The Standard - 2016 February 9 - Tuesday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 362  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  TUESDAY : FEBRUARY 9, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Illness forces DFA chief to resign

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POE KEEPS LEAD IN LAYLO SURVEY

By Joyce Pangco Pañares and Macon RamosAraneta

VOTER PREFERENCE FOR PRESIDENT December 2015 & January 2016

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SENATOR Grace Poe retained her lead over other presidential candidates in the latest The Standard Poll following a Supreme Court order stopping the Commission of Elections from disqualifying her from the May 9 polls.

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Dec Jan 2015 2016

Comelec again fails to begin printing

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Commission on Elections again missed its self-declared deadline to start the printing of official ballots for the May elections, the third time it has had to do so. The new target date is Feb. 15, the poll body said Monday.

At a press briefing, Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim said it was “automation or bust” for the May elections, since there was no longer enough time to go back to a manual system.

While expressing confidence that the Comelec will be able to automate the elections, he said technical problems could cause a postponement in some provinces.

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Dec Jan 2015 2016

Dec Jan 2015 2016

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POLL

The survey, conducted by resident pollster Junie Laylo from Jan. 27 to Feb. 4 had 3,000 respondents—all of whom are registered voters with biometrics and who said they are sure to vote in next year’s elections— from 79 provinces across the country and the 17 cities in the National Capital Region. It has a national margin of error of +/1.8 percent.

Poe continued to enjoy a narrow lead at 29 percent, up one percentage point from 28 percent in December.

In a statement to The Standard, Poe said: “I owe this top ranking in The Standard-Laylo survey to the Filipino people, who continue to put their faith in my capacity to lead the country. They are my driving force in being unflinching in fighting for change and in pushing an inclusive platform for a progressive and just society.

“I look forward to coming face to face with more of our kababayan in the campaign period.”

Vice President Jejomar Binay and Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II were tied at second place with 22 percent each, followed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with 20 percent and Senator Miriam Santiago with 2 percent.

Binay and Santiago saw their ratings go down by one percentage point each from the December survey. Roxas’ rating remained unchanged while Duterte went up by one percentage point.

Across geographic areas, Poe led in the National Capital Region (35 percent), North and Central Luzon (37 percent), and South Luzon and Bicol (38 percent).

Roxas was the top choice of respondents from the Visayas region, while Duterte firmed up his lead in Mindanao with 44 percent, up from 36 percent in December. Next page

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In the same briefing, the director of operations at SLI Global Solutions, Traci Mapps, said the delay in printing was due to a compatibility error found in the consolidation and canvassing system, a system that consolidates and canvasses the election returns from some 92,000 clustered precincts.

He said fixing the problem would affect the common code that is also used in the election management system, and the Comelec has decided to change the final trusted build or code for the machines.

Lim said the problem could lead to a postponement of elections in some provinces.

“The problem is that it’s all related,” Lim said in Filipino. “Let’s say there are many problems and that by May 7 we are still configuring the machines. If they do not reach an area by May 9, they won’t have an election.”

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said that they will submit the revised source code to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday afternoon after SLI certifies the new code.

Bautista said that it was a “blessing in disguise” that they were able to detect the compatibility error three months before the Election Day. Bautista said this would not “materially” affect the preparation for the coming elections.

“We are just going to move [the printing of the ballots] to maybe a week later,” he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, said he was disappointed that the Comelec did not prepare earlier for the polls.

“It’s worrisome.. It’s a very short period of time, because anything can happen...

They’re still compiling the source code now and building the program. Who knows if there will be a bug that will be discovered?” Pimentel said.

“I’m disappointed at the many delays they are encountering. With anticipation and foresight, they could have foreseen these,” he added.

Also on Monday, Bautista warned all candidates for national office that they would strictly monitor their finances for overspending as the campaign period begins.

Last month, media research firm Nielsen Philippines reported that the top four presidential candidates have already spent nearly P1.6 billion on television advertisements in 2015.

Vice President Jejomar Binay shelled out P595,713,000; with Senator Grace Poe came in at second with P448,166,000;

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Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II was at third with P424,870,000; and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte spent P115,423,000.

Aside from the Comelec and its deputized agencies, the poll body has tapped the public to become pro-active against candidates engaged in illegal forms of campaigning.

“We are embarking on a shame campaign. We want to involve the citizenry. We are challenging our countrymen to take a picture of what they believe as illegal campaign materials of candidates,” Bautista had said last week.

Three of the five presidential candidates opted to hold their proclamation rallies Tuesday in Metro Manila as the 90-day campaign period begins.

The Partido Galing at Puso led by Poe and her vice presidential running mate Senator Francis Escudero invited the public to their proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda in front of Quiapo Church in Manila.

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay will launch his presidential campaign at the Welfareville Compound in Mandaluyong City as an expression of solidarity with poor Filipinos.

“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,” said Office of the Vice President Media Affairs Division chief Joey Salgado.

“The vice president chose to hold his proclamation rally at Welfareville because he wanted to share with the masses his vision of a nation where rich and poor share the benefits of economic growth,” he added.

The tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Alan Peter Cayetano chose Tondo, Manila for their official campaign kick off.

Peter Laviña, head of Duterte’s media group, said in a statement that this is where they intend to start a new beginning for the country and its people.

“Tondo mirrors the squalor, the neglect by government, the disparity between rich and poor that characterize the state of our nation,” he said.

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

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

Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Leni Robredo will be in Capiz for their proclamation rally. With Macon Ramos Araneta

Misuari gathers 2,000 loyal men in bid to install son

By Florante S. Solmerin

DESPITE an outstanding warrant for his arrest, Nur Misuari gathered 2,000 fighters loyal to him at his home in Camp Astana in Indanan, Sulu, to install his son as vice chairman of his faction of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Wanted for leading the bloody siege of Zamboanga City in August 2013 in which more than 200 people were killed, Misuari also expressed satisfaction at the failure of Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law that was hammered out by the government and the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The military and police monitored the developments from afar as Misuari led a whole-day leadership assembly in his home attended by members of different state revolutionary committees and unit commanders.

“They had no hostile action plan. They were busy with their reorganization because they have a new leader and they were happy that the BBL was not passed, because that improves the chances that their 1996 final peace agreement will be implemented,” said Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of the Joint Task Group Sulu.

During the assembly, Misuari installed his son, Haji Uto Karim, as vice-chairman of their faction, Arrojado said.

“The agenda of the meeting focused on the results of the tripartite review conducted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, [on]... the implementation of the 1996 final peace agreement and their struggle for their own version of

Poe...

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Across regions, Poe was the frontrunner in Ilocos (43 percent), Central Luzon (38 percent), Calabarzon (39 percent), Mimaropa (40 percent) and Zamboanga Peninsula (28 percent).

Binay, on the other hand, was the top choice in the Cordillera Administrative Region (40 percent) and Cagayan Valley (45 percent) while Roxas led in Bicol (39 percent), Western Visayas (43 percent), Negros Island Region (45 percent), and Eastern Visayas (30 percent).

Duterte posted wide leads in Central Visayas (32 percent), Northern Mindanao (31 percent), Davao Region (78 percent), Cotabato Region (47 percent), Caraga (38 percent), and ARMM (37 percent).

A plurality of respondents from urban areas (35 percent) said they will vote for Poe, while Roxas emerged as the top choice among Filipino voters in rural areas with 27 percent.

Poe was also the frontrunner across all economic classes—ABC (30 percent), D (30 percent), and E (27 percent)—and among male and female respondents with 27 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

Poe posted a wide lead among voters ages 18-34 (34 percent) and ages 35-55 (28 percent), while she

Bangsamoro independence in Mindanao,” he added.

The assembly adjourned at 4 p.m. and the participants returned “to their respective places of origin,” Arrojado said.

“As observed, there was no mention of any future hostile actions from the MNLF leadership,” Arrojado said.

A military intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, said that some of the groups that joined the assembly were “leaders and members of lawless groups” such as the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a splinter group of the MILF. MNLF spokesman Absalom Cerveza said Misuari was hopeful that the next administration would consider fully implementing the 1996 Jakarta peace accord between the government and the MNLF. “If the government will continue to pursue the passage of the BBL, it would be disastrous,” Cerveza said.

Cerveza described Misuari’s oldest son, in his late 30s, as “more radical than his father” and the holder of a masters degree in Arabic and Sharia Law from Libya.

He said the appointment of the younger Misuari might be in preparation for his father’s exit.

“Misuari is diabetic but his ailment is manageable,” Cerveza said. “But, in case he doesn’t want to continue or he dies, the young Misuari could eventually replace him.”

In the Jan. 28 tripartite review of the 1996 peace agreement in Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Conference and representatives of the Philippine government and the anti-Misuari faction of the MNLF expressed support for the peace process initiated by President Benigno Aquino III with the MILF and for the passage of the BBL.

shared the top post with Binay at 25 percent each among respondents ages 56 and above.

A plurality of Catholic (30 percent), Iglesia ni Cristo (34 percent), and Born Again (28 percent) voters said they will vote for Poe if the elections were held today, while 34 percent of Muslims said they will support Duterte. Roxas, on the other hand, was the top choice among Aglipayan voters with 26 percent.

When asked for the top reasons for their choice, respondents who said they will vote for Poe said they want to try her style of governance (30 percent) and they hope she will continue the good deeds of her father, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. (19 percent). Those who said they will not vote for her cited her inexperience (19 percent), unproven competence (16 percent) and her citizenship issue (14 percent).

The top reasons of those who will vote for Binay are as follows: he can replicate across the country what he has accomplished in Makati (20 percent) and he has wide experience in governance (19 percent). Those who will not vote for Binay cited the corruption issues leveled against him (29 percent) and the involvement of his family in anomalous transactions (22 percent).

At least 42 percent of those who will vote for Roxas said they will do so in the hope that he will continue the government’s dole program. A plurality of who have re-

jected Roxas said they will not vote for him because he cannot decide for himself and is a mere lackey of President Benigno Aquino III (22 percent).

Duterte’s supporters said they will vote for him because he is a disciplinarian (22 percent) and he has addressed the problem of illegal drugs (20 percent). However, 18 percent of those who will not vote for the Davao mayor cited his iron fist style of governance.

Those who will vote for Santiago said they liked that she talked straight to the point (26 percent).

Ironically, a plurality (17 percent) of those who will not vote for Santiago cited the same reason for rejecting her.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, said the senator is thankful for the continued trust and confidence of the public.

“Their support serves as her inspiration to work harder as a senator and a candidate in the upcoming elections,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said analysts have claimed that Poe’s political advertisements dispelling the misconception that she is no longer a candidate may have helped improve her ratings.

“In our opinion, though, her continued drive to visit as many provinces and regions to clarify that she is still a candidate for the presidency and her message of inclusive growth helped in the latest rounds of surveys,” he said.

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Señeres dies after quitting race CONGRESSMAN and former Ambassador Roy Señeres died Monday morning three days after withdrawing from this year’s presidential race. He was 68.

Campaign sortie. Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and vice presidential candidate Allan Peter Cayetano visit farmers during a campaign sortie in Tarlac on Monday

His son RJ said Señeres died of a heart attack due to complications from diabetes.

He said his father, the partylist representative of the OFW Family Club, was taken to the St. Luke’s Hospital at the Global City in Taguig only last month, and that he was at the hospital’s intensive care unit when he died.

Lawmakers led by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez expressed their condolences to Señeres’ family.

Romualdez said Señeres would be remembered for leading an honorable life and for championing the cause of migrant workers.

“The vision of our esteemed colleague...was very remarkable especially in championing the overseas workers,” he said.

“He was a man of strength and exemplary deeds.”

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III also expressed their condolences to Señeres’ family.

Senator Francis Escudero said he was saddened by Señeres’ death.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos said Señerez championed the rights

of migrant Filipino workers as a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

Señeres filed his candidacy for president under the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka in October last year, but withdrew it on Feb. 5 this year because of his failing health.

Malacañang on Monday also offered its condolences to Señeres’ family.

“We extend condolences to the family of Señeres, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

“He had been a known advocate of the welfare of the workers as chief of the NLRC [National Labor Relations Commission] and when he was detailed in the Middle East as ambassador.”

Señeres obtained his bachelor’s degree, major in political science, from the University of Santo Tomas in 1967. He then finished his bachelor of laws from San Beda College in 1971.

He was National Labor Relations Commission Chairman from 2000 to 2005 and ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1998.

Sandy Araneta, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Duterte camp warns of manipulation of poll results THE camp of presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte on Monday raised concern over the possible manipulation of the results of this year’s elections by the Liberal Party, the political party of President Benigno Aquino III who is supporting the candidacy of former Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II. “These reports of possible election fraud courtesy of the administration are reflective of the party’s deteriorating image and desperation, and indicative of the public crumbling trust in them,” said Peter Laviña,

public relations officer of Duterte, the mayor of Davao City.

“The fear is not without basis as the administration, whose standard bearer continues to lag behind the other candidates, has the machinery, easy access and control over the process and technology.

“We urge our fellow Filipinos to be vigilant against the forces that will undermine the integrity of the election results. Let’s protect our future, our country, our democracy.”

Laviña made his statement even as Duterte assumed the chairmanship of

the PDP-Laban on the eve of his proclamation rally in Tondo, Manila.

He replaced former South Cotabato Gov. Ismael Sueno.

PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said Duterte’s appointment as the party’s new chairman will re-invigorate the party’s efforts to heed the Filipino people’s clamor for genuine reforms.

Meanwhile, Malacañang on Monday lashed out at Duterte for saying he would have former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senator Bong Revilla released from

detention if he got elected president.

Duterte had earlier said the evidence against Arroyo and Revilla were weak.

“Perhaps it is best to ask Senator Alan Cayetano to interpret Duterte’s new statement,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a text message to reporters Sunday night.

Duterte, who is running with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, warned that any attempts to distort the will of the Filipino people, “will be confronted with massive resistance and defiance.”

His camp, meanwhile, welcomed the

recent Pulse Asia survey placing Duterte statistically tied at second place with two other presidential candidates.

Duterte declared his intention to seek the presidency only in November last year and affirmed his Certificate of Candidacy early December of the same year.

“To maintain a rating of 20 percent at this point is inspiring and is giving us more determination to work hard in our ultimate goal of instituting genuine change in our country,” Laviña said. Joel E. Zurbano and Sandy Araneta

Admin coalition admits 2 Senate bets struggling AHEAD of today’s official start of the ruling Liberal Party’s 90-day campaign in Capiz and Iloilo, the campaign manager of the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid said two candidates in their senatorial ticket had a bleak chance to make it to the Magic 12.

“Well, we have to look at it as an introduction for them,” House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte told The Standard in the sidelines of the 1st Solo Parent Congress in Quezon City, referring to COOP-NATTCO party-list Rep. Cresente Paez and former Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Muslim Affairs and Special Concerns Nariman Ambolodto.

“The incumbents and former [officials] are way ahead, but it’s still a way for them to get introduced.”

The two relatively newcomers in the senatorial race completed the Liberal Party’s last-minute search for the “Team Daang Matuwid” senatorial candidates in October last year.

They filled in for former Metro Manila Development Authority Chair-

man Francis Tolentino, who had been involved in the “twerking” controversy, and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista who refused to join the senatorial race for personal reasons.

Paez, who is set to leave after completing his third term in the House, said earlier the ruling party offered him the senatorial post one day before the set proclamation on Oct. 12 last year, and after administration standard bearer Manuel Roxas II urged him to run.

He said he was also banking on the support of the 24,000-strong cooperatives in the country representing the farming, fisheries and SME sectors.

Ambolodto, the former officer in charge of Maguindanao during the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, described her senatorial run as a “call of destiny”.

“I didn’t plan to run as senator, but this is the call of destiny. We do carry women’s issues including the peace process in Mindanao,” Ambolodto said. John Paolo Bencito

Endorsement. Vice presidential candidate and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo is shown with former President Fidel V. Ramos, who has endorsed her candidacy, in his Makati office on Monday.

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NEWS

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Illness makes DFA chief quit

By Sandy Araneta and Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has accepted the resignation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, effective March 7, due to health reasons, Malacañan Palace announced Monday.

Campaign period. Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. confers with Comelec Commissioner Robert Lim at the Comelec office in Intramuros, Manila on Monday as the poll body announced its guiding principles on the acts and behavior of candidates.

DANNY PATA

Iraq fire victims known

By Vito Barcelo THE 13 Filipino women who were killed in the Capitol Hotel fire in Erbil, Iraq have been identified and the government is now in the process of informing their loved ones, Philippine Embassy officials said Monday.

“The victims, all females, were suffocated by the smoke while trying to find their way out in the darkness,” said charge d’affaires Elmer Cato, who flew to Erbil in a United Nations transport hours after the fire.

“We have already identified all the Filipino victims. Right now, we’re in the process of notifying their next of kin,” Cato said.

He said initial reports said there were 14 Filipinos killed in the fire, but Cato explained that Iraqi officials in Kurdistan mistakently identified one of the 21

fatalities as a Filipina.

The Philippine government has placed most of Iraq under Alert Level 4, which calls for mandatory repatriation. Kurdistan, however, remains only under Alert Level 1 due to a more “stable security situation,” he said.

“Now for the hard part: Conveying the sad news to loved ones,” Cato said from the Rizgary Hospital where the bodies of the victims were brought.

Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government has already ruled out terrorism as the cause of the tragedy and blamed faulty wiring as the immediate cause of the fire at the basement level of the hotel where the Filipinos were working.

The government had said shortly after the fire that the victims’ families should wait for a while because the DFA has just dispatched the people who will facilitate

the repatriation on Saturday.

There are some 1,000 Filipinos in Kurdistan, mostly hotel and restaurant workers, with some engineers and nurses, Cato said.

Nawzad Hadi, the governor of Arbil province, said preliminary information indicated that the cause of the fire was an electrical problem in a sauna.

Photos and video posted on social media showed dark grey smoke pouring from windows on the top floor of the building.

The Kurdistan region in north Iraq has largely been spared the deadly violence that plagues other parts of the country.

The region is frequently visited by tourists from other areas of Iraq and various countries in the region.

A hotel fire in Sulaimaniyah, another city in Iraqi Kurdistan, killed 30 people in July 2010.

The Palace only announced the resignation in a brief statement, but GMA News Online reported that Del Rosario himself had already told senior officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs that he had already told Aquino of his plan to resign.

The officials quoted Del Rosario as saying he will be succeded by career diplomat, Undersecretary Laura del Rosario, who was the official in charge of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last November.

The 76-year-old Del Rosario told the officials he was resigning because of a worsening spinal condition that was not solved by a back surgery in the United States last year.

Moreover, Del Rosario’s health difficulties was aggravated by a heart condition led to the attachment of pacemaker last November.

However, the officials said Del Rosario said he will still accompany Aquino to the Association of South East Asian Nations-United States summit in California on Feb. 15 to 16.

The US-educated Del Rosario has been in the foreign service since 2001 when he was appointed ambassador to Washington by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but he resigned in 2006 after political disagreements with the Arroyo administration.

Aquino later appointed him foreign secretary in 2011, shortly before China took possession of Scarborough Shoal that has strained the country’s relations with China over the past five years.

Del Rosario was also at the helm of the foreign office when it haled Beijing to an international arbitral tribunal over its provocative ownership claim over much of the South China Sea. Although he tried to ease relations with Beijing, it reached the point that Del Rosario would not even attend the Chinese Embassy’s traditional Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, celebration.

Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua admitted to journalists that he was pleasantly surprised by Del Rosario’s appearance at the last Spring Festival reception at a Makati hotel last Tuesday.

“I hope it’s the start of a good thing,” Zhao said. “The same goes for the bilateral relations between China and the Philippines. Despite the challenges and difficulties, our overall relations remained stable and developing in 2015.”

Gringo dismisses graft raps ACTUAL track record and not poll surveys will speak for Vice President Jejomar Binay, his running mate Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan said Monday.

In a radio interview, Honasan said both of them have good track records compared to other political candidates and that should be reason enough for people to vote for their slate.

Binay and Honasan are running as presidential and vice presidential bets of the United Nationalist Alliance, a coalition between the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.

Gringo said that other candidates running for the country’s top posts cannot match their track records with promises, adding that the corruption allegations hurled against them should be heard before the courts.

Honasan said Binay has already

proven himself not only as a vice president but also as a longtime mayor of Makati.

The case should be heard in court, not in public forums, Honasan said on the allegations of corruption against Binay.

Honasan himself is facing graft raps, being one of eight lawmakers charged last year for allegedly allocating their Priority Development Assistance Fund to supposedly fake foundations allegedly owned by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

Honasan also said he and Binay agreed that should the allegations against the vice president be proven true, he will let justice prevail.

Binay had repeatedly denied the allegations of the National Bureau of Investigation that he received P1.75 million in kickbacks. He said he will not let his 42 years of public service go to waste for P1.75 million.

Welcoming the Year of the Monkey.

A reveler dressed in a traditional Chinese chang pao during the Lunar New Year celebration in Manila on Monday.

EY ACASIO

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NEWS

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Use Palace funds for displaced OFWs, Recto suggests

By Macon Araneta

PCOS verification. Workers at the National Printing Office in Quezon City go through the orientation and verification process on the handling of PCOS machines on Monday, Feb. 08, 2016. The Commission on Elections will hold a dry run for ballot printing in a few days. MAnny pAlMERo

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Senate bets off and running: Romualdez stresses malasakit

By Maricel V. Cruz As the senatorial candidates take to the hustings starting today, house Independent Bloc leader Rep. Martin Romualdez has sought the people’s “trust and support” for him to carry out and fulfill his platform and programs in the senate aimed at returning “malasakit” (compassion) to public service.

Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution association, has vowed to push for free education and good health services, better livelihood and job opportunities, ensuring public safety from various calamities, eliminate corruption and red tape, fight efficiency in public service, and delivery of other social services for Filipinos. “tomorrow [today] is the beginning of the 90-day campaign

period, let us all work to champion people’s interests and return the malasakit to public service.

Let us help each other in seeking true democracy, justice and progress for Filipinos,” 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, pointed out.

“Let us fulfill our duties and

responsibilities to provide Filipinos better economy and better lives. there is a need to allocate more funding for education, health and other social services to ensure that those with less in life would enjoy more as malasakit of the government,” Romualdez, a shared senatorial candidate of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who are both running for president, said.

Romualdez stressed “the government should work truly in giving Filipinos free and quality education because this would provide an expressway for them to escape poverty and unemployment.”

In filing his Certificate of Candidacy for senator last October, Romualdez made it his commitment to pursue the continuity of “malasakit” (compassion) legacy of his family in public service,

including helping “Yolanda’’ victims, youth sector and persons with disabilities.

Romualdez comes from a long line of public servants. His father, Benjamin trinidad “Kokoy” Romualdez, once served as governor of Leyte and was later appointed as ambassador to the United States, China, and Saudi arabia.

His great-grand-uncle, Miguel Lopez Romualdez, meanwhile, served as the first Mayor of the City of Manila. the beyond reproach integrity, dedication, capability, reconciliatory and fiercely independentminded attitude of Romualdez in serving the Filipino people especially during the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda have prompted his supporters to push his candidacy, stressing he can do better for the country if elected senator.

Senate President Pro tempore Senator Ralph Recto has proposed to Malacañang the use of the P2.5-billion presidential contingency fund for the repatriation of Filipino workers in the Middle east displaced by plummeting oil prices and cost-cutting among oil companies.

Recto said the emergency fund can be used for an urgent activity such as the reentry of Filipinos overseas into the local market. another possible source is the P67.5-billion Unprogrammed Fund, which can only be drawn if specific or general revenue collection for the year exceeds target.

“What is funny is that while the language of this fund reserves P30 billion of it for contingent liabilities of Public Private Partnership projects, not a single centavo is earmarked for displaced OFWs,” he said. the UF also sets aside P10 billion for aFP modernization but government missed allocating something for projects that “will arm returning OFWs with skills,” Recto said. the senator admitted that this kind of situation was not factored in the preparation for the 2016 national budget, ‘‘leaving a huge funding hole” on how to shoehorn the OFWs’ reentry into the Philippine job market. there are 1.5-million temporary Filipino workers in the Middle east oil belt.

“In fact, the budget, which will be financed in part by taxes on imported oil, was based on an oil price forecast of $55 to $75 a barrel for 2016,” he also said.

Oil prices have sunk to below $30 a barrel, the lowest level in 12 years.

Despite the lack of specific funding for “returning cheap oil refugees” in the P3-trillion spending package, “there are, however, contingent sources of funds for safety nets and retraining,” Recto said.

VAT exemption for PWDs backed

By Rey E. Requejo tHe Department of Justice has recommended for President Benigno aquino III’s signing into law a bill seeking to provide for value-added tax exemption for persons with disability.

In a legal opinion, the DoJ stressed that there is no legal impediment for the passage into law of Senate Bill no. 2890 and House Bill no. 1039, which both aim to expand the benefits and privileges of PWDs. the House version has Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, a senatorial candidate, among its advocates.

Both bills have already been approved on third reading in both houses of Congress.

“From the foregoing, and finding no legal or constitutional objection thereto, we recommend President’s approval and signing into law should this be forwarded to the President as an enrolled bill,” the DoJ stressed.

according to the DoJ, the purpose of the law is consistent with Section 11, article 2 of the Constitution, which requires the State to “value the dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect of human rights.”

“By providing the additional benefits and privileges to PWDs, it is recognizing the difficult situation of the PWD, the need to promote and protect their human rights, including those requiring more intensive support,” the DoJ opinion stated.

But the DoJ did not touch on possible impact of the implementation of the propose law on revenue collection of the government, saying such issue should be referred to the Department of Finance and Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Under the proposed law, PWDs would be given exemption from payment of Vat on specific goods and services.

In addition, it also mandates a 20-percent discount for PWDs on professional fees of attending doctors and funeral services.

Endorsed. Former First Lady and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez-Marcos (center) and hundreds of members of the Romualdez and Gomez clans endorse senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (right) during the reunion of clan members in Makati City.

VER noVEno

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Diesel up by 95c; gas down by 70c

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE country’s oil firms raised kerosene and diesel prices by P1.05 per liter and P0.95 per liter, respectively, but cut gasoline prices by P0.70 per liter to reflect the movement of world oil prices.

The price adjustment took effect starting 6 a.m. Tuesday.

“Petron will implement the following price adjustments effective 6 a.m. Feb. 9: Rollback of P0.70 per liter for gasoline and an increase of P0.95 per liter for diesel and P1.05 per liter for kerosene.

These reflect movements in

the international oil market,” Petron Corp. said.

Petron, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., PTT Philippines and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines issued their respective price advisories.

“Phoenix Petroleum Philippines will increase the price of diesel by P0.95 per

liter and decrease the price of gasoline by P0.70 per liter effective 6 a.m. Feb. 9,” the company said.

The Energy Department’s latest oil price monitoring showed that crude oil prices recovered after the United States faced a patch of extreme cold weather increasing demand for heating.

Hopes for more economic stimulus measures for Europe also fueled the upward movement of oil prices.

Oil prices also surged on speculation that Russian and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries might work together to sta-

bilize markets through coordinated production cuts.

Russia’s energy minister said that the country would consider a proposal of a five percent production cut, but would wait to discuss the option with Opec in February.

Opec officials, however, dismissed the speculation.

Supplies from across the Asian region, meanwhile, reportedly remain ample despite stable demand.

Last week, the Energy Department proposed an oil stockpile that can serve as buffer when oil prices suddenly go up in the world market.

The oil companies raised pump prices by P1.20 per liter for kerosene, P1.05 per liter for diesel and P0.45 per liter for gasoline last Feb. 2.

Energy Department director for Oil Industry Management Bureau Melita Obillo earlier said having an oil stockpile “is good at this time since prices are low.”

“It can be the oil companies but it would be better if the government, if it has the money [to put up the stockpile],” the official said.

The idea of an oil stockpile or strategic oil reserve has long been raised by the government.

President Benigno Aquino III raised the possibility of an oil stockpile in 2011 “for the country’s use in time of extraordinary need” but plans did not push through.

The International Energy Agency had warned that warm weather and rising supply will keep the crude market oversupplied until at least late 2016.

“While the pace of stock-building eases in the second half of the year as supply from non-Opec producers falls, unless something changes, the oil market could drown in oversupply,” the IEA said.

QC treasurer protests Ombudsman order on Seedling Bank sale

By Rio N. Araja

Countdown. Fireworks illuminate the largest Chinese arch in the world on Jones Bridge in Binondo, Manila during the countdown to welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. DANNY PATA

QUEZON City treasurer Edgar Villanueva on Monday questioned the order of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing him from government service for grave abuse of authority as a result of the auction of the seven-hectare Manila Seedling Bank Foundation situated in a prime property along Quezon Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

In an interview, Villanueva maintained his innocence of the offense punishable under Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. “I am the most innocent in this case,” he told The Standard.

Villanueva contested special prosecutor I Loreto Cunanan’s recommendation to dismiss him and mete out the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from reemployment in the government service, cancellation of eligibility and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

In a 20-page Dec. 29, 2015 decision, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales approved the recommendation of Cunanan.

Villanueva protested. “The substance of the decision was not about the manner of the

city government’s takeover of the Manila Seedling Bank, but about the validity of the auction,” Villanueva said.

“The Ombudsman should not have questioned the auction of the property since the Supreme Court ruled that the disputed [real estate] property belonging to the National Housing Authority is being utilized by the Manila Seedling for business purposes. Under the benefit of use theory, the Manila Seedling is taxable,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva said he was “just doing his job” when he auctioned the foundation for failure to settle its P57-million tax delinquency in 2011.

“I have the legal authority to bid out the property after its one-year grace period to redeem the property had lapsed,” he said.

In 2012, Mayor Herbert Bautista, along with Villanueva, Department of Public Order and Safety head (ret. police) Elmo San Diego, then Quezon City Police District chief Mario de la Vega, ex-city administrator Victor Endriga, real-estate division head Jason Labao and ex-NHA general manager Chito Cruz, was charged with grave abuse of authority filed by Manila Seedling president Leonardo Ligeralde with the Ombudsman.

Coldest so far in Metro: 19.4 oC TEMPERATURE in Metro Manila on Monday dropped to 19.4 degrees Celsius due to the strong northeast monsoon that continues to affect most parts of Luzon, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Pagasa weather observer Munir Baldomero said that Monday’s temperature in Metro Manila hit 19.4 degrees Celsius at 6:20 a.m., the lowest temperature for amihan season which surpassed the temperature last Dec. 29 recorded at 19.6 degrees Celsius.

He said Metro Manila’s temperature readings are being recorded daily in the vicinity of the Pagasa Science Garden in Diliman, Quezon City between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Baldomero said the lowest temperature recorded in Metro Manila last Feb. 2, 2015 was at

18.0 degrees Celsius.

Pagasa said the all-time lowest temperature recorded in Metro Manila was 14.9 degrees Celsius on March 1,1963.

Meanwhile, Baguio City, the country’s summer capital, continued to experience chilly temperature as Monday temperature recorded at 11.9 degrees Celsius.

The lowest temperature recorded this year in Baguio was last Jan. 26 at 10.8 degrees Celsius.

According to the Pagasa’s climatological record, Baguio’s coldest temperature ever recorded was at 6.3 degrees on Jan. 18, 1961.

The northeast monsoon or seasonal winds from the northeast is the cold air from China that starts blowing into the country every mid-October. It usually

peaks from early January to mid-February.

Pagasa weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said that so far the effect of northeast monsoon concentrates in northern Luzon but it will also bring cold mornings in some parts of Luzon including Metro Manila.

Northeast monsoon usually peaks from early January to mid-February.

He explained that strong winds of the northeast monsoon contributed to the dip in temperature.

However, the northeast monsoon is expected to end in February due to El Niño phenomenon, he said.

He said the country will continue to experience cooler days as the northeast monsoon or “hanging amihan,” a mass of cold air, continues to blow into the country from Siberia. PNA

CNY fire.

Firefighters train their hose on a lumber store gutted by fire that reached fourth alarm along M.H Del Pilar on Arkong Bato in Valenzuela City on Monday.

ANDREW RABULAN

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El Niño spares tuna fishing in Mindoro Strait—officials

By Robert A. Evora

SABLAYAN, Occidental Mindoro—The El Niño phenomenon will not adversely affect the yellow-fin tuna fishing industry in six coastal municipalities of Occidental Mindoro, local officials said.

Sablayan Mayor Eduardo Gadiano said “so far, the El Niño weather is not felt in Sablayan as rainfall and cold weather continue to be felt here. It does not presently give problem to the fishing sector.”

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources said at least 100,000 fisherfolk throughout the archipelago will be needing alternative sources of livelihood as the strong El Niño is expected to reduce the normal fish catch by at least one-fifth.

The government’s fish-

ery agency said the rise in surface and sub-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean may reduce by 447,000 tons or 20 percent the annual volume of fish caught in the open sea.

Last year’s volume of tuna (yellow fin) catch by handline fishermen in Occidental Mindoro totaled 301.1 metric tons, according to a provincial fishery regulatory officer.

Gadiano explained that local fishermen, specifically the artisanal ones, capture yellow-fin tuna by the use of

handlines or by hook, line and sinker (kawil). “Our fishermen do not go tuna fishing beyond 15 kilometers of the municipal waters.”

Mamburao is the first local government unit in the Philippines to export handline-caught yellow fin tuna to Europe in 2010. “Actually, yellow-fin tunas are caught by local handline fishermen anytime of the year,” Mamburao Mayor Anthony Voltaire C. Villarosa said.

Villarosa said the LGU has an existing partnership program with the World Wildlife Fund, the BFAR and some European businessmen to maintain the long-term sustainability of the tuna industry in the area.

“They prefer yellow-fins caught in the Mindoro Strait because the fish species is caught by handlines and they are traceable, where the fish was caught and who

Baby eagle.

This newly hatched, rare monkeyeating eagle is at the Philippine Eagle Foundation’s conservation breeding program in Davao.

The success of captive breeding of rare monkeyeating eagles in the southern Philippines has left the breeding facility scrambling for space, officials said. AFP

caught it,” the Mamburao official said.

Sablayan, the country’s largest municipality, and Mamburao, the provincial capital, are Occidental Mindoro’s top producers of the highly-priced yellow-fin tuna caught in the Mindoro Strait.

Mindoro Strait, a part of the West Philippine Sea, is considered by BFAR as the “Philippines’ new tuna highway” and as “one of the most prosperous new yellow-fin tuna fishing sites in the Philippines.”

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said around 40 percent of the country or 32 provinces will feel the brunt of El Niño before the country’s weather condition returns to normal by mid-2016.

A fish landing center, worth P2.8 million; a cold storage and ice plant, worth

P10 million; and fish aggravating devices or “payaw,” and a P25-million fish port, with cold storage facilities, have been provided by the BFAR to boost the local fishery industry, especially tuna fishing, in Sablayan and Mamburao municipalities.

Fishermen totaling 1,700 persons, on board outrigger boats, venture regularly in Mindoro Strait waters, to catch yellow fins using an estimated number of 79,900 hooks (kawil). They are artisanal tuna handliners whose yellow-fin catches are exported to and preferred by EU member-countries.

“These artisanal fishermen are residents of Abra de Ilog, Paluan, Mamburao, Sta. Cruz, Sablayan, and Calintaan municipalities who operate within 10 to 15 kilometers of their municipal waters within Mindoro Strait,” the local officials said.

Agri Dept. to concrete farm-tomart roads in Zambo

By A. Perez Rimando PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur—The Department of Agriculture has scheduled this year the concreting of at least 61 kilometers of farm-tomarket roads worth close to P700 million across the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay, an agriculture executive said.

Zamboanga Peninsula Agriculture Regional Director Constancio G. Alama said the agency has been providing vital assistance to the three local government units under the Philippine Rural Development Project to hasten the completion of the road projects.

Alama said PRDP “is a six-year DA national project which aims to establish a modern, value chain-oriented and climate-resilient agriculture and fishery sector.”

Alama added that Zamboanga del Sur initially proposed two of five FMR subprojects, namely, the paving of Josefina-Mahayag to Molave segment covering 18.2 kilometers and concreting of Gapasan, BuenaswerteNavalan covering 11.9 kms.

The full paving of the 30.088-km FMRs needs a total cost of some P299.6 million or close to 40 percent of the estimated P700 million worth of road concreting in Zamboanga Peninsula, Alama said.

He added that Zamboanga del Norte requires P188.3 million for the pavement of 14.4-km FMRs in Tampilisan from the villages of Galingon, Balacbaan and Tilubon.

Alama said Zamboanga Sibugay was shared over P170 million for the concreting of 16.230 kms from Poblacion Payao to Guintolan village.

Minimum fare in jeepneys drops to P6.50 in C. Visayas

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board announced the provisional reduction of P0.50 to public utility jeepney minimum fare from P7 to P6.50 in Central Visayas due to prevailing oil market condition.

The minimum fare reduction only covers the first four kilometers, with the fare rate for succeeding kilometers remaining the same.

“We believe that the effect of the series of oil price rollback must also benefit our people in Region 7,” Winston

Ginez, LTFRB chairman, said.

The discounted minimum PUJ fare for persons with disability, senior citizens and students in the region will also be reduced from P5.50 to P5.00.

Region 7 is composed of the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

LTFRB said the current situation warrants a corresponding adjustment to the provisional fare rate granted in January 2015, without prejudice to the Board’s final disposition on the pending petition for fare adjustment

for Central Visayas.

In January last year, Augustus Pe Jr., a Cebu resident, filed a petition seeking a P0.50 fare reduction to the minimum PUJ fare. The Board heard the petition, through its regional office in Region 7.

Recent developments show a sustained drop in the price of petroleum products. The spate of reduction has resulted in further lowering the price of diesel fuel within the range of P19.72 to P2.40 which is significantly lower vis-à-vis the levels during the December 2014 and January 2015 periods.

More mangroves. Barangay chairman Jan Michael de Veyra of Barangay 83-Paraiso in San Jose, Tacloban City joins Yuikihiro Isahibashi of OISCA International Philippines in planting mangroves. MEL CASPE

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T U E S D AY : F E B R U A R Y 9, 2 0 1 6

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

GETTING SWAYED

TODAY marks the beginning of the campaign season for candidates to national posts in the 2016 elections.

This means that candidates for president, vice president, senators and party-list groups will begin explicitly asking the people to vote for them—as if they have not been doing that already for months, albeit in more guarded terms.

Right after the filing of the Certificates of Candidacy late last year, government officials have been at best performing their jobs halfheartedly. Their sights are trained on how they can secure their seat in May. Beginning today, the candidates will court our votes in earnest and try to convince us it will be worth our while to choose them over their opponents.

But what determines a decision to pick this candidate and not the other one?

We often complain about our leaders well into their elective terms, setting aside the fact that we ourselves helped put them where they are. The cliché is that we get the leaders we deserve. The truth is that we must work hard to deserve good leaders.

How do we work hard? First, we must set standards. List down the qualities and the qualifications we want to see in someone occupying a particular post. What is the background and track record? What has been done and what will most likely be done?

Identify which of these are negotiable and non-negotiable.

If in doubt, devise perhaps a scoring system that would assign values and that would facilitate the decision-making process.

And then, subject each of those fancy talkers to the standards we have set. See if the numbers add up.

Keep track of who do and do not show up for debates where they are forced to utter more than practiced lines.

Candidates’ handlers are schooled in the psychology of what makes certain products tick. They apply exactly the same principles on their clients. They know Filipinos tend to be guided by emotions and instinct rather than logic. They exploit this to their clients’ advantage.

That is them doing their jobs, but let us do ours, as well. Given the way we have been led and misled so many times, we should stop complaining and begin firming up our demands.

And then perhaps the campaign would not be the song-and-dance routine for which we have come to despise it.

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

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STILL TOO CLOSE TO CALL LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES

IT’S NO fluke, apparently: Senator Grace Poe is still the leader in what remains a very tight race for President in May. Elsewhere in this newspaper, we publish the January installment of The Standard Poll by Junie Laylo. The senator kept the lead that she held last December in the same survey, ahead of the three other major candidates for the highest post in the land —Vice President Jejomar Binay, former Secretary Mar Roxas and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Poe inched up a point from December, from 28 to 29 percent, in the Laylo survey, while Binay shed a point (23 to 22). Roxas stayed the same (22) to tie Binay and Duterte improved by one, as well, from 19 to 20.

What appears plain in The Standard Poll is that, four months before the May 9 elections, the likely voters of Poe remain convinced that she will not be disqualified. The smart

airing of Poe’s ads insisting that she will remain on the ballot seems to have worked wonders for her, as well.

Another recent survey basically confirmed Laylo’s consistent findings over the past two months that Poe is still ahead of a field that is bunched together and refuses to be left behind, at this point, by a margin that can be considered comfortable. But Laylo has been saying that all along.

Yes, even Duterte has more than a fighting chance. And now that the Commission on Elections has also virtually cleared the Davao City mayor’s candidacy, Duterte may take a page from the Poe playbook and win more adherents to his side—if he can shed the image that his run sometimes can’t be taken seriously.

On the other hand, it does appear that Roxas is solidifying his hold in the Visayas provinces, particularly amongst his kasimanwas in the Ilonggo-speaking Region 6. Roxas still fares poorly in Metro Manila and Mindanao, but he’s showing marked improvement in other places.

As for Binay, he’s always

People who read the tea leaves provided by the survey companies will glean more from Laylo’s latest poll.

in contention, even if he appears to be losing ground to both Poe and Roxas. Binay is almost always a close second in the major surveys—and we know how the Vice President nosed out Roxas for the second top spot in 2010, even if he was not even among the two highest-ranked candidates in the surveys for the longest time.

I’m sure the people who make a living out of reading the tea leaves that are

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

provided regularly by the survey companies will be able to glean much more from Laylo’s latest poll.

Suffice it to say, for the nonce, that this election promises to go down the proverbial wire.

The official campaign period starts today, after all. We won’t have too long to wait. *** What I’m also waiting for is who gets to be held liable, after the Aquino administration steps down, for the wanton destruction of the Metro Rail Transit 3. And at the risk of being accused, like Senator Grace Poe, of merely copying the arguments of the privatesector developer of that all-but-abandoned railway, I think any post-Aquino court of law will find the last two transportation secretaries—Mar Roxas and Joseph Emilio Abaya— responsible for the mess over at the MRT. MRT Holdings Corp. chairman Robert John Sobrepeña, who has been blamed by this administration for committing the supposed “original sin” that led to the train line’s virtual demise, has struck back at Continued on A11

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

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T U E S D AY : F E B R U A R Y 9, 2 0 1 6

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

THE WORST EVER TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

I HAVE been a journalist, going full circle from print to broadcast, and back again to print, for 66 years now. I have seen the worst and the best of administrations and presidents. I have never seen an administration as incompetent, as insensitive, as detached from reality and as lacking in empathy for the poor and the needy, as this present one.

Never in the post-war history of the Philippines have we had an international airport like Ninoy Aquino International Airport labeled as the worst airport in the world, or the most dangerous for its notoriety in planting bullets.

Its ceilings collapse and its toilets are filthy.

I have never seen an administration as incompetent and as insensitive as this one.

This itself is a reflection of the utter incompetence of Transport Secretary Emilio “Jun” Abaya and Naia general manager Jose Angel Honrado, a relative of BS Aquino III. We have a mass transit system like MRT-3, being used by half a million commuters who hope they would reach their destinations safely. This system suffers a glitch almost daily.

And yet, Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya nor BS Aquino III do not seem to care. My gulay, this is not only incompetence of the highest order; it’s criminal negligence!

We also have a Land Transportation Office which cannot even provide driver’s licenses and license plates on time. I dutifully paid for my car registration and all the fees some five months ago. But until today, I have not gotten my new license plate and all the necessary stickers.

The finger of blame points directly to Abaya,

who seems oblivious to calls for his resignation.

Worse, our traffic gridlocks are nightmarish, testing our patience. To top it all, Abaya says that traffic is not fatal, and BS Aquino III’s spokespersons claim it’s a sign of progress. This adds insult to injury.

And to think BS Aquino III wants us to vote for his candidate for President, Mar Roxas, to continue the straight path.

What straight path is BS Aquino talking about?

Graft and corruption continue in all levels of government, as attested to by no less than Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

Straight path, my foot.

How hypocritical. *** BS Aquino III and his economic managers want to mesmerize us with their continued boast of economic reforms and economic growth rate.

Still, the best proof that there has been no inclusive growth in the country, notwithstanding the rise in GDP, is a report of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund that shows the utter neglect of the Aquino administration for the basic need of no less than 7 million Filipinos.

These people still defecate in the open, while 570,000 others use openpit latrines, buckets and other “unimproved” sanitation facilities.

The Unicef-WHO report also said an estimated 2.3 million Filipinos still drink water from rivers, dams and canals, while another 6.1 million get their water to drink from unimproved facilities like wells and springs. The lack of safe water sources has been an ordinary reason for the prevalence of water-borne diseases, which account for a great number of children’s death annually.

I don’t know what Health Secretary Janette Garin and the administration as a whole are doing about this basic need, if at all. But, my gulay, there should be some effort on the part of the administration to enable Filipinos, mostly in the province and rural areas, to improve their sanitation facilities.

Why are our fellow Filipinos allowed to live like primitives?

This report only shows how a government like the Aquino administration,

FOUNDLINGS AND ADOPTED CHILDREN

THE four disqualification cases filed against Senator Grace Poe, who is running for president in the May 2016 elections supposedly as an independent candidate, currently pending before the Supreme Court, have focused mainly on the status of foundlings in the Philippines. This is expected because Poe is a foundling, and as of this writing, the identities of her biological parents remain a mystery. The latest developments in DNA research have not been very helpful to her.

Aside from the status of foundlings, attention should be given likewise to the status of adopted children, and the legal consequences of adoption to both a person and the State. This is relevant because Poe is not just a foundling but an adopted child as well. As an infant, Poe was adopted by the late Philippine box office king Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife, actress Susan Roces.

Philippine laws and jurisprudence consistently hold that adoption does not confer the citizenship of any of the adopting parents to the adopted child. This restrictive policy was and remains pursued by the State to prevent aliens from using the adoption process as a vehicle for stealthily obtaining Philippine citizenship in circumvention of the pertinent provisions of the Constitution and Philippine statutes on citizenship.

Adoption is a personal matter involving the legal affiliation of the adopting parents and the adopted child. It is a civil relationship. Citizenship, on the other hand, involves the State and its people. It is a political relationship.

The process of judicial naturalization is very expensive by reason of its adversarial nature and the amount of time used up in litigation. Naturalization cases often invite public attention and scrutiny. Moreover, the ruling of a court in a naturalization case is never final, which means that it can be questioned at some indefinite future date, for good reasons.

On the other hand, a petition for adoption filed in court is less expensive. In adoption proceedings, the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration.

Since adoption does not confer Philippine citizenship on the adtreats its poorest of the poor.

This is the legacy of BS Aquino III when he steps down from power on June 30.

BS Aquino III could not care less about the elderly and the children, the most vulnerable segments of our society. When he voted against the P2,000 addition to the SSS pensioners, he revealed his true colors.

Why should he care more about providing sanitary toilets and clean water to improve public health and ease the burden of poverty?

Born as an haciendero, BS Aquino III is typical.

While he continues to talk about the rising GDP and economic growth, he forgets what the poor and the jobless are going through.

After all, when he steps down, he will be still living in comfort.

Philippine jurisprudence is very clear —what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly.

From the foregoing premises, it certainly is not in the best interest of the State to presume that a foundling discovered in the Philippines is a citiopted child, then this indicates that zen of the Philippines.

All is not lost for the foundling, the adopted child remains stateless in the meantime, until he or she though. Upon reaching the age of reaches the age of majority and ap- majority, a foundling can apply for plies for naturalization. At that stage naturalization. Having spent his or in the adopted child’s life, and unless her years as a minor in the Philippines there are good reasons to hold oth- in the care and custody of Filipinos, erwise, naturalization will not be too getting naturalized should not be very difficult to obtain from a court of law, difficult to do.

Undoubtedly, therefore, since Poe considering the circumstances surrounding his or her life as a minor is a foundling, there is no way she may living in the Philippines under the be allowed to run for president, since that office is reserved by the Constitucare and custody of Filipinos.

Not all adopted children are found- tion—the most articulate voice of the lings. An adopted child may be a people—to natural-born citizens of foundling or, in many instances, one the Philippines.

Sentimental arguments have been whose biological parents are known, and they have freely consented to the raised in favor of foundlings in general. adoption of their child. In some in- They posit that a ruling against Poe in stances, as in a child given up for adop- her disqualification cases will be prejution through a charitable institution, dicial to other foundlings in the counthe identities of the biological parents try. That sentiment is beside the point.

The issue is about Poe, not about may be known to the charitable institution, but kept confidential from the foundlings. Nobody forced Poe to run for president. One who wants to beadopting parents and the child.

There is no law which provides come president must meet the qualithat a foundling discovered any- fications set forth by the Constitution where within Philippine territory is, for the presidency. The Constitution conclusively or disputably, presumed should not bend to accommodate to be a Filipino, and it may not be in one individual who happens to be a the best interest of the State if such a foundling.

Anyway, not all is lost for foundpresumption became a legal norm. If it were so, then the strict laws gov- lings. Upon attaining Philippine citierning Philippine citizenship will be zenship by naturalization, a foundling easily circumvented by aliens. Aliens may run for local elective office, or who are unable to stealthily obtain seek appointment to other high ofPhilipine citizenship through adop- fices which the Constitution does not tion, will simply make arrangements reserve for natural-born citizens, or to have it appear that their alien in- practice a profession in the country. fants are foundlings, and as such, the In addition, it may be worthwhile to foundlings will be presumed Filipino consider that employment in the govcitizens. That will be a neat way to go ernment is not exactly the ideal for everyone. With so much patronage around the law.

Getting an infant legally adopted and intrigue hounding the corridors is a far more difficult process than of political power, many have chosen making it appear that the infant is a to stay away from government serfoundling. If Philippine citizenship vice, and pursue a career elsewhere— cannot be obtained through the diffi- where the attainment of wealth does cult process of adoption, it should not not necessarily translate to corruption be obtained through an easier, fraud- in office, and where one’s employment prone process like abandoning a child does not have to depend on the politiand having it treated as a foundling. cal exigencies of the times.

*** It would be interesting to find out how voters are affected by newspaper, radio and television advertisements, and even posters.

I have asked politicians about this, and they tell me that, while to a certain extent, they can sway the minds of those still deciding whom to vote for, generally speaking, people would rather see the natural candidate in person.

That’s the reason why during this campaign period, there are schedules for national candidates to go to the provinces and speak before crowds.

Political advertisements in newspapers, radio and television have more impact on the A & B and the Upper C class of voters. To the “masa,” whoever gives them food on the table and pro-

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

vides them jobs is preferable. To this extent, all elections are local. This is where a national candidate has to rely most on a well-funded grassroots machinery this election period. And Santa Banana, this is where funding becomes critical, especially during the last two weeks before Election Day. This is where an administration candidate has that distinct advantage. The grassroots machinery is built-in.

I am told Aquino and Roxas are banking on an administration victory despite the low survey ratings of Mar Roxas and his running mate, Leni Robredo.

But then, there are also voters who have already made up their minds on whom they will vote for.

They will no longer be swayed one way or another.

There are the “masa” who

believe in a candidate who is one of them and knows what they want. *** Speaking of poll surveys, the only survey I can trust is the door-to-door survey of the Iglesia Ni Cristo made by its ministers and “deakonos.” This is given to the general “samba” of the Iglesia ministers a few days before Election Day. The Iglesia got its hands burned when in 1992, they sided with businessman Danding Cojuangco who lost to President Fidel Ramos. Since then, the INC became a “sigurista,” always going with the winner in their own surveys.

And that’s the reason that former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won. The Iglesia supported her instead of movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. The rest is history.

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

CHUANG TZU, POPE FRANCIS AND THE CAMPAIGN EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA IT MUST not be a coincidence that the formal launch of the campaign period for the national elections comes right after we celebrate Chinese New Year and just before Ash Wednesday when the Christian season of Lent begins.

In this spirit, the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu and Pope Francis might have something to say to all our politicians and to all of us.

My favorite story from Chuang Tzu is entitled “Flight from the shadow,” which is about a man disturbed by his own shadow and displeased with his own footsteps. He tried to run away from them but he could not. So he ran faster and faster, without stopping, until he dropped dead. He failed to realize that if he merely stepped into the shade, his shadow would vanish, and if he sat down and stayed still, there would be no more footsteps.

This is imperative for us in this campaign season—to be reflective, not to be carried away by hate and fear. The noise in this campaign is deafening but it is not about the important issues that this country faces. Instead, we are obsessed with the candidates, especially with their weaknesses: with the corruption charges against Binay, Roxas’ supposed incompetence, Poe’s lack of qualifications, and Duterte’s

cursing and kissing spree. Senator Santiago has been spared the attacks and only because she is perceived to be a weak candidate.

Character is of course a legitimate issue in the campaign but I dare say that the better way to evaluate a candidate is to look at their governance (delivery of service and performance in office) records, behavior in the campaign, and the issues they care about.

A second story from Chuang Tzu, “Three in the Morning,” is also relevant. This is about a monkey trainer who told his monkeys: “You are going to have three chestnuts in the morning, and four in the afternoon.”

The monkeys became angry. So the keeper said: “All right, I will change it to four in the morning and three in the afternoon.” The animals were happy. The two arrangements were the same—the number of chestnuts did not change, but in one case the monkeys were displeased, and in the other case they were satisfied.

The keeper was willing to change his personal arrangement in order to meet objective conditions.

He lost nothing by it.

While some candidates are feared and hated, there is also a lot of exaggerated expectations by supporters of some candidates.

But on June 30, whoever is proclaimed president, we will have the same bureaucracy, Congress, and Judiciary. It will be the same people who will run the government with Roxas and Binay probably relying on the usual political

factions (with a strong reformist, but not necessarily dominant bloc in a Roxas government). Poe, Santiago and especially Duterte will bring new faces, but after a period of instability as new officials adjust, their administrations will not be very different from what we have seen in the last 50 years. A dynastic, rent-seeking, and elitist political system cannot be changed overnight.

Personally, I do not think that any of the presidential candidates will be the disaster some would make them out to be; neither is anyone of them the national savior we have always hoped for.

As I said in 2010, change will probably come in half-steps, rather than the big leaps people were expecting. As Confucius, another famous Chinese, and help us all become better persons. This has not changed since the time of Aristotle and Confucius.

This is why Catholics, according to Pope Francis, must get involved in politics even if it may be “dirty,” frustrating and fraught with failure. The Pope is emphatic about this: “Given today’s throwaway culture and so many problems unfolding in the world, do I as a Catholic watch from my balcony? No, you can’t watch from the balcony. Get right in there!”

Pope Francis echoes Chuang Tzu’s call for reflection. In his 2014 letter on World Communications Day, he observed: “The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judg-

ment, and this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of self-expression.” While a diversity of opinions can be good, “it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information which only confirm their own wishes and ideas, or political and economic interests.”

In the same letter, Pope Francis calls on all of us “to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm.” “What is needed to achieve this are time and the ability to be silent and to listen,” he added. For this reason, the candidates and their campaign operatives should take time off to rest and pray during Holy Week. That would be good for reenergizing themselves, finding their bearings, and seeing their campaigns as a response to mission.

If they did take the time off, I wish our candidates would take to heart what Pope Francis says in his 2016 letter, also on World Communication Day: “How beautiful it is when people select their words and actions with care, in the effort to avoid misunderstandings, to heal wounded memories and to build peace and harmony. Words can build bridges between individuals and within families, social groups and peoples.”

This being a Jubilee year of mercy, Pope Francis invites us, and that includes politicians, “to rediscover the power of mercy to heal wounded relationships and to restore peace and harmony to families and communities. This Lent, let us remember that mercy

SCORCHED-EARTH CAMPAIGN MAY COST THE NEXT PRESIDENT

By Albert Hunt THERE is a red and blue political divide in the United States that this election is only exacerbating, with consequences for governing.

Presidential campaigns are about choices, differences, especially between the parties. The 2016 divide between Republicans and Democrats is more intense and polarizing than usual.

Two of the leading contenders, Senator Ted Cruz, on the Republican side, and Senator Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, openly declare that this is a “base” election focused more on bringing out hard-core committed supporters than on trying to persuade more independent-minded folks. Their impressive showings in the Iowa Caucuses—Cruz won, and Sanders almost did—reinforce that. And among Donald Trump’s attributes, political consensus-building isn’t at the top of the list.

Even after the New Hampshire primary this week winnows the field, Hillary Clinton will still be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and Marco Rubio will be one of the three or four Republican finalists.

Both claim that they could govern effectively. Clinton’s central case against her liberal opponent, Sanders, is that she could get things done. Rubio, the freshman Florida senator, emphasizes that he wants to be president of the “United” States.

Any Republican is going to claim that President Barack Obama is a failed leader overseeing a weak economy with no wage growth and pursuing a feckless foreign policy that has caused America to lose respect around the world. They will say that Clinton was a failed secretary of state with lots of political baggage.

Rubio goes further. He says Obama really doesn’t appreciate America and views it an “an arrogant global power that needs to be cut down to size,” while blatantly disregarding the Constitution.

Clinton, he says, is “disqualified” because she allowed highly sensitive and classified material to be transferred to her private e-mail server “knowing it would expose it to foreign intelligence agencies” and that she “lied” about the attack on a US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed.

If, 49 weeks from now, President Rubio is sworn in, Democrats will remember that he came close to calling Obama anti-American and Clinton a crook and liar—a case the congressional committee investigating the Benghazi attacks failed to make.

Clinton has been almost as harsh in denouncing Republicans. Although she has stopped short of suggesting criminal behavior, her attacks have been sharper than those waged by Obama eight years ago or Bill Clinton before that.

Moreover, for all the talk about animosity specifically directed at Obama,

many Republicans harbor as much resentment toward Hillary Clinton, who they believe plays by different rules. If she gets to the White House and Republicans retain control of Congress, the honeymoon may last just hours before the investigations commence.

Clinton does talk some about searching for governing consensus, as do several Republicans. Jeb Bush, after going through the Obama policies he would undo his first day as president says he also might call Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.

Drawing on extensive experience in Congress and as Ohio governor, John Kasich contends that a bipartisan approach is essential: “Serious issues in this country cannot be solved by one party.” He says Social Security is one example of a problem that could only be fixed through cooperation: “Republicans would be so freaked out by the Democratic claims of throwing Grandma out on the street that they’d never get it done.”

But few expect Kasich or Bush to win the nomination. The harder messages of Trump and Cruz resonate much more.

Obama said last month that one of the “few regrets of my presidency” was that “the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”

If the tone and substance of this campaign don’t change, the next president may express the same regret. Bloomberg

enables a new kind of speech and dialogue. William Shakespeare, as Pope Francis quotes him, describes this in The Merchant of Venice: “The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

Pope Francis is right about politics becoming better with the presence of mercy. Lets heed his exhortation: “I ask those with institutional and political responsibility, and those charged with forming public opinion, to remain especially attentive to the way they speak of those who think or act differently or those who may have made mistakes. It is easy to yield to the temptation to exploit such situations to stoke the flames of mistrust, fear and hatred. Instead, courage is needed to guide people towards processes of reconciliation.”

I write these words knowing that I have also been harsh and judgmental on some candidates and their supporters, including some personally close to me. I ask forgiveness for these failures; sincere as my intentions might be, I am wrong when I am unkind. I commit to be a better citizen and political actor in the months to come.

A happy Chinese New Year and a spiritually fruitful Lenten season to you all!

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

Still... From A8 both Roxas and Abaya. Sobrepeña hailed the Senate report of Poe which recommended the filing of charges against Abaya—adding that Roxas should be included in the charges, as well. It was Roxas, after all, who presided over the series of events that caused the mess over at the train line, according to Sobrepeña. “It was under [Roxas’] term that the Sumitomo [maintenance] contract was not renewed; that was the first mistake,” he explained.

“The second mistake was negotiating with [substitute maintenance contractor] PH Trams, which also happened during term of Secretary Roxas,” he added. “The third mistake was [committed by Abaya] when just two days after assuming office, he signed a contract prepared during the time of Secretary Roxas.”

The rest, according to Sobrepeña, is tragic history. When the Department of Transportation and Communications forced out Sumitomo, which had been maintaining the MRT without a glitch for so many years, and brought in the undercapitalized PH Trams, the quick decline of the train service followed.

The chopped-up maintenance contract was eventually consolidated (as it was under the Japanese company), but by then it was too late. And the firing of MRT general manager Al Vitangcol III did not stop the service’s decline, but only hastened the process and served just to identify a convenient scapegoat for both Roxas and Abaya.

If there is any real justice that can be had after President Noynoy Aquino steps down and both Abaya and Roxas are finally subjected to a real investigation, this is what they will find: Both Roxas and Aquino ruined the MRT—and they should both be made to pay for it.

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Paul powers Clippers to victory at Miami CHRIS Paul scored 22 points and passed out seven assists to spark the Los Angeles Clippers to their sixth victory in seven games, a 100-93 triumph Sunday at Miami.

Jamal Crawford added 20 points while J.J. Redick netted 14 points and DeAndre Jordan and Cole Aldrich each grabbed 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the 11th time in their past 13 road games.

The Heat (29-23) were denied a seventh win in eight games despite 17 points each from Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Slovenia’s Goran Dragic plus 15 from Britain’s Luol Deng.

Paul missed his first nine shots from the floor, but sank back-to-back 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter to prevent a Heat rally.

“Just kept shooting it. Sooner or later it has got to go in,” Paul said.

“Just had to stay aggressive and I finally started making shots.”

At New York, Denver’s Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each scored 19 points to power the Denver Nuggets over the host Knicks 101-96.

Barton added 11 rebounds for the Nuggets (21-31) while rookie guard Emmanuel Mudiay added 15 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter.

Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis each netted 21 points but the Knicks (23-31) suffered their season-high fifth consecutive loss and ninth defeat in the past 10 games.

Chris Paul (no. 3 of the Los Angeles Clippers handles the ball during the game against the Miami Heat on Feb. 7, 2016 at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida. AFP

Anthony missed a tying 3-point try in the final seconds and Barton sank four free throws in the final seven seconds to seal Denver’s victory.

Anthony, who returned after missing three games with left knee tendinitis, is shooting a career-low 42.4 percent from the field this season.

Orlando center Nikola Vucevic of Montenegro scored the last of his 22 points on a game-winning fallaway jumper as time expired to give the Magic a 96-94 victory over visiting Atlanta.

Evan Fournier scored 21

points and Victor Oladipo had 19 to help the Magic (22-28) snap Atlanta’s three-game win streak while Jeff Teague led the Hawks (30-23) with 24 points and five assists while Kent Bazemore contributed 23 points and eight rebounds.

At Boston, Avery Bradley scored 25 points and Isiah Thomas added 22 as the Boston Celtics beat Sacramento 128-119 for their ninth win in 10 games, stretching their home-court win streak to seven games with a season-high point total.

The Kings (21-30) suffered

their fifth road loss in a row and seventh defeat in eight games amid reports that coach George Karl’s job is in jeopardy.

“I don’t think I’m in limbo,” Karl said. “I don’t have any control over what other people are thinking or saying. That’s their storm. Once something gets out, it magnifies and grows and becomes a storm.

That’s not my storm.”

The Celtics (31-22) led by 21 points in the third quarter before Sacramento rallied within five in the last two minutes, only to have Thomas score nine points to end the threat. AFP

No quick fix to crisis, says IAAF chief Coe BELEAGUERED world athletics boss Sebastian Coe admitted Monday there would be no quick fix as he battles to restore public trust in the crisis-hit sport.

But the 59-year-old Briton, on a visit to Japan in his capacity as chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), promised to “deliver a clean platform for clean athletes”.

“I’m sure that the changes that I have in train will be, in large part, in place by end of this year,” said Coe, whose first five months in charge of the sport’s governing IAAF have been plagued by doping and corruption scandals.

“As I’ve said before, the journey back to trust is one of an uncertain length, but we have to make changes,” he added.† “We have to push on with the reforms that I have been given the go-ahead with from our previous council meeting. I will report to our next council meeting in a few weeks time but, yes, those reforms are very, very important.”

Since taking over from Senegalese Lamine Diack last August, Coe has faced criticism after Russia was banned after being found guilty of “statesponsored” doping, while a slew of top IAAF officials—including the disgraced Diack—have been accused of accepting bribes from drug cheats.

Coe has denied a cover-up despite the conclusion of Dick Pound, chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s independent commission, that he “could not have been unaware” of how widespread drug use was in athletics, having served eight years as vice president under Diack. AFP

Russia humiliated in Fed Cup, Swiss into semifinals RUSSIA and Italy, who have won eight of the last 12 Fed Cup titles, crashed out of this year’s tournament Sunday while defending champions Czech Republic survived to set-up a semi-final duel with Switzerland.

Russia, the champions in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in Moscow.

Italy, who were title winners in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013, were also dumped out in the first round, going down 4-1 to France in Marseille.

But Switzerland, who have never won the Fed Cup, made the semi-finals for the first time in 18 years with a thrilling 3-2 win over Germany in Leipzig thanks to Belinda Bencic and Mar-

tina Hingis clinching the decisive doubles.

While the Netherlands and 2003 champions France meet in one semi-final in April, the Swiss will tackle the Czechs, who edged out Romania 3-2, in the other.

The Dutch, without a single player in the top 100, made the semi-finals for the first time since 1997 after Kiki Bertens defeated two-

time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1,†64.

Kuznetsova, the world 17, had lost a four-hour marathon against Richel Hogenkamp on Saturday in the longest singles match ever played at a Fed Cup. The 24-year-old Bertens, ranked at 106, took her Fed Cup singles record to 13 wins and one loss after

the Dutch, 2-0 up overnight, claimed a famous win against a Russian team who had Maria Sharapova warming the bench all weekend.

Russia captain Anastasia Myskina said she wasn’t tempted to risk Sharapova, who won both singles rubbers in the country’s 2015 final loss to the Czech Republic.

“No, she had a problem with her left arm and that wasn’t good. We decided on Thursday that she wouldn’t play,” said Myskina.

In Leipzig, 18-yearold Bencic won her third point of the weekend when she teamed up with 35-year-old Hingis to beat Germany’s Andrea Petkovic and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-2. AFP

Matsuyama wins dramatic four-hole playoff in Phoenix JAPAN’S Hideki Matsuyama outlasted Rickie Fowler by tapping in for par on the fourth hole of a marathon suddendeath playoff to win the US PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Matsuyama grabbed his second US tour title and improved on his runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka at last year’s tournament in the Arizona desert.

In his first appearance in Phoenix two years ago he finished in tie for fourth.

“What a great experience,” said Matsuyama, who is ranked 19th in the world. “Rickie opened the door for me, and I was able to walk through it.”

Matsuyama, whose only other US

Tour title came at the 2014 Memorial, had two putts for the win at the fourth playoff hole—the par-four 17th—after Fowler put his shot into the water.

Both Matsuyama and Fowler carded four-under 67 on Sunday to finish regulation tied on 14-under 270.

Matsuyama, who has six wins on the Japan Golf Tour, said it didn’t bother him that most in the massive gallery were cheering for Fowler.

“They were for Rickie, weren’t they?

But that gave me the motivation to go out and do it and win,” he said through an interpreter.

America’s Fowler had a two-shot lead on the tee at 17 in regulation, but, as he

would later in the playoff, he found the water.

His bogey opened the door for Matsuyama to make birdie and pull even at 13-under as they headed to 18.

Fowler’s tee shot on 18 then skipped through the left side bunker before caroming right and back onto the green.† Matsuyama put his approach on the green to about 20 feet from the cup.

Fowler then landed his approach inside Matsuyama’s ball.

Matsuyama made his long birdie putt and Fowler also found some 72nd hole magic to set the stage for what would Hideki Matsuyama of Japan reacts after winning the Waste turn out to be a one-hour marathon Management Phoenix Open in the final round at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 7, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona. AFP playoff. AFP

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Carlos steals show at Cebu net tourney

Beyonce (left), Chris Martin (center) and Bruno Mars perform during Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. AFP

NATIONAL Capital Region’s Macie Carlos held her ground against a slew of aces from the south to hack out a pair of resounding victories in the upset-marred Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit at the Consolacion Tennis Club in Laray, Cebu yesterday.

The top seeded Carlos played true to form and took the girls’ 12-U title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 2 Tiffany Nocos then swept her way to three shutout wins before thwarting La Carlota’s Kiana de Asis, 7-6(3), 6-2, for 14-U diadem in the Group 2 tournament presented by Slazenger.

Khenz Justiniani, also of La Carlota, pulled off a pair of cliffhangers, including a 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 win over top seed Rafael Liangco in the semis then survived Cesar Salimbangon, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, to snare the boys’ 12-U plum in the fifth leg of the 52-stage nationwide circuit sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop.

Unranked Thalia CJ Suson from Liloan, Cebu also shared the spotlight as she snatched the 10-unisex crown via a 5-3, 4-0 win over top seed Chad Cuizon.

“The spate of reversals only underscored the level playing field which has become the norm in all the legs of the circuit, thus making our pool of talents deeper,” said Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Mangunay.

Beyonce, Coldplay ‘believe in love’ SANTA CLARA—Coldplay and Beyonce went both retro and inspirational on Sunday as they put on a colorful Super Bowl halftime show full of flowers and happy children.

While Coldplay was nominally the headliner at the American football championship game, it was Beyonce who made news— moments after the show finished, a brief television advertisement announced that she will head on a world tour.

With more than 100 million people estimated to be tuning into

the Super Bowl, likely the top US television event of the year, Beyonce was ensured of maximum exposure.

The 40-date tour of stadiums across North America and Europe will open April 27 in Miami and close July 31 in Brussels, Beyonce’s promoters announced shortly afterward.

Beyonce, who had been relatively quiet in 2015, on the eve of the Super Bowl released a new song, “Formation,” a hip-hopdriven track with a theme of racial pride.

Beyonce put on “Formation” at the Super Bowl, backed by a synchronized squad of dancers in matching black leather bodysuits with golden highlights.

She took over the show from Coldplay, who paid tribute to the Super Bowl’s host city of San Francisco with a stage that flashed in the tie-dye of the city’s 1960s

counterculture as dancers on the field hoisted giant flower shapes.

The show ended with the stars together on stage as spectators in the stands held up colorful cutouts to read out the words, “Believe in Love.”

- Indian theme for Coldplay Coldplay also pursued a fascination with India. The British rockers together with Beyonce recently released an Indian-themed video for “Hymn for the Weekend,” eliciting much negative feedback on social media from Indians who found the imagery cliched.

Coldplay decorated the Super Bowl stage with marigolds and wrote the band’s name in Hindi on their amplifiers and drumset.

Singer Chris Martin raced onto stage singing the upbeat Coldplay track “Viva La Vida” as the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, led

by Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel, enthusiastically ran in with him.

Furthering the theme of youth, Martin sang to a crowd full of bouncy youngsters whose screams threatened to drown him out as he reached down from the stage. AFP

Philracom announces Kennel club holds Valentine’s Day dog show February stakes races THE Philippine Racing Commission kicks off their stakes race schedule for February with a Valentine’s Day offering.

Racing fans can spend their Feb. 14 at San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite, watching the 1,400-meter 1st leg Import/Local Challenge.

The second Philracom-backed stakes race for the month is the 1,400-meter 4YO and Older Stakes, set for Feb. 28 at Metroturf.

Trainers are reminded to strictly follow the schedules set by Philracom for nomination, declaration, and drawing of post positions for the two races.

Philracom’s first stakes race of the year, held Jan. 17 at Metroturf, was won by Low Profile. Despite carrying 57 kgs., the heaviest handicap in the fivehorse field, Low Profile negotiated the 1,800-meter race with ease to earn the P720,000 first prize for owner Ruben Dimacuha.

A stakes race for horses 4YO and Older will be held on Jan. 31 at Santa Ana Park, over 1,300 meters.

All special races on Jan. 12 to 31 were considered part of the New Year Racing Festival, with guaranteed prizes of P125,000 to the winner only sponsored by the host racing club, an added P15,000 to the winner provided by Philracom, and an added P10,000 to the winning horseowner from Philracom and the host club.

In 2015, Philracom supported the racing industry with P43.32 million in prizes for its sponsored stakes races, and conducted 20 charity races with proceeds to the beneficiaries amounting to P3.5 million.

THE Asian Kennel Club Union of the Philippines, Inc. will mount its 67th and 68th International AllBreed Championship Dog Show, “My Furry Valentine” as its Valentine treat to all dog lovers on Sunday at Tiendesitas en Frontera Verde on Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City.

The event, which will be staged in cooperation with the Asia Pacific Sporting Dog Club of the Philippines ALEGADO Inc., Labrador Retriever Owners Club and Pets for Peace will be divided into morning and afternoon segments.

The morning segment consists of t-shirt painting contest and Costume Fashion Contest.

The afternoon segment which will start at 1 p.m., will feature back-to-

GACULA

back All-Breed Championship Dog Shows with Filipino judges Fe Lanny Alegado and Edgard Gacula, who will have their own set of winners in the Best Baby Puppy, Best Philippineborn and Best in Show categories from seven breed groupings -- toy, sporting, hound, terrier, non-sporting, working

and herding.

Alegado breeds, trains, exhibits and campaigns several dogs to Philippine championships and grand championships, notably Jack Russels and German Shepherd dogs.

In recognition of the value of her fearless and progressive commitment to the canine world, she was elected Director of the Philippine Canine Club, Inc. and past Secretary of the German Shepherd Dog Federation Gacula, on the other hand, served as president of the K-9 Taconphil Handlers Association of the Philippines, worked for two decades as chief trainer of the PET Hotel in Singapore.

Carlos joins hunt as W Express Cup begins PRO-BOUND Jobim Carlos hopes to toughen up for the big league as he joins the title chase in the 21st W Express RVF Cup Amateur Golf Championship even as Princess Superal looms as the player to beat in the women’s side of the event beginning today at North course of the Canlubang Golf and Country Club in Laguna.

Carlos, who has passed the QSchool both of the ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour and Asian Tour, has opted

to delay his stint in the pros to anchor Canlubang in the PAL Interclub late this month with the reigning national stroke play champion facing a formidable challenge from a crack international field out to foil his bid.

That includes Cangolf teammate Rupert Zaragosa and Interclub rivals Ira Alido and Justin Quiban of Manila Southwoods, Weiwei Gao, Kristoffer Arevalo, Carlo Villaroman, Aidric Chan, Aniceto Mandanas, Jolo Mag-

calayo and Japanese Ryu Yasuma and Koji Yasuma.

A slew of Koreans from Riviera are also expected to contend for the crown 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, including Kang Dong Guk, Jeong Hwi Gyeong, Lee Geon, Jun John and Ji Sung Gun.

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Nietes may defend title vs Garcia

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WORLD Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes may defend his title against Raul Garcia, twin brother of Ramon Garcia Hirales from whom he won the title by a unanimous 12-round decision at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City on Oct. 8, 2011.

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer, who left for the United States over the weekend, told The Standard he had proposed that Nietes defend the title against Garcia on May 21 in the Philippines and postpone the mandatory title defense against Moises Fuentes for September, possibly at the StubHub Center in Carson City, California, where

ALA Promotions teamed up with ABS-CBN and The Filipino Channel for a very successful initial breakthrough into promotions in the US on Oct. 17 last year.

Aldeguer said Fernando Beltran said he had no objections to the proposal, but hadn’t yet formally agreed since they also have to secure the approval of the World Boxing Organi-

zation president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel, who had earlier directed Nietes to face Fuentes in a mandatory title defense.

That title defense would be their third fight after Nietes demolished Fuentes on May 10, 2014, dropping him three times in the ninth round for a rousing knockout victory at the Mall of Asia Arena along Manila Bay. In suggesting that the

Nietes-Fuentes mandatory be held in the US, Aldeguer was looking at a big fight with a wider American audience.

However, he said if the proposal was disallowed, Nietes was ready to face Fuentes even in Mexico, where he defended his minimum weight title successfully on several occasions against Mexican opponents in their own hometowns.

Shooting at boxers’ weigh-in condemned WORLD Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman has condemned what he referred to as “this terrible act of violence” and sent the WBC’s deepest condolences to the families of those wounded and to the family of the person who died in the attack in Dublin’s Regency Hotel, where around 300 boxing fans were watching a boxing weigh-in.

Reports said three armed men stormed into the hall where the weigh in of a boxing card was happening and opened fire.

Sky Sports in London said: “Irish police have cordoned off the area and deployed numerous Officers to investigate the shooting at the hotel, to which firefighters and paramedics swiftly responded, following what was described as “this appalling atrocity.”

Irish Jamie Kavanagh and Portuguese Joao

Bento were scheduled to fight tomorrow night.

It’s been announced that the entire event has been cancelled.

Sky Sports said: “Witnesses described scenes of terror and pandemonium, with one of the gunmen dressed up as a woman and reports that AK-47 assault rifles as well as handguns were used in the suspected gangland hit.”

In a statement, police revealed they found three injured men, all in their 20s or 30s, with one of these men “pronounced dead”.

Fighters on the bill include Dublin boxer Jamie Kavanagh, who will fight for the WBO European lightweight title against Portuguese Antonio Joao Bento.

Kavanagh tweeted to say he was “OK”, adding: “I was lucky today is all I can say.” Ronnie Nathanielsz

Finals’ MVP. San Miguel Beer’s Chris Ross has been named the PBA Press Corps/CIGNAL Finals MVP after helping the

Beermen to a historic Game 7 win against Alaska in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup last Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. With Ross are CIGNAL president Jane Basas (far right), CIGNAL VP Head of Channels Sienna Olaso, PBA Chairman Robert Non of San Miguel, PBAPC treasurer Richard Dy of FoxsportsPH and PBAPC secretary Waylon Galvez of Manila Bulletin.

Prima badminton slated Ronda Pilipinas returns

BADMINTON aficionados from all over the country are invited to compete in the 9th Prima Pasta Badminton Championships on Feb. 25, 26, 27 and 28, March 5 and 6 at the Powersmash Badminton Courts in Pasong Tamo, Makati City.

The annual tourney organized by Prima Pasta Championship organizing committee chairman Alexander Lim has once again extended the number of play dates from last year’s five to six days this year because of the growing number of participants.

In partnership with the Philippine Badminton Association, the annual badminton tournament is part of the Philippine National Ranking System, wherein aspirants in the Open Division will be able to earn points that will be the basis of their position in the national ranking.

The tournament, sponsored by Babolat and SMART Communications through the MVP Sports Foundation, will include the following events: Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles from Open class, to Levels A to G, while Open Class and Levels B to F will only be available in the Women’s Doubles.

The Open singles will be available only in the men’s and women’s categories.

The event is also supported by Boysen Paints, Morning Star Milling Corporation, Mabz Builders, ILO Construction, Monolith Construction, Monocrete Construction, Pioneer Insurance, Promax International, Regent Foods Corp., RFM Corp and powered by Forthright Events.

There will also boys’ and girls’ singles events for Under-19, -17, -15, -13 and -11 categories, while boys’ and girls’ doubles will be available for the Under-19, -17 and Under-15.

Top badminton stars Marky Alacala, Poca Alcala, Paul Vivas, Joper Escueta, Peter Gabriel Magnaye, and Ronel Estanislao, among others, are the expected entries in the six-day national competition sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association.

For more information, contact JC Benipayo (09174494258); Yoly Araullo (09328740454); Sonny Montilla (09052273048); and Mike Alayon (09178071514).

to Mindanao Feb. 20 to 27 THE LBC Ronda Pilipinas, presented by LBC Express will make a much-needed return to Mindanao when it holds the first of its three-leg race that will pass key cities and towns in Butuan, Cagayan de Oro and Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich and Malaybalay in Bukidnon from Feb. 20 to 27.

“We at the LBC Ronda Pilipinas are excited to return to Mindanao,” said Ronda project director Moe Chulani.

Chulani said Mindanao has always produced strong riders in the past including Butuan City pride Reimon Lapaza, who came out of nowhere to surprise Philippine cycling big guns with an improbable victory two years ago.

“Traditionally, Mindanao has its share of strong riders like Lapaza. This year, we hope to produce more champions from the region,” said Chulani.

Ronda will officially start on Feb. 20 with a road race from Butuan City on back, proceeds with

a criterium on the same city the next day and in Cagayn de Oro on Feb. 23, an ITT in Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich on Feb. 25 before concluding with another criterium in Malaybalay on Feb. 27.

The Visayas leg is composed of a Stage One criterium in Bago City, Negros Occidental on March 11, Stage Two criterium in Iloilo City on March 13, a Stage Three road race from Ilolilo to Roxas City on March 15, a Stage Four criterium and Stage Five ITT both in Roxas on March 17.

Capping Ronda is the Luzon stages consisting of a Stage One criterium at the Paseo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on April 3, a Stage Two ITT from Talisay to Tagaytay the next day, a Stage Three criterium in Antipolo City on April 6, a Stage Four road race from Dagupan to Baguio on April 8 and a Stage Five criterium in the City of Pines.

This year’s edition, which is presented by LBC and LBC Express and sponsored by Manny

V. Pangilinan Sports Foundation, Petron, Mitsubishi and Versa Radio-Tech 1 Corp. with Maynilad and NLEX as minor sponsors with Aliw Broadcasting Corp. as its official radio partner, will be a combination of road races, criteriums and individual time trials.

It has also added some side events like executive races a mountain bike event and a community ride that is aimed at getting the public particularly the hobbyists from all walks of life involved.

“Ronda is giving everyone a chance to not just be discovered and represent the country in future international race but also to simply give them a chance to feel the Ronda experience by joining our community ride,” said Chulani.

“LBC Sports Devt Corp. feels everyone should have the chance to join Ronda Pilipinas 2016, which is the fourth biggest race in the world in terms of distance covered, not just the elite riders,” he added.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

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

P0 M+ P0 M

My Chinese connection

NO, I do not have even a drop of Chinese blood in my frail body and people tell me that ARMAN D. ARMERO I look more Korean than Chinese, but because our kababayang Chinoys are still celebrating the Chinese New Year (which officially started yesterday, Feb. 9), my mind wandered back to my “connection” to Filipino-Chinese friends, who, at one time or another, had entered my life and had somehow enriched my journey as a sportswriter.

First in the list, of course, is the controversial Graham Lim, the man some powerful sports officials love to hate. I’ve known (as does Sports Ed Riera Mallari) Graham for years, back when he was still a small-time basketball organizer. He loved the sport like most Filipinos do and played the sport quite well, but what he loved most was organizing basketball events. He soon rose to become an influential basketball official, and as secretary-general of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, managed the day-to-day affairs of the organization.

He became friends with powerful sports leaders in Asia, but back home, he also made some powerful enemies, because Graham did not kowtow to their wishes. He ran the BAP the way he saw fit, and this didn’t sit well with some of the basketball gods in this country.

Graham was later accused as an undesirable alien although he lived all his life here, and was later jailed and deported. His passports were cancelled and up to this day, he is still banned from entering the country.

But what I remember fondly of Graham, who stood as one of the ninongs to my son Aaron (along with Riera, Alvin Patrimonio and Eric Altamirano, among others) was his love for food, which, I think, is his no. 2 passion aside from basketball.

Graham loves to eat, and he loves to share his passion for eating with friends. We have spent countless days scouring restaurants and diners in Binondo, and when not in Binondo, ate chicken, laughed and and swapped stories at KFC. Graham is now somewhere in Asia, but I am sure that he misses the only country that he calls his own.

He will always be loved by his friends, who knew him for what he was and what he stood for.

Next in the list is the equally-controversial Go Teng Kok or GTK, an unforgettable figure in Philippine sports. GTK was president of PATAFA, the track and field and association for many years, but also dipped his hands in the POC politics, which led to his downfall. He stood as one of my sponsors when I married my wife (now ex-wife) before a judge at the Manila City Hall. He still fondly calls me “inaanak” whenever we see each other, which has become rare since he retired.

And then there’s Christian Tan and Tony Fabico, both businessmen and Graham’s close friends and former high school classmates. Christian and Tony stood by their friend when Graham was prosecuted by his enemies and bailed him out when he was out of money. I especially remember Tony, who spent many “unforgettable”nights with us sportswriters. “Sir” Tony also used to gift me with “tikoys’ every Chinese New Year.

I would also like to mention Johny Tam, also a friend of Graham and a trusted associate of both (Customs Commissioner) Bert Lina and (Manila Hotel president) Joey Lina. It’s hard to forget Johny, because he always finds some funny things to say even in the most mundane situations.

There’s also Jean Monteverde, an official of FESSAP, which Graham founded when his enemies kicked him out of basketball. Jean, whose husband is a brother of Mother Lily Monteverde’s husband Remy, owns a restaurant called Magdalo, which, as you can guess, was inspired by the Magdalo group, led by former military man and now senator Antonio Trillanes III. Last but not least on the list is Edison Villamora, a loud-mouthed but kind-hearted FilipinoChinese, who lives near Divisoria. Like Graham, Edison organizes events and was quite good in sourcing out sponsors for his events. Edison calls me whenever he needs help with his releases. You can say that I’m his “on-call” writer.

These are some of some of the most unforgettable Chinoy friends I have known in my life, and to them, my hearfelt “Kung hei fat choy” wishes as they celebrate the Chinese New Year, wherever they are.

For reactions, e-mail me at armero_23@yahoo.com STEP BACK

Volleyball champ. Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairman Erineo “Ayong” Maliksi (third from left) and General Manager Atty. Jose Ferdinand Rojas II (seventh from left), with Director Atty. Arnel Naidas (left), Board Secretary Atty. Abdiel Fajardo and Director Atty. Francisco Joaquin III (right) receive the PCSO Women’s Executive Volleyball team after it ruled the 2015 PCSO Sectoral Volleyball Tournament at the Dumlao Sports Complex in Mandaluyong City recently. Among the team members are Marifi Baladad (fourth from left), Emy Ladrera and Kirstin Estrella. Leaning (from left) are Carissa May Costa, Ariane Tolentino, Beck Delfin, Roselyn Alforte and Amor Nicolas. JOSEPH MUEGO

Palaro standouts lead Siddayao PSA awardees FIVE swimmers, two golfers, a triathlete and a rider make up the latest batch of Tony Siddayao awardees to be recognized in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Annual Awards Night presented by MILO and San Miguel Corp. on Saturday at the One Esplanade in Pasay City.

Palarong Pambansa Most Outstanding Athletes Maurice Sacho Ilustre and Nicole Pamintuan lead the nine-man list, which will be honored with the award for exceptional athletes aged 17 and below and named after the late Manila Standard sports editor Tony Siddayao, considered as the ‘Dean of Philippine sportswriting.’

Ilustre and Pamintuan won seven gold medals each in swim-

ming during the 2015 edition of the annual sports meet held in Tagum, Davao del Norte.

Joining the two in the distinguished list are fellow swimmers Miguel Barreto, Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh, and Sean Terrence Zamora, golfers Abby Arevalo and Pauline del Rosario, along with Jacob Ang of karting and Nicole Eijansantos of triathlon.

Kiefer Ravena, Wesley So, Dot-

tie Ardina, Norbert Torres, Ken Alieson Omengan, Malvinne Ann Alcala, among others were some of the past Siddayao awardees during the annual rites with Philippine Sports Commission as major sponsor and supported by supported by long-time friends of sports such as Smart, MVP Foundation, Maynilad, SM Prime Holdings, Sen. Chiz Escudero, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Philippine Basketball Association, Globalport, Rain or Shine, One Esplanade, and National University.

World boxing champions Donnie Nietes and Nonito Donaire Jr., along with rising golf star Miguel Tabuena will be presented by the country’s sports-

writing fraternity with the prestigious Athlete of the Year trophy, the highest accolade solely being given by the oldest media organization in the Philippines.

Also to be recognized are Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu Jr. (Executive of the Year), Gilas Pilipinas (President’s Award), Filomeno ‘Boy’ Codinera (Lifetime Achievement Award, Wushu Federation of the Philippines (National Sports Association of the Year), Alyssa Valdez (Ms. Volleyball) and the cage pair of Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo (Mr. Basketball).

Fourteen personalities who excelled in their respective fields, led by San Miguel Beer superstar June Mar Fajardo are going to be the recipient of major awards.

Floyd equals Pacman’s record Fil-Am rider a shoo-in for US team

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

By Peter Atencio

UNBEATEN and now retired pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been named “Fighter of the Year” for the third time by the Boxing Writers Association of America for 2015, equaling the record of eightdivision world champion Manny Pacquiao, who was also previously honored as “Fighter of the Decade.”

Mayweather won the award for the third time, having also won the prestigious Sugar Ray Robinson trophy in 2007 and 2013.

The 2015 award was based on the strength of Mayweather’s May 2 Fight of the Century victory over Pacquiao, who received the award in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Pacquiao will face Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley for the third time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 9.

Other fighters to win the award three times, include Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard and Evander Holyfield.

FIL-AMERICAN rider Coryn Rivera is a candidate for the US national women’s cycling team to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Rivera was named to the US national squad’s long list of candidates, who can go to the Games, according to an article which appeared on cyclingnews.com.

She is seeking one of the four spots in the road race team.

So far, one of those slots is already taken by Megan Guarnier of Boels Dolmans team.

Two other spots will likely be occupied by time trial specialists, according to the report.

On the other hand, Rivera is hoping that she can secure that final spot.

She has increased her chance of making it by winning one of the

early-season races on the inaugural Women’s World Tour.

Rivera is also set to join team UnitedHealthcare for a European campaign that will give her opportunities at the Ronde van Drenthe, GentWevelgem and Tour of Flanders.

“Last year was my first time doing the Classics, so I really liked those,” Rivera told Cyclingnews.

She added that the races in GentWevelgem and Flanders “are the big ones for me [this year] because they are automatic qualifiers for the Olympic team.”

So far, UnitedHealthchare had a strong start to the season with an overall victory at the Tour Femenino de San Luis with their climber Katie Hall.

While in Argentina, Rivera showed strong early-season form when she placed second in the San Luis Grand Prix.

T U E S DAY : F E B R U A R Y 9, 2 0 16

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Broncos defeated the Panthers, 24-10. (See related Super Bowl story on A13). AFP

Manning cements place in history as Broncos win SANTA CLARA—Peyton Manning cemented his place in the pantheon of quarterback greats as the Denver Broncos produced a magnificent defensive display to stun the Carolina Panthers with an upset 24-10 victory in Super Bowl 50 here Sunday.

Manning, 39, sealed the second Super Bowl title of his 18-year National Football League career on the back of a phenomenal display by the Denver defense, who racked up a recordequalling seven sacks at Levi’s Stadium.

“I’m just glad we didn’t have to play against our defense,” said a delighted Manning, the NFL’s all-time passing yards record holder.

Paul lifts Clippers past Heat TURN TO A12

Denver running back C.J Anderson crashed over for the decisive touchdown late in the fourth quarter as the Broncos defense harried Panthers superstar quarterback Cam Newton into a string of mistakes on a night of high drama.

The much-anticipated duel between Manning—the oldest starting quarterback in Super Bowl history—and NFL Most Valuable Player

Newton never materialized.

Instead it was left to Denver’s suffocating defense to decide the contest, with Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware smothering the Panthers at every opportunity.

Panthers superstar Newton, who had been tipped to dominate in his first Super Bowl appearance, cut a dejected figure afterwards.

“They just played better than us,” Newton said. “I don’t know what you want me to say...we got outplayed.”

Miller—named Super Bowl MVP—ultimately set up the crucial Denver touchdown, forcing Newton into a fumble which the Broncos recovered close to the Carolina goal line.

“It was tough offensively

but defensively we were tremendous,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said.

“It was just another grindit-out win.”

Panthers coach Ron Rivera blamed a failure to make scoring opportunities count.

“We had opportunities, we didn’t take advantage of it,” Rivera said. “They took advantage of their opportunities. We didn’t.”

Manning was largely a peripheral figure throughout, struggling to make any impression with his passing game as defenses dominated.

The veteran quarterback is widely expected to call time on his career at the end of the season, and can now do so with a second Super

Nietes may defend title vs Garcia TURN TO A14

Bowl ring to set alongside the one he earned with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007.

“It’s very special, I’m very proud of these guys,” said Manning, who said he was unwilling to make a decision about his future plans in the heat of the moment.

“I’ll take some time to reflect,” he said. “It’s been an emotional week and it’s an emotional night.”

An absorbing first half saw defenses exert a vice-like grip, with Denver’s vaunted unit rattling the Carolina offense.

Denver took a 3-0 lead through a 34-yard Brandon McManus field goal after Manning mounted one of his few long-distance drives of the game early on. AFP

Rondina, Miguel are top scorers

By Peter Atencio TWO new faces emerged as the most prolific scorers in the ongoing 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines volleyball tournament at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

University of the Philippines’ spiker Wendel Miguel and University of Santo Tomas Cherry Ann Rondina came up with the most points as hostilities entered its second week in the men’s and women’s divisions.

Miguel had 22 points, including 20 on attacks as he led the UP Fighting Maroons to a 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 25-21 beating of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.

His efforts gave him a two-game total of 35 points and this helped the Fighting Maroons score their first win in two games in the men’s action.

They are behind the National University Bulldogs, who marched to their second straight triumph with their 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 win over La Salle.

The Bulldogs share the lead with Ateneo, which turned back Far Eastern University, 25-18, 25-19, 25-13.

Meanwhile, Rondina has a two-game tally of 40 points in the women’s side.

Turn to A14

TUESDAY: FEBRUARY 9, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

Manila Bay airport canceled

By Darwin G. Amojelar

JAPAN International Cooperation Agency has scrapped a proposal to construct a $13-billion international airport in Manila Bay after state-run Philippine Ports Authority opposed the plan.

The central part of Manila Bay is one of the potential sites recommended by Jica for a new international gateway, which is designed to replace the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City and Parañaque City.

The Philippine government asked

Jica to draw up the feasibility study for a new airport.

Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said Jica had decided to drop central Manila Bay as one of the potential locations for the new international airport because of the objection

made by PPA. Abaya said PPA argued that an international airport could obstruct the shipping flow in the area.

Abaya, a former congressman representing Cavite, said Jica was now looking at Sangley Point in Cavite and Laguna de Bay as potential locations for the new international airport.

“The whole feasibility for the new international airport would be completed in 18 months,” Abaya said.

The government wants to build a new international airport that is 25 to 30 minutes away from Naia,

which is expected to reach its full capacity soon.

Jica said Naia would hit overcapacity this year, when the airport would handle 37.78 million passengers. By 2040, passenger traffic would reach 101.49 million.

Naia accommodated 36.68 million passengers in 2015, exceeding the 30 million yearly optimal capacity of the terminal. Its maximum handling capacity stands at 35 million passengers a year.

San Miguel Corp., which used to operate Philippine Airlines, earlier proposed to build a new international airport at a reclaimed area along the Manila-Cavite-

Coastal Road for $10 billion. San Miguel returned the control of PAL to tycoon Lucio Tan. The proposed airport would have an international and domestic passenger handling capacity of 75 million passengers a year, with scalability to accommodate more than 100 million passengers.

It would be only 11 minutes away from the Makati central business district via a new airport expressway.

The government also plans to offer to private investor Naia’s operations and maintenance contract as well as as its redevelopment.

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

Equity deal of the year. SBS Philippines Corp.’s P1.2-billion initial public offering is named 2015 Best Small Cap Equity Deal of the Year

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

in the Alpha Southeast Asia’s 9th Annual Best Deal and Solutions Awards. BDO Capital & Investment Corp. acted as sole issue manager, lead underwriter and bookrunner of the offering. Shown during the awarding ceremony are (from left) BDO Capital vice president Jose Eduardo Quimpo II, BDO Capital senior vice president Eleanor Hilado, SBS chief finance officer and treasurer Aylene Sytengco, Alpha Southeast Asia publisher and chief executive Siddiq Bazarwala, SBS president and chief executive Gerry Tan and SBS senior vice president for marketing Necisto Sytengco II.

Hot money fled PH in first three weeks of 2016

By Julito G. Rada FOREIGN funds fled the domestic financial markets in the first three weeks of January, following the interest rate hike of the US Federal Reserve in December.

Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed foreign portfolio investments or ‘hot money’ registered a net outflow of $79.95 million in three weeks ending Jan. 22, a reversal of the

$283-million net inflow a year ago.

Gross outflows reached $622.6 million, exceeding gross inflows of $542.6 million in the three-week period.

Foreign portfolio investments are overseas funds that are temporarily invested in stocks, government securities and money market. These are also called ‘hot money’ because of the ease they are invested in and taken out of the local markets.

Hot money posted a net outflow of $599.69 million in 2015, missing the revised target of $200-million net outflow for the year.

This was almost twice the $310-million net outflow a year ago, triggered by investors’ anticipation of interest rate hike in the United States and slowdown in China’s economy.

The US Federal Reserve decided to increase interest rates on Dec. 17, 2015.

Gross inflows in 2015 reached $19.926 billion, while outflows hit $20.525 billion.

Bangko Sentral expects hot money to post a bigger net outflow of $1.3 billion in 2016 due to external headwinds.

“External headwinds emanating from the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the modest growth in Japan have affected the country’s external trade,” Bangko Sentral said in a report.

TUESDAY: FEBRUARY 9, 2016

B2

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

SM Prime to build P5-b Ortigas towers

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SM PRIME Holdings Inc., the country’s largest real estate developer, said it will spend between P4 billion and P5 billion to develop high-end office towers near SM Megamall in the Ortigas central business district.

SM Prime vice president for finance Ma. Teresa Cecilia Reyes said the planned S-shaped office towers would rise between SM Megamall fashion hall and Edsa Shangri La Hotel. The area is currently an open parking space.

Global engineering consultant Aurecon said earlier the 50-story office development, called SM Megamall Towers, would have 124,200 square meters of floor area, including three levels of underground parking and aboveground parking.

The SM Megamall Towers will have first-class amenities and will have a direct link to SM Megamall.

Aurecon was appointed by SM Prime to provide structural engineering design services for the SM Megamall Towers.

Aurecon will work closely with Arquitectonica, the architect of the high-rise office building, from the concept engineering phase to the design development.

Aurecon said the SM Megamall Towers would add to its growing portfolio of landmark projects including the Shanghai Tower, the Mapletree Business City and VivoCity in Shanghai, China; Wembley National Stadium in London; Motion Gate in Dubai; and the World Tower Melbourne

in Australia.

SM Prime has been building its office portfolio over the past few years in a bid to become one of the leading office developers in the country.

SM Prime under its commercial properties group currently has 318,000 square meters of office space within the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

It recently launched the 16-story FourE-ComCenter with gross floor area of 123,000 square meters while another BPO building is expected to be launched before the end of 2016.

It is also developing similar office buildings catering to the business process outsourcing industry such as the SM Cyber Buildings—a mix of build-to-suit and ready-to-use office spaces in Makati City.

SM Prime has 529,000 square meters of land bank for future office projects. The company said by 2018, it aimed to have seven BPO buildiongs with 460,000 square meters of gross floor area.

11 essential Android apps TO restore some of the snap on my Android phone, I recently cleared out all the junk I had accumulated over the last two years. I deleted photos, videos and sound files that were just taking up space and uninstalled apps that I had tried but didn’t like, or programs that just I no longer used. What was left was a short list of apps that I consider essential—and that I would install again without hesitation on my next phone, whenever that might come.

With the caveat that these are personal preferences, here are my 11 essential Android apps.

1. Simpler Contacts. A third-party replacement for your phone’s built-in Contacts application hardly seems to be all that important, until you consider that Simpler Contacts makes it really easy to back up all your contacts and email them to yourself as a VCF file. This will make restoring contacts a snap when you change phones. Simply import the VCF file and you’re good to go.

2. SwiftKey Keyboard. For a long time, I used Perfect Keyboard Pro as a replacement keyboard because my fingers just couldn’t get used to the tiny QWERTY keyboard and I preferred the old-school numeric keypad for thumb-typing text. I finally gave that up a few months ago after installing SwiftKey Keyboard, which lets you make the QWERTY keyboard bigger. After using it for a bit, I also found that its auto completion suggestions were uncannily accurate and saved me a lot of typing (2,621 taps as of today, the app happily reports). As a footnote, I read that Microsoft bought SwiftKey this month precisely because of its predictive technology. I’m keeping my fingers crossed the buyout won’t ruin a great free app.

3. Aqua Mail. I dislike Google Mail and Yahoo Mail on Android devices because the last time I tried them, they logged me in automatically and did not let me log out. Aqua Mail does the same thing but gives me the option to lock the application with a PIN. The free version enables you to access two accounts; a paid version (for about P230) removes this limit. With notifications turned on, this is an excellent way to monitor incoming email and quickly respond to them without having to use your computer.

4. VLC. As I do on my computers, I use the open-source VLC on my Android phone to watch or listen to a variety of multimedia files.

It just works.

5. WiFi File Transfer. A lot of apps enable you to transfer files between your smart phone and computer. I found the one that works for me is WiFi File Transfer. The app works if your phone and computer are connected to the same wireless network and because it uses any browser as its front end for desktop or laptop computers, you won’t need to install any extra software to get it to work.

6. File Commander. It isn’t always easy to find files in your smart phone. The free app File Commander works pretty much as a file manager would on a desktop computer. There are few bells and whistles here, but it’s simple and intuitive—and if you don’t mind the occasional nudge to upgrade to the paid version, File Commander does nicely.

New Fapra chairman. Philippine Retailers Association president and Duty Free Philippines chief operating officer Lorenzo Formoso becomes the first Filipino to become chairman of the Federation of Asia Pacific Retailers Associations. Shown turning over the chairmanship of Fapra to Formoso (right) in Manila is Turkish Council of Shopping Centers and Retailers chairman Mehmet Nane.

TV5 opposes Sky Cable’s satellite permit

By Darwin G. Amojelar TV5 Network Inc. asked the National Telecommunications Commission to recall the permit of Sky Cable Corp. to operate satellite television services in the country.

TV5 filed a motion for reconsideration with the NTC to recall the satellite TV permit of Sky Cable, saying Sky Cable “has neither right nor legal basis, much less capacity to file the instant application for a certificate of public convenience pertaining to a wireless service.”

TV5 said NTC erred in granting Sky Cable a provisional authority for a service, which the latter could not legally perform in the first place.

“TV5 begs this honorable commission to reconsider and revisit, if not give a hard second look at the evidence on record herein.

Otherwise, this honorable commission may inadvertently allow the perpetration of a grave injustice and travesty of the law,” the broadcast firm, controlled by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., said.

NTC in December last year granted Sky Cable, a unit of ABS-CBN Corp., a provisional authority to install, operate and maintain a direct broadcast satellite in 251 cities and municipalities for 18 months.

DBS, also known as ‘direct-tohome’ transmits signals to subscribers using satellite technology.

Sky Cable’s new satellite service would compete with Cignal TV, Dream Satellite TV and GSat, which all offer DTH services nationwide.

Sky Cable said estimated the cost of starting the project at P250 million, with an initial capital outlay of P122 million to cover the purchase of various equipment, with the remaining P130 million serving as working capital.

The company projected to acquire 49,500 subscribers in its first year of operation and increase it to 864,600 in 10 years.

Sky Cable proposed a one-time installation fee of P3,990 and a charge P390 for DTH prepaid card for 30 days.

7. Pocket. Still the simplest way of saving stuff you find on the Web for later reading on your phone. Simply install Pocket on your device and grab a Pocket extension for your browser and log in. The next time you stumble upon an article you want to read later, click on the Pocket icon on your browser and the page will be automatically saved (and formatted) for your mobile device.

8. Evernote. Keep your notes and other stuff on your phone and back them up to the cloud, or access them from your computer with this free application. There are Evernote clients for Windows and Mac computers, but you’ll need to use a third-party app such as Everpad or access your account using a browser.

9. Waze. Waze is a free GPS- and social-network-enabled navigation app that offers you the fastest route to get to your destination and a remarkably accurate estimated time of arrival. It’s an indispensable app for Metro Manila motorists. Don’t leave home without it.

10. Viber. Viber is a popular way to send messages and multimedia to your friends and contacts without paying for SMS or MMS services. Some people find it intrusive and the security features aren’t great, but it is convenient. If you are looking for a more lowkey alternative, consider Telegram. I use both, but more people I know are on Viber.

11. Clean Master. Keep your smart phone in good running condition by cleaning out the junk left by your apps every so often with this free app.

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

TUESDAY: FEBRUARY 9, 2016

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Aeronautics training.

Mitsubishi mulls over export of PH vehicles

By Othel V. Campos

WCC Aeronautical and Technological College-Caloocan, formerly known as World Citi Colleges– Caloocan, advances learning opportunities via accessible location, ‘ladderized’ courses and new training facilities. Shown are students learning the technical side of aeronautics at the only aeronautical college in the northern part of Metro Manila.

Vires set to construct LNG plant in Batangas

By Alena Mae S. Flores

VIRES Energy Corp. tapped a Norwegian company to start the construction of a 200-megawatt liquefied natural gas power plant in Batangas City this year.

Vires, a local company, received an approval from the government to conduct a grid impact study on the proposed LNG power project.

Vires signed last month a technology license agreement with Sevan Marine’s subsidiary HiLoad LNG AS for an LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the Philippines.

Sevan Marine, an engineering company based in Norway, said in a statement Vires decided to move forward with the project, after conducting a feasibility study last year.

Vires also signed a separate engineering service contract with HiLoad LNG for design and engineering work. Payment under

the license agreement is subject to Vires constructing and operating the regasification terminal.

Vires was formed as company to develop reasonably priced, clean and sustainable energy.

Sevan Marine said Vires expected to start construction of the LNG project this year. Sevan Marine acquired the rights to the proprietary HiLoad technology for gas and LNG applications and hdeveloped solutions for offshore loading of LNG and LNG receiving and regasification terminals based on the HiLoad technology.

The LNG receiving and regasification terminal, called floating regas dock, provides a competitive

alternative to floating, storage and regasification unit for smaller volumes, ranging typically from 50 to 200 million standard cubic feet per day.

“We are very pleased that Vires came to us with their regasification requirements, and we look forward to working with Vires on this ground-breaking project. We believe there is a significant market for this solution, which provides clean gas as fuel for power plants and fills a niche in size below the more traditional FSRUs. We hope that the Vires contract is the first of many,” said Lars Odeskaug, the man in charge of Sevan Marine’s LNG projects.

MITSUBISHI Motor Philippines Corp. has disclosed a long-term plan to export vehicles made in the Philippines to other Southeast Asian countries.

MMPC president and chief executive Yoshiako Kato said the company was looking at Asean as the initial export market, while studying a model that would fit the specifications of both local and foreign markets.

“Exporting overseas is not easy because the quality requirement very high. All I can say for now is that we will concentrate on the domestic market and export is the next phase,” he said.

The company is still on the drawing board as far as the proposed model for the required four-wheel sedan-type passenger car that would participate in the government’s automotive production program.

Under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program of the Trade Department, companies are required to put in new investments to produce at least 200,000 units of passenger cars in six years to qualify for as much P27 billion worth of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.

Mitsubishi is looking at enrolling a small passenger car that that could be afforded by the middle class.

Kato said the company would formally submit its application in March or once its parent company in Japan had reconciled all factors for the manufacture of a new model for the Cars program.

He said the two main considerations were the built and body of the vehicle.

“If we export, we have to adjust to our target export markets. For one, there are markets that are righthand drive like Thailand and we should also consider the body size since the Philippines have different specifications compared to other countries,” said Kato.

Members have burden of proving SSS wrong

ANY government action intended to withhold or reduce benefits for citizens inevitably elicits strong, often bitter, opposition from those adversely affected by the action. President Noy Aquino’s veto of the Congress-approved bill mandating a P2,000 increase in the monthly pensions of Social Security System members is no exception. PNoy has been pilloried for allegedly taking the bread out of SSS members’ mouths through his negative decision on the mill.

It goes without saying that the approved congressional action has been acclaimed by the great majority of SSS members, who claim that the progressive diminution in the purchasing power of their pensions has rendered them less capable of meeting their living costs and paying for their basic needs. In their campaign for a congressional override of PNoy’s veto they have been enjoying the support of organizations and individuals who in-

stinctively feel (1) that the management of the nation’s largest social security institution is unjustifiably stingy toward its members and (2) that SSS members have an entitlement to periodic increases in the benefits they receive from the system.

Of course, given the timing of their action the members of Congress are propagating the line that they did the right thing in approving the pension-increasing bill whereas PNoy, who is the titular Chief Executive of the SSS did the wrong thing in vetoing the bill.

The position of the SSS reminds me of the joke about the rider of a New York City taxi who, running late for an appointment, told the driver, “I’m late for an appointment. Can’t you go any faster?” The driver turned around to the passenger and said, “I can. But I’m not allowed to leave my taxi.” In effect, the answer of SSS management to the opponents of their position and of the presidential veto is, “We have no objection to a P2,000 increase in the monthly pension of SSS members.

But if the increase is approved without corresponding changes on the resources side of its balance sheet, the system will be increasingly unable to provide non-

pension benefits to its active members and the SSS fund will be depleted by 2029.

Positive changes on the SSS balance sheet’s resources side would come from either an increase in members’ and government contributions, a sustained and sharp increase in investment income, and outright government subsidy or a combination of these items.

On the other hand, the position of the proponents of the pension increase and critics of the presidential veto is that the projections of the SSS actuaries are wrong and that the system will be able to continue dispensing its pension and other benefits without a danger of SSS fund depletion. They say that SSS management is forever crying “wolf ” when the subject of an increase in benefits comes up, yet the system has remained sound and viable. SSS management is once again crying “wolf ” under a similar scenario, they say.

Both sides of the issue—Pnoy on one side and Congress, the SSS members and their other supporters on the other side —cannot be right. Either the SSS actuaries’ estimates—that the SSS fund could be depleted in t13 years time if higher

pensions are paid by the system with no compensating changes on the fund’s resources side – are correct or they are being overly cautious. They cannot be both.

Although I would welcome a P2,000 increase in my pension, I am prepared to go with the SSS actuaries’ and their estimates. I believe that those gentlemen personally have nothing to gain from advising SSS management (and Malacañang) against a pension increase under present circumstances. I believe further that they have merely been deploying their actuarial skills for the long-term good of the system.

SSS management has presented proof— in the form of actuarial calculations—to support a judgment that there should be no pension increase under the present set of operating circumstances. The burden of proof has now shifted to the other side of the issue. Congress, the SSS members and other supporters of an increase have to offer proof, not mere opinions and unsupported sentiments, that PNoy Aquino was wrong and that an increase in SSS members’ pensions is justified.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

B4 GSIS set to auction property holdings

By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE state-run Government Services Insurance System plans to dispose of real estate properties in the first six months of the year to boost funds, a top official said over the weekend.

GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said the pension fund was reviewing the properties up for sale to determine their minimum price.

“We’re going through our properties and we’re conducting appraisals, we need to do that to set a minimum price, to the extent that we have time to do something, then the idea is to try to get one auction going this year in the first half of the year,” Vergara said.

GSIS last year had planned to dispose three properties that could have fetched P32 billion, or about 6 percent of the pension fund’s real estate portfolio.

The properties include the 18,500 square-meter property of Metro Manila Development Authority in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City and the 2,429 square-meter, old GSIS building in Legaspi Village in Makati City.

Another failed property disposal last year was the 18.4-hectare Payanig sa Pasig lot, just across the MMDA property, by the Presidential Commission on Good Government “Valuation via an independent third party surveyor.

I was hoping we would get some clue because of the Payanig sale but that sale sadly was not able to push through,” Vergara said earlier.

Other real estate assets of the pension fund manager include the 6,470-square meter Jai Alai property along Taft Ave.in Ermita, Manila; the two-hectare Water Fun amusement park in Sucat, Parañaque City; and the 1.6-hectare Philippine National Railways lot along Dagupan St., Tutuban area in Tondo, Manila.

“Last year we tried, we had a couple of failed biddings, sadly one of them is the Jai Alai property. In the event that that becomes too difficult, then perhaps we’ll just look at some time in the second half of the year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vergara said 2015 was not a good year for GSIS following the challenges it faced.

“Were just waiting for the year end closing, we have some few items to finalize. I think definitely it would not be great as last year [2014] but given the challenges in 2015, I think we did alright,” he said.

‘Pawikan’ sanctuary. The Aboitiz Foundation launches a campaign that aims to raise funds for the protection and preservation of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle in Punta Dumalag, Davao City, one of the last few remaining natural habitats for species of its kind. Aboitiz team members (in photo) demonstrate their passion for the environment by joining the campaign, which has made the Aboitiz Cleanery Park in Punta Dumalag, Davao City its breeding ground and home. Punta Dumalag is the chosen breeding ground of the elusive pawikan turtles, as well the other 66 other species of trees, birds and fishes.

Globe allots $750m for capital spending

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GLOBE Telecom Inc. on Monday said it plans to spend up to $750 million this year, down from a capital expenditure of $850 in 2015.

The company, owned by conglomerate Ayala Corp., said the 2016 capex included spending for the deployment of long-term evolution, increased network capacities and coverage and modernization of fixed line and data infrastructure.

Globe to date has 28,336 base stations, with over 18,300 for 4G1, to support the service requirements of customers.

Globe posted a net income of P16.5 billion in 2015, up 24 percent from P13.4 billion it booked in 2014.

The growth in profit was supported by one-time gains coming

from the sale of a 51-percent equity stake in Yondu Inc. and the acquisition of a 98.6-percent stake in Bayan Telecommunications Inc. Globe’s core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges, including one-time gains and accelerated depreciation charges, foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, also rose 4 percent to P15.1 billion from P14.5 billion in 2014.

Excluding Bayan’s results, Globe’s net income and core net income jumped 22 percent and 5 percent, respectively, from 2014, the company said.

Globe said it recorded consoli-

dated service revenues of P113.7 billion last year, or 15 percent higher than the previous record of P99 billion in 2014.

Globe said net income in 2015 jumped 23 percent from a year ago, bolstered by record revenues and one-time gains.

Globe’s mobile revenues grew 9 percent to P85.1 billion in 2015 from P78.1 billion reported a year ago, driven by strong revenues across all mobile brands.

Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 52.9 million as of end2015, up by 20 percent from 44 million subscribers reported in 2014.

Mobile data service revenues surged 55 percent in 2015 to P22.1 billion in 2015 from P14.3 billion in 2014 while broadband business, which now includes Bayan, also sustained its growth momentum, increasing both in revenues and subscriber base by 38 percent and

55 percent, respectively.

Total broadband service revenues reached P17.5 billion in 2015, with total subscriber base now at 4.3 million.

Globe’s fixed-line data business improved 40 percent to P7.7 billion in 2015 from P5.5 billion posted in 2014.

Globe in October borrowed P7 billion from Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to finance part of last year’s capital expenditures. Globe signed a 10-year, P5 billion and 7-year $45-million or P2-billion term loan with Metrobank.

“This new loan facility from Metrobank will help us address the demands of our customers in their continuing shift to a digital lifestyle. Globe is committed to invest in additional network capacities to handle the robust growth in data traffic from our customers,” Globe chief financial officer Alberto de Larrazabal earlier said.

Customs bureau asks banks to open on Saturdays THE Bureau of Customs on Monday urged banks to extend their hours to facilitate more transactions of the collecting agency and eliminate the congestion in the ports.

Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina told reporters he was in the middle of talks with the Bankers Association of the Philippines to extend banking hours to Saturdays.

Most commercial banks operate from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. 3 p.m.

“I talked with the bankers’ association earlier. I asked them

to open on Saturdays to clear cargoes for pullout on Sundays, where there is no truck ban and light traffic,” Lina said.

“We would like to maximize the whole of Sunday and early Monday morning up to lunch time,” he added.

Lina said the BAP committed to cooperate with Customs’ proposal, adding some of the lenders were already operating on Saturdays.

“With that, with a fast turnover, the price of goods will go down. No storages fees and prices will go down to the benefit of the

consumers. No more port congestion,” he said.

He also said if banks would be open for importers on Saturday, they could release close to about 10,000 containers in one day over the 2,000 containers processed during Sundays and early Mondays.

The BoC earlier extended its operating hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from the former 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lina said the new schedule posed a problem because the Customs staff arrive early ahead of the opening hours of the bank.

“Importers pay directly to banks. If BoC cannot verify from the banks that payment has been made, then shipment can’t be cleared for release. BoC doesn’t accept cash payments. They’re all auto debit,” the BoC said in a text message.

Manila ports experienced a congestion in 2014 that affected trade flows and caused a spike in basic commodity prices.

Lina earlier assured the public the port congestion would no longer occur under his watch as customs chief. Gabrielle H. Binaday

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Metals staging a comeback

By Megan Durisin

INVESTORS are jumping back into metals they were dumping as recently as a month ago.

A global slowdown has increased speculation that US growth will cool enough to force Federal Reserve policy makers to wait longer before raising interest rates again.

The prospect of delays sent the dollar lower and gave metals a boost as alternative investments. Speculators increased their bets on price gains for gold and silver and got less bearish on copper.

Gold and copper prices have climbed for three straight weeks,

the longest rally since at least midApril. The 80-member Bloomberg World Mining Index jumped 8 percent last week, adding more than $38 billion to the combined value of the companies. The metals are rebounding from a slump in 2015, when excess supplies and little investor interest spurred annual declines.

“The big driver for this move is a bit of a reversal in the macroeconomic picture,” said Maria Smirno-

va, a portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management in Toronto, which oversees C$8.5 billion ($6.1 billion). “All of a sudden, the Fed is acting dovish, growth seems to be slowing all around the world, interest rates are falling all around the world. It’s a risk-off trade right now where people are buying gold and other metals.”

Money managers boosted their combined net-long holdings across gold, silver and copper by 69 percent to 40,729 contracts in the week ended Feb. 2, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released three days later.

Just two weeks earlier, the funds were wagering on declines, with a

net-short position of 16,487. Gold climbed 3.7 percent last week to $1,157.70 an ounce in New York, while copper rose 1.7 percent.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index retreated last week by the most since March. A weaker US currency makes commodities attractive as stores of value. At the same time, looser monetary policy from central banks makes metals more competitive against other assets that pay interest. It also signals lower credit costs for producers.

The Bank of Japan in late January unexpectedly pushed interest rates below zero, and the European Central Bank has signaled it’s prepared to boost stimulus. Investors

are placing the odds of a US rate increase this year at just 53 percent, down from 91 percent a month ago.

Gold is one of the biggest benefactors of the economic slowdown because it’s also sought after as a haven asset. Prices are up 9.2 percent in 2016. Since the start of the year, investors added $2.4 billion to exchange-traded funds linked to precious metals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That follows a withdrawal of $2.7 billion in 2015, when bullion posted a third straight annual loss. The metal is “in the process of bottoming out,” analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a Feb. 5 report. Bloomberg

Chinese market electrifying for ‘green’ vehicles

This file photo taken on December 8, 2015 shows an Chinese-produced electric car being driven along a street on a heavily polluted day in Beijing.

Smog-choked cities are fueling a boom in electric vehicles in China, driving hopes for the industry’s global future, with the world’s biggest car market offering economies of scale that could make the technology mainstream. AFP

By Julien Girault BEIJING—Government subsidies are fueling a boom in electric vehicles in China, driving hopes for the industry’s global future as the world’s biggest car market offers economies of scale that could make the technology mainstream.

Sales of electric cars, though still modest, have rocketed fourfold in a year—thanks in part to lavish government handouts— as Beijing looks to cut down on dangerous air pollution that shrouds urban areas.

The sector has been a contrast with the rest of the market for cars in China, where growth has slowed markedly alongside the wider economy.

And observers say if carmakers can crack China, with its vast population and burgeoning middle class, the rest of the

planet could follow.

“If China gets moving on electric cars then that would automatically lower prices and have a favorable ripple effect across the whole world,” said Ernst and Young auto expert Jean-Francois Belorgey.

“Pollution levels mean the government has no other choice” than to encourage the development of new energy vehicles, he added.

Chinese cities are regularly smothered in a haze of particulates, often far exceeding global health guidelines.

While much of the pollution comes from coal burning for industry, vehicle exhausts exacerbate the problem.

Only 331,000 of the 24 million new cars sold in China last year were electric or plug-in hybrids.

Growing public anger has propelled Beijing to act, with central government subsidies

of up to 55,000 yuan ($8,400) for buyers of zero- or low-emission vehicles, which are often matched by local authorities.

The government says it wants five million “green” vehicles on the road by 2020 in the country of more than one billion people.

Drivers of such cars can also avoid restrictions imposed on heavy smog days, when some cities limit vehicles according to their license plate.

They are also exempt from lotteries for plates several cities have set up in an attempt to cap on the total number of cars.

Domestic firms have benefited, with Warren Buffett-backed Chinese firm BYD claiming to be the biggest electric vehicle maker in the world.

China’s Geely, which owns Volvo, is another major player, and says it wants to shift 90 percent of its sales to hybrid and electric vehicles by 2020 with

the government’s blessing.

Electric dreams The subsidy incentives only apply to domestic brands, not foreign manufactured cars, and the government says it will gradually phase them out by 2020 to ensure the sector does not become dependent on handouts.

Despite the handicap, foreign firms have also tried to cash in on the potential gold rush.

France’s Renault is one of a growing number of foreign manufacturers that see China as an ideal test ground for low-cost electric vehicles that can attract buyers in other markets.

The company opened its first Chinese factory last Monday in the central industrial hub of Wuhan and will start to produce electric cars there as early as next year, in cooperation with local company Dongfeng.

“If we can succeed in China

we can succeed elsewhere,” says Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn, whose firm has already produced several models in Europe.

US giant General Motors is making and selling its hybrid Cadillac CT6 in China, and exporting it to the United States, according to reports.

Its American rival Ford has announced it will invest $4.5 billion in electric cars between now and 2020, adding 13 models to its range, with a particular focus on China.

Mercedes-Benz also sells several hybrid models in China, and Nissan has a version of its electric Leaf on the Chinese market, and has found favour with domestic consumers.

On the margins But as with other parts of the world, the market still remains on the margins because relatively high costs and a lack of charging stations has dampened public enthusiasm.

“A large part of sales of vehicles with purely electric motors are transportation buses,” said Jia Xinguang, an expert from China Automotive Industry Consulting.

Another problem is that China generates most of the electric power which would be used to charge the cars from coal burning—the biggest source of the country’s smog.

Analysts say that if they are charged from a mostly coalpowered electricity grid, pollutant emissions from electric cars could be higher than their petrol equivalents.

Plug-in hybrids may have the most growth potential, Jia believes, since they use a combination of combustion and a rechargeable electric battery, allaying drivers’ worries about short-lived batteries.

Nevertheless, Hu Xindong, executive vice president of Dongfeng-Renault in China, is confident that “the demand is here.”

“The market is definitely going forward,” he said.

“In five or 10 years time, electric vehicle technologies and the production volume can only grow enormously.” AFP

TUESDAY: FEBRUARY 9, 2016

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Tokyo stocks up on weak yen Crude oil trades near $31 a barrel OIL traded near $31 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met to discuss cooperating to stabilize the market and US data signaled investors are split on the direction for prices.

Futures rose as much as 1.2 percent in New York, trimming last week’s 8.1 percent drop. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi met with his Venezuelan counterpart on Sunday in Riyadh, the Middle East nation’s petroleum ministry said in a statement, without elaborating on steps required to shore up the market.

Speculators’ short positions on crude were near a record while longs were at the highest since June, lifting total wagers to unprecedented levels, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission show.

“There are very little signs of abatement on the supply side,” Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “West Texas is likely to trade between $30 and $34. We could get a push outside of this, but I suspect that’s going to be a central range for months to come.”

Crude is still down about 16 percent this year amid concerns about Iran’s effort to boost exports after the removal of sanctions and brimming US crude stockpiles.

Prices will remain low for as long as 10 years as Chinese economic growth slows and the American shale industry acts as a cap on any rally, according to Ian Taylor, the chief executive officer of Vitol Group BV, the world’s largest independent oil trader.

West Texas Intermediate for March delivery gained as much as 37 cents to $31.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $31.16 at 2:30 p.m.

Hong Kong time. The contract fell 83 cents to $30.89 on Friday. Total volume traded was about 18 percent above the 100-day average.

TOKYO—Japanese stocks rallied as the dollar strengthened in holiday-thinned trade Monday, with most markets across Asia closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

A report Friday, showing that the US jobless rate had fallen to an eight-year low and wage growth had picked up, fueled speculation of another US interest rate rise next month despite the recent chaos on global stock exchanges.

Crude climbed almost one percent after major exporter Saudi Arabia said its oil minister Ali al-Naimi had met his Venezuelan counterpart Sunday to discuss the South American country’s talks with other producers to boost prices.

The plunge in prices to 12-

year lows—due to a major supply glut, weak demand and a strong dollar—has hammered producer nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria which rely on oil sales to fuel their economies.

However, the Opec producers’ group—of which Saudi Arabia is the key member—has refused to cut output as it tries to maintain market share in the face of competition from US shale.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate and Brent both climbed 0.9 percent, but analysts said there was unlikely

to be a real recovery in prices any time soon. WTI is down almost 20 percent this year and Brent down more than 10 percent.

“There are very little signs of abatement on the supply side,” Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

Japan’s Nikkei finished 1.1 percent higher, having fallen more than one percent soon after the open. Sydney closed flat.

The yen retreated against the dollar as dealers saw an increased chance of another US rate rise this year, after the January jobs report showed that hiring eased but the unemployment rate slipped to 4.9 percent and that wage growth increased modestly.

The Japanese currency had rallied last week on weak US data and comments from officials indicating they would hold off lifting rates at the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next month.

The yen had also gained despite the Bank of Japan’s adoption of a negative interest rate policy, effectively charging lenders to park their cash with it, in a bid to kickstart the economy.

But Tomomi Yamashita, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, said: “The yen will struggle to continue strengthening because Japan has adopted negative interest rates and [central bank governor Haruhiko] Kuroda is threatening more action.” AFP

ANA’s 30th. Some 388 employees of Japan’s All Nippon Airways Group companies and its partner companies stand in formation that reads ‘30th thanks’ in front of a Boeing 787 aircraft in front of a hangar at Narita International Airport in Chiba prefecture on February 8, 2016. ANA will celebrate its 30th anniversary since its first regular international flights this upcoming March 3. AFP

Morgan Stanley advises investors to stick to Treasuries MORGAN Stanley is recommending investors stick with long-term Treasuries as traders continue to pare bets on how fast the Federal Reserve can raise interest rates before Chair Janet Yellen gives her semi-annual testimony to Congress this week.

With yields on US 10-year notes within half a percentage point of an all-time low, Morgan Stanley strategists say there’s more room for them to fall as economic data underperform analysts’ estimates. They also recommend bullish positions in long-term bunds and gilts. The yield on the Bloomberg Global

Developed Sovereign Bond Index dropped to 0.77 percent on Friday, extending its decline to the lowest level since at least the start of 2010.

“Despite the meaningful decline in sovereign yields since the Fed lifted off in December, we would rather overstay our welcome than miss a continuation of the move to lower yields,” analysts led by New York-based Matthew Hornbach, head of global interest rate strategy, wrote in a client note dated Feb. 6. “We do not think Fed Chair Yellen’s testimony will loosen financial conditions enough for global yield

curves to steepen.”

Yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.861 percent as of 6:35 a.m. on Monday in London, halting a twoday decline. The price of the 2.25 percent security due in November 2025 fell 7/32, or $2.19 per $1,000 face amount, to 103 14/32.

In the best start to a year for Treasuries since the credit crisis, the 10-year yield has dropped 41 basis points as a rout in oil prices and concerns about global growth spurred an equity selloff that wiped out more than $6 trillion worldwide. The record low

reached on July 25, 2012, was 1.379 percent.

“At this moment, Treasury investors feel the yield is not at an attractive level to buy more, so that’s why their first instinct is to sell,” said Kazuaki Oh’E, head of fixed income at CIBC World Markets Japan Inc. in Tokyo. “But in a relative sense, the Treasury yield is really attractive compared to the rest of G-7, so it’s not going to rise too much.”

Ten-year Treasuries offered a 99 basis-point premium over the average of its Group of Seven peers Monday. Equivalent bunds yielded 0.296 percent, while Jap-

anese government bonds yield 0.04 percent.

Japanese investors bought a net 13.85 trillion yen ($118 billion) of long-term Treasuries last year, a record in Bank of Japan data to 2005.

Yellen is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and will address the Senate Banking Committee the next day. Futures indicated 53 percent odds of a follow-up rate increase before the end of 2016, down from 63 percent probability at the start of last week, and 93 percent at the beginning of the year. Bloomberg

T U E S D AY : F E B R U A R Y 9, 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

2 survivors pulled out after quake in Taiwan TAINAN, Taiwan—Two people were pulled alive from the rubble of an apartment complex in Taiwan Monday, more than 50 hours after it was felled by a powerful earthquake, as rescuers scrabbled to find 100 more still missing.

The rescues came as fears grow for more than 100 buried deep in the rubble of the Wei-kuan building in the southern city of Tainan, which was toppled Saturday.

The 6.4-magnitude quake left 37 confirmed dead, most of them from the apartment complex.

One man was lifted out by crane Monday and a woman was also freed after rescuers heard her cries for help.

The male survivor was named by officials as 40-year-old Lee Tsongtian—rescuers told how they had been trying to dig him out of the rubble for more than 20 hours but were unable to do so as he was trapped by his leg.

Doctors had been sent in to assess whether removing his leg would help save him, but felt there was not enough room for the operation.

He was eventually freed, but may need his leg amputated.

Tainan mayor William Lai said he talked to Lee just after he was rescued.

“I briefly chatted with him and he could communicate with his sister,” he said.

“But I’m afraid his left leg might need emergency treatment... it is not immediately clear whether he’ll be able to keep his leg, but doctors will do everything to treat him.”

The woman survivor was named as Tsao Wei-ling, 45, and is in a stable condition—her husband and two-year-old child were pulled out dead from the rubble, officials at the site said, with a search ongoing for five other members of her family trapped inside.

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou said there was still hope for survivors, even beyond the first 72-hour rescue window, the most likely time for people to be found alive.

“We will carry on until the last second. The golden 72 hours of rescue is the standard, but there are many exceptions,” said Ma after visiting two survivors at a Tainan hospital who are in a stable condition, with fractured bones.

One of them had lost her 10-day old baby and husband. Her two other children remain missing The other had lost her husband, while her son and pregnant daughter-in-law are missing.

“Many people are still trapped and our hearts are sinking,” said Ma. Tainan deputy mayor Yen Chuntso who visited the hospital with Ma added: “More than 100 people are trapped at the bottom and every single one of them is a challenge”, but pledged rescuers would not give up.

Cranes, drills, ladders, sniffer dogs and life detector equipment are being used to trace and extract the trapped, though with the building precarious, emergency workers and soldiers have also had to spend time bolstering the ruins. AFP

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Chaos as ‘fire monkey’ takes over in new year HONG KONG‚—As the Lunar New Year of the Monkey swings into action Monday, fortune tellers foresee 12 months of political and financial turbulence at the hands of the mischievous, unpredictable creature.

Present. Indian Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor attends the Kingfisher Ultra Indian Derby 2016 in Mumbai on February 7, 2016. AFP

Hong Kong’s respected feng shui masters expect an incendiary mix as the monkey combines with the fire element, but also say the year ahead will be a boom time for clever innovation and women will be in the ascendant.

The monkey is seen as belonging to the hard metal element, while fire represents the sun, says Hong Kong-based celebrity feng shui master Alion Yeo. “When the two things combine, it creates an extremely high temperature. We have to be prepared for a lot of disputes, sickness,” he told AFP. “One can even associate fire and metal with missiles, bullets or rockets,” he said.

Feng shui—literally meaning “wind-water”—is influential in many parts of Asia, where people adjust their lives and renovate offices and homes to maximise their luck and wealth according to its tenets.

It is based on ancient philosophy and the belief that all events are dictated by the varying balances in the five elements that make up the universe: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

Feng shui masters in Hong Kong also combine astrology into their art.

Hong Kong-based soothsayer Thierry Chow warned of shocking events at the hands of the “fire monkey”.

“Fire is dominant in the five elements. When fire is atop monkeys they will be swinging around, they will be difficult to predict. A lot of things will be unexpected,” said Chow.

The last fire monkey year happened in 1956, when Britain and France invaded Egypt during the Suez Canal crisis, a pivotal event that historians believe marked the demise of British imperial power.

But while the monkey may bring instability, it could also herald major innovation, said Chow, as technology falls into the “fire” category.

“There could be major breakthroughs in solarpowered energy, fire-related technologies, or the Internet,” she told AFP. The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and Chinese folklore ascribes 12 animals in rotation. The monkey is in the ninth position.

In its annual tongue-in-cheek “feng shui index”, CLSA, one of Asia’s leading brokerages, predicted a “volatile ride” for financial markets.

“There are going to be a lot of ups and downs. The monkey is a creature who is tricky and cunning,” Cherry Ma of the firm’s feng shui team said.

“There will be fluctuations but it also means opportunities for fast-movers,” she said.

The outgoing Year of the Sheep saw turbulence in global markets and a rout in China stocks with fears of an economic slowdown on the mainland.

Yeo predicts February and August will be the roughest times for investors, as the months clash with the presiding cosmic deity of the year, known as the “Tai Sui”. AFP

Stars, migrant crisis in focus at Berlin film fest BERLIN—Movies starring Colin Firth, Kirsten Dunst and Emma Thompson will vie for gold at the 66th Berlin film festival starting Thursday, with Meryl Streep as jury president and a spotlight on Europe’s refugee crisis.

The 11-day event, Europe’s first major cinema showcase of the year, will start with a gala screening of “Hail, Caesar!” with US directors Joel and Ethan Coen and stars George Clooney, Channing Tatum and Tilda Swinton expected on the red carpet in the wintry German capital.

The competition will kick off the

following day, with 18 films from around the world gunning for the Golden Bear top prize, which Streep’s seven-member panel will award on February 20.

Last year, top honors went to Iranian dissident director Jafar Pahahi, whose innovative “Taxi” had to be filmed in secret in a Tehran cab.

Among the most-anticipated pictures this year is “Genius”, the feature debut by British theater director Michael Grandage starring Oscar winner Firth as literary editor Max Perkins, who published

some of the 20th century’s greatest American writers.

Jude Law plays writer Thomas Wolfe, Nicole Kidman his lover and muse Aline Bernstein, with Dominic West portraying Ernest Hemingway and Guy Pearce as F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Also generating buzz ahead of the festival is a new adaptation of the international bestseller “Alone in Berlin”, Hans Fallada’s 1947 novel which is based on a true story.

The Nazi-era thriller sees Thompson and Irish actor Brendan Gleeson play a working-class

German couple who mount a daring resistance campaign after losing their only son in the war.

Another first feature, “Hedi” by Tunisian filmmaker Mohamed Ben Attia, tells a love story set in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. It will be the first film made entirely in the Arab world to appear in competition in Berlin in two decades.

“The overarching theme this year is the right to happiness—the right to a home, to love, to self-determination, to life and to survival,” festival director Dieter Kosslick told reporters. AFP

T U E S D AY : F E B R U A R Y 9, 2 0 1 6

B8 Carnival conquers Zika fears with Zamba

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

RIO DE JANEIRO—With crazy costumes, pulsating music—and a dab of mosquito repellent—the Rio Carnival’s top performers swatted aside Zika worries Sunday to get down for the world’s biggest party.

Some 70,000 fans cheered, sang and shook their hips in the stands of Rio’s purpose-built dancing stadium, the Sambadrome, as competing ensembles, or samba schools, passed in a blur of feathers, glitter, flesh and extraordinary floats depicting everything from castles to gods.

The samba dance-off between the 12 best schools out of around 100 in Brazil’s most iconic city was the culmination of a Carnival season drawing an estimated five million party-goers over several weeks.

Parades, with each school featuring thousands of dancers, drummers and singers, were to Carnival. Revelers of Unidos da Tijuca samba school perform during the first night of the carnival parade at Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, run all night, then again through a on February 8, 2016. AFP second, final night Monday.

And nothing—certainly not the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus blamed for causing a rash of birth defects in Brazil—was getting in the way.

“We’ve all got repellent on,” said Yasmin Victoria, 27, who was with the Uniao da Ilha samba school.

“But I don’t think any kind of fear would be enough to stop Carnival.”

“Despite the problems in our country, our people can’t lose their love of partying. And whatever SEOUL—Official moves towards the deployment— lyst at IHS Aerospace, Defense and According to Joel Wit, a senior happens in our country, it’s still the Security. fellow at the US-Korea Institute at country of samba,” added her cous- fiercely opposed by China—of a US missile defense But beyond the strategic logic Johns Hopkins University and the in Luanny Victoria, 19, who was system in South Korea highlight the inherent dangers lies a diplomatic imperative, which founder of its North Korea website, about to dance in a skimpy golden of disunity in dealing with North Korea’s growing mili- suggests an eventual THAAD de- 38North, frustration with China’s outfit with vast green feather wings. ployment may be less motivated stance has driven forward the pos“People have to put those prob- tary threat, analysts say. by what North Korea is doing and sibility of deploying THAAD in lems aside, at least for the three more by what China is not doing.

South Korea.

Hours after North Korea’s long- ister for policy. days of Carnival.”

China is North Korea’s main “This is a way of sending a signal Yoo’s reasoning is hard to fault diplomatic protector, and both to China that what North Korea Rio will become South America’s range rocket launch on Sunday, first city to host the Summer South Korean and US military of- in the wake of the North’s fourth Washington and Seoul have been does has real consequences, inOlympics this August and the ficials announced they would be- nuclear test on January 6 and pressing Beijing to take a tougher cluding consequences for Beijing’s Carnival looked forward to the gin formal discussions on placing Monday’s rocket launch, which line with Pyongyang over its nucle- own security interests,” Wit said. event at its opening ceremony with the Terminal High Altitude Area was widely regarded as a covert ar weapons program.

China’s response to that signal a huge model of the Olympic torch. Defense System on the North’s ballistic missile test.

But China, wary of the con- was swift and unequivocally nega“This nuclear testing coupled sequences of a collapsing North tive.

The Uniao da Ilha school took doorstep.

The rationale was a clear neces- with the testing of ballistic mis- Korea on its border, has resisted the Olympic theme for its parade, While it only managed a rather with Greek gods, gyrating judo sity to upgrade the defense posture sile technology ... was always punitive sanctions before, and muted expression of “regret” over fighters, men on bicycles suspended of the South Korea-US military likely to strengthen the argument looks set to do so again as the UN the North’s rocket launch, it was in the air. There was even a nod to alliance “against North Korea’s that South Korea needs to bol- Security Council debates its re- quick to voice its “deep concern” at the Paralympics with a dancing and advancing threats,” said Yoo Jeh- ster its missile defenses,” said Ben sponse to Pyongyang’s latest prov- the prospect of South Korea introSeung, Seoul’s deputy defense min- Goodlad, principal weapons ana- ocations. singing wheelchair contingent. AFP ducing the US missile system.

Missile shield highlights divisions over N. Korea

Desperate Syrians wait at the border

Battle of the oranges. Members of orange battle teams throw oranges at each other during the traditional ‘battle of the oranges’ held during the carnival in Ivrea, near Turin, on February 7, 2016. During the event that marks the people’s rebellion against the tyrannical lords who ruled the town in the Middle Ages, the revelers parading on floats represent the guards of the tyrant, and those on foot the townsfolk. AFP

ONCUPINAR, Turkey—Tens of thousands of Syrians were stranded at the border with Turkey on Monday after escaping a Russiabacked government offensive in Aleppo, as Germany’s chancellor prepared to visit Ankara to press for tighter border controls.

Turkey has vowed to help the crowds of people, including many women and children, but has not opened its borders and aid agencies have warned they are facing a “desperate” situation as they wait for help.

“Turkey has reached the limit of its capacity to absorb the refugees,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan

Kurtulmus told CNN Turk television.

“But in the end, these people have nowhere else to go. Either they will die beneath the bombings... or we will open our borders.

“We are not in a position to tell them not to come. If we do, we would be abandoning them to their deaths.”

Turkey’s Oncupinar border crossing, which faces the Bab alSalama frontier post inside Syria, remained closed on Sunday as thousands of refugees gathered there for a third day waiting for the gate to open.

Carrying their few belongings, Syrians queued in the cold and rain

in squalid camps waiting for tents being distributed by aid agencies.

Others are reportedly sleeping in fields and on roads.

A Turkish official said the crossing was “open for emergency situations,” adding that seven injured people have been taken for treatment in Turkish hospitals.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey is “under threat,” and pledged that “if necessary, we have to and will let our brothers in”.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday Turkey had already received 5,000 fleeing the offensive and another 50,000 to 55,000 were on their way. AFP

TUESDAY : FEB RUARY 9, 2016

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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

A RTS, CU LT U RE & T ECH

LIFE Part of the installation for the The Running Fence

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The Running Fence, 1-8, plaster of paris, variable size, 2015

A closer look at The Gate

ROBERTO ROBLES AND THE MAMBO BEAT OF THE EDSA REVOLUTION

O

n February 22-25, Filipinos (or at least those old enough to remember) will be commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. For artist Roberto Marcelo Afable Robles – who was a boy at the time – the memories of EDSA are still vivid.

No surprise therefore that his latest conceptual art installation, entitled “Here is How the Transition into the Mambo Beat Looks Like 2016” and presented

by Galleria Duemila and the Yuchengco Museum, is an expression of the artist’s personal sentiments on the peaceful revolution that has made the Philippines and Filipinos a byword as far as restoring democracy is concerned.

As a matter of fact, one part of the installation called The Running Fence was sparked by the University of the Easteducated artist’s memory of the Martial Law years, when fences were erected along the streets of Manila that he knew as a boy.

Robles, who has been represented by Galleria Duemila since 1995, admits that his intention is “to express the struggle of each Filipino to uphold,

The stark white plaster of Paris and wood installation on view at Yuchengco Museum's lobby

to remove the fence of ignorance, to set the spirit free” through his art – whether through painting, mixed media, sculpture, or art installation.

The Gate, plaster of paris, wood, 289 x 200 x71 cm, 2013-2015

The title of his works currently shown at the Yuchengco Museum actually refers to an exhibit of the same title mounted in 1986, the year of the EDSA People Power

Revolution. In true Dadaist fashion, Robles – who maintains that the current exhibit “still moves to the beat of mambo music towards emancipation” – randomly chose the title phrase from a book, as if to say that the social and political conditions today are reminiscent of how things were three decades ago. The repetition of various elements in the installation, like the structure of mambo music, follows our “ups and downs towards nationalism,” the artist says.

Described as an artist who “works with monk-like austerity and devotion,” Robles adds another stanza to his poetic body of work with Here Is How the Transition into the Mambo Beat Looks Like 2016.

Aside from considering basic shapes such as the oval and the square, Robles’s stark white sculptures pay homage to artists and themes that have claimed the artist’s attention for years.

The stark white plaster of Paris and wood installation is on view at Yuchengco Museum’s lobby until February 27. The museum is located at RCBC Plaza, corner Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenues, Makati. Museum hours are Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (632) 889-1234 or visit www.yuchengcomuseum.org.

Roberto Robles expresses his own sentiments on the fight for democracy through various forms of his art

TUESDAY : FEB RUARY 9, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

EXHIBITS African Art Galerie Astra, LRI Design Plaza, Makati City Ongoing until February 16

The Journey of Mankind: First Humans Out of Africa Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City February 9 to March 4

A former European diplomat stationed in West Africa in the ‘80s exhibits 34 pieces of African art from his collection. On display are famous pieces like Dan Masks, Nomoli Stone Sculptures, and women Sande Society’s Helmet Masks which are known for their artistic, intrinsic and material value.

These masks and figures are valuable to Africans as they are used in rituals. But many Europeans have become interested in their aesthetic value, thus many artists and art enthusiasts started collecting them.

To share the stories of how the first men – our ancestors – were able to survive and became the men that we know now, the Ateneo Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Rizal Library, in collaboration with Crania Heritage Sciences, Inc., present a series of exhibits about the journey of the Homo erectus in Africa.

The exhibit will showcase fossils from animals, such as the skull of a saber-tooth cat, the skull of an extinct wolf, Canis etruscus, an elephant molar, and five stone tools dating back to 1.77 million years ago.

But the stars of the show are three wellpreserved human skulls found in Dmanisi, Georgia, a few kilometers away from East Africa where the Homo erectus is believed to have evolved.

The exhibition will focus on the discovery of these skulls and on analyzing how the first humans adapted after leaving Africa.

For inquiries on this ongoing exhibit, contact the art gallery at (02) 890-3988.

Afflictions of Glory Leon Gallery, Corinthian Plaza, Makati City Ongoing until February 21 In celebration of the 100th birth year of Alfonso Ossorio, a selection of his works are exhibited here in the Philippines for the first time.

The works on display curated by Liliane Rejante Manahan and Lisa Guerrero Nakpil represent Ossorio’s colorful, prolific and imaginative years as an artist who emerged from the Abstract Expressionist movement in the 1950s.

The museum-goers will see how the modern artist birthed new techniques and form of expression while he was working on the mural for the Chapel of Saint Joseph the Worker in Negros Occidental and struggling with his own conflicts.

Call (02) 856-2781 or email info@ leon-gallery.com for more information on the exhibit.

Stagnant Energies Tall Gallery, Finale Art File, Makati City Ongoing until February 27 Filipina-Italian Romina Diaz presents a series of black and white photographs featuring abandoned spaces and corners to show that life once revolved, and still lies, around these forgotten places.

Spending nearly half of her life in Florence, Italy, Diaz witnessed how the European nation valued its history by protecting the places that hold the memories of their origins as a nation; and in contrast, she saw how Filipinos had such little sensibility towards these kinds of places, so much so that new development immediately rises in place of these neglected spaces.

Through the images, the balikbayan artist captures the memory and possibility of these asylums – that replacing and forgetting about them entirely is not the only option.

For more details, visit www. finaleartfile.com.

The traveling exhibition will be launched at the Ateneo de Manila University today, and will go to seven other schools in Manila.

For more information, contact (02) 3769422 or email ucpro@ateneo.edu.

CONCERTS Kundiman, Atbp.

Ground Floor Lobby, Ayala Museum, Makati City February 11; 6:30 p.m.

Treat yourself to an evening of original Filipino music as Ayala Museum’s Concert Series presents the first show of GuitarNights that will bring four talented classical guitarists to showcase their rendition of our popular folk songs, ballads and contemporary love songs.

Aaron Aguila, Ramoncito Carpio, Jordan Amaca and Lester Demetillo will serenade the audience, together with special guests Stefanie Quintin (soprano), Astarte Abraham (mezzo soprano) and Nicole Tejedor (clarinet).

Ticket prices range from P300 to P700, and are now available for sale at the Ayala Museum ticket counter, open during museum hours. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 759-8288 loc. 31 or email concerts@ayalamuseum.org.

WORKSHOPS Short Fiction Writing Ayala Museum, Makati City February 14, 21 and 28 Believing that a writing career need not begin with a doorstopper of a novel, author and publisher of romance fiction Mina Esguerra will help aspiring fiction writers craft and finish their first short story that might just be the stepping stone for them to become successful fictionists.

With digital publishing and e-books, writers now have numerous options to be working, earning authors of short fiction, writing romance, suspense, science fiction, or fantasy.

Learn how to create a compelling and effective story in three sessions for P4,000.

Contact (02) 759-8288 for more details on this workshop.

TUESDAY : FEB RUARY 9, 2016

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

RED TURNIP GOES ROMANTIC WITH CONSTELLATIONS

F

or the love month, Red Turnip of potential leading men for this role, presents the Asian premiere of and JC simply stood out because of his Nick Payne’s romantic odyssey natural sensitivity and charm. He is an Constellations. This critically exciting new talent and I can’t wait for acclaimed play premiered in London everyone to see what these two actors back in 2012, and early this year, it are going to bring to the table,” the premiered on Broadway with Jake director adds.

Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson with The play, which will debut in the seats sold out. newest entertainment hub, The Power For the Asian premiere, featured Mac Spotlight Theater at the newly performers are Aliw Award winner opened Circuit in Makati, will be a and three-time Gawad Buhay Award shift from the usual pieces that Red winner for Best Turnip presents. “The Actress Cris Villonco, Power Mac Spotlight and rising star JC Theater is a gorgeous Santos who was new black box in a recently nominated very accessible area in as Gawad Urian Best Makati. I couldn’t be Actor nominee for happier to be finally his performance in getting around to what the independent film we had always wanted Esprit De Corps. The for our company. We play is directed by are constantly evolving Rem Zamora, who and are grateful for had a successful run an audience that for Red Turnip’s Cock embraces our dynamic and Time Stands Still. and unpredictable “There was choices with open no question that arms,” shares Red Cris Villonco was Cris Villonco and JC Santos Turnip founder Ana absolutely right Abad Santos. for this role. She is a wonderful and Constellations opens on February 12 intelligent actress of unparalleled and runs on weekends until March 6 at range. She really is at the top of her the Power Mac Center Spotlight Theater in game. I couldn’t think of any other Circuit Makati located at Level 2, Circuit young actress who would be able to Lane, A.P. Reyes Ave., Makati City. Tickets navigate this very rich, complex script are available through TicketWorld (all outlets, as she can,” says Zamora. “She also call 891-9999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph) has a very easy chemistry with JC. or Red Turnip Theater at redturniptheater@ The play can’t come to life if you don’t gmail.com. Get updates at RedTurnipTheater believe in these two characters and on Facebook, or visit redturniptheater.wix. their relationship. I auditioned a lot com/redturniptheater.

T EC H TA L K

ACER BRINGS PRODUCTIVITY TO THE NEXT LEVEL WITH THE LIQUID JADE PRIMO SMARTPHONE

A

cer recently launched its latest Windows phone Liquid Jade Primo, a 5.5-inch premium smartphone running on Windows 10 Mobile.

The design gives off a premium appeal with its sleek and slim profile, with a curved back cover that fits comfortably in the hand and an ergonomic 2.5D Corning® Gorilla® Glass screen. The back also has a brushed metal effect on the rear and an overall fine hairline-brushed finish reaching the front covers.

Because it’s on Windows system, the unit allows Windows 10 universal apps to provide a PC-like experience when the smartphone is connected to a secondary display. This feature makes the smartphone accessible to connect to a TV or monitor at hotels or anywhere for productivity-intensive applications.

That means you need not lug around your laptops to work on office materials especially when you’re on the go. This also allows presentation decks to be projected even on large screen via the “Presenter View” on the smartphone that give you control while you’re

presenting to your boss or clients.

The smartphone promises multitasking capabilities and it highlights playing videos on TV while using other apps on the smartphone simultaneously. Using a USB Type-C monitor wireless display accessories or the Display Dock, the Liquid Jade Primo can also provide a PC-like experience on an external display with Windows 10 universal apps.

With all these multitasking functions, Acer designed an advanced cooling system that efficiently dissipates the heat from the processor, while also reducing the overall rear surface temperature, so you wouldn’t have to worry about overheating. If you’re more worried about your phone security, the Liquid Jade Primo allows for full encryption of all user data stored on internal memory, protecting the device from offline hardware-level attacks.

Exact specifications, prices, and availability vary by region. To find out about availability, product specifications and prices in specific markets, please contact the nearest Acer office or retailer via www.acer.com.

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TUESDAY : FEB RUARY 9, 2016

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE A BITE OF CINEMANSANAS? POWER MAC CENTER ANNOUNCES CALL FOR ENTRIES TO DIGITAL SHORT COMPETITION

P

remier Apple reseller Power Mac Center is challenging artists to defy convention and create a short film using Apple devices via Cinemansanas, a digital competition that calls for short film entries with the theme “Designing for a Bold New World.”

Cinemansanas, which is the second installment of Pixelworx – Power Mac Center’s advocacy of recognizing artists who dare to break the standards of the art scene – is actually a campaign for aspiring and established artists who have a vision in storytelling through film in the digital age, and celebrated with a series of workshops, live demos, and an ultimate art challenge.

Entries to Cinemansanas may be documentaries, narrative fiction or any other form as long as the materials are original, and of course shot and edited using Apple devices. The contest has two main categories: the Student Category which is open to all officially enrolled high school and college/ university students while the Professional Category is for locals. All finalists in the Student and Professional categories will qualify for a chance to win the People’s Choice Award.

Just like the first installment, this year’s Pixelworx Cinemansanas will feature a series of workshops led by brand ambassadors that include Erik Matti for direction, Yam Laranas for cinematography, Ricky Lee for scriptwriting, and Mario Cornejo and Monster Jimenez for film production. These ambassadors are noted for their unconventional way of visual storytelling, and they will share their expertise to equip participants with valuable skills that can help in their own filmmaking.

Apart from the workshops, also scheduled are live demo sessions of apps used for filmmaking in select Power Mac Center stores. Topics include Digital Filmmaking with iMovie, Musical Scoring with GarageBand, and

Final Cut Pro X for Mac OS. This will show how Apple devices can be used as instruments in crafting in any chosen medium, particularly in creating film masterpieces.

Power Mac Center aims to honor the brightest and best local talents in contemporary creativity further by participating at the Adobo Design Awards Asia (ADAA) Open/Theme category: Digital Short

Film. Student entries are automatically eligible to win the much-coveted ADAA recognition (Student category) while professionals will have to pay a nominal fee of P500 for their category (exclusive of a 12 percent VAT).

The Student Category Diamond Award winner will receive P30,000 worth of Power Mac Center Gift Cards, while the Professional Category Diamond Award winner will take home P50,000 worth of Power Mac Center Gift Cards. Runnersup in both categories will get Power Mac Center Gift Cards and products as well. Special prizes also await winners of the Adobo Design Award for Digital Short (Student and Professional categories) and the People’s Choice Award.

“Power Mac Center challenges everyone to reconnect with their inner artist. We need a new breed of storytellers now and with the amazing things you can do on the iPad and iPhone, the only limit is your creativity,” said Joey Alvarez, marketing director of Power Mac Center.

The deadline for submission of entries is on March 20. For the registration form and full contest mechanics, visit www.powermaccenter.com. For more information, you may also check out the Power Mac Center social media accounts, visit any Power Mac Center branch, or call 855-8888.

T uESDAY : F EbRuA RY 9, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

The Other Side of the Door is a british-Indian supernatural horror film

by Johannes Roberts

FInE lInE bETwEEn

ThE lIvIng anD ThE DEaD

T

he Other Side of the Door explores on really clicked together for me,” says Roberts, who began the forbidden in Asian cultures that working on a script with his longtime writing partner Erhave existed thousands of years. In the nest Riera. movie, a family lives an idyllic existence “Johannes came to me with this idea of a woman who abroad until a tragic accident takes the lost a son, but who could talk to him through a temple life of their young son. The inconsolable mother learns of door,” says Riera. After months of scribbling ideas on an ancient ritual that will bring him back to say a final napkins and coffee stirrers, they knew they were onto goodbye. She travels to an ancient temple, where a door something special. serves as a mysterious portal between two worlds. HowAs a diehard genre fan, Roberts says he “enjoys conever, when she disobeys a sacred warning about never necting with my own fears, escaping from everyday life, opening that door, she upsets the baland experiencing a catharsis. While ance between life and death. writing the screenplay, Roberts and Set in India, The Other Side of the Riera felt immersed in their own Door stars Sarah Wayne Callies and ghost story. “Writing is like watchJeremy Sisto, as Maria and Michael ing a horror film – when we start who are both devoted to their chilwriting we become obsessed, and dren in helping them adapt in a forwhen we finish it we are possessed eign land. Writer-director Johannes by the story,” Roberts notes.

Roberts, who had been exploring Even before travelling to India, the concept of a spirit that lived on Roberts had decided he wanted the other side of a foreboding door, audiences to experience the genre says that the film is inspired by bethrough a different cultural lens. liefs when he was growing up, “I A scene from The other Side of the door “When I did visit the city of Mumremember being reminded don’t go up bai in India, I discovered a fascinating, in the attic, don’t feed the gremlins after midnight – when dark city, and not the relaxing ‘Hotel Marigold’ version,” you’re wondering what’s going to happen and when is it Roberts recalls. “I really liked that.” going to happen,” he recalls.

Riera continues, “We wanted to find a setting for the Roberts learned of an abandoned Indian village, Bhan- film in a faraway country, which would facilitate a suspengarh, which was rumored to have a haunted temple that sion of disbelief in ghosts.” warned visitors it was illegal to enter at night. That notion The Other Side of the Dooropens on Feb. 24 from 20th immediately struck a chord with the filmmaker. “The Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. concept of being warned against opening the door, and Check the movie’s chilling trailer here:https://www. a village where the ghosts of the dead walk after sunset, youtube.com/watch?v=IGRKF0i18Bo Vinyl stars bobby Cannavale and birgitte Hjort Sørensen

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Child actors in the supernatural horror film

American actor Jeremy Sisto (left) as michael

‘VInYl’ pREmIERES on Hbo AnD Hbo Go A new EP featuring music in the upcoming episode will then be released weekly. This first-of-its-kind slate of musical offerings will culminate with a second full-length soundtrack, Vinyl: Music from the HBO® Original Series – Volume 1: Finale, to be released in April, in conjunction with Vinyl’s season finale on HBO. From Academy Award® winner and Emmy® winner Martin Scorsese, Golden Globe winner and Emmy® nominee Mick Jagger and Academy Award® nominee and multiple Emmy® winner Terence Winter, Vinyl is set in 1970s New York. A ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business at the dawn of punk, disco, and hip-hop, the series is seen through the eyes of record label president, Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale), who is trying to save his company and his

soul without destroying everyone in his path. The series also stars Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, AtoEssandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, BirgitteHjortSørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger and Paul Ben-Victor.

The 10-episode first season of Vinyl debuts in the Philippines same time as the US, on Feb.15 at 10a.m. on HBO, with a same day primetime encore at 10p.m. New hour-long episodes debut every Monday on HBO at the same time, or catch them anytime anywhere on HBO GO. Vinyl: Music from the HBO® Original Series – Volume 1, a full length musical companion to HBO’s new drama series, Vinyl, distributed by Warner Music Asia in the Philippines,will be available on Feb. 13, ahead of its Feb.15 series premiere on HBO and HBO GO.

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T uESDAY : F EbRuA RY 9, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

DOug lEvEls up gamE fOR ChEska fOR valEnTInE’s Day

T

he sweetest surprises come in the most unexpected circumstances.

Doug Kramer—a player in the Philippine Basketball Association known as GlobalPort Batang Pier’s power forward—revealed on Jan. 31 his biggest surprise yet for his wife, Cheska Garcia-Kramer Cheska is an actress, social media icon and mother to Kendra, Scarlet and Gavin. The family is widely known in the country as ‘Team Kramer.’

According to Ned Bandojo, head of Marketing of Red Ribbon, Doug took his Valentine’s Day surprise to Cheska to new romantic heights by proclaiming his love for his wife via a 40 by 60-feet billboard along C5 Bagong Ilog Bridge in Pasig.

“Doug found a very unusual way of showing his love for Cheska, and it is something beyond imaginable,” Bandojo said. “We, his Red Ribbon family, are really glad to be part of Doug’s pre-Valentine’s Day surprise forCheska because this only shows how the brand complements Valentine’s Day. We hope that, together with our Valentine’s Black Forest cake, we were able to bring in more sweetness to their relationship and to the whole family as well.”

Red Ribbon—one of the leading bakeshop chains in the Philippines—is set to launch on Feb. 12 its Valentine’s Black Forest Cake, a limited edition heart-shaped variant that’s made with rich chocolate, fluffy cream and juicy cherries.

“The Valentine’s Black Forest Cake allows couples to re-

FEBRUARY 9, 2016 Doug Kramer uses billboard to surprise wife on Valentine’s Day

kindle their sweetest memories on Valentine’s Day. If you want to surprise your loved one with something different just like what Doug did to Cheska, then Red Ribbon’s limited edition offering is the right one for you,” Bandojo said.

He concluded, “Surprises may come in different ways, forms and times, but it’s always for the right reason—it’s to show how much couples mean to each other.”

You can also make your loved ones’ Valentine’s Day sweeter with Red Ribbon Valentine Black Forest cake, available from Feb. 12 to 14.

A view of the big tarp Doug Kramer used to surprise Cheska

‘bITuINg WAlANg NINgNINg: THE MuSICAl’ TouCHES MEgASTAR’S HEART

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Megastar Sharon Cuneta dazzled by bituing Walang Ningning The Musical

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE

ACROSS 1 Hunks’ assets 5 “— Tuesday” 9 Dreads 14 King beaters 15 Perry’s creator 16 Refute 17 Logical half (2 wds.)

19 Melancholy poem 20 — Paulo, Brazil 21 Shrill bark 22 Track events

23 Soft wools 25 Pretty good 26 Retina cell 27 Advice 30 Handed over 33 Street talk 34 Annoy 36 Redding of R&B 37 String-quartet member 38 Foreign film ender 39 Movie rat 40 Cracks in volcanos

he curtains were raised one last time for the allFilipino production BituingWalang Ningning: The Musical and as the cast returned onstage for the curtain call, another shining star seated in the audience was in tears of joy.

This was the scene during the final show of Resorts World Manila’s (RWM) breakthrough production of the Filipino classic with no less than Sharon Cuneta and husband Francis Pangilinan in the audience.The Megastar immortalized

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016

13 Dirty place 41 The One-L Lama 18 Romantic poet 42 Large butterfly 22 Hawaii’s — Kea 44 PC screen 24 Natural resources 45 Author — Rice 25 Young horses 46 Blinked on 27 Bolt material and off 28 Sinister 50 Avalanche 29 Jazzy — Horne 52 Use paper and 30 Tar string 31 Bit of gossip 53 Galleon cargo 32 “In — veritas” 54 Crochet favorite 33 After 55 Backfire 57 Mr. Spock’s father 35 Noon on a sundial 37 Fogg’s creator 58 For takeout 38 Suet and tallow (2 wds.)

40 Type of beard 59 Fedora front (2 wds.)

60 Gridiron deal 41 Window covering 61 Ex-U.N. member 43 Fastened shut 62 Glimmering 44 Din DOWN 46 Swamp chorus 1 Hobby shop wood 47 Miser’s cache 2 Barracuda habitat 48 Bilko’s name 3 Clear the wind49 Tenet shield 50 Go hang-gliding 4 Former JFK arrival 51 Turkish coin 5 Verify a recipe 6 Where Asia begins 52 Puts the moves on 54 Summer hrs.

7 Brief upturn 55 Heat unit 8 Urge 56 Box-score column 9 Releasing 10 Moray catchers 11 Help a hoodlum 12 Dancers cut them

the role of Dorina Pineda in the 1985 VIVA Films movie.

Sharon commended the performance of lead star Monica Cuenco, who recently won Best New Female Artist in the ALIW Awards in December. “I love Monica’s performance,” Sharon shared backstage. “Now that I have seen her onstage doing theater, I can now say that she has evolved into a true star and I’m very proud of her. I hope she continues to do well in her career,” she added noting that Monica

was one of the finalists in her former show Star Power.

The iconic Filipina actress was evidently moved by the new take on her classic film as she wiped her eyes in numerous scenes.

“The show was truly impressive.

The whole cast was really great,” Sharon said. “I used to have reservations about watching the musical because I am truly possessive of my work. But after watching the show, I can now say that I am not the only Dorina, just the first Dorina.

T UES DAY : F EBRUA RY 9, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C7

****

HEART AND CHIZ’S DOUBLE CELEBRATION IN SORSOGON WITH the success of Oceans Apart (last day to look at the paintings tomorrow, Feb. 10) at Art Space in Ayala Museum, Heart said that she and her husband, Senator Chiz Escudero, are very thankful for all the blessings they had received last year, especially the reconciliation of Chiz and her parents.

The couple decided against their original plan to hold a renewal of marital vows on Feb. 15 to mark their first wedding anniversary to avoid talks about attracting attention to themselves as the campaign has begun.

“Ayaw din kasi namin mabigyan ng kulay ang isang magandang bagay. Hindi rin sya timing kahit gusto namin,” Heart said.

What the couple will do is to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Escudero hometown in Sorsogon. It will also be a celebration of Heart’s 31st birthday. The double celebration will be very simple. They will be with family and friends.

“Punta kaming Sorsogon tapos salubong na rin ng wedding anniversary namin doon. Masaya naman na ako sa ganon eh.

Andun yung mga kaibigan ko yung kapatid ko,” Heart shared. ****

BFF Lovi Poe and Solenn Heussaff together in a concert

From C8

LOVI AND SOLENN’S ‘FANTAISIE’ A HIT

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ut on stage two hot singers/ actresses and you’ve got a fantastic pre-Valentine show.

That’s exactly what happened last Saturday at the Music Museum where Lovi Poe and Solenn Heusaff shared the theaterrestaurant’s stsage for their first musical show together ahead of other Valentine shows this week.

Although she is more popular among showbiz fans as an actress, very few know that Lovi Poe’s biggest passions has always been music.

The singer-actress affirmed that passion last Saturday night at Music

Museum in the concert Fantaisie with Solenn Heussaff.

The show is about two girls exchanging notes on love, heartbreak and, in the words of Lovi, “tiny bit of naughtiness.”

“Imagine our bedroom…we talk everything that is really personal… about our dream guys and even the things that we went through before…”

Lovi said days before the show. “Para siyang (the concert) different stages of love, falling in love, then reality hits you and you go through a lot of terrible things…(so) either you move on or you try to work things out.”

Lovi and Solenn’s fans had a great time that Saturday night, and despite the drizzle, the theater was steaming hot (not that the air-conditioning malfunctioned) with the songs of the two that roller-coasted along yearning, hoping, and loving.

“The audience will understand nahindilangnamansila nag-iisa,” Lov said during an interview before the show.

“Kumbagayungpinagdadaananngbawatisasaatin, ay pinagdadananan din namin.”

Guesting with Lovi and Solenn were JC de Vera, Rodjun Cruz and Ogie Alcasid.

LUCILLE DECEIVES KARA LUCILLE (CarminaVillaroel) manipulates Kara (Julia Montes) and uses her as an ace in ruining their family in the afternoon series Doble Kara.

As Lucille continues on taking back Antonio’s (Allan Dizon) wealth, she deceives Kara with her kind ways and gets her trust to put her plans of wrecking their family to work. Believing that the two patched things up, Sara bursts with anger and asks her twin sister to choose between Lucille and Laura.

Whose side would Kara choose? What tricks does Lucille still have up her sleeves? What will Kara do once she learns that Lucille just uses her to take back their inherited wealth?

Don’t miss the exciting scenes in Doble Kara, Monday to Friday, after It’s Showtime on ABS-CBN Kapamilya Gold.

For more information about the program, visit the official social networking site of Dreamscape Entertainment Television at Facebook.com/DreamscapePH, Twitter.com/DreamscapePH, and Instagram.com/DreamscapePH.

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EDRAY’S DEBUT SINGLE ‘PUEDEPENDE’

Teen singer and former The Voice Kids finalist drops her debut record

THE 15-year old top six finalist of the The Voice Kids Season 1,Edray, is all prepped up to take over the music scene with her debut single “Puedepende”. At a very early age even before joining The Voice Kids, she was already singing along to OPM greats like Gary Valenciano and Martin Nievera. Her love for music also became her motivation to perform and aspire for a spot in the music industry. With coach Bamboo’s help, she was able to improve her singing, and stage presence.

The Voice Kids Season 1 served as Edray’s training ground for something bigger in the future.

Witty yet simple and cute best describe Edray’s debut single written byJungee Marcelo, who is also responsible for the songs “Nasa ‘Yo Na Ang Lahat” by Daniel Padilla and Zia Quizon’s “Ako Na Lang”. With Edray’s beautiful voice the song “Puedepende” comes to life.

“It was an honor to be able to interpret one of Mr. Jungee’s songs!” the young singer said.

“I really enjoyed recording this song and I poured my heart out into every note and I hope everyone enjoys my debut single!” Edray said. “Puedepende” is one of those songs that have a very catchy melody and with endearing lyrics that is very easy to relate to, especially to the younger audiences.

To listen to Edray’s debut single, “Puedepende” is available on Spinnr, Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer, and Guvera, while the music and lyric video is available for viewing in VEVO. The single will also be available in CDs via the compilation “The Hottest Pinoy Hits Ever” released on Feb. 5.

For inquiries and bookings, contact Soki Munar at (632) 9162504 local 107, (0920) 9682991 or email mcabookings@ umusic.com. For more information about MCA Music artists, log on to www.facebook.com/mcamusic, Instagrammca_music or Twitter- mcamusic.

Doble Kara stars Julia Montes and Carmina Villaroel

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U.P. GAWADPLARIDEL 2016 ACCEPTS NOMINATIONS FOR RADIO THE U.P. College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) is now accepting nominations for the annual U.P. Gawad Plaridel.

This year, the 12th U.P. Gawad Plaridel will be given to an outstanding Radio Practitioner.

The award is named after Marcelo H. del Pilar (nom de plume, Plaridel), known for La Solidaridad that helped crystallize nationalist sentiments and ignite libertarian ideas in the 1890s.

Previous nominees may still be considered for this year’s award. All current full-time faculty and staff of the UP CMC are disqualified from the nomination.

The deadline for submission of nominations is at 5 p.m. on March 1. The recipient of the U.P. GawadPlaridel 2016 will be announced in April.

The U.P. Gawad Plaridel will be given in August in commemoration of del Pilar’s birth anniversary. The awardee will receive the U.P. Gawad Plaridel trophy (designed by National Artist Napoleon Abueva) and will deliver the Plaridel Lecture addressing issues relevant to the state and practice of Philippine media. The recipient will have a place of honor at all ceremonies and functions of the College.

The recipient’s portrait will be hung at the U.P. GawadPlaridel Gallery at the College lobby (Plaridel Hall, U.P. Diliman).

Nomination forms and award guidelines are available at the UP CMC Website (http://masscomm.upd.edu.ph/upgawadplaridel2016) and at the UP CMC Office of Extension and External Relations (UP CMC-OEER). Interested parties may call (02) 981-8500 loc. 2668 for further inquiries.

C8

T UES DAY : F EBRUA RY 9, 2016

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Little Nanay stars led by the Superstar Nora Aunor and Kris Bernal

KAPUSO STARS CELEBRATE THIS MONTH’S BIGGEST FESTIVALS ISAH V. RED

S

tarting the year in a festive mood, GMA Network brought some of the hottest Kapuso stars today, including no less than Superstar Nora Aunor, to Cebu, Davao, and Ilocos Sur to join in the celebration of three of the country’s most colorful and biggest festivals this month—the Sinulog, Dinagyang, and Longganisa festivals.

This year’s Sinulog celebration in Cebu was taken to another level by stars of Kapuso TV shows Buena Familia, Little Nanay, Destiny Rose, and Because of You as they participated in different events in Cebu.

Back-to-back Kapuso Mall Shows took place on Jan.15 in Gaisano Grand Mall Mactan and in Ayala Terraces featuring Little Nanay’s Kris Bernal and Mark Herras and Buena Familia’s Kylie Padilla and Kenneth Earl Medrano. Kris, Mark, and Kylie entertained their fans with their respective song performances. That’s My Bae winner Kenneth, meanwhile, delighted his fellow Cebuanos with his energetic dance moves.

The following day, a jam-packed Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall Tabunok bore witness to the cheers of fans as Because of You leading men Gabby Concepcion and Rafael Rosell serenaded the audience with their respective performances. Fans swooned over Ken Chan as the Destiny Rose lead actor sang his way to the crowd. His costar, Katrina Halili, demonstrated her talent in singing as well.

Meanwhile, Sunday Pinasaya (SPS) stars Ai-Ai delas Alas and Valeen Mon-

Miguel Tanfelix and Bianca Umali

tenegro joined the celebration of the Longganisa Festival last Jan. 20 through a Kapuso Fiesta held at Plaza Burgos, Vigan City. The event was hosted by Kapuso comedian John Feir.

Gracing the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo a week after were the stars of new afternoon drama series Wish I

May –Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix—better known by their fans as “BiGuel”. The young Kapuso love team surely knew how to spread love in the air as they entertained their fans during the Kapuso Mall Show in Robinsons Iloilo last Jan. 22.

Superstar Nora Aunor made the last leg of the Kapuso Mall Show in Dinagyang extra special as the multiawarded actress joined Little Nanay co-stars Kris Bernal, Hiro Peralta, and JuanchoTrivino, and director Ricky Davao in spreading “Happy Lang” vibes among their Ilonggo fans on Jan.y 23 at SM City Iloilo. This was Nora’s first-ever regional tour with the Kapuso Network.

The Sinulog in Cebu and the Dinagyang in Iloilo are both celebrated to pay homage to the Holy Child Jesus.

Crowd-drawer Longganisa Festival, on the other hand, is held annually in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur to pay tribute to the city’s famous local pork sausage.

“We thank our Kapusong Cebuano, Ilonggo, and Ilocano for the warm welcome they continue to give us every time we join them in their annual festivals. We look forward to bringing more of our Kapuso shows and artists closer to them. We hope to bring joy and entertainment to all our Kapuso fans throughout the country,” says Oliver Amoroso, GMA’s senior assistant vice president and head of Regional Business Development Division.

Continued on C7

Kapuso stars at Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall Tabunok

Kapuso Mall Show at Ayala Terraces with Little Nanay's Mark Herras and Kris Bernal, and Buena Familia's Kylie Padilla and Kenneth Earl Medrano