Manila Standard - 2019 March 25 - Monday by Manila Standard

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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 43 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

File photo of Angat’s dry spillway highlighted the amount of water lost due to El Niño in April 2010. Angelica Carballo

Angat water level fast going down, PAGASA warns By Rio N. Araja THE weather bureau said Sunday that the Angat Dam, which supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water, may hit its critical level by end of April. Danilo Flores, a hydrologist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, said the water level at Angat Dam in Bulacan is projected to go down to its lowest level as the El Niño phenomenon is likely to stay until August. “We have been estimating how fast the water level [at Angat Dam] is going down until end of April. It [elevation] is expected to reach its critical level,” he said. As of Sunday, the water level at the dam dipped to 195.91 meters from its normal high water level of 212 meters. Next page

SLIPPIN ‘N SLIDIN’. People try to beat the heat by bathing in the defunct but still watery reservoir at the Wawa dam in Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal on March 24. Wawa Dam is being explored by investors as one of the alternatives to augment Metro Manila’s water supply. (Related story on B1) AFP

Joma pits NPA vs. Rody

Riders unite vs new law on double plates SOME 120,000 motorcycle riders nationwide came together Sunday to show their outrage against the recently signed double-plate law that they claim is dangerous, discriminating and anti-poor. The riders slammed Republic Act 11235, or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2017 that was authored by Senator Richard Gordon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, and which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last week. Gordon has reminded the Land Transportation Office to be careful in drafting the Implementing Rules and Regulations for RA 11235, even as reelectionist Senator JV Ejercito on Sunday “pacified” the motorcycle riders who have been complaining about the new law. The riders were relieved when Ejercito said the law would only be effective after the official issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations. RA 11235 aims to address the rising number of crimes perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen by making their bikes more easily identifiable. The law orders the Land Transportation Office to issue bigger, reflectorized license plates that must be placed in front and in the back of the motorcycle. The plate numbers should be big enough to be readable even from 12 to Next page 15 meters away.

Vows to deal ‘lethal blows’ to gov’t By Nat Mariano

HE New People’s Army will deliver more “lethal blows” to the Duterte administration’s weak points in the countryside, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Ma. Sison, said Saturday night.

“I have learned… that the best way to frustrate Duterte’s scheme of fascist dictatorship, to puncture its arrogance and debunk the fake surrenders and fake encounters staged by the regime and its armed running dogs, is for the NPA to deliver more lethal blows on weak points of the enemy forces in the countryside,”

More solons vouch for ‘next Speaker’ By Rio N. Araja CALOOCAN City Rep. Edgar Erice on Sunday supported former Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez as the next House Speaker in the incoming 18th Congress. “He has no corruption issue, and that will work to his advantage,” said Erice, a member of the House opposition. Earlier, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, chairperson of the Hugpong Ng Pagbabago, endorsed Romualdez, who is seeking reelection in May, as the next Speaker. House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said Duterte’s endorsement of Romualdez would mean a more productive and responsive House of Representatives supportive of the President’s legislative agenda. Next page Martin Romualdez

New sardine species thrives in Manila Bay

Ayala water firm draws militants ire THE leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said Sunday it will ﬁle a complaint against Manila Water over prolonged service interruptions suffered by millions of Metro Manila residents In a statement, Bayan said it would ask the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to impose penalties on Manila Water for violating its contractual obligation to provide uninterrupted water services under its concession agreement with the government. Speciﬁcally, Bayan said it would ask MWSS to suspend bill payments for Manila Water customers. It would also seek a suspension of a water rate hike previously approved by the MWSS. Millions of customers of Ayala-owned Next page

Sison said. He also promised “head blows” to the regime’s “most brutal, corrupt and drugtrading ofﬁcials” in the cities. Sison mocked President Rodrigo Duterte, saying he has unwittingly become “the best recruiter and the best transport and supply ofﬁcer of the NPA.” Next page

MANILA Bay’s ecosystem is not dying. In fact, a new sardine species, Sardinellapacifica, has been discovered in Manila Bay waters and in other parts of the country. Next page

UNITY RIDE. As many as 120,000 motorcycle riders join the nationwide unity ride in Metro Manila on Sunday (March 24) to oppose the new law, Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, which calls for bigger license plates mounted on each motorcycle. Ey Acasio and Norman Cruz

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PH complaint vs. Sino leader futile—DoJ By Rey E. Requejo THE Justice department on Sunday disparaged the significance of the complaint filed against Chinese President Xi Jinping by two officials of the previous administration before the International Criminal Court, saying it was futile and could be just a political move. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales were aware that the complaint they filed on March 15 could be dismissed by the ICC for lack of jurisdiction over China, which is not a member of or a signatory to the Rome Statute. Guevarra said the case was filed out of political motivation by the two officials identified with the political opposition. “The complaint against President Xi is really a political statement more than a legal action, and is thus intended to achieve a political result rather than a legal victory,” Guevarra said. The ICC may prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, but only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals or when a case is referred to it by the United Nations Security Council or individual states. That means the ICC could only act on the complaint against Xi if it had been filed by the Philippine government when it was still a member of the international body. China did not sign the Rome Statute in 1998 and has not been a member of the ICC. The Philippines withdrew its membership from the ICC in March last year and it took effect on March 17 this year. “These jurisdictional requirements are obviously not met, so we expect the ICC to dismiss the complaint,” Guevarra said. He agreed with Palace officials that the action taken by Del Rosario and Morales was a “futile exercise.” The two former officials accuses Xi of committing crimes against the Philippines and Filipino fishermen in the contested areas in the South China Sea, which have been declared within Philippine territory. Del Rosario and Morales said the ICC had jurisdiction over the “atrociously inhumane actions” of Chinese officials in the contested waterway as those occurred “within Philippine territory.” They said the complaint would test the ICC’s decision on Sept. 15, 2016, to include crimes committed “by means of, or that result in, inter alia, the destruction of the environment, the illegal exploitation of natural resources or the illegal dispossession of land”. The Philippine government withdrew from the ICC after a complaint was filed against President Rodrigo Duterte over his administration’s bloody war on drugs. Guevarra said Duterte did not even need to respond to the charges in the complaints filed against him before the ICC. “Answering or participating in any way will be inconsistent with our previous act of withdrawal from the ICC, he said. “As far as our country is concerned, the ICC cannot exercise its jurisdiction to investigate, much less prosecute, because our own investigative agencies and judicial bodies are functioning effectively, albeit slowly.” Three policemen were convicted by the Caloocan City regional trial court in November last year and found guilty of the murder in August 2017 of Kian delos Santos, one of the controversial cases under the administration’s drug war. Police officers Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda and Jerwin Cruz were sentenced to imprisonment of 20 to 40 years. Guevarra said the conviction rebutted the insinuation of impunity by critics on the war on drugs.

Ayala... From A1

Manila Water, which services Metro Manila’s east zone, have suffered service interruptions for more than two weeks. In contrast, customers in the west zone, served by Maynilad Water Services Inc., have experienced no such interruptions, casting doubts on Manila Water’s earlier explanation that the shortage was caused by a dry spell as a result of the El Niño phenomenon. At separate hearings at the House and the Senate, Manila Water president and CEO Ferdinand dela Cruz apologized for his company’s failure to provide 24/7 water service to its customers, but ducked demands for a rebate. The company said it would meet with the MWSS regulator Monday to discuss the call to suspend water payments.

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MWSS dunned for 2014 refund T In a Feb. 19 decision, the state auditors’ Commission Proper dumped the petition for review ﬁled by the MWSS-CO seeking to lift the four notices of disallowance issued on June 30, 2014. COA Chairman Michael Aguinaldo and Commissioners Jose Fabia and Roland Pondoc agreed that the MWSS of-

ﬁcials defaulted on the reglementary period by ﬁling only after 362 days from receipt of the notices of disallowance or more than double the 180 days allowed. The petitioners were former MWSS administrator Gerardo Esquivel; former senior deputy administrator Nathaniel Santos; deputy administrators Zoilo An-

din Jr. and Leonor Cleaofas; Legal Services Department manager Darlina Uy; Site Operation Management Department manager Jose Dorado Jr.; Policy, Planning and Public Relations Department manager Ronald Abrigo; Operations Support Department manager Anabella Altuna; Property Department manager Vicente Elefante; Internal Audit Department manager Florendo Batasin Jr., and assistant manager Bienvenido Sarmiento, among others. “Based on the foregoing, petitioners had already exhausted the reglementary period of six months or 180 days to ﬁle the petition for review. Petitioners did not offer any plausible explanation for the extended delay in ﬁling this appeal. Thus,

Joma...

the NPA retreats and gives the enemy an illusion of winning. But when they camp and take over rough terrain, their strength is thinned out and they leave gaps between units and make small detachments and patrol teams, which are easy targets for the counteroffensives of the NPA,” he said. This, he said, was why the administration’s efforts to destroy the NPA have “utterly failed.” Contrary to government claims, he said, the NPA has become stronger in Mindanao, while rebel activities intensiﬁed in Luzon and the Visayas. “It is impossible for the reactionary military, police, and paramilitary forces to defeat the NPA through sheer military operations and puerile psywar,” he said. “The NPA already has nationwide strength and is deeply rooted among the toiling masses. It occupies almost all the strategic areas favorable for guerrilla warfare in the stage of strategic defensive and for the prospective regular mobile warfare in the strategic stalemate,” the top communist leader said. Sison said the CPP has “wisely changed the NPA force structure,” with 40 percent of

its units concentrated for tactical offensives and 60 percent dispersed units for mass work in each of the 110 guerrilla fronts. “By seizing more arms from the enemy forces, the NPA is increasing its ability to hit the weak points of the enemy at will all over the archipelago,” he said. On Saturday afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo mocked Sison, who has been in self exile in the Netherlands for three decades, as an armchair revolutionary. “If as Mr. Sison says the President sounds like a broken record, the cantankerous steak chieftain of the National Democratic Front is like an echo with his repeated criticisms of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and this administration to stay politically relevant in the Philippines while maintaining and lapping up his lavish lifestyle in Europe,” he said. “Unlike Mr. Sison who has prolonged the peace process, so he can milk the situation and continue freeloading in the Netherlands as well as enjoying the donations and grants by socialist organizations to his group, the President has tread the path that his predecessors did not dare

By Rio N. Araja

HE Commission on Audit has ordered the officials and employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s Corporate Office to refund the P8,173,730 paid out to them as meal allowances in 2012 and 2013.

From A1

“As the best recruiter of the NPA, Duterte has driven so many people to join the NPA by running a tyrannical, treasonous, mass murdering, plundering, and inflation-generating regime. The people have no choice but to fight such an evil regime,” Sison said. “By terminating the peace negotiations, he compels the armed revolutionary movement to concentrate on intensifying the people’s war and cast away any illusion that this regime of terror and greed can negotiate social, economic and political reforms to address the roots of the armed conflict in order to achieve a just and lasting peace,” he added. He also dismissed the administration’s localized peace efforts as “make-believe peace and development activities” and said the armed forces were “rendered blind and deaf by the lack of popular support wherever they dare to move against the guerrilla fronts.” “When they advance in superior force,

Angat... From A1

Because of El Niño, 61 percent of the country, including Metro Manila, is expected to experience drought, while 39 percent of the country is forecast to experience a dry spell. The phenomenon will bring about a “severe meteorological impact” at the end of April in many parts of the country. On March 22, the weather bureau declared the start of the dry season. According to its Hydro-Meteorological Division, the water level at Ipo Dam also in Bulacan was 101.1 meters against its normal high water level of 101 meters; La Mesa Dam was at 68.60 meters against 80.15 meters; Benguet’s Ambuklao Dam was 749.15 meters against its normal high of 752 meters; Benguet’s Binga Dam was at 571.77 meters against the normal 575 meters, Pangasinan’s San Roque Dam was at 261.70 meters against its normal 280 meters; Nueva Ecija’s Pantabangan Dam’ was at 201.23 meters against its normal 221 meters, Isabela’s Magat Dam was 164.84 meters against its normal of 190 meters and Laguna’s Caliraya Dam was at 286.09 meters. The National Irrigation Administration, meanwhile, said irrigation water supply to rice lands in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga will last until May 15.

Riders... From A1

The motorcycle riders cited safety issues as their main concern over RA 11235. The front-mounted plate may become detached due to several factors including vibration, wind, or just simply the failure of the material to hold the plate. They say this poses a big risk to both the motorcycle rider and the one riding pillion, as well as to pedestrians and other road users. The riders also claim that there were no proper consultations from experts and motorcycle riders to determine whether installing bigger plates on both front and back is feasible or safe, and if it is even applicable to all types of motorcycles. “Old and new motorcycles don’t have the provisions for a front-mounted plate. Adding a bracket outside of factory speciﬁcations will surely pose a big risk for

New... From A1

According to a peer-reviewed journal article, Japanese taxonomists HarutakaHata and Hiroyuki Motomura collected samples from Manila Bay, Quezon, Sorsogon and Samar and those revealed distinct characteristics from other sardine species,concluding a new species of sardines was found only in the Philippines. “We appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to stop all reclamation projects lined up in Manila Bay,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana in the Philippines.

this Commission finds no compelling reason to justify the relaxation of its rules of procedures,” the Commission Proper’s resolution read. “At any rate, even if the petition is decided on the merits, it would still be denied because the power of the MWSS Board of Trustees is not absolute and plenary, particularly in the grant of additional allowances to its personnel,” the commission said. Invoking the Supreme Court ruling in the 1999 case of Intia vs. CoA, the commission said jurisprudence required the governing board of all governmentowned-or-controlled corporations to comply with the guidelines set under RA 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law. take to achieve genuine peace,” he added. Panelo, however, reminded the CPP that the Duterte administration still seeks peace. “We are just trying a different tact by localizing the peace talks as the concerns of rebel groups vary from one locality to another especially so that Mr. Sison appears not to have control over the communist forces on the ground,” he said. “It is thus vital to explain to the people where the President is coming from and why he officially announced the permanent termination of talks between the government and the CCP, notwithstanding the issuance of Proclamation No. 360,” he added. In November 2017, peace talks between the government and communist rebels bogged down after Duterte walked away from the negotiating table, repeatedly blaming the rebels for violations of the unilateral ceasefire. Duterte then had imposed a number of conditions for a revival of the talks, but Sison rejected them, labeling the government’s push for peace as a “cheap trick” which has failed many times.

Eliseo Bitangcol, press relations officer of NIA-Central Luzon, said for the current dry cropping season, NIA started releasing irrigation water to its service areas in Bulacan and Pampanga on Jan. 9 and its cut-off is scheduled on May 15. “No problem with irrigation water supply until rice crops are harvested based on the water allocation provided by the National Water Resources Board,” Bitangcol added. The main source of Metro Manila’s potable water is the Angat Dam, which is also the main source for irrigation water for rice lands in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga. Angat Dam is operated under the supervision of K Water and San Miguel Corp. Before the dam was acquired by the Korean company and San Miguel, its first priority was waterfor Metro Manila households, its second priority was for power generation for the National Power Corp., and its third priority was for irrigation of Bulacan farmlands and parts of Pampanga. If the water level at the dam reached the critical 180-meter level, irrigation supply was automatically cut off. Also over the weekend, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel called for an investigation of why a 30-year-old law, Republic Act 6715, which requires the installation of rainwater collectors in all barangays has not been carried out. With PNA the riders, their passenger, and even the pedestrians, said Jobert Bola�s of the Motorcycle Rights Organization. “And not all motorcycles have the same front design that can accommodate stickers or decals which take away uniformity. And without uniformity, there is subjectivity.” “Motorcycle riders have been hampered by several ordinances and laws that sometimes we think that we are being outcast in our own society,” Rod Cruz, chairman of the Arangkada Riders Alliance, said. “RA 11235 is by far the worst law of all so you cannot blame us for doing this nationwide call for fairness and equality. Please do not treat us like criminals.” The motorcycle riders claim that motorcycle-riding criminals would still be able to commit crimes by simply taking off the license plates, or by simply using fake license plates to mislead the authorities. Macon Ramos-Araneta “This can be the legacy of your administration―that you were able to save the rich ecosystem of Manila Bay that carries national and natural heritage significance, especially with the discovery of this new sardine species i Philippine waters.” Manila Bay was identified by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources as a spawning area of sardines and is still one of the main fishing grounds of artisanal fishermen who depend on the sea for their livelihood. Sardines is on top of the kinds of fish caught in the area. “Instead of dumping and filling our seas that bury and destroy mangroves, sea grass beds, corals and other fisheries habitats, let’s collectively save and pro-

COOLING THEIR HEELS. Vendors display a variety of native fans on Manila North Cementary as the mercury rises to almost unbearable degrees. Lino Santos

“We need a competent and honest man like congressman Romualdez. He has good public relations and no derogatory issue. Congress will be very interesting with his leadership. He is good, responsible, very bright and intelligent,” he said. Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said Romualdez has never been tainted by allegations of corruption and said he was an effective and independent opposition leader when he was last in Congress. “We should elect a Speaker untainted by corruption,” Atienza said.

Romualdez, both president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats and Philippine Constitution Association, is running for the Leyte congressional seat to replace his wife, Yedda. Former Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. cited Romualdez’s good record as a constructive critic when he headed the independent bloc in Congress. “During my speakership, he headed the independent minority group, yet proved to be supportive and helped me in pushing important measures,” he said. “He is a good and brilliant lawyer who never lost a case. He is also fair and a charming gentleman,” Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano said.

tect these from destruction because of socalled “development” projects,” Ramos said. “More importantly, let’s help our artisanal ﬁshermen earn a decent livelihood to feed their families from our rich marine resources that are known all over the world.” Oceana appealed to Duterte to review and assess the projects submitted to the Philippine Reclamation Authority that would result in irreversible damage to the marine habitats. Ramos said the irreparable destruction in Manila Bay would leave the artisanal ﬁshermen almost without income because of low or no catch, and their families hun-

gry and displaced. “These projects violate our constitutional right to balanced and healthful ecology, as well as our ﬁsheries and environmental laws,” Ramos said. Oceana is co-organizing with Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas, and Center for Environmental Concerns a People’s Summit on Reclamation on March 26 to 27. The summit will discuss scientiﬁc studies and legal review with the government, academe, scientists and legal experts, non-government organizations and the urban poor and coastal communities in Manila Bay.

More solons... From A1

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MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

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Give maternity law a chance—Bello By Vito Barcelo

HE Labor department has allayed fears that the Expanded Maternity Leave Law will discourage the hiring of women employees, and limit their participation in productive work.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III of women workers and employees. instead urged enterprises to give the “We do not see this perceived fear as new law a chance to uphold the welfare having any effect on the employment

between 45 to 50 percent, attributable to their multiple role at home. “The law will boost the employment participation of women as they are given longer time to rest and attend to their maternal obligations during childbirth period. It also addresses health issues among women as they are given ample time to recuperate after giving birth before reporting back to work,” he said. The EML, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last month, grants

of women. Companies and enterprises hire workers based on their competencies and skills, and not on the basis of gender,” Bello said. The labor chief said the law is a milestone legislation that will enable women to be economically active by helping them manage a healthy worklife balance, which translates to higher productivity at work. Bello said the EML will also address the issue of low participation rate of women in the labor force, now ranging

a 105-day or three months of paid maternity leave for female workers in both government and private sectors regardless of the civil status or the legitimacy of her child. The labor department together with the Civil Service Commission and Social Security System are working on the law’s implementing rules and regulations. Female workers may already avail themselves of the benefits provided for in the new law.

House all-out for federalism, says GMA ally THE House leadership under Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Sunday maintained its support to the federalism initiative of President Rodrigo Duterte. “The House of Representatives fully supports President Duterte’s crusade to set out federalism in the country through constitutional processes,” House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and 1-Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta. He reacted to the threat of war issued by Moro National Liberation Front founding Chairman Nur Misuari should federalism would not push through. He said that the House of Representatives last December voted 224 against 22 and with three abstentions, approving on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses 15 amending the 1987 Constitution to effect Duterte’s proposed shift to a federal form of government. “We have done our part under the leadership of Speaker Gloria Arroyo to deliver the draft new Charter to the Senate last year. We shall pursue this process given the people’s mandate, expressed in the last elections, for Charter change,” he said. Arroyo earlier said the administration’s proposed federal Charter was a priority legislation. She, however, said federalism may not materialize under her Speakership. Rio Araja

E-vehicles’ roadmap proposed By Macon R. Araneta ALTHOUGH the Department of Energy has been promoting the use of electric vehicles, Senator Win Gatchalian says it has produced only a few policy instruments to support the growth of EVs in the country. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, urged the DOE to craft a roadmap for e-vehicle adoption in the country, in coordination with the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Metro Manila Development Authority, and other relevant agencies. “Moving forward, we want to see research. Of course, this will not be without opposition,” said Gatchalian. There will be opposition, let’s expect that. But we have to clearly explain the advantages of promoting evehicles. I expect the DOE—which is a much larger organization— should have that data,” the lawmaker pointed out. The senator cited the importance of a sound policy and regulatory framework for electric vehicles to usher in the uptake of electric vehicles in the country. During the Senate Committee on Energy hearing on Senate Bill No. 2137 or the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, Gatchalian quizzed the energy department’s long term plan to ensure the promotion of the adoption of electric vehicles and the sustainability of the e-vehicle ecosystem in the long run. SBN 2137, in a nutshell, seeks to address the challenges to the development of the electric vehicle industry by instructing the DOE to create an Electric Vehicle Roadmap and distribution utilities to incorporate a Charging Infrastructure Development Plan in their Power Development Plan.

HOME AGAIN. Some of the 51 repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers from Abu Dhabi arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City on Sunday (March 24). Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and Department of Social Welfare and Development personnel welcomed the OFWs who will be provided with immediate assistance. PNA

Estrada crows about Manila’s gains in housing THE Manila City government together with government housing agencies will embark on a stronger socialized housing program in order to address the housing shortage and provide decent housing to thousands of homeless and landless residents of Manila. Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada said the city government has made strides in providing housing and services, which include connection to electricity, water and sewerage supply to the poor. The city government’s housing program to the poor has been described by

the Duterte administration as one of the most successful policy housing initiatives by a local government unit for the past three years. According to Danilo C. Isiderio, Urban Settlements Officer of Manila, the city government has provided nearly 2,000 “housing opportunities” to informal settlers in Manila. During the housing summit, the Manila Chief Executive said that the city government is serious in solving the problem of informal settlers by providing them decent houses and to ensure security of tenure.

The summit, with the theme “Maralitang Taga Lungsod, Alaga sa Maynila”, was also attended by leaders and representatives of more than 300 homeowners association and urban poor organizations from the six (6) districts of the City of Manila numbering 1,500. Isiderio said that the city government has set aside funds to acquire a total of 16 estates, with a combined total area of 93,000 sq. m., and has already awarded more than a thousand Certificate of Lot Award from September 2013 to October 2018. Vito Barcelo

FIREMEN’S MASCOTS.

Bureau of Fire and Protection Regional Director Senior Supt. Wilberto Rico Neil Kwan Tiu presents the BFP mascots during the opening of ‘Fire Square Road Show’ held at Trinoma in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Comfort women’s perks sought CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte on Sunday said that if he had his way, he would want the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women to authenticate the identification and claims of Filipino comfort women during the World War II. Such a move would ensure that these comfort women would be able to enjoy their long-overdue pension, health insurance and other benefits proposed in several bills pending in the Congress. He also called on his fellow lawmakers to swiftly approve the proposal that is designed to grant them pensions and health insurance coverage. “We hope that we can get this proposal passed in the Congress at the soonest possible time so that these victims of World War II could at least live a little more comfortably in their remaining years. This is not about just giving them benefits, but giving them the recognition they deserve for the sufferings they have undergone during the war,” he said. Under House Bill No. 9046, Villafuerte sought the grant of a monthly pension of P3,000 per month for each victim to be sourced from the funds of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office. The measure would also provide free full Philippine Health Insurance Corp. coverage for Filipino comfort women. An initial fund of P10 million is allocated under bill for the processing of applications and payments of pensions and insurance of comfort women identified by the NCRFW. Rio Araja

‘Villagers can help revive Manila Bay’ ENVIRONMENT Secretary Roy Cimatu is counting on barangay leaders to do their share in the Manila Bay rehabilitation by cleaning up the esteros, rivers and tributaries that flow into the polluted bay. “It is the barangay captains who can solve the problem of Manila Bay,” he told village executives. The cleanup of the bay rests on them. That is how much I trust them,” he added. Leaders of at least 200 barangays surrounding the river systems of Pasig-Marikina-San Juan, Muntinlupa-Parañaque-Las PiñasZapote, and Malabon-TullahanTinajeros were present during the dialogue held at Bayview Park Hotel in Manila recently. Cimatu reminded the barangay officials of their duty to enforce environmental laws, particularly the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. “It is the responsibility of the local government units and the barangay captains to implement the environmental laws correctly,” he said. He said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is offering its assistance to the barangay officials in fulfilling their mandates, including the relocation of illegal settlers along esteros and rivers.

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Starting April 1, 2019, Knowledge Channel will move from the 5th to the 7th channel of ABS-CBN TVplus, and will be available only in Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro, to give way to a new TVplus feature that will be announced separately. The channel will temporarily not be available in Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Davao. ABS-CBN TVplus will advise subscribers when the channel will be available again in these areas. Knowledge Channel will continue to be available on SKYdirect, and SKYcable. Thank you for your continued patronage of ABS-CBN TVplus. (MS-MAR. 25, 2019)

Opinion

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

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An unlikely place FIFTY people were massacred at two mosques last March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand. That the number of fatalities was high was not what gained the bloody incident world headlines. It did so because it happened in the most unlikely place. New Zealand is known as the safest place on earth, a country known for welcoming immigrants fleeing war and violence elsewhere. The victims were Muslims attending evening prayers. They were shot by a cold-blooded gunman. Some of the victims were refugees who had fled the civil war in Syria only to meet the same violent death they escaped from in the Middle East.

We can expect a retaliation by Muslim jihadists against Christians flocked in churches. Islamic leaders condemned the bloodshed, as did the government and the citizens of New Zealand. This is the first incident of its kind in the country. Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern led Parliament in holding a Muslim prayer for the dead in the incident that shocked the world. On a personal note, I was almost assigned as Philippine ambassador to New Zealand. Given a choice of three capitals—The Hague, Christchurch and Budapest as possible postings- I opted for Budapest. I declined The Hague because it was close to Brussels where I served as senior foreign adviser to then Ambassador Roberto R. Romulo. The Dutch

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

culture was almost akin to the Belgians’. New Zealand, I was told, was a boring place because it was so quiet and peaceful with more sheep than people. Why Budapest? I wanted to see the transformation of the former communist countries under my concurrent jurisdiction—Hungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (now Serbia)—which used to be satellites of the former Soviet empire. I thought I made the right choice as I did see the sea change of the three countries from communist to republican states. But going back to the New Zealand massacre, we can expect a retaliation by Muslim jihadists against Christians flocked in churches. We pray not because it will only trigger a vicious cycle of violence by both Muslims and Christians. Passion and senseless violence should not be the way to go for two diverse cultures and religions. This was how the bloody Balkan war started by Serbia and involved Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. Serbia wanted to revive the former Yugoslavia federation which included the three above mentioned countries under the leadership of former President Marshal Broz Tito. When Tito died, the Yugoslav countries tried a revolving leadership but that did not work out because Serb leaders like Milosevic wanted a federation dominated by Serbia with Belgrade as the imperial city. Milosevic died in jail in The Hague where he was being tried for crimes against humanity. A religious war between Muslims and Christians cannot be ruled out in the Philippines despite the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law giving Muslims autonomy in many parts of Mindanao. Many Christians in the Bangsamoro region resent being under a Muslim autonomous government. Even Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari who felt left out in the BOL talks threatened to go to war if federalism is not approved by the Congress controlled by President Rodrigo Duterte. What we have in Mindanao is uneasy peace despite the extentson of martial law in the country’s biggest island. The Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Fredom Fighters continue

The danger remains

S-BACKED Kurdish forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State’s nearly fiveyear-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out diehard jihadists from Baghouz, their very last bastion in eastern Syria. jail. They also occupied the main street and set fire to Saint Mary's Cathedral, Ninoy Aquino School and Dansalan College, run by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and took a priest and several churchgoers hostage. Their objective, the military said, was to raise the ISIS flag at the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol and declare a wilyat or provincial ISIS territory in Lanao del Sur. When the smoke cleared from the campaign to retake the city, more than 1,200 had died—978 of them jihadist fighters, 168 of them government troops, and 87 civilians. More recently, ISIS also claimed responsibility for the deadly January 2019 bomb attack on a Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu, that killed 20 people and

The victory capped a bloody six-month operation and dealt a crippling blow to one of the most brutal jihadist groups in modern history. But the fall of the caliphate in Syria by no means suggests that the danger is over. Even as the territory under its control shrank, ISIS inspired a spate of terrorist attacks around the world. In the Philippines, ISIS-inspired jihadists including the Abu Sayyaf and Maute group overran Marawi City in May 2017 and battled government forces for five months—the longest urban battle in the country in recent times. In those five months, Maute group militants attacked Camp Ranao and occupied several buildings in the city, including Marawi City Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital and the city

wounded 102 others as they were hearing Mass. Significantly, in Syria, the last ISIS holdouts were foreigners, and among those evacuated from the stronghold were thousands of foreigners from France, Russia, Belgium and 40 other countries that are in most cases unwilling to take them back. Speaking to the Agence France-Presse, John Spencer, a scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point, warns that while the geographic caliphate had been dismantled, ISIS is far from defeated. ISIS, he says, is a terrorist organization. “All they have to do is put down their weapons and try to blend in with the population and just escape," he says. "They're not gone, and they're not going to be gone." Here at home, as long as there are extremist groups susceptible to the pernicious ISIS message of terror, we can never be truly safe.

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‘Tubig atbp.’ I REMEMBER a true though self-deprecating observation that former Senator Orly Mercado used to say and which I now place the same in the context of the recent outrage, followed by the usual hunt for culprits, over the water shortage that plagued parts of Metro Manila recently: “The problem with us Filipinos is that we tend to see no farther than the tips of our noses…ang sama mo, marami pa sa atin, pango [unfortunately many of us have flat noses,]” Orly used to quip. We realize we have a problem only when it stares us right in our face. We cannot think beyond the present. Planning for a decade or two, or even five decades hence as Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew used to preach, is simply a no-no to most policy-makers. So we also tend to solve problems as they come through band-aid solutions. “Pwede na ‘yan” is typical reaction to solving a problem. Until the same situation recurs. Policy-makers always go into a frenzy of blame-throwing, with media feeding on the frenzy, until the issue dies down. Still no solution. As far back as the martial law years, proposals were being drawn up regarding the future water needs of our burgeoning metropolis. I’ve heard about Laiban as far back as the late 70s or early 80s. The late industrialist of respected memory, Enrique Zobel, even publicly proposed pumping up Taal Lake’s water in Batangas up to Tagaytay which is more than 2,000 feet above sea level, where a filtration and purifying plant could be put up, and the water going down to Cavite and southern Metro Manila by sheer gravity. It sounded very logical, but the idea was just that—a bright idea, with nothing done thereafter. At the time, I had just put up a small house in the Tagaytay ridge, and there were as yet no fishpens dotting the shoreline of what was a beautiful and pristine body of fresh water. The same could be said about Lagu-

na de Bay, so very close to Metro Manila. Desilted and cleaned, it could be a source of water for the metropolis as well. But then again, President Aquino junked a dredging project by a Belgian firm, (the second largest in the world, incidentally) negotiated by his predecessor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. PNoy alleged corruption, which he never bothered to prove. That decision caused us taxpayers close to a billion in damages which we are paying and must continue to pay because we lost in the suit filed by the Belgian firm. But worse, we lost an opportunity to dredge and de-silt the lake, the groundwork for a circumferential road, and a potential source of water.

We tend to solve problems as they come through band-aid solutions. So 90 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila with its 12-million full-time residents and 10 more million day-trippers source its water from Angat Dam in Bulacan, part of which also flows into the La Mesa Reservoir in Quezon City. Angat, built as far back as 1961, also irrigates close to 30,000 hectares of palay fields in Bulacan and Pampanga. Our officials knew the risks of having a sole source of water, and also knew the pressures of increased population on that source. Several proposals have been accumulating dust: Kaliwa; Kanan; Laiban; even the reconstruction of Wawa in Montalban. Now the MWSS and other water-regulatory bodies tell us they could not proceed with any of these projects because of opposition from indigenous people, leftists, environmentalists, etc., ad nauseam. It was during President FVR’s time that the “Nawasa” monopoly was removed, and in its place, the Metro Manila concession areas were divided into the east and west zones, one going to Manila Water, the other to Maynilad. It was an excellent privatization template that through the past 20 years has Turn to A5

Decongesting Manila’s ports THE problem of congestion in the ports of Manila is real, and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has a pro-active answer to it. Tugade exerted efforts to have all stakeholders in the shipping industry to commit themselves in a "Manifesto of Support for Government's Efforts to Effectuate Efficient Utilization of Philippine Ports" last March 15 to solve the problem of congestion.

What should be done about this problem?

Aside from Tugade, the manifesto was signed by Christian Gonzalez, SVP Global Corporate Head and CEO, Manila International Container Terminal; Sean James Perez, SVP Asian Terminals Inc., Patrick Ronas, president of Association of International Shipping Lines, Jay

Daniel Santiago, General Manager of Philippine Ports Authority, and Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. The group said "fluctuation of market prices has triggered the unscrupulous practice of storing containers in Philippine ports until the time that withdrawal of goods will yield maximum profit." In a meeting at the PPA on Feb. 11, it was discovered that 3,406 and 4,494 containers have remained at MICT and South Harbor respectively despite being cleared by the BOC for withdrawal. The manifesto affirmed that the PPA Turn to A5

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Opinion Vote for the trustworthy A SOCIAL Weather Stations Survey commissioned by independent think tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute through its project Democracy Watch revealed that Filipino voters first and foremost look for one thing in their senatorial candidate: Those who won’t be corrupt. More than fulfilling promises (14 percent) or the ability to provide solutions to the country’s problems (9 percent) or leadership qualities (6 percent) or faith in god (5 percent), more people preferred candidates who “will not be corrupt” (25 percent) and who are trustworthy (21 percent). The findings cut across geographic areas and between the urban and rural divides. Respondents from the National Capital Region, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao who said they are looking for candidates “who will not be corrupt” constitute 25, 26, 27, and 22 percent, respectively. This is hardly surprising, of course. According to a 2014 report by Global Financial Integrity, some $410 billion, or around P19.34 trillion, had been lost to corruption in the Philippines over a 52-year period between 1960 and 2011. For perspective, this staggering amount translates to the country’s annual budget for social services like health and education dozens upon dozens of times over. Whatever deficiency or lack or dysfunction in our schools and hospitals and roads, one of the culprits is corruption. The sentiment is also fueled by a pervasive perception of government service as a breeding ground for corrupt practices. Lists of corrupt leaders throughout history routinely include Philippine politicians occupying the highest positions of power. Corruption scandals are part and parcel of prime-time news, and it takes something huge, like the pork barrel scam engineered by Janet Napoles, to really shake us from our complacency.

As a result, there seems to be a collective disdain for political leaders, who are by and large perceived to be corrupt and untrustworthy. “Filipinos always call for reducing poverty, creating more jobs, and fighting graft and corruption,” said Dindo Manhit, Lead Convenor of Democracy Watch and resident of Stratbase ADRI. “None of these concerns come as a surprise since they effect the daily life of every Filipino.”

We deserve nothing less.

The results also stem from a pervasive dissatisfaction as regards how our institutions are combating corruption. Stratbase ADRI said that since the passage of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the plunder law has only convicted one public official; the rest who had been accused, including former senators, were either pardoned, acquitted, or, worst of all, remain on trial but still for some reason have the gall to run for office. “This raises the question, are the anticorruption laws in the Philippines strong enough to keep public officials in check of their duty? If not, then shouldn’t we elect officials who show integrity?” Manhit said. What’s surprising indeed is how the preference for senators who will not be corrupt to a certain extent contradicts some, if not most, of the names that dominate pre-election surveys, which include, among others, scions of political clans that had long been tarnished by corruption. Many of the frontrunners also belong to a provisional coalition headed by someone who openly proclaimed that honesty is not a prerequisite for a senatorial position. Why else is integrity important? It’s important to note that the job of a senator goes beyond legislation, Manhit said. “The Congress has power over the president in

times of national emergency and a state of war; impeach and hold constitutionally mandated public officials accountable, propose charter change; and even conduct necessary hearings in the process of creating laws.” He explained: “Analyzing a candidate’s credibility, competence, and integrity is a responsibility therefore of a voter.” It is no surprise that the topic of corruption—or those officials perennially tied to it—seems to be connected to political dynasties. Claudette Guevara, secretary general of Democracy Watch, noted that the 1987 Constitution is clear about the prohibition of political dynasties in the Philippines and yet every anti-political dynasty bill that had been filed since then had failed to prosper. Worse, there has been an increase in the percentage of political dynasties in government over the last ten years or so between 2007 and 2016—from 75 to 78 percent among representatives, from 70 to 81 percent among governors, and from 58 to 70 percent among mayors. A correlation between the prevalence of dynasties and the level of poverty in areas has been established again and again. Guevara said: “From the reports of the Office of the Ombudsman, corruption is rampant among LGUs and Congress. While they enrich themselves further by abusing the power vested in them, poverty increases, the quality of social services decreases, and it’s the people who suffer.” Clearly then, the elections represent one of the few rare opportunities in which the Filipino people, long mired in systemic problems exacerbated by corruption, can break the status quo and begin the genuine struggle for profound change. “We deserve leaders who are not corrupt, have good character and trustworthy,” Manhit said. The survey on the “Qualities that One is Looking for in a Senatorial Candidate of the Philippines” was conducted by the Social Weather Stations from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018 via face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults nationwide, of which 1,363 were registered voters.

The scent of soap wafts through Aleppo again

By Maher Al-Mounes

AFTER years of war, the scent of laurel oil once again wafts from a small soap workshop in Aleppo, signalling the revival of a landmark trade in the battered northern city. Surrounding soap workshops in the Al-Nayrab district still lie in ruins, badly damaged in the four-year battle for the former rebel stronghold. But for Ali Shami, hanging up his apron was not an option. "I never stopped making soap throughout the war—even if it was just a little," says the 44-year-old, who fled his home city during the fighting. "But this workshop is special," he tells AFP. "It was here that I started more than 30 years ago." Shami reopened his soap workshop last month after shutting it down in 2012, when Syria's second city became a main front in the eight-year-long conflict. The scars of war are still visible on the building, its walls punctured with holes caused by shelling. Rushes of wind gust through the gaps. Shami carried out limited renovations—just enough to produce more than half of his pre-war output of around 800 tons a year. He installed a new metal door and refurbished the main rooms where the soap mixture is heated and then poured out to dry. He watches as five workers stir a thick mixture of olive and laurel oil in a large vat. Beside them, another five workers slice cooled and hardened green paste into cubes and stack them in staggered racks. Shami says he was able to resume operations quickly because Aleppo soap is handmade. Its production "relies on manual la-

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brought tap water into our faucets, and we have all benefited from the improvement through the years. The simple question that begs to be answered, and should be addressed by a numbers comparison is: By how much has the serviced population increased (demand) in the last 20 years, and what has MWSS or whatever government agency in charge done to increase the supply of water? That is what the President, who has called the agency heads to Malacanang, should ask. And now that his government is negotiating with the Chinese government for a loan to finally construct the Kaliwa Dam, some wise guys howl and ask “why the Chinese?”

bor, a successful mixture, the passion of Aleppo's residents, and their love of the profession," he says. Home is where the soap is After closing down in 2012, Shami tried to continue his work in other major Syrian cities. "My existence is tied to the existence" of soap, he says. He moved to the capital, Damascus, and the regime-held coastal city of Tartous, but Shami says the soap was not as good. "Aleppo's climate is very suitable for soap production and the people of Aleppo know the secret of the trade and how to endure the hardship of the many stages of its production," he says. Shami, who inherited the soap business from his father and grandfather, boasts about the superior qualities of Aleppo soap, the oldest of its kind in the world. "Aleppo soap distinguishes itself from other soaps around the world as it is made almost entirely of olive oil," he says. "European soap, on the other hand, includes animal fats, while soaps made in Asia are mixed with vegetal oils but not olive oil," he says. The Aleppo region is well-known for its olive oil and sweet bay oil, or laurel. Shami says the Aleppo soap industry was hit hard by the fierce clashes that rocked his home city, before ending in late 2016 when the army took back rebel districts with Russian military support. While conditions are less dangerous today, soap producers still grapple with shortages of raw material and skilled labour, he says. "We are struggling with the aftermath of the battles," he says. National treasure Dozens of soap producers are still

waiting to complete renovations before reopening their workshops. Hisham Gebeily is one of them. His soap making center in the Old City of Aleppo, named after the family, has survived for generations, dating back to the 18th century. The three-storey stone workshop covers a space of around 9,000 square metres (97,000 square feet), and is considered among the largest in the city. But the 50-year-old man was forced to close it in 2012. The structure still stands, although damaged by the fighting: parts of it have been charred by shelling and wooden beams supporting the roof are starting to fall apart. "Before the conflict, the city of Aleppo housed around 100 soap factories," he says. But only around 12 are still operating today. The soapmaker says that many of Aleppo's soap producers have moved to Damascus and Tartous, while others have crossed the border to Turkey. Gebeily, who heads a committee of Aleppo soap producers, says the province used to produce around 30,000 tonnes of soap per year before the conflict. "The smell of laurel oil would waft out of this workshop and others like it into Aleppo," he said. "No one would visit the city without buying its soap." This figure dropped to less than 1,000 tonnes after 2012. Today, figures are back up to 10,000 tons a year, he says, as factories once again churn out a Syrian "national treasure." "Saudi Arabia exports oil, Switzerland chocolate, and Germany cars." "Aleppo exports laurel soap." AFP

What a sore and sorry country we are indeed! Meanwhile, irate residents of one of the most densely-populated, traffic-choked, service-poor in almost all aspects of life mega-cities in the universe simply cry… “Tubiiiig!” The House of Representatives entered the picture, and in its first hearing, the CEO of the private concessionaire for the east zone of NCR, Manila Water, admitted culpability and offered to resign forthwith. Not to be outdone, the Senate also had to join the investigative circus, as if culpability had not yet been established. And as if solutions we knew from Day One but failed to implement, have changed. And to think Congress is on recess, and the politicians are supposed to be in the hustings. But then, it’s free TV, live! Better than shaking hands with the hoi

polloi, ne c’est pas? Which brings me to another observation: Until now, the Senate and the HoR could not agree on the minutiae of the budget. From the arguments, it seems they just do not want to co-exist. Why, at the height of the water shortage, the Senate was breaking ground on an P8 billion building in toney BGC , a supposedly beautiful structure designed by an American architectural and engineering firm. “Iconic” they beam. In the middle of the four multi-storey structures is a huge auditorium where both senators and congressmen, with provision for future expanded numbers, can hold joint sessions. So in the future, expect the State of the Nation to be hosted by the Senate in Taguig rather than the House in Quezon City. One asks… why can’t they just stay in one conjoined building or compound?

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

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Capitalists: The endangered species IT’S good that the mainstream international media are increasingly debating “capitalism versus socialism” instead of merely bickering over the incoherent petty details of our mixed-system (the welfare state) and how some of its features might be fixed, reformed, or extended (but never rescinded!). Just to be clear, socialism is the legal taking from the productive, giving to the unproductive, and government pocketing the difference. The welfare state, in fact, is fundamentally unjust, an abomination that’s prone to fiscal bankruptcy due precisely to its moral bankruptcy. A system that institutionalizes the robbing of Peter to pay Paul, because a democratic majority approves of it and political demagogues benefit by it, doesn’t make it right. Looting and mooching aren’t morally justified if socialized, any more than a rape is morally justified if it is a gang rape inflicted with the approval of some sordid majority. Far more important than a debate about the relative practicality, efficiency, or productiveness of capitalism and socialism is a debate about their relative moral merits. That capitalism is the superior productive system has been obvious to all but the most dimwitted for at least two centuries. But many people today (especially politicians, academics, intellectuals, and church leaders) still insist that socialism is morally superior because it requires the sacrifice of egoistic and individualist aims for the common good; well, it does require sacrifice, but that’s why its morally inferior and patently unjust. Rational egoism is the essence of morality; individualism is the basis of respect among persons; capitalism enshrines both. No system—like socialism and its communist and fascist cousins—that requires human sacrifice can be called “humanitarian.” None that opposes advances in science, technology, industry, or energy can be called “progressive.” None that seek to suffocate or extinguish civil, economic, and political liberties can be called “liberal.” Capitalism, to its

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had published a notice directing all cargo owners, shippers, consignees, logistics operators and customs brokers to withdraw cleared containers within 15 days of publication. In case of failure to comply, the ATI and ICTSI shall remove overstaying containers and transfer these to designated Inland Container Depots. The international shipping lines have the obligation to promptly evacuate containers from the Philippines within the period prescribed by the BOC either by their regular call vessels or by sweeper vessels. However, both port operators and the PPA deny that there is congestion in Manila's ports. On the other hand, customs brokers, truckers, and importers are already reeling from the additional cost of handling at the ports due to delays in the return of empty containers—which they blame on congestion at the ports. According to Aduana Business Club president Mary Zapata, it now takes them up to three days to return their empty containers at the yard of private port operators like International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Asian Terminals, Inc. for instance, because of congestion in their yards. Zapata aired her problem to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Chief Supt. Vicente Danao, WPD director, because of the traffic problem along R-10 that the trucks are causing, inadvertently of course. “Our trucks cannot pick up new loads because they are loaded with empty container vans which can't be returned immediately at the ports because of congestion. Meanwhile, we are charged for

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to wage ambushes against government forces without the MILF-run BOL doing anything to rein them in. The BOL setup provides police enforcement covered in the autonomous areas. But we have yet to hear the MILF arresting the breakaway Sayyaf and BIFF elements who commit raids on police camps and extortion activities. How long before the Christians in the BOL region react with force to protect their families and livelihood? A rethink of the BOL should be considered by the Manila government after

credit, is humane, progressive, and liberal. It’s a shame that so few people (politicians, academics, intellectuals, or church leaders) know it or expound it; until they do, the “debate” has not been joined. The socialists today are numerous, vigorous, and even arrogant, despite socialism’s horrid historical record. Capitalists today, in sharp contrast, seem few and dispirited, and even if not unaware of its wonderful track record, nevertheless seem unable or unwilling to defend rational egoism and individualism. If you can’t defend capitalism morally and recognize that being moral means being rationally egoistic, you’ll be ineffective; you may even facilitate the persistence of socialism.

What’s necessary is that the Philippines becomes more humane, progressive, and liberal.

Consider how often people, upon hearing of some new socialist scheme, declare that “it sounds good or feels good,” but is “probably” too costly and impractical. “Sounds good or feels good” is code for “is moral,” or “is just,” or “is fair.” In fact, it’s none of those things, if it requires human sacrifice. If you endorse or condone socialism’s alleged “morality,” you ensure that we’ll suffer from its impracticality. Politicians, the conventional defenders of our current welfare state, have said that the Philippines will never be a socialist or communist country. Note how this is a negative proposition, delivered defensively. They don’t ever mention capitalism—let alone defend it—let alone defend it morally. What’s needed today isn’t just the avoidance of evil but the pursuit of good; what’s necessary is that the Philippines becomes more humane, progressive, and liberal, by becoming a fully capitalist country and joining the top ten wealthiest nations club for a change. eric.jurado@gmail.com every day of delay in the return of the empties. This is the reason why we are calling on the government to regulate international shipping lines and their agents to lower the cost of importation and to avoid congestion,” Zapata explained. This added costs are then passed on to consumers by the importers, thus prices of imported commodities are go higher and higher. The Maritime Industry Authority says international shipping lines are not within their jurisdiction. While PPA has yet to give a categorical answer to the port users' clarification if the government can regulate international shipping lines or not. Truckers are so exasperated that they wanted to meet with President Duterte on the problem. They already declared a week-long strike last November but their problem remained. There is still no government agency regulating the operations of international shipping lines. Port congestion is also being attributed by some sectors to the Bureau of Customs' failure to monitor and collect taxes from container vans that have stayed in the country for over 90 days. Under the law, container vans shall be re-exported out of the country within 90 days. Otherwise, shipping companies shall be required to pay the duties and taxes on them. There could be hundreds or even thousands of empty containers parked at the yards of private operators for over 90 days. In an open letter to President Rodrigo Duterte which recently came out of a major newspaper, the Port Users Confederation of the Philippines asked the government to regulate, at least, the operations of the local agents of international shipping lines, if only to rationalize the country's cost of importation. a certain period of time ascertaining BOL’s benefits to the whole country. There are fears among Christians that the Bangsamoro with outside support from Malaysia could yet declare independence from the Philippines. Malaysia under Muhamad Mahathir is a friendly country as part of ASEAN. But then the Philippines has a long-standing territorial dispute with Malaysia on Sabah being claimed by the Sultan of Sulu. Sabah is rich in rubber and oil and like our territorial dispute with China which claims nearly the entire South China Sea, the stakes are potential oil, gas and minerals under the sea Beijing covets for its rise as a superpower to challenge the United States.

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SC employee involved in annulment scam fired THE Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of a court stenographer after finding him guilty of falsifying a decision on annulment of marriage. The high court likewise suspended a lawyer who failed to file a petition for annulment of marriage despite receiving payment from her client. In a six-page en banc decision, the SC ordered the forfeiture of all benefits, except accrued leave credits, of Cesar Calpo, court stenographer III of Cavite City Regional Trial Court Branch 16. The court also ordered the perpetual disqualification from reemployment from public office of Calpo, who was found guilty of grave misconduct and serious dishonesty. The administrative case against Calpo stemmed from the complaint of Zenmond Duque, who claimed that the court stenographer, in 2010, voluntarily offered his services to help secure an annulment of marriage for P150,000. The money was paid in three equal installments as evidenced by receipts duly signed by Calpo. A year later, Calpo gave Duque a decision purportedly issued by Executive Judge Perla Cabrera-Faller of the Dasmariñas RTC Branch 90 granting the annulment of Duque’s marriage. However, Duque subsequently learned that there was no such case and that Cabrera-Faller had not issued any such decision. In a separate decision penned by Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, the SC found Grace Buri guilty of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and imposed on her a two-year suspension, with a stern warning that a repetition of the same would be dealt with more severely. The tribunal also ordered Buri to pay a P5,000 fine and to return to complainant Pia Marie Go the P188,000 in legal fees that the lawyer received. Rey E. Requejo

SUN-DRIED. A kid helps his parents dry assorted fish under the scorching heat of the sun in Baseco, Manila. Lino Santos

Graft trial vs. Espino to proceed T By Rey E. Requejo

HE Sandiganbayan has decided to proceed with the trial for graft charges filed against Pangasinan Rep. Amado Espino and several individuals after it found sufficient evidence to sustain their indictment for their alleged involvement in illegal mining of black sand along Lingayen Gulf. In a 20-page decision dated Jan. 28, a copy of which was released only recently, the court’s Sixth Division through Associate Justice Kevin Narce Vivero resolved to continue the trial of the graft cases against Espino. The court said it found the prosecution to have satisfactorily established sufficient basis to prove the conspiracy between public officials Espino, Rafael Baraan and Alvin Bigay and accused private individual Cesar Detera, Lolita

Bolayog and Edwin Alcazar for alleged illegal mining of magnetite and mineral extraction in Barangay Sabangan, Pangasinan. This came after the anti-graft court denied the joint demurrer to evidence ﬁled by accused Detera, Bolayog and Alcazar for lack of merit. A petition for demurer to evidence means a plea to the court to declare as insufﬁcient the evidence submitted by the prosecution. The Sandiganbayan said there exists

sufficient evidence to convict Espino and his co-accused for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. “The prosecution’s evidence is prima facie sufficient to prove the criminal charges, subject to the defense that may be presented in the course of a full-blown trial,” the court said, adding that “there appears to be prima facie showing of conspiracy” with respect to accused Espino and the five other coaccused. In 2016, the Ombudsman filed the charges against Espino and former provincial administrator Baraan for allegedly unlawfully allowing illegal black sand mining in Pangasinan through the issuance of a small-scale mining permit to Alexandra Mining and Oil Ventures Inc. on June 29, 2011 when Espino was the provincial governor. Alexandra Mining officials Detera, Alcazar, Bolayog, Denise Ann Sia Kho

Po, Annlyn Detera, Cynthia Camara, Glenn Subia and Emiliano Buenavista were included as private respondents. In a separate graft case, Espino, Baraan, and then Provincial Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Ofﬁcer Bigay were named defendants, together with Xypher Builders Inc. directors Michael Ramirez, Avery Pujol, Camara and Bolayog. “In the instant [case], the prosecution satisfactorily established, at least by prima facie evidence, conspiracy by and between accused public ofﬁcials Amado Espino, Rafael Baraan and Alvin Bigay and accused private individuals Cesar Detera, Lolita Bolayog and Edwin Alcazar,” the Sandiganbayan said. The court noted that “the overt acts of the said accused tend to point to a joint purpose and design, concerted action and community of interest in conducting a soil remediation and/or magnetite and mineral extraction activities.”

Batangas vice mayor faces another complaint INVITATION TO BID FOR THE RE-BIDDING OF TWO (2) UNITS MINI BUS WITH AN ABC OF PHP 9,000,000.00 1. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), through the PCSO Corporate Budgetintends to apply the sum of Nine Million Pesos (Php 9,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for theRe-bidding of Two (2) Units Mini Bus. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. 2. PCSO now invites bids for the Re-bidding of Two (2) Units Mini Bus. Delivery of Goods shall not exceed one hundred (100) calendar days upon winning bidder’s receipt of the Notice to Proceed (NTP).Bidders should have completed within the last ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. 3. Bidding for the above item/project will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183. 4. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested bidders on March 25, 2019 (Monday) up to 9:00 a.m. of April 15, 2019, (Monday)from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos(Php 10,000.00). It may also be downloaded free of charge from the following websites: www.pcso.gov.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph, provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids. 5. The schedule of activities is listed, as follows: ACTIVITIES Issuance of the Bidding Documents Pre-Bid Conference Deadline of Submission of Bids Opening of Bids

SCHEDULE March 25, 2019 (Monday) up to 9:00 a.m. of April 15, 2019 (Monday) April 3, 2019 (Wednesday), 1:30 a.m. April 15, 2019 (Monday), 9:30 a.m. April 15, 2019 (Monday), 10:00 a.m.

VENUE

A MUNICIPAL vice mayor from Batangas is facing another complaint of graft and misconduct before the Office of the Ombudsman for alleged undue injury to the government by giving a private firm unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in 2014. Manila

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In an 11-page complaint, former Sangguniang Bayan board member Rolando Tamayo also urged the Ombudsman to place San Pascual Vice Mayor Antonio Dimayuga and former and incumbent board members Maria Brenda Dimayuga, wife of the accused; Davis Gregory Fider; Mara Cassandra Fernandez; Efren Reyes; Norman Dimatactac; Moises Chavez, and Reyshanne Joy Marquez. Tamayo accused Dimayuga, then the town mayor, of allowing the construction and operation of the Water Supply Distribution System Aquadata Inc. without a public bidding. “The San Pascual water supply and distribution system was a local government infrastructure project that should have undergone a competitive public bidding or any of the recognized mode of public-private partnership, such as the build-operate-transfer, build-lease-transfer, build-own-operate, concession agreement, joint venture and others,” the complaint read. On July 14, 2014, Aquadata submitted a letter signed by its president, Herbert Tan, to members of the municipal council, offering to construct deep well pumping stations in barangays Sto. Nino and Laurel in San Pascual. The council endorsed the project proposal to Dimayuga to allow the construction of a water supply system in 2014. On Dec. 14, 2014, Aquadata was given a mayor’s permit to start the construction. “After a few months, I learned that the franchise given to Aquadata did not undergo competitive public bidding despite the assurance of the respondents,” Tamayo said. “Respondents intentionally failed to do this and instead, unilaterally granted Aquadata a blanket authority and privilege to construct and operate San Pascual’s water supply and distribution system on mere SB resolutions and the MoA they issued,” he added.

BI officer nabbed for extortion By Vito Barcelo

BAC Room, 3/F Conservatory Building, 605 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City

6. The Pre-Bid Conference is open to prospective bidders. 7. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. Late bids shall not be accepted. 8. The PCSOreserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. 9. For further information, please refer to: The Bids and Awards Committee c/o The Secretariat PCSO BAC Room 3/F Conservatory Building 605 Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City (02) 997-0247 (Telefax) email address: bac@pcso.gov.p (SGD) Atty. LAURO A. PATIAG Assistant General Manager PCSO BAC Chairperson (MS-MAR. 25, 2019)

By Rio N. Araja

AGENTS of the National Bureau of Investigation arrested an immigration officer in an entrapment operation in a coffee shop in Intramuros, Manila after receiving P1.5 million for the release of a detained overstaying foreigner. Arrested was Joel Sales Mon, an Administrative Assistant II of the Bureau of Immigration assigned at the Office of Deputy Commissioner Aldwin Alegre. The suspect was nabbed after the victim, Angela Quipones, complained that Mon asked for P1 million for the release of her husband, who was detained by the BI for overstaying. According to the NBI report, Quipones first gave P1 million to Mon but the latter asked another P500,000, supposedly for the signature of his superior. The arresting NBI agents claimed that Mon was with Alegre’s driver while receiving the “marked money.” However, the driver was not apprehended but will be included in the probe. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente immediately fired Mon as he vowed to take action on all the complaints against corrupt BI personnel. The bureau was marred by corruption charges in 2018 with the arrest of two former deputy commissioners over a P50-million corruption scandal. Former deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles were accused of receiving P50 million in bribes in exchange for the release of more than 1,300 illegal Chinese workers who were arrested from a casino in Clark, Pampanga in November 2016. CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Mavs maul Curry-less Dubs

OS ANGELES (AFP)--Luka Doncic had a triple double and Dirk Nowitzki underlined his ﬁnal game at Oracle Arena with a throwback performance as the Dallas Mavericks handed the Golden State Warriors their worst loss of the season on Saturday. Doncic finished with a game high 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Nowitzki, who is likely in his final NBA season, scored a season high 21 points in a 126-91 blowout victory by the visiting Mavs. “The last few games I didn’t have a good shooting rhythm,” said the 40-yearold Nowitzki, who started after coming off the bench for most of the season. “Today, I had it early and often.”

Germany’s Nowitzki scored 10 of the game’s first 16 points, helping Dallas seize a 14-2 early lead. He was cheered loudly in the introductions by the crowd at Oracle, which is scheduled to close at the end of the season. “I really enjoyed my time here. I played against some great players,” said Nowitzki, adding he scored his first NBA basket at the venue. Nowitzki had five three pointers and

Doncic and Maxi Kleber each drained four as Dallas outscored the Warriors 6312 from beyond the arc to earn their first win in Golden State since 2012. The loss on their home floor came on a night when the Warriors chose to sit out Stephen Curry. The 35-point margin of defeat was the largest of the season for Golden State, eclipsing a 33-point rout by the Boston Celtics. “We just couldn’t pull together after that slow start and we never could get any traction in the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So we just kind of flush this one down the toilet and move on to tomorrow, not much else to do.” The Mavericks had a 50-point win over

Utah and a 38-pointer over Charlotte earlier in the season. Kevin Durant had 25 points in 29 minutes for the Warriors, who had won four of their previous five games. Durant missed all eight of his three point attempts. Draymond Green said the Warriors have trouble getting motivated to play the Mavericks. “Sometimes playing against that team doesn’t get you up so we had to find energy from somewhere else and we didn’t,” Green said. Durant is looking to their next game on Sunday against Detroit. “The guys have been part of terrible games before and great ones. We play tomorrow night,” he said.

Batangas hosts pair of KO tiffs Games Monday

(Batangas City Coliseum) 7 p.m. – Zamboanga vs Muntinlupa 9 p.m. – Batangas City vs Imus

FOUR teams. Two to survive. On Monday night, Batangas City will host a pair of knockout matches which feature their very own Tanduay-backed Athletics facing the Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Equipment, while Zamboanga-Family’s Brand Sardines takes on the Muntinlupa Cagers-Angelis Resort. Expect the Batangas City Coliseum to erupt in a make-or-break match for the Athletics, the inaugural staging champions, who are looking to win back-toback titles. But their 9 p.m. encounter could also determine whether they could get past the Bandera, who are equally as determined as they are. In the games both teams split, Imus was able to push Batangas City to the limit and following its 75-69 win on Thursday, the Bandera are making sure they are poised to pull off an upset against the second-ranked team in the playoffs. “Gusto ko ‘yung tsansa namin. Kasi nga napatunayan namin na kaya naming manalo and even nu’ng natalo kami sa Batangas, we’ve proven that we can compete with them,” said Imus coach Noy Falcasantos. Falcasantos added that since this is a do-or-die game, no team has the edge in the final game. “Except the home court advantage,” added Falcasantos. “It’s something we have to live with. If we want to win, winning in Batangas would be sweeter.” The series between Zamboanga and Muntinlupa has been set up into a rubber match as well, after the team from the Sardines Capital of the Philippines snatched one from the Cagers in front of their boisterous crowd on Thursday.

Michael “Gloves on Fire” Dasmarinas connects with a right straight to the body of Kenny Demecillo to win the IBF eliminator fight at Resorts World Manila. Peter James

Dasmarinas wins IBF eliminator fight CAMARINES Sur’s Michael “Gloves on Fire” Dasmarinas stunned Kenny “Big Heart” Demecillo and won by unanimous decision in the IBF eliminator fight held at the Resorts World Saturday night in front of a packed crowd, which included 8-division world champion boxer and Senator Manny Pacquiao in the audience. The judges’ score cards read 116-112, 115-113, 117-111, all in favor of Dasmarinas, who had to vacate his IBO world bantamweight title, to participate in this fight.

“All out po ako sa laban na ito, wala akong naging doubt sa training ko, mentally and physically, naging preparado ako para sa laban na ito. Sobrang saya ko po na nanalo ako,” he said. The boxing match was the first co-promoted venture between Singapore-based Ringstar Asia, headed by Scott Farrell, and Senator Pacquiao’s MP Promotions. Dasmarinas’ last 3 fights, including his IBO world title win last 2018, were all held in Singapore as well.

The fight card had 10 bouts, which included Singaporean boxer Muhamad “The Chosen Wan” Ridhwan, who lost by split decision to Filipino boxer Cris Leon. When Senator Pacquiao was asked about the event and the first co-promotion, he said: “They were exciting fights, everybody’s happy, it was a very successful promotion. This is also a good opportunity for Filipino boxers to have a chance to fight outside the country, specially in the United States.”

Allianz PH boosts Obstacle Course Races in 2019 ALLIANZ Philippines has partnered with Conquer Challenge Philippines for a second year to hold the Allianz OCR Sunday, which now includes two prestigious obstacle course races— Conquer Challenge and Ninja OCR. The event will be held in March 31, 2019 in Filinvest, Alabang. “As a company that uses sports to connect with communities and people, Allianz Philippines has chosen to be associated with OCR. We saw how the spirit of the sport is strongly aligned and consistent with our brand belief”, said Gae Martinez, chief marketing officer, Allianz PNB Life. Martinez also noted that OCR is a reflection of life: “As in OCR and in life, there are obstacles that you need to overcome before you reach your destination. Both follow a journey of trials, failures, and successes,“ adding that,“Many are holding back to make a big step to achieve their dreams or afraid to take the risk. That’s why Allianz is here to give people the courage to move forward and triumph over these obstacles. Conquer Challenge, according to James Bungubung of Conquer Challenge, is “one of the only entry level obstacle course races in the Philippines.“ The upcoming Allianz OCR Challenge, he said, will have a 5-km race of 20 obstacles as well as a 1.5-km race of eight obstacles. The Ninja OCR, said Noel Agra, an official of the organization, will be a series of short distance, no running obstacle course races. He revealed it will have different categories: individual (male and female), team, kids, and

Derrick Rose

AFP

Wolves’ Rose undergoes right elbow surgery WASHINGTON--Injury-nagged 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose has undergone his latest operation, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Saturday, saying he had arthroscopic surgery to remove right elbow bone chips. Rose will be sidelined indefinitely but was already slated to miss the remainder of the regular season for the T-Wolves, who at 32-40 are one loss from being eliminated from playoff contention with 10 games remaining. The 30-year-old point guard was a superstar playmaker for his hometown Chicago Bulls, but suffered a left knee injury in Chicago’s opening game of the 2012 NBA playoffs, missed the entire 2012-13 season and then suffered a right knee injury early in the 201314 campaign and missed most of that season as well. Another knee injury followed and Rose was traded to New York in 2016, but in April 2017 suffered another left knee injury and underwent his fourth career knee surgery. Rose played for Cleveland in the 2017-18 campaign before a trade to Utah, which released him. Rose signed with Minnesota and was reunited with ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. Elsewhere, Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and the Charlotte Hornets kept their slim playoff hopes alive by rallying to beat the Boston Celtics 124-117. Walker added 11 rebounds and nine assists in his 23rd game this season scoring 30 or more points. Rookie Miles Bridges scored a career-high 20 points, Marvin Williams and Malik Monk added 13 points apiece and Dwayne Bacon scored 11. Charlotte won its second straight, improved to 33-39 on the season. Kyrie Irving led Boston with 31 points. Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Marcus Morris 15. Also, Trae Young scored 32 points, including a last-second, go-ahead clutch basket, as the Atlanta Hawks snapped the Philadelphia 76ers sixgame winning streak with a 129-127 win.

San Sebastian, UST crowned Milcu champs

Shown here are (from left) James Bungubung, Conquer Challenge; Rei Abrazaldo, Branding Communications and Digital Director, Allianz PNB Life; Gae Martinez, Chief Marketing Officer, Allianz PNB Life; Noel Agra, Ninja OCR; and Jay Lim, OSF. Paul Gelario

dogs. The distance, difficulty, and type of obstacles for each category will vary. Martinez also divulged that Allianz is supporting five Aetas, who will be joining the 5KM OCR. These five athletes -- Jacob King, 22, Miracle Lansang, 21, Danilo Yugyug, 20, Gelyann Soria, 17, and Ivy Pelayo, 16 -- are from Villa Maria, an adopted community of Allianz based in Porac, Pampanga. They were chosen from among 25 Aetas, who participated in the Conquer Challenge held in December last year. “We are glad that OCR became an avenue for Allianz to bring to light so-

cial inclusion, which is one of most important challenges of our society today and an integral part of our corporate social responsibility,” she said. Registration for the races has been extended until March 24. Participants as young as seven years old may join the race with several categories to choose from. Registration fees for the 5KM OCR are at P2,500 for the elite category and P2,300 for the open category. It will include a race shirt, timing chip, finisher shirt, and finisher medal. The registration fee for the 1.5KM OCR, meanwhile, is P1,200. Participants will

receive a timing chip, race shirt, and finisher mug. The registration fee for Ninja OCR 100M individual race is P2,000. For the 400M Team Race (2 males and 2 females), the registration fee is P3,000 per team. This includes a finisher shirt and finisher medal. For more information about the Allianz OCR Sunday, please visit the social media accounts of Conquer Challenge Philippines. Those who want to participate in this year’s Allianz OCR Sunday can also register at https:// register.raceyaya.com/events.

SAN Sebastian captured the 19-under crown, while University of Santo Tomas and Loyola Azul ruled the 17-under divisions of the Milcu Sports Basketball presented by Got Skills Hard to Guard at the Trinity University of Asia Gym. Jhayzie Kean Baclaan scored 23 points and Ameer Nikko Aguilar added 18 points and 12 rebounds as San Sebastian downed La Salle Greenhills, 85-77, to top the 19-under competition. Milo Janao added 15 points and 10 rebounds and James Paul Una produced 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Staglets in the tournament backed by Milcu and Basketball TV. UST beat San Sebastian, 76-62, in the 17-under finals behind 19 points from Jethro Escoto, 18 points and 12 rebounds from Brian Calivozo and 12 points and 11 rebounds from Gabrielle Gamboa. Loyola Azul edged United Ballers, 87-72, to take the title in the 17-under club category with Miguel Gaerlan posting 23 points and Sael Lim chipping 19 points.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@manilastandard.net sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

Sports NorthPort halts 6-game skid, stays in hunt

By Jeric Lopez

Markus Rolli savors the sweet taste of a breakthrough win here.

German, Czech IRONMAN’s best By Reuel Vidal

A Miciano starts journey to become GM ASIAN Youth 18-under chess champion John Marvin Miciano will begin the arduous journey under the Go For Gold program to become the next Filipino grandmaster. To achieve his dream, the country’s youngest international master from Davao City should secure the required three GM norms by playing in more overseas tournaments against the world’s highly rated chessers. ``We all know how difficult it is to become a GM. But with the support of my family and sponsors such as Go For Gold, it will help me reach my dream,’’ said Miciano. First stop for Miciano is the Fide Asian Zone 3.3 championships scheduled April 6 to 16 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The tournament will feature the region’s leading woodpushers, including top-rated players from Vietnam and Indonesia. ``Chess is one sport where Filipinos can excel. It is a test of mental strength,’’ said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go. ``I think Marvin is one of our brightest young athletes, who deserve our support.’’ Go, whose program supports eight other sports, has put his faith on the journey of Miciano, who led Far Eastern University to the UAAP title. The Fide-rated event in Mongolia will open a door of opportunity for the 18-year-old Miciano to showcase his skills against the best and possibly gain a GM norm and rating points. Aside from Miciano, Go For Gold already has a stable of champions in skateboarder Margielyn Didal, the Philippine dragonboat team from the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Dragonboat Federation, cycling hero Rex Luis Krog and reigning Southeast Asian Games men’s triathlon champion Nikko Huelgas. Go For Gold is also backing the national athletes from wrestling, sepak takraw, the Philippine Air Force volleyball squad and has a team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

ZUELA COVE, Davao City – German Markus Rolli and defending women’s champion Czech Radka Kahlefeldt took the lead from the start then survived every challenge to post wire-to-wire victories in the men’s and women’s categories of the Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 Davao Presented by Petron held here yesterday. Rolli, who is in the Philippines for the first time, was the first out of the water and led by a few seconds over Eric Watson, Sam Betten, 2018 champion Mauricio Mendez, Tim Reed, Antony Costes, Tim van Berkel and Craig Alexander. The 27-year-old Rolli blew out the field in the bike ride and extended his lead to eight minutes over second placer Alexander at the transition to the run. Rolli then held on to barely survive the challenge of the 46-year-old Alexander winning by a little over two minutes. Rolli submitted a time of 3:49:29. Alexander was a little over two minutes behind with a time of 3:52:21. Following them are van Berkel (3:53:05), Reed (3:27:18) and Betten (3:59:21) “I think I overbiked. After the bike I wasn’t actually feeling well but I already had an eight-minute lead. So I just gave my best. Winning feels great. The people

here are amazing. They were cheering all along the course. It was a great experience. They just pushed me through pain,” said Rolli. “That is always my strategy. I know I am good in the bike. So I go all out in the bike. Sometimes it works and I win. Sometimes, it doesn’t work and I don’t. I’m just lucky it worked this time.” Kahlefeldt, 34, and Caroline Steffen, 40, were neck and neck through the swim, the bike and majority of the run. Kahlefeldt gradually wore down her older opponent late in the run to pull away and win comfortably. Kahlefeld won the inaugural Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 last year. She said it was more difficult to win this year. “The whole race was hard since I had to fight it out with Caroline (Steffen). It’s never easy to beat her. I’m just very happy that I could come back and win again,”

said Kahlefeldt who finished with a time of 4:12:56. Other winners include Steffen with a time of 4:19:28. Kirralee Seidel (4:28:37), Dimity Lee Duke (4:32:41) and Lisa Tyack (4:39:19). Mauricio Mendez, who rallied past Reed in last year’s inaugural Alveo race in Davao had mechanical problems with his bike and didn’t finish the race. After the Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 Davao Sunrise Events will next hold the Sun Life 5150 Cebu on April 28, the Century Ironman 70.3 Subic on June 2, the Penong’s 5150 Davao on July 7, the Regent Aguila IRONMAN 70.3 Philippines on August 11, the Black Arrow Express 5150 Subic on October 27 and the Sun Life Cycle PH in November. Title sponsor of the past race is Alveo, an AyalaLand company. Presentor is Petron while venue hosts are Lungsod ng Dabaw, Azuela Cove and the Enderun Tent, bike course partners Davao del Norte, Panabo, Tagum and Carmen, official courier and logistics partner 2Go Express, official swim cap TYR, official energy gel GU, official nutrition Vitargo, official eyewear Rudy Project, and Aboitiz Power, Davao Light, David’s Salon, Davao Metro Shuttle, Prudential Guarantee, and media partners ONE Sports on Cignal, the Philippine Star, Trilife, AsiaTri.com and Finisher Pix.

Metro Manila participants are shown in last year’s program enjoying their training.

MVPSF Taekwondo Program unwraps April 2 THE Philippine Taekwondo Association will kick off the 2019 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Taekwondo Summer Program on April 2 in all its affiliates all over the country. Makati Congressman Monsour del Rosario, who is also secretary general of PTA which is a member of the World Taekwondo Federation and the Philippine Olympic Olympic Committee and recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission, invites everyone to learn one of the

country’s most popular martial art events. “A few months you spare learning this Olympic sport (taekwondo) will help improve and develop your personality. The sport is considered as the best exercise for physical conditioning, alertness and self-protection against all odds. Knowledge in unarmed defense is much better than acquiring a deadly weapon,” Del Rosario says. The summer sports program will be conducted until June 2 in PTA branches

in Metro Manila and in Regions 1 to 12, CAR, ARMM, CARAGA, Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines. Interested parties may contact PTA at telephone numbers 5220518, 5220519 and 5240457 or e-mail philippinetaekwondo@gmail.com/philtkd@gmail.com. The nationwide taekwondo class is also supported by PLDT, Meralco, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Milo.

WITH its campaign on the line, NorthPort was finally able to end its long dry spell. The Batang Pier played with a sense of urgency to pull off a rousing 109-83 triumph over favored TNT KaTropa and snap a six-game slide, keeping their quarterfinal bid alive in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night. With his team badly needing him to be at his best, Stanley Pringle answered the challenge, pouring in a game-high 27 points on 62-percent shooting, to go with nine rebounds for a near double-double. After improving to 3-6, NorthPort kept itself in the running for a quarterfinal berth. However, the Batang Pier need to sweep their remaining two games and hope that the results of the other tiffs go in their favor to be able to have a chance at cracking the top eight. The loss was a costly one for TNT KaTropa. Not only was their five-game winning streak snapped, the Tropang Texters also saw their chance of ending up in the top two vanish as they ended their elimination round campaign at 7-4. Still, TNT is already safely through to the quarters and will now await where it will end up in terms of seedings. Behind Pringle’s steady offensive exploits, the Batang Pier were able to catch the Tropang Texters off guard. The fiery guard led his team’s onslaught in the decisive second quarter as the Batang Pier outscored the Tropang Texters, 31-15, to take a whopping 22-point cushion, 53-31, at the turn. NorthPort already set the tone early by opening up a 22-16 advantage at the end of one. The Batang Pier then did what they failed to do in their last six losses – take care of business in the second half.

La Salle regains dance title DE LA Salle University’s La Salle Dance Company is back on top as champion of the 8th UAAP Streetdance Competition held Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, relegating last year’s champion, the Far Eastern University Dance Company Street Alliance to second place. It was the Taft-based school’s fourth streetdance title, making it the winningest school in the seniors’ division of the UAAP Streetdance Competition. The LSDC crew finished second to FEU in last year’s streetdance battle, but came out firing with a rock-androll themed performance inspired by the English band Queen that won the crowd’s favor and the judges’ nod. FEU had its military commandothemed number down pat, but DLSU outscored its rivals in the final tally, 86.5 points to 85. The National University Underdawgz, who also banked on Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and a Freddie Mercury look to wow the crowd, finished third with a final score of 83.25. “We used last year’s defeat to find new things and ways to win the championship back. Our graduating seniors served as our main inspiration. We used them as motivation so that we can come up with new, exciting elements that have not been done before. We wanted something fresh,” said LSDC captain Diego Aviles in Filipino. Head coach Mycs Villoso said “The call for excellence every time” has helped make them a powerhouse in the world of streetdance. She thanked the DLSU Culture and Arts office and the Office of Sports Development for their all out support. The DLSU senior streetdancers also won the P50,000 purse, while FEU and NU took home P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.

IN BRIEF

Elections, incentive bill may reduce FDIs BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the proposal to rationalize fiscal incentives and the conduct of mid-term elections this year may affect the flow of foreign direct investments in the country. Guinigundo issued the statement following the latest data showing that net FDI in 2018 fell 4.4 percent to $9.802 billion from the record $10.256 billion a year ago. The full-year number missed the official target of $10.4 billion net inflows set by the Bangko Sentral last November 2018. “For 2019, FDIs are projected to be broadly the same as that in 2018 although this will be reassessed in April/May. There are ‘pull’ factors coming from sustained positive developments in the economy and continuation of PPP projects that were approved in previous years...,” Guinigundo said in a text message. Julito

Business

A DELEGATION of Israeli officials to the Philippines is expected to give way to several business agreemeents that will help improve the economy including an agreement for cybersecurity cooperation. Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairman emeritus Francis Chua welcomed Israel Ambassador Rafael Harpaz and the other Israel Embassy officials to present several business proposals. “We are looking forward to the deepening of ties with PCCI,” he said adding that the Chamber is organizing a sectoral business mission to Israel to build relations with Israeli companies. Among the topics discussed was a cooperation on cybersecurity signed a few years back with an Israeli company. Israel has advanced expertise on cybersecurity and it is willing to share its technology to the Philippines. Israel also made known its interest for oil exploration in Sulu as part of the defense and energy cooperation are also part of Israel’s link with the Philippines as well a solar panel project in Mindanao. In 2011, Israel was able to tap the biggest offshore gas field in the country that will make the nation self-sufficient in natural gas by the end of 2019. Othel V. Campos

DoF bullish despite current account gap THE Department of Finance remains optimistic of the country’s economic growth trajectory in the months ahead despite the record deficit of $7.9 billion in current account registered in 2018. In an economic bulletin over the weekend, the DoF said the current account--one of the main components of the balance of payments---remained financeable even as the deficit rose to 2.4 percent of GDP in 2018. “Foreign investors and lenders find the country an attractive investment destination,” the DoF said. “Maintaining good fundamentals by keeping the twin deficits---budget and current account---manageable thru maintaining interest rates at the level that raises both the volume of savings and investments will enable the country to sustain rapid economic growth in the mediumterm,” DoF said. The current account deficit widened from a negligible 0.7 percent of GDP ($2.1 billion) in 2017 to 2.4 percent ($7.9 billion) in 2018 due to the significant rise in imports of capital goods. But the DoF said the deficit was financeable given the surplus in services trade and income balances and the upsurge in foreign investment. Julito G. Rada

DICT to start mass building of cell towers

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology is ready for the construction of common towers in the country. Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. asked 15 tower companies to submit the list of sites where towers are recommended to be built. The DICT earlier signed memoranda of understanding with the companies for the deployment of common towers in the country. The common tower providers include five local companies such as Isoc Infrastructures Inc., Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., MGS Construction Inc., J.S. Cruz Construction and Development Inc. and ALT Global. The rest are foreign companies including Ison ECP Tower Pte. Ltd., IHS Holding Ltd., Edotco Group Sdn Bhd, China Energy Equipment Co. Ltd., RT Telecom Sdn Bhd., Frontier Tower Associates Management Pte. Ltd., the consortium of Global Networks Inc. and JTower Inc., American Tower Corp., Desarrollos Terrestres and Shinheung Telecom. Globe Telecom Inc., Smart Communications and incoming third telco Mislatel Consortium expressed their support in the common tower which the government had initiated. Rio urged telecommunication companies to forge an agreement to speed up the fulfillment of common towers needed to upgrade the country’s communication services. The DICT proposed the signing of an agreement between the National Telecommunications Commission and telcos for the construction of 50,000 common towers in seven years.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

Razon firm plans to tap Wawa Dam as water supply

By Darwin G. Amojelar

G. Rada

Israel business team eyes PH opportunities

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

PRIME Infra, a company led by port magnate Enrique Razon Jr., plans to develop the Wawa catchment area in Rizal province as a source of more than 500 million liters of potable water per day. The company said it would team up with San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group to develop the project in the area traversing NEW FSCC CHAIRMAN. The Financial Stability Coordination Council, in its quarterly meeting , welcomes its new chairman, the municipality of Rodriguez and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno (seated, second from right), who replaced the late governor Nestor Espenilla city of Antipolo. The water source Jr. In his maiden meeting, Diokno vowed to build on the progress of the FSCC as the venue for financial market authorities to identify, is strategically located to serve the monitor, manage and mitigate the build up of systemic risk in the Philippine financial system. With Diokno are (seated, from left) expansion areas of the east zone Securities and Exchange Commission chairperson Emilio Aquino, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Philippine Deposit concessionaire of the Metropolitan Insurance Corp. president Roberto Tan. Waterworks and Sewerage System— Manila Water Company. Prime Infra recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Manila Water to cooperate in the possible development of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project. The agreement formalized the formation of a technical team that will conduct a technical study which will be reviewed and approved by the MWSS. “This is not an immediate fix, but rather a medium to long term solution. By Othel V. Campos Yet our project is one of the fastest and most sustainable ways to solve this TEELASIA Manufacturing Corp. began exporting current water crisis. If we don’t act reinforcing bars to Canada, making the Philippines a now, this will be a recurring problem,” steel exporter again after several decades. Razon said. Discussions, facilitated by MWSS SteelAsia senior vice president and integrated with its Quality Management administrator Reynaldo Velasco, are head of sales Yvette Sy said the company System (ISO 9001). on-going between Prime Infra and SteelAsia’s Quality Management shipped 10,000 metric tons of rebars to Manila Water to start the project soon, System was also certified to conform Canada worth over P300 million. considering the current water crisis. Rebars are used by the construction to UK Cares or the UK Certification Velasco said he wanted to secure sector to provide tensile strength for Authority for Reinforcing Steel Bars, the water supply needs of the agency’s infrastructure, buildings, housing and the only Philippine company to achieve one in the Visayas and two in Mindanao. franchise area, of which the Wawa such certification at this time. other structures. Together, these facilities produce a total Bulk Water Supply Project is an “We hope to do our part in raising the output of more than two million tons per integral part of. “We are excited to see PhilippineSLRBD president Anthony made rebars being used in buildings reputation of Philippine manufacturing year. Violago said the project would be and infrastructure in Canada. This by ensuring that our steel products are “We are proud to contribute to the “an important step towards resolving shows that our steel products are at par with the best in the world,” Sy country’s development, not only through competitive and world-class, having said. the manufacture of quality steel locally the legal impediment preventing She assured that SteelAsia would but also by earning precious foreign the development of one of the most passed the stringent standards on steel set by Canadian authorities,” Sy said. continue to ably support domestic exchange for the country through strategic water supply sources for Metro Manila.” SteelAsia is the first steel bar requirements, especially the ongoing exports,” Sy said. Water experts have long cited Wawa manufacturer in the Philippines to have massive infrastructure developments The company said that in the next two as the best potential water supply an Integrated Management System in the country. to three years, it was aiming to produce source for Metro Manila. SteelAsia is the Philippines’ flagship about 3 to 4 million metric tons of billets certification when its Environment (ISO Compared with Laguna Lake and 14001) and Health and Safety (OHSAS steel firm with six rebar rolling mills to support the doubling of capacity of other similar water supply options, 18001) Management Systems were across the country—three in Luzon, rebar, section and wire rods production. it does not require an expensive treatment technology like reverse osmosis. At its capacity, it can serve more than 500,000 households in the MWSS franchise area. Prime Infra president and chief Singson said. By Alena Mae S. Flores operating officer Guillaume Lucci Meralco, together with Japan’s Marubeni Corp., submitted the POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. is investing P1 billion to put lowest power distribution rate for New Clark City at P0.6188 per is optimistic that the project will get going considering government’s up the power distribution facilities in New Clark City in preparation kilowatt hour. for the 30th Southeast Asian Games late this year, an executive said Meralco senior vice president and head of customer retail services support to fast-track the new water over the weekend. and corporate communication Al Panlilio said Meralco’s offer was source for Metro Manila and Rizal province. Meralco senior vice president Rogelio Singson said the company low because “our partners really was looking at a demand of 10 megawatts to 14 MW for the New wanted to win it.” Clark City facilities. “It’s a good franchise to have… “It can still be ramped up. So we were telling them, at first they We know the development will want everything smart, underground. I said, with that demand, happen, not immediately but in how much tariff are you prepared to pay…Overhead, we can time, like BGC [Bonifacio Global do it….Smart city yes, but not immediately until you have the City],” Panlilio said. consumption,” Singson said. The Meralco-Marubeni The Bases Conversion Development Authority issued the notice consortium is composed of of award to Meralco as the power distributor of New Clark City Meralco, Marubeni, Kansai after offering the lowest power supply rate. Electric Power Co. Inc. and “We continue to dialogue with BCDA to help them out after Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc. given the award. We were giving them suggestions on how they New Clark City managed by can formulate the plan, for the terms of the utilities,” Singson said. BCDA is envisioned to be the He said Meralco committed that the facilities would be ready by first smart, green and sustainable June or July. metropolis in the country where “We’re helping them [BCDA] out in terms of specifications so locators and residents will enjoy that when it is eventually turned over to Meralco, it is acceptable,” low utility rates.

SteelAsia begins export of steel bars to Canada

Meralco investing P1b to build New Clark power facilities

DOH asked to educate smokers on alternative products LOCAL vaping groups urged the Department of Health to educate smokers about alternative products such as electronic cigarettes to help them quit smoking. The appeal was made by The Vapers Philippines and the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association, as Public Health England published its new evidence update on vaping last week. Peter Paul Dator, president of The Vapers Philippines, said the DoH smoking cessation program currently provides face-to-face counseling in clinics and telephone support through its Quitline. Some local healthcare professionals also recommend nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine gums and patches to patients, he said. “We call on the DOH and local healthcare professionals to look at the latest evidence update on vaping from England, a country which is experiencing tremendous success in reducing adult smoking rates,” Dator said. Dator lauded public health officials in the country for doing a good job in raising public awareness

on the health risks associated with smoking. “Unfortunately, their efforts stop there. To really make an impact in reducing the harms caused by smoking, the public should also be educated about alternative products that can help smokers quit.” Quitting is a major challenge for many smokers. Pecia president Joey Dulay warned that if the 16 million Filipinos who currently smoke do not quit, they will at some point get sick and die prematurely. “They should be encouraged to switch to less harmful products such as e-cigarettes. It would be a monumental tragedy if the DOH continues to vilify e-cigarettes without looking at new evidence,” he said. Dulay called on the DOH to seriously consider the latest evidence update on vaping from Public Health England, noting that the series of expert independent evidence reviews published by an operationally autonomous executive agency of the UK Department of Health has in large part shaped the British government’s policy on the role of e-cigarettes in tobacco control.

Business

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market seen trading above 8,000 By Jenniffer B. Austria

HARE prices are expected to continue to trade above the 8,000-point level on positive sentiments following the separate decisions of the US Federal Reserve and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to keep rates unchanged. Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia said unchanged interest rates should keep borrowing costs tame and support improved capital expenditure spending. “This should prod investors to scout for investment opportunities possibly in condominium units, that can be leased out, affordable housing even franchising/store operations,” 2TradeAsia said With the index closing firmly above 8,000 points, Papa Securities trader Gabriel Jose Perez said the next resistance should be the area the recent highs at 8,200 “Further net foreign buying in the coming days, as well as more surges from the major

US indices could fuel this added optimism,” Perez said. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week advanced 2.76 percent to 8,013.42, while the broader All Shares Index climbed 2.1 percent to 4,913.3. The last time the PSEi reached the 8,000-point level was on Feb. 13, 2019. All sectoral indices registered week on week gains, led by property rose 3.6 percent, followed by holding firms which advanced 3.5 percent, and mining and oil which gained 2.5 percent. The services, industrial and financials also climbed 1.9 percent, 1.57 percent and

1.05 percent, respectively. Foreign investors were net buyers by P1.56 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P6 billion from the previous week’s average of P8.5 billion. Weekly top price gainers were Century Properties Group Inc., which rose 14.6 percent to P0.55; LT Group Inc., which increased 8 percent to P17.28; and Filinvest Development Corp., which gained 7.2 percent to P15.98. Weekly top price losers were Philex Mining Corp., which fell 5.5 percent to P3.77; Manila Water Co. Inc., which declined 5.2 percent to P24.65; and San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. which dropped 3.3 percent to P103. Meanwhile, worries about economic growth prospects hit global stock markets on Friday, causing sharp price drops on both sides of the Atlantic. In bloodletting on Wall Street, US stocks suffered their worst day since early Janu-

ary. The closely watched “yield curve” flashed a warning sign that a recession could be looming while monthly US, French and German manufacturing indices all fell—rattling investors who were already uneasy after this week’s surprisingly weak outlook from the Federal Reserve. “A series of worse-than-expected economic releases from Europe have sounded the alarm bell not just for the bloc, but also the global economy, by providing further evidence of a worldwide slowdown in economic activity,” said XTB analyst David Cheetham. The so-called yield curve, which tracks the spread between short- and longer-term rates on US Treasury bonds, briefly inverted on Friday, with yields on three month bonds falling below those for 10-year notes—the first time this had happened since before the global financial crisis in 2007. With AFP

Manila Standard BuSineSS Weekly StockS revieW STOCKS

MARCH 18-22, 2019 Close Volume

Value

MARCH 11-15, 2019 Close Volume Value

Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Ferronoux Holding Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

58.85 133.90 88.00 2.25 1.36 27.45 19.1 12.6 4.3 7.83 0.6 1.38 800.00 0.465 81 0.98 13.86 22.00 60.10 58.3 112.1 185.5 26.5 171.2 1805.00 61.00 1.16

72,050 13,455,050 7,244,010 211,000 533,000 542,100 265,700 2,431,700 377,000 600 58,000 348,000 1,140 490,000 11,521,520 540,000 104,900 110,600 3,143,750 27,350 510 2,110 3,505,900 2,905,920 1,120 358,050 109,000

FINANCIAL 4,230,199.00 1,780,342,847.00 638,447,330.50 477,510.00 714,710.00 14,897,595.00 5,032,228.00 30,253,608.00 1,606,130.00 4,698.00 34,830.00 487,480.00 915,800.00 221,650.00 929,170,415.00 524,140.00 1,453,718.00 2,353,850.00 188,053,390.50 1,606,447.50 56,871.00 390,147.00 92,301,260.00 496,314,002.00 2,036,150.00 21,812,758.00 126,390.00

58.65 132.00 88.90 2.32 1.35 27.5 18.4 12.18 4.48 7.81 0.63 1.47 795.00 0.455 79.5 0.96 13.84 22.00 59.60 58.2 111.1 184.5 26.35 164.3 1820.00 60.90 1.13

7,480 10,445,680 6,492,770 108,000 152,000 231,700 306,600 1,826,500 239,000 3,100 4,150,000 169,000 110 780,000 11,457,780 1,158,000 314,000 5,400 3,810,600 3,750 10 3,520 218,300 2,198,410 380 24,220 15,000

437,974.00 1,378,114,370.00 560,947,251.00 248,060.00 205,370.00 6,394,000.00 5,527,266.00 22,246,298.00 1,057,290.00 24,245.00 2,571,750.00 244,850.00 87,500.00 357,650.00 892,615,317.00 1,122,360.00 4,385,060.00 118,450.00 230,620,256.00 219,276.50 1,111.00 582,463.00 5,784,425.00 368,052,416.00 690,700.00 1,481,080.00 16,950.00

Aboitiz Power Corp. Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Basic Energy Corp. Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Chemphil Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Greenergy Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petroenergy Res. Corp. Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SMC Food and Beverage SPC Power Corp. Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

35.6 14.3 1.02 1.48 0.240 97.9 15.68 2.8 16.08 116 29.75 71.9 71.05 43 1.85 5.68 6.26 11.600 16.06 9.50 7.32 21.7 79.4 27.70 2.3200 10.40 13.2 1.630 312.40 53.00 4.05 3.56 10.88 24.65 12.78 21.35 0.193 387.00 5.89 1.41 4.00 6.65 8.92 1.38 12.26 50 5.85 4.80 1.81 2.66 1.35 12 103 6.64 0.134 0.99 149.2 2.52 1.69 16.00 1.28

5,644,700 1,652,200 9,289,000 4,706,000 1,670,000 90 23,300 84,395,000 2,462,400 10,380 769,700 480 5,030 7,400 1,193,000 408,500 35,500 5,605,000 6,737,200 9,760,300 647,100 9,227,400 2,230,550 218,900 72,691,000 22,477,700 6,383,300 800,000 2,827,430 2,000 139,000 55,000 72,700 6,999,700 3,076,300 12,358,100 1,740,000 1,305,620 62,200 17,812,000 2,002,000 34,764,600 23,000 108,846,000 637,900 3,329,000 296,300 13,548,000 2,029,000 218,000 1,010,000 850,700 1,391,280 475,500 420,000 1,161,000 4,352,430 118,000 7,017,000 3,100 8,654,000

INDUSTRIAL 198,473,460.00 23,431,092.00 9,521,960.00 6,875,520.00 396,210.00 8,811.00 355,448.00 236,070,370.00 38,721,186.00 1,125,684.00 22,845,625.00 34,512.00 357,631.50 318,080.00 2,236,340.00 2,360,306.00 221,197.00 64,184,298.00 107,432,230.00 90,519,700.00 4,763,970.00 175,061,545.00 174,458,138.00 5,960,820.00 168,027,930.00 223,845,039.00 85,259,628.00 1,317,360.00 888,163,812.00 104,923.00 563,300.00 189,250.00 774,746.00 178,663,040.00 39,111,138.00 258,440,204.00 337,960.00 493,053,772.00 370,388.00 24,896,230.00 7,835,520.00 232,123,528.00 204,117.00 147,641,400.00 12,153,616.00 165,629,820.00 1,732,213.00 63,414,880.00 3,665,880.00 575,310.00 1,336,260.00 10,293,152.00 143,223,061.00 3,075,708.00 54,090.00 1,140,400.00 642,129,320.00 303,650.00 11,559,990.00 49,600.00 10,987,240.00

35.5 14.58 1.01 1.46 0.243 97095 15.40 2.75 15.64 120 29.25 71.85 71.05 41 1.91 5.9 6.28 11.500 15.7 9.07 7.45 20.5 73.9 27.40 2.5100 9.67 12.66 1.660 316.20 54.50 4.05 3.65 11.20 26 11.96 19.98 0.200 370.00 6.17 1.41 3.77 6.52 8.95 1.30 12.20 48.85 5.8 4.67 1.82 2.65 1.3 11.9 106.5 6.38 0.129 1.00 145.7 2.5 1.64

12,890,100 2,871,600 4,504,000 4,102,000 1,470,000 510 22,500 56,183,000 1,589,600 2,150 361,100 50 100 133,700 725,000 139,100 89,500 4,902,600 1,665,100 3,830,200 711,500 24,339,600 714,440 1,152,000 150,793,000 10,004,500 3,301,300 901,000 1,955,330 300 467,000 117,000 55,900 10,177,800 2,701,100 13,136,000 2,950,000 896,290 102,000 14,507,000 697,000 119,230,800 41,700 36,350,000 538,700 2,267,500 463,600 28,000 461,000 32,000 611,000 231,300 26,907,450 397,600 810,000 1,887,000 3,841,260 1,485,000 7,508,000

449,831,695.00 42,777,444.00 4,580,290.00 5,860,870.00 351,630.00 45,736.00 356,814.00 149,086,030.00 24,700,316.00 258,446.00 10,625,840.00 3,340.00 7,105.00 5,481,655.00 1,376,710.00 830,186.00 541,759.00 55,317,568.00 26,182,198.00 34,363,077.00 5,327,926.00 510,572,385.00 52,808,548.50 31,225,715.00 388,080,350.00 96,585,991.00 42,790,968.00 1,509,860.00 614,486,486.00 16,350.00 1,960,790.00 412,750.00 625,782.00 264,986,060.00 32,382,682.00 260,670,419.00 586,870.00 334,242,098.00 629,320.00 20,143,630.00 2,622,510.00 782,426,398.00 372,121.00 47,965,940.00 6,443,094.00 111,159,820.00 2,712,250.00 130,920.00 843,170.00 85,690.00 797,140.00 2,845,314.00 2,869,914,431.00 2,542,343.00 104,510.00 1,906,610.00 548,298,287.00 3,728,960.00 12,253,240.00

1.30

19,621,000

26,723,460.00

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ Asiabest Group ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Lopez Holdings Corp. LT Group Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp À’ Seafront À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.630 59.55 16.30 0.73 6.50 20.85 1.440 1.440 940 7.7 12.40 4.14 15.98 0.242 1040 6.50 64.40 5.51 0.55 5.44 17.28 0.560 4.92 2.81 0.0390 1.200 3.120 2.67 173.90 2.37 970.50 1.36 0.75 280.000 443.00 0.2440 0.390

HOLDING FIRMS 105,553,000 72,512,710.00 4,861,680 283,800,494.50 53,501,300 841,133,508.00 404,000 297,010.00 6,068,100 39,442,635.00 430,700 8,872,478.00 28,969,000 40,249,350.00 5,617,000 7,981,240.00 1,471,920 1,372,523,080.00 11,937,700 90,608,645.00 24,787,200 304,207,136.00 55,000 232,890.00 14,053,800 220,694,056.00 2,320,000 540,610.00 611,595 616,784,342.50 206,500 1,338,729.00 15,902,730 996,276,765.50 200 1,102.00 3,032,000 1,605,990.00 22,316,900 120,458,056.00 25,431,300 428,638,962.00 381,000 216,700.00 97,283,000 476,201,160.00 1,000 2,810.00 78,200,000 3,030,400.00 41,000 48,800.00 12,235,000 38,458,410.00 25,000 64,030.00 2,521,760 442,155,327.00 41,000 96,800.00 816,220 782,015,465.00 1,143,000 1,515,950.00 39,000 29,200.00 13,530 3,759,204.00 4,530 2,027,990.00 2,410,000 583,450.00 256,610,000 99,476,200.00

0.750 56.95 15.50 0.74 6.50 20.3 1.430 1.450 920.5 7.45 12.40 4.15 14.90 0.250 995 6.51 61.05 5.86 0.53 5.24 16 0.560 4.94

52,231,000 13,349,880 55,213,600 578,000 203,200 172,200 21,416,000 2,899,000 1,286,310 4,574,200 24,154,900 100,000 11,407,400 1,110,000 914,355 142,200 89,948,980 100 5,167,000 2,776,800 24,984,800 357,000 150,213,000

39,559,180.00 771,439,318.00 832,040,232.00 433,420.00 1,870,816.00 3,502,145.00 30,337,790.00 4,124,530.00 1,187,743,940.00 34,228,295.00 279,273,318.00 415,000.00 167,539,540.00 269,360.00 901,743,945.00 910,235.00 5,540,772,359.50 586.00 2,794,320.00 14,206,670.00 411,592,424.00 201,410.00 739,297,920.00

0.0400 1.210 3.160 2.55 174.20 2.36 934.00 1.38 0.75 280.000 448.00 0.2450 0.350

38,300,000 13,000 17,656,000 44,000 18,100,680 44,000 2,092,950 51,000 298,000 14,010 610 7,570,000 99,120,000

1,525,700.00 15,920.00 54,636,300.00 113,380.00 3,148,599,135.00 104,050.00 1,937,660,330.00 69,660.00 226,550.00 3,906,980.00 274,110.00 1,839,590.00 34,514,200.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. DM Wenceslao Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil Infradev Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty À’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp. Robinson’s Land `B’

13.040 0.76 10.92 2.000 0.840 45.000 2.4 4.2 6.6 0.550 0.83 0.940 0.243 0.400 11.720 22.5 0.500 0.126 1.56 1.26 5.81 0.395 1.9100 0.4400 0.430 43.05 2.75 24.65

16,694,700 3,184,000 12,800 700,000 14,521,000 66,286,600 4,191,000 3,462,000 143,700 231,110,000 900,000 384,000 51,930,000 5,620,000 8,247,200 4,560,500 18,743,000 510,000 62,618,000 5,589,000 120,067,600 49,110,000 8,751,000 1,780,000 8,560,000 2,350 512,000 20,555,800

12.100 0.78 10.94 1.970 0.880 43.100 2.35 4.34 6.5 0.480 0.91 0.930 0.242 0.400 10.940 20.85 0.510 0.128 1.51 1.22 5.62 0.385 1.9500 0.4550 0.455 46.00 2.79 24.00

7,512,100 3,165,000 26,000 193,000 8,281,000 43,597,900 6,850,000 1,320,000 155,000 46,216,000 536,000 272,000 10,640,000 2,920,000 9,536,500 2,002,900 21,903,000 240,000 48,143,000 7,129,000 140,177,900 53,900,000 25,539,000 6,170,000 1,740,000 1,700 707,000 12,634,000

90,373,834.00 2,481,600.00 271,846.00 362,190.00 7,453,450.00 1,873,900,645.00 16,194,030.00 5,650,590.00 1,020,167.00 22,824,190.00 484,720.00 249,180.00 2,560,550.00 1,179,750.00 99,225,351.00 41,860,325.00 11,371,585.00 31,250.00 72,611,620.00 8,741,200.00 772,947,849.00 20,849,850.00 49,814,250.00 2,780,150.00 785,150.00 74,860.00 2,003,770.00 298,657,380.00

PROPERTY 208,728,798.00 2,458,710.00 139,780.00 1,362,290.00 12,163,790.00 2,919,940,690.00 9,992,710.00 15,077,920.00 910,858.00 123,659,950.00 742,650.00 356,820.00 12,467,650.00 2,194,100.00 93,213,108.00 101,585,140.00 9,370,835.00 65,240.00 96,311,290.00 6,878,480.00 685,175,451.00 18,556,200.00 16,723,640.00 791,000.00 3,739,300.00 110,976.00 1,421,630.00 492,130,420.00

STOCKS

MARCH 18-22, 2019 Close Volume

MARCH 11-15, 2019 Close Volume Value

Value

Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

2.05 3.1 39.50 1.6 6.86 0.760 7.320

801,000 692,000 37,281,700 4,378,000 2,083,000 399,000 30,246,300

1,782,270.00 2,139,800.00 1,462,889,360.00 7,048,570.00 14,190,767.00 303,400.00 222,285,091.00

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Chelsea DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Metro Retail MetroAlliance A MetroAlliance B NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. PH Resorts Group Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils. Wilcon Depot

12.6 21.45 1.24 0.425 0.044 15.76 2.8 12.20 0.0740 84.15 8.17 5.84 6.90 13.74 890.5 1996 5.73 380.00 2.99 124.2 1.93 10.74 7.10 0.127 5.5100 3.15 15.36 3.51 0.89 20.40 16.00 0.570 4.9 3.25 1.83 1.81 2.710 10.3 10.56 3.1 4.90 7.6 122.50 2.64 1185.00 1.160 0.890 48.30 82.00 8.79 2.37 0.690 0.425 5.63 0.700 15.620

174,500 386,100 752,000 1,000,000 29,300,000 525,200 1,504,000 23,206,300 486,610,000 806,670 4,100 3,485,000 144,000 1,179,100 50 120,295 1,272,000 9,240 6,253,000 13,530,730 40,000 14,300 17,500 12,800,000 10,743,500 97,000 15,100 2,847,000 96,000 4,376,200 400 8,328,000 28,000 17,253,000 811,000 10,000 14,269,000 1,928,700 121,800 12,000 438,000 2,000 128,540 5,084,000 501,215 402,199,000 12,285,000 2,796,500 5,004,090 78,900 20,654,000 5,845,000 25,030,000 6,521,600 4,008,000 4,166,800

Abra Mining Apex À’ Atlas Cons. À’ Atok-Big Wedge À’ Benguet Corp À’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Phinma Petro Semirara Corp. United Paragon

0.0021 1.45 2.90 13.16 1.1500 1.1100 2.47 0.300 7.82 1.550 0.255 0.120 0.125 0.008 0.0081 1.11 2.57 1.08 0.5800 0.9300 0.0120 0.0130 3.77 13.90 0.0120 3.0900 23.00 0.0076

MINING & OIL 1,965,000,000 4,157,600.00 5,392,000 7,783,860.00 3,070,000 8,839,320.00 11,800 153,064.00 201,000 231,220.00 11,000 12,220.00 4,004,000 9,595,700.00 300,000 89,800.00 6,800 53,587.00 19,219,000 29,134,780.00 8,800,000 2,132,210.00 10,430,000 1,243,310.00 3,170,000 389,240.00 16,000,000 129,300.00 12,000,000 98,100.00 442,000 479,780.00 13,851,000 35,824,470.00 474,000 503,160.00 920,000 532,380.00 1,159,000 1,086,650.00 66,700,000 801,200.00 875,400,000 10,952,100.00 6,012,000 22,743,300.00 3,949,500 55,402,940.00 19,700,000 220,800.00 258,000 807,240.00 13,056,800 297,258,915.00 27,000,000 192,200.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen G FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B House Preferred Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC FB PREF 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

21 100 474.6 497.6 98.3 100.6 450.8 480 5.55 930 918 96 0.97 101.9 998 1020 99.5 106.4 980 75 76.4 71.9 75 74 73 72 72.05 1.71

285,500 9,610 4,090 1,620 9,730 8,050 2,480 2,150 475,100 1,290 38,690 2,920 1,479,000 130 160 16,040 37,230 550 6,480 7,310 116,320 574,950 2,520 77,770 7,150 58,790 709,500 12,000

LR Warrant

1.910

773,000

SERVICES 2,213,034.00 8,014,560.00 950,930.00 415,250.00 2,168,000.00 8,293,116.00 4,167,610.00 278,200,198.00 35,968,460.00 65,824,976.00 32,983.00 20,362,758.00 1,000,111.00 15,086,850.00 44,525.00 236,927,490.00 7,276,078.00 3,481,946.00 18,158,570.00 1,646,611,867.00 78,520.00 152,850.00 124,130.00 1,636,230.00 58,537,744.00 299,940.00 232,134.00 9,789,830.00 85,660.00 90,989,045.00 6,400.00 4,731,880.00 132,440.00 54,909,390.00 1,451,090.00 19,170.00 37,279,840.00 19,842,918.00 1,271,264.00 36,960.00 2,065,910.00 15,211.00 16,013,173.00 13,388,910.00 583,559,275.00 444,447,180.00 10,885,270.00 134,816,125.00 403,998,865.00 681,077.00 49,329,690.00 4,056,110.00 10,460,600.00 36,695,537.00 2,672,470.00 64,909,784.00

PREFERRED 5,859,805.00 961,000.00 1,909,642.00 784,354.00 949,532.50 810,163.00 1,117,572.00 1,032,000.00 2,645,915.00 1,152,780.00 34,891,155.00 280,325.00 1,446,360.00 13,247.00 158,640.00 16,008,390.00 3,715,370.00 57,126.00 6,334,685.00 550,388.50 8,803,752.50 41,335,737.50 185,592.50 5,815,149.00 521,891.50 4,366,959.00 51,518,305.00 20,410.00

WARRANTS & BONDS 1,456,410.00

2.05 3.15 38.40 1.6 7 0.740 7.240

413,000 554,000 48,220,600 5,826,000 1,699,600 914,000 28,197,600

842,790.00 1,732,940.00 1,818,531,890.00 8,992,320.00 11,972,872.00 694,840.00 203,795,200.00

12.28 20.3 1.32 0.410 0.044 15.78 2.74 11.70 0.0770 81.6

115,900 510,600 259,000 2,500,000 47,500,000 25,000 1,799,000 30,050,400 1,061,520,000 835,070

1,403,704.00 10,663,990.00 342,530.00 1,056,200.00 2,135,600.00 394,500.00 5,018,110.00 354,373,666.00 81,619,590.00 69,258,097.00

6.05 6.84 13.20 890.5 1916 5.73 381.00 2.86 119.5 1.92 10.6 7.09 0.125 5.6400 3.26 15.26 3.39 0.89 20.70

4,760,000 314,100 1,340,600 60 312,490 785,300 11,280 11,958,000 20,434,320 7,000 23,100 44,500 12,850,000 23,163,900 51,000 12,900 2,525,000 967,000 6,650,200

27,951,689.00 2,223,544.00 18,998,850.00 53,430.00 594,948,000.00 4,476,331.00 4,245,344.00 35,653,020.00 2,420,117,527.00 13,450.00 248,960.00 316,010.00 1,633,390.00 126,886,948.00 158,910.00 198,790.00 8,496,900.00 862,180.00 133,864,474.00

0.580 4.94 3.00 1.95 2.15 2.810 9.29 10.48 3.15 4.77 7.5 126.00 2.75 1161.00 1.190 0.870 49.00 84.00 8.70 2.37 0.700 0.42 5.63 0.660 15.440

8,533,000 194,000 7,023,000 275,000 60,000 5,244,000 3,700 172,400 15,000 537,900 1,300 123,010 4,289,000 924,855 114,123,000 21,634,000 1,434,300 7,560,540 145,500 34,466,000 5,563,000 37,180,000 2,538,700 3,492,000 79,028,500

5,142,780.00 918,830.00 21,132,170.00 526,240.00 117,750.00 15,059,970.00 34,184.00 1,792,846.00 47,060.00 2,658,491.00 9,700.00 16,120,712.00 11,889,520.00 1,045,060,835.00 139,159,350.00 19,180,570.00 86,419,745.00 638,417,315.00 1,243,766.00 81,609,040.00 3,905,570.00 15,887,900.00 14,259,585.00 2,319,210.00 1,225,281,584.00

0.0022 1.45 2.90 13.50 1.1800 1.1100 2.35 0.295 7.98 1.490 0.249 0.124 0.125 0.008 0.0082 1.08 2.53 1.05 0.5700 0.9200 0.0120 0.0120 3.99 14.12 0.0120 3.1800 21.60 0.0072

2,331,000,000 8,935,000 416,000 20,800 342,000 872,000 4,339,000 350,000 37,800 9,487,000 10,620,000 9,850,000 250,000 14,000,000 7,000,000 881,000 14,169,000 1,073,000 931,000 1,405,000 481,400,000 128,600,000 3,584,000 4,744,400 349,400,000 124,000 15,821,200 46,000,000

4,894,200.00 13,075,970.00 1,211,490.00 274,938.00 403,820.00 964,800.00 9,896,980.00 103,500.00 295,356.00 14,043,440.00 2,646,000.00 1,195,590.00 31,370.00 115,200.00 58,100.00 976,990.00 37,145,370.00 1,097,210.00 548,060.00 1,301,320.00 5,789,600.00 1,554,300.00 14,288,660.00 67,518,476.00 4,171,800.00 393,230.00 328,644,925.00 336,200.00

20 100 470 490 98.4 104.5 476.8 480 5.57 900 900 95 0.98 101.9 990

151,900 10,720 480 1,710 31,180 600 1,160 4,100 200,300 650 4,180 10,560 326,000 6,320 1,710

3,058,875.00 1,072,000.00 225,580.00 831,618.00 3,052,879.50 61,575.00 522,498.00 1,969,600.00 1,105,901.00 585,000.00 3,753,810.00 1,003,200.00 320,860.00 637,690.00 1,683,110.00

99.5 103.1 971.5 75.4 77 72.5 74 75 73.6 73 74 1.8

6,730 210 1,280 5,520 92,360 75,380 68,860 82,010 4,000 216,910 255,140 1,000

670,555.00 21,683.00 1,244,670.00 415,043.00 7,076,082.50 5,459,652.00 5,062,706.00 6,129,391.50 294,430.00 15,631,570.50 18,726,120.00 1,800.00

1.940

491,000

938,660.00

SME 20,013,786.00 40,947,040.00

5.05 1.38

1,653,100 21,892,000

8,228,980.00 29,161,350.00

Italpinas Xurpas

5.04 1.38

3,864,600 29,589,000

First Metro ETF

119.2

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 37,400 4,409,995.00

116

37,360

4,302,505.00

10.3 10.02 0.99

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 1,600 16,625.00 17,800 179,001.60 22,040 21,840.00

10.4 10.18 0.99

10,810 2,500 11,680

111,983.00 25,450.00 11,563.20

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Oriental Pet. `B’ Boulevard Holdings PremiereHorizon Zeus Holdings Century Property Megaworld Phinma Energy Abacus Cons. `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

VOLUME 1,965,000,000 875,400,000 486,610,000 402,199,000 256,610,000 231,110,000 120,067,600 108,846,000 105,553,000 97,283,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. I.C.T.S.I. SM Prime Holdings Ayala Corp `A’ JG Summit Holdings Metrobank Jollibee Foods Corp. Alliance Global Inc. SM Investments Inc.

VALUE 2,919,940,690.00 1,780,342,847.00 1,646,611,867.00 1,462,889,360.00 1,372,523,080.00 996,276,765.50 929,170,415.00 888,163,812.00 841,133,508.00 782,015,465.00

PSE: Firms not required to disclose price range LISTED companies that plan to sell shares to the public are not required to disclose the price range, consisting of a floor price and a cap, before filing with the local bourse. The Philippine Stock Exchange said in a directive posted on its website on March 22 the new rule covered followon and stock rights offerings, and exchange traded funds. Under the recently-implemented listing rules, an applicant company is required to disclose in the prospectus an offering price range consisting of a floor price and a cap. Listing applications without disclosure of the price range will not be accepted by the PSE The PSE’s current listing rules, however, no longer require the disclosure of a price range for any type of public offering of equity shares. But by practice, listed companies intending to conduct such public offerings normally indicate the maximum number of shares to be offered and the maximum price in its prospectus and other offering documents. “Small investors, in general, fail to recognize that the price disclosed in the offering documents is the ceiling and that the final offer price may be lower than the disclosed price. The investors may expect to realize capital gains considering the difference between the market price and the disclosed maximum offer price,” the PSE said. With the new rule, the PSE said investors would be informed of the possible changes in the final offer price. The last company that conducted a follow-on offering was San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc., which set a maximum offer price of P140 per share. But the final offer price was later pegged at P85 apiece. Companies that have expressed plans to conduct follow-on offerings this year include Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp., Dennis Uy-owned ISM Communications and gaming firm Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. via Asiabest Group International Inc. PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., another company owned by Uy earlier deferred plans to conduct a follow-on offering, saying it was “presented with more strategically suitable alternative options for its funding needs.” No companies so far have expressed plans to conduct rights offering and exchange traded funds this year. Jenniffer B. Austria

Gaisano’s retail chain posts lower profit of P965.4m RETAILER Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. of the Gaisano family reported a 1.2-percent decline in 2018 net income to P965.4 million from P977 million in 2017. The company in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange attributed the weak financial results to the combined effects of the temporary closure of a supermarket and department store that were damaged by fire, the stoppage of a non-performing hypermarket and the rationalization of sales to resellers that were not profitable. As a result, net sales in 2018 declined 5.6 percent to ₱33 billion from ₱35 billion in 2017. The transaction count and average basket size fell 4.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. However, yearon-year same-store-sales growth rose 5.1 percent in 2018. Rental income in 2018 dropped 22 percent to ₱233.8 million from ₱299.9 million in 2017 due to a decrease in net leasable space resulting from the temporary closure of a supermarket and department store. Cost of sales fell 6.5 percent to ₱25.65 million following an improvement in gross margin, as the decline in cost of sales was greater than the decrease in net sales. “The margin improvement was driven by a well-executed enhancement plan that included among others, negotiation with suppliers and rationalization of unprofitable sales to resellers,” MRSGI said. MRSGI at the end of 2018 had 53 department stores, hypermarkets and supermarkets nationwide with a total net selling space of 194,536 square meters. Twelve of the outlets are in Metro Manila, 12 in other parts of the Luzon and 29 in Visayas. The retail company in February signed a joint venture agreement Samar to develop a mixed-use property in the province worth about P472.9 million.

World

PROTEST. Young Moroccan school teachers hold candles as they protest against their current status in the capital Rabat on

March 24, 2019. The police dispersed during the night the gathering of teachers who reportedly attempted to camp in front of the parliament, demanding permanent contracts within the national education system. AFP

National remembrance service for Christchurch CHRISTCHURCH―New Zealand will hold a national remembrance service for the victims of the Christchurch massacre on March 29, the government announced on Sunday, as the country grieves over a tragedy that shocked the world. The service will take place in Christchurch at 10 am (2100 GMT) local time, two weeks after an Australian white supremacist gunned down 50 Muslims and wounded dozens of others during Friday prayers at two mosques in the city on March 15. “The national remembrance service provides an opportunity for Cantabrians (Christchurch-area residents), New Zealanders and people all around the world to come together as one to honour the victims of the terrorist attack,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.

IN BRIEF Second cyclone hits Australia SYDNEY―A severe category 3 cyclone blew into the key mining region of Pilbara in Western Australia Sunday, forcing evacuations and a halt to port operations, as the north of the country dealt with the effects of an even more powerful storm that hit the previous day. Cyclone Veronica weakened from a category 4 storm before its core winds hit the coast near the mining center of Port Hedland, but officials warned the system was slow moving and would continue pounding the region with gale force winds and heavy rain for 24 to 48 hours. The Bureau of Meteorology said Veronica’s forward movement had stalled around midday Sunday before its eye made landfall, and was forecast to weaken to a category 1 storm overnight and then veer west along the coastline. It said the “severe” storm was producing wind gusts of up to 200 kilometers per hour, pushing a storm surge of up to seven feet onto the coast. Rainfall was expected to hit 20-40 centimeters, it said. “Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide mark with damaging waves and very dangerous coastal inundation,” the bureau said. Major mining and energy companies took precautionary steps across the region, a hub of liquefied natural gas and iron-ore exports, with ports cleared of ships and non-essential staff evacuated, according to australianminining.com.au website. AFP

More than 130 killed in Mali massacre BAMAKO, Mali―More than 130 people were killed in an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday, the United Nations said, as a delegation visited the country. Survivors accused traditional Dogon hunters of carrying out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, according to Boubacar Kane, the governor of Bankass district which covers the village. A security source told AFP the victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes. “The Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed,” Antonio Guterres’s spokesman said in a statement, adding he called on Malian authorities “to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice”. The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, said several sources. The district has been the scene of frequent inter-communal violence. AFP

Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old motivated by the white extremist belief that Muslims were “invading” Western countries, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder. The slaughter, which he cold-bloodedly live-streamed, has rocked the normally laid-back country of 4.5 million. “In the week since the unprecedented terror attack there has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country,” Ardern said. “The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values.” The service will be held at Hagley Park in Christchurch, located across the street from the Al Noor Mosque where the kill-

ing spree began. Most victims were gunned down at Al Noor before Tarrant killed seven more at the smaller Linwood Mosque several kilometers away. Police subsequently took over the mosques for investigations and security reasons, but handed them back to the Muslim community on Saturday. The faithful were allowed back into Al Noor shortly afterwards, and on Sunday Linwood re-opened after both sites underwent hasty work to repair bullet holes and clean bloodstains. Present for Linwood’s re-opening was Afghan refugee Abdul Aziz, who was hailed as a hero after he chased Tarrant away from the mosque wielding only a hand-held credit card machine, likely preventing further bloodshed. AFP

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

US on edge over Russia probe findings on meddling W

ASHINGTON―The US public and Washington’s deeply divided political class on Sunday faced another day of anxiously waiting to learn if the key findings of the Russian meddling probe will implicate President Donald Trump in serious wrongdoing. Special Counsel Robert Mueller submitted the confidential final report on his 22-month investigation Friday and Attorney General Bill Barr has been studying the document, which he must summarize for Congress. The Justice Department had told legislators that Barr would not be sending an outline of its “principal conclusions”― expected over the weekend―on Saturday, according to US media. That left the American public still in the dark over what the Mueller investigation uncovered about the president’s ties to Russia and alleged acts of obstruction of justice. Chronic tweeter Trump, who was spending the weekend at his Palm Beach, Florida Mar-a-Lago residence, remained uncommonly silent after spending two years repeatedly labeling Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation an illegal witch hunt.

After the president spent the morning golfing, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley confirmed that they still had not seen the report or been briefed on its findings. Asked how the president felt, Gidley replied: “He’s good.” Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress, many of whom are hoping for evidence to support a presidential impeachment, pressed hard to ensure the report’s full contents are made public, and not just a summary prepared by the Trump-appointed Barr. Neal Katyal, the former Justice Department official who drafted the rules for special counsels, said Barr had no excuse for keeping Mueller’s report secret. “Absolutely nothing in the law or the regulations prevents the report from becoming public,” Katyal said in a Washington Post opinion piece. AFP

Passengers airlifted off cruise ship OSLO―Rescuers were working Sunday to airlift more than 1,300 passengers and crew off a cruise ship after it got into difficulty in rough seas off the Norwegian coast. The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting mid-afternoon Saturday in perilous waters two kilometers off More og Romsdal, prompting the captain to send out a distress call. At that stage, the authorities decided to launch a helicopter airlift in very difficult conditions rather than run the risk of leaving people on board. “We would rather have the passengers on land rather than on board the ship,” police chief Tor Andre Franck said. By early Sunday, the crew had managed to restart three of its four engines. The vessel was making slow headway at two to three knots off the dangerous, rocky coast and a tug would help it towards the port of Molde, about 500 kilometers northwest of Oslo, officials said. Five helicopters were scrambled along with coastguard and other rescue vessels. Police said 338 of the 1,373 people on board had so far been taken off by

helicopter, with each chopper able to take 15-20 people per trip. The airlift was continuing early Sunday, emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said. “I have never seen anything so frightening,” said one of the passengers who was rescued, Janet Jacob. “I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board,” she told the NRK television channel. “The helicopter trip was terrifying. The winds were like a tornado,” she added. Pictures in media reports showed passengers on board as the boat rocked up and down. “We were sitting down for breakfast when things started to shake... It was just chaos,” said another passenger, American John Curry, as quoted in Norwegian by media. The Viking Sky sent out a distress signal due to “engine problems in bad weather”, southern Norway’s rescue centre said earlier on Twitter. The ship was traveling south en route from Tromso to Stavanger when it got into trouble in an area that has claimed many vessels. AFP

CELEBRITY FIGHT NIGHT. Rita Wilson speaks onstage during Celebrity Fight Night XXV on March 23, 2019, in Phoenix, Arizona. AFP

The Lucifer Effect: Is there such a thing as a ’bad employee’? ARMANDO J. AGUADO

GREEN LIGHT THEFT. Habitual tardiness. Absenteeism. Neglect of duty. Workplace harassment. Have you encountered any of the above in the workplace Collectively, these are some examples of a wide range of behaviors known as counterproductive work behavior (CWB), which can negatively affect a company and its operations. I once had a client whose employee, after being a diligent worker for the ﬁrst few years, was later discovered to have been stealing from the company. The reason? He saw an opportunity to earn a little extra on top of the minimum wage he was getting. In this instance, the employee made a conscious choice to do the wrong thing for short-term gain. Is this a case, therefore, of a bad employee or a bad company? The obvious answer is the former—why would the company be at fault when the employee made a choice to steal?Scientiﬁc research will show us, however, that what is seemingly obvious may not always be right. Renowned Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo spoke in detail about a phenomenon called the Lucifer Effect, which talks about the psychological and environmental processes that can make good people do bad things. We’ve always thought that “one bad apple spoils the bunch,” but in reality, it can actually be the other way around—the “bunch” is actually responsible for spoil-

ing the one apple! In the case of my client, was it possible that the company unwittingly contributed to make conditions ripe for the offense to occur? Successfully addressing CWB within your organization requires a deep dive to understand what the likely causes are and the best courses of action available. While every company will have different circumstances and situations, some corporate best practices I have seen over my academic and professional career include: Revisit your company culture. In the stressor-emotion psychological model, counterproductive work behaviors are merely a response to stressors found in the organization. These stressors can include quantitative work overload, role ambiguity, occupational constraints and perceived injustice, to name a few. To guard against these from happening, company leaders must take an active role in promoting a healthy corporate culture. For starters, be clear on your company core values and be conscious about how leaders and employees live it on a day to day basis. Are these values just good on paper, or do you have concrete examples from your employees? Invest in training company managers on how to be open to feedback and to help them understand the importance of having regular check-ins with their teams. Consider also reducing the over-reliance on annual engagement surveys—instead, conduct pulse surveys that are shorter but done more frequently, giving leaders more relevant feedback about how people are feeling at any given time. Having a good corporate culture not only reduces instances of CWB but can also result to

lower turnover, higher employee engagement and better financial performance. 2. Invest in organizational support. Some companies have been undergoing restructures at a painfully frequent rate. There are some where restructures have happened nearly once every financial quarter. This has consequently resulted in work environments riddled with survivors working through anxiety and reduced organizational commitment. To manage this, company leaders should clearly explain the rationale for the restructures and make themselves available to employees who have fears and concerns about their situation. Accepting job losses is hard enough, so don’t subject people to a death by a thousand cuts by not being transparent about the changes and what it means for them. For those who are leaving, explore investing in enhanced outplacement support. In today’s very fast-paced business environment, many employees have come to terms that no job is really 100 percent secure anymore; however, how you communicate this and what kind of support you provide your employees will set your company apart from everyone else. 3. Review your company’s remuneration principles. Whether we like it or not, financial compensation is a major consideration for many people. How a firm compensates its employees can also determine how satisfied and committed they will be. A good example is the practice of many companies to incentivize employees based on the targets they achieve. While incentive and commission schemes can certainly boost one’s sales in the short term, there can be significant long-term damage

if the said schemes are not designed well. Studies have shown that incentives based purely on quantitative targets are more likely to lead to counterproductive work behavior. Rather than going with purely numbers-based targets, consider including behavior-based outcomes too. This allows you to integrate the company core values into the work that your employees do and the rewards they receive for it. From my experience, “integrity” is a favorite among core values—does it really guide your employees in their actions, or is it just another buzzword hung on the wall in the company hallway? The truth of the matter is, as long as there is a human element involved in the workplace, the best we can do is manage incidents of CWB, rather than expect to completely eliminate it. Companies that are not vigilant about the presence of bad behavior can end up creating a culture where CWB flourishes, resulting in lower morale, poorer engagement and higher costs. Rather than having to go on the defensive after the damage has been done, take the proactive step and create that company culture where people want to be and do good. Armando J. Aguadois taking his Doctor of Business Administration studies at De La Salle University Manila. He is an affiliate of the American Psychological Association, and is an HR career professional. He is also a lecturer with the Department of Psychology of Mapúa University. He may be reached at armando_ricardo_aguado@ dlsu.edu.ph. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

Enrile promises renewed dev’t for home region

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor lgu@manilastandard.net editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Olivarez named outstanding mayor by SMI PARAÑAQUE City Mayor Edwin L. Olivarez has been named “Most Outstanding Mayor for 2019” in Metro Manila by award-giving body Superbrands Marketing International Inc. in last Friday’s ceremonies held at The City Club, Makati. Olivarez was credited by SMI for his “Bagong Parañaque” program in e d u c a t io n , poverty reduction, job creation, excellence in governance, and national Olivarez competitiveness programs. Under Olivarez’s leadership, Parañaque reached greater heights with record numbers of investors and businesses coming into the city, with the latest count at over 20,000, which have led to estimated annual gross sales of over P3 billion. A highly urbanized city in southern Metro Manila, Paranaque was also has recognized by the Department of Interior and Local Government as the most compliant local government in Metro Manila for passing four of seven local governance assessment areas for the year 2018. SMI, the world’s largest independent arbiter of branding with programs in more than 90 countries, is the only international award-giving body on marketing/branding in the Philippines. The Superbrands council is composed of luminaries from public relations, civic and institutional organizations being part of the international standard of brands and services category worldwide.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba (inset) leads the Oath of Affirmation of Support to the Government of more than a thousand members of communist and left-leaning organizations at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Alimanao Hills, Peñablanca town. Jessica Bacud

Stop marking NPA day, Pinoys urged

HE group Kilusan at Alyansa ng mga Dating Rebelde, composed of former communist rebels, has called on the country to not celebrate the founding anniversary of the New People’s Army on March 29, saying the men and women killed ﬁghting with and for them could have become responsible and useful members of society.

This developed as Cagayan Governor Manuel N. Mamba expressed joy on the return of former members of leftist groups to the government in oath-taking rites at the provincial capitol last week. “This is a good start in finally winning the fight against the insurgency,” Mamba said, since the continuing problem of NPA rebellion in the province is “frightening investors.” The governor led more than a thousand members of Anakpawis and other left-leaning organizations in an Oath of

Ka Louie, who was a professor in a well-known university, said Apol became his student but was later killed in an encounter in Tanay, Rizal. Ka Louie lasted eight years in the underground movement from the 1980s until 1990. He became the chief of the CPP Regional Youth in the National Capital Region before deciding to bolt the armed organization to finish his studies. Louie said Apol was one of his students and he was surprised when he later learned that she was a member of the communist movement. Apol was a bright and intelligent student, which led Ka Louie to do everything he could to discourage her from continuing in the NPA’s armed struggle, because it would just waste her talent. Jessica Bacud

Affirmation of Support to the government on Friday at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Alimanao Hills, Peñablanca. “I will ensure good governance for your trust and confidence to the government,” Mamba stressed. Meanwhile, KADRE’s “Ka Louie,” who formerly belonged to the Regional Youth of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said joining the NPA has wasted the lives of many people, especially the youth like his former comrade, a woman who took the moniker “Apol.”

Broadcast journalist and senatorial candidate Jiggy Manicad, who presses the flesh in a recent campaign sortie, has called on the government to focus on improving social services and social cohesion in Mindanao.

Manicad: ‘Missing ingredients’ in peace efforts in parts of Mindanao WITH continuing clashes between military forces and Abu Sayyaf and Maute terrorists in Mindanao in past weeks, broadcast journalist and senatorial candidate Jiggy Manicad called on the government to focus on improving social services and social cohesion in the region, nothing that these were “missing ingredients” in the peace efforts there. “There are many similarities in the

narratives I’ve witnessed while reporting on war and attacks in different parts of Mindanao. Many militants are not just encouraged by ideology, but also pushed because of poverty, desperation, isolation, and lack of opportunities,” observed Manicad, who reaped numerous awards in his investigative reporting throughout more than two decades in the field.

Manicad cited a 2018 study from global development firm DAI and USAID that revealed support for violence and extremism can stem from social insecurities and feeling marginalized and discriminated against. The same study, he said, also shows that the belief that the religion of Islam is being attacked - coupled with a tolerance for a culture of guns - are strong

predictors of radicalization. “Let’s look at the services we’re offering there in our schools, hospitals, barangay centers there. As a reporter, I’ve encountered cases of so many ghost projects and ghost government employees,” the journalist recounted, referring to nonexistent projects by local government leader that are, on paper, still funded by taxpayers’ money.

Greenfield, WWF set #AyokoNgPlastik for Earth Hour 2019 AN EXCITING Earth Hour 2019 awaits as Greenfield Development Corporation teams up with World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines for its campaign against plastic, dubbed #AyokoNgPlastik. Two programs will simultaneously take place at Greenfield District, Mandaluyong City and Greenfield City, Sta. Rosa, Laguna starting at 6 PM on March 30. The events will feature the unveiling of the exhibit of Harryn Torres, Arman Guitering, Lloyd Lusica, and Jet Bernal on art and sustainability, where contemporary paintings, drawings, and artworks in mixed media expressing the theme will be displated. Some Earth Hour mementos and non-

plastic merchandise will also be available during the event. Moreover, participants will have the chance to show their support through a Commitment Board. But instead of singleuse paper and post-its, WWF and Greenfield Development Corporation will use glow-in-the-dark paint and pens on a black board to avoid a carbon footprint. An acoustic band is also slated to perform during the celebration. At Greenfield District, Melody MeloRijk, Manager of The Sustainable Diner Project from WWF Philippines, will discuss plastic waste management and its role in helping ease environmental degradation, as the District plans to launch

its sustainability awareness campaign. “Greenfield Development Corporation is a company that takes action towards environmental sustainability, and we’re really eager to do so in a way that everybody will enjoy,” said lawyer Duane AX Santos, General Manager of Greenfield Development Corporation. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own utensils such as metal straws, tumblers or food canisters to lessen wastage. On March 30, head on over to Greenfield District in Mandaluyong City and Greenfield City in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to enjoy a night of art, learning, and fun while being a part of a global effort to save the environment.

FORMER Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile renewed his commitment to strengthen development in his home province of Cagayan and in the “Solid North” by bringing in foreign investments, as his kababayan excitedly greeted him during his campaign tour of the region over the weekend ahead of the May polls. “My foremost objective is to bring more investments here to boost growth in the industries of agriculture, food production, and manufacturing,” Enrile vowed during his rally with voters in Tuguegarao City, who pledged to drum up support for his bid to return to the Senate in the midterm elections. “For instance, the growth of infrastructure, our tilapia industry, fruit industry, and tourism here is continuous, but we need to keep the momentum going. More capital will bring in more jobs, higher income, and more opportunities for all of you,” he said. The Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) candidate vowed to amend the economic provisions of the Constitution once elected to the Senate, to bring in more investments to the Ilocos Region. This would create more jobs, drive up consumption, and fast-track economic progress in the region. “Many of who you work in Metro Manila or abroad don’t have to leave anymore, because your livelihood will be here,” the former Senate President said. The veteran lawmaker also recalled his childhood growing up in the region. “My mother was the stepdaughter of a fisherman here in Gonzaga, in Cagayan, where I was born. Since I was born in 1924, so many things have changed here in the North. There’s progress,” Enrile recalled. “But the people are still burdened by the high prices of goods, the taxes imposed on fuel and other primary commodities, the cost of transportation and electricity. All of these things I intend to investigate and address in the Senate,” he told supporters.

Manila Water: Addition Hills gets clean supply MANILA Water continues to improve its measures to provide water supply to Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City, one of the hardest hit by the water supply shortage in its concession area. At present, about 90 percent of Addition Hills homes are getting clean and potable water from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, benefitting more than 9,000 homes. Manila Water has also completed the declogging of 105 bulk meters from various people’s organizations, installed one 63mm pipe extension for elevated areas and for refilling of static tanks, and placed four static tanks (two 10cu.m. and two 1cu.m.) in Addition Hills Integrated School, DSWD Nayon ng Kabataan, and Addition Hills Barangay Hall. These key locations are scheduled to have water from 9 am to 5 pm. The areas also have dedicated Manila Water tankers to continuously refill the tanks. In monitoring and assessing the water supply of these locations, Manila Water has stationed personnel to continuously evaluate the area for proposed permanent technical and network solutions. All these are aligned with the company’s efforts to bring water availability back to its normal levels at the earliest possible time. Meanwhile, on March 22, Manila Water said supply has been restored to 96 percent of customers of the east concession zone. Water from the tap is now available to 96 percent of Manila Water’s customer base, compared to 80 percent last week, with water supply available from 8 to 12 hours, at least at the ground floor level of their residences. Greenfield Development Corp. teams up with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines for Earth Hour 2019 for its campaign against plastic, dubbed #AyokoNgPlastik, as shown by this poster.

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 advertise@manilastandard.net

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2016

Summer! Special Issue

Your alternative 'Maldives' vacation on a budget

Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort

By Rica Aquino

UMMER may be one of the most anticipated seasons and it’s for a reason!

School's out, and the climate is perfect for a cool splash of some vitamin sea. But not everyone can afford a dream trip to Maldives, the proverbial summer vacation almost everyone is aiming for. We've got just the right alternative as Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort offers something familiar albeit only a couple of hours away from Metro Manila. Stilts Calatagan, located in Batangas, is only within 3 hours of travel from Manila where you can enjoy your “Maldives on a budget” vacation, while still having those Instagram-worthy shots featuring white sands and the bluest waters! The place offers Snorkeling, Beach Hopping, Camping and many more for just P350 to P385 of a day tour! If you want to show those bikinis and build sand castles, the white sand of Stilts has your back! For nature lovers, they offer Mangrove Boat Tour, Island Hopping and Scuba Diving. For those who want something exhilarating, they have ATV rentals and Kayaking. Stilts is also known for its sunset view while camping, where you can rent tents for that real camping feel. Choose from the three main beaches to enjoy the Serenity, Harmony and Destiny, all together with the various activities they offer. And if you have pets, don’t worry. Stilts Calatagan is a petfriendly resort, so you can bring your babies with you and also enjoy the summer break!

Summer! Special Issue

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019 advertise@manilastandard.net

Hirosaki Castle

Maruyama Park

Arakurayama Sengen Park

Places to visit during Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival By Pamela Gunatisi

OOKING to travel internationally this coming vacation? Why don't you try out these "Kawaii" places in the Land of the Rising Sun? And none is more visually appealing of all the amazing things this country offers than its world-famous Cherry Blossoms or Sakura trees. This coming March to May, Japan is all set for the Hanami Festival (also known as Cherry blossom viewing) where the Japanese people gather in the park to see blooming Cherry trees. It’s another season of spring in Japan coming right in the month of March, April and May-the best time to visit Japan, where all of the people are anticipating the yearly natural spectacle. Maruyama Park, Kyoto The park has a picnic place where you can see 10-meter tall cherry trees, with a handful of people performing. It is a good way of relaxing, at the same time communicate with other people. Arakurayama Sengen Park It is a place where you can see a perfect combination of the mountain with a full of snow pagoda (a tall building in japan), lined up by cherry trees. This makes for a perfect snap for your Instagram feed after the challenging 397-step climb to get there. After catching your breath, expect a breath-taking sight as you get a perfect view of Japan's national pride, Mt. Fuji. Hirosaki Castle The Hirosaki Park is an actual castle and is still preserved after 200 years. The castle has since become a Park, and is also Japan’s best spot in viewing Cherry Blossom Trees, 2,500 of which are planted near the castle. Chidorigafuchi Park The 700-meter Chidorigafuchi-Ryokudo walkway along the moat of the Imperial Palace allows you to see Cherry Blossom Trees closely as Chidorigafuchi is most famous for its moat where you can rent boats to admire the pink blooms right from the water.

Chidorigafuchi Park

Summer specials at New World Manila Bay Hotel WE’RE cooking up a feast this month with authentic Korean dishes and barbecue, delectable tofu dishes, gourmet nose-totail dining, specialty summer cocktails, and more. Regional Korean Cuisine at Market Café Classically-trained Korean Chef Airween Verso presents an authentic course of regional Korean specialties from March to April at Market Café. Awaken your taste buds with treasured Korean dishes such as heamul pajeon, yangnyeom chicken, kimchi jeon, galbi jjim, Korean barbecue, and more. Available for dinner from Monday to Thursday and for lunch every Sunday.

Nose-to-Tail Dining at The Fireplace The Fireplace embraces nose-to-tail cooking with a host of enticing new dishes. Put your palate to the test with these delectable dishes such as ox tail soup, crispy pig ears with chili garlic aioli, braised beef cheek and liver ragout served over penne pasta, and breaded tripe over trufﬂed lyonnaise potatoes. Discover a whole new taste – only at The Fireplace. Savor the Flavor at The Fireplace Enjoy bottles of American and French wines that pairs perfectly with chef Ilan Bacher’s dynamic new menu ﬁlled with seasonal and sustainably-sourced ingredients. Welcome March with a bottle of Bread & Butter from Napa Valley, California and Rose Rock from Eolar-Amity hills, Oregon. In April, enjoy select vintages of Ferraton Père et Fils from Rhone, France. Order a bottle of our featured wine for the month and receive a complimentary cheese platter.

Textures of Tofu at Li Li Renowned for its cooling effects to the body and other health benefits, distinctive texture, and unique flavor, tofu adds luscious lightness to any dish. Executive Chinese Chef Raymond Yeung creates a special tofu selection such as fried rice with crispy tofu, salted mustard, and minced pork; braised tofu with seafood in chili sauce, steamed bean curd with cheese, along with signature Chinese classics. A Refreshing Sip of Summer at Li Li Li Li invites you to welcome summer with refreshing sips of specially concocted seasonal fruit cocktails and mocktails. From the sweet pineapple mo-heat-to made with fresh pineapples, cooling mint leaves, refreshing lime juice and rum to a zesty gin up or gin down made with fresh cilantro, refreshing mint, zesty lime and lemon peel, finished with a hint of gin and tonic; you’ll want to try each and every delectable cocktail on the list!

About New World Manila Bay Hotel New World Manila Bay Hotel is a deluxe hotel located at the center of the Manila business district with easy access to business and shopping areas, including Mall of Asia, the largest shopping mall in Metro Manila. The hotel is nearby historical attractions such as Intramuros and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The hotel features 376 guestrooms and suites, Residence Club executive floors, six dining options, outdoor pool, fitness center and spa. Meeting and event space includes a ballroom and four meeting rooms. In recognition of its commitment to providing guests a memorable and comfortable experience, New World Manila Bay Hotel was awarded the #1 hotel in Manila, Best Value Hotel, and 2019 Travelers’ Choice by TripAdvisor. Its Chinese restaurant, Li Li and steakhouse and grill room, The Fireplace, were recognized in 2019 as one of the Philippines’ Best Restaurants by the prestigious publication, The Philippine Tatler. Market Café, the all-day International dining buffet restaurant received the TripAdvisor 2018 Certificate of Excellence for its exemplary cuisine and notable service.

Lola Basyang Bridge

Find Solace at Las Casas ONE doesn’t need a plane ride to go for a retreat and reflect. This Holy Week, let Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar be your safe place to fulfill your Lenten healing traditions. Tucked in the heart of Bagac area, Las Casas is a refreshing oasis for you and your family’s spiritual enrichment made more fitting with its array of Holy Week lenten specials. Titled “Pagninilay: A Lenten Season Offering,” the lineup of activities honors the timeless traditions that Filipinos look forward to especially during this time of the year. From April 14 to 21, 2019, the serene heritage resort offers the perfect retreat for the long holiday. The Lenten Season Offering starts with a Holy Mass and Palm blessing on April 14. Guests are highly encouraged to participate in the heritage resort’s version of Stations of the Cross, Passion of the Christ, Biblical Stories

Hotel de Oriente

Film Showing, Pabasa and Washing of the Feet, Seven Last Words, and Resurrection plotted for the rest of the week. To mark the end of the Season, Las Casas welcomes Easter Sunday with fun-ﬁlled interactive activities for the kids and kids at heart. This includes “On the Hunt: Egg Hunting,” Egg painting and Face Painting, and Bunny Treats: A Cooking Workshop on pastries and simple snacks. Rates start at PHP 650 per head for 12 years and above. Kids from 4 years old to 11 are free of charge. Well-patronized for its elegant yet laidback comforts, this 400-hectare property allows guests to soothe their mind and rejuvenate the soul with its Holiest Deals. Book an overnight stay for April 15 to 17 and slash 20% off from any room or casa’s original price. Meanwhile, book your stay for April 18 to 21 and enjoy an exclusive 15% treat.

Life

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Food

The biggest French dinner in Manila

TOTAL of 27 chefs from hotels and restaurants in the Philippines joined 5,000 others all over the world in the global culinary festival Goût de France / Good France on March 21.

Organized by French embassies in over 150 countries across the globe, including the Philippines, Goût de France / Good France aims to celebrate French cuisine, its traditions, and its values during a grand gastronomic evening on the same date, all over the world. The concept is inspired by the Epicurean Dinners. On March 21, each participating chef served a traditional French menu (following the order of starter, main course, cheeses, dessert, accompanied by French wines and spirits) in their respective restaurants. The menus were required to demonstrate the richness of French gastronomy and may highlight local culinary traditions and ingredients in the Philippines. This year’s edition also dedicated a particular focus on responsible cuisine. Following France’s commitment to the fight against climate change and for environmental sustainability, participating chefs were encouraged to offer “planetfriendly” menus with dishes using less fat, sugar, and salt, expressing greater

concern for “good food” and respect for the planet’s resources. “Goût de France / Good France in the Philippines has grown remarkably since we first organized it with six participating chefs in 2015. This year, we count 27 chefs of different nationalities, diverse professional backgrounds, and based in various parts of the archipelago,” said French Ambassador Nicolas Galey. The chefs who joined included Chef Jacq Tan of Apero and Duck & Buvette, Chef Ariel Manuel of Bistro Manuel, Chef Didier Derouet of Café Adriana by Hill Station (Baguio City), Chef Gene Gonzalez of Café Ysabel, Chef Konrad Walter of The Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room, Chef Vicky Pacheco of Chateau 1771, Chef Jessie Sincioco of Chef Jessie Rockwell Club, Chef David Olyver Virrey of Eiffel Kubo (Malaybalay City), Chef Armand Lafare of Element Boutique Hotel, Chef Martin Kaspar of L’Entrecôte Manila, Chef Bruno Tirel of L’Epicerie Gourmande. Chef Waya Araos-Wijangco of Gourmet Gypsy Art Café, Chef Robert Lilja

27 chefs from the Philippines join 5,000 others from all over the world in this year’s edition of Goût de France / Good France, which celebrates French cuisine.

of Maria Luisa’s Garden Room, Chef Clément Damotte of La Mère Poulard Manila, Chef John Louie Gonzaga of Milagritos Restaurant of TRYP Hotel by Wyndham, Chef Hervé Clair of Raffles Makati’s Mirèio, Chef Trish Panlilio of Mulberry Door, Chef Glenda Maupin

of Petit Bistro, Chef Justin Baradas of Enderun Colleges’ Restaurant 101, Chef Marc Aubry of Sagana French Bistro, Chef Jonathan Bouthiaux of Anya Resort Tagaytay’s Samira, Chef Cocoy Ventura of SGD Coffee Roastery, Chef Julien Cossé of Sofitel Philippine Plaza

Manila’s Spiral Manila, Chef Patrice Freuslon of Tauro Pintxos, Chef Menoy Gimenez of Tito Chef Restaurant, Chef Pierre Cornelis of Vatel Restaurant Manila, and Chef Richard Amado of La Vie Parisienne and La Vie in the Sky (Cebu City).

5-hour duck (Chateau 1771)

Garlic and paprika shrimps (Petit Bistro)

Truffle foam capuccino style (Samira Grill)

Crab and fennel quiche (Restaurant 101)

Smoked salmon dome with asparagus mousseline and poached egg (Spiral Manila)

Lychee-raspberry tart (Restaurant 101)

Malagos dark chocolate pie (Vatel Restaurant Manila)

Pan seared scallops on white asparagus with foie gras (Champagne Room)

Poke bowls and oatsilogs

FOR the foodie who practices abstinence during Lent but still wishes to eat well and eat healthy, Flavors Restaurant of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati has brought back its popular Poke bowls. The all-out-craze for Poke, a beloved Hawaiian staple traditionally made with diced raw fish and toppings such as seaweeds and nuts, began about four years ago with restaurants and pop-up stores all offering the delicious, healthy dish. Poke has definitely gone mainstream, Flavors Restaurant offers the Poke Bowl buffet until April 21. and at Flavors, guests are spoiled for The Poke Bowl buffet is offered on choice with the freshest salmon and white or brown rice. For sauces, the spicy Korean and weekends until April 21 for just P800 tuna slices as well as summer vegetables and even mangoes for a sweet Ponzu work best for me. The Sriracha nett, with an option to enjoy the full lunch or dinner buffet for P1,825 nett. surprise. You can also choose between mayo also goes well with salmon.

***

Crab Cake Oatsilog by Chef JP Anglo

Chicken and Mushroom Oatsilog

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for Filipinos, and there’s nothing like your favorite viand with an egg done the way you like it to partner with a cup of white or garlic rice. But with wellness as the new buzzword, there’s always a need to look for healthy yet quick alternative to the staple meal to kickstart your day. Quaker Oats introduces a new way to make your breakfast even more super with its Oatsilog recipes that will give you all the nutrients you need to power through your day. Silog enthusiasts can easily replace the traditional grain with a cup of oats and an egg or two. Beat one to two eggs with milk and oats, and add your favorite toppings—anything from sardines or corned beef, to chicken and mushroom. And whether you choose to prepare Quaker Oats in a pan or to microwave these in a mug, you’re sure to get your meal in just a few minutes.

Adobo Sardines Oatsilog Serves: 1

Ingredients: 2 pcs ½ tbsp. ½ tbsp. 1 tbsp. 1 tbsp. 2 tsp. 2 pcs 2 tbsp.

eggs milk water soy sauce vinegar bottled garlic sardines, drained and broken up Quaker Quick Cook or Instant Oats salt and pepper, to taste chopped parsley, optional

SIP

1-liter pack of soy health Soy milk is a popular alternative to dairy, especially with those who are lactose intolerant but want to get the Calcium benefits of regular milk. Vitasoy Plus in Original and Oat flavors, which comes in one-liter packs, claims to have high amounts of Calcium and vitamin D, which is important in building and maintaining stronger bones. Each glass of of the soy milk provides 50 percent of an individual’s daily Calcium and vitamin D require- Vitasoy Plus one-liter pack ment. It’s ideal for fitness and wellness enthusiasts as it has zero cholesterol and is low in fat. It is made from high quality non-GMO soybeans and has no added preservatives. Vitasoy Plus is available in groceries and supermarkets nationwide.

Guyabano in a bottle Aside from the guyabano (soursop) fruit, Annona muricata, the tree from which it grows, has other parts that provide health benefits Essential Fruits, Inc., based in Narra, Palawan, manufactures HG Guyabano Tea Leaf Drink, made of steeped dried guyabano leaves, water, and natural sugar cane syrup in 500ml bottle, and soon in 250 ml. The guyabano leaf, when processed into tea, has a natural sweetness and incorporates all the health benefits found in the fruit—and more. It has been known to calm the nerves and boost one’s energy. The taste is both unique and refreshing. It does not contain caffeine.

Procedure: 1. In a mug, beat eggs together with milk and oats. Add the rest of the ingredients and season to taste. 2. Microwave for one minute. Stir all the ingredients and microwave for another minute. 3. Top with chopped parsley. Serve. I’m at joyce.panares@gmail.com.

HG Guyabano Tea Leaf Drink

HG Guyabano Tea Leaf Drink is available at S&R, South Supermarket, SM Kultura, Bo’s Coffee, Landers, Rustan’s department stores, at selected airport stores in NAIA, Cebu, and Palawan, and online at orich.com.ph or tropicalshop.com.ph.

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

Entertainment

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

Watsons' new loyalty card brings exclusive events for its members like the exclusive screening of the blockbuster film 'Captain Marvel' at Mall of Asia's iMax Theater.

Watsons celebrates milestone with ‘Captain Marvel’ screening By Nickie Wang WATSONS Philippines has a lot to celebrate. The brand, known for its “Look Good, Feel Great” mantra plastered on the walls of its 700 plus stores in the country, has ofﬁcially launched Watsons Card, a loyalty card that gives shoppers access to exclusive events, discounts, and deals. According to Viki Encarnacion, Watsons customer director, they decided to formally launch the card to coincide with the regular run of the much-anticipated Hollywood movie, Captain Marvel, to give their shoppers a glimpse of the bigger things to come. “Based on feedback, we learned that our shoppers like to watch movies. Some of them also like music festivals. Perhaps in the future the would host events where we can feature some of the biggest music acts in the country today,” Encarnation told Manila Standard. Referring to the card, the executive shared, “ Shoppers will only need to pay a one-time membership fee of P100 to be a lifetime Watsons Card member. There’s no renewal fees and they can enjoy it for life and have access to discounts and promos at our shops nationwide.” Last year, Watsons launched Watsons Card, its loyalty program that aims to give its customers exclusive

discounts and deals. Cardholders earn points whenever they shop (one point is earned for every P200 spent). They even earn more points when you shop online at www.watsons.com.ph, and get double points for all Watsons Brand products – from personal care to Watsons Generic medicines. “Shoppers get five times points on their first transaction during their birthday month,” Encarnacion added. The executive also shared that apart from shopping credits in the form of points, great deals, and discounts, Watsons Card members also get dibs on new products and invites to member only events like movie block screenings, trips, symposia and a lot more experiential events. “We’re hoping that by September or October, when we mark the first anniversary of the Watsons card, we can bring cardholders on an actual cruise,” said Jay Soliman, Watsons CRM controller, “And that’s just one of the big announcements that we have.” Talking about the big announcement, Encarnacion said that Watsons started selling the membership card in September last year and they now have more than 800,000 members. “We are expecting the one millionth member by next month. It’s going to be a big announcement,” Encarnacion revealed.

The cast of ABS-CBN's latest soap that airs starting today.

New child star Sophia Reola to bring joy every morning

Child actors Miguel Vergara, Heart Ramos, and Krystel Mejes

BS-CBN offers another touching story of a child who will remind viewers of the importance of forgiveness to save the family in the new daytime series,Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit, premiering today.

From left: Watsons Senior CRM Manager Loi Sanchez, Customer Director Viki Encarnacion, and CRM Controller Jay Soliman.

From left: GMA Artists Klea Pineda, Joaquin Manansala, and Ashley Ortega at the official launch of Watsons new loyalty card, which gives holders access to special events, exclusive promo, and discounts.

Child star Sophia Reola topbills 'Nang Ngumiti Ang Langit,' a daytime series that tackles the struggles of a child who just wants to be loved by the people she considers her family.

‘ONE HUGOT AWAY’ makes hearts flutter via digital format WHETHER it be falling in or out of love, Filipinos have the penchant for hugot lines and stories—the more emotionallycharged and relatable, the more Pinoys are drawn to these. From the same group that continues to make groundbreaking and award-winning documentaries and programs comes One Hugot Away featuring digital love stories set to make hearts flutter beginning today. Produced by GMA Public Affairs, One Hugot Away brings to life short film love stories made for digital format, which will also be shown on television. The series will be available on GMA Network’s Facebook and YouTube accounts while snippets will also be aired on GMA 7 all throughout the day. For its first offering, One Hugot Away

will have Kapuso actors Shaira Diaz and David Licauco banner the story of Ella and Ben entitled “Walang Label.” Ella and Ben have gotten really close spending time together for the past six months. Ella admits they “enjoy” each other’s company. But it boggles her that while Ben shows they are more than friends, he is not consistent with his actions. What will happen once she confronts Ben about the label of their relationship if there is one? Snippets of this short ﬁlm will be seen on TV during commercial gaps of Kapuso Movie Festival, Wowowin, and My Golden Life. Netizens, on the other hand, will be able to catch the two-part story at 7:00 p.m.. But viewers will have to wait until March

28 during the timeslot of My Golden Life to know what will be the ending of Ella and Ben’s story. Netizens on the other hand, can watch the finale on March 29 at 12:00 noon. The first One Hugot Away short film is written by James Estrada and directed by Zig Dulay. The Clash alumna Muriel Lomadilla sang the theme song entitled “Bakit ‘Di Na Lang Tayo,” which was composed by Roxanne Fabian and mixed by Andrea Cullla under GMA Post Music Production. Go ahead, indulge in your deepest ‘‘Hugot” moments. Catch One Hugot Away on GMA Network’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/GMANetwork) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/ GMANetwork) accounts and on GMA 7.

Directed by FM Reyes and Marinette Natividad-de Guzman, Nang Ngumiti ang Langit is led by premiere actors RK Bagatsing, Cristine Reyes, Kaye Abad, Enzo Pineda, Pilar Pilapil, Ces Quesada, Matet de Leon, and Keempee de Leon. Also joining the daytime series are child stars Heart Ramos, Miguel Vergara, and Krystal Mejes. Viewers will get to see a new face that will light up their mornings in Mikmik (Sophia Reola), an enthusiastic girl who grew up with her loving mother Ella (Kaye Abad). Their happy lives are disrupted when her mother gets ill with leukemia. In her pursuit to help her mother live, she learns the truth that her mother is an illegitimate child of the Salvadors, one of the wealthiest families in the country. She tries to ask for help from Divina (Pilar Pilapil), the Salvador matriarch, but she will be turned down until her mother dies. She then decides to live with the Salvadors in the hopes of being accepted and to ﬁnd the love she received from her mother. But as soon as she steps in the house of the Salvadors, Divina and Katrina (Cristine Reyes) make sure that Mikmik pays for her father’s sin, Michael (RK Bagatsing), son of their mortal enemy, who was accused of killing Divina’s son and Katrina’s husband, Eric (Rafa Siguion-Reyna). Until when will Mikmik pay for the sins that are not hers? Will her dreams of having a complete family come true? When will she meet her father? Another unforgettable story will be offered under the production of Ruel S. Bayani, who is behind the highly talked about series Wildﬂower, Hawak Kamay, Langit Lupa, Two Wives, Pasion de Amor, Halik, Precious Hearts Romance Presents :Araw Gabi, and Magpahanggang Wakas. Kapuso David Licauco and Shaira Diaz star in the first offering of 'One Hugot Away,' which brings to life short film love stories made for digital format and will also be shown on television.