The Standard - 2016 February 6 - Saturday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 359  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  SATURDAY : FEBRUARY 6, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Charges vs Binays okayed

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PROBE ROXAS ON MRT, OMBUDSMAN URGED

By John Paolo Bencito

OWNERS of the Metro Rail Transit III said Friday the Office of the Ombudsman should investigate presidential candidate and former Transport Secretary Manuel Roxas II for anomalous procurement and maintenance service contracts signed by the Department of Transportation and Communications.

At a press briefing, Robert L. Sobrepeña, owner of MRT Holdings Inc., called for an investigation into Roxas’ liability for the government’s anomalous contracts with Philippine Trams Rail Management and Services Corp., after a Senate panel report implicated Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and other officials for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. “I think that’s something the courts should look into,” Sobrepeña told reporters when asked if the administration’s standard bearer should be charged for the anomalous MRT deals.

Reacting to the accusations, Roxas’ spokesperson Rep. Barry Gutierrez said Sobrepeña

has no credibility, citing his involvement over questionable transactions in the past.

“Given his involvement in a long line of questionable transactions—from the original sin of the MRT contract, to CAP, to John Hay—I don’t think Robert Sobrepeña is the most credible person to listen to in this issue,” Gutierrez said in a statement.

“The record speaks for itself. Sobrepeña, as usual, speaks for his own financial interests.”

In a 45-page report, the Senate committee on public services led by Senator Grace Poe blamed the DoTC for giving “unwarranted benefits” to PH Trams and APT Global, and said it exercised “gross inexcusable negligence in allowing the dete-

rioration of the MRT by not immediately hiring a competent maintenance provider.

The DoTC’s move, the report added, also neglected what could have been better maintenance providers and violated the terms of the government’s build-leasetransfer agreement with the Sobrepeña-led MRT Corp.

Welcoming the results of the Senate probe, Sobrepeña said that if Abaya was just two days on the job when he signed the maintenance contract between the DoTC and PH Trams, then that means the bulk of the vetting process for the transaction happened during the term of Abaya’s predecessor, Roxas.

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Long-time partners. Liberal Party candidate Mar Roxas has a quiet discussion with LP president and Transportation Secretary Jose Emilio Abaya. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GMA NETWORK

Purisima facing usurpation complaint

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Plot to rig polls seen in NPO moves

By Vito Barcelo and Sandy Araneta THE United Nationalist Alliance warned Friday that the continued stay of six dismissed officers of the National Printing Office—which is printing 57 million ballots for the May elections—is part of a grand plan by the Palace to control the outcome of the polls.

UNA spokesperson Mon Ilagan said that refusal of the six Palaceappointed executives to vacate their posts despite a dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman last year was alarming and could jeopardize the entire electoral process.

“Who are these people from Malacañang who defy an order from the Ombudsman? It is obvious that they are up to something to control

the elections,” Ilagan said.

In July last year, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the dismissal of Emmanuel Andaya, NPO director; Sylvia Banda, chief administrative officer; Josefina Samson, printing operations chief; Antonio Sillona, printing operations chief; Bernadette Lagumen, supervising administrative officer; and Ma. Gracia Enriquez, Next page

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Purisima faces new charge of usurpation

By Rio N. Araja

AN ANTI-CRIME watchdog on Friday filed charges of usurpation against dismissed National Police chief Alan Purisima before the Office of the Ombudsman for giving orders to the Special Action Force troopers in the Mamasapano operation on Jan. 25, 2015.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, through its national chairman Dante Jimenez and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, sued Purisima for the crime of usurpation of official functions.

Jimenez said the filing of a new case against Purisima was brought about by the reopening of the Mamasapano inquiry at the Senate.

“We are using evidence based on the Senate’s transcript that validated Purisima performed official function despite his suspension,” he added.

Despite his suspension for corruption charges filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, Purisima was included by President Benigno Aquino III in a Jan. 9, 2015 meeting at the Palace to discuss details of Oplan Exodus, the covert operation to neutralize two high-profile terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

During the meeting, Purisima instructed then SAF chief Getulio Napeñas to

keep acting National Police chief Leonardo Espina and then Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas II in the dark about the operation to serve arrest warrants on Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hin, alias Marwan, and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman in Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.

“Purisima bypassed the function of officer in charge Leonardo Espino, and instead gave direct orders to Napeñas,” Jimenez said.

In the complaint, Jimenez said “he [Purisima] could not have legally participated in the planning and execution of the Oplan Exodus while under preventive suspension.”

“Due to his preventive suspension, he could not legally exercise the functions of his former office. Therefore, the acts of respondent Purisima in relation to Oplan Exodus constitute usurpation of official

functions punishable under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code,” the complaint read.

At least 44 SAF troopers were killed during the secret mission.

A Senate investigation found President Aquino “ultimately responsible” for those deaths.

The Palace on Friday fended off allegations from a leftist group that the President was “an American puppet who committed treason” in planning and executing Oplan Exodus.

“There is no basis to the accusations.

The interest of the nation is the most important basis of all actions and decisions of the President,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. Earlier, Vencer Crisostomo, national chairman of Anakbayan, said the Mamasapano hearings further exposed Aquino as a “puppet of the United States.”

“It has been established that the bloody offensive was a US-backed operation and that US agents, possibly from the notorious Central Intelligence Agency, were directly involved. No less than the puppet President was tapped to direct the operation,” Crisostomo said.

With Sandy Araneta, Macon RamosAraneta and Francisco Tuyay

Briefing. Cardinal Orlando Quevedo expresses his sentiments on the Bangsamoro people’s longing for genuine peace in Mindanao

following Congress’ failure to enact the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law during a press briefing at the Bishops’ Palace in Cotabato City on Thursday. With Quevedo is Philippine Information Agency-12, executive director Olivia Sudaria. OMAR MANGORSI

Plot...

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printing operations assistant, after finding them guilty of grave misconduct over the anomalous printing of travel clearance certificates worth P1.9 million in November 2010.

Despite the Ombudsman’s order, the six NPO executives remain active and have not been replaced.

Earlier, a Catholic bishop also expressed alarm over the continued stay of the six NPO executives, noting that their refusal to leave their posts may endanger the elections this year.

In a letter to the Ombudsman, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo warned that the NPO officials’ stay undermines the credibility of this year’s polls.

“We are very alarmed that there must be something suspicious behind the administration’s continued refusal to implement the said Ombudsman order,” Pabillo said.

“With the NPO designated to print the official ballots for the 2016 national and local elections, we cannot help but wonder why dismissed government officials headed by Emmanuel Andaya will be managing the operations,” he added.

The government-controlled NPO is tasked by the Commission on Elections to

print 57 million ballots to be used in the May national elections.

UNA said it has received reports that some quarters associated with the ruling Liberal Party will cause the printing of extra ballots.

“Malacañang must explain why it refuses to remove its people from the NPO. The people also want a convincing explanation as to why they ignored the Ombudsman’s orders. We can only suspect this is part of the grand plan… to manipulate the 2016 elections,” Ilagan said.

The Palace defended its decision to keep the NPO executives on, saying they would stay in place until their motions for recon-

Probe ...

From A1 Roxas was transferred to the Department of the Interior and Local Government following the death of Jesse Robredo on Aug. 18, 2012, but he assumed his new post only on Oct. 19 the day that the MRT maintenance contract with Sumitomo Corp. had expired.

That contract had originally expired in July 2010, but was renewed four times on a six-month basis, subject to DoTC approval.

Sobrepeña said MRT Holdings and other private companies submitted at least eight proposals to the government, the last four of which had been submitted directly to Abaya.

“Why didn’t the DoTC extend the contract with Sumitomo and resort to a new provider?” he said. “The big question is, why they awarded the contract to PH Trams, which was operating for only two months? Their inaction to all the proposals of the private sector is against the law,” Sobrepeña said.

“The fact that the DoTC awarded such a huge contract to a two-monthold company is a smoking gun. They could be charged with graft,” he added.

On Thursday, Abaya shrugged off the report of Poe’s committee, saying that all MRT contracts signed under his watch were clean and fair.

Abaya also slammed the Senate report for favoring Sobrepeña.

“We have no worries. Our conscience is clear and we strictly implemented the procurement law. So we are confident that the procurement was regular, the playing field leveled, and we did not favor anyone.”

“PH Trams formed a joint venture [JV] with Commbuilders CB&T. As JV, they presented the maintenance record and financial statements of the CB&T which the procurement law allows, thus they are qualified,” Abaya said.

Poe, who chaired a Senate public services subcommittee inquiry into the MRT’s services in 2014, decried the long queues at MRT stations and blamed Roxas for the commuter train system’s dilapidated state.

But Roxas said the problem was the “original sin” of the MRT contract, which guaranteed the MRT owner a 15 percent dollar-denominated return for 25 years, and said it was the Sobrepeña group that was taking advantage of the riding public.

“A 15 percent return, dollar-denominated, come hell or high water, that is anomalous,” Roxas said at a presidential forum in November.

In December 2015, the Ombudsman filed criminal charges and singled out former MRT-III general manager Al Vitangcol as sole respondent to the graft charges for the MRT maintenance deal.

The DoTC has signed a three-year maintenance contract with a Korean-Filipino consortium that began in January.

In that same month, the MRT recorded five breakdowns. sideration have been resolved.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. defended the dismissed NPO executives as having “integrity” and denied their retention was part of a plot to control the outcome of the elections.

He also praised the NPO for its “operational efficiency.”

“The cases filed against certain officials of the NPO will not in any way hamper its operations, including the printing of the official ballots,” Coloma said.

“The officials involved have filed their respective motions for reconsideration of the Office of the Ombudsman order and are awaiting their resolution,” he added.

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Binay will face ordinary people VICE President Jejomar Binay will kick off his election campaign with the ordinary people to underscore his commitment to uplift the lives of the poor, his spokesman said Friday.

“Vice President Binay wants to launch his campaign with ordinary Filipinos who have been left behind and continue to struggle with poverty, hunger and unemployment,” Joey Salgado said.

“The vice president chose to hold his proclamation rally at Welfareville because he wants to share with the masses his vision of a nation where rich and

poor share the benefits of economic growth.”

From Mandaluyong, Binay will spend the first days of his campaign barnstorming the Cavite and Laguna, Salgado said.

“The vice president will continue to present his platform of government anchored on uplifting the lives of the people,” he said.

Duterte says he’s ready to discuss issues DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a presidential candidate, said Thursday he is ready to face his opponents to discuss issues and present his platform of government during the debates to be conducted by the Commission on Elections.

Duterte made the statement during a Go Negosyo: Meet the Presidentiables forum at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City a day after the Comelec dismissed the four disqualification cases filed against him.

“I am now an official [presidential] candidate and I am ready to face them in debates,” Duterte told the businessmen and small and medium entrepreneurs who attended the event.

He made his statement even as the spokesman for the PDP-Laban, Duterte’s political party, said more people were now considering Duterte as a “more serious candidate” unlike the Liberal Party’s standard bearer Manuel Roxas II. “Mayor Duterte is considered by the people as a more serious candidate than Mar Roxas,” Paola Alvarez said.

“The people deserve more than candidates who promise only continuity and not bold solutions, who promise more of the same when clearly it is no longer enough.”

Duterte recently said he would not attend the presidential debates unless the Comelec declared him an official candidate.

At the same forum on Thursday, Duterte said he was also willing to accept campaign contributions provided the money came from legitimate sources and from people who had no business connections with the government.

The Comelec had signed an agreement with private media entities and other public affairs networks to collaborate in holding presidential debates dubbed “Pilipinas Debates 2016”.

The first debate has been scheduled on Feb. 21 in Cagayan de Oro City.

Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said there will be three presidential debates: one each in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao while the lone vice presidential debate will be held in Metro Manila.

He said the Visayas leg of the debates will be held in Cebu on March 20, and the Luzon leg on April 24 in Central Luzon or Southern Luzon.

The vice presidential debate has been scheduled on March 10 in a place in Metro Manila that is yet to be announced.

Under the Fair Election Act, the Comelec may require national television and radio networks to sponsor at least three national debates among the presidential candidates and at least one national debate among the vice presidential candidates during the campaign period.

Meanwhile, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile said Friday Binay will win the presidential race despite the corruption charges against him.

He said the voters would not mind those charges, and that the “noise” about Binay’s alleged involvement in various anomalous transactions were restricted to Metro Manila.

He said those in the provinces were simply ignoring the political noise against Binay.

Enrile said Binay remained the top choice of the voters despite the corruption charges against him.

“Whether you believe it or

not, who do you think is the strongest candidate for president right now? It’s Jojo [Binay],” Enrile said.

He said the corruption issue had always been there from the time of President Manuel Quezon. He said even those who were perceived as corrupt had been elected.

He specifically cited the presidential fight befween Ferdinand Marcos and Diosdado Macapagal. Then, he said, people were saying Marcos was corrupt but he defeated Macapagal.

“They just want to destroy the name of a person and present

witnesses without studying if what they say is true or not according to the documents,” Enrile said.

“They have not studied those documents. I asked them point blank, have you gone over this?

They hesitated, and they said “not 100 percent.”

Enrile said he would place his bet on Binay who is seeking the presidency under the United Nationalist Alliance, a coalition of the vice president’s PDP-Laban and former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Poe, Escudero to hold rally in Quiapo PRESIDENTIAL candidate Grace Poe and vice presidential bet Chiz Escudero will kick off their proclamation rally in Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila, on Tuesday next week, their spokesman said Friday.

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian said the two senators, both independent candidates, chose Plaza Miranda for its “historical significance” and for being the place where Poe goes regularly to pray.

“As she embarks on a very important milestone in her life, she will again seek guidance from our Lord God,” Gatchalian said.

He made his statement even as Escudero slammed the lawyer of one of the petitioners in the disqualification case against Poe, a foundling, for saying Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno had a misplaced sympathy for foundlings.

He told Manuel Luna, a lawyer of

former Senator Francisco Tatad, to “get a better grasp of the finer tenets of the law in administering equity and equality.”

“Has he [Luna] ever heard of ‘equity is equality in law’? That equity should grant relief to persons who are going through hardships which are not of their doing,” Escudero said.

Meanwhile, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and her running mate, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., have chosen Batac, Ilocos Sur, as the venue for their proclamation rally on Tuesday.

Batac is the hometown of Marcos who is running under the Nacionalista Party. Santiago is seeking the presidency under her People’s Reform Party.

Gatchalian said Partido Galing at Puso was thankful to the city government of Manila for allowing the

coalition to hold its proclamation rally in Plaza Miranda.

GP campaign manager Cebu Ace Durano said he was excited about the rally in Plaza Miranda.

The Supreme Court has yet to decide on the disqualification cases against Poe over her citizenship and her alleged lack of the 10-year residency requirement. The petitioners insist Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen and not qualified to run for president.

The Commission on Elections canceled Poe’s Certificate of Candidacy for president but Poe petitioned the Supreme Court to reject the poll body’s ruling.

The Senate Electoral Tribunal dumped a separate disqualification case against Poe but petitioner Rizalito David appealed the decision before the Supreme Court. Macon Ramos-Araneta

In a simple c eremony held at the M akati Cit y Polic e St ation on the f ir st day of Febr uar y, the Wong Chu K ing Foundation ( WCK F) donated "safet y and visibilit y vests" to M akati polic emen in aide of their dut y. The vests will be distr ibuted to the c it y 's polic emen as a means to pre - empt and /or dec rease the c ommission of cr imes espec ially in the streets. In photo from lef t PCINSP H ER M A N N KOSCA , Cr istina V illanueva ( WCK F Volunteer), At t y. A lex Calderon ( WCK F Volunteer), Camelo N oel H. Navar ro ( WCK F Volunteer), PSU PT JAIM E O SA NTOS, G en. M elito M. Mabilin (Ret.), At t y. Reynaldo O. Esmeralda, G en. Rodr igo de G rac ia (Ret.), James Navar rete (G eneral Manager of WCK F), Mar io Evasc o ( WCK F Volunteer), Ruel Selga ( WCK F Volunteer), Julian Linsangan ( WCK F Volunteer), A lber t Aguilar ( WCK F Volunteer), PSU PT A NG ELO G G ER MIN A L, PCINSP CA N DEL A RIO WA R LLIE R H ER M O, PCINSP SA M U EL M FER N A N DE Z, together with other WCK F volunteer s and M akati Cit y Polic e of f ic ials.

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Binay faces graft raps anew

By Rio N. Araja and Vito Bercelo OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio Morales ordered on Friday the filing of corruption charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son former Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay, but the Binay camp dismissed the raps as part of the campaign tactics of the Liberal Party.

Sharing concerns. Vice President Jejomar C. Binay shares a meal with senior citizens of Tagkawayan, Quezon during a consultation sortie in the province.

Electioneering rule clarified

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan COMMISSION on Elections chairman Andres Bautista maintained on Friday there is nothing unconstitutional in the agency’s implementing rules and regulation and insisted that civil servants are prohibited from engaging in partisan politics.

“As a student of our Constitution, I can recall that if you are a civil service employee, you are part of the democracy but you are not allowed to engage in a partisan political activity,” Bautista said in reaction to the complaint of deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

Valte griped on Thursday against the agency’s rules which, she said, was a prior restraint and an infringement of the right

to free speech.

But Bautista assured Valte that she can freely express her political views for or against any candidate because jurisprudence on the matter has already established that she is not covered by the prohibition.

“If your are a political appointee, you are not prohibited [from engaging in partisan politics],” Bautista said, adding that elected officials are also not covered by the prohibition.

“The President himself is not prohibited. Cabinet members are not barred because they are appointed officials,” Bautista said.

Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10049, “personal opinions, views, and preferences for candidates, contained in blogs and micro-blogs, shall not be con-

sidered as acts of election campaigning or partisan political activity unless expressed by government officials in the Executive Department, the Legislative Department, the Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and members of the Civil Service.”

Violation of the said provision will constitute an election offense, which carries a penalty of one to six years imprisonment, removal of right to vote, and disqualification from holding public office.

But Bautista said they are looking at the possibility of issuing a clarification on the said provision of their Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Fair Elections Act for the May 2016 polls.

“We want to clarify this provision in the resolution,” said Bautista.

The elder Binay, who is running for president in the May election, was also indicted, but Morales said the charges will only be filed after his term in June 2016.

At least 22 other officials and employees were implicated in the charges after the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed all of the accused’s motions for reconsideration.

“We never expected any fairness and impartiality from the Ombudsman. So what else is new?” said Joey Salgado, the vice president’s spokesperson.

The Ombudsman said it has jurisdiction to conduct its preliminary investigation that led it to find probable cause to file criminal charges against the Binays and their co-respondents.

But Salgado insisted that the Ombudsman resolutions are plainly political tools against the vice president, saying it was the same accusations the Ombudsman released its resolution against the vice president on the day he filed his Certificate of Candidacy.

“Now it released another resolution on the motion for reconsideration just a few days before the start of the campaign period and after Vice President Binay regained his lead in the presidential surveys,” Salgado said.

“Simply put, the move of the Ombudsman fits into the orchestrated effort of Mar Roxas, the LP and its allies including Roxas’ mouthpieces masquerading as Palace spokesmen, to attack the vice president,” Salgado said.

“We have never expected fairness and impartiality from the Ombudsman. We look forward to disproving all their allegations in an impartial court,” he said.

In three separate joint orders, Morales affirmed the finding of probable cause against the older and Binay Jr. for four counts of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, six counts of falsification of public documents and one count each for malversation for their involvement in the various phases of the construction of the carpark project.

Solon: Act vs media slays

By Maricel V. Cruz

HOUSE Independent Bloc leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Friday voiced concern at the rising number of killings of journalists in the country even as he urged the Aquino administration to address the issue.

Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, said various government agencies led by the Philippine National Police and the Department of Justice should work double time to end the impunity against journalists as the International Federation of Journalists announced the country is the second most dangerous place for journalist with 146 killings over the past 25 years.

“The poor handling of cases regarding killings of journalists is very evident and we should do something to solve the problem,” lamented Romualdez, head of the House Independent Bloc and a three-term congressman who is running for the Senate under a

platform anchored on compassionate governance.

“The killings of journalists are very lamentable and I condemn these in the strongest possible terms and authorities should run after perpetrators and unmask the masterminds to stop these continued violence against media persons,” Romualdez, a shared senatorial candidate of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who are both running for president, said IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger said 2006 was the worst year of all with 155 journalists killed.

Over the past 25 years, Iraq has topped the list of most dangerous countries for journalists with 309 killings, the overwhelming majority of them since the 2003 US led invasion and war.

In second place is the Philippines, with 146 killings, while Mexico and its drugsrelated violence is third with 120.

Romualdez said the government should be at the forefront in upholding the rights and safety of media practitioners.

By my count, men. A female coast guard oversees a swimming drill for her Philippine Coast Guard colleagues at the Manila Bay in Pasay City on Friday. DANNY PATA

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Senate dean ready to go at ‘any time’

Withdrawal. Lawyer Candy Rivas announces the withdrawal of presidential candidate Roy Señeres of the Workers and Peasant Party from the May 9 elections. With her are Hannah Señeres, Dr. Gion Gounet and Bishop Teodulo Malangen. DANNY PATA

Señeres withdraws bid for presidency

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan Citing health reasons, former ambassador and presidential candidate Roy Señeres of the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka [Workers and Peasants Party] has withdrawn his candidacy for president, his lawyer announced on Friday.

Señeres’ lawyer and spokesperson Candelaria Rivas went to the Comelec office to file his client’s statement of withdrawal based on medical advise to avoid stress that may complicate his diabetes.

“I wish to inform you all that, after much thought and prayers to God Almighty, I am hereby announcing my withdrawal

from the Philippine presidential race,” Rivas read from Señeres statement.

“I do so with the blessings of my family and upon the recommendation of my doctor, who has advised me to avoid stress due to my long-standing diabetes, so as to prevent the complications, thereof,” Señeres said.

However, the Comelec law department declined to accept

the withdrawal in the absence of Señeres.

“They came here bearing a statement of withdrawal, but unfortunately the rules requires the withdrawal must be personally filed,” said lawyer Rex Laudiangco, head of the Comelec law department’s Legal Opinion and Research Division.

Laudiangco said Section 18 and 19 of Resolution 9984 strictly requires personal filing of withdrawals of Certificate of Candidacy.

Laudiangco said the camp of Señeres claimed that the latter is currently physically incapable to personally file his withdrawal.

“That’s why I advised them to attach a medical certificate or any doctor attestation or

statement to that effect. And then we will elevate that to the en banc and let’s see if the en banc will grant it, if yes then so be it. If the en banc directs us to verify first the condition why he failed to personally file his withdrawal, let’s see,” Laudiangco added.

Rivas, for her part, said they will file the statement of withdrawal along with Señeres’ medical certificate on Monday.

But Laudiangco noted that even if the en banc accepts his withdrawal, there may not be enough time for the project management office to erase Señeres’ name from the official ballots as the Comelec is set to start the printing of 54 million official ballots on Monday.

TURNING 92 years old on Feb. 14, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile said he is ready to go because he has already fulfilled his duty to his country and the Filipino people.

“I do not know when, I might be talking to you today, but tomorrow, I might no longer open my eyes. We do not know when.

Nobody can tell when God will get us so we should always be prepared,” Enrile told The Standard in an interview.

Enrile said he has nothing more to ask God for anything because he had already been given much and he has already fulfilled his job to his country and to the Filipino people. Aside from being a politician for 32 years, he also served as minister of defense and secretary of justice and finance.

“I don’t even buy shoes. I don’t buy anything. When I’m at home I’m just in shorts and I walk around without slippers. After this week, I’ll be out in the province. I’ll go back to fishing,” said Enrile.

“I have no more birthdays. I’m counting it backwards,” Enrile jokingly told reporters, adding that he is already having a hard time hearing or even seeing people. He also has a problem walking because his balance is bad, “that’s why I have people beside me and I hold on to people.”

Instead of asking for more, Enrile said he thanks God everyday for everything and for reaching his age.

“I thank our God every morning when I wake up for another day,” Enrile said. “Then I thank him again for letting me have that day before I go to bed. I’m sure when you reach my age you will do the same thing.”

He dismissed reports that he underwent regeneration of cells, replacing the old cell, which was the reason for his extraordinary strength when he sprang from his sickbed at the PNP General Hospital to the halls of the Senate where he led the hearing of the much-publicized Mamasapano tragedy.

“The only regeneration that I had was eating pako, pako salad and asitaba,” said Enrile, adding he gets cramps and suffers from pain.

“Today, everyday, they take my blood pressure. They take my pulse rate, they take my temperature. That’s the doctor’s advice.

And I take certain medicines that I will not disclose.”

Asked about a report that medical specialists and scientists were conducting studies and experiments on his apparent “miraculous” recovery, Enrile called it a silly lie and baloney.

Last Wednesday, Enrile blocked the confirmation of his seven appointees of President Benigno Aquino III, including Audit Commissioner Isabelle Dasalla-Agito and Civil Service Commissioner Nieves Osorio during the Commission on Appointments hearing.

Pension hike still ‘doable’

By Maricel V. Cruz

Gong Xi Fa Cai. Members of Akbayan troop to the Chinese consulate in Makati City to commemorate the lunar new year while protesting the Chinese governments continued incursions in Philippine territories. LINO SANTOS

SPEAKER Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the Social Security System may choose to implement a P1,000 pension hike as an alternative to the P2,000 that was vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III. Belmonte said the P1,000 is doable and lawmakers have been exerting efforts to grant a “reasonable” pension hike for the country’s millions of SSS retirees.

“I think the P1,000 will be doable,” Belmonte said, defending the move of the House to abruptly end its session Wednesday night in order to block the moves of SSS pension hike propo-

nents to force a vote to override Aquino’s veto of the 2,000 pension hike bill.

“The override [of the President’s veto] cannot be done because number one, [the pension raise] cannot be afforded [by the government], and second, you cannot override [something with only one House member who is for it],” Belmonte said.

Belmonte said Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares obviously did not have the required two-thirds vote of the entire chamber to overturn the President’s veto since there were not enough congressmen present at the plenary session Wednesday.

At least 192 of the 287

House members in the present 16th Congress would be the needed vote to reverse the President’s veto of the measure.

The House adjourned its session at 7: 40 p.m. Wednesday despite Colmenares’ appeal for the proceedings to continue in order for his resolution seeking to reverse the President’s veto of the SSS pension hike bill could be put to a vote.

Belmonte termed as “bad faith” the move of Colmenares to override the President’s veto, saying Colmenares, a senatorial candidate, was just “really just showing off or launching [his] political career.”

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A6 ‘Campaign rallies must not cause traffic jams’

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Commission on Elections is studying the possibility of regulating election campaign rallies and motorcades to prevent traffic jams along major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, especially during rush hours.

Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Emerson Carlos asked the poll body to consider his proposal to authorize and deputize traffic enforcers to help it regulate the use of Metro Manila’s major roads during the campaign period, which will begin Tuesday.

Carlos said he had a meeting with Comelec chairman Andres Bautista and discussed the MMDA’s concern of regulating the use of major roads during the campaign period which, he said, would really affect the situation on major thoroughfares.

The MMDA chief asked Bautista “Can we regulate the use of our roads every time there are campaign rallies, motorcades and meeting de avance? Can they ask permit from our agency before holding a rally?”

The MMDA clarified that there is no plan to ban candidates from holding campaign rallies on major roads, especially along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, saying the agency just wanted to give comfort to both the motorists and to the people holding the campaign rallies.

“We are proposing this so that we can at least make necessary announcement or advise the motorists that a rally, motorcade or meeting de avance will take place in a specific time and area,” Carlos said.

He also believed that either major or secondary roads that will be used, both will bring effect to the motorists.

Carlos said the Comelec is now considering coming up with a resolution relative to their proposal.

He added his conversation with Bautista took place after the agreement signed by both agencies and the Department of Public Works and Highways, in which the Comelec deputized the MMDA and the DPWH to conduct “Oplan Baklas” to remove unsafe billboards and other campaign materials posted outside the common poster area.

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Officials place airport security on high alert

By Eric Apolonio

SECURITY screening at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals is on high alert and the Office of Transportation Security, manning the initial and final security check, now requires all airport users to remove all metal objects such as watches, belts, wallets and shoes for X-ray scanning.

Shoes off, please. A passenger at the airport terminal takes his shoes off as security has been heightened following an onboard explosion in Somalia this week. ERIC APOLONIO

Caloocan to celebrate 54th anniversary Feb. 16

By Jun David CALOOCAN City will celebrate its 54th Cityhood Anniversary on Feb. 16, a non-working holiday here.

Month-long festivities are lined up including a motorcade, Kasalang Bayan, Boodle Fight, Tiburon Race, and the Search for Miss Caloocan 2016.

On Feb. 7, the city will recognize the contributions of the FilipinoChinese community with a simultaneous Chinese New Year Countdown to be held at the Bonifacio Monument Circle and Caloocan North.

Prior to the countdown, a vari-

ety show and band concert will be held.

Advisories on the traffic rerouting scheme have already been posted on conspicuous areas on the main thoroughfares.

Recently, the city inaugurated its newest hospital, Caloocan City North Medical Center, in the city’s northernmost area. The event was graced by senatorial bet Tacloban Rep. Martin Romualdez.

A mega job fair and Buntis Congress will be held at the main city hall and Caloocan North on Feb. 9 and 10, respectively.

Bloodletting activities will take place at CCNMC and CCMC on

Feb. 10 and 11, respectively.

On Feb. 16, a Thanksgiving Mass will be held at Glorieta Tala dome at 6 p.m. to be followed by Outstanding Caloocan Awards in recognition of the excellent achievements of its constituents.

Kiddielympics for children will be held on Feb. 19 at Buena Park Sports Complex and on Feb. 20 will be the Mrs. Caloocan Talents Night at the Glorietta Amphitheater.

On Feb. 23 will be another Mega Job Fair, this time at the north city hall and the celebration will be capped by the Miss Caloocan 2016 Coronation Night on Feb. 27 at Malolos Avenue, Bagong Barrio.

15 years. Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and his wife Yeddda celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. VER NOVENO

Airport employees say the strict screening comes in the aftermath of a commercial plane in Somalia that made an emergency landing due to an onboard explosion minutes after its takeoff last Tuesday.

Reports said that an Airbus A321 type aircraft of Daallo Airlines on flight D3159 was forced an emergency landing minutes after taking off from Mogadishu International Airport in Somalia following an onboard explosion that created a large hole on the side of the aircraft.

Jorivel Anne Jose, an OTS security screener said that they are requiring departing passengers to remove all metal objects and shoes—especially those with extended soles— and place them on a tray for X-ray scanning.

Jose said a passenger might place pointed metal in their belt buckle or explosives or gunpowder in their shoes or wallet.

“We want to ensure the safety of passengers against possible terrorist threat while on board an airplane,” she added.

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Abra power cooperative plunged in P600-m debt

By Abe P. Belena BANGUED, Abra—The Abra Electric Cooperative continues to bleed as debts incurred by resigned manager Marco Bautista have ballooned to about P600 million by early this year.

Documents from the National Electrification Administration and other government agencies that included a comprehensive audit report, a table of indebtedness of that cooperative for over 10 years, financial statements, interviews and published reports support the allegation.

The bleeding started in 2005 when the cooperative recorded monthly losses averaging P250,000. The loss continued until its latest financial report submitted to NEA in June last year. The cooperative was found short of cash on hand amounting to P1 million.

A provincial board member, James Bersamin, had started making public those debts when he was gunned down in October 2005. A cousin, the late Chito Bersamin, was assassinated in front of a church in Quezon City two months later.

The bulk of the multi-million debts were owed to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. which inherited it from the National Power Corp. by force of the Epira law.

The cooperative likewise has unpaid taxes of P12 million to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Stripped of its long-term supply contract with Aboitiz since last year, the electric coop had resorted to buying electricity from spot market at a much higher rate than long-term contracted power from a single supplier.

As a result, Abra consumers now buy an average power rate of P12 per kilowatt-hour, higher than Meralco rates and one of the highest in the world, a coop official intimated.

Starting at over P114 million in 2006, the PSALM debt had grown to P355 million by 2014 and about P500 million, records and statements of officials who asked not to be named show.

Hard at work. Policemen from Jiabong, Samar plant mangroves in celebration of World Wetlands Day. MEL CASPE

El Niño takes P172-m toll in North Cotabato KIDAPAWAN CITY—Damage to agricultural crops in North Cotabato as brought about by the ill effects of drought–spawned El Niño weather phenomenon has reached P172 million, the provincial agricultural office said.

Data obtained from the office noted that of the total damage, P55 million worth of rice and corn crops destroyed was due to rat infestation.

The same report indicated that the province has not experienced

sufficient downpour for rain-fed farmlands over the past three months, with the dry spell even causing some small river tributaries and creeks to dry up.

In this city, local legislators swiftly approved during a session

on Tuesday the release of calamity funds to cushion the effect of the famine.

Mayor Joseph Evangelista, concurrent chair of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said that close to P30 million worth of value crops that included rice, corn, coconut, rubber, and sugarcane were damaged by the scorching climate in 266 hectares of farmlands here since November last year.

A total of 553 farmers from

the city’s 18 villages were severely affected by the drought, he added.

Moreover, the mayor said farm yields from three remote villages here namely Onica, Macebolig, and Kalaisan, were racked up by rodents in numerous attacks.

Evangelista said a locally initiated calamity intervention program is underway to combat dengue, rat and rice black bug infestation all at the same time.

PNA

Baguio mayor asks public: Identify fixers in city hall

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—The city government will not tolerate the existence of fixers in the different offices pursuant to the Anti-Red Tape Act but the public must be brave enough to identify these fixers so they could be charged accordingly.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan admitted the existence of fixers in the different offices of the city in the past but says some of them have stopped because of the introduction of information and communication technology tools that have improved the transactions.

“We need the support of the transacting public for us to succeed in our move to eradicate

fixers in the city government,” Domogan stressed.

He said concerned offices of the local government had been vigilant on the existence of fixers.

This may have been responsible for the decline in the number of fixers even as some offices continue to receive reports about their existence.

Those accused of being fixers must also be given the needed due process as a matter of right before concerned offices of the city government render the appropriate decision on penalties to be imposed on them.

Domogan said complaints against identified fixers have to go through the regular process of investigation by the concerned offices.

Briefing: ARMM executive secretary Laisa Alamia (left) with some ARMM officials brief the Canadian mission team headed by Stephen Weaver (right), Canadian Embassy Counselor and heads of the humanitarian agencies in the Philippines composed of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme on the status of projects in the region. OMAR MANGORSI

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

COAL IS NOT LEAST COSTLY TECHNOLOGY

[ EDI TORI A L ]

GETTING UP ON STAGE THIS week’s debate between presidential hopefuls from the US Democratic Party, former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, is instructive on what we should demand to see—and what we do not see at all—in the conversations leading to our own presidential elections in May. Sanders packages himself as a progressive candidate who wants to wage a political revolution. He says he will do away with the practice of big corporations making campaign contributions to politicians. This has been the reason that politics has not worked to the benefit of the people, he said. Government leaders act in the interest of the individuals and corporations who propped up their campaigns, undermining democracy.

He also believes his opponent, Clinton, is not progressive enough to be named the Democratic presidential candidate. If he is chosen to represent the party, he will introduce reforms to the campaign finance system that he hopes would arrest Americans’ apparent loss of faith in their own system.

But Clinton called him out for claiming he wants a positive campaign but resorting to innuendoes and insinuation to bring her down. What Sanders was saying, Clinton said, was that anybody who takes campaign contributions must be bought. Her opponent, the “self-proclaimed gatekeeper for progressivism,” should end his artful smearing and debate on issues, instead.

Issues like universal health care and education, which even middle-class Americans have difficulty accessing. Sanders said that if he is nominated and then elected, will push for the overhaul of the universal health care system and for free college education in the country. Clinton, for her part, said she is not going to make promises she cannot keep. What she will work for, if she gets to the White House, is empowering the people to keep making progress in their lives and for their kids to reach their potential. She has worked long and hard and she has the scars to show for it, she said.

We may ask of the politicians presenting themselves to us here at home: What scars?

What scars can they be proud of when they cannot even muster the courage to get up on a common stage and discuss their plans down to the detail, and express why they are for or against a certain measure?

What scars, when they themselves resort to smearing, artful or not, of the other candidates to boost their own stock instead of convincing the voters to support them for their track record and potential executive value?

Filipino voters often complain of being sweet-talked by their candidates who do such a great job at packaging their images without the commensurate effort on their substance. Perhaps we should not wait for them to elevate the level of discourse. We must instead demand that they get up there and tell us what they are going to do, and open themselves up to difficult questions.

That they refuse to hear the questions in the first place would tell us much about their fitness for the job they seek, and would guide us in making our choice three months from now.

THE SUPREME COURT MUST BE CONSISTENT HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA THE hearings in the Supreme Court relating to the four disqualification cases filed against Senator Grace Poe, all seeking to disallow her from running for president in the May 2016 elections, will soon be concluded.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections ruled that Poe is disqualified from joining the presidential derby because she is not a natural-born citizen of

the Philippines, and she has not been a resident of the country for the past 10 years counted from the May 2016 polls. Under the Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen, and must have resided in the country for a period of at least 10 years prior to the election.

It appears that the focus of the discussions in the hearings is the citizenship aspect in Poe’s disqualification cases. Poe’s critics maintain that since Poe is a foundling, the circumstances of her birth cannot be ascertained, and since the Constitution reckons natural-born citizenship on

the basis of one’s birth, a foundling cannot be considered a natural-born citizen.

Obviously, the main issue against Poe is her lack of the requisite qualifications to be president—qualifications mandated by the Constitution—and not her status as a foundling.

Having run out of valid arguments, Poe’s supporters have resorted to underscoring Poe’s status as a foundling, and making it appear that the disqualification cases against Poe are calculated to discriminate against foundlings. That’s desperation, plain and simple.

A9

Other desperate Poe supporters have taken the extraconstitutional path.

Other desperate Poe supporters have taken the extraconstitutional path. They want the Supreme Court to violate the Constitution by allowing the voters to decide for themselves if Poe is qualified to be president. That is disobedience to the Constitution. What Poe’s supporters are advocating is mob rule, no different from the infamous assembly which gathered before Pontius Pilate to demand the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, despite the absolute absence of any legal ground for the death sentence sought.

Mob rule was also responsible

for the imposition of the controversial 1973 Constitution on the Filipino people, despite the fact that it was not validly ratified in a plebiscite. As a result, the country was under an authoritarian regime for 14 years.

From the way the hearings in the Supreme Court have gone, it seems that a couple of justices are inclined to accommodate Poe and to allow her to run for president.

So far, two magistrates remarked in the course of the hearings that it is unfair to discriminate against

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

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

foundlings, and that to disqualify Poe from the presidential race will create a chain of unfortunate consequences to other foundlings. Evidently, the two magistrates were of the view that if Poe is disqualified from becoming president because she is a foundling, then all foundlings in the Philippines will never be able to hold any office reserved for natural-born citizens of the country.

A well-known expert in election law argued otherwise. He correctly pointed out that if Poe is to be disqualified from

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

running for president, it is because Poe failed to meet the requirements set forth in the Constitution, and not because Poe is a foundling.

Continued on A11

POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO Ms. Angsioco’s column will resume next week.

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

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

THIS is the third column in a series I have been writing on coal-fired power plants. The series is based on a Ateneo de Manila School of Government policy brief “Striking a Balance: Coal-fired power plants in the Philippines’ Energy Future.” In writing these columns, I acknowledge the collaboration of Purple Romero who also assisted in producing the policy brief.

Coal has often been described as leastcost technology, but this is misleading.

When we factor in the health and social impacts of coal on communities—as we should—operating coal-fired power plants bear costs that are unfortunately paid for by people who will be affected the most by the ill effects of CFPPs. These costs are not often accounted for in the electricity price because they are considered externalities.

These externalities come in the form of health hazards which result from the life-cycle of coal—from mining to disposal of post-combustion waste. Among these stages, combustion generates the most significant amount of hazardous byproducts such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, oxides of sulfur and a slew of other substances that are carcinogenic. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has reported that out of 187 hazardous air pollutants, 84 are emitted by CFPPs. In a previous column, I described how these pollutants harm the environment; the same also result in adverse health impact. Long-term effects of pollutants from CFPPs include respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

There is a dearth of studies focusing on the health consequences of operating CFPPs, however in the Philippines. This is a significant gap that we pointed out in our paper. The lack of reliable, comprehensive studies that truly capture the ill effects of CFPPs on the health of Filipinos is a stumbling block to developing policies that are responsive and appropriate. We cited one study conducted by the Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao on the health impacts borne by the STEAG State Power Plant in Mindanao in host communities during their operations from 2007-2011.

The study said that there had been more cases of cough and cold among children as compared to the pre-operation period of the CFPPs. Cases of asthma also increased. The study, however, is limited by the lack of capacity and resources to conduct laboratory tests that could measure ambient air, soil and groundwater quality. Records from barangay health centers are also scant, 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

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

COAL IS NOT LEAST COSTLY TECHNOLOGY

[ EDI TORI A L ]

GETTING UP ON STAGE THIS week’s debate between presidential hopefuls from the US Democratic Party, former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, is instructive on what we should demand to see—and what we do not see at all—in the conversations leading to our own presidential elections in May. Sanders packages himself as a progressive candidate who wants to wage a political revolution. He says he will do away with the practice of big corporations making campaign contributions to politicians. This has been the reason that politics has not worked to the benefit of the people, he said. Government leaders act in the interest of the individuals and corporations who propped up their campaigns, undermining democracy.

He also believes his opponent, Clinton, is not progressive enough to be named the Democratic presidential candidate. If he is chosen to represent the party, he will introduce reforms to the campaign finance system that he hopes would arrest Americans’ apparent loss of faith in their own system.

But Clinton called him out for claiming he wants a positive campaign but resorting to innuendoes and insinuation to bring her down. What Sanders was saying, Clinton said, was that anybody who takes campaign contributions must be bought. Her opponent, the “self-proclaimed gatekeeper for progressivism,” should end his artful smearing and debate on issues, instead.

Issues like universal health care and education, which even middle-class Americans have difficulty accessing. Sanders said that if he is nominated and then elected, will push for the overhaul of the universal health care system and for free college education in the country. Clinton, for her part, said she is not going to make promises she cannot keep. What she will work for, if she gets to the White House, is empowering the people to keep making progress in their lives and for their kids to reach their potential. She has worked long and hard and she has the scars to show for it, she said.

We may ask of the politicians presenting themselves to us here at home: What scars?

What scars can they be proud of when they cannot even muster the courage to get up on a common stage and discuss their plans down to the detail, and express why they are for or against a certain measure?

What scars, when they themselves resort to smearing, artful or not, of the other candidates to boost their own stock instead of convincing the voters to support them for their track record and potential executive value?

Filipino voters often complain of being sweet-talked by their candidates who do such a great job at packaging their images without the commensurate effort on their substance. Perhaps we should not wait for them to elevate the level of discourse. We must instead demand that they get up there and tell us what they are going to do, and open themselves up to difficult questions.

That they refuse to hear the questions in the first place would tell us much about their fitness for the job they seek, and would guide us in making our choice three months from now.

THE SUPREME COURT MUST BE CONSISTENT HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA THE hearings in the Supreme Court relating to the four disqualification cases filed against Senator Grace Poe, all seeking to disallow her from running for president in the May 2016 elections, will soon be concluded.

Earlier, the Commission on Elections ruled that Poe is disqualified from joining the presidential derby because she is not a natural-born citizen of

the Philippines, and she has not been a resident of the country for the past 10 years counted from the May 2016 polls. Under the Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen, and must have resided in the country for a period of at least 10 years prior to the election.

It appears that the focus of the discussions in the hearings is the citizenship aspect in Poe’s disqualification cases. Poe’s critics maintain that since Poe is a foundling, the circumstances of her birth cannot be ascertained, and since the Constitution reckons natural-born citizenship on

the basis of one’s birth, a foundling cannot be considered a natural-born citizen.

Obviously, the main issue against Poe is her lack of the requisite qualifications to be president—qualifications mandated by the Constitution—and not her status as a foundling.

Having run out of valid arguments, Poe’s supporters have resorted to underscoring Poe’s status as a foundling, and making it appear that the disqualification cases against Poe are calculated to discriminate against foundlings. That’s desperation, plain and simple.

A9

Other desperate Poe supporters have taken the extraconstitutional path.

Other desperate Poe supporters have taken the extraconstitutional path. They want the Supreme Court to violate the Constitution by allowing the voters to decide for themselves if Poe is qualified to be president. That is disobedience to the Constitution. What Poe’s supporters are advocating is mob rule, no different from the infamous assembly which gathered before Pontius Pilate to demand the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, despite the absolute absence of any legal ground for the death sentence sought.

Mob rule was also responsible

for the imposition of the controversial 1973 Constitution on the Filipino people, despite the fact that it was not validly ratified in a plebiscite. As a result, the country was under an authoritarian regime for 14 years.

From the way the hearings in the Supreme Court have gone, it seems that a couple of justices are inclined to accommodate Poe and to allow her to run for president.

So far, two magistrates remarked in the course of the hearings that it is unfair to discriminate against

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

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

foundlings, and that to disqualify Poe from the presidential race will create a chain of unfortunate consequences to other foundlings. Evidently, the two magistrates were of the view that if Poe is disqualified from becoming president because she is a foundling, then all foundlings in the Philippines will never be able to hold any office reserved for natural-born citizens of the country.

A well-known expert in election law argued otherwise. He correctly pointed out that if Poe is to be disqualified from

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

running for president, it is because Poe failed to meet the requirements set forth in the Constitution, and not because Poe is a foundling.

Continued on A11

POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO Ms. Angsioco’s column will resume next week.

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

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

THIS is the third column in a series I have been writing on coal-fired power plants. The series is based on a Ateneo de Manila School of Government policy brief “Striking a Balance: Coal-fired power plants in the Philippines’ Energy Future.” In writing these columns, I acknowledge the collaboration of Purple Romero who also assisted in producing the policy brief.

Coal has often been described as leastcost technology, but this is misleading.

When we factor in the health and social impacts of coal on communities—as we should—operating coal-fired power plants bear costs that are unfortunately paid for by people who will be affected the most by the ill effects of CFPPs. These costs are not often accounted for in the electricity price because they are considered externalities.

These externalities come in the form of health hazards which result from the life-cycle of coal—from mining to disposal of post-combustion waste. Among these stages, combustion generates the most significant amount of hazardous byproducts such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, oxides of sulfur and a slew of other substances that are carcinogenic. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has reported that out of 187 hazardous air pollutants, 84 are emitted by CFPPs. In a previous column, I described how these pollutants harm the environment; the same also result in adverse health impact. Long-term effects of pollutants from CFPPs include respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

There is a dearth of studies focusing on the health consequences of operating CFPPs, however in the Philippines. This is a significant gap that we pointed out in our paper. The lack of reliable, comprehensive studies that truly capture the ill effects of CFPPs on the health of Filipinos is a stumbling block to developing policies that are responsive and appropriate. We cited one study conducted by the Alternative Forum for Research in Mindanao on the health impacts borne by the STEAG State Power Plant in Mindanao in host communities during their operations from 2007-2011.

The study said that there had been more cases of cough and cold among children as compared to the pre-operation period of the CFPPs. Cases of asthma also increased. The study, however, is limited by the lack of capacity and resources to conduct laboratory tests that could measure ambient air, soil and groundwater quality. Records from barangay health centers are also scant, 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

A10

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

FOUNDLINGS WHAT SYRIA’S REFUGEES NEED AND NATURALBORN CITIZENS Bloomberg editorial

BACK­ BENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN IT SEEMS that Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno has mixed up her understanding of foundling from that of naturalborn citizen that she cannot distinguish the whale of difference between the two. We are saying this because the poor chief justice fears that in the event Senator Grace Poe is disqualified, foundlings would be deprived of their rights as ordinary citizens. If we may ask, since when did this republic have an extraordinary or special citizen?

The issue to be resolved now is whether she remains a natural-born citizen despite her act of flipflopping or, to put it straight, by her act of opportunism.

To begin with, Chief Justice Sereno is absolutely wrong in assuming that Poe’s disqualification would be equivalent to discrimination. But discrimination and not being allowed to participate by law are two different matters. Discrimination has something to do with inequity due to race, religion, age or status which is unacceptable, but is acceptable to situations where people are segregated by virtue of rights between citizens and aliens. We are saying this because the issue is not about Poe’s claim of

being a foundling. It is about her renunciation of her Filipino citizenship, even falsifying her status as a Filipino citizen, just to qualify for the position as senator.

Moreover, there is also no issue that foundlings are presumed naturalborn citizens in lieu of their inability to identify their biological parents. Thus, if we only use the word “naturalborn” without the word “citizen,” we would be referring to persons conceived and born by the normal process after a nine-month pregnancy, and not by artificial insemination or by cloning. Our concern is to classify who our citizens are—they are either natural-born citizens or naturalized citizens.

The attachment of the word “citizen” to the term natural-born has nothing to do with how the child came into being.

It has reference to the place where the child was found—hence, the term “foundling.”

If the child was found in the Philippines, she is presumed to be a natural- born Filipino citizen. The term foundling is not recognized in international law, but a privilege accorded to children by international law to prevent them from becoming stateless persons, and thus entitled to seek asylum under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Legal theoreticians venture out to say that foundlings are an exception to the rule on jus sanguinis because they cannot point to anybody as their biological or blood relative. There would be no problem had our country subscribed to the principle of jus soli which is to determine the citizenship of the person in the place where she was born—that extends to the place where she was found.

Even if we are to take

TWO big international efforts to end the suffering in Syria are taking place this week. The first, in Geneva, aims to produce a political settlement and is highly unlikely to succeed, so reluctant and cynical are many of the parties involved.

The other, in London, aims to raise money to help the war’s victims—and here the outlook is more promising.

According to the UK government, which hosted Thursday’s donor conference, the United Nations last year was able to raise only $3.3 billion of the $8.4 billion it needs to help the millions of people displaced by the war in Syria. This lack of funds forced the World Food Program to reduce its food aid to refugees in Jordan and Turkey and has prevented the provision of adequate schools, medical care and other fundamentals of life.

This is shameful. The US, Britain and Germany accounted for almost 50 percent of aid for Syrians in 2015, with most other wealthy European nations falling far behind.

it that Poe is a naturalborn Filipino citizen, the issue is not about her place of birth or of being a foundling, but of the ACT she committed subsequent to her birth where she gave up that presumption of being a natural-born Filipino citizen. She opted to become a US citizen and reapplied for Filipino citizenship to accept the position as head of the MTRCB and to run for senator.

Now she is gunning for the presidency. For that matter, even foundlings can lose their status as natural-born citizens should they commit the same act of taking their oath of allegiance to become citizens of another country. Poe’s renunciation of her original citizenship was a conscious act committed by her because she was already of age when she renounced her Philippine citizenship. The logic and the presumption of Justice Sereno is flawed—there is no connection nor correlation that to be a foundling is a precondition to becoming a natural-

Russia, which has accelerated its bombing campaign in Syria during the Geneva peace talks, gave 0.1 percent of the total aid.

After five years of war, Syria’s refugees need far more than food—they and the countries where they are staying need jobs, infrastructure and education. The European Union may be struggling to absorb one million refugees (0.2 percent of the bloc’s population), but Lebanon now has nearly as many Syrian children in its schools as Lebanese children, with many more young Syrians left out.

In Jordan, 1.4 million refugees are putting severe strain on already scarce water supplies, power generation and hospitals, as well as schools.

Partly in response, government expenditures have risen 38 percent, while the economy has slowed sharply as trade routes to Europe and much of the region have been cut off by war and Islamic State. To cope, the government says it needs $8 billion between now and 2018 to manage.

The good news is that last

born citizen and vice versa.

Senator Poe’s being a foundling has never been questioned by the petitioners seeking to disqualify her candidacy.

Rather, she was the one who raised that as her desperate defense to equate that she remained a natural-born citizen by her claim as foundling which is as incoherent as the argument of Sereno.

The issue to be resolved now is whether she remains a naturalborn citizen despite her act of flip-flopping or, to put it straight, by her act of opportunism.

Not even the constitution of the US would allow a person who abandoned his citizenship, and later reapply to regain her status as natural-born citizen to allow her to run for the position of President in the US. Section 2, Article VII of the Constitution is crystal clear that to qualify for the position of president, the person to be elected must be a natural-born citizen of the country.

We can even go as far as saying that even in

summer’s surge of refugees toward Europe seems to have convinced both the host and donor countries that Syria’s refugees will not be able to go home anytime soon. On Wednesday, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a 900 million-euro program to fund private-sector projects for both refugees and citizens in Jordan and Turkey. The bank will start work soon in Lebanon as well.

Part of the money to pay for these efforts will have to come from the donor countries gathering in London.

No doubt this conference, like previous ones, will end with an impressive number of pledges. But this time the donors need to make good on their promises.

The crisis in Syria remains a humanitarian disaster. Until a way is found to stop the war, the calculation is simple: Either developed nations act now to help Syria’s five million-plus refugees in the region, or the refugees will come to them. The rationale for assistance is more than charity —it is also self-interest.

the US where she opted to become a citizen, her status as foundling remains the same, although considered a naturalized citizen of that country. Similarly, should she return to this country, as in fact she did, she remains a foundling but no longer a natural-born Filipino citizen. That distinction now serves to bar her from running for any nationally elective post. In fact, the reason why this overtly ambitious founding is fighting dearly to secure a declaration that she is a natural-born citizen is that once disqualified, she would be harvesting charges for falsification and misappropriation of public funds that she received as a senator. She of course is not entitled to this, but it appears she could no longer back out from the corrupt oligarchy who are betting on her to pursue the policy of keeping the country the trash can of the US and allies like Japan and the European Union.

Most crucial, once a person loses her citi-

zenship by choosing to become a citizen of another country, she loses forever her status as a natural-born citizen, even if she changes her mind and decides she wants to regain her Filipino citizenship. No amount or term like claiming to be a returning citizen, dual citizenship or balikbayan citizen can regain her status as a natural-born Filipino citizen. In fact, the authors of the socalled dual citizenship law only made known to the world their idiocy because no country that values much its sovereignty would allow its people to acquire dual citizenship wearing it like a sports jacket, especially if it centers on the issue of loyalty.

Moreover, the 10-year residency requirement preceding such election provided in the Constitution applies only to overseas Filipinos or to any citizen who worked or has been stationed abroad, but has not committed any act to renounce their citizenship. No amount of Continued on A11

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

A11

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

WHEN $3 TRILLION JUST ISN’T ENOUGH how much foreign exchange China needs to hold in order MOST conversations about the to be prudent. The IMF has Chinese economy come with developed a suggested framea reassuring caveat: With $3.3 work based upon research trillion in foreign-exchange into previous currency crises. reserves at their disposal, Chi- According to this formula, nese leaders can bring almost countries should maintain reunlimited firepower to bear serves equivalent to the sum of to defend the yuan, recapital- 30 percent of their short-term ize state banks or spread cheap foreign-denominated debt, 15 loans abroad to win influence. percent of other portfolio liSuch confidence, however, may abilities, 10 percent of the M2 or broad money supply and 10 be misplaced.

Those trillions of dollars percent of yearly exports.

In China’s case, that would add up to a lot less than many people seem to imagine. The add up to approximately $3 total, given out by the People’s trillion. The biggest share Bank of China, is considered comes from M2, which in Chirelatively accurate. But that’s na totals approximately $21 not the whole story. According trillion. Currently, even Chito numerous estimates, close to na’s seemingly huge reserves a third of China’s reserves are amount only to 15 percent of held in illiquid assets—for in- M2 money supply, the lowest stance, long-term investments proportion since 2008; even if in infrastructure projects that that share were lowered to 10 are part of the so-called New percent, China would still need Silk Road. That implies that $2.1 trillion to cover it. Covermore than a trillion dollars ing short-term foreign debt, could only be tapped in a longer portfolio liabilities and yearly time horizon of at least one year. exports would add another Even if the true number is half $900 billion.

Right now, Chinese FX reas much, that would reduce the range of useable FX reserves to serves stand at about 110 percent of this recommended around $2.8 trillion.

Add to this the question of number. Excluding the illiquid

reserves, though, China’s holding only 93 percent of the total. (In fact, the IMF suggests countries maintain reserves as high as 150 percent of the total number, which would make China’s shortfall even more dramatic.)

Furthermore, official Chinese FX reserves held by the PBOC are falling fast, declining $100 billion per month since October. With Chinese citizens and firms racing to get their money out of the country—spurring an estimated $1 trillion in capital outflows in 2015—the government has had to deploy reserves buying yuan, to prop up the currency’s value.

There’s little indication that this trend is about to be reversed. Indeed, the central bank is burning through more and more of its reserves every month and when worry sets in, numbers tend to gain speed.

Depending on exactly how fast capital leaves China, Beijing could be looking at a worryingly low level of reserves as soon as July. At current rates, China will drop beneath the recommended amount of $3 trillion at the end of the first

quarter even if including all illiquid assets; excluding them, China could have fewer than $2 trillion in usable reserves by summer. By the end of the year, the government could face a situation where the only tools left to prevent the currency’s slide could be hard capital controls that prevent money from leaving the country—an embarrassing state of affairs for the world’s second-largest economy.

How should Chinese policymakers respond? First, they have to accept that the financial laws of physics apply to China.

The PBOC may have a good case to lower interest rates. But with loan demand down, fears rising over equity markets, and a huge overhang of surplus capacity, further monetary easing is sure to prompt additional outflows as investors seek higher returns elsewhere. That means continued downward pressure on the yuan, forcing the PBOC to spend billions more to buy up the currency.

By seeking both looser monetary policy and a strong yuan, the central bank is pursuing a set of contradictory policies that can’t succeed. The PBOC needs

dation by an independent third party.

Companies have taken measures to mitigate pollution by using technologies to increase the efficiency and lessen the emissions of CFPPs. Aside from this, they also have corporate social responsibility programs that are meant to provide health services to communities such as medical and dental missions, free medical check-ups, and PhilHealth card distribution.

Under Energy Regulations 1-94, companies are also mandated to set up a Reforestation, Watershed Management, Health, and Environmental Enhancement Fund. The RWMHEE fund is a form of compensation for communities displaced by CFPP operations.

The Department of Energy manages the fund and LGUs can access it by submitting proposals which should fall under the following: water supply system, municipal hospital, medical equipment/facilities and medicinal plant gardens.

There can be potential overlaps in the utilization of these two mechanisms, however, as CSR projects could actually be funded using money from the RWMHEE fund. Another thing:

the company can also access this fund by way of “deducting their cost incurred to comply with emission, safety, health or environmental standards from contribution to the fund. But the deductions must not be more than 50 percent of the total benefits due in any year. The uncovered cost can be recovered in subsequent years until the full amount is recovered.”

Greater transparency is then needed—both from the side of companies and the DoE—for the public to be able to verify if the RWMHEE fund is being used independently from CSR projects and vice-versa. This is an important way to build much-needed trust between CFPPs, the government and other stakeholders, strengthen monitoring processes and establish accountability.

Looking at the bigger picture, the externalities of operating CFPPs must stop being looked at as mere “externalities” and must be included in measuring the costs of operating CFPPs. Damaging the health of people is too high of a price to pay to just be ignored.

The Supreme... From A9

status of a natural-born citizen although she remains a foundling and has acquired the status of a naturalized Filipino citizen. The legal term animo revertendi is misplaced and wholly irrelevant to the issue that be-

ing a foundling follows that she remains a natural-born Filipino citizen. Only justices Sereno and Marvic Leonen could possibly stretch that weird legal theory.

By Christopher Balding

Coal... From A9 a consequence of having no established protocol or procedure in collecting and analyzing data on health records.

What we have then are mostly anecdotal accounts from communities. We conducted a focus group discussion with residents of Limay, Bataan, the area where one CFPP particularly operates.

The participants said that the cases of asthma increased after the CFPP began its operations.

They also conducted a survey among their own to quantify their observation. These findings, however, would have to be verified with the health records of the municipality and here again, we encounter the same problem of data paucity.

While this is a serious issue, it also presents local government units the opportunity to invest on capacitating their health centers for them to be able to collect, measure and evaluate relevant data. It also shows why the government must coordinate and work more with civil society in conducting tests on the immediate surroundings of the locality where CFPPs operate. These findings should be accessible and be open to vali-

Foundlings... From A10 residency could cure the error committed by Poe when she applied for US citizenship. Her act of renouncing her Filipino citizenship has forever deprived her that

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

rpkapunan@gmail.com

instead to chart a course toward either floating the yuan or imposing capital controls. There simply are no other alternatives.

Second, China needs to address the domestic and international loss of credibility it’s suffered over the past year. Last summer’s surprise devaluation has rattled ordinary Chinese as well as international investors. State-owned media are running articles arguing that the currency is stable, even as reports emerge of increased administrative measures to restrict capital outflows. While economic fundamentals would suggest that outflows will continue, changing the psychology of investors could help stem the tide. That will require highquality leadership in Beijing, including a clear and believable currency policy, to regain trust.

None of this means that Chinese leaders—or the world— should panic just yet. But rather than continuing to drain reserves, they’ll soon need to decide if they’re ready to float the yuan. The alternative—to wall off the Chinese financial system and give up on dreams of making the yuan a global reserve currency—is bleak. Bloomberg

the Supreme Court maintained a strict approach in its construc In the absence of good rea- tion of the provisions of the sons to do otherwise, it is un- Constitution.

In early 2013, the Supreme fair to assume or to suggest that the parties seeking Poe’s ouster Court dismissed a petition urgfrom the presidential derby are ing it to compel the Comelec to on the warpath against found- enforce the prohibition against lings. Under established legal political dynasties recited in the doctrines obtaining in the coun- Constitution. The Court said try, good faith on their part is that the Constitution requires an enabling law enacted by Connecessarily presumed.

For Poe, her problem is that the gress before the prohibition may Constitution does not have any be enforced. As far as the Court provision that allows a found- was concerned, the Constituling to enjoy the same political tion must be strictly enforced as rights as natural-born citizens of to what it mandates.

Later that year, the Supreme the Philippines. Call it a defect or an oversight, call it unfair or Court also dismissed a petidiscriminatory, but until and un- tion to compel Foreign Affairs less the Constitution is properly Secretary Albert del Rosario to amended, the Constitution must press the Philippine claim to Sabe obeyed and enforced with- bah (North Borneo) before the out fear or favor. That means appropriate international tribueveryone in the Philippines, the nals. The Court said that pursuSupreme Court and Senator Poe ant to the principle of separation included, must comply with its of powers underlying the Conprovisions, regardless of whether stitution, foreign affairs are the exclusive concern of the execuor not Poe is a foundling.

It is not advisable for the Su- tive branch of the government. preme Court to allow a liberal Again, as far as the Court was interpretation of the provision concerned, the Constitution of the Constitution which re- must be strictly complied with.

The dedication of the Suquires the president to be a natural-born citizen. That pro- preme Court to the mandate vision is clear and unequivo- of the Constitution, as demoncal. There is no ambiguity in it. strated in the foregoing cases inWhere no ambiguity exists in a volving political dynasties and provision of the Constitution, the Philippine claim to Sabah, no ambiguity may be assumed. is laudable, because the Court If the Supreme Court finds is the guardian of the Constituan excuse to allow Poe to run tion. Having thus established for president despite being its dedication to the mandate of disqualified from doing so, that the fundamental law of the land, will amount to an amendment the Supreme Court is urged to of the Constitution, which is take a strict stance in the resoluoutside of the powers vested tion of the constitutional issues in the Supreme Court by the raised in the disqualification cases currently pending against Constitution.

It will be recalled that in 2013, Senator Poe.

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A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Romualdez wants sports renaissance IF THE Philippines is to create sports superstars and excel in international sporting competitions like the Olympics, it must re-dedicate itself to the proven concept of the private and public sectors joining hands to spur sports development from the grassroots to the national and international levels.

Korean takes charge in Q-School SEOK Jun Min hardly slowed down from a solid 64 in the second round as he carded a three-under 69 to virtually nail a berth in the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour firing off next week at Anvaya Cove Golf and Sports Club course in Morong, Bataan.

Seok gunned down five birdies in hot condition but fumbled with two bogeys for a 3534 card and a 54-hole total of 207, three shots clear off Australian Kevin Marques and Toru Nakajima of Japan heading to the final round of the 72-hold PGT Qualifying School for foreign players.

Marquez sizzled with a 66 while Nakajima, a former PGT leg winner, turned in a 68 as they pooled identical 210s even as Nathan Park, also of Australia, and American John Jackson assembled similar 212s after a 69 and 73, respectively, to likewise move closer to nailing spots for this year’s circuit.

The top 15 players after four rounds will be included in Category 8 while those ending up 16th to 25th will be included in Category 10.

A total of 66 players vied in the tournament sponsored by ICTSI and organized by the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. for foreign players seeking to play in the country’s premier golf circuit.

A separate Q-School was held for the local pros last December with Richard Abaring nipping Ramil Bisera by one for top honors.

Koreans Hwang Kang Youl and Park Jun Hyeok and Manila-based Canadian Rick Gibson all totaled 213s after 69, 72 and 73, respectively, for joint sixth while Aussie Nelson Turner carded a 71 and American Sam Ayotte and Korean amateur Kim In Jae matched par 72s for 214s for a share of ninth.

Independent Minority Bloc leader and Leyte (1st District) Rep. Martin Romualdez: In sports competitions, champions are made and not miraculously born. Ver NoVeNo

Superal eyes no. 7 at WExpress RVF Cup PRINCESS Superal expects to draw the challenge from a compact field out to stop her winning run here and abroad as she banners the field in the 21st W Express RVF Cup Amateur Golf Championship, which gets going Feb. 9 at the Canlubang Golf and Country Club’s North course in Laguna.

But Superal, the former US Girls’ Junior champion, hopes to live up to the hype and extend her streak to seven after nipping The Country Club teammate Pauline del Rosario and

Yuka Saso to annex her maiden Philippine Ladies Open crown at Tagaytay Highlands two weeks ago.

“Keeping a win run going has added to the pressure of playing to a higher level in each tournament. But coach Bong (Lopez) keeps on telling us to stay focused and polish our putting,” said Superal, who closed out the 2015 with four victories in Malaysia, Singapore and Jakarta before dominating the Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open last month.

Harmie Constantino, the reigning Philippine Amateur Stroke Play champion, looms as Superal’s biggest threat in the 72-hole championship sponsored by W Express and held in honor of the late golf patron Rod Feliciano, who also served as president of the organizing National Golf Association of the Philippines, along with TCC teammates Mikha Fortuna, Sam Martirez and Bernice Ilas-Olivarez.

Koreans Jang Yun Ji, Yang Ju Young and Hyun Ji Rho take the cudgels

for last year’s winner Choi Ye Rim, while Indonesian Rivan Sihotang is also in the fold along with local bets Isabela Miravite, Kristine Torralba, Ashia Nocum, Junia Gabasa and Weifang Gao, ensuring a fierce battle for the crown in the event conducted

by NGAP and serving as part of the PLDT Group National Amateur Golf Tour and sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, PLDT and Metro Pacific Investment Corp. and Canlubang Golf and Country Club.

4 schools eye cage phenom Madrigal FOUR University Athletic Association of the Philippines schools have expressed interest in recruiting International School Manila’s top high school player Tori Madrigal.

These schools are Ateneo, La Salle, University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University.

Tori has been described as a “Phenom” in high school girls’ basketball in almost the same way Kiefer Ravena and Alyssa Valdez have been phenoms in college basketball and volleyball, respectively.

Just recently, Tori led ISM in the Inter-Scholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools, which is considered as the most prestigious competition in girls’ high school basketball.

In her first game for the Bearcats in the IASAS, she scored 14 points to lead them past IS Jakarta, 52-14 and this was followed by outputs of 17, 24 and

22 points against Singapore American School, Taipei American School at International School of Kuala Lumpur, respectively.

In her four years at IASAS, Tori has always made the Mythical Team and although no MVP award was handed out, she can easily win it hands-down. After all, she hasn’t missed a game in 106 assignments so far for ISM. Aside from leading her school in scoring and steals, teammates praise Tori for being a very vocal leader.

As of now, Tori has not yet decided on which school she will study and play for in college, but whatever happens, any college that gets her will surely use her talents to the hilt.

And with National University dominating UAAP women’s basketball with back-to-back titles, the time is now for Tori to lead her chosen school in trying to end the Lady Bulldogs’ dominance.

ISM’s top high school player Tori Madrigal in action during the Inter-Scholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools

This was emphasized by senatorial candidate Martin Romualdez as he called on both the government and business sectors, as well as corporate sports patrons to show “real malasakit to athletes to make them realize their full potentials in bringing glory to flag and country.”

Romualdez cited the success of the Project Gintong Alay in the 1980s, which saw corporations adopt athletes from their chosen sporting disciplines to nurture them into world-class competitors like then track superstars Lydia de Vega and Elma Muros.

A guest senatorial candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance and also endorsed by PDP-Laban presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte, Romualdez noted with concern the seeming lack of excitement in the local sporting community with the Rio de Janeiro Olympics a scant six months away.

Only a handful of Filipino athletes have qualified or have been given funding to participate in the Rio Olympics.

“We have to focus on winning future competitions, notably the Asian Games and the Olympics,” said Romualdez. “In sports competitions, champions are made and not miraculously born.”

“Athletic prowess has been a source of pride and morale, and a tool in nation-building in many countries because it mirrors a healthy citizenry,” added Romualdez.

“In our case, we seem to be embracing the cult of mediocrity,” said Romualdez.

“It’s time we got sportsmen and women down there in the ring and on the court who are real contenders.”

Project Gintong Alay was a success, said Romualdez, because corporate sponsors adopted athletes and provided them sufficient allowances that allowed them to train full-time knowing their families would have food on the table.

sat urday : f e b rua ry 6 , 2 0 1 6

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

A13 Super Bowl gig excites Coldplay

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the basket against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bryant drained three three-pointers in the final 6:07, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 99-96 victory over the Pelicans in New Orleans. AFP

Curry to defend 3-pt title; Kobe lifts Lakers NEW YORK—Stephen Curry, who is on pace to shatter his single-season three-point record, will attempt to defend his longrange shooting title at next week’s NBA AllStar Game weekend in Toronto.

The announcement Thursday comes less than 24 hours after the Golden State superstar Curry finished one threepointer shy of matching the one game NBA record of 12 three pointers in the Warriors’ 134121 win over Washington.

Reigning league Most Valuable Player and current NBA scoring leader Curry has made 232 three-pointers in 49 games this season, putting him on track to break his own record of 286 which he established last season.

The NBA also announced that Zach LaVine will attempt to become the first repeat champion in the popu-

lar slam dunk contest since Nate Robinson did it in 2009 and 2010.

Curry highlights an eightplayer three-pointer field that also includes Warrior teammate Klay Thompson and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors.

Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to take part in the Skills competition on Feb. 13 at Air Canada Centre arena.

Curry, who is averaging

29.8 points per game, has led the league in three-pointers in each of the past three seasons. He is the first player in league history to sink 200 in four straight seasons.

LaVine is hoping to join Michael Jordan (1987-88), Jason Richardson (2002-03) and Robinson as the only back-toback slam dunk winners.

The 20-year-old LaVine is also the lone player from last year’s competition willing to take part again as Denver’s Will Barton, Detroit’s Andre Drummond and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon are making their slam dunk debuts.

In Los Angeles, with a lead slipping away again, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant showed his younger teammates how to put away an NBA game.

Bryant, 37 and heading into retirement after this season, drained three three-pointers in the final 6:07, scoring 27

points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Lakers to a 99-96 victory over the Pelicans in New Orleans.

Although the shots sounded the death-knell for the Pelicans, they were greeted by cheers from fans, who like their counterparts around the country have greeted Bryant like one of their own during a season that has turned into a farewell tour.

Bryant, who scored a season-high 38 in a win at Minnesota on Tuesday, has lately given those adoring fans a glimpse of past glories.

“He’s on a nice little roll,” said Lakers coach Byron Scott.

“Our young guys are still so young they don’t understand when you’ve got a double-digit lead you can’t relax,” Scott said. “Not in this league.”

The Lakers led 85-73 with 8:32 to play, but the Pelicans scored six straight points to trim the deficit. AFP

SAN FRANCISCO—British rockers Coldplay said Thursday they were overjoyed to headline the prestigious Super Bowl halftime show but admitted they knew little about American football.

Frontman Chris Martin said the group —who will perform with Beyonce at Sunday’s championship game in San Francisco—had studied past Super Bowl performances and hoped to put on “a show as memorable as some of our favorites.”

But while describing their selection for Super Bowl 50 as an honor, the band members admitted they were unlikely to understand the game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

“I think we’re firmly split down the middle between those of us who know absolutely nothing about football and those of us who know almost absolutely nothing about football,” guitarist Jonny Buckland told a news conference.

Martin joked that the band was looking for a good game from Lebron James, who is one of the top US athletes -- but in basketball, not in the NFL. The Super Bowl is the biggest US television event of the year, with last year’s halftime show drawing a record 118.5 million viewers.

But with high viewership comes intense scrutiny and last year’s show by Katy Perry was overshadowed by the “left shark” -- a backup dancer in a shark outfit who appeared out of synch. AFP

Fowler, 2 others share golf lead LOS ANGELES—World number four Rickie Fowler bounced back from his missed cut at Torrey Pines, firing a six-under 65 on Thursday to share the Phoenix Open first-round lead with Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowry.

“I made some great swings, made a lot of good putts—it was nice to see the ball go in the hole after last week,” Fowler said after a round that included birdies at three of his first four holes at TPC Scottsdale, where he teed off on 10.

Fowler added an eagle at the par-five 15th —where he drained a 27-footer—and sandwiched a birdie between two bogeys before picking up two more strokes coming in.

He capped his round with a birdie at the ninth, despite finding a fairway bunker.

“It’s not one that you try and pull off a lot,” he said of going for the green from the trap. “I knew I could hit it, but I had to hit it perfect.”

Fowler, who moved to fourth in the world with his victory at Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, said he enjoys the rowdy atmosphere of the tournament—a change from the more traditional tone. AFP

Maria plays Russian roulette with Olympic dream PARIS—Maria Sharapova attempts to remain on course for the Rio Olympics when Russia take on the Netherlands in the Fed Cup this weekend even if she courts controversy by not actually playing.

The world’s richest sportswoman has been named in the four-woman Russian squad for the World Group clash in Moscow despite insisting that she is unable to play due to a forearm injury suffered in her Australian Open quarter-final loss to Serena Williams.

Under qualification

rules, a player must be nominated three times in an Olympic cycle in order to be eligible for the Games in Rio in August.

So far, the 28-year-old star has featured in just two ties since 2012, the year when she won the silver medal at the London Olympics.

Sharapova was warned last week by Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev that she risked missing out on Rio if she failed to turn out for the Fed Cup tie.

But she was adamant she was unlikely to compete in Moscow to rest her injured arm.

“I’m going to go to Moscow, to be part of the team but I don’t think I’ll be playing,” she said.

Sharapova was as good as her word as she was pictured on social media on Thursday at the Fed Cup dinner in Moscow along with teammates Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ekaterina Makarova, teenager Darya Kasatkina and team captain Anastasia Myskina.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF), which oversees the Fed Cup, said that Sharapova did not necessarily need to play the tie in order to fulfil her

Olympic criteria.

“The Olympic tennis event qualification regulations require a player to be in the nominated Fed Cup team at the time of the draw on three occasions,” a spokesman told AFP on the eve of the draw for the tie.

“A player does not need to play a match.”

Sharapova won all four Fed Cup rubbers she played in 2015 including the two singles matches in the final which Russia lost 3-2 to the Czech Republic.

Russia have defeated the Dutch on all three occa- Maria Sharapova: I’m going to go to Moscow, to be part of the team but I don’t think I’ll be playing. AFP sions they have met. AFP

S AT U R DAY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 16

A14 Maroons eyeing Perasol as new mentor

By Peter Atencio THE University of the Philippines Maroons are on the hunt for a new coach and are eyeing the services of former Ateneo coach Bo Perasol for Season 79 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

Sources said school officials have already initiated talks with Perasol and if talks prosper, Perasol would replace rookie coch Rensy Bajar, who handled the team for a full season.

Perasol had exploratory talks with UP officials three months after finishing his 3-year contract with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Aside from Perasol, also in the short list of candidates as possible coach for the UP Maroons include former Barako Bull head coach Bong Ramos and two-time UAAP women’s basketball champion coach and Blackwater assistant coach Pat Aquino, who is said to be close to the patrons of the school team.

The recent changes in coaches in the league started with national team coach Tab Baldwin taking over from Perasol as head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eagles, former Letran coach Aldin Ayo replacing Juno Sauler at La Salle and former La Salle coach Franz Pumaren coming out of semi-retirement ot coach the Adamson Falcons.

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

More NBA games to be accessible to Pinoy kids THE National Basketball Association plans to bring more NBA games in the Philippines, especially to young fans.

NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy said the NBA decided to expand its reach to Filipino fans following the success of two exhibition games the league held in the country recently.

“Our focus is about making sure that the games are accessible to as many kids, as many people as possible and Jr. NBA is the focus as we implement the program across Southeast Asia. We do expect to play more games in the future, but we don’t have anything defini-

tive right now,” said Levy in a statement following the creation of the Jr. NBA Asia Advisory Council.

The council is part of the league’s expanded efforts to encourage basketball participation and active lifestyles among children.

Its members include Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, who will provide direction on the Jr. NBA’s development and accelerate the program’s growth with the goal of reaching

more boys and girls across the region to help address and combat inactivity among the youth.

Representing the Philippines in the council are SM Prime Philippines President Hans Sy, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Founder, President and CEO Dennis A. Uy and Alaska Milk Corporation President and CEO Wilfred Steven Uytengsu.

Levy will serve as the Advisory Council’s chairman.

The council will also have as members CEO/Asia, Forbes Media William P. Adamopoulos; Boonrawd Brewery Co., Ltd. Executive Vice President and Director Chutinant Bhimrombhakdi;

Westports Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. CEO RubenEmir Gnanalingam; GDP Venture and KaskusCEO Martin Basuki Hartono; Xebio Co., Ltd. Executive Fellow Hiroko Morohashi; IDG Venture Vietnam Managing General Partner Henry Nguyen; IDG Venture Vietnam General Partner Rachan Reddy; Mayapada Group Indonesia Deputy Chairman Jonathan Tahir; Berjaya Corporation Berhad Chairman and CEO Dato’ Sri Robin Tan Yeong Ching.

The Jr. NBA is considered as the league’s global grassroots development program and is now in five countries in Southeast Asia. Peter Atencio

1st QC Pride Volleyball Cup kicks off today

Golf for a cause. The 11th edition of Brafe Golf, an annual tourney that benefits the Foundation for Sharing LaSallian Education will be held at the Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club in General Trias, Cavite. BrafeGolf Chairman Albert MG Garcia (middle) and Raymond Bunquin, General Manager of Eagle Ridge Golf & Country Club (2nd from left) led the contract signing to formalize the partnership. Also present were Brafe Golf Core Group Members George Elazegui, Ben Jacinto, and Roy Peña. The Brafe Golf will be held on Oct. 3, 2016 and will be played on two or three courses of Eagle Ridge, depending on the number of participants. Tournament fee will include the green fee, plated breakfast, golf cart sharing, buffet lunch, giveaways and raffle. Brafe Golf is held in memory of Br. Rafael “Brafe” S. Donato FSC, who founded and actively promoted FSLE, which provides scholarships to deserving students to acquire a four-year college education at De La Salle University Lipa.

Griffins make finals

Radio partner. LBC Ronda Pilipinas recently teamed up with Aliw Broadcasting Corp as its official radio partner. Attending the memorandum of agreement signing were race director Jingo Hervas (standing from left), Ronda marketing communications head Rommel Bobiles, 97.9 Home Radio station manager Braggy Braganza, Aliw Broadcasting VP-Sales and Marketing Abet Sikat, Aliw VP-General Manager Adrian Cabangon (sitting from left), Ronda Executive Project director Moe Chulani, Aliw president-CEO Josephine Reyes and Iloilo Bike Festival project director Ronald Sebastian.

THE Colegio de San Lorenzo Griffins made it to the finals, while the St. Francis of Assissi Doves stayed in contention Wednesday in the Final Four semifinals of the 8th Universities and Colleges of Luzon Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.

The top-seeded Griffins got off to another strong start, and swamped the National College of Business and Arts Wildcats, 74-46, at the Marikina Sports Complex.

Tristan Laman’s triple at the end of the first quarter handed the Griffins a 15-point advantage.

The Boni Garcia-coached Griffins were ahead by 28 points at the end of the third off Dominic Formiento’s charities.

The third-ranked Doves,

meanwhile, forced a rubber match after crushing the no. 2 seed PATTS College of Aeronautics Sea Horses, 67-50.

Jun Gabriel had 16 points to lead the Sea Horses, who took charge right away with their 21-6 lead in the first period.

Kevin Ramos finished with 16 points for the Gabby Velasco-mentored Doves, while Paolo Castro added 14.

The Doves built a 15-11 first quarter edge, before their counterattacks in the the second period allowed them to gain an 11-point lead.

Castro’s layup saw the Doves taking a 29-18 spread with 1:51 to go.

They continued nursing a 13-point edge, 51-38, midway in third, 51-38, and off John Paul Sarao’s efforts in the final 6:40.

PROUD members of the LBGT community hog the spotlight as they vie for the 1st Quezon City Pride Volleyball Cup today at the Amoranto Stadium.

Twelve teams will come out to compete in this twoday spectacle that aims to promote wellness and gender equality in sports.

Opening ceremony is set at 8 a.m., with Quezon City councilor Mayen Juico, Quezon City Rep. Francisco Calalay and Quezon City vice mayor Joy Belmonte rendering the opening speeches.

Philippine Superliga chairman Philip Ella Juico will then declare the formal opening of the games with a ceremonial serve.

First game of the preliminaries will start at 9 a.m.

“This is our way of embracing the gay community, especially those who are into volleyball,” said Mayen Juico, who is also the chairman of the city council’s committee on women, family relation and gender equality.

“We’re looking forward to a successful and fun-filled event. I’m sure everybody, even those who are not part of the LBGT community, will enjoy.”

Sports Core president Ramon “Tats” Suzara explained that the 12 participating teams will be divided into two groups that will vie in a single-round pool play.

The four survivors in the preliminaries will clash in the semifinals and the winners will advance to the final round.

Gold medal match fires off on Sunday at 5 p.m.

S AT U R DAY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 16

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

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

P0.0 M+

Ross deflects credit, shares award with SMB teammates

By Jeric Lopez

FROM being a journeyman, to someone who became a regular in his team’s rotation, all the way to finally finding his niche.

Can...

From A16

The networks are impressive but critics say the metro extension serves richer, already relatively well-connected neighborhoods, while transport in the poor majority of Rio remains patchy.

No white elephants?

The mayor promises no repeat of the embarrassing aftermath of Brazil’s 2014 hosting of the World Cup, where money was poured into building stadiums that no one needed.

The handball arena will be dismantled and rebuilt into four public schools, while the Olympic aquatic sports center will become two swimming centers.

Other installations are scheduled to remain as they are, but with new uses. The mayor’s office says that one of the gymnasiums will become an experimental sports school, while another will become a high-level training center.

The Deodoro park, one of the big hubs during the Games, will be opened to the public, benefiting one of Rio’s poorest areas.

However, with Rio’s economy in the doldrums, there are questions over how much demand there’ll be on the real estate market for the privately built Olympic Village, a cluster of towers due to be marketed as highend apartment blocks.

It’s also unclear how much use there’ll be of the golf course, controversially built in an ecologically sensitive zone. It’s destined to become Brazil’s first public golf facility, but very few Brazilians play the sport.

Water quality?

The most glaring letdown has been the failure to clean Guanabara Bay, the beautiful natural harbor where the sailing and windsurfing will take place.

Guanabara has been polluted by decades of failure to build proper sewage systems in Rio. A boom in oil industry facilities added to the problem.

Initially the government promised to get 80 percent of sewage entering the bay treated, but quietly abandoned the goal. Only about half of Rio’s sewage is treated. AFP

Chris Ross’ stock, value and play all rose dramatically after he emerged as a huge factor in San Miguel Beer’s astonishing 201516 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup championship winning run.

However, the do-it-all guard, who was named the Finals Most Valuable Player in the recently concluded Philippine Cup, where he helped ignite the Beermen’s astounding fightback from a 0-3 hole to a 4-3 win in the best-of-

seven series win against Alaska, chose to stay grounded as he shared the accolades he received with his teammates.

Ross, who consistently made his presence felt and stepped up on both sides of the floor to power his squad, was being credited by many as one huge reason why San Miguel Beer was able to come back from a 0-3 deficit against the Aces and the absence of superstar June Mar Fajardo for most part to improbably win the Philippine

RONNIE NATHANIELSZ

HISTORY is a testament to the men who dare to write it, individually or collectively.

And in the storied history of the Philippine Basketball Association, it seems only fitting that the country’s premier corporation carrying the name of the renowned San Miguel Beer for the past 125 years should create history by clawing back from the brink of disaster after digging itself into a 0-3 hole in the best-of-seven Philippine Cup

self. It’s really a team thing.’’

Ross contributed in almost practically every category as he averaged 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the finals and scored a season-high 21 points, with four triples, on top of five rebounds and five assists in Game 7.

The heady playmaker and quarterback also shared how he and his teammates’ confidence was never shattered even when they were down by three games. ‘’It’s a group of guys that always believed. We never had any doubt. It’s still an unbelievable feeling.’’

Even Alaska coach Alex Compton conceded that Ross’ presence and efforts certainly made a big impact.

Perpetual holds ‘Run for a Cause’

PBA Finals MVP Chris Ross: I can’t really take the award by myself. It’s really a team thing.

Our kind of game INSIDE SPORTS

Cup jewel despite the odds.

But Ross acknowledged his teammates’ part in their historic charge towards the team’s 22nd overall title and third in the last four conferences. ‘’We just kept fighting. That’s what we did. I really can’t take the MVP trophy by myself,’’ said Ross. ‘’When we were down 0-3, everybody stepped up. In Game 4, Gabby (Espinas) and Marcio (Lassiter) had All-Star performances and Alex (Cabagnot) hit a big shot in overtime. Then, June Mar (Fajardo) came back for us, playing about 60 percent on his knee.” ‘’We’re all MVPs. To me, we’re really all MVPs on this team. I can’t really take the award by my-

Championships. Climbing seemingly insurmountable odds, the Beermen won four games in a row and captured a championship against the famed Alaska Aces, a team which itself has a history filled with distinction.

A lesser team than Alaska would have crumbled in the face of a devastating run by the Beermen, who seemed to have the victory wrapped up going into the last quarter.

But the fighting spirit and resolute character of Alaska, led by the classy head coach Alex Compton and his key assistant Louis Alas, refused to give in or give up and staged a searing rally that was only

doused by some incredible shooting by the “Best Player of the Finals” Chris Ross and a collection of heroes anchored by Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and the absolutely dominant center Junmar Fajardo, whose development this past year has been nothing short of phenomenal.

While there are those who would fault the referees for some of the non-calls when Alaska made an incredible run in the fourth quarter, we honestly believe that it would not have made a difference on the final outcome and that San Miguel Beer truly deserved their victory.

There were others who cited the gaping discrepancies in the calls in Game 5, where San Miguel was granted an amazing 35 free throws to a measly 5 for Alaska and had 37 fouls called against the Aces with only 17 against the Beermen.

But we believe that to harp on these shortcomings if indeed they were, would be a disservice to the PBA as an organization, to the Beermen who deserved the right to inscribe their name in the chronicles of the league, which has grown into a sport that is an integral part of the everyday lives of millions of Filipinos and would also reflect poorly on an Alaska organization renowned for its consummate class and its character, exemplified by its

IN CELEBRATION of its 40th founding anniversary, the University of Perpetual Help will be holding “Fun Run For A Cause” for the benefit of inmates in the Bilibid Penitentiary on Feb. 14 (Sunday) at the SM Southmall, Las Piñas City.

As part of its corporate social responsibility, the University has maintained a Collegiate Extension School at the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City for three decades now. The program was established sometime in 1984 by Dr./Bgen Antonio Laperal Tamayo, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the UPHS and former BuCor Director Vicente Eduardo.

To date, the extension school is offering academic programs in Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing Management, and Computer Hardware Servicing Course. Since its institution, it has produced more than 400 inmate-graduates who have been released from prison and are now gainfully employed.

In addition, the “FUN RUN 2016 for a cause” aims to build school spirit, develop camaraderie among the students in the university and build a strong positive Perpetualite Culture.

The fun run for 5K, 3K and 1K categories are expected to be participated by students, alumni, and employees, together with their families and friends.

representative, Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, a gentlemansportsman of the highest order.

The finals was an epic, any way you looked at it. And the fact that Game 7 saw a full-house at the Mall of Asia Arena and the ratings of TV 5 skyrocketed throughout the series, told a story of a breakthrough that fiercely competitive games and an excellent coverage provided millions of fans throughout the country, enhanced by the reach of Cignal TV. We must congratulate San Miguel Beer head coach Leo Austria, who handled his players in masterful fashion even as he maintained his composure throughout and even PBA chairman Robert Non. It must also be said that

although he was not present at the games, SMC head honcho Ramon Ang was obviously a quiet but efficient motivator, whose passion for winning is legendary whether it be in sports or in business.

Finally, PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa, an innovator and a gentleman with conviction deserves accolades for an eminently successful conference along with his assistants Rickie Santos and Willie Marcial.

Now it’s on to the importreinforced conference, where we hope our favorite team Ginebra San Miguel, under coach Tim Cone, who did an excellent job as a TV panelist, will hopefully figure prominently. We can’t wait to see the PBA resume. It’s my kind of game!

A16

S AT U R DAY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 16 RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Fajardo leads PSA awardees BASKETBALL superstar June Mar Fajardo towers above a long list of personalities to be cited for major awards by the Philippine Sportswriters Association in its coming Annual Awards Night presented by San Miguel and MILO.

SMB center JuneMar Fajardo beams as he holds the PBA Philippine Cup trophy the Beermen won.

The 6’10” Fajardo, main man of back-to-back Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer, will be honored for his excellence in pro basketball after winning a second straight Most Valuable Player plum last season.

It will be the second PSA major award for the pride of Pinamungahan, Cebu, who was also the honoree for the same category last year by the 67-year-old media organization, the oldest ever in the country.

Rey Mark Belo and Mark Cruz of champion teams Far Eastern University and Letran, respectively, are the major awardees in amateur basketball. Both players emerged as Finals MVP of the UAAP and NCAA. Eleven other athletes who made their mark in their respective sports are going to be honored with a major award during the Feb. 13 affair at the One Esplanade with the Philippine Sports Commission as major sponsor and with support from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Sen. Chiz Escudero, SM Prime Holdings, MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, Maynilad, National University, One Esplanade, Rain or Shine, Globalport, Philippine Basketball Association, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

The major awards list include Southeast Asian Games sprint double gold medalists Eric Shauwn Cray, pool teen sensation Chezka Centeno, cycling champion Santy Barnachea, Cyna Rodriguez and Princess Mary

Superal, representing pro and amateur golf, and rider Raniel Resuello.

Not to be missed out are wushu world championship gold medal winners Divine Wally and Arnel Mandal, jockey Jonathan Hernandez, and the tennis pair of Katharina Lehnert and Alberto ‘AJ’ Lim. On top of the honor roll list are the duo of world boxing champions Nonito Donaire Jr. and Donnie Nietes, along with Asian Tour winner Miguel Tabuena, all of whom will be feted with the prestigious Athlete of the Year honor during the formal rites to be hosted by Quinito Henson and Patricia Bermudez-Hizon.

Coach Tab Baldwin and his Gilas Pilipinas team which clinched a surprise runner-up finish in last year’s FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in Changsha, China is the recipient of the PSA President’s award, the Wushu Federation of the Philippines gets the nod as the National Sports Association of the Year, and sports great Filomeno ‘Boy’ Codinera will be feted with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Talented and highly-popular Alyssa Valdez is again named as Ms. Volleyball, while cage stars Terrence Romeo and Calvin Abueva will share the award for Mr. Basketball.

An award for the Executive of the Year will likewise be handed out.

The gold medalists in both the Southeast Asian Games and the Para Games lead those to be handed out with citations.

Can Olympics make Rio the new Barcelona?

RIO DE JANEIRO— Olympic construction projects have turned Rio upside down, but a harsh economy and some major failures are overshadowing organizers’ hopes of emulating Barcelona’s Olympian transformation back in 1992.

Rio sees its choice as South America’s first Olympic host city as a chance to shine.

Some improvements are highly visible, such as stadiums, a tramway through a central avenue, and major transport projects including a dedicated express bus lane system and extension of the metro.

“We will leave Bar-

celona in the dust,” boasted Mayor Eduardo Paes last year.

But with swaths of the city mired in crime and poverty, traffic snarled, and the beautiful bay where sailing events will take place an open sewer, that ambition sounds far-fetched.

So how do Rio’s legacy promises stack up?

Transport for all?

When the Olympic flame goes out at the end of the Games on August 21, Rio will have a public transport system serving 66 percent of the population, against 38 percent now.

Ten miles (16 kilometers) of new metro line will connect the touristfriendly Ipanema neigh-

borhood with the posh western district of Barra, where the Olympic Village is located. The trip will take 13 minutes compared to the current nightmarish car journey of one to two hours.

“This will be the biggest legacy of the Olympics,” Rio’s deputy transport secretary Bernardo Carvalho said.

Officials say the line will carry 300,000 people a day and take 2,000 cars an hour off the roads.

The metro is also linked to a new 72mile system of express buses in dedicated lanes, with each bus estimated to remove the need for 126 private cars. Turn to A15

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

B1

SATURDAY: FEBRUARY 6, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

Toyota’s profit up. Visitors look at Toyota Motor vehicles at a company showroom in Tokyo on February 5, 2016. Toyota on February 5 said nine-month net profit jumped nearly 10 percent to 1.9 trillion yen (US$16 billion), with the world’s top automaker focusing on squeezing more productivity out of its plants, as unit sales fall in most regions. AFP

Meralco increases rate by P0.42/kWh

By Alena Mae S. Flores

CONSUMERS of Manila Electric Co. will pay a higher power rate of P0.42 per kilowatt-hour this month, prompting the Energy Regulatory Commission to ask the utility to explain its computation.

Meralco warned in a statement “customers may expect a couple more of rate increases in the coming months as summer approaches.”

It said consumption, and consequently overall demand for power based on historical data, spikes as temperature rises. The utility said higher consumption would become more evident amid the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Meralco said the P0.42 per kWh increase translated into an additional amount of around

P85 to the overall electricity monthly bill of a typical household consuming 200 kilowatthours.

The increase came about after electricity price reductions in the past several months. Meralco posted a cumulative reduction of P2.28 per kWh over the past nine months.

Meralco, however, said despite the recent increase, this month’s overall rate of P8.82 per kWh was still lower by P1.69 per kWh compared with the overall rate of P10.51 per kWh year-on-year.

“We will issue an order requiring Meralco to submit its calculations,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.

Salazar said Meralco’s latest rate adjustment was covered by existing mechanisms on passthrough charges.

He said under ERC’s rules, Meralco was required to submit to ERC a calculation of automatic pass-through charges by the end of the succeeding month, which meant data of the rate increase would only be forwarded on February 28.

“However, the ERC may require the submission of said calculation earlier than the prescribed timeline,” Salazar said.

Meralco said the increase in the overall rates was primarily due to the generation charge, which increased P0.25 per kWh from January.

Meralco said at P4.17 per kWh, the February generation charge was still P1.07 per kWh lower compared with February 2015’s P5.24 per kWh. Meralco said this month’s generation charge was also P0.32 per kWh lower than 2015’s overall average generation charge of P4.49 per kWh. The company said supply sources from plants under the power supply agreements or PSAs registered an increase of P0.76 per kWh. “Cost of purchases from PSAs, which were low last month due to adjustments from an annual reconciliation of outage allowances, normalized this month. Also contributing to the increase in PSA charges are their lower plant capacity factors, partly due to the scheduled maintenance shutdown of one unit each of the Calaca and Masinloc power plants,” Meralco said.

Inflation slowed down to 1.3% in January—PSA

By Gabrielle H. Binaday Inflation rate slowed down to 1.3 percent in January, on ample food supply and lower cost of fuel and electricity, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

Latest PSA data showed inflation in January slowed down from 1.5 percent registered in December and 2.4 percent in January 2014. The January figure was within Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast of 0.8 percent to 1.6 percent for the month, but was below the target of 2 percent to 4 percent for the year.

The National Economic and Development Authority said the slower price adjustments in both food

and non-food items led to the softer inflation.

“Good weather conditions at the onset of 2016 allowed prices of these food items to stabilize. This was an improvement from the previous month when typhoon Nona pushed up prices due to hampered production, transport and delivery of agricultural products in the affected areas,” said Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra.

Neda said inflation in non-food items also slowed down across all commodity groups, particularly in transportation.

“Domestic prices of petrol – gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel and gasoline – continued to go

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

down. This was still due to persistent global oversupply and record stockpile of crude oil which weakened prices of Dubai oil, Brent, and West Texas Intermediate,” said Esguerra.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said inflation was expected to accelerate in the coming months, on the impact of El Niño dry spell on agricultural products and higher power rates.

“Our view remains to be that monthly inflation will slowly rise to within the target range for 2016 and 2017. Upside risks continue to emanate from a stronger-than-expected El Nino and potential adjustments in electricity rates given pending

petitions,” Tetangco said in a text message.

“We will continue to monitor other developments, including hints of even slower global growth and more volatility in financial and commodity markets, to see if the balance of risks is tilting such that there is need for adjustment in policy stance,” Tetangco said.

ING Bank economist Joey Cuyegkeng said he also expected inflation to pick up in the coming months. “The softer January inflation print is temporary. Inflation is likely to resume its gradual rise in the coming months despite the low crude oil prices,” Cuyegkeng said in an email.

PSe comPoSite index Closing February 5, 2016

8000 8340 7880 7420 6960 6500

6,765.13 112.30

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing February 5, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P47.660

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P47.650 LOW P47.755 AVERAGE P47.710 VOLUME 561.500M

P417.00-P627.00 LPG/11-kg tank P33.30-P40.75 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

P20.40-P23.80 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, February 5, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.7530

Japan

Yen

0.008570

0.4092

UK

Pound

1.459000

69.6716

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128434

6.1331

Switzerland

Franc

1.007658

48.1187

Canada

Dollar

0.727061

34.7193

Singapore

Dollar

0.716435

34.2119

Australia

Dollar

0.722178

34.4862

Bahrain

Dinar

2.657242

126.8913

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266738

12.7375

Brunei

Dollar

0.713878

34.0898

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000073

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.028129

1.3432

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

13.0032

Euro

Euro

1.121100

53.5359

Korea

Won

0.000846

0.0404

China

Yuan

0.152332

7.2743

India

Rupee

0.014798

0.7066

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.241255

11.5207

New Zealand

Dollar

0.671682

32.0748

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030277

1.4458 Source: PDS Bridge

SATURDAY: FEBRUARY 6, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Friday, February 5, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

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 91.5 361.2 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 62 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

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. National Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 20.6 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

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 15.32 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

79 3.95 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

34.1 2.3 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 161 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

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

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

76 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 0.0670 1.61 84.9 3.5 974 1.66 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

49.55 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 0.030 0.550 59.3 1.5 751 1.13 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital IPM Holdings JG Summit Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

Pacifica `A’ Prime Orion San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

10.5 1.99 1.75 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.48 0.201 0.69

6.74 0.65 1.2 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 0.97 0.083 0.415

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Century Property Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

SHARES 15,986,744 102,105,001 146,444,364 193,472,072 227,306,095 1,573,643,705 2,261,630,762

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.05 2.89 44.8 44.35 101.40 99.10 90.15 89.50 35.5 35.15 1.31 1.31 14.48 13.92 16.6 16.12 6.70 6.70 1.78 1.66 570.00 570.00 0.450 0.450 75.4 72.05 0.91 0.91 15.10 14.54 51.35 51.00 277 275 33.5 33.1 145.3 142.5 1310.00 1310.00 56.50 56.00 1.46 1.44 INDUSTRIAL 41.85 42.3 41.95 4.65 4.65 4.52 0.63 0.68 0.64 1.3 1.31 1.26 10.2 10.2 10 16 16.5 16.3 19.4 19.8 19 37.15 37.55 37.25 2.09 2.1 2.06 1.9 2.03 1.79 11.6 11.72 11.6 7.860 8.300 7.900 7.28 7.40 7.28 5.26 5.36 5.20 5.32 5.50 5.32 18.92 19 18.68 56.8 56.9 56.55 11.04 11.50 11.50 13.58 13.80 13.80 5 5.2 5 2.500 2.610 2.450 207.00 217.40 207.20 8.99 9 8.35 25.00 25.00 25.00 1.81 1.81 1.8 39.00 39.35 39.35 24.8 26.4 24.65 14.54 15.18 14.54 5.5 5.51 5.5 306.80 315.00 307.00 3.05 3.07 2.96 6.53 6.82 6.54 11.50 11.50 11.34 3.60 3.60 3.60 1.32 1.36 1.32 2.25 2.3 2.22 3.80 3.80 3.79 4.94 4.91 4.9 136.8 140 134 2.45 2.44 2.4 0.143 0.146 0.140 1.09 1.12 1.00 2.09 2.11 2.08 194.6 199 194.7 4.6 4.65 4.55 0.59 0.6 0.6 1.02 1.10 1.00 HOLDING FIRMS 0.315 0.325 0.325 57.2500 57.9500 56.7000 14.46 14.76 14.32 1.07 1.20 0.90 0.230 0.230 0.200 678 697 678 7.41 7.49 7.33 11.80 11.98 11.34 4.72 4.73 4.72 4.80 4.78 4.73 0.220 0.220 0.206 1250 1295 1243 9.70 9.73 9.68 65.00 67.00 65.00 5.25 5.25 5.13 0.55 0.58 0.55 15.7 16.54 15.5 0.52 0.53 0.52 5.38 5.7 5.41 0.0290 0.0290 0.0280 2.020 2.080 2.010 73.40 73.40 72.55 2.35 2.40 2.05 840.00 851.00 838.50 1.09 1.10 1.07 120.000 122.000 120.000 0.2700 0.2850 0.2750 0.2050 0.2050 0.2010 0.285 0.285 0.270 PROPERTY 7.100 7.100 7.000 0.76 0.78 0.75 1.080 1.180 1.130 32.000 32.400 32.050 2.43 2.5 2.44 4.43 4.5 4.5 0.510 0.52 0.495 0.960 0.960 0.960 0.117 0.121 0.119 0.405 0.405 0.400 3 44.7 99.00 90.00 35.1 1.48 14 16.12 6.30 1.74 570.00 0.435 72 0.9 15.00 51.35 277 33 142.4 1270.00 56.30 1.44

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.89 44.8 101.00 90.00 35.2 1.31 14.3 16.6 6.70 1.78 570.00 0.450 75.3 0.91 15.00 51.35 275 33.5 144.1 1310.00 56.50 1.45

-3.67 0.22 2.02 0.00 0.28 -11.49 2.14 2.98 6.35 2.30 0.00 3.45 4.58 1.11 0.00 0.00 -0.72 1.52 1.19 3.15 0.36 0.69

247,000 32,400 3,140,120 7,489,680 17,600 25,000 2,600 40,800 1,000 66,000 20 100,000 2,504,120 10,000 39,000 107,540 150 73,000 1,008,190 5 1,350 226,000

42.2 4.52 0.67 1.26 10.2 16.32 19.56 37.5 2.09 1.88 11.6 8.200 7.30 5.23 5.50 18.9 56.55 11.50 13.80 5.2 2.510 214.60 8.5 25.00 1.81 39.35 26 15.02 5.5 312.80 2.97 6.69 11.50 3.60 1.36 2.3 3.80 4.91 139.5 2.44 0.142 1.01 2.10 199 4.64 0.6 1.02

0.84 -2.80 6.35 -3.08 0.00 2.00 0.82 0.94 0.00 -1.05 0.00 4.33 0.27 -0.57 3.38 -0.11 -0.44 4.17 1.62 4.00 0.40 3.67 -5.45 0.00 0.00 0.90 4.84 3.30 0.00 1.96 -2.62 2.45 0.00 0.00 3.03 2.22 0.00 -0.61 1.97 -0.41 -0.70 -7.34 0.48 2.26 0.87 1.69 0.00

3,521,900 353,000 519,000 373,000 200 405,000 275,800 19,300 187,000 23,691,000 18,200 18,835,100 1,561,800 16,367,700 521,400 4,301,200 113,930 400 1,200 121,400 5,334,000 1,519,180 25,400 700 176,000 200 2,519,500 2,539,700 32,300 205,240 178,000 9,968,500 1,400 1,053,000 198,000 528,000 102,000 50,000 10,650 170,000 290,000 129,000 2,282,000 2,982,130 186,000 33,000 389,000

0.325 57.7000 14.70 1.18 0.208 694.5 7.35 11.90 4.72 4.74 0.220 1273 9.72 66.70 5.13 0.55 16.32 0.52 5.7 0.0290 2.040 73.00 2.4 847.00 1.07 122.000 0.2800 0.2050 0.270

3.17 0.79 1.66 10.28 -9.57 2.43 -0.81 0.85 0.00 -1.25 0.00 1.84 0.21 2.62 -2.29 0.00 3.95 0.00 5.95 0.00 0.99 -0.54 2.13 0.83 -1.83 1.67 3.70 0.00 -5.26

150,000 1,199,210 6,187,100 151,000 14,620,000 515,780 1,301,100 4,423,500 67,000 35,000 110,000 215,150 1,546,000 1,963,620 3,142,000 76,000 8,160,200 101,000 83,823,400 12,100,000 2,173,000 780,850 4,000 119,800 93,000 115,840 1,930,000 130,000 490,000

7.100 0.77 1.180 32.150 2.46 4.5 0.510 0.960 0.120 0.400

0.00 1.32 9.26 0.47 1.23 1.58 0.00 0.00 2.56 -1.23

59,200 1,181,000 18,000 7,718,700 2,623,000 12,000 3,142,000 20,000,000 1,860,000 880,000

1,077,075.00 -98,657,870 -406,942,475.50 -3,485.00 -106,400.00 92,470.00 60,477,038.50 -1,699,163.50 406,630 -50,952,926.00 -42,375.00 -16,430,095.00 -19,720.00 5,417,114.00 262,405 65,050.00 56,061,897.00 3,422,979.00 13,141,144.00 1,667,204.00 28,024,546.00 -920,636.50 441,639.00 122,500.00 192,236,164.00

25,839,805.00 1,232,906.00 38,300,386.00 2,970.00 -1,439,590.00 -3,600,000.00 -262,730.00 3,800.00 -1,289,228.00 -192,640.00

206,952,868.00 823,350.00 -2,200.00 45,274,050.00 -53,728,614.00 7,918,810.00 -174,583.00 3,515,080.00

-61,698,425.00 4,227,128.50 -2,712,320.00 -19,078,698.00 204,681,051.00 -39,580.00 -13,679,607.00 -21,570,385.00 -579,590.00

42,417,175.00 227,040.00 20,300.00 -19,200,000.00 80,000.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

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

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

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 70.5 1.97 119.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 12.28 3.32 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 830 1600 5.95 17.02 1.23 102.6 0.011 0.041 1.200 6.5 1.91 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 185 22.9 3486 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 14.54 3 79 4.39 2748 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 25 0.330 1.19 1.62 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

0.0043 1.72 6.47 9.43 0.236 0.85 0.77 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

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

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

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

TA Petroleum

70

33

515 12.28 111 1060 1047

480 6.5 101 997 1011

78.95 84.8

74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

VALUE 1,405,556,433.27 1,732,092,236.65 1,845,336,499.76 855,658,402.90 1,285,056,719.35 227,234,061.17 7,391,871,506.54

FINANCIAL 1,536.82 (UP) 24.08 INDUSTRIAL 10,749.63 (UP) 204.01 HOLDING FIRMS 6,391.02 (UP) 112.60 PROPERTY 2,707.73 (UP) 9.20 SERVICES 1,519.67 (UP) 37.36 MINING & OIL 9,836.87 (UP) 65.20 PSEI 6,765.13 (UP) 112.30 All Shares Index 3,868.61 (UP) 54.86 Gainers: 106; Losers: 54; Unchanged: 53; Total: 213

Close

20.2 0.840 0.154 0.92 1.50 1.25 3.47 0.075 8.39 26.00 1.49 3.04 21.00 0.78 4.55 0.910 4.240

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

21 20.1 21 0.910 0.850 0.890 0.145 0.145 0.145 0.97 0.93 0.94 1.52 1.49 1.50 1.33 1.25 1.25 3.63 3.48 3.6 0.075 0.075 0.075 8.39 8.39 8.39 25.95 25.30 25.50 1.46 1.4 1.45 3.05 3.04 3.05 21.30 20.80 21.00 0.78 0.75 0.75 4.59 4.59 4.59 1.100 0.910 0.960 4.250 4.130 4.250 SERVICES 6.3 6.3 6.18 6.3 54.8 56.2 55 55.5 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.14 0.440 0.440 0.420 0.420 10.1 10.06 10.06 10.06 4.22 4.23 4.10 4.11 0.0410 0.0450 0.0410 0.0430 3.2 3.29 3.12 3.23 77.15 77.7 76.4 77.5 9.99 9.99 9.99 9.99 1.61 1.6 1.6 1.6 5.85 6.00 5.83 6.00 955 955 955 955 1855 1898 1864 1898 6.60 6.60 6.51 6.51 17.58 17.56 17.56 17.56 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.18 56.3 59.25 56.3 58.7 0.0086 0.0081 0.0081 0.0081 0.154 0.162 0.141 0.144 1.1800 1.2100 1.1600 1.1700 7.30 7.30 7.00 7.12 4.15 4.19 4.10 4.12 18.00 18.00 18.00 18.00 0.550 0.550 0.550 0.550 1.94 1.94 1.94 1.94 2.14 2.17 1.97 2.05 3.40 3.52 3.40 3.47 0.250 0.255 0.255 0.255 0.720 0.760 0.720 0.730 18.48 18.3 18.3 18.3 4.50 4.50 4.50 4.50 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 20.65 28.00 20.35 28.00 2136.00 2192.00 2150.00 2190.00 0.710 0.720 0.700 0.710 33.65 33.95 33.30 33.85 60.25 61.90 60.00 61.10 5.00 5.13 4.98 5.06 3.18 3.45 3.18 3.25 0.420 0.430 0.410 0.415 3.76 3.88 3.76 3.8 0.320 0.330 0.315 0.330 3.960 4.200 4.000 4.200 MINING & OIL 0.0041 0.0043 0.0041 0.0041 1.90 2.00 1.82 1.82 4.30 4.64 4.27 4.32 12.50 13.40 10.52 12.00 0.206 0.207 0.207 0.207 0.49 0.61 0.5 0.54 0.385 0.410 0.390 0.400 6.80 7.24 6.56 6.80 0.730 0.780 0.670 0.670 0.265 0.265 0.260 0.260 0.178 0.191 0.180 0.182 0.199 0.200 0.195 0.199 0.0110 0.0110 0.0100 0.0110 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.012 1.82 1.87 1.79 1.81 5.09 5.3 5 5.05 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.55 1.1600 1.2000 1.1300 1.1300 0.0092 0.0097 0.0097 0.0097 3.44 3.48 3.45 3.48 4.68 5.11 4.83 4.85 1.51 1.62 1.50 1.56 0.0100 0.0120 0.0100 0.0100 124.50 127.00 124.50 126.10 1.9 1.99 1.92 1.92 PREFERRED 54.5 55 54.6 54.65 500 500 500 500 525 523 523 523 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 111 111 111 111 1025 1023 1023 1023 1025 1026 1025 1025 108 108 107.8 108 77 79 79 79 82.3 83 82.5 82.5 78.2 78.75 78.5 78.75 77 77.15 77 77 79.5 79.5 79.5 79.5 WARRANTS & BONDS 2.530 2.670 2.520 2.530 SME 3.49 3.45 3.25 3.45 2.55 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.46 2.51 2.42 2.49 12.8 12.98 12.74 12.8 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 107.9 110.5 109.1 110.5

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

3.96 5.95 -5.84 2.17 0.00 0.00 3.75 0.00 0.00 -1.92 -2.68 0.33 0.00 -3.85 0.88 5.49 0.24

1,438,900 16,263,000 10,000 5,084,000 4,293,000 1,029,000 85,601,000 30,000 500 977,200 325,000 4,000 5,905,100 2,385,000 3,000 23,700,000 8,917,000

-269,550.00 -17,800.00

0.00 1.28 -0.87 -4.55 -0.40 -2.61 4.88 0.94 0.45 0.00 -0.62 2.56 0.00 2.32 -1.36 -0.11 0.00 4.26 -5.81 -6.49 -0.85 -2.47 -0.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.21 2.06 2.00 1.39 -0.97 0.00 0.00 35.59 2.53 0.00 0.59 1.41 1.20 2.20 -1.19 1.06 3.13 6.06

75,200 2,484.00 10,470 20,000 70,000 45,000 3,244,000 769,750.00 109,200,000 -8,600.00 44,000 847,820 -28,218,406.00 200 1,000 73,900 500 95,935 -39,638,135.00 15,800 61,200 230,000 119,000.00 4,609,330 10,615,480.50 2,000,000 16,200.00 10,500,000 593,000 117,000.00 407,800 115,000 500 39,000 10,000 46,897,000 -28,606,780.00 3,126,000 650,930.00 50,000 -2,550.00 10,644,000 108,000.00 700 5,000 90 -8,000.00 727,200 -263,150.00 107,480 104,645,160.00 11,074,000 119,000.00 1,487,900 20,715,750.00 1,754,490 -2,287,233.00 1,224,300 -51,000.00 15,508,000 -8,344,420.00 110,000 958,000 -523,870.00 20,000 109,000

0.00 -4.21 0.47 -4.00 0.49 10.20 3.90 0.00 -8.22 -1.89 2.25 0.00 0.00 0.00 -0.55 -0.79 -1.92 -2.59 5.43 1.16 3.63 3.31 0.00 1.29 1.05

596,000,000 21,000.00 172,000 1,404,000 -1,782,150.00 13,300 10,000 1,990,000 1,770,000 4,500 56,857,000 158,250.00 30,000 19,550,000 1,720,000 -201,300.00 39,100,000 13,200,000 12,000.00 607,000 180,000.00 17,489,000 1,116,956.00 104,000 78,600.00 65,000 9,000,000 14,000 3,750,000 -1,655,170.00 1,969,000 -2,010.00 807,900,000 -5,843,500.00 387,400 1,494,366.00 118,000

0.28 0.00 -0.38 0.00 0.00 -0.20 0.00 0.00 2.60 0.24 0.70 0.00 0.00

96,800 8,000 2,000 304,000 2,000 200 470 1,510 2,300 23,550 3,020 24,070 65,000

0.00

212,000

-1.15 -0.39 1.22 0.00

16,000 2,000 425,000 2,114,700

13,951,624.00

2.41

115,070

-109,100.00

4,000.00 1,749,560.00 81,250.00 86,679,600.00 3,285,200.00 133,980.00 -19,042,965.00 218,050.00 13,245,310.00

-1,509,576.50

1,650,000.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Philweb.Com Inc.

28.00

35.59

Bright Kindle Resources

1.31

-11.49

Anglo Holdings A

1.18

10.28

ATN Holdings A

0.208

-9.57

Century Peak Metals Hldgs

0.54

10.20

Ferronickel

0.670

-8.22

Araneta Prop `A'

1.180

9.26

TKC Steel Corp.

1.01

-7.34

Filipino Fund Inc.

6.70

6.35

Island Info

0.144

-6.49

Alliance Tuna Intl Inc.

0.67

6.35

Ever Gotesco

0.145

-5.84

Yehey

4.200

6.06

IP E-Game Ventures Inc.

0.0081

-5.81

Empire East Land

0.890

5.95

LBC Express

8.5

-5.45

Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

5.7

5.95

Zeus Holdings

0.270

-5.26

Suntrust Home Dev. Inc.

0.960

5.49

APC Group, Inc.

0.420

-4.55

SATURDAY: FEBRUARY 6, 2016

B3

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

Market rallies; MPIC climbs STOCKS rose for a second day, on positive prospects for the local economy and expectations the US Federal Reserve will hold off hiking interest rates.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 112 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 6,765.13 on Friday. The gauge, however, was still down 2.7 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 54 points, or 1.4 percent, to settle at 3,868.61, on a value turnover of P7.4 billion.

Advancers led losers, 106 to 54, while 53 issues were unchanged.

Eighteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which climbed 6 percent to P5.70 and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., which jumped 5 percent to P75.30.

Chemical manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. rose 4.3 percent to P8.20, while port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. added 4.3 percent to close at P58.70.

Meanwhile, growing fears that global economic turmoil is seeping into the United States kept pressure on the dollar Friday— boosting oil but hitting Japanese stocks—as investors bet the Federal Reserve will refrain from hiking interest rates this year.

After a tumultuous start to the year fuelled by a slowdown from Asia to South America, the focus now turns to the US, the world’s biggest economy and key driver of world growth.

The US has enjoyed reasonable results for the past few years in the face of a worldwide malaise, but a string of weak data out of Washington recently has led to speculation it is now in the firing line.

On Thursday, figures showed orders for manufactured goods fell again in December and jobless claims rose last week. That came after data pointing to a slowdown in factory activity, easing economic growth, a drop in consumer spending and weakness in the crucial services sector. With AFP

PNB-Voyager deal. Voyager Innovations Inc., the digital innovations arm of PLDT and Smart, and PNB Savings Bank, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Philippine National Bank sign an agreement to explore the automation of the end-to-end SSS pension loans process from application to loan release, via Voyager’s tech-enabled loans platform Lendr. Shown signing the agreement are (from left) PNB Savings Bank vice president and head of IT Apolinario Raymundo Jr., Voyager vice president Lito Villanueva, PNB Savings president and chief executive Joven Hernandez, PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan, PNB chairperson Florencia Tarriela, Voyager president and chief executive Orlando Vea and PLDT executive vice president Eric Alberto.

Max’s to buy back stocks worth P350m

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Restaurant chain operator Max’s Group Inc. is embarking on a two-year share buyback program worth P350 million, after its stock price plummeted 18.1 percent since its maiden share offering in December 2014.

Max’s Group said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board authorized the company to exercise discretion in acquiring shares in the open market up to an aggregate value of P350 million.

“This is in line with the corporation’s cash management activities seen to benefit shareholders in the long term,” Max’s Group said.

Based on the stock’s clos-

ing price of of P14.54 per share on Thursday, the P350-million shares would represent around 2.2 percent of the corporation’s total outstanding stocks.

The company said the buyback program would cover the period Feb. 04, 2016 to Feb. 03, 2018.

Several listed companies are aggressively buying back their respective shares in the market following the market’s recent decline due to developments over-

seas, particularly the slowdown in China and the steep drop in world crude prices.

Max’s Group was listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange in December 2014 after raising P3.5 billion from the sale of 197.183 million shares at P17.75 apiece.

Max’s Group includes several homegrown and international brands such as Max’s Restaurant, Max’s Corner Bakery, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Pancake House, Yellow Cab, Le Coeur De France, Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy, Sizzling Pepper Steak, Kabisera and Maple.

The restaurant chain finalized five new partnerships with various international partners last year, which would involve the rollout of 15 Yellow Cab stores

in Saudi Arabia within 10 years, 10 Yellow Cab and eight Pancake House restaurants in the United Arab Emirates within five years,10 Sizzlin’ Steak outlets in Vietnam within five years and three Max’s Restaurants in San Diego, California over the next five years.

Max’s Group also signed a deal with ZhongFa Group in January this year to build at least 15 Yellow Cab Pizza stores in China within the next five years.

The company said its strategy to forge partnerships with international groups was in line with the target to have at least 200 stores overseas by 2020.

Max’s Group plans to open 70 to 80 stores in 2016, including 60 to 65 stores in the Philippines and 15 to 20 stores in other countries.

PLDT unit expects growth of big data analytics

By Darwin G. Amojelar A UNIT of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. has asked local companies to adopt ‘big data analytics’ strategy to accelerate business growth.

Big data analytics refers to the process of capturing, storing, examining and analyzing large volume of data including text, numbers, images and videos.

“There is a tremendous amount of data waiting to be mined, refined, and analyzed. With the right infrastructure, tools, and expertise, valuable insight can be gleaned from all this information,” ePLDT group chief operating officer Nerissa Ramos said.

Ramos cited a study by Bain

& Company showing that companies with big data platforms as two times more likely to have superior financial performance within their industries, and five times more likely to make faster business decisions.

“And this is not just about speed. In this day and age, accuracy through predictive datadriven decision-making is key.

By using historical data, one can understand the reasons behind past successes or failures. With this, decision-makers can make wiser business choices moving forward,” she said. ePLDT provides the country’s first big data analytics services and infrastructure as an initiative to help organizations harness the

power of big data, and use this as a means to achieve business goals faster.

“This and our other enabling digital enterprise endeavors are testament to the company’s brand promise of Enabling Success,” she said.

Ramos said the Philippines was a young market for big data and while awareness in the country was high, adoption had a long way to go.

She said ePLDT was ready to take enterprises through the big data journey via its expert consulting framework. Companies will be guided towards the best approach to use big data for their respective organizations, she said.

Leveraging on its membership in the Open Data Platform, a worldwide consortium of big data global technology leaders, ePLDT is offering an ODP-compliant analytics compute engine that will jumpstart big data projects.

Maximizing the big data assets of the PLDT Group, ePLDT is able to provide predictive analytics services to businesses, helping customers identify risks and opportunities and ultimately, allowing them to make data-driven decisions.

Ramos said big data would afford enterprises, organizations, even the government, with valuable insights that can help them tailor-fit products, services and policies to benefit the public.

SATURDAY: FEBRUARY 6, 2016

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

IN BRIEF Bank execs charged STATE-RUN Philippine Deposit In-

surance Corp. filed criminal charges of qualified theft against five former officers and employees of the closed Farmers’ Rural Bank before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Batangas on Jan. 13, 2016.

Charged were Nenette Medrano, former manager/compliance officer; Rubenita Catamin, former cashier; Narcisa Abergos, former bookkeeper; Angelina Mateo, former internal auditor, and Soledad Jonson, former loans bookkeeper.

PDIC said in a statement Frida the respondents allegedly took advantage of their positions, knowledge of the bank’s records and familiarity with the depositors to siphon off the bank’s funds aggregating 17.7 million.

The complaint alleged that from 2006 to 2015, the respondents made several unlawful advances from the bank’s coffers aggregating P17.7 million, and to cover up, forged withdrawal slips, issued bank certificates to depositors and made unauthorized withdrawals from other deposit accounts whenever a depositor made a legitimate withdrawal from his account. “... Unauthorized withdrawals were transacted against 88 deposit accounts, consisting of 66 savings and 22 time deposit accounts,” PDIC said. Julito G. Rada

Tower bombings THE Energy Department is spearheading the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Security of Energy Facilities that will address the growing concern on the transmission tower bombings and right-of-way issues in Mindanao.

The transmission tower bombings and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ inability to immediately restore the damaged facilities due to right-of-way issues had posed an economic impediment in Mindanao despite the additional 770 megawatts of power capacity coming in this year in the region.

Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada, in a meeting of the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee held in Davao City, said transmission and distribution facilities were critical infrastructures in delivering electricity to the end-users (individuals, households, industries and businesses), in which bombings and ROW issues delay and hinder progress for the people of Mindanao.

“We have to work all together, both the Mindanaoans and industry participants, as there can be no development without power or stable power fuels development,” she said.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Manila needs TPP deal, says Purisima

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

The Finance Department said Thursday the Philippines should still join the Trans-Pacific Partnership to further increase opportunities in foreign markets.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement released late Thursday afternoon he “remains strongly in favor of Philippines membership to the TPP.” The Washinton-based agreement, one of the world’s biggest trade deals, was signed by 12-member countries in Auckland, New Zealand Thursday.

“The Department of Finance reiterates our strong position that the Philippines stands to gain from becoming a member of the trade pact, and that Asean’s admission into the TPP as a region

will be a boon to TPP countries,” Purisima said.

He said intra-Asean trade expanded 18 percent percent from 2012 to 2014 following vibrant demand and demographics.

“Asean features diverse countries forming a constellation of supply chains with complementary goods, with the potential to ultimately transform trade from intermediate goods to final consumption goods,” Purisima said.

He cited a study by the staterun think tank Philippine Institute

for Development Studies showing that value of exports could increase if the country joined the TPP. “TPP membership bodes well for economic performance at home as well. An April 2014 Philippine Institute of Development Studies paper projected that the value of Philippine exports will rise if it participates in the TPP. According to the study, the increase in exports ranges from 0.44 percent to be realized from year 2 to 11 of joining,” Purisima said.

The stringent law on foreign ownership remains one of the main challenges faced by the Philippines in joining the TPP. “Presently, the Philippines can enjoy a window of opportunity to observe an incubating period as implementation sets in. It is useful to be vigilantly critical as

the dust settles around the current members of the pact, in order to better prepare ourselves for entry in the hopefully near future,” Purisima said.

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership has the potential to be one of the most reliable drivers of growth when the global environment turns sluggish. The potential to join the trade grouping is a golden opportunity we must work hard not to pass up,” he added.

The 12-member countries of the TPP are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam.

It took over five years before the 12 countries which account for 40 percent of the world economy agreed to sign the agreement Thursday.

Air Asia seeks more THE local unit of Southeast Asia’s

largest budget airline asked the Civil Aeronautics Board for more seat entailments between Manila and Taipei.

In a filing with the CAB, Philippines Air Asia Inc. requested for additional allocation of entitlements of 1,260 seats per week on the route Manila to Taipei.

Air Asia’s request is in accordance to the existing Economic Cooperation Agreement entered between the governments of the Philippines and Taiwan.

“Parties opposed to the granting of this application must file their written opposition, supported by documentary evidence on or before [February 15],” CAB said.

“Failure on the part of any party to register its opposition on or before the said date shall be construed as a waiver of its right to be heard,” it added.

Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines currently fly between Manila and Taipei.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Fresh IRC capital IRC Properties Inc. is raising as much

as P522 million in fresh capital through a private placement.

IRC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board approved the issuance of 200 million common shares to Sigma Epsilon Fund Ltd. and another 172.8 million shares to interested subscribers both at a price of P1.40 apiece.

The P1.40 per share subscription price represents a 10.7-percent premium over the stock’s closing price of P1.25 on Friday.

IRC said placement shares, which will be fully paid in cash by subscribers, will be taken out from the unissued portion of the present authorized capital stock of the corporation The company said it would file necessary documents applications for the issuance and listing of the private placement said.

IRC Properties in 2015 signed a subscription agreement with Japan-based Rizal Partners Co Ltd. over 127.2 million shares of the company at P1.40 apiece.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Toyota technicians. Toyota Motor Philippines School of Technology, or TMP Tech, sends off 13 new diagnosis technicians who will soon

have gainful employment in Toyota’s extensive dealer and service network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Joining the STATP graduates during the send-off ceremony held at the TMP Tech campus in Santa Rosa City, Laguna are (center, from left) TMP Tech president David Go, Abdul Latif Jameel Center for Continuous Learning director Louai Abdullah Fathi, ALJ National Service Division director Kaoru Iida and TMP president Satoru Suzuki.

International reserves fell to $80.16b in January

By Julito G. Rada

THE gross international reserves of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas declined $0.51 billion to $80.16 billion as of end-January 2016 from $80.67 billion a month ago due mainly to the government’s settlement of maturing foreign exchange obligations, the regulator said Friday.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the reserves remained sufficient as it could cover 10.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income.

“It is also equivalent to 5.5 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and four times based on

residual maturity,” he said.

Short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

“The decrease in reserves as of end-January 2016 was due mainly to foreign exchange outflows arising from payments by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and the BSP’s foreign exchange operations,” Tetangco said.

The outflows were partially offset by inflows from the nation-

al government’s net foreign currency deposits and income from Bangko Sentral’s investments abroad, and by the revaluation adjustments on the bank regulator’s gold holdings due to the increase in the price of the precious metal in the international market.

Data showed the value of Bangko Sentral’s gold holdings in January improved to $7.040 billion from $6.702 billion in December.

Net international reserves, which refer to the difference between Bangko Sentral’s GIR and total short-term liabilities, also decreased to $80.16 billion as of end-January from the end-December 2015 NIR of $80.66 bil-

lion.

Bangko Sentral expects the reserves to increase to $82.7 billion in 2016, or equivalent to 9 months’ import cover, from $80.67 billion in 2015.

The increase would be triggered by the expected improvement in the overall balance of payments position this year to $2.2 billion from $2 billion in 2015.

The current account in 2016 is expected to remain in surplus at $5.7 billion but lower compared with $8.9 billion in 2015 due mainly to the expected large increase in the imports of goods, notwithstanding improvements in the services and secondary income accounts.

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD HK booksellers held in China HONG KONG—Chinese police have said for the first time that they are holding three Hong Kong booksellers who went missing on the mainland last year, sparking accusations that Beijing has “total contempt” for the law.

US notes soaring IS presence in Libya WA SH I N G T ON — Is l am i c State fighters have streamed into Libya in recent months, a US official said Thursday, heightening fears the extremists are gaining ground and influence in the north African country.

About 5,000 IS jihadists are now in Libya, the defense official said, approximately double earlier estimates, while the number of IS extremists in Iraq and Syria has dropped.

The updated tallies come as the administration of President Barack Obama faces growing calls for the US military to step up action against the IS group in Libya, where the jihadists have already seized the city of Sirte and an adjoining length of Mediterranean coastline.

Nato defense ministers are meeting in Brussels next week to evaluate the ongoing US-led coalition campaign against the IS group and to discuss ways of redoubling efforts.

Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer now with The Soufan Group consultancy, said the United States has few good Libya options, but there is growing consensus something must be done.

“They are just terrified of it getting much worse, fast,” Skinner told AFP. “Once the Islamic State takes something, it’s really hard and really bloody and really expensive to take it back.” AFP

All set for the Lunar New Year. Farmers transport kumquat trees and peach blossoms

to the center of Hanoi to sell on February 5, 2016, as the Vietnamese prepare to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Tet, on February 8. AFP

The admission confirms what many in the quasi-independent territory have suspected, and will reinforce fears that the rights guaranteed under the principle “One Country, Two Systems” are being eroded.

The three men all work for the Mighty Current publishing house, based in Hong Kong and known for salacious titles critical of the Chinese government.

Five booksellers from the firm have disappeared since October. All have now turned up in China, drawing international criticism.

The campaign group Amnesty International said Friday Chinese authorities had “total contempt for due process and the rule of law”.

“The Chinese authorities need to end their smoke and mirrors strategy and come clean with a full and proper explanation,” said Amnesty’s China researcher William Nee. Washington called on Beijing Monday to explain the disappearances, with a State Department spokesman saying the incidents “raise serious questions about China’s commitment to Hong Kong’s autonomy”.

Booksellers Lui Por, Cheung Chi-ping and Lam Wing-kee disappeared in southern mainland China in October.

A fourth missing member of the company, Gui Minhai, a Swedish national, was paraded weeping on Chinese state television in January, where he said he had turned himself in for a fatal driving accident 11 years ago.

Gui had failed to return to Hong Kong from a holiday in Thailand in October.

In a letter to Hong Kong police, the Interpol Guangdong Liaison Office, part of the southern Chinese province’s public security department, said the three men being held “were suspected to be involved in a case relating to a person named Gui, and were involved in illegal activities on the mainland.”

“Criminal compulsory measures were imposed on them and they were under investigation,” said the letter, released by Hong Kong police late Thursday.

Enclosed was also a letter from the fifth missing bookseller, Lee Bo, Hong Kong police said. AFP

‘North Korea beginning to fuel rocket’ TOKYO—US satellite data indicates that North Korea appears to have begun fueling a rocket it plans to launch this month in defiance of international opposition, a Japanese newspaper reported Friday, citing a US defense official.

Pyongyang has announced it will launch a satellite-bearing rocket sometime between February 8 and 25, which is around the time of the birthday on February 16 of late leader Kim Jong-Il, the father of current supremo Kim Jong-Un. The North insists its space pro-

gram is purely scientific in nature, but the United States and its allies, including South Korea, say its rocket launches are aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile capable of striking the US mainland.

North Korea “will finish preparations for the launch as soon as the next several days”, the US Defense Department official told the Asahi Shimbun, which did not provide the official’s name.

Since Thursday, the movement of people and equipment has become active around the launch pad and a fuel storehouse at

North Korea’s Dongchang-ri base in the country’s northwest, the official said, according to the report datelined Washington.

The United States judged that the fueling appears to have started as it has been monitoring Pyongyang’s movements via military intelligence satellites that can analyze objects as small as 12 inches, the report cited the official as saying.

Given the difficulty in stopping the process once fueling begins, preparation work normally finishes within several days of that, the official told the Asahi. AFP

Ready for February 8. This picture taken on February 4, 2016, shows a woman walking in a park decorated with red lanterns ahead of the Lunar New Year in Changzhou. This Spring Festival, 2016 being the Year of the Monkey, China’s most important holiday centering around family reunions will fall on February 8. AFP

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

Nato slams Russian strikes AMSTERDAM—Nato head Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that Russia’s air strikes in Syria targeting rebel forces are “undermining” the efforts to find a nonmilitary solution to the war.

“What we have seen is that the intense Russian air strikes mainly targeting opposition groups in Syria are undermining the efforts to find a political solution to the conflict,” Stoltenberg said as he arrived for talks in Amsterdam with EU defense ministers.

Syrian peace talks in Geneva earlier this week broke up acrimoniously as long-time Moscow ally President Bashar al-Assad launched a fresh offensive against the rebel forces in Aleppo with massive Russian backing.

The UN Security Council is due to meet later Friday to discuss the situation, with the negotiations on hold until February 25. AFP

Azeris recall ‘Black January’ MANILA—Azerbaijan recently commemorated the 25th anniversary of “Black January”, or the Soviet Union’s invasion of its capital, Baku, that left 132 people killed and millions worth of properties destroyed, the Azeri Consulate here said Friday.

Aside from the casualties and destroyed properties, 612 people were injured while 841 were illegally arrested in a move perpetrated under the regime of former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev.

“On the night of January 20, 1990, around 26,000 Soviet troops attacked the capital Azerbaijan, allegedly to evacuate Armenians from Baku,” the consultate said.

“However, the real purpose of the attack was to suppress a national movement for independence and peaceful protests against the aggressive actions of Armenia, which was raising territorial claims against Azerbaijan.” AFP

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Thousands flee as Syrian soldiers approach Aleppo DAMASCUS—Tens of thousands of Syrians were apparently streaming towards Turkey on Friday as regime troops pressed a major Russianbacked offensive around Aleppo, while Moscow and Ankara traded barbs over the escalating crisis.

As the offensive raged, diplomatic tensions were also rising, with Moscow accusing opposition supporter Ankara of preparing to invade Syria, saying it had spotted troops and military equipment on the border.

Hours earlier Davutoglu had accused supporters of President Bashar al-Assad, which include Russia, of “committing the same war crimes” as the regime.

Western nations have accused Syria’s government of torpedoing peace talks this week with its military offensive, and Washington demanded Moscow halt its campaign in support of Assad.

Russian bombings killed at least 21 civilians, including three children, on Thursday, according to Britain-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In London for the donors conference, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had warned Moscow to stop targeting the Syrian opposition, in a “robust” phone call with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, which backs opponents of the regime, said it was ready to join any ground operation by the US-led coalition against IS in Syria.

“If there is any willingness in the coalition to go in the ground operation, we will contribute positively in that,” Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told AFP. More than 260,000 people have died in Syria’s conflict and more than half the country’s population have been forced from their homes, while the chaos has helped to fuel the rise of extremist groups such as IS across the region.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking at a conference in London where donors pledged more than $10 billion in aid for the Syrians, said up to 70,000 people were headed towards his country to escape the fighting.

Some 300,000 people are thought to be isolated in Aleppo after the rebels’ main supply route was severed by regime forces backed by Russian warplanes in an offensive that scuppered peace talks this week.

The UN Security Council will meet Friday for consultations with envoy Staffan de Mistura over the breakdown of the negotiations, which had been hailed as the biggest diplomatic push to end Syria’s five-year war, which have been suspended until February 25.

“The situation in the north countryside of Aleppo is catastrophic,” said Maamoun al-Khateeb, an activist and journalist from nearby Marea village.

“Civilians are now besieged from three sides and have just one road to the Turkish territories,” he said, explaining that regime forces threatened from the south, Islamic State jihadists from the east and Kurdish fighters from the west.

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan MUNCIPALITY OF LIMAY

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan MUNCIPALITY OF LIMAY

INVITATION TO BID

INVITATION TO BID

The Bids and Awards Committee of the Municipality of Limay will be accepting bids for the procurement of the ff;

Name of Project/Contract

Location

Sources of Duration FUNDS

Approved Budget Cost(ABC)

Cost of Bid Doc’s.

1. Supply and Delivery of Unmanned Aerial System(UAS) with Maximum Wings Span of 96 centimeter and Maximum Takeoff Weight of 700 Grams with Optional Built-in Channels GPS RTK

Limay, Bataan

2. Supply and Delivery of Professional Photogrammetry Licensed Software and Post Processing Civilcad Software

Limay, Bataan

General Fund

15 Days

2,000,000.00

5,000.00

3. Supply, Delivery and Installation of CCTV and WiFi Propagation

Limay, Bataan

General Fund

30 Days

1,251,572.00

5,000.00

4. Supply and Delivery of Brand New Generator Sets

Limay, Bataan

General Fund

30 Days

6,840,000.00

10,000.00

5. Supply and Delivery of Rescue Equipments

Limay, Bataan

General Fund

30 Days

5,655,000.00

10,000.00

General Fund

15 Days

3,000,000.00

5,000.00

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

Delivery of Goods shall not exceed thirty (30) calendar days upon winning bidder’s receipt of the Notice to Proceed. 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 nondiscretionary “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.” The Bidding Documents is available at the office of the BAC Secretariat, 2nd Floor, Limay Municipal Building, National Road, Barangay Townsite, Limay, Bataan and may be acquired by interested bidders through payment of non-refundable fee for the bidding documents.

The schedule of activities is listed, as follows: ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE

VENUE

Issuance of the Bidding Documents

February 05-19, 2016

Procurement Office, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Bldg.

Pre-Bid Conference

February 09, 2015, 2:00 P.M.

Multi-Purpose Room, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building.

Submission/Opening of Bids

February 19, 2016, 2:00P.M.

Multi-Purpose Room, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building.

The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

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

For further information, please contact: Mr. Ronnie Latanafrancia BAC Secretariat 2nd Floor, Limay Muncipal Building, National Road, Brgy. Townsite, Limay, Bataan Telephone No. 613-8026 (TS- FEB 6, 2016)

The World Bank on Thursday estimated the war has cost Syria and its neighbors—Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt—some $35 billion so far. Measured by 2007 prices, that is the equivalent of Syria’s entire economic output that year.

Aleppo city, Syria’s former economic powerhouse, has been divided between opposition control in the east and regime control in the west since mid-2012.

The rebels’ main supply line to Turkey was severed on Wednesday when regime troops broke an opposition siege of two Shiite towns, Nubol and Zahraa, on the route to the border.

Regime forces entered the two towns on Thursday to the cheers of residents, who chanted progovernment slogans and showered the fighters with rice.

But elsewhere in the region the advance prompted tens of thousands to flee for fear of being caught up in the fighting.

Davutoglu said 60,000 to 70,000 people were “moving towards Turkey” and 10,000 were “waiting at the door” on the border because of air strikes and attacks around Aleppo.

The Observatory said nearly 40,000 people in Aleppo province had fled their homes, with many massing at the border.

A high-ranking Syrian government official described the Aleppo advances as important, but said the regime had even more ambitious goals.

“The next objectives are to close the borders with Turkey to prevent the arrival of troops and weapons, then taking Aleppo province, then Idlib province, and finally Idlib city,” he told AFP. AFP

(Sgd.) ROMARIO C. PANANGUI Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee

The Bids and Awards Committee of the Municipality of Limay invites registered contractors to apply for eligibility to bid of the following projects/contracts; Name of Project/ Contract Street/Road Lightings – Phase 2 Street Lightings at Priority Streets – Additional Works Construction of Covered Court at Peas Elementary School

Location ofSource FUNDS Duration

Approved Budget Cost (ABC) 21,996,000.00

Cost of Bid Doc’s.

Roman Hiway, Limay, Bataan

General Fund

150 days

25,000.00

Limay, Bataan

General Fund

90 days

6,570,000.00

10,000.00

Brgy.

Duale, Limay, Bataan

SEF Fund

150 days

6,552,012.00

10,000.00

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

Bidders should have completed, within ten(10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the bidding documents, particularly, in section II, Instruction to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat of the Municipality of Limay and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 10:00 am to 5:00pm.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Cost of Bidding Documents.

A Pre-Bid conference will be held at Multi-purpose Room, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building on February 12, 2016 at 8:00 A.M. Bids must be delivered to the BAC-Secretariat/TWG Office, 2nd Floor, Limay Municipal Building on or before February 26, 2015 until 1:00P.M.and to be opened at 2:00 P.M. of the same day at the Multi-purpose Room, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Submission of Class “A” documents and Financial Statements at least seven(7) calendar days and the Technical documents(completed/on-going projects) at least fifteen(15) calendar days before the deadline for the submission of opening of bids.

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

For further information, please refer to: RONNIE LATANAFRANCIA BAC Secretariat/TWG – Office 2nd Floor, Limay Municipal Building, National Road, Brgy. Townsite, Limay, Bataan (047)6138026 (SGD) ROMARIO C. PANANGUI (TS- FEB 6, 2016) BAC Chairman

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PROPERTY jdlacsamana@gmail.com

JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR

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BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE ROCKWELL Primaries, the newest subsidiary of Rockwell Land, builds on the promise to deliver quality residential developments that will help customers build their future. The company offers a choice between 53 Benitez, its flagship project near New Manila (See photo), and The Vantage at Kapitolyo, its first high-rise development in Pasig. “Rockwell Primaries continues to expand our portfolio to provide the market access to the Rockwell lifestyle that everyone loves, but at a more attainable price,” said Malou Pineda, senior vice president, Rockwell Primaries. 53 Benitez is a two-tower mid-rise residential condominium with only seven floors in both towers. The Vantage offers young professionals and families the comforts of their personal space with access to leisure and shopping establishments around the area.

PARIS TREATY CHALLENGE, CHECK

ANYA SHOWROOM IN MAKATI

. Roxaco Land Corporation recently opened its showroom for Anya Resort & Residences in the Makati Central Business District (CBD). The Anya Discovery Center features a model unit of the one-bedroom suite in the branded residences (Seen in photo is the bathroom). “Guests will be welcomed by a homey ambiance that is distinctly Anya,” promised Roxaco CEO Santiago R. Elizalde. Anya Discovery Center is located at the ground floor of Pilgrim Building, 111 Aguirre Street in Legaspi Village. It is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM. Roxaco’s projects range from residential resort communities to open-lot residential subdivisions from Batangas to Cavite — Peninsula de Punta Fuego, Terrazas, and Fuego Hotels.

“Kung Hei Fat Choi” at SkyRanch. This 2016, say

DAIICHI Properties’ One World Place is a pre-certified gold level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project, and is the first commercial building in Southeast Asia to feature “monsoon windows,” a concept which allows outside air into the building, improving the cooling system and providing more natural ventilation in public areas. The LEED certification is Daiichi’s way of focusing on the environmental needs of its stakeholders. The call to combat global warming was made at the recent 21st Conference of the Parties (also known as COP21) held in France. Daiichi is one of the property developers that are playing an important role in imagining, testing, and building nature-adaptive and innovative structures that work with the environment and respond to environmental concerns. A number of buildings in the Philippines have already received certifications LEED, a program which accredits green buildings and recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. But Daiichi’s One World Place has been particularly aggressive in walking the talk.

goodbye to the Wood Sheep and welcome the rule of the Fire Monkey with your family at SkyRanch Tagaytay. Dragon and lion dancers, as well as a Money Tree, will be on hand on February 6 and 7. You can also have selfies with a Chinese Empress and Emperor for extra luck.

A “Fire in the Sky”, a spectacular fireworks display will cap things at 7pm on both evenings. SkyRanch Tagaytay is a 5.5-hectare development by SM Prime under Commercial Properties Group (CPG), the property holding firm of the SM Group of Companies.

MAKE MINE MANDAUE

BACK in 2007, the Co’s of Cebu gambled on an abandoned warehouse in Mandaue City’s reclamation area. A shopping destination called Parkmall was built there whose concept was to bring the atmosphere of a park into an enclosed structure.

The two-level mall became the center-piece of a sprawling property that also comes with a beach volleyball sand court, a children’s playground, and a lush, landscaped park. Parkmall now enjoys high traffic with very good purchase rate, at par

and even surpassing, the other malls in the city center.

The development has hit its goals, and continues to innovate as a favorite hangout for families, friends, foodies, and shoppers.

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JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR jdlacsamana@gmail.com

PROPERTY

Amenities galore. The Residences Commonwealth promises a plethora of amenities for those who hanker for total living in Quezon City.

BEACHSIDE LIVING

BY JOEL D. LACSAMANA

THE Azure Urban Resort Residences (off the Bicutan exit from South Luzon Expressway) attracted a lot of attention when Paris Hilton kicked off its central amenity dubbed the Paris Beach Club. The first residents of the 9-building development by Century Properties, now enjoy what may be the rarest feature among condominium communities in the city: sunbathing on the sand, beach volleyball, and of course, swimming, as daily options (photo inset). Further north of the

city is The Residences Commonwealth, also by Century Properties, in Quezon City (Main photo). The development will take a similar approach to amenity development, with indoor and outdoor spaces that provide healthy lifestyle experiences.

These include multipurpose courts, an athletic bootcamp, gym and fitness center, gardens, a yoga deck, and its own children’s playground, The Orchard, a peeled apple-inspired treehouse with slides and ladder.

Rare feature.

Seaside living a’ la St. Tropez at Azure.

NEW HOMEOWNERS, LOOK SOUTH PROPERTY developer, Elanvital Enclaves Inc. (EVE) is expanding. With the success of their 13 hectare flagship project Nostalji Enclave, EVE is opening up a suburban enclave for families set on building a home in the south.

The newest offering of EVE for 2015 is Tradizo Enclave in Imus Cavite. Spanning a total of 8.5 hectares, the project has inventory worth approximately P1.3B, or around 500 units, at price ranges from 2.3M to 3.3M. EVE offers a 5% lowest downpayment scheme payable in 5 months.

The balance can be paid through In-house financing and / or Bank Financing at a lowest interest of 8% fixed for 1 year. Elanvital Enclaves Incorporated is part of a conglomerate with various business ventures which includes Asia United Bank, Republic Biscuit Corporation (REBISCO) Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg, and Crystal Jade.

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

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

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

P OP CU LT U RE

LIFE

Huggable monkey stuffed toys with playful blankets

Monkeys in playful colors

Toy Kingdom’s bright monkey coin banks bring lots of good luck Fun monkey handbags with studs

Go bananas and say hello to 2016, the Year of the Monkey!

Have fun with this monkey backpack

This Monkey minibackpack is your new Chinese New Year buddy Lots of hugs from monkey friends

MONKEYS RULE AT SM CHILDREN’S ACCESSORIES AND TOY KINGDOM

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imian, ape, chimp, primate – no matter what you call them, these animals will be the focus of attention this 2016 which happens to be the year of the Fire Monkey.

People born in the Year of the Monkey are said to be cheerful and energetic by nature. They are also known as wise, intelligent, confident, charismatic, loyal, inventive – imbued with the ability to display leadership skills.

For children, the celebration

brimming with of the Chinese New bonhomie and Year is associated fairly bursting with with fun and a sense of adventure. Clever energy. An inventive genius with unshakable and-oh-so-curious, the monkey is a little faith in himself, your trickster by nature, Monkey child will and uses his abundant likely drive you to brains, charm, and distraction, but he improvisational savvy won’t fail to steal your Monkey plush to cut every challenge with fun banana heart in the process. down to size. And no challenge is SM Children's Accessories too monumental for him. celebrates Chinese New Year The monkey child is a with a collection of cute, lovable, mischievous button pusher, and huggable monkey plush toys

Lovable monkey novelty plush for kids of all ages

and novelty bags that will make school and playtime lots of fun.

Toy Kingdom, on the other hand, has amazing monkey toys that bring lots of luck and kids would love to hold, hug, and dream with.

There are cuddly plush monkeys in playful colors and fun sizes, as well as bright monkey stuffed toys that come with unique blankets perfect for warm hugs and good night sleep.

Bring home hugs, joy and charm with cute little monkeys available in SM Children’s

Accessories department of the SM Store.

These Year of the Monkeyinspired collectibles are available at Toy Kingdom Express outlets in the SM Stores and Toy Kingdom Stores in most SM Supermalls. Say Kung Hei Fat Choi! sand grab these items also available at Toy Kingdom store located at 3rd floor of Lucky Chinatown Mall.

Visit www.toykingdom.ph for more information

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S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

ALTERNATIVE WEB TV SHOW AIRS FOURTH SEASON

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lternative web channel Thinking Man’s Classroom returns this year and covers new grounds of interactive web learning experience. Conceptualized by spoken word artist Kooky Tuason, the web channel features nontraditional shows, which aim to engage viewers with thoughtful and relevant ideas, as well as provocative questions that can change the ways we think about

UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEYS WITH THE SHANG’S GRAND RAFFLE PROMO

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hopping has never been more delightful at Shangri-La Plaza, which offers some of the best lifestyle brands that can be found in the metro. What’s more, shopaholics also get the chance to visit some of the world’s top destinations with the “Ten Unforgettable Journeys from Shang” Raffle Promo.

Ten lucky winners will experience the treat of a lifetime via special travel packages for two to some of the world’s top destinations: Paris, London, Vancouver, Dubai, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Boracay.

Shang will draw the winners who will then get a chance to experience the luxury of a Shangri-La hotel, with Cathay Pacific as the official airline partner for the international destinations. Best of all, these lucky winners will be able to bring a companion to make the experience doubly special.

@LIFEatStandard

It’s easy: Every P2,500 single receipt purchase from any establishment in Shangri-La Plaza entitles a customer to one raffle coupon.

Receipts can be redeemed at the Concierge located on Level 1 of the Main Wing or Level 1 of the East Wing. All raffle coupons must be filled out completely and dropped at the designated drop boxes located at the Concierge. The “Ten Unforgettable Journeys from Shang” Raffle Promo will run until March 30. The grand draw will be held on March 31, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.

Enjoy great shopping and get a chance to go on a global adventure with the Shang’s “Ten Unforgettable Journeys from Shang” Raffle Promo.

See flyers for details. For inquiries, call 3702500 loc. 597 or visit www.facebook.com/ shangrilaplazaofficialfanpage. Follow the Shang on Instagram: @shangrilaplazaofficial.

the world we live in. The show is free to access via its website, and welcomes comments and engaging online discussions through its comments section.

Airing its fourth season on February 29, Thinking Man’s Classroom is back with a set of exciting new segments such as Pass the Message, a show about language in popular culture: baby signs, gay lingo, and constructed languages in recent fictional

literature and media; Game!, a show about gaming culture; and Startup, a show about business ventures.

Pass the Message will be hosted

by Marty Tengco, Game! will be served by Stephen Aguilar and Angelo Esperanzate, while Startup will be handled by Jordan Imutan and Abe Aguilar. Its three previous shows, Art Is, For Word and By Word, and Principals of Principle are also back.

Its core segment, Principals of Principle will see new hosts Sunita Mukhi, the Associate Dean for Arts and Culture at the Benilde School of Design and Arts, web developer and PR consultant Ian Galliguez, software engineer Abe Aguilar, mentalist Justin Piñon a.k.a Mental Assassin, vocalist and guitarist of rock band Reklamo LC de Leon, and The Standard lifestyle editor Tatum Ancheta exchanging thoughts about various topics aimed at providing viewers with diverse views and opinions.

Tuason hosts For Word and

By Word. She will sit down with different people who are concerned about language and its many aspects – from poets and writers to journalists and media people. Art Is will cover interviews with various emerging local artists about art and their work.

Previous seasons may be viewed at www.thinkingmansclassroom. com/shows/

S AT U R D AY : F E B R U A R Y 6 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

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THE DIGITAL DETOX MYTH

THE GIST

BY ED BIADO

DIGITAL detox refers to the act of staying offline for a period of time to figuratively smell the roses. There are supposedly many benefits of cutting yourself off completely from the digital world to focus on tangible things that are right in front of you. A cursory Google search reveals that digital detox may alleviate stress, increase physical-world social interaction, and even result in better posture.

However, there is something troubling about the concept of unplugging in today’s world because it forces us to do something unnatural. One may argue that what’s unnatural is being online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But times have changed, and being digitally connected is something that has

worked its way into the daily functions of our lives.

Hyperconnectivity is our reality and taking a step back from our gadgets and devices removes us from the loop. And when we get back to it, we have a lot of catching up to do. Imagine not opening your work email for a week and being bogged down

by the backlog when you log back in. Imagine switching off your phone for the same time period and the amount of texts you’ll receive – some of which are bound to be panicky (“Did you lose your phone?” “Where the eff are you?” “Did you die?”)

– when you switch it back on.

Plus let’s not even get started on

the hundreds of messages in your different Facebook Messenger and Viber threads that you have to backread. And doesn’t that just double, if not triple, the amount of stress?

While digital detox does have a host of positive effects on our health and wellbeing, it just doesn’t seem like a viable option because of the very nature of our current lifestyles.

We can’t go off the Internet grid forever; we eventually have to come back and revert to our familiar ways when the detox ends.

Besides, how can you possibly go completely offline when everyone around you is online? Picture this: you’re going to meet your friends one Saturday afternoon for coffee.

First of all, how are you going to know the details of that meet without your phone? Is one of your friends actually that kind to go to your house, knock on your door and tell you to block off your Saturday 2:00 p.m. for catching up with the girls at your favorite coffee shop in BGC? Now let’s say that your girl Stacy truly is an angel and braved Edsa traffic to do just that and there you all are at the location just as planned... Of course, your friends will all ask you how your digital detox is going and you’ll answer that it’s been great and they’re all going to express how much they admire you for it and wish that they could do the same thing.

The conversation will eventually grow arms and lead to a lot of different things. Questions such as “Have you seen the latest viral video?” will pop up. The group will also talk about this friend’s mysterious Facebook post and this other friend’s beautiful Instagram

picture. And everybody’s going to be on their phones to see what’s up.

At that point, you’d have no idea what’s going on. You’ll start feeling an intense case of FOMO because you can’t relate anymore. Because of your self-imposed digital hiatus, you can’t even get a Grab or Uber home and would have to manually hail a cab home. Ugh. Internet memes and trends come and go on a daily basis and being away for more than just a couple of days means you’ve been living under a rock. As theguardian.com’s Brigid Delaney eloquently states, “The phrase ‘digital detox’ seems quaint, like something from another era (2013? 2014?). It’s 2016 and we are past the point of no return.”

She’s absolutely right. Going on a digital detox is an exotic primitive fantasy like Cleopatra milk and honey baths, the act of having breakfast at Tiffany’s, and traversing the streets of Metro Manila without being stuck in two-hour traffic jams on a Friday night.

Does that mean that we just have to live with digital overconsumption because we have no choice? Not quite, because you can turn your phone off, you know? You can step away from the keyboard.

Even for just a couple of hours a day. You don’t have to bring your devices to bed with you at night.

It’s all about setting boundaries, assigning no-gadget zones and knowing when to stop scrolling.

Ultimately – and because a fullblown digital detox is way too extreme – it’s all about figuring out the most suitable and effective online-offline plan for yourself.

I’m @EdBiado on Twitter and Instagram.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

V I S UA L TA L K

Life Is Strange ILLUSTRATIONS BY KIMBEE GALINDO

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reelance art director Kimbee Galindo started to doodle at home during his free time and ended up creating a series of comic strips reflecting some personal struggles he encounters in his daily life. His comic strips provide a daily dose of funny anecdotes that almost anyone can relate to. He shares this comic series on his personal Facebook page, and we found it very amusing – which is why we are sharing it with our readers.

Catch the second part of this series next week! We can’t wait to see what he will come up with next.

ENCHANTING CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION The country’s first and only world-class theme park, Enchanted Kingdom, welcomes the Year of the Fire Monkey with an enchanting treat for families and friends.

Starting February 8, Chinese New Year’s Day, until March 27, the Laguna theme park offers its Enchinese promo. The promo bundles five Regular Day Passes with a sumptuous Chinese meal that includes Asian-glazed chicken with hoisin sauce, stir-fry vegetable with tofu, cream of corn, steamed rice, bar cookies and iced tea.

Enjoy the promotional offer with family or friends for P2,700 on weekdays or P3,100 on weekends.

For a complete Chinese New Year experience, EK is treating its guests to a

Dragon and Lion Dance to usher in luck and good fortune. Catch the dance parade around the park on Feb. 6, 7 and 8, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In addition, EK is staging a Chinese-themed musical, “Salvo and the Jade Necklace,” that follows Salvo (an EK book character) as he takes the lead role after being summoned by Eldar the Wizard to find the jade necklace before the Lunar Year starts. The play is showing at the Eldar’s Theater every Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

For inquiries and more details, contact (02) 830-3535, (02) 584-3535, (02) 584-4326-29, or visit www.enchantedkingdom.ph.

SAt uRDAY : F EbRuA RY 6, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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Joy is an American biographical comedydrama movie written and directed by David o.

Russell

Edgar Ramirez, Jennifer lawrence and Robert De niro

A scene from the movie featuring lawrence and Robert De niro

Rags-TO-RIchEs

StoRY oF A StRugglIng SInglE mom

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Jennifer lawrence as Joy mangano, a self-made millionaire who created her own business empire

lose to home, Joy introduces us to a woman who carries it all, played by Jennifer Lawrence in the titular role – being a single mom, caring for her parents, paying the bills and working 24/7 just to make ends meet.

Joy follows on the heels of diretor David O. Russell’s The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle, which between each of them garnered 25 Oscar® nominations. Each unleashed an unforgettable array of cinematic characters yet also honed in on a singularly compelling idea: the allure and trials of re-inventing oneself.

Joy takes that same idea somewhere new – as Russell takes on the question of how one person, confronted with madcap circumstances, endless obstacles and a long road of self-searching, forges a meaningful, joyful life.

While Joy’s life moves forward, the film’s style hearkens back in time, revisiting and redesigning the craftsmanship and melodrama of classical Hollywood cinema for our image-laden times.

Says Lawrence, “This is a story about so many things. It’s not just the story of Joy. It’s about family, imagination, faith in yourself, about the ruthlessness of success and what it means when you find it. I love most of all how much Joy changes. I loved taking her from vulnerable and self-deprecating to cold and strong, and I loved that she turns into a real matriarch of her family.”

Joining Lawrence is a typically wide-ranging Russell ensemble including Robert De Niro as Joy’s hot-tempered yet hopelessly romantic father; Edgar Ramirez as Joy’s ex-husband, a struggling musician living in the basement … with her father; Diane Ladd as Joy’s insightful and influential grandmother; Virginia Madsen as Joy’s soap-opera addicted mother; Isabella Rossellini as her father’s well-off Italian lover; Dascha Polanco as Joy’s life-long friend and confidante; Elisabeth Rohm as Joy’s rivalry inclined sister and Bradley Cooper as the mogul-style home shopping executive who lawrence and a child actor in the film Joy becomes both Joy’s ally and adversary.

Joy joins a long legacy of films about chasing dreams of success in business and family -- but it does so in its own comedic, emotional and inventive ways. The story began with the unlikely but real-life narrative of Joy Mangano, who in the 1990s became a new kind of television star and entrepreneurial powerhouse with a series of household inventions, including the famed, “self-wringing” Miracle Mop, which kicked-off the Long Island single mother’s ongoing business empire.

Says Russell, “The idea that drew me was how do you tell the story of more than 40 years of a life, from the magic of childhood, through marriage, divorce and single parenthood, to going back to fulfilling on those childhood dreams? How do you tell the story of a person’s soul – and how that soul is comprised of all the people we love, the ideas we have, the things we cherish? Joy brings together all these pieces. You have trauma and love. You have a girl who grows up in her father’s metal garage and in her mother’s refuge of soap operas filled with strong women. You have a dreamer exhusband in the basement who is still a friend and a loving sister who is an envious rival.

And you have a cable television station in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that becomes a factory of dreams. In the middle of it all, you see Joy develop a quietly fierce determination that sees her through.”

An inspiring, light-hearted film, catch it with family, friends and business partners when Joy opens Feb. 17 in cinemas from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

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SAt uRDAY : F EbRuA RY 6, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

PIa WuRTzbach makEs vIcTORy Walk bEfORE jubIlanT cOunTRymEn

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with Stella Marquez Araneta, chairperson of bpcI and Margie Moran, Miss universe 1973 during homecoming special held at the Smart Araneta coliseum

pia wutzbach, Miss universe 2015 and Margie Moran, Miss universe 1973 reenact crowning moment

here was no teleprompter that said “Philippines, please take your first walk as Miss Universe” when Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, wearing her sash and crown and the same royal blue evening gown, made her victory walk she was denied of due to the crowning fiasco when she won in Las Vegas a month ago, during her homecoming special held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Thursday evening.

“Maraming salamat po sai nyong suporta, sana samahan ninyo ako sa aking journey bilang Miss Universe” (Thank you very much for all your support, I hope that you will join me in my journey as Miss Universe), Wurtzbach’s taped voice played out as she walked the stage amidst cheers and shouts of ‘Pia’ from the flag-waving Filipino audience.

Wurtzbach was joined on stage by Margie Moran, Miss Universe of 1973, while Stella Marquez Araneta, chairperson of Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) handed the beaming and overwhelmed queen a bouquet of flowers. The event was witnessed

by Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) and Esther Swan, MUO Road Manager.

Shugart said that she was very happy to see a Filipina win at Miss Universe during her 15 years with the prestigious pageant.

“The Filipinos are the most passionate fans of the Miss Universe pageant and I thank them for that,” the very friendly and lovely Shugart added.

The long list of fellow Bb. Pilipinas beauty queens that graced Pia’s homecoming tribute included Simonettedelos ReyesFerraren (1970), Vida Doria-Legaspi (1971), ChiquiBrosasHahn (1975), Dang Cecilio-Palanca (1979), Maricar Mendoza-Du (1981), Desiree Verdadero-Abesamis (1984), Joyce

Ann Burton-Titular (1985), Gem Padilla-Thomas (1990), Abbygale Arenas-de Leon (1997), Miriam Quiambao-Roberto (1999), Nina Ricci Alagao-Flores (2000), Karen Loren Agustin-Ostrea (2002), Gionna Cabrera (2005), Lia Andrea Ramos-Moss (2006), Bianca Manalo (2009), Venus Raj (2010) and AraArida (2013). Missed were ShamceySupsup, who has recently given birth to a baby girl, and Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz, who was out of the country.

Pia’s batchmates Bea Santiago, Mutya Datul and Cindy Miranda were also at the big dome; also Lara Quigaman-Alcaraz, Jennette Fernando-Dizon, LiaAndanar-Yu, Issa Gonzales, Gladys Dueñas, Patty Betita, Alma Concecpion, PeachieSacasas-Alimurung, DenilleValmonte-Valera, Carlene AguilarOcampo, Patricia Fernandez-Garcia, Czarina Gatbonton, Dianne Necio and Kim Suiza.

Miss Universe Organization (MUO) president Paula Shugart, MUO talent director Esther Swan, Pia’s mom Cheryl AlonzoTindall and her sister Olive, who came all ways from Cagayan de Oro, also witnessed the grand spectacle.

The tribute also featured a one-on-one interview with TV host Boy Abunda where Pia clarified that she and President Aquino were just friends. Actors Piolo Pascual, SamMilby, Xian Lim, YengConstantino, Erik Santos and Gerphil Flores performed for the new Miss Universe.

Wurtzbach left for New York on Jan. 31 and is now an Inside Edition special correspondent at the Super Bowl. She will be back to crown her successor during the Bb. Pilipinas 2016 grand coronation at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on April 16. Text and photos: Eton Concepcion.

FIlIpInA cRownED MRS. GRAnDMA unIVERSAl 2016

babylyn Decena newfield, Mrs. Grandma universal 2016, during her victory press conference at luxent Hotel

BABYLYN DECENA Newfield, a 48-year-old, widow and grandmother won the Mrs. Grandma Universal 2016 title in the pageant exclusively for grandmothers held in Sofia, Bulgaria, making it a sweep for the Philippines after the win of Princess Universe 2015 Patricia Angela Cruz and Miss Universe 2015 PiaWurtzbach.

Newfield, who also won Best in National Costume over 15 competing grandmas from around the world, has four children and four grandchildren. She was handpicked by pageant director OvetteRicalde to represent the country after she met the qualifications of 45 years and above and having grandchildren.

Other titles won were Mrs. Grandma Universe for Mrs. Bulgaria, Mrs. Grandma International for Spain, Mrs. Grandma Globe for Latvia and Mrs. Grandma Classic for Singapore.

A Mass Communication major at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Newfield, CEO and president of Cartridge World-Philippines, became a single parent to her children when she took over their business after her

cROssWORD PuzzlE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2016

12 Party pooper 41 Mine and thine 13 Good old days 42 Oceanfront flat 21 Press release 44 Very sad-looking 23 Dull finish?

47 Precipitated 25 Soup-can flaws 48 Slime 26 — kebab 49 Baseball’s 27 Shade-loving plant Mel — 28 Candle or legion 50 Cold cut 30 Makes money 53 Visibly exhausted 58 Order in the court? 31 Microscope adjunct 59 Spam, maybe 32 Rose (hyph.)

34 Speedometer, e.g.

61 “Garfield” pooch 35 It’s south of Eur. 62 Crest 38 Most faint 63 Pizza topping 42 Stoic philosopher 64 Hawk 43 Distant fort 65 Clarified butter 45 Part of a Van Dyke 66 Hadrian’s river ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE 67 Tie-dyed garments 46 Abbot 47 Champagne DOWN ACROSS 24 Tierra — Fuego bucket 1 Bakers’ meas.

1 Ebb or neap 25 Urgent 50 Pirate’s booty 2 Flapjack chain 5 Petal extract 26 Mouselike 51 Lean backward 3 Actor — Carvey 10 Whirlpool mammals 4 Fixed a manuscript 52 Cement 14 Hoax 29 Nonstop component 5 Does the trick 15 “20,000 Leagues” 33 Parka features 53 Apply a mudpack 6 Clingmans Dome author 34 Turf warriors 54 Saki grain loc.

16 Caligula’s nephew 36 Mi. above sea level 7 55 — fixe Math subj.

17 Johnnycake 37 Dogma 56 Long river 8 Formic acid 18 Ms. Ekberg of film 38 Blows gently 57 Hair goos producer 19 Opened a crack 39 2016 Olympics 60 — tai 9 Tea leaf activities 20 Reaching across city 10 Shiny paint 22 Storm risk 40 RR terminal 11 — vu

husband’s death. She considered taking part in the pageant as a privilege and had made only small preparation as she had experience walking the runway for her fashion designer friends. Her passion in the sport of Muay Thai has helped her a lot in maintaining a healthy and well fit body and mind.

“I am happy to win a beauty title at the age of 48,” Newfield said. “I want to show the world that being a grandmother is not just about taking good care of your grandchildren, but also to show that grandmothers could still be successful in whatever goals they set their mind to achieve. As Mrs. Grandma Universal 2016, Newfield wants to be a spokesperson for the welfare of grandmothers, in the country and other parts of the world. She wants the government to pass a law giving equal rights and equal opportunities for grandmothers and grandfathers as well, especially, in job opportunities, which should be based on their capabilities and not to prohibit them due to over age, so they could continue as productive citizens of the country. Text and photos: EB Concepcion

SAt uRDAY : F EbRuA RY 6, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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Decide to be heart healthy People are catching on to the fact that one must cut down on bad cholesterol at all costs. There is no question to this as several governments of different countries have already initiated, successfully banned and/or regulated the availability of bad fat from food sources. And the results have been amazing. Deaths due to heart-related diseases have significantly been reduced.

Don’t wait for this to happen here. The decision to be heart healthy can be made for us. But it is our responsibility to make it a personal decision. Inform yourselves on how to remove bad cholesterol from your diet and get assistance from ATC Garlic Oil. ATC Garlic Oil helps prevent hypertension and heart disease by regulating cholesterol levels and blood pressure in the body. This also stops blood clot from forming and effectively lowers the blood pressure and reduces the risks of stroke and heart attack. ATC Garlic Oil also contains soybean oil, which provides essential nutrients such as protein, fiber and healthy fats while offering protection against heart disease.

ATC Garlic Oil is recommended to be taken one capsule every day. It is available at Mercury Drug and leading drugstores nationwide at P4.50 per piece.

Jonah Ventura and Nicolas unjieng of Center of Gravity

Rachel Regal, Mark Zuckerberg and Abby Asistio

Abby AsIsTIO REpREsEnTs phIlIppInEs In FAcEbOOk EvEnT From c7

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inger, songwriter, host, and alopecia advocate Abby Asistio was the only Filipina among 20 handpicked Facebook users from Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India, Germany, the USA, and the Philippines that met and shared stories with American computer programmer, Internet entrepreneur, philanthropist, and chief executive and co-founder of the social networking website Facebook,Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg shared the purpose, mission, and desire of the organization to use Facebook to connect people and make this world a better place.

Abby shared her own story among seven othersgiven a chance to speak during the special whole day event.

From over 1,64 billion subscribers, Abby was chosen as one of about 20 invitees to FB’s Friends’ Day in cel-

ebration of its 12th anniversary. The chosen Facebook friends were treated to a special sharing session with the FB founder as well as COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Abby was flown in from the Philippines because of her compelling journey with the autoimmune disease alopecia areata. She was the closing speaker at the National Areata Foundation in July of 2015, and fellow advocate Rachel Regal of Faith USA sent her story to the Facebook team.

Rachel was so depressed but the story of Abby, which she found online, and the song “Beautiful” inspired her to start a friendship with Abby. Their friendship was sealed and Facebook documented their first meeting in July 2015 and created a story and posted it on their Facebook Stories page in October of the same year.

Manila Genesis Entertainment And Management Inc., Abby’s representative, has been given clearance to

release Abby’s exclusive photo with Mark Zuckerberg and Rachel taken on Feb. 2 (Feb. 1 in the US) at the Facebook compound in Northern California. Mark, Rachel, and Abby made the alopecia areata hand sign which Abby created in September 2012 for alopecia awareness.

Abby was a featured at the Elements music camp in 2011, on ABSCBN’s The Voice Of The Philippines in 2014, and was chosen as one of Mega magazine’s Most Beautiful Women Of 2014, and is one of Belo Medical’s ambassadors. She was tapped to endorse the hair loss prevention product Novuhair in 2014 and she likewise composed the “Happiest Pinoy” song for Cebuanalhuillier, and her song “When I’m With You” was the top 2 most requested song in 2014. Abby represented the Philippines in Singapore’s All That Matters music conference in 2015 and she also released her self-titled debut album last year.

One star World Tour at the center of Gravity skate park Center of Gravity in partnership with Converse Philippines recently held the Philippine Premiere of the One Star World Tour video at the Center of Gravity Skatepark at Eaton Centris.

The Converse skate team tour video was filmed in four weeks infour regions (Europe,Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific,North America and latin America) and was filmed and edited by Richard Quintero and Ben Chadourne.

Featured Converse global ambassadors were Zered Basset, Jason Jessee, Ben Raemers, Aaron Herrington,Louie Lopez, Kenny Anderson,FrankGerwer, Sammy Baca, Eli Reed, Sean Pablo, Mike Anderson , Jake Johnson,Al Davis, Tom Remillard ,Don Nguyen, Bobby De Keyser,SageElsesser, Andrew Brophy, Jerome Campbell, Carlos Cardenosa, David Stenstrom and Remy Taveira.

The film is available for public viewing thru the You tube channel.

Registration during the film showing at Eton Centris

Tagalog-dubbed classic spanish Telenovela on beaM channel 31

tagalog-dubbed and classic telenovela two Sides of Ana

TAGAlOG-dubbed classic telenovela hit Two Sides of Ana (Las Dos Cara’s de Ana) will air its maiden episode on Feb. 8, at 5a.m. and 8p.m.on BEAM Channel 31 (SkyCable Channel 72, Destiny Cable Channel 80, Cable link Channel 82, and CableStar Channel 4), with catch-up marathon on weekends. For lovers of the classic Spanish telenovela genre,this is a welcome alternative to the local and Korean standard drama fare seen in leading broadcasters’ offerings.

Two Sides of Ana centers on a young, naturally talented girl

whose fondest wish is to become an actress but does not have the financial resources to take acting lessons. She has ajob taking care of a wealthy widow who is very fond of her and finances her dreams.

She meets handsome Gustavo at the prestigious school but is soon embroiled in troubles at home with thedeath of her mother and brother in the hands of a wealthy family. She vows and sets out to avenge their deaths taking on a second identity, unknowing that it may cost her the loss ofGustavo’s love. The telenovela’s synopsis, trailers, cast and character briefs

as well as photos can be viewed in www.beam.com.ph.

BEAM Channel 31 (www. beam.com.ph) is a free-to-air TV owned and operated byBroadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media, Inc. (BEAM), a subsidiary of Bethlehem Holdings,Inc., an investee of Globe Telecom’s Retirement Fund. BEAM started airing classic Spanish telenovelas in May last year with three maiden titles, classic hits La Madrasta (TheStepmother), Palabra de Mujer (A Woman’s Word), and Big Love (Llena de Amor).

It launched a new telenovela

entitled MuchachaItaliana to replace A Woman’s Word when the latter’s concluding episode aired in November.

The free-to-air broadcaster changed its program line-up after significantly improving its analog broadcast facilities while starting the deployment of a brand new digital ISDB-T broadcast network in its service areas of NCR, Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Naga, Iloilo and Zamboanga.

Two Sides of Ana is the latest classic title offering of BEAM Channel 31, replacing Big Love, the concluding episode of which aired yesterday. The Spanish telenovela trend in the Philippines started in 1994 and continues to have following particularly among young-to-middle aged women.

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SAT URDAY : F EBRUA RY 6, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

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What’s luck got to do with it?

Pasion de Amor stars Coleen Garcia, Arci Munoz and Ellen Adarna

A female barista at Casa Italia

WILL LOVE PREVAIL OVER REVENGE IN ‘PASION DE AMOR’ FINALE?

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rimetime televiregain the trust and love of her sion’s hottest series daughters?

Pasion De Amor With everything that has is on its last three happened, the Elizondos and weeks. And in the ISAH V. RED the Samontes— Juan (Jakeupcoming episodes leadCuenca), Oscar (Ejay Falcon), ing to its finale, the audiand Franco (Joseph Marco)— ence will be surprised as the show becomes will not only strengthen their bonds, but will even more packed with unpredictable twists, also let their hearts grow even closer and make intense emotions, and passion-filled romance. them more certain of their feelings for each It seems that Gabriela is on her way to get- other. ting redemption as she subtly and gradually Just as when things are falling into place, admits to her sins. This prompts Elizondo sis- however, Gabriel (Wendell Ramos) manages ters Norma (Arci Munoz), Sari (Ellen Adar- to escape jail, which will put their lives in danna), and Jamie (Coleen Garcia) to convince ger once more. Will love prevail over revenge their mother to surrender herself to authori- in the end? ties. Will Gabriela agree to this? Will she fiSince Pasion De Amor aired in June, the telenally let go of the anger she feels and choose to novela adaptation has been a certified hit and

Casa Italia’s signature Coffee Otto

has consistently dominated its timeslot on national TV ratings. It hit an all-time high of 29.2 percent in October and regularly occupies a spot in the top 10 most watched programs in the country, according to Kantar Media.

Ellen Adarna and Ejay Falcon

Pasion de Amor stars during ABS-CBN trade show, (from left) Joseph Marco, Coleen Garcia, Jake Cuenca, Arci Munuoz, Ellen Adarna and Ej Falcon

Wendel Ramos

This season, no other number is believed to bring luck and good fortune than the number eight. But for Casa Italia, the country’s newest Italian Bar concept, eight is more than just the lucky number of the season.

It’s the number that they live by when crafting the freshest taste of coffee with Coffee Otto.

Derived from the Italian word, otto, meaning eight, Coffee Otto is Casa Italia’s signature blend of 100 percent Arabica coffee, made from the finest Venetian-roasted beans that are never older than eight weeks from roasting. This commitment to precision and technique ensures that every sip delivers the smoothness and lingering aroma of genuine Italian coffee that even the most discerning palate will enjoy.

Coffee lovers will be in luck because they can delight in Casa Italia’s coffee creations at any time of the day. Wake up to an unforgettable shot of espresso or a cup of their well-loved Cappuccino to enliven the senses before the day’s work. Pair savory Italian dishes like their freshly made sandwiches and baked goodies with traditional coffee offerings like the all-time favorite Latte, Flat White, Americano and Macchiato.

Patrons can cap off the day on a sweet note with their Gelatocchino, their unique coffee frappe creation that combines authentic Italian gelato with rich, flavorful coffee.

With Coffee Otto, eight takes on a new definition that’s based on skill and precision more than pure luck. It’s this kind of passion and attention to detail that has allowed them to consistently brew the finest coffee experience that Filipinos will enjoy. So celebrate this season by satisfying your cravings for authentic Italian coffee only at Casa Italia.

Casa Italia uses the finest quality ingredients and traditional Italian cooking technique to create the best coffee, gelato and comfort food for an all-day casual dining in a modern Italian bar. Casa Italia was established in 2010 in Singapore and is a recipient of the 2013 Franchise License Association Singapore’s Promising Franchisor Award. Continued on C7