Manila Standard Today - May 15, 2012 Issue

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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
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She said the Anti-Money-Launder-
ing Council provided her the informa-
tion on Coronas dollar account.
If I tell you now that it [Coronas
supposed dollar account] is not one of
those charges in the Articles of Im-
peachment, you are not in a position
to deny or contradict this representa-
tion, Seran Cuevas, the defenses
lead counsel, told Morales at the con-
tinuation of Coronas impeachment
trial at the Senate for alleged betrayal
of the public trust.
It is not, Morales said. With
more reason, I should conduct further
investigation.
And the idea is for impeachment
also? Senate President and presiding
judge Juan Ponce Enrile said.
Possibly for impeachment in De-
cember, Morales said.
Corona said Morales initial testi-
mony is quite unfortunate, if not very
malicious.
I dont know how she came up
with her own mathematical equation.
By Joyce Pangco Paares
and Othel V. Campos
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino
III on Monday ordered Agricul-
ture ofcials to nd other export
markets for the Philippines
Cavendish bananas after China
imposed more stringent quaran-
tine requirements on the fruit.
We have to look for other
export markets... It is important
to diversify to ensure our hands
are not tied to the decision of just
one country, Mr. Aquino said
amid speculation that Beijing
imposed the stricter rules over
its territorial dispute with Manila
over the Scarborough Shoal.
The Palace on Sunday in-
sisted the new regulations
were unrelated to the territorial
dispute, but stocks on Monday
slumped to their sharpest loss
in two months on fears the
Scarborough standoff would
hurt trade relations between
the two countries.
The President said the gov-
ernment was already helping
banana exporters meet the new
phyto-sanitary requirements in
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III
eyes beautiful women and talks
about his admiration for the oppo-
site sex, but people wonder why he
wants to live alone like a priest.
I will enter the priesthood by
2016, he told the reporters who
accompanied him in his speak-
ing engagements in Davao City
and Marikina City on Tuesday.
Thats what you call late vo-
cation.
Mr. Aquino said he would
lead a life of celibacy, but no
one could know if he would still
look at beautiful women and
speak, tongue in cheek, about
the pretty Ilongga, the pretty
Davaoea, the pretty Cebuana
and oh, so many pretty, pretty.
Mr. Aquino, whose six-year
term ends in 2016, is the rst
bachelor to become Philippine
FOREIGN Affairs on Mon-
day said it does not recognize
the shing ban that China has
announced over Scarborough
Shoal, where Chinese and Phil-
ippine vessels have been facing
off for over a month as a result
of their countries claims to it.
Our position is we do not
recognize Chinas shing ban in
as much as portions of the ban
encompass our Exclusive Eco-
nomic Zone, the department
said in a statement.
However, the President has
decided that, in view of the ac-
celerated depletion of our ma-
rine resources, it would be ad-
visable for us to issue our own
shing ban for a period of time
to replenish our sh stock.
The department issued its
statement even as the Coast
Guard said it would maintain its
presence at the Pantag or Scar-
borough Shoal unless President
Benigno Aquino III ordered
them to pull out.
We are waiting for guidance
from our President, said Lt.
Commander Rommel Supangan,
Coast Guard spokesman.
As of now, the order is to
maintain our vessel in the area.
In Malacaang, Mr. Aquino
said the Philippines and China
had moved closer toward resolv-
ing their standoff over the Scar-
borough Shoal.
He gave no details, but hinted
the Philippines might no longer
By Christine F. Herrera
and Alena Mae Flores
A GOVERNMENT plan to create a private
Mindanao Power Corp. to buy, manage and run
the states remaining power generating assets on
the island has split opposition to privatization,
lawmakers said Monday.
On Monday, President Benigno Aquino III pre-
sented the recommendation of Mindanao Devel-
opment Authority chairman Luwalhati Antonino
to let stakeholders in the blackout-stricken island
run and manage privatized power assets such as
the Agus-Pulangui hydroelectric plants.
As far as I understood it, the people of Min-
danao wanted privatization and to run its own
power. The question is, does the government
AGRICULTURE Secretary Pro-
ceso Alcala on Monday stood
pat on his decision to increase
the reference prices of hog and
chicken imports, saying the
meat importers whining over
the P200,000 to be charged per
container proved they had not
been truthfully declaring their
imports and were shortchanging
the government.
The meat importers and pro-
cessors should also consider the
interest of domestic hog produc-
ers, and they should not penalize
the livestock industry, Alcala
told reporters during the Peoples
Organizations Forum hosted by
the Mindanao Rural Development
Program at the Grand Regal Hotel
in Davao City.
On April 27, Alcala recom-
mended to Finance Secretary
Cesar Purisima that the refer-
ence prices on imported pork
and chicken be increased from
80 cents a kilo for pork and 54
cents a kilo for chicken.
For pork carcasses and half
carcasses, Alcala recommended
the reference price should be
By Christine Herrera
WITH only 12 session days left,
several sectors on Monday ac-
cused President Benigno Aquino
III and Congress of noynoying
for sacricing such compelling
and important national issues
as the power crisis, the oil price
hikes, the wage hikes and smug-
gling, among other things, be-
cause the Presidents focus is on
the impeachment trial of Chief
Justice Renato Corona.
Lawmakers, civil society
groups, businessmen, and other
sectors said the President was
aficted with the Big C syn-
drome: Corona, China and Con-
gresswoman Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo.
The Presidents noynoying
has become cancerous and has
spread to Congress that already
adversely affected the people.
He has become obsessed with
the Big C: Corona, China and
Congresswoman Arroyo, Ka-
bataan Rep. Raymond Palatino
told the Manila Standard.
While impeachment is im-
portant, governance does not stop
there. The President must realize
Alcala rebuffs importers;
higher meat tariffs stay
PH ignores China,
plans to issue own
fishing ban in shoal
New export
markets for
bananas up
IMPEACHMENT SHELVES OTHER CRUCIAL ISSUES
Paper trail. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales wave documents during her testimony at the resumption of impeachment trial of Su-
preme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Buddha Day. About
5,000 Buddhists gather at
the Marikina Sports Center
to pray during the celebra-
tion of Buddha Day. Inset
shows one of the rituals
of Vesakha, which means
making special efforts to
bring happiness to the un-
fortunate like the aged, the
handicapped and the sick.
DANNY PATA
Vol. XXVI No. 75 12 Pages, 2 Sections
P18.00 TUESDAY, May 15, 2012
www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com
TODAY
Standard
Manila
$10-m deposits tied
to new impeach rap
PNoy has eyes on beauty but prefers to live like a priest
Private power
firm splits ranks
Next page Next page Next page
Next page
Next page
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales
on Monday said her investigation of Chief
Justice Renato Coronas alleged $10-million
dollar account was linked to another im-
peachment complaint that might be led
against him in December.
She made a hodgepodge out of the ac-
counts, making her numbers chaotic.
The number of accounts alone is at
best ridiculous.
We will debunk all her bloated
numbers. And once she is proven
wrong, I urge her to immediately re-
sign from her post for allowing herself
to be used by this administration and
making a laughingstock of govern-
ment auditing.
Morales, citing the documents that
the Anti-Money-Laundering Council
had provided her, said Corona had 82
dollar accounts in several banks that he
had been maintaining for eight years.
She asked to be allowed to use the
power point presentation over the sup-
posed accounts and Cuevas objected,
but Enrile allowed it after Senators
Loren Legarda and Miriam Defensor-
Santiago voted for it and the other
senators agreed.
President Benigno Aquino III said
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News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com MAY 15, 2012 TUESDAY
A2
If successful, counting on ma-
chines can help preserve this
nations technological power
not the stereotype of machines
snatching assembly line jobs from
workers, Jun Misumicompany
spokesman, said Monday.
The move toward machine-
only production will likely be
completed in the next few years,
perhaps as soon as 2015, said
Misumi, although he declined to
give specic dates.
Japanese manufacturers have
been moving production abroad
recently to offset the earnings
damage from the soaring yen
amid fears of a hollowing-out
of Japan Inc. as jobs move to
China, India and the rest of Asia,
No workers needed to make cameras
TOKYOCanon Inc. is moving to-
ward fully automating digital camera
production in an effort to cut costsa
key change being played out across
Japan, a world leader in robotics.
where labor costs are cheaper.
Misumi was adamant that jobs
wont be cut at Canon.
When machines become
more sophisticated, human be-
ings can be transferred to do new
kinds of work, he said.
Toyota Motor Corp. is also
working on beeng up auto-
mated production not only to cut
costs but achieve better quality.
In a recent plant tour, reporters
watched how welding got much
faster and more precise through
instantaneous laser-welding that
turned out Lexus luxury models.
Despite growing pressure from
the high yen, Toyota is innovat-
ing production efciency to keep
annual Japan production at 3 mil-
lion vehicles, about a third of its
global production, by reducing
costs through robotics use.
Akihito Sano, professor at
Nagoya Institute of Technology,
said Japan needs to do more to
ne-tune its sophisticated robot-
ics for practical applications.
Japan has tended to focus on
research and come up with razzle-
dazzle humanoids and then get
beaten in simple products like the
Roomba vacuum cleaner by iRobot
Corp. of the United States, he said.
Honda Motor Co.s walk-
ing and talking Asimo human-
shaped robot comes with voice
recognition, pours juice into a
cup and can run around on two
legs as mascot at events.
Since the late 1990s, like other
manufacturers, Canon began us-
ing the cell production method,
in which a team of workers or
one worker puts together a major
part, rather than doing a simple
task over and over.
In recent years, robots have be-
come so much a part of this cell
production, Canon calls it man-
machine cell. Eventually, hu-
man involvement will be phased
out in making some products, ac-
cording to Canon.
In the US, Amazon.com Inc.
is buying Kiva Systems, which
makes robots and software to help
companies fulll orders, for $775
million.
Amazon has been using au-
tomation at its order fulllment
centers for some time. But Kivas
technology is designed to lower
costs and will be used to help
workers pick and pack books.
Sano, the academic, stressed the
need for a system so workers can
communicate with robots. He also
stressed that there will always be
room for human intelligence, us-
ing the Japanese for craftsman-
ship, or takumi. AP
$10-m...
there was strong evidence against Corona over his alleged dollar ac-
counts. Regardless of the amount in the supposed dollar accounts,
Corona should be held accountable for not declaring those in his
Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, he said.
The prosecution panel claimed victory following Morales dis-
closure and urged Corona to tell all.
It appears that the defense panels gamble did not pay off, Au-
rora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said.
It was the defense lawyers who sought the Ombudsman and not
the prosecutors. They... planned to punch holes in the testimony of
Ombudsman Morales, but it did not happen.
During an earlier questioning in the direct examination, Cuevas
asked Morales if Coronas supposed bank account was covered by
the impeachment complaint.
I dont know if the alleged $700,000 in PS Bank is included in
this $10 million. Not sure, Morales said. She said it was her opin-
ion based on how she analyzed a 17-page document from the Anti-
Money Laundering Council detailing Coronas alleged ill-gotten
wealth.
In a letter she sent to Corona in April, Morales said she did not
include the aggregate amount of the dollar deposits and the source
of the report because she thought its not necessary.
But Cuevas insisted that Morales could have cited that informa-
tion in her letter to Corona and asked him to explain his supposed
ill-gotten wealth, hence giving Corona the chance to explain him-
self.
So why do you consider it not necessary when you are practi-
cally accusing a person of illegally acquired wealth? Cuevasssaid.
I thought it was not necessary to mention the source. After all,
you said the accounts did not exist Morales said. With Maricel
Cruz and Joyce Pangco Paares
PH...
need to bring their dispute over the
shoal before the International Tribu-
nal on the Law of the Sea.
Our discussions with China have
never stopped, Mr. Aquino said.
There is direction now, whereas
before the talks were not as clear.
Now there appears to be some clar-
ity in the talks.
The Chinese shing ban on
May 16 to Aug. 1 was reported by
the Xinhua News Agency quoting
South China Sea sheries admin-
istration ofcials. The ofcials
said the ban covered the island of
Huangyan or Scarborough, and it
was meant to protect the marine
ecosystems and resources in the
area.
Chinese ofcials said the ban
covered Chinese and foreign sher-
men and those from countries lay-
ing claim to parts of the Spratlys and
other islands across the South China
Sea. The Spratlys are said to contain
large deposits of oil, gas, hydro-
carbon and mineral resources. Eric
Apolonio, Florante S. Solmerin
and Joyce Pangco Paares
PNoy...
President. He sometimes goes out on a
date but is not known to become serious
with any woman.
He has been linked with various women:
Shalani Soledad, who is now married to
Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo, teacher Bunny
Calica, celebrity stylist Liz Uy, stockbro-
ker Len Lopez, and Korean television host
Grace Lee.
In a speech at the National Transport
Conference in Marikina City, Mr. Aquino
told drivers whom he called sweet lov-
ers that he had come from from Davao,
where there were more beautiful women
now than in 2010 when he was there cam-
paigning for the presidency.
Asked if he believed that Mr. Aquino
would become a priest, one driver said:
The chances are as good as our daily
wage going up to P1,000.
Joyce Pangco Paares
New...
China, the second biggest export
market for Philippine bananas after
Japan.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Al-
cala said the government was looking
at exporting bananas to countries in
the Middle East.
He said a delegation of plant quar-
antine ofcials will leave for China
this week to solve the issue, and in-
vited Beijing to send its own team to
the Philippines to check on the sani-
tary protocols here.
Last week, China denied entry to
some P700 million worth of Caven-
dish bananas from the Philippines
and ordered 100-percent inspection
on all inbound fruits from Manila
after claiming that pests had been
found in a randomly inspected ship-
ment.
But Plant Bureau Director Clari-
to Baron said the pest that China
claimed to have found in the banana
shipment could only be found on co-
conuts.
The insect found in the banana
shipment was in fact a kind of scale
insect that infects coconuts only, he
said.
Philippine fruit exporters ex-
pressed concern that the stricter
regulations would hurt the P4.75-
billion banana industry. They said
the bananas in 61 out of the 150
container vans sitting in Chinese
ports were already spoiled because
of the delay, costing exporters
about $760,000.
On Monday, the Philippine Stock
Exchange Index sank 1.4 percent to
5,083.62 at the close of trading, its
biggest decline since Feb. 27.
Philippine Long Distance Tele-
phone Co., the nations largest
company by market value, and JG
Summit Holdings Inc., owner of the
biggest budget airline, led the losses.
Tensions have risen since a stand-
off began last month between ships
from both countries over an island
in the South China Sea, called Scar-
borough Shoal by the Philippines and
Huangyan by China.
China might consider economic
sanctions against the Philippines if
the situation continued to develop,
the China Daily reported Monday,
citing Zhao Jianglin, an economic
expert at the China Academy of So-
cial Sciences Institute of Asia Pa-
cic Studies.
A continued dispute with China
may have signicant implications,
said Allan Yu, who helps manage
$9.06 billion at Manila-based Metro-
politan Bank & Trust Co.
There is also renewed fear over
Europes debt crisis.
Tourism-related stocks declined.
Alliance Global Group Inc., owner
of the operator of Manilas largest
casino, fell 2.3 percent to P12.60.
PAL Holdings Inc., owner of the na-
tions biggest carrier, fell 3.5 percent
to P7.37.
Chinas Xinhua News Agency re-
ported last week that travel agencies
in Shanghai and Guangzhou sus-
pended tours to the Philippines. On
May 9, Chinese travel agencies Ctrip.
com and Beijing Caissa International
Travel Service Co. also suspended
trips.
China is the fourth-largest market
for tourists to the Philippines, behind
South Korea, the US and Japan.
Tourist arrivals from China rose 78
percent in the rst quarter, more than
anywhere else among the top 12 mar-
kets, to 96,455, or 8.4 percent of the
total, according to government data.
With Julito G. Rada and Bloomberg
Private...
have the money to manage
and maintain these assets. We
dont, the President said dur-
ing awarding ceremonies for
the Mindanao Rural Develop-
ment Program in Davao.
He did not say how the new
corporation would be funded.
Also on Monday, the En-
ergy Department insisted that
there was no longer a supply
shortage in Mindanao, despite
reports that blackouts there
continued. Undersecretary Jo-
sefina Asirit said any outages
were probably the result of
technical glitches or trans-
mission issuesand were iso-
lated cases.
Available capacity in Mind-
anao is now at 1,386 megawatts
while demand is only at 1,194
megawatts, she said.
But on Friday, Energy Secre-
tary Jose Rene Almendras said
the power situation was still
critical because the island had
no contingency reserves.
Antoninos proposal split
the ranks of those opposed to
the governments privatization
plans for the island.
Davao del Norte Gov. Ro-
dolfo del Rosario, president
of the Confederation of Pro-
vincial Governors, City May-
ors and Municipal Mayors
League Presidents, a vocal crit-
ic of privatization during last
months power summit, said
he was inclined to support An-
toninos recommendation.
During the summit, Del Ro-
sario even asked the President
to certify as urgent amend-
ments to the Energy and Power
Industry Reform Act.
Agham Rep. Angelo Palmo-
nes and Akbayan Rep. Arlene
Kaka Bag-ao, however, object-
ed to Antoninos proposal.
This still smacks of priva-
tization only it was designed
as being limited to the people
of Mindanao. What could stop
the new corporation from
later on selling the assets to
the big players after they real-
ized there is no fresh capital
to manage the Agus-Pulangui
and power barges? Palmones
said.
Bag-ao agreed, and said the
sources of power and funding
should also be discussed.
The government should not
abandon its obligation to the
people of Mindanao and leave
us in the dark as to where to
source the money. The gov-
ernment has to ensure that the
people will not be made to be
burdened by the higher cost of
power, Bag-ao said.
She said while Mindanao
boasts of hydro electric plants
such as Agus-Pulangui, some
sectors also wanted to tap
coal-fired plants and diesel-
run power barges.
We cannot allow dirty coal
to be the biggest chunk of the
source of power only because
it is cheaper to run and manage
than the hydro power plants.
Coal is dirty and unhealthy, pe-
riod, Bag-ao said.
She said the reason Mind-
anao enjoys cheaper power
was because of the renewable
sources of energy such as the
hydroelectric and geothermal
plants.
Palmones said the 62-strong
Mindanao Legislators Com-
mittee, headed by Misamis
Occidental Rep. Loreto Leo
Ocampos, would be convened
to discuss the best option for
Mindanao.
Palmones also urged the Joint
Congressional Power Commis-
sion to convene and nally de-
cide on privatization after the
President tossed the issue to
Congress.
Bag-ao called on Congress to
immediately calendar the de-
liberations on the scrapping of
the Electric Power Industry Re-
form Act that she said proved
to be a failure, both in terms of
lowering power costs and the
states debts.
On Monday, lawmakers, civil
society groups and business-
men accused the President of
failing to take action on press-
ing issues while being exclu-
sively focused on the Big C
syndromethe impeachment
of Chief Justice Renato Coro-
na, the territorial dispute with
China, and the prosecution of
Congresswoman Gloria Maca-
pagal Arroyo.
The Presidents noynoy-
ing has become cancerous and
has spread to Congress. He has
become obsessed with the Big
CCorona, China and Con-
gresswoman Arroyo, Kabata-
an Rep. Raymond Palatino told
the Manila Standard.
While impeachment is
important, governance does
not stop there. The President
must realize that impeachment
comes second only to more
important issues as rising cost
of power, basic commodities,
fuel, pork and chicken. While
prices go up, the wages remain
stagnant and this government
robbed the people of their pur-
chasing power and deprived
them of the right to lead a de-
cent life, Palatino said.
Palmones said since Con-
gress resumed its sessions on
May 7, the House has failed to
muster a quorum that jeopar-
dized the passage of bills that
could stop power privatization,
oil price hikes and smuggling.
We only have 12 session
days left and I only see 50 or 70
of my colleagues in the plenary
such that public hearings and
debates on the passage of im-
portant bills that would address
the concerns of the poor were
sidelined because the leader-
ship and the members were
busy with the impeachment al-
though I do not also see most of
them in the Senate, Palmones
said.
Palmones dared the House
leadership to compel the mem-
bers to attend the sessions and
pass priority legislation. With
Maricel Cruz
Pity the elephant. British rock singer Morrissey, the former front
man of the alternative rock group The Smiths, wears a Philippine
Flag around his waist as he performs during his concert in Manila
on Sunday. Morrissey recently sent a letter on behalf of Manila-
based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Asia to President
Benigno Aquino III urging him to send Vishwamali, a lone Asian
elephant at the Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary. Aaron Favila, AP
that impeachment comes second
only to more important issues as
rising cost of power, basic com-
modities, fuel prices, pork and
chicken. While prices go up, the
wages remain stagnant and this
government robbed the people
of their purchasing power and
deprived them of the right to
lead a decent life.
Agham Rep. Angelo Palmo-
nes said since Congress resumed
its sessions on May 7, the House
had failed to muster a quorum,
and that jeopardized the passage
of important bills.
We only have 12 session
days left and I only see 50 or 70
of my colleagues in the plenary
... because the leadership and
the members were busy with
the impeachment, although I do
not also see most of them in the
Senate, Palmones said.
He dared the House leader-
ship to compel the members to
attend the sessions and pass pri-
ority bills.
Palmones said the hog and
poultry growers had been clam-
oring for the government to do
something about smuggling,
yet the anti-dumping bills in
Congress remained at the panel
level.
There are also more than 25
bills relating to the review or
scrapping of the Electric Power
Industry Reform Act or the Epi-
ra law, yet the committee has not
even started hearings on these,
he said.
The people of Mindanao are
suffering from crippling power
outages yet nothing is being
done, like there is no urgency
to address the power crisis. The
Epira law has obviously failed
so we want to resolve once and
for all the issue of privatization
of Agus-Pulangui and power
barges, Palmones stressed.
Even the Joint Congressional
Power Commission composed
of members of the House and
Senate could not conduct mara-
thon hearings to address the
power crisis because most of
its members were participants
in the impeachment trial, par-
ticularly the senator-judges and
prosecutors, Palmones said.
ACT Teachers Rep. Anto-
nio Tinio demanded that Con-
gress nish the impeachment
trial soonest because it has done
more harm than good to the pub-
lics welfare.
All throughout the impeach-
ment trial, committee hearings
on the P125-legislated wage
hike, the scrapping of value
added tax on petroleum prod-
ucts and the review or repeal of
the Epira law were never calen-
dared for deliberations, Tinio
said.
Even the much needed pas-
sage of the reproductive health
bill can no longer be passed.
Not to mention the Freedom of
Information bill.
Impeachment
Alcala ...
$2.102 per kilo. For hams, shoulders and cuts thereof with
bone in, the price was set at $2.128 per kilo and for others, $
2.976 per kilo.
Chicken leg quarters were pegged at $1.238 per kilo, mechani-
cally deboned meat of chicken at $0.953 per kilo, and turkey at
$0.699 per kilo.
The meat importers accusation only shows that meat import-
ers had been undervaluing their imports, Alcala said. He based
the increase on the reference price imposed by the US.
The importers said the increases would force them to pass on
to consumers the added cost of doing business by as much as P8
per kilogram.
Abono chairman and Swine Development Council director
Rosendo So said it was time the government collected the right
tariff from importers since the importers had been undervaluing
their imports for the past two years.
He said the council, along with the National Federation of Hog
Farmers Inc. and Pork Producers Association of the Philippines,
had been asking the government to curb smuggling, which had
cost the closure of at least 20 percent of the backyard hog indus-
try. Christine F. Herrera
MAY 15, 2012 TUESDAY
A3 News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH brings fun to Dubai
travel trade convention
PH envoy makes pitch
to Memphis businesses
IN BRIEF
National
ID plan
revived
Groups reduce jeep fares, bread prices
Lawmaker pushes okay of legacy bill
Employers
want new
deal for
househelp
Kalikasan writ issued vs modied eggplants
Mindanao state of mind. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III speaks before government workers and peoples organizations on his
administrations vision for Mindanao on Monday at the Grand Regal Hotel in Lanang, Davao City.
By Julito G. Rada and
Jonathan Fernandez
COMMUNTERS can expect a
decrease in the minimum jeepney
fare this week while bakers will
again reduce by P1 the current
price of the 10-piece Pinoy
Pandesal effective May 29.
Transport group Pasang
Masda, thourgh its president Obet
Martin, made the fare rollback
announcement only hours after oil
companies rolled back the prices
of their petroleum products.
Major oil rms Petron
Corporation, Chevron Philippines
(formerly Caltex) and Pilipinas
Shell cut prices of premium gasoline
by P1.70, regular gasoline and diesel
by P1.60, and kerosene by P1.50.
Independent players implemented
similar price rollbacks.
The reductions, the oil players
said, were made to reect
the softening of prices in the
international market.
According to Martin, they
will coordinate with the Land
Transportation and Franchising
Regulatory Board for the
implementation of the 50-centavo fare
rollback on public utility jeepneys or
from the current P8.50 to P8.
But once oil prices go up again
in one or two weeks time, he said
the LTFRB should immediately
return to P8.50 the minimum fare
for passenger jeepneys.
The transport leader assured
that with the recent fare rollback,
senior citizens and students will
still get 20 percent discount.
At the same time, Bakers said
they will again reduce by P1 the
current price of the 10-piece Pinoy
Pandesal effective May 29, the
Trade Department said on Monday.
From the current price of
P24, Pinoy Pandesal will be
reduced to P23 at the end of the
month, Trade Secretary Gregory
Domingo said at the sidelines of
the National Price Coordinating
Council meeting in Makati.
It will be the second time this
year that bakers reduced the
price of the generic bread after
they reduced the price of Pinoy
Pandesal to P24 from P25 on April
10 this year, citing the cheaper
acquisition of imported Indonesian
our which is used for baking the
generic bread.
In a texted message to Manila
Standard on Monday, the
Philippine Baking Industry Group
said they will reduce the price of
pan de sal as a corporate social
responsibility to the consuming
public.
But they urged local our
millers to decrease the price of
premium local our for them to
decrease the price of Pinoy Tasty.
Flour millers had already
announced in March that locally-
milled our costs P840 per bag.
But bakers said our prices in May
remain at P890 to P900 per sack,
contrary to what the millers had
been saying.
Domingo said discussions are
ongoing between the government
and stakeholders if there could be
a possibility to reduce the price of
Pinoy Tasty, which is currently at
P38 per loaf.
Domingo also said the
department is studying the
possibility of imposing a standard
retail price of P12.80 for canned
sardines after the ban on tamban
shing in the western coast of
Mindanao has been lifted two
months ago.
This came after the Committee on Revision of Laws, chaired by
Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, approved a consolidated
version of the measure that creates an ID card for issuance to Filipino
citizens who have reached the age of 18 years old.
The bill is a consolidation of House Bill 131 authored by Albay
Rep. Al Francis Bichara and House Bill 241 led by Camiguin Rep.
Pedro Romualdo.
HB 131 seeks to institutionalize a national voluntary information
personal card to be known by its acronym VIP card in order to
facilitate and streamline governmental transactions, cut red tape
and increase productivity.
The national ID system has been time and again proposed in
Congress. However, said idea, though how novel and noble its
purposes are, has always been met with stiff opposition especially
from human rights groups and other similar organizations fearing
that this might be used by the State to violate the rights of
individuals, Bichara said in the bills explanatory note.
Under his proposal, Bichara said the issuance of an identication
card is on a voluntary basis only.
Any information given in the system shall be considered as
privileged and cannot be used as evidence against the holder in any
criminal proceedings, Bichara said.
Romualdo, for his part, underscored the need to consolidate the various
identication cards being issued by government agencies citing Social
Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Professional
Regulation Commission, Land Transportation Ofce and others.
However, as estimated 60 percent of our citizens of legal age
do not have a valid identication card which can show proof of
their identity when dealing with government agencies and private
institutions, Romualdo said.
However, HB 241 provides that no information shall be released
to any agency, ofce or government agency without lawful order
of the court.
Romualdo said each cardholder shall be assigned a permanent
number which shall be non-transferable and valid through the
lifetime of the holder. The IDs shall be tamper-proof using available
modern security technology in the market.
By Maricel V. Cruz
THE House of Representatives
is considering the passage of the
controversial bill requiring Filipinos to
have a national identication card in a
bid to streamline transactions and cut
red tape in government.
By Rey E. Requejo
THE Supreme Court has issued a writ of
kalikasan on the commercial production
of genetically modied eggplants.
In a resolution, the SC partially
granted the petition led by international
environmental group Greenpeace seeking
to stop ongoing eld-testings in several
provinces of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)
eggplants, a genetically modied variety
that produces its own pesticide.
The tribunal directed the
Environmental Management Bureau
of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, Bureau of
Plant Industry and The Fertilizer and
Pesticide Authority of the Department of
Agriculture, UP Los Banos Foundation,
Inc., UP Mindanao Foundation Inc. and
International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-Biotech Applications-Southeast
Asia Center to answer the petition within
10 days from receipt of notice.
The SC resolution also ordered the
petitioners to comply, within ve days,
with the requirement that the petition
be accompanied with a clearly legible
duplicate original or certied true
copy of the assailed memorandum of
undertaking.
Upon compliance with its order, the
court said it will decide on whether or not
to issue the temporary restraining order
sought by petitioner on eld-testings
of Bt eggplants before proceeding to
resolve the merits of the case.
A writ of kalikasan is a legal
remedy designed for the protection of
ones constitutional right to a healthy
environment. However, its issuance is
only procedural and not equivalent to a
TRO.
In its petition led last April 26,
Greenpeace alleged that the new crop
could endanger consumers as it was
found to cause damages to internal
organs. With its built-in insect-
resistance gene, Bt eggplant can also
create aggressive weeds that may wreak
havoc to local agriculture and natural
habitats.
The group was joined by former
Senator Orlando Mercado, Puerto
Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn
and other concerned representatives of
various sectors in seeking relief from
the high tribunal.
They cited results of 90-day laboratory
tests conducted by proponents of
genetically modied organisms on mice
fed with the new Bt eggplant, which
showed signs of toxicity in the liver and
kidneys of the test subjects.
ONE of the major proponents
of the proposed Freedom of
Information bill in the House
of Representatives on Mon-
day pressed for the bills pas-
sage, saying its approval will
be the 15th Congress legacy
to the Filipino people.
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Brawner
Baguilat Jr. made the call amid
admission by Speaker Felicia-
no Belmonte that the FOI bill
was not in the priority agenda
of the House leadership.
I respectfully urge the Com-
mittee on Rules to exercise its
powers and declare the FOI Bill
urgent, providing for a timetable
xing the date when it must be
reported by the Committee on
Public Information, up to the pe-
riod when the nal vote should
be taken, said Baguilat, chair
of the House Committee on Na-
tional Cultural Communities, in
a privilege speech on Monday as
expressed disappointment over
Belmonte leaderships skewed
priorities.
Belmonte had earlier said
the House leadership FOI
bill, along with other contro-
versial measures such as the
Reproductive Health (RH)
bill, would be put to the vote
before the end of the third and
last regular session of 15th
Congress on June 2013.
I doubt very much if we
can complete the passage of
FOI and RH measures when
we adjourn sine die in June,
Belmonte earlier told reporters.
We will probably vote on
these bills before the 15th
Congress ends next year,
Belmonte added.
But Baguilat said now is the
best time for the Lower House
to approve the FOI bill as law-
makers would be busy in the
coming months in preparation
for May 2013 elections.
Without the needed extraor-
dinary push, Baguilat said, the
FOI bill will again fail to be
passed. The FOI bill is still
pending for action before the
House Committee on Public
Information, chaired by East-
ern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone.
The FOI law can become a
reality in the 15th Congress,
Baguilat stressed, adding Let
this be one of our landmark
achievements, our lasting and
institutional contribution to
democracy and responsive,
accountable government.
Baguilat stressed that the
proposed FOI law is intended to
give esh to the peoples right
to government information
as provided under Section 7,
Article III of the Constitution.
Maricel V. Cruz
TOURISM Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.
said the country Philippines successfully
rolled out its new tourism campaign Its
more fun in the Philippines at the recently-
concluded 19th Arabian Travel Market at
the Dubai International Convention Centre
targeting the Middle East high-end market.
He said the launch is one of the tourism
departments efforts to tap the high-value
Middle East market, one of the highest
spending travellers in the world.
The Philippines has been given more focus
in the Middle East with the appointment of
a new marketing representative last year.
Gulf Arab tourists, specically from Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are among the
worlds highest spending travelers abroad with
daily average expenditure ranging between
USD 3,280 to USD 4,100 according to a study
entitled The Outbound GCC Travel Market
nique Trends and Characteristics. Compared to
other tourists, Gulf nationals spend 260% more
on airfare and 430% more on accommodation.
Jimenez said this years participation is very
timely to drum up awareness for our marketing
campaign, as well as to sustain condence and
patronage from our partners in the region, said
Jimenez. Macon Ramos-Araneta
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to the United States
Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. cited the advances in the
Philippine economy under the administration
of President Benigno S. Aquino III during
a luncheon organized by the International
Business Council of the Greater Memphis
Chamber last May 10.
In his remarks, Ambassador Cuisia
happily noted that at least 19 companies
with ofces in Memphis, Tennessee are
also business locators in the Philippines,
including FedEx, Drexel Chemical
Company, Coca Cola, AT&T, Eli Lilly, and
Hilton Hotel.
In 2011, Tennessee exported around $208
million worth of goods to the Philippines,
while Philippines exported $414 million
worth of goods to Tennessee.
He likewise presented the challenges and
opportunities that the Philippines-US trade
and investment partnership face. He identied
these as the continued slowdown in the global
economy, strains in the Eurozone economies,
and the role of developing and emerging
market economies in leading the worlds
growth. Eric B. Apolonio
By Vito Barcelo
THE Employers Confederation
of the Philippines will develop
ethical guidelines for the
employers of domestic
workers for the the protection
of their rights, promote their
welfare, and ensure a more
harmonious relationship with
their employers.
ECOP president Edgar
Lacson said they are embarking
on the guidelines with the
support of the International
Labor Organization.
The Confederation is all set to
come with the ethical guidelines
on the employment of domestic
workers, which will serve as an
important tool for both ECOP
and the local government units,
in the campaign for decent work
among domestic workers. he
said.
The guidelines, he said,
are imperative in light of ILO
Convention No. 189 on Decent
Work for Domestic Workers
and the alignment of national
laws vis--vis global and local
realities and trends.
Domestic workers play an
indispensable role not only in
the family but also in society
in general. Economic activities
function well because of
the help and contribution of
domestic workers,Lacson
said.
ECOP, therefore, sees the
need to protect the industry
and its workers. It is just
and humane to protect and
advance their rights to allow
them to grow economically
empowered. ECOP respects
the fundamental principles and
rights of domestic workers. We
believe that domestic workers
are also workers who need
protection from abuse and
neglect, he said.
Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com MAY 15, 2012 TUESDAY
A4
THE best decision Chief Justice
Renato Corona may have made in
his long and controversial career in
the Judiciary is agreeing to take the
witness stand in his own defense. We
hope he does not change his mind.
Corona was appointed to the Supreme
Court in 2002 by former President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and named
chief justice by her at a time when such
appointments were prohibited by the
Constitution. Of course, the Supreme
Court later declared the appointment
was legal.
None of these troubles would have
befallen Corona had he declined the
appointment and waited for the next
president to make his choicealthough
it is likely another justice would have
been named chief magistrate.
But thats all academic. For now,
Coronas decision to appear in his
own impeachment trial can only do
the publicwho deserves so much
more than get stuck on a months-old
impeachment dramagood.
Corona does not anymore have to
degrade his office by trash-talking the
perceived main engineer of his woes,
President Benigno Aquino III, even
as it was Mr. Aquino who started the
unbecoming bickering.
Now Corona, under oat h, wi l l
be abl e t o answer al l quest i ons,
even t he most recent revel at i ons
of hi s former col l eague, now
Ombudsman Conchi t a Carpi o
Moral es, who came t o t he Senat e
beari ng document s from t he Ant i -
Money Launderi ng Counci l .
The chief justice said he would
speak at the right time. This is the
right time.
And then perhaps the senator
judges can make their decision
based on their own sense of right
and wrong, and everybodythe
President, lawmakers, members of the
Judiciary, and other public officials
can channel their attention to matters
more consequential to the plight of the
ordinary Filipino.
Taking the stand
Health reasons
EDITORIAL
Decency
LAST week former President Arroyo
had to be rushed to the Makati Medical
Center after she complained of being
unable to breathe. An advanced
version of the CT exam revealed that
the titanium mesh support implanted
into her spine behind the neck was
protruding into the esophagus. This
is a condition that knowledgeable
doctors here have opined can be
treated only by surgeons abroad.
To its credit, the Palace refrained
from comment and opted to defer
to the appropriate authorities
involvedin her case, the doctors
at Veterans Medical where she is
confined, and the judge hearing her
electoral sabotage case. The reactions
all around have also been generally
muted if not sympathetic, perhaps
because the usual suspects crying for
her head are otherwise preoccupied
with sharpening their knives for
the Chief Justices impeachment
testimony.
One exception was the
indefatigable leftist party-lister Teddy
Casino, who insisted that a second
opinion still needed to be obtained
from government doctors, and who
opined that Mrs. Arroyo was simply
desperate to go abroad because she
was running scared over a conviction
outcome of the impeachment trial.
This is about as loopy as Teddy can
get, and says volumes about the lack
of personal empathy characteristic of
radical leftists like him who otherwise
get all teary-eyed about the masses.
At this point, the judge handling
her case, Judge Ronaldo Mupas, has
said he will decide on her bail petition
sometime in July, even if that petition
has already been filed today, months
earlier. That is a pretty long time to
wait, especially if youre unable to
breathe.
News reports on her case have
revealed that NONE of the witnesses
against Mrs. Arroyo can testify to
any kind of direct link between
her and the alleged incidents of
electoral sabotage, even if the latter
were true. This lack of testimony
only compounds the injustice of a
law that would deny the most basic
right of bail for a victimless, non-
violent crime like electoral sabotage.
Speaking as someone who himself
was also denied bail many years
ago, I am appalled by such punitive
overreach.
A fundamentally flawed law,
no credible testimony against the
accused, a life-threatening illness,
and overhanging it all, a political
vendetta being waged against her by
the countrys highest officialthese
are circumstances that I hope Judge
Mupas will not care to aggravate by
delaying his bail decision any longer.
Its not just mercy thats called for
in this case, Judge. Its simple human
decency on your part thats being
appealed to.
***
If many of Mrs. Arroyos usual
persecutors were busy sharpening
their knives against the Chief
Justices day in court, others among
them were just as busy retracting
their own.
I refer here, of course, to leftist
congressman Walden Bello, leftist
senatoriable Risa Hontiveros, and
leftist legal gadfly Harvey Keh. These
three had earlier trotted outwith no
evidence or attribution at allthe
canard that the Chief Justice is hiding
the awesome sum of Ten Million
Dollars in his bank accounts. It is a
canard that was unfortunately taken
at face value by the Ombudsman
herself a former Supreme Court
justicewho mentions that amount
in new charges she filed against her
former chief.
If they were looking to provoke
the CJ into taking the stand at his own
trial, they succeeded. Unfortunately
for them, their tactic backfired when
he persuaded the Senate President to
subpoena the whole sorry lot of them
as a condition for his appearance.
The last I heard, these leftist usual
suspects were busy back-pedaling,
denying that they had anything to do
with that allegationwhich of course
puts the Ombudsman in the position
of being called a liar by them.
So what was the whole point
of this charade? One theory says
that the Ombudsman filed these
chargeseven though the very same
issues are already being taken up in
the impeachment trialin order to
lay the basis for filing yet another
impeachment case next year, in the
event this one doesnt prosper and
the administration is able to claim
more Senate seats after the May 2013
elections.
Could the administration really be
vindictive and irresponsible enough
to pursue such a stratagem? Well, if
you consider the billions of pesos
at stake in the ongoing valuation of
how much the Cojuangco family should
Turn to page 5
THE testimony of Ombudsman
Conchita Carpio-Morales, as
advertised, seems to be the most
damning yet presented against
impeached Chief Justice Renato
Corona in the Senate. Now, more than
ever, Corona must take the stand to
defend himself against these latter-
day accusations.
That will surely happen soon. And
the trial that has held the nations
attention, off and on, since the
beginning of the year, will nally
come to an end.
And the
question of whether
we shall have an
administration that
completely lords it
over all supposed
co-equal branches
of government
or a lame-duck
President until 2016
will be resolved,
along with it. We
cant wait.
* * *
Yet another top
Aquino ofcial has quit over poor
health, it seems. And probably just
in time, too, given how the health of
ex-Cabinet members has dramatically
improved since they left government.
But the sudden resignation of
Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano
Paderanga, more than any recent
personnel movements in the Aquino
administration, should send alarm bells
ringing in the business and investment
communities. That Paderanga (also
current head of the governments
highest economic policy-making body,
the National Economic Development
Authority) quit for health reasons,
according to Malacaang Palace, only
reinforces the belief that disagreeing
with President Noynoy Aquino can
really be a health hazard.
Paderanga, after all, was supposed
to preside over Aquinos centerpiece
economic program, the moribund
Private-Public Partnerships or PPP.
Two years into Aquinos term, no big
PPP project has gotten off the drawing
boardsomething that has denitely
done nothing to improve the health of
the NEDA chief.
It was Paderangas difcult job,
as well, to oversee the growth of the
national economy, aside from green-
lighting big-ticket projects that should
ensure that this takes place. With the
continued poor performance of the
administration in most traditional
measures of growth like the gross
domestic product, Paderanga must
have felt tremendous pressure (health-
wise, naturally) to reverse that trend.
Without evidence to prove that
Paderanga is actually strong as a
horse, we will have to assume that he
is too ill to continue performing his
job. But given the number of ofcials
of this administration who have used
poor health as an excuse for leaving
government, people convinced that
the NEDA chief quit out of frustration
or was actually red cannot be blamed
for speculating about other reasons
for his abrupt departure.
The resignation of Paderanga
marks the latest resignation of
top ofcials fondly referred to as
Corvettes (for Cory veterans) in
the present Aquino government. All
three Cabinet-level Corvettes, who
also served in the Cabinet of former
President Cory Aquino, cited failing
health as the reason for quitting.
Transportation Secretary Jose
de Jesus (who was public works
secretary during Corys time), Foreign
Secretary Alberto Romulo (ex-Cory
budget chief) and now Paderanga
(who served the same position
in NEDA during the rst Aquino
administration) have all resigned.
None of the three have come forward
to disprove the palaces claims that
they resigned to save their health,
even if no one has
received reports
that any of the three
have been so much
as hospitalized.
* * *
The Presidents
health, on the other
hand, seems not to
have been much of
an issue, regardless
of reports that he
has been coughing
more often in
public. The ever-
changing weather, in
particular, has already been blamed by
presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda
for the public coughing ts that seem to
have beset his boss recently.
The President is feeling a lot better
now, Lacierda said, after a long and
persistent coughing spell interrupted
his speech at the opening of the
Palarong Pambansa in Pangasinan
last week. Lacierda explained that it
was not only the President but many
of his other ofcials who joined him
during a recent trip to Corregidor
Island were also subjected to the same
inclement conditionsand suffered
the same unhealthy fate.
We stayed in Corregidor the whole
day. The temperature quickly changed
from cold to warm. It was so hot and
the President perspired a lot. Some of
us who joined the Corregidor trip also
got colds and cough, Lacierda said in
a news conference.
Perhaps, depending on the
frequency of the coughing ts that
regularly beset Aquino, the ailment
may become a hallmark of his
administration and his top ofcials.
Just like Joseph Estrada had his
wristbands and jackets and Fidel
Ramos had his unlit cigars, coughing
could denote that one is high up in the
power structure of this government,
just as much as the ubiquitous yellow
ribbon of Aquinos chest.
Of course, Aquino himself
has tried to explain his coughing
by citing the old wives tale that
someone was probably thinking of
him, precipitating the attacks. The
cute explanation was probably not
only intended to draw attention
away from Aquinos cigarette
smoking but also to highlight (once
again) his amorous exploits and
his supposedly currently rocky
relationship with Grace Lee.
Lacierda and his fellow ofcials
must be thankful that Aquinos health
has improved. After all, if it does not,
Aquino may be forced to do what his
resigned ofcials have done and
cite failing health as his reason for
stepping down.
JOJO
A. ROBLES
LOWDOWN
GARY
OLIVAR
BYPASS
ROLANDO G. ESTABILLO Publisher
RAMONCHITO L. TOMELDAN Managing Editor
CHIN WONG/ RAY S. EANO Associate Editors
RALEIGH J. JALECO News Editor
JOEL P. PALACIOS City Editor
ROMEL J. MENDEZ Art Director
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Three Cabinet-
level ofcials have
now cited failing
health as the
reason for leaving
government.
A5 Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com
AT THIS stage of the impeachment trial
of Chief Justice Renato Corona with him
personally testifying and confronting
his accusers for alleged hidden and ill-
gotten wealth not declared in his SALN
or Statement of Assets, Liabilities and
Networth as mandated by law under the
Constitution, the trial is now a make or
break for the Chief Justice.
For the 23 senator-judges who will
make their decision either to convict
or acquit him, its also a moment of
truth. The problem, however, as we all
know and realize is that there are also
other factors outside the impeachment
court that comes to play on the nal
judgment of the senator-judges. Thus,
at the end of the day, while evidence
may show the guilt or innocence of the
Chief Justice, it will all really depend
on the conscience of each and everyone
of the senator-judges.
But, for those of us who have been
glued to our television sets from Day
One of the trial, more or less, we have
already formed in our
own minds who of
the 23 senator-judges
will convict or acquit
the Chief Justice.
Personally, I have
my own perception
of the senator-judges-
who of them will rely
on rules of evidence
and the rule of law,
and who will judge
Corona, according
to their own self-
interests.
Thats the reason
why I am making own
guesstimate of those
who will convict the
Chief Justice, and
those who may acquit
him.
Im not saying that
what Im writing now
will come out true in the end. Im only
making a guess from my point of view,
and I could be wrong.
I believe that the bloc headed
by Liberal Party stalwart Frank
Drilon, namely: Kiko Pangilinan,
TG Guingona, Ralph Recto, Serge
Osmea, together with Antonio
Trillanes and Aquino ally Ping Lacson
will surely convict Corona. They will
vote according to party lines and for the
benet of the President.
I also believe that others who may
convict Corona are the two Cayetanos,
Alan Peter and Pia. Although, the
Cayetanos belong to the Nacionalista
block of Manny Villar, chances are
that they, together with Villar himself
with convict Corona. Considering the
fact that Nacionalista Party is now
coalescing with the administration
party and the possible inclusion of Mrs.
Cynthia in the LP senatorial slate can
mean only one thingthat the Villar
bloc of NPS will go for a conviction.
Aside from this, there are talks that since
the wife of Alan Peter Cayetanothe
Taguig City mayorhas an electoral
protest to contend with, the Cayetanos
could swing for a conviction. Note
that Im only guessing and I could be
wrong. That makes it 10 for conviction,
still far away from the 16 number for
conviction of the chief Justice.
I also believe that senators Lito
Lapid and Edong Angara will go for
conviction. Why? Note that Lapid has a
son still with the Aquino administration
as head of the Philippine Tourism
Authority. As for Angara, he also has
a son, Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara, as
a member of the House prosecution as
spokesman. For that reason alone and
other factors, I consider it a clear case
of conict on interests. Blood is still
thicker than water, dont you think?
That makes it 12 in all for conviction.
The Enrile bloc of Jinggoy Estrada,
Tito Sotto and Greg Honasan, would
rely on rules of evidence and the rule of
law in their decision. Senate President
and Presiding Senator-Judge Juan
Ponce Enrile is now in his last term and
will step down in 2016. He wants to
leave a legacy of probity, competence
and integrity. It shows in his body
language as presiding senator-judge,
who to all intents and purposes, has
been fair and balanced in his actions
and decisions.
Two other senator-judges, to my
mind, who will denitely decide on
rules of evidence and the rule of law
are Miriam Santiago, who will go to
the International Criminal Court after
the trial, and Joker Arroyo, who is also
in his last term as senator. I also believe
that both want to leave a legacy of
fairness and justice, abiding by the rule
of law and the Constitution.
Likewise, I believe that Chiz
Escudero and Loren Legarda who
have a future to consider politically,
will acquit Corona. Koko Pimentel
a big question mark, and so with
Bong Revilla. Bongbong Marcos,
to my mind, will surely abide by the
rules of evidence and the rule of law
considering the fact that hes the man
to watch for the presidency.
Thus, from my point of view, at this
point in time of the impeachment trial,
the required number of 16 votes is still
far-fetch. But, as I said earlier, there are
other factors, mostly outside the halls
of the Senate that come to play. Note
that next year is a mid-term election for
the Senate and local ofcials. And there
are six reelectionist,
namely: Chiz
Escudero, Loren
Legarda, Alan
Peter Cayetano,
Greg Honasan,
Koko Trinidad and
Antonio Trillanes,
all wanting funding
and grassroots
support which the
administration can
provide. Im not
saying that they can
be bribed, but as we
all know, politics
is still the art of the
possible.
The biggest
factor, of course, is
President Aquino,
who has practically
staked his future
for the next four
years as President on ousting the Chief
Justice. Coronas acquittal will not only
a big slap on the presidency,, but could
spell the decline of his inuence and
credibility as President. In other words,
Aquino cannot afford to lose in this
ght.
In the nal analysis, whether or
not the Chief Justice will be able
to convince the 23 senator-judges
of his innocence, or whether or not
his accusers will be able to prove he
committed culpable violation of the
Constitution and betrayed public trust,
is only part of the battle.
Whether or not the Chief Justice
can win the war is the big question
considering the fact that the
impeachment trial is quasi-judicial and
quasi-political, and that the senator-
judges are still all politician. Thats
where public opinion comes in and
Santa Banana, we know full well that
public opinion could be farthest from
the truth.
***
Back to mundane things. Yesterday,
my wife and I marked our 57th wedding
anniversary. My gulay, am I that old?
Friends have been asking how
my wife and I have maintained our
marriage for 57 years. And I always
have the same answer: I insist on
having the last say in the house. Its
yes, dear!
If I may be forgiven for getting
nostalgic everytime my wife and I mark
our wedding anniversary, I havent
stopped sending her owers, even when
Im out of the country. That keeps the
romance in our lives, though thick and
thin, in sickness and health, in rough
times and good times, till death do us
participants guess we have been blessed
by God to have four loving children,
who, in our sunset years, always
remember us. We are also blessed with
good health considering the fact that
most of our friends and relatives at our
age have gone ahead of us, or are either
sick or suffering from dementia or have
Alzheimer, and out this world.
For all Gods blessing our 57
th
year
as husband and wife, we thank the
Lord.
Moment of truth
for chief justice
The China I like
AT THE risk of being accused of
disloyalty to the country, I afrm that I
do like China, or as I phrase it in this
columns title, there is a China that I
like.
And how could I not like China? I
look at all the things around memy
electronic equipment, my clothes, the
food we eat, even religious articles
I bought in trips made recently in
Europemany are marked Made
in China. Even if we wanted to ban
Chinese goods, that would not work.
We will just be hurting ourselves
if we did that given the value for
money of Chinese-made products.
Defective and dangerous products,
including obsolete technologies that
are environmentally harmful, must
however be banned.
How could I not like China when
its food is so good and tasty? When
I travel, Chinese restaurants are my
default option when I crave for rice.
Roast duck, especially the Peking
version, is a favorite dish. And having
traveled to China a lot, for work and
because a relative studies there, I am
only starting to know its diverse food
traditions.
Why will I not like China with the
richness of its culture? I have always
been fascinated by Chinese movies
and Chinese literature. But most of
all, I love Chinese philosophy. The
philosopher Chuang Tzu, taught to
me by Ateneo professor Dr. Manny
Dy more than 30 years ago, strongly
inuenced my thinking about life
and its challenges. My work on
governance has made me appreciate
more the wisdom of Confucius. And
when I was a young activist, Maos
red book inspired and guided many in
my generation.
Why will I not like China when I
grew up, studied together, and work
with so many Chinese Filipinos?
Nobody should question their loyalty to
our country just because of tensions of
the ancestral motherland.
How could I not like China for its
success in economic development
and especially in addressing poverty?
We should emulate China on this
while avoiding or minimizing the
environmental and human rights costs
of its development.
Finally, why will I not like
China for its sense and pursuit of
national purpose? In environmental
negotiations, the Chinese are always
clear about their objectives and
ferociously ght for its national
interest. In the early years of the
climate convention, it was the lead
Chinese negotiator, a diplomat and
professor from Shanghai, who taught
me how to speak rmly and frankly
among friends but to do so respectfully
and with exibility so discussions can
continue and solutions found.
I do not of course like what China
is doing in Scarborough Shoal. But the
answer to that is not demonstrations or
rhetoric or even trade and economic
measures that could easily get out of
control. It is not rocket science what we
need to do, what the Philippines have to
do.
First, the President must appoint an
Ambassador to China, the best he could
nd, with gravitas and topnotch skills. I
still do not understand why the President
stuck with an unqualied nominee for
so long given the importance of this
appointment.
Second, we must zero in on practical
legal options, with the help of our best
legal minds from all over the world.
Third, we should encourage
initiatives such as that of Mr. Manuel
V. Pangilinan of PHILEX, to work with
Chinese companies for joint exploitation
of resources or programs proposed by
environmental lawyer Tony Oposa for
joint environmental programs in the
West Philippine Sea.
Fourth, we do have to encourage
scholarship in security issues, law of
the sea and China studies so we would
have the experts to advise us properly
with this recurring problem.
Fifth, we must invest in security
infrastructure and modernize our
military. Lets build lighthouses, send
ships regularly, and otherwise establish
permanent physical presence in the
disputed islands and waters.
Sixth and nally, we must unite
all stakeholders (including affected
sherfolk) to accept and support
national strategy on this issue.
Actually, we should behave exactly
like the Chinese: be strategic, know our
goals, do our homework, stay united,
and stand our ground yes but be smart,
exible and innovative knowing that
war (whether military or economic) is
not an option. The China I like is what I
want the Philippines to be.
E-mail: tonylavs@gmail.com
Facebook: tlavina@yahoo.com
Twitter: tonylavs
EMIL
P. JURADO
TO THE POINT
DEAN TONY
LA VIA
EAGLE EYES
We would like to correct an
erroneous fact with regard to the
article Gazmin: US not keen on
PH military buildup written by
Mr. Florante S. Salmerin, appearing
in the May 10, 2012 edition of the
Manila Standard Today upper
front page section. The article title
and two particular points stated in
the article are incorrect and contrary
to the public pronouncements of
the Secretary of National Defense
(SND) during the Defense Press
Corps Forum held on May 9, 2012
where Mr. Solmerin was not even an
attendee.
First, Defense Secretary Voltaire T.
Gazmin DID NOT SAY NOR EVEN
INFERRED that the United States
seemed more interested in showing
off its military might than helping the
Philippines build up its capability for
territorial defense through their 1951
Mutual Defense Treaty.
Second, this portion of the report is
also FALSE, the Americans offered
no specifics on the kind of military
hardware that the Philippines could
acquire from the US. It only gave a
genera! commitment to strengthen
the alliance between the two
countries.
We would like to stress that the
meeting between the two countries
were fruitful, productive and mutually
benecial to both sides. The United
States through State Secretary Hillary
R. Clinton stated that they have no
intensions of taking sides on the
situation at Panatag Shoal but they
have re afrmed their obligations to the
conditions embedded in our Mutual
Defense Treaty.
The United States continues to be
a reliable partner of the Philippines
in establishing a minimum credible
defense posture. Moreover, the US
is increasing its Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) for the Philippines
and expanding available options for
the country under the Excess Defense
Articles (EDA) program.
Under the EDA, we will be receiving
a second Weather High Endurance Cutter
(WHEC) this year. Secretary Gazmin
conveyed directly to his US counterpart,
Sec. Leon Panetta that it would be to the
Philippines best interest if the second
WHEC could retain much of its current
hardware and armaments when it is turned
over to the Philippine Navy.
We are hoping that your publication
will immediately update this story with
this correction.
DIR. PETER PAUL R.G. GALVEZ,
MD, MNSA, CESE
Chief of Staff to the SND/DN
Spokesperson
US remains reliable partner of Philippines
MAIL MATTERS
be paid for giving up Hacienda Luisitathat is certainly a lot of motivation.
Can the pig really be kept from finding the truffle?
***
A final point to ponder: These leftists are the same usual suspects whove
filed all those plunder charges against Mrs. Arroyo, and who routinely call
her the worst kind of names whenever the TV cameras are on. As they scurry
for cover today like so many roaches in the light of day, it is good to ask
ourselves this:
Are the cases they filed against Mrs. Arroyo likely to be any more credible
than their $10 Million slander against the Chief Justice? And if not, do they
even deserve the media time that they use uplet alone winning seats in the
Senate?
gbolivar1952@gmail.com
Decency
From A4
Facebook CEO turns 28, IPO could be $100B gift
By Barbara Ortutay
NEW YORKHe famously wears a
hoodie, jeans and sneakers, and he was
born the year Apple introduced the Ma-
cintosh. But Mark Zuckerberg is no boy-
CEO.
Facebooks chief executive turned 28
on Monday, setting in motion the social
networks biggest week ever. The com-
pany is expected to start selling stock
to the public for the rst time and begin
trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on
Friday. The IPO could value Facebook
at nearly $100 billion, making it worth
more than such iconic companies as Dis-
ney, Ford and Kraft Foods.
At 28, Zuckerberg is exactly half the
age of the average S&P 500 CEO, ac-
cording to executive search rm Spencer
Stuart. With eight years on the job, hes
logged more time as leader than the aver-
age CEO, whose tenure is a little more
than seven years, according to Spencer
Stuart. Even so, the pressures of running
a public company will undoubtedly take
some getting used to. Once Facebook
begins selling stock, Zuckerberg will be
expected to please a host of new stake-
holders, including Wall Street invest-
ment rms, hedge funds and pension
funds who will pressure him to keep the
company growing.
Young as he may seem especially
in that hooded sweatshirt Zuckerberg
will be about the same age as Michael
Dell and older than Steve Jobs when
those two took their companies, Dell Inc.
and Apple Inc., public. In his years as
Facebooks CEO hes met world leaders,
rode a bull in Vietnam while on vacation,
started learning Mandarin Chinese and
as a personal challenge, wore a tie for the
better part of a year.
Facebook, of course, got its start in
Zuckerbergs messy Harvard dorm room
in early 2004. Known as Thefacebook.
com back in those days, the site was cre-
ated to help Harvard students and lat-
er other college students connect with
one another online. The scrappy Web
site later grew to include high-schoolers,
then anyone else with an Internet con-
nection. Today more than 900 million
people log in at least once a month, mak-
ing Facebook the worlds denitive so-
cial network.
All along, Zuckerberg has shown a
maturity beyond his years. As the site
grew rapidly and caught the eye of big
media and rival Internet companies,
Zuckerberg consistently rebuffed mouth-
watering buyout offers, including from
Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
Simply put: we dont build servic-
es to make money; we make money to
build better services, wrote Zuckerberg
in his letter to prospective shareholders.
And we think this is a good way to build
something. These days I think more and
more people want to use services from
companies that believe in something be-
yond simply maximizing prots.
People whove observed Zuckerberg
closely say his age is an asset. His is the
generation that grew up with social net-
working, with computers all around them
and the Internet as something thats al-
ways existed. Many of his employees are
younger than him, as are a lot of the up-
and-coming technology entrepreneurs
with whom he competes.
I dont think you could build a com-
pany like this if you were an old guy like
me, says David Kirkpatrick, a 59-year-
old author who chronicled the compa-
nys early history in The Facebook Ef-
fect. Kirkpatrick, who is also founder of
Techonomy, a media company that hosts
conferences on the relationship between
technology and economy and social
progress, rst met Zuckerberg six years
ago. He says he was impressed with his
vision, even then. Its the willingness to
take risks, the willingness to abide by a
very contemporary vision ... I dont think
that hes too young. I think most CEOs
are too old.
Zuckerberg, who lives in Palo Alto,
Calif. with his girlfriend and a white
Hungarian Puli dog named Beast, has
matured as a leader with the help of ex-
perienced mentors. One of his closest ad-
visors is Sheryl Sandberg, who he hired
away from Google in 2008. Zuckerberg,
known for sometimes-awkward pub-
lic appearances, realized that the razor-
sharp, people-savvy advertising execu-
tive complements his own shortcomings.
Sandberg is Zuckerbergs No. 2, the
chief operating ofcer who oversees ad-
vertising and often serves as Facebooks
smiling, public face. Then theres Donald
Graham, the 66-year-old CEO and chair-
man of The Washington Post Co., who
serves as a mentor to Zuckerberg and
holds a seat on Facebooks board of di-
rectors.
Rebecca Lieb, analyst at the Altimeter
Group, says Zuckerberg has assembled a
team of truly exceptional lieutenants.
David Ebersman, Facebooks chief -
nancial ofcer, who hails from biotech
rm Genentech, is another example.
Zuckerberg hired him in 2009, saying
that Ebersmans previous job, helping
to scale the nance organization of the
fast-growing biotech company will be
important to Facebook.
He was right. Facebooks revenue
grew from $777 million in 2009 to $3.7
billion last year. In the rst quarter of
2012 it was more than $1 billion.
Obviously, Zuckerberg still has a lot
to learn. As part of Facebooks pre-IPO
roadshow last week, Zuckerberg vis-
ited several venerable East Coast nan-
cial institutions wearing his signature
hoodie. While Silicon Valley insiders
defend his fashion choice, others saw
it as a sign of immaturity. Was it, as
some speculated, a sign of a rebellious
20-something acting out? For Michael
Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities,
Zuckerbergs attitude and attire sym-
bolizes a level of aloofness to stake-
holders. AP
At the end of
the day, while
evidence may
show the guilt or
innocence of the
Chief Justice, it will
all really depend
on the conscience
of each and
everyone of the
senator-judges.
News
ManilaStandardToday
mst.daydesk@gmail.com MAY 15, 2012 TUESDAY
A6

IN BRIEF
Metro Manila seeks 2
nd

study on quake impact
Muntinlupa
execs face
plunder anew
Pipeline operator wants highway reopened
Isko moved secretly vs Mayor Lim, leaders claim
MMDA Chairman Francis
Tolentino said the Earthquake
Impact Reduction Study for Metro
Manila seems to need upgrading
to include other possible scenarios
should a strong earthquake with a 7.2
magnitude hit the metropolis.
We want to have MMEIRS Part
Two because the Part One, done in
2004, apparently did not include
post-earthquake scenarios, such as
the possible recovery period of each
locality in Metro Manila, Tolentino
said during the turnover of ten
multi-purpose tents to the municipal
government of Pateros on Monday.
We want to know which city will
recover rst once a big earthquake
strikes Metro Manila. Is it Taguig?
Makati? Pasig? From this study, we
could draw up the right contingency
measures and response plans, the
By Ferdinand Fabella
THE Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority will ask the Japanese government to
conduct a second study on earthquake impact
scenarios in Metro Manila so the agency and
its local government units could upgrade its
disaster response plans.
MMDA chief said.
The Japan International
Cooperation Agency funded the
rst study which was done with the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology from 2002 to 2004
and predicted that around 35,000
people in Metro Manila will die
when a 7.2 earthquake occurs along
the West Valley fault.
There will also be 115,000 injuries
as a result of the collapse of 170,000
residential structures and a strong
possibility of simultaneous re
outbreaks all over the metropolis,
according to the study.
Tolentino pointed out that the
MMDAs earthquake contingency
plans such as the Oplan Metro Yakal
are focused on the utilization of
available government resources and
the ability of the 17 LGUs in Metro
Manila to help each other in times of
disasters.
For this, Tolentino said Pateros
will play a key role in post-earthquake
recovery scenarios, such as serving
as the main command and control
center when the Big One occurs.
He said Pateros, the only remaining
municipality in Metro Manila, barely
has buildings more than ve-storeys
high and is far away from the Manila
trench and the active West Valley
fault.
Pateros Mayor Joey Medina
said the training of barangay
personnel, various associations and
non-government organizations in
disaster preparedness are continuous
under their Disaster Municipal Risk
Reduction Management Council.
He added the strategic location of
Pateros, being almost in the center of
big cities such as Makati, Taguig, and
Pasig, makes it in the better position
to respond to its neighbors when a
disaster takes place.
Marian devotion. Devotees line up at the train station in Divisoria, Manila to pay their respects to Our Lady of
Penafrancia which is now on tour from Naga City. DANNY PATA
By Hernani Cuare
CONTRARY to his claim that he only
decided to oppose Manila Mayor
Alfredo Lim when city hall started
to become remiss in the payment of
workers salaries and allowances,
Vice Mayor Isko Moreno was
already moving to break away from
his estranged running mate as early
as June 2011, according to barangay
ofcials in Tondo, Manila.
The barangay ofcials, who
requested anonymity for fear of
reprisal, said they were not surprised
that former President Joseph Estrada
would run for mayor of Manila
because they were already told as
much in several political caucuses
that started in June, or 11 months
before Moreno joined Estradas
Partido ng Masang Pilipino.
The meetings were convened either
by Moreno or his allied councilors
and were meant to organize Estradas
grassroots machinery in all of
Manilas six legislative districts
and headhunt among the supporters
and local leaders of Lim, said the
ofcials who attended several of the
caucuses.
Morenos local leaders also tried
to recruit Kabataang Barangay
ofcials to join Estradas Jeep ni
Erap bandwagon in Manila.
Moreno was also active in seeking
a proper residence for the former
President, who was born in Tondo 75
years ago.
The vice mayor suggested
that Estrada re-establish his
Tondo residency by buying the
1,157.60-square-meter lot bounded
by Pacheco, Velasquez and Francisco
Varona Streets in Barangay 75.
The property, which used to be
an extension ofce of the Lorenza
Industries Inc., was purportedly
priced at P25 million, a little more
than a quarter of the price of the Sta.
Mesa property that Estrada would
buy as his ofcial residence.
However, the acquisition did not
push through as Estrada lawyers
needed to scrutinize the propertys
title further because it was the
subject of a court battle among the
heirs of Solomon Lorenzana Sr., the
founder of the Lorenzana group of
companies that produces a number of
well-known food products.
The ofcials said the property is
still occupied by heirs of Lorenzana
and Estradas lawyers had been
negotiating with them since last
year.
The claims of the village ofcials
contradicted Morenos claim that he
only decided to leave Lim and join
Estrada when the city hall could
not pay the salaries and allowances
of its employees, a fact that the
mayor himself conrmed when he
said he will be able to pay the citys
employees when the city government
receives its collectibles.
Moreno had said these are the
reasons why 28 out of 38 councilors
openly declared their support for
Estradas election bid in 2013 and
even joined the United Nationalist
Alliance, a coalition of the Pwersa ng
Masang Pilipino and the PDP-Laban
of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
The vice mayor lamented that local
policemen have not been paid their
allowances for two years already and
even non-uniformed personnel of the
Manila Police District are suffering
the same fate.
He said there were also several
delays in the issuance of the benets
of public school teachers and Manila
City Hall employees.
Moreno had said the city
councilors were disappointed that the
Commission on Audit admonished
Lim for spending over P1.1 billion
while the citys workers have to bear
the burden of cost-cutting measures.
THE First Philippine Industrial Corp.
has asked the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority to reopen the
service road of the Osmea Highway
in Barangay Bangkal in Makati City
that has been closed to trafc since
2010 due to a massive oil leak.
Nardz Ablaza, FPICs Bangkal
remediation project manager, said
the reopening of the Osmea service
road, preferably before the end of the
month, is expected to ease trafc ow
for vehicles headed towards southern
Metro Manila.
Ablaza said they have completed
repair works on the busted pipeline
that runs under the service road in
Barangay Bangkal and they have
nished setting up their multiphase
extraction system that will be used
for the recovery and treatment of
leaked petroleum.
The Osmea service road
runs parallel to the Magallanes
Interchange and Osmea Highway,
where thousands of vehicles pass
through every day.
The service road was closed when
FPIC started repair work on the
pipeline leak that affected a portion of
Barangay Bangkal and the 22-storey
West Tower condominium.
The multiphase extraction
system, our remediation program
for the ongoing cleanup in Barangay
Bangkal, has been fully installed by
our engineers under the Magallanes
Interchange and it has been cleared to
operate by the government agencies
concerned, Ablaza said.
The Department of Energy has
manifested before the Court of Appeals
that the 117-kilometer pipeline,
which has been ordered closed by the
Supreme Court following a massive
oil leak in July 2010, is already safe
for operations after tests conducted
last December indicated there were no
more leaks in the pipeline.
There is really no reason for the
Osmea service road to remain closed.
The MPE system poses no obstacles
to trafc and is fully safe to operate.
Once it starts running, motorists
and even pedestrians wouldnt even
notice it is there, Ablaza said.
He added the reopening would
also ease the expected heavy trafc
at the start of the opening of classes
next month.
The MPE system is housed in two
40-foot, US-made container vans
under the southbound ramp of the
Magallanes Interchange that are tted
with noise reduction paneling.
The FPIC pipeline transmits fuel
to Shell Philippines and Chevrons
oil depots in Manilas Pandacan
district from their oil refineries in
Batangas province.
Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug
said the reopening of the pipeline will
reduce the number of tankers plying
petroleum products from Batangas to
Manila, which will also ease trafc
woes and lessen the considerable
number of accidents involving trucks
in the past weeks.
The MMDA has previously issued
additional exemptions for fuel rms
trucks or lorries, including those of
smaller oil players, to compensate for
the pipelines closure.
Prior to its closure, the pipeline
supplied more than 50 percent of the
petroleum products at the Pandacan
oil depot which is the largest and
most important depot in the country.
The depot supplies petroleum
products to 459 fuel dealers in Metro
Manila and about 1,800 gas stations in
Regions 1 to 4. Fer dinand Fabella
By John Anthony Concepcion

ANOTHER case of plunder has been
led before the Ombudsman on Monday
against Muntinlupa Mayor Aldrin San
Pedro and other city ofcials for their al-
leged involvement in irregularities over
the award of city contracts worth over
P600 million that were allegedly given to
his relatives and close friends.
Abel Sumabat, a former head of the
Muntinlupa City procurement ofce, led
the complaint against San Pedro and Vice-
Mayor Artemio Simundac, all the city
councilors and some city ofcials.
Sumabat last week led ve cases of
plunder against San Pedro involving ve
contracts that were allegedly overpriced
and tainted with irregularities.
In the new complaint for plunder, Su-
mabat enumerated the alleged anomalous
transactions as follows:
Purchase of overpriced 10,000 square
meters of land at P15,000 per square meter
amounting to P150 million located in Su-
sana Heights, which was used as the new
site of the city Hall of Justice;
Illegal use and misuse of intelligence
funds amounting to P280 million from
2008-2011;
Purchase of overpriced 52,000 pieces
of school bags in April 2009 amounting to
P17.42 million;
The contract for the supply of construc-
tion materials amounting to approximately
P50 million awarded only to Antor General
Merchandise, a company allegedly used as
dummy by San Pedros wife;
The overpriced contract for the con-
struction of twelve day care centers in 2009
amounting to approximately P50,000,000
million allegedly awarded to close friends
and relatives of San Pedro;
The overpriced contract for the installa-
tion of two submersible pumps and water
tanks in September 2007 amounting P24.5
million.
Not guilty. Former Transportation
and Communications secretary Leandro
Mendoza heads to court for arraignment on
the graft charges against him over the NBN-
ZTE deal. He pleaded not guilty.
MANNY PALMERO
PNP lauds conviction
of traders kidnappers
PHILIPPINE National Police chief
Gen. Nicanor Bartolome yesterday
hailed the decision
Presiding Judge Edgar Santos of Que-
zon City Regional Trial Court Branch
222 conviction of eight men who kid-
napped a trader in 2003.
Santos found John Galicia, Eliseo
Villarino, Carlito Ugat, Roger Chiva,
Leopoldo Sariego, Napoleon Portugal
and Roger Demitilla guilty of kidnap-
ping and sentenced them to life impris-
onment.
Another accused, Amelito Billones
was sentenced to 10 to 17 yrs imprison-
ment as an accessory.
PNP records showed that Mrs. Ve-
nilda Ho was kidnapped on May 8, 2003
at 7:30 p.m. along Araneta Avenue while
onboard her van driven by accused Bil-
lones, her driver.
Her husband, William Ho immedi-
ately received a call from the kidnappers
demanding P50 million for her liberty.
The victim was brought to a safe
house in Las Pinas and later transferred
to K-8 St, Kamias, QC where she was
held captive until she was rescued by the
police on May 22, 2003.
Flor ante S. Solmer in
Marikina makes fertilizer
from its collected garbage
THE city government of Marikina
through its environment management
ofce has come up with a environment-
friendly scheme to lessen accumulated
trash in the cityorganic fertilizer
production.
According to CEMO chief Gloria
Buenaventura, organic fertilizers are
much better than chemical fertilizers as
they increases the productivity of the
plants. Organic fertilizers ensure safe
environment, soil fertility, and non tox-
ic-food.
Buenaventura said fertilizers are made
in their composting facility, composed
of 10 percent animal manure, 57 percent
biodegradable materials including soiled
vegetables, 33 percent sawdust.
In the production of the fertilizer, rot-
ten vegetables gathered from the city
markets and households are shredded,
she said, then mixed with sawdust and
animal manure in bio-reactor machines.
The facility produces up to 125 kilos of
organic fertilizer in an hours time.
Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman, for
his part said: We advise the farmers
to use organic fertilizers to ensure that
the vegetables bought by consumers are
chemical free. It is important that the
food we eat is clean and safe to keep our
family in good health.
Gigi Muoz David
IN BRIEF
Adamson, Perpetual win
Viloria graces PSA Forum
Arguelles bags 2 net titles
ADAMSON, University of Perpetual
Help and La Salle beat separate rivals in
contrasting fashion Sunday in the 18th Fr.
Martin Summer Cup basketball tournament.
Vic Nuyles struck with a second left,
propelling the Falcons to a 67-65 stopping
of the Jose Rizal University Heavy
Bombers at the Dom Placid gymnasium of
the San Beda-Manila campus in Mendiola.
The Falcons remained on track for a
quarternal berth in Group A with their
fourth consecutive triumph.
The Altas, getting 16 points from Scott
Thompson, blasted the Philippine Merchant
Marine School Mariners, 76-68. The Green
Archers walloped the undermanned Trinity
University of Asia Stallions, 85-51.
WORLD Boxing Organization yweight
champion Brian Viloria and the top two
teams going into the seminals of the
AirAsia ASEAN Basketball LeagueSan
Miguel and AirAsia Philippine Patriots
share centerstage at the Philippine
Sportswriters Association Forum today at
Shakeys, UN Ave.
Viloria is appeareing in the weekly forum
aired live over DZSR Sports Radio 918 and
presented by Smart, Philippine Amusement
and Gaming Corp., and Shakeys, fresh
from his ninth-round technical knockout
win over Mexican Omar Nino Romero to
retain his 112-lbs. title belt.
BACOLOD bet Fernando Arguelles
copped two titles in the seventh leg
of the 14th Smart Presents the HEAD
2012 junior national Tennis Age-Group
Satellite Circuit recently at the Noahs
Haven Tennis Club in Bacolod City.
The University of Saint La Salle-
Integrated School incoming sophomore
routed in less than an hour Francis Sotto
of San Carlos City, 6-1, 6-0, to win the
title in the boys singles 14-under singles.
Arguelles, 14, booked his second crown
in the doubles of boys 14-under together
with Davaos Cyrin Martinez, beating
Reynan Mahusay and Xynel Datorin, 8-3.
A7 Sports Riera U. Mallari, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
And if Bosh doesnt return soon,
it may have to become a trend.
James accepted his third MVP
trophy from Commissioner
David Stern before the game,
then scored 26 of his game-high
32 points while playing every
second of the second half
adding a season-high 15 rebounds
as wellto help the Heat survive
some rough stretches and pull
out a 95-86 victory over the
Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their
Eastern Conference seminal
series Sunday night.
Wade scored 29 points for
the Heat, but the concern level
was ramped up considerably
afterward because of Bosh, who
did not play in the second half
because of a lower abdominal
strain. The Heat expected to
learn results of an MRI exam on
Monday.
Our brother is going to go
(Monday) to see if he can get
back out there and play with
us, Wade said. If not, then
weve got to have someone step
up very big. You cant ll Chris
James, Wade carry Heat
MIAMILeBron James and Dwyane
Wade carried the Miami Heat offense in
the second half. With Chris Bosh gone,
they had no other choice.
Celtics beat Sixers
at own game

THE Boston Celtics took Game
1 of their best-of-seven Eastern
Conference seminal matchup by
beating the Philadelphia 76ers at their
own game--running down the oor on
every opportunity on offense.
While conventional wisdom held
that the ageing Celtics will have a
better chance at a win by walking up
the court on offense and trying to hold
off the Sixers fastbreaks, the Celtics
won by actually running against their
younger, more athletic rivals.
Reports indicated that just before
Game 1 of the conference seminals
started, Rivers wrote these four words
on the locker room white board: We
want to run.
The strategy went against all
conventional wisdom. The Celtics
were ancient with its three best
players: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce
and Ray Allen already late in their
30s and hobbled with creaky, aged
legs. Heck, Pierce even had a
hurting knee and Allen had bone
spurs on his ankles.
Rivers strategy almost exploded
in his face as the Sixers seized the
early pace dictating the tempo of the
game and building an early double-
digit lead.
But Rivers knew that he had an ace
in the hole. Or rather two aces in the
hole in speedsters Rajon Rondo and
Avery Bradley. Apparently, our very
own Chot Reyes is not the only coach
who likes to eld in two point guards
at the same time (Reyes likes Jimmy
Alapag and Jason Castro on the oor)
in a game. The Celtics mentor put
in Rondo at the point, then inserted
Bradley at the two guard spot.
From that point on, the Celtics had
the horses to run-and-gun and keep
pace if not outsprint the Sixers at their
own game.
In what typied the Celtics stand
all night, the Sixers Lou Williams
sprinted downcourt after a Celtics
turnover. Bradley stopped him from
REUEL VIDAL
SPORTS CENTER
Boshs shoes.
David West and Roy Hibbert
each scored 17 points and
combined for 23 rebounds for the
Pacers, who got 10 points each
from Darren Collison and George
Hill. Indiana controlled long
stretches of the rst half and didnt
trail by more than two points at
any time until the fourth quarter,
when it was outscored 25-16.
Wade and James scored 42 points
in the second half, while Indianas
entire roster managed 38.
We started to get defensive
stops, James said. We started
getting things rolling.
Game 2 is Tuesday in Miami.
James scored 16 points alone
in the fourth, matching Indianas
total. Nonetheless, the Pacers
sounded condent for days
leading up to the start of the series,
and left Sunday night sounding
the same way.
We have the capability to beat
these guys, said Hibbert, who
was guarding Bosh on the play
when he got hurt.
Bosh caught a pass from
James near the foul line late in
the rst half, took one dribble
to start a drive past Hibbert, got
down the lane and dunked the
ball hard with his left hand while
the Indiana center appeared
to hit his right arm. Bosh fell
forward as he landed, resting on
his hands and knees for about
15 seconds before getting up
slowly. He made his free throw,
and as he headed back the other
way he grimaced and grabbed at
his midsection. AP
FILIPINO tenpin bowling Hall of Famer
Olivia Bong Coo is the guest speaker
during the formal opening of the 1st
Philsca (Philippine State College of
Aeronautics) President Cup-Dr. Bernard
R. Ramirez Bowling Tournament on
Friday at the AMF Puyat Bowling Lanes,
Makati Cinema Square in Makati City.
Coo, a four-time World Cup
champion who also holds a record five
gold medals (by a Filipino athlete)
in the Asian Games, and was the first
Filipino athlete listed in the Guinness
Book of World Records, is expected to
encourage participants, as well as share
some of her secrets in her rise as one of
the worlds top players.
Ms. Coo is the perfect choice to
be our guest speaker, said Physical
Education and Sports Department ofcial
Gigi Manaog, who organized the event
with Higenio Burce and Ricky Santiago,
through its gender and development
committee focal person Rowena
Navera.
Twelve teams are competing
in the tournament from the
four Philsca campuses, namely
Villamor Air Base in Pasay
City; Fernando Air Base in
Lipa, Batangas; Basa Air Base,
Pampanga; and Mactan Air Base,
Campus, Mactan, Cebu.
Coo is guest speaker in President Cup kegfest
THE Tenpin Bowling Association of
Makati leaned on their national junior
players to rule the boys and girls
team events of the 20th National
Bowling Youth Championship at the
E-Lanes Bowling Center in Ortigas.
TBAMs quartet of national players
Kenneth Chua, Ivan Malig, Enzo
Hernandez and Collin Jose joined
forces in the first and second block to
accumulate a combined 4933 total team
pin falls, which proved enough to secure
the boysteam-event gold medal.
Team Primas Kevin Custodio, Biboy
Tajo, Ariel Young and Ren Cremen were
far at 4732 for the silver medal, while
Manila Tenpin Bowling Associations
Louie Chuaquico, EJ Lara, and LALara
finished third with 4671.
TBAM also conquered the womens
team event with national junior bowlers
Patricia Tajo, Madeline Llamas,
Krizziah Tabora and Janine Kuwahara
combining for a leading 4621 total pin
falls for another gold medal.
Bernadette Ipapo, Xyra Cabusas,
Sam Lagcao and national junior
Alexis Sy of Prima settled for the
silver medal with a combined 4050
total pin falls, while Pearl Bowlers
Association of the Philippines Niqui
Bernabe, Anne Ramirez, Anne Marie
Kiac and Jai Ramirez merged 4000
for the bronze medal.
TBAM bets dominate
youth bowling meet
NEWCOMER Carl Luig of
AUTSracing and promising
young karter Tai Zulberti of
City Kart unveiled convincing
victories to capture their
second straight triumphs
recently in the second leg of
the 2012 Philippine National
Karting Series at the Batangas
Racing Circuit here.
Luig struggled his way back
to upstage even the Expert
drivers in the combined race
and claimed his second win in
the Formula SL Novice class
of this event sanctioned by
the Automobile Association
Philippines and sponsored
by Petron Blaze, San Miguel
Corporation, Motorstar and
Aeromed.
Zulberti pulled off a
big escape against Dylan
Arambulo to claim a second
straight victory in the Formula
Cadet Expert class.
Luig only nished fourth
in the qualifying heat, but put
up a good ght in the Pre-
Finals, where he checked in
second behind AUTS Racing
teammate and Expert lady
karter Yvana Carangan to gain
Grid No.2 for the nal race
Though he managed to
keep the lead in the Final
race throughout, the three-
way battle for the top spot
was intense against Carangan
and young Raymond Cudala
of Kart Wreckers, who put a
lot of pressure on him as they
stayed too close for comfort
until the last few meters going
to the nish line.
But after the checkered
ag was waved, Luig barely
escaped as he completed the
nine-lap race in 14 minutes
and 36.882 seconds or just
a mere 0.021 of a second
ahead of Cudala and 0.102 of
a second ahead of Carangan,
who checked in third.
Cudala eventually bagged the
runner-up nish in the Formula
SL Novice, with Carlos Lorenzo
settling for third. Brian Thorp
of AUTS Racing and Bjomar
Eikevik wound up fourth and
fth, respectively.
Carangan eventually
copped the Formula SL
Expert crown over Wayne
Darvin and Jaz Monzones of
Natmo Asia-GP1 Racing.
Zulberti, likewise, faced
a tough challenge against
Arambulo as they went neck-
and-neck in all three races.
Arambulo ruled the qualifying
heat, but Zulberti got his
revenge in the Pre-Final,
winning the race by just 0.048
of a second over the former.
Their duel continued in
the eight-lap Final race, but
Zulbertis defensive moves
pulled him through as he
clocked 12 minutes and
46.107 seconds, just 0.076 of
a second ahead of Arambulo,
who took runner-up honors.
William Casequin settled
for third place, while AT
Tuason and Jacob Chamness
ended fourth and fth
respectively.
Luig, Zulberti prevail in Petron kartfest
scoring. Rondo grabbed the defensive
rebound and galloped to the other end
of the oor. Kevin Garnett set up a
screen at the foul line. Rondo scooted
in to the rim, then dropped the ball
back to Garnet who scored a basket
and converted the bonus free throw.
The Celtics had the lead for good.
Garnett nished with a game-high
29 points, most of them coming from
Rondo assists. Rondo nished with
another triple double: 13 points, 12
rebounds and 17 assists. He even
added four steals.
Game 2 is Tuesday morning
Philippine time, so by the time
youre reading this, the game will
probably be over. My guess is that
the Celtics will be holding a 2-0
edge, but of course thats just me.
If youre a longtime reader of this
column, you probably know that
Im a Celtics diehard so that guess
shouldnt be too much of a surprise.
* * *
Over in the Western Conference,
both Los Angeles teams survived
the rst round. But surviving the
seminals to arrange a Battle of Los
Angeles for the Western Conference
crown will be a tall order.
The Lakers barely scraped past the
Denver Nuggers in seven games. The
Clippers likewise did the same against
the Memphis Grizzlies. Next up for the
Lakers are the frighteningly athletic
Oklahoma City Thunder, led by NBA
scoring champion Kevin Durant. For
the Clippers it will be the formidable
San Antonio Spurs and ageless Tim
Duncan.
Both LA squads will be the decided
underdogs and it would take an upset
of minor proportions for both squads
to advance. But Im hoping the Lakers
at least come out of the West, because
I believe that the Celtics will come out
of the East.
And what better Celtics nals
appearance than one with the Lakers
as their rivals for all the marbles,
another NBA crown.
* * *
If you want to nd out how I sound
like, please tune in to the two-time
KBP Best Sports Program on the
radio, MBC Sports Center, in our new
time slot 1 to 2 p.m., every Sunday,
over the no. 1 radio network in Asia,
dzRH, 666 on your AM dial.
The same program is simulcast on
RHTV over Channel 25 on Sun Cable
and Channel 9 on Cable Link. Sports
Center can be followed live from
anywhere in the world through the
Internet on http://dzrh.tripod.com and
http://dzrh.prepys.com.
For comments, questions and non-
violent reactions please, send your
e-mail to reuelvidal@ymail.com.
Lady Tams
keep cage
hopes alive
UNIVERSITY Athletic As-
sociation of the Philippines
womens champion Far East-
ern University kept its title
hopes alive in the Sandugo-
Collegiate Development
League following its 57-24
victory over Miriam College
Saturday at the San Juan gym.
The Lady Tamaraws will
face University of the Phil-
ippines-Diliman in their last
game, with both teams sporting
similar 3-3 slates. The winner
joins National University (5-1),
Lyceum of the Philippines Uni-
versity (5-1) and College of St.
Benilde, 6-1 to the seminals.
The early seminalists are
still jostling for the Top 2 slots
in the tournament backed by
the Philippine Sports Com-
mission, Phiten, Gatorade
and Primovit Multi vitamins.
NU will still face dangerous
University of Sto. Tomas (2-4)
with an eye on top spot, while
LPU meets Miriam, but should
have no problem winning.
CSB posted its sixth win
over a hapless Miriam team,
75-32, to complete its elim-
ination-round schedule.
In the mens division, NU
gave erstwhile undefeated
Informatics a 70-63 beat-
ing last Saturday, to emerge
as the top team at 4-0.
Informatics is now tied with
College of St. Benilde at 4-1 after
the Blazers made short work of STI,
68-60, at the CSB gym last week.
FILIPINO Grandmaster Oliver
Barbosa concluded a successful
run in Vietnam as he nabbed fth
place in the 11
th
Asian Continental
Individual Chess Championships
Sunday at First Hotel, Tan Binh in
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Taytay, Rizal native Barbosa
clinched fth via a superior tiebreak
points over fellow six-pointers,
sixth-placer GM Ding Liren and
seventh-placer GM Ni Hua of
China, eighth-placer GM Wesley
So of the Philippines (who won the
blitz side-event), ninth-placer GM
Wen Yang and 10
th
-placer GM Lu
Shanglei, also of China. Chinese
IM Liu Qingnan was fourth.
Each of themfrom fourth to
10threceived $2,028 after equally
sharing the total prize of $14,200.
GM Parimarjan Negi of India
defeated fellow seven-pointer GM
Yu Yangyi of China in a tiebreak
to win the title. The two split the
combined prize of $11,000.
GM Saleh A R Salem of the
United Arab Emirates scored 6.5
points for solo third place and
received $4,000.
The top ve players booked
seats in next years World Chess
Cup, an integral part of the World
Championship Cycle.
This is another big achievement
in chess. GM Oliver (Barbosa)
showed his mettle in the World
Chess Cup, formerly known as
the FIDE World Chess Champion-
ship, said GM Jayson Gonzales,
Executive Director of the National
Chess Federation of the Philip-
pines, headed by Chairman/Presi-
dent Prospero Butch Pichay Jr.
Barbosa grabs berth
in World Chess Cup
Sportswriters aunt dies
ORBITA Beth Calisin Ramos, 53, aunt
and long-time guardian of Manila Times
sports writer Josef Ramos, joined her creator
Monday morning at the Philippine General
Hospital because of lingering illness.
She left her husband Sta. Ana
Elementary teacher Felipe Ramos Sr. and
children Catherine May Ramos, Charles
Vincent Ramos, Chodina Byet Ramos
and Chordine Ramos and grandchild
Jacob Phil Andrew Halili.
Her body currently lies at Floresco
Funeral Homes in Pedro Gil Manila and
will be transferred to the Sta. Ana Church
Manila within the week. Interment will
be announced soon.
Overall
champions
of the 20th
National
Bowling Youth
Championship
are shown
here. They
are (from
left) Bernard
Hernandez,
Patricia
Tajo, Janine
Kuwahara,
Krizziah
Tabora,
Madeline
Llamas,
Kenneth
Chua, Collins
Jose, Enzo
Hernandez,
Ivan Malig and
Rudy Salazar.
Coo
ATENEO tries to formalize its
stint in the seminal round as it
takes on an embattled Adamson
side today even as National
University and University of St.
La Salle-Bacolod knock each
other out in the quarternals of
the ninth Shakeys V-League
Presented by Smart at The Arena
in San Juan.
The Lady Eagles swept the
Lady Stingers last Sunday to
assure themselves of at least
playoff for a semis seat with a
pacesetting 4-0 slate, matched
later by the former six-time
defending champion University
of Santo Tomas Tigresses, who
survived a gritty Far Eastern
University squad, 25-19, 25-16,
24-26, 25-16.
But the Lady Falcons, bannered
by former most valuable player
Nene Bautista and Pau Soriano,
will go all out for a win not only
to stop the Eagles run, but more
importantly keep their semis
hopes alive in the tournament
sponsored by Shakeys Pizza and
backed by Mikasa and Accel.
With a 1-3 mark, Adamson is
at fth behind Perpetual Help (3-
1) and San Sebastian (2-1) and
must sweep its last three games
to remain in the race.
A8
An All-Star weekend to remember
By Jeric Lopez

PHILIPPINE Basketball Association
commissioner Chito Salud was very sat-
ised of the All-Star weekend.
Salud said that seeing the wonderful
reception that the league and players re-
ceived was indicative of how the PBA
is doing and where it stands in the fans
consciousness.
This years All-Stars, to my mind,
says a lot where the PBA is today. First,
the warm, rousing welcome we received
from our gracious hosts is indicative of
the tremendous goodwill the PBA has in
the Philippine communities, said Salud.
It is a good sense check
whether the PBA is on the
right track.
Salud added that it
was nice to see the
leagues players re-
new their roles as
role models for the
ones looking up to
them.
Second, the en-
thusiastic participa-
tion of our players,
both past and present,
demonstrates clearly the
commitment of our players
to embrace the responsibil-
ity as PBA ambassadors
and role models to the
youth.
In addition, Salud
was also happy to
see the players
have a good time
among themselves
as they built cama-
raderie amid stiff
competition.
I also felt the play-
ers are beginning to
understand the intangible
value of renewing personal
ties with fellow players, connecting
with the veterans and the precious lega-
cy theyve been handed and building on
this legacy, Salud said.
He added: More than the fun part,
thats what the All-Stars is about. And on
this basis, I think the All-Star weekend
was a success.
In the All-Star game Sunday night,
the Veterans proved to be too much for
the Rookies, Sophomores and Juniors
as they showed that the newbies still
have a long way to go with a handy
176-144 win.
Records were also made during the
high-octane exhibition contest.
Lady Eagles
seek semis
Sports
Manila Standard TODAY
sports@manilastandardtoday.com sports_mstandard@yahoo.com Riera U. Mallari, Editor
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NBA RESULTS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
NOW that World Boxing Organization
yweight champion Brian Viloria has
exorcised the habit of losing a title on
his second defense with a ninth-round
knockout of Mexicos Omar Nino
Romero on Sunday, he wants to remain
a world champion for some time.
I want to stay as long as I can
(as champion). I told you when I
rst won the title from Julio Cesar
Pingo Miranda, that Ill be a world
champion for a while. I think I have
what it takes, Ive learned a lot,
Viloria told the Manila Standard.
The 31-year-old Viloria recalled
that everyone says youve lost
your title every time on the second
defense and they asked me
whether I had some psychological
hindrance and I said no, because
Ive learned a lot. And now Ive
nished my second title defense,
impressively I hope, and theres
more and more to go. Hopefully,
well be talking after my 20th title
defense!
The WBO champion said he is
a far more condent ghter today.
I attribute this to the maturity
By Peter Atencio
THE Philippine Powerlifting team collected
eight golds, 17 silvers and a bronze medal in the
recent 2012 Asian Powerlifting Championships in
Udaipur, India.
The Filipinos, led by Anita Koykka, Betina Bordeos,
Regie Ramirez, Ralph Hidalgo, John Castelar, Clark
Cruz and Raymund Debuque, also shattered four world,
11 Asian and 23 Philippine records.
Nineteen-year-old Ramirez smashed seven
national marks as he swept all the events in the 53-kg
juniors class in the squat, bench press and deadlift
for a total of 482.5kg to win four gold medals.
Koykka, who is considered as the best active
powerlifter in the Philippines at this time, earned
a gold and three silvers in the very tough Open
category. She set ve Masters World records and
seven Asian marks with her gold medal coming
from her 90-kg bench press event.
She achieved a world record on her third attempt
at 165 kgs. In the squat, there were no problems at all
on her 155-kg second attempt, which was her rst try
at a world record in this competition.
In the end, her 410 kgs broke her own world
record.
PH powerlifters collect 8 golds
Brians goal:
A long reign
Pacquiaos
trainers
impressed
MANNY Pacquiao ended
his rst week of training at
the Wild Card Gym in Los
Angeles and his team members
liked what they saw.
Trainer Freddie Roach
said Pacquiaos sparring on
Thursday and Saturday were
the best hes seen in some time.
On the other hand, adviser
Michael Koncz told the Manila
Standard that the Filipino
champ sparred eight rounds on
Saturday, going four rounds
with rugged Russian Ruslan
Provodnikov, two rounds with
super featherweight Roberto
Gonzalez and a young black
kid, whose name he couldnt
recall.
The young ghter came
straight forward and threw a
number of combinations, that
tested Manny, while Gonzalez
was in there because of his speed
and the Russian for his tough,
rugged style, said Koncz.
The adviser said the decision
of Roach to change sparring
partners from the usual roster
of ghters he banks on was a
tremendous advantage, because
Pacquiao was not familiar with
their styles. Pacquiao looked
sharper and faster.
Strength and conditioning
coach Alex Ariza described
Pacquiao as having a great
workout on Wednesday,
thereby pleasing the demanding
member, who plays a signicant
role in getting the Fighter of the
Decade into ne physical shape
for his ghts.
Ariza, who has at times
complained in the past
over Pacquiaos failure to
go through his demanding
plyometric routines, said this
past week, the champ was
amazing in his work on the
track oval at the University of
Southern California.
Ronnie Nathanielsz
that Ive garnered
through the past couple of
years. Just having condence
in your skill and condence in
your training and you are able
to show that kind of skill in
the ring and thats what helped
me, said Viloria.
He added: With all the
training Ive done, I helped
bring condence to my style
and that showed in the ring.
Romero complained about
the stoppage by referee Michael
Ortega when he was groggy and
unstable against the ropes as
Viloria continued to pound him.
But WBO supervisor and
Asia Pacic vice president
Leon Panoncillo stood by the
referees decision and said
Viloria practically won all the
rounds and it was a very good
showing by him.
Shootfest. Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista (center) marks his 44th birthday
with a two-day practical shooting invitational at the QC Police ring range in Camp
Karingal, hosted by the QC Hall Employees Athletic Association and QC Rie and
Pistol Shooting Association. Joining him are (from left) actors Leandro Baldemor,
Gardo Verzosa, Charmaine Suarez, Bayani Agbayani, King Gutierrez and Efren Reyes
Jr., and former QC councilor Allan Francisco. The event was managed by Carlos
Verzonilla (behind Bautista), QC radio communication service ofce chief.
UP-AND-COMING Lorenzo
Miguel Leonardo and Emilio
Jose Mangubat handily beat their
opening-round rivals to lead the
winners in the boyssingles 17-under
division at the start of the Philippine
National Open-Ming Ramos Youth
Camp Badminton Championships
at the Rizal Memorial Badminton
Hall yesterday.
Leonardo, of JLTC team,
needed just 10 minutes to
dispose of Jeffrey Sy of Escoses
Training Team, 21-4, 21-8, while
Mangubat trounced Zedrick Paul
Montemayor, 21-10, 21-13, in
20 minutes to advance against
Joaquin Pangilinan and Vincent
Rafael Manuel, respectively.
Pangilinan, of City Shuttler
Pampanga, drubbed John Louie
Santelices of Babolat Academy, 21-
4, 21-8, while Manuel, also of JLTC,
bundled out John Paul Yabut of MSI
JR team, 21-14, 21-12.
Former Philippine Badminton
Association president Amelita
Ming Ramos hit the
ceremonial serve to kick off the
annual weeklong tournament,
sponsored by Victor/PCOME
Industrial Sales, the exclusively
distributor in the country, Bingo
Bonanza, Sun Cellular and the
Philippine Sports Commission.
Also winning their opening-
day matches are Ferdinand Allen
Marifosque, who beat Justine
Mendoza, 21-13, 21-18; Ryan
Garreth Dizer, who bested Eldrin
Jahn Basilio, 21-11, 21-8; Wilfred
Miguel Deato, who ripped Kyle
Justine Legaspi, 21-12, 21-16;
Alberto Hilario III who clobbered
Lloyd Anthony Renoson, 21-15,
21-14; and Louie John Medina,
who held off Christian Justin
Boro, 21-17, 21-15.
Loenardo, Mangubat crush foes in opener
Letran bet captures
bronze in Thailand
LETRAN standout Archand Christian Bagsit earned
a bronze medal in the second leg of the 2012 Asian
Athletics Grand Prix at the Chonburi Campus
Stadium in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
The 18-year-old Bagsit nished the 400-meter
run nals in 47.44 seconds, 36/100ths of a second
faster than his 47.8 clocking in the rst leg.
Khunhu Puthanpurakkal of India was rst
(46.14 seconds), while Hashemiahan Sajad of Iran
was second in 46.73 seconds.
Long jumper Marestella Torres, who claimed
the bronze in the rst leg with a leap of 6.37
meters, improved to 6.42 in the second leg.
But she was only able place fth in the second
staging of the meet.
Nevertheless, Torres remained within range of
the 6.71-meter mark she accomplished during the
2011 Southeast Asian Games. Peter Atencio
WBO yweight champion Brian Viloria (left) hoists the Philippine ag after scoring a ninth-round
knockout of Mexicos Omar Nino Romero on Sunday. LINO SANTOS
HEAT 95, PACERS 86
CLIPPERS 82, GRIZZLIES 72
Salud
Business
B1
Ray S. Eano, Editor
Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor extrastory2000@gmail.com
IN BRIEF
Thais buy out Quezon Power
PSALM
finalizes
auction
of barges
PLDT invests P6b more in MediaQuest
Malaysian companies seek water joint ventures
PSE COMPOSITE INDEX
Closing May 14, 2012
5,083.62
74.52
OIL
PRICES
TODAY
P780-P895.00
LPG/11-kg tank
P54.55-P61.02
Unleaded Gasoline
P46.10-P49.90
Diesel
P52.34-P57.85
Kerosene
P38.50-P39.20
Auto LPG
FOREI GN EXCHANGE RATE
Currency Unit US Dollar Peso
United States Dollar 1.000000 42.4790
Japan Yen 0.012514 0.5316
UK Pound 1.607600 68.2892
Hong Kong Dollar 0.128796 5.4711
Switzerland Franc 1.075616 45.6911
Canada Dollar 1.000200 42.4875
Singapore Dollar 0.798594 33.9235
Australia Dollar 1.006644 42.7612
Bahrain Dinar 2.652661 112.6824
Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266660 11.3275
Brunei Dollar 0.795418 33.7886
Indonesia Rupiah 0.000109 0.0046
Thailand Baht 0.032051 1.3615
UAE Dirham 0.272272 11.5658
Euro Euro 1.292100 54.8871
Korea Won 0.000872 0.0370
China Yuan 0.158464 7.3831
India Rupee 0.018674 0.7933
Malaysia Ringgit 0.325733 13.8368
NewZealand Dollar 0.785793 33.3797
Taiwan Dollar 0.034029 1.4455
Source: PDS Bridge
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
May 14, 2012
PESO-DOLLAR RATE
40
42
44
46
48
P42.705
CLOSE
Closing MAY 14, 2012
5200
4460
3720
2980
2240
1500
1200
VOLUME 697.490M
HIGH P42.550 LOW P42.710 AVERAGE P42.627
Partnership deal. British nancial services companies Pru Life UK and Standard Chartered Bank have formalized a partnership to create a new general agency,
Assurance Solutions Insurance Agency Inc. Assurance Solutions, wholly-owned by Standard Chartered Bank, will exclusively sell Pru Life UK products. Sealing the
agreement are (from left) Assurance Solutions Insurance Agency Inc. general manager Yvonne Santos; Pru Life UK vice president for partnership distribution Kenn
Ramirez; Pru Life UK president and chief executive Antonio de Rosas; Standard Chartered chief executive Mahendra Gursahani; Standard Chartered general manager for
wealth management Maria Asuncion KohchetChua and Standard Chartered general manager for premium banking, sales and services Abigail del Rosario.
By Alena Mae S. Flores
A THAI energy company is infusing $375
million to take over Quezon Power Philippines
Ltd., operator of one of the largest coal-red
power plants in the country.
Bangkok-based Electricity
Generating Public Company Ltd.
told the stock exchange of Thailand
it had signed an agreement to acquire
additional 45.875-percent interest in
Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. and
100 percent of InterGen Management
Services (Philippines) Ltd. from US
rm InterGen.
The investment will provide
Egco with a controlling position in
QPL and we anticipate opportunities
for an expansion of the plant in the
future. The investment will enhance
Egcos presence and capabilities
in the Republic of the Philippines
power sector, Egco president Sahust
Pratuknukul said.
InterGen, a global power generation
rm with 12 power plants representing
a total generation capacity of 8,146
MW, is jointly owned by the Ontario
Teachers Pension Plan and China
Huaneng Group. Its unit InterGen
Management Services provides project
management and administrative
services and support to Quezon
Power.
Egco, the rst independent power
producer in Thailand, operates 16
plants with total installed capacity of
4,444 MW.
The transaction would bring Egcos
total benecial ownership interest in
Quezon Power to 98 percent, with the
remaining 2 percent held by PMR Ltd.
Quezon Power is the operator of the
503-megawatt Quezon coal-red power
plant in Mauban town.
The transaction is expected to close
by the second quarter this year.
Pratuknukul said both Egcos audit
committee and the board of directors
viewed the transaction as something in
line with the companys business plan
to invest in power businesses in the
Southeast Asia that provide long-term
value to the company.
The acquisition of IMS will
allow Egco to have full control of the
management and the management
team of QPL. Sources of funds for the
transaction are Egcos cash and existing
credit lines, Pratuknukul said.
We are pleased to have come to
this agreement with Egco Group, a
company with which we have enjoyed
a very positive working relationship
for the past several years, Intergen
president and chief executive Neil
Smith said.
While we remain committed to
growing our portfolio over the long
term, this transaction represents a
compelling opportunity to realize value
from our investment in the Quezon
Power project, he said.
The Quezon Power project is
comprised of a 503-MW coal-red
electric generating facility and a 31-
kilometer transmission line in Mauban,
Quezon.
The plant began commercial
operations in May 2000 and provides
stable and reliable electricity to the
Luzon grid under a 25-year power sales
agreement with distributor Manila
Electric Co.
By Lailany P. Gomez
PHILIPPINE Long Distance
Telephone Co. is investing
P6 billion in the form of
Philippine Depositary Receipts
in MediaQuest to sustain the
growth momentum of TV5 and
Cignal TV. MediaQuest is owned
and controlled by the PLDT
Benecial Trust Fund.
The nancial investment in
media is important and expected
to create value over a longer time
frame but is one that is necessary
for our growth and transformation,
PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan
said in a statement. Many other
telecommunication companies
worldwide have made similar
investments in media assets.
PLDTs diversication
efforts has brought it into the
outsourcing business by setting
up ePLDT, which has call center
and data center operations. The
groups outsourcing business has
since been consolidated under
SPi Global, which has posted
gains in the past two years and
accounts for 5 percent of the
PLDT Groups total revenues.
PLDTs move into multi-media
services seeks to take advantage
of its extensive and robust xed
and mobile platforms to deliver
digital media content, such as
photos and video through various
devices, including PCs, laptops,
smartphones, tablets and smart
TVs.
Its initial forays into multi-
media services include PLDT
Watch Pad, which offered MyDSL
subscribers access to selected
television and video content and
more recently the Telpad, the
worlds rst tablet landline.
MediaQuests TV5, meanwhile,
has developed innovative
applications such as its enhanced
weather reporting and Metro
Manila trafc reporting services
that can be or are already being
made accessible to mobile phone
subscribers.
PLDT president and chief
executive Napoleon Nazareno
said PLDTs nancial investment
in media was consistent with the
companys overall strategy of
evolving itself from a traditional
telco into a multi-media service
company.
With the direct investment,
MediaQuest will serve as the
anchor for the PLDT
Groups media
offerings through the
creation of content,
generation of new
revenue streams, and providing
direct access to overseas Filipino
workers worldwide, Nazareno
said.
He said economies of scale
could be gained in the production
of content for all platforms
with the partnership while also
generating proprietary content.
We could derive new
revenue streams as we use the
content to increase subscription
revenues across the groups
various platforms and maximize
advertising potential available
from the sizeable subscriber base
of the Group, Nazareno said.
FIRST Gen Corp., a unit of
the Lopez Group, has raised
P10 billion in fresh funds
from the sale of perpetual
preferred bonds to repay debt,
fund various acquisitions and
support the groups investments
and projects.
It sold 70 million shares to
investors during the offering
period that ran from May 7 to 11
at an issue price of P100 apiece.
First Gen corporate secretary
Rachel Hernandez said in a
company ling to the Philippine
Stock Exchange that issue lead
underwriter BDO Capital and
Investments Corp. exercised in
full the oversubscription option
for an additional 30 million
shares, bringing the number of
bonds sold to 100 million.
The shares are non-voting
and non-convertible and have a
par value of P10 per share. They
would be listed in the exchange.
Perpetual preferred bonds, a
form of preferred stocks, have
no xed date on which invested
capital will be returned to the
shareholder. Since they have no
maturity date unlike the usual
bonds, these hybrid instruments
are treated like equity.
Firts Gen said in a ling with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission that it would use
proceeds from the sale to bankroll
the companys acquisition of BG
Groups shares in two power
plants, and pay the convertible
bond to make a partial repayment
of the debt of afliate Red Vulcan
Corp. Elaine R. Alanguilan
By Othel V. Campos
A SEVEN-COMPANY delegation
from Malaysia arrived in the
country Monday for a three-day
trade mission to seek joint ventures
with local water companies that will
invest in wastewater treatment.
We already spoke to
the MWSS [Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage
System] and LWUA [Local
Water Utilities Association]. The
big water utilities like Manila
Water and Maynilad are very
keen on the technology that the
visiting Malaysian companies are
bringing over, Malaysian trade
commissioner in the Philippines
Har Man Ahmad said at the start
of the three-day mission at the
Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati
City.
The Malaysian business
delegation expects to forge new
partnerships and joint ventures
with local Philippine companies,
said Ahmad.
Ahmad said Manila Water had
already inquired of the waste
water treatment equipment and
was looking forward to doing
business with the Malaysian
group.
He said Manila Waters level
of wastewater treatment was still
low at 12 percent.
Ahmad said the advanced
technology of Malaysian
wastewater companies would
enable big players such as
Manila Water and Maynilad as
well as local water utilities to
signicantly improve the level
of their wastewater treatment and
comply with the protocol set by
the Environment Department on
wastewater treatment.
Ahmad said both Manila
Water and Maynilad were keen
on entering into a supply contract
with a Malaysian company
for specialized water piping
equipment.
The Malaysian piping system
is an advanced technology that
could easily aid water companies
in the laying of pipes in very
tight areas like Metro Manila,
he said.
POWER Sector Assets and
Liabilities Management Corp.,
the agency in charge of selling
state power assets, will push
through with the bidding of
diesel-red power plants this
week.
PSALM president and chief
executive Emmanuel Ledesma
Jr. said in a statement the
agency would auction Power
Barges 101, 102, 103 and 104
Wednesday after nalizing all
requirements for the bidding.
Ledesma said the bidding was
approved with the guidance and
support of the PSALM board.
The PSALM board is led
by Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima as chairman and
Energy Secretary Jose Rene
Almendras as vice chairman.
Ledesma said the number of
prospective bidders that qualied
for the bidding was trimmed to
seven from 11 investor groups,
all of whom were given ample
time to prepare and nalize their
respective offers.
The qualied bidders
submitted their documents
before the April 18 deadline.
Alena Mae S. Flores
First Gen
gets P10b
from sale
of bonds
Treasury raises P2.4b
THE government raised only P2.4 billion
from the sale of one-year Treasury bills
Monday, as the Treasury rejected bids for
shorter-term 91-day and 182-day debt papers.
National Treasurer Roberto Tan said the
government rejected the bids for the benchmark
three-month security papers as well as the six-
month instruments, because of unreasonable
rates.
What we have seen are very unreasonable
rates, even if they are catch-up of aggressive
bids two weeks ago. The abruptness of
increasing yields is quite disturbing. Thats
why we decided to reject bids for the 91-day
and 182-day T-bills, he said.
The rates of three-month debt papers would
have increased to 2.575 percent, up by 0.401
basis points from the previous auction, had the
government accepted the bids amounting to
P2.97 billion.
The yield on 182-day debt paper would
have also surged to 2.99 percent, or 0734 basis
points higher than the 2.258 percent in the
previous auction, had the Treasury accepted
the tenders amounting to P2.4 billion.
Orders for the 364-day debt papers reached
P3.95 billion at the rate of 2.518 percent, or
0.066 basis point lower than in the previous
auction. The Treasury awarded only P2.4
billion. Maria Bernadette Lunas
Hyundais sales up 11%
KOREAN car importer Hyundai Asia
Resources Inc. said sales rose 11 percent in
April to 1,891 units from 1,707 a year ago,
led by strong demand for passenger cars and
introduction of new models.
We begin the second quarter with a
strong sales performance based on a sustained
favorable business climate and positive
consumer outlook. Our strong vehicle portfolio
and the entry of new models coupled with
aggressive brand building efforts will shore
us up through the remainder of the year, Hari
president and chief executive Ma. Fe Perez
Agudo said in a statement.
Passenger car sales in April grew 70
percent to 1,099 units from 645 year-on-year,
offsetting the 25-percent decline in sales of
light commercial vehicles to 792 units from
1,062 a year ago.
Agudo said the slowdown in LCV sales was
due to delayed arrival of shipment.
Hyundais total sales in the rst four months
also grew 35 percent to 8,658 units from 6,419
a year ago, boosted by strong acceptance for
i10, Accent and Elantra in the passenger car
segment.
Passenger car sales in the January-April
period climbed 113 percent to 5,396 units from
2,534 units a year earlier. Julito G. Rada
Business
ManilaStandardToday
extrastory2000@gmail.com
B2
Boohoo for Yahoo
PH-China standoff
sinks stocks further
52 Weeks Previous % Net Foreign (Peso)
High Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying
MST BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW
MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012
M
S
T
FINANCIAL
70.00 46.00 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 63.00 63.20 61.55 61.55 (2.30) 3,154,300 (72,097,166.50)
76.80 50.00 Bank of PI 71.20 72.80 69.85 71.00 (0.28) 1,026,770 (8,148,663.50)
1.82 0.69 Bankard, Inc. 0.73 0.72 0.72 0.72 (1.37) 484,000
512.00 370.00 China Bank 550.00 559.00 535.00 535.00 (2.73) 36,270 (8,807,000.00)
1.95 1.42 BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. 1.81 1.81 1.76 1.76 (2.76) 8,000
23.90 12.50 COL Financial 22.65 22.70 21.50 22.00 (2.87) 372,200 17,440.00
Eastwest Bank 18.84 18.80 18.52 18.52 (1.70) 3,360,900 (6,527,348.00)
22.00 7.56 Filipino Fund Inc. 10.00 11.70 9.02 9.02 (9.80) 1,100
0.95 0.62 First Abacus 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.00 100,000
80.00 40.00 First Metro Inv. 66.00 68.00 64.30 64.30 (2.58) 7,300 339,900.00
3.26 1.91 I-Remit Inc. 2.45 2.22 2.20 2.20 (10.20) 30,000
775.00 475.20 Manulife Fin. Corp. 530.00 511.00 511.00 511.00 (3.58) 90
29.00 3.00 Maybank ATR KE 29.65 29.65 28.00 28.50 (3.88) 33,500 (49,085.00)
93.50 60.00 Metrobank 87.00 87.00 84.60 85.00 (2.30) 6,528,550 (194,990,426.00)
3.06 1.30 Natl Reinsurance Corp. 2.00 2.00 1.70 1.70 (15.00) 700,000 98,500.00
126.00 35.00 Phil Bank of Comm 75.00 75.50 75.00 75.00 0.00 750
16.85 41.00 Phil. National Bank 69.20 70.95 67.80 68.20 (1.45) 1,203,360 9,472,775.00
539.00 204.80 PSE Inc. 360.00 359.00 354.00 356.00 (1.11) 22,800 5,765,380.00
44.40 25.45 RCBC À 43.60 44.35 42.40 42.50 (2.52) 940,300.00 4,392,600.00
151.50 77.00 Security Bank 142.70 142.00 130.00 133.20 (6.66) 1,281,080 (45,424,451.00)
1390.00 950.00 Sun Life Financial 990.00 990.00 975.00 990.00 0.00 440 (87,840.00)
140.00 58.00 Union Bank 102.70 104.00 100.00 100.80 (1.85) 52,400 178,004.00
2.06 1.43 Vantage Equities 1.88 1.86 1.85 1.85 (1.60) 645,000
INDUSTRIAL
35.50 26.50 Aboitiz Power Corp. 34.75 34.75 34.00 34.50 (0.72) 4,919,100 9,189,285.00
13.58 7.32 Agrinurture Inc. 11.34 11.32 11.00 11.00 (3.00) 27,600 13,200.00
23.50 11.98 Alaska Milk Corp. 23.60 23.60 23.60 23.60 0.00 70,600
1.86 0.97 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.48 1.55 1.47 1.48 0.00 159,000 148,470.00
54.90 26.00 Alphaland Corp. 31.90 31.50 28.80 31.30 (1.88) 3,700 (22,050.00)
1.65 1.08 Alsons Cons. 1.33 1.38 1.30 1.32 (0.75) 353,000
Asiabest Group 32.25 35.00 29.95 32.75 1.55 161,600 160.00
138.00 45.00 Bogo Medellin 68.00 68.00 60.50 60.50 (11.03) 860
102.80 3.02 Bloomberry 9.00 9.00 8.18 8.21 (8.78) 25,658,200 (65,844,159.00)
2.88 2.24 Calapan Venture 2.30 2.30 2.28 2.28 (0.87) 31,000 (45,600.00)
3.07 2.30 Chemrez Technologies Inc. 2.62 2.61 2.60 2.60 (0.76) 106,000 93,600.00
8.33 7.41 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 8.15 8.15 8.10 8.15 0.00 20,600 (56,900.00)
7.06 4.83 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.96 5.97 5.80 5.96 0.00 7,522,100 3,941,113.00
6.28 2.80 EEI 6.16 6.11 5.63 5.70 (7.47) 5,860,700 (12,166,347.00)
3.80 1.00 Euro-Med Lab. 2.37 2.37 2.17 2.37 0.00 17,000
25.00 5.80 Federal Chemicals 12.98 13.50 10.80 10.86 (16.33) 46,000
15.58 12.50 First Gen Corp. 13.88 13.90 13.70 13.80 (0.58) 622,000
67.20 51.50 First Holdings A 64.50 65.20 63.80 64.20 (0.47) 312,080 1,007,900.00
31.50 22.50 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 22.30 23.50 23.50 23.50 5.38 1,000
0.10 0.0095 Greenergy 0.0140 0.0140 0.0130 0.0140 0.00 67,000,000
13.50 7.80 Holcim Philippines Inc. 11.50 11.80 11.42 11.50 0.00 133,200 1,104,320.00
9.00 4.71 Integ. Micro-Electronics 4.65 4.65 4.50 4.51 (3.01) 110,000 8,740.00
2.35 0.95 Ionics Inc 1.380 1.540 1.370 1.390 0.72 217,000
120.00 80.00 Jollibee Foods Corp. 108.50 111.00 105.00 110.00 1.38 566,060 (1,310,750.00)
8.40 1.04 LMG Chemicals 1.95 2.60 1.95 2.07 6.15 937,000 20,000.00
3.20 1.05 Manchester Intl. A 2.11 2.38 2.20 2.20 4.27 21,000
24.70 17.94 Manila Water Co. Inc. 25.20 25.15 24.95 25.00 (0.79) 2,464,500 (22,450,225.00)
6.95 0.75 Mariwasa MFG. Inc. 3.99 3.97 3.00 3.00 (24.81) 9,000
15.30 8.12 Megawide 16.60 16.98 16.50 16.70 0.60 1,372,900
295.00 215.00 Mla. Elect. Co À 252.00 252.00 247.00 251.00 (0.40) 90,550 1,587,540.00
11.00 7.00 Pancake House Inc. 11.70 12.00 11.50 11.98 2.39 800
3.00 1.96 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 2.66 2.82 2.66 2.80 5.26 4,052,000 (819,170.00)
17.40 9.70 Petron Corporation 10.36 10.34 10.12 10.28 (0.77) 4,033,500 (4,217,660.00)
14.00 10.30 Phinma Corporation 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 0.00 2,100
15.24 9.01 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 9.28 9.26 8.50 8.89 (4.20) 337,300 (391,500.00)
9.50 5.25 Republic Cement À 8.50 7.75 7.53 7.75 (8.82) 7,000 31,000.00
2.55 1.01 RFM Corporation 2.65 2.61 2.48 2.54 (4.15) 4,848,000 3,327,020.00
2.49 1.10 Roxas and Co. 2.28 2.20 2.20 2.20 (3.51) 1,000
3.49 2.01 Roxas Holdings 2.90 2.91 2.45 2.45 (15.52) 17,000
6.50 2.90 Salcon Power Corp. 3.80 4.00 3.40 3.40 (10.53) 58,000
33.00 27.70 San Miguel Brewery Inc. 29.50 29.50 29.50 29.50 0.00 8,000 236,000.00
132.60 105.70 San Miguel Corp À 113.40 113.60 112.40 112.90 (0.44) 293,920 12,747,471.00
1.90 1.25 Seacem 1.73 1.72 1.65 1.65 (4.62) 7,102,000 1,086,940.00
2.50 1.85 Splash Corporation 1.86 1.90 1.84 1.84 (1.08) 325,000
0.250 0.112 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.130 0.130 0.127 0.127 (2.31) 10,930,000 249,320.00
5.46 2.92 Tanduay Holdings 3.79 3.77 3.70 3.75 (1.06) 234,000
3.62 1.99 TKC Steel Corp. 2.35 2.22 2.22 2.22 (5.53) 28,000
1.41 0.90 Trans-Asia Oil 1.24 1.24 1.18 1.20 (3.23) 4,194,000 85,540.00
68.00 36.20 Universal Robina 67.75 68.20 66.00 67.20 (0.81) 7,285,990 129,158,379.00
1.12 0.285 Vitarich Corp. 0.630 0.610 0.590 0.600 (4.76) 2,127,000
1.22 0.68 Vulcan Indl. 1.05 1.01 0.99 1.00 (4.76) 1,257,000
HOLDING FIRMS
1.18 0.65 Abacus Cons. À 0.70 0.72 0.67 0.67 (4.29) 4,968,000
59.90 35.50 Aboitiz Equity 52.85 53.00 50.20 53.00 0.28 960,930 2,096,242.00
0.019 0.014 Alcorn Gold Res. 0.0160 0.0150 0.0140 0.0150 (6.25) 50,200,000
13.48 8.00 Alliance Global Inc. 12.90 12.94 12.38 12.60 (2.33) 19,153,600 (22,527,198.00)
2.97 1.67 Anglo Holdings A 1.98 2.00 1.91 1.92 (3.03) 974,000
4.60 3.00 Anscor À 4.70 4.65 4.55 4.55 (3.19) 74,000
6.98 0.260 Asia Amalgamated A 4.00 4.00 3.90 3.96 (1.00) 56,000
3.15 1.49 ATN Holdings A 1.79 1.75 1.50 1.51 (15.64) 196,000
437.00 272.00 Ayala Corp À 457.00 457.00 438.00 445.00 (2.63) 150,220 10,351,434.00
59.45 30.50 DMCI Holdings 62.10 61.85 60.85 61.35 (1.21) 3,063,930 (27,742,179.00)
4.19 1.03 F&J Prince A 2.61 2.61 2.50 2.50 (4.21) 151,000
5.25 3.30 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.18 4.20 4.04 4.06 (2.87) 610,000
0.98 0.10 Forum Pacic 0.255 0.255 0.250 0.250 (1.96) 1,090,000 100,000.00
GT Capital 491.00 490.00 468.40 470.00 (4.28) 210,090 (15,010,432.00)
5.22 2.90 House of Inv. 4.55 4.52 4.32 4.50 (1.10) 36,000
34.80 19.00 JG Summit Holdings 34.00 34.00 32.20 32.55 (4.26) 1,127,300 16,802,415.00
6.95 4.00 Lopez Holdings Corp. 5.54 5.52 5.30 5.32 (3.97) 1,709,600
1.54 0.61 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 1.13 1.16 1.03 1.06 (6.19) 5,926,000 634,440.00
0.91 0.300 Mabuhay Holdings À 0.570 0.630 0.550 0.550 (3.51) 691,000
3.82 1.500 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 3.050 3.150 2.750 2.810 (7.87) 10,604,000 (258,480.00)
4.45 2.56 Metro Pacic Inv. Corp. 4.19 4.28 4.13 4.25 1.43 27,579,000 44,432,980.00
6.24 2.10 Minerales Industrias Corp. 4.95 4.99 4.69 4.75 (4.04) 47,000 4,690.00
0.0770 0.054 Pacica À 0.0540 0.0560 0.0520 0.0520 (3.70) 2,470,000
0.82 0.44 Prime Orion 0.480 0.470 0.470 0.470 (2.08) 400,000
4.10 1.56 Republic Glass A 2.00 1.95 1.92 1.92 (4.00) 204,000
0.490 0.285 Sinophil Corp. 0.345 0.340 0.340 0.340 (1.45) 900,000
699.00 450.00 SM Investments Inc. 708.00 707.00 680.00 680.00 (3.95) 789,290 (42,520,370.00)
1.78 1.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.45 1.69 1.43 1.43 (1.38) 3,858,000 (23,470.00)
1.57 1.14 South China Res. Inc. 1.29 1.22 1.22 1.22 (5.43) 483,000
0.420 0.099 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2500 0.2500 0.2350 0.2350 (6.00) 240,000 54,050.00
0.620 0.056 Wellex Industries 0.3800 0.3950 0.3600 0.3650 (3.95) 9,570,000
1.370 0.178 Zeus Holdings 0.500 0.510 0.470 0.490 (2.00) 1,400,000
P R O P E R T Y
39.00 11.00 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 44.00 33.55 33.55 33.55 (23.75) 3,100
2.82 1.70 A. Brown Co., Inc. 2.48 2.45 2.45 2.45 (1.21) 8,000
0.218 0.150 Arthaland Corp. 0.179 0.178 0.165 0.166 (7.26) 3,600,000
22.40 13.36 Ayala Land `B 20.50 20.95 19.80 20.30 (0.98) 4,601,000 (41,957,570.00)
6.12 3.08 Belle Corp. À 4.80 4.80 4.71 4.78 (0.42) 4,087,000 3,883,650.00
9.00 2.26 Cebu Holdings 6.70 6.90 6.40 6.40 (4.48) 15,271,700 (550,074.00)
5.60 2.00 Cebu Prop. À 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 0.00 2,600
5.66 0.26 Century Property 1.50 1.53 1.44 1.50 0.00 1,724,000 (98,140.00)
2.85 1.20 City & Land Dev. 2.55 2.50 2.25 2.40 (5.88) 170,000
1.65 1.07 Cityland Dev. À 1.27 1.27 1.25 1.27 0.00 254,000 5,000.00
0.127 0.060 Crown Equities Inc. 0.081 0.082 0.078 0.080 (1.23) 10,230,000
1.16 0.67 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.84 0.83 0.80 0.80 (4.76) 3,870,000
0.90 0.54 Empire East Land 0.740 0.750 0.700 0.700 (5.41) 8,214,000 (2,880.00)
3.80 2.90 Eton Properties 3.40 3.35 3.35 3.35 (1.47) 103,000
0.310 0.10 Ever Gotesco 0.170 0.168 0.165 0.165 (2.94) 350,000
3.06 1.76 Global-Estate 1.95 1.94 1.89 1.90 (2.56) 1,939,000 578,750.00
1.35 0.98 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.33 1.34 1.31 1.33 0.00 38,096,000 26,185,820.00
3.80 1.21 Highlands Prime 1.80 2.00 1.81 1.85 2.78 67,000
2.14 0.65 Interport À 1.11 1.20 1.06 1.20 8.11 497,000
2.48 1.51 Megaworld Corp. 2.12 2.15 2.04 2.09 (1.42) 113,500,000 9,219,910.00
0.80 0.215 MRC Allied Ind. 0.1840 0.1890 0.1770 0.1770 (3.80) 1,840,000
0.990 0.072 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.7200 0.7500 0.6800 0.7300 1.39 42,732,000 (695,170.00)
0.71 0.41 Phil. Realty À 0.510 0.510 0.500 0.500 (1.96) 804,000
38.10 12.50 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 14.54 14.54 14.54 14.54 0.00 400
4.77 1.80 Polar Property Holdings 3.31 3.21 3.14 3.14 (5.14) 34,000
18.86 10.00 Robinsons Land `B 17.00 17.00 16.20 16.80 (1.18) 808,300 5,562,024.00
Rockwell 4.90 5.15 3.65 3.75 (23.47) 2,730,000 52,860.00
2.70 1.74 Shang Properties Inc. 2.60 2.60 2.55 2.60 0.00 3,672,000
9.47 6.50 SM Development À 6.95 6.95 6.80 6.88 (1.01) 1,580,000 (1,422,974.00)
18.20 10.90 SM Prime Holdings 15.92 16.00 15.20 15.50 (2.64) 5,561,000 (42,082,726.00)
1.14 0.64 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.69 0.70 0.67 0.70 1.45 1,736,000 (138,850.00)
0.80 0.45 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.560 0.550 0.540 0.540 (3.57) 1,280,000
4.30 2.60 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.220 4.270 4.120 4.190 (0.71) 2,215,000 39,650.00
S E R V I C E S
43.00 28.60 ABS-CBN 36.30 36.50 36.30 36.50 0.55 7,400
14.76 1.60 Acesite Hotel 7.59 7.67 6.60 7.20 (5.14) 17,700
0.80 0.45 APC Group, Inc. 0.670 0.650 0.640 0.650 (2.99) 4,310,000 (195,000.00)
9.30 7.30 Asian Terminals Inc. 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 0.00 3,000
0.5300 0.0660 Boulevard Holdings 0.1630 0.1670 0.1600 0.1620 (0.61) 18,280,000 (65,400.00)
98.15 62.50 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 67.25 67.80 67.25 67.35 0.15 235,670 (1,207,624.00)
10.60 8.20 Centro Esc. Univ. 10.48 10.40 10.40 10.40 (0.76) 200
9.70 5.40 DFNN Inc. 6.30 6.45 6.01 6.01 (4.60) 150,300 (15,860.00)
1750.00 765.00 FEUI 935.00 945.00 940.00 945.00 1.07 30
1172.00 11.70 Globalports 32.00 32.00 32.00 32.00 0.00 700
1270.00 825.00 Globe Telecom 1055.00 1080.00 1050.00 1080.00 2.37 8,720 (6,206,640.00)
10.34 6.18 GMA Network Inc. 9.75 9.72 9.41 9.50 (2.56) 1,553,400
69.00 43.40 I.C.T.S.I. 73.50 74.00 71.50 72.40 (1.50) 790,670 26,603,624.00
0.98 0.34 Information Capital Tech. 0.420 0.405 0.405 0.405 (3.57) 290,000
18.40 5.00 Imperial Res. À 8.70 12.16 9.00 12.16 39.77 5,600
4.29 2.20 IP Converge 3.28 3.80 3.23 3.33 1.52 1,100,000 (200,650.00)
34.50 0.123 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.058 0.061 0.045 0.047 (18.97) 130,600,000 (249,180.00)
3.87 1.16 IPVG Corp. 1.04 1.04 1.02 1.03 (0.96) 1,106,000 (561,430.00)
0.0760 0.040 Island Info 0.0560 0.0550 0.0510 0.0510 (8.93) 1,530,000
5.1900 2.900 ISM Communications 2.8900 2.8000 2.7400 2.7400 (5.19) 122,000
11.68 5.90 Leisure & Resorts 6.85 6.94 6.75 6.85 0.00 1,473,900 1,932,308.00
4.28 2.65 Liberty Telecom 2.85 2.82 2.75 2.80 (1.75) 37,000
2.35 0.92 Lorenzo Shipping 1.70 1.70 1.70 1.70 0.00 41,000 5,100.00
3.96 2.70 Macroasia Corp. 2.90 2.91 2.91 2.91 0.34 2,000
0.84 0.57 Manila Bulletin 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.00 1,000
8.58 4.50 PAL Holdings Inc. 7.64 7.64 7.20 7.37 (3.53) 129,100
3.32 1.05 Paxys Inc. 2.45 2.64 2.45 2.62 6.94 1,365,000 776,720.00
10.00 4.60 Phil. Racing Club 9.05 9.20 9.00 9.20 1.66 84,500 230,000.00
17.18 14.50 Philweb.Com Inc. 16.78 16.90 16.68 16.76 (0.12) 192,700 571,220.00
6.90 3.80 PLDT Comm & Energy 3.60 3.50 2.80 2.80 (22.22) 360,000
2886.00 2096.00 PLDT Common 2506.00 2500.00 2434.00 2450.00 (2.23) 139,480 (231,708,010.00)
0.48 0.23 PremiereHorizon 0.320 0.325 0.320 0.320 0.00 1,020,000
23.75 10.68 Puregold 23.55 23.60 22.75 22.90 (2.76) 2,646,400 (1,248,645.00)
Touch Solutions 3.53 3.53 3.52 3.52 (0.28) 448,000
0.79 0.26 Waterfront Phils. 0.405 0.415 0.385 0.385 (4.94) 3,760,000
MINING & OIL
0.0083 0.0036 Abra Mining 0.0053 0.0051 0.0048 0.0051 (3.77) 293,000,000 48,000.00
6.20 3.01 Apex À 5.05 5.00 4.91 4.91 (2.77) 566,900
6.22 3.00 Apex `B 5.05 5.01 4.90 4.95 (1.98) 458,600 (73,500.00)
25.20 14.50 Atlas Cons. À 18.00 18.20 17.82 17.90 (0.56) 1,017,900 8,028,136.00
31.00 20.00 Atok-Big Wedge À 30.00 30.50 26.00 29.00 (3.33) 6,400 (87,100.00)
0.380 0.148 Basic Energy Corp. 0.260 0.265 0.260 0.265 1.92 1,410,000 26,000.00
30.35 15.00 Benguet Corp À 25.00 24.80 24.00 24.00 (4.00) 91,900
34.00 14.50 Benguet Corp `B 25.30 25.30 25.10 25.15 (0.59) 12,200
2.51 1.62 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 1.63 1.65 1.58 1.64 0.61 2,221,000
50.85 4.35 Dizon 39.65 41.00 37.50 38.65 (2.52) 334,200 8,000.00
1.21 0.50 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.77 0.81 0.74 0.75 (2.60) 7,262,000 202,500.00
1.82 0.5900 Lepanto À 1.270 1.290 1.220 1.230 (3.15) 35,807,000
2.070 0.6700 Lepanto `B 1.310 1.340 1.260 1.280 (2.29) 6,473,000 1,544,340.00
0.085 0.035 Manila Mining À 0.0640 0.0630 0.0580 0.0600 (6.25) 380,840,000
0.087 0.035 Manila Mining `B 0.0640 0.0630 0.0590 0.0600 (6.25) 82,860,000 (1,431,750.00)
34.80 15.04 Nickelasia 28.05 28.85 27.30 27.50 (1.96) 286,700 (2,171,375.00)
12.76 2.08 Nihao Mineral Resources 10.08 10.20 9.35 9.60 (4.76) 2,518,900 15,680.00
1.100 0.008 Omico 0.7500 0.7600 0.7500 0.7500 0.00 69,000
8.40 2.12 Oriental Peninsula Res. 5.500 0.579 5.020 5.100 (7.27) 8,253,700 (2,952,266.00)
0.032 0.012 Oriental Pet. À 0.0190 0.0200 0.0180 0.0180 (5.26) 575,400,000
0.033 0.013 Oriental Pet. `B 0.0200 0.0200 0.0180 0.0180 (10.00) 120,900,000
7.14 5.10 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 6.30 6.28 6.00 6.07 (3.65) 20,100
28.95 17.08 Philex À 22.95 22.85 22.45 22.60 (1.53) 2,685,900 8,710,060.00
14.18 3.00 PhilexPetroleum 24.85 24.75 23.00 23.95 (3.62) 1,278,700 (13,890.00)
0.058 0.013 Philodrill Corp. À 0.042 0.043 0.038 0.039 (7.14) 2,341,600,000 (14,964,000.00)
252.00 161.10 Semirara Corp. 249.00 250.00 245.80 250.00 0.40 322,230 14,076,610.00
0.029 0.013 United Paragon 0.0190 0.0190 0.0180 0.0180 (5.26) 75,700,000
PREFERRED
47.90 27.30 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 37.50 36.00 34.00 34.00 (9.33) 120,500 (265,050.00)
570.00 520.00 Ayala Corp. Pref À 545.00 560.00 560.00 560.00 2.75 30
109.80 100.50 First Phil. Hldgs.-Pref. 104.90 104.90 104.70 104.70 (0.19) 12,500
11.02 6.00 GMA Holdings Inc. 9.20 9.60 9.40 9.45 2.72 3,525,100 (5,212,230.00)
116.70 106.20 PCOR-Preferred 115.20 115.30 115.00 115.30 0.09 7,330
80.00 74.50 SMC Preferred 1 75.00 75.30 75.10 75.10 0.13 48,580
1050.00 990.00 SMPFC Preferred 1030.00 1040.00 1030.00 1040.00 0.97 1,290
WARRANTS & BONDS
1.35 0.62 Megaworld Corp. Warrants 1.18 1.18 1.11 1.12 (5.08) 4,337,000 4,479,550.00
TRADI NG SUMMARY
SHARES VALUE
FINANCIAL 19,989,275 1,226,205,640.6
INDUSTRIAL 166,027,347 1,293,894,995.77
HOLDING FIRMS 149,976,827 1,455,570,364.66
PROPERTY 275,935,247 691,964,327.85
SERVICES 175,495,358 669,823,354.03
MINING & OIL 3,943,679,948 483,922,882.11
GRAND TOTAL 4,731,104,002 5,821,381,565.01
FINANCIAL 1,222.46 (DOWN) 28.17
INDUSTRIAL 7,822.77 (DOWN) 29.12
HOLDING FIRMS 4,455.63 (DOWN) 100.89
PROPERTY 1,836.27 (DOWN) 25.98
SERVICES 1,661.51 (DOWN) 26.71
MINING & OIL 23,443.88 (DOWN) 549.81
PSEI 5,083.62 (DOWN) 74.52
All Shares Index 3,344.48 (DOWN) 60.74
Gainers: 32; Losers: 152; Unchanged: 25; Total: 209
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
Imperial Res. À' 12.16 39.77
Interport À' 1.20 8.11
Paxys Inc. 2.62 6.94
LMG Chemicals 2.07 6.15
Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 23.50 5.38
Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 2.80 5.26
Manchester Intl. "A" 2.20 4.27
Highlands Prime 1.85 2.78
Ayala Corp. Pref À' 560.00 2.75
GMA Holdings Inc. 9.45 2.72
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
Mariwasa MFG. Inc. 3.00 (24.81)
Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 33.55 (23.75)
Rockwell 3.75 (23.47)
PLDT Comm & Energy 2.80 (22.22)
IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.047 (18.97)
Federal Chemicals 10.86 (16.33)
ATN Holdings A 1.51 (15.64)
Roxas Holdings 2.45 (15.52)
Natl Reinsurance Corp. 1.70 (15.00)
Bogo Medellin 60.50 (11.03)
TOP GAI NERS TOP LOSERS
CHIN WONG
DIGITAL LIFE
CAN Yahoo do no right?
The Internet pioneer and once-upon-a-
time leader in search this week announced
the departure of its chief executive, Scott
Thompson, after just four months on the job,
over accusations that he fudged his resume.
Thompson, who joined Yahoo from eBays
Paypal division, was the fourth chief executive
to leave Yahoo in ve years.
Yahoo red its previous chief executive, Carol
Bartz, in September, after she failed to reverse a
decline in advertising revenues in 2 years.
Under Thompson, Yahoo co-founder Jerry
Yang left the board in January, and management
announced a reorganization that would lay
off 2,000 workers, or about 14 percent of the
workforce.
Ross Levinsohn, formerly Yahoos executive
vice president of the Americas region, was
named interim chief executive, the company
said in a statement.
Press reports said Thompsons exit was spurred
by Third Point, the hedge fund that owns nearly
6 percent of Yahoo shares. Third Point claimed
that Thompson had padded his resume with
a degree in computer science from Stonehill
College, where he earned an accounting degree.
Privately, Thompson told his colleagues
that he wasnt responsible for the incorrect
information and blamed a Chicago headhunting
rm, Heidrick & Struggles, for the error, the
Associated Press reported. The headhunter,
however, has since denied Thompsons claim.
Carlos Kirjner, a senior analyst at Sanford C.
Bernstein, suggested that Thompsons previous
job as president of PayPal hadnt prepared him
for Yahoo.
It is very different to be CEO of a growth
company, making choices between opportunities,
and to be CEO of a company in turnaround
mode, whose parts are declining or losing share,
Kirjner told AP.
Thompsons resume discrepancy might
have been more forgivable at a company that
was making money for shareholders, added
James Post, a management professor at Boston
University.
Yahoo has been embattled for such a long
time that there are a lot of people prepared to
believe the worst about that company, said
Post, who specializes in corporate governance
and professional ethics. When youre angry at
the management and the board, when nothings
going right and youre losing money, its
understandable that shareholders would adopt
an off with their head attitude.
From an end-users perspective, it isnt hard
to understand Yahoos steady decline.
Yahoo claims that its sites for e-mail, news,
sports, nance and photo-sharing are used by
500 million people a month, but in the last few
years, Ive not been one of them.
I still maintain a Yahoo Mail account, but
hardly use it because Gmail, for all its quirks, is
much faster and more efcient. Even the new
Yahoo Mail is slow and unwieldy by comparison
(you cant even view unread messages), and its
ability to search through messages is erratic at
best. The last straw was the constant delays I
experienced when clicking on a drop-down
menu.
Its been even longer since I used Yahoo to
nd anything on the Web. Once the leader in
Internet search, Yahoo ceded its lead years ago
to Google, and now relies on Microsoft Bing to
power its own search Web site. And I dont even
use Bing, despite their odious product placement
spots on Hawaii 5-0 and CSI.
Yahoos old-style portal may still be compelling
to some users, but Ive never been attracted to
the over-busy home page. The localization of
the Yahoo portal has done nothing to change my
mind.
Finally, Im not big on sharing photos online,
but I suspect more people now use Facebook,
not Yahoos Flickr, to do this.
As it stands today, Yahoo remains on the
periphery of my online world, engaged in a
number of areas that are important to me, but
leading in none of them.
Will Yahoo still be able to turn things around?
Clearly, its previous strategy of growth through
acquisitions has not worked out all that well.
Nor have more recent efforts to cut costs by
abandoning or selling off its businesses. Without
an exciting, market-leading reason for its
existence, theres very little cause for yodeling
at Yahoo.
Column archives and blog at:
http://www.chinwong.com
STOCKS slumped Monday, driving the
benchmark index to its sharpest loss in two
months, amid speculation a dispute with
China over Scarborough Shoal may hurt
trade relations between the two countries.
The Philippine Stock Exchange
index sank 1.4 percent to close at
5,083.62 points, its biggest decline
since Feb. 27 and falling the second-
most among Asian gauges after
Vietnam. It was also the gauges
lowest level since April 12, when it
nished at 5,046.78.
The heavier index representing
all shares also tumbled 60 points,
or 1.8 percent, to 3,448.48, as
losers outnumbered gainers, 152
to 32, with 25 issues unchanged.
Some P5.8 billion worth of shares
were traded Monday.
Tensions have risen since
a standoff began last month
between ships from both countries
over an island in the South China
Sea, called Scarborough Shoal
by the Philippines and Huangyan
by China. China may consider
economic sanctions against
the Philippines if the situation
continues to develop, the China
Daily reported Monday, citing
Zhao Jianglin, an economic
expert at the China Academy of
Social Sciences Institute of Asia
Pacic Studies.
A continued dispute with
China may have signicant
implications, said Allan Yu,
who helps manage $9.06 billion
at Metropolitan Bank & Trust
Co. There is also renewed fear
over Europes debt crisis. The
outperformance of Philippine
stocks and these negative
developments give a good excuse
for prot-taking.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co., the nations
largest company by market
value, and JG Summit Holdings
Inc., owner of the biggest budget
airline, led the losses.
Alliance Global Group Inc.,
Bloomberry Resorts Corp. and
PAL Holdings Inc. fell, leading
declines among tourism-related
stocks. Alliance Global, owner
of the operator of Manilas
largest casino, was down 2.3
percent to P12.60.
Bloomberry Resorts Corp.,
which is building a casino in
southern part of Metro Manila,
dropped 8.8 percent to P8.21.
PAL, owner of the nations biggest
carrier, shed 3.5 percent to P7.37.
The dispute between China
and the Philippines is spurring
negative sentiments over
tourism-related stocks, said
Jonathan Ravelas, chief market
strategist at BDO Unibank Inc.
China is the fourth-largest
market for tourists to the
Philippines, behind South Korea,
the US and Japan. Tourist arrivals
from China rose 78 percent in the
rst quarter, more than anywhere
else among the top 12 markets, to
96,455, or 8.4 percent of the total,
according to government data.
With Bloomberg, AP
( MST- May 15, 2012)
NORTH MANILA ENGINEERING DISTRICT: (Four) Engineer II,
SG-16, Item Nos. ENG2-30015-2012, ENG2-30016-2012, ENG2-
30017-2012 & ENG2-30018-2012, Qualifcation: Education:
Bachelor's Degree in Engineering relevant to the job experience:
1 year relevant experience, training: 4 -hours of relevant training:
Eligibility: R.A. 1080, (One) Architect II; SG-17, tem No. ARC2-
30017-2012, Qualifcation: Education: Bachelor's Degree in
Architecture, Experience: 1 year relevant experience, Training: 4
hours or relevant training: Eligibility: RA 1080; (One) Accountant
II, SG-16 tem No. 30016-2012, Qualifcation: Bachelor's Degree
in Commerce/Business Administration, major in Accounting
Experience: 1 year relevant experience, Training: 4 hours of
relevant training, Eligibility: R.A. 1080. (One) Administrative
Assistant: SG-8, tem No. 30010-2012, Qualifcation : Completion
of Two years studies in college, Experience: 1 year relevant
experience, Training : 4 hours relevant training, Eligibility : Career
Service (Sub-Professional) First Level Eligibility.
Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
NATONAL CAPTAL REGON
NORTH MANILA ENGINEERING DISTRICT
Ofce of the District Engineer
Nagtahan, Manila
Tel. Nos.: 714-06-04 * 715-15-10
NOTI CE OF VACANT POSI TI ON
ERRATUM
n the Request for Expressions of nterest
for Consultancy Services for the Detailed
Engineering Design and Tendering of
Additional Projects under the Road
mprovement and nstitutional Development
Project (RDP) and Asset Preservation (AP)
and Road mprovement (R) Projects for
Future Financing by the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) published on May 8, 2012,
Road mprovement/ Rehabilitation..Contract
Package on item A.1a.ii should have read
as Lot.2. 1B Dumaguete North Road (La
Libertad- Vallehermoso Road), 39 756 km
and tem b.2.c should have read as Caticlan-
Malay-Libertad-Nabas Road, Aklan (22.94
km) This supercedes the erratum published
on May 14, 2012
Our apology
(MST-May 15, 2012)
For
f ast
ad
r esul t s,
pl ease
c al l
6594803
or
6594830
l oc
303
REPUBLC OF THE PHLPPNES
COMMSSON ON APPONTMENTS
I NVI TATI ON TO APPLY FOR ELI GI BI LI TY AND TO BI D
(MST-May 15, 2012)
The Commission on Appointments (C.A.), with offces located at the 6
th
Floor,
PNB Financial Center, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Pasay City invites all
Government Electronic Procurement System (G-EPS) registered bidders to apply
for eligibility and to bid for the health insurance coverage of its employees for the
year 2012 -2013.
Bidding requirements/bid forms may be obtained, beginning May 22, 2012
from C.A. General Service upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P3,000.00.
nterested parties may get in touch with Mr. Nani Mitra, Head, BAC Secretariat at
telephone no. 831-1779.
All rules relative to the eligibility, bid evaluation, and award of contract shall
be governed by the provisions of R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the Government
Procurement Reform Act.
A pre-bidding conference will be held on May 31, 2012, Thursday, 10:00 AM at
the CA Conference Room, 6
th
foor, PNB Financial Center, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal
Blvd., Pasay City.
Public bidding will be held on June 14, 2012, Thursday, 10:00 AM at the CA
Conference Room, 6
th
foor, PNB Financial Center. Bid proposals will be opened in
the presence of the participating bidders.
The approved agency budget for this contract is P 7,000,000.00.
The Commission on Appointments reserves the right to review all eligibility
requirements, reject any or all bids, waive any defects contained therein and accept
the offer most advantageous to the government, and the right to confscate the bid
bond and/or pursue appropriate legal action should the winning bidder refuse to
accept the award.
Further, the Commission on Appointments assumes no obligation whatsoever
to compensate or indemnify the bidder for any expense or loss that they may incur
in participating in this undertaking nor does it guarantee that an award will be made.
JOEY C. FLAMINIANO
Deputy Secretary for Administration
Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee
Department of Public Works and Highways
Region IV-B, MIMAROPA
EDSA, Quezon City
I NVI TATI ON TO BI D
(MST-May 15, 2012)
The DPWH REGION IV-B (MIMAROPA) through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC),
invites contractors to apply for eligibility and, if found eligible, to bid for the following contract:
1. Contract D : 12 E0 0033
Contract Name : mprovement / Concreting of Bacungan Talaudyong Road
(Km. 0+000 to Km. 6+000)
Contract Location : Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
Brief Description : Removal of existing lined canal and slope protection, surplus
common excavation, surplus rock excavation (rippable),
foundation fll, pipe culvert and drainage excavation, embank-
ment (from excavation), sub-grade preparation, aggregates
sub-base course, PCCP @ 0.23m and 0.15m thick, reinforcing
steel, structural concrete Class "A and "B, pipe culverts @
910mm and 1220mm Class "C, grouted riprap class "A,
stone masonry, refectorized thermoplastic pavement mark-
ings (white and yellow), mobilization and demobilization,
facilities for the engineer and other general requirements
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) : Php 133,861,380.00
Contract Duration : 330 calendar days
2. Contract D : 12 E0 0034__
Contract Name : Concreting of Taytay-El Nido Road (km. 249+000 to Km.
254+000)
Contract Location : Taytay, Palawan
Brief Description : Surplus common excavation, foundation fll, embankment
(from excavation), subgrade preparation, aggregates sub-
base course (0.20m thick), PCCP @ 0.28m and 0.15m thick,
reinforcing steel, structural concrete class B, RCCP 1220mm
diameter, grouted riprap, stone masonry, trees, refectorized
thermoplastic pavement markings (white and yellow), mobi-
lization and demobilization of equipments, facilities for the
engineers and other general requirements
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) : Php 97,001,000.00
Contract Duration : 300 calendar days
Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures in accordance with
R.A. 9184 and its Revised mplementing Rules and Regulations.
To bid for this contract, a contractor must submit Letter of ntent (LO) and must meet the
following major criteria: (a) prior registration with the DPWH, (b) Filipino Citizen or 75%
Filipino-owned partnership, corporation, cooperative, or joint venture with PCAB License
applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (c) completion of a similar contract costing at
least 50% of ABC within a period of 10 years, , and (d) Net Financial Contracting Capacity
at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment for at least 10% of the ABC. The BAC will
use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check, preliminary examination of bids.
Unregistered contractors, however, may submit their application for registration, to the
DPWH-POCW Central Offce before the deadline set for the receipt of LO's. The DPWH
POCW-Central Offce will only process contractor's applications for registration, with complete
requirements, and issue the Contractor's Certifcate of Registration (CRC).
The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below:
1. Receipt of LO's from Prospective Bidders Deadline : June 15, 2012
2. ssuance of Bidding Documents May 15 June 21, 2012
3. Pre-Bid Conference June 7, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m.
4. Receipt of Bids Deadline : June 21, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m.
5. Opening of Bids Deadline : June 21, 2012 @ 10:00 a.m
Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in the Bidding
Documents (BD's) in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The frst
envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, including the eligibility require-
ments. The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid. Contract will
be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation
and post-qualifcation.
Prospective bidders may download the Registration Form from the DPWH Website
www.dpwh.gov.ph. The BAC will issue hard copies of Letter of ntent (LO) Form at DPWH
Region IV-B, EDSA, Quezon City. Prospective bidders that will download the Letter of
ntent (LO) shall pay the same amount upon submission of their Bids.
Prospective bidders may also download the bidding documents (BD's), if available, from the
DPWH website. The BAC will also issue hard copies of the BD's at the same address to the
eligible bidders upon payment of the non-refundable fee of Php 40,000.00 for each projects
. Bidders that will download the BD's from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or
before the submission of their bids. Bids must be accompanied by the bid security in any
acceptable form in the amount stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised RR.
The DPWH Region IV-B reserves the right to accept or reject any bid and to annul the bidding
process anytime before Contract award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders.

Approved by:

(Sgd.) RENATO L. ESCUADRO
Chief, Planning and Design Division
I NVI TATI ON TO BI D
CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY
(CvSU)
Don Severino de las Alas Campus
ndang, Cavite
Tel. (046) 415-0010 / 415-00011 Fax (046) 415-0012
www.cvsu.edu.ph
( MST- May 9 & 15, 2012)
Cavite State University, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites all interested
bidders to bid for the CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR-STOREY STUDENT DORMITORY BUILDING,
PHASE III. The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is PhP 25,086,881.80.
Subject to the phase-completion as indicated in the project, the project will be implemented
on a deferred payment scheme or installment basis to be paid within a period of two (2) years. As
such, contractors who are not willing to enter into contract based from the above scheme need not
apply. Award of the project shall be subject to the approval of the CvSU Board of Regent.
Prospective bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission
and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained
in the Bidding Documents, particularly in Section , nstruction to Bidders.
Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary
pass/fail criterion as specifed in the Revised mplementing Rules and Regulations (RR) of Republic
Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the "Government Procurement Reform Act. Bidding is
restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnership, or organizations with at least seventy
fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.
Bidding Documents may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government
Electronic Procurement Systems (PhilGEPS) and CvSU Website, provided that bidders shall pay
the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.
The schedule of activities is listed as follows:
1. ssuance of Bidding Documents May 9, 2012 May 31, 2012
2. Pre-bid Conference May 14, 2012, 2:00 PM at S.L. Lasap Hall, CvSU, ndang, Cavite
3. Submission and Opening of Bids May 31, 2012, 2:00 PM at S.L. Lasap Hall, CvSU, ndang, Cavite
All particulars relative to Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Confernce(s),
Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualifcation and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent
provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Revised mplementing Rules and Regulations (RR).
nterested bidders may purchase a complete set of Bidding Documents from the address
below upon payment of non-refundable fee amounting to PhP 18,815.00.
Pre-bid Conference shall be open only to all interested bidders who have purchased the
Bidding Documents. Bids must be delivered to the Offce of the BAC Chairman, Administration
Building, CvSU, ndang, Cavite on or before the above-mentioned date and time. All bids must
be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in TB
Clause 18. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders' authorized representatives who
choose to attend the bidding. Late bids shall not be acceptable.
Cavite State University assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify
bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.
Cavite State University reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding
process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any
liability to the affected bidder or bidders.
(Sgd.) MA. AGNES P. NUESTRO, Ph.D.
BAC Chairman
1F Administration Building
Don Severino delas Alas Campus
Cavite State University
ndang, Cavite
(046) 862-0806 / 862-0853 / 415-0014 loc. 270- or 209
(MST-May 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18, 2012)
Before the court is a
verifed petition fled by the
petitioner through counsel,
praying that after notice
and hearing, an order be
issued declaring JOSE
NONO REYES absent or
presumptively dead for all
legal intents and purposes,
and ordering such other
relief and remedies, just,
necessary and equitable
under the premises.
Finding the petition to
be suffcient in form and
substance, the hearing of
the same is set on May 23,
2012 at 8:30 o'clock in the
morning at which date, time,
and place, all interested
person may come and show
cause, if there be any why
the petition should not be
granted.
Let copies of this petition
be furnished the National
Statistics Offce, the local
Civil Registrar of Porac,
Pampanga, the subject
person of the petition Jose
Nono Reyes c/ /o his father,
Pio Reyes, of M. Pagalaya,
Porac, Pampanga, the
petitioner and Atty. Jose
Eduardo B. Narciso.
Let copies of this Order
be likewise published at the
expenses of the petitioner
for one week in a newspaper
of general circulation in the
Philippines.
SO ORDERED.
Tarlac City, April 12,
2012.
(SGD.) LI LY C. DE VERA-VALLO
Presiding Judge
REGONAL TRAL COURT
Third Judicial Region
Branch 64
Tarlac City
N THE MATTER OF THE PETTON FOR
DECLARATOND OF PRESUMPTVE DEATH OF
JOSE NONO REYES,
SPEC. PROC. NO. 4840
JULETA N. SANTOS-REYES,
Petitioner.
x-------------------------------x
O R D E R
Business
ManilaStandardToday business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com MAY 15, 2012 TUESDAY
B3
Baguio court rules in favor of BCDA
Marco Polo, XTT seal deal
ABS-CBN
says profit
decreased
69% in Q1
Krafts award. Kraft Foods Philippines Go Green Program to help save water and energy and reduce carbon
emissions received the Gold Award for Environmental Excellence during the recent 4
th
Global CSR Awards 2012 held
in Boracay. Malay Mayor John Yap of Malay, Aklan (center) and Michael Frederick Musngi (right), undersecretary for
Special Concerns of the Ofce of the Executive Secretary, handed the award to Kraft Foods communications ofcer
Caitlin Punzalan during a ceremony.
By Lailany P. Gomez
ABS-CBN Corp., the countrys
largest broadcasting company,
said Monday consolidated net
income in the rst three months
of the year declined by almost a
third due to the absence of a one-
time gain.
ABS-CBN said in a press
brieng that it booked a prot of
P306 million in the rst quarter,
down 69 percent from P976
million year-on-year.
Ronaldo Valdueza, chief
nancial ofcer, said ABS-CBN
posted a higher prot on year
following the sale of SkyCable
Philippine Depository Receipts
amounting to P674 million.
Consolidated revenues from
advertising and consumer sales
in the rst three months rose 8
percent to P7.1 billion.
Revenues from advertising
reached P4.2 billion, up 4 percent
from a year ago, while consumer
sales went up 15 percent to P3
billion.
Valdueza said SkyCable
contributed P1.2 billion in revenues,
up 12 percent year-on-year.
The increase Skys revenues
was mostly driven by the
increased takeup of broadband
service subscriptions which
increased by 20 percent year-on-
year, Valdueza said.
Revenues of ABS-CBN
Global rose 3 percent on year on
the back of a 3-percent increase
in overall viewer count.
There was a double-digit
growth in Canada and single-digit
growth in all other territories,
except Japan and Europe where
subscribers declined, Valdueza
said.
Total operating expenses
increased 10 percent to P6.1 billion
due to higher production costs.
SkyCable recently signed an
asset purchase agreement with
Destiny Cable Inc. at a purchase
price of P2.4 billion.
SkyCable under the deal
will acquire Destinys cable
subscriber base of about 150,000
and broadband subscribers of
5,000 to add to SkyCables
existing 500,000 subscribers.
We expect our market share
to increase to 45 percent from
35 percent. The challenge for us
now is to keep our cost in single
digit, Valdueza said.
By Jenniffer B. Austria
MARCO Polo Hotels and
Xin Tian Ti Development
Corp. on Monday nalized
their partnership to develop
a P3-billion ve-star hotel in
the Ortigas central business
district.
XTT president Samuel Po said in a signing
ceremony the hotel, which will contain 313 guest
rooms and upscale suites, is scheduled to open by
the fourth quarter of 2013.
Marco Polo Hotels has been known for its
excellent services and first-class signature
touches, we are incredibly excited to be affiliated
with this reputable hotel brand in Asia Pacific for
the Marco Polo Ortigas, a P3-billion investment,
Po said.
Marco Polo Ortigas is the third addition to Marco
Polos growing portfolio of hotels in the Philippines.
The other two hotels are in Cebu and Davao.
Marco Polo also signed a trademark royalty
agreement with tycoon George Tys Federal Land
Inc. to manage an upscale two-tower residential
project rising near the Marco Polo hotel in Cebu.
We are delighted to the addition of this hotel,
located in the prime location of the capital of the
Philippines. Our rapid growth and development in
the Philippines and China has further strengthened
our brand and its awareness throughout Asia
Pacic, Marco Polo president Steve Kleinschmidt
said.
Next to China, the Philippines has the most
number of Marco Polo hotels in Asia.
The contemporary 5-star Marco Polo Ortigas
offers a view of the city center and direct access to
Meralco Avenue in Ortigas.
The hotel will offer upscale amenities, which
include extensive meeting facilities, signature
all-day dining restaurants, a Chinese restaurant, a
lobby lounge and a Sky Bar that offers a view of
city skyline, an indoor swimming pool, health club
and spa.
Marco Polo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed
company with core business interests in property
and investments in communications and container-
terminal operations.
XTT is a development corporation established
by First SLP Holdings to manage hotel and
tourism-related businesses. The Ortigas hotel
will be the companys first venture into the hotel
business.
First SLP fully owns JS Unitrade Merchandise
Inc., which is engaged in the manufacture of baby
care, feminine hygiene and geriatric care products
with annual revenues of over $120 million.
THE Bases Conversion and
Development Authority on
Monday said it has scored a legal
victory against the Sobrepea-led
Camp John Hay Development
Corp.
Baguio City regional trial
court Judge Antonio Reyes had
rejected the injunction led by
John Hay Springs Inc. against
BCDAs John Hay Management
Corp., which earlier ordered the
closure of the facilities built by
the company in an economic
zone in Baguio City.
Reyes ruled that JHMC is a
regulatory body that can impose
sanctions on violators in the John
Hay Special Economic Zone.
JHMC, as the implementing
arm of BCDA, governs the
JHSEZ while JHSI is a joint
venture between CJHDevco and
JLM Realty Development Corp.
Reyes said in his resolution
on April 30 that his court does
not have the slightest doubt
that the John Hay Management
Corp. is vested with regulatory
powers to carry out its duties and
obligations per mandate of law,
such is plain and simple.
BCDA claimed that CJHDevco
owed more than P3 billion in lease
arrears and has committed several
violations while operating in the
economic zone.
CJHDevco and its afliate
corporations currently face several
estafa cases led by BCDA and other
individuals and organizations, and
charged with professional squatting.
JHMC issued a cease and desist order
on March 26 to JHSI for operating a
water bottling and distribution facility
without a permit and a certicate of
registration from the Bureau of Food
and Drugs for the past three years.
The BFAD certication is a
requirement of the JHMC as part of the
documents that need to be submitted
prior to its issuance of a permit to
operate.
JHSI, upon receiving the order, led
for a writ of preliminary injunction
at the Baguio regional trial court and
led graft cases against the JHMC and
health ofcers who issued the order.
Judge Reyes junked the injunction
case led by JHSI, adding that JHMC
is vested with regulatory powers.
JHSI had violated regulations in the
ecozone by operating illegally without
a permit.
JHMC therefore has every right to
impose sanctions on businesses such
as JHSI who are not complying with
government regulations.
JHMC has been accorded by the
law which created it certain leeways
to see to it that rules and regulations
are followed by establishments which
are granted certain privileges to
operate in the Camp John Hay Zone
JHMC has been accorded certain
regulatory powers to see to it that
erring establishments must comply
or be sanctioned, the resolution
read.
Thus, when JHSI failed to renew
its operational permit, it lost its right
to operate its establishment, Reyes
stated.
B4
Provinces
Edited by Leo A. Estonilo
Fernandez: Sale of properties questionable
Power plant faces Kalikasan writ
Home visitors. House Assistant Minority Leader and Leyte 1st district Rep. Ferdinand Martin FM Romualdez (center) with his mother Juliette welcome the ofcers and faculty members of Eastern Visayas State
Univesity Graduate School during their study tour. VER S. NOVENO
IN BRIEF
Mangroves
liven up
town fiesta
Zamboanga health mounts anti-dengue campaign
Energy rm outreach

SUBICMayor Jeffrey Khonghun welcomed
the wellness campaign of Redondo Peninsula
Energy Inc. for residents particularly
children.
The delivery of free health services is a big
help to my constituents, he told Victor Chan,
RP Energy corporate social responsibility
ofcer.
The summer drive is part of the rms
Kilinika Barangay to improve services for
underserved communities and promote good
hygiene practices.
Chan said the medical mission attended to
275 patients here, and donated two mobile
ambulances, 50 wheelchairs and 80 nebulizers
to Subic.
He said a circumcision service was held
for two days for children up to 14 years
old together with handouts of hygiene and
grooming kits.
RP Energys umbrella corporate social
responsibility program on health pledges to
rehabilitate selected barangay health centers
and provide skills and capability building
opportunities to front-line health workers
especially those in underserved communities,
Chan said.
In his update before nance executives
recently on baseload supply, Energy Secretary
Jose Rene Almendras said 1,500 megawatts
more are needed by 2017 due to increased
demand.
RP Energys 600 power plant is expected to
go online in 2015 among other new facilities.
Butch Gunio
By Sheila Covarrubias
ZAMBOANGA CITYA massive
cleanup drive has been launched following
a declaration of a dengue outbreak even
as fastlanes are being set up in medical
facilities, said City Health Ofcer Dr.
Rodel Agbulos.
We appeal to the media and our
barangay ofcials to help us in this
campaign, he said amid reports of 474
cases with nine deaths in the rst quarter
of the year.
The basic and primary thing to do in cases
like this is a cleanup, Agbulos said, adding
that the health ofce would be targetting
the top 20 barangays with the most number
of dengue cases including those where
waterways and cemeteries are located.
Mayor Celso Lobregat is set to release
P553,000 from emergency funds for anti-
dengue measures such as purchase of
larvicides and other chemicals to eradicate
the carrier mosquito, called aedes aegypti,
a day-biting species which lays eggs in
clear and stagnant water found in ower
vases, rain barrels, old rubber tires and tin
cans and other containers.
The drive has to be massive and
simultaneous to ensure elimination of
breeding sites, Agbulos said. The
effects, however, will not be immediate
but after at least after a week.
He said the city government has
acquired dengue laboratory kits which
can determine if a patient has dengue after
three days of continuous fever.
High grade fever, headache, exhaustion,
severe joint and muscle pain, swollen
glands and rashes are characteristics of
dengue, medical specialists said.
Meanwhile, fastlanes are being set up in
hospitals and other medical centers in the
city to handle the inlux of cases.
Road crash kills 11
BONTOCEleven people were killed and
10 others survived with serious injuries after
a passenger jeep (ACZ 135) plunged into a
150-metter ravine Sunday in Sitio Am-ancho,
Barangay Bontoc III, Bontoc, Mt. Province.
SPO4 Glen Apangsang, investigator from
the towns police station, said the crash
happened around 2:30 p.m.
The driver stopped to pick up a cargo that
broke loose but the jeep slid and dropped into
the river and rocks below, he said.
The vehicle driven by Antonio Dulawan
was en route to Barangay Dalican from
Barangay Poblacion.
Four of the victims died while undergoing
treatment. Some of the 10 survivors were
still in critical condition at Baguio General
Hospital, Apangsdang said.
Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong, Cordillera
police regional director, identied the dead
as Sherleen Benies, MaryAnn Camfoli, Chu
Arokod, Jonalyn Sallongen, Teresa Aronchay,
Chagon Chamkas, Adalene Domakyon, Helen
Lachica, Chanda Chankas, Delia Sumilao,
and Melvin Aronchay.
The injured were Jessica Sumilao, Myrna
Lapaan, Isagani Falisong, Zenia Maskay,
Luisa Waking, Rachel Lapaan, Jac Banganan,
Abrahan Mangosan, Jane Falisong, and
Stevensol Paraan.
Three riders managed to get off were unhurt
along nwith Dulawan who has been detained
for questioning.
Florante S. Solmerin, Dexter A. See
DAGUPAN CITYVice
Mayor Belen Fernandez
has questioned a council
resolution allegedly giving
Mayor Benjie Urn blanket
authority to negotiate and
dispose of two government
properties.
She said a special session
was allegedly convened to
pass the measure, bypassing
councilors identied with her.
Fernandez, who is also
the city councils presiding
ofcer, said she was abroad
at the time to receive
commendations from the
Dagupan City Association of
Northern California and the
Milpitas City Government
when the Sanggunian
Panglungsod was convened
last April 27.
She identied the properties
as the MC Adore International
Palace, a prime property, and
a relocation site in Calasiao
allotted for the growing
number of squatters.
Fernandez said MC Adore
alone could fetch over P40O
million against the P60 to
P75 million offered by two
real estate developers.
She dismissed the need for
funds because the city had
already an approved P600
million annual budget to
cover social and development
projects.
Fernandez expressed concern
over the sale whose proceeds,
she said, may be used for the
election campaign.
She said the councilors who
signed the resolution were
Jesus Canto, Luis Samson
Jr., Karios Reyna, Ubrada
Reyna, Alvin Coquia, Bryan
Lim, Redford Erfe-Mejia,
Guillermo Vallejos and John
Chester Gonzales.
By Oliver Samson
BARCELONAMangroves
take a special place in a town
honoring its patron, St. Joseph,
the worker, with time devoted
to replanting stocks along the
coastline.
Vice Mayor Larry Fortades
said the graduates have come
home to Sorsogon province to
retrace their roots in festivities
that culminate on May 19.
Alumni of Barcelona
National High School will spare
a day of their homecoming to
plant 2,000 bakawans in the
municipal waters, he said.
This is aligned with the past
and present administrations
drive to protect the town from
seawater encroachment and
provide a sanctuary to help
shermen.
Barcelona hosts a marine
sanctuary and sh reserve in
Macabari to sustain aquamarine
resources.
The town evolved from a
community on the delta of
Danlog river where Franciscan
missionaries established a base
to spread the faith, putting up a
church in 1874.
The structure still stands, a
testimony to its old heritage as
its counterpart in the Iberian
Peninsula preserves its revered
traditions being the capital of
Catalonia.
This is a time of alumni
reunions, colorful parades,
search for the town Mutya,
motor race, amateur boxing,
and trade fair of local produce,
Fortades said.
Twenty-ve cottages made
of bamboo and nipa leaves
overlooking the coast have
been set up to represent
Barcelonas 25 barangays for
the trade fair organic white
tuba, choice pili delicacies,
ornamentals and food crops
and servings of laing and other
coconut-milk laced cuisine.
By Cecille Garcia
SUBIC BAY FREEPORTThe planned coal-
red thermal plant here faces rough sailing as
oppositors mass up to le a Writ of Kalikasan.
Alex Hermoso, lead convener
of the Zambales-Olongapo Civil
Society Network, said in a media
forum Kapihan sa Dayrits that a case
is being nalized to stop the project.
We strongly oppose the setting up
of the coal thermal Plant in Subic,
Hermoso said, on the issue of an coal
energy source inside the Freeport.
Lawyer Leonardo Bernabe, of
the Olongapo Integrated Bar of
Philippines, said the local chapter
would extend pro bono service in
ling the Writ of Kalikasan case.
Few months ago, we had a meeting
with RP Energy where they presented
the project but that didnt change our
position, he said. The IBP local
chapter then passed a resolution
strongly opposing the project.
Bernade said the writ may
include the issuance of a Temporary
Environmental Protection Order
in case of grave injustice or
irreparable injury.
Olongapo City Councilor James
Gordon Delos Reyes cited a study
of Dr. Art Mendoza on the coal
thermal plant which would be far
more damaging than the eruption Mt.
Pinatubo if allowed to proceed.
Subic is a popular tourism
destination because of its pristine
environment with triple canopy rain
forest and rich marine resource, he
said.
Gabby Mondragon, consultant for
ecology of the Subic Bay Metropolitan
Authority, said new board members
led by Chairman Robert Garcia were
reviewing the contract, permits and
the Certicate of Registration of Tax
Exemption of the project proponent
issued by the previous board.
New conditions were imposed by
the current SBMA Board including
an assurance from the proponent that
the project should be environment
friendly, he told the forum.
Forum producer Rey Garcia of
News Central, a Subic-based regional
business newspaper in Central Luzon,
said proponent Redondo Peninsula
Energy Inc. was invited but no
representative showed up.
The forum was attended by Subic
Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce
president Danny Piano, City Councilor
Jong Cortez, Rotaract Club president
Mike Dominic Piga, Olongapo
Consumers Association president
Shirley Emeterio, businessman Bong
Sangco and media organizations in
Olongapo.
Water bearers. Civil engineering students from Malayan Colleges Laguna install a rainwater harvester at the Pulo Elementary
School in Cabuyao. The alternative source will be used for the campus toilets and garden watering. It was designed and built by
Leonard Malabanan, Floyd Erickson Gutierrez and Kristoffer Dennis Gonzales under adviser Engr. Hermie del Pilar.

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