.270 0.285 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0130 0.0130 0.0140 0.0130 0.0140 2.01 2.14 2 2.02 5.32 5.57 5.17 5.27 2.57 2.57 2.45 2.45 0.5700 0.5600 0.5600 0.5600 1.2900 1.3400 1.2700 1.2700 0.0097 0.0097 0.0095 0.0095 3.90 3.90 3.75 3.75 5.91 6.41 6.02 6.30 2.30 2.40 2.25 2.25 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0120 127.00 128.90 125.00 125.50 3.6 3.67 3.2 3.2 PREFERRED 58 56.9 56 56.1 518 520 520 520 530 530 530 530 116 116 116 116 525 520 520 520 6.8 6.46 6.46 6.46 1.08 1.1 1.07 1.07 108.1 108.6 108.2 108.2 1026 1026 1026 1026 103.5 103.8 103.8 103.8 108 110 110 110 81.9 81 81 81 76 76.05 76 76 78 78 77.7 77.7 77 77 77 77 75.5 75.15 75.1 75.1 75 75.1 75 75 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.240 3.010 2.730 2.900 SME 4.12 4.26 4 4.02 3 3 2.87 2.88 16.5 16.7 16.28 16.32 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117.6 117.6 114.9 116

T op g ainerS VALUE 500,696,684.318 978,098,219.40 1,126,730,091.67 1,098,779,575.73 1,140,801,650.22 247,373,603.21 5,102,101,024.548

Low

-1,718,245.00 19,600.00

-15,282,030.00

37,426,030.00 1,082,350.00 39,790,740.00

5,533,820.00

1,236,430.00 24,720.00 -22,004,471.00 1,793,233.00 -6,764,520.00

1,035,619.50

-38,500.00 512,840.00 52,960.00

12,095,010.00 3,340.00 1,576,160.00 36,550.00 79,926,400.00 381,700.00 -17,506,630.00 -19,790,209.00 -61,451.00 -184,960.00 4,723,550.00 431,730.00

-1,630,977.00

6,460.00 11,000.00

390,602.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Lepanto `B'

0.285

9.62

Keppel Holdings `B'

5.21

-17.17

Manila Mining `A'

0.0130

8.33

NOW Corp.

2.820

-11.60

Euro-Med Lab

1.8

7.78

Imperial Res. `A'

17.70

-11.50

Manila Mining `B'

0.0140

7.69

Imperial Res. `B'

199.8

-11.20

Philex `A'

6.30

6.60

TA Petroleum

3.2

-11.11

Lepanto `A'

0.265

6.00

LR Warrant

2.900

-10.49

Conc. Aggr. 'A'

202

5.76

Prime Media Hldg

1.450

-10.49

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry

29.45

5.18

Da Vinci Capital

4.61

-10.31

Lorenzo Shipping

1.15

4.55

Forum Pacific

0.201

-9.46

Abacus Cons. `A'

0.355

4.41

Ginebra San Miguel Inc.

13.90

-7.33

TUESDAY: MAY 3, 2016

B3

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

Analysts see higher inflation in April

By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE inflation rate in April is seen inching up to between 1.2 percent to 1.4 percent, slightly higher than the March figure, analysts said Monday.

Analysts and economists polled

by The Standard said the April inflation likely rose following higher oil and electricity prices.

Standard Chartered Bank economist Jeff Ng said inflation increased 0.1 percentage point to 1.2 percent in April from 1.1 percent in the previous month because of higher electricity prices. “[Inflation forecast for April] is 1.2 percent year-on-year. [This is] partly driven by higher energy inflation,” Ng said in an email.

Metrobank research analyst Pauline Revillas also sees inflation rising to 1.3 percent due to increases in food prices.

“We expect inflation for April to come in at 1.3 percent on the back of a broad increase in the prices of food and petroleum products,” Revillas said in an email.

ANZ Research economist Eugenia Victorino said the April inflation would also settle at 1.3 percent due to increased oil prices.

“We expect headline inflation in the Philippines to have risen to 1.3 percent year-on-year in April.

Pump oil prices continued to rise, accompanied by increases in utilities. Sequentially, we expect consumer prices to have risen 0.15 percent month-on-month, while core inflation should have remained subdued at 1.6 percent year-on-year,” Victorino said.

“With inflation likely to remain with the central bank’s target range, we expect the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] to remain on hold to facilitate the seamless introduction of the interest rate corridor over the coming months,” she added.

Bank of the Philippine Islands Market Research and Strategy Officer Nicholas Mapa projected the highest inflation forecast of 1.4 percent for the month of April.

Aboitiz classrooms. The Aboitiz Foundation on April 29 turns over to the Department of Education 30 AGAPP (Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa) Silid Pangarap kindergarten classrooms to several schools nationwide, bringing the total number of classrooms donated by the Aboitiz Foundation since 2011 to 246. Shown at the turnover ceremony are Aboitiz Foundation trustee Antonio Moraza, chairman Erramon Aboitiz (first and second from left, respectively), ande executive vice president and chief operating officer Sonny Carpio (first from right). Also with them are Pinky Aquino Abellada, AGAPP chairperson; Mario Deriquito, DepEd Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages; and Noemi Sebastian, APRI vice president for corporate services (fourth, third and second from right, respectively).

SLEx extension cost increases to P16.68b

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE tollway unit of San Miguel Corp. has raised its budget for the extension of South Luzon Expressway from Sto. Tomas Batangas to Lucena in Quezon province to P16.68 billion, higher by 27 percent from the original cost of P13.1 billion.

South Luzon Tollways Corp. said in a regulatory filing it was preparing the detailed engineering and the procurement of a construction contractor for the SLEx Toll Road 4 Project.

The project is divided into five sections. Section 1 covers Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Macban, Laguna (10.58 kms); Macban, Laguna to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 kms); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1 kms); Tiaong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 kms); and Candelaria to Lucena City, Quezon (12.31 kms).

SLTC said it planned to complete the entire project by 2019.

The four-lane, expressway project is lotted P444.90 million for the repair and seen to make travel to and from Southern maintenance of SLEx, P209.36 million for the Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, La- enhancement of toll collection system/traffic guna, Quezon and the Bicol region faster control and P191.10 million for various traffic and safer. improvement activities.

The project is expected to cut travel time beThe company in 2015 spent P88.3 million tween Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour for the repair and restoration of the toll road. from the usual four hours.

The company also procured equipment The SLEx-Toll Road 4 is the latest project in amounting to P74.2 million, which include San Miguel’s infrastructure portfolio, which hardware for the enhancement of the toll colalready includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La lection system.

Union Expressway, the at-grade and elevated SLTC reported a net income of P2.06 bilSkyway system and Skyway Stage 3, the Naia lion in the January-to-September period from Expressway, the existing SLEx and the recently P1.84 billion in the same period last year. upgraded and expanded SouthORIENTAL MINDORO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (O R M E C O) ern Tagalog ArSimaron, Calapan City terial Road, or INVITATION TO BID STAR Tollway.

All interested parties are invited to participate in the actual bidding for this one (1) LOT listed below: SLTC also said LOT – I Supply of Catering Services (Calapan City) Approved Budget Cost: Php 960,000.00 its board apSource of Funding: AGMA proved a budget Number of Persons: 6,000 Snacks in the morning (1 bottle of softdrinks or ice tea & 1 pc. Banana cake) of P845.36 milLunch (rice,pork adobo, vegetables, fried chicken, rice, bottled water & candies) Snacks in the afternoon ( 1 bottle of softdrinks or ice tea & 1 pc. brownies) lion for 2016 to LOT – II Supply of Catering Services (Gloria, Oriental Mindoro) repair and rehaApproved Budget Cost: Php 1,280,000.00 Source of Funding: AGMA bilitate the SLEx. Number of Persons: 8,000 Snacks in the morning (1 bottle of softdrinks or ice tea & 1 pc. Banana cake) SLTC has alLunch (rice,pork adobo, vegetables, fried chicken, rice, bottled water & candies) Snacks in the afternoon ( 1 bottle of softdrinks or ice tea & 1 pc. brownies)

DTI testing Zambales steel imports

By Othel V. Campos THE Trade Department’s Consumer Protection Group allayed fears of the steel industry over substandard products, saying it was making sure all shipments entering the country were safe and would conform to the standards set by the Bureau of Product Standards.

Trade Undersecretary Victorio Dimagiba said a sampling of the shipment that arrived in late April was undergoing testing by the Metals Industry Resource Development Center and would undergo analysis by the BPS. “We will hear the test report after about two weeks.

Then we can say whether the shipment fails or complies with standards,” Dimagiba said in a briefing Monday.

Dimagiba said the Trade Department acted on the complaints filed by the Philippine Institute of Steel Industry for a certain 5,000 metric ton shipment of 12mm imported deformed reinforcing steel bars.

The Pisi on April 28 urged the Trade Department to invalidate the import commodity clearance certificate issued by the regional office in Zambales to Mannage Resources Trading Corp.

The industry questioned the validity of the ICC, saying the provisional permit had no control number and other traceability features.

Dimagiba said with the decentralization of certain functions, the regional office could issue a provisional ICC up to the warehouse.

Meanwhile, the testing will determine the specific weight and measurement of the steel bars.

“If and when the shipment passed the test, that’s the time we’ll issue the ICC and sticker,” he said.

Trade said there was stronger demand for construction products, especially during the dry season.

Except for cement, demand for other construction materials like steel bars, electrical supplies and marine plywood have barely moved.

GENERAL GUIDELINES 1.

Interested parties may secure BID DOCUMENTS / INFORMATIONS from the Procurement Section, ORMECO, Inc., Simaron, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. A non-refundable fee of Php 15,000.00 and shall be collected as payment for BID DOCUMENTS.

2.

Interested Bidder must be accredited as supplier before joining the pre-bidding accreditation will start on May 3, 2016 of 8:00am until March 4, 2016 of 5:00p.m. You can call at telephone number 043-2882349 or email at ormeco_coop@yahoo.com, and

3.

PRE-BID CONFERRENCE will be held at ORMECO, Inc. compound at 2:00 p.m. of May 5, 2016.

4.

SEALED PROPOSALS will received at 2:00 p.m. of May 17, 2016, immediately after which, the said proposals will be opened during the actual bidding in the presence of the attending bidders.

5.

ALL BIDS must be accompanied by a BID BOND payable to ORMECO in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT issued by a reputable bank equivalent to TWO PERCENT (2%) of the ABC. No Bid Bond in the form of Surety Bond shall be accepted.

6.

The winning bidder shall issue FIVE PERCENT (5%) in the form of CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK, MANAGER’S CHECK or BANK DRAFT from a reputable bank, representing the PERFORMANCE BOND.

7.

If the bidder who submitted the best offer refuses to push through with his / her proposed BID during and after the bidding, his / her Bid Bond shall be forfeited, and failure of bidding shall be declared.

8.

ORMECO reserves the right to reject all Bids, declare failure of bidding and not to award the contract without incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. ORMECO also has no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnity bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

ORMECO, INC. ENGR. PATROCINIO M. PANAGSAGAN, JR. General Manager (TS-MAY.3, 2016)

B4 PH-Switzerland talks.

Filipino and Swiss delegates sign the 2nd Philippines-Switzerland Joint Economic Commission in Bern, Switzerland. The PHSwitzerland JEC covers trade in goods, services, investments, improvement of the business environment and cooperation, which will enhance economic ties between the two countries. The meeting was co-chaired by Swiss Ambassador Livia Lue (seated, left) and Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado (right).

T-bill rates rise ahead of elections

By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE government sold P17.802 worth of Treasury bills Monday, even as investors demanded higher interest rates on 91-day instruments ahead of the May 9 national elections.

Monday’s auction was oversubscribed across the three tenors with total tenders of P33.17 billion, exceeding the government’s P20-billion offering.

The Treasury said it partially awarded P5.802 billion from the sale of 91-day Treasury bills and fully sold P6 billion worth of 182-day debt papers and another P6 billion worth of 364-day instruments.

“Bid rates were below the secondary benchmarks but the decision to limit the acceptance of bids took into account market cautiousness which sharply drove up rates for 91-day security,” the Treasury said in a statement after the auction.

Interest rates on the 91-day or three-month debt facilities rose 12.3 basis points to 1.674 percent from the previous rate of 1.551 percent. Tenders for the three-month debt papers reached P9.522 billion, slightly higher than the original offer of P8 billion.

The 364-day Treasury bill rates also increased 8.7 basis points to 1.866 percent from the previous auction average rate of 1.779 percent. Tenders for the debt facilities reached P10.690 billion, exceeding the P8-billion offer.

Meanwhile, rates for the 182-day or six month debt papers dropped 10.8 basis points, settling at 1.65 percent from the previous average rate of 1.758 percent. Tenders for the six-month tenor were more than twice the original offer at P12.96 billion.

Latest data from the Treasury showed the government’s outstanding Treasury bills and bonds as stood at P3.84 trillion as of end-March.

The government issued Treasury bonds amounting to P3.56 trillion and sold P279 billion worth of Treasury bills, or IOUs which will mature in a year or below.

Bulk of the government’s outstanding long-term debt as of endMarch was in the form of benchmark bonds, or those that can be traded in the secondary market, amounting to P966 billion.

Security Bank posted Q1 net income of P3b

By Julito G. Rada

SECURITY Bank Corp., the country’s sixth largest lender, said Monday net income declined 11 percent in the first quarter to P3 billion from P3.36 billion a year ago, on lower trading gains.

Security Bank said in a statement the first-quarter profit translated into a 22-percent return on shareholders’ equity.

The bank said it booked the profit before the P36.9-billion capital infusion by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. on April 1.

Security Bank said despite the decline in net earnings, core businesses continued to post remarkable numbers, particularly loans and deposits.

Loans increased 20 percent to

P239 billion, while deposits grew 14 percent to P282 billion, with low-cost deposits increasing 18 percent. Corporate and commercial loans advanced 18 percent.

Key consumer loan portfolios, composed of home and auto loans and credit card receivables, rose 62 percent. Consumer loans as a percentage of total loans moved up to 11 percent from 7 percent a year ago.

“Our first-quarter result was a good start to a milestone year for Security Bank. We are poised to

grow faster shoulder to shoulder with our new strategic partner The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Japan’s largest bank,” Security Bank president and chief executive Alfonso Salcedo Jr. said.

“We are excited to work with BTMU as we share the same values of integrity, professionalism and teamwork. Security Bank will be able to level up its ‘Better Banking’ promise as it is now a stronger local bank with access to BTMU’s global network,” Salcedo said.

Asset quality remained healthy, with net non-performing loan ratio at 0.29 percent.

NPL reserve cover was at 171 percent. Total assets was at P516 billion, a 26-percent year-on-year increase. The return on assets stood at 2.3 percent.

Net interest income increased

21 percent to P3.5 billion and overall net interest margin was 3.1 percent, lower than the 3.3-percent average in 2015. Net interest margin on loans improved to 3.8 percent in the first quarter from 3.7 percent average in 2015.

Non-interest income amounted to P2.4 billion.

The thrust to grow the retail banking business resulted in feebased income (inclusive of asset management) increasing 10 percent to P531 million, driven by bancassurance, credit card and service charges on deposits, as well as asset management and advisory.

Core revenues, consisting of net interest income, fee-based income and trading gains attributable to customer flows, increased 16 percent year-on-year to P4.2 billion.

Globe set to complete Mindanao cable landing station

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it expects to complete a new cable landing station in Mindanao next year to boost its network capacity.

“It’s ongoing and we are on track. I think that’s supposed to be finished by 2017,” Globe chief commercial officer Albert de Larrazabal said, referring to the $80-million international cable landing station in Davao City.

Larrazabal said the new cable landing station in Davao would provide the company enough capacity to serve the growing demand for broadband and mobile telecom services in the country.

The international cable land-

ing station in Davao is a part of the $250-million Southeast AsiaUS undersea cable system, which will provide super latency, delivering an additional 20 terabits per second capacity and utilizing 100 gigabits per second transmission equipment.

Globe said of the total investment, it would contribute $80 million for the project. Other members of the SEA-US consortium are PT Teleckomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), Telkom USA, GTI Corp. (a member of the Globe Group of companies), Ram Telecom International, Teleguam Holdings and Hawaiian Telecom.

The SEA-US cable project will be undertaken by NEC. “By routing south of the Phil-

ippines, the SEA-US system will avoid the disaster-prone Luzon Strait and thereby enhance the continuity of communications between the United States and Asia,” Globe said.

Linking five areas and territories that include Manado (Indonesia), Davao (Philippines), Piti (Guam), Oahu (Hawaii, United States) and Los Angeles (California, United States), the SEA-US project will be about 15,000 kilometers in length, providing route diversity from the North Pacific and avoiding earthquake prone areas in East Asia.

The SEA-US system will help satisfy the burgeoning demand for international connectivity not just in Indonesia and the Philippines, but also in other Southeast

Asian countries.

The cable system is expected to provide more efficient connectivity to about 1.5 billion people.

Globe is also a member of an international consortium of telecommunications and technology companies operating the Southeast Asia-Japan Cable System.

SJC is an 8,900-kilometer cable system linking seven territories that include Brunei, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, including the option to link with Thailand.

The cable infrastructure is currently being upgraded to bring an increase of 6.5 terabit per second capacity with the state of the art technology.

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

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

Ubuntu 16.04 to-do list UBUNTU 16.04 or Xenial Xerus, the latest upgrade of the popular Linux distribution, became available as a free download last month, and early reviews have been favorable. Instead of upgrading my existing Ubuntu 15.10 system, this time I opted for a fresh install.

I also decided to give the improved Unity 7 desktop a go, instead of installing my preferred alternative XFCE. The installation process was trouble-free, but because I started from scratch, I had quite a bit to add and tweak after the OS itself was installed.

To help others who are planning to install the newest version of Ubuntu, here’s what my to-do list looked like: 1) Check for updates and install them. The ISO image that you download form the Ubuntu website may not contain important updates. To check and download updates, find Software Updater from the Unity Dash (Super or Windows key and type “up”) and click on the icon.

2) Install proprietary drivers for the best graphics performance. To do this, open Software & Updates from the Dash, click the “Additional Drivers” tab and choose the appropriate driver to use. A caveat for Radeon users: Ubuntu 16.04 does not support the old AMD Catalyst driver (fglrx), so you might want to give this Ubuntu release a pass for now.

3) Install Restricted Extras. This will give you the codecs needed to play most audio and video formats. To get this, go to Terminal and type: sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras The package is also supposed to include the Microsoft core fonts, but if you get an error message, you can fix it from Terminal by typing each of these lines and hitting enter. sudo dpkg -P ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Holcim’s net profit flat at P1.5b in Q1

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CEMENT manufacturer Holcim Philippines Inc. said Monday net income stood flat at P1.5 billion in the first quarter, as revenues climbed 17 percent from a year ago.

Holcim said in a regulatory filing revenues in the JanuaryMarch period hit P10.1 billion, up from P8.6 billion in the same period last year, led by robust construction activities.

Production cost grew faster at 23 percent in the first three months, driven by the scheduled plant maintenance activities and higher consumption of imported clinked and demand to support the volume growth.

Cement industry demand grew 12 percent in the first quarter, on sustained rollout of private sector

projects and higher state spending for infrastructure.

Holcim Philippines president and country chief executive Eduardo Sahagun said the company’s first-quarter performance was due to its ability to make supply available in the market on time and strong regional presence.

“Moving forward, we are cautiously optimistic as we await the results of the coming elections.

Hopefully, the focus on infrastructure remains, as this is much needed by the country to sustain its development,” Sahagun said.

sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer 4) Tweak your interface. Install the Unity Tweak Tool from Ubuntu Software. This will give you finer control of how the launcher looks and behaves.

To move the launcher to the bottom of the screen, however, you’ll need to go to Terminal and type: gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Launcher launcher-position Bottom To move it back to the left, type: gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Launcher launcher-position Left You can also use Unity Tweak Tool to move the launcher around (in Appearance under the Launcher tab). The same tool can be used to enable “minimize on click” – which lets you minimize an open application by clicking on its icon in the launcher.

If you prefer menus to be displayed in the window title bar instead of on the menu bar at the top of the screen, go to System Preferences > Appearance in the Behavior tab.

Don’t like the wallpapers that comes with Ubuntu? Change them easily with a tool called Variety (available in Ubuntu Software), which lets you use or cycle through images on your hard drive or from websites.

For traditional access to applications, install the Classic Menu Indicator.

Download the software from http://www.florian-diesch.de/software/classicmenu-indicator/ by clicking on the classicmenu-indicator_0.10.1_all.deb link and opening it with Ubuntu Software. Click the program icon on the menu bar to get a drop-down menu of your applications organized by category.

5) Install other software. Ubuntu 16.04 comes with a lot of software already installed, including the latest version of the office productivity suite LibreOffice. Find the extra applications you need in Ubuntu Software or download and install them using the Terminal. Here are a few that I find essential.

B5

Holcim Philippines earlier said it would spend $40 million to debottleneck existing cement plants, which would boost capacity to 10 million metric tons by 2016 to 2017.

The company currently operates four cement plants in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao and several readymix concrete plants nationwide.

The government allocated P760 billion for infrastructure spending this year, which is equivalent to 5 percent of GDP. Holcim Philippines’ financial position remained healthy with very liquid cash position and strong assets utilization ratio, as it continues to generate high revenues.

Total assets stood at P36.1 billion, up by P2 billion from end2015 largely due to the cash generated from its operations.

Power sector gets P126-b fiscal perks

By Othel V. Campos POWER projects are the biggest recipients of tax incentives, according to a study commissioned by the Trade Department.

The agency said of the total P247.6 billion income tax holiday enjoyed by industries over an eight-year period from 2005 to 2012, power projects cornered 51 percent, or around P126 billion.

Infrastructure projects and mining were the two other major recipients.

The study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies was commissioned by the Trade Department to determine the extent of

assistance needed to help industries grow.

Trade assistant secretary Corazon Halili-Dichosa said socialized housing and agriculture comprised nearly 4 percent each of the total ITH given during the period.

“This means that these sectors still need incentives to strengthen their industries to allow development to take place. These are not underperforming sectors and they have not been receiving the giant’s share of the pie, to correct some misinterpretations,” she said.

Until 2016, housing backlog is still seen at 3.2 million. This is the reason why the government

continues to incentivize housing projects asking developers to dedicate a niche of their operations to socialized housing, the study said.

Trade assistant secretary Rafaelita Aldaba said there were certain economic justifications to determine the extent of incentives that should be given to a sector.

“The survival of manufacturing firms is strongly associated with government subsidy. Firms receiving subsidy are more likely to survive than those who are not, particularly SMEs receiving subsidy are less likely to exit than those who are not,” the study said.

PUBLIC APOLOGY To JTEKT Corporation of Japan

I, CORAZON CHRISTIE BLEZELDA B. SIOCO, owner of NEXT CYCLE TRADING, at 226 10th Ave., Cor. M.H. del Pilar Street, Barangay 106 Caloocan City, APOLOGIZE to JTEKT Corporation of Japan (“JTEKT”) for having dealt with unauthorized dealers of motor bearing products with the “KOYO” trademark and design owned by JTEKT and thus consequently having sold said products in the course of my business operations.

Gimp—A sophisticated image editing program similar to Photoshop—only it’s free.

VLC—I’ve always preferred VLC to most other audio and video players.

K3B—A CD and DVD burner (which I prefer to Brasero) that can come in handy every six months, when Ubuntu releases its latest OS upgrade.

Dropbox—Download and run the program from the company’s website (www.dropbox.com) to enable your free cloud storage and file synchronization service. Don’t leave home without it.

Skype—Video conferencing available free from the Skype website (www.skype.com) Synapse—fast desktop search and launcher rolled into one. To install, type or paste these lines in Terminal: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:synapse-core/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install synapse Column archives and blog at: http://www.chinwong.com

I have ceased and hereby undertake not to deal in any counterfeit product which features a confusing similarity to authentic KOYO brand bearings. I undertake to ensure that I shall personally manage the procurement aspect of my business in order to guarantee that its dealings will only be with the authorized distributor, and/or the authorized dealers of KOYO brand products.

JTEKT warns that it is prepared to prosecute those found selling, importing, distributing or otherwise dealing in products infringing on its intellectual property rights.

B6

TUESDAY: MAY 3, 2016

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

Semirara’s earnings may hit P10b Fort Bonifacio restaurant.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. said net profit in 2016 may reach around P10 billion from P8.45 billion in 2016 with the full commercial operations of the 300-megawatt expansion of the Calaca coalfired power plant.

Toni & Sergio Gastro Italiano formally opens its doors to the public at the ground floor of the Venice Grand Canal Mall in the upscale Upper McKinley Road in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The newest ItalianSpanish restaurant pub serves authentic Italian and Spanish dishes and signature drinks. At the ribboncutting ceremony to open the restaurant are brothers and managing partners Antonio Carmine Ipaino (extreme right) and Sergio Candido Iapino (second from right). With them are (from left) Megaworld Corp. representative Michael Lao, T & S Gastro Italiano managing partner Doris Samson, Rigatoni Corp. president Giulius Ceasar Iapino and special guest I-Foods Inc. president Bryan Tiu.

GSIS bares loans in drought-stricken provinces THE Government Service Insurance System allotted P539 million in emergency loans to active members and old-age pensioners in the El Niñoaffected General Santos City in South Cotabato and the provinces of Guimaras and Sarangani.

The loan is open to 17,235 active members who are working or residing in the calamity-declared areas, are not on leave of absence without pay, have updated premium contributions and have no unpaid loan amortization in the last six months. The 2,052 oldage pensioners in the areas may

also apply for the loan.

Active members borrowing for the first time may apply for a P20,000 loan. Those with an existing emergency loan may borrow up to P40,000, from which the outstanding balance will be deducted.

The loan is payable in 36 equal monthly instalments with an interest rate of six percent per annum computed in advance. It is covered by a loan redemption insurance, which deems the loan fully paid in case of the borrower’s demise, provided the loan repayment is up-to-date.

Active members may apply through any GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System kiosk located in all GSIS branch and extension offices; provincial capitols; city halls; selected municipal offices; large government agencies such as the Department of Education; 27 Robinsons Malls; and SM City branches in North EDSA, Manila, Pampanga, Cebu, and SM Aura in Taguig.

Old-age pensioners must file their loan application over the counter. If they are also active GSIS members (when they

reentered government service), they may avail of this emergency loan only once.

The deadline of application for the loan is May 4, 2016 in Guimaras, May 5 in General Santos City and May 7 in Sarangani.

Loan proceeds are electronically credited to the borrower’s GSIS eCard or unified multipurpose identification card.

For inquiries, qualified borrowers may email gsiscares@ gsis.gov.ph; visit the GSIS website, www.gsis.gov.ph; or call the GSIS Contact Center at 847-4747.

Semirara Mining president and chief operating officer Victor Consunji told reporters after the stockholders’ meeting that “if all remain equal,” the company could register the higher income this year.

“That’s the way we’re thinking because if we did P8.5 billion, and assuming we can control the costs. But prices are still falling, so it’s hard to speculate,” Consunji said.

Semirara Mining posted a record net income of P8.45 billion in 2015, up 24 percent from 2014 despite a 13-percent drop in revenues to P24.68 billion due to low coal prices.

Consunji said the newlycompleted 300-MW coal plant expansion in Batangas was expected to contribute P2 billion to the company’s profitability this year.

“Assuming things are equal, P2 billion [in additional profit] but sometimes that is not the reality.

Sometimes market moves. Our competitor, which is Indonesia, keeps reducing the price. They’re dumping coal to Philippines,” He said.

Consunji said “notwithstanding the difficulties in 2015 and the failure of the 2x 150 MW plants to contribute to the net earnings of our company,” Semirara Mining still achieved a 25-percent growth in profit from P6.86 billion in the previous year.

Playing with fire on May 9 THE composition of the slate of individuals who are offering themselves as Presidential candidates in the May 9, 2016 election cogently invites comparison with the Presidential candidates in the four general elections that have taken place since 1992.

The voters in those previous elections did not have to play with fire. On May 9 some voters will, by choice, be doing so.

Recall the backgrounds, professional records and personalities of the candidates for President in the elections of 1992, 1998, 2004 and 2010.

The 1992 Presidential election, the first after the EDSA Revolution, was a contest of heavyweights. The seven heavyweights were a highly accomplished former First Lady (Imelda Romualdez-Marcos); an EDSA Revolution hero and former Secretary of National Defense (Fidel V. Ramos); the incumbent Vice-President (Salvador H. Laurel); a former judge and Cabinet member (Miriam Defensor Santiago); an incumbent Senate President and Constitutional expert

(Jovito R. Salonga); one of the nation’s leading businessmen (Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr.) and the incumbent speaker of the House of Representatives (Ramon V. Mitra). Competence-wise and experiencewise, any of the seven candidates in the 1992 Presidential election would have been equal to the job of running this country. The voters knew who they were and whence they came. No playing with fire there.

The 1998 election was very much a straightforward affair; two gladiators standing in the sand and preparing to do mano a mano combat. The gladiators were the incumbent Vice-President (Joseph Ejercito Estrada) and the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives (Jose de Venecia Jr.). The two Presidential candidates were known to this country’s voters in every way. No playing with fire there, either.

The 2004 Presidential contest was, likewise, a straightforward affair. Two combatants (Vice-President-turnedPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the beloved movie icon Fernando Poe Jr.) standing toe-to-toe, ready to slug it out for the nation’s No. 1 position. The voters were choosing between two well-known and very accomplished individuals. Again, there would be no playing with fire.

The 2010 election saw the son of former President Corazon Aquino (Senator Noynoy Aquino) pitted against a former President (Joseph Estrada) and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives (Manuel Villar).

All well-known individuals. Likewise, no playing with fire was involved there.

The May 9, 2016 situation is different.

This time around, this country’s voters are being asked to choose from a list of candidates that cannot be regarded as business-as-usual.

For starters, two of the five candidates are persons facing documented allegations of massive corruption while holding public office. The allegations have been denied, but no acceptable responses have been proffered by the two candidates.

And then there’s the fact that one of the candidates has in his campaign speeches been manifesting a disdain for the Bill of Rights, the Rules of Court, due process, the Magna Carta of Women and the concept of human rights.

In addition, one of the candidates is a person with very little exposure to affairs of state—true, Cory Aquino held no government position but she was married to one of the most active and most

influential men in Philippine politics— and whose only real claim to fame is kinship with a well-loved non-politician.

Unlike in the four most recent elections, it is not possible to say that this country will be in good hands no matter who wins on May 9. It won’t. The election of any of the three candidates discussed above will be a setback for the wellbeing of the Filipino people and the further development of the Philippine economy. Whatever social progress and economic advance has been achieved in recent years—especially the expanded coverage of the CCT (4Ps) and Philhealth programs, the higher growth rates of the GDP (gross domestic product), the strengthening of the public finances and the improved international financial profile of this country—will be eroded at best and derailed at worst. The Philippines will be sending the wrong signal to the world.

Elections are times for choosing individuals who, by virtue of their characters and professional records, are most likely to do what is best for this country and the Filipino people. They are not occasions for playing with fire. Fires destroy structures.

When they cast their ballots on May 9, the voters should not play with fire.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Desert slakes its thirst with fog ALTO PATACHE, Chile—Every morning at dawn, a thick mist known as “The Darkness” blows in from the Pacific to the edge of the Atacama Desert, the most arid place in the world.

After tantalizing the northern Chilean desert with the promise of moisture, the mist evaporates in the sun, leaving the heat to bake the stark lunar landscape.

But the South American country is researching how to use a technique called “fog harvesting” to collect this mist in large quantities and deliver it to communities that currently depend on water shipped in from the city in tanker trucks.

Chilean researchers have patented a device resembling a large window screen to turn the mist into usable water.

These fog harvesters are set up facing the wind, which blows the mist into myriad tiny black threads that crisscross them.

Instead of passing through, the mist condenses on the polypropylene threads, slowly gathering into drops that eventually seep down into an awaiting container.

The technique is basic but efficient: each window-sized device can collect 14 liters (3.7 gallons) of water a day, said Camilo Del Rio, a researcher at the geography institute of Catholic University in Santiago.

The university runs a research center on fog harvesting in the northern city of Alto Patache.

The technology has been exported to Spain, Nepal, Namibia and several other Latin American nations. Other countries collect water with the same principle, but using trees to gather the condensed moisture.

The water tastes like rain, but must be treated for drinking because it contains minerals from the ocean and can harbor bacteria.

“Transforming it into potable water isn’t complicated or expensive,” and it can be used as is for bathing or irrigation, said Del Rio. The research center in Alto Patache comprises six white domes with a weather station, a kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms—all of which run completely on harvested fog, which provides the facility with more than 200 liters of water a day on average. AFP

B7

Marijuana cultivated near US power center WASHINGTON—Security cameras and barbed wire suggested this was the right place—the old warehouse on a dead-end street not far from the White House that hosts one of the handful of legal marijuana farms in the US capital.

“We’re going to do the visit with a panic button... in case of a break-in,” Matt LawsonBaker, the co-owner of Alternative Solutions, told AFP. Alternative Solutions is one of seven facilities in Washington authorized to grow medical marijuana for nearly 3,700 local patients.

Countries worldwide are examining their marijuana laws as they measure effectiveness against enforcement costs. In the United States, medical marijuana has been legalized in 24 states and

the capital Washington, while recreational marijuana is legal in four states and the District of Columbia.

“We first got into business in 2012, we got approved for a license back then and we sat on it for a while. We started growing a year ago,” said Lawson-Baker, who is originally from Australia.

“We thought we would make millions fast,” Lawson-Baker said.

But with the Washington medicinal marijuana market still relatively small, and stiff

competition already out there, he soon realized he was in it for the long haul.

Until demand takes off—which it fully expects it will— Alternative Solutions is growing only half of the 1,000 plants allowed by its license.

The Australian and his American fatherin-law/business partner Bob Simmons—both of whom previously worked in construction—are also still learning the intricacies of cannabis cultivation.

Depending on the variety, the end product can fetch between $3,000 and $4,500 a pound (about $6,615 to $9,920 per kilogram).

In the three harvests since November 2015, the company has generated $700,000 in revenue, and the owners are hoping to break even in three or four years.

The fourth harvest is currently underway.

A magnifying glass reveals a forest of tiny white pistils covering the leaves and buds of the marijuana plants.

The aim is to have plants that look like they’re covered with fine sugar -- or when viewed close-up, tiny crystals of ice.

“The more, the better,” Simmons said. “You want them dumped in sugar.”

During harvest, each marijuana plant is cut at the base and hung upside-down to dry for about 10 days before the buds are cut off and trimmed.

The trimmings are processed into powder ($40 per gram) or resin ($90 per gram). Those products and the buds themselves are then sold in Washington’s five official marijuana dispensaries. AFP

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

Notice of Loss Stock Certificate

Notice is hereby given that Vantage Equities, Inc. Stock Cert. No. 39088 for 1,000,000 shares, with par value of P1.00, issued to Harley Sy was lost. If no contest is received, a new stock cert. will be issued. ( T S - A P R . 2 6 , M AY 3 & 10 , 2 016

HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATORY BOARD Expanded National Capital Region Field Office 2nd Floor, HLURB Building, Kalayaan Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City N O T I C E Notice is hereby given that CITYLAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (owner/developer) have filed with this Board a sworn registration statement for the sale of units at PINES PEAK (TOWER 2) located at Union St. corner Pines Sts., Brgy. Barangka Ilaya, Mandaluyong City specifically described as Lot 1 (LRA) Psd-E-2013000953 covered by TCT No. 008-2014000326 with a total area of 2,267.21 square meters.

All papers relative thereto shall upon request and payment of processing fee, be available for inspection during business hours by any person having legal interest thereon.

Absent any legal impediment, the above-cited project is deemed registered and a certificate, in evidence thereof, shall forthwith be issued after five (5) days from the last day of publication.

Quezon City, Metro Manila, (sgd) ALFREDO GIL M. TAN II Regional Director

( T S - M A Y 3 & 10 , 2 016)

Republic of the Philippines Province of Ilocos Sur MUNICIPALITY OF MAGSINGAL INVITATION TO BID 1.

The Local Government Unit of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, through the CALAMITY FUND and GENERAL FUND intends to apply the sum of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 2,500,000.00) being the total Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract Procurement of Reconditioned 10 Wheeler Dump Truck.

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

2.

The Local Government of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur through its Bids & Awards Committee (BAC), now invites Contractors/ Suppliers to bid for the Procurement of Reconditioned 10 Wheeler Dump Truck. Completion of the Works is required within 14 calendar days.

Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents , particularly, in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

3.

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

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Local Government Unit of Magsingal and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday to Friday.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00).

Festival. In this file photo taken on April 16, 2014, shows the Chaumont-surLoire castle and the garden at Chaumont-sur-Loire. The 25th edition of the International Garden Festival in Chaumont-sur-Loire starts on May 4, 2016. AFP

South Korea says its citizens may be abducted by North SEOUL—South Korea warned Monday there is a risk of its citizens being abducted by Pyongyang in retaliation for the defection of a dozen North Korean staff at a restaurant in China.

Twelve women working at the restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo defected to the South with their manager last month.

Seoul said they came voluntarily while the North insists they were tricked into

defecting by South Korean spies who effectively “kidnapped” them The South’s Unification Ministry, which handles interKorea affairs, said overseas missions had been advised to heighten their vigilance.

“We are closely watching out for multiple possibilities, including abduction or terrorism ... by the North,” said ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee.

“We are trying to ensure the safety of our nationals,” he told reporters.

Seoul’s Hankook Ilbo daily reported Monday that Pyongyang was plotting to abduct South Koreans to trade for the 13 defectors.

“They set the target of 120 people including expats, soldiers and officials,” the newspaper said, citing an official source familiar with North Korean affairs. AFP

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

6.

The Local Government of Magsingal will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on May 6, 2016 @ 10:00 A.M. at Municipal Hall Lobby, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents .

7.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before May 19, 2016 until 9:00 A.M. at Municipal Hall Lobby. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

8.

Bids will be opened on the same day at 10:00 A.M. in the presence of the bidder’s representative who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The complete schedule of activities is listed as follows: Issuance of Bid Documents Pre - Bid Conference Submission and Opening of Bids Bid Evaluation Post Qualification Issuance of Notice of Award

April 29 - May 19, 2016 May 6, 2016 @ 10:00 A.M. Mun. Hall Lobby, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur May 19, 2016 @ 10:00 A.M., Municipal Hall Lobby, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur May 20, 2016 May 23, 2016 May 25, 2016

9.

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

10.

For further information, please refer to:

MARIVIC P. ALVAREZ Office of the Mayor Municipal Hall Main Building San Julian, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur (077) 726-3716 lgumagsingal@yahoo.com

(SGD) TIBURCIO T. TABARREJO, JR. Chairman - Bids and Awards Committee (TS-MAY3 , 2016)

T U E S D AY : M AY 3 , 2 0 1 6

B8 Rousseff begins her long goodbye RIO DE JANEIRO—Dilma Rousseff greets the Olympic flame in Brazil on Tuesday, but the pomp and ceremony will seem empty to a president likely to be suspended from office just a week later.

The arrival of the flame in Brasilia from an ancient Greek temple via Switzerland will trigger a three-month countdown to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Brazil’s big chance to shine on the global stage.

But the supposedly joyful occasion coincides with the Latin American giant’s plunge into a political furnace, with Rousseff facing impeachment—and claiming to be the victim of a coup d’etat.

That means the choreographed events for the torch in the capital could be one of the 68-year-old leftist leader’s last major public appearances.

On May 11 or 12 the Senate is expected to vote to open an impeachment trial on charges that Rousseff illegally manipulated government accounts.

She would be automatically suspended and replaced by Vice President Michel Temer, the head of Brazil’s main center-right party and once a coalition ally of Rousseff before—in her words— turning “traitor.”

A definitive Senate vote on Rousseff ’s fate could take months more, but unless she was cleared, she would never come back and her nemesis would stay in power until the next scheduled elections in 2018.

On Sunday, Rousseff railed against “the coup” and told union supporters of her Workers’ Party that she would “fight to the end.”

However, with the Senate vote to suspend her looking near certain, she appears resigned—at the very minimum—to the humiliating prospect of having to abandon her executive offices, called the Palacio do Planalto, in just over a week.

“She has ordered the drawers to be cleaned out,” Folha daily said Sunday.

And it isn’t just filing cabinets that will be looking for a new home. Her Workers’ Party ministers and what Folha calls “a sea” of government employees are likely soon to be sending out job resumes. AFP

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD US in desperate bid to save truce in Syria GENEVA—Fresh air strikes pummeled the Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday as US Secretary of State John Kerry made a desperate bid to salvage a twomonth ceasefire in the war-torn country.

Awards. Hannah Elless attends the 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards on May 01 in New York. AFP

Arriving in Geneva late on Sunday, Kerry was to hold talks with UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura and the Saudi foreign minister, but the absence of Russia cast a pall over the proceedings.

Washington and Moscow are the joint sponsors of the Syrian peace process, and de Mistura has made it clear that he sees little hope of progress without their agreement.

But Russia, while agreeing in theory to support a ceasefire, has done little to rein in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces around Aleppo, which were in action again on Monday.

More than a week of fighting in and around Syria’s second city has killed hundreds of civilians and fresh air strikes hit rebel-held eastern Aleppo in the early hours.

Several neighborhoods, including the heavilypopulated Bustan al-Qasr district, were hit, according to AFP’s correspondent in the northern Syrian city.

“What is happening in Aleppo is an outrage. It’s a violation of all humanitarian laws. It’s a crime,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir as he met Kerry.

“It’s a violation of all the understandings that were reached,” he continued, accusing Assad and the Russians of violating the international agreements to back peace.

Kerry was more measured in his response, explaining that Washington will press moderate rebels to separate themselves from the Al-Nusra Front’s jihadists in Aleppo.

Russia and Assad’s regime have used the presence of Al-Nusra, which was not party to a February 27 ceasefire deal, as an excuse to press their offensive.

“This is what we’re discussing, among other things. There are a number of different ways to approach it,” Kerry said, before the envoys went behind closed doors.

“There were a lot of conversations taking place yesterday, the day before, today, and we’re getting closer to a place of understanding. But we have some work to do.”

Arriving late on Sunday, the top US diplomat had said: “We are talking directly to the Russians, even now.

“The hope is we can make some progress,” he said ahead of a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

There is growing concern that the fighting will lead to the complete collapse of the landmark ceasefire agreed between Assad’s regime and non-

Russia celebrates its Soviet-era communal flats SAINT PETERSBURG—A leftover from the Soviet era, the communal flat or “kommunalka” with bathroom and kitchen shared by a dozen or so residents is very much alive in Russia’s historic city of Saint Petersburg.

More than 25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, these overcrowded dwellings are now admired as a unique—if disappearing—cultural phenomenon,

featured on guided tours and discussed at academic conferences.

The former imperial capital has even started up its own kommunalka festival run by a group of local artists.

“Communal flats are part of the history of our country and of our city,” said one of the festival organizers Svetlana Vorobyova.

“Even though they are still numerous in Saint Petersburg, they

are on the way out.”

She herself lives in one, a fairly small, three-room apartment which was among a few opened up to the public for this year’s festival.

Her “neighbor”, 75-yearold Eduard Yemelyanov, has lived in the flat in the central Petrogradskaya district for 15 years. Wearing an undershirt and baggy shorts—”just like every

day”—he happily spoke with visitors.

“I really like communal flats and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” he said. “You’re never alone. There’s always someone around and that’s good.”

Communal flats became a mass phenomenon in Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, when factory workers and peasants flocked to cities and were housed

in spacious apartments of well-todo families, who themselves were often relegated to a single room after the space was partitioned off to make room for others.

In Saint Petersburg, renamed Leningrad by the Soviets, these flats were still used up to the 1980s, when they accounted for almost 40 percent of the apartments in the historic center. AFP

tuesday : m ay 3, 2016

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tatum aNCHeta EDITOR

BING PaReL

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

BeRNadet te LuNas

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFeatstandard

a Rts, Cu Lt u Re & t eCH

LIFE

PERFECT GIFTS FOR TEChIE mOmS

m

other’s day is fast approaching and now is the best time to start thinking about what perfect gift you’ll give to your mom that will surely make her feel loved and extra special.

Give your mom something that will amaze her this time. Instead of giving her the usual and expected gifts, think a bit different this year and indulge her with some new techie gadgets.

Giving something techie would require more thought and effort than simply buying her flowers, but you can be sure that your gift is something that she would be able to use and enjoy every day.

Here are a few questions to help you figure out the right gift for your mom.

Does your mom love taking photos and selfies?

FOR ThE SnAP hAPPy mOmmy: STARmObIlE KnIGhT SPECTRA Hold on, let mom take a selfie! The lady will definitely enjoy capturing every moment she spends with you and the family with the Starmobile KNIGHT Spectra (P14,990)! Packed with dual rear cameras that work in tandem to deliver amazing shots, this smartphone is considered by many tech reviewers as the most advanced Android smartphone from a Filipino brand. The 2-Megapixel sensor constantly gathers information such as light, exposure and distance, allowing the larger 13-Megapixel sensor to take brilliant photos more accurately and quickly. The result is faster focusing, amazing colors, sharper details, and automatic distortion correction – the likes of which can only be found in high end point-and-shoot cameras. More selfies with Mom!

Do you always find her glued to her teleseryes?

FOR ThE TElEnOvElA mAmA: STARmObIlE KnIGhT vISIOn Most moms are glued to teleseryes.

That’s why this Mother’s Day, a perfect gift would be the Starmobile KNIGHT Vision (P5,490), a mobile hybrid that will allow her to watch Digital TV (DTV) channels for FREE anytime and anywhere DTV services are available. In addition, it also comes with real-time recording technology, so she can catch up in case she misses an episode of her favorite drama series.

Is she the always-on-the-go type of mom?

FOR ThE mObIlE mOm: STARmObIlE uP ulTRA If she is, then the Star Mobile UP Ultra will be perfect to give your mom this Mother’s Day! This is something that will surely meet the demands of your mom’s mobile lifestyle.

It is a 5.5-inch Android smartphone with superfast 4G, LTE connectivity that she will appreciate. Priced at P5,990, it is bundled with a free Smart Prepaid SIM with P4,000 worth of FREE LTE data services plus six months of free access to iFlix. Not only would she be able to enjoy the apps and websites that she needs, she would also get to watch her favorite TV shows and movies on the go. This Super Pack offering is Starmobile’s most value-packed mid-range offering yet.

Is she the epitome of beauty and brains?

FOR ThE ElEGAnT lADy: STARmObIlE KnIGhT ElITE If your mom is beauty and brains personified, then she will definitely love the elegant Starmobile KNIGHT Elite (P6,490). It is a stunning smartphone with Corning Gorilla Glass panels on either side of its slim body. It also comes with the powerful Star Cam technology. Mom would feel like a pro when she snaps photos because the KNIGHT Elite has features like ReFocus for adjusting the focal point of images, Chroma Flash for shooting in lowlight environments, and Opti Zoom for enhancing zoomed-in pictures.

Is your mom the master of balancing work and play?

FOR ThE PRODuCTIvE PAREnT: STARmObIlE EnGAGE 10 PRO Your mom would surely appreciate this 10inch Starmobile ENGAGE 10 Pro (P11,990) as she can use it as a stand-alone tablet to play her favorite game, or use it as a laptop if she is looking to do some work. It comes pre-installed with a fully licensed version of the Windows 10 operating system and a free one-year subscription to Microsoft’s suite of productivity applications and services, Office 365. With its powerful processor and long battery life, the ENGAGE 10 is designed with productivity in mind.

Start planning for gifts to give mom by visiting www.starmobile.com.ph or going to Starmobile’s official Facebook page at starmobilephones.

tuESday : m ay 3, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

ExhibiTS

fiLmS

Anito Silverlens Galleries, Makati City Ongoing until May 28

Those Funny Spaniards. Four Spanish Comedies FDCP Cinematheque, Manila May 7, 14, 21 and 28

Filipino-Dutch visual artist Martha Atienza pays homage to the Ati-atihan festival and explores what it has become as provoked by current events in her video work that was also selected for the Film Sector in this year’s edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong.

Ati-atihan means to be like Aetas, an indigenous group predating the Austronesian migrations some 30,000 years ago. Atienza showcases through her chosen medium how from a Christianized animistic festival on Bantayan Island, Ati-atihan has slowly turned into madness due to super typhoons, Manny Pacquiao, the Papal visit and labor migration.

Instituto Cervantes and the Spanish Embassy, in cooperation with the Film Development Council of the Philippines, present a film series featuring Spanish comedies.

Kicking off the film series is the Daniel Sánchez Arévalo-directed film, Primos (2011), which follows the life of three thirty-something cousins trying to recharge their manhood in the seaside town where they spent summers as children. The following Saturday will see Alex de la Iglesia’s Crimen Ferpecto (2004), which is a witty black comedy about the cutthroat world of sales representatives clawing their way to the top.

The third installment will feature Joaquín Oristrell’s Sin Vergüenza (2001), a film about actors and their everyday life. Wrapping up the Spanish film series is Plácido (1961), directed by Luis García Berlanga, a classic and one of the masterpieces of Spanish cinema that chronicles the life of a humble owner of a three-wheeler whose family is forced to live in a public lavatory because of lack of money to pay the rent.

For more details on this ongoing show, contact the gallery at (02) 816-0044 or at info@silverlensgalleries.com.

Sipa Silverlens Galleries, Makati City Ongoing until May 28

All motion pictures will be shown in their original version in Spanish with English subtitles.

Call (02) 526-1482 or visit www.manila.cervantes.es for inquiries and more information.

wORkShOPS

With oil on canvas paintings and large-scale installations, Jose Tence Ruiz surveys the concurrent directions of his personal artistic practice in his latest solo show in the Philippines, following his successful outing at the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015.

Each piece in Ruiz’s latest series reveals a sense of anxiety with the present times and distills the idea of unstable states in its simple complexity. Four installations, which are constructed from repurposed and found materials – salvaged from most derelict of circumstances and reconstituted as hybrid structures of control – delve into the dominance of sacral and secular power. The paintings, on the other hand, dovetail with the questions posed and represented by the installation pieces.

Visit www.silverlensgalleries.com more information on this exhibit.

Everyday Photography for Teens Ayala Museum, Makati City May 8, 15 and 22 Young adults from 13 to 18 years old who love taking photos and want to take their skills to the next level will get a chance to do so in this three-day workshop conducted by corporate executive-turnedphotographer Aly Reyes.

Participants will learn the basics of photography and acquire aesthetic and technical skills for taking captivating snapshots. The workshop features a classroom lecture, a photo clinic and photo shoots that will cover topics such as “Photography: Then and now,” “Camera lenses” and “The digital workflow,” among others.

The P4,800 workshop fee is inclusive of materials, handouts, snacks, one-day free access to the Ayala Museum and Filipinas Heritage Library. For inquiries, call (02) 757-7117 to 21 local 25 or email villaflores.md@ayalafoundation.org.

for

CONCERTS Klassikal Music Foundation presents: Songs from a Silver World Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City May 7; 7:30 p.m.

Young Filipino music students from different universities will be performing a lineup of great songs from classic films in this one-night only concert of Klassikal Music Foundation. KMF is founded by Dr. George T. Yang, a Filipino tenor who is also the founder and chairman of McDonald’s Philippines. The foundation aims to help in the development and appreciation of local classical music.

Also gracing the concert is one of KMF’s distinguished scholars, Gerphil Flores,

and McDonald’s endorser Alden Richards. The show is directed by Andrew Fernando, music direction by Hermenegildo Lanera and choreography by Richardson Yao. Tickets for the show are priced at P1,000 (orchestra), P750 (loge) and P500 (balcony).

According to organizers, all proceeds of the show will go to a scholarship fund. For ticket inquiries, call (02) 813-0935 or 0929-4706538.

tuESday : m ay 3, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Nix Alanon and Samsung Ambassadors Georgina Wilson, Solenn Huessaff, Liz Uy and BJ Pascual

Samsung makes a splash at The Palace Pool Club Anniversary Party! Nico Gonzales and Rhinn Piczon of Samsung Philippines pose with Galaxy S7 edge winner Christofer de Chavez. In the final challenge, de Chavez, along with other challengers, dove into the pool with other challengers in search of a hidden Galaxy S7 edge. A fitting reward for those who #DareToGoBeyond.

T

Water won’t stop the Galaxy S7 edge from daring to go beyond

SamSung cELEbratES wIth a SpLaSh

he summer heat took a backseat as urbanites and party millennials partied the night away during the Palace Pool Club’s recent anniversary, with Samsung also making a splash. DJs pumped out cascading beats; friends huddled in groups having a good time, drinks in hand; cameras flashed as everyone took a shot to capture the great night; and some quietly sipping their drink just taking everything in.

Co-presented by the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, the event saw celebrities such as Solenn Heussaff, Georgina Wilson, Liz Uy, BJ Pascual, JM Rodriguez, Charina Sarte, Phoemela Barranda, Dong Ronquillo, Gretchen Fullido, Nix Alanon and Tim Yap partying with the guests. World famous DJ Deorro, the man behind hits such as Five Hours featuring Chris Brown, Flashlight, Yee, and I Can Be Somebody, livened up the Pool Club Anniversary with catchy beats that made the party atmosphere quite unforgettable.

The revelry went a notch higher when Galaxy S7 Ambassador Gino Quillamor dared three partygoers to take up his challenge. One was dared to take a selfie

while dancing, the other to take a selfie with a hot stranger, and the last to dare a friend to jump into the pool. On top of these, the final challenge saw seven lucky guests jumping into the pool to find the hidden Galaxy S7 edge. Christopher de Chavez ended up as the lucky new owner of the latest Samsung flagship device.

The venue was also filled with waterfall displays where partygoers tested the new phones’ IP68 water resistance. Not to worry though, because waterproof pouches were given out to those who didn’t own a GalaxyS7 edge or S7!

“There’s no better way to showcase everything that the new Galaxy S7 edge and S7 has to offer than by being a part of The Palace Pool Club’s Anniversary Party where we get to put on the spotlight the fun, cool, and exciting new features of our flagship smartphone,” shared Digs Dimagiba, business unit head of the IT and Mobile Division of Samsung Electronics Philippines.

For the latest on Samsung, visit www. samsung.com and the official blog global. samsungtomorrow.com.

DJ Deorro picks up the beat

resorts world manila hosts a-Lin Sonar world tour

A-Lin Sonar World Tour Manila Leg

Taiwan’s aboriginal singer, composer and lyricist A-Lin is coming to Manila and performing tonight for a one-night only A-Lin Sonar World Tour Manila leg at premier entertainment and tourism destination Resorts World Manila (RWM).

Since she broke into the scene in 2006, her commercial success has been phenomenal with her debut album Lovelorn, Not Guilty. To date, A-Lin already came out with five albums and one EP with numerous hits including “920,” “Beautiful,” “Run Back To Me,” “One Life,” “Interlude,” “Purple Rain” and her version of A-Mei’s “Remember,” among others.

Last year, her fame grew all over the world after her exposure in I Am a Singer, a popular South Korean singing competition program.

A-Lin Sonar World Tour has just finished in Singapore and Hong Kong and tonight she

will be serenading fans with her timeless hits and some of her new singles. With her range running from contralto to falsetto, A-Lin will delight her Manila audience with own brand of Mandapop, rock and R&B hits.

If you are currently a RWM member, you can get special rates on tickets. Classic cardholders get five percent off while Silver and Gold/Platinum cardholders get 10 percent and 15 percent discounts, respectively. Members may purchase up to four discounted tickets each.

Tickets for A-Lin Sonar World Tour-Manila are now available at the RWM Box Office, ground floor level of Newport Mall and all TicketWorld outlets. Visit www.rwmanila.com or call the Tourist/Visitor Hotline at (632) 9088833 for more details.

tuESday : m ay 3, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

A statue of Buddha whose birthday is celebrated on May 14

@LIFEatStandard

Celebrations are never complete without a colorful dragon and lion dance

Revel in Hong Kong’s cultuRe fest tHis summeR

H

ong Kong is a vibrant city that is a rich hub of culture, with the influences of the East and the West giving it a unique appeal. The summer months are the best opportunity to experience the rich culture of the bustling metropolis, with four traditional Chinese festivals that reflect the roots and identity of the city.

Visitors to Hong Kong will not run out of things to do with various activities and festival celebrations that run until May 15, with festivities kicking off with the birthday of Tin Hau last April 29. The most popular deity in Hong Kong with over 70 temples dedicated to her, Tin Hau – the Goddess of the Sea – is revered by fishermen who celebrate her birthday by decorating their boats with colorful flags while locals pay homage to her in the temples.

At the Tai Temple (Big Temple), the oldest surviving temple located at Joss House Bay in Sai Kung, major festivities also take place. Another great sight to see is

the Yuen Long Shap Pat Heung Fa Pau Parade, which is a three-hour procession made more festive with lion and dragon dances, a Fa Pau parade, a marching band and cultural performances.

On May 11 to 15, visitors will get to witness the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, reputed to be the most colorful festival in Hong Kong.

The hundred-year-old Cheung Chau Bun Festival is where you can watch the carnival-like Piu Sik (Floating Colors) Parade that will happen on May 14 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Children dress up as gods and celebrities while on stilts to give the impression that they are floating on air. The parade makes its way through narrow streets and concludes by the Park Tai Temple where tall towers are adorned with sweet buns. This is also where the Bun Scrambling Competition is held, with contestants climbing the towers and gathering as many buns as they can. This will take place at 11:30 p.m. also on May 14. Don’t let the festival pass

without tasting a traditional Ping On Bun or Lucky Bun! A big religious occasion also falls on May 14 which is celebrated as the birthday of The Lord Buddha. Buddhists pay their respects by pouring fragrant water over the head and shoulders of small Buddha statues in temples as a form of purification.

Celebratory activities such as Kung Fu performances by Shaolin Monks and face changing and acrobatic shows at the Po Lin Monastery from May 8 to 14 will add color to the cultural events.

There will also going be a major three-day event on May 13-15 at the Hong Kong Coliseum that will include different ceremonies, Buddhist talks and a charity concert. A fun celebration for the occasion is Be Smart & Agile, a carnival-like event to be held at Victoria Park on May 14, featuring a line-up of activities including a vegetarian feast, flower shows, game booths, and more.

A deity revered almost exclusively in Hong Kong, Tam

Kung is the patron saint of seafarers. Hong Kong celebrates his birthday on May 14 with a dragon and lion dance parade at 10:00 a.m. starting at Shau Kei Wan Street until Tam Kung Wei Temple.

When in Hong Kong, make the most out of your festival experience by joining one or all of the tours available at Asia’s World City. A full day Tin Hau Festival Tour includes exploring the Wishing Trees at Lam Tsuen, reserved seating area for the procession and a Chinese lunch.

The Bun Festival Tour that begins with a cruise on a chartered boat includes a vegetarian Chinese lunch along with a great view of all the Bun Festival activities. For the Buddha Festival, you can choose from a number of tours including the New Lantau Island Tour, Tsing Ma Lantau & Monastery Tour, 360 Lantau Explorer Tour and the 360 Holidays Guided Tour.

Children on stilts seem to float during the Piu Sik (Floating Colors) Parade

Log on to DiscoverHongKong.com for more information.

Buddhists pay their respects to Buddha in the temple

Yuen Long Shap Pat Heung Fa Pau Parade

Buddhists pour fragrant water over small Buddha statues in temples to aid in their purification

The famous Bun Scrambling Competition happens at the Cheung Chau Bun Festival on May 14

t uES DAy : m Ay 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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mcJim also has a wide selection of clutch bags and purses for men

A male model showing off an elegantly styled mcJim tote bag

DEfInInG yOuR sTylE

A

gentleman’s style is defined by subtle details. He invests in quality apparel, footwear, and even accessories that show—not shout—his stature in life.

Beyond opting for the classics, a fashion-

able man prefers authentic leather for his belts, wallets, and bags—and brands that reflect on his true self. He chooses McJim Classic Leather.

“Quality and durability are true tests of style,” McJim Classic Leather says in a statement. “Men look for brands that outlast fast-moving trends. He understands that his image is his investment.”

Being real stands out

A variety of colored leather wallets by mcJim

A man will stand out even when he’s clad in the basics— jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers—by choosing real. By being real.

Using genuine leather accessories such as belts, wallets, and bags by McJim Classic Leather helps project an air of confidence.

“When you wear something real, you are fearless. You become the man you aspire to be,” adds McJim Classic Leather, a brand that has con-

sistently provided quality leather men’s accessories that Filipinos have relied on for years.

Belts and bags, wallets and money clips

McJim has proven to generations of Filipinos that its expertly handcrafted accessories will always look new and attractive, unlike knockoffs and poor imitations that reveal, over a short period of time, shoddy workmanship and the use of cheap materials.

For instance, a good leather belt complements a man’s attire, making him look smart and well groomed. For the welldressed image most men go for, McJim has a wide selection of dress belts and casual belts that combine leather with other materials like tweed and canvas.

On the other hand, McJim genuine leather wallets and money clips retain that patina of refinement after years of use. It helps that these come in classic black and different shades of brown like russet and tan—and in varying textures, too.

The modern Filipino man’s mobile lifestyle has likewise changed the way he carries his

stuff around. He now requires a good bag for stashing his mobile phone, charger, power bank, organizer, grooming kit, and even work-related papers in. For his varying needs, McJim offers bags and briefcases in different sizes, colors, and make.

Good leather is an investment

McJim believes that only genuine leather can deliver a luxurious feel and look. It is soft and supple yet strong and durable; it does not deform or crack because it stretches.

And because real leather thermally adjusts to the body’s temperature, it promotes comfort for the wearer.

Finally, every McJim product is made by skilled and trained craftsmen who make sure that each belt, wallet, and bag is durable and well-made—an assurance that mass-produced items from other countries cannot give.

Because genuine leather is meant to last for a long time, McJim combines it with timeless designs, making each product a worthwhile—yet affordable—investment.

Cool and healthy summer The summer season is here!

This year, however, the season may usher in heat waves, droughts and dry spells, which, when coupled with the country’s tropical weather, can result in intolerably warm temperatures and a spike in local cases of mosquito-borne diseases like the Zika virus. With global technology leader LG Electronics’ innovations in the field of air conditioning, Filipino consumers can definitely be at ease and keep wives and children protected inside energy-efficient, mosquito-free spaces.

Cost-efficient cooling solutions with energy-saving LG Inverter V Cool comfort doesn’t have to come with an astronomical power bill thanks to LG’s deluxe Inverter V air conditioners. Powered by the Inverter V compressor, these AC models allow for quick and powerful cooling while bringing down consumption up to 69 percent. Users can enjoy cool comfort without worrying about steep electricity bills even during the height of summer.

Inverter V ACs are perfect for indoor use, with its ultra-silent BLDC fan motor and Torque Control that allow precise reduction of noise, vibration, and compres-

sion loss. The advanced smart Inverter system automatically adjusts the compressor to maintain the user’s desired temperature with minimal fluctuation. Electrical consumption can also be controlled through a built-in 4-step Watt option. All these features contribute to the energy-efficiency and cost-efficiency of Inverter V ACs. Furthermore, LG Inverter V models come in sleek, Red Dot Award-winning designs that will make them great additions to any modern space.

Disease-free interiors with lG Mosquito Away technology

Another revolutionary innovation from LG is the Mosquito Away ultrasonic repellent technology built into its residential air conditioning models. After careful testing, UP Los Baños Crop Protection Cluster Research Professor Dr. Pio A. Javier proved that this line of LG air conditioners repel, with 82.71 percent success rate, the dengue- and Zika virus-spreading mosquito Aedes aegypti.

Aside from keeping spaces disease-free, LG Mosquito Away ACs also come with a low-voltage starter for increased energy

LG’s Inverter V is designed to meet the demands of customers who want energy-efficient and mosquito-free spaces

efficiency in lower temperatures and a jet cooling feature that can quickly cool a room within a couple of minutes.

“More than energy efficiency and powerful cooling capacity, our air conditioning line-up offers a clean and healthy environment putting families at ease especially for the upcoming summer season,” LG Philippines Air Conditioning and Energy Solu-

tions VP Steve Kim said. “Our Inverter V and Mosquito Away models serve as yet another testament to how we make life better for our Filipino consumers.”

For more information on LG’s Inverter V and Mosquito Away air conditioners, visit lg.com/ph, like LG Philippines’ official Facebook page or follow @LGPhilippines on Twitter and Instagram.

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t uES DAy : m Ay 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

BRucE WIllIS In AnotHER ActIon cApER

ruce Willis plays merciless crime boss in the gritty action heist movie Precious Cargo also starring Claire Forlani and MarkPaul Gosselaar.

In Precious Cargo, Eddie (Willis) hunts down the seductive thief Karen (Forlani) who failed him. In order to win back Eddie’s trust, Karen recruits her ex-lover and premier thief Jack (Gosselaar) to steal a cargo of rare precious gems. But when the job goes down, allegiances are betrayed and lines are crossed as Jack, Karen and Eddie face off in a fateful showdown.

At the helm of the movie is writer-director Max Adams who keeps the audience guessing in his feature-length directorial debut.

Since his arrival in Hollywood a few short years ago, the former Army officer and battalion commander, who also has a Master’s degree in film production, has risen swiftly through the ranks to become an in-demand action screenwriter known for his humorous, brisk dialogue, cleverly constructed plot twists and ability to write realistic action and fight sequences. But the story for Pre-

cious Cargo was written long before Adams arrived in Hollywood and while he was a graduate student at Florida State University’s film school.

With his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema, action films and real-life action experiences after serving for six years in the Army, Adams quickly established himself as “the action director” after enrolling in Florida Stat University’s graduate school in 2006.

A couple years later when it came time to make a short film for his Master’s Thesis, Adams wrote, directed and edited Precious Cargo, a story set in the world of multi-million dollar heists and double-crossing professional thieves. A short time later, while working on HBO’s acclaimed Boardwalk Empire, the show’s writer-producer Terence Winter and writer-director-executive producer Timothy Van Patten encouraged Adams to write a feature-length version of the short, which he did.

The cast and crew filmed Precious Cargo along the picturesque Mississippi Gulf Coast, inlets and waterways around the GulfportBiloxi area during an action-

packed 17-day shoot—much of it in the sweltering early summer heat of May-June 2015. According to the cast and crew, with thunderstorms, oppressive humidity and temperatures soaring into the hundreds, Adams proved to be every bit the cool, calm focused leader that saw him elevated to a commanding officer in the 3rd Army Infantry in Iraq.

“For his first shot at being a director I can’t imagine a more daunting task,” said Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who plays con man and professional thief Jack. “This was a very ambitious script that he wrote and an ambitious schedule and Max did an amazing job – getting everything together, being a leader on set, making a great film and allowing us to have an amazing onset experience. He’s the guy we followed and will continue to follow.”

“I had the most fun making this film,” said Claire Forlani, who plays femme fatale Karen Colson. “It has been one of the most fun sets I’ve ever been on with such a brilliant level of humor.

And when you’re working these hours in this race to get a film made, to have that attitude,

it comes from the top. And that’s Max. It’s been a really tight schedule and a lot to do, and he’s not only done it, but he’s done it brilliantly. I adore him. I think he’s really accomplished something admirable and fun with this film.”

“Precious Cargo is a good mix of comedy with an intense blend of action and drama happening behind that,” said Gosselaar.

“I like that there’s a light touch to this film, a comedic element throughout. I always like to see an action film that has a comedic element and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This is that kind of movie where you can sit down for 90 minutes, eat popc o r n and

enjoy the ride.”

Precious Cargo opens May 11 from OctoArts Films International.

Check out the film’s trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lVqEaWjrmSc American actor Bruce Willis stars in the action thriller “precious cargo”

Free movies for two more weekends

For the next two weekends, families are in for a major summer treat as ABS-CBN TVplus and ABS-CBNmobile continue to shower users with a second round

of free movie screenings at home until May 8.

Through the Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) of ABS-CBN TVplus, families can enjoy their TV

Enrique Gil and liza Soberano of the top-rating romantic drama ‘Dolce Amore”

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Dotty 5 Pub sign (2 wds.)

10 Tooth problem 14 FitzGerald’s poet 15 Hearth 16 Quarry 17 Thick mud 18 Sand mandala builders 19 Fishing place

20 Break loose 22 In the cards 24 Loses hair 25 Crusty roll 26 Mortgage, e.g.

28 Won’t hold water 32 Jane, to Tarzan 35 Swell, in space (hyph.)

37 Uncultivated 38 Bucket material

39 Carthage neighbor 41 I’ve got it!

42 Insect’s middle 45 Family man 46 To the — (fully) 47 Hairpin curves 48 “Fancy” singer 50 Macbeth’s weapon 54 Banded stone 58 Mountaineering aids 61 Shook a tail 62 Belgian river 63 Gunslinger’s tally 65 Mythic warmonger 66 Earnest request 67 Manicurist’s board 68 Descartes’ name 69 Ticket info 70 Stretches out 71 Wheel’s partner DOWN 1 Geodesic — 2 Buggy drivers 3 Silly comedy 4 Potter’s foot lever 5 Give the glad eye 6 D.C. lobbyist 7 Bay or city 8 Video-game pioneer 9 Pedro’s coins 10 Raiment 11 Bin 12 Despicable one

bonding with four hit movies airing every weekend.

Some of the country’s biggest stars will be gracing every Filipino home during the weekend before elections.

Fans of the love team of Piolo Pascual and Judy Ann Santos and Anne Curtis and Sam Milby will get to relive their favorite sweet scenes in Till There Was You and Babe, I Love You. A perfect mix of fear and fun will be showcased by Kris Aquino, Claudine Barretto, Maricel Soriano, and Eugene Domingo in their hit movies Sukob and Momzillas.

Aside from free movie screenings at home, ABS-CBN

TUESDAY, MAY 03, 2016

13 Fictional governess 21 Air-pump meas.

23 Mr. Lugosi 25 No-frills hairdo 27 — de vie (brandies) 29 Jai — 30 Ancient cosmetic 31 Flatten a fly 32 Dust particle 33 Sighs of relief 34 Ring stats 36 Nanny’s charge 37 Lose brightness 40 John Dickson — of whodunits 43 Lamb, for one (2 wds.)

44 PDQ 46 Hollow-eyed 49 Meadow murmur 51 Lost cause 52 Troll 53 Basso Simon — 55 Think alike 56 — Marie of pop 57 Detroit dud 58 CBer’s “bears” 59 Rub the wrong way 60 Offshore 61 Motives 64 Monitor of yore

TVplus is also treating families to a free catch-up marathon of Dolce Amore.

All ABS-CBN TVplus users who already own an ABS-CBN mobile SIM may avail of the second round of Kapamilya Box Office free trial by texting KBO <TVplus box ID> to 2131 using an ABS-CBNmobile SIM for free.

Once registered, users simply need to press SCAN on the TVplus remote control to activate KBO on the ABS-CBN TVplus’ 7th channel.

For users who don’t have an ABS-CBN mobile SIM, it is available in any SM store, 7-Eleven store, and ABS-CBNmobile store.

Users may also text 23661 to or-

der a prepaid SIM for delivery.

All ABS-CBN TVplus boxes priced at P1,999 are bundled with an ABS-CBNmobile prepaid SIM and are available in any accredited retail outlets, sales agents, and dealers.

The Kapamilya Box Office service is available in Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Benguet, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.

Make the most of summer and have fun to the fullest with the Kapamilya Box Office free trial until May 8.

For more information on the promo, text KBO INFO to 23661 and visit tvplus.abs-cbn.com.

t uES DAy : m Ay 3, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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JuLIE ANNE’S 10tH ANNIVERSARy CONCERt

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ulie Anne San Jose entered showbiz as a tween and hasn’t let go with success and fame since. Thus, it is no surprise that she’s set to celebrate her 10th anniversary with a major concert while others her age are practically just beginning to shine.

The concert, aptly titled In Control, takes place at Kia Theater in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City on May 14, 8 p.m. The date is just three days short of her 22nd birthday. But more than the age, it’s the fact that her career milestone is worth celebrating because of her immense success mirrored by a strong fan base and high visibility that goes beyond Philippine setting.

Being made possible by Dreamstar Events management, Marvin Caidito directs In Control with musical direction byo Marc Lopez.

Definitely under the blessing of GMA Artist Management and record label, the show is anchored on the publicly embraced singing talent and charm of Julie Anne who by now is the recipient of a “Diamond Record Award,” having sold 150,000 units of her eponymous album.

Her single from the album I’ll Be There actually remains as the only certified quadruple platinum by PARI (Philippine Association of the Record Industry).

Her second album Deeper has been already awarded triple platinum earlier this year and was awarded “Best Selling Album” at the 28th Awit Awards.

To some who find such mind-boggling statistics quite difficult to comprehend, they only have to recall her “Tidal Wave” (a song arranged by American producer Sidney Brown) track and the cool music video shot in the US. She actually filmed three music videos in New York and Cali-

fornia under the radar of a Los Angelesbased company. Truly, the former member of vocal group Sugarpop has gone from a promising sweet-looking local teenage face into a highly established and sophisticated world-class pop act.

Julie Anne has been releasing multiple singles the past few years owing to the high demand of her ever-increasing number of fans. In a provincial Kapuso stars mall show last summer, she was clearly the star being awaited to appear in spite being dominated by male figures that kept the crowd of mostly teenage girls screaming in delight. But once she appeared, one could sense that the adulation goes beyond admiration for her looks; there’s the air respect for her voice and what she has already done in showbiz.

Small wonder she had been dubbed by OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipino Mangaawit) as Junior Ambassador “to represent and promote Filipino music to the young.” She’s also a celebrity advocate for World Vision that promotes children’s rights and wellbeing.

Julie Anne is likewise a certified multihyphenated talent, having attained success in various fields. She is one of the few who gets favorable notices for both her singing and acting career, appearing recently in the afternoon soap Buena Familia and two years ago, in the Dingdong Dantes-starrer Kubot: Aswang Chronicles.

Of course, her fan base grew as a result of her teaming-up with Elmo Magalona, long before Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza became the country’s ultimate kilig lovebirds.

In the awards category, she has plenty to showcase. Her music video for “Right Where You Belong” won at the MYX Music Awards

Best-selling OPM artist. Julie Anne San Jose celebrates her ten years in the business via a concert at the Kia theater

last year. She even placed relatively high at FHM’s sexiest, proof that beauty and talent have mixed up well to solidify her hold in showbiz, ten years and counting.

Tickets to Julie Anne’s In Control concert are priced at P4,240 (VIP), P3,710 (Orchestra). PI,590 (Loge) and P1.060 (Balcony).

For tickets call Ticketnet at 911-5555.

Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Nadine Lustre perform in mtV music Evolution manila 2016 MTV revealed Philippines pop star royalty Sarah Geronimo, and Filipino pop darlings James Reid and Nadine Lustre will join the performers’ line-up at the awardwinning MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016 at SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds on June 24.

The newly announced acts will share the stage with its first announced act, iconic international pop band and prolific hit maker OneRepublic and perform at the one-night only live music event to celebrate pop music like never before – enabling fans to experience and discover the evolution of pop music and its dance influence that keeps fans moving.

“We are thrilled to have the Philippines’ pop star royalty Sarah Geronimo, and Filipino pop

star darlings James Reid and Nadine Lustre join us for MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016. These stellar performers personify the sound of local pop music which we are looking forward to celebrate on the MTV stage,” said Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President of MTV, Comedy Central & Paramount Brands and Digital Media, Asia, Viacom International Media Networks. “Through the years, Sarah Geronimo’s music has captured her evolution as an artist, making her one of the most exemplary Filipino pop icons of this generation.”

After more than a decade of winning Pinoy hearts with her songs, performances and movies, Sarah Geronimo has truly become one of the most iconic

and well-loved faces of Philippine pop music. Throughout her career, she has produced awardwinning hits that propelled her to be recognized as “Best Southeast Asian Act” at the MTV EMAs in 2014. With her latest album “The Great Unknown” and first single “Tala”, the pop princess continues to shape the sound of contemporary Philippine pop music with her influences in dance, R&B and anthemic ballads.

Meanwhile, Filipino pop darlings James Reid and Nadine Lustre, or the adorable duo “JaDine” are also set to showcase their pop music origins at the MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016. Reid, who is one of the most recognized male teen sensations of the music business today, is a gifted artist who

has produced two albums including Reid Alert that contains hits like “Huwag Ka Nang Humirit” and “Hanap-Hanap.” Lustre, on the other hand, was already producing hits as a member of PopGirls before her breakout role in Diary ng Panget and continues to make her mark in the world of Pinoy pop with her electric tracks “Para Paraan” and club-ready “Me & You”.

Recorded live for global telecast under the MTV World Stage global series, MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016 will reach an international audience of more than three-quarters of a billion households in over 160 countries. MTV Asia VJs Alan Wong and Hanli Hoefer will be hosting the event, along with MTV Pinoy VJs Yassi Pressman and Andre Paras.

Pop stars Sarah Geronimo, James Reid and Nadine Lustre join the OPm line-up in this year’s mtV music Evolution manila, which will be broadcast in more than 160 countries and territories

QCinema’s 8 films in competition After months of deliberation, the jury now has the list of eight new movies that will be featured in the Circle Competition, one of the categories in the Quezon City International Film Festival (QCinema) 2016.

The eight new films include, Ang Lubong ni Hesus written by Fatrick Tabada and directed by Victor Villanueva; Ang Manananggal sa Unit 22B written by Jen Chuaunsu and directed by Prime Cruz; Baboy Halas directed by Bagane Fiola; Best. Partee. Ever.” directed by HF Yambao; Gusto Kita With All My Hypothalamus

by Dwein Baltazar; Hinulid by Kristian Cordero; Purgatoryo directed by Roderick Cabrido; and Women of the Weeping River by Sheron Dayoc.

The selection process was facilitated by the Quezon City Film Development Commission (QCFDC), an organization formed by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte to promote the arts and culture in Quezon City.

The homegrown filmmaking talents will be given a grant of P1 million. The QCinema grant is one of a kind because it allows filmmakers to own the rights to their movies.

Visit www.qcinema.ph to get more information about the film festival and its lineup.

t uES DAy : m Ay 3, 2016

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Multi-talented. Seasoned actor, director, singer, and sportsman Cesar montano is mounting his third painting exhibit

CEsaR MOnTanO MOunTs aRT ExHIbIT ISAH V. RED

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op actor, director, singer and sportsman Cesar Montano is passionate not only about acting in movies and television shows and singing (he is a certified recording artist) but also in plastic arts.

On April 27, he mounted his third solo exhibit which at the historic artisanal and pugon-style 77-year-old Kamuning Bakery Café. Montano is showcasing some 13 pieces from his collection of work with diverse subjects, mostly about life and nature.

Lily Y. Monteverde, one of the guests during the opening, immediately acquired one of the paintings, the price of which either the café owner, Wilson Lee Flores, or Cesar Montano didn’t disclose. But Mother Lily told members of the press that she paid Montano cold cash.

Montano’s first solo exhibit was at the Glass Wing of Ayala Museum in 2009, the second was held in California. He was also appointed commissioner of UNESCO in 2005, to serve as Philippine representative for culture and the arts. More importantly, he is also a customer of Kamuning Bakery

Artist Cesar montano and the author

Café on 43 Judge Jimenez St. corner K-lst Street, Kamuning in Quezon City, Montano is hoping to mount another exhibit later this year at the Ayala Museum. He is also planning to commission writers to produce a coffee table book featuring his art.

“I have many plans regarding my paintings, and I hope with the help of some friends I’d be able to realize all of them,” he said.

The exhibit runs for another week at the bakery café. In case you are in the area, drop by, have coffee and pan de sal or pan de suelo while browsing a dozen and one of Montano’s paintings in pil or pastel.

Himig Handog 2016 winner

“Dalawang Letra,” an original Filipino love song composed by Davey Langit and interpreted by Itchyworms, was the grand winner at the Himig Handog Pinoy Pop (PPop) Love Songs 2016 at the Kia Theatre on April 24.

Langit, who took home P1 million, beat the other top 14 songs picked out from over 6,000 entries attracted by the biggest worldwide OPM songwriting competition.

“I’m elated. There are no words to describe how I feel. I did not expect this at all.

I couldn’t have done it without the Itchyworms,” he said.

“This is the cream of the crop. All of the best songwriters are here. It’s more than a privilege that I’m standing here and I won,”

Flower canvas is one of Cesar montano’s favorite subjects for his artwork

added Langit.

Awarded as the 2nd Best Song was “Monumento,” composed by Jungee Marcelo and interpreted by Kyla and Kris Lawrence, while the 3rd Best Song was “Laban Pa” composed by David Dimaguila and interpreted by KZ with Jay-R. The other winners include 4th Best Song “Tama Lang” composed by couple Agatha and Melvin Morallos and interpreted by Jolina Magdangal, and 5th Best Song “Parang Tayo Pero Hindi” composed by Marlon Barnuevo and interpreted by Angeline Quinto and Michael Pangilinan.

The composer of the 2nd Best Song re-

ceived P500,000, while the composers of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Best Songs won P200,000, P150,000, and P100,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, “O Pag-ibig,” composed

by Honlani Rabe and Jack Rufo and interpreted by teen stars Bailey May and Ylona Garcia, bagged the majority of the special awards, namely the MOR’s Choice Award, TFC Global Choice for Favorite Song, and Best Music Video (produced by MINT College). Bailey and Ylona were also voted Onemusic. ph’s Favorite Interpreters. ’s “Nyebe,” composed by Aries Sales, was given Star Music Listeners Choice Award.

Cesar montano joined by members of the entertainment press