The Standard - 2016 April 20 - Wednesday

Next page

Daughter Inday Sara claims she was also raped

Comelec to probe forced LP rally attendance

VOL. XXX � NO. 67 � 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 � WEDNESDAY : APRIL 20, 2016 � www.thestandard.com.ph � [email protected]

Marcosconfidenthe’ll winVP race

DIGONG RELENTS, SAYS HE’S SORRY

Women’s protest. Leaders of women’s groups hold up signs condemning Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s recent remarks about the raping and killing of an Australian missionary in 1989. MANNY PALMERO

A3

Dutertekeeps leadin latestPulse poll

A2

By Christine F. Herrera

GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Commission on Elections and the Commission on Human Rights will investigate reports that government officials are forcing dole recipients to attend political rallies in favor of ad-ministration candidate for president Manuel Roxas II.

Opposition candidate for president Vice President Jejomar Binay tagged Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman as being behind the coercion of beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, a multi-billion-peso dole program. But Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus named President Benigno Aquino III, Budget Secretary Flor-

encio Abad and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento as the culprits behind the use of government funds to promote the Roxas campaign.

Binay, the standard bearer of the United Nationalist Alliance, said mem-bers of the 4Ps were being used much in the same way they were in the 2013 mid-term elections.

“I apologize to the Filipino peo-ple for my recent remarks in a ral-ly. There was no intention of dis-respecting our women and those who have been victims of this hor-rible crime. Sometimes my mouth

can get the better of me,” Duterte’s statement read.

This was in contrast to a defi-ant statement Monday in which he refused to apologize and urged women’s groups and Catholics

By Rio N. Araja

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte relented Tuesday and apologized for saying he was furious at inmates who had raped an attractive Australian missionary in 1989 because they beat him to it—even as his own daughter Inday Sara said that she had been raped, too.

who were outraged by his remarks not to vote for him.

On the other hand, Duterte said he would not apologize for actions he has taken to protect the people, “especially the weak and defense-less, from crime.”

“I know what it can do to the victims and their families. The anguish and pain they cause. The trauma that can’t be erased. I have witnessed these myself numerous times,” he said.

“This is why I am angry. I am angry because horrendous things like this continue to happen to our women and children all over our land. And sadly, government

has failed to protect them,” he added.

Duterte’s daughter said she too, was a victim of rape years ago at the hands of a priest, but her par-ents did not know about it.

As a rape victim, she added, she was not offended by her father’s remarks, which were widely de-nounced by women, his oppo-nents, critics, the Catholic Church and the Australian ambassador to the Philippines.

Duterte also turned his apology into a pitch for his presidency, one day after he said he didn’t care if he won or lost.

“If you will give me the chance

to lead this country, I promise to all of you that I will protect our women, children and families from the horrors and disorder of crime. I will do this even if I lose my life, my honor and even the presidency,” Duterte said.

“My life is an open book. I am a man of many flaws and contra-dictions. But when it comes to se-curing the lives and future of our countrymen and women, you can trust me to do the right thing. I will fight for the people until my last breath.”

The mayor’s camp also defend-ed him against attacks based on his failed marriage. Next page

[email protected]

NEWS

Comelec...From A1

W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

Duterte keeps lead in Pulse poll

The survey of 4,000 registered voters, conducted from April 5 to 10, showed Duterte ahead with 32 percent of the vote, seven percent-age points ahead of Senator Grace Poe, who had 25 percent.

Vice President Jejomar Binay and administration candidate Manuel Roxas II shared third place with 20 percent and 18 per-cent, respectively.

Only one percent of respond-ents said they would vote for Sena-tor Miriam Defensor Santiago, while four percent said they did not favor any presidential bet.

The survey had a margin of er-ror of plus or minus 1.5 percent on the national level.

Duterte had the lead in Mind-anao (58 percent) and all socio-economic classes (31 percent to 37 percent).

Three candidates shared the lead in Metro Manila—Duterte,

32 percent; Poe, 32 percent; and Binay, 23 percent.

In the rest of Luzon, Poe was ahead with 33 percent.

Roxas retained his lead in the Visayas with 35 percent.

The largest number of voters (29 percent) said they would vote for Poe if their top choice for president left the race.

Binay, Duterte and Roxas came next as the second choice prefer-ence among 17 percent, 16 per-cent, and 14 percent of the voters, respectively.

Some 6 percent named Santiago as their second choice.

At the national level, 18 percent of voters do not have an alternative presidential candidate. Levels of non-support vary from 14 percent to 20 percent across geographic areas and from 12 percent to 21 percent in the different socio-eco-nomic classes.

DAYS before he said he was furious at inmates who raped an attractive Australian missionary in 1989 because they beat him to the punch, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Du-terte continued to hold the lead in the latest Pulse Asia Research Inc. survey sponsored by ABS-CBN.

Four in 10 voters of Duterte would throw their support behind Poe if the mayor drops out of the race.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continued to lead the vice presi-dential race with 27 percent, fol-lowed by Senator Francis Escude-ro, with 23 percent.

Administration bet Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo had 21 per-cent, followed by Senator Alan Pe-ter Cayetano (17 percent), Senator Gregorio Honasan II (4 percent), and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (3 percent).

Only 4 percent of registered vot-ers said they would not vote for any of these candidates.

Marcos was the leading choice in Metro Manila (40 percent), the rest of Luzon (35 percent), Class ABC (43 percent) and Class D (28 percent).

Robredo was the top pick of Visayan voters (35 percent) while Cayetano led in Mindanao (32 percent).

Voters were naming an average of seven out of the 50 senatorial bets, 13 of whom were likely to be winners. Only one in three voters picked a complete slate of 12.

Five of the 13 probable winners

came from the Liberal Party, four were running as independent can-didates, two were members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, one each went to the United National-ist Alliance and Akbayan.

Practically all of the probable winners, with the exception of for-mer Justice secretary Leila M. de Lima, have served before as mem-bers of Congress.

In the lead was Senate President Franklin M. Drilon whose overall voter preference of 51.6 percent translates to a statistical ranking of 1st to 2nd place.

Close behind are Senator Vi-cente Sotto III (49.8 percent) who is ranked 1st to 3rd and former Senator Francis Pangilinan (46.8 percent) who has a statistical rank-ing of 2nd to 3rd places.

Completing the list of probable winners were: former senator Pan-filo M. Lacson (40.8 percent, 4th to 5th places); former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri (38.9 percent, 4th to 6th places); Sarangani Rep. Emma-nuel Pacquiao (36.3 percent, 5th to 11th places); former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Em-manuel Villanueva (35.6 percent, 6th to 11th places); Senator Ralph

Recto (35.6 percent, 6th to 11th places); Senator Sergio Osmeña III (34.2 percent, 6th to 13th places); former senator Richard Gordon (33.8 percent, 6th to 13th places); former Akbayan Party-List Rep-resentative Risa Hontiveros (33.7 percent, 6th to 13th places); (9) former Justice secretary De Lima (32.3 percent, 9th to 13th places); and Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin T. Gatchalian (31.5 percent, 9th to 13th places).

Poe said she was confident vot-ers would choose the right leader in the May 9 elections.

“I believe that on Election Day, the people will choose a leader who is humane and competent for the good of our country,” she said.

The Roxas camp said they re-main hopeful that voters will soon realize that Duterte is not fit to rule the country after his rape joke.

“The survey was conducted be-fore Mayor Duterte damned the memory of Jacqueline Hamill, a victim of rape in Davao City,” Roxas spokesman Barry Gutierrez said in a text message sent to The Standard. Sandy Araneta, Ma-con Ramos-Araneta, John Paolo Bencito

De Jesus added that Soliman was threatening to cut monthly stipends by P500 for those who did not go to the pro-Roxas rallies.

Gabriela, she added, had gathered reports showing the practice was evi-dent in Cebu, Bacolod, Pikit in North Cotabato and in Metro Manila.

Membership in the 4Ps has swol-len to 4 million households on a budget of P65 billion.

“Dinky Soliman did the same thing in 2013,” Binay said.

De Jesus added: “Like President Aquino, Soliman has also been join-ing Daang Matuwid sorties, at the expense of DSWD’s 4Ps operational budget. Women reported they were forced to attend Liberal Party town hall meetings in Cebu, where Soli-man specifically named Gabriela and Bayan Muna as candidates that should be voted out for opposing the conditional cash transfer also known as the 4Ps,” De Jesus said.

“Together with Sarmiento and Abad, Soliman was also sighted in Bacolod City last week, ostensibly to gather CCT program beneficiar-ies and promote its budget-drafting tool Bottom Up Budgeting,” De Jesus said.

But De Jesus questioned the hand-ing out of P15 million to 15 munici-palities.

“Aquino’s party mates have been caught in the last elections for us-ing 4Ps enlistment events as sorties funded by the CCT budget, and in one case sample ballots were found stapled to application forms. Mar Roxas is without shame in the con-duct of his campaign and deserves outright rejection on May 9,” said Bai Ali Indayla, Gabriela Mindanao spokesperson and third nominee.

Some 4Ps members said the rally organizers and DSWD were check-ing their attendance to make sure they complied with the directive.

The most recent complaint was raised by the militant Bagong Aly-

ansang Makabayan that said the 4Ps recipients were told to attend Roxas’ political rallies in Luneta and Quez-on Memorial Circle last week.

Soliman denied using the 4Ps members for political purposes.

The CHR’s Bantay Karapatan sa Halalan said it has started investi-gating reports of “abuse of govern-ment resources and partisanship of civil service employees, lack of information to the electorate, and vote buying.”

The BKH said it was investigating in particular reports that “incumbent officials are using the 4Ps to force vot-ers to attend political rallies.”

The CHR said its regional offices have started a probe on reported in-cidents of different violations of elec-tion laws.

The initiative, which is a partner-ship among the CHR, Comelec and other human rights groups, aims to monitor cases of human rights abus-es during the election.

Rona Ann Caritos, executive director of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), said CHR investigators are gathering enough information for the possible filing of cases against officials.

“[We hope that] within the next few weeks or after the elections, there will be cases filed against these viola-tors,” she said.

Aside from the election-related of-fenses, the CHR added that adminis-trative cases may also be filed before the Civil Service Commission.

Max de Mesa, national coordina-tor of Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, reminded officials that use of government resources is considered a form of electioneering and may result in penalties.

He called on the public to be vigi-lant and report such illegal practices to proper investigating bodies such as the BKH.

De Mesa said 4Ps beneficiaries should not be coerced into joining political rallies under threat that their benefits would be removed or that they would be delisted.

The BKH also reminded voters

not to be swayed by the promise of money in exchange for their votes amid rampant reports of vote buying in different parts of the country.

Indayla lambasted the Roxas cam-paign sortie in Pikit, North Cotabato, where a video now going viral ex-posed how 4Ps beneficiaries were be-ing rehearsed to cheer enthusiastical-ly for the expected arrival of Roxas.

The emcee threatened to withhold cash envelopes if the crowd failed to deliver a robust cheer.

The Pikit rally happened a few days before the deadly dispersal by police and soldiers of starving farm-ers in nearby Kidapawan City, In-dayla said.

“In their desperation, Mar Roxas and his team have gotten so brazen in their dirty tricks. Their campaign smacks of impunity and obscene en-titlement that the ruling Team Daang Matuwid feels are its privileges.”

An official from the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Con-ference of the Philippines expressed alarm over reports of the delayed release of government funds that would help ease the burden of farm-ers suffering from the ill effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

“What is taking them long from releasing these available funds? We have already seen enough bloodshed in Kidapawan which [was the result of] government inaction,” said the executive secretary of the National Secretariat for Social Action / Caritas Philippines, Edwin Gariguez.

“Time is of the essence here. The government needs to act now and disburse the funds intended for the farmers, who have suffered enough. Loss of livelihood means hunger for our people who are already living in poverty to start with,” Gariguez said.

Roxas on Tuesday said the Comelec should exempt local government units affected by the dry spell in Mindanao from the election-period ban on the release and disbursement of public funds. With Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and John Paolo Bencito

“What happened to the marriage of presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and former wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, does not reflect Duterte’s impressive record as a public servant,” Du-terte’s spokesman Peter Laviña said.

“Reports said Duterte will be painted as psychologically inca-pacitated, impulsive, selfish, and someone who makes decisions without remorse,” the Duterte camp’s statement read.

But as a lawyer and a public servant, the Davao City mayor has definitely not failed, the younger Duterte said.

“Psychological incapacitated in a marriage does not reflect the character of a person outside the marriage,” she said. “He’s impulsive? He’s selfish? Does his track record in governance, as a public servant, show that he is impulsive or selfish? They do not,” she added.

“The court may have used these as grounds for the annul-ment of the marriage, but the court did not say that he is unfit to become a leader,” she said. “The court said my parents are unfit to be together in a marriage, but it did not say that my father is unfit to become our leader.”

Despite the apology, the administration camp continued to criticize Duterte, saying his antagonistic remarks to the Aus-tralian ambassador about his rape remark could damage rela-tions with an ally.

Earlier, he had offended the Mexican ambassador by joking that there was no reason to visit Mexico with all its drug-related crimes.

“Mayor Duterte has now insulted two countries. These coun-tries are our friends who accept our OFWs, joined us in making a stand against the theft of our territory, and help us in improv-ing our economy,” said Barry Gutierrez, spokesman for admin-istration candidate Manuel Roxas II.

“Is this the president we want? How will he protect our OFWs if these countries are mad at him?” Gutierrez said.

Responding to criticism from Australian Ambassador Aman-da Gorely, Duterte told the envoy to stay out of local politics.

On Tuesday, students and alumni of Miriam College joined various women’s groups in urging people not to vote for Duterte.

At a news conference, Angelica Samson, Miriam’s student council president, said she was not endorsing any presidential candidate, but said she would never back Duterte as a “woman and human being.”

“Utang na loob at labas, never vote for Duterte. We do not deserve Duterte. We deserve more than this. I am appealing to all your morality not only as a woman, but also as a human be-ing. I am appealing to your conscience,” she told the forum of “Abusado sa Kababaihan, Abusado sa Kapangyarihan #RapeIs-NotAJoke.”

Sister Mary Jane Mananzal of Miriam College said a Duterte presidency would be a “nightmare,” saying the mayor had “no decency at all to be president.” With John Paolo Bencito

Digong...From A1

A3W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

[email protected]

Marcos confidentabout his chances

Binay vows help to the people of Mindanao

‘People will choose right leader’

Visit. United Nationalist Alliance standard bearer Jejomar Binay visited wounded Army soldiers at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City recently. The soldiers had clashed with the Abu Sayyaf group in Sitio Bayoko, Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo in Basilan on April 9 that left 18 soldiers dead and 50 wounded. Binay had previously expressed his sympathies to the families of those killed. He added that the incident was a reminder that the government should address poverty, the root cause of the turmoil in Mindanao. But Binay stressed that there should be no compromises with terrorist groups like Abu Sayyaf as the government must deal with them decisively.

Whistle stop. Independent presidential candidate Grace Poe wooed the crowd during a whistle stop at the CAA compound in Las Piñas City on Monday afternoon. EY ACASIO

(TS-DEC. 1, 2015) (TS-DEC. 1, 2015)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

A N N O U N C E M E N T

(TS-APR. 20, 2016)

President Benigno S. Aquino III has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (C.A.) for confirmation the ad interim appointments of the following officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs:

Melanie Rita B. Diano – Foreign Service Officer, Class I; Nomer B. Ado II and Irish Kay L. Kalaw-Ado – Foreign Service Officer, Class IIThe public may submit any information, written report

or sworn complaints or oppositions in forty (40) copies on the above appointments to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 551-7532, 831-0893, 831-1824, 834-2706, 831-1566 and 834-2713.

19 April 2016.

ARTURO L. TIU Secretary

THE Aquino administration failed to extend assistance to the millions of poor Filipinos and poverty remains a problem particularly in Mindanao, Vice President Jejomar Binay said Tuesday.

He vowed to put up a regional office in Malacañang to deliver help quickly to the people of Mindanao once he is elected president in this year’s elections.

He told a crowd of 20,000 he will ad-dress the problem of poverty by provid-ing jobs and building infrastructure in Mindanao.

“I was asked what was the real problem of the country and I said poverty is the number one problem,” Binay said.

“I’ve been asked to rate this government and I gave it a failing mark. Why? Because they never extended any help.”

Binay also said he will be a hands-on president and will personally oversee the developments in regions that have seen little progress under the Aquino admin-istration.

Binay visited the Cogon, Agora and Carmen markets to meet with supporters before resuming his motorcade around Cagayan de Oro.

He was accompanied by UNA senatori-al bets former Special Action Force direc-tor Getulio Napeñas Jr., labor lawyer Al-lan Montaño and broadcaster Rey Langit.

He visited wounded Army soldiers at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City recently.

The soldiers had clashed with the Abu Sayyaf group in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, on April 9 that left 18 soldiers dead and 50 wounded.

Binay had previously expressed sympa-thy for the families of those killed. He add-ed that the incident was a reminder that the government should address poverty, the root cause of the lack of peace in the region.

But Binay said there should be no com-promises with terrorist groups like the Abu Sayyaf as the government must deal with them decisively. Vito Barcelo

“WHY are we women humiliated, derided, belittled and embarrassed?”

This was the question raised by Senator Grace Poe in her new political ad released and posted on her Facebook account on Tuesday.

The ad showed many faces of women, and toward the end of it Poe said that, under her “Gobyernong may Puso, she would respect everyone whether rich or poor.

“I am Grace Poe and I respect everyone,” said Poe whose latest political advertisement came amid the public outcry over the “rape joke” of presidential candidate Rodrigo Du-terte.

Duterte was criticized after making a state-ment about an Australian woman who was taken hostage and raped at the Davao City Jail in 1989, when he was serving his first term as mayor.

Poe made her statement even as she re-mained confident that the voters would choose the right leader for the country during the May 9 elections following the results of the latest survey commissioned by ABS-CBN that showed Duterte as the voters’ top choice for

president.The survey polled 4,000 respondents and

was conducted from April 5 to 10. “I believe that on Election Day, the people

will choose a leader who is humane and com-petent for the good of our country,” Poe said.

Poe had earlier criticized Duterte for his “distasteful and unacceptable remark” and said he could be a “dangerous president” as a result of his mindset.

“While some may seem impressed with the mayor’s nonchalance and tough-talking stance, he should be reminded that at all times, women, men and the LGBT alike should be treated with dignity and respect,” she said.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who is also seeking the presidency, said Duterte’s re-marks had “crossed the line.’’

“If the people don’t like his remarks, they can express it through their ballots,” she said.

Her running mate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Duterte’s remarks were “inappropriate.”

Former senator Panfilo Lacson said Duterte’s remarks were abominable. Macon Ramos-Araneta

ON THE verge of securing his family’s big-gest victory since their humiliating downfall three decades ago, dictator Ferdinand Mar-cos’s son talks confidently about his political ambitions and his father’s legacy.

In an exclusive interview with AFP ahead of the May 9 elec-tions, with the surveys showing he could win the vice presi-dency, Marcos Jr. conceded there were “widespread human rights abuses” during his father’s rule.

But the 58-year-old insisted the Marcos name remained one of his strongest assets, as he stuck to a no-apology mantra that has been a key part of his family’s remarkable political resurrection.

“I think one of the things that is happening now is I am a beneficiary of the good work that was done in my father’s time,” Marcos said Monday night at his campaign headquar-ters in Manila.

“There were so many different things that were initiated at that time that to this day are of benefit to the people.”

Marcos was a fresh-faced provincial governor in his father’s dictatorship when millions took to the streets in a famous 1986 “People Power” uprising that forced the family to give up two decades of power and flee into US exile.

The Marcos family and its business allies are accused of plundering billions of dollars during the patriarch’s rule, while the regime’s security forces allegedly killed and tortured thou-sands of critics.

However, after Marcos Sr. died in exile in Hawaii in 1989, his con-troversial wife, Imelda, and their children were allowed to return to the Philippines, and they slowly began rebuilding a power base.

Part of their strategy was to portray the Marcos years as a golden age of peace, security and infrastructure-building for the nation.

They also consistently denied any major wrongdoing, fend-ing off dozens of legal challenges and probes aimed at retriev-ing the fortune allegedly stolen from state coffers.

Marcos, who rarely gives interviews, deflected questions about the mass theft by his parents, saying he believed the ac-cusations against them were exaggerated but that he was not privy to their decisions.

“I think a great deal of it was made up because none of it has been verified,” he told AFP when asked whether they stole billions.

“These huge numbers that we hear about, we don’t really know where they come from and how they were made up.”

Marcos did concede there were abuses under his father’s re-gime, but insisted they were no worse than those committed by the democratically elected governments that followed. AFP

[email protected]

WEDNESDAY : APRI L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

US to give PH‘eye in the sky’

‘Unofficial debates will cost bets’

Sandigan stops talkon MRT-3 contract

Local superheroes. Members of the Sanlakas party-list dressed up as superheroes in urging candidates to join the fight against coal-fired power plants. MANNY PALMERO

No-contact citation. Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Emerson Carlos explains to reporters aspects of the no-contact traffic violation citation program using closed-circuit television cameras. More than 1,000 violators have already been cited so far. JOEL ZURBANO

By Vito Barcelo

THE United States will transfer some $42 million worth of sensors, radar and communications equipment to help track maritime activity and guard its waters, particularly the West Philippine Sea, according to US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.

By Sara D. Fabunan

AMID reports of more televised debates organized by media or-ganizations, the Commission on Elections reiterated that the expo-sure of candidates in unsanctioned debates will be deducted from their airtime limit.

“By and large, the Comelec wants more debates [because] it’s better. But we also have regulations regarding these that need to be fol-lowed, said Commission on Elec-

tions Chairman Andres Bautista.“All debates that are not Come-

lec-enabled shall be deducted from their limits,” Bautista added, after television network ABS-CBN organized its own vice presi-dential debate that was not sanc-tioned by the Comelec.

Bautista said government-owned PTV4 and NET25, which is owned by Iglesia ni Cristo, is also purport-edly planning to hold a televised debate, but that too is unsanctions.

Based on Comelec Resolution

No. 10049, national candidates and their parties can have exposure of 120 minutes for every television out-let and 180 minutes for every radio station while the local bets and their parties have 60 minutes limits for television and 90 minutes for radio.

The Comelec has already con-ducted two presidential debates —one in Cagayan de Oro and another in Cebu—and is set to hold a third debate in Pangasin-an, sponsored by ABS-CBN and Manila Bulletin.

THE Sandiganbayan on Tuesday prohibited all presidential candi-dates from discussing in mass media the alleged anomaly in the mainte-nance of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3, because it violates the due process rights of former MRT general man-ager Al Vitangcol III.

“In order to protect the right of the accused and the integrity of this court in the administration of justice, let all the presidential can-didates be prohibited from publicly accusing Mr. Vitangcol of criminal act included in the information of this case,” said Sandiganbayan Third Division senior member, Associate Justice Samuel Martires.

“Presidential candidates Manuel Roxas, Jejomar Binay, Miriam De-fensor-Santiago, Rodrigo Duterte and Mary Grace Llamanzares-Poe are hereby prohibited from discuss-ing, talking, writing, or profounding questions that may illicit or seek to obtain answer or information with respect to the awarding of the in-terim maintenance contract of MRT 3 with the joint venture of PH Trams

and CB&T,” Martires said.“The presidential candidates may,

however, publicly discuss, talk or say something about the awarding of the maintenance contract to the joint venture PH Trams and CB&T provided that such statement, speech or communications shall not be publicized, either through print, broadcast media or digital media… such as but not limited to the use of internet,” the ruling added.

The anti-graft court issued the gag order as it granted the plea of Vi-tangcol last week asking the court to prohibit presidential candidate and former Interior secretary Mar Roxas from making any allegations against him in connection with the MRT 3 maintenance deal.

Vitangcol filed plea after Rox-as claimed during the March 20 presidential debate in Cebu City that the contract for MRT 3 maintenance was awarded to the company in which Vitangcol has pecuniary interest as his uncle-in-law was one of the company’s incorporators.

In a television interview, Gold-berg said Washington is willing to provide the Philippines additional capability to put sensors on ships and put an aerostat blimp in the air to see into the maritime space.

The US ambassador said that both the US and the Philippines had earlier agreed to set up a system for “secure and classi-fied communications” as part of a five-year, $425-million secu-rity initiative by Washington in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines, which is an old ally of the US, will receive some $120 million in US military aid this year, the largest sum since 2000 when the American military re-turned to the Philippines for train-ing and exercises after an eight-

year hiatus, Goldberg said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

When asked about the end of the military exercises, dubbed Balikatan 2016, the US official described the exercises as a good time to show Beijing that the US was serious about freedom of navigation and that no decision has been made about the owner-ship of the disputed territories in the South China Sea.

“The military exercises was something to keep in mind dur-ing the whole issue of disputed territories, he said, adding “much of what we’re doing is what we always do in supporting the Phil-ippines—our ally—helping the Philippines as it goes about build-ing and modernizing its defense.”

China has been expanding its presence on its seven artificial islands in the Spratly archipela-go and the latest was landing a military plane for the first time on Fiery Cross (Kagitingan) Reef last Sunday.

China’s defense ministry said on Monday an air force plane landed on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago on Sunday to evacuate sick workers.

China claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea, even wa-ters close to its Southeast Asian neighbors, and has created arti-ficial islands in an effort to assert its claims.

It has significantly expanded Fiery Cross, which is also claimed by Vietnam and the Philippines, drawing international criticism.

In 2014, China began work on a 3,000-metre (10,000 foot) runway on the reef, which is around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from its is-land province of Hainan.

Beijing in January carried out several of what it called civilian flights to Fiery Cross, enraging Hanoi.

Republic of the Phi l ippinesOFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

NOTICE TO THE PUBLICThe Commission on Higher Educat ion (CHED) through the Technical Panel for Science and Mathematics (TPSM) wi l l conduct a Nat ional Public Hear ing/Consultat ion on the fol lowing proposed Polic ies, Standards and Guidel ines (PSGs):

Program Date Time VenueBachelor of Science in Stat ist ics

Apr i l 28, 2016 9:00 a.m

Richville Hotel, 286 EDSA, Brgy. Highway Hills Mandaluyong City

Bachelor of Science in Mar ine Biology

Apr i l 28,2016 1:00 p.m.

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

Apr i l 29, 2016 (Luzon)

June 1, 2016 (Visayas and

Mindanao)

1:00 p.m.

9:00 a.m.

Inst i tute of EnvironmentalScience and Meteorology (IESM) Auditor ium, Nat ional Science Complex, U.P. Di l iman, Quezon City

Cebu City(exact venue to be announced)

Relat ive to this, heads/representat ives of higher educat ion inst i tut ions (HEls) of fer ing Bachelor of Science in Stat ist ics, Bachelor of Science in Mar ine Biology and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and other related programs, representat ives f rom concerned government agencies, industr y, professional organizat ions and other stakeholders, and CHEDRO Directors/Supervisors in-Charge of the program are invited to at tend the said act iv i ty.

Funds for t ravel expenses of the CHEDRO representat ives (one representat ive per CHEDRO) wi l l be transferred to their respect ive of f ices whi le t ravel and other expenses of par t ic ipants coming from public HEls shal l be charged against their local funds subject to usual account ing and audit ing rules and regulat ions. Par t ic ipants f rom pr ivate HEls and other stakeholders shal l have to make arrangements on their t ravel expenses with their respect ive inst i tut ions,

Food dur ing the public hear ing/consultat ion shal l be provided by CHED, To ascer tain logist ic preparat ions, only one (1) representat ive per HEI shal l be al lowed to at tend this act iv i ty. CHED Regional Of f ices are requested to forward conf irmat ions of par t ic ipants f rom their respect ive regions to CHED-Of f ice of Programs and Standard Development not later than f ive (5) days before the date of publ ic hear ing/consultat ion. For conf irmat ion or inquir ies, please contact Ms. Dedeth Tal ingdan at Telephone Numbers (02) 441-1253/441-1228 or through ops.tpsm@ched,gov.ph.

PATRICIA B. LlCUANAN. Ph.D. Chairperson( TS - APR. 20, 2016)

PATRICIA B. LlCUANAN. Ph.D.

[email protected]

WEDNESDAY : APR I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

Govt loses $510-m Piatco case

Final push for override of Noy’s veto

By Rey Requejo

THE SUPREME Court on Tuesday upheld with � nality its September 2015 decision ordering the government to pay the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. $510 million in just compensation for the expropriation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

� e SC rejected the petition of the government through the O� ce of the Solicitor General for a lower compensation of P104 million to ex-propriate the Naia 3.

During its en banc session in Baguio City, the tribunal instead sustained its unanimous decision setting the amount of just compen-sation at $267,493,617.26 as of De-cember 2004 plus annual interest of 12 percent from Sept. 2006 and an-other annual interest of six percent from July 2013 until full payment.

“� e Republic is hereby ordered to make direct payment of the just compensation due to Piatco,” the resolution penned by Associate Jus-tice Arturo Brion stated.

� e 15-member bench also dis-missed the appeal of Piatco seeking higher compensation and inclu-sion of attendant cost and value of depreciation and deterioration amounting to about $106.9 million.

Apart from the attendant cost, the Naia 3 builder also asked for the inclusion in the just compensa-tion award the P1,784,704,634.23 in taxes being collected from it by the Bureau of Internal Revenue follow-ing the SC decision.

Nonetheless, the SC granted the appeal of OSG to declare govern-ment’s full ownership of the air-port facility—free from any ob-ligations to any of the claimants —upon full payment of compen-sation to Piatco.

In its motion for reconsideration

� led in Sept. last year, the OSG not-ed that while the government was willing to pay just compensation, the Court should make sure that Piatco would end up with a clean title so as not overlook other claim-ants who were interested in a por-tion of just compensation.

Among these claimants were Fra-port, an equity investor of Piatco for the Naia IPT III project; and Takenaka and Asahikosan, the sub-contractors which actually built the Naia IPT II facility.

Fraport has sued the government several times before the internation-al arbitral tribunal, while the dispute between Piatco and Takenaka and Asahikosan was still pending before the high court.

� is prompted the OSG to seek for court’s ruling to declare that any claim by Fraport, Takenaka and Asahikosan is enforceable only against the money to be paid by the government to Piatco.

In the latest ruling, the SC also junked the partial appeal � led by Takenaka and Asahikosan for lack of merit.

SC spokesman � eodore Te said the ruling is already � nal.

“No further pleadings will be al-lowed. Entry of judgment should be made in due course,” he said in a media brie� ng.

In its earlier decision, the high court pegged the total amount due to Piatco as $510 million as of De-cember 2014.

By Maricel V. Cruz

MILITANT lawmakers on Tuesday renewed their appeal to colleagues in the House of Representatives for a congressional override of a pension hike bill vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III last January.

Congressmen Carlos Zarate and Neri Colmenares, proponents of the measure, said they would push for the rejection of the President’s veto on the measure when Congress resumes ses-sion on May 23.

“It’s not too late to win the P2000 increase in pension for our senior citizens. We are gathering an increas-ing number of signatures to override President Aquino’s heartless veto on the SSS pension hike. We are trudg-ing on to gather the 192 signatures needed to trump the Aquino veto,” Zarate said.

So far, Bayan Muna has already clinched the support of at least 89 members of the House.

“We are halfway there. The welfare of our seniors are at stake, so we are still pushing for the veto even at the 11th hour,” Zarate added.

� e pension hike bill was princi-pally authored by Colmenares who is now seeking a Senate seat.

Zarate, and Colmenares, said they are hopeful that the senior citizens and pensioners will still get what they

deserve to get from the government.“I will still move for the override

resolution of Pres. Aquino’s veto of the P2000 pension hike when Congress resumes session on May 23. We hope that our fellow lawmakers will not fail us and our seniors and support the override,” Colmenares said.

“We ask our senior citizens to go to their respective representatives and re-quest them to support and vote in favor of override on May 23 when Congress reconvenes,” Colmenares added.

� e two Bayan Muna lawmaker reiterated that the pension hike is fea-sible and just.

“SSS has the gumption to give millions in bonuses, perks, and salaries for its top ranks. � is alone belies their claim of bankruptcy if the pension increase happens,” Col-menares said.

“A total of P116,826,265.95 was giv-en to at least 34 o� cials as against the two million SSS pensioners awaiting the P2000 increase on their pensions,” he added.

Zarate said SSS collection rate re-mains at a dismal 38 percent.

“We urge SSS to go a� er big-time companies and demand SSS pay-ments as required by law. Slashing o� extravagant bonuses and improving collection e� ciency will make SSS fund more stable and far from the doomsday scenario that SSS wants us to believe,” Zarate said.

A6w e d n e s d AY : A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

[email protected]

Elderly couplecaught with bullet in bag at airport

By Macon Araneta

DismisseD banker maia santos-Deguito on Tuesday admitted that she lied to conceal the personalities involved in the $81-million cyber loot stolen from the Bangladesh bank and channeled to casinos in the Philippines.

Deguito: I lied to protect others By Joel E. Zurbano

Authorities placed under investigation a sep-tuagenarian couple caught with a bullet inside their hand-carry bag while about to board a flight to Los Angeles tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino internation-al Airport terminal 1.

esteban and salvacion Cortabista were able to get past the initial x-ray scanning counter but were stopped upon reaching the second and final check-ing at the departure area by members of the office for transportation security. the bullet was that for a .38 caliber pistol, ots said.

the Cortabistas, according to airport policemen, initially admitted owning the live bullet but when their relatives and members of the media arrived at the scene, they denied owning the prohibited item.

the Cortabistas were about to board Korean Air flight Ke 622 bound for Los Angeles, California when the incident happened. they claimed they came from Antipolo and this was the second time they will go to the united states.

Airport management, meanwhile, conducted a probe of ots personnel assigned at the initial check-ing where the couple was able to pass through with-out the bullet being noticed by ots.

since November, airport authorities apprehended more than 50 passengers carrying bullets in their bags at Naia terminals 1, 2 and 3 amid the growing controversy over the alleged bullet-planting scheme involving erring personnel.

the Police Aviation security Group said they con-tinue to apprehend people despite the installation of disposal booths or cubicles served as passengers’ luggage checking station before entering security screening checkpoints.

the cubicle dubbed as the “Last Look Booth” would help passengers dispose of items the airport authorities prohibit such as gun, bullets, knife and other deadly weapons.

Pacquiao’s new role—‘crowd drawer’ in Binay camp sortiesBy Christine F. Herrera

ALABeL, sarangani—World boxing champion and saranga-ni rep. emmanuel Pacquiao on tuesday vowed to be the “crowd drawer” in the last two weeks of the campaign to make opposi-tion presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay win so as to change the “shameful im-age” of the Philippines in the world.

in a news conference be-fore he led the Binay camp’s motorcade and campaign rallies in his lone district-province and nearby General santos City, Pacquiao said he would start actively cam-

paigning for Binay and would be highly visible in the pro-vincial sorties.

“i will be the crowd drawer. maraming pupunta sa rallies especially that i just returned from the fight, which i won. our countrymen would want to see me and i want them to hear the platform of our Vice President, who would be the next president, VP Binay,” Pacquiao said.

the crowd at the rally was placed at 15,000.

“i want to tell the people to support VP Binay because i knew him as humble and sincere to help the poor,” Pac-quiao said. “he has the heart

for the poor.”Pacquiao took the oppor-

tunity to thank the public for their continued support for his boxing feat.

Pacquiao, uNA senatorial candidate, said several camps have been trying to get him on their side but that he has al-ready firmly decided to stick it out with Binay.

“You see, i always go abroad and when i am abroad, i make sure i invite foreigners to come to the Philippines be-cause it is beautiful. Nahihiya ako when they tell me they did not want to come because nakakatakot daw, magulo,” Pacquiao said.

Senate witness. Mark Palmares, messenger of Philrem Service Corp., testifies at the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon probe of the alleged money laundering involving his company in the presence of Philrem president Salud Bautista (middle) and her husband Michael. EY ACASIO

Romualdez’s message. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (right) delivers his ‘malasakit’ message to the delegates of the Philippine Federation of Electric Cooperatives during their 11th Annual General Assembly at Diplomatic Hall, Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. Romualdez vows support for electric cooperatives nationwide. VER NOVENO

the Department of Justice, meanwhile, deferred the pre-liminary investigation on the anti-money laundering com-plaint filed against casino jun-ket operator Kam sin Wong (Kim Wong) to May 3, 2016.

testifying before the senate Blue ribbon committee, De-guito said that Wong instruct-ed her to transfer the money from the accounts of four de-positors—Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lag-rosas, enrico teodoro Vasquez and Alfred santos Vergara.

the funds were then trans-mitted to the account of Cen-turytex trading owned by Wil-liam Go, said Deguito, former branch manager of rCBC Jupi-ter branch.

senator serge osmeña iii asked why she followed Wong’s order, Deguito said the operator was the one who referred the four account holders and “acted as their authorized representatives to inquire balances and instruct me for further instructions.”

But Deguito said she also cannot understand why Wong would order the transfer of the money to the account of Go.

rCBC’s legal chief Maria Celia estavillo countered De-guito’s claim, saying they have her letter which stated that it was Lagrosas who gave her in-structions on the transfer of funds to Go.

estavillo accused Deguito of contradicting her own written statement to the bank.

Confronted by osmeña in giv-ing a different statement to the bank, Deguito related that during that time, she was not yet ready to speak up on who were the refer-rals of the accounts, and the per-son she was talking to. that was the advice of her lawyer.

Yes, your honor, it was really Mr. Wong who instructed me,” she said.

“so you were lying to your own head office?,” osmeña asked Deguito.

When Deguito tried to repeat her explanation, the senator cut her off and told her: “No, don’t give us the excuse for lying if you will consider that lying.”

“sir, yes, i would acknowl-edge,” replied Deguito.

Mark Palmares, a messenger of Philrem service Corp., told the senate that P90 million and an-other $500,00, said to be part of the $81-million stolen from Bang-ladesh bank, were delivered to solaire resort and Casino Manila in Parañaque City on Feb. 5.

testifying for the first time before the senate panel chaired by senator teofisto Guingona,

Palmares confirmed that he delivered the money upon the instruction of his boss, Philrem president salud Bautista.

Bautista said the delivery of funds was supposedly upon the instruction of Deguito.

he said the huge amount was loaded in suitcase, a traveling bag and a shoulder bag and was brought inside the hotel by means of a trolley.

According to Palmares, he picked up the money from their office at Cityland in Makati City and transported it to solaire around 7:30 p.m. he said he de-livered the money by himself.

When senate Minority Lead-er Juan Ponce enrile asked him how heavy is P90 million that one person can carry it, Pal-mares replied they were placed in a trolley after being unloaded from their vehicle.

enrile then inquired how many bags were used to carry the money, Palmares said there were three in all. this was also the same re-sponse given by Palmares when Guingona asked him the same question. With Rey Requejo

$81-M CYBER LOOT

[email protected]

W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

NEWS

Lone suspect shoots, killsex-Bulacan town vice mayor

PDEAarrestsknowndealer

COTABATO CITY—Police bomb experts on Monday morning defused an im-provised explosive device planted beside the barangay hall of Rosary Heights 10, Cotabato City.

Kagi Bongol Mama-langkay, village chair-man of Barangay Ro-sary Heights 10, said the attempt could be meant for him or his visitors to an Is-lamic “thanksgiving” event known as “Kanduli.”

Senior Insp. Roel Zafra, speaking for the local po-lice, said the IED, fash-ioned from two rounds of M-203 rif le grenade at-

tached to one MK-2 frag-mentation grenade with mobile phone as trigger mechanism, was safely deactivated at 11:40 a.m.

After the deactivation process, police bomb ex-perts also found switch dia-gram, wires and 9-volt bat-tery. It was not clear who was behind the attempt.

Zafra said investigation on the matter is ongoing.

“This was a high-caliber bomb, it was meant to kill or maim people,” Zafra said, adding that had it exploded it could have damaged the village hall.

“We are looking at one or

two groups to be behind the attempt,” he said.

Mamalangkay said it was clearly politically moti-vated since the thanksgiv-ing party for a dead rela-tive had local candidates as visitors.

Zafra said the village compound located along San Isidro Street, has no closed-circuit TV cameras that could have helped the police in identifying the suspects.

He appealed to the public to remain vigilant and help the police foil any attempt to disrupt the city’s peace and order situation. PNA

Bomb experts foil blastattempt in Cotabato City

PANDI, Bulacan—Police are investigat-ing whether the Monday evening killing of a former vice mayor here is politically related or not.

to the Rogaciano District Hospital in nearby Sta. Ma-ria town but was declared dead-on-arrival by doctors.

Chief Inspector Victor Bernabe, town police chief, said investigators gathered from some witnesses that the suspect boarded a tri-cycle before transferring to a blue car after shooting the former vice mayor.

“We are following leads that will help us establish

the identity of the killer. We still cannot say if the incident is politically re-lated since the victim is not running for any position in the coming elections,” he said.

Relatives of Rivera told police that the victim had received death threats but ignored them.

Rivera was a known staunch supporter of mayor-al candidate Celestino Mar-

quez of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan Party, who is run-ning against reelectionist mayor Enrico Roque in the May 9 polls.

Rivera served as vice mayor of Pandi from 1992 to 1998.

He started a farm busi-ness which he was person-ally managing while at the same time supporting the candidacy of mayoral can-didate Marquez. PNA

Police said that former vice mayor Roberto Rivera, 61, resident of Barangay Bunsuran, was driving his white Nissan pick-up truck and heading home from his piggery farm in Barangay Manatal here when he was

shot several times at point-blank range at around 6 p.m.

Reports said that a lone suspect shot Rivera three times in the head and once in the body.

The victim was brought

CITY OF SAN FER-NANDO, Pampanga—Agents of the Central Luzon Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency ar-rested Sunday a known drug dealer and seized some 200 grams of “shabu” or methamphet-amine hydrochloride worth almost a million pesos in a buy-bust op-eration in Quezon City.

PDEA 3 Regional Di-rector Gladys Rosales identified the suspect as Victor Guilani, 42, and resident of Litex, Com-monwealth, Quezon City.

Rosales said Guilani is a notorious drug pusher who is respon-sible for the bulk distri-bution of shabu in Bula-can and Pampanga.

“PDEA agents were able to negotiate for the purchase of 200 grams of shabu for P300,000 from Guilani and first agreed to meet in Apalit, Pampanga then in Malolos, Bulacan and eventually in Matan-dang Balara, Quezon City where he was collared af-ter handing over the ille-gal substance to a PDEA agent who acted as poseur buyer,” Rosales added.

The apprehension of the suspect resulted in confiscation of four medium-sized plastic sachets containing 200 grams of shabu with an estimated street value of P940,000 and the marked money used in the operation.

The suspect is now de-tained at the PDEA 3 Jail Facility in Camp Olivas, City of San Fernando, this province. PNA

Foldables. Children in Baguio City play with campaign materials by fashioning them into paper boats and airplanes. DAVE LEPROZO

Making history. The World Historical Theme Park at the Baguio Country Club offers fun and education to young visitors. DAVID CHAN

OPINIONA8

[ EDI TORI A L ]

A GOD-GIVEN MOUTH

A9ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R

W E D N E S D AY: A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

WHERE’S GRACE POE?

THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY

Continued on A11

TWO things were terribly wrong with presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s explanation for his crude remarks about how he was angry at inmates who had raped and killed an Australian missionary in 1989—not only because they had committed a crime, but because they had beat him to the having sexual relations with the attractive woman.

Reacting to criticism by the militant women’s group Gabriela, the outspoken mayor unleashed even more vitriol.

“Son of a bitch, do not control my mouth, Gabriela. This is my mouth. It is God-given. That’s gutter language because I grew up in a poor neighborhood. My mouth is vulgar (bastos). I grew up in a vulgar neighborhood,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The statement suggests that Duterte was vulgar because he grew up poor, and that it is all right to be vulgar as long as you are poor. We take issue with both notions.

Despite the mayor’s rough affect and fondness for gutter talk, he did not grow up poor.

His father was a lawyer who had served as governor of Davao, while his mother was a school teacher and a civic leader.

Duterte attended elementary school in Maasin, Southern Leyte, and in Davao City, and finished his secondary education at the Holy Cross Academy of Digos in Digos City, after being expelled twice from previous schools, including Ateneo de Davao University, due to misconduct.

A boy who had grown up poor would not have had all these opportunities.The second part is more difficult to dispute because it is a statement of the mayor’s

world view that the poor are vulgar as a rule.But are the poor, in fact, vulgar by nature—and are they doomed to remain so, as

Duterte seems to believe? Our day-to-day interactions with poor people suggest that this is not so, and that the poor are often even more courteous than the well to do.

Nor need they be a prisoner to their poor roots, stuck forever with crude thoughts and vulgar behavior, as Duterte suggests.

About a month before the uproar over Duterte’s rape remark, a prominent figure in public service passed away. He was a statesman, a lawyer, a former president of the Senate, and a World War II hero—and a model of intelligence and civility throughout his life.

Unlike Duterte, former Senate president Jovito Salonga really grew up poor, the son of a Presbyterian pastor and a market vendor. Yet Salonga, who worked to put himself through college and topped the bar exams in 1944 with a grade point average of 95.3 percent, never felt the need to use gutter language to gain respect or to display crudity of thought as a badge of honor that encourages the public’s basest of instincts. This was not a matter of having a God-given mouth, but true character. We all have the first; not all of us have the second.

‘May laban pa kami. She could still wind up as destiny’s child,’

says one top Poe adviser.

LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES

IN HIS Gettysburg Address in 1863, Abraham Lincoln, to me the greatest American president, defined democ-racy as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” He also expressed hope that it “shall not perish from the earth.”

One Stanford paper says democracy as a system of government has four key elements:

1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections;

2. The active participation of the peo-ple, as citizens, in politics and civic life;

3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens; and

4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Knowing these elements, one may conclude that in the Philippines, democ-racy is being raped every day. Why?

1. There is no free elections in the Philippines.

Voting machines decide who should win and lose. The Supreme Court says it alone decides who are qualified to be presidential candidates. So an alien with no known progeny can be de-clared a natural-born Filipino and must have had 10 years of residence in the Philippines if that alien thought in his/her mind he/she had wanted to reside in this country 10 years ago.

People are not free to vote. They sell their vote to the highest bidder. A candidate also can buy votes from the Commission on Elections which allows slogans (like “Matuwid na Daan”) as proper middle names for formal names of administration candidates. It’s like Rocky Marciano calling himself “The Raging Bull” as his formal candidate name and the voter shades the circle on its right. The vote then becomes Bull Shit.

2. There is no active participation by the people.

Only 100 families have ruled this country for the last 100 years. And this is a country which has more than 25 million families.

In the last 55 years, Philippine presi-dents came from exactly just four fami-lies—cousins Ferdinand Marcos and Fidel V. Ramos (26 years), father and daughter Diosdado Macapagal and Gloria Macapagal (13 years and a half ), mother and son Corazon and Benigno

WHERE in the world is Grace Poe? And why doesn’t anyone seem to really care anymore?

As Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s rise continues in the surveys, his two more estab-lished rivals seek refuge in the supposed strength of their or-ganizations and political ma-chinery. But where does that leave Duterte’s third major ri-val, Senator Poe, the former frontrunner before the potty-

mouthed mayor captured the imagination of the people, as re-flected in the mainstream polls?

I still recall Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian, Poe’s spokes-man, predicting a 10-percent “bounce” in the senator’s survey numbers if the Supreme Court rules in her favor in the citizen-ship and residency cases filed against her. Gatchalian’s predic-tion still hasn’t happened, weeks after Poe—already the survey frontrunner at the time—se-cured favorable verdicts from the tribunal.

What happened to “Amazing” Grace? Is there still a way (and time enough) for her to retake

the survey lead and to sustain her once-great run all the way to the May 9 finish line?

To be fair, the latest Pulse Asia survey still has Poe firmly in second place, with 25 percent behind Duterte’s 32 percent. Duterte may be the choice of a little less than one-third of all the voters polled, but Poe was still picked by a solid fourth of the Pulse respondents.

(With his 20 percent, Vice President Jejomar Binay retains his apparently undiminished base of one-fifth of the vot-ing population. Administration candidate Mar Roxas, at 18 per-cent, has less than that, main-

taining his last-place position among the four major candi-dates.)

The difference, of course, is that both Binay and Roxas can claim to have party organiza-tions and machinery that will, they insist, allow them to make an end run in the dying mo-ments of the race and win it all. Poe, who is like Duterte in her lack of such an organization, cannot make a similar claim.

In fact, ever since Poe got her Supreme Court rulings, she seems to have dropped off en-tirely from the headlines and the national consciousness. Indeed, the last time I remember Poe hogging the headlines was in the aftermath of the March 20 presidential debate in Cebu City,

where she performed very well. After the April 3 Supreme Court rulings, Poe seemed to level off—coinciding with the time when Duterte started making noise, literally and figuratively, cussing his way to the top of the survey heap.

Even after Duterte famously shot himself in the foot with his recol-lections of the rape-killing of an Australian missionary in 1989, I don’t recall Poe capitalizing on the one issue that seemed tailor-made for her, as the only woman in the Big Four. Poe did denounce Duterte, but perhaps because

everyone else who didn’t like the mayor did the same, her reaction was buried in the ensuing avalanche of real—or feigned—condemnation.

* * *Athletes and their coaches have a

theory about not “peaking too soon.” According to this theory, competi-tors should husband their strength for a final, decisive push at the very end, keeping pace with the main pack until opponents tire out and can no longer offer any resistance when they go for the finish.

I don’t know if Poe has already peaked. I do know that, as Duterte was making his upward move, he appears to have gotten the most number of survey “votes” from Poe.

Binay, Poe’s early victim in the survey derby, also shed points to Duterte, even if he has kept his head, overall, above the 20-plus mark. Roxas has basically remained where he is, failing to get out of the teens even as he keeps repeating his mantra about the “real survey” taking place on May 9.

Continued on A11

[email protected]

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Francis Lagniton News Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares City Editor Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

MEMBERPhilippine Press InstituteThe National Association of Philippine NewspapersPPI

can be accessed at:www.manilastandardtoday.comONLINE

MSTPublished Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: [email protected]

MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Chairman Arnold C. Liong President & Chief Executive Officer Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Jocelyn F. Domingo Director of Operations Ron Ryan S. Buguis Finance Officer

Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

BACK CHANNEL

ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

Ambassador Del Rosario’s column will resume soon.

VIRTUALREALITY

TONYLOPEZ

level. I saw this in 1992 when

the late Cory Aquino, as an outgoing President, threw her support be-hind Fidel V. Ramos as against then popular Miriam Santiago and businessman Danding Cojuangco.

I saw it again when movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. lost to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. During the last two weeks of the campaign, FPJ ran out of funds being demanded by local politicians.

It’s a sad commentary of our times, but it’s a fact of life. Indeed, elec-tions get costlier every three years.

It is said that to have a chance of winning the presidency and vice presidency, it now takes about P3 billion to make it. In 2010, they say it cost P2 billion.

To be a senator unless a political party like the

Liberal Party handles all the expenses, it now takes at least P700 mil-lion to P800 million.

To be a governor now costs at least P500 mil-lion, and to be a mayor, P300 million.

Santa Banana, I recall that many years ago, a vote in Makati City and Taguig City cost only from P250 to P300. It now costs at least P500. No wonder, only the rich and the affluent can win elections. Would you believe that members of the Sangguniang Bayan have to buy votes if they hope to make it?

* * *My dear friend and

colleague, Rodolfo “Rod” T. Reyes died last week and was buried last Monday. I went to his wake at the Manila Memorial chapels last Saturday.

To me, Rod, a veteran journalist, who was the only press secretary for

two Presidents, Fidel V. Ramos and Erap Estrada, is my perfect example of a true journalist. I admire and respect him.

I recall that in February 1987, Rod called me and asked me to lunch when he told me the last Manda Elizalde called him from Miami, Florida, where he went after having resided in Costa Rica after his self-exile. Manda, according to Rod, wanted me to be with his publication.

When Manda came back to the Philippines, Rod and I met with him, and we started forming the staff of The Manila Standard with offices at the former Elizalde and Tanduay Rhum building along Ayala Avenue.

As chairman of the ed-itorial board, I was also a columnist with Rod as publisher and editor-in-chief. Thus, The Manila Standard was born with

me as the oldest opinion writer since many others have left.

There had been chang-es of ownership of The Standard since then and after Manda passed away. After Manda came the Sorianos and Al Yuchengco. When Yuchengco parted ways with the Sorianos, then came Ricky Razon. Later on, Razon sold out to the Romualdez, Martin and Philip.

I had also Andy del Rosario, Jullie Yap Daza, Cip Roxas and now Jojo Robles as editor-in-chief and Rollie Estabillo as publisher. At one time, Teddyboy Locsin was publisher when The Manila Standard Today publisher sold out to Razon. That’s why the publication was called The Manila Standard Today.

I will miss Rod Reyes, the journalist I had wanted to be.

OPINIONW E D N E S D AY: A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

A10

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Du-Dirty, a self-confessed killer and womanizer, says he has a foul mouth because he grew up in a foul neigh-borhood.

This was his excuse for that joke about the Australian lay mission-ary who had been gang-raped in 1989 during a riot at a Davao jail.

After finding out that Jacqueline Hamill was as beautiful as an actress, Duterte remarked that he should have been the first to rape her. Believe it or not, his audience roared with laughter. He remains unapologetic.

My gulay, Du-Dirty is truly a demagogue and an agitator. Among those who similarly lack decency and values are Senator Koko Pimentel, president of PDP-Laban, and Du-Dirty’s vice presidential running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. They contin-ue to defend Du-Dirty’s foul mouth and anti-Filipino acts. I consider them no better.

The reason Du-Dirty is so popular, analysts say, is that he has be-come everything the Aquino administration is not. BS Aquino III is the worst president this country has ever had. Corruption and crimi-nality reign.

Even if this were true, however, does it mean we should settle for somebody like Du-Dirty? This is a man who tries to justify his vul-garity despite near-uni-versal condemnation.

Santa Banana, to me, the worst part is not Du-Dirty’s popularity. It is that his supporters, cheerleaders and politi-

cal strategists seem to be mesmerized by him.

I pray to God he does not win. This will be our worst nightmare. My problem is that I only have one country—un-like the other presiden-tial candidate, Mrs. Mary Grace Por Llamanzares, who could settle again in the United States if she does not make it. After all, her husband and children are American.

Are we that desper-ate that we should elect somebody like this man, Du-Dirty, to the highest office?

* * *With three weeks to

go before election day, the usual things are happening: unholy alli-ances, candidate junking and vote buying.

Yesterday I wrote about the supposed AlDuB alliance between Du-Dirty and Senator Bongbong Marcos, the frontrunner in the vice presidential race. The plan was supposedly hatched by Du-Dirty’s strategists to take advan-tage of Marcos’ strong-hold in the Solid North, Eastern Visayas (of the Romualdezes) and even in Mindanao among Ilocanos who had set-tled there.

There are reports that Du-Dirty has also forged an alliance with Senator Francis Escudero, the running mate of Mrs. Llamanzares. The tandem is known as DutEscu. The story is that Escudero has been demanding an ac-counting of campaign contributions from the Llamanzareses, but they have refused.

Alliances like these happen all the time, es-pecially in a tight race.

Finding during the last two weeks of the campaign also gets criti-cal. While the usual campaign contribu-tors spread their money among candidates they believe have a chance of winning, the real fund-ing comes in the last two weeks of the campaign when and where they are most needed.

This is why I say all elections are local. The difference between los-ing and winning is de-termined at the local

THREE WEEKS TO GO

UNTRIED, UNTESTED, READY:REMEDIES FOR THE GLOBAL ECONOMYBloomberg editorial

THE deeper the slump, econo-mists used to say, the stronger the recovery. They don’t say that anymore. The effects of the crash of 2008 still reverberate, with the latest forecasts for global growth even more dismal than the last.

The persistently stagnant world economy is more than just a rebuke to economic theory, of course; it exacts a human toll. And while politicians and central bankers—or economists, for that matter—can’t be faulted for their creativity, their remedies might have more impact if they were bolder and better-coordinated.

By ordinary standards, to be sure, governments haven’t been timid. Without fiscal stimulus and aggressive monetary easing in the US and other countries, things would look even worse. And yet, worldwide output is pre-dicted to rise only 3.2 percent this year, falling still further below the pre-crash trend. Simply doubling down on current strategies is un-likely to work. Large-scale bond-buying, or so-called quantitative easing, has run into diminishing returns. Negative interest rates, where they’ve been tried, haven’t revived lending, and central banks are unable or unwilling to cut further.

What about new fiscal stimu-lus? Where possible, that would be good—but it’s hardest to do in the very countries that need it most, because that’s where public

debt is already dangerously high.True, as the International

Monetary Fund’s new fiscal report says, almost all countries could become more growth-friendly by combining measures to curb public spending in the longer term (for instance, raising the retirement age) with steps to in-crease demand in the short term (cutting payroll taxes, raising employment subsidies and build-ing infrastructure). Getting fiscal policy right country by country would surely help—yet probably wouldn’t be enough: No single country can adequately deal with a global shortfall of demand.

A finance ministry for the world isn’t happening any time soon. Still, it’s a pity that governments aren’t trying harder to coordinate their fiscal policies more intelligently, or indeed at all. The global slump persists partly because of international spillovers. Better coordination would take these into account: Countries that could safely deploy fiscal stimulus would give some weight to global as well as national conditions, and fiscal policy would be formed interactively.

Even within the European Union, where you’d expect eco-nomic coordination to be the norm, and where the single cur-rency makes it essential, there’s no sign of it. At the global level, in forums such as the IMF, you might expect the US to take the lead in any such effort. So it

should —but it will need to mend its shattered policy-making ma-chinery first. If Washington can’t come to a decision on its own on taxes or spending, the question of coordination doesn’t arise.

The last resort, if the slump goes on and governments can’t coordi-nate better, might be to combine monetary and fiscal policy in a hybrid known (unfortunately) as helicopter money. Governments would cut taxes and/or spend more, but meet the cost by print-ing money rather than by borrow-ing. In one variant, central banks might simply send out checks to taxpayers.

That’s a startling idea, no doubt—but so was quantitative easing not long ago. In one way, helicopter money would actually work better than QE: It acts direct-ly on spending and couldn’t fail to stimulate demand. The danger is that it might raise inflation in a way that central banks couldn’t then control. Oh, and there is the minor detail that in Europe it would be illegal, while in the US it would merely be politically toxic.

On one hand, then, you have the prospect of persistently slow global growth, and all the waste of talent and resources that entails. On the other, you have a few un-tried remedies that governments can’t or won’t use. Maybe, as the first point sinks in, governments will be willing to take a hard look at the second. Eight years after the crash, the problem sure isn’t taking care of itself.

Funding is critical in this

crucial leg.

TO THE POINT

EMIL P. JURADO

[email protected]

A11W E D N E S D AY: A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

CHINA’S ALARMING SUV BOOM

[email protected]

CHONG ARDIVILLA#FAILOCRACY

By Adam Minter

CHINA is determined to become the low-emissions electric-car capital of the world. Unfortunately, its car buyers aren’t cooperating.

The Chinese government has been spending billions on research grants, steep subsidies and new infrastructure—such as charging stations—to encourage consumers to go electric. It hopes to boost the number of such vehicles on the road 10-fold by the end of the decade.

One problem: Consumers are instead lining up to buy eco-unfriendly sport-utility vehicles. In 2015, Chinese drivers bought 6.2 million SUVs—up 52 percent year-over-year, and accounting for roughly a third of all car purchases. The same year,

they bought a mere 189,000 plugin vehicles, or less than 1 percent of total purchases.

What’s going wrong? Consumer preferences are running ahead of well-intended government policy.

For example, one key reason for the SUV boom is a simple desire for safety. With very few traffic cops, Chinese roads and byways often have a Mad Max flavor to them. In 2015 alone, there were more than 200,000 traffic fatalities and more than 17 million cases of road rage reported. A bigger car, in such an environment, can feel like an insurance policy. As one analyst told Bloomberg News, “The angry ones are scaring the sane ones into buying SUVs for self-defense.”

China’s consumers are also

more affluent these days, and thus capable of upgrading to better rides. As recently as 2012, the unsafe Wuling Sunshine microvan, costing about $4,500, was China’s most popular passenger vehicle. But in recent months, the Sunshine’s sales have declined precipitously, as rural Chinese trade up for budget SUVs. The high ride and luxury stylings of SUVs appeal to the attention-grabbing inclinations of the Chinese consumer.

Finally, China’s car buyers, like their US counterparts, have been emboldened by an era of cheap gas. In 2015, gasoline demand grew by about 10 percent over the previous year, prompting China’s government to overhaul its system for setting fuel prices in an effort to curb

consumption.Yet even if Chinese stopped

buying SUVs entirely, fuel consumption and pollution would only grow. China still has only about one car on the road for every five people, compared with one for every 1.3 people in the US. As its economy grows and its population gets richer, that gap is destined to narrow.

That makes it all the more urgent for China to curb the growth in gas guzzlers. One useful step for the government would be a concerted effort to enforce traffic laws, which would save lives and help convince drivers that they’re safe packing their families into fuel-efficient cars. Another would be to apply subsidies solely to non-plugin hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius,

which have proven popular around the world. Hybrids won’t save as much fuel as all-electric plugins, but they’re certainly better than SUVs, and they’ll acclimate car buyers to the idea that eco-friendly doesn’t have to mean unsafe or inconvenient.

Finally, the government should raise fuel prices to a level that makes gas guzzling less attractive. It could offer exemptions for commercial vehicles and for the poor, but for middle-class drivers —especially in big cities, where complaints about air pollution are loudest—the consequences of excessive fuel use should hit the pocketbook as well as the lungs, and drive China’s growing fleet of SUVs off its traffic-choked roads. Bloomberg

The rape... From A9

Simeon Aquino III (12 years and four months), and actor Joseph Estrada (30 months). Note that if you don’t come from a politically entrenched family and backed by the economic elite, you don’t last very long. Erap is the prime example.

The 20 richest Filipinos produce two-thirds of economic production. That is the most iniquitous economic setup in the world.

People are perpetually hungry. Agricultural production has risen by an average of 0.20 percent per year in the last 30 years while the population grows by two percent per year. So in 30 years, the population grew by more than 60 percent compounded, while food production went up by just six percent compounded. The result is massive poverty since food is 55 per-cent of family expenditure.

Poverty means you cannot go to school. If you cannot go to school, you cannot be employed except as a farmer or a fisherman (the poorest of the Filipino poor). If you are a farmer and you march towards the Palace, you are massacred like in 1987, or march along the highway in Kidapawan, you are again massacred like in 2016. Those who are not massacred are

arrested, jailed and denied liberties, without charges. Farmers have no future if the president is a haciendera (like Cory Aquino) or haciendero (like BS Aquino III).

If you cannot be employed, you re-sort to crime and drugs. A P5 rugby will save three meals for a boy of eight on the street. He feels filled up. Crime means robbery. Survival is the basic instinct of human and animals. It is also the basic human right. Thus, you steal to survive. Except if you are Jojo Binay. You run for president. This makes our so-called democracy much more fun.

In a society where crime and drugs become the mode for human survival, human rights cannot thrive. Neither can rule of law.

In Moses’ Ten Commandments, Thou Shall Not Kill (No. 6) is a higher or bigger crime than Thou Shall Not Steal (No. 8).

In fact, on the day just before Jesus Christ died He promised to bring a thief beside him to Paradise. The les-son here: There is redemption in steal-ing. But not if you are a killer.

Yet, surveys show the No. 1 candi-date for president is a self-proclaimed killer and would be murderer, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. He is a four or five percentage points ahead

of a self-proclaimed natural born Filipino, Grace Poe. The margin is equivalent to 1.7 million to 2.0 million votes.

No. 3 is a man accused of multiple thievery, Vice President Jejomar Binay.

No. 4 is a man considered to be well-educated and not a killer but one who condones thievery and murder (of farmers and soldiers) under the cur-rent Aquino administration, Manuel Araneta Roxas II. Not being able to help Aquino solve the massive prob-lems of this country, Mar is considered incompetent.

Recently, Duterte, it was discovered not only loves women. He also loves to rape them. This is commandment No. 10—Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Wife. It is the lowest of the Ten Commandments, two rungs below No. 8 Thou Shall Not Steal, and four rungs below No. 6, Thou Shall Not Kill.

So take it from there on May 9. Remember democracy also means bad choices which means choosing the least bad of the very, very bad.

But why do Filipinos love democ-racy, no matter how fake it is? It’s fun, especially in the Philippines. Indeed, democracy shall not perish from the earth. It can only be raped.

[email protected]

Where’s Grace... From A9

But Poe has lost, on average, eight to 10 percentage points to Duterte in the past weeks, ever since The Standard’s resident pollster Junie Laylo first recorded the Davao mayor’s rise as frontrunner in his last survey, conducted right after Holy Week. And, this late in the race, that can’t be good news for the senator.

A top Poe adviser, however, still thinks Poe has better chances than either Binay or Roxas to beat the Duterte juggernaut. This is his analysis:

“She seems to be retaining her core support of 25 percent, despite the daily black propa-ganda battering which must have taken away from the ‘soft’ votes when she led in the low 30s, before Duterte’s momentum run, which took more away from Binay and Mar,” said this source. “[Duterte’s] latest foot-in-mouth braggadocio will now hurt him somewhat, and GP stands to regain the soft votes, espe-cially the women’s vote, more than the other two who seem dead in the water, even if they distribute money.”

“May laban pa kami,” he added. “She could still wind up as destiny’s child.”

I guess, like Roxas keeps saying, we shall see when the real survey takes place in a little over two weeks. Then we’ll know if Grace Poe is for real or just a blinding flash in the political pan.

Dubs win; Raptors, Mavs rebound

[email protected]

wednesday : apri l 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

sports

LOS ANGELES—The reigning champion Golden State Warriors shrugged off the injury absence of Stephen Curry to take a 2-0 lead in their playoff series with the Houston Rockets on Monday.

Curry was left a frustrated spectator at Oakland’s Ora-cle Arena after failing a pre-game fitness test on a sore ankle shortly before tip-off.

However, the Warriors made light of their talis-man’s absence, romping to a 115-106 win that leaves Steve Kerr’s record-breaking side firmly on course to advance.

The Rockets must now win one of their next two games at home, on Thurs-day and Sunday, to extend the series and avoid a first round exit.

With Curry absent, it was left to Klay Thompson to do the damage, with the guard stepping up to weigh in with 34 points.

Thompson added five as-sists to go with his points haul while Andre Iguodala chipped in with 18 points. Draymond Green finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Elsewhere Monday, Ray-mond Felton scored 21 points as the Dallas Mav-ericks staged a late rally to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 85-84 on Monday to level their Western Con-ference playoff series.

The game finished dra-matically, with the Thunder just missing by a split sec-ond what would have been a winning tip in from Steven Adams after Kevin Durant’s missed layup.

Durant was left ruing a miserable shooting perfor-mance, which saw him go seven-for-33 for 21 points.

Durant’s wayward shooting saw him equal the record—held by Michael Jordan—for most missed field-goal attempts in a single game.

“Just a bad shooting night for me. I’m going to have nights like that,” Du-rant said.

“That’s part of the game. I just have to keep staying confident. And my team-mates and my coaches stay confident in me. They told me to keep shooting tonight, so I did. I didn’t make them, so that is a part of it. Get ready for Game 3,” Durant added, referring to Thursday’s third game in Dallas.

In Toronto, Jonas Valanci-unas scored 23 points as the Raptors beat the Pacers 98-87 to level their series at 1-1. Valanciunas also grabbed 15 rebounds while teammate Kyle Lowry chipped in with 18 points and nine assists.

Paul George led the Pac-ers with 28 points as Indiana reduced an 18-point defi-cit to just four points in the third quarter before Toronto pulled away. AFP

Bicol Open tennistourney begins

NAGA City’s Albert Cornelio and Philip Segio headline the Open class while Gerry Dumalasa and Lito Gallenito seek title repeat in their respective divisions as action in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Bicol Open fires off Wednesday at Lignon, DPWH-Res, Camp. Ola and Binitayan Tennis Club courts.

Close to 500 players from the Bicol region are vying for top honors in singles and doubles categories of the 31st staging of the event hosted by Gov. Joey Salceda, Rep. Al Francis Bichara and Mayor Noel Rosal and sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop with Slazenger as presentor.

“We wish to welcome the participants, spectators and guests of the Bicol Open with the beauty of our province, the heartwarming hospitality of the Albayanos and all the best we can offer for a successful staging of the event,” said Gov. Salceda.

Cornelio, last year’s men’s singles champion, and Segio gain the top two seedings in the premier class that also drew Justin Prulla, Banong Villamer, Kurt Angelo Molina, Marlon Joson, Jennard Gonzales and Brendan Gazmen.

Dumalasa, a former top San Beda player from Legazpi City, sets out as the favorite in the 40-44 age division while Gallenito from Sorsogon is the player to beat in the 50-54 class of the week-long tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusively distributor of Slazenger, the official ball.

Rep. Bichara also cited the participation of the various tennis federations in the region, including the Catanduanes Tennis Federation, Iriga City, Naga City, Camarines Norte, Tabago City, Albay, Legazpi City, Partido Tennis Club, Masbate, Sorsogon and Nabua tennis federations.

Becker hits out at Murray over doping commentsLONDON—Boris Becker has criticised world number two Andy Murray after the British tennis star voiced suspicions some of his opponents may have been taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Murray has been vocal in con-demning the use of drugs in sport and enthusiastically backed the suspension imposed on leading female player Maria Sharapova following her failed test for the banned substance meldonium at

this year’s Australian Open.More controversially Murray,

beaten by Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo on Saturday, has also spo-ken about being suspicious of op-ponents who he thought were not tiring as they ought to in matches.

But six-times Grand Slam winner Becker, now the coach of world number one Novak Djokovic, said Murray was “out of order” in making his feelings known without proof.

Becker, speaking at the Laure-us World Sport Awards in Berlin, told Britain’s Daily Mail newspa-per: “We have random drug-test-ing and unless it’s proven, they are 100 percent innocent.

“So to assume something because somebody has won a Grand Slam or is fitter is totally out of order.

“Andy is one of the fittest players on the tour—he often outlasts players and nobody is questioning his ethics,” the

German added.“I believe 100 percent Andy is

clean. Roger (Federer) is clean, Rafa is clean, all these guys are clean.

“Novak gets tested a lot. That can mean twice in a Grand Slam.”

Murray had told the Mail On Sunday, the Daily Mail’s sister paper: “I have played against players and thought, ‘They won’t go away’ or ‘They don’t seem to be getting tired’. AFP

PH jin settles for silverKRISTOPHER Robert Uy suffered his second setback in three days, absorbing a stinging 4-7 loss to defending champion Dmitriy Shokin in the men’s +87-kilogram finals of the Asian Taekwondo Championships at the Marriott Hotel Grand ball-room late Monday night.

Ahead 4-3 with under a minute left in the third and last round, Uy was struck by Shokhin, also the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medalist, with a turning side kick – worth three points – before allowing the Uzbek to sneak in another punch before the match ended.

“This was a tough loss, but I am glad to have won a silver medal for my country,” said Uy, who saw action in the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament last Saturday but lost in his opening match of the event sponsored by Meralco, PLDT, the MVP Sports Foundation and Resorts World Manila .

Garnering a bronze was Olympic qualifier Kirstie Elaine Alora, who lost once again to Cambodia’s Rio-bound Seavmey Sorn, 1-0, in the women’s -73-kg. semifinals of the event also supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Phil-ippine Olympic Committee.

Swinging into action in the last day of the competition today are Kit Sembrano (men’s -68-kg.) newcomer Edtone Lumasac (men’s -74-kg.) , Pauline Louise Lopez (women’s -57-kg) and Shanelle Romuar (women’s -62-kg.)

PH taekwondo jins (from left) Glenn Lava, Jean Pierre Sabido and Ernesto Guzman Jr. bite the gold medals they won in the 4th Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championship 2016’s Male Plus-30 Division.

Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket against Josh Smith #5 and Patrick Beverley #2 of the Houston Rockets in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

[email protected]

wednesday : apri l 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

sports

Football for Peace set

Now on its fifth year, the advocacy utilizes football as a tool to instill peace-loving values of sportsmanship, ca-maraderie, teamwork, and discipline in the minds of young athletes, especially those living in conflict areas of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Around 218 kids from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Maguin-danao, Sultan Kudarat, Misa-mis, Lanao del Sur, Pagadian, Bohol, and Palawan are partici-pating in the festival, highlight-ed by the holding of exhibition games to be held at the football field of the Philippine Marine Corps general headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The kids are set to embark in a series of exposure activi-ties such as visits to factories, educational institutions, his-torical landmarks and science museums.

By the end of the festival, they will be grouped into teams and will compete with various football clubs from Metro Manila and other near-by provinces in Luzon.

“It’s an ongoing activity year in and year out, which culminates in the ‘Football for Peace’ in Manila,” said event co-founder Rookie Nagtalon during the formal launching of the advocacy at the Phil-ippine Sportswriters Asso-ciation Forum on Tuesday at

Shakey’s Malate.Nagtalon was joined in the

session presented by San Miguel Corp., Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. by One Meralco president Jeffrey Tarayao, Capt. Ryan Lacuesta and Capt. Gan-desa of the Philippine Mariner Corps, Loyola Sparks coach Si-mon McMenemy, and players James Younghusband and Ri-cardo Padilla.

As part of their preparation for the festival, the kids will un-dergo a football clinic sponsored by One Meralco Foundation and facilitated by the Loyola Meralco Sparks under McMen-emy, the former Philippine Az-kals coach.

The clinic is set on April 26 at the University of Makati Sta-dium, where members of the Loyola Meralco team will teach the young athletes advanced techniques which could help

them gain an advantage over their more experienced com-petitors.

James and brother Phil Youn-ghusband will also be around to meet the kids during training.

“It is a great honor for us to be chosen by the Philippine Marine Corps as their partner in this in-spiring initiative. We have been supporting ‘Football for Peace’ since 2011 and we are committed to sustaining this valuable cause,” said Tarayao.

“Our shared belief of building the skills of our young people to become responsible, produc-tive, and peace-loving citizens will hopefully lead us to a better country. One Meralco Founda-tion’s participation in the pro-gram is a concrete expression of its commitment to youth devel-opment through sports.”

The event was started by the Marines in 2011 under Lt. Col. Stephen L. Cabanlet.

Garcia winsanother

age-groupnet crown

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

MATTHEW Castillejo Garcia, the ten-nis protégé son of former multi-titled na-tional ladies’ champion Dyan Castillejo and husband Anton Garcia, continued his amazing run of victories in the national age-group championships at the Alabang Country Club after previously winning three under-14 tournaments.

The 13-year-old Garcia first won the Palawan Pawnshop Championships at the GSIS Tennis Club in Davao.

In the three-day, Group 2 Philippine Tennis Association-sanctioned tourna-ment, Garcia had a fine run on the fast-paced hardcourt, beating young Sebastien Lhuillier, 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals, before cruising past Djondi Velez in the finals, also in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

He then won back-to-back tourna-ments at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City and the Milo Technifibre age-group tournament that ended last April 10.

Garcia’s tremendous ground strokes and wicked forehand, which often merely skimmed the net in the Henry Lee Me-morial tournament, keyed his 7-5, 6-4 win against no. 4 seed Miguel Luis Vicencio, after beating No. 5 Diego Dayrit, 6-3, 6-3 in the semis, third seed Rafael Liangco, 6-1, 6-1, in the quarterfinals and Marlon Avila, 6-1, 6-0, in the Round of 16.

In the Milo tournament, Garcia crushed Nicolas Katigbak, 6-0, 6-0, in his opening match before ousting top seed Lhuillier, 6-1, 6-3, followed by a 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 3 seed Rafael Liangco, 6-1, 6-3.

In the finals, Garcia made short work of No. 4 seed Miguel Luis Vicencio, 6-1, 6-1, to cap a rousing run of success in the 14-under cham-pionships, clearly following in the footsteps of his mother Dyan, who together with her sisters Jackie and Nina, were a formidable trio in women’s tennis in the Philippines some years ago. Dyan even qualified for the Asian Games, Wimbledon and the Federation Cup.

Cage court in Tacloban. Globalport owner and 1Pacman Partylist No. 1 nominee Mikee Romero (5th from right) and daughter Milka (4th from right) are joined by Batang Pier players and local government officials, led by Mayor Alfred Romualdez (second from right) during the inauguration of the basketball court donated by Romero inside the Pope Francis Village in Kawayan, Tacloban City through SM Cares Foundation, headed by its Chairman Han Sy (3rd from right) last Saturday. The donation of a basketball court is just one of the many projects of the 1Pacman Partylist candidate as part of his corporate social responsibility. Romero also pledged P500,000 to the city for its several outreach programs. SM Cares built 1,000 houses for Typhoon Yolanda victims. Also shown are of-ficials of Canadian Embassy.

Layoso cops TBAM mixed open masters’ crownBENSHIR Layoso captured the mixed open masters’ crown of the 27th Ten-pin Bowling Affiliation of Makati Inc.-Boysen Easter Open Bowling Champi-onship at the Superbowl, Makati Cinema Square in Makati City. Layoso, rep-resenting MTBA-NLEX, scored a perfect 300 game on the 13th to grab the lead and earn the top-seeding going into the shootout round and dominate the centerpiece event of the tournament organized by TBAM tournament direc-tor Bonnie Solis.

Layoso topped the qualifying round with 3160, while Kevin Cu

(3119), national player Kenneth Chua (3107) and Nicco Olaivar (3090), also made it to the “Shoot-out” of the tournament sup-ported by Boysen Paints, Prima Pasta, Cebuana Pera Padala and Al-veo Land. Olaivar of the PBA, who finished fourth in the qualifiers, had to string 5 strikes to score 214 in a dramatic shoot-out in the first match to upset Cu of PBAP Bowlmart (207) and Chua of TBAM-Pri-ma (204). He advanced to the final match to face the top-seed Layoso. Lay-oso, for his part, eas-ily dominated Olaivar in

the 2-game-total finals, 226-198 and 190-180, to pocket the title. Olaivar settled for the first run-ner-up honors, while last year’s defending mixed open champion Krizziah Tabora failed to qualify to the shoot-out round, fin-ishing only at No. 6 with 3067. “We are very grateful to the bowlers who came over to participate in this year’s tournament, which showcases competitions in various classifications without handicaps,” said Solis. “We are so thankful to Mr. Alex Lim for giving full support to our annual tournament.” In the mixed ladies’ masters, Abbie Gan

of TBAM Prima secured the crown by posting 1584, two marks over second placer Lou Laforteza also of TBAM-Prima (1564) and third placer Daphne Custodio also of TBAM Prima (1525). Manny Lau-rel of MTBA-PSB clinched the senior men masters’ title, amassing 1884 to de-feat first runner-up Sammy Say Sy of MTBA Henrich (1668) and second run-ner-up Boy Florencio of SLETBA Prima (1747). Of-fie Marino of MTBA PSB copped the ladies’ seniors’ crown by outplaying Lynn Tan of PBA PSB (1663) and Nelia Santos of PBA (1585) with 1670.

ONE Meralco Foundation and the Loyola Meralco Sparks team up anew with the Philippine Marine Corps to stage the annual ‘Football for Peace Festival’ from April 23 to 29.

Winners of the Masters’ Event are shown here, namely (from left) first runner-up Nico Olaivar, champion Benshir Layoso, second runner-up Kevin Cu, third runner-up Kenneth Chua, fourth runner- up Ivan Malig and Alexander Lim.

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

PETER Maniatis, the co-promoter of former World Boxing Associa-tion light flyweight interim cham-pion Randy Petalcorin, informed The Standard his ward is prepared

to give Omari Kimweri a rematch within 90 days.

Meanwhile, a committee created by World Boxing Council presi-dent Mauricio Sulaiman, is now reviewing a tape of the Petalcorin-Kimweri fight, following a protest

filed by Maniatis over the failure of referee Malcom Bulner to call four knockdowns scored by the Filipino and the fact that all three judges, besides the referee, were all Austra-lians, like Kimweri, who is a Tan-zanian fighting out of Melbourne.

This writer informed Sulai-man that one of the judges was Bulner’s wife, who along with one other Australian judge, also scored the fight for Kimweri who won a hugely controversial split decision last Friday at the Mel-

bourne Pavilion.Sulaiman also learned that

Kimweri’s manager was also the promoter of the WBC Silver title fight and picked the ring offi-cials, which is a violation of the Muhammad Ali Act.

Australian promoter eyes Petalcorin-Kimweri rematch

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESTARIFF COMMISSION

(TS APR. 20, 2016)

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR FINAL EXTENSION OF THE SAFEGUARD MEASURE AGAINST IMPORTATIONS OF TESTLINER BOARD FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES2012 AHTN Subheading Nos. 4805.24.00

4805.25.104805.25.90

PHILIPPINE PAPER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (PPMAI)

x---------------------------------------------x

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGUnder Section 10 of Commission Order No. 00-02 or the Rules and Regulations

to Govern the Conduct of Investigation by the Tariff Commission Pursuant to R.A. 88000 (Safeguard Measures Act), notice is hereby given that marathon public hearings on the petition of Philippine Paper Manufacturers Association, Inc. (PPMAI) for final extension of the safeguard measure against importations of testliner board from various countries (2012 AHTN Subheading Nos. 4805.24.00, 4805.25.10, 4805.25.90) will be held at the Conference Room of the Tariff Commission, 5/F MAB Philippine Heart Center, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, on the following dates and time:

DATE TIME3 May 2016 9:00 AM4 May 2016 9:00 AM

At least five (5) days before the public hearing, parties are required to submit a list of issues they want to explore during the public hearing, which will consider evidence that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and that the domestic industry is making positive adjustment to import competition. A party which does not submit said list is deemed to have no controversial/contestable matter to raise and will be given less priority in the order of parties who will ask clarificatory questions during the hearing. Parties are likewise required to submit affidavits of their witnesses three (3) days prior to the public hearing.

All interested parties, their counsels and witnesses should appear before the Commission on the first day of the public hearing.

For particulars, please inquire from the Safeguard Measures Task Force on Testliner Board at Telephone Nos. (632) 928-8419 and 926-8731 or email at [email protected].

Issued this 18th day of April, 2016 at Quezon City, Metro Manila.

ERNESTO L. ALBANO Commissioner Presiding Officer

For: SAFEGUARD MEASURE (R.A. No. 8800) S.G. Investigation No. 01-2010

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF MOBILE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES

INTERNATIONAL INC. Notice is hereby given on the amendment of the Articles of

Incorporation of Mobile Travel Technologies International Inc., shortening the term of its corporate existence and thereby dissolving the said corporation as of February 15, 2013. All

persons having claims against the corporation are requested to present the same at its principal office at Unit 1703 Hanston Square, 17 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City for

immediate settlement. This announcement will serve as a notice to all parties

concerned of the legal dissolution of the said corporation. Signed this 29th day of March, Makati City, Philippines.

CAROLINE M. EDGINTONPresident

Affiant ( TS - APR. 13 ,20 & 27, 2016)

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

A S u r e B e t f o r P r o g r e s s i n G a mi n g , E n t e r t a i n m e nt a n d N a t i on B u i l d i n g

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF SIX (6) LOTS VARIOUS PLASTIC BAGS UNDER ITB NO. PB16-025

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming Public Bidding for the Supply and Delivery of Six (6) Lots Various Plastic Bags under ITB No. PB16-025.

Brief Description

Lot 1 : Supply and Delivery of Cling Wrap

Lot 2 : Supply and Delivery of 40” x 40” Polyethylene Bag

Lot 3 : Supply and Delivery of 20” X 30”, X .004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag


Lot 5 : Supply and Delivery of 4” X 8”, X 0.004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag


Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

The total ABC is in the amount of Two Million One Thousand One Hundred Thirty-Five Pesos (PhP2,001,135.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction.

The ABC for each lot is as follows:

Lot 1 (Supply and Delivery of Cling Wrap) – Seventeen Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty Pesos (PhP17,760.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 2 (Supply and Delivery of 40” x 40” Polyethylene Bag) – One Million Nine Hundred Twenty-Six Thousand Four Hundred Pesos (PhP1,926,400.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 3 (Supply and Delivery of 20” X 30”, X .004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag) – Five Thousand Six Hundred Twenty-Five Pesos (PhP5,625.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 4 (Supply and Delivery of 18” X 14”, X .004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag) – Forty-Seven Thousand One Hundred Fifty Pesos (PhP47,150.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 5 (Supply and Delivery of 4” X 8”, X 0.004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag) – Two Thousand One Hundred Pesos (PhP2,100.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction


Delivery Schedule

The complete schedule of deliveries is provided in Section VI (Schedule of Requirements) of the Bidding Documents which will commence starting from the contract effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Source of Funds

Internally Funded

Note: Bidders may bid on any or all lots.

Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR.

The schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

Activities Schedule1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents April 20, 2016 to May 10, 2016

2. Pre-Bid Conference April 28, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids May 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids May 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Bids and Awards Services Department (BASD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable cost for the sale of bidding documentsbased on the following matrix:

Approved Budget for the Contract Cost of Bidding Documents(in Philippine Pesos)

500,000.00 and below 500.00

More than 1 Million to 5 Million 5,000.00

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the non-refundable bidding fee not later than the date of the submission of bids. The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidders. Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Bidding Fee Slip which may be secured from BASD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 – Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 1 shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final having the LCRB, based on the following procedures:

1. In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.2. The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared

as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

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

Please address all communications to the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 1 thru the BASD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: (02) 524-3911, (02) 336-6906 and (02) 521-1542 local 223/617.

(SGD.) RODERICK R. CONSOLACIONChairpersonBidS And AwARdS CommiTTee (BAC) 1 (TS APR. 20, 2016)


[email protected]

Wide-open battle looms in ADT golfTRECE MARTIREZ, Cavite—The Asian Development Tour winds up its two-week local swing here Wednesday with the $60,000 ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic with the elite international field bracing for a punishing week given the Sherwood Hills Golf Club’s playing condition.

“It’s a challenging course, very windy and long,” said John Michael O’Toole of the US dur-ing a break in yesterday’s pro-am of the event serving as the 11th leg of the ADT and fourth stage of the ICTSI Phil-ippine Golf Tour.

O’Toole led in the third round in last week’s ADT leg at Ma-nila Southwoods but fal-tered in the final round,

More PH Olympicqualifiersexpected By Peter AtencioPHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. expressed confidence that more athletes will qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, even as weightlifters Hidilyn Diaz and Nestor Colonia are still awaiting confirmation on their status.

There are also golfers golfers Angelo Que and Miguel Tabuena, who are both inside the top 60 of the Olympic rankings in golf.

“We’re expecting more,” said Cojuangco.

Cojuangco also cited the case of Ian Lariba, who defied great odds to become the first-ever Filipino female table ten-nis player to qualify for the Olympics.

“It was very surpris-ing in table tennis,” said Cojuangco.

Lariba, a varsity player for La Salle in the UAAP, beat Indonesia’s Lilis Indri-ani, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5, in the women’s singles on Saturday night in the 2016 ITTF-Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong to secure the 11th and final Olympic seat in her event.

She is the fifth Filipino athlete to earn a ticket to the Rio de Janeiro Olym-pics after Eric Cray of athletics, Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez of box-ing, and Kirstie Elaine Alora of taekwondo, who earned an Olympic berth only last Saturday.

enabling Malaysian Gavin Green to snare the win over Thai Don-laphatchai Niyomchon and Singapore’s Deng Shan Koh.

But the 23-year-old American vowed to make up for his final round foldup but admit-ted it would be doubly tough to score a vic-tory at Sherwood with its length, hazards that come into play in most holes and the dreaded wind.

“Definitely, I will give it my best shot,” said O’Toole, seeking a sec-ond ADT triumph after ruling the PGM Clear-water Masters in Malay-sia last month. He tees off at 7:50 a.m. on No. 10 with Mars Pucay and Thai Chanat Sakulpol-phaisan.

Humbled at South-woods with no one barging into the Top 10, the local aces also set out for a big finish this week with Tony Lascuña put-

ting premium on sho-tmaking and Charles Hong upbeat of the Fili-pinos’ chances for the top $10,500 purse in the 72-hole championship sponsored by Interna-tional Container Termi-

nal Services, Inc.“Sherwood is tough,

a thinking course. But I think sa paluan at dis-karte magkakatalo dito kasi mahaba at malakas ang hangin,” said Las-cuna, the former three-

time PGT Order of Mer-it champion seeking his first victory this year.

The veteran cam-paigner drew Scot James Byrne and American Blake Snyder in the 7:40 a.m. group on No. 10.

John Michael O’Toole (left) and Charles Hong are among the favorites in the $60,000 ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESTARIFF COMMISSION

(TS APR. 20, 2016)

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR FINAL EXTENSION OF THE SAFEGUARD MEASURE AGAINST IMPORTATIONS OF TESTLINER BOARD FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES2012 AHTN Subheading Nos. 4805.24.00

4805.25.104805.25.90

PHILIPPINE PAPER MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, INC. (PPMAI)

x---------------------------------------------x

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGUnder Section 10 of Commission Order No. 00-02 or the Rules and Regulations

to Govern the Conduct of Investigation by the Tariff Commission Pursuant to R.A. 88000 (Safeguard Measures Act), notice is hereby given that marathon public hearings on the petition of Philippine Paper Manufacturers Association, Inc. (PPMAI) for final extension of the safeguard measure against importations of testliner board from various countries (2012 AHTN Subheading Nos. 4805.24.00, 4805.25.10, 4805.25.90) will be held at the Conference Room of the Tariff Commission, 5/F MAB Philippine Heart Center, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City, on the following dates and time:

DATE TIME3 May 2016 9:00 AM4 May 2016 9:00 AM

At least five (5) days before the public hearing, parties are required to submit a list of issues they want to explore during the public hearing, which will consider evidence that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and that the domestic industry is making positive adjustment to import competition. A party which does not submit said list is deemed to have no controversial/contestable matter to raise and will be given less priority in the order of parties who will ask clarificatory questions during the hearing. Parties are likewise required to submit affidavits of their witnesses three (3) days prior to the public hearing.

All interested parties, their counsels and witnesses should appear before the Commission on the first day of the public hearing.

For particulars, please inquire from the Safeguard Measures Task Force on Testliner Board at Telephone Nos. (632) 928-8419 and 926-8731 or email at [email protected].

Issued this 18th day of April, 2016 at Quezon City, Metro Manila.

ERNESTO L. ALBANO Commissioner Presiding Officer

For: SAFEGUARD MEASURE (R.A. No. 8800) S.G. Investigation No. 01-2010

NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF MOBILE TRAVEL TECHNOLOGIES

INTERNATIONAL INC. Notice is hereby given on the amendment of the Articles of

Incorporation of Mobile Travel Technologies International Inc., shortening the term of its corporate existence and thereby dissolving the said corporation as of February 15, 2013. All

persons having claims against the corporation are requested to present the same at its principal office at Unit 1703 Hanston Square, 17 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City for

immediate settlement. This announcement will serve as a notice to all parties

concerned of the legal dissolution of the said corporation. Signed this 29th day of March, Makati City, Philippines.

CAROLINE M. EDGINTONPresident

Affiant ( TS - APR. 13 ,20 & 27, 2016)

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.


INVITATION TO BID FOR THE SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF SIX (6) LOTS VARIOUS PLASTIC BAGS UNDER ITB NO. PB16-025

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming Public Bidding for the Supply and Delivery of Six (6) Lots Various Plastic Bags under ITB No. PB16-025.

Brief Description

Lot 1 : Supply and Delivery of Cling Wrap

Lot 2 : Supply and Delivery of 40” x 40” Polyethylene Bag





Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

The total ABC is in the amount of Two Million One Thousand One Hundred Thirty-Five Pesos (PhP2,001,135.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction.


Lot 1 (Supply and Delivery of Cling Wrap) – Seventeen Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty Pesos (PhP17,760.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 2 (Supply and Delivery of 40” x 40” Polyethylene Bag) – One Million Nine Hundred Twenty-Six Thousand Four Hundred Pesos (PhP1,926,400.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 3 (Supply and Delivery of 20” X 30”, X .004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag) – Five Thousand Six Hundred Twenty-Five Pesos (PhP5,625.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 4 (Supply and Delivery of 18” X 14”, X .004 of an inch Polyethylene Bag) – Forty-Seven Thousand One Hundred Fifty Pesos (PhP47,150.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction



Delivery Schedule

The complete schedule of deliveries is provided in Section VI (Schedule of Requirements) of the Bidding Documents which will commence starting from the contract effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Source of Funds

Internally Funded

Note: Bidders may bid on any or all lots.





Activities Schedule1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents April 20, 2016 to May 10, 2016

2. Pre-Bid Conference April 28, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids May 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids May 10, 2016, 2:00 p.m. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Bids and Awards Services Department (BASD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable cost for the sale of bidding documentsbased on the following matrix:


500,000.00 and below 500.00

More than 1 Million to 5 Million 5,000.00




1. In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.2. The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared

as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.



(SGD.) RODERICK R. CONSOLACIONChairpersonBidS And AwARdS CommiTTee (BAC) 1 (TS APR. 20, 2016)


[email protected]

2 EZ2 0-02 EZ2 0-0

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00

6/42 00-00-00-00-00-006 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-03 DIGITS 0-0-03 DIGITS 0-0-0

6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0

LOTTO RESULTSP0.0 M+

P0.0 M+

Algieri conqueror Spenceeyes fight with PacquiaoBy Ronnie Nathanielsz

RIDING the crest of his impressive � � h-round devastation of Chris Algieri, unbeaten welterweight Errol Spence, who has a record 20-0 with 17 knockouts, has followed promoter Lou DiBella’s boast that he was ready to bet his house and lot on him beating eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

This is should Pac-quiao come out of his an-nounced retirement and fight again following his dominant victory over Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley in their third fight last April 9 in Las Vegas, in which he dropped the American twice, once in Round 7 and once more in Round 9.

Spence decked Algieri three times before the ref-eree decided to call a halt to the one-sided bout.

And although Pac-quiao dropped Algieri six times, he couldn’t put him away, which is sparking Spence’s confi-dence that he could beat the Filipino ring icon.

Boxing Scene reported that when Spence was asked to explain why he was so successful in fin-ishing Algieri off and why Pacquiao, after six knockdowns, was unable to close the show, said: “While Pacquiao was strong and fast, he lacks some of the basic funda-mentals for a good boxer

—like cutting off the ring.” Pacquiao’s inability

to properly cut off the ring allowed Algieri to last the full distance and also hurt the Fili-pino star when he lost a 12-round decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May, according to the opinion of Spence.

When Algieri was seriously hurt, Spence prevented him from getting away by cutting off the ring.

“It goes back to what my coach said. Man-ny Pacquiao is a hard puncher, he’s quick—but he lacks fundamentals and that’s what I’m big on....fundamentals. I can cut off the ring, I can vary up my punches. Manny Pacquiao, he can’t cut off the ring—as you’ve seen with Floyd and as you’ve seen with Algieri. When Chris Algieri got hurt with Pacquaio, he was able to move and recover. When I had Chris Algieri hurt, I didn’t allow him to do that,” Spence said.

Willett joins PGA Tour after Augusta Masters’ triumphLOS ANGELES—Newly crowned Masters champion Danny Willett has joined the PGA Tour following his shock victory at Augusta, it was announced on Monday.

The 28-year-old English-man has been given a five-year exemption which will allow him to play on the tour until the 2020-21 season, the PGA tour said in a statement.

The world number nine was also handed 600 ranking points in the FedExCup for his Masters triumph earlier

this month.Willett needs to finish in

the top 125 in the FedExCup standings to gain entry to the lucrative end-of-season Fed-ExCup Playoffs.

Willett was ranked outside the top 100 as recently as No-vember 2014 but on April 10 became the first Briton since Nick Faldo in 1996 to win the green jacket.

Willett was a surprise vic-tor on the final day in Au-gusta, snatching the title af-ter a spectacular collapse by

defending champion Jordan Spieth on the back nine

Meanwhile, when Jean van de Velde says he believes that Jordan Spieth will get over his Masters meltdown, the Frenchman knows what he is talking about.

Needing a double-bogey six down the last hole of the 1999 British Open at Car-noustie in Scotland, Van de Velde produced a calamitous triple-bogey seven and even-tually lost out to Paul Lawrie in a play-off.

It was a moment that came to mind at the Masters when Spieth blew the lead by putting two balls into the water on the 12th hole, allowing Danny Willett to storm past him to victory.

“Trust me, you can’t believe how fast everything is hap-pening when that guy is you,” said Van de Velde.

“That’s what I love about golf. It slaps you on the finger five minutes after the biggest high you could ever think of.”

Van de Velde stepped onto the final tee of the 1999 Open

leading by three shots and needing only to record a six to become the first French-man since 1907 to capture golf ’s oldest major.

He had birdied the 18th hole in two of three prior rounds.

Van de Velde chose a driv-er off the tee, but put his tee shot well right of the fairway.

Rather than lay up with his second shot, he decided to go for the green, only to come horribly unstuck as his ball ricocheted off a grandstand, hit the top of a stone wall and

cannoned back into knee-high rough.

He put his third shot into the Barry Burn, which stretches across the 18th fairway, and then removed his shoes and socks to step into the water as he contemplated whether or nor to attempt a shot.

In the end he elected to take a penalty drop, from where he found a greenside bunker, be-fore bravely hoisting his sixth shot onto the green and sink-ing a six-foot putt for a triple-bogey seven. AFP

Jacobs to represent Arum in Donaire-Bedak boutTOP Rank’s event producer Brad Jacobs will represent Top Rank promoter Bob Arum at the huge boxing event at the Cebu Sports Center on April 23, featuring the World Boxing Organization super bantamweight title defense of No-nito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire and No. 4 contender and former Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak.

Top Rank publicist Fred Stern-berg informed The Standard in an email: “I wanted to let you

know that Brad Jacobs will be representing Top Rank at the event and that he is looking for-ward to celebrating his Passover Seder (April 22) in Cebu.”

“The Passover is a Jewish rit-ual feast with the Seder being a ritual which involves re-telling the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt,” according to Wikipedia.

Jacobs was involved in the many Top Rank promotions at

the classy Cotai Arena at the Ve-netian Hotel and Casino in Ma-cau, where eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao headlined two title fights.

Jacobs was quoted in the past as saying: “Our goal is not only to create an in-arena experience that was second to none any-where in the world.”

The Donaire-Bedak showdown titled “It’s About Time” is being held in a sprawling open-air venue

with a canopy over the ring and surrounding areas even better than the WBO world title fight that drew 18,000 fans, when Z “The Dream” Gorres dropped a somewhat con-troversial decision to Mexican champion Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel on Feb. 24, 2007.

Donaire himself avenged the Gorres loss with a spec-tacular second-round TKO on Feb. 19, 2011.

Ronnie Nathanielsz

IOC closelyfollowingBrazil’spoliticalcrisisLAUSANNE—The Inter-national Olympic Commit-tee (IOC) said Monday it is “closely following” Brazil’s political crisis but believes nothing can knock the Rio de Janeiro Games off course in August.

A vote by lawmakers to al-low impeachment proceed-ings against President Dilma Rousseff is the latest blow to the event which has already been hit by austerity and the familiar nervous race to get venues ready on time.

“The IOC is following closely the latest developments with regard to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff,” an IOC spokesman told AFP.

But he added that “prepara-tions for the Olympic Games have now entered into a very operational phase where these kinds of political issues have much less influence than at other stages of organising the Olympic Games.”

IOC leaders carried out their latest inspection visit last week.

“We have seen the great progress being made and we re-main confident about the suc-cess of the Olympic Games this summer,” said the spokesman.

“The Brazilian people will deliver a memorable Olym-pic Games full of passion for sport for which they are world renowned.

“The Olympic Games will deliver an important legacy and provide an important op-portunity to unite the people of Brazil no matter their back-ground or political views.”

The Rio Games start on August 5. AFP

3-sport Alaska Power Camps launchedBy Reuel Vidal

ALASKA Milk ensured that children will have fun, produc-tive and healthy summer ac-tivities with the launch of the annual Alaska Power Camps in basketball, football and vol-leyball Tuesday at the Holiday Inn, Makati.

Philippine Basketball Asso-ciation legend Jeff Cariaso will run the basketball camp.

Philippine Super Liga volley-ball player and De La Salle Uni-versity Lady Spikers star Michelle Gumabao is in charge of the vol-leyball camp, while former Span-ish football player Tomas Lozano will run the football camp.

Blen Fernando, Alaska Milk Marketing Director said the power camps do not just teach sport specific skills, but also instill the value of discipline, perseverance, teamwork and determination among children.

“More than just business branding our programs and ac-tivities further our commitment to nation building through pro-fessionally run programs which help the youth develop physically, emotionally and adopt proper values such as hard work and in-tegrity,” said Fernando.

Cariaso will be assisted by NCAA head coaches Topex Robinson and Rodney Santos. They will teach the most im-

portant aspects of the game of basketball to boys and girls of all ages.

The Alaska Football Power Camp will teach football en-thusiasts the fundamentals of the sport and develop their skills with the help of the best football coaches in the country. Lozano will lead former mem-bers of the Philippine national football team and United Foot-ball League first division players in teaching the most important aspects of football.

Gumabao will lead a team of volleyball experts in teaching aspiring young girls five to 18 years old the most important aspects of volleyball.

Alaska Marketing Director Blen Fernando (left), Alaska Volleyball Power Camp director Michelle Gumabao (second left), Alaska Sports Development Head Richard Bachman (third from left) and Football Power Camp Director Tomas Lozano.

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

TURN TO A15

By Jeric Lopez

RAIN Or Shine is back in familiar territory, the semifinals.

Warriorsgo 2-0;Raptors,Mavs win

TURN TO A12

3-sportPowerCampslaunched

RoS makes semis for 9th straight PBA conference

W E D N E S DAY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 16

The Elasto Painters methodi-cally picked apart Barangay Gine-bra before coasting to an impres-sive 102-89 rout to sweep their quarterfinals series, 2-0, and move forward in the 2016 Philippine Basketball Association Commis-sioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

JR Quinahan continued to shine once again as he chipped in Rain or Shine with 21 points and five re-bounds while Jeff Chan was likewise steady, top scoring with his 22 points.

Rain or Shine thus moved into the semifinals for the ninth straight conference.

Raymund Almazan’s lay-up with just over 10 minutes left gave the Painters their largest lead of the game at 15, 79-64, which practically cemented their entry to the next round and the com-plete demise of the Gin Kings, who had no answer all game long to their foe’s efficiency.

The Elasto Painters will now face the winner of the quarters se-ries between top seed San Miguel Beer and Star, who are set to face off again in a do-or-die game to determine who moves forward, in a best-of-seven semis clash.

The Beermen, who had a twice-

to-beat edge but got stunned last Monday, and the Hotshots go at it tonight at 7 p.m. with the ticket to the round of four on the line.

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao had nothing but praises for his squad.

“We played good tonight and avoided the bad start we had last game,” he said. “We played excellent defense and we’re hustling. We’re the most consistent team in the league (in terms of semifinals appearances) and we’re proud of that.”

On the other hand, Barangay Ginebra finished the tournament in another disappointing fashion, once again exiting in the quarterfinals just like the past few conferences.

Early on, Rain or Shine already

showed that it wants no part of a rubber match.

The Elasto Painters came out of the gates with

bad intentions, pouncing on the Gin Kings right away to zoom to a double-digit lead, 31-21, at the end of the first quarter.

Several minutes into the second, Rain or Shine expanded its lead fur-ther, pushing it to 12, 42-30, after a basket from Henderson-Niles.

Ginebra managed to get itself back into the thick of things, fin-ishing the first half fairly well to slice Rain or Shine’s lead to just six, 50-44, at halftime.

However, that proved to be the Gin Kings’ last stand as the prolific Elasto Painters restored their large lead right away.

La Salle,Adamson try againBy Peter Atencio

THE Adamson Falcons and the La Salle Lady Spikers get another chance to make it to the finals of the 78th University Athletic As-sociation of the Philippines Vol-leyball Tournament.

The Falcons take on the Na-tional University Bulldogs at 2 p.m. today in a rubber match for the second finals berth in the men’s division at the Mall of Asia Arena after forcing a deciding match when they turned back the twice-to-beat NU Bulldogs, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22, in their Final Four encounter Saturday.

In that game, Dave Pletado scored 16 points and Jerome Sarmiento chipped in 14 points for the Soaring Falcons.

Defending champion Ateneo earlier secured a finals’ spot with a straight-sets win over University of the Philippines.

In the women’s side, the Far East-ern University Lady Tamaraw seek to keep their finals hopes alive when they take on the Lady Spikers for the second time in the Final Four.

The Lady Tamaraws fought back from two sets down to beat the Lady Spikers, 15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-14, on Sunday.

Third-year outside hitter Berna-deth Pons, who led the attack for the Lady Tamaraws with 20 points, is expected to take charge again.

The winner will face the Ateneo Lady Eagles in the women’s finals.

Game Today (Quarterfinals, Smart Araneta

Coliseum)7 p.m. - Star vs. San Miguel Beer

SPORTS

Rain Or Shine’s Maverick Ahanmisi drives to the Greg Slaughter of Ginebra in this bit of action Tuesday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Elasto Painters won to make it to the semifinals for ninth straight time.

BUSINESSRODERICK T. DELA CRUZASSISTANT EDITOR [email protected]

[email protected]

RAY S. EÑANOEDITOR

Cavite LRT project faces delay

WEDNESDAY: APRIL 20, 2016

Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasTuesday, April 19, 2016

Foreign exchange rateCurrency Unit US Dollar PesoUnited States Dollar 1.000000 46.1740

Japan Yen 0.009189 0.4243

UK Pound 1.427600 65.9180

Hong Kong Dollar 0.128959 5.9546

Switzerland Franc 1.037452 47.9033

Canada Dollar 0.782167 36.1158

Singapore Dollar 0.739919 34.1650

Australia Dollar 0.774900 35.7802

Bahrain Dinar 2.658938 122.7738

Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266745 12.3167

Brunei Dollar 0.737191 34.0391

Indonesia Rupiah 0.000076 0.0035

Thailand Baht 0.028563 1.3189

UAE Dirham 0.272301 12.5732

Euro Euro 1.131600 52.2505

Korea Won 0.000876 0.0404

China Yuan 0.154409 7.1297

India Rupee 0.015059 0.6953

Malaysia Ringgit 0.254777 11.7641

New Zealand Dollar 0.695700 32.1233

Taiwan Dollar 0.030969 1.4300 Source: PDS Bridge

7,215.0928.31

Closing April 19, 2016PSe comPoSite index

48.00

46.00

45.00

44.00

43.00

HIGH P46.060 LOW P46.150 AVERAGE P46.099

Closing April 19, 2016PeSo-dollar rate

VOLUME 462.900M

Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

oilPriceS today

P400.00-P620.00LPG/11-kg tank

P30.00-P39.32Unleaded Gasoline

P19.25-P22.75Diesel

P34.55-P39.15Kerosene

todayP30.00-P39.32

P19.25-P22.75

P34.55-P39.15

PP400.00-P620.00

8300

7840

7380

6920

6460

6000

P46.085CLOSE

GSIS profi t down sharply on lower market returns

Community award. Capital One Philippines Support Services Corp., the Alabang-based global in-house contact center of Capital One Finan-cial Corp., receives the Outstanding Community Project award from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Capital One Philippines general manager Peter Hayden (right) accepts the award from President Aquino and Peza director general Lilia De Lima (second and third from right, respectively) at the PEZA 21st Anniversary and Investors’ Recognition Night held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

By Gabrielle H. BinadayTHE state-run Government Ser-vices Insurance System booked a net income of P48.85 billion in 2015, down 65 percent from P140.2 billion in 2014, on lower returns on stock market and bond investments, and the absence of property sales.

GSIS president and general mnager Robert Vergara said the income in 2014 was “a tough act to follow,” adding the bond and stock markets were doing well in that year.

“Last year [2015], was a com-plete reverse, equity markets were bad, bond markets were bad. We did not have any property sales,” Vergara said.

Unaudited � gures showed the agency’s expenses in 2015 rose 3

percent to P93.374 billion while liabilities jumped 12.7 percent to P24.657 billion.

GSIS assets, meanwhile, grew 5.8 percent to P960.148 billion at the end of 2015.

Vergara said the pension plan aimed to hit the P1-trillion mark in terms of assets by the middle of the year.

“� is year, despite the dreadful start of the year and with the stock market bouncing back, I think we are on track for that milestone of joining some of the � nancial institutions with over trillion of assets hopefully by the middle of this year,” Vergara said.

“Again, the markets will have a lot to do but it seems to be some-thing that is certainly within range,” he added.

Verrgara said the agency had

expected to dispose of real prop-erties in the � rst six months of the year to gain additional funds.

“We’re going through our prop-erties and we’re conducting ap-praisals, we need to do that to set a minimum price, to the extent that we have time to do some-thing, then the ideas is to try to get one auction going this year in the � rst half ” Vergara said.

GSIS failed to dispose of three of its properties amounting to about P32 billion, or about 6 per-cent of the pension fund’s real es-tate portfolio.

� e properties include the 18,500 square-meter Metro Ma-nila Development Authority lot in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City.

� e other property was the 2,429 square-meter old GSIS building in Legaspi Village in

Makati City.Another failed property dis-

posal last year was the 18.4-hect-are Payanig sa Pasig lot by the Presidential Commission on Good Government just across the MMDA property.

“Valuation via an independent third party surveyor. I was hop-ing we would get some clue be-cause of the Payanig sale, but that sale sadly was not able to push through,” Vergara said earlier.

Other real estate assets of the pension fund manager include the 6,470-square meter Jai Alai property along Ta� Ave. in Ermi-ta, Manila; the two-hectare Water Fun amusement park in Sucat, Parañaque City; and the 1.6-hect-are Philippine National Railways property along Dagupan St., Tu-tuban area in Tondo, Manila.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CONSTRUCTION of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite extension project may not be completed by 2020, amid the delay in the de-livery of right-of-way and procurement of new trains, the consortium that bagged the project said Tuesday.

“It’s likely to be delayed, not just the right-of-way but the question on trains. Jica [Japan for Interna-tional Cooperation Agency] has to decide whether they will rebid or negotiate it or untie the loan so that it can be sourced from else-where. We have no visibility,” said Metro Paci� c Investments Corp. president and chief executive Jose

Ma. Lim.Light Rail Manila Consortium

of Ayala Corp. and MPIC won the bidding for the 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension project and took over the operation of LRT Line 1 on Sept.12, 2015.

� e Transportation Depart-ment earlier announced a failed bidding for the P30-billion con-

tract to supply 120 brand-new light rail vehicles for LRT Line 1, as no prospective bidders submit-ted o� ers.

� e agency earlier identi� ed Marubeni Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. as prospective bidders for the procurement of 120 brand-new LRVs. “What’s the point of spend-ing when you know the trains are not going to come,” Lim said.

Lim said the bigger problem for the project was the relocation of the informal settlers in the area.

“We were supposed to receive the right of way by now. Actually. we were supposed to receive the right of way for phase 1 last year. � ey had 99-percent of it [ROW] last year, but there are still infor-mal settlers,” Lim said.

LRMC president and chief ex-

ecutive Jesus Francisco earlier said the government aimed to transfer the informal settlers in April and start the construction of the LRT Line 1 Cavite extension project in the second half of 2016.

� e 11.7-kilometer Cavite ex-tension will connect into the ex-isting system immediately south of the Baclaran station and run in a generally southerly direction to Niyog, Cavite.

It will consist of elevated guide-ways throughout most of the alignment, except for the guide-way section at Zapote which will be located at grade. It will consist of the satellite depot and new sta-tion.

Eight new stations will be pro-vided with three intermodal facil-ities across Pasay City, Parañaque

City, Las Piñas City and Cavite. � e new stations are Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Pinas, Zapote and Niyog. � e intermodal facilities shall be located at Dr. Santos, Za-pote and Niyog.

� e commercial speed of the Cavite extension will be 60 kilo-meters an hour. � e horizontal alignment shall be designed for a train speed of 80 kph for the mainline track; 60 kph through stations and 30 kph for secondary and depot tracks.

� e extended rail line is expect-ed to help increase the capacity of LRT 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily and bene� t more than four million residents in the southern part of Metro Manila and Cavite.

[email protected]@gmail.com

BUSINESSWEDNESDAY: APRIL 20, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Tuesday, april 19, 2016

FINANCIAL7.88 2.5 AG Finance 3.02 3.05 2.92 3.05 0.99 351,000 75.3 66 Asia United Bank 46 46 45.1 46 0.00 12,100 381,800.00124.4 88.05 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 102.40 103.00 102.30 102.90 0.49 1,265,390 4,987,568107 88.1 Bank of PI 89.80 89.80 88.55 88.85 -1.06 1,091,700 -44,813,456.0056.5 45.45 China Bank 39.55 39.5 38.2 39.5 -0.13 565,300 2.49 1.97 BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. 2.98 2.98 2.95 2.98 0.00 18,000 4.2 1.68 Bright Kindle Resources 1.41 1.71 1.42 1.53 8.51 488,000 -81,000.0017 12.02 COL Financial 14.26 14.3 14.2 14.28 0.14 1,400 30.45 19.6 Eastwest Bank 16 16 15.84 15.88 -0.75 3,216,400 -539,588.0010.4 6.12 Filipino Fund Inc. 7.42 7.40 7.35 7.35 -0.94 5,000 2.6 1.02 I-Remit Inc. 1.7 1.78 1.78 1.78 4.71 5,000 890 625 Manulife Fin. Corp. 590.00 599.00 590.00 590.00 0.00 780 12,790.001.01 0.225 MEDCO Holdings 0.640 0.660 0.640 0.650 1.56 1,566,000 64,200.00100 78 Metrobank 84 84.2 83 83 -1.19 1,902,780 -86,527,173.501.46 0.9 Natl. Reinsurance Corp. 1 1 0.98 1 0.00 116,000 30.5 17.8 PB Bank 14.72 14.72 14.68 14.70 -0.14 14,700 75 58 Phil Bank of Comm 24.50 25.20 25.20 25.20 2.86 200 5,040.0091.5 62 Phil. National Bank 53.70 53.80 53.30 53.50 -0.37 130,180 815,157.00137 88.35 Phil. Savings Bank 103 102.9 98 102.9 -0.10 900 980.00361.2 276 PSE Inc. 271 274 271 274 1.11 32,830 57 41 RCBC À’ 31.75 32.1 31.75 32 0.79 799,400 1,307,245180 118.2 Security Bank 174 176.6 171.8 173 -0.57 1,870,300 -5,886,640.001700 1200 Sun Life Financial 1360.00 1400.00 1360.00 1400.00 2.94 405 158,700.00124 59 Union Bank 57.50 58.00 57.50 57.50 0.00 23,990 -874,192.003.26 2.65 Vantage Equities 1.59 1.59 1.57 1.59 0.00 49,000

INDUSTRIAL47 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp. 44 44.4 43.75 44 0.00 1,103,600 7,204,220.005 1.11 Agrinurture Inc. 4.78 4.93 4.66 4.73 -1.05 460,000 1.46 1.01 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.79 0.8 0.79 0.79 0.00 124,000 2.36 1.86 Alsons Cons. 1.46 1.48 1.39 1.42 -2.74 8,198,000 3,700,620.0015.3 7.92 Asiabest Group 10.96 12.78 10.92 12.5 14.05 106,400 20.6 15.32 Century Food 19.44 19.46 19.12 19.12 -1.65 396,800 1,291,184.00125 62.5 Chemphil 178.9 178.5 178.5 178.5 -0.22 50 85 20.2 Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ 290 290 220 255 -12.07 6,550 36 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 18.6 19 18.62 18.68 0.43 164,000 3,800.0065.8 29.15 Concepcion 48 48.5 47.5 48.5 1.04 49,400 343,7502.97 1.5 Crown Asia 2.35 2.39 2.33 2.37 0.85 447,000 288,760.004.14 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 5.58 5.96 5.56 5.72 2.51 3,480,700 1,839,449.0021.5 10.72 Del Monte 11.12 11.24 11.02 11.24 1.08 11,500 21.6 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 9.150 9.250 9.100 9.180 0.33 2,227,600 1,163,062.0011.96 9.04 Emperador 8.10 8.09 7.81 8.09 -0.12 1,324,700 999,625.009.13 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.92 5.90 5.80 5.90 -0.34 4,379,800 -19,570,543.0011.8 8.86 EEI 7.39 7.40 7.09 7.30 -1.22 542,900 154,658.0031.8 20.2 First Gen Corp. 21.9 22 21.7 21.85 -0.23 1,441,900 -8,899,805.00109 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 69.5 70.2 69.5 70.2 1.01 110,650 -1,628,055.5020.75 13.86 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 15.00 14.50 14.26 14.28 -4.80 13,700 15.3 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.90 13.96 13.96 13.96 0.43 203,600 -1,563,520.009.4 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.8 5.8 5.74 5.74 -1.03 138,000 280,025.000.98 0.395 Ionics Inc 2.640 2.650 2.550 2.590 -1.89 4,783,000 46,150.00241 173 Jollibee Foods Corp. 224.20 225.00 221.40 221.80 -1.07 845,070 -125,704,974.00 LBC Express 11.06 12 11 12 8.50 33,600 3.95 2.3 LMG Chemicals 2.09 2.07 2.07 2.07 -0.96 8,000 4 1.63 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.7 3.6 3.4 3.47 -6.22 64,000 33.9 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 27 27.5 27 27.3 1.11 1,887,900 9,232,550.0090 17.3 Maxs Group 22.55 22.5 21.9 21.95 -2.66 417,900 2,250.0013.26 5.88 Megawide 6.55 6.65 6.6 6.65 1.53 69,300 -169,570.00293 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co À’ 326.80 331.00 326.00 330.00 0.98 92,660 -907,012.005.25 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.8 3.78 3.77 3.78 -0.53 450,000 1,080,460.0012.98 8.45 Petron Corporation 10.18 10.90 10.28 10.90 7.07 6,535,200 11,901,070.006.75 3 Phil H2O 3.23 3.17 3.17 3.17 -1.86 2,000 15 10.04 Phinma Corporation 11.60 11.62 11.50 11.62 0.17 91,000 7.03 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.42 4.42 4.25 4.42 0.00 92,000 3.4 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.62 1.65 1.60 1.61 -0.62 316,000 4.5 1 Pryce Corp. À’ 2.72 2.76 2.73 2.73 0.37 104,000 6.3 4.02 RFM Corporation 4.20 4.23 4.16 4.23 0.71 98,000 343,330.007.86 1.65 Roxas and Co. 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 0.00 2,000 7.34 5.9 Roxas Holdings 4.56 4.8 4.7 4.7 3.07 5,000 1450 801 San Miguel ‘Pure Foods À’ 222 222 210 217.6 -1.98 33,880 808,352.005.5 4.1 SPC Power Corp. 4 4.05 3.96 4.05 1.25 30,000 3.28 1.55 Splash Corporation 2.79 2.81 2.7 2.75 -1.43 1,547,000 0.315 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.166 0.167 0.158 0.164 -1.20 15,170,000 2.18 1.02 TKC Steel Corp. 1.22 1.22 1.21 1.22 0.00 29,000 2.65 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 2.73 2.80 2.73 2.73 0.00 3,084,000 2,435,740.00234 152 Universal Robina 207.4 210 205.8 206 -0.68 915,900 -99,370,950.001.3 0.640 Vitarich Corp. 1.18 1.26 1.1 1.11 -5.93 115,360,000 1,727,880.0026 10.02 Vivant Corp. 28.00 32.50 30.00 32.50 16.07 3,100 2.17 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l. 1.27 1.30 1.27 1.27 0.00 352,000

HOLDING FIRMS0.59 0.44 Abacus Cons. À’ 0.365 0.370 0.360 0.360 -1.37 270,000 59.2 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 64.00 64.00 63.40 63.70 -0.47 790,630 -29,596,306.5030.05 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 16.20 16.42 16.24 16.36 0.99 7,060,000 24,276,036.003.4 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.315 0.320 0.300 0.305 -3.17 2,440,000 823.5 634.5 Ayala Corp À’ 780 781 776 779.5 -0.06 254,040 107,298,365.0010.2 7.390 Cosco Capital 8.3 8.41 8.23 8.4 1.20 677,600 -2,226,685.0084 12.8 DMCI Holdings 12.40 12.50 12.38 12.42 0.16 5,160,200 -18,138,814.003.35 2.6 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.23 5.23 5.06 5.22 -0.19 600 4.92 2.26 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 5.63 5.80 5.70 5.80 3.02 692,700 -5,800.000.66 0.152 Forum Pacific 0.214 0.214 0.214 0.214 0.00 10,000 1455 837 GT Capital 1398 1412 1354 1363 -2.50 127,895 -45,199,860.007.5 5.3 House of Inv. 6.48 6.49 6.49 6.49 0.15 3,400 IPM Holdings 9.74 9.80 9.70 9.75 0.10 1,815,000 -97,900.0076 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 82.50 82.85 81.35 81.35 -1.39 1,279,990 -11,035,580.505.29 3 Keppel Holdings À’ 6.19 5.99 5.3 5.99 -3.23 4,500 6.66 3.52 Keppel Holdings `B’ 5.01 5.08 5.08 5.08 1.40 100 9.25 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp. 7.26 7.4 7.15 7.4 1.93 2,703,700 -819,159.000.85 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.68 0.69 0.68 0.68 0.00 3,000 17.3 12 LT Group 15.72 15.8 15.7 15.76 0.25 693,500 4,718,058.005.53 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.94 5.93 5.81 5.9 -0.67 30,250,700 -39,237,464.009.66 3 MJCI Investments Inc. 3.45 3.4 3.4 3.4 -1.45 5,000 0.0670 0.030 Pacifica À’ 0.0330 0.0340 0.0330 0.0330 0.00 34,300,000 2.31 1.23 Prime Media Hldg 1.300 1.400 1.270 1.270 -2.31 57,000 1.61 0.550 Prime Orion 1.930 1.950 1.910 1.910 -1.04 1,085,000 84.9 59.3 San Miguel Corp À’ 74.55 74.90 74.45 74.80 0.34 68,480 -1,493,945.50974 751 SM Investments Inc. 960.00 970.00 958.00 959.50 -0.05 286,600 -65,432,800.001.66 1.13 Solid Group Inc. 1.26 1.28 1.25 1.27 0.79 1,091,000 -1,260.001.39 0.93 South China Res. Inc. 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.00 50,000 390 170 Transgrid 195.00 195.00 193.00 195.00 0.00 60 156 80 Top Frontier 173.000 173.000 165.500 173.000 0.00 11,800 41,620.000.710 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3150 0.3250 0.3150 0.3150 0.00 1,930,000 0.435 0.179 Wellex Industries 0.2050 0.2010 0.2010 0.2010 -1.95 80,000 0.510 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.285 0.275 0.275 0.275 -3.51 10,000

P R O P E R T Y10.5 6.74 8990 HLDG 8.100 8.280 8.100 8.150 0.62 447,100 -246,000.0026.95 12 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 8.00 7.17 7.12 7.16 -10.50 3,200 1.99 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.41 1.42 1.27 1.28 -9.22 19,685,000 121,100.001.75 1.2 Araneta Prop À’ 1.450 1.510 1.430 1.430 -1.38 38,000 0.375 0.192 Arthaland Corp. 0.275 0.295 0.240 0.280 1.82 6,120,000 46,400.0041.4 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 34.950 35.050 34.250 34.450 -1.43 17,981,000 -73,518,270.005.6 3.36 Belle Corp. À’ 3.07 3.12 3.07 3.09 0.65 17,493,000 534,840.005.59 4.96 Cebu Holdings 5.2 5.25 5.2 5.2 0.00 225,200 -224,536.005.6 2.8 Cebu Prop. À’ 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 0.00 100 1.44 0.79 Century Property 0.560 0.57 0.550 0.560 0.00 3,953,000 -546,900.00

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

Trading SummarySHARES VALUE

FINANCIAL 13,527,958 829,561,035.12INDUSTRIAL 188,350,264 985,884,631.01HOLDING FIRMS 131,917,186 1,561,775,770.869PROPERTY 160,660,031 1,578,814,621.41SERVICES 314,542,698 1,278,796,941.36MINING & OIL 3,917,293,731 415,884,816.024GRAND TOTAL 4,728,995,407 6,697,053,504.989

FINANCIAL 1,612.99 (DOWN) 7.48INDUSTRIAL 11,726.07 (DOWN) 4.30HOLDING FIRMS 7,157.58 (DOWN) 32.49PROPERTY 2,935.67 (DOWN) 17.27SERVICES 1,532.31 (UP) 6.08MINING & OIL 10,685.33 (UP) 82.00PSEI 7,215.09 (DOWN) 28.31All Shares Index 4,271.42 (DOWN) 0.77

Gainers: 86; Losers: 99; Unchanged: 52; Total: 237

STOCKS Close(P)

Change(%)

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 22.05 -16.64

Conc. Aggr. 'A' 255 -12.07

Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.16 -10.50

Benguet Corp `B' 8.0200 -9.38

A. Brown Co., Inc. 1.28 -9.22

Manila Mining À' 0.0110 -8.33

Mabuhay Vinyl 3.47 -6.22

Vitarich Corp. 1.11 -5.93

Discovery World 1.7 -5.03

Ever Gotesco 0.153 -4.97

Top LoSerSSTOCKS Close

(P)Change

(%)

Ferronickel 1.050 20.69

Vivant Corp. 32.50 16.07

Asiabest Group 12.5 14.05

LR Warrant 3.750 12.28

Omico 0.6300 8.62

Bright Kindle Resources 1.53 8.51

LBC Express 12 8.50

MG Holdings 0.300 7.14

Petron Corporation 10.90 7.07

Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 2.18 6.34

Top gainerS

1.48 0.97 Cityland Dev. À’ 1.000 1.000 0.980 1.000 0.00 11,000 0.201 0.083 Crown Equities Inc. 0.127 0.125 0.121 0.121 -4.72 2,840,000 31,000.000.69 0.415 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.510 0.520 0.500 0.510 0.00 3,739,000 10.96 2.4 Double Dragon 36.4 37 36.4 36.5 0.27 1,024,700 -7,820,520.000.97 0.83 Empire East Land 0.860 0.860 0.850 0.860 0.00 105,000 0.305 0.188 Ever Gotesco 0.161 0.159 0.153 0.153 -4.97 100,000 2.22 1.15 Global-Estate 1.10 1.13 1.09 1.11 0.91 9,279,000 -4,367,410.002.1 1.42 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.88 1.89 1.85 1.88 0.00 10,474,000 -1,042,890.001.8 1.27 Interport À’ 1.29 1.29 1.28 1.28 -0.78 240,000 8.4 3.1 Keppel Properties 4.20 4.20 4.12 4.20 0.00 7,000 5.94 4.13 Megaworld 4.01 4.06 3.96 4.01 0.00 24,551,000 -33,037,960.000.180 0.090 MRC Allied Ind. 0.087 0.088 0.085 0.088 1.15 1,520,000 0.470 0.290 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.2650 0.2700 0.2550 0.2550 -3.77 20,000 0.72 0.39 Phil. Realty À’ 0.520 0.540 0.510 0.510 -1.92 182,000 27 23 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 26.45 22.05 22.00 22.05 -16.64 600 8.54 2.69 Primex Corp. 8.6 8.57 8.52 8.52 -0.93 250,200 31.8 22.15 Robinson’s Land `B’ 29.00 29.00 28.60 28.95 -0.17 1,385,700 9,111,005.002.29 1.6 Rockwell 1.6 1.63 1.6 1.6 0.00 217,000 91,200.0021.35 15.08 SM Prime Holdings 22.00 22.25 21.05 22.00 0.00 20,137,500 -143,424,910.001.06 0.69 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.88 1.15 167,000 7.56 3.38 Starmalls 6.3 6.56 6.25 6.56 4.13 1,300 1.62 0.83 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.140 1.150 1.110 1.130 -0.88 2,495,000 14,560.008.59 5.73 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.800 4.800 4.780 4.790 -0.21 7,563,000 2,728,660.00

S E R V I C E S10.5 1.97 2GO Group’ 7.23 7.4 7.21 7.31 1.11 132,600 66 35.2 ABS-CBN 59.2 59.2 58.2 58.8 -0.68 57,620 1.44 1 Acesite Hotel 1.27 1.34 1.28 1.28 0.79 27,000 4,010.001.09 0.63 APC Group, Inc. 0.580 0.620 0.590 0.600 3.45 1,493,000 6,000.0014.88 10.5 Asian Terminals Inc. 11.3 11.16 11.16 11.16 -1.24 800 8,928.0015.82 8.6 Bloomberry 4.37 4.44 4.29 4.40 0.69 3,791,000 1,340,560.000.1430 0.0770 Boulevard Holdings 0.0620 0.0620 0.0610 0.0620 0.00 33,580,000 62,000.005.06 2.95 Calata Corp. 3.2 3.3 3.18 3.21 0.31 1,487,000 99.1 56.1 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 90 90.05 89.9 89.95 -0.06 999,470 -5,819,344.0012.3 10.14 Centro Esc. Univ. 9.68 9.69 9.58 9.58 -1.03 7,000 2.6 1.6 Discovery World 1.79 1.7 1.7 1.7 -5.03 34,000 7.67 4.8 DFNN Inc. 7.00 7.00 6.86 6.86 -2.00 100,500 4 2.58 Easy Call “Common” 2.92 2.92 2.92 2.92 0.00 3,000 1700 830 FEUI 1000 960 950 960 -4.00 530 2720 1600 Globe Telecom 2168 2198 2112 2198 1.38 59,330 3,705,730.008.41 5.95 GMA Network Inc. 7.27 7.37 7.27 7.33 0.83 748,600 1.97 1.23 Harbor Star 1.20 1.20 1.18 1.18 -1.67 275,000 119.5 102.6 I.C.T.S.I. 67.6 67.7 66.5 66.5 -1.63 281,210 -14,629,346.507 3.01 Imperial Res. À’ 16.34 16.00 15.28 15.58 -4.65 69,200 0.017 0.011 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 0.00 1,000,000 0.8200 0.041 Island Info 0.305 0.330 0.300 0.315 3.28 110,480,000 1,479,700.002.2800 1.200 ISM Communications 1.7100 1.8300 1.7200 1.7500 2.34 12,262,000 -1,369,340.005.93 2.34 Jackstones 2.29 2.22 2.22 2.22 -3.06 9,000 12.28 6.5 Leisure & Resorts 7.69 8.00 7.58 7.85 2.08 319,300 3.32 1.91 Liberty Telecom 3.91 3.85 3.80 3.81 -2.56 357,000 -103,680.003.2 1.95 Macroasia Corp. 2.83 2.80 2.60 2.79 -1.41 123,000 1 0.650 Manila Bulletin 0.570 0.570 0.570 0.570 0.00 113,000 2.46 1.8 Manila Jockey 2 2 1.98 1.98 -1.00 66,000 15.2 6 Melco Crown 2.34 2.39 2.31 2.36 0.85 12,899,000 -1,994,400.00 Metro Retail 3.95 4.10 3.94 4.04 2.28 2,104,000 331,400.000.62 0.335 MG Holdings 0.280 0.300 0.280 0.300 7.14 330,000 1.040 0.37 NOW Corp. 2.850 3.040 2.700 2.820 -1.05 56,050,000 877,090.0022.8 14.54 Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 0.00 6,000,300 6.41 3 PAL Holdings Inc. 4.99 5.09 5.00 5.09 2.00 10,000 4 2.28 Paxys Inc. 2.74 2.74 2.7 2.74 0.00 18,000 185 79 Phil. Seven Corp. 111.00 111.00 110.00 111.00 0.00 33,090 36,370.0022.9 4.39 Philweb.Com Inc. 22.00 22.00 21.70 22.00 0.00 55,200 3486 2748 PLDT Common 1844.00 1860.00 1820.00 1850.00 0.33 88,310 -46,908,325.000.760 0.435 PremiereHorizon 0.445 0.460 0.435 0.445 0.00 5,530,000 35,300.002.28 1.2 Premium Leisure 0.860 0.880 0.850 0.880 2.33 37,281,000 -60,480.0046.05 31.45 Puregold 40.30 41.00 40.30 40.75 1.12 5,095,100 48,507,665.0090.1 60.55 Robinsons RTL 78.15 79.45 78.00 79.30 1.47 1,718,090 54,116,372.00 SBS Phil. Corp. 6.50 6.88 6.48 6.58 1.23 5,146,400 120,780.0011.6 7.59 SSI Group 3.53 3.70 3.55 3.70 4.82 4,443,000 -188,170.000.85 0.63 STI Holdings 0.630 0.650 0.620 0.630 0.00 4,226,000 32,000.002.95 1.71 Transpacific Broadcast 1.93 1.92 1.81 1.92 -0.52 2,000 10 5 Travellers 3.63 3.65 3.62 3.62 -0.28 553,000 -877,790.000.490 0.315 Waterfront Phils. 0.335 0.345 0.335 0.335 0.00 40,000 3,450.001.9 1.14 Yehey 5.000 5.450 5.000 5.020 0.40 143,000

MINING & OIL0.0098 0.0043 Abra Mining 0.0043 0.0044 0.0039 0.0041 -4.65 3,541,000,000 435,100.005.45 1.72 Apex À’ 2.03 2.02 2.01 2.01 -0.99 68,000 24,120.0017.24 6.47 Atlas Cons. À’ 4.25 4.25 4.13 4.14 -2.59 596,000 -764,000.0025 9.43 Atok-Big Wedge À’ 12.70 12.58 11.98 12.58 -0.94 1,700 0.330 0.236 Basic Energy Corp. 0.250 0.255 0.250 0.250 0.00 480,000 12.7 6.5 Benguet Corp À’ 8.2000 8.2 8 8.0000 -2.44 27,400 12.8 5.11 Benguet Corp `B’ 8.8500 8.8400 8.0200 8.0200 -9.38 19,500 1.19 0.85 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 0.76 0.82 0.74 0.74 -2.63 4,474,000 -92,760.001.62 0.77 Coal Asia 0.560 0.550 0.530 0.550 -1.79 3,002,000 1,080.009.5 5.99 Dizon 8.25 8.23 8.06 8.20 -0.61 1,400 4.2 1.17 Ferronickel 0.870 1.120 0.900 1.050 20.69 253,111,000 -50,305,190.000.48 0.305 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.295 0.310 0.295 0.295 0.00 840,000 0.420 0.2130 Lepanto À’ 0.247 0.245 0.226 0.237 -4.05 49,590,000 0.440 0.2160 Lepanto `B’ 0.255 0.260 0.240 0.250 -1.96 15,830,000 -70,000.000.022 0.013 Manila Mining À’ 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 0.0110 -8.33 5,900,000 0.023 0.014 Manila Mining `B’ 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.00 26,500,000 8,400.008.2 3.240 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 2.05 2.2 2.05 2.18 6.34 1,141,000 -75,400.0049.2 18.96 Nickelasia 5.14 5.37 5.07 5.15 0.19 3,523,200 -6,547,944.004.27 2.11 Nihao Mineral Resources 2.52 2.68 2.52 2.62 3.97 244,000 1.030 0.365 Omico 0.5800 0.6600 0.5600 0.6300 8.62 2,921,000 458,540.003.06 1.54 Oriental Peninsula Res. 1.2700 1.4600 1.3000 1.3500 6.30 1,775,000 -314,450.007.67 5.4 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 3.75 3.80 3.75 3.80 1.33 19,000 12.88 7.26 Philex À’ 5.45 5.45 5.31 5.44 -0.18 861,700 -374,785.0010.42 2.27 PhilexPetroleum 2.18 2.31 2.20 2.29 5.05 1,714,000 -24,230.000.040 0.015 Philodrill Corp. À’ 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.0120 0.00 1,000,000 420 115.9 Semirara Corp. 126.50 127.00 126.10 126.90 0.32 597,930 -33,323,021.009 3.67 TA Petroleum 3.21 3.35 3 3.17 -1.25 2,039,000 -265,590.00

PREFERRED70 33 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 59.05 59.1 58.25 58.25 -1.35 72,640 -24,416.50525 500 Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ 526 526 526 526 0.00 9,500 4,997,0008.21 5.88 GMA Holdings Inc. 7.06 7.08 7.05 7.08 0.28 550,700 -2,792,402.0012.28 6.5 Leisure and Resort 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.07 -0.93 1,000 1047 1011 PF Pref 2 1018 1018 1018 1018 0.00 945 PNX PREF 3A 103.5 104.5 104.4 104.5 0.97 1,790 78.95 74.5 SMC Preferred B 77.5 77.5 77 77.5 0.00 17,600 271,250.0084.8 75 SMC Preferred C 80 80.4 78.6 80.25 0.31 62,090 SMC Preferred D 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 0.00 1,200 SMC Preferred F 77 76.9 76.9 76.9 -0.13 400 SMC Preferred G 77 77 76.8 76.9 -0.13 45,400 3,464,760.00 SMC Preferred H 75 75 75 75 0.00 201,460 SMC Preferred I 75 75.05 75 75 0.00 68,200

WARRANTS & BONDS6.98 0.8900 LR Warrant 3.340 3.790 3.330 3.750 12.28 2,735,000 92,380.00

S M E Alterra Capital 4.06 4.21 3.71 4.21 3.69 32,000 15 3.5 Makati Fin. Corp. 3.81 4.2 3.83 3.85 1.05 108,000 Italpinas 3.26 3.3 3.16 3.22 -1.23 263,000 96,200.0012.88 5.95 Xurpas 19.14 19.7 19.1 19.4 1.36 2,297,400 12,325,618.00

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS130.7 105.6 First Metro ETF 119.1 118.7 118 118.5 -0.50 2,830 -118,330.00



B3

Marketdeclines;Globe,FNI rise

Aboitiz Power unit inaugurates 59-MW San Carlos solar

ALI allots P25b for Vertis North

Lhuillier donates school. More than 800 students in Tacloban City will welcome the start of classes with a new and improved school building courtesy of Cebuana Lhuillier, the country’s leading microfinancial solutions provider. Shown during the turnover ceremony are (from left) Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation Inc. program department manager Kristina Muñiz, Northern Tacloban City National High School principal Ma. Delia Soria, Cebuana Lhuillier executive assistant to the president Raffy Ladao, Cebuana Lhuillier president and chief executive Jean Henri Lhuillier, Department of Education Tacloban City schools division superintendent Thelma Quitalig, DepEd external partnerships service director Margarita Ballesteros, CLFI executive trustee Cesar Vidal, P&EL Realty Corp. general manager Norman Fumar and Cebuana Lhuillier area manager Raphael Omar Aguilar.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. said Tuesday it will spend P25 billion from 2016 to 2018 to complete the initial phase of the 46-hectare Vertis North project in Quezon City.

STOCKS fell for a third day, bucking the gains in other Asian markets as investors assess the impact of rising crude prices on the economy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company bench-mark, shed 28 points, or 0.4 per-cent, to close at 7,215.09 Tuesday. The bellwether was still up 3.8 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, was flat at 4,271.42, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 99 to 86, while 52 issues were un-changed.

Seven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., which surged 21 percent to P1.05. Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. climbed 1.5 percent to P79.30, while Globe Telecom Inc. added 1.4 percent to close at P2,198.

Meanwhile, Tokyo led a re-covery in Asian stock markets Tuesday, soaring more than 3 percent as dealers built on a strong lead from Wall Street and disappointment over failed oil talks gave way to hope for the global economy.

While Asia ended lower Monday following the collapse of the week-end meeting to cap crude produc-tion, initial sharp losses in Europe and New York turned to gains as dealers were lifted by positive com-ments on the US outlook and re-cent upbeat data out of China.

Federal Reserve Bank of Bos-ton president Eric Rosengren said Monday that the world’s number one economy was much healthier than financial markets thought and saw growth picking up through this year.

“While there have been sig-nificant headwinds from abroad, and market turbulence related to those headwinds, I view the US economy as fundamentally sound and likely to perform better than the domestic economies of most trading partners,” he said.

Also, New York Fed president William Dudley said he foresaw inflation picking up as the econ-omy improves.

With Bloomberg, AFP

By Alena Mae S. Flores

SAN Carlos Sun Power Inc., a unit of Aboitiz Power Corp., on Tuesday inaugurated a 59-mega-watt solar power plant in San Car-los City, Negros Occidental.

The solar plant, the first solar facility of Aboitiz Power, is now delivering 82 gigawatthours a year of clean and renewable energy to the Visayas grid.

The project started deliver-ing energy to the Visayas grid on March 9, 2016, ahead of the March 15 deadline imposed by the Energy Department for solar power projects under the feed-in-tariff mechanism.

SacaSun’s clean and renew-able power output is expected to qualify for FiT incentives and get priority dispatch in the electricity

spot market under the FiT rate for solar power at P8.69 per kilowatt-hour.

Aboitiz Power president and chief operating officer Antonio Moraza said any expansion in the same site would no longer be fea-sible because of limited availabil-ity of land.

“We would have to acquire or lease more land and am not sure if there is any available,” Moraza said.

He said any expansion in other parts of the country would have to wait for the government’s reso-lution on oversubscription for so-lar power projects.

“FiT for solar is oversubscribed. Without FiT, solar is not viable…We will have to wait for action of DoE [Department of Energy]. I am sure they will find a resolution

over subscription,” Moraza said.The SacaSun project sits on a

75-hectare property inside the San Carlos Economic Zone in Ba-rangay Punao, San Carlos City on the eastern side of Negros Island.

The project, whose construction started in August 2015, employed more than 4,000 workers through-out the construction phase.

About 80 percent of the hired workers came from the host community of San Carlos City and about a third or 1,500 were women. The women assembled parts of the solar panels, while the men and technicians carried the assembled parts for installation at the solar farm.

“AboitizPower is one of the country’s largest producers of re-newable energy and our Cleaner-gy portfolio generates 1,263 MW,

or close to 40 percent of our total net sellable capacity. This repre-sents our commitment to support the government’s push for a bal-ance of renewable and non-re-newable power sources to address the country’s increasing energy demand,” AboitizPower chief ex-ecutive Erramon Aboitiz said.

Aboitiz Power has other power projects in the pipeline, includ-ing SN Aboitiz Power’s 8.5-MW Maris Canal hydro plant in Isabe-la, Hedcor’s 68-MW Manolo For-tich hydro plant in Bukidnon and Aseagas’ 8.8-MW biomass facility in Batangas.

The company also has geother-mal and coal power plants.

The company is also on track of achieving its goal of increasing at-tributable capacity to 4,000 MW by 2020.

Ayala Land senior division manager for strategic land bank management group Jay Teodoro said the company would complete the construction of a shopping mall, three residential towers and three office buildings in the next three years.

Teodoro said by the end of

2016, Ayala Land would open Vertis North Mall, which would offer 45,000 square meters of gross leasing area, and the first tower of the Vertis North Corporate Center.

Teodoro said Vertis North Mall would be similar to Greenbelt in Makati City and would not

compete with Trinoma, Ayala Land’s flagship mall located in the same area.

Ayala Land will open the 438-room Seda hotel in 2017, becoming the biggest Seda hotel launched by the property firm, the second Vertis North Corporate Center and two residential towers by Avida Land.

The property firm will turnover the third residential tower of Avida Land and the third office project by 2018.

The development of Vertis North project is expected to accelerate after the National Housing Authority signed an agreement with majority of the

informal settlers in the area in December.

Under the agreement, the informal settlers agreed to voluntarily relocate to two relocation sites being offered by the government. The relocation sites are slated for completion by 2016 and 2017.

Meanwhile, Avida Land, the affordable housing unit of Ayala Land, also launched Avida Towers Sola, a two-tower residential development within Vertis North with total sales value of P3.8 billion.

The first tower will offer 1,004 units offering one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom

units. Unit sizes range from 22 square meters to 61 square meters at a starting price of P2.6 million.

Avida Land corporate group planning head Raquel Cruz said the company launched Avida Sola after the group was able to sell out the first residential development, a three-tower condominium project called Avida Towers Vita.

“The first tower was more than 90-percent sold in three months which triggered the launch of two succeeding towers. All three towers of the development were launched within nine months and are almost sold out in less than three years,” Cruz said.

B4

Filipinos among most heavily taxed in Asia, says Escudero

Treasuryraises P25bfrom saleof bonds

BoP posted surplusof $854m in March

New TOAP president. EastWest Bank’s Angel Marie Pacis, first vice president and trust officer, is elected president of the Trust Officers Association of the Philippines for the year 2016-2017. Securities and Exchange Commission director Vicente Graciano Felizmenio Jr. (second to the right) inducts Pacis and the rest of the 2016-2017 TOAP board of directors. Behind Felizmenio is outgoing TOAP president Mario Miranda, senior vice president of Bank of Philippine Islands. Pacis is the first trust officer from EastWest to become TOAP president. She chaired the UITF Development Committee of the 2015-2016 board. TOAP, organized in 1964, is one of the oldest professional associations in the financial industry.

BUTUAN CITY—Independent vice presidential contender Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the “Gobyernong may Puso” will cut down the income tax rates to increase the take-home pay of millions of salaried Filipino workers, who are among the most heavily taxed people in Asia.

Escudero said lowering the country’s personal income tax rate, which at 32 percent is one of the highest in the continent, would be the on top of the legislative agenda of her running

mate, Sen. Grace Poe, if she became president.

“We have one of the highest tax rates in Asia. It’s really time to bring them down. We intend to do this, especially the income taxes of workers,” Escudero said in a recent radio interview.

He said if the government could not raise the salaries of private sector employees, it might as well ease their tax burden to boost their take-home pay and help them keep up with the rising cost of living.

“If we cannot raise their salaries, then we can certainly raise their take-home pay,” said Escudero, who is responsible for exempting minimum wage earners from paying the income tax, or Republic Act 9504.

There are around 39 million people comprising the nation’s labor force and about 36 million of them are in the private sector.

While the country’s estimated 1.53 million state workers have been recently granted an increase in pay and benefits, private sector

employees only received minimal pay increases in the last five years, the latest of which was in April 2015 when P15 was added to the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila.

The wage adjustment, the fith under the Aquino administration, raised the minimum pay to P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector from P404 in 2010.

Since 1997 when the Tax Reform Act was passed, tax brackets in the Philippines have not changed. Salaries, however,

have been adjusted to inflation, pushing more wage and salary workers into higher brackets, which compel them to pay higher taxes.

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said the 32-percent individual tax rate in the country for income over P500,000 was the second highest in Southeast Asia and the seventh highest in the entire continent.

Japan, which has a top marginal tax rate of 50 percent, is the highest in Asia.

By Julito G. Rada

THE country’s balance of payments position swung to a surplus of $854 million in March from a deficit of $244 million a year ago due mainly to net inflows of hot money and remittances, data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show Tuesday.

Data showed the March surplus was the highest in 13 months, or since the $985-million surplus in February 2015. It was also a sharp turnaround from the $316-million deficit in February this year.

The March figure trimmed the balance of payments deficit in the first three months to $275 million from $1.129 billion in February.

“Capital flows-wise, we

continue to see foreign direct investments and portfolio investments remaining generally resilient,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a text message.

Foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” in March posted a net inflow of $482 million, the highest in 12 months, due mainly to the renewed investors’ confidence on the country’s

macro-economic fundamentals.The BoP in January registered

a deficit of $813 million due to some outflows given the negative market sentiment following the expected US Fed tightening and China’s economic slowdown.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo earlier said the BoP deficit would not persist through the rest of the year. He said the BOP, instead, would show a surplus of around $2 billion because of sustained current account surplus on remittances from migrant Filipino workers and business process outsourcing revenues.

Money sent home by Filipino workers in February rose 9.1 percent to reach $2.11 billion from $1.935 billion a year ago, the fastest in eight months, due mainly to the

sustained demand for local skilled workers abroad.

Bangko Sentral earlier projected remittances to grow around 4 percent this year, the same pace of expansion in 2015.

Guinigundo said monetary authorities were closely monitoring external developments because of their impact to the country’s external trade. These are the tightening moves of the US Federal Reserve, the growth trajectory of the Chinese economy and oil prices in international markets.

The balance of payments summarizes the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world, with a deficit indicating foreign exchange payments outstripping receipts and vice versa.

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

THE national government on Tuesday sold P25 billion worth of new treasury bonds on higher market demand, the Bureau of Treasury said Tuesday.

The BTr fully awarded the newly issued 7-year Treasury bonds on a coupon rate of 3.5 percent, nearly flat from the previous auction average rate of 3.501 percent.

“The auction committee decided a full award of the newly issued 7-year bond at a coupon rate of 3.5 percent which aligns with other existing tenor benchmarks and is backed by healthy market demand,” the BTr said in a statement ater the auction.

Tenders for the government’s newly-issued debt papers reached P54.94 billion, or more than twice the original offer of P25 billion.

The newly issued treasury bond will mature on April 21, 2023.

The last offering of new 7-year debt paper was in March 2014 when the yield also settled at 3.5 percent.

The sold treasury bonds are part of the programmed P135-billion debt paper up out for auction in the second quarter of the year.

The agency said in a notice posted in its Web site it would keep a borrowing cap of P135 billion in the second quarter this year through the auction of Treasury bills and bonds.

The budget department earlier issued a directive indicating the government would further improve its borrowing cap to 80:20 fron 2017 to 2019 from the current mix of 84:16 this year in favor of local borrowings.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the move would lessen the country’s exposure to exchange rate volatility, and at the same time support domestic liquidity for cheaper and more efficient future fund raising efforts.

“Access to external financing will still be maintained, however, to allow greater borrowing flexibility,” Abad added.


BUSINESS B5W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

CoA asked to probereward scam vs Shell

Libertyregistersnet lossof P1.6b

Aquino appoints key officials to statistics agencyTHE full complement of ranking executives and regional directors of the Philippine Statistics Au-thority have been in place since last month, following their ap-pointment by President Benigno Aquino III.

Appointed Deputy National Statistician of the Sectoral Statis-tics Office is Romeo Recide who took his oath recently before Lisa Grace Bersales, PSA National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

Created by Republic Act No. 10625, PSA is envisioned to

serve as the unified statistical organization that will empow-er all government agencies to better contribute to the overall countrywide imperative for eq-uitable development, and estab-lish a highly developed statisti-cal system which can provide timely, accurate and relevant data to the government and the public.

RA No. 10625, entitled An Act Reorganizing the Philippine Sta-tistical System, Repealing for the Purpose Executive Order No. 121, merged under PSA the National

Statistics Office, the National Sta-tistical Coordination Board , the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics and the Bureau of Labor and Em-ployment Statistics.

President Aquino also appoint-ed four directors under the Office of the National Statistician and 17 regional directors who will be assigned to the PSA’s field offices.

Prior to his appointment, Re-cide served as the interim deputy national statistician for SSO of the PSA. He was previously the director of BAS under the De-partment of Agriculture. Recide

joined Estela de Guzman, DNS for civil registration and central support office, and Josie Perez, DNS for censuses and technical coordination office.

The four new ONS directors were Divina Gracia Del Prado, who will head the Statistical Methodology Unit; Benjamin Arsenio Navarro, who will head the International Cooperation Unit; Reynor Imperial, who will serve as the Planning and Man-agement Service head; and law-yer Lourdines dela Cruz, who will head the legal service.

Pepsi award. Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. wins a Gold Anvil Award for public relations tools at the recently-held Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, in recognition of the food and beverage maker’s exemplary 2015 annual report entitled “Refreshing Growth.” At the awarding rites are (from left) PRSP board adviser Ed Alcaraz, APR; Anvil juror Dean Edna Bernabe; PCPPI’s corporate communications manager Thea Del Barrio; PCPPI’s vice president for corporate affairs and communications Jika Dalupan, APR; PCPPI senior manager for corporate affairs Rondell Torres; and PRSP president Ronald Jabal, APR. PCPPI actively engages shareholders, investors, and the larger business community with meaningful and engaging communications materials that help people understand the Pepsi growth story in the Philippines.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

FORMER Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, lawyer of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., asked the Commission on Audit to investigate the alleged illegal payment of public funds under the tax informer’s reward of the government in the oil industry.

“It is an illegal granting of reward. There is no legal basis for the granting of the reward,” Marcelo of the Cruz, Marcelo and Tenefrancia law office said.

In a letter addressed to CoA chairperson Michael Aguinaldo, Marcelo requested the agency to conduct an audit of the informer’s reward payments by the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue from 2004 to 2010 during the second

term of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Marcelo asked the government agency to consider looking into the informer’s reward supposedly paid in connection with a claim for duties against Chevron Philippines Inc.

Chevron was forced to pay for the dutiable value of its importations, which were deemed abandoned by the government under Section 1801 of the Tariff Code, amounting

to over P1 billion.Marcelo said the supposed

informer against Chevron was allegedly able to collect a reward of about P200 million.

He said the same syndicate was also allegedly involved in the tax case of Shell. The group wanted the oil refiner to be declared liable for alleged unpaid excise taxes amounting to around P7 billion in a case now pending with the Court of Tax Appeals. The amount has been reduced to P3.5 billion based on the latest CTA ruling.

“We’re trying to prevent this scam from happening. Based on reliable information we got, its the same people involved,” Marcelo said.

“For Shell, the case is still ongoing but we want to show there is a syndicate, there is no

basis for the case. What is fueling the case is the scam for the informers’ reward,” he said.

He said the informer’s reward was being used as the incentive for “these unscrupulous public officials and their conspirators to unlawfully seek to collect taxes which are not even due from law-abiding citizens and corporations, and make it appear that the non-payment of taxes was discovered due to instrumental information provided by certain private informers.”

“We would like to respectfully request the honorable office to investigate this criminal syndicate considering that the extremely huge informer’s rewards collected came from public funds that should have otherwise accrued to the government,” Marcelo said.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE telecommunications unit of San Miguel Corp. said on Tuesday it booked a bigger net loss in 2015, mostly because of higher operating expenses.

Liberty Telecoms Holdings Inc. said net loss amounted to P1.59 billion in 2015, up 75 per-cent from P883.06 million in 2014.

Revenues amounted to P291.94 million last year, down 32 percent from P427.15 million in 2015.

“The Group’s revenues for the period reflect the decrease in subscribers of broadband ser-vices and lower rental and util-ity charges received from other telecommunication companies during the year,” Liberty Tele-coms said.

Liberty Telecoms’ expenses during the period amounted to P1.86 billion, higher by 55 per-cent from P1.20 billion in 2014.

Despite the losses, the com-pany said its major sharehold-ers fully understood that these losses were expected following the launch of the group’s Inter-net access product.

Liberty Telecoms said it planned to maximize existing assets and network sites through leasing agreements and opti-mize operating cost to increase the company’s revenues.

It also plans to synergize its operations with the SMC Tele-communications Group.

Besides Liberty Telecoms, San Miguel has other telecommu-nication companies under its portfolio, namely Express Tele-communications Inc., Eastern Telecommunications Philip-pines Inc. and Bell Telecommu-nications Philippines Inc.

San Miguel and Australia’s Telstra Corp. in March ended talks on a $1-billion joint invest-ment in a new mobile network in the Philippines due to “com-mercial arrangements” issue.

Despite the collapsed joint venture, San Miguel said it would still switch on its tele-communications network along with a high-speed Internet ser-vice as scheduled.

Telstra offered to continue technical work design and con-struction consultancy support to San Miguel.

“SMC’s entry in the telecom market will definitely be a game changer. When we launch, con-sumers will benefit from better, cheaper service,” San Miguel president Ramon Ang said.

Ang said San Miguel was still interested in considering other joint venture opportunities for its telecom business.



B6

Marikina fashion brand Rusty Lopez expands to Indonesia

Presidential policyto affect economy

BAICexpandsline-upof vans

New IT player. Third Pillar Business Applications Inc. brings fresh perspective to the information technology sector by helping transform customers to being innovative and revenue earning organizations. Shown during a news briefing in Makati City are (from left) Third Pillar director for SAP and business consulting Tannet Mendoza, director and head of strategic initiatives Pinky De Guzman-Alban, managing director and head of consulting Alan Alipao, president and chief executive Jennifer Ligones, sales director Djang Granados and director at global delivery center Marvin See.

By Othel V. Campos

BAYAN Automotive Industries Corp., a unit of Universal Motors Corp., launched a new line-up of commercial light vehicles under the BAIC brand.

Bayan Automotive president and chief executive George Chua said the company was moving on to become a part of the major au-tomotive industry again.

“We were really looking to develop another brand. BAIC is our new brand and we intend to grow this to become a major automotive brand in the Phil-ippines. We know for a fact that any new startup is a difficult thing, but we are determined to be successful in this endeavor,” he said during the ground-breaking of BAIC’s inside UMC head-quarters in Makati City.

BAIC or Beijing Automotive In-dustry Holding Company is one of the top five Chinese carmakers. It is 12-percent owned by Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes Benz cars.

The brand had a quiet debut in 2014 and built seven dealerships nationwide with presence as far as Zamboanga City.

Bayan Automotive assistant vice president for marketing and corporate communications Hon-eymae Limjap said the company, while taking a proactive stance on all models, considered two van nameplates – MZ40 and MZ 45 – as their bread and butter.

“We also bring in premium models such our 4x4 SUV but this is just to show that we can do quality. But by testing our vans, which are our bestsellers, one will realize that what we have is qual-ity beyond expectation,” she said.

Fleet sales of vans grew as the company recently signed up to de-liver 40 MZ45 to Bounty Fresh, the poultry brand of Vitarich Corp.

It also signed another fleet sales contract with a cable company services group for installation and trouble-shooting.

Limjap said Bayan Automotive was working very hard to correct misconception that Chinese ve-hicles were not road-worthy.

“We know of that stigma, but since we are an experienced com-pany with over 50 years of good track record since we brought in Nissan, we are aware that we need to double our efforts for brand consciousness. We brought our team back from when we were still manufacturing Nissan light com-mercial vehicles to train in China and make sure that the brand is a worthy investment,” said Limjap.

By Julito G. Rada

THE economic policy of the next administration could either sustain or break the growth momentum in the next couple of years, an econ-omist of a Dutch bank said Tuesday.

ING Bank senior economist Joey Cuyeg-keng said in a report recent reforms and gains would provide a momentum to the economy in the next 12 to 18 months.

“But gains are not totally irreversible. A president who is pressured to deliver on the campaign promise, or a president who lacks the full appreciation of economic and business matters. And if the gains are squan-dered, then promises of presidential candi-

dates could be a source of major challenges,” Cuyegkeng said.

“A number of reforms have been instituted and passed into law. Crafting implementing rules and regulations and execution are as important. Squandering the fiscal gains is pos-sible. We mentioned the fiscal challenges that the new administration could face. There are a number of promises that have significant fiscal ramifications,” Cuyegkeng said.

Cuyegkeng said presidential candidates were making several promises that could be considered reasonable and compelling.

“We estimate that the impact on the fiscal position costs an equivalent to 3.4 percent of GDP [including the claw back higher con-sumption]. If implemented [and more so if done simultaneously] then fiscal situation could bring us back to the dire fiscal condi-tions early last decade when the government was posting a chronic deficit of around 4 per-cent of GDP and primary balance veers back

to a deficit,” he said.He said credible economic advisers of the

candidates, especially the frontrunners, were a source of cautious optimism. However, Cuyegkeng said the president would make the final call and an appreciation of economic and business nuances would be critical.

He said political developments in the Phil-ippines have been largely favorable. He said elections were expected to proceed in a cred-ible and peaceful manner.

“Current government, the market and the business sector believe that the economic re-forms and gains during this administration are irreversible. We believe that the recent re-forms and gains would provide a momentum to the economy in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.

Cuyegkeng said fiscal spending was expect-ed to remain strong in 2016. The report of the February fiscal performance is expected this week.

THE Trade Department’s commercial office in Jakarta, Indonesia asked more Philippine fashion brands to venture into the Indonesian market, following the lead of shoe brand Rusty Lopez.

The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Jakarta said it was supporting Philippine companies such as fashion retail brands through trade shows and business development activities to gain a foothold overseas.

“The AEC [Association

of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community] is an exciting opportunity for Philippine companies to introduce established brands in Asean and beyond. We are optimistic that our local fashion brands can compete in the region because we are strong in design and we aim for the best quality,” said Philippine commercial representative to Indonesia Alma Argayoso.

Rusty Lopez, known as a high-quality footwear brand, brought

its classic and contemporary designs to the Indonesian market with a wide range of products from the basic black shoes, pumps, step-ins to more classy and sophisticated styles.

“We have carefully selected the best styles suited to the Indonesian market because we understand that fashionistas in Indonesia want more shoe styles that are fun, colorful, chic and fashionable. We see great potential in Indonesia and we plan to open

more outlets this year,” said PT Cruzzini Sejahtera president and director Sanny Cruz, who also serves as Rusty Lopez managing partner in Indonesia.

Maritalia Manufacturing Inc., the company behind men’s footwear under the Rusty Lopez brand, also manufactures high-fashion ladies’ footwear under the brand Centropelle, streetwear under the brand Russ, school shoes under the brand Walk-over and ladies shoes under the brand Azaleia.

Other Philippine fashion brands that made it to the Indonesian market are Gingersnaps, Periwinkle, Penshoppe and Karimadon.

Meanwhile, at least 14 furniture and furnishing companies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are set to visit the Philippines for potential product sourcing in time for the Trade Department’s Manila Fame exhibition.

Othel V. Campos

B7CESAR BARRIOQUINTOE D I T O R

[email protected]

W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

Germanfaces trialfor hatespeech

Envoy: Japanese mediafreedoms under threat

Obama immigration planfaces uncertainty in court

D R E S D E N — T h e founder of Germa-ny’s xenophobic and anti-Islamic PEGIDA movement will appear in court Tuesday on hate speech charges for branding refugees “cattle” and “scum” on social media.

Lutz Bachmann, founder of the far-right “Patriotic Eu-ropeans Against the Islamization of the Occident” movement, was charged in Octo-ber with inciting racial hatred through a series of widely-shared Face-book posts.

The trial will be held under tight security in Dresden in the former communist east, the birthplace of PEGIDA, which bitterly op-poses Chancellor An-gela Merkel’s liberal migration policy that brought more than a million asylum seekers to Germany last year.

The court said the 43-year-old’s com-ments, which date back to 2014, also “disrupted public order” and con-stituted an “attack on the dignity” of refugees.

If found guilty, Bachmann could face between three months and five years in jail.

The comments were published in Septem-ber 2014, shortly be-fore PEGIDA started life as a xenophobic Facebook group.

The group initially drew just a few hun-dred supporters to demonstrations in Dresden before gaining strength, peaking with rallies of up to 25,000 people in early 2015.

Interest subsequent-ly began to wane fol-lowing wide coverage of Bachmann’s overtly-racist comments and the surfacing of “self-ies” in which he sport-ed a Hitler-style mus-tache and hairstyle.

But the pendulum swung back a few months later, as tens of thousands of asylum-seekers—many fleeing war in mostly Muslim countries such as Syr-ia, Iraq and Afghani-stan—poured into Germany each week.

Bachmann has re-peatedly labeled the newcomers “criminal invaders” while also railing against “trai-tor” politicians and the “liar press”, whom he blames for jointly pro-moting multicultural-ism. AFP

If the eight justices deadlock in their rul-ing, due by late June, the plan would remain on hold, dealing a bruising defeat to Obama during his last year in office and pushing the issue to the next president.

Hundreds of activists massed outside in blaz-

ing sunshine, brandish-ing heart-shaped signs reading “Keep families together” and chanting “Si se puede”—putting a Spanish twist on Oba-ma’s 2008 campaign slogan “Yes We Can.”

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, two

INVITATION TO BID FOR THE SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF LOT ONE (1) PAPER TOWEL AND LOT TWO (2) TISSUE PAPER UNDER ITB NO. PB16-028

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming Public Bidding for the Supply and Delivery of Lot One (1) Paper Towel and Lot Two (2) Tissue Paper under ITB No. PB16-028.

Brief Description Lot 1 : Supply and Delivery of Paper Towel

Lot 2 : Supply and Delivery of Tissue PaperApproved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

The total ABC is in the amount of Sixteen Million Two Hundred Seventeen Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Four Pesos and 50/100 (PhP16,217,734.50), VAT Exclusive, Zero Rated Transaction.


Lot 1 (Supply and Delivery of Paper Towel) – Six Million One Hundred Ninety Seven Thousand One Hundred Pesos (PhP6,197,100.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Lot 2 (Supply and Delivery of Tissue Paper) – Ten Million Twenty Thousand Six Hundred Thirty-Four Pesos and 50/100 (PhP10,020,634.50), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Delivery Schedule The complete schedule of deliveries is provided in Section VI (Schedule of Requirements) of the Bidding Documents which will commence starting from the contract effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Source of Funds Internally Funded

Note: Bidders may bid on any or both lots,





Activities Schedule1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents April 20, 2016 to May 11, 20162. Pre-Bid Conference April 28, 2016, 3:00 P.M.3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids May 11, 2016, 10:00 A.M.4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids May 11, 2016, 10:00 A.M. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidders at the Bids and Awards Services Department (BASD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable cost for the sale of bidding documents based on the following matrix:


More than 5 Million up to 10 Million 10,000.00More than 10 Million to 50 Million 25,000.00




1. In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.2. The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be

declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.



SGD. RODERICK R. CONSOLACIONChairpersonBids and Awards Committee (BAC) 1 (TS APR.20, 2016)


INVITATION TO BID FOR SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF GAMING GUIDE/CATALOGUE UNDER ITB NO. PB16-026

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming Public Bidding for the Supply and Delivery of Gaming Guide/Catalogue under ITB No. PB16-026.

Brief Description Casino Filipino – Gaming Guide/Catalogue

Quantity : 80,000 piecesSize : 18 inches width x 6 inches height (spread) Saddle stitch 9 inches x 6 inches (inlay page) Media : C2S 200 (inside-outside cover, 4 pages) C2S 120 (inside pages, 18 pages)Color/s : Full color with coatingPaper Type : Cover – C2S 200 Pages – C2S 120 Coated with LaminationType of printing : Offset

Delivery Schedule Within thirty (30) calendar daysfrom the effectivity date specified in the Notice to Proceed.

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC):

Two Million One Hundred Eighty-Seven Thousand Two Hundred Pesos (PhP2,187,200.00), VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction

Source of Funds: Internally Funded

Bidder should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidder. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.




Activities Schedule

1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents April 20, 2016 (Wednesday) to May 11, 2016 (Wednesday)

2. Pre-Bid Conference April 29, 2016 (Friday), 11:00 a.m.Venue: MEETING ROOM 2, 5th Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Blvd., Ermita, Manila

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids May 11, 2016 (Wednesday), 10:00 a.m.

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids May 11, 2016 (Wednesday), 10:00 a.m. onwards

Complete details of the project are indicated in the bidding documents which will be available to prospective bidder at the Bids and Awards Services Department (BASD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, upon payment of the non-refundable cost for the sale of the bidding documents in the amount based from the address below:


500,000.00 and below 500.00

More than 500,000.00 up to 1 Million 1,000.00

More than 1 Million up to 5 Million 5,000.00

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidder shall pay the non-refundable cost for the sale of bidding documentsnot later than the date of the submission of bids. The Pre-bid Conference is open to all prospective bidder. Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth(6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del PilarStreet corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Bidding Fee Slip which may be secured from BASD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidder for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 06-2005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) 4 shall use a non-discretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two or more bidder have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures:

1. In alphabetical order, the bidder shall pick one rolled paper.2. The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be

declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, and to annul the bidding process and reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidder.

Please address all communications to the BAC thru BASD, Room 203, Second (2nd) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: 524-3911, 521-1542 local 223 or 671.

SGD CELESTINA R. ADORChairpersonBids and Awards Committee (BAC) 4 (TS APR.20, 2016)


WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama’s plan to delay deportation for nearly half of the nation’s 11 mil-lion undocumented immigrants was fraught with uncertainty Monday, as US Supreme Court justices signaled deep divisions.

conservatives whose opinions are critical in this case, sparred re-peatedly with the Oba-ma administration’s attorney during an ex-tended 90-minute ses-sion of oral arguments.

At stake is a series of executive actions the presi-dent took in November 2014 to bypass a Repub-lican-held Congress that refused to enact his prom-ised reform of America’s immigration system.

One initiative, De-ferred Action for Par-ents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, would shield

from deportation peo-ple living in the United States since 2010 whose children are US citi-zens or residents. They would also be able to obtain a work authori-zation and pay taxes.

Another measure would expand on an existing program that grants a reprieve to im-migrants who entered the country as children.

Obama, who has deported more people than any other US pres-ident, said he wanted to prioritize deportations of “felons, not families.”

The four liberal-lean-

ing justices pointed to similar executive actions by his predecessors.

Critics accuse Oba-ma of overstepping his authority, a view ech-oed on the conservative wing of the bench.

“It’s as if the president is setting the policy and the Congress is executing it,” Kennedy said. “That’s just upside down.”

Mirroring Obama’s gridlock with Congress on immigration is that of a Supreme Court evenly split between lib-erals and conservatives while Senate Republi-cans refuse to fill the

ninth seat left vacant by the late Antonin Scalia.

One way out of a stale-mate would be for the justices to issue a narrow ruling on whether the 26 mostly Republican-led states bringing the challenge would suffer enough injury as a re-sult of Obama’s actions to legally sue the federal government.

Roberts, who has insisted the Supreme Court should stand above the political fray, is likely to focus on the issue, which dominated much of the court’s morning session. AFP

At PEGIDA’s weekly rally in Dresden on Monday evening, Bach-mann made no reference to his trial but hurled a barb at the row over a

W E D N E S D AY : A P R I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

B8 CESAR BARRIOQUINTOE D I T O R

[email protected]

Suicide bombing,gunfirerock Kabul

Held for carrying half ton of cannabis

Onstage. Becky G performs on stage at iHeartRadio LIVE Move with the music powered by Degree with Becky G at iHeartRadio Theater on April 18, 2016, in Burbank, California. AFP

Meeting. Former US secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on April 19, 2016. AFP

WORLDEnvoy: Japanese mediafreedoms under threat

TOKYO—A UN special envoy urged the Japanese government on Tuesday to protect media independence, which he warned was facing “serious threats.”

The visit of David Kaye, the United Nations spe-cial rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expres-sion, came as the concerns over media freedoms have grown.

The government and ruling Liberal Democrat-ic Party have both drawn criticism for allegedly threatening the press.

Parliament in 2013 passed a law on protecting specially designated secrets, while the cabinet minister responsible for regulating broadcasting told parliament this year the government could revoke licenses if broadcasters failed to correct re-porting deemed politically biased.

“There’s a significant concern about the direc-tion of independent media in Japan,” Kaye told re-porters after a week-long visit, saying he had heard from journalists of worries “about their ability to independently report on issues, particularly issues of sensitivity to the government”.

In 2014 the conservative LDP wrote to broadcast net-works urging “fair” coverage ahead of a general election, in what was seen as an attempt to intimidate media.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe supported the Feb-ruary comments by Internal Affairs Minister San-ae Takaichi on the broadcast law, which stipulates “politically fair” coverage. But Abe has insisted his government “cherishes freedom of speech”.

Kaye said the law should be amended since “the government—any government—should not be in the position of determining what is fair.”

“Broadcast media should not even theoretically be subject to regulation by government adminis-tration,” he said, adding they should be overseen by an independent entity.

He said he was unable to meet Takaichi during his visit despite repeated requests.

The envoy also touched on the secrets protection law, saying he remains concerned even though the government assured him harsh penalties would not be applied to journalists.

“The law should be so amended to eliminate any chilling effect” on journalists, he wrote in a report on his preliminary observations.

The envoy also called on Japan to abolish its press club system, under which select media outlets have exclusive access to government ministries and police departments at the national and local levels. AFP

KABUL—A powerful Taliban truck bombing followed by a fierce firefight left at least seven people dead and 327 others wounded Tuesday, officials said, a week af-ter the insurgents launched their annual spring offensive.

The Taliban claimed responsi-bility for the attack near govern-ment offices, which sent clouds of acrid smoke billowing in the sky and rattled windows several kilo-meters away.

The brazen assault in a packed neighborhood marks the first major Taliban attack in the Af-ghan capital since the insurgents announced the start of this year’s fighting season.

“The latest toll shows at least seven people have been killed and 327 others wounded,” health ministry spokesman Mohammad Ismail Kawoosi told AFP.

“Most of those wounded are ci-vilians and many are in a serious condition.”

Security officials said the loud explosion was triggered by a truck bomb, expressing concerns that other bombers may still be on the loose.

The Afghan interior ministry denounced the attack as a “war crime”, pledging to track down the perpetrators.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed their fighters had managed to enter the offices of the National Directorate of Se-curity, the main spy agency.

Afghan officials dismissed those claims, saying that the tar-get of the attack was a government office responsible for providing security to government VIPs.

Pitched gun battles were ongo-ing near the building, which was cordoned off by security officials as ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

The Taliban are generally known to exaggerate battlefield claims.

“[We] condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Puli Mahmood Khan neighborhood of Kabul, as a result of which many of our countrymen were martyred and wounded,” President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement. AFP

BANGKOK—A Malaysian has been arrested for trying to smug-gle more than half a ton of canna-bis into his country across Thai-land’s southern border, police said Tuesday.

It was the latest major bust on a well-worn smuggling route.

Mohd Nizam Bin Ishak, 34, was stopped on Monday while driving a truck with fake Malaysian li-cense plates at a border checkpoint at Sadao in Thailand’s province of Songkhla.

Investigators said they found 520 kilograms of marijuana worth around $440,000 hidden under furniture in the back of the truck.

“The suspect confessed to the trafficking charge and said he was hired for 1,000 ringgit ($257) to transport marijuana from Hat Yai [in Songkhla] to a warehouse in Kuala Lumpur,” police Lieutenant General Rawat Klinkasorn said in a statement.

The suspect also allegedly con-fessed to taking drugs along the same route on previous occasions.

Thailand is both a producer and major transit hub for drugs.

Much of the regional drug manufacturing takes place in the Golden Triangle, a remote border area where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.

Major General Chartee Paisarn-silp, divisional commander of the narcotics suppression police, told AFP the cannabis came from a neighbouring country but de-clined to say which.

Thai police last month an-nounced a major bust involving a Malaysian gang allegedly smug-gling millions of dollars of heroin and methamphetamine between the two countries by train.

So far 21 Malaysians have been arrested for links to that operation.

Drugs usually sell for a signifi-cantly higher price in Muslim-ma-jority Malaysia, making it a tempt-ing prospect for criminals. AFP

C1W E D N E S D AY : A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE

TATUM ANCHETAE D I T O R

BiNG pArElA S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BErNADETTE lUNASW R I T E R

H oME & l i v iNG

l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ l i F E a t S t a n d a r d @ @

The works of internationally awarded industrial designer Stanley Ruiz will be one of the higlights of Manila FAME’s 63rd show to be held this

April 21-24 at the World Trade Center. Organized by the Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotions agency of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the country’s premier design and lifestyle event will also feature the works of designers Nina Santamaria and Ito Kish who are collaborating with Ruiz for the Spring Forward special setting, which will also showcase the finely crafted seasonal indoor and outdoor product collections for the home by several Filipino manufacturers.

Ruiz, who took up Industrial Design in UP Diliman, will be designing light and home accent pieces to complement the spring-themed presentation. He will also be collaborating with 10 exhibitors from Pampanga, Cebu, Davao, Negros Occidental, and Metro Manila to develop functional, stylish, and commercially viable lighting products. Together, they are exploring the themes of post-industrial design and Philippine heritage taken on a more modern-day level.

Chosen as one of the “Rising Asian Talents” who showcased collections in the Rising Asian Talents section of the March 2016 Singapore edition of Maison & Objet Asia, a prestigious international trade show featuring front-line interior design concepts, Ruiz discovered his passion for designing when he was a student. After learning about materials and the essentials of design and being able to apply what he learned, he embraced his major and began taking on designing projects for small and medium enterprises in the provinces while still studying in the early to mid-2000s. His efforts eventually paid off, and so he decided to work in the design industry.

As a designer, Ruiz gets inspiration from everyday life, local industries and materials, and nature, transforming the ordinary into clever and exceptional design patterns.

Asked what he could advise aspiring young designers, the designer shares that one should take the work seriously and “explore on your own, think outside of the bounds of the academe, read a lot – not only about design, but other disciplines like music, film, arts, social sciences because these all come into play eventually. It’s not only about being good at drawing, colors, or computer software. There is a lot that you can apply if you know the world more. So, travel – just expose yourself,” he says, adding that it is what he did.

No wonder then that Stanley has become recognized in the international scene with his own studio in Manila, the Estudio Ruiz Design Consultancy. Some of the awards and recognitions he has received include being listed by New York-based Surface Magazine as one of the Avant Guardians of 2010,

getting the Bronze Award at the A’ Design Awards in Italy in 2013, and receiving the Outstanding Asia Talents award at the Bangkok International Gift Fair in 2014.

At the October show edition of Manila FAME last year, Stanley worked with Filipino visual artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso and Philippine-based Japanese designer Wataru Sakuma to create the northern lights-inspired installation titled “Aurora – A Light Imprint.” Inspired by the Aurora Borealis, the dreamy natural lights spectacle in the northern hemisphere, the ingenious display was made of over 20,000 chain-linked colorful glow sticks hanging from the ceiling.

Many admire Ruiz for remembering his roots and not letting fame get in his head, continuing to return to Manila to join FAME. “I love Manila FAME because this is the venue for local companies to show their prowess. It’s actually a showcase of real industry – what our resources are, who we are as a people, and what our crafts are

all about, which are basically part of our culture,” he shared.

The designer has in fact been participating in Manila FAME for six editions now as a product specialist, creating product designs for Philippine manufacturers under CITEM’s Design for Exports Program aimed at assisting Philippine manufacturers in creating globally competitive products with design support from some of the country’s top design experts.

“We get fulfillment out of it, like collaborating with companies. I learn from them. I was able to impart some of my knowledge with them to come up with some new products for their collections. In fact, that’s one of the main goals of my design studio here in Manila: to be able to contribute to the local design landscape. And by doing these consultancy projects, I think I’m partly on my way to achieving my goals,” he said.

For more information on Manila FAME, visit www.manilafame.com.

STAnlEy RuIz lIghTS up MAnIlA FAME 63RD EDITIOn

Aurora - A Light Imprint installation piece designed by Stanley Ruiz, Jinggoy Buensuceso and Wataru Sakura

Stanley Ruiz Ruiz's lighting pieces during the March 2015 Manila FAME show

C2W E D N E S D AY : A p r i l 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ l i F E a t S t a n d a r d @ @

Liv.e SimpLyBy LIv esteBan

their books and lessons real, and stuff that they’ve only read about or seen pictures of on Google images are brought to life. I’ll never forget how astounded and proud I was of my then-8-year-old boy when, pointing at a huge painting in one of the Prado galleries, he declared, “Mama, look! It’s St. Thomas More!” I was especially amazed because I wouldn’t even have recognized the saint myself (insert guilty giggle here). It turns out that the same painting had appeared in one of the chapters of his book, and he was all round-eyed and awed that he was seeing the larger-than-life version right in front of his eyes.

It expands their horizons and teaches them valuable life-lessons and new skills.

Many of the most important lessons in life can’t be found in books. They’re on the road of experience, and kids get a really healthy dose of that from travel. They learn how to deal with people from other cultures; they learn how to eat food that hasn’t found its way to the dinner table at home; they learn how to read maps and understand time differences. They learn how important it is to remember hotel information, and how to stay safe in certain areas. They learn how to be polite and tolerant, especially when seated beside less-than-considerate travelers. These are lessons that build their character and prepare them for any challenging situations that they will inevitably go through later on as adults.

It makes them better problem-solvers.There are certain problems that arise during

travel that don’t show up in everyday life. Delayed flights teach kids to be patient and to find ways of keeping themselves entertained. Stolen slippers on the beach? They learn how to stow them in a better place so they don’t get picked up while they’re frolicking on the waves. These seem like really simple problems that don’t amount to much, but watching their parents deal with unforeseen circumstances with a calm and positive attitude gives kids

a blueprint for their own ability to solve problems confidently in the future.

It advances world peace.Travel teaches our children to appreciate the

beauty of differences among cultures and races and practices around the world. Beyond that, they also learn that in spite of these differences, they are all from the same family of worldwide brothers and sisters. And they learn to celebrate, whether consciously or not, the similarities that exist between them and others.

I remember our first trip to London’s Natural History Museum years ago with my two young sons. I looked across a room filled with British kids on a field trip – you can imagine how that’s like looking for two needles in a haystack, notwithstanding differently-colored hair on little heads. I finally located them with a group of British schoolboys, and understood why it was so difficult to find them. There they were, immersed in lively discussion with their British peers, acting like long-lost best friends, complete with on-the-spot British accents acquired unconsciously. We got a kick out of that, the hubby and I… but more than the amused chuckles, we were awed by children’s natural ability to strike immediate friendships with other children so different from them, innately digging beyond surface differences to find common interests. I remember thinking, if everyone in the world had this attitude toward people from different walks of life, achieving world peace would be a walk in the park.

It cements family values.Travel teaches my kids that no matter which

part of the world they find themselves in, por favor and arigato gozaimasu are essentials, and that a smile has the same power to build bridges and foster friendships, even without the facility of a shared mother tongue. They learn that certain things are non-negotiable, regardless of which part of the world we find ourselves in:

They know that trips are planned with prime consideration given to where and when we can attend our Sunday Masses, because a vacation from home does not equal a vacation from our family’s most valued priorities.

It strengthens the team.With five sons, we choose to book in

serviced apartments instead of hotel rooms, for both bonding and practical purposes. We love spending time together, whether engaged in active conversations or just sitting around doing our own thing, and we’re better able to do that in flats rather than in disconnected hotel rooms. Being together 24/7 with no nannies, no household help, no one else but nuclear family means we do everything together – getting groceries and cooking meals and doing the dishes and laundry and ironing, all things that we don’t normally do in full tandem on ordinary days at home. We hone our family teamwork, building with basic blocks of ordinary home chores, till keeping an eye out for each other and having each other’s backs become natural and instinctive. We must have hit on a gold mine here, because whenever we ask our kids which travel experiences they treasure most, their answers always include those times we lived in each other’s pockets 24/7 doing the simplest things together.

It teaches them to be better travelers themselves.

Experience is the best teacher, right? When kids learn the ins and outs of traveling at a young age, they instinctively pick up the best lessons that will serve them when they travel independently as adults. Now that one of my sons is studying abroad for the bigger part of a year, I am comforted by the knowledge that he knows everything he needs to know about traveling safely and living in places away from home.

Most important of all, we create precious memories together.

More than anything else, I believe the biggest advantage of traveling with kids is the irreplaceable bonding that glues us together as we go on shared adventures of learning and discovery. The weeks we spend exploring different places are precious deposits into the bank of treasured lifetime family memories that we can dip into with fond remembrance as well as pass on to the next generations in the future. Each travel experience we go through together, both the good and the not-so-great, serve as multicolored threads that weave the beautiful tapestry of the story of our family. And every trip we take to nearby islands or faraway continents offers the invaluable gift of defining and refining the meaning of belonging not just to our own nuclear family but to the greater family of humankind, the family we share with the whole world.

Follow me on Twitter @ LivE_LiveSimply

Like my page, follow all my articles, and send me feedback @ Facebook/liv.esimplywithLiv

ExploriNg thE WorlD With KiDS(WhY i lovE trAvEliNg With KiDS)

i’ll come right out and admit it: It started off as a simple case of young-parent separation anxiety. More than 20 years ago, the hubby and I took our first extended trip to Europe

while our second son was barely two years old. After sighing wistfully each time we’d see a child in a stroller and especially after that call home to the grannies when we heard our boys’ saying “We miss you!” over scratchy phone lines, we got back on the plane two days early and flew back to our nest. And decided that next time we’d go exploring, we’d take the whole nest with us.

That’s how the story of our travels around the world with kids started, and it continues to this day, with more chapters added to that story year after year. And it’s a wonderful story supported by photos of jaunts to different parts of our own country as well as different corners of the globe and filled with anecdotes that we love to revisit when we sit around the dinner table and go tripping down Travel Memory Lane.

There are some people who think that traveling with kids is like asking for trouble; that parents who do, give up the R&R aspect of travel; that it’s best to travel before having kids or waiting till the kids are grown before traveling again.

I will concede that traveling with younger kids poses its own special challenges, like the time we searched in vain for the brand of formula milk for our toddler and had to settle for giving him melted vanilla ice cream (I know, don’t gasp!) because he wouldn’t take any of the four other brands we got. Or the time our youngest woke up from a nightmare while everyone else was asleep on the plane and proceeded to scream his head off (as a mom of kids who are the best and quietest of travelers, this was a particularly humbling experience for me). Or the time we actually witnessed a family walking out of the airport with their kid sitting in our third kid’s stroller – and I, a non-confrontational, peace-loving mom, surprised the hubby by marching up to them and bravely demanding my stroller back. But we laugh about all that now, and the adrenalin rush during those situations has been replaced by great appreciation for those experiences which have, in their own way, added spice and flavor to our family’s travel memories.

There are many reasons why I truly believe traveling with kids, whether it’s to a place a few cities away or a country halfway around the globe, is an important part of family life.

It gets them off their gadgets.In this world and age, where vacation

is synonymous with freedom to play with their various gadgets (an activity limited to weekends during the school year), it can be almost mandatory for the hubby and me to plan trips that will limit the temptation for our kids to resemble summer couch potatoes. We do allow them to take just one gadget (usually their handheld 3DS) on our trips as a boredom-buster during airport layovers, but once we get to our destination, they hardly even touch them, simply because there are so much more interesting places to discover and explore.

On our most recent trip, our 14-year-old declared upon arriving back at home, “Can you believe we never even used our 3DS? How awesome was that?” Even he realized the importance of being unplugged, and that’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.

It breaks open the four walls of their classroom.

We all spend a good deal of our student life learning from books within the four walls of our classrooms. That’s normal. But learning sticks more strongly when it is tangible, and the experience of travel achieves exactly that for our kids. It makes the content of

Traveling with kids expands their horizons and teaches them valuable life lessons

C3LIFE l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d

W E D N E S D AY : A p r I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

Jardine’s line of Home Pest Solutions is available at leading supermarkets and DIY stores nationwide. For more information, go to

www.jardinedistribution.com.ph.

The April heat is taking its toll on everyone. For some of us heading to the beach, going out under the sun is inviting but for city folks going about their normal days, staying indoors where an air conditioner is available is their best bet.

For the past several days, everyone’s AC has been turned on full blast. But just like any machine, ACs tend to conk down when not properly taken cared of. The worst possible thing that can happen during the blaze of summer is for your air con to come crashing down. Yes, the question on social media whether you’ll choose a love life or air con has been clearly answered – people want air con! But just like an actual love life, you have to tend to your AC properly to

keep that lasting breeze. Electrolux, a global leader in home appliances, has prepared pointers to ensure that your air conditioner is summer-ready. Here are a few tips to get that air conditioner at home in tip-top condition:

1. Clean or replace the filters. An air conditioner’s air filter is one of the most important parts of the unit and keeping it well maintained is very crucial. Filters should be regularly cleaned and replaced as mold and other particles get trapped there. There are units that provide self-cleaning function for the air con just like Electrolux Viva Grande Air Conditioner; it makes maintenance less of a hassle because it comes with a self-cleaning function that helps

prevent mold formation to ensure clean air and a longer service life.

2. Clear the debris. The condensing unit of a typical split-type air conditioner is usually located outside the house.

Keeping the airflow of the condenser free from obstruction is important so make sure that there are no obstacles.

Remove debris on the condenser and make sure the drain is clear. A vacuum cleaner is best to use when cleaning the outer part of the condenser, but if a vacuum is not available, a clean rag will do the work. Remember to always unplug the power supply when you are cleaning as it might cause accidents.

3. Call for help. Now if you are unsure on how to get started with cleaning the air con, it’s always best to call a maintenance personnel to do it for you. Leave it to the experts.

For Electrolux air conditioners, you may call their customer care

team and request for maintenance at Customer Care Hotline (+63-2) 845-CARE (2273) and 1-800-10-845-CARE (2273) for domestic

PLDT toll-free number.

Summer means fun getaways with family and friends. It’s the time when we discover new destinations and try new things. It’s the time

when we usually leave our houses for long periods, which disgusting home pests may use to their disgusting advantage.

Once you have accomplished your itinerary and have packed everything you need for the trip, make sure your house is secured from rats, ants, mosquitoes and cockroaches that can have their own “staycation” right in the nooks and crannies of your home. The problem with these nasty critters is they can multiply rapidly if they are not contained soon enough.

Make your house pest-proof for a long stretch of time with the help of these tips from home pest solutions provider Jardine Distribution Inc.

1. Do a general cleaning of, and a major decluttering in, your house. Rats and mice like to settle in dark, seldom-cleaned nooks and corners. Get rid of your horde of empty boxes, broken kitchen appliances, and other old and useless stuff.

2. Drain, clean and cover all receptacles including tiny, disposable plastic containers that usually lie around to avoid mosquitoes that lay eggs in stagnant water.

3. Seal and repair all cracks and small openings on walls and ceilings.

4. Store food items like pasta, grains and cereals in airtight jars or high-grade plastic food containers to keep ants and cockroaches at bay.

5. Use home pest solutions to prevent pests from invading your home, wreaking havoc on your possessions, and worse, causing disease and illness in your family. With proper hygiene and right home pest solutions, you can have peace of mind even as you have fun in the sun.

Jardine’s complete line of Home Pest Solutions includes Klerat Single Feed Rodenticide, Optigard Roach and Ant Bait, and ZAP aerosol insecticide.

Klerat Single Feed Rodenticide will eliminate rats or mice in a single feed. Meanwhile, Jardine’s Ant Bait and Roach Bait will attract and kill ants and roaches, including the colony, providing protection for three months. For the flying mosquito, there is Zap Aerosol Insecticide eliminating mosquitoes in a zap.

Electrolux Viva Grande Air ConditionerThe worst possible thing that can happen during the blaze of summer is for your air con to come crashing down

Beat the Summer Heat3 Simple Ways to Make Your Air Conditioner Summer ready

KEEp tHE pEStS AWAY WHILE You’rE oN vACAY

Keep your family safe from creepy crawlies with Jardine’s complete line of home pests solutions

Optigard Roach and Ant Bait allows you to put a solution in the tiny niches and crevices of your living spaces to ensure that all pests will be eliminated

Optigard Roach and Ant Bait will effectively and quickly solve your roach and ant problems

C4 LIFE l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d

W E D N E S D AY : A p r I L 2 0 , 2 0 1 6

For dog owners, their little pooch is not just a pet but an important part of the family. They bring joy and unconditional love to their owners. Usually they are the first thing that wakes their owners up in the morning and insists on snuggling into bed at night. Having a dog in the house is actually like having another child, and most times, these furry creatures are even more pampered than their owners.

Today, there are a lot of dog supply stores that sell just about anything – from beds, potties, water bottles, hair care products and supplies for grooming needs – thanks in large part to Dogs and the City that opened its first store in 2005, pioneering a change in the pet care and grooming industry. Haydee Chua, owner of Dogs and the City, put up the shop due to the lack of available dog product supplies to suit the needs of her four-legged friends. Just like any dog owner, she wants the best for her dogs and pampers them in the best possible way. Her trips abroad were spent sourcing for good quality products for her furry friends and this passion eventually led to the very first 18-sqm store in Frontera Verde in Tiendesitas Pasig, a small shop that offered pet food, treats and accessories.

As pet lovers grow in number, so does the demand for good quality pet products in the market. It only took less than two years for Dogs and the City to expand, and today, the shop has branches in SM Mall of Asia, Fort Bonifacio, Eastwood City, Trinoma, Lucky Chinatown, Alabang Town Center, Greenhills Shopping Center, Bluebay Walk, and Solenad in Nuvali, with an online shop that started in 2013. The expansion also added added grooming, day care, and veterinary services to its offerings in selected branches, making it a one-stop shop for all pet needs.

The store’s mission is to be the shopping destination for the most discerning pet owners as it brings to consumers upscale pet merchandise that are unique and

functional. From designer collars and leashes, cozy pet blankets, chic pet beds, stylish pet apparel, unique toys and treats, sleek pet carriers, wide selection of shampoos and toiletries, fun feeding bowls, fabulous grooming accessories, nutritious pet cuisine, the choices are endless for your lovely little pooch.

Since the store expanded to medical and grooming services, it makes sure owners get nothing but the best from its facilities especially now that there are a lot of horror stories about pet clinics and grooming centers disseminated on social media. “We conduct regular trainings for our managers, sales representatives, groomers, and veterinarians. It is important to keep ourselves updated with regards to the new trends such as food diet and hairstyles,” shares Haydee.

If you have cats instead of dogs, don’t be discouraged by the “Dog” on their signage as the shop also caters to felines, and has a range of products that can cater to other animals. “We cater mostly to dogs and cats in terms of grooming services. Our product offerings are concentrated mostly to dogs and cats, although we also offer fish, hamster and rabbit food and accessories in selected stores,” she explains.

Dogs and the City is located at Ground Floor Entertainment Building, SM Mall of Asia; Forbes Town Center, Bonifacio Global City; 2nd Floor Eastwood City Walk 2; Lobby level, North Building, TriNoma Mall; 4th Floor Lucky China Town Mall; 2nd Floor Entertainment Complex, Alabang Town Center; Shoppesville Arcade, Greenhills Shopping Center; 2nd Floor Building D, Solenad 3; Cluster J, Ground Floor Blue Bay Walk. Keep updated with Dogs and the City on social media and follow on @dogsandthecityph on Instagram, @dogs_thecityPH on Twitter and dogsandthecityph on Facebook.

DOGS AND THE CITY: YOur ONE-STOp SHOp FOr pET NEEDS

Dogs In The City offers designer collars and leashes, cozy pet blankets, chic pet beds, stylish pet apparel, unique toys and treats, sleek pet carriers, wide selection of shampoos and toiletries, fun feeding bowls, fabulous grooming accessories, and nutritious pet cuisine. The choices are endless for your lovely little pooch

A special benefit dinner to be held on April 23 (Saturday) at Robinsons Magnolia Garden in

Quezon City is being organized by CARA Welfare Philippines and Bow & Wow to raise funds to cover the medical treatment and care of rescued, homeless and abandoned animals.

Appetizers, cocktails, music and celebrity appearances are in store for guests. To be hosted by Tessa Prieto-Valdes, the Benefit Dinner will feature a mouthwatering human buffet by Gaita Fores’ Cibo di M and a delectable pet buffet courtesy of Bow &Wow and ALL4PETSParty. Crisp white wines for pet parents will be served throughout the night by Planet Grapes.

Several fun activities where both humans and pets can join have been lined up, such as games, raffle prizes, massage station, pet caricature station, pawprint keepsakes, design-your-own cupcake activity and a

silent auction have been lined up during the event.

CARA will also be giving insights into the workings of rescuing abused or abandoned animals and the volunteer work being done on a regular basis. Run by animal-loving volunteers who help place unwanted, abandoned and rescued pets into responsible homes, CARA strongly advocates the rescue and protection of abandoned and abused dogs using a humane approach.

CARA is the country’s key non-profit organization involved in animal welfare activities, including saving, relocating and rehabilitating over a hundred Pitbulls rescued from a dog fighting ring run by Korean nationals in Laguna. Among its projects include spaying and neutering cats and dogs and putting them up for adoption if their owners are not found.

Attendees may come in their best matching outfits.

Pets and pet parents may win special awards and “strike-a-paws” at the photo booth. Guests will also enjoy special performances by Jona Viray and the Pole Cats Manila.

Tickets can be purchased for P3,000 with pet and P2,000 without pet at any Bow & Wow store. All of the proceeds from the event will go to CARA to help pay for the medical care, food, and shelter for dogs and cats under its care. Get tickets at Bow & Wow, with locations at Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City (with tel. no. 638-3372); Greenbelt 5, Makati City (with tel. no. 501-3681); at Al Fresco, Robinsons Magnolia Quezon City (with tel. no. 477-2963); at Excelsior in Eastwood City, Libis, Q.C. (with tel. no. 650-3010); and Ayala Center, Cebu.

For pet-related pointers and information, visit the

Bow & Wow website at www.bowandwow.com.ph.

Bow & wow, CARA welfARe Phils to hold fundRAising dinneR foR

ABAndoned And homeless AnimAls

P e t P u l s e

C5ISAH V. REDE D I T O RSHOWBITZ

wEDnES DAy : A pRIl 20, 2016

i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

Sony Channel steals the scene as it hosts this year’s Summer Escape in Boracay.

Fun-filled summer activities await the participants in this event hap-

pening on April 22 at The Sand Bar Station 1 in Boracay starting at 1 p.m., to be hosted by Jaz Reyes. In the evening, the mood is set with special performances by Clara Be-

nin, RJ Jimenez, and Up Dharma Down.To participate in this event, guests need

to register by liking Sony Channel’s Face-book page. After which, they’ll be given an “event passport,” which they could use to participate in different activity booths, and enjoy the evening performances as well.

Guests can also make memorable beach

moments with henna tattoos, hair braids, massages, nail art, bead buffet, printsta-gram, giant beerpong, and more. Plus, Sony Channel will be giving away exciting freebies for its summer-loving guests.

Sony Channel’s Summer Escape 2016 is brought to you by Western Union in partnership with 2go Express, 2go Trav-

el, Tanduay Select, Deborrah Lippman, Palmers, OPI, Style Aromatheraphy, Havaianas, Piknik, Boracay Crossfit, Megstreetwear.ph and Meg.

Sony Channel is seen on SKYCable Channel 35, Cignal Digital TV Channel 60, Destiny Cable Channel 62, Cable Link Channel 39.

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. shrugged off the moves launched against his can-didacy saying he will continue to speak of national unity and his programs that will help the Fili-pino people.

Speaking before members of the Rotary Club in Baguio City on their 19th Chartered Anni-versary at the Newtown Plaza Hotel, Marcos said while the criticisms hurled against him are part of the election process, he didn’t think further division is what the country needs at this point in its history.

“All of these backstabbing, name-calling, paninira, pagmu-mura, pag-iinit ng ulo, walang silbi ‘yan. Sa aking palagay, bawat halalan, ang tanong ng tao sa bawat kandidato ay simple lang - ano ang magagawa mo para pagandahin ang buhay ko, bakit kita iboboto? At ‘yan ang dapat sagutin,” he said.

He said while it is easier to engage in name-calling and backstabbing, he has decided

not to join in the fray of mud-slinging because it is not what the people deserve to hear from their candidates.

“Mas mahirap magbigkas ng programa, mas madali manira (para sa iba). It is unfair sa ating mga voters na ginagawang parang teleserye ang pulitika na nagsi-sigawan, nag-iiyakan, nag-aaway, pero maganda lang ‘yan sa telebi-syon… That is why I have avoided it and I will continue to talk about program,” he stressed

He also called on the people to forget the “pains” brought about by the elections as he urged them to join him in his campaign for national unity.

“Pagdating ng kampanya, maraming nasasabing masasakit na salita, pagtataas ng boses. Ma-hirap talagang sabihin na kalimu-tan na natin ‘yun, but we have to do it. We have to do it because if we continue to fight amongst our-selves because of politics, then nothing will get done, nothing will get done to finally solve our problems, to move the country forward,” he said.

Ferdinand Alexander “San-dro” A. Marcos, 22, eldest son of vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., proved to be as endearing as his father when he spoke before a student body in Quezon City recently.

Subbing for his father who was in Bohol for a campaign sortie, the young Marcos charmed and delighted the students and faculty of the AMA Education System on Panay Avenue in Quezon City during the university’s fo-rum webcast streamed live in AMA’s 39 campuses across the country.

Interviewed by AMA Ex-ecutive Director of the Special Projects Division Ludivina Pagkalinawan, Sandro said his father had always told him

not to hold a grudge against anyone and instead reach out and offer a helping hand even in the face of the harshest and most painful criticisms.

“Despite my youth and inexpe-rience, I believe him and I think these are the best and surest ways to win the trust and the hearts and minds of everybody, includ-ing the Anti-Marcoses, the haters, the doubters, and the still-unde-cided out there,” he said.

And whatever the outcome of the coming elections, the young Marcos said his father will contin-ue to reach out to every Filipino.

When asked about the possi-bility of making peace with the family’s critics, Sandro said it is highly possible. “Despite ev-erything, I believe in the pos-sibility of making peace some-day,” he said.

Sandro also explained how im-pressed his father was with the cutting-edge system being em-ployed in AMA.

“He said that this is clear testa-ment to the innovation and cre-ativity of AMA, which are pre-cisely the reasons why AMA has continued to make waves in all its strong years in the task of edu-cating the youth of our country,” Sandro said.

In the student-submitted ques-tions portion of the webcast, San-dro answered fun and light-heart-ed queries from the AMA system’s students from across the country.

When asked whether he be-lieved in the concept of “forever”, the good-natured Sandro took a cue from his father and had this to say, “I do believe in forever - that I’m forever a Filipino and that I will forever love this country.”

‘Dad taught me not to hold a grudge against anyone’

– Sandro Marcos

‘let’s work past tirades, unite to

move the country forward’ – Marcos

CElEbRaTE sEasOn Of fun wITh sOny summER EsCapE 2016

The Rotary Club of Baguio City gives a rousing welcome to vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.

Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” A. Marcos, 22, eldest son of vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., charms the faculty and students of AMA University during the university’s forum webcast

C6 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R



SHOWBITZ

wIThOuT wang2

nIckIE wang

ACROSS1 Hodgepodge7 Health resort

10 Wine-press residue

14 Ilsa in “Casablanca”

15 Successful at-bat16 Helm position17 Potato flour18 Mi. above sea level19 Layered mineral

20 Funnel maker 23 Understands

intuitively 26 Got acquainted 27 Watered silk 28 Ruby and garnet 29 All-purpose MDs 30 Dock denizen 31 — take forever! 32 Mr. in Bombay 33 Swollen ego 37 Prior to

38 Ben- — 39 More than med. 40 Hire a lawyer 41 On the house

(2 wds.) 43 Sighs of relief 44 Prefix for dent 45 Rapper — Kim 46 Mich. neighbor 47 High wire act 48 Colorado ski resort 51 Tampa Bay pro 52 Full of lip 53 Dismay at the

dealers (2 wds.) 56 Journey 57 Winery feature 58 Canceled 62 Rev the engine 63 Floe or berg 64 Natural 65 Used plastic 66 Was in front 67 Longitude unitDOWN 1 Skippy rival 2 One, to Maria 3 Dept. head 4 Building blocks 5 Nobelist — Pauling 6 Party cheese 7 Fossil-yielding

rocks 8 Sitcom demo 9 Business letter

abbr.

10 Tar pit victim 11 Suspect’s need 12 Happen again 13 Knock it off 21 Strike caller 22 PR concerns 23 Deep distress 24 Nostalgic style 25 Stranger 29 Thin porridge 30 Some angles 32 Draw up 33 Turn pale 34 “Melrose Place”

star 35 Sights for

psychics 36 Apollo but not

NASA 42 Speckled 46 Bounced by the

bouncer 47 Feigning 48 Kind of turf 49 Camel’s

backbreaker 50 Thug’s gun 51 Shore up 52 Tea biscuit 54 Malicious 55 Roman poet 59 — es Salaam 60 Nice summer 61 Billy — Williams

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

cROsswORD puzzlE WEDNESDAY,APRIL 20, 2016

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War is the first film to use the new IMAX/Arri 2D Camera, which enables viewers to have better and

immersive experience watching a movie. This we learned at the launch of Captain America: Civil War exhibit on display at SM North Edsa.

IMAX has been very selective as to who utilizes its cameras, limiting it to Zack Snyder (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), Christopher Nolan (In-terstellar), and J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

Naturally, the film is best projected on IMAX screens, which widen the view of the scene making sure no perspective is cut off frame.

In a recent interview, the film’s co-direc-tor said, “When you’re working on a Mar-vel film, there’s a sense of showmanship that goes along with the movies, and no exhibitor exploits that better than IMAX.”

Also at the launch, SM unveiled the eight-feet tall statues of Iron Man and Cap-tain America. Interactive activities are also available. The booth is open to the pub-lic and will be available at SM City North EDSA. Fans are encouraged to “make a stand” by choosing #SMTeamCap or #SMTeamIronMan online to win a three-day, two-night stay at a hotel in Singapore and a chance to see Chris Evans and other stars live at Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War blue carpet premiere at the Marina Bay Sands.

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War will be out in all IMAX theatres and SM Cin-emas beginning April 27.

‘60 Days In’ prison“The most interesting thing that I went

through while I while I was incarcerated was the complete world change. When you leave behind your life to go to jail, it is al-most like entering a different country.”

This is the statement of Barbra, a military wife and a mother of two, who volunteered to live in jail for 60 days. She is one of the seven participants that lived inside the

Clark County Jail without officers, fellow inmates, or staff knowing their secret.

This social experiment is documented for the series entitled 60 Days In, an un-precedented new, original docu-series fol-lowing seven innocent participants who enter the dangerous world of incarceration at the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville,

Indiana, in an effort to expose internal is-sues and what really happens behind bars.

“While I cannot give a lot of details away, I will say that being incarcerated as an in-mate on the show has completely changed me. I am a different person. I think differ-ently, I act differently, I view life differently. You will see me go through a complete

transformation,” Barbra noted in an email interview with The Standard.

She added that her most memorable ex-perience in jail was when she finally hit her breaking point with an inmate who had antagonized her since the day she arrived.

“I was able to get to the bottom of what was really going on and figure out why she was so threatened by me. You will have to watch the show to see what hap-pens,” she said.

When we asked what were their living conditions like and how did she adapt to it, Barbra answered: “A day to day schedule in jail would be to sleep all day and stay awake all night.”

She said that they would wake up at around 8 a.m. for breakfast after only hav-ing about 3 hours of sleep. After lunch, they usually tried to stay awake for the rest of the day and read books, or draw pictures and in her case, write stories in her journal.

“I would find ways to bide the time until dinner…showed up around 5 p.m. After din-ner, I would play cards, watch TV, or continue to write stories in my journal. You almost go through a complete time flop in jail, because most inmates stay awake all night long and sleep all day, because they say “it makes the time go by faster,” Barbra ended.

60 Days In premiered on April 9 at 9 p.m. on CI, which is available on Skycable Ch 98, Dream Satellite Ch 35, Cablelink Ch 41 and Destiny Cable Ch 98.

A moVIE bESt SEEn In ImAX

Sm lifestyle Entertainment, Inc.’s nicole Deato and Disney media’s Anna Driz at the Captain America Civil war exhibit in Sm north Edsa

“60 Days In” is an unprecedented new, original docu-series following seven innocent participants who enter the dangerous world of incarceration

barbra, one of the civilians who volunteered to be part of “60 Days In”

C7ISAH V. REDE D I T O R



SHOWBITZ

VRJ Books, the new pub-lishing label of VIVA Communications, Inc., launched the book Con-

versations Pa More with Ricky Lo.The book is a collection of clas-

sic interviews with over 60 stars including Kris Aquino, Alden Richards, Maine Mendoza, Piolo Pascual, Sam Milby, Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera, Heart Evangelista, Luis Manzano, and Robin Padilla. The interviews were culled from the popular “Conversa-tions” newspaper column in Philip-pine Star. Behind the interviews is veteran entertainment journalist Ricky Lo, who is well loved and highly regarded by celebrities and highly respected by readers.

Conversations Pa More With Ricky Lo offers colorful, juicy, and revealing time capsules not only of

the public and private lives of the featured celebrities but also of some unforgettable milestones in Phil-ippine showbiz. The book comes with several previously unreleased exclusive photos. It is now available at National Bookstore and Power-books stores nationwide.

VRJ Books is one of the newest publishing labels in the country. It will specialize in celebrity-oriented titles anchored on VIVA Commu-nications, Inc.’s vast pool of artists as well as other showbiz personalities.

Scheduled for release as well is a biography of Wenn Deramas, whose last project the blockbuster director completed before his un-timely death in late February. Also in the pipeline is the first lifestyle-oriented book from young super-stars and reel- and real-life couple, James Reid and Nadine Lustre.

Much has been written about the real and reel-life romance of James Reid and Nadine Lus-tre, but no words can capture the phenomenon that their love team, best known as JaDine, has spurred from movie, television, and recently via the concert stage at The Filipino Channel’s (TFC) JaDine Love World Tour in the Middle East and Europe on March 18 and 19 in Qatar and Dubai and March 26 and 27 in London and Milan.

As soon as the lights were switched on, the music started playing and the love team came out one after the other. The walls of the Doha Convention Cen-ter, Al Nasr Leisureland, ExCel London and Palasesto Milan re-verberated with screams, sing-alongs and calls for encore from fans, including some who came all the way from Rome, Austria, Germany, Spain, Norway and the U.S. and that also included a few foreign nationals.

The approval from the fans did not come with just the “kilig” fac-tor. James, a singer-musician himself proved that he is defi-nitely more than good looks as he serenaded his love with hits.

Nadine is a singer and a grace-ful dancer too. She won awards at the Myx Music Awards 2016 prov-ing her worth as a well-rounded artist much to the amazement of fans. In the four-city tour, Nadine sang various hits from her own album and various female artists. On stage, the two were a delight to watch as they performed their most famous duets such as “Ba-hala Na,” classics such as “It

Might Be You” and contempo-rary hits such as “Marvin Gaye” by Charlie Puth.

The famous couple continued to play beautiful music together figuratively and literally as they did an interpretative dance to Juan Miguel Severo’s poignant poetry, one of the most memora-ble parts of their teleserye On the Wings of Love or OTWOL to most. While the couple was not nec-essarily seeking their parents’ approval at this point, the duo seemed to have earned the veri-table yes when James’ mom Maria Aprilyn “Ella” Marquinez came to support Nadine and her son’s concert. For the United Kingdom (UK) leg, it was one for the books.

Highlighting the show was the “On the Wings of Love” seg-ment where Rockoustic Prin-cess Yeng Constantino reached the high notes to deliver one of the famous Filipino remakes of a world hit that has been in-terpreted over and over again because of its timeless theme. Constantino shared an interesting story during the tour. Like a big sister, she acted as mentor to Na-dine who, like Yeng, is also a sing-er. Yeng said, “In every tour, there is a new tip that I share with Na-dine.” Together, they performed Original Pilipino Music (OPM) hits both Yeng’s and of other OPM artists’ such as “Turete” by Moonstar 88.

Also performing more of the hits from one of the most success-ful teleseryes of all time is King of R & B JayR. “Ang Probinsyano’s” Tart ‘Doris’ Carlos headlined the pre-show event.

Their Manila concert may have witnessed how the two became real-life partners, but in the four cities, JaDine treated the fans with their own kilig moments.

While thanking James for their years as friends first and then partners later, Nadine quipped, “Thank you for making me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.” The crowd went wild when James replied, “That is be-cause you are.”

James and Nadine did not only entertain and thrill the crowd but also spread the love that’s been overflowing from both from them and the fans.

Sharing the LoveWhat touched fans in London

most was when the breakout love team personally visited the nurses at the Maple wing of the Ashford & St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation to pay tribute to their hard work and devotion to their families.

All these adventures and more will be captured in a travelogue dubbed JaDine Fly-ing High on Love Special airing tomorrow, April 10. Catch the much-anticipated special on TFC’s various platforms world-wide: Internet protocol televi-sion (IPTV), satellite (live in the Middle East and Europe), cable, and online via TFC’s of-ficial online service TFC.tv

For more information, visit emea.kapamilya.com.

For Filipinos in the Asia Pacific, watch out for details to the JaDine Love World Tour in Singapore at facebook.com/TFCSingapore.

VIVA lAuncHESbook on

cElEbRItIES

Part of TFC’s advocacy to promote overseas voting, in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA OVS) and COM-ELEC Office for the Overseas Voting, the #Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH campaign aims to make the voice of the overseas Filipino (OF) heard by way of their participation in the coming national elections.

ABS-CBN entertainment and news personalities share TFC’s belief in the importance of the OF vote and have shown this by ‘casting’ their support by way of posting selfies of themselves against a backdrop or scenario they want improved for the country.

#Vote4ASelfieWorthyPH has seen the likes of stars comedienne – actress Mariet-ta “Pokwang” Subong, actress and “TFC Connect” host Dimples Romana; The Voice Finalist Morissette; comedian-hosts Doris “Yaya Tart” Carlos of Ang Probin-syano; comedian-host and Pangako Sa `Yo DJ Jai Ho; indie film actor Nathan Lopez; Star Magic artist Inah Estrada posting on their social networking sites on causes that are close to their hearts, with the hope that they will see answers to these when they choose the right leaders.

Beyond reporting the latest updates on overseas voting, TV Patrol anchor and Sa-gip Kapamilya advocate Bernadette Sem-

brano and respected broadcast journalist and overseas Filipino advocate Jing Casta-ñeda, showed their support as well by doing their own selfies from the beautiful provinc-es of the homeland such as Albay and Bohol.

In the final count, there are over 1.23 million registered voters according to the DFA OVS. With the campaign, TFC, DFA OVS and COMELEC OFOV hope to con-vert them into voters.

Overseas Filipinos can vote from April 9 to May 9 Manila time. Before exercis-ing their right to vote, OFs can check their names at the Certified List of Voters at comelec.gov.ph. Voting will be conducted at the nearest Philippine Embassy, Consulate

General, MISSION or Manila Economic and Cultural office (MECO). In the meantime, deadline of requests for mailing of ballots is on April 22. To vote, OFs just need to bring their valid passport and ID.

For more information on the campaign, election-related news and reminders, visit news.abs-cbn.com/Halalan216 or dfa-oavs.gov.ph

Watch the video at https://www.you-tube.com/watch?v=krbxos5SR8k&feature=youtu.be

Make your voice heard and post your own hash tag using #Vote4ASelfieWor-thyPH and see your posts at the same site (if you use a public account).

kapamilya stars support tFc’s #Vote4ASelfieworthypH campaign

James and nadine’s love journey reach new heights

James Reid and nadine lustre, otherwise known as JaDine, endear their fans in the Middle East and Europe

“conversation with Ricky lo” offers colorful, juicy, and revealing time capsules of some unforgettable milestones in philippine showbiz

C8i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

wednes day : a pril 20, 2016

isaH V. redE D I T O R

niCKie wanGW R I T E R

ISAH V. RED

SHOWBITZ

5 nEW fIlms DEbuT In sInag maynIla

sinag Maynila Film Festival CeO wilson Tieng with Festival director internationally acclaimed filmmaker Brillante Mendoza

“expressway” director ato Bautista with the film’s star aljur abrenica

“T.p.O” director Jay altejeros with Mara lopez

Ginebra san Miguel inc.

(GsMi), maker of the world’s

no. 1 selling gin Ginebra san Miguel, was

the event’s bar host. with its

premium Gin Journey bar

set-up, GsM served guests

handcrafted cocktails such

as Calamansi surprise, sweet lemony Martini, and the classic

gin and tonic, among others.

Fans of independently pro-duced Filipino films will feast on five new films that will be screened at the Sinag

Maynila, the country’s newest in-dependent film festival.

The five and thought provok-ing movies from young Filipino filmmakers will be screened be-ginning on April 21 till the 26th at certain screens of the SM Cin-emas, particularly theaters at SM City Manila, SM City North EDSA, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, and SM Aura Premier where

the red carpet opening ceremo-nies will be held.

A joint project of Solar Enter-tainment, Centerstage Produc-tions, SM, and Samsung, the fes-tival seeks to inspire, educate, and enlighten the viewing public. Now on its second year of providing in-dependent filmmakers a brand new platform to showcase their stories, Sinag Maynila will feature films that reflect Filipino culture, while pre-senting social issues deserving of discussion among audiences here and abroad.

Conceptualized and helmed by its founder and CEO Wilson Tieng, together with world-renowned and internationally acclaimed Filipino Filmmaker Brilliante Mendoza, Sinag Maynila’s first batch of world class films were recognized for their

excellence here and abroad. This year, expect more invitations from international film festivals as Sinag Maynila 2016 presents a new batch of compelling feature films created by the some of the country’s bril-liant filmmakers.

Five filmmakers closely collabo-rated with Tieng and Mendoza, resulting in stories that reflect the Filipino culture while illustrating messages that will resonate globally.

Dyamper by Mes De Guzman fol-lows the story of Apeng, Poknat, and Tinoy who are “dyampers” on the lookout to steal from rice trucks as they meander along the treacherous winding roads of Dalton Pass. In one of their encounters, they accidentally discover a pack of illegal substances, which will lead them to the biggest mission of their lives. It stars Carlo Aquino, Alchris Galura, Tim Ma-balot, Kristofer King, Liza Dino-Seguerra, and Debbie Garcia.

Expressway by Ato Bautista is an action film where old-timer Ben needs to do one last assign-ment before the syndicate boss he works for grants him his much de-layed retirement. Assigned to be his partner is neophyte Morris, yearn-ing to prove his worth. This last trip will turn out to be a journey of introspection, self-healing, and redemption. The film stars Alvin Anson, Aljur Abrenica, Kiko Ma-tos, Antoinette Reds, Jim Libiran, Japo Parcero, and Judith Javier.

Lila by Gino M. Santos is a psy-chological-thriller. To escape a past

that threatens to consume her, a young woman decides to move into a house owned by a warmhearted landlady, looking for a fresh start and a chance for atonement. The house, however, has other ideas. Janine Gutierrez, Enchong Dee, Sherry Lara, and Migs Cuaderno are the main performers in the film.

M.R.S. by Adolf Alix Jr. is the story of 70-year old Virginia who lives in a bungalow house that stands on an earthquake fault area. When her ever-loyal maid Delia tells her she’d be leaving for good, what follows shows a portrait of a woman and a mother trying to juggle the sad realities of life. Eliza-beth Oropesa, Rosanna Roces, and Lotlot de Leon play the central characters in the film.

T.P.O. by Joselito Altarejos fol-lows the life of Teresa, an abused wife who attempts to secure her freedom by filing a temporary pro-tection order against her abusive husband only to be caught in the battered system of bureaucracy filled with neglect and indifference.

This year’s Sinag Maynila also introduces two new categories to the festival - the Short Film Cat-egory and the Samsung Cinefone Category. The finalists in these categories were gathered from numerous entries from students, and up and coming filmmakers.

The film entries in the Short Film Category come from inde-pendent filmmakers who have not yet released any full-length

films commercially neither en-tered in any contests or festivals. The entries are 5 to 15mins long.

Samsung Cinefone Category entries, on the other hand, are 3-5 minutes long, following a theme on the transformative power of technology to inspire. These are produced and direct-ed by students who are endorsed by their schools.

The Sinag Maynila Gala Night will be held on April 21 while the Awards Night on April 24, both at the Samsung Hall of SM Aura Premier. During the latter, the fes-tival will be recognizing excellence in Film, Direction, Performance, Screenplay, Cinematography, and Production Design.

For those who are planning to watch all of the Sinag Maynila 2016 films, avail the Sinag Maynila ePLUS promo. The ePLUS promo is a Sinag Maynila card that contains One ticket each to the Sinag Maynila 2016 screening at a special dis-counted price of P100, One FREE ticket to the OPENING FILM, One FREE ticket to the CLOSING FILM and One FREE ticket to the Bril-lante Mendoza Film Appreciation Course. Get your ePLUS card at all Cinema branches nationwide.

Sinag Maynila is a partnership between Solar Entertainment, Centerstage Productions, SM and Samsung. Event sponsors also include Ginebra San Miguel, Mc-Donald’s Love Ko To, Boysen, 2nd Avenue and JackTV.

“M.r.s.” director adolf alix Jr. with actress lotlot de leon

“lila” director Gino M. santos (4th from left) with stars enchong dee, Janine Gutierrez and sherry lara

“dyamper” director Mes de Guzman (3rd from left) with film cast members Kristofer King, liza dino-seguerra and alchris Galura

The Standard - 2016 April 20 - Wednesday

Documents

Transcript of The Standard - 2016 April 20 - Wednesday