VOL. XXIX � NO. 180 � 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 � mONday : auguSt 10, 2015 � www.thestandard.com.ph � editorial@thestandard.com.ph

A2

Govt buysP500-mworth of ‘bad’ salt

‘abaya must resiGnover mrt debacle’

A4A3

cHed sayscollege notfor everyHs grad

roxas eyesPetilla, Qc’sbautista insenate slate

Looking back. At least 19 people were injured after a defective MRT coach crashed through the Taft Avenue station in this file photo taken on August 13 last year.

FoundlingPoe filesbill to helpfound kidsBy Macon R. Araneta

SENATOR Grace Poe, whose status as a senator has been challenged on the basis of her citizenship because she was a foundling, has filed a bill to protect abandoned children.

Poe’s bill seeks the inclusion of foundlings in the list of chil-dren in need of special protec-tion and mandates their regis-tration within 60 days of their being in custody. Next page

By Macon R. Araneta

AN opposition spokes-man called on Transpor-tation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to resign Sunday, deriding him as the poster child for the Aquino administration’s incompetence and in-sensitivity.

“The best advice we can give is for you to resign, Secretary Aba-ya, and leave the problem to com-petent people who are better-suit-ed to the job,” said Rico Quicho, a spokesman for Vice President Jejomar Binay, in response to Abaya’s challenge to his critics to offer solutions to the problems at the MRT, including accidents and stalled trains, and long queues in deteriorating stations.

Quicho also ridiculed Abaya’s lat-est plan to hire four different com-panies on six-month renewable con-tracts to handle different parts of the MRT maintenance. Next page

A2editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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news

‘Govt spent P500m for expired salt’

Abaya

Foundling

From A1...

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“I am doing this no longer for my-self but for the thousands of children who were abandoned, who might grow up never knowing their biolog-ical parents and whose dreams and aspirations may be limited because of their status,” said Poe in a state-ment Sunday.

Poe said she does not want aban-doned children to be considered as second-class citizens just because they were left by their parents.

Poe, a first-term senator, was a foundling adopted by movie stars Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces af-ter she was left as a baby in a church in Jaro, Iloilo.

While abandoned children are in-cluded in the list of children in need of special protection, Poe said exist-

ing rules call for a separate registra-tion process for foundlings.

She said this often resulted in con-fusion and discrimination for the child.

“As a vulnerable and disadvan-taged group, CNSP are in greater need of the state’s protective arm. The non-registration of their births makes them more invisible to the state’s developmental radar that could otherwise include them in pri-ority programs on health, nutrition, education and protections,” she said.

Poe’s bill provides that persons in custody of a foundling should bring him or her within 48 hours to either barangay or police officials, a child-care foundation, or the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The receiving agency will then de-termine if the child has, indeed, no caregiver or guardian. If no guardian

is found, the DSWD or custodian should register the child within 60 days and obtain a Certificate of Live Birth for the foundling.

The DSWD will submit every month a list of registered foundlings and other CNSP.

According to UNICEF, 1.7 mil-lion children in the Philippines do not have birth documents, and are deprived of access to basic health, educational and protection services

“An unregistered child not only will have diminished access to medical, educational and social benefits pro-vided by the state; he or she is likewise susceptible to the abuses on account of minority such as commercial and sexual exploitation, abuse and human trafficking,” Poe said.

In 2010, the DSWD served 4,749 children who were victims of abuse and exploitation. Of these, 1,433 were abandoned.

“It is very possible that other coconut producing provinces may have been given expired fertilizers as well, which can only exacerbate the already sad plight of our coco-nut farmers,” said Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz said concerned citi-zens from Siquijor have asked Ag-riculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Food Security czar Francis Pangilinan to inquire into the ship-ment and distribution by the Phil-ippine Coconut Authority (PCA) of expired fertilizers to farmers in the province under the agency’s Salt Fertilization Project opera-tions.

The PCA is under Pangilinan’s Office of the‎ Presidential Assis-tant for Food Security and Mod-ernization.

Dela Cruz said some 30 to 50 bags of such fertilizers allegedly imported directly from Australia were initially distributed to coco-nut farmers in the six towns of the province.

“The said products were report-edly expired as ‘..stickers with 2017 markings were used to cover up the actual expiry date [of] April 3, 2014,” he said.

Coconut farmers and agricul-ture officials were at a loss when they found hundreds of 50-kilo bags of salt fertilizer whose color had turned brown from the origi-nal crystal-white.

Dela Cruz’s resolution directed the House committee on agricul-ture and food to investigate, in aid of legislation, the procurement and distribution of expired fertilizers by the PCA.

“Given the increasing use of salt fertilizer to increase the produc-tion of our aging coconut trees, the PCA has been importing loads upon loads of such inputs worth billions of pesos even as it has re-portedly been encouraging local salt producers to step up and sup-ply our increasing requirements,” Dela Cruz said.

To enhance production from the standing coconut trees, a good number of which are in the calam-ity visited areas of Regions 8, 9 and even Region 4, Dela Cruz said, it was imperative that the availability of critical inputs such as salt fertilizer provided by PCA be truly useful and not wasted as it was in Siquijor.

While the fertilizers were meant to increase production from stand-ing trees by at least 25 percent in the first year of application, their use had to be stopped to avoid any damage from their use.

Dela Cruz said the supplier of the expired fertilizer, Arvin In-ternational Marketing, has yet to come out with a solid and believ-able explanation for this serious breach, which may have cost the government millions of pesos.

“We do not want another fer-tilizer fund scam like during the Arroyo administration. We are in fact quite surprised that we got

expired fertilizers when we have a government that is headed by Lib-eral Party officials in the province,” Dela Cruz said, quoting Siquijor coconut farmers.

The province is dominated by LP members led by Gov. Zaldy Villa and Vice Gov. Fernando Avanzado and represented in Congress by Marie Anne Pernes.

Pangilinan himself is an LP can-didate for senator in next year’s elections.

PCA administrator Euclides Forbes said the Philippines im-ports between 800,000 to 900,000 50-kilogram bags of salt fertilizer from Australia.

The PCA then bids for the sup-ply of salt fertilizer, spending about P500 million annually, Forbes said.

The agency provides salt fertil-izers to coconut farmers under its Salt Fertilization Program, a com-ponent of PCA’s drive to increase domestic coconut production.

Forbes said the agency has be-gun tapping several provinces for the supply of salt fertilizer.

The PCA, for instance, recently signed a memorandum of agree-ment with the provincial govern-ment of Palawan for the supply of 300,000 bags of salt fertilizer an-nually beginning 2015, provided the product meets the minimum specifications set by the PCA.

Forbes said the local government of Palawan, through Gov. Jose Alva-rez, agreed to put up salt beds for the production of salt fertilizers.

The provinces also agreed to put up nurseries for coconut seedlings that would be used for replanting in the province.

Several coconut cultivation areas in Palawan were also damaged by Typhoon Yolanda, which hit the Visayas in November 2013.

The salt fertilizer produced in Pal-awan would be bought by the PCA at a minimum price of P300 per 50-ki-logram bag through government-to-government procurement.

“These moves intend to revive the salt-production industry lo-cally, thus creating jobs in the prov-ince,” said Forbes.

He said PCA is forming partner-ships with more local government units to produce salt fertilizer.

“We are now looking at other provinces in western Philippines like Mindoro Oriental. Eventually we can localize the production of salt fertilizer,” Forbes said.

It is the cheapest and best source of chlorine which helps increase co-conut yield and boosts the tolerance of trees to drought. It also boosts re-sistance to pests and diseases.

After super typhoon Yolanda demolished 10 percent of the country’s coconut tree population, the local coconut industry faces a 13.5-percent decline in domestic copra supply until new trees are planted and ready to bear fruit.

It takes between six to eight years for coconut trees to mature and bear fruit.

By Christine F. Herrera

AN opposition lawmaker demanded an investigation Sunday into the importation of salt fertilizer imports worth P500 million yearly after hundreds of bags of the expired mineral were found dumped in the prov-ince of Siquijor.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scien-tist to realize that you don’t give short-term contracts to four different entities to handle a complex process,” Quicho said.

A consumer group, the Train Riders Network, supported the call for Abaya to resign.

“As early as last year, we have already called for the resignation of Secretary Abaya as he is not able to address the problems faced by commuters,” said James Relativo, a spokesman for the group.

“He has proven himself to be in-competent in improving the mass rail systems in Metro Manila. If he does not have the delicadeza to resign, the President Aquino should take action and fire him.”

Quicho also took a jab at Abaya’s predecessor at the Transporation De-partment, Secretary Manuel Roxas II, saying that “no amount of excessive foreign schooling can guarantee com-petence in public service.”

Quicho said the correct action is to give the maintenance contract back to Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, who have proven their ability to do the job.

“No search for the cheapest com-pany, or one owned by party mates from LP [Liberal Party]. Just choose the proven and competent company. And do it fast,” Quicho said.

He noted that accidents have hap-pened, and just recently, two trains stopped during rush hour.

“Do we wait for something worse to happen?” he said.

Quicho also urged Abaya to ex-plain and apologize to the thousands of MRT commuters, instead of using precious time that may cost lives bash-ing the Vice President for the facts he

raised in his True State of the Nation Address.

“It did not come as a shock when Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya was one of the first people to react to The True State of the Nation Address. It was clear that the Vice President’s words hit him where it hurts. We Tagalogs have a saying: The first to squawk is the one who laid the eggs,” said Quicho

Earlier, Abaya suggested that Binay was “blind to the realities” of the MRT and in no position to provide solutions to a problem he did not understand.

Quicho contested Abaya’s state-ment, however, and said the Vice Presi-dent understands how long thousands of commuters have waited for Abaya to comprehend and offer solutions to the problem.

“This is the reality: Secretary Abaya has been in his position for two years, there are billions of pesos in the bud-get for MRT, there are thousands of employees under the department; but to this day, Secretary Abaya is still looking for people to pass the blame to and pointing fingers at people who he thinks should provide solutions to the problem,” Quicho said.

The Vice President said in his True SONA that the reason behind the MRT-3 mess is the cancellation of a successful, working contract. This paved the way for an unknown, un-tested newcomer, PH Trams, headed by Mario de la Cruz, a top Liberal Party fundraiser and Arturo Soriano, who is the uncle-in-law of former MRT gen-eral manager Al Vitangcol, and former IT consultant to Roxas.

“A leader, such as a Cabinet Sec-retary, should find creative solutions to any major obstacle, regardless of legal and other types of bottlenecks. Patience, determination, executive ex-perience in looking for a reasonable compromise and having the interest of the public as a primordial concern will

enable us to address huge problems such as the MRT-3 at the soonest,” Quicho said.

He added: “Two things should be done now: specialized technicians ex-pert at their assigned functions must be hired and trained immediately, and substantial stocks of spare parts not only for regular maintenance but also for unexpected breakdowns be pur-chased ASAP.”

Also on Sunday, Senator Francis Escudero said the P43.5 billion budget request of the DOTC should allow it to field more trains, end long queues at the MRT stations, and start the long-delayed line extenstion projects.

“The DOTC says it will speed up transfer time in stations from 10 min-utes this year to five minutes next year. The first question that should be asked--is the waiting time at the MRT 10 minutes now” Escudero said.

The DOTC also vowed that over-loading in MRT trains would go down to 157 percent from to 171 percent.

“Is this decrease in load factor do-able? How many new trains are com-ing to ease congestion? Escudero said.

He said these pledges are among the MRT-related performance indicators the DOTC has spelled out in the na-tional budget.

With these deliverables, the DOTC is asking Congress to appropriate P7.09 billion in MRT-related expenses broken down as follows: P1.96 billion for operation and maintenance; P1.5 billion for rehabilitation and capacity expansion; and P3.63 billion as subsidy for “mass transport.”

The latter would cover deficiencies in “settling prior and current years’ ob-ligations for equity rental, maintenance fees and others obligations.

Escudero added that the Senate’s “strict scrutiny of rail-related appropriations” should extend to other lines, including the Philippine National Railways.

Useless. These expired fertilizers were sent to the LP-dominated Siquijor. CHristine F Herrera

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NEWSeditorial@thestandard.com.ph

Service interruption. A resident fills up empty gallons of water in Binondo, Manila, on Sunday following Maynilad Water Services’ announcement of a rolling water service interruption. Danny Pata

Collective effort. Volunteers clean up the bay area near the US Embassy in Manila on Sunday. Sonny ESPiritu

Dynasties backing LPcampaign, says Binay

Mar eyes Petilla, Bistek for Senate

Palace can’t say if SAFtroops will get medals

THE camp of Vice Presi-dent Jejomar Binay on Sun-day said the Liberal Party machinery that is supposed to carry Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II to the pres-idency is oiled by local po-litical dynasties.

Binay spokesman Joey Sal-gado slammed what he called presidential spokesman Ed-win Lacierda’s hypocrisy.

He said while Lacierda cited the Aquino admin-istration’s support for the anti-dynasty bill, the LP’s local network was made up of politicians belonging to dynasties.

Salgado was reacting to Lacierda’s Facebook post in which he said the Aquino administration was sup-porting the anti-dynasty bill.

“Whenever Secretary Lac-ierda speaks, we hear a mas-ter class in misdirection and obfuscation. We can only give props to the master,” Salgado said.

In reaction, Lacierda called Salgado “pikon” [thin-skinned].

“ Why should I react to their press release? I choose to post in my FB what I deem is best,” Lacierda said.

“Two things are apparent: one, they are so desperate they will even respond to an FB post, but let me say to VP Binay, thank you for the attention but seriously, you don’t have to. Second, VP Binay, one cardinal rule, don’t shoot the messenger. Halatang pikon na po kayo.

“It is my personal ac-count. How can one inter-pret it other than that? My official statements are is-sued by [the] OPS [Office of the Presidential Secretary.]”

But Binay’s camp remind-ed the Liberal Party that “nothing is forever.”

“Still, you must applaud the hubris,” Salgado said in a statement.

“An administration that proudly proclaims to the world that it took five years to build a two kilometer road is one that displays its incompetence as a badge of honor. That is the kind of governance they want to in-

flict on the Filipino people for the next 20 years.”

Salgado was also react-ing to the public comments made on Facebook by Laci-erda.

“In his FB post, the good Secretary talks repeatedly about ‘what we want.’ Sir, that’s what you and the LP want. What the people want is a government that is not manhid at palpak, a nation where people have jobs and food on the table, where the sacrifices of ordinary people like the SAF 44 are recog-nized,” Salgado said.

“What the people do not want are candidates of the elite who treat the nation as their hacienda: where serfs produce the wealth but receive only crumbs and are expected to be eternally grateful to their master; where the hacien-dero through his encargado enforces his will with the whip.”

Salgado said the people “do not want six more years of an uncaring haciendero leaderhip. They surely do not want 20 years of an inept and uncaring government.

“The Secretary and his Liberal Party patrons should realize one thing: walang forever.”

Salgado also chided Lacierda for using the 1986 EDSA Revolution to jus-tify their agenda to stay in power. He described it as “an insult to the memory of the countless unnamed men and women who gave their lives for freedom and democracy.

“Indeed, there are those in the administration who claim Edsa 1986 as their birthright, including their anointed one,” Salgado said, referring to Roxas.

“The truth is that these personalities who now hi-jack Edsa 1986 were nowhere near the picket lines and barricades during the dicta-torship. They were partying in New York or wherever it is rich haciendero families party in the United States during martial law.” Macon ramos araneta and Sandy araneta

FORMER Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista are among those be-ing eyed to join the senatorial slate of the administration coalition for the 2016 polls, according to Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Rox-as II.

During the distribution of 150 fire trucks in Camp Vice-nte Lim in Calamba, Laguna, last Friday, Roxas said up to 24 names were being eyed by the LP’s search committee to join him in continuing Aqui-no’s so-called straight path.

“Under consideration, we have just maybe 22, 24 names. But we all know that it’s just 12. We do have, at the moment, coalition partners

with various parties, so we need to give them space un-der our senatorial line-up,” Roxas said. 

Roxas has openly endorsed Petilla—a former Leyte gov-ernor and Energy secretary under the Aquino govern-ment as Senator on two dif-ferent occasions—most no-tably during the 6th General Assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines in Ortigas last Thursday.

“[Petilla] is from Eastern Visayas and has track record of professionalism and good governance,” Roxas said.

“So I laid down the idea [of him being Senator] even without Secretary Icot’s [Petilla’s] approval, even to our Governors (in the Gov-

ernors’ League) so they can extend their support to him.”

Roxas also floated the idea of having Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista in the LP slate “to give voice to the local government” sector.

“Well, I mean he is one of the best in his stint as mayor of Quezon City. I think most of his constituents would want him still to be mayor, others would have wanted him to graduate [as mayor] and be Senator to give voice to local governments in the Senate. It’s up to him,” Roxas said.

But Roxas dismissed the claims that presidential sis-ter Kris Aquino was included in the LP line-up as senator or even vice president. John Paolo Bencito

MALACAÑANG said Sun-day it could not assure the families of the 44 police commandos killed in an encounter with Muslim rebels in Maguindanao on Jan. 25 this year that it can give belated awards to those deserving them, adding the PNP was the one in charge of selecting the candidates for the awards.

The Palace said the Philippine Na-tional Police had a process being fol-lowed in choosing the recipients for any awards.

“The PNP has a policy on following a process in selecting the recipients of awards,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

He made the statement even as Sen-

ate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said the PNP should state what would be awarded, who would be awarded and when they would be awarded to stop all speculation on the giving out of medals of honor.

He said the PNP should also make sure that when the date was set, it would push through “time on target.”

“They must make the announcement soon before someone nominates them for a Medal of Vacillation or a Medalya ng Kabagalan, which I think they don’t deserve,” Recto said.

“Only by releasing the above infor-mation immediately will the people believe that the date of awarding of the medals was merely reset and was not totally rescinded.”

Recto said the waiting period was hurting the families of the comman-dos’ widows.

“Posthumous na nga, postponed pa,” Recto said

He said in the eyes of the public the SAF 44, including their colleagues who survived the encounter, had long been

acknowledged as heroes.“This belief is not based on specula-

tion but on transcripts, official reports, photographs, communications and tel-ephone logs that came out in the media and in the Senate hearings,” Recto said.

Malacanang last Friday stressed that it had no participation in the selection of the police personnel who were awarded during the 114th service anniversary of the Philippine National Police.

It made the statement even as Presi-dent Benigno Aquino III again received criticism for snubbing the troopers of the 44 SAF in the PNP program.

The names of slain SAF trooper PO2 Romeo Cempron and survivor Supt. Raymund Train were allegedly includ-ed in the original list of awardees but were removed from the program.

Cempron was supposed to posthu-mously receive the Medal of Valor, the highest service medal of the PNP, for sac-rificing himself so that PO2 Christopher Lalan, the lone survivor from the 55th Special Action Company, could escape. Sandy araneta and Macon r. araneta

A4

CHED: College not for everyone

“We don’t think that every student really should go to college. There are very good programs in the technical and vocational areas or in the area of middle-level skills, and you get jobs when you finish these programs,” Dr. Patricia Licuanan said in an interview over the weekend.

“That option of going into technical-vocational and middle-level jobs is attractive, but in our culture, we have that notion that

everyone should get a college diploma. I don’t think that’s necessary,” Licuanan added.

Under the K to 12 program, trumpeted as the “greatest key reform initiative of the Aquino government,” students are given options to pursue specialized tracks that will be fully implemented by next year.

Among the different tracks are academic, technical-vocational,

By John Paolo Bencito

The chairman of the commission on high-er education admitted that not every student should go to college, adding that there are other options that graduates can take after completing high school.

AFP chiefdefendsjunking ofmissile plan

Guingona proposes hikedpensions for SSS members

By Florante S. Solmerin

ArmeD Forces chief of staff General Hernando Irriberi defended his deci-sion not to acquire a shore-based missile system de-spite reports of unabated Chinese encroachment in the West Philippine Sea.

Former National Security Adviser and now Paranaque City rep. roilo Golez had accused Irriberi of incom-petence for electing to pur-chase Israeli-made helmets, armored vests, rifles and other similar equipment over a missile system.

“I respect his opinion. As I said during my interview after my assumption, my record will speak for itself,” Irriberi said.

Golez said the missile project could have jump-started Aquino’s promise for the military to achieve a “minimum credible exter-nal defense capability” be-fore he steps down in 2016.

The project was origi-nally scheduled for imple-mentation in October and was to be completed be-fore the end of 2016.

Golez questioned Irriberi’s ability to lead the military based on his decision on the procurement of equipment.

“He obviously does not un-derstand external defense and is unfit to lead the AFP now, when we are facing a grave ex-ternal threat,” Golez said.

Irriberi said that Golez could have been “misinformed.”

Irriberi’s appointment also became controversial after reports surfaced that President Benigno Aquino III had allegedly been made to believe that the general’s mandatory retirement was in August 2016. Irriberi retires in April 2016.

sports and arts and design.Last July, the commission

released a memorandum wherein undergraduate students who stopped schooling are given until academic years 2016-2017 to 2017-2018 to complete their unfinished bachelor’s degrees before the complete roll-out of the new Outcomes-based education Curriculum and the revised General education Curriculum.

Students, who will return to higher education institutions after 2018 will have to go back to senior high school.

“First of all, we do have as part of our transition plan, we will allow students who are out of school and those who have graduated before 2016, this is your last chance, get into college now. And that’s why

we’re going through some kind of a campaign to encourage those who are truly interested to go to college, or may not be interested right now but given this opportunity might change their minds,” Licuanan said.

Licuanan also asked the public to bear with the “transition pains” of the K to 12 program, saying that it would definitely worth it.

“Part of our challenge now is to spread the message that, yes, there will be growing pains, transition pains, but it will be worse if we don’t do it. What we’re doing now is trying to tackle those transition pains so people at that point don’t throw out a good program,” Licuanan said.

“We have to ease that transition and that’s what we’re working on,” she added.

Labor issues. Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez answers questions from around 500 labor leaders dur-ing the Associated Labor Unions and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Council of Leaders meeting at the Mariners’ Court Building in Cebu City. Ver NoVeNo

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NEWSeditorial@thestandard.com.ph

Aussie donation. A Navy man performs guard duty at the Navy Headquarters near the Cultural Center of the Philippines in front of one of two Land-ing Craft Heavy (LCH) vessels donated by the Australian government to Philippines on Sunday. The vessels will be blessed in the presence of President Benigno Aquino III today. DANNY PATA

By Macon ramos-Araneta

ABOUt 2 million retired members of the Social Security System will enjoy a P2,000 across-the-board increase in their monthly pensions once a proposed mea-sure sponsored by Sen. teofisto “tG” Guingona is enacted into law.

retirees from the private sector who are SSS members were last given a 10-percent raise in their monthly pen-sions 18 years ago.

“the current pension system is in-sufficient to meet rising costs of basic goods,” Guingona said.

Guingona’s Senate Bill No. 2888 seeks to amend Section 12 of republic Act 1161 (as amended by rA 8282, known

as the Social Security Act of 1997) by raising the minimum pensions to be re-ceived by retiring SSS members.

From P2,400, Senate Bill No. 2888 proposes a monthly pension of at least P4,400 for members with 20 credited years of service.

Also, the monthly pension of those with a minimum 10 cred-ited years of service will be increased from P1,200 to P3,200.

Guingona is hopeful that the pro-posed legislation raising the monthly pensions of SSS retirees will be passed into law since a similar measure, House Bill 5842, had already been passed by the Lower House on third and final reading.

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mo nday: aug ust 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

News

Manila assertsterritorial rights

P3-trillion budget up for House scrutiny

Water service disruptionsin parts of MM start today

Pipeline stopper. Personnel from Maynilad Water Services Incorporated install a water pipeline stopper in Manila on Sunday August 9, 2015. DANNY PATA

Food crisis? Attendants serve food to customers at a Manila sidewalk. Stakeholders from the agriculture industry, nutrition research sector, the aca-deme, religious groups and other civil society groups convene to discuss the country’s food and nutrition gaps that could lead to what they fear as ‘food emergency situation’. EY ACASIO

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario said the Philippines will continue to have a prin-cipled, independent and law-based approach to assert its right over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

By Rio N. Araja

STARTING today, customers of the West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. will experience rotating water service interruptions ranging from 12 hours to 41 hours to give way to a flood control project of the De-partment Public Works and High-ways.

In its official website, the water firm said they have to realign their seven-foot-tall (2,200-mm diam-eter) primary line along the corner of Juan Luna Street and Hermosa Street in Tondo, Manila.

“The activity will involve ex-posing, dewatering, realigning, and energizing the seven-foot-tall water pipeline, which will take almost five days to complete,” the water company further said. Maynilad will be implementing a three-day gap between its sched-uled water supply interruptions (Aug. 10 to 13 and then Aug. 17 to 18) to allow their customers to replenish their stock of water be-

fore the project is resumed.”Affected area are portions of

Metro Manila’s Caloocan City, Manila, Pasay City, Makati City, Parañaque City, Muntinlupa City and Las Piñas City, and Cavite’s Cavite City, Bacoor City, Imus City, and the towns of Kawit, Ro-sario at Noveleta.

The water firm is realigning its water pipe because it is in the path of the interceptor drainage line of DPWH, which will be laid along Blumentritt St. so it can di-rect floodwaters from the northern parts of Metro Manila out to Ma-nila Bay.

Maynilad will have 35 water tankers on standby to serve areas that will experience prolonged in-terrupted supply.

Customers may call the Mayni-lad Hotline 1626 or text Mayni-lad’s Text Hotline 0998-8641446.

Grace Laxa, Maynilad spokes-person, appealed to the custom-ers to stay calm as the company resorts to water rationing in the affected areas.

Del Rosario said the Depart-ment of Foreign Affairs will assert the rightful place of the Philippines in the community of nations, in the same way former UN General Assembly Carlos P. Romulo asserted the right of the country to be included in the United Nations seal in 1949.

“We are at the threshold of his-tory, taking a principled, consis-tent position on the West Philip-pine Sea/South China Sea issue, depending on what is legitimately and rightfully ours. The ultimate purpose of this case is our na-tional interest. This is what we, as a nation, conveyed ...before the Permanent Court of Arbitra-tion in The Hague,” del Rosario said during a recent roundtable

discussion on “Foreign Policy in an Evolving World Order” orga-nized by Stratbase ADR Institute in Makati City.

The roundtable discussion at the Tower Club, Philamlife Tower was led by distinguished foreign policy experts like Prof. Rene de Castro, Prof. Alma Salvador, Dr. Raul Pan-galangan, a new judge to the Interna-tional Criminal Court and publisher Jose “Babe” Romualdez.

“Our maritime dispute with China, a friend and a valued part-ner in the region, is but one of the many complex challenges con-fronting 21st century international diplomacy. The Asia-Pacific re-gion, in particular, is in a state of flux as governments are faced with multiple security issues, punctu-

ated further by the rise of non-state factors,” Del Rosario said.

“The Philippine foreign policy will continue to evolve in relation to our history, identity and aspirations as a people. It will be defined by our national leadership, the institutional arrangement, and the ever-chang-ing international environment,” the country’s top diplomat said.

Prof. Victor Andres C. Manhit, president of ADR Institute, said there is a need to re-examine ex-isting foreign policy to determine whether it remains responsive to changing times. “In this connection, examination on the shifts and chal-lenges faced by our existing foreign policy should be made,” Prof. Man-hit said.

Prof. Renato De Castro, former Chairman of International Stud-ies Department at De La Salle University and a trustee of ADR Institute, said the South China Sea is not a simple territorial dispute as it has become what has been called a ‘dangerous ground’ or even the ‘future of conflict’.

By Rio N. Araja

THE House Committee on Ap-propriations will take up today the proposed P3.002-trillion na-tional budget for 2016 and brief members of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), and inter-agency body that determines the overall eco-nomic targets, expenditure levels and budget of the government.

Rep. Isidro Ungab of Davao City, appropriations committee chairman, said his panel fol-

lowed the same calendar and sequence to come up with the timetable of committee hear-ings and deliberations, except that it took into consideration the schedule of the filing of cer-tificates of candidacy (CoC) on  Oct. 12 to Oct. 16  for the May 2016 elections.

“Hopefully, the plenary de-bates and voting on second reading on the national budget by that time (filing) are already finished,” he said.

If the need arises, Congress

could extend the  Monday-to-Thursday  budget hearings to  Friday, he said.

Ungab urged fellow legislators to do their share in studying and scrutinizing the proposed nation-al budget to determine if the allo-cation for each agency is justified.

“We would like to encourage our colleagues to actively par-ticipate in the deliberations, as we will allow free and full de-bates on the proposed national budget for 2016,” he said in a statement.

A6m o n D AY : A u g u s t 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

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Lawmakers pressured to support 2016 candidates, labor rep bewails

Court upholds pre-need firm’s revival

Salceda joins MarcampaignLEGAZPI CITY—Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, a Liberal Party member, has accepted his party’ assigned task for him to join their presiden-tial campaign on full-time basis and shelve his plan to seek his province’s second district congressional seat as he earlier announced in next year’s elections.

The governor whose third term ends in 2016, may also be named interim Depart-ment of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secre-tary which position anoint-ed LP presidential bet and incumbent Secretary Mar Roxas will vacate shortly. Salceda served nine years as congressman of his prov-ince.

Asked by media about his decision, Salceda said: “For me, it is better than yielding to suggestions to run for a national office. My decision is a vicarious way of almost running nationally,” adding that returning to Congress seems now a limited task for him.

A noted economist who had served as economic ad-viser to former Chief Execu-tives, Salceda said “the next President must have the in-tellectual handle to stir the country to a socially expan-sive economy, broaden the middle class and empower the lower income classes.”

He explained that the pri-mordial challenge for the next President is to make the economy more socially expansive, by creating a ro-bust and broad middle class, and reducing the vulner-able poor from 11.4 million disadvantaged families at present (4.2 million poor + 7.2 million near-poor), down to 5.7 million.

The next President, he added, “should work hard to lift the Philippines from its 127th rank in GDP per cap-ita to at least rank 99th; and from rank 113 in Human Development Index to rank 90; that way the country be-comes more competitive.”

A multi-awarded local government executive, Sal-ceda has been recognized for his creative and respon-sive local governance style, particularly in climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction, which is deemed vital for next administration.

Under Salceda, Albay’s outstanding DRR program has reaped three consecu-tive Gawad Kalasag Awards for “Best Province” from the National Disaster Risk Re-duction and Management Council, and a Hall of Fame niche in the agency.

Republic Act 10121 tasks the DILG as lead agency for disaster preparedness, the Department of Social Welfare and Development for relief assistance re-sponse, and the National Economic Development Authority (NED) for reha-bilitation.

After Congress failed to muster a quorum early this week, a former congressman slammed on Thursday what he called the “misguided priorities” of administra-tion and opposition parties, and urged party leaders to pressure their members to support urgent legislation in-stead of the parties’ respective presidential candidates. 

“Walang tao, walang quorum, sa Kongreso, pero puno ang Club Fili-pino at Gloria Maris. Ang ibang kon-gresista naman ay naroon sa Tsona ni VP Binay sa CavSU. Imbes na hilahin ang mga congressman na magpakita ng suporta para sa mga tatakbo sa 2016 ay dapat hikayatin ng mga namu-muno ang mga ito na mabilisang ipasa ang mga importanteng batas tulad ng Security of Tenure Bill, Anti-Dynasty   Bill, Freedom of Information Bill, at iba pang mga mahalaga para sa masa,” said former party-list Rep. Renato Magtubo. 

(There was a quorum in Club

Filipino and Gloria Maris, but none in Congress. There were also congressmen during the Tsona of VP Binay in CavSU.  Rather than pressure congressmen to show their support for those running in 2016, they should be encouraging them to pass important legislation like the Security of Tenure Bill, Anti-Dynasty Bill, and Freedom of Information Bill, among others.)

On Friday, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas was anointed by President Be-nigno S. Aquino III as the Liberal Party’s standard bearer in the 2016

presidential elections in an event attended by the whole cabinet, legislators, and local government officials. 

Magtubo, who represented Par-tido Manggagawa (PM) in Con-gress, said that it was obvious that the administration would exert all pressure to ensure the victory of Roxas, who was lagging in polls behind other presidential contend-ers like Sen. Grace Poe, Vice Presi-dent Binay, and Davao Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte. 

At the  same time, VP Binay is mobilizing opposition lawmakers to join him in his daily sorties and in organizing his party nationwide to prop up his chances for 2016.

Magtubo lamented that there were rumblings in the House that “loyalty checks” were being conducted to single out legisla-tors  who were absent during the anointment of Roxas in Club Fili-pino, as well as those not present in

Gloria Maris, like House Speaker Sonny Belmonte. 

Rumors of a plot to unseat the Speaker  came out last month  af-ter he issued statements perceived as supportive of Poe’s presidential candidacy. 

“Ang balita ay may mga kaso na inihahanda para ipitin ang mga mambabatas para ma pressure sila na suportahan si Mar. Pilit pinapabyahe sa sinasabing Daang Matuwid para maitawid ang kan-didatura ni Roxas.”

(The reports are there are now cases being prepared to pressure lawmakers into supporting Mar. They are being forced to take the so-called Daang Matuwid to ensure the successful candidacy of Roxas.)

An incumbent congressman who requested that his name be withheld for fear of reprisal ac-knowledged that there was pres-sure on legislators to support the Administration candidate. 

By Rey E. Requejo THE Court of Appeals has sus-tained its decision casting aside the petition of the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to liquidate the troubled pre-need firm PET Plans Incorporated due to its failure to meet the goals un-der its court-approved rehabilita-tion plan.

In a two-page resolution, the CA’s Former Eight Division through As-sociate Justice Myra Garcia-Fernan-dez ruled that the SEC failed to raise new arguments that would warrant

the reversal of its decision issued on October 31, 2014. 

“A perusal of the motion for re-consideration filed by petitioner of this Court’s decision promulgated on October 31, 2014 shows that the issues raised and arguments in sup-port thereof have already been given due consideration and resolved,” the appellate court stressed.

“Thus, this Court finds no new or substantial matters presented to justify a modification or reversal of the assailed decision,” the CA said.

Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Francisco

Acosta concurred with the ruling.  In its  October 31  ruling, the

CA upheld the order issued by Judge Cesar Untalan, presiding judge of Branch 149 of the Re-gional Trial of Makati City, which allowed the modification of PET Plans’ rehabilitation plan and sub-sequently granting its request to exit rehabilitation proceedings.

The appellate court stressed that under Section 22, Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure on Corporate Rehabilitation allows alteration or modification of an approved rehabilitation plan if necessary to

achieve the desired goals.It said Judge Untalan did not err

in relying on the recommendation of the rehabilitation receiver in approv-ing the modification of PET Plan’s approved rehabilitation plan.

 The CA noted that the rehabili-tation receiver had explained be-fore  the trial court that the second provision of PET Plans’ rehabilita-tion plan requires the company to contribute for the next 10 years 15 percent of its income after tax to the enhanced value fund (EVF) in order to enhance its financial growth.

Operation Smile. Volunteer doctors onboard the USNS MERCY ship get into the act. The volunteers have conducted 110 surgeries for free to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformitiesof children-residents of Zambales and Bataan for the past five days. The USNS MERCY is docked in Subic Bay as part of the Pacific Partnership with Capt. Christopher Engdahl as mission commander. REVOLI CORTEZ

By Rio Araja

QUEZON City has been spend-ing so much to address its garbage problem, according to the Com-mission on Audit.

In a consolidated statement of income and expenses dated July 29, the city government “burned” P1,014,195,457 for its waste man-agement and disposal last year, COA said.

The city government budgeted P338.06 for each one of its estimated three million residents for garbage management, CoA said, citing a P110.48-million increase from two years ago when the hauling contracts cost the city P903.715 million.

Quezon City, the biggest local gov-ernment unit in Metro Manila, is spending almost twice the amount on garbage hauling contracts compared to Manila whose CSIE showed it paid out P512.564 million. Makati City, the country’s business and financial hub, came in at third at P440.15 million.

“That’s really the amount needed to haul and manage a city with 3.1 million residents that produce 2,000 metric tons to 2,500 metric tons of wastes daily,” Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista told The Standard in a text message.

QC spends P1.01 B for garbage

A7m o n D AY : A u g u s t 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

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Ombudsman fines ex-Abra mayor for misconduct BANGUED, Abra—The Of-fice of the Ombudsman recently found a former municipal mayor of Baay-Licuan town of simple mis-conduct during his term and ordered him to pay the fine equivalent to his three-month salary after an inves-tigation.

In a recent decision, Om-budsman Conchita Carpio-Morales identified the pe-nalized former local chief executive as Christopher Mil-lare, Sr., 55 of Baay-Licuan town.

The complaint stemmed from the ex-mayor’s misuse of the town’s 20 percent De-velopment Fund in 2011 and 2012 for the rehabilitation of the municipal hall.

During his term, Millare used P3.2 million of public funds for purposes different from what had been appro-priated.

The Ombudsman said she found “substantial evidence” against Millare and said the penalty was payable to the Off ice of the Ombudsman immedi-ately upon receipt of the same.

The Ombudsman further directed the Department of the Interior and Local Gov-ernment to implement her decision immediately upon receipt.

Millare lost his re-election bid in 2013 but, despite the numerous cases and find-ings against him, he is re-portedly eyeing a comeback in the 2016 polls.

Millare could not be reached for comment on the matter as of press time.

Docked. USNS Millinocket is at the Port of San Fernando City in La Union to conduct medical, dental, veterinary and engineering civic action programs. CHRISTINE JUNIO

Bishops say Yolanda rehab efforts shamefulBy Sara Sussane Fabunan

An officiAl of the catholic Bishops’ confer-ence of the Philippines said the Aquino admin-istration’s rehabilitation efforts for the victims of typhoon Yolanda was shameful, citing that only 2,100 houses have been completed as against the targeted 205,128 shelters.

CBCP and Caritas Philip-pines executive secretary Rev. Edu Gariguez said he had seen the plight of the people devas-tated by the typhoon that swept the central Philippines on No-vember 8, 2013 as he stressed that implementation was more important than the fund re-lease that was being claimed by Department of Budget and

Management Secretary Floren-cio Abad.

“The release is one thing, the implementation is another. Even if they say funds have already been released, what we should measure is what they have actually done,” Gariguez said.

The prelate added that the plight of the people in the Visayas has not changed since the deadly

storm. “If you go around and ask the people there, their situation is still devastating.”

With so much money and do-nations received from different countries and international or-ganizations, people are still living in bunkhouses and temporary shelters without any means of livelihood, Gariguez said.

Gariguez added that the gov-ernment even loaned an addition-al P126 billion from international financial institutions to augment the rebuilding efforts, bringing the total assistance to P199 billion as of November last year.

He fears that money may be used by politicians for their cam-paign instead of for the good of the people.

Gariguez called on the public to be proactive in monitoring the funds to avoid such incident.

The head of Caritas Philip-pines, Archbishop Rolando Ti-rona, said that aside from the slow pace of rebuilding, the govern-ment has also consistently failed to be transparent on how “Yolan-da” funds were used.

Tirona, said the government has failed to ensure transparency in the disbursement of the multi-billion funds for the project.

“It’s now up to them to explain,” Tirona said. “ It’s just sad that the help from those who are supposed to lead the program is so slow.”

Tirona also reiterated how poli-tics continue to hamper the speed of the government’s rehabilitation program and how some politi-cians use the survivors to pro-mote themselves.

“You (politicians) don’t have to advertise your names for govern-ment projects,” he said.

Premier hospital to open soon in Meycauayan CityTHE first state-of-the-art hos-pital in Bulacan, expected to serve thousands of residents of the province, and spare them the travel to Metro Manila to seek medical treatment, is set to open soon in Meycauyan City

Meycauayan City Mayor Joan Alarilla said the Mey-cauayan General Hospital (MGH), which is set to open in the coming weeks, will have 200 beds and is furnished with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facility, CT scan equip-ment, and full-diagnostic lab-oratories.

She said major and minor sur-

geries can be done at the MGH located at Brgy. Malhacan.

The local chief executive said “what is unique and reassur-ing” in the MGH is the fact that it operated with the expertise of doctors from the Makati Medical Center.

“This modern medical facil-ity is just the start of the efforts of your local government to im-prove the welfare of residents,” Alarilla said.

The MGH was funded through a bond flotation that was ap-proved by the city council and supported by barangay chairper-sons of Meycauayan City.

Pricey veggies. The prices of highland vegetables have hit new highs. DAVID CHAN

opinionA8

[ EDI TORI A L ]

DeraileD government

A9lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

ADELLE chuAe D i t o r

M O N D AY : A u G u S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

opinion

DonalD Trump considers political correctness a scourge.  at a recently televised debate of Republican aspirants for the presidency, Trump made no attempt at disguising his contempt for the obsession with political correctness.  I share the feeling— and the contempt.  This is why I

think that the present translation of the Mass texts, following Pope Benedict’s rejection of the principle of “dynamic equivalence” that undergirded an earlier rendition of the Missale Romanum is just superb!  It is unabashed in its use of “man” by which it includes “women” (instead of the politically correct “humankind”).  There are no circumlocutions about God as Father, and no concessions made the importuning about the motherhood of God.  Prayer

THE CURSE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

ThouGh their number is dwindling, if you ask a farmer who his BFF is, chances are it is still his carabao.

he won’t mention any of the mudslinging “presidentiables” as the one who can help him. he will point to that half-ton beast who loves mudbaths as his reliable ally.

Though this land is a Babel of languages, carabao traits are used in describing the strength or the folly of the person’s character in whatever dialect.

For example, no phrase better describes hard work than “kayod kalabaw.” and to a person whose conceit is fed by his association with a big shot, he is brought back to earth by the classic put-down of “parang langaw na nakatungtong sa kalabaw.”

Slow in movement and stout in built and soiled in appearance, the carabao does not fit the stereotype of a suave, swift or sassy kind of animal that admakers would choose as a national icon.

Elegant the carabao is not. Cuddly like a panda it will never be. and a carabao is not wrapped in flowing mane or marshmallow-soft fur which makes it huggable.

But we Filipinos chose our national animal not on the basis of cuteness but on reliability. We dumped aesthetics for function, traded beauty for utility. We did not our put our national animal on some altar for worship; we put it instead to work.

and work he does. It is through the gentle carabao’s unli-labor which allows us to sustain this love affair with unli-rice.

But work is not the only thing the carabao does best. It also gives us meat, for famines or feasts, and milk. The lactating carabao is the original local padede girl. In Central luzon, fresh carabao milk over salt-sprinkled rice remains the breakfast of champions.

as to their hide, these are tanned and end up as bags and belts. Except for those in the legs and feet which are simmered to softness to become smouldering bulalos or balbacuas. or processed into the latest snack craze called “chicharabao.”

But carabaos are no longer numerous as they once be. In fact, the amorsoloesque rendition of farm life—smiling damsels in colorful bandanas winnowing the palay with a carabao languorously chewing grass in the background—is gone.

More of the beasts of burden of today are no longer grass-fed but gasoline-fed, whose strength is measured, to the carabao’s chagrin perhaps, in horsepower.

During land preparation, these machines pull contraptions—plow and

SEEINg THE CARAbAO IN A NEw LIgHT

can be obsessed with using politically correct terms and then rest in the foolishly comforting thought that one has been just and compassionate.  all that one has done is make concessions to the crazy niceties of contemporary fads.  It is true compassion for the blind, the deaf, the crippled, and championing the rights of women, minorities and children that is the real thing! That is where one gets his hands truly dirty, not in the nonsensical preference for misleading phrases!  Politically correct terms come

in handily when one falls woefully short of the demands of genuine solidarity.

“Children in conflict with the law” is yet another example of verbosity and terminological hypocrisy.  What was wrong with “juvenile delinquent”?  In fact, studies in sociology and anthropology bear “juvenile delinquency” in their titles—and none the worse in scholarly quality for it.  If children are in conflict with the law, like the Philippines is in conflict with China, either side may be blamed, and that has, in fact, been

the sickening inclination of some: to blame the injunctions of the law for the fact that some youngsters violate them! I have no quarrel with eliminating terms borne out of disparagement and prejudice.  These have to go.  But it would be virtuous for our nation to develop a loathing for this hypocrisy called “political correctness”.

rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.phrannie_aquino@csu.edu.phrannie_aquino@yahoo.com Continued on A11

onE of the supreme ironies of the aquino administration’s so-called straight path policy is that it cannot even keep the city trains running on track.

By now, the public is well aware of the nightmare that is the MRT. We have seen trains run off the tracks or stall between stations, forcing thousands of weary passengers to trudge to the next stop. long queues of suffering commuters must battle it out every day for a dwindling number of trains and cars, which are not even safe to run at full speed—the bitter fruit of years of gross mismanagement and neglect under managers that President Benigno aquino III put in charge.

Mr. aquino likes to lay the blame on the previous administration and the MRT’s private partners, but fails to answer one obvious question: Why is it that none of these problems made headlines before this President came to power? Why too, was the maintenance contract suddenly transferred from an internationally recognized and proven entity to a company whose only claim to fame was that it was owned by members of the President’s liberal Party?

up until now, the city’s other major urban train line, the lRT, has been less problematic—but a Commission on audit report completed in June signals trouble ahead on this front, too.

The audit report showed that P1.314 billion that the administration allocated for the repair and maintenance of lRT 1 and 2 has already been released in full but has still not been used, delaying the delivery of improved railway services to the riding public.

“after more than a year since the fund was released, there was not a single significant accomplishment involving rehabilitation of System lines 1 and 2,” the report said.

The Coa also questioned the propriety of the decision of the Department of Transportation and Communications to engage in the procurement and bidding of the equipment needed for the repair, instead of the light Rail Transit authority, the implementing agency. The audit commission also questioned the DoTC’s decision to allow the winning bidder not to submit pertinent documents required in the bidding process.

a government that truly hewed to the straight path surely would not have allowed these audit exceptions in the lRT. nor would it have allowed public funds to be so loosely squandered on what from all appearances was an anomalous maintenance contract in the MRT.

While the President stubbornly refuses to take any of the responsibility for these failures, he should realize that Filipinos are not as gullible as he thinks. More than five years in power, Mr. aquino and his minions in the Cabinet are running out of viable culprits to blame for the mess in our public transport system.

is the time to be fervent, not politically correct!

My first issue with political correctness is its concealment of ugly truths.  It is bad to be blind, which is why medical science is challenged to find a way of restoring sight to those who are afflicted by it.  It is also the reason that every achievement in this direction, no matter how modest, is loudly applauded.  unwilling to deal with the ugliness of blindness, however, the prophets of political correctness would have us use

instead “visually impaired”.  But one can be visually impaired for a number of reasons—a cracked windshield, impenetrable fog, complete darkness, cataracts, etc.  “Jesus made the blind man see” is a powerful statement of Divine mercy in the face of human misery.  “Jesus restored sight to the visually impaired” is bland, insipid, in fact,

as insipid as is the whole movement of political correctness.  and so shall we mask the horror of death by recourse what should be the politically correct “life-deprived”—or will that be “life-denied”?

The other issue I have with it is that it comes in handily as a cheap substitute for true solidarity and due respect.  one

my first issue with political correctness is its concealment of ugly truths.

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ADELLE chuAe D i t o r

M O N D AY : A u G u S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

opinion

DonalD Trump considers political correctness a scourge.  at a recently televised debate of Republican aspirants for the presidency, Trump made no attempt at disguising his contempt for the obsession with political correctness.  I share the feeling— and the contempt.  This is why I

think that the present translation of the Mass texts, following Pope Benedict’s rejection of the principle of “dynamic equivalence” that undergirded an earlier rendition of the Missale Romanum is just superb!  It is unabashed in its use of “man” by which it includes “women” (instead of the politically correct “humankind”).  There are no circumlocutions about God as Father, and no concessions made the importuning about the motherhood of God.  Prayer

THE CURSE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

ThouGh their number is dwindling, if you ask a farmer who his BFF is, chances are it is still his carabao.

he won’t mention any of the mudslinging “presidentiables” as the one who can help him. he will point to that half-ton beast who loves mudbaths as his reliable ally.

Though this land is a Babel of languages, carabao traits are used in describing the strength or the folly of the person’s character in whatever dialect.

For example, no phrase better describes hard work than “kayod kalabaw.” and to a person whose conceit is fed by his association with a big shot, he is brought back to earth by the classic put-down of “parang langaw na nakatungtong sa kalabaw.”

Slow in movement and stout in built and soiled in appearance, the carabao does not fit the stereotype of a suave, swift or sassy kind of animal that admakers would choose as a national icon.

Elegant the carabao is not. Cuddly like a panda it will never be. and a carabao is not wrapped in flowing mane or marshmallow-soft fur which makes it huggable.

But we Filipinos chose our national animal not on the basis of cuteness but on reliability. We dumped aesthetics for function, traded beauty for utility. We did not our put our national animal on some altar for worship; we put it instead to work.

and work he does. It is through the gentle carabao’s unli-labor which allows us to sustain this love affair with unli-rice.

But work is not the only thing the carabao does best. It also gives us meat, for famines or feasts, and milk. The lactating carabao is the original local padede girl. In Central luzon, fresh carabao milk over salt-sprinkled rice remains the breakfast of champions.

as to their hide, these are tanned and end up as bags and belts. Except for those in the legs and feet which are simmered to softness to become smouldering bulalos or balbacuas. or processed into the latest snack craze called “chicharabao.”

But carabaos are no longer numerous as they once be. In fact, the amorsoloesque rendition of farm life—smiling damsels in colorful bandanas winnowing the palay with a carabao languorously chewing grass in the background—is gone.

More of the beasts of burden of today are no longer grass-fed but gasoline-fed, whose strength is measured, to the carabao’s chagrin perhaps, in horsepower.

During land preparation, these machines pull contraptions—plow and

SEEINg THE CARAbAO IN A NEw LIgHT

can be obsessed with using politically correct terms and then rest in the foolishly comforting thought that one has been just and compassionate.  all that one has done is make concessions to the crazy niceties of contemporary fads.  It is true compassion for the blind, the deaf, the crippled, and championing the rights of women, minorities and children that is the real thing! That is where one gets his hands truly dirty, not in the nonsensical preference for misleading phrases!  Politically correct terms come

in handily when one falls woefully short of the demands of genuine solidarity.

“Children in conflict with the law” is yet another example of verbosity and terminological hypocrisy.  What was wrong with “juvenile delinquent”?  In fact, studies in sociology and anthropology bear “juvenile delinquency” in their titles—and none the worse in scholarly quality for it.  If children are in conflict with the law, like the Philippines is in conflict with China, either side may be blamed, and that has, in fact, been

the sickening inclination of some: to blame the injunctions of the law for the fact that some youngsters violate them! I have no quarrel with eliminating terms borne out of disparagement and prejudice.  These have to go.  But it would be virtuous for our nation to develop a loathing for this hypocrisy called “political correctness”.

rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.phrannie_aquino@csu.edu.phrannie_aquino@yahoo.com Continued on A11

onE of the supreme ironies of the aquino administration’s so-called straight path policy is that it cannot even keep the city trains running on track.

By now, the public is well aware of the nightmare that is the MRT. We have seen trains run off the tracks or stall between stations, forcing thousands of weary passengers to trudge to the next stop. long queues of suffering commuters must battle it out every day for a dwindling number of trains and cars, which are not even safe to run at full speed—the bitter fruit of years of gross mismanagement and neglect under managers that President Benigno aquino III put in charge.

Mr. aquino likes to lay the blame on the previous administration and the MRT’s private partners, but fails to answer one obvious question: Why is it that none of these problems made headlines before this President came to power? Why too, was the maintenance contract suddenly transferred from an internationally recognized and proven entity to a company whose only claim to fame was that it was owned by members of the President’s liberal Party?

up until now, the city’s other major urban train line, the lRT, has been less problematic—but a Commission on audit report completed in June signals trouble ahead on this front, too.

The audit report showed that P1.314 billion that the administration allocated for the repair and maintenance of lRT 1 and 2 has already been released in full but has still not been used, delaying the delivery of improved railway services to the riding public.

“after more than a year since the fund was released, there was not a single significant accomplishment involving rehabilitation of System lines 1 and 2,” the report said.

The Coa also questioned the propriety of the decision of the Department of Transportation and Communications to engage in the procurement and bidding of the equipment needed for the repair, instead of the light Rail Transit authority, the implementing agency. The audit commission also questioned the DoTC’s decision to allow the winning bidder not to submit pertinent documents required in the bidding process.

a government that truly hewed to the straight path surely would not have allowed these audit exceptions in the lRT. nor would it have allowed public funds to be so loosely squandered on what from all appearances was an anomalous maintenance contract in the MRT.

While the President stubbornly refuses to take any of the responsibility for these failures, he should realize that Filipinos are not as gullible as he thinks. More than five years in power, Mr. aquino and his minions in the Cabinet are running out of viable culprits to blame for the mess in our public transport system.

is the time to be fervent, not politically correct!

My first issue with political correctness is its concealment of ugly truths.  It is bad to be blind, which is why medical science is challenged to find a way of restoring sight to those who are afflicted by it.  It is also the reason that every achievement in this direction, no matter how modest, is loudly applauded.  unwilling to deal with the ugliness of blindness, however, the prophets of political correctness would have us use

instead “visually impaired”.  But one can be visually impaired for a number of reasons—a cracked windshield, impenetrable fog, complete darkness, cataracts, etc.  “Jesus made the blind man see” is a powerful statement of Divine mercy in the face of human misery.  “Jesus restored sight to the visually impaired” is bland, insipid, in fact,

as insipid as is the whole movement of political correctness.  and so shall we mask the horror of death by recourse what should be the politically correct “life-deprived”—or will that be “life-denied”?

The other issue I have with it is that it comes in handily as a cheap substitute for true solidarity and due respect.  one

my first issue with political correctness is its concealment of ugly truths.

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quiboloy

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aquino

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OPINIONM O N D AY : A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

A10lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Is it true that the Filipino people have no other option but to accept Smartmatic’s PCOS machines? Truth is, there are options but Comelec refuses to consider them. One, we could revert to manual elections. Two, we can use the better alternative which is the TAPAT automated election system machines. TAPAT, which was developed by Filipino IT professionals, is a voting system that uses lotto-style ballots that are scanned by the voting machine. This machine provides each voter with a verification receipt and conducts automated counting as part of the process. The election returns that TAPAT produces will then be digitally-signed by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) prior to electronic transmission. These machines were presented, tested and demonstrated to Comelec officials and were proven to have the security features missing in the Smartmatic PCOS machines. The TAPAT AES machines cost so much less too or only P5.6 billion for the 2016 elections versus Smartmatic’s P12.641 billion.

But as we, Filipinos, are fond of saying, “Hindi

pa tapos ang boxing” (� e � ght is not yet over.) Five archbishops, a former senator, former congressman, Glenn Chong, and Greco Belgica � led a petition with the Supreme Court asking that the contract of Comelec with Smartmatic be declared void as it will entail the unconstitutional juggling of public funds. � e petitioners said that the new purchase by Comelec of 93,977 PCOS machines would cost P12.641 billion which, they say, is in gross violation of the 2015 General Appropriations Act because it means Comelec will totally discard the 81,000 PCOS machines that were used in the 2010 and 2013 national elections. It also means that Comelec will source funds meant for other approved expenditures such as the Sangguniang Kabataan elections and others. Because what is at stake here is not just taxpayers’ money but the credibility and reliability of the 2016 elections, every freedom-loving citizen of this country must keep a watchful eye on what happens next.

Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com Visit: www.jimenolaw.com.ph

THE 2016 election fever is spreading fast. The “common tao” are now animatedly debating about who should be the next president.

What they do not realize is that their choice—the people’s choice—may not be the declared winner unless they help ensure that what happened in the 2010 and 2013 national and local elections would not happen again.

In a talk delivered before the Philippine Constitution Association last week, lawyer/CPA Glenn Chong presented pieces of evidence gathered in separate studies saying that there was massive fraud in the last two national and local elections. He explained that the Automated Election System Law (R.A.9369), requires four security features to be installed to ensure transparent and credible elections. These are: the digital signature of the voters, a source code review, the voter verification paper audit trail and the ultra violet lamp. All these security features were suspiciously disabled and not implemented by Comelec in the last two elections, Chong said, adding that the machines were clearly primed for massive fraud.

He then presented the evidence that fraud happened in the 2010 and 2013 elections based on two mathematical studies conducted separately by Dr. Lex Muga of the Ateneo de Manila University and Dr. Millard Manhot of Silliman University. The common findings show that there was a consistent 60-30-10 uniform pattern in the election results, that is, 60 per cent for LP candidates, 30 per cent for UNA and 10 per cent for others. This uniform pattern is grossly abnormal, according to the studies, because every town, city, province and region has its own respective biases for or against particular candidates.

Another evidence of fraud, found by the mathematical experts, Chong said, was, there were more votes than voters. In the clustered precincts of Pasay City, for instance, the first to be transmitted to the Comelec central, the total voter turnout was 7,547 yet the votes counted were 9,045. One other evidence of fraud uncovered was the changing vote totals. All election results were directly transmitted from the PCOS to the Comelec central and the KBP Parties Citizens’ Server, which was a duplicate mirror server. Rappler.com reported a total of 39.899 million votes cast as of May 18, 2013. About 10 days later, the Comelec central office reported only a total of 31,569 million votes cast or 8.330 million votes fewer. This discrepancy supports the proposition that there was a deliberate reduction of votes in the second batch of Certificates of Canvass to prevent the total number of votes canvassed from overshooting the total votes cast, Chong explained.

For the 2016 elections Comelec appears bent on continuing to favor Smartmatic which will cost the taxpayers the whopping amount of P12.641 billion to procure new PCOS machin es.

THE WATCH FOR CREDIBLE

ELECTIONS CONSIGNING

THEM TO A FUTURE

Is it true that the Filipino people have

no other option but to accept Smartmatic’s

PCOS machines?

OUT OF THE BOX

RITA LINDAV. JIMENO

THE New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff wrote about his friend Rick Goff this week. Known for his commentary on international humanitarian issues, Kristoff rarely gets personal. When he does, it is usually about something compelling.

“Talent is universal but opportunity is not,” Kristoff mused, referring to the life of his friend whom he had known since childhood in Oregon, and who had died last month of a heart attack. “Goff was smart, talented and hard working, but he faced an uphill struggle from birth.”

Goff ’s mother died when he was five, and his father, an alcoholic, abandoned Rick, his brother and two sisters. Their grandmother took care of them and the kids took to hunting and fishing so they could have something to eat every day.

Kristoff described Goff as having a terrific mind, but he had a then-undiagnosed attention deficit disorder and their teachers punished him, eventually pushing him to drop out altogether.

Then followed a series of odd jobs, accidents, two marriages and two divorces. He raised his own kids and was a good friend to everyone in need – including an ex-wife, for whom he gave up buying his own medicine. She needed to get her car back – it had been towed. Not taking the medicine made him even sicker, and eventually led to his death.

“Too often the best predictor of where we end up is where we start,” Kristoff said, as he cited that 77 percent of those in the upper crust of US society earn

their college degrees by age 24. In contrast, only 9 percent of those from the lower rung manage to finish their studies.

* * *Particulars aside, I found the

story compelling – and true – enough for the situation here in the Philippines. Two years ago I wrote about a boy named Tomtom (http://manilastandardtoday.c o m / 2 0 1 3 / 0 4 / 1 9 / t o m t o m s -house/) who lived across the street. Tomtom’s family life was anything but peaceful. There were several of them children in the house, and the silence of the neighborhood was shattered by the sound of any of the children crying – wailing, actually.

None of the kids also knew how to talk much. They usually just stared at the neighbors, a penetrating gaze that you could either take for a plea for help, or plain stoicism. And yet they tugged at your shirt asking for “piso.” You had to be careful, though, lest their mother or father see you.

The father is a worker by day and a drunkard by Saturday night. Get ready for the sound of glasses breaking, or a monologue of bitter feelings, faulting you for doing relatively better in life than he was. Once or twice, some of the neighbors actually called the barangay to report his disruptive behavior.

But forget the father. Were the children crying out of hunger? Were their parents beating them? Was their older brother taunting

them? What other secrets were hidden behind the walls of that dark house?

The situation is tragic enough, but their prospects, even more so. How can you imagine those children attending school, developing talents, contributing to the community and obtaining gainful jobs? At this early age, they feel entitled that you give them anything when they ask you. They do not go to school. They run around half-naked on the streets. What sort of situation awaits them ten, 20 years from now? Jail? Early pregnancies? Destructive addictions? Sicknesses?

On the day I moved out of that house, I called the kids to the gate to say goodbye. “We’re leaving soon,” I said. “Be good. Take care of each other. Don’t fight. Study hard.”

I got no response whatsoever, just blank stares that make you wonder whether they even understood what you were saying at all. When I handed them some biscuits, they grabbed it swiftly from my hand, turned around and ran home. They hid the biscuits behind the window – and I wondered why. I wondered too if I would ever see them again, and whether they would be able to stray from the future that seems to have already been defined for them. I hoped so. I am still praying they would.

Kristoff lamented the situation some more as he ended his column. “That’s what the presidential candidates should be discussing,” he said.

Amen.

adellechua@gmail.com

CHASING HAPPY

ADELLECHUA

A11ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R

M O N D AY : A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

OPINIONlettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

CHONG ARDIVILLA#FAILOCRACY

A11

SO I SEE

LITOBANAYO

harrow—and sport a Japanese name. Come harvest time, the carabao who tramples on the stalk is now replaced by a box-like shredder spewing hay.

But still there are still legions of Bubalus bubalis here, which by the way were our earliest OFWs – or overseas farm workers— brought to our shores by Malays in 200 BC.

As of January this year, there were 2.85 million of them, enough for 18 congressional seats if these four-legged hard workers were given slots in the house of pork instead of two-legged show horses.

Seriously, we need to ramp up our carabao population for the sake of our food security and to cover nutritional de� cit.

On beef, our per capita consumption is 3 kilos a year. � is is not to advocate, however, that we shovel beef into our plate the way a burger factory does. But certainly this is way, way below healthy standards .

With � sh catch dwindling, we need to boost other protein sources, more so in inland areas far from the sea, where the multitasking carabao could supply not only dra� power but meat and milk as well.

On milk, we import something like P34 billion a year, a fraction of which can end the plight of homeless Iskolars ng Bayan, and I am not referring to those who had pitched camp in the grassy knolls of Diliman alone.

Carabao milk is said to have less fat and lower cholesterol content than cow’s milk,

the same traits present in its meat. In fact, taste-wise, there’s no marked di� erence between say, a bistek, made from the carabao or cow sirloin.

Instead of funding pork or carving slabs of it from the budget, Congress should increase funding for carabao breeding, propagation and dispersal.

� e knowledge and supply infrastructure are already present. For one, the people of the Philippine Carabao Center are working as hard as the animal they are trying to propagate.

Marshalling science, PCC has improved our carabao’s genetic pool, resulting in stronger and bigger breeds which are disease-resistant, yield more milk, and deliver higher dra� power.

Is carabao dispersal costly ? Here’s a memo to presidentiables. � e agriculture

sector budget for 2016 is something like P90 billion plus, or P1 million times 90,000. A yearling in cattle auctions costs P10,000 each, which is what we give a CCT family in eight months. So for just P1 million, you can buy 100 young carabao calves for dispersal to 100 farming families.

Sadly, the low-pro� le carabao is not the darling animal which peppers development-speak. � ey’re absent in the lexicon of the MDGs and sustainability blah-blahs.

But in a land where hunger is lacerating stomachs in rural areas, where high prices of fuel are eating on farm income, where milk is a luxury, and the biggest slab of meat now comes in matchbox-size bouillons, the carabaos are the food-giving, milk-vending machines, green sources of energy, that can be our cavalry in our war � ght against poverty.

SEEING... From A9

THE OUTLIERSCLEARLY, both Mar Roxas and Jojo Binay would want to frame the 2016 electoral � ght as a “mano a mano,” a one-on-one contest.

Mar’s speeches as well as advertorials speak of continuing “daang matuwid” against those who want “kurakot” to return and “daang baluktot” to triumph. Even the instant billboards that have sprung in the countryside, about MARangal…MARapat, echo this, and on a sea of yellow at that, the same color he eschewed when he was running as PNoy’s vice-presidential candidate in 2010, favoring his Ateneo blue. Correction, “royal” blue, como un verdadero hijo de buena familia, de los ilustrados de alta sociedad. He now wants to show the public the “real” Mar, a re-invention of public persona, but Serge Osmena doesn’t believe it will sell. And Manong Ernie Maceda thinks his best bet is to get Kris Aquino to be his running mate by October 16.

Binay wants to frame the � ght as a class war, the many poor versus the few who are rich. � e landless versus the landed. � e “hijos de la hacienda contra los hijos de pesantes”. � e “manhid” versus the “wa-pansin”. And as a sideshow, the “daang maayos” versus the “daang palpak”. Binay loves to talk about his poor origins, as an orphan who had to tend to a lower middle-class uncle’s backyard piggery in order to fend for his studies. � at he graduated into a multi-billion “air-

conditioned” piggery owner (a rather exaggerated accusation coming from his detractors) ensconced in a country estate with a version of the Kew Gardens beside it, all of which he denies, is omitted in his stories of how he triumphed over poverty. Meanwhile, he goes to every town, as far east as San Quintin and as far west as Anda, pumping � esh, while looking so distant, so disturbed, hoping that everyone who sees him in the � esh will vote for him.

And for good reason do they want the contest all to themselves. � e contrasts are striking; the choices, at least in their minds and their handlers, quite clear-cut.

Unfortunately for them, hindi sila nag-iisa. � ere are “outliers”, waiting in the wings. � ese outliers have yet to formally declare their intentions, leaving some opening to “change their mind.” � at of course is balderdash. � ey only wait for the right time, weigh the odds, and in the case of the Grace of many surprises, because the ghosts (such as Rizalito David?) are wandering her earth. In the case of Duterte of Davao, the seeming indecision is a play.

Mar and the Liberals boast of a strong machinery, plus the presidential endorsement. Binay and his gaggle of supporters from all stripes and colors think they have commitments forged when his survey ratings were stratospheric, plus a “� rm” hold on the lower D and E income levels, the sector

referred to as the “masa.”But is the Liberal machinery, nay,

the “Daang Matuwid” coalition, really that strong? If it were, then Mar and Frank and even PNoy would not need to woo Grace so publicly, and be humiliated by her hemming and hawing. How come there’s no long line to be Mar’s VP? Even Vilma and Leni are uninterested.

And Veep Jojo? Last I heard the retinue of politician hangers-on wherever he engages his “masa” in boodle � ghts has thinned down to a few—our fellow columnist Danny Suarez, an occasional Lito Atienza, and newly-minted senatoriables Alma Moreno and Princess Jacel Kiram. Who would Jojo’s VP eventually be? Grace has declined, and so has Digong. Vilma as well, why, even President-Mayor Erap. Now he publicly woos Bongbong Marcos, and lately, Senadora Miriam as well. Compare this situation to last year, when everybody and his mother would line up at the Coconut Palace for a photo-op.

It’s pretty obvious the electorate is asking, “Are there no other choices?” Hence, the outliers.

But Grace seems for now

bogged down with two problems: one, there seems to be quite a bit of resistance to the lady’s choice of Chiz as political partner; and two, her citizenship and residency quali� cations are now under scrutiny. As the � ling of candidacy nears, these seeming uncertainties will bear down on her � nal decision.

I heard that Sonny Trillanes, the man who would be Numero Dos no matter what, has pledged to support the amazing Grace. Nothing amazing about that—he cannot pair with Binay, and Mar prefers female company. If not Grace, then Vilma or Leni, not macho Sonny.

As for Duterte, the guy is playing it cool and coy, while watching in amusement how the declared protagonists lunge at each other’s throat. Occasionally, he spews statements that can only be characterized as “nanghahamit” in Tagalog, or “nang-aasar” in Metro Manila patois. Clearly, this “pilyong Bisaya” is enjoying himself. Watch him when he eventually joins the fray. If Grace is amazing, this guy will amaze the electorate more. He has a cabinet-full of true stories to tell, narratives to match the movie tales of FPJ that are the stock-in-trade of the senadora.

Are there any more outliers?Bongbong Marcos is testing

the waters. Miriam has expressed some interest. Ping Lacson is still hoping for the ratings game come September to give him a “bump”.

And so is Alan Cayetano, who has recently changed his tune about going for Numero Dos, where six months before, he eschewed plans of a slide.

But lurking in the shadows is Erap himself, who still longs to recover the throne that was stolen from him in 2001. Already he has confessed to con� dantes about that aching in his heart, that yearning to get back. Privately he waxes about an Erap-Grace tandem, if only the lady would lower her sights from the top of Mount Olympus. If he does, where goes Binay’s 20 percent?

Don’t count these outliers out. � ere’s still some 70 days from now until Comelec receives the certi� cates of candidacy, and a� er the release of the Pulse Asia survey results right a� er the Chinese ghost month unravels, watch the feverish frenzy of backroom deals and party caucuses. � ose will be four weeks of suspense in Philippine political circus. Like the drumbeats before a double trapeze.

And when the outliers � nally lay down their cards, and there should be two more of them at the least, then the electorate will have more choices. No longer will they be limited to the proclaimed heirs of “daang matuwid” who call the present competition “kampon ng kurakot”; or conversely, those who proclaim the daang matuwid as “palpak at manhid”.

About time the voters saw real debates on real issues—not between two, but among more.

A12sports@thestandard.com.ph

mo nday: aug ust 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

sports

Rose seizes share of WGC lead

Rose is tied with second round leader Jim Furyk, of the US, through 54 holes at nine-under 201 at the Firestone Country Club course.

Rose, the 2013 US Open cham-pion whose only title in the World Golf Championships came in the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Champion-ship at Doral, capped his seven-under 63 round Saturday with a 38-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

“I didn’t make any birdies yester-day, but I have played well all week and felt there was a low score out there,” said Rose.

“I birdied the first two holes (Saturday) and it was nice to see a couple finally go in. Then I had that hot spell on the back nine.

“I went out there today with the mindset of making some birdies right from the beginning and it got

AKRON—England’s Justin Rose roared home with four birdies in his last six holes to fire a bogey-free 63 to grab a share of the lead after the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Manilasoftbellesmiss finals

Pacmanstill wantsFloyd

Juvic routs field, bags title by 8 shots2 more PH boxerswin opening tiffs

DELAWARE—After three impressive wins and topping its Pool in group competition, Team Manila–Philippines buckled with errors and not only suffered its first loss in four games to USA Southwest Champion District 5–Louisi-ana, 8 – 3, but missed the finals in the 2015 World Series Girls Big League Softball Champi-onship at the Layton Field of the Pyles Center in Lower Sus-sex County here.

A total of eight errors were committed by the Manila soft-belles in seven innings which started at the top of the first on back-to-back throwing and catching errors by third base-man Shaira Damasing and start-ing pitcher Mary Ann Antolihao for a run by center fielder Bobbi Smith of Louisiana to make it, 1 – 0.

At the top of the second, three fine defensive stops were completed by short stop Edna Mae Severino, left fielder Chrystal Yamut and Damas-ing putting a halt to another surge by the Southwest batters.

But it was at the top of the third inning alone that Louisi-ana scored a total of six runs, four of which were unearned off errors by the 2012 World Series Champion to the dis-may of the coaching staff, coupled with Antolihao’s lack-luster performance, yielding a total of seven runs and four hits in three innings, far from her skillful display in the Team’s first and second game wins.

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pac-quiao indicated he’d like to face undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd May-weather Jr. in a rematch sometime next year.

Pacquiao, who was in Tokyo as part of the Philip-pine delegation that made a bid to host the 2019 World Cup of basketball in Manila but lost to China, told Japan’s boxing Hall of Famer Joe Koizumi in a brief interview: “I’d like to concentrate my efforts on working as a politician this year, and want to fight Mayweather in a rematch. I’ll be ready for that men-tally and physically next year. I’ll show a better per-formance against him than in the first encounter.”

Asked for his thoughts about the May 2 Fight of the Century against Mayweath-er, Pacquiao remarked: “He was running away all the time. I was making the fight by stalking him and believe that I deserved a victory.”

me right back into the tournament.” Rose tied for fourth at the 2014

WGC-Bridgestone tournament.Furyk, who has finished second

twice among nine top-10 finishes in Bridgestone without winning, sank an 11-foot par putt on the 18th hole to fin-ish a 69 and keep a share of the lead.

Shane Lowry of Ireland carded a 67 and was two shots back in solo third. Steven Bowditch of Austra-lia matched Rose’s 63, taking his only bogey on the 13th hole, and was four strokes behind in a tie for fourth with Bubba Watson (69), England’s Ian Poulter (65) and Swede Henrik Stenson (68).

Brooks Koepka and Robert Streb, who both had 68s, were tied for eighth with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Players champion Rickie Fowler shot a 70, good for a share of 15th.

Reigning Masters and US Open champ Jordan Spieth was tied for 17th after a 72 and Zach Johnson, who claimed the Open Champion-ship at St. Andrews, was tied for 26th after a 71.

Phil Mickelson, who opened with a 76 in the no-cut event, carded a 71 and still has not broken 70 in three rounds, leaving him well back in 58th. AFP

JUVIC Pagunsan stamped his class over Pijit Petchkasem and Angelo Que with an early burst of birdies, turning what was expected to be a wild finish into a runaway eight-shot romp in the Aboitiz Invitational at Southwoods’ Legends course here yesterday.

Tied with the Thai ace and one up on the three-time Asian Tour winner after 54 holes, Pagunsan needed just four pars to seize control in the early going then flashed his vaunted shotmaking and iron game to fire four birdies in the next five holes which Petchkasem and Que failed to match to virtually settle the outcome.

He wound up with a six-under 65, another bogey-free round that has marked his solid start in the $100,000 event sponsored by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, for a 72-hole aggregate of 20-under 264.

“It’s a nice win. I was able to string up a good game this week,” said Pagunsan, who pocketed the top $17,500 purse for his maiden victory on the Asian Development Tour, a farm league of the Asian Tour, which he domi-nated in 2011 by winning the coveted Order of Merit title.

It was also Pagunsan’s first victory on the ICTSI Phil-ippine Golf Tour, which he was forced to skip the last two-and-a-half years after being sacked by the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. for abandoning a tour-nament without prior notice.

As a former Asian Tour OOM winner, Pagunsan gained a card in the lucrative Japan PGA Tour which he made as base during his suspension that saw him post

seven top 10 finishes, including a runner-up finish in Mizuno Open last year.

More importantly, the Japan stint further honed his tal-ent and skills, which he put in full display in all four days this week, spiked by a bogey-less nine-under 62 in the second round that put him in the lead of a tightly-fought

TWO more female boxers from the four-women PLDT-ABAP team competing in the 2015 ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Continen-tal Championships in Wulancha-bu, China have won their opening bouts to join opening-day winner Irish Magno, who defeated AIBA World Youth champion Lin Yu Ting of Chinese Taipei.

AIBA said that the best women boxers across Asia are competing for gold-medal glory.

Seasoned campaigners Josie Ga-buco and Nesthy Petecio, who is ranked No. 2 in the world, showed their class beating their rugged Uz-bekistan opponents handily.

Gabuco, the 2012 AIBA world champion took three rounds to overcome Atakulova Gulasal, tak-ing charge from the opening bell and although Gulasal tried to make a fight of it she paid dearly as Ga-buco nailed her several times with solid left hooks. Ronnie Nathaneilz

Juvic Pagunsan receives his trophy and replica of his cheque worth $17,500 from Aboitiz Corporate Marketing Communications manager Victoria Vicente after ruling the 2015 Aboitiz Invitational via an em-phatic 8-shot romp at Southwoods’ Legends course.

Vengeful win. Kei Nishikori of Japan returns a shot to Marin Cilic of Croatia during the Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center in Washington, DC. Nishikori avenged his loss to Marin Cilic in last year’s US Open final, defeating the Croatian 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final. The 25-year-old Asian number one rallied to oust the reigning US Open champion and advanced to Sunday’s title match against US eighth seed John Isner, who fired 31 aces and saved three match points to edge American Steve Johnson 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (11/9). AFP

A13sports@thestandard.com.ph

mo nday: aug ust 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

sports

Cobras turn backWildcats, 69-64

Tigresses send Lady Stags to the brink

Filipino paratriathletesready for Asian tourney

Tennis donation. Babolat Philippines donates old tennis racquets to the Lagro Tennis Club as part of the Babolat corporate social responsibility. Onyok Anasta also participated in the handover of old Babolat racquets to inspire the young and underprivileged aspiring tennis players. Babolat also donated old racquets in Tagum City and Las Pinas. Coach Tom Falcis and Gilbert Tafalla seal the donation with a handshake, while at the back are the LATEC board of directors and members, including ball boys.

Diana Mae Carlos of University of the Philippines tries to score against Chris-tine Joy Rosario and Jovielyn Prado of Arellano University during the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference at The Arena on Saturday. SONNY ESPIRITU

By Mikey Izumi

CEBU CITY - Defending champion Southwestern Uni-versity Cobras escaped the upset axe by overcoming a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Cebu Institute of Tech-nology University Wildcats to fashion an 69-64 win before an enthusiastic crowd at the Cebu Coliseum in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. last Saturday.

SIXTO Ducay, Godfrey Taberna, Ar-nel Aba, Andy Avellana and the visu-ally impaired twins Joshua and Jerome Nelmida of the Philippines are all set to engage with their foreign counterparts in their quest for the Rio 2016 Paralym-pic Games as the ASTC Asian ParaTri-athlon Championships 2015 fires off on Aug. 16 at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.In the race sanctioned by Asian Para-lympic Committee and Philspada, the Filipinos will challenge crack paratri-athletes from Japan, Malaysia, Kazakh-stan, Kyrgyzstan, Hongkong and Korea in designated categories of competi-tions that will cover a 750 meter swim-18 Km bike-5 Km run.Paratriathlon has categories of Tri1, Tri2, Tri3, Tri4, Tri5 and Tri6 for new-comers.The event, supported by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Tourism De-partment, Philippine Sports Commis-sion, ASTC, Asian Centre for Insula-tion Philippines, Gatorade, SPEEDO, Philippine Olympic Committee, Stan-dard Insurance, DZSR Sports Radio 918, Channel 4’s TeleDyaryo Program, RaceDay, SBR.ph, Kikay Runner and PinoyFitness.com, got a boost as Asian

Paralympic Committee Chief Execu-tive Officer and Acting Secretary Gen-eral Tarek Souei certified the APC as a Rio 2016 Paralympics qualifier, where participants can earn the points needed.In addition, there will also be a sprint and mini sprint distances (750 M swim-20 Km bike-5 Km run and 300m/9km/2.5km) triathlon as a aside event, which will be joined by members of the national triathlon and duathlon teams. Each competition will start at the Sands of Triboa and end at San Bernardino Street. Sands of Triboa is also the venue for the awarding ceremony which will take place at 9:30 a.m. Team relays will also be held for most beginners.The day before the race, there will be race briefings for paratriathlon and sprint and mixed relay participants at the Subic Holiday Villas at 4 p.m. Race packets will be distributed all day atthe lobby. A paratriathlon technical course for all officiating staff will be conducted by technical delegate Daniel Sng of Singapore.Late entries for the sprint and mini-sprint distance triathlon are still accept-ed until Saturday 12 p.m. and inquiries

The depleted Cobras, who only had a nine-man lineup, lost their opening game against the University of San Carlos Warriors last Sunday. Against the Wildcats, they raced to a 35-17 lead with 3:25 left in the opening quarter.

The Wildcats cut the lead to ten points at the half, 39-29.

The SWU Cobras re-gained their composure in the third quarter and late in the fourth when they led, 64-53, on a big triple by Melvin Holper. The CIT Wildcats sliced the lead to

four, 66-62 with 1:52 re-maining in the game after exploding a 9-2 run.

Two sorry misses from the free throw line by Steven Bucao with 1:23 left to play stalled the Wildcats rally.

Back-to-back MVP Mark Jayven Tallo scored with his patented crossover, spin move to cushion the Cobras’ lead to 68-62 with 53 sec-onds remaining in the game. Jose Allen Dimco countered with a driving layup to cut the lead to four with 34.8 seconds left to play. This was the

closest the Wildcats got.Tallo missed two free

throws with 20 seconds left before Holper came to the rescue with a block on Jose Marlo Pono’s attempted layup with eight seconds to go to seal the deal for the Cobras. SWU now totes a 1-1 win-loss slate.

The Viva Sports tele-vision panel of Rico Na-varro and Sandi Grumo picked Tallo, who fin-ished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists as the “Best Player of the Game” in the IBC Prime Time coverage.

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas toughened up for the quarters, re-pulsing a stubborn San Sebastian College side in the opening set before cruising to a 25-22, 25-15, 25-17 victory to finish second to unbeaten Ateneo at the close of the Group B elims in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Collegiate Con-ference at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

The Tigresses banked on their superb net defense to frustrate the Lady Stags, coming away with 11 blocks while skipper Pam Lastimo-sa uncorked a 14-hit game, spiked

by 13 attacks, and Ennajie Laure and Chlodia Cortez combined for 22 points to power UST to a 4-1 campaign in the single round elims of the mid-season conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

It was a tough loss for SSC, which came out strong in a bid to nail the all important win for a spot in the next round of the tournament presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

But with a 1-4 card, the Lady Stags dropped to joint fifth with the TIP Lady Engineers with the two teams awaiting the result of the La

Salle-Dasmariñas-St. Benilde en-counter being played at presstime.

At 1-3, La Salle-Dasma hopes to steal a win and the last quar-ters berth but a St. Benilde victory will pave the way for a three-way tie for fourth. The standoff will be broken via the quotient system.

Jolina Labiano topscored for SSC with 11 hits after a gritty stand in the first set, the Lady Stags failed to keep in step with the Tigresses’ power game and superb blocking and reeled to their fourth setback in the tournament backed by Mikasa and Accel.

Melvin Holper also finished with 14 points, while Jovanie Luz con-tributed 10 points. Last year’s Cesafi leading scorer Joshua Dela Cer-na had 20 points and Allan Dimco had 10 for the losing Wildcats.

CIT dropped their second game in a row to go down 0-2 in the standings.

In the juniors’ divi-sion, the Cebu Eastern College Dragons came from behind to beat Don Bosco Technol-ogy Center Greywolves, 60-42. The USJ-R Baby Lancers drubbed the University of Visayas Baby Lancers, 65-43, while the USJ-R Junior Webmasters survived a fourth-quarter rally by the University of Cebu Junior Webmasters to win, 76-67.

A14MON DAY: AUGUST 10, 2015

SPORTS

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

sports@thestandard.com.ph

MVP and his vision

Drug scandalrocks LondonMarathon

Republic of the PhilippinesENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE MAXIMUM AVERAGE PRICE (MAP RY2015) AND ITS TRANSLATION INTO DISTRIBUTION RELATED RATES OF DIFFERENT CUSTOMER CLASSES FOR THE FOURTH REGULATORY YEAR OF THE ERC-APPROVED ANNUAL REVENUE REQUIREMENT (ARR) FOR BOHOL LIGHT COMPANY, INCORPORATED (BLCI) UNDER THE PERFORMANCE BASED REGULATION (PBR) FOR THE REGULATORY PERIOD 2012-2015

ERC CASE NO. 2015-089 RCBOHOL LIGHT COMPANY, INCORPORATED (BLCI),

Applicant.x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

Notice is hereby given that on April 30, 2015, Bohol Light Company, Incorporated (BLCI) filed an application for approval ofthe Maximum Average Price (MAP RY2015) and its translation into distribution related rates of different customer classes for the Fourth Regulatory Year of the ERC-approved Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) under the Performance Based Regulation (PBR) for the Regulatory Period 2012-2015.

In the said application, BLCI alleged, among others that:

1. It is a corporation duly organized and existing under Philippine laws, with principal address at R. Enerio St., Poblacion 3, Tagbilaran City.It is a private distribution utility (DU) with Franchise and Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to operate electric light and power service in Tagbilaran City, Bohol;

2. In a Decision dated December 9, 2013 in ERC Case No. 2013-183 RC1, the Commission approved the said application with modification and it was directed to implement the approved Distribution, Supply and Metering Charges and the revised lifeline levels, discounts and subsidy stated therein;

3. Pursuant to the Final Determination dated July 6, 2011 issued by the Commission in ERC Case No. 2010-117 RC2, it has calculated the MAP RY2015 of the Fourth Regulatory Period at PhP1.0827/kWh with an X-factor of 0.0465;

4. The resulting MAP RY2015, without the application of side constraints, is as follows:

MAP2015 = [MAP2014 x {1 + CWI2015 - X}]

+ S2015 - K2015 + ITA2015

MAP2015 = [1.0674 x {1 + 4.15% - 0.0465}] + 0.0194–(-0.0012) + 0

MAP2015 = PhP1.0827/kWh

The MAP of PhP1.0827/kWh was a result of the updates in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), under-recovery, and the price-linked incentives under the Performance Incentive Scheme (PIS);

5. Based on the said Final Determination and the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules (DSOAR), specifically, the conversion of the MAP into different rate elements per customer class, it has converted the computed MAP2015 (without the application of the side constraints) into a distribution rates structure, as follows:

Customer Class

Distribution Sup-ply Metering

PhP/kW

PhP/kWh

PhP/Cust./Mo.

PhP/Cust./Mo.

PhP/kWh

Residential - 1.0261 51.38 5.00 0.2150

Commercial 13.8 kV 70.10 51.33 51.38 75.78 0.0658 230 V - 0.7848 51.38 64.53 -Public Bldgs./Street Lights 13.8 kV 89.77 0.3301 51.38 52.12 0.1606 230 V - 0.7466 51.38 64.13 -Hospitals/Radio Sta-tions 13.8 kV 174.68 0.3204 51.38 82.93 0.0824 230 V - 0.7554 51.38 64.53 -

6. The conversion was effected in accordance with the Uniform Filing Requirements (UFR), the RDWR, as amended and the methodology described in Article V of the DSOAR. It used in its calculations the information contained in the aforementioned Final Determination;

7. The Side Constraint Calculation for the Second Regulatory Period approved by the Commission is CWIt + SCt. The value of SCis twelve percent (12%) while CWI2015 was calculated at 4.15%.Thus, SC2015 is 16.15%;

8. It has determined that the resulting MAP2015 and the converted distribution rates from said MAP2015 would not result in the breach of the rates for all customer classes.The computation of Side Constraints per Customer Class pursuant to Section 6.4 of the RDWR, as amended, is as follows:

((FCRk,t/ FQk,t) - St) - ((CRk,t-1 / AQk,t-1) - St-1)≤ (CWIt + SCt) ≤ (CWIt + SCt)(CRk,t-1 / AQk,t-1) - St-1

≤ (4.15% + 12%)

≤ 16.15%

Customer Class

(FCRk,t/FQk,t) - St

(CRk,t-1/AQk,t-1) - St-1

%In-

creaseStatus

Residential 1.4447 1.4486 (0.27) WithinSideConstraints

Commercial

13.8 kV 0.8078 0.8316 (2.86) WithinSideConstraints

230 V 0.8878 0.8800 0.89 WithinSideConstraints

Public Bldgs./Street Lights

13.8 kV 0.9585 1.3518 (29.09) WithinSideConstraints

230 V 0.7841 0.8061 (2.73) WithinSideConstraints

Hospitals/Radio Stations

13.8 kV 0.7981 1.0741 (25.69) WithinSideConstraints

230 V 0.7694 0.7368 4.43 WithinSideConstraints

9. In support of this application, it submits the following:

Schedule Information Provided

A Computation of the MAP for the Regulatory Year Ending September 30, 2015

B Computation of the Change in Weighted Index (CWI)C Computation of the Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT)D Computation of the Differential Amount (DA)E Computation of the Correction Factor (K)F Computation of the S-Factor (S)G Annual Historical and Forecast DataH Side Constraint TestingI Side Constraint SimulationsJ Proposed RatesK Comparison of Proposed and Existing Rates

10. The approval of this application will enable it to fulfill its obligations under the PBR to timely implement its capital expenditure program and operating and maintenance programs for the Fourth Regulatory Period, specifically, for RY2015and to avoid deterioration of its services to the prejudice of its customers and the public; and

11. Thus, it prays that the Commission approve:

11.1 The recalculated MAP for the Fourth Regula-tory Year 2015 in the amount of PhP1.0827/kWh; and

11.2 The distribution-related rate structure and rate schedule, as follows:

Customer Class

Distribution Supply Metering

PhP/kW

PhP/kWh

PhP/Cust./Mo.

PhP/Cust./Mo.

PhP/kWh

Residential - 1.0261 51.38 5.00 0.2150

Commercial13.8 kV 70.10 51.33 51.38 75.78 0.0658230 V - 0.7848 51.38 64.53 -

Public Bldgs./Street Lights

13.8 kV 89.77 0.3301 51.38 52.12 0.1606230 V - 0.7466 51.38 64.13 -

Hospitals/Radio Stations

13.8 kV 174.68 0.3204 51.38 82.93 0.0824230 V - 0.7554 51.38 64.53 -

The Commission has set the application for initial hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on August 27, 2015 (Thursday) at one o’clock in the afternoon (1:00 P.M.) at the Governor’s Mansion, CPG Avenue, Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.

All such persons who may wish to have a copy of the application may request the applicant, prior to the date of the initial hearing, that they be furnished with a copy of the application. The applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the application and its attachments, subject to reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Likewise, any such person may examine the application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the usual office hours.

WITNESS, the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 20thday of July, 2015 at Pasig City.

ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN Executive Director III

rvm/BLCI/PBR/ARR/translation/2015-089 RC/nph_________________________________________________________

1 In the Matter of the Application for Approval of the Maximum Average Price (MAP RY2014) and Its Translation Into Distribution Related Rates of Different Customer Classes for the Third Regulatory Year of the ERC-Approved Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) for Bohol Light and Power Company, Incorporated (BLCI) Under the Performance-Based Regulation (PBR) for the Regulatory Period 2012-2015, BLCI – Applicant

2 In the Matter of the Application for Approval of the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) and Performance Incentive Scheme (PIS) in Accordance with the Provisions of the Rules for Setting Distribution Wheeling Rates (RDWR), BLCI – Applicant

(TS-AUG. 10/17, 2015)

ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN Executive Director III

rvm/BLCI/PBR/ARR/translation/2015-089 RC/nph_________________________________________________________

WE may have lost the bid to host the FIBA World Cup in 2019, but in watching the event last Friday, I could not help but wish Philip-pine politics would emulate that process in a lot of ways.

Before I elaborate, allow me to congratulate the Philippines’ bid-ding team led by the Samahang Bas-ketbol ng Pilipinas, whose people did a remarkable job in presenting our proposition.

As for the bidding proper, it was so refreshing to see a group of Fili-pinos proudly telling the world how we can be a great country in the near future, so great that we deserve to host an event of this magnitude.

It was actually the best 20 minutes of my life as a Filipino.

Perhaps, most people would think it would be pathetic of us to consider basketball as our best way to rise from the doldrums and be economically competitive in the world stage.

� e hosting of a FIBA World Cup, from how I understand it, is an event that requires economic stabil-ity from its host country.

A� er all, next to the sporting as-pect of FIBA basketball is the busi-ness side of it.

� at is why during the FIBA bid proper, both China and the Philip-pines reiterated each country’s po-litical and � nancial stability by 2019.

And in doing so, our team in a lot of ways showed our people there is still hope for our coun-try which was deemed hopeless by thousands of our countrymen who saw bright future in working abroad.

Sorry to say that, but it’s a reality that I fully understand, knowing that some of us consider employment here as a matter of life and death for their families.

How I wish our politicians would be like SBP President Manny V. Pang-ilinan who, instead of looking at faults of their competitor, focused on what can be done to help our country’s gain a robust economy in the coming years.

MVP and his men had this � rm belief that we can deliver what FIBA o� cials wanted since day one of this procedure happened, and that is a quantum leap hosting.

SBP hierarchy went on with the bid de-spite being aware about serious issues that is plaguing our country and one of them is the degenerating state of our transport system.

For Team Philippines in Tokyo, Japan last Friday, to believe we can have an e� ective infrastructure by 2019, be it in transport, accommo-dation and even peace and order only show their faith not only with our government but also with our people by that time.

Isn’t that upli� ing if we compare it with our politicians of today, who exert unbelievable e� ort just to dis-cover (sometimes fabricate) each other’s debaucheries and expose it to the public?

With the 2016 national elections just around the corner, we Filipinos deserve the best presentation from our politicians and give us hope in the coming years.

All it will take for our aspir-ing government leaders is to watch SBP’s 20-minute FIBA bid presen-tation which is readily available on Youtube.

Twenty minutes is all it will take for us to realize how our country can be great again.

It reported that 32 winners of ma-jor city marathons -- London, Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin and Tokyo -- should have faced investigation over potential blood doping following test results -- a quarter of the overall total.

� e newspaper did not provide dates for when its statistics allegedly apply or identify the athletes involved.

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel said in a statement Sunday that organisers were “very concerned” by the allegations and said the race had a “zero tolerance policy” on dop-ing.

“We believe there are people in our sport who are cheating and everyone has a part to play to protect those who are not,” he said.

“We continue to be at the forefront

of anti-doping measures for marathon runners as we are determined to make marathon running a safe haven from doping but we cannot do it all on our own and rely heavily on the IAAF.”

In a separate development Brit-ain’s Mo Farah -- who won Olympic gold medals in 2012 for the 5,000m and 10,000m -- is one of eight ath-letes who have agreed to release their own blood test data, the news-paper reported.

His coach Alberto Salazar has faced doping allegations but both he and Farah deny any wrongdoing.

“� e decision to release my results is a personal one -- I’ve always said that I’m happy to do what it takes to prove that I’m a clean athlete,” he was quoted as saying. AFP

LONDON—Seven London Marathon winners in 12 years have recorded blood level results which suggested they may have been doping, the Sunday Times newspaper reported in the latest set of allegations to have rocked athletics.

A15sports@thestandard.com.ph

MO NDAY: AUG UST 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

Cebuano spikersrule PH Superliga

Referee Bruce McTavish (left) rushes to stop the fight after Prince Albert Pagara knocked out his Mexican foe Jesus “Chito” Rios in the first round.

By Peter Atencio

TWO Cebuanos playing with new partners held o� separate rivals, tamed the breezy winds of Manila Bay and took the men’s and women’s titles of the � rst PLDT Home Ultera PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 Saturday at � e Sands of the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Fiola Ceballos of Foton Tornadoes smashes one in against Gilligan’s Jane Diaz and Danika Gendrauli. RO-MAN PROSPERO

Lim captures 2 net titles in Jiangsu, China

Pagara brothers win

Gilligan’s, led by Cebuana Danika Gendrauli and Norie Jane Diaz, got past an aggres-sive Foton Tornadoes’ side of Fiola Ceballos and Patty Oren-dain, 19-21, 21-14, 15-11, for the women’s title.

Cebuano spiker Jade Becaldo and teammate Hach Gilbuena, led Team SM By � e Bay A to a 21-17, 23-21 victory over Louijie “Tippy” Tipgos and Marjun Alingasa of Champion In� nity B, 21-17, 23-21, to claim the men’s honors.

It was Gendrauli’s second crown at the expense of Ceballos since they last met in the 2013 Nestea re-gion’s with di� erent partners, while she was still with Southwestern University.

Gendrauli and Diaz found the winds too breezy at Manila Bay and

took care not to unleash strong spikes.“Binabaan namin iyung ha-

taw dahil sa lakas ng hangin. Kapag nasa north kami, pakan-an ang palo namin,” said Diaz.

With the wind blowing the ball westward, Gendrauli and Diaz struggled to get the proper timing a� er Ceballos and Oren-dain took the � rst set, 21-19.

Earlier, Cignal HD-B’s April Rose Hingpit and Wensh Tiu prevailed over Foton Hurri-cane’s Pau Soriano and Bea Tan, 21-18, 21-18, to settle for third in the women’s action.

Cignal HD A’s Sandy Mon-tero and Edmar Bonono won by default over Center Stage’s Rence Melgar and John Carlo Lozada to take third place.

Diaz scored twice on attacks

in the latter part of the second set, handing them a decisive 17-11 lead a� er her balls landed behind Orendain.

“We changed our targets to Patty, because Fiola was scor-ing more,” said Gendrauli, who fought o� fever and a cold over the last three days.

Getting their timing right in the third set, Gendrauli and Diaz scored on a net error, on a kill and a drop shot to grab a 13-9 spread in the � nal set.

On the other hand, it was a close game for Becaldo and Gilbuena due to errors at the frontline.

With the count tied at 21-all, it was Gilbuena’s drop shot and Alingasa’s miscue at the net, which allowed SM by the Bay to claim the crown.

By Peter Atencio

TOP seeded Alberto AJ Lim swept the boys’ singles and doubles’ crown of the Interna-tional Tennis Federation-Nanjing Junior Championships in Jiangsu, China.

Lim, ranked no. 67th in the world, out-played third seed Wu Yi Bing, 6-0, 6-3, in the boys’ singles � nals.

His title conquest came a month a� er Lim reached the second round of the 2015

Wimbledon juniors.To reach the � nals, Lim won over Chengze

Lu of China, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, while Wu made it a� er he upset second seed Wu Tung-Lin, , who retired (1-0) a� er one game.

In the quarter� nals, Lim put away Ching Lam of Hong Kong, 6-1, 6-0.

In taking the doubles’ crown, Lim teamed up with India’s Ravikumar Ballekere and stopped Wu Yibing and Wu Tung-Lin by default.

Earlier, Lim turned back Vorachon Rak-puangchon of � ailand, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the third round.

Lim and Ballekere made it past the semis a� er they won over Yi Zhou Lin and Chu Kang Wang, 6-2, 6-3.

In the quarter� nals, they prevailed over Chengze Lu and Hao Wu, 3-6, 7-5, 10-5.

� ey defeated Kittirat Kerdlaphee and Phongsapak of � ailand, 7-6, (7-1), 6-0, in the third round.

LOTTO RESULTS6/49 00-00-00-00-00-0

3 DIGITS 0-0-02 EZ2 0-0

P16M

3 0-0-02 0-0

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

INTERNATIONAL Boxing Fed-eration Intercontinental super ban-tamweight champion Prince Albert Pagara crushed his overweight and overmatched Mexican opponent Jesus “Chito” Rios to win by a tech-nical knockout in just two minutes of the very � rst round before an en-thusiastic crowd of Filipinos at the Dubai International Trade Center late Friday night.

Rios, who initially came in at 3.8 pounds over the 122-pound limit, but managed to shed o� some of the excess weight and came down to 124 pounds or two pounds over the limit, which meant that even if he won, he would not get the title, was initially dropped with a vicious le� hook to the jaw.

Pagara, who had an intense look in his eyes, went a� er the Mexican and when Rios’ his right hand got entangled in the ropes, the Fili-pino pounced on him with another cracking combination to knock him out cold, with referee Bruce McTav-ish calling a halt without even both-ering to count.

Dubbed “Duel in Dubai II,” in the widely acclaimed Pinoy Pride series edition 32 of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN, the � ght could hardly be considered a duel as the 21-year-old Pagara hardly broke into a sweat, before disposing of Rios, who en-tered the ring with the reputation of a puncher behind a record of 25 knockouts in 31 wins, with 7 losses and one draw.

But he was clearly no match for Pagara, who is ranked no. 5 in the world by the IBF, and No. 12 by the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization.

With the win, the undefeated Pag-ara improved to 24-0 with 17 knock-outs and earned the right to make his

American debut at the StubHub Cen-ter in Carson City, California in ALA Promotions’ initial o� ering in the US set for Oct. 17.

His elder brother Jason “El Nino” Pagara, the light welterweight ranked No. 2 by the WBO, had a much harder time against Ramiro Alcaraz, before winning by an eighth-round technical decision.

The ringside physician ruled that a nasty cut suffered by Pagara above his left eyelid, following an accidental clash of heads in the opening round, for which referee Ver Abainza slapped Alcaraz with a one-point deduction, worsened enough to blur his vision as the blood streamed into his eye forc-ing the referee to stop the contest on recommendation by the ring-side doctor.

Pagara won, 77-73, on the scorecard of Robert Dale Bridges, 78-72 on Dan Nietes, and, 76-74, by Greg Ortega.

As expected, southpaw Jimrex Jaca and Mexican slugger Pablo Lugo Montiel engaged in a war, with the lat-ter dropping the Filipino in the fourth round, with referee Samson Libres mistakenly ruling it a slip. Montiel re-fused to be thwarted and sent Jaca to the canvas for a second time in the round with a le� hook before the Filipino, who was in deep trouble, kept spitting out his mouthpiece to buy some time for which he received a warning by Libres.

Jaca, who appeared to be a spent force at the end of the fourth round, made an amazing comeback in the very next round and nailed Montiel with a thundering le� hook. He fol-lowed this up with a big le� hook and an uppercut that wobbled Montiel in the last few seconds of the round.

He helped seal the win with a se-ries of big le� s in the eighth round to earn the nod of all three judges. Jaca improved to 40-8 with 22 knockouts.

sports@thestandard.com.ph

mo nday: aug ust 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A16RIERa u. maLL aRI

E D I T O R

REuEL vIdaLA S S I S TA N T E D I T O R

sports

KOHLER—Jordan Spi-eth’s rise from obscurity to global stardom at the age of 22 has been as seamless as it has been meteoric.

Just two years ago, few outside of US golfing circles had heard much about the fresh-faced teen from Dal-

las, Texas, who barged his way into the Open at Muirfield at the last min-ute on the back of a win in the John Deere Classic the previous week.

He tied for 44th on that oc-casion, but gained an eye for links golf and two years later at St Andrews he came within a whisker of becoming just the second player to win the first three majors of the year.

His win at the John Deere back

in 2012 had not gone unnoticed.Two weeks short of his 20th

birthday, he was the first teen-age winner on the US PGA Tour since Ralph Guldahl in 1931.

His precociousness was there for all to see and that had been the case for some time.

Born and raised in Dallas, Spi-eth attended St Monica Catholic School and Jesuit College Prepara-tory School, graduating in 2001.

He played college golf for the University of Texas and was a key member of the 2011 Walker Cup team that played and won at Aber-deen. He used that occasion to try out, in passing, the Old Course at St Andrews for the first time.

Tall and lanky, blessed with a steely mindset, an innate sense of course management and a wonderful putting technique and touch, Spieth was a natural for

golf from the day he first picked up a club.

He joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win multiple US Junior amateur titles and before he turned 19 he was ranked top junior in the United States.

He even delved into the world of the pros, turning heads by skip-ping school and earning a share of 16th as a 16-year old at the Byron Nelson Championship. AFP

Meralco getsshot in the arm

Games tomorrow (San Juan Arena)

10 a.m.—Jose Rizal vs San Beda (jrs)12 nn. —Arellano vs Perpetual Help (jrs)

2 p.m. —Jose Rizal vs San Beda (srs)4 p.m. —Arellano vs Perpetual (srs)

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AKRON, OH—Jordan Spieth hits off the second tee during the third round of the World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club South Course in Akron, Ohio. AFP

Spieth’s rise as smooth as his swing

By Jeric Lopez

MERALCO coach Norman Black believes that the Bolts will be a lot better with the entry of two returning players in the Philippine Basketball Association.

For a team that lacks size and leadership, having veteran Jimmy Alapag and erratic but talented big man Rabeh Al-Hussaini back in action is definitely a huge boost for Black’s Bolts.

Alapag, who is now training with the national team, officially came out of retirement and was traded to the Bolts by Talk ‘N Text last Friday in a three-team deal which also involved Blackwater.

Talk ‘N Text sent Alapag, who retired early this year, to Blackwater in exchange for forward Larry Rodriguez while the Elite immediately shipped the many time national team skipper to Meralco for veteran playmaker Mike Cortez and big man James Sena.

After suddenly going AWOL in the middle of last season and leaving Meralco to go to Kuwait, Al-Hussaini is back and will be offered a new contract by the Bolts after his live contract expires at the end of the month.

The veteran mentor welcomed both cagers with open arms as he is aware of what they can bring to the table having coached them for a stretch before.

Black, who coached both players at Talk ‘N Text less than two years ago, believes that Al-Hussaini’s size and capabilities offensively will address Meralco’s lack of ceiling.

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZASSISTANT EDITOR B1

MONDAY: AUGUST 10, 2015

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

RAY S. EÑANOEDITOR

PAL soars, registersP5.94-b net income

BUSINESS

Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasFriday, August 7, 2015

Foreign exchange rateCurrency Unit US Dollar PesoUnited States Dollar 1.000000 45.7820

Japan Yen 0.008017 0.3670

UK Pound 1.551800 71.0445

Hong Kong Dollar 0.129019 5.9067

Switzerland Franc 1.019680 46.6830

Canada Dollar 0.762428 34.9055

Singapore Dollar 0.722804 33.0914

Australia Dollar 0.734700 33.6360

Bahrain Dinar 2.657666 121.6733

Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266660 12.2082

Brunei Dollar 0.720202 32.9723

Indonesia Rupiah 0.000074 0.0034

Thailand Baht 0.028433 1.3017

UAE Dirham 0.272272 12.4652

Euro Euro 1.092900 50.0351

Korea Won 0.000860 0.0394

China Yuan 0.161038 7.3726

India Rupee 0.015711 0.7193

Malaysia Ringgit 0.256148 11.7270

New Zealand Dollar 0.654493 29.9640

Taiwan Dollar 0.031611 1.4472 Source: PDS Bridge

7,532.5257.43

Closing August 7, 2015PSe comPoSite index

42

43

44

45

46

HIGH P45.735 LOW P45.820 AVERAGE P45.779

Closing AUGUST 7, 2015PeSo-dollar rate

VOLUME 521.400M

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

oilPriceS today

P475.00-P675.00LPG/11-kg tank

P39.10-P45.35Unleaded Gasoline

P25.30-P28.55Diesel

P34.55-P39.15Kerosene

P23.70-P24.40Auto LPG

todayP25.30-P28.55

P34.55-P39.15

P23.70-P24.40

PP39.10-P45.35

8500

8000

7500

7000

6500

6000

Closing AUGUST 7, 2015

P45.740CLOSE

Globe begins restructuring BayanTel workforce

By Darwin G Amojelar

THE operator of Philippine Airlines said net income jumped in the � rst semester of the year on higher international and domestic passenger tra� c and reduced fuel prices.

PAL Holdings Inc. said consoli-dated total comprehensive income amounted to P5.94 billion in the January-to-June period, up 1,500 percent from just P362.4 million year-on-year.

PAL Holdings posted a total comprehensive income of P2.16 billion in the second quarter, up 49 percent from P1.45 billion on year.

Total revenues in the � rst half totaled P55.95 billion, up 14 per-cent from P48.95 billion on year. Revenues in the second quarter

reached P28.09 billion, up 2.9 per-cent from P27.23 billion.

“� e increase was attributable mainly to higher passenger reve-nues and other revenues generated during the period,” PAL Holdings said.

PAL Holdings said the 37-per-cent increase in the number of pas-sengers for the Americas, Austra-lia, Japan and Middle East routes, coupled by the e� ect of interlining arrangement with PAL Express in the domestic sectors, contributed

to the favorable revenue perfor-mance during the period.

Total operating expenses in the � rst six months rose 5.5 percent to P50.60 billion from P47.97 billion last year.

� e airline operator attributed the higher expenses to higher costs related to maintenance, passenger service, reservation and sales and general and administrative o� set by the reduction in � ying operations.

Passenger service expenses rose 13 percent against last year’s total of P3.794 billion, mainly due to higher costs related to cabin crew bene� ts and passenger food due to the increase in number of passen-gers as a result of more � ights.

Fuel cost amounted to P19.05 billion in the � rst six months, down from last year’s P19.24 bil-lion, as the average jet fuel price

per barrel declined from $129.71 in 2014 to $88.37 in 2015.

PAL earlier said it was not in a hurry to get a strategic investor as the � ag carrier was focusing on en-hancing its valuation.

“We have not talked to any pos-sible strategic investor, maybe I think this is not the time to talk to them,” PAL president and chief operating o� cer Jaime Bautista had said.

“I think it will be better for the present shareholders of PAL to make PAL more pro� table before talking to [a] strategic investor, so that the value of the company would be better when we talk to them,” he added.

Tycoon Lucio Tan last year bought back a 49-percent stake in PAL that San Miguel Corp. pur-chased from him in 2012.

GLOBE Telecom Inc. has started restructuring the workforce of Bayan Telecommunications Inc. as part of the merger between the two telecommunication companies.

“We are beginning to plan for the integration of both compa-nies,” Gil Genio, the new president of BayanTel, said.

Genio said as part of the pro-cess, some employees of Bayan had been transferred to Globe as early

as last week.“� at’s really the tip of the ice-

berg. Between now and the end of the year, we will go through an in-tegration plan across all the func-tions between Globe and Bayan respecting the fact that they really have a good franchise area of land-line, broadband and enterprise data,” Genio said.

Genio did not disclose the num-ber of BayanTel employees that

would be a� ected by the integra-tion plan,

“I don’t want to preempt the work that we are doing,” Genio said.

A source, however, said Globe would unlikely absorb all 1,100 BayanTel employees nationwide.

“It really depends on the inte-gration plan,” the source said.

Genio expressed optimism about BayanTel’s pro� tability out-

look, saying it had a “very good running business.”

Bayan posted P5.6-billion reve-nues in 2014, down by 3.4 percent from P5.8 billion in 2013.

Its broadband and � xed-line voice subscribers last year stood at 144,100 and 174,400, respectively.

Globe’s move to merge with Bay-anTel came a� er it acquired nearly all shares in the Lopez-led telecom company. Darwin G. Amojelar

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESSMONDAY: AUGUST 10, 2015

B2

AUGUST 3-7, 2015 JULY 27-31, 2015 STOCKS Close Volume Value Close Volume Value

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW

FINANCIALAG Finance 3.9 2,479,000 9,034,710.00 4 1,495,000 6,515,480.00Asia United Bank 70.8 81,860 5,926,163.50 73.2 64,450 4,675,148.00Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 102.00 11,731,230 1,208,210,211.00 100.40 18,896,430 1,891,999,797.50Bank of PI 92.10 6,577,890 621,507,684.50 95.00 5,361,800 511,060,148.50China Bank 43.5 573,000 26,325,160.00 46.3 304,400 14,020,265.00BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. 2.51 82,000 207,700.00 2.52 51,000 127,640.00Bright Kindle Resources 1.47 48,000 70,710.00 1.47 606,000 924,700.00Citystate Savings 10.1 2,200 20,700.00 COL Financial 16 129,500 2,085,930.00 16.28 1,605,000 26,121,068.00Eastwest Bank 20.9 1,701,700 36,495,800.00 21.65 4,191,900 85,986,500.00Filipino Fund Inc. 7.71 89,800 695,744 7.20 30,000 211,772I-Remit Inc. 1.74 71,000 120,230.00 1.79 103,000 177,870.00Manulife Fin. Corp. 770.00 140 109,150.00 780.00 230 179,900.00MEDCO Holdings 0.425 1,450,000 605,400.00 0.395 1,170,000 471,150.00Metrobank 88 22,878,940 2,018,777,330.00 88.35 26,850,360 1,558,416,851.50Natl Reinsurance Corp. 0.98 296,000 289,120.00 0.97 1,267,000 1,260,090.00PB Bank 19.00 439,200 8,367,368.00 19.00 3,179,400 60,782,412.00Phil Bank of Comm 26.00 29,000 754,000.00 26.10 17,700 460,310.00Phil. National Bank 64.80 408,720 26,523,110.50 63.50 150,810 9,553,731.00Phil. Savings Bank 95 210 19,695.00 94.9 680 63,750.00PSE Inc. 305 113,340 34,593,148.00 310 124,390 38,215,024.00RCBC `A’ 39 407,800 16,048,625.00 39.5 332,800 12,851,155.00Security Bank 142.6 3,198,590 470,378,619.00 148.9 4,647,980 687,662,240.00Sun Life Financial 1495.00 920 1,364,320.00 1450.00 3,065 4,360,495.00Union Bank 59.00 60,940 3,622,003.50 59.30 285,960 17,092,925.50Vantage Equities 3.29 389,000 1,281,470.00 3.27 2,943,000 9,735,630.00

INDUSTRIALAboitiz Power Corp. 42.95 10,385,100 449,114,255.00 43.7 15,762,200 691,374,470.00Agrinurture Inc. 1.52 529,000 824,720.00 1.76 487,000 795,040.00Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.97 751,000 745,700.00 1.03 1,733,000 1,762,430.00Alsons Cons. 1.87 2,004,000 3,770,130.00 1.89 5,335,000 10,103,480.00Asiabest Group 11 139,100 1,530,302.00 10.56 53,700 551,332.00Bogo Medellin 50.2 210 10,586.00 50.6 40 2,024.00C. Azuc De Tarlac 92.95 320 27,364.00 80.00 483,820 44,008,050.00Century Food 18.64 5,397,400 98,429,754 18.1 2,968,300 53,734,094.00Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 27.3 1,918,700 50,064,475.00 26 1,570,400 41,143,095.00Concepcion 54.95 579,480 32,194,084.00 55 607,780 33,557,086.00Crown Asia 3.04 38,307,000 112,957,480.00 2.8 27,429,000 73,527,870.00Da Vinci Capital 1.61 2,674,000 4,268,570.00 1.58 11,437,000 19,942,240.00Del Monte 12.52 81,300 1,034,274.00 13 299,500 3,784,446.00DNL Industries Inc. 22.300 27,888,800 625,001,355.00 21.550 23,088,700 497,744,665.00Emperador 9.44 12,449,400 115,819,127.00 8.81 4,016,500 35,680,819.00Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 7.18 77,042,100 553,075,738.00 7.17 76,667,300 556,214,680.00EEI 9.65 1,682,000 16,525,579.00 9.83 3,760,300 37,383,244.00Euro-Med Lab. 1.7 26,000 44,360.00 1.7 11,000 18,850.00Federal Res. Inv. Group 12.84 363,900 4,812,460.00 14.86 98,100 1,459,174.00First Gen Corp. 25.9 14,416,300 382,254,795.00 25.85 14,433,400 382,431,575.00First Holdings ‘A’ 80 568,910 46,400,716.50 82.8 1,505,910 122,900,207.00Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 13.30 9,600 127,692.00 13.88 3,500 48,366.00Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.56 101,200 1,374,580.00 13.16 212,100 2,804,184.00Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.91 1,041,000 6,228,991.00 6.1 2,828,500 17,262,734.00Ionics Inc 0.500 35,000 17,470.00 0.500 6,000 3,100.00Jollibee Foods Corp. 188.30 3,685,830 703,887,961.00 190.00 2,951,470 596,535,289.00Lafarge Rep 10.1 24,077,800 241,895,890.00 10.3 3,131,500 32,632,238.00Liberty Flour 30.00 800 23,025.00 30.00 7,700 231,000.00LMG Chemicals 2 77,000 154,180.00 2 152,000 305,130.00Mabuhay Vinyl Corp. 2 902,000 1,986,880.00 2.6 18,000 46,800.00Macay Holdings 55.90 7,260 377,005.00 53.95 38,040 2,018,535.50Manila Water Co. Inc. 24.9 1,810,600 45,217,380.00 24.95 23,443,900 585,572,285.00Maxs Group 27.1 3,830,100 104,495,180.00 25.4 533,300 13,922,885.00Megawide 6.47 1,184,000 7,549,530.00 6.18 2,072,800 12,512,282.00Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 302.00 3,908,140 1,191,600,984.00 299.00 3,304,700 984,467,580.00Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 3.88 9,000 34,920.00 3.90 25,000 97,500.00Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 4.61 1,496,000 6,988,080.00 4.77 1,547,000 7,272,280.00Petron Corporation 7.68 18,759,000 144,964,428.00 10.00 27,562,600 219,107,641.00Phil H2O 4 1,000 4,000.00 4 366,000 1,338,940.00Phinma Corporation 11.80 34,200 394,684.00 11.50 39,000 452,588.00Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.35 1,923,000 6,553,950.00 3.40 1,247,000 4,238,850.00Phoenix Semiconductor 2.40 3,561,000 8,472,860.00 2.26 6,102,000 14,406,640.00Pryce Corp. `A’ 3.61 25,809,000 100,512,350.00 3.89 36,224,000 138,167,170.00RFM Corporation 4.43 9,029,000 40,911,430.00 4.30 15,721,000 67,448,460.00Roxas and Co. 1.9 40,000 74,090.00 1.85 30,000 56,080.00Roxas Holdings 6.05 62,200 354,762.00 5.72 9,600 54,912.00San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 161.9 64,610 10,519,396.00 165 8,390 1,377,821.00SPC Power Corp. 4.49 7,000 31,160.00 Splash Corporation 1.82 2,743,000 5,066,860.00 1.71 1,239,000 2,192,180.00Swift Foods, Inc. 0.148 36,240,000 5,577,110.00 0.151 6,860,000 1,020,430.00TKC Steel Corp. 1.17 57,000 69,150.00 1.22 38,000 52,010.00Trans-Asia Oil 2.12 4,947,000 10,586,570.00 2.14 20,114,000 44,476,670.00Universal Robina 190.6 16,200,330 3,177,708,412.00 191.3 8,860,290 1,691,877,374.00Victorias Milling 4.26 1,606,000 6,849,090.00 4.4 74,000 322,070.00Vitarich Corp. 0.68 1,906,000 1,329,540.00 0.7 1,459,000 1,017,920.00Vivant Corp. 22.50 355,500 7,999,820.00 23.50 3,500 82,250.00Vulcan Ind’l. 1.12 1,667,000 1,629,560.00 1.19 200,000 240,560.00

HOLDING FIRMSAbacus Cons. `A’ 0.460 440,000 199,950.00 0.470 1,270,000 592,600.00Aboitiz Equity 58.0000 5,571,860 325,556,812.00 58.8000 5,954,880 347,086,885.50Alliance Global Inc. 22.95 35,754,300 815,102,145.00 22.60 25,754,600 578,444,620.00Anglo Holdings A 1.22 569,000 677,420.00 1.20 138,000 168,030.00Anscor `A’ 6.90 483,700 3,354,705.00 6.84 264,900 1,810,857.00ATN Holdings A 0.249 3,920,000 976,940.00 0.255 3,580,000 891,970.00ATN Holdings B 0.25 570,000 141,940.00 0.250 350,000 87,500.00Ayala Corp `A’ 769.5 1,084,430 850,976,210.00 780 1,412,520 1,093,386,915.00Cosco Capital 7.33 20,059,700 147,675,608.00 7.4 17,521,600 131,783,635.00DMCI Holdings 11.86 22,938,700 273,695,424.00 11.90 37,801,000 454,738,334.00F&J Prince ‘A’ 3.2 127,000 382,900.00 3.11 133,000 413,630.00Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.30 50,000 211,470.00 4.15 93,000 397,620.00Forum Pacific 0.197 2,440,000 500,320.00 0.194 1,590,000 316,440.00GT Capital 1388 895,160 1,260,303,060.00 1400 920,000 1,277,878,690.00House of Inv. 6.50 310,200 2,013,282.00 6.44 46,900 302,056.00JG Summit Holdings 72.85 10,165,830 741,045,406.00 72.50 13,814,390 999,358,788.50Jolliville Holdings 3.8 4,000 15,200.00 3.95 3,000 11,830.00Keppel Holdings `B’ 7.15 13,163,200 93,385,238.00 7.21 13,523,300 96,263,719.00Lopez Holdings Corp. 0.63 1,380,000 892,410.00 0.65 1,208,000 802,040.00Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 15.16 32,954,600 505,111,722.00 14.86 17,323,300 260,694,932.00Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.57 918,000 532,810.00 0.56 4,820,000 2,806,200.00Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 4.99 227,041,600 1,132,300,594.00 4.85 105,063,000 495,884,740.00Minerales Industrias Corp. 7.72 2,986,900 22,626,108.00 7.5 1,951,000 14,611,013.00MJCI Investments Inc. 3.6 6,000 21,600.00 3.8 10,000 37,940.00Pacifica `A’ 0.0280 1,700,000 49,100.00 0.0300 5,700,000 90,100.00Prime Media Hldg 1.100 53,000 57,980.00 1.100 416,000 455,260.00Prime Orion 2.060 10,898,000 22,623,310.00 2.110 21,158,000 43,736,240.00Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.8 90,000 250,150.00 2.75 170,000 464,390.00San Miguel Corp `A’ 55.80 1,870,890 104,671,824.50 56.30 862,360 49,393,796.00Seafront `A’ 2.23 52,000 118,140.00 2.50 26,000 61,660.00SM Investments Inc. 900.50 1,184,460 1,071,325,005.00 893.00 1,397,270 1,242,267,325.00Solid Group Inc. 1.26 280,000 352,140.00 1.18 325,000 384,260.00South China Res. Inc. 0.69 20,000 13,800.00 Top Frontier 77.600 22,140 1,735,296.00 79.850 6,610 509,804.50Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3600 86,650,000 31,154,250.00 0.3100 1,470,000 452,200.00Wellex Industries 0.1880 2,310,000 432,300.00 0.1870 4,090,000 758,220.00Zeus Holdings 0.255 600,000 155,950.00 0.260 2,490,000 669,150.00

P R O P E R T Y8990 HLDG 7.100 3,768,400 26,967,129.00 7.200 4,011,300 30,014,048.00Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 8.39 3,000 24,087.00 8.03 3,100 24,769.00A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.72 1,149,000 811,730.00 0.71 2,168,000 1,533,860.00Araneta Prop `A’ 1.280 281,000 363,240.00 1.200 319,000 383,750.00Arthaland Corp. 0.235 170,000 38,400.00 0.220 50,000 11,000.00Ayala Land `B’ 38.70 56,790,600 2,130,521,455.00 37.40 43,946,800 1,647,094,225.00Belle Corp. `A’ 3.75 15,316,000 56,917,720.00 3.7 10,256,000 36,551,310.00Cebu Holdings 5.13 118,300 600,720.00 5.15 190,700 968,538.00Cebu Prop. `B’ 6.41 2,000 12,820.00 Centennial City 0.81 6,496,000 5,334,150.00 0.83 6,645,000 5,467,220.00City & Land Dev. 1.06 28,000 30,320.00 1.03 66,000 71,380.00Crown Equities Inc. 0.130 15,820,000 2,008,870.00 0.129 11,900,000 1,533,190.00Cyber Bay Corp. 0.435 3,250,000 1,400,150.00 0.430 550,000 236,650.00Double Dragon 12.72 8,675,000 116,461,984.00 13.5 21,055,600 281,818,548.00Empire East Land 0.870 510,000 438,750.00 0.860 628,000 540,120.00Ever Gotesco 0.171 2,260,000 388,250.00 0.181 4,630,000 853,880.00Global-Estate 1.24 6,316,000 7,897,600.00 1.25 9,642,000 12,251,850.00

AUGUST 3-7, 2015 JULY 27-31, 2015STOCKS Close Volume Value Close Volume Value

Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.92 233,492,000 459,917,020.00 1.89 81,771,000 156,679,180.00Interport `A’ 1.30 1,263,000 1,334,730.00 1.27 376,000 487,270.00Keppel Properties 5.75 12,000 65,430.00 Megaworld Corp. 4.65 89,439,000 427,285,030.00 4.64 61,430,000 283,997,020.00Megaworld Prop. 4.77 100,382,000 489,794,820.00 4.74 60,056,000 280,001,930.00MRC Allied Ind. 0.102 9,270,000 947,050.00 0.103 4,970,000 517,700.00Phil. Estates Corp. 0.2850 2,010,000 565,500.00 0.2850 90,000 25,800.00Phil. Realty `A’ 0.3700 110,000 40,850.00 0.3700 130,000 48,900.00Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 23.00 223 5,000.00 23.00 1,700 38,400.00Primex Corp. 7.38 938,800 7,162,351.00 7.37 143,200 1,042,879.00Robinson’s Land `B’ 29.00 7,295,400 208,215,875.00 28.15 6,591,000 186,034,800.00Rockwell 1.65 1,385,000 2,275,700.00 1.64 1,239,000 2,034,850.00Shang Properties Inc. 3.30 106,000 350,630.00 3.33 130,000 429,490.00SM Prime Holdings 21.80 77,451,600 1,697,629,810.00 21.45 69,504,800 1,471,953,360.00Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.74 974,000 715,140.00 0.75 2,449,000 1,788,700.00Starmalls 7.16 7,400 52,766.00 7.16 24,000 171,600.00Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.820 1,486,000 1,215,080.00 0.810 449,000 359,570.00Vista Land & Lifescapes 7.270 19,263,100 138,834,635.00 7.080 26,605,700 185,278,281.00

S E R V I C E S2GO Group 9.08 4,494,900 39,420,991.00 8.1 5,139,700 35,420,036.00ABS-CBN 61.7 84,090 5,163,074.50 60.8 111,680 6,845,760.00Acesite Hotel 1.12 4,000 4,560.00 1.12 233,000 261,320.00APC Group, Inc. 0.620 3,166,000 1,947,210.00 0.630 2,305,000 1,421,670.00Asian Terminals Inc. 13 330,400 4,295,200.00 13 249,300 3,240,900.00Bloomberry 9.55 36,962,000 357,745,988.00 9.70 31,227,600 303,744,751.00Boulevard Holdings 0.0790 64,910,000 5,142,960.00 0.0790 72,030,000 5,760,460.00Calata Corp. 3.75 4,064,000 14,446,620.00 3.35 831,000 2,763,880.00Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 96.6 6,902,290 664,438,308.50 93 4,431,330 411,756,109.00Centro Esc. Univ. 9.79 3,900 39,596.00 10.36 652,300 6,380,744.00Discovery World 1.7 54,000 89,800 1.68 2,000 3,350DFNN Inc. 5.52 721,900 3,809,889.00 5.51 2,315,700 12,978,015.00FEUI 925 1,380 1,333,750.00 970 24,610 24,107,900.00Globe Telecom 2650 906,945 2,413,835,270 2580 785,665 2,001,108,010GMA Network Inc. 6.54 731,100 4,613,041.00 6.45 1,352,000 8,672,181.00Harbor Star 1.27 1,498,000 1,907,860.00 1.31 854,000 1,106,480.00I.C.T.S.I. 108.5 5,535,240 606,856,903.00 109.9 5,458,670 596,691,880.00IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.011 22,500,000 255,400.00 0.011 24,100,000 265,300.00Island Info 0.202 26,840,000 5,453,260.00 0.208 14,020,000 2,897,600.00ISM Communications 1.3000 8,494,000 11,176,460.00 1.3900 4,649,000 6,584,910.00Jackstones 2.25 17,000 38,220.00 2.21 149,000 344,340.00Leisure & Resorts 9.64 9,065,400 91,564,674.00 10.38 10,217,500 107,323,356.00Liberty Telecom 2.16 2,891,000 6,226,840.00 2.17 9,911,000 21,846,840.00Lorenzo Shipping 1.20 15,000 18,000.00 1.20 21,700 34,980.00Macroasia Corp. 2.08 92,000 191,170.00 2.10 2,095,000 4,338,830.00Manila Broadcasting 40.00 4,400 173,260.00 42.95 4,000 164,680.00Manila Bulletin 0.650 154,000 102,350.00 0.680 219,000 146,130.00Manila Jockey 2 243,000 485,580.00 2 740,000 1,466,120.00Melco Crown 7.5 31,362,000 237,880,399.00 8 60,270,900 466,069,369.00MG Holdings 0.300 1,450,000 442,100.00 0.310 360,000 110,950.00NOW Corp. 0.460 500,000 222,200.00 0.470 310,000 139,350.00Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 20.7 48,122,510 1,005,577,430.00 19.88 5,300 105,450.00PAL Holdings Inc. 4.60 174,000 818,860 4.74 25,000 112,980Paxys Inc. 3 35,000 105,280.00 3.2 70,000 224,000.00Phil. Racing Club 9 500,000 4,500,000.00 8.62 257,600 2,443,868.00Phil. Seven Corp. 100.00 8,810 907,525.00 110.00 1,800 196,175.00Philweb.Com Inc. 18.90 303,200 5,705,266.00 18.90 938,300 17,618,620.00PLDT Common 2756.00 880,030 2,485,882,190.00 2886.00 1,018,740 2,945,412,430.00PremiereHorizon 0.650 3,706,000 2,444,530.00 0.660 10,268,000 6,986,580.00Premium Leisure 1.510 44,787,000 68,520,690.00 1.570 140,636,000 215,824,420.00Puregold 37.85 11,509,300 434,787,500.00 37.00 9,348,100 349,040,910.00Robinsons Retail 77.40 4,241,630 326,943,718.00 75.40 2,521,450 194,341,636.50SSI Group 8.43 11,958,000 102,422,879.00 8.69 13,198,000 114,461,836.00STI Holdings 0.64 82,869,000 54,329,510.00 0.65 20,062,000 13,172,200.00Transpacific Broadcast 1.7 14,000 23,890.00 Travellers 5.54 10,353,700 56,810,030.00 5.33 7,370,000 39,506,733.00Waterfront Phils. 0.320 1,240,000 405,150.00 0.320 250,000 80,000.00Yehey 2.500 8,585,000 23,529,240.00 2.840 8,561,000 24,123,910.00

MINING & OILAbra Mining 0.0057 16,013,000,000 96,648,700.00 0.0068 11,749,000,000 79,892,800.00Apex `A’ 2.35 370,000 892,740.00 2.50 997,000 2,495,800.00Atlas Cons. `A’ 5.35 903,700 4,941,073.00 5.50 747,400 4,120,677.00Atok-Big Wedge `A’ 11.84 9,800 107,214.00 11.50 3,300 35,924.00Basic Energy Corp. 0.225 650,000 140,910.00 0.220 90,000 19,750.00Benguet Corp `A’ 6.6500 53,900 358,819.00 6.7000 38,200 262,350.00Benguet Corp `B’ 6.7800 12,200 83,100.00 6.8800 500 3,440.00Century Peak Metals Hldgs 0.7 11,240,000 7,980,960.00 0.71 7,228,000 5,319,650.00Coal Asia 0.75 2,358,000 1,768,300.00 0.75 5,280,000 4,022,270.00Dizon 6.76 202,900 1,415,449.00 6.75 19,600 131,632.00Ferronickel 1.41 87,889,000 114,914,010.00 1.3 37,509,000 50,690,600.00Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.300 810,000 241,700.00 0.300 4,380,000 1,304,650.00Lepanto `A’ 0.205 26,250,000 5,304,760.00 0.202 32,370,000 6,665,810.00Lepanto `B’ 0.229 2,400,000 514,260.00 0.215 13,490,000 3,009,970.00Manila Mining `A’ 0.013 42,000,000 546,100.00 0.014 234,800,000 3,137,200.00Manila Mining `B’ 0.013 64,100,000 834,300.00 0.013 315,400,000 4,150,600.00Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 2.72 9,464,000 27,246,030.00 3.03 4,307,000 13,680,890.00Nickelasia 10.36 7,109,300 73,566,118.00 10.54 9,867,700 104,516,010.00Nihao Mineral Resources 3.9 22,151,000 87,015,440.00 3.83 3,556,000 13,567,190.00Omico 0.6000 205,000 126,650.00 0.6300 508,000 315,720.00Oriental Peninsula Res. 1.9400 258,000 501,100.00 1.9500 422,000 827,650.00Oriental Pet. `A’ 0.0095 27,000,000 257,100.00 0.0095 125,700,000 1,243,660.00Oriental Pet. `B’ 0.0110 47,200,000 520,100.00 0.0110 72,800,000 836,000.00Petroenergy Res. Corp. 4.12 334,000 1,392,740.00 4.15 194,000 810,520.00Philex `A’ 5.40 1,608,100 8,585,937.00 5.39 2,451,600 13,421,262.00PhilexPetroleum 1.64 4,547,000 7,443,390.00 1.64 4,161,000 6,893,740.00Philodrill Corp. `A’ 0.011 147,700,000 1,614,500.00 0.011 471,500,000 5,181,100.00Semirara Corp. 116.20 4,720,120 556,078,926.00 119.40 11,283,550 1,345,368,102.00TA Petroleum 8.34 3,499,000 30,866,370.00 8.4 7,771,900 68,815,461.00United Paragon 0.0110 18,000,000 174,000.00 0.0090 10,200,000 93,800.00

PREFERREDABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 63 538,560 32,858,140.50 60.5 883,710 54,001,308.50Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ 529 35,400 18,667,800.00 528 17,570 9,272,505.00Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ 535 2,910 1,558,850 First Gen G 118 28,830 3,395,940.00 118 40,000 4,720,100.00FPH Pref C 500 7,990 3,995,000.00 505 10 5,050.00GLOBE PREF P 520.5 23,200 12,066,070.00 525 8,900 4,646,100.00GMA Holdings Inc. 6.4 280,000 1,793,269.00 6.4 4,669,100 29,884,107.00Leisure & Resort Pref. 1.12 758,000 840,450 1.11 73,000 80,790MWIDE PREF 111 43,900 4,878,263.00 111.5 1,610 179,415.00PCOR-Preferred A 1052 1,800 1,892,910.00 1080 4,940 5,335,200.00PCOR-Preferred B 1085 6,680 7,289,810.00 1105 4,090 4,499,885.00PF Pref 2 1018 34,475 35,292,050.00 1030 12,600 12,998,770.00SMC Preferred A 75.55 355,330 26,839,975.50 75.5 598,430 45,159,654.00SMC Preferred B 80 46,700 3,766,300.00 84.9 4,780 405,822.00SMC Preferred C 81 224,990 18,824,333.00 84.5 189,240 16,050,084.50Swift Pref 1.81 4,000 7,240.00

WARRANTS & BONDSLeisure & Resort Warr. 3.840 1,157,000 4,578,100.00 4.060 2,290,000 9,912,580.00

S M EMakati Fin. Corp. 6.2 4,600 27,820.00 6.5 1,100 7,040.00Ripple E-Business Intl 69.5 1,120 72,628.00 68.65 2,210 152,126.50Xurpas 11.98 9,227,500 113,891,592.00 12.1 9,472,100 61,265,410.00

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDSFirst Metro ETF 122.4 34,940 4,315,427.00 123 43,470 5,339,716.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS VOLUME

Abra Mining 16,013,000,000Filinvest Land,Inc. 233,492,000Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 227,041,600Philodrill Corp. `A’ 147,700,000Megaworld Prop. 100,382,000Megaworld Corp. 89,439,000Ferronickel 87,889,000Unioil Res. & Hldgs 86,650,000STI Holdings 82,869,000SM Prime Holdings 77,451,600

STOCKS VALUE

Universal Robina 3,177,708,412.00PLDT Common 2,485,882,190.00Globe Telecom 2,413,835,270Ayala Land `B’ 2,130,521,455.00Metrobank 2,018,777,330.00SM Prime Holdings 1,697,629,810.00GT Capital 1,260,303,060.00Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 1,208,210,211.00Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 1,191,600,984.00Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 1,132,300,594.00

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BUSINESSMONDAY: AUGUST 10, 2015

B3

SMB’s income rises to P6.9b

City of Dreams Manila reduces workforce

Stock index seen trading above 7,600

ePayments. Voyager Innovation and Smart eMoney vice president and head of financial innovations, digital inclusion and alliances Lito Villanueva (center) emphasized the relevance of digitizing payments and driving electronic transactions to propel the government’s advocacy on inclusive growth during the Annual Conference of the Microfinance Council of the Philippines. With Villanueva are (from left) United States Agency for International Development ePeso chief of party John Owens, Globe GXI vice president Grace Cas-tillo, RuralNet president Daniel Arcenas and Auto Top-up Ventures Inc. managing director Patricia de Villa.

CITY of Dreams Manila has started laying off some of its employ-ees just seven months since it opened to the public in Parañaque City in December 2014. The casino-resort, located on a 6.2-hectare property at the Entertainment City project of state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., had a soft opening in December and a formal opening in February this year.

One of the affected employees working for one of the high-end restaurants at City of Dreams Manila said she was among dozens of employees, including restaurant staff and casino dealers, who lost their jobs. She was indirectly hired by City of Dreams through a recruitment agency.

City of Dreams of Manila, a joint venture of Macau’s Melco Crown Entertainment and Belle Corp. of the SM Group, confirmed that some of the employees were let go, apparently as a part of cost rationalization.

“With the gaming business not ramping up since City of Dreams Manila soft opened in December last year and officially opened in Feb-ruary, the management of Melco Crown [Philippines] Resort Corp. has taken proactive means to ramp up the business and undertake ini-tiatives that would rationalize cost effectiveness and efficiency in the interest of the company and all the stakeholders, primarily its employ-ees,” the operator of casino-resort said in a statement to MST Chatter.

“In line with this, the company has taken a step towards rightsiz-ing, and has to temporarily suspend employment with certain em-ployees. This proactive stance, though a tough and difficult decision affecting less than 2 percent of its total manpower, will contribute to the sustainability of business, which when it picks up, will enable these employees to resume employment,” it said.

Melco Crown (Phils.) Resorts Corp. said it remained optimistic that the gaming market would rebound and make the company well positioned to play a key role in further enhancing the Philip-pines as a leading leisure and tourism destination in the region. Roderick T. dela Cruz

Investment banker ventures into moviesInvestment banker Roberto Juanchito Dispo, president of First

Metro Investments Corp., denies that he has been hiding after FMIC was linked into the alleged “wash sale” transactions of De-velopment Bank of the Philippines.

According to Dispo, he has not been as visible in the business cir-cles lately because he is busy making a movie. Yes, you read it right. He is currently planning an Indie film, that will star top-notch ac-tors Aga Muhlach, Eddie Garcia and Edu Manzano.

“Hopefully this movie [will be] the comeback film for Aga Muhlach,” Dispo says.

The film, which will be based on an original screenplay written by Dispo himself, is actually a suspense-thriller about Filipino workers overseas.

With a working budget of P15 million, Dispo hopes to complete the film for showing by December this year in time for the Metro Manila Film Festival. The movie will be co-produced by Viva Films.

When asked why he is venturing into movie production, Dispo says making a movie from an original screenplay and publishing books have always been in his “bucket list.”

Dispo says if the Aga Mulach starrer becomes successful, a sec-ond movie is possible—a comedy film, with a working title of “Spir-it of the Baso.” Jenniffer B. Austria

Viva revives IPO planSpeaking of Viva, the film producer and entertainment outfit

owned by Vic Del Rosario is reviving plans to raise funds through an initial public offering sometime next year.

Viva Communications Inc. in 2007 submitted an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a bid to raise as much as P1.2 billion through a share sale. The planned IPO was deferred due to the global financial crisis.

With the positive performance of recent “bite-size” IPOs, the movie outfit is reportedly interested in reviving its listing plan.

Viva’s IPO plan in 2007 was handled by BDO Unibank Inc. This time, it hired First Metro Investments Corp. as the underwriter. Apparently, this is how Dispo and Viva met and agreed to co-pro-duce an Indie film.

Proceeds from the IPO are expected to enhance the company’s cable TV channels, including PBO (Philippine Box Office), which is one of the top three cable channels in the country.

Other Viva Cable TV channels are Viva Channel, Lifetime, History, Comedy Central, The Biography Channel and Crime & Investigation.

Viva Communications also has a library of films and teleseryes worth at least P5 billion. Jenniffer B. Austria

By Jenniffer B. Austria

BEER manufacturer San Miguel Brewery Inc. said over the weekend consolidated net income in the first half of the year rose 10 percent, on higher revenues from the domestic market.

STOCKS are expected to remain on consolidation mode this week because of concerns over interest rate hike in the United States, but corporate results may become the catalyst for upward movement, analysts said over the weekend.

Market analyst Luis Limlin-gan said he expected the PSEi, the 30-company benchmark of the Philippine Stock Exchange, to trade between 7,467 and 7,660 this week, with a slight bullish bias due to improved technical read-ings and solid higher low base.

“However, we have to be watch-ful of possible support breakdowns because failure to hold initial sup-port of 7,467.13 will pull prices back to 7,272.36,” Limlingan said.

F. Yap Securities analyst Jason Escartin said foreign funds were expected to continue to move their investments out of emerging markets like the Philippines, due to a possible US interest rate hike.

Overseas investors have been net sellers for four consecutive months.

“Regardless of the timing of the Fed rate hike, this downtrend could prevail, giving locals the opportunity to position at bargain prices,” Escartin said.

The PSEi last week closed lower by 0.23 percent to 7,532.52 on Fri-day, while the broader all- shares index went down by 0.12 percent to 4,320.60.

BDO Unibank chief invest-ment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the market rallied to as high as 7697.33, brought about by the generally positive second-quarter earnings results and subdued in-flation data.

Ravelas the said index failed to sustain its momentum, as profit taking ensued on renewed fears of a hike in interest rates in the US as early as next month.

“Chartwise, the failure to stay above 7,600 continues to cast doubts on the market’s ability to rise to 7,800. A break below 7,450 will reinforce our view of a test of the 7,000 levels,” Ravelas said.

The performance of major sub-indices were mixed, with holdings companies rising 0.2 percent and property sector gaining 2.2 percent.

Financial companies fell 0.9 percent; industrial, 0.8 percent; services, 1.8 percent; and mining and oil, 1.7 percent.

Foreign investors were net sell-ers last week by P320 million as total overseas selling reached P20.32 billion while overseas buy-ing amounted to P20 billion.

Top gainers were Keppel Phil-ippines Properties Inc., which climbed 74.2 percent to P5.75; United Paragon Mining Corp., which jumped 22 percent to P0.011; and Central Azucarera de Tarlac, which gained 16.2 percent to P92.9.

Heavy losers were Petron Corp., which shed 23.2 percent to P7.68; Mabuhay Vinyl Corp., which dropped 23 percent to P2; and Abra Mining and Industrial Corp., which lost 16 percent to P0.0057. Jenniffer B. Austria

SMB said in a statement net income in the six-month period reached P6.9 billion, up from P6.3 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Consolidated first-half rev-enues grew 5 percent to P39.8 billion from P37.7 billion posted in the first half of 2014.

SMB said it implemented brand-specific and off-take gen-erating programs to strengthen leadership and spur consump-tion in the local market.

Net income for Philippine operations rose 18 percent to P6.9 billion in the January-June

period. The company did not provide other details including the performance of the interna-tional business.

SMB, the beer unit of con-glomerate San Miguel Corp., operates breweries in the Phil-ippines and four other Asian countries.

San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd., a unit of SMB for Hong Kong and China opera-tions, earlier reported that it posted a net loss attributable to equity shareholders of HK$13.9 million, a turnaround from net income of HK$21.5 million re-

corded in the same period a year ago.

The group’s consolidated turnover amounted to HK$272.3 million, down by 23.5 percent from the same period in 2014.

SMBHK in July issued a profit warning, saying the company could post a net loss in the first six months of 2015 due to the non-renewal of distribution agreements with Anheuser-Busch InBev China Sales Com-pany Limited and Anheuser-Busch InBev International GmbH & Co. KG in 2014.

SMBHK said despite the weak performance in the first half, it had an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year

“We are confident that the programs we have in place, to-gether with the commitment of our employees, will continue to bring our brands great success,” SMBHK said.

B4

Philex eyes two oil prospects

Toyotawoos Pezaauto partsmakers

PTT of Thailand favors LNG as transport fuel

Upgraded laboratory. Japanese first secretary and Agricultural Attaché to the Philippines Kenji Terada (left) unveils the marker of the upgrading of the National Pesticide Analytical Laboratory at the Bureau of Plant Industry. The Japanese government donated P92 million for the upgrading of the analytical equipment to enable the BPI to improve its capabilities in analyzing pesticide residues. With him is Assistant Agriculture Secretary Paz Benavidez II (partly hidden) and executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries Ariel Cayanan.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

Philex Petroleum Corp., a unit of Philex Mining Corp., wants to acquire two Philippine oil and gas prospects amid the inability of unit Forum energy ltd. to explore service contract 72 due to a territo-rial dispute between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

Philex Petroleum chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the ac-quisitions, especially oil and gas prospects nearing the production stage, could bring the company to profitability.

Philex Petroleum’s loss wid-ened to P86 million in the first six months compared with P40.7 million year-on-year.

“Production was down in the first half. Of course, crude oil prices were down from more than $100 per barrel to something like $60 average. I don’t foresee Phi-lex Petroleum going in the black for the next year. You just have to wait for developments on the ex-ploration side,” Pangilinan said.

He said Philex Petroleum was

expected to generate losses now because “that is the nature of the beast because it is basically in ex-ploratory stage.”

Pangilinan said an acquisition of oil and gas prospects nearing the production phase was likely to change the game for Philex Pe-troleum.

“We’re prepared to go for that. We have to make an investment case to the board. It makes senses for cash flow purposes,” he said.

Pangilinan, however, conced-ed the two assets his company planned to acquire were also within the disputed areas.

“Yes, unfortunately,” he said.Philex Petroleum holds a

60.49-percent voting stake and a 48.76-percent economic interest in Forum Energy, which owns

majority of service contract 72.The Energy Department grant-

ed a force majeure to SC 72 due to the suspension of exploration activities within certain areas of the West Philippine Sea for the duration of the ongoing arbitra-tion case between the Philippines and China.

The force majeure took effect from December 15, 2014 until ad-vised by the department to start drilling in the area.

“Certainly you can’t proceed with this political [issue] hang-ing. We’d like to [explore SC 72], but if we’re not allowed to do anything,” Pangilinan said.

Forum Energy owns a 70-per-cent stake in service contract 72, viewed as rich in petroleum reserves, over Recto Bank in the

disputed West Philippine Sea.SC 72, which covers an

8,800-square-kilometer area west off Palawan, is estimated to contain prospective resources of as much as 16.6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 416 million barrels of oil.

Philex Petroleum earlier made a firm offer to acquire shares of minority shareholders in Forum Energy for 20 pence per ordinary share.

It said it made the offer in response to Forum Energy’s announcement it would seek shareholders’ approval for the cancellation of admission to trad-ing of Forum’s ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, the international market for growing companies.

BANGKOK, Thailand —PTT Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand plans to introduce lique-fied natural gas to the Philippine transport industry, instead of LNG for power genera-tion.

PTT Thailand vice president for interna-tional marketing Wisarn Chawalitanon told reporters here a team from PTT Thailand recently completed a study on the feasibility of putting up LNG facilities for power gen-eration in the Philippines.

Wisarn, however, said the study showed LNG facilities for power were not feasible due to the competitive advantage of coal.

The Philippines is building several coal power projects in the next fews years. A coal-fired power plant is cheaper to build than an LNG station.

Wisarn, who was previously president of PTT Philippines, earlier announced that PTT planned to invest in an LNG facility in the

Philippines because of its expertise in operat-ing an LNG terminal and power plant.

“[LNG] is still in our plan because we would like to introduce clean energy to the country. LNG is the clean energy we would like to introduce to our neighboring coun-tries. We know it’s good for the environ-ment. We try to show that we really care for the environment,” Wisarn said.

He said while diesel prices were much low in the Philippines today, he expects the situ-ation to change and make vehicular LNG more competitive.

“Comparing LNG to diesel, which has a low price because the Philippine govern-ment did not impose any taxes. During the time that oil prices were over $100 per bar-rel, the government imposes 3 percent duty. Now the price is lower, the government does not impose a 3 percent duty yet. But I think this situation will not last,” the official said.

Wisarn said PTT Thailand would put up an LNG facility for transport in Cambodia set to be operational by next year.

“One day, the [Philippine] government will recognize and the price [of diesel] will grow. That’s why we took a look at Cambo-dia... We are doing budgeting this year and hopefully, next year we will be in operation because it is easy to build the station. We al-ready have terminal in Thailand and we’ll just transport the product from Thailand to the border,” he said.

He said PTT was looking at LNG for trucks and buses “because they consume a lot.”

“With the model we’ll use in Cambodia, we can show that in three years your dis-tance of running, you can get return [on investment] already. The benefit of LNG is you can control the fuel consumption, you cannot bring it out to sell to others,” he said. Alena Mae S. Flores

By Othel V. Campos

TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corp. urged the Philippine Eco-nomic Zone Authority to en-courage automotive suppliers operating in the economic zones to participate in the newly ap-proved Comprehensive Automo-tive Resurgence Strategy pro-gram.

The company said the agency could provide assistance to im-prove the capability of suppliers through technical cooperation agreements between local parts makers and Japanese companies.

Peza’s role in promoting in-vestments into the Philippines extends to inviting foreign com-panies to set up manufacturing operations in the country.

Toyota and the Toyota Group of Export Suppliers recently con-vened to update Peza about its performance, as well as industry prospects and challenges.

The Toyota units hailed the Philippine government in efforts to make local production more competitive with other manufac-turers in Southeast Asia.

The CARS program promotes investment opportunities by granting incentives to the in-dustry and giving new direction to expand to the region through exports.

Earlier, Toyota said the com-pany was willing to bring in more parts manufacturers to the Philippines in support of the CARS program. The company is finalizing talks with the mother unit in Tokyo on the magnitude of investments needed to roll out new localized car parts for its en-rolled model in CARS.

Toyota plans to enroll Vios as its preferred platform in the CARS program and expand local contents to as much as 50 percent for the new model that the com-pany plans to introduce possibly in 2016.

THIS was the theme at the recent Philippine Agricultural Journalists seminar workshop held in Legazpi City, Albay involving agri journalists on the issues of climate change, agriculture and food security where this columnist was tasked to deliver an opening message.

As we noted in our message, the objective of the workshop was to stress the importance of “laymanizing” climate change process and terminologies – a no mean feat – in order to inform and educate our fellow Filipinos better. This task, of course, largely falls upon the shoulders of members of the print and broadcast media who have it in their power to influence the mindset of the people.

I certainly believe the workshop was timely given the fact that we are experiencing the effects of global warming and climate change —and the severity of its impact on agriculture. According to the National Economic Development Authority, agriculture accounts for 30 percent of employment and 10 percent of our total gross domestic product in 2013. As we have seen for ourselves, the series of natural disasters wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and others— have significantly affected crops and livestock—resulting in severe losses not only in terms of agriculture production but human lives.

Co-sponsored by Philex Mining Corporation, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Smart Communications, the

Department of Agriculture in partnership with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, the Agriculture and Food Security Regional Program for Southeast Asia, the International Rice Research Institute and the World Agroforestry Center, the seminar workshop—which will be conducted in other areas across the countryside—underscores the great responsibility each one of us have in spreading awareness about the impact of climate change and global warming, and how business and media can work together towards this end.

As we shared with the participants during the event, quoting the favorite quote of MVP Group chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, “We must teach our children that the ground beneath our feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. Tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our brothers. Teach your children what we have taught our own children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit on the ground, they spit upon themselves.”

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

M O N D AY : A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

BUSINESS B5

Climate Change: Gets Mo Na Ba?

Remittance targetstays–Guinigundo

Datem plans IPO to raise P5b

During the PAJ and MVP Group MOU signing with (from left) Melody Del Rosario- VP, Corporate Communications, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.; Ramon Isberto, Jr., First VP and Head, Smart and PLDT Public Affairs; Jose Ma. Lim, President and CEO, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.; Noel Reyes, Vice President, Philippine Agricultural Journalists.

(Seated from left) Dr. Leo Sebastian; Dir. Abelardo Bragas; this columnist; DA Undersecretary Fred Serrano; Dr. Cedric Daep of the Albay Climate Change Academy; and Noel O. Reyes, PAJ VP for internal affairs. Behind us are the other resource speakers, PAJ officers, government information officers, regional media and guests.

Dr. Leo Sebastian, CCAFS-SEA program leader, talks on climate change, agriculture and food security challenges in Southeast Asia.

Delivering the opening message during the two-day PAJ seminar-workshop.

Eco-friendly schools. Nestlé Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through the Environmental Management Bureau, renewed a partnership to recognize schools that are leaders in water stewardship in this year’s National Search for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Schools. Shown sealing the agreement are (from left) DENR–EMB chief Ellen Basug, DENR Undersecretary and EMB director Jonas Leones, Nestlé Philippines former chairman and chief executive Suresh Narayanan and head of corporate affairs Ernie Mascenon. The search program aims to inspire academic institutions across the country to become more actively involved in environmental issues at a practical and local level.

By Julito G. Rada

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the 5 percent growth for remittances this year remains “realistic” despite a weak peso that could trigger more money sent home by Filipinos working overseas.

“It is possible that some OFWs could take advan-tage of the weak peso and send more FX [foreign ex-change],” Guinigundo said in a text message over the weekend.

But he said reduced re-mittances from migrant workers was also possible because their beneficiaries would be getting the same peso amount with less for-eign exchange.

“My own view remains that on balance, a 5-percent growth in remittances con-tinues to be realistic. We continue to deploy more workers in response to sus-

tained demand for Filipino workers,” Guinigundo said.

The peso on Aug. 6 fell to a five-year low of 45.79 against the US dollar as investors’ anticipation of a stronger US jobs report over the weekend buoyed the greenback against most currencies. It was the peso’s weakest level since the 45.90 on July 28, 2010.

Economists from First Metro Investment Corp. and University of Asia & the Pa-cific said in a report last week the peso would depreciate further against the green-back as the US economy continued to recover and the

Federal Reserve was expect-ed to increase interest rates in the latter part of the year.

The economists predicted the peso averaging at 45.43 to a dollar in July, and weak-ening to 45.51 in August. They expect the local cur-rency to slightly recover in September, averaging at 45.356 to a greenback.

Remittances fuel private consumption and are one of the backbones of economic growth.

Cash remittances in 2014 posted a record-high of $24.308 billion, up 5.8 per-cent from $22.968 billion in 2013. They accounted for 8.5 percent of the gross domes-tic product in 2014.

The Bangko Sentral this year is aiming for a con-servative 5-percent growth in remittances. Central bank officials said the tar-get could still be reviewed and adjusted in the coming months, along with other economic data.

By Jenniffer B. AustriaANOTHER construction company, Da-tem Inc., plans to raise at least P5 billion through an initial public offering slated in the last quarter of 2015, one of the under-writers hired to handle the deal said over the weekend

First Metro Investments Corp. president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said his company and BPI Capital Corp. had been tapped as the lead underwriters of the offering.

“We are targeting November-December this year for listing,” Dispo said.

He said Datem, one of the progressive construction companies in the country, planned to raise fresh funds to finance its venture into related businesses, like water utility and low-cost housing projects.

D.M. Wenceslao & Associates Inc. last

week also filed an IPO application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise as much as P21.7 billion in proceeds.

Datem currently has 22 ongoing con-struction projects and contracts worth P30 billion.

Dispo said the Datem would have a public f loat of between 20 percent and 30 percent after the IPO.

“This is the perfect window [to conduct an IPO] since 2016 is an election year. There is also dearth of IPOs, and equity and capital market transactions. It is like having a clear window and clear market between now and election year 2016,” Dis-po said.

Datem was earlier pre-qualified to bid for the P4-billion Integrated Transport System South Terminal before pulling out from the auction.

business@manilastandardtoday.comextrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESSMONDAY: AUGUST 10, 2015

B6

Neda: Infra spending picks upOn suicide posts, ethical

Internet behavior and power distance

PLDT’s enterprise business expands 14%

PAZ ESPERANZA TESORO-POBLADOR

GREEN LIGHT

IN December 2008, my beloved brother jumped to his death from the depar-ture building of the Hong Kong Inter-national Airport. A brilliant, notewor-thy and socially-

responsible global citizen, he was 36 years old and had gone too soon. His last post on Facebook timeline—“Jose Manuel Tesoro is dreaming about buying a mountain retreat in Virginia.”

In her article on rising suicide rates, Alixandra Vila mentioned that accord-ing to the Philippine Statistics Authority, “in the Philippines, the suicide rate from 1984 to 2005 went up from 0.46 to seven out of every 200,000 men; up from 0.24 to two for every 200,000 women. While the � gures might seem in-signi� cant compared with those from neighboring countries that recorded the highest suicide rates, the increase in numbers is noticeably high.”

Not about suicideLast month, the 15-year old daughter of my family friends passed away by

her own hand as well. She was a multi-talented, erudite and delightful teen actress who starred in a daytime soap opera, and le� over 63,000 Instagram followers. An active netizen since 2009, she promptly posted her suicide note on her Tumblr feed. As I am not a psychologist, nor an expert on the subject, this article is not about suicide mind you, rather it is about what was made of that note a� er her death.

Soon a� er the news broke, another friend of mine, a popular showbiz gos-sip blogger with over 4,000 Facebook and 62,000 Instagram followers, eagerly reposted the note, which subsequently made it viral. � e victim’s parents and siblings implored the press and the public to let them grieve in private, and even when her � nal message was taken down from her Tumblr feed, my blog-ger buddy’s screenshots remained online for all the world to see and share.

I don’t know about you, but I found this to be very disturbing. So disturb-ing that I requested my buddy to please take it down as a sign of respect for my mourning friends. He contended that the mere fact that the victim was a showbiz personality who le� her letter on a social media platform, immedi-ately made it public property. Now that, I believe, is a debatable topic: When should ethics in communication come into play in what James Webster (2014) calls ‘the marketplace of attention’, a.k.a. the Internet?

Power distanceAs a marketing professor, I teach consumer behavior to undergraduate busi-

ness students, and one of the topics we cover under consumer culture, is “Core Societal Values [CSV] or cultural values [as a] commonly agreed-upon con-sensus about the most preferable ways of living within a community” (Babin & Harris, 2011, p.150). � ere are � ve factors that make up the CSV, namely: individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and power distance. In this case, I choose to discuss power distance, which is “the extent to which authority and privilege are divided among di� erent groups within society and the extent to which these facts of life are accepted by the people within the society” (Babin & Harris, 2011, p.151).

In cyberspace society, power and authority lie within those with the most fol-lowers. � ey are the privileged few who were able to serendipitously soar to mi-cro-celebrity status, only because their opinions were tracked and liked by many, and possibly even shared by most. In the realm of user-generated content, these personalities have risen above the rest to exemplify ‘the wisdom of crowds’.

When anonymous users suddenly become famous, an intermediary such as a talent manager or publicist, for instance, is o� en absent from the equation. � e decision to publish is made solely by the micro-celebrity. As ‘power-us-ers’ these content providers have the sway of opinion leaders, of marketing mavens, of online movers and shakers, if you will. In their article, � e Role of Social Media in Transforming Governments and Nations, Pryor, et al. (2014) further explains their market reach:

“Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of social media is that it is being adopted by a higher percentage of the world’s youth. When this aspect of social media is mixed with the demographic realities of many developing countries, the high potential of social media as an enabler of in� uential power is realized” (p.21).

Ethics in cyberspaceMy blogger buddy has since taken down the screenshots of my young friend’s

� nal words. I am deeply grateful for his cooperation, but I still question mo-tivation. Has the marketplace of attention so consumed these power-users to further amass followers, likes, and shares so much so that they have become utterly indi� erent to the condition of the bereaved? Her mother was in so much pain that I could hardly hear her speak at the wake.

I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion in a free cyber society, but what of compassion for those le� behind? A few days a� er the funeral, I asked my friend about her thoughts on the matter and she said, ”Yes, of course we are disturbed about how my daughter’s note was made viral, but you know Nina, at the end of the day, if it has become a catalyst for public discussion on taboo topics such as suicide, then that can only be a good thing.”

I can only hope to be as open-minded and graceful if the same were done to me. Just like terrorists, are we here to propagate fear and despair, or is there a better way to incite meaningful, objective and even empirical online discus-sion? When power users post so indiscriminately on this no-man’s land a.k.a. the Internet, does that not instigate the same behavior in their followers? � ese users are called ‘followers’ for a reason, are they not?

� is incident, in my opinion, has given creative destruction a new meaning. Micro-celebrities produce content which create communities of people who range from those who hang on to every post to those who just want to be kept in the loop. Regardless of follower motivation, these content providers have enough clout to incite emotion, and even provoke action in their respective groups. � ey can choose to either create a clique which revels in the mediocrity of gossip, or develop a community that is concerned about the greater good of a young and impressionable generation.

***Paz Esperanza Tesoro-Poblador is a faculty member of the Marketing Manage-

ment Department of De La Salle University’s Ramon V. del Rosario College of Busi-ness. She is currently taking her Doctorate in Business Administration. Her � elds of interest are sustainable development, entrepreneurship and digital marketing.

� e views expressed in this article are the author’s, and do not necessarily re� ect the viewpoints of the DLSU administration and faculty.

DMCI gensets. Off-grid electricity supplier DMCI Power Corp. delivered 11 additional generator sets to Palawan to help address the rotational load shedding problem in the province. DPC is investing over P100 million to acquire and lease the additional power generating units, which have a total dependable capacity of 7700KW. The gensets were deployed to Irawan, Aborlan, Quezon and Roxas from May to July. Shown are two of 11 gensets delivered to Palawan in the last two months.

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

GOVERNMENT infrastructure spending in the second quarter was “much better” than that in the � rst quarter, an o� cial of the National Economic and Development Authority said over the weekend.

Neda deputy director-general Rolando Tungpalan told report-ers there was evidence that infra-structure spending picked up pace in the second quarter.

“I don’t remember the exact � gures, but I got feedback that it’s picking up and there are num-ber of procurement already on stream, and contracts awarded,” said Tungpalan.

� e lower-than-expected pub-lic spending was being blamed for the disappointing 5.2-percent GDP growth in the � rst quarter, which was below the target range of 7 per-cent to 8 percent for the year.

The Philippine Statistics Au-thority will release the second-quarter GDP figures later this month.

Tungpalan said Neda’s focus now was on the implementation of

the projects, instead of proposing new projects.

“I think the focus now is not so much on new project approval, but getting us to accelerate implemen-tation of even large infrastructure projects that have been approved under this Neda board,” he said.

Data from the website of the Public-Private Partnership Cen-ter showed the government had awarded 10 projects under the program while 13 other projects were in di� erent stages of pro-curement, three projects were for rollout, six projects were up for government approval and � ve projects had on-going studies.

� e awarded projects were Daang Hari –South Luzon Ex-pressway Link Road, PPP for School Infrastructure Project (Phase 1), Ninoy Aquino Interna-

tional Airport Expressway Project (Phase 2), Modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center, Automatic Fare Collection Sys-tem, Mactan-Cebu International Airport Passenger Terminal Building, Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension and Opera-tion and Maintenance, as well as the Integrated Transport System-Southwest Terminal Project.

Four projects were recently ap-proved by the Investment Coor-dination Committee and awaiting the nod of the Neda board. � ese were the P64.71-billion LRT Line 6 project, the P11.7-billion Batan-gas-Manila (BatMan) 1 Natural Gas Pipeline Project, the P74.56-billion Ninoy Aquino Internation-al Airport Development Project and the P50.15-billion Ortigas-Taytay LRT Line 4 project.

� e government aims to in-crease infrastructure spending to at least 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2016.

� e Budget Department earli-er said total government spend-ing in the second quarter rose 12.4 percent to P505.17 billion from a year ago.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. said revenues from corporate data and other network services rose 14 percent to P5.3 billion in the � rst half of 2015.

“� e upward momentum of our enterprise business group continues, driven by revenues from data-rich business solutions and our world-class data centers, as well as from emerging cloud and big data services,” PLDT president and chief executive Na-poleon Nazareno said.

“As a result, PLDT has further strengthened its position as the country’s leading digital enabler of businesses, large and SMEs,” he said.

� e PLDT Group bolstered its portfolio of enterprise digital solutions with recent announce-ment of Big Data services and so-

lutions which allow enterprises to analyze openly available data and gain insights that drive predictive and data-driven decision-making in their businesses.

It said through PLDT’s Big Data services, SMEs could acquire the data processing capabilities that rival those of large enterprises at a fraction of the cost.

Large enterprises can get to know their consumers and think like an SME through insights that they receive at the micro level, it said.

PLDt also heavily promoted Cloud-enabled services un-der PLDT Cloud to enterprises housed in the PLDT Group’s ex-isting network of six data centers.

Its subsidiary, ePLDT, will soon open two more data cen-ters which will bring PLDT’s total rack capacity up to 8,000 by end-2016, the largest in the country.

“To meet the fast-growing re-quirements of Philippine busi-nesses, we invested heavily in ICT infrastructure and technologies that have empowered the coun-try’s enterprises to compete suc-cessfully with more advanced IT economies. A case in point is our thriving business process out-sourcing sector,” said PLDT ex-ecutive vice president and ePLDT president Eric Alberto.

Banking on ICT services, the IT-BPO industry has grown rap-idly over the past decade.

� e IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines said the industry employed over 1.03 million Filipinos and had over $18 billion in revenues in 2014.

� e industry is also on track to hit its target of 1.3 million BPO workers by 2016 and $25 billion in revenues, the association said.

B7cesar barrioquintoE D I T O R

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

M o n D aY : a u G u s t 1 0 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

Suffering in Greece’s shadow

Nagasaki remembers bomb

Republic of the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources MINES AND GEOSCIENCES BUREAU Regional Office No. V R e g i o n a l G o v e r n m e n t C e n t e r , DENR Annex Bldg., Rawis, Legazpi City Telefax No: (052)482-1056, Tel. No: (052)482-1156 / 480-1084 E - m a i l A d d re s s : m g b r 5 @ y a h o o . co m , We b s i te : w w w. r e g i o n 5 . m g b . g o v. p h

invitation to bid As is, Where is, For

Confiscated Processed Iron OreinParacale, Camarines Norte

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. V (MGB RO V), by virtue of confiscation Orders dated September 1, 2014 and March 10, 2015 intends to sell 47,196 metric tons of iron ore containing gold for a total amount of $1,682,553.52 being the Approved Sales Value (ASV) for the payment under the contract for the sale of Confiscated Iron Ore in Paracale, Camarines Norte numbered MGB ROV-SOG-2015-01. Bids received less than the ASV shall be automatically rejected at the bid opening.

1. The MGB RO V now invites bids for 47,196 metric tons of processed iron ore with average grade of 60.03% Feand 1.53% Au. Full payment for the goods is required by 2:00 PM of the 3rd working day from the date of the award. Failure to pay in full shall render the award null and void and the bid security forfeited in favor of the DENR. Bidders should be at the time of bidding, be an MPSA, FTAA contractor/Permittee or a Mineral Processing Permit holder, or duly Accredited Mineral Trader/Dealer/Retailer of mineral products and by-products.

2. Bidding shall be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion.

3. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations/corporations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the MGB RO V, and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on July 27, 2015 to August 25, 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P 50,000.00).

5. It may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the MGB RO V, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The MGB RO V will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on August 11, 2015, 2:00 PM at the Office of Provincial Environmental and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO), Daet, Camarines Norte, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

6. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 12:00 noon on August 25, 2015. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in the form of a Manager’s Check payable to the DENR Secretary in the amount equivalent to 10% of the ASV. The bid security shall be returned to the losing bidder after the bid is announced. In case of the awardee, the deposit will serve as a partial payment.

Bid opening shall be on August 25, 2015 at 2:00PM at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. V, Rawis, Legazpi City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ authorized representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

7. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office No. Vreserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

8. For further information, please refer to:

DANIEL S. SOMBANON CBACMP Secretariat Mines and Geosciences Bureau R.O. No. V Regional Government Center, Rawis, Legazpi City Tel No. (052) 482-1056/482-1156 Email Address: mgbr5@yahoo.com Website: www.region5.mgb.gov.ph

(SGD) RICARDO P. NACIONAL CBACMP Chairman

(TS-JUL. 27, AUG. 3 & 10, 2015)

This is to inform the public that:

Mr. Lorenzo D. Lasco has been appointed as the new President of Cirrus Global, Inc. effective June 18, 2015.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

(TS-AUGUST 10, 2015

INVITATION TO BIDCavite State University, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites all interested bidders to bid for the

following project:

Project Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) Contract Duration

1. Construction of Five Storey Interdisciplinary PhP41,186,062.37 270 CD

Prospective bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained tn the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the ‘Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Govemment Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnership, or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizen of the Philippines.

Bidding Documents may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Govemment Electronic Procurement System (PhiIGEPS) and CvSU Website, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

The schedule of activities is listed as follows:

1. Issu.ance of Bidding Documents August 3,2015 (8:00 AM)2. Pre-bid Conference August 12,2015 (3:00 PM) at S. L. Lasap Hall, CvSU, Indang, Cavite3. Submission and Opening of Bids August 24, 2015 (3:00 PM) at S. L. Lasap Hall, CvSU,.lndang, Cavite

All particulars relative to Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, PostQualification and Award of Contract shall be govemed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

Interested bidders may purchase a complete set of Bidding Documents from the address below upon payment of the following nonrefundable fee:

Project Amount of Bidding DocumentsConstruction of Five Storey Interdisciplinary Research, Phase I PhP30,000.00 .

Pre-bid Conference shall be open only to all interested bidders who have purchased the Bidding Documents. Bids must be delivered to the Office of the BAC Chairman, Administration Building, CvSU, Indang, Cavite on or before the above mentioned date and time. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forins and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ authorized representatives who choose to attend the bidding. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Cavite State University assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

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

(SGD) MA. AGNES P. NUESTRO, Ph.D.BAC Chairman

1F Administration BuildingDon Severino delas Alas Campus

Cavite State UniversityIndang, CaVite .

(046~ 862-0806 I 862-0853 I 415-0014 loc. 270 or 209

Repub l ic o f the Ph i l ipp inesCAVITE STATE UNIVERSIT Y

(CvSU)Don Sever ino de a las Campus

Indang, cav i te(0 46) 415010 /415 - 0 011 415 - 0 012

w w w.cvsu.educ .ph

( TS - AUGUST 3 & 10, 2015)

I n C l a s s i f i e d A d s s e c t i o n must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

LEGAL NOTICENotice is hereby given that the

Estate of Maria C. Luna (“Decedent”) was settled under the terms set forth in the “Affidavit of Adjudication of Estate with Deed of Absolute Sale” executed by Aurelio C. Luna and registered as Doc. No. 06106 Series of 2015 with the Consulate General of the Philippines, New York, New York, United States of America with Notarial Certificate of Vice Consul Khrystina P. Corpuz.

TS-AUGUST 3,10,17, 2015)

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTNATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITY

(TS-AUG. 10, 2015)

The National Housing Authority (NHA), through the Corporate Budget approved by the NHA Board for the year 2015 intends to apply the sum of the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payment for the following contracts:

Ref. No. Projects

ABC/ Source of Funds (P)

Duration

(c.d.)

Required PCAB

LicenseWork

Description

2015

-08-138

Repair Works for Vitas Katuparan Housing Project. Tondo, Manila

11,997,805.28 Corporate Receipts

180Atleast Cat. “C” and “D” & Small “B” for Bldg.

Removal and Replacement of rusted and dilapilated steel, stairs and railing along hallways and roof decks and painting of exterior walls of 15 buildings

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The NHA now invites bids for the above-cited projects. Completion of the works is required within the duration herein cited upon receipt of the Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed a single contract similar to the project costing at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

A complete set of Bidding Documents shall be issued only to bidders/authorized official representatives or employees of the bidder who can show proof of Notarized Authority to secure bid documents for the specific project, Official Company ID upon submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and upon Cash Payment of non-refundable fee of P30,000.00 for Ref. Nos. 2015-07-130 & 2015-07-131 and P6,000.00 for Ref. No. 2015-07-132 at the Office of the NHA-BAC 2 Secretariat, 2nd Floor NHA Main Building, Diliman, Quezon City from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. starting on August 10, 2015. The BAC 2 Secretariat may be contacted at Tel/Fax No. 928-8272.

The NHA will hold a Pre-bid Conference on August 25, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. at the Operations Center, 3rd Floor NHA Main Building, Diliman, Quezon City, which shall be OPEN ONLY to bidders who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered at the Operations Center, 3rd Floor NHA Main Building, Diliman, Quezon City not later than 9:00 a.m. on the date specified below.

Schedule of opening of bidSeptember 08, 2015 - Ref. No. 2015-08-138

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and amount as stated in Bid Data Sheet (BDS). Bid opening shall follow immediately after the deadline of submission of bids at the same venue. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted.

The NHA reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder/s.

(SGD.) VICTOR C. BALBAChairperson, Bids and Awards Committee 2 (BAC 2)NATIONAL HOUSING AUTHORITYElliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City

Invitation to Bid

Bells tolled and tens of thousands of people, including aging survi-vors and the relatives of victims, observed a minute’s silence at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the moment the bomb from a US plane devastated the port city on August 9, 1945.

Abe laid a wreath at the ceremony, which was attended by rep-resentatives from 75 countries including US ambassador Caroline Kennedy.

“As the only coun-try attacked with an atomic bomb in war, I am renewing our de-termination to lead the global effort for nuclear disarmament, to create a world without such weapons,” Abe said in his speech.

He promised that Japan would continue to abide by its long-held principles: not produc-ing, possessing or al-lowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory.

Abe was criticized for failing to mention the three principles at a ceremony days earlier in Hiroshima, alarm-ing atomic bomb sur-vivors—particularly when the nationalist leader is trying to push through legislation to extend the military’s role.

Nagasaki survivor Sumiteru Taniguchi, 86, lashed out at Abe’s gov-ernment for trying to revise the pacifist con-stitution, accusing it of returning Japan to the state before the end of World War II.

“The security bills which the govern-ment is trying to push through would jeop-ardize our long-time movement for nuclear abolition and hopes of hibakusha (atom-bomb survivors),” he said in a thin voice. “I cannot tol-erate the bills.”

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue also crit-icized the government as Abe listened.

“Worries and anxi-eties are now spread-ing among us that this pledge made 70 years ago and the principle for peace in the Japanese constitution may be now undermined,” he

TOKYO—Japan on Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki that claimed more than 74,000 lives, even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under fire for his attempts to expand the mili-tary’s role.

said to loud applause.Abe has faced criti-

cism and opposition for his attempts to expand the role of his pacifist country’s so-called Self-Defence Forces. 

These would allow them to engage in com-bat—in defense of an

ally which comes un-der attack—for the first time since the war.

A constitution im-posed by a post-war US occupation force prevented the military from engaging in com-bat except in the nation’s self-defense. AFP

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B8editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Day’s end. A general view of the sunset during The Surfrider Foundation Two Coasts: One Ocean on August 8 in Montauk, New York. AFP

There for prayers. Pilgrims climb the Azro Nethor peak in the Djurdjura Mountain range, 1,884 meters above sea level, in Algeria’s eastern Kabylia region on July 31, 2015, to reach “el-Jammaa Oufella” (“the upstairs mosque”). Thousands of people climb the peak every year to perform prayers hoping “the saints” will answer their pleas. AFP

Suffering in Greece’s shadow 9 dead, 3 missing afterSoudelor ravages China

Seagulls terrorize UK holidaymakers

China’s stock exchange has been in free fall since mid-June, under-going a 30-percent correction after having posted a dizzying 150-per-cent rise the previous 12 months.

Failure to stop the slide has crushed small investors—who account for most of the market—and rattled con-fidence in Beijing’s government.

But it has transpired as China’s economic growth has slowed and manufacturing surveys show con-traction, rippling across the globe as more and more companies depend on the world’s number two economy.

The powerful Federation of German Industries recently noted that “German companies were definitely prepared for a slowdown in Chinese growth but were nev-ertheless surprised by the extreme

jolts on the stock market.”Both Volkswagen and BMW have

warned the slowdown in China—the world’s top auto market and key source of growth for Western auto-makers in recent years—could un-dermine sales this year.

The Chinese slowdown has also hammered commodity prices, weighing on the fortunes of coun-tries which produce and export key raw materials.

That has complicated the situa-tion for Brazil, which not so long ago had been hoping to ride the commodities boom to top rank economic status, but has instead found itself stuck in a seven-year stretch of zero or negative growth.

The Brazilian real has tumbled to a 12-year low against the dollar,

BRIGHTON, United Kingdom—A familiar presence at Britain’s sea-side resorts, seagulls have this sum-mer spread fear after ambushing holidaymakers as they tuck into their fish and chips, and even at-tacking pets.

The country’s tabloid news-papers have had a field day, with headlines including: “Seagull stole my iPhone” (The Sun), “Moment killer seagull turns cannibal” (The Daily Mail), and “Psycho seagulls keep out illegals” (Daily Express).

Even the broadsheets have joined in, with The Sunday Times warning that “Gull gangs learn new

tricks to steal your seafront snacks”.The squawking menaces have al-

ways had a bad reputation as scav-engers.

But the gulls are now apparently growing in audacity and rather than feeding on leftovers, are delib-erately targeting people’s fish and chips, the battered haddock or cod combination traditionally eaten by holidaymakers, as they tuck in.

“They’ve been trained by ter-rorists, I’m sure,” said Cliff Faires, owner of a seafood kiosk in the his-toric south coast resort of Brighton. 

A sign outside his Brighton Shellfish and Oyster Bar warns:

“Seagulls will snatch your food. Please be aware. We don’t take any responsibility for this action”.

Local witnesses described a com-mon plan of attack used by the birds, whereby a lone assailant pounces on an unsuspecting diner, forcing them to drop their food. At this point, hordes of reinforcements arrive to feast on the spilled remains.

“They’ll eat everything except lemon and tabasco,” one added.

“I see gulls grabbing food from people three or four times a day, more when it’s sunny,” said Chris, who works at a fish-and-chip kiosk on Brighton pier. AFP

BEIJING—Typhoon Soudelor killed nine people in eastern China after parts of the country were hit by the heaviest rains in a century, state media reported Sunday.

Another three people are miss-ing after the storm caused land-slides in rural parts of eastern Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local disaster relief officials.

Wencheng county saw down-pours of 645 millimeters in 24 hours—the heaviest rain in 100 years—after the typhoon made landfall on Saturday night, it said.

The storm has caused at least 248 million yuan ($40 million) in economic damage and cut power to more than two million homes, Xinhua said. More than a quarter had electricity restored by Sunday

morning.Billed as the biggest typhoon of

the year earlier in the week with winds of up to 230 kilometers an hour, Soudelor—named after a legendary Micronesian chief—has since weakened.

China’s National Meteorological Center forecast the typhoon will be downgraded to a tropical depression by Sunday night as it moved further inland.

Soudelor left six people dead in Taiwan, where it ripped up trees and triggered landslides, damag-ing electricity lines and knocking out power to a record four million households.

Almost half a million homes were still without power Sunday, Taiwan Power Co. said, as blocked roads hampered efforts to restore supplies in some areas. AFP

PARIS—Greece has been hogging the headlines late-ly, but emerging markets have also had their share of tribulations with the Chinese stock market in convul-sions and the Brazilian economy and currency hitting the skids.

forcing the country’s central bank to jack interest rates up to 14.25 percent to stabilize the currency and curb inflation. The govern-ment, meantime, has had to scale back its fiscal savings plans in or-der to prop up the economy.

Standard and Poor’s last month switched the outlook on Brazil’s ‘BBB-’ rating to negative, which means the country’s investment-grade ranking is at risk.

Brazil is in good company in having its money pummeled, with fellow emerging markets like Mexico, South Africa, Colombia and Turkey also witnessing their currencies slide to multi-year lows.

Russia’s central bank has stopped its controversial purchases of foreign currencies to expand its reserves due to a renewed decline of the ruble in recent weeks.

The slump in the value of emerg-ing market currencies is in large part due to falling prices of commodi-ties—affecting oil and metals alike—which figure heavily in the exports of many emerging market nations. AFP

world

ceSAr bArriOqUiNTOE D I T O R

“We make sure there’s no room for boredom for anyone. And when we put together our room deals and specials for a particular period, we consider value add-ons that are suited to the needs of our guests. We package our offers with benefits and discounts to select facilities which guests can enjoy even when there’s rain. If you want to dine with a view, Ibiza Beach Club has an indoor dining space called the Conservatory where guests can have dinner and enjoy our Balearic-style Churrasco. If you’re up for some indoor

challenge, kids and parents alike are welcome to our game area complete with a pool table, chess board, an Xbox and foosball set. Beat the blues and hit the gym for some body movement and energy boost. Part of our Mövenpick tradition is the Chocolate Hour, everyone gets free chocolate treats from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. And for that much

needed R&R, try any of the treatments at the Spa del Mar.” – Meghann Sta. Ines-Hernandez, Marketing and Communications Manager

“Since our hotels are right in the middle of a business district, we make it a point to offer staycation packages that reflect what we offer as a city hotel. Crowne Plaza is identified as a business hotel so when we create the packages for staycation for this particular hotel, it would have someone who has a fast-paced lifestyle in mind, so it would be a discount in the spa or a special rate during the weekends when there is a big sale. For Holiday Inn, the staycation package has a family in mind so we offer welcome packs for kids; our program Kids Stay and Eat Free with nutritious meals for children. Everything is designed to make sure families are

comfortable and taken care of in an affordable package since the parents probably have a working budget. We also make it a point to partner with visiting attractions such as what we did before with Hi5, Peppa Pig, and the like. In monsoon weather like this, what better way to spend it than in a room with a view, and everything you need is just a phone call away? You

already have the options laid out for you when you are at a hotel; you can either stay in a really soft bed with crisp sheets, go down the hotel bar for a drink, or go to the spa, or a movie at the mall.” – Karmina De Ungria, Manager, Public Relations and Marketing Communications.

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TATUM ANCHETAE D I T O RBING PARELA S S O C I AT E E D I T O RBERNADETTE LUNASW R I T E R

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HOW TO KEEP THE RAINY DAY BLUES AWAY

LIFE

SHANGRI-LA’S BORACAY RESORT & SPA “At Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, the habagatseason is a special one. Cool winds and warm waters are a splendid treat for nature lovers, best enjoyed at our private beaches. While outdoor activities are limited during this period, we have a host of fun activities for guests cocooning in the resort. Dining, of course, is aplenty with many international culinary options to explore, including unique private dining setups in intimate, picturesque venues or even in guest villas. We also have a slew of fitness and recreation activities – among them are private yoga, Pilates and kickboxing sessions, unlimited KTV, a smorgasbord of arcade games, movie nights in private theatres with a myriad of snacking options. And then there is our Adventure Zone for kids. Especially popular with our guests now is our Habagat Spa Cuisine. It is our Chi Buffet at Chi, The Spa, where they may choose from among various spa specialties and enjoy a few hours of bliss at special rates.” – Cristina del Carmen, Director of Communications

MARCO POLO ORTIGAS MANILA“A visit at our 22nd floor, Flow, will surely melt any rainy day blues. We have developed the entire floor as a perfect venue for rest and relaxation regardless of the season. Inside Flow you will find the heated indoor infinity pool and steam rooms, as well as the fully equipped Fitness Centre with well-trained instructors ready to create a program for you. And the spa, which has a good range of massage services, body and facial treatments. Aside from our facilities, our guests will surely enjoy a dining safari with our signature dining outlets inside the hotel. Cafe Pronto whips up gourmet coffees, fresh sandwiches and the best selection of desserts and pastries. Cucina is our all-day dining buffet restaurant which boasts of diverse and equally sumptuous spreads from the world’s culinary capitals. Lung Hin is our authentic Cantonese restaurant with dedicated Hong Kong chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants in HK. And Vu’s Sky Lounge which has an unobstructed view of the skyline from the 45th floor with good cocktails and tapas.” – Beth Gokauchi, Marketing Communications and Public Relations Manager

The wind is getting cooler and the sky is overcast most of the time. Yes, summer is definitely over. But just because it’s damp and wet outside doesn’t mean that we should just hole up at

home and snooze under our sheets. Though extended hibernation sounds really comforting especially during this monsoon weather, there are a whole lot of other things we can do to enjoy the rainy days.

In some parts of the Philippines, the rainy weather can be one of the most beautiful of seasons. During the rainy months, mountains present a majestic hue of green, creating some of the most picturesque landscapes. A visit to hot springs at this time is also very therapeutic and

relaxing. From Laguna to Palawan, there’s a whole list of hot springs to visit. Waterfalls are also best to enjoy during the rainy season as they conjure relaxing and graceful views of water trickling down from the mountaintops. Surfing in Baler or La Union is usually enjoyed at this time as the waves inspire more fun and adventure rides.

Hotels and resorts are usually the best sources of R&R during this time. Aside from the low season rates, there are a lot of perks to take advantage of especially if you’re more into the relaxing, pamper-me and slow-me-down kind of mood. We talked to some of the hotels and resorts frequented during the monsoon season and here is a list of things you can enjoy from their amenities:

So pack your bags, get the best airfare deals and experience what the rainy season has to offer.

DISCOVERY COUNTRY SUITES (TAGAYTAY)“Guests of Discovery Country Suites are mostly people who are looking for a place to rest and recharge. During summer, guests tend to go out during daytime exploring new places of interest within the ridge. In terms of room occupancy during monsoon season, Discovery Country Suites will soon start various activities such as craft making sessions, baking and cooking lessons. These can be tailor fit depending on the guests’ interests, as added value offerings. But most still prefer to stay in our spacious suites, enjoying the cool climate, getting a massage, enjoying quiet moments over wine and cheese, reading a good book or even mastering the art of doing nothing. And we recently partnered with local crafters, so our guests can enjoy various craft activities such as taka making. Cooking and baking lessons will also be made available, which I will be personally conducting.” – Rhea Sycip, Discovery Country Suites Resident Manager.

CROWNE PLAZA MANILA AND HOLIDAY INN MANILA GALLERIA

MÖVENPICK HOTEL MACTAN ISLAND CEBU

Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu Villa Likha, Shangri-La's Boracay Resort & Spa Vu's Sky Lounge, Marco Polo Ortigas Manila

Last Friday, I was asked to deliver a talk about the similarities between art and wine. This was in conjunction with the opening of

the Art x Wine Exhibition at the Rockwell Center, featuring the works of acclaimed local artists Charlie Co and Cezar Arro. This event is primarily an art and wine appreciation occasion, drawing art buyers, art collectors, art enthusiasts, artists, media people and wine enthusiasts together – as eloquently stated by event conceptualizers Jonathan Gee and Bryan Depano. When I was contemplating what to say, I got to realize that indeed, art and wine could be viewed at a similar realm, but with some striking nuances.

WINEMAKERS LIKENED TO ARTISTSFrom empty canvases to beautiful masterpieces – these are what gifted painters and artists do. They use their imagination, creativity, vision and timely strokes from their paintbrushes and color palettes to make “eye feast” paintings.

Winemakers on the other hand have, as their given, the vineyards, the grape varietals, the “terroir” (or micro-environment), and winemaking tools from fermentation tanks to oak barrels as their “paintbrushes.”

Still, amidst so much “given” and “tools,” similarly winemakers’ imagination, creativity, vision as well as their timely intervention in every step of the winemaking process contribute to the finished wine. This parallelism alone makes winemakers artists in their own right. An exceptional painting can catch attention and resonate in one’s mind for a long period of time. The same could be said of a surreal wine that upon initial whiff, and then sip, can leave a person totally enamored. And even after every single drop of this wine is consumed, the memory of such hedonistic sensation will linger for an extended period. Many will argue that wines are produced in huge quantities while a painting could be uniquely individual. The argument may hold true, but ask any seasoned wine drinker, and it is not only

believed, but also verified that no two bottles of even the same wine, when opened will taste exactly the same… the reason being that wine components from tannins, acids, residual sugar to alcohol once intertwined with oxygen affect the wine in different ways, resulting in subtle or sometimes obvious changes.

THE CHATEAU MOUTON ROTHSCHILD PIONEERING ART LABELSAs early as their 1924 label, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, then still a second growth, used Jean Carlu, a French graphic designer specializing in posters, to design their wine label. But it was two decades after, reprised in the 1945 vintage, that art in the Chateau Mouton Rothschild’s wine label became a tradition. This set Chateau Mouton

Rothschild apart from every other chateau in Bordeaux and perhaps e v e r y w h e r e . Chateau Mouton Rothschild has therefore brought together a rich ensemble of the most celebrated artists starting from the 20th century,

including Picasso, Miro, Dali, Francis Bacon to a surprising artist in Prince Charles, who was responsible for the 2004 vintage label.

The artists pre-chosen to do the Mouton labels were given a freehand in creating their artworks, though themes revolving around the vines, the wine drinking and the Mouton Rothschild emblem (the ram), were the common denominators among the different labels released throughout the vintages since 1945. In fact, the Mouton Rothschild wine labels are as sought after and as collectible as the Chateau wines they represent.

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SIP BY SIPBY SHERWIN A. LAO

BAUAN’S NOT-SO-HIDDEN GEM

Looking at Wine as Art

The Bodegas Altanza Artist Collection featuring Gaudi for Reserva vintage 2005.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2009 vintage featured the work of Indian-Briton Anish Kapoor.

Continued on C3

The Gist: What makes Pascua’s different from other restaurants in the area?

Chef Marga: We know that most of the customers, aside from the locals, are expats who work in Bauan and those who have traveled to Bauan from Manila for vacations and to go diving. What makes us different aside from our unique take on local dishes, is the kind of service and the environment that we create in the restaurant.

When you enter the restaurant, we want to make you feel like you were invited inside the Pascua family’s dining room. Our servers know our regular customers’ names, they ask about the customers day. Harley’s mom is always at the restaurant and she has been known to sit with and entertain the guests. We also ask guests for dish suggestions, and we try to include them in the Chef 's specials for the month.

TG: What’s the inspiration behind the menu?

CM: The menu is a collaborative effort between Harley’s mom and I. She loves to cook and so we thought of including these family favorites in the menu. During our first test kitchen, Harley invited me to do it in their home in Bauan. While we were there, we stopped by a local bakeshop to buy “tiping,” a

local biscuit and a family favorite. While eating,

I thought that the biscuit would be good with a cheese pimiento dip. That gave me the

inspiration to recreate local dishes and serve it

with a twist.

TG: What kind of twists are we talking about?

CM: We used the original dishes and we recreated them into completely new dishes, served in a different way. We changed the build of the dish and we introduced other ingredients, tweaked or added cooking techniques to recreate the dish but without sacrificing the original flavor.

An example would be our Sinaing na Tulingan Pasta.

Sinaing na Tulingan is a staple meal here in Bauan. They cook the bullet tuna fish wrapped with banana

leaves on kamias in clay pots for 24 hours until the

juices come out. What we did is we used the Sinaing na Tulingan fish flakes and the

fish sauce to create a new pasta dish.Another local favorite would be

the simple bulanglang, or boiled vegetables in a broth. Vegetables that are used for this dish are green papaya, malunggay leaves, squash and eggplant. What we did is we

cooked bulanglang and then we blended the vegetables and created Cream of Bulanglang Soup.

TG: The menu changes periodically, right? What are the latest additions to it?

CM: New additions to the menu would be the Stuffed

Squid in Garlic Olive Oil, Dory Nuggets, Creamy Chicken Mushroom and Arroz ala Cubana.

TG: Which dishes would you say are the

must-try’s?

CM: You definitely have to try the Sinaing na Tulingan Pasta, Pascua’s Spanish Style Tulingan, Baby Back Ribs, Adobong Bulalo, Home Style Callos, Tuna on Cilantro Ginger Chili Oil, and Stuffed Squid in Garlic Olive Oil.

This writer has had the privilege to dine at Pascua’s twice – the first one, right after it opened last year and the second, one, just last month. And the improvement we noticed, in terms of taste, serving size and presentation, was commendable. Now we can confidently say that you really, really have to go try it yourself.

Pascua’s Freestyle Kitchen is located at F. Mangobos St., Poblacion 1, Bauan, Batangas. Go to pascuasfreestylekitchen.ops.ph for more details.Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @EdBiado

If you’re on your way to Anilao for diving, make sure to stop by Pascua’s Freestyle Kitchen in Bauan, Batangas

for a good old-fashioned Batangueño meal with a twist. Described as a casual dining restaurant, Pascua’s, conceptualized by the Pascua family’s oldest child Harley, offers homegrown favorites

that are made modern, refined and a whole lot of interesting.Barely 10 months old, the restaurant is already a force

to be reckoned with, having amassed a dedicated local following as well as avid fans from Manila. To understand what ignited the hype and what’s driving the popularity of the place, The Gist spoke with Chef Marga Espino, who developed the menu.

THE GISTBY ED BIADO

entertain the guests. We also ask guests for dish suggestions, and we try to include

An example would be our Sinaing na Tulingan Pasta.

Sinaing na Tulingan is a staple meal here in Bauan. They cook the bullet tuna fish wrapped with banana

leaves on pots for 24 hours until the

juices come out. What we Sinaing na Tulingan in Olive Oil PastaEgg-wrapped Miki

Three-Pepper Cream Cheese with Capers and Tomatoes

we recreated them into completely new dishes,

CM: New additions to the menu would be the Stuffed

Squid in Garlic Olive Oil, Dory Nuggets, Creamy Chicken Mushroom and Arroz ala Cubana.

TG:would you say are the

must-try’s?Stuffed Squid in Olive Oil and Garlic

Pascua's Freestyle Kitchen

Owner Harley Pascua and Chef Marga Espino

What makes

customers, aside from the locals, are expats who work

local biscuit and a family favorite. While eating,

I thought that the biscuit would be good with a cheese pimiento dip. That gave me the

inspiration to recreate local dishes and serve it

with a twist.Cajun-inspired Roast Chicken

Prawns Thermidor

C3LIFEMONDAY : AUGUST 10 : 2015

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TIPPLE TALESBY ICY MARIÑAS

COCKTAILS OF DREAMS

When one thinks of where to get good cocktails, hotels and casinos are not the first places that come to mind in the

Philippines. Hotels are where you go to for business meetings, or spend some family time during Sunday brunch or to hide your affair/s. And casinos usually offer subpar cocktails and don’t offer areas to drink exclusively; people don’t really go there to drink (there are other matters to attend to, like hitting the jackpot, going for broke, or bringing the house down. Haha!). So it’s such a pleasant surprise to find that City of Dreams has definitely not left this area of hospitality in the backburner. Finally, someone is paying attention! They have done their work and offer exciting, new and engaging cocktails. They definitely have aces up their sleeves, and it comes in the form of the cocktail creations of Sam Jeveons, their head bar consultant.

With a huge space that houses nine bars and around 65 cocktails, City of Dreams has something for everyone. I met with Sam in Center Stage, the bar on the casino floor, to get a taste of some of his creations. He comes across as very affable, confident, and neat; wearing a suit, cufflinks and glasses. He looks like Jason Statham. He says he gets that a lot, most specially after having a few of his cocktails! But he is more than just an actor look-alike. A Russian politics, history and English major, he aspired to be a speechwriter, but instead chose to pursue bartending. Lucky for us that he did.

He prepared four drinks for us: two from the Crystal Lounge of the Tasting Room (their premier bar focusing on re-interpreted classic cocktails) and two from the food pairing dinner (to be held in The Tasting Room a couple of days after this meeting). We had a lovely chat about cocktails, current and future trends, and tales behind the bar. The first drink he made is called Treacle (a British term for something really sweet; think caramel or honey). An old-fashioned style stirred cocktail available at the Crystal Lounge, it’s made of Ron Zacappa rum, maple syrup, (a dash of) apple juice and angostura bitters, served over a perfect ice ball and topped generously with a creamy apple foam that just made this drink slide

way too easily down my throat. That’s just the beginning of the presentation. I knew right away I was in for a treat!

He presented the drink beside a little bowl of dehydrated apple chips, which he suggested we dip in the foam like you would a nacho with guacamole. Whoever said food pairings with cocktails could not be done is lazy and has no imagination. I agree with him that this is a unique, very approachable cocktail. I can see why this is very popular at the Crystal Lounge.

The next cocktail he made was a take on the classic Clover Club… one of my favorite prohibition era cocktails. The recipe sounds girly, but fair warning, this packs a happy punch! Using Tanqueray 10, homemade honey raspberry reduction syrup, lemon juice, a tiny dash of crème de cacao, egg white and served with chocolate shavings on top and chocolate with raspberry-chocolate ganache on the side, this cocktail was poured in a beautiful crystal Schott Zweisel glass and placed on top of a black marble slate. It’s clear that he paid a lot of attention to detail. It’s approachable (a word used numerous times during this meeting), light, and easily my favorite drink of the day.

The third cocktail is a riff of the Negroni. The Rosita (to be paired with blue fin tuna seared in chorizo spice) contrasts with the spice and acidity of the dish and is made with tequila instead of gin (“Gin’s a classic, but tequila is better!”). He used Don Julio Reposado tequila,

Aperol (switched from Campari) and sweet and dry vermouth and was served with star anise and iris flowers. I like the use of the star anise. The nose and the star anise itself lent its sweetness to cut the bitterness of the Aperol. This drink is like a symphony in that each layer of flavor is distinguished from the rest, but they blend in harmony.

The last drink on the list is the unusual, yet delectable Hot Buttered Rum (to be paired with braised pork). This time, instead of contrasting the dish, he decided to complement it (match the fat instead of cutting through it). Made with a shot of rum, a shot of Gran Marnier (for an orange nuance and added sweetness), a dabble of chardonnay (for that buttery mouth-feel), chamomile-infused sugar syrup, honey, unsalted butter, angostura bitters, it is steamed in a coffee maker (steam stretches the fat) and served table side with a cinnamon stick and chamomile buds. This drink was a pleasant surprise. It felt like Christmas! Heated drinks hit you differently as it gets absorbed into the bloodstream quicker. This really was the best ending to our cocktail flight. By this time, I was properly buzzed.

The roster of cocktails at City of Dreams is definitely one more reason to keep coming back. And it’s great that now a casino-hotel bar is one of my top picks for places to go for a great cocktail (or four).

Follow me on Instagram @sanvicentegirl

BEST OF SPANISH PAINTINGS IN FULL DISPLAYBodegas Altanza, a relatively young winery from Spain’s most renowned wine region of Rioja, released their first wines with the 1998 vintage in the late 21st century. The winery is one of the fastest growing wineries in the Rioja region and Spain in general, with flourishing business in both the domestic and international fronts. One of Bodega Altanza’s most cherished wine ranges is the limited release Lealtanza Spanish Artist Collection series. Similar to a certain degree to the Chateau Mouton Rothschild label concept, Bodegas Altanza was able to get exclusive rights to feature in their top premium Reserva wines the paintings of Spain’s biggest artists as the wine labels.

Unlike the Mouton Rothschild’s one label, one vintage concept, Bodegas Altanza features three acclaimed masterpieces in three different labels of the same wine from the chosen Spanish artist. The three labels are also packed in a special wooden case containing the three bottles and engraved with the signature of the Spanish artist. For the 2001 vintage, it was the artworks of Joan Miro; in the 2004 vintage, it was from Salvador Dali; in the 2005 vintage, it was Antoni Gaudi; and the more recent release, the 2008 vintage, is from Francisco Goya. For the upcoming 2010 vintage release, it will be from the creations of Joaquin Sorolla. All these labels are only used on Bodega Altanza’s best Reserva wines from the most reputable vintages only. Reserva wines in the context of the Rioja wine region means that wines have to undergo 100 percent oak-barrel aging for a minimum of 12 months, and another 24 months of bottle aging, prior to commercial release. In the case of Altanza, the winery only releases the vintages after several tastings and evaluation to ensure optimum wine appreciation upon its commercial availability. And true to its vision, all Lealtanza Artist Collection wines received the highest scores and grades from the authoritative international wine critics and industry specialized publications.

So indeed, wine and art can mesh together. The question now is if wine intoxication can improve appreciation of artwork, or on the other hand, if a nice artistic label can cover for the less than stellar quality of a wine it is representing.

For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage and other wine related concerns, please e-mail me at protegeinc@yahoo.com. I am a proud member of the Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux or FIJEV since 2010. You can also follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/sherwinlao.

The Rosita with lemon peel Cocktail dream maker Sam Jeveons

Clover Club with choco shavingsThe Treacle with apple and egg white foam

The Art x Wine art exhibit at the Rockwell Center

LOOKING AT WINE AS ARTFrom C2

C4 LIFEM O N D AY : A U G U S T 1 0 : 2 0 1 5

l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d

Lording it over the s o u t h e r n bank of the Y a m u n a River in Agra, India is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern

World, a celebrated structure, a shimmering proof of India’s rich history. The Taj Mahal, regarded as the world’s most beautiful building and widely recognized as the best example of Muslim art in India, is actually a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess and the dearly beloved third wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

Made of pure white marble, with some parts inlaid with jade, crystal, amethyst and turquoise, this architectural masterpiece, which was designed by a team led by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, took 20 years to build by approximately 20,000 laborers and a fleet of 1,000 elephants.

Making this icon of Mughal architecture truly spectacular are its decorative elements which have reached a new level of refinement. A dainty latticework made of pure white marble dominates one area of the building’s interiors, while an intricate pierce work dressed in pure gold is showcased in another section. The windows in each balcony banner an intricate screen inlaid with semi-precious stones, making them even more attractive.

Those who are familiar with various types of architecture will notice that the Taj Mahal showcases a perfect blend – the giant dome in the center is reflective of Persian influence, while the arches and windows are typical Indian designs, and the four minarets that frame the structure squarely speak volumes of Islamic heritage.

Coming face-to-face with all these beautiful design details outside and inside the building sometimes makes one forget that this glistening structure of pure white

marble is a tomb, originally, for Mumtaz Mahal, but shared later with Shah Jahan when he died. Since Muslim tradition shuns elaborate decoration on graves, the bodies of the couple are kept in a plain crypt beneath the inner chamber of the mausoleum, with their faces turned right, facing Mecca.

There is something else that makes the Taj Mahal a “wonder of the world.” The sun reflecting on its walls somehow gives the structure a different hue at different times of the day. Looking at it from the benches across the reflecting pool, at early morning, it is all white. Towards noontime, the structure assumes a yellowish hue. Late afternoon gives it a pinkish color and, at nighttime, moonlight gives it a bluish shade, a beautiful sight for the hopeless romantic.

However, together with the beautiful eye-catching details attached to this architectural marvel are some interesting, nay, controversial stories that have made the rounds with some historians. One tale says Shah Jahan originally wanted a black Taj Mahal, as pieces of black rubble were found in the banks of the Yamuna River. Further investigation many years later revealed that the pieces found were actually discolored white marble stones that turned blackish. Another story said that a governor-general of India started to demolish the Taj

Mahal and sell the pure white marble to the highest bidder. It was proven decades later that a governor-general did sell the unused leftover marble as a fund-raising to help the country’s poor.

But the loudest whisper is about the reported deaths and mutilations caused by Shah Jahan on the architects and craftsmen after they built the tomb. It says that the Emperor wanted to be sure these persons will no longer be able to build a similar structure anywhere else. Until now, nobody has surfaced to dispute these allegations, thus, the loose talk continues.

So, what does this “Wonder of the Modern World” really mean to me? Well, we know Shah Jahan built it as a symbol of his true love for his third wife who died while giving birth to their 14th child… 14 children with one wife! (He had two other children with his other two wives). Fast forward to present day realities, what woman at this day and age would allow herself to give birth to 14 children? If you ask me, the Taj Mahal is not really just a Monument of Love, it’s more of a majestic tribute to one woman’s superb childbearing skills and highly efficient, well-coordinated anatomy which, unfortunately, malfunctioned during the 14th procedure. Nevertheless, I raise my glass to Mumtaz Mahal, a heroine of sorts, for having been a shining example of subservient pulchritude!

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

MERCURY RISINGBY BOB ZOZOBRADO

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE:

A preacher went up the pulpit one Sunday and announced to his congregation: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have

enough money to pay for our new building program.

The bad news is, it’s still out there in your pockets.”

A MONUMENT OF LOVE?

Colorful Indian designs on walls and railings

The majestic Taj Mahal

An artist’s sketch of Mumtaz Mahal

Pierce work in the building’s interiors made of pure gold

Dainty lattice work made of pure white marble

SHOWBITZi s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

C5ISAH V. REDE D I T O R

For Nine Years, Cosmo Skin has been the secret to many women’s beautiful, younger looking and im-

maculate complexion. Its highly effective formula and Advanced Skin Whitening Technology ce-mented Cosmo Skin’s status as an ultimate “Must-Haves” beauty product for everyone.

Recently, Watsons Personal Care Stores gave awards to the two in-novations from Cosmo Skin line – Cosmo Skin Glutathione and Cosmo Skin Premium Collagen – as the Best Whitening and An-ti-Aging products. And to celebrate its enduring success, Cosmo Skin hosted a Beauty Soiree at Fairmont Hotel in Makati with members of the media, industry leaders, influ-encers met Cosmo Skin’s Beauty Ambassador Ruffa Gutierrez.

“Choosing a beauty product with the right ingredients and quality materials is all-important to achieving the results that you desire most” said Niño Bautista, BFPC founder and managing director. “We pride ourselves to observing a strict quality control when it comes to manufacturing” added Red Ga-tus, also Founder and at the same time managing director.

During the event, Ruffa said she is obsessed with having a luminous skin and that she is more confident to face anyone if she has a radiant-immacu-late complexion.

“Both Cosmo Skin Gluta-thione and Cosmo Skin Premium Collagen con-tain key components that will give your skin the glow and moisture it needs, it allows your inner radiance to shine through” said Ruffa.

The Innovative ingredi-ents in Cosmo Skin Glutathione (500mg Glutathione plus ALA and Vitamin C) gives intensive glow and Ten Times Whitening Power than the competing brand. While the concentrated 20,000 mg Marine Collagen in Cosmo Skin Premium is in hydrolyzed form, which makes it easily absorbable by the body. The result is a light-er, soft, smooth, wrinkle-free and touchable skin.

For more information about Cosmo Skin visit www.cos-mo-skin.com

M ONDAY : AUGUST 10 : 2015

Thousands trooped to the Sandugo Fes-tival 2015. Foreign and local tourists

joined the Boholanos in cel-ebrating the Sandugo Festi-val, one of the major Philip-pine festivals featured in the Visit the Philippines Year 2015 (VPY2015) calendar.

The month-long cele-bration is held annually in Tagbilaran Ciy and features colorful parades, trade fairs, street dancing, beauty pag-

eants, sports competitions, and cultural activities.

The Sandugo Festival commemorates the sandu-go or blood compact be-tween Spanish explorer Mi-guel López de Legazpi and Bohol chieftain Datu Sika-tuna on March 16, 1565 to seal their friendship as part of a tribal tradition. Today, it is recognized as the first International Trea-ty of Friendship between the Filipinos and Spaniards.

TLC, the no.1 travel and lifestyle channel in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia, will pre-

miere the new season of Cake Boss starring famed baker Buddy Valastro and his cake crew family.

The team is back and whip-ping up amazingly crazy cakes and confections.

Over the years, the team has successfully made their bur-geoning bakery, Carlo’s Bakery, a household name. And as the business has grown, so have their responsibilities. But at the end of the day, Buddy wants to be true to his roots: cake and family. Whatever the challenge, the Valastros prove that no

matter how sticky the situation, the family that bakes together stays together!

Cake Boss is now a partner-ship between Discovery Net-works International (DNI) and TLC in the United States with seasons seven and eight pro-duced by original series pro-ducer Jon Sechrist, High Noon Entertainment and Valastro’s own Cakehouse Media. The new partnership enables more creative control globally, giving the show a truly international flavour and appeal. Catch Bud-dy Valastro and his team create the cakes of your dreams, start-ing Aug. 12, airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on TLC.

Buddy Valastro is BaCk

iPhoToBoholanos CeleBrate sandugo

Cosmo skin and RuFFa GuTieRRez hosT

a BeauTy soiRee

During the event, Ruffa said she is obsessed with having a luminous skin and that she is more confident to face anyone if she has a radiant-immacu-late complexion.

“Both Cosmo Skin Gluta-thione and Cosmo Skin Premium Collagen con-tain key components that will give your skin the glow and moisture

allows your inner radiance to shine through”

The Innovative ingredi-ents in Cosmo Skin Glutathione (500mg Glutathione plus ALA and Vitamin C) gives intensive glow and Ten Times Whitening Power than the competing brand. While the concentrated 20,000 mg Marine Collagen in Cosmo Skin Premium is in hydrolyzed form, which makes it easily absorbable by the body. The result is a light-er, soft, smooth, wrinkle-free and touchable skin.

For more information about Cosmo Skin visit www.cos-

Tmiere the new season of BossValastro

ping up amazingly crazy cakes and confections.

successfully made their burgeoning bakery, Carlo’s Bakery, a household name. And as the business has grown, so have their responsibilities. But at the end of the day, Buddy wants to be true to his roots: cake and family. Whatever the challenge, the Valastros prove that no

Buddy Valastro hosts Cake Boss

Ruffa Gutierrez renews her ties

with Cosmo Skin with a

soiree at Fairmont

Hotel last Thursday

Red Gatus and Niño Bautista

of BFPC throw a party for Ruffa

Street dancers at Sandugo Festival

SHOWBITZC6i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

M ONDAY : AUGUST 10 : 2015

ACROSS 1 Deceived 6 VIII, to Virgil 10 Equal to the task 14 Form a butte 15 Matty of the diamond 16 Eventful periods 17 Unrehearsed (hyph.) 18 Litter’s little one 19 Big umbrella 20 Steamboat inventor

A N S W E R F O R P R E V I O U S P U Z Z L E

CROSSWORD PUZZLE MONDAY,

AUGUST 10, 2015

22 Incidentally (3 wds.) 24 Louis XIV, e.g. 26 Sandbars 27 Minimally (2 wds.) 31 Lightning by-product 32 Yellowish pink 33 Gregorian — 36 Terrier threat 39 Vanish — thin air

40 Toothy predator 41 Essayist’s pen name 42 Last degree 43 Verse 44 Musician Bela — 45 Sigma follower 46 Most Vassar grads 48 Fireside feeling 51 Dry, as champagne 52 Parson 54 Specters 59 Viking name 60 Henri’s aits 62 Dive 63 Tel. or elec. 64 Robin beaks 65 Prefix for “below” 66 Latin I verb 67 Capricorn 68 Purplish flower

DOWN 1 Fell on — ears 2 Karachi language 3 Gather opinions 4 Fix a manuscript 5 Actress — Kerr 6 Bireme mover 7 Triple-decker sandwich 8 Drama awards 9 Leap ahead with the mind

10 Crete’s sea 11 Barroom action 12 Prayer-wheel turners 13 Catch sight of 21 Votes against 23 Catcall 25 Like dandruff 27 Neat as — — 28 Pavilion 29 Strip of wood 30 Green prefix 34 Rye partner 35 Survey findings 36 Campbell of country music 37 Costa — 38 Yard tool 40 Latching 41 Horror-flick street 43 Prow projections 44 Vivid color 45 Flirt 47 Journey stage 48 Flags 49 Writer — Nin 50 Sun, in combos 52 Wry face 53 “Fancy” singer 55 Holds the deed 56 Cushiony 57 Zoomed 58 Galleon need 61 Mach 3 flier

If there is a saying that fits Jen-nylyn Mercado, FHM’s Sexi-est Woman of the Year 2015, it’s “strong is the new sexy.”

With her fit bod and stunning looks, it’s easy to understand why this hot mama bagged this year’s most sought after title. Thanks to her discipline in fol-lowing a healthy diet, and main-taining an active lifestyle, Jenny-lyn will always look gorgeously toned and glowing. It’s no secret she also joins various triathlons and tries out combat sports like Muay Thai and Jujitsu, to keep her body in tip-top shape. But Jennylyn isn’t only brawn. She’s talent as well. The young actress has played different and contrasting roles—whether it’s for heavy drama, or light roman-tic comedy. For her acting chops, she has brought home several accolades such as the 6th EN-PRESS Golden Screen Television Awards,31st PMPC Star Awards for Movies, and forher light com-edy blockbuster ‘English Only Please’, the 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival best actress award. And she’s not stopping any-time soon. She is starring in GMA’s new soap My Faithful Husband along former flame, Dennis Trillo.

For her fashion sense, Jenny-lyn is a fashionista in her own right. She likes to keep her look as chic and comfortable as possible. “My no.1 rule when it comes to dressing up is to make sure I am comfortable with what-ever I’m wearing. I usually go for pieces that allow me mobil-ity since I’m very active. Fun prints and flirty short shorts are a favorite,” Jennyln shares. With her beauty, talent, and knack for fun and trendy ap-parel, Jennylyn embodies the stylish youthfulness that Hip Culture exudes. “Hip Culture has exactly what I want. They offer cute and trendy outfits that are comfort-able. Whether it’s for a special event or a casual get-together with friends, they have a wide array of colorful and hip pieces I can choose from. By endorsing Hip Culture, I show others that there’s no need to sacrifice comfort in or-der to look good,” Jennylyn says. Hip Culture caters to young and modern Filipinas and pro-vides them hip and trendy op-tions. Its fashion line includes tops, skirts, shorts, dresses, shades and accessories. Hip Culture is at major malls in Metro Manila.

Jennylyn is Hip Culture’s CHiC CHiCk

Dennis Trillo admits he is very happy with his life at this point.

“Yes, that’s true...in all aspects. There are so many positive develop-ments: from my fami-ly, career, relationship, everything! I’m really happy. I couldn’t ask for more,” he says.

He and Jennylyn Mer-cado have a new soap for the Kapuso titled My Faithful Husband.

“That’s right! It’s di-rected by Joyce Bernal. It has a very interesting and engaging story. I’m quite sure the viewers will like it. The characters for one are sympathetic and relat-able. Hope they will sup-port the show because we are promising to do our best to give them quality entertainment.”

How would he de-scribe his relationship with Jen?

“It’s perfectly fine. On and off cam, we’re doing well. Our friendship is great nowadays.”

At this time when they are rumored to have rec-onciled as lovers once again, kibitzers say that even if there’s no formal admission from both of them, their actions speak louder than words.

“Well, let’s just say that I’m the type of per-son who really don’t focus much on the love life side. As I’ve said, I’m just happy with all

the good developments happening in my life of late. I’m confident with our new show, we were given another chance to work together, we’ve no problem. Simply put, Jen and I are very okay.”

According to Dennis, he and Jennylyn have a different perspective now when it comes to love life issues.

“Perhaps, we’re happier that it’s quiet and peaceful. We prefer it this way. We don’t want it to be totally exposed that the public would feast on what’s hap-pening on our personal lives. I guess, we’re too old for that already Let’s just leave it to the younger wannabes in the ‘biz who want to create a name for themselves.

“Jen and I have al-ready passed that stage. Whatever we share right now, we just want it to be peaceful and free from controversy. Over the years, we’ve grown as individuals. We’re thankful that we’ve ma-tured since it helped for us to work better in our new project,” he avers.

The award-winning actor points to Jen’s positivism when asked what change did he see in her this time.

“Yes, she’s never been this positive. She’s more calm and bubbly. The positive energy she pos-sesses is infectious. Be-cause of her, the work-ing ambience on the set is light and convenient.”

Speaking of maturity, the handsome star has his share of levelling-up as well.

“I think I’m more understanding now on a lot of things. I also learned how to become more patient and truly value the things I do. And of course, I became more grateful for all the blessings I’m showered with day by day.”

Lastly, now that he and Jen are okay and given his new-found maturity, many ask if he is already open to the topic of mariage.

“I’m still not. I know that I’m already of age but it’s something I don’t want to hasten. I don’t want to be under

pressure. I will jump into it the moment I feel I’m ready,” ends Dennis.

HHHHH

According to Lorna To-lentino, it’s just fine with her if she would grow old alone. It’s been seven years since her husband Rudy Fernandez passed away and during those times, she never got ro-mantically involved with another guy.

“Honestly, I’m already prepared to become single for the rest of my life. I’m already in my early ‘50s and marrying again hasn’t entered my mind...not at all! I ha-ven’t totally moved on from Daboy’s loss. Until now, I’m still adjusting. There are still things that you miss,” she reveals.What happened to those who expressed interest in her when Daboy left?

“Oh, them? They all stopped already. Ha-ha-ha! I guess they diverted their attention to other women. But as I’ve said, it’s just fine with me. No regrets whatsoever. For one, apart from taking care of my grandchild, I’m also busy with our farm in Batangas. Yes! I’m enjoying it so much.”

The critically ac-claimed actress has a new sitcom on TV 5 titled Misterless Misis.

“I share the spotlight here with Ruffa Guti-errez, Gelli de Belen, Mitch Valdes, Ritz Azuland a newbie, Andy Go-mez. I chose a comedy project this time and it excites me to the hilt. I’m resting from doing drama in the meantime,” LT says.

HaPPy anD COntEntED

JOSEPH PEtER GOnZaLES

Dennis Trillo says he's

happy with his life

Lorna Tolentino still misses Rudy Fernandez

Jennylyn Mercado is

Hip Culture's model

SHOWBITZ C7i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

M ONDAY : AUGUST 10 : 2015

C7

Senator Grace Poe may not be ripe to the fullest politically as what her detractors say, but she as-

sures everyone she is not acrid.In fact, the Senator has spent

enough time in government ser-vice to help her decide whether or not to run for presidency in the coming elections.

She’s not as raw as her detrac-tors want everyone to think be-cause she has had experience. She was chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classifi-cation Board (MTRC) for sever-al years before she launched her senatorial candidacy. And she adds, she’s not rotten unlike the more experience politicians who had amassed wealth in the pretext of public service. 

“Sabi nga nila hinog na nga raw (sila) pero ako naman, kahit yung nahihinog pa lamang minsan pin-ipili rin ng tindera at ng mamim-ili sapagka’t mas tumatagal,” says the Senator. “Sa tingin ko, hindi naman ako mapakla.”

As the Liberal Party tries to woo Senator Grace to be Mar Roxas’running mate, some party members continue to throw garbage at her, even if she had expressed not mak-ing any definite decision for 2016. 

Caloocan Congressman Ed-gar Erice, a high-ranking Liberal Party officer, likens Senator Grace Poe to an acrid (mapakla) fruit. 

“That;s from their camp. That’s natural for them to say that. That’s his decision if he wants to eat it or not, right? We don’t real-ly know,” says Poe. 

Poe doesn’t understand Erice’s interpretation of the possibility she may not go along with the Mar-Poe tandem that she’s taking her

own path. According to Erice, it’s no longer “daang matuwid” but al-ready she’s taking the private road.

“I don’t get that interpretation. What we are saying here is that everyone has to make some sacri-fice,” explains the Senator.

“Running for an elective posi-tion is not something easy to do. That’s a big sacrifice. Perhaps we have to base our decision partly on what our fellow Filipinos say,” she adds.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, Senator Grace Poe leads among the names mentioned as presi-dentiables with 30 percent, fol-lowed by Vice President Jejomar Binay with 22. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas trails with 10 percent. 

According to the survey con-ducted by Bloomberg, Senator Poe is “best choice” for 2016. The respondents in this surevy were bankers and investors.

“Flavor of the month,” that’s what Congressman Erice says about Senator Poe.

“Whatever it is you tell the media, what is important really is the truth and what our fellow Filipinos need,” concludes the young Senator.

HHHHH

GMA Still no.1 in UrbAn lUzon And MeGA MAnilADriven by its strong performance in the daytime blocks, GMA Net-work fortified its dominant posi-tion in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila in the month of July, ac-cording to the industry’s leading ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement.

Urban Luzon and Mega Manila account for 77 and 59 percent, re-spectively, of all urban TV house-holds in the country.

For the covered period (with the dates of July 26 to 31 based on overnight data), GMA continued to lead competition in Urban Lu-zon with a 35.7 percent total day household audience share, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 33.3 percent by 2.4 points and TV5’s 8.9 percent by 26.8 points.

GMA likewise outranked com-petition in Mega Manila, posting an average share of 37.4 percent, up 7.7 points from ABS-CBN’s 29.7 percent and up 28 points from TV5’s 9.4 percent.

The Network also dominated the list of top-rating regular pro-grams in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila. Multi-awarded news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) was the high-est-rating Kapuso program in the two areas as well as in NUTAM (National Urban Television Audi-ence Measurement).

Besides KMJS, GMA programs Magpakailanman, Eat Bulaga, Pepito Manaloto, Kapuso Movie Festival, Ismol Family, 24 Oras, Pari ‘Koy, Celebrity Bluff, The Half Sisters, and Let the Love Begin also drove the Network’s ratings in July.

In NUTAM, GMA sustained its ratings advantage in the after-noon block with 37.1 percent ver-sus ABS-CBN’s 33.5 percent and TV5’s 8.7 percent.

GMA’s coverage of President Benigno Aquino III’s sixth and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27 was the most watched coverage in NUTAM. Based on overnight people shares, GMA News’ SONA 2015 special coverage posted an aver-age of 37.1 percent; beating ABS-CBN’s coverage, which registered 36.2 percent.

not fUlly ripe, bUt not Acrid

from c8

do you wonder how beauty queens got their gorgeous looks? Aside from their natural beauty, healthy lifestyle, great personali-

ty and positive outlooks, the art of make-up is one of the best beauty boosters.

In celebration of the 47th anniversary of Mutya ng Pilipinas, Inc. (MPI), one of the pageantry pioneers in Asia part-nered with Inglot Cosmetics. A 30-year old brand and one of the world’s leading manufacturers in colour cosmetics, In-glot was the official make-up provider to the 2015 Mutya ng Pilipinas delegates.

All the 30 aspiring beauty queens, in-cluding the ones who came all the way from the overseas communities visited the Inglot branch at SM Megamall (other boutiques at Mall of Asia and Glorietta 5). Each one tried and tested the best beau-ty tools of their international make-up sponsor, which is available in 57 countries on six continents. At the moment, it is found at over 450 boutique stores, stands

and retail locations worldwide.  These cosmetics are paraben free, lead free, non comedogenic and are not tested on ani-mals.  Inglot products are manufactured in the European Union.

Inglot is best known for its Freedom System, which allowed the Mutya candi-dates to mix and match varied combina-tions of palettes with face powder, blush, eye shadows and lipsticks.

One of the best sellers is the revolu-tionary  patented O2M Breathable nail enamels which are made of contact lens polymer. The young ladies tried the different vibrant colors while the store manager explains the healthy method. “This formula allows oxygen and water vapor to pass through the nail enamel coating into the nail plate which in turn allows your nails to “breathe” and stay healthier”, she said. All Inglot nail prod-ucts are free from formaldehyde, form-aldehyde resin, toulene, camphor, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

Inglot: the SeCret of beauty queenS

Grace Poe answers her critics saying she may not be ripe but she's not acrid

Mutya ng Pilipinas 2015 candidates at the Inglot store

Barbi Forteza and Thea Tolentino

in The Half Sisters

Gabbi Garcia and Ruru Madrid in Let The Love Begin

Carla Abellana

in Ismol Family

C8 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R

SHOWBITZ

M ONDAY : AUGUST 10 : 2015

SHOWBITZSHOWBITZSHOWBITZSHOWBITZSHOWBITZ

Meet GMA Network’s ‘Beautiful StrangerS’

Tonight on Philippine television, GMA Network introduces Beauti-ful Strangers to its loyal followers.

It is the network’s newest series premiering tonight (along with My Faithful Husband) taking over the timeslots vacated by The Rich Man’s Daughter and earlier Let The Love Begin.

Beautiful Strangers is a story of two women who start off as friends and end up as fierce ri-vals.  It likewise validates how powerful a woman is, to bring about joy or to cause heartbreak in every person’s life.

Beautiful Strangers features the country’s most talented art-ists in plum roles. It is headlined by Heart Evangelista as Kristine and Lovi Poe as Joyce/Lea. Both actresses are very excited for their reunion project on GMA.

GMA Network is proud to present a stellar cast of the coun-try’s most respected artists in film and television: Christopher de Leon as Ronaldo, the owner of Castillo Realty who is a philan-derer; Dina Bonnevie as Alejan-dra, Ronaldo’s wife who cleans up her husband’s dirt for her fami-ly, especially her son, Lawrence, whom she loves dearly; Rocco Nacino as Noel, a mechanic who loves Joyce so much however he falls for Kristine; Benjamin Alves

as Lawrence, the only son of Ale-jandra and Ronaldo Castillo, and the half-brother of Kristine.

Playing equally important roles in the series are Emilio Garcia as Nestor, the supportive father of Noel; Ayen Laurel as Lourdes, the mother of Kristine who loves her and Ronaldo so much; Lovely Riv-ero as Imelda, the mother of Joyce, who depends on her for survival; Kier Legaspi as Rigor, the Castillo family’s efficient henchman; Gab de Leon as Rex, the troublemak-er Fil-Am cousin of Noel; Dyanin Cruz as Hannah, the ex-girlfriend of Lawrence; Nar Cabico as Shaki-ra, a street wanderer and a friend of Joyce; Diane Medina as Mon-ica, the secretary and protective best friend of Kristine; Mariel Pa-mintuan as Leslie, the cute and kikay but dependable cousin of Kristine; Renz Valerio as Jason, the younger brother of Joyce.

Beautiful Strangers is about the interconnected lives of Joyce (Lovi) and Kristine (Heart). Joyce is a woman motivated by her big dreams. She applies at the Castillo Realty, one of the biggest real es-tate companies in the Philippines, to establish her name in Interior Designing so that she may start a family with Noel (Rocco) and provide for her family.

But all her dreams are shat-tered into pieces when Ronaldo Castillo (Christopher) rapes and accidentally pushes her down the stairs. All along, Ronaldo thinks that he killed Joyce. Fortunately, Joyce is able to survive everything

but she suffers from selective am-nesia. She crosses paths with Kris-tine and will be called Lea.

What will happen if Lea regains all of her memories? How will she fight back and seek revenge against the people who abused her? Can Joyce/Lea and Kristine’s friendship heal their wounds and stop them from seeking vengeance? Can they be at peace once more?

See how Heart and Lovi be-come sweetest friends then fierc-est rivals in Beautiful Strangers on GMA Telebabad.

ISAH V. RED

➜ Continued on C7

Beautiful Strangers is

a story of two women who start

off as friends and end up as

fierce rivals.  It likewise validates

how powerful a woman is,

to bring about joy or to cause

heartbreak in every

person’s life1 Benjamin Alves is the son of Christopher de Leon and Dina Bonnevie 2 Heart Evangelista plays a cosmetic surgeon 3 Real life sweethearts Lovi Poe and Rocco Nacino; Lovi Poe is one of the Beautifu Strangers premiering tonight on GMA7 and Rocco Nacino plays Lovi’s boyfriend 4 Couple again: Christopher de Leon and Dina Bonnevie

1 2 3

4

i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m