The Standard - 2016 June 16 - Thursday by Manila Standard

VOL. XXX  NO. 124  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  THURSDAY : JUNE 16, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Separate inaugurals for Digong, Leni eyed

DISARRAY OVER CHINA Ministers’ meeting ends in confusion due to KL statement

A MEETING in China of foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations over the South China Sea ended in confusion Tuesday after Malaysia released and then retracted a joint statement expressing “serious concerns” over developments in the disputed waterway.

The disarray raises fresh questions about unity within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the issue, ahead of an international court ruling on a Philippine challenge to China’s claims to more than 80 percent of the waterway. Asean operates on consensus, which means all members need to agree on a statement before it is released. So far Asean has avoided citing China by name in statements calling for a lowering of tensions. China’s claims criss-cross those by nations

including the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia, and it has reclaimed thousands of acres of land in the area in recent years while boosting its military presence. It has argued that the disputes in the waters that handle more than $5 trillion of trade a year have nothing to do with its relationship with Asean. After noting progress in ties between China and Asean, the withdrawn statement added: “But we also cannot ignore what is happening in the South China Sea as it is an important issue in the relations and coop-

eration between Asean and China.” That phrase in the statement is “a direct rebuke to China’s position that the dispute is not a matter between Asean and China,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. China has said the disputes should be handled on a bilateral basis. China’s foreign ministry said in April after a meeting with Laos, Cambodia and Brunei that the countries agreed the disputes Next page

Sitdown. Government peace negotiators led by incoming peace adviser Jesus Dureza, new chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III and former Rep. Hernani Braganza meet in Oslo, Norway with CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison, NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni and Norwegian facilitators at the start of a two-day exploratory discussion.

PNoy: I considered military rule in Sulu

Duterte team meets CPP in Norway By John Paolo Bencito DAVAO CITY—Negotiators from the incoming Duterte administration and their counterparts from the communist rebels are optimistic that peace talks, stalled for four years under the Aquino administration, will be able to resume. Informal peace talks, which continue today in Oslo, Norway, will tackle three agreements—on the release of the political prisoners, an interim ceasefire and a plan to accelerate the peace negotiations. “Both sides agreed that since the government participants have not yet assumed office, the consensus points, if any, will be initialed for authentication purposes at the close of the informal talks and to be formalized soon af-

ter President-elect [Rodrigo] Duterte’s government has assumed office,” incoming presidential adviser on the peace process Jesus Dureza said Wednesday. “There is evident shared optimism on both sides due to the declaration of President-Elect Rody Duterte to seek an early sustainable peace for the nation,” he added. The informal talks, which started at 5 p.m. Oslo Time on June 14, had incoming government negotiators Hernani Braganza and incoming Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III, Dureza, Norway’s special envoy to the Philippine peace process Elisabeth Slåttum, National Democratic Front negotiator Coni Ledesma, CPP founder Jose. Ma. Sison, NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni, and human rights lawyer Edre Olalia as representatives at the negotiating table. Next page

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PNoy: I considered martial law in Sulu By Sandy Araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Wednesday that he considered declaring martial law in some areas of Sulu about three weeks before the deadline set by the Abu Sayyaf for the payment of P300-million ransom for Canadian national Robert Hall’s release. Speaking to the press in Jolo, Sulu, two days after Hall was beheaded, Aquino said he did not declare martial law because he would need to deploy so many forces there with no guarantee of positive results. “There might even be negative results. There might be additional sympathy [for] our enemies here,” Aquino said. “The operations continued, however, the enemies were able to escape. Even seen in the areas were lighted cigarettes and warm food left by the Abu Sayyaf who just escaped,” he said. Aquino was in Jolo to confer with top security officials from the Armed Forces and the Defense Department in Camp Teodulfo Bautista, two days after Hall was beheaded. Hall’s head was found near the Jolo Cathedral at about 8:45 p.m. Monday, the military’s Western Mindanao Command earlier said. Hall’s execution came after the 3 p.m. deadline imposed by the Abu Sayyaf Group for the payment of a P300-million ransom expired. At the meeting Wednesday were Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Gloriosio Miranda, and Col. Custodio Falcon, commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade. A Palace official who requested anonymity said the President prohibited the Army from pulling out troops from ongoing military operations against the Abu Sayyaf to boost his security while he was in Sulu. The President earlier condemned the Abu Sayyaf for beheading Hall and vowed to bring the al-Qaeda-linked bandits to justice. Hall and his three companions were kidnapped from a posh resort in Samal Island in September 2015. The Philippine and Canadian governments both maintained a “no ransom policy.” Another Canadian who was held captive, former mining executive John Rids-

Duterte... From A1

Braganza in his Twitter account showed a picture of the government’s peace panel including Dureza and government chief negotiator for the NDF, Bello, as well as members of the CPP-NPA-NDF negotiating panel, including Sison and NDF official Luis Jalandoni, with the following text: “Till we meet again!” Aside from Sison and Jalandoni, the NDF sent nearly a full complement of negotiators, including peace panel members Juliet de Lima, Fidel Agcaoili, and Ledesma, and a battery of consultants and legal advisors. “We in the NDFP have been elated by the pledge of President Duterte to release all the political prisoners by general amnesty even before the start of formal talks if the preliminary talks prove to be successful. And we have expressed the willingness

del, was executed by the group in April. A Norwegian man and a Filipino woman are still being held hostage. On Wednesday, Aquino said a lack of police and military personnel and budget was one reason the government has been unable to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf. “In 1986, the population was about 50 million. Now it is more than 100 million. You are asking the same number of policemen and military to guard double the population,” he said. Second, he said, there was sympathy for the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, and the bandits had knowledge of the terrain. He also said government forces were also engaged in other tasks, such as dealing with the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Aquino said he had no knowledge about whether some parties had paid ransoms to the bandits. “I have no personal knowledge. Can we say that other people who paid? I don’t know,” he said. But Aquino said the movements of the Abu Sayyaf have been restricted to two barangays in Basilan. Aquino also said he was able to apologize to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by phone for the death of two Canadians and thanked him for standing firm on the no-ransom policy, since payments would only make the problem worse. Aquino said they learned that a separate group was kidnapping victims for the Abu Sayyaf. “That is their expertise. Then they turn over the hostages to the Abu Sayyaf for safekeeping,” he said. “There have been arrests made, and others have been identified by witnesses. Cases have been filed against them. We are waiting for the warrants for the arrest of the other suspects,” he said. Asked about how Hall’s head was delivered without an arrest being made, Aquino said security forces could not search everyone carrying a bag.

to achieve peace immediately in the form of a mutual interim ceasefire. We are ready to maintain the ceasefire and the peace while we carry out the plan to accelerate the peace negotiations,” Agcaoili said. In an earlier press briefing, Agcaoili said a proposal for accelerating peace talks would be discussed. While a coalition government may not be entirely possible at this stage, he added, a “government of national unity, peace and development” could be formed after the peace agreements are signed. Only then would NDF leaders accept positions in the government, he added. Sison had earlier asserted that the goal of the peace talks was to form a “coalition government” of the CPP and Duterte administration. This coalition would need to carry out “democratic reforms that would lead to national industrialization and genuine land reform.” But he said, “We are not asking for a switch

“People here still have freedom,” he said. “It’s difficult to specifically point out which person had the bag which contained the head…. What is important is that our forces must strengthen their pursuit against them,” he said. “I understand the difficulty. The forces are casing the barangays which are influenced by the Abu Sayyaf, who have relatives there. They grew up there. They know the terrain. It’s not easy here. There are also those who are sympathetic to the Abu Sayyaf. There are also those who are in cahoots with them. It’s not easy to find informants here,” Aquino said. He said huge rewards for the Abu Sayyaf have not worked, possibly because the bandits share their ransom earnings with the people in the area. Senator Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said he supported a proposal to declare martial law in parts of Mindanao as part of efforts to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf. Incoming police chief Ronald dela Rosa has said he would support such a move as a way to address terrorism and the insurgency in Mindanao. Sotto described the beheading of Hall as an act of cowardice, adding that there was nothing courageous about killing a person who was tied up. Sotto added he believed incoming President Rodrigo Duterte already has a plan to stop the Abu Sayyaf, which had taunted him with Hall’s beheading. Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, on Wednesday acknowledged that numerical superiority did not guarantee success because the Abu Sayyaf had mastery of the territory and was getting support from the community. At present, roughly 5,500 soldiers are reportedly deployed in Sulu alone with the recent arrival of the 45th Infantry Battalion from Maguindanao. The military estimates there are about 200 Abu Sayyaf fighters in Sulu and about the same number operating in nearby Basilan. Still in the hands of the ASG in Sulu are Norwegian hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad and Marites Flor, Hall’s Filipino girlfriend. Tan said there are seven ASG hostages remaining in Sulu, including Sekkingstad and Dutch bird watcher Elwood Horn, but the military has been unable to pinpoint where they are being held. With Florante S. Solmerin,

Sara Susanne D. Fabunan, PNA

to socialism.” “What is in sight is a kind of coalition government that involves the participation of the Communist Party amidst other patriotic and progressive forces. It is a government of national unity, peace and development,” Sison said in a video message from Utretch. “The question therefore arises whether the national democratic revolution can be completed in the absence of a people’s war,” he added. Sison called for getting an “interim ceasefire in place, and further negotiations on the end of hostilities and redisposition of the armed forces of both sides.” “Revolutionary armed units can become guards of the environment and the industries under conditions of peace and development. Integration of armed forces is permissible,” he said. Sison said he was not calling for state-owned industries, but for national industrialization to

be carried out largely under private Filipino ownership, with state sponsorship and protection. Sison said that the CPP’s front organizations “must support the patriotic and progressive initiatives and measures undertaken [by the CPP] in an alliance with an otherwise fully reactionary government.” The militant youth group Kabataan on Wednesday expressed optimism that the government and the NDF, which began the preliminary talks in Oslo, Norway, would yield substantial results. “We have high hopes for the outcome of the ongoing preliminary peace talks in Oslo between the Philippine government and the NDF. This goodwill gesture marks the beginning of what we hope will be a conclusive and exhaustive negotiation that will finally usher in peace and healing in our country,” Kabataan partylist Rep. Sarah Elago said. With Maricel V. Cruz

Disarray... From A1 “are not an issue between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and should not affect ChinaAsean relations.” The Philippines has asked The Hague tribunal to rule on the status of features China contests as well as the legal basis of its “historic rights” claim, based on a 1940s map showing a dashed line covering around 1.4 million square miles. A ruling seen as unfavorable to Beijing would undermine its claims. The US, which says it doesn’t take a position on the disputes, has since October last year sailed warships three times near China’s artificial islands to demonstrate the right to transit what it considers international territory. The tensions go to the heart of a strategic rivalry between the US, overseer of the region’s security network for decades, and a rising China intent on becoming the region’s dominant power. Both have sought to gather support in the lead-up to the arbitration decision, with diplomats and officials visiting a number of Asean nations. China claims the support of countries as varied as Russia, Gambia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Still, Group of Seven leaders expressed concern about instability in the South China Sea at a meeting in Japan last month. Asean has a history of struggling to agree on communiques amid disagreement over wording on the South China Sea. China is the largest trading partner for the grouping, which is chaired this year by the small country of Laos. Defense ministers from the bloc were unable to agree on a declaration after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in November. In August foreign ministers struggled to reach consensus on the matter, releasing a statement hours after the end of a three-day meeting. In 2012, Asean failed to reach common ground on the South China Sea issue, ending a regional conference without a joint statement—the first in its 45-year history. After the meeting collapsed, Cambodia denied it had fallen prey to pressure from China to avoid raising the issue in the statement. China had warned nations beforehand to not mention the territorial spats. About three hours after the Kunming statement was released on Tuesday night, Malaysia said it needed to be retracted to make urgent changes. An amended statement has not been released. Singapore’s foreign ministry said in a separate statement late Tuesday that Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan “noted the serious concerns expressed by the Asean foreign ministers over the developments on the ground” in the South China Sea. A ministry spokeswoman said Balakrishnan, who cochaired the meeting, left Kunming Tuesday. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to questions on whether it planned its own statement. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the meeting as “a timely and important strategic communication,” according to a statement posted late Tuesday on the ministry’s website. “There is more cooperation than disagreement in the China-Asean relationship, and more opportunities than challenges, more unity than friction,” Wang was quoted as saying. Still, state-run tabloid the Global Times published an editorial Wednesday with the headline: “Asean slapped China in the face over South China Sea? Western media’s crazy thoughts.” It said there was no joint statement from the meeting, and any such communique would require all parties to approve it. The strongly worded statement that was later retracted warned that recent actions in the disputed South China Sea had “the potential to undermine peace.” “We expressed our serious concerns over recent and ongoing developments, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea,” the original statement said, without mentioning China by name. “We emphasized the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities, including land reclamation, which may raise tensions in the South China Sea,” it said. “We articulated Asean’s commitment to maintaining and promoting peace, security and stability in the region, as well as to the peaceful resolution of disputes.” This, the statement added, includes “full respect for legal and diplomatic processes, without resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and the UN Charter.” The statement came after what was characterized as “a candid exchange”—language that hinted at a diplomatic set-to — between the bloc’s foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart in the Chinese city of Kunming. Bloomberg, AFP

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Separate inaugurations seen DAVAO CITY— President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President-elect Leni Robredo will have separate inaugurations on June 30 after Duterte’s camp opted for a separate ceremony for him. “We were informed by the team of President-elect Rody Duterte about their preference to hold the inauguration separately,” Boyet Dy, head of Robredo’s transition team, said in a statement to The Standard. “While we have been preparing for a joint inauguration, we respect their decision and will begin our own preparations for a simple and modest ceremony.” Incoming Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte will take his oath in Malacañang’s Rizal Hall, and that the number of guest will not exceed 500. “Do not expect ostentatious foods and drinks. Maruya and ordinary juice will be served,” Andanar said. Duterte has said he will not appoint Robredo as a member of his Cabinet because of his relationship with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and because she is a member of the Liberal Party. Marcos, in a press conference, had insinuated that Duterte knew about the alleged cheating by the ruling Liberal Party during the vice presidential race of 2016. Robredo has since expressed her support for Duterte, but she remains adversarial over many issues including Duterte’s plan to revive the death penalty. Robredo is considering holding office at the Quezon City Executive House, where she can continue her programs for poor and women. The property used to be linked to former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada during his impeachment trial in 2001, and was then dubbed as the Boracay Mansion. John Paolo Bencito

Drill. Elementary students from the Valeriano E. Fugoso Memorial School Boystown Complex in Parang, Marikina, join a drill in Metro Manila as part of the Metro Manila Development Authority’s disaster preparedness program. LINO SANTOS

Sotto: Cayetano’s demands led to his failure THE many demands and “do’s and don’ts” being dictated by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano led to his failure to get his colleagues to choose him as Senate president of the 17th Congress, Senator Vicente Sotto III said Wednesday. He said the talks with Cayetano, the defeated running mate of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, collapsed because he had been imposing many conditions and dictating many things—and in particular the chairmanship of the Senate committees. As a result, they opted to pick Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, a party mate of Duterte at

the PDP-Laban, to be the next Senate president to succeed Franklin Drilon. Sotto and Drilon have stood firm that Pimentel will be the next Senate president amid the reports Cayetano has been “operating” to grab the Senate leadership from Pimentel. They stress that the Senate presidency has been sealed for Pimentel. Pimentel has said if Cayetano wants the Senate presidency, he should not go to Davao because the position is not determined in Davao. He should talk to his fellow senators instead.

“Nobody else can elect the SP except the senators,” said Pimentel, the president of PDP-Laban where Duterte is chairman. Asked if he believed Duterte would call the senators to convince them to vote for Cayetano, Sotto replied: “I don’t know if the President will do that and if that will work, because if you want to be SP you have to campaign among your fellow senators.” Duterte had earlier declared he would not meddle in the fight for the Senate leadership. He asked Pimentel and Cayetano to settle the issue between themselves. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Abad ready for DAP case

Demand. Student activists stage a protest on Wednesday in front of the Department of Justice along Padre Faura in Manila to demand the release of all political detainees and to urge incoming President Rodrigo Duterte to do the same when he assumes office. DANNY PATA

BUDGET Secretary Florencio Abad said Wednesday he and his allies were prepared for any case they might face in connection with the Disbursement Acceleration Program. “We have been prepared,” Abad told ANC’s Headstart. “We have looked at this issue down to its tiniest details and, as we have been doing in the past three years, we have been explaining [it] to the public.” Abad, who was tagged as the author of the DAP, maintains that he and President Benigno Aquino III did not personally benefit from the program, which Aquino had authorized but which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. “There’s never been allegations that personal gain was involved. It’s just that there are constitutional and technical issues that were involved,” Abad said.

“Only certain acts and practices within [the] DAP were considered unconstitutional, but generally, even the Supreme Court conceded that [the] DAP did the country good.” Abad said that, in 2010, when the Aquino administration started, their first mandate was to plug the leakages in the DBM. After the house cleaning, he said, the economy grew by a mere 3.6 percent in 2011. “But the year after, when we implemented [the] DAP, it grew by 6.8 percent, and in 2013 it went even further to 7.2 percent, and then the controversy hit.” Incoming Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who is one of the petitioners in the court case on the DAP, has vowed not to take an active role in running after Aquino or Abad. But he said he believed cases would be filed against the authors of the DAP. Sandy Araneta

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DA chief on carpet for cartel THE Ombudsman has started investigating outgoing Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and several officials of the Bureau of Plant Industry for their suspected involvement in the garlic cartel scam. This was after the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office filed a complaint-affidavit against Alcala and BPI officials; namely, Clarito Barron, Merle Palacpac, Jesus Bajacan and Luben Marasigan. Also included in the FIO’s complaint are Lilia Cruz and the incorporators of the Vegetable Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association of the Philippines Inc. (Vieva). Alcala et al. are being investigated for violation of Sections 3(e) and 3(j) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.” Alcala and Barron also face administrative adjudication for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. In its complaint, the FIO alleged that in January-July 2014, an extraordinary and alarming spike in the prices of garlic was noted which prompted the Department of Justice to direct the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate possible profiteering, hoarding and cartel-like activities. In its January 2015, the NBI concluded that Vieva, a group of garlic traders and importers headed by Cruz monopolized the supply of garlic and dictated market prices.

Here comes the rain again. Workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways start dredging in Tañong district in Malabon City in preparation for rainy season. ANDREW RABULAN

Digong crime drive not doable, PNP says By John Paolo Bencito and Sandy Araneta INCOMING Philippine National Police director general Chief Superintendent Rolando Dela Rosa admitted the authorities may not be able to achieve President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promise of stopping criminality in three to six months.

Republic of the Philippines Department of Health FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION FDA CIRCULAR No. 2016-006

07 June 2016

TO :

ALL ESTABLISHMENTS REGULATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) AND OTHER CONCERNED STAKEHOLDERS SUBJECT: New Format of License to Operate (LTO) for Establishments Regulated by the FDA BACKGROUND Part of the continuous quality improvement activities of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an ISO certified institution is to enhance, upgrade and strengthen its processes by establishing an effective and efficient Quality Management System (QMS) in place. The FDA has streamlined its requirements for ease of doing business and improved the quality of its services in order to address the needs of its clients. With the issuance of Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 2016-0003 entitled “Guidelines on the Unified Licensing Requirements and Procedures of the Food and Drug Administration,” a new LTO format for establishments regulated by the FDA is deemed necessary. DETAILS 2.1. LICENSE TO OPERATE The LTO shall reflect the following information : 2.1.1. The first page of the new LTO format shall reflect only the following data: 2.1.1.1. Type of application 2.1.1.2. Primary activity(ies) 2.1.1.3. Name of establishment 2.1.1.4. Address of the establishment 2.1.1.5 . Name of owner 2.1.1.6. LTO number and validity 2.1.1.7. Payment details (date and amount) 2.1.2. The second page of the new LTO format shall contain the minimum data: 2.1.2.1. For drugs manufacturers, list of key personnel (e.g., quality control/quality assurance manager, production head, pharmacist (whenever applicable) and authorized person for product batch release) in accordance with the requirements of current regulations on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) ; and 2.1.2.2. Additional activity(ies) (whenever applicable). 2.1.3. The second page should be made readily available upon request by stakeholders and authorities. 2.1.4. A new LTO shall be issued incorporating any variation to the original LTO, regardless of its validity. REPEALING CLAUSE This Circular repeals any inconsistent previous issuance, including FDA Circular No. 2015-006 known as “New LTO Format for Drug Establishments Following Administrative Order No. 20130034.” EFFECTIVITY This Circular shall take effect immediately. MARIA LOURDES C. SANTIAGO, MSc., MM OIC, Director General

Standard – June 16, 2016

“In six months, it should be 100 percent. Our objective is that high,” Dela Rosa told journalists. “But I am sure we cannot achieve these goals.” Saying he will resign if he failes to fulfill Duterte’s promise, he said the PNP’s strategy will be based on closely monitoring statistical targets. “For example, in three to six months, 50 percent of the problem must be solved. After three months, we need to achieve another 60 percent,” he said. “However, we cannot achieve an outright 100 percent. If we fail, at least [we resolved] 60 percent to 70 percent,” Dela Rosa added, pledging not to fudge crime statistics just so to make it appear that the police is succeeding in the promised anti-crime drive. “I will present that to the President,” he said. “You judge if I failed or not.” But several groups have decried the police’s implementation of the so-called “Oplan Rody [Rid the streets of Drunks and Youth]” just to ingratiate themselves with Duterte.

The latest to complain was the youth group Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan which is “deeply concerned” about the ongoing police operations in several cities in Metro Manila, stressing that such is “unjust and impracticable.” The group said the police’s Oplan Rody “shows utter disregard to realities” of an evolving and booming metropolis and will “harken back to the darker days of our history.” The group said the police has failed to consider major societal changes in the country making hundreds of thousands of enrolled, working and even out-of-school youth automatic prey to the absolutist and unrealistic decrees. The young activists called for the immediate end of Oplan Rody until city councils modify their resolutions and take into consideration the realities of present-day conditions, lay down the mechanisms that will safeguard the youth from human rights abuses possibly by law enforcement units and more importantly address the societal roots of petty crime.

Still no ruling on SOCE By Vito Barcelo and Sara Fabunan THE Liberal Party and its presidential candidate Mar Roxas must be sanctioned for failure to submit their Statement of Campaign Contributions and Expenses even after the Commission on Elections announced that it would not extend the deadline last June 8. Lawyer JV Bautista of the United Nationalist Alliance also urged the Comelec to deny the LP’s request for an extension in filing their SOCE because doing so would make it appear that the LP and Roxas are above the rules that were implemented for other parties and candidates. Citing Comelec Resolution No. 9991—otherwise known as the Omni-

bus Rules and Regulations Governing Campaign Finance and Disclosure in Connection with the May 9, 2016 Elections—Bautista said LP intentionally failed to submit its SOCE on or before the June 8 deadline which is “final and non-extendible.” According to Bautista, the Comelec’s mandatory deadline was clear and well-defined but LP gave flimsy excuses and still had the audacity to be exempted from the rules. “All presidential candidates in the May 2016 Elections, other than Roxas and all other major political parties other than the Liberal Party, exerted tremendous effort and manpower to timely submit their SOCEs. Roxas and the Liberal Party should not be given any special treatment,” Bautista said.

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Solon’s boat catches fire A 15-hour fire gutted the fishing boat owned by Navotas rep. Tobias Tiangco on Monday. F/B Tobias Reynald was on a dry dock at Frabelle in Barangay North Bay Boulevard South around 4:40 p.m. Monday when it caught fire that lasted 15 hours until 7:09 a.m. Tuesday, the Bureau of Fire Protection-Navotas said. Witnesses heard an explosion prior to the incident, and firemen theorized that a tank containing chemicals inside the vessel might have exploded. Thick black smoke came out of the boat, the BFP said. A total of 19 fire trucks from neighboring cities came to the rescue, firemen said. JUN DAVID

Extra perks for rookie cops A LAWMAKEr said on Wednesday that the country’s policemen shall be given allowances instead of raising to P50,000 the rookie cops’ monthly pay as the government has begun carrying out a four-year salary increase for government officials. reelected Camarines Sur rep. rolando Andaya Jr. said that would be in keeping with the executive order signed by President Benigno Aquino iii after congressmen suffered a deadlock on the Salary Standardization Law of 2015. Andaya said one option was to increase the cops’ and soldiers’ take home pay in the form of allowances. MARICEl CRUz

NBI lawyer suspended A LEgAL officer of the National Bureau of investigation was suspended from practice of law for three months for immorality arising from an extra-marital affair. The Supreme Court found lawyer Leonardo Advincula guilty of immorality and imposed on him a three month suspension with stern warning of a severe penalty against him should he commit the same or similar offense The high tribunal also required the NBi’s personnel division to enforce the suspension order and to report on his compliance with the directive. The SC noted that the extramarital affair was carried on by respondent before he became a lawyer. The integrated Bar of the Philippines Committee on Bar Discipline recommended a penalty of one month suspension from the practice of law which the iBP Board of governors increased to two months.The SC agreed with the finding of the iBP Board of governors, but it increased the penalty to three months. REY REqUEJo

Headturners. At least 33 candidates vying for the Miss Manila 2016 crown are presented to the media on Wednesday, June 15 at the Manila Diamond Hotel. Coronation night will be on June 24, 2016 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. DANNY PATA

Health workers upbeat on incoming DoH chief By Macon Araneta Rising from the ranks, the incoming Health secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial, described as a “humble worker” by her colleagues at the Department of Health and the medical community, could ensure transparency under her watch. As chair of the department’s integrity Management Committee, ubial adheres to truth, honesty and accountability in the discharge of functions of Doh officials and employees, one of her colleagues said. Prior to her appointment to the Doh portfolio, ubial is Assistant Secretary, a position she held since 2008. She literally rose from the ranks, starting as rural health Practice Volunteer. She has 26 years in public health with

expertise in maternal, neonatal and child health programs. ubial, the second native of North Cotabato appointed to the official Family of the incoming Duterte administration, also served as regional Director, Center for health Development, Davao region, Davao City and Zamboanga Peninsula, Zamboanga City. Among the significant positions she held were the red orchid Awards or the Search for 100 percent Tobacco-Free envi-

ronment for Local government the Department of Finance’s plan units, government organizations to impose tax on soda and junk and government hospitals and foods. But he assured that his head of the Task Force for Per- group is “willing to support her formance governance System in her Doh leadership.” and Social Dialogue. Leachon, one of the country’s Dr. Anthony Leachon, presi- top internist-cardiologist, said he dent of the Philippine College is excited with ubial’s appointment of Physicians Foundation inc., since she shares Duterte’s advocacy said ubial’s appointment would on smoking and liquor ban. “uplift the Doh’s bureaucracy, Duterte had announced he being an insider.” “i hope her would impose ban on smoking vast experience in community and liquor nationwide. health as a career officer will Leachon added he wanted to bring Doh to greater heights, know the incoming Doh secretary’s particularly in pushing for the stand on taxes on soda and junk food primary care system,” he said. to curb obesity and diabetes. “in my meetings with her, i have “it would be good to discuss the impression that she is also a with President rody’s Secretary visionary who can steer the Doh of health primary care to address to extraordinary levels,” Leachon health inequities in human readded. While ubial’s task is sources, Philhealth financing and “daunting” given Duterte’s man- infrastructures,” said Leachon,” a date on smoking, liquor ban and Philhealth independent director.

Group not buying Cemap’s cement smuggling charges

Customs’ CARES. Customs Commissioner Albert Lina on

Wednesday launches the Customer Assistance and Response Service that aims to track the location of merchandise and packages particularly Balikbayan boxes. DANNY PATA

AN ANTi-grAFT group questions the integrity of the alleged rising technical smuggling in the cement industry as declared by Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines president Ernesto ordoñez. 4K secretary-general rodel Pineda disagrees with the figures of ordoñez wherein an estimated 75 percent of the 161,000 metric tons (MT) of imported cement that entered the country in the first quarter alone were technically smuggled. 4K stands for Kilusan Kontra Kabulukan at Katiwalian, which is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Something fishy is going on. if this is the case, how come that the price of the local cement in the

Philippines is much higher than the alleged imported cement from Vietnam? is it because most of the local cement manufacturer and limestone mining in the Philippines are owned by Swiss, French, Japanese and Mexican nationals?” Pineda said. “if there is one thing that’s really transpiring here is the continued operation of the cartel in the cement industry. if Cemap is truly being nationalistic about buying Filipino first, the local cement should be cheaper than the imported ones from Vietnam.” Pineda cited that the cement acquired from Vietnam has a PS Mark from the Department of Trade and industry even before it was released for public consumption.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE POWER PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT (PPSA), AS AMENDED, BETWEENPENINSULA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. AND GNPOWER LTD. CO., WITH MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION AND ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

ERC Case No.:2016-036 RC

PENINSULA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (PENELCO) AND GNPOWER LTD. CO. (GNPOWER) Applicants. x----------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 04 April 2016, the Peninsula Electric Cooperative Inc. (PENELCO) and GNPower Ltd. Co. (GNPower) filed an Application for approval of the power purchase and sale agreement (PPSA), as amended, with motion for confidential treatment of information and the issuance of provisional authority. In the said Application, PENELCO and GNPOWER alleged the following: 1. Applicant PENELCOis anon-stock, non-profit electric cooperative duly organized and existing under Philippine laws, with principal office at Roman Super Highway,Tuyo,Balanga City, Bataan. It is duly authorized to distribute electricity in Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Balanga City, Pilar, Orion, Limay, Mariveles, Bagac, andMorong, all in the province of Bataan (collectively, the “Franchise Area”). A copy of its Certificate of Franchise is herein attached and forms an integral part hereof as Annex “A”; 2. Meanwhile, Applicant GNPOWER is a duly registered limited partnership organized and existing under Philippinelaws, and is engaged in the business of developing, constructing, operating and owning power generation facilities. Its principal office is at the 28th Floor, The Orient Square Building, Don FranciscoOrtigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Copies of its Certificate of Registration issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Amended Articles of Partnership are herewith attached and madeintegral parts hereof as Annexes “B” and “B-1”, respectively; 3. Applicants may be served with orders, notices and other legal processes of this Honorable Commission through the respective addresses of the undersigned counsels; 4. By and pursuant toSections 25, 43 (u) and 45 (b) of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA),and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, this Application is submitted to this Honorable Commission for its due consideration and approval of the Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, executed by and between Applicants PENELCO and GNPOWER; I. STATEMENT OF FACTS 5. Based on its supply-demand forecast, PENELCO’s peak demand in 2015 is 77 MW, with an annual average growth rate of 5%. Therefore, its peak demand is expected to increase to 103 MW in 2020, and 122MW by the year 2024; 6. In view of the increasing demand in its franchise area, PENELCO solicited proposals from potential suppliers for its future power requirements; 7. Two (2) potential suppliers were considered in the selection process to be evaluated under a least cost approach and on terms most advantageous to PENELCO; 8. After careful evaluation of the offer and proposal of GNPOWER which was also anchored on the results of the bidding that was conducted by the Central Luzon Electric Cooperatives Association First Luzon Aggregation (CLECAFLAG) where GNPower was awarded as the winning proponent , the contract for a portion of the supply of PENELCO’s power requirements was given to GNPOWER, as approved by PENELCO’s board of directors; 9. Consequently, on 04 May 2015,PENELCO executed with GNPOWER the subject PPSA, a copy of which is herewith attached and forms an integral part hereof as Annex “C”. The PPSA was later amended to enhance its beneficial terms and conditions, particularly, towards providing competitively-priced power to PENELCO’s consumers. A copy of the amendatory agreement to the PPSA is herewith attached and made integral part hereof as Annex “C-1”. The PPSA, whenever referred to hereunder, shall mean the PPSA as amended; 10. The PPSA, as amended, provides for GNPOWER’s supply of PENELCO’s future power requirements equivalent to 25MW commencing in2020, with the option to start delivery earlier than the target commercial operations,on an interim basis; 11. GNPOWER will deliver environmentally clean electric power from two (2) by 660MW-net clean pulverized coal-fired electric power generation facility (hereinafter, the “Generation Facility”),which it will build, own and operate in BarangayAlasasin, Municipality of Mariveles, Province of Bataan (the “Project”). II. ABSTRACT OF THE PPSA, AS AMENDED, AND OTHER RELATED INFORMATION 12. The following are the salient features of the PPSA, 1 as amended: a. TERM. The PPSA, as amended, shall be in force for a period of one hundred and eighty (180) months from the date to be specified in the Commencement Date Notice; b. SOURCE OF SUPPLY. GNPOWER shall make available, sell, and deliver or cause to be delivered to PENELCO the Product at the Delivery Point, whether sourced from GNPOWER’s facility or from other electricity generators, including the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). GNPOWER’s facility shall be constructed and operated in Mariveles, Bataan. c. CONTRACTED CAPACITY. 2 PENELCO is contractually entitled to receive from GNPOWER, at any hour, subject to GNPOWER’s Available Capacity for such hour, the Contracted Capacity, as follows: Contracted Year Capacity (kW) 1 25,000

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 55,000 60,000 65,000 70,000 75,000 80,000 85,000 90,000 95,000

The Minimum Quantity is a function of the Contracted Capacity and the Minimum Capacity Factor, taking into account GNPOWER’s availability for a year multiplied by 8760 hours (which is the number of hours in a year). c.1. Option to Increase Contracted Capacity. Section 2.7 of the PPSA, as amended, provides that upon written notice to GNPOWER, PENELCO may, upon approval by GNPOWER, increase its Contracted Capacity which increase shall be subjected to the same terms and conditions contained in the PPSA, as amended. In considering whether or not to approve the request for increase in Contracted Capacity, GNPOWER may take into consideration the capacity available for such increase from its facility in its sole opinion, and/or the willingness of any other buyer to assign its Contracted Capacity. Such increase in Contracted Capacity shall be effective on the date GNPOWER gives its written approval. d. CONTRACT PRICE.The Contracted Capacity shall be paid the Contract Price, which is comprised of the Capacity Fee and Energy Fee, denominated in US Dollars, but may be paid in Philippine Peso (PhP). The calculation of the Contract Price for a particular Billing Period will be: Contract Price = Capacity Fee + Energy Fee d.1 The Capacity Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the cost, as well as, the operations and maintenance of the power plant and is designated as the Capacity Fee in Schedule 1(as amended), as such may be adjusted from time to time based on GNPOWER’s Capacity Factor. The corresponding Capacity Fee for a given Capacity Utilization Factor is set forth in the table below: Capacity Utilization Factor (%) Capacity Fee ($/kWh) 100% 0.0466 99% 0.0470 98% 0.0474 97% 0.0477 96% 0.0481 95% 0.0485 94% 0.0489 93% 0.0493 92% 0.0497 91% 0.0502 90% 0.0506 89% 0.0510 88% 0.0515 87% 0.0519 86% 0.0524 85% 0.0529 84% 0.0534 83% 0.0539 82% 0.0544 81% 0.0549 80% 0.0555 79% 0.0561 78% 0.0567 77% 0.0573 76% 0.0579 75% 0.0585 74% 0.0592 73% 0.0599 72% 0.0606 71% 0.0613 70% 0.0621 69% 0.0629 68% 0.0637 67% 0.0645 66% 0.0653 65% 0.0662 In case the Capacity Utilization Factor is not a whole number, the Capacity Fee shall be computed using the formula below. Capacity Fee = -0.10773 X (CUF)3 + 0.33975 X (CUF)2 -0.3932 x (CUF) + 0.2078 Where: Capacity Fee = is the Capacity Fee in $/kWh CUF = is the Capacity Utilization Factor between 65% and 100%, provided that if the actual CUF is below 65% (the “Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor”), the Capacity Price shall be calculated based on the Capacity Fee and quantity associated with the Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor. The Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) shall be computed as follows: Capacity Utilization= Q Factor (CUF) CCx(HT-EHTO) Where: Q

Quantity of kWh

Contracted Capacity, in kW, as set forth in Schedule 1 Total number of hours in such Billing Period

EHTO

= the sum of the duration, in Equivalent Hours, of Scheduled Outages and Unscheduled Outages in such Billing Period

d.2 The Energy Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the coal, including Government Charges, designated as the Energy Fee in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as amended, as adjusted from time to time due to changes in the delivered price of the coal. The Energy Fee shall be computed in accordance with the following formula: Energy Fee = Initial Energy Fee x CIF Cost of Fuel for Billing Period Base CIF Cost of Fuel Where: Initial Energy Fee = $0.0370/kWh Base CIF Cost of Fuel = $11.5573/million kcal e.

PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT (PPD). Section 4.3 (c) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if PENELCO pays the invoice amount in full within ten (10) days of receipt from GNPOWER, PENELCO shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to $0.0012/kWh multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for

the Billing Period for which the credit was earned; CAPACITY UTILIZATION DISCOUNT. Section 4.3 (d) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if PENELCO pays the invoice amount in full in accordance with GNPOWER’s invoice instructions on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of the succeeding calendar month from the relevant Billing Period and PENELCO’s CUF is greater than or equal to 65%, aside from the PPD, PENELCO shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to 2.8% of the Energy Fee multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned; g. SCHEDULED OUTAGES AND UNSCHEDULED OUTAGES3. Pursuant to Section 2.2, GNPOWER is allowed Scheduled Outage not to exceed five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year, during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to PENELCO. Likewise, GNPOWER is allowed Unscheduled Outage of five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to the Buyer; III. ADVANTAGES OF GNPOWER’S SUPPLY OF POWER AND IMPACT ON PENELCO’S OVERALL RATES 13. Currently, PENELCO receivesa total of 68 MW from its existing suppliers, out of its peak requirement of 77MW. With an annual average growth of 5%, PENELCO forecasts that by 2020, its peak demand has increased to 103 MW. Copies of PENELCO’s Demand-Supply Scenario from 2015 to 2024 and Historical and Forecasted Data for years 2010 to 2024 are herewith attached and form integral parts hereof as Annex “D”; 14. The additional supply from GNPOWER will, therefore, help alleviate and sustain the future power supply needs ofthe Luzon and Visayas Grids including the franchise area of PENELCO to prevent anylikelihood of brownouts and power shortages; 15. Among alternative suppliers capable of providing additional energy to PENELCO, GNPOWER’s rates proved to be more reasonable and competitive. While GNPOWER’s offer to PENELCO is primarily intended for its baseload requirements, the Capacity Factor Pricing under the PPSA, as amended,provides flexibility to PENELCO in its utilization of the Contracted Capacity; f.

16. PENELCO simulated a rate impact analysis which ultimately resulted in a reduction of PhP0.2101per kWh with the execution of the PPSA with GNPOWER, as amended, to wit: Simulation of Generation Mix Rate with GNPower (Dinginin) for the Year 2019 Power Supplier

Contracted Capacity, MW

Forecasted Quantity (kWh)

Amount (Php)

Percent Share

Resulting Capacity Factor

GRNet Php/ kWh

GMCP

32,364,000.00

153,211,176.00

44.36%

75%

4.2279

SCPC GNPower (Dinginin)

14,880,000.00

69,979,875.63

20.39%

100%

4.1990

18,600,000.00

68,254,131.89

25.49%

100%

3.2775

WESM

7,120,080.00

52,054,904.88

9.76%

TOTAL

72,964,080.00

343,500,088.40

100.00%

Weighted Average Rate, Php/kWh (VATex)

4.2397

6.8915

Simulation of Generation Mix Rate without GNPower (Dinginin) for the Year 2019 Contracted Capacity, MW

Forecasted Quantity (kWh)

Amount (Php)

Percent Share

Resulting Capacity Factor

NET

GMCP

43,152,000.00

178,353,321.35

59.14%

100%

3.6913

SCPC GNPower (Dinginin)

14,880,000.00

69,979,664.87

20.39%

100%

4.1991

0.00%

0.0000

WESM

14,932,080.00

109,168,266.28

20.46%

TOTAL

72,964,080.00

357,501,252.50

100.00%

Power Supplier

GENERATION RATE IMPACT Notes and Assumptions:

Weighted Average Rate, Php/kWh (VATex)

4.4498

6.8915 -0.2101

1. June 2015 data are used as reference in this simulation with load factor = 76% & Max D = 77MW 2. 2019 as the test year with (conservative) projected demand at 98MW 3. The figures are blended rates, net of Discounts 17. A copy of PENELCOs’ Rate Impact Analysisis attached herewith as Annex “E”and formsan integral part hereof; 18. Additionally, to support thisApplication, particularly the proposed rate structure, Applicants attach the following documents to form integral parts hereof, to wit: ANNEX “F” “F-1” “G” “H” “I” “J” “J-1” “K” “L” “M” “N” “N-1” “O” “O-1” “P”

DOCUMENT Details of the PPSA, as amended Discussion of Rate Calculation and Sample Computation GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity IRR Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and Projected Fuel Costs Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow Details of Fuel Procurement Sworn Statement – Coal Procurement Process GNPOWER’s 2014 Audited Financial Statement GNPOWER’s Power Project Description GNPOWER’s Transmission Plan for the Dinginin Project Certificate of Endorsement from DOE that the Project is included in the DOE’s Power Development Plan Environmental Compliance Certificate from DENR PENELCO’s Average and Maximum Demand Charts for 2014 and 2015 PENELCO’s Distribution Development Plan GNPOWER’s General Partners’ Certificate on, among others, the authority to execute, ratify, accede, perform and deliver the PPSA with PENELCO, and the designation of duly authorized representatives for said purpose

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Group aims to save PH eagle Breeding program ensures survival of near-extinct bird SURPRISINGLY loud chirps accompany a clumsy flurry of tiny wings as a wispy-haired chick breaks through its shell, its birth offering rare cause for celebration in the struggle to save the Philippine eagle from extinction. Tropical rainforest destruction and relentless hunting have decimated the population of the majestic bird—one of the world’s biggest and most powerful—with just hundreds believed to be left in the wild. A small band of conservationists at a tiny sanctuary on the fringes of Davao, the southern Philippines’ biggest city, is trying to ensure their survival by running the world’s only breeding program for the eagles and by rehabilitating the wounded. “The center serves basically as insurance, or a Noah’s Ark so to speak, for the species,” Philippine Eagle Foundation executive director Dennis Salvador told AFP on a recent visit. “But it certainly doesn’t substitute for a population in the wild.” The foundation estimates there are about 800 of the Philippines’ national bird remaining in the wild, though it is impossible to count accurately due to their remote habitats. International conservation groups say there could be as few as 250 left. In more than three decades of trial-and-error experiments by the foundation that have yet to fully understand the eagles’ breeding habits, just 27 have been born in captivity. The eagles are notoriously hard to pair, with the larger female known to attack and even kill an unwanted suitor in the wild. Once they do find a suitable partner, it is generally for life, although even in the forests the couples will generally only reproduce every two years. “It’s difficult because we don’t really know what happens in the wild, and we can’t replicate that here in captivity,” said Anna Mae Sumaya, the foundation’s curator. ‘Exciting, fantastic’ However, after failing to breed any eagles for nearly three years, recent successes have raised hopes. Go Phoenix, which was brought into the center after being ensnared in a hunter’s trap, and MVP, a shooting victim, were successfully paired in 2013 and have produced two chicks in quick succession, the latest in February. The exceptionally rare

moments in nature were filmed from behind glass enclosures, the footage showing chick number 27 breaking out of its shell with a burst of energy and chirping before resting its head on pebbles in a small metal dish. “It was exciting, a fantastic feeling, we were very lucky,” Sumaya said, adding she hoped Go Phoenix and MVP could produce again next seaANNEX

“Q”

son while two other pairs were also a chance to breed. However, a growing problem is space: 35 eagles live in cages of various sizes in the center, which covers just eight hectares (20 acres) of forest. The center’s ultimate goal is to release the eagles back into the wild, but this has proved even more of a challenge than breeding them.

One of the biggest problems has been the eagles becoming too accustomed to human contact at the center. When released, they have been shot after getting too close to communities that are in or near the diminishing forests. Formerly known as the monkey-eating eagle, the birds are protected by law. Killing one is punishable by a maximum 12-year prison term and a one-

DOCUMENT PENELCO’s Secretary’s Certificate/Board Resolution authorizing the approval and signing of the PPSA, including supplements and annexes, with GNPOWER; the designation of its President and/or General Manager to sign and execute these documents; and the submission of the PPSA for ERC’s approval

19. Applicants PENELCO and GNPOWER reserve their right to submit other documents, either in the course of the hearing or as may be required by this Honorable Commission; COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS 20. Applicants manifest compliance with the pre-filing requirements mandated under Rule 3, Section 4(e) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the EPIRA and Rule 6 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, to be established by the following: a. Certifications acknowledging receipt of thisApplication with annexes to be issued by the Legislative Bodies of theProvince of Bataan, and the Cities of Balanga and Pasig where Applicants principally operate, to be appended as Annexes “R”, “S” and “T”, respectively; b. Notarized Affidavit of Publication stating that thisApplication was published in a newspaper of general circulation within Applicants’ Franchise Areasand/or area of principal operation, to be appended herein as Annex “U”; and c. Complete newspaper issue where thisApplication was published, to be appended as Annex “U-1”, and the relevant page thereof where the Application appears, as Annex “U-2”. MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF ANNEXES “G”, “H”, “I”, and “J” 21. Under Rule 4 of theERC Rules of Practiceand Procedure, a party to any proceeding before the Honorable Commission may request that certain information not be disclosed and be treated as confidential, by describing with particularity the information to be treated as confidential, specifying the ground for the claim of confidential treatment of the information and, if applicable, specifying the period during which the information must not be disclosed; 22. Applicant GNPOWER most respectfully moves for the confidential treatment of Annexes “G”4, “H”5, “I”6, and “J”7 hereof.These annexes, exclusively owned by Applicant GNPOWER, contain documents which are considered part of its business and trade secrets. As such, GNPOWER has the sole proprietary interest and will be unduly prejudiced should they be disclosed to the public; 23. These annexes contain numbers, data, formula, methodology, and calculations involving valuable and sensitive commercial, financial and technological information reflecting GNPOWER’s business operations and financial trade secrets. Therefore, the disclosure of GNPOWER’s confidential, proprietary, and private information included in the aforesaid annexes should be protected from public dissemination. Otherwise, such information can be illegally and unfairly utilized by business competitors who may use the same for their own private gain and to the irreparable prejudice of GNPOWER.Negotiations with prospective customers may also be affected; 24. The information contained in Annexes “G”, “H”, “I”, and “J”, constitute “trade secrets”, for which GNPOWER has actual and valuable proprietary interest. As explained by the Supreme Court, a trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that is used in one’s business and gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not possess the information8. It is indubitable that trade secrets constitute proprietary rights and jurisprudence has consistently acknowledged the private character of trade secrets9. Further, as ruled in Garcia vs. Board of Investments10, trade secrets and confidential, commercial and financial information are exempt from public scrutiny; 25. It is respectfully submitted that the aforementioned Annexes must be accorded confidential treatment. As such, they are to be used exclusivelyby the Honorable Commission and for the sole purpose of evaluating this Application,thereby protecting these data from unnecessary public disclosure; 26. In accordance with Section 1(b), Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Applicant GNPOWER hereby submits one (1) copy each of Annexes “G”, “H”, “I”, and “J”, in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the documents stamped with the word “Confidential”. MOTION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY 27. All the foregoing allegations are re-pleaded by reference in support of thisPrayer for provisional authority. 28. The basis by which Applicants PENELCO and GNPOWER pray for the issuance of a Provisional Authority or interim relief prior to final decision is Rule 14 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure: “Section 3. Action on the Motion. – Motions for provisional authority or interim relief may be acted upon with or without hearing. The Commission shall act on the motion on the basis of the allegations of the application or petition and supporting documents and other evidences that applicant or petitioner has submitted and the comments or opposition filed by any interested person, if there be any.” [Emphasis Supplied] 24. Worthy of note is that based on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 20152030 Luzon and Visayas Grids Supply-Demand Outlook, Luzon’s peak demand in 2015 is 8,974MW with an Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) of 4.25% while Visayas’ Peak Demand is 1,847MW with AAGR of 3.4%. Therefore, Luzon’s peak demand is expected to increase to 10,884MW in 2020, and to 16,165MW by the year 2030 and for Visayas, 2,042MW in 2020 and 3,025MW in 2030. This electricity demand growth has led to DOE’s call for planning and investments in the power sector;

31. Contributing to the Luzon’s Grid’s demand growth is PENELCO’speak load demand increases at a rate of 22.21% per year. By 2020, it is projected that PENELCO’s existing power suppliers will not be able to meet the power needs of

Matatag was shot in February. He had survived about a year after being released into the forests on Mt. Apo, the Philippines’ highest mountain. Matatag had initially been brought to the center after being shot when he was just one year old, then spent three years in rehabilitation before his ill-fated release. AFP

its member-consumers, which is expected toincrease to103 MW; 32. Thus, the PPSA with GNPOWER, as amended, is crucial for PENELCO to guarantee that its forward power needs are satisfied, without compromising the reasonableness of the generation rate to be passed on to its member-consumers; 33. While actual delivery of power under the terms and conditions of the PPSA, as amended, is expected to commence only in 2020, Applicantsshall nonetheless begin its compliance with all financial and regulatory requirements and processes leading up to the timely installation of the Generation Facility; 34. It is worthy to note that part of the funds needed to construct GNPOWER’s facility will be sourced from loans coming from banks/financial institutions. The Honorable Commission’s provisional approval of the instant Application is a vital requirement for the release of the loan proceeds. Hence, a timely financial close ensures stable source of funds and timely construction of the generation facility, and the implementation of the PPSA, as amended, as contemplated by the Applicants; 35. With continuous financing, the timely implementation of the project shall be assured, to the full benefit of PENELCO. Otherwise, any delay in the implementation of the project shall expose PENELCO to supply risk and unstable market prices in the future; 36. To emphasize the necessity of the provisional approval of this Application, a Judicial Affidavit to support the prayer for provisional authority will be attached herewith to form an integral part hereof as Annex “V”; 37. In view thereof and in recognition of the fact that a substantial amount of time is customarily needed to evaluate the documents submitted to support the approval of thisApplication, Applicants PENELCO and GNPOWER respectfully seek the kind consideration of the Honorable Commission to approve the instant Application immediately, albeit, provisionally; PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Commission that (i) all information set forth in Annexes “G”, “H”, “I”, and “J” to the instant Application be treated as confidential; (ii) pending hearing on the merits, a Provisional Authority be DULY ISSUED authorizing the immediate implementation of the subject Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, including the rate structure therein, as applied; (iii) that after due notice and hearing, the instant Application, the PPSA, as amended, and the rate structure contained therein be DULY APPROVED. Further, in the event that the Final Authority shall be issued after GNPOWER starts the actual delivery of power to PENELCO under the terms of the subject PPSA, as amended, said Final Authority shall beretroactivelyapplied to the date of such actual delivery. Other reliefs as may be just and equitable under the premises are, likewise, most respectfully prayed for. The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, Expository Presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 13 July 2016 (Wednesday) at ten o’clock in the morning(10:00 A.M.) at the PENELCO’s Principal Office, RomanSuperhighway, Tuyo, Balanga City, Bataan. All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, ·and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired. All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular formof opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon. · All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the applicant that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The applicant is herebydirected to furnish all those making such requestwithcopies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during standard office hours. · WITNESS, the HonorableChairman JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Commissioners ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAPTARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA,, EnergyRegulatory Commission, this18th day of May 2016 at Pasig City.

ATTY. TY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office fice of the Chairman and CEO

30. The continuous addition of supply shall help keep stable power supply for the increasing demand and low and stable cost of available power at the WESM and for the end-user;

million peso ($21,000) fine, but shooters are rarely caught. Out of 15 eagles from the center that have been released, only one is known to still be alive in the wild, according to Sumaya. She said four had been brought back to the center after sustaining injuries while the others were confirmed or presumed dead. ‘Devastated’ In the most recent failure,

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning as defined in the PPSA. See Annex “C-1”. See Annex “C-1”. GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity IRR Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and Projected Fuel Costs Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow Details of Fuel Procurement Air Philippines Corporation vs. Pennswell Inc., G.R. No. 172835, December 13, 2007. Ibid., 177 SCRA 374 (1989). ( T S - J U N E 16 , 2 016)

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA

EMERGENCY POWERS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

A PATTERN OF EXAGGERATION OUR next president is a man who likes making bold, dramatic statements on what he intends to do once he assumes office two weeks from today. This was what likely caused his rise from being a local executive to being the winner of last month’s election with more than 16 million votes. Filipinos, after all, were hungry for real change—not the kind that was hollow, superficial, and hypocritical sported by the Aquino administration and its so-called straight path. Indeed, the tough talk of Rodrigo Duterte is a stark—and refreshing—contrast to the self-righteous but lethargic leadership, if it could be called that, of Benigno Aquino III. To be sure, Mr. Duterte’s statements do not often inspire zeal or optimism. Most times, they occasion indignation and anxiety: How, we ask, can we make this man be more presidential, respect women, and speak well for the country in front of the international community? These, however, pale in comparison to the bombastic promises that the President-elect has made about the reforms he wants to introduce. Perhaps the most compelling was his vow to end criminality and drugs between three and six months. This resonated well with the public that has for far too long felt insecure of their person and their property given the dismal record of law enforcers to actually enforce the law—if they themselves did not break them in the first place. Many of us have also seen, vicariously or otherwise, the tragic consequences of a life under drugs. But now we hear that the next chief of the Philippine National Police, Rolando dela Rosa, said six months is just not doable. “In six months, it should be 100 percent. Our objective is that high... But I am sure we cannot achieve these goals,” Dela Rosa said in a news conference. The incoming PNP chief had earlier said he would resign if he could not make good on Duterte’s promise to the nation. Now he says they would work towards that goal by periodically setting targets. We did not think the feat would be doable within that period, too. Then again, we weren’t campaigning for president or projecting a near-superhero image. That Dela Rosa is now candid and a little more realistic is good. This, however, illustrates Mr. Duterte’s pattern of making sweeping statements that leave his subordinates explaining, clarifying or qualifying his words. Yes, we need a president who is decisive and who acts fast. We need somebody who can correct the systemic ills we have endured for a long time. But we also need a president who talks simply and sensibly, who means exactly what he says, and who does not need to be deciphered like a code or brought back down to earth.

MORE CONFLICT LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES IT LOOKS like someone pulled a fast one on the incoming Duterte administration once again. Unless the plan is that the coming change will be in the form of conglomerates favored by the past administration actually regulating the sector of government that they merely secured sweetheart

deals from in the past. Sammy Malunes, of the left-leaning rail advocacy group Riles Network, has sounded the alarm about the appointment of Noel Kintanar, a longtime Ayala Group executive, as undersecretary for transportation. “We’re still trying to confirm if Kintanar was truly designated undersecretary for railways, because then we’d really be in trouble,” Malunes told me. Malunes said Kintanar, as part of the Ayala-Pangilinan

consortium that took over the Light Rail Transit Line 1, helped draft that “onerous and one-sided” contract signed last year with the Department of Transportation and Communications. In particular, Malunes said it was Kintanar who came up with the concept that the government would have to put up money for the private Light Rail Manila Corp. to take LRT-1 out of its hands. Kintanar’s brainchild, Malunes said, was to consider all of the assets of the gov-

The creator of one of the sweetest sweetheart deals of the Aquino administration is rewarded.

ernment in LRT 1 as “sunk costs” and no longer of any value. This allowed LRMC’s partner, the government, to actually give money to the firm for the privilege of letting the private firm take over all of the line—including the extension of LRT-1 from Baclaran to Bacoor, Cavite. Readers will remember that this extension project became famous after President Noynoy Aquino declared while campaigning for the 2013 elections that he would have himself and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya run

over by a train if the LRT-1 did not reach Bacoor in two years, or by 2015. As of now, not one single concrete pylon has been put up to extend the railway line built by Imelda Marcos 35 years ago—and Aquino’s spokesmen have since explained that Aquino’s vow was just an elaborate joke that no one really understood. The joke in the LRMC-DOTC deal is apparently on all of us. And only Abaya and his private-sector

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partners are laughing. *** Malunes asked why the DOTC allowed LRMC to declare all the assets of LRT-1 of no value “when immediately after the private company took over, it has been collecting the P9 million in cash daily that the line produced in fares?” Then he explains why. Malunes said that the DOTC allowed LRMC to declare LRT-1, with its entire fleet of coaches,

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railway, stations and fares of no value to get around the law which states that both the government and the private entities that enter into Public-Private Partnership deals would equally share the cost of the contracts they enter into. Accordingly, LRMC plunked down P800 million in cash to secure LRT-1, money that was put in an escrow account, as the law dictates.

Continued on A11

MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Arnold C. Liong Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Ron Ryan S. Buguis

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Finance Officer

Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Maan Ilustre Advertising and Marketing Head Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

IF PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte would be given emergency powers by Congress to solve the traffic gridlock in Metro Manila, it will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world. It is also not necessary because there are enough government powers to implement the needed measures to lessen traffic gridlock. All that is needed is political will. The pronouncement of the incoming secretary Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways that traffic will improve in two to three years was also too optimistic. This is because there are no new road projects except the skyway extension that will connect SLEX and NLEX. At the rate road projects are implemented by the government, it will take years to even start one. And by the time a road is completed, there will be a need to start a new one. We have to remember that the rate of car sales will be 500,000 vehicles or more in three years. If emergency powers mean that President Duterte can build new roads immediately, then the three or four major road projects should be going on in Metro Manila simultaneously, just to keep up with the back log to include a revolutionary change of the driving culture in this country. These do not include the need to rationalize the operation of the public transport sector and a plan to be implemented if and when President Duterte does get emergency powers. We also have to bear in mind that whatever we do, we will not be able to solve the traffic problems the way we want it. What we can only do is to institute measures to improve travel time and driving conditions to a more tolerable level. Achieving these, however, is difficult because of some built-in constraints in the system. For example, government agencies that have something to do with road transportation and traffic sometimes contribute to the problem instead of solving them. Those engaged in providing public transport at times also become the obstacle to reform. Every time the government wants to institute changes like prohibiting very old vehicles on the road, this becomes very political and a test of will.

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 H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA

EMERGENCY POWERS

[ EDI TORI A L ]

The creator of one of the sweetest sweetheart deals of the Aquino administration is rewarded.

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Continued on A11

MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Arnold C. Liong Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Ron Ryan S. Buguis

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Finance Officer

Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Maan Ilustre Advertising and Marketing Head Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

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 H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

TWO weeks from now, President BS Aquino will be history. Many can hardly wait for him to go. He put the country in virtual paralysis because of his incompetence in providing even the most basic services to the people. In my over 66 years as a journalist, I have never seen a president so inept, so vengeful and so lacking in compassion for the poor and the needy. So abusive of public funds, too, if I may add. BS Aquino claimed in a television interview that his legacy is transforming the country from the sick man of Asia to the darling of Asia. I think this is meaningless. Poverty and unemployment continue to rise. In another television interview, BS Aquino claimed he was “an agent of change.” I say he simply maintained the status quo with his hypocritical “Daang Matuwid” mantra. My gulay, I almost fell out of my chair when I heard him say this with a straight face. We all know the people repudiated his candidate precisely because the May 9 polls was a referendum of his six-year reign. I have been asking myself: What legacy? The only things people can remember him for are his many mistakes, shortcomings and lies. That botched rescue operation during the August 2010 hostage crisis. The Disbursement Acceleration Program which he used to bribe Congress into doing what he wanted it to do. The Mamasapano massacre of police commandos. And now, incoming Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano tells us that BS Aquino and Budget Secretary

Butch Abad misused no less than P471 million of public funds, through the DAP, to pay for parcels of land at the CojuangcoAquino owned Hacienda Luisita. Mariano said there is documentary evidence regarding the misuse of the DAP funds. The DAP had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Santa Banana, this is criminal and if only for this, Aquino and Abad could land in jail. I think he will be remembered for being the worst president this country ever had. *** There are those who think that incoming President Duterte should be given emergency powers to cope with the traffic crisis in Metro Manila and to address the Abu Sayyaf problem.

The telco transaction should redound to the benefit of the people.

I don’t know what these emergency powers consist of, but to be given to Du30, who is perceived by many as having dictatorial tendencies, it could lead to abuse. No doubt about it, Metro Manila’s traffic problem is a crisis. One has to negotiate Makati to Quezon City in more than two hours going and coming back. And there seems to be no solution, even after after Highway Patrol Group was assigned to maintain the traffic situation. Certainly not with more motor ve-

LEAVING A LEGACY TAKING off from my article last week, it seems that Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug platform took on a life of its own as law enforcement agencies— whether through fear for job security, or true-blue support from reawakened morale—intensified efforts in going after drug dealers and their ilk a month ahead of the inauguration of the incoming administration. Such mobilization makes you think: What has the outgoing administration done against the proliferation of illegal drugs (seriously, what have they done?). Although it is true that the outgoing administration rode on an anti-corruption platform, its path has leaned in favor of their allies while eliminating all those who oppose them. A crusade against drugs, on the other hand, draws clearer battle lines. Corruption is a serious problem for this country, and so are drugs, criminality, and poverty. While their efforts could be commendable to some extent, the BS Aquino administration was not able to touch the lives of the common Filipino. The same can be said about their claim of economic gains—especially since they have been sitting on the shoulders of the previous administration’s economic policies. Presidents, especially the one going out in a few weeks, have bragged about their contribution to robust GDPs and other economic acronyms they can cook up. While these are hicles being sold every year, and certainly not with the kind of infrastructure we have. The crisis could only get worse every year, making Metro Manila one big parking lot. So, what can be done? If the incoming President and the incoming secretary of transportation would only think out of the box, and use their imagination in consulting with experts, the traffic crisis can be solved. With regard to the Abu Sayyaf problem, no emergency power of any kind can resolve it. Terrorism is a problem worldwide. It is both a police and military problem that can only be minimized since the Abus are a group of bandits specializing in kidnap for ransom. It can only be resolved by more military action in a zone controlled by the

MINORITY REPORT DANILO SUAREZ well and good, these economic numbers are hardly felt by the masses. Malayo pa rin sa bituka. Thus, one of the reasons why the administration bet lost is because they cannot connect to the common Filipino, in both policy and personal levels. This is in stark contrast with Digong’s... well, his everything. His personality and policy click with the common Filipino. They click so much that they have each taken a life of their own. Once in a while, I hear one of my constituents tell stories, sometimes of themselves, of people doing the right thing based merely on the fact that “si Digong na president natin.” These stories were of discipline, observance of laws and rules, and patriotic camaraderie. We need more of those stories. The Duterte administration has the opportunity to become the best President this country ever had. He should take advantage and make good out of the overwhelming mandate given to him last May. Digong can rally Filipinos to his side because he does not promise the biggest of things, at least not yet. He promises Filipinos that the change will be malapit sa bituka: curbing criminality that victimizes everyone, especially the poor. Not the criminality that merely

bandits themselves. Du30 doesn’t need emergency powers. He will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines anyway. *** The problem of so many business deals is that government tends to step in, with so many restrictions. This is precisely the problem of PLDT and Globe after they bought from San Miguel its telecommunications assets for P70 billion. When Ramon Ang, San Miguel president and chief operating officer, failed to take Telstra of Australia to be its partner, PLDT and Globe got together to buy out San Miguel’s telco assets. In other words, the main issue here is whether or not the deal would redound to public benefit.

affects the country’s one percent, but society’s evils that literally kills and robs and degrades everyone everyday. The classes who voted for Digong: the BPO employees who go home late at night, PUV drivers experiencing kotong cops, “endo” employees—they are all rooting for Digong because they are fed up with rampant crime on the streets that affect them daily. If and when Digong succeeds in taming the streets and institutionalizing a strong peace and security system, then the whole country will benefit from it. If and when such peace and order has been reached and maintained, economic gains will follow and flourish. If and when that happens, Digong has the makings of being the best president this country ever had, if he isn’t already. His administration’s first and foremost achievement is winning Filipinos’ hearts and minds. Digong therefore needs Congress’ full support of his initiatives. Legislation should get closer to the needs of the people, and right now national and personal security cuts across classes more than ever, and ever so close to the need to alleviate poverty. Congress needs to return to basics as the psychologist Abraham Maslow has famously pointed out, and then elevate the discussion to national security and good governance. Congress must have the guts Digong has in order for change to truly come.

Now comes the Philippine Competition Commission, claiming it has a duty to fight business monopoly. My gulay, now the PCC is threatening to impose fines on PLDT and Globe for allegedly not complying with the PCC rules and regulations. This, even after PLDT and Globe insisted that the PCC has no power to block the transaction. The truth of the matter is that PLDT and Globe have already submitted the necessary compliance papers to PCC pursuant to the government agency’s Memorandum Circular No. 16-002. The circular provides that before the implementing rules and regulations come into force, the transaction is deemed approved by the PCC and can no longer be challenged.

Deficiency in form and substance of the notice are not grounds to prevent the transaction from being deemed approved. What is happening in this deal which will actually redound to the benefit of the people is one thing that the incoming Duterte administration should address. *** I’m giving the Du30 Cabinet a passing grade of 7.5 on a scale of one to 10, considering the fact that most of them are unknown. The only appointees, to my mind, who are a credit to the incoming administration are businessman Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez for finance, Benjamin Diokno for budget and management, Leonor Briones for education, Silvestre Bello for labor, Continued on A11

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

POP GOES THE WORLD

MENOPAUSE WOES

JENNY ORTUOSTE WE KNOW what to do when the menses start. There are ads on all forms of media for sanitary napkins, glamorizing this rite of passage into womanhood, easing the transition for many young girls, normalizing it and making it even seem desirable, under the shiny and colorful veneer of marketing. There isn’t a need to ask our mothers, aunts, or older relatives about it—it’s taught in schools and young girls are well-prepared for this particular phase of puberty. No one talks about menopause, though. Menopause is also a rite of passage, when the menses have ceased for a year and a woman’s fertile years are over. From age 40s to 50s, the peri-menopause may start, the period just before menopause, when some symptoms

such as hot flashes can be felt, that sometimes continue into post-menopause. For many who experience menopause naturally, it can be very uncomfortable, with unexpected bodily sensations. The symptoms may be more severe and intense for those who undergo artificial or surgical menopause, as in the case of patients who undergo total hysterectomy or any removal of or damage to the ovaries. The sudden and abrupt drop in estrogen levels throws them into immediate menopause, with some experiencing anxiety and depression severe enough for them to seek professional help. An older writer friend says her own mother’s experience was “unpleasant,” but she did not elaborate further. My mother and my aunts did not discuss the topic. My friends

Emergency... From A9 Maybe the thing that incoming President Duterte can do is simply to get every motorist to toe the line. *** There was a media report that the incoming Duterte administration plans to increase the gross pay of the lowest policeman to P50,000. The report went on to say that this increase was doable. Part of the reason for this was to give the police a decent living wage that would discourage corruption. Doubling or tripling police pay, however, may be too much for the government to afford because if police pay increases, this will have to include teachers and soldiers who are basically on the same boat. President Aquino recently signed into law pay increases for the police and military but did not include retirees. His main reason was that the government would go bankrupt if the retirees were included. For government retirees as a whole, knowing where to get the money for medicine and emergency medical treatment is always a struggle. All these are existential threats to elderly retirees who do not have other resources except the pension that they receive from the government. Yet President Aquino ignored all these and refused to include police and military retirees in the pay increase. But according to reliable sources, he and some of his very close associates have been receiving monthly money allocations from a government-controlled corporation since January of 2011 to the tune of hundreds of millions of pesos every month for their retirement.

of a certain age did not bring up the subject either until I did, asking for narratives that would help me negotiate my own journey into this unknown territory. Some people who did tell stories were vague, because they had it second-hand or only witnessed their female relatives go through it—“my mother became like a child again,” a statement that they could or would not elaborate further. This phenomenon points a limit to the public discourse on women’s issues and health; there are just some things that are not talked about. Not through any reticence on the part of the speakers—Filipinos are notoriously chatty —but because menopause simply isn’t on many people’s radar. Yet all women past middle age go through it.

When they leave office in 14 days, President Aquino, his hatchet man Paquito Ochoa Jr. and others will be wallowing in money that they will never be able to spend in two or three lifetimes. Hopefully, the incoming administration will have them investigated and sent to jail. They should not be able to get away with this. When President Aquino took office, he showcased daang matuwid by charging former President Gloria Arroyo with plunder and impeaching Chief Justice Renato Corona. Unfortunately, it was just a mask to hide his own corruption. In fact, the month before the May 9 elections, he spent the whole month looking for a group of people who seem to have found out about the money he and his group were receiving monthly that he completely forgot the affairs of the government. This eventually led to the defeat of his man Mar Roxas. When President-elect Duterte finally assumes office on June 30, the public will be expecting a lot. Anticorruption is also one of the pillars of his administration. If he sticks to what we have seen so far, perhaps there will be a chance for a tectonic change in the way the national government is run for the better and with less corruption. Already, members of Congress are being warned to dress simply for the next State of the Nation Address of the president and avoid the scandalous display of wealth. Six years, however, is a long time in politics. Power and money have always had a way of corrupting even the best of men. Let us wait and see if this promising start can hold.

I am surprised the phenomenon hasn’t been commercialized yet—where are the ads for menopause supplements, for vitamins and herbal concoctions that will relieve hot flashes? They are available locally, but you have to know where to look. Where is the information on the 34 menopause symptoms and how to deal with them? What to do when heart and thoughts race into dark channels, when the adrenalin rush of the “flight or fight” response is no longer controllable due to the lack of estrogen, when sleep comes only in snatches of an hour or an hour and a half at a time, two hours if you’re lucky? If you are even now walking through this minefield, know that there is help. Do not hesitate to see your doctor when you sense anything

different about your mind and body. Be mindful and aware about how you feel. Accept medical treatments if required. Ask your older female relatives and friends about their experiences. Research. Take more exercise —walking helps burn off the excess adrenalin, and even 30 minutes a day helps. Menopause is something all women will have to undergo eventually. Whether naturally or artificially cannot be said, but preparation always helps. Talk about it, set up support groups, get information and share it. We need to know more about menopause and other women’s issues, because women hold up half the sky. Facebook: Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @jennyortuoste, Instagram: @jensdecember

More... From A9 But because LRT-1 was declared in the contract to have no value, the government had to front up money to LRMC, as well, as part of the PPP deal. And for this, DOTC’s Abaya secured a budget from Congress to pay its partner. Now, part of the deal also imposes a five percent fare increase every year, on the anniversary of the signing of the contract. This means that LRMC is going to recoup its investment in a very short time, even if it still cannot put up the contracted Baclaran-Bacoor extension. “The LRT-1 operates the entire year, except for four days during Holy week,” Malunes said. “At the rate they are collecting fares and increasing them, all their original investment will be returned to them in a little over two years.” It’s one of the sweetest of the sweetheart deals consummated during the conglomerate-friendly Aquino administration. And now, it appears that the business wizard of the Ayalas will get to secure it under a government that promised a level playing field for all and absolutely no corruption. Nobody asked me, but I believe that instead of being rewarded as the protector of this truly onerous arrangement, Kintanar should be thrown in jail instead of getting a high government post. And if what Malunes and Riles Network are saying is true, Kintanar should share the same jail cell with Abaya —who must surely be locked up, and justly so, for everything he did during the Aquino administration. I don’t know if Duterte understood just how badly Kintanar’s appointment would reflect on his new government. Or if his friend Arturo Tugade, the incoming transportation secretary, knew about his undersecretary’s actions in the not-so-distant past. All I know is, the people of Metro Manila punished Aquino, Abaya and Mar Roxas last May 9 for all the suffering they received because their train systems were systematically looted and destroyed. This is one clear conflict of interest case that must not be allowed, if Duterte really has the people’s interest at heart.

Government... From A10 Jesus Dureza for the peace process, and Jun Yasay for foreign affairs. The choice of Du30 for the cabinet can only reflect how shallow the bench is for the incoming President who was never known to associate with people beyond the confines of Davao City. But the appointees can prove their worth over time. Duterte, however, should replace spokesman Salvador Panelo, who has become more of an irritation to media. He needs to have a spokesman who can relate with media, not somebody who is already creating enemies for the incoming President this early.

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A12

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Obama to meet Dalai Lama BEIJING—China on Wednesday warned US President Barack Obama against meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House, saying that hosting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could damage mutual trust. Obama has met the Dalai Lama several times before and calls the monk, who is revered by Tibetans but portrayed by Beijing as a dangerous separatist, “a good friend.” The tete a tete planned for Wednesday will, as usual, take place behind closed doors in an effort to avoid angering China, which accuses the Nobel peace laureate of using “spiritual terrorism” to seek independence for Tibet. “China’s Foreign Ministry has launched solemn representations with the US side, expressing our

fi rm opposition to such an arrangement,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters. “If such meeting goes through, it will send a wrong signal to the separatist forces seeking Tibet independence and it will damage mutual trust and cooperation,” he added. The spiritual leader who has lived in exile in India since a failed 1959 uprising has for decades called for more Tibetan autonomy rather than independence. Beijing maintains he is a “wolf

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in monk’s clothing” and vigorously lobbies often successfully against foreign leaders meeting him. Obama made a high-profi le public appearance with the Dalai Lama last year at a prayer breakfast in Washington, calling him “a powerful example of what it means to practice compassion.” But three prior meetings were held privately, and Obama was criticized in 2010 for obliging the 80-year-old, clad in his characteristic red robes and fl ip flops, to leave the White House through a back door and walk past piles of snow and bags of rubbish. Obama’s schedule indicated the Wednesday meeting would

be held away from the cameras in the White House Map Room, not the Oval Office. Tibetans “feel happy about His Holiness meeting the president,” said Sonam Dagpo of the Tibetan government-inexile, adding they hoped the US would support “the struggle of Tibetans.” China has ruled Tibet since the 1950s, but many Tibetans say Beijing represses their Buddhist religion and culture charges China denies. More than 130 ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fi re since 2009 in protest at Beijing’s rule, campaign groups and overseas media have said. Most of them have died. The Dalai Lama has de-

scribed the protests as acts of desperation that he is powerless to stop. Many observers believe China is confident that the Tibetan movement will lose much of its potency and global appeal when the charismatic Dalai Lama dies. The Dalai Lama has also increasingly spoken of succession and has not ruled out picking his reincarnation before his death, fearing that China would instead pick its own boy whom it would use to advance its agenda. His stance has led Chinese communist rulers, who are officially atheist, to insist that the Dalai Lama can only reincarnate after his death. AFP

EXTRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Santos Garcia Estacio and Ma. Pilar Yatco Estacio has been extrajudicially settled with Deed of Extra-Judicial Settlement of the Estate among their heirs as per Doc. No. 188, Page No. 39; Book No. 1; Series of 2016 before Atty. Jerome L. Flojo. Notary Public PTR No: 1420818/01-08-16/ Pasig City ( T S - J U N E 9 ,16 & 2 3 , 2 016)

A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

Invitation to Bid for the Procurement of One (1) Lot Three (3) Years Janitorial Services for Midas Satellite Casino of Satellite Operations Group (SOG) 2 under ITB No. PB16-061COR-06 The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming public bidding for the Procurement of One (1) Lot Three (3) Years Janitorial Services for Midas Satellite Casino of Satellite Operations Group (SOG) 2 under ITB No.PB16-061COR-06. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

The annual ABC: Thirteen Million Four Hundred Sixty Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Six Pesos and 46/100 (PhP13,460,246.46) Total ABC for three (3) years: Forty Million Three Hundred Eighty Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Nine Pesos and 38/100 (PhP 40,380,739.38), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction.

Location:

Midas Satellite Casino 2702 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City

Approximate Floor Area:

Five Thousand Two Hundred (5,200) Square Meters

Required Personnel:

Fifty-Four (54) regular, trained and healthy legal aged janitors composed of twenty (20) female and thirty-four (34) male.

Janitorial Shift Rotation:

First (1st) Shift: 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. = Eighteen (18) janitors Second (2nd) Shift: 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.= Twenty (20) janitors Third (3rd) shift: 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. = Sixteen (16) janitors (Inclusive of one (1) hour break)

No. of Days Work

Seven (7) days a week; Three Hundred Sixty-Five (365) days a year

Contract Duration

Within a period of Three (3) Years commencing from the effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Source of Funds:

Internally Funded

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) yearsbefore the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138. All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR.

Premiere. Actress Charlize Cotton attends the premiere of Amazon’s ‘The Neon Demon’ at ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on June 14, 2016, in Hollywood, California. AFP

The schedule of activities is listed, as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Activities Issuance of the Bidding Documents Pre-Bid Conference Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

Schedule June 16, 2016 to July 7, 2016 June 27, 2015-4:00 P.M. MR 2 July 7, 2016-10:00 A. M. July 11, 2016-10:00 A.M. onwards M.R.2

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Procurement Department (PD), upon payment of the non-refundable fee for the sale of bidding documents in the amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (PhP25,000.00). Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for the sale of bidding documentsnot later than the date of the submission of bids. The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidders. Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Fee Slip for the sale of bidding documents which may be secured from PD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids. In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 3 shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: 1. 2.

In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper. The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. Please address all communications to the Bids and Awards Committee thru PD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: 524-3911, 521-1542 local 223 or 671. (SGD) ALBERTO R. VILLARAMA Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 3

(TS-JUNE 16, 2016)

Facebook says it is aiding probe of killings WASHINGTON—Facebook said Tuesday it was cooperating with French authorities probing the killing of a police commander and his partner in an incident that included a live-streamed video statement on the leading social network. “We are working closely with the French authorities as they deal with this terrible crime,” Facebook said in a statement following Monday’s fatal stabbing of 42-year-old police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his 36-yearold partner Jessica Schneider in a town near Paris.

“Terrorists and acts of terrorism have no place on Facebook. Whenever terrorist content is reported to us, we remove it as quickly as possible. We treat take-down requests by law enforcement with the highest urgency.” After the stabbings but before he was killed in a police raid, the assailant a known radical claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group issued threats in a video statement posted on Facebook Live, a new feature that enables any user to stream a live event. The incident posed a new challenge for Facebook and other so-

cial networks seeking to keep an open platform without allowing users to promote violence. “We do understand and recognize that there are unique challenges when it comes to content and safety for Live videos,” a Facebook spokeswoman said. “It’s a serious responsibility, and we work hard to strike the right balance between enabling expression while providing a safe and respectful experience. We’re deeply committed to improving the effectiveness of how we handle reports of live content that violates our Community Standards.”

T HURS DAY : J UN E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A13

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

High hopes for SBC

Embracing the stress. Jason

SAN Beda College has high hopes in the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament unfolding on June 25 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City despite losing practically all its starters from last year. Nigerian behemoth Ola Adeogun and Ryusei Koga have graduated this year, while Baser Amer and Arthur dela Cruz have moved on playing in the PBA, leaving team captain Dan Sara as the only remnant from last season’s starting group. “It’s not a joke losing our key players from last year,” said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin. “But we have faith in our young players that they can step this year and fill those massive voids.” Although Jarin has yet to name his starters, it looks like Sara, Jayvee Mocon, AC Soberano, Donald Tankoua, and Robert Bolick, a transferee from La Salle, will more likely get the starting job. Arnaud Noah, a 6’1” guard and 2014 NCAA All-Star slam dunk champion, who will back Tankoua,

Day of Australia plays a shot during a practice round prior to the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Day said he has a simple solution to the mountain of stress that comes from carrying the world number one ranking into this week’s US Open at formidable Oakmont: Embrace it. “I’ve never been more stressed in my life than right now,” the Aussie said Tuesday, with the second major championship of 2016 set to tee off on Thursday. There’s the constant pressure of trying to hold off Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy and remain atop the rankings. Then there’s the US Open itself, designed by the US Golf Association as a searching test of every aspect of a golfer’s game. Day has two runner-up finishes in five prior US Opens, and was in contention last year at Chambers Bay despite a debilitating bout of vertigo en route to a share of ninth place. AFP

Gilas PH must beat either Turkey or Canada, or both A COUPLE of hours before the face-off between the Philippines’ and world No. 5 France at the start of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on July 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena, inaugural action will fire off when No. 8 Turkey and No. 26 Canada draw the curtains in the OQT that will decide which of six teams gets passage to Rio de Janeiro in August. Notwithstanding the enormity of the task at hand, with France to be led by NBA superstar Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, it should not come as a surprise if Gilas Pilipinas assistant coaches, if not head mentor Tab Baldwin himself, spend two quarters scouting the Turks and Canadians. The Nationals’ bid to book a ticket to the Olympic Games will depend not only on beating the French but also on downing

either Turkey or Canada – or both. Gilas Pilipinas, ranked No. 28 in the world, is bracketed with France and New Zealand in Group B of the Manila OQT and will have to get past one of them, at least, to gain more than a 50 percent chance of advancing to the crossover semifinals. Beating both will set up the Philippines for a semis clash with the No. 2 team from Group A – comprised of Tur-

key, Canada and Senegal, the team Gilas edged in overtime in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Seville, Spain two years ago. Showing up in the semis with a 1-1 slate, on the other hand, will range Baldwin’s Boys with, most likely, the 2-0 team from Group A. That, in all probability, will be Turkey. And looming tall and imposing over that highly regarded

EuroBasket powerhouse is New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik, a 7-0 rim protector, who was sixth in shot blocks in the 2014 World Cup where Turkey nipped Australia, 65-64, in the Round of 16 before getting upended by Lithuania, 73-61, in the quarterfinals. Asik averaged 9.9ppg and 8.4rpg in Bilbao and Barcelona. At eighth overall in the FIBA rankings, only the United States, Spain, Lithuania, Argentina, France, Serbia and Russia stand above the Turks, making their game against the Canadians a must-see for former national coaches like Norman Black and Jong Uichico, both on Baldwin’s staff.

and Fil-Am shooter Davon Potts, are expected to come off the bench along with Ranbill Tongco, Jeramer Cabanag and Jose Mari Presbitero. Jarin was also quick to downplay San Beda’s early quarterfinal exit in the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup after losing to Arellano University, which went on to finish a strong second to eventual winner La Salle, saying the team is still in the learning process. “Arellano is a veteran team, while our team is younger. But the season is long and we’ll try to learn on the fly in every game we play in the NCAA,” said Jarin. Just like last year, San Beda is expected to run its opponents to the ground with its fast-paced, runand-gun game. “I’d like to call my team a track and field team because we love to run and quicken the pace as much as we can,” said Jarin. The Lions will try to reassert themselves and reclaim the title they lost to the Letran Knights in last year’s finale that went to a full, three-game route.

Alaska gets new import By Jeric Lopez WHILE most teams in the Philippine Basketball Association opted to take in familiar imports, Alaska has decided to tap a fresh face as its reinforcement in the upcoming Governors’ Cup. The Aces acquired the services of inside operator LaDontae Henton to be their import for the third conference. The former Providence Friar is a 6’6” known scorer who operates and plays from the inside, something that Alaska seems to be lacking. He averaged 19.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his four-year stint with Providence from 20112015, before going undrafted in the 2015 National Basketball Association Draft. Henton last played for Baloncesto Sevilla in Spain. While Alaska’s reinforcement last year, Romeo Travis, had a splendid campaign and even won the Best Import Award, the Aces still felt that they need to go on a different direction.

‘Lomachenko the next superstar’ By Ronnie Nathanielsz ASTUTE Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that World Boxing Organization junior lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko is the next superstar of boxing and will be successor of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, who has retired and is now focusing on his role as a senator of the Philippines. Arum has an obvious basis for his superstar reference to Lomachenko, with Boxing Scene reporting that “judging by the performance, particularly in winning the WBO belt on Saturday, Arum might not be far off in calling him boxing’s ‘next superstar.’’

Lomachenko was dynamic and dominant for five rounds before a series of lefts and a massive right hook floored champion Rocky Martinez. Afterward, Martinez admitted that Lomachenko’s punches came too fast for him to defend. While the smashing victory brought Lomachenko’s professional record to a mere 6-1, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time amateur world champion has already established his credentials on that level before turning pro in 2013. Among those six victories are two title bouts. Lomachenko, 28, also won the IBF featherweight crown

two years ago. The speed and devastating power he brought into the ring at the Theater at Madison Square Garden last weekend could scare off future opponents. The Top Rank promoter, who steered Pacquiao’s career through eight divisional championships said: “‘I’ve been telling everybody how great this guy is. You’ve been reading how great this guy is. Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all time. This Vasyl Lomachenko (is) the greatest of our time. He really is. I mean you’re going to see performances from this guy that you’re not going to believe down the road. He’ll fight anybody.”

Courtesy call. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Executive Director Sonny

Barrios paid a courtesy call on incoming PNP Chief Ronald “BATO” dela Rosa regarding security arrangements for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament-Manila. With them is Atty. Aga Francisco, SBP Legal Consultant.

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE POWER PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT (PPSA), AS AMENDED, BETWEEN AURORA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (AURELCO) AND ERC CASE NO. 2016-039 RC GNPOWER LTD. CO. (GNPOWER), WITH PRAYER FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION AND THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY AURORA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (AURELCO) AND GNPOWER LTD. CO. (GNPOWER), Applicants. x---------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 06 April 2016, the Aurora Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AURELCO) and GNPower Ltd. Co. (GNPOWER) filed an Application for approval of the power purchase and sale agreement (PPSA), as amended, with prayer for confidential treatlnent of information and the issuance of provisional authority. In the said Application, AURELCO and GNPOWER alleged the following: 1. Applicant AURELCO is a non-stock, non-profit electric cooperative organized under Philippine laws, with principal office address at Baler , Aurora. It is authorized to distribute and provide electricity services to its member consumers in the Province of Aurora - Municipalities of Baler, Dipaculao, San Luis, Ma. Aurora, Dinalungan, Casiguran, Dilasag, and Dingalan; Province of Isabela- Municipality of Dinapigue; Province of Quezon - Municipality of General Nakar (hereinafter referred as the “Franchise Area”). A copy of AURELCO’s Certificate of Franchise is herewith attached to form an integral part hereof as Annex “A”. A copy of its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws are also attached as Annexes “A-1” and “A-2” to form integral parts hereof; 2. Applicant GNPOWER is a duly registered limited partnership organized and existing by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. It is engaged in the business of developing, constructing, operating, and owning power generation facilities. Its principal office is at 28th Floor, Orient Square Building, Don Francisco Ortigas Jr: Road”, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Copies of its Certification of Registration issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Amended Articles of Partnership are herewith attached to form integral parts hereof as Annexes “B” and “B-1”, respectively; 3. Applicants may be served with orders, notices, and other legal processes of this Honorable Commission through the address of the undersigned counsels; 4. By and pursuant to Sections 25, 43 (u) and 45 (b) of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPlRA) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, this Application is respectfully submitted to the Honorable Commission for its due consideration and approval of the Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, executed by and between Applicants AURELCO and GNPOWER; I. STATEMENT OF FACTS 5. AURELCO, along with eleven other electric cooperatives1 in the Central Luzon region, created Central Luzon Electric Cooperative Association - First Luzon Aggregation Group, Inc. (“CLECAFLAG”), a corporation duly registered with the SEC, as evidenced by herewith attached copy of its Certificate . of Registration, which is made an integral part hereof as Annex “C”; 6. CLECAFLAG, owned and controlled by twelve memberElectric Cooperatives (“ECs”), was formed to coordinate and manage the administration of power supply process including joint planning and selection process, contracting of power of the member-ECs to ensure sustainable power supply and reduced electricity rates in the region; 7. Accordingly, in 2013, CLECAFLAG conducted a competitive selection process to bid out the forward power needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base load power from new generating capacity/ies for twenty (20) years starting late 2018, subject to the Honorable Commission’s approval process and the signing by all the member-ECs of the PPSA, as per the award notice and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to meet the growing demand of the member-ECs; 8. In the selection of a new power provider, CLECAFLAG employed extensive evaluation parameters and procedures, and with all twelve member-ECs further represented through their own Technical Working Groups. The selection process was conducted in two stages, including a Swiss Challenge, as follows: a. The first stage is the selection of a Generation Company (“GenCo”) that will submit a Firm Proposal (the “Firm Proponent”) for the aggregated base load to be contracted by the member-ECs. The GenCo shall be selected based on the committed price cap, among other key contract terms. CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap was PhP4.09/kWh or PhP4.5808/kWh, inclusive of VAT. Nonetheless, the evaluation of the price cap shall be based on expected levelized price for the duration of the contract; b. The second stage is the announcement of the Firm Proposal, or that offer of the GenCo which submitted the lowest proposed· committed price cap. The Firm Proposal shall then be subjected to “Swiss Challenge” by other GenCos who were declared qualified during the first stage. The Original Firm Proponent has the right to match the proposal of the Challenger;

9. On the first stage of the selection process, three GenCos participated by submitting their respective bids, namely: GNPOWER, AES Philippines (AES) , and San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC); 10. Based on the ranking determined through CLECAFLAG’s evaluation using a specified set of bid parameters and references in the transaction documents, GNPOWER was declared as the Firm Proponent, while AES, submitting a bid that was PhP0.23/kWh greater than that of GNPOWER, was the Challenger who had an opportunity to counter GNPOWER’s proposal through Swiss Challenge. Meanwhile, SMEC was disqualified for submitting a price offer that is higher th an CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap of PhP4·09/ kWh;

c.1. Option to Increase Contracted Capacity. Section 2.7 of the PPSA, as amended, provides that upon written notice to GNPOWER, AURELCO may, upon approval by GNPOWER, increase its Contracted Capacity which increase shall be subjected to the same terms and conditions contained in the PPSA, as amended. In considering whether or not to approve the request for increase in Contracted Capacity, GNPOWER may take .into consideration the capacity available for such increase from . its facility in its sole opinion, and/ or the willingness of any other buyer to assign its Contracted ‘ Capacity. Such increase in Contracted Capacity shall be’ effective on the date GNPOWER gives its written approval.

11. On 8 November 2013, CLECAFLAG and GNPOWER entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which is made an integral part hereof as Annex “D”, with the individual member-ECs as witnesses, to define each of CLECAFLAG and GNP OWER’s (as the Firm Proponent) rights and obligations under transaction, such as the following, among others: a. CLECAFLAG shall allow only AES to participate in the Swiss Challenge of GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal (Section 4·6) ;

D. Contract Price. The Contract Price shall be composed of Capacity Price and Energy Price.

b. CLECAFLAG shall immediately award the PPSA with finality to GNPOWER in any of the following circumstances xxx (a) AES’ failure to submit Letter of Intent to Challenge (Section 4.7);

The corresponding Capacity Fee for a given Capacity Utilization Factor is set forth in the table below: Capacity Capacity Utilization Fee Factor (%) ($/kWh) 100% 0.0466 99% 0.0470 98% 0.0474 97% 0.0477 96% 0.0481 95% 0.0485 94% 0.0489 93% 0.0493 92% 0.0497 91% 0.0502 90% 0.0506 89% 0.0510 88% 0.0515 87% 0.0519 86% 0.0524 85% 0.0529 84% 0.0534 83% 0.0539 82% 0.0544 81% 0.0549 80% 0.0555 79% 0.0561 78% 0.0567 77% 0.0573 76% 0.0579 75% 0.0585 74% 0.0592 73% 0.0599 72% 0.0606 71% 0.0613 70% 0.0621 69% 0.0629 68% 0.0637 67% 0.0645 66% 0.0653 65% 0.0662

c. After awarding the PPSA with finality to GNPOWER, CLECAFLAG shall enter into a PPSA with GNPOWER and/ or cause its member-ECs to enter into a PPSA. AES, however, failed to submit a counter-proposal to match GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal. 12. On 10 March 2014, CLECAFLAG declared GNPOWER as the winning proponent, evidenced by herewith attached copy of CLECAFLAG’s letter of the same date, which is made an integral part hereof as Annex “E’;. GNPOWER shall, then, execute individual power supply agreements with the twelve member-ECs; 13. Copies of relevant documents used in the competitive selection process conducted by CLECAFLAG to bid out the forward power needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base load power, are attached as follows: ANNEX “F” “F-1” “F-2” “F-3” “F-4”

DOCUMENT Invitation to participate in the power supply aggregation and contracting of CLECAFLAG Notice of Eligibility to participate in the bidding sent to GNPOWER Transaction Information Memorandum Supplemental Transaction Information Memorandum detailing the Evaluation Framework (i.e., terms of reference) Evaluation Result

D.1 The Capacity Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the cost, as well as the operations and maintenance of the power plant and is designated as the Capacity Fee in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as amended; as such may be adjusted from ‘ time to time based on GNPOWER’s Capacity Factor.

In case the Capacity Utilization Factor is not a whole number, the Capacity Fee shall be computed using the formula below.

15. As a result, GNPOWER and the member-ECs negotiated to have an interim ‘ supply period, which is estimated to commence on December 2018 subject to the ERC’s approval process;

Capacity Fee = -0.10773 X (CUF)3 + 0.33975 X (CUF)2 -0.3932 x (CUF) + 0.2078 Where: Capacity Fee = is the Capacity Fee in $/kWh

16. On 10 .June 2014, GNPOWER executed with each of AURELCO and nine (9) other member-ECs. The PPSA between GNPOWER and AURELCO is herewith attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “G”2;

CUF

17. GNPOWER agreed to extend the negotiations with CLECAFLAG and its two member-ECs that have not yet signed their respective PPSA” to allow CLECAFLAG to significantly fulfill its obligation under the MOA; . 18. Further, GNPOWER offered to assist CLECAFLAG and its member-ECs in fulfilling their obligation to cause the signing of an aggregated 300 MW PPSA as a requirement for GNPOWER’s project milestones, and on 18 September 2015, GNPOWER, in its appreciation to AURELCO and other member-ECs for being early supporters of the GNPOWER project, executed an amendment to. the PPSA reducing the rate indicated in the PPSA in favor of AURELCO. The amendment is attached hereto as Annex “H” and made an integral part hereof ,

is the Capacity Utilization Factor between 65% and 100%, provided that if the actual CUF is below 65% (the “Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor”), the Capacity Price shall be calculated based on the Capacity Fee and quantity associated with the Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor.

The Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) shall be computed as follows: Capacity Utilization= Factor (CUF)

Q CCx(HT-EHTO)

Where: Q

Quantity of kWh

Contracted Capacity, in kW, as set forth in Schedule 1

II. ABSTRACT OF THE PPSA, AS AMENDED, AND OTHER RELATED INFORMATION

Total number of hours in such Billing Period

19. The following are the salient features of the subject PPSA, as amended: A. Term of Agreement. The PPSA, as amended, shall be effective at the date of its execution, and shall terminate after 240 months from the date specified in the Commencement Date Notice3 defined as the written notice that indicates the commencement of the first delivery of electric capacity at full commercial operation of the first unit of GNPOWER’s facility4.

EHTO

The sum of the duration, in Equivalent Hours, of Scheduled Outages and Unscheduled Outages in such Billing Period

B. Source of Supply. GNPOWER shall make available, sell, and deliver or cause to be delivered to AURELCO the Products5 at the Delivery Point, whether sourced from GNPOWER’s facility or from other electricity generators, including the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). GNPOWER’s · facility shall be constructed and operated in Mariveles, Bataan. The Technical Details of the Project is herewith attached to form an integral part hereof as Annex “I” C. Contracted Capacity. AURELCO is contractually entitled to receive from GNPOWER, at any hour, subject to GNPOWER’s Available Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended) for such hour, the Contracted Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended), as follows: Contracted Contracted Year Year Capacity Capacity 11 5,000 1 0 12 5,000 2 0 13 5,000 3 0 14 5,000 4 0 15 5,000 5 0 16 5,000 6 0 17 5,000 7 5,000 18 5,000 8 5,000 19 5,000 9 5,000 20 5,000 10 5,000

Where: IEF

Initial Energy Fee equal to $0.0370/ kWh

CIFn

CIF Cost of Fuel for Billing Period n

CIFo

Base CIF Cost of Fuel equal to $11.5573/million kCal , E. Prompt Payment Discount. Section 4.3 (c) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if AURELCO pays the invoice in full within ten (10) days of receipt from GNPOWER, AURELCO shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to $0.0012/kWh multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. . F. Capacity Utilization Discount. Section 4.3 (d) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if AURELCO pays the invoice amount in full in accordance with GNPOWER’s invoice instruction on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of the succeeding calendar month from the relevant Billing Period and AURELCO’s CUF is greater than

or equal to 65%, aside from the Prompt Payment Discount, AURELCO shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to 2.8% of the Energy Fee multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. G. Scheduled and Unscheduled Outage. Pursuant to Section 2.2, GNPOWER is allowed Scheduled Outage not to exceed five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year, during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to AURELCO. Likewise, GNPOWER is allowed Unscheduled Outage of five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to the Buyer; III. COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT PRICE AND IMPACT ON AURELCO’S OVERALL RATES 20. The PPSA, as amended, was executed between AURELCO and GNPOWER to respond to the growing power demand of . AURELCO’s member consumers, which its current providers may not be able to meet and supply;

of the hearing or as may be required by this Honorable Commission. IV. COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS 27. Applicants manifest compliance with the pre-filing requirements mandated under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the EPIRA and Rule 6 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, to be established by the following:

c. Complete newspaper issue where the Application was published, to be appended herein as Annex “AA-1”, and the relevant page theryof where the Application appeared, as Annex “AA-2”;

29. In connection to the foregoing, AURELCO humbly requests for the confidential treatment of Annex “F -4” hereof, consisting of the Evaluation Result. This annex shows the individual offers of the bidders which participated in the competitive selection process (CSP). The members of CLECAFLAG, AURELCO included, are bound by their undertaking to secure and keep in confidence the offers and the proposed terms of supply, so as not to prejudice or preempt any future CSPs in which these bidders will participate. Otherwise, AURELCO and the rest of the members of CLECAFLAG may be held liable for damages for breach of confidentiality, and eventually, risk their good relations with the suppliers concerned;

Forecasted 2025 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

Resulting Capacity Factor (%)

2025 Average Rate (P/kWh)

San Luis Hydro

2,872,307

12,751,606.93

9.23%

32%

4.4395

GNPower

25,287,009

82,079,102.50

81.28%

100%

3.2459

WESM

2,952,684

15,065,479.60

9.49%

0.00%

5.1023

TOTAL

31,112,000

109,896,189.02

100%

1.32

3.5323

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/kWh)

3.5323

Simulation ofGeneration Mix Rate without GNPOWER for the Year 2025 Power Supplier

Forecasted 2025 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

Resulting Capacity Factor (%)

2025 Average Rate (P/kWh)

San Luis Hydro

2,872,307

12,751,606.93

9.23%

32%

4.4395

GNPower

0.00

0.00%

0.0000

AES Masinloc6

28,239,693

127,311,217.64

90.77%

100%

4.5093

WESM

0.00

0.00%

0.0000

TOTAL

31,112,000

140,092,854.57

100%

1.32

4.5029

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/kWh)

4.5029

Generation Rate Impact (-0.9706) 24. Aside from the lower generation cost of the power supply from GNPOWER, AURELCO is also entitled to Prompt Payment Discount and Capacity Utilization Discount, if conditions are met, which makes even more competitive the proposed rate contained in the subject PPSA, as amended; 25. In support of the instant Application for the approval of the PPSA, as amended, Applicants further attach the following documents to form integral parts hereof, to wit:,

30. Similarly, Applicant GNPOWER most respectfully moves for the confidential treatment of Annexes “L”7, “M”8, “N”9, and “O”10 hereof. These annexes, exclusively owned by Applicant GNPOWER, contain documents which ate considered part of its business and trade secrets. As such, GNPOWER has the sole proprietary interest and will be unduly prejudiced should they be disclosed to the public; 31. These annexes contain numbers, data, formula, methodology, and calculations involving valuable and sensitive commercial, fi nancial and technological information reflecting GNPOWER’s business operations and financial trade secrets. Therefore, the disclosure of GNPOWER’s confidential, proprietary, and private information included in the aforesaid annexes should be protected from public dissemination. Otherwise, such information can be illegally and unfairly utilized by business competitors who may use the same for their own private gain. and to the irreparable prejudice of GNPOWER. Negotiations with prospective customers may also be affected; 32. The information contained in Annexes “L”, “M”, “N”, and “O”, constitute “trade secrets”, for which GNPOWER has actual and valuable proprietary interest. As explained by the Supreme Court, a trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern , device, or compilation of information that is used in one’s business and gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not possess the information11. It is indubitable that trade secrets constitute proprietary rights and jurisprudence has consistently acknowledged the private character of trade secrets12. Further, as ruled in Garcia vs. Board of . Investments13,trade secrets and confidential, commercial and financial information are exempt from public scrutiny; 33. It is respectfully submitted that the aforementioned Annexes must be accorded confidential treatment. As such, they are to be used exclusively by the Honorable Commission and for the sole purpose of evaluating this Application, thereby. protecting these data from unnecessary public disclosure;

“K”

Details-of the PPSA, as amended

“K-1”

Discussion of Rate Calculation and Sample Computation

34. In accordance with Section i(b), Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Applicants hereby submit one (1) copy each of Annexes “F -4, “L”, “M”, “N”, and· “O” in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the documents stamped with the word “Confidential”. VI. ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

“L”

GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected EquityIRR

35. All the foregoing allegations are herein re-pleaded by reference in support of the instant Prayer for provisional authority;

“M”

Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and- Projected Fuel Costs

“N”

Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow

“O”

Details of Fuel Procurement

“O-1”

Sworn Statement — Coal Procurement Process

“P”

Rate Impact. Analysis

“Q”

GNPOWER’s 2014 Audited Financial Statement

“R”

GNPOWER’s Transmission Plan for the Dinginin Project

“S”

Certificate of Endorsement from DOE that the Project is included in the DOE’s Power Development Plan

“S-1”

Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR

“T”

AURELCO’s Distribution Development Plan

“U”

AURELCO’s Contracted Demand for 25 years

“V”

GNPOWER’s General Partners’ Certificate on,among others, the authority to execute, ratify,accede, perform and deliver the PPSA, as amended, with AURELCO, and the designation of duly authorized representatives for said purpose

ANNEX

“W”

DOCUMENTS

AURELCO’s Board Resolution authorizing the approval and signing of the PPSA, as amended,designating representatives thereto and authorizing the filing of an Application with the ERC

26. Applicants AURELCO and GNPOWER reserve the right to submit other documents, either in the course

42. With continuous financing, the timely implementation of the project shall be assured, to the full benefit of AURELCO and the Luzon and Visayas’ Grids. Otherwise, any delay in the implementation of the project shall expose AURELCO to supply risk and unstable market prices in the future;

V. MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF ANNEXES “F-4”-, “L”,”M”, “N”, and “O”

22. The additional supply from GNPOWER assures the member-consumers of AURELCO of adequate and reliable power service, thus, less likelihood of power outages and brownouts;

Power Supplier

b. Affidavit of Publication stating that the Application was published in a newspaper of general circulation within Applicants’ Franchise Area and/or area of its principal operation, to be appended herein as Annex “AA”; and

28. Under Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, a party to any proceeding before the Honorable Commission may request that certain information not be disclosed and be treated as confidential, by describing with particularity the information to be .treated as confidential, specifying the ground for the claim of confidential treatment of the information and, if applicable, specifying the period during which the information must not be disclosed;

Simulation of Generation Mix Rate with GNPOWER for the Year 2025

40. While actual delivery of power at full capacity under the terms and conditions of the PPSA, as amended, is expected to commence only in 2020, Applicants, nonetheless, shall begin at the earliest opportune time their compliance with all financial and regulatory requirements and processes leading up to the timely completion of GNPOWER’s facility;

a. Certifications acknowledging receipt of the Application with annexes issued by the Legislative Bodies of the Province of Aurora, the Municipality of Baler, and the City of Pasig, to be appended as Annexes “X”, “Y” , and “Z”, respectively;

21. Currently, AURELCO receives a total of 4.65MW from its existing suppliers, out of its requirement of 5.16MW with an annual average growth of 1.873%. AURELCO’s peak demand is forecasted to increase to 6.217MW by 2025. Copies of AURELCO’s Supply-Demand from 2014 to 2025, Historical and Forecasted Data, and Average Daily Load Curve, are herewith attached to form integral parts hereof as Annexes “J” to “J-2”;

23. AURELCO conducted a rate impact analysis which resulted in a lower effective rate of PhP3.5323/kWh with supply coming from GNPOWER, compared to a rate of PhP4.5029kWh without GNPOWER, or a reduction of PhPO.9706kWh if with GNPOWER supply, as follows:

is crucial for AURELCO to guarantee that its forward power needs are satisfied, without compromising the reasonableness of the generation , rate to be passed on to its member-consumers;

36. The basis . by which Applicants AURELCO and GNPOWER pray for the issuance of a Provisional Authority or interim relief prior to final decision is Rule. 14 of. the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure: “Section 3. Action on the Motion. - Motions for provisional authority or interim relief may be acted upon with or without hearing. The Commission shall act on the motion on the basis of the allegations of the application or petition and supporting documents and other evidences that applicant or petitioner has submitted and the comments or opposition filed by any interested person, if there be any.” [Emphasis Ours] 37. Worthy of note is that based on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2015-2030 Luzon and Visayas Grids Supply Demand Outlook, Luzon’s peak demand in 2015 is 8,974MW with an Annual Average Growth ,Rate (AAGR) of 4.25% while Visayas’ Peak Demand is 1,847MW with AAGR of 3-4%. Therefore, Luzon’s peak demand is expected to increase to 10,884MW in 2020, and to 16,165MW by the year 2030 and for Visayas, 2,042MW in 2020 and 3,025MW in 2030. This electricity demand growth has led to DOE’s call for planning and investments in the power sector; 38. Contributing to the Luzon Grid’s demand growth is AURELCO’s peak load demand which increases at a rate of 1.873% per year. By 2025, it is projected that AURELCO’s existing power suppliers will not be able to meet the power needs of its member consumers, which is expected to have increased to 20.53%; 39. Thus, the PPSA, as amended, with GNPOWER

43. To emphasize the necessity of a provisional approval of herein Application, a Judicial Affidavit to support the prayer for provisional authority will be attached herewith to form an integral part herepf as Annex “BB”; 44. In view thereof, and in recognition of the fact that a substantial amount of time is customarily needed to evaluate the documents submitted to support the approval of herein Application, Applicants AURELCO and GNPOWER respectfully seek the kind consideration of the Honorable Commission to approve the instant Application, immediately, albeit, provisionally, at the soonest opportune time. PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of the Honorable Commission that (i) all information set forth in Annexes “F-4, “L”, “M”, “N”, and “0” to the instant Application be ‘ treated as confidential; (ii) pending hearing on the merits, a Provisional Authority be DULY ISSUED authorizing the immediate implementation of the subject Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, between . Applicants AURELCO and GNPOWER, including the rate structure therein, as applied; and (iii) that after due notice and hearing, the instant Application, the PPSA, as amended, and the rate structure contained therein be DULY APPROVED. Further, in the event that a Final Authority shall be issued after GNPOWER starts the actual delivery of power to AURELCO under the terms of the subject PPSA, as amended, said Final Authority shall be retroactively applied to the date of such actual delivery. Other reliefs as may be just and equitable under the premises are, likewise, most respectfully prayed for. The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, Expository Presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 07 July 2016 (Thursday) at three o’clock in the afternoon (03:00 P.M.) at the AURELCO’s Main Office in Barangay Reserva, Baler, Aurora. All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the, way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired. All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon. All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the applicant that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during standard office hours. WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Commissioners ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 18th day of May 2016 at Pasig City.

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO

2 3 4 5

6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13

Nueva Ecija I Electric Cooperative, In c. (NEECO 1), Nueva Ecija II Area 1 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Area1), Nueva Ecija II Area 2 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Area2), Pampanga Electric Cooperativc, Inc. (PELCO I), Pampanga II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO II), Pampanga III Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO III), Pampanga Rural Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. (PRESCO) , Tarlac I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO 1), Tarlac II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO II), Zambales I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO 1), and Zambales Il Electric: Cooperative, In c. (ZAMECO II) Each of the PPSA entered into with the other 9 individual MECs are also made an integral part hereto as Annexes G-1 to G-9· Section 1.3, Schedule l. Contracted Capacity, Contract Price and Terms of Agreement, PPSA, page 31 Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 4 Refers to Electric Capacity, contracted on a variable Capacity Utilization Factor basis, together with energy, as specified in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as the context requires, or as otherwise agreed by the Parties. (Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 8) The power supply agreement between AURELCO and AES Masinloc will expire on December 25, 2024. GNPOWER’s Financial Assumplions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity IRR Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and Projected Fuel Costs Project ed Balance Sheet, Income Statement , Revenue and Cash Flow Details of Fuel Procurement Air Philippines Corporation vs. Pennswell Inc., G.R. No. 172835, December 13, 2007. Ibid. , 177 SCRA 374 (1989). ( T S - J U N E 16 , 2 016)

T H U R S DAY : J U N E 16 , 2 0 16

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Lillard: You only get what you put in By Maxine Lagman

Trailblazers’ star Damian Lillard listens to a question from the media during his press conference. MAXINE LAGMAN

PORTLAND Trailblazers’ superstar guard Damian Lillard presented his new signature shoes with Adidas, the ‘PDX Carpet’ during a press conference Tuesday at the Kerry Sports, Shangri- La, The Fort. Lillard said that he was focused on attending the Take on Summer Tours in Asia, with the Philippines as his fourth and final stop. The tour was a way to promote his shoes and impart his own basketball knowledge and skills with fans around the world. “My approach to basketball has always been this, you can only get out of the game what you put in—and that’s what Take on Summer is all about,” said Lillard. “Sharing this kind of attitude to fans and players is an honor.” Some of his fans were lucky to be chosen for a meet-and-greet with the NBA star and were given a pair of his signature kicks. Lillard also went to the Araneta Coliseum, where he held a basketball clinic for young aspiring basketball players. As part of his two- day #DameTimeManila visit, Adidas reintroduces Lillard’s latest D Lillard 2 sneakers, which features all-new white and gray Primeknit threads that match its oak prints lace locks, heal counter and midsole. Lillard helped in designing the shoes, adding touches of what he thought would represent something about him. The new kicks’ silhouette was even designed with a heel tab that pays homage to Portland International Airport’s iconic carpet print. “My shoes tell a story. It’s a great overall shoes and they’re comfortable,” said Lillard, adding that his new kicks would definitely look good on or off the court. With averages of 25.1 points, 6.8 assists and 4 rebounds, the two-time NBA All- Star however was non-committal on being a finalist for the 2016 USA Olympic Basketball Team competing in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

Cavs vow to be ready CLEVELAND—It could take another historic effort from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James to keep Cleveland in the NBA Finals, while the Golden State Warriors faced the possible loss of center Andrew Bogut. The defending champion Warriors lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 entering game six Thursday at Cleveland, with the Cavaliers needing a victory to force a seventh game Sunday in California. James and Irving each scored 41 points to spark Cleveland past Golden State 112-97 Monday to avoid elimination, becoming the first teammates in NBA Finals history to reach 40 points in the same game. “We’ll be very well prepared for game six,” Irving said. “That’s the only thing that’s on our mind right now. We’re not satisfied. We understand the

magnitude of what game six means for us and we know that it will be an incredible level they are going to play at, and we have to play at an even better level.” Golden State was awaiting final results of an MRI exam on Bogut, the Australian who suffered a left knee injury early in the third quarter Monday, to know his status for the remainder of the series. Bogut blocked six shots in game two, the most in a finals game since Pau Gasol in 2010, and averages 3.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in the finals. The Aussie’s absence would

partly be offset by the return of forward Draymond Green from a one-game suspension for accumulated flagrant fouls, but still require Golden State dig deeper into the bench for help. “Our bigs are just going to have to step up. Been doing it all year,” said Warriors guard Klay Thompson. “We’re still in a great position. We’ll come back stronger.” No team has won the NBA Finals after trailing 3-1 and only two of 33 such teams, the 1951 New York Knicks and 1966 Los Angeles Lakers, even managed to force a game seven. “We still have our backs against the wall and have to come out swinging. We have to be ready to play again,” Cavaliers forward J.R. Smith said. “Mentally, nothing can change. We have to continue to play with desperation to exhaustion. We

have to try to force a game seven. We have to bring the same effort.” ‘Whatever it takes’ James, who also had game highs of 16 rebounds and seven assists, is trying to bring Cleveland its first sports champion since 1964 and avoid a third loss in a row in his sixth consecutive NBA Finals trip. “It’s do or die for us,” James said. “At this point, it’s whatever it takes.” The Warriors have made a record 276 3-pointers in this year’s playoffs, paced by NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, the NBA scoring leader who hit a record 402 3-pointers this season. “We like our chances going forward and continuing to just try to be us, the best we can, and get one more win,” Curry said. “We’ll be ready, come out with confidence and get the job done.” AFP

A close up of the Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ jersey during Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

THURSDAY: JUNE 16, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Conrad Manila opens.

SM Hotels and Convention Corp., a subsidiary of SM Investments Corp., formally opens Conrad Manila (inset), a 347-room premier hotel at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. Shown during the opening ceremony of the hotel are (from left) Conrad Manila general manager Harald Feurstein, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. president for Asia-Paciﬁc Martin Rinck, Hilton Worldwide regional general manager Peter Webster, Felicidad Sy, SM Hotels and Conventions president Elizabeth Sy, SM Prime Holdings Inc. chairman Hans Sy and SM Hotels and Conventions senior vice president for operations Ma.Luisa Pelagia. See story on B3. BOBBY CABRERA

Shell secures board’s nod for IPO—Monsada By Alena Mae S. Flores

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. has secured the approval of the board of parent company Royal Dutch Shell Plc which is based in the Netherlands to hold an initial public offering this year, a government official said Wednesday. “[Pilipinas Shell’s] IPO, definitely this year. The Shell board approved the IPO,” Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada told reporters. Shell is the country’s second largest oil refiner and distributor. It owns a refinery in Batangas province which has a capacity of 110,000 barrels per day. The upgraded refinery

now produces Euro-4 compliant fuels. Monsada said she was informed by Shell country chairman Ed Chua of the latest development. Shell submitted the IPO plan to the Energy Department Tuesday. “As to when it will be implemented, it depends on how fast the process will be. There’s still a process with SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission],” Monsada said. Shell’s planned IPO is in compliance with the Oil Deregulation Law of 1998, requiring oil refiners to list at list 10 percent of their shares in the local bourse. Shell’s IPO has been delayed for more than a decade as the company cited unfavorable market conditions, low oil prices and regulatory issues in the previous years. Monsada said Shell was looking at several factors prior to moving forward with the IPO such as market timing and company profitability.

Monsada earlier said Shell would likely push through with the IPO in the last quarter of the year. “They already have a transaction adviser, a long time ago. But they don’t have specific [timetable for the IPO],” Monsada said. Shell corporate communications manager Cesar Abaricia confirmed the company was preparing for an IPO in accordance with its obligations under the the downstream oil industry deregulation Act. “The nature and timing of the IPO is still being determined,” Abaricia said. Chua said the company would “wait and see the environment” before conducting the IPO. He said proceeds from the planned IPO would be used for “growth projects,” which he did not identify. Chua said in December the company was studying whether it could offer more than 10 percent of its shares to the public.

Regulator to query Lina memos favoring MNHPI REGULATOR Philippine Ports Authority will intervene and require Manila North Harbour Port Inc. to seek its approval to handle foreign cargoes that would in effect nullify a series of memoranda issued by Customs commissioner Alberto Lina granting MNHPI the status of an international container port, port logistics publication Portcalls quoting an anonymous PPA source said. According to the Portcalls source, “MNHPI needs PPA approval to handle foreign cargoes as well as approval for the [cargohandling] tariff [that will be levied at the port].” Portcalls said its PPA source insisted that North Harbor “is owned

by PPA and MNHPI is only the cargo-handling operator.” MNHPI’s 25-year contract for the development, management, operation and maintenance of North Harbor was granted by PPA in 2010. Portcalls said that its source at the PPA stressed that MNHPI’s permit “is only for domestic operations.” “Any operation not stipulated in the 25-year contract is a direct violation which will merit cancellation of [the MNHPI] contract with PPA even if they are armed with a BOC permit,” the Portcalls source said. It said that before MNHPI took over the operation and management of North Harbor, the port had handled bulk and breakbulk

foreign cargoes and had its own complement of customs offices since it is a sub-port of Manila International Container Port. “Some of the offices were, however, transferred when MNHPI took over since by then the port no longer processed foreign cargoes, except for transhipments,” it said. Lina signed Customs Memorandum Order11-2016 and CMO 122016 on June 2, effectively allowing North Harbor operator Manila North Harbour Port Inc. to handle foreign cargoes. The subject of CMO 11-2016 was the “Acceptance of foreign vessels and cargos at the Manila North Habor” while CMO 12-2016 was the “Operational Guidelines for the

sub-port of North Harbor.” The two CMOs were preceded by a December 2015 BOC order that awarded MNHPI a certificate of authority to operate as an authorized customs facility. As ACF, MNHPI can handle and store imported goods that are immediately discharged from an arriving airplane, vessel and other means of international transport. PPA has the mandate to allow foreign and domestic vessels to dock at a port, the Portcalls source said. Portcalls also quoted its source as saying port operators have to seek PPA approval for a cargo-handling tariff schedule at the port to which they were given a contract which applies to MNHPI.

PSe comPoSite index Closing June 15, 2016

8300 7840 7380 6920 6460 6000

7,501.65 41.53

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing June 15, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P46.430

44.00

43.00

HIGH P46.315 LOW P46.475 AVERAGE P46.394 VOLUME 600.000M

P427.00-P620.00 LPG/11-kg tank P36.35-P43.45 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P24.75-P29.60 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, June 15, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.1890

Japan

Yen

0.009425

0.4353

Pound

1.411900

65.2142

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128866

5.9522

Switzerland

Franc

1.038314

47.9587

Canada

Dollar

0.777001

35.8889

Singapore

Dollar

0.738225

34.0979

Australia

Dollar

0.735600

33.9766

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654844

122.6246

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266738

12.3204

Brunei

Dollar

0.735510

33.9725

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028353

1.3096

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

12.5767

Euro

1.121000

51.7779

Korea

Won

0.000851

0.0393

China

Yuan

0.151593

7.0019

India

Rupee

0.014863

0.6865

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.243724

11.2574

New Zealand

Dollar

0.698800

32.2769

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030858

1.4253 Source: PDS Bridge

THURSDAY: JUNE 16, 2016

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Wednesday, June 15, 2016

52 Weeks

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 125 85 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 3.95 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 0.62 5 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 1450 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 32 15.32 62.5 20.2 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 20.2 71.5 13.86 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 2.3 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 0.335 3.37 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 801 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5 76 5.29 6.66 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 9.66 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 3.5 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.26 0.152 837 5.3 49.55 3 3.52 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 3 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 1.5 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.48 0.201 0.69

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.97 0.083 0.415

STOCKS

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.93 3.64 45.7 45.5 104.50 102.90 96.90 95.85 37.5 37.45 1.48 1.40 14 13.98 17.6 17.38 7.06 7.00 1.93 1.77 595.00 595.00 0.570 0.550 85.8 84.2 0.92 0.9 15.06 15.00 23.15 23.00 52.80 52.45 107 105 265 262 31.6 31.4 199 197.6 1380.00 1380.00 65.50 65.10 1.54 1.54 INDUSTRIAL Aboitiz Power Corp. 45.3 46 45.3 Agrinurture Inc. 3.98 4.04 3.78 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.83 0.84 0.83 Alsons Cons. 1.99 1.99 1.95 Asiabest Group 12.6 12.5 12.2 C. Azuc De Tarlac 170.10 175.00 175.00 Century Food 21.55 21.6 21.05 Chemphil 135.1 142 142 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 192 194 187 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.2 16.98 16.62 Concepcion 47.5 47.5 47.5 Crown Asia 2.02 2.05 1.99 Da Vinci Capital 5.35 5.4 5.34 Del Monte 11.54 11.5 11.2 DNL Industries Inc. 9.660 9.890 9.510 Emperador 7.03 7.26 7.08 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.20 5.38 5.24 EEI 7.54 7.54 7.45 First Gen Corp. 22 22.5 21.95 First Holdings ‘A’ 64.8 65 64.8 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 12.00 12.00 11.98 14.60 Holcim Philippines Inc. 14.66 14.72 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.64 5.72 5.59 Ionics Inc 2.350 2.380 2.310 Jollibee Foods Corp. 231.00 233.00 230.00 LMG Chemicals 1.89 1.89 1.81 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.32 3.37 3.37 Macay Holdings 38.80 38.65 38.05 Manila Water Co. Inc. 27.2 27.8 27.05 Maxs Group 27.15 27.1 26.5 Megawide 6.55 6.65 6.55 Mla. Elect. Co À’ 307.40 315.00 306.80 MG Holdings 0.270 0.280 0.265 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.50 4.35 4.35 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.38 3.4 3.38 Petron Corporation 11.18 11.14 10.90 Phinma Corporation 11.64 11.64 11.64 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 5.95 6.00 5.88 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.69 1.69 1.65 Pryce Corp. À’ 2.76 2.75 2.72 RFM Corporation 4.25 4.26 4.20 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods À’ 214.6 212 212 Splash Corporation 2.5 2.52 2.51 0.150 0.149 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.149 TKC Steel Corp. 1.65 1.65 1.58 Trans-Asia Oil 2.58 2.55 2.51 Universal Robina 194 198.3 194.4 Victorias Milling 4.67 4.65 4.52 Vitarich Corp. 0.88 0.91 0.88 Vulcan Ind’l. 1.26 1.30 1.22 HOLDING FIRMS Abacus Cons. À’ 0.380 0.385 0.370 Aboitiz Equity 72.90 73.00 72.75 Alliance Global Inc. 16.00 15.96 15.80 Anglo Holdings A 1.14 1.13 1.13 Anscor À’ 6.00 6.19 6.10 ATN Holdings A 0.350 0.350 0.335 ATN Holdings B 0.360 0.345 0.345 Ayala Corp À’ 812 825 809 Cosco Capital 7.68 7.9 7.66 DMCI Holdings 12.70 12.90 12.70 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 6.40 6.45 6.40 Forum Pacific 0.219 0.226 0.226 GT Capital 1440 1440 1425 House of Inv. 6.44 6.40 6.40 JG Summit Holdings 83.20 84.20 82.80 Keppel Holdings À’ 5.04 6.19 6.19 Keppel Holdings `B’ 5.9 5.9 5.9 Lopez Holdings Corp. 7.5 7.6 7.43 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.7 0.7 0.69 LT Group 15 15.2 14.96 Mabuhay Holdings À’ 0.490 0.490 0.490 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 6.2 6.43 6.2 MJCI Investments Inc. 3.57 3.2 3.11 Pacifica À’ 0.0320 0.0330 0.0320 Prime Media Hldg 1.270 1.390 1.270 Prime Orion 1.820 1.830 1.810 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.62 2.62 2.6 San Miguel Corp À’ 79.80 80.00 78.30 Seafront À’ 2.13 2.14 2.13 SM Investments Inc. 956.00 965.00 951.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.17 1.18 1.18 South China Res. Inc. 0.82 0.82 0.80 Top Frontier 184.000 185.000 180.200 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3100 0.3100 0.3050 Wellex Industries 0.1990 0.1970 0.1950 Zeus Holdings 0.320 0.320 0.310 PROPERTY 8990 HLDG 7.700 7.750 7.680 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.22 1.27 1.22 Araneta Prop À’ 2.180 2.260 2.170 Arthaland Corp. 0.275 0.280 0.275 Ayala Land `B’ 37.100 37.950 37.000 Belle Corp. À’ 3.13 3.25 3.17 Cebu Holdings 5.12 5.19 5.18 Century Property 0.500 0.51 0.500 Cityland Dev. À’ 1.100 1.100 1.030 Crown Equities Inc. 0.131 0.131 0.129 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.530 0.660 0.550 AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC À’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

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

SHARES 7,521,728 76,817,706 203,278,412 270,566,820 153,421,036 3,825,632,630 4,544,924,112

3.92 45.5 102.90 96.90 37.5 1.39 14 17.38 7.06 1.78 595.00 0.550 84.45 0.92 14.96 24.00 52.60 103 260 31.6 198 1365.00 65.10 1.59

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

3.9 45.7 104.00 96.60 37.5 1.48 13.98 17.5 7.00 1.77 595.00 0.560 85.45 0.92 15.06 23.00 52.50 105 262 31.45 199 1380.00 65.20 1.54

-0.51 0.44 1.07 -0.31 0.00 6.47 -0.14 0.69 -0.85 -0.56 0.00 1.82 1.18 0.00 0.67 -4.17 -0.19 1.94 0.77 -0.47 0.51 1.10 0.15 -3.14

152,000 16,800 1,816,130 661,570 17,200 127,000 5,200 45,300 43,800 69,000 50 258,000 2,226,650 212,000 42,600 60,600 24,040 520 220 36,900 243,480 15 155,290 29,000

45.35 4.03 0.83 1.96 12.38 175.00 21.05 142 188 16.8 47.5 1.99 5.34 11.22 9.700 7.08 5.32 7.50 22 64.85 11.98 14.72 5.59 2.370 230.00 1.85 3.37 38.65 27.05 26.5 6.61 315.00 0.280 4.35 3.38 11.00 11.64 5.95 1.65 2.74 4.24 212 2.51 0.150 1.63 2.54 197.3 4.64 0.89 1.22

0.11 1.26 0.00 -1.51 -1.75 2.88 -2.32 5.11 -2.08 -2.33 0.00 -1.49 -0.19 -2.77 0.41 0.71 2.31 -0.53 0.00 0.08 -0.17 0.41 -0.89 0.85 -0.43 -2.12 1.51 -0.39 -0.55 -2.39 0.92 2.47 3.70 -3.33 0.00 -1.61 0.00 0.00 -2.37 -0.72 -0.24 -1.21 0.40 0.67 -1.21 -1.55 1.70 -0.64 1.14 -3.17

1,770,800 777,000 48,000 878,000 700 60 891,500 20 1,080 783,500 200 2,647,000 277,800 41,200 2,753,400 349,700 17,835,500 72,500 1,642,100 103,600 4,300 22,100 127,800 1,118,000 285,100 11,000 8,000 200 5,439,100 504,800 77,700 730,660 450,000 2,000 99,000 12,105,300 900 698,700 88,000 122,000 582,000 80 53,000 2,110,000 866,000 1,708,000 1,749,630 13,000 6,678,000 156,000

0.385 72.90 15.96 1.13 6.10 0.345 0.345 820 7.73 12.78 6.40 0.226 1438 6.40 83.40 6.19 5.9 7.45 0.69 15 0.490 6.38 3.2 0.0330 1.390 1.820 2.6 79.80 2.13 955.00 1.18 0.80 185.000 0.3050 0.1960 0.320

1.32 0.00 -0.25 -0.88 1.67 -1.43 -4.17 0.99 0.65 0.63 0.00 3.20 -0.14 -0.62 0.24 22.82 0.00 -0.67 -1.43 0.00 0.00 2.90 -10.36 3.13 9.45 0.00 -0.76 0.00 0.00 -0.10 0.85 -2.44 0.54 -1.61 -1.51 0.00

1,460,000 1,231,870 1,566,900 102,000 15,100 2,280,000 230,000 274,730 925,900 2,714,100 20,900 10,000 102,950 7,000 3,099,980 98,200 100 454,200 185,000 978,900 90,000 34,280,800 25,000 2,000,000 147,188,000 721,000 36,000 263,820 34,000 180,040 1,000 196,000 32,640 920,000 650,000 270,000

7.680 1.26 2.180 0.280 37.950 3.23 5.19 0.510 1.100 0.130 0.610

-0.26 3.28 0.00 1.82 2.29 3.19 1.37 2.00 0.00 -0.76 15.09

58,100 162,048.00 1,301,000 -8,750.00 525,000 50,000 7,527,700 32,515,265.00 198,000 80,190.00 29,500 2,633,000 63,650.00 129,000 7,880,000 173,283,000 -2,089,350.00

423,820.00 5,760,236 -10,057,645.50

-66,568.00

28,150.00 -55,006,055.00 -9,000.00 -11,557.00 -55,040.00 -18,865 15,479,140.00 9,106,745.50 -18,389,335.00 75,800.00 1,980.00 -6,050,650.00

39,840.00 -2,391,913.00 26,929.00 -35,602,849.00 -2,249.00 -11,114,220.00 -1,551,490.00 -14,720.00 -241,808.00 -232,000.00 -16,804,002.00

-146,077,775.00 -141,231.00 -39,351,190.00

-11,881,846.00 1,014,621.00 711,260.00

16,000.00 -491,700.00 15,526,196.00 88,000.00

12,594,149.00 -14,677,144.00

-3,922,350.00 4,411,998.00 -15,996,554.00 14,840,115.00 -39,306,524.50 -1,104,002.00 -1,917,908.00 25,179,407.00 -9,450.00 -54,600.00 -93,620.00 -990,833.50 -91,804,385.00

52 Weeks

High Low

STOCKS

High

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 23 2.69 22.15 1.6 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

Double Dragon 50.4 Empire East Land 0.780 Ever Gotesco 0.157 Global-Estate 0.97 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.99 Interport `A’ 1.26 Megaworld 4.28 MRC Allied Ind. 0.090 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.2900 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.450 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 43.00 Primex Corp. 9.55 Robinson’s Land `B’ 28.60 Rockwell 1.64 SM Prime Holdings 25.10 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.89 Starmalls 6.4 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.010 Vista Land & Lifescapes 5.250

11.31 3.85 -7.64 0.00 -0.50 0.79 0.93 -1.11 -12.07 7.78 0.00 -0.63 2.45 -1.83 0.40 0.00 1.56 0.99 0.38

8,909,410 1,216,000 10,000 3,432,000 8,369,000 33,000 30,792,000 52,000 90,000 50,000 1,000 371,700 2,121,400 66,000 13,707,300 1,318,000 1,800 208,000 5,727,400

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 28.5 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 2.6 7.67 4 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 5.8 0.017

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 18.2 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 2.58 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 3.01 4 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34

12.28 3.32 2.53 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

6.5 1.91 1.01 3.1 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 2.95 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 1.71 5 0.315 1.14

0.00 -1.43 2.42 5.17 1.42 1.40 6.00 3.57 -1.06 1.13 -6.40 1.55 0.29 -1.73 0.32 -0.87 -3.23 0.47 0.00 10.00 -0.10 0.00 -1.82 3.91 -0.99 2.37 -2.07 6.93 -5.00 3.57 0.00 3.33 0.51 -2.43 -4.17 -0.41 0.00 1.25 -0.20 1.18 5.05 -0.73 0.25 -1.41 -0.37 0.00 0.00 -0.30 -1.52 -4.55

75,100 121,900 87,000 2,540,000 16,900

0.8200 2.2800 5.93

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp. Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ Imperial Res. `B’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Manila Broadcasting 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 Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils. Yehey

14,436,300 21,230,000 3,948,000 171,480 2,000 244,600 1,000 66,690 57,000 19,000 757,380 32,200 40 5,000,000 712,000 15,540,000 1,392,000 22,000 6,500 29,300 379,000 1,000 1,100 2,000 210,000 11,446,000 1,378,000 5,020,000 19,600 12,000 200 93,800 42,115 7,840,000 48,729,000 1,535,900 1,266,460 400,000 2,077,000 1,239,000 8,000 1,669,000 20,000 62,800

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 12.7 12.8 1.19 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 6.5 5.11 0.85 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

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

-6.67 0.00 1.36 5.97 0.00 -3.38 -4.25 1.59 -0.23 -1.09 -1.64 0.00 1.79 0.00 0.00 1.10 2.32 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.57 -0.99 0.00 -0.16 -1.95 9.09

3,528,000,000 257,000.00 257,000 -220,360.00 24,000 -4,360.00 16,800 110,000 90,800 30,400 -71,783.00 746,000 7,600 5,899,000 2,728,180.00 840,000 27,810,000 20,000 17,900,000 198,200,000 -1,500.00 293,000 1,576,000 -827,990.00 2,000 1,000 12,000,000 2,000 1,404,400 106,208.00 8,202,200 149,406.00 12,100,000 258,980 -1,517,047.00 538,000 11,930.00 9,100,000

70 525 515 12.28 111 1047

33 500 480 6.5 101 1011

78.95 84.8

74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ GLOBE PREF P Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

-2.76 0.00 0.19 0.93 0.45 -0.58 0.62 0.00 0.00 0.39 0.26 0.00 0.00 -0.26 0.06 -8.40

150,000 2,000 100 100,000 40 1,100 6,000 100 28,190 200 200 62,270 249,840 118,140 166,990 9,000

3.39

85,000

1.27 -4.11 5.99 7.88

1,282,000 9,000 4,350,000 2,030,700

0.57

9,260

-1,838.00

1.34

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp. Italpinas Xurpas

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,702.93 (up) 8.33 INDUSTRIAL 11,516.48 (up) 73.54 HOLDING FIRMS 7,412.84 (up) 24.24 PROPERTY 3,272.56 (up) 58.88 SERVICES 1,569.53 (down) 5.97 MINING & OIL 11,647.26 (up) 10.06 PSEI 7,501.65 (up) 41.53 All Shares Index 4,478.90 (up) 22.92 Gainers: 101; Losers: 92; Unchanged: 46; Total: 239

10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

57.75 46 56.1 0.810 0.780 0.810 0.145 0.145 0.145 0.97 0.96 0.97 1.99 1.96 1.98 1.27 1.25 1.27 4.38 4.31 4.32 0.090 0.089 0.089 0.2800 0.2550 0.2550 0.485 0.450 0.485 43.00 41.00 43.00 9.59 9.44 9.49 29.85 28.60 29.30 1.65 1.61 1.61 25.90 24.90 25.20 0.9 0.88 0.89 6.5 6.4 6.5 1.030 1.000 1.020 5.300 5.190 5.270 SERVICES 7.35 7.4 7.35 7.35 49 49.1 48.3 48.3 1.24 1.28 1.26 1.27 0.580 0.620 0.580 0.610 11.3 11.46 11.3 11.46 28.6 29 28.4 29 5.00 5.36 4.90 5.30 0.0560 0.0600 0.0560 0.0580 2.84 2.95 2.8 2.81 97.6 99.5 97.6 98.7 2.03 1.9 1.9 1.9 6.45 6.60 6.27 6.55 3.41 3.42 3.42 3.42 2310 2322 2270 2270 6.30 6.39 6.30 6.32 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.14 62 61.95 60 60 12.80 13.28 12.30 12.86 167 167 160 167 0.0100 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 9.63 9.62 9.60 9.62 0.325 0.330 0.325 0.325 1.6500 1.6500 1.6200 1.6200 2.3 2.39 2.3 2.39 12.16 12.16 12.02 12.04 7.60 7.78 7.60 7.78 3.38 3.45 3.30 3.31 1.01 1.08 1.08 1.08 20.00 20.00 18.98 19.00 0.560 0.580 0.580 0.580 1.95 1.99 1.95 1.95 2.4 2.54 2.38 2.48 3.94 3.97 3.89 3.96 2.880 2.860 2.780 2.810 12.96 12.96 12.42 12.42 4.85 4.83 4.83 4.83 120.00 120.00 120.00 120.00 24.00 24.35 23.65 24.30 2004.00 2050.00 1980.00 2000.00 0.425 0.450 0.425 0.430 0.990 1.060 1.960 1.040 41.30 41.90 41.00 41.00 79.90 80.50 79.90 80.10 6.39 6.40 6.26 6.30 2.71 2.71 2.67 2.70 0.580 0.580 0.570 0.580 1.89 1.89 1.89 1.89 3.37 3.4 3.35 3.36 0.330 0.335 0.325 0.325 6.600 6.600 6.210 6.300 MINING & OIL 0.0045 0.0046 0.0042 0.0042 2.29 2.30 2.24 2.29 4.40 4.46 4.32 4.46 10.38 11.30 10.30 11.00 0.229 0.229 0.228 0.229 7.4000 7.35 6.91 7.1500 7.5300 7.6000 7.0500 7.2100 0.63 0.64 0.62 0.64 8.55 8.68 8.53 8.53 0.920 0.920 0.900 0.910 0.305 0.305 0.295 0.300 0.260 0.260 0.255 0.260 0.280 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.0150 0.0150 0.0140 0.0150 0.0150 0.0160 0.0140 0.0150 1.82 1.84 1.81 1.84 4.75 4.9 4.67 4.86 2.65 2.67 2.65 2.65 1.2400 1.2400 1.2400 1.2400 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 4.04 4.04 4.04 4.04 8.70 8.74 8.61 8.65 5.05 5.29 4.94 5.00 0.0130 0.0140 0.0130 0.0130 129.00 129.70 128.70 128.80 4.1 4.11 3.99 4.02 0.0110 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 PREFERRED 48.95 48.95 47.6 47.6 536 536 536 536 534 535 535 535 1.07 1.08 1.08 1.08 110.5 111 111 111 1036 1035 1030 1030 113.3 114 113.5 114 79.5 79.5 79.5 79.5 81 81 80.65 81 76.7 77 77 77 76.3 76.5 76.5 76.5 78.5 78.6 78.5 78.5 78 78.1 78 78 77.2 77 77 77 76.95 77 76 77 2.38 2.18 2.11 2.18 WARRANTS & BONDS 2.950 3.050 2.940 3.050 SME 3.93 4.05 3.86 3.98 3.65 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.34 3.66 3.35 3.54 15.48 16.7 15.56 16.7 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 122.5 124.1 122.7 123.2

T op g ainerS VALUE 616,486,537.55 1,483,689,881.13 1,465,218,187.41 1,476,653,195.415 938,216,738.7514 130,999,772.454 6,165,475,680.7114

Low

6,613,223.50 19,400.00 -4,667,770.00 18,611,120.00

944,000.00 -3,943,180.00 -1,610.00 15,259,125.00 -222,500.00 -1,672,181.00 -186,718.00

118,040.00 -20,416,393.00 4,212,974.50

-66,802,810.00 -4,163,895.00

1,923,082.00 22,750.00 -16,300.00 3,890

-195,000.00 1,364,180.00 -540,970.00 273,200.00 24,000.00 -36,215.00 -5,897,675.00 -21,750.00 -12,428,360.00 -14,824,230.00 9,753,231.50 121,300.00 580,000.00 -308,760.00

-1,653,805.00

-661,770.00 314,440.00

7,770.00 -10,270.00 -3,903,220.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Keppel Holdings `A'

6.19

22.82

Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2550

-12.07

Cyber Bay Corp.

0.610

15.09

MJCI Investments Inc.

3.2

-10.36

Double Dragon

56.1

11.31

Swift Pref

2.18

-8.40

IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

0.0110

10.00

Ever Gotesco

0.145

-7.64

Prime Media Hldg

1.390

9.45

Abra Mining

0.0042

-6.67

United Paragon

0.0120

9.09

Discovery World

1.9

-6.40

Xurpas

16.7

7.88

Manila Broadcasting

19.00

-5.00

Phil. Realty `A'

0.485

7.78

Yehey

6.300

-4.55

Lorenzo Shipping

1.08

6.93

Benguet Corp `B'

7.2100

-4.25

Bright Kindle Resources

1.48

6.47

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

12.42

-4.17

THURSDAY: JUNE 16, 2016

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

SM to invest P7b in new hotels By Jenniffer B. Austria

THE SM Group will invest P7 billion over the next five years to expand its hotel and convention center business, an executive said Wednesday. SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. senior vice president Peggy Angeles said the P7-billion budget would be used to build five new hotels and one convention center. Angeles disclosed the investment plan during the opening of Conrad Manila, a 347-room premier hotel at Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City. Angeles said the planned investments would include a 200-room businessman’s hotel at SM North Edsa complex in Quezon City. Angeles said SM Hotels would break ground for the new hotel in Quezon City in the third quarter, with completion expected after 30 months.

She said the company was also looking at sites in Pampanga, Cebu, Iloilo and Naga for the new hotels. The planned hotels will have an average size of 150 to 200 rooms. SM Hotels president Elizabeth Sy said the company remained confident about the prospects for the tourism industry in the country. “Outlook for tourism industry is very positive with rising tourist arrivals.That is why are we are gung-ho with our expansion,’’ she said. Sy said the 347-room Conrad Hotel was expected to be the one of the premier hotels in Metro Manila. “We are pleased to work

with Hilton Worldwide in bringing the esteemed Conrad brand to Manila. Amidst the robust tourism outlook, the most anticipated opening of Conrad Manila will definitely be a game changer in the already exciting Philippine hotel scene,” Sy said. “We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Hilton Worldwide in further elevating the hotel industry in the country,” Sy said. Conrad Manila offers four contemporary event halls and two sophisticated ballrooms, spanning more than 4,000 square meters which are fitted with state-of-theart audio and visual technology. SM Hotels currently operates more than 1,100 rooms housed in the 261-room Taal Vista Hotel, in Tagaytay City, the 396-room upscale Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu, the 154-room Pico Sands Hotel in Hamilo Coast, the 202-room Park Inn by Radisson in Davao and the 154-room Park Inn Clark in Pampanga.

Shang Properties’ listing anniversary. Shang Properties Inc. celebrates its silver

anniversary as a listed firm through a special bell ringing ceremony at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The property developer debuted at the PSE on June 13, 1991. Shown during the bell ringing ceremony at PSE are (from left) Shang Properties directors Kean Choon Koay, Danila Regina Fojas, Kin Sun Ng, Federico Noel Jr., PSE chairman Jose Pardo, president and chief executive Hans Sicat, chief operating officer Roel Refran, marketing services department head Jose Antonio Vilar, corporate planning and investor relations division head and capital markets development division officer-in-charge John Benette Mamañgun.

Stocks climb; Cyber Bay tops gainers STOCKS rose Wednesday, as Chinese shares led a rebound in Asia and currencies held declines before the US Federal Reserve’s policy review. The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 41 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 7,501.65. The bellwether was up 7.9 percent this year. The heavier index, representing all shares, advanced 22 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,478.90, on value turnover of P6.2 billion. Advancers led gainers, 101 to 92, while 46 issues were unchanged. Fourteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Cyber Bay Corp. which jumped 17 percent to P0.62 and DoubleDragon Properties Corp. which climbed 11.3 percent to P56. Bloomberry Resorts Corp. advanced 6.6 percent to P5.36, while Metro Pacific Investments

Corp. added 3.1 percent to close at P6.39. Meanwhile, most Asian markets rose Wednesday after a succession of losses but fears Britain will leave the European Union are keeping traders on edge, while Shanghai soared despite index compiler MSCI again refusing to include it in its list of key benchmarks. Investors from the Americas to Asia have been fleeing for the exit over the past week as a succession of opinion polls put Britain’s “Leave” camp in front as the June 23 vote approaches. The prospect of one of the big three economies leaving the bloc has led to warnings of a bloodbath on global trading floors, just as dealers struggle to recover from a China-fuelled rout that wiped out trillions of dollars at the start of the year. “We have anxiety over Britain

leaving the EU,” Chihiro Ohta, a senior strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Bloomberg News. “We can’t do anything on the issue and we just have to wait for the vote patiently.” The three main indexes in New York ended between 0.1 and 0.3 percent lower, while in Europe the selling was much heavier as traders fret over the future of the sixdecade-old economic bloc -- London lost two percent and Paris 2.4 percent. Worries about the impact of an exit sent the yield of rock-solid 10-year German debt into negative territory for the first time in history as dealers fled to safe investments. But most investors in Asia took the opportunity to pick up bargains on Wednesday with Tokyo ending up 0.4 percent, and Hong Kong closing 0.4 percent higher. With AFP, Bloomberg

PCCI chooses GDP over climate change mitigation THE reality of worsening world climatic conditions and the international realization of the need for a universal response has forced governments, private institutions and people to make choices between realistic alternatives to continued normal existence on this planet. Like the rest of the 192 members of the United Nations the Philippines signed in December 2015, a treaty committing all signatories to limiting the Earth’s average temperature increase to 2 degrees above an agreed base figure. The Philippines’ by-2030 commitment for reduction of carbon emissions – submitted to COP21 (the 21st Conference of Parties on Climate Change) – was 70 percent. Foremost among the private institutions that have been under pressure to take a position on the issue of climate change mitigation is the business sector of this country, which is principally represented by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. PCCI has now stated its position. That position, contained in a recent letter from president George Barcelon to the Climate Change Commission, which was created by Congress a few years ago to provide focus for the government’s climate change mitigation efforts. “We are very much concerned,” George Barcelon’s letter began, “on how this 70-percent commitment will impact on industries, especially those in the manufacturing sector and the small and medium enterprises.” The letter went on to say that if interventions in order to reach a 70-percent reduction were to be capital-intensive, enterprises and industries “would be under pressure to incur higher operational costs and consumers would be paying higher prices for goods and services.” Therefore, Barcelon’s letter concluded, “With Philippine manufacturing only starting to redevelop, the measures that should be adopted should balance the need to sustain economic growth with the need to protect the environment.” He noted that the previous goal of 40 percent reduction had been supported by the private sector and suggested that a 40 percent reduction was “the threshold [at] which industries could reduce their carbon emission.” Assuming that he does not subscribe to the position that he took in his letter to the CCC, George Barcelon does not deserve criticism. He was only acting as the bearer of a message. One may kill a message but never the messenger. PCCI deserves criticism in full measure. Barcelon’s letter was reflective of an institutional mindset made up of two parts that are equally unacceptable. The first part is that it is business-as-usual in the world, which includes this country. The second part of the mindset is that in the realm of policymaking the Philippine business community – particularly the manufacturing sector – must be accorded priority over all else. Let me address the business-as-usual part first. I pose the question, is PCCI for real? Some of the hottest-ever years have occurred in the past dozen years, and PCCI thinks it is business as usual? Really bad bad natural disasters have been occurring with frightening frequency in places in the globe that never experienced them before – the most recent example being the overflowing of the Seine River’s banks in Paris, a city with a history of climatic stability – and PCCI thinks it can still be business as usual in this country? And how about Ondoy followed in unrelenting succession by Pablo, Reming, Sendong and that more recent nightmare, Yolanda? Now, the second part of the apparent PCCI mindset. In taking the position it has – to wit, that the Philippine government’s commitment to the COP21 agreement is bad for the manufacturing sector’s growth and therefore bad for the nation – PCCI, through its messenger George Barcelon, has echoed the dictum laid down in the 1940s by General Motors Corp. chairman Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson: “What is good for General Motors is good for the US.” A statement worded in that fashion was bound to be misinterpreted, and it was. Charles Wilson never lived down that boo-boo, and today it is one of the prime entries in the lexicon of not-to-be-made business statements. If what PCCI and George Barcelon were trying to say was that what is good for PCCI’s members is good for this country, they are very wrong, like Charles Wilson was. A whole is greater than any of its parts; the PCCI membership can never be greater than the national economy. In the same manner that what was good for General Motors could not be equated with what was good for the US, so the best interest of George Barcelon and his PCCI colleagues need not be in best interest of this country of 102 million people. Most certainly, it is not so in the increasingly urgent matter of climate change mitigation. PCCI and George Barcelon don’t have to be told that global warming and world climate worsening are no longer postponable deferrable, business-asusual matters. After a disastrous El Niño episode, this country is looking at a La Niña that could be worse, and there are the usual 20 or so typhoons lining up to visit these exposed islands this year. After much study and review, the Philippine government has made a commitment of 70-percent carbon emissions reduction to the UN. That’s a done deal. The commitment cannot – and should not – be watered down. The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable and foreign-assistance-needy countries in the world where climate change is concerned. Instead of responding to the government in “It’s bad for us” fashion, PCCI should put the experts to work to see how continued manufacturing-sector growth and attainment of 70-percent carbon emissions reduction can be reconciled. Perhaps the increase from 40 percent to 70 percent will not be as capital-intensive as PCCI fears it will be. In any event, George Barcelon should not be shot; he is only the messenger. It is PCCI that should be shot, for its inward-looking, damn-the-nation attitude toward climate change mitigation. E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

THURSDAY: JUNE 16, 2016

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

Remittances rise 4% to $2.2b IN BRIEF Toyota, Mitsubishi bag perks THE Board of Investments on Wednesday announced the approval of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. and Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. as participating car makers of the country’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program. Trade assistant secretary Rafaelita Aldaba said the Cars program aimed to raise local vehicle manufacturing to expand the country’s auto parts making capabilities. Cars is expected to attract P27 billion in fresh investments, manufacture 600,000 more vehicles and add P300 billion to the domestic economy, or equivalent to 1.7 percent of gross domestic product. “The government has set a high level of ambition for the CARS Program, targeting the need to promote an economically-viable scale of production that will allow our auto sector to compete within the region for speciﬁc auto models,” Aldaba said. Mitsubishi applied to produce 200,000 units of the Mirage/ Mirage G4 while Toyota applied for the production of 230,000 units of an all new (full model change) Vios. As participating carmakers, they are required to localize the production of body shell and large plastic parts and components. Mitsubishi will start production in 2017.

Toshiba bullish on storage TOSHIBA Information Equipment Inc. said it plans to maximize the potential of the US and China as growth markets for its storage business, particularly in the production and export of solid state drive. Toshiba corporate representative in Asia and managing director for Toshiba-Asia Pacifc Lte. Tatsuo Doko said that while the market for personal computers and television sets slowed down in 2015, the company expected the growth of the storage business to make up for the slack and bring in revenues. “We had ﬂat growth for the PC and TV segments, but demand for storage devices remain strong especially with the increasing need of companies to keep their data safe in one place,” he said in a news brieﬁng during the opening of the 2016 Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. TIP has been producing hard disk drives and SSD in the Philippines since 1996. It has shipped over 500 million units of HDD and SSD to clients from different markets worldwide. Othel V. Campos

By Julito G. Rada

MONEY sent home by Filipinos working overseas grew 4.1 percent in April to $2.2 billion from $2.1 billion a year ago, amid sustained demand for skilled workers abroad, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday. The April expansion made up for the revised 1.2-percent decline in March. This brought cash remittances in the ﬁrst four months to $8.67 billion, up by 3.1 percent from $8.4 billion a year ago. “Cash remittances from both land-based [$6.8 billion] and sea-based [$1.9 billion] workers grew by 3.8 percent and 0.8 percent year-on-year, respectively. More than three-fourths of cash remittances came from the United States, Saudi Arabia,

the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Germany,” Bangko Sentral said in a statement. Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also increased 3.8 percent in April to $2.44 billion from $2.35 billion a year ago. This brought total personal remittances in the first four months to $9.577 billion, up 3 percent from $9.3 billion last year. “The continued growth in personal remittances was due mainly to the steady remittance inflows from land-based overseas Filipino workers with work contracts of one year or more, amounting $7.3 billion, and compensation of seabased workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts [excluding their expenditures abroad], which reached $2.1 billion,” Bangko Sentral said. It said the sustained demand for Filipino workers abroad continued to provide support to the growth of remittance inflows. Preliminary data from the Philippine

Overseas Employment Administration showed that a total of 777,887 contracts were processed in the first four months of 2016. DBS Bank of Singapore said at the current pace, total remittances this year would likely hit a record $27 billion, or close to a 5-percent growth from last year. “This is important on several fronts. Firstly, with the agriculture sector still under the cosh, remittance flows are crucial to prop up household spending in the rural areas. As a result, consumption growth is set to remain robust at 6.2 percent this year. Secondly, as we have noted previously, robust remittance flows also offset any drag on the external balance stemming from weak merchandise export growth,” DBS said. Cash remittances grew 4.6 percent in 2015 to $25.767 billion from $24.628 billion in 2014. It accounted for around 10 percent of gross domestic product. Bangko Sentral predicted a four-percent growth in remittances this year.

Therma acquires El Paso THERMA Power Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., has acquired El Paso Philippines Energy Co. Inc.’s 50-percent interest in East Asia Utilities Corp. for P509.41 million. Aboitiz Power said in a disclosure to the exchange the deal was forged through a share purchase agreement signed on June 14. “The acquisition of the shares in EAUC is in line with Aboitiz Power’s target to increase its attributable net sellable capacity to 4,000 megawatts by 2020,” Aboitiz Power said. East Asia Utilities operates a bunker C-ﬁred power plant with an installed capacity of 50 MW in Barangay Ibo, Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu. The power plant has the capability of providing critical peaking and ancillary services to the Visayas grid. Therma Power acquired 5,021,690 shares of El Paso, representing 50 percent of the outstanding shares of East Asia Utilities, bringing its ownership to 100 percent. Alena Mae S. Flores

Basic drills geothermal well THE consortium of Basic Energy Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. has started drilling an exploratory well for a geothermal project in San Teodoro, Mabini, Batangas. Basic Energy said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the move followed the Energy Department’s approval of the consortium’s notice of intent to drill in geothermal service contract no. 8 in April. The approval followed the consortium’s awarding of the drilling contract to Diamond Drilling Corp. of the Philippines, a subsidiary of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. “The drilling of the exploratory well is aimed at determining the extent of the resource. Tests will be done immediately after drilling to ascertain temperature and ﬂow rate, as well as other results necessary to plan for future work programs on production holes,” Basic Energy senior vice president Anthony Cuaycong said. Basic Energy will drill an exploratory hole with a minimum depth of 1,500 meters to determine the temperature and other qualities of the steam resource. Alena Mae S. Flores

Biggest telecoms fair THE widest assortment of cellphone units and gadgets is showcased at the 23rd Telecommunications and Accessories Fair, the biggest of its kind in the country, at the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan City. The fair, which runs from June 10 to July 4, boasts of 1,400 participants, mostly importers, manufacturers, mall suppliers, traders, wholesalers and retailers who are seasoned businessmen whose career has been propelled with their regular participation in the event. The Telecommunications Fair, aside from selling the latest top-of-the-line cellphone units, also has assorted gadgets and accessories under one roof, such as ipods, ipads, tablets, powerbanks, laptops, chargers, cables, cases and screen protectors, memory devices, speakers, headsets and earphones. The 25-day fair is organized by Prime Asia Trade Planners and Convention Organizers headed by Henry Babiera.

Jardine preserves heritage THE National Historical Commission of the Philippines and Jardine Distribution Inc. continue their efforts in preserving historical sites. “We are happy that we are able to continue this meaningful partnership with NHCP. Solignum is all about preserving what we have so future generations can enjoy it or learn from it,” said Peachy Tiu, JDI marketing manager. “Preserving our historical landmarks is our own contribution to nation building and our way of showing gratitude to the Filipino people for trusting Solignum all these past decades,” Tiu said. JDI helps in preserving cultural heritage by donating and applying Solignum wood preservatives to the structures to protect these from further deterioration. Solignum has mastered the science of total termite solution—from timber protection to soil treatment and decorative products. Among the projects that are successfully preserved and restored by the partnership are the historical Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite and Museo ni Apolinario Mabini located at Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sta. Mesa.

SMC stockholders meeting. San Miguel Corp. reports during its annual stockholders meeting that its consolidated operating income rose 38 percent in the first quarter to P22.8 billion, on strong performance of core food, beverage and packaging businesses, higher revenues from power and infrastructure units and healthy margins from Petron Corp. Shown are (from left) SMC chief finance officer Ferdinand Constantino, president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang and chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.

MetroPac open to infrastructure deal with SMC By Darwin G. Amojelar METRO Pacific Investments Corp. is open to a partnership with San Miguel Corp. to jointly pursue infrastructure projects under the Durterte administration, a top executive said Wednesday. “As to infrastructure in general, yes, we are open to that. There has been some conversation in that respect but nothing definite as we speak, except for the power plants,” Metro Pacific chairman Manuel Pangilinan said. Pangilinan’s statement came after San Miguel president Ramon Ang said he was in advanced stage of negotiations with the MPIC group for possible joint venture in the development of a $10-billion international airport. San Miguel in 2014 proposed to build a $10-billion modern international airport on a 1,600-hectare reclamation site along Manila Bay over a period of five to seven years. The planned airport project will have four runways capable of handling 150 million passengers annually and can accommodate 250 takeoffs and landings per hour, up

from Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s current capacity of 40 takeoffs and landings per hour. The Transportation Department, however, opted to look for alternative sites for the new international gateway. Aside from the airport project, San Miguel was also in talks with Pangilinan’s group for other big-ticket projects the new government planned to bid out, including tollways and railway projects. MPIC has interest in power, tollways, rail, water distribution and hospital businesses. Pangilinan said Manila Electric Co., where Metro Paciﬁc has substantial investments, earlier made an offer to invest in two power plants owned by San Miguel. “The ﬁrst step I believe, because we gave off-take agreements to two of his plants. So, Meralco has proposed that we invest in those plants and I think Ramon [Ang] is open to such an investment by Meralco,” he said. Meralco earlier signed deals with San Miguel-led power plant operators, including Central Luzon Premiere Power

Corp. and Mariveles Power Generation Corp. The power distributor will purchase up to 528 megawatt of capacity from both power plants under the agreement. Metro Paciﬁc also formed a strategic alliance with GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty last month by swapping shares and acquiring a majority stake in the latter’s power generation unit. Metro Paciﬁc’s associate, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings Inc., through wholly-owned subsidiary Beacon PowerGen Holdings Inc., signed an agreement with GT Capital to acquire 56 percent of Global Business Power Corp. for P22.6 billion. Pangilinan said the investment in Global Power was a part of the company’s drive to accelerate the pace of overall participation in the power generation sector, while allowing Meralco to focus on servicing its Luzon customers. Global Power is the leading power supplier in Visayas with an aggregate 852 megawatts of coal- and diesel-powered generating capacity, including 150 MW that will start operations later this year.

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE POWER PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT (PPSA), AS AMENDED, BETWEEN NUEVA ECIJA I ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. AND GNPOWER ERC CASE NO. 2016-037 RC LTD. CO., WITH PRAYER FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION AND THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY NUEVA ECIJA I ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (NEECO IAND GNPOWER LTD. CO. (GNPOWER), Applicants. x---------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 04 April 2016, the Nueva Ecija I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO I) and GNP ower Ltd. Co. (GNPOWER) filed an Application for approval of the power purchase and sale agreement (PPSA), as amended, with prayer for confidential treatment of information and the issuance of provisional authority. In the said Application, NEECO I and GNPOWER alleged the following: 1. Applicant NEECO I is a, non-stock, non-profit electric cooperative organized under Philippine laws, with principal office address at Malapit, San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. It is authorized to distribute and provide electricity services to its member consumers in the City of Gapan, Municipalities of Jaen, San Antonio, Cabiao and San Isidro, all in the Province of Nueva Ecija (hereinafter referred as the “Franchise Area”). A copy of NEECO 1’s Certificate of Franchise is herewith attached to form an integral part hereof as Annex “A”. A copy of its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws are also attached as Annexes “A-1” and “A2” to form integral parts hereof; 2. Applicant GNPOWER is a duly registered limited partnership organized and existing by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. It is engaged in the business of developing, constructing, operating, ‘ and owning power generation facilities. Its principal office is at 28th Floor, Orient Square Building, Don FranciscO Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas ‘ Center, Pasig City. Copies of its Certification of Registration issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Amended Articles of Partnership are herewith attached to form integral parts hereof as Annexes “B” and “B-1”, respectively; 3. Applicants may be served with orders, notices, and other legal processes of this Honorable Commission through the address of the undersigned counsels; 4. By and pursuant to Sections 25, 43 (u) and 45 (b) of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of2001 (EPIRA) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, this Application is respectfully submitted to the Honorable Commission for its due consideration and approval of the Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, executed by and between Applicants NEECO I and GNPOWER; I. STATEMENT OF FACTS 5. NEECO I, along with eleven other electric cooperatives1 in the Central Luzon region, created Central Luzon Electric Cooperative Association -First Luzon Aggregation Group, Inc. (CLECAFLAG), a corporation duly registered with the SEC, as evidenced by herewith attached copy of its Certificate of Registration, which is made an integral part hereof as Annex “C”; 6. CLECAFLAG, owned and controlled by twelve memberElectric Cooperatives (“ECs”), was formed’to coordinate and manage the administration of power supply process including joint planning and selection process, contracting of power of the member-ECs to ensure sustainable power supply and reduced electricity rates in the region; 7. Accordingly, in 2013, ‘CLECAFLAG conducted a competitive selection process to bid out the forward power’ needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base load power from new generating capacity/ies for twenty (20) years starting late 2018, subject to the Honorable Commission’s approval process and the signing by all the member-ECs of the PPSA, as per the award notice and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to meet the growing demand of the member-ECs; 8. In the selection of a new power provider, CLECAFLAG employed extensive evaluation parameters and procedures, and with all twelve member-ECs further represented through their own Technical Working Groups. The selection process was conducted in two stages, including a Swiss Challenge, as follows: a. The first stage is the selection of a Generation Company (“GenCo”) that will submit a Firm Proposal (the “Firm Proponent”) for the aggregated base load to be contracted by the memberECs. The GenCo shall be selected based on the committed price cap, among other key contract terms. CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap was PhP4.09/kWh or PhP4.5808/kWh, inclusive of VAT. Nonetheless, the evaluation of the price cap shall be based on expected levelized price for the duration of the contract; b. The second stage is the announcement of the Firm Proposal, or that offer of the GenCo which submitted the lowest proposed committed price cap. The Firm Proposal shall then be subjected to “Swiss Challenge” by other GenCos who were declared ‘ qualified during the first stage. The Original Firm Proponent has the right to match the

proposal of the Challenger; 9. On the first stage of the selection process, three GenCos participated by submitting their respective bids, namely: GNPOWER, AES Philippines (AES) , and San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC); 10. Based on the ranking determined through CLECAFLAG’s evaluation using a specified set of bid parameters and references in the transaction documents, GNPOWER was declared as the Firm Proponent, while AES, submitting a bid that was PhPo.23/kWh greater than that of GNPOWER, was the Challenger who had an opportunity to counter GNPOWER’s proposal through Swiss Challenge. Meanwhile, SMEC was disqualified for submitting a price offer that is higher than CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap of PhP4·09/kWh; 11. On 8 November 2013, CLECAFLAG and GNPOWER entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), .which is made an integral part hereof as , Annex “D”, with the · individual member-ECs as witnesses, to define each of CLECAFLAG and GNPOWER’s (as the Firm Proponent) rights and obligations under transaction, such as the following, among others: a. CLECAFLAG shall allow only AES to participate in the Swiss Challenge of GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal (Section 4.6); b. CLECAFLAG shall immediately award the PPSA with finality to GNPOWER in any of the following circumstances xxx (a) AES’ failure to submit Letter of Intent to Challenge (Section 4· 7); c. After awarding the PPSA with finality to GNPOWER, CLECAFLAG shall enter into a PPSA with GNPOWER and/or cause its member-ECs to enter into a PPSA. AES, however, failed to submit a counterproposal to match GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal. 12. On 10 March 2014, CLECAFLAG declared GNPOWER as the winning proponent, evidenced by herewith attached copy of CLECAFLAG’s letter of the same date, which is made an integral part hereof as Annex “E”. GNPOWER shall, then, execute individual power supply agreements with the twelve member-ECs·, 13. Copies of relevant documents used in the competitive selection process conducted by CLECAFLAG to bid out the forward power needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base’load power, are attached as follows: ANNEX “F” “F-1” “F-2” “F-3” “F-4”

14. During the negotiations conducted between GNPOWER and each of the twelve (12) member-ECs for the finalization of a PPSA and the final review of the latter’s projected base load electricity demand, it had come to their attention that the twelve (12) member-ECs would not be able to procure 300 MW of aggregated base load power in the first Contract Year, as committed in the transaction; 15. As a result, GNPOWER and the member-ECs negotiated to have an interim supply period, which is estimated to commence on December 2018 subject to the ERC’s approval process; 16. On 10 June 2014, GNPOWER executed with each of NEECO I and nine (9) other member-ECs. The PPSA between GNPOWER and NEECO I is herewith attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex “G” 2; 17. GNPOWER agreed to extend the negotiations with CLECAFLAG and its two member-ECs that have not yet signed their respective PPSAs to allow CLECAFLAG to significantly fulfill its obligation under the MOA; , 18. Further, GNPOWER offered to assist CLECAFLAG and its member-ECs in fulfilling their obligation to cause the signing of an aggregated 300 MW PPSA as a requirement for GNPOWER’s project milestones, and on 18 September 2015, GNPOWER, in its appreciation to NEECO I and other member-ECs for being early supporters of the GNPOWER project, executed an amendment to the PPSA reducing the rate· indicated in the PPSA in favor of NEECO 1. On January 28, 2016, another amendment was executed for the revision of the contracted capacity of NEECO 1. The amendments are attached hereto as Annexes “H” and “H-1”, respectively, and made an integral part hereof; II. ABSTRACT OF THE PPSA, AS AMENDED, AND OTHER RELATED INFORMATION 19. The following are the salient features of the subject PPSA, as amended: A. Term of Agreement. The PPSA, as amended, shall be effective at the date of its execution, and shall terminate after 240 months from the date specified in the Commencement Date Notice3 defined as the written notice that indicates the commencement of the first delivery of electric capacity at full commercial operation of the first unit of GNPOWER’s facility4. B. Source of Supply. GNPOWER shall make available, sell, and deliver or cause to be delivered to NEECO I the Products5 at the Delivery Point, whether sourced from GNPOWER’s facility or from other electricity generators, including the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). GNPOWER’s facility shall be constructed and operated in Mariveles, Bataan. The Technical Details of the Project is herewith attached to form an integral part hereof as Annex “I”; C. Contracted Capacity. NEECO I is contractually . entitled to receive from GNPOWER, at any hour, subject to GNPOWER’s Available Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended) for such hour, the Contracted Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended), as follows:

Contracted Capacity (kW) 26,000 26,500 27,000 27,500 28,000 29,000 30,000 31,000 32,000 33,000

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Contracted Capacity (kW) 34,000 35,000 36,000 37,000 38,000 39,000 40,000 41,000 42,000 43,000

Year 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

c.1. Option to Increase Contracted Capacity. Section 2.7 of the PPSA, as amended, provides that upon written notice to GNPOWER, NEECO I may, upon approval by GNPOWER, increase its Contracted Capacity which increase shall be subjected to the same terms and conditions contained in the PPSA, as amended. In considering whether or not to approve the request for increase in Contracted Capacity, GNPOWER may take .into consideration the capacity available for such increase from . its facility in its sole opinion, and/ or the willingness of any other buyer to assign its Contracted ‘ Capacity. Such increase in Contracted Capacity shall be’ effective on the date GNPOWER gives its written approval. D. Contract · Price. The Contract Price shall be composed of Capacity Price and Energy Price. d.1 The Capacity Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the cost, as well as the operations and maintenance of the power plant and is designated as the Capacity Fee in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as amended; as such may be adjusted from ‘ time to time based on GNPOWER’s Capacity Factor. The corresponding Capacity Fee for a given Capacity Utilization Factor is set forth in the table below: Capacity Capacity Utilization Fee Factor (%) ($/kWh) 100% 0.0466 99% 0.0470 98% 0.0474 97% 0.0477 96% 0.0481 95% 0.0485 94% 0.0489 93% 0.0493 92% 0.0497 91% 0.0502 90% 0.0506 89% 0.0510 88% 0.0515 87% 0.0519 86% 0.0524 85% 0.0529 84% 0.0534 83% 0.0539 82% 0.0544 81% 0.0549 80% 0.0555 79% 0.0561 78% 0.0567 77% 0.0573 76% 0.0579 75% 0.0585 74% 0.0592 73% 0.0599 72% 0.0606 71% 0.0613 70% 0.0621 69% 0.0629 68% 0.0637 67% 0.0645 66% 0.0653 65% 0.0662 In case the Capacity Utilization Factor is not a whole number, the Capacity Fee shall be computed using the formula below. Capacity Fee = -0.10773 X (CUF)3 + 0.33975 X (CUF)2 -0.3932 x (CUF) + 0.2078 Where: Capacity Fee = is the Capacity Fee in $/kWh CUF

The Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) shall be computed as follows: Capacity Utilization= Factor (CUF)

Q CCx(HT-EHTO)

Where: Q

Quantity of kWh

Contracted Capacity, in kW, as set forth in Schedule 1

Total number of hours in such Billing Period

EHTO

The sum of the duration, in Equivalent Hours, of Scheduled Outages and Unscheduled Outages in such Billing Period

Where: IEF

Initial Energy $O.0370/kWh

CIFn

CIF Cost of Fuel for Billing Period n

CIFo

Fee

equal

Base CIF Cost of Fuel equal to $11.5573/million kCal , E. Prompt Payment Discount. Section 4.3 (c) of

the PPSA, as amended, provides that if NEECO I pays the invoice in full within ten (10) days of receipt from GNPOWER, NEECO I shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to $0.0012/kWh multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. . F. Capacity Utilization Discount. Section 4.3 (d) · of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if NEECO I pays the invoice amount in full in accordance with GNPOWER’s invoice instruction on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of the succeeding calendar month from the relevant Billing Period and NEECO 1’s CUF is greater than or equal to · 65%, aside from the Prompt Payment Discount, NEECO I shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to 2.8% of the Energy Fee multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. G. Scheduled and Unscheduled Outage. Pursuant to Section 2.2, GNPOWER is allowed Scheduled Outage not to exceed five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year, during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to NEECO 1. Likewise, GNPOWER is allowed Unscheduled Outage of five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to the Buyer; III. COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT PRICE AND IMPACT ON NEECO I’S OVERALL RATES 20. The PPSA, as amended, was executed between NEECO I and GNPOWER to respond to the growing power demand of . NEECO 1’s member consumers, which its current providers may not be able to meet and supply; 21. Currently, NEECO I receives 100% of its total demand requirement of 30MW from its existing supplier. With an annual average growth of 5.5%, NEECO 1’s peak demand is forecasted to increase to 37.2 MW by 2020. Copies of NEECO 1’s Supply-Demand Scenario from 2010 to 2024, Historical and Forecasted Data, and Average Daily Load Curve are herewith attached to form integral part hereof as Annexes “J” to “J-2”; 22. The additional supply from GNPOWER assures the member-consumers of NEECO I of adequate and reliable power service, thus, less likelihood of power outages and brownouts; 23. NEECO I conducted a rate impact analysis which resulted in a lower effective rate of PhP3.6704/kWh with supply coming from GNPOWER, compared to a rate of PhP4.3637 kWh without GNPOWER, or a reduction of PhP0.6933/kWh if with GNPOWER supply, as follows: WITHOUT VAT Simulation of Generation Mix Rate with GNPOWER for the Year 2020 Power Supplier

Forecasted 2020 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

2025 Average Rate (P/kWh)

GNPower

185,548,543.90

672,616,429

98%

3.6250

WESM

3,692,186

21,968,016

5.9499

TOTAL

189,240,729

694,584,445

100%

3.6704

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/ kWh) 3.6704

Simulation ofGeneration Mix Rate without GNPOWER for the Year 2020 Power Supplier

Forecasted 2020 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

Average Rate (P/kWh)

APRI (non-vat)

189,240,729

825,781,748

100%

4.3637

WESM TOTAL

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/ kWh)

4.3637

0% 189,240,729

825,781,748

100%

4.3637

RATE REDUCTION -0.6933

Notes:

Average Rate of GN from January to December 2015 (VAT exclusive, net of discounts); Average Resulting CUF at 82% APRI is a non-VAT since it is a renewable energy. Prompt Payment Discount of APRI is 0.1652/kWh.

24. Aside from the lower generation cost of the power supply from GNPOWER, NEECO I is also entitled to Prompt Payment Discount and Capacity Utilization Discount, if conditions are met, which makes even more competitive the proposed rate contained in the subject PPSA, as amended; 25. In support of the instant Application for the approval of the PPSA, as amended, Applicants further attach the following documents to form integral parts hereof, to wit:, ANNEX

DOCUMENTS

“K”

Details-of the PPSA, as amended

“K-1”

Discussion of Rate Calculation and Sample Computation

“L”

GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected EquityIRR

“M”

Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and- Projected Fuel Costs

“N”

Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow

“O”

Details of Fuel Procurement

“O-1”

Sworn Statement — Coal Procurement Process

“P”

Rate Impact. Analysis

“Q”

GNPOWER’s 2014 Audited Financial Statement

“R”

GNPOWER’s Transmission Plan for the Dinginin Project

“S”

Certificate of Endorsement from DOE that the Project is included in the DOE’s Power Development Plan

“S-1”

Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR

“T”

NEECO I’s Distribution Development Plan

“U”

NEECO I’s Contracted Demand for 25 years

“V”

“W”

NEECO I’s Board Resolution authorizing the approval and signing of the PPSA, as amended,designating representatives thereto and authorizing the filing of an Application with the ERC

of 5.5% per year. By December 25, 2019, it is projected that NEECO 1’s power supply contract with its existing supplier will expire and a power supplier to cater the baseload demand of NEECO I, which is expected to have increased to 24% is much needed; 39. Thus, the PPSA, as amended, with GNPOWER is crucial for NEECO I to guarantee that its forward power needs are satisfied, without compromising the reasonableness of the generation rate to be passed on to its member-consumers;

26. Applicants NEECO I andGNPOWER reserve the right to submit other documents, either in the course of the hearing or as may be required by this Honorable Commission. IV. COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS

27. Applicants manifest compliance with the pre-filing requirements mandated under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the EPIRA and Rule 6 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, to be established by the following: a. Certifications acknowledging receipt of the Application with annexes issued by the Legislative Bodies of the Province of Nueva Ecija, the Municipality of San Isidro, and the City of Pasig, to be appended as Annexes “X”, “Y” , and “Z”, respectively; b. Affidavit of Publication stating that the Application was published in a newspaper of general circulation within Applicants’ Franchise Area and/or area of its principal operation, to be appended herein as Annex “AA”; and c. Complete newspaper issue where the Application was published, to be appended herein as Annex “AA-1”, and the relevant page thereof where the Application appeared, as Annex “AA-2”; V. MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF ANNEXES “F-4”-, “L”,”M”, “N”, and “O” 28. Under Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, a party to any proceeding before the Honorable Commission may request that certain information not be disclosed and be treated as confidential, by describing with particularity the information to be .treated as confidential, specifying the ground for the claim of confidential treatment of the information and, if applicable, specifying the period during which the information must not be disclosed; 29. In connection to the foregoing, NEECO I humbly requests for the confidential treatment of Annex “F-4” hereof, consisting of the Evaluation Result. This annex shows the individual offers of the bidders which participated in the competitive selection process (CSP). The members of CLECAFLAG, NEECO I included, are bound by their undertaking to secure and keep in confidence the offers and the proposed terms of supply, so as not to prejudice or preempt any future CSPs in which these bidders will participate. Otherwise, NEECO I and the rest of the members of CLECAFLAG may be held liable f6r damages for breach of confidentiality, and eventually, risk their good relations with the suppliers concerned; 30. Similarly, Applicant GNPOWER most respectfully moves for the confidential treatment of Annexes “L”6, “M”7, “N”8, and “O”9 hereof. These annexes, exclusively owned by Applicant GNPOWER, contain documents which are considered part of its business and trade secrets. As such, GNPOWER has the sole proprietary interest and will be unduly prejudiced should they be disclosed to the public; 31. These annexes contain numbers, data, formula, methodology, and calculations . involving valuable and sensitive commercial, financial and technological information reflecting GNPOWER’s business operations and financial trade secrets. Therefore, the disclosure of GNPOWER’s . confidential, proprietary, and private information included in the aforesaid annexes should be protected from public dissemination. Otherwise, such information can be illegally and unfairly utilized by business competitors who may use the same for their own private gain and to the irreparable prejudice of GNPOWER. Negotiations with prospective customers may also be affected; 32. The information contained in Annexes “L”, “M”, “N”, and “O”, constitute “trade secrets”, for which GNPOWER has actual and valuable proprietary interest. As explained by the Supreme Court, a trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that is used in one’s business and gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not possess the information10. It is indubitable that trade secrets11 constitute proprietary rights and jurisprudence has consistently acknowledged the private character of trade secrets”. Further, as ruled in Garcia vs. Board of Investments12, trade secrets and confidential, commercial, and financial information are exempt from public scrutiny; 33. It is respectfully submitted that the aforementioned Annexes must be accorded confidential treatment. As such, they are to be used exclusively by the Honorable Commission and for the sole purpose of evaluating this Application, thereby protecting these data from unnecessary public disclosure; 34. In accordance with Section l(b), Rule 4 ofthe ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Applicants hereby submit one (1) copy each of Annexes “F-4, “1..”,.”M”, “N”, and “0” in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the documents stamped with the word “Confidential”. VI. ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

41. It is worthy to note that part of the funds needed to construct GNPOWER’s facility will be sourced from loans coming from banks/financial institutions. The Honorable Commission’s provisional approval of the instant Application is a vital requirement for the release of the loan proceeds. Hence, a timely financial close ensures stable source offunds and timely construction of the generation facility, and the implementation of the PPSA, as amended, as contemplated by the Applicants; 42. With continuous financing, the timely implementation of the project shall be assured, to the full benefit of NEECO I and the Luzon and Visayas’ Grids. Otherwise, any delay in the implementation of the project shall expose NEECO I to supply risk and unstable market prices in the future; 43. To emphasize the necessity of a provisional approval of herein Application, . a Judicial Affidavit to support the prayer for provisional authority will be attached herewith to form an integral part hereof as Annex “BB”; 44. In view thereof, and in recognition of the fact that a substantial amount of time is customarily needed to evaluate the documents submitted to support the approval of herein Application, Applicants NEECO I and GNP OWER respectfully seek the kind consideration of the Honorable Commission to approve the instant Application, immediately, albeit, provisionally, at the soonest opportune time. PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of the Honorable Commission that (i) all information set forth in Annexes “F-4, “L”, “M”, “N”, and “0” to the instant Application be treated as confidential; (ii) pending hearing on the merits, a Provisional Authority be DULY ISSUED authorizing the immediate implementation of the subject Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, between Applicants NEECO I and GNPOWER, including the rate structure therein, as applied; and (iii) that after due notice and hearing, the instant Application, the PPSA, as amended, and the rate structure contained therein be DULY APPROVED. Further, in the event that a Final Authority shall be issued after GNPOWER starts the actual delivery of power to NEECO I under the terms of the subject PPSA, as amended, said Final Authority shall be retroactively applied to·the date of such actual delivery. Other reliefs as may be just and equitable under the premises are, likewise, most respectfully prayed for. The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the · jurisdictional requirements, Expository Presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 29 June 2016 (Wednesday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at the NEECO I’s Principal Office, Malapit, San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. All persons who have an interest in the subject ·matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired. All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon. All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the applicant that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed’ with the Commission during standard office hours.

35. All the foregoing allegations are herein re-pleaded by reference in support of the instant Prayer for provisional authority; 36. The basis by which Applicants NEECO I ~and GNPOWER pray for the issuance of a Provisional Authority or interim relief prior to final decision is Rule 14 of the ERC Rules ofPractice and Procedure:

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman, JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Comlnissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 26th day of April 2016 at Pasig City.

“Section 3. Action on the Motion. -Motions for provisional authority or interim reliefmay be acted upon with or without hearing~ The Commission shall act on the motion on the basis of the allegations of the application or petition and supporting documents and other evidences that applicant or petitioner has submitted and the comments or opposition filed by any interested person, ifthere be any.” [Emphasis Ours]

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO

37. Worthy of note is that based on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2015-2030 Luzon and Visayas Grids SupplyDemand Outlook, Luzon’s peak demand in 2015 is 8,974MW with an Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) of 4.25% while’ Visayas’ Peak Demand is 1,847MW with AAGR of 3-4%. Therefore, Luzon’s peak demand is expected to increase to 10,884MW in 2020, and ·to 16,165MW by the· year 2030 and for Visayas, 2,042MW in 2020 and· 3,025MW in 2030. This electricity demand growth has led to DOE’s call for planning and investments in the power sector;

Aurora Electric Cooperative (AURELCO), Nueva Ecija II Area i Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Areal), Nueva Ecija II Area 2 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Area2), Pampanga Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO I), Pampanga II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO II), Pampanga III Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO III), Pampanga Rural Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. (PRESCO), Tarlac I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO I), Tarlac II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO II), Zambales I Electric, Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO I), and Zambales II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO II)

Each of the PPSA entered into with the other 9 individual MECs are also made an integral part hereto as Annexes G-1. to G-9.

Section 1.3, Schedule 1. Contracted Capacity, Contract Price and Terms of Agreement, PPSA, page 31 Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 4 Refers to Electric Capacity, contracted on a variable Capacity Utilization Factor basis, together with energy, as specified in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as the context requires, or as otherwise agreed by the Parties. (Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 8) GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, DebtEquity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity IRR Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and Projected Fuel Costs Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow Details of Fuel Procurement Air Philippines Corporation vs. Pennswell Inc., G.R. No. 172835, December 13, 2007. Ibid., 177 SCRA 374 (1989).

4 5

6 7 8 9 10

38. Contributing to the Luzon . Grid’s demand growth is NEECO 1’s base load demand which increases at a rate

11 12

(TS-JUNE 16, 2016)

TARLAC I ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (TARELCO I) AND GNPOWER LTD. CO. (GNPOWER)

11. On 8 Novemher 2013, CLECAFLAG and GNPOWER entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), Annex “D” of the Application, with the individual member-ECs as witnesses, to define each , of CLECAFLAG and GNPOWER’s ,(as: the Firm Proponent) rights ,and obligations under transaction, such as the following, among others;

Applicants. x---------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: On 16 March 2016, Tarlac I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO I) and GNPower Ltd . Co. (GNPower) filed their joint Application for approval of their Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), with prayer for confidential treatment of information and issuance of provisional authority. In support of said Application, TARELCO I and GNPower alleged, among others, the following: 1. Applicant TARELCO I is a non-stock, non-profit , electric cooperative organized under Philippine , laws, with principal office address at Gerona, Tarlac. It is authorized to distribute and provide electricity services to its member consumers In the Municipalities of Anao, Camiling, Gerona, Mayantoc, Paniqui, Pura, Moncada, Ramos, San Clemente, San Jose, San Manuel, Sta. Ignacia, and Victoria, all in the Province of Tarlac; Barangays of Batangbatang, Bora, Laoang, San Juan de Mata, and Sto. Domingo, all in’ the City, of Tarlac; Municipalities of Cuyapo and Nampicuan, Barangays of Maybubon, Agcano, Bagong Barrio, Bulakid, Caingin Tabing Hog, San Agustin, Yuson, Lamorito, and San Miguel, all in the Municipality of Guimba, and Barangay Villarosa in the Municipality of Licab, all in the Province of Nueva Ecija (hereinafter, “Franchise , Area”). A copy of TARELCO 1’s Certificate ofFranchise is attached to the Application as Annex “A” and forms an integral part thereof. A copy of its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws are also attached to the Application as Annexes ‘”A-1” and “A-2” to form integral parts thereof; 2. Applicant GNPOWER is a duly registered limited partnership existing under Philippine laws. It is engaged in the business of developing, constructing, operating, and owning power generation facilities. Its principal office is at 28th Floor, Orient Square Building” Don Francisco Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Copies of its Certification of Registration issued by,the Securities and Exchapge Commission (SEC) and ‘ Amended Articles “, of Partnership are attached as Annexes “B” and “B1”, respectively, of the Application; 3. Applicants may be served with orders, notices, and other legal processes of the Commission through its counsels of record; 4. Pursuant to Sections 25, 43 (u) and 45 (b) of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry’ Reform,’ Act ‘of 2001 (EPIRA) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, this ,Application is submitted to the Commission for its due consideration and approval of the Power Purchase and Sale Agreement (PPSA), as amended, executed by and between Applicants TARELCO I and GNPOWER; STATEMENT OF FACTS 5. TARELCO I, along with eleven other electric cooperatives1 in the Central Luzon region, created Central Luzon Electric Cooperative Association First Luzon Aggregation Group, Inc. (CLECAFLAG), a corporation duly registered with the SEC, as evidenced by the attached copy of its Certificate of Registration, as Annex “C” of the Application; 6. CLECAFLAG, owned and ‘controlled by twelve (12) member-Electric Cooperatives (“ECs”), was formed to coordinate and manage the administration of power supply process including joint planning and selection process, contracting of power of the member-ECs to ensure sustainable power supply and reducedelectricity rates in the region; 7. Accordingly, in 2013, CLECAFLAG conducted a competitive selection process to bid out the forward power needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base load power from new generating capacity/ies for twenty (20) years starting late 2018, subject to the Commission’s approval process and the signing by all the member -ECs of the PPSA, as per the award notice and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to meet the growing demand of the member-ECs; 8. In the selection of a new power provider, CLECAFLAG employed extensive evaluation parameters and procedures, and with all twelve member-ECs further represented through their own Technical Working Groups. The selection process was conducted in two stages, including a Swiss Challenge, as follows: a. The first stage is the selection of a Generation Company (“GenCo”) that will submit a Firm Proposal (the “Firm Proponent”) for the aggregated base load to be contracted by the memberECs. The GenCo shall be selected based on the committed price cap, among other key contract terms. CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap was PhP4.09/kWh or PhP4.5808/kWh, inclusive of VAT. Nonetheless, the evaluation of the price cap shall be based on expected levelized price for the duration of the contract; and b. The second stage is the announcement of the Firm Proposal, or that offer of the GenCo which

5 5 6 7 8 9 10-20

submitted the lowest proposed committed price cap. The Firm Proposal shall then be subjected to “Swiss Challenge” by other GenCos who were declared qualified during the first stage. The Original Firm Proponent has theright to match the proposal of the Challenger; On the first stage of the selection process, three GenCos participated by submitting their respective bids, namely: GNPOWER, AES Philippines (AES), and San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC);

10. Based on the ranking determined through CLECAFLAG’s evaluation using a specified set of bid parameters and references in the transaction documents, GNPOWER was declared as the Firm Proponent, while AES, submitting a bid that was PhP0.23/kWh greater than that of GNPOWER, was the Challenger who had an opportunity to counter GNPOWER’s proposal through Swiss Challenge. Meanwhile, SMEC was disqualified for submitting a price offer that is higher than CLECAFLAG’s proposed price cap of PhP4.09/kWh;

a. CLECAFLAG shall’ allow only AES to participate in the Swiss Challenge of GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal (Section 4.6); b. CLECAFLAG shall immediately award the PPSAwith finality’to GNPOWER in any of the following circumstances xxx (a) AES’ failure to submit Letter of Intent to Challenge (Section 4.7); and ‘

C.l. Option to Increase Contracted Capacity. Section 2.7 of the PPSA, as amended, provides that upon written notice to GNPOWER, TARELCO I may, upon approval by GNPOWER, increase its Contracted Capacity which increase shall be subjected to the same terms and ‘ conditions contained in thePPSA, as amended. In considering whether or not to approve the request for increase in Contracted Capacity, GNPOWER may take into consideration the ‘ capacity available for such increase from its facility in its sole opinion, and/or the willingness of any other buyer to’ assign its Contracted Capacity. Such increase in Contracted Capacity shall be effective on the date GNPOWER gives its written approval. D. Contract Price. The Contract Price shall be composed of Capacity Price and Energy Price. D.l The Capacity Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the cost, as well as the operations and maintenance of the power plant and is designated as the Capacity Fee in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as amended, as such may be adjusted from time to time based on GNPOWER’s Capacity Factor. The corresponding Capacity Fee for a given Capacity Utilization Factor is set forth in the table below: Capacity Capacity Utilization Fee Factor (%) ($/kWh) 100% 0.0466 99% 0.0470 98% 0.0474 97% 0.0477 96% 0.0481 95% 0.0485 94% 0.0489 93% 0.0493 92% 0.0497 91% 0.0502 90% 0.0506 89% 0.0510 88% 0.0515 87% 0.0519 86% 0.0524 85% 0.0529 84% 0.0534 83% 0.0539 82% 0.0544 81% 0.0549 80% 0.0555 79% 0.0561 78% 0.0567 77% 0.0573 76% 0.0579 75% 0.0585 74% 0.0592 73% 0.0599 72% 0.0606 71% 0.0613 70% 0.0621 69% 0.0629 68% 0.0637 67% 0.0645 66% 0.0653 65% 0.0662

c. After awarding the’ PPSA with finality to GNPOWER, CLECAFLAG shall enter into a PPSA with GNPOWER and/or cause its member-ECs to enter into a PPSA. AES failed to submit a counter-proposal to match GNPOWER’s Firm Proposal. 12. On 10 March 2014, CLECAFLAG declared GNPOWER as the winning proponent, evidenced by the attached copy of CLECAFLAG’s letter of the same date as Annex “E” of the Application. GNPOWER shall, then, execute individual power supply agreements with the twelve member-ECs; 13. Copies of relevant documents used in the competitive selection process conducted by CLECAFLAG to bid out the forward power needs of its member-ECs, particularly, for the supply of 300 MW of aggregated base load power, are attached to the,Application as follows: ANNEX “F” “F-1” “F-2” “F-3” “F-4”

14. During the negotiations conducted between GNPOWERandeach of the twelve (12) member’:’ECs for the finalization of a PPSA and the final review of. the latter’s projected base load electricity demand, it had come to their attention that the twelve (12) member-ECs would not be able to procure 300 MW of aggregated base load power in the first Contract Year, as committed in the transaction; 15. As a result, GNPOWER and the member-ECs negotiated to have an.interim supply period, which is estimated to commence on December 2018 subject to the ERC’s approval process; 16. On 10 June 2014, GNPOWER executed with each of TARELCO I and nine (9) other member-ECs. The PPSA between GNPOWER and TARELCO I is attached as Annex “G” 2 of the Application;

17,000 17,000 17,000 19,000 20,000 27,000 37,000

In case the Capacity Utilization Factor is not a whole number, the ,Capacity Fee shall be computed using the formula below: Capacity Fee = -0.10773 x (CUF)3 + 0.33975 x (CUF)2 -0.3932 x (CUF) + 0.2078 Where: Capacity Fee =

is the Capacity Fee in $/kWh

CUF

is the Capacity Utilization Factor between 65% and 100%, . provided that if the actual CUF ‘ is below 65% (the “Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor”), the Capacity Price shall be calculated based on the Capacity Fee and quantity associated with the Minimum Capacity Utilization Factor.

17. GNPOWER agreed to extend the negotiations with CLECAFLAG and its two member-ECs that have not yet signed their respective PPSAs to allow CLECAFLAG to significantly fulfill its obligation under the MOA; 18. GNPOWER offered to assist CLECAFLAG and its member-ECs in fulfilling their obligation to cause the signing of an aggregated 300 MW PPSA as a requirement for GNPOWER’s project milestones, and on 18 , September 2015, GNPOWER, in its appreciation to TARELCO I and other member-:ECs for being early supporters of the GNPOWER project, executed an amendment3 to the PPSA reducing the rate indicated in the PPSA in favor ofTARELCO I. ABSTRACT OF THE PPSA, AS AMENDED, AND OTHER RELATED INFORMATION 19. The following are the salient features of the subject PPSA, as amended: A. Term ofAgreement. The PPSA, as amended shall be effective at the date of its execution, and shall terminate after 240 months from the date specified in the Commencement Date Notice4 . defined as the written notice that indicates the commencement· of the first delivery of electric capacity at full commercial operation of the first unit of GNPOWER’s facility5. B. Source of Supply. GNPOWER. shall make available, sell, and deliver or cause to be delivered to TARELCO I the Product6 at the Delivery . Point, whether sourced from GNPOWER’s facility or from other electricity generators, including the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). GNPOWER’s facility shall be constructed and operated in Mariveles, Bataan. The Technical Details of the Project is attached to the Application as Annex “I”; C. Contracted Capacity. TARELCO I is contractually entitled to receive from GNPOWER, . at any hour, subject to GNPOWER’s Available Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended) for such hour, the Contracted Capacity (as defined in the PPSA, as amended), as follows: Contracted Year Capacity (kW) 1 0 2 0 3 0 4 0

The Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) shall be computed as follows: Capacity Utilization= Factor (CUF) Where: Q CC

= =

EHTO

Q CCx(HT-EHTO)

Quantity of kWh Contracted Capacity, In kW, as set forth in Schedule 1 Total number of hours in such Billing Period The sum of the duration, in Equivalent Hours, of Scheduled Outages and Unscheduled Outages in such Billing Period

D.2 The Energy Fee is the component of the Contract Price allocated to pay for the coal, including Government Charges, designated as the Energy Fee in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as amended, as adjusted from time to time due to changes in the delivered price of coal. The Energy Fee shall be computed in accordance with the following formula:

Where: IEF

Initial Energy Fee equal to $0.0370/ kWh

CIFn

CIF Cost of Fuel for Billing Period n

CIFo

Base GIF Cost . of Fuel equal to $11.5573/million kCal .

E. Prompt Payment Discount. Section 4.3 (c) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if. TARELCO I pays the invoice in full within ten (10) days of

receipt from GNPOWER, TARELCO , I shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to $0.0012/kWh multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. F. Capacity Utilization Discount. Section 4.3 (d) of the PPSA, as amended, provides that if TARELCO I pays the invoice amount in full in accordance with GNPOWER’s . invoice instruction on or before the twenty-fifth (25th) day of the succeeding calendar month from the relevant Billing Period and TARELCO I’s CUF is greater than or equal to 65%, aside from the Prompt Payment Discount, TARELCO I shall receive a credit on the next subsequent bill equal to 2.8% of the Energy Fee multiplied by the actual quantity of the Product actually delivered set forth in such invoice for the Billing Period for which the credit was earned. G. Scheduled and Unscheduled Outage. Pursuant to Section 2.2, GNPOWER is allowed Scheduled Outage not to exceed five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year, during which times reduced , or no deliveries will be available to TARELCO 1. Likewise, GNPOWER is allowed Unscheduled Outage of five hundred forty (540) Equivalent Hours for each Contract Year during which times reduced or no deliveries will be available to the Buyer; COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED CONTRACT PRICE AND IMPACT ON TARELCO I’S , OVERALL RATES 20. The PPSA, as amended, was executed between TARELCO l and GNPOWER to respond to the growing power demand of TARELCO 1’s member consumers, which its current providers may not be able to meet and supply; 21. Currently, TARELCO I receives a total of 36 MW from its existing suppliers, out of its requirement of 42.10 MW. With an annual average growth of 5.64%, TARELCO 1’s peak demand is forecasted to increase to 64.24 MWby 2020. ‘ Copies ofTARELCO 1’s Supply-Demand from 2013 to 2022, Historical and Forecasted Data, and Average Daily Load Curve, are attached to the Application and made an integral parts thereof as Annexes “J” to “J-2”; 22. The additional supply from GNPOWER assures the member-consumers of TARELCO I of adequate and reliable power service, thus, less likelihood of power outages and brownouts; 23. TARELCO I conducted a rate impact analysis which resulted in a lower effective rate of PhP4.0263/kWh with supply coming from GNPOWER, compared to a rate of PhP4.7808/kWh without GNPOWER, or a reduction of PhP0.7545/kWh if with GNPOWER supply, as follows: Simulation of Generation Mix Rate with GNPOWER for the Year 2022 Forecasted 2022 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

Resulting Capacity Factor (%)

2022 Average Rate (P/kWh)

14,880,000.00

55,790,165.02

36.43%

100.00%

3.7439

SMCPC

7,440,000.00

30,771,096.00

20.09%

100.00%

4.1359

GNPOWER

12,199,834.24

40,551,451.22

26.48%

96.46%

3.3239

WESM

3,518,240.34

26,294,046.75

17.17%

IMBALANCE

7.4736

TOTAL

38,038,074.58

153,153,244.80

100.17%

Power Supplier GMCP

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/kWh)

4.0263

Simulation of Generation Mix Rate without GNPOWER for the Year 2022 Forecasted 2025 Quantity (kWh)

Amount (PhP)

Percent Share (%)

Resulting Capacity Factor (%)

2022 Average Rate (P/kWh)

GMCP

14,880,000.00

55,790,165.02

30.68%

100.00%

3.7493

SMCPC

7,440,000.00

30,771,096.00

16.92%

100.00%

4.1359

GNPOWER

0.00

0.00%

0.0000

WESM

15,718,074.58

95,290,774.29

52.40%

IMBALANCE

6.0625

TOTAL

38,038,074.58

181,852,035.30

100%

Power Supplier

Weighted Average Rate (PhP/ kWh)

4.7808

Generation Rate Impact -0.7545 24. Aside from the lower generation cost of the power supply from GNPOWER, TARELCO I is also entitled to Prompt Payment Discount and Capacity Utilization Discount, if conditions are met, which makes even more competitive the proposed rate contained in the subject PPSA, as amended; 25. In support of the instant Application for the approval of the PPSA, as amended, Applicants further attach the following documents to form integral parts hereof, to wit: ANNEX

DOCUMENTS

“K”

Details-of the PPSA, as amended

“K-1”

Discussion of Rate Calculation and Sample Computation

“L”

GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Project Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity IRR

“M”

Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, andProjected Fuel Costs

“N”

Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow

“O”

Details of Fuel Procurement

“O-1”

Sworn Statement — Coal Procurement Process

“P”

Rate Impact. Analysis

“Q”

GNPOWER’s 2014 Audited Financial Statement

“R”

GNPOWER’s Transmission Plan for the Dinginin Project

“S”

Certificate of Endorsement from DOE that the Project is included in the DOE’s Power Development Plan

“S-1”

Environmental Compliance Certificate from the DENR

“T”

TARELCO I’s Distribution Development Plan

“U”

TARELCO I’s Contracted Demand for 25 years

“V”

GNPOWER’s General Partners’ Certificate on,among others, the authority to execute, ratify,accede, perform and deliver the PPSA, as amended, with TARELCO I, and the designation of duly authorized representatives for said purpose

“W”

TARELCO I’s Board Resolution authorizing the approval and signing of the PPSA, as amended,designating representatives thereto and authorizing the filing of an Application with the ERC

3,025MW in 2030. This electricity demand growth has led to DOE’s call for planning and investments in the power sector; 38. Contributing to the Luzon Grid’s demand groWth is TARELCO I’s peak load demand which increases at a rate of 5.64% per year. By 2020, it is projected that TARELCO I’s existing power suppliers will not be able to meet the power needs of its member consumers, which is expected to have increased to 32.82%; 39. Thus, the PPSA, as amended, with .GNPOWER is crucial for TARELCO I to guarantee that its forward power needs are satisfied, without compromising the reasonableness of the generation rate · to be passed on to its member-consumers;

26. Applicants TARELCO I and GNPOWER reserve the right to submit other documents, either in the course of the hearing or as may be required by the Commission.

COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS 27. Applicants manifest compliance with the pre-filing requirements mandated under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the EPIRA and Rule 6 of the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, to be established by the following: a.

Certifications acknowledging receipt of the Application with annexes issued by the Legislative Bodies of the Province of Tarlac, the Municipality of Gerona, and the City of Pasig, to be appended as Annexes “X”, “Y”, and “Z”, respectively, of the Application;

Affidavit of Publication stating that the Application was published in a newspaper of general circulation within Applicants’ Franchise Area and/or area of its principal operation, to be appended as Annex “AA” of the Application; and

41. Part of the funds needed to construct GNPOWER’s facility will be sourced fro.m loans coming from banks/ financial institutions. The Commission’s provisional approval of the instant Application is a vital requirement for the release of the loan proceeds. Hence, a timely financial close ensures stable source of funds and timely construction of the generation facility and the implementation of the PPSA, as amended, as contemplated by the Applicants; 42. With continuous financing, the timely implementation of the project shall be assured, to the full benefit of TARELCO I and the Luzon and Visayas’ Grids. Othermse, any delay in the implementation of the .. project . shall expose TARELCO I to supply risk and unstable market prices in the future;

Complete newspaper issue where the Application was published, to be appended to the Application as Annex “AA-1”, and the relevant page thereof where the Application appeared, as Annex “AA-2”·,

43. A copy of the Judicial Affidavit to support the prayer for provisional authority will be attached to the Application as Annex “BB”;

MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF ANNEXES “F-4”, “L”, “M”, “N”, and “O” 28. Under Rule 4 of the ERC Rules of Prac’tice and Procedure, a party to any proceeding before the Commission may request that certain information not be disclosed and be treated as confidential, by describing with particularity the information to be treated as confidential, specifying the ground for the claim of confidential treatment of the information and, if applicable, specifying the period during which the information must not be disclosed;

44. In recognition of the fact that a substantial amount of time is needed to .,;evaluate the documents submitted to support : the approval of herein Application, Applicants seek the consideration of the Commission to approve the instant Application, immediately, albeit, provisionally, at the soonest opportune time. PRAYER

29. TARELCO I requests for the confidential treatment of Annex “F-4” of the Application, consisting of the Evaluation Result. This annex shows the individual offers of the bidders which participated in the competitive selection process (CSP). The members of CLECAFLAG, TARELCO I included, are bound by their undertaking to secure and keep in confidence the offers and the proposed terms of supply, so as not to prejudice or pre-empt any future CSPs in which these bidders will participate. Otherwise, TARELCO I and the rest of the members of CLECAFLAG may be held liable for damages for breach of confidentiality, and eventually, risk their good relations with the suppliers concerned;

1. Applicants TARELCO I and GNP ower pray before the Commission that: I.

II. Pending· hearing on the merits, a PA be issued authorizing the immediate implementation of the subject· PPSA, as amended, including the rate structure therein, as applied; Ill. After due notice and hearing, the instant Application the PPSA, as amended,and the rate structure contained ‘ therein be duly approved; and

30. GNPOWER moves for the confidential treatment of Annexes “L”7, “M”8, “N”9, and “O”10 of the Application. These annexes, exclusively owned by GNPOWER, contain documents which are considered part of its business and trade secrets. As such, GNPOWER has the sole proprietary interest and will be unduly prejudiced should they be disclosed to the public; 31. These annexes contain numbers, data, formula, methodology, and calculations involving valuable and sensitive commercial, financial and technological information reflecting GNPOWER’s. business operations and financial trade secrets. Therefore, the disclosure of GNPOWER’s confidential, proprietary, and private information included in the aforesaid annexes should be protected from public dissemination. Otherwise, such information can be illegally and unfairly utilized by business competitors who may use the same for their own private gain and to the irreparable prejudice of GNPOWER. Negotiations with prospective customers may also be affected; 32. The information contained in Annexes “L”, “M”, “N”, and “O”, constitute “trade secrets”, for which GNPOWER has actual and valuable proprietary interest. As explained by the Supreme Court, a trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that is used in one’s business and gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not possess the information11. It is indubitable that trade secrets constitute proprietary rights ‘and jurisprudence has consistently acknowledged the private character of trade secrets12. Further, as ruled in Garcia vs. Board of Investments13 , trade secrets and confidential, commercial and financial information are exempt from public scrutiny; 33. It submit that the aforementioned Annexes must be accorded confidential treatment. As such, they are to be used exclusively by the Commission and for the sole purpose of evaluating this Application, thereby protecting these data from unnecessary public disclosure; 34. In accordance with Section l(b), Rule 4 of the ERC Rules ofPractice and Procedure, Applicants hereby submit one (1) copy each of Annexes “F-4, “L”, “M”, “N”, and “O” in a sealed envelope,. with the envelope and each page of the documents stamped with the word “Confidential”. ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY 35. All the foregoing allegations are re-pleaded by reference in support of the instant Prayer for provisional authority;

IV. In the event that a Final Authority shall . be issued after GNPOWER starts actual delivery of power to TARELCO I under the terms of the subject PSA, said Final Authority be retroactively applied to the date of such actual delivery. The Commission has set the Application for initial hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference, and presentation of evidence on 05 July 2016 (Tuesday) at three o’clock in the afternoon (3:00 P.M.) at TARELCO I’s Main Office, Gerona, Tarlac. All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subjectto the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired. All other persons who may ·· want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the Application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before Applicants conclude the presentation. of its evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon. All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from the Applicants that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. Applicants are hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours. WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman, JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 18th day of May 2016 in Pasig City.

36. The basis of TARELCO I and GNPOWER for prayer for the issuance ora Provisional Authority or interim relief prior to final decision is Rule 14 of the ERC Rules ofPractice and Procedure: “Section 3. Action on the Motion. - Motions for provisional authority or interim relief may, be acted upon with or without hearing. The Commission shall act on the motion on the basis of the allegations of the application or petition and supporting documents and other evidences that applicant or petitioner has submitted and the comments or opposition filed by any interested person, ifthere be any.” [Emphasis Ours] 37. Based on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 20152030 Luzon and Visayas Grids Supply-Demand Outlook, Luzon’s peak demand in 2015 is 8,974MW with an Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) of 4.25% while Visayas’ Peak Demand is 1,847MW with AAGR of 3.4%. Therefore, Luzon’s peak demand is expected to increase to 10,884MW in 2020, and to 16,165MW by the year 2030 and for Visayas, 2,042MW in 2020 and

All information attached as Annexes “F-4” “L”, “M”, “N”, and “0” to the Application be treated as confidential; .

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO 1

2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Aurora ElectricCooperativ~ (AURELCO), Nueva Ecija I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO I), . Nueva Ecija II Area 1 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Area1), Nueva Ecija II Area 2 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II-Area2), Pampanga Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO I), Pampanga II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO II), Pampanga III Electric Cooperative, Inc. (PELCO III), Pampanga Rural Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. (PRESCO), Tarlac II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TARELCO II), Zambales I Electric, Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO I), and Zambales II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ZAMECO II) Each of the PPSA entered into with the other 9 individual MECs are also made an integral part hereto as Annexes G-l to G-9. Attached as Annex “H” of the Application. Section 1.3, Schedule L Contracted Capacity, Contra~t Price and Terms of Agreement, PPSA, . page 31 Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 4 Refers to Electric Capacity, contracted on a varIable Capacity Utilization Factorbasis, together with energy, as specified in Schedule 1 of the PPSA, as the context requires, or as otherwise agreed by the Parties. (Section 1.1, Article 1. Definitions and Interpretations, PPSA, page 8) GNPOWER’s Financial Assumptions including Ptoject Cost, Sources of Financing, Debt-Equity Ratio, WACC computation, and Projected Equity,IRR Breakdown of Costs including Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Costs, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Costs, and Projected Fuel Costs Projected Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Revenue and Cash Flow Details of Fuel Procurement Air Philippines Corporation vs. Pennswell Inc., G.R. No. 172835, December 13, 2007· Ibid. , . 177 Se RA 374 (1989). (TS-JUNE 16, 2016)

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

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

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

w EL L BEING

LIFE

Is Sexual Performance Important to Men? Most men regard sexual performance as mandatory to a relationship. They strongly believe that they should rock under the sheets¼ b e ready with rock star performance all the time.

trong relationships are based on mutual respect, trust and the kind of love that accepts each other’s weaknesses. However, reality also dictates that the physical expression of this love is a strong factor in deepening the relationship. And whether couples admit it or not, sexual performance is something that will play a significant role in a relationship. In Philippine culture, the burden is almost always on the male. According to experts, men who experience inadequate sexual performance or worse, erectile dysfunction (ED), are not just affected physically but emotionally as well, and they suffer the effects of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and decrease in quality of life. Since men are more introverted, they keep their feelings to themselves without expressing how they truly feel, and this could lead them to become emotionally distant from the people in their lives. According to psychiatrist Dr. Rodney Dalisay, men with sexual performance problems tend to feel guilty for not being able to satisfy their partner. “This could also lead to feelings of inadequacy of not being ‘man’ enough to provide the sexual needs of their partner. They avoid or shun away from situations leading to sexual intimacy. They may put up reasons to avoid the act itself to avoid further embarrassment. This could lead to a strained relationship with their partner. In the long run, this could bring about anxiety, or worse lead to depression,” explains Dr. Dalisay. Unlike common perception, sexual performance problems can occur in adults of all ages. Admittedly, among those commonly affected are seniors, which may be related to a decline in health associated with aging. However, with all the stresses of modern life, it is not only advanced age that causes a decline in male sexual performance, as anxiety and physical health conditions can also be to blame. A decline in a man’s sexual performance, explains Dr. Dalisay, could be part of a bigger condition called performance anxiety. “Psychologically, this condition occurs in men with a preconceived idea of fear or dread that they cannot perform well in bed for several reasons, one of which is being unable to achieve or have a lasting erection to sustain the sexual act.”

Dr. Rodney Dalisay

A lot of men may not admit it, but thoughts about their sexual capabilities also haunt them: “Will I have a sustained erection to fulfill my partner?” or “Will I ejaculate faster than my partner, making her unsatisfied?” are just some of the doubts that run in their heads. “There are other reasons that could lead to this, like someone who is going through some stressful situation, depression and many more (which warrants a different interview),” the doctor smiles, adding that physical or anatomic factors might also lead to an impaired sexual performance. These include a venous leak in the blood supply to the penis, narrowed or blocked arteries. “Medical conditions on the other hand like diabetes, prostate problem, neurological problem like excessive smoking and alcohol intake all contribute to sexual performance problems. There is a wide array of medical conditions that could lead to it.” Surprisingly, sexual performance deficiencies are also common among younger men. Twenty-four-year-old Ramcis Francisco explains that men his age believes they should rock under the sheet. “You are young and your partner expects a lot from you that’s why we should be ready with our performance all the time. But with the daily stress caused by traffic and work, minsan nakakapagod talaga.”

Some men who feel like they are underperforming in bed resort to those wonder pills to help them perform better. However, Dr. Dalisay – who is a Diplomate of the Philippine Board of Psychiatry and a Fellow of the Philippine Psychiatric Association – warns consumers to take extra precautions before resorting to sexual pills available in the market. Men need to understand exactly how the erection process takes place and what are the essential ingredients to help remedy any problems or boost their performance, he emphasizes. Perhaps to understand the condition better, a medical perspective is warranted. The penis is comprised of three main chambers, which consist of sponge-like tissues. During an erection, these chambers – the Corpora Cavernosa along the penis shaft and the Corpus Spongiosum that runs down the urethra – are filled with blood that rushes to the area during sexual arousement. The fuller the chambers, the firmer and stiffer the penis will become and the longer the erection can be sustained. For any good supplement to work well, it must contain substances that improve the overall blood flow to the penile area. So how helpful are wonder pills in improving a man’s performance? There are several over-the-counter supplements available in the market today. One of these “wonder pills” is The Black Rhino, a natural

male performance booster specifically designed to improve sexual performance. It is derived from combined natural extracts and ingredients blended together into a proprietary formula to make the sex act last longer which helps enhance a couple’s fulfillment and satisfaction. The Black Rhino is also said to help promote natural increase of testosterone to improve stamina, energy and performance. While many performance formulas are natural, not all contain clinically tested ingredients and for this reason, one may end up spending a lot of money on products that ultimately just don’t work. These ingredients – Horny Goat Weed, Tongkat Ali and Puncture Vine – form a powerful and effective formulation that has been proven both in scientific and consumer studies. Epimedium Glandiflorum or Horny Goat Weed comes from a plant found in Asia and the Mediterranean area. The active ingredient is called Icariin, and the weed’s most common use is as an aphrodisiac and sexual enhancer – specifically to treat low libido and erectile dysfunction. It also helps provide relief from menopausal discomfort. In recent studies, a daily dose of Horny Goat Weed extract has shown significant results as a sexual performance enhancer for both men and women – boosting sexual energy and stamina. Athletes also reportedly take this supplement to increase testosterone levels. Eurycoma Longifolia or Tongkat Ali (also known as Long Jack) is another natural testosterone supplement that has been used for centuries. It comes from a plant found in Southeast Asia. The active ingredient in Tongkat Ali is popular in alternative medicine for its so-called testosterone enhancing properties – it helps release free testosterone in a man’s body. It is used in alternative medicine to treat erectile dysfunction. Tribulus Terrestris or Puncture Vine on the other hand is a natural testosterone supplement that has been around for many years. It contains components that can increase testosterone levels in men. It is most often used for infertility, erectile dysfunction, and low libido. The above mentioned sexual herbs are also available individually in different brand names all over the world. Men sometimes combine these products to make it more effective in increasing their Continued on C2

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

philips healthcare patient Monitoring and Cardiac Care product manager sharad shingan showcasing the intellivue MX450, a portable patient monitor in the iCu booth

@LIFEatStandard

philips heartstart MrX provides patient monitoring capabilities, diagnostic measurement, resuscitation therapies and Cpr guidance

PHILIPS To HELP PRovIDE INNovATIvE HEALTHcARE SoLUTIoNS

ccess to quality healthcare is a fundamental human right, but unfortunately, the Philippines’ healthcare system is confronted with resource and financial constraints, affordability of healthcare services, uneven ratio of patients to clinicians, and ancient health systems with limited connectivity. According to the Department of Health, the ratio of available hospital bed vis a vis the population is at a dismal 10 beds per 10,000 people – definitely below the recommended ratio by the World Health Organization. Royal Philips, health technology company, has taken the initiative to address the problem of quality healthcare in the Philippines by providing integrated solutions to the healthcare industry. Last June 10, Philips shared its HealthTech vision through a Philips Hospital Simulation event held at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and invited clinicians to attend a lecture and experience a simulation set-up which included an emergency room, an ambulance, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), an operating room, a public and a private ward, a maternal room, a provincial hospital and a Cardiology clinic. During the simulation, each room showcased real-time hospital flow that highlighted challenges faced by patients and clients. Philips demonstrated how issues like efficiency can be addressed, and how to achieve better patient outcomes and reduce clinicians’ workload. “We have a clinical expert delivering on some of the challenges in the hospital and we will be linking this in this hospital to show how those challenges can be addressed. It is a combination of both the clinical as well as the actual practice, that’s why we name

shingan demonstrating the efficiency of heartstart MrX and intellivue wireless monitor

it ‘Turning Vision to Reality’,” explains Sharad Jinghan, product manager for Patient Monitoring and Cardiac Care at Philips Healthcare. The mock hospital highlighted innovative solutions that include the Intellivue Guardian Solution which helps detect significant deviations in a patient’s vital signs readings and automatically verifies the accuracy of data by performing reassurance measurements at customized intervals. An early Warning Scoring helps accurately detect if a patient is at risk of deterioration, thereby helping avoid costly transfers or re-admission to the ICU. The system detects significant deviations in a patient’s vital signs readings, and automatically verifies the accuracy of the data by performing reassurance measurements at customized intervals. There is also an Intellivue Cableless Measurement Solutions that provides respiration rate, Normal Blood Pressure

(NBP), the saturation of arterial blood with oxygen (Sp02) and pulse rate. All these improve monitoring and transmission of data to an IntelliVue Guardian Software at a nurse’s station PC that help clinicians identify early on if a condition has deteriorated. The Intellivue MX40 on the other hand is a wearable patient monitor that can wirelessly monitor patients even if they move around the hospital. IntelliSpace ECG meantime provides clinicians access to ECG reports from multiple vendors and modalities. It can store records from non-Philips cardiographs, making them available for smartphone viewing through 3G. “We are trying to improve how technology can help patient management to step into preventive or early diagnosis,” says Johan Vooren, vice president and general manager for Philips Health Systems Southeast Asia. During the event, he discussed how the trend in healthcare

has shifted, with focus on holistic healthcare by preventing people from getting ill, and when they are sick, ensure better patient outcomes by offering an integrated approach from healthy living up to home care. In the Philippines, there’s still a big gap in tertiary and primary health care “especially in the rural area,” shares Malone Guevarra, general manager for Philips Health Systems in the Philippines. “What we see is that in terms of accessibility, (there) is a problem and partnering with an NGO and a clinical expert in mini clinics can address this gap,” he says. Currently, Philips is “partnering with some international NGOs for a pilot project that will take flight in Tacloban and see if this could scale up in addressing gaps in rural areas,” Guevarra reveals. – Bernadette Andrea Catalan photos by AC brizuelA

is sexual performance... From C1 physical performance. But as what most doctors would say, male performance supplements are not prescription drugs – they are not meant to treat or improve sexual performance deficiencies. Like most natural supplements, they provide gradual, moderate, and natural approach to performance enhancement. They are meant to improve health and wellness, rather than act as the treatment for a specific disease. Drugs are used for the treatment of disease, and tend to work by modifying or altering specific biological pathways, sometimes in a powerful manner. While it is not intended for the treatment of any erectile dysfunction or disease like what Viagra or Cialis does,

sexual performance boosters help men whose condition simply requires an extra boost and power to last longer in bed and to add up the spice in a relationship. More often than not, all men need are a boost to enhance their desire and get them in the mood to physically express their love to their partners. It could be a backrub to help him relax after a stressful day at work, or a special candle-lit dinner (never mind if you had the food catered or delivered from a favorite resto) – whatever works to make him feel loved and appreciated. “But, if a male is suffering from extreme sexual decline, it is prudent to seek professional medical the black rhino is a natural male advice,” reminds Dr. Dalisay. performance booster

More often than not, men need to boost their desire to get in the mood

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Protein is a macronutrient that can be found in many food sources such as nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits and vegetables

@LIFEatStandard

Meats are a rich source of protein

THE ImpoRTANcE oF pRoTEIN AS wE AgE

rotein is often associated with bodybuilding. But more than just a macronutrient used for bulking up, protein is among the important building blocks of the human body, and inadequacy of such puts an individual at risk of several health problems. A considerable part of the human body is composed of protein. Apart from water, it is the only other component found in every cell, tissue and organ in the body – including hair, skin and blood cells. Protein and its precursor, amino acids, provide structural element to the cell, maintain the body’s nitrogen balance

and preserve muscle mass and function – hence, its association with bodybuilding and bulking up. In essence, everyone needs protein and our demand for protein only increases as we grow older. According to a study recently published by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute, inadequate protein intake puts a person at risk of malnutrition and other chronic and acute health issues including bone fragility, decreased energy and sarcopenia or loss of muscle mass. Luckily, this macronutrient is found in many food sources such as meats, eggs,

nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, cereals and whole grains. Yet even with the vast assortment of protein sources available, most people still do not meet the recommended daily protein intake. And as individuals grow older, protein intake typically declines. To address this issue, health and wellness companies have come up with protein supplements that cater to special dietary needs like prenatal health, sports training, and even optimum nutrition for seniors. The health science arm of Nestlé recommends that older adults augment their diets with a nutritionally optimized

supplement to help enhance their immune defenses, regain strength and support recovery during bouts of illness. For oral nutritional supplements to be optimized, they should contain high quality protein, a heart-friendly fat blend, and moderate levels of carbohydrates, prebiotic fibers, probiotics and high amounts of key micronutrients, says the Nestlé Nutrition Institute. By having adequate daily amounts of high-quality protein and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, elderly adults can continue to be active and enjoy a wholesome and energized life.

Nothing corny about Quorn (And why it is better for you and the planet) Too much of something can be bad, and this is also true with excessive meat consumption which can be harmful not only to your health but to the planet as well. Numerous studies and reports indicate that meat production is one of the biggest causes of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Quorn, the world leader in meat alternatives, is set to address these issues by helping the world eat more healthily and sustainably. In case you didn’t know yet, here are some interesting facts about Quorn, which will soon hit Philippine shores. DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY MEAT ALTERNATIVE Quorn is a deliciously healthy meat alternative that best replicates the taste and texture of meat, perfect for creating healthier versions of your favorite meals.

Chef Selection Oriental Stir Fry

Hamblokes

Quorn Nuggets

Pepperoni pizza

MADE FROM NATURAL INGREDIENTS Quorn’s main ingredient is mycoprotein, a naturally healthy protein that is meat-free, low in saturated fats, but high in protein and fiber. By the way, it is non-GMO (genetically modified organism). MEAT-FREE PROTEIN Quorn products are vegetarian. It has a vegan and gluten-free range, ideal for the health conscious and those who are starting to be health conscious.

cholesterol, which makes the journey to #twentysixTHIN and achieving those #bodygoals much easier!

GREAT TASTING PRODUCT RANGE Quorn has a full range of great tasting products – from ingredients that allow you to cook from scratch to ready-to-cook/ ready-to-eat options.

BETTER OPTION It has high protein, is high fiber, has 85 percent less saturated fat than lean beef, 200 fewer calories per meal, and zero cholesterol. Who could resist that?

A DIET BUDDY Quorn generally has 200 fewer calories per meal and zero percent

BETTER FOR THE PLANET Quorn products have a carbon footprint approximately 90 percent

Wafer thin ham style slices

less than beef and 75 percent less than chicken. It also uses 40 to 90 percent less land and water than different meat options. Plus, Quorn Foods is the first global meat-alternative brand to achieve third-party certification of its carbon footprint figures. TRUSTED BY EXPERTS Quorn aims to be the best at helping consumers eat less meat, and is recommended by doctors, nutritionists and heart foundations all over the world.

Quorn is the world leader in meat alternatives, with over three billion servings made over the last 30 years. It is present in many countries in Europe, in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and soon in Asia. Quorn will soon be arriving in the Philippines to give Filipinos a taste of the deliciously healthy goodness of its products. For more information, visit www.Quorn.com and www.facebook.com/QuornPH.

T H U R S D AY : J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Life Yoga at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig is one of the participating merchants on KFit app

Discover and plan your wellness goals with new fitness app KFit

lot of fitness apps are already for only P999, which is actually cheaper available on Apple and Google than current available apps that serve the play stores and they not only help same purpose. track your fitness regimen but Globe recently partnered with the app also help you plan your wellness goals and it entitles Globe customers to get a through a selection of partner merchants. special rate of P400 off on the Fitness Added to the mix is KFit, a new start-up Pass once they sign up. To avail of the app now readily available promo, Globe users can in Manila which can be key in the promo code used in different parts of “TAKEMETHERE” in the the globe with a wider promo code field provided. selection of fitness facilities Each promo code has its as well as beauty and value in its respective wellness services. currency, and can only Kuala Lumpur, be used in that particular Singapore, Hong Kong, country. Sydney, Melbourne, “As KFit continues to Auckland, Taipei and Perth gain popularity, it goes to are already using this new show that lifestyle apps fitness app and users are change our awareness and growing rapidly and might access to fitness and health,” be available in more cities shares Dan Horan, Globe soon. With KFit, you can senior advisor for Consumer plan your fitness workout Business. “As Globe partners through thousands of with this latest fitness app, available facilities, in your we want our customers city. to have the advantage The app enables users over KFit’s large number to get access to workout KFit has a wide range of fitness and of service providers that studios, spa treatments, and beauty and wellness facilities includes a wide selection other beauty establishments; of amazing fitness studios, it also has wider choice of fitness facilities gyms, and sports facilities, beauty salons, that include badminton and tennis courts and spas. And the best part about KFit is as well as swimming pools. Activities or that it is available in nine cities across Asia regimens can be purchased and scheduled Pacific. You can stay active even while you via the app individually or users can avail are traveling for holiday or business across of the KFit 10 fitness activities per month different locations.”

KFIT also has a fitness pass feature where you get 10 passes to a variety of fitness activities for only P999 each month, if you're a Globe customer you can avail of the P400 off for the first month

Globe users promo code is valid until August. To learn more about KFit and how you can start setting your fitness goals, visit www.Kfit.com or download the KFit app. For more information on Globe and its latest products and services, visit www.globe.com.ph.

Dads also need a day in the spa

Even dads need to be pampered, and a mani-pedi treat would be appreciated

Men need not be metrosexual to enjoy the benefits of a relaxing massage, facial, or even a good mani-pedi. Yes, it doesn’t change how manly they are when they take care of themselves. This Father’s Day, California Nails & Day Spa is giving away discounts for the special man. Dad can enjoy a relaxing massage, aromatherapy facial, body scrub, hand paraffin treatments, and other rejuvenating services within the spa for his special day without having to break the bank. Starmall Prima Taguig branch can be dad’s new man cave as it offers 10 percent discount on all services on June 19. BF Pergola branch however is extending the treat for the entire month of June to give dads 15 percent off on all services from Monday to Thursday from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. SM Southmall and Festival Mall branches offer 15 percent discount on combined services from P1,000 up, while the SM Mall of Asia branch gives dads a 10 percent discount on all services on Father’s Day from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. So whether it is mom’s gift for dad or dad avails them for himself, these treats should be booked soon while it’s still early.

California Nails & Day Spa is located at BF Pergola, SM Southmall, SM Mall of Asia, Festival Supermall, Starmall Prima Taguig, Greenhills Shoppesville, EVIA Lifestyle Center and Market! Market! To know more about the promo and to schedule bookings, call 820-1569 / 825-3419 or check out www.californianailsandayspa.com. Follow Calif Official on Facebook and @Calif_Nails on Twitter.

T H U R S D AY : j U n E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

The Quitinday Green Hills nature Park in Camalig is Albay’s version of the famous Chocolate Hills

A view of the majestic Mayon Volcano as seen from Sumlang Lake

Albay’s cuisine, culture and craft rock

eyond the perfect-coned Mayon Volcano towering majestically over Albay, the province also takes pride in its mouth-watering spicy cuisine, checkered history and culture and age-old crafts. These and all give visitors a consummate experience. This month, Albay is celebrating the charm of its cuisine, culture and crafts in a month-long merry-making in three various municipal festivals. Revelry started with a bang as Rocksteddy rocked the quaint town of Camalig to open the two-week Pinangat Festival putting forward its culinary tradition. The festivities’ main events include a street parade depicting the harvest and cooking process of the pinangat, a balsa race at the scenic Sumlang Lake and puto lanson cooking contest, and an abaca-making contest from June 17 to 19. The town’s culinary pride, Pinangat is a traditional regional dish of shredded gabi leaves, red ginger, tiny shrimps (balaw) or a slice of salted fish or pork and crushed pepper. Wrapped in gabi leaves, tied in bundles and simmered in coconut milk, pinangat is a staple in the dining table of most Albayanos. Camalig is regarded as a heritage town because of the gentry’s ancestral houses. The most notable of which is the Nuyda House, the postcard-pretty Spanish-era St. John the Baptist church, the repository of relics excavated from archaeological sites at Hoyop-Hoyopan Cave.

Rocksteddy performing at Camalig’s Pinangat Fest

Street dancers at the annual Tabak Festival of Tabaco City

The town has been drawing tourists with its newest attractions—Sumlang Lake, a nine-hectare man-made lagoon where visitors can cruise aboard a bamboo raft, and the Quitinday Green Hills Formation Reserve whose contour is akin to the famed Chocolate Hills of Bohol. Folklore comes alive in Pulang-Angui Festival in Polangui celebrated from June 15 to 29. It traces the town’s beginnings. The festivity relives the legend of Angui, the beautiful maiden dressed in red from head to foot said to possess all the best qualities of a woman. Suitors pursued her even when she had already surreally trans-

6Cyclemind is set to perform at Pulang-Angui Festival in Polangui

ported into the world of myths. Sensational rock quintet 6Cyclemind will rock the town’s public plaza on June 18 and breathe life into one of Albay’s most sought-after festival. The two-week festivity is highlighted by the crimson-red street dance presentation depicting the legend of “Pulang Angui” on June 24. The popular craft of cutlery takes center stage in Tabak Festival in Tabaco City from June 15 to 24. Known as the country’s “cutlery capital”, Tabaco is a major producer of quality scissors, knives and bolos crafted by its skilled blacksmiths. The celebration’s main attraction is on June 23 with the Tabak Street

Dance and Exhibition which shows the origin of the popular cutlery craft. Governor Joey Salceda, who is serving his last term before he assumes as Albay’s second district representative in Congress, will be given recognition for nurturing the festivals into note-worthy tourist events. The municipalities in the province agreed to lavish the outgoing governor with a feast worthy of someone who put the province in the country’s top tourist destination. Salceda is the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Tourism Star of the Department of Tourism for making the province one of the country’s leading travel destinations.

Green initiatives for Sitio La Presa Sitio La Presa is the name of the fictional strawberry farm that is home to Agnes, played by Liza Soberano, and Xander, played by Enrique Gil, in the Kapamilya teleserye Forevermore. The actual name of the location is Sitio Pungayan, located in Mt. Kabuyao, Tuba in Benguet province. The place has now become a popular tourist spot. With its popularity, Sitio Pungayan has managed to create a whole tourism economy around the “La Presa” branding. While the phenomenon resulted to a lot of job and business opportunities in the area, commercialization has also become a threat to the natural beauty of the place, endangering the water catchment area of Baguio. ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (ALKFI), the social responsibility arm of ABS-CBN Corporation, has made sure that the organization makes a beneficial impact to the environment and to the public. That is why months later, even after the show has ended, Lingkod Kapamilya continues to support the community by holding green initiatives to preserve its magical beauty. Committed to raise the quality of life of the Filipino people in a way that is socially

The actual Sitio Pungayan in Mt. Kabuyao, Tuba, Benguet is also know as Sitio La Presa after it became the location of the top-rating romantic drama, “Forevermore’

responsible and environmentally sustainable, Lingkod Kapamilya in partnership with several communities, came together for one purpose: to provide Sitio Pungayan a fresh green community. Earlier this year, the parties including the Green Thumb Coalition that actively participated and collaborated with Lingkod Kapamilya to conduct the Green Thumb Coalition election forum. The election forum was a venue to challenge the 2016 presidential candidates to put socio-environmental issues at the heart of their electoral platforms.

The collaborative effort among the said parties has also enabled them to hold a study tour in La Mesa Watershed and Ecopark on June 13. The leaders and environmentalists joined including several priests and government officials from Baguio. Lingkod Kapamilya is also at the forefront in educating people about the waste management project of Mother Earth Foundation, one of the partner organizations of Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. Atty. Claver, lead counsel for the Writ of Kalikasan legal case, heads the team.

The Sto. Tomas watershed is the source of water in Baguio city and if the watershed is not protected, it would affect a wider population of the city. With these green initiatives led by Lingkod Kapamilya, the love story of Agnes and Xander will surely live on in the magical Sitio La Presa. For more information, visit www.abscbnfoundation.com, www.facebook.com/ abscbnfoundationkapamilya, Twitter: @ abscbn_fdn and Instagram: @abscbn_lingkodkapamilya.

T H U R S D AY : j U n E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

The Queen and her court: (From left) Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism 2016 Melanie Mader, Miss Philippines Water 2016 Loren Mar Artajos, Miss Philippines Earth 2016 Imelda Schweighart, Miss Philippines Air 2016 Kiara Giel Gregorio, and Miss Philippines Fire 2016 Shannon Rebecca Bridgman

Fil-German beauty crowned Miss Philppines Earth 2016

melda Bautista Schweighart, a Filipino German, bested 47 environmental representatives from around the country and Filipino communities abroad to win Miss Philippines Earth 2016 during the Philippine Independence Day-themed pageant finals last Saturday night at the UP Theater in Diliman, Quezon City. With the world famous Banaue Rice Terraces as backdrop, the candidates came out on stage swaying to the patriotic song “Mga Kababayan Ko” clad in yellow, red and blue jeans, the colors of the national flag, with white Maria Clara top, showcasing the beauty, belief and tradition of the Filipino race and equating the Filipinos fight for our freedom to the fight for Earth’s survival. Schweighart, a 21-year-old, student of Theater Arts at Meridian International, was crowned by last year’s titlist and reigning Miss Earth Angelia Gabrena Ong, who took her farewell walk in a stunning Leo Almodal blue gown. Schweighart and Ong have one thing in common as both were named Miss Photogenic at the Bb. Pilipinas pageant. “My climate change advocacy is banning genetically modified organisms and genetically modified seeds, because I believe in natural food to feed our mind, body, and soul. So if we really want to feed our minds and become smarter, let’s support banning GMO. At the same time, I would like to encourage him to put bike lanes in Manila, and I would invite him to Puerto Princesa to show how clean our place is,” Imelda

Miss Philippines Earth 2016 Imelda Schweighart

answered the Top 5 Q&A, “What assistance would they ask from President-elect Duterte on their climate change advocacy, if given the chance to talk one-on-one with him?” Imelda also bats for biking to minimize air pollution. Schweighart’s court of honor include

cROsswORD puzzlE

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

ACROSS 1 Zodiac member 6 Fleece 11 Mensa data 14 Beau 15 To the point 16 Rapa — (Easter Island) 17 Busybody 18 Prime-time hour 19 Telegraph signal

20 All mammals have it 22 Sharp, as hearing 24 Rainwater catcher 28 False names 30 Hormel competitor 31 Whiff 32 Jockey’s brake 33 Emphasizing 37 Toronto’s prov. 38 Downhill racer

39 “La — en Rose” 40 Conducts 43 “Hare Krishna,” e.g. 45 Black-tie affairs 46 Kind of pig 47 Rubbing alcohol 50 Orient (2 wds.) 51 Dijon darling 52 Bathroom fixtures 53 Afire 54 Below par car 57 Spanish resort island 62 FBI man 63 Highlands title 64 Microwaved 65 Quaker pronoun 66 Bee and Polly 67 Gold fever DOWN 1 Road “beetles” 2 Charged particle 3 Outback jumper 4 Earth, in combos 5 Lover of Eurydice 6 Mug 7 Next in line 8 Joule fraction 9 Volcanic dust 10 Keeps 11 River of India 12 Very 13 Where things are 21 SFO posting

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2016

23 Leopards and tigers 24 Imitation chocolate 25 Castle that danced 26 Anvil user 27 Heavy weight 28 Field units 29 Suggestive look 31 Moves a little 33 Olaf’s toast 34 Onetime Trump 35 Dressed to the — 36 Insinuate (2 wds.) 38 Granary, often 41 Microbiology gel 42 Kind of bean 43 Jinxing 44 Scurry along 46 Chitchat 47 Brilliance 48 Hip-knee link 49 “Witch of Wall St.” Green 50 Backs financially 52 Civil wrong 55 — de cologne 56 Andy Gump’s wife 58 Prickly husk 59 IKE 60 Last letter 61 Explain further

Miss Philippines Air 2016 Kiara Giel Gregorio (Filipino community in London, UK), Miss Philippines Water 2016 Loren Mar Artajos (Laoag City), Miss Philippines Fire 2016 Shannon Rebecca Bridgman (Pangasinan) and Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism 2016 Melanie Mader (Filipino community of Vienna, Austria). Gregorio won as Miss Hanna shampoo The Top 12 semi-finalists also included Charinna Barro of Cagayan de Oro City, Athena Mari Catriz of San Pedro City, Jessica Madeline Zevenbergen of Negros Occidental, Joanna Rose Tolledo of Caloocan City, Maria Fatima Al-sowyed of Dumaguete City, Krissandra Marie Abel of Lobo, Batangas and Bellatrix Tan of Zamboanga City who committed a “boo-boo” when she said “If we start now (planting trees), we will achieve La Niña,” during her Top 12 hashtag Q&A on the meaning of El Niño and La Niña. Abel was named Miss Eco-Warrior while Eva Eunice Reinoso of City of Alaminos was named Miss SM Market. Jan Louise Abejero of Quezon City was awarded Best Eco-Video while “Muntinlupa City” of April Angelique Arciaga was named Best Community Project Award. Al Shamir Abdul won for Rhea Doll Gonzalo of Jolo, Sulu the Best Terno Designer Award. The Miss Philippines Earth 2016 judges included SM Markets SVP Ramil Acosta, CNN-Phil. News anchor Pinky Webb, Miss Earth 2004 Priscilla Meirelles-Estra-

da, Manila Diamond Hotel Manager Jorge Reynoso, Spouse Heads of Mission President Agnes Roscigno, Jancen Cosmetic Medical Director John Cenica, Peerless SVP Japser Tiu, Greenest Person of the Planet Matthias Gelber, the Chairman of the Board, and Carousel Productions EVP Lorraine Schuck. The pageant was hosted by Robi Domingo, Cathy Untalan-Vital, Sandra Seifert and Stephany Stefanowitz and was telecast over ABS CBN on June 12. “It’s the first time in history that Puerto Princesa won the Miss Earth crown! I asked God to take place in my temple. He did. I’m always questioned and victimized by racial bullying. I grew up in the Philippines and it’s definitely not fair to treat me otherwise. I speak the language, my whole family are Filipinos except my father. To fight for my race as a Filipino is showing how I respect my Filipino blood. I was bullied all throughout the pageant but it has paid off. If you watch our competition from start to finish, I displayed proficient work. God bless us Filipinos,” Imelda said in a statement after her big win. In an interview during the pageant’s press presentation, Schweighart, without batting an eyelash, said that she is going to be Miss Earth. With the Philippines 2014-2015, back-to back win of Jamie Herrell and Angela Ong, that is easier said than done. But with Schweighart’s beauty, intelligence, wit and charm, an unprecedented three-peat could be achieved. – Eton B. Concepcion, Photos: Teddy Pelaez

T H U R S D AY : j U n E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

jAnEllA, Elmo bElIEVE In DESTInY

ill a haunting past hinder destined lovers from ending up with each other? ABS-CBN and Dreamscape Television Entertainment will prove this June that everyone is destined to meet the ‘one’ at the right place and time in the newest kilig series Born for You, which stars Kapamilya loveteam Janella Salvador and Elmo Magalona. Janella plays Sam Kazuko, an aspiring Filipino singer who grew up in Japan. A hopeless romantic, she believes in the concept of red string of fate. That is an invisible string and it connects two persons destined to meet each other wherever they are in the world.

From left: Elmo magalona, David Pomeranz and janella Salvador

On the other hand, Elmo plays Kevin Sebastian, a popular teen heartthrob and son of OPM icon Mike Sebastian (Ariel Rivera), who popularized the song “Born

for You.” Despite his popularity, Kevin doubts the authenticity of love and destiny because of the complicated relationship of his parents.

Their love for music will bring Sam and Kevin together, but it might also be the reason for their budding romance to be cut off. Sam’s father, Buddy (Bernard Palanca), composed the song “Born for You” for her mother Cathy (Vina Morales). But Marge (Ayen Laurel), daughter of the country’s richest record label owner, stole the song and gave it to Mike hoping to win the male singer’s heart. Everything eventually happened according to Marge’s plans. She and Mike got married and gave birth to Kevin. While they were living a happy life, Buddy’s family was suffering because of his sudden death, which prompt-

ed Cathy to work in Japan to provide for Sam. What fate awaits Sam and Kevin? How will their parents’ past affect their destiny? Will the string that connects them be broken? Joining the cast of Born for You are Gina Pareno, Freddie Webb, Jimboy Martin, Joj Agpangan, Francis Magundayao, Smokey Manaloto, Ogie Diaz, Katya Santos, DJ Durano, Alfred Labatos, Kyline Alcantara, Paulo O’hara, Neil Coleta, and Young JV. Don’t miss the start of the teleserye that proves destiny exists, Born for You on ABS-CBN or ABSCBN HD (SkyCable 167). Catch up via iWant TV and skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

boy band singer joshua bulot is new ‘Tolits’ in ‘Rak of Aegis’ It never occurred to boy band singer Joshua Bulot, who’s best known as a member of vocal trio JBK, that he would one day perform on a theater stage, much less in the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA)’s hit comedy musical Rak of Aegis. On its fifth comeback, the highly acclaimed production is poised to introduce fresh new talents, which include JBK’s Joshua who snagged the role of Venizia’s lover boy, ‘Tolits’. “I still can’t believe that I am playing ‘Tolits’ in the wildly popular musical because this is going to be vastly different from my performances as a member of a boy band,” the 23-year-old vocalist says. “I’m taking this as a huge opportunity to show that I can be a versatile artist. I’m ready to prove that I can do it.” While Joshua notes that it is a big leap from singing before hordes of screaming fan girls to performing before the theatre crowd, he admits that the bigger challenge is being on the same

stage as the original ‘Rak’ cast members—like the golden couple Robert and Isay Seña. “This should push me to really show my vocal power,” Joshua says. While the show didn’t go through a major story overhaul, fans of ‘Rak of Aegis’ can look forward to a fun and unique show because of the new actors’ fresh take on the well-loved characters of the musical. Both veterans of, and up-andcoming actors in, the theatre scene will complete the cast. These include comedian Jon Santos, GMA 7’s Aicelle Santos, Kim Molina, Benj Manalo, Pepe Herrera, OJ Mariano, Jerald Napoles, Renz Verano, Loy Martinez, Jimi Marquez, Phi Palmos, Ron Alfonso, Carlon Matobato, Gio Gahol, John Moran, Paeng Sudayan, Roi Calilong, Gimbey Dela Cruz, Abi Sulit, Via Antonio, Gold Villar, Teetin Villanueva, Raflesia Bravo, Jet Barrun, and Gab Pangilinan. As for the new direction in

Joshua’s career, it couldn’t happen to a nicer—and better qualified—young artist. Together with his JBK brothers Bryan del Rosario and Kim Lawrenz Ordonio, Joshua, after all, has recorded hit singles like “Anong Meron Ka,” “Damang-Dama,” and “Letting You Go.” On social media, JBK’s cover videos of OPM, Indonesian, and Malaysian songs went viral and earned the moniker #FireExitBoys because most of their videos were shot in the fire exit of a condominium, where they sometimes got into trouble with the building’s security. “I am so thankful to my JBK brothers for supporting me and pushing me to do better,” Joshua enthuses. “For people who’d like to see our shows or watch our covers, just ‘like’ our Facebook page.” The fifth run of ‘Rak of Aegis’ is slated from June 17 to Aug. 28, Tuesday to Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the PETA Theater

mcCarthy is ‘The boss’ Michelle is someone who makes SM Cinema exclusively presyou wonder what lies beneath it ents The Boss starring Melissa all when she says, ‘I don’t need McCarthy (Spy, Bridesmaids, The anyone, other than myself.” CoHeat) as wealthy mogul-turnedmedian and co-producer Chris felon who attempts to regain Henchy says, “It was fantastic to her empire through a girl-scout watch Melissa performing this brownie business with former asbombastic character on stage, sistant, Kristen Bell. and even then you could see Welcome to the world of Mithe viability of building a whole chelle Darnelle: a money-hungry, cut-throat, business magnate who Comedienne melissa mcCarthy movie around that character. Ben and Melissa have always is sent to jail for insider-trading. From the richest woman in the country to a had it in their mind to get to the point where convicted felon with frozen assets, Michelle Michelle Darnell could be turned into a fullattempts to climb back to the top by working length feature so it was an easy invitation for with her former executive assistant to turn a us to help make this movie.” The Boss is a hysterical comedy led by the small Girl Scout brownie project into a fullall-star cast of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, blown business. Based on a character created by McCarthy Peter Dinklage, and Kathy Bates. Produced in her early years as a budding comedienne, by the likes of comedy-king Will Ferell, and Michelle Darnelle was a persona performed husband-wife tandem Ben Falcone and Meon stage by Melissa at The Groundlings. “So lissa McCarthy, “The Boss” is a ridiculously many great characters have been born at The entertaining treat that will make you think Groundlings. For me, that character was Mi- twice about your boss, believe in women emchelle Darnel,” says McCarthy. “I loved her so powerment, and possibly leave you craving for much that I couldn’t let her go and would ran- brownies all at the same time. Catch The Boss at SM Cinemas. For ticket domly bring her up and talk about her over the years. She’s a tricky one though, because she is inquiries, visit www.smcinema.com or call so dynamic, so forceful and so confident. Yet, 470-2222 more information.

joshua bulot (first from left) with his jbK bandmates

Center. Meanwhile, you can catch Joshua’s performances on the following initial play dates: July 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, and 27 all at 8 p.m.

For tickets, log on to ticketworld.com.ph or contact 8919999 (Ticket World) or 725-6244 (PETA). You may also send inquiries to petatheater@gmail.com.

International ring girl search World Series of Fighting – Global Championship (WSOF-GC) is conducting an international ring girl search in Philippines. Their next global event will take place on July 30 at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Interested contestants and aspiring models looking to compete in this fun and exciting competition to crown the next Official Decagon Girl of WSOF Global, should submit their application by emailing RINGGIRL@WSOF.ASIA (Contestants should include their contact details, recent photos, and links to all of their social media accounts). Ten women will be selected to compete in an online competition where the fans vote for their favorite ring girl. The five women with the most votes will compete in a live ring girl contest at Araneta Center on July 23. The lucky winner will win P50,000.00 and represent Philippines at the biggest MMA event of 2016 in Manila. Four runners up will also win cash prizes and be selected to be the Global certified promotional models at the event. “As a young woman, I competed in many beauty pageants here in the Philippines. I know that they can

open doors for a lot of people,” relayed WSOF Global Owner, Dunesa Hesser. “My choice to be a modeling contestant led me into my current career path. I now have the opportunity to promote my own events and grant other women the opportunities that were given to me. Our events are aired all over the world and available in over a billion homes. This type of opportunity isn’t available every day. I hope I can find Philippines’ next top model.” WSOF-GC will host WSOF-GC 3 Philippines at Smart Araneta Coliseum on July 30. Tickets start at PHP300 with ringside seats available for PHP4000. Tickets are now on sale at http://ticketnet.com.ph/WSOF-GC3Philippines--Smart-Araneta-Coliseum/EventDetails/431. World Series of Fighting Global’s ultimate mission is to bring together the best athletes from countries and organizations across the world to compete for a true, globally recognized world champion. Media inquiries should be sent to Jason Lilly, Vice President of Operations of World Series of Fighting Global, at jlilly@wsof.asia. Follow them on Twitter @WSOFGlobal.

T H U R S D AY : j U N E 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

ISAH V. RED EDITOR NICKIE WANG WRITER

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ Aljur Abrenica takes acting seriously now ISAH V. RED

am not used to watching Aljur Abrenica, a Kapuso artist, in a very serious mode, much less talking about how he immersed himself in the character he is playing in a movie to make sure he delivers a near perfect portrait of the person he is playing. Abrenica is playing the historical personality from Lucban, Quezon, known among the Lucbanons as Hermano Puli in a film of the same title by filmmaker Gil Portes. The film was originally intended for a Metro Manila Film Festival screening last year, but financial woes aborted the shooting, forcing Portes and the rest of the company to withdraw from the festival. The film, however, T-Rex Films took the cudgels from the film’s former producers that left it in limbo, Portes announced that with the new producer and the principal photography over, the film could have a September screening. At Limbaga 77 Café in Quezon City, Abrenica faced members of the press that were quite stunned at his demeanor. He is no longer playful, unlike the times after he won the Kapuso’s reality TV Starstruck in 2006, when members of the press, especially the gay scribes, would fawn over him and he would just good naturedly engage them in a banter. In fact, for a while he was the gay writers’ flavor of the season. But, now, Abrenica was in a serious mode. His smile was prudent, in fact, rather circumspect. He seems to have matured and it gives him somewhat a new persona. Why? I wonder, and so I asked. Abrenica answered, “I guess this is the only time I appreciated acting. In the past, I didn’t think of it seriously. I was just doing the things being asked of me. But this time, I know I want to do better, be appreciated as an actor by the audience and I want to give back with a satisfying performance.” His metamorphosis was first noticed in Ato Bautista’s indie work title Expressway screened during the second Sinag Maynila Film Festival in April 21 in which he played a neophyte hired gun as partner to a retiring syndicate old time played by Alvin Anson. The audience was surprised to see Abrenica portray something out of the box and far from the characters the Kapuso network had assigned to him in previous drama series he starred in. Here he was a cussing, bad boy who was in earnest wanted to inherit the post his partner will leave when their mission is done. After completing his work in Expressway, Abrenica jumped to the Hermano Puli set after Portes decided to cast him for the role. (Two other actors, the director said, was

An actor is born. Filmmaker Gil Portes praises Aljur Abrenica (pictured above) for delivering a compelling performance in the historical drama “Hermano Puli”

considered but in the end he and the rest of the production crew decided on Abrenica.) But, Abrenica didn’t just jump onto the set, done a wig and costume, and faced the cameras. The actor decided to read the screenplay, study the character seriously and even did research on his own, this the director didn’t know until he was looking for him and the actor said he was in a barangay in Lucban, Quezon tracing the route Hermano Puli took when he was preaching the words of Jesus Christ as the founder of Cofradia de San Jose (Confraternity of Saint Joseph) after the Spaniard-dominated Catholic Church in Quezon denied him to study to be a priest. “I did that to familiarize myself with Hermano Puli,” Abrenica told members of the press. “I don’t know him except for what was written on the script. So, on my own I tried to discover the person I’d be playing in the movie.” That led him to Lucban and other places Hermano Puli went before he was executed by the Spaniards for heresy. Hermano Puli also stars Louise Delos Reyes, Enzo Pineda, Menggie Cubarrubias, Kristoffer Martin, Arnold Reyes, Markki Stroem, Simon Ibarra, Vin Abrenica, Allen Abrenica, Sue Prado, Kiko Matos, Stella Canete, Diva Montelaba, Abel Estanislao, and Alvin Fortuna. De los Reyes plays the love interest of Her-

mano Puli, but it was an unrequited love. Who the hell is Hermano Puli? That is the familiar question most Filipinos will ask when the film starts its rounds in theaters in September. Hermano Puli (also spelled as “Pule”) is Apolinario de la Cruz, a charismatic leader whose crusade for religious freedom turned into a major revolt against Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines in the early 19th century. His religious martyrdom came three decades ahead of the execution of Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Rizal, and Andres Bonifacio. Hermano Puli was born two centuries ago — on July 22, 1814 in Barrio Pandac in Lucban, Tayabas (now Quezon Province). As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a Catholic priest but realized early on that the religious orders at that time did not welcome Indios (native Filipinos). At 18, he put up a religious confraternity called the Cofradia de San Jose. Under his passionate leadership, it grows steadily in its first few years, attracting hundreds of followers from nearby towns in Tayabas, Laguna and Batangas. At 22, he left for Manila to pursue deeper spiritual enlightenment. He found work as an orderly at the San Juan de Dios Hospital and became a donado (lay brother) at the hospital’s own Cofradia while he continued

Kapuso star Aljur Abrenica as the historical personality from Lucban, Quezon, known among the Lucbanons as Hermano Puli

to guide the Cofradia de San Jose through regular correspondence. On his days-off, Puli preached the Bible around Manila and soon gathered more followers. The Cofradia’s continued growth over the next four years alarmed religious authorities, who eventually condemned them as heretics. Puli sought official recognition from the government, but the governor general was outraged to discover that the Cofradia limited its membership to Indios. Instead, he excommunicated the Cofradia and ordered Puli’s arrest. Puli left Manila and met his followers in Laguna. On Oct. 23, 1841, he rallied 4,000 followers in Barrio Isabang on the foot of Mount Banahaw and defeated an attack led by the Tayabas governor. On Nov. 1, 1841, government forces overpowered the Cofradia militia and killed hundreds of Puli’s men. Puli fled but was captured the next day. He was tried and immediately executed by firing squad. His body was cut into pieces and his head was hung on a pole. He was only 27 years old. Portes says that the audience will see not Aljur Abrenica but Hermano Puli in the movie. That was how serious the actor was in his study of the character that in front of the camera he became Hermano Puli, forgetting he was the guy many thought was no more than a wooden actor.