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MAGALONG WARNS: 13 ‘NINJA COPS’ COULD END UP DEAD By Francisco Tuyay and Maricel V. Cruz

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 244 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

WITH the resignation of then Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde, the 13 policemen under him tagged as “ninja cops” could be in danger, a former ranking police official said Tuesday. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the former commander of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said the cops should come out in the open and reveal everything about the

2013 drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga, in which they allegedly kept 160 kilos of shabu for reselling. “I hope that those involved in the 2013 drug bust in Mexico, Pampanga will finally realize they’re on their own and I hope some of them will start talking,” said Magalong, who spilled the beans about the ninja cops during a Senate hearing. He warned that they could end up dead, like civilian agents who participated in that raid. Next page

SUPPORTERS ALL. Supporters of both Vice President Leni Robredo (right/inset) and backers of former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left/inset) gather Tuesday in front of the Supreme Court, which sits as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, to await the announcement of the high court’s decision on Marcos’ electoral protest in the 2016 vice presidential polls. AFP

VP recount results out

PET keeps Marcos protest alive; Robredo frustrated

Tainted drug war should come to an end, AI says

By Rey E. Requejo and Rio N. Araja

ICE President Leni Robredo on Tuesday expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court did not dismiss outright the election protest filed against her by former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who saw this as a positive sign that his case was still alive.

By MJ Blancaﬂor and Francisco Tuyay PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte should end his campaign against illegal drugs since it has been tainted with controversies that even led to the resignation of the Philippine National Police chief OscarAlbayalde, Amnesty International said. In a statement issued Monday, AI Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia Nicholas Bequelin said Albayalde’s resignation is the “last blow to the credibility of the so-called war on drugs.” “The Philippines authorities must ensure that justice is done and that this lawless and murderous campaign ends now,” he said. Albayalde stepped down as chief of the 190,000-strong police force on Monday, earlier than announced, as he

The Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, did not issue a decision on the protest as many had expected it would, but instead ordered the release to both camps the report on the recount, revision and appreciation of ballots in three provinces—Iloilo, Camarines Sur and Negros Oriental, which Marcos had identified as pilot areas in his protest. Next page

ASF deals P150-m loss to Pampanga By Jess Malabanan CITY OF SAN FERNANDO―The Pampanga swine industry has lost P150 million since the African swine fever virus broke out, an all-time high compared to the previous years, an official said Tuesday. “Since August this year the losses have reached about P150 million and counting because of the low demand and poor sales,” said Trinidad Gonzales, spokesman of the Pampanga Swine Producers Association. “The industry will collapse if this situation persists,” Gonzales said. Next page

WARM WELCOME. Gold medalists all—(from left) boxer Nesthy Petecio, gymnast Carlos Yulo, and pole vaulter EJ Obiena—take center stage during a news conference at the Century Park in Manila, detailing for their countrymen who have been upbeat about their individual achievements to earn their respective qualifying posts for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Peter Atencio

One-third of 700-m kids undernourished—UN A THIRD of the world’s nearly 700-million children under five years old are undernourished or overweight and face lifelong health problems as a consequence, according to a grim UN assessment of childhood nutrition released Tuesday. “If children eat poorly, they live poorly,” said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore, unveiling the Fund’s first State of the World’s Children report since 1999. “We are losing ground in the fight for healthy diets,” Fore added. In Southeast Asia, a diet heavy on cheap, modern food like instant noodles that fills bellies but lacks key nutrients has left millions of children unhealth-

Dead man’s prank GRAVEYARD humor—with a dead man, identified as Dubliner Shay Bradley, pulling a piece of mischief which left tearyeyed mourners at his funeral rising instead to echoes of their own laughter. Turn to A3

ily thin or overweight, experts say. The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have booming economies and rising standards of living, yet many working parents do not have the time, money or awareness to steer clear of food hurting their kids. In those three nations, an average of 40 percent of children aged five and below are malnourished, higher than the global average of one-in-three, according to the UNICEF report. “Parents believe that filling their children’s stomach is the most important thing. They don’t really think about an adequate intake of protein, calcium or fibre,” Hasbullah Thabrany, a public health expert in Indonesia, told AFP. Next page

Trump’s ‘horrific’ phone calls By MJ Blancaﬂor US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s phone call to President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 congratulating the latter for an “unbelievable job on Turn to A3

3 magistrates shortlisted for Chief Justice By Rey E. Requejo THE Judicial and Bar Council has submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte a shortlist of three Supreme Court associate justices who are aspiring for the post to be vacated by Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Oct. 18. Bersamin, who leads the sevenmember JBC, nominated Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe and Andres Reyes Jr. Peralta and Bernabe received seven votes and Reyes four votes. The fourth nominee, Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., failed to get the needed votes to be included in the shortlist. Next page

Andres Reyes

Estela Bernabe

Diosdado Peralta

Booker Prize joint winners JUDGES tore up the rule book on Monday, awarding the prestigious Booker Prize for Fiction jointly to Canadian author Margaret Atwood for “The Testaments” and AngloNigerian author Bernardine Evaristo for “Girl, Woman, Other.” Turn to A3

News

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

AFP backs selective ML coverage A RMED Forces of the Philippines spokesman Edgard Arevalo said Tuesday the military supports a selective coverage of martial law in Mindanao as the peace and order situation in some areas there has improved.

“We have articulated our support to the selective coverage of martial law as deemed warranted by the local chief executive and validated by our operational commanders on the ground,” Arevalo said in a statement.

Vagrant falls onto MRT 3 tracks; trips disrupted By Joel E. Zurbano and Darwin G. Amojelar THE Metro Railway Transit-3 were disrupted Tuesday afternoon after a man fell onto the tracks between Ayala Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue stations in Makati City. Mas Sandamon, 21, a resident of Marang Sumisip, Basilan, died on the spot from severe head injuries after he reportedly jumped and fell onto the tracks at 12:30 p.m. The MRT management is investigating if Sandamon, whom they described as a vagrant, jumped or accidentally fell onto the tracks. Trains operated only between the North Avenue station in Quezon City and the Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong City for about two hours. The incident added to the traffic buildup in parts of EDSA, the Metro Manila Development Authority said. This was the second time in two years that a man jumped onto the MRT tracks. In March 2017, the MRT 3 trips from Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City and vice versa were suspended after a passenger jumped onto the tracks at Guadalupe Station in Makati City. MRT personnel rescued the passenger lying underneath of the third coach of the train, which was running when he jumped. Also in November 2017, the right arm of a 24-year-old information technology firm employee was sliced off in an accident at the MRT Ayala Station. But attending doctors successfully reattached the limb of Angeline Fernando at the Makati Medical Center hours after the accident. Reports said Fernando had just gotten off the train at MRT 3 Ayala Station when she felt dizzy and fell on the tracks. Lawmakers expressed concerns over the safety of commuters who endure the long lines and the loss of service when riding the MRT trains. The MRT-3 line serves 13 stations starting at North Avenue and ends at Taft Avenue, serving the cities that EDSA passes through: Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay. It started its operation in 1999 as the country’s second rapid transit line in Metro Manila. It forms part of the rail transport infrastructure, including the Manila Light Rail Transit System composed two lines which are the LRT 1 and MRT 2, and the Metro Commuter Line of the Philippine National Railways. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation said it has deployed one of the trains made by Chinese Dalian for a limited run starting Tuesday. The DOTr said Dalian train set equivalent to three train coaches were expected to hit the tracks of MRT 3 mainline during evening off-peak hours, from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. starting Oct. 15. The move came after MRT 3’s Japanese maintenance provider, Sumitomo Corp.,Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-TES Philippines, signed on Monday a consent for the limited deployment of one Dalian train set.

ASF... From A1

He said his group, with the help of the provincial government, had embarked on an information campaign for the public to know that Pampanga’s livestock was not infected by the ASF. Pampanga is the third largest producer of hogs in Central Luzon. As a way of helping the swine industry, the provincial government led by Gov. Dennis Pineda held Tuesday the first-ever “Pork Festival,” where 60 roast pigs, hundreds of kilos of tocino and hotdogs and barbecues were served during a boodle fight at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center. The event, Pineda said, was part of the provincial government’s efforts to increase the level of awareness of the public that pork is safe for human consumption. He said ASF was not a communicable disease. “It is safe to eat pork,” Pineda said, but added that pork must be cooked properly before it is served. The organizers of the “Pork Festival” invited speakers from line government agencies including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and the National Meat Inspection Service.

He cited Eastern Mindanao Command head Filemon Santos’ support for the lifting of military rule in Davao City following a recommendation from Mayor Sara Duterte. But Arevalo said while the military

VP recount... From A1

Court spokesman Brian Kieth Hosaka said the Court also ordered both parties to submit their comment on a move by the Marcos camp to include the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Maguindanao in the recount. Neither side would receive the recommendation by justice-in-charge Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, whom sources said had called for the dismissal of Marcos’ protest. The PET did not confirm this recommendation, however, nor say how the voting went, but reports said Senior Justice Antonio T. Carpio and Caguioa dissented from the majority decision to release the recount report because Marcos “failed to make substantial recovery in the three pilot provinces.” Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, who is retiring on Oct. 18, and Carpio, who is also retiring on Oct. 26, can no longer participate in the resolution of the Marcos election protest. The Court will go on its decision-writing period from Oct. 18 to Nov. 3 and will resume sessions on Nov. 4. Thereafter, it will go on recess for the Christmas holidays and return to work after the New Year. The manual recount and revision of ballots in 1,400 boxes from 5,418 clustered precincts in the three pilot provinces were finished by the PET last year. Marcos questioned the results in 132,446 precincts in 27 provinces and cities. He identified the provinces of Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental with 1,400 ballot boxes in 5,415 clustered precincts for the initial phase of the recount and revision. Robredo also filed a counter-protest against Marcos involving 31,278 precincts. The two cases were later consolidated. Based on the 2016 election results, Robredo was declared winner in the vice

Magalong...

From A1 “They have to make sure that nothing happens to them. Because only one is in jail, only [Rodney] Baloyo. The rest are still performing functions as policemen or floating status. If you look at the civilian agents involved, all of them are all already dead, they were killed. Anything can happen,” he told a TV interview. The 13 policemen under Albayalde were reassigned to different parts of Luzon, among then Major Rodney Baloyo, who was posted in Tagaytay City. Baloyo is currently detained at the New Bilibid Prison after the Senate found him in contempt for lying during a hearing on the ninja cops. Reports revealed that a Chinese drug lord, Johnson Lee, was arrested following the seizure of the drugs but the policemen set him free in exchange for P50 million. At present, Magalong said, the 13 ninja cops will not get any protection from any government agency and even from their colleagues in the PNP. He said they have one option left, which is to apply for witness protection. Magalong also dismissed Albayalde’s threat of legal action against him, calling this a smokescreen to cover his deception. In his testimony before the Senate, Magalong said Albayalde had intervened to save the 13 ninja cops from dismissal. PNP OIC Archie Gamboa said the ninja cops will face other charges arising from the switching of drug suspects and hiding the truth behind the 2013 anti-narcotics operation.

One-third... From A1

supports the calls made by Sara Duterte on the lifting of martial law in Davao City, the final decision was still up to President Rodrigo Duterte. Reports said the presidential daughter was considering sending letters to the House of Representatives and Department of National Defense asking them to exempt Davao City from martial law. The mayor has already sent a letter to the Office of the President. In a separate interview with reporters, Santos said the peace and security

situation in Davao City was normal. Santos is in favor of the selective implementation of martial law as he admitted that other areas in Mindanao still had security problems. Mindanao has been under martial rule since May 2017. Military rule was declared over the entire island group in response to the ISIS-inspired Maute Group’s attempt to establish a caliphate in Marawi City. It was initially valid only for 60 days, but President Duterte requested to extend it thrice.With PNA

presidential race with 14,418,817 votes or 263,473 more than the 14,155,344 votes garnered by Marcos. Earlier, Robredo asked the PET for a copy of the summary and committee reports on the recount and revision of ballots in the three provinces, saying this would put an end to the speculation. Supporters and allies of Marcos and Robredo gathered at the Supreme Court grounds early Tuesday morning, in anticipation of a PET decision on the poll protest. Marcos welcomed Tuesday’s action. “I am happy because my electoral protest (against Robredo) will continue. The Court rejected the recommendation of Justice Caguioa to dismiss the entire petition,” Marcos said. “So this means that the case is alive and will continue. We will pursue our case until we are able to present all our evidence before the electoral tribuna.” In August, Marcos accused Caguioa, the member-in-charge of his protest, of being biased. Marcos added that Robredo has already robbed him of three years out of a six-year term. “Of course it’s frustrating but what are you going to do? You have to trust the wisdom of our justices and besides the case is complicated; it is the first time any presidential protest has arrived at this stage,” Marcos said. Marcos filed his protest in 2016, claiming that Robredo won through electoral fraud. At a news conference, Robredo said she was “half relieved” by Tuesday’s order, saying this would help promote transparency in the case. But she also said she was dismayed that the protest against her election victory had not been dismissed. “He [Marcos] selected the three provinces which best exemplify fraud. In accordance with Rule 65 of the PET, these would be the basis of a recount. Should there be no substantial recovery, the protest must be dismissed,” Robredo said. “[And] Now, he is requesting additional

areas—Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Basilan—to be included in the recount,” she added. Congress, she said, had already declared her the winner. “What more does he need to make him believe that he did not win?” she asked. Hosaka on Tuesday identified Carpio and Caguioa as the dissenters but could not say why they dissented from the majority decision, but court insiders said the two justices felt Marcos had not made a substantial recovery after the tallies in the three pilot provinces were made. They invoked PET rules that provide that a protest may be dismissed without considering other provinces mentioned if there is no substantial recovery from the chosen pilot provinces. Romulo Macalintal, counsel for the Vice President, said that Carpio and Caguioa’s dissent is proof that they are correct in saying that there was no substantial recovery of Marcos votes in the three pilot provinces. While Macalintal said that while there was a departure from PET rules, he remained optimistic. The majority of the justices who voted to release the committee report were Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin and Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Leonen, Andres Reyes Jr., Alexander Gesmundo, Ramon Paul Hernando, Rosmari Carandang, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Henri Inting, and Rodil Zalameda. Malacañang on Tuesday said it will respect and abide by the decision of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal on the electoral protest case filed by Marcos. “Whatever the decision on the court, we will, we should abide by it,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in Malacañang. “We never interfere with the function and duty and work of any co-equal branch as well as independent constitutional bodies, so, we’ll leave it at that,” Panelo added. With MJ Blancaflor

He said the former Pampanga cops are likely to be criminally and administratively charged. Also on Tuesday, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles said the ninja cops controversy highlighted the need to strengthen the internal affairs mechanism of the PNP. Nograles said that under the present set-up, the brotherhood system among members of the PNP has diminished the integrity of the existing internal affairs service amid allegations of a cover-up by top police officials of the wrongdoings of their subordinates. Nograles said the ongoing Senate probe on so-called “ninja cops” which tagged Albayalde as a protector should now compel Congress to separate the power and authority of the internal affairs service from the sphere of influence of the entire PNP leadership including the director general. In filing House Bill 3065, Nograles seeks to amend the Republic Act 8551 or Philippine National Police Reform Reorganization act of 1998 to create an Internal Affairs Service that is outside of the PNP chain-of-command. “The Internal Affairs Service of the PNP is an essential part of the disciplinary mechanism of the PNP. It serves as the monitoring body of the character and behavior of all policemen and operates as the investigating and adjudicatory body on all administrative offenses committed by PNP personnel,” Nograles said in his bill. “As the office that oversees the conduct of the uniformed personnel, the IAS should be free from influence, pressure and intervention from the chief PNP, and other high-ranking PNP officers in adjudicating administrative cases,” Nograles said.

To give some sense of scale to the problem, Indonesia had 24.4-million children under five last year, while the Philippines had 11 million and Malaysia 2.6 million, UNICEF data show. Mueni Mutunga, UNICEF Asia nutrition specialist, traced the trend back to families ditching traditional diets for affordable, accessible and easy-to-prepare “modern” meals. “Noodles are easy. Noodles are cheap. Noodles are quick and an easy substitute for what should have been a balanced diet,” she told AFP. “Poverty is the key issue,” said T. Jayabalan, a public health expert in Malaysia, adding that households where both parents

Tainted... From A1

fought allegations that he had protected his men accused of selling seized narcotics. He decided to relinquish his post to go into non-duty status, which means he will not perform any task as a police official, until he officially retires from the police service on Nov. 8. Albayalde has been accused of protecting his men accused of keeping part of illegal drugs confiscated in a drug raid in 2013 when he was still Pampanga police chief. Duterte has asked him—through Interior Secretary Eduardo Año—to go on terminal leave in the wake of the allegations, said Senator Christopher Go, a close aide of the President. The scandal, the AI said, shows that “impunity” is entrenched in the institutions supposed to uphold human rights and the rule of law. Thousands of people have been killed in a wave of state-sanctioned violence since the start of Duterte’s presidency in 2016, which the AI said reached the threshold of crimes against humanity. The government, however, said that the alleged ninja cops—a term used for policemen selling seized narcotics—does not undermine the credibility of the drug war. In Malacañang, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo has maintained that the President will respond to the results of the investigation in accordance with the law. “The President is the number one enforcer of the law, so if there is evidence against any wrongdoing, then it behooves the government to file and prosecute,” he said. Senators said that Albayalde is not yet off the hook despite his resignation. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee headed by Senator Richard Gordon may endorse the filing of criminal charges against the former police chief, including for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act. Gordon said the committee is now finalizing its report that he hoped would be given due attention by the President as well as by the Department of Justice. Albayalde’s interim replacement, P/Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa, said the PNP was winning the war on drugs, despite the ninja cops scandal. He acknowledged, however, that morale was low because of the scandal. Gamboa told the ANC news channel the investigation into the ninja cops would be “100-percent graft-free” and “bias-free.” He said regaining the credibility of the PNP was a major challenge. With Joel E. Zurbano

work need quickly made meals. Problems that once existed at opposite ends of the wealth spectrum have today converged in poor and middle-income countries, the report showed. Despite a nearly 40-percent drop from 1990 to 2015 of stunting in poor countries, 149 million children four or younger are today still too short for their age, a clinical condition that impairs both brain and body development. Another 50 million are afflicted by wasting, a chronic and debilitating thinness also born of poverty. At the same time, half of youngsters across the globe under five are not getting essential vitamins and minerals, a longstanding problem UNICEF has dubbed “hidden hunger.” AFP

3Frommagistrates... A1

The JBC also submitted to the Office of the President copies of the nominees—curriculum vitae. Peralta is the most senior associate justice of the three aspirants. If appointed, he will serve as Chief Justice until March 27, 2022. He has been associate justice for more than a decade and was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the high court on Jan. 13, 2009. Bernabe will retire on May 14, 2022. She graduated salutatorian from the Ateneo College of Law and passed the Bar in 1976. She served as a judge in the local courts

House leaders chalk up 82% attendance By Maricel V. Cruz HOUSE Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, together with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, posted an 82-percent attendance record during the first two months of the first regular session of the 18th Congress. Cayetano and Romualdez were both present during the first two months of the present Congress, or from July 22 to Sept. 23. Meanwhile, a congressman from Bicol said Tuesday the leadership of the House of Representatives was confident that an economic expansion of 6 percent or above―as targeted by President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team—was possible and could happen by further increasing state spending in the last quarter. Deputy Speaker for finance Luis Raymund Villafuerte made the statement in response to the World Bank’s projected 5.8-percent growth in the gross domestic product of the Philippine economy this year, which it described as laudable. Sept. 23 was the last day when a journal was posted in the House website and 234 House members attended the session. The journals of proceedings showed an average of 246 of the 300 lawmakers attending the session or 20 session days, when Cayetano or the presiding officer ordered a roll call. It was on July 22, or during the election of the Speaker, when the House of Representatives recorded up 297 lawmakers attending the session, the highest number of members present. Based on the records, only three House members were absent on the first day of session on July 22: Sultan Kudarat Rep. Bai Sakaluran, DIWA Party-list Rep. Michael Aglipay, and former Marino Party-list Rep. Jose Antonio Lopez. Last Sunday, Marino Party-list Rep. Sandro Gonzalez announced that Macnell Lusotan would assume his post as the second representative of the party-list after he was officially sworn in by Cayetano on Nov. 4, when the House resumes its session. Marino won two seats in the 2019 elections but Lopez resigned for personal reasons. On July 23 or the second day of session, the second highest attendance of 268 was recorded, followed by 266 on Aug. 13, 259 on Aug. 27 and 257 on July 31. Based on the records, the lowest attendance of 185 was recorded on Aug. 20, a Tuesday, or the day sandwiched by holidays where the House decided to convene. Aug. 19 was a holiday in Quezon City, where the House is located, while Aug. 21 was Ninoy Aquino Day. Lawmakers held sessions until the first week of October, but the journals for the last few session days were not yet shown in the House website. Upon Cayetano’s instruction, Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero of 1-Pacman said the House leaders led by Romualdez performed excellently in passing vital pieces of legislation to help President Rodrigo Duterte realize his vision of a better Philippines. “The Speaker and all of us wanted to avoid the delay that we had this year in enacting the current national budget. It really took its toll on the economy and our people. It slowed down economic growth," Romero said. Ako Bisaya Party-list Rep. Sonny Lagon, whose party-list is allied with the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats where Romualdez is president, commended his colleagues for their dedication to their legislative duties as shown by the impressive attendance record. “Despite the spate of holidays, lawmakers chose to attend to their congressional work instead of going on an extended break. This is due to the strong and competent leadership for keeping the House of Representatives on track in achieving its legislative agenda and priorities,” Lagon said. “This attendance record is unsurpassed, historic, and a testament to the determination and patriotism of the legislators, under the guidance of the present leadership.” Despite the recent hotly contested speakership race, Romualdez said House leaders delivered President Duterte’s legislative agenda after processing 220 measures in 20 session days. of Makati before she was appointed to the Court of Appeals and later to the Supreme Court.Reyes is due to retire on May 11, 2020. He is considered as a third-generation justice since his father is the late Justice Andres Reyes Sr., a former presiding justice of the Court of Appeals. His grandfather, Alex Reyes Sr., was a justice of the appellate court and later of the Supreme Court. Bersamin aside, the JBC is composed exofficio members Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Senator Richard Gordon and members Jose Mendoza representing the retired high court justices, Toribio Ilao Jr. representing the private sector, Noel Tijam representing the academe, and Franklin Demonteverde representing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

News

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH, US, Japan begin maritime exercises in P. Princesa

ROUGE COP.

The National Bureau of Investigation has arrested PO2 Jhune Restie Elias Olarte, a policeman assigned to the PNP Malabon Police District for illegal sale of firearms during a buy-bust operation in Quezon City on Oct. 11. The suspect was able to obtain high-caliber guns. Norman Cruz

PHAP vows to help DOH bring down medicine prices THE Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines on Tuesday said it was seeking an audience with Health Secretary Francisco Duque to discuss how to widen health care coverage and lower medicine prices. The association, which groups researchbased pharmaceutical and health care firms, wants to discuss possible areas of cooperation on special medicine pricing for patients to lower total treatment costs by as much as 84 percent. “We are reaching out to the government as a partner so that it does not have to resort to price control which could be contentious and counter-productive as other countries that have tried it had found out,” said Teodoro Padilla, executive director of PHAP. The pharmaceutical and health care companies include brands such as Abbott, GSK, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Zuellig Pharma. According to PHAP, the Universal Health Care Act already covers the procurement of drugs which will eventually translate to lower prices. “If more resources are allocated to the health of the people, the poor will benefit which is the essence of Universal Healthcare,” Padilla said. President Rodrigo Duterte in February signed into law the Universal Health Care Act, which automatically enrolled all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program.

Chinese nabbed for possessing P2.5-m wood By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday said a Chinese national was nabbed for illegal possession of 14 kilos of agarwood valued at P2.5 million in Quezon City. Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu lauded the apprehension of Qing Nan Lin by the operatives of the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade (Task Force POGI0 under the DENR on Oct. 1 after a nine-kilometer pursuit operation that ended outside a Chinese temple at 81 P. Tuazon St. along the corner of Banawe and Calamba streets. “We can only go from strength to strength for as long as we can rely on increasing public vigilance against environmental crimes as shown by this recent arrest,” Cimatu said. The contraband is now in the custody of the office of Task Force POGI in the Biodiversity Management Bureau. Rogelio Demellestes Jr., senior ecosystems management specialist, said initial investigations pointed to the forests of Samar or Leyte as the sources of the rare wood. “Reports also indicate that tree poachers operating in the forests of Surigao and Butuan are also sources of this priceless wood product,” he said. The quality of the seized agarwood could be sold at P180,000 a kilo, he said. Also arrested in the sting operation were Jonathan Guzman and a certain Roberto Intes, both Filipinos.

By Rey Requejo

7 in Dormitorio’s death to undergo court martial S EVEN cadets described as suspects in the hazing death of Cadet Fourth Class Darwin Dormitorio of Cagayan de Oro will undergo court martial proceedings, Philippine Military Academy Corps of Cadet commandant Brig. Gen. Robert Brawner Jr. said Tuesday. “They need to undergo court martial for the administrative case against them; it looks like they will be charged with violating Articles of War 97 (particularly on) conduct unbecoming of a gentleman, an officer,” Brawner told reporters. The composition of the court martial, which would include a law member, also a military officer, has not been announced, pending the order creating the general court martial. Brawner said the seven cadets would be in the custody of the military academy in Baguio City while the court martial would be conducted. PMA spokesperson Captain Cheryl Tindog, for his part, underlined the seven cadets would be placed under court martial proceedings as they were covered by the regulations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Tindog said the cases of the five other suspects, who includes two tactical officers and three PMA physicians, were still being evaluated by the AFP if they would also be placed under court martial proceedings. On Oct. 8, Dormitorio’s family filed a complaint against the suspects involved in the death of the 20-year-old cadet. The suspects were identified as: Cadet First Class Axl Rey Sanopao, Cadet Second Class Christian Zacarias, Cadet Third Class Shalimar Imperial, Cadet Third Class Felix Lumbag, Cadet Third Class Julius Carlo Tadena, Cadet Third Class Rey David John Volante and Cadet Third Class John Vincent Manalo. They are facing murder charges as well as cases for violating the Anti-Hazing and Anti-Torture laws.

The tactical officers were identified as Major Rex Bolo and Captain Jeffrey Batistiana, charged as “accomplices” for violating the Anti-Hazing Law and “principals” for violating the AntiTorture Law. They were also charged with dereliction of duty. Captain Flor Apple Apostol, Major Maria Ofelia Beloy and Lieutenant Colonel Cesar Candelaria, physicians at the Philippine Military Academy, were also charged with dereliction of duty. Charges for supposedly being “accomplices” for violating the AntiHazing Law were raised against Apostol and Beloy. Dormitorio’s family believed the three doctors should all be indicted as “accessories” for violating the AntiTorture Law. The plebe was declared dead on arrival at the hospital on Sept. 18, with the autopsy showing the victim bore severe bruises in the different parts of his body. Police investigation also revealed Dormitorio’s upperclassmen had been mistreating him since August.

THE United States Navy, Philippine Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force launched Monday a joint Maritime Training Activity dubbed “Sama Sama” in Puerto Princesa. The holding of the third “MTA Sama Sama” was designed to promote regional security cooperation, maintain and strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance inter-operability. “This is the first year the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will be a participant,” the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement. US Navy Rear Adm. Joey Tynch, Commander of Logistics Group Western Pacific, who oversees security cooperation for the US Navy in Southeast Asia, stressed that the Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama showed the evolution toward multilateral training and networked security. “We are strongest when we sail together,” Tynch said. “MTA Sama Sama gives us a great chance to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends, partners, and allies, the Philippine Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force. We train together, so that together we can face threats to maritime security,” the US official said. The US Embassy noted that for more than 70 years, US and Philippine forces have renewed friendship, partnership and alliance through bilateral military exchanges and exercises.

Booker Prize... From A1

BACOLOD CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte is “very much aware” of the assignment of Maj. Jovie Espenido to this city, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said. “I was told that the motivation of the President is to help Bacolod. I believe Bacolod is very close to the heart of the President. That is why there’s that special attention,” the mayor said in a press conference on Monday afternoon. Considering that Espenido’s expertise is in the campaign against illegal drugs, Leonardia said he believed his presence here was “meant to intensify, expand, and maybe hasten” the efforts of the city police. “He is welcome. Drugs continue to be a big concern although the local police

is doing well, if you think in terms of its performance,” he added. The police’s latest major drug hauls here included the P1.2 million worth of suspected shabu seized from two suspects inside a motel in Barangay 6 on Friday, and P300,000 worth of the same prohibited substance from two other suspects in Barangay 2 on Sunday. Last week, Lt. Col. Joem Malong, spokesperson of Police Regional Office 6 (Western Visayas), confirmed Espenido’s transfer to the region from PRO 10 (Northern Mindanao), and the plan to assign him to the Bacolod City Police Office. Malong said the Bacolod police is the region’s best performing unit in the

campaign against illegal drugs, and Espenido’s presence could strengthen the police efforts. Espenido’s last assignment was as chief of the Ozamiz City Police Station, and he is expected to report to the PRO-6 headquarters in Iloilo City this week. He became a celebrated police officer in the government’s war against drugs after leading the operations against suspected narco-politicians, such as Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog. Espenido was the chief of police in Albuera when Espinosa, who was detained as a drug suspect, was shot dead inside the sub-provincial jail in Baybay City in 2016. PNA

Dead man’s...

The crowd of mourners was solemn in silence before the audio message played, in a video posted to Reddit titled “Irish man leaves funny recording for his funeral!” It continued: “Where the fuck am I? … Let me out, it’s fucking dark in here. … Is that the priest I can hear? … This is Shay, I’m in the box. No, in fucking front of you. I’m dead.” Those at the funeral could be seen giggling and wiping away tears as Bradley’s voice began to sing: “Hello again, hello. Hello, I just called to say goodbye.” His daughter Andrea Bradley told HuffPost that her father recorded the audio about a year ago—and that no one really knew about it other than her brother Jonathan and her nephew, Ben.

Two days before Bradley’s funeral, Jonathan Bradley decided to tell his mom and the rest of his siblings about the prank. He told them that playing the audio at the funeral was his dad’s dying wish. “He wanted to make sure my mam would be laughing leaving the cemetery, not crying,” Andrea Bradley said of her dad, noting that her parents were childhood sweethearts and were married for 43 years. “And he done just that.” Andrea Bradley posted a video of her dad’s stunt to Facebook on Sunday. A Twitter user who wanted to remain anonymous said they stumbled upon the video on WhatsApp that same day and decided to share it on Twitter, where it has since gone viral.

Atwood becomes only the second female author to win the award twice, sharing the £50,000 ($62,800, 60,000 euros) prize at the 50th anniversary ceremony at London’s Guildhall. The award has been shared twice before, in 1974 and 1997, when the rules were changed to supposedly prevent it from happening again. The 79-year-old Atwood, who wore a badge of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, held aloft the arm of her fellow winner as they walked to the podium together. “I’m very surprised, I would have thought I would have been too elderly,” said Atwood, who was honored for her best-selling sequel to her 1985 dystopian classic “The Handmaid’s Tale”. “I don’t need the attention, so I’m very glad that you’re getting some,” she said to Evaristo, joking that as “a good Canadian, we don’t do famous, we think it is in bad taste, so it would have been embarrassing if I’d been alone here”. Evaristo responded that it was “so incredible to share this with Margaret Atwood, who is such a legend. “I am the first black woman to win this prize,” she added, to cheers from the audience. She later told reporters she was “happy to share it, I’m a sharing person,” adding the prize money would go on paying off her mortgage. ‘Resilience and resistance’ The title of best work of Englishlanguage fiction published in the United Kingdom and Ireland has launched careers and courted controversy since its creation in 1969. Past laureates have ranged from celebrated writers such as Ian McEwan and Julian Barnes to Kazuo Ishiguro and Roddy Doyle. Paul Beatty became the first American winner when the Booker bowed to pressure and began including authors from outside the British commonwealth, Ireland and Zimbabwe in 2013. This year’s shortlist featured six novelists—four of them women—born across four continents. The five-judge panel included the writer-broadcaster Afua Hirsch and the British-Chinese novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo. Of Atwood’s novel, chairman of judges Peter Florence said the panel “loves this examination of complicity and resilience and resistance, we love the language and the story-telling power, we love the ambition.” AFP

just one of many that Trump made to world leaders that were not received well by White House officials. “There was a constant undercurrent in the Trump administration of [senior staff] who were genuinely horrified by the things they saw that were happening on these calls,” a former White House officialtold the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “Phone calls

that were embarrassing, huge mistakes he made, months and months of work that were upended by one impulsive tweet.” In April 2017, Trump called Duterte and lauded his anti-drug campaign which has claimed the lives of thousands of drug suspects in both police operations and vigilante-style killings. Aside from Duterte, Trump also

reportedly called other state leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jin Ping, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. “Trump’s phone calls with foreign leaders were an anxiety-ridden set of events for his aides and members of the administration, according to former and current officials,” the report said.

‘Espenido in Bacolod to intensify drive vs. drugs’

From A1

Bradley, who died on Oct. 8, decided when he knew the end was coming to inject some humor into his funeral, according to his published obituary, purposely intended for his loved kin. Bradley, a Defense Forces veteran, died “after a long illness bravely borne,” shocked relations then pout them in stitches of awe and delight when they suddenly heard his voice shouting from his coffin as it was being laid six feet below the ground. In a pre-recorded message played after his casket was lowered into the ground, the man was heard shouting for help from below.

Trump’s horrific... From A1

the drug problem” was among the calls that “genuinely horrified” the White House staff, the Washington Post said in a report. Citing anonymous sources, the paper said the call to President Duterte was

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Competitiveness deteriorates

IS THE Philippines getting better as a place for doing business? Is it competitive in attracting capital? Well, look again. In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, the Philippines ranked a disappointing 64th out of 141 countries. So the answer is No. The 64th place is down eight rungs from 56th in 2018. Overall score in 2019 si 61.9, lower, though slightly,

Economic development is not a pre-determined state.

than the 62.1 points in 2018. The Philippines’ decline is ironic given that its is located in the Asia Pacific, the most competitive region in the world today. It may be that the government has been trying to improve, mightily, the rules for doing business, like cutting red tape and enhancing efficiency. However, other countries hungry for investments are doing much better and thus have consequently improved their rankings. The WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (4 refers to the Fourth Industrial Revolution or the age of the Internet) aggregates 103 individual indicators, using data from international organizations as well as from the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey. Indicators are grouped into 12 “pillars”: Institutions; Infrastructure; ICT adoption;

Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labor market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability. WEF says Singapore is the country closest to the frontier of competitiveness. The country ranks first in terms of infrastructure, health, labor market functioning and financial system development. The Philippines fell in nearly every pillar: Institutions—87th from 101st; infrastructure—96th from 92nd; health—102nd from 101st; labor market—39th from 36th; information communications technology adoption—88th from 67th; macroeconomic stability—55th from 43rd; skills— steady at 67th; product market—52nd from 60th; financial system—43rd from 39th; market size—31st from 32nd; business dynamism—44th from 39th; innovation capability—72nd from 67th. The Philippines ranked 102nd in health, the lowest grade for the country among the pillars. The WEF 2019 The Global Competitiveness Report series, first launched in 1979, provides leads to unlock economic growth, which remains crucial for improving living standards. In addition, in a special thematic chapter, the report explores the relationship between competitiveness, shared prosperity and environmental sustainability, showing that there is no inherent trade-off between building competitiveness, creating more equitable societies that provide opportunity for all and transitioning to environmentally sustainable systems. However, for a new inclusive and sustainable system, explains WEF, “bold leadership and proactive policy-making will be needed, often in areas where economists and public policy professionals cannot provide evidence from the past.” The report reviews emerging and promising ‘win-win’ policy options

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

What victory?

N AN exuberant post on social media, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. insisted that Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo won his contest with leftist groups that challenged him to take public transportation to work so that he could feel the pain of the commuting masses.

“It was a giant win for Sal Panelo because he answered the challenge and pulled it off and that was the point, right? Of course it is. Unless you’re a f****** communist then the only point is to take power and unleash a famine like Mao did,” Locsin said, mocking local leftists and offending Beijing all in one go. In the elegant and understated prose we have come to expect from the Foreign secretary, he added: “YOU GOTTA ADMIT, HE TOOK THEIR DARE AND HE PULLED IT OFF. LOW CLASS B*TCHES WON’T ACCEPT THAT HE WON THAT ONE.” But what did the President’s spokesman really win? The dare was issued after

Panelo denied the existence of a public transportation crisis, even though two train systems had been crippled and Metro Manila’s main thoroughfare and the expressway that connected it with provinces in the south had become virtual parking lots because of mind-numbing traffic congestion. Commuters, Panelo blithely suggested, should simply wake up earlier so that they could get where they were going on time. Critics, particularly from the left, criticized Panelo for his insensitive remarks and dared him to walk in the shoes of regular commuters. This he did on Friday, taking three jeepney rides from his home in Marikina City and hitching the rest of the way to the Palace

in Manila on a motorcycle, in a 3.5-hour publicity stunt that did nothing to help long-suffering commuters, convince us that all was well with the public transport system, or dispel the perception that he was a callous official who would think nothing of telling the hungry to go eat cake—or tell a typhoon survivor to be thankful he was alive. In fact, the presidential spokesman seemed to learned nothing from his 3.5-hour commute, telling critics to stop “nitpicking” and instead offer practical suggestions on how traffic congestion might be eased. He then urged commuters again to be “creative” by waking up earlier to allow for the longer travel time to their places of employment. If anything, the President’s spokesman might well have succeeded in convincing us that he’s a bigger ass than we thought—and that this administration is no different from its predecessor in terms of callousness and arrogance. And that’s something the Foreign secretary can hang his Mao cap on.

Turn to A5

Changing SC composition pardoned just as soon as he stepped out of his Tanay. Rizal rest house. He even went on to become mayor of Manila. The year 2022 is going to see a crowded presidential race . Already prancing around and making noise for visibility are Senators Richard WITH the retirement of Chief Justice Gordon and Grace Poe. The latter, Lucas Bersamin and Senior Associate despite her dubious citizenship, looks Justice Antonio Carpio on Oct. 26, the like she will try again to make it to composition of the Supreme Court is Malacañang. Cynthia Villar in her own quiet way is already campaignin for a big change in composition. The foremost question is who in ing with community livelihood projthe Judicial and Bar Council short ects nationwide that carried her to the list President Rodrigo Duterte would No. l senatorial spot in the last election. Has husband, choose to fill the mega-millionaire vacancy left by Manny Villar, givChief Justice Beren up on his dream samin. Then, there Who will be chosen to become presiis the key post dent? to be filled with to fill these vacant And then there Carpio’s retire- posts? are Vice President ment. Leni Robredo and Sources inside former Senator the high court Ferdinand “Bongsaid there are nine candidates vying for Carpio’s vacat- bong” Marcos. No matter the outed post. Among them is a Muslim come of their vice presidential poll magistrate in the Court of Appeals, protest, voters can expect them to Japar Dimaampao of Marawi City. file their respective presidential bids. If he gets the post, this would add to And why not, when they have come a more diversified Supreme Court to so near their ambition? Will there be someone in the wings the benefit of our Islamic brothers in we have not heard of yet who will Mindanao. What is Carpio’s plan after years of suddenly emerge to change the field service in the judiciary? An articulate equation of presidential hopefuls? As usual, bloc voting by religious and vocal advocate of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling favoring sects like the Iglesia ni Kristo, El the Philippines and rejecting Beijing’s Shaddai and Jesus is Lord Movement sweeping claim in the South China will figure in the crucial count. The Sea, Carpio has enough credentials Catholic Church for all the millions and following to run as presidential of Catholics in the country is never candidate in 2022. Will he seek the known to command its flock on whom presidency despite the voting record to elect as churchgoers normally are of Filipinos of not electing competent unmanageable and tend to go their candidates and instead favoring pop- own way. This unwieldy way of Filipinos is ular presidential wannabes? This was shown in the election reflected in their leadership which is of movie actor Joseph Estrada and often also divisive. That we are an Noynoy Aquino whose presidencies archipelago country of more than 7,000 had to be the worst the country has islands also mirrors the 7,000 small ever experienced. Recall that Estra- republics each led by a warlord and Turn to A5 da was convicted of plunder but was

Confessions of a cannabis farmer By Jenny Vaughan HOLED up alone in a suburban British house thousands of miles from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK’s multibillion dollar weed industry. Cuong—who is now 41—slipped into Britain illegally, hidden under a lorry before going on to grow cannabis in homes, hotels and even a stable His dangerous journey from the poor, rough Vietnamese port town of Haiphong to Britain’s illegal cannabis farms was driven by big dreams. “All I ever wanted was to make money... whether it was legal or illegal,” Cuong, who is now back in Vietnam, tells AFP. It was criminal career steered by

the Vietnamese gangsters behind the UK’s huge marijuana trade—which researchers value at around 2.6 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) a year. Cuong claims he went to the UK willingly, looking for ready cash in a country with some of the highest weed prices anywhere in Europe. But many others—including children —are tricked and trafficked to work for the shadowy Vietnamese drug bosses who have become the unlikely kingpins of the UK weed game. The story of the self-professed hustler and low-level crook offers a unique insight into the routes taken by some Vietnamese migrants. But it also turns a spotlight on the margins in Vietnam, where criminal gangs trade on poverty and lack of opportunities to recruit new footsoldiers. Cuong, a former small-time crook

and drug user, was 29 when he set off for the UK. It was 2008 and the cannabis trade promised riches, he says, so he paid $15,000 to brokers for a fraudulent passport and a spot on a tour group to Europe. Police raids He slipped away from the tour in France and joined a well-worn migrant route to a camp in Calais where Vietnamese people smugglers arranged for him to cross the channel to Britain— under the belly of a lorry. “If you fall you’re dead,” explains Cuong, who made the overnight journey to Dover with three other Vietnamese migrants. Arriving in a new country and speaking no English, his options were limited, so Cuong again turned to the migrant network for help. He ended up Turn to A5

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information about the operation. In 2016, Mr. Tony La Viña and his LLM Environmental Law students from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila also had a tour in our mine and was given information about our operation. We respect the opinions of all stakeholders and their important role in contributing to responsible mining practices. We are always willing to engage and are pleased to share the information we have on

the issues raised in the IPS and MWC report. A general summary is provided in the document attached to this letter. More information is also available at http:// oceanagold.com/ourbusiness/philippines/ didipio-mine/ and in our 2018 Sustainability Report. We operate the world-class Didipio Mine and promote the advancement of responsible mining in the Philippines through internationally recognized and leading environmental, community and employee programs and commitments. DAVID WAY General Manager OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc.

No ‘chosen one’ for insurance partner ALLOW us to clarify the points raised in the commentary by Mr. Charlie Manalo regarding Security Bank Corp. and FPG Insurance, which was published on Oct. 5. Security Bank’s pre-condition on choice of car insurance firm We would like to make it clear that Security Bank does not impose a pre-condition on the approval of the auto loan of the borrower. Kindly note that the lock-in condition mentioned in the article is part of a promo requirement, and promo availment is voluntary on the part of the borrower. Security Bank does not, and never will, require our customers to sign up for a promotion. When the client opted to avail of the Free 1st Year Insurance Offer of the bank, there were three available insurance providers he could choose from—one of which is FPG. Having chosen FPG, it follows that his auto insurance for the remaining years of his loan will be under FPG as well. The client is fully aware of this, as evidenced by a Memorandum of Agreement executed by the borrower and the bank. In addition, should a borrower choose to apply for a regular auto loan with no promotion or special offers, the client is free to provide their own insurance coverage from their preferred insurance company as long as the insurance firm is accredited with the bank. FPG being Security Bank’s ‘chosen one’ The bank did not partner exclusively with FPG. Security Bank partnered with three (3) insurance providers for the Free 1st Year Insurance Promo.

Changing... From A4

his political dynasty. Someone said that the scattered islands of the Philippines is the very picture of our fragmented political situation. That indeed seems like an appropriate comparison. *** Meanwhile General Guillermo

Competitiveness... From A4

to achieve the three objectives of growth, inclusion and sustainability. Introduced in 2018, the GCI 4.0 maps out factors and attributes that drive productivity, growth and human development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The 141 economies in the study account for 99 percent of the world’s GDP. The index aims to measure the drivers of “total factor productivity,” the part of economic growth that is not explained by the growth in the factors of

Confessions... From A4

in Bristol and worked for a man running several cannabis farms in suburban homes. Cuong says he had to work on his own, housebound and reliant on weekly food drops by his handlers. “I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants... put them under lights for two hours and watered them,” recalls Cuong, his mundane routine punctuated by fear of arrest. It was a common set-up: houses rented or bought in inconspicuous suburbs and converted into drug operations. Police have also busted cannabis

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

2020

Mail Matters

WE WOULD like to be given the opportunity to provide information about our operation in relation to an article written by Mr. Antonio “Tony” La Vina (OceanaGold’s financial and technical assistance should not be renewed). The article was published last Oct. 5. Mr. La Viña had stated that our FTAA should not be renewed, and our mine should be closed. He then summarized the allegations listed in the 2018 IPS and Mining Watch Canada Report. In 2015, the Didipio general manager and other members of the senior management team hosted Mining Watch Canada and other organizations at the Didipio Mine and provided a mine tour and

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

SBC conducts periodic review of its accredited insurance providers’ claims performance. As of August 2019, SBC and FPG have mutually agreed to terminate the insurance partnership, with the latter agreeing to service and honor claims arising out of existing insurance coverages. Pending insurance claim We refer to Mr. Allan Richard Martillo as the unnamed claimant in the article. Upon learning about Mr. Manalo’s commentary, SBC immediately asked FPG for a review of the incident’s history. After careful evaluation, FPG took full responsibility for the delay in the issuance of the claimant’s Letter of Authority. SBC was advised by FPG that the latter has released the LOA to the client on Oct. 8. This should settle the client’s complaint regarding FPG’s breach in customer service delivery. We sincerely appreciate the chance to provide clarification on an issue for transparency, prior to the publishing of an article or commentary. This will help us prevent negative brand perception and allow us to clear SBC’s name. We value integrity and are available to provide any clarifications on our products and services to prevent false allegations. We are confident that Mr. Manalo values transparency as much as we do and, through his column, will provide a much-needed clarification on the matter. We trust that this clears up our stand on the issue and we look forward to your favorable response. NICOLE “SUYIN” J. LIU Vice President Corporate Communications Head Security Bank Corporation

his way to being the Republican candidate for reelection. Rarely has an incumbent been denied re-election candidacy by his party. As of now, Trump seems beleaguered by the unraveling of his under-handed tactics against former Vice President Joe Biden over the Ukrainian business BEFORE we even think of our 2022 links of Biden’s son. Even his personal presidential elections, there’s 2020—in lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy the United States of America, and in Giuliani, is facing criminal prosecution for violation of lobbying laws vis-à-vis neighboring Taiwan. Taiwan is now in the midst of the the Ukrainian fiasco. Although the economy is doing relacampaign for presidential elections on Jan. 10, 2020, now less than 90 days tively well, and Trump’s pushing of the envelope in the US-China trade talks away. The US of A will have its election seems to be gaining points, American for the most powerful presidency in the legislators, even from within Republican ranks, are re-thinking their support world come November of 2020. In Taiwan, the protagonists have al- for this irascible and amoral president. The next few weeks will be critical ready been defined: Reelectionist President Tsai Ing-wen of the “green” DPP, for Donald Trump. His handling of Syrmain challenger Kaohsiung Mayor Han ia and the Turkish assault on the Kurds Kuo-yu of the “blue” KMT, and a third who have allied themselves with the candidate, former Taiwan Vice Presi- US and the West against the IS forces dent Annette Lu of the Formosa Alli- has brought nothing but ill will. But even as Trump’s defenses are ance. Earlier in the year, it seemed like being breached, the Democrats are likewise in a quanMayor Han, who dary as to who they wrested a two-deshould field in Nocade DPP control vember next year. of Kaohsiung, was Elections in the Until the pria very strong conmaries, which will tender after the US and Taiwan bear begin in February showing of the Kuo- watching. next year, start the mintang in the midwinnowing proterm elections of cess, there are a November 2018. multitude (more President Tsai even had to contend with a challenge than 20) of presidential wannabes seekfrom her former Premier, William Lai ing the party nomination. There is former Vice President Joe within the DPP. But then, the protests in Hong Kong Biden, currently leading the pack but began, now on its 19th week, with the followed not too far behind by Senator end still up in the air. It all began with Elizabeth Warren, Senator Cory Bookan extradition law, since withdrawn by er of New Jersey, Michael Bennet of leader Carrie Lam, but which exposed Colorado, Montana Gov. Steve Bullthe hazards of the “one country, two ock, Senator Beto O’rourke of Texas, systems” policy that governed the rela- Kamala Harris of California, Mayor tionship of the former British colony to Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, and of course, Senator Bernie Sanders the mainland. The PROC insists that Taiwan is a of Vermont, among many others. If Trump is not impeached, he could province, and Pres. Xi Jinping is resolute about reclaiming sovereignty over regain political strength, especially it, albeit willing to adopt the “two sys- with bedrock support among the sotems” policy. But what is touted as the called WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon curtailment of political rights by Hong Protestants) and the red-necks who Kong protesters similarly unnerves the strongly oppose the liberalism that has Taiwanese, where democratic freedoms swept US policy from the sixties. The Democrats will need to choose are practiced and individual rights recsomeone who can straddle the divide ognized. The public mood quickly swung to between conservative and liberal polpro-independence DPP, with President itics. Embracing their usual liberal Tsai gaining survey margins ever since causes may just polarize the electorate over her opponents, particularly Mayor more, and drive independent-minded voters away from the polls come NoHan of the KMT. Still, 90 days is a long time in a cam- vember next year. In the American system of winning paign, and Taiwan politics is too diffithrough the electoral college (where cult to read until the end. The final outcome in January will the winner takes all) instead of through likewise determine the stance of China the popular vote, the Democrats will over Taiwan, with repercussions be- need to study their numbers very well, yond just the South China Sea peripher- and will try to recapture their former al nations like the Philippines, but also strongholds in the South. Hopefully, with a considerable numthe US of A, with which Taiwan in its contemporary history has tied its secu- ber of Republicans getting dismayed at Trump’s amoral character and transrity and political umbilical cord. Which brings us to the muddled pol- actional politics, he may get himself itics of the United States where, 13 thrown out of the White House, or the months from now, their citizens will party may choose someone else, say decide if Donald Trump should be re- someone like Mitt Romney for 2020. The elections of 2020, particularly tained as president or consigned to the those of the US and Taiwan, surely bear dustbin of history. Unless impeached by the House of watching, especially by Asians caught up Representatives and tried and convict- between the power rivalry between the ed by the Senate, Donald Trump is on Chinese dragon and the American eagle.

Eleazar and two other police generals are in the running for PNP chief, after Oscar Albayalde went on terminal leave under a cloud of allegations that he had a role in the recycling of confiscated drugs seized in a Pampanga raid. Albayalde has denied the allegation, which he says is embarrassing his family, particularly his daughter who’s still in school.

Albayalde will get all his retirement benefits unless he is proven guilty of the crime even after he has retired. Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Senate justice committee investigating the case against Albyalde and the so-called “ninja” cops, says the case against Albayalde is strong and deserves full conclusion.

production. TFP can be interpreted as how smartly these factors are used and is the main determinant of long-term economic growth. To put it simply, how efficiently units of labor and capital are combined for generating output. The GCI 4.0 aggregates 103 individual indicators, using data from international organizations as well as from the World Ecoanomic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey. A country’s performance is scored on a 0-to-100 scale, where 100 represents the “frontier,” an ideal state where an issue ceases to be a constraint to productivity growth. Each country should aim to move

closer to the frontier on each component of the index. The GCI 4.0 allows economies to monitor progress over time. This approach emphasizes that competitiveness is not a zero-sum game between countries—it is achievable for all countries. Sustained economic growth remains a critical pathway out of poverty and a core driver of human development. Growth has been the most effective way to lift people out of poverty and improve their quality of life. For least-developed countries (LDCs) and emerging countries, economic growth is critical for expanding education, health, nutrition and survival across

populations. With a decade left, WEF frets that world is not on track to meet most of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by the deadline of 2030. On Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), LDCs have consistently missed the target of 7 percent growth since 2015. Extreme poverty reduction is decelerating. At current pace, it is estimated that by 2030 the rate will stand at about twice the 3 percent target set in Goal 1. As of 2015, 46 percent of the world’s population struggled to meet basic needs. Hunger is on the rise again and affects one in nine people

in the world. The “zero hunger” target set by Goal 2 will almost certainly be missed. It is clear that for most of the past decade, growth has been subdued and has remained below potential in many developing countries. Economic development is not a pre-determined state. Pro-active efforts are needed to start and sustain the development process. The GCI 4.0 highlights the profound competitiveness deficit that needs to be urgently addressed to restore productivity and growth to improve living standards.

farms in dog kennels, pubs, an abandoned hospital and a even former nuclear bunker—many run by Vietnamese cashing in on Britain’s penchant for puff. Around 12 percent of all cannabis convicts in the country are Southeast Asian, more than any other nonEuropean nationality, a National Police Chiefs’ Council shows. It took six months for cops to show up in Cuong’s neighborhood. Panicked, he bundled up as many plants as he could in bin bags and made a run for it. But it wasn’t long before he was back in business, growing weed in a hotel near Bristol. He had earned nearly $19,000—a small fortune compared to salaries back home—but accuses his boss of cheating

him out of thousands more. Forced labor Most migrants from Vietnam come from poor central provinces. Many shoot for the UK, sending cash home which is spent on new the cars, motorbikes and home renovations. But the journey isn’t cheap. Smugglers charge up to $40,000 for travel documents and a plane ticket, usually to eastern Europe where the overland trip to the UK begins. Some fall prey to traffickers; by the time they make it across the English Channel they are thousands of dollars in debt and forced to work in brothels, nail bars or cannabis farms. More than 3,100 Vietnamese adults and children were identified as potential trafficking victims by the UK

government between 2009 and 2018, according to a report by Anti-Slavery International, ECPAT UK and Pacific Links Foundation. Cuong eventually headed to London, where he drifted for several years, selling drugs and training new weed farmers. But in 2014 he was arrested for smoking cannabis. His fingerprints tied him to the Bristol grow house. Crown Court records show he was convicted for growing cannabis and sentenced to 10 months jail. Eventually the UK Home Office deported him. He joined more than 1,600 returnees to Vietnam either by choice or by force since 2014, including at least 22 who were under the age of 14, according to Home Office data.

Hundreds of other children have been identified as potential trafficking victims by the Home Office. Some are back in Vietnam in debt and at serious risk of being re-trafficked in what amounts to a “merry-go-round” of crime and poverty, according to independent trafficking expert Mimi Vu. Adjusting to life in Vietnam has been tough for Cuong, who returned broke and now lives in a bare house in Haiphong. But he says he is reformed and hopes to open a salon to help provide for the baby he is expecting with his new girlfriend. “In the past I had to be tough and aggressive,” he says. “Now I have to be soft and nice.” AFP

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News

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

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Duterte sacks PNOC-EC head government," presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said. "This underscores once again that there are no sacred cows under this PRESIDENT Rodigo Duterte has administration," Panelo added. fired the head of the Philippine NaSen. Sherwin Gatchalian, for tional Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. his part, Aquino was suspended for "loss of confidence." for approving a memorandum of "The Palace confirms that Pedro agreement with a Russian firm Aquino Jr., chief executive of- for the development of a multificer of the PNOC-EC, as well as lateral cooperation in oil proda board member, to submit their ucts and trading, and joint parcourtesy resignation. The Presi- ticipation in oil refining without dent's order is still in line with his the permission from the board or anti-corruption campaign in the from Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi. Certificate of Live Birth of petitioner Republic of the Philippines National Capital Judicial Region Roland Henri M. Laza; and 2) direct Cusi declined to the Civil Registrar of Pasay City and REGIONAL TRIAL COURT comment on the susthe Philippine Statistics Authority BRANCH 112, PASAY CITY (PSA) to cancel, amend, and/or IN RE: In the MATTER of pension of Aquino correct in their Book of Birth the CANCELLATION Of ENTRIES in the who served as OICforegoing appropriate cancellation, CERTIFICATE of LIVE BIRTH Of ROLAND HENRI MARTINEZ LAZA, revocation, and rescission. president of the PNOC The Court hereby resolves to set UNDER REGISTRY NO. 2000-5833 in 2006. He was later the petition for hearing on November of the CIVIL REGISTRY of PASAY 12, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. in its sala CITY, appointed as PNOC located at the 3rd Floor, Room 305 ROLAND HENRI MARTINEZ LAZA EC president in 2012 RTC, Branch 112, Hall of Justice ROLANDO ASUNCION MALLARE, Building, Pasay City, at which date, and reappointed by And NELY MARTINEZ LAZA, time and place any interested person Petitioner, may appear and show cause why the President Rodrigo petition should not be granted. SPEC. PROC. CASE NO. Duterte in January R-PSY-19-03693-CV Let this Order be published in a FOR: CANCELLATION OF ENTRIES 2017. newspaper of general circulation

By Alena Mae S. Flores and Macon RamosAraneta

-versusCIVIL REGISTRAR of PASAY CITY And ALL PERSONS/ENTITIES which May be affected thereby, Respondents. x------------------------------------------------x

ORDER

In the present recourse, petitioners are praying for a directive for the City Civil Registrar, Pasay City, and all persons/entities which maybe affected thereby to: 1) cancel, revoke and rescind the remarks/annotation of legitimation and the registered “Affidavit of Legitimation” in the

once a week for three consecutive weeks to be selected by raffle pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1079 and posted by the Branch Sheriff in three (3) conspicuous public places in Pasay City. Also, furnish the Office of the Solicitor General, with copies of this Order and of the Petition. SO ORDERED. September 9, 2019, Pasay City. (Sgd.) JESUS B. MUPAS Judge

(MStandard-Oct. 2, 9 & 16, 2019)

Manila

HANDWASHING. Department of Education Undersecretary Tonisito Umali (left) teaches students how to wash their hands properly during the celebration of "Global Handwashing Day" at Bagong Nayon IV Elementary school in Antipolo City, Rizal. Norman Cruz

Detergent firm seeks Du30’s help vs. DBM By Joel E. Zurbano

Republic of the Philippines Standard Department of Finance

TODAY

Securities and Exchange Commission IN THE MATTER OF

: REGISTRATION PAPERS : : : x---------------------------------x

COMMERCIAL

CITYLAND, INC.

NOTICE Notice is hereby given that on 7 October 2019, a sworn Registration Statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of CITYLAND, INC., for the registration of Eight Hundred Fifteen Million Pesos (Php 815,000,000.00) worth of Commercial Papers. According to the papers presented, the following persons are the Directors/Officers of the corporation: Name Stephen C. Roxas Dr. Andrew I. Liuson Grace C. Liuson Josef C. Gohoc Peter S. Dee Helen C. Roxas Emma A. Choa Rudy Go Melita M. Revuelta Melita L. Tan Romeo E. Ng Rosario D. Perez Winefreda R. Go Atty. Emma G. Jularbal Dorothy U. So

Position Director/Chairman of the Board Director/Vice-Chairman of the Board Director/Deputy Vice-Chairman of the Board Director/President Independent Director Director Executive Vice President/Treasurer Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer/ Compliance & Corporate Information Officer & Data Protection Officer Vice President/Assistant Corporate Secretary/ Alternate Compliance Officer & Alternate Corporate Information Officer Vice President Vice President Vice President-Executive Affairs Vice President-Purchasing Department Vice President-Legal Affairs/Corporate Secretary Asst. Vice - President - Head of Internal Audit Department

The Company is still in the process of selecting the replacement of Mr. Paul Y. Ung, an Independent Director.

Said registration statement and other papers/documents attached thereto (collectively known as “RS”) are open to inspection by interested parties during business hours, and copies thereof photostatic or otherwise, shall be furnished to any party, upon request, at such fees as the Commission may prescribe.The RS and the Prospectus dated 7 October 2019 and the corresponding updated version may be downloaded from www.cityland.net. VICENTE GRACIANO P. FELIZMENIO, JR. Director Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MS-OCT. 16 & 21, 2019)

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT National Capital Judicial Region Quezon City, Metro Manila Branch LXXVIII (78) IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF MINOR AND CHANGE OF NAME OF THE FLORES DONGETO TO TRIXIE FLORES LEEMAN SP. PROC. CASE NO. R-QZN-19-07368-SP GARETH JAMES LEEMAN AND XYRA FLORES-LEEMAN, Petitioners. x----------------------------------------------------x

ORDER

A verifies position for adoption was filled by the petitioners, spouses Gareth James Leeman and Xyra Flores-Leeman, through counsel, praying that upon due notice and hearing, this petition for Adoption be granted and; (a) Judgement be entered adjudging that the minor child Trixie Flores Dongeto, to all legal intents and purposes, the child of the herein petitioners; and (b) That the last name of TRIXIE FLORES DONGETO be changed to LEEMAN, which is the last name od the petitioners. Petitioners are husband and wife. Petitioner Gareth James Leeman is of legal age, British National, with address at 67 Killerton Park Drive, West Bridgford Nottingham NG2 7SB, United Kingdom and Xyra T. Flores-Leeman, also of legal age, Filipino citizen with address at Block 33, Lot 11, Cornelius Street, North Olympus Subdivision, Novaliches, Quezon City, but presently working in the UK with address at 67 Killerton Park Dive, West Bridgford Nottingham NG2 7SB, United Kingdom. They can be served with orders pleadings, and other court processes to the CABOCHAN Law with office address at M-1 FSS Byuilding II, 18 Scout Tuason Street, Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. Petitioners desire to adopt a minor, named Trixie Flores Dongeto, Filipino, having been born on January 7, 2005, in Quezon City, Illegitimate child of petitioner Xyra Flores-Leeman. The minor I currently residing at Block 33, Lot 11, Cornelius Street, North Olympus Subdivision, Novaliches, Quezon City. That the illegitimate father of said minor, named Kei Andrei Q. Dongeto, is alive, not insane, nor intemperate, and with full knowledge of petitioner’s intention hereby expressly gives his written consent to the adoption. Moreover, petitioners are birth in possession of all the above qualifications required by law in order for them to seek adoption under Articles 183-186 of the Family Code of the Philippines, as amended by the provisions of Republic Act No. 9552, the Domestic Adoption of 1998. That petitioners have been married for more than two (2) years, the ceremony having been held in Singapore on April 18, 2016. Petitioners further allege that they are also very much capable or providing for the adoptee considering that spouses petitioners are both gainfully employed as follows: Xyra is currently working as floor staff at Cote Brasserie at 4-6 Central Avenue, West Bridgford Nottinghamshire; while Gareth works as an adult administrator for SDL Group. A property service group, located at 3-4 Regan Way, Chetwynd Business Park Chilwell, Nottingham, NG9 6RZ. Petitioners are also qualified as to age to adopt the minor considering that petitioner husband is thirty-seven (37) years old and petitioner wife is thirty-one (31) years old. Petitioners have not been convinced of a crime involving moral turpitude. They are qualified to adopt the said minor, and will be able financially and morally, to bring up and educate said minor, properly and adequately. They have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications prescribed by law to adopt subject minor adoptee. That the minor sought to be adopted does not own any real, personal, tangible and intangible property. This adoption is for the best interest and security of the said minor if she would be considered as true and legal child of the petitioners. It will make her life normal, Productive and to be a good person in the community. IN VIEW THEREFORE, and finding the petition to e sufficient on form and substance the same is given due course. Accordingly, let the instant petition be set hearing on November 20, 2019 (Wednesday), at exactly 8:30 o’clock in the morning at Rooms B13-B14, Basement, Hall of Justice Building, Quezon City. Notice is hereby given that anyone who has any objection to the petition should file his/her opposition hereto within fifteen (15) days from the last date of the publication of this Order or appear in Court on the above-scheduled date of hearing and show cause, if any, why the petition should not be granted. Let this order be published, at the expense of the petitioners, once a week for the three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of national circulation, to be chosen by raffle under the supervision of the Executive Judge. Regional Trial Court, this city pursuant to P.D. 1079. The Court Social Worker, Ms. Mariebec Cariaga, is hereby directed to conduct a case study on the petitioners and the minor subject of the adoption and to submit her report on or before the scheduled hearing. Petitioners are hereby directed to coordinate with the Court Social Worker, Ms. Mariebec Cariaga, to facilitate the preparation of the case study. Petitioners are further required to furnish a copy of the petition, together with its annexes, the Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City, the Philippines Statistics Authority. The Local Civil Registrar of Quezon City, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Capital Region (DSWD-NCR), and to submit compliance therewith to this Court immediately. SO ORDERED. QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA, MAY 28, 2019. (Sgd.) FERNANDO T, SAGUN, JR. Presiding Judge (MStandard-Oct. 2, 9 & 16, 2019)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A LAUNDRY detergent powder supplier has written a letter to President Rodrigo Duterte complaining what he described as unfair treatment given to them by a member of the Procurement Service-Bids and Awards Committee. In his letter received by the Office of the President last Monday (Oct. 14), Ishmael Vega of VRV Advertising Company said the firm he represented recently joined a bidding for the procurement of a detergent powder for the government. “I would like to file a concern and express my absolute disappointment in your office because of what happened during the lab testing of our detergent product,” said Vega. He said they received a notice from the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement services, asking them to submit documents and sample of their products, which they immediately complied. But despite all the requirements they have submitted to the committee, Vega said the products that they brought were not even opened, and instead they felt insulted the way they were treated during the bidding process.

Urban poor office launches 80 public service caravans I CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

By Rio N. Araja

N A bid to put people first, the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor has launched 80 people’s caravans to bring public service down to the poor.

Moreover, chairperson and chief executive officer Alvin Feliciano also disclosed the PCUP has tapped the private sector to pilot an adopt-a-

community program. At a media briefing, Feliciano said at least 80,000 people have benefited from their caravans all over Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao with a measly budget of P3 million. The caravan is offering a job fair for local and overseas employment; a medical-dental outreach program, including eye check-up and circumcision; the issuance of birth, death and marriage certificates, passports, and student permits and driver’s licenses; legal services; health registration; Social Security System voluntary membership; persons with disability and solo parent identi-

IN BRIEF SLEX traffic back to normalize by end of Nov.

NO TO RICE TARIFFICATION. Farmers-activists called a press conference to condemn the Rice Tariffication Law which they claimed affected the farmers due to low price of rice. Photo shows a farmers group calling on the government to junk the Rice Tarffication Law on the observance of the coming World Food Day celebration held in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

BI agents arrest human Increase taxes on vapes—solon By Macon Ramos-Araneta trafficker By Vito Barcelo IMMIGRATION agents arrested a suspected member of a human trafficking syndicate who attempted to escort out of the country five of his victims with spurious travel documents. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the suspect and his victims were stopped from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as they were about to board a flight to Tokyo, Japan at the NAIA, Terminal 3. BI-Port Operations chief Grifton Medina said the alleged courier and his companions were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation and filing of appropriate charges. The passengers’ names were not divulged, as the law prohibits the public disclosure names of suspected human trafficking victims. According to Medina, the suspect’s attempt to spirit his victims abroad was foiled after immigration officers noticed inconsistencies in their answers to questions and doubted the authenticity of documents they presented.

fication processing; free medicine, and orientation on pro-poor programs. “The issuance of security papers is a blockbuster. All ages need security papers,” Feliciano told the Manila Standard. According to Feliciano, the PCUP has partnered with Mercury Drug to provide potable water for an urban poor area in Baras, Rizal; Jollibee Foods Corp. for a feeding program for malnourished Grade two pupils in the public schools, and Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation for the direct insurance for the poorest of the poor under the PCUP’s adopt-acommunity program.

AMID rising concerns in many countries about the health risks of electronic cigarettes and vapes, Senator Pia Cayetano reiterated that Congress has the jurisdiction to impose higher taxes on these products as a means to regulate their use. Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, has filed Senate Bill No. 1074 which seeks to raise "sin" taxes on alcohol and vaping products. She clarified Congress has already imposed taxes on e-cigarettes since the enactment of Republic Act 11346 earlier this year. “As to whether we can tax a product that’s not been given permission to be sold, let me point out that under RA 11346, we [lawmakers] have already taxed e-cigarettes,” Cayetano said. Meanwhile, a group of health advocates called on President Rodrigo Duterte to certify alcohol and e-cigarette tax increase as urgent In a unity statement submitted to the President, health advocates from the Sin Tax Coalition called on the President to certify the proposal to raise taxes on alcoholic beverages, heated tobacco products (HTPs), and vapor products as an urgent measure. “We note the administration’s pronouncement in the 2019 State of the Nation Address asking Congress to pri-

oritize the passage of the bill increasing the excise taxes on these sin products,” said STC co-convenor Dr. Anthony Leachon. “It is in this light that we urge your Honor to certify the passage of the higher alcohol and tobacco taxes as urgent. It is our common goal to have the new higher taxes on alcohol, ecigarettes and heated tobacco products implemented on the first day of 2020,” he added. Representatives from medical societies such as the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine College of Physicians, and the Philippine Pediatric Society, together with youth groups, senior citizens groups, urban poor communities, and other members of civil society organizations signed the coalition’s unity statement. Leachon said the main reason that the excise tax on alcohol, HTPs, and vape must be increased is to prevent young people from accessing them. The main reason to tax these products is to protect young people from accessing the product. It is alarming that in 2015, 67 percent of students who ever had a drink of alcohol other than a few sips drank alcohol before the age of 14, according to the Global SchoolBased Student Health Survey. The National Nutrition Survey of 2018 showed one out of five e-cigarette users in the country comes from young Filipinos aged 10 to 19 years old.

AN OFFICIAL of the South Luzon Tollway Corp. on Tuesday said traffic flow in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) will return to normal by end of November. In a radio interview over DZMM, SLTC and Skyway Operation and Maintenance Corp. president Manuel Bonoan said improvement works which resulted in the heavy traffic along SLEX, from Alabang to Skyway in Muntinlupa City, were being rushed to ease the burden on motorists. “We will not go beyond Nov. 30. 24/7 po yung trabaho namin diyan (We work 24/7 there) and we have a very strict timetable to finish all the works dito po sa parte ng (in the area of) Skyway at-grade,” Bonoan said. He said the vehicular congestion began on Sept. 24 when one lane in the road below Skyway was closed to make way for improvement works voluntarily undertaken by San Miguel Corp. Tollways. The improvement works were meant to address traffic build-up from the Skyway ramp to SLEX southbound and to ease the difficulty of entering the Skyway ramp northbound. PNA

Solon upbeat on divorce bill’s passage A FEMALE legislator on Tuesday appealed to the House leadership to support the bill on divorce and move for its enactment soonest. Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela made the appeal following the pronouncement of the House committee on population and family relations that it will prioritize divorce measures, saying the bill has already hurdled the lower chamber during the 17th Congress. Brosas, main author of House Bill 838, said the bill provides couples a cheaper and more viable option out of abusive and irreparable marriages. “The divorce bill will put an end to abusive relationships,” said Brosas, member of the House minority bloc. The Philippines and Vatican are the only countries in the world where divorce is not recognized. “This measure has already gone through tons of deliberations since the 13th Congress, when we first filed it. In fact, its passage should be expedited in the same way that measures also approved in the previous Congress were treated,” she added, citing Section 48 of the House Rule 10. Maricel V. Cruz

Sports

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Fierce duel looms at Tarlac Open PH Azkals get ‘lighter’ group in SEA Games By Peter Atencio THE Philippine national men’s football will not be facing defending champion Thailand in the group stage of the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s football tournament. That’s because the Philippines, during the drawing of lots at the Sofitel Hotel on Tuesday, has been bracketed in a relatively “lighter” Group A with Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Timor Leste when competitions are held starting on Nov. 26 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, in Binan, Laguna and at the Imus Grandstand in Cavite. “With 45 days to go, we are all excited. The team draw will help finalize the schedule of events,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who joined representatives from 11-member countries. Thailand, which is seeking the crown it won at the expense of Malaysia two years ago, will be the team to beat. The Thais are in the same group with Indonesia, which settled for the bronze medal the last time around. Thailand will also deal with Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Brunei. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout playoffs. Serbian coach Goran Milojevic will be involved with Scott Cooper in the PH Azkals’ campaign. Group B will be a tough group because Vietnam will be putting up a fight after settling for the bronze back in 2017. The draw of lots for football, supervised by competition manager Coco Torre, coincided with the draws that were also done for volleyball, water polo, badminton and underwater hockey. In women’s football, defending champion Vietnam was bracketed separate from the Philippines in Group B with Thailand and Indonesia.

Yulo... From A8

federation president Cynthia Carrion. Pou said he expects Yulo to work harder on further improving his performance in pommel horse and parallel bars, knowing that these two apparatuses hurt his bid for a gold medal in the all-around category of the world championships. “The Vietnamese perform well in those apparatuses. We don’t want to give them a chance,” said Pou, adding that they won’t pressure the Filipino dynamo as he heads to the 11-nation conclave. “While we’re hoping for a sweep, we won’t pressure him to go for it. All we want is for him to enjoy what he’s doing and have fun competing. We would tell Caloy to give the best he can and the victory would definitely follow.”

REMIUM will be on precision and shotmaking as the men of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia tackle the tight, challenging Luisita Golf and Country Club in pursuit of the crown in the $100,000 Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open which gets going today (Wednesday, Oct. 16) in Tarlac.

Streaking Tony Lascuña shoots for a fourth straight championship, James Ryan Lam seeks to defend his maiden crown he won in emphatic fashion last year and the rest of the 129-player strong cast are all-geared up for a crack at the

championship in this sixth leg of the third season of the region’s emerging circuit put up by ICTSI. They include 36 Taiwanese of the PGA of Taiwan making their first foray on the local turf, all eyeing no less than a victory and redemption after absorbing a beating from Lascuña in the last PGTA event in Taiwan last month. “It’s going to be tough. It’s a different field and the course is tough,” said Lascuña, who rode on that inspiring Taiwan victory and swept the next two PGT events in Apo and South Pacific, both in Davao the last two weeks. “So, it will be anybody’s game,” he added. It sure will with the quaint layout to provide a true test of golf given its rugged terrains and rolling fairways that put

MALOLOS CITY—Petron displayed its championship form to make quick work of Foton, 25-17, 25-14, 25-16, and barge into the championship round of the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference Tuesday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center here. Sisi Rondina was at her best, spearheading the high-powered Blaze Spikers to an impressive victory in just 79 minutes of action to formally enter the best-of-three finals. The reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines Mots Valuable Player delivered 17 points and 13 digs for the Blaze Spikers, who made their way back to the finals after suffering a semifinal meltdown in the previous All-Filipino Conference. Frances Molina and Chloe Cortez were also instrumental, chipping in 12 and 10 points, respectively, to keep the Blaze Spikers unbeaten in seven matches, including a sweep of the eliminations. With the win, Petron will be facing the survivor between F2 Logistics and Cignal in the sudden-death finals showdown on Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. Foton, on the other hand, will take on the loser of the other semifinal battle in a one-game bronze medal match also on Thursday. “It feels so good to be back in the Finals. We missed this feeling,” said Petron head coach Shaq Delos Santos, adding that the Invitationals crown is the only jewel missing in their collection.

Stags boost bid for semis CHAMPION A 5TH TIME. University of Perpetual Help System DALTA players and coaches celebrate after the Altas claimed their fifth straight crown in the League of South Metro School, following a straight-set 25-18, 15-19, 25-21 win over rival La Salle-Lipa recently at the Brent International School in Binan City, Laguna. Noel Kampton was named Season MVP and Mythical 6 Team member. (Dennis Abrina)

LeBron blames China mess on Rockets’ GM LOS ANGELES (AFP)--Basketball superstar LeBron James has sharply criticised a Houston Rockets executive for angering China with a tweet

supporting protesters in Hong Kong, saying the executive was “misinformed” and should have kept his mouth shut.

Ramirez:... From A8

medalist Margielyn Didal. Didal, who had previously placed 5th at the 2019 Street League Skateboarding in Los Angeles, California, USA, is currently no. 13 in the latest World Street Skateboarding rankings. Another Filipino Olympic hopeful is Fil-Japanese judoka and 2018 Asiad silver medal winner Kiyomi Watanabe who is also in a good position in the women’s 63-kilogram class, being a top 26 bet in the world. Watanabe is currently based and training in Waseda University in Japan and had previously placed 7th at Zagreb Grand Prix 2019. “Dapat kapag may mga batang potensyal, ibuhos na natin ‘yung suporta.” said Ramirez. In the 1972 Olympics, the Philippines sent 53 athletes, the biggest delegation of the country in the quadrennial meet which included the national basketball team. During the 2016 edition held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz finally ended the 20-year medal drought of the country when she bagged a silver medal, next to light flyweight Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr.’s silver during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

severe options on accuracy, and unsettling hazards that guard 11 of its greens. “I don’t really know how I could defend it (crown) but for sure, I’ll do my best. Unlike last year, I’m going to play a conservative game, especially in the first two rounds,” said Lam, who played aggressive in the first two days but changed tactics in the third round to put himself in the mix then closed out with a 67 to beat American Josh Salah by four and end a nine-year wait for a championship. But the Robert Trent Jones, Sr.-designed layout could also yield low scores to the long hitters provided they complement their power with superb iron play and putting needed on a course where the wind could alter the character of the holes in an instant.

Petron whips Foton, makes PSL finals

LeBron James

The remarks by the Lakers forward are the most direct so far by a high-profile NBA figure in a controversy that has raised questions about the league’s future in China and sparked US accusations that Beijing was trying to regulate speech in other countries. Many in the US, including NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and top American politicians, have defended Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s right to speak out, but James said the careless exercise of free speech can bring harm. “I believe he (Morey) wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke,” James said before a pre-season game between the Lakers and Golden State Warriors. “So many people could have been harmed not only financially but physically, emotionally and spiritually. So just be careful with what we tweet, and we say, and we do,” added James, who is known for speaking out on hot-button issues. “Yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that too.” James has a lucrative lifetime endorsement deal with Nike, which does big business in China, and he has made several promotional trips to the country.

THE San Sebastian Stags leaned on their 1-2 punch to repulse the Arellano University Chiefs and stay in the hunt for a playoff seat in the 95th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament. RK Ilagan and Allyn Bulanadi chipped in 20 and 19 points, respectively, for the Stags, who posted their 10th win in 17 games at the FilOil-Flying V Sports Center in San Juan. This put the Stags a victory closer to earning a playoff slot in the Final Four and the fourth seeding if the defending champion San Beda Red Lions complete an 18-game sweep and claim an automatic finals’ berth. Ilagan and Bulanadi struck hard during a 13-3 blast that allowed the Stags to turn a two-point deficit, 65-67, into a 78-70 edge with less than two minutes remaining. “‘Yung playoffs, medyo mahirap pa rin sa amin,” said Stags’ coach Egay Macaraya on their chances. The Stags are ahead of the Mapua Cardinals (9-8), who stayed in the running for the last seat after they won over the University of Perpetual Help Altas, 85-81. Warren Bonifacio knocked in 15 points for the Cardinals. Laurenz Victoria, who had 14 points, scored four out of four charity attempts in the last three minutes to bail the Cards out of trouble. In the junior division, Milo Janao drilled in 15 points as the Staglets prevailed over the Arellano Braves, 63-60, to move into a share of third with the Braves at 10-7. This kept the Staglets in contention for a Final Four seat. Peter Atencio

UP Fighting Maroons gear up for UAAP with Robina Farms THE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons are raring to make a comeback at the UAAP Finals after a first-runner-up finish at last year’s UAAP basketball finals. With a 5-3 card in the ongoing season, the Diliman-based squad showing grit and determination with the desire to finally clinch the elusive championship title. They are also gaining more supporters who believe that they have what it takes to hoist the UAAP trophy, which they held decades ago. Among the avid supporters who believe in the Fighting Maroons is Universal Robina Corporation Agro-Industrial Group’s (URC-AIG) meat brand, Robina Farms. “We are happy to share the same values, such as passion for excellence and loyalty, with the team,”

shared Vincent Henry Go, URC-AIG vice president and general manager. “This season ‘82, we hope that they continue to strive and give their best in every game.” “The fact that there is a brand willing to support us makes us more determined to further improve,” said Mo Gingerich, UP Fighting Maroons assistant coach. “Robina Farms has helped us in a lot of ways.” With the brand’s support, the Maroons have set their eyes on the prize and are working harder to finally bring home the bacon in the ongoing UAAP season. To date, they hold the #2 position in team standings. Robina Farms helped refurbish the team’s new gym to accommodate practices. Having their own training venue

Members of the UP Fighting Maroons team

allowed the Maroons to concentrate more on their practices and develop a camaraderie that helped them become more familiarized with each other. UP Fighting Maroons has already undergone massive training and ex-

posure in international tournaments. Also, the addition of new recruits, including Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero, are also seen to revitalize the young team, as they are expected to help lift the Maroons to UAAP glory.

Sports

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

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

NLEX parades new import vs Columbian By Jeric Lopez DESPITE its incredible start, NLEX will parade a new import as it shoots for a fifth win in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. The Road Warriors (4-1) will parade former NBA player Manny Harris when they go up against Columbian Dyip (3-2) at 4:30 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City today. Right after, defending champion Magnolia (3-2) looks to arrest a twogame slide when it clashes with Blackwater (1-3) at 7 p.m. NLEX tries to regain solo second as it is currently tied with San Miguel (41) for the spot. The Road Warriors are enjoying one of their best starts in franchise history, having won four of their first five games with star Kiefer Ravena back in business and then import Olu Ashaolu being a constant producer. Still, they felt like there is still room for improvement as they tapped the experienced Harris to take the place of Ashaolu, despite the good start. NLEX coach Yeng Guiao explained the curious move. “We are thankful for Olu (Ashaolu) and his contributions, but we grabbed the chance to get Manny Harris,” said Guiao. “He’s been on our radar for quite some time since he can score and defend at a high level, being a former NBA player.” Both the Road Warriors and the Dyip are coming off wins as they look forward to testing each other. NLEX shocked Barangay Ginebra, 113-111, in Dubai more than a week ago, while Columbian routed Blackwater, 102-90, last Friday.

Samboy daughter wins karate gold at Turkey tourney JAMIE Lim, who is preparing for her first-ever stint in the Southeast Asian Games, won a gold medal in the 2019 Amatör Spor Haftasi Karate Championship in Sakarya, Turkey last Sunday. Lim, the daughter of Philippine basketball legend Samboy Lim, ruled the Senior Female -68kgs Kumite. Team Philippines went on to finish with a gold, three silvers and four bronzes, according to Karatedo Pilipinas president Richard Lim in a statement. The other medalists are Rexor Tacay (silver, senior male -67kgs kumite), Ivan Agustin (silver, senior male -75kgs kumite), Miyuki Tacay (silver, senior female -61kgs kumite), Mae Soriano (bronze, senior female -55kgs kumite), Engene Dagohoy (bronze, senior male -84kgs Kumite), Prince Alejo (bronze, senior male -67kgs kumite) and Sharief Afif (bronze, senior male -75kgs kumite). The team, led by their foreign coach, former European and world champion, and former Turkish national coach Okay Arpa, is finishing their two-month training camp in Turkey. And this is in preparation for the SEA Games. “Our karate team is right on track with their training and will be expecting their best performance in the upcoming SEA Games this coming December” said Lim. Peter Atencio

The Philippines' Carlos Edriel Yulo performs on the floor during the apparatus finals at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, southern Germany. Yulo won the gold. AFP

Yulo eyes 7-gold sweep at SEA Games ‘Champion W ITH the Philippine Sports Commission throwing its full support, Carlos Yulo is looking at taking the 30th Southeast Asian Games by storm.

Gymnastics Association of the Philippines secretary general Bettina Pou said Yulo is eyeing a sweep all of his seven events in the men’s gymnastics competition of the SEA Games following his golden conquest in the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The teen sensation cornered the gold medal in the floor exercise event to become the first Filipino to emerge victorious in the biggest, most competitive gymnastics competition in the world. Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez vowed to give Yulo all the support he needs, including the formation of a team of physiothera-

pist, sports nutritionist and sports psychologist to monitor his buildup for the SEA Games and the Tokyo Olympics next year. The government will also dole out a cash incentive of P1 million for his victorious performance in the world championships. “The government will go all out in supporting Caloy and other deserving athletes as they prepare for the SEA Games and the Olympics next year,” said Ramirez, who also stands as chief of mission of Team Philippines in the prestigious biennial meet that the country will host this November. “The PSC has been supporting the training of Caloy in Japan for the past

couple of years. We’re planning to further increase that level of support because we believe that he has what it takes to make us proud in the SEA Games and the Olympics next year.” This would be the first time for the 19-year-old Yulo to compete in the SEA Games. His first tournaments as a member of the senior’s team were the world championships in Doha and the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta last year. Pou said there is no doubt that Yulo can make the country proud in his SEA Games debut. “His performance in the world championships was very impressive. If luck rolls his way, he can win all seven gold medals in men’s gymnastics,” said Pou, the trusted deputy of gymnastics Turn to A7

Ramirez: 20 PH athletes to Olympics possible

PSC Chairman William ‘Butch’ Ramirez

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chairman William I. Ramirez said the recent success of Filipino athletes is a good sign that could finally end country’s 95-yearold gold medal drought in the Summer Olympic Games—a prestigious multisport event which only happens once every four years. Ramirez is banking his hopes on 19 year-old Leveriza, Manila-born gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo. Yulo made history by becoming the first Filipino gymnast to win a gold medal in the men’s floor exercise event at the 49th FIG World Artistic Gymnastics

Championships in Stuttgart, Germany held last Saturday, October 12. Four days before that, in that same event, Yulo secured his slot in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan after placing 7th in the men’s floor exercise final and ranking 18th out of 160 gymnasts in the men’s individual all-around. Less than 24 hours after Yulo’s historic feat, Pinay featherweight Nesthy Petecio won a gold medal at the 2019 AIBA World Women’s Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia, to become the second Filipina world boxing champion fol-

lowing Josie Gabuco’s win in 2012. Aside from the two latest Filipino world champions, national pole vault athlete Ernest John Obiena became the first Filipino qualifier for Tokyo 2020 after clearing 5.81 meters in the 2019 Salto Con L’asta in Piazza Chiari, Italy last September 3. Before securing his Olympic ticket, Obiena had previously won two gold medals in the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships held in Doha, Qatar last April and ruled the 2019 Summer Universiade at Stadio San Paolo in Naples, Italy last July. “If we come up with 20 qualified candidates, I think that will be one of the biggest Philippine delegations to the Olympics.” said Ramirez. Last month, two other national athletes also raised the Philippine flag in the world stage, namely reigning Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting and middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial of boxing. Diaz snatched a pair of bronze medals in the women’s 55-kilogram class of the 2019 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Pattaya, Thailand to reach rank no. 3 in the world. On the other hand, Marcial settled for a silver medal at the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships held in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Aside from these Filipino medalists, the PSC chief is also rooting for Cebu City native and 2018 Asian Games gold Turn to A7

500 vie in Best of Best taekwondo meet FIVE HUNDRED of the country’s tough taekwondo athletes are expected to show their wares in the 2019 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Best of the Best Championships on Sunday, Oct. 20 at Ayala Malls Manila Bay. Featured in the much-awaited event are blackbelts from 12 regions including ARMM, CAR, CARAGA and the NCR who have Olympic weight in the Senior division and WTF weight in the Juniors, Cadet and Gradeschool. Only gold and silver medalists in the advance division of national events in Kyorugi (free sparring) and Poomsae (forms) are qualified to compete, according to tournament director Raul Samson. Free Style Poomsae (FSP) aims to present a high level of taekwondo foot techniques like jumping yopchagi, 720* spinning kick and kicking with acrobatic action. Among these national events are the 2019 CPJ, National Poomsae, National Taekwondo, Pal-

arong Pambansa, National Batang Pinoy, 2018 National Interschool, 2018 National Age Group and 2018 Best of the Best, UAAP, NCAA, including high-level blackbelt organizations such as Taekwondo Blackbelt Brotherhood, Taekwondo Blackbelt Sorority and Philippine Taekwondo Contingent. The tourney will utilize the officiating system (PSS, ESS), electronic armors and socks and the IVR (Instant Video Replay) to eliminate human error and produce accurate, fair-scoring and spectator-friendly matches. Manuel V. Pangilinan, Smart Communications and PLDT chairman, has been a solid patron of Philippine Taekwondo. He has thrown his full support behind top and upcoming jins over the past decade in a bid to see a Filipino Olympic gold medalis. Once again, he’s backing this Sunday’s Best of the Best championships. PLDT and Meralco are also among the sponsors.

Ethan Chavez of Hanah Taekwondo (left), one of the participants, executes a 45 kick against Felix Perez of Calinog Taekwondo.

PH athletes inspire us’

By Peter Atencio SPORTS leaders are drawing inspiration from gymnast Carlos Yulo’s gold-medal win in the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Because of this, support, not only from the government but from the private sector as well, is expected to snowball when the country’s preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics starts early, even before the 30th Southeast Asian Games unfolds next month. “He (Yulo) inspires all. Kailangan ay full support ka,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who keenly awaited the arrival of Yulo from his Germany tournament. Tolentino said private support is now expected to pour in not only for Yulo, but also for other athletes who have qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Philippine Sports Commission is set to give Yulo all the support he needs for the Olympiad, including the formation of a team of physiotherapist, sports nutritionist and sports psychologist to monitor his buildup for the SEA Games and the Tokyo Olympics next year. The government is also set to hand out a cash incentive of P1 million, when he visits Malacanang today. “Tuloy-tuloy na iyan. Bubuhusan na iyan ng support mula sa lahat ng stakeholders,” added Tolentino. The POC chief is also considering Yulo’s well-being when he prepares for the Olympics, saying that he must be spared of flag-bearer duties for the SEA Games. “Puwede nang hindi siya maglaro sa SEA Games at mag-concentrate na lang siya sa preparation niya if he has more important events to go to. And he may not even be one of the flag-bearers, kung malapit ang event niya sa opening ceremonies,” added Tolentino of Yulo, who is being considered as one of the flag-bearers for the Games. “Caloy has shown so much. And when he twirled in midair, hindi basta-basta iyun,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez in describing what compelled him and the board to set aside an additional P500,000 in incentives for Yulo. Boxers Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial will join Yulo and pole vaulter Ernest John Obiena, the first Tokyo Olympic qualifier, in their visit to Malacanang on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Petecio won over hometown bet Liudmila Vorontsova on points, 3-2, to claim the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships featherweight gold medal in Ulan-Ude, Russia also Sunday. For her feat, Petecio will receive P500,000 from the government, along with Eumir Marcial, who bagged the silver medal at the 2019 AIBA Boxing World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia last month.

Business

IN BRIEF

Vehicle sales rose 2.3% in September

VEHICLE sales rose 2.3 percent in September to 31,820 units from 31,116 units a year ago, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report Tuesday. Deliveries also went up 7.5 percent month-on-month from 29,599 units in August. “CAMPI has expected this recovery coming into the last quarter of the year,” said CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez. “September is traditionally the start of an upward trend in sales as the public begin to spend for the upcoming holiday season,” he said. Total sales in the first nine months also increased 2.4 percent to 267,364 units from 261,161 units in the same period last year. Data showed that despite the slight decline in sales of passenger cars, demand for AUVs, trucks and buses remained positive. Othel V. Campos

DBP plans to issue P5b worth of bonds

STATE-RUN Development Bank of the Philippines, the tenth-largest lender in terms of assets, plans to raise P5 billion from the initial tranche of its proposed P50-billion Sustainability Bond Program aimed at financing environmental and social projects eligible under its Sustainability Finance Framework. DBP president and chief executive Emmanuel Herbosa said during the institutional investors’ briefing at the DBP head office in Makati that proceeds from the bonds would be exclusively used to fund projects that contribute to economic inclusion; environmental objectives such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource conservation and pollution control and prevention; as well as projects that directly address or mitigate a specific social issue. DBP’s proposed two-year bonds have an initial pricing guidance of 4.25 percent per annum with final pricing targeted to be determined on Oct. 18, 2019. This will be followed by an eight-day public offer period. Issue and listing date is Nov. 11, 2019. Julito G. Rada

Reserve requirement for banks’ bonds cut

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, reduced the reserve requirement rate for bonds issued by banks/quasi-banks to 3 percent from 6 percent as a part of its bid to deepen the local debt market. The rate is also lower than the required reserves of other debt instruments issued by banks, such as long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits which is currently at 4 percent. “The lower bank reserves on bond issuances is expected to reduce the bond issuers’ intermediation cost that could be passed on to the holders of such securities,” the BSP said. “The adjustment in the required reserves for bonds complements the BSP’s earlier policy issuance streamlining the rules and requirements for the issuance of debt instruments by banks/QBs,” it said. Julito G. Rada

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

By Julito G. Rada

BDO REAPS AWARDS. BDO Unibank Inc., subsidiaries BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and BDO Nomura Securities and corporate social responsibility arm BDO Foundation join more than a hundred awardees from 37 countries honored at the Asian Banking and Finance’s 2019 Wholesale Banking Awards, Retail Banking Awards and Corporate & Investment Banking Awards in Singapore. For one, BDO bags the Philippine Domestic Cash Management Bank of the Year at the Wholesale Banking Awards, which recognizes the most outstanding practices and innovative strategies in Asia’s wholesale banking sector. Representing BDO during the award ceremonies are BDO Securities Corp. first vice president and chief operating officer Bernhard Tsai (left) and BDO Unibank executive vice president and head of transaction banking group Edwin Reyes.

Foreign funds buying P35b into Metro Pacific Hospital By Jenniffer B. Austria

NFRASTRUCTURE conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. said Tuesday it deferred the P83.3billion initial public offering of unit Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. and will instead sell P35.3 billion shares to US investment fund KKR and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte.

Under the definitive agreements signed by the parties, the KKR-led consortium will subscribe to P5.2 billion worth of 41,366,178 new common shares or 6.25 percent stake in MPHHI. KKR will also invest in a P30.1-billion convertible bond to be issued by MPIC. The bond will entitle KKR-led consortium the right to exchange the bond for 239,932,962 common shares in MPHHI within a 10-year period. The

deal is expected to be completed before the end of 2019. Proceeds from the sale of shares in the company are expected to support MPHHI’s potential investments in more hospitals and new healthcare businesses. MPHHI president and chief executive Augusto Palisoc said the KKR investment would enable the company to further grow its hospital network to 5,000 beds and 30 hospitals before 2030. “We also look forward to accessing KKR’s various healthcare companies in its global portfolio, to bring over new technologies and processes to improve healthcare services in our country,” Palisoc said. MPHHI is the operator of the largest private hospitals and healthcare network in the Philippines in terms of authorized bed capacity and revenue. It has interests in 14 hospitals with 3,200 beds across the country. “I am delighted that we are able to announce this new partnership in the healthcare sector, which is an extension of our successful relationship with KKR

with its investment in Voyager Innovations, a digital technology company of MPIC’s sister company PLDT,” MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said. MPIC president Jose Ma. Lim said the company decided to postpone for now the planned IPO of MPHHI as they believed that that best way forward for MPHHI and MPIC is with the new partnership with KKR. Ashish Shastry, co-head of Asia Pacific Private Equity and Head of Southeast Asia at KKR, said: “Today’s announcement is not only about bringing operational value and capital support to this business ― it’s about supporting the impressive doctors, nurses and healthcare practitioners at Metro Pacific Hospitals who help millions of patients across the Philippines. Metro Pacific Hospitals exemplifies the type of high-caliber company KKR looks to work with, and we are thrilled to play a role in the development of the Philippines’ healthcare infrastructure”. KKR has a long track record of supporting companies in the global healthcare sector.

Lab tests firm up claims vapes much safer than tobacco, according to JUUL RESULTS of laboratory tests showed that vapors from JUUL system contained 99-percent fewer harmful and potentially harmful constituents compared to cigarette smoke, the American electronic cigarette maker said in a statement Tuesday. JUUL Labs Inc. said five laboratory studies on the chemical emission profile of the JUUL vaping system were presented at the recent 2019 Joint Conference of the Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco Annual Smoke Science and Product Technology Study Groups in Hamburg, Germany. Two of the five studies examined whether the vapor emissions of the JUUL system caused cytotoxicity or cell death, and the extent to which JUUL aerosol produces volatile organic compounds and harmful and potentially harmful constituents, compared to cigarettes. According to the American Cancer Society, combustible cigarettes contain more than 7,000 known toxicants, many of which are linked to an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. In part, high heat combustion is responsible for the volatilization and release of these compounds, which is why it is important to understand the heating mechanism of vapor products as an alternative to combustible systems. The first study examined cell samples that were exposed to vapor from the JUUL system, smoke from a tobacco cigarette and a control aerosol respectively, for a period of 24 hours. It revealed that aerosol emissions from the JUUL system did not cause cell death, compared to the smoke produced by combustible cigarettes which were found to be cytotoxic.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

IMF cuts 2019 PH growth forecast to 5.7%

On-demand helicopter ride-sharing launched

TECH mobility startup Ascent launched ondemand flights on its helicopter ride-sharing platform to further develop air travel and enable users to skip the traffic gridlock and access remote locations in the Philippines. Ascent chief executive Lionel SinaiSinelnikoff said users could instantly purchase helicopter flights by the seat and by the route at their own time directly from the platform. The unique feature makes it more convenient for Ascent users to skip the traffic and access business and leisure destinations in a matter of minutes, which ultimately enables users to regain control of their time, he said. “Apart from providing helicopter flights up to a tenth of a cost more affordable than regular charter flights, we aim to further contribute to the democratization of urban air mobility through offering seamless ondemand flights on our platform,” said SinaiSinelnikoff. Darwin G. Amojelar

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

ACER-MICROSOFT TIE-UP. Acer Philippines and Microsoft Philippines team up to boost digital literacy among students. Under the agreement, Acer Academy will offer Microsoft certification program to the academy’s 188 partner schools. Attending the launching of the partnership in Makati City are (from left) Microsoft training provider Francis Hernandez, Microsoft education channel manager Paolo Balinas, Microsoft director of commercial partners and small and medium corporate business units Eileen Ong, Acer general manager Sue Ong Lim and Acer business partner lead Clare Acuesta. Manny Palmero

Meralco opens P56-b supercritical coal-fired power plant in Quezon By Alena Mae S. Flores MAUBAN, QUEZON―San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. on Tuesday inaugurated a P56.2-billion supercritical coal-fired power plant here to provide 500 megawatts of additional supply to the Luzon grid. The country’s first and most advanced operational coal plant uses a high-efficiency, low-emission coal technology that allows the plant to operate at increasingly higher temperatures and pressures. The SBPL plant is a partnership between Meralco PowerGen Corp. and New Growth BV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Electricity Generating Co. of Thailand. Meralco PowerGen is the power generation subsidiary of Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest electricity distributor. Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson said the supercritical HELE technology in coal plant could reduce

carbon dioxide emissions and improve the efficiency of the power plant. “We hope we can also bring an ultra supercritical coal plant,” Singson said. Singson said SBPL was completed “on budget and on schedule.” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the 500-MW power plant would help provide much-needed power in Luzon. “The Philippines is a developing economy in which energy plays a crucial role. The country’s drive toward progress, prosperity and global competitiveness is directly correlated to our rising energy requirements. Thus, part of our goal involves a long-term initiative geared towards a sustainable, diversified and balanced energy mix that is responsive to the country’s growing energy needs,” Cusi said. He said the Philippine electric power industry welcomed the entry of new and emerging innovations, such as the plant’s

supercritical power generation technology which produces more efficient power while emitting less greenhouse gases. “Bearing in mind that the energy choices we make today will affect future generations, I am glad to have been given the opportunity to participate in the inauguration of one of the most advanced and efficient plants in the country,” Cusi said. Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Agnes Devanadera said the completion of the power plant was very timely given the yellow alerts raised in the Luzon grid on Monday and Tuesday because of thin power reserves. The new power plant, which started commercial operations on Sept. 26, now supplies power to Luzon. The plant was partly funded by a P42.15-billion project finance facility―the Philippines’ largest all-peso transaction to date that was put together by a consortium of local banks.

THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its 2019 growth forecast for the Philippines to 5.7 percent from the previous estimate of 6 percent following the slower economic expansion in the first half coupled with the worsening global environment. It said, however, in its October World Economic Outlook the Philippines would continue to outperform most of its peers in the ASEAN region. “Since our last update, the secondquarter GDP growth has turned out to be lower than expected. The latest WEO forecast takes into account this growth outcome and the worsening external environment,” IMF resident representative to the Philippines Yongzheng Yang said in a reply to a query. The 5.7-percent estimate is below the government’s earlier target range of 6 percent to 7 percent for 2019. Despite this, the Philippines will continue to outpace the 4.5-percent estimate for Malaysia, 2.9 percent for Thailand and 5 percent for Indonesia. Vietnam is estimated to grow faster than the Philippines this year at 6.5 percent. For 2020, the IMF expects the Philippines to grow by 6.2 percent, next to Vietnam’s 6.5 percent, but faster compared to 4.4 percent for Malaysia, 3 percent for Thailand and 5.1 percent for Indonesia. Economic growth in the second quarter slowed to a four-year low of 5.5 percent from 6.2 percent a year ago, weighed down by the El Niño dry spell, rising protectionism in advanced economies, delay in the approval of the national budget for 2019 and the ban on construction activities in the run-up to the midterm elections last May. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the sluggish and slowerthan-expected expansion for the Aprilto-June period was the slowest since the 5.1-percent GDP expansion in the first quarter of 2015. It also marked the second successive quarter that economic growth stayed below 6 percent. This brought the first-half GDP growth to just 5.5 percent, below the low end of the target range.

Remittances increased by 4.6% to $2.59b in August—BSP MONEY sent home by Filipinos working overseas increased by 4.6 percent in August to $2.589 billion from $2.476 billion a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement Tuesday. This brought the total remittances in the first eight months to $19.808 billion, up by 3.9 percent from $19.057 billion in the same period last year. “Cash remittances from land-based and sea-based workers increased by 2.8 percent to $15.5 billion and 8.2 percent to $4.3 billion, respectively, for January to August 2019,” the BSP said. The United States posted the highest share of overall remittances from January to August at 37 percent, followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany and Kuwait. The combined remittances from these countries accounted for 78.4 percent of total cash remittances in the first eight months. Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also rose 4.2 percent in August to $2.9 billion from $2.8 billion. This brought eight-month tally to $22 billion, up 3.6 percent from $21.2 billion a year earlier. “The steady growth in personal remittances during the first eight months drew support from the remittance inflows from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, which aggregated $16.8 billion from $16.3 billion in the same period last year,” the BSP said. It said inflows from the compensation of sea-based workers and landbased workers with short-term contracts also contributed to the growth and reached $4.7 billion, up from $4.4 billion a year ago. Julito G. Rada

Business

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market falls; Phinma Energy up S TOCKS fell amid thin trading Tuesday following a three-day advance, as investors were fretting over the limited scope and lack of detail in last week’s mini China-US trade deal.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, dropped 43 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 7,840.31. Despite the loss, it was still up 5 percent since the start of the year. The broader all-share index went down 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 4,740.32 on a value turnover of P4.6 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 111 to 65, while 63 issues were unchanged. Six of the 20 most active stocks end-

ed in the green, led by Phinma Energy Corp. which jumped 11.3 percent to P2.56. Alliance Global Group Inc. rose 3.8 percent to P11.48. Meanwhile, Asian equity markets were mixed as investor caution returned, replacing the optimism fanned by Donald Trump’s much-vaunted China trade deal. While Friday’s mini-agreement between the world’s economic superpowers put off fresh tariffs and saw them reach common ground on some issues, observers pointed out it was light on detail and left other major levies in place. And despite Trump’s insistence that the “phase one” agreement was “the greatest and biggest deal”, Beijing said it wanted to hold more talks and called for a delay in other tariffs due in December before it would sign. Equity traders, who have been under pressure from the trade war as well as

the slowing global economy and worries about Brexit among others, seized on Friday’s announcement and sent regional markets surging Monday. But they struggled to build on that as questions swirled over the value of the deal. “It has taken precisely one working day of the new week for optimism to fade about the US-China trade deal lite/ mini/part one,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA. “The rhetoric-high, but detail-light trade announcement in Washington DC on Friday has been tempered by China being both a lot more circumspect and requesting additional talks before signing an agreement.” He said that while he expected the two to hammer out something for Trump and counterpart Xi Jinping to sign before they are due to meet next month, “the

pseudo-deal itself represents nothing more than a holding action”. Still, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday that officials would hold further talks by phone this week and the next to finalize the deal. He also defended it on CNBC. “There is a fundamental agreement in principle,” he said. “There are still some issues that need to be worked out in wording but I would say we have every expectation that phase one will close.” Hong Kong slipped 0.1 percent and Shanghai ended down 0.6 percent, while Singapore, Bangkok and Manila were also in the red. But Tokyo jumped 1.9 percent as dealers returned from a long weekend to play catch-up with the rest of Asia. Sydney added 0.1 percent, Seoul was flat and Taipei put on 0.4 percent. Wellington, Mumbai and Jakarta were also higher. With AFP

Manila Standard BuSineSS daily StockS review tueSday, octoBer 15, 2019

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 57 5,010 93.1 1,524,280 148.5 491,120 24.95 60,100 18.6 149,600 12.06 174,400 4.95 314,000 0.52 50,000 775 110 0.405 30,000 68.5 3,520,030 0.89 91,000 12.8 20,000 20.7 11,200 43 54,800 178.7 20 135 360 57.75 7,070 25.9 2,298,300 197 314,800 1,780 50 59.05 30

285,573 141,900,234 72,627,704 1,499,715 2,782,362 2,097,708 1,560,130 26,070 85,210 12,250 241,050,124 81,320 256,000 229,850 2,357,520 3,574 48,600 408,806.50 60,096,000 61,262,090 89,150 1,771.50

-4,885,315.50 34,673,678 626,580 1,820,744.00 1,217,720 49,365,205 924,450 -408,806.50 -323,610 -22,076,576 -

38 15.56 0.7 4.35 0.25 2.42 15 120 8.55 31 65 2.03 5.8 5.41 8.48 15.2 10.46 6.99 24.7 79.05 48 2.42 14.76 8.05 1.47 232 5.2 19.98 13.06 18.02 362.6 0.189 5.47 1.74 4.16 5.05 9.41 2.42 10.78 33.85 5.37 5.1 1.91 2.3 1 11.16 89.9 7.3 0.122 1.03 157.1 1.2 1.09

INDUSTRIAL 38.6 985,800 15.84 51,400 0.7 306,000 4.35 7,394,000 0.255 870,000 2.47 673,000 15.16 331,200 120 150 8.55 588,000 32 7,500 71.45 740 2.03 3,000 5.8 8,300 5.58 71,700 8.5 356,300 15.6 106,200 10.46 40,100 7 1,266,300 24.9 1,536,300 79.1 36,730 48.5 143,700 2.45 4,009,000 14.9 212,200 8.05 851,400 1.53 95,000 233.4 718,800 5.2 19,700 20 301,500 13.1 20,100 18.02 1,710,300 367 108,570 0.2 180,000 5.47 300 1.75 1,681,000 4.36 57,000 5.05 931,400 9.41 12,000 2.56 56,400,000 11 28,000 34 128,500 5.4 239,300 5.1 46,600 1.95 4,709,000 2.3 15,000 1.01 19,000 11.16 81,500 91 270,260 7.3 116,000 0.122 270,000 1.05 133,000 158.5 407,880 1.24 7,798,000 1.15 4,867,000

37,896,630 812,762 218,390 32,421,770 217,900 1,642,640 5,001,852 18,000 5,092,579 239,700 51,500 6,090 48,640 391,716 3,027,177 1,643,630 423,298 8,881,283 38,256,830 2,910,548 6,942,275 9,805,500 3,148,596 7,015,839 140,660 168,083,966 102,447 6,058,283 263,686 30,821,342 39,685,412 34,790 1,641 2,948,560 243,720 4,733,210 114,884 141,907,200 306,480 4,363,500 1,292,084 237,765 9,186,050 34,700 19,170 911,404 24,348,524.50 849,119 32,940 137,230 64,553,764 9,606,770 5,589,650

-7,694,890 309,016 5,642,900 -389,870 3,769,068 -1,275,652 -227,200 -353,008 333,149 1,371,670 -119,326 -3,933,300 28,126,945 -1,366,920.50 4,230,875 -728,850 1,736,291 50,683,910 -675,828 -100,850 8,653,456 4,342,916 462,100 -756,935 -2,222,460 955,580 -828,282 -19,563,211 6,633 -2,566,974 -1,421,780 -23,200

0.88 53.55 11.66 0.72 6.61 13.2 1.15 1.16 880 3.57 6.73 8.83 13.4 0.218 864.5 72.05 5.23 0.52 4.38 13.94 0.6 5.19 0.039 1.48 2.95 167 1,010 0.86 1.26 221 0.223 0.23

0.86 53.05 11.18 0.69 6.61 12.42 1.12 1.15 871 3.45 6.64 8.58 13.2 0.218 840 69.8 5.11 0.48 4.25 13.64 0.58 4.72 0.038 1.42 2.95 165.1 993.5 0.84 1.26 221 0.223 0.23

HOLDING FIRMS 0.86 3,487,000 53.5 216,650 11.48 17,170,300 0.72 203,000 4,600 6.61 12.76 22,800 1.13 543,000 1.16 202,000 878.5 403,630 3.53 562,000 6.7 631,600 8.75 6,546,300 13.4 30,100 0.218 340,000 853 64,570 71 263,810 5.11 1,000 0.51 135,000 4.31 1,037,000 13.94 578,500 0.6 276,000 4.9 73,168,300 0.038 4,800,000 1.43 231,000 2.95 1,000 165.9 99,900 995 274,055 0.84 311,000 1.26 110,000 221 150 0.223 300,000 0.23 40,000

3,017,120 11,575,800.50 196,767,340 143,720 30,406 292,482 616,110 232,320 353,564,535 1,979,310 4,230,655 56,784,108 401,322 74,120 55,053,480 18,713,409 5,122 65,135 4,459,120 7,979,376 163,940 365,359,934 182,900 335,290 2,950 16,533,355 272,785,427.50 263,040 138,600 33,150 66,900 9,200

-197,630 -5,694,620.50 19,599,248 14,980 86,250.00 -7,655,820 -25,780 194,278 -18,562,880 -63,714 -1,661,510 -3,211,547 -1,285,090 1,652,930 41,090.00 -33,576,726 87,400 -36,750 1,338,708 -142,090,032.50 -

15.04 0.82 9.99 1.85 0.89 48.15 2.07 4.78 6.29 0.56 0.21 0.39 9.82 21.3 0.435 1.6 1.22 4.61 4.79 0.305 1.39 0.37 2.04 53 25.55 2.35

15.02 0.8 9.01 1.85 0.86 47.9 2.03 4.69 6.29 0.55 0.206 0.39 9.76 20.5 0.43 1.58 1.2 4.61 4.71 0.3 1.34 0.365 2.01 45.15 25.4 2.3

PROPERTY 15.04 555,300 0.82 1,103,000 9.99 5,100 1.85 1,000 0.88 145,000 48 5,128,100 2.03 591,000 4.69 81,000 6.29 11,000 0.55 7,454,000 0.206 520,000 0.39 10,000 9.78 50,000 20.9 200,200 0.43 80,000 1.6 9,359,000 1.22 230,000 4.61 2,000 4.72 24,766,000 0.305 2,360,000 1.36 1,499,000 0.37 110,000 2.04 135,000 53 640 25.5 2,797,700 26,000 2.33

8,351,698 888,550 46,919 1,850 127,870 246,255,800 1,208,640 381,720 69,190 4,120,240 109,160 3,900 489,324 4,179,220 34,750 14,885,760 279,570 9,220 117,137,950 709,500 2,039,790 40,250 273,070 31,606 71,305,645 60,300

-52,626 17,088,155 -104,440 -51,680 11,550 597,425 8,216,720 -32,835,880 652,970 32,058,100 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

ASIA UNITED BANK PH ISLANDS BDO UNIBANK CHINABANK COL FINANCIAL EAST WEST BANK FERRONOUX HLDG FIRST ABACUS MANULIFE MEDCO HLDG METROBANK NTL REINSURANCE PB BANK PBCOM PHIL NATL BANK PHIL STOCK EXCH PHILTRUST PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK SUN LIFE UNION BANK

57.3 93.4 147.3 25 18.58 12.08 4.8 0.53 774 0.41 68.35 0.9 12.8 20.75 43.3 178.7 135 57.95 26.05 197.5 1,795 59.05

57.3 93.4 148.5 25 18.6 12.08 5.18 0.53 775 0.41 68.7 0.92 12.8 20.75 43.4 178.7 135 57.95 26.5 197.5 1,795 59.05

57 92.65 146 24.9 18.58 12 4.8 0.52 774 0.405 68.05 0.89 12.8 20.5 42.9 178.7 135 57.6 25.9 192.4 1,780 59.05

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

38.6 15.56 0.71 4.47 0.25 2.46 15.12 120 8.9 32 65.5 2.03 5.9 5.52 8.48 15.5 10.6 7.03 25.25 79.05 48 2.45 14.98 8.68 1.52 235.2 5.2 20.25 13.2 18.04 365 0.189 5.47 1.78 4.39 5.11 9.6 2.42 10.78 34 5.41 5.1 1.93 2.32 1 11.32 90.15 7.38 0.122 1.03 158.2 1.2 1.1

38.6 15.9 0.73 4.47 0.255 2.47 15.18 120 8.9 32 71.45 2.03 5.9 5.65 8.6 15.76 10.7 7.03 25.25 79.5 48.95 2.46 14.98 8.72 1.53 236.2 5.27 20.25 13.2 18.1 367 0.2 5.47 1.78 4.39 5.12 9.6 2.65 11 34 5.41 5.15 2.04 2.32 1.01 11.32 91 7.38 0.122 1.06 158.5 1.25 1.18

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

0.87 53.5 11.2 0.7 6.61 12.7 1.13 1.15 880 3.57 6.73 8.82 13.2 0.218 849 72 5.23 0.5 4.38 13.64 0.58 5.19 0.039 1.42 2.95 167 1,010 0.86 1.26 221 0.223 0.23

8990 HLDG A BROWN ANCHOR LAND ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CEBU HLDG CENTURY PROP CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DM WENCESLAO DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE KEPPEL PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL INFRADEV PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL

15.04 0.81 9.3 1.85 0.89 48.05 2.03 4.69 6.29 0.55 0.21 0.39 9.78 20.6 0.435 1.6 1.2 4.61 4.77 0.305 1.36 0.365 2.03 45.15 25.45 2.3

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND VISTAMALLS

3.25 39 2.7 0.88 7.65 5.66

3.25 39.1 2.76 0.93 7.69 5.75

3.23 38.1 2.68 0.88 7.6 5.65

3.23 38.1 2.76 0.93 7.69 5.75

44,000 5,289,200 729,000 88,000 2,311,000 21,400

142,320 202,484,080 1,992,040 78,880 17,721,008 121,340

-37,702,545 40,200 -6,026,987 -

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL ALLHOME APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA DFNN INC EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE ISLAND INFO ISM COMM LEISURE AND RES MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PH RESORTS GRP PHIL RACING PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

10.1 19.06 1.64 11.56 0.6 0.043 17.2 2.35 10.84 0.049 95 7.13 5.71 9.3 1,845 5.23 440 1.59 120.1 8.15 0.107 5.01 3 18.38 0.415 3.27 2.42 1.12 1.16 13 3.15 2.87 8.2 2.77 5 8.5 3.08 1,112 0.68 0.52 40.55 79 9.2 2.5 0.68 0.32 0.69 16.22

10.26 19.56 1.66 11.56 0.61 0.044 17.2 2.35 10.9 0.055 95.1 7.15 5.71 9.3 1,845 5.25 440 1.6 122 8.15 0.107 5.01 3.04 18.38 0.415 3.4 2.43 1.12 1.16 13 3.17 2.88 8.2 2.77 5.1 8.69 3.18 1,114 0.69 0.52 40.85 79 9.3 2.5 0.68 0.325 0.69 16.7

10.1 19.06 1.64 11.48 0.55 0.042 17 2.35 10.8 0.048 94.5 7.03 5.6 9.02 1,826 5.2 430.2 1.58 120.1 8.15 0.107 4.89 2.98 17.9 0.415 3.27 2.39 1.1 1.16 13 3.03 2.76 8.2 2.77 4.91 8.5 3.08 1,095 0.68 0.5 40.4 76.65 9.19 2.42 0.67 0.315 0.67 16.22

SERVICES 10.12 19.34 1.66 11.5 0.57 0.044 17 2.35 10.9 0.053 94.5 7.05 5.6 9.04 1,838 5.22 439.8 1.6 121 8.15 0.107 4.89 3.04 18.36 0.415 3.4 2.43 1.1 1.16 13 3.12 2.88 8.2 2.77 5.08 8.69 3.12 1,100 0.68 0.51 40.55 77 9.3 2.45 0.68 0.315 0.68 16.4

7,600 478,400 12,000 19,075,200 11,358,000 15,700,000 1,500 30,000 3,612,800 128,900,000 363,910 387,200 50,000 32,100 44,880 79,800 500 124,000 1,924,270 2,000 890,000 2,800,300 189,000 618,100 150,000 25,000 298,000 78,000 57,000 700 3,038,000 38,000 600 2,000 5,800 300 213,000 73,525 1,457,000 3,548,000 655,300 406,310 31,200 1,737,000 2,677,000 1,820,000 1,604,000 1,170,800

76,828 9,232,926 19,720 219,309,470 6,547,050 660,100 25,700 70,500 39,342,908 6,677,500 34,484,579.50 2,734,336 280,278 292,434 82,419,700 417,152 218,906 196,750 232,767,469 16,300 95,230 13,800,720 572,740 11,252,734 62,250 84,810 717,240 86,130 66,120 9,100 9,418,700 108,600 4,920 5,540 28,742 2,569 663,940 80,996,705 995,840 1,806,530 26,613,300 31,366,690.50 289,717 4,262,720 1,819,260 581,300 1,087,860 19,096,180

-67,611,636 -413,300.00 -1,620,004 -72,000 26,838,765.50 39,036 -280,278 -32,560,460 19,080 -53,496,929 515,350 3,370,550 -79,100 100,620 -72,060 -35,189,670 207,000.00 -109,010 315,505 7,301,534 -272,310 -1,641,160 22,400 -1,557,182

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

0.0017 1.15 2.51 12.66 2.58 7.55 1.7 0.215 0.106 0.0092 1.16 3.94 1.05 0.85 0.011 0.011 0.012 10.12 3.65 12.34 23

0.0017 1.15 2.51 12.66 2.62 7.7 1.72 0.215 0.106 0.0098 1.16 3.98 1.08 0.87 0.011 0.011 0.012 10.9 3.65 12.48 23

0.0016 1.14 2.51 11.82 2.58 7.5 1.67 0.203 0.106 0.0092 1.12 3.89 1.02 0.84 0.011 0.011 0.011 10.12 3.6 12 22.95

MINING & OIL 0.0016 73,000,000 1.14 493,000 2.51 50,000 12.6 5,400 2.62 588,000 7.7 3,600 1.7 26,175,000 0.211 560,000 0.106 60,000 0.0098 400,000 1.13 93,000 3.93 5,484,000 1.02 56,000 0.86 258,000 0.011 2,000,000 0.011 200,000 0.011 10,700,000 10.88 2,762,000 3.62 393,000 12.3 405,000 23 111,200

123,800 562,140 125,500 64,968 1,522,720 27,061 44,193,350 115,470 6,360 3,750 104,770 21,515,500 58,070 217,610 22,000 2,200 118,700 29,329,086 1,423,530 4,938,390 2,555,940

-168,840 982,870 4,110,510 10,200 -279,712 -3,650 1,563,836 -44,220

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B PNX PREF 3A SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

18.76 508 500 101.2 100.3 109 509.5 5.15 992 97 1 101.2 1,036 1,050 1,079 102 995 77.8 75.5 76 77 75.5 76

18.76 508 500 101.2 100.3 109 509.5 5.15 992 98.15 1 101.2 1,036 1,054 1,079 102 998 77.8 75.5 76 77 75.5 76

18.32 508 500 100.2 100.3 109 503 5.05 992 96.8 1 101.2 1,036 1,050 1,079 102 995 77.5 75.5 76 77 75.5 75.65

PREFERRED 18.4 224,400 508 30 500 10 100.2 21,000 100.3 3,310 109 11,070 503 3,780 5.05 408,100 992 180 98.15 540 1 37,000 101.2 9,320 1,036 475 1,050 7,550 1,079 1,675 102 9,900 995 3,240 77.5 90,330 75.5 1,000 76 2,050 77 3,880 75.5 20 75.65 140,200

4,134,950 15,240 5,000 2,124,280 331,993 1,206,630 1,918,760 2,067,973 178,560 52,347 37,000 943,184 492,100 7,930,350 1,807,325 1,009,800 3,229,595 7,012,747.50 75,500 155,800 298,760 1,510 10,606,200

-61,908 -103,000 -

LR WARRANT

1.6

1.59

WARRANTS 1.59 7,000

11,160

ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS

6.4 12 2.38 0.89

6.65 12 2.54 0.9

6.35 11.3 2.35 0.89

SME 6.57 11.32 2.53 0.9

3,251,290 14,503,852 379,060 448,850

683,560 11,480 -13,350

FIRST METRO ETF

118.3

117.9

591,278

4,720

USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.04 0.98

9.9 0.98

119,842.40 392

NAME

MS Trading Summary FINANCIAL

SHARES 9,27,882

INDUSTRIAL

101,289,342

HOLDING FIRMS

112,301,566

PROPERTY

73,616,329

SERVICES

208,300,683

MINING & OIL

123,817,889

GRAND TOTAL

631,013,546

499,000 1,253,300 153,000 504,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 118 5,010 9.9 0.98

DDS

12,070 400

VALUE 1,829.42 (UP) 3.79 618,416,641.35 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,701.32 (down) 4.47 705,655,822.728 HOLDING FIRMS 7,646.83 (down) 57.29 1,390,264,082.07 PROPERTY 4,113.30 (down) 43.56 1,523.98 (down) 5.14 735,611,547.26 SERVICES MINING & OIL 9,029.80 (down) 62.15 1,027,996,278.09 PSEI 7,840.31 (down) 43.98 107,051,139.122 All Shares Index 4,740.32 (down) 18.77 4,604,172,739.94 Gainers:65; Losers: 111; Unchanged: 63; Total: 239

ICTSI unit reaffirms support for Pakistan By Darwin G. Amojelar INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. said Tuesday it reaffirmed its commitment to support and improve Pakistan’s port industry. Pakistan International Container Terminal, in a statement, reiterated the ICTSI Group’s support and commitment to the emerging development projects in the region that would benefit the port’s hinterland and stakeholder communities. Governor Imran Ismail of Pakistan’s Sindh province commended PICT for providing value-added services and for closely collaborating with the business community to improve the ease of doing business in the Port of Karachi, the country’s busiest maritime gateway. ICTSI in October 2012 completed the acquisition of a majority shareholding in PICT which holds a 21-year concession for the construction, development, operations and management of a common user container terminal at Karachi Port for a period of 21 years. ICTSI’s portfolio of terminals and projects spans developed and emerging market economies in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ICTSI earlier reported a net income of $72.4 million in the first quarter, up 77 percent from $40.9 million in the same period last year. Gross revenues from operations amounted to $383.8 million in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 18 percent from $325.4 million last year. ICTSI handled consolidated volume of 2,478,672 twenty-foot equivalent units in the quarter, up 7 percent 2,325,540 TEUs it handled in the same period in 2018. The increase in volume was led by the improvement in trade activities, new shipping lines and services and continuous volume ramp-up at certain terminals.

Century Pacific secures $12.57-m deal with Russia By Jenniffer B. Austria CENTURY Pacific Food Inc., one of the Philippines’ largest food and beverage companies, said it signed multiple supply deals worth $12.57 million with top Russian firms. Under separate memoranda of understanding, CNPF agreed to supply tuna and sardine products to Magnit Food Retail Chain, Dalimo and LLC Dalpromryba. It will also supply coconut milk products to Panasia Impex Co. Ltd. The agreements were among the business deals that were signed during President Rodrigo Duterte’s recently concluded five-day official visit to Russia. “Russia is an attractive market for us because of its large, increasingly affluent and highly-educated population,” said CNPF chief operating officer Gregory Banzon. Russia has the sixth-largest economy in the world and a population of 146 million people. “The multiple deals follow accreditation of CNPF’s various manufacturing plants, allowing the company to meet and service various requirements of established food brands and retailers in Russia,” Banzon said. “The supply agreements will help us build a global consumer base for our flagship brand Century Tuna, which is already gaining traction abroad, and grow as well our emerging coconut milk business,” Banzon said. The Philippines is already the top tuna-exporter to Spain, Germany and Britain. The country exports 171,452 metric tons of tuna worth $492 million to these three markets each year. CNPF is one of the country’s largest exporters of tuna and coconut products to the world. It also maintains market leadership in the domestic canned tuna market and is investing in an emerging local coconut business.

World

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

HK leader slams US senator for his ‘police state’ remark

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY. Indian Sikh priest Sukhjinder Singh (C) sits behind the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib during a

‘Jalau’ or a splendor show of Sikhism’s symbolic items on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the fourth Sikh Guru Ramdas at the Sikh Shrine in the Golden Temple in Amritsar on October 15, 2019. AFP

HONG KONG―Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday hit back at a US senator who said the city is becoming a police state, a day after a massive rally called on Washington to punish Beijing over the sliding freedoms in the international hub. The territory has been battered by more than four months of pro-democracy protests―and increasingly violent clashes with the police―with Beijingbacked Chief Executive Carrie Lam unable to resolve the unprecedented crisis. Critics have accused her government and the police of heavy-handedness, and some US lawmakers―including Senator Josh Hawley―are trying to pass legislation that would make Hong Kong’s special trading status subject to annual reviews of its political situation. “Some foreign politicians... still think this is a peaceful protest that fights for human rights and freedom, or even said they have not seen any violence,” Lam said at a press conference. “This is total ignorance of the truth.” Hawley, a sponsor of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, had

Japan rescuers still scrambling as typhoon death toll nears 70 T OKYO―Rescuers in Japan were working around the clock Tuesday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful weekend typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction.

Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday night, unleashing fierce winds and unprecedented rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks. By Tuesday afternoon, local media put the toll at nearly 70, with around a dozen people missing. The government’s tally was lower, but it said it was still updating information. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said there was no plan to slow rescue operations, with around 110,000 police, coast guard, firefighters and military troops involved. “Currently in damaged areas rescue work and searches for the missing are continuing around the clock,” Abe told parliament. “Where rivers flooded, work is ongoing to fix spots where banks broke, and water is being pumped out

School lunches keeping Japan’s children healthy TOKYO―Japan manages a rare feat for a developed country when it comes to feeding its children―high scores for nutrition but very low obesity rates. One major key? School lunches. A landmark report by the UN’s children agency UNICEF released Tuesday shows Japan topping the charts for childhood health indicators, with low rates of infant mortality and few underweight children. But it also manages the lowest incidence of childhood obesity among the 41 developed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and European Union. Experts say there are various factors at work, including a health-conscious society and regularly mandated checkups for children, but a nationwide school lunch program also plays a key role. “School lunches with menus that are created by nutritionists are provided to all primary schools and the majority of junior high schools throughout Japan,” Mitsuhiko Hara, a pediatrician and professor at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University, told AFP. The lunches are mandatory―no packed lunches allowed―and while they are not free for most, they are heavily subsidized. Each meal is designed to have around 600-700 calories balanced between carbohydrates, meat or fish and vegetables. One sample meal served to children in Japan’s Gunma gives a flavor: rice with grilled fish and a spinach and sprout dish, served with miso soup with pork, alongside milk and dry prunes. “School lunch is designed to provide nutrition that tends to be lacking in meals at home,” education ministry official Mayumi Ueda told AFP. “I think it contributes to the nutritional balance necessary for children.”AFP

where floods occurred,” he added. The prime minister’s office said more than 3,000 people have been rescued in the wake of the disaster, which affected 36 of the country’s 47 prefectures. The defence ministry has called up several hundred reserve troops in addition to active duty soldiers for the first time since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Government officials warned that more rain was expected throughout the day Tuesday in several parts of the country affected by the typhoon. “We ask people not to drop their guard and to remain fully alert,” chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga. told reporters. Hagibis crashed into land packing gusts up to 216 kilometers per hour, but it was the storm’s heavy rain that caused the most damage. At least 176 rivers burst their banks, including in central Nagano, where a levee breach sent water from the Chikuma river gushing into residential neighbourhoods and submerging bullet trains in a depot up to their windows. Deaths were reported across many prefectures and included a man whose apartment was flooded, a municipal worker whose car was caught in rising waters and at least seven crew aboard a cargo ship that sank in Tokyo bay on Saturday night. By Tuesday morning, some 34,000 households were

still without power, and 133,000 homes had no water. Tens of thousands of people spent Monday night in government shelters, with many unsure when they would be able to return home. “My frightened daughter can’t stop shaking. We want to go home quickly,” Rie Nishioka, 39, told Kyodo News agency in Miyagi prefecture. The government pledged financial support to affected regions without specifying how much aid it would set aside. “Support for the victims of the disaster is an urgent task,” Abe said. “There are concerns that the impact on daily life and economic activities may be long-lasting.” Another area affected by the storm was Fukushima, where several bags containing soil and plants collected during nuclear decontamination efforts were washed away. “Ten bags out of 2,667 were swept into a river during the typhoon, but six of them were recovered yesterday,” environment ministry official Keisuke Takagi told AFP, adding that the remaining four bags had been found and would be collected soon. “Residents must be worried about the environment, but there are no reports that the bags were broken, so there will be nothing to worry about once they have been recovered safely,” he said.AFP

IN BRIEF

Swiss glaciers shrink 10% in five years

GENEVA—Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone―a melting rate unmatched during observations stretching back more than a century, a study showed Tuesday. Measurements on 20 Swiss glaciers have shown that the melt rates this year have reached “record levels”, according to the annual study on the state of the glaciers, published by the Cryospheric Commission at the Swiss Academy of Sciences. The study, released amid growing global alarm over climate change, found that intense heat waves over the summer in Switzerland had dashed hopes that an exceptionally snow-filled winter would limit the glacier melt this year. The commission said that in April and May, the snow cover on the glaciers was between 20 and 40 percent higher than usual, with depths of up to six meters measured in some places as late as June. But during two weeks of intense heat at the end of June and again in late July, “the volume of snow and ice melting on Swiss glaciers ... was equivalent to the country’s total annual consumption of drinking water,” it said in a statement. The result, it said, was that the thick snow layer quickly disappeared and the strong melt continued until early September. AFP

US sanctions Turkish ministers

WASHINGTON―The US Treasury slapped punitive sanctions on Turkey’s defense minister and two other ministers Monday in response to Ankara’s military assault on northern Syria. Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, and Energy Minister Fatih Donmez were placed on the Treasury’s sanctions blacklist, freezing their US assets and banning US or US-related transactions with them. The defense and energy ministries were also hit with sanctions, the Treasury said. “The United States is holding the Turkish government accountable for escalating violence by Turkish forces, endangering innocent civilians and destabilizing the region,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The sanctions were announced after President Donald Trump signed an order authorizing them, saying Turkey’s action “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the United States. “I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat,” Trump said in the order. The sanctions seek mainly to lock the designated individuals and organizations out of the global financial system, by threatening to penalize any international banks with a US presence involved in transactions with those on the blacklist. AFP

FASHION WEEK. A model displays a creation by Philippine designer Jace Quiambao for the 2020 Spring/Summer collection at Tokyo Fashion Week in Tokyo on October 15, 2019. AFP

Vietnamese cannabis farmers getting the British high HAI PHONG―Holed up alone in a suburban British house thousands of miles from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK’s multi-billion dollar weed industry. Cuong―who is now 41―slipped into Britain illegally, hidden under a lorry before going on to grow cannabis in homes, hotels and even a stable His dangerous journey from the poor, rough Vietnamese port town of Haiphong to Britain’s illegal cannabis farms was driven by big dreams. “All I ever wanted was to make money... whether it was legal or illegal,” Cuong, who is now back in Vietnam, tells AFP. It was criminal career steered by the Vietnamese gangsters behind the UK’s huge marijuana trade―which researchers value at around 2.6 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) a year.

said during a weekend visit to the city that it was “in danger of sliding towards a police state”. Earlier, fellow Republican senator Ted Cruz had accused the Chinese government of trying to impose “dictatorship” on Hong Kong. Lam said the American lawmakers had “preconceived views” about Hong Kong, and Hawley describing “Hong Kong as becoming a police state is totally irresponsible and unfounded”. The Missouri senator stood by his statement. “I chose the words ‘police state’ purposely―because that is exactly what Hong Kong is becoming. I saw it myself,” Hawley tweeted. “If Carrie Lam wants to demonstrate otherwise, here’s an idea: resign.” The Hong Kong protests were sparked by opposition to a now-scrapped proposal by Lam’s government that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, but have since transformed into a wider movement for democratic reform―including universal suffrage― and police accountability. AFP

Cuong claims he went to the UK willingly, looking for ready cash in a country with some of the highest weed prices anywhere in Europe. But many others-including children― are tricked and trafficked to work for the shadowy Vietnamese drug bosses who have become the unlikely kingpins of the UK weed game. The story of the self-professed hustler and low-level crook offers a unique insight into the routes taken by some Vietnamese migrants. But it also turns a spotlight on the margins in Vietnam, where criminal gangs trade on poverty and lack of opportunities to recruit new footsoldiers. Cuong, a former small-time crook and drug user, was 29 when he set off for the UK. It was 2008 and the cannabis trade promised riches, he says, so he paid $15,000 to brokers for a fraudulent passport and a spot on a tour group to Europe.

He slipped away from the tour in France and joined a well-worn migrant route to a camp in Calais where Vietnamese people smugglers arranged for him to cross the channel to Britain—under the belly of a lorry. “If you fall you’re dead,” explains Cuong, who made the overnight journey to Dover with three other Vietnamese migrants. Arriving in a new country and speaking no English, his options were limited, so Cuong again turned to the migrant network for help. He ended up in Bristol and worked for a man running several cannabis farms in suburban homes. Cuong says he had to work on his own, housebound and reliant on weekly food drops by his handlers. “I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants... put them under lights for two hours and watered them,” recalls Cuong, his mundane routine punctuated by fear of arrest.AFP

Spain jails Catalan leaders

BARCELONA―Thousands of Catalan separatists hit the streets in protest and blocked access to Barcelona airport on Monday after Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine of their leaders to heavy jail terms over the failed 2017 independence bid. The long-awaited ruling capped weeks of rising tension, and puts the Catalan question at the heart of the political debate less than a month before Spain heads into its fourth general election in as many years. As soon as news of the sentences were announced in the morning, demonstrators flooded onto the streets of Barcelona before marching towards El Prat, Spain’s second busiest airport, where they choked off road and rail access. At the entrance to the airport, police in riot gear repeatedly charged at protesters trying to get inside. Demonstrators responded by throwing rocks, cans and fire extinguishers. At one point, traffic outside came to a complete standstill up to five kilometers from the airport, with many travelers with suitcases getting out of cars and walking as a police helicopter flew overhead. AFP

LGUs

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

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

75th Leyte Gulf Landing rites set By Ronald O. Reyes

ALO, Leyte―A dancing fountain show, fireworks display, and brightly lit park welcomed visitors Sunday as the Leyte provincial and regional tourism officials inaugurated and switched on the state-of-the-art lighting system of the MacArthur Shrine here for this year’s 75th Leyte Gulf Landings anniversary commemoration.

“We are ready. With funding from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority and the Department of Tourism-Yolanda Tourism Infrastructure Rehabilitation Fund, the MacArthur Park today has regained its beauty. A fitting memorial to both the bemedalled and unsung heroes of the 2nd World War,” said Karen Tiopes, regional tourism director. “Our utmost appreciation also goes to former Palo Mayor Matin Petilla for her ideas and for constantly monitoring the projects to ensure that the MacArthur Shrine and Park would look its best,” added Tiopes. With collaboration from the Office of Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and the Municipal Government of Palo, the executive committee assured the guests and visitors of the security and “more than the usual” commemorative activities. About 105 remaining war veterans

The brightly lit sculpture of General Douglas MacArthur and his companions—‘MacArthur’s Landing’ by Filipino sculptor Anastacio Caedo— welcomes visitors to Leyte Landing Memorial Park as the 75th anniversary of the historic World War II event nears on Oct. 20. Rhoel Ladera

around the region, along with their families and friends, are expected to join the ceremony. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will serve as guest speaker, representing President Rodrigo Duterte. To accompany Lorenzana during the wreath-laying ceremony will be National

Historic Commission Chairman Rene Escalante, members of the Philippine Army, foreign dignitaries, local officials, and with Palo Mayor Frances Ann Petilla. Expected to grace the ceremony are John Law, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of the United States of America; His Excellency Steven James Robinson

AO, ambassador, Embassy of Australia; Minister Yasushi Yamamoto, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of Japan; Retired Justice Manuel Pamaran, president, Veterans Federation of the Philippines; and Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina, administrator, Philippine Veterans Bank.

Norman Fulgencio, chairman of the Philippine Postal Corp., will present the commemorative stamp. Meanwhile, Petilla said there will be no reenactment of the Leyte Gulf Landings during the event, citing unavailability of some US warships for the ceremony. The other highlights of the commemoration include: • Oct. 13-25, Vintage Cars and World War II vehicles show and exhibit, Boy Scout Circle. • Oct. 17, Sentimental Journey, Guiuan, Eastern Samar, 8 a.m.; Miss Liberation Diamond, Boy Scout Circle, 7:30 p.m. • Oct. 17-19, National Conference on the 75th Anniversary of the Leyte Gulf Landings, Leyte Normal University, 9:00 p.m. • Oct. 18, Tolosa Signal Commemorative event, Barangay Telegrafo, Tolosa, 8 a.m. • Oct. 18-27, War of our Fathers: A tribute to Filipino freedom exhibit through the Philippines Veterans Bank, Robinsons Mall-Marasbaras, 4 p.m. • Oct. 19, Dulag Hill 120 commemorative events, Barangay San Rafael, Dulag. • Oct. 20, Sunrise ceremony of the Filipino Veterans (with their sons and daughters), MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, 5:00 a.m.; 75th National Commemorative Ceremonies, MacArthur Landing Memorial National Park, 8 a.m. • Subiran Regata, The Oriental Hotel, 10:30 a.m.; Reunion of the Veterans, Department of Education gymnasium, Government Center, 12 noon.

Mayor Lantion sees Bayombong Scholarships, learning opportunities for Navoteños becoming a city in three years By Jun David

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya— Mayor Ralph Lantion expects the transformation of this town into a city by 2022. He said a bill is now being filed and scrutinized in the House of Representatives which seeks to declare capital towns of cityless provinces as their respective cities to spur socio-economic development. Lantion said a similar bill has been filed by Senator Sonny Angara in the Senate, which seeks to create 20 cities in the country by 2022. “This is good news. We are looking forward to this as we are now armed with socio-economic infrastructure projects, among others,” he said. Lantion’s statement came during the

3rd Founding Anniversary Celebration of the Bayombong Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Center and commencement exercises in barangay La Torrre North. The local chief executive touted Bayombong’s socio-economic qualities for its potential cityhood bid due to its being a center for local governance, education and health, among others. Once Bayombong will be established as a city, its Internal Revenue Allotment will be P600 million and its share from the Value Added Tax will be roughly P280 million, Lantion said. “This is a development that will further provide jobs and employment for our constituents so that the quality of their lives will be improved for the better,” he said.

THE City Government of Navotas, under Mayor Toby Tiangco’s leadership, established more scholarships and learning opportunities for Navoteños. During Tiangco’s first 100 days in office, Navotas created a scholarship for persons with disabilities. An initial batch of 467 Navoteño PWD students may now receive

P500 monthly educational assistance. Tiangco also signed a memorandum of agreement with the new batch of NavotaAs art scholars. Thirteen Navoteño students are now qualified to receive P16,500 transportation and food allowance as well as P20,000 worth of workshop and training grant per academic year. “Education is one of our priorities. We aim to uplift the quality of life of Navote-

nos by helping them get access to holistic learning and be able to develop and hone their potential,” the mayor said. Under Tiangco’s helm, the city government launched the NavoTours bus for public elementary and high schools in the city. It will be used for city-funded student field trips and as a means of transportation for students and teachers who attend competitions outside of Navotas.

Liliw Mayor Erickson Sulibit (right) explains to barangay chairmen and municipal counselors their town’s water shortage issue in a gathering near Barangay Kanlurang Bukal, where the town’s water source is. Roy Tomandao

Liliw hopes P55-m rehab ends its water woes By Roy Tomandao

STANDARD DONATION. Standard Insurance Group chairman and Philippine Coast

Guard Auxiliary Rear Admiral Ernesto T. Echauz (second from left) leads the turnover of various personal computers, printing equipment and air-conditioning units to Coast Guard Station in Manila. The donations will help PCG respond to disasters, rescue operations, maritime safety, security and other activities. Receiving the donation from Echauz is PCG Commodore Leovigildo G. Panopio (left). Witnessing are Alf de la Cruz, head of infrastructure and cyber security, and Agapito Evardo Jr., both from the information technology group of Standard Insurance.

LILIW, Laguna—The local government of Liliw hopes to solve the town’s water problems with a P55-million total rehabilitation project of its water system through a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines. Liliw Mayor Erickson Sulibit explained to all barangay chairmen of the town their situation and the dwindling water sources in Barangay Kanlurang Bukal along Mount Banahaw. Apart from the LandBank loan, the mayor said the Department of the Inte-

CL farmers see 3.6-m ton rice yield By Romeo Dizon SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—Central Luzon, the rice granary of the country, continues to have bountiful harvests despite markets being flooded by imported rice. Benjamin Balthazar, operations officer of the Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon said about 200,000 farmers in the region have started harvesting their palay since last month. “We are expecting to harvest about 3.6 million metric tons, especially this season,” Balthazar said.

The top palay producers in the region remain in Nueva Ecija, which is contributing 50 percent of the production, followed by Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zambales and Bataan in order. Despite the bountiful harvest, farmers continue to lose profits due to the low farmgate prices of rice, which is pegged at P11 to P 13 per kilo and P 19 for clean rice per kilo. Farmers in the region are cultivating an estimated 400,000 hectares of land across six provinces. According to Baltazar, farmers need to invest P12 to produce a kilo of rice.

rior and Local Government will provide an additional P11 million from the Assistance to Municipality Fund, which will be allocated to renovating the local Water Treatment Facility that in turn reuses river water to provide potable water to residents. Sulibit said the water distribution pipeline was the problem because in addition to its present falling water pressure, it should have been raised to accommodate 33 barangays with over 30,000 families. According to a local government study, it appears that instead of water

levels rising during the rainy season, it is actually decreasing as opposed to the summer season, the mayor said. Climate change is believed to be the source of the problem in Mount Banahaw, where five barangays suffered a water shortage more than five months ago. The villages of Daniw, Dita, Dagatan, Malabo Kalantukan, and Bayate were reported to have low water pressure. In addition, the neighboring towns of Majayjay, Nagcarlan, Rizal, Lucban, and the city of San Pablo are now experiencing poor water flow from their springs.

EURO EDUC FAIR.

Thomas Wiersing (center, front row), Charge d’Affaires of the European Union Delegation to the Philippines, is flanked by Tess Pilapil, Lyceum of the Philippines UniverstyCavite vice president for Admissions (fourth from left) and Lala Fojas, ShangriLa Plaza general manager (fourth from right) as they join scholars and representatives of EU embassies during the launch of the European Higher Education Fair 2019 at the Shangri-La Theater in Mandaluyong City. Manny Palmero

World Bread Day

Filipinosâ€™ love for Pandesal began during Spanish colonial times

By Ric M. Pinca

HE Filipinos' breakfast table is not complete without Pan de Sal (or Pandesal), that rounded piece of bun, which is either dipped in coffee or taken with cheese or whatever filling is available.

Pinoys inherited their love for bread from the Spaniards during the 400 years of Spain's colonial rule of the Philippines from the 1500s to late 1890s. Spanish friars grew wheat in Cagayan Valley, Ilocos provinces and the Calatagan area in Batangas. The friars milled wheat into flour for the production of their own bread and eucharistic wafers or "Ostia" used for mass. From these friars, the Pinoys learned how to bake and consume bread. This is why most local bread products have Spanish names such as Pandesal, Ensaymada and Pan de Suelo, among others. And here's an interesting trivia. The Philippines grew so much wheat during the Spanish time that some of these were even exported to Mexico during the Galleon Trade. When the Americans took over in the 1900s, they brought in flour and wheat farming was abandoned. But the baking craft continued, particularly in the Batangas area. This may have been the reason why most bakers, even these days, are Batanguenos. Filipinos loved Pandesal and other flourbased products such as pastries, noodles and pasta so much, that the country's importation of wheat kept growing each year. Wheat is the raw material for the production of flour. Bureau of Customs' records show Philippine milling wheat imports reached 3.01 Million Metric Tons (MMT) in 2018, the highest on record, a 30.3 percent increase from 2014. This year, this record may be broken as the trend points to a possible 3.13 MMT wheat importation by the year end, a four percent increase from last year's figures. Fifty percent of local flour production is used up by the bakery industry; 20 percent goes into noodles; another 20 percent becomes cookies and crackers; four percent becomes pasta products while the remaining six percent goes into other products. The Philippines imports two types of wheat â€”Hard Wheat and Soft Wheat. Hard wheat is milled to produce high protein wheat flour for the production of Pandesal, Loaf bread, Monay and other Filipino bread favorites. Soft wheat, the raw material for soft flour, has a lower protein content and is for the production of pastries, cakes, noodles, pancakes, muffins and other usually sweet merienda fares. The United States supplies an average of 90 percent of the Philippine wheat requirements.

This year though, Philippine US wheat imports may reach 96.7 percent due to the higher demand for flour from the baking industry, cookie manufacturers and noodle producers. Higher per capita consumption The Philippine wheat flour milling industry estimates the Philippine per capita flour consumption at 20 kgs per person based on the Philippine population of 106 million. In contrast, per capita rice consumption is at 110 per kg per person. Indonesia consumes more flour at around 33 kgs per person. Thailand and Vietnam use up just about the same amount of flour as we do. The increasing demand for bread products has fueled the establishment of more flour mills in the country. Since 2014, seven new flour mills have been put up by enterprising businessmen wanting to get a piece of the growing flour market, raising the number of local flour mills to 21. Two mills are reportedly being planned, one in Mindanao, the other in Visayas. The biggest flour mill in the country is San Miguel Mills Inc., followed by the Iloilo City-based Philippine Foremost Flour Mills. Along with Pilmico Foods Corporation in Iligan City and Universal Robina Corporation in Manila, they comprise the top four mills in terms of market share. The other mills are Philippine Flour Mills, General Milling Corporation, RFM Corporation, Wellington Flour Mills, Liberty Flour Mills, Morning Star Milling Corporation and Delta Milling Industries. The new mills are Monde Nissin Corporation, Atlantic Grains, Asian Grains Corporation, AgriPacific Corporation, Great Earth Industrial Food Inc., New Hope Flour Milling Corporation, North Star Milling Corporation, Big C Agri Miller, Mabuhay Interflour Inc., ans California Flour Group Inc. With more mills importing wheat and producing flour, Pinoys are assured of having a plentiful supply of their favorite Pandesal and other delicious bread products.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 advertise@manilastandard.net

World Food Day

Celebrating World Food Day

By Shana Angela S. Cervania

ORLD Food Day is celebrated annually every October 16 to commemorate the founding of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Launched in 1945, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has the ultimate goal of ending world hunger; making sure that everyone all around the world has enough food to eat on their table. It calls the attention of international governments to implement and practice successful argiculture policies to safeguard food for everyone and the future generations. It is also part of their mission to strengthen the world’s food security, especially in the event of crisis. Part of their activities is to inform people to be conscious of the planet as climate change continues to negatively affect food security and agriculture. Ensuring both the health of the people and the state of the environment, they call on people to eat healthy, while advocating for a #ZeroHunger world. According to the organization, dietary guidelines in a given country provide advice on how to make everyone gets enough nutrients to be healthy and prevent chronic disease. These dietary guidelines are also used to develop nutrition policies and education programmes. They also call on everyone to be vigilant on the food they intake by making healthy and sustainable diet as the influx of fast-food chain restaurants and sedentary lifestyles have made people unhealthy. Apart from this, people are encouraged to eat plenty of fresh, ripe and seasonal vegetables and fruits daily. Adding more legumes, nuts and

whole grains to your diet is also a must because these are great sources of plant-based protein. What’s more, FAO says, these can be cheaper than animal proteins. They’re also kinder on our planet. According to FAO, over 670 million adults and 120 million girls and boys ages 5-19 are obese; 40 million children ages 0-5 are overweight; and over 820 million people are suffering from hunger. Nearly one in three people are obese and malnourished. Their projections indicate that there will be one in two people affected by 2025. Having an unhealthy diet can also cause increased risk factors in possesing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer. Organized in over 150 countries, events regarding World Food Day are to promote worldwide awareness and action to ending hunger, ensuring food security and healthy agricultural practices such as those concerning fishing communities, climate change and biodiversity, and advising nutritional diets with a goal to build a Zero Hunger Generation. Each year also has a different theme. And the organizations emphasise, everyone can play a part. Countries, decision makers and private businesses can take action to promote healthy diets and achieve #ZeroHunger, according to FAO. Farmers and agribusinesses, as well as the women and men who work in agriculture play a vital role in providing nutritious, affordable food. The knowledge and traditional practices that these people have are vital in a world where food production "faces challenges such as climate change and limited natural resources,” the organisation adds. "Governments and Institutions can also contribute. Given the significant amount of money spent on health problems related to malnutrition, strategies and policies to ensure the availability and affordability of healthy diets make good business sense for countries and their governments,” FAO says.

World Bread Day

‘Let there be bread‘ B By Shana Angela S. Cervania

READ is the most widely eaten food in the world. It is a staple food served and consumed in almost all households every single day especially in Western countries such as in Europe and the United States.

It’s no different in the Philippines. Here, the top five most commonly consumed foods are rice, salt, cooking oil, coffee and bread, according to a food consumption survey by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST). Here the Pandesal stands as the unofficial king of pastries, alongside iconic variants like pan de regla, ensaymada, pita, and the mamon. But bread not only fills our tummies, but also gives us the nutrients our bodies need. Furthermore, bread is an essential source of carbohydrates aside from other starchy food such as pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals and other grains like rye and barley. Beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, and corn are carbohydrates, too. All these provide fuel for the brain and energy for a person to function properly throughout the day. By combining together a dough of flour and water, a baker could have a very tasty creation; crispy on the outside that would make someone lick lips, fluffy and soft in the inside that would melt on the tongue. And don’t forget the inviting aroma of freshly-baked goods and pastries wafting along the street when you pass by cafés

starting to open their businesses, as you stroll around and drink your joyous cup of morning coffee. As early as 30,000 years ago, it is believed that baking bread has already been an activity done by pre-historic humans, thus, making it one of the oldest food made by humans. From water and grains, they used to prepare the liquid gruel then turned them solid by frying them on heated stones. Traces of starch have been discovered in ancient mortar and pestle-like rocks, according to a 2010 study by the National Academy. It is believed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to use yeast to leaven the dough. The Romans invented two types of ovens which are the brick oven and the “three-legged” pot. Also, the Normans used crop rotation practices and built watermills and windmills for improved flour production. Bread-making further evolved from the 18th century up to the present where roller flour mills, loaf tins, steam powered mills, then steel roller mills were invented; from wooden and coal burning brick ovens to gas ovens; and then finally, highlyautomated flour mills with steel rollers were created in the 20th century. There are traditional bread recipes that have been passed down from the ancient

generation to the next in many of the varying cuisines worldwide. Bread is usually made from wheat, but other cereals, including rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, millet, and sorghum can also be used. Today, endless varying flours and other ingredients such as additives like nuts, fruits, margarine and dairy products such as cheese, butter, eggs, milk, and cream helped evolved bread-making to make different types, shapes, sizes, and textures of these deliciously-baked goods. Chemical but safe additives such as artificial color and flavoring are used also, to not only improve apperance and taste but for improved shelf life as well. Some of the best types of bread are croissants, baguettes, brioche, sourdough, focaccia, ciabatta, rye bread, garlic bread, whole-wheat bread, pita, naan, banana bread, bagels, multigrain breads and so much more. Bread is also considered an important ritual element in some religions, including Christianity and Judaism. Initiated by the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (IUBC), this occasion has been observed throughout the years as dedication to a staple food that has been crucial for people around the world to survive since the break of dawn. Also, this celebration was started to commemorate the anniversary of the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Created in 1945 to defeat hunger, it has a Latin motto, Fiat panis, which means “Let there be bread”. Furthermore, World Bread Day also coincides with World Food Day. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get this bread!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2019 advertise@manilastandard.net

Pandesal Day in PH By Elizabeth Nicole Regudo MGA panadero, simulan niyo na magmasa ng tinapay. Every year, World Bread Day is celebrated as an international observance to commemorate the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945. It aims to end hunger with its Latin motto as Fiat panis, which translates to “Let there be bread.” The observance, initiated by the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC), is dedicated to a food staple that has been around the world for about 30,000 years—bread. Bread is usually made from wheat such as spelt, emmer, einkorn and kamut but it can also be baked using non-wheat ingredients including rye, barley, maize, oats, sorghum, millet and rice. Since the dawn of agriculture, bread has had an important role in the lives of people. Not only is it a nutritional food but also a ritual element in some religions including Christianity and Judaism. There are also recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation as part of tradition. No matter where you’re from, bread is always a part of the food culture. In the Philippines, a classic Filipino breakfast is not complete without a bag of pandesal. It is the most popular bread in the country. And to pay tribute to the Filipino favorite, World Pandesal Day is also celebrated every October 16 since it was launched in 2015 by the heritage and artisanal Kamuning Bakery Cafe. As early as 6 in the morning, you would hear a loud horn from a vendor on a bike who’s selling stacks of pandesal. He would keep them warm in an insulated box as he roams the streets until these are sold out. At the same time, you would see people lining up outside the bakeries to buy freshly baked pandesal. Although it’s not salty, its name originates from the Spanish word pan de sal which means salted bread. As it took over the streets of the Philippines, the style of baking pandesal changed to satisfy the Filipino taste. It became slightly sweet. Yet, still it is exceptionally soft and fluffy. Covered with dusts of breadcrumbs, pandesal can be eaten on its own, dunked in coffee, filled with condensed milk or served on a plate with scrambled eggs and hotdogs on the side. Honestly, you can pair it with anything you want. Some people even prefer it with ketchup. What’s your favorite? Celebrate World Bread Day as World Pandesal Day!

50 X 2025 BY 2025, WE COMMIT TO REDUCE OUR USE OF WATER IN ALL PROCESSES ACROSS THE SAN MIGUEL GROUP BY 50%.

While our water management efficiency level is among the highest in the Philippines, and while water conservation and protection has always been a key component of our operations,

WE’RE CHALLENGING OURSELVES TO DO MORE.

ELIMINATE WASTAGE OF WATER ACROSS OUR OPERATIONS.

We will adopt new and stricter measures to improve the efficiency of our water use, as well as utilize water-saving technologies and implement conservation programs.

REUSE AND RECYCLE MORE WATER.

We will optimize all our wastewater treatment facilities to further lessen our water footprint. We commit to make greater use of treated greywater for non-essential purposes.

REDUCE OUR USE OF GROUND AND SURFACE WATER AND PROTECT VITAL WATER SOURCES. HARVEST RAINWATER.

We will continue to lessen our use of ground and surface water, protect these water sources, and empower our communities to do the same.

We will harvest rainwater and runoff water from creeks and rivers – collecting, filtering, and storing it for irrigation and for various other purposes in our facilities. We hope that others will follow our example.

WE ARE EQUALLY COMMITTED TO PROVIDING WATER-CHALLENGED COMMUNITIES NOT JUST WITH ACCESS TO SAFE, POTABLE WATER, BUT ALSO THE ABILITY TO BE SELF-SUSTAINING WHEN IT COMES TO WATER MANAGEMENT.

WHY DO WE CARE?

Because it’s everyone’s water.