The Standard - 2015 March 24 - Tuesday

Hot teamsfight fortheir lives

Filipinosshine inDisneyland

VOL. XXIX NO. 40 4 Sections 40 Pages P18 TUESDAY : MARCH 24, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com [email protected]

PH officialspraise LeeKuan YewA4

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK


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Pembertonplea bidrejected A3

118 and counting. Members of the airborne force stand at attention during the 118th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army on Monday. DANNY PATA

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SENATORSREBUKERIGHTSBODY CHIEF

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PNP awards medals to probers of Mamasapano incident

Senators slam rightsagency’s statements

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Briefing. President Benigno Aquino III chats with South Luzon Tollway chairman and San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang during a briefing on the South Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 in Tiaong, Quezon, on Monday. Malacañang Photo Bureau

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By Francisco Tuyay

DESPITE receiving a browbeating from Malacañang, the leadership of the Philippine National Police awarded the officials who made up the Board of Inquiry for their “in-valuable service” in investigating the January 25 Mamasapano clash.

The PNP awarded the Medalya ng Pambihirang Paglilingkod (Spe-cial Service Medal) to BOI chair-man and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Director Benjamin Magalong.

The same award was received by BOI vice chairman Catalino Rodri-guez and member Chief Supt. John Sosito.

Malacañang earlier slammed the BOI report for “introducing in-nuendos and resorting to specula-tions” to reach some of its conclu-sions.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda took exception to the BOI’s findings that President Be-nigno Aquino III violated the chain of command in dealing with former Special Action Force head Dir. Get-ulio Napeñas instead of coordinat-ing with acting PNP head Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.

Lacierda said since the PNP is ci-vilian in nature, there is no chain of command for the President to vio-late to begin with.

The Palace official also ques-tioned the “lack of due process” af-ter the BOI failed to get the side of the President on the Mamasapano issue.

Despite the dressing down from the Palace, Espina still decided to award the officials behind the BOI report.

The PNP gave the Medalya ng Kasanayan (Efficiency Medal) to 13 other members of the board “for exceptionally meritorious and invaluable service” which helped in ferreting out the Mama-sapano debacle.

The awardees included Sr. Supt. Robert Po, chairman of operational audit team, Sr. Supt. Ronald dela Rosa, Sr. Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Sr. Supt. Benigno Durana, Chief Insp. David Joy Duarte, Insp. Helen dela Cruz, Sr. Supt. Rudy Lacadin, Supt. Danilo Macerin, Supt. Arthur Bisnar, Supt. Angeles Geñorga Jr., Supt. Marlon Tayaba, Supt. Niño David Rabaya, and Atty. Virgilio Pablico.

Earlier, former police chief and senator Panfilo Lacson defended the BOI, saying the board merely “stated the facts and evidence as they gathered them.”

“I don’t see any innuendos and speculations in their report,” Lac-son said.

Lacson, an ally of the President, said the administration was using a very restrictive definition of armed forces in claiming that the PNP has no chain of command.

“Under our Constitution, it states that the President shall be the commander in chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. The words armed forces were not capitalized precisely because the Constitution was not referring to the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines. Isn’t the Philippine Nation-al Police, while civilian in nature, an armed force?” he said.

In his posts on Twitter, Lacson congratulated the BOI and Mag-along for a job well done.

“A message to PDir Magalong: Your career ends when you retire; your character stays until the day you die. You can’t go wrong with the truth.” read one of Lacson’s tweets.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

SENATORS Grace Poe and Francis Escudero de-bunked Monday the as-sertions of Human Rights Commissioner Loretta Ann P. Rosales that the Senate findings on the Mamasapano operation in which 44 police com-mandos were killed was driven by emotions.

The Senate report, which was signed by 20 senators, found that President Benigno Aquino III was ultimately responsible for the Mama-sapano fiasco that claimed the lives of 66 people, including 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos, 17 Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF) fight-ers and five civilians.

In a text message to reporters Mon-day, Poe said “the committee report was based primarily on the testimo-nies of resource persons given under oath, as well as documents and re-ports submitted officially.

The executive summary of the re-port cites testimony of 37 resource per-sons during five public hearings and five executive sessions, and 4,300 doc-uments presented to her committee.

Reacting to Rosales’ rejection of the term “massacre” to describe the Mama-sapano incident, Poe said this referred

to “the excessive force and ignominy which attended the finishing touches inflicted on the SAF troopers when they were already gravely injured but breath-ing as they lay defenseless on the Mama-sapano cornfields.”

“A contrary view of the CHR chair-man notwithstanding, we welcome her submission of the CHR report on its own investigation of the inci-dent which may still be considered on amendments,” Poe added.

Escudero, on the other hand, re-buked Rosales for implying that only civilians have human rights.

“I do not know where Chairperson Rosales is coming from,” said Escudero..

“But I have one question for her: Don’t police and soldiers have human rights that are covered by the commis-sion? Are civilians the only ones with human rights?” he asked.

He also insisted that what hap-pened was clearly a massacre.

The dictionary defines massacre as “the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unre-sisting human beings under circum-stances of atrocity or cruelty.”

“That’s exactly how it happened to our SAF men in Mamasapano, unless our CHR defines it in another [way],” Escudero said.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, ac-knowledged that emotions had a role in the report, but said it was fair and objective.

“We’re just human, and all the sen-ators have different perceptions on the what happened, he said. “It’s difficult to say that we should not be emotional about those killed.”

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that emotion might have crept into the

writing of the draft report.“Probably, they wanted to present

other things that would make people happy and the media people happy. But as I said, we’re not here for that. We’re not here to entertain everyone,” said Trillanes, a staunch defender of President Aquino.

Over the weekend, Rosales assailed the Senate report, saying it was “most-ly based on emotions rather than an objective interpretation of facts.”

She also said calling the incident a “massacre” was “excessive.”

Twenty senators signed the 129-page draft report of Poe’s committee, which led the investigation together with Escudero’s finance committee and the peace, unification and recon-ciliation committee, chaired Senator Teofisto Guingona III.

Thirteen of the 20 senators have ex-pressed reservations and manifested their intent to propose amendments, strong recommendations and to supple-ment the report with their own opinions on the outcome of the Senate probe.

In the House, administration and opposition lawmakers alike slammed Rosales for her “insensitive remarks.”

1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III, a member of the House minority, dismissed Rosales’ claims as “fatuous and senseless.”

“Her comments have no basis in law and facts,” Bello said. “To my mind, the Senate, [and even the Philippine National Police-Board of Inquiry] re-ports are more exhaustive,” Bello said.

Bello said Rosales’ appreciation of the Senate report did not seem to help in the quest for justice for the Fallen 44 and their families.

“She should stick to her mandate:

protection of human rights,” Bello, a former peace negotiator and former Justice secretary, said.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, also an opposition member, said the public could not expect any statement from Rosales critical of the government be-cause she belongs to the Akbayan party-list, an ally of the administration.

Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, a member of the House independent minority bloc, defended the Senate findings.

“I do not know where Chair [Rosales] got her facts or whether she has really read the Senate report. But from our own reading, it is clear that the Senate got the facts straight, stripped away the non-essentials of the findings, and con-clusions were unemotionally stated and respectful, even specially the part about President Aquino’s role and account-ability,” de la Cruz said.

De la Cruz said Rosales’ assessment of the Senate report and her siding with the MILF and the government peace panel were the result of her be-ing “blinded by her attachment to the powers that be... and the demagogic peace at all costs mantra.”

Administration allies, Reps. Gary Alejano of Magdalo party-list and Albee Benitez of Negros Occidental expressed disgust over Rosales’ appar-ent bias.

Alejano said that in the past, even when soldiers were beheaded by Mus-lim rebels, the CHR never complained about human rights violations.

Benitez chided Rosales for object-ing to the word “massacre.”

“Twenty-six soldiers shot in the head at close range. What do you call that?” he said.

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PH officialspraise Lee,‘Father ofSingapore’

3 Filipino teenagers killedin Sabah immigration drive

Aquino: My critics arelying about my health

New knight. From left, Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and his son Andrew (standing, center) pose with Don Conrado Escudero and Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Rosligno, Ramon Cardenas (standing, extreme left) and trader Jose “Pepe” Rodriguez. Escudero was installed as the new Knight to the Sovereign Order of Malta during a ceremony held at the Asuncion Chapel in Villa Escudero in Tiaong, Quezon. Ver NoVeNo

Too small. Members of the left-leaning group Kilusang Mayo Uno or May First Movement protest outside the Labor Department in Intramuros, Manila, to denounce the 15-peso wage increase for wage earners in Metro Manila that they say is too small. DaNNy PaTa

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III accused his “persistent crit-ics” of spreading lies about his health to re-duce the value of his endorsement for the 2016 elections.

In a speech delivered during his visit in Tiaong, Quezon, to at-tend a briefing on a new toll road

project, Aquino said his critics were spreading these rumors to further their own agenda.

“You have probably heard dif-ferent versions of the rumor that began spreading midnight Friday and into Saturday that I collapsed in Malacañang, that I was seriously ill, or that I was in the ICU. Then when they saw I was fine on Satur-day, they said we spread the rumors ourselves to gain public sympathy. For those who were taken in, here is a reminder: we have nothing to gain from rumors,” the President said in Filipino.

He attacked his critics for spreading lies that have no basis but only create angst, chaos and confusion in the minds of the public.

These same critics, he added, only want to grab power and re-turn the country to the old cor-rupt system of government.

During his speech, the Presi-dent also cited his administra-tion’s accomplishments, particu-larly in improving the economy.

He cited the reduction in the backlog of classrooms, school chairs and textbooks, and played

up the government’s massive dole program, the Pantawid Pamily-ang Pilipino that he said benefit-ed 96,101 poor households in the province of Quezon.

He also said the coverage rate for PhilHealth, the state-run health insurance company, in Quezon had reached 84.5 percent, or al-most 1.8 million residents.

In terms of infrastructure, Aquino pointed to the start of the P13.1 billion South Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 project, a briefing for which he had just at-tended. – Sandy araneta

THREE Filipino teenagers were killed during immigration opera-tions by the Eastern Sabah Security Command against undocumented persons on Saturday, the Philippine embassy in Malaysia said.

ESSCom secretariat division di-rector Newmond Tibin idenitifed the victims as Nordin Akang, 16, Lahudin Nasir, 17, and Alex Nasir, 18, of Kampung Bakau, Lahad Datu.

Newmond, however, denied that the three Filipinos were killed after being sprayed with gas dur-ing a crackdown at the Lahad Datu market.

He said the victims drowned while attempting to evade arrest.

“On seeing ESSCom personnel, many ran helter skelter and the three men were believed to be hid-ing under the market. The three victims who were found drowned were sent to Lahad Datu hospital and at about 12 noon, ESSCom was informed the three men

drowned while trying to evade arrest in the operation in the fish market area,” Newmond said in a statement.

The Philippine embassy, for its part, said a three-person team has already been dispatched to Lahad Datu to look into the deaths.

“The Philippine embassy is deeply concerned about this turn of events, and even as the cause of the deaths of the three Filipinos, two of whom are minors, are being investi-gated, the embassy calls for humane treatment of undocumented indi-viduals, including the manner by which operations are conducted,” the embassy statement read.

The team has asked ESSCom officials for a full and impartial investigation.

Lahad Datu was the site of a 2013 standoff between Malaysia’s security forces and claimants of Sabah from Tawi-tawi, led by the brother of the late Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III.

By Sandy araneta and Vito BarceloTHE country’s top leaders mourned the death of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, one of world leaders most esteemed by Filipinos, who passed away in Singapore before dawn Monday at the age of 91. Story on Page B8

“As the Singaporean people mourn the passing of Lee Kuan Yew, the Filipino peo-ple join them in honoring a statesman who can justifiably be called the Founding Fa-ther of the Republic of Singapore,” Malaca-ñang said in a statement read by Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte.

“Throughout his long life, as prime minister and senior minister, Lee dem-onstrated an unswerving devotion to his country, turning it into a state that would be an exemplar of efficient, modern, and honest governance. The development of Singapore has earned it the respect of na-tions and peoples, including the tens of thousands of Filipinos who work there and visit the country,” Valte said.

“The President, in joining the Filipino people in expressing the solidarity of the Philippines with Singapore at this time of mourning, extends his personal con-dolences to Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong,” she also said.

“An era has passed, one upon which Singaporeans can look back on with deep pride and a sense of accomplishment,” said Valte.

Vice President Jejomar Binay also con-doled with the family of the Singaproean statesman.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the Lee family and join the people of Singa-pore in mourning the loss of its first Prime Minister, VP Binay said in a statement.

For his part, Binay said Lee was the ar-chitect of modern Singapore, who shaped his country into one of the most prosper-ous countries in the world.

“I have always admired the late Prime Minister and the Singapore success story. His political will and pragmatic approach to governance was my inspiration in re-building Makati after the 1986 EDSA Revolution from a bankrupt municipal-ity to the country’s premier city providing unparalleled social services to its constitu-ents,” Binay said.

He is a dedicated public servant and a well respected leader. The success of Sin-gapore is but a testament to his decades of remarkable public service, Binay added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines joins the Singaporean people in mourning the passing of their first Prime Minister and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

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newsCYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Laude kinreject pleabargainproposal

‘Jinggoy bail trial to taking forever’

Newly-found plant to benamed after Pope Francis

Searchfor justice. US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton (right) enters an Olongapo City courthouse to attend his trial for the murder of transgender Jeffrey Laude. AFP

Double flag-raising. Makati Mayor JunJun Binay is joined by his sister and Senator Nancy Binay in leading the flag raising ceremony at the Makati City Hall. Nearby, Vice Mayor Romulo Peña, who wants to take over city hall, led a simultaneous rite. EY ACASIO

By Rey E. Requejo

THE family of slain transgender Filipino Jennifer Laude on Monday rejected a plea bargain deal in the murder case against US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton.

As the Olongapo City regional trial court started its trial proper, Laude’s mother Julita and sister Ma-lou went to the Justice Department to denounce the public prosecutors’ exclusion of their family from the negotiation on the agreement.

“What we are fighting for is mur-der and not to downgrade the case. What they did to my child was gruesome. Just because we are poor doesn’t mean we can’t fight for jus-tice,” Julita, accompanied by lawyer Harry Roque Jr., told reporters.

“What we want is to see Pember-ton in jail. I never said I would agree [to the plea bargain]. What I only said was that if we would be given even one million dollars, that would not be enough for us.”

Roque claimed it was Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie delos San-tos who was pushing for the P21-million settlement with Pember-ton’s camp without consulting the victim’s family.

“She was pushing for the plea bar-gain—that she would allow Pember-ton to plead guilty to homicide but the civil aspect of the case will pro-ceed,” Roque said.

“That’s not possible because the civil aspect is deemed instituted to the criminal case.

Laude’s family raised the issue on the plea bargain deal with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

In a two-page letter, the Laudes accused fiscal delos Santos of block-

ing Roque’s participation in the case conferences.

“First of all, as far as we know, we have the right under the Consti-tution to choose our own lawyer in whatever cases we face,” the Laude family said in the letter.

“This is why we don’t under-stand why the current public pros-ecutor does not allow our lawyer to defend us and make sure justice for the killing of Jennifer Laude would be served.”

As a result, the Laudes asked De Lima to replace delos Santos and the other members of the Justice De-partment panel handling the mur-der case.

Delos Santos denied pushing for a P21-million plea bargain deal in the case. She said court records would prove there was no truth to the ac-cusation that she was the one who pushed for the plea bargaining deal in exchange for a lesser crime of ho-micide for Pemberton.

Roque said the Laude family had “consistently rejected” the offer.

“The death [of Jennifer] was attended by cruelty, abuse of su-perior authority and treachery,” Roque said.

“We want to see Pemberton’s conviction where he will be sen-tenced to life imprisonment rather than 12 years or 20 years in prison with the possibility of a release and a possibility that it will be spent in the US.”

By Rio N. Araja

THE petition for bail filed by Sena-tor Jinggoy Estrada in connection with the plunder and graft charges he is facing could take at least two years to decide, a Sandiganbayan justice said Monday.

Fifth Division Associate Justice Roland Jurado joked that Estrada’s bail petition could take very long to resolve at the pace the hearings were going.

“I tell you, the [bail] case will take two years. We are still in the process of hearing the side of the Anti-Money Laundering Council,” Jurado told Estrada’s lawyers and

the prosecutors when council in-vestigator Orlando Negradas was about to present the council’s evi-dence.

Jurado, along with Alexander Gesmundo and Maria Teresa Do-lores Estoesta—the two other as-sociate justices of the Fifth Divi-sion—requested the defense and the prosecution to find ways to speed up the bail hearing.

Mounting objections and ar-guments prompted the anti-graft court to order Estrada’s camp and the prosecution to agree on some stipulations that could help speed up the hearings.

Justice Undersecretary Jose

Justiniano agreed with the anti-graft court that the case could not move forward without both parties agreeing to some ar-rangement.

The defense lawyers tried to prevent Negradas from testify-ing, but Negradas was able to take the witness stand to reveal the council’s alleged findings on the money-laundering activities and questionable bank transactions of Estrada and his dummies.

Estrada slammed the slow progress in his bail petition after Monday’s hearing and blamed the prosecution for the delay in the proceedings.

A DOCTOR at the University of Santo Tomas has named a newly discovered flowering plant that is said to cure criti-cal illnesses after Pope Francis.

Grecebio Jonathan Alejandro named the plant after Francis to ex-press gratitude for his visit to UST, Asia’s oldest university, on Jan. 18.

The Hedyotis papafranciscoi Alejan-dro was discovered in Mt. Madia-as in Antique, and it is said to cure some can-cers, fever, rheumatism and malaria.

So far, the Catholic Bishops’ Confer-ence of the Philippines has yet to com-ment on this development.

UST is also holding a papal exhibit that will run until March 28 at the lobby of its main building.

The “Thomasian Scientists’ Expres-sion of Love” exhibit will feature new plant species, organisms and bacteria discovered by UST’s faculty members and students.

Meanwhile, UST’s College of Science has found two other newly characterized Philippine organisms: Phyllostica fran-cisci, sp. nov., a novel fungal endophyte with potential bio-active metabolites that can be useful in drug discovery, and vBE-popefrancis, a new bacteriophage isolate that is a potential alternative to conven-tional therapy in bacterial infections.

UST’s searchers are scientists Dr. Thomas Edison de la Cruz, Carlo Chris Apurillo, Donna May Papa, Paola Bianca Buiser and Delia Ontengco. Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

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NEWS



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Oil prices shed P1.10amid globalsupply glut

Standoff disrupts services in Makati

OIL companies reduced pump prices by as much as P1.10 per liter effective Tuesday to reflect the declining world oil prices amid the rising oil stockpile in the US.

Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp and Seaoil Philippines cut pump prices by P1.10 per liter for gasoline, P0.95 per liter for diesel and P0.90 per liter for kerosene.

Petron Corp., meanwhile cut gasoline by P1.10 per liter, diesel by P1 per liter and kerosene by P0.90 per liter.

The Energy department said a weak US retail sales report for February also hung over the oil market.

Last March 17, most of the oil companies rolled back their prices of gasoline by P0.50 to P0.55 per liter, diesel by P0.85 per liter and kerosene by P1.10 per liter.

Prior to the price cut, diesel sells from P26.35 to P32.65 per liter while gasoline sells from P38.37 to P43.92 per liter. Prices vary depending on the brand, location of the station, market forces, among others. Alena Mae S. Flores

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE standoff over Makati City has disrupted the delivery of services as department heads and council members refuse to honor the memos signed and issued by Vice Mayor Romulo Pena, who is locked in a legal battle for control of the city against the incumbent Mayor Junjun Binay.

On Monday, Binay Binay led the regular morning flag raising ceremony at the new Makati City Hall, while Pena held the ceremony at the old city hall.

City Hall personnel expressed fear of delay in payment of salaries because of the leadership dispute, saying most of them are ordinary employees who depend on their pay for their family’s daily sustenance. Majority of the city’s workforce are also Makati residents.

The employees, who expressed support for Binay, denounced officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government who wrote a letter to the Land Bank of the Philippines identifying Vice Mayor “Kid” Pena as the authorized signatory on fund disbursements.

“The DILG has clearly overstepped its bounds, to the detriment of city government employees and our families. Because of its recent actions, we now face the bleak prospect of going

hungry and bereft of basic necessities should there be delays in the release of our salaries,” they said.

At least 2,000 Binay supporters trooped to the city hall quadrangle and attended the flag raising ceremony while a number of Pena followers, wearing white shirts, brought white balloons.

Pena said he was unfazed by Binay supporters and insisted he was merely following the DILG order to take over the post of Binay, who had secured a Court of Appeals’ temporary restraining order to stop the Ombudsman from enforcing the suspensio against him.

Pena denied he wa taking over the city hall.

“They should first verify that information and think the capability of the person to do such thing,” said Pena, who expressed intention to hold a dialogue with Binay to break the deadlock.

Binay remains in his office and insists he is the duly elected mayor of the city.

On Monday, the camp of Binay thanked Department of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima for clarifying that her legal opinion on the issue about the TRO was merely an advise and not a ruling.

In a statement, De Lima said her legal opinion should not be considered as a ruling that needed to be obeyed by everyone. “It does not purport to adjudicate or bind anyone. It is an opinion. It is advisory in nature.”

Makati City Councilor and city spokesperson Mayeth Casal-Uy said there was no reason for DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and Pena to insist that Pena is the acting city mayor.

“Secretary De Lima has spoken. She was merely giving advice. It was just her opinion and so it does not change the ruling of the court,” Uy said.

Defense sets P1.6b-project biddingBy Florante S. Solmerin

THE Department of National Defense has begun the bidding processes for at least P1.6 billion worth of projects for the Armed Forces of the Philippines even as the House of Representatives is set to probe the controversy behind the anomalous multiple biddings of the P1.2 billion worth of refurbished helicopters.

On Monday, the Special Bids and Awards Committee 1 being chaired by Undersecretary Fernando Manalo held a pre-bid conference for the supply and delivery of 3 brand new Multi-Purpose Attack Craft at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The MPAC Acquisition Project (Lot 1-Platform) for the Navy is worth P270 million. BAC could not be reached for feedback on what transpired during the pre-bid conference.

Manalo’s committee, who was currently embroiled in the alleged anomalous transaction of still uncompleted delivery of refurbished 21 Huey contract, set the opening of bids on April 6 for the MPAC project.

The project is equipped with Mission Essential Equipment and Initial Integrated Logistics (ILS) packages.

The MEE package composed of day/night electronic navigation system, communications suite, safety-of-life-at-sea (SOLAS) equipment, propulsion system, and seamanship/shiphandling equipment and gears.

“The craft shall be built in-country and in accordance with the approved technical specifications of the Philippine Navy ,” the SBAC1 said.

Phase II (Lot 2) of the project is the installation of missile system which the committee did not indicate if it will be bidded out or will be negotiated.

THE Angono Private High School (APHS) Class of 1990 will celebrate its 25th (Silver) Anniversary on March 28, 2015 at the APHS New Site campus in Barangay, Pag-Asa, Binangonan, Rizal.

The theme for this once in a lifetime event is Kickin’ Alive @25 and guests who are invited to grace the occasion include celebrities like crooner Anthony Castelo and “Mark M,” who is more popularly known as the “man with 60 voices.”

Angono Mayor Gerardo Calderon will be the guest of honor and speaker. Also invited to attend are local government and police officials in the province, along with former and active APHS teachers. For inquiries, you may contact Zoraida Noble-Ilaga at 09278740248.

Kickin’ Alive @25 in PH ‘Art capital’

Army turns 118. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin troops the line along with Lt Gen. Hernando Iriberri, commanding general of the Philippine Army, during the 118th anniversary of Philippine Army at Fort Bonifacio held on Monday March 23. DANNY PATA.

Workers’ inn. To address the problem of lack of shelter for the huge number of transients who arrive in Metro Manila daily, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino launches the Workers Inn formerly Guapotel on Monday March 23 at Bonifacio Drive, Port Area Manila. DANNY PATA.

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t u e s d ay : m a r c h 24 , 2 0 1 5

news

3 out of 5Pinoys are in favor of divorce

Catholic Bishops’ Confer-ence of the Philippines Vicar for Marriage Tribunal Arch-bishop-emeritus Oscar Cruz said that the country does not need to legalize divorce since there are other provi-sions of the law where cou-ples can nullify their union.

Cruz enumerated three provision under the Fam-ily Code of the Philippines; one, is legal separation; two, annulment of marriage; and three, marriage nullity.

“If the government will still pass the divorce despite all these remedies, the ques-tion why get married at all?,” Cruz said.

“If you can legally sepa-rate, have annulment or nullify your marriage, what is marriage for? Let’s live to-gether and that’s it, without any expenses with lawyers etc,” said Cruz, who has been handling marriage cases for 45 years.

Cruz admitted that he is aware that President Benig-no Aquino III made instruc-tions to the Congressmen to pass proposals such as population control, divorce, same-sex marriage into laws.

Cruz said that the grounds for divorce are adultery or infidelity; violence and aban-donment.

He said he feared that, if these were the only grounds

for divorce, couples can pur-posely committed this against their partner in case they feel like divorcing him or her.

Cruz lamented that with these grounds, marriage be-comes “less and less valu-able” and the number one victim of this legal separa-tions are the children.

Based on the latest SWS survey which was conducted from November 27 to Decem-ber 1, from the 60-percent of adult Filipinos who agreed with legalizing divorce, 38 per-cent “strongly” agreed and 22 percent “somewhat” in favor of divorce.

Only 29 percent disagreed, out of those not in favor; eight percent “somewhat” disagreed” and 21 percent “strongly” rejected legalizing divorce in the country.

“Public support for legal-ization of divorce for irrec-oncilably separated couples grew to a clear majority of 60 percent in December 2014, from a plurality of 50 percent in March 2011 and a split opinion of 43-44 percent in May 2005,” the survey stated.

The poll agency has pre-sented respondents with the statement, “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile any-more should be allowed to divorce so that they can get legally married again”.

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

Three out of five Filipinos are in favor of le-galizing divorce in the Philippines according to a survey result that has prompted a senior bishop warn such a move would destroy the sanctity of marriage.

Drug informers reap rewardsTHe use of illegal drugs in the coun-try has worsened despite the intensi-fied campaign of the government to eliminate the menace even as more and more informants are flooding the list of the Philippine Drug enforce-ment Agency (PDeA), each embold-ened by the prospects of being able to cash in on information.

The PDeA on Monday said 10 more informants under its so-called “Private eye” received a total amount of P4.6 mil-lion in cash rewards for helping the agen-cy unmask illegal drug operators thriving in their communities.

PDeA Director Arturo Cacdac Jr. named those who received the reward by their code-names Axcel, Noy, Tolendoy, Paulo, Abel, Brix, Coleen Sarmiento, Cold Ice, Ice, and Jun.

The PDeA uses codenames of its in-formants for their safety and security. They also wear masks in front of camer-as during awarding of the reward money.

“The ten informants wore masks dur-ing the ceremony in order to protect their identity. All information we receive through OPe are being handled with ut-most confidentiality,” Cacdac said.

“Jun” received the biggest reward of P1,929,889.61 for the dismantling of a large-scale clandestine shabu labora-tory, the seizure of 260.25 kilograms of shabu, and 24 kilograms of ephedrine, the arrest of five suspects during the implementation of a search warrant in Barangay Newagac, Gattaran, Ca-gayan on February 26, 2015.

But until now, the PDeA is not disclos-ing people behind and those coddling the operation of the shabu lab.

“Ice” received P693,130.34 cash award for the seizure of 38.65 kilograms of sha-bu and the arrest of one drug personality during an airport operation in Barangay Sto. Niño, Parañaque City on January 5, 2015.

Amid the looming power supply crisis, Roberto Verzola launches his “Crossing Over “Energy Transition To Renewable Electricity” Book at the University Hotel in UP Diliman, with Akbayan spokesperson Risa Hontiveros among those who attended the book launching event. MANNY PALMERO

39 OFWs home from Libya, 126 others arrivingBy Vito Barcelo

AT LeAST 39 Filipino workers from war-torn Libya arrived in the country on Monday while another 126 Filipino workers would be repatriated within this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

The first batch arrived on board flight QR926 in NAIA Terminal 1 while an-other batch of repatriates will also arrive on March 24 .These arrivals will bring the total number of Filipino repatriates from Libya to 4,414 since May 2014.,” the DFA said.

The Philippine embassy in Tripoli

led by Charge d’Affaires Adel Cruz fa-cilitated the repatriation of the OFWs and personally accompanied the OFWs out of Libya and into Tunisia.

embassy representatives in Tripoli and Tunisia provided for the repatriates’ ac-commodations and basic necessities and extended consular and airport assistance before they left for Manila on March 22.

Cruz said they are currently finaliz-ing the flight details of the other batches of Filipino repatriates.

More Filipinos are expected to sign up for mandatory repatriation after For-eign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Ro-sario made the renewed call to remain-

ing Filipinos in Libya to return home.Meanwhile, some 4,000 Filipinos still

remain in Libya despite repeated calls from the embassy to join the repatria-tion operations.

The DFA and the RP embassy in Trip-oli urged the remaining Filipinos in Libya to avail themselves of the mandatory re-patriation offer as soon as possible, before it becomes more difficult to repatriate them due to the continued deterioration of the security in the country.

The DFA also appeals to the next-of-kin of the remaining Filipinos in Libya to encourage them to return home to the Philippines.

PDEA Director General

Arturo Cacdac congratulates one of the ten

informants of the operation Private

Eye, an intensified campaign against

big-time drug pushers and

operators during the awarding

ceremony held at the PDEA

Headquarters in Quezon city on

Monday.MANNY PALMERO

[email protected]

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 , 2 0 1 5

NEWS A7

SLEX project to boost trade

Prosecutor, driver survive ambush in Bulacan

“The project will speed up transportation and bring progress in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces,” the President said Monday during a project briefing in Tiaong, Quezon Province. SLEX-TR4 is expected to boost trade, commerce and tourism in Re-

gions IV and V.The SLEX-TR4 is a four-lane,

58-kilometer project that would link Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lu-cena, Quezon. It is expected to cut the travel time between the two places to just one hour from the usual four hours.

Aquino cited the initiatives of

A SAN Jose Del Monte City prosecu-tor and his driver survived a broad-daylight ambush by at least four armed men Monday morning in Baragay Sta. Rita Matanda, San Miguel, Bula-can. Fiscal Antonio Buan, 61, and his driver, Obet Castillo, 51, sustained gunshot wounds on the lower right and left extremities and on the head, respectively. They were rushed to the Bulacan Medical Center for treatment.

Buan’s daughter Maria, who was also in the vehicle, was unscathed.

The victims were on board a silver Toyota Innova (SKW-402) travelling along the Cagayan Val-ley Road going to Malolos City at around 7:15 a.m. when their as-sailants opened fire, according to provincial police director Senior Superintendent Ferdinand Divina.

The investigation report of Police

Officer Merwin Mendez said: “The four suspects riding tandem on mo-torcycles positioned themselves on the shoulder lane of the road. After the shooting, all the suspects rushed to board on a waiting black Hyundai Tucson with plate ending 17 and fled towards the direction of San Rafael town.”

The police recovered the two aban-doned motorcycles and 26 pieces of spent shells for caliber .45 pistol.

A caliber Colt .45 pistol (Serial Number 2807953) with loaded mag-azine of 8 bullets, 50 pieces of spare live ammunition for said caliber and 6 slugs for cal. 45 were also recovered from the victims’ car.

Mendez said they were still waiting for the talk to the victims for identifi-cation of suspects and possible leads.

Florante S. Solmerin

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said the de-velopment of the P13.1-billion Southern Luzon Expressway-Toll Road 4 (SLEX-TR4) extension project is proof of private sector confidence in the government.

the South Luzon Tollway Cor-poration and the Department of Transportation and Communi-cations – Toll Regulatory Board.

Malacanang said the SLEX-TR4 is the latest project in SMC’s infrastructure portfolio, which already includes the Tarlac-Pan-gasinan-La Union Expressway, the elevated Skyway system and the Skyway Stage 3 project, the NAIA Expressway project, the existing SLEX, and the recently upgraded and expanded South-ern Tagalog Arterial Road or STAR Tollway.

The project is divided into five sections: Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Makban, Laguna (10.58 km); Makban to San Pablo, Laguna (12.2 km); San Pablo, Laguna to Tiaong, Quezon (8.1 km); Tia-ong to Candelaria, Quezon (14.4 km); and Candelaria to Lucena City (12.31 km).

The SLTC said it is eyeing mid-2017 for the completion of the first section from Sto. Tomas to Makban, and 2019 for the completion of the entire project.

The President was welcomed by Public Works and Highways

Secretary Rogelio Singson, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Congressman Vicente Alcala of Quezon Province’s Second District, Tiaong Mayor Ramon Preza, Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Ed-mund Reyes, San Miguel Cor-poration (SMC) Chief Operat-ing Officer and South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC) Chairman Ramon Ang, and Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Shadik Wahono. Sandy Araneta

German doctors give free surgery LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Six-ty-three indigent patients of the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in Bolingit, San Carlos City were operated on for free by doctors of Interplast Germany on March 16-19.

Dr. Med Christian Loehlein, head of the Germany-based non-profit, said plastic surgeries con-ducted at the PPH surgical room included palatoplasty (cleft lip and cleft palate surgery), hernioplasty, throidectomy , tonsillectomy and hemithroidectomy.

Surgeons Tomas Mueller, Lei Li, Eva Godewehr and anesthesiolo-gists Sven Berges and Loehlein per-formed the operations.

More surgeries will be conducted from March 26-April 1, completing the ten-day medical mission.

Patients eligible for the free sur-gery were screened on February 28. They may return for free follow-up consultation and medicines in hos-pitals owned and managed by the provincial government.

Marie Ambat, a 48-year-old mother of two from Cabilaoan, Laoac who underwent cholecys-tectomy (removal of gallstone) thanked the Interplast Germany for her free surgery.

She said if not for the surgical mission, she would still be suffering from cholelithiasis (presence of gall stone in gall bladder).

“Agpaspasalamat ak ken ni Gov-ernor Espino ta adu iti matul-tulun-gan na nga narigat gapo iti medical mission,” (Nagpapasalamat ako kay Governor Espino at marami sy-ang natutulungan na mahihirap sa pamamagitan ng medical mission), she added.

Cristina Palaganas Bustillo, a resident of Tebeng, Dagupan City, thanked the German doctors and hospital personnel of PPH for at-tending to the medical needs of her daughter, Criscila, a 10-year-old who underwent palatoplasty.

“Maganda po sa amin ang pro-gramang ito kasi na-ilibre sya. Maganda po ang pagka-opera sa kanya,” Bustillo said.

The mission is a joint project of In-terplast Germany and the provincial government of Pangasinan. A series of medical missions by various local and international medical organiza-tions in partnership with the provin-cial government has been lined up to cater to the medical needs of indigent Pangasinenses. Dexter A. See

Fighting germs. Students at Exodus Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal line up to wash their hands at the Aqua Tower installed by Amcor Tobacco Packaging Philippines.

Wartime masks. Mayor Pablo Ortega arranges a Romanian M85 Gas Mask, one of his collections of World War II memorabilia, at World War II Exhibit at the City Hall of San Fernando, La Union. CHRISTINE JUNIO

cast reporter’s tweet about the incident, complete with a de-nial from one of his estimable spokesmen, Edwin “Dawende” Lacierda. (Dawende, by the way, is Lacierda’s cutesy Twit-ter handle and not some libel-ous nickname I invented for him.)

Then the President, who took nearly a week to speak in public about the Mamasapano incident, came out with guns blazing during the same week-end that the reporter’s tweet was posted. And boy, did Aquino make hay about an issue that, in all likelihood, his own publicists dreamed up.

“Those who believe reports like these, our elders advise: Don’t be misled by gossips,” he said during the ceremonies for

the opening of a new portion of the South Luzon Expressway. “Should we trust the enemies of the straight path whose extreme and irresponsible desire is to sow confusion and conflict?”

If the President makes such a big deal about a clueless re-porter’s indiscreet and unveri-fied tweet, commenting on it during a totally unrelated event, you can bet that this thing is not what it seems to be. My guess is, Aquino and his propaganda minions are test-driving a new propaganda strategy intended to gain sympathy for a Presi-dent, who is beset on all sides by salivating critics who want nothing better that to see him fail to complete his term.

But like the revival by his sis-ter of reports about his suppos-edly steamy love life, this time involving the newly-crowned Binibining Pilipinas-Universe title-holder, I think this gim-mick isn’t going to gain the trac-tion that the palace propaganda

opinionA8

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Leaders in contrast

If IT looks like a setup, it prob-ably is. But I’d really like to know who dreamed up that cheap PR stunt that involved President Noynoy Aquino sup-posedly collapsing and crack-ing his head, thereby requiring stitches on his shiny bald pate – and hinting darkly of serious concerns about his health.

The alleged incident did not only elicit a quick reply from Aquino himself, it also allowed

him to body-slam his critics – who had not weighed in yet on the matter – and to talk about the efficacy of his endorsement in next year’s election. How Aquino hitting his head ended up being a question of the ef-ficacy of his endorsing candi-dacies is just one of those non sequiturs that the current Presi-dent is famous for.

One friend who is as con-founded by the whole stunt as I was, initially, put it succinctly: Aquino did not collapse, but his administration is on the verge of doing so.

As far as I can make out, this whole non-issue of Aquino’s collapse started with a broad-

Cheap stunt

SINgAPORE’S founder Lee Kuan Yew died Monday at the age of 91. Many disagree on Lee’s manner of leadership. The island state’s leader, says a

report, was “renowned for his sharp tongue, quick wit and contrioversial remarks.” More than that, his governing style was far from the democratic ideal that nost

prosperous Western nations hold ideal. He emphasized respect for elders and the law, hard work, and the recognition that the needs of society must transcend the individual’s.

The lines between ruler and subject were clear. In short, Lee ruled Singapore with a firm – albeit purposeful -- hand. He was often accused of curtailing citizen’s rights and interfering in their private lives.

He had always been without remorse for this leadership style. “If I had not done that, we would not be here today,” the late leader once famously said.

Where there is consensus is on the fact that Lee did his country a lot of good, and that this week, the world lost one of its greatest leaders.

The results would best speak for themselves. High stability, high savings, low corruption, low crime rate, virtually no homelessness. Indeed, from being a “fairly dilapidated town” in the 1960s, Singapore is what it is today because of Lee.

More than the success story of the nation, remarkable was Lee’s ability to step back extricate his person from his handiwork. He never presented himself as the savior of his country. He never had the illusion that nobody else could continue the work when his time was up.

He most certainly never complained about how difficult his job was. In contrast, we here in the Philippines suffer our chief executive’s whining every

blessed day. This time he says that his critics are stepping up the tirades so they can dismiss his accomplishments and diminish his endorsement power for the 2016 elections.

This President is ignorant of the fact that nobody else needs to diminish his en-dorsement power; he is doing an excellent job of it by himself.

Mr. Aquino’s trust and popularity ratings suffered a steep drop this month after the public became familiar with what happened in Mamasapano, Maguindanao and witnessed his bungled response to demands for an explanation.

He also assails those who are spreading rumors about his poor health; he called his critics enemies of the straight path.

We can only shake our heads at how this brand of leadership has brought the country no closer to its dream of inclusive growth. While officials crow about credit rating upgrades and nominal gDP growth, more filipinos consider them-selves poorer.

The lack of visible results may have been more acceptable if there were a charac-ter to galvanize the people and inspire us to overcome difficulties.

But no. We have, instead, a scion of a political family who thinks he can never do wrong and who believes everybody who does not agree with him is out to bring him down.

if the President makes such a

big deal about a reporter’s unverified

tweet, you can bet that this thing is not what it seems to be.

Lowdown

jojo a. robLes

A9adelle chuaE D I T O R

T u e S d aY : M a R c h 24 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

This Thursday, March 26, 2015, Xavier University (XU) will be honoring sec-retary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles, Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and Mr. Mohagher iqbal during its annual commencement exercises. Under the circumstances, however, it is this Jesuit university in Cagayan de Oro, of which i am an alumnus and a member of its Board of Trustees, which is honored by their acceptance of their respective awards – the Masterson Award for Cor-onel-Ferrer and iqbal, a doctorate hono-ris causa for Deles.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer is the first woman appointed as chairperson of the government negotiating panel for the peace talks in Mindanao. she is known for her exemplary contributions to peace and conflict studies, international humanitarian law, and comparative pol-itics. As early as the 1990s, she has been writing intensively on the government’s peace thrusts, including the 1996 peace agreement and advanced academic work comparing the movements in the Cor-dillera to the Mindanao movements for autonomy. Prof. Coronel-Ferrer has been recognized for her competent and harmonious management of the peace process.

i have known iye Coronel-Ferrer for decades. i actually taught her briefly, in the early 1990s, as a freshman law student at UP College of Law. That was before she decided that political science and peace advocacy were her calling. As a colleague at the University of the Phil-ippines when i was teaching there and as a fellow peace advocate, i can attest to her brilliance, patriotism, and com-mitment. The attacks against her, for in-competence and treason, are ridiculous and eminently unfair.

According to the citation of Xavier University: “With her passion and heart for human rights, women empower-ment, and peace-building, she is a wor-thy inspiration to the present and future generations as we look forward to a more peaceful and progressive Philip-pines.. For her exemplary contributions to peace-building and conflict manage-ment in our country and as a champion of human rights, Xavier University is pleased and honored to confer the Fr. William F Masterson sJ Award to Mir-iam Coronel-Ferrer.”

The Masterson Award is named after one of the most influential Jesuits in the history of the Philippine Province. Fr. Masterson was famous for buying the Loyola property of the Jesuits and for moving the Ateneo de Manila to Kati-punan Avenue, Quezon City from Padre Faura, Manila. he was supposedly “ex-iled” to Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro where he founded its famous

Xavier University honored

geniuses think that it will. Aquino is just too deeply enmeshed in problems of his own creation to be rescued by such obvious stunts intended to gain him sympathy and win back the peo-ple’s affection.

Of course, if Aquino continues to subsist on his unhealthy diet of Marlboro Lights, regular Coke and pork rind chicharon morning, noon and night, people will always wonder about his health. it’s just sad that in his desperation to improve his plum-meting ratings and his diminishing

endorsement power, he has to resort to such pathetic publicity stunts.

* * *The death of longtime former sin-

gaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the acknowledged “father of mod-ern singapore,” elicits mixed feelings amongst politically-aware Filipinos. On the one hand, Filipinos are very much aware (and envious) of how Lee single-mindedly brought a backwater Third World port and impoverished island-nation to elite economic status; on the other, we also recall both the

Flor Contemplacion execution two de-cades ago and the late strongman’s re-mark that what ails this country is “too much democracy.”

But not a lot of Filipinos know that Lee is personally responsible for the building of the world-class General santos City airport, which the singa-porean leader conceived as a quick-reaction point for American forces that could come to the city-state’s aid, in case the “Malay sea” that surrounded singapore threatened to wash over it.

Continued on A11 Continued on A11

EAGLE EYES

DEAN TONYLA VIÑA

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[email protected]

de Lima, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales say that since the TRO was issued in the afternoon, and Pena had already taken his oath as mayor, the TRO did not restrain the suspension order and the oath-taking of Pena because these took place in the morning.

Santa Banana, is the rule of law now a matter of timing?

A TRO preserves the status quo, quoting from San Beda Dean of Graduate School of Law Fr. Ranhilio Aquino. This means that when a court of law issues a TRO, the sta-tus quo is maintained whether or not a suspension order came earlier or that a vice mayor has taken his oath of-fice. The time element is immaterial.

A TRO is precisely issued by a court of law to pre-vent abuses by the state. It is a lawful exercise of judi-cial authority. As lawyers, De Lima and the Ombudsman should realize this. To trivalize TROs would send a chill-ing effect to the judicial authority of the courts.

In the case of Makati, the sooner the appellate court rules on this case, the better. Makati is the financial cen-ter of the Philippines. Foreign investors may see this as unfavorable to business.

* * * *Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos is eyeing the

presidency in 2016. There’s really nothing wrong with that since Bongbong is one of the few senators doing well. In fact, the more candidates there are for the presi-dency, the merrier. The electorate must be given choices.

Vice President Jejomar Binay is still perceived as the

presidential hopeful to beat in next year’s elections, according to poll surveys. But nothing is for sure un-til election day. Binay himself has said that he may opt to have the Liberal Party presumptive presi-dential bet, Mar Roxas, as his run-ning mate.

While it’s still more than a year before the May 2016 polls, a lot of things can still happen. Significant-ly, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, according to surveys, is now No. 3, along with former President and Manila Mayor Erap Estrada.

All these mean that there will be more than three presidential candidates in 2016. There could possibly be even five.

* * * *A balikbayan, upon arrival in the Philippines, asks:

What is happening to our country? Problems seems to be never-ending.

He cites the debate on whether or not President Aquino is culpable for the slaughter of 44 police com-mandos in Mamasapano. He complains about the dai-ly traffic nightmare, the frequency of MRT3 glitches, the anticipated daily power outages in Manila, and the frequency of crime as reported by television news-casts.

While this balikbayan is glad that the Philippines has been rated as the 5th happiest country worldwide, he is not too happy when told by his driver that upon registra-tion of his car at a Land Transportation Office branch, the driver was told to return in two weeks for the stickers and the plate.

OPINIONT U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 , 2 0 1 5

A10

IN the wake of so much pain, anguish and indignation over the Mamasapano slaughter of 44 police commandos, espe-cially so with a Presi-

dent who refuses to apologize even as he is ultimately responsible for what happened, what the people need is some comic relief.

First came Senator Antonio Trillanes’ annoucement of his bid for the vice presidency in 2016. It was a joke, since we all know that the “yellow-tainted” brain of the senator needs a healthy dose of reality check. Trillanes has consistenly been at the bottom of the totem pole in all surveys.

What takes the cake, quoting from The New Stan-dard’s Sunday editorial, was Trillanes’ follow-up state-ment that “the people are not ready for a Trillanes presi-dency.” Huh? Are the people ready for a Trillanes vice presidency? I don’t think so!

What has Trillanes done except for two failed coup attempts during the Arroyo administration? And what has he done now under the Aquino administration? In the 16th, I repeat 16th, hearing of the Yellow Rib-bon sub-committee on alleged corruption committed by Vice President Jojo Binay when he was a mayor of Makati, Trillanes, together with Senator Alan Peter Cay-etano, hasn’t proven anything against the Binays that can stand in a court of law.

Now comes another clown in the person of Human Rights Commission Chairperson Etta Rosales who as-sailed both the Philippine National Police Board of In-quiry and the Senate reports. She claimed that the Ma-masapano clash was not a massacre.

So, what was it, when autopsy reports show that the PNP-Special Action Force commandos were shot at close range? Some were stripped of their body armor, suggesting that they were helpless when the Moro rebels killed them.

If it was not a massacre, what was it, then? A walk in the park?

What riles me more is that Rosales has become more a lawyer and a sympathizer of the Moro rebels than a protector of human rights. And to think we already have peace negotiators Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and peace ad-viser Teresita Deles lawyering for the Moro rebels, will-ing to give the rebels what they want!

The Aquino administration may be lacking in brains, competence, honesty and integrity. What it has are clowns.

* * * *Regardless of whether or not the PNP, as a civilian

institution, has a chain of command, the president re-mains accountable for what happened in Mamasapano.

The people also want to know whether the President committed an unlawful act, punishable by law, when he put his friend, former PNP Director General Alan Puri-sima on top of Oplan Exodus despite the latter’s suspen-sion by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Purisima’s culpability is that it is clear that he usurped authority. PNP Director General Leonardo Espina was PNP OIC at that time.

I believe that Mr. Aquino committed an unlawful act. An Executive Order issued by then-President Fidel Ra-mos, founder of the PNP-SAF when he was head of the Philippine Constabulary and the Integrated National Police, defines the chain of command of the PNP and other executive departments.

De Lima may argue otherwise, but she cannot go against an existing EO. In fact, some lawyers and legal experts are thinking of filing a case against President Aquino when he steps down next year.

* * * *There is a standoff at the city of Makati between May-

or Junjun Binay and acting Mayor Romulo “Kid” Pena. This boils down to which among the two has the rule of law on his side.

The Office of the Ombudsman suspended Binay but the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order on this suspension. Still, Justice Secretary Leila

Clowns in the government

it’s about the fit ANY astute observer of political events in this country will tell you that the recent activities of Davao Mayor Rodrigo

Duterte and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr are attempts to test public reception to a potential presidential bid. What they are doing is “floating” their names as pos-sible presidentiables; in short, announcing their inter-est in being shortlisted for the highest post in the land.

Duterte has embarked on what he calls “listening tour” - doing the rounds of key cities in Mindanao and the Visayas, purportedly to discuss federalism. Marcos has been unsuccessfully trying to package himself as a thought leader in various critical national issues. Sen-ators Antonio Trillanes and Alan Peter Cayetano have been preening like peacocks in heat and howling like monkeys engaged in a territorial squabble. Of course we’ve already known that Vice President Jejomar Binay and local governments secretary Mar Roxas are already out there in the starting line, heckling and trying to disqualify each other.

The messages they are putting out there may be con-flicting – it would seem as if they alternate between playing coy and being assertive, blowing hot and cold, being gentlemanly and boorish, apparently depending on which side of the bed they woke up on for that day. Let us make no mistake about it, though: They are se-riously putting themselves out there as possible candi-dates for the presidency.

This is both good news and bad news. A discus-sion on possible successors to Benigno S. Aquino in 2016 will hopefully neutralize the persistent demand of certain sectors to change the leadership of the coun-try now – barely a year before the next presidential election. In fact, a review of the qualifications of the putative successors might make spook those aggres-sively calling for Aquino’s immediate resignation – my goodness, look at the pitiful bunch of clowns that are positioning themselves as possible successors. Fur-thermore, this might just galvanize critical sectors to actively explore alternatives. Surely, there are other more qualified, more trustworthy, better leaders out there?

This is my problem with the many groups who have

many things to say about the way things are in this country. Everyone is a critic who demands account-ability and performance from our leaders; hardly any-one talks about what really needs to be done and the roles they can and must play to make things better. If we really come to think about it, the more proactive course of action is to ensure that we develop, and con-sequently, elect the right leaders for the right posts at the right time. If we don’t want a repeat of the blun-ders of the current and previous presidents, then we just have to stop electing the same types of people and using the same processes that catapulted them into of-fice.

Our problem is that we keep on installing people in leadership positions even when they clearly lack the com-petencies required to effectively fulfill the mandates of the position. Worse, we tend to equate personality traits with abilities; just because a person is the progeny of morally upright people we immediately conclude that he or she will become a moral leader. We also have this predilection for making shortcuts in judging the overall qualification of a person often by merely focusing on one key accomplishment. For instance, many conclude that because a major has shown exemplary political will in running after drug pushers and criminals in his city he will be very effective in cleaning up the whole country of drugs and criminality.

What we need to do is fix the system. We need to put in place frameworks that help voters appreci-ate the responsibilities of key national positions and consequently, the key competencies that candidates must have to be able to perform them. We need to ensure that those aspiring for critical positions such as the presidency go through a fair and rigorous assess-ment so that voters see through the sheen created by clever positioning and packaging. We need to debunk the many myths perpetuated by traditional politicians about themselves that legitimize political dynasties. And more importantly, we need to start promoting a more inclusive approach to identifying and developing leaders, allowing community leaders and non-politi-cians equal access to elective positions.

We can continue to elect leaders on a whim and then waste time and effort recalling them from office or we can invest in efforts to identify, develop, and elect the right people for the right posts.

At least, there is no shortage of

comic relief in this administration.

ARE WE THERE YET?

BONG C. AUSTERO

TO THE pOiNT

Emil p. jURAdO

[email protected]

A11adelle chuaE D I T O R

T u e S d aY : M a R c h 24 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

HAIL TO THE CHAIR

VICTOR AVECILLA

UnconstitUtional and illegal city ordinances

The power of chartered cities to en-act ordinances is limited. An ordinance must not violate the Constitution or an existing law, and it cannot be enforced outside the territory of the city.

Simple-minded councilors think that the more ordinances they propose, the better it is for the city. The smarter councilors know that there is a right time for legislation, and there is a right time not to legislate.

Many city legislatures have enacted ordinances ostensibly to protect the en-vironment but are unconstitutional or il-legal. Worse, some of these ordinances are designed to favor certain businesses with close ties to the city leadership.

Several cities in Metropolitan Manila have ordinances banning the use of plas-tic materials in the secondary packaging of groceries and dry goods in their ter-ritories. The term “secondary packag-ing” refers to the bags or containers in which groceries are placed after they are paid for at the check-out counter in su-permarkets, grocery stores, and similar establishments. Under the ordinances, stores must pack the purchased grocer-ies, etc. inside non-plastic bags or con-tainers, such as paper bags and bags made of fiber.

It is claimed that these ordinances aim to prevent flooding because after the plastic bags and containers are eventu-ally thrown in the garbage, they end up clogging the drainage systems in the city. These ordinances ban any and all types of plastic bags and containers, whether or not they are made of bio-degradable material, i.e., material which easily de-composes into harmless particles.

The failure of these ordinances to dis-

tinguish between bio-degradable plastic bags and containers and those which are not constitutes a violation of Repub-lic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. This statute prohibits the use of plastic bags and containers as secondary packaging if they are not bio-degradable. Its clear import is that the use of bio-degradable plastic bags or containers is authorized.

Since the use of bio-degradable plastic bags and containers as secondary pack-aging materials is authorized under Re-public Act No. 9003, their use cannot be outlawed by a mere city ordinance. As stated earlier, local government units do not have the power to amend, modify, or repeal any statute enacted by the nation-al legislature.

The validity of a city ordinance which violates a law may be challenged in court by any resident of the city concerned, or by any person with an interest in the sale and distribution of bio-degradable plas-tic products. Thus, persons or business ventures with investments in bio-de-gradable packaging materials have good reason to question these ordinances be-fore the Supreme Court.

By outlawing any and all forms of plastic bags and containers for secondary packaging, these ordinances force super-markets, grocery stores, and similar es-tablishments to use paper bags. Since paper comes from wood, the large-scale use of paper bags will lead to more defor-estation in the countryside, which is bad news for the environment. Therefore, prohibiting the use of bio-degradable plastic bags and containers is harmful to the environment. The manufacture and use of bio-degradable packaging materi-

als is a better alternative to the further denudation of our forests.

It has also been reported that some councilors behind these ordinances have substantial investments in the paper bag manufacturing business, or receive com-missions from the owners of these busi-nesses.

* * * * *The Quezon City government is con-

sidering enacting an ordinance pro-hibiting the consumption of meat in restaurants, schools, and public offices throughout the city every Monday. Pro-ponents of this measure say that outlaw-ing the consumption of meat once a week promotes health because diners will be compelled to eat healthy foods like veg-etables and non-meat foodstuffs instead.

While the objective of promoting health is laudable, the measure itself is legally unsound.

There is no conclusive scientific find-ing that the consumption of meat is haz-ardous to health. Scientific journals show that many experts are divided on this issue. There are some arguments that only the fat of the meat is bad for health. Others argue that it is in the way the meat is cooked, and that boiled or steamed meat is better than fried meat or barbecue.

Some say that too much meat is bad for the body. Of course, but then again, too much of anything, including power, is bad.

Outlawing the consumption of meat on Mondays does not necessarily mean that people will resort to healthier alter-natives. Some may even turn to harm-ful foodstuffs like instant noodles, pro-cessed snacks, and junk food. If there is any food which out to be banned, junk

food, not meat, is it. Even if a local government unit has

the power to enact an ordinance which promotes public health, that power can-not be exercised arbitrarily or indiscrim-inately. The Constitution authorizes the courts to annul ordinances enacted with grave abuse of discretion.

Without a sound and proven medical and scientific basis for a weekly prohibi-tion against the consumption of meat, the proposed ban suffers from legal in-firmity.

* * * * *A Quezon City ordinance requires

major business establishments in the city to provide parking facilities for bicycles. The supposed rationale for the ordi-nance is to encourage more people to use bicycles in the city, instead of motor vehicles which pollute the air with their emissions.

This is one of those many times when the Quezon City Council put the cart be-fore the horse in a case of obvious lack of foresight.

Before enacting an ordinance to promote cycling on city streets, the city council should come out with regula-tions governing the use of bicycles in city roads. First, bicycles should not use busy roads; their slow pace obstructs the smooth flow of motor vehicle traf-fic. Next, minors should not be allowed to use bicycles on these roads. Also, cy-clists must be required to use the same protective headgear used by motorcycle drivers. Moreover, cyclists must follow traffic rules and regulations like every-one else who uses the roads. Finally, the rules must be codified for better dissemi-nation and compliance.

[email protected]

Xavier... From A9

College of Agriculture and the influ-ential Southeast Asia Rural Social Lead-ership Institute (SEARSOLIN). It is XU’s principal award for those who have con-tributed most to sustainable development and social justice.

Prof. Coronel-Ferrer will share the Masterson Award with Mr. Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the Bangsamoro Tran-sition Commission and chief negotia-tor of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Mr. Iqbal is as Mindanawon as I am, or even more. He is certainly a Fili-pino citizen and definitely not a Malaysian as some has maliciously accused him of. He is a native of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Magu-indanao and obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science at Manuel Quezon University. He became a revolutionary in 1972 when he joined the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Subsequently, in 1977, he decided to join the MILF which he now serves as member of its Central Committee.

I know Mr. Iqbal professionally be-cause of my assignment during the last year of the Arroyo administration as a government peace negotiator. From the many meetings I engaged with, I was able to observe the man, I can say that here is a leader of immense courage, with the highest integrity, and practical wisdom. A devoted Muslim and a warrior who trans-formed to being a peace champion, Iqbal is a statesman we can definitely trust and work with. His dignified behavior in the congressional and senate hearings speaks loudly and shames many of us,

According to the citation of Xavier University: “For his conscientious and patient efforts to engage in democratic

dialogues and negotiations for peace in Mindanao, for his untiring work towards a negotiated political solution that eschews the ways of extremism and terrorism, and for his unflinching and heartfelt service to bring peace and progress to our country, Xavier University is pleased and honored to confer the Fr William F Masterson SJ Award to Mohagher Iqbal.”

Finally, XU will be recognizing Secretary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles for her life-time work. A personal friend for 33 years (she was my wife’s first boss in Manila and was one of two principal sponsors for our wedding), Secretary Deles has always been prominent in peace advocacy. A builder of citizen organizations, she founded Social Development Index, co-founded PILIPINA and the Coalition for Peace, and was the first executive director of the Gaston Z Or-tigas Peace Institute. In 2011, we recognized her at the Ateneo School of Government by awarding her the Metrobank Foundation Professorial Chair for Public Service and Governance Award.

Our citation points out that Secretary Deles, who leads an exceptionally com-petent and dedicated team, with both veteran and young peace workers, at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), “is an emblem of commitment and dedication for others, a woman who fights for equality and leads the country to secure peace towards de-velopment and sustainable social change”.

The XU citation concludes: “In recogni-tion of her exceptional and remarkable con-tributions as a trustworthy public servant and strong-willed pioneer in the develop-ment sector of the Philippines, her sincere heart for the welfare of women, the poor, and the marginalized, but most of all, for her work in peace building in the country and

especially in Mindanao, it is Xavier Univer-sity’s high honor and gratitude to bestow the Doctor in Humanities, honoris causa to Sec-retary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles.”

These university awards were decided in a meeting of the XU Board of Trust-ees last November 29, 2014. I was absent in that meeting because of the climate change negotiations in Lima, Peru, but I wholeheartedly supported the decision. And after Mamasapano, and even as the attacks against these peace workers es-calated, I joined the members of the XU board in voting unanimously to stay the course. I acknowledged that some in our community, including a few alumni, are upset about this but there can be no wa-vering in our commitment for peace and support for those who work hard and sac-rifice a lot to make it happen.

I echo the words of XU President Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ: “Xavier University (XU) wished to honor these three leaders who have courageously walked the arduous way of peace and to salute them for their conscientious and patient efforts to en-gage in democratic dialogue and negotia-tions for peace in Mindanao . . . Xavier wanted to walk with these three leaders in the long journey to a just and lasting peace. By conferring these awards during the 2015 commencement exercises, Xavier hoped to inspire her graduates to be brave and bold and not be afraid to walk the de-manding but necessary path of peace in our troubled island of Mindanao.”

I will definitely not be afraid this Thurs-day to walk with these champions of peace who will honor by their presence the uni-versity I love.

Facebook page: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylav

Cheap... From A9

It was Lee who lobbied the Ameri-cans to fund and build General San-tos airport at a time when the United States still had military bases in the Philippines; the US eventually built the airport, but for purposes of its own which had to do with its plans to focus on Mindanao and to have as little to do with the national govern-ment in Manila (which kicked out its bases) as possible.

But it is to Lee’s credit that, be-cause he was always looking beyond his own state’s borders and thinking about regional repercussions of all his actions, GenSan airport exists today. Would that we, in the future, elect a leader with such foresight and cross-border vision.

But it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to name the GenSan airport after the man who conceived it, never mind if he was the head of state of another country. Hey, if the government can bring back the name of Clark airfield (which was named after an obscure, low-level American serviceman who never even set foot in the Philippines) to erase the name of Diosdado Maca-pagal, it can honor a great statesman and leader who set the bar for righ-teous rulers in this neck of the woods – and who dreamed up the airport, as well.

BPI BIOSAFETY PR 013 PUBLIC INFORMATION SHEET FOR PROPAGATION

PROPOSAL FOR THE PROPAGATION OF Bt11 x TC1507 x GA21 Stack Corn

1. Applicant’s Name, Address, Telephone Number, Facsimile Number, E-Mail Address (Please contact this address for

more information) Syngenta Philippines, Inc. 12/F Two World Square, #22 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1630 Philippines; Tel. No. +63 2 3702100; Fax No. +63 2 8569260; E-mail Address: http://www.syngenta.com

2. Name of Responsible Officer/Authorized Representative Duong Ba Cau, President and Commercial Unit Head, PH Felipe S. dela Cruz, Jr., Regulatory Affairs Manager, Seeds PH

3. Description of the Regulated Article for Propagation

Bt11 x TC1507 x GA21 is a stack hybrid developed by conventionally crossing Bt11, TC1507 and GA21 corn. Bt11, TC1507 and GA21 are transgenic corn events developed through modern biotechnology.

Event Bt11 corn contains the Cry1Ab gene isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki and encodes the Cry1Ab protein, which is toxic to the Asiatic corn borer (ACB) upon ingestion but is harmless to other insects, humans and animals. The Cry1Ab acts by selectively binding to specific sites localized on the brush border midgut epithelium of susceptible species. Following binding, cation-specific pores are formed that disrupt midgut ion flow and thereby cause paralysis and death.

Event Bt11 corn also contains the pat gene cloned from the soil microorganism Streptomyces viridochromogenes strain that encodes the enzyme phosphinothricin-N-synthethase acetyltransferase (PAT), which detoxifies glufosinate ammonium, the active ingredient in the herbicide Basta®. Glufosinate ammonium inhibits the glutamate synthetase in plants, resulting in an accumulation of ammonia in plant tissues leading to its death. Plants expressing the pat gene are protected from the herbicide glufosinate.

Event TC1507 corn contains the cry1F gene from Bacillus thuringiensis var aizawai. It produces the Cry1F protein that when ingested by the insect, acts by selectively binding to specific sites on the lining of the midgut of susceptible insects. Following binding, pores are formed that disrupt midgut ion flow, causing gut paralysis and eventual death due to bacterial sepsis.

Event TC1507 also produces the PAT protein from S. viridochromogenes which provides tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicide.

Event GA21 corn contains a modified 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (mepsps) gene derived from corn. It confers the mEPSPS protein which enables the plant to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate.

Bt11, TC1507 and GA21 have approval for food, feed and processing and for propagation from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

4. If to be imported, Country (ies) of Origin of the Regulated Article

Argentina

5. Brief Summary of Potential Effects on Human and Animal Health and the Environment

Based on compositional/nutritional analyses, allergenicity and toxicity studies specifically conducted to assess its safety and from data currently available from the scientific literature, Bt11 corn, TC1507 corn and GA21 corn are substantially equivalent to and is as safe as conventional corn. It is essentially the same as its conventional counterpart, except for its built-in resistance to corn borer and tolerance to glyphosate herbicide. In addition, studies have shown that they do not pose risk nor cause harm to non-target insects, animals and humans.

6. Brief Summary of Potential Benefits

The use of Bt11 x TC1507 x GA21 stack corn hybrid with dual mode of resistance to Asiatic corn borer (ACB) and tolerance to glyphosate herbicide will provide a viable option for the control of ACB and weed management in commercial corn production areas in the Philippines.

This stack technology will provide farmers, farming environment and society with options for: a. reduced use of insecticide to control ACB and other Lepidopteran insect pests;b. cost-effective post-emergent weed control strategy; c. less exposure to dangerous insecticide; andd. lower insecticide contamination of the environment

7. Countries Where Approvals Have Been Granted (for FFP; for Propagation)

Bt11 x TC1507 x GA21 is approved for cultivation in Argentina (2014) and for use as food and feed in Argentina (2014) and Philippines (2014).

For additional information on the proposed propagation, please contact:

Felipe S. dela Cruz, Jr. Syngenta Philippines, Inc. 12/F Two World Square, #22 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1630 Philippines Tel. No. +63 2 3702100 Fax No. +63 2 8569260 E-mail Address: http://www.syngenta.com

The public is hereby invited to submit their comments on the proposed renewal of permit for propagation, within fifteen (15 daysfrom the date of publication, to:

Director Bureau of Plant Industry San Andres, Malate, Manila Telephone Number 525-7857 Fax Number 521-7650 E-Mail [email protected]

Approved for Publication:

(SGD.) DANTE V. FIDEL OIC-Director Bureau of Plant Industry

(TNS-MAR. 24, 2015)

(TNS-MAR. 24, 2015)

ERRORS &

OMISSIONS

In C lass i f ied Ads s e c t i o n m u s t b e b r o u g h t t o o u r attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

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T UESDAY : MARCH 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

Djokovic captures 50th career win

OKLAHOMA CITY—Okla-homa City star guard Russell Westbrook’s 10th triple-dou-ble of the NBA season pow-ered the Thunder to a 93-75 romp over visiting Miami on Sunday for its third consecu-tive win.

NBA scoring leader West-brook only managed 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting. But he matched a career-high with 17 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds as the � under improved to 40-30, moving three games ahead of New Orleans for the eighth and � nal Western Conference playo� berth.

Still missing injured 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player Kev-in Durant, the � under were led by 27 points from Enes Kanter.

Mitch McGary scored 14 points while Anthony Morrow added 12 and Dion Waiters and Steven Adams each contributed 10.

“It was a balanced attack on both ends of the � oor,” � under coach Scott Brooks said.

� e Heat fell to 32-37, sev-enth in the Eastern Conference but only two games ahead of ninth-place Indiana in the � ght for the � nal playo� positions in the East.

Miami’s three-game win streak was halted. � e Heat shot only 39.5 percent for the game and trailed for the � nal three quarters.

Hassan Whiteside scored 13 points to lead Miami while Dw-yane Wade, Goran Dragic and Mario Chalmers each added 12.

� e � under pulled away in the fourth quarter, stretching a 66-60 edge with a 27-11 run for the biggest margin of the game at 93-71.

In Milwaukee, LeBron James scored 28 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, passed out six as-sists and made � ve steals Sun-

day to spark the Cleveland Cav-aliers to a 108-90 NBA victory at Milwaukee.

J.R. Smith added 23 points and Kyrie Irving contributed 20 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who won their third game in a row and seventh in eight starts to stand 46-26 on the season, second in the East-ern Conference.

Michael Carter-Williams scored a team-high 19 points for Milwaukee, but the Bucks slid to 34-36 with their sixth loss in a row.

Khris Middleton and Gi-annis Antetokounmpo each had 15 points for the Bucks.

Down 53-44 at half-time, the Cavaliers made a 14-6 run sparked by Irving to pull close. James scored six points in a row late in the quarter and Iman Shumpert’s jumper put Cleve-land ahead 75-73 entering the fourth quarter. AFP

Thunder roar to 40th win

INDIAN WELLS—Novak Djokovic leaned back in his chair in the hot sun, took a drink of water, and couldn’t stop his hands from shaking.

� e world number one had just double faulted three times to lose a second-set tiebreaker to world number two Roger Federer in the Indian Wells champion-ship game on Sunday.

“I managed to overcome the frustration of handing that tie-break to him with three double faults in crucial moments,” said Djokovic, who went on to win the match in three sets for his 50th career singles ATP Tour title. “We are all human. We all fall under pressure.”

� e Serbian tennis star and now back-to-back Indian Wells Masters champion described the

victory as a roller-coaster of emo-tions.

It’s all in a day’s work for the world’s elite tennis players and Djokovic is no di� erent. Against Federer he went from the shak-ing hands episode to smashing a racquet in anger in the third set, to the euphoria of beating his biggest rival on one of the biggest stages in tennis.

“I managed to regroup,” he said. “But that is sport. � ose things happen under pressure sometimes.

“Knowing I was close to vic-tory, making three double faults, the pressure, it was all part of it.

But I managed to calm down and get calmer kind of movement in the third set.”

As for the racquet-smashing incident, he says he once again had a heart-to-heart discussion during the changeover with him-self.

“When I � nished with what I have done I just told myself, ‘OK, this is it. Let it go.’ Now I have to refocus and stand up in a minute and play my best.”

Djokovic said when he goes through those moments—when he really feels the pressure get-ting to him—he reminds himself of the bigger picture.

“I don’t think that these chal-lenges that I go through are ac-tually harming me or that I � nd that is a burden on my back,” he said. “It is a privilege because I earned it. I earned the position to be in.” AFP

Best Center clinics on

Cage champs. Members of the De La Salle-Zobel team, including Champ Arejola, Gavin Legaspi, Santi Sauler, Dwyne Miranda, Waki Espina and Kio Favis, are shown after beating Marist School, 33-32, in the fi nal of the 9-under division in the Metropolitan Schools Sports Association held recently at Xavier School gym in San Juan.

THE award-winning BEST Center, sponsored by Milo, opens its full summer schedule with its basketball and volley-ball clinics beginning April 6.

Ateneo starts the summer basketball clinics rolling with Monday and Thursday classes in Preparatory Levels 1 to 6.

University of Perpetual Help also opens its basketball classes for Levels 1 to 3 from April 6 to 30.

Starmall in Alabang gets its turn on April 7 to May 1 for stu-dents enrolled in Levels 1 to 4 every Wednesday and � ursday.

Amoranto Sports Complex also hosts students enrolled in Levels 1-4 on the same dates.

April 8 to May 2 are re-served for students enrolled

in Wednesday and Saturday classes at the Malate Catholic School for Levels 1 to 4. Xavier School will also host students in Levels 1 to 3 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Sunday classes are sched-uled at the Lancaster New City for students in Levels 1 and 2.

BEST Center founder and president Nic Jorge, a former national player and coach, also announced volleyball clinics will start on April 6 and will run until the 30th for Monday and Thursday classes in Star-mall Alabang.

Inquiries can be made at telephones 411-6260 and 372-3065/66; E-mail [email protected]; or through Facebook: best center sports inc.

[email protected]

t uesday : March 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

sports

TM Football kicks off festivals in IloiloREACHING out to various under-privileged communities to provide young talents nationwide the venue to hone their skills, the TM Foot-ball Para Sa Bayan recently went underway with its football festival in Iloilo City, spearheaded by no less than Globe ambassador, sports director and coach Emelio “Chi-effy” Caligdong.

The said football festival at-tracted hundreds of youth from the townsfolk of Barotac Nuevo in the said city, where Caligdong traces his roots, as well as from neighboring barangays.

Aside from letting the football newbies aged 6 to 15 discover and enjoy the sport, the event also provided the opportunity to in-

crease their level of play through a 7-side tournament format un-der the supervision of the former Philippine Azkals team captain and midfielder.

It also enabled the mass market prepaid brand TM to reach out to more of its publics in rolling out relevant programs, particularly the successful grassroots foot-ball program of Globe Telecom, which for three years now has largely helped underserved Filipi-no youth to tap their full potential and harness their skills, particu-larly through football.

“We are pleased that TM Foot-ball Para Sa Bayan is starting to positively impact the lives of Fili-pino youth nationwide, especially

the underprivileged here in Iloilo. Bringing a wonderful head start to those who will be the future of this nation provides our brand a dimension of genuinely serving our countrymen even through sports,” said TM Portfolio and Brand Management Director Tri-na Sebastian.

“I am honored to work closely with TM Football Para sa Bayan, in so far as guiding our youth to discover their calling through a sport closest to my heart. It is with high hopes that by joining in the festivals and doing good in foot-ball, we would be able to encour-age them to stay in school and have a better chance for a brighter future,” remarked Caligdong.

Forum to discussShakey’s V-LeagueTHE coming First Conference of the highly popular Shakey’s V-League will be exclusively talked about in today’s session of the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.

Officials of the organizing Sports Vision lead the guests in the 10:30 a.m. public sports program aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Stuart leads newbiesin PH athletics’ teamBy Peter Atencio

FIVE new faces, who made a good impres-sion in the 2015 Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships held at the Laguna Sports Complex in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, will likely make the cut for the na-tional team.

Led by Fil-American Caleb Stuart, who is expected to make the grade following his impressive performances in three field events, others who would most likely suit for the national team include Fil-Americans long jumper Do-novant Arriola and sprinter Brandon Thomas, relay spe-cialist Johan Caido and high jumper Manuel Lasangue Jr.

Their fate will be known once the national coaching staff is through with their evaluation process.

Stuart racked up three gold medals in the final day of the meet, capping his impressive

stint by heaving 48.17 meters in the discus throw, which was six meters better than the 42.72 of Sean Santamina, who settled for the silver.

The former varsity at the University of California-Riv-erside earlier plucked the gold in the men’s shot put in 16.52 meters before smashing the na-tional record in the men’s ham-mer throw with a 64.81-meter heave.

That throw surpassed the national record posted by Arniel Ferrera in 2013 Vietiane Southeast Asian Games (61.61 meters) and is way better than the current

SEA Games mark of reigning champon Tantipong Phetchai-ya (62.23).

Stuart’s shot put mark, on the other hand, nearly broke the 2013 SEA Games bronze med-al standard of 16.85, which is owned by Chatchawal Polyiam of Thailand.

In the discus throw, Stuart’s heave was but a few meters less than the SEA Games bronze medal mark of Indonesia’s Her-manto (51.96 meters).

National coaches, headed by Dario Darosas, are set to dis-cuss if Stuart can compete in all three events in the Games.

Arriola, meanwhile, is be-ing eyed to see action in the long jump after he cleared 7.59 meters, which was only four centimeters less than Henry Dagmil’s national mark of 7.99 meters. It was better than Pham Van Lam’s 7.53-meter bronze-medal mark in the 2013 SEA Games.

Thomas, on the other hand, completed the 100-meter dash in 10.8 seconds, which was

Young Filipinaathlete shinesin the USA YOUNG Filipina athlete is making waves in the basketball scene in the US.

Third grader Ella Patrice Fajardo is one of the best basketball players not only in her school’s varsity team, Transfiguration Academy Tigers, but also in the whole state, playing for the top-ranking team New Jersey Lady Titans in the Amateur Athletic Union.

Standing a little over five feet, Ella has competed in national leagues in various states, earning trophies as MVP along the way.

At only 8 years old, Ella has already been spotted by one of the most respected play-ers in the Women’s National Basketball Association. Original Los Angeles Sparks guard Tamecka Dixon conducts training sessions with the young Pinay because of her promising talent and skill in the sport.

Though she was born and raised in New Jersey, Ella still credits the premiere sports clinic, Basketball Efficiency and Scien-tific Training Center, for her growth in the sport. Over the years, her family travels all the way from the US back to the Philip-pines to undergo rigorous training at the award-winning sports clinic. Despite the serious coaching in the US, Ella still sees her BEST Center training as the most vital aspect in her improvement.

She attributed the things she learned in BEST Center as a significant part of her success, relating how BEST Center’s focus on scientific approach helped her become a good player. “In the US, they don’t teach the little things that can help you in your game. The drills make you a good player, but it’s the small details that win the game,” shared the basketball prodigy.

Ella recently graduated in Level 3 and will be back this year to complete the bas-ketball program. She is clearly on her way towards her dream of becoming the first Filipina basketball player in the NBA.

To know more information about BEST Center sports clinics, call their hotlines 411-6260, 3723066 and 372-3065 or email [email protected]. You may also visit BEST Center Sports Inc. on Facebook.

Former PH Azkals star and Globe ambassador Chieffy Caligdong leads the first leg of the TM Football Para sa Bayan football festival.

The New Jersey Lady Titans, with Ella Fajardo in the middle, are shown at the Amateur Athletic Union.

close to the 10.45 second na-tional record of Ralph Sogu-ilon in 2007 and near the bronze-medal performance of Muhammad Amirudin Jamal of Singapore (10.55 seconds).

Meanwhile, University of Baguio’s Johan Caido, who finished fourth in the 400-me-ter run (47.62 seconds) earned a spot in the 4X400 meter re-lay with teammates Archand Bagsit, Edgardo Alejano and Ryan Bigyan.

Stuart

A14T U E S D AY : m A r c h 24 , 2 0 1 5

[email protected]



ADAMSON University stakes its un-beaten record as the defending four-time champions battle University of the Philippines today in the champion-ship round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 77 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Holding a thrice-to-beat advantage for sweeping the double-round eliminations, the Lady Falcons, who are on a 60-game roll, need only to win twice to capture their fifth straight title and the 14th overall.

The title series will start at 9 a.m.

Lady Maroons coach Kiko Diaz is hoping that his troops will play their A-game to post one of the biggest upsets in league history

“We are prepared to beat Adamson,” said Diaz. “If Adamson wins, we give it to them, but we will do our darnedest best to win.”

UP, which last won in 2008, clinched the second champi-onship berth with an abbrevi-ated 9-1 victory over Univer-sity of Santo Tomas in their do-or-die playoff last Sunday.

The Ana Santiago-men-tored Lady Falcons are com-ing off a long 13-day break af-ter registering another perfect

elimination-round campaign. Game 2 of the league’s final

event for Season 77 is sched-uled on Thursday at 9 a.m. also at the Rizal ballpark.

Adamson, UP start title series

PH volleyteam startstraining

Bacolod sends most number of campers to Jr. NBA event

THE newly-formed na-tional women’s under-23 team should be able to find its form when it plunges into training next week.

Sammy Acaylar, one of the two coaches tasked to handle the squad, said this after the national coaching staff finally as-sembled the roster of the squad seeing action in the Asian 23 Women’s Volley-ball Championship.

“There are many players who have com-mitted. Now, we can schedule practices,” said Acaylar, as they get ready to get the team together at the Blue Eagle gym in Katipunan, Quezon City.

He said the formation of the team will be a good test and a chance to find out how strong the squad is.

The training regimen will be followed by a scheduled tournament in Japan against the fin-est teams in Asia.

A pair of reigning Most Valuable Players, Alyssa Valdez of UAAP champion Ateneo de Ma-nila and National Colle-giate Athletic Association MVP Grethcel Soltones of San Sebastian College are among the top candi-dates for the squad, which is also coached by Roger Gorayeb. Peter Atencio

By Reuel VidalBACOLOD CITY—The Ba-colod JrNBA/JrWNBA Pre-sented by Alaska Regional Selection Camp, held at the St. John’s Institute in Bacolod City last weekend, sent the most numbers of qualifiers to the National Training Camp.

Fourteen young players met the strict standard of the selection committee led by Chris Sumner and will par-ticipate in the national camp to be held April 24 to 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The 10 boys include: Ralph Allen Cagalawan, 14; Christian Perigua, 13; Kent Dentin Esperagazo, 14; John Dexter Gigantana, 13 and Andy John Villamer, 14 of Tay Tung High School; An-drei Lechoncito, 12; Daniel Coo, 13; Nicholas Steven

Pura, 12 and Kurt Coloso, 14 of St. John’s Institute and Kurt Jan Aparri of Christ the King College.

The girls are Karla Sheen Cotejo,13, of Bacolod City College; Dyna Sicil Nieves, 13, of University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos; Luisa Martina de la Paz, 13, of University of St. La Salle and Rodnie Mae Hodilena of Luis Hervias National High School.

The 14 qualifiers topped a field of 370 participants aged 10-14 years from all over Western Visayas.

There will be two more Regional Selection Camps to be held at the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao on Mar. 28 and 29 and at the PICC Forum, CCP Complex on April 11 and 12.

Boys and girls, who wish to join the selection camps may still register at www.jrnba.asia/philippines. The program is free.

Qualifiers from the Re-gional Selection Camps will join the National Training Camp at the SM Mall of Asia April 24-26 where the 2015 JrNBA/JrWNBA Presented by Alaska all-star teams and national coaches will named.

The basis for selection included not just basketball skills but also if the players possessed the STAR values of Sportsmanship, Team-work, (positive) Attitude and Respect.

The participants in the Bacolod were given vitals tests, skills challenges and basketball drills on the first day of the selection camp. The Top 40 players with the

JrNBA/JrWNBA Presented by Alaska Head Coach Chris Sumner (right) joins the qualifiers to the national camp (from left) John Dexter Gigantana, Andrei Lechoncito , Ralph Calagawan , Kurt Coloso , Kurt Jan Aparri, Daniel Coo, Andy John Villamer , Kent Dentin Esparazo, Christian Perugia, and Nicholas Steven Pura. The girls include, from left: Rodnie Mae Hodilena, Luisa Martina De La Paz, Dyna Sicil Nieves and Karla Sheen Cotejo.

INVITATION TO BIDNo. 04-2015

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Region 8, Marasbaras, Tacloban City through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), hereby invites Domestic Contractors, registered with and classified by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), to bid for the hereunder contracts. Bids received in excess of ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Item/DescriptionApproved Budget for

Contract (Php)Duration

1. BIGRIS Contract #04-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Balire South RIS, Macarthur, Leyte 4,980,733.36 240 cd

2. BIGRIS Contract #05-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Balire North RIS, Macarthur, Leyte 1,002,453.30 180 cd

3. BIGRIS Contract #06-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Ibawon RIS, Macarthur, Leyte 2,023,214.99 180 cd

4. MPBRIS Contract #10-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Pongso RIS, Barugo, Leyte 6,986,248.50 240 cd

5. MPBRIS Contract #11-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Bao RIS, Ormoc City 5,967,954.70 240 cd

6. MPBRIS Contract #12-2015 – Improvement of Irrigation Facilities of Bao RIS, Ormoc City 2,576,296.20 180 cd

The Prospective Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date of submission

and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project whose value must be at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184), otherwise known as the “Government procurement Reform Act”.

Prospective Bidders are not allowed to participate if they have negative slippage in their on-going contracts. Individuals with Special Power of Attorney (SPA) are not allowed to transact and participate in the procurement utilizing another construction firm. The pre-bid conference shall be open only for those who have purchased the Bid documents. No more sale of bid documents after pre-bidding conference in order for the bidders to submit a highly technical and educated bid.

The schedule of BAC activities are as follows:

BAC Activities Schedule Time

1. Issuance of Bid Documents Starting March 18, 2015 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

2. Pre-bid Conference March 25, 2015 10:00 a.m.

3. Receipt and Opening of Bids April 07, 2015 2:00 p.m.

The BAC will issue a complete set of Bidding Documents to eligible bidders from the address above and upon payment of non-refundable amount of P5,000.00 for ABC below 5M & P10,000.00 for ABC above 5M to the Cashier.

The NIA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. (SGD.) GLORIA A. SEVILLA BAC ChairmanNoted:

(SGD.) ROMEO G. QUIZA Regional Manager (TNS-MAR. 24, 2015)

Republic of the PhilippinesOffice of the President

NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION(PAMBANSANG PANGASIWAAN NG PATUBIG)

Region 8, Tacloban CityOffice Address: NIA Road, Marasbaras Tacloban City, PhilippinesWebsite: www.nia.gov.ph

Telefax No. (632) 323-7596TIN 000-916-415

INVITATION TO BIDThe National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Biliran-Leyte del Norte-Leyte del

Sur Irrigation Management Office, Marasbaras, Tacloban City through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2015 intends to apply the sum corresponding to the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), to payment for the following contracts listed hereunder.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) now invites bids for: Item/Description Approved Budget Duration

1. BNLSL-LCB-13-2015 – Repair/Improvement of Canal System of Lucsoon-Lico CIS, Naval, Biliran. 6,036,124.40 120 cd

2. BNLSL-LCB-16-2015 – Construction of Diversion Works, Canal, Farm Level and Road System of Palaraw CIS, Leyte, Leyte.

7,684,880.12 120 cd

3. BNLSL-LCB-17-2015 – Repair/Improvement of Diversion Works and Canal System of Bagombong CIS/Lower Iyusan CIS, Almeria, Biliran.

6,036,123.42 120 cd

Bidding will be conducted in accordance with relevant procedures for open competitive bidding as specified in the IRR of RA 9184. Bids received in excess of ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. The contract shall be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during post-qualification.

Interested bidders may submit a Letter of Intent together with the Class “A” documents addressed to the Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee, NIA, Biliran-Leyte del Norte-Leyte del Sur Irrigation Management Office, Marasbaras, Tacloban City.

The schedules of BAC activities are as follows:

BAC Activities Schedule Time

1. Issuance of Bid Documents Starting March 18, 2015 8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m2. Pre-Bid Conference March 25, 2015 10:00 a.m.3. Receipt and Opening of Bids April 6, 2015 2:00 p.m.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by the interested bidders from the address above and upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P10,000.00 to the Cashier.

NIA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to:

CATHERINE G. MACANIPNational Irrigation AdministrationMarasbaras, Tacloban City (053) 323-6210

(Sgd.) CATHERINE G. MACANIP BAC ChairmanNoted:

(Sgd.) PEDRO C. RUBIO, JR. Division Manager, IMO

(TNS-MAR. 24, 2015)

Republic of the PhilippinesOffice of the President

NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION(PAMBANSANG PANGASIWAAN NG PATUBIG)

Region 8, Tacloban CityOffice Address: NIA Road, Marasbaras Tacloban City, PhilippinesWebsite: www.nia.gov.ph

Telefax No. (632) 323-7596TIN 000-916-415

Game Today (Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium)

9 a.m. • AdU vs vs UP (softball finals)

highest vitals test and skills challenges scores on Day 1 returned for more intense drills and basketball team exercises on Day 2.

The players competed in lively scrimmages to com-plete the final selection proc-ess. The coaches then select-ed the most skilled basketball

players who also exemplified the JrNBA/JrWNBA core values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Atti-tude and Respect.

A15T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 , 2 0 1 5

[email protected]



Loreto KOs South Africanin Round 1, keeps crownBy Ronnie Nathanielsz

INTERNATIONAL Boxing Organization light � yweight champion Rey “Hitman” Loreto, short on training but full of heart, scored a brutal � rst-round knockout over former champion and hometown favorite Nkosinathi Joyi in South Africa late Sunday (Manila time).

The rematch had been postponed twice before, the second time last Feb. 28 when Loreto underwent surgery for a swollen appendix, which drastically cut down on his sparring and training regimen as he recovered from the surgery.

But as broadcast journalist and former North Cotabato governor Manny Pinol reported, nobody

gave Loreto a chance to win, especially with two South African judges, as well as a South African referee. But they didn’t reckon with the Filipino southpaw’s courageous heart and a string faith in God.

The noisy hometown fans, who chanted a Zuku war song, was quickly silenced as Loreto came charging out from the opening bell

YOU normally see Alex Compton so animated while coaching the Alaska Aces in the PBA.

The Compton that we know is lively, never misses the chance to instruct his players on the sidelines or holler against the referees in Filipino when he is contesting a call.

He would blurt: “Ref, kanina pa ‘yun” or “ref, pumito ka naman” so fluently, which usually brings a smile to basketball fans sitting near the players’ bench.

But on Sunday night, when his Alaska Aces played the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, the Compton that showed up was more vocal and ready to face whatever challenge was thrown at him, even from a bigger, mean-looking TNT import Ivan Johnson.

What made Compton suddenly change his persona?

Maybe, Johnson must have said something nasty that didn’t sound pleasing to Compton’s ear.

Suddenly, there was Compton, usually the picture of a perfect gentlemen and one of the “coolest” coaches around, getting into the mix after Johnson and his player, Alaska forward Calvin Abueva got into a verbal tussle after a particular play.

Compton was so angry it was difficult to reconcile the ever-smiling coach and one-time coffee creamer endorser to the one who literally gave the TNT import a verbal lashing.

While Compton rarely loses his cool, Johnson seems to be a magnet for trouble.

During his stint with the Atlanta Hawks in 2011, Johnson was sent home and fined by his team for an undisclosed amount due to conduct detrimental to his team.

In one of his team’s games, against the Boston Celtics the following year, he was also fined by the NBA for making an obscene gesture to a fan.

So it was possible that Johnson, given his history for instigating trouble, had said something “unsavory” that caused Compton to lose his temper.

“He was cursing me and accusing me of trying to send guys to hit him,” Compton told sportswriters.

Minutes, later however, Compton managed to cool down and was back to his old likable and humble self.

He immediately went to the Commissioner’s Office after the game to apologize not only to the officials, but also to Johnson, even if it was clear that he was not entirely at fault.

“At the end of the game, I didn’t act the way that I should have. That’s really the bottom line,” said Compton. “I don’t curse, I’m not a fighter and if I was, he would squash me in about 10 seconds. It’s a poor weight class. So I’m sorry to the whole PBA fans, the Talk ‘N Text organization. I’ve got to be better than that.”

Compton’s humility makes him a class act, and certainly one that should be emulated by other coaches and players in the PBA.

Because at the end of the day, the game of basketball is just that —a game to be played passionately, but with an equal dose of respect, fairness and sportsmanship.

Alex Compton is a class act

REY JOBLE

YOU normally see Alex Compton

THE LINK

Petalcorin adds Australian award to Elorde titleWORLD Boxing Association light flyweight Interim champion Randy “Razor” Petalcorin won an award from the Australian Nation-al Boxing Federation for winning the title last year in Shanghai, Chi-na with a rousing seventh-round TKO over Panama’s Walter Tello.

Petalcorin’s award was accepted on his behalf by his co-manag-er and multi-titled Australian promoter Peter Maniatis, who

thanked Ultratune CEO Sean Buckley and the Sanman Gym of the Manangquil brothers of Gen-eral Santos City.

Petalcorin and IBO light fly-weight champion Rey Loreto, who scored a brutal first-round knockout in a rematch with South Africa’s former world champion Nkosinathi Joyi on Sunday, will be honored as the “Boxers of the Year” in 2014 at the Flash Elorde

Annual Awards on Wednesday.The 23-year-old Filipino south-

paw has a record of 22-1-1 with 17 knockouts and is coming off back-to-back TKO victories over Thai-land’s Samransak Singmanasak.

Petalcorin won via third-round TKO to capture the Pan Asia Box-ing Association title on Nov. 8, 2013, when referee Tony Moretta called a halt at 1:14 of the round to save Singmanasak from further

punishment, while in a rematch on March 28, 2014, he won by a second-round TKO in a scheduled 10-round bout with referee Chris Abnderson stopping the bout at 1:04 of the round.

Petalcorin is scheduled to de-fend his title in Beijing on April 24 against China’s Ma Yi Ming, the 34-year-old southpaw slugger with a record of 12-5 with 7 knockouts. Ronnie Nathanielsz

and with about one minute and 30 seconds into the round, nailed Joyi with a crunching right hook, followed by a left uppercut that dropped the former Olympian and two-time world champion for a mandatory count.

In an email to the Standard/Viva Sports, Pinol reported it was obvious that Joyi was badly hurt and as referee Nyangiwe motioned the two fighters to resume action, Loreto stepped forward and ripped a combination to the head.

As Joyi slumped almost motionless in the neutral corner, the referee didn’t even bother to count and waved the fight off.

When it was over, the 24-year-old Loreto shouted: “Thank you Lord.”

With the win, Loreto improved to 20-13 with 12 knockouts and proved that his stunning third-round knockout to win the title in Monte Carlo last Feb. 12 was no fluke.

Loreto’s trainer Joven Jorda and manager Brico Santig wanted him not to go ahead with the title defense until he had completely recovered from surgery, but he didn’t want the fight postponed because he wanted to earn so he could finish the little house he was building in Davao City.

Loreto and his handlers are scheduled to arrive in Manila today, in time to receive his award as one of the world champions at the 15th Annual “Flash” Elorde Banquet of Champions in Manila Hotel.

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LOTTO RESULTS

3 00-00-00

PRISAA coverage. GMA Network Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Felipe L. Gozon (right) and Private Schools Athletic Association National Chairman Dr. Emmanuel Y. Angeles recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the official coverage of the 2015 PRISAA National Games on April 10 to 16, 2015 in Iloilo City.

Quick ending. Rey Loreto stands over challenger Nkosinathi Joyi, who he beat on a stoppage in the first round of their title fight in Mdantsane yesterday. MARK ANDREWS



T U E S D AY : m A r c h 24 , 2 0 1 5

A16rIErA U. mALL ArI

E D I T O R

[email protected]

rEUEL vIDALA S S I S TA N T E D I T O R

sports3 teams fight to stay alive

Riding high on a five-game winning streak, NLEX (6-4), already assured of a Top 6 finish, wants to keep its run going and gain momentum heading to the quarterf inals when it faces fading Barako Bull (4-6) at 4:15 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

In the second game, desperate teams GlobalPort (4-6) and San Miguel (3-7) fight for for survival when they clash at 7 p.m.

Unlike the Road Warriors,

who are already safely in the quarterfinals and currently tied for fourth, the Energy Colas, the Batang Pier and the Beermen are in dire need

of a win today as they try to boost their chances of making the bus heading to the next round as

only eight teams will make it.As of now, six teams are

assured of berths in the quarterfinals, namely Rain or Shine, Talk ‘N Text, Purefoods, NLEX, Meralco and Barangay Ginebra.

By Jeric Lopez

THE league’s hottest team will try to keep the fire going, while three others will battle for their dear lives in the homestretch of the elimination round of the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.

50th career win. Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses for photographers after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland during the final on Day 14 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. It was his 50th career win. (Story on A12) AFP

The last two slots, the No. 7 and 8 spots, are being contested by five teams, namely GlobalPort, Barako Bull, Alaska (4-6), Kia (4-7) and San Miguel (3-7). All five still have a shot at making it depending on the results of their final elimination games as the quotient system will come into play in case of ties and/or multiple ties when the dust settles.

Whoever loses among the Batang Pier, the Energy Colas and the Beermen will have a bleaker chance of making it.

Blackwater (2-8) is the lone team eliminated thus far and three more will join it for an early vacation.

After a 0-3 and 1-4 starts in the conference, the red-hot NLEX aims for its sixth straight victory when it plays Barako Bull as it wants to maintain its momentum.

Games Tuesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4:15 p.m. • Barako Bull vs. NLEX

7 p.m. • San Miguel vs. GlobalPort

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZASSISTANT EDITOR B1

TUESDAY: MARCH 24, 2015

[email protected]@gmail.com



RAY S. EÑANOEDITOR

BUSINESS 7500

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5520

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3860

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8000

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6500

6000

5500

Closing March 23, 2015PSE ComPoSitE indEx

45

44

43

42

41

HIGH P44.775 LOW P44.850 AVERAGE P44.821

Closing MARCH 23, 2015PESo-dollar ratE

P44.790CLOSE

VOLUME 542.100M

oilPriCES today

P508.00-P728.00LPG/11-kg tank

P38.37-P43.92Unleaded Gasoline

P26.35-P32.65Diesel

P36.75-P43.42Kerosene

P23.70-P24.40Auto LPG

todayP26.35-P32.65

P36.75-P43.42

P23.70-P24.40

PP38.37-P43.92

Manila court okaysPWU corporate rehabBy Jenniffer B. Austria

THE Manila regional trial court approved the petition of the Benitez family for the corporate rehabilitation of the Philippine Women’s University, a legal process that will avert the turnover of the school’s properties to STI Holdings Inc. of businessman Eusebio Tanco.

Manila RTC presiding judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa issued a commencement order dated March 20, 2015, after finding that the involuntary rehabilitation of PWU filed by petitioner-creditor Helena Benitez was “sufficient in form and in substance.”

The RTC also issued a stay order suspending all actions or petitions in court for the

enforcement of all claims against the PWU.

STI Holdings earlier said it was declared the winning bidder on two PWU properties in Manila in a foreclosure auction conducted by the Manila RTC on March 18. STI said it won the auctions involving the extra-judicial foreclosures of PWU’s properties along Taft Avenue in

Malate, Manila, where the PWU school is located, and another lot in Pilar Hidalgo Lim Street in Malate registered in the name of PWU.

The Benitez family said the latest court order on PWU’s corporate rehabilitation prohibited the school from selling, encumbering, transferring or disposing any of its properties, except in the ordinary course of business and barred the company from making any payment on its outstanding liabilities.

The Benitez group said in a statement the court order in effect invalidated the auction of PWU properties which was won by STI Holdings on March 18, when it bid uncontested after it filed for foreclosure of the PWU campuses in Taft Avenue and Indiana Street in Manila.

The court appointed Miguel Hernandez as the rehabilitation receiver for PWU.

PWU media director Lydia Benitez Brown said it was now up to the court to determine a reasonable amount for settlement of all PWU’s obligations to creditors.

The Benitez group claimed PWU owed STI only P448 million since 2011. STI, however, is demanding payment of nearly P1 billion from PWU, including loans acquired from BDO Unibank Inc. worth P223 million in 2011, a loan of P198 million to Unlad, as well as additional funds it invested to pay for salaries and wages, utilities, repair leaks, fix campus flooding and retirement pay, upgrade of laboratory facilities and other operational expenses.


BUSINESSTUESDAY: MARCH 24, 2015

B2

M S T52 Weeks Previous % Net Foreign High Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying

MST BuSineSS Daily STockS Review Monday, March 23, 2015

FINANCIAL2.7 1.55 AG Finance 6 6.24 6 6 0.00 331,200 60,000.0075.3 63.5 Asia United Bank 70.1 70.4 68.3 70.4 0.43 27,440 1,055,687.5099.4 67.5 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 117.20 118.40 117.00 118.40 1.02 2,033,440 21,979,683.00105.2 82.5 Bank of PI 100.50 102.00 100.10 101.10 0.60 342,980 9,095,007.0063 50 China Bank 46.95 47 46.9 46.9 -0.11 53,400 -47,000.002.3 1.9 BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. 2.27 2.29 2.27 2.27 0.00 81,740 4.2 1.1 Bright Kindle Resources 2.44 2.44 2.39 2.39 -2.05 48,000 19.6 14.5 COL Financial 16.7 16.84 16.56 16.56 -0.84 5,200 67,896.0031.6 23.2 Eastwest Bank 25.05 25.1 24.8 24.8 -1.00 94,800 -1,927,535.0022.5 6.84 Filipino Fund Inc. 8.30 8.47 8.27 8.30 0.00 17,300 2.95 1.75 I-Remit Inc. 1.68 1.68 1.68 1.68 0.00 1,000 890 625 Manulife Fin. Corp. 720.00 741.00 741.00 741.00 2.92 90 1.01 0.175 MEDCO Holdings 0.475 0.480 0.435 0.455 -4.21 1,980,000 181,000.0092.9 69.35 Metrobank 95.15 95.8 94.15 95.55 0.42 6,902,680 233,651,970.501.65 1.2 Natl. Reinsurance Corp. 0.94 0.95 0.94 0.95 1.06 71,000 30.5 20.45 PB Bank 18.38 18.44 18.40 18.40 0.11 51,300 930,834.0075 58 Phil Bank of Comm 31.05 31.50 31.00 31.50 1.45 2,300 99 76 Phil. National Bank 79.95 80.15 79.95 80.00 0.06 24,290 -383,236.00140 119 Phil. Savings Bank 95.50 95.20 95.10 95.20 -0.31 1,210 392 276 PSE Inc. 340.8 340.8 335 335.2 -1.64 20,670 -335,000.0059 41.5 RCBC À’ 46 46 45.7 45.7 -0.65 17,300 -714,335.00146.8 105.1 Security Bank 173 713.1 171.2 171.8 -0.69 108,380 375,125.001700 1281 Sun Life Financial 1385.00 1420.00 1420.00 1420.00 2.53 1,750 1,175,300.00130 116 Union Bank 69.15 69.50 68.75 69.05 -0.14 16,450 -133,865.002.8 2.25 Vantage Equities 3.03 3.03 3.02 3.02 -0.33 28,000

INDUSTRIAL42.6 31.75 Aboitiz Power Corp. 45.2 45.85 45.15 45.2 0.00 4,250,700 -14,617,125.006.1 2.51 Agrinurture Inc. 1.66 1.65 1.62 1.65 -0.60 23,000 1.66 0.88 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.08 1.1 1.05 1.1 1.85 881,000 2.3 1.25 Alsons Cons. 2.11 2.12 2.1 2.11 0.00 574,000 17.98 9.58 Asiabest Group 8.15 8.31 8.1 8.18 0.37 39,300 113 40.2 Bogo Medelin 56 79 56 59.9 6.96 610 148 15 C. Azuc De Tarlac 85.00 90.00 90.00 90.00 5.88 10 17.2 14.6 Century Food 19 19.48 19.02 19.48 2.53 493,900 -2,387,508.0015.8 9.82 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 22 24 21.8 24 9.09 868,000 -1,276,500.0056.8 21.5 Concepcion 65.8 65.75 63.2 65.7 -0.15 11,990 4.57 0.82 Da Vinci Capital 1.89 1.94 1.79 1.8 -4.76 139,000 39.5 17.3 Del Monte 12.2 12.34 11.82 11.92 -2.30 276,900 -419,448.0014 5.98 DNL Industries Inc. 20.900 21.250 20.1 20.150 -3.59 7,375,900 67,596,810.0012.98 9.05 Emperador 11.38 11.56 11.20 11.44 0.53 3,378,600 -30,386,504.008.15 4.25 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 8.19 8.30 8.16 8.30 1.34 19,888,900 82,665,792.0012.34 8.68 EEI 9.90 9.93 9.80 9.85 -0.51 326,400 -1,015,084.0017 8.61 Federal Res. Inv. Group 23.4 25.3 22.5 24.5 4.70 523,100 907,070.0027.1 12.2 First Gen Corp. 29.1 29.7 29.2 29.5 1.37 1,395,900 -13,565,780.0090.5 48.9 First Holdings ‘A’ 102.5 102.6 101.5 102.3 -0.20 362,410 -16,388,204.0027 16 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 14.06 14.36 14.06 14.10 0.28 37,500 -439,972.000.014 0.0097 Greenergy 0.4700 0.4700 0.4600 0.4700 0.00 230,000 73,600.0015.74 12.8 Holcim Philippines Inc. 14.70 14.74 14.70 14.74 0.27 10,900 9.4 2.05 Integ. Micro-Electronics 6.64 6.83 6.7 6.73 1.36 1,135,100 486,759.000.98 0.32 Ionics Inc 0.620 0.640 0.610 0.610 -1.61 308,000 199.8 150.8 Jollibee Foods Corp. 214.40 213.00 211.20 211.60 -1.31 505,080 -63,754,890.0010.98 8.55 Lafarge Rep 9.72 9.75 9.68 9.69 -0.31 2,597,200 5,793,830.0079 48.5 Liberty Flour 35.00 35.50 35.00 35.05 0.14 6,700 5.2 2.8 LMG Chemicals 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 0.00 10,000 30 20.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 26.1 26.65 26.3 26.4 1.15 1,478,600 3,162,005.0090 12 Maxs Group 28.9 28.9 28.35 28.9 0.00 717,200 -10,088,830.0014.7 10.1 Megawide 7.850 7.850 7.810 7.810 -0.51 132,600 -667,126.00317 246 Mla. Elect. Co À’ 271.00 272.00 269.40 270.00 -0.37 248,480 -6,739,786.006.49 3.37 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.06 4.05 4.00 4.01 -1.23 37,000 5.37 4 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 4.16 4.16 4.15 4.15 -0.24 1,996,000 -6,117,410.0014.48 11.56 Petron Corporation 9.95 10.22 9.96 10.12 1.71 1,586,400 899,952.007.5 5 Phil H2O 5.25 5.25 5.25 5.25 0.00 200 14.5 9.94 Phinma Corporation 11.44 11.50 10.88 11.34 -0.87 21,800 7.03 4.33 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.99 3.99 3.86 3.97 -0.50 554,000 730,600.00 Phoenix Semiconductor 2.88 2.89 2.87 2.88 0.00 461,000 Pryce Corp. À’ 1.9 2.85 2.06 2.85 50.00 10,421,000 -76,060.006.68 4.88 RFM Corporation 5.90 5.91 5.86 5.90 0.00 8,563,300 321,022.007.86 1.65 Roxas and Co. 2.88 2.9 2.88 2.9 0.69 22,000 8.1 2.28 Roxas Holdings 6.2 6.25 6.2 6.2 0.00 11,600 275 210 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 206 208 205 208 0.97 1,750 570.002.25 1.7 Splash Corporation 1.69 1.72 1.7 1.72 1.78 158,000 0.191 0.102 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.172 0.183 0.167 0.173 0.58 2,140,000 2.5 1.6 TKC Steel Corp. 1.48 1.52 1.45 1.45 -2.03 61,000 2.68 1.37 Trans-Asia Oil 2.23 2.24 2.22 2.22 -0.45 878,000 188.6 111.3 Universal Robina 220 221.8 218.6 218.8 -0.55 1,246,220 74,212,422.001.3 0.550 Vitarich Corp. 0.71 0.72 0.7 0.72 1.41 387,000 -21,600.0026 9.01 Vivant Corp. 21.30 21.05 21.00 21.00 -1.41 700 2.17 1.33 Vulcan Ind’l. 1.51 1.54 1.51 1.51 0.00 104,000

HOLDING FIRMS0.7 0.46 Abacus Cons. À’ 0.465 0.475 0.460 0.470 1.08 550,000 61.6 45.75 Aboitiz Equity 55.75 56.95 55.55 56.40 1.17 549,030 -16,725,913.5031.85 21.95 Alliance Global Inc. 26.90 27.10 26.80 26.90 0.00 9,847,100 48,483,270.007.39 6.3 Anscor À’ 7.01 7.06 7.03 7.06 0.71 54,200 2.7 1.550 Asia Amalgamated A 1.74 1.74 1.61 1.74 0.00 17,000 3.29 1.8 ATN Holdings A 2.61 2.68 2.62 2.62 0.38 55,000 2.05 1.04 ATN Holdings B 2.56 2.62 2.56 2.6 1.56 29,000 747 508 Ayala Corp À’ 770 778 769.5 770 0.00 242,780 4,466,750.0011.34 7.470 Cosco Capital 9.14 9.22 8.98 9 -1.53 3,495,200 -4,687,110.0084 47.25 DMCI Holdings 15.20 15.40 15.20 15.40 1.32 2,272,900 199,970.005.34 4 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.50 4.69 4.50 4.55 1.11 70,000 0.23 0.144 Forum Pacific 0.315 0.335 0.315 0.330 4.76 1,720,000 28,350.001060 706 GT Capital 1308 1319 1297 1302 -0.46 303,555 -239,033,725.007.1 5.3 House of Inv. 6.28 6.31 6.20 6.30 0.32 270,900 1,157,138.0059.8 36.7 JG Summit Holdings 70.25 71.90 70.15 71.60 1.92 3,781,820 70,520,467.006.55 3.95 Lopez Holdings Corp. 8.8 8.83 8.6 8.81 0.11 3,533,100 -13,169,542.000.9 0.58 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.73 0.82 0.72 0.77 5.48 6,354,000 19.9 12.96 LT Group 16 15.9 15.34 15.74 -1.63 4,792,100 39,341,726.000.75 0.580 Mabuhay Holdings À’ 0.68 0.69 0.67 0.69 1.47 679,000 5.4 4.06 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 4.86 4.94 4.86 4.94 1.65 12,248,000 18,350,240.005.35 4.5 Minerales Industrias Corp. 5.1 5.1 5 5 -1.96 45,000 0.0550 0.027 Pacifica À’ 0.0400 0.0400 0.0400 0.0400 0.00 500,000 2.31 1.23 Prime Media Hldg 1.340 1.620 1.410 1.620 20.90 102,000 85,400.000.84 0.355 Prime Orion 0.730 0.750 0.730 0.730 0.00 96,000 88 54.5 San Miguel Corp À’ 67.95 69.75 68.00 68.50 0.81 712,290 -8,321,750.503.5 1.5 Seafront À’ 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 0.00 50,000 866 680 SM Investments Inc. 902.00 910.00 898.00 900.00 -0.22 798,500 -105,985,490.002.2 1.04 Solid Group Inc. 1.24 1.29 1.21 1.29 4.03 77,000 1.39 0.85 South China Res. Inc. 0.95 0.97 0.97 0.97 2.11 20,000 156 58.05 Top Frontier 104.90 105.00 100.00 100.00 -4.67 540,038 0.285 0.158 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.4650 0.4800 0.4350 0.4750 2.15 17,270,000 0.245 0.150 Wellex Industries 0.2430 0.2410 0.2400 0.2400 -1.23 630,000 16,780.000.510 0.295 Zeus Holdings 0.330 0.330 0.320 0.325 -1.52 68,000

P R O P E R T Y9.03 5.51 8990 HLDG 8.880 9.050 8.880 8.950 0.79 3,535,300 -11,293,918.0026.95 12 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 10.00 10.02 10.02 10.02 0.20 2,000 1.99 0.99 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.94 0.94 0.93 0.94 0.00 216,000

52 Weeks Previous % Net ForeignHigh Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying

Trading SummarySHARES VALUE

FINANCIAL 12,223,830 975,562,611.55INDUSTRIAL 97,528,940 1,436,754,886.42HOLDING FIRMS 72,773,866 2,784,696,311.2568PROPERTY 169,553,616 1,277,775,624.99SERVICES 83,139,670 1,953,531,722.57MINING & OIL 586,874,487 370,685,609.278GRAND TOTAL 1,024,909,049 8,831,040,453.0648

FINANCIAL 1,841.73 (UP) 7.00INDUSTRIAL 12,655.32 (DOWN) 17.74HOLDING FIRMS 7,001.77 (UP) 25.04PROPERTY 3,145.71 (DOWN) 2.06SERVICES 2,111.89 (UP) 4.76MINING & OIL 15,919.30 (UP) 56.48PSEI 7,840.49 (UP) 22.11All Shares Index 4,537.78 (UP) 8.47

Gainers: 91; Losers: 81; Unchanged: 51; Total: 223

STOCKS Close(P)

Change(%)

Island Info 0.275 -6.78

IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.014 -6.67

First Gen F 110.5 -6.36

Yehey 1.400 -5.41

Dizon 8.33 -4.91

Lorenzo Shipping 1.4 -4.76

Da Vinci Capital 1.8 -4.76

Top Frontier 100.00 -4.67

MEDCO Holdings 0.455 -4.21

Waterfront Phils. 0.345 -4.17

Top LoSerSSTOCKS Close

(P)Change

(%)

Pryce Corp. À' 2.85 50.00

Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.465 29.17

Prime Media Hldg 1.620 20.90

United Paragon 0.0110 10.00

2GO Group' 7.4 9.63

Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 24 9.09

Oriental Pet. À' 0.0130 8.33

Oriental Pet. `B' 0.0150 7.14

Bogo Medelin 59.9 6.96

C. Azuc De Tarlac 90.00 5.88

Top gainerS

35.3 23.7 Ayala Land `B’ 37.85 37.95 37.50 37.60 -0.66 3,502,800 -67,761,875.006.15 4.41 Belle Corp. À’ 4.3 4.31 4.26 4.26 -0.93 1,969,000 2,490,470.006.1 5 Cebu Holdings 5.18 5.26 5.12 5.26 1.54 986,400 -525,000.002 1.22 Century Property 0.96 0.97 0.95 0.96 0.00 7,445,000 1,403,100.002.51 1.21 City & Land Dev. 1.25 1.21 1.21 1.21 -3.20 9,000 1.5 0.97 Cityland Dev. À’ 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.01 0.00 30,000 0.201 0.068 Crown Equities Inc. 0.145 0.152 0.145 0.152 4.83 12,920,000 0.98 0.47 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.455 0.480 0.470 0.480 5.49 780,000 1.09 0.87 Empire East Land 0.900 0.900 0.900 0.900 0.00 1 0.370 0.175 Ever Gotesco 0.200 0.201 0.201 0.201 0.50 40,000 2.25 1.22 Global-Estate 1.50 1.54 1.49 1.50 0.00 892,000 -745,700.001.77 1.18 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.80 1.82 1.78 1.78 -1.11 8,679,000 4,611,500.001.6 1.19 Interport À’ 1.52 1.57 1.53 1.55 1.97 1,619,000 4.88 2.75 Megaworld Corp. 5.46 5.51 5.3 5.4 -1.10 72,372,200 -2,110,218.000.180 0.070 MRC Allied Ind. 0.127 0.128 0.121 0.127 0.00 4,830,000 0.470 0.325 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.3400 0.3400 0.3400 0.3400 0.00 40,000 0.74 0.4 Phil. Realty À’ 0.4850 0.5000 0.4450 0.4800 -1.03 330,000 4.45 2.5 Primex Corp. 7.44 7.43 7.29 7.35 -1.21 451,600 -73,000.0024.8 18.72 Robinson’s Land `B’ 28.95 30.70 28.85 30.55 5.53 5,307,700 51,330,690.002.06 1.45 Rockwell 1.77 1.79 1.77 1.79 1.13 273,000 3.6 2.9 Shang Properties Inc. 3.16 3.16 3.15 3.16 0.00 114,000 -198,550.0019.62 14.1 SM Prime Holdings 20.20 20.20 19.90 20.20 0.00 16,238,600 88,094,202.001.02 0.58 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.85 1.19 1,304,000 6.66 3.05 Starmalls 7.41 7.28 7.28 7.28 -1.75 2,200 1.96 0.87 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.040 1.050 1.030 1.030 -0.96 47,000 6.5 4.37 Vista Land & Lifescapes 7.500 7.460 7.350 7.420 -1.07 25,531,500 -20,441,595.00

S E R V I C E S3.25 1.55 2GO Group’ 6.75 7.4 6.21 7.4 9.63 1,995,900 19,705.0043.7 27 ABS-CBN 61.4 63 62 62.75 2.20 6,840 1.09 0.59 APC Group, Inc. 0.700 0.700 0.690 0.690 -1.43 349,000 12.46 10 Asian Terminals Inc. 14.48 14.48 14 14.02 -3.18 540,700 753,298.0014 8.28 Bloomberry 10.80 10.78 10.50 10.62 -1.67 7,803,500 10,456,960.000.1640 0.0960 Boulevard Holdings 0.1100 0.1110 0.1100 0.1100 0.00 5,630,000 4.05 2.97 Calata Corp. 3.94 3.95 3.87 3.9 -1.02 78,000 71 44.8 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 86.05 87.2 86.35 86.35 0.35 906,040 3,544,155.0012.3 10.14 Centro Esc. Univ. 10.6 10.6 10.6 10.6 0.00 1,100 5,300.003.28 1.99 Discovery World 1.77 1.79 1.72 1.79 1.13 263,000 9 4 DFNN Inc. 7.08 7.40 7.08 7.33 3.53 803,500 36,990.001700 1080 FEUI 995 1000 830 1000 0.50 2,310 2008 1580 Globe Telecom 1940 1975 1940 1973 1.70 67,090 15,538,400.009.04 7.12 GMA Network Inc. 6.66 6.67 6.53 6.62 -0.60 315,300 2.02 1.2 Harbor Star 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 0.00 121,000 -6,280.00118.9 94.4 I.C.T.S.I. 112.6 112.7 111.6 112 -0.53 717,430 -34,418,347.0018.4 5 Imperial Res. À’ 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 0.00 100 12.5 8.72 IPeople Inc. À’ 11.84 11.8 11.34 11.8 -0.34 24,800 0.017 0.012 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.014 -6.67 700,000 0.0653 0.026 Island Info 0.295 0.295 0.275 0.275 -6.78 29,470,000 108,700.002.2800 1.560 ISM Communications 1.2800 1.3400 1.2800 1.2900 0.78 874,200 9.67 5.82 Leisure & Resorts 8.70 8.78 8.67 8.70 0.00 115,500 258,390.002.2 1.1 Lorenzo Shipping 1.47 1.4 1.31 1.4 -4.76 87,000 -78,400.004.32 1.9 Macroasia Corp. 2.29 2.29 2.29 2.29 0.00 4,000 1.97 0.485 Manila Bulletin 0.680 0.700 0.700 0.700 2.94 21,000 2.45 1.42 Manila Jockey 1.99 1.99 1.97 1.99 0.00 55,000 -98,500.0014.46 10.14 Melco Crown 9.3 9.3 8.95 9 -3.23 6,396,000 -7,175,136.000.62 0.35 MG Holdings 0.36 0.365 0.355 0.365 2.82 670,000 1.040 0.36 NOW Corp. 0.500 0.500 0.480 0.500 0.00 1,487,000 240,120.0022.8 14.54 Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 18.04 18.04 18.04 18.04 0.00 24,100 6.6 5.2 PAL Holdings Inc. 4.70 4.60 4.56 4.56 -2.98 27,000 18 8.8 Phil. Racing Club 9.01 9.01 9.01 9.01 0.00 100 -901.00107 81 Phil. Seven Corp. 109.00 107.90 107.90 107.90 -1.01 20 11.3 4.39 Philweb.Com Inc. 13.76 1376.00 13.42 13.76 0.00 294,000 -790,432.003486 2572 PLDT Common 2810.00 2840.00 2812.00 2828.00 0.64 236,095 7,173,990.000.710 0.250 PremiereHorizon 0.600 0.600 0.590 0.600 0.00 918,000 2.01 0.26 Premium Leisure 1.560 1.600 1.540 1.550 -0.64 4,539,000 76,110.0048.5 32.2 Puregold 40.20 40.70 39.90 40.20 0.00 2,195,000 -26,817,520.0074 48 Robinsons RTL 89.00 89.50 87.55 88.70 -0.34 564,980 -2,602,930.00 SSI Group 10.40 10.80 10.40 10.68 2.69 7,802,900 -9,300,944.000.87 0.59 STI Holdings 0.74 0.74 0.73 0.73 -1.35 798,000 11.46 7.78 Travellers 7.08 7.3 7.11 7.11 0.42 1,199,000 -3,554,755.000.435 0.305 Waterfront Phils. 0.360 0.345 0.345 0.345 -4.17 0 1.6 1.04 Yehey 1.480 1.400 1.390 1.400 -5.41 73,000

MINING & OIL0.0086 0.0028 Abra Mining 0.0056 0.0056 0.0055 0.0055 -1.79 329,000,000 17.24 11.48 Atlas Cons. À’ 9.06 9.25 9.05 9.10 0.44 1,240,900 -13,650.000.325 0.225 Basic Energy Corp. 0.260 0.265 0.260 0.260 0.00 730,000 1.2 0.5 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 1.14 1.14 1.1 1.1 -3.51 546,000 2,250.001.73 0.76 Coal Asia 0.88 0.89 0.88 0.89 1.14 426,000 52,800.0010.98 4.93 Dizon 8.76 8.76 8.19 8.33 -4.91 635,100 -48,640.00 Ferronickel 2.41 2.44 2.35 2.35 -2.49 4,649,000 0.46 0.385 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.360 0.465 0.360 0.465 29.17 66,020,000 273,500.000.455 0.3000 Lepanto À’ 0.236 0.238 0.232 0.233 -1.27 6,950,000 0.730 0.2950 Lepanto `B’ 0.244 0.250 0.244 0.244 0.00 11,000 0.024 0.012 Manila Mining À’ 0.0150 0.0150 0.0140 0.0150 0.00 30,200,000 8.2 1.960 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 5.14 5.25 5.18 5.23 1.75 406,800 48.85 14.22 Nickelasia 27.5 28.45 28 28.15 2.36 2,000,100 -23,276,775.003.35 1.47 Nihao Mineral Resources 4.17 4.27 4 4.1 -1.68 10,658,000 -1,087,500.001.030 0.220 Omico 0.7300 0.7800 0.7300 0.7600 4.11 939,000 -76,000.003.06 1.24 Oriental Peninsula Res. 2.150 2.150 2.080 2.080 -3.26 881,000 0.021 0.016 Oriental Pet. À’ 0.0120 0.0130 0.0120 0.0130 8.33 31,700,000 0.023 0.017 Oriental Pet. `B’ 0.0140 0.0150 0.0140 0.0150 7.14 81,900,000 12.88 7.8 Philex À’ 7.62 7.82 7.63 7.65 0.39 1,711,100 -9,568,141.0010.42 6.5 PhilexPetroleum 2.49 2.64 2.5 2.54 2.01 490,000 0.042 0.031 Philodrill Corp. À’ 0.016 0.016 0.015 0.016 0.00 13,300,000 420 123 Semirara Corp. 159.50 159.50 157.90 159.00 -0.31 967,540 30,308,274.009 4.3 TA Petroleum 4.08 4.18 4.01 4.05 -0.74 141,000 0.016 0.0087 United Paragon 0.0100 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 10.00 800,000

PREFERRED44.1 26.3 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 65 65.5 64.5 64.6 -0.62 213,610 -8,983,589.50 Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ 510 515.5 510 510 0.00 4,710 118 101 First Gen F 118 110.5 110.5 110.5 -6.36 17,000 116 102 First Gen G 114.2 120 114.2 114.2 0.00 33,630 11,420.00511 480 GLOBE PREF P 506 506 506 506 0.00 3,000 9.04 6.76 GMA Holdings Inc. 6.35 6.3 6.23 6.3 -0.79 65,200 MWIDE PREF 108.9 110 109 110 1.01 22,200 PCOR-Preferred B 1075 1085 1080 1085 0.93 595 PF Pref 2 1040 1040 1037 1040 0.00 1,160 77.3 74.2 SMC Preferred A 76.05 76.1 75.85 76.1 0.07 176,780 -2,158,081.0081.85 75 SMC Preferred C 84 84.5 83.05 84.5 0.60 63,660 -473,385.00

WARRANTS & BONDS2.42 0.0010 LR Warrant 3.940 4.040 3.880 3.900 -1.02 94,000

S M E10.96 2.4 Double Dragon 7.82 7.85 7.75 7.79 -0.38 387,300 31,200.0035 7.74 IRipple E-Business Intl 78.25 79.65 77.3 78.5 0.32 57,420 36,871.50 Xurpas 10 10.44 10.04 10.38 3.80 2,368,500 -3,549,398.00

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS119.6 94 First Metro ETF 127 127.5 127 127.5 0.39 1,420



B3

PAL setto acquire5 planesfor $250m

Market rises; RLC, Globe climb

SSI Group’s 2014 profit grew 63% to P1b on store expansion

Solar lighting. Volunteers from Pepsi Philippines launched a mission to light up homes and streets in Ba-rangay New Kawayan, Tacloban City which is inhabited by typhoon Yolanda sur-vivors. Pepsi installed 76 solar bottle house lights and 23 solar street lights, benefitting 76 households in New Kawayan resettle-ment. Shown are Pepsi volunteers installing a solar street light under the watchful eye of Liter of Light project head Illac Diaz III.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines will spend $280 million this year to purchase five new aircraft and spare parts, its top executive said Monday.

PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said the 2015 capital expenditures would be used to purchase five Airbus A321s worth $250 million and spare parts worth $30 million.

“The two aircraft is through sale and lease which we have already finalized, while the remaining three aircraft is finance lease, so we will borrow money from financial institutions,” Bautista said.

The company plans to secure loans amounting to $250 million to finance the capex. “Our board of directors have already approved the financing,” Bautista said.

The flag carrier, which has a market value of about $3.4 billion, expects the delivery of the five new A321s from Airbus until June this year.

The airline led by tycoon Lucio Tan earlier secured consent from Airbus to defer the delivery of 33 aircraft orders to 2024, from the original schedule of 2020.

Before Tan regained control of PAL, the San Miguel Corp.-led management had ordered 64

aircraft from Airbus, with a list price of $7 billion under a fleet modernization program.

These include 44 single-aisle A321s and 20 wide body A330s.

Tan’s LT Group reacquired a 49-percent stake of San Miguel in PAL at a cost of $1 billion in September 2014. San Miguel bought its stake in the flag carrier from Tan for $500 million in 2012.

PAL and unit PAL Express had 73 aircraft as of end-February. PALex had 13 A320-200, two

A330-300 and four Q300/DHC8-300, while PAL had six Boeing 777-300ER, six A340-300, 13 A330-300, 10 A320-200 and 14 A3210231.

PAL Holdings posted a comprehensive loss of P192.3 million in the July-September last year, down 82.5 percent from P1.09-billion loss in the same three-month period a year earlier.

Revenue amounted to P25.03 billion, up by 38.9 percent from P18.02 billion previously.

Passenger revenue climbed to P19.77 billion from P14.51 billion in 2013, while cargo revenue climbed 39 percent year-on-year to P2.22 billion.

STOCKS advanced for the third day, following rallies on Wall Street and in Europe, while Asian markets extended a six-month high.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 22 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,840.49 on Monday. It was now up 8.4 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, gained 8 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,537.78 on a value turnover of P8.8 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 91 to 81, while 51 issues were unchanged.

Property developer Robinsons Land Corp. rose 5.5 percent to P30.55 to become the biggest gainer among the 20 most active stocks. JG Summit Holdings Inc., the holding company of tycoon John Gokongwei, added 1.9 percent to settle at P71.60.

Globe Telecom Inc., the second

largest mobile phone provider, rose 1.7 percent to P1,973. Geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp. picked up 1.3 percent to P8.30.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mostly higher Monday. Tokyo ended 0.99 percent higher, adding 194.14 points, to 19,754.36 while in late trade, Hong Kong was up 0.32 percent and Shanghai surged 1.03 percent, marking a ninth straight gain.

Seoul was flat, dipping 0.65 points to 2,036.59 and Sydney eased 0.32 percent, or 19.4 points, to 5,956.1.

With few catalysts to drive business early in the week, investors took their lead from their US counterparts who have been cheered by the Fed’s dovish comments on rates.

While the central bank on Wednesday opened the door for a rise this year, it said there

were still weaknesses in the US economy, including low inflation and soft manufacturing. The news sent global shares soaring and the dollar tumbling.

In New York on Friday, the Dow jumped 0.94 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.90 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.68 percent to end above 5,000 points for the first time since March 2000 and for only the fourth time ever.

European markets also surged, helped by Greece’s promise to submit fresh bailout reform plans. London’s FTSE closed above 7,000 points for the first time in its history, while the Paris CAC 40 is at levels not seen since early 2008.

In currency trading on Monday, the dollar bought 119.86 yen in afternoon trade, down from 120.11 yen in New York and well off the 120.71 yen in Tokyo earlier Friday. With Bloomberg, AFP

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SSI Group Inc.of the Tantoco family, the country’ largest specialty store retailer, said unaudited net income grew 63 percent in 2014 to P998.7 million from P613.7 million in 2013 on aggressive rollout of new stores.

SSI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange unaudited revenues increased 19 percent in 2014 to P15.2 billion from 2013, with sales in the fourth quarter rising 26 percent to P5.2 billion.

SSI Group opened 126 stores, with total retail space of 35,500 square meters last year.

The aggressive rollout of new stores enabled the company to increase the retail footprint by 36 percent.

“2014 was a landmark year for SSI, as we executed our largest store expansion program to date,” SSI Group president Anton Huang said.

“We continue to leverage on a brand portfolio that resonates with consumers, on the availability of prime retail space, and on evolving consumption patterns and consumer tastes. We expect that these factors will continue to drive our performance in 2015,” he said.

The group had 106 brands in

its portfolio and was operating 723 specialty stores covering 134,000 square meters of retail space, as well as 90 FamilyMart convenience stores as of end-2014.

SSI Group said it planned to

add 37,000 square meters of retail space in 2015 and 2016 to support the acquisition of new brands.

Huang said the SSI Group would add 21,000 square meters of retail space involving 130 new stores this year and another 16,000 square meters of retail space next year.

The group is also currently in the final stage of negotiations to acquire three to four new international brands to be introduced in the domestic market.

Huang said for the convenience store business, FamilyMart would end 2015 with 150 to 160 stores as it

aimed to become a strong second in the convenience store industry.

SSI Group currently has more than 100 international brands in the Philippines, including Hermès, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Gap, Old Navy, Zara, Stradivarius, Bershka, Aeropostale, Samsonite, Nine West, Payless Shoe Source, Beauty Bar, Marks and Spencer, Pottery Barn and TWG.

The company raised P5.2 billion through an initial public offering at the Philippine Stock Exchange in November last year.

2014 was a landmark year for SSI, as we

executed the largest store expansion program to date.

B4 BUSINESS

CHIN WONG

Digital life

San Miguel spending P13b to extend SLEx

Meralco eyes pre-paid service expansion

Software freedom


T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 , 2 0 1 5

Veggie funds. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Leandro Gazmin (second from left) and High Value Crops Development Program director Jennifer Remoquillo (left) award to Roxas Mayor Benedict Calderon (second from right) a P5.7-million check in support to the municipality’s initiative on the production of vegetables and other produce. The fund, awarded under the Productivity Enhancement of Vegetable Project of the Agriculture Department and the local government of Roxas during the Ist Pinakbet Festival held at the Isabela Agri-Pinoy Trading Center on March 17, 2015, will be used for the procurement of high-yielding seeds and other inputs, development of farm sites, and enhancement of existing production areas. Also in photo is Isabela Governor Faustino Dy III.

IT all started in 1980 with a pa-per jam.

Richard Stall-man, a 27-year-old programmer at the time with MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, wanted to modify the software that drove the new Xerox 9700 laser printer to get it to send out an electronic alert over the network every time the paper jammed so that somebody could walk over to it and fix the problem. When he was denied access to the source code, Stallman recalls, this set him thinking about how software should be shared freely so that users could modify it to suit their needs.

This notion grew stronger when AT&T began selling copies of the Unix operating system without the source code, transforming what it had developed collaboratively with researchers and students from several universities around the world, into a commercial and proprietary product. This angered many programmers, including Stallman, who saw proprietary software as a way for commercial companies to control and lock in their customers.

In 1985, Stallman crystalized and expanded these ideas in the GNU Manifesto, a landmark document published in the March is-sue of Dr. Dobb’s Journal of Software Tools. Today, 30 years to the month, the ideas in Stallman’s manifesto continue to provide the philosophical underpinnings for a vibrant community that makes Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) possible.

In his manifesto (http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html), Stallman outlined the features of GNU, a Unix-compatible operat-ing system that he would write and give away for free. (GNU is a recursive acronymn that stands for Gnu’s Not Unix.)

In one section of the manifesto, Stallman explained why all com-puter users would benefit from free software.

“Once GNU is written, everyone will be able to obtain good sys-tem software free, just like air.

“This means much more than just saving everyone the price of a Unix license. It means that much wasteful duplication of system programming effort will be avoided. This effort can go instead into advancing the state of the art.

“Complete system sources will be available to everyone. As a re-sult, a user who needs changes in the system will always be free to make them himself, or hire any available programmer or company to make them for him. Users will no longer be at the mercy of one programmer or company which owns the sources and is in sole position to make changes.

“Schools will be able to provide a much more educational envi-ronment by encouraging all students to study and improve the sys-tem code. Harvard’s computer lab used to have the policy that no program could be installed on the system if its sources were not on public display, and upheld it by actually refusing to install certain programs. I was very much inspired by this.

“Finally, the overhead of considering who owns the system soft-ware and what one is or is not entitled to do with it will be lifted.

“Arrangements to make people pay for using a program, includ-ing licensing of copies, always incur a tremendous cost to society through the cumbersome mechanisms necessary to figure out how much... a person must pay for. And only a police state can force everyone to obey them....

“Copying all or parts of a program is as natural to a programmer as breathing, and as productive. It ought to be as free.”

Thanks to ideas such as these and their impact on thousands of developers over the last three decades, I can fire up my Linux computer at home today and use LibreOffice instead of MS Of-fice, Gimp instead of Adobe Photoshop, Thunderbird instead of MS Outlook and VLC instead of Windows Media Player, all for free without having to worry about buying a license. It is truly lib-erating.

Thirty years after the manifesto appeared in print, the New Yorker commemorated its publication and explored its impact on the software industry through an excellent article (http://nyr.kr/1FxIZCB) by Maria Bustillos, which finds that Stallman, now 62, is still very much a fee software activist.

Stallman’s influence with developers, who know him by his ini-tials RMS, remains immense, Bustillos writes.

“When I asked around about him, many people spoke of him as one might of a beloved but eccentric and prickly uncle,” she writes. “They would roll their eyes a bit, then hasten to add, as more than one did, ‘But he’s right about most things.’ I told Stallman that I’d spoken with several developers who venerate his work, and who had even said that without it the course of their lives might have been altered. But they don’t seem to do what you say, I observed; they all have iPhones. ‘I don’t understand that either,’ he said. ‘If they don’t realize that they need to defend their freedom, soon they won’t have any.’”

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

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said Monday it plans to spend P13.1 billion to ex-tend the South Luzon Expressway from Sto. To-mas Batangas to Lucena, Quezon province.

South Luzon Tollways Corp., a unit of San Miguel, said in a statement it expected to start the 58-kilometer SLEX-Toll Road 4 phase in less than a year.

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

SLTC said it planned to com-plete the first section from Santo Tomas to Macban by mid-2017

and the entire project by 2019. The four-lane, expressway

project is seen to make travel to and from Southern Tagalog provinces such as Batangas, La-guna, Quezon and the Bicol re-gion faster and safer.

The project is expected to cut travel time between Sto. Tomas and Lucena to just one hour from the usual four hours.

“We look at infrastructure as an opportunity to participate in the growth of our country. Qual-ity infrastructure will change and impact lives,” San Miguel president and chief operating of-ficer Ramon Ang said.

“The tollway will help en-courage new investments across these regions. Land values will appreciate; new businesses will emerge. Because of the new roads, progress will be brought to the towns and barangays. And we are happy that we are in a po-sition to contribute,” he added.

Ang said the company in the next few years planned to invest about P168 billion to construct modern tollroads and highways at par with those in neighboring Asian countries.

SLEX-Toll Road 4 is the latest project in San Miguel’s infra-structure portfolio, which al-ready includes the Tarlac-Pan-gasinan-La Union Expressway, the at-grade and elevated Sky-way system and Skyway Stage 3, the NAIA Expressway, the existing SLEX, and the recently upgraded and expanded South-ern Tagalog Arterial Road, or STAR Tollway.

By Alena Mae S. FloresMANILA Electric Co., the country’s biggest electricity retailer, is expanding its pre-paid service by an additional 100,000 customers on top of the existing 40,000 under a com-mercial pilot program.

Alfredo Panlilio, senior vice president and head of customer retail service and corporate com-munication of Meralco, said Monday the company was wait-ing final approval on the rules from the Energy Regulatory Commission

“We have been on commer-

cial pilot since last year,” Panlilio said. “We want to finish it [roll-out of the 40,000 customers] if not June, by the end of the year the latest. I’m pushing my team that by midyear, we have com-pleted the 40,000 so that once there is approval, we can go com-mercial immediately.”

Panlilio said Meralco had asked approval for the rollout of an additional 100,000 prepaid electricity meters from the regu-lator.

He said the expansion fol-lowed the strong interest from government agencies such as the National Housing Authority and

the Philippine National Police.“NHA is talking about 30,000

to 40,000 as soon as possible. PNP is interested,” Panlilio said.

The official said the commer-cial rollout of prepaid electricity for the entire franchise area of Meralco was expected to be com-pleted in the next two to three years.

“A lot of cities want to do pre-paid. Quezon City, Las Piñas, Cainta, Mandaluyong,” Panlilio said, adding Meralco had stud-ied the density of the population and segment of the market before implementing prepaid electricity service.

1



B6

Rio Tuba lime plant completed

RUDY ROMERO

BUSINESS CLASS

In BrIef

COSCO regional service. Adriatic Gate Container Terminal, the container handling facility of International Container Terminal Services Inc. in the Port of Rijeka, Croatia, launched China Ocean Shipping Co.’s Adriatic–Greece–Turkey service when COSCO selected AGCT as the first port of call of the service. The maiden call of Contship Eco on February 24 marked the AGCT launch. The service, which directly connects Rijeka with Greek and Turkish ports, also links the Northern Adriatic ports with Piraeus, Greece. COSCO is China’s largest enterprise specializing in global shipping, modern logistics and ship building and repairing.

LATE in 2014, I wrote a column in which I called the attention of the Secretary of Trade and Industry to the substandard consumer protection services of his Department, suggested that Filipino consumers were not getting the protection that the law granted them and proposed that Secretary Gregory Domingo got his consumer-protection people together and read them the Riot Act.

My dissatisfaction and frustration arose from the case of a friend of mine, who felt cheated and shortchanged by a fitness-first company which offered a promo benefit that turned out to be unavailable. My friend tried to reason with the company but that did not get anywhere. In point of fact, the manager of the establishment, a foreigner, became arrogant. Frustrated and angry, my friend turned to the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Trade and Industry. That decision proved to be the start of Harrowing Experience No. 2.

The Consumer Protection staff acted like the word ‘urgency’ was not in their vocabulary. They shuffled around their office--this is in Trafalgar Building in Makati City’s De la Costa St.--passed papers from desk to desk and generally behaved like consumer protection was something that could wait until manana. When the respondent of my friend’s complaint failed to make an appearance at a scheduled conference, it received a mere slap on the wrist.

That is when my friend turned to me for counsel and help. I told her that perhaps Secretary Domingo did not know what his Consumer Protection people were not doing and should be given a chance to find out and initiate corrective measures. And that’s exactly what I did on my friend’s behalf: bring the matter to the Secretary’s attention.

That appeared to have done the trick. A few weeks later a decision emerged from Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau on my friend’s administrative case for the fitness-first company’s violation of the Consumer Protection Act of the Philippines, specifically the Act’s sales promotion provisions.

Before getting to the Wherefore part of its decision, the Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau posed a number of questions. “Assuming for the sake of argument,” the Bureau said, “that there were indeed terms and conditions other than those reflected in the ‘Bring A Friend’ poster, where were those terms and conditions written?” The Bureau elaborated: “The respondent cannot just make up terms and conditions as it goes along, in order for clients to be not deceived or misled... and material facts must be revealed.”

For good measure the Bureau added: “Evidently the respondent’s advertisement was misleading... (I)t stated that the complainant could “Bring a Friend” without any concrete qualifications or conditions [as to] who to bring.”

The decision, in its dispositive portion, found the fitness-first company liable for violation of the Deceptive Sales Acts and Practices (provisions), particularly for its deceptive, false and misleading advertisement.

In the end, things ended well, for the DTI did the right thing. But did my friend stop there? She did not.

Since the arrogant manager was a foreigner, she decided to check her status at the Department of Labor and Employment--do Filipinos need foreigners to manage fitness establishments?--and at the Bureau of Immigration. Bingo, the foreigner was working without a working visa. She was forthwith deported to New Zealand.

My friend scored two victories: one for consumer protection and one for protection of Filipino professionals from foreign professionals working illegally in this country.

E-mail: [email protected]

Guarding consumers against deception 2

Ayala spent P9b for infraTHE infrastructure unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp. has

invested P9 billion in Philippine rail projects under the gov-ernment’s public private partnership program.

Ayala said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Ex-change AC Infra Holdings Corp.’s total equity investment commitment for the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension Project amounted to P8.5 billion at end-December last year.

AC Infra owns 50 percent of the shares of Light Rail Ma-nila Holdings that resulted in a 35-percent interest in Light Rail Manila Corp. , which earlier won the bidding for the P64.9-billion LRT1 Cavite Extension, one of the PPP proj-ects.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp, through Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. owns 55 percent of LRMC and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Inc. holds 10 percent.

LRMC will assume the operations and maintenance of the existing 20-kilometer LRT1, and construct the 11.7-kilo-meter extension of the rail line southward from the Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite. Darwin G. Amojelar

Maynilad sewage plantMAYNILAD Water Services Inc. said Monday it award-

ed the contract to build its P1.044-billion sewage treatment plan) in Cupang, Muntinlupa City to the J.E. Manalo-Degre-mont Consortium.

Maynilad said in a statement J.E. Manalo would provide the civil works while Degremont will extend the technology for the facility.

The Cupang STP is expected to provide wastewater ser-vices toover 58,000 households from Barangays Alabang,

Bayanan, Buli, Cupang, Putatan and Sucat in Muntinlupa City.

The facility is designed to treat up to 46 million liters of wastewater per day, and will help clear the Laguna Lake.

The Cupang STP is one of six wastewater facilities fund-ed by Maynilad’s $137.5-million loan from the World Bank for the development and improvement of wastewater ser-vices in the West Zone. Anna Leah E. Gonzales

Robinsons Retail nets P3.6bROBINSONS Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the

Gokongwei Group, said net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company in 2014 rose 29.5 percent to P3.56 billon from P2.75 billion in 2013, driven by higher income from operations and interest income.

Robinsons Retail said in a disclosure to the stock ex-change net sales in 2014 jumped 19.5 percent to P80 bil-lion from P67.25 billion in 2013, boosted by additional sales contribution from 263 new stores opened in 2014, as well as the full-year sales contribution from 152 stores opened in 2013.

The company also posted same store sales growth of 3.6 percent in 2014, higher than the 2.6 percent increase in 2013.

Robinsons Retail operated 1,327 stores as of end 2014 from 1,064 stores as of end 2013.

The new stores opened in 2014 enabled the company to expand its total gross floor area by 18.6 percent year on year, or on track with the company’s target.

“It has been a good year for Robinsons Retail for exceed-ing our like-for-like sales as well as expansion if gross floor area targets. Our sales hit the P80-billion mark for the first time while same store sales growth was strong despite in-tense competition,” Robinsons Retail president and chief operating officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

This is to inform the public that APRIL CHARMAINE C.ESPINOSA (effectiveMarch 12,2015), whose picture appear above, ceased to be Chief Administrator and is no longer connected with Artikulo Uno Productions, Inc.

Any t ransac t ions entered into by the sa id person on behal f o f the Ar t ikulo Uno Product ions, Inc . shal l not be honored by the said company.

(TNS - Mar 24 , 2015)

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

UNICHAMP Mineral Philippines Inc. has completed the construction of a $24-million lime manufacturing plant on an eight-hectare site at the Rio Tuba Economic Processing Zone in Rio Tuba, Bataraza, Palawan province.

Unichamp Philippines, a unit of the Unichamp Group of Malaysia, built the Rio Tuba plant that will supply high-quality quicklime and milk lime to Coral Bay Nickel Corp., a unit of Sumitomi Metal Mining Co. of Japan.

Unichamp did not disclose details of the plant. Earlier reports said it could produce approximately 135,000 tons of quicklime and 170,000 tons of lime milk a year.

Construction of the plant started in the first quarter of 2013 and was fully completed by the third quarter of last year.

Unichamp said CBNC had relied on imported slaked lime from overseas suppliers prior to the establishment of the plant.

Quicklime and milk lime are made from natural limestone produced by Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp.

Industrial lime products are used in the neutralization process for environmental treatment, soil treatment in agriculture industry, soil stabilization for road construction, water treatment for the production of potable water, steel production, sugar refinery and paper industry.

Unichamp said the plant’s ability to supply locally produced high quality industrial lime products would help eliminate the reliance on imports and reduce the foreign currency outflow of the country.

“CBNC spends tens of millions in buying limestone. This facility is a big revenue saver for the country. Also, power consumption will not be a problem because in a lime business, consumption power is negligible. We use petroleum coke [petcoke], a derivative of petroleum refinery,” said Unichamp Executive Chairman Daniel Lim.

[email protected]

cesar barrioquintoE D I T O R

t u e s D aY : M a r c H 24 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

Officials warn of new terror threat to France

Singapore in mourning for Lee

Indonesia detains alleged IS recruiters

Pinball paradiselives on in Budapest

March for dignity. Demonstrators take part in an anti-austerity demonstration dubbed “the Marches for Dignity 22-M” in Madrid on March 21. Tens of thousands of people from all over Spain rallied in Madrid, many of them after several days’ march to demand “Bread, work, housing and dignity” on the eve of regional elections in Andalusia considered a test to social unrest. AFP

Statement on Iran. United States Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at the International Olympic Museum to tour the museum and to deliver a statement about the recently concluded round of negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program at the in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 21. Kerry said world powers were “united” in their nuclear talks with Iran amid speculation of splits with France and stressed he would not “rush” into a bad deal. AFP

BUDAPEST—Glistening signs, flash-ing lights and non-stop tinkling lure scores of tourists in Budapest to Eu-rope’s largest pinball museum, where a passionate collector is bent on reviv-ing the once-popular pastime.

In the basement of a nondescript apartment house, Balazs Palfi displays a unique collection of over 140 work-ing machines that has turned into pil-grimage site for pinball enthusiasts.

“Video games cannot replace them,” insisted the 42-year-old Hun-garian on a busy Saturday in his mu-seum. “Since the 1990s, pinball ma-chines have disappeared from most bars. But there is now a renaissance of pinball culture.

“From bars and pubs, the pinball scene moved to museums and collec-tors,” he told AFP.

Launched less than a year ago, Pal-fi’s museum became a quick success. Open to the public five days a week, it has become a top attraction in Hunga-ry’s capital, according to the popular travel website Tripadvisor.

Most machines are usually avail-able, and visitors are encouraged to play as long as they want for an eight euro ($9) entrance fee.

On busy weeks an average 400 peo-ple show up, losing themselves in the maze of games and mesmerized for hours. More than half of the visitors are foreigners.

“We don’t have them anymore in England, it is a retro thing,” enthused one visitor who identified herself as Kim.

A Canadian tourist shrieked with delight, saying: “Oh my God, I have not played ‘The Simpsons’ since I was a kid!”

The oldest piece in the collection dates back to 1871, when the ball had to make its way though dozens of pins on a wooden board.

Flashing vintage machines from the 1980s and 1990s feature popular rock bands like Guns N’ Roses and ACDC or movies like “Indiana Jones” or “Star Wars”. Horror and space themes notably are in vogue, with tourists and hipsters flocking to the noisy cave-like setting.

A handful of arcade games, such as “Space Invaders” or “Mortal Kombat” are also available.

Only a fifth of the machines were bought in Hungary. The rest Palfi lo-cated and shipped from 16 different countries, including the United States, Belgium and France.

Hungary itself never produced pin-ball machines. The only known game in Hungarian was adapted from a Spanish game and is called “Mesev-onat” (Tale Train) and is on display at the museum. AFP

“The threat is permanent,” said one high-level official in the defense ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Not one day goes by without an alert, the discovery of a network try-ing to send people to Syria or Iraq, or an intervention [by the security serv-ices].

“The number of targets has explod-ed. There are two or three thousand, maybe four thousand, people identi-fied or suspected of evil intentions.”

Nor are they all amateurs, the source added, and many are highly educated.”They are pros, not drop-outs,” he said.

Defense ministry specialists say the jihadists “use the best encryption and

concealment techniques” and that se-curity services are “playing catch-up”.

“Every time we get our hands on a network, we see they are each using seven or eight SIM cards, changing them constantly. And the most cun-ning don’t go near phones at all -- they use messengers.”

The biggest concerns relate to the estimated 200 individuals who have returned from training or fighting in areas held by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

“They have lost all inhibitions about violence,” said another top counter-terrorism official, also speak-ing on condition of anonymity.

Security services place them under the tightest possible surveillance, but

JAKARTA—Indonesian anti-terror police have arrested five men who al-legedly arranged for a group of mostly women and children to try and enter Syria to join the Islamic State group, an official said.

The 11 children, four women and one man, detained in the Turkish bor-der town of Gaziantep, are the latest example of Indonesians heading to battlegrounds in the Middle East.

Fears have been growing about the influence of IS in Indonesia, which is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and has long strug-gled with Islamic militancy. Hun-dreds of Indonesians are feared to have joined the jihadists.

In a series of raids in and around Ja-karta at the weekend, elite anti-terror police rounded up the five men, who

are suspected of helping the 16 people who were recently caught.

The men are accused of involve-ment in “coaching, guidance, and recruitment of sympathizers of IS to depart to Iraq and Syria... and the col-lection and distribution of funds for the activities of IS volunteers in Indo-nesia,” said national police spokesman Rikwanto, who goes by one name, late Sunday.

Four were charged specifically with helping arrange documents for the group to depart for Turkey, as well as previously helping another 21 Indone-sians who went to join IS.

One of the suspects faced a separate charge of urging people to join IS on his website, as well as creating and uploading a video online of children being trained by the jihadists.

Police did not name any of the sus-pects.

They also confiscated items includ-ing nine mobile phones, eight million rupiah ($600) and $5,300 in US dol-lars.

The 16 recently arrested are still in detention in Turkey.

Jakarta has already banned support for IS, which controls vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, although experts have called on authorities to take further steps to stop the flow of fighters.

Indonesia has waged a crackdown on Islamic militant groups for more than a decade following attacks on Western targets, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. The campaign has been credited with weakening key networks. AFP

PARIS—The threat of a jihadist attack in France has reached a level “without precedent” and new attacks are inevitable, according to top counter-ter-rorism officials

resources are limited and the authori-ties are also painfully aware that mili-tants may wait years before acting.

That was the case with the Kouachi brothers who carried out the attack on Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January.

They had long-standing links to ji-hadist networks in Paris, and one had traveled to Yemen for training back in 2011, but they had gradually fallen off the radar of security services after lay-ing low for several years.

Officials also fear that competition between militant groups may drive them to ever-more brutal acts.

“Al-Qaeda needs to restore its pres-tige and will try to compete with IS with complex and major actions,” said the official.

He highlighted the threat from an Al-Qaeda sub-group known as Kho-rasan, which is still thought to be planning a major airline attack.

One of Khorasan’s key members is a French explosives expert, David Dru-

geon, who is thought to have survived an attempted assassination by a US drone strike last year.

That compares with the more con-ventional military threat posed by IS, the official said, “which is in the proc-ess of training commandos and send-ing them onto our territory with high-quality equipment”.

Since the attacks in Paris in January that left 17 dead, France has been on the highest possible alert with thou-sands of police and troops deployed at sensitive sites, such as media head-quarters and synagogues.

But counter-terrorism officials say this will do little to prevent an attack.

Unveiling new surveillance laws on Thursday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the jihadist threat was “con-stantly evolving,” emanating as much from groups based abroad as from in-dividuals present on French soil.

“The problem is not to know if there will be a new attack,” said Valls. “It is to know when and where.” AFP

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 , 2 0 1 5

worldB8 CESAR bARRioqUinTo

E D I T O R

[email protected]

Singapore in mourning for Lee

Fight to make Gabon a gorrilla haven

Meeting seton Greece’s borrowing problems

Tribute. A man pays his respects at the tribute area at Singapore General Hospital following the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (pictured top C) in Singapore on March 23. Singapore’s first prime minister, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23 in hospital, the government said. AFP

Before the session. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi (2nd L) walks outside with members of his delegation before a negotiating session with the United States and the European Union over Iran’s nuclear program in Lausanne on March 20. Marathon talks towards an Iran nuclear deal picked up pace as US President Barack Obama appealed to Tehran to seize an “historic” opportunity and begin a “brighter future”. AFP

SINGAPORE—Singapore plunged into mourning and world leaders united in tribute Monday after the death of Lee Kuan Yew, the iron-fisted politician who forged a prosperous city-state out of unpromising beginnings.

His son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, issued a statement before dawn announcing the passing of his 91-year-old father at Singapore General Hospital fol-lowing a long illness.

He declared seven days of national mourning until the former leader is cre-mated on March 29.

“He fought for our independence, built a nation where there was none, and made us proud to be Singaporeans. We won’t see another like him,” the prime minister said in an emotional televised address.

Onlookers chanted “Mr Lee, Mr Lee” as a white hearse carrying his remains en-tered the Istana state complex at midday for a two-day private family wake before lying in state at Parliament House.

At the entrance, Singaporeans, some teary-eyed, left personal tributes and signed a condolence board.

US President Barack Obama led world lead-ers in hailing Lee, who turned a small territory lacking its own natural resources into a world player in finance, trading and shipping—all the while with a heavy political grip that was long decried by rights campaigners.

“He was a true giant of history who will be remembered for generations to come as the father of modern Singapore and as one of the great strategists of Asian affairs,” Obama said in a statement.

China lauded Lee’s “historic contribu-tions” to their relationship after the Com-munist leadership embarked on dramatic economic reforms from 1978.

President Xi Jinping said Lee was “wide-ly respected by the international commu-nity as a strategist and a statesman”.

Tributes also came in from a host of interna-tional leaders including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the prime ministers of Ma-laysia, Britain, Japan and Australia.

Lee, whose health rapidly deteriorated after his wife of 63 years, Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010, was in hospital for nearly seven weeks with severe pneumonia.

Two years before he died, Lee revealed that he had signed an advance medical di-rective instructing doctors not to use any life-sustaining treatment if he could not be resuscitated. AFP

BERLIN—The leaders of debt-wracked Greece and economic powerhouse Germany meet in Berlin Monday after weeks of bad feeling over Athens’s bor-rowing woes, bitter wartime memories and an offensive hand gesture.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive Greece’s radical left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has blamed her insistence on tough austerity for his country’s “humani-tarian crisis” of poverty and mass un-employment.

Spain’s Economy Minister Luis de Guindos turned the screw on Athens another notch Sunday by insisting that it will not receive any money until it im-plements all its proposed reforms.

Merkel also insists that if cash-strapped Greece wants more bailout loans, the biggest share of which is fi-nanced by Germany, it must accept the bitter medicine of cuts and reforms.

Talking to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini ahead of the visit, Tsipras said the meeting with Merkel would be an opportunity to talk “without the pressure of any negotiation”.

“It’s important because we will be able to talk about topics which are damaging Europe, and about how to improve relations between our two countries,” he said.

“In this meeting two worlds will collide,” said Hajo Funke, political scientist with Berlin’s Free University.

“There is the political world of Greece, where a left-wing government faces a so-ciety in collapse, (of) societal decay... as grave as anything we have seen in western Europe since 1945,” he told AFP.

“The other world is a content country that is dominant in Europe, Germany, which worries about main-taining its economic happiness, and which is now being asked to help the other, under conditions it doesn’t ful-ly understand.”

As tensions have flared, bitter his-torical memories have resurfaced, with Tsipras’s government reviving repara-tion claims for the Nazi occupation of Greece in World War II—an issue which Berlin considers settled. AFP

LASTOURVILLE—Hearing the dreaded sound of human footsteps, three enormous gorillas jump down from the branches of central Gabon’s lush rain forests and rush off into the distance.

To photographer and wildlife lover Max Hurdebourcq, who spends half his year living alone in the heart of west Africa’s tropical rain forest, the gorillas’ fearless flight is a positive sign that things are changing.

“That was great contact! They didn’t shriek, and that means they aren’t too bothered by our presence here,” the Frenchman beamed.

Hurdebourcq has been working in Gabon for seven years, mending rela-tions between gorillas and humans

by protecting the primates’ natural habitat.

In 2008, he knew “very little about Africa” when he traveled to Gabon on a reporting trip to a 600,000-hectare timber project in eastern Gabon, the Equatorial Woods Company or CEB, most of whose shares are owned by the Swiss company Precious Woods.

He saw elephants, buffaloes, ante-lopes, chimpanzees and gorillas’ eve-ryday lives disrupted by the logging company.

“I wondered how they [the animals] adapted to the noise of the machines, and to the roads that were being built around their natural habitat,” Hurde-bourcq said.

Enraged by what he saw, he decid-

ed to leave everything behind and to found the Bambidie Gorilla Project.

Now, the gorilla defender works around the clock to help save a species of primate that is less well known than its relatives in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Eighty percent of oil-rich Gabon is covered by rain forest, much of which is split up by timber processing licenses.

Only 11 percent of the country’s territory is classed as national park.

Seven years of hard work in tough conditions have allowed Hurdebourcq to understand the behavior and move-ment patterns of gorillas, whose sur-vival is under constant threat because of deforestation and the bush meat trade. AFP

LIFEg l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

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LIFELIFET R AV ELT R AV EL

Filipinos are a talented lot. In a coliseum, on televi-sion, in a quaint bistro, on YouTube, on the street, there is always a Pinoy performing for an awed au-dience. � e world is our stage, perhaps, and our nation’s love for entertainment has taken many of us to di� erent parts of the world, one of which is Hong Kong Disneyland. Disneyland will always be a special and magi-cal place, regardless of your age. But Filipinos have the closest a� nity with the 10-year-old resort and theme park in Hong Kong: for one thing, it’s the closest to our country, and another, many of its cast and crew are Pinoys. Continued on C3

Filipinos are a talented lot. In a coliseum, on televi-

Filipino talents � nd their light at Hong Kong Disneyland

BY BERNADETTE LUNAS

T R AV EL

Filipino talents � nd their light

SHINING BRIGHT

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g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

Aristotle once said: “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” After years of working hard to get a diploma, graduates deserve a fantastic treat to celebrate this remarkable milestone. So make sure that the fruit is sweet as you indulge in the special promos of premier hotels to salute the Class of 2015.

RIGHTFUL RESPITEOnce the commencement exercise is over, head on to the B Hotel at Ayala Alabang for a well-deserved staycation with family and friends. For the whole month of March, the hotel offers a discounted price when you book two rooms overnight or one room for a two-night stay. B Hotel’s graduation package includes daily buffet breakfast and standard amenities like welcome drinks at the Vue Bar, compli-mentary use of gym facilities, unlimited broadband Internet access, daily local newspaper, and two bottles of mineral water (replen-ished daily). Should the graduate/s and his companions wish to visit nearby commercial and financial districts, the package also comes with shuttle service. Rate for a Standard Room is P7,000nett and P11,000nett for the Penthouse Suite. For inquiries, call 828-8181, email [email protected], or visit their web-site at www.thebellevue.com

DIPLOMA FOR DINNERGraduates are the star at Discovery Suites in Ortigas as it spreads a feast to celebrate their achievement until April 15. Show your ID or Certificate of Graduation at the Restaurant 5 to get a complimentary buffet lunch featuring the best of Pan-Asian cuisine. The graduate should be accompanied by at least one guest. The restaurant is open daily from 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm and the buffet is priced at P895+. Over at the 22nd floor, diners of multi-awarded 22 Prime will be feted with a complimentary Soup of the Day as well as a spe-cial Graduation Cake for every order of the restaurant’s signature Tomahawk Steak—a mouth-watering 850-gram USDA Prime An-gus Bone-In Ribeye steak--priced at P4,000+. 22 Prime is open daily for lunch and dinner. For inquires and reservations, please call Discovery Suites at (02) 719-8888 or e-mail [email protected]

A FIVE-STAR VACATIONA five-star effort to graduate deserves a five-star staycation at The Bellevue Manila. A special reward awaits graduates ad their loved ones as the premier hotel in the Southern Metro offers its irresistible Room Promo for the whole month of March. Celebrate this remark-able milestone and book two rooms or two nights stay complete with amazing inclusions like daily buffet breakfast, welcome drinks at Vue Bar, complimentary use of swimming pool and gym facili-ties, unlimited broadband internet access in room, shuttle service to nearby commercial areas and financial districts, and more for only P9,500nett in a Deluxe Room (Main Wing) and P10,500nett in a Deluxe Room (Tower Wing). For inquiries, call (02) 771-8181 or email [email protected]

CHEERS TO THE CLASS OF 2015!Stay in and dine in at premier hotels in the Metro

Without a doubt, the sleeper Valentine hit is one of the most influential Philippine movies in recent memory. As the top-grossing local indie film of all time, the unconventional rom-com inspired the travel-up-the-mountains trend among

Filipino millennials, the demographic that most relate to the movie’s central characters. Mace and Anthony (Angelica Panganiban and JM de Guzman respectively) met at the airport in Rome and were booked on the same flight back to Manila. Both struggling to let go of their emotional baggage, the pair quickly bonded and ended up spending more time together than initially expected. The movie throws in plenty of activities that brokenhearted Pinoys indulge in, such as watching John Lloyd Cruz tearjerkers, singing breakup songs at karaoke bars, drinking beer on the sidewalk and spontaneous trips to Baguio. Then, director and writer Antoinette Jadaone takes it one step further by bringing her leads to Sagada. This destination in the Mountain Province is famous for its hanging coffins and other tourist draws like caves, nature hikes and, at least for those in the know, “organic substances.” But Jadaone seems to be telling us that the harsh cold climate of the locale, particularly the

picturesque Mt. Kiltepan, is perfect for soul-searching and mending a broken heart. Due to the movie’s popularity, travel communities started organizing Tadhana tours. Friends of this writer who went to Sagada’s Gaia Cafe & Crafts, where the film’s “kilig” sequence was set, say that the establishment has been swarming with people trying to have their own moments (that is, attempting to recreate the now-iconic scene. Photos posted online show that Mt. Kiltepan has an even bigger crowd. This is probably why the more adventurous are taking their mountaintop soul-searching somewhere else. Another of February’s most popular destinations turned out to be Mt. Pulag, Luzon’s highest peak and the third highest mountain in the country. Need proof of its popularity? Scroll through your social media friends and for sure, you’ll find more than a few whose display pictures are selfies taken atop the mountain. Mt. Pulag, shared by Benguet, Ifugao and Nueva Viscaya, is famous for its awe-inspiring sea of clouds at dawn. The peak boasts near-freezing temperatures during the first two months of the year, making the trip a truly exceptional one. So to answer the leading question of this story: Broken hearts go to places where the mercury registers so low that it numbs the pain, where it’s colder than your ex’s heart, or where Ate Tonette says we should go.

WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO?BY ED BIADO

DIPLOMAS & DISCOUNTS

Super Bowl of China, Nanbantei of Tokyo and Wild West Roadhouse Grill

give discounts to dining graduates

Who says your diploma can only get you a job? At some restaurants, when you show any proof of graduation, you would get discounted food, too! Treat yourself, your friends, and loved ones with sump-tuous meals--dumplings, yakitori, and steak, anyone?--and bring them over to Super Bowl of China, Nanbantei of Tokyo, and Wild West Roadhouse Grill. Graduates only need to show their valid school ID to avail the 10 percent discount on all meals at Super Bowl of China. Feast on the restaurant’s Yang Chow Fried Rice, Crispy Noodles with Braised Beef, Hong Kong Style Spicy Shrimp, Seafood Chopsuey, Lechon Macau with hoisin sauce, and Dimsum Combination Platter, among others. A school ID or any proof or graduation will give you 15 percent discount on yakitori dishes and more at Nanbantei of Tokyo. For an instance, the Bestsellers Platter consisting of 21 sticks of assorted Aspara Maki, Tebasaki, Pork Garlic Yaki, Shiso Maki, Negima, Corn, and Poteto Maki, is now only P743.25. That means savings of more than P135. Graduates who fancy to party with ribs and steaks can head to Wild West Roadhouse Grill which also offers 15 percent discount. Check out the The Great Ribeye, the restaurant’s most popular steak. It’s 12 ounces or 340 grams of the choicest U.S. ribeye steak, seasoned with herbs and garlic, and served with fresh vegetable and mashed potatoes on the side.

Super Bowl of China is located at SM Mall of Asia (556-0583), SM Megamall Atrium (687-7767), and Festival Supermall Ala-bang (809-8968). Nanbantei of Tokyo is located at Bonifacio High Street (621-3224 to 25) and Greenbelt 3 (757-4130). Wild West Roadhouse Grill is loocated at Shangri-La Plaza in Man-daluyong City (655-3023) and Bonifacio High Street (856-1547).

Mt Pulag

Mt Kiltepan

Gala Cafe & Crafts

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Complete the celebration with a Diploma Cake from the world’s most beloved ice cream brand, Baskin-Robbins. � is special

cake features a cap and diploma in bright shades of blue and white with touches of yellow. � e cake can also be customized with a personalized message or a choice of the graduates’ favorite ice cream and cake � avor combination. Baskin-Robbins’ Diploma cake is available at Central Square, Bonifacio Global City; Ayala Fairview Terraces; and Greenbelt 5, Makati. Or if you know someone who’s going to march this year and loves One Direction, why not get him or her the all-new One Direction chocolate bars from Villa del Conte. � ese limited edition confec-tioneries let everyone take home a photo of their

favorite 1D members including Harry and Niall in a dark chocolate with salted caramel variant, as well as Liam, Louis, and Zayn in milk chocolate with cereal � avor. For a complete bar of happiness, there’s also a 1D group shot design available in a milk chocolate bar with hazelnut chips. If the graduate is not a fan of the group, con-vert him/her with the help of these limited-edi-tion chocolates with an album and some photos, too! � ese are also perfect for anyone who loves 1D, graduating or not. To get these satisfying treats, visit Villa del Conte stores at Greenbelt 5, Century City Mall, Shangri-la Mall, Resorts World, Alabang Town Center, and Robinson’s Magnolia. For bulk or-ders, contact 893-2575 or 621-6101.

Celebrate and congratulate the sweet success of 2015 graduates with saccharine treats specially made with them in mind.

SWEET SALUTE TO GRADUATES

All-Filipino cast members perform ‘Find Your Light,’ Hong Kong Disneyland’s tailor-made campaign for Filipinos. (Front row, from left): Choreographer Jaime del Prado, lead vocalist Rochelle ‘Raki’ Vega, musical director and composer Rony Fortich, and backup vocalist Gian Magdangal.

Jaime del Prado Gian Magdangal

David Lightbody, HKDL director for Entertainment and Costuming Raki Vega Rony Fortich

Filipino performers and crew domi-nate Hong Kong Disneyland. With a diverse range of cast from over 30 countries, Filipinos currently hold major roles in live shows onstage

and behind-the-scenes. “[Filipinos] are a very strong and impor-tant contingent,” says Hong Kong Disney-land director for entertainment and cos-tuming David Lightbody. � e continuously growing number of Fili-pinos in the theme park is not just because we are the best at singing or dancing, but be-cause, according to Lightbody, who’s worked in the entertainment and theater industry for over 20 years, Filipino performers have a special quality in how they perform. “It’s the approach to work: great, amazing commitment and dedication to the work,” enthuses Lightbody. He continues, “� ere’s an inner passion and it’s a happy passion, the kind that bursts out in their perfor-mances.”

SHINING BRIGHTFrom C1

In recognition of the instrumental role of Filipino talents in the theme park, and in a bid to attract more guests and more per-formers from the Philippines, Hong Kong Disneyland launched a campaign made by Filipinos for Filipinos.

A SONG OF PRIDE“Find Your Light” is a song inspired by many Filipino talents following their dreams and � nding a place to shine at HKDL. It was composed by the theme park’s musical di-rector and proud Pinoy Rony Fortich. As someone who understands the message HKDL aims to convey, Fortich—who has been with HK Disneyland three months be-fore it opened--”felt awesome” and “couldn’t be happier” when he was commissioned to write a “cool tribute for all Filipinos who work here and Filipino guests who come over.” � e song, which features English and Fili-pino lyrics, is based on the theater term “� nd your light,” which is used to ask the perform-ers onstage to stand where the light is. “It’s a great term to show how Filipinos can shine abroad in what they’re good at,” explains Fortich.

A� er three weeks of writing the lyrics and playing the piano to come up with a memorable melody, Fortich was able to mix the Disney and Pinoy � avors into the song. It has a strong and catchy tune that is a trademark Disney sound, injected with OPM beat. “When I was writing the song, I would listen to a lot of OPM, kind of everything from ‘70s disco to ‘80s and ‘90s,” he shares. As for the lyrics, the message urges every-one to come up, perform, and show their Disney side. “It tells how you can be happy performing and by performing, we could get somewhere and have a good time.” � roughout composing “Find Your Light,” Fortich kept in mind the Filipino spirit and mentality. “How much they en-joy having fun, how we can get through a crisis and still � nd way to smile.” He adds, “I only hope that if I write a song and feel good about it, and makes me wanna dance and tap my feet and sing along, that other Filipinos would also feel the same way. And I hope it translates to all of our guests.” � e song was then recorded in the Phil-ippines with Filipino musicians, and the

� nal product was arranged by musical di-rector and arranger Marvin Querido. To give justice to the song, Fortich tapped HKDL vocalist Rochelle “Raki” Vega to be the lead singer along with 45 all-Filipino cast members. Raki at � rst couldn’t believe Fortich chose her. “I asked Rony, ‘Why me?’ Why he chose me?” recalls Raki. She adds, “I felt pres-sured because it’s a big task singing a Dis-ney song, a Filipino song at that!” But Fortich didn’t need a long explana-tion to prove Raki is the perfect choice, be-cause according to him, she has the right mix of attitude and talent. “Raki is the perfect person to sing the song and to really know what it means,” he emphasizes. True enough, Raki feels the same way. “Every word in the song matters to me kasi parang story din ‘to ng buhay ko (because it tells the story of my life). ‘Find Your Light’ is an anthem for me, an anthem for Filipi-nos ful� lling their dreams in their own way here at Disneyland,” she says. Raki plays the lead role of “Bebe” and “Tarzan Singer” in � e Golden Mickey’s Show. Prior to joining HKDL in October 2010, she was involved in the musical the-ater scene in the Philippines. She also re-corded two full-length albums: “Streisand Classics,” released in the Philippines in 2008 and “Raki Vega Sings Streisand,” re-leased in Indonesia in 2010. Others may know her as the grand prize winner of the “Born Diva” reality singing competition in 2004. She may be rich in experience; Raki ad-mits it’s a challenge to sing a song written for Filipinos. “Kasi iba talaga kapag mag-perform ka sa Filipinos, may kaunting kaba sa totoo lang, kasi alam na magaling kumilatis angFilipino (It’s di� erent when performing for Filipinos, honestly it’s a bit intimidating because Filipinos are known to be discrim-inating). Appreciative yet marunong maki-nig (knows how to listen),” shares Raki. Notwithstanding the pressure, Raki, whose dream role is to perform in the West End � eater, sings with her whole heart. “Every time I sing a song, iniisip ko (I think of) all the past experiences I had in the Philippines: doing the albums, my Born Diva time, and all the competitions.” She says she just gives her all in every performance, a common quality of Pinoy cast members at HKDL. “We always give more than what is ex-pected from us,” says Raki. Five years in the theme park, Raki believes she has yet to � nd her light. “But I think � nd-ing that light for me is � nding my truth. � e training I get here in Disneyland is integral to my growth as an artist both professionally and personally,” she concludes.

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LIFET U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 : 2 0 1 5

While the holidays give us a lot of occasions for home entertaining, the celebrations go beyond the season. After all, we all love get-togethers – birthdays, family reunions, intimate dinners with friends, feting business associates, and more. The good news is that you can set up fun and stylish tablescapes at home with a little help from SM Home’s innovative pieces. There are buffet servers for a wine and cheese night, hor d’ouvre dishes for creative canapés, salad servers for healthy starters, and three dip servers for chips and nachos. Desserts become even more delicious delightful with cake and cupcake stands, and chocolate fondue fountains. Here are some modern home entertaining tips from SM Home.

• SET A CENTERPIECE ON THE TABLE. A centerpiece doesn’t have to be in the center. Try setting it off to one side – this asymmetry

works especially with buffets staged against a wall or window.

• GO HIGH. To keep it interesting and stagy, try to use height such as tiered cake plates and dessert servers. Put the highest serving dish at the center and go down from there. The more you stack and layer, the more room you can create and it is easier for your guests to reach in.

• PLAN OUT what dishes and serving utensils you are going to use for the food on your buffet table. Arrange them logically- start with entrees, side dishes, vegetables and salads at the end. Also, make sure you have small plates next to each dish for the utensils to rest on.

• PUT THE CUTLERY AT THE END. Roll the utensils inside a napkin, and store them in a decorative basket. This allows guests to move from the line more quickly and keeps everyone from touching others’ utensils while grabbing their own.

• MAKE IT EASY AND PUT THE FOOD IN INDIVIDUAL SERVINGS. Put anything in individual cups- like individual servings of mousse or individual shooters of soups. This is convenient for your guest to reach in and snag one without going through the whole line.

• ADD FINISHING TOUCHES TO YOUR BUFFET. Add some flowers and put it on votive cups or flank a pair of candlesticks. Garnish your platter with greens to make it more appealing.

Create your own tablescapes with SM Home’s Buffet Server Collection, available at the SM Home section at all SM Stores.

Dip in your slices of fruits and pastries with melted chocolate from this Dessert Fondue set.

The new ‘Disney’s Paint the Night’ parade is an interactive light show unique to Hong Kong Disneyland

SHINING BRIGHTFrom C3

SUCCESS STORY AND SUCCESS IN THE MAKINGHKDL also produced a music video for “Find Your Light” to showcase the talented Filipino cast members led by Raki. The video, which was posted on YouTube on January 18, already has 40,000+ views as of this writing. It was choreographed by park chore-ographer and fellow Filipino Jaime del Prado.

“I was very excited when Rony made me listen to the song and when they showed to me the storyboard,” says del Prado.

Because the campaign is for Pinoy and the music has Pinoy flavor (“very Manila sound”), del Prado introduced familiar Filipino steps to the choreog-raphy of the music video.

“If you watch the video, you will no-tice there’s one section where they make a Gary V. move in “Hataw Na.” That for me made it very Pinoy,” he notes.

Overall, del Prado says the experi-ence was exciting and fulfilling for him and for all the Filipino cast members.

“The performers in the music video were excited because our friends and families will see us. For our families back home to see us working with our family (HKDL) here, it’s fulfilling for us,” he enthuses.

On top of this campaign, del Prado is already a Disneyland success story worth telling.

“I first came here as a show dancer for Lion King and everything else is history,” he recalls. Since he joined HKDL in 2005 as performer/Dance Captain for the “Festival of The Lion King” show, del Prado has held several positions in-cluding Stage Manager of Theater Op-erations, Parade Operations, and En-tertainment Atmosphere Operations, where he was responsible for training new cast members and ensuring show quality. Aside from “Find Your Light,” he recently co-choreographed the brand new attraction in the theme park, the “Disney’s Paint the Night Parade.” Also a part of “Find Your Light” production and a Pinoy talent finding his light in Disneyland is singer and actor Gian Magdangal. Magdangal, who used to be a house-hold name in variety shows and starred in TV series here in the Philippines, joined the park in October 2014 when his contracts here were not renewed. “I get to do what I love doing, and that is to perform. Nung nawala yungopportunity na yun [in Manila], yun pa rin ang gusto kong gawin (It’s still the thing I want to do even when I no longer had that opportunity in Ma-nila),” intimates Magdangal. He plays Captain Shang, one of the major roles in “The Golden Mickey Show.” “There’s only a handful of people who get to do what they love doing and make it as an occupation. That’s

something I’m really grateful and thankful for,” he enthuses.

But more than his love for perform-ing, it was a father’s decision for him to move to Hong Kong and try his luck at Disneyland.

“I saw this as a really good opportu-nity to provide for myself and my son. Masaya dito, maganda yung trabaho, (It is fun here, the job is great) and most importantly, I can send my kid to school comfortably,” shares Magdangal.

NEW ATTRACTIONSAs Filipinos and all guests from across the globe embark on their journey at HKDL, they can explore the three newly launched themed lands in the park: the Asia-exclusive Toy Story Land, bear-y thrilling Grizzly Gulch, and the mystical Mystic Point. The latest additions to Disney Princesses are already here, too! Meet, greet, and take your photos with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna (don’t forget Olaf). Join the festivities and change the costumes of performers at the new “Disney’s Paint the Night” parade. This light show, which is unique to HKDL, transports guests into a world of luminous and interactive fun, com-plete with delightful music, dynamic dances, seven floats (Tinker Bell, Monsters, Inc., Cars, The Little Mer-maid, Belle, Toy Story, and Mickey and Friends), and colorful costumes made of over 740,000 LED lights that guests can customize using the Made with Magic Paint Brush.

CELEBRATE IN STYLE WITH

SM HOME

Make your own cheese and fruits

platter with this Borgonovo Palladio

cake stand.

With the new broadband plans, customers get exclusive access to a portfolio of enter-tainment content which allows them to watch movies and bas-ketball games, as well as stream music at the comfort of their homes.

As an online entertainment service provider, HOOQ boasts of an extensive content library

with thousands of movies, television episodes and shows available for users to watch, including titles from partners Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment. With Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming service, customers get the best music experience with access to over 20 mil-lion songs. On the other hand,

Tattoo offers exclusive content for its new homebroadband plans High-speedbroadband technology

powers wonderful experience at home

requirement of our customers wheth-er they are light, moderate or heavy users,” Simpao stressed. As an ex-ample, a monthly data allocation of 15GB under Plan 1299, recommend-ed for light users, allows customers to watch up to 20 mov-ies on HOOQ and stream up to 2000 songs on Spotify, he said.

Still, customers who exceed their data allowance may avail of Tattoo home volume boost at P50/1GB, P200/5GB and P300/10GB, ensuring they have data connectivity at consistent speeds. To help customers de-termine their actual data usage, Tattoo Home is implement-ing a three-month program for wired customers where they will be given an additional 50GB on top of their base plan data allowance. The additional data allocation will allow customers to right-size their broadband data plan according to their actual data con-sumption. Customers under the program will receive text or email notifications once they breach 50%, 80% and 100% of their base data al-lowance.

Existing custom-ers will continue to enjoy their cur-rentsubscript ions with no changes. They may also opt to upgrade to the new Tattoo Home Broadband Plans to get exclusive access to Tattoo’s exclusive suite of entertain-ment content com-prising of HOOQ, Spotify and NBA.

Globe Telecom, through its home broadband brand Tattoo, has unveiled its latest roster of broadband plans for new customers with a strong bid to attract more customers and fur-ther grow its customer base.

the NBA League Pass allows customers to watch basketballgames along with high-lights, stats and other features.

“We recognize today’s shift to the digital lifestyle and we want our customers to be part of this revolution by offering them a suite of plans that give them access to entertainment content such as HOOQ, Spotify, and the NBA League Pass. With our new home broadband plans, we are transforming the home into an ultimate entertainment hub as family mem-bers get the best home internet and enter-tainment experience in one package,” Globe Senior Vice President for Consumer Broad-band Business Gilbert Simpao said.

For as low as Plan 1099, Tattoo customers get an exclusive access to Spotify while exclu-sive access to HOOQ begins with Plan 1299. Combined access to HOOQ and Spotify or

NBA starts with Plan 1599 while access to HOOQ, Spotify and NBA begins with Plan 1999 and above.All Tattoo home broadband plans come with minimum speeds of at least 1 Mbps up to 15 Mbps, bundled with free landline, free unlimited calls to Globe and TM, and free Wi-Fi modem.

Each plan also comes with a data allow-ance representing varying types of usage for a home broadband customer. The data alloca-tion ranges between 10GB and 15GB for light to moderate users, 20GB to 30 GB for more frequent users and 50 GB to 70 GB for heavy users.

“We believe the data allocation of the Tattoo home broadband plans accurately reflects the typical usage profile of our customers. These plans were formulated precisely to meet the broadband internet



ACROSS 1 Wild guess 5 Italian food 10 Floating platform 14 Happy — 15 Goddesses’ statues 16 Screenwriter James — 17 Mrs. Lennon 18 Ducky lawn? (2 wds.) 20 Seal a tub 22 Storm warnings

23 Foulard kin 25 Type of appeal 26 Damsel 27 Snow boot 28 “— — Excited” 32 Altar area 33 Gauzy material 35 Natural eyewash 36 — au vin 37 Race the engine 38 Lead balloon 39 Disagreeable task

41 Flowed back 43 Mince 44 Tibet explorer Alexandra David- — 45 “Norma —” 46 Game one 48 Port near Algiers 50 College treasurer 51 Molds 54 Brain parts 55 Nail pro 57 Footnote abbr. (2 wds.) 61 Revival shout 62 Hair tint 63 Martha of dental ads 64 Turn state’s evidence 65 Degas or Cayce 66 Luncheon salad

DOWN 1 Retiring 2 As well as 3 Puffin kin 4 Heavy fabric 5 Sharp-tasting 6 Teen bane 7 Overcharge, slangily 8 RN’s knack 9 With suspicion 10 Cheese dish 11 Culture dish goo

12 Gala 13 Hardy’s dairymaid 19 Day- — paint 21 Hail, to Caesar 23 Ness’ quarry 24 Daring 25 Liniment 26 Georgia city 27 Annapolis frosh 29 Saudi city 30 Flying — 31 Buy by mail 34 Kind of sprawl 40 Inclined 41 Exam smudge 42 Skeptic 43 Banquet finale 47 Before, in combos 49 Camcorder button 50 — nova 51 Fitness centers 52 Prefix for “sphere” 53 Yemeni port 54 Ding-a- — (airhead) 56 Eliminate 58 Letter after sigma 59 Author — Rand 60 Meadow

C6 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 : 2 0 1 5

i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

SHOWBITZ

A N S W E R F O R P R E V I O U S P U Z Z L E

CROSSWORD PUZZLE TUESDAY,

MARCH 24, 2015

Truly a destination of life’s exquisite pleasures, Shangri-La Plaza presents a treat for the senses with Coffee, Tea, and All That Jazz at the Shang, a festival that fetes the divine

goodness of our beloved beverages and its perfect partners – book, music and everything else. Until March 29, the East Atrium of the Shangri-La Plaza’s East Wing transforms into a promenade,like a Parisian al fresco café with participating coffee or coffee-maker brands offer mall guests with brews and other related products. Well-known coffee and tea brands Figaro Café, Espressamente Illy, Starbucks, Di Bella by Cravings Group, Rustan’s Department Store, Crabtree & Eve-lyn, National Bookstore, Powerbooks, D&K Kitchen Essentials, True Value, Astrovision, 26th Bistro and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are among the partici-pants. The Philippine Barista and Coffee Academy, Inc. also talked on brewing methods on March 21. The Brass Munkeys performed on the first day of the festival. Among the highlights were Latte Art and Brewing Methods Demonstrations for guests. Coffee, Tea, and All That Jazz at the Shang has a line-up of demonstrations, talks, and interactive activities to highlight and for guests to appreciate tea and cof-fee offerings. Learn about Espresso Roasting, Latte Art, Brewing Methods, Baking & Coffee Pairing, while browsing through the exhibits and product displays. With coffee, enjoy soulful jazz. Moira de la Torre performed on March 21, The Executives on March 22, Cara Manglapus hits the stage on March 28, rounded off by Vince Lahora on March 29.

COFFEE, TEA, AND ALL THAT JAZZ AT THE SHANG

A ctor/TV host Ryan Ag-oncillo has a new role to play. He inked recenly

with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the global leading healthcare compa-ny, to be the face behind its pain killer product, Panadol. As the company commits itself on improving the quality of hu-man life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer with (paracetamol) Panadol® as the world’s trusted pain reliever, sold in more than 85 countries, Agoncillo likewise vows to strengthen’s Fili-pino’s trust in the brand. Panadol with Optizorb® is a type of paracetamol caplet that works five times faster than regular for-mulation. It contains the same amount of paracetamol (500 mg) found in Panadol, so you can feel confident in its ability to relieve pain such as headache and fever. “Seven out of 10 Filipinos suffer from regular headaches. The time wasted on dealing with this kind of pain should have been better spent on more important things like quality time with the family,” says Jeoffrey Yulo, General Man-ager – Consumer Healthcare, GSK Philippines. “This dilemma en-courages GSK to continue provid-ing a fast and effective solution like Panadol to pain sufferers. What makes Panadol with Optizorb® truly different from other branded and generic paracetamol products is that it is the only product to contain Optizorb®, which has rev-

olutionized the way paracetamol tablets are dispersed in the body, so it allows paracetamol to reach the bloodstream more quickly and be carried to where it acts to fight pain, five times faster.” This year, Panadol brings more focus to help take away the pain for faster recovery and more super moments with the ones you love. Bringing this life-affirming mes-sage to the fore is father/athlete/host Ryan Agoncillo, together with his son Lucho. Ryan is known to be a dedicated father to his children – Yohan and Lucho – and spends as much time as he can with his family. As a sportsman who is into mo-torcycles and triathlons, Ryan is no stranger to aches and pain. But he doesn’t let any kind of discomfort like headache get in the way of a quality time with his equally ener-getic son, making their moments together pain-free. But whenever pain or headache strikes, he puts his trust on Panadol. And like a true su-perhero, he has the power of quick recovery in the eyes of his son. “My family is my top priority. Even if I get busy with work and my other pursuits, I make sure that I get to spend quality with my wife and my kids. But, sometimes, because of my workload, I suffer from terrible headaches,” Ryan relates. “Fortunately, there’s Pan-adol. It offers fast relief to make my super moments with my fam-ily pain-free! Indeed, when pain is gone, life takes its place.”

“Coffee, Tea, and All That Jazz at the Shang is our way of indulging our patrons’ love for bever-ages. With the best coffee, tea, and complementary brands housed at the Shang, we look forward to giv-ing our mall guests a truly pleasurable experience in this festival,” says Shangri-La Plaza Executive Vice President and General Manager Lala Fojas.

Coffee, Tea and All that Jazz

at the Shang features

performances by The Executives,

Moira de la Torre, and Cara

Manglapus

RYAN AGONCILLO IS THE NEW FACE OF PANADOL

Cara Manglapus

The Executives

Moira de la Torre

C7ISAH V. REDE D I T O RSHOWBITZ

T U E S D AY : M A R C H 24 : 2 0 1 5


From C8

Willie Revillame is finally back on the small screen after years of ru-mored compulsion to gambling to while away his time that he’s gotten used to clowning around on a game show set for TV. GMA Network agreed to take the show host who left ABS-CBN years ago and joined TV5 in the hope of re-establishing himself as a viable brand on television. Unfortunately, he failed. This time, he will try to raise his own flag on a different channel, and the people will be waiting if he’d finally succeed. It’s a block-time deal, says GMA Network management, with Revil-lame’s own WBR Entertainment Productions, Inc. after both parties signed last Friday, March 20, the airtime agreement for Revillame’s va-riety program Wowowin on GMA-7 every Sunday beginning April 26. “We are pleased to have Willie Re-villame’s program in the Network. Willie has a very large following. Through our partnership with WBR Entertainment, GMA Network will be a part of the long awaited return of Willie Revillame on television,” says GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon. “We are very grateful and glad to have our program WOWOWIN shown (sic) in GMA Network, the no. 1 TV station in the country. We will see to it that we deserve the trust (sic) reposed on us by GMA Network,” says WBR’s Revillame.

HHHHHCNN Philippines’ Sports Desk is a thirty-minute show destination for everything related to sports - from the NBA, PBA, Gilas Pilipinas, UAAP, golf, football, baseball, box-ing, among many others. Discus-sions, in-depth analysis, and news on games, sporting events, scores, trends, and even global happenings are provided to keep the roster of topics fresh and entertaining for its viewers. Mico Halili and Cesca Lit-ton co-anchor the show. Catch the live interviews with special guests, hottest topics, sports controversies, and latest buzz on

Sports Desk at 10:00 PM, Monday to Friday only on CNN Philippines

HHHHHCebuanos had the rare opportunity to watch acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch in special screening of National Theatre Live’s (NTL) Frankenstein, as the British Embas-sy’s GREAT campaign went to SM City Cebu. In this joint project of the British Embassy and SM City Cebu, film enthusiasts watched the live broad-cast on March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at SM City Cebu’s Cinema 1. Directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle (Trainspot-ting, Slumdog Millionaire), Fran-kenstein features breakout star Cumberbatch (12 Years A Slave, Star Trek: Into Darkness) and Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting, Mans-field Park) alternating roles as Vic-tor Frankenstein and his creation. H.E. British Ambassador Asif Ah-mad said, “We are delighted to part-ner with SM City Cebu to bring this production of Frankenstein for the very first time in the Philippines,” he says. “This performance from the world-renowned National Theatre is a great showcase of the creativity and talent that the UK offers. I’m sure that seeing this performance will encourage you to visit the UK and experience the vibrant live theatre scene and range of creativity in the great cities of the United Kingdom.” NTL’s Frankenstein was a sell-out hit at the National Theatre, and the broadcast has since become an in-ternational sensation, experienced by almost half a million people in cinemas around the world. This was the second collabora-tion of the British Embassy and SM on the National Theater Live proj-ect. The first one, the live broadcast of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth starring Kenneth Branagh at SM Aura Premier in 2013, drew a re-cord crowd. The screening was part of the GREAT campaign spearheaded by the British Embassy Manila to bring the best of British business and culture to the Philippines.

FROM KAPAMILYA TO KAPATID, NOW KAPUSO

Willy Revillame is now with Kapuso network. He signed a blocktimer’s deal with, from left GMA Executive Vice President and CFO Felipe S. Yalong; Atty. Alfonso Reyno, Jr.; GMA Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon; GMA President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr.; and Atty. King Reyno)

Cesca Litton and Miko Halili hosts

CNN Philipines’ Sports Desk

Benedict Cumberbatch Star in Frankenstein

T he groundbreaking HBO documentary series The Jinx: The Life and Deaths

of Robert Durst premieres April 1 on HBO Signature and HBO GO. Robert Durst, scion of NY’s bil-lionaire real estate family has been accused of three murders over the past 30 years, but never convicted. Brilliant and reclusive, he has not spoken publicly – until now. The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst tracks Durst’s strange history against the backdrop of un-imaginable wealth and privilege, exposes long-buried information discovered during their seven-year investigation of a series of unsolved crimes, and was made with the co-

operation of the man suspected of being at its center. The six-part HBO documen-tary series premieres over three consecutive nights from April 1 to 3 at 10pm on HBO SIGNA-TURE and on HBO GO. Long suspected in the notorious 1982 disappearance of his beautiful young wife, Kathie, in New York, Durst continued to raise suspicion with the unsolved 2000 murder of Susan Berman (his confidante, thought to be a key witness in the investigation into the case of Durst’s missing wife) in Beverly Hills, as well as the subsequent murder and dismemberment of neighbor Morris Black in Galves-ton, Texas. Durst has consistently maintained his innocence, and re-mained a free man. This unprecedented documen-tary event tracks Jarecki as he develops a unique relationship with Durst following the release of Jarecki’s 2010 film, “All Good Things,” a narrative feature about

Durst’s life starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. During exclu-sive interviews with Jarecki that were initiated by Durst himself, he talks with startling candor, reveal-ing secrets of a case that has baffled authorities for three decades. In addition to footage drawn from more than 20 hours’-worth of interviews with Durst, the se-ries features a cast of fascinating characters from Durst’s life, among them: his current wife, Debrah Lee Charatan; former Westchester County district attorney Jeanine Pirro, who reopened the investi-gation; members of the secretive Durst family; and Durst’s legal dream team, including legendary Texas lawyer Dick DeGuerin. The documentary is the result of nearly a decade of research by the filmmakers, who have un-earthed thousands of pages of hidden documents, police files, key witnesses, never-before-seen footage and private prison re-cordings.

DOCUMENTARY ON BILLIONAIRE

ACCUSED OF MURDER

ON HBO

Robert Durst is finally arrested for murder.

The journey has been documented in a

documentary to be shown on HBO


C8 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R

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� e iconic disco � lm Saturday Night Fe-ver’s is now a musical. And it’s coming to Manila. � e stage version features, of course, the music of � e Bee Gees. Atlantis � eatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) is bringing the musical on Philippine and Asian stages. Saturday Night Fever’s 2015 Asian Tour, its � rst in eight years comes on the heels of the show’s current UK Tour. It will to kick o� at � e � eatre, Solaire Resort and Casino (ASEANA Avenue, Paranaque City, Manila), on July 3 un-til the 26th and performances in Kuala Lumpur (Sept. 1 to 15), and Singapore (Sept. 25 to Oct.11) will follow suit. In close coordination with the Robert Stigwood Organization, whose founder produced the � lm and its various stage in-carnations from 1998 to present, ATEG’s Resident Director Bobby Garcia reveals, “We’re using a brand new script [originally written by Nan Knighton, in collabora-tion with Arlene Phillips, Paul Nicholas, and Robert Stigwood] that brings back a lot of the grittiness and the coming of age in a tough world aspect of the movie. It’s edgy and exciting. It’s a completely re-con-ceptualized production.” On board this production, Garcia dis-closes that ATEG, which has broadcast moguls Bobby Barreiro and Tony Tuvi-era as partners, has assembled a formida-ble, � rst-rate creative team—representing some of the � nest talents in West End, Broadway, and Asian � eater. Its powerhouse creative team include Tony Award-winning scenic designer David Gallo, choreogra-pher Vince Pesce, light-ing designer Paul Miller, costume designer Eric Pineda, musical direc-tor Ceejay Javier), and Garcia himself, who will direct the production, whose 20-strong cast were chosen through casting director Tara Rubin from separate auditions � rst held in Manila and later in New York City. “We have a � rst-rate creative team and have assembled an amazing cast. I think the quality of the show will speak for itself once it’s up on its feet,” says Garcia. “ATEG has been chosen for the high standard it has achieved with some of the best Broadway shows,” says Patrick Bywalski, deputy chairman of � e Robert Stigwood Organization. “� e � rst-class creative team ATEG has assembled for this never-before-seen, revamped production of SNF in Asia will surely deliver a thrilling experience. So bring the white suit out and your boogie shoes.”

★★★★★Atlantis � eatrical Entertainment and its casting agency based in New York, Tara Rubin Casting announced that Brandon Rubendall, original cast member of U2’s Bono and � e Edge’s Spider-man: Turn O� � e Dark” on Broadway and recur-ring principal dancer for pop superstars Madonna, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lo-pez, will step into the dancing shoes of the ‘70s disco icon Tony Manero in Sat-urday Night Fever. Playing opposite Rubendall is Jenna Rubaii, Green Day’s American Idiot (U.S. and International Tour) alum, who will breathe life into the role of Stepha-nie Mangano, a young o� ce worker-turned-dance partner of Brooklyn’s local discotheque habitué Tony. � e two were in Manila, � ursday, and met with members of the press. “Coincidentally, on the same week I was auditioning for the role of Tony, ‘the � lm, was playing on TV,” recalled Rubendall. “A� er I watched it, I couldn’t believe I had never seen the movie un-til then and how much I related to the role of [the emotionally immature] Tony [played by John Travolta]. “I felt like I was basically watching my-self in the movie. Because of how much I’ve connected to the role, I was so calm and con� dent in the auditions, which is probably why I ended up getting it…and the fact that I love disco music!” Rubendall added, “� at role was writ-ten for me! I have to play that role.” Ecstatic on bagging the role of Stepha-nie, Rubaii, who is no stranger to disco-themed musicals having been part of Broadway Legend Tommy Tune’s new

musical Fi� y Four Forever –inspired by the infamous New York night club Stu-dio 54—feels perfectly good in the arms of her new leading man, Ruben-dall, whom she shared a rarely luxurious amount of time studying scenes from the musical during the auditions’ � nal call-back in New York. “Our director, Bobby Garcia, spent a generous amount of time working with us on the material during the audition pro-cess, which you don’t get o� en. � at also made me feel so comfortable in the room with my scene partner, Brandon,” Rubaii said. “We had such a good time togeth-er. It was so fun reading the scenes. We were so willing to play the char-

acters of Tony and Stephanie!” She added, “Our director has been very focused on � nding the truth in these characters and in the story, which is really beautiful. “So many times you get musicals like this that are so famous for their music or � lm adaptations, and it just becomes a ‘� u� y,’ ‘fun’ piece. Of course, this musi-cal will be plenty of fun, but there’s also a beautiful journey that these characters take--it’s a snapshot of young lives dur-ing this speci� c generation. I think it’s important to honor that.”

SHOWBITZSIMPLY

REDSIMPLY

RED

ISAH V. RED

cast. I think the quality cast. I think the quality

We’re using a brand new script

[originally written by Nan Knighton, in collaboration with

Arlene Phillips, Paul Nicholas, and Robert

Stigwood] that brings back a lot of the grittiness and

the coming of age in a tough world aspect

of the movie. It’s edgy and exciting.

It’s a completely re-conceptualized

production– Bobby Garcia

‘SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER ’

IN MANIL A

Continued on C7

The iconic pose that made John Travolta

an international superstar after

Saturday night fever

Rubendall and Jennai breathe life to the iconic Tony and Stephanie of the disco film set in the 70s

The Standard - 2015 March 24 - Tuesday

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Transcript of The Standard - 2015 March 24 - Tuesday