Journalism

NEWS
The office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the country in the absence of diplomatic ties
between Manila and Taipei, also urged the Bureau of Immigration to arrest Chen,
describing him as a “notorious crook” and “economic criminal,” and to deport him
back to Taiwan.
In July, Peza Director General Charito Plaza said the Taiwanese investor proposed to
develop an economic zone in Western Pangasinan, with the project cost and locator
investments amounting to a combined $360 billion.
The amount is larger than the six-year infrastructure budget of the Duterte
administration, estimated to be about P8 trillion.
Plaza said that Chen also bought a property on Roxas Boulevard, which he promised
to develop into a P12-billion, 85-story building under the supervision of Peza.
The Philippine government has been urged to reject the investment proposals made by
Taiwanese businessman Chen You-hao, more than a month after the head of the
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) announced that the projects were under
consideration, including one priced at a staggering $360 billion (P18.4 trillion).
In a statement on Wednesday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the
Philippines (Teco) said it had filed a formal request calling on relevant Philippine
authorities to reject the investment projects of Chen, whom it described as “Taiwan’s
most wanted economic criminal.”
Teco said Chen might use ill-gotten capital and assets to fund the projects
“They already filled up an application form and I will bring [Cheng] to President
[Duterte] so he could acknowledge the biggest ecozone investment,” she told
reporters.
Chen has been wanted in Taiwan since January 2014, when the Taiwan Taipei District
Court indicted him for fraud, embezzlement and other serious economic crimes.
He is accused of defrauding investors of 800 million new Taiwan dollars (NTD), or
about P1.35 billion.
According to Teco, Chen fled to Xiamen in China’s Fujian province, leaving behind
NTD415 million in tax arrears. He also allegedly defrauded Taiwanese banks and
investors of about NTD70 billion.
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Chen took his money to Xiamen, where he founded Xianglu Dragon Group, the same
group he represented when he proposed the projects to Plaza.
Teco said that Chen’s new group invested RMB3.88 billion (P29.84 billion) in
Fujian’s PX Chemical Zone, which has now incurred a revenue deficit of about
RMB2 billion due to poor management.
“He needs to find another suitable place or country to repeat his criminal business
model and it seems that his new target is the Philippines,” the Teco statement read.
Plaza said it was former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. who introduced her to the
Xianglu Dragon Group. According to her, De Venecia convinced the company to
invest in the Philippines.
Teco warned that Taiwanese investors and tax authorities, as well as Chinese
creditors, might file lawsuits against Chen and his investment projects once he started
business in the Philippines.
Filipino authorities stood by a businessman from Taiwan who is planning to

build the largest economic zone in the Philippines, notwithstanding a warning
from Taipei that he was a fugitive.
Taiwan's de facto embassy in Manila had sought the deportation of You Hao
Chen but Filipino authorities declined the request since Chen holds a Chinese
passport. The Philippines does not recognize Taiwan as a country separate
from China.
Chen was accused of making fraudulent entries in accounting books of a
Tuntex Group subsidiary when he was in Taiwan, according to Taipei court
records obtained by ABS-CBN News. He has been wanted since 2014.
Documents also showed that Chen owes the Taiwanese government nearly
440 million Taiwan dollars (P744.8 million) in tax aggregate income from 2002
to 2004.
"It’s none of our business if ever this investor has cases in the countries where
he has been to," Philippine Economic Zone Authority director general Charito
Plaza said.
"It is a political issue because I was told that the owner was supporting
another presidential candidate in the last election so it is not a criminal issue,"
she said.
The PEZA has also confirmed the legitimacy of Chen's firm according to
Plaza, adding he also has businesses in China, Japan and the United States.
"What is important is there is a sincerity of the invitation for us not to be misled
by whatever are the issues against him..." she said.
Chen, founder and chief executive of Xiang Lu Dragon Group, wants to build a
3,000-hectare economic zone in Pangasinan province north of the capital,
which is envisioned to house a petrochemical facility and an airport.
The Taiwanese businessman also plans to build an 85-story building along
Roxas Boulevard, which could be the tallest in the country.
EDITORIAL
MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the war on drugs
would continue despite the controversial killing of a teenage boy in an anti-
drug sweep last week, which has drawn mounting criticism and public outcry.
In a speech in Batangas, Duterte said his drug war would continue as it is his
“sworn duty” to rid the country of the drug scourge.
“I’ll be impeached? Correct. I can be impeached. Gusto mo barilin mo ako, but
I will not change my policy. There will be war against drugs,” Duterte said.
In the same breath, Duterte also said he would not justify what happened to
Delos Santos.
“It was bad. Hindi naman performance of duty ‘yung ganoon,” he said.
He also clarified that he would not guarantee protection for abusive cops.
“I said I will protect those who are doing their duty. I never promised to protect
those who are supposedly engaged in doing their duty but committing a crime
in the process,” he said.
The death of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos in the hands of police during a
drug raid in Caloocan City last week prompted public outrage against the
government’s war on drugs amid evidence suggesting that the 11th grader
was murdered in cold blood.
Delos Santos was among dozens killed in overnight anti-drug sweeps
in Bulacan, Manila, and northern Metro Manila last week, considered the
deadliest since Duterte took office last year.
A closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed police dragging Delos
Santos to the spot where he was later shot dead. Witnesses also said that
before the boy was killed, police gave him a gun and told him to run for his
life.
Two of three officers implicated in the killing have since admitted that it was
them who were captured in the CCTV footage dragging Delos Santos,
according to the Philippine National Police - Internal Affairs Service.
Autopsy findings of the Public Attorneys Office also suggested that the boy
was shot three times while on the ground helpless.
The Caloocan City police have said that Delos Santos was a drug runner for
his father and uncle, an allegation that the boy’s family denied. The police also
presented a witness, Renato “Nono” Loveras, who allegedly did transactions
with the boy.
Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa and at
least two cabinet members, Education Secretary Leonor Briones and Defense
Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, have said the student should not have been killed
in the operation.
The Department of Justice, Commission on Human Rights, and National
Police Commission have launched separate investigations into Delos Santos’
killing.
The Senate is also expected to hold its own probe into the minor’s killing,
along with the fresh spate of deaths under the drug war.
Amid evidence against the police as well as the autopsy findings, Duterte
has promised a fair and swift probe into the incident.
Delos Santos’ killing is the latest blow to the government’s war on drugs,
widely criticized due to the scores killed in police operations.
Latest Philippine National Police data show that a total of 3,451 drug
personalities were killed in anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to July 26,
2017.
The PNP has also determined that out of the 12,833 homicide cases from July
1, 2016 to June 16, 2017, 2,098 deaths were drug-related while 2,535 were
not. A total of 8,200 homicide cases were under investigation "with motives to
be determined," the PNP earlier said.
COPYREADING
De spite concErnss for their sufety, 3 witnesses — 2 of thEem minors — will testytify
in the Senater to moday to details how brave poOlice offficers killeder Kianne de los
Santos, 17, in Caloocan City last week, their lawyer said on Wednesday.
All Among the th ings the wwitnesdeses — all fffemale and friends of the slain
teenager — will discsusses wfas “how random” a polifce asdset had pooointed to
Delos Santos, which eventtually led to his death in the hands of police officfsers.
Law yer June Ambr Osio of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines sfaid the wisftnesses
were seeking jus tice for Delos S antos.
“They are KIan’S friendds and thssey feel so bad that he’s being malillgned in the
media and social media as a drug courier, a runner. He’s nosft. He’s a good kid. A
diligent student. He wanted to be a pol iiceman,” Amb rosio said.
She saifd the wcTitnesses had express egd co ncern about the possible
“disruption of their livges and the safety of their families.”
The witnesses — aged 13, 16 and 31 — are under the care of Sen. Risa
HOOontiveros.
Ambrosio said she had dgmet the witness several times. She also assisSSsted them on
Wednesday when they met representatives from the Office of the Ombuddgsman and
the National Bureau of Investigation at the Philippine General Hospital.
The lawyer said she was considering fdgiling murder charges against the Caloocan
policemen involved in the killing of Delos Santos.
Hontiveros’ camp would continue to proIGvide sanctuary for the witnesses after they
declined to be placed under the custody of the Public Attou rney’s Office.
The senftator also scoffed at critic isms that her

decision to hedglp Delos Santos was politically motivated.
She said she had been very vocal against systematic killings under the Duterte
administration.Justice Secretary Vitaliano AguiTTrre II on Wednesday raised doubts
about the credibility of the three witnesses, “csgonsidering the bias of their
handler.”Aguirre stre Ssed t hat witnesses were wEEEelcome to the government’s
witness protection program.
SCIENCE
Mention “the pill,” and only one kind of drug comes to mind. The claim that oral
contraceptives have on that simple noun testifies to the pill’s singular effect in the United
States. Introduced in 1960, the pill gave women reliable access to birth control for the
first time. The opportunity to delay having children opened the door to higher education
and professional careers for many women.
More than 50 years later, the most commonly used form of reversible contraception in
this country is still the pill. Additional methods have been developed for women — such
as implants, patches, vaginal rings and injectables — but most do basically the same
thing as the pill: use synthetic versions of sex steroid hormones to suppress ovulation.
The method has proved its merit, but the current crop of contraceptives doesn’t work for
everyone. Some women can’t tolerate the side effects stemming from manipulation of
the hormones. Others can’t use hormonal contraceptives at all, because of underlying
health conditions.
In control
In a survey, 62 percent of U.S. women ages 15 to 44 reported using contraception in
2011 to 2013. The pill was the most popular form of birth control, followed by female
sterilization (which permanently blocks the fallopian tubes). Rounding out the top five
methods were the male condom, long-acting reversible contraception (like intrauterine
devices and implants) and male sterilization (vasectomy). In the survey, if women used
more than one method, only the most effective method was counted.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS/CDC, T. TIBBITTS
And what’s new for men? Their main mode of contraception, the condom, has been
around for at least 400 years, perhaps longer. Alternatively, men who want to take the
lead on family planning can go the surgical route with a vasectomy.
The dearth of alternatives is not due to a lack of research. Reproductive biologists and
other researchers have made many exciting discoveries since the pill was introduced.
But taking a promising finding in cells or in mice to human testing is hard for any drug.
And for contraceptives, there’s an extra wrinkle: “You’re developing products for very
healthy people, so you have to make sure [the drugs] are incredibly safe, and the side
effect profile is acceptable,” says Diana Blithe, a biochemist and chief of the
contraceptive development program at the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development in Bethesda, Md.
Even with the long road to human testing, odds are that by the time the pill turns 75,
there will be new options stocking the contraceptive cabinet. Researchers are currently
exploring a method that keeps women’s eggs in a state of suspended animation for later
use. For men, there could be nonhormonal methods that stop sperm from developing
and launching their epic journey. The impact of these novel methods might ripple out
into society much as the pill’s once did.
Room for improvement
There were 6.1 million pregnancies in the United States in 2011. Forty five percent of
them, or a whopping 2.8 million, were not intentional, according to a 2016 report in
the New England Journal ofMedicine.
Unplanned pregnancies can have consequences for parents and kids, studies find.
Women’s education can be cut short. Unwanted pregnancies are linked to delayed
prenatal care — probably because moms don’t realize they’re pregnant — as well as
low birth weight in infants. Postpartum depression is more common for mothers who did
not intend to have a baby than for those who did.
The numbers also suggest that the contraceptives available aren’t meeting everyone’s
needs. Some methods are expensive. And some users have health concerns or just
don’t stick with an option. In 2008, about 40 percent of unintended pregnancies were in
couples that used contraception, but inconsistently, according to the Guttmacher
Institute, a reproductive health research and policy organization in New York City.
From 2011 to 2013, the most popular reversible contraceptive choice for women ages
15 to 44 was the pill, with use at nearly 26 percent. The pill and other hormonal
contraceptives contain the female sex steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone, or
progesterone alone, usually in synthetic forms. These hormones prevent ovulation by
suppressing the brain’s release of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone.
Some women find that hormonal contraceptives work well; other women experience
side effects such as headaches, nausea, mood changes and acne. Oral contraceptives
also increase the risk of blood clots, taking the drugs off the table for women with a
history of blood clots, stroke or cardiovascular disease. The pill is also a no-go for
women with severe hypertension or who have ever had breast cancer.
Relying on hormones to halt sperm production can also work. A new hormone-based
gel for men, applied to the skin, is in human testing. It combines the male sex steroid
testosterone with a synthetic progesterone. Plans are under way for couples to test the
gel as their only form of birth control. But giving men hormones can come with side
effects, such as reduced muscle mass and a drop in sexual function.
Discoveries that are beginning to explain the earliest stages of egg development and
the finishing touches of sperm growth may lead to steroid-free alternatives.
Snooze button
Hormonal contraception disrupts ovulation, and the egg that was scheduled for
departure from an ovary dies. But what if there was a method that preserved the egg for
later?
When women are born, their ovaries have a full set of oocytes, or eggs — a million or
so. Each is housed within a sac of cells called a follicle. The outer portion of each ovary
is filled with the earliest, dormant form of these egg-carrying follicles, called primordial
follicles. The sleeping cells are waiting to be woken up, so they can begin growing in
preparation for ovulation. But why the alarm clock goes off for one primordial follicle and
not another is an open question, says reproductive biologist David Pépin of
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
You could potentially preserve that pool of eggs for later in life,
theoretically.
— David Pépin
Today’s hormonal contraceptives act on ovarian follicles that are already growing, and
once that starts, there is no going back — if ovulation doesn’t happen, the egg dies.
Aiming contraception at the sleeping eggs could mean putting off pregnancy, while
holding on to the eggs. By preventing that first wake-up call, “actually, you keep the
egg,” Pépin says. “You could potentially preserve that pool of eggs for later in life,
theoretically.”
Meet the biological agent that could keep eggs asleep: Müllerian-inhibiting substance,
or MIS. Also known as anti-Müllerian hormone, MIS is not a sex steroid hormone. It is
produced in the developing testes and prevents male embryos from growing female
reproductive parts. In adult female mice, MIS can also be a perpetual snooze button for
primordial follicles, Pépin and colleagues, including Mass General and Harvard pediatric
surgeon Patricia Donahoe, reported in the Feb.
28 Proceedings of the National Academyof Sciences.
Hundreds of follicles are estimated to be in various stages of development at any given

time. The active growers release MIS locally, which limits the number of primordial
follicles that wake up. This process allows the body to control and maintain the supply of
eggs over a woman’s reproductive life span.
Egg basket
Primordial follicles, the sacs that house immature eggs, reside in the outermost region
of the ovary. When follicles “wake up,” they begin to develop and move farther into the
ovary. When a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle begins, follicle-stimulating hormone
prompts additional growth of certain developing follicles. A dominant follicle matures.
Luteinizing hormone helps the mature follicle open up, and the egg is ovulated and
released into the fallopian tube. New experimental approaches to birth control aim to
keep the primordial follicles dormant, so they can be available later in a woman’s life.
T. TIBBITTS, IMAGE SOURCE: NIH
In their study, Pépin, Donahoe and colleagues used a virus to introduce a modified
version of the MIS gene into certain cells in mice. This permanent change gave the
mice a higher dose of MIS protein than is found normally in females. The follicles that
had already been growing completed their development, but after that, no new follicles
were activated, leaving a collection of sleeping-beauty primordial follicles.
When the researchers paired female mice treated with the gene therapy with males, the
females were still able to become pregnant — and have healthy babies — within the
first six weeks, because of those follicles that had already started growing in the
ovaries. Once that supply was used up, the females were infertile.
“You’re just stopping the horses that haven’t yet come out of the gate,” Donahoe says.
To test a nonpermanent approach, the team gave normal female mice the MIS protein
as a twice-daily shot. Activation of primordial follicles stopped. When treatment ended,
the ovaries got back to business and follicles began growing again.
Pépin and Donahoe see several uses for MIS as a contraceptive. The permanent gene
therapy method could be a nonsurgical contraceptive approach for pets or stray
animals. The research team is working with the Cincinnati Zoo to study this method in
cats.
Frequent shots of the MIS protein are too expensive for broad use, but they could help
protect the reserve of ovarian follicles in young cancer patients. “Growing follicles are
dividing quite rapidly, so they are very sensitive to chemotherapy,” Pépin says. Chemo
can kill off the growing follicles, which means there is no more MIS to stop activation of
other primordial follicles. Too many follicles wake up, which can deplete a woman’s egg
supply. In mice given chemotherapy drugs, MIS-treated animals were left with more
primordial follicles than untreated animals, the researchers found.
Still eager to make an MIS-like contraceptive for all women that is cheap and easy to
use, perhaps as a pill, the researchers are searching libraries of small molecules to find
one that mimics the action of MIS. “Maybe it would be an already existing [U.S. Food
and Drug Administration] approved medication — that’s the first screen we are
performing — or maybe it’s a very simple molecule, very cheap to synthesize,” Pépin
says.
Get in line
In healthy mice, normal sperm line up at the center of a part of the testes known as the
seminiferous tubule, ready for release (left, arrows). Mice treated with a drug that blocks
what’s known as the retinoic acid receptor have defective sperm that don’t line up (right,
arrows).
In mice treated with the drug, the sperm don’t align properly, Wolgemuth and colleagues
reported in 2011 in Endocrinology. The sperm aren’t released, so they die in the testes.
The researchers found no evidence of harm to other organs. Male mice given the drug
once a day for four weeks became infertile by the end of treatment and remained that
way for four weeks after treatment stopped. By 12 weeks after treatment, the mice
regained their mojo and successfully mated with females.
Later, the team gave mice a smaller dose of the drug for 16 weeks, over a quarter of
their reproductive lives, notes Chung. The treated mice became sterile, but once off the
drug, they soon became papas to healthy pups that grew into fertile adults, the
researchers wrote in Endocrinology last year.
Next step: Wolgemuth plans to test the drug in nonhuman primates. Her group is also
collaborating with a team of medicinal chemists to look for compounds that target only
the alpha version of the retinoic acid receptor. Even though the tested drug did not lead
to side effects, having an option that doesn’t interfere with the other two versions of the
receptor would be ideal, says Wolgemuth.
Radio Broad
LOCAL NEWS

Delos Santos.
life.
with the boy.
in the operation.
killing.
2017.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Teco said Chen might use ill-gotten capital and assets to fund the projects.
describing him as a “notorious crook” and “economic criminal,” and to deport him back
to Taiwan.
Plaza said that Chen also bought a property on Roxas Boulevard, which he promised to
develop into a P12-billion, 85-story building under the supervision of Peza.
SPORTS NEWS
Perlas Pilipinas made its way out of what looked like the end of the road to shock
Thailand, 69-67, in the 29th Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball tournament
Wednesday night at MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The gutsy Filipinos pulled off a houdini act late after finishing the game with a 16-2
run capped by the game-winning basket by Allana Lim off a nice assist by Frances
Mae Cabinbin with less than 20 seconds to go.
The Philippines was on its way to seeing its gold medal hopes go down the drain after
trailing, 65-53, with 5:19 remaining.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the seemingly insurmountable lead only paved the way for Perlas’ character to
show up and heroes to stand out.
Back-to-back baskets by Lim and Pontejos, who also shone on the defensive end with
a couple of crucial steals down the stretch, tied it at 65 with 1:47 left.
The Thais momentarily stopped the bleeding to regain the lead, but Analyn Almazan
knotted the count again at 67 with 42.4 seconds remaining before Lim and Cabinbin
conspired for the clutch play.
The Philippines redeemed itself from a 78-68 loss to Indonesia to improve to 3-1.
TV Broad
LOCAL NEWS

Delos Santos.
life.
with the boy.
in the operation.
killing.
2017.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Teco said Chen might use ill-gotten capital and assets to fund the projects.
describing him as a “notorious crook” and “economic criminal,” and to deport him back
to Taiwan.
Plaza said that Chen also bought a property on Roxas Boulevard, which he promised to
develop into a P12-billion, 85-story building under the supervision of Peza.
SPORTS NEWS
Perlas Pilipinas made its way out of what looked like the end of the road to shock
Thailand, 69-67, in the 29th Southeast Asian Games women’s basketball tournament
Wednesday night at MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The gutsy Filipinos pulled off a houdini act late after finishing the game with a 16-2
run capped by the game-winning basket by Allana Lim off a nice assist by Frances
Mae Cabinbin with less than 20 seconds to go.
The Philippines was on its way to seeing its gold medal hopes go down the drain after
trailing, 65-53, with 5:19 remaining.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the seemingly insurmountable lead only paved the way for Perlas’ character to
show up and heroes to stand out.
Back-to-back baskets by Lim and Pontejos, who also shone on the defensive end with
a couple of crucial steals down the stretch, tied it at 65 with 1:47 left.
The Thais momentarily stopped the bleeding to regain the lead, but Analyn Almazan
knotted the count again at 67 with 42.4 seconds remaining before Lim and Cabinbin
conspired for the clutch play.
The Philippines redeemed itself from a 78-68 loss to Indonesia to improve to 3-1.
LOCAL NEWS
Despite prodding from senators, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB) has yet to decide whether or not to accept Uber’s offer to pay a P10-
million fine in place of the month-long suspension it imposed on the transport
network company (TNC) starting on Aug. 15.
But LTFRB Board Member Aileen Lizada assured the public on Wednesday that the
board was doing its “best to resolve [the issue] in the soonest possible time” given the
“urgency of the matter.”
“Paramount to the board is the convenience of the riding public, balanced with their
respective safety. Crucial is seeing Uber’s commitment and sincerity to abide with
government’s policies,” Lizada told reporters at the end of the LTFRB’s two-hour
hearing on Uber’s petition.
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After meeting last week with the Senate committee on public services headed by Sen.
Grace Poe, Uber filed a motion in the LTFRB, asking that it be allowed to pay a P10-
million fine instead of fully serving the one-month suspension.
The LTFRB meted out the penalty against the TNC after it was found to have violated
the agency’s order to stop accepting and accrediting new drivers into its platform
while issues concerning the ride-sharing industry were being sorted out.
Poe, who expressed hope the suspension would last just a week, came to Uber’s
defense, saying the TNC was “following the law” but “it is our regulation itself that’s
making it slower.”
In Wednesday’s hearing, Vigor Mendoza, head of Kilusan sa Pagbabago sa
Industriya ng Transportasyon, proposed that Uber should not just pay P10 million but
a whopping P6 billion fine, based on their computation under the Joint Administrative
Order 2014-01.
Under the order’s schedule of fines, cars operating without the necessary franchise,
otherwise known as “colorum,” are to pay a penalty of P120,000 each. Mendoza said
that since the TNC was operating around 50,000 colorum cars, the fine to be imposed
must be P6 billion.
But Lizada said the amount was “too much,” adding: “We do listen and we are
reasonable. The concern is the suspension [order] being converted to a fine. [The
proposal] deviates from the main issue.”
LOCAL NEWS
It turns out that free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs) is just a one-off
educational assistance from the administration of self-proclaimed “socialist” President
Rodrigo Duterte.
A left-leaning party-list group denounced on Thursday the Duterte administration’s
discontinuation of funds intended for free higher education in its budget proposal for
2018.
In a statement, ACT Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro also revealed
the overall budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) would shrink by
P6.29 billion next year.
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The proposed budget for CHEd in 2018 is only P12.42 billion, 33.6 percent lower
than the current year’s P18.7-billion allocation.
“This is a huge step backward for the administration—its dismissal of the people’s
demand for higher budgets for education,” Castro said.
Tinio, for his part, said tuition in SUCs should be kept free because “the state can
afford to allocate funds for education in the tertiary level.”
In the 2017 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Senate realigned P8.3 billion
for student financial assistance.
But instead of continuing with the program, the proposed 2018 NEP submitted by
Malacañang on Monday omitted the higher education support fund, currently covered
in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) under special provision 2 of the CHEd
budget.
Also missing from the 2018 NEP is the GAA’s special provision 6 under the budget
for SUCs, which provides for P3 million in cash grants to medical students for the
current year.
COLLAB
1
describing him as a “notorious crook” and “economic criminal,” and to deport him
back to Taiwan.
Plaza said that Chen also bought a property on Roxas Boulevard, which he promised
to develop into a P12-billion, 85-story building under the supervision of Peza.
Teco said Chen might use ill-gotten capital and assets to fund the projects
“They already filled up an application form and I will bring [Cheng] to President
[Duterte] so he could acknowledge the biggest ecozone investment,” she told
reporters.
Chen has been wanted in Taiwan since January 2014, when the Taiwan Taipei District
Court indicted him for fraud, embezzlement and other serious economic crimes.
He is accused of defrauding investors of 800 million new Taiwan dollars (NTD), or
about P1.35 billion.
According to Teco, Chen fled to Xiamen in China’s Fujian province, leaving behind
NTD415 million in tax arrears. He also allegedly defrauded Taiwanese banks and
investors of about NTD70 billion.
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Chen took his money to Xiamen, where he founded Xianglu Dragon Group, the same
group he represented when he proposed the projects to Plaza.
Teco said that Chen’s new group invested RMB3.88 billion (P29.84 billion) in
Fujian’s PX Chemical Zone, which has now incurred a revenue deficit of about
RMB2 billion due to poor management.
“He needs to find another suitable place or country to repeat his criminal business
model and it seems that his new target is the Philippines,” the Teco statement read.
Plaza said it was former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. who introduced her to the
Xianglu Dragon Group. According to her, De Venecia convinced the company to
invest in the Philippines.
Teco warned that Taiwanese investors and tax authorities, as well as Chinese
creditors, might file lawsuits against Chen and his investment projects once he started
business in the Philippines.
Filipino authorities stood by a businessman from Taiwan who is planning to

build the largest economic zone in the Philippines, notwithstanding a warning
from Taipei that he was a fugitive.
Taiwan's de facto embassy in Manila had sought the deportation of You Hao
Chen but Filipino authorities declined the request since Chen holds a Chinese
passport. The Philippines does not recognize Taiwan as a country separate
from China.
Chen was accused of making fraudulent entries in accounting books of a
Tuntex Group subsidiary when he was in Taiwan, according to Taipei court
records obtained by ABS-CBN News. He has been wanted since 2014.
Documents also showed that Chen owes the Taiwanese government nearly
440 million Taiwan dollars (P744.8 million) in tax aggregate income from 2002
to 2004.
"It’s none of our business if ever this investor has cases in the countries where
he has been to," Philippine Economic Zone Authority director general Charito
Plaza said.
"It is a political issue because I was told that the owner was supporting
another presidential candidate in the last election so it is not a criminal issue,"
she said.
The PEZA has also confirmed the legitimacy of Chen's firm according to
Plaza, adding he also has businesses in China, Japan and the United States.
"What is important is there is a sincerity of the invitation for us not to be misled
by whatever are the issues against him..." she said.
Chen, founder and chief executive of Xiang Lu Dragon Group, wants to build a
3,000-hectare economic zone in Pangasinan province north of the capital,
which is envisioned to house a petrochemical facility and an airport.
The Taiwanese businessman also plans to build an 85-story building along
Roxas Boulevard, which could be the tallest in the country.
2
Delos Santos.
life.
with the boy.
in the operation.
killing.
2017.
EDITORIAL
1
Delos Santos.
life.
with the boy.
in the operation.
killing.
2017.
2
It turns out that free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs) is just a one-off
educational assistance from the administration of self-proclaimed “socialist” President
Rodrigo Duterte.
A left-leaning party-list group denounced on Thursday the Duterte administration’s
discontinuation of funds intended for free higher education in its budget proposal for
2018.
In a statement, ACT Teachers Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro also revealed
the overall budget of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) would shrink by
P6.29 billion next year.
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The proposed budget for CHEd in 2018 is only P12.42 billion, 33.6 percent lower
than the current year’s P18.7-billion allocation.
“This is a huge step backward for the administration—its dismissal of the people’s
demand for higher budgets for education,” Castro said.
Tinio, for his part, said tuition in SUCs should be kept free because “the state can
afford to allocate funds for education in the tertiary level.”
In the 2017 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Senate realigned P8.3 billion
for student financial assistance.
But instead of continuing with the program, the proposed 2018 NEP submitted by
Malacañang on Monday omitted the higher education support fund, currently covered
in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) under special provision 2 of the CHEd
budget.
Also missing from the 2018 NEP is the GAA’s special provision 6 under the budget
for SUCs, which provides for P3 million in cash grants to medical students for the
current year
3
Competition has turned up a notch in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala
Lumpur, what with Team Philippines winning its first gold—in women’s marathon,
courtesy of Mary Joy Tabal — hours before yesterday’s formal opening. Earlier on,
the haul consisted of a silver and two bronzes.
Here’s the all-important question: How should Team Philippines’ performance in this
biennial meet be judged?
The question begs for an answer to make up for the lack of accountability among the
country’s sports leaders. Debacle after debacle, in past editions of the SEA Games or
even the Asian Games and the Olympics, they have always fished for moral victories
from the rubble of failed bids.
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Worse, some of them, speaking from their lofty posts, trot out the usual excuses: We
didn’t get the right breaks. We didn’t have enough funds for athletes’ training.
But the breaks of the game are nationality-blind, as fickle with our Southeast Asian
neighbors as they are with us. Why does it seem that the breaks single out the
Philippines almost yearly? And funds? That problem has been cited since forever, and
the solution should have been figured out by now.
The problem is that there are no standards by which the country’s performance can be
judged. Chided for the absence of a stable, viable and long-term sports program,
officials turn to the possible gold haul in these competitions, hoping the shine of the
medals would deflect public scrutiny. But the gold harvest from this low-level
international meet has lately been sparse. And officials turn to the performance of
young athletes to try and show that the Philippine sports program is working.
So how to measure Team Philippines’ performance in KL? Through a metric like the
medal count, specifically the gold count? Through the promise of up-and-coming
athletes as we continue to chase after our ultimate sporting goal—an Olympic gold?
If we go by numbers, the standard seems to have been set. The Philippines won 29
gold medals in the last edition of the SEA Games; anything less would mean utter
failure. Yet merely eclipsing that number hardly means overcoming mediocrity.
Consider that host Malaysia is gunning for 111 golds—a target so precise it can be
safely said that its sports leaders had determined exactly where to pin that nation’s
hopes. On the other hand, Philippine delegation head Cynthia Carrion has pegged the
target at 50 golds. A rough estimate, to be sure, but a reasonable measure by which
Team Philippines’ stint in the Malaysian capital can be judged.
If we are to deem the SEA Games as breeding ground for future Olympians, then we
must measure success by studying our young athletes’ performance, especially if they
are competing in measurable sports, and then determine if their progression arc can
actually lead to a world-level mark.
Are they young enough? Do their improvements up until the SEA Games show a
steady rise toward world standards? If we are ready to quit the obsession to measure
ourselves against regional rivals and to focus on the few elite athletes who can
compete on the world level, then this is how we will measure our participation in the
SEA Games.
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Using such a standard comes with a caveat: We should then stop spreading meager
financial resources thinly across all sports for political purposes and instead devote the
bulk of the funds to targeted disciplines capable of winning the gold.
But sports commissioner Ramon Fernandez, the most vocal critic of Philippine
Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, thinks the judging should be
done both ways: This being one of the more well-funded delegations ever sent to the
SEA Games, it’s natural to expect some sort of return on investment from Team
Philippines in terms of the medal count. It will also count as an acceptable and
meaningful return if the SEA Games can help unearth a young athlete who can be
polished into an Olympic gold candidate.
And there is a need to make sure that sports leaders validate their current posts.
Cojuangco, for one, has insisted on staying—some say overstaying—on as POC
president. He should then be held accountable for how the Philippines performs in the
SEA Games.
Whether it’s by medal count or by producing promising talents who can end our
Olympic gold drought, it’s time we made loud noise about holding our sports leaders
accountable for our teams’ performances overseas.

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