RoS evensPBA Finalsseries, 3-3

VOL. XXIX NO. 71 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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REGIONADVISED:STAND UPTO CHINA

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A4 A3PNoy backed‘KKK’ againstCustoms chief

UN chiefintercedesfor Veloso

Two singers,two different tunes

Collapsed. People walk past a collapsed building in Kathmandu, Nepal, after a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit on April 25. (Story on Page B8). AFP

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Asean meeting. President Benigno Aquino III arrives in Kuala Lumpur to join the 26th Asean Summit. Malacañang Photo Bureau

‘PH pilots will not engage in hostile acts against Chinese’THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Sunday its pilots will not engage in any hostile activ-ity should Chinese ships and planes harass them, as they did on April 19 when a Philippine Navy Islander was warned away from Subi Reef in the disputed Spratlys Island chain.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, AFP public affairs office chief, said this was in line with the country’s stand of maximum restraint to avoid conflict in the dis-puted areas.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala added tht a policy of “maxi-mum restraint” would be

applied to the contentious areas in the West Philippine Sea.

On April 19, a Chinese frigate flashed powerful lights and radioed a patrol-ling Islander aircraft then patrolling off Subi Reef. The aircraft crew ignored the Chinese warning and con-tinued with its maritime pa-

trol mission.Earlier, Western Com-

mand chief Vice Admiral Al-exander Lopez denied reports that the Chinese fired illumi-nation rounds.

Lopez also said the inci-dent was unconnected to the medical evacuation of a sick man who was part of a group of amateur radio

enthusiasts doing broad-cast tests on Pagasa Island, the seat of the local govern-ment of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), which is in the disputed Spratly Islands.

“The two incidents are not in any way connected to each other. It’s not true that our Islander was fired upon by a frigate... and thus

stopped from picking up a sickly man for medical evac-uation in Pagasa,” Lopez said in a phone interview.

“They even radioed us to leave Kagitingan because it was Chinese territory. That is what really happened in Kagitingan. There was no firing of illumination rounds,” Lopez said. – PNA

Asean urged: Stand up to China

China’s unabated reclama-tion in Philippine-claimed terri-tory in the South China Sea, if not stopped, will irreparably alter the status quo and render moot dip-lomatic initiatives in the region, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosa-rio warned his peers at a regional meeting in the Malaysian capital.

If the regional bloc, which is launching the integrated ASEAN Community this year, fails to act on the reclamation of most of the islands, reefs and atolls of the Kalayaan Island Group, that would undermine the solidar-ity and credibility of the Associa-tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Del Rosario said.

“Is it not time for ASEAN to say to our northern neighbor that what it is doing is wrong and that the mas-sive reclamations must be immedi-ately stopped?” Del Rosario told his counterparts at the summit.

Diplomatic sources, however, said Malaysia, this year’s ASEAN chair, rejected the Philippines’

proposal for a stronger statement against China.

Malaysia has instead come up with a draft of the statement that only says, “We share the concerns expressed by some leaders on the land reclamation being undertaken in the South China Sea, which has eroded trust and confidence and may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.”

“In this regard we instructed our foreign ministers to address this matter constructively under the framework of ASEAN-China relations,” said Malaysia’s draft document circulated to ASEAN officials, which was obtained by Kyodo News.

Malaysia, which is also one of the claimant states in the South China Sea, has close economic ties with China and has so far kept a low profile on the issue. The Ma-laysian government has said in recent days that it prefers a diplo-matic approach in handling the is-sue at the ASEAN summit.

KUALA LUMPUR – Beijing is moving toward “de facto control” of the South China Sea, the Philippines warned on Sunday as it called on fellow Southeast Asian countries to stand up to their massive neighbor.

In his address, Del Rosario traced the history of Manila’s ef-forts to draw international at-tention to the impact of China’s moves in the South Cina Sea.

“First, we stressed that there was a growing gap between what we were hearing in diplomatic terms and what was really happening in the South China Sea.

“Second, we warned that mas-sive reclamation threatened to militarize the region, infringe on the rights of other states and dam-age the marine environment,” he said.

Del Rosario referred to China’s Nine-Dash Line claim as “unrea-sonable, expansive and illegal” and said it would render several regional agreements on the code of conduct in the South China Sea irrelevant.

If the massive reclamations are allowed to be completed, he added, China “will succeed in defining and imposing its unlawful sov-ereignty claim over more than 85 percent of the South China Sea.”

Manila has a pending case against China with the Interna-tional Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), where China has refused to participate. The Philip-pines submitted its summary of

arguments in May last year, and the judges at The Hague have set hearings in June.

Del Rosario said Manila had raised the matter for discussion in several international forums and even the United Nations to “gal-vanize the understanding of the international community.”

Despite the alarm raised by Manila, China was “clearly and quickly advancing with its massive reclamation,” he said.

Beijing’s intentions to place defense installations on the re-claimed rea had a chilling implica-tion for regional peace and stabil-ity, Del Rosario warned.

He also reminded the other ASEAN countries that China “will in all probability finish its recla-mation activities before it agrees to conclude a COC [Code of Con-duct],” which the regional bloc has been pushing.

This would render such a code irrelevant and would in effect le-gitimize China’s reclamation, he added.

Del Rosario said the Philippines believes that it was key to the cen-trality of ASEAN to foster com-mon perspectives on regional and international issues.

While China has vowed to re-

spect and to adhere to ASEAN centrality, the launch of “the so-called ASEAN-China Maritime Year 2015... last month disregards ASEAN centrality,” he said.

Aside from China, Malaysia and the Philippines, other claimants in the South China Sea territorial disputes are Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Among ASEAN claimants, the Philippines and Vietnam have been more vocal over the disputes, while Malaysia and Brunei have been quiet.

President Benigno Aquino III left for Malaysia Sunday to attend the 26th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, aiming to drum up support for the Philippines’ stand on the territorial dispute.

In a speech before his departure, the President also cited the impor-tance of seeking a peaceful solu-tion and of ASEAN centrality.

“Instead of being on our own, unity is the key to achieving goals for the good of all. It is clear: the legitimate problem of one, is the problem of all,” said Aquino.

After the ASEAN Summit, the President will attend the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit. AFP, Sandy Araneta, PNA

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UN’s Ban intercedesfor Mary Jane Veloso

“Under international law, if the death penalty is to be used at all, it should only be imposed for the most serious crimes, namely those involv-ing intentional killing and only with appropriate safeguards,” Ban said.

Indonesia has set April 28 as the execution date for the 10 convicts and has ignored all international appeals

to spare their lives.But Ban said “drug-related offenses

generally are not considered to fall under the category of ‘most serious crimes’.”

He appealed to Widodo “to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition.”

Human Rights Watch earlier criti-cized Widodo’s stance against the con-victs, saying “Indonesia’s use of the death penalty is inconsistent with inter-national human rights law.”

“Human rights law upholds every human being’s ‘inherent right to life’ and limits the death penalty to ‘the most serious crimes,’ typically crimes resulting in death or serious bodily harm,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

In a statement on Saturday, Kine said Widodo “should recognize that the death penalty is not a crime deter-rent but an unjustifiable and barbaric punishment.”

“Indonesia should join the many

countries already committed to the UN General Assembly’s December 18, 2007 resolution calling for a mor-atorium on executions and a move by UN member countries toward the abolition of the death penalty,” Kine said.

“The UN Human Rights Commit-tee and the UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions have concluded that the death penalty for drug offenses fails to meet the condition of ‘most serious crime,’” Kine said.

Widodo “should promote Indone-sia as a rights-respecting democracy by joining the countries that have abolished capital punishment.”

2 Pinoys survive Nepal quakeTWO Filipino mountaineers survived the 7.8- magnitude earthquake in Nepal that left more than 2,000 people dead and was described as the worst disaster to hit the Himalayan nation in more than 80 years, an official said Sunday.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose identified the Filipinos as Jessica Ann Nicole Ramirez and Jose Francisco Oracion.

He said the two had checked in at the Khwopa Guest House in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, but were now in Durbar Square for safety.

He said the Philippine Em-bassy in New Delhi was send-ing a team to Nepal to help the two Filipinos, who were among the mountaineers at

the Base Camp of Mt. Everest when the temblor struck.

There are less than 200 Fili-pinos in Nepal.

Meanwhile, boxing champi-on Manny Pacquiao on Sunday sent a message of sympathy to those affected by Nepal’s killer earthquake.

In a video posted on his Twitter account Sunday after-noon, Pacquiao said he and his family were offering prayers for those affected by the quake.

“Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters suffering from the recent earthquake in Nepal,” he said.

He cited a Bible passage urging people to be “strong and courageous” and not to be terrified or discouraged.

“You are not alone, Nepal.

My family and I pray for your safety and deliverance. God bless you all,” Pacquiao said.

The Philippine Red Cross said it was preparing resources and mobilizing teams to help those affected by the earth-quake in Nepal.

In a statement, PRC Chair-man Richard Gordon said the Philippine Red Cross would follow the coordination and cooperation procedures of the Red Cross movement and the Nepal Red Cross before engaging, adding they were now preparing various col-lapsed structure equipment to be brought to Nepal as soon as they received information from the Nepal Red Cross and the Red Cross Movement and other partners.

Vigil. Members of the group Migrante International light candles as they hold a vigil near the Indonesian Embassy for convicted drug smuggler Mary Jane Veloso who is scheduled to be executed on April 28. Danny Pata

PNoy willalso seekclemencyfor maid

Souvenir photo. Cornell Club of the Philippines president and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, left, joins Raeanna Cranbourne and Charles Ley in a selfie during the Cornell University Chartered Day Dinner at the Terraz Bistro in Makati City. Ver noVeno

By ronald o. reyes

UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday urged Indonesian President Joko Widodo to stop the scheduled executions of 10 convicted drug smugglers including Filipino Mary Jane Veloso.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Sun-day he will urge Indo-nesian President Joko Widodo to spare the life of Mary Jane Ve-loso, the Filipina who has been convicted of drug smuggling in In-donesia and is now fac-ing the death penalty.

“We will try our best to talk to President Joko Widodo of Indonesia in order to appeal her case,” Aquino said in his departure speech before leaving to attend the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Na-tions Summit in Malay-sia on April 26 to 28.

Aquino will be in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi to aim for Asean centrality and unity in solving the problems in the region.

Among the issues that Aquino will be raising is the Philip-pines’ territorial dis-pute with China in the South China Sea and the country’s protest over China’s reclama-tion activities in Phil-ippine seas.

Aquino made his statement even as Vice President Jejomar Binay urged the Filipinos to remain hopeful that Ve-loso’s life will be spared.

Binay, the Presiden-tial Adviser on Over-seas Filipino Workers Concerns, was reacting to reports of Veloso’s execution on April 28.

“We have a second petition filed before the Indonesian Supreme Court,” Binay said.

“The authorities I spoke to told me that if there is such a peti-tion, it will be tackled before any execution.” Sandy araneta and Macon ramos-araneta, with Pna

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‘Noy backed cronies in BoC’

BBL okaymay leadto newtribal war

Appeals court rules against Sabio By Rey E. Requejo

The Court of Appeals has sustained the decision of the Office of the Om-budsman prohibiting former Presiden-tial Commission on Good Government Chairman Camilo Sabio from holding public office and forfeiting all his retire-ment benefits after finding him guilty of grave misconduct.

Sabio was stripped of his benefits and banned from public service for trying to influence his brother, then a magistrate in the Court of Appeals, in connection with an ownership dispute at the Manila elec-tric Co. in 2008.

The Court of Appeals’ Thirteenth Divi-sion, through Associate Justice Sesinando Villon, denied the petition for review filed by Sabio seeking the nullification of the decision rendered by the Ombudsman on Oct. 25, 2011 which found him guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

“A public servant must exhibit at all

times the highest sense of honesty and in-tegrity not only in the performance of his official duties but also in his personal and private dealings with other people,” the court said.

Court records showed that the former PCGG chief called his younger brother, then Associate Justice Jose Sabio Jr., to in-form him that he had been named third member of the division, to which the Meralco-Government Service Insurance System ownership case had been raffled.

Sabio also informed his brother that a temporary restraining order had been prepared and tried to convince him of the validity of the stand of the GSIS and the Securities and exchange Commission in the case.

“A judicious reading of the assailed de-cision of the Ombudsman would show that the same was legally justified, being supported by competent evidence on re-cord and was not rendered in a capricious or whimsical exercise of judgment,” the CA ruled.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

A MAlAcAñAng ally in the Sen-ate on Sunday criticized President Benigno Aquino III for accepting the resignation of former Bureau of customs John Philip Sevilla instead of removing the “political pressures” on him, which he said came from the chief Executive’s party mates.

“You are the President, you should have re-moved the political pressures which came from your party mates,” Sen. Serge Osmena said in an interview over radio DZBB.

Osmena said the President let go of Sevilla because he is not a member of the so-called KKK, which re-fers to Aquino’s “Kapartido, Kabarilan, Kaklase.”

he noted that this was contrary to the case of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, whom the President repeatedly defended amid charges of corruption.

Osmena said he is not surprised that the President did not reject his offer of resignation despite doing a good job.

“he is not a KKK, so the President let him go,” said Osmena, who has criticized the Presi-dent for being “stubborn” and a bad manager.

Osmena described Sevilla as a very honest man whom people see as doing

his job well.“There’s a problem here. What they’re doing

is questionable. Why will you change somebody who’s doing good?” he said.

Osmena also said that he can believe reports which said that Sevilla had been pressured by officials of the Iglesia Ni Cristo.

“That’s really the situation in different gov-ernment agencies. The influence of INC is

strong, but I’m not saying what they are doing is wrong. Of course, they will have a recom-mendation – nothing wrong with that. But to give in, that’s not correct. That’s the fault of the Palace,” explained Osmena.

he expressed hope that Sevilla will reveal the identities of those who exerted political pressures on him when he appears before the Senate.

The Senate committee on justice chaired by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel will inves-tigate the allegations of Sevilla when Congress resumes its session in May.

Asked why the President quickly named Se-villa’s replacement even if many positions re-main vacant, Osmena replied: “Money.”

The President announced the appointment of businessman Alberto Lina, who served as Customs commissioner during the term of Presdient Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the same day that he announced that he had accepted Se-villa’s resignation.

By Francisco Tuyay

The passage of the pro-posed Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress could lead to a tribal war that may further aggravate the peace and order situation in Mindanao.

Absalom Cerveza, spokesman of the Moro National Liberation Front, said the enactment of the BBL “may restart tribal strife” among Joloanons and Maguindanaons.

“The passage of the BBL could trigger tribal war among those long opposed to subjugation,” Cerveza said, referring to Muslims in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and other areas in Mindanao opposed to the Bangsamoro entity.

“If the BBL is approved and if they were to subju-gate Sulu, it could

be war between the Sulu sultanate and the Magui-nandao sultanate,” Cer-veza said.

The BBL was the re-sult of the Comprehen-sive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which is the result of the peace deal en-tered into between the

government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last March 2013.

Local officials in Basi-lan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu and part of the Zambo-anga Peninsula have ob-jected proposal to include them in the coverage of the BBL.

The three provinces, ex-cept Isabela City, Basilan are already part of the Au-tonomous Region in Mus-lim Mindanao, considered the heartland of the MNLF and the historic base of the Sultanate of Sulu, which is dominated by the Tausug and Yakan tribes.

Cebu reunion. Hundreds of devotees escort the image of the Holy Child into the St. Joseph Parish of Mandaue City for the traditional “reunion” of the images of the Santo Nino and St. Joseph for the Kaplag Fiesta on April 28. RAlph piEzAs

Biker in distress. Paramedics use first aid to revive an unidentified biker who suffered heat stroke at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Sunday. MANNY pAlMERO

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PCOS for sale? No-el fears linger Binay pushes ‘woman power’

European Union ratesPH air carriers’ safety

THE Commission on Elections will dispose of the Precinct Count Opti-cal Scan (PCOS) machines if these are found not usable in the May 2016 elections and is now scouting for any country that is willing to buy these machines as a whole sys-tem or in parts.

This developed as an election law expert ex-pressed fears that the chances of having a cred-ible elections in 2016 are now getting slimmer after the Supreme Court nullified the contract between the Commission on Elections and ser-vice provider Smartmatic-TIM.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said that they can retire the 81,000 PCOS units that were used in the 2010 and 2013 elections if the ma-chines are no longer included in their choices of automated election system for next year’s polls.

Jimenez noted that they can get rid of the PCOS units by selling them to other countries or dispose of its parts.

“ Either sell the PCOS as a system to some other country that wants to use it or we are gon-

na scrap it for parts so you can retrieve value from it,” he said.

The spokesman added, “There is still a pos-sibility of selling it as a system.”

Among the countries that are being eyed as buyers are Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Bangla-desh, and Nepal.

Jimenez said that based on Commission on Audit (COA) rules they can sell the PCOS units by chopping it up and selling its parts.

“As allowed by the COA rules, disposal o ka-tay. You are gonna scrap it for parts so you can retrieve value from it. We can actually do that legally because of the rules on depreciation,” he said.

However, Jimenez said that proceeds of the sale of several parts of the machines were not so big.

Shelving the PCOS machines is very likely after the Supreme Court unanimously junked the negotiated deal for the refurbishment of the machines between the Comelec and Smart-matic – Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation last week.

The Comelec continuously looking at some alternative methods such as holding a public bidding for the PCOS repair, using only the new voting machines they are leasing, adopting the

open election system, or a return to the manual elections, which they will utilize in the 2016 polls.

The SC ruling coupled with the non-selection of a Comelec chairman gave rise to a no-elec-tion scenario.

“The chances of holding credible elections are getting slimmer by the day, and things are getting dimmer,”lawyer Rudyard Avila III said in a radio interview.

“The window is now very small. If you want credible elections, things should have been moving by now,” he added.

Avila said these fuel the possibility of not having an election next year, which he said would affect the legacy of President Benigno Aquino III.

“If (the President) claims his legacy is the economic upturn, that might be reversed if we don’t have credible elections because the cred-ibility of the elections is a very important fac-tor,” he said.

Avila said Comelec still has the option of proving that its contract with Smartmatic is valid.

“There are still things Comelec can do right away to avert the no-election scenario,” he said. Joyce Panares and PNA.

A RANKING legislator has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to require every Philippine Stock Exchange-listed cor-poration to reserve for a woman at least one board seat meant for independent directors.

Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay, a deputy majority leader, said pursu-ant to its authority under the Securities Regulation Code, the SEC may issue memorandum circulars to make independent direc-tors more efficient and al-low for the infusion of fresh ideas in the boards of PSE-listed corporations.

The lawmaker, through House Resolution 1977 now pending at the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, said PSE-listed entities are reputed to be the champi-ons of highly progressive corporate governance stan-dards, policies and prac-tices.

Binay cited Section 38 of the Securities Regulation Code, which states that On Independent Directors, “Any corporation with a class of equity securities listed for trading on an Exchange or with assets in excess of P50 million and having 200 or more hold-ers, at least 200 of which are holding at least 100 shares of a class of its equity se-curities or which has sold a class of equity securities to the public pursuant to an effective registration state-ment in compliance with Section 12 hereof shall have at least two independent di-rectors or such independent directors shall constitute at least 20% of the members of such board, whichever is the lesser. PNA

THE European Union’s aviation safety team has begun assessing the safety of Philippine air carriers that remain on the list of those banned from flying to Europe.

EU aviation safety experts are as-sessing the progress made by the Civil Aviation Agency of the Philip-pines (CAAP) in relation to the safe-ty oversight of the Philippine avia-tion industry, and also looking at the safety situation in a number of Phil-ippine carriers, CAAP officials said.

These Philippine air carriers, CAAP said, include Air Asia Inc., Air Asia Zest, Air Philippines Cor-poration, Island Aviation Inc., Mag-num Air, South East Asian Airlines and South East Asian Airlines Inter-national Inc.

These carriers are the subject of a review by a five-man safety as-sessment team from the European Union.

The EU safety experts, led by Capt. Richard Miller were assisted by avi-ation safety experts from the Euro-pean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA, the technical aviation safety body of the European Union) and several EU member-states.

The experts will put their techni-cal assessment in a report that will be shared with the CAAP, as well as with the airlines concerned.

The report and the way in which the CAAP as well as the carriers act upon these observations, will be an important element in future deliber-ations of the European Commission with the EU Air Safety Committee, according to CAAP.

committee, which meets twice a year, consists of top aviation safety experts of all of the EU Member States, and is chaired by the Europe-an Commission’s Director for Avia-tion. Eric Apolonio

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Aviation safety. EU Ambas-sador Guy Ledoux (left) expresses gratitude to both CAAP and the lo-cal airlines for making it possible for the European aviation safety experts to conduct their work of ensuring that airlines are airwor-thy. With Ledoux is CAAP Director General William K. Hotchkiss lll ERIC APOLONIO

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QC jail to rise in Payatas

In a press statement, Mayor Herbert Bautista said he and the registered lot owner – M.S. Florendo & Sons Inc. represented by lawyers Arturo Selim and Mary Joyce Selim—have executed a deed of absolute sale on the property.

Bautista said the deed of sale was signed by the par-ties on April 22, 2015 dur-ing the city’s management council meeting.

City administrator Al-drin Cuña said the private lot was worth P130 mil-lion. “Yes, the lot is worth about P130 million and it will be used for the construction of the male and female detention fa-cilities, and the adminis-trative offices,” he told The Standard.

The mayor said he re-quested Supt. Diony Mamaril, officer-in-charge of BJMP—if he could consider the transfer of the city’s dormitory for female inmates which is within the QC Police Dis-trict headquarters at Camp Karingal to the new site.

National Capital Region director Emmanuel Sicio of the Bureau of Jail Man-

agement and Penology has been tasked by Mamaril to monitor and oversee the construction of the jail facility, Bautista said.

The search for new jail site was approved by the city council in 2014 based on an ordinance authored by Councilor Alexis Herrera.

According to Bautista, only 2.4 hectares of the acquired property will be used to build the new Que-zon City Jail facility in Ba-rangay Payatas.

He said he plans to build a barangay community center in the remaining one-hectare lot in 2016.

“It is best if there is also a facility which the host community can use,” he said.

“One hectare of the ac-quired property shall be set aside for the construc-tion of the center,” secre-tary to the Office of the Mayor Tadeo Palma said.

While the BJMP’s Que-zon City Jail under Supt. Randel Latoza is home to 2,993 male detainees, the QCPD’s female dormi-tory has 595 female de-tainees.

Revilla chides LTO over plate shortageBy Macon Araneta

SENATOR Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. on Sunday asked the Land Transpor-tation Office to explain within three days the numerous complaints from the public, vehicle owners and even dealers on the alleged sabotage that brought about the shortage of car li-cense plates.

Revilla, concurrent chairman of the Senate committee on public service, has sent a letter to Alfonso V. Tan Jr., LTO Assistant Secretary asking him to answer within three days all the points raised by the stakeholders regarding the shortage of license plates.

“It would be better if the LTO offi-cials concerned would exert effort to see me in person and talk about the issue at the soonest possible time”, said Revilla.

The senator who is presently de-tained at PNP Camp Crame Custodi-al Center was tasked to act immedi-ately on the issue following the result of reports and complaints from the public and concerned offices and as well as from the confirmation com-

ing from LTO regional officials on the shortage of license plates.

Investigation being conducted by the Senate committee showed that the license plates shortage is being manipulated by some people for out-right economic sabotage.

“Thus, the “no plate, no travel policy” could not just be implemented because LTO could not perform its mandate and obligations as they could not even release the license plates even as owners are registering their brand new vehicles or completing their annual registra-tion”, Revilla stressed.

He slammed the LTO for failing to help car owners in securing their plates as soon as they pay for their vehicles.

“Is this the Daang Matuwid Man-tra? The policy of centralizing the registration bears semblance of mo-nopoly or control to maybe favor pos-sible car dealers and insurance com-panies but not really public service”, the senator said.

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano earlier threatened the LTO with a zero budget for 2016 if it will not

heed his call for a 30-day moratorium on the “No plate, No travel” policy.

He stressed nothing will be lost from the LTO and the government within the 30-day period when it will implement the “no plate no travel policy” while waiting of the supply of plates and reviewing the system of registration and application for plates.

“Threatening vehicle owners with stiff penalties for a problem LTO cre-ated is grossly unfair and must stop,” said Cayetano.

At the same time, he said the mor-atorium will give the LTO enough time to set its house in order by fully servicing backlogs of vehicle owners and car dealers.”

“We remind the LTO that it collected more than 17.16 billion pesos in 2013, and 11 billion pesos collected from Road User’s Tax,” Cayetano said.

He said the failure of DOTC and LTO to serve their mandated tasks is inexcusable and unacceptable, yet they have the temerity to invoke the law penalizing victims of their inef-ficiency.

Filinvest villagers take upcudgels for dump residents

Ready for grand event. At least 8,000 people take part in the preparations for the Grand Zumba Dance that will be held today at the MMSU Oval in Agoo, La Union. CHRISTINE JUNIO

Coastal clean-up. Environmentalists and DENR employees join forces to clean up the Isla Pulo in Navotals on unday April 26 DANNY PATA

RESIDENTS of an upscale village in Quezon City are urging the local government and the Met-ropolitan Manila Development Authority to look after the wel-fare of the people living near the Payatas dump that hosts 2,000 metric tons of trash a day.

In an interview, retired po-lice general Alexander Aguirre, chairman and convenor of the Alliance for Good Governance, Peace and Social Justice, said Payatas residents suffer injustice as they are made to live near a sanitary landfill.

“If we here at Filinvest 2 Sub-division, Barangay Batasan Hills have been complaining about the stench of trash from the dump every time the wind blows toward our direction, what about those people in Ba-rangay Payatas?” he asked.

“Barangays Batasan Hills

and Bagong Silangan are rela-tively far from the dump and higher in elevation. We are re-ally bothered by the smell,” he told The Standard.

Residents of Payatas have no choice, but to bear and grin it despite the health risks, he said.

“They are poor people living in a very unhealthy condition that could lead to more serious health problem,” he added.

He urged the government and MMDA to find a “scientific” so-lution to address the health con-cerns of the people in Payatas.

The city’s local officials must go around Barangay Payatas “to see what is actually happening,” he noted.

“The Alliance for Good Gov-ernance, Peace and Social Jus-tice believes the people there suffer much than just being poor,” he said. RIO ARAJA

By Rio N. Araja

THE Quezon City government has ac-quired a 3.4-hectare private land in Payatas on which it will build a new jail and be able to decongest the 50-year-old detention facility situated on Kamuning St. and EDSA.

A7m o n d ay : a P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

NEWSeditorial@thestandard.com.ph

Albay gov: Fund-misuse rap political Lanao Sur strafing kills five, wounds 8

Comelec dismisses petition to unseat Taytay, Rizal mayor

By Manilyn Ugalde

Legazpi City—Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda believes the malversation charges slapped on him over the misuse of ca-lamity funds worth P47 mil-lion during the 2009 Mayon Volcano eruption is motivated by politics.

“Everything is duly accounted for,” ac-cording to Salceda.

The case was filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, on be-half of Legazpi residents, before the Of-

fice of the Ombudsman. Petitoners, who sought the suspension

of Salceda and Department of Social Welfare and Development provincial head Yolanda Guanzon, alleged that the beneficiaries did not receive assistance from the provincial government.

A source said barangay executives who issued testimonies to the VACC in Le-gazpi City were brought and fetched by a vehicle of the city government.

Salceda also reportedly spoke by tele-phone with Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal about the case filed against him, asking why the mayor could do some-thing as to support the complainants in the case.

According to documents from the Com-mission on Audit, the P47 million relief

assistance in question was sourced from the controversial Malampaya funds.

Salceda’s chief of staff, lawyer Carol Sabio, earlier said the charge was normal because the COA was merely validating from the recipients based on the report submitted by the DSWD. She also said the province did not know the money came from Malampaya since it was not mentioned in the release sent by Mala-canang.

Salceda is said to be returning to Con-gress by running either in the third or second district where the ongoing P4 billion Southern Luzon (Bicol) Interna-tional Airport project he sponsored, to be built in Daraga town, is located.

Mayor Rosal has not responded to re-quests for interview.

By Florante Solmerin

AT LEAST five persons including a child were killed and eight others were seriously wounded after armed men indis-criminately strafed civil-ians at dawn Saturday in Sitio Magampong, Baran-gay Park Area, Wao Lanao del Sur.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman and Civil Relations Ser-vice chief Brigadier Gen-eral Joselito Kakilala said the incident happened at 5 a.m. on Sunday.

“Our troops on the ground together with the police are still trying to identify the group who did this. [They are] be-lieved to be lawless ele-ments,” Kakilala said.

Three of the fatalities were Anipah Sumayan, 29, Master Pendatun, 50, and a child, Emran Manabilang, 10. The two others, who died while be-ing treated at a Bukidnon hospital, have not yet been identified.

The wounded victims were rushed to different hospitals for treatment.

Elements of the Alpha Company of the 45th Infantry Battalion and Wao Municipal Police Station were dispatched to conduct pursuit op-erations to arrest the suspects.

The police, mean-while, are not discount-ing the possibility that the incident was a case of “rido”, or bloody fam-ily feud among Muslim families.

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

ThE Commission on Elections has dis-missed, for lack of merit, an appeal to unseat Taytay, Rizal Mayor Janet de Leon-Mercado, allowing the mayor to complete her term until next year.

The poll body junked the motion for reconsideration of petitioner Milagros Medina Moris, who it said failed to re-fute the findings of the Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Opera-tions (ODEDO) that the supporting pe-titioners’ signature are insufficient.

In her original complaint on January 29, 2015, Moris asked for a recall elec-tion claiming the people had lost trust and confidence in Mercado.

According to Comelec, the petition-

er also failed to provide evidence that would contradict the Section 8 of Com-elec Resolution No. 7505 requiring the petitioner that the sheet submitted must contain the names, address, and signa-tures of the supporting petitioners and the barangays to which each of such pe-titioners belongs.

“None of the foregoing grounds were established in this case. Petitioner did not allege, much less prove, in her Mo-tion for Reconsideration that the As-sailed Resolution was not supported by evidence or was contrary to law,” the Comelec said.

“Instead, petitioner only alleged that the petition substantially complied with Comelec resolution No. 7505,” it added.

A farmer’s dream. Tobacco farmers of Reyna Mercedes, Isabela enjoy the good harvest. REVOLI CORTEZ

Guns and money. A policewoman reviews evidence gathered against drug suspects from separate raids in Bgy. Consuelo, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. ALVIN T. GUANZON

A8

[ EDI TORI A L ]

SEVILLA’S GENIE

EMBLEMATIC of the hypocrisy and mismanagement that have become the hallmarks of this administration, the chief of the Bureau of Customs, John Phillip Sevilla, resigned last week with disturbing allegations of political pressure and attempts to turn his agency into a milking cow to raise campaign funds for favored candidates in the 2016 elections.

Sevilla was the third Customs commissioner to leave the agency under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, who has made the fight against corruption the touchstone of his leadership.

Sevilla’s two predecessors had left the bureau amid allegations of corruption, tarnishing Mr. Aquino’s claims of good governance. Sevilla took over in December 2013 with the promise of cleaning up what is widely perceived as the most corrupt agency in the bureaucracy.

That promise came crashing down less than two years later with Sevilla’s resignation.

In announcing his resignation, Sevilla said he was being pressured to appoint certain people to “very sensitive” positions ahead of the 2016 elections, and admitted that he could not finish the job of ending corruption at the bureau.

“I don’t compromise on morality,” the resigning Customs chief said. “The law is clear on what is allowed and [what is] not.”

In its first statement following the resignation, the Palace conspicuously ignored Sevilla’s allegations, and simply announced his replacement, a person from the private sector with extensive interests in several brokerage-related companies. A Palace spokesman assured the public that there would be no conflict of interest, as the new Customs chief, Alberto D. Lina, would divest himself of his interest in his brokerage company—but said nothing of his holdings in at least 10 other corporations.

The announcement did little to engender confidence.

Are we expected to believe that Sevilla’s replacement would truly divest himself of all his lucrative business interests to take a job in the government in an administration with only a year left? Or is his appointment part of efforts that Sevilla resisted to make sure the ruling party stays in power after 2016?

Aquino’s first Customs commissioner, who resigned under a cloud of suspicion when 2,000 container vans vanished from the bureau in 2011, was a close associate of Lina.

Lina was also Customs chief during the previous administration, before he left abruptly as part of the “Hyatt 10” Cabinet members who abandoned the Arroyo government over an election-related scandal in 2005, and who now hold considerable influence in the Aquino administration.

Administration allies in the Senate have been fulsome in their praise for Sevilla, but have shown none of their usual eagerness to launch a congressional investigation into allegations of corruption in the Bureau of Customs, particularly since such a probe might expose “friendly forces” rather than political opponents.

But there can be no doubt that Sevilla must be encouraged—or compelled—to name names and provide a detailed account of what he knows. His failure to do so would be a betrayal of the morality he claims led to his resignation, and the public service he vowed to uphold when he took office at the Bureau of Customs.

In opening his mouth about corruption and influence peddling in the bureau, Mr. Sevilla has let the genie out of the bottle, and no amount of doubletalk from him or his former employers now can put it back in.

ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R

THE REAL THREAT

FIRST, a disclaimer.  One national daily, through an online post, at-tributed to me the statement that the Chief Justice had, in effect, pre-judged the Binay case by her line of questioning at the oral argument.  I made no such statement.  Some-one did call me up however for an interview on the subject. I gave him onIy curt replies though he did attempt, by leading questions, to make me agree with him on this assessment—an enticement I steadfastly resisted.  I made clear: I did not think it was right for me to comment on on-going proceed-ings.  What I did, however, was write a Facebook post on the doc-trine of condonation. Justice Adolf Azcuna was the first to comment: He thought that I had captured the doctrine succinctly.  He agreed with my analysis that the doctrine has its roots in our understanding of popular sovereignty. That note of concurrence, I consider priceless!  The next day, I wrote an extended article for this paper—and earned a lot of flak for it.  I do not mind the criticism, but I am alarmed that the kind I got is symptomatic of a more insidious malady that is lethal to democracy: intolerance for dissent!

There is good reason to ignore

comments on FB posts—many of them betray the pathetic ignorance behind them. But again, they are red flags that invite close scrutiny, if only because, in their sheer irratio-nality, they sound the alarm to the intellectual bankruptcy that makes

it impossible for a genuine democ-racy to long endure.  When Arch-bishop Soc Villegas issued a state-ment on the draft BBL, an almost common comment was: “Bakit nakikiaalam na naman ang sim-bahan dito?”.  Nowhere was there any serious analysis of the argu-ment advanced, no serious exami-nation and rebuttal of the reasons adduced.  Nothing more than an attack on bishops and priests.  The Archbishop, in a personal capacity, discussed the necessity of inclusive-ness, warned against equating peace in Mindanao with the passage of

BBL, underscored the moral right of a State to its integrity.  None of these points of social justice theory and moral theology were addressed by the posted comments.  The bishops were rather reminded that some priests were pedophiles.  They were also told that it was shame-ful for them to have been involved in the Pajero scandal.    It would be less bothersome merely to laugh off such obvious illogicality, but if this is how our countrymen, or a good part of them, reason (or, better, fail to do so!), that demonstration of a dreadful want in thoughtfulness and reasonability should make us fearful of democracy’s future in-deed. When irrationality prevails, anything frightful is possible! 

Tracing in broad strokes the his-tory of the condonation doctrine in this jurisdiction, I pointed out that it has been in our jurisprudence for some time now—carried over from American jurisprudence, and that it actually has roots in our democratic convictions.   I was not advocating the perpetuation of this piece of ju-risprudence. I was however arguing that it was not unreasonable and had in fact been consistently ap-plied by the High Court. The com-ments I got  labeled me a lackey of the Binays, a fraud, a charlatan—pathetic actually, if hilarious, be-cause they were attacks on me, not on my argument.  In stark contrast were the posts of Prof. Jemy Gat-dula of the University of Asia and

We can and ought to raise the bar of

public discourse and set more stringent

standards for exchange in public

spaces.

OPINIONM O N D AY, A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

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

MEMBERPhilippine Press InstituteThe National Association of Philippine NewspapersPPI

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PENSÉES

FR. RANHILIOCALLANGAN

AQUINO

Continued on A11

This scene is replicated nationwide.  Bodies  of water, polluted or pristine, significant or small,  being converted into transient homes for fish on steroids

If our population grows by  1.8 million a year, so must our fish output,  more so  from the mu-nicipal and commercial sectors, whose catch must ramp up.

But we won’t be able to  do this if  our rich, tra-ditional fishing grounds west of  the archipelago are  being roped off by naval might by a country which has claimed  it as its backyard  private fish pond.

That fishing blockade will impact on our source of cheap protein.   It is akin to a school cafeteria   bully   forcing us to go on a low-fish diet.

But  solely blaming fish dearth on alien poach-ing in our seas oversimplifies the situation.  Long before   gunboats anchored near   Panatag Shoal,   or intruders pulverized our corals, our seas had been yielding less and less fish.

There is a rogues’ gallery of local cul-prits. Pollution. Expanding human habitat.  Overfishing.

We converted almost a quarter of a million

hectares  of mangroves into fishponds, or at a rate of   200 basketball courts  a day.  To this day, the war of the  backhoes  against  bakhaws con-tinues.

Our coral reefs are a fraction of how big they were a century ago.

By doing so, we lost our natural fishponds. A hectare of mangrove can yield up to 650 ki-

los of fish, mollusks, crabs, shellfish  a year.  At a bargain P100 per kilo,  that’s P65,000 a year on 10,000 square meters of  tidal greenbelt.

A 1,000 meter by 1,000 meter healthy   coral patch   can produce up to 35,000 kilos of fish a year.

Hopefully,  what’s happening in the   West Philippine Sea should jolt us into realizing how precarious our fish supply is.

And  prod us to implement solutions that will boost marine productivity  including those which  require tough political will like declaring closed seasons in overfished   sites to allow the seas to heal.

Unless we want to consign the   sweet taste of tanguige in tanglad broth as a thing of the past,  something to be just  reminisced  and no longer savored.

OPINIONM O N D AY, A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

A10

SOMETHING FISHY

WHY PACQUIAO IS A HEROA FEW days from today, or on the 2nd of May, world boxing champion, Manny Pacquiao, will face off with undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. As the date nears, Pacmania grows more intense with nearly every Filipino hyper-ventilating about Manny’s most challenging fight ever. Hundreds of millions are rooting for him in-cluding Hollywood stars like Keanu Reeves, Mark Wahlberg and Charles Barkley.

What is it about Manny Pacquiao that makes Filipinos and people around the world love him? For Filipinos, Manny is a symbol of everything they wish themselves to be. He transcended extreme poverty and became rich beyond imagination. Despite his im-mense wealth, he has remained humble, even shy. He is generous, sincerely compassionate, God-fearing, a good family man and a leader. To non-Filipinos, he is a hero who fights to win and makes every cent paid by them to watch worth it.

Manny’s story cannot fail to touch anyone’s heart. His parents separated when he was only six. His father left his mother, Dionisia, to live with another woman. Manny was the fourth among six children, the eldest two of whom, were his moth-er’s children by her first marriage. While Manny managed to finish elementary, he had to drop out of high school for lack of money.

At the age of 14, he stowed away and moved to Manila. For a time, he lived on the streets until he was drawn to boxing. His life began to change when he made it to the national amateur boxing team and made his debut as a junior flyweight at the age of 16. Now, at 36, he has 57 wins, two de-feats, two draws and 38 knockouts. His courage and determination to break away from abject pov-erty in early life inspire hope in the Filipino peo-ple. He is not just a champion; he is a role model.

***On the other side of the fence, the execution

by firing squad of Filipino domestic helper, Mary Jane Veloso, tomorrow seems inevitable. She was convicted for bringing in drugs to Indonesia and has lost in all her appeals. What brought her to this fate?

An ongoing online petition to save her life says she came from a poor family in Northern Philippines. She had once worked as a domes-tic helper in Dubai but became the victim of at-tempted rape in her place of work. When Mary Jane tried to find another employment, she was recruited by someone she believed was a family friend to work as a maid in Indonesia. Her friend-recruiter bought clothes for her while this friend’s boyfriend bought her a suitcase to use. When she entered Indonesia, she was immediately arrested because the lining of her suitcase contained ille-gal substances. She insisted she did not know that her suitcase carried drugs but because she was not

fluent in English and lacked edu-cation, she was helplessly swept in the flurry of events that fol-lowed. She did not understand most of the proceedings; had no lawyer for most of the time; and her family back home could not do much as they received threats from a syndicate warn-ing them not to go to the media

to seek help. Having two young sons, parents and siblings--whose lives she wanted to lift--Mary Jane thought that the only way was to find em-ployment abroad. Although the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has certified that Mary Jane is not a member of any drug ring, and that the agency has already filed charges against those who turned her into a drug mule, her execution by fir-ing squad looms.

Although Manny Pacquiao and Mary Jane Veloso were both born to poverty, their stories dif-fer in how they faced trials and hardship. Manny has become the ultimate inspiration for a great majority of Filipinos. What he has become was the product of a rare confluence of vision, determina-tion to rise above his lot, and courage to fight and win. Without meaning to, he has discovered the universal law that opportunities present them-selves to people who know what they want and are prepared to do what it takes to become what they want to be. Sadly, there are more Filipinos in the mold of Mary Jane. They are those whose lack of education has made them simply trail the path most others have taken: leave home, find employ-ment abroad.

The government may partly be blamed for not doing enough to create jobs here so that the Mary

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OUT OF THE BOX

RITA LINDAV. JIMENO

PLUMBLINE

PASTOR APOLLO

QUIBOLOY

Continued on A11

A FRIEND post-ed on Facebook a photo  showing two sets of  meal.

The one with a cup of rice, fried chicken quarter, boiled cabbage, and a lump of fruit cocktail he called “yaya meal.”

And under the spread consisting of  fried ga-lunggong, a fist of  boiled camote, sautéed ampa-laya and melon slice he typed :   “amo meal.”

Ten years ago  my jester of a friend  would  have  the  caption interchanged, with galunggong cum camote as  masa fare , and the fried chicken with the dollop of canned fruit cocktail as the meal for the master.

But  as my friend  prefaced his  explanation on why the two had traded places,times  - and prices -  have changed.  

He wrote that with galunggong fetching  P180 a kilo in the market he frequents versus the P120 a kilo price  of the dressed chicken, and with a purple camote retailing at P50 a kilo while rice can be had for P40 a kilo, “then we know what’s the more expensive pairing .”

He further lamented how the price of melon had skyrocketed, “from 5 pieces per P100 five years ago, to something like P60 pesos per kilo nowadays.” 

As  to the vegetable siding  , “it has been ages since ampalaya has not gone below the P50 per kilo mark, “ he bewailed. “Could be due to the fact they’re being  dried, pulverized into pills.”

I can’t verify if  my friend’s   kitchenomics fig-ures are accurate but I guess that based as he is in Manila he was rattling off  supermarket, and not bangketa, prices.

But what can’t be denied is that  galunggong  and dilis have become more expensive than chicken,  tanguige beats pork by a mile, and  sashimi-grade tuna  is pricier than beef brisket.

Even high-mileage     pork cuts  -   from hogs raised in Iowa, brought  by refrigerated trains to the West Coast , from where they’ll start  their trans-Pacific journey  -  when  they’re sold  in a Manila meat shop   will be priced less than tal-akitok  caught just off the mouth of Manila Bay.  

The gentrification of galunggong  (and  other fish)   is not triggered  by  some health fad which is causing their retail price to spike.      

There is no Venezuela-like long queues for roundscad which is causing the prices of non-farm- raised fish to jump as if   it were a live fish   being tossed   into  a wok of hot oil.

The reason is supply .  While chicken facto-ries   can plan, with precision,  production out-puts,  such a controlled process, however,  does not apply to wild fish.

In  broiler contract growing , four Sundays  are enough to bulk up a baseball-size chick into a basketball-size chicken.  There is no app of  that kind for hasa-hasa or dalagang bukid.

There is, however, for the likes of tilapia and milkfish. No wonder, more than half of our fish supply come  courtesy of   fish farms, which fol-low  a growing  regimen -  and use   feeds - not unlike  those in   hog farms

In 2012, aquaculture, to include cages and pen, produced   2.52 million metric tons   while mu-nicipal and commercial fishing combined for 2.3  million MT.

Because each Filipino consumes 40 kilos of fish yearly, and with municipal and commercial fishing yields plateauing, aquaculture   is under  pressure to step up the plate.

Anyone  riding a plane to Manila would see the expanding footprint of fish farms – from  mussel poles dotting  Manila Bay, to fish pens which had  choked  Laguna de Bay or fish cages  swamping parts of  Taal Lake.

He is not just a boxing champion; he

is a role model.

A11ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R

M O N D AY, A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

OPINIONlettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

CHONG ARDIVILLA#FAILOCRACY

CHASING HAPPY

ADELLECHUA

The... From A8

IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM

the Pacific, those of Justice Ad-olf Azcuna and others who too took a second look at the prove-nance of the doctrine and asked whether the premises remained good.

When one is intolerant of contrary views and makes of their proponents ogres and hacks, one is in fact closing public space, stifling dissent, and quieting the salutary noise of the agora.  It is the same in-tolerance that goes into labeling and shaming critics of daan ma-tuwid as abettors of corruption.  It is the sad spectacle of being publicly berated for advancing a doctrine that has yet to be aban-doned. It is bad enough that the average Filipino displays a disturbing propensity for ad hominems and non sequiturs.  But if people in high places with lofty academic titles appended to their names transgress such formal rules of logic as  modus tollens, then a really debilitating crisis of rationality has come upon us all.  Thus goes the faulty logic:  If you were willing to hold

elective officials accountable for their misdeeds, you would be an advocate of righteous gov-ernment.  But you invoke the Aguinaldo doctrine to excuse erring officials from account-ing for their faults.  Therefore, you are not an advocate of righ-teousness.  Logic is not a set of tricky exercises devised by some idle professor to keep his stu-dents in the depths of misery.  It has everything to do with be-ing reasonable.  Aside from the glaring formal fallacy—denying the antecedent—why should it follow that the doctrine of condonation is a rejection of accountability?  It is a recogni-tion rather that accountability is also achieved by submitting the elective official to the vote of his constituents!    The reason that many today reject the doctrine of condonation—and  froth in the mouth at its advocates—is not because the doctrine has been shown to be capricious and unwarranted, but because anyone who argues for it is writ-ten off as a paid Binay partisan, with utterly no heed to the crux of the argument. But the intelli-

gence that democracy demands is the ability to abstract from the particular personalities in the fray and to address oneself to the matters of policy, demo-cratic theory, the demands of justice that may be involved.

This same intellectual bank-ruptcy rears its unwelcome head as the nation nervously awaits the fate of Mary Jane Ve-loso, sentenced to be shot for a drugs-related offense in Indone-sia.  When GMA7 posted online the news that  the Indonesian government had served formal notice of execution, there were more than five posts taking the CBCP to task for opposing the death penalty in the country.  It took me some time to try to divine the link between the sad notice of Mary Jane’s imminent execution and the attack against CBCP’s anti-death penalty stance—and I have not quite made sense of it completely yet.  But Rizal already observed this proclivity for fallacy in our na-tional life and wryly  remarked in Noli Me Tangere: “How does one deal with the logic of this il-logicality?”

We can and ought to raise the bar of public discourse and set more stringent standards for exchange in public spaces—not to create an elitist circle that will breathe the rarefied air that lesser mortals do not live by, but precisely so that the agora may remain open and free. In a de-mocracy, legitimacy rests on the unfettered dynamic of challenge and discursive vindication that generate rational consensus. And it is, after all, intolerance for dissent and the demoniza-tion of  the proponents of dar-ing propositions that threaten this process the most. When the time comes that we enunci-ate propositions only because we are confident that they will be met with the applause of the mob and not with derision, then we shall have opted for the sterility of motherhood state-ments and platitudes that, be-cause they say nothing, will be opposed by none!

rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph

rannie_aquino@csu.edu.phrannie_aquino@yahoo.com

Jane Velosos of our society will not need to leave. Yet, Filipinos must realize that leaving for an overseas job is not the only solution to poverty. There has never been a substitute for hard work, ingenuity and creativ-ity, regardless of where one is. I know of many foreign nationals who have come to the Philippines with not much money in their pock-ets. They have seen the po-tential of the Philippines, with its huge population and wealth in natural re-sources, as a vast market-place. They plodded despite restrictive laws against for-eign investors and now, they are among the coun-try’s wealthiest.

Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com Visit: www.jimeno-law.com.ph

Why... From A10

CUSTOMS Commissioner John Philip Sevilla resigned last week, supposedly because he cannot anymore stomach the politics that has prevailed at the bureau, even under this supposedly tu-wid na daan administration.

Sevilla did not give some lame excuse about his exit—health reasons, for example, or time with family—just so he can ex-tricate himself from this admin-istration without burning any bridges.

In interviews with Rappler immediately before and after his resignation, Sevilla, a US-educated investment banker before he stumbled into govern-ment service, said specifically that the event that triggered his exit was the pressure on him to appoint lawyer Teddy Raval, head of the bureau’s Intellectual Property Rights Division as director of Enforcement and Security Service.

Raval’s appointment, accord-ing to Sevilla, was being pushed

by the Iglesia ni Cristo, a popu-lar religious denomination in the Philippines known for its rigid attendance rules and its ability to dictate on its members whom to vote for during elections.

Sevilla says he has never heard from the Iglesia itself that it re-ally wanted to install Raval in the post. What is apparent is that “people from the government” who want to please the Iglesia are the ones exerting the pressure on Sevilla. Who these people are, he has not said.

This is not the only reason, however. In his year and four months at the helm of the gov-ernment agency perceived to be the most corrupt, Sevilla has been getting text messages from various powerful people, not tell-ing him to do this or that, per se, but requesting him to give cer-tain favors to or appoint friends. According to Sevilla he has re-fused all these, because giving in to one will send him on a slip-pery slope.

He is quiet when asked wheth-er he really resigned, or was asked to resign and by whom.

Soon after, the Palace and the Finance Department acknowl-edged Sevilla’s exit, perfunctorily acknowledging his efforts at re-form but saying that sometimes people reach a point when they must rest. And then they named former Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina back to his old post to immediately fill the gap. Lina owns Air21, a big cargo service provider, as well as several oth-ers. This should have been a red flag, but now the Palace tells us he has divested his interest in Air21.

(So it is possible to name a re-placement at once. It makes one wonder why the government felt it had to put someone at the head of customs at once after taking its sweet time naming the head of other bureaus and commis-sions.)

What a waste. Sevilla’s train-ing, skills and orientation made him the ideal person to reform and professionalize the bureau, which in the eyes of many is teeming with entrenched cor-ruption that it is practically ir-redeemable. True enough, in his

relatively short stint at Customs, Sevilla increased collections by 21 percent year on year even as these were still below target. He also filed administrative com-plaints against 30 employees in a bid to rid the agency of corrupt elements even as only one of these cases has been resolved.

He has greater, measured tar-gets. He had been working on achieving a four-hour process-ing time by the end of the year. He also wants to have paperless processing. Early on, he had said that appointments to any post within the bureau should be on pure merit. Finally, he had staunchly rejected the idea that bureau insiders should be given priority. It is the idea, precisely, to open up Customs to new blood, fresh ideas, and untaint-ed approaches.

Where he fell inadequate, as we know now, is in his willing-ness to compromise.

It’s a sad day for the rest of the country when a good official like Sevilla throws his hands up in the air in exasperation, saying “I’ve had enough.” There goes an-

other one who could have made a difference—but he’s just one person going against the politi-cians, the syndicates, all those who are part of the established order that benefit only the few and the powerful.

To hell with Daang Matuwid, indeed. Does one not really have an option but to give up and leave?

In the end, Sevilla tries to de-flect the attention away from himself. He instead remembers the hundreds, if not thousands, of Customs employees, especially in the field, who make sacrifices and take risks every day, away from the glare of headlines. One, for instance, reported that his family was “visited” at home by armed men they did not know because he seized some illegally shipped goods at the port.

These people need and deserve a resolute, honest leader, in the same way we do not need and deserve a hypocritical, sancti-monious government that turns out to be as rotten as the others it claims to despise.

adellechua@gmail.com

A12sports@thestandard.com.ph

MO NDAY: APRI L 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

Warriors sweep Pelicans

� e Warriors, with Stephen Curry again leading the way, completed a four-game sweep of the Pelicans in the best-of-seven Western Confer-ence � rst-round series.

“I’m proud of the way we played, the way we competed. Now we’ll rest up and get ready for the next round,” said Curry.

Golden State will next face either the Memphis Grizzlies or Portland Trail Blazers.

� e Grizzlies kept the momentum of their two home wins to open the series, holding o� the Trail Blazers

115-109 in Portland on Saturday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their set.

Although no team has come back from an 0-3 de� cit to win an NBA playo� series, Memphis could � nd themselves trying to � nish o� Port-land without point guard Mike Con-ley, who departed Saturday’s game early with a possible eye injury a� er taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from C.J. McCollum.

A bleeding Conley was helped to the locker room and later taken to hospital for evaluation.

NEW ORLEANS—� e Golden State Warriors became the � rst team to punch their ticket to the second round of the NBA playo� s on Saturday with a 109-98 victory over New Orleans.

Zhang,Granadamake USjr golfest

Wozniackiin net final

Noel admires Pinoys’ hard workPrulla, Damien enterToby’s Sports semis

SUNSHINE Burberry Zhang and Sean Dominique Grana-da booked the next two free tickets to Los Angeles o� ered by Philippine Airlines a� er topping the Class D divi-sion of the recent PAL Junior World Qualifying leg of the ICTSI-JGFP Summer Circuit at the Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club course.

Zhang chalked up rounds of 72, 67, 66 and 61 to rule the girls’ division by 14 strokes over a fast-starting Eagle Ace Superal, who settled for run-ner-up honors in the grueling 72-hole quali� er.

Superal, younger sister of top lady amateur Princess, took the lead in the � rst two rounds with her 69 and 65, but faded with 74 and 72 for a 280 total.

Granada coasted to a nine-stroke win in the boys’ division for the 9 to 10 years age group of a multi-division quali� er staged by the Junior Golf Foundation of the Phil-ippines with the major back-ing of the International Con-tainer Terminal Services, Inc. Foundation.

Granada (64-71-70-62-267) won over Miguel Sebastian Roque (71-68-70-67-276) and Zeus Sara (64-77-78-72-291).

All three booked slots to the Junior World in San Di-ego, California this coming July, but only Granada -- like Zhang -- gets a free ticket from PAL as only champions in their divisions will be re-warded with the prize.

Zhang and Superal took the two spots disputed in girls’ play of the tourney also sponsored by the Philippine Golf Foundation, Martin Lorenzo, Golf Depot, Crystal Catx, Delimondo and Inquir-er Golf.

Up next is the main quali-fying event for three di� erent age divisions -- 11-12, 13-14, and 15-17 -- at the Splendido Taal Golf Club from April 27 to 30.

STUTTGART—Caroline Wozni-acki reached her third final of 2015 when she saw off Simona Halep in a marathon Stuttgart semi-final which lasted almost three hours on Saturday.

� e former world number one, who ran the 2014 New York marathon for charity, needed two hours, 58 minutes to claim a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 victory.

She will now meet local fa-vourite Angelique Kerber in Sunday’s � nal a� er the German enjoyed a 6-3, 6-1 win over American Madison Brengle.

“I felt good right through until the end,” said Denmark’s Wozniacki.

“I love these long matches and if I can run a marathon, then I can play in great games like that.

“We needed nearly three hours and that would be a pret-ty good marathon time.”

Wozniacki took the � rst set with the � rst break at 6-5, but the second was a topsy-turvy a� air with � ve of the 12 games � nishing in a break before the Romanian levelled.

Wozniacki turned the screw in the third to break her opponent when her 3-1 lead quickly became 5-1 and although Halep rallied to bring it back to 5-2, the blonde Dane served out to convert her fourth match point. AFP

Spain’s Marc Gasol registered 25 points, seven rebounds and four as-sists for the Grizzlies.

Courtney Lee had 20 points and Zach Randolph added 16 for Mem-phis, who will try to wrap up the se-ries in game four on Monday.

Portland’s Nicolas Batum led all scorers with 27 points. McCollum added 26 points and Damian Lillard scored 22 points and handed out nine assists in the defeat.

In New Orleans, Curry scored 39 points, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out nine assists for the Warriors, who took a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.

Although the desperate Pelicans managed to whittle the gap to as few as seven points, it was a vastly more comfortable a� air than the Warriors’

game-three win, in which they over-came a 20-point de� cit.

Klay � ompson scored 25 points and Draymond Green scored 20 of his 22 points in the � rst half.

Green also delivered 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors, who posted their � rst sweep of a seven-game series since they won the 1975 NBA � nals.

“First of all I want to congratulate Monty (Williams) and (the Pelicans). � e team we saw this past week was not the one we saw in the regular sea-son,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “� ey were really, really tough ... We were very fortunate to sweep.”

Pelicans star Anthony Davis con-tributed 36 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Eric Gordon chipped in 29 points. AFP

IN THE eyes of Nerlens Noel, a defensive play-er from the Philadelphia 76ers, Filipinos have shown hard work and determination, traits that could make them become better ball play-ers – and probably earn them a ticket to make it to the NBA.

Noel shared his observation during the launching of the KFC East Meets West Fully Loaded Shootout Sun-day at the SM Mall of Asia.

“� ey play a lot di� erent from the Americans, but the hard work and determination were de� nitely admirable,” Noel said.

A center/forward and known more for his defense, Noel has heard a lot of great things about Philippine basketball, but he wanted to experience it to be-lieve it.

“Unless you’ve not experienced it, you won’t be able to know how good it is. But yes, there are a lot of good players out

there just like what people who’ve come here told me,” he added.

Noel was joined by Gilas Pilipinas standout and current Rain or Shine player stalwart Gabe Norwood in the press conference.

� e two had a friendly shootout – with Nor-wood representing the national team

player and Noel representing the West. Trivia games were also held where the top two teams got a chance to face o� in the 3 x 3 � ve-minute challenge with the two players coaching oppo-site teams.

Norwood, who made a huge reputation “posteriz-ing” NBA player Luis Scola of Argentina in last year’s FIBA World Cup, was also thrilled to join Noel in the event.

“I’ve been a fan of his be-cause of his defense, so I’m really

thankful for the opportu-nity,” he added.

CHRIS Justine Prulla, Andre Rodriguez, Noel Damien and Cenon Gonzales won over separate rivals in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals of the 14th Toby’s Sports Wil-son Summer Tennis Festival recently at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Prulla defeated Rey Mayo, 6-2, 6-1, to meet Rodri-guez in the semi� nals of the boys’ 18-under singles’ class, while Damien rallied past Caloy Ramiscal, 4-6, 6-4, 10-4, to face Gonzales in the � nals of the event participated by more than 400 entries.

Rodriguez blanked Emmanuel Fuellas, 7-5, 6-2, and Gonzales beat Angel Bryan Reyes, 6-1, 6-3.

Cenon Gonzales also made it to the semi� nals of boys’ 16-under division by beating Jed Justine Labasano, 6-2, 6-2, to face Emmanuel Fuellas, who blanked Aidyll Ignacio, 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Manuel Balce whipped Gabriel Tiamson, 6-4, 6-3, to set up a title showdown in the boys’ 16-un-der singles’ against Marraphael Teng, who won over Angelo Bryan Reyes, 6-2, 6-3.

In the girls’ 18-under singles semi� nals’ re-sults, Charito Jade Capadocia swept Ibiza Mae Perez, 6-0, 6-0, to arrange a title showdown with Princess Catindig, who trounced Cianna Villa� or, 6-2, 6-1.

Draymond Green (left) of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket against Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans during Game Four in the fi rst round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Warriors won to advance to the Western Conference semifi nals. AFP

A13sports@thestandard.com.ph

mo nday: apri l 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

sports

Petecio captures gold

Last-hole birdie nets Thai golf crown

SMART/MVPtaekwondolistup ongoingREGISTRATION for the 2015 SMART/MVP Sports Foundation Taekwondo Summer Class is still going on in 19 re-gional headquarters nationwide.

This was announced yesterday by the Philippine Taekwondo Association, a member of the World Taekwondo Feder-ation and the Philippine Olympic Com-mittee and recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Enrollment in the country’s most popular martial art program started last April 6. It will end on June 6.

Interested parties may get in touch with the following individuals all over the country:

Region 1, Loreto Velasquez, cell-phone number 0918-9596337; Region 2, Jaime Robianes, 0919-3313106; Region 3, Dauphin Punzalan, 0908-8977886; Region 4, Mario Frigillana, 0919-4120680; Region 5, Benjamin Custodio, 0921-6857343; Region 6A, Harny Tabuada, 0912-2267299; Re-gion 6B, Antonio Diasnes Jr., 0908-3054563; Region 7, Tony del Prado, 0939-9999777; Region 8A, Jed Lirios, 0916-7410100; Region 8B, Val Villan-ueva, 0916-4026680; Region 9, Em-manuel Flores, 0906-6120734; Region 10A, Vincent Orcales, 0927-8916979; Region 10B, Crisanto Roldan, 0915-1812616; Region 11, Young Joo Kim, 0926-6552095; Region 12A, Perferio Tripoli, 0908-9012131; Region 12B, Eduardo Bantay, 0919-2377580; CAR, Melvin Morte, 0917-5066861; CARA-GA, Rigor Avenido, 0919-8131778; and ARMM, Husin Abdulkadil, 0916-9367677.

Enrollees may also contact Phil-ippine Taekwondo Association, tel. nos. 522-0518/522-0519/524-0457 or email:philippinetaekwondo@gmail.com/philtkd@gmail.com.

Zhang chalked up rounds of 72, 67, 66 and 61 to rule the girls’ division by 14 strokes over a fast-starting Eagle Ace Superal, who settled for run-ner-up honors in the grueling

72-hole qualifier.Superal, younger sister of top

lady amateur Princess, took the lead in the first two rounds with her 69 and 65, but faded with 74 and 72 for a 280 total.

THAI Itthipat Buranatan-yarat survived American Casey O’Toole’s early fiery run then bucked Orlan Sumcad’s late hole-in-one with his own brilliant fin-ish – a seven-foot birdie on the 72nd hole, winning the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic crown by one at the Sherwood Hills Golf Club in Cavite Saturday.

It was indeed a thriller of a finale in the $60,000 event, the last of two Asian Development Tour events in the country, as the lead changed hands in every swirl of the wind and every bird-ie and bogey made with Sumcad scoring an ace on No. 16 to grab the lead, sparking hopes for a breakthrough win for the reti-cent Filipino shotmaker.

But in the end, it was Itthipat, who came out triumphant in a day-long battle of shotmaking, iron play, putting – and nerves – clinching it with that delicate putt from that crushed Sumcad, who earlier missed his own birdie bid

from around 14 feet.“I was really nervous out there

and I was really trying hard to hang in there. I was struggling to make birdies after the turn and I was extremely thrilled when I fi-nally made it on the last to win. I told myself to stay calm out there despite the pressure,” said Itthipat, 22, whose closing 72 and a five-under 283 total netted him the hotly disputed championship worth $10,500.

It was Itthipat’s first victory on the circuit after losing by three to compatriot Panuwat Muenlek in the PGM Terengganu Champion-ship in Malaysia last month and it completed the foreign players’ sweep of the two ADT events here after Malaysian Arie Irawan beat Miguel Tabuena by four at ICTSI Eagle Ridge last week.

Sumcad looked headed to re-deeming the locals’ pride after scoring his second career ace on the 187-yard No. 16 to snatch a one-shot lead over Itthipat but made a

second straight bogey on the next when he drove out of bounds then missed a playoff-clinching putt from 12 feet on the 18th. He also shot a 72 for solo second at 284 worth $6,900.

“I hit it perfect off the mound on No. 17 in the first three days but I miscalculated it today (yes-terday),” said Sumcad, who took home $6,900. “But I’m still hap-py for finishing second, at least I now have something to support my campaign in the next tour-naments.”

O’Toole charged back from four shots back with a string of early birdies, took the lead on No. 12 only to yield it with a bogey on No. 14 then blew it all with another bogey on the 18th. He finished with a 70 for solo third at 285 worth $4,200.

Halfway leader Frankie Miñoza rebounded from a disastrous third round 77 with a 70 as he tied opening day joint pacesetter Paul Harris, also of the US, who made a 71, at fourth with 286s. Each got $3,000.

A young boy (right) connects with an axe kick in a recent tournament. This technique will be taught duringthe summer class to all participants, including kids as young as 5 years old.

SUNSHINE Burberry Zhang and Sean Domi-nique Granada booked the next two free tickets to Los Angeles offered by Philippine Airlines af-ter topping the Class D division of the recent PAL Junior World Qualifying leg of the ICTSI-JGFP Summer Circuit at the Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club course.

Granada coasted to a nine-stroke win in the boys’ division for the 9 to 10 years age group of a multi-division qualifier staged by the Junior Golf Foun-dation of the Philippines with the major backing of the Inter-national Container Terminal Services, Inc. Foundation.

Granada (64-71-70-62-267) won over Miguel Sebastian Roque (71-68-70-67-276) and Zeus Sara (64-77-78-72-291).

All three booked slots to the Junior World in San Di-ego, California this coming July, but only Granada -- like

Zhang -- gets a free ticket from PAL as only champions in their divisions will be re-warded with the prize.

Zhang and Superal took the two spots disputed in girls’ play of the tourney also spon-sored by the Philippine Golf Foundation, Martin Lorenzo, Golf Depot, Crystal Catx, De-limondo and Inquirer Golf.

Up next is the main quali-fying event for three differ-ent age divisions -- 11-12, 13-14, and 15-17 -- at the Splendido Taal Golf Club from April 27 to 30.

Fun and games. Taisho Pharmaceutical Philippines/Tempra and Subterranean Ideas will hold the 2015 Tempra-Mother’s Day Treat on May 10 (Sunday) at the Skydome-SM North EDSA to honor Filipino mothers in a special event, to be high-lighted by fun-filled games. Proponents of the occasion, shown displaying the event’s poster, are Tito Tolentino (second from left), Country Manager of Taisho Pharmaceutical (Philippines); Eric Ma. Lejano (right), Business Unit Head, (right); Cleo Roda Nodado (left), Marketing Manager, and Randy Caluag, managing direc-tor of Subterranean Ideas. It will be Tempra’s third Mother’s Day event, following the earlier success of the first one held in 2013 at the Rizal Park Children’s Play-ground and the second one last year at the QC Memorial Circle.

Meechai eyes back-to-back win at Ladies’ Golf Tour in Wack WackWICHANEE Meechai hopes to redisplay the form that netted her a record 15-shot romp at Splendido three weeks ago as she guns for a second straight win on the ICTSI Ladies Philip-pine Golf Tour in the ICTSI

Wack Wack Ladies Invita-tional beginning tomor-row at Wack Wack’s West course.

Meechai put on a three-day display of shotmaking and superb putting to out-class the field at Splendido

but the Thai ace expects a strong fightback from the field, including local aces out to redeem themselves and defend their turf.

Cyna Rodriguez, the back-to-back LPGT Or-der of Merit champion, is

out to atone for her sev-enth place finish at Splen-dido along with leg win-ner Jayvie Agojo, former SEA Games gold medalist Chihiro Ikeda, Anya Tan-pinco, Lovelynn Guioguio and Sarah Ababa, the best

placed Filipina at third at Splendido.

Meechai will also be fac-ing a slew of fellow Thais in her attempt to nail a second crown in the cir-cuit that has continued to draw foreign play-

ers, including Walailak Satarak, Saraporn Chamchoi, Mookharin Ladgratok, Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, Penna-pa Pulsawath, Hathaikarn Wongwaikijphaisal and Tiranan Yoopan.

A14mo nday: apri l 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

sports@thestandard.com.ph

DOWN 1-2 for the first time, PLDT Home Ultera simply imposed its power and will in the fourth then ward-ed off Meralco in the decider to pound out a 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 25-12, 15-11 decision and move closer to sweep-ing the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Open Conference elims at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Alyssa Valdez, doing what she does best, stepped up her attack in the fourth and the

PLDT closes in on V-League sweep

Age-group netfest shifts to Luzon

Canadian is fastest in triathlon

Sports clinics. MILO’s Summer Sports Clinics and sponsored programs have produced many athletes who have made their mark in both the local and international sporting scenes. The roster of alumni includes BEST Center graduates and UAAP phenoms Kiefer Ravena and Thirdy Ravena, products of the cage clinics (above), Southeast Asian Games medalist Japoy Lizardo, and PBA star Chris Tiu. From April to May of this year, the program offers immersive training in 14 sporting disciplines, namely Badminton, Basketball, Bowling, Gym-nastics, Volleyball, Karatedo, Ice Skating, Tennis, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Touch Rugby, Chess, Football, and Swimming. The clinics will be available in over 700 venues to 30,000 students nationwide.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACKManila

StandardTODAY

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

(TS-Apr. 27, 2015)

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

National Capital Judicial RegionBranch 217, Quezon City

VILMA DISPO, represented byATTY. CONRADO SORIANO, Petitioner. -versus- Case No. R-QZN-14-10966 Grant of Right-of-WayMAXIMO BALAJADIA Respondent.x---------------------------------------x

PETITIONCOMES NOW, petitioner, VILMA DISPO, represented by Atty.

Conrado Soriano, Attorney-in-Fact, by the undersigned counsel, unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully alleges:

1. That, petitioner, Vilma Dispo, is a Filipino citizen, single, with postal address located at c/o No. 75 North Susana Avenue, North Susana Village, Old Balara, Quezon City represented in this case by her Attorney-in-Fact, Atty. Conrado Soriano, Filipino citizen, married and residing at North Susana Executive Village, Old Balara, Quezon City where he can be served with summons and other processes of this Honorable Court. Copy of the Special Power of Attorney is hereto attached as Annex “A”;

2. That, respondent, Maximo P. Balajadia, is likewise Filipino citizen with postal address located at No. 46 Ermin Garcia Street, Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Cubao, Quezon City where he can be served with summons and other processes of this Honorable Court;

3. That, petitioner, is the absolute, lawful and registered owner of a parcel of land with improvement located at No. 9 Maryland Street, Cubao, Quezon City covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. N-234022 of the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City. Copy of the TCT No. N-234022 is hereto attached as Annex “B”;

4. That, petitioner, bought the said property from a certain Alex L. Orbito the previous owner, in good faith, and she was made to believe that the entrance/exit property was part of the lot she bought from Alex Orbito;

5. That, Alex L. Orbito, the former owner, has been in continued and un-interrupted use of the said entrance and exit lot for more than Eleven (11) years before he sold his property to herein petitioner, who, likewise used the said entrance and exit lot as right-of-way for about Twenty Four (24) continues years or a total of about Thirty Five (35) years already without any objection/opposition from its owner. When the petitioner bought the property from Alex Orbito, she was of the Impression that the entrance and exit lot used as right-of-way was part of the property she bought from Alex Orbito;

6. That, not to be repetitious, the entrance and exit lot directly connecting to and from the aforesaid property of the petitioner, has been in use as right-of-way for about Thirty Five (35) years already dating back to the years when the former owner, Alex Orbito, has been using this small portion of lot as his entrance/exit right-of-way without any objection/opposition from the owner;

7. That, it must be mentioned, in passing, that when respondent, Mr. Maximo P. Balajadia, the owner of the lot, sought to be used as right-of-way, constructed a building at No. 46 Ermin Garcia Street, the existing entrance/exit lot being used as right-of-way by the herein petitioner was respected and was not touched by Mr. Maximo P. Balajadia. Please see attached picture marked as Annex “C”;

8. That, actually and in all honesty and candidness, it was only when the petitioner constructed as apartment units in her property that she discovered that the entrance and exit lot measuring 3.36 x 2.48 square meters, more or less, which plaintiff and the previous owner has been using as right-of-way, was not part of her property. This fact was relayed to her only by the Building Office of the Quezon City. Copy of the sketch of the property of the plaintiff and the entrance/exit gate being used as right-of-way by the petitioner is hereto attached as Annex “D”;

9. The petitioner is willing and able to purchase the said right-of-way from the respondent in the amount of P16,680.00 computed as P1,386,000.00 which is the market value divided by 693 which is the area equals P2,000.00 per square meters multiplied by 8.34 which is the portion sought to be purchased, equals P16,680.00 as reflected in the Tax Declaration which is hereto attached and marked as Annex “B-1”;

10. That, petitioner, had the occasion to communicate to the owner, Mr. Maximo P. Balajadia, however, the latter seems to be reluctant in selling the portion of his property despite the fact that the herein plaintiff has been using the right-of-way for a period of Thirty Five (35) years already including that of the previous owner;

11. That, as a matter of fact, petitioner wrote a letter to the adjacent owner if he could grant the petitioner’s request to purchased the right-of-way but the owner under its letter dated 10 October 2014 does not want to grant the request of the petitioner. Copy of the letter of Maximo P. Balajadia is hereto attached as Annex “E”;

12. That, this 3.36 x 2.48 square meters used as entrance and exit lot fronting the gate of the plaintiff is the only access to Ermin Garcia Street;

13. That, because of this, the herein petitioner was compelled to seek the intervention of the Honorable Court to grant her the right-of-way to and from her property in accordance with Article 649 of the Civil Code which provides:

“Art. 649. The owner, or any person who by virtue of a real right may cultivate or use any immovable, which is surrounded by other immovables pertaining to other persons and without adequate outlet to a public highway, is entitled to demand a right of way through the neighboring estates, after payment of the proper indemnify.”

14. WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court that after due hearing, an Order be issued granting the request of herein petition that the existing right-of-way to and from her property consisting of 3.36 x 2.48 square meters, more or less, be sold to her at 16,680.00 as reflected in the Tax Declaration which is hereto attached and marked as Annex “B-1” and that the Honorable Court approve the just indemnify for the easement being prayed for.

Other reliefs, just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed for.Quezon City, October 29, 2014.

EGARGO PUERTOLLANO GERVACIO GARRIDO LAW OFFICESCounsel for the Petitioner

Rm. 210 Señor Ivan de Palacio Bldg.,139 Malakas Street, Central,Diliman, Quezon City 1100

Telefax No. 433-8360By:

FELIPE N. EGARGO, JR.IBP Lifetime No. 01990,9-22-00, Quezon City

PTR No. 9220707/1-20-14/Quezon CityMCLE Compliance No. IV-0005303, 4-2-12

Roll No. 30274REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)QUEZON CITY ) S.S.VERIFICATION/CERTIFICATION ON NON-FORUM SHOPPINGI, ATTY. CONRADO SORIANO, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law do hereby depose and say:

1. That, I am the duly authorized representative of VILMA DISPO, the party petitioner in the above-entitled case;

2. That, I caused the preparation of the foregoing petition;3. That, the allegations contained herein are true and correct to the best

of my own personal knowledge and based on authentic records;4. That, I further certify that:

a] I have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the Court of Appeals or any other tribunal or agency;

b] To the best of my knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending before any tribunal or agency; and

c] If I should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency, I undertake to report the fact within five (5) days therefrom to the Court of agency wherein the original pleading and sworn certification contemplated herein have been filed;

5. This certification is being issued in compliance with the mandate of Administrative Circular No. 04-94.

(Sgd.) CONRADO SORIANOAffiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 29 day of October 2014 at Quezon City, Philippines. Affiant exhibiting to me a competent evidence of identity his Driver’s License No. X01-81-011776 bearing his photograph and signature.

Doc. No. 417;Page No. 84;Book No. 141;Series of 2014.

ANNEX A

SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:I, VILMA M. DISPO, of legal age, Filipino, single and with postal

address located at North Susana Executive Village, Old Balara, Quezon City, do hereby NAME, CONSTITUTE and APPOINT ATTY. CONRADO SORIANO, of legal age, Filipino citizen, married, and with residence and postal address located at North Susana Executive Village, Old Balara, Quezon City, to be my true and lawful Attorney-In-Fact, for and in my name, place and stead, to do and perform the following acts and deeds, to wit:

1. To file a Petition for the grant of right-of-way, in my behalf against the owner of the piece of land, Maximo P. Balajadia, being presently used as right-of-way to and from my property;

2. To sign, in my behalf, the Verification of the Petition as well as the Certification of Non-Forum shopping as required by law; and

3. To sign, execute and/or deliver any and all document as may be required in this case and/or necessary in connection with the prosecution of this case;

4. To represent me in the Mediation Conference as well as in the Pre-Trial and Trial of the case particularly the following acts and deeds, to wit:

a. To enter into an amicable settlement including the possibility of settlement before the Philippine Mediation Center and JDR;

b. The simplification of the issue;c. The necessity or desirability of making amendments to pleadings;d. The possibility of obtaining stipulations or admissions of facts and

documents to avoid unnecessary proofs; ande. To submit Position Paper if and when necessary.f. Such other facts and things that is necessary for the

accomplishment of the objectives and purposes above-mentioned.

HEREBY GIVING and GRANTING unto my said attorney-in-fact, full power and authority, to do and perform any act and thing whatsoever requisite, necessary and proper to be done in and about the premises as fully to all intents and purposes as I might or could do if personally present and acting in person; and

HEREBY RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING all that my said Attorney-in-Fact shall lawfully do and cause to be done by virtue of these presents.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed this Special Power of Attorney this 29 day of October 2014 at Quezon City, Philippines.

(Sgd.) VILMA M. DISPOPrincipal

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)QUEZON CITY ) S.S.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTBEFORE ME, a Notary Public, for and in Quezon City, Philippines

this 29 day of October 2014 personally appeared VILMA M. DISPO exhibiting to me her Driver’s License No. N02-93-001154 with signature and photograph issued by the Land Transportation Office, known to me and to me known to be the same person who executed the foregoing Special Power of Attorney and she acknowledged to me that the same is her own free and voluntary acts and deeds.

WITNESS MY HAND NOTARIAL SEAL affixed hereto on the date and place first above-written.Doc. No. 416;Page No. 84;Book No. 141;Series of 2014.

ANNEX B

ANNEX B-1 ANNEX C ANNEX D

ANNEX E

MR. CONRADO BYRON I. SORIANOMaryland St., Pinagkaisahan,Quezon CityDear Mr. Soriano,

This is to acknowledge receipt of your undated letter with attachments, requesting among others that undersigned grants yourselves a right of way to use Ermin Garcia Street in Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Quezon City.

In as much as your property is situated along Maryland Street in said barangay, and for the reason also that you can avail of said street freely without any obstruction/restrictions whatsoever, there is no reason to allow yourselves to pass by undersigned’s property just to reach Ermin Garcia Street. Hence, your request cannot be given due course for reasons aforestated.

Very truly yours,(Sgd.) MAXIMO P. BALAJADIA

Copy furnished:Engineering DepartmentQuezon City Hall

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGIONBRANCH 217, QUEZON CITY

VILMA DISPO, represented byATTY. CONRADO SORIANO Petitioner -versus- CIVIL CASE NO. R-QZN-14-10966 For: Grant of Right-of-WayMAXIMO BALAJADIA Respondent.x----------------------------------------x

ALIAS SUMMONSTO:

MAXIMO BALAJADIANo. 46 Ermin Garcia Street,Brgy. Pinagkaisahan, Cubao,Quezon City

You are hereby required within fifteen (15) days after service of this alias summons upon you, to file with this Court and serve on the plaintiff your answer to the complaint, copy of which is attached, together with the annexes. You are reminded of the provision in the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2002 to observe restraint in filing a motion to dismiss and instead allege the grounds thereof as defenses in the Answer. If you fail to answer within the time fixed, the plaintiff will take judgment by default and may be granted the relief applied for in the complaint.

WITNESS my hand under the seal of the Court, this 17th day of February 2015.

(Sgd.) ATTY. MARIZEN B. GRUTASBranch Clerk of Court

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGIONBRANCH 217, QUEZON CITY

VILMA DISPO rep. byATTY. CONRADO SORIANO Petitioner, -versus- CIVIL CASE NO. R-QZN-14-10966MAXIMO BALAJADIA Respondent.x--------------------------------------x

ORDERFinding the “Motion With Leave of Court To Serve Summons

By Publication for Reconsideration” filed by the petitioners through counsel to be meritorious, the same is granted by the Court.

SO ORDERED.GIVEN IN OPEN COURTQuezon City, March 17, 2015

(Sgd.) SANTIAGO M. ARENASJudge

The 20-year-old Mislawchuk, a former hockey player who em-braced the sport of triathlon in 2009, suffered stomach cramps in the middle of a grueling bike stage, but proved resilient enough to win the title in the men’s side, even as

Japanese lady triathlete Chika Sato successfully retained her title.

The two-day event was organized by Triathlon Association of the Philippines, in cooperation with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and sanctioned by the Asian Tri-

FROM the Mindanao region, action in the on-going 2015 Cebuana Lhuillier Age-Group Championship series, now on its 10th year, shifted to Luzon with the recently concluded leg in Valenzuela, Bulacan attract-ing close to a hundred entries.

Unfortunately for the host city, only one local bet, Kidron Pascua, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over LJ Quines in the 10-under group, survived the challenge of the visiting players from all over Metro Manila and North-ern and Southern Luzon.

Sta. Rosa, Laguna’s Blanche

Lagrisola took two crowns, making short work of Valen-zuela’s Isabela Salvo, 6-0, 6-1 in the 14- under, while winning in straight sets, 6-1 , 6-4, over Marilao, Bulacan bet Ibiza Mae Perez in the 16-under.

No familiar names came out in the leg, showing that the series, initiated by sportsman-businessman patron Jean Henri Lhuillier is succeeding in ex-panding the base of young tennis talents in the country.

“They may be unknown now, but give these young players a few years and they

will be making names in the local tennis circuit. Hopefully, some of them will go all the way to become national play-ers in the future,” said Lhuil-lier.

The other winners in the tournament hosted by the TLH Sports and Wellness Center, had Caloocan City’s Roni Isabelle Ortalis taking the girls’ 18-un-der title by beating Marilao’s Kim Penaflor. Her male coun-terpart was Carlos Austria, representing Novaliches as he prevailed over Olongapo City bet Jonal Silva, 10-8, 4-6, 7-5.

By Arman D. Armero

SBMA, Olongapo City—Tyler Mislawchuk of Mani-toba, Canada had to endure stomach cramps, but still had enough to prevail and secure his first-ever ca-reer win in the men’s elite division of the 2015 ASTC Asian Triathlon Cup held at the Subic Bay yesterday,

athlon Confederation and Interna-tional Triathlon Union, and co-pre-sented by SPEEDO and Philippine Sports Commission.

“This is my first win in an ITU-sanctioned event. The race was good, I was with the 12-man pack in the bike and had a great run,” said Mislawchuk after completing the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run in one hour and 47 minutes and 56 seconds.

A total of 39 male and 14 female elite triathletes saw action in the race that started at the Malawaan Park and ended at Harbor Point, which

Mislawchuk won by 20 seconds over Daniel Coleman of Australia (1:48:16). Another Canadian, Alexis Lepage, took the bronze in 1:48:48.

Sato, meanwhile, displayed her superiority in the ladies’ side with an impressive 2:04:24 clocking.

Sato’s fellow Japanese Hideko Kikuchi settled for the silver in 2:04:45, while Australia’s Laura Dennis took the bronze with 2:04:55.

“I was in the second pack after the swim and the bike, but I ran strong,” said the 29-year old, 10-year veteran Sato, who now has

three victories since joining the sport in 2007.

Local bets John Chicano and Kim Kilgroe represented the coun-try in the race, with Chicano clock-ing at 1:55:37 for 19th place and Fil-Am Kilgroe time at 2:18:59 for 11th place finish.

Mislawchuk took up triathlon as a cross training for hockey in 2009, but only decided to go at it full time this year.

Mislawchuk said the hot weather was not a problem since he and the other Canadians in the race have competed in other events in Asia.

Games tomorrow2 p.m. – PLDT vs Fourbees-Perpetual

4 p.m. – Cagayan vs Meralco

Ultra Fast Spikers clobbered the Power Spikers, 25-12, af-ter falling two-sets-to-one for the first time following an em-phatic sweep of their first four matches in the season-open-ing conference of the league sponsored by Shakey’s.

The Power Spikers still came out fighting in the fifth, dragging the Ultra Fast Spik-ers to a see-saw battle until setter Rubie de Leon, skip-per Sue Roces and Rysabelle Devanadera joined Valdez in stretching their unbeaten run to six and dealing Meralco its second loss against two wins.

“We’re very happy (with the

win). But we found out some f laws in our game so we need to work hard to improve,” said Valdez, who banged in 23 hits, including 19 kills and three blocks for the first team to make it to the semis of the conference presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

Jaja Santiago, the top block-er in the league backed by Mikasa and Accel, went on an attack mode this time and made 12 attacks for a 14-hit output while Roces, Soltones and De Leon added 11, 10 and seven points, respectively, in a match aired live over GMA News TV Channel 11.

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

3 DIGITS 0-0-02 EZ2 0-0

P16M

3 0-0-02 0-0

A15sports@thestandard.com.ph

MO NDAY: APRI L 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS

Solar TVnamesboxingpanel

Pacquiao tapers offa week before fi ght

SOLAR Entertainment Corpo-ration, which holds the exclu-sive rights for television and all other platforms for the “Battle for Greatness” in the Philip-pines between eight-division world champion Manny Pac-quiao and unbeaten pound-for-pound No. 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. has named the TV panel that will cover the fight from special ringside at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 3 (Ma-nila time).

Solar Entertainment Corpo-ration president and CEO Wil-son Tieng named veteran sports broadcaster and Philippine Star columnist Joaquin “Quinito” Henson, who will be alongside knowledgeable boxing man Mike Ochosa as analysts, while this reporter will serve as an-chorman of the coverage.

The meeting of the TV panel last Thursday was presided over by Solar’s Network Develop-ment and Acquisitions Direc-tor Paolo Diaz, who laid down specific guidelines for the his-toric multi-network telecast by Solar over ABS-CBN Channel 2, GMA7, which has telecast the Manny Pacquiao fights since his first encounter against Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, and TV 5.

The “Battle for Greatness” will see Henson and this writer, who covered many of Pacquiao’s early fights on the weekly show “Blow by Blow,” where the Fili-pino icon made a name for him-self, reunited for the first time since we covered Pacquiao’s first world title victory when he grabbed the World Boxing Council flyweight crown with an eighth-round knockout of Thai hero Chatchai Sasakul on the outskirts of Bangkok on Dec. 3, 1998.

Sasakul recently visited Pac-quiao during training at the Wild Card Gym to wish him the best in his battle with May-weather Jr. Ronnie Nathanielsz

By Reuel Vidal

SECOND generation basketball star Luis Sebastian Locsin led the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA All-Stars of 11 boys and five girls, who were named during the National Training Camp at the SM Mall of Asia Saturday, April 26.

The 13-year-old Locsin is the son of Phil-ippine Basketball Association legend Noli Locsin.

Others who made it were Ernest John Feli-cilda, Joshua Garing, Robert Alomar Castro, Miguel Luigi Santos, Edrian Custodio, Dan-iel Anthony Coo, Lloyd Raphael Oliva, Jef-fey Mailim and Christian Allen Magno.

Additionally, Santos, a product of the Alaska Basketball Power Camp and a stu-dent of Ateneo De Manila University, was named Alaska Ambassador of Goodwill.

The girls who made the Jr. WNBA All-Star team are Nelia Jean David, Kyla Flores and Micaela Denise Pentecostes, who are all from Manila Selection Camp. They will be joined by Luiza Krizelle San Juan from Bi-ñan, Laguna Regional Selection Camp and Heart Pagara from the Alaska Power Camp.

The all-stars were chosen from 50 boys and 24 girls, who were selected after a na-tionwide search involving children from all over the country.

The finalists of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Presented by Alaska were selected from Regional Selection Camps, for children 10 to 14 years old, in Puerto Princesa, Biñan, Iloilo, Baguio, Bacolod, Davao and Manila. They also include the best basketball play-ers from the Alaska Basketball Power Camp headed by Philippine Basketball Association legend Jeff Cariaso.

Alaska provides proper nutrition through its Alaska Chocolate Powdered Milk Drink, which contains essential nutrients that help children reach their full growth potential.

Meanwhile, Carlo Escalambre scored six of his team’s final 11 points as the Red Stars beat the Blue Stars, 95-88, in the Jr. NBA Presented by Alaska All-Star Alumni Game held earlier in the day.

In the process Escalambre, who is an in-coming rookie of the University of the Phil-ippines Fighting Maroons, was also honored as the Best Player of the Game.

Pacquiao, the eight-division world cham-pion, sparred six rounds yesterday and then rushed to celebrate the birthday of his son Israel, the youngest in a brood of five.

Even though you sense a semblance of worry in his camp despite the outward con-fidence of trainer Freddie Roach, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and longtime adviser Michael Koncz, Pacquiao himself has been telling his team not to worry because he is doing the fighting.

Besides, as Gareth Davies of the Daily Telegraph reported, Pacquiao has been re-sponding to the pressure of preparing for the fight of his life against Mayweather by taking refuge in his Bible classes.

Pacquiao’s entourage of a little less than one hundred people, half of whom are ex-tended family, have been based at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles and will board two big buses on Monday for the motor-cade to Las Vegas, where Pacquiao and his entourage will check in at the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino.

Pacquiao is expected to spend a small for-tune for his family and entourage, which has been estimated at $2 million.

A serene Pacquiao said he doesn’t feel any pressure.

“God is with me so I have peace of mind,” Pacquiao told Davies. “It is the most impor-tant thing. If God is with you , everything will be all right.”

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

MANNY Pacquiao has begun tapering off one week before his eagerly awaited showdown with unbeaten pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Ve-gas on May 3 (Manila time).

Carlo Escalambre (right) hangs on to the rim after missing an attempted dunk. Escalambre scored six of his team’s final 11 points as the Red Stars beat the Blue Stars, 95-88, in the Jr. NBA Presented by Alaska All-Star Alumni Game at the Mall of Asia Activity Center on Sunday.

By Peter Atencio

WORLD champion Magnus Carlsen o� ered a draw to Filipino grandmaster Wesley Saturday to maintain his lead a� er eight rounds in the Shamkir Chess tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Playing with the black pieces, Carlsen could not � nd the winning line a� er So equalized during a rook exchange in 41 moves of an English Opening, according to results posted on chessdom.com.

� is allowed Carlsen to stay on top with six points.

India’s Grandmaster and former world champion Viswanathan Anand is behind with 5.5 points. Playing

white, Anand crushed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in 43 moves of a 4-Knights Opening to stay in contention for the top spot.

So and Fabiano Caruana are tied in third with 4.5 points. Caruana drew with Rauf Mamedov in 36 moves of Ruy Lopez.

Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik crushed France’s Maxim Vachier Lagrave in 38 moves.

Kramnik has 3.5 points, with Mamedyarov a� er beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 38 moves of a King’s Indian Attack.

It was Kramnik’s � rst win a� er su� ering consecutive losses in the last three rounds.

Ex-PBA star’s son leads jr team

So draws with Carlsen,grabs share of 3rd spot

SPORTSsports@thestandard.com.ph

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

MO NDAY: APRI L 2 7 , 2 0 1 5

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

TURN TO A13

Painters force Game 7 Shopinas,Petron eyePSL fi nalsBy Jeric Lopez

RAIN or Shine and Talk ‘N Text are headed to a deciding Game 7.

Game Wednesday (Game 7 - Smart Araneta Coliseum):7 p.m. - Rain or Shine vs. Talk ‘N Text

PETECIOSTRIKESGOLD ININDONESIA

POWERHOUSE Petron and Shopinas try to arrange a finals duel when the clash with separate foes in the semifinals of the 2015 Philippine Superliga women’s vol-leyball tournament All Filipino Conference today at the Cuneta Astrodome.

� e Blaze Spikers confront Phil-ips Gold at 1:30 p.m., while the Lady Clickers battle Foton at 4:15 p.m. in the sudden-death semi� nals of this inter-club tournament organized by Sports Core and supported by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller Sports Med-icine, Via Mare, LGR and Heathway Medical.

In the night cap at 6:15 p.m., Cignal faces Mane ‘N Tail for the consolation fifth place after ab-sorbing a sorry 25-21, 23-25, 9-25, 25-18, 18-20 setback at the hands of the Lady Slammers in the quar-terfinals witnessed on Saturday by a sold-out crowd at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

Bannered by a star-studded cast led by Aby Marano, Dindin Man-abat and Rachel Ann Daquis, the Blaze Spikers cleared the double-round eliminations with a perfect 10-0 record to assume the first outright semifinal slot.

Following an escort on a bicycle, boxer Manny Pacquiao(center) is joined by supporters and training mates on his morning jog along a city street to a park in Los Angeles, California. The Filipino Congressman and world champion boxer will fight Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 2 in what is being billed as the ‘Fight of the Century.’ AFP

WARRIORSSWEEPPELICANSTURN TO A12

Games Today(Cuneta Astrodome)

1:30 p.m.—Petron vs Philips Gold

4:15 p.m.—Shopinas vs Foton6:15 p.m.—Cignal vs Mane ‘N Tail

The Elasto Painters staved off elimination and forced a Game 7 after out-dueling the Tropang Texters, 101-93, to tie their best-of-seven tilt at 3-3 in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Associa-tion Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The winner-take-all Game 7 will be on Wednesday in the same venue at 7 p.m., with every-thing on the line.

‘’It’s a nice win for us. We did a lot better defensively tonight. To beat Talk ‘N Text, you should

make stops and we were able to do that,’’ said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

Raymond Almazan probably played his best game as a pro in the most appropriate time as he showed the way for Rain or Shine with a team-high 18 points on an astounding 80 percent (8-of-10) shooting, to go with 10 rebounds,

while Wayne Chism banged in 18 markers and a game-high 24 rebounds.

‘’Raymond Almazan played another excellent game,’’ said Guiao, who credited his rising star’s performance.

Playing with a sense of urgen-cy and purpose, Rain or Shine, which was outplayed in Game 5, returned the favor this time around, hounding Talk ‘N Text with critical baskets in the most crucial parts of the contest.

Clicking on both sides of the floor, the Elasto Painters ended the first half with a bang as they unleashed a 21-4 blast to open a sizeable 54-38 spread in the closing seconds of the second period before settling for a 54-42 advantage at the turn.

Also determined to end the series, the Tropang Texters, de-spite import Ivan Johnson sit-ting out for most part with foul trouble, kept chipping away in the third period as they were able to outscore the Painters, 29-22, to inch within just five points, 76-71, heading the pay-off period.

But Rain or Shine had the last laugh as it had the most signifi-cant run down the stretch.

With only three points sepa-rating the two squads, 82-79, en-tering the game’s last eight min-utes, the Elasto Painters struck with a key 7-0 run that pushed their lead back to double-digits, 89-79, after an emphatic put-back slam by Chism with just under six minutes remaining.

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZASSISTANT EDITOR B1

MONDAY: APRIL 27, 2015

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

RAY S. EÑANOEDITOR

Maynilad seeks rate hike

ABS-CBN builds 10 sound stages in Bulacan

BUSINESS

Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasFriday, April 24, 2015

Foreign exchange rateCurrency Unit US Dollar PesoUnited States Dollar 1.000000 44.2680

Japan Yen 0.008369 0.3705

UK Pound 1.506600 66.6942

Hong Kong Dollar 0.129041 5.7124

Switzerland Franc 1.048108 46.3976

Canada Dollar 0.823995 36.4766

Singapore Dollar 0.745490 33.0014

Australia Dollar 0.778210 34.4498

Bahrain Dinar 2.652731 117.4311

Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266823 11.8117

Brunei Dollar 0.742721 32.8788

Indonesia Rupiah 0.000077 0.0034

Thailand Baht 0.030807 1.3638

UAE Dirham 0.272279 12.0532

Euro Euro 1.083400 47.9600

Korea Won 0.000925 0.0409

China Yuan 0.161342 7.1423

India Rupee 0.015802 0.6995

Malaysia Ringgit 0.275862 12.2119

New Zealand Dollar 0.758610 33.5821

Taiwan Dollar 0.032220 1.4263 Source: PDS Bridge

7,947.2555.20

Closing April 24, 2015PSe comPoSite index

46

45

44

43

42

HIGH P44.190 LOW P44.250 AVERAGE P44.224

Closing APRIL 24, 2015PeSo-dollar rate

VOLUME 510.800M

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 Pilipinas

oilPriceS today

P508.00-P728.00LPG/11-kg tank

P38.40-P52.05Unleaded Gasoline

P26.90-P43.80Diesel

P35.40-P39.15Kerosene

P23.70-P24.40Auto LPG

todayP26.90-P43.80

P35.40-P39.15

P23.70-P24.40

PP38.40-P52.05

8500

8000

7500

7000

6500

6000

P44.245CLOSE

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

WEST zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. has asked the government to approve a net increase of P1.31 per cubic meter in its water rate.

“We have written to Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to propose the inflation adjustment of P 1.31 per cubic meter or an adjustment of 4.19 percent,” said Maynilad chief finance officer Randy Estrellado.

Estrellado said for lifeline consumers of 10 cubic meters a month, the adjustment would translate into an increase of P4.45 in their monthly bill.

He said these consumers

monthly bill would rise from P121.37 to P 125.82 a month.

“Most residential costumers consume 20 cubic meters a month. For them, increase is P16.84, from P430.86 a month to P 447.70 a month,” Estrellado said.

The appeals panel of an international arbitration court handling the case of Maynilad earlier upheld the company’s rate rebasing adjustment, which

called for an increase in the basic charge by an average of P3.06 per cubic meter from the current basic rate.

The MWSS, however, decided to partially implement the arbitral award and prevented the company from passing the corporate income tax to consumers.

Estrellado said the proposed rate adjustment was based on the consumer price index movement of 2.5 percent in 2014 and 4.9 percent in 2015.

“It is important to note though that we are merely enforcing a right we are entitled to and still preparing our official reply to their re-interpretation of the appeals panel decision on our

rebased tariff which we do not accept and will not implement,” Estrellado said.

“MWSS have no response yet. We wrote them only last Friday. We understand they will take it up in their board meeting this week,” Estrellado said.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which owns a stake in Maynilad Water Services Inc., said it would not implement the resolutions issued by MWSS regarding water rate adjustment. Metro Pacific said it would pursue its claim against the government.

“For being contrary to the final award as well as the provisions of the concession agreement, Maynilad will not implement the resolutions,” Metro Pacific said.

By Darwin G Amojelar

BROADCAST network ABS-CBN Corp. is building 10 Hollywood-style studios in Bulacan province until 2016 in a bid to cut production costs and improve the quality of television shows.

ABS chairman Eugenio Lopez III said the network had started building sound stages on a 15-hectare lot in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.

“I think by the end of the year,

we should be finished with our first five sound stages and by the end of next year, probably we have 10 sound stages already,” Lopez said.

The broadcast firm said in 2013 it would invest P6 billion for the construction of the sound stages.

The network said it aimed to save about 65 percent to 75 percent in shooting location costs, with the construction of the modern sound stages.

About 80 percent of ABS-CBN’s production is remote and only 20 percent is shot in studio.

“We will change it to 80 percent studio, and 20 percent remote,” Lopez said.

“When we shoot in the new sound stages, the quality of our production would be very different from what it is today. So it’s not just improving our cost but improving our production, and the quality of our production,” he said.

Lopez said the company was also in talks with foreign consultants to improve the quality of TV shows production.

The broadcasting network

earlier said it would invest about P8.3 billion for capital expenditure and acquisition of film and program rights this year.

The funding requirement will be financed by proceeds from bond issuance as well as from internally generated funds.

ABS-CBN raised P6 billion in February 2014 from the sale of fixed-rate bonds with a tenor of seven years at 5.335 percent per annum.

ABS-CBN earned P2 billion on P33.5-billion revenues last year.

Culinary delights. Chef Josh Boutwood of Bistro Group (left) presents his version of empanada, a popular dish in the Ilocos region, to Tour-ism Secretary Ramon Jimenez (right) during the Luzon regional lunch of the Madrid Fusión Manila. Joining them is Agriculture Undersecretary for special concerns Bernadette-Romulo Puyat (center), who leads the Agriculture Department’s participation in the international culinary gathering.

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESSMONDAY: APRIL 27, 2015

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M S T APRIL 20-24, 2015 APRIL 13-17, 2015 STOCKS Close Volume Value Close Volume Value

MST BuSineSS Weekly STockS RevieW

FINANCIALAG Finance 8.2 3,171,200 23,970,997.00 7.5 695,000 2,601,608.00Asia United Bank 71 42,490 3,006,713.00 70.8 84,410 5,964,359.00Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 117.50 19,291,000 2,236,828,174.00 118.50 16,515,400 1,640,081,134.00Bank of PI 104.80 7,868,420 824,483,260.00 106.00 7,017,680 738,903,686.00China Bank 46 611,500 28,177,700.00 46.2 348,200 16,091,855.00BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. 2.53 1,075,000 2,660,690.00 2.35 228,000 531,160.00Bright Kindle Resources 2.09 514,000 1,087,940.00 2.16 742,000 1,600,630.00COL Financial 14.98 2,551,900 36,292,252.00 15.28 538,600 8,676,310.00Eastwest Bank 22.2 3,542,900 78,400,965.00 22.85 3,122,200 74,925,250.00Filipino Fund Inc. 7.99 193,000 1,467,634 8.44 292,100 2,552,551I-Remit Inc. 1.66 16,000 27,200.00 1.67 42,000 71,310.00Manulife Fin. Corp. 775.00 2,070 1,617,710.00 775.00 10,470 8,092,920.00MEDCO Holdings 0.510 10,100,000 4,663,100.00 0.415 870,000 371,850.00Metrobank 97.2 22,893,730 2,222,316,552.00 96.2 31,520,850 3,065,640,815.00Natl Reinsurance Corp. 1 646,000 649,700.00 0.99 1,100,000 1,087,640.00PB Bank 18.22 107,300 1,958,678.00 18.26 481,500 8,834,658.00Phil Bank of Comm 30.80 14,100 434,000.00 31.00 28,800 892,950.00Phil. National Bank 78.00 900,560 69,902,282.00 78.00 1,932,550 147,596,991.00Phil. Savings Bank 95.05 4,960 468,634.00 95 41,910 3,952,248.00PSE Inc. 320 21,840 7,168,102.00 334 76,590 25,230,154.00RCBC `A’ 46.85 501,000 23,407,095.00 44.95 2,211,800 99,586,445.00Security Bank 164.5 4,153,720 672,204,739.00 166.4 3,828,420 656,775,272.00Sun Life Financial 1400.00 545 761,490.00 1405.00 4,315 5,998,275.00Union Bank 68.00 72,650 5,007,718.00 70.30 91,750 6,420,709.00Vantage Equities 3.04 36,000 110,100.00 3.02 119,000 363,790.00

INDUSTRIALAboitiz Power Corp. 43.5 19,304,700 954,869,490.00 42.5 25,982,300 1,117,630,635.00Agrinurture Inc. 1.51 497,000 840,080.00 1.66 2,045,000 3,394,790.00Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.08 6,222,000 6,771,430.00 1.09 6,699,000 7,267,990.00Alsons Cons. 2.04 5,515,000 11,161,410.00 1.99 6,368,000 12,695,670.00Asiabest Group 11.1 90,000 1,006,584.00 11.78 105,100 1,242,952.00C. Azuc De Tarlac 87.00 200 17,966.00 92.95 10 930.00Century Food 19.02 760,800 14,088,224.00 18.64 3,573,700 66,267,832.00Chemphil 175 740 128,682.00 194 22,858 87,752.00Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 30.7 2,040,200 69,641,000.00 34.95 2,114,500 72,098,460.00Concepcion 63.7 860,810 53,832,416.00 62 962,700 59,202,939.00Da Vinci Capital 1.75 663,000 1,149,030.00 1.75 1,356,000 2,410,830.00Del Monte 13.92 1,819,100 24,704,782.00 13.48 2,612,700 34,258,688.00DNL Industries Inc. 20.400 33,562,400 1,541,301,048.00 19.300 40,045,400 488,282,900.00Emperador 11.44 14,823,200 169,186,968.00 11.48 25,671,200 295,133,222.00Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 8.06 136,046,400 1,072,310,697.00 7.98 188,942,900 1,512,538,160.00EEI 9.50 1,880,200 17,883,419.00 9.52 7,042,100 68,749,699.00Euro-Med Lab. 2 1,889,000 3,862,080.00 1.84 608,000 1,189,070.00Federal Res. Inv. Group 16.72 2,491,000 43,479,068.00 18.96 1,925,600 40,729,638.00First Gen Corp. 28.55 25,884,200 722,880,735.00 28.95 29,597,400 843,031,655.00First Holdings ‘A’ 94 633,620 58,953,468.00 94.5 1,296,790 124,199,817.00Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 14.50 1,300 19,200.00 14.20 37,600 537,728.00Greenergy 0.4400 910,000 399,950.00 0.4500 1,550,000 689,850.00Holcim Philippines Inc. 14.00 65,100 912,584.00 14.18 54,900 781,058.00Integ. Micro-Electronics 6.1 966,100 5,832,478.00 6.2 4,177,900 25,584,444.00Ionics Inc 0.580 104,000 61,340.00 0.580 566,000 329,400.00Jollibee Foods Corp. 211.00 3,949,010 837,431,600.00 213.40 2,843,040 607,932,966.00Lafarge Rep 10.16 3,646,900 36,258,361.00 9.5 10,347,400 94,958,458.00Liberty Flour 36.40 5,900 209,065.00 36.05 20,600 714,655.00LMG Chemicals 2.79 95,000 243,550.00 2.85 418,000 1,143,570.00Mabuhay Vinyl Corp. 2.5 45,000 113,960.00 2.54 936,000 3,380,010.00Macay Holdings 53.90 1,670 87,376.00 54.05 11,550 618,206.00Manila Water Co. Inc. 24.2 25,486,800 625,660,590.00 27.5 5,379,100 144,892,880.00Maxs Group 26.1 1,694,300 42,794,770.00 24.75 5,687,200 139,262,640.00Megawide 7.710 1,253,100 9,546,338.00 7.600 752,600 5,885,444.00Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 265.00 1,025,190 271,301,070.00 265.40 1,318,820 347,142,980.00Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 4.19 75,200 337,860.00 4.18 1,000 4,180.00Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 4.1 1,218,000 4,985,500.00 4.12 19,618,000 80,070,420.00Petron Corporation 9.50 11,654,400 111,963,695.00 9.79 12,428,000 122,890,913.00Phil H2O 4.4 10,004 46,000.00 4.75 486,700 1,898,056.00Phinma Corporation 11.96 100,400 1,189,652.00 11.58 92,400 1,067,830.00Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 4.00 1,352,000 5,415,210.00 4.05 1,777,000 7,162,850.00Phoenix Semiconductor 2.42 2,380,000 5,700,640.00 2.44 2,731,000 6,788,760.00Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.6 18,881,000 51,449,770.00 2.6 5,990,800 18,852,060.00RFM Corporation 5.08 3,107,200 15,573,115.00 4.85 17,367,300 85,884,865.00Roxas and Co. 1.85 140,360,000 239,186,740.00 3.05 1,000 3,050.00Roxas Holdings 6.4 43,200 277,670.00 6.5 22,000 142,440.00San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 200 197,370 30,753,374.00 201.4 67,690 13,677,014.00SPC Power Corp. 4.3 170,000 818,170.00 Splash Corporation 1.7 1,303,800 4,655,180.00 1.66 727,000 1,200,010.00Swift Foods, Inc. 0.166 7,980,000 1,321,600.00 0.167 12,500,000 2,103,750.00TKC Steel Corp. 1.24 25,000 32,410.00 1.30 52,000 68,600.00Trans-Asia Oil 2.25 11,047,000 23,661,060.00 2.17 691,481,200 18,852,100.00Universal Robina 219.4 11,810,090 2,575,873,602.00 216 13,467,420 2,938,946,606.00Victorias Milling 4.5 217,000 978,750.00 4.47 903,000 4,048,220.00Vitarich Corp. 0.67 4,980,000 3,264,770.00 0.67 3,572,000 2,419,010.00Vivant Corp. 21.00 1,200 25,220.00 Vulcan Ind’l. 1.42 117,000 167,300.00 1.46 1,451,000 2,094,460.00

HOLDING FIRMSAbacus Cons. `A’ 0.470 1,635,000 775,800.00 0.470 560,000 259,000.00Aboitiz Equity 58.00 4,986,350 287,039,604.00 58.50 6,539,250 374,414,501.00Alliance Global Inc. 26.20 44,811,600 1,119,525,720.00 25.55 53,868,000 1,408,335,175.00Anglo Holdings A 1.35 65,000 87,750.00 1.35 135,000 177,480.00Anscor `A’ 7.12 176,100 1,248,583.00 7.10 125,500 880,922.00Asia Amalgamated A 1.62 71,000 112,580.00 1.60 156,000 259,750.00ATN Holdings A 0.27 2,350,000 625,750.00 0.28 6,540,000 1,804,350.00ATN Holdings B 0.27 520,000 141,050.00 0.28 1,340,000 364,300.00Ayala Corp `A’ 795 2,545,900 1,979,533,340.00 793 2,052,843 2,253,084,330.00Cosco Capital 8.2 10,091,100 82,053,913.00 8.17 19,490,000 165,764,809.00DMCI Holdings 14.60 72,933,400 1,056,237,574.00 15.40 39,386,700 606,808,969.00F&J Prince ‘A’ 3.01 49,000 147,490.00 3.15 11,000 34,650.00F&J Prince ‘B’ 3.83 28,000 97,330.00 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.40 285,000 1,236,090.00 4.47 242,000 1,083,940.00Forum Pacific 0.295 12,970,000 3,711,800.00 0.300 4,360,000 1,351,900.00GT Capital 1338 1,434,550 1,822,463,485.00 1296 2,289,430 3,061,501,365.00House of Inv. 6.12 26,100 159,740.00 6.12 2,050,000 12,566,620.00JG Summit Holdings 72.65 10,885,320 780,525,067.00 72.65 15,901,620 1,151,669,020.00Keppel Holdings `A’ 5.16 1,100 5,982.00 Keppel Holdings `B’ 8.76 5,261,100 41,414,196.00 8.86 13,370,400 118,029,300.00Lopez Holdings Corp. 0.79 8,360,000 6,724,620.00 0.79 5,800,000 4,523,090.00Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 15.28 28,606,800 438,811,092.00 16.08 29,336,900 473,357,730.00Mabuhay Holdings `A’ 0.67 536,000 346,030.00 0.64 3,057,000 1,926,520.00Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 4.7 138,202,000 655,883,230.00 4.88 157,166,000 673,841,782.00Minerales Industrias Corp. 5.05 450,300 2,271,375.00 5.1 500,000 2,572,000.00MJCI Investments Inc. 3.48 15,000 50,740.00 3.4 5,000 16,970.00Pacifica `A’ 0.0400 9,100,000 362,300.00 0.0400 12,700,000 508,200.00Prime Media Hldg 1.680 424,000 641,590.00 1.360 2,000 2,720.00Prime Orion 0.930 70,549,000 64,561,690.00 0.770 4,909,000 3,789,790.00Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.42 34,000 85,070.00 2.44 49,000 119,910.00San Miguel Corp `A’ 68.00 1,937,260 133,334,981.00 69.40 4,293,380 302,060,630.00Seafront `A’ 2.92 70,000 204,410.00 2.83 13,000 36,790.00SM Investments Inc. 930.00 1,363,040 1,246,630,680.00 931.00 1,447,880 1,351,557,800.00Solid Group Inc. 1.20 264,001 324,050.00 1.22 304,000 366,310.00South China Res. Inc. 0.89 299,000 258,100.00 0.86 657,000 583,410.00Top Frontier 100.00 33,180 3,317,753.00 101.40 50,930 5,251,505.00Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.3800 24,770,000 9,533,950.00 0.3850 24,720,000 9,593,000.00Wellex Industries 0.2210 9,740,000 2,155,140.00 0.2350 1,380,000 321,790.00Zeus Holdings 0.320 1,190,000 372,850.00 0.315 2,030,000 641,750.00

APRIL 20-24, 2015 APRIL 13-17, 2015 STOCKS Close Volume Value Close Volume Value

P R O P E R T Y8990 HLDG 8.900 12,395,000 109,174,287.00 8.750 4,898,500 43,706,643.00Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 10.68 48,000 468,781.00 10.94 4,500 45,828.00A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.82 3,820,000 3,170,490.00 0.85 3,134,000 2,710,320.00Araneta Prop `A’ 1.300 634,000 819,850.00 1.300 220,000 286,230.00Arthaland Corp. 0.265 2,770,000 694,350.00 0.250 1,110,000 275,750.00Ayala Land `B’ 39.60 59,451,800 2,355,385,165.00 40.00 53,281,700 2,132,512,065.00Belle Corp. `A’ 4.03 13,690,700 58,923,150.00 4.2 19,197,000 82,437,790.00Cebu Holdings 5.23 589,600 3,050,724.00 5.2 1,366,100 7,054,012.00Cebu Prop. `A’ 6.49 1,500 9,735.00 6.48 800 5,184.00Centennial City 0.92 23,951,000 22,021,630.00 0.92 23,916,000 22,260,390.00City & Land Dev. 1.22 759,000 981,510.00 1.20 375,000 450,200.00Cityland Dev. `A’ 1.04 390,000 403,370.00 1.01 410,000 416,430.00Crown Equities Inc. 0.158 94,220,000 14,658,230.00 0.160 111,060,000 17,743,960.00Cyber Bay Corp. 0.460 12,060,000 5,632,650.00 0.455 1,520,000 688,300.00Empire East Land 0.900 371,000 326,500.00 0.900 39,000 34,340.00Ever Gotesco 0.182 1,200,000 230,990.00 0.195 1,860,000 357,870.00Global-Estate 1.39 10,132,000 14,176,780.00 1.40 36,632,000 53,561,980.00Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.86 176,668,000 321,257,680.00 1.89 205,947,000 399,943,280.00Interport `A’ 1.40 5,080,000 7,142,380.00 1.46 1,011,000 1,444,800.00Megaworld Corp. 5.5 161,709,900 878,231,623.00 5.33 209,121,000 1,136,833,327.00Megaworld Prop. 5.3 22,872,400 121,936,865.00 5.49 131,590,800 721,621,510.00MRC Allied Ind. 0.122 11,880,000 1,454,110.00 0.125 21,180,000 2,719,840.00Phil. Estates Corp. 0.3450 3,460,000 1,161,350.00 0.3500 1,280,000 436,200.00Phil. Realty `A’ 0.5200 2,337,000 1,125,430.00 0.5100 2,442,000 1,209,840.00Primex Corp. 7 1,983,500 14,057,183.00 7.29 2,837,800 21,575,758.00Robinson’s Land `B’ 29.90 19,592,300 582,773,970.00 29.20 31,044,700 901,943,805.00Rockwell 1.76 1,257,000 2,204,740.00 1.76 1,471,000 2,592,640.00Shang Properties Inc. 3.20 328,000 1,056,430.00 3.25 693,000 2,207,630.00SM Prime Holdings 19.84 164,467,300 3,201,490,390.00 19.80 75,847,200 1,516,309,780.00Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.77 5,180,000 4,066,920.00 0.8 15,676,000 12,549,510.00Starmalls 7.24 696,900 4,882,008.00 7.22 14,389,900 109,152,250.00Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 1.040 1,110,000 1,129,330.00 1.070 826,000 863,130.00Vista Land & Lifescapes 7.590 51,914,800 402,421,182.00 7.970 35,135,900 278,855,549.00

S E R V I C E S2GO Group 6.77 1,338,000 9,174,187.00 6.5 671,000 4,445,845.00ABS-CBN 60.9 119,450 7,284,688.00 61.4 163,770 10,242,022.00Acesite Hotel 1.08 1,185,000 1,281,960.00 1.05 352,000 385,000.00APC Group, Inc. 0.680 5,443,000 3,694,520.00 0.690 5,085,000 3,517,140.00Asian Terminals Inc. 13.96 44,700 561,882.00 13.5 128,300 1,746,680.00Bloomberry 11.60 72,881,100 827,321,324.00 11.80 98,134,200 1,158,410,394.00Boulevard Holdings 0.1050 343,580,000 37,190,330.00 0.1120 115,080,000 13,057,210.00Calata Corp. 4.5 10,065,000 40,001,050.00 3.3 3,364,000 11,507,470.00Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 81.95 2,256,589 184,512,241.00 81 6,211,180 516,923,347.00Centro Esc. Univ. 10.18 9,300 94,674.00 10.06 10,400 104,592.00Discovery World 1.7 7,000 12,000 1.83 21,000 36,090DFNN Inc. 6.95 310,900 2,171,804.00 7.00 890,200 6,101,354.00FEUI 995 5,420 5,239,530.00 995 2,775 2,951,475.00Globe Telecom 2262 359,715 789,934,310.00 2240 259,975 579,208,650.00GMA Network Inc. 6.25 1,539,000 9,681,169.00 6.50 800,600 5,202,306.00Harbor Star 1.47 2,318,000 3,322,890.00 1.48 1,642,000 2,490,600.00I.C.T.S.I. 110 10,276,240 1,098,984,988.00 106.7 12,270,920 1,318,995,923.00Imperial Res. `A’ 7.90 9,300 73,470 8.00 82,400 696,800IPeople Inc. `A’ 11.9 52,200 623,862.00 11.96 28,600 340,416.00IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.013 739,400,000 9,070,100.00 0.015 459,200,000 6,553,900.00Island Info 0.260 115,100,000 28,473,670.00 0.229 25,340,000 5,807,270.00ISM Communications 1.2600 1,201,000 1,519,670.00 1.2700 751,000 941,970.00Jackstones 2.54 971,000 2,505,540.00 2.81 230,000 615,680.00Leisure & Resorts 8.85 2,831,700 24,447,675.00 8.59 3,322,400 28,769,698.00Liberty Telecom 2.02 43,000 86,570.00 2.03 93,600 216,990.00Lorenzo Shipping 1.29 578,000 790,090.00 1.3 345,000 460,150.00Macroasia Corp. 2.29 1,783,000 4,047,630.00 2.25 6,000 12,780.00Manila Broadcasting 4.00 2,000 8,600.00 3.12 1,000 3,120.00Manila Bulletin 0.660 1,585,000 1,045,310.00 0.690 162,000 110,860.00Manila Jockey 2.05 914,000 1,820,760.00 2 1,759,000 3,504,040.00Melco Crown 9.27 16,781,900 160,639,533.00 9.93 49,896,800 514,121,636.00MG Holdings 0.370 1,010,000 365,250.00 0.370 2,080,000 751,200.00Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 18.44 18,700 344,140.00 18.74 52,900 981,838.00PAL Holdings Inc. 4.50 84,000 377,960 4.55 152,000 682,800Paxys Inc. 3.01 31,000 93,830.00 3 15,500 438,710.00Phil. Racing Club 9.01 500 4,505.00 9.2 17,400 158,580.00Phil. Seven Corp. 113.00 804,900 90,146,100.00 110.00 160,930 17,707,978.00Philweb.Com Inc. 14.70 1,009,100 14,696,616.00 14.48 1,808,500 23,049,296.00PLDT Common 2900.00 525,140 1,520,482,050.00 2912.00 1,016,560 2,960,971,750.00PremiereHorizon 0.620 27,573,000 16,819,770.00 0.610 10,178,000 6,183,150.00Premium Leisure 1.570 138,917,000 218,179,680.00 1.590 69,461,000 114,008,500.00Puregold 40.10 12,603,100 496,268,405.00 39.30 11,723,700 1,231,597,220.00Robinsons Retail 86.95 5,729,770 486,414,027.00 84.00 9,728,040 752,681,224.00SSI Group 10.70 43,250,200 449,099,349.00 9.80 29,991,400 297,092,598.00STI Holdings 0.68 1,841,200 6,639,598.00 0.67 11,149,000 7,370,940.00Transpacific Broadcast 1.98 59,000 109,750.00 1.89 8,000 15,020.00Travellers 6.84 6,873,500 45,802,607.00 6.4 7,961,300 52,389,098.00Waterfront Phils. 0.350 2,260,000 766,750.00 0.350 1,200,000 410,850.00Yehey 1.440 246,000 320,940.00 1.310 77,000 102,400.00

MINING & OILAbra Mining 0.0056 850,000,000 4,685,300.00 0.0058 3,235,000,000 18,553,900.00Apex `A’ 2.66 45,000 119,700.00 2.73 219,000 589,710.00Atlas Cons. `A’ 8.12 2,035,100 16,402,777.00 8.03 3,001,600 24,740,043.00Atok-Big Wedge `A’ 15.98 65,500 951,348.00 11.10 600 6,590.00Basic Energy Corp. 0.255 690,000 175,950.00 0.260 780,000 202,000.00Benguet Corp `A’ 7.0000 436,100 3,072,060.00 6.9800 139,500 964,596.00Benguet Corp `B’ 6.8000 48,400 334,307.00 6.5000 40,400 277,868.00Century Peak Metals Hldgs 1.04 2,376,000 2,499,690.00 1.07 2,387,000 2,557,790.00Coal Asia 0.89 5,194,000 4,614,820.00 0.9 2,396,000 2,170,290.00Dizon 8.01 145,200 1,165,884.00 8.00 177,900 1,406,674.00Ferronickel 2.05 229,175,000 463,986,270.00 1.9 74,737,000 148,359,530.00Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.380 12,010,000 4,500,300.00 0.375 87,860,000 37,446,500.00Lepanto `A’ 0.235 24,110,000 5,570,650.00 0.231 51,330,000 12,087,320.00Lepanto `B’ 0.243 2,030,000 485,580.00 0.243 6,420,000 1,566,100.00Manila Mining `A’ 0.0150 169,300,000 2,413,000.00 0.0140 241,600,000 3,382,500.00Manila Mining `B’ 0.0150 248,400,000 3,674,000.00 0.0150 2,300,000 34,300.00Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 4.25 4,056,000 16,998,350.00 4.23 6,053,000 26,144,060.00Nickelasia 20.8 15,734,900 316,965,140.00 19.2 50,450,800 1,021,029,736.00Nihao Mineral Resources 3.7 4,910,000 18,566,580.00 3.75 17,851,000 66,520,030.00Omico 0.7200 620,000 449,150.00 0.7300 2,625,000 1,896,220.00Oriental Peninsula Res. 2.080 2,070,000 4,339,330.00 2.100 3,122,000 6,552,550.00Oriental Pet. `A’ 0.0130 17,000,000 204,600.00 0.0130 111,500,000 1,379,100.00Petroenergy Res. Corp. 5.20 886,500 4,703,660.00 5.50 98,300 548,238.00Philex `A’ 7.3 11,237,000 81,013,465.00 6.37 7,297,800 48,660,080.00PhilexPetroleum 1.96 3,389,000 6,749,530.00 1.95 5,776,000 11,716,660.00Philodrill Corp. `A’ 0.016 241,400,000 3,634,200.00 0.016 388,500,000 5,914,800.00Semirara Corp. 166.00 2,535,680 412,500,196.00 159.40 3,067,250 499,710,654.00TA Petroleum 4.64 1,971,000 8,713,580.00 4.11 374,000 1,554,510.00United Paragon 0.0100 73,400,000 767,600.00 0.0110 39,100,000 413,900.00

PREFERREDABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 60.7 963,360 59,901,148.00 62.4 3,737,710 237,651,512.00Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ 510.5 16,750 8,677,495.00 522.5 5,880 3,030,230.00Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ 522 16,640 8,668,110 522 9,440 4,939,820First Gen F 120 45,190 5,382,893.00 First Gen G 119 143,390 16,935,309.00 116 22,500 2,610,000.00GLOBE PREF P 510.5 27,180 14,048,690.00 511 6,270 3,205,475.00GMA Holdings Inc. 6.1 138,300 854,541.00 6.3 85,600 542,347.00Leisure & Resort Pref. 1.09 477,000 510,830 1.08 2,279,000 2,455,330MWIDE PREF 110 71,680 7,955,670.00 111 287,250 31,330,540.00PCOR-Preferred A 1139 200 220,400.00 1060 2,340 2,503,800.00PCOR-Preferred B 1095 6,000 6,594,800.00 1100 1,915 2,098,800.00PF Pref 2 1045 15,240 15,919,915.00 1050 17,285 18,088,635.00SMC Preferred A 75.95 662,700 50,424,369.00 76.35 697,720 53,085,874.00SMC Preferred B 83 86,510 7,048,080.00 83 83 14,400.00SMC Preferred C 85.5 156,680 13,375,695.00 85.45 500,510 42,388,759.00Swift Pref 1.96 1,000 1,960.00 3.11 73,000 229,110.00

WARRANTS & BONDSLeisure & Resort Warr. 3.900 850,000 3,310,360.00 3.960 1,312,000 5,319,680.00Megaworld Corp. Warrants2 3.54 5,000 17,700.00 3.53 1,000 3,530.00

S M EDouble Dragon 8.95 5,942,500 53,104,389.00 9.1 14,509,300 129,642,630.00Makati Fin. Corp. 8.49 160,300 1,278,942.00 6.9 234,900 1,541,878.00Ripple E-Business Intl 73 9,610 694,958.00 72.85 3,330 240,536.00Xurpas 9.15 15,141,700 125,427,743.00 9.02 7,310,700 67,892,866.00

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDSFirst Metro ETF 128.8 117,500 15,047,014.00 128.8 358,770 46,702,355.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS VOLUME

Abra Mining 850,000,000IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 739,400,000Boulevard Holdings 343,580,000Manila Mining `B’ 248,400,000Philodrill Corp. `A’ 241,400,000Ferronickel 229,175,000Filinvest Land,Inc. 176,668,000Manila Mining `A’ 169,300,000SM Prime Holdings 164,467,300Megaworld Corp. 161,709,900

STOCKS VALUE

SM Prime Holdings 3,201,490,390.00Universal Robina 2,575,873,602.00Ayala Land `B’ 2,355,385,165.00Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 2,236,828,174.00Metrobank 2,222,316,552.00Ayala Corp `A’ 1,979,533,340.00GT Capital 1,822,463,485.00DNL Industries Inc. 1,541,301,048.00PLDT Common 1,520,482,050.00SM Investments Inc. 1,246,630,680.00

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESSMONDAY: APRIL 27, 2015

B3

DoubleDragon raising P5b

Ongpin’s loss is Injap’s gain

Market expected to trade sidewaysBy Jenniffer B. AustriaSTOCKS are expected to trade sideways this week, or until clearer catalysts emerge to support aggressive buying.

Analysts said investors were staying on the sidelines and might await the release of first-quarter earnings of listed companies to provide them with guidance and outlook for the rest of the year.

“We expect the local equities market to trade between 7,850 and 8,030 with an upward bias as companies start to announce first-quarter results. We are expecting a mostly positive performance from the corporates, as they benefit from the sustained low oil prices and

low interest environment,” BPI Asset Management said in its weekly outlook.

BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said he expected the market to continue to test the 8000 to 8,130 levels.

Ravelas, however, said a close below 7,800 points could signal further losses towards the 7,500 mark.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed on a flat note last week, with the index settling at 7,947.25, up only by 0.005 percent from a weak earlier while the all-share index gained 0.23 percent to 4,547.12.

The index dropped to as low as 7776.71 on Friday, before bargain hunting ensued in the latter part

of the trading week.“The drop was driven by the

weakness in foreign markets and the anticipation over first -quarter earnings results, which caused investors to stay in the sidelines,” Ravelas said.

The financial, holding firms and property indices ended lower last week, down by 0.48 percent, 0.27 percent and 0.57 percent, respectively.

The industrial, services and mining and oil indices, closed higher by 0.22 percent, 0.56 percent and 4.89 percent, respectively.

Foreign transactions were also flat, as total foreign buying reached P33.8 billion while total foreign selling amounted to P33.71 billion.

Top brokers. More than 200 brokers from the top real estate developers in the country were recognized by the United Coconut Planters Bank during the 2015 UCPB Real Estate Brokers’ Night at the Blue Leaf Event Pavilion in Mckinley Hill, Taguig City. Shown receiving the top award is DMCI broker Aiko Hombrebuano (center) who was given a ceremonial key to her brand new Toyota Wigo.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp., a joint venture of Mang Inasal founder Edgar Sia II and Jollibee Foods Corp. chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, plans to raise another P5 billion from the debt market to finance the rapid ex-pansion of community mall developments.

DoubleDragon chief investment officer Marianna Yulo said in an interview at the sidelines of the Asia Finance Summit forum the com-pany expected to complete the fund raising activity within the first half of the year.

No other details were provided, including the terms and condi-tions of the corporate bond sale.

“We are raising another P5 billion this year for the CityMall rollout. Hopefully, we will close it within the first half of the year for the construc-tion of new malls,” Yulo said.

DoubleDragon raised P7.4 bil-lion last year from the issuance of seven-year fixed-rate notes.

Yulo said the company pre-ferred to raise funds through the debt market, instead of the equities market, as the future valuation of the company’s shares would significantly increase once it completed the community malls as well as office and real es-tate developments.

“But eventually, to create li-quidity once we move to the big board, and to get more foreign funds interested, we need to do something in the [equities] mar-

ket,” Yulo said.DoubleDragon is set to com-

plete the construction of 25 City-Mall projects this year.

DoubleDragon through com-munity shopping mall unit City-Mall Commercial Centers Inc. plans to have a chain of 100 com-munity malls, mostly in the Vi-sayas and Mindanao by 2020.

It is also set to open Dragon 8 Shopping Center in Divisoria, Manila in June this year.

DoubleDragon, which was list-ed with the Philippine Stock Ex-change in 2014, is also developing a 33.4-hectare property located at the corner of Edsa and Maca-pagal Avenue in Pasay City into a mixed-use development.

The project to be called Merid-ian Park is envisioned to become a themed complex of buildings for business process outsourc-ing companies, corporate offices, commercial complex and ser-viced apartments.

AFTER a one-year hiatus, Marianna Yulo, the beauty and brains behind high-end property developer Alphaland Corp., has resurfaced in the business community, this time as chief investment officer of fast-rising property firm DoubleDragon Properties Corp.

In a chance encounter at the recent Asia Finance Summit, Yulo, who had served as chief finance officer and treasurer of Alphaland Corp., formerly owned by businessman Roberto Ongpin and British pension fund Ashmore group, revealed that she had been lured back into the industry by no less than DoubleDragon co-chairman Edgar “Injap” Sia II.

While initially planning to go overseas for further studies, Yulo said she was handpicked by Injap to join DoubleDragon in March.

Yulo actually had the chance to work with Sia before, under the Philippine Bank of Communications where Sia served as a board director while she worked as an assistant to the chairman.

Despite leaving Alphaland, Yulo has maintained close relationship with Ongpin’s daughter Michelle who was seated beside her during the finance summit. Jenniffer B. Austria

Why MRT 3 queues get longerThe long queues at Metro Rail Transit Line 3 are not expected to

disappear soon, as the temporary maintenance provider had to confront not only the daily glitches and technical problems along the 16.9-kilometer line, but also some internal management issues.

The joint venture of Global Epcom Services and Autre Porte Technique had split. Documents show that APT personnel were barred from entering MRT 3 premises during the Holy Week, after APT sent a notification to its joint venture partner Global-EPCom Services Inc. of its intent to end the joint venture.

With the urgent need to improve the maintenance of the 16.9-kilometer Edsa line that serves nearly 600,000 rides daily, the MRT 3 management decided to choose a new provider and ordered a negotiated procurement for short-term maintenance of the rolling stocks and depot equipment for six months, with an approved budget for the contract of P130 million, which was later raised to P149 million. The negotiated procurement, however, took longer than usual.

The bids and awards committee announced in March that the joint venture of Schunk Bahn-und Industrietechnik GmbH and Comm Builders & Technology Phils. Corp. was the lowest bidder, with an offer of P123.986 million, for the six-month contract, beating Inekon’s offer of P128 million.

The lowest bidder, however, was disqualified for “failure to submit the required delinquency verification certificate from the concerned government office on March 26.” The BAC then announced a new contract, expanding the scope of work to include signaling systems and raising the ABC to P149 million. A pre-negotiation conference was held on April 15, 2015.

This time, Inekon reportedly offered P128 million, a “nuisance bid”, according to its rivals, considering that it was lower than its earlier offer and given the expanded scope of work.

The BAC was supposed to open the eligibility and technical documents on April 17. This did not happen, and some quarters were now speculating the delay would help Inekon to accomplish all the documents required. DOTC spokesman Michael Arthur Sagcal was clueless on the issue, saying he had “no idea was this is.”

“So far, no GPPB [Government Procurement Policy Board] approval yet on whether we can pursue the emergency mode for the maintenance contract,” Sagcal said. Roderick T. dela Cruz

Ayala Land’s new poster boyAntonino Aquino may no longer be the president and chief executive

of property developer Ayala Land Inc., after he retired last year at the age of 66, but he remains very active in the company, lending support especially during the international roadshows the company holds to attract OFWs and foreign investors alike.

MST Chatter learned that Aquino has been one of the company’s main speakers during recent roadshows in Australia and other Asian countries. Sources said Aquino was a very effective and convincing speaker, not only because of his vast knowledge about Ayala Land and wisdom about the domestic real estate industry, but also because most of Asian investors usually trusted and respected “older people”.

Unfortunately, Aquino was not available during a recent roadshow in Japan conducted by Alveo Land, the high-end residential unit of Ayala Land. Japan is one of the countries in Asia that gives high regard to older people.

In Aquino’s place, the still very young Alveo Land division manager for project development Anton Sanchez was designated the main speaker. To look older for the Japan roadshow, Sanchez said he did not shave for several days and grew his beard longer. Jenniffer B. Austria

BUSINESSB4

Mindoro drilling set to begin

Mactan export zone seeks expansionSGS appoints newmanaging director

Grow Asia. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (sixth from left) joins hands with other food and agriculture leaders and key stakeholders during the closing program of the Grow Asia Agriculture Forum in Pullman Hotel Jakarta in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 19, 2015. Alcala announced the formation of the Philippine Partnership on Sustainable Agriculture, as part of Grow Asia, an annual adjunct event of the World Economic Forum on East Asia that aims to provide a venue for multi-stakeholder partnership and actions in support of national and regional agriculture development priorities of Asian economies.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

RENEWABLE energy company Emerging Power Inc. has tapped Iceland Drilling Corp. to start drilling works for the $185-million Montelago geothermal power project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro in July.

“We are tapping IDC to ensure a technically supe-rior work in our 40-megawatt geothermal project in Orien-tal Mindoro,” said Emerging Power chairman and Nickel Asia senior vice president of marketing and strategic plan-ning Martin Antonio Zamora.

Nickel Asia has ventured into renewable energy through Emerging Power. Nickel Asia,

which is listed at the stock market, recently announced it was exercising its option to convert a loan extended to Emerging Power for a control-ling stake in the firm.

Emerging Power and Ice-land Drilling signed an agree-ment on April 20 involving the drilling of at least two wells up to a maximum of 12 wells to produce 40 MW for the Mon-

telago geothermal plant.Founded in 1986, Iceland

Drilling has gained a domi-nant share in the Icelandic market through years of suc-cessful work in Iceland’s major power companies.

It has numerous internation-al drilling operations in Faeroe Islands, England, Portugal, Hungary, Bavaria, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

“With the signing of the contract, IDC will now be in-volved with Emerging Power to ensure the readiness of the site for the arrival and assem-bly of the drilling equipment. Drilling of the first exploration well is expected to commence on July 15, 2015,” Zamora said.

Iceland Drilling will use a Geysir Drillmec HH-20SS equipment -- a trailer mount-ed, fast moving, automatic, hydraulic rotary drilling rig with a drilling depth capabil-ity of 4,000 meters. The heavy-equipment has been previously used in a geothermal drilling project in Biliran.

Emerging Power chose Ice-land Drilling following a com-prehensive six-month selec-tion process.

Emerging Power said it awarded the drilling contract to Iceland Drilling because its rig’s technical capabil-ity matched Emerging Power’s drilling plan requirements, its competitive pricing plan and

payment terms, the availabil-ity and proximity of drilling equipment which are stationed in-country and its drilling ex-perience in the Philippines.

The awarding of the drilling contract came after Emerging Power conducted a success-ful exploration drilling of its well pads in Oriental Mindoro which were found to be ca-pable of producing 40 MW by 2016.

Nickel Asia earlier disclosed that its board of directors had approved the conversion of its one-year P446-million loan to equity in Emerging Power, which translates into a 55-per-cent ownership in Emerging Power.

By Othel V.Campos

THE Mactan Export Processing Zone is seeking to expand its current site for manufacturing, amid the increased demand for space among existing and new locators.

“The challenge now is that we don’t have available space [for manufacturing]. We need additional area. There’s a vacant lot beside MEPZ 3, an airport property. We are now negotiating with them,” said MEPZ administrator Sansaluna Pinagayao.

The zone is currently renting a 30-hectare property from the Mactan International Airport Authority and plans to rent

another 30 hectares.“Our proposal is we will

manage for them. We will manage and operate the airport property for at least 25 years. We’ll just collect management fee. We are also planning to develop the site by ourselves,” Pinagayao said.

He said the MEPZ had no more space for expanding manufacturing companies and could not accommodate new locators.

Pinagayao said many companies preferred to locate within MEPZ because the cost of doing business in Cebu was lower compared to Manila.

It takes only 10 to 15 minutes to transport goods

from the zone to the ports at a cost that is 15-percent cheaper, he said.

MEPZ currently has three zones that are all fully-occupied.

The Board of Investments earlier said the manufacturing sector was going through a period renaissance as many companies turned to the Philippines, after China raised the cost of doing business there.

Under the manufacturing resurgence program of the Trade Department, the manufacturing sector will take center stage in 2015 following a the successful implementation of the manufacturing resurgence plan in 2014.

SGS has appointed Ariel Miranda as the new managing director in the Philippines.

SGS East Asia region chief operating officer Dennis Yang said Miranda’s appointment became effective on April 20, 2015.

Miranda brings with him 23 years of experience in the SGS Group. Previous to his new role, he was the managing director of SGS Bangladesh for the last six years.

SGS in the Philippines provides quality assurance assistance to both Philippine businesses and multinational corporations operating in the country through its services in the industries and sectors.

These sectors include agriculture and food, automotive, chemical, construction, consumer goods and retail, energy, finance, industrial manufacturing, life science, logistics, mining, oil and gas, public sector, environment, health and safety, risk management, sustainability and trade.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company.

With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.

business@thestandard.com.phextrastory2000@gmail.com

M O N D AY : A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

BUSINESS B5Alsonsbuildinghydroprojects

Villar discloses plan to list All Home in stock exchange

GDP likely expanded7.3% in Q1—Moody’s

UnionBank’s award. Corporate

Governance Asia awarded Union Bank

of the Philippines as one of the

Philippines’ Best Investor Relations

companies during the 5th Asian Excellence Recognition Awards 2015 at JW Marriott

Hotel, Hong Kong. UnionBank was

also named one of the most promising

companies on corporate governance

in 2013 and 2014 by the same award

giving body. Receiving the award are

UnionBank treasurer Jesus Roberto Reyes (left) and center for

strategic partnerships head Genaro Lapez

(center) from Aldrin Monsod of Corporate

Governance Asia (right).

By Julito G. Rada

THE Philippine economy likely grew 7.3 per-cent in the first quarter of 2015, faster than the 6.9-percent expansion seen in the first quarter, driven largely by higher infrastruc-ture and government spending, Moody’s Ana-lytics, a division of Moody’s Corp., said in a report over the weekend.

The Moody’s growth estimate was also significantly higher than the actual GDP growth of 5.6 percent in the first quarter last year, when the economy still felt the devastating effects of ty-phoon Yolanda that hit the Vi-sayas in November 2013.

“GDP growth in the Philip-

pines likely ticked up a notch in the March quarter after the De-cember quarter’s 7 percent year-on-year. Higher infrastructure investment and government spending, alongside robust domestic demand, make the Philippines one of Asia’s stron-gest performing economies,”

Moody’s said.It said electronics, which ac-

counted for half of the nation’s exports, improved through the first quarter, thanks to increased US tech demand.

The International Monetary Fund earlier said it was expect-ing a stronger economic growth in the first quarter this year, compared to the same period last year mainly on higher gov-ernment spending and strong private construction.

IMF resident representative to the Philippines Shanaka Pei-ris said the robust expansion in the last quarter of 2014 could be carried over to the first quarter this year.

“Economic growth is ex-pected to rise to 6.7 percent in

2015 due to lower commodity prices, higher public spending, and continued strong private construction,” Peiris said in an e-mailed message.

“Therefore, we expect growth in the first quarter of 2015 to be stronger than last year, sus-taining the growth momentum from the fourth quarter of last year,” Peiris said.

Fourth-quarter GDP expanded by 6.9 percent as all three major productive sectors, including ag-riculture, industry and services sectors showed positive and ro-bust growth during the period.

The robust fourth-quarter growth brought the 2014 GDP expansion to 6.1 percent, lower than the 7.2-percent growth in 2013.

By Jenniffer B. AustriaBUSINESSMAN Manuel Villar has disclosed a plan to expand his newly formed retail business, with the goal of listing the com-pany within the next three years.

Villar disclosed the plan in an interview during the opening of the eighth branch of All Home, a one-stop shop for home construc-tion, renovation and decoration needs. He said the group planned to open six to eight All Home stores over the next three to five years.

Villar said the plan was to list All Home with the Philippine Stock Exchange, once the store count reached 30 to 40.

The eighth branch located in

Sta. Rosa, Laguna occupies 10,500 square meters of space including construction materials, furni-tures, appliances and furnishings.

Four more outlets, including one in Imus and another one in Las Pinas, are slated to open this year. The group expects to end 2015 with a total of 12 stores.

Two All Home existing stores, located in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan and San Fernando, Pam-panga, are also being expanded from the existing size of 3,000 square meters to 9,000 square meters.

Villar said group would also bring the All Home outside Lu-zon starting next year. Among the future sites being considered are Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

ALSONS Consolidated Re-sources Inc., the power arm of the Alcantara Group, expects to build 164 megawatts of capacity from greenfield renewable ener-gy projects, a top executive said over the weekend.

“Right now, it really depends on service contracts that will be awarded to us. We have a total of around 94 MW spread out across four different sites. We have applied for around 70 MW more in other locations also in Mindanao. Our renew-able energy focus is hydro. I believe hydro is the most af-fordable,” Alsons vice presi-dent for power unit Joseph Nocos said.

Nocos said between solar and hydro-electric projects, hydro plants would be less challenging especially in determining long-term sustainability.

“Hydro has more proven technology and the resources is there. Solar is not as simple as putting up a solar panel wherever you want to put. You have to select the most viable location for solar. We do not have access to the expertise that will enable us to find that right sweet spot. In contrast, we have access to enough hy-dro expertise here in the coun-try that is actually helping us identify projects,” he said.

He said Alsons was spend-ing two years to decide on constructing a project. “We will spend those two years revalidating the feasibility of these resources. Once these are validated as feasible, then we proceed to make the nec-essary investment decisions that would hopefully lead to construction of project,” No-cos said.

PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. has successfully raised P7 billion from the sale of sev-en-year bonds amid strong de-mand from investors, according to one of the underwriters han-dling the transaction.

Reginal Cariaso, equity mar-kets head of BPI Capital Corp., one of the underwriters, said in a text message total demand reached P17 billion as of the end of the offer period on April 22.

Interest rate for the bonds due 2022 was set at 4.5 per annum. Issue date is on April 29.

Proceeds from the bond sale will be used to partially finance the company’s P100.3-billion programmed capital spending this year.

The company will spend the proceeds for the construction of

shopping malls, office buildings and hotels in Vertis North in Quezon City, Circuit Makati in Sta. Ana Makati and South Park District in Alabang.

Aside from BPI Capital, Ayala Land also tapped PNB Capi-tal, China Bank and Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corp. as the underwriters for the offering.

It also hired BDO Capital and Investments Corp. and First Metro Investments Corp. as co-lead managers for the offering.

The P7-billion bond sale rep-resents the second and final tranche of the P15-billion bond offering of Ayala Land which was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year.

Ayala Land sold P8 billion worth of bonds due 2025 at

5.6250 percent annum in 2014.Aside from the P7 billion

bond offering, Ayala Land also plans to issue another tranche of Homestarter Bonds worth as much as P2 billion in the second half of the year.

This will be the seventh tranche of Homestart Bonds that will be issued by Ayala Land since the program was launched in 2006.

Homestarter Bonds is pro-gram that aims to provide op-portunities for people to pur-chase real estate products. It is an interest-earning financial in-strument that primarily targets retail investors who wish to set aside funds that may be used as full or partial downpayment for the purchase of an Ayala Land property. Jenniffer B. Austria

Ayala Land completes P7-b bond sale

PLDT investing P1.3b in Clark business@manilastandardtoday.com

extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESSMONDAY: APRIL 27, 2015

B6

Splash clears P63-m dividend payout

Business lessons from the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise

REYNALDO C. LUGTU JR.

Green LiGht

BY NOW most of us have already seen “Furious 7,” the latest installment of the “Fast and Furious” film series that broke a global record by becoming the fastest film ever to hit the one billion-dollar mark at the box office, making it the seventh biggest film of all time. It is also one of the most successful and lucrative film franchises, with gross worldwide sales of $3.537 billion for the seven films with only $844 million budget, and average worldwide box office receipts of more than 40 percent.

Why is this film series so successful and what can businesses learn from it? Here are business lessons we can glean from the highly acclaimed franchise.

1. Specialize on a product that can be reused and repurposed.The veneer of “Fast and Furious” film series is all about street

racing, shiny and powerful cars, fights and explosions, and lovable criminals. But at the heart of it is the relationship between Brian (Walker) and Dom (Diesel); and the brotherhood and family among its crew members. These describe the “Fast and Furious” product platform that captured a cult audience in its initial installments but eventually reused and repurposed by the producers to come up with a winning series.

The reuse and repurpose concept is common in other businesses such as software versions and automobile models using the same chassis but different variants. This approach allows marketers and businessmen to learn from the earlier releases of the products to make better versions and variants in the future. The key is coming up with winning elements and features of a product that consumers will buy and patronize.

2. Know your target market or audience.The producers of the “Fast and Furious” series are obviously

targeting the gen-x and gen-y by packaging it with hip soundtracks, youthful and active characters, and adventurous lifestyle. They were not making the movie to be everything to everyone – a common pitfall among many brands and products.

The film series also targeted a wide range of cultures by casting different nationalities and tapping into Hispanic and Latino music, reaching and relating more to a wider audience globally.

3. Act fast and furiously.After the first movie installment in 2001, we have seen seven

sequels over a 14-year period. That’s one film every two years, making it one of the fastest releases among movie franchises. Apart from that, a team of producers, characters, writers, directors, and other support staff step in and out of production and furiously churning out one winning film after another.

The consistent product platform that can be reused and repurposed coupled with focused targeted market allow the movie franchise to swiftly assemble various teams to work on the next successful sequel.

4. Adjust when unforeseen situations happen. The untimely departure of Walker during the filming of “Furious 7”

necessitated completing his role with a combination of methods old and new. Apart from rewriting the script and soundtrack adjustments, a digitized version of Walker’s face was superimposed on the body of his two look-alike brothers.

Businesses face unforeseen circumstances such as a natural disaster, departure of a key personnel, or political shifts. But it’s crucial to have a back-up plan, a plan B, to mitigate potential risks.

5. Have a team that work well, very well together to execute.Producer Neil Moritz, when asked about a sequel after “Furious 7”

said, “Would we love to make another one? Sure, because we all like working together and we love the fact that we have characters that people love, a world that’s been created.”

On and off screen, the cast of “Fast and Furious” truly treat each other as family, especially between main characters Walker and Diesel. Both display a chemistry that viewers love because they are best friends off the screen. I will talk about this concept of “clicking” together as a couple, may it be in business and personal life, in my next article to describe its value in running a business or achieving a goal. But the key here is having a team that works well together to execute a plan.

Reynaldo C. Lugtu Jr. teaches management courses in the MBA Program of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, De La Salle University. He may be e-mailed at rlugtu2002@yahoo.com, or visit his blog at http://rlugtu.blogspot.com.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty and its administrators

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. said wholly-owned unit ePLDT is investing P1.3 billion to build a new data center in Clark Special Economic and Freeport Zone in Pampanga, its fifth facility under the Vitro Data Center line.

PLDT said together with the three data centers operated by ePLDT subsidiary IP Converge Data Services, the group would now have eight data centers with rack capacity of over 8,000, making it the largest in the country.

PLDT said the continued expansion in data center facilities was part of its commitment in creating the nation’s digital infrastructure.

Located in the heart of the Clark ecozone, Vitro Clark, once fully operational, will cater to the region’s

thriving business communities and planned IT hubs in Central Luzon that could also serve the disaster recovery requirements for other businesses elsewhere.

The construction of the Vitro Clark facility will boost the growth of ICT-demanding industries in the area like business process outsourcing, outsourcing and offshoring and retail.

“This new data center will be compliant to global standards with enough rack space to accommodate the production

requirements of the enterprises based here in Luzon, as well as the disaster recovery requirements of those based elsewhere,” said PLDT executive vice president and ePLDT president and chief executive Eric Alberto.

“We are confident that the PLDT Group will again make our mark in Philippine ICT history,” said Alberto.

“We are not doing this just for the prestige of becoming the largest data center operator in the country. We are doing this because we want to enable local enterprises to compete in the global arena and help fulfill our country’s destiny to become the next Asian Economic Tiger,” he said.

Adding an additional 1,230 rack capacity to the PLDT Group, the five-story building will have eight level access security control and redundant infrastructures to ensure highest uptime service level.

Apec dialogue. Philippine representatives welcome the delegates of the 22nd meeting of the APEC Automotive Dialogue held at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Ayala Center, Makati City on April 22 to 24. More than 140 participants from government and private sector of 12 member economies attended the forum. Shown are (from left) Trade assistant secretary Ceferino Rodolfo, Philippine Automotive Federation president Vicente Mills Jr., Board of Investments supervising director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa, Undersecretary Ferdinand Cui Jr. and BOI heavy industries division chief Amelito Umali.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE board of Splash Corp. has approved a P63-million dividend payout to its stockholders.

“The board of directors of Splash has approved management’s recommendation to pay stockholders of record as of May 11, 2015 a cash dividend of P0.10 per share, an estimated total amount of P63 million,” Splash said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

The company’s board also approved a share buyback program that will amount to P100 million.

Splash said the cash dividend and share buy back would be funded by cash flow from operations, which had significantly improved over the

last 15 months and the remaining proceeds from the sale of a non-core asset.

Splash posted a net income of P49 million in the first quarter, which “had already exceeded the net income for the whole year of 2014 by more than four times.”

Sales in the first quarter rose 15 percent to P957 million from P832 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Operating income in the first quarter also went up by 36 percent to P58 million from P43 million in the same period of 2014.

Splash, meanwhile, said that by pursuing efficiencies in all aspects of its business, operating income grew 153 percent to P47 million for the full year 2014 from P19 million in 2013.

Sales in 2014 reached P3.5 billion, up by 4 percent from P3.4 billion in 2013.

Net income, however, declined to P12 million in 2014 from P73 million in 2013.

The net income for 2013 included an extraordinary gain of P70 million arising from the sale of a non-core asset.

Splash said without the extraordinary gain in 2013, net income would have increased fourfold.

Operating profit improved significantly for Philippine operations and international operations to P288 and P72 million, respectively, in 2014.

Food continued to be in its investment phase, but as programmed, operating loss was cut in half to P77 million.

B7CESAR BARRIOQUINTOE D I T O R

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

M O N D AY : A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

WORLD

Jakarta defiant over execution

Republic of the PhilippinesCITY OF SAN PEDRO

Province of Laguna

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BIDPR No. 2015 - 0830

1. The City Government of San Pedro Laguna through the 2015 Budget Approved by Sangguniang Panglunsod intends to apply the sum of Php 2,994,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Supply & Delivery of Balik Skwela Program Gamit Eskwela for 3,500 Daycare & 12,000 Grade 1-6 Students of City of San Pedro Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna now invites bids for the following :

QTY UNIT DESCRIPTION

3,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,5003,500

12,00012,00012,00012,00012,00012,00012,00012,000

Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.

Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.Pcs.

DAYCAREPad PaperCrayons 8’sBig PencilArt Paper (assorted color – 10’s)Bond Paper (10’s)SharpenerEraserNotebookScissorGlueExpanding Plastic Envelope with handleDaycare Service Program (Parent’s Handbook)Early Childhood Care & Development Checklist

GRADE 1 – 6 STUDENTSPad PaperCrayon 8’sPencilBallpenEraserSharpenerNotebookExpanding Plastic Envelop with handle

3. Delivery of the goods is required within fifteen (15) days upon receipt of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within one (1) year from the date of submissions and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

4. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

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

5. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the City Government of San Pedro, Laguna and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:30AM to 9:30AM only.

Office of the BAC Secretariat 4/f Conference Room City Administrator’s Office City Hall of San Pedro

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the date, time and below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of PESOS: (Php 5,000.00)

ISSUANCE OF ELIGIBILITY AND BIDDING DOCUMENTS

April 27 – May 13, 20158:30AM – 9:30AMBAC Secretariat4/f Conference RoomCity Administrator’s OfficeCity Hall of San Pedro

6. The City Government of San Pedro Laguna, will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on the date, time and address specified below, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

PRE-BID CONFENRENCE April 30, 201510:00 AMBAC Secretariat4/f Conference RoomCity Administrator’s OfficeCity Hallof San Pedro

7. Bids must be delivered to the address given below on or before the specified date and time. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable form and in the amount sated in ITB Clause 18.

DEADLINE OF SUBMSSION OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND OPENING OF BIDS

May 13, 201510:00AMBAC Secretariat4/f Conference RoomCity Administrator’s OfficeCity Hall of San Pedro

Bid opening shall be on the date and time specified above for deadline of submission of eligibility requirements and submission of bids and shall be conducted at the Office of the BAC Secretariat. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address given above. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8. The City Government of San Pedro, Laguna assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bid.

Further, City Government of San Pedro, Laguna, reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annual 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.

9. For Further information, please refer to:

Mr. Merlin B. Paala Office of the BAC Secretariat City Hall of San Pedro San Pedro, Laguna / Telefax No. 847-1722

(SGD.) ENGR. FILEMON I. SIBULO Chairman Bids and Awards Committee(TS-APR. 24, 2015)

AUCTION SALEACME PAWNSHOP1st Level Glorietta 3 Ayala, Makati and its branches in Mejalco Bldg., Buenavidez St., Legaspi Village, Makati and L & R Bldg., Pasay Road, Makati auction sale on May 05, 2015, 2:00 pm Alabang Town Center, Alabang Zapote Road, MJ Holding Bldg., Almanza Las Piñas, Circle C G14, #17 Congressional Ave., Bahay Toro D1, Quezon City at 2:30 pm. All items pawned Dec. 1-31, 2014. Notary Public

(TS-APR. 27, 2015)

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

Babylift childrenreturn to Vietnam

HaplessUkrainefights for debt dealKIEV—As government troops face off against pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine is also maneuvering on the financial front, scrambling to stave off disaster by renegotiating its foreign debts.

Kiev’s pro-Western government owes billions of dollars to US and London-based investors, among others, as well as Russia, its rival in the current conflict that has pushed Ukraine’s recession-hit economy to the brink.

The International Monetary Fund has stepped in with a $17.5 billion rescue loan. As part of that deal, Ukraine must save a further $15 billion over four years by restructuring its debts.

“If the debt operation fails, Ukraine will lose a big share of the package,” said Konstantin Kucherenko, a fixed-income trader at Kiev-based investment group Dragon Capital.

“The funds that other multilateral and bilateral donors provide will not be sufficient to keep the Ukrainian economy running for the next four years,” he said.

The IMF has so far dished out $5.0 billion to Ukraine and must decide in June whether Kiev has met the terms for the next slice. With that deadline looming, Ukraine is trying to persuade investors to cut it some slack. AFP

HO CHI MINH CITY—In the chaotic last days of the Vietnam War, the US airlifted thousands of children out of Saigon. Forty years later, many Operation Babylift survivors have returned, looking for answers from a family or country they never knew.

During the controversial mass evacuation, some 3,000 children were flown out of Vietnam to be adopted by families from America to Sweden. The very first Babylift flight crashed shortly after takeoff.

“My [adoptive] parents received a telegram... saying they couldn’t find us... we were missing and presumed dead,” said Landon Carnie, who was on the C5-A Galaxy plane on April 4, 1975.

Carnie and his twin sister Lorie were later found floating in a rice paddy amid the smoldering wreckage of the crash, which killed 138 people including 78 children.

“It was actually a rice farmer who found my sister and I together, both in the same shoe box,” he told AFP as he explored

the site of the crash earlier this month.

The twins eventually left Vietnam on another flight, alongside thousands of other Babylift infants—who were taken from orphanages or hospitals across what was then South Vietnam. They were part of a mass exodus of people.

As it became clear Saigon would fall, America evacuated all remaining civilian and military personnel. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, many associated with the South Vietnam regime, also fled.

Some criticized the Babylift operation, questioning whether the children involved were all really orphans or had just been separated from their families or given up in a desperate bid to get them out of the war-torn country.

Carnie and his sister were adopted by a Mormon family and grew up in rural Washington state. When he decided to return to Vietnam 15 years ago, the first thing that struck him was that everyone looked the same as him. AFP

JAKARTA—Indonesia on Sunday signaled it was determined to push ahead with the execution of eight foreign drug convicts, despite a growing wave of global condemnation led by United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.

Authorities on Saturday gave formal notice to the eight—from Australia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Philippines—that they would be executed by firing squad imminently, along with an Indonesian prisoner. 

However, a Frenchman also on death row for drug-related crimes was granted a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure on Jakarta.

The group have been moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where Indonesia puts condemned prisoners to death, and Jakarta says the executions could be as early as Tuesday, although no official date has been set.

The convicts recently lost appeals for mercy to President Joko Widodo, who has taken a hard line against drug traffickers and refused to back down on the executions despite mounting international criticism. 

The UN’s Ban added his voice to appeals for the

convicts to be spared. “The Secretary General urges President

Joko Widodo to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition,” a spokesman for Ban said.

Australia, which has mounted a sustained diplomatic campaign to save its two citizens in the group, also renewed appeals following Saturday’s news.

“Nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young Australians are executed,” said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

“I again respectfully call on the president of Indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency. It is not too late for a change of heart.”

France has stepped up pressure on Jakarta in recent days, with President Francois Hollande warning of “consequences” if its citizen, Serge Atlaoui, is put to death. 

The warning came shortly before it was announced that Atlaoui had won a temporary reprieve to allow him to pursue a further legal appeal.

Brazil vowed to press Indonesia not to execute the Brazilian man among the group, Rodrigo Gularte, for humanitarian reasons, saying that he suffers from schizophrenia. 

Despite the appeals, Indonesia has shown little sign that it is willing to back down and the foreign ministry indicated Sunday that Ban’s statement would not change their plans. AFP

Last-ditch effort. A woman is shown holding signs reading "Justice and freedom" and "stop execution!" on April 25 during a rally near the city hall and cathedral of Metz, eastern France, in support of French national Serge Atlaoui, who is on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking. AFP

M O N D AY : A P R I L 2 7, 2 0 1 5

B8 CESAR BARRIOQUINTOE D I T O R

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

2,000 dead in quake but search continues

Crisis-hitRussia now looking atpensioners

WORLD

Obama skewers foes, friends at dinner speech

2

KATHMANDU—Rescuers in Nepal searched frantically Sunday for survivors of a quake that killed more than 2,000, digging through rubble in the devastated capital Kathmandu and airlifting victims of an avalanche at Everest base camp.

Terrified residents of Kathmandu were woken by fresh aftershocks in the worst disaster to hit the impoverished Himalayan nation in more than 80 years, with many

forced to spend the night trying to sleep out on the streets and open ground in tents. 

Hospitals were so stretched that medics had to set up tents outside to treat patients.

The historic nine-story Dharahara tower, a major tourist attraction, was among the buildings brought down Saturday, with at least a dozen bodies recovered from the ruins of the 19th-century tower.

Offers of help poured in from around the world, with the United States and European Union announcing they were sending in disaster response teams.

India flew out its stranded citizens in military planes while a 62-strong Chinese rescue team arrived with sniffer dogs.

National police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam said the number known to have died in Nepal had risen to 1,953 while 4,629 people had been injured.

Officials in India said the toll there now stood at 53, mainly in the eastern state of Bihar, while Chinese state media said 17 people had been killed in the Tibet region.

“We have deployed all our resources for search and rescues,” Bam told AFP.

“Helicopters have been sent to remote areas. We are sifting through the rubble where buildings have collapsed to see if we can find anyone.”

The Red Cross said it was concerned about the fate of  villages near the epicenter of the quake northwest of Kathmandu. AFP

MOSCOW—Taking care of pensioners  who are his bedrock of support has been a key feature of President Vladimir Putin’s rule, but as crisis bites, the Russian government is mooting an idea that has been taboo for 80 years: raising the retirement age.

Since 1932, Russian men have been eligible to retire at the age of 60 and women at the age of 55. In numerous professions, especially hazardous ones like mining, people may retire even earlier.

But the budget has come under strain as people have started to live longer, as Russian women now have a life expectancy of 76 and men 65.

Now, faced with a shrinking economy thanks to Western sanctions over Ukraine, an oil price that is half of what it was a year ago and a weak ruble, even Putin is cautiously bringing up the subject, which threatens to unleash protests and hurt his high ratings.

“The retirement age is one of the key issues,” the president said in his annual phone-in session earlier this month. In 2016, Russia will have to spend three percent of its gross domestic product on pensions—over $50 billion—he said. AFP

WASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama skewered allies and rivals alike in a Saturday-night comedy act spiced up with a healthy dash of self-deprecation.

Obama appeared before a ballroom packed with journalists, media types and celebrities for his penultimate White House Correspondents’ dinner before finishing his second term next year.

With the battle for the 2016 election well under way, would-be successors were the target for a good deal of Obama’s jibes

at Washington’s annual “Nerd Prom.”

“Ted Cruz said that denying the existence of climate change made him like Galileo,” Obama said, referring to one of the conservative candidates vying for the Republican nomination.

“That’s not really an apt comparison. Galileo believed the Earth revolves around the Sun. Ted Cruz believes it revolves around Ted Cruz.”

But Obama’s digs were not reserved just for political foes. AFP

To the rescue. Chinese search-and-rescue personnel and their search dogs stand in formation as they prepare to head to earthquake-ravaged Nepal from Beijing on April 26. China on April 26 dispatched a 62-member search-and-rescue team to Nepal, the state news agency reported, after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed nearly 2,000 people. AFP

Trip down memory lane. Robert De Niro and Paul Sorvino attend the closing night screening of 'Goodfellas' during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival at Beacon Theater on April 25 in New York City. AFP

LIFEg l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

C1BAMBINA OLIVARES WISEE D I T O R

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LIFE

TECH

CARS & DESIGN

In 2011, Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue, working in tandem with German product designer Albrecht Birkner, unveiled at the Salone del Mobile in Milan a concept car made of bamboo. The Phoenix Bamboo Roadster, as it was known, was called, was touted as the world’s first biode-

gradable car. The concept behind the car was visionary and laudable, but

of course, it may be years - or even never - before the car is actually seen on the roads. But concept cars have always served a purpose, at the very least, pushing design and innovation to the forefront, while maybe going just a little bit too creatively crazy, to provide a glimpse into the kind of cars we could be driving in the future.

Contiued on C2

THE SALONE IN MILAN AS THE LAUNCHPAD FOR CONCEPT CARS

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IMAGES.NET

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LIFE

TECH

TECH MEETS HOME

This year in Milan, Japanese carmaker Mazda presented their own vision for the future via an exhibition, “Mazda Design: The Car as Art.”

With “Mazda Design: The Car as Art,” Mazda is aiming to further the evolu-tion of the expression of motion by attempting the expression of two key sensibilities rooted in Japanese aesthetics; RIN, a sense of self-re-strained dignity, and EN, an alluring sensuality that speaks directly to the senses.

“Bike by KODO concept” is a track racer that seeks to express the innate beauty of the bicycle. Its minimalist structure is composed of the least possible number of parts. The frame was painstakingly formed by hammering a sin-gle sheet of steel and the black leather saddle

is hand-stitched, featuring the same red thread and stitch design as the all-new Mazda MX-5. The bicycle’s mixture of dynamism and allure is evocative of the Mazda MX-5’s styling.

“Sofa by KODO concept,” a collaborative effort between Mazda’s designers and Italian furniture makers, exhibits an exquisite blend of Mazda Design’s refined sensibilities and fine Italian craftsmanship backed by a long tradi-tion of furniture-making. The form of the sofa is as honed as that of the all-new Mazda CX-3 and evokes the strong stance common to all Mazda’s new-generation vehicles.

Also on display at the event are a number of works by traditional Japanese craftsmen inspired by Mazda’s KODO—Soul of Motion design philosophy. KODOKI is a tsuiki cop-

perware wine cooler hammered from a single sheet of copper in Japan’s famous Gyokusendo metal-working studio. SHIRAITO is a tradi-tional lacquered box created by Kinjo-Ikkoku-sai which expresses the richness of natural phe-nomena using multiple layers of lacquer and finely-broken eggshell.

“Over the past few years, design has become an essential part of who we are, adding an ar-tistic value to the entire Mazda brand experi-ence,” said Masahiro Moro, Mazda’s Managing Executive Officer, in charge of Global Market-ing, Customer Service and Sales Innovation. “As such, it only makes sense that we introduce our design messages here in Milan, a city of the apex of the design world, in order to elevate our brand image.”

CARS & DESIGN

From C1

FRYING FITPowered by Rapid Air Technology, the Philips Airfryer uses an inte-grated filter and superheated air instead of oil to cook. It cuts down cholesterol and removes up to 80% of fat, while leaving food won-derfully crispy outside and amazingly tender inside. What’s more, it can be used to roast, bake, and gratinate a wide array of dishes. “This is the perfect kitchen partner to help you get through the summer in shape,” says JC Gallegos, Business Development Man-ager for Philips Consumer Lifestyle. “Not to mention, it is also great for those cookouts you’ve been planning.” This low fat fryer is spacious enough to accommodate layers of food and even a whole chicken inside its basket. Furthermore, it is very portable so it can be easily lugged around for those picnics and outdoor parties. “With the right tools, creating healthy recipes to keep you in top shape during the summer months is easy,” Gallegos shares. “Going back to the basics is necessary, and in terms of following a healthy diet plan, that means starting in your kitchen.”

PREPARE TO BE DISRUPTEDiFLIX IS IN THE PHILIPPINESWe’ve all heard of Netflix and how it’s changed the way people watch TV. A similar service is now coming to the Philippines, one that promises to allow you to access “a crazy huge selection” of your favorite shows from all over the world, whenever you want, wherever you want, 24/7. iflix is a partnership between disruptive local entrepre-neurs and Hollywood heavyweights. Catcha Group and Evolution Media Capital have joined together to change the way you consume your entertainment. Press pause for now, but stay tuned.

COOL SUMMERThe new homeowner has different priorities in mind, ranging from designs to costs in buying and operating.

Taking this into consideration, Midea offers a Window Type air conditioner that is a great option for first-time aircon buyers.

For those looking for Split-type air conditioners, Midea has three models that offer a variety of user advantages: the Primera, the Genesis White, and the Mirror Black.

As the entry-level model, Primera offers unparalleled functionality. The Eco Mode and Turbo feature combine optimum energy-savings and high-speed cooling in one air-conditioner. It also comes with specially designed sil-ver ion filters, which help clean and disinfect rooms.

The Genesis White, on the other hand, is engineered for homeowners who place a greater emphasis on quiet opera-tion. When Quiet Mode is engaged, its large diameter fan minimizes the indoor unit’s noise level—so owners can sleep soundly at night. It is designed for homeowners who want to have their first inverter split type air conditioner.

Finally, the Mirror Black is Midea’s top-of-the-line in-verter split type air conditioner. Its Turbo DC Inverter and D-Tech function delivers premium energy efficiency and highly intelligent operation. At the same time, its sleek black finish makes it a beautiful design complement to any living space it’s installed in.

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APPLE WATCH REVIEW ROUNDUPBY ED BIADO

TRAVELLING LIGHTSMARTPHONES ARE THE NEW TRAVEL BUDDIES

Traveling light is a con-stant challenge in this day and age, when we all have multiple de-

vices requiring different cables, adapters, and other accessories. However, these very things that make our bags heavy can be very useful when going places—for taking breathtaking land-scape pictures or selfies, sharing these images instantly to Face-book and Instagram, accessing Google Maps or Waze for navi-gation, catching up on news and updates, watching videos, or playing addicting games while in transit.

Making the most out of a trip is possible, if you have the right travel buddy—the Lenovo S90, a multi-functional mobile device that is light and stylish, pow-erful, and infinitely useful to take with you everywhere. Now available in the Philippines, the Lenovo S90 is the perfect part-ner for the modern wanderer. You can enjoy a truly mobile experience wherever you are in the world with just one power-ful device.

CAPTURE TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS WITH THE BEST-IN-CLASS DUAL CAMERAWhen traveling, taking photos and videos of all the wonder-ful things and people you en-counter is a must. The Lenovo S90 comes with not one, but two best-in-class cameras that can deliver crisp and vivid pic-tures every time. The 13MP PureCel rear camera allows you to take professional-grade travel photos—from breathtak-ing landscapes to close-ups of the textures and colors of your destination. Meanwhile, with the 8MP selfie camera with a built-in LED flash and low-light BSI sensor, you are sure to take amazing selfies in any lighting condition. Its brilliant 5-inch screen allows you to frame bet-ter images of you and your com-panions with the iconic land-marks of your destination.

Reviewing your best shots with the Lenovo S90 is a pleasure in itself, too, thanks to the Super AMOLED HD Display, which makes viewing photos and videos under sunlight easy on the eyes.

This patented ultra-thin display saves power and reflects less light to ensure that your eyes do not suffer from strain when looking at it under direct sunlight.

With the Lenovo S90’s best-in-class dual cameras and vi-brant display, you are always ready to capture the best mo-ments of your adventures.

LIGHTNING-FAST CONNECTIVITY FOR INSTANT SHARINGThe Lenovo S90 can keep you connected with blazing 4G LTE speeds, allowing you to update your family and friends with the highlights of your travels within the blink of an eye. You can eas-ily access your online life while on the go and share high-reso-lution photos, videos, and other media to your social networks for instant updates on your ex-citing travel discoveries.

For the latest Lenovo smart-phones and tablets news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Le-novo Mobile on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/LenovoMob-ilePH) and Facebook (www.face-book.com/lenovomobileph).

SALE ONAFFORDABLE PHONE

XIAOMI GOES ON SALE

Xiaomi has announced that its ea-gerly-awaited Redmi 2 smartphone will soon be available in the Philip-pines. Priced at P5,999, the Redmi 2 will first go on sale on April 28. Feature-packed but still afford-able, the Redmi 2 brings a powerful smartphone experience closer to more people. Here are some of the features that Mi Fans can expect from the Redmi 2:• 4.7” display similar to the

Redmi 1S, but thinner at 9.4mm and lighter at 133g

• 4G dual SIM and dual standby capability

• Fast and fluid performance even under heavy use, with a Quad-core 64-bit Snapdragon 410 processor, Adreno 306 GPU, 1GB RAM and 8GB Flash (expandable to 32GB)

• Gorgeous 4.7” 1280 x 720 HD screen (312 PPI), protected by AGC Dragontrail glass

• Sharp and clear 8MP BSI f/2.2 rear camera and a 2MP BSI front camera with 720p video recording

• Long battery life made possible by a 2200mAh battery

• OTG support to transfer files quickly and connect peripherals

• A soft-touch matte back cover that is fingerprint and grease-resistant

• MIUI 6 that enables new func-tions, shortcuts, customizations and animations

HOW TO ORDER:To purchase the device, users should visit Mi.com/ph, where they can find a direct link to the Redmi 2 product page of its selling partner Lazada, and choose from among 4 modes of payment: cash on deliv-ery, credit card (Visa/Mastercard), MegaLink and Paypal. Their devices will be delivered for free within 1-5 working days for Metro Manila and 5-10 working days for orders outside Metro Manila. In addition, users can also enjoy Xiaomi’s world-class after-sales service and support, so they can always get the best expe-rience from their Mi smartphones.

The buzziest wearable of the season, the Apple Watch, has finally landed and reviews are pouring in. Of course, everyone has been opining on Apple’s smartwatch since its unveiling but now, users—tech writers, in particular—can weigh in about more than their initial impressions and perceptions. By

spending time with the watch and playing around with it at their own leisure, reviewers are able to comment on the functions, us-ability and overall experience, as well as analyze how the device stacks up against competitors.

Here are the things critics are saying about the Apple Watch:

Navigating the Watch isn’t quite as intuitive as navigating other Apple products. You can’t just strap it on and start using it. There are a few rules of the road you need to get used to...Based on what I know now, I think I could probably wear the Watch around for a whole day. And because of the Watch’s short battery life, that’s all the time I’ll need to wear it. - Mark Sullivan on the user experience, Venture Beat

While on most smartwatches alerts feel like a tiny motor buzzing your wrist, the Apple Watch feels like your wrist is ac-tually being tapped. Little details like this aren’t game-changers on their own, but they do add a more human element to the experience. - Will Skanklin on notifications, Gizmag

Apple has proved on its first shot here that it can collect accu-rate data, but it’s having a harder time giving genuine suggestions for improving your fitness and health. Apps from Fitbit, Jawbone or Polar provide better insights, and even those apps aren’t exactly great at this. I don’t mind being nagged, but make it relevant. - Joanna Stern on the watch as a fitness device, The Wall Street Journal

By notifying me of digital events as soon as they happened, and letting me act on them instantly, without having to fum-ble for my phone, the Watch became something like a natural extension of my body — a direct link, in a way that I’ve never felt before, from the digital world to my brain. The effect was so powerful that people who’ve previously commented on my addiction to my smartphone started noticing a change in my behavior; my wife told me that I seemed to be getting lost in my phone less than in the past. She found that a blessing. - Farhad Manjoo on how the watch can change the way we interact with technology, New York Times

I didn’t expect to like the Apple Watch. But I didn’t expect to dislike it either. I feared my reaction would be meh. That would’ve been a shame because I believe in wearables and have been pull-ing for a breakout star. The Apple Watch is that breakout star. It’s gorgeous, smart, fun, extensible, expensive (a plus if you want to telegraph luxury and excellence) and an object of true desire. - Lance Ulanoff on how the watch sets itself apart, Mashable

There’s no question that the Apple Watch is the most capa-ble smartwatch available today. It is one of the most ambitious products I’ve ever seen; it wants to do and change so much about how we interact with technology. But that ambition robs it of focus: it can do tiny bits of everything, instead of a few things extraordinarily well. - Nilay Patel on he ambitiousness of the watch, The Verge

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FOR PARTY ANIMALS

ONLY

BOB ZOZOBRADO

HISTORY & ARTISTRY

A couple are sitting in their living room, sipping wine. Out of the blue, the wife says, “I love you.” “Is that you or the wine talking?” asks the husband. “It’s me¼ ” says the wife. “¼talking to the wine.”

Everyone knows that its history and artistry shape the character of a nation, which is the reason why any event that banners either of these is always a “must” on my list. The other day, I was captivated by a very interesting forum at the Ayala Museum which highlighted a slice of our nation’s history that I am not so familiar with as I was still a baby when the events unfolded. As if by coincidence and complementing the “history” event, the gathering I attended the following day showcased the artistry of the Filipino, which never fails to earn for us plaudits from different parts of the world.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrad@gmail.com

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE

:-D

PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

1 Hoseki chief creative officer Knoi Esmane, Allana Montelibano, Hoseki founder Faico 2 Bobbi Brown’s Tamara Pineda, Ayna Ong, Miss Chinatown Philippines executive director Alexis Go and Advance Paper Corp. chief operating officer Connie Haw 3 Carol Co with Hoseki corporate affairs director Zabeth Co 4 Cindy Ng and Hoseki head of finance Grace Co 5 Maila Garcia, Dr. Clare Palabyab, Sheree Chua 6 Bob Miller, Ito Curata and Johnny Litton

The sixth President of our country, Elpidio Quirino, would have turned 125 years old this year which is why his descendants, through the Elpi-dio Quirino Foundation, is holding a year-long celebration they labeled “EQ125.” This will include events, programs and projects that com-memorate his legacy.

It started with a gathering the other day, to reacquaint the younger gen-eration with the former President’s values of tolerance, goodwill and love which he espoused on the day he as-cended to the presidency. The heirs

of the former President deem it im-portant to highlight these values that guided him, which made him “a true Filipino,” to hopefully awaken the true Filipino in each one of us.

Notable speakers at the Forum were Israeli Ambassador Effie Ben Matityau who expressed his coun-try’s gratitude because Quirino, who was then the Secretary of Foreign Af-fairs joined the UN Commission on Palestine. The United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, Bernard Kerblat, spoke on how the former President welcomed the Russian ref-

ugees driven out of China, by giving them sanctuary in Guian, Samar. Of course, family members shared their interesting anecdotes that reflected the character of one of the greatest Presidents of our country.

Anybody interested to get in-volved with any of the events lined up for the year may contact Marilet Meris at the President Elpidio Quiri-no Foundation, 463-5572. More in-formation on the former President is readily available at www.elpidio-quirino.org

EQ125

1 Lila Quirino is President of the Pres. Elpidio Quirino Foundation 2 An oil portrait of former President Elpidio Quirino 3 I had to grab a photo op with Lourd De Veyra as I am a great fan of his dry humor 4 The most popular grandchild of the former President, Cory Q., is a long-time friend, TV hostess, author, owner of the local Miss World franchise 5 Poncy Quirino, Chavit Singson, Cory Quirino 6 (L-R) Mely Almosura, Ruby Quirino Gonzales, Winnie Monsod, Analiza Kwan

It was an interesting lunch my friends and I shared with our Department of Tourism’s Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. He presented to us the Air Routes Development Program of the Department, tying it up with their forecast of bringing in at least 10 million tourists by next year. It was a very informative afternoon which left us all very excited as we could see how much effort the leaders of our Tourism Industry have put in, to ensure its continued success.

Benito C. Bengzon, Jr.

STUNNING ARTISTRYNotable personalities of the metro’s elite circle converged at the Show-room of The Grove by Rockwell, for the launch of the newest collection from the country’s premier jewelry design studio, Hoseki. The exhibit had stunning handcrafted jewelry made from the finest materials and expensive gems that banner the art-istry and excellent craftsmanship that this top-notch jewelry design studio is known for.

On hand to welcome guests were Hoseki founder Faico, corporate affairs director Zabth Co and chief creative officer Knoi Esmane. The ladies in attendance even had an added special treat as staff from the make-up brand Bobbi Brown did special make-overs for them.

Hoseki is located at The Podium and may be reached through 634-1736.

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GMA Network pro-grams and personali-ties were honored in the 11th USTv Stu-

dents’ Choice Awards held on April 16 at University of Sto. Tomas Plaza Mayor in Manila.  Jessica Soho, widely regard-ed as the country’s most award-ed broadcast journalist, added another feather to her cap as she was given the Student’s Choice of News Host (Female) recognition. Her Sunday news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, in turn, received the Student’s Choice of Maga-zine Program nod.  Top-notch documentary program I-Witness presented by hosts Howie Severino, Kara David, Jay Taruc, and Sandra Aguinaldo won the Student’s Choice of Public A� airs Pro-gram; while Jiggy Manicad and Maki Pulido’s investigative news magazine show Reporter’s Notebook the Student Leaders’ Choice of TV Program. Cited as the Student’s Choice of Comedy Program, mean-while, was family sitcom Pepito Manaloto with Michael V. AHA!  and Biyahe ni Drew host Drew Arellano and Chris Tiu of I Bilib brought home the trophies for the Students’ Choice of Magazine Program Host and the Students’ Choice of Sports Personality, respectively.  Awards of Excellence for Magazine, Documentary, and Comedy Programs were each conferred to Kapuso Mo, Jes-sica Soho, I-Witness, and Bub-ble Gang, respectively, as each has won no less than � ve times since the USTv Awards’ incep-tion in 2005. 

GMA News and Public Af-fairs’ Blessed by the Pope docu-mentary was also honored with a Special Citation in recognition of its depiction of the call of the Holy Father for mercy and com-passion in relation to the 2015 Papal Visit to the Philippines. Along with the rise of so-cial media and its in� uence in shaping today’s generation, the award-giving body launched USTv 2.0, its newest segment. Here, GMA’s � ink Before You Click advocacy was cited as the Students’ Choice of Social Media Campaign for Social Ac-tion; Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s o� cial page was given the Stu-dents’ Choice of Social Media Campaign for Socio-Cultural Development award; and Ka-puso primetime queen Marian Rivera was the Students’ Choice of Outstanding Social Media Personality (Female Category).

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SHOWBITZ

GMA News and Public Affairs’

Blessed by the Pope documentary was also honored with a Special Citation in recognition of its depiction of

the call of the Holy Father for mercy

and compassion in relation to the 2015

Papal Visit to the Philippines

USTV 2015HONORS KAPUSO

NETWORK

Kapuso actor Jake Vargas won the ‘Best Rising Star’ award at the recently con-cluded 48th WorldFest-

Houston International Film & Video Festival in Texas, USA. He won for his portrayal as Tonio in the movie Asintado. Last Saturday, Vargas showcased his acting mettle as Alvin in Mag-pakailanman. Kiko Estrada and Lotlot de Leon were also in cast along with Carl Acosta, Joanna Marie Tan and Luz Fernandez. � e episode entitled “Kapatid sa Ina” was about friendship and family.  Jason (Kiko Estrada) and Alvin (Jake Vargas) met in the streets of Divisoria as they both work as

porters, and from there, they in-stantly became friends. When Al-vin found out that Jason had no family, he decided to let him stay at their home where Jason meets Mila (Lotlot de Leon), the mother of Alvin. At � rst Mila did not like Alvin’s new friend until she found a pic-ture in Jason’s belongings. It was a picture with a familiar face, the face of the woman who got her eldest child. � ings began to turn out di� er-ently in their home. Secretly, Mila became more caring and thought-ful towards Jason. Alvin notices his mother’s sudden change of behavior and treatment and as a result he felt jealous of Jason.

JAKE VARGAS WINS IN INTERNATIONAL FILMFEST

UStv 2015 honors Kapuso shows

personalities likeMarian Rivera

Jessica Soho Chris Tiu Pepito Manaloto

Jake Vargas wins at 48th WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival in Texas, USA as Best Rising Star. He stars in Magpakailanman with LotLot de Leon and Kiko Estrada

Inah Estrada and Akihiro Blanco de� nite-ly impressed the viewers with their initial team-up in Wattpad Presents latest week-long episode titled “� e Nerdy Girl Turns into a Hottie Chick.” “I’m glad that the public liked our of-fering,” says Aki. “I guess Inah and I have natural on- screen chemistry. It helped to make our acting more natural. Consider-ing that it was our � rst time to work to-gether, everything went � ne. We were able to do what was expected of us.” “� at’s right,” seconds Inah. “Our ma-terial is light, funny and romantic. I be-lieve Aki and I delivered. We gave justice to our respective role.” With Janice de Belen and John Estrada as parents, was Inah scared that people would compare her to them? “Well, I know that it’s inevitable espe-cially since they are both very good ac-tors,” she states. “But they are supportive of me---that’s the good thing. � ey en-courage me to just give it my best. My parents give me tips and I’m happy that I got their work ethics and dedication as artists. I know that I still have a long way to go but having them by my side gives me a good head start in the race, so to speak.” Many are asking if Aki was intimidated on learning that he’d be paired with Inah? “At � rst, I really felt the pressure,” he admits. “Well who wouldn’t? She’s the daughter of two seasoned performers. But Inah is easy to deal with. We jibed right away. I guess that helped to make our work easier.” “� at’s true!” adds Inah. “For one, Aki is fun to work with. He is a jester on the set. He is like a stress-buster. I really enjoyed doing this project with him, my � rst for TV 5!” Some quarters are asking as well if Aki wouldn’t � nd his career progress slow since his Artista Academy days.

“No, I don’t feel that way,” he explains. “So far, I’m happy with the way manage-ment is handling my career. I’m a regular in Tropang Moko Unli Scoop with Ms. Gelli de Belen and Mr. Ogie Alcasid. I was also part of the highly successful Madame Chairman with Ms. Sharon Cuneta. “I give my full trust to TV 5 when it comes to my career. � ey know what’s best for me. Actually, I like it this way, slowly but surely. At least, when I don’t have a regular show, they still give me exposure like this edition of Wattpad Presents.” � is is also the reason why he doesn’t entertain the thought of a rivalry be-tween him and fellow Artista Academy alumnus Mark Neumann. Many pit them against each other. “I know! But Mark and I, we’re good pals. � ere’s no rivalry between us. We’re happy for each other especially when one has a new project. So I hope people would stop com-paring us with each other,” ends Akihiro.

★★★★★Now that she’s back as a Kapuso, Ai Ai de-las Alas admits her elation and pride. “It’s simply overwhelming,” she says. “I spent nine years here before I moved to the rival network. Now, I feel happy and awe-some. � e bosses accepted me back with warmth. I’m touched that they never for-got that I was once a Kapuso. � at’s why I promise to make everyone happy with my comeback here in the GMA lot!” � e A-1 comedienne pointed out that there’s no bad blood between her and ABS-CBN. “Actually, everything went smoothly when I sought their permission. I thanked them for taking good care of me for four-teen years. I’ll forever be grateful for that.” Among the GMA stars, who does she want to work with in the coming days? “Well, there’s my twin sister Marian (Ri-vera)! I starred with in the � lm Kung Fu Divas. Among the males, I want Dennis (Trillo) who is not only good-looking but a good actor as well. I think I will also be doing a TV show opposite Ryzza Mae Di-zon. I’m also part of the new soap titled Let the Love Begin headlined by Gabbi Garcia and Ruru Madrid. � is early, I’m really excited!” reveals Ai Ai.

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE MONDAY,

APRIL 27, 2015

ACROSS

1 Imitation chocolate 6 Nurture 10 Gala 14 Light incense to 15 Lose brightness 16 Locomotive must 17 Twangy 18 Pharmacy buy 19 Big-ticket — 20 Some pizza orders 22 Really wallops

A N S W E R F O R P R E V I O U S P U Z Z L E

24 Mandible 26 Mentors 27 Gulf food fish 31 Helium or neon 32 Willow twig 33 Baseball’s — Clemens 36 Catch on 39 Wrist bone 40 Sherlock’s needs 41 Green mineral 42 Pierre’s monarch 43 Music source

44 Cook — Child 45 Comics prince 46 Bedroom piece 48 Dogie catchers 51 USN officer 52 Not doomed for defeat 54 Office workers of yore 59 Jai — 60 Spice stand 62 PR matter 63 Sales agents 64 As to (2 wds.) 65 British actor David — 66 Ancient tale 67 Water, in Baja 68 Midas’ undoing

DOWN 1 Soup containers 2 Eden denizen 3 Artist Bonheur 4 Aloud 5 Protective glass cover (2 wds.) 6 Country addr. 7 Legendary marshal 8 Man or woman 9 Measures again 10 Snack chips

11 Cafe customer 12 Layers 13 Endangered trees 21 — Andreas Fault 23 Galaxy unit 25 Kind of premiere 27 Lay cement 28 Fjord port 29 1960s fashion 30 Green shade 34 Ja, to Jacques 35 Rock shop curiosity 36 Guys’ partners 37 Singer — Brickell 38 Muscle injury 40 Toe of Italy’s boot 41 Roast beef au — 43 — - — -tat-tat 44 Kidding around 45 Go poof! 47 ER personnel 48 The life of — 49 Unsuitable 50 Street lingo 52 Deal with leftovers 53 Brownish tint 55 Kuwaiti leader 56 Pew locale 57 Ess molding 58 Email option 61 Green parrot

JOSEPH PETER GONZALES

New Mexico Film O� ce Director Nick Maniatis announced that principal pho-tography on the Independence Day sequel begins on May 4. Twentieth Century Fox releases the � lm in theaters worldwide on June 24, 2016 (June 23 in the Philippines). A� er Independence Day rede� ned the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global catastrophe on an unimagi-nable scale. Using recovered alien technol-ogy, the nations of Earth, anticipating the invaders’ return, have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction. � e � lm stars Liam Hemsworth, Char-lotte Gainsbou , Je� Goldblum who was in the � rst Independence Day along with Vivica A. Fox,Bill Pullman, and Judd Hirsch. Also in the � lm are Jessie Usher, Joey King, Brent Spiner , and Travis Tope. Dean Devlin who produced the original � lm produces with Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser. Larry Franco and Carsten Lorenz are the line producers. Ute Emm-erich is the executive producer. “I’m beyond excited to bring the sequel to Independence Day to New Mexico,” said Roland Emmerich. “With their state of the art Albuquerque Studios, the ro-bust tax incentive program, the proxim-ity to Los Angeles and last not but least its talented cast and crew make New Mexico a great � t for my movie.” “We are pleased to continue our excel-lent relationship with Twentieth Century Fox,” said Maniatis. “We welcome Roland Emmerich and his talented team to New Mexico. In all, the production will employ approximately 300 local crew members and more than 4,000 local background talent.” “Albuquerque welcomes the sequel to Independence Day to our city,” said May-or Richard J. Berry. “We support the movie industry and the movie industry supports our economy; it’s a great thing for everyone.”

‘INDEPENDENCEDAY’ SEQUEL

NOW INPRODUCTION

NEW TANDEMIMPRESSES AUDIENCE

The new tandem in

TV5's Wattpad

Presents are Inah Estrada

and Akihiro Blanco

AiAi de las Alas feels very much at home at GMA Network

C7ISAH V. REDE D I T O RSHOWBITZ

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British TV executive and director Steven Gilfea-ther is directing the third season of It Takes Gutz to

be a Gutierrez on E! Steven has worked on some shows in Britain, including Big Brother and Strictly Come Danc-ing. He has also written and pro-duced some E! News Asia Spe-cials, including those of Piolo Pascual and Anne Curtis, before taking his position as the new di-rector of the reality show featur-ing the Gutierrez family. “(Those were my) introduction

to Pinoy celebrity culture. I fell in love with the entertainment industry here because you know how to produce big stars here,” Steven said. “You really have charismatic, talented people over here. I think it’s a market that is yet to be explored, especially in the international level.” Steven noticed how friendly lo-cal showbiz industry people are. “That’s basically what made me fall in love with the culture here. Everyone is so friendly, the press as well. The press has a very friendly and natural relationship

with the celebrities,” he said. He said the stars here are al-most overexposed. The Gutierrezes, he observed have different characters and per-sonalities. Steven admitted that Annabelle intimidated him at first. “They offered (the show) to me on season 2. I was very afraid of her (Annabelle) because of what I read on the press. But she is the warmest, kindest person I’ve met. While I’ve been here, she’s treat-ing me like a son. They’re all very different characters. Sometimes when I’m with the family, it feels

like I’m watching a tennis game because your head is going back and forth. My job this year is to take the show to a new level. So far, so good,” he said. Steven believes Annabelle is mainly misunderstood, saying the matriarch has a “huge heart.” Steven went to Malaysia with the family when the Gutierrez siblings were presenters at the Asean Inter-national Film Festival and Awards. He was impressed with Ruffa. “She is probably one of the most charismatic persons I’ve ever met in my life,” he said.

Previous seasons showed many controversies within the Gutier-rez family. Steven assured fans of the show there will still be contro-versies and that this season will be the show’s “best” yet. “It’s (going to be) different… and it’s a conscious effort. It’s crafted more – it’s reality, but crafted, more like a drama. I think this will be the best season … it’s more entertaining than the previ-ous season. We got controversies, family fights, maybe new charac-ters. We have so much to add to the mix,” he said.

‘GUTZ’ GETS A NEW DIRECTOR

The Gutierrez family is one of the more interesting clan in AsiaAnnabelle Rama intimated Gilfeather at first, but now treats him like a sonSteven Gilfeather takes over directing chores on E!’s It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez

A film about an Overseas Fili-pino Worker (OFW) who returns to the country to find her family changed by

her absence, is sure to create waves when it hits theaters for a commer-cial run starting May 20. Edna, starring  Cinemalaya 2013 Best Actress Irma Adlawan in the title role, is the first directorial job of veteran character actor Ronnie Laza-ro, who also plays Adlawan’s husband.  Produced by Tonet Gedang’s Ar-tiste Entertainment, Edna has been graded ‘A’ by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB). Aside from Lazaro (who also wrote the story that was adapted as a screenplay by Lallie Bucoy), the film also stars Nicco Manalo, Sue Prado, Frances Makil, Mara Marasigan, Micko Laurente, and Kiko Matos.  Lazaro is grateful to have been trusted to direct the film among so many actors and directors. “I will al-ways be grateful to my friend, Tonet Gedang, for giving me the opportu-nity,” he says. While most films about OFWs talk about misfortunes our coun-trymen suffer while working abroad, Edna approaches the prob-lem from a different perspective. A psychological study in Filipino fam-

ily dynamics, the movie focuses on what Edna finds when she returns to the country after years of work-ing abroad.  Adlawan’s character comes home to find a family vastly changed and living a life very different from the one they had when she left. She has problems adjusting to this, and how she deals with being shut out of her family’s life is one of the major points of the film. Lazaro had a specific reason for wanting to bring a story like Edna to the screen. “This is my take on our people who work abroad. I notice that they come from our country, and they go abroad because they have to work. They spend years there, absorbing a different culture,  tapos pagbalik, nag-cra-crack  sila. Di na-man nababaliw, pero may kakaibang nangyayari sa katauhan nila, at hindi ito kathang isip dahil lagi ako nag-o-obserba ng tao. Marami na rin akong nakitang ganito.So I thought, ‘Why don’t I do something like that?’” Adlawan tries to put her finger on what differentiates Edna from all the other OFW-related movies that are out there. “Siguro something that is differ-ent about this is that it tackles the psychological effects on people who

go out of the country to support their families. People who get up-rooted. So, what happens to them? Actually ‘yun yung subject matter I think na hindi masyadong nata-tack-le sa OFW movies. Usually ang na-giging central conflicts sa mga gani-tong pelikula is nagloloko yung mga anak,  or nag-TNT  pala,  pero  this time around  ang  focus is the psy-chological effect of being uprooted and alone from family...and what if something bad happens to them there abroad?  Tapos pagbalik hindi na siya kilala nung mga anak niya?” Lazaro believes that with  Edna, “We have created a good product.” He is excited for people to be able to see it, and talk about it and how it affected them as Filipinos. It’s an eye-opener that he hopes will teach Pinoys valuable lessons about work, sacrifice, and family. Edna will have an exclusive pre-view at Metropolitan Museum (April 28), Instituto Cervantes de Manila (May 9) and will be touring UP Los Banos (April 30) and UP Diliman Film Center (May 18).  For inquiries about the film and other details, check out Edna’s Face-book page  https://www.facebook.com/Edna.Film2014  or  point your browser to Edna.Film2014.

Irma Adlawan plays the title role in Edna, a film about OFWs

Actor Ronnie Lazaro directs the film about the impact to the OFW after staying abroad for too long

‘EDNA’ IN THEATERS THIS MAY

From C8

She’s been labeled as Philip-pines’ Next Big Diva. Moris-sette � nally has ad debut al-bum (Star Music).  “I’ve waited so long for this blessing to happen so I de� -nitely gave my best in all of my performances in this album,” says the Cebuana singer who settled in Manila to � nd a niche in the big city. “If there’s any-thing that I can be proud of as a singer, it’s this album and how I shared my passion for music. And I hope people will feel that once they hear my songs.” � e Kapamilya singer said she was able to explore and ex-periment with the music while recording her album as she got to sing a variety of genres that include rhythm and blues, bal-lad, and pop.  “I don’t want to be identi-� ed as just a singer who can hit high notes. I’m more than determined to become a total performer not only for my au-dience but also for myself,” Mo-risette says. Featured in  Morissette’s debut album are seven songs, namely, “� rowback” with KZ Tandin-gan, “Hinahanap Pa Rin,” ”Mahal Kita, Mahal Mo Sya, Mahal N’ya Ay Iba,” “You and I,” “Run Like A Warrior,” the acoustic version of her “Himig Handog 2014” hit song ”Akin Ka Na Lang,” and her carrier single “Di Mapaliwanag.” Among the bonus tracks are the original version of “Akin Ka Na Lang” and the popu-lar movie and teleserye theme songs that she has recorded in-cluding “Anong Nangyari Sa Ating Dalawa” from Two Wives, “Kapag Ako Ay Nagmahal” from Flordeliza, and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” which she sang with Daniel Padilla for the box-o� ce movie Crazy Beautiful You. It also contains the minus-one versions of select tracks. Morissette’s self-titled debut album is available nationwide for only P199. Digital tracks can also be downloaded via on-line music stores such as iTunes and Mymusicstore.com.ph 

★★★★★Down at the Edsa corner Timog Avenues, GMA Artist Center’s multi-talented star Glaiza de Castro claims her prayers have been � nally answered a� er launching her � rst album en-titled Synthesis on April 18 at ETON Centris Activity Area. Glaiza has put her heart and soul in coming up with Synthe-sis and shares how the strug-gles of completing the album made her realize that there is the right time for everything. According to Glaiza, her dis-tress, hardships, and resilience were expressed like a diary en-try through her album.  � e Kapuso performer fur-ther shares, “Kapag meron ka talagang isang pinagpe-pray, hindi muna ibibigay sa’yo kasi may tamang panahon, may perfect timing.” � e album speaks of an in-timate collaboration between Glaiza and her friends, who contributed their works such as album art, composition, and the title of the album. Some of these friends in-clude fellow celebrities such as Benjamin Alves, Chynna Or-taleza, Alessandra de Rossi, and Angelica Panganiban.  Its carrier single, “Dusk Til Dawn,” delivers a relaxing vibe that surely all indie fans will enjoy. � e chill and feel good album consists of tracks such as “Mataruok,” which Glaiza sug-gests is ideal for a long drive

SHOWBITZi s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

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Continued on C7

TWOSINGERS,TWODIFFERENTTUNES

Actor Galiza de Castro tries her mettle in recording. She has a new one released in the market recently

Morissette and Glaiza de Castro

have new albums. Both albums contain

songs close to the two singers’ hearts,

but also have different beats and

rhythm. Which of the album will make

music consumers happy is now the

bone of contention between the two

singers’ fans

SHOWBITZ

Morissette, considered the next Big Diva, is now a full-fledged recording star with a debut album in the market now

SIMPLYRED

SIMPLYRED

ISAH V. RED