Manila Standard - 2018 June 2 - Saturday

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CAVALIERS CRY FOUL OVER LOSS TO WARRIORS, 124-114 OAKLAND—A controversial video review foul reversal left Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue feeling “robbed” after the Golden State Warriors ripped the Cavaliers 124-114 in overtime in Thursday’s NBA Finals opener. Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Kevin Durant added 26 and Klay Thompson had 24 to spark the defending champions to victory despite LeBron James scoring a playoff career-high 51 points in defeat. “To do what he did tonight and come out robbed, it’s just not right,” Lue said. A physical, heated and emotional game marked the start of the fourth finals in a row between the teams and the eighth in a row involving James, who echoed Lue’s Next page theft theme.

CRUCIAL PLAY.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ felt “robbed” after this play when Kevin Durant was whistled for a charging foul that was overturned on video review into a blocking foul on LeBron James. The overturned call gave Durant two free throws he made to tie the game at 104-104 as the Warriors went on to win in overtime, 124-114, to take a 1-0 lead in Thursday’s NBA Finals opener. AFP

VOL. XXXII • NO. 107 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Oil price rollback on, gas down by P1.40/l By Alena Mae S. Flores, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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HOENIX Petroleum Philippines on Friday announced a rollback of P1.40 per liter for gasoline and P1 per liter for diesel, advancing the price adjustments carried out every Tuesday by the oil companies.

‘Black Friday’ protests stress TRAIN repeal INTEREST groups led by the Stop TRAIN Network pushed through with their plans for “Black Friday” protests at key locations in Metro Manila, as they highlighted the need to keep prices down with most Filipinos facing more expenses with the opening of the new school year next week. The main group, which opposes the extra taxes under the Duterte administration’s key Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Act or TRAIN, simultaneously picketed at the Light Rail Transit station in Carriedo and public markets in Manila, Marikina and Quezon City starting 5 pm yesterday. Stop TRAIN urged the people at those areas to join their one-million signature campaign to repeal the Next page

In trouble? Call 911 charge-free PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order institutionalizing the Emergency 911 Hotline as the nationwide emergency answering point, replacing Patrol 117 to conform to international standards. Next page

DERAIL TRAIN. Members of the STOP TRAIN Network (Stakeholders Oppose the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law Network) hold different rallies in the capital as part of their Black Friday protest due to rising prices of goods in the country. This photo, one of several in the metropolis, was taken along Carriedo Street in Manila. Norman Cruz

Enrollment in public schools extended till June 30 THE enrollment in public elementary and high schools will continue until the end of June to allow the late enrollees to catch up, the Education department said Friday. Classes in the public elementary and high schools will reopen on June 4. Education Secretary Leonor Briones

reminded parents and their children that enrollment had been ongoing since January and would continue until the end of this month. “The enrollment will continue to allow those who have yet to enroll to catch up,” Briones said. The Metro Manila Development Au-

thority said it had been preparing measures to ease the flow of traffic during the reopening of classes on Monday. MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said they will deploy 1,444 personnel to various parts of the metropolis with high a concentration of students. Next page

Other oil companies are expected to follow suit in line with a request from Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to implement a rollback early due to the softening of world oil prices to help consumers reeling from rising prices. The rollback, which took effect at 6 pm yesterday, ended three weeks of consecutive oil price hikes due to volatilities in the world market. The oil firms, however, raised the price of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas by P3.36 to P3.40 per kilo to reflect the higher contract price of LPG in the world market. Petron also increased its LPG prices by P3.40 (VAT inclusive) and auto LPG by P1.90 per liter effective 12:01 am June 1. “These reflect international contract prices of LPG for the month of June,” Petron said. Cusi, meanwhile, said state-owned PNOC Exploration Corp. has started negotiations to import diesel from Russia and other oil companies. “We are vulnerable in terms of security of supply considering it’s all in the hands of the private sector so when President [Duterte] made a state visit in the Middle East and other countries one of the things we did is to have an MOU [memorandum of understanding],” Cusi said, noting this would assure the country of a supply of oil in case of disruptions. He said PNOC EC will conduct the fuel importation starting this month on a government-to-government basis. The energy chief said PNOC EC has also started looking for storage areas, possibly in Subic, Quezon or the Phividec Industrial Authority in Misamis Oriental. “Our concern is security of supply and price,” Cusi said. He said the first shipment importation would be about 50,000 metric tons with four shipments targeted. “We have to balance the receiving facility with our ability to bring in and to be able to sell it,” Cusi said. The initial 50,000 metric tons is only a target, he added, and price would be a product of negotiation between the parties. “We are doing everything to alleviate the problem,” Cusi said. Next page

‘High-paying jobs key to cut poverty’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta

911 Superman still in prime at 80 IN AN era when superheroes seem to be everyNext page where — there were literally dozens in the most re cent “Avengers” film—the Man of Steel stands apart. Eighty years after his debut in Action Comics #1, dated Next page

SENATOR Juan Edgardo Angara on Friday echoed the World Bank’s call to the Philippine government to provide more high-paying jobs to reduce poverty quickly. He cited the latest data from the bank that showed some 22 million Filipinos, or more than a fifth of the population, still lived below the poverty line. The bank said the Philippine econ-

omy continued to grow, but poverty remained high and the pace of poverty reduction had been slow. “Making the country’s economic growth inclusive―which means ensuring that it improves the lives of poor Filipinos―has been quite a challenge,” Angara said. He said the country’s economic gains must lead to the creation of more high-paying jobs. “Jobs remain the key to poverty. If Next page

UN exec weighs in on Sereno ouster By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan A UN human rights official has expressed grave concerns about public threats issued by President Rodrigo Duterte against ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno just before her dismissal, saying it was a chilling message to judges and a serious threat to judicial independence. In a statement, the UN Human Rights Office of the High Next page GARCIA-SAYAN

DRY RUN. Grade 7 pupils from the Araullo High School along United Nations Avenue in Manila meet their school advisers on Friday during a dry run for the June 4 school opening. Norman Cruz

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Du30 to S. Korea for busy 3-day visit By Vito Barcelo

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will visit South Korea on June 3 to 5 in a bid to strengthen their ties, Malacañang said on Friday.

“The significance of this visit... basically has to do with conveying to the Republic of Korea the importance of its partnership with the Philippines and to reaffirm the strength of Philippine-Republic of Korea relations,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella said in a predeparture briefing.

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there is enough income, a permanent and decent job, the lives of Filipinos would be surely uplifted,” said Angara, vice chairman of the labor committee. He praised the Duterte administration’s initiatives in providing more job opportunities to Filipinos. He cited the latest labor force survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority showing a decline in the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent this year from 6.6 percent last year. The quality of jobs, however, deteriorated as the underemployment rate―or the proportion of those already working but still looking for more work or longer working hours―increased to 18 percent from 16.3 percent. Angara, who sponsored Republic Act 10691 or the law strengthening the Public Employment Service Office or PESO, said that agency should be addressing the jobsskills mismatch and ensuring that Filipinos had well-paying and stable jobs. He commended the PESO for its Job Expo 2018―considered one the biggest job fairs in the Visayas―that would be held today at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, where over 33,000 job vacancies for local and overseas employment are up for grabs. “PESO serves as a venue for Filipinos to explore employment opportunities, and we made sure under the law that every province, city and municipality in the country has its own PESO,” Angara said. He said that would ensure that every Filipino would be given the opportunity to look for a job that could help ease his family’s poverty. “Let us help them to have a permanent and decent job to give them and their children a bright future,” said Angara, who pushed for the law that raised the takehome pay and bonuses of workers.

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“There were some plays that we had taken away from us,” James said. “We’re in the fight now. They got a great taste of it tonight.” The crucial moment came with 36.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as Durant was whistled for a charging foul that was overturned on video review into a blocking foul on James, giving Durant two free throws he made to lift the Warriors level at 104-104. “I read that play just as well as I’ve read any play in my career, maybe in my life,” James said. “I seen the play happening. I was outside the charge line. I stepped in, took the contact. It’s a huge play.” Lue said James was clearly outside the line so the play never should have been reviewed, much less reversed. “For our team to come out and play their hearts out and compete the way we did, man, I mean, it’s bad,” Lue said. “It has never been done, ever, in the history of the game. And then tonight in the finals on the biggest stage, when our team played well, played our ass off, man, it ain’t right. It ain’t right.” Referee Ken Mauer defended the choice to review the call. “We had doubt as to whether or not James was in the restricted area,” Mauer said. “It was determined he was out of the restricted area but he was not in a legal guarding position prior to Durant’s separate shooting motion. So we had to change it to a blocking foul.” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he had seen such a reversal “not often, but I’ve seen it a couple times.” Durant said he had a block-charge reversal in the regular season. “I knew once it was 30 seconds to go that they could review that situation,” Durant said. “I knew he was late on the drive and I knew I had my man beat and he came over a little late. So when they called the charge I was surprised, but I’m glad they reviewed it.” Smith misses opportunity After play resumed, James hit an inside shot and Curry answered with a 3-point play but Cleveland’s George Hill made a free throw to pull the Cavs level at 107-107 with 4.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. When Hill missed the second free throw, Cleveland’s J.R. Smith grabbed the rebound. But instead of trying for a winning layup, he moved away from Durant at the hoop and the game went into overtime. “We got lucky,” Kerr said. “He could have taken a shot, but he dribbled out. I guess he thought they were ahead. We got lucky.” Lue said Smith thought the Cavs were ahead but Smith said he thought the game was tied and was trying for a final shot. AFP

He said Duterte will witness the signing of various agreements on transportation, science and technology and trade. He said the Philippines was among the first nations in the world and the first among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea. “We actually celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Philippines-Korea relations this coming year 2019,” Abella said. He said the Philippines and South Korea established diplomatic relations on March 3, 1949. He said Duterte will participate in a summit meeting, a business forum, and a

Philippine Food Festival. Among the issues to be discussed by Duterte and Korean President Moon Jae In is the rehabilitation of Marawi City. They will also discuss social cooperation or the protection of nationals of both countries. Abella said about 1.6 million Korean tourists visited the Philippines and 450,000 Filipino tourists went to Korea in 2017. Agricultural cooperation and the market access for Philippine exports, especially okra, avocado, and tropical fruits, will also be tackled during the summit meeting.

The two leaders will also talk about cooperation in environmental protection. A joint press conference will be held after the meeting between the two leaders. A loan agreement on the New Cebu International Container Port Project between the Philippines and the ExportImport Bank of Korea will also be signed. Duterte will also meet with the Filipino community in South Korea. An estimated 68,000 Filipinos are residing in South Korea, and they comprise workers who entered the country under the employment permit system, students, professionals, missionaries and the spouses of Korean nationals.

Oil... He said the planned importation will secure a supply of oil and allow government “to benchmark what is really the cost of these products.” Cusi earlier said the oil firms have an inventory of around 15 days for finished products and 30 days for crude products. “We want to have a higher inventory so we have a safety measure. So we asked PNOC EC to import…and we can sell that to a third party in the industry,” the energy chief said. Cusi said they will ask buyers of the imported fuel from PNOC EC to give special discounts similar to the discounts to public utilities offered by the oil firms. “We will continue with the discounts and we will ask the oil firms to increase the discounts,” he said. Cusi is also hoping that the high oil prices globally will continue to level off. “There are other factors that can also affect price…it’s the law of supply and demand…If the producing countries will be producing more oil and there will be excess supply, so that will suppress surge in price. Hopefully, all the other problems in these increases in price of oil will also be resolved,” he said. Senator Grace Poe on Friday asked where the fuel vouchers promised to jeepney drivers were, noting that the government has yet to roll out a flurry of social mitigating measures announced to shield the poor from rising commodity prices. She urged the government to release the guidelines to implement the fuel vouchers, an additional 10-percent fare discount, and other subsidies to minimum-wage earners, the unemployed, and the poorest 50 percent of the population spelled out under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. “First, the fuel vouchers should be distributed. Second, let us be quick in giving out the money here in the unconditional cash transfer because there is a certain percentage who failed to receive this,” said Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public services. Poe is also the author of Senate Resolution No. 736 that set in motion the legislative inquiry held at the Albay Provincial

Capitol about the effects of TRAIN Law on prices of fuel, transportation, electricity and water. She urged the concerned government agencies to immediately implement the social measures, which should be effected retroactively. “They should start because no guidelines have yet been released,” Poe said in Filipino. Transport and consumer groups and student leaders present during the hearing narrated that the Transport Department has not yet discussed with them the possible subsidies they could get under the TRAIN Law. A representative from the Transport Department said they have a self-imposed deadline of end-June to publish the rules for Pantawid Pasada Program. About P977 million is appropriated for the program this year, which would be distributed to some 179,000 jeepney franchise holders, senators were told. Under Section 82 of the TRAIN Law, jeepney franchise holders are entitled to fuel vouchers; minimum-wage earners and the poorest 50 percent of the population are qualified for fare discounts, discounted National Food Authority rice and free skills training, while a total of 10 million low-income households will each receive P200 per month this year and P300 per month in 2019 and 2020. However, only 4.4 million families have received the targeted cash transfers. Five months into the implementation of the TRAIN Law, Filipinos are feeling the pinch of relentless price increases, which critics said have been fanned by the revenue-generating measure that imposed or raised taxes on fuel, vehicles and sweetened beverages. “Many people feel the effects of higher prices, not just brought about by TRAIN but the world market, the prices of oil, but there are safety nets that we should be able to implement immediately and it’s in the hands now of the government to make sure that those subsidies are distributed on time to our countrymen so that the poorest who are affected by this will be given a reprieve,” Poe said. During last week’s hearing in Iloilo, Poe called for the immediate suspen-

sion of fuel excise taxes amid mounting complaints that the law aggravated price spikes on the back of rising global fuel costs and weakening peso. But the Department of Finance has opposed calls for the suspension of specific portions or the entirety of the TRAIN Law, saying it was necessary to shore up revenues to finance various infrastructure programs and projects. The TRAIN Law, which overhauled the income tax regime and increased the ceiling for tax-exempt salaries, imposed a new P3 tax for every liter of kerosene, P2.50 for every liter of diesel and bunker fuel, and P1 for every kilogram of liquefied petroleum gas. Poe’s call comes as the price of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas increased by as much as P3.40 per kilogram and as fuel prices have increased for three consecutive weeks. She said that fare discount is also necessary as school opening looms. Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, one of the proponents of the TRAIN Law in the House, acknowledged that while the TRAIN Law has an inflationary effect, the tax reform law only contributed 0.4 percent to the April inflation. The former Albay governor also said that about P28 billion is appropriated this year for various measures to mitigate the impacts of the TRAIN Law. Two leftist lawmakers on Friday, meanwhile, assailed Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno for saying Filipinos should “be less of a crybaby” about the rising price of fuel. Gabriela Party-list Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas said Diokno should be less of a price hike poster boy and stop playing down the impact of the price hikes on the poor. “Secretary Diokno is once again blabbering inside his bubble telling people not to be crybabies when oil prices have already increased 17 times since the start of the year while wages have remained stagnant,” De Jesus said. De Jesus also said it is also wrong to compare the $135 per barrel global oil price during the Arroyo administration and the current $72-77 per barrel global market prices since all other things are not constant.

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ent scenario as they return to school this June. Their daily allowance might not even compensate the cost of transportation, as transport groups demand fare hikes due to soaring fuel costs,” he added. If the government continue with the implementation of the TRAIN Law, the Salinlahi official said the rate of hunger and malnourishment among poor families will also increase. Citing the Inter-Agency Regional Analyst Network and the Action Against Hunger, Bonganay said poor nutrition remains a major problem in the Philippines with 3.4 million children found to be stunted and over 300,000 underweight—all under five years old. “At least one in every three Filipino children are malnourished. With the effects of TRAIN Law in basic commodities, this number is expected to rise in the coming months,” Bonganay added. “Several researches also show the connection between malnutrition and poor academic performance. Who can expect them to do well in school while they can’t even eat three times a day?” he said. Salinlahi called on Filipinos to participate in the ongoing petition signing to repeal TRAIN “and exert all efforts to repel Duterte’s burdensome tax reform law,” hopefully before the President gives his third State of the Nation Address in July. “We also appeal to the public to join and organize creative events that shows the burdensome impact of the TRAIN Law, especially to children. Only in our unity we can win this fight against this anti-poor policy,” Bonganay said.

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Commissioner noted that the decision of the Supreme Court to oust Sereno on the basis of a quo warranto petition was issued two days after Duterte branded Sereno as his enemy and said she should be removed or resign. “The unprecedented decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines seems directly related to the threats made against the chief justice in relation to her professional activities in defense of the independence of the judiciary,” Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Diego Garcia-Sayán said. On May 11, Supreme Court voted 8-6 to remove Sereno from her job on the grounds she had failed to file complete financial documents required. Duterte has denied having had a hand in the quo warranto petition resulting in her dismissal. “The derogatory statements and threats by President Duterte, which have been televised, broadcast on radio, and carried by newspapers, constitute a vicious attack on the independence of the judiciary,” García-Sayán said. “Not only do they constitute direct intimidation of the chief justice; they also appear to have had have a ‘chilling effect’ on other Supreme Court justices, who may have been deterred from asserting their judicial independence and exercising their freedom of expression,” he added. The human rights expert said international human rights standards on the independence of the judiciary provide that it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary. “Ms. Sereno’s only fault was to write a polite letter to the President expressing her concern on the premature announcement of an informal investigation against seven judges accused in August 2016 of involvement in illegal drug activities,” García-Sayán said. On April 13, 2018, Duterte called the Chief Justice “ignorant,” “dumb,” and a “coward.” The President recalled how she had called on judges whom he had publicly declared to be involved in illegal drug activities not to surrender to authorities unless arrest warrants were issued against them. The President was quoted as saying: “You really should be removed. You should have been removed way before. You are dumb. Your mother is a wh***. Give way. If I were you, I will resign.” “The use of such derogatory language against the highest-ranking magistrate in the country sends a clear message to all judges of the Philippines: in the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ you’re either with me or against me,” the UN official said.

TRAIN Law. They had started gathering signatures outside of Metro Manila, from areas as far north as Cagayan Province, and through an online petition at Change.org. “The TRAIN Law is a burden to the people, and then to the poor,” the protesters said. Another cause-oriented group, the Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, joined the protests and expressed alarm over the impact of the current 4.5-percent inflation rate—the country’s highest in the last five years—to the prices of school supplies and student meals after the implementation of TRAIN Law. As the “Balik Eskwela 2018” approaches, Salinlahi said women and children— the most vulnerable sectors in society— shoulder the effects of Duterte’s TRAIN Law. Public schools across the country are scheduled to open classes on June 4. “The rising prices of commodities like food and now, school supplies will directly affect children. The usual P10 to P20 allowance of a pupil coming from a family with an average income of P512 a day will become almost useless because of TRAIN Law,” said Salinlahi secretary general Eule Rico Bonganay. Bonganay warned that TRAIN might cause “price shock” among students who will return to school this year. “Before, students can still afford to buy cupcakes and tetra-packed juice to survive a whole day of class. It might be a differ-

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June 1938, Superman is still an American cultural icon, the hero of reference and the undisputed star of DC Comics. And today, the comic book publisher— also known for Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern, among others—is counting on Superman more than ever. “He is the mold people worked with, the template for the idea of a superhero,” explains Jared Smith, who works in a comic book store in Washington. “Superman is a very idealized character. They call him the Boy Scout of America. He always does the right thing and tries do to the good thing.” In Action Comics #1, 13 pages were dedicated to the story of Kal-El, an alien from the planet Krypton with supernatural strength, sent to Earth by his father before his home planet was destroyed. Superman’s debut was a smash success. A year later, DC Comics gave the Man of Steel his own book, and introduced another formidable hero: Batman.

Eighty years on, the formula has not changed: Superman has more or less always appeared in his red, blue and yellow suit with the “S” symbol on the chest. In his appearances on the silver and small screen, in comic strips and videogames, he has fought for truth, justice and the “American Way.” In Illinois, the town of Metropolis— which shares a name with Superman’s fictional home—organizes an annual festival celebrating the hero. This summer, on the heels of a “Man of Steel” mini-series, DC Comics will reboot the standalone “Superman” series. For the challenge, they tapped Brian Michael Bendis, a legend in the genre who worked for two decades at rival publisher Marvel. “You always feel the legacy of the character when you hop on, and I’ve had that joy a couple of times, but there’s something different about Superman,” Bendis said in an interview with pop culture website Nerdist. “I think there’s something fascinating about the fact that not only did this character invent the genre but it stayed true and became the core, soul, and center of the genre for the entirety of its existence.” AFP

Cayetano hit for redefining ’diplomatic protest’ By Maricel V. Cruz AN OPPOSITION lawmaker on Friday hit Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano for “redefining “diplomatic protest.” Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano was referring to Cayetano’s remarks during the hearing of the House special committee on the West Philippine Sea last Wednesday, where Cayetano boasted that the Philippines has filed 50 to 100 diplomatic protests against China in the last two years. However, he clarified afterward that not all of the “diplomatic protests” came in the form of a note verbale. The Foreign Affairs secretary said a simple objection uttered by the President could already be considered a diplomatic protest. “In an attempt to get away from the lack of action of the Duterte administration on the West Philippine Sea issue, they are now altering the definition of diplomatic protest,” Alejano said. Alejano said that a diplomatic protest must be in written form. “If for Secretary Cayetano simple utterances of words are already considered diplomatic protest, then what is its difference to writing on water? The fact that the public are urging filing of diplomatic protests against illegal actions of China in the West Philippine Sea underscores the seriousness of the matter. Do you expect China, which has repeatedly violated our rights in our territory, to comply over small talk and lists?” Alejano said. “A diplomatic protest puts on record our stand on a certain matter. It goes without saying that a diplomatic protest must be in written form. A formal written protest will serve as a historical record of how we responded to every violation committed to us by other states. Let us not weaken its value,” Alejano added. The former Marine officer then reminded Cayetano not to resort to playing with words to justify the Duterte administration’s lack of action on the West Philippine Sea. “The Filipino people deserve better than vague rhetoric and twisted concepts, especially on this matter of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Alejano said.

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Duterte signed Executive Order No. 56 nearly two years after he directed the National Telecommunications Commission to use 911 as the national emergency hotline number. “There is a need to change the Patrol 117 Hotline Network to Emergency 911 Hotline Number to conform with international standards on emergency numbers for public telecommunication networks,” the EO stated. Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for 23 years before ascending to the presidency, also uses 911 for local emergencies. The Emergency 911 National Hotline Call Center will be under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, with local government units enjoined to establish and run their respective local 911 call centers. The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Philippine National Police will be the primary service respondents of the “911” to be supported by at least 10 other government agencies and accredited non-government organizations. On the other hand, all private communication carriers and companies “should ensure and provide” uninterrupted connectivity and integration of all calls. All Emergency 911 calls shall be free of charge but all fraudulent, hoax or prank reports “shall be dealt with in accordance with existing and applicable laws,” the order said. PNA

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Those areas include the University Belt in Manila, Katipunan Road and Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and the choke-point areas such as Cubao, Aurora Boulevard and Balintawak Cloverleaf. “Our traffic personnel will intensify enforcement and clear obstructions near schools with a large number of students,” Garcia said. Briones said they were expecting some 29 million pupils and students for the School Year 2018-2019. “Last year, we had 29 million pupils and students in the public schools,” Briones said. “This year we expect around the same number as the number of those who graduated high school will be replaced by new entrants. In the kindergartens, we are expecting over a million new pupils.” Briones said that past years’ “physical problems”―lack of classrooms, school buildings and other education facilities―have been addressed. Joel E. Zurbano

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Napoles deserves to be heard —Calida SOLICITOR General Jose Calida said Friday that alleged pork barrel mastermind, Janet Lim-Napoles, still deserves to be heard if she has evidence tagging those involved in the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program, even though her provisional coverage under the government’s Witness Protection Program has been terminated. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has issued a letter to Napoles through her counsel, informing her of the termination of her provisional coverage under the Witness Protection Security and Benefit Program, effective May 25. Calida, however, said he believes that if Napoles has adequate information, backed up by evidence, to reveal the involvement of other politicians in the PDAF and DAP issues, she should be allowed to speak out. “That is the prerogative and discretion of SOJ [Secretary of Justice] because the WPP is under the DoJ [Department of Justice]. However if Janet Napoles has evidence to link other recipients of DAP and PDAF, why do we not listen to her?” Calida said in a television interview. He added that only investigations on the alleged involvement of “enemies of the former President” Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, such as former senators Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Juan Ponce Enrile, were indicted. Calida explained that the government should listen not only to Napoles but “anybody else who has the goods against these politicians.” Napoles was admitted to the program on Feb. 27, wherein the DoJ granted her security protection for witness duty only for a period not exceeding 90 days, said Guevarra. PNA

Mayor Abby leads Makati City’s 348th Foundation Day By Joel E. Zurbano MAKATI City Mayor Abigail Binay on Friday led the kick-off ceremony for the city’s 10-day festivities marking its 348th Foundation Day. Binay unveiled the ‘Makati Makisalo’ inflatable marker at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in front of city government officials, department heads, and special guests. The event signifies the beginning of an extensive lineup of activities to commemorate Araw ng Makati. The city chief executive also expounded on this year’s theme of “inclusivity” as opposed to Makati’s image of being an exclusive enclave for the rich and influential people. “Today, 348 years after Makati was formally recognized as a community, and several decades after the cornerstones were laid down for the rise of Makati as a financial empire, we will be breaking that stereotype,” Binay said in her speech. Binay said ‘Makisalo’ means Makati is not only for the privileged few, but for everyone who lives, works, or whose heart beats for the city. “Our Makisalo marker symbolizes the inherent connection between the city’s 33 barangays. We form one unit, one family, one Makati,” she said.

POWER LAUNCH. President Rodrigo Duterte leads the ceremonial switch-on of the 420-megawatt Pagbilao Unit 3 Power Project during its inauguration in Pagbilao, Quezon on May 31, 2018. Joining the President are Jera Co. Inc. chief power development officer Toshiro Kudama, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Secretary Bong Go of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, Aboitiz Equity Adventures chief operating officer Sabin Aboitiz and Marubeni Corp. senior executive officer for Power Projects and Plant Group Yasuo Hirotha. Presidential Photo

CoA calls Calida’s attention on ‘excessive allowances’ T By Rio N. Araja and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

HE Commission on Audit has called the attention of Solicitor General Jose Calida for receiving P7.46 million in excess allowances in 2017.

“We recommended that management refund the excess amount received and deposit the same to the Office of the Solicitor General Trust Fund,” the CoA said. Calida was able to get a total of P8.37 million in allowances last year, state auditors said. Out of the P8.37 million, P7.462 million was considered as excessive, or more than 50 percent of his annual salary. Calida is receiving an annual salary of P1.827 million, and that his allowances should not exceed P913,950. According to the CoA, Republic Act or the Office of the Solicitor General law allows the release of allowances. Invoking CoA Circular No. 85-25E, state auditors flagged Calida for the excessive amount. “The receipt of honoraria is not without limitations. CoA Circular 8525-E dated April 25, 1985 was issued to clarify the payment of service and/or

incentive fees, remuneration, honoraria and all other extra compensation paid to government officials and employees which shall not exceed 50 percent of annual salary,” its report read. In 2016, Calida was also flagged for receiving P1.123 million in excessive allowances, while his predecessor, Florin Hilbay, got P4.662 million. At least 14 other OSG officials— Henry Angeles, Herman Cimafranca, James Cundangan, Renan Ramos, Rex Pascual, Bernard Hernandez, Ma. Antonia Edita Dizon, Raymund Rigodon, Danilo Leyva, Lilian Abenojar, John Dale Ballinan, Perfecto Adelfo Chua Cheng, Leney DelfinLayug and Gift Mohametano—received excessive allowances. “The honoraria/allowances paid to some OSG officers for legal services and advice rendered to client agencies had exceeded the fifth percent of the annual basic salary by P10,774,283.92

—contrary to Item 4 of CoA Circular No. 85-25-E dated April 25, 1985,” CoA said. Some of the client agencies that gave allowances to OSG lawyers were the Development Bank of the Philippines with P1.602 million, Occidental Mindoro State College with P148,500, Central Bank Board of Liquidators with P123,675 and Department of National Defense with P480,000. CoA also flagged the “excessive” local and foreign travel expenses of the Office of the Solicitor General itself. The CoA said Calida’s office must refund the “excess claims on traveling allowance” of P131,892.64. CoA cited allowable travel expenses prescribed in Executive Order No. 28 “were not strictly followed resulting in excessive claims for local and foreign travel allowances totaling P53,796 and P78,096.64, respectively.” According to CoA, 31 advances and liquidations on travels “were not properly documented in violation of EO 298.” “We noted that claims for local and foreign travels totaling to P53,796 and P78,096.64, respectively, were more than the allowable travel expenses,” its report read.

Cascolan, Eleazar get new posts in PNP reshuffle By Francisco Tuyay TWO high-ranking police officials, who were just designated to their new post after Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde assumed office last month, were transferred to other assignments following a revamp in the PNP on Friday. National Capital Region Police Office director Camilo Cascolan, who was just six weeks as Metro Manila commander, was designated head of the Civil Security Group replacing Director Federico Dulay Jr. Cascolan is a batchmate of Albayalde in the Philippine Military Academy Class 1986. Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar who was named as chief of the Calabarzon for the last 43 days, was named as the new NCRPO chief replacing Cascolan.

Aside from Cascolan and Eleazar, five other ranking police officials were ordered reassigned to their new posts. Civil Security Group head Director Federico Dulay Jr., who vacated his post to give way to Cascolan, was appointed to the Office of PNP Chief Albayalde. The Police Regional Office Calabarzon that was vacated by Eleazar will have a new head in Chief Supt Edward Esperat Carranza, the former head of the Cordillera police office. Albayalde also ordered the relief of Chief Supt. Rolando Zambale Nana from the NCRPO and reassigned him to the Cordillera Police Regional Office while Chief Supt Rolando Barajan Anduyan was transferred to the NCRPO from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The reshuffle also took effect in the Western Visayas Region as its Chief

Supt Cesar Binag was transferred to the Directorate for Information and Communication Technology Management based in Camp Crame. PNP spokesperson Chief Supt John Bulalacao, meanwhile, has been appointed to replace Chief Supt. Binag at the Western Visayas Region Police Office, while Sr. Supt. Benigno Durana was tasked as the new PNP spokesperson. Albayalde said the first stage of the revamp is in accordance with the recommendations of the oversight committee that carefully reviews the performance of commanders on the ground. “There were also some retirements in the police ranks that necessitated movement. We are conducting periodic review of our commanders on the ground and there will be more reshuffles to come,” Albayalde said in an interview.

GREENPEACE Philippines, a group that advocates for environment conservation, slammed Ormoc Mayor Richard Gomez’s action of stocking 20,000 tilapia fingerlings (St. Peter’s fish) in the protected Lake Danao, a move that may kill the province’s local fish industry. In an interview, Greenpeace Southeast Asia regional oceans research coordinator Ephraim Batungbacal warned that culturing of tilapia (St. Peter’s fish) in the lake may cause pollution in the water as the said species are known for eating other fishes. “With the political election season coming soon, we might see more of this photo-ops made without considering the consequences,” Batungbacal said. He asked Gomez and the local government of Ormoc if such action has a Management Plan in Lake Danao and if there was a function Protected Areas

Management Board to enforce the rules. On Thursday morning, the Ormoc local government boasted in its Facebook page its plan to release 20,000 tilapia fingerlings in Lake Danao. The post contained actor-turned politician’s photo seen helping the residents in releasing tilapia fingerlings. “20,000 tilapia fingerlings were released this morning [Thursday] by Mayor Richard Gomez at Barangay Lake Danao,” it said. The post received criticism from netizens and even from its constituents. The Local Government of Ormoc however, did not respond to Manila Standard queries but revised its statement in its page explaining that Lake Danao has been “seeded time and time again in the past.” “This is not the first time that Lake Danao was seeded with Tilapia. However, it is the first time that said activity was posted on Facebook,” the LGU of Ormoc explained.

SENATOR Loren Legarda, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, has assured the public of the passage of the proposed P 1.16-billion supplemental budget to fund the health assistance of individuals administered with the Dengvaxia vaccine, and vowed it would be the “first agenca” when session resumes in July. “Just the same, she vowed to take take this up as the first agenda when we resume our session after the State of the Nation Address [Sona] in July,” said Legarda. The senator issured the statement after the Senate adjourned its session early Thursday morning without taking up the measure. Despite this temporary setback, Senator JV Ejercito vowed to work doubly hard to ensure its immediate approval when we return starting July for the 3rd Regular Session of the 17th Congress. “I am very dismayed that the Senate failed to approve the measure I introduced appropriating P1.16 billion for 2018 intended for the protection and welfare of children who received Dengvaxia vaccines,” Ejercito said. Macon Ramos-Araneta

NPA eyes ‘integration’ with AFP A COMMUNIST leader said the New People’s Army rebels should be “integrated” with the Philippine military should the peace talks between the rebels and the government negotiators succeed. According to Fidel Agcaoili, chairman of the National Democratic Front’s peace panel, he expects longer negotiations on the final item in the agenda covering the “end of hostilities and disposition of forces.” Presently, the NPA boasts of estimated force of close to 4,000 combatants, which the military claimed to have been responsible for attacks on state troops in the countryside. “The [government panel] has to exercise a certain flexibility there,” Agcaoili said in an interview. “Kasi if what they have in mind is simply decommissioning [of rebel forces], eh walang mangyayari.” Agcaoili said integrating NPA rebels in the armed forces could be a “form of disposition of forces,” citing the case of former members of the Moro National Liberation Front following its final peace agreement in 1996.

Pagasa monitoring two LPAs

Gomez slammed over ‘tilapia’ stocking By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

Quick action on vaccine refund backed

IMPUNITY PROFILING. Quezon City 4th District Rep. Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. (left) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director Aaron N. Aquino inspect the analytical equipment that were used for drug impunity profiling of cocaine inside the new PDEA laboratory building during the inauguration on Friday, June 1, 2018. Manny Palmero

THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is closely monitoring two low pressure areas likely to develop into a tropical depression. In an interview, forecaster Samuel Duran said the LPA spotted at 380 kilometers west northwest of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan is forecast to become a tropical depression within 48 hours to be named “Domeng.” “Once it becomes a depression, ‘Domeng’ is expected to exit within 24 hours,” he told the Manila Standard. On the other hand, the LPA at 635 kms east southwest of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, if it develops into a tropical depression by Sunday afternoon or Monday morning, would be named “Ester.” “However, ‘Ester’ would not make landfall,” Duran said. Both LPAs are already within the Philippine area of responsibility, he said. Rio N. Araja

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Opinion

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Sometimes, it pays to be blasé ten seen not too long ago that amused me, even as it left me perturbed. Why, in the twinkling of an eye, did the foFR. RANHILIO cus of discussion shift from the availCALLANGAN ability of quo warranto to the fact that I am not a lawyer? Why did those AQUINO who took issue with my position go so FOLLOWING my posts on the quo far as to claim that I had something warranto case against Madame Meil- personal against Meilou because she ou Sereno on my own Facebook wall, did not reappoint me as a professor interviews and columns in this paper, of the Philippine Judicial Academy? I was shamed and viciously maligned. This last point was particularly interBut frankly, I was amused rather than esting because a quick check with the perturbed, and never did I retract any- web-page of the Philippine Judicial thing I had written or said. In fact, I Academy will show that I am not only wrote and continued to post—insist- a professorial lecturer of the Academy ing that quo warranto could be cor- but a department chair. What was rectly used to impugn the title to of- very clear though was that on the part fice even of an impeachable official. of the Sereno supporters (were they in It is and has always been for me an fact Sereno supporters or really Duexciting and chalterte opponents?) lenging academic opposition was question. It is not only to be reon that level that futed and rebutI have kept my ted. It was to be What really thoughts and destroyed. comments. I shall fascinated—but frankly, We really lack keep it there, no also disturbed—me was an “agora” in the matter that slime the intolerance of the Philippines. The into which the exmarketplace of change can some- self-righteous. ideas so easily times be dragged. becomes a bloody I was convinced battlefield or a that I was right, blood-stained and still am, and boxing ring. the more I read on quo warranto from That is how far gone we are insofar as other sources beyond Philippine juris- rationality goes. And that is probably prudence, the more firmly I stand by the reason that for all our posturing the Supreme Court’s position that quo about being lovers and champions of warranto will lie to test title to office, democracy, we in fact are not. We are no matter that the official may be im- the greatest threat to our own freedoms. peachable. A democracy rests on the fundamental What really fascinated—but frank- openness of the agora—and the ly, also disturbed—me was the intol- entitlement of each to participate in public erance of the self-righteous. So many, discussion. It assumes the responsibility including clerics and religious who by which a speaker undertakes to defend were barely acquainted with the con- with the most convincing arguments cept of quo warranto chimed in, hold- he can muster and the facts available ing themselves out as advocates and the positions he advances. It calls on guardians of an independent judiciary. all others to question to the extent that And so, the majority of the Supreme they reasonably can: to demand that the Court that voted in favor of the Solici- postulator advance his grounds, establish tor General’s petition, on behalf of the his warrants and provide backing. It Republic, were not as jealous about forbids disqualifying anyone at the very judicial independence? Is that not pa- outset from any meaningful participation. tently absurd? And it is the absurdity And finally, it calls on all to abide by the of that brand of self-righteousness ofTurn to A5

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

PENSEES

M

A constant challenge

ONDAY’S opening of public schools nationwide is a calendar story. Like clockwork, there will be the usual accounts of inadequate school facilities to serve the needs of millions of basic education students. According to the Department of Education, more than 46,000 public schools will welcome students to another school year next week notwithstanding the lack of facilities in more than 600 of them. The agency uses a checklist to determine the status of schools —whether they are ready, nearly ready or needing support. These variables are classrooms, teachers, toilets, chairs, power and water. The department has sent standards for an ideal teacher-to-

pupil ratio—1:25 for kindergarten and 1:40 for Grades 1 to 12. Each student shall have a seat, and there must be a toilet for every 50 students. The sorry state of basic education is nothing new. It has hounded the country for decades, despite considerable progress in the past few years. Local government leaders’ eagerness to be seen as pro-education has also helped ensure improvements, never mind these politicians’ penchant for attaching their name to projects despite the fact that these were funded by government money. The first batch of students under the K to 12 program have also graduated in the school year just ended, and this year will show us whether they perform well either in higher education or in the jobs they choose to take fresh from high school. The increase in teachers’ salaries is also expected to

attract more professionals to devote their careers to the education of the youth. If anything, the yearly school opening reminds us of Filipinos’ capacity to make do with what is available, even when that is nowhere near enough. Education is a year-long, constant concern. It does not have the same attentiongrabbing impact of the more sensational political stories we see in the news. It does not smack of malice, or intrigue, or colorful language. Its concerns are familiar and even worn out, and it is easy to grow tired of them. But the improvement of basic education has perhaps the greatest long-term consequence to our country. For this reason alone, conversations about school facilities and other measures of progress should remain in the national discourse, all year long.

False doomsday scenarios predicted by Sereno’s allies justice on record to be compelled by her colleagues to go on an indefinite leave of absence. She is also the second chief justice to be sued in her own court during her incumbency, and by a colleague at that. It was during Sereno’s incumbency (Part 2) as chief justice when the jurisprudence THE proposition peddled by ousted on natural-born Philippine citizenship Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was mangled to accommodate the presand her allies to the effect that the deci- idential bid of Grace Poe-Llamanzares. sion of the Supreme Court to unseat her Sereno was also chief justice when the is a “threat to judicial independence” is Supreme Court abandoned the Aguinaldo doctrine in the law governing both imaginary and speculative. Sereno is not the Supreme Court, and public officers. That move diluted the she is not the judiciary. Besides, it was definition of popular sovereignty. Chief Justice Corona may have been the Supreme Court, not the President rather unpopular to many during his or Congress that ousted her. Moreover, time, but unlike Sereno, Corona at least trial court judges all over the country have been repeatedly urging her to re- enjoyed the support of the administrasign since four months ago. Even the tive personnel of Supreme Court. Anyway, it has been about two weeks administrative personnel of the Susince the Supreme Court ordered the preme Court, the very institution Sereno heads, wanted her out, too. How ouster of Sereno as chief justice, and then can Sereno’s ouster be considered yet, the so-called “crippling effect on the nation” a “threat to jupredicted by dicial independAquino III and ence?” his minions in If there is any the Senate has not real threat to juIf there is any real materialized. dicial independthreat to judicial Trading at the ence, Sereno must stock market rebe it. Almost independence, she mains undisruptsingle-handedly, must be it. ed. On May 11, Sereno succeeded the very day Serin sowing troueno was ousted ble and disunity by the Supreme among the justices Court, trading at in an unprecedented scale. In Sereno’s numerous speaking engagements since the stock market actually improved! Even the demonstrations organized Solicitor General Jose Calida filed his by students in Metropolitan Manila, petition for quo warranto against her in the University of the Philippines in the Supreme Court, Sereno repeatedly lambasted the Supreme Court, particu- Diliman in particular, dissipated hours larly the justices who testified against after Sereno’s ouster. No massive her before the justice committee of the demonstrations took place anywhere Even the left-leaning House of Representatives. Her public after that. tirades against her colleagues con- politicized priests and nuns of the firms, and the disdain trial court judg- Roman Catholic Church were not too es and employees of the judiciary have keen on mobilizing any mass actions. The lamentation of some senators for her, makes Sereno the real threat to to the effect that the decision of the judicial independence. Turn to A5 Incidentally, Sereno is the only chief

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

World’s highest ER battles to save lives on Everest By Annabel Symington AS WORD came over the radio that a Sherpa had been struck on the head by a falling rock high on Everest, the three doctors at base camp jumped into action, fully aware that saving him would be a life-or-death race against the unpredictable mountain. Wary of the fading light that would ground the medevac helicopter overnight, they administered emergency treatment on the helipad where the chopper brought him in—enough, they hoped to give him a fighting chance of surviving the 20 to 30-minute onward flight to a hospital in Lukla, down the valley. “He was bleeding, so we had to stop

that and then get him down,” said Suvash Dawadi, one of three doctors who has spent the last two months at the Everest ER. The doctors staffing the sole emergency room on the roof of the world battle high altitude, freezing conditions and violent weather every climbing season to save the lives of sick and injured mountaineers. Medics running the tent clinic at 5,364 meters must compete with medicines freezing overnight, winds that threaten to blow the clinic’s tent away and a cardiac monitor that gives up due to the cold. Countless foreign climbers who have run into trouble on Everest’s unforgiving slopes have been saved from the brink by the rudimentary clinic since it

was set up 15 years ago. But the ER has served a higher purpose: Providing affordable medical care for Nepali Sherpas, the guides who are the backbone of the lucrative Everest industry. “Before Everest ER was set up the Sherpas didn’t have any proper coverage,” explained Subarna Adhikari, an orthopaedic surgeon. Risky business Established by an American doctor and now run by the Nepal-based Himalayan Rescue Association, the ER charges foreign climbers for treatment and in return provides subsidized care to the Sherpas. The ER has helped chip away at the stark imbalance between the foreigners Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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Opinion

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Everyone a loser in Marcos-Robredo case

Tax all Church properties

world for this way of voting, but electoral agencies have always been liberal in interpreting what votes count. As always, whether automated or not, giving effect to the will of the people and the intent of the voters is imperative. A more liberal approach must therefore be applied which means going for the 25 percent rather than the more stringent 50 percent shading threshold, the former being more in keeping with the spirit of our electoral laws. A contrary view will end up frustrating the will of the electorate.

which everybody knows is being used to deduct payment of tax which donation is equally tax exempt from the donor’s tax. The practice of exempting religious organizations from the payment of WHEN the Church-dominated Consti- tax on their landholding and propertutional Commission opted to exempt ties other than those directly, actureligious organizations from the pay- ally and exclusively used for their ment of taxes, the framers completely spiritual service has been utilized by ignored that in exchange for that privi- some religious cults, demagogues and lege is their duty to uplift the moral charlatans with some even boasting of and spiritual life of our people. This brokering candidates for public office. is implicit in Section 5, Article III of Even if they would not solicit donathe Bill of Rights. Instead of attend- tions, nonetheless most candidates ing to its basic obligation, it focused donate to make sure the church will on the benefit the Church will derive support their bid. Some even run for as stated in Section 28 (3), Article VI public office themselves using their of the 1987 Constitution, to quote: followers in whose loyalty is only to “Charitable institutions, churches and them, and not to the government. We personages or convents appurtenant see some of them in Congress often thereto, mosque and non-profit cem- styling themselves as more knowleteries, and all lands, buildings, and edgeable to their peers. improvements, actually, directly and Generally, there are several taxes exclusively used for religious, charita- that the Church and other religious orble, or educational purposes shall be ganizations are exempt from. First is exempt from taxation.” individual income tax. Priests, nuns, Worth noting is when the Constitu- ministers, imams, rabbis are exempt tion exempted the Church properties for reasons that they do not receive from tax, that sent a foreboding warn- salary for their vocation. Only allowing that the Filipino people will not ance is given them although many enbe having a democratic, but a clerico- joy their basic needs well above that elitist government. Specifically, the enjoyed of ordinary wage earners. Roman Catholic Church, and their Second, since all corporations minions thought that resurrecting owned by the religious organizathat ancient feudalistic practice would tions are placed under the category mark the spiritual of non-stock and revival of the nanon-profit cortion which they porations, autoblamed to have matically they are Resurrecting that degenerated durexempted from ing the Marcos ancient feudalistic the payment of inera. practice would mark the come tax. Not one of those Third, even c o m m i s s i o n e r s spiritual revival of the if many of their entertained the nation. properties are idea that exemptnot used directly, ing the Church actually and and its properties exclusively would equally used for their apply to all other religious organiza- religious rites, they can still avail of tions. They never anticipated that it tax exemption by converting them to would work against them in terms of foundations or charitable institutions, collection competition, much that oth- provided under Section 30 (E) of the ers have perfected the art of tithing National Internal Revenue Code, to and discipline that in less than four quote: “Non-stock corporation or decades since the application of that association organized and operated provision saw the spouting of various exclusively for religious, charitable, religions with many of their leaders scientific, athletic, or cultural acting like self-styled political bro- purposes, or for the rehabilitation of kers, living like modern-day mahara- veterans, no part of its net income or jahs wallowing in fabulous luxury no asset shall belong to or inure to the different from the ancient emperors. benefit of any member, organizer, The net result is the revival of a officer or any specific person.” theocratic government. The CathoFourth, they are also exempted from lic Church concentrated on the nasty the payment of excise tax on imported habit of interfering in governmen- educational materials such as books tal affairs by asking so many favors. and scientific instruments for their Nonetheless, tax exemption has al- educational institutions. lowed them to finance their evangeliFifth, donations to religious organical activities. This in turn accelerated zations and charitable institutions are their recruitment. For that same peri- exempt from donor’s tax. This is a douod, many religious organizations were ble whammy to the donor because on able to build palatial houses for their top of this privilege of exemption, they spiritual leaders, establish their own can use the amount donated as tax deschools, universities, hospitals, own ductible. In effect, both the giver and television channels and radio stations, receiver under this situation are able to and operate cooperatives and charita- get away with the payment of tax. ble organizations for their members. Some suggest that non-taxable gains The Church operates so many edu- should not be allowed to purchase govcational institutions where students ernment bonds and Treasury bills. If mostly from the upper class of soci- ever non-taxable income is invested, ety are enrolled. They represent the it should be first required to pay tax biggest and most lucrative of all their before being allowed to purchase said businesses. Educational institutions bonds and Treasury bills. Otherwise, are not only exempt from the payment the government would be paying them of income tax, but also from the pay- interest for their investment which ment of real estate tax. The Church they did not pay the corresponding has vast landholdings classified as tax. For instance, part of the commisseminaries, convents, retreat houses, sion earned by those who worked to retirement houses for the retired mem- secure the approval of the controverbers of the Church, orphanages, hos- sial Peace Bond Code-NGO was used pitals, charitable houses and cemeter- to purchase stocks from the now priies. They have numerous non-stock vatized Lopez-owned EDC. and non-profit corporations which are Sixth, the church should be prohibalso tax-free. However, this exemp- ited from funneling their income to tion equally applies to other religious create people’s organizations. This is organizations under the principle of pursuant to Section 15, Article XIII equal protection clause. of the Constitution or on the role and The crux however is that Catholic rights of people’s organizations. PeoChurch is now reeling the pinch of di- ple’s organization or NGOs are tax minished followers and contributions. exempt. The Church has increasingly become Seventh, non-profit and non-stock dependent on the oligarchs and the corporations or NGOs have been used elite for contributions. This kind of to stash public funds appropriated for symbiotic relationship cemented the public use. The NGOs created by Janet alliance between the Church and the Napoles were used to funnel developoligarchy, viz. against any govern- mental projects to members of Conment that will attempt to bring about gress. Note that NGOs can avail of tax reforms in our society. exemption if engaged in charitable and For instance, allowing the super rich welfare assistance program, but not to have a building named in his honor when acting as broker or facilitator for inside a church-operated university the release of public funds. visible to the public has become ludiWorse, many of these NGOs are crous, for it seems the building stands being used as fronts by foreign alongside with the building honoring intelligence agencies to subvert the patron saint of the church order. the government and often they are One university noted for its open po- affiliated with the Church. In effect, litical bias against the government people operating these NGOs are even accorded an honorary doctorate engaged in subversion. degree “honoris causa” degrees to tycoons in exchange for their donations rpkapunan@gmail.com

TWO years after Bongbong Marcos filed the electoral protest and accused Leni Robredo of cheating in the May 2016 vice presidential elections, the recount, which officially began last March, is now ongoing. The recount covers 5,418 precincts in three pilot provinces which were chosen by Marcos, namely: Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental. If Marcos gains sufficient votes in these provinces, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal is expected to expand the recount to other provinces, including those where Robredo has filed a counter-protest. The fight between the contending candidates now focuses on which shading threshold to apply to determine how far ballots should be shaded to be considered valid. The dispute is whether the Presidential Electoral Tribunal should apply the 25-percent ballot shading threshold which is being pushed by the Robredo camp, or the 50-percent ballot shading threshold being espoused by the Marcos camp. From one point of view, this does not matter. Robredo might lose votes (that is not at all certain as the votes set aside are not yet necessarily voided) in the pilot provinces that are her bailiwicks but she could gain them back easily in the provinces where she lost to Marcos. I assume that the same number or proportion of Marcos voters would have shaded ballots at less than 50 percent even if that is the threshold proposed by Marcos. The use of the 50-percent threshold will produce absurd results. Imagine millions being disenfranchised only because they did not shade 50 percent of the ovals in the ballots and not 100 percent as instructed? These ballots have been accepted and recognized by the counting machines and found to be regular by the election officers. Why reject them based on some dubious technicality two years after the elections? The 100-percent shading requirement is the instruction all over the

World’s... From A4

who pay a small fortune to summit Everest and Sherpas who take on much of the risk to get them there. A Sherpa can earn up to $10,000— more than 14 times the average annual salary in Nepal—during the brief twomonth climbing season that runs from early April to late May. But that means many ignore medical issues for fear of being forced out of a season’s work. “For them to lose that job, for them not to complete the season, is disastrous,” said Dawadi. A routine morning at the ER was shattered as an injured sherpa was rushed into the clinic—he had fallen 60 metres into a crevasse in the treacherous Khumbu icefall. Doctors quickly assessed him for internal bleeding—a life-threatening injury so far from a fully equipped hospital.

False... From A4

Supreme Court diluted the impeachment power of both houses of Congress is groundless. As discussed in a previous essay under this column, that is a selfserving observation. Since the Supreme Court is explicitly authorized by the Constitution to resolve petitions for quo warranto, how can the exercise by the Supreme Court of a power vested in it by the Constitution dilute a power of either house of Congress? In fact, the senators should be happy that the Supreme Court spared them the trouble, inconvenience, and expense of conducting a protracted impeachment trial. Actually, the senators were looking forward to Sereno’s impeachment trial. That trial would have generated a lot of free publicity for the senators, especially those eyeing reelection in 2019. Yes, some senators were willing to promote themselves in the impeachment trial, even if it means subjecting Sereno to public embarrassment. The statement of the dissenting jus-

Sometimes,... From A4

more convincing argument. Really, none of this was present in the quo warranto discussions. The attacks on my qualifications were attempts to silence me. I had no right to participate in the discourse because I am not a lawyer (no matter how fallacious such a position was). I was eager to answer questions of law. Some, like

We would have an absurd situation if the 50-percent threshold is used for this position only.

As reported by Rappler, former Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes also believes that 25 percent is the way to go. Although an avowed Marcos supporter, the brilliant Briliantes (pun is intended) nonetheless believes that the Comelec has opted for the 25-percent shading threshold. According to him, it would be “abnormal” for the Supreme Court to uphold a 50-percent ballot shading threshold in the vice-presidential recount. He believes that Comelec had set the ballot shading threshold at 25 percent for the 2016 polls. “In the May 2016 nationwide elections, the Comelec opted to use another shading threshold—25 percent. While the same was not announced prior to the elections, the 25-percent threshold was used in the random manual audit and is being used in all the protest cases in all the elected positions,” said Brillantes. “It will therefore be very inappropriate and abnormal that in reference to the protest case for the vice-presidential position, the PET will still avail of the old [shading threshold],” he added.

To the former poll chief, this means the 25-percent shading threshold was programmed to apply to all the positions included in the 2016 ballot. “It would therefore be most abnormal to have a different threshold for the vicepresidential protest distinct from the threshold for all the other elected positions in the same ballot,” he added. He explained that in the 2010 presidential race, the Comelec had set the threshold at 50 percent. This meant the precinct count optical scanner machines used at the time reverted ballots that had ovals that did not meet the 50-percent shading threshold. Voters concerned were then allowed to correctly shade the ballot ovals to meet the 50-percent shading requirement. But it was “time-consuming process,” which led the Comelec to lower the ballot shading threshold to 20 percent during the 2013 midterm elections. “The effect of the reduced 20-percent threshold was such that if the voter shades 20 percent or more, the ballot is accepted and counted. If, however, the shade is less than 20 percent, the ballot is still accepted by the machine but the vote is not counted,” he explained. Following Brillantes, if the 50-percent threshold is upheld, we would have an absurd situation where the 2016 elections was conducted using a 25-percent threshold for President, Senators, representatives, and all local positions at stake, while prescribing a stricter standard of 50 percent for vice president. The PET justified its denial of Robredo’s position by saying that it is “not aware” of any resolution issued by the Comelec that states the applicability of the 25-percent minimum threshold for the 2016 polls. The High Court said it has “no basis,” therefore, to impose a 25-percent threshold for the ballot recount. But the Robredo camp is insisting that Comelec has issued a resolution dated September 6, 2016 recognizing the 25-percent shading threshold. In my view, both Robredo and Marcos will lose votes if the 50-percent threshold is retained. But the biggest loser will be the disenfranchised voters. That is the outcome we do not want. Facebook: tonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

But the Sherpa’s sobs of pain gradually gave way to relief as doctors confirmed no bleeding or broken bones. A few days’ rest, and he would be back at work. Changing attitudes Doctors say attitudes are changing among Sherpas and other Nepalis working on the mountain. More are seeking early intervention for health conditions, ensuring their problems don’t worsen and cost them a season’s work. More than 60 percent of the nearly 400 patients treated at the clinic this season were Sherpas or other locals working on Everest. Despite its life-saving work the clinic scrambles to stay afloat, reliant on the $100 fee it charges foreign patients and donations, mostly in the form of medical equipment. Attempts to persuade the Nepal government to fund the clinic through the hefty $11,000 permit paid by every climber heading for Everest’s summit has fallen on deaf ears.

Beyond help Sometimes, emergencies are beyond the doctors’ reach. News came over the clinic’s radio that a Russian climber was stranded at 7,250 metres, alone and disorientated. Teams heading for the summit had passed Rustem Amirov and radioed for help, but none would turn back and aid the stricken man. The doctors tried to persuade climbers on the mountain to help Amirov. Someone gave him water, another a steroid that alleviates altitude sickness. “You feel quite frustrated and useless. You’re standing by. Help is potentially available if these teams get their act together,” said Australian doctor Brenton Systermans. Eventually two climbers dragged Amirov to the nearest tent, just 100 meters away. They radioed down to the doctors and then left him. “If he was evacuated within an hour he would have survived,” said Adhikari. But no help came for the lone mountaineer. He died on May 17. AFP

tice to the effect that “all appointees,” including those appointed by previous administrations, are “now open targets for the solicitor general” by way of quo warranto is a fallacy. Like any petition filed in the Supreme Court, a petition for quo warranto filed by the solicitor general can either be granted or dismissed by the Supreme Court. In other words, it is the Supreme Court, and not the solicitor general, which decides the fate of the solicitor general’s petition for quo warranto. Where then is the imagined abuse of quo warranto by the solicitor general? In fine, the decision of the Supreme Court ousting Sereno did not empower the solicitor general to use quo warranto as a means of harassing any and all appointees in the government because the final say on the fate of the petition is with the Supreme Court. Restated, the solicitor general cannot abuse a power he does not even exercise in the first place. In addition, long before the Supreme Court voted to unseat Sereno, the remedy of quo warranto was already in the books. In fact, it is authorized by the rules promulgated by the Supreme

Court. As mentioned earlier in this essay, it is a remedy available to the state to guard against void appointments. Finally, the remarks made by Leni Robredo, the purported vice president of the country, should not be taken seriously. Like Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Robredo does not understand Constitutional Law. Robredo’s claim that she will be the next to be removed from office is not a sympathetic statement for Sereno, but a concealed attempt on her part to generate public support and sympathy, should the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, unseat her as vice president. As the supposed vice president of the country, Robredo has done nothing of consequence. All she has so far done is to get herself into the good graces of the figureheads of the political opposition and to encourage them to find fault in President Rodrigo Duterte. A recent television news report suggests that Robredo is still enjoying her stay at her opulent vice presidential mansion in New Manila, Quezon City at the expense of taxpayers.

Carlos Hernandez Jr. did engage me very constructively, very intelligently and very respectfully—and I was flattered and honored by the exchange with him. But most were merely visceral attacks. Only noise, and nothing more. And so, we had Senator Panfilo Lacson taking to the Senate floor and making mince meat of the specious posturing of stalwarts of the Liberal Party. I am glad that there is an opposition party, but I do not like it when it lends itself to the ways of irrationality, when it takes

part in drowning out the useful noise of the agora with the steady beat of a partisan drum. While he be subject to vituperation now against his person, in much the same way that the Solicitor General’s business interests have, all of a sudden, become the new national passion? In the face of protuberant self-righteousness, it does pay to be blasé. rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

BACKBENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN

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SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 Standard TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com Manila

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

AUCTION SALE ACME PAWNSHOP 1st Level Glorietta 3 Ayala, Makati and its branches in Majalco Bldg., Buenavidez St., Legaspi Village, Makati and L & R Bldg., Pasay Road, Makati auction sale on June 05, 2018, 3:00 pm Alabang Town Center, Alabang Zapote Road, MJ Holding Bldg., Almanza Las Piñas, Circle C G14, #17 Congressional Ave., Bahay Toro D1, Quezon City at 9:30 am. All items pawned January 31, to 312017. Notary Public

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.

(MS-JUNE 2, 2018)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Department of Finance Department of Trade and Industry JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 1-2018 AMENDING RULE III SECTIONS 2, 3 AND 4 OF THE JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 1-2016 IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT (RA) NO. 10708 Pursuant to Rule VIII of the Rules and Regulations to implement RA No. 10708, Rule III Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the aforementioned JAO are hereby amended to read as follows: RULE III INCENTIVES MONITORING MECHANISM xxx SECTION 2. Role of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. – The BIR shall: a.

On or before AUGUST 15 of every year, submit to the Department of Finance (DOF), notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the tax incentives of RBEs as reflected in their filed annual OR QUARTERLY tax returns: Provided, That, pursuant to Section 270 of the NIRC, as amended, such submission of BIR to the DOF shall not contain specific names of the RBEs or other identifiers.

b.

Within ninety (90) days after the lapse of the said period to assess provided under the NIRC, as amended, update the foregoing report with income-based tax incentives, deductions, credits or exclusions from the gross income, VAT AND OTHER TAX INCENTIVES as assessed under the NIRC, and submit the same to the DOF and NEDA Secretariat.

SECTION 3. Role of the Bureau of Customs (BOC). – The BOC shall, on or before AUGUST 15 of every year, submit to the DOF, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the VAT and duty incentives availed by RBEs as reflected in their filed import entries.

Senators crossed party lines to approve BBL—Aquino By Macon Ramos-Araneta

S

ENATOR Paolo Benigno Aquino lV stressed Friday his colleagues crossed party lines to approve the Bangsamoro Basic Law on third and final reading, saying this type of teamwork could also alleviate Filipinos from the rise in prices. “We are happy to see wide support for the BBL. We are hopeful that it will help usher in peace and development to the Bangsamoro region,” said Aquino, who co-sponsored and co-authored the measure. He said members of the bicameral conference on the BBL would ensure this could help improve lives in Mindanao,” said Aquino. The opposition senator was referring to some contentious provisions of the Senate version, which he hopes could be ironed out during the bicameral committee conference. “With the BBL...we’ve proven that we can work beyond political lines to pass reforms that will benefit the people. We should do the same to alleviate Filipinos from the rising prices,” added Aquino. referring to his proposal to suspend the TRAIN Law. In a related development: • Once enacted, the proposed BBL would be a tool to quell terrorism threats, Armed

Forces of the Philippines Chief-of-Staff General Carlito Galvez Jr. said. “I was informed that the third reading and final reading was already approved by the [House of Representatives and Senate], we’re so happy, as I have said that the BBL is one of the antidotes [to] the terrorism [problem],” he said Thursday. A day after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the BBL as urgent, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed on second and third reading the bill which aims to hopefully end decades of conflict in Mindanao. “I believe they [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] are very happy with the passage, this is a long way negotiation since 1997 and we had a ceasefire and i believe this is a very positive milestone,” Galvez said. Once the BBL is passed into law, it would serve as the enabling law of the 2014 land-

mark peace deal between the government and the MILF, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro aims to grant greater autonomy to the Bangsamoro region. Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 1798, which seeks to rollback TRAIN’s excise tax on fuel when average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period. The Senate passed the BBL on third and final reading last night, with amendments that recognize the rights of indigenous peoples living within the proposed core territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro. Timuay Datuwata, Lambagian leader from Upi, Maguindanao whose ancestral domain lies within the proposed core territory, said their proposals were nothing new. “We just want the BBL to explicitly recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, a national law which sets the minimum standards of recognition of IP rights. IPRA has never been implemented in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. This time, we hope it will be,” Datuwata said. Several senators sponsored “IP amendments” including the freedom of choice of all indigenous peoples within the Bangsamoro territory “to retain their distinct indigenous and ethnic identity.”

SECTION 4. Role of the Department of Finance. – For purposes of monitoring and transparency, the DOF shall have the following responsibilities: a.

Maintain a single database for monitoring and analysis of tax incentives granted;

b.

ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 15 OF EVERY YEAR, ESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF TAX INCENTIVES AVAILED BY RBES; and

c.

On or before June 30 of the subsequent year, submit to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee created under Section 9 of RA 10708, and upon request, to the NEDA Secretariat the aggregate data categorized by sector, by IPA and by type of tax: (1) the amount of tax incentives availed by RBEs; (2) the estimated claims of tax incentives immediately preceding the current year; (3) the programmed tax incentives for the current year; and (4) the projected tax incentives for the following year.

Xxx This Amendment shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and filing of three (3) copies hereof with the Office of the National Administrative Register (ONAR) University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City pursuant to Presidential Memorandum Circular No. 11 dated 09 October 1992. APPROVED, this __ April 2018. CARLOS G. DOMINGUEZ Secretary Department of Finance

RAMON M. LOPEZ Secretary Department of Trade and Industry

(MS-JUNE 2, 2018)

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE InvItatIon to BId no. Goods-029-2018 029

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the General Fund intends to apply the below listed procurement w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening. Name of Project 1.

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

Purchase of Two (2) Units 10 Wheeler Dumptruck c/o Provincial Engineer’s Office, Province of Bataan

=P=12,000,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataannow invites bids for the above listed Procurement. Delivery of goods is requiredwithin 90 Calendar Days. Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. 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 nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office. Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below. Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataan will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on June 8, 2018 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. Bids must be delivered on or before June 22, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted. In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days. Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check 3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

Schedule June 1 - 7, 2018 Refer to date of Opening of Bids June 1 - 22, 2018 June 11, 2018 June 22, 2018

The Provincial Government of Bataanreserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. For further information, please refer to: Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph (SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC CHAIRMAN (MS-JUNE 2, 2018)

HEROES HONORED. Senate Resolution 746, passed by the upper chamber, honors the bravery, sacrifice, and heroism of the men in uniform under Joint Task Force Marawi composed of units from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard. Included in this picture are members of the Joint Task Force Marawi headed by Lt. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista; Maj. Gen. Danilo Pamonag; Maj. Gen. Glen Paje; Brig. Gen. Cirilito Thomas Donato; Isa Cojuangco Suntay, co-founder, Tarlac Heritage Foundation; Isabel Cojuangco Suntay (founder) Tarlac Heritage Foundation; Senator Richard Gordon; Brig. Gen. Ramil Rey; Brig. Gen. Corleto S. Vinluan Jr.; Police Sr. Supt. Rolando Anduyan; and Col. Generoso Ponio. Lino Santos

Duque gets Senate ally in PhilHealth scam NGCP issues 4th yellow alert for Luzon grid AKBAYAN Senator Risa Hontiveros has backed the assertion of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III that the PhilHealth board did not know about the alleged diversion of the P10.6-billion PhilHealth funds originally earmarked for the payment of senior citizens’ insurance premiums. At that time, Hontiveros said she was a member of the board of directors of PhilHealth. She said this matter was never discussed and approved by the PhilHealth board of directors. Senator JV Ejercito, who conducted a congressional inquiry on PhilHealth’s performance and more than P1-billion losses, said it was only then Health Secretary Janette Garin and PhilHealth president Alex Padilla who knew about the transfer of funds. PhilHealth executive vice president Ruben John Basa said on Aug. 5, 2015, Garin and Padilla jointly wrote a letter to then budget chief Florencio Abad requesting the transfer of P10.6 billion from the 2015 budget for the DoH Health Facilities Enhancement Program. The amount, supposed to fund the additional benefits under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, was parked in the Miscellaneous Personnel and Benefits Fund. The Health department’s enhancement program included the construction of Tamang Serbisyo sa Kalusugan ng Pamilya (TSeKAP) health stations in public elementary schools, and equip-

ment for barangay health stations for TSeKAP accreditation. The transfer was approved by Abad and former executive secretary Paquito Ochoa. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the letter is “evidence by itself” that the P10.6-billion funds for the expanded Senior Citizens Act was diverted from its original use. Duque said he could not understand Garin as saying this was used to cover up the financial irregularities at PhilHealth. “But there’s a letter. We just abide by what the letter says. The thing speaks for itself,” he said. Garin and Padilla’s request came around the same time the former Health chief asked for P3.5 billion for the anti-dengue vaccination program. Garin, Abad and former President Benigno Aquino III are facing criminal charges over the Dengvaxia mess that has imperiled the safety of over 800,000 Filipino children. The PhilHealth Independent Director for Monetary Board Dr. Anthony Leachon stressed this was just one of the causes of the agency’s dwindling funds. He said the P10.6 billion had been included in PhilHealth’s financial statement as payments receivable from the national government. “We indicated it in our accounts receivables,” said Leachon, adding they were hoping to get it. Macon Ramos-Araneta

PCSO branch tops satisfaction rating THE Palawan branch of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office based in Puerto Princesa City received the highest ratings from the 2017 Customer Satisfaction Survey commissioned to the Development Academy of the Philippines. PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said the branch office was adjudged best for both medical assistance (4.60) and prize claims (4.69). “I would like to congratulate the men and women of our Palawan branch office headed by Rolando ‘Orly’ Batislaong for a job well done. Hope this will serve as a good example and inspiration to all other branches and a challenge as well to step up in their performance and delivery of services,” he said in a statement. In an interview, the 44-year-old Batislaong said they were flattered with the observation. He has been with PCSO for 20 years, serving as Palawan’s branch manager for nearly 17 years. “With all humility, we are not yet at our best when it comes to our full service. Since our allocation is not sufficient to sustain and/or serve all our clients in full and in a day, we try to compensate in our services. We do not allow clients to wait in

line for more than an hour. We try to deliver our services fast so they won’t feel annoyed,” Batislaong said. The branch has a daily Individual Medical Assistance Program allocation of P200,000, catering to 30-40 patients a day. In 2017, Palawan served on 8,167 number of cases for a total of P49 million. The top three nature of cases include hospitalization with P3,812 cases at P30 million; laboratory/diagnostic procedures with 3,043 cases at P10 million; and dialysis (peritoneal/hemodialysis) with 455 cases at P4 million. For the first quarter of 2018, the branch has already served on 2,304 cases at P12 million, an 11.6-percent increase compared with the same period last year, where in 2017 first quarter, there were 2,064 number of cases at P12 million. “No significant increase since the allocation is almost the same. Most of our clients belong to Class C, D, and E who are into agriculture, fishing, and tourism industries,” Batislaong said. Palawan is the largest province in terms of land area. The distance from PCSO office to the city from north to south is approximately 300 kilometers.

By Alena Mae S. Flores GRID operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has issued the fourth consecutive yellow alert for the Luzon power grid for four hours on Friday. The series of yellow alerts consecutively implemented this year has prompted concerns on the need for additional reserves to the grid to avoid brownouts. “We need capacity. We are not saying that we lack capacity but we need capacities to come in because demand continues to go up,” Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said. Delola said demand growth was not only driven by the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. but other areas as well. “Growth is coming also outside of the economic center…Our supply is enough. We experience yellow alert only because some plants are on outage. Yellow alert is not something to be concerned of,” Delola said. NGCP said the Luzon grid was on yellow alert due to the unexpected shutdown and limited generation of some power plants and high power demand. NGCP put the Luzon grid on yellow alert from noon to 4 pm June 1 with available capacity at 11,354 MW as against peak demand of 10,615 MW. Manila Electric Co., in its advisory, said the yellow alert was due to the “insufficient reserve brought about by forced outage of Calaca 2 and various plants still out and derated.” “During yellow alerts such as this, Meralco always readies its ILP. As of noon, 58 accounts committed to participate in the interruptible load program totaling 109.06 MW in case the need arising,” Meralco said. Power plants that went on unplanned outage included QPPL (459 MW), Calaca 2 (300 MW), Malaya 2 (320 MW), Makban 5 (55 MW) and SLPGC 1 (150). Power plants that were derated or with limited generation capacity included Calaca 1 (230 MW) and SCPC (75 MW).

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports Allianz National Youth Futsal finals set Sunday By Peter Atencio SIXTEEN teams are seeing action in the Allianz National Youth Futsal Invitational Finals this Sunday at the Laguna Sports Complex in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Squads that have qualified for the 14-under and 16-under age brackets for both boys and girls are taking part. The tournament is staged by Allianz PNB Life, Inc., in partnership with the Henry V. Moran Foundation and in coordination with the Philippine Football Federation. Aiming to promote youth and sports development in the country, Rei Abrazaldo, Allianz Branding Communications and Digital Director, said they are very excited to announce the Allianz Junior Football Camp Team Pinas Selection as eight deserving kids will be chosen from this tournament to participate in the AJFC in Thailand this July. “From here, three will be selected to go to Munich in September to train under FC Bayern coaches,” said Rei Abrazaldo, Allianz Branding Communications and Digital Director. Competing in the 14U Boys are Laguna FA, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, PAREF Westbridge FC (Iloilo) and Dipolog FC. Listed in the 14U Girls are Laguna FA, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Davao RFA and USPF-Cebu. In the 16U Boys, there’s Laguna FA, Global FC/Pilipinas Dragons, Jaro FC (Iloilo) and Davao RFA, while for the 16U Girls, competing are Laguna FA, Cordillera Binnadang FC, Pontevedra FC (Negros Occidental) and ZANDIFA Watashi (Dipolog). Before the awarding, there will be an exhibition game between the former National Futsal Team players (men and women) and a select team of futsal players from Laguna Footbal Association. Some members of the futsal team are Chieffy Caligdong, former Azkals Captain and Ten Outsatnding Young Men Awardee, and members of the Philippine National Women’s Team bagged the bronze in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

Local girls shine in Cebuana net meet in Ozamiz DOUBLE winners Maria Judy Ann Padilla and Janmarie Anghag gave local tennis fans reasons to celebrate at the recent Cebuana Lhuillier Age-Group Tennis Championship Series leg in Ozamiz City, even as visiting players dominated the other categories in the tournament that attracted the series’ biggest number of entries this year at 244. Padilla was very impressive as she posted similar straight-set victories over different opponents, en route to winning two individual titles. She took the measure of Lanao del Norte’s Kimberlyn Vosotros, 6-3, 6-0, for the girls’ 12-under crown, then followed it up with a 6-0, 6-3 win over another Lanao del Norte bet Kristin Guia Margarette Bandolis to take the 14-under crown in the tournament backed by Dunlop as the official ball. Anghag, meanwhile, retired Zamboanga del Norte’s Ma. Maxiel Rica Labrador after taking the first set, 6-4, to take home the girls’ 18-under title and together with Carmeville Gervacio also took the girls’ 18under doubles’ crown. “We are very happy with the record turnout of entries in Ozamiz City for this leg. It shows that provincial players are looking forward not only to this leg, but to the other provincial legs as well, a good sign for local tennis,” said Cebuana Lhuillier Group President/CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, who initiated this grassroots tennis program 12 years ago.

C2 Cool & Clean and Makati Football Club inks partnership on youth development by promoting football in the Philippines. Photo shows (from left) URC Corporate Marketing Services Director Mark Acosta, URC Ready-To-Drink Beverage Marketing Director Carla Chavez, MFC Treasurer Selu Lozano, and MFC President Tomas Lozano during the signing.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Army trackster wins 2nd gold I

LAGAN CITY—Philippine Army trooper Richard Salaño proved that his first-day dominance was no fluke as he grabbed his second gold medal, this time in the 10,000-meter run, in the second day of the 2018 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships yesterday at the Ilagan City Sports Complex here on Friday.

Following his gold-medal conquest in men’s 3000 meter steeple chase on Thursday, the Private First Class Salaño left his peers in the dust by clocking in 32 minutes and 30.67 seconds to finish the long distance run more than a minute faster than the Baguio runners Erwin Generalao (33:48:48) and Cesar Castaneto (34:32:05). “Pet event ko ito na talagang pinaghandaan ko sa Baguio,” said the Marilao, Bulacan native. “Nag-training po kami ng two months para dito.” The 5’4” Salaño and other military athletes were toughened by the highaltitude training under Coronel Antonio John Divinigracia, who also won a bronze medal in the master’ 400 meter run. With the impressive run so far in the five-day athletics’ spectacle, Salaño finally

stepped closer to his goal of making the national team after getting a thumbs-up from the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association Secretary General Reynato Unso, who will recommend him to the national training pool. “Magandang balita po ‘yun kasi matagal-tagal ko ng inaasam ‘yun. Simula noong nasa nag-college ako sa UE,” said the former Red Warriors. Salaño shoots for a third gold in the 5,000-meters in the last day of the athletics showcase presented by Ayala Corp. and the City of Ilagan, with support from Milo, the Philippine Sports Commission, Foton, Cocolife, Rebisco and F2 Logistics. “Pipilitin natin madagdagan pa ang medalya,” he vowed. Meanwhile, another Army personnel in Aillene Tolentino got the veteran

Christabel Martes’ number anew after snatching the gold in the women’s 1, 500-meter run. Tolentino clocked in 4:52:55 to win the gold over Martes (5:12:78) of Team Baguio and Martin Hing William (5:36:63) of Malaysia. It was Martes’ second setback in the tournament after losing his pet event, the 10,000-meter run to Dichoso on Thursday. Fresh from his 10K run title conquest in the Philippine National Games last week in Cebu City, Martes ran out of steam in the first eight laps and didn’t manage to finish the race. On the other hand, Sri Lankan R.A.D Hemantha Kumara owned the men’s 1,500-meters with a time of 3:57:55, while Edwin Jiron of Dasmarinas City stamped his class in the boys’ 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:05:73. In girls’ high jump, Ateneo De Manila University Alexie Mae Caimoso soared for the gold medal by tallying 1.65 meters, just five centimeters short of the 1.69-meter national record of Kaylene Mosqueda in 2016.

Private First Class Richard Salaño

PH, Indonesia seal Pony title faceoff

MCC Host Briand Dayday (left), MCC Operations’ Rolly Ramos (second from left), MCC Pitmaster Doc Jun Cueto (second from right) and SLBN host ‘Lucky’ Lea Forbes (right) joined some of the winners in the 55th MCC 7-Cock Breeders Festival (starting fourth from left) Barry Crisostomo (Darna BBC), Atty. Carlos Tumapalan (Redbull A) and Erwin Diamante (Diamond GF).

Manila Cockers Club releases June derby sked CARMONA—Manila Cockers Club Inc., the country’s cockfighting industry game changer, capped its 55th MCC 7-Cock Breeders Festival at the Cockers Arena, San Lazaro Leisure Park (SLLP) in Carmona, Cavite, with Cavs Pride by KP/RB, Conquerors by J. Severino, Darna BBC by Barry Crisostomo, Diamond GF by Erwin Diamante and Redbull A by Atty. Carlos Tumpalan, being declared as co-champions after garnering a hard-earned score of six points during the finals. A total of ₱2.620 million pesos were distributed among the winners, runner-ups, and top qualifiers during the pre-finals. This coming June 2018 will mark a brand new derby season at Manila Cockers Club. Interested breeders are invited to join

UNTV... From A8

the club’s upcoming events on June 2 to 8 (57th 7-Cock Derby); June 13 to 19 (58th 7-Cock Derby); and June 22 to 28 (59th 7-Cock Derby). All derbies will follow a 3–4 format and requires a minimal fee of ₱8,888 per entry. The contest is open to all cocks and bullstags with a weight limit of 1,800 to 2,400 kilograms. No membership fee and minimum bet required. All derbies are aired live via GameTime TV, Cignal Ch 109 with online livestreaming on manilacockers.com. Top fights and champion breeders will also be featured in MCC’s upcoming cockfighting magazine, “Maginoong Sabungero.” MCC features a line of champions

which include some of the most iconic names in the cockfighting industry today. They include 2018 World Slasher Cup-2 Solo Champion Rey Briones, Don Mauro Prieto, Zaldy Padilla, Paolo Crisostomo, Cong. Amado Bagatsing, Jebe Gayanelo, Tony Espinosa; Gen. Katy Katigbak, Tony Aleria, Christopher Sioson,. Danny Coronel, Peping Ricafor, Boyet Plaza and Atty. Felix Gatchalian. For more information, you may call the MCC hotline at (02)696 1120 or (63)917 582 2615, visit website, manilacockers.com or follow Facebook page ManilaCockersClub. Interested parties may also visit the Cockers Arena at the G/F Turf Building of the San Lazaro Leisure Park, Barangay Lantic, Governor’s Drive, Carmona, Cavite.

TANAUAN—Host Philippines and Indonesia warmed up for their dual titular clash in the PONY Asia Pacific Zone Mustang-9 and Mustang-10 Championships with victories over their respective elims rivals yesterday at Tanauan Sports Academy here. The Phl, represented by Tanauan, rallied past guest team Entom, 15-14, ahead of its anticipated showdown with Indonesia for the Mustang-9 title and the right to carry the fight for AsiaPacific in the upcoming PONY International World Series. The Tanaueños trailed after the top third inning, 3-9, but cranked it up and piled up 12 runs in the next three innings to seize control for good in the event hosted by PONY Philippines headed by Tot Baseball president Boy Tingzon and co-hosted by Tanauan Mayor Tony Halili. The home side defends its crown against Indonesia today at 11 a.m., seeking to duplicate its 24-9 victory over the latter in Thursday’s opening encounter. Over in the Mustang-10 division, the defending champion Indonesians demolished the Vietnamese in four innings, 17-6, to set up a championship date with undefeated Phl today at 1 p.m. The Indonesian clouters unloaded five runs in each of the first two frames to set the tone for the morale-boosting win before they face the Filipinos again in the world series-qualifying tourney presented by HMR Trading Haus and Loro Sports.

Games on Sunday (Pasig City Sports Center) 2 p.m. – PNP vs GSIS 3:30 p.m. – DOJ vs Ombudsman 5 p.m. – Judiciary vs Malacañang

The Magis plan to tighten their defense to grab their third win after falling practice pa lang kulang-kulang na kami,” Alcantara said. to the PNP Responders last week. Meanwhile, the PNP Re“Magpapakundisyon lang lagi sponders are expected to para makasabay sa takbuhan. Sina employ more effective tacBong Go at Yamamoto, sila ang tics against the GSIS Thunder kailangan naming bantayan sa Furies in the first game at 2 p.m. kanila,” said Magis’ coach Warren The Responders (3-0) want Ybanez. to gain a twice-to-beat adMeanwhile, the DOJ vantage in the playoffs by Boosters (1-1) aim to maintaining their hold secure their second on the lead, with four victory when they elimination matches face the Ombudsleft in their schedule. man Graft Busters “‘Yung pinaka(1-1) at 3:30 p.m. strength namin dito Ombudsman is our speed and coach Ricky Alcan‘yung solid defense natara believes they need to min. Minimize lang namin ramp up their tactics and ‘yung mga foul and dagdastrengthen their lineup to gan ang practice,” said PNP overpower the DOJ cagers. coach Alfred Suarez. “I hope na next time The PNP coach admitted makumpleto kami. Alam they found it difficult to have mo naman ‘yung mga a complete lineup during executives, mahirap matheir practice sessions. kumpleto especially ‘yung Bong Go

STORE OPENING. Philippine Seven Corporation marks another milestone in its aggressive expansion campaign in the country with the recent opening of its first two C-stores in Mindoro province. This successful provincial initiative also made 7-Eleven the first convenience retailer in the whole MIMAROPA region. The stores, which opened in Sabang, Puerto Galera and Calapan in Mindoro, are expected to serve the island location’s vast customer base composed of visiting tourists, as well as locals in the residential and commercial areas with an estimated 20,000 population. Present at the Calapan branch opening were (from left) Victor Miranda IV (Project Engineer), Rowena Uriarte (Franchisee), Jose Victor Paterno (President and CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation), Mayor Arnan Panaligan (Mayor of Calapan), Ulysses Borral (Business Development Division Head), Emma Nucum (Zone Manager for South Luzon Business Unit), Jomil Raga (Business Development Specialist). With this significant expansion development amid booming economy, 7-Eleven remains the country’s No. 1 and fastest-growing C-store brand with national retail presence now in 54 locations. PSC continues to actively seek for new locations and potential franchisees in viable markets and is looking into opening 10 more stores for the whole MIMAROPA region by year end. The 7-Eleven franchise is an active advocate of sports development, having sponsored several cycling club teams to international cycling competitions. It is also the primary sponsor of the 7-Eleven Run.

UE edges Far Eastern U, 50-47 MARK Maloles made 7 points for the University of the East Warriors, who edged the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 50-47, in the 25-under division of the Milcu-2018 Got Skills-Adidas Summer Showcase Basketball tournament at the Trinity University of Asia gymnasium in Quezon City. The Warriors went on to post their third win in four games and this pulled them even with the Letran Knights, who have the same record.

Jollo Go hit 33 points for the La Salle Green Archers in their 79-77 win over the Lyceum Philippines University Pirates. This allowed La Salle to pick up their first win in three games, while the Pirates now have a 2-2 win-loss record. Meanwhile, the Letran Squires prevailed over International School for Better Beginnings, 7945, in the 17-under division. Letran-Bataan also waylaid ISBB, 67-45, in a separate encounter.

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph; sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

A8

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

Warriors-Cavs’ duel: Intense and physical Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates against the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. AFP

Wild finish looms as Aussie leads SILANG, Cavite —Rookie PGT Asia campaigner Damien Jordan sustained his eagle spree in another hot, windy day, hitting a third one to save a Jordan 71 and grab a one-stroke lead over come-backing Michael Bibat and a steady John Michael O’Toole of the US in the third round of the ICTSI Riviera Classic yesterday. Jordan came through with a sensational eagle feat off the fairway bunker on the par-4 15th, his third in two days that somehow cushioned the impact of the Aussie’s three-putt miscue on the par-3 No. 17. It also sent the battle for top $17,500 purse wide open the way it was in the kickoff leg of the second Philippine Golf Tour Asia at Luisita last month. That late-hole bogey and a 71 netted Jordan a 54-hole aggregate of four-under 209, just a stroke up on Bibat, who bounced back from a second 75 with a 69, and O’Toole who turned in his third straight 70 for identical 210s at the Langer course. “It was so hot I’m happy to end the day. I’m also glad to be up there in the leaderboard,” said Jordan, who tied for fifth in the PGTA Q-School but skipped the ICTSI Luisita Championship. After a mediocre 71 Wednesday, the 37-year-old from Tweed Meads wheeled back into contention with a 67 in the second round, highlighted by two eagles, including a pitch-in feat on No. 6. But he went up-and-down yesterday, mixing three birdies against four bogeys until he knocked down that eagle from 80 yards on No. 15. “I believe this was the toughest day. The wind picked up more but luckily, I hit some great shots that somehow compensated for my errors,” said Jordan. Bibat also rebounded from an errorfilled second round with a five-birdie effort that negated a bogey and a double-bogey mishap on the par-3 eighth. “I didn’t lose hope after that second round 75. But I need to stay focused and make the most of my birdie chances tomorrow (today),” said Bibat, seeking a follow-up to his breakthrough win at Palos Verdes in 2013.

O

AKLAND—Cleveland superstar LeBron James vows an intense emotional and physical tone to the NBA Finals after a grueling opener Thursday saw stars injured and passions aroused. Defending champion Golden State’s 124-114 overtime triumph over the Cavaliers to tipoff the best-of-seven series promises a heated and bruising game two Sunday in Oakland. “I don’t think a message needs to be said,” James said. “We’re in the fight now. The finals have started and they got a great taste of it tonight. They know what to expect when we play again.” Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James scored a career playoffhigh 51 points, the most in finals history in a losing cause and the most in any finals game since Michael Jordan struck for 53 in 1993 against Phoenix. “It was great. I mean, it was epic and he did enough to carry this team to a victory,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “To do what he did tonight and come out robbed, it’s just not right.” The effort, hitting 19-of-32 shots and 3-of-7 from 3-point range, came despite James getting poked in the right eye by Draymond Green in the second quarter on a drive to the basket.

“My eye has been better. It’s pretty much blurry and it got worse and worse as the game went on,” James said. “So I’ll deal with that over the next couple days.” Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffered a bruised left leg in the first quarter after Cavs guard J.R. Smith slipped into him from behind and knocked him over. “I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think he was going for the ball,” Thompson said. “I’ve got a sore ligament. I’m happy it’s just a muscle that got strained. No damage.” Thompson returned and scored 24 points, joining Curry’s 29 and Durant with 26 while Draymond Green added 13 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. “It was a crazy game,” said Golden State guard Stephen Curry. “In the finals, anything is liable to happen.” Green sparked an incident in the dying seconds of overtime with the game decided, taunting Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson after a flagrant foul

and getting the ball thrust in his face for his trouble. “I heard him,” the Cavs’ Thompson said. “And the rest is history.” Asked if emotions will continue to hit the boiling point, Thompson replied, “My job is to bring the toughness, energy, so that’s what I do.” It’s the first time in American sports history that two teams have met for the title four years in a row. Familiarity is quickly breeding contempt. “Every series, by the time you get to game three or four, you’re tired of those guys. We have history with these guys and it started in game one,” said Tristan Thompson. “That’s what the playoffs are about —toughness, energy and grit. Only two teams left standing so whoever wants to die and fight for that trophy will get it.” Intensity went over the top two years ago when Green struck James in the groin and was suspended for a game. Without him, the Warriors lost and went on to drop three in a row and the finals, becoming the first team to squander a 3-1 finals lead. Nevertheless, Curry said he’s happy to have Green when a game gets chippy. “It’s empowering all the way around,” Curry said. “Glad he’s on my team.” AFP

TNT mauls Columbian for 5th win By Jeric Lopez TNT KaTropa made sure the game was over right away even before it got warm. Using a blistering salvo to open the game, the Tropang Texters hardly broke a sweat in annihilating Columbian Dyip, 123-95, to regain a share on the lead in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Friday night. Having a balanced attack is slowly becoming the trademark of TNT as it had six players scoring in double-figures. Troy Rosario was at the forefront of the Texters’ assault, scoring a teamhigh 21 points on 71-percent shooting. Terrence Romeo had a complete game of 19 points, seven boards and five dimes, while Jericho Cruz likewise had a well-rounded game with 17 points, six rebounds and seven assists. With everyone contributing, it was a lopsided affair from the get-go as TNT put its foot in the gas pedal right away and never looked back. Just nine minutes into the game, the Tropang Texters already build a gigantic 19-point bubble, 30-11, which they kept going to the second frame, 36-17, following a sizzling start where everything was clicking. That was just the beginning of the end for Columbian as it suffered 36 more minutes of pounding at the hands of TNT KaTropa, who played like the team at the top of the heap. By the second quarter, TNT already held on to 20-point leads, further doing damage and cruising the rest of the way. As a result, the Tropang Texters improved to 5-1 and tied Rain or Shine in first place. Moreover, it moved a step closer to gaining a spot in the quarterfinals with the elimination round hitting its halfway point. Returning import Joshua Smith made his tournament debut with 11 points, so did Kelly Williams and Don Trollano to help TNT.

Judiciary battles Malacañang five THE Judiciary Magis and MalacañangPSC Kamao battle in the third game at 5 p.m. of this Sunday’s triple header in the UNTV Cup Off Season Executive FaceOff at the Pasig City Sports Center. The Magis are expected to show speed and high endurance to stop key Kamao players, such as Special Assistant to the President Christopher ‘Bong’ Go and Lieutenant Commander Paul Yamamoto. Go scored 25 during the Kamao’s May 6 game against Senate Sentinels, while Go fired 22 when the team went up against the Ombudsman Graft Busters. Turn to A7

IRONMAN PH lures world’s best triathletes in Subic Bay By Reuel Vidal

Century Pacific Food, Inc. general manager Greg Banzon (from left), Saleka Maguindanao, representative of the Marawi weavers, Sunrise Events, Inc. founder Wilfred Uytengsu and designer Daniel dela Cruz pose after the unveiling of the finisher’s medals for the first Century Tuna full Ironman Philippines.

THE best triathletes in the world, led by 12-time IRONMAN New Zealand champion Cameron Brown and four-time champion Liz Blatchford will banner the 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone tomorrow Sunday, June 3, 2018. Close to 1,300 local and international triathletes will take part in the Philippine journey which begins at the pristine ACEA beach with the 3.8 km swim in Subic Bay with the mountain ridge as backdrop. Other professional male athletes include Simon Cochrane, Ale Kochetkov, Marek Nemcik, Dan Brown, Nick Baldwin and Freddy Lampret. Other professional female athletes are Erin Furness, Simone Maier, Dimity Lee Duke, Jana Candrova, Alise Selsmark and Julia Grant. The event is part of the yearlong 10th anniversary celebration of Sunrise Events in holding races all over the Philippines

“It has been 10 years since the first IRONMAN 70.3 race was held in Camarines Sur. From 583 participants and one race in 2009, the sport has grown by leaps and bounds, with multiple races all over the Philippines. We at Sunrise Events are happy to be at the forefront of this triathlon renaissance and are proud to organize the 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines in order to showcase one more time the best the country can offer,” said Sunrise Events Founder Wilfred Steven Uytengsu. Title sponsor Century Tuna expressed pride at being part of the first full-distance IRONMAN race in the Philippines. “We see the event as the perfect platform to promote a healthy lifestyle—the core value of our brand— and we hope that the Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines will inspire many Filipinos to pursue their own fitness journey,” said Vice-President and General Manager of Century Pacific Food, Inc. Greg Banzon. Finally holding a full distance

IRONMAN in the Philippines is a significant leap for the development of the sport in the region according to IRONMAN Asia Managing Director Geoff Meyer. “The past decade has been an extraordinary achievement of growth of IRONMAN and triathlon in the Philippines, and is a true testament to all Pinoys, who are now largely represented at races all over the world. I am incredibly proud of what IRONMAN and Sunrise Events team have achieved together, and of the community of triathletes who have been part of the journey,” said Meyer. The 2018 Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines will give away $25,000 prize purse and 30 age group qualifying slots for the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Other prizes include the Swim Bonus, Bike Bonus, Run Bonus, Fastest Swim/Bike/Run for Age Groupers; Sunrise Award: Over-all Top AG Filipino Male and Female ($500 each); and Century Tuna Team Award.

Alaska Ironkids: Playing the sport, having fun IRONKIDS is a three-in-one sport which combines, swimming, cycling, and running, which tests one’s physical and mental will. But how do you add in the fun? While teaching children the values of hard work, determination, team work, sportsmanship, and discipline, Alaska IronKids is, first and foremost, an avenue for kids to make the most of their time and energy engaged in sports instead of whiling their time away playing video games or browsing the internet. It also allows them to mingle and make new friends while having fun. With the excitement built up from Swim. Bike.Run in Davao City last March and

Swim.Run at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School grounds the following month, both kids and parents have so much to look forward to the second half of 2018. On Saturday, more than 350 young athletes from all over the country are expected to conquer Subic Bay in the Alaska IronKids Swim.Run at the WOW Recreation and Activity Center in Subic Bay. Fred Uytengsu, SEI President and Alaska Milk Corporation Chairman of the Board, shared that while they enjoy the race by ‘playing’ the sport, Alaska IronKids promotes creative ways to instill sportsmanship and discipline to young athletes. “More than encouraging healthier,

active lifestyles, Alaska IronKids offers children and teens the opportunity to build confidence and learn the values of discipline, hard work, and perseverance, while making new friends and having fun!” said Uytengsu. After the action-filled weekend in Subic Bay, action shifts to Cebu City for the Alaska IronKids Swim. Bike. Run slated on August 4. Help your child reach his full potential by participating in Alaska Ironkids Philippines. For more information, visit www.IronKidsphil.com and www.playPH.com, and follow @AlaskaMilkPhilippines and @playPH in Facebook for live updates.

Coach Ani de Leon-Brown (leftmost) and the podium finishers capping off the Alaska IronKids 2018 in Davao with a milk toast.

IN BRIEF

Meralco eyes routes for electric vehicles

MANILA Electric Co., the biggest electricity retailer, will apply for electric vehicle routes with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to promote EV use. “We are looking at the possibility of getting rights to a route, awarded to us. We are looking at potential routes,” Meralco president Oscar Reyes said. Reyes said the new routes would serve private communities and villages and local government units. “Tricycles, if LGU wants to shift their old fleet to e-trikes. Private communities and villages and schools like Ateneo and La Salle as well as UP,” he said. The company, however, has no plans yet to engage in EV manufacturing. “Maybe for now, manufacturing is not in the cards for us. There are companies who are already into e-vehicles that can supply our tricycles, jeeps and buses,” Reyes said. Meralco registered its new subsidiary, eSakay Inc., that will engage in EV and other alternative energy sources. Alena Mae S. Flores

Ang says San Miguel may delay share sale

THE much-anticipated share sale of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. may be delayed to the fourth quarter of 2018 to early 2019 pending several regulatory approvals. San Miguel Corp. president and chief executive Ramon Ang said in an interview at the sidelines of the annual stockholders’ meeting of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. the possible delay in the share sale of San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. was not due to the current slump in the market. “If your stock is good and your company is good, there is no need to worry about the market conditions. You just go ahead. San Miguel Food and Beverage is a very good company and we are confident we can sell the shares,” Ang said. San Miguel Food is still waiting for SEC approval on an increase in the capital stock to P12 billion and the share swap. It is also awaiting the tax-free ruling of the Bureau of Internal Revenue also on the planned share swap. The share sale of San Miguel Food will comply with the minimum public float requirement for listed companies. Jenniffer B. Austria

Business Widus Hotel investing another $500m in Clark W By Othel V. Campos

IDUS Hotel and Casino Clark plans to invest $500 million more to expand its leisure business in the Clark Freeport Zone amid a faster and more efficient environment for business processing.

Widus president and chief executive Daesik Han said the additional money would boost the group’s investments in hotel projects to $1 billion. He encouraged more companies to join in the development of Clark and in New Clark City, the flagship project of the Bases Conversion and Developent Authority. “The government is building the infrastructure but the private sector should contribute to build some recreational facilities so that this area is not going to be

a transit area only,” he said. Widus spent an initial investment of $4 million when it started doing business in Clark 12 years ago. Han’s investment ballooned to $500 million with the construction of the fivestar Marriott Hotel in Clark that is set to open by September 2018 and the expansion of the Widus Hotel and Casino. Another investor, Global Gateway Development Corp., lauded the “very transparent business process in Clark Freeport. “For an investor that is first coming in, we can attest to the ease of actually investing and doing business in the Freeport Zone versus going somewhere else in the Philippines,” said Global Gateway chief investment officer Evan McBride. “There is a very transparent lease process, very transparent business process, registation process, and we’ve been able to invest hundreds and millions of dollars over the last 10 years. It’s really a true partnership with the Philippines,” he said.

GGDC is behind the development of the 177-hectare Clark Global City, formerly known as Global Gateway Clark. World-class infrastructure for businesses has already been constructed in some 50 hectares of the total area. Access to quality infrastructure, according to McBride, was an important factor for investors planning create a good working environment for their employees. Clark Development Corp. president and CEO Noel Manankil said locators seeking business in Clark dealt with only one department. “In CDC, you’ll only talk to one face of government, which is one of the biggest factors especially for foreign investors. All investment processes are also automated,” Manankil said. He also cited the investment climate, availability of manpower and the surrounding communities as Clark’s edge. CDC allocated P2 billion this year for road networks, a mass transit system, park improvements and cultural investments. About P1 billion was spent for road expansions in 2017.

LRT-1 LAUDED. Light Rail Manila Corp. engineering director Wencelso Villavicencio (right) explains to Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. international relations department head Takihiro Tanisaka and rolling stock department manager Tomohisa Ogino the improvements done in LRT-1 since LRMC took over in 2015. Officials of Tokyo Metro, operator of one of the world-class and busiest trains in the world, lauded LRMC for “doing well to improve and maintain one of Metro Manila’s major transport, LRT-1.”

San Miguel offers BSP: Liquidity sustained double-digit expansion in April lowest power rate to Visayas co-op By Julito G. Rada

By Alena Mae S. Flores CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. is offering the lowest power rate to Visayas electric cooperatives at P2.95 per kilowatt-hour from its portfolio of power projects, the cheapest ever proposal to coops in the area. San Miguel president Ramon Ang said the company was set to sign a competitive selection process with a Visayas electric cooperative for 90 megawatts of capacity. “A power distributor in the Visayas called me and asked to buy power from us. I quoted P2.95 and the basis for that is P52.30 exchange rate and coal at $75 per ton,” Ang said. He said the Visayas electric cooperative, which he did not name pending the signing of the agreements, would save as much as P2 billion annually. “They were very happy because they said that is very cheap considering that they buy today at P6. This coop, if they buy from us, he will save P2 billion a year,” Ang said. Ang said San Miguel was prepared to compete with the offer of other power generators. “We offered P2.95. I told him we will compete in the Visayas. It will go to CSP, we cannot sell if we do not go through CSP (competitive selection process),” the executive said. The Energy Department has required power distributors and electric cooperatives to bid out their power requirements under the CSP. “Why will I offer high? I will offer low. We will really compete otherwise the power plant will not run because there is no buyer. We will incur losses, so we will really (be) aggressively compete,” Ang said.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

B1

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Ban gko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, June 1, 2018

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

52.5540

Japan

Yen

0.009190

0.4830

UK

Pound

1.330300

69.9126

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127501

6.7007

Switzerland

Franc

1.014507

53.3164

Canada

Dollar

0.771843

40.5634

Singapore

Dollar

0.747719

39.2956

Australia

Dollar

0.756700

39.7676

Bahrain

Dinar

2.649007

139.2159

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

14.0136

Brunei

Dollar

0.744934

39.1493

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.031230

1.6413

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

14.3090

Euro

Euro

1.169400

61.4566

Korea

Won

0.000926

0.0487

China

Yuan

0.156079

8.2026

India

Rupee

0.014832

0.7795

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.251383

13.2112

New Zealand

Dollar

0.699700

36.7720

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033363

1.7534

Source: PDS Bridge

Cavitex set to improve capacity of expressway By Darwin G. Amojelar

PH seeking funding from Korean lenders

THE government is seeking funding support from South Korea to finance big-ticket infrastructure and information technology projects. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III pitched the projects to South Korean officials in a meeting recently. In a discussion with Korean Ambassador Han DongMan, Dominguez expressed hope that at least six Philippine projects in the pipeline would receive financing support from the Export-Import Bank of Korea-Economic Development Cooperation Fund under the framework arrangement formalized between the two countries on May 4. The Philippines can gain access to Korea’s loan facility under the EDCF up to an amount not exceeding $1 billion over a five-year period, or until 2022. The projects proposed by the Philippines under the framework arrangement include the New Cebu International Container Port Project with an estimated loan amount of $172.64 million. Dominguez told the Korean ambassador he hoped the loan agreement for Cebu project would be signed during the first week of June. Julito G. Rada

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor

DOMESTIC liquidity or money circulating in the financial system continued its double-digit expansion in April, although slower than a month ago, Bangko Sentral ng Plipinas said Friday. Data showed that liquidity, also called M3, grew 14.2 percent year-on-year to about P10.9 trillion in April 2018, slightly slower compared to the 14.4-percent expansion in March. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, liquidity increased 1.0 percent. “Overall domestic liquidity conditions remain broadly in line with the BSP’s prevailing outlook for inflation and economic activity,” the regulator said in a statement.

“Nevertheless, the BSP will continue to closely monitor domestic liquidity to ensure that monetary conditions are conducive to maintaining price and financial stability,” it said. Domestic claims grew 16.4 percent for the month, up from the 14.5-percent increase in March due to sustained growth in bank lending. Preliminary data showed outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase placements with the Bangko Sentral, increased at a faster rate of 19.9 percent in April from 18.5 percent in March. Loans for productive activities— which comprised 88.5 percent of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio net of RRP— grew faster by 19.6 percent in April from

18.2 percent in the previous month. The growth in production loans was driven mainly by increased lending to wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 22.7 percent; real estate, 15.7 percent; financial and insurance activities, 27.1 percent; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, 17.5 percent; manufacturing, 14.4 percent; other community, social and personal activities, 81.1 percent; transportation and storage, 30.9 percent; and information and communication, 24.6 percent. Bank lending to other sectors also increased during the month except in agriculture, forestry and fishing, (-6.8 percent), and administrative and support services activities, (-43.5 percent).

CAVITEX Infrastructure Corp. on Friday said it expects to complete the P700-million road enhancement project at Manila-Cavite Expressway by July this year to increase the capacity of the expressway by 25 percent. CIC said it invested about P400 million for the road widening of the MIAA-to-Zapote stretch as well as the Southbound Flyover on the intersection of Pacific Ave. The company also spent about P300 million for the bridge widening at the Wawa, Las Piñas area. “These enhancement projects started last year and were slated to finish by August 2018, but we will complete them within July 2018. On top of these, we are also adding 15 tollbooths—three on the northbound direction, two on the southbound direction and five portable booths each on the north and south sides of the Paranaque toll plaza,” Cavitex president and chief executive Luigi Bautista said. “About 140,000 cars pass Cavitex at different periods of the day, and we would like each one of them to have a good experience to take with them after passing our expressway,” he added. Public Works and Highways Mark Villar Secretary said several enhancement projects in Cavitex would improve travel time by around 20 to 30 minutes. Cavitex is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., which also operates the North Luzon Expressway and the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway. Earlier, unit MPCala Holdings Inc. said expects to obtain the original proponent status for the P22.43billion Cavite-Batangas Expressway this month. The Public Works Department said the OPS letter for CTBex was set to be signed by Villar.

PH to gain from tax reforms—Moody’s GLOBAL debt watcher Moody’s Investor Service said the Philippines is among developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region that will benefit from the implementation of tax reforms. Moody’s conclusions are contained in its just-released report “Sovereigns—Developing Asia Pacific: Tax base broadening most likely to be effective in countries with strong tax administration.” The report looked at the extent to which tax reforms are likely to support the sovereign credit profiles of 11 developing Asia Pacific economies that have underdeveloped tax systems. The 11 are Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Mongolia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Moody’s said the tax reforms in developing Asia Pacific economies would help address the narrowness of revenue bases in some countries, but that many governments still face structural barriers to broadening these bases. “For many sovereigns, measures to broaden the tax base are unlikely to

boost fiscal strength unless accompanied by enhanced tax administration and measures that effectively manage expenditure growth,” Moody’s said. It said by constraining revenue-generation potential, the narrow tax bases of many of these sovereigns increased their fiscal vulnerability, while also limiting the financial resources available to develop the social and infrastructure services needed for greater economic development. “Moody’s expects such reforms will most likely address the narrow revenue bases present in fast-growing economies with improving expenditure and debt management, such as the Philippines [Baa2 stable], India [Baa2 stable], Indonesia [Baa2 stable] and Thailand [Baa1 stable],” it said. Besides hurdles to tax administration, Moody’s said the relative concentration of the tax base on indirect taxes—such as value-added taxes—left governments vulnerable to pressure to grant exemptions for various special interests. Julito G. Rada

CONTACT CENTERS. The local contact sector is rapidly evolving to match the changing requirements from customers. Briefing reporters during a press conference at the Makati Shangri-La, Manila hotel Friday are (from left) Contact Center Association of the Philippines president Jojo Uligan, CCAP chairman Benedict Hernandez and CCAP trustee Butch Valenzuela. Manny Palmero

B2

Business

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market rallies; BPI, Meralco climb

T

HE stock market jumped Thursday to sustain a rally after Tuesday’s sharp fall, with select blue chip issues leading the advance.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 133.09 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,630.26 on a value turnover of P5.6 billion. Gainers edged losers, 101 to 89, with 46 issues unchanged. Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 4.2 percent to P99, while Manila Electric Co., the largest retailer of electricity, gained 3.7 percent to P334.80. Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fastfood chain, rose 3.6 percent to P283.80, while Metro Pacific Investments, which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, power generation and hospitals, advanced 3 percent to P4.79.

The rest of Asian markets, however, fell on Friday as fears of a trade war blasted back to the fore after Donald Trump imposed stiff tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum. Hong Kong was slightly lower and Tokyo ended down 0.1 percent while Sydney lost 0.4 percent. Singapore was 0.1 percent off and Wellington dropped 0.3 percent, but Seoul edged up 0.7 percent and Taipei was 0.7 percent higher. Investors are now looking ahead to the Friday release of US jobs data, hoping for an idea of Federal Reserve interest rate policy. Shanghai fell 0.7 percent, with no early boost to the companies listed for the first time on MSCI’s emerging market index. Their inclusion means major investors wanting to track the index will now have

to buy stocks in the more than 200 mainland firms, though their weighting for now is miniscule, making up just 0.4 percent. The US tariffs sparked immediate countermeasures by Mexico and Canada, while the European Union threatened a similar response, throwing up the prospect of a painful conflict between some of the world’s biggest economies. French President Emmanuel Macron labeled the move “illegal.” It also overshadowed news that Italy’s populist parties had reached a deal to revive a coalition government and avoid a snap election that many had feared could be used as a referendum on the country’s euro membership. However, while some say the measures—which followed US warnings that tariffs on some Chinese goods were still up in the air—are a White House ploy to gain the upper hand in ongoing talks, others warn the issue could esca-

late further. “While markets overreacted to the Italian mess a couple of days back, it strikes me they might be under-reacting to the real—distractive—negatives of this trade skirmish developing into a trade war,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader. “My guess is that many traders and investors see this as another negotiating tactic from the Trump Administration,” he said. “But we are now genuinely faced with the type of tit-for-tat trade spat, of which there will be few winners and which could materially impact global growth and relations.” McKenna also warned Trump was at risk of being overwhelmed as he fights several battles at once, with North Korea, Iran and the Russia investigation at home among the other pressing issues demanding his attention. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59 31,870 99 1,773,290 2.88 80,000 131 1,601,910 1.5 108,000 33.85 41,800 16.56 26,600 15 130,000 3.58 3,000 9.72 1,900 900 10 0.54 673,000 79.85 4,698,830 1.07 380,000 20.3 600 51 79,890 207.8 1,120 105.3 100 37.9 70,300 194 441,790 1,940 15 89 14,390

1,880,154 174,456,968 224,010 209,850,466 161,730 1,415,325 439,246 1,952,762 10,620 18,436 9,000 366,210 374,960,318.50 404,230 12,180 4,074,895.50 232,722 10,530 2,651,035 85,545,804 29,100 1,280,710

1,720,585 36,863,208.50 -61,238,849 24,000 -233,435 -552,256 -96,127,956.50 -13,780 -3,094,748.50 -248,385 -7,874,883 -29,100 -100,570

38.2 14 0.58 1.24 19.58 0.223 114.5 3.03 16.3 49 23.15 53 61.05 87.95 1.92 5 8.8 10.8 15.72 11.46 7.18 5.25 1.65 14.84 62 19.58 8.6 15.4 2.04 276.8 5.03 27 12.38 21.7 322.8 0.174 6.58 2.2 4.2 8.74 5.85 7.85 1.4 12.2 49.55 6 4.6 2.58 3.5 1.75 12.7 66.5 5.4 0.133 0.9 128.1 2.51 2.89 0.81

INDUSTRIAL 38.95 1,078,600 14.34 1,270,000 0.58 915,000 1.28 107,000 19.98 39,500 0.227 800,000 114.5 220 3.1 6,402,000 16.4 9,000 50 400,300 23.8 6,700 53 15,300 61.05 120 87.95 130 1.92 19,000 5 46,200 9 52,700 10.94 1,275,300 15.98 471,700 11.86 8,500 7.18 25,000 5.35 741,600 1.65 6,000 14.98 110,600 62 20,270 20.75 213,900 8.75 119,300 15.48 922,300 2.05 595,000 283.8 750,260 5.1 8,300 28 1,215,700 12.5 93,200 22.3 628,500 334.8 263,960 0.178 470,000 6.58 20,900 2.2 814,000 4.35 8,000 8.75 5,104,900 5.95 430,700 7.86 15,700 1.4 68,000 12.8 112,500 49.65 668,900 6 264,600 4.61 297,000 2.72 2,411,000 3.5 104,000 1.76 65,000 12.8 64,700 66.5 54,360 5.5 877,100 0.133 700,000 0.94 243,000 128.8 743,500 2.62 43,000 2.97 5,530,000 0.82 763,000

41,958,905 18,078,206 534,310 135,230 783,357 178,840 25,190 19,833,140 146,750 20,080,480 160,000 814,620 7,326 11,433.50 36,510 231,000 470,963 13,789,650 7,516,598 97,668 179,901 3,915,408 9,900 1,652,986 1,260,755.50 4,310,731 1,043,575 14,278,292 1,232,720 211,403,096 41,934 33,295,675 1,163,830 14,039,240 88,135,696 83,240 137,522 1,825,070 34,230 45,066,513 2,591,624 123,347 95,270 1,423,400 33,197,885 1,588,664 1,366,410 6,560,840 369,320 114,190 826,538 3,632,731 4,821,882 93,100 222,040 96,253,260 108,040 16,409,000 626,200

4,130,830 3,278,892 299,400 -1,213,890 -57,100 -241,460 -414,450 -1,454,854 860,208 -36,710 1,850,378 -659,398 -1,077,286 -196,000 -723,010 -2,327,828 -76,620 7,468,490 3,766,805 272,148 -466,845 57,346,294 9,000 -830,920 -31,310,984 -24,678 -109,207 42,000 -255,296 -11,832,455 462,020 -1,154,610.00 -8,800 783,884 -1,292,867 2,740 5,340,288 50,200.00 -3,905,070 -1,020

0.227 63 13.24 0.89 6.2 0.69 0.7 965.5 6.4 10.94 7.65 4.97 0.2 989 6.5 58 5.2 5.77 0.57 4.09 20.55 0.58 4.84 0.038 1.54 2.94 2.9 142.5 906.5 0.84 1.6 570 266 0.231 0.22

0.206 58.15 13 0.89 6.18 0.66 0.68 940 6.14 10.5 7.65 4.97 0.196 970 6.5 56 5.2 5.73 0.56 3.9 20.25 0.55 4.66 0.037 1.31 2.86 2.9 140.5 860 0.84 1.6 570 259 0.213 0.194

HOLDING FIRMS 0.206 13,940,000 63 1,074,120 13.06 4,530,000 0.89 11,000 6.18 213,900 0.69 5,225,000 0.7 3,004,000 960 345,540 6.4 457,900 10.9 4,688,400 7.65 200 4.97 2,000 0.2 30,000 978 67,730 6.5 10,000 58 1,376,910 5.2 200 5.73 2,600 0.56 731,000 4.09 12,320,000 20.35 2,609,100 0.57 499,000 4.79 40,480,000 0.037 1,400,000 1.33 11,259,000 2.87 784,000 2.9 1,000 142 172,900 906.5 189,870 0.84 2,000 1.6 54,000 570 140 266 10,130 0.231 300,000 0.22 600,000

2,947,520 66,398,961 59,338,384 9,790 1,324,236 3,581,540 2,052,700 330,682,365 2,878,952 50,830,696 1,530 9,940 5,920 66,385,450 65,000 78,606,419.50 1,040 14,902 410,050 49,277,380 53,107,440 278,870 193,386,460 52,300 16,475,960 2,248,350 2,900 24,538,884 169,657,090 1,680 86,400 79,800 2,670,084 66,410 130,220

54,110 -929,186 -11,895,042 -896,840 12,898,840 1,004,865 -5,149,444 -26,714,225 -22,748,116.50 -3,814,150 -4,000,695 -30,644,360 -26,180 -5,714,951 29,970,360 -2,403,978 -

7.39 1.01 14.34 0.8 41.2 3.44 4.79 5.83 0.435 1.07 0.98 0.23 0.42 30.2 0.63 1.62 1.28

7.3 1 14.02 0.79 40 3.32 4.7 5.6 0.43 1 0.95 0.225 0.42 27.5 0.61 1.6 1.26

3,256,271 1,608,760 85,874 107,450 263,982,200 296,990 11,082,490 567,342 2,824,350 64,390 931,250 467,510 63,000 50,686,090 315,510 3,222,600 1,402,020

180,319 39,500 -98,019,690 79,310 9,420 0 -1,735,000 9,600 -10,656,760 -1,506,080 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

ASIA UNITED BANK PH ISLANDS BDO LEASING BDO UNIBANK BRIGHT KINDLE CHINABANK COL FINANCIAL EAST WEST BANK FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND MANULIFE MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK

59 95.1 2.9 130 1.58 34 16.52 14.92 3.52 9.36 900 0.54 79.6 1.07 20.3 51.1 208 105.3 37.85 193.9 1,940 89

59 99.25 2.9 134 1.58 34 16.58 15.22 3.58 9.76 900 0.55 80.5 1.08 20.3 52.7 208 105.3 37.95 194 1,940 89

58.5 95.1 2.76 128 1.49 33.8 16.5 14.92 3.52 9.36 900 0.53 79.2 1.06 20.3 50.9 207.6 105.3 37.5 190 1,940 89

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CONCRETE B CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT EUROMED FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LMG CHEMICALS MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

38.9 14.2 0.59 1.24 20.05 0.223 114.5 3.03 16.3 50.45 23.3 55 61.05 87.95 1.93 5 9 11 15.94 11.48 7.22 5.28 1.65 14.98 63.3 19.6 8.8 15.48 2.04 280 5.03 27.95 12.76 22.45 322.8 0.178 6.58 2.33 4.28 8.87 5.9 7.85 1.4 12.2 50 6.05 4.62 2.71 3.76 1.75 13.1 67.95 5.5 0.133 0.99 128.1 2.51 2.96 0.84

39 14.4 0.59 1.28 20.05 0.229 114.5 3.13 16.4 50.45 24.1 55 61.05 87.95 1.93 5 9.1 11 15.98 11.86 7.22 5.35 1.65 15 63.3 20.9 8.89 15.52 2.11 284.2 5.12 28 12.76 22.45 335 0.18 6.58 2.33 4.35 8.95 6.16 7.86 1.41 12.8 50 6.05 4.62 2.76 3.76 1.78 13.1 67.95 5.55 0.133 0.99 131.9 2.62 3 0.84

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA PRIME ORION REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.209 58.95 13.24 0.89 6.2 0.66 0.68 940 6.14 10.74 7.65 4.97 0.196 975 6.5 57 5.2 5.77 0.57 4 20.55 0.56 4.66 0.038 1.48 2.91 2.9 142.5 868 0.84 1.6 570 261 0.215 0.194

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CITY AND LAND CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE

7.32 1 14.34 0.8 40 3.32 4.7 5.7 0.435 1.07 0.98 0.225 0.42 29 0.61 1.62 1.27

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

IRC PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

1.03 4.83 0.63 0.45 0.52 2.6 21.1 2.05 3.29 37 1.1 10.9 0.77 6.85

1.11 4.91 0.64 0.465 0.52 2.67 21.15 2.05 3.29 37.7 1.1 11.12 0.78 6.95

1.03 4.76 0.61 0.44 0.51 2.56 20.55 2 3.25 37 1.09 10.02 0.76 6.68

1.1 4.9 0.62 0.455 0.52 2.67 20.7 2.05 3.28 37.2 1.1 10.12 0.78 6.95

1,844,000 17,742,000 38,527,000 1,100,000 1,141,000 1,698,000 2,530,400 134,000 77,000 9,958,000 1,076,000 3,840,000 164,000 4,133,000

2,005,040 86,518,710 23,980,970 495,500 584,010 4,430,960 52,541,555 269,550 250,410 371,328,620 1,176,140 40,273,824 125,610 28,407,895

-27,810 48,376,430 -60,760 77,400 16,383,510 78,020 162,500 127,607,985.00 -504,936 -3,541,455

2GO GROUP ABS CBN APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA GRAND PLAZA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

15.6 26.4 0.46 0.046 12.8 10.8 0.054 89 7.22 18.1 1,577 5.69 312 12.5 3.94 2.15 84.35 8.21 0.114 1.35 3.7 15.7 4.31 1.08 26 0.49 3.98 5.7 2.99 18.8 9.7 11.3 9.63 129.9 5.57 1,276 0.99 0.37 46.9 89 7.8 2.19 1.17 0.44 4.83 0.83 11.2

15.7 26.7 0.47 0.047 12.98 10.96 0.055 89 7.45 19.12 1,599 5.7 312 12.5 3.94 2.15 84.35 8.21 0.114 1.41 3.75 15.7 4.31 1.08 26 0.49 4.16 5.9 3.01 18.8 9.9 11.34 9.63 130 5.57 1,299 1.01 0.375 47 89 8.2 2.19 1.18 0.44 4.84 0.83 11.42

15 26.3 0.46 0.046 12.8 10.2 0.054 88.8 7.2 18.1 1,557 5.64 301.4 12.5 3.8 2.15 83 8.21 0.112 1.35 3.7 15.04 4.18 1.04 25.4 0.49 3.98 5.6 2.98 18.8 9.35 11.3 9.56 129.9 5.45 1,269 0.99 0.37 46.1 87.05 7.75 2.13 1.16 0.43 4.78 0.82 11.2

SERVICES 15.5 26.3 0.46 0.047 12.98 10.36 0.054 88.9 7.45 18.5 1,583 5.68 309.8 12.5 3.8 2.15 83.35 8.21 0.114 1.41 3.75 15.04 4.21 1.08 25.65 0.49 4.16 5.75 3 18.8 9.74 11.34 9.56 130 5.5 1,295 1.01 0.37 46.75 89 8.19 2.14 1.17 0.435 4.82 0.83 11.42

55,500 26,800 1,390,000 1,800,000 500 17,342,200 3,680,000 51,320 565,100 93,100 25,730 423,100 14,570 100 565,000 4,000 2,551,890 2,000 1,090,000 42,000 10,000 12,300 307,000 169,000 312,000 10,000 7,000 1,197,200 93,000 3,500 6,713,800 1,500 700 10,060 266,000 91,065 86,000 560,000 233,700 18,510 1,473,100 1,489,000 1,404,000 5,660,000 1,458,000 626,000 1,702,100

852,070 708,685 640,700 84,500 6,472 182,269,704 201,120 4,564,020.50 4,149,389 1,734,146 40,752,525 2,399,462 4,489,362 1,250 2,155,850 8,600 212,990,400.50 16,420 122,820 57,120 37,200 185,516 1,292,420 177,470 8,001,715 4,900 28,220 6,795,631 279,020 65,800 64,748,698 16,970 6,726 1,307,730 1,462,632 116,946,560 86,050 208,100 10,903,370 1,644,853.50 11,835,741 3,190,690 1,642,280 2,464,500 7,022,380 514,900 19,352,694

-232,160 -80,622,680 -1,667,117.50 -96,340 453,605 -4,030 -66,907,761.50 -21,080 649,035 -1,739,229 -5,980 1,264,791 -1,918.00 -1,162,200 -10,076 -42,514,570 -2,000 62,900 -8,871,540 388,857 -1,136,690 239,950 34,800 -5,909,950 15,651,164

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK CENTURY PEAK COAL ASIA HLDG FERRONICKEL GEOGRACE LEPANTO A LEPANTO B MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES NICKEL ASIA NIHAO OMICO CORP ORNTL PENINSULA ORNTL PETROL A PHILODRILL PHINMA PETRO PX MINING PXP ENERGY SEMIRARA MINING

0.0028 1.6 4.28 18.5 1.71 0.3 2.43 0.18 0.135 0.135 0.0083 1.52 4.88 1.15 0.53 0.88 0.012 0.011 2.01 5.44 13.12 28.5

0.0028 1.62 4.36 22 1.72 0.3 2.46 0.183 0.136 0.138 0.0083 1.52 4.96 1.15 0.54 0.9 0.012 0.012 2.02 5.44 13.4 29.05

0.0027 1.59 4.28 18.1 1.69 0.295 2.42 0.18 0.135 0.135 0.0083 1.51 4.8 1.1 0.51 0.88 0.012 0.011 2.01 5.21 12.5 28.4

MINING & OIL 0.0028 102,000,000 1.59 1,272,000 4.36 5,000 19.8 95,800 1.7 803,000 0.3 240,000 2.44 3,233,000 0.182 1,100,000 0.135 340,000 0.135 60,000 0.0083 1,000,000 1.51 40,000 4.82 2,496,000 1.11 6,000 0.54 32,000 0.9 117,000 0.012 2,000,000 0.012 24,400,000 2.02 8,000 5.28 368,800 12.68 2,820,800 28.75 1,588,400

284,700 2,033,000 21,500 1,931,692 1,368,620 71,150 7,895,330 198,240 45,910 8,130 8,300 60,450 12,130,300 6,680 16,780 103,970 24,000 280,400 16,120 1,961,506 36,427,460 45,688,865

8,560 -22,000 713,470 180,000 -1,612,930 -486,524 -493,600 -7,020,460

DD PREF FGEN PREF F GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2B PNX PREF 3A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G

100.5 106 5.45 881 980 100.2 1.05 1,030 103 2 76.5 79 75.5 78 76.5

100.5 106 5.5 881 980 100.2 1.05 1,030 103 2 77 79.95 75.5 78 76.5

100.5 106 5.43 881 980 100.2 1.05 1,030 103 2 76.5 79 75.3 78 76.5

PREFERRED 100.5 250 106 500 5.43 640,200 881 60 980 50 100.2 500 1.05 239,000 1,030 10 103 20 2 10,000 77 9,870 79.95 3,300 75.3 26,890 78 360 76.5 138,000

25,125 53,000 3,485,914 52,860 49,000 50,100 250,950 10,300 2,060 20,000 755,105 263,445 2,029,257 28,080 10,557,000

-3,484,281 -

LR WARRANT

2.56

2.56

2.46

WARRANTS 2.55 231,000

579,110

-

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.08 3.29

5.15 3.39

5 3.21

5.09 3.25

2,690,368 1,968,660

-809,170

FIRST METRO ETF

115.8

117

115.8

890,204

19,805

79,872.20

-

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 7.3 1.01 14.02 0.79 40.55 3.38 4.71 5.8 0.435 1 0.96 0.226 0.42 28.9 0.63 1.62 1.27

444,800 1,606,000 6,100 136,000 6,500,000 88,000 2,357,000 99,900 6,520,000 63,000 977,000 2,060,000 150,000 1,750,600 517,000 1,997,000 1,107,000

USD DMPL A1

10.14

TRADING SUMMARY

10.2

SHARES

FINANCIAL

10,158,855

INDUSTRIAL

191,547,885

HOLDING FIRMS

106,663,182

PROPERTY

116,735,645

SERVICES

54,856,731

MINING & OIL

144,046,845

GRAND TOTAL

625,150,578

10

SME

530,700 602,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117 7,640 10.2

DDS

7,890

VALUE 1,889.76 (up) 23.10 860,010,727.50 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,854.17 (up) 96.26 1,504,966,285.774 HOLDING FIRMS 7,563.60 (up) 234.07 1,263,912,361.96 PROPERTY 3,778.18 (up) 22.88 1,471.76 (down) 9.55 1,089,788,359.08 SERVICES MINING & OIL 9,941.47 (down) 80.13 722,807,279.735 PSEI 7,630.26 (up) 133.09 110,594,955.2228 All Shares Index 4,638.72 (up) 50.43 5,557,632,880.90 Gainers: 101; Losers: 89; Unchanged: 46; Total: 236

Double Dragon defers offering period of share sale worth P6b By Jenniffer B. Austria DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Inc. moved its planned share sale worth P6 billion to July this year. DoubleDragon, according to the latest timetable approved by the Philippine Stock Exchange, will conduct domestic and international roadshows from June 18 to 21 and pegged the final offering price for the sale of up to 150 million common shares on June 22. The company scheduled the offering period from July 2 to July 6 and the listing date on July 13. DoubleDragon earlier planned to conduct the offering in June after the PSE approved it. DoubleDragon chairman and chief executive Edgar Sia II said in a text message the slight adjustment in the company’s offering timetable would enable underwriters to conduct a book building process before fixing the final price. “They need minimum of three days for domestic and international roadshows before pricing,” Sia said The company tapped Credit Suisse (Singapore) Ltd., Maybank Eng Securities Pte. Ltd. and UBS as international book runners and lead managers and BPI Capital Corp. and Maybank ATR Kim Eng Capital Partners Inc. as the domestic lead underwriters. DoubleDragon plans to use the proceeds to finance the company’s industrial leasing and hospitality business. It aims to add 200,000 square meters of leasable space to its leasing portfolio by 2020. DoubleDragon also plans to spend for land acquisition to fuel growth of the business beyond 2020 and for general corporate purposes. DoubleDragon earlier said the planned share sale would result in an increase of the company’s total equity to strengthen its financial position. The share sale will boost the company’s chances of becoming one of the blue chip stocks in the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange Index in the near term. The company earlier increased its 2020 leasable portfolio target 1.2 million sq. m. comprising of 700,000 sq. m. from 100 CityMalls, 300,000 sq. m. from its Metro Manila office projects, 100,000 sq. m. from the planned 5,000 hotel rooms of Hotel 101 and Jinjiang Inn Philippines, and another 100,000 sq. m. from the its latest industrial leasing.

Globe vows to speed up PH internet speeds By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it is committed to improve internet speeds and the overall quality of experience of internet services amid the better connections in the country. According to Speedtest Global Index Report by Ookla for April 2018, fixed broadband download speeds increased dramatically by 403 percent to 17.62Mbps as of April 2018 from 3.5Mbps in 2014. For mobile, the average download speeds in the Philippines continued to improve from May 2017 to April 2018, citing an Open Signal data. Globe kept its position of having the widest 4G availability as its users were able to find its 4G connections 67.5 percent of the time, the report read. “These consistent reports from Ookla and other crowd sourcing speed tests showed that our high network investments have started to pay off. We were able to improve our internet services by efficiently using our spectrum assets and improving our network continuously,” Globe senior vice president Joel Agustin said in a statement. Globe Telecom is allotting $850 million to $900 million every year until 2020 for capital expenditures in a bid to upgrade its network for the fast-growing data business. Globe already spent around P6.6 billion in the first three months of 2018 to expand its network and support the growing subscriber base and demand for data. In terms of wired broadband facilities, Globe deployed fiber broadband in 12 cities in Metro Manila as well as in 19 provinces nationwide. Majority of the company’s fiber build are located in Quezon City, Sta. Rosa and Calamba in Laguna, as well as in Cebu and Davao. Globe continues to deploy VDSL in 16 cities in Metro Manila and in 18 areas that include Bulacan, Cavite, Baguio, Cavite, Cebu and Davao City. VDSL technology provides high-speed broadband service up to 200 Mbps using existing copper footprint.

World

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

B3

Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

THE BUOYS OF GOUQI. This picture taken on June 1, 2018, shows a fisherman in his boat passing buoys in the port of Gouqi Island, Zhejiang province, around 100 kilometers southwest of Shanghai. AFP

Waves of arrest in Al-Sisi’s Egypt CAIRO―As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prepares to be sworn in for a second four-year term on Saturday, a wave of arrests signals his government’s fear of social dissent, analysts say. The personalities involved in the January 2011 popular uprising that brought down president Hosni Mubarak are among those to have been detained, amid a crackdown that began after March elections gave Sisi an official 97 percent of the vote. Two of those arrested are blogger and journalist Wael Abbas and Shadi Ghazali Harb, one of the youth leaders during the 2011 revolution. They also include Hazim Abdelazim, who has described his decision to head the youth committee of Sisi’s successful 2014 presidential bid as his “biggest mistake”. “The arrests are in line with the repressive policies of recent years, which aim to subdue” all potential checks on power, said Karim Bitar, a researcher at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs. A month ahead of the elections, the public prosecutor’s office warned the media it would act against the dissemination of “false information” deemed detrimental to the country’s “safety and security”. The latest arrests show “nothing has changed in the security-focused policies of the regime” in Egypt, said Mostafa Kamel el-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University. AFP

Singapore braces for the summit

S

INGAPORESingapore hotel rooms are being snapped up, police are preparing to lock down the city and thousands of journalists are set to jet in for the greatest media circus on Earth― the US-North Korea summit.

Top officials are scrambling to salvage the historic meeting between President Donald Trump and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un planned for June 12 in the city-state. If the summit―already canceled once by Trump before plans got back on track―does go ahead, then tiny, placid Singapore will be the unlikely ground zero for one of the biggest geopolitical events of recent times. The delegations of US and North Korean officials, along with their security details, are expected to be huge. But they are likely to pale in comparison with the gigantic

media pack set to swarm the tropical city-state. Some 3,000 people are expected to apply for media accreditation, sources involved in planning the event who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP. It should easily eclipse the contingent of journalists at the last comparable event in Singapore, the 2015 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwan’s then-leader Ma Yingjeou. Hundreds of journalists witnessed that meeting. There was a foretaste of the coming invasion this week as reporters camped

Trade war looms as tarrifs roil G7 WHISTLER, Canada―The world’s largest economies stood at the precipice of all-out trade war as the major US allies announced retaliation against stinging steel and aluminum tariffs that took effect on Friday. President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday not to extend exemptions for Canada and the European Union―the largest sources of foreign aluminum and steel respectively for the US―upended the agenda for talks among Group of Seven foreign ministers underway in Canada. As Brussels, Ottawa and Mexico City vowed to impose counter-tariffs on billions in US goods, France said it would not negotiate while the tariffs were in effect, lawmakers in Trump’s Republican Party denounced the move as a threat to prosperity and global stock markets sank. In a call late Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump the tariffs were “illegal” and said Europe would respond in a “firm and proportionate manner.” AFP

Victims of clergy abuse get $210m CHICAGO―A Catholic Church archdiocese in the US state of Minnesota reached a $210-million settlement Thursday with hundreds of victims of clergy abuse, resolving a years-long battle. The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2015 citing its exposure to an onslaught of abuse claims, said the settlement would resolve all of those claims, conclude the bankruptcy process and establish a trust fund for 450 victims. “Abuse survivors could expect payments soon after the court approves the plan,” said Archbishop Bernard Hebda. “I am grateful for all of the victim survivors who have bravely come forward,” he said at a news conference. “I recognize that the abuse stole so much from you... The church let you down. I’m very sorry.” Victims welcomed the settlement with relief, but stressed that their emotional scars remained. “This is a great day for us and all of the survivors,” said Jamie Heutmaker at a separate news conference. Marie Mielke added: “What was done to me has really interfered with the joy of being a mother.” A 2013 Minnesota law was credited by victims with opening the flood gates in the Midwestern state, by allowing for the filing of lawsuits in abuse cases dating back decades. AFP

out at the upscale Fullerton hotel to get a glimpse of Kim Chang Son, Kim’s de facto chief of staff, who is in Singapore to lay the ground for the meeting. Meanwhile, the top hotels rumored to be summit venues―the front runner is the five-star Shangri-La, where the Xi-Ma meeting took place―are almost fully booked. But while world leaders hold their breath amid rising hopes a summit could lead to Pyongyang permanently abandoning its nuclear weapons program, some Singaporeans were more concerned about the potential disruption to their peaceful lives. AFP

INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY. Children play a game as they take part in a joint friendship gathering to mark the 68th anniversary of an ‘International Children’s Day’ event at the Kaeson Youth Park in Pyongyang. AFP

‘Mission impossible’ for US cities believing in climate deal PHILADELPHIA―When President Donald Trump announced the US exit from the Paris climate deal one year ago, the mayor of Philadelphia was among those who vowed to keep carrying the torch. “Philly is committed to upholding at [the] local level the same commitment made by the US in the Paris climate agreement,” tweeted the sixth largest US city’s mayor, Jim

Kenney, a Democrat. Since then, the City of Brotherly Love has cut energy consumption in municipal buildings, started replacing street lamps with LED lights, and launched a major green energy overhaul of its celebrated museum of art. But these actions represent just a drop in the bucket, faced with the 18 million tons of carbon spewed into the atmosphere by Philadelphia each year.

Although emissions have declined, there is only so much the city can do. Here, 85 percent of the residents heat their homes with natural gas, a fossil fuel that is abundant in the rocks beneath Pennsylvania. Cars and trucks rumble through downtown―and more than half of the electricity the city gobbles up each day is produced by oil- and coalpowered power plants. AFP

Italian populists reach last-ditch agreement to take power ROME―Italy’s populist parties will be sworn in to power on Friday in Rome after they reached a new coalition deal, narrowly avoiding snap elections and setting in motion an anti-austerity government in the eurozone’s third largest economy. On Thursday evening President Sergio Mattarella gave a mandate for the second time to Giuseppe Conte―the

populists’ pick for prime minister. Italy has been in the throes of political uncertainty for almost three months after inconclusive March elections, rocking financial markets and spreading unease among its euro partners. Conte-a little known lawyer and political novice―announced his picks for the country’s future cabinet after meeting with Mattarella.

From the coalition, far-right League leader Matteo Salvini was named interior minister while Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio is slated to become minister for economic development. Paolo Savona, the euro-skeptic economist who the populist coalition originally wanted for economy minister but rejected by Mattarella, is still part of the cabinet as European Affairs minister. AFP

Nicaragua death toll reaches 100 MANAGUA―The death toll from weeks of violent unrest in Nicaragua rose to 100 Thursday as embattled President Daniel Ortega rejected the calls to step down and the Catholic Church, which has tried to mediate the conflict, refused to resume the dialogue. At least 16 people were killed and 88 injured on Wednesday and into the early hours of Thursday as pro- and anti-government supporters clashed in a number of cities, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) said Thursday in an updated toll. It said this was one of the most violent days yet in a wave of protests that began on April 18 against Ortega and his ruling party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. Over 900 have been injured. The protests were initially triggered by now-aborted reforms to the nearbankrupt social security system. But the unrest quickly broadened into a rejection by many Nicaraguans of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, who are seen as autocratic. AFP

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor jdlacsamana@gmail.com

B4

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

Lamudi is ready to accept nominations for The Outlook, which will include additional award categories this year

Floorboards

as statement pieces

H

OMEOWNERS are becoming more creative and seeking originality with their flooring.

Nearly a quarter of homeowners are upping their budget this year for at least one area of their property - and flooring is leading the way. Home improvement retailer Wilcon Builders revealed that flooring is set to experience the biggest increase in investment, with an average 29 per cent of homeowners looking to spend more on this in 2018, followed more widely by the bathroom and kitchen (both 27 per cent). This is further backed up by home and design specialist Crate&Barrel, which said in a report that this year will be one of the most ‘dynamic times’ for flooring, with homeowners becoming more creative and seeking originality in flooring, which is becoming a statement piece in its own right. “A lot more consideration is going into the selection of the floorboards, because this is usually the statement piece in any home that can never go out of fashion,” said True Value in its yearend brochure in 2017. “It needs to stay current and be adaptable to changing trends. Here are some trends for this 20182019: Rich, dark floorboards For a while, light or blonde wood was the most popular and elegant statement in many homes which beautifully reflected modern and stylish interiors and

ZEN LIVING. DMCI Homes is developing its first Japanese architecture-inspired project in M. Vicente Street, Mandaluyong City. Patterned after a traditional Japanese garden, Kai Garden Residences is a threetower development that showcases DMCI Homes’ landscaping expertise, and its signature of finely-crafted units and resort-inspired amenities. “Kai Garden Residences can be likened to an urban oasis,” said DMCI Homes senior architect Fe Moselina. “The moment you enter the development, it already eases off the stresses of what transpired during the day.” Kai Garden Residences’ open spaces make extensive use of Japanese garden’s principle of miniaturization and concealment to create a unique development wherein each of its part unfolds as one explores the project. “The core amenity itself is designed to be one massive garden wherein the typical exterior amenities such as pools and play courts are blended seamlessly into thematic setting with asymmetry in mind thereby no image is alike when one takes photos of the development,” said DMCI Homes landscape department manager Alexis Valiente. Priced at P3.32 million onwards, the units with gross floor area ranging from 28 to 81.5 square meters (sq.m.) are targeted for completion in January 2023 for the Sugi building, January 2024 for the Icho building, and from June 2024 to January 2025 (depending on the floor level) for the Hinoki building.

accessories. More recently, bolder colors are being used as accessories become brighter. Greys and dark brown tones bring a warm and sophisticated feel to any home adding an extra dimension of high quality. A rich dark wood can also add a slightly vintage glamour outlook and forms a great basis for either the clean modern or eclectic inspired room. Brushed finishes Brushed, natural or band-sawn floorboards are making a statement in a big way. A brushed finish provides a natural look and can bring out the ingrained texture that can be particularly attractive in period properties. Statement floorboards Homeowners are much more thoughtful and creative than ever when it comes

to the layout of their floor and are veering towards adding a little detail and design from the ground-up. A homeowner’s floorboards are now a priority statement piece in terms of its overall interior. Each plank can now tell a story, a staggered approach gives the home an instant facelift and it also keeps your floor strong as the seams are the weak points in the floor’s structure, but staggering the seams adds stability to the floor. Cork Cork flooring has made a comeback in the last few years, and this is largely based on its combination of design flexibility, eco credentials and health benefits for the entire family. Cork floors will not absorb dust, but they are also resistant to bacteria and fungus, and are widely recognised as an acoustic leader due to its ability to reduce noise in the home. Ceramic and porcelain for kitchens The 2017 Wilcon Builders Trends Survey reveals that among those updating flooring in their kitchen renovations, ceramic and porcelain tiles is the preferred flooring choice (30 per cent), followed by engineered wood, and stone (both 16 per cent). The rise of chipboard Durable, hard-wearing and easy-toclean, chipboard is a no-fuss flooring option to ensure your living space remains in picture-perfect condition. It’s ideal for those wanting a contemporary yet stripped back look. Manu users feel it is stylish and understated sexy, and suits every room in the home.

LAMUDI, the leading Philippine real estate online platform, has officially opened nominations for The Outlook, a gala that honors the projects and developers that made the biggest impact in local real estate in the past year. This year, Philippine real estate developers are invited to nominate their own new developments to compete in various award categories. “The past few years have been good to Philippine real estate, as evidenced by the rise of some of themost magnificent developments in the country. The aim of Lamudi’s The Outlook is not just to recognize the excellence of the industry’s top projects and the achievement of their developers. We also want to ensure that the public is fully aware of the projects they should anticipate and consider as a potential investment,” Lamudi CEO and Managing Director Bhavna Suresh said. For the 2018 awards, condos, subdivisions, and mixed-use developments will not be the only types ofproperties to be recognized. Nominations will also be accepted for commercial developments, namely: hotels, retail developments, shared office spaces, and alternative living spaces. “The addition of these new categories ensures that we recognize the achievement of developers beyondhouses and condos. The design and construction of commercial developments take as much dedication and skill, which should be brought to light and acknowledged,” Suresh explained. Awards will also include Best Developer of the Year for Luzon and Visayas, Best Boutique Developer of the Year for Luzon and Visayas, Best Green Project of the Year, Best Innovation Project of the Year, andPersonality of the Year. To nominate a project, developers must visit the Awards page of The Outlook’sofficial website. Developers can nominate as many properties as they want and in any of the categories, and no fee willbe charged to nominate a property. Lamudi will close the nominations on June 15. Award categories are as follows: CATEGORIES FOR LUZON Condominiums • Best Affordable Condo of the Year 2018 • Best Premium Condo of the Year 2018 • Best Luxe Condo of the Year 2018 Houses • Best Affordable House of the Year 2018 • Best Premium House of the Year 2018 Mixed-Use • Best Mixed-Use Development of the Year 2018 Commercial • Best Hotel Development of the

Year 2018 Best Retail Development of the Year 2018 • Best Shared Office Space of the Year 2018 • Best Alternative Living Space of the Year 2018 CATEGORIES FOR VISAYAS Condominiums • Best Affordable Condo of the Year 2018 • Best Premium Condo of the Year 2018 Houses • Best Affordable House of the Year 2018 • Best Premium House of the Year 2018 Mixed-Use • Best Mixed-Use Development of the Year 2018 Commercial • Best Hotel Development of the Year 2018 • Best Retail Development of the Year 2018 • Best Shared Office Space of the Year 2018 • Best Alternative Living Space of the Year 2018 GRAND AWARDS Best Developer • Best Developer of the Year 2018 – Luzon • Best Developer of the Year 2018 – Visayas • Best Boutique Developer of the Year 2018 – Luzon • Best Boutique Developer of the Year 2018 – Visayas • Special Awards • Best Green Project of the Year 2018 • Best Innovation Project of the Year 2018 Personality of the Year After being shortlisted by a panel of judges, the official nominations for each category will be announcedon July 1. Winners of the Commercial and Grand Awards will be selected by the judges. On the otherhand, shortlisted nominations for the rest of the award categories will be presented to 10,000 property seekers, who will vote on the winners. These property seekers will only be votingin categories that match their search interests. Winners will be awarded at a gala to be held on November 15 at Makati Shangri-La. First held in November 2017, The Outlook aims to single out the best developments in different categories as chosen by Lamudi’s property seekers. Last year, 10,000 respondents were surveyed todetermine the winners of 22 categories, which included Best Condo Developer awarded to Ayala Land,Best Housing Developer to Camella, Best Condo Developer-Visayas to Cebu Landmasters, and BestMixed-Use Developer-Visayas to Megaworld for MactanNewtown. For more information on The Outlook 2018, visit the event’sofficial website. •

‘CONTEMPORARY MANOR.’ Property firm Ortigas & Company recently

celebrated the groundbreaking of Connor, the newest residential development in its prime Greenhills estate. Launched in July 2017, the 55-storey tower is Ortigas & Company’s second foray into vertical residences in Greenhills, following the Viridian. Connor is the first project to be launched under the P50-billion Greenhills estate upgrade, which also includes, in its first phase, an integrated regional mall and a BPO office tower. Connor will have 47 residential floors, seven floors for parking, and a floor dedicated to the tower’s amenities. The development registered a sales record on its launch day last year, with 51% take up or P3.6 billion in only 12 hours. The tower is now almost sold out. At the ceremonies were Ortigas & Company executives (Left to right): Davee M. Zuñiga, chief finance officer; Thomas F. Mirasol, senior vice president and chief operating officer; Jaime E. Ysmael, president and CEO; Arch. Renee C. Bacani, vice president and Ortigas Malls general manager; Atty. Michael I. Abundo, vice president and head of corporate resources.

European workspace maker launches in Manila AMSTERDAM-BORN inspirational workspace pioneer Spaces has chosen BGC’s World Plaza as the location for its latest site. Spaces Word Plaza opens in June 2018, offering professionals in the country an impressive 500-sq m hub built around the concept of community and shared ideas. Spaces is a creative working environment with a unique entrepreneurial ethos. Its workspaces offer an inspiring environment designed with contemporary European workspaces designed around a social heart and attention to the small, surprising details. The BGC site is Spaces’ first site in the

Philippines. Spaces—founded in 2006—has hubs across 25 cities in a number of countries, including the Netherlands, USA, Singapore, and Australia. “Spaces is redefining the way work is done, providing a contemporary, social and inspirational environment with a real focus on community,” said Lars Wittig, country manager of Spaces Philippines. “Manila is a city on the rise and a great fit for Spaces. We are excited to add this beautiful and buzzing city to our international spread and connect our community with Manila,” said Martijn Roordink, co-founder of Spaces.

Life

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Paddling

travel and leisure

@manilastandardlife @MstandardLIFe

saturday, june 2, 2018

C1

in Hong Kong TesT of sTrengTh. Over 4,500 athletes, forming the largest number of overseas teams ever, will compete at Victoria Harbour for the 9th edition of the Dragon Boat Festival in Hong Kong.

J

une is the month when sunny Hong Kong is filled with thunderous cheer as it celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival. Adrenaline-pumping boat races, colorful carnival, and other exhilarating events lure visitors to Victoria Harbour and Central Harbourfront. We, here in the Philippines, have more reasons to join in on the festivities as two of our dragon boat teams are competing in the races. Cebu-based Philippine Accessibility Disability Services Inc. and Triton Dragon Boat Racing Team are making a comeback in the 9 th edition of the festival following their triumphant races last year, winning gold and silver medals, respectively. PADS and Triton will test their rowing strength against paddlers from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, and the uS, among others at the China Construction Bank (Asia) Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races along Victoria Harbour on June 22-24. Aside from intense competitions on the water, paddlers will get to dress up in creative and eye-catching outfits for the Best Costume Award in the Fancy Dress Competition. Tourists are invited to witness other dragon boat races happening on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival in various districts in Hong Kong, including Stanley, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Sai Kung, and Aberdeen. In addition to the breathtaking battles in the harbour is the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival onshore, also on June 22-24. The three-day carnival, organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, will feature exciting activities and attractions, such as food trucks serving local delicacies, beer fest, and a lot

Dragon boat teams dress up in creative outfits for the Best Costume Award in the Fancy Dress Competition.

of music and entertainment, guaranteeing a variety of great summer fun for visitors. An artificial sand beach will also be set up at the Central Harbourfront, allowing visitors to indulge in sunbathing right in the heart of the city, with live music performances come night time. When in Hong Kong at this time of the year, make sure to have a taste of rice dumplings, a must-try traditional delicacy for visitors in the Dragon Boat Festival. Rice dumplings are made using a sophisticated process of boiling bamboo leaves, pre-soaking glutinous rice, slicing and seasoning pork belly, wrapping and string-tying, and steaming. This local delicacy comes in salty and sweet varieties, and is served in many restaurants in Hong Kong, including Ka Woo, a 70-year-old Shanghainese restaurant located in nam Shan estate in Sham Shui Po, well-known for its handmade dumplings. Take selfies at the dragon boat display designed by the Arts with the Disabled Association Hong Kong at the Central Harbourfront and try dragon boating on dry land using a dragon boat simulator—CCB (Asia) will convert the mileage to donations for ADAHK. Visit www.discoverhongkong.com to know more about the festivities.

Old world charm with a heart Rice dumplings in various flavors are the most popular traditional delicacy for celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival.

The Manila Hotel’s elegant lobby with the lavish chandeliers that dazzle guests.

mercury rising By BoB zozoBrado

Food trucks will gather at the Dragon Boat Carnival to serve local delicacies.

I HAVe always been fascinated with the old world charm of The Manila Hotel, its banquet venues and guest rooms. In fact, I chose the romantic ambience of the Champagne Room as the venue for my wedding reception eons ago, and the historic MacArthur Suite as our (with my bride) cocoon for a few days after the wedding. This is why the hotel will always be very special to me. This historic five-star hotel along Manila Bay, on the northwestern end of Rizal Park, is the oldest de luxe hotel in the country, and has 570 well-designed rooms that showcase the best in Filipino art and culture. It was opened on July 4, 1912 to commemorate the American Independence.

Ginoo, the trio of baritenores, is composed of lawyers Joey Lina, Sal Panelo, and Mike Toledo.

Its rich history and grandeur have attracted celebrities from all over the world, to try its facilities and de luxe service. Aside from Douglas MacArthur who lived there during the War, The Manila Hotel has also been the temporary home of celebrated authors ernest Hemingway and James Michener, Hollywood actors in the ‘50s Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and John Wayne, entertainers Sammy Davis Jr., The Beatles, and Michael Jackson, uS presidents John F. Kennedy and Wil-

liam J. Clinton, British Prime Minster Anthony eden, and many other important world leaders. I can never have enough of the hotel’s elegant lobby. It banners the best materials indigenous to the country. The floor is made of Philippine marble, and all the furniture pieces are carved out of the sturdy Philippine mahogany. The beautiful giant chandeliers, which are made of brass, crystal, and seashells, have a story behind them. Turn to C2

Life

C2

saturday, june 2, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Understanding millennial travelers

8 ultimate travel essentials YOu’vE booked a flight, finalized your itinerary, and reserved a room at your favorite hotel. Now that you’re all set, how do you ensure a pleasurable and hassle-free getaway? Make sure you have the ultimate travel essentials. AXA, the global leader in insurance and asset management, shares some tips on important items to bring for a memorable and worry-free vacation.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance financially protects you, your family, and your possessions from travel risks such as stolen luggage, flight cancellations, and medical costs. AXA’s Smart Traveller comes with a wide range of benefits, including 24-hour medical assistance, personal accident coverage, liability and personal safety coverage, protection of personal belongings, and refunds for travel inconveniences.

Millennials are interested in recommendations that expose them to new experiences.

M

ILLENNIAL travelers embrace new technology, prefer recommendations from friends, and are more cautious in sharing personal information with travel providers.

These are the findings from the “Journey of Me Insights: What Asia Pacific Millennial Travelers Want” survey conducted by IT company Amadeus in collaboration with YouGov. The research surveyed 6,870 respondents, 45 percent of whom are millennials (defined as aged 18-35 at the time the data was collected), across 14 markets in the Asia Pacific.

They travel using new technology

More so than the generations that have come before them, millennials are embracing new technology, experiences, and ways of traveling. Forty two percent of millennials say they often use ride-sharing apps when they travel, and 35 percent frequently use sharing economy services for trip accommodation. Targeting millennials’ desire for new experiences is a golden opportunity for travel providers. In fact, the research found that after recommendations that help them save money (37 percent), millennials are interested in recommendations that expose them to new experiences (27 percent). They are also open to travel providers sending them recommendations or updates through alternative platforms. In the Philippines, most millennials (47 percent) prefer to receive these recommendations or updates through email, followed by social media platforms (24 percent).

“The Millennial generation is indeed an extremely interesting generation. They grew up with the Internet, and technology is second skin to them. They have an openness to new experiences and a willingness to rattle the status quo. They want different experiences in travel, so the industry must serve them differently,” said Karun Budhraja, vice president for corporate marketing and communication in Asia Pacific of Amadeus. He advised travel providers to “adopt new technology, new strategies, and above all, new mindsets if they want to secure millennial mind and market share.”

They prefer recommendations from real people

How influential are influencers? Not very, it seems. When asked who has the most influence over their travel planning, and from where they receive the most relevant travel recommendations, millennials choose family and friends as well as traveler reviews. Somewhat surprisingly, Gen Y travelers ranked celebrities and social media influencers last, even lower than brochures. “With so many influencers becoming brands unto themselves, some of the authenticity that made them so appealing in the first place starts to get lost. ‘Real’ is more important than ‘perfect,’ and that

is an important lesson for the industry to understand,” opined Budhraja.

They are cautious

Millennials have been branded bold and adventurous. The research found this true in some areas, but less so in others. Compared to older generations, millennials are less likely to avoid visiting a destination that has had a recent terror attack, political, or social uprising, or the likelihood of a natural disaster like an earthquake. While 59 percent of baby boomers would avoid a destination where natural disasters are likely, only 51 percent of millennials say the same. But when it comes to sharing personal information with travel providers, Gen Y travelers are less open than older generations. Sixty eight percent of baby boomers and 66 percent of Generation X travelers say they are open to sharing their information in return for more relevant offers or personalized services, while only 62 percent of all APAC millennials say likewise. This caution may be due to millennials being tech-savvy digital natives, and therefore more likely to be aware of security and privacy issues. “While this research has highlighted a number of unique behaviors and preferences of APAC millennial travelers, it is also worth pointing out that there are just as many similarities between millennials travelers and other generations. Personalization is increasingly important, being real is key, and travelers want to be connected with the right content, through the right channel, and at the right time,” concluded Budhraja.

Padlocks

Install padlocks on the zippers of your bags to keep your valuables safe. For extra security, try investing in an antitheft bag.

First-aid kit

It’s always good to be prepared. Having the right first-aid supplies on hand allows you to treat injuries right away and reduce the risk of complications. Think of it as your customized survival kit when traveling to a foreign place.

Power bank, electronic cables, and adaptors

Electronic devices are useless if their batteries are dead. A portable power bank is a lifesaver while you are on the go. Furthermore, bear in mind that voltage and outlets vary per country, thus a universal adaptor is an essential item. Don’t forget to bring all the necessary cables needed to recharge various types of gadgets.

Toiletry kit

Make sure to have a wellstocked toiletry bag with all the essentials you need. Don’t forget to include sunblock, hand sanitizer, and insect repellant, too.

‘Influencers’ are not that influential as Gen Y travelers prefer travel recommendations from family and friends.

cal trio of baritenores. They will stage a fundraising concert, Bagyo Ng Musika, From C1 at the Fiesta Pavilion of the hotel on June 12, for the benefit of the Grade 1 and 2 There used to be only three of those, pupils of Marawi City. Of course, Atty. but when the late Don Emilio Yap Joey Lina leads the trio, which includes bought the hotel from the government, a Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvafeng shui expert told him to increase the dor Panelo and corporate lawyer and forchandeliers to five. Thanks to such admer Press Secretary Mike Toledo. vice, there are now five lavishly styled Atty. Lina is now preparing his repchandeliers to welcome and dazzle hoertoire of Broadway hits and dramatic tel guests at the lobby. standards, while Atty. Panelo, who is a The Manila Hotel’s Pentmean piano wiz himself, will house Suite, which offers a regale the audience with his breathtaking view of Manila original composition, a love Bay, Rizal Park, and Intrasong which Freddie Santos, the YOUR weekend CHUCkLe muros, has its own swimshow’s director, promises to cast I’ve always wondered¼ what do you do with an ming pool on the 18th floor. a magic spell on the ladies. Atty. endangered animal that eats an endangered plant? Like the Presidential Suite, Toledo is sticking to his favorite it is also decorated with rare genre, jazz. They will be joined art masterpieces and Asian by acclaimed West End performantiques. Guests who check er Jenine Desiderio. in at these luxury accommodations are To address this problem, DepEd has Musical accompaniment will be provided with 24-hour butler service, asked schools to participate in the Gu- provided by the Manila Philharmonic and may also avail of limousine service layan sa Paaralan Program which has Orchestra, while Beth Tagle’s Salute or the helipad on the roof deck. become the source of ingredients for Promotions handles the project manNot too long ago, I had lunch with the the school-based Feeding Program, and agement. Tickets to this concert-for-ahotel’s president, former Senator Atty. further encouraging families to have cause are available at 0917-5088858 or Joey Lina. He treated our small group their own home gardens for continu- at The Manila Hotel’s Banquet Events of friends to a feast of superb Chinese ous nutritional supply. However, this Team (02) 527-0011 extension 1275. cuisine at the Red Jade. He promised the project is not enough to solve a gigantic Now, this is what being Filipino is all group that, with the menu he prepared problem such as this. about…The Manila Hotel…elegant, arfor us, we would feel like we were enThis is why Atty. Lina and The Manila tistic, charming…with a heart! joying lunch in China, and we did. The Hotel feel the need to do what they can hotel’s talented Chef Sun Bing, who is to help feed undernourished children, For feedback, I’m at from Beijing, served us the tastiest Pe- thus, the decision to form Ginoo, a musibobzozobrado@gmail.com.

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king duck and an array of other Chinese specialties which, I recommend, you have to try. They are so delightfully delectable…you’ll forget your name! Over lunch, we discussed Atty. Lina’s advocacy, which is to help the country solve our problem on malnutrition and undernutrition, currently affecting three out of every 10 Filipino children. He shared with us figures that show 45 percent of child deaths worldwide are due to undernutrition.

Compression socks

These stockings come in handy especially during long flights as they help increase circulation and reduce the risk of swelling and clotting veins. They gradually squeeze your legs, helping your veins and leg muscles move blood more efficiently.

Refillable water bottle

Water can help relieve jet lag. Stay hydrated throughout your trip as water helps boost energy and battle fatigue. Traveling with a reusable water bottle also helps save money and reduces waste.

Important documents

If you’re traveling abroad, make sure you have hard copies and electronic copies of all your important files. These files should include your passport, visas, birth certificates, and identification cards. If you’re traveling as a family, make sure you have everyone’s complete documents. It is also advisable to leave a printed copy at home with a trusted friend or relative for emergency purposes. (Photo from dfa. gov.ph)

Entertainment

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Leading men take their shirts off for big screen entertainment “SO many men, out a doubt, brings so little time,” out the “Momwhy this column mie Dearest” alastarts with a line Joan Crawford ALWIN made famous side of Jenine DeIGNACIO by comedienne siderio. turned vixen and As the month of icon Mae West is Flores de Mayo, because some of the most important Santacruzan, summer workshops leading men this side of local Tinsel- and circumcisions ended, a trio con town are making their presence felt brio of hombres gave most collecin various motion pictures. tive hearts mega doses of kilig. We start with the double beefDingdong Dantes essayed cakes in Kasal, Derek Ramsay and the cigarette puffing, insomniac and Paulo Avelino. lonely Sid opposite the beguiling Beautifully photographed with Anne Curtis in the not a love story a story line you either love or hate, billed as Sid and Aya. headlined by Bea Alonzo as Lia, a You must really love Piolo Paspublic school teacher torn between cual to have survived a film by Lav her past (Ramsay) and Avelino (pres- Diaz, in black and white, with a four ent). Overtly melodramatic, Kasal hour of running, with lines being is the kind of fare that can best fit the sung with no music. current afternoon And Martin drama staples. It Escudero’s poralso wanted to trayal of Sajid say so much on in Ang Misyon many, thus when proved to all that its best breathhe still in the runer transpired, an ning in the draerotic shower matic lead actor scene that had department. His no Bea in it, a director Cesar seduction seSoriano proquence that went claimed in a press awry between Atom Araullo and Max Collins in a gathering that Esthe two male scene from Mike de Leon's comeback cudero, though leads Ramsay and film, 'Citizen Jake.' the third choice Avelino, it made for the role was everyone go “the best actor of “oooh!” his generation.” Citizen Jake’s alpha pack folArriving very soon in cinemas, is lowed suit with Atom Araul- Joshua Garcia, in I Love You, Hatlo described by film master in a er with his reel and real love team, Facebook post as “Perfect for the Julia Baretto. In the movie trailer, role of Jake, the self-absorbed mil- Garcia pretends to be a member lennial” and a “closeted movie of the pink community to hold to his star.” Manila’s finest character ac- “job” and Baretto, acts as his main tors are in this film - Teroy Guz- competition. With Kris Aquino man, Nonie Buencamino, Adrian as their boss, Joshua as a character Alandy, Gabby Eigenmann, Rich- who is gleeful and gay will surely ard Quan, Fernando Josef and arouse a lot of curiosities. Let us Lou Veloso, cannot be faulted for pray he does the role perfectly or giving life, limb and gravitas to their else, he might not get the love. respective characters and the rivetWill this season of men contining universe of Citizen Jake. ues? Or will there be more powerOf course, Jameson Blake in So ful feminine figures that will be the Connected as the object of Janella center of the universe sooner than Salvador’s affection created a ma- we think? jor stir. Why so? People in the know Here’s hoping that all the movies opined that the newbie and Salva- mentioned today, our dear Manila dor shared a more palpable chemis- Standard readers, you gave them the try than the reel and real partnership love and support. Cliché, you may say that Janella currently shares with about this but “tangkilikin ang sarilElmo Magalona. ing atin” especially our Pinoy films is Her relationship with Elmo, with- a lambing that we must all do.

ARIAS

SUMMER evokes images of fun in the sun, of heading out to the beach and swimming in the cool turquoise waters of the sea, diving and snorkeling and playing endless games of beach volleyball and, well, just spending countless hours bonding with family and friends. Then and now, summer is a season for simply taking a break from our humdrum routines, making wonderful memories come alive or creating new ones to look back on someday. Talk about breaks, a lively staycation is a great option if you want to enjoy summer without going on long road trips or spending on plane tickets and costly tours. This is precisely why top-of-mind affordable real estate provider, Amaia invited everyone—moms, dads, and kids, teens and their squads, and adults of all ages— to participate in its fun-filled and healthy “Summersaya” activities that took place at

DOWN 1 Appoints 2 Gladden 3 Kitchen tool 4 Col. Sanders’ place 5 Tolerate 6 Prime invitees (hyph.) 7 Dry watercourse 8 Utopia 9 Stunned with noise 10 Houston pro 11 Chubby 12 Food-processor button 13 Takes care of 22 Printer’s supply 23 Toast topper 25 Drop by 28 Fence uprights 29 “Rag Mop” brothers 30 Stockholm car-

Atlantis’ ‘Side Show’ A TLANTIS Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) is proud to announce two fresh faces who will take center stage as the Hilton Sisters this August in the theater favorite, Side Show.

Written by Bill Russell and composed by Henry Krieger of Dreamgirls fame, Side Show tells the true story of conjoined twins who must overcome their differences to find success as stage and film stars. Gab Pangilinan and Kayla Rivera lead the cast as Daisy and Violet Hilton, two of the most iconic female roles in

rier 31 — and cry 32 Snake River loc. 33 Green-skinned comics hero 34 Sent a telegram 35 Gun org. 36 Aurora, to Plato 37 Hosp. workers 39 Highlighters (2 wds.) 42 Favoritism 43 Venice conveyance 45 West of Hol-

lywood 46 Sheer 47 BYU locale 48 Makes public 49 Doorway 50 Silver or Scout 51 Ultralight wood 52 March sign 53 Aquatic birds 55 “Garfield” dog 56 Paddy crop 61 Tennis return

Broadway history. Gab gained attention in PETA’s Rak of Aegis in June 2014 and has since starred in numerous roles both on stage and the big screen. She is known for her work as Nancy Jane in D5 Studio’s web series, Forever Sucks. She has also appeared in ABS-CBN’s hit show, Till I Met You and TV5’s Sine Squad. Gab’s versatility as a singer-actress is most evident in her roles for numerous musicals and plays, including Ti Moune in Once on This Island, Prinsesa Mina in Tagu-taguan, Nasaan ang Buwan?, Ariel in The Tempest Reimagined, Chelsea in 3 Stars and the Sun, Annie in F(r)iction and Cha Cha in Grease. Gab started her career with Atlantis in 2012 as a college intern. Kayla is not new to the theater scene either. She has starred in numerous Atlantis Theatrical musicals, taking on some of the most beloved stage roles – Nina Rosario in In the Heights, Princess Jasmine in

Disney’s Aladdin, Carrie White in Carrie, Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Sherrie in Rock of Ages. Kayla has also performed on GMA’s Sunday All Stars and ABS CBN’s ASAP. A winner of the David Foster Star Search, Kayla presently lives in Canada, but Atlantis Theatrical is bringing her home to the Manila stage for Side Show. Gab and Kayla will join Markki Stroem as Terry, David Ezra as Buddy and Arman Ferrer as Jake in the powerful cast of Side Show. Nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical, Side Show makes its Manila debut on Aug. 31 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. Avail of the 15 percent off on early bird tickets to Side Show and Waitress, another Atlantis production in November. For more details, contact TicketWorld at 891-9999 or visit www. ticketworld.com.ph.

was ushered in May 20 to 23 with the global Launch of the Unesco global launch of the Peace Movement not by Force but by Art festival Forum held at EAC theater and the Senate. Those who came to participate in the program included former senators Joey Lina and Heherson Alvarez, Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Atty. Pete Principe, Cultural Center of the Philippines Chairman Arsenio ‘Nick’ Lisazo and Philippine Information Agency director general Harold Clavite. Each of the guests remembered the great Filipino poet by reciting a poem or

singing a song composed by De Jesus. Lisazo, a nephew of De Jesus on his mother’s side shared a story saying that the poet was christened José Cecilio de Jesús but he later dropped Cecilio and replaced it with the Corazón (heart in Spanish) because he said it best described his character. The event ended with Clavite reading “Ang Manggagawa,” a poem written by De Jesus on how important the role of Filipino laborers play in the society. Other notable works of De Jesus include “Bayan Ko,” “Anak ng Dalita,” “Pakiusap,” “Ang Dalagang Plipina,” “Ang Pamana,” “Punong Kahoy” and many more.

Simply Red… From C4

HUSENG Batute is one of the various pen names used by poet Jose Corazon De Jesus. Under that pen name some 4,000 poems were written by the man who was also known as “Hari ng Balagtasan.” On his 86th death anniversary, May 26, De Jesus was remembered in a ceremony held at the Manila North Cemetry, where he was buried upon his death in 1932. The event was spearheaded by Tanghalang Banyuhay Inc. led by Professor Joe Lad Santos in cooperation with Cecile Guidote Alvarez, director of the Philippine Center of International Theater Institute/Earthsavers UNESCO. The event was also a part of the Unesco International Arts Education week which

Amaia Land brought its Zumba Series to Amaia Scapes General Trias, San Pablo, Lucena, and Cabuyao in the months of April and May.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

59 Jean Stein bestseller 60 Kukla’s friend 62 Constantly 63 Pleasant 64 Comes in last 65 Blushing 66 Pod contents 67 Lower in esteem

star in

Mid-summer fun at Amaia

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Violin parts 6 Impressed, plus 10 Scheduled mtg. 14 High up 15 Do dock work 16 Fishtail 17 A Polo 18 Think-tank output 19 Swing around 20 Summer in France 21 Given incorrect data 24 Butler or maid 26 Weds secretly 27 Ugh! 28 Glass square 30 — kebab 33 Residence possessor 38 Volkswagen kin 39 Welded 40 Remove wrinkles 41 Safety devices (2 wds.) 43 Turf 44 Kinds 45 Skiing champ Tommy — 46 Positive 50 Flood stopper 54 Thrilled 57 Is, for them 58 Legal wrong

Gab Pangilinan, Kayla Rivera

its South Luzon projects in April and May. Amaia Land brought its Zumba Series across various Amaia Scapes projects. Amaia Scapes General Trias, Amaia Scapes San Pablo and Amaia Scapes Cabuyao have already started the craze with their Zumba Series held last April 21 and 22. Then at Amaia Scapes General Trias and Amaia Scapes San Pablo on April 28 and at Amaia Scapes Lucena and Amaia Scapes Cabuyao on May 21, 22, and 28. For basketball-crazy Filipinos, the scorching heat of the sun was no deterrent to a great time in the hardcourt. To hone youngsters’ skills on this well-loved sport, Amaia held a Basketball Clinic at Amaia Scapes Trece Martires on May 5 and 12; Amaia Scapes Lucena on May 19, 20, and 26; and Amaia Scapes Bauan on May 19 and 26. Car and automobile enthusiasts and hobbyists were all revved up last April 22 for an adrenaline-fueled time at the Autoshow

Weekend Year 2 held at Amaia Steps Sucat. Finally, if you think it couldn’t get better than this, activities culminated with the Family Day and BBQ Party at Amaia Scapes Cabuyao on May 26. All Amaia “Summersaya” summer activities were open to the public. “We want our residents and homeowners, people from the neighboring communities, and just everyone who wants to have fun to participate in the roster of events that Amaia has prepared especially for them,” Cybill Samillano of Geographical Head of Amaia South Luzon projects enthuses. “Amaia’s Summersaya activities are meant to give families a priceless time right where they are, so come and drop by our South Luzon communities for a memorable summer.” For inquiries about the events and Amaia South Luzon projects, check out www.amaialand.com or like www.facebook.com/AmaiaLand.

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018

Entertainment

‘Sid & Aya’ (Not a movie review)

Very Wang NICKIE WANG

F

Senior broadcast journalist Peter Musñgi (right) accepts the ‘Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year Award’ for his exemplary contributions to the industry.

ABS-CBN dominates Golden Dove Awards ABS-CBN won big at the 26th Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) Golden Dove Awards, walking home with the Best TV station and 26 other awards for its programs, journalists, and celebrities. Senior broadcaster Peter Musñgi won the “Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year Award,” for his exemplary contributions to the industry throughout his career, spanning 45 years. Musñgi credited his mentors over the years and fellow broadcasters for continuing to pursue the truth in the age of information and social media. Previous winners of the “Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year” from ABSCBN include Louie Tabing (2016), Ted Failon (2013), Noli De Castro (2011), Ces Oreña-Drilon (2010), Korina Sanchez (2008), and Tina Monzon-Palma (2002). In the news and public affairs category, investigative news program Failon Ngayon won Best Documentary Program and Best Radio Public Affairs program, while host Ted Failon won Best Public Service Host (Television). Red Alert, a program tackling the dangers and safety measures during natural calamities, won Best Public Service Program while host Jeff Canoy won Best Public Affairs Program Host (Television). Science-environmental program Matanglawin won Best Children’s Program while host Kim Atienza won Best Magazine Host (Television). Zhander Cayabyab won Best TV News Field Reporter. ABS-CBN’s public service campaign “Tulong na Tayo Para sa Marawi” won Best Television PSA (public service announcement). FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano won Best Drama Program while It’s Showtime won Best Variety Program (Television).

Goin Bulilit won Best Comedy Program (Television), while the network’s Christmas station ID “Just Love Ngayong Christmas” won Best Television Station Promotional Material. Angel Locsin won Best Drama Actress for Drama Program (Television) for her performance in Maalaala Mo Kaya episode “Kotse-Kotsehan,” while Piolo Pascual won Best Actor For Drama Program for his performance in the same show in the episode “Pamana ng Mina.” ABS-CBN TVplus’s family comedy Funny Ka, Pare Ko stars Bayani Agbayani and Karla Estrada won Best Actor and Best Actress for Comedy Program (television), respectively. Sports-oriented program Sports U took the award for Best Sports Program for the episode “Ikaw Ang Panalo.” In the radio category, DZMM Radyo 630 won best AM Station (Metro Manila), while Gising Pilipinas DZMM 630 won Best Radio Newscast Program and Dear MOR won Best Radio Drama Program. MOR’s DJ Popoy won Best Music Radio Jock. ABS-CBN’s regional stations also bagged awards. ABS-CBN Davao’s Agri Tayo Dito won Best Science and Technology Program for TV ABSCBN while ABS-CBN Baguio’s MagTV Na Atin ‘To won Best TV Culture and Arts Program. Meanwhile, TV Patrol Northern Luzon Baguio won Best TV News Program (Provincial). The KBP is the premier broadcast media organization in the country composed of owners and operators of radio and TV stations that aims to elevate professional and ethical standards in Philippine broadcasting, and promote social responsibility in broadcasting. The Golden Dove Awards is KBP’s way of recognizing excellence in broadcasting in the land.

ORGET the candle light and roses because it’s not your typical date flick. It’s not even one as the movie claims. Since the trailer was unveiled by Viva Films, numerous stills from the film have been circulating the Internet. People have also started asking what Sid & Aya (Not A Love Story) exactly is. The trailer hardly gives the story away. We saw the movie on Monday during its jam-packed red carpet premiere at the Cinema 7 of Trinoma. It was star studded. Apart from the main cast led by Anne Curtis and Ding-

Vice Ganda arrived at Trinoma's Cinema 7 with some members of boy group, Hashtags.

dong Dantes, bright stars like Vice Ganda, Marian Rivera, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, and Angel Locsin brought their effulgent presence to the red carpet along with some Hashtags members and a handful of z-list celebrities. We could hardly hear ourselves whenever someone would walk on the red carpet. At first, you’d think the movie is all about the stars. It is, partially, but it has a story to tell. And it is not exactly what the title says what it is because in general perspective, it is a love story. It’s not your typical formula film where the story takes you to a romantic journey that ends in the land of happy ever after. There’s passionate kissing and sex that is artfully executed, there’s conflict, separation and chanced meetings. In the film, Dingdong’s character Sid is arrogant and obnoxious, a dashing insomniac who is always in suit and tie. He meets Aya (Anne), whom he has hired to spend time with him (especially during the wee hours he can’t sleep). Along the way, the relationship becomes complicat-

'Sid & Aya' director Irene Villamor (center) flanked by the film's lead stars Dingdong Dantes and Anne Curtis.

ed when the two start to have feelings for each other. “It debunked numerous speculations, did we make you feel stupid?” Anne asked the crowed after the screening. Yes, they did. There’s nothing special about Anne’s character apart from being a modern-day Curacha (in reference to a person who does multiple jobs, and inspired by Chito S. Roño’s 1998 film starring Rosanna Roces). And just like in her previous films, she looks so natural on camera portraying a role that hardly asks her to really act. Dingdong, who opens the film wearing nothing but a boxer brief, has an intriguing character. And it fits him well – smart, dashing, a notorious corporate monster with a heart. It could have been played by a different actor but the character would have a different effect on the viewers. Needless to say, he was a perfect choice as Sid.

The film is directed by Irene Villamor, who is also behind the movies Camp Sawi, and Meet Me in St. Gallen. The story is easy to digest, a nice breather after seeing a lot of poverty porn. The film was shot in Metro Manila’s business districts – skyscrapers and city lights as backdrop. Sid & Aya is one of those love stories that many can relate. One can have a different interpretation based on his personal experience since the movie can be an acceptable prototype of a romantic film that can tackle subjects on pseudo love, the one that got away, friends with benefits, or even your greatest love experience. Anne's sister Jasmine (leftmost) and Dingdong' s wife Marian Rivera (rightmost) showed their support for the movie during the star studded red carpet premiere held early this week.

Gawad Tanglaw’s Best TV Station

The cast of 'The Good Soon' recognized as Best Ensemble in Acting.

THE country’s leading media and entertainment company, ABSCBN, dominated the 16th Gawad Tanglaw Awards with 30 awards including Best TV Station and nine awards for ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel. Maalala Mo Kaya was Best Drama Anthology with Angel Locsin and Yves Flores winning Best Actress and Best Actor n a Single Performance, respectively. FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano won Teleserye ng Dekada while The Good Son was Best Drama Series; its cast won the award for Best Ensemble Acting. La Luna Sangre, meanwhile, won Best Speculative Fiction Series. The stars Wildflower took home various awards for their performances in the show. Maja Salvador and Aiko Melendez each won an award for Best Actress, while both Tirso Cruz III and RK Bagatsing won awards for Best Actor. Sunday-noontime show ASAP won Best Variety Show, while Pilipinas Got Talent” picked up the Best Reality Show honors. Angel Locsin also won a special presidential jury award,

ISAH V. RED the Gawad Parangal para sa Adbokasiya sa Kababaihan at Lipunan, for actively upholding and advocating women’s rights. In the news categories, two of ABSCBN News’ DocuCentral features “Di Ka Pasisiil” on the Marawi Siege and “Mga Boses sa Classroom” on young Filipinos that continue to pursue education despite poverty won best documentary special. S.O.C.O. or Scene of the Crime Operatives won Best Investigative Program. Environmental advocacy and travel show G Diaries, which airs on both ABS-CBN and ANC, won Best Educational Program. Host Gina Lopez also won a Presidential Jury Award for Culture, Arts and Sustainable Development Communication, the highest Gawad Tanglaw distinction for arts and culture. ANC won three more Presidential

Jury Awards in the same category, along with six awards for its various programs in different categories. Debate program Square Off, travel-adventure show Asian Air Safari, and Sen. Loren Legarda (host of Dayaw) each won a Presidential Jury Award for Culture, Arts and Sustainable Development Communication. The Boss won Best Business Program, while Beyond Politics won Best Public Affairs Program. Green Living won for Best Educational Program, while Hardball won best sports program. Chinoy TV and Trending with Kelly won Best Magazine Show and Best Lifestyle Program, respectively. Meanwhile, Inside the Cinema, a nightly entertainment show aired on ABS-CBN’s movie cable channel Cinema One won Best Talk Show. The Gawad Tanglaw, or Gawad Tagapuring mga Akademisyan ng Aninong Gumagalaw, is an award-giving body composed of film critics, scholars, historians, and professors of humanities from different university. It aims to honor exemplary work in film and television. Continued on C3