the standard - 2016 june 05 - sunday

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THOUSANDS JOIN ‘DU31’ CELEBRATION

Vows action if Beijing constructsmore structures

VOL. XXX � NO. 113 � 3 Sections 24 Pages P18 � SUNDAY : JUNE 5, 2016 � www.thestandard.com.ph � [email protected]

US WARNS CHINAON WPS BUILDUP

PROMPT RESPONSE. United States Defense Secretary Ashton Carter speaks with journalists at the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. AFP PHOTO

BOXING LEGENDPASSES AWAY

B7

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO CITY—Tens of thousands of jubi-lant people gathered at the Crocodile Park here on Saturday to celebrate the election of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the 16th president of the Philippines.

Teeming with crowds estimated at around 90,000 as of 5 p.m. and still expected to in-crease through the night as television and movie celebrities joined about 600 local per-formers in the celebration dubbed “Du31 (Duterte won) : One Love, One Nation” con-cert party.

The showbiz personalities included tel-evision stars Vice Ganda, Gladys Guevarra, Bernardo Bernardo, Ahron Villena, Carlos Agassi, Sarah Geronimo, Jimmy Bondoc, KZ Tandingam, Paolo Santos, Ron Dulay, and hosts Kath de Castro, Bayani Agbayani and Arnel Ignacio.

SINGAPORE—Chinese construc-tion on a South China Sea islet claimed by the Philippines would prompt “actions being taken” by the United States and other nations, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned Saturday.

Speaking at a security summit in Singapore, Carter said Beijing risks building a “Great Wall of self-isolation” with its military expansion in the contested waters, but he also proposed stronger bilateral security cooperation to reduce the risks of a mishap.

“I hope that this development doesn’t occur because it will result in actions being taken both by the United States, and actions being taken by others in the region that will have the effect of not only increasing tensions but isolating Chi-na,” Carter said when asked about Scarborough Shoal in a forum also attended by senior Chinese military officials.

Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, who heads the Chinese office of international military coop-eration, quickly attacked the Pentagon chief’s re-marks, telling journalists they reflected a “Cold War mentality.”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post has reported that China plans to establish an outpost

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NEWS

Soldiers of the 103rd Infantry Brigade show off the Islamic State flag they found in one of the structures at a terrorist training camp in Butig, Lanao del Sur. AFP PHOTO

US...

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ARMY CONQUERS JIHADIST CAMPBy Florante S. Solmerin

THE military admitted that the group led by Abdullah Maute is part of the Jemaah Islamiya terror network as government forces captured of their training camps in Butig, Lanao del Sur after a 10-day offensive.

“Yes, the Maute brothers are members of the Jemaah Islamiya,” said Major General Gerardo Barrientos, commander of the First Infantry “Tabak” Division. “In fact, it’s correct that [slain leader] Omar [Maute] was married to an Indonesian jihadist.”

Until he was slain in a military offensive last February, Abdullah Maute’s brother Omar used the lead the group which consists of former members of a defunct unit of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Major General Arnold Quiapo, chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the group is known to be harboring foreign terrorists from Indonesia and Malaysia, as shown by the killing of Indonesian jihadist Muhammad Mukhtar who was killed together with Omar in February.

“These two groups [Maute and Abu Sayyaf] are both Islamists and terrorists believing in the ideals of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria even though each has unique characteristics,” Quiapo said.

“Some of the members are just sympathizers who were forced to join the group because of their involvement in the February clashes with government troops. They are not that many in numbers. In fact, a good number of them have already deserted the group,” Quiapo said.

Once described by the military as a small-time extortion gang, the Maute group attacked a remote army outpost in Butig in February, triggering a week of fighting that the military said left six soldiers and at least 12 militants dead.

The group, believed to have fewer than 100 fighters, blew up power transmission towers and abducted and beheaded two employees of a local sawmill in April.

But when Mukhtar and Omar were killed, the Maute group temporarily splintered into small groups to avoid detection until May 24 when the military detected that they began to move back into territory that the military secured in February, they said.

Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, said government troops captured one of their camps after a 10-day battle that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers and 15 others wounded.

Surrounded by swamps and a lowland tropical rainforest in the small, Muslim-populated farming town of Butig in Lanao del Sur, more than 800 kilometers south of Manila, the camp’s structures were riddled with large bullet holes that soldiers said were caused by machine gun fire used to flush out the militants.

Soldiers said they killed dozens of militants, but there was no sign of dead bodies when the military allowed journalists into the area on Friday.

Unexploded improvised explosive devices, a grenade launcher, a rebel uniform and a black Islamic State flag were all that were left in the wooden huts and concrete-reinforced trenches, which were used by the gunmen, Murillo said.

“The Maute group is believed to be on the run and in hiding, [but] the military will fully enforce the law if they initiate other terrorist activities in the area,” he told AFP.

Also present were future mem-bers of Duterte’s Cabinet, including incoming finance secretary Carlos Dominguez, public works secretary Mark Villar, executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, losing senato-rial bet Dionisio Santiago and press secretary Salvador Panelo.

People from all walks of life filled the park as early as lunch time and stayed on until Duterte arrived around 9 p.m. Saturday evening.

Despite physical difficulties, Naprey Almario, a member of Davao City’s Association of Dif-ferently Abled Persons, joined the event after being advised against going by the Presidential Security Group detail of the future presi-dent.

“Our relationship with the mayor has been very good. There

are villages here in Davao for the disabled and a lot of support from the mayor. The PWDs are being given a job here,” Almario told The Standard.

Davao City Police Chief Super-intendent Vicente Danao, in an interview said that almost 4,000 security personnel—including 1,500 policemen from the Davao City station were deployed to se-cure the event.

Security forces included mem-bers of the Presidential Security Group, Davao City and regional police, members of Task Force Davao and members of the mili-tary.

“We have at least three concen-tric layers of security measures. Before they can enter the venue, there are three areas of inspection. There are also civilian troops that were mobilized,” Danao told The Standard.

“There are Davao City Police that were organic, integrated to the

PSG. There are PSG from Manila who are already integrated to his security force,” he added.

Danao said that they are doing everything to secure the people inside the venue and protect the president-elect.

“There will always be threats but because we have an event here, we are tightening up the security to ensure the safety within com-munity,” he said.

“We are not downplaying these threats. What we are saying is that we are expecting a large group [to cause atrocities] in Davao. We are trying to preempt the atrocities that will happen.”

Members of Davao’s 911 team were also on standby as roads in-side the compound were closed starting Friday evening while roads outside were heavily guarded.

Crocodiles being roasted over charcoal and cupcakes bearing Duterte’s image were among the attractions during the 12-hour

concert with businessmen and stall owners selling Duterte mer-chandise.

Despite being very successful, the event didn’t came with diffi-culties, however.

Despite a previous agreement on coverage rules, the PSG barred private television networks from covering the thanksgiving party because of “security concerns.”

The PSG advised journalists and media entities “to remove all media setups near the stage and prevent backpack video coverage inside the grass ground... RTVM [Radio-TV Malacañang] and PTV 4 only allowed,” the message read.

In another advisory sent later in the day, the media men were informed that “no one will be al-lowed to cover in front of the stage except for PTV 4 and RTVM for security reasons.”

The advisory further instructed them to just “hook up with Manila PTV” for live feed of the party.

on the shoal, located 230 kilome-ters (140 miles) off the Philippines, which considers it part of its exclu-sive economic zone.

Beijing claims nearly all of the strategically vital sea and has de-veloped contested reefs into arti-ficial islands, some topped with airstrips.

Manila says China took effec-tive control of Scarborough Shoal in 2012, stationing patrol vessels and shooing away Filipino fisher-men, after a two-month stand-off with the Philippine Navy.

Carter declined to elaborate when later pressed on what “ac-tions” Washington might take.

The US warning came ahead of a ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on a case brought by the Philip-pines against China, which has shunned the proceedings and says it will not recognize any ruling.

In a prepared speech, Carter said the United States views the upcom-ing finding “as an opportunity for China and the rest of the region to recommit to a principled future, to renewed diplomacy, and to lowering tensions, rather than raising them.”

The Philippines, Brunei, Malay-

sia and Vietnam have competing claims in the sea, which encom-passes vital global shipping routes and is believed to have significant oil and gas deposits.

Beijing’s territorial claims, based on controversial historical records, have also pitted it against the United States, which has con-ducted patrols near Chinese-held islands to press for freedom of navigation.

“Unfortunately, if these actions continue, China could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isola-tion,” Carter said in his speech.

He suggested the United States and China would benefit from bet-ter military ties—both to build un-derstanding and to avoid the risk of mishaps.

Pentagon officials say two Chi-nese fighters last month conducted an “unsafe” intercept of a US spy plane in international air space over the South China Sea.

Admiral Harry Harris, the com-mander of the US Pacific Com-mand, said in Singapore that such incidents were rare, and noted that US and Chinese naval vessels gen-erally have “positive interactions.”

Carter’s attendance at the sum-mit is part of a broader US diplo-matic push, known as the “rebal-ance,” to boost alliances in the Asia-Pacific region.

In a report last month, the Pen-tagon said China put its land rec-lamation efforts on hold in the Spratly Islands chain at the end of 2015. Instead, it focused on add-ing military infrastructure to its reclaimed features.

Another regional security con-cern at the Singapore forum is North Korea’s nuclear program and its so-far unsuccessful missile tests.

Seoul and Washington want to deploy the United States’ sophisti-cated Terminal High Altitude Area Defence System, that would pro-tect against North Korean missiles, though Beijing worries about the sys-tem being deployed on its doorstep.

“It’s not about China,” Carter said. “It’s about the North Korean missile threat, which is a clear threat to South Korea, to our forc-es there and to our allies in Japan.”

Meanwhile, incoming solicitor-general Jose Calida said there is a 70-80 percent chance the Philip-pines would win the arbitration case it filed against China before the Permanent Court on Arbitra-tion in The Hague.

Citing a transition meeting with outgoing Solicitor General Florin Hilbay who led the Philippine case before the tribunal, Calida said that the government is “hopeful” that it would win the case it filed due to ongoing sea row in the West Philip-

pine Sea, which could be resolved “within this month or next month.”

“It’s really a complicated issue, but according to the solicitor gen-eral now, the chances are 70 to 80 percent that we will win this case,” Calida told The Standard.

“We will cross the bridge when we get there. We will wait for the decision and we will make our moves after we get the decision,” Calida added.

The incoming administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte had promised to protect the Philippine claim over the contested land forma-tions in the West Philippine Sea.

At a Tuesday’s press briefing, Duterte said the Philippines will not rely on the United States, its long-term security ally in dealing with Beijing over its territorial row although Manila will remain “an ally of the west,” honoring its com-mitments with its long-time ally.

Calida, a former justice under-secretary, said he met with Hilbay and incoming foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay to discuss the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.

“There will be other issues that will be discussed, but for that meeting, only that issue was dis-cussed. We have many cases, actu-ally,” Calida stressed. AFP, John Paolo Bencito, Vito Barcelo and Sara D. Fabunan

A3S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

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JUBILANT MINDANAOANS. Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Crocodile Park in Davao City on Saturday to celebrate the election of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as the 16th president of the Philippines. JOHN PAOLO BENCITO

MALABON MISSION. More than 700 residents of Longos, Malabon benefited from the medical and dental mission conducted by the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., FFCCCII Foundation Inc. and Malabon Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. Leading the medical mission were FFCCCII officers led by vice president William Yap Castro and board member and Social Responsibility Project Committee chairman Antonio Cosing, and Barangay Longos chairwoman Angelika dela Cruz.

ALVAREZSEES MOREPOLITICALTURNCOATS

ALBAY SCHOLARSHIPPROGRAM PROMOTED

CONFUSION OVERTAKESDUTERTE MEDIA GROUP

“If you don’t want to boycott [Duterte], he said he will be the one to boycott you,” his personal aide Christopher Go told reporters in a text message after local jour-nalists refused to boycott coverage of the new president-elect.

Duterte decided Friday even-ing to stop briefings with the me-dia after the international media group Reporters Without Borders urged local media to boycott Du-terte because of his remarks on the killings of corrupt journalists.

At the same time, the Presi-

dential Security Group personnel detailed with the president-elect barred private television networks from covering the thanksgiving party for Duterte “for security rea-sons.”

The PSG advised media enti-ties “to remove all media setups near the stage and prevent back-pack video coverage inside the grass ground... RTVM (Radio-TV Malacañang) and PTV 4 only allowed,” the message read. Calls to Press Secretary-designate Salvador Panelo the whole of Sat-

LEGAZPI CITY—Albayanos consider the pioneering free education program of their provincial government as one of their greatest legacies after it benefited 88,444 college scholars over the past nine years.

The program, the Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme, is a study-now-pay-later scholarship program started in 2007, initially aimed at producing a college graduate for every Albayano family.

Its overwhelming success has inspired the province to raise its goal to at least one college and one technical-vocational graduate per family.

AHECS is the brainchild of Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, who completes his three terms as governor this June and will take over as representative of Albay’s second congressional district which gave him a 92 percent vote mandate in the May 9 elections.

He said the program will continue to leave its mark on every Albayano family who benefited from it and who will forever reap the fruits of its successes.

Having successfully tested the program in Albay, Salceda said he plans to make AHECS a model for a legislated National Higher Education Contribution System for private tertiary schools and state colleges and universities, which he plans to push in the next Congress.

AHECS takes the biggest chunk of the provincial budget. It was funded by a P700-million secured loan from Land Bank in 2010, and is hailed as among Albay’s more effective development strategies.

Patterned after the Australian scholarship program that beats the US educational system, AHECS had an initial enrollment of 34,000 Albayano students in 2007, which grew to 77,172 in 2012 and then to 88,444 in 2015.

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO CITY—Confusion has overtaken the commu-nications group of the incoming Duterte administration with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte himself saying he would boycott the media even as his media handlers struggled to determine official responsibilities.

urday were left unanswered and Communications Secretary-des-ignate Martin Andanar could only hold an impromptu briefing to say that the media group did not have a final structure yet.

“What the president wants is for his communications group to be fixed the soonest time possible,” Andanar, who will be heading the Presidential Communications Operations Office portfolio, told The Standard.

“The clear marching order is to give him the final structure of the media group,” he said.

“I think it’s good that there should be division, there’s some-one who’s the spokesperson and there’s a strategic message [formu-lator]. But then again, we have yet to talk on our structure [and] how will we handle this,” he added.

But even official responsibilities of Panelo and Andanar were con-fused after it emerged that they were

actually designated to the same po-sition under prevailing rules.

The Administrative Code of 1987 separated the functions of press sec-retary and presidential spokesperson who was previously under the Office of the President, but President Be-nigno Aquino issued in 2010 Execu-tive Order No. 4 renaming the Office of the Press Secretary as Presidential Communications Operations Of-fice.

Andanar did not specify if Panelo would continue to serve as press secretary although Du-terte himself had already said that he would remain as his presidential spokesperson, also a Cabinet position.

The only vacant position in the presidential media group is the Pres-idential Communications Develop-ment and Strategic Planning Office, Andanar said, adding that they al-ready have a candidate for the PCD-SPO but declined to identify him.

INCOMING Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said over the weekend that he is talking to several group of lawmakers who had signified intention to jump ship from their present political party in order to join the growing PDP-Laban.

“I am expecting to get at least one-third of the total membership of the House of Representatives before the opening of the 17th Congress. Maybe around 100 or more will be part the new PDP-Laban,” Alvarez said in a text message.

“Before, I only expect 80 to 100 but I was surprised that many have signify their intention to change political color,” he added.

Alvarez refused to divulge the names of congressmen but claimed that a big bulk of them will come from the ruling Liberal Party.

“Just wait for the announcement. I will tell you when the appropriate time comes. Big names in Congress who were reelected includes,” he pointed out.

Last Thursday, 11 members of LP take their oath together with three others to PDP-Laban at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. There are only three original members of PDP-Laban who won in the recent elections including Alvarez.

The Davao del Norte lawmaker said it was just natural that when a new administration enters, political butterflies started to fly and transfer simply because they wanted to assure that they could get the needed funding for their projects in their district.

He stressed earlier that those who would decide to move to PDP-Laban, they would have the priority to get the chairmanship of major committee posts or at least vice chairman of standing committees.

Asked how many lawmakers have taken their oath, Alvarez said, “A sizable number of them.”

PDP-Laban has forged coalition with the Nacionalista Party and the Nationalist People’s Coalition and is now working with the remaining LP members led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Alvarez concluded that in the next few weeks, expect more congressmen to change political color. PNA

OPINIONA4

[ EDI TORI A L ]

BY EXAMPLE

BEING A WOMAN HERE TODAY

A5ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R

S U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

By Jonathan Bernstein

WHERE is the Republican pushback to Hillary Clinton’s vicious attack on Donald Trump’s foreign-policy qualifications? It’s virtually absent, as several commentators noticed.

On Thursday, Clinton called Trump’s foreign policy nothing but “bizarre rants, personal feuds and outright lies.” Since then, the silence (except from Trump himself, of course) has been startling. When a party’s presidential nominee is attacked, the response is usually rapid, coordinated and sustained. Each party has recognized experts on any issue that it can deploy quickly to assure everyone that its nominee is sound. The party might even have a few people with bipartisan credentials who are willing to say that they’ve met with the candidate and that the attacks are off base.

Didn’t happen this time.For one thing, Trump barely has a

campaign so far. There’s not much beyond his rallies, interviews and Twitter barrage. He doesn’t seem to have a policy shop.

The reality-TV star was able to win the Republican nomination mainly by dominating the media. He didn’t need an army of operatives spinning his message. And he appears to be counting on the same strategy to win in the general election.

But there’s another facet to the lack of a united party response to Clinton’s speech. It’s a consequence of the grudging, minimal support he’s been getting from high-profile Republicans. Some people have argued that an endorsement is an endorsement, and what’s really important is that Republicans have rallied to Trump with only a few exceptions. But this way of looking at it might be misleading.

The lukewarm “I’ll vote for the nominee” statement is not the kind of support a party’s presidential nominee normally gets. Many high-profile Republicans are even planning to avoid the party’s national convention in Cleveland.

Does it matter that they aren’t rallying around him when he’s attacked? It’s hard to predict. Political scientists normally tend to believe that the differences between a stronger campaign and a weaker one aren’t worth much in presidential general elections —maybe adding up to a percentage point or two. But that assumes the two campaigns are relatively competent, with one just a bit better than the other.

We know Trump seems to be doing fine so far among Republican voters, consolidating his support among them at a rate comparable to what recent nominees mustered. Beyond that, all we can do is note that he is unlike other presidential nominees in US history in at least two ways: He has won the party’s nomination despite having practically no support and plenty of hostility from party actors, and he has not put together a conventional campaign organization. We can guess at the consequences of his singularity based only on how presidential elections usually work. Without solid precedents, however, we should be cautious. Bloomberg

[email protected]

TRUMP’S MISSING SUPPORT

IT IS easy to get distracted by the bombastic statements of the incoming president. Everything that comes out of his mouth, and the manner in which he delivers them, instantly become news material. Love him or hate him, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is larger than life even before he is sworn in as the next leader of the land.

Meanwhile, the outgoing chief executive has never seemed more of a lame duck than ever. In fact, he is hardly visible, or audible, at all. Since his anointed successor failed to win the presidency, and even as the vice presidential candidate he had fielded in fact managed to get herself proclaimed winner, President Benigno Aquino III has never appeared so lost, weak and lacking in purpose.

It well may be that all outgoing presidents go this lonely way. But it can be, too, that Mr. Aquino particularly has a lot of contemplating to do now that his so-called straight path-treading administration is about to end.

Things like, how much of daang matuwid was real and how much was braggadocio? When Mr. Aquino assumed office six years ago, basking in the glow of the public’s adulation of his just-deceased mother, he promised a righteous government that was supposed to deliver Filipinos from the clutches of poverty and corruption. Today, we know that the President and his allies took righteous to a new level, portraying themselves as crusaders and their critics and opponents as agents of the dark.

Despite this self-image, nefarious things happened during Mr. Aquino’s watch, nonetheless. While he tried to blame every mishap on his evil predecessor or some dispensable subordinate, the fact remains that at various points or all at the same time, agents of the Aquino administration were incompetent, negligent, conniving, arrogant and hypocritical.

The excitement—or foreboding—over a Duterte presidency gives us relief from the pattern of the next six years. Still, it will be detrimental to the nation if the new set of leaders would overhaul everything, govern with vindictiveness and see no good about its predecessor.

At the very least, the Aquino administration sets a good example to all succeeding administrations: how not to lead with an us-versus-them mentality, how not to believe anybody can get it right all the time, and how not to reject valid observations and suggestions just because they come from somebody who sports a different political color.

a little more humility and in-jected itself with a big dose of ac-curacy and fairness, maybe they wouldn’t be perceived as entitled SOBs, not just by people in gov-ernment like Duterte.

On Facebook, this is what I posted in reply to my friend’s question:

No, we should not be treated dif-ferently. We are not a “special class.”

From my own experience, I think most of the problems en-countered by media workers start when they buy into the myth that they are different from ordinary citizens.

The most effective journal-ists, in my view, are those who let their work speak for them, without asking that they be treat-

opinionA8

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Duterte’s buDget policy

A9ADELLE chuAE D I T O R

F R I D AY: j u n E 3 , 2 0 1 6

opinion

UNSUrprISINgly, the mem-bers of the national media are once again in the news these days. Now that president-elect rodrigo Duterte has trained his always-quotable mouth on the press, everyone seems to have a bad experience (or more) in their encounters with the so-called Fourth Estate that they simply must ventilate.

This can only be a good thing.

The media should be able to take as good as it can give—and if we must survive as a democracy, we should welcome scrutiny of all our institutions and the people who belong to them.

When Duterte, for instance, railed against the Catholic Church, he was even more base-lessly accusatory and unrepen-tantly angry. The media, some of whose members Duterte called “sons of bitches,” actually had it easy.

I actually would have let Duterte’s comments on the press pass unnoted, if a friend had not asked an old question about the

relationship of the media with the rest of the citizenry. Does the media, he asked, deserve special treatment, as if its members be-longed to a more privileged class of citizen?

The underlying issue is the hoary one about entitlement. And like it or not, many people seem to think that journalists are actu-ally whiny, pampered people who think they’re better than almost everybody else simply because they have press cards.

Of course, not a lot of people who hold this view would argue that we don’t need the press. But it’s also true that if the press had

Not special

ChINESE president Xi Jinping, aside from congratulating president-elect rodrigo Duterte on his victory, slipped in a “let’s talk” message. It’s not known whether or not Xi’s conciliatory tone is related to the ruling to be issued in three months by the permanent Court of Arbitration in The hague on the South China Sea territorial dispute. If Beijing ignores an adverse deci-sion, it would become an international out-law. China and the philippines are signato-ries to the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea which has jurisdiction to settle all maritime boundary disputes.

Xi’s softer tone should not be taken seri-ously. It is, as usual, a case of doublespeak and deception of which the Chinese are masters. his call for talks with the philip-pines is difficult to reconcile with China’s renewed claim that the Spratlys and the paracels belong to China historically. parts of the Spratlys are under the 200-mile ex-clusive economic zone of the philippines under UNClOS. The paracels grabbed by China is also within Vietnam’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone under UNClOS’ definition of maritime borders.

Kuala lumpur, on the other hand, pro-tested a recent incident off Sarawak when a Chinese vessel tried to ram a Malaysian patrol boat. This happened even as China offers an olive branch to the other claim-ants to parts of the South China Sea. Ma-laysia has vowed a tougher response if the incident is repeated in Malaysian waters. Filipino fishermen have also been victims of Chinese gunboat diplomacy when they are shooed away with water cannons when fishing near Scarborough Shoal off the coast of Zambales where they have long been making their livelihood.

The United States conducts regular sea patrol and air surveillance flights near the man-made islands where China has built military installations. The US presence is adding to the pressure on China. The US has made clear it would not allow the Chi-nese to impede the freedom of navigation in international waters. An estimated $5 trillion in commercial cargo pass annually through vital sea lanes in the South China Sea. Beijing, however, is strident in saying that more than safeguarding the freedom of navigation, the US pivot to Asia is aimed to counterbalance a rising China.

Xi’s message released through the Chi-nese foreign ministry mentioned the need to put back on track the good relations between China and the philippines.Who started to strain relations, anyway? China encroached on the West philippine Sea and claimed that Manila escalated tension

Xi to DU30:

Let’s taLk

ed differently while they go about their (mostly lowly-paid) work.

The media exist on the sufferance of the citizenry, after all. And woe betide the journalist who thinks that he is no longer part of—in the sense of being better than —the public that he serves.

As a member of the community of working (and definitely working-class) journalists, I apologize to the rest of the citizenry for the abuses some of our col-leagues commit. Most of us are just try-ing to make an honest living by doing an

honest day’s work, even on days when the rest of you don’t work.

Also, please understand that many of those who abuse the privileges that working in the media brings are not even legitimate members of the press. I kid you not.

That said, I ask, in all humility: Forgive us our press passes.

* * *Speaking of my work, my first as-

signment as a reporter was in Quezon City. One day on the beat, I was told

that an interesting case was being heard in the sala of a regional trial court judge named Miriam Defensor Santiago. So I looked for her court and observed the proceedings.

After the case was heard, I approached the clerk of court and asked if I could interview the judge in her chambers. The clerk asked me to write down my name and that of my media outfit on a piece of paper, which she would hand to the judge.

After a few minutes, the clerk returned Continued on A11

The economic team of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is increas-ing borrowings to fund infrastructure projects and lowering taxes in a major fiscal policy shift to boost the economy further. The plan implies a much-larger budget deficit to pump prime the economy, a policy that outgoing President Benigno Aquino III did not pursue in the last six years.

Increased borrowings per se is not bad, as long as the funds are spent on infrastructure projects and major social services like education. Coupled with reduced taxes, notably personal and corporate income taxes, the higher borrowings will increase the purchasing power of the public and stimulate demand.

The higher demand, in turn, will prompt the private sector to expand and invest more in production to meet the increased purchasing power of the people. More money will be pumped into the economy, resulting in expanded economic activities.

Incoming Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno is aiming for a larger budget gap equivalent to three percent of the gross domestic product. he defended the higher borrowings amid the low interest rate regime and questioned why the past administration did not pursue the tack.

The Duterte administration has lined up its immediate priorities that include the faster construction of infrastructure projects, solving Metro Manila’s traffic problems and investing in agriculture.

The new government, however, must make sure that the borrowing policy will not backfire on it. higher borrowings and increased spend-ing could be inflationary and could easily erode the increased purchas-ing power from lower taxes, if the Duterte government fails to build more infrastructure and other projects that it seeks to fund.

economic growth, meanwhile, will be in jeopardy if the new budget tack pushes inflation higher than the programmed level. The incoming administration must still keep a fiscal discipline in spite of the looser policy. Against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy, the incom-ing administration, at the end of the day, should weigh increased bud-get spending against its ability to generate revenues.

I apologize to the rest of the

citizenry for the abuses some of our colleagues

commit.

[email protected]

Continued on A11

lOwDOwn

jOjO a. ROblEs

baCK CHannEl

alEjanDRO DEl ROsaRIO

Rolando G. Estabillo PublisherJojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief

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THEY say the Philippines is one of the best places in the world to be a woman. It ranks high up there, alongside European countries, in terms of opportunities in the workplace. The gender gap is narrow, relatively, because there are numerous women in influential positions in business, government and civil society, including the academe and the media. Did we not have two women presidents already, and was not the last man standing in the just-concluded vice presidential race, herself,

a woman?Despite these nominal

gains, any woman living in the Philippines would know that genuine gender equality is still imperfect. The truth is, there remain stumbling blocks, mostly in the way people think, that make it difficult for women to assert themselves and achieve their full potential.

For example, being ambitious is definitely a virtue in a man, but when a woman is ambitious, there is an implication that it is synonymous to selfishness. A driven woman would not allow anything to get in her way, and this goes against the convention of being caring, nurturing, and self-effacing. A working mother

is seen as always compromising her duty to the family.

When a married woman engages in an affair, she is branded as a whore, a bad woman, whereas men would

normally brag about such conquests. Even the law makes a distinction between women who commit adultery and men who engage in concubinage. Likewise, a single mother is looked upon as kawawa, damaged goods, whereas men who bear children out of wedlock have proven their virility.

Educated women enjoy the privilege of knowledge and access to information. They are able to question and challenge norms, and assert what it is they want for themselves and for their families. Those who do not know any better, however, are preyed upon by an entire society telling them to serve their

husbands, subordinate their needs to his, accept everything he has to dish out—be it unwanted sexual advances, the prospect of more children even when they cannot afford to raise them under decent standards, and verbal and physical abuse.

And if the woman refuses to accept the hegemony, she is branded as proud and arrogant. “Ayaw pasakop.”

Finally, there is the matter of rape and harassment. There remains a prevailing thought that a woman somehow asked for the violation she endured, by the way she dressed, talked, walked, conducted herself.

•••It is against this backdrop that

more than 15 million Filipinos elected the loquacious mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte. The President-elect who says he abhors hypocrisy has never denied multiple amorous relationships with women. At various points during the campaign, Mr. Duterte has been known to stop and kiss a woman from the crowd, much to her surprise, fear or disgust.

Subsequent incidents have added to the notoriety. Candidate Duterte said he had wanted to be the first in line to have raped an Australian missionary in 1987 even as he emphasized he had punished the men who had actually

raped and killed her. And then just this week, he whistled after a female reporter asked him a question at a press conference, and then two nights later denied he was whistling because of her. In the same event, other men—and, horrors, even some women—found the gesture amusing.

Apologists were quick to insist that these were taken out of context and that the next President’s whistling showed he was fond of women.

Many will continue to be indignant at Mr. Duterte’s “fondness” of the opposite sex. After all, women are not asking for any special privileges or preferential

treatment. That is exactly what gender equality and sensitivity are NOT about. What we ask for is respect due any human being, to be acknowledged for our contributions, to be recognized for our strengths and to be treated without condescension.

There are several things a man must not get away with doing or saying. The struggle has always been real for women in this traditional, still-patriarchal society. A Duterte presidency raises the stakes and compels us to never let our guard down.

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If the woman refuses to accept

the hegemony, she is branded as proud

and arrogant. ‘Ayaw pasakop.’

OPINIONS U N D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

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By Stuart Williams

ISTANBUL—For connoisseurs of international summitry, it’s been high season recently in Turkey. We enjoyed a G20 summit featuring Barack Obama, a Islamic summit starring the Saudi monarch and last week in Istanbul the first ever World Humanitarian Summit. For each event, the routine for the media in our security-conscious times is familiar — get accredited well ahead of time, circumnavigate a vast maze of metal police barriers and metal detectors to get anywhere near the venue and then rush between interviews and press conferences where everything seems to be happening at once. And it’s fair to say that summits have bred a degree of skepticism amongst most reporters, wearily used to seeing leaders arriving with great fanfare but then disappearing before the end and final communiques bringing little more than expressions of hope.

And my skepticism ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul was perhaps even greater than usual. The sheer ambition of the event—to transform the world’s humanitarian system and get more aid more efficiently to the worst off —seemed at odds with what could be achieved in any two-day meeting.

In the near utopian language of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the aim was no less than to forge “a different future.” Things had already got off to a tricky start with most key world leaders not showing up, something even the mild-mannered Ban said had left him “a bit disappointed.”

I sat myself in the inevitable press center, saw bow-tied waiters dishing out tea, coffee and food with impeccable Turkish politeness to the assembled hungry hacks, and wondered how this could be reconciled with helping the needs of the world’s 60 million displaced people or 130 million in need of aid. It was not like the problems were particularly far away—take a few paces outside the labyrinthine conference center venue, turn left and delegates could find in Taksim Square refugees begging or selling low value goods in the hope of making ends meet.

Just a couple of the at least

SAVING THE WORLD IN 48 HOURS

Syrian refugees in Taksim. AFP

2.7-million Syrians who took refuge in this country alone, every one a life turned upside down with expectations of the future transformed.

It was not as if there was nothing going on with sometimes a dozen panel events proceeding simultaneously. A helpful six screen projection in the press center allowed the keen to follow as much as they could. Suddenly there was the imposing frame of James Bond star Daniel Craig, an impassioned UN advocate for demining.

And there was Sean Penn, keeping a low media profile after his film was mauled in Cannes. On the screen below was UN education envoy Gordon Brown, once UK prime minister. And on the screen next door International Rescue Committee chief David Miliband, once seen as a potential UK prime minister. UN officials

would announce the times of news conference, cheerfully offering an “escort” to be taken there.

A huge amount of talking was done and it was interesting to watch harmony emerging on key issues. There is something wrong with the current aid system. Much more needs to be done to promote development and sustain communities before conflict erupts to prevent crises. Aid groups need to cut their bureaucracies, stop competing against each other. Government and other donors should not burden them with excessive reporting requirements. Local actors need to be empowered and might stand a better chance on the ground than bigger groups. Violations of humanitarian law such as attacks on schools and hospitals should be properly punished.

The diagnosis was made more clearly than ever but one thing was clearly missing—political

commitment. Politicians were going to need a “kick in the butt,” one European official cheerfully told me, if the ideas were going to become reality. Or as Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland put it: “It’s one thing to discuss in Istanbul in a nice venue like this. It’s another thing to get armed men to change their behavior.”

Rob Williams, chief executive of War Child which works to protect and support children in conflict zones, told me the gathering was “amazing and unprecedented” but had achieved a “makeover” rather than the needed transformative change. “Would have been nice to have had more heads of state here,” he said laconically.

But while cynicism is one weapon in a journalist’s arsenal, it can’t be the only one. One of the inspiring aspects of the summit was to be surrounded by literally thousands of people whose professional lives

and beyond are devoted to making things better for others. And sometimes, the connection between the event and the beneficiaries could be made.

During a quiet moment, I popped down to the exhibition space to see a friend working for a small local NGO, Small Projects Istanbul, which works with Syrian refugees. It had helped Syrian refugee women make over 8,000 tote bags—the usual summit giveaway —for participants with their own personal stories printed on the back. “Thank you for using this bag as it has helped my family. Zeina, 46, a loving Syrian mother,” read one printed inscription.

A dozen of the women, all duly badged and accredited were there, overjoyed to see their stories making such a visible impact. They got together by their stall and began to sing in Arabic. A song of home. A song of hope. AFP

By Michael Schuman

CHINA is arguably the valedictorian of Asia’s MBA program. When Deng Xiaoping ditched the radical economics of Mao and steered China into the global economy beginning in the early 1980s, he borrowed liberally from programs and policies that had earlier ignited rapid growth in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. The student quickly outshone the teachers, riding an export-led, investment-heavy strategy to years of double-digit growth.

Now, however, China’s President Xi Jinping appears to have misplaced his textbooks. Rather than continuing to heed the experiences of Asia’s tiger economies, he’s ignoring critical lessons at his—and China’s—peril.

Probably the key truism to emerge from the region’s postwar boom is that if countries are to grow quickly, development must subsume all other priorities. Former South Korean President Park Chung Hee, who launched

his country’s economic ascent, put it best when he wrote: “In human life, economics precedes politics or culture.”

What separated East Asia’s high-growth economies from the rest of the developing world back in the 1960s and 1970s was their leaders’ single-minded—almost maniacal —commitment to raising incomes and building industries. Park would often sit in his office in Seoul’s presidential palace with a notepad, doing his own calculations with economic data.

True, these early leaders also had little time for the niceties of representative democracy. But at least the policymaking process was shielded from political debates and hassles, giving experts the freedom to carry out reforms. By contrast, those countries that mixed other agendas into the process ultimately ran aground. Malaysia’s attempt to reengineer the nation’s social structure by promoting the economic interests of the Malay community helped strand the economy in a middle-income trap.

Xi has pushed economic reform too far down his to-do list. Instead, he’s devoted much of his attention

and energy to an anti-corruption campaign, a drive for ideological purity within the Communist Party, greater control over social media and civil society, and squabbling with neighbors over territorial issues. Rather than separating economic and political agendas, he appears to have placed the former at the service of the latter.

A corollary of this is that leaders need to trust their technocrats. Even the strongest of strongmen, from Korea’s Park to Indonesia’s Suharto, relied on experienced, talented economists and other experts to devise and direct economic policy. In Indonesia, Suharto eagerly took notes while his “Berkeley Mafia” of US-trained economic advisors lectured on sound policy. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew was blessed with a crack team of professional policy wonks, most notably Goh Keng Swee, one of the economy’s main architects. During Japan’s go-go years, the economy was effectively run by talented bureaucrats, not by elected politicians.

Technocrats certainly populate all rungs of the Chinese leadership and central bank; Premier Li

Keqiang himself has a Ph.D. in economics. But President Xi has grasped more and more authority over policymaking in his own hands, effectively sidelining his deputy. The experts seem to have been reduced to writing papers laying out worthy reform proposals, only some of which are eventually heeded.

After a certain point, money can’t cover up for other mistakes. Much like China is doing today, policymakers in Japan flooded their economy with cash in the late 1980s in an attempt to avoid structural reform; the strategy only further inflated the bubble that led to the country’s years of stagnation. Nor have other Asian countries been all that successful in employing state-directed money to spur innovation, as Xi is attempting. The effort by Japan to “target” certain industries for development with special government support had as many failures as successes, while many of the most competitive Japanese industries, from video games to robotics, were never the beneficiary of state coddling.

This raises perhaps the most important lesson of all: Eventually,

governments have to get out of the way. South Korea tumbled into a financial crisis in 1997 in part due to continued state manipulation of the financial sector; the gradual government pullback that followed has helped spur an explosion of entrepreneurship and innovation. In Japan, on the other hand, where bureaucrats have resisted letting go their grip on the economy, a lack of deregulation continues to crimp the economy’s potential.

Even though Xi has pledged to undertake a sweeping liberalization program, progress has been slow, especially in the reform of critical areas such as the financial sector and capital flows. Even more, Xi has made it clear that the government intends to retain the “commanding heights” of the economy, merging and bolstering state enterprises, for instance, rather than letting them die a natural death.

No doubt Xi is hoping to avoid the fate of leaders in places like South Korea and Taiwan, who yielded to demands for democracy as their economies grew richer and more advanced. Unfortunately for China, he’s likely to miss out on their success, too. Bloomberg

CHINA FORGETTING THE KEYS TO SUCCESS

A7s u n D AY : j u n e 5 , 2 0 1 6

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‘TOXIC PAINTs UsED IN sCHOOLs’

foundation rebuilds disaster-hit barangay

Ecowaste appealed to paint companies to shift to non-lead paint production and assure the public that their products are safe to use in places where children live, learn and play.

The group came up with the appeal after repainting armchairs that were freshly coated with paints containing dangerous levels of lead dur-ing a Brigada Eskwela school

activity in Tondo, Manila.Members of Ecowaste

went to Isabelo de los Reyes Elementary School last Fri-day to repaint 50 armchairs that were painted with lead-laden chemicals. The group repainted the armchairs with lead-free enamel.

Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the group detected lead reach-ing 91,300 parts per million

(ppm) in the orange Triton paint, way above the 90 ppm maximum limit under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Ad-ministrative Order 2013-24, also known as the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds.

A yellow quick drying enamel paint used in some other armchairs was also found to contain high concen-trations of lead at 65,100 ppm.

Laboratory tests commis-sioned by Ecowaste in 2012 and 2014 as part of its cam-paign to eliminate lead paint found dangerously high concentrations of lead in or-ange and yellow paints with one sample having 156,000

ppm total lead.“We are deeply upset by the

continued production and sale of highly leaded paints that are finding their way into the school system in breach of the government’s lead-free paint policy in schools,” said Thony Dizon, coordinator of Ecowaste Project Protect.

Department of Education Memorandum No. 85, Series of 2016 issued last May 24 di-rected schools to use lead-free paints “at all times,” particu-larly during the Brigada Esk-wela activities.

“Repainting the armchairs with a lead-free paint, we admit, is a temporary rem-edy. Sooner or later, the paint coatings, including the leaded

paint underneath, will come off and create a lead hazard requiring immediate atten-tion,” Dizon said.

“We therefore urge the national and local govern-ment agencies to undertake enduring and holistic inter-ventions that will protect our school children as well as their teachers against lead exposure,” he added.

DepEd, for instance, should conduct an inventory of paints used in this year’s Brigada Eskwela and evalu-ate the effectiveness of imple-mentation of the department’s lead-free paint directive in the country’s public schools.

Children’s developing brains are permanently dam-

aged by exposure to lead, the group said, adding that even at very low exposures, lead can cause learning disabili-ties, lower IQ, inattentive-ness, poor impulse control and aggressive behavior.

The World Health Organ-ization has warned “there is no known level of lead expo-sure that is considered safe.”

“With only few months remaining before the sched-uled phaseout of leaded ar-chitectural, decorative and household paints on Jan. 1, 2017, we appeal to paint manufacturers to stop pro-ducing lead-added paints and for paint stores not to stock up on such paints,” Dizon said.

By Joel E. Zurbano

Paints containing toxic levels of lead were used in refurbishing armchairs in certain public schools, environmentalist group Ecowaste Coalition said on saturday.

AS PART of its rehabilita-tion and reconstruction interventions in provinces devastated by Typhoon “Yolanda,” BDO Founda-tion has constructed a new multi-purpose hall for a calamity-stricken farming community in Barangay Dumarag, Pastrana, Leyte.

The foundation built the BDO Foundation Multi-purpose Hall in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Pro-gramme (UN-Habitat), who supervised construction, and Kusog Tacloban, a non-governmental organization that provides sustainable and integrated community interventions particularly for rural agricultural com-munities in Leyte.

Fully funded by dona-tions from BDO employ-ees, the project is part of the second phase of UN-Habi-tat’s Post-Yolanda Support for Safer Homes and Set-tlements program. It is the third multi-purpose hall built by the partners for communities affected by the super typhoon.

The structure was turned over to the Dumarag Farm-ers Association (Dumafa) in an inaugural ceremony led by BDO Foundation president Maureen C. Abe-lardo, BDO Foundation program director Rose Espinosa, BDO Tacloban-Zamora branch head Jean Culas and Kusog Tacloban president Teresa Custodio.

Members of the asso-

ciation can use the BDO Foundation Multi-pur-pose Hall for meetings, trainings, seminars, live-lihood projects, events and recreational activi-ties. The community can also use the structure for shelter, evacuation pur-poses and the distribution of relief goods.

The multi-purpose hall is equipped with fans, furni-ture and fixtures, an office, a storage room, toilets and a small kitchenette.

Formed initially by a group of 29 farmers, Du-mafa fosters coopera-tion among members and promotes livelihood pro-grams, community devel-opment and agricultural enhancement.

nlex rushes work on flood controlTHE Manila North Toll-ways Corp. is set to complete its P122.75-million drainage enhancement project with the implementation of flood control works at the south-bound portion of the NLEX Balintawak area starting this month.

The P3.75-million anti-flood project at the south-bound portion of Balintawak is part of the previously com-pleted drainage improvement project along the northbound side of the Balintawak clover-leaf and Valenzuela south-bound which amounted to P119 million. The project is aimed at mitigating flooding along the NLEX especially during the rainy season.

The flood control works at the Balintawak south-bound, which will last for two months starting early June, include the construction of a 19-meter-long concrete box culvert and junction box to ease flooding along the NLEX roadway in the area.

MNTC president and chief executive officer Ro-drigo E. Franco explained that more than improving the existing drainage sys-

tem, the company aims to provide safe and convenient travel even during inclement weather conditions.

“At NLEX, the welfare of motorists is of paramount importance that is why we want to ensure them safe passage during rainy season,” Franco said.

Franco also assures mo-torists that a traffic manage-ment plan is in place around the work area as MNTC activates patrol and traffic teams in cooperation with the Tollways Management Corp., Metro Manila De-velopment Authority and local traffic authorities.

Construction works will cover four lanes of Balinta-wak southbound and will be undertaken from morning until night.

MNTC will close one lane for 12 consecutive days, be-ginning from the leftmost lane, until the drainage en-hancement works in all four lanes have been completed.

During road closures, two lanes will be dedicated to mo-torists going Edsa while one lane will be allotted to motor-ists going A. Bonifacio.

clEANUP. Parents, students and volunteers, carrying broomsticks, paintbrushes and other cleaning materials, arrived early at a public school in Manila to do their bit in the yearly program ‘brigada eskwela’ to make sure that public schools are clean, orderly and safe before classes open next week. EY AcASIO

farmers and children of barangay dumarag in Pastrana, leyte celebrate the completion of their new multi-purpose hall built by bdo foundation in partnership with un-habitat and kusog tacloban.

the worker’s mindset, attitude and performance are greatly affected by the work area has led her to design the workplace that is totally worker friendly,” Menardo says.

The result is a modern office landmark which became the first in the Philippines to register for Well Certification and meet the

Well Building Standard. It is given by the International Well Building Institute, an international group that measures and monitors the performance of building features that impact the users’ health and well-being. Menarco Tower is also a pre-certified Leed Gold Tower and garnered three Philippine Property

Awards: 2016 best green develop-ment winner, 2016 best office de-velopment (highly commended) and 2015 best office architectural design (highly commended).

Carmen says it is considered the healthiest building because it pri-oritizes health and wellness above all else. “If we put people first, prof-

it will naturally follow,” she says. “Well has been described as a nu-

tritional label for our client’s build-ing. It provides transparency on the quality of the building and what occupants are to expect by work-ing within it. Menarco is leading by example on what can be achieved within a commercial building,” says Michael James Hearn, opera-tions manager of Arcadis, which provides consultancy services to Menarco Development.

Carmen says Menarco Develop-ment is spending a little over P2 billion to complete the construc-tion and development of Menarco Tower on a 1,790-square-meter lot her father acquired in the early 2000.

“Everything is because of his hard work,” says Carmen, referring to her father who first showed his business acumen as a young stu-dent in Pangasinan.

Although Menardo’s father owned large tracts of land and served as mayor of Dasol town in Pangasinan, he learned the impor-tance of hard work as a young boy who earned money by polishing shoes and renting out comics and bicycles.

“People think we were born with silver spoon. But our father, with

Roderick T. dela CruzEDITOR B1

SUNDAY: JUNE 5, 2016

[email protected]@gmail.com

BUSINESS

TURN TO B3

PILATES INSTRUCTOR BUILDSHEALTHIEST PH OFFICE TOWERSHE grew up in a family of businessmen who co-own and run one of the largest broadcast companies in the country and together with three siblings received constant lectures from their father on business matters.

Carmen Jimenez-Ong, however, says she did not expect to become a business leader whose first project quickly achieved a milestone in the Philippine property development sector and earned the title ‘healthi-est building’ in the country.

Carmen, a pilates instructor and the youngest daughter of GMA Network Inc. co-owner Menardo Jimenez, is the managing director of Menarco Development Corp., the boutique real estate develop-er behind the 32-story Menarco Tower along 32nd Street in Bonifa-cio Global City, Taguig. Her initial goal, she says, is to create a land-mark tower that will age gracefully.

“Three and a half years ago, when I was tasked by the family to develop a property on 32nd Street in BGC, I took it upon myself to find out how to create a better work space,” says Carmen, a Man-agement graduate from Ateneo de Manila University who has dealt with a lot of people as executive director of GMA Foundation Inc. and later as owner of B+B Studio, where she also teaches pilates in Taguig.

Menardo, the 83-year-old pa-triarch who owns several parcels of land in Pangasinan, Batangas and Taguig, chose Carmen to head his property development busi-ness. Menardo himself started as a real estate developer in the mid 1970s, when he constructed 1,000 homes in Jaro, Iloilo, but put aside the property business to focus on GMA Network as its president un-til 2000.

Menarco Development was formed in 2014 and was named af-ter Menardo and his wife Carolina Gozon, a sister of current GMA Network chairman and chief ex-ecutive Felipe Gozon.

“Carmen Jimenez-Ong is the artist in the family, whose creative mind seems to have no boundary,” Menardo tells journalists in a news briefing at Blackbird Restaurant in Makati City, referring to his young-est daughter. His other children are Butch, Joel and Laura, who also have successful careers in the cor-porate world.

“She [Carmen] is not an engi-neer, not an architect, not a certified urban planner, not even a human resources development manager, but her deep understanding of how

Menarco Development Corp. managing director Carmen Jimenez-Ong (right), together with her parents Menardo and Carolina Jimenez.


BUSINESSSUNDAY: JUNE 5, 2016

B2

By Othel V. Campos

THE country’s group of marketing professionals hopes to promote the Asean brand, which refers to the products and services of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the regional trade bloc that includes the Philippines.

The Philippine Marketing Association hopes to make the Asean Economic Com-munity its launch pad to innovate market-ing strategies and facilitate the promotion of Asean products and services around the globe.

“There are challenges especially in mar-keting Philippine brands and we intend to address these challenges. The Philippines is not the only country in Asean that wants to seize opportunities presented in the global market. We will collaborate with other Ase-an nations to make this happen,” says PMA executive vice president Germaine Reyes.

The key, she says, is to identify what is unique in the product or market and find its competitive advantage.

PMA is staging the 47th National Mar-keting Conference at the Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom in Newport City, Pasay City on July 28 to 29, 2016.

PMA says AEC members are eager to welcome investments and partnerships from neighboring countries as well as equi-table collaborations to spur greater wealth and a better life for all citizens.

This growing and vibrant economic com-munity is projected to be the third largest by 2030, after the US and China. It seeks to create a highly integrated and cohe-sive economy that is people-oriented and people-centered that will produce products and professionals of world-class caliber.

Adopting this vision, PMA came up with the theme Hello Asean for its 47th National Marketing Conference 2016.

Hello Asean brings the spotlight on the Asean Economic Community —its strengths as a growing consumer base and the prevailing opportunities for business.

“This is a long running event for the marketing industry. We meant to showcase success stories to inspire participants to move on to the next level. We aim to cata-lyze creativity and innovation and ways to

FILIPINO MARKETERS SEEKTO PROMOTE ASEAN BRAND

Philippine Marketing Association executive vice president Germaine Reyes

Family business consultant Eric Soriano has guided hundreds of companies in their transition from one generation to the next.

As senior advisor of Wong and Bernstein Advisory Group, Soriano has enabled the seamless transition of countless Asian fam-ily businesses from entrepreneurial to cor-porate organizations.

Wong and Bernstein is a leading advi-sory agency that offers guidance to Asean organizations on branding, strategic lead-ership and organizational change.

Soriano will examine the key character-istics of family businesses and will share his prescription for sustained growth and harmony within an organization bound by bloodlines and a common vision.

Subsequent sessions will tackle how cor-porations can determine if they are ready for expansions overseas and if their prod-ucts have the necessary attributes to be a winning Asean brand.

The program will also feature top tier marketing gurus who will assess the intri-cacies of AEC as a region and present pos-sible scenarios for market penetration.

Speakers including Jimmy Bautista of Philippine Air Lines, Asia Brewery’s Chay Cruel, Angelica Suiza of Under Armour and Citibank’s Bea Beh Tan will engage the audience with thought-provoking lessons from their own experiences.

Cruel of Asia Brewery will present a framework that begins with an assessment of a company’s organic capabilities, tak-ing into consideration the commitment from management and their organizational structure or setup as key factors for out-ward growth.

Under Armour’s Suiza will describe their expansion strategy, making this US brand one of today’s most favored sports apparel line in Asia.

Citibank’s Bea Beh Tan will talk about how this multinational bank is leading the pack in breaking barriers in the Asean Fi-nancial landscape, a healthy indication that the Asean Economic Community is keen on enabling a free flow of goods and ser-vices among member countries.

The global communications company, Ha-vas Group, will present a profile of the millen-nials as decision makers of the future.

Havas executives from the region will share media and communications strate-gies that integrate technology, media, cre-ativity and strategy in marketing to today’s discerning and opinionated consumers who are mostly under 30 years of age.

Media giant Bloomberg Cignal TV Phil-ippines also signed up a major partner.

THE Philippine Franchise Association is encouraging food entrepreneurs with strong growth potential to test the franchising market by joining this year’s Franchise Asia Philippines Expo on July 22 to 24 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

PFA president Alan Escalona said the group decided to introduce the Food Street Pavilion at FAPHL’s 2016 edition to provide a good venue for owners of food concepts to meet possible investors and partners.

“This is part of the PFA’s advocacy to support the growth of small but ‘highly franchiseable’ food concepts. By participating in the FAPHL, which is Asia’s

biggest franchising event, micro, small and medium enterprises will also get to test the market and benchmark their operations with best practices from established franchise concepts,” Escalona said.

FAPHL 2016 overall chairman Richard Sanz said the PFA would subsidize the participation of select MSMEs that would get to exhibit at the three-day International Franchise Expo.

“The Food Street Pavilion is like an incubation center for emerging food concepts with potential to become big in the franchising industry. A six-square-meter booth and four-square-meter booth will only cost P20,000 and P10,000,

ENTREPRENEURS URGED TO SHOWCASE PRODUCTS AT ‘FOOD STREET’

Franchise Asia Philippines 2016 overall chairman Richard Sanz

Philippine Franchise Association president Alan Escalona

respectively,” Sanz said.Franchise Asia Philippines

2016, acknowledged as Asia’s largest 4-in-1 franchise event, is now on its 24th

edition and themed “Building Inclusive Growth Amidst a Hypercompetitive World.”

The event will have a two-day international conference

on July 20 to 21 with Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, chairman of the Senate committee for trade, industry and entrepreneurship as keynote speaker at the opening.

PFA chairman emeritus Samie Lim said franchising remained the best expansion route for retailers. This, he added, is why the PFA has been promoting franchising as a strategy for growth for MSMEs.

“We want our MSMEs to get a real feel of the market, see the reaction of people on their concepts, meet personally with prospective partners and investors and try marketing their brands and concepts in a real-world setting,” Lim said.

apply that,” Reyes says.The sessions will appeal to CEOs and

CMOs as the presenters and facilitators are all top-notch branding experts and busi-ness consultants who will share brand sto-ries and scenarios that are backed by me-ticulous research and actual case studies.

A common denominator of Asian busi-nesses, big and small, is the family, accord-

ing to Reyes.Reyes says businesses are usually estab-

lished by a patriarch of humble beginnings. His business grows alongside his family and soon his offspring are ready to take on the helm and bring in new vision and man-agement style.

The transition could make or break the business.

all the hardships he went through, made us paddle our own canoe,” Carmen says, referring to his fa-ther. “Everyday is like business school in the family.”

Menardo says he challenged his children to rise to the occasion. “What you tell your kids must be constructive,” he says. All his four children did rise to the occasion and now hold top positions in ma-jor companies.

Menardo graduated from the Far Eastern University with a degree in Accounting and later joined Gil-berto Duavit Sr. and Felipe Gozon to form the triumvirate that ac-quired GMA Network in the 1970s.

“When we bought GMA in 1974, there was no diligence. When we finished the transaction, there were no receivables, only payables,” says Menardo. He headed GMA Network in the 1980s up to 2000 and transformed it into a leading broadcast company.

When he passed on the leader-ship of GMA Network to Gozon, Menardo focused on his other companies, while accumulating properties. Menardo acquired an-other lot along 5th Ave. in Fort Bonifacio that may become the next project of Menardo Develop-ment, according to Carmen, once the Menarco Tower is completed by the first quarter of 2017. A top-ping off ceremony for Menarco Tower is scheduled on June 8.

Joel Jimenez, who is a director of GMA Network, says the fam-ily also plans to develop a 70-hect-are beachfront property in Lian, Batangas.

Carmen says aside from being a Well-certified building, Menarco Tower is a Filipino-designed and built landmark. “Everything is lo-cal,” she says. “We are working with the best consultants we could find.”

“It is a showcase of Filipino tal-ents,” she says, adding that she tapped the services of construc-tion and architectural companies Datem Inc., Aidea, Jose Aliling & Associates and C/S Architecture.

It also tapped the consultancy ser-vices of Arcadis and management expertise of Leechui Property Con-sultants Inc.

Menarco Tower features high-speed elevators, super-fast data connectivity and structure that can withstand the strongest typhoons and shocks, according to Carmen. “We are creating the healthiest building in the country. We’d like to offer a healthier environment. We want to create a new normal in the Philippines.”

She says a building that consid-ers the health and wellness of em-ployees will reap benefits in terms of increased productivity and im-proved employee satisfaction. “A healthy and a happy employee is a productive one,” she says.

Menarco Tower will have a gross leasable area of 25,442 square me-ters spread cross 22 floors, with each floor expected to accommo-date up to four tenants, including multinationals and local conglom-erates. The first 10 floors will be parking area and other facilities.

Among the expected tenants

are the companies owned by the Jimenez family. Monthly lease rate is about P1,100, which is more competitive than the average P1,200 charged by other premium buildings in Fort Bonifacio. The company is expected to generate revenue of P28 million a month or P335 million a year. This means that a return on investment is possible within six or seven years, despite the higher cost of develop-ment, representing 5 percent to 6 percent above other Leed projects. Leed, or the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, refers to the standards for design, opera-tion and construction of high-per-formance green buildings.

Carmen says the units at Menarco Tower are only for lease. As a pre-mium building, leasing rate starts at P1,100 per square meter. Potential tenants are lining up, she says.

Hearn says Menarco Tower is designed to consider the following factors: air, water, lighting, fitness, comfort, nourishment and mind. It is making substantial invest-ments to control air toxicity, pro-

mote walking, filter and treat water, provide super-fast Internet, allow the sunshine in, encourage whole food dining options and provide fitness area.

“Well-certified buildings provide an improved environment for em-ployees and clients, resulting in in-creased employee satisfaction and health, increased productivity and staff retention,” says Hearn.

Menardo says Menarco Tower provides “a great pride for me and my family.” He says he gives Car-men a free hand to run the busi-ness, except “when she approaches me for advice.”

“In all the businesses that I have established, I have always believed in the value of hard work and integ-rity. Menarco Tower symbolizes all that. It elevates what a modern office tower should be, so that the people working there can work hard and do their best,” says Menardo.

Carmen says she hopes that the completion of Menarco Tower “will change the way office build-ings are built in the Philippines.”

Roderick T. dela Cruz


BUSINESSSUNDAY: JUNE 5, 2016

B3

PILATES... FROM B1

ABOUT 293 hectares within the 625-hectare site of Ayala’s wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, will once more grow into lush protected land. This is expected as AC Energy Holdings’ wind unit, North Luzon Renewables, enters the third year of its reforestation program in Barangay Caparispisan this year.

WIND POWER FIRM REFORESTS PAGUDPUD

we are also collaborating with lo-cal communities to generate more green jobs,” Francia said.

In partnership with the Ilocos Norte provincial government, the wind farm began producing and planting various seedlings in 2014. The first major goal of the effort is to produce 350,000 seedlings and plant 205,000 within three years.

The remaining seedlings will then be distributed to other local governments and nearby commu-nities to support similar tree-plant-ing efforts and the government’s National Greening Program. Since the pre-construction, the wind farm has generated 1,900 employ-

ment opportunities for many locals who now work as plant nursery staff, forest guards, maintenance and stockyard workers and civil works personnel.

AC Energy has committed to grow its renewable and conven-tional energy portfolio and over the past three years it has committed over $700 million to meet baseload demand as well as develop alterna-tive clean power.

Together with North Luzon Re-newables’ 81 MW wind farm in Pagudpud, AC Energy has expand-ed its wind farm in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, under Northwind Power Development Corp., to generate a total of 52 MW, bringing AC En-ergy’s total wind energy capacity to 133 MW, the second largest in the country today.

In the Visayas, AC Energy is likewise expanding its renewable portfolio. In September 2015, it en-tered into a partnership agreement with Bronzeoak Clean Energy Inc. for the development, construction and operation of a P1.3-billion so-lar power farm in Bais City, Negros Oriental. Completed in February 2016, the solar power farm has a ca-pacity of 18 MW in the first phase. The second phase will involve the expansion of the solar power farm to a targeted total of 50 MW.

Aside from its reforestation pro-gram in Pagudpud, the company is implementing numerous corpo-rate social responsibility projects in Ilocos Norte also in collaboration with the provincial government. These include programs in educa-

tion, health and sanitation and in-frastructure. Notably, North Luzon Renewables has established a Man-power Response program in Baran-gay Caparispisan.

This taps the local knowledge and strength of town residents, who now provide immediate support to households who may be affected by the operation of the wind farm. In 2016, the company will also estab-lish a community-based disaster risk reduction management pro-gram to address community needs arising from typhoons and other natural disasters.

“The generation of clean energy, such as our wind farm investment in Pagudpud and our solar power farm in Negros, naturally encour-ages the growth of other comple-mentary green programs, whether they are in forest protection, farm-ing, and other forms of livelihood associated with environmental pro-tection,” said Francia.

“We hope to continue, where possible, to build on our existing renewable energy platforms in the future,” he said.

AC Energy currently has a total attributable capacity of 650 MW in conventional and renewable proj-ects. The company expects this ca-pacity to reach over 1,000 MW by 2016.

AC Energy Holdings Inc. is the development arm of the Ayala group in the energy sector. The company is building a portfolio of power generation assets using renewable and conventional tech-nologies.

“Maintaining and protecting the lush flora of Pagudpud is highly important to us,” said AC Energy president and chief executive John Eric Francia.

“Pagudpud is one of the most vis-

ited seaside towns in the country, because of its natural beauty, so we are well aware of our responsibility to nourish and protect its forests, sustain its water resources, and pro-tect its ecosystems. In the process,

PENTAGON CHIEF WANTS US-SINO MILITARY DEALS

SEINE RIVER

STARTSRECEDING

2 DRUGS BOOST PANCREATIC CANCER SURVIVAL RATE—STUDY

“America wants to expand military-to-military agreements with China to focus not only on risk reduction, but also on practical cooperation,” Carter said at a security summit in Singapore.

“Our two militaries can also work together, bilaterally or as part of the

principled security network, to meet a number of challenges—like terror-ism and piracy—in the Asia-Paci� c and around the world.”

Beijing risks creating a “Great Wall of self-isolation” if it continues its military expansion across the South China Sea, US Defense Secretary

A COMBINATION of two chemotherapy drugs has shown promising results in � ghting pancreatic cancer, signi� cantly improving � ve-year survival rates, according to a European study presented Friday.

� e trial showed that pa-tients who take the oral drug capecitabine in addition to treatment with the common-ly-used intravenous drug gemcitabine a� er surgical removal of pancreatic cancer survived longer without sig-ni� cant increase in negative side e� ects.

It was one of the largest trials ever conducted in pancreatic cancer, involving 732 patients.

� e study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual

meeting, the world’s largest conference on cancer, cur-rently being held in Chicago.

“Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most hard-to-treat cancers. It is a major win to � nd that adding a generic che-motherapy not only improves survival for these patients, but does so with little e� ect on patients’ quality of life,” said Smitha Krishnamurthi of Case Western Reserve University, who was not a part of the study.

Although most people diag-nosed with pancreatic cancer are not candidates for surgery, the � ndings show that those who can have surgery “have a � ghting chance of surviving this cancer with the combina-tion of two commonly used

chemotherapies,” said John Neoptolemos, the study’s lead author of the University of Liverpool in Britain.

� e study showed a � ve-year survival rate of 28.8 percent among the group treated with both capecitabine and gem-citabine for six months, com-pared with 16.3 percent for the group that received gemcitabi-ne alone during that time.

� e median overall survival rate was 28 months with the combination of drugs, com-pared to 25.5 months with gemcitabine alone.

“� e di� erence in median survival may seem modest, but the improvement in long-term survival is substantial for this cancer,” Neoptolemos said in a statement. AFP

THE rain-swollen Seine River in Paris receded slightly Saturday for the � rst time in a week a� er bursting its banks in some places and nearing its high-est level in more than three decades.

The river stood at only 6.07 meters (just under 20 feet) above normal levels at 6:00 am (0400 GMT), the official Vigicrues website on flooding and heavy rains said.

� e current level was the same as that recorded on Friday night, a� er which it rose to 6.09 meters, spark-ing emergency measures.

� e famed Louvre and Orsay museums have shut their doors in a race to move art treasures from their basements, some metro sta-tions have been closed and Parisians have been advised to stay away from the Seine.

But by Saturday, as au-thorities were counting the cost of over a week of � ood-ing in central and northern France, the spectre of dev-astating � oods in the city had begun to ebb.

“We’re now in the stabi-lisation phase, even if we could still get one or two centimetres more,” said Bruno Janet, head of mod-elling at Vigicrues.

� e environment minis-try on Friday forecast that the Seine would remain high throughout the week-end -- but still far o� a 1910 record of 8.62 metres -- be-fore starting to subside.

Across Europe, at least 17 people have been killed in � oods that have trapped people in their homes and forced rescuers to row life-boats down streets turned into rivers.

� e record for � ood-ing in Paris is the 8.62 meters reached in 1910. Persistently heavy rainfall across western and central Europe has swollen rivers and claimed victims from at least four countries. AFP

US DEFENSE Secretary Ashton Carter on Saturday called for greater cooperation with China as Beijing pursues the rapid development of its military.

Ashton Carter said Saturday.“China’s actions in the South

China Sea are isolating it, at a time when the entire region is coming together and networking,” Carter told a high-pro� le security summit in Singapore.

“Unfortunately, if these actions continue, China could end up erect-ing a Great Wall of self-isolation.”

� e United States marked the 27th anniversary of China’s crack-down on pro-democracy protests

in Tiananmen Square on Friday with a call for Beijing to end human rights abuses.

Just days before the start of the annual US-China strategic dia-logue, the State Department urged China to allow peaceful commem-orations of the incident.

“� e United States government continues to call for a full public ac-counting of those killed, detained or missing,” spokesman Mark Toner said. AFP

B4

WORLD

WAR GAMES. Members of the Kosovo Security Force seen through a barbed wire take part in an exercise with members of the NATO led-peacekeeping force in Kosovo KFOR near the village of Pomozatin on Friday during a drill to enhance KFOR’s capability in order to maintain the readiness of troops and increase the operational fl exibility of the units. AFP

PURPLE RAGE. Women take part in the “Ni una menos” (Not One Less) march against femicides in Buenos Aires, on Friday. AFP

israel slamsparis peace meeting

Un mUlls exemption to arms embargo on libya

HK youtH activists tosnub tiananmen vigil

[email protected]

S U N D AY : j U N e 5 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD B5

Israel’s foreign ministry said Friday that the international meet-ing in Paris aimed at reviving the moribund diplomatic process with the Palestinians will prove to have actually pushed peace further away.

“Instead of imploring (Palestinian president) Mahmud abbas to accept Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated calls to immediately start direct ne-gotiations without preconditions, the international community ac-cepted (his) demand and enabled him to continue to evade direct and bilateral negotiations without preconditions,” ministry spokes-man emmanuel Nahshon said.

“The Paris meeting will go down in history as having only hardened Palestinian positions and pushed peace further away,” Nahshon said in a statement, calling the event “a missed opportunity.”

Neither Israeli nor Palestinian rep-resentatives attended the meeting—as direct talks between the two sides are currently considered impos-sible—and the French initiative has received a lukewarm response from Washington.

representatives from 28 coun-tries, the arab league, european Union and United Nations dis-cussed ways in which the inter-national community could “help advance the prospects for peace, including by providing meaningful incentives to the parties to make peace,” a joint statement said.

The meeting aims to lay the ground for a fully-fledged peace conference to be held by the end of the year, but few believe genuine progress will be made.

Netanyahu later repeated to French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc ayrault that it would have been better if France and its part-ners had encouraged abbas to em-bark on direct talks with Israel on all the topics at hand.

according to a senior Israeli of-ficial, Netanyahu also told ayrault that the French initiative could harm the regional efforts to launch peace talks. AFP

Young activists will turn their backs on Hong Kong’s commemoration of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown on Saturday amid growing calls in the city for greater autonomy from China.

The United Nations (UN) security Council is seek-ing assurances from libya’s unity government that new weapons will not fall into the wrong hands before it can authorize the purchases, dip-lomats said Friday.

Britain, egypt, Italy, the United states and russia were among 25 countries that agreed at a meeting last month to help the gov-ernment of Prime Minister Fayez al-sarraj arm itself to confront the Islamic state group.

The countries agreed to support a request to a UN sanctions committee for an exemption to the arms

embargo on libya to allow sarraj’s government to make the purchases.

The UN-backead gov-ernment however has yet to present its request to the committee, a senior security Council diplomat said.

“The libyan Government of National accord will need to provide reassurance when making requests to the UN sanctions committee that there is no risk of arms ex-ports being diverted to ter-rorist groups,” said the dip-lomat, who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

“It will take time for the GNa to put in place the

necessary measures, such as secure storage facilities. The request may therefore still take some time to issue.”

another diplomat cited concerns about the com-mand structure of the vari-ous militias now support-ing the sarraj government and said there was a need to clarify who will be re-ceiving the weapons.

The Tripoli-based unity government, formed under a December power-sharing deal agreed to by some law-makers from both sides, has announced the formation of a new military command to take charge of the battle against Is. AFP

The vigil, which each year draws tens of thousands, has caused a widening rift in hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp between those who believe the victims of the crackdown should be remembered and those who see the event’s mes-sage as increasingly irrelevant.

semi-autonomous hong Kong is the only location on Chinese soil to see a major commemoration to mark the military’s brutal crushing of pro-democracy protests in cen-tral Beijing in 1989, with residents gathering en masse in Victoria

Park every year.But young activists from the

new “localist” movement say hong Kong should push for its own autonomy, even independence, rather than the democratization of the mainland, which is part of the vigil’s main message.

localism grew out of the fail-ure of mass pro-democracy ral-lies in 2014 to gain concessions from China on political reform for hong Kong.

a growing number of student groups have now broken away

from the event.Meanwhile, Taiwan’s new presi-

dent Tsai Ing-wen urged China to give its people more rights and “heal past wounds and pain” on the 27th anniversary of the Tiananmen square crackdown saturday.

her remarks came after the is-land’s first ever Tiananmen com-memoration in parliament on Friday, as lawmakers urged the government to address human rights issues in its dealings with China.

Ties with China have rapidly cooled since Beijing-sceptic Tsai won the presidency in January, with China highly distrustful of her traditionally independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

although Taiwan has been self-ruling since a split with the main-land in 1949 after a civil war, China still sees it as part of its territory to be reunified.

“For this generation, we want to put emphasis on fighting for democracy in hong Kong,” said althea suen, president of the hong Kong University student Union (hKUsU).

suen added that building a democratic China was “not our responsibility”.

The hong Kong Federation of students, a founding member of the alliance that organizes the vigil, will also not participate this year.

“The alliance has lost touch with hong Kongers,” said Jocelyn Wong of hKFs. AFP

joining hAnds. Japanese Defense minister gen nakatani (l), Us secretary of Defense ashton carter (c) and south Korean Defense minister Han minkoo link hands during a trilateral meeting on the the sidelines of the 15th international institute for strategic studies shangri-la Dialogue in singapore on June 4, 2016. AFP

FAirylAnd. a palestinian man decorates his shop with fairy lights in the old city of Jerusalem on Friday, as muslims around the world prepare for the announcement of the fasting month of ramadan. ramadan is expected to start on June 6 or 7 depending on the crescent moon. AFP

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

San Miguel Avenue, Pasig CityIN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF ADJUSTMENT IN RATES, PURSUANT TO THE TARIFF GLIDE PATH RULES, WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

ERC CASE NO. 2016-035 RCDAVAO DEL SUR ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (DASURECO),

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

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGTO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

Notice is hereby given that on 31 March 2016, the Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative, Inc. (DASURECO) filed an Application for approval of adjustment in rates, pursuant to the tariff glide path rules, with prayer for provisional authority.

In the said Application, DASURECO alleged the following:1. Applicant is an electric cooperative duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws

of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal offices at Brgy. Cogon, Digos City, Davao del Sur;

2. It holds an exclusive franchise issued by the National Electrification Commission to operate an electric light and power distribution service in the City of Digos and all the municipalities in the Province of Davao del Sur, namely: Bansalan, Hagonoy, Kiblawan, Magsaysay, Malalag, Matanao, Padada, Sta. Cruz, and Sulop, as well as all the municipalities in the Province of Davao Occidental, namely: Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Malita, Sarangani, and Sta. Maria.

THE ANTECEDENT RULES AND FACTS3. In 2009, the Honorable Commission promulgated the Rules for Setting the Electric

Cooperatives’ Wheeling Rates (RSEC-WR);4. The RSEC-WR envisioned a regulatory framework whereby an Initial Tariff and a Tariff Glide

Path shall be developed for each Electric Cooperative (EC) Group for a Regulatory Period;5. Pursuant to the RSEC-WR, in 2009, DASURECO filed with the Honorable Commission an

application for approval of proposed adjustment in its rates, docketed as ERC Case No. 2009-137 RC;

6. The Honorable Commission approved the application, granting the cooperative at the end of the transition period the following initial tariffs on its Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) Charges, among others, to wit:

CHARGES UNITS CUSTOMER TYPEResidential Low

VoltageHigher Voltage

Distribution Charges:Demand Charge PhP/kW 219.68Distribution System Charge PhP/kWh 0.5782 0.7595

Supply Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Customer/Mo 42.92 42.92Supply System Charge PhP/kWh 0.6001

Metering Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Meter/Mo 5.00 35-94 35-94Metering System Charge PhP/kWh 0.4326

7. It is provided under Article 7 of the RSEC-WR that during the regulatory period, the rate of the ECs per group shall be adjusted using the following formula, to wit:

Tariff x (1 + index “I”-Efficiency Factor “X” + Performance Incentive “S”)The Index “I”, shall be an escalation factor to be used in adjusting the rates to reflect the combined impact of inflation and load factor. There shall be an efficiency factor “X” to account for the operational efficiency of the ECs in setting their rates. There shall be a performance incentive “S” which shall reward or penalize the EC for above or below standard performance, respectively.

The TGP is intended as a cap and the EC may move up to the cap, if it is a positive adjustment. If the cap is lower than the current average tariff, a reduction may be implemented.

LEGAL BASIS FOR THE APPLICATION8. On May 2, 2011, the Honorable Commission promulgated the Tariff Glide Path (TGP) Rules

pursuant to Article 7 of the RSEC-WR;9. The TGP is a rate adjustment mechanism which provides an opportunity for the ECs to adjust

their rates once every three (3) years. The rate adjustments may occur at the start of the fourth year of the first Regulatory Period and every three years thereafter;

10. Under the TGP, the regulatory period is six (6) years for each entry group. For the Third Entrant Group, the first regulatory period is from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018. DASURECO belongs to the Third Entrant Group;

11. Further under the TGP Rules, the concerned EC shall use the following formula in determining the TGP for the first to third years of the Regulatory Period, to wit:TGPa = TGPn + TGPn+1 TGPn+2 whereTGPn = In — Xn + SnN = the first year of their Regulatory Period and succeeding Regulatory PeriodsExcept that for the first two years of the First Regulatory Period, “X” will be equal to zero and thereafter shall not be less than zero. The TGP calculated for each of the three years will be summed to determine the possible rate adjustment starting on the Fourth Year of the current Regulatory Period.

THE PROPOSED RATE ADJUSTMENT12. Applying the methodology embodied in the TGP Rules, DASURECO calculated the values of

the “I”, “X”, and “S” and came up with the following results, to wit:

“I” “X” “S” TGPA TGPA (Excluding “S”)

Year 2013 0.00% 0.00% 3.30% 3.30% 0.00%Year 2014 0.00% 0.00% 3.30% 3.30% 0.00%Year 2015 0.00% 0.00% 2.90% 2.90% 0.00%Net Results 9.50% 0.00%

13. Application of the above values resulted in adjustments on DASURECO’s DSM Rates, as follows:

A. WITH PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE “S”

UNITS CUSTOMER TYPEResidential Low




Metering Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Meter/Mo 5.48 39.35 39.35Metering System Charge PhP/kWh 0.4737

B. EXCLUDING PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE “S”

CUSTOMER TYPEUNITS Residential Low




Metering Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Meter/Mo 5.00 35.94 35-94Metering System Charge PhP/kWh 0.4326

14. Consequently, applicant respectfully prays of the Honorable Commission for the approval of either of the foregoing calculated DSM rates.

SUPPORTING DATA AND DOCUMENTS15. In support of the foregoing computations, the cooperative is submitting herewith the following

data and documents, which are being made integral parts hereof, to wit:

Annex Nature of Document

A A-lA-2

Proposed TGP Calculation and supporting documents using the prescribed templates:Index “I” Calculation Efficiency Factor “X” Calculation Performance Incentive “S” Calculation

B Monthly Financial and Statistical Report (MFSR) - Sections B and E (2010-2014)

C Billing Determinants Template (kWh Sales, Number of Customers, kW Demand) (2010 -2104)

D Sample Bills (per customer type) (2010 -2014)E Regional CPI (2011 -2014)F RFSC/Reinvestment Fund Utilization (2012-2014)G Consumer Complaints (Summary or Tracking Form) (2012- 2014)H Audited Financial Statements (2010 -2014)

ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY16. Applicant repleads the foregoing allegations as may be material herein;17. Applicant’s current DSM rates were granted by the Honorable Commission way back in

January 2010 by virtue of the RSEC-WR;18. Over the years, the cost of its operations has significantly increased, not only as a logical effect

of inflation as well as certain governmental requirements, but likewise due to the inevitable expansion of its distribution network brought about by the extension of its services to remote areas. More significantly, the cooperative has been implementing the Sitio Energization Program (SEP) of the Aquino government, such that the massive expansion of its distribution lines up to the remotest areas has considerably increased its operational and maintenance costs, not to mention the increased system loss which the cooperative is likely to absorb. All these costs were not duly provided for in its current rates and the general funds being generated from its DSM revenues as granted under the RSEC-WR are no longer sufficient to cover these inevitable costs;

19. Thus, the cooperative urgently needs additional funds to be able to cope with the rising costs of its operations;

20. Further, based on the provisions of the TGP Rules, for cooperatives belonging to the Third Entrant Group, their initial tariff shall be adjusted at the start of the fourth regulatory year of the First Regulatory Period, which is January 1, 2016;

21. Considering the foregoing, applicant respectfully prays that while the instant application is pending, it be granted a provisional authority to implement either of the two (2) proposed rates effective January 1, 2016.

COMPLIANCE WITH PRE-FILING REQUIREMENTS22. Finally, in compliance with the ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, applicant is likewise’

submitting herewith the following documents, which are being made integral parts hereof, to wit:

Annex Nature of DocumentI Affidavit in Support of the Prayer for Provisional Authority

J to J-1 Proof of furnishing copies of the Application to the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Digos and Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Davao del Sur

K and series Proof of publication of the Application in a newspaper of general circulation in DASURECO’s franchise area or where it principally operates

PRAYERWHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed of this Honorable Commission that pending evaluation of the instant application or after due notice and hearing, as the case may be, DASURECO be allowed to implement either of the following two (2) alternative proposed new rates for its Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) Charges, effective January 1, 2016, to wit:

A. WITH PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE “S”UNITS CUSTOMER TYPE

Residential Low Voltage

Higher Voltage


Supply Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Customer/Mo 47.00 47.00Supply System Charge PhP/kWh O.6571

Metering Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Meter/Mo 5.48 39.35 39.35

Metering System Charge PhP/kWh 0.4737

B) EXCLUDING PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE “S” UNITS CUSTOMER TYPE

Residential Low Voltage

Higher Voltage


Supply Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Customer/Mo 42.92 42.92Supply System Charge PhP/kWh O.6001

Metering Charges:Retail Customer Charge PhP/Meter/Mo 5.00 35.94 35.94

Metering System Charge PhP/kWh 0.4326

Other reliefs, just and equitable in the premises are likewise prayed for.The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional

requirements, Expository Presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 23 June 2016 (Thursday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at the DASURECO’s principal office at Brgy. Cogon, Digos City, Davao del Sur.

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

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

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

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairman, JOSE VICENTE B. SALAZAR, and the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 26th day of April 2016 at Pasig City.

ATTY. NATHAN J. MARASIGAN Chief of Staff Office of the Chairman and CEO

Standard – June 5 & 12, 2016

Republic of the PhilippinesOffice of the President

PHILIPPINE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEEPDEA Bldg., NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Barangay PinyahanQuezon City 1100, Philippines www.pdea.gov.ph

INVITATION TO BIDPROCUREMENT OF COMMON-USE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT (OUTSIDE PS-

DBM) (Re-Bid) Bid Ref. No. 2016-12-1 The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) with office address at NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City intends to apply the following:

LOT NO. TITLE AMOUNT IN WORDS AMOUNT IN FIGURES

Lot 1 Office Supplies Three Million Four Hundred Eight Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty Six Pesos and Sixty Four Centavos

P 3,408,826.64

Lot 2 MPE and Other Materials

Two Million Seven Hundred Thirty Eight Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty Pesos Only

P 2,738,880.00

Lot 3 Ink Cartridges and Printers

One Million Three Hundred Fourteen Thousand Seven Hundred Nineteen Pesos and Fifty Two Centavos Only

P 1,314,719.52

Lot 4 Electrical Supplies and Equipment

Six Hundred Ninety Five Thousand Three Hundred Seventy Six Pesos Only

P 695,376.00

being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the PROCUREMENT OF COMMON-USE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT (OUTSIDE PS-DBM) (Re-Bid) under Annual Procurement Plan (APP) for CY 2016;

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the Bid opening and late bids shall not be accepted.

1. The PDEA - BAC now invites PhilGEPS registered providers for the PROCUREMENT OF COMMON-USE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT (OUTSIDE PS-DBM).

2. A prospective bidder should have completed within the last Three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, at least one (1) single contract of similar nature amounting to at least 50% of the ABC for the said projects.

3. Open competitive bidding will be conducted using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria as specified in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184, otherwise known as “Government Procurement Act”. All particulars relative to this bidding including Eligibility Checking, Bid Security, Evaluation and Post Qualification Procedures and Award of Contract shall be governed by R.A. 9184 and its Revised IRR.

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

The Invitation to Bid and Checklist of Requirements may be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and PDEA Website at www.pdea.gov.ph. The complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders upon payment of nonrefundable fee indicated below. The Bidding Documents shall be received personally by the prospective Bidder or his duly authorized representative upon presentation of proper identification of document.

For purpose of having a legal personality to raise or submit written queries or clarification in the Pre-Bid Conference relative to these bid projects, Bidder must first pay the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents on or before the date of Pre-Bid Conference.

5. The Schedule of Bid Activities shall be as follows:

NOMENCLATURE VENUE DATE/TIME

1. SALE & ISSUANCE of Bid Documents

BAC Secretariat c/o Ms. Ria SamsonPDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, 1100 Quezon City

8:00 AM to 4:00 PM only, Mondays to Fridays, starting

May 31-June 27, 2016

Cost of Bidding Document Sheet:Lot 1 Office Supplies P5,000.00Lot 2 MPE and Other Materials P5,000.00Lot 3 Ink Cartridge and Printers P5,000.00Lot 4 Electrical Supplies and equipment P1,000.00

2. PRE-BID CONFERENCE (open only to parties

who have acquired bid documents)

Conference Room, PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, 1100 Quezon City June 15, 2016 1:00 PM

3. SUBMISSION and OPENING OF BIDS June 27, 2016 1:00 PM

6. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the BAC Secretariat c/o Ms. Ria C. Samson at the PDEA Compound, NIA Northside Road, National Government Center, Quezon City from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM only, Mondays to Fridays starting May 31 – June 26, 2016, 2016 at Tel No. (632) 920-8082. However, any queries relative to the contents of the bid documents and the project requirements can only be made by bidders who purchased the bid documents not later than Ten (10) days prior to the Submission and Opening of Bids.

7. PDEA 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) ASEC. RENE M. ORBE Deputy Director General for Administration Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee

(TS-JUNE 5, 2016)

Republic of the PhilippinesDEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

National Capital RegionDENR-NCR Building, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

INVITATION TO BIDPROJECT : DESIGN AND BUILD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VISITORS’ CENTER AND

BOARDWALK MASTER SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR LAS PIÑAS-PARANAQUE CRITICAL HABITAT AND ECOTOURISM AREA (LPPCHEA)

LOCATION : LAS PIÑAS-PARAÑAQUE CRITICAL HABITAT AND ECOTOURISM AREA (LPPCHEA)

OWNER : DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES – NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – National Capital Region (DENR-NCR) through FY 2015 Budget and its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) intends to apply the sum of SEVEN MILLION SIX HUNDRED PESOS (Php7,600,000.00), hereby invites all Contractors to submit Letters of Intent (LOI) and to Bid for the above-stated Project:

PROJECT DESCRIPTION SCOPE OF WORK

APPROVEDBUDGET FOR

THE CONTRACT

Php7,600,000.00

DESIGN AND BUILT

DESIGN AND BUILD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF VISITORS’ CENTER AND BOARDWALK MASTER SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR LAS PINAS-PARANAQUE CRITICAL HABITAT AND ECOTOURISM AREA (LPPCHEA)

Eligibility Requirements or Complete Set of Pre-qualification forms and Bid Documents will be available for issuance at the Procurement Section /BAC Secretariat, 3rd Floor (Mezzanine), DENR-NCR Building, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City with telephone number 3734399. A non-refundable fee of TEN THOUSAND PESOS (Php10,000.00).

All particulars relative to the bidding process, such as Eligibility Screening, Posting of Bid Security, Evaluation and Post-Qualifications shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). Given hereunder is the schedule of the Bidding Process, to wit:

ACTIVITY DATE AND TIME VENUE

Publication - PHILGEPS- DENR-NCR

Web- Manila

Standard

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016June 12, 2016

Submission of Letter of Intent June 13, 2016 Procurement Section/BAC Secretariat, 3rdFlr., Mezzanine Floor, DEBR-NCR Bldg., East Avenue, Quezon City

Issuance of Bidding Documents June 13 to June 29, 2016 GSS/BAC-Secretariat, 3rdFlr., Mezzanine Floor, DEBR-NCR Bldg., East Avenue, Quezon City

Pre-Bid Conference June 17 2016, 10:00 a.m. Conference Room, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

Submission of Eligibility Documents and Technical Proposal (First Envelope)

June 30, 2016, 10:00 a.m. - Do -

First Step Evaluation July 1, 2016, 10:00 a.m. - Do -

Preparation, Approval and Tender of Notice

July 4, 2016

Submission of Financial Proposal and Determination of Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB)

July 8, 2016, 10:00 a.m. Conference Room, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

Post-Qualification of the LCB July 12, 2016, 10:00 a.m. Conference Room, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

Preparation and Approval of Minutes and Resolutions

July 13-14, 2016

Awarding July 15, 2016, 10:00 a.m. Conference Room, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

Preparation and Approval of Notice of Award (NOA)

July 18, 2016

Issuance of NOA July 19, 2016

Preparation and Approval of Contract

July 21, 2016

Preparation and Approval of Notice to Proceed (NTP)

July 22, 2016

Issuance of NTP July 26, 2016

In addition to the requirements set forth in Sec. 25.3 (b) of the IRR of R.A. 9184, the following additional documents shall be submitted:

a.) Preliminary Conceptual Design Plans;b.) Design and Construction methods;c.) List of design and construction personnel to be assigned to this project with complete qualification and

experience data; andd.) Value engineering analysis of design and construction method

Bids will be opened promptly on the above bidding date in the presence of participating bidders or their duly authorized representatives who chose to attend. Bids Prices shall be fixed. Adjustable price proposals shall be treated as non-responsive and shall be rejected.

All bids must be accompanied by a corresponding security bid bond in the form of Cash, Manager’s Check, Certified Check, Bank Draft or an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency, or Surety Bond callable on demand issued by the GSIS or by any private insurance company duly accredited by the Insurance Commission and submitted to the undersigned c/o BAC Secretariat on the Bidding date.

DENR-NCR reserves the right to reject any or all bids at any time prior of contract, waive any defects therein, accept the bid, and award the contract to the bidder with the lowest, calculated and responsive bid. The office assumes no responsibility to compensate or indemnify the bidder for any expense or loss that may be incurred for the preparation of bids, nor does it guarantee that an award will be made.

02 June 2016.

(SGD.) ARD SOFIO B. QUINTANA, PhD, CESO IV Chairperson, Bids and Awards Committee(TS-JUNE 5, 2016)

B7

PHOENIX SLALOM ENTERS HALFWAY MARK

[email protected]

S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

SPORTS RIERA MALL ARI E D I T O R

GOODBYE, MUHAMMAD ALI

THE 2016 RACE Mot-orsports Club Phoenix National Slalom Series enters its halfway mark on Sunday at the Robin-sons Sta. Rosa.

Powered by Phoenix Premium 98 and Phoe-nix Accelerate fully syn-thetic oil, the sixth leg of the series begins at 8 a.m.

The open and unlim-ited practice runs are slated from 8 to 11 a.m., with the official prac-tice run set from 11 a.m. wherein each driver will only be given one official practice run regardless of how many classes or cars he/she is entered. In between at 9 a.m. is a free slalom clinic.

Each participant will receive four liters (1 gal-lon) of Phoenix Accelerate Fully Synthetic Oil. The winners of the fifth leg will also get their awards.

Contenders must use the specified Federal Tyres for at least nine legs or 75% of the series and must possess the Automobile Association of the Philippines Club-man license.

All drivers will be charged an additional P300 per leg for the AAP Clubman License.

The National Slalom Events are affiliated with the Automobile Asso-ciation of the Philippines and FIA and is the long-est-running national mo-torsport discipline in the country.

Expected to participate are the Club Slalom Series champions, headed by Milo and Noel and Es-tefano Rivera of Tough Gear Racing, Dr. Peewee Mendiola of Team Big Chill, MSM Motorsports, AF Racing Team, Ortho-dox Racing Team Comet and a lot more.

The 2016 National Sla-lom Grand Series Series is presented by Phoenix Premium 98 and Phoenix Accelerate Fully Synthetic Oil, with major spon-sors Federal Tyres, Out-last Battery, Robinsons Antipolo and supported by Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter, Aer-omed and media partners Stoplight TV, C! Maga-zine, Auto Industriya, Ride and Drive Philip-pines and Targa Pilipinas.

LOS ANGELES—He called himself “The Greatest,” and few disagreed.

Dr. Peewee Mendiola of Team Big Chill, one of the top contenders for the National Series, is shown during one of his slalom races.

impending title fight with Joe Frazier “a disgrace.”

“I have no interest in this fight at all,” the man said. “In fact, the reason is this fellow they call Clay, or Muhammad Ali, or whatever he wants to call himself, is a disgrace to the nation.”

Ali suffered his first professional defeat in that fight, on March 8, 1971 at Madison Square Garden.

On the same day, the US military was order-ing investigations into charges that American soldiers had murdered Vietnamese civilians at My Lai.

A few months later, on June 28 of that year, the Supreme Court voted 8-0 to overturn Ali’s draft dodging conviction. AFP

Muhammad Ali— who died on Friday in Arizona at age 74—was one of the iconic sport-ing heroes of the 20th century, the three-time heavyweight champion of the world who said he could “float like a butter-fly, sting like a bee.”

Ali, who came of age amid the turmoil of the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, dazzled the boxing world as a youngster with his

speed, never before seen in his weight class.

He also rattled the established order with an equally quick wit and colorful personality that lifted him into the realm of super-stardom and ushered in the age of globally televised multi-million-dollar fights.

The legendary fighter spent his last years rav-aged by Parkinson’s dis-ease but never retreated from public view.

Instead he added a crusade against the ill-ness to the list of battles of his extraordinary life.Rocky road to stardomThe rise of Ali—born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr in Louisville, Kentucky on Jan. 17, 1942—to the status of sports icon was not a smooth one.

His conversion to Islam in 1964, announced when he was fresh from victory over Sonny Liston for his first heavyweight world ti-tle, deeply disturbed white America.

His decision to change his name from what he

called his “slave name” of Cassius Clay was derided.

But that was nothing compared to the outrage that greeted his refusal to join the armed forces in 1967 on the grounds that he was a Muslim minister.

Only 25 years old, he was convicted of draft dodging, stripped of his title and banished from boxing.

He was allowed to re-sume his career in 1970, but feelings were slow to heal. An unidenti-fied man interviewed on camera in 1971 spoke for many when he called Ali’s

This fi le photo taken on Sept. 20, 1974 shows former heavyweight boxing world champion Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa. Ali, an icon of the 20th Century whose fame transcended the sport during a remarkable career that spanned three decades, died June 3. AFP

B8S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

[email protected]

REUEL VIDAL EDITOR

SPORTS

By Reuel Vidal

AFTER a successful playing career a lucky few outstanding athletes go on to a coaching job.

When players get older and slower, they also lose most of the skills needed to compete at their sport. Because of their love for their game they stay on to coach other players.

Michelle Gumabao, Alaska Volley-ball Power Camp Director, is cut from a different cloth.

She’s still at the peak of her athletic prowess as the star player of the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors yet already coach-es as one of the assistants of the Adam-son University Lady Falcons competing in the UAAP. She has also set up her own camp to teach the sport to aspir-ing young girls.

Last season she led Philips Gold to a Philippine Super Liga crown. The team has since joined the Shakey’s V-League as Po-cari Sweat which is on top of the standings with two straight victories.

Gumabao and the Lady Warriors

trounced the UP Lady Maroons, 25-18, 25-14, 25-22, in last Saturday’s inau-gural game. They then wore down the National University Lady Bulldogs in a thrilling come-from-behind 34-32, 17-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-11 victory this past Wednesday to vault to the top of the standings of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference.

Gumabao has been leading the Lady Warriors’ charge in the tournament backed by Mikasa and Accel.

She was outstanding against UP with 20 hits. She turned in a monster game against NU with an eye-popping 27 points on 17 spikes, eight blocks and two service aces.

She was also the team’s defensive anchor as she tallied 13 digs.

Pocari Sweat parades a power-packed lineup good enough to win a PSL title. The players include power-spiking Myla Pablo as well as Elaine Kasilag, Lutgarda Mala-luan, Siemens Dadang, Rossan Fajardo, Maricar Nepomuceno, Erika Alkuino, Sa-rah Espelita, Rose Vargas, setter Gyselle Sy and libero Melissa Gohing.

But it’s still Gumabao who is the heart

and soul of the team.Pocari Sweat coach Rommel Abella ac-

knowledged Gumabao’s importance not just as a player but as a vocal leader of the squad both on and off the court.

“She is the leader of this team and in the NU game, she showed why,” said Abella.

Gumabao is one of the most sought-after player in local volleyball.

After graduating from La Salle she joined the PCSO Bingo Milyonaryo Puf-fins (PSL, 2013), the AirAsia Flying Spik-ers (PSL, 2014), the Generika Life.savers (PSL, 2014) and the Philips Gold Lady Slammers (PSL, 2015-present).

In between Shakey’s V-League games and team practices she runs the Alaska Volleyball Power Camps which ran April to May at the Ateneo De Manila Grade School covered courts and at De La Salle Zobel.

Girl volleyball players can only ben-efit from Gumabao’s coaching. She also serves as role model and inspiration as the girls get to see firsthand that like bas-ketball for men, there can be a career for young ladies in the sport of volleyball.

By Homer Vidal

VOLLEYBALL is a sport enjoying a renaissance in the country.

Attendance at women’s volleyball games in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and National Collegiate Athletic Asso-ciation rival attendance in marque basketball games.

The Philippine Super Liga has formed a professional league. The semi-pro Shakey’s V-League con-tinues to enjoy unprecedented popularity and has teamed up with broadcast giant ABS-CBN to tel-evise their games on live TV.

Droves of girls are learning to play the sport. Last June 1 close to a hundred girls completed Module 2 of advanced lessons at the Alaska

Volleyball Power Camp 2016 at the Ateneo De Manila University Grade School covered courts.

During the months of April and May Alaska Power Camps were also held at De La Salle Zobel and Mod-ule 1 for beginners was taught at the Ateneo De Manila University Grade School covered courts.

Volleyball star Michele Guma-bao, who played for the De La Salle University Lady Spikers for four years (2010-2013)—helping them win three consecutive UAAP titles —conceptualized the camp and prepared the drills and lessons for the girls aspiring to become better volleyball players.

“We taught all the skills related to volleyball like serving, pass-ing, blocking and spiking. Most of all the camp taught discipline, dedication and hard work not just through lectures but through

practical exercises,” said Gumabao.The Alaska Volleyball Power Camp

Director remains one of the country’s most outstanding active volleyball player. Last season she led Philips Gold to a Philippine Super Liga crown. The team has since joined the Shakey’s V-League as Pocari Sweat which is on top of the standings with two straight victories.

Gumabao and the Lady Warri-ors beat the UP Lady Maroons in last Saturday’s inaugural game of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference. They then wore down the National University Lady Bulldogs in a thrilling come-from-behind win this past Wednesday to vault to the top of the standings.

Participants from the Alaska vol-leyball camp benefitted greatly from Gumabao’s coaching. More impor-tantly, the girls see her as role model and inspiration as they get to see first-

hand what girls can accomplish with hard work and dedication.

Gumabao led a team of volleyball experts in teaching aspiring young girls the most important aspects of the game during the camp.

“Volleyball players like me who want to impart their knowledge and experience taught the girls. We helped develop the skills of participants and made them ready if they want to join varsity teams in the future.”

The Alaska Power Camp also taught the girls the value of disci-pline, perseverance, teamwork and determination according to Guma-bao. Additionally children learned the importance of proper nutrition for their growth and development.

Alaska did not just help the girls become better athletes through the volleyball power camp it also helped them become productive members of the community.

Alaska Volleyball Power Camp Director Michelle Gumabao instructs players during a camp at the Ateneo De Manila University Grade School covered courts.

GUMABAO ENJOYS BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

Some of the close to a hundred girls who joined the Alaska Volleyball Power Camp at the Ateneo De Manila University Grade School covered courts come together for a group picture after they received their certificates of completion.

GIRLS GET TO HAVE FUN AT ALASKA POWER CAMP

A young camp participant executes an overhead serve, one of the important skills taught during the Alaska Volleyball Power Camp.

C1S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

LIFE

TATUM ANCHETAE D I T O R

BING PARELA S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNASW R I T E R

S U NDAY L If E

l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I f E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I @ L I

Carotid arteryBy TATum AnChETA

Over 350,000 Filipinos are listed as living in different parts of Japan. While most of us would have the misconception that majority are

entertainers, I met many Filipinos working in different industries, but the most interesting story is that of the Ricohermoso family that has been living in Japan for almost 15 years as church missionaries.

“How is your spiritual faith?” asks Pastor Joseph Ricohermoso as I was packing my things to go back to Manila. They hosted my stay at their house during my travel and I was able to witness their daily work as well as attend their Sunday service. So, about my spiritual faith, I knew he would ask me about that during my stay and I wasn’t sure how to address it.

I am a daughter of a pastor. Many people don’t know that about me as I have not been a practicing Born Again Christian for quite some time now. “I pray, if that’s what you are referring to, but I do not go to church because I don’t believe I have to be in the confines of a church to believe in Christ,” I told the pastor.

“Oh, you pray,” Pastor Joseph smiled. I wasn’t sure it if was out of disbelief or relief. I find it funny because I think it is scary to be living and not believe in a higher being; I would be very scared if I was alone and had no one to turn to.

During his Sunday sermon, he spoke of “doubt” and how it can co-exist with faith. The southwestern part of Japan was still recuperating that time from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Higashi Ward of Kumamoto City in the Kyushu Region, and it was a timely topic to address especially in the church. It was the first time in almost a decade that I attended a church service and I was glad that I didn’t fall asleep and was actually intently listening to the message.

The church is filled with different nationalities – Africans, Australians, Japanese and Filipinos. According to

Pastor Joseph, the Assembly Kyoto Church (AKC) is the only church in Kyoto City that offers a worship service in English, hence it caters to an international community and Japanese returnees. AKC is a member of the Japan Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal fellowship in the world with churches that has about 67 million adherents. For a country that widely practices Shintoism and Buddhism, it is refreshing to know that the other percentage believes in Christianity.

“Generally, Christianity is perceived as a foreign religion in Japan. People have high regard for Christians but there is a great gulf to bridge for them to convert,” explains Pastor Joseph. “We can say that there has been a spiritual awakening in the Philippines and the Protestant Evangelical movement has grown tremendously in the last three decades. However, we cannot say the same for Japan even though Christianity has arrived here earlier than in the Philippines.” He says that in our own country, we are used to seeing mega churches with members numbering in the thousands, in contrast to Japan that only has 30 members per church with Bible-believing Christians fewer than a million, or less than one percent of the 125 million population.

AKC was established almost 69 years ago and the current senior pastor is Satoshi Nagasawa, the third pastor of the church since it was founded. The previous head pastor, Hisoka Murakami, is known in Japan for fighting against religious cults and was instrumental in helping people regain their lives after being alienated from their families.

Pastor Joseph and his wife Jo Ann, together with their three kids, arrived in Japan in 2001 to minister among American military service members and their families in a US base south of Tokyo. Their family moved to Kyoto City in 2006 with the intention of pioneering work to evangelize the Japanese and put up a language school. “Our acquaintance with AKC was providential! We attended AKC with the intention to bring our three kids to Sunday school and to attend worship service in English. However, on that first Sunday that we attended the service, the pastors told us that we are the answer to their prayers,” shares sister Jo Ann.

“Apparently, several months before that they’d been praying for new missionaries

SpIRITuAl FAITh In GODEnglish students' Christmas Pageant JOY Ladies Fellowship (AKC's ladies group that meets once a month) sponsors a baby shower

Filipinos of AKC (from left) Doshisha University Ph.D. student Camille Faith Enriquez, Doshisha University Ph.D. student Maria Camille Lacdan, English teacher Ritchel Doromal and hardware Engineer Jason Enriquez

Lighthouse English Cafe gathering

Pastor Joseph delivering his Sunday sermon

The Ricohermoso family (from left) Sister Jo Ann, Pastor Joseph with their kids: 15- year-old Joyce, 17-year-old Josiah and 21-year-old Jodie

to come and work with them. After several months of doing some volunteer work, they formally invited us to partner with them in the ministry.” She explains that what happened was a bit contrary to the Japanese practice of shokai, a system that requires a go‐between or someone who could vouch for you. In their case, she says that God introduced them to AKC.

As ministers, their main responsibilities include leading the International worship service, teaching English classes and

conducting Bible studies to both the church and in other locations, especially in the universities. “When our family arrived in Kyoto in 2006, there was only one Filipina in the congregation,” sister Jo Ann shares. Today, the congregation has about 25 Filipino adults. These Filipinos have become indispensable partners of the church as they are at the forefront in leading two worship services and are actively involved in reaching out to the

Continued on C3

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S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

pharma companies and other corporate entities are starting to gravitate towards B Hotel, holding their seminars and conferences in the two function areas (the Ballroom and Intramuros). During our stay, we also observed two private events – a Star Wars themed birthday party and a wedding reception, with a corporate event lined-up on the day we checked out.

In fact, the demand has been such that B Hotel is now constructing a tent at the sixth floor (above the ballroom) while another restaurant (in addition to the Lobby Café, the Pastry Corner and the Mezzanine bar) is also in the pipeline. The young manager admits it was initially difficult to get the public to understand the industrial concept of the hotel, as during the early days, they would get comments like, “Are you already open? How come you don’t have paint?”

“So I had to be there every day to explain the concept, opening doors and welcoming guests,” he laughs, adding that since the B Hotel is unlike traditional hotels with all the glam touches and that soft, wall-papered look, they were going for a very

rugged appeal but offering five-star service which the Bellevue brand is known for. “We always incorporate Bellevue as the managing company because Bellevue is five-star and we want to impart the message that the standard of service we provide here is also five-star,” he stresses.

Carlo also takes note of the “aggressive publicity” efforts that the Marketing Communications group has engaged in,as one of the reasons why this early, B Hotel has gained a lot of traction, rated by Tripadvisor as number 2 out of 50 hotels in the metro. Aside from traditional channels like the tri-media, they also opened the doors of the hotel to shoots for teleseryes and movies, to the point that certain areas of the hotel – like the lobby for instance with its attractive, red and yellow plush seats and the metal decors – became recognizable. Facebook and Instagram were also utilized, shares Carlo, adding that a photo uploaded on Facebook and Instagram would generate a lot of “likes,” which told them that their target market is looking at their page.

Asked about the challenges of the job, he smiles. “Our staff are mostly millennials so we always have to keep them motivated,” he says. “They are very aggressive but if you challenge them the right way. They live up to expectations."

As for that aspect about the hotel that he takes most pride in, it takes him a few seconds to answer. “The teamwork. Because let’s face it, I cannot do this alone. I cannot man the front office and serve coffee at the same time. I cannot clean the roof or swipe the floor. Basically it’s the team. If you see our team at work during our Saturday cleanup, I’d be scrubbing the floor to set an example to millennials that even with my position, I am one of them.”

Talking to Carlo Librea, one leaves convinced that the latest baby under the Bellevue Hotels and Resorts Group is also poised for growth and success, because the way it is being managed reflects the philosophy articulated by managing director Ryan Chan: That there is more to being a great hotel than just outward beauty and attractive features, as the focus should be on guest experience and satisfaction.

“Anyone with capital can build a structure and put in all the amenities, but if the service is awful, you forget about amenities or facilities, and guests leave with a heavy heart. Every staff knows they have to provide excellent service for the guests to appreciate the hotel and its concept so that when visitors leave, they have nothing to say but positive things about their experience at B Hotel,” Carlo concludes.

The B Hotel is located at #14 Scout Rallos, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City. For inquiries and reservations, call (02) 990-500 or visit www.thebellevue.com/b-hotel-qc.

Carlo librea: ThE B hoTEL’S ‘ExporT’ ExpErTby bing Parel

I first met Carlo Librea during the soft opening of B Hotel in Quezon City in August last year, when media people were invited to get a “sneak peek” of the

new property by The Bellevue Hotels and Resorts Group. In his coat and denims – no tie for the shirt – he looked perfectly at home in the cool, minimalist ambience exuded by the hotel which at the time, was still going through the “finishing touches.”

As the hotel manager, Carlo is tasked with overseeing operations and faces the challenge of hitting the right note to make the hotel distinct from the others – not an easy job considering that the concept of an “industrial hotel” is relatively new. Yet this young hotel manager is not exactly a greenhorn when it comes to building something up from scratch, so to speak.

A Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Export Management graduate from the De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde, Carlo’s first job was with Makati Shangri-La where he was part of the guest services center team when he was 22. This was followed by a stint with the Richmonde Hotel in Ortigas before he gave himself “a chance to practice” what he trained for, going to Paris where he helped open Enertime SAS – a consultancy firm specializing on renewable energy – as the pre-opening administrative manager. After two years however, he had to come back home because he was needed by his family.

“I joined Picasso Boutique serviced residences in Salcedo where I was eventually promoted as supervisor, and then transferred to One Pacific Place serviced residences in the same area as Salcedo, where I worked as a front office manager. I gave myself the chance to broaden my knowledge on hotels and resorts, so from there, I grabbed the opportunity to work with El Nido Resorts (in Palawan), first with Pangulasian and then with Apulit,” he recounts.

Two years later, he found himself back in the city, then applied for the job of manager with B Hotel, directly reporting to managing director Ryan Chan. Working with B Hotel, he says, made him realize that he really likes the challenge of pre-opening hotels, and that his heart is in “operations, administration, finance, basically every aspect of the business,” his experience honed during the time he stayed in Paris to work with a consultancy firm, and his previous work where he practically helped open a couple of hotels.

Opening B Hotel, Carlo admits, has been a challenge as well. With its rugged, unimposing look from outside, onlookers and those passing by Scout Rallos would find the B Hotel a bit “plain.” This impression gets a complete turnaround however once guests step inside the hotel: Striking, artistic, unusual and cool are just some of the adjectives that would run through your head as you take in the concrete walls livened up by splashes of color from paintings, or a corner made inviting by an accent (like a bicycle carrying a basket of garlic by the elevators).

That the hotel has managed to capture its target market, and then some, was evident when we visited towards the latter part of May – not a peak season according to Carlo – with the hotel almost fully booked with guests that include families on weekend staycations as well as local and foreign businessmen. In a manner of speaking, Carlo is using his “export management” training because he is after all helping convey to the target clientele the distinct image and the service offered by B Hotel.

“It was initially planned as a businessman’s hotel but when we opened (officially last December), we saw all sorts of market like families and long staying guests,” affirms Carlo, adding that government agencies,

The image of a big bike adorns the business center Entrance to the Intramuros function room

View of the kitchenette in a 2-bedroom suite

Hotel manager Carlo Librea PHOTO By SONNy ESPIrITu

C3LIFE l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d

S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

SpIrItUAL FAIth...From C1

community outside the fellowship. “We carry our Filipino badge of having a joyful disposition and friendliness that easily translate into gaining favor from other nationalities,” she says.

“The Lord has also allowed us to organize a ministry for the Filipino expatriates – most of them are graduate students, doctoral researchers, language teachers, spouses of Japanese and professionals employed by Japanese companies,” says Pastor Joseph. During the devastation of typhoon Yolanda, the church raised over half a million pesos to support the survivors of the typhoon. They also set up donation drives that allowed them to send balikbayan boxes at home with clothes, groceries, school supplies and other necessities for the victims.

I only stayed in Japan for a week and it was very difficult for me to understand the language and go about my daily tours without the help of Filipinos who would translate Japanese for me. With language and culture barriers, I can just imagine how difficult it is to be missionaries trying to evangelize non-believers. Pastor Joseph says that language is their biggest challenge. “Our command of Japanese is limited and we often explain the Scriptures in English,” he says.

But even with the language barrier, the church seems to grow in numbers. “It’s like tapestry,” says the Pastor. “There is beauty in our collective differences. Our perceived differences highlight the power of God’s love that enables us to accept one another and to pursue our common aspirations.” He says that Christian missionaries are like farmers. “Our work entails planting the seeds of the gospel. We plant and we entrust God with the results. After all, it is the

Holy Spirit who convinces, convicts and converts a soul,” he adds.

The world’s faith in Christ is often challenged and missionaries are not an exemption to that fact. Sister Jo Ann says that health issues, financial needs, raising up children in a foreign land and especially relationships with co‐workers, are just some of the things that gives them difficulties. “We have learned that God allows these challenges to keep us on our knees and to depend on Him more and more. Through these years, I’ve realized that our strong bond as husband and wife gives us stability in the storms of life,” she adds.

Pastor Joseph says that they take their responsibilities seriously in caring for and nurturing the faith of God’s people. “We don’t want to lose sight of our purpose as to why God allows us to exist as a church,” he adds. “Personally, I am praying for an opportunity to pursue higher studies without shortchanging my family. Ministry‐wise, God is the One who called us and we believe that His will is the best for us. Where He leads us, we will follow. Where He sends us, we will go,” he closes.

Assembly Kyoto Church is located at 38 Nishishichijo Nishiishigatsubocho,

Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 600-8896, Japan. For more information

about the congregation, visit kyotoenglishchurch.org

or call +81 75-311-5193.

For comments, and topic suggestions, you may email me at

[email protected]. For my crazy life’s adventures follow me

at @tatumancheta on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.

Kids' English classes

AKC Couples' Fellowship Night

For over 50 years, the Alcantara group has steadfastly shown its commitment to Mindanao, investing in various industries such as

property development, agribusiness and aquaculture, and power generation via the Alsons Power Group.

A focus of the company’s corporate citizenship efforts is in the area of education, with Alsons Power helping to secure the future of the brightest academic performers in select schools in Mindanao by providing automatic scholarship grants for each school’s top 10 honor students. Considering the increasing school dropout rate in the last three years, this initiative is giving students from the poorest sectors have a shot at improving their lot in life.

For school year 2016-2017, 200 scholars will be able to continue their high school and college education, thanks to Alsons’ scholarship program.

According to Ruben Tungpalan, Alsons Power’s Corporate Affairs and Community Relations head, “It has always been Alsons’ vision to help raise communities where education is within reach. It is our firm belief that education plays a vital role in poverty alleviation and community development. As such, Alsons will continue to champion it in areas where we are present.”

Since 2004, over 4,000 honor students have benefited from the scholarship program. These beneficiaries are from within and around the areas where the group’s various power facilities are located, such as the Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) in Alabel, Sarangani Province; the Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) in Maasim, Sarangani Province; and the Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) and the San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) in Zamboanga City.

MAkINg EDUcAtIoN AccESSIbLEAlsons Power Provides scholArshiPs to some of mindAnAo’s brightest

Apart from the scholarship program, Alsons Power also provides education-related infrastructure. To date, over 30 fully furnished classrooms, libraries and laboratory buildings with built-in toilet facilities have been constructed and donated to various schools throughout Zamboanga City and Sarangani Province. The fully furnished classrooms are equipped with armchairs and book trays,

while the laboratory and library buildings are equipped with computers and furniture.

Committed to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to the people of Mindanao and the rest of the country, the Alsons Power Group is expected to generate a total of 588 MW by 2019 – a little over 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand. It currently operates four power plants in

Mindanao which include Mapalad Power Corporation’s 103-MW (megawatt) diesel plant in Iligan City; the 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corporation diesel facility in Alabel, Sarangani; the 100-MW diesel plant of the Western Mindanao Power Corporation in Zamboanga City; and the 105-MW first section of the Sarangani Energy Corporation’s coal-fired power plant in Sarangani.

Alsons Power Group provides automatic scholarship grants to the brightest students of Mindanao, among them honor students of Rogaya Bajunaid Integrated School at Maasim, Sarangani which include (3rd from left) Marlon Batua, Laila Abas and Amier Mula. Joining them are (from left) school principal Eduardo Edulza, Sarangani Energy Corp. HRA and Project Assurance head Joel Aton

C4 LIFE l i f e @ t h e s t a n d a r d . c o m . p h @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d @ L I F E a t S t a n d a r d

S U N D AY : J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 6

#INTHEMOMENTBy Francis de Leon

To my dear readers, I will leave it to you whether to acknowledge the proverbial sayings, “less is more” or

“more is better” and apply any one of them to your extraordinary existence. Indulge yourself with the freedom to lead a life exactly how you want to live it.

If a thing of beauty will give joy that will last forever, then do what you need to do to acquire it. Fortunately, there are experts who can guide you on making the right decision.

“Trust is at the heart of everything that we do at Salcedo Auctions, and this is what we want to impart to all those that come to us to bid for items that we offer – not only that a work of art is by this or that artist, but that it has passed our standards and comes with our name,” expressed Karen Kua-Lerma, president of Salcedo Auctions.

Just recently, I was invited to their exclusive preview of some of the most coveted items on sale featuring fine and decorative art, statement jewelry, antique and modern furniture and decor, and rare books and maps.

Salcedo Auctions over the past six years has earned the distinction of being the only internationally recognized auction house in the Philippines, having been included in the list of the “250 Best Auction Houses in the World in 2015,” according to the New York-based Blouin Art + Auction magazine.

The predominantly white space located in a tony Salcedo apartment was the perfect backdrop to showcase the extraordinary items up for auction, complemented by the

sheer craftsmanship of Philux furniture on display that evening.

As I was admiring the beautifully curated art and furniture pieces, one particular painting caught my eye. Coincidentally, the very rare 1972 acrylic painting by National Artist Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera entitled A Cigarette Factory Worker was at the limelight of “The Collectors’ Sale.” According to Salcedo Auctions, this was part of BenCab’s first Larawan series exhibition.

“An ode to nostalgia, these works were borne out of the artist’s fascination with vintage Filipiniana photographs, books and ephemera that he collected while living in London in the ‘70s. Other works from this seminal series are presently in the private collections of the Zobel and Lopez families, as well as in museums such as the CCP and the Ateneo,” explained Richie Lerma of Salcedo Auctions.

That evening, I had to look twice to verify the starting bid for this lot. By the time this comes out, a lucky collector would have already made the highest bid to acquire this rare BenCab artwork. With my gift of foresight, I have a feeling that Salcedo Auctions has made another record sale.

Almost 400 lots in “The Collectors’ Sale” gathered a rich and diverse treasure trove of pieces that will certainly appeal to every purveyor of style. If you find joy in collecting, Salcedo Auctions celebrates it!

Now, the underlying question is whether you really want it or need it. More or less, it is up to you.

The online catalogue is available at salcedoauctions.com. For inquiries, call 659-4094, 823-0956, 0917-8946550 or email [email protected].

Follow me on Twitter or Instagram @francis_deleon8 for my life’s moments or email [email protected] if you want me to chronicle your milestones and capture your special moments.

More or Less

Franco Laurel, Cristalle Belo Henares, Stephanie Kienle-González Tina Cuevas with Karen and Richie Lerma and Francis de Leon

Happy Ongpauco-Tiu (third from left) and her catering team

Happy Ongpauco-Tiu (third from left) and her catering team Andie and Paolo DelgadoElaine Kunkle

Karen Kua-Lerma, Grace Barbers-Baja and Carmen Jimenez-Ong

A convivial setting for a one-of-a-kind preview. On the alcove, rare Filipiniana coffee table books, Philippine colonial objects in silver and ivory and English and Greek sterling silver vessels. ‘Scandiniana’ furniture by PHILUX

A prized 1972 painting by National Artist BenCab becomes the focus of this room filled with PHILUX ‘Scandiniana’ furniture

An oil on textile by Ronald Ventura serves as the perfect backdrop to a French Art Deco coffee and tea service, an original Pablo Picasso ceramic plate, Bernardaud fine bone china, Tiffany & Co crystal champagne flutes and Christofle estate silver, and Furniture by PHILUX

Stephanie Frondoso and Raffy Cuevas

C5ISAH V. REDE D I T O RSHOWBITZ

SunDAy : J unE 5, 2016

i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

Cadbury, once again, brings chocolate fun and enjoyment to a different level. The new Cadbury 5Star, a fusion of chocolate, with chewy caramel and crunchy bis-cuits center filling--one bite and you’ll think you can do anything.

Together with the launching of its new chocolate bar, Mondelez Philippines, maker of Cadbury 5Star introduces the three young Ambassadors of the brand—ac-tor, Alex Diaz, VJ Robi Domin-go, and lifestyle blogger, Arisse de Santos—who exemplify the adventurous and go-getter young millennials of today.

Alex Diaz is a Scottish-Filipino who started out as a commercial model and a radio jock. Living in Canada for a couple years, he de-cided to come back to Manila to pursue a career in acting and host-ing. From auditioning for a teen reality show to landing supporting roles in high-rating teleseryes, Alex has really come a long way. Despite his achievements, Alex wants to

do more and would like to make a name in the entertainment indus-try. Alex believes in the hashtag #YouThinkYouCan.

Speaking of hosting, before be-ing well-known in TV hosting; Robi Domingo was the first run-ner-up winner of the popular re-

ality show, Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition in 2008. Graduating with a degree in BS Health Sciences, this talented young man wanted to be a doctor. But things took a different turn as an influx of host-ing offers came his way. Fronting various top rating shows, Robi is

definitely now one of Philippine TV’s top rising hosts. From med student to TV host, Robi showed that when #YouThinkYouCan, you do.

From TV to internet, our third Ambassador is a young blogger and the writer behind

“Love, Arisse de Santos is a life-style blogger who considers her blog like her diary. Her style of writing makes her readers feel like they are being brought along her encounters and dis-coveries in the areas of beauty, fashion and travel. Outgoing and adventurous, Arisse enjoys meeting people from different walks of life. #YouThinkYouCan be like Arisse?

Mondelez Philippines Choco-lates Brand Manager Arlene Amante expressed, “We see our Brand Ambassadors as energetic young millenials. They’re active, confident, and they live their lives to the fullest. Making them true ambassadors of the Cadbury 5Star spirit of #YouThinkYouCan.

“#YouThinkYouCan is a move-ment,” ends Amante. “A call to make the most of every moment, to be empowered to do what you love through Cadbury 5Star.”

Official Hashtags: #Cadbury5S-tar #GoFullOn #YouThinkYouCan

With beautiful skin comes a truly beautiful life. After a success-ful launch in Singapore, Tru-Life brings to the Philippines

the newest addition to its line of premium quality beauty and wellness products – the TruLife Collagen Plus Vitamins.

As a modern day food and health sup-plement brand, TruLife answers women’s need to look and feel good; from the young working adult, to the busy mother, to the silver age consumer, and everyone who un-derstands the importance of keeping their bodies in peak conditions to achieve the best in life.

TruLife is a contemporary health-care brand which aims to answer the health and lifestyle needs of today’s society.

Now available in the Philippines, Tru-Life Collagen Plus Vitamins aims to touch the lives of the naturally beautiful Filipino women that values their worth and potential.

TruLife is specially formulated through intensive R&D in Singapore, developing products that contain the best of natural and western ingredients, to produce opti-mal results for targeted body function. It is clinically proven to increase the skin’s moisture level by 50 percent and 13 per-cent decrease in UV spot in as short as 10 days. Its active ingredients are set to rejuvenate the skin providing it with a youthful glow.

TruLife Collagen Plus Vitamins targets affected cells to help slow down the aging process, repairs skin structure and locks in moisture, rejuvenating from inside out for a deeply hydrated, radiant complexion and youthful skin.

As founder and director of Poli Medical Trading, Dylan Hu believes that TruLife’s product quality and efficacies are integral to the company’s growth and customer’s trust and faith; hence it is a top priority in quality assurance.

Thus, TruLife contains high marine col-lagen content with essential vitamins for healthy skin. Its liquid formula and col-lagen molecules broken down into micro peptides enable immediate body absorp-tion, delivering quick and effective results.

Unlike other supplements, it does not contain additives or added sugar. It con-tains Vitamin C that aids in boosting nat-ural glutathione levels in the blood and helps combat free radicals. TruLife Colla-gen Plus Vitamins also contains Vitamin

A DAIly DOsE Of bEAuTy

Meet the Cadbury 5Star Ambassadors

Cadbury 5Star Ambassadors: (from left) TV host Robi Domingo, lifestyle bloggerArisse de Santos and young actor Alex Diaz

E that helps protect against harmful UV rays that damage cells and cause prema-ture aging; Vitamins B1, B2, B6 and Zinc that are crucial for the overall health of the body.

TruLife Collagen Plus Vitamins is manufactured by Poli Medical whose pharmaceutical factories are GMP-cer-tified by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore, and HACCP certi-

fied by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority LAVA) in Singapore.

TruLife Collagen Plus Vitamins is exclu-sively available in all Watsons outlets na-tionwide for only Php199.00 SRP.

TruLife brand ambassador, Coraleen Waddell

Celebrity athlete Jeron Teng and Gretchen Ho Collagen Plus Vitamins is targets affected cells to help slow down the aging process

C6 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R



SHOWBITZ

ACROSS1 Resorting to6 Cushiony seats

11 Almost boil16 Atlas or Prometheus21 West Indies dance22 Cliff dwelling23 Winter warmer24 Deep-space mission25 Mountain kingdom26 Virgo’s neighbor27 Singer — John28 Curiosity seeker?29 Forum hello30 Cider season32 Veld grazer34 Striped antelope36 Ledger col.37 Dealers39 Clown’s prop40 “— Dick”41 Rolling stone’s lack42 Tick off43 Leather for honing

44 Skill in speaking 46 Turnpike exits 49 Globe feature 50 Clap of thunder 51 Action-movie name 55 Fossey’s friends 56 Crunching noise 57 Pelvis, but not Elvis 58 Good-natured 59 Martini base 60 Knows somehow 61 Thin fog 62 Door opener 63 Squirrel hangout 64 Leadfoot’s spot

(2 wds.) 66 Gets the picture 67 Rackets 68 Wife, to a lawyer 69 Tangled up 70 Eros, in Rome 71 Message concealer 72 Travel papers 73 Android rival

74 Walked on web feet 76 Part of RSVP 77 John Denver’s home 80 Bit of kindling 81 Flip a coin 82 Frozen regions

(2 wds.) 86 More than misled 87 Genuine 88 Mongolian abode 89 Whale’s nostril 90 Santa — winds 91 Zinger 92 Reiner and Lowe 93 Split — (nitpick) 94 Make rapid strides 95 Norma Jean 97 Festive log 98 Gannet’s other name 99 They need a PIN 100 Offshore platform

(2 wds.) 101 Hotel lobby focus

102 Drove at Daytona 103 Clean the slate 104 Lavish 106 Snags a fish 107 Gerbil or goldfish 108 Soft plumage 111 Earns as profit 112 Pound sounds 113 Kind of paint 117 I, for Wolfgang 118 Autocrat of yore 119 Eric Clapton classic 120 — spumante 121 The Plastic — Band 122 Lorelei’s river 124 Galley slave 126 Batters’ ploys 128 Ready and willing 130 “M*A*S*H” setting 131 Phileas Fogg player 132 Bauxite giant 133 Cache 134 Oregon’s capital

135 Galaxy units 136 Spacious 137 Hikers’ shelters DOWN 1 Radii parallels 2 Colander 3 Strong-arm 4 Cagers’ org. 5 Greens party? 6 Becomes tiresome 7 Eye, to Pierre 8 Metro loc. 9 It could easily go up 10 Type of seal (2 wds.) 11 Skunk’s trademark 12 Frosty 13 Quit stalling 14 Sentry 15 Budapest’s river 16 Vulcan high priestess 17 1040 agcy. 18 Japan’s capital 19 Helps with a heist 20 Uncool ones 31 Indiana Jones quest 33 Yodeler’s perch 35 Generators 38 They may be read 39 Wineglass parts 40 Mme.’s daughter 41 Feathered talker 43 Long oar 44 Basin in a church 45 Cheat sheet 46 Mitten wools 47 Of bees 48 Brainy bunch 49 Mountain nymph 50 Order around 52 Reed instruments 53 Burro alternative 54 Fakes out 56 Yields territory 57 Place for a stein 58 Author — Rice 60 Lawbreaker

61 Burmese utterance 62 Notorious pirate 65 Snooped 66 Haze, plus 67 Forest browsers 68 Swipe 70 Indigo plant 71 Break-even amount 72 Vistas 74 Clean the deck 75 — d’oeuvres 76 Disdain 77 Crockett’s last stand 78 Red Sea peninsula 79 Round gem 80 Anagram for rent 82 Epic of Troy 83 Ventricle neighbor 84 Prunes-to-be 85 Intuit 87 Zappers (2 wds.) 88 Egg portion 89 Hay cubes 91 Object on radar 92 Auto-body woe 93 Horse’s ankles 96 Spinach is rich in it 97 Sudden urges 98 Brazilian city (2 wds.) 99 Bohemian 101 Motown 102 Jeep safety device 103 Most uncanny 105 Is taught 106 Psst! 107 Interest amt. 108 Scottish daggers 109 Lorena of the LPGA 110 Give it a — 112 Tall tales 113 Ore analysis 114 Sign in (2 wds.) 115 Dormant 116 Meltdown sites 118 Pair of mules 119 Lascivious glance 120 Fermi split it 123 Born as 125 Md. neighbor 127 PFC superior 129 Ignored a diet

answer PreVIOUs PUZZLe

cROsswORD puzzlE SUNDAY,JUNE 5, 2016

A nEw CREAtuRE IS BoRnBy ROBBIE pangIlInan

A design revolution is on its way as a new-old brand, Doggficher, is launched in Ekorbuohlis: Bro-ken Silhouettes on June 22, 7 in

the evening at Whitespace Manila.Describing it as a “broken night of

fashionable and design revolution,” fashion visionary Giovanni “Manu” Respall says he will not feature a col-lection, but a birth of a new kind of face and nature of fashion in the Phil-ippines, in his own words, “a burst of madness and a measure of my range in style.”

“It is an experimental, mental stir to the public. A brave move that might just be an introduction to a whole new era in fashion,” says Respall.

Expect to witness a fashion show in-tertwined with theatrical and narrative

treatment to push the boundaries of what fashion Respall believes truly is. He has a warning, though, that this is not for the “boxed minded.”

“This is the birth of a new creature fashion formula where familiar sil-houettes are broken down into sim-ple twisted versions of fashionable threads for another kind of packag-ing,” he continues.

The Doggficher brand was actually established in 1994 by Respall, a cos-tume, graphic and interior designer, script and play writer, singer, model, creative consultant, book illustra-tor, and comic-book inker. Since then, Doggficher has been in fashion shows, magazines, and TV shows. But the brand remained on the side as Respall pursued a showbiz career.

Until Doggficher reached the catwalk of the Philippine Fashion Week and was noticed by big names in the in-dustry. Three more features in col-laboration with other designers, then Respall decided to give birth to “an empire” he said was long overdue.

“We believe that though the mar-ket and industry are not ready for its coming, we are ready for the world to see its brutal beautiful madness,” beams Respall, who is also a theatre actor, host, TV commercial model, dancer, choreographer, director, voice talent, and lighting and pro-duction designer.

The brave are invited to witness the revolution on June 22. Come for cocktails, dinner, and the mobile bar in your formal and fashionable attire.

“Ekorbuohlis: Broken Silhouettes” is a birth of a new kind of face and nature of fashion

Anime has never got this exciting. Hero TV has three new series in store for you this June, giving you a triple dose of fantasy and action.

Get to know Faiya Orega, a young boy who loves Oreca competitions. One day, he was granted the power to summon real Oreca monsters through the mysterious treasure chest Pando-ra. To protect the peace and order of the Oreca world, Faiya must fight the demon king who threatens the land and all life forms. Premiering on June 10, join Faiya in his journey on Oreca Battle, 6 p.m. every Friday.

Now on its eighth season, Naruto Shippuden returns with new and more breathtaking adventures of Uzumaki Naruto, the host of the powerful nine-tailed demon fox. This time, the story revolves on Konohagakure’s invasion by Pain, the leader of a criminal organiza-tion. Akatsuki now wishes to kidnap Naruto and bring down the whole ninja world under their command. Catch Season 8’s pilot episode on June 27 and don’t miss its new episodes, 10:30 p.m. every Monday.

Yamada Kun and the Seven Witches features Ryu Ramada, a second year high

school student who is bored of his stu-dent life and delinquent reputation. One day in school, Ryu encounters Urara Shi-raishi, a beautiful honor student who ac-cidentally misses a step and causes them both to tumble down the stairs, ending in an accidental kiss! The pair discovers that they can switch bodies with a kiss- an ability which will prove to be both con-venient and troublesome in the coming days. Tickle your senses with this awe-some new series and watch it premiere at 9 p.m. on June 7.

And make sure you don’t miss this month’s returning titles, Akame Ga Kill, Date A Live, Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East, Hakuoki Season 3, Heaven’s Memopad, Initial D First Stage, Ixion Saga, Kyo Kara Maoh Season 3, Log Ho-rizon Season 3, Mirmo De Pon Season 4, Reborn Season 3, and Say I Love You.

All these and more only on the no.1 anime channel in the country, Hero TV, which is available on SKYcable Channel 44.

For updates, check out and like Hero on Facebook facebook.com/myheronation and follow us on In-stagram @herotvofficial and Twitter @myHEROnation.

triple dose of fantasy, action

Hero tV’s “June Super Jam” features “oreca Battle,” “naruto Shippuden” and “yamada Kun and the Seven witches”

C7ISAH V. REDE D I T O R



SHOWBITZ

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach traveled recently to Ec-uador, her second trip

to a South American country, to help in a relief effort and fund-raising campaign to build 6,000 homes for the victims of an earthquake. She was there upon the invitation of the Guayas Red Cross that named her an honor-ary volunteer.

Former Machala Mayor Carlos Falquez welcomed her to Guaya-quil, the largest city in the former Spanish colony with more than 15 million people.

Pia met with the victims in Machala and Esmeralda, two of the worst hit provinces of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 600 and injured 4,600 people in Ecuador. She joined the representatives of Red Cross and other local and international relief organizations in the event “Casita De Mis Suenos” fundrais-er for the benefit of Ecuadorean children. Pia spoke, helped dis-tribute relief packs and appealed for continued support in the relief efforts for the earthquake victims with newly crowned Miss Ecua-dor 2016 Connie Jimenez.

“We still need your help as thousands are suffering. Emer-

More excitement is set to come this month as MYX welcomes the pretty and talented Miles Ocampo as the MYX Celebrity VJ for the month of June.

The Star Magic actress, commercial and print-ads model, and singer is adding another item to her list of roles as she takes on the challenge of being the new MYX Celebrity VJ for the month of June.

Catch her as she hosts Pop MYX from today till June11, Mellow MYX from June 12 to 18, Pinoy MYX from June 19 to 25, and My MYX from June 26 to 30.

Viewers should also not miss the kulitan mo-ments between Miles and her “beshie” and former Luv U co-star VJ Sharlene San Pedro. The two girls have been best friends since they appeared on the shows Goin’ Bulilit and Mga Anghel Na Walang Lan-git when they were just kids.

Now, it’s time to find out how well they know each other as they do the “Beshie” challenge only on MYX.

As for concerts, documentaries and MYXclusive specials, have your ultimate fix only on MYX Presents.

Swoon over Toni Gonzaga and Director Paul Soria-no’s love story in Toni Gonzaga-Soriano My Love Story on June 9. Relive the moments from Mayonnaise: For The Rest Of My Life on June 16 and watch The Compa-ny dazzle in The Company: Nostalgia- Live at the Music Museum on June 23, and be star struck all over again with Pitch Perfect’s Hailee Steinfield on June 30.

Myx is a Filipino cable television network owned and operated by ABS-CBN Creative Programs, Inc. (CPI), a subsidiary of the media and entertainment company ABS-CBN Corporation.

MYX is on Skycable channel 23.

Join Chris Tiu, James & Roadfill of Moymoy Palaboy with Joyce Ching in another funny Sunday morning in I-Bilib.

A pair of giant feet will follow a giant shadow in an ex-periment for Discover Science called “The Big Chase.” It is intriguing as it is interesting.

What are the kids crazy about? It is the spinning pen. Watch this segment the I-Bilibers call “Pen Spinning Exhibition.”

Can you make a flashlight using a plastic bottle and Pop-sicle sticks?

Well, we will watch how Chris and the rest of the gang do it in the “Plastic Flashflight Experiment.”

James and Roadfill will visit the Water Sports Playground in thier bilibabol experiment called “The Blob Challenge.”

Join Joyce in her huling hirit and learn how to make a cute T-shirt bag. She says it is easy to make one.

Watch I-Bilib every Sunday morning on GMA 7

The Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) will make ABS-CBN TVplus users break into fits of laughter today as it airs Beau-ty and The Bestie, the highest grossing Filipino movie of all time for P30.

Families will have the chance to watch the crazy and funny adventures that will test the friendship between certified besties Vice Ganda and Coco Martin.

James Reid and Nadine Lustre add a dose of kilig into the mix, while child superstars Marco Masa and Alonzo Muhlach showcase their charm and wit.

Completing the family’s movie mara-thon fix are the romantic drama film You’re Still the One starring Maja Salva-dor and Dennis Trillo, the horror film Pagpag with Daniel Padilla and Kath-ryn Bernardo, and the foreign film Griffin & Phoenix.

Families also have a chance to catch-up on missed episodes of Dolce Amore via a marathon on KBO.

To enjoy a movie bonding with the family this weekend, load P30 on your ABS-CBNmobile SIM and use it to register by texting KBO <SPACE> JUNE4 <SPACE> TVplus box ID to 2131.

To know the seven-character box ID, press the INFO button of the TVp-lus remote control. Once a text confir-mation is received, press SCAN on the TVplus remote control to activate KBO on the ABS-CBN TVplus’ 7th channel. For remote controls without a SCAN button, press the MAIL button. KBO

logo will be displayed on the 7th chan-nel after scanning.

The Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) is the newest feature of ABS-CBN TVplus that allows families to have more TV bonding moments at home via commer-cial-free weekend movie marathons for P30. Movies airing on KBO can also be seen via iWant TV on ABS-CBNmobile.

For users who don’t have an ABS-CB-Nmobile SIM, the SIM is available at any SM store, 7-Eleven branch, telco tiang-ge, and the ABS-CBNmobile store at P30. Users may also order through text by sending SIM DELIVERY to 23661.

All ABS-CBN TVplus boxes priced at P1,999 are bundled with an ABS-CBNmobile prepaid SIM and are avail-able in any accredited retail outlets, sales agents, and dealers.

Meanwhile, load for ABS-CBNmobile is available at SM Store, SM Savemore, 7-Eleven, Cebuana Lhuillier, Generika and telco tiangges that sell autoload max.

The Kapamilya Box Office of ABS-CBN TVplus is available in GMA, Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangas-inan, Benguet, Metro Cebu, Davao City, and Cagayan de Oro.

PIA WuRtzbAcH toucHES EcuADoREAnS

gency relief is always first prior-ity but I hope we can continue efforts in rebuilding. I feel that this moment is very close to my heart because we in the Philip-pines have been in this situation and I know the impact of such calamity to the people. So if you could take some time to visit the Red Cross website to donate, a little will go a long way,” the reigning Miss Universe said.

The hard-working Miss Uni-

verse, who received an award at the Apicha Community Health Center’s “A Thousand and One Champions Gala” in New York for helping raise awareness on HIV/AIDS, also took part in a Solidarity Dinner for the ben-efit of the Los Niños de la Casita de Mis Sueños, and the follow-ing day, was warmly cheered by the Ecuadoreans that lined the streets to get a glimpse of the ‘most beautiful woman in

the universe’ during the annual Machala Parade.

After Ecuador, Pia will visit the Cayman Islands this month to fulfill part of her year-long reign as Miss Universe, now half-way through.

She is set to meet with the contestants of the Miss Cayman 2016 pageant, a courtesy call to Pedro’s Castle, the Government Administration Building and Government House, attend the

Philippines Independence Month concert with Bianca King, and join the Miss Universe Organiza-tion (MUO) in a talk with local organizers for the possible hold-ing of the Miss Universe pageant in Cayman Islands. Miss Cayman Committee Chairwoman Dacres-Lee said they look forward to Pia and the MUO’s visit with high ex-pectation for the global exposure it will give to the Cayman Islands. – Eton B. Concepcion

Miss universe Pia Wurtzbach meets with the kids of Machala, a province badly hit by a recent earthquake the reigning Miss universe also joins the annual Machala Parade

What do you ‘bilib’ ?

Miles ocampo is June MyX celebrity VJ

teen star Miles ocampo lends her talent as a VJ on MyX

Vice Ganda, coco on AbS-cbn tVplus

I-belibers Moymoy Palaboy with chris tiu and Joyce ching

“beauty and the bestie” lead stars coco Martin and Vice Ganda

C8i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m

SHOWBITZ

sunday : J unE 5, 2016

ISAH V. RED

IsaH V. REdE D I T O R

nICKIE WanGW R I T E R

very hard working.”“Naomie is a phenomenal actress. The

relationship is very interesting and lay-ered and detailed, it’s not a sort of ‘movie’ relationship and they both have their part to play in this story and how the story un-folds. Their relationship is damaged at the beginning as Perry has cheated on her. She’s terribly upset and hurt and he’s trying very hard to fix that and to move forward and be happy again. That’s all really interesting stuff to play, as it’s not the usual movie mar-riage. Interestingly, the two arcs of those storylines go hand in hand. Through it all

Perry and Gail find each other again and remember what it is they love about each other. By the time the film ends they are in a much better place,”

McGregor relates of his co-star and on the film’s theme.

“There are bumps in whatever relation-ship, no matter how good. It is nice to see a mature relationship which is going through a very serious hiccup and is managing to find a way through,” Harris concludes.

Our Kind of Traitor opens June 8 in cinemas nationwide from OctoArts Films International.

‘Art 2 Art’ bares next episodesDance, poetry and design are the focus

of Art 2 Art’s first three episodes in June, reaffirming the program’s commitment to showcase a diverse range of art disciplines.

Produced by the Manila Broadcasting Company and hosted by prima balleri-na Lisa Macuja, Art 2 Art airs Sundays, 3:30 to 4 p.m., on DZRH (666 khz on the AM band), cable television (RHTV Channel 18 on Cignal Cable) and on-line live streaming at http://dzrhnew-stelevision.tv. The show may also be viewed through the Facebook account of DZRH News Television.

Today, Macuja leads the discussion of Dance MNL, the first Philippine Dance

Festival showcasing classical, modern and contemporary dance. Colleagues, artis-tic directors Paul Morales (Ballet Philip-pines), Ron Jaynario (Philippine Ballet Theater) and Osias Barroso (Ballet Ma-nila) join the host. The three dance compa-nies are joining forces for the first time to help mount the inaugural festival that will feature performances, master classes and a dance conference.

On June 12, award-winning Filipino de-signer Ito Kish – who has made a name for himself in visual merchandising, interior decoration and product design – relates how he got his start in the field and later built up his own design consultancy firm. He also talks about current design trends and what clients look for in international trade shows.

On June 19, lifestyle journalist Ar-nel “AA” Patawaran shares his personal journey as an author, with his first book Write Here Write Now – a practical guide to writing – becoming an unex-pected bestseller. He turns to poetry in his second book, Hai[na]ku and Other Poems, from which he reads two works for the Art 2 Art episode.

For inquiries, please e-mail [email protected]. On Facebook, check out the ac-count Ballerina ng Bayan for updates on Art 2 Art episodes.

MARITAl WOEs In ‘OuR KInD Of TRAITOR’

Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris are married couple thrown into the obscure world of espionage and dirty politics in Our Kind of Traitor.

Based on the acclaimed tome by John le Carré of the same title, the movie finds ordinary English couple Perry (McGregor) and Gail (Harris) on holiday in Marrakech, Morocco. They meet the flamboyant and charismatic Russian, Dima (Stellan Skars-gård) who befriends them over games of tennis and lavish parties at his villa before revealing he is the top money launderer for the Russian mafia and wants to defect with his family to Britain.

When Dima asks for their help to deliver classified information to the British Secret Services, the couple is propelled on a peril-ous journey through Paris and Bern, a safe house in the French Alps, to the murky corners of the City of London and an al-liance with the British Government via a ruthless and determined.

The relationship between the attractive, comfortably off Perry, a university lecturer in poetics, and Gail, a very successful bar-rister, starts in a very broken place. That was an interesting dynamic for the two actors to play. Everyman superstar Ewan McGregor was the first of the film’s high-powered cast to join the project. “Ewan was on early and first as Perry,” says producer Gail Egan. “He was involved from quite an early stage of development and stayed with us through many drafts. He was perfect.”

Director Susanna White praises Mc-Gregor’s ability to engage with audienc-es. “He liked the idea of scrutinizing what it felt like to be slightly emasculated by a wife who’s more powerful than you are. In theory, if you ask Perry whether he thought it would be good to have high achieving women, he would say, “Of course, women deserve that.”

But when he is faced with his own situ-ation he starts to feel threatened by Gail and challenged by it. Part of the challenge was keeping audience appeal while seeing his weakness at the beginning of the film and his journey to rediscovering himself, who he is and redefining his relationship of with Gail.”

Co-star Naomie Harris describes Mc-Gregor as the ideal co-star. “He’s such a phenomenal actor and just a great guy,” she enthuses. “From the very first moment I met him he was incredibly down to earth. He has a really great sense of humor and is

“art 2 art” host Lisa Macuja with lifestyle journalist arnel Patawaran

scottish actor Ewan McGregor stars in thriller flick “Our Kind of Traitor” as Peregrine Makepeace

Ewan McGregor and naomie Harris in a scene from the British spy thriller film adapted from John le Carré’s novel of the same name

From left: Ron Jaynario, Lisa Macuja, Paul Morales and Osias Barroso Lisa Macuja in a sit-down interview with designer Ito Kish