The digital edition of The Standard: a nationally circulated newspaper published daily in the Philippines since February 1987.
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Next page Trust in Aquino continues to go down VOL. XXIX NO. 315 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 THURSDAY : DECEMBER 24, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph [email protected]A3 A4 Grace, Binay tied in new poll Reds break own truce, strike at AFP post POE’S WOES GO ON: 5 DAYS TO APPEAL For Poe. Supporters of presidential candidate Grace Poe rally outside the Commission on Elections offices on Wednesday after the poll body disqualified Poe in next year’s election. EY ACASIO By Adelle Chua FILIPINOS trusted President Benigno Aquino III less in December 2015 than they did in May and September, even as his performance and approval rat- ings for the same period were higher than they were six months ago, accord- ing to The Standard Poll conducted by this newspaper’s resident pollster, Junie Laylo. The December survey was conducted between Dec. 4 and 12, with 1,500 bio- metrically registered voter respondents from the National Capital Region, Northern/Central Luzon, Southern Lu- zon/Bicol, Visayas and Mindanao. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent on the national level. Respondents across the country rat- ed President Aquino’s performance at a net 43 percent, up from 28 percent in May and 40 percent in September. Aquino’s performance rating was highest in Mindanao, with net 66 percent in December from 44 percent By Rey E. Requejo, Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Macon Ramos- Araneta PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Sena- tor Grace Poe has only five days to bring her case to the Supreme Court before the Commission on Elections excludes her from the official list of candidates, the chairman of the poll body said Wednesday. In a press conference, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said Poe’s name was still on the list of candidates at the moment despite the poll body’s decision to disqualify her from running for president in 2016. “Right now, her name is still on the bal- lot,” Bautista said. However, Rule 37 of the Omnibus Election Code says decisions in pre- proclamation cases and petitions to deny due course to or cancel Certificates of Candidacy will become final and ex- ecutory after the lapse of five days from their promulgation. The lapse of the five-day period in this case would be Dec. 28—meaning Poe’s camp would have to obtain a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court over the Christmas holidays and a weekend. Poe’s lawyer, George Garcia, questioned the timing of the Comelec en banc’s deci- sion. “We really didn’t expect the Comelec to side with us, but what is really sad is that they released this decision two days before Christmas,” Garcia said in Filipino. “Now we have no choice but to use these holidays to prepare our petition.” A Supreme Court official said the justices may act on a petition filed by Poe even if they are on recess. Court spokesman Theodore Te said the tribunal’s rules allow them to grant relief in urgent cases and issue temporary restraining orders without the need to first hold session. If case is raffled to full court, it is the Chief Justice who can issue the TRO; if it is to a division, it will be the chairman of the division, Te said. Under the rules, the Chief Justice may is- sue a TRO upon the recommendation of the justice in charge and subject to confirma- tion of the full court in their next session, which will be on Jan. 12, 2016. Next page
For Poe. Supporters of presidential candidate Grace Poe rally outside the Commission on Elections offices on Wednesday after the poll body disqualified Poe in next year’s election. Ey AcAsio
By Adelle chua
FILIPINOS trusted President Benigno Aquino III less in December 2015 than they did in May and September, even as his performance and approval rat-ings for the same period were higher than they were six months ago, accord-ing to The Standard Poll conducted
by this newspaper’s resident pollster, Junie Laylo.
The December survey was conducted between Dec. 4 and 12, with 1,500 bio-metrically registered voter respondents from the National Capital Region, Northern/Central Luzon, Southern Lu-zon/Bicol, Visayas and Mindanao. The survey has a margin of error of plus or
minus 2 percent on the national level.Respondents across the country rat-
ed President Aquino’s performance at a net 43 percent, up from 28 percent in May and 40 percent in September.
Aquino’s performance rating was highest in Mindanao, with net 66 percent in December from 44 percent
By Rey E. Requejo, sara susanne D. Fabunan and Macon Ramos-Araneta
PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Sena-tor Grace Poe has only five days to bring her case to the Supreme Court before the Commission on Elections excludes her from the official list of candidates, the chairman of the poll body said Wednesday.
In a press conference, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said Poe’s name was still on the list of candidates at the moment despite the poll body’s decision to disqualify her from running for president in 2016.
“Right now, her name is still on the bal-lot,” Bautista said.
However, Rule 37 of the Omnibus Election Code says decisions in pre-proclamation cases and petitions to deny due course to or cancel Certificates of Candidacy will become final and ex-ecutory after the lapse of five days from their promulgation.
The lapse of the five-day period in this case would be Dec. 28—meaning Poe’s camp would have to obtain a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court over the Christmas holidays and a weekend.
Poe’s lawyer, George Garcia, questioned the timing of the Comelec en banc’s deci-sion.
“We really didn’t expect the Comelec to side with us, but what is really sad is that they released this decision two days before Christmas,” Garcia said in Filipino. “Now we have no choice but to use these holidays to prepare our petition.”
A Supreme Court official said the justices
may act on a petition filed by Poe even if they are on recess.
Court spokesman Theodore Te said the tribunal’s rules allow them to grant relief in urgent cases and issue temporary restraining orders without the need to first hold session.
If case is raffled to full court, it is the Chief Justice who can issue the TRO; if it is to a division, it will be the chairman of the division, Te said.
Under the rules, the Chief Justice may is-sue a TRO upon the recommendation of the justice in charge and subject to confirma-tion of the full court in their next session, which will be on Jan. 12, 2016. Next page
Speaking to the ANC news channel, Pulse Asia research director Ana Ma-ria Tabunda said this could be why Poe dropped to second place in the Dec. 4 to 11 Pulse Asia survey of presidential pref-erences to Binay’s 33 percent.
The December survey showed Poe statistically tied with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who had 23 percent.
Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II was at third place with 17 per-cent, down from 20 percent in the Sep-tember survey, while Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago had 4 percent.
Tabunda said the survey was con-ducted after the Commission on Elec-tions Second Division came out with a ruling to cancel Poe’s Certificate of Candidacy over her alleged failure to meet the residency requirement for presidential candidates.
The ANC report said the Comelec’s First Division also ruled on another pe-tition to cancel Poe’s CoC on the basis of her natural-born status; the decision was released during the survey period.
The Poe camp has said it will appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.
Tabunda said the Comelec rulings af-
fected voter preference for Poe.“It is not just the thought that she
might be disqualified. Some think she is already disqualified,” she told ANC.
“There is some misinformation there. Some of them are confused. One ex-ample given by a field interviewer—one respondent was saying, ‘Poe is not run-ning,’ so she was picking somebody else,” Tabunda said.
Tabunda said the Poe camp must be more aggressive in explaining to voters the status of the disqualification cases before the Comelec.
Tabunda said Poe is still doing well de-spite the misinformation.
“It is a question of—can she still regain some of that support [if] she is allowed to run…? Can she still regain those votes that she has lost temporarily right now?” she asked.
Poe spokesman Mayor Rex Gatchalian said the entire campaign team accepts and respects the survey results.
“It serves as an inspiration and road-map for us to calibrate our next movies. We will keep on explaining to the elec-torate that Senator Poe has not been dis-qualified...Whatever happens it will go to
in May and 57 percent in September. The next highest rating was given by residents of Northern and Central Luzon with net 45 percent in December from 24 percent and 32 percent in the two previous survey periods. The survey showed only a net 20 percent performance rating among Metro Manila residents.
Similarly, respondents across the country gave a higher approval rating for President Aquino with net 41 percent in December from 24 percent in May and 35 percent in September.
Respondents from Mindanao showed the highest approval at net 59 percent, up from 37 percent in May and 53 percent in Septem-ber. They were followed by respondents from Northern and Central Luzon, with ratings of 23 percent in May and 28 percent in Septem-ber.
Metro Manilans gave the President the lowest approval rate at net 16 percent in De-cember.
Nationwide, the administration’s net satis-faction rating was at 41 percent in December, up from net 28 percent in May and net 37 percent in September.
Metro Manila residents continued to be less satisfied than their counterparts else-where, giving the administration a satisfac-tion rating of net 14 percent—down from 21 percent and 15 percent in September.
Across the country, residents from rural areas were more satisfied than their urban counterparts, with net 47 percent versus 28 percent, respectively, in December.
Aquino’s trust ratings continued to de-cline, however.
Across the country, the President’s trust rating was at net 25 percent in December, down from 36 percent in May and 43 percent in September. Even the Mindanao figure was lower at net 45 percent, down from 53 per-cent in May and 61 percent in September.
In Metro Manila, the President eked out a trust rating of only 1 percent, a precipitous drop from 31 percent in May and 16 percent in September.
Vice President Jejomar Binay’s trust rat-ings also took a beating, now down to only 10 percent from 20 percent in May and 18 percent in September.
Among the respondents, 26 percent said their lives had improved under the Aquino administration while 11 percent said they were worse off. Most—accounting for 63 per-cent—said there was no change at all.
The Laylo survey also showed that voters do not put much stock in endorsements from oth-er politicians or show business personalities.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents replied “none” when asked the question “Whose en-dorsement is important?”
The “none” answer was most prevalent in the Southern Luzon and Bicol regions, fol-lowed by North Central Luzon with 67 per-cent and NCR at 63 percent.
No national figures were mentioned by more than 3 percent of the respondents. An endorsement from President Aquino, the survey showed, carried less weight (2 per-cent) than an endorsement from young actor Coco Martin and the Aldub couple (3 per-cent), and about the same as one from enter-tainers Sarah Geronimo and Vice Ganda (2 percent).
The question about endorsements was open ended with multiple responses allowed.
Among members of the Iglesia ni Cristo included in the survey, 60 percent said they would vote for whomever the religious group endorses, with 13 percent not voting for said candidates and 28 percent saying the endorsement would have no effect on their decision.
Among Catholics, 34 percent would vote for candidates endorsed by the Catholic Church, with 61 percent saying it would have no effect on their decision.
Seventeen percent would vote for whom-ever the Liberal Party endorses, and 10 per-cent would vote for those endorsed by the United Nationalist Alliance.
By Sandy Araneta
MISINFORMATION is hurting the campaign of presidential as-pirant Senator Grace Poe, as some voters thought the senator has already disqualified from the 2016 presidential race, a Pulse Asia official said Tuesday
the Supreme Court,” Gatchalian said.Tabunda also pointed out problems
affecting candidates such as Poe and Duterte have benefited Binay, whose 14 percentage point gain she described as big.
“If you remember, Binay was the front-runner but as other candidates joined the race, he lost some of the support. But now there are questions about disquali-fication, so because there is doubt, some of those votes are going back to Binay,” Tabunda said in Filipino in an interview on radio dzMM.
Tabunda said Poe ate away at Binay’s numbers after her name first cropped up in the presidential race. She said Duterte’s entry in the presidential sur-veys also affected Poe and Binay’s num-bers in Mindanao.
Tabunda also noted that Duterte might have received more support from voters since September, but the flak over cursing the Pope hurt him.
A Pulse Asia survey conducted last month showed that Duterte was the most preferred presidential candidate for Metro Manila voters until the curs-ing incident.
Tabunda said Binay also benefited from the relative silence on the corrup-tion allegations against him, as there were more news reports on the issues against the other candidates.
In all this time, she said, Binay never stopped working to woo voters before Election Day.
Tabunda said administration bet Rox-as had to work on his messaging.
Garcia said they would file their peti-tion on Monday, Dec. 28, since the Su-preme Court is closed today and tomor-row for national holidays.
“We have until Tuesday [Dec. 29] to get a TRO from Supreme Court for Poe to stay on the ballot,” he said in an interview.
The disqualification cases against Poe were filed by lawyer Estrella Elamparo, former senator Franciso Tatad, De La Salle University professor Antonio Con-treras and former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez.
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno re-cently vowed to act swiftly on urgent cases related to the 2016 elections.
“In fact, we understand and it is clear to us that this Christmas season will not be a usual season for us. There might be things that we need to set aside because of the urgency of matters that need to be resolved,” she said.
“So we are keenly aware of all of those and you can see that most of the justices will be making themselves available for any eventuality… We need to work hard because this is the only process by which we can ensure that the right, just out-come will result,” Sereno said.
The Poe camp on Wednesday vowed to go after the “plotters” behind the disqualification cases and described the timing of the Comelec deicision as “suspicious.”
In a text message, Poe’s spokesperson, Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian said
they would not allow the plotters to get away with what they did.
The leak of the Comelec en banc deci-sion Tuesday night, he added, was aimed to sowing confusion and to hurt the Poe campaign.
“Why release the decisions in haste when the holiday breaks are upon us? “ Gatchalian said, noting that this could have been aimed at limiting Poe’s legal response.
“Despite these timing obstacles thrown our way, we will bring the battle to the Supreme Court in a timely man-ner taking into account the prescribed deadlines,” he said.
He said it was also “very disturbing” that some people within the Comelec leaked the decision even before the poll body could promulgate the decision.
“This is highly irregular and we be-lieve that the Comelec should look into this. Protocols and procedures are being breached. That being said, the sinister minds behind this leak have one thing in mind—to sow confusion,” Gatchalian said.
Poe said she was not surprised with the decision of the Comelec en banc but said she was undaunted.
“I am a Filipino and qualified to of-fer myself as president of our country. The Comelec cannot change that much less deprive our people of their right to choose our next leader,” she said.
The Comelec en banc on Tuesday dis-qualified Poe from running for president in 2016 on the grounds that she is not a natural-born citizen and that she did not meet the 10-year residency requirement for the post.
Ruling on a motion for reconsideration filed by Poe, the commissioners voted Tuesday night to uphold the decisions of the First Division 5-2, and Second Divi-sion 5-1 to disqualify the senator.
On Wednesday, Bautista said the Comelec had begun uploading the 216 names of candidates onto its Elec-tion Management System so that they would be able to print the official bal-lots by Jan. 26.
Uploaded onto the EMS were the names of 23 presidential candidates, six vice presidential candidates, 68 candi-dates for senator and 119 candidates for party-list groups.
Poe welcomed the Comelec decision to keep her name on the list, but said a reversal of its decision to disqualify her would allow the 2016 polls to be “repre-sentative of the people’s will.”
In a statement, Poe reiterated that she is a Filipino who lived in the country for more than 10 years.
She considered the Comelec inclusion of her name in the ballot a “first victory” for the public.
“We are continuously standing as a candidate. I believe the Supreme Court will side with the truth and the right of the public to choose their leader. Like what I have always been saying, this is not only about me, but foremost, this is about giving importance to the voice of the Filipino.”
Poe, an independent presidential candidate, reiterated that she will over-come the legal hurdles concocted by allies of her political opponents so that Filipinos will not be robbed of a choice for president.
Festival entries. Actors and actresses in colorful floats join a parade of the film entries to the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival that started in Pasay City on Wednesday. Ey AcAsio
Waiting for their gifts. About 1,800 elderly and mostly deaf and mute people wait to receive their gifts from a non-government organization at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on Wednesday. DAnny PAtA
VICE President Jejomar Binay’s days as survey front runner are numbered, a spokesman for Lib-eral Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II said Wednesday.
“I don’t think he [Binay] is in a secure position,” Rep. Barry Guti-errez said.
“Once people are reminded of his extensive links to corruption and he continues to avoid the issue, his sup-port will once again drop.”
Gutierrez made his statement even as Binay on Wednesday vowed to create more jobs should he become the next president to reduce the number of Filipinos seeking work abroad.
Binay, former presidential ad-viser on migrant Filipino workers, told members of the Federation of Free Workers in Cagayan de Oro City that he would do his best to improve the lives of Filipinos.
Binay earlier said he would focus on strengthening the five biggest creators of employment: agriculture, mining, business process outsourc-ing, manufacturing and exports.
Gutierrez said Binay’s emer-gence as the top pick in the presi-dential race was a result of the change in the public’s interest from the corruption charges Binay was facing to the issues affecting Duterte, Poe and Roxas.
“VP Binay was simply forgotten in the national conversation as it shifted to Poe, Duterte and Mar,” Gutierrez said.
“And in his case, that was a good thing because the numerous unanswered corruption charges against him also faded into the background, allowing him to re-cover some lost ground,” he said.
Binay surged 33 percent to re-gain the top spot in the latest Pulse Asia presidential survey.
Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Du-terte ranked second with 23 per-cent followed by Senator Grace Poe with 21 percent.
Roxas ranked fourth with 17 percent while Senator Miriam De-fensor Santiago placed last with 4 percent. John Paolo Bencito and Vito Barcelo
DAVAO City Mayor and presiden-tial aspirant Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday it would be time to retire if the Commission on Elec-tions disqualified him to run in next year’s elections.
He made the statement after a disqualification case was filed against him by Rizalito David, the same person who filed a disqualification case against leading presidential bet Senator Grace Poe.
David opposes Duterte’s sub-stitution for Partidong Demokra-tikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s former standard-bearer and Vol-unteers Against Crime and Cor-ruption member Martin Diño.
In a report published by SunStar Davao, Duterte said he was happy that David, who also filed a Cer-tificate of Candidacy for president but was later declared as a nui-sance candidate by the Comelec,
took time to explain the issues on his candidacy.
“I am happy that he has found time to clear everything. If I’m disqualified it would be okay, no problem,” Duterte said.
He said he would not die if he did not become president. His disqualification would mean re-tirement and that would be fine because he had already spent 40 years in the government as a may-or, prosecutor and congressman.
“Go ahead and disqualify me,” Duterte said.
In his petition filed with the Comelec, David said Duterte and Diño “desecrated the system with impunity,” given the sequence of events leading to Duterte’s filing of his Certificate of Candidacy.
David said Duterte’s CoC was “not seasonably filed,” and that Duterte missed the filing period in October when he instead filed for
reelection in Davao City.“Not only is Duterte’s CcC for
president not validly and season-ably filed but the substitution itself is legally infirm,” David said.
“As there was no valid substitu-tion, not to mention that his CoC was not seasonably filed, his can-didacy cannot, therefore, take off. The Commission cannot turn a blind eye to these violations.”
Last week, Duterte said he would support the candidacy of Vice President Jejomar Binay instead of administration bet Manuel Roxas II if he and Poe were disqualified to run by the Comelec in the May 9, 2016 elections.
“If I’m disqualified it’s okay, I don’t care,” Duterte said.
“But this much I can say: I do not have any respect for you [Rox-as]. If Grace is disqualified and I am disqualified, I will campaign for Binay.” Joel E. Zurbano
Binay also led in another poll conducted by Pulse Asia Research Inc.
The results of the Dec. 12 to 14 BW-SWS survey among 1,200 re-spondents showed 26 percent pick-ing Binay and Poe as the next presi-dent if the elections were held today.
The ruling Liberal Party wel-comed the latest results of the BW-SWS survey in which its standard bearer Manuel Roxas II placed sec-ond.
Roxas’ spokesman Barry Gutier-rez said things could still change
before next year’s elections.“What is clear here is that a sub-
stantial number of Filipinos are still deciding on which candidate to sup-port, and a lot can still change be-fore May 2016,” Gutierrez said.
The BW-SWS survey in Septem-ber saw Poe and Binay in a statisti-cal tie, with Poe’s 26 percent just two points over Binay’s, while Roxas had 20 percent.
In December, Roxas placed sec-ond with 22 percent followed by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with 20 percent.
THE results of the latest pre-election survey of Busi-ness World-Social Weather Stations showed Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Grace Poe lead-ing the field in next year’s presidential elections.
The Pulse Asia survey on Dec. 4 to 11 showed that 33 percent of the 1,800 respondents picked Binay for the highest office in the land, up from 19 percent in September.
Duterte placed second at 23 per-cent followed by Poe with 21 percent and Roxas with 17 percent.
“The recent survey results en-courage the vice-president to double his effort of directly telling our peo-ple of his plans to uplift their lives and make the government relevant in solving poverty, unemployment and other lingering social ills,” Bi-nay’s spokesman Rico Paolo Quicho said on Tuesday.
In a separate statement, Roxas said the most important survey would be the actual elections in May.
In the vice presidential race, Sena-
tor Francis Escudero was top choice with 30 percent (flat from Novem-ber) followed by LP bet Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who were tied with 19 percent. Senator Alan Pe-ter Cayetano was hot on their heels with 17 percent.
Escudero also emerged as top choice for the country’s second-highest post in the Pulse Asia survey at 29 percent.
Escudero was followed by Marcos with 23 percent, Cayetano with 18 percent and Robredo with 14 per-cent.
In the senatorial race, Senators Vicente Sotto III and Ralph Recto and former food security presiden-tial assistant Francis Pangilinan led the other aspirants. sandy Araneta and John Paolo Bencito
FORMER president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo left the Veteran’s Memorial Medi-cal Center where she has been detained since 2012 on Wednesday morning for a six-day furlough granted by the Supreme Court.
Arroyo was fetched from the hospital by her husband, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and a few close friends at 8 a.m. and ar-rived at the Arroyo family residence in La Vista sub-division in Quezon City around 8:20 a.m.
“Mrs. Arroyo was very happy, jolly and in a very light disposition,” said her former lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, who was among those who fetched the former president from the hospital.
“We talked about the traf-fic [in Metro Manila]and the presidential poll surveys while on our way to La Vista, [but] she told us not to give any political statement.”
Some of Arroyo’s friends, former Cabinet officials and son Mikey were waiting for the former president to arrive at her La Vista residence and they all had breakfast together shortly after they arrived, Gadon said.
On her first day at home, Arroyo had scramble egg, pandesal with butter, mar-inated boneless milkfish, Vienna sausage, pancake and rice for a breakfast, Gadon said.
Arroyo was “over-whelmed” when son Datu and his wife, and her two grandchildren arrived and embraced her tight, he said.
Reds break own truce,attack military outpost
Colonel Isidro Purisima, com-mander of 402nd Infantry Bri-gade based at Tandag City in Surigao del Sur, said soldiers of the 2nd Special Forces Battal-ion stationed at the outskirts of Barangay Bitaugan were attacked around 9:30 a.m.
“We are not surprised by this event,” Purisima said. “Although the CPP Central Committee made the declaration of ceasefire ef-
fective Dec. 23, 2015 until Jan. 3, 2016, their armed wing-the NPA continued their banditry.”
“Either they lack sincerity [in] their pronouncement or they have no firm control over their com-rades at the lower level,” Purisima added.
Troops managed to repel the attack and forced the NPA to dis-engage. Troops immediately pur-sued the NPA and as of press time,
By Francisco Tuyay
THE New People’s Army violated the Christmas truce it unilaterally declared after communist rebels in Surigao del Sur attacked an Army outpost in San Miguel town Wednesday morning.
another firefight ensued near the boundary of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur.
Meanwhile, Malacañang con-demned the incident as a “das-tardly act,” saying the NPA has no regard for people’s welfare, partic-ularly the attacks on military relief convoys.
“The government is fully de-termined to carry out and com-plete needed relief and rehabili-tation work in calamity-affected areas despite recent attacks in Sa-mar that momentarily disrupted our main efforts in rendering hu-manitarian assistance and disas-ter relief, as we increased the de-ployment of personnel assigned to force protection and road se-curity,” said Communications
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.“The dastardly act on the part
of the local NPAs clearly indicates their disregard for the people’s welfare,” Coloma also said.
Hours before the effectivity of Christmas truce between se-curity forces and the commu-nist rebels, the NPA attacked another military truck carrying soldiers and disaster equipment in Northern Samar, the military reported Tuesday.
Capt. Isagani Viernes, spokes-man of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catba-logan City, Samar, said one soldier was killed while three others were wounded in the attack that oc-curred at the farming town of Las Navas around dawn Tuesday.
Home for Christmas. Passengers packed provincial bus terminals in Cubao, Quezon City as they rushed to the provinces for the holiday season. LINO SANTOS
PH okays dengue vaccineTHE Philippines became the first Asian country on Tuesday to approve the sale of the world’s first-ever den-gue vaccine.
Dengvaxia, manufactured by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, secured its first regulatory approval in Mexico a fortnight ago and is cur-rently being reviewed by around 20 countries in Asia and Latin America.
It is hoped the drug could eventu-ally help prevent millions of deaths from dengue, the world’s fastest-growing mosquito-borne disease.
The World Health Organization says as many as 400 million people are infected worldwide every year, and two-thirds are in Asia.
“It’s a major step in the prevention of dengue and for public health,” Ol-ivier Charmeil, head of Sanofi’s vac-cines division, said in a statement.
Scientists have long been stumped by dengue, which has four separate strains, forcing researchers to find a drug able to fight all of them at once.
Clinical tests—carried out on
40,000 people from 15 countries—have found Dengvaxia can immunize two-thirds of people aged nine years and older, rising to 93 percent for the more severe form of the disease, den-gue haemorrhagic fever.
It was also found to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 80 percent.
Dengue can trigger a crippling fe-ver, along with muscle and joint pain. There is no known cure, and children are at particular risk.
The deadliest form of the dis-ease kills 22,000 people a year, the WHO says.
It was once considered a disease of the tropics, endemic in only nine countries, but globalization, urbani-zation, climate change and jet travel are helping it to move into more tem-perate zones.
It is now endemic in more than 100 countries.
The WHO says cases have risen 30-fold over the last 50 years, with more than half the world’s population po-tentially at risk. AFP
Cannon festival. Kidapawan residents start a Kanyong Kawayan Festival to discourage people from using fireworks during the holidays. GEONARRI SOLMERANO
DQ. Supporters of Senator Grace Poe rally in front of the Comelec headquarters on Dec. 23, 2015 after the poll body en banc issued a decision disqualifying her presidential bid. Ey AcAsio
StreSSing that the weight of the law, evìdence and the jurisprudence on the matter of natural born and residency are clearly on the side of leading presidential candidate Senator grace Poe, a broad based coalition of her supporters here and overseas denounced the decisions of the Comelec en banc quashing her presidential bid.
In a statement, Ang Grasya ng Masang Pilipino Move-ment (Grasya) spokesman Jose Samson denounced the Comelec en banc decision branding it as a “travesty of truth, justice and fair play.”
Samson, a law professor, cited three failures by Come-lec in deciding against Grace Poe’s candidacy:
1) The commissioners concerned knew that there was legal, historical, practi-cal basis for the claim that foundlings as a rule are nat-ural born citizens of the state they are found or born in;
2) that their decision not to recognize and apply such knowledge and informa-tion unto the case of Grace is a blatant act of injustice against foundlings and all who are powerless and in-nocent;
3) that the doubt created by the “unique circumstanc-es” attendant to the case of Grace must—by all stand-ards of what are fair and just in a civilized society—ben-efit the innocent and power-less foundling or at the very least must not be used to deny the sovereign citizens the proper exercise of their sovereign act of choosing servant leader.
Painters’ meat, consumers’ poison? By Joel E. ZurbanoEnvIronMEnTAl group Ecow-aste Coalition on Wednesday urged the people not to use paint brushes to apply basting sauce on barbeque and grilled meat, saying these con-tain high lead levels that can poison a consumer.
Instead of paint brushes, a food-grade basting or pastry brushes should be used, or, if these are not available, improvised mops made from banana, lemon grass or pan-dan leaves will serve the purpose, the group said.
Ecowaste, an active advocate of lead-poisoning prevention, revealed that the handles of some paint brush-es are laded with lead way above the threshold limit of 90 (parts per mil-lion) ppm for lead in paint.
It also exlained that a chemical screening of 20 paint brushes they
earlier bought for P10 to P84 each from hardware and general mer-chandise stores in cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Manila, Pasay and Quezon Cities showed exceedingly high lead levels.
The group used a handheld X-ray Fluorescence device to identify and quantify toxic metals such as lead on the mostly yellow paint coatings of the brush handles.
out of 20 samples, 17 had lead content ranging from 329 to 18,300 ppm. Significant amounts of arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury were also found in most of these 17 samples.
The top 10 paint brushes with the highest lead content are lo-tus with 18,300 ppm, Dragon Fly with14,900 ppm, an unbranded brush with 10,100 ppm, Hippo with 10,000 ppm, Camel with 9,643 ppm, 2B with 9,241 ppm, Butterfly with
8,941 ppm, Croco with 8,152 ppm, Yuko with 6,296 and MMT with 5,991 ppm.
“With frequent use, it is very like-ly that the lead paint on the brush handle will deteriorate and contam-inate the basting sauce rubbed on the meat that is eventually eaten by humans,” said Thony Dizon, Ecow-aste Project Protect coordinator.
“While further study is needed to determine potential lead con-tamination, we advise food prepar-ers to err on the side of caution and discontinue using paint brushes in food preparations,” he said.
Based on the group’s ocular in-vestigation, street vendors often use paint brushes to mop sauce on barbecue or grilled meat, or to spread margarine on other holiday favorites such as “bibingka” (rice cake) and “puto bumbong” (steamed sticky rice).
The World Health organiza-tion publication “Exposure to lead: A Major Public Health Concern” stated that lead is “a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems, including the neurologic, hematologic, gastrointestinal, car-diovascular, and renal systems.”
“The potential for adverse effects of lead exposure is greater for chil-dren than for adults, because in chil-dren 1) the intake of lead per unit body weight is higher, 2) more dust may be ingested, 3) lead absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is high-er, 4) the blood–brain barrier is not yet fully developed and 5) neuro-logical effects occur at lower levels than in adults,” it said.
“Exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscar-riage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight, as well as minor malformations,” it pointed out.
Abide by pay rules, employers urgedBy Vito BarceloTHE Department of labor and Em-ployment reminded private sector employers to observe the pay rules for the Christmas and new Year holidays.
“I urge you to share your blessings and joy of the season and, in the in-terest of our workers’ welfare and protection, pay them correctly dur-ing the holidays. voluntary compli-ance with labor laws by observing the pay rules and other core labor and occupational safety and health standards during the holidays is good for business,” labor Secretary rosalinda Baldoz said.
She said that “if the employee did not work, he or she shall be paid 100 percent of his or her salary for that
day and if the employee worked, he or she shall be paid 200 percent of his or her regular salary for that day for the first eight hours.
“But if the employee worked in ex-cess of 8 hours [overtime work], he or she shall be paid an additional 30 percent of his or her hourly rate and if the employee worked during a regu-lar holiday that also falls on his or her rest day, he or she shall be paid an ad-ditional 30 percent of his or her daily rate of 200 percent.
For contractual employee who did not work, the “no-work, no-pay” principle shall apply, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement granting payment on these special days, she added.
Traditional fare. Workers prepare roast pigs (lechon) two days before Christmas in La Loma, Quezon City on Wednesday, Dec. 23. JAnsEn RomERo
newsA6t h u r s d ay : d e c e m b e r 24 , 2 0 1 5
Customs’ collection falls
For the month of November, Customs chalked up P29.1 billion, which was P10.9 billion or 27.4 percent below the P40.0-bil-lion target for the month and lower by P2.2 billion or 6.9 percent compared with the P31.2-billion November 2014 collections.
The bureau partly cited the long non-working days during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit due to limited port activity which had severely affected revenues.
It also noted that truck bans, road clo-sures and traffic rerouting schemes within the ports’ perimeters further pulled down the daily average collection from P2 bil-lion to as low as P50 million.
“It may also be highlighted that special non-working holidays imposed in Metro Manila on Nov. 18 and 19 resulted in closed banks, further limiting business transactions at the ports,” the BoC said.
The decline in collection was also driven by the decrease in the total value of imports by 7.2 percent despite the increase in the to-tal volume of importation by 12.8 percent.
For non-oil, volume of imports grew by 19.4 percent. However, the effect of low world price oil that reduce production cost and lower value of imports by 0.8 percent resulted to a modest collection growth of 1.7 percent.
For oil products, both volume and value of imports decreased by 10.2 percent and 47.2 percent. Likewise, total oil collection decreased by 37.9 percent, to P4.2 billion from P6.8 billion in November 2014.
By Vito Barcelo The Bureau of Customs earned P29.1 billion in duties and taxes but missed its col-lection goal in November by 27.4 percent, preliminary data showed.
MMDA: More enforcers needed to manage trafficBy Joel E. Zurbano
THE Metro Manila Development Authority on Wednesday said the deployment of 2,400 traffic enforc-ers to assist police personnel man-aging traffic is not enough to grap-ple with the holiday travel rush.
“Sa laki kasi ng Metro Manila, we lacked personnel to handle traffic,” said lawyer Crisanto Sa-ruca, chief of the MMDA Traffic Discipline Office.
He said MMDA Chairman Em-erson Carlos ordered the deploy-ment of all traffic constables as-signed in three shifting schedules to help the Police Highway Patrol
Group in manning traffic on ma-jor thoroughfares, especially along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
Saruca explained that during the holiday season, people go to shopping malls, restaurants, entertainment centers, and other commercial districts, resulting in the increased vehicle volume in the metropolis.
“We have our Christmas parties in schools, houses and other venues. We go gift shopping for our loved ones,” said Saruca, citing the reasons for the overcrowding along Edsa and other major thoroughfares.
He added increase in traffic volume can also be attributed to
the influx of people and vehicles coming from Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon to go shopping, visit and spend the holidays with friends and relatives.
Saruca said the holiday rush slows the flow of traffic in Metro Manila brought about by the huge volume of vehicles, exceeding the capacity of Edsa by 75 percent.
The Edsa’s carrying capacity is 160,000 vehicles per direction. Be-fore the holiday season, 260,000 ve-hicles travel per direction along the main thoroughfare on a daily basis.
Senator Francis Escudero earlier called on the MMDA to deploy its traffic enforcers to other major
road arteries to complement its counterparts at the Highway Patrol Group stationed along Edsa.
Escudero’s move came after he noticed the lack of traffic enforcers manning other major roads last week, when traffic was expected to be heavy because of Christmas parties and last-minute shopping.
“We have put so much attention on trying to fix the traffic on Edsa and it seems that traffic elsewhere have been overlooked just like last Friday when I received many text and social media messages about the absence of MMDA traffic en-forcers on major national Metro Manila roads,” he said.
Republic of the Phi l ippinesCommision on Elect ions
Manila
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
All interested Persons with Disabi l i t ies (PWDs) and Senior Cit izens (SCs) are invited to at tend the public hear ing and consultat ion on the transfer of pol l ing precincts to ident i f ied malls scheduled on 04 January 2016, Monday, 2:00 P.M. at the 3rd Floor of Palacio del Gobernador, Post igo Street, Intramuros, Manila.
For the l ist of al l af fected barangays, please check the of f ic ial COMELEC website (comelec.gov.ph).
( TS - DEC. 24, 2015)
Marcos urges DSWD to step up reliefBy Macon Araneta
SENATOr Ferdinand “Bong-bong” r. Marcos Jr. on Wednes-day appealed to the Department of Social Welfare and Devel-opment and other agencies to beef up relief efforts in areas dev-astated by Typhoon “Nona.”
Marcos aired the call after visit-ing the province of Nueva Ecija where some areas were inundated by floods.
“While the weather has cleared and many of us are looking forward to celebrate Christmas, let us not for-
get that many people have lost their homes and what few belongings they have. Now, more than ever, they should feel that the government cares for them,” said Marcos.
“Thankfully, as of the Dec. 22 situation report of the National Disaster risk reduction and Management Council, a total of 63,184 families comprising of 286,552 individuals affected by the typhoon and flooding were provided assistance.”
The senator took note of the flooding in several towns in Bu-lacan, Pampanga, and the town of
Baler in Aurora, as well as land-slides in various areas that experi-enced heavy rains brought by the typhoon.
He said the DSWD and other agencies should continue to exert all efforts to reach all the typhoon vic-tims and provide them food and a safe place to stay even temporarily.
“That is the least the govern-ment can do to alleviate their suf-ferings this Christmas. I hope we won’t hear again of stories about dumping of undistributed relief goods that got rotten in a ware-house somewhere,” he added.
Slex patrollers cited. The Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc.’s president and chief executive officer Manuel M. Bonoan (left) presented certificates of excellent performance to 10 patrollers of South Luzon Expressway for the period Nov. 2014-Nov. 2015. These patrollers were commended for hard work as shown by their strict but fair enforcement of traffic and safety rules necessary to ensure a more secured and safer travel on SLEX. The commended patrollers are Apolonio Ylarde, Jerome Villegas, Monrico Navarro, Francis Ken-neth Tabucao, Aaron Flores, Fernan Molinawe, Gryvic Acedilla, CFO Melvin Nazareno, Operations Head Alec Cruz and (from extreme right) SLEX Patrol Supervisor Ezer Nicholas and Head of Traffic Management Col. Inocencio Silbol, PAF (Ret.). Not in photo are patrollers Jayson Fresnedi, Rodrigo Rufin and Caesar Azarcon.
• Holidays, truck ban blamed for sagging revenue
Street display. Vendors wait for buyers of Christ-mas lanterns on display along a street in Manila on Dec. 22, 2015. Lanterns are dis-played in houses, offices, build-ings, and streets, and according to Filipino tradition and beliefs, also represent the vic-tory of light over darkness. AFP
Police nab SAF memberfor rape, rescue victimBy Florante S. Solmerin
A former member of the police’s Special Action force who went on absence without official leave was arrested in Barangay Tara, Sipocot, Camarines Sur on Tuesday over a rape complaint as authorities also rescued his 15-year-old victim in the same barangay.
Senior Superintendent Mar-lon Tejada, regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and De-tection Group, said the suspect, Police Officer 1 Henry Quiño-nes, did not resist arrest when the
team cornered him at his hideout at around 7:55 a.m.
“The rescue operation against Quiñones was based on the complaint filed by a young girl and her father for rape and
Bicol workers get wage hike
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
THe Department of Health-Mima-ropa office on Wednesday assured the residents of Puerto Princesa City that Ospital ng Palawan is equipped and ready to admit patients with firecrack-er injuries and provide prompt medi-cal treatment to victims of firecracker and pyrotechnics.
Regional Director eduardo C. Ja-nairo appealed to all adults to super-vise children this holiday season and exercise extreme vigilance and cau-tion against using firecrackers and pyrotechnics.
He also encouraged them to use alternative noise makers like hoot-ers, sirens and playing loud music.
“Don’t risk your life, your family and friends by lighting up a firecracker and teasingly throwing it upwards or near a crowd of people,” said Janairo.
“When you see children playing with firecrackers, seize it immedi-ately and put it away. Remind them on the dangers of lighting a fire-cracker and the injuries they may sustain,” he emphasized.
Records from ONP showed there were 18 reported injury cases of firecrackers in Palawan in 2014, 80 percent higher compared to the 10 reported cases in 2013.
Ospital ng Palawan is a DoH-re-tained hospital and one of the senti-nel sites of Iwas Paputok 2015.
According to Janairo, all health fa-cilities in the region will be placed in Code White Alert from Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan. 5, 2016 in preparation for in-juries and incidents from firecrackers and pyrotechnics. He said all hospital personnel will be on standby for de-ployment and augmentation as the need arises for additional medical and other emergency services.
DOH-Mimaropa, together with representatives from the City Health Office, Philippine National Police will be conducting pre-Christmas and New Year rounds both in pri-vate and government health facili-ties around the city to ensure health and safety of everyone and that no illegal fireworks will be distributed and sold.
abduction of the victim by a certain Renato Suarez y Del Barrio, 41, that led to his sub-sequent arrest,” Tejada said.
The police later learned that Su-arez and Quiñones was one and the same person.
Tejada said a caliber .45 pis-tol loaded with magazine and ammo and a police identifica-tion card were confiscated from Quiñones.
He said Quiñones is a resi-dent of Basud, Camarines Norte whose last assignment before he
went Awol in 2010 was the SAF unit.
“We also found out that Qui-ñones has a pending warrant of arrest for murder in Daet, Cama-rines Norte which is now subject for verification from the court,” Tejada said.
Quiñones is facing a rape case in relation to RA 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, exploitation and Discrim-ination Act), violation of RA 10591 (Firearms and Ammunition Law) and Usurpation of Authority.
By Vito BarceloWORkeRS in the Bicol Region will receive a fitting gift this Christmas—a wage increase.
The Labor Department approved a P12 per day wage increase to minimum wage earners in non-agricultural establish-ment with more than 10 workers while P5 per day increase to workers employed in establishments who employ less than 10 workers.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the National Wages and Productivity Commission affirmed the newest wage order of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of Region V rais-ing minimum wages in the Bicol Region which will become effective on Christ-mas Day, Dec. 25, 2015.
The wage board opted to adjust the minimum wage rates, after a series of public hearings and deliberation, to enable workers to cope with the rising cost of commodities.
Baldoz said that the decision to grant an increase in the minimum wage of
workers in the region is aimed at balanc-ing the needs of workers and the viability of business and industry.
“The minimum wage of workers in non-agriculture establishments will be P265 per day. Workers in non-agriculture establishments employing not more than 10 workers; cottage/handicraft, and in agriculture establishments will be receiv-ing P248 per day,” she said.
The new rates apply to all minimum wage earners in the private sector regard-less of their position and irrespective of the methods by which their wages are paid.
Household or domestic helpers, persons employed in the personal service of anoth-er, including family drivers and workers in Barangay Micro Business enterprises, are not covered by the new wage order.
In determining the new minimum wage, the Regional Wage Board in Bi-col acted motu propio and took into consideration the concept that the minimum wage is not just to restore the purchasing power of workers, but to provide a safety net for vulnerable workers and afford equity.
Going with the flow. A couple exchanges vows by the Sitio Kilat River in Barangay Bumbuneg, San Gabriel, La Union. CHRISTINE JUNIO
Still there. The San Isidro Labrador Church in Calumpit, Bulacan is still submerged in floodwater a few days before Christmas. AFP
and improving our economic performance, finding a solu-tion to the Mindanao prob-lem and tackling our prob-lem in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea as we call it all need the attention of the next president.
One good point in having more presidential candidates is that it affords the elector-ate a better field of choice. The downside of this is that we will end up with a minor-ity president as we have been having over the past four presidential elections. We do not have a runoff election in this country. It appears how-ever, that the administration
OPINIONA8
[ EDI TORI A L ]
WHAT WE HAVE
A9ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R
T H U R S D AY : D E C E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5
OPINION
TIME really flies. Another year is ending.
At this time of the year, it is customary for everyone to look back to what has hap-pened over the past year and to what the coming new year will bring. Looking back over the past year, the nation con-tinued to suffer from more ferocious and destructive ty-
phoons. The administration however, continues to rely on the same government system that has proven to be a failure in the past and refuse to insti-tute reforms in this area.
We also hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Coopera-tion summit and spent P10 billion not to mention the other economic losses due to the shutdown of the met-ropolitan area for days. The administration also contin-ues to trumpet our continued economic growth as one of its most singular accomplish-
ments without acknowledg-ing the contribution of past administrations for setting and preparing the stage for faster and sustained econom-ic growth.
In short, the past year was difficult but the nation man-aged to keep its head well above water. The coming year on the other hand will be an-other watershed year for the nation because in about five months, we will be choosing a new president that will lead the country to a more chal-lenging future. Sustaining
RELENTLESS
ONLINE bashers should let up on Steve Harvey—tao lang, people make mistakes.
While it was indeed unfortunate that he flubbed at the crucial moment—you had one job, Steve—it was understandable after we saw that card he read from with the tiny print and the ill-designed layout.
For all the expense shelled out to stage the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, could they not hire a graphic designer, or at least someone who knows how it should be done (large font, bold name of winner, clear hierarchy)?
Steve’s apology was gracious, sincere, and remorseful. His dejected exit off-stage after his explanation was sorrowful to see. There was no conspiracy, no PR stunt. Having had years of experience myself of live performance on TV and radio, I know how it is to make mistakes on air after a long and tiring event. It really does happen, and you beat yourself up about it afterward, no need for outside help, thank you very much.
What makes the situation sadder for me is that I actually like Steve Harvey, after having read his book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment.
His advice is straightforward, much of which you’ve probably already heard or know from common sense and experience. What makes the book a must-read is that the same values seem to span cultures—“You’ve got to quit lowering your standards,” is one of them.
Harvey prides himself on being the best he can be, and this experience has most likely made him miserable, especially after the nuclear fallout on social media from several of the less-than-ladylike contestants, one of whom was Miss Colombia herself, Ariadna Gutierrez and Miss Germany, Sarah-Lorraine Riek, who said she’s “really not happy” with the outcome.
Watching some of the contestants box out Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach on stage right after Harvey’s debacle was harrowing—it was like that Mean Girls movie, but worse because it was real life. It looked like there’d be hair-pulling and dress-tearing any moment.
CLASS VERSUS CRASS
is relentless in trying to force its can-didates upon the Filipino electorate.
We all know that President Aqui-no out of his sense of loyalty chose Mar Roxas to succeed him. This was in spite of the common knowledge that Mar Roxas has a slim of win-ning. Now, the administration ap-pears to be using all the tools at its disposal to eliminate all those who pose a threat to the candidacy of Mar Roxas. After dribbling the case for days in order to lessen the time
for appeal, the Comelec en banc has finally decided to disqualify Senator Grace Poe. In spite of Palace denials, no one believes that it did not have a hand in Senator Poe’s disqualifica-tion. Now, only the Supreme Court can save the good senator.
It would seem that Senators Poe and Escudero underestimated the resolve of the administration to neutralize them and even play dirty. Maybe both thought that their be-ing frontrunners would offer some
protection. Obviously, this is not the case. The administration seems to be taking no chances.
Continued on A11
CHRISTMAS is a time for taking stock of what did and did not happen in the past year.
To be sure, many things did happen. We saw big and small news items alike in our headlines, occasioning both jubilation and desperation. Our national and local leaders have given us much to talk about and ponder. Their words and actions amused and enraged us.
Despite much that has happened, however, many also did not take place. And this is what has made Filipinos feel shortchanged.
In 2010, we were assured that the administration of President Aquino will do everything it can to narrow the income gap in the country. It popularized the mantra that there would be no poor people if there are no corrupt government officials.
In pursuance of this, it went after its political enemies unrelentingly, to the point of providing incentives to lawmakers to oust a sitting chief justice and jailing an ailing former president even as the evidence against her appeared weak.
The administration also conveniently forgot that improving the economy means creating conditions for business and investments to thrive so that its benefits could trickle down to the ordinary man on the street.
Alas, despite pronouncements of nominal growth and credit rating upgrades, a majority of Filipinos say they have not felt any change at all before and after the Aquino administration came to power. Many are still jobless and those that are working are confronted with hostile conditions going to and from their workplaces.
More than the practice of taking stock, however, Christmas is also the time to be thankful for the big and little things that we have instead of griping about the things we think we ought to have but don’t.
This administration has taught us to distinguish between posturing and hard work. Not all who call attention to themselves are actually doing their jobs. So forget about the flashy players and the big talkers: We remain thankful that many of our public officials—save for some rotten eggs—continue to toil away at their desks, and honestly, with their measly pay.
We also learned to count ourselves in. It is not solely up to the government to make our life better. We do our part and participate in the best way we can. We are vigilant and air our views using the means available to us.
Because of this administration, we learned to look at merit instead of mere affiliation. One does not become brilliant just because a relative is.
Indeed, there are many things to be thankful for this season—one just needs to learn how to look. We hope the coming year would give us more.
Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Francis Lagniton News Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares City Editor Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer
MEMBERPhilippine Press InstituteThe National Association of Philippine NewspapersPPI
can be accessed at:www.manilastandardtoday.comONLINE
MSTPublished Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-
5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: [email protected]
MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Chairman Arnold C. Liong President & Chief Executive Officer Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Jocelyn F. Domingo Director of Operations Ron Ryan S. Buguis Finance Officer
Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board
DUTYCALLS
FLORENCIOFIANZA
Continued on A11
POP GOES THE WORLD
JENNYORTUOSTE
LOWDOWN
JOJO A. ROBLES
Mr. Robles’ column will resume next week.
and improving our economic performance, finding a solu-tion to the Mindanao prob-lem and tackling our prob-lem in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea as we call it all need the attention of the next president.
One good point in having more presidential candidates is that it affords the elector-ate a better field of choice. The downside of this is that we will end up with a minor-ity president as we have been having over the past four presidential elections. We do not have a runoff election in this country. It appears how-ever, that the administration
OPINIONA8
[ EDI TORI A L ]
WHAT WE HAVE
A9ADELLE CHUAE D I T O R
T H U R S D AY : D E C E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5
OPINION
TIME really flies. Another year is ending.
At this time of the year, it is customary for everyone to look back to what has hap-pened over the past year and to what the coming new year will bring. Looking back over the past year, the nation con-tinued to suffer from more ferocious and destructive ty-
phoons. The administration however, continues to rely on the same government system that has proven to be a failure in the past and refuse to insti-tute reforms in this area.
We also hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Coopera-tion summit and spent P10 billion not to mention the other economic losses due to the shutdown of the met-ropolitan area for days. The administration also contin-ues to trumpet our continued economic growth as one of its most singular accomplish-
ments without acknowledg-ing the contribution of past administrations for setting and preparing the stage for faster and sustained econom-ic growth.
In short, the past year was difficult but the nation man-aged to keep its head well above water. The coming year on the other hand will be an-other watershed year for the nation because in about five months, we will be choosing a new president that will lead the country to a more chal-lenging future. Sustaining
RELENTLESS
ONLINE bashers should let up on Steve Harvey—tao lang, people make mistakes.
While it was indeed unfortunate that he flubbed at the crucial moment—you had one job, Steve—it was understandable after we saw that card he read from with the tiny print and the ill-designed layout.
For all the expense shelled out to stage the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, could they not hire a graphic designer, or at least someone who knows how it should be done (large font, bold name of winner, clear hierarchy)?
Steve’s apology was gracious, sincere, and remorseful. His dejected exit off-stage after his explanation was sorrowful to see. There was no conspiracy, no PR stunt. Having had years of experience myself of live performance on TV and radio, I know how it is to make mistakes on air after a long and tiring event. It really does happen, and you beat yourself up about it afterward, no need for outside help, thank you very much.
What makes the situation sadder for me is that I actually like Steve Harvey, after having read his book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment.
His advice is straightforward, much of which you’ve probably already heard or know from common sense and experience. What makes the book a must-read is that the same values seem to span cultures—“You’ve got to quit lowering your standards,” is one of them.
Harvey prides himself on being the best he can be, and this experience has most likely made him miserable, especially after the nuclear fallout on social media from several of the less-than-ladylike contestants, one of whom was Miss Colombia herself, Ariadna Gutierrez and Miss Germany, Sarah-Lorraine Riek, who said she’s “really not happy” with the outcome.
Watching some of the contestants box out Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach on stage right after Harvey’s debacle was harrowing—it was like that Mean Girls movie, but worse because it was real life. It looked like there’d be hair-pulling and dress-tearing any moment.
CLASS VERSUS CRASS
is relentless in trying to force its can-didates upon the Filipino electorate.
We all know that President Aqui-no out of his sense of loyalty chose Mar Roxas to succeed him. This was in spite of the common knowledge that Mar Roxas has a slim of win-ning. Now, the administration ap-pears to be using all the tools at its disposal to eliminate all those who pose a threat to the candidacy of Mar Roxas. After dribbling the case for days in order to lessen the time
for appeal, the Comelec en banc has finally decided to disqualify Senator Grace Poe. In spite of Palace denials, no one believes that it did not have a hand in Senator Poe’s disqualifica-tion. Now, only the Supreme Court can save the good senator.
It would seem that Senators Poe and Escudero underestimated the resolve of the administration to neutralize them and even play dirty. Maybe both thought that their be-ing frontrunners would offer some
protection. Obviously, this is not the case. The administration seems to be taking no chances.
Continued on A11
CHRISTMAS is a time for taking stock of what did and did not happen in the past year.
To be sure, many things did happen. We saw big and small news items alike in our headlines, occasioning both jubilation and desperation. Our national and local leaders have given us much to talk about and ponder. Their words and actions amused and enraged us.
Despite much that has happened, however, many also did not take place. And this is what has made Filipinos feel shortchanged.
In 2010, we were assured that the administration of President Aquino will do everything it can to narrow the income gap in the country. It popularized the mantra that there would be no poor people if there are no corrupt government officials.
In pursuance of this, it went after its political enemies unrelentingly, to the point of providing incentives to lawmakers to oust a sitting chief justice and jailing an ailing former president even as the evidence against her appeared weak.
The administration also conveniently forgot that improving the economy means creating conditions for business and investments to thrive so that its benefits could trickle down to the ordinary man on the street.
Alas, despite pronouncements of nominal growth and credit rating upgrades, a majority of Filipinos say they have not felt any change at all before and after the Aquino administration came to power. Many are still jobless and those that are working are confronted with hostile conditions going to and from their workplaces.
More than the practice of taking stock, however, Christmas is also the time to be thankful for the big and little things that we have instead of griping about the things we think we ought to have but don’t.
This administration has taught us to distinguish between posturing and hard work. Not all who call attention to themselves are actually doing their jobs. So forget about the flashy players and the big talkers: We remain thankful that many of our public officials—save for some rotten eggs—continue to toil away at their desks, and honestly, with their measly pay.
We also learned to count ourselves in. It is not solely up to the government to make our life better. We do our part and participate in the best way we can. We are vigilant and air our views using the means available to us.
Because of this administration, we learned to look at merit instead of mere affiliation. One does not become brilliant just because a relative is.
Indeed, there are many things to be thankful for this season—one just needs to learn how to look. We hope the coming year would give us more.
Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Francis Lagniton News Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares City Editor Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer
MEMBERPhilippine Press InstituteThe National Association of Philippine NewspapersPPI
can be accessed at:www.manilastandardtoday.comONLINE
MSTPublished Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-
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DUTYCALLS
FLORENCIOFIANZA
Continued on A11
POP GOES THE WORLD
JENNYORTUOSTE
LOWDOWN
JOJO A. ROBLES
Mr. Robles’ column will resume next week.
Let’s see the masters.” But, the auctioneer continued, “$10 is the bid, won’t some-one bid for $20?”
The crowd was becom-ing restless and angry. They didn’t want the portrait of the son. They wanted the worthy investments for their collections. The auc-tioneer pounded and said “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10?” A man on the second row stood up and shouted, “Now let’s get with the collection of masters!”
But the auctioneer laid down his gavel.
“I’m sorry, the auction is over. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will of the father. I was not allowed to reveal the stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that paint-ing would inherit the entire estate, including the paint-ing. The man who took the son gets everything.
God gave us His Son, Je-sus Christ, 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross to same man kind. Much like the auctioneer, His message this Christmas eve is, “The Son, the Son, who’ll take the Son?”
With this thought and message of God to one and all, I wish all a Blessed and Very Happy Christmas
tomorrow. In this world, nothing is worth much more than “The Son.”
* * *Now, back to more mun-
dane things, like politics which we, Filipino, eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The decision of the Comelec en banc, which will be promulgated today, disqualifying Mrs. Mary Grace Natividad Kelly Poe Llamanzares from running for president because she is not a natural-born citizen and that she did not meet the 10-year residency re-quirement for the post was not unexpected.
Considering the fact that the decisions of the First Di-vision was a 2-1 and the Sec-ond Division was unanimous at 3-0, it would logically fol-low that the en banc decision would be for the disqualifi-cation of Mrs. Llamanzares. This will not stop the lawyers of Mrs. Llamanzares, how-ever, from elevating the case to the Supreme Court, whose decision would be final and executory.
The problem, however, is this: Will the Comelec con-tinue to have Mrs. Llaman-zares in the list of presiden-tial candidates since the case would still be decided by the Supreme Court? If the name of Mrs. Llaman-zares will still be in the roll of candidates for President,
and the Supreme Court will finally disqualify her, her votes would be considered “stray,” and thus, would not be counted, in effect disen-franchising those who will vote for her.
Logically, there’s no way Mrs. Llamanzares will not be disqualified. Just as all the Comelec commission-ers are lawyers who are presumed to know their law and the Constitution, the Supreme Court, which is mandated to interpret the law and the Constitu-tion will rule that Mrs. Llamanzares is not natural-born and did not meet the 10-year residency require-ment under the Constitu-tion. You don’t have to be a lawyer, much more a rocket scientist to know why.
I am sure Mrs. Llaman-zares knows deep in her heart that she’ll surely be disqualified. Even her sup-porters and the people wishing her to be President know for sure what is in-evitable for her. That’s why I’m suggesting that Mrs. Llamanzares withdraw her Certificate of Candidacy to save face and save money.
Personally, I like Mrs. Llamanzares. I praised her as chairperson of the MTRCB or the Movies and Television Ratings and Classification Board, and even as senator despite her
being a neophyte. But, ev-erything has its time. Give her three years more in the Senate and she’ll surely be President in 2022. But then, she’ll have to contend with the question of not being a natural-born citizen as re-quired by the Constitution.
Looking back, I wonder if the issue of citizenship and residency would have been brought up had she run for vice president instead.
* * *The Pulse Asia poll sur-
vey showing Vice President Jojo Binay bouncing back as No. 1 in the presidential race is also not surprising.
Note that in all surveys with Mrs. Llamanzares leading, Binay’s rating nev-er went below 20 percent. Among this group are those who have already made up their minds to vote for him. It was the same core sup-port Binay had when he won against Mar Roxas for vice president.
This core support for Bi-nay, which he can easily im-prove on, springs from the fact that he has campaigned in places where no presi-dential candidate has ever gone. He also has the core support of local govern-ment executives whom he has supported financially and given material aid to during his years as mayor.
OPINIONT H U R S D AY : D E C E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5
A10
TODAY, Christmas Eve, I’m repeating the tale of “The Son,” which I have written about before. Some of my friends requested that I do this; they said they had been touched by the story, even to the point of shedding tears.
It’s also a time to medi-tate why the Son of God came down from heaven, was born of the Virgin Mary, became a lowly car-penter like his foster father St. Joseph, and went on a mission of evangelization, only to be crucified on a cruel Cross, and resurrect-ed after three days.
The tale of “The Son” as written by an unknown writer goes like this:
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in the collec-tion, from Picasso to Ra-phael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing an-other soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas Day, there was a knock at his door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said: “Sir, you don’t know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.”
The young man held
out his package to the fa-ther, and said, “I know this isn’t much, I’m not really a great artist, but, I think your son would have want-ed you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the per-sonality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the portrait.
“Oh no, sir, I could nev-er repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son, before he showed them any of the other great works of art he had collected.
The father died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influen-tial people gathered, ex-cited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The auctioneer pounded on his gavel, and said: “We will be start the bidding with this portrait of the son. Who will bid for his paint-ing?” There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.” But, the auc-tioneer persisted.
Will someone bid for his painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?” Another voice shouted angrily. “We did not come here to see this painting. We came here to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids.” But, still the auctioneer continued: “The son! The son! Who’ll take the son?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the long-time gardener of the father and his son. “I’ll give $10 for the portrait.” Being a poor man, it was all he could af-ford. “We have $10, who will bid $20?” The room was filled with shouts. “Give it to him for $10.
THE TALE OF ‘THE SON’
PEACE IS THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN US
BESIDES Lenten season, Christmas is probably the most popular of the holy days on the Christian calendar. The term “Christmas” comes from the Old English Cristes Maesse, which means “the Mass of Christ” and since its conception several centuries back, it has become an in-timate time of gift giving, reconcili-ation and goodwill. Truly it is a joy-ous time for all, and our children’s eyes rich or poor, never fail to light up at the mention of Santa Claus or Father Christmas.
This year’s Yuletide season, however, falls in an environment where we are faced with a number of challenges like increasing poverty, rising prices of basic commodities, political divisiveness, corruption, as well as accidents and calamities that has caused the loss of family and loved ones. We are coming close to a tipping point born from the injustice and insecurity of our times where the weak are socially, economically, morally and politically oppressed, and the few who have been voted to the echelons of power, those who supposedly should be guaranteeing the security and well being of our people have
instead, been steeped in inequity and self aggrandizement, blind and insensitive to the continuing ordeal of the majority of our countrymen. Inadvertently, this has built a massive wall that has hindered most from experiencing a meaningful celebration of Christmas.
Amidst these challenges howev-er, we need to help each one remem-ber the message of peace, justice and reconciliation that Christmas brings.
It was through the birth of Christ as a human, when the “Word was made flesh,” that God so humbly expressed Himself in frailty of the human vessel. Through this act, we have been given the opportunity to identify with God and with the val-ues and virtues of heaven. In this sense, we are granted an open door not only to come nearer the true im-age from which we have been mold-ed, but similarly, to gain deeper rec-ognition of our role as our brother’s
keepers and responsible stewards of His creation. Moreover, Christ-mas reminds us that the peace of God comes to us only by his pres-ence in our lives. God came to us, in the person of Jesus in the midst of conflict, persecution, and abuse of political authority. Nevertheless He brought peace to the world not by taking away or removing problems, but by adding his presence to the world as declared by His name Im-manuel—God with us. Therefore in celebrating the true spirit of Christ-mas we similarly celebrate and ani-mate the peace and joy of reconcili-ation that God’s presence brings in our lives.
As we come to the pinnacle of this year’s Yuletide season, I invite each and every one to remain fervently committed in the common goal of building a better future for our country. Christ is the star we follow and it is His light that will guide us through the night until the new day dawns upon us. As the Good Book says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” (Matt. 5:6)
Maligayang Pasko sa lahat at isang Manigong Bagong Taon!Only he who
FIGHTING SLAVERY, ONE SUPPLIER AT A TIMEBy Adam Minter
AS YOU dig into your shrimp cocktail this holiday season, spare a thought for the men and women who peeled those tiny crustaceans. According to a six-month Associ-ated Press investigation, there’s a chance the workers were modern-day slaves in Thailand, exploited by shadowy suppliers who have been linked to some of the biggest US supermarket and restaurant chains, from Wal-Mart to the Capi-tal Grille.
While horrifying, those revela-tions are sadly familiar. In-depth investigations of slave labor in Thailand’s seafood industry date back at least to 2013. According to one report, nearly 60 percent of surveyed Thai shrimp workers had witnessed a murder in their work-place. In May, embarrassed and un-der US and EU pressure to clean up the abuses, Thailand’s prime minis-ter described the problem of slav-ery in his country’s seafood indus-try as “severe.”
Eliminating the practice is going to require much more than arresting a few bad actors. US supermarkets, restaurants and wholesalers are going to have to demand that the Thai seafood industry open its supply chains, from the fishing
boat to the canning line, to outside scrutiny.
The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. “Traceability,” as the concept is called, is practiced in industries ranging from palm oil to fashion. For example, outdoor-clothing manufacturer Patagonia recently pledged full transparency in the production of the down fill-ing that goes into its coats. The company now collates and audits paperwork tracing the product’s journey from farm to factory.
In other industries, traceability occurs in real time, with each step on the supply chain recorded and tracked with bar codes. For com-panies who do it well, the benefits transcend corporate social respon-sibility. Knowing supply chains in-depth means companies can better control quality, costs and product safety.
The US seafood industry already practices varying levels of trace-ability within the domestic seafood supply chain. But 90 percent of US seafood is imported (Thailand is the third-largest supplier), and the global seafood industry is rife with fraud. According to one study, as much as 31 percent of the global seafood supply is illegally caught.
Though the US has strict regu-lations on imported seafood and
how it’s documented, only an esti-mated two percent of seafood im-ports are ever inspected. That has dinner-table consequences: a 2013 study of more than 1,200 seafood samples taken nationwide in the US between 2010 and 2012 found that a third of them had been mislabeled. (To take one example, only seven of the 120 samples of red snapper purchased nationwide were actually red snapper.)
According to the AP investiga-tion, some of that mislabeling takes place in the supply chains of large Thai seafood companies. Last week, for example, Whole Foods, which maintains a strict seafood trace-ability standard, was accused of selling slave-peeled shrimp from Thai Union, one of the world’s big-gest seafood exporters. In response, Thai Union admitted it had bought shrimp from an “unregis-tered pre-processor,” but insisted that the slave-peeled shrimp had never made its way to Whole Foods; where it went wasn’t revealed. If Whole Foods is serious about maintaining its relationship with Thai Union, the company needs to ask and then publicize the answer.
Major US seafood buyers can take additional steps as well. The first priority would be to unite be-hind longstanding efforts to create
a Global Record of fishing vessels, demanding that their suppliers (and their suppliers, too) join. Though most Thai shrimp isn’t caught at sea, so-called “by catch” used as feed for shrimp farms is. That’s the bottom of the supply chain; docu-menting it will help to illuminate where shrimp is grown, peeled and packaged, as well as who’s doing the work.
At the same time, US seafood importers need to make funding for certification, training and equip-ment available to the small busi-nesses that form the seafood in-dustry’s bottom rungs in Thailand and other countries—including fish farms and shrimp sheds that want to participate in the global supply chain.
The good news is that major companies are already demanding or working on increasing traceabil-ity in their seafood supply chains. The more companies that join them, the more pressure it places on Thailand’s seafood industry to adopt best practices for all of its customers. Those changes will in-evitably result in more expensive shrimp cocktails. But that’s a small price to pay for knowing that your seafood isn’t contributing to the scourge of modern-day slavery.
However, Miss USA Olivia Jordan, Miss Australia Monika Radulovic, and Miss Bulgaria Radostina Todorova showed their class by encouraging Wurtzbach at that moment. It was Todorova we saw in the background laughing with her head thrown back and making a sweeping gesture at Pia as if to say, “Go!”
Pia came through that experience with grace, showing kindness and compassion. That was the high point of the show. Never mind that detractors deplored her answer to the US bases question. She was asked her opinion and she gave it, said opinion not necessarily those of her government nor of some of her kababayans.
It was rather an elegant side-stepping of the issue and she did it adroitly, considering she did not know in advance what the question would be and that she had to reply immediately. We are fortunate she had the presence of mind and intelligence enough to answer with sense. At least she didn’t blurt out “Pills!”
She has tremendous confidence and belief in herself. Remember when she tweeted this after the Pacquiao-Mayweather disappointment last May: “Kalma lang guys. Ako bahala. Babawi tayo sa Miss Universe!” And by golly, she went and did it—one of the many uncanny things that surrounded this telenovela of an outcome. The Force is strong with this one.
In the end, sour-grapers aside, Pia wears the crown. As she said on Instagram the day after the pageant, after “42 years of drought” since the last Filipina Miss Universe (Margie Moran in 1973), now “it finally reigns.” That’s puny. She’s the living personification of ‘never give up.’ Congratulations, Pia!
And on that note, let us enjoy the holiday break.To my dear Pop Goes readers, thank you for reading this
column over the past five-and-a-half years. May you and your families have a happy and peaceful Christmas. Blessed be.
The next on the sight of the administration is Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. The lawyer who filed the disqualifi-cation case against Senator Poe also filed the disqualification case against Mayor Duterte. Co-incidence? It is hard to believe so. Also, reliable information has it that charges are being readied to be filed against the Mayor to de-stroy his viability. With the two frontrunners gone, that would leave VP Binay and Senator San-tiago as Mar Roxas’ opponents.
It is probably difficult for the administration to get VP Binay and Senator Santiago disqualified. But the administration is betting that with the numerous cases be-ing filed against VP Binay and children, this would be enough to destroy his chances as a candi-date. Still, VP Binay has bounced back as the frontrunner in the lat-est Pulse Asia survey which shows that what this administration is
doing is backfiring. The 2016 presidential elections
is turning out to be like the 2010 elections. The administration in 2010 picked a candidate who was weak and unable to win the elec-tion. The previous administra-tion also tried everything within its power to make its candidate win—but failed. During the 2010 elections, there were allegations of electronic vote rigging which although had a lot of basis were never investigated formally.
Former President Arroyo, instead of trying to ensure a smooth transition of power for the sake of the country, tried to ensure that her successor would be of her own choosing. That seems to be exactly what Presi-dent Aquino is trying to do. He wants his chosen successor, Mar Roxas to get elected ostensibly to continue with his daang matuwid or straight path program but the more likely reason is to ensure that he and his cohorts will not also go to jail.
Why does President Aquino persist on backing a horse that cannot win a race? There are many things said about President Aquino but he is not stupid. He must have thought about this thing very well. Maybe, he has something up his sleeve that we do not know about. Whatever it is, let us hope that it is not some-thing like the 2010 elections which was allegedly marred with irregularities.
President Aquino up to this point is enjoying better approv-al ratings than his predeces-sors which means that rightly or wrongly, the people seem to still believe in him. He should not de-stroy this just because he thinks that it is absolutely necessary to have Mar Roxas as his successor. He should just leave the choos-ing of the next president to the collective wisdom of the Filipino people and not simply ram some-one whom they do not like.
Merry Christmas and a better New Year for all of us.
The tale... From A10
And don’t forget that as chairman of the Boy Scout of the Philippines, Binay is vis-ible because the BSP calendar contains his photos. His face is plastered in many living rooms in cities, municipalities and
barrios nationwide.The only significant thing in
the Pulse Asia survey is the fact that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Du-Dirty” is statistically tied at no. 2 with Mrs. Llamanzares, and that administration candi-date Mar Roxas is a poor fourth.
With five months still to go
before Election Day, the ques-tion now is, will Binay remain a frontrunner? And with the impending disqualification of Mrs. Llamanzares, and “Du-Dirty” people are now saying that at the end of the day, it will finally be a Binay-versus-Mar fight for the presidency.
THE seventh edi-tion of the Le Tour de Filipinas, the only International Cycling Union-calendared road race in the coun-try, has drawn the attention of 19 continental and three club teams from all four cor-ners of the globe.
Teams from United States, Europe and all over Asia have applied for par-ticipation in the Feb. 18 to 21 race that will head down south for the first time in its seven years of running.
Asking to be invited for the first time in the Le Tour de Filipinas are continental teams Minsk Cycling Club (Bela-rus), Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team (United Arab Emirates), Team Sauerland p/b Henley & Partners (Germany), Team LVShan Landscape (China), GM Cycling Team (Italy), Dynamo Cover Pro Cycling Team (France), Kinan Cycling Team (Japan), Kenyan Riders Down Under (South Africa), Team Ve-ral Classic (Belgium) and Alpha Baltic Maratoni Cycling Team (Latvia).
Seeking to return to ac-tion on Philippine soil are Team Ukyo (Japan), Bridgestone Anchor Cy-cling Team (Japan), Team Novo Nordisk (USA), LX Cycling Team (Korea), Team Arbo Denzel Cliff (Austria), CCN Cycling Team (Laos), Dutch Glob-al Cycling Team (Neth-erlands), Korail Cycling Continental Team (Ko-rea), Attaque Team Gusto (Taiwan) and Pegasus Continental Cycling Team (Indonesia). All are also continental teams.
Club teams from Britain (Archive Northside Skin-nergate Team) Lithuania (Team Baltik Vairas) and Australia (Oliver’s Real Food Racing Team) are also lured to the Le Tour de Filipinas.
“We get requests for in-vitation from all over the world in each edition of the Le Tour de Filipinas,” Donna Lina, President of race organizer Ube Media Inc., said on Wednesdsay. “This goes to show that racing in the Philippines is not only about the level of competition, but also the fun that the event brings with it.”
“The Le Tour de Filipi-nas has the promotion of cycling as its primary ob-jective, but the same pre-mium is focused on pro-moting the Philippines as a tourist destination,” Lina added.
Skyway marathonregistration on
ONLINE registration is ongoing for one of the country’s premier marathons.
The Condura Skyway Marathon 2016 Run For a Hero is slated on Feb. 7 starting at 12 mid-night.
In the past years, the Condura run has cham-pioned a number of causes, such as the rehabili-tation and protection of the Tubbataha Reefs in Sulu Sea; the whale sharks in Donsol, Sorsogon; the dolphins; and the mangroves.
For the second consecutive year this year, the beneficiary of the multi-distance foot race is the Hero Foundation.
Condura is staging its 2016 marathon for the benefit of the children of soldiers killed in action or those, who have become incapaci-tated in the line of duty as an appreciation for the sacrifices they have made for the country.
Registration for the race, organized by Run-rio Inc,, is done online at conduramarathon.com and can be paid through credit card or prepaid cards.
Credit card registration is until Jan. 2, 2016. Registrants can select where they would
pick up the race kits in any of the participat-ing ASICS store nationwide from Jan. 18 to 23, 2016.
Prepaid cards, on the other hand, are avail-able in the following Asics stores: Greenbelt 3 in Makati City, Bonifacio High Street in Taguig City, Trinoma Mall in Quezon City; Centrio Mall in Cagayan de Oro City; Ayala Fairveiw Terraces in Quezon City, and Ayala Center in Cebu City.
Entry fees are as follows: P900 for the 6K race, P1,000 for 10K, P1,700 for 21K and P2,000 for the 42K full marathon.
All finishers will get a finisher’s medal, while finishers for the 42K and 21K will also get a spe-cial finisher’s shirt.
Philracom issues 2016 racing calendarTHE Philippine Racing Commis-sion recently issued their action-packed racing calendar for 2016 featuring more sponsored major races than in previous years.
Philracom kicks off the year with the Commissioner’s Cup on Jan. 17 at Metroturf Racecourse.
The 1,800-meter race is open to horses 4YO and older and offers a hefty total purse of P1.2 million. Nomination is on Dec. 29.
A new “4YO and older” stakes race is set for Jan. 31 at Santa Ana Park. This is an innovation of the present Commission under Chair-man Andrew A. Sanchez. “We an-ticipate that this new type of major race will attract more bettors be-cause they provide opportunities for local horses to shine,” he said. Along this line, there will also be “3YO Locally-Bred” stakes races.
February will be marked by a
Valentine’s Day event at San Lazaro Leisure Park—the first leg of the Import-Local Challenge for 4YO and older.
The Summer Racing Festival across all racetracks starts on Mar. 26, and the much-anticipated first leg of the Triple Crown for elite local 3YO is set for May 15 at Santa Ana Park.
The 2016 racing year will be capped by the Philracom Chair-man’s Cup and 3YO Imported Fil-
lies Championship on Dec. 11.There are 38 stakes races for
2016, including two to be held dur-ing the Mayor Ramon D. Bagat-sing Memorial racing festival in August. Not included here are the Philracom-sponsored stakes races for horseowners’ organizations MARHO, Philtobo, and Klub Don Juan de Manila, as well as charity races that may be held for worthy beneficiaries.
Fury’s potential foes clashNEW YORK—Four fighters seeking a potential showdown for an undisputed heavyweight boxing crown against Brit-ain’s Tyson Fury will meet on the same New York card on January 16, promoters revealed Tuesday.
Undefeated challengers Charles Martin and Vyacheslav Glazkov will fight for the vacant International Boxing Feder-ation world title on the same Brooklyn card where unbeaten American Deontay Wilder defends his World Boxing Coun-cil crown against Poland’s Artur Szpilka.
US southpaw Martin, 22-0 with one draw and 20 knock-outs, puts his 16-fight win streak on the line against Ukraine’s Glazkov, 21-0 with one drawn and 13 knockouts.
The fight was added to Wilder—35-0 with 34 knockouts —making his third title defense against Szpilka, who is 20-1 with 15 knockouts.
Fury won the World Boxing Association title last month by taking a unanimous decision over Wladimir Klitschko, the long-time champion from Ukraine who is set for a rematch. Fury also won three other crowns, including the IBF title he quickly vacated.
That set up the heavyweight title double-header, the first such bouts in Brooklyn for 115 years, and those winners could meet to unify the crowns and be ready for the Fury-Klitschko winner late next year to decide an undisputed king.
AFPHead coach Jason Candle of the Toledo Rockets has sports drink poured on him after the game against the Temple Owls at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. AFP
Cheerleaders from the Louisville Cardinals’ team perform during their team’s game against the Missouir-Kansas City Kangaroos in the Billy Minardi Classic at KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP
PARIS—Michel Platini told AFP in an inter-view Tuesday that he is determined to fight for the FIFA presidency and to clear his name after being banned for eight years.
Platini and FIFA chief Sepp Blatter were suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 mil-lion euro) payment made to Platini in 2011 for work carried out between 1999 and 2002.
Corruption charges against the two men were dropped by the FIFA court, but they were found guilty of “abusive execution” of their powers and a conflict of interests.
The Frenchman was informed by FIFA on Tuesday evening that he must take any ap-peal to them first before being able to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
That means, even if he does clear his name, his chances of meeting the January 26 dead-line to submit his candidacy for the FIFA pres-idency are extremely slim. AFP
Raptors hold off MavsTORONTO—Toronto guard DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 28 points and the Raptors held o� a late rally to beat visiting Dallas 103-99 Tuesday in an NBA thriller.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry added 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while cent-er Bismack Biyombo scored nine points and grabbed a career-best 20 rebounds and Luis Scola added 15 points and nine rebounds for To-ronto.
“They all came up big,” DeRozan said. “We needed everybody tonight.”
The Raptors never trailed, up by as many as 18 points in
the first quarter and well ahead when the Mavericks brought in a reserve unit with barely five minutes remaining.
The Mavericks battled back and trailed by only two points with 11.6 seconds to play on a Jeremy Evans lay-up, but Evans missed a free throw and Toronto’s Ter-rence Ross made two free throws, the last of his 16 points, to finish the scoring.
“It was a big win,” DeRo-
zan said. “We finished ugly but we got a big win. We knew they were going to make a run but we were able to withstand it.”
German star forward Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks (15-13) with 20 points and seven rebounds. He stands 10 points shy of passing Shaquille O’Neal for sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
At Miami, Detroit sank 15 three-pointers and erased an early 18-point deficit to edge the Heat 93-92.
Reggie Jackson scored 18 points to lead the Pistons while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson each added 14 points and Steve Blake had 12, while Andre Drummond scored 11 points and grabbed
12 rebounds.Chris Bosh scored 20 points,
Dwyane Wade added 19 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 16 points and 16 re-bounds to lead the Heat, who fell to 16-11.
Wade and Bosh each missed jumpers in the closing seconds as Detroit hung on for the victory, the Pistons’ fifth in six games.
- 76ers lose again -At Denver, retiring Kobe
Bryant matched his season high with 31 points to power the Los Angeles Lakers over the host Nuggets 111-107.
Bryant hit two free throws and a jumper in the final minute to secure the victory, with Den-ver fans chanting his name in the closing seconds. AFP
Bulls lose injuredNoah for 2 weeksCHICAGO—Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a sprained left shoulder, missing at least six games, the NBA team announced Tues-day.
Noah suffered the injury when he was tangled up with Brooklyn center Andrea Bargnani dur-ing Chicago’s 105-102 home loss to the Nets on Monday.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said Noah will be re-evaluated in two weeks, just in time for a January 5 home game against Milwaukee if he has recov-ered.
Noah will miss games Friday at Oklahoma City, Saturday at Dallas, home games against Toronto, Indiana and New York and a January 3 game at Toronto.
A nine-year veteran, Noah is averaging a ca-reer-low 4.5 points a game and shooting 40.4 per-cent from the field this season, where he has had to adjust to a reserve role.
Noah had scored a season-best 21 points and added 10 rebounds in 29 minutes last Saturday against New York.
The Bulls have lost three games in a row and fallen to 15-11, sixth in the Eastern Conference and third in the Central division. AFP JJ Barea (left) of the Dallas Mavericks goes to the basket against two Toronto Raptors defenders at the Air Canada Centre in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. AFP
Last hurrah: Tribute to Christ TweddellSTREAMS of the bridge contingent headed to the Cam-bridge Circle Club Games at 76 Cam-
bridge Circle, the residence of H.E. Ambassa-dor Bill and Chris Tweddell for the final game. The Forbes Park residents headed by Bea Zobel, Harriet Velayo and myself were part of the con-tingent that made up for the terrific attendance last December 17, 2015: a fitting tribute to Chris Tweddell for having kindly hosted the Thursday Games at their residence.
Chris Tweddell was a regular bridge player at my Alejandro Duplicate Bridge Games every Tuesday in Forbes Park. And aside the bridge kin-ship, I am also happy and proud to state that I am counted as one of their good friends. That explains why I had the honor and the priveledge of giving my Address to highlight their achievements during their four year stay here in the Philippines.
The text of my Address is quoted in full:“Four years ago I first met Chris Tweddell at
my Alejandro Duplicate Bridge Game. She had given up playing mahjong when she heard where bridge games were being played. From a start as a novice she metamorphosed as a skilled bridge player. Chris partnered with Ching Holley and they topped several games at the Alejandro Duplicate Bridge Game. During the Saturday bridge game she was a part of a team that won an event.
The experts said to be a good player the player
must have constant practice. Me thinks Chris played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs-day, Friday - on an Saturday… Cheers to Chris!
Chris referred to Amb. Bill as a bridge a widower. That is an understatement and wholly modest on her part. Ambassador Bill Tweddell had admirably during his four year watch as the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines played a major role in strengthening the bilateral relations of Australia with the Philippines.
This is not a motherhood statement in praise of an outgoing ambassador. I have the hard facts. Exhibit A; Australian signs “comprehensive partnership with the Philippines.”
President Aquino and Australian Prime Min-ister Malcom Turnbull had met in a bilateral meeting and signed the agreement on “compre-hensive partnership” Pres. Aquino had thanked the Australian government for the “donation of two landing craft, support to AFP moderniza-tion, and humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction management. And with regard to the global threat on terrorism, Aquino told Turn-bull that Manila “is keen on working with other countries to achieve radicalization of the indi-viduals and groups that pose security threats”
For his part Turnbull expressed “we are also very appreciative of advise to us… I thought your views on the radicalization would particu-larly be informative and helpful to us as we con-sider our responses in Australia.” This morning I read the news item” Aussie plane flies over dis-puted South China Sea.”
Amb. Bill and Chris come January 6, 2016 will be alis bayan – but I have every assurance that will the presence of their son, Paul Twed-dell that there will one of them who will be a balik-bayan. Paul Tweddell who used to live in Vietnam and once in the Philippines decided to stay here and pursue a business promoting the Philippines to visit/engage in business here. It is more fun in the Philippines!
Cheers to the Tweddells!Lastly, I propose a hearty toast, in my capac-
ity as former president of the Philippine Tour-nament Bridge Association to Madame Chris Tweddell. The attendance at the Christmas Pairs was indeed to a tribute to Chris – an unheard of 17 tables – in comparison to the dwindling at-tendance at the Saturday games.
As there was no closing ceremonies last Mon-day, to rectify that omission, it is my pleasure to present before the members the Plaque of Appre-ciation to Madame Chris Tweddell.” For her val-ued contribution to the promotion of the game of bridge in the country” signed the Philippine Tournament Bridge Association.
Let us put our hands together and toast and say Mabuhay!
This super event was directed by Mr. Phil Manalang, also a former president of the PTBA. He provided the excitement by announcing at in-tervals who the leaders were. Thanks to Phil we have the early results of the game.
PTBA Farewell Game at Cambridge –De-cember 17, 2015
Rank Pair Names (North/South Ranks)1. Shrikant Khan & Margaret Kwok2. Harumi Ieda & Chris Tweddell3. Lars Manneteg & Chuchay Tuason4. Minal Shah & Mehboobah Khan5. Sylvia Alejandro & Jopet Maliwat6. Suena Manalang & Phil Manalang7. Cora Rodriguez & Mila Wales8. Bambi Harper & Dolly Montenegro9. Glory Del Rio & Inday Canoy10. Bea Zobel & Cristina Zobel11. Nena Ramirez & Aiko Taylor12. Harriet Velayo & Pearl Godocu
Rank Pair Names (East/West Ranks)1. Susan Kwee & Barry Randle2. George Soo & Toti Fernandez3. Hector Tarrazona & Cynthia De Guzman4. Hiranthi & Nalin Samarasingha5. Menchi Cu Unjieng & Viksi Egan6. Lani Tayas & Isabel Maloles7. Alice Briones & Mencie De Vera8. Justo Manlongat & Winston Arpon 9. Titang Montinola & Isabel Wilson10. Joli Kansil & Pocholo Lozano11. Linda Wehrman & Homer De Vera12. Remy Romero Salas & Ann Aspinall13. Abla Assad & Francoise Butt
We do not say goodbye to the Tweddells but we say MABUHAY 1
Comments to: sylvia.alejandro@yahoo
SYLVIA LOPEZ ALEJANDRO
bridge Circle Club Games at 76 Cam-
bridge Circle, the residence of H.E. Ambassa-
bridge contingent headed to the Cam-SYLVIA LOPEZ
Republic of the Phi l ippinesCOMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
lntramuros, Manila
RULES ON THE C O N S T I T U T I O N , COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT OF THE BOARD OF ELECTION INSPECTORS, AND OTHER MATTERS RELATED THERETO, IN CONNECTION WITH THE 09 MAY 2016 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS (NLE).
BAUTISTA, J. A . D.,LIM, C. R. S.PARRENO, A . A .,GUIA , L . T. F.LIM, A . D.GUANZON, M. R. A. V.,ABAS, S. M.,
RESOLUTION NO. 10031Pursuant to the powers vested in i t by ex is t ing laws, the Commiss ion
on Elec t ions (Commiss ion) hereby promulgates the fo l lowing ru les on the const i tu t ion, composi t ion and appointment of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, and other mat ters re lated thereto, in connect ion wi th the conduct of the 09 May 2016 NLE:
Sec t ion 1. Scope . - These ru les shal l app ly to the const i tu t ion, composi t ion and appointment of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, and other mat ters re lated thereto, for purposes of the 09 May 2016 NLE, except in the case of loca l absentee vot ing, deta inee vot ing, ind igenous people vot ing in Mindoro Or ienta l and Mindoro Occ identa l pursuant to Minute Resolut ion No. 15 - 0178 dated 06 October 2015, and overseas vot ing, which are covered by separate ru les.
Sec. 2 . Board of e lect ion inspectors . - There shal l be a board of e lec t ion inspec tors for ever y c lustered /grouped prec inc t ident i f ied in the Pro jec t of Prec inc ts (POP) approved by the Commiss ion on Elec t ions for purposes of the 09 May 2016 NLE.
Sec. 3 . Const i tut ion, composit ion and appointment of board of e lect ion inspectors . - Dur ing the per iod f rom 04 Januar y 2016 to 15 Januar y 2016 . Elec t ion Of f icers shal l const i tu te a board of e lec t ion inspec tors for ever y c lustered /grouped prec inc t in the i r c i t ies / munic ipa l i t ies / d is t r ic ts .
The composi t ion of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l come f rom the l is t of publ ic school teachers submi t ted by the h ighest Depar tment of Educat ion of f ic ia l in the c i t y/munic ipa l i t y / d is t r ic t .
The board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l be composed of a chai rperson, a po l l c lerk and a th i rd member, a l l o f whom shal l be publ ic school teachers, g iv ing preference to those wi th permanent appointments, those who ser ved in the 13 May 2013 NLE, and those wi th spec ia l ized t ra in ing in deal ing wi th persons wi th d isabi l i t ies.
In case there are not enough publ ic school teachers, teachers in pr ivate schools , employees in the c iv i l ser v ice, or c i t izens of known probi t y and competence, who possessed the qual i f icat ions and none of the d isqual i f icat ions for appointment as member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, may be appointed.
The Elec t ion Of f icers shal l appoint the chai rpersons and the two members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, and issue the cor responding appointment papers us ing CEF No. A5 and A5), sample format at tached, in three (3) copies, d is t r ibuted as fo l lows:
a. F i rs t copy, to the Elec t ion Of f icer for h is f i le;b. Second copy, to the Elec t ion Of f icer to be at tached to the payro l l fo r the
payment of per d iems/honorar ia of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors; andc. Thi rd copy, to the appointee.
Sec. 4. Oath of the chairperson and members of the board of e lect ion inspectors . - Before assuming of f ice, the chai rperson or member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, shal l take and s ign an oath us ing CEF No. A5 and A5 -A , sample form at tached, before an of f icer author ized to adminis ter oath or, in h is absence, before any other member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors present , or in case no one is present , before any voter.
Sec. 5 . Qual i f icat ions of chairperson and members of the board of e lect ion inspectors . - No person shal l be appointed as chai rperson, member or subst i tu te member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors un less such person is of good mora l charac ter and i r reproachable reputat ion, a reg is tered voter of the c i t y or munic ipa l i t y, has never been conv ic ted of any e lec t ion of fense or of any other c r ime punishable by more than s ix months of impr isonment , has no pending e lec t ion of fense case against h im, and is ab le to speak and wr i te Engl ish or the loca l d ia lec t .
Sec. 6 . Disqual i f icat ion . - No person shal l ser ve as chai rperson or member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors i f re lated wi th in the four th c iv i l degree of consanguin i t y or af f in i t y to any member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors or to any candidate to be voted for in the po l l ing p lace or the candidate’s spouse.
Sec. 7. Not ice of d isqual i f icat ion . - The chai rperson or any member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors who is d isqual i f ied to ser ve in the board of e lec t ion inspec tors for any reason shal l immediate ly not i f y in wr i t ing the Elec t ion Of f icer concerned. The Elec t ion Of f icer, in turn, shal l immediate ly appoint a subst i tu te.
Sec. 8 . Powers and func t ions of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors. - In addi t ion to the powers and func t ions prescr ibed by law or by t ! :e ru les and regulat ions issued by the Commiss ion on Elec t ions, the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l :
a . Conduct the vot ing and count ing of votes in the i r respec t ive po l l ing p laces, inc luding the f ina l test ing and seal ing of the Vote Count ing Machines ( VCMs); and
b. Ac t as deput ies of the Commiss ion in the super v is ion and cont ro l of the e lec t ion in the po l l ing p laces where in they are ass igned, to assure the ho ld ing of the same, in a f ree, order ly and honest manner.
Sec. 9. Vot ing pr iv i lege of the board of e lect ion inspectors . - The chai rperson and members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors may vote in the po l l ing p lace where they are ass igned on e lec t ion day i f they are reg is tered voters of the c i t y, munic ipa l i t y or d is t r ic t where they are ass igned.
In the a l ternat ive, the board of e lec t ion inspec tors may avai l o f loca l absentee vot ing pursuant to Comelec Resolut ion No. 10003 dated 14 October 2015 ent i t led ” Ru les and Regulat ions On Local Absentee Vot ing In Connect ion Wi th The May 9, 2016 Nat ional and Local E lec t ions” .
Sec. 10. Meet ings of the board of e lect ion inspectors . - The meet ings of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l be publ ic and he ld on ly in the po l l ing p lace author ized by the Commiss ion.
The board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l ac t through i ts chai rperson, and, w i thout de lay, dec ide by major i t y vote, a l l quest ions which may ar ise in the per formance of i t s dut ies.
The board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l have fu l l author i t y to mainta in order w i th in the po l l ing p lace and i ts premises, to keep access thereto open and unobst ruc ted, and to enforce obedience to i ts law fu l orders.
I f a person refuses to obey law fu l orders of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, or ac ts in a d isorder ly manner in i ts presence or w i th in i ts hear ing and thereby inter rupt or d is turb i ts proceedings, the board of e lec t ion inspec tors may issue an order in wr i t ing d i rec t ing any peace of f icer to take such person into custody unt i l the adjournment of the meet ing, but such order shal l not be executed as to prevent any person so taken into custody f rom exerc is ing the r ight to vote. Such order shal l be executed by any peace of f icer to whom i t may be de l ivered, but i f none present , by any other person deput ized in wr i t ing by the board of e lec t ion inspec tors.
Sec. 11. Prohibi t ion of pol i t ical act iv i t y. - No member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l engage in any par t isan po l i t ica l ac t iv i t y or take par t in the e lec t ion except to d ischarge h is dut ies as such and to vote.
Sec. 12. Temporar y vacancies in the board of e lect ion inspectors . - I f , a t the t ime of the meet ing of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, any member is absent , or a pos i t ion in the board of e lec t ion inspec tors is s t i l l vacant , the members present shal l ca l l upon the subst i tu te of the absent members to per form the dut ies of the lat ter, and in case such subst i tu te cannot be found, the members present shal l appoint any qual i f ied nonpar t isan reg is tered voter of the po l l ing p lace to temporar i ly f i l l sa id vacancy unt i l the absent member appears or the vacancy is f i l led. In case there are two or more members present , they shal l ac t jo int ly.
Sec. 13. Arrest of absent members . - The member or members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors present may order the ar rest of any member or subst i tu te thereof, who in the member or members judgment , is absent w i th intent ion of obst ruc t ing the per formance of dut ies of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors .
Sec. 14. Rel ief and subst i tu t ion of the members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors . - The members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l not be re l ieved unless d isqual i f ied as prov ided here in.
Within three (3) days from the issuance of the appointments of the members of the board of elect ion inspectors, the Elect ion Of f icer shall prepare and cause the post ing of the l ist of members of the board of elect ion inspectors in the bul let in boards of the Of f ice of the Elect ion Of f icer and of the barangay hal ls. The Elect ion Of f icer shall furnish copies of the l ist to interested par t ies upon request.
Wi th in three (3) days f rom the post ing of the l is t of members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, any interested par t y may f i le an opposi t ion to the appointment of any member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors on the ground that the member does not meet the qual i f icat ions for appointnent as member of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors or is d isqual i f ied due to prohib i ted re lat ionship. Wi th in for t y- e ight (48) hours f rom rece ipt of the opposi t ion, the Elec t ion Of f icer shal l determine whether the member is d isqual i f ied or not . I f d isqual i f ied, the Elec t ion Of f icer shal l appoint a subst i tu te who meets the qual i f icat ions and none of the d isqual i f icat ions.
Sec. 15. Suppor t s taf f o f t i re board of e lec t ion inspec tors . - The Elec t ion Of f icers shal l , dur ing the per iod for the const i tu t ion and appointment of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, appoint suppor t s taf f to ass is t the board of e lec t ion inspec tors in the per formance of i t s dut ies.
The suppor t s taf f need not be a reg is tered voter of the c i t y or munic ipa l i t y or d is t r ic t but must possess a l l the other qual i f icat ions and none of the d isqual i f icat ions for appointment to the board of e lec t ion inspec tors.
The number of suppor t s taf f that may be appointed per board of e lec t ion inspec tors are as fo l lows:
Number of Estab l ished Prec inc ts In the
Clustered Group Prec inc ts
Number of A l lowable Suppor t S taf f
1 to 3 0
4 1
5 or more 2
The suppor t s taf f cannot par t ic ipate in the de l iberat ion of the board or vo le on any issue or quest ion that may ar ise dur ing the proceedings.
In case of absence of any of the suppor t s taf f on the day of the e lec t ion, the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, by major i t y vote, may des ignate a subst i tu te who need not be a reg is tered voter of the c i t y or munic ipa l i t y but possesses a l l the other qual i f icat ions and none of the d isqual i f icat ions for appointment as suppor t s taf f.
Sec. 16. Pol l ing /vot ing center super visors and suppor t staf f; composit ion and funct ions . - Elec t ion Of f icers shal l , w i th in the per iod for the const i tu t ion and appointment of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, const i tu te at least one (1) DepEd Pol l ing / Vot ing Center Super v isor and one (1) Po l l ing / Vot ing Center suppor t s taf f fo r ever y po l l ing center des ignated by the Commiss ion on Elec t ions for purposes of the 09 May 2016 NLE.
In case of po l l ing /vot ing centers w i th more than ten (10) c lustered / grouped prec inc ts , Elec t ion Of f icers may const i tu te an addi t ional one (1) DepEd Super v isor and one (1) suppor t s taf f in accordance wi th the fo l lowing tab le:
Number of Clustered /Grouped Prec inc ts
Number of Addi t ional DepEd Super v isor
Number of Addi t ional Suppor t Staf f
11-20 1 1
21-30 2 2
31- 40 and for th us ing the same rat io
3 3
The po l l ing /vot ing center super v isor and suppor t s taf f need not be reg is tered voters of the c i t y or munic ipa l i t y or d is t r ic t where they are ass igned
RESOLUTION NO. 10031Pursuant to the powers vested in i t by ex is t ing laws, the Commiss ion
but must possess a l l the other qual i f icat ions and none of the d isqual i f icat ions for appointment to the board of e lec t ion inspec tors.
The po l l ing /vot ing enter super v isor, in coordinat ion wi th the Elec t ion Of f icer, shal l :
a . P lan, organize and super v ise the set t ing up of a voters’ ass is tance center at the po l l ing /vot ing center to ass is t voters in locat ing the i r po l l ing p laces or prec inc t ass ignments;
b. Plan, organize and super v ise the c rowd management at the ent rance areas of the po l l ing p laces;
c . Mainta in a l is t of technica l personnel as wel l as PNP and AFP personnel ass igned in the vot ing centers for ef f ic ient coordinat ion; and
d. Ser ve as the contac t and po int person of the Elec t ion Of f icer in the po l l ing / vot ing center.
Sec. 17. Per d iems of the board of e lect ion inspectors and their suppor t staf f , pol l ing /vot ing center super visors and their suppor t staf f. - The chai rperson and members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l rece ive a per d iem at the rate of One Thousand Pesos (PhP1,000.00) a day for three days or a tota l per d iem o f Three Thousand Pesos (PhP3,000.00). A lso, each shal l rece ive an addi t ional per d iem o f F ive Hundred Pesos (PhP500.00) for the ver i f icat ion and seal ing of the book of voters, and another Five Hundred Pesos (PhP500.00) per d iem fo r the f ina l test ing and seal ing of the VCMs. A one - t ime t ranspor tat ion a l lowance of Five Hundred Pesos (PhP500.00) shal l be prov ided to the chai rperson and members of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors.
The suppor t s taf f o f the board of e lec t ion inspec tors shal l rece ive a per d iem of Five Hundred Pesos (PhP500.00) per day for three (3) days or a tota l of One Thousand Fie Hundred Pesos (PhPl,500.00) each.
Po l l ing /vot ing center super v isors shal l rece ive a per d iem o f One Thousand Pesos (PhP1,000.00) a day for three days or a tota l per d iem o f Three Thousand Pesos (PhP3,000.00). Po l l ing / vot ing center suppor t s taf f shal l rece ive a per d iem o f F ive Hundred Pesos (PhP500.00) per day for three (3) days or a tota l of One Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (PhPl,500.00) each.
In addi t ion, the board of e lec t ion inspec tors and the i r suppor t s taf f, the po l l ing /vot ing center super v isors, and the i r suppor t s taf f shal l be g iven f ive (5) days of leave c redi ts or ser v ice c redi ts , as the case may be, for ser v ices rendered in connect ion wi th the e lec t ions.
Sec. 18. Insurance of personnel o f the Commiss ion on Elec t ions and other personnel o f the government , inc lud ing the Phi l ipp ine Nat ional Po l ice, the Armed Forces of the Phi l ipp ines , in the per formance of e lec t ion dut ies . - The amount of Thi r t y Mi l l ion Pesos (PhP30,000,000.00) is hereby set as ide as compensat ion for death, in jur y or s ickness susta ined in the per formance of e lec t ion duty, by personnel of the Commiss ion and other government agenc ies deput ized by the Commiss ion. In case of death in connect ion wi th the per formance of e lec t ion duty, the he i rs of the deceased of f ic ia l or employee shal l rece ive the amount of Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP200,000.00).
For th is purpose, the Finance Ser v ices Depar tment of the Commiss ion shal l , w i th in seven (7) days f rom the promulgat ion of th is Resolut ion, formulate the guide l ines for the avai lment of compensat ion for death, in jur y or s ickness in the per formance of e lec t ion duty, and submi t sa id guide l ines for the approval by the Commiss ion on Elec t ions.
Sec. 19. Repor tor ia l requi rements. - The Elec t ion Of f icer shal l , w i th in f ive (5) days f rom the const i tu t ion, appointment and des ignat ion of the: (a) board of e lec t ion inspec tors and the i r suppor t s taf f ; and (b) po l l ing /vot ing centers super v isors and the i r suppor t s taf f, submi t to the Finance Ser v ice Depar tment of the Commiss ion, the fo l lowing:
a. List containing the names of the appointed chairpersons and members of the board of elect ion inspectors, their designat ions in the board, an indicat ion whether they are public school teachers or pr ivate school teachers or c ivi l service employees or pr ivate c it izens, arranged by precinct;
b. L is t conta in ing the names of the appointed suppor t s taf f o f the board of e lec t ion inspec tors, an indicat ion whether they are publ ic school teachers or pr ivate school teachers or c iv i l ser v ice employees or pr ivate c i t izens, ar ranged by prec inc t ; and
c. L is t conta in ing the names of the appointed po l l ing /vot ing center super v isors and the i r suppor t s taf f, an indicat ion whether they are publ ic school teachers or pr ivate school teachers or c iv i l ser v ice employees or pr ivate c i t izens, ar ranged by po l l ing /vot ing center ;
Sec. 20. Spec ia l procedures . - The Commiss ion may, in except ional cases, adopt spec ia l guide l ines in the const i tu t ion, appointment and des ignat ion of the board of e lec t ion inspec tors and other mat ters re lated thereto, to ensure f ree, honest , order ly, peacefu l and c redib le e lec t ions.
Sec. 21. Ef fectivi ty, publ icat ion and dissemination. -This Resolut ion shall take ef fect on the seventh (7th) day fol lowing i ts publicat ion in two (2) dai ly newspapers of general c irculat ion in the Phi l ippines.
The Educat ion and Information Depar tment of the Commission on Elect ions shall cause the publicat ion of this Resolut ion in two (2) dai ly newspapers of general c irculat ion in the Phi l ippines, and furnish copies thereof to the Depar tment of Educat ion, the Regional Elect ion Directors, the Provincial Elect ion Supervisors and Elect ion Of f icers.
SO ORDERED.
J. ANDRES D. BAUSTISTAChairman
CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM AL A . PARREÑO Commiss ioner Commiss ioner
LUIE TITO F. GUIA ARTHUR D. LIM Commiss ioner Commiss ioner
MA . ROWENA AMELIA V. GUANZON SHERIFF M. ABAS Commiss ioner Commiss ioner
Republic of the Phi l ippinesCOMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
lntramuros, Manila
ENBANC
IN THE MATTER OF AMENDING SECTION 3 of RESOLUTION NO. 9987, “In the Matter of the Guidelines in the Conduct of the Source Code Review of the Automated Election System for the 09 May 2016 National and Local Elections.”
BAUTISTA, J. A . D. ,LIM, C. R . S.PARRENO, A . A . ,GUIA , L . T. F.LIM, A . D.GUANZON, M. R . A . V. ,ABAS, S. M.,
RESOLUTION NO. 10032WHEREAS , Reso lut ion No. 9987 was promulgated on 14 September 2015
set t ing the guide l ines for the conduct of the Local Source Code Review for the 09 May 2016 Nat ional and Local Elec t ions;
WHEREAS , the conduct of a suf f ic ient source code rev iew by any interested par t y as prov ided under Sec t ion 12 of Republ ic Ac t No. 9369 wi l l enhance publ ic acceptance of and bui ld publ ic conf idence in the Automated Elec t ions System;
WHEREAS , Reso lut ion No. 9987 sets the per iod for the star t of the code rev iew of the customized and conf igured codes only upon the cer t i f icat ion of the Technica l Evaluat ion Commit tee (TEC) of the Automated Elec t ions System;
WHEREAS , the latest vers ions of the customized and conf igured codes wi l l become avai lab le even before the TEC Cer t i f icat ion;
WHEREAS , Reso lut ion No. 9987 prov ides that “ the Commiss ion may modi f y the above gu idel ines as i t may deem f i t and necessar y.”
WHEREAS , in order to enhance the above -ment ioned objec t ives, there is a need to amend Resolut ion No. 9987 to af ford the par t ies the oppor tuni t y to rev iew the customized and conf igured codes as soon as these codes become avai lab le;
NOW, THEREFORE , pursuant to the powers vested in i t by the Const i tu t ion, the Omnibus Elec t ion Code Republ ic Ac t No. 9369, and other e lec t ion laws, the Commiss ion has RESOLVED, as i t hereby RESOLVES , to approve, adopt , and amend the ex is t ing guide l ines in the conduct of the code rev iew by interested par t ies or groups of the Automated Elec t ions System for the 09 May 2016 Nat ional and Local Elec t ions:
SECTION 1. Sec t ion 3 is hereby amended to read as fo l lows:
SEC. 3 . Review Phases . The source code rev iew shal l invo lve two phases. The f i rs t phase covers the rev iew of the basel ine source codes. The second phase covers the rev iew of the source codes af ter the systems have been customized and conf igured according to the preference and needs of the Commiss ion. The second phase of rev iew shal l be under taken upon the avai lab i l i t y of the customized and conf igured codes. The star t and durat ion of the loca l source code rev iew for each of the phases shal l be set by the Commiss ion. However, the Ad-hoc Commit tee on the Local Source Code Review may adjust the rev iew schedules as i t may deem necessar y subjec t to reasonable not ice to the par t ies.
Let the Educat ion and Informat ion Depar tment cause the immediate publ icat ion of th is Resolut ion in two (2) da i ly newspapers of genera l c i rcu lat ion in the Phi l ipp ines.
SO ORDERED.
J. ANDRES D. BAUSTISTAChairman
CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM AL A . PARREÑO Commissioner Commissioner
LUIE TITO F. GUIA ARTHUR D. LIM Commissioner Commissioner
MA . ROWENA AMELIA V. GUANZON SHERIFF M. ABAS Commissioner Commissioner
Comelec Resolut ion No. 10032In the mat ter of amending Sect ion 3 0 f Reso lut ion No. 9987.“ In the mat ter of the Guide l ines in the Conduct of t he Source CodeReview of the Automated Elec t ion System for the May 9, 2016 Nat ionaland Local Elec t ions”
( TS - DEC. 24, 2015)
J. ANDRES D. BAUSTISTAChairman
CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM AL A . PARREÑO
J. ANDRES D. BAUSTISTAChairman
Commiss ioner
LUIE TITO F. GUIACommiss ioner
CHRISTIAN ROBERT S. LIM
MA . ROWENA AMELIA V. GUANZONCommiss ioner
SHERIFF M. ABASCommiss ioner
RESOLUTION NO. 10032, Reso lut ion No. 9987 was promulgated on 14 September 2015
set t ing the guide l ines for the conduct of the Local Source Code Review for the
PHILIPPINE authorities have said a heart attack caused the death of Chinese mixed martial arts fighter Yang Jian Bing, who collapsed a day before a Manila bout, fight or-ganisers said Wednesday.
“The official autopsy report ad-ministered by the Republic of The Philippines... has determined the cause of death for mixed martial arts athlete and One Championship flyweight Yang Jian Bing to be from an acute myocardial infarction,” One Championship said in a state-ment on the organization’s website.
One Championship earlier re-ported the 21-year-old had collapsed and was taken to a Manila hospital on December 10 as he suffered se-vere dehydration from attempting to make the weight limit for his De-cember 11 fight.
A Filipino medical legal officer performed the autopsy on Decem-ber 12 to determine the cause and manner of death, which was found to be acute myocardial infarction, the organization said, using the medical term for heart attack.
A private vigil was held in Ma-nila for Yang’s family and friends and his body has been repatriated to China, it added.
“Yang Jian Bing’s passing has been and extremely sad and pain-ful time for me and the entire MMA community. My thoughts are with Yang’s family, friends and fans around the world,” One Championship chief executive Victor Cui said.
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
NEWLY CROWNED World Boxing Organization super bantamweight champion Nonito “The Fili-pino” Flash Donaire will make the first defense of his World Boxing Organization super bantam-weight title at the Smart Araneta Coliseum either on April 16 or 23.
Donaire earlier indicated he was hoping his next title de-fense will be in Manila so he can repay the fans, who have supported him especially af-ter his gallant performance against Cesar Juarez of Mexico to win the WBO super bantam-weight title for the second time around.
The Standard/boxingmirror.com learned that ABS-CBN had come to terms with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who recent-ly signed a three-fight deal with Donaire for 2016, Asia’s leading promotional outfit ALA Promo-tions and Donaire himself.
Arum previously told The Standard that Donaire would defend his title against Evgeny Gradovich, the former feather-weight champion nicknamed the “Russian-Mexican” sometime in late April, after the planned Man-ny Pacquiao fight on April 9, al-though the Filipino ring icon has still to pick an opponent.
Donaire, who arrived last week from Puerto Rico via Los Angeles with wife Rachel and their two sons, said they plan to stay in the country until February, but if the title defense in Manila pushes through, he will stay and train in the country until then.
‘Chinese MMA fighter
died ofheart attack’
Donairedefends
title inthe PH
Raptorshold offMavericksTURN TO A12
Platinivows tofightinjusticeTURN TO A13
Donaire told this writer at a luncheon hosted by Gabby Lopez, the top honcho of ABS-CBN, that Gradovich has been calling him out.
And although they are friends and he was a sparring partner when he prepared for the Wilfre-do Vazquez Jr. title fight, Donaire said “it’s all business and nothing personal.”
“Gradovich is like Cesar Juarez. He keeps coming forward and throws a lot of punches even when retreating,” said Donaire, who conceded that Gradovich doesn’t have too much power.
Donaire told The Standard/boxingmirro.com that he just has to study tapes of his opponent.
He also said he will fight any-body they put in front of him. “I’m ready to train, ready to go.”
The WBO super bantam-weight champion a sec 5 ond time around praised his wife Rachel for his change in atti-tude and habits and his father/trainer Dodong Donaire for “doing an amazing job,” both
during training and during the fight itself but admitted he couldn’t implement all his in-structions in-between rounds because of “the freak accident” when he was tripped by Puerto Rican referee, Pena.
Donaire was happy to have re-deemed his reputation with the brutal “Fight of the Year’ candi-date and welcomed the tremen-dous response he has received for his remarkable performance against a fighter of the caliber of Juarez.
Gradovich, a f leet-footed southpaw with quick hands and a fighter, who throws a lot of punches even when back-pedal-ing, won the featherweight title by a ninth-round TKO in a re-match with Australia’s Billy Dib on Nov. 24, 2013 after winning the title via a 12-round split de-cision on March 1, 2013.
Despite putting on a game de-fense of his title on May 30 this year, Gradovich lost by an eighth-round technical decision to Brit-ain’s Lee Selby last Oct. 24.
SPORTS
WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire’s wish of defending his title on local soil comes true at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, either on April 16 or 23.
Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasWednesday, December 23, 2015
Foreign exchange rateCurrency Unit US Dollar PesoUnited States Dollar 1.000000 47.2980
Japan Yen 0.008260 0.3907
UK Pound 1.482500 70.1193
Hong Kong Dollar 0.128997 6.1013
Switzerland Franc 1.012658 47.8967
Canada Dollar 0.718081 33.9638
Singapore Dollar 0.712099 33.6809
Australia Dollar 0.723694 34.2293
Bahrain Dinar 2.656395 125.6422
Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266581 12.6087
Brunei Dollar 0.709572 33.5613
Indonesia Rupiah 0.000073 0.0035
Thailand Baht 0.027722 1.3112
UAE Dirham 0.272301 12.8793
Euro Euro 1.095300 51.8055
Korea Won 0.000855 0.0404
China Yuan 0.154350 7.3004
India Rupee 0.015110 0.7147
Malaysia Ringgit 0.233100 11.0252
New Zealand Dollar 0.681106 32.2150
Taiwan Dollar 0.030492 1.4422 Source: PDS Bridge
7,002.4236.24
Closing December 23, 2015PSe comPoSite index
43.50
44.60
45.40
46.20
47.00
HIGH P47.315 LOW P47.200 AVERAGE P47.275
Closing DECEMBER 23, 2015PeSo-dollar rate
VOLUME 427.000M
Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng PilipinasBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
World Bank approves $500-m loan to address PH calamities
BUSINESS
Bullish in London. Shoppers are refl ected in a shop window as they walk along Oxford Street, one of the main shopping streets in central London, on December 22, 2015. Britain’s retail sales rebounded sharply in November, helped by buying on ‘Black Friday’ when items are heavily discounted in the run-up to Christmas, offi cial data showed last week. AFP
THE World Bank on Wednesday approved a new contingent line of credit support worth $500 million to help the Philippines manage risks posed by natural disasters.
� e World Bank said its board of executive directors approved the Second Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan with a catastrophe-deferred drawdown option to provide $500 million to strengthen investment planning and regulations to
reduce disaster risks and help manage the � nancial impacts when they strike.
World Bank country director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi said the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Strategy would strengthen the country’s capacity to manage disaster risks.
“If not managed well, disasters can roll back years of development gains and plunge millions of
people into poverty,” said Konishi. � e Philippines can access
the new credit line following “a state of calamity” declared by the president.
“� e Philippines is among the most vulnerable countries in the world. Together, the 20 most vulnerable countries face escalating losses of $44.9 billion due to climate-related natural disasters alone. Inaction is set to cost us even more. With the
number set to multiply almost ten-fold by 2030, amounting to $418 billion, we turn to innovative � nancing mechanisms to boost our resilience,” said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.
More than 1,000 lives are lost every year in the Philippines, with typhoons accounting for 74 percent of the fatalities, 62 percent of the total damage and 70 percent of agricultural damage. � e country is also
highly exposed to geologic hazards including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
CAT-DDO 2 gives the Philippines � exibility to use the funds as needed. � e drawdown period is three years and renewable up to four times for a total of 15 years. Amounts repaid during the drawdown period are available for subsequent withdrawal.
Gabrielle H. Binaday
By Gabrielle H. Binaday
LOW oil prices and limited port activities during Manila’s hosting of the Asia-Paci� c Economic Cooperation pulled down Customs collections by 6.9 percent in November from a year ago.
� e Bureau of Customs said collections in November fell to P29.1 billion from P31.2 billion in the same period last year. It also fell 27.4 percent short of the P40-billion target for the month.
It was the eighth month this year that the agency missed its target, with only the months of March and June showing on-target collections.
� e agency said the additional holidays declared in November to give way to the smooth hosting of Apec Summit in Manila had a� ected port operations and customs revenues.
“� e bureau also notes that despite expediting customs services several weeks before the Apec meetings, limited port activity had severely a� ected revenues,” the agency said.
It said the truck ban, road closures and tra� c rerouting schemes within the ports’ perimeters further pulled down the daily average collection from P2 billion to as low as P50 million.
“It may also be highlighted that special non-working holidays imposed in Metro Manila on Nov. 18 and 19 resulted in closed banks, further limiting business transactions at the ports,” Customs said.
Collection was also pulled down by the 7.2-percent decrease in value of merchandise imports in November, despite the increase in the total volume of shipments.
Non-oil imports grew 19.4 percent in terms of volume, but fell 0.8 percent in terms of value.
Oil imports also dropped 10.2 percent in terms of volume and 47.2 percent in terms of value.
Total oil collection in November decreased by 37.9 percent to P4.2 billion from P6.8 billion in the same month last year.
Customs said total collection in the � rst 11 months also went down by 0.4 percent to P329.8 billion from a year earlier.
� e 11-month � gure was also P67.37 billion or 16.96 percent short of the P397.173-billion target for the period.
� e Bureau of Customs is the second largest revenue-collecting agency of the government, next to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Government revenues in October slightly increased 7 percent year-on-year to P163 billion but fell 13 percent short of the P187.61 programmed collection for the month.
Gawad Saka awardees. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (center), Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna (first from left) and Gawad Saka 2015 chairman and director Ariel Cayanan (second from left) pose with the 45th Gawad Saka awardees at the Reception Hall, Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on December 9, 2015. The outstanding achievers—farmers and fishers from different regions—received presidential citations, commendations and cash awards for their exceptional achievements and contributions to the overall growth in agri sector for the past years.
By Jenniffer B. Austria
THE Securities and Exchange Commission en banc agreed to extend the effectivity of financial statements to 180 days from the current 135 days to align rules with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations standard.
“This reform in financial report-ing standard aims to address the recurring requests from compa-nies for exemptive relief to extend the effectivity of their FS. This is also in line with the Asean stan-dard for the age requirement for FS which is 180 days,” SEC said.
“Accounting and auditing pro-fessionals, prospective issuers of securities and other concerned organizations are advised to take note of this new requirement. With the approval..., the Commission will no longer entertain further re-quest for extension of the 180-day period,” the SEC added.
The Securities Regulation Code provided that for a registration statement to become effective, the financial information should as of a date within 135 days or such longer period which the commission may allow upon favorable consideration of a written request of the registrant.
“The factors that may considered in granting the request include the time constraints and the significant circumstances surrounding the giv-en proposed issue,” the code said.
Several companies, especially those planning to conduct initial public offerings and experiencing difficulty in securing regulatory approvals, have asked for an exten-sion of the effectivity of their finan-cial statements.
The SEC said the new directive was effective immediately.
The SEC in August also amend-ed some of the provisions of the Securities Regulation Code.
THE Philippine Stock Exchange remains confident its request to own at least two-thirds of Philip-pine Dealing Systems Holdings Corp. will be approved by the Se-curities and Exchange Commis-sion.
The PSE said in a statement it was providing the corporate regulator with additional in-formation on the proposed ac-quisition of PDS Holdings, the operator of the country’s fixed exchange.
The PSE has been given until January 26, 2016 by the SEC to clarify certain items about the PDS deal.
“We hope that the additional requirements we will provide will
be sufficient basis for the SEC to approve our request to pursue this landmark transaction,” said PSE president and chief executive Hans Sicat.
The PSE submitted its appli-cation for an exemption relief to the SEC in April 2015 after some of the major shareholders of PDS Holdings agreed to sell their stake to PSE, which al-ready owns 20.98 percent inter-est in PDS Holdings.
The commercial aspect of the transaction has been completed and agreed with various share-holders of PDS Holdings. The share purchase agreements signed by the parties remain subject to regulatory approvals.
“We are looking forward to a favorable action by the SEC so that we can be a step closer to completing the PDS deal. We be-lieve that unifying both exchang-es will make our capital market more competitive in the region,” Sicat said.
The deadline for the sale purchase agreements between the PSE and PDS Holdings shareholders expired onh Nov. 27, 2015, after the exchange failed to get a relief from the SEC on the 20 percent owner-ship limit.
The PSE is still pursuing the deal after none of the selling PDS Holdings’ shareholders notified the exchange they were no lon-
ger interested in pushing through with the agreement.
The PSE has offered to acquire a majority stake in PDS Holdings based on an enterprise value of P2.25 billion.
Among the PDS Holdings’ shareholders are the Bankers As-sociation of the Philippines, San Miguel Corp. and Golden Astra, Singapore Stock Exchange, Tata Consultancy Serves Asia, Com-putershare Technology Services, The Philippine America Life and General Insurance Co., Financial Executive Institute of the Philip-pines, Social Security System and Investment House Association of the Philippines.
Jenniffer B. Austria
STOCKS rose Wednesday, with buying supported by another Wall Street rally as a positive reading on US growth and consumer spend-ing renewed confidence in the world’s top economy.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 36.24 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,002.42 on a value turnover of P3.3 billion. Gainers beat losers, 97 to 67, with 42 issues unchanged.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, added 1.2 percent to P2,076, while Aboitiz Power Corp., a major power generator, climbed 2.1 percent to P41.35.
LT Group Inc. of airline and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan advanced 2.7 percent to P15, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy increased 1.4 percent to P865.
The rest of Asian stock markets extended their gains Wednesday.
Hong Kong ended up one percent, Sydney closed 0.5 percent higher and Seoul strength-ened 0.3 percent. However, Shanghai suc-cumbed to late profit-taking, slipping in the last 20 minutes to end 0.4 percent lower.
Oil prices also enjoyed another rise—with the US benchmark at parity with its European counterpart after overtaking it Tuesday for the first time in nearly a year—while regional en-ergy firms ticked higher.
US stocks climbed for a second day on data showing steady economic growth in line with expectations during July-September. Personal consumption, which drives about two-thirds of the economy, was also solid.
The figures settled some nerves on global mar-kets. Traders had grown concerned about the out-look due to the plunge in oil prices and weakness outside the United States, particularly in China.
Last week’s euphoria over the Federal Re-serve’s interest rate rise, which had boosted overall confidence in the economy, had also started to give way to caution about the bank’s plans for its next rise.
“Consumer spending looks like it’s helping
the US economy,” James Lindsay, an Auck-land-based fund manager at Nikko Asset Management, told Bloomberg News.
“Volumes tend to get pretty light at this time of year. Markets have had a reasonable run and value is a lot harder to come by.
“The key things are still what happens with China, the flow-on effects into commodities and what the Fed does and how that affects sentiment and currencies.”
Crude prices saw a rare second straight gain after climbing Tuesday, when WTI topped Brent for the first time since January.
In the afternoon in Asia WTI was up 0.7 percent at $36.40 and Brent added 0.8 percent to also sit at $36.40. The once-wide spread be-tween the two contracts has narrowed since Washington last week passed a bill lifting a 40-year ban on US oil exports which analysts said could ease a glut in the country.
However, Bernard Aw, market strategist at IG in Singapore, said the outlook for the com-modity, which is around 60 percent off its high of above $100 in summer 2014, was still “bear-ish” due to a global oversupply. With AFP
B4
FOTO 1
Meralcowatchessupply inLuzon grid
China Bank to open66 branches in 2016
PLDT, UniTeller team up for money transfer business
MSME advocate. Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo (right) carries on his advocacy for micro, small and medium enterprises at the open-ing event of the Trade and Development Symposium in Nairobi, Kenya. As one of the panelists, Domingo spoke on the role of MSMEs in moving the sustainable agenda forward. With the theme ‘Trade and the 2030 Development Agenda,’[ the event complements discussions of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization held on Dec. 15 to 18, 2015.
By Julito G. Rada
CHINA Banking Corp., a universal bank controlled by tycoon Henry Sy, said it will continue its aggressive ex-pansion in 2016 by opening 66 new branches nationwide.
China Bank said in a statement it planned to open 50 branches for the main bank and 16 for its thrift bank unit China Bank Savings.
“China Bank plans to sustain its branch ex-pansion plan, targeting to open 50 branches for the main bank and 16 for the savings bank in 2016,” it said.
The bank said it opened 47 branches in 2015, including 38 China Bank branches and nine
China Bank Savings branches.The new branches brought the China Bank
group’s total network to 517 branches nation-
wide in 2015.It said of the total number, China Bank ac-
counted for 352 branches while China Bank Savings, including recently acquired Plant-ersbank, had 165.
The group opened the final 10 branches in Metro Manila on Dec. 22.
The bank opened three branches in Ma-nila, two each in Quezon City and Parañaque and one each in Makati, Pasig and San Juan. There are now 175 China Bank branches in Metro Manila.
There are now 32 branches in Manila, with the opening of Lavezares, Oroquieta and Ma-nila-Maceda branches.
Newly-opened Holy Spirit Drive and Cu-bao-P. Tuazon branches brought the number of China Bank branches in Quezon City to 51.
China Bank now has eight branches serv-ing the banking needs of residents and busi-nesses in Parañaque City, with the addition of branches in Parañaque-Moonwalk and Solemare.
China Bank also opened Makati-J.P. Rizal Branch, its 21st branch in Makati; Pasig-San Joaquin Branch, the 12th China Bank branch in Pasig City; and Greenhills-Connecticut Branch, its 6th in San Juan City.
The new Metro Manila branches offer a full range of banking products and services and are each equipped with automated teller machines to serve customers beyond banking hours.
China Bank posted an 8-percent growth in consolidated net income in the first nine months to P3.64 billion, on the back of stron-ger lending and lower cost of funding.
The three-quarter performance translated into a return on equity of 8.35 percent and a return on assets of 1.02 percent.
Net interest income grew 8 percent to P11.17 billion year-on-year as revenues from loans rose 8 percent, while interest expense dropped 6 percent as a significant block of high-cost funds (time deposits) was replaced by low-cost CASA (checking and savings ac-counts), which grew
By Alena Mae S. Flores
POWER retailer Manila Elec-tric Co. said it will closely watch the power supply in Luzon next year as power plants will likely move their maintenance sched-ule to the second half to ensure electricity is available during the election period in May.
“Everybody is trying to avoid a scheduled shutdown during election,” Meralco president Oscar Reyes told reporters.
Demand usually shoots up during the dry months. The government predicted that the El Niño weather phenomenon would occur until the first half, which could affect the perfor-mance of hydro power plants.
Reyes said power generat-ing companies agreed to move their maintenance schedules to the second half, which could result in a tight power supply during the period.
“This may put some tight-ness in supply based on their maintenance schedule,” the Meralco executive said.
Reyes said Meralco was pre-paring for an increased de-mand during the dry months next year by tapping additional interim supply of around 240 megawatts.
“That’s the reason why we’re trying to contract the interim power supply agreements,” he said.
Reyes said participants in the interruptible load program or ILP could be tapped again to manage demand during the period.
The ILP has generated com-mitment from power users such as mall operators, com-mercial and industrial build-ings and other industries to de-load and not draw power from the Luzon grid by utiliz-ing their generating sets.
These ILPs have a combined capacity of around 800 MW.
By Darwin G. Amojelar
THE international marketing arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. teamed up with international remittance network UniTeller Financial Services to develop an online portal and mobile application to enable US-based Filipinos to send money to the Philippines.
“We are relentless in our pur-suit of improving the lives of our overseas Filipinos. This partner-ship with UniTeller empowers our fellow Filipinos in the US to conveniently and securely send money to their loved ones in the Philippines using their mobile
phones,” said PLDT Global Corp. chairman Eric Alberto, who is also the PLDT executive vice president and head of enterprise and international and carrier business.
PGC is the international mar-keting, sales and operating arm of PLDT that reaches out to more than 10 million Filipinos overseas.
“This new service will be a welcome solution for our Fil-Am market as it fits well their digital lifestyle. With this mobile remit-tance app, they can send money anytime and anywhere they are,” Alberto said.
PGC president and chief exec-utive Alex Caeg said the new mo-
bile app would make the practice of money remittance easier, faster and more convenient for relatives in the US.
“With this new mobile app, sending money would be as easy as texting or updating our Face-book status. It doesn’t take much time, expense and effort, unlike the conventional way that entails going to a bank or a remittance center,” he said.
Caeg said Fil-Americans could avail of the free transaction for money remittances to the Philip-pines on Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2015.
“It is an honor for us to serve the US-based Filipinos’ money remittances requirements with
PLDT Global as partner. As an international money transfer processing company in the US for over 20 years, we can assure our customers of our fast, secure, and convenient service,” UniTeller president and chief executive Al-berto Guerra said.
UniTeller Financial Services, a New Jersey based Corp., is one of the market leaders in interna-tional remittances, with a net-work of more than 30,000 paying locations around the world.
It has an office at Fort Bonifa-cio in Taguig City that takes care of the money remittance fulfill-ment to recipients in the Philip-pines.
Govt borrowings increased 5.6% to P313.7b in first 10 months
Rentokileyes PHexpansion
Cebuana gets ISO certificate. Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions receives an ISO 9001:2008 certification from the International Organization from Standardization, becoming the first and only ISO-certified insurance agency in the Philippines. Shown are (from left) BRS auditors Catherine Corro and Carol Bautista, BRS managing partner Edward Afable, PJ Lhuillier Inc. president Jean Henri Lhuillier, Ambassador and PJ Lhuillier chairman Philippe Jones Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions general manager Jonathan Batangan and Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions vice-president for operations Leo Escano.
By Gabriele H. Binaday
GOVERNMENT borrowings increased 5.6 percent in the first 10 months to P313.70 bil-lion from P297.017 billion a year ago, following a sharp in-crease in foreign-denominat-ed loans, data from the Bureau of Treasury show.
Data showed that gross ex-ternal borrowings jumped 30 percent in the January-Oc-
tober period to P123.925 bil-lion from P95.18 billion in the same period last year.
Borrowings in the interna-tional market coursed through project loans reached P23.102 billion while program loans amounted to P66.170 billion.
Domestic borrowings fell 6 percent to P189.779 billion in the first 10 months from P201.837 billion a year earlier.
Borrowings in Octo-ber alone nearly doubled to P33.768 billion from P16.920 billion in the same month last year.
Broken down, external bor-rowings soared to P18.888 billion from P880 million in October 2014 while borrow-ings from the local market de-clined 7.2 percent to P14.880 billion.
The national government
reduced its borrowing re-quirement from the original target after it posted a fiscal surplus in the first half of 2015, as opposed to the pro-grammed deficit for the six-month period.
Based on the inter-agency Development Budget Coordi-nation Committee’s mid-year report on the 2015 national budget, the net financing pro-gram for 2015 was revised to
P296.8 billion from the origi-nal P310.4 billion.
The borrowing mix was also revised to 75 percent locally sourced and 25 percent for-eign from the original target of 86 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
The government plans to borrow P241.8 billion from the domestic market this year and P55 billion from foreign creditors.
By Othel V. Campos
RENTOKIL Initial Philip-pines Inc., the local unit of a US sanitation and pest control company, said it plans to in-crease its sales in the residen-tial sector over the next five years.
The company said it aimed to increase the share of the residential sector to 30 per-cent of total business by 2020 from the current 12 percent.
Rentokil Initial Philip-pines managing director Ederine Gee Geneblazo said the increasing awareness on hygiene and pest control to avoid life-threatening dis-eases had encouraged more home owners to become open and pro-active in sani-tizing their homes.
“There has been a lot of in-quiry lately on our website. We see that in the next five years, the share of residen-tial to our business will grow rapidly to more than a hun-dred fold. Right now the bulk of our operations is more on commercial,” she said.
Geneblazo said the Philip-pine market was unique, com-pared to European or Asia-Pacific markets where the company’s commercial and residential operations were in the same proportion.
The company said it posted a double-digit growth in sales as it continued to expand across the nation from ac-tive markets in Manila, Cebu, Pampanga to Davao.
It has recently expanded to deliver services in Cavite, Il-oilo, Batangas and La Union.
The company directly employs 202 employees that include entomologists and agriculturists for pest con-trol.
It services the large hotels, resorts, food manufacturing companies, pharmaceuticals, hospitals and business process outsourcing companies.
Rentokill in the Philippines has a 26-percent market share in pest control and 23 percent in hygiene and sanitation.
By Darwin G. Amojelar
THE Transportation Department said Wednesday the Land Transportation Office will temporarily stop collecting fees for new license plates after the Commission on Audit disallowed the project.
This means that vehicle owners who have not yet paid for the new li-cense plates will not have to shell out P450 upon their renewal of registra-tion, according to the department.
“We are currently in the pro-cess of resolving the issue with CoA regarding the Plate Stan-dardization Program. We hope issues will be resolved and CoA lifts the disallowance so we can provide the public with plates for improved road safety,” Transpor-
tation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.
CoA issued a notice in July, saying the LTO’s 2013 license plate contract with supplier Pow-er Plates Development Concepts Inc.-J. Knieriem BV-Goes was in violation of the Auditing Code, because the project was allegedly awarded without an allotment under the 2014 General Appro-priations Act.
The LTO assured that the new
standardized plates would be is-sued to motorists who had settled the payment as soon as the issue with CoA was resolved.
The Transportation Depart-ment and the LTO rolled out the Plate Standardization Program in May 2014 for newly registered vehicles.
The LTO issued Memorandum Circular No. AVT-2014-1895 in January 2015, mandating ve-hicle owners to replace their old license plates with the new stan-dardized plates.
The Plate Standardization project is a part of the Transpor-tation Department’s reform pro-grams to improve road safety by curbing illegal practices such as production of fake plates, plate removal and plate switching by adding safety features such as tamper-resistant locks and bolts
and reflectorized sheeting which make plates visible from any an-gle.
The new license plates for pri-vate motor vehicles support a black-and-white design, similar to those in most countries around the world. They have tamper-resistant locks and screws which permanently attach the plates to the vehicle, preventing their re-moval and transfer.
They also feature reflectorized sheeting to make them visible from afar and from any angle.
The permanent “third plate” windshield sticker replaces the current yearly sticker, and will indicate the vehicle’s license plate number and other relevant regis-tration information. It cannot be peeled off without leaving these pieces of information on the windshield.
THE year 2015 is the 125th anniver-sary of the year of birth of the sec-ond President of the Republic of the Philippines, and I would not like this year to fade into his-tory without writing a few lines about the life and times of Elpidio Quirino. Vice President Quirino succeeded to the presidency when Manuel Roxas, his Liberal Party running mate in the 1946 election, died of a heart attack in 1947.
I want to write about the pride of Vigan, Ilocos Sur be-cause Elpidio Quirino is one of the saddest figures in the history of the Philippine presidency. The generations that have come after the 1950s don’t know much about President Quirino. That is because after his failed re-election bid in 1953 the second president moved out of the public eye and went into a quiet retirement.
Elpidio Quirino lost the presidential election of 1953 partly—perhaps largely—on account of Nacionalista Party charges of extravagance and corruption in Malacañang. The opposition, led by his former secretary of national defense Ramon Magsaysay, charged Quirino with, among other things, purchasing a P5,000 orinola (bedpan). Magsaysay’s campaign staff really went to town with the issue of the al-leged super-expensive bedpan, telling the electorate that the man in Malacañang had totally lost his sense of proportions.
That was very unfortunate for two reasons. One was Elpi-dio Quirino’s deep sense of personal honesty. No allegations of personal corruption followed the one-time teacher when he left Malacañang in 1953.
The other reason why the orinola and related charges were very unfortunate was the fact that they obscured and cast aside all the momentous work that Elpidio Quirino performed during his six years in Malacañang. It was the second president who presided over the rehabilitation and recovery of the Philippine economy from the ravages of World War II. Ramon Magsaysay inherited an economy that had been revitalized after three years of ruinous war-fare and was on its way to becoming Asia’s second biggest (after Japan’s).
It’s such a pity that the Philippine electorate, dazzled by the exploits of the flamboyant Magsaysay, failed to accord sufficient value to the unflamboyant but steadfast efforts of the government that Elpidio Quirino headed for six crucial years. The Hukbalahap rebellion, the Korean War, the re-establishment of relations with Japan, the restructuring of political and economic ties with the US, the establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines and the imposition of capital and import controls, the rebuilding of Philippine industry and the creation of the foreign service—these are the momentous tasks that Elpidio Quirino’s administration had to deal with.
By the end of his own four-year term Elpidio Quirino could justifiably say that he had completed his job. The Phil-ippine economy had fully recovered from World War II and was poised for steady upward movement.
But all that was ignored by most of the Filipino people as they went to the polls in November 1953. All that they could think about as they filled up their ballots was the cel-ebrated orinola and the subsequent tragic killing of Negros Occidental mayor Moises Padilla by persons believed to be associated with the military.
Elpidio Quirino was a good man and a very able leader who served his country well. For too long has his memory been badly treated by history. My wish—a wish that hope-fully is shared by many Filipinos—is that one of these days someone will come along who will at least give President Elpidio Quirino the recognition and credit that has long eluded him.
Customs certificate. Bureau of Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina (left) awards Richard Barclay, chief executive of Manila North Harbour Inc., the certificate of authority to operate as an authorized Customs facility. The permit is part of the implementation of the Authorized Economic Operators program established under the World Customs Organization Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade and the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement. The agreement ensures integrity and security of trade facilitation from supply source to Customs clearance to final distribution.
GUANGZHOU, China—Uber on Tuesday announced a partnership with a major Chinese auto maker as the controversial ride-sharing service revved its efforts in the country.
Uber and Guangzhou Automo-bile Group will work together in areas including investment, sales, marketing, and promoting new energy vehicles such as hybrid or electric cars, the San Francisco-based company said in a release.
Terms of the strategic partner-ship included Uber China pro-moting GAC automobiles and the group’s used-car trading platform to ride-sharing service drivers and partners.
“I believe we can unlock new opportunities to evolve how Chi-na moves, and open up even more
transportation possibilities for riders across China,” Uber China head of strategy Zhen Liu said of the alliance.
Uber launched in China in February of last year and is active in 21 cities in that country, with plans to be in 100 cities within a year.
The firm established a Chinese business entity, Uber China, in a Shanghai Free Trade Zone late this year.
The head of Uber in October said the ride-sharing firm has spent a billion dollars to gain trac-tion in China.
Uber’s share of the Chinese market had climbed from one percent at the start of the year to about 30 percent, but it remains a distant second to the Chinese
ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, Uber co-founder and chief execu-tive Travis Kalanick told a Wall Street Journal technology confer-ence in California.
While the mobile-based service was hitting profitability in some cities in North America and Eu-rope, it remains a money-losing “underdog” in China, Kalanick said.
But he said Uber would con-tinue to plough resources into the fast-growing Chinese ride-shar-ing market.
“We are investing a fair amount of money there,” Kalanick said at the conference. “We are definitely spending a billion dollars a year on that effort but we feel great about it. For an entrepreneur, this is where the action is.” AFP
NEW YORK—The US economy grew at 2.0 percent in the third quarter, slightly weaker than previously thought, due to lower exports and business investment on inventories, according to US data Tuesday.
The government’s estimate of gross domestic product—the broad measure of the economy’s output of goods and services—edged down from the prior esti-mate of 2.1 percent.
Analysts described the report as robust, pointing to firm spend-ing on such key categories as con-sumer spending and housing in-vestment.
“I would characterize it as solid growth,” said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS.
“Once you get past some of these anomalies having to do with inventories and with weakness overseas, the good news is the do-
mestic parts of the economy are very solid.”
The report overall “does little to change the picture of solid domestic activity offset by weak-ness abroad,” Barclays said. “Soft global growth and the lagged ef-fects of lower energy prices and a stronger dollar continue to weigh on trade and manufacturing.”
The July to September growth was in line with analyst estimates and marked a slowdown from the 3.9 percent growth in the second quarter.
Personal consumption expen-ditures, which drive about two-thirds of the activity in the US
economy, rose by an estimated 3.0 percent, as previously estimated.
That is below the 3.6 percent in the second quarter, but well above the 1.8 percent in the first quarter.
Some of the bigger factors in the downward revision from the prior estimate included a 0.7 per-cent drop in business inventories and export growth of just 0.7 percent, down from the prior 0.9 percent, as the strong dollar con-tinued to weigh on trade.
BBVA said the drop in inven-tories was not worrisome and “suggests that we will see a stron-ger contribution in 4Q15 as busi-nesses increase production along-side expectations for more robust demand during the holiday shop-ping season.”
But the drag of the strong dollar “is still lingering and there does not appear to be much upside for net exports in 4Q15 thus far,” BBVA said. AFP
Promotional event. Indian Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra talks to reporters during a promotional event for the forthcoming film ‘Jai Gangaajal’ directed by Prakash Jha in Mumbai on December 22, 2015. AFP
Thai editor loses appealon royal slur conviction
Brunei sultan bans ChristmasBANDAR SERI BEGAWAN—Christmas is just around the corner, but there are no tinsel-laden trees or Santa hats in the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei, where celebra-tions have been banned under a shift towards hard-line Islamic law.
The all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world’s richest men, announced last year he would push ahead with the introduction of sharia law, eventually including tough penalties such as death by stoning or severed limbs.
Religious leaders in the oil-rich sultanate warned this month that a ban on Christmas would be strictly enforced, for fear that Muslims could be led astray.
“Using religious symbols like crosses, lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees, singing reli-gious songs, sending Christmas greetings... are against Islamic faith,” imams said in sermons pub-lished in the local press.
The punishment for violating the ban is a five-year jail sentence, and the government warned last year that Muslims would be committing an of-fense if they so much as wore “hats or clothes that resemble Santa Claus”.
Although Christians are free to celebrate, they have been told not to do so “excessively and openly”, in a directive that has had a chill-ing effect on the Southeast Asian nation, which sits on a corner of Borneo island.
Businesses have been warned to take decorations down and author-ities have stepped up spot checks across the capital. Hotels popular among Western tourists that once boasted dazzling lights and giant Christmas trees are now barren of festive decor.
“This will be the saddest Christmas ever for me,” a Malaysian expatriate resident told AFP, re-questing not to be named for fear of reprisals from authorities.
“The best part of Christmas Day is waking up and having that feel-ing that it is Christmas, but there’s just none of that here and you just feel deprived.”
“All this is just because of what the Sultan wants. In 2013, I saw many Muslims together with Christians having a good time at their house parties. Everything was normal and good,” he said. AFP
NUUK, Denmark—As the world struggles to limit climate change, some people in Greenland hope to cash in on rising temperatures with new species to fish, innovative ex-ports and advances in farming.
While the North Atlantic is-land remains highly dependent on shrimp as its main export—it is known locally as “the pink gold”—warming waters are attracting new types of fish.
“It’s very nice to be able to of-fer freshly caught tuna and mack-erel even if we are right here in Greenland,” said Bjorn Johansen, a chef at Hotel Hans Egede, the larg-est hotel in capital Nuuk, which has a population of 22,000.
In summer, fishermen in east Greenland are now catching mack-erel and Atlantic bluefin tuna that have swum far from their spawn-ing grounds in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.
For Johansen they are a break from the monotony of Greenland’s traditional staples.
For Nuuk’s home rule govern-ment, which is seeking more sources of income as the economy has to support an aging population, they are an export opportunity.
Falling commodity prices have put a damper on hopes that the territory’s mineral riches—buried beneath the ice—could spark an an imminent mining boom.
Instead, fisheries continue to dominate the economy, account-ing for about 90 percent of exports, and mackerel and Atlantic bluefin tuna have ready markets.
That is welcome news for the local government, as the sub-sidy from former colonial master Denmark that currently accounts for about half of the annual bud-get is now fixed and its value slowly erodes along with infla-tion.
“If summer temperatures con-tinue to increase during this cen-tury ... it is likely that bluefin tuna could become a regular summer visitor in east Greenland waters,” said Brian MacKenzie, a marine ecology professor at the Technical University of Denmark. AFP
LONDON—The father of three-year old Aylan Kurdi, whose life-less body washed up on a Turkish beach became a symbol of the global refugee crisis, has asked the world to open its doors to Syrians fleeing conflict.
The toddler died after his fam-ily, sheltering in Turkey from the war in Syria, decided to make a desperate bid to reach Greece from Turkey in a flimsy inflatable boat.
Shocking news images of the toddler face down on the shore
helped spur European nations to seek an effective response to the growing migrant crisis.
“My message is I’d like the whole world to open its doors to Syrians. If a person shuts a door in someone’s face, this is very difficult,” Abdullah Kurdi says in a video message to be broadcast on Christmas Day.
“When a door is opened they no longer feel humiliated,” he says according to a transcript released by Britain’s Channel 4.
Aylan’s mother Rihana and
brother Ghaleb, 4, died in the same accident and were buried in the Syrian town of Kobane in September, days after the tragedy.
Abdullah Kurdi had been try-ing to escape along with his family and up to three other Syrians from the flashpoint town, which was last year the site of a months-long bat-tle between Kurdish militias and jihadists.
More than one million migrants and refugees reached Europe this year, including over 970,000 who
made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday.
About half were Syrians fleeing the country’s brutal civil war, ac-cording to the new figures.
“At this time of year I would like to ask you all to think about the pain of fathers, mothers and chil-dren who are seeking peace and security,” Kurdi says.
“We ask just for a little bit of sympathy from you.”
EU leaders have set an end-of-
June deadline to agree on a new border and coastguard force to slow the influx of migrants across the 28-nation bloc’s porous exter-nal frontiers.
They have also called for the rap-id delivery of a promised 3.0 billion euros ($3.25 billion) in aid for refu-gees in Turkey in return for its help in stemming the flow.
Life is a struggle for most Syrians in Turkey, who live mostly off odd jobs that are often insufficient to feed and house a family. AFP
Art festival. A delegation of dancers from Nuku Hiva island perform on the Upeke tohua in the valley of Taaoa during the 10th Marquesas Art Festival near the village of Atuona on Hiva Oa island in French Polynesia on December 18, 2015. The festival is organized every four years on a different island of the archipelago. AFP
New offering. Farmer David Herve poses with gambas or king prawns on October 8, 2015, in Saint-Just-Luzac. Already world-famous for his oysters, Herve has also launched the production of gambas, a product that usually comes from the south. AFP
WORLD
Thai editor loses appealon royal slur conviction
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico—They were doing everyday things when they were kidnapped, never to be seen again: A woman work-ing at her frozen fruit business. Another waiting for a bus. A po-licewoman having lunch.
They are among the 5,000 peo-ple who are listed as “disappeared” in Tamaulipas, the northeastern Mexican state with the most miss-ing people in Mexico, where a to-tal of 26,000 have vanished amid a brutal, nearly decade-old drug war.
Those are the official figures.For the non-governmental or-
ganization Families and Friends of the Disappeared in Tamaulipas, 11,000 people are unaccounted for in the state.
The disappearance of 43 stu-dents in southern Guerrero state last year put a spotlight on the plight of Mexico’s disappeared.
But there are many, many other untold stories across Mexico, espe-cially in Tamaulipas, where many fear the consequences of angering the Gulf or Zetas drug cartels.
In Ciudad Victoria, the Tamaulipas state capital, members of the Families and Friends of the Disappeared gathered at a humble home to tell their stories to AFP:
• Raquel, 19: Gunmen burst into the home of Guillermo Gutierrez Riestra on September 1, 2011, and kidnapped his 19-year-old daughter, Raquel, and a friend of hers.
She was about to start college and dreamed of becoming a law-yer.
“It was the Zetas. They burned the house and the car. I think they kidnapped 50 young people that day alone. We think they did it to force people to join their organiza-tion,” Gutierrez said.
•Dalia, 26: Alma Miriam Ruiz has not had any news of her 26-year-old daughter, Dalia, since she went to a bus station in the town of San Fernando, 170 kilo-meters north of Ciudad Victoria, five years ago.
She disappeared just days after August 27, 2010, when 72 migrants were slaughtered by the Zetas drug cartel in that town. AFP
BANGKOK—Thailand’s highest court Wednesday upheld a royal defamation conviction against an online newspaper editor who fell foul of the draconian law after failing to speedily remove reader comments deemed critical of the monarchy.
The ruling comes as junta-run Thailand undergoes an unprecedented lese majeste crackdown, with convictions rocketing and record- breaking jail sentences handed down as authorities broaden their interpretation of the law.
Chiranuch Premchaiporn, editor of the pop-ular Prachatai news portal, was initially charged over 10 reader comments posted on the website in 2008.
She was convicted by Thailand’s Criminal
Court in 2012, which found that while she had not personally committed lese majeste, the 20 days she had taken to remove one of the com-ments fell foul of the law.
The case drew widespread international con-demnation at the time, including from Google that described it as a “serious threat” to Internet freedom in Thailand.
Wednesday’s final ruling upheld the 2012 con-viction that carried an eight-month suspended jail sentence and 20,000 baht ($550) fine.
“I am disappointed with the verdict and I think the interpretation of the law has pushed a burden onto service operators,” Chiranuch told AFP after the ruling.
Thailand has one of the world’s harshest royal defamation laws.
Anyone convicted of insulting the revered but ailing 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or the queen, heir or regent can face up to 15 years in jail on each count.
Thai-based media have to self censor when
writing about the monarchy, while website op-erators routinely delete reader comments that might land them in hot water.
Prosecutions have soared since the army, which styles itself as the champion of the mon-archy, grabbed power in a coup last year.
Some of those who have fallen foul of the law have been given 20-30 year jail sentences, often for comments made on social media.
The law is also being increasingly broadly in-terpreted.
Earlier this month an auto-parts worker was charged with lese majeste for a Facebook post about the king’s dog.
Academics have found themselves facing inves-tigations for writing about past kings while Thai authorities recently confirmed that even “liking” a critical post on Facebook risks prosecution.
Sunai Phasuk, Human Rights Watch’s Thailand researcher, said Chiranuch’s convic-tion was “tightening a chokehold on freedom of expression”. AFP
SYDNEY—An anti-marijuana campaign in Australia featuring a human-sized lumbering stoned sloth acting foolishly has backfired and become the brunt of jokes on social media.
Launched this week using the slogan “You’re worse on weed”, it attempts to warn teenagers of the dangers of sustained cannabis use by depicting those who smoke it as grumbling, oversized “stoner sloths”.
But it has been widely mocked as “ridiculously funny” with thou-sands of comments on its Facebook page, which has attracted more than 16,000 likes.
“Smoke weed, become one of the
most adorable animals in the world. Where do I get some weed?” wrote Andrew Watton-Davies while Scott Hobson noted that: “I literally can’t tell if it’s satire or legit.”
Even Premier Mike Baird, whose New South Wales state government is behind the campaign, has poked fun at it.
“Just saw the #StonerSloth ads. Not sure where NSW Gov’s ad guys found Chewbacca’s siblings, but those videos are ... Quite some-thing,” he tweeted, referring to the “Star Wars” character.
The National Cannabis Prevention and Information Center said the ad did not reflect its views on how campaigns stressing the
dangers of cannabis should be han-dled.
In a statement, it said any cam-paign should “be aware that teenag-ers are intelligent and have access to a lot of information, so campaign approaches should respect them and give them credit by avoiding hyperbole”.
The NSW Greens called it “ju-venile” but the state government insisted it was designed to reach young people before cannabis use became a serious problem.
“The campaign is designed to ap-peal to, and be ‘shareable’ among, teenagers who are some of the most vulnerable to cannabis use,” it said. AFP
The global climate agreement in Paris laid a foundation for long-term efforts to fight climate change. The Paris talks signalled that the world is ready for a clean-energy transition.
But more needs to be done to secure a path limiting warming to 1.5°C. Governments will need to deliver actions at all levels to close the emissions gap, find resources for the energy transition and protect the most vulnerable.
Representatives from more than 180 countries arrived in Paris with national pledges on climate action. After two weeks of negotiations, governments reached an agreement that represents some progress in the long term. This must be urgently strengthened and complemented with accelerated action in the near term if we are to have any hope of meeting the ultimate goal of limiting global warming well below 2°C or 1.5°C. Additionally, the finance for adaptation, loss and damage and scaled up emission reductions should be the first order of work after Paris.
While the Paris agreement will go into effect in 2020, scientists warn that to meet the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C or well below 2°C, emissions must peak before 2020 and sharply decline thereafter. The current pledges will provide about half of what is needed, leaving a 12 to 16 gigatonne emissions gap.
Tasneem Essop, head of WWF delegation to the UN climate talks remarks: “The Paris agreement is an important milestone. We made progress here, but the job is not done. We must work back home to strengthen the national actions triggered by this agreement. We need to secure faster delivery of new cooperative efforts from governments, cities, businesses and citizens to make deeper emissions cuts, resource the energy transition in developing economies and protect the poor and most vulnerable. Countries must then come back next year with an aim to rapidly implement and strengthen the commitments made here.”
According to Samantha Smith, leader of WWF’s global climate and energy initiative, “We are living in a historic moment. We are seeing the start of a global transition towards renewable energy. At the same time, we’re already witnessing irreversible impacts of climate change. The talks and surrounding commitments send a strong signal to everyone – the fossil fuel era is coming to an end. As climate impacts worsen around the world, we need seize on the current momentum and usher in a new era of cooperative action from all countries and all levels of society.”
Yolanda Kakabadse, president of WWF-International said, “The climate talks in Paris did more than produce an agreement – this moment has galvanized the global community toward large-scale collaborative action to deal with the climate problem. At the same time that a new climate deal was being agreed, more than 1,000 cities committed to 100 percent renewable energy, an ambitious plan emerged from Africa to develop renewable energy sources by 2020, and India launched the
International Solar Alliance, which includes more than 100 countries to simultaneously address energy access and climate change. These are exactly the kind of cooperative actions we need to quickly develop to complement the Paris agreement.”
THE PARIS AGREEMENT NEEDED TO BE FAIR, AMBITIOUS AND TRANSFORMATIONAL. WWF BELIEVES RESULTS IN THESE KEY AREAS WERE MIXED:Create a plan to close the ambition gap, including finance and other support to accelerate action now and beyond 2020.The agreement includes some of the elements of an ambition mechanism such as five-year cycles, periodic global stock-takes for emission reduction actions, finance and adaptation, and global moments that create the opportunity for governments to enhance their actions. But the ambition and urgency of delivering climate action is not strong enough and will be dependent on
governments to take swift action and non-state actors (including cities, the private sector and citizens) to continue ambitious cooperative actions and to press governments to do more.
Deliver support to vulnerable countries to limit climate impact and address unavoidable damage.The inclusion of a Global Goal on Adaptation as well as separate and explicit recognition for loss and damage are important achievements to raise the profile of those most vulnerable to climate change. The agreement, however, does not go far enough in securing the support necessary for the protection of the poor and vulnerable.
Establish a clear long-term 2050 goal to move away from fossil fuels and shift to renewable energy and sustainable land use.By including a long-term temperature goal of well below 2°C of warming and a reference to a 1.5°C goal, the agreement sends a strong signal that governments are committed to acting in line with science. The recognition of the emissions gap and the inclusion of a quantified 2030 gigatonne goal should serve as a basis for the revision of national pledges ahead of 2020.
The agreement sets 2018 as a critical global moment for countries to return to the table and assess their current efforts in relation to the global goal. This should result in stronger and more enhanced actions on emission reductions, finance and adaptation.
The Paris agreement made good progress by recognizing, in a unique article, that all countries must act to halt deforestation and degradation and improve land management. The agreement also included a process that may provide guidance for land sector accounting. However, there should have been stronger financial support for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
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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
W EL L BEING
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
WWF ON PARIS AGREEMENT: More Immediate Steps Needed for Ambitious Action
on Climate Change
The Paris Agreement has galvanized the global community toward large-scale collaborative action to deal with the climate problem
The world is already witnessing the irreversible impacts of climate change
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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
If you’re a sports buff, it’s not too late to do your own Christmas shopping. Head out to the largest sports store chain in the country,
Toby’s Sports, and take advantage of Citi’s irresistible offers.
Use your Citi credit card to avail of zero percent Citi PayLite and get 15 percent discount on all regular-priced items on participating Toby’s brands from now until January 2016. Get that premium fitness gear you’ve been eyeing the whole of December and pay in easy, light monthly installments of up to six months.
Not only does Citi give the easiest PayLite deals, it also slashed down five percent off on all fitness gear and equipment worth P10,000 and higher on participating brands that include treadmills, exercise bikes, dumbbells, kettle bells, and weight benches at discounted prices. They also offer Pay Later where cardholders can start paying up to three months later, use it up on at least P3,000 for any regular-priced items from select brands of Toby’s. Boxing, running, or working out? Check out these amazing offers for participating brands that include Newton, Lotto Footwear, Mitre, Core Fitness, RSL, Equipe balls, SGM Bikes, and Titans Boxing.
Toby’s Sports offers some of the best sports and fitness gear from premium brands like Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Rebook, Vans, Wilson, Prince, TYR, Speedo, Yonex, and RSL among others. For more information about Citi’s PayLite and Pay Later offers, log on to www.citibank.com.ph or call the 24-hour Citi Phone Hotline at 995 9999.
Get up to 20 percent off at Toby’s with Citi Credit Cards
Get healthy, happy feet with Human Nature
Deodorizing Foot Spray
‘Tis the season when your feet are most at work. Judging from the traffic situation all over the Metro for the past
weeks, it’s better to use your feet to go places. But all that walking is hard work for our feet, which also means getting them ridiculously sweaty. And let’s not get started on what follows. So next time you start running to and fro, just be sure you use the most comfortable shoes and give your tired feet a break with Human Nature’s 100% Natural Deodorizing Foot Spray.
Infused with purifying actives from tea tree oil and sugarcane alcohol, Human Nature’s 100% Natural Deodorizing Foot Spray effectively
deodorizes and gently eliminates odor-causing bacteria. “Tea tree, which is an antibacterial essential oil, blends with the natural deodorant active and prevents feet from smelling after a long day,” says Human Nature creative director Camille Meloto. Not only does it prevent those oh-so-smelly feet, it also helps alleviate dry and cracked heels with its moisturizing aloe vera component and refreshing peppermint note. An additional calming lavender scent is also added to the mixture, giving an instant foot spa feel.
Human Nature is the first Filipino company to be recognized as cruelty-free by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is also the only local brand
that is a member of Natural Products Association of America, which holds its members to the strictest standards of naturalness anywhere in the world. That said, Human Nature’s 100% Natural Deodorizing Foot Spray is 100 percent free of harmful chemicals. It doesn’t contain triclosan, an anti-bacterial chemical present in most sanitizers that is classified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a pesticide, and it also has no synthetic preservatives called parabens.
Human Nature’s 100% Natural Deodorizing Foot Spray (P149.75, 100ml) is available in all Human Nature branches. For more information log on to www.humanheartnature.com.
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Breast cancer remains a serious worldwide threat, being one of the common diseases responsible for mortality among women. Here in
the country, the disease is rather prevalent as proven by several studies and reports indicating that the Philippines has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia.
Every October, there is a worldwide campaign to raise breast cancer awareness to encourage measures that could improve, or even save, the lives of those who have fallen victim to the once unbeatable but now curable disease. But when records show that one in every 13 women is expected to develop breast cancer in her lifetime, a one-month awareness drive is not enough.
SM Woman, iCanServe Foundation and Thai lingerie brand Sabina heeded the call for consistent education and joined forces for the Sewing Cup Sewing Heart activity. During the event, supporters and guests were invited to sew 250 Sabina sewing cups – hypoallergenic bra fillers for women who have undergone a mastectomy, which were then donated to the iCanServe Foundation.
Sabina is the very first Asian-made sewing bra. The Sabina sewing bra is filled with a padding, which can be adjusted according to any cup size by filling a provided pouch with just enough LLDPE Plastic Beads (highly-purified plastic beads that do not contain harmful chemicals). It is round in shape and has no sharp edges so it does not irritate the skin or pierce through clothes.
With this simple but essential innovation, Sabina empowers women
who have experienced, or are currently going through the life-changing trial that is breast cancer. By providing survivors a chance to fill a now empty breast cup with a special filler, Sabina, SM Woman and the iCanServe Foundation help women return to their daily lives feeling just a little more like themselves.
Gracing the Sewing Cup Sewing Heart activity were iCanServe Foundation chairperson Libet Virata and president Tang Singson. At the event, special guests Martha Revilla Schulze, Bettina Osmeña, Lilibeth Campos, Frannie Jacinto and Bibeth Orteza who participated in the sewing activity, gathering around the pretty pink tables with spools of pink thread and sewing needles. The activity proved that the task, although simple, could create a big impact on the lives of women. The shared sisterhood and compassion among women was deeply felt during the event, as described best by the heartfelt speech of Orteza, a breast cancer survivor.
Orteza shared how she heard stories of friends, family and acquaintances being diagnosed with the disease and didn’t think much of it since it happens so often. Only when it happened to her did it become real. She expressed gratitude for the women of iCanServe who flew to her aid when she became afflicted with cancer.
If you know someone who is or has bravely battled this life-altering disease, tell them about The Sewing Cup, Sewing Heart bra, exclusively available at SM Woman at The SM Store.
A Triumphant Season
SEWING HOPE IN A CUP
Since 1886, women all over the world have trusted Triumph, recognizing it as the leading lingerie brand
that has been tailoring beautifully feminine lingerie and shapewear to suit the needs of all types of women. For every important stage and milestone in a female’s life, there is always a suitable item from Triumph that caters to her needs.
This season, visit any of Triumph’s 2,100 stores around the globe to discover a sizable array of functional and stylish pieces in a wide range of sizes. And regardless of the frame you have – whether Asian or European – you are sure to find what you are looking for and may even discover something you didn’t know you needed.
Triumph takes great and serious pride in having spent over
a hundred years of consistently improving and innovating the architecture of its collections knowing that there is more to undergarments than just triangles, hooks and garters. Each piece is specially crafted with every stitch and curve carefully studied with a woman’s form in mind so women can look great in everything they wear, making Triumph’s lingerie and shapewear the investment piece that goes with any outfit, no matter the season.
Among those who swear by the undergarment and lingerie brand is Amy “Kiwi” Ahomiro, a New Zealander who is the UAAP Season 77 Finals MVP player of the Ateneo de Manila University Volleyball team. “We train all week long and it’s really intense. You need to show up willing to give 100 percent and
above,” she says, adding that training makes her feel fulfilled as she literally puts blood, sweat and tears into it.
The intensity and long hours spent by Amy during training requires the best and fullest support to focus on what she needs to get the job done. “I use the high intensity Triumph Sports Bra because the training sessions are really intense. You can’t really do what you want to do if you’re not supported well. It helps me take care of myself, my performance, and that’s really important. We’re always jumping, rolling, diving… just always moving, and when we fall, we have to pop back up... This one gives me the support and confidence that I need to play well,” Amy discloses.
Whether you’re into low impact activities or are just as passionate about intense contact sports, choosing the right sports bra is paramount. Try on the Triumph difference today and find “the one” piece that truly understands your lifestyle, seamlessly and unfalteringly.
Get live updates on the insightful seamstress that is Triumph by liking it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tipi.triumph, or follow on Instagram @triumph_ph.
SM Woman ambassadors Emee Dy, Melania Solano, and Kimi Lu
Claire Rodriguez and Tina Lagdameo
Bijaykumar Pandey of Sabina Karen ElizaldePhylicia Pineda
Dara David-Roa and Drey David Maddie Dinglasan and Marta Araneta
Frannie Jacinto
Karen Elizalde and Maddie Dinglasan Krissy Cruz
Amy Ahomiro
So it’s Christmas, and the holiday cheer brings with it lechon, hamon, keso, and so many more festive treats for the season. But that also
means extra calories, and extra loosening of the belts. This holiday, try to take it easy on the fatty food. And just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you should forget the healthy regimen you worked so hard for already since the year started. Make sure to stay fit and eat healthy this season by going for more greens and healthier alternatives on the table. If you want to
pack up on healthy treats before heading out to these fat inducing Christmas parties, head to SaladStop! one of the best options for healthy, fresh, delicious, and accessible meals at any time.
Armed with the passion to revolutionize the food scene with healthy options for customers, SaladStop! is going strong with five stores since it started in December 2014. This month, the newest SaladStop! store opens at the Ground Floor of Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati City. With the commitment to make eating
healthy more accessible to more people, the Burgos Circle and Alabang areas are already lined up for next year.
Start with the newest addition to SaladStop!’s signature salad selection, the “Cheaper Than A Facial.” Quirky name – but it is a testament to what it can do for your skin. Yes, it is cheaper than a facial, and better for your belly. It consists of romaine lettuce, ripe mango, vermicelli, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, carrots and Thai Lemongrass dressing. Get it tossed in a salad or snuggled together in a wrap
with only 421 kcal as a salad and 717 kcal as a wrap. The classic and other signature salad and wrap selections in the store still make up for a good daily staple on the table.
Specialty Food Retailers, Inc., a member of the SSI Group, Inc. is the official franchise holder of SaladStop! in the Philippines. SaladStop! is located at Central Square in Bonifacio Highstreet Central, Power Plant Mall, OPL building in C. Palanca St., Makati and Missouri St. in Greenhils.
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
T H U R S D AY : D E C E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5
The active woman is always on the go and committed to her training routine all year round. To inspire her, adidas Philippines introduced its newest
fitness ambassadors – active women who are already influencers in their own fields – with the I Got This campaign, which aims to provide authentic, visceral and compelling content that enables the athletic woman to live life her way across multiple training methods.
Joining current adidas women ambassadors Anne Curtis, Solenn Heussaff
and Belle Daza are actress and host Coleen Garcia; volleyball stars Aby Maraño, Melissa Gohing, and Charo Soriano; event host and Lady Volcano Cassie Umali; personal trainer Fay Hokulani; yogini and certified raw food chef Mona Lisa Neuboeck; yoga and dance fitness teacher Nikki Torres; crossfitters Nickey Reyes and Trasienne Estrada; and indoor cycling instructors Yessa Yu-Caparas and Rachelle Que. These athletes will be the new voices of inspiration for the active woman.
“We’ve chosen the perfect ambassadors who embody the versatile athletes we want to talk to. These are the women who are willing to take up the challenge, sweat their hearts out, struggle through a tough workout, and still push on. These are the athletes who constantly tell themselves, ‘I got this.’ They reach a point where they just want to stop… and decide not to, pushing themselves to be stronger. adidas will be with her every step of the way by gearing her up with everything she needs
to reach her fitness goals and continue pushing further,” shares Jen Dacasin, Brand Communications & Sports marketing manager of adidas Philippines.
The full adidas women SS16 collection offers everything the active woman needs to ensure she can challenge herself to get the most out of her workouts.
Join the conversation @adidasph and @adidaswomen on Twitter and Instagram with #IGotThis and #adidasph.
HAVE A HEALTHY HOLIDAY WITH SALADSTOP!
I GOT THIS: adidas launches a new
campaign to connect with active womenMeet your newest #fitspiration
from adidas PH
Cheaper than a Facial SaladCheaper than a Facial Wrap
SHOWBITZi s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m
C5ISAH V. REDE D I T O R
T HUR S DAY : DECEMBER 24, 2015
Last Saturday, GMA Network’s original reality-based artista search Starstruck proclaimed
this season’s Ultimate Male and Female Survivors.
Migo Adecer won and was the Ultimate Male Survivor. “Nagulat ako talaga. Hindi ko talaga ini-expect na ako ang mananalo but I kept on striving for what I want.
I just thank God that it pulled off talaga. And I can’t wait to share the happiness to (sic) my parents, my family, and to the people who supported me.”
Adecer also celebrated his birthday on Dec. 20 and he considered his win as the biggest gift from God. “I want to thank God kasi this is the biggest present He has ever given me for my
birthday. Sobrang hirap ng mga challenges sa Starstruck and seeing it from where I’ve come from and finally pulling it off, super relieved and happy ako and I thank God talaga He did not let me down. Never has He ever let me down.”
Klea Pineda claimed the Ultimate Female Survivor title. “Hindi ko po ito talaga inaasahan. Hanggang sa dumagdag na lang ng
dumagdag yung blessings ni Lord kaya sobrang nagpapasalamat ako sa Kanya.”
For her, emerging as Starstruck’s Ultimate Female Survivor is one of the most beautiful gifts she ever received for Christmas. “Ito na po talaga yung pinakamagandang regalo na natanggap ko this Christmas. Sobrang saya ko po at sobrang blessing po ito ni Lord
sa’kin. At nagpapasalamat po ako sa Kanya dahil another bonus na naman po ito galing sa Kanya.”
Klea and Migo each took home P1 million in cash, a house and lot from Camella worth P2 million, and a five-year exclusive contract with GMA Artist Center worth P5 million. They will also be part of the remake of the highly successful fantaserye Encantadia.
Migo Adecer And KleA PinedA Are StArStrucK’S ultiMAte SurvivorS
relive Pia Wurtzbach’s historic winning Miss Universe moment on Lifestyle’s encore tele-
cast of the 64th Miss Universe. Pia finally takes home the high-ly coveted beauty title back to the Philippines after 42 years and is the third Philippine rep-
resentative to be hailed as Miss Universe after Gloria Diaz and Margarita Moran. Celebrate Pia’s win once more this holi-day on Lifestyle (Sky Cable and Destiny Cable channel 52) at 12 midnight, Dec. 26 (Saturday) and on Dec. 27 in ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best.
Neozep brand a m b a s s a d o r Coco Martinled the turn-over ceremo-ny recently of Neozep tablets, raincoats and face masks to members of the Highway Pa-trol Group as the highlight of the Pasko ng Pasasalamat event held at Ever Gotesco Commonwealth.
At the same event, Martin recognized the commitment of HPG in maintaining order and road safety, most especially in addressing the traffic problems in Metro Manila.
Martin said his role in his current hit TV series as a mem-
ber of the Phil-ippine Nation-al Police has provided him with learning
experiences about the many challenges that are being ad-dressed by our police.
Joining Coco is the Neozep team led by (from left) Claire Papa, Unilab’s director for ex-ternal affairs; Christine Nue-vo and Ina Roa, Neozep brand team; Police Senior Superin-tendent Fortunato Guerrero- Chief of Staff of PNP-HPG (sixth from left); Coco Martin, Neozep product endorser; and Mary Margaret Go, Neozep brand team (rightmost).
iPhoto
Pasko ng PasasaLamat
WatCh Pia WurtzbaCh’s historiC miss universe
Win again
sM Cinema will be the first in all of Southeast Asia to use the film in-dustry’s latest movie as-
set: the laser projection system.SM Cinema redefines the
premium 3D cinema experience by launching Southeast Asia’s first laser projection system at the forefront of Cebu, SM Seaside City. The Christie® 6P laser projection system will be used on SM’s new large format theatre entitled “SM Large Screen Cinema,” which boasts a super-sized screen almost 30 percent larger than the regular cinema screen size. Representing the pinnacle of laser-illuminated projection, the Christie® 6P laser produces the brightest images with 80 percent illumination. The Christie® 6P laser offers the best 3D platform that accurately reproduces the colors of the actual movie set, developing the most immersive cinema experience.
The SM Large Screen Cine-ma also proudly uses the Dolby Atmos Sound System and the top-of-the-line Christie Vive
Speakers, engulfing its audience in riveting surround-sound. SM Large Screen Cinema will house 351 guests, seating patrons in a stadium-like setting.
FirSt SM center StAge in cebuSM Cinema opens the first “Center Stage” in Cebu at SM Seaside City. A hybrid between a cinema and a stage theatre, it is the perfect venue for movie premieres, community plays, school programs, and live events with a maximum capability of 830 seats. Aesthetically strik-ing even from its grand lobby, the theatre boasts of a versatile space with ample theatre lighting, two standard dressing rooms, and one star dressing room. On days that the theatre is not used for events, the cinema screen plunges down to reveal an impressive space ready for movie watching. The Center Stage in SM Seaside City Cebu follows suit to the Center Stage in Manila, which has served as home to majes-tic movie watching, pageants, con-certs, and other grand occasions.
Offering the best movie op-tions in the country: SM Seaside City Cebu earlier opened with two Director’s Club Cinemas and four regular sized cinemas at the SM Seaside City Cebu.
in tiMe For StAr WArS: the Force AWAKenSThe SM Large Screen Cinema and Center Stage open just in time for the most-awaited galactic saga of the year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Watch the latest sequel to the epic film at the country’s best cinemas.
SM Large Screen Cinema will show the film from its opening date on Dec.17 and all throughout the period of the Metro Manila Film Festival, while cinemas such as the Center Stage will screen the film on the movie’s first week and will resume on Jan. 8 onwards.
The SM LARGE SCREEN CINEMA and CENTER STAGE are on the second floor of SM Seaside City Cebu.
For more inquiries, log on to www.smcinema.com.
FirSt lASer Projection SySteM in South eASt ASiA
Pia Wurtzbach is Miss Universe 2015. Photos from Miss Universe Press Site
(From left to right) Ms. Lhot Neri (Regional Operations Manager of Seaside City Cebu), Ms. Marissa Fernan (Vice President of SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Cebu City), Ms. Jocelyn Veloso (Vice President of the Shopping Center Management Corporation, Visayas Region), Mr. Edgar Tejerero (President of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc.), and Mr. Rodolfo Palermo (Division Manager for SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., Visayas and Mindanao)
SHOWBITZC6i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m
T HUR S DAY : DECEMBER 24, 2015
ACROSS 1 Wine served warm 5 Shoot-’em-up 10 Warehouse pallet 14 Presently 15 Be loud, as a radio 16 Mandlikova of tennis 17 Biting fly 18 Ocean deep (2 wds.) 20 Shaman’s quest
A N S W E R F O R P R E V I O U S P U Z Z L E
CROSSWORD PUZZLE THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 24, 2015
22 Overlords 23 Huge frights 25 Find in the dark 26 Very strong 27 Tiny legume 28 Basilica area 32 Authorizes 33 Parboil 35 Dove’s shelter 36 Ms. Hagen of films 37 Cowhide puncher 38 — es Salaam 39 Wis. neighbor
DOWN 1 Droop 2 Sothern or Blyth 3 RV haven 4 Chants 5 Expresses disapproval 6 Ladd and Alda 7 Hebrew letters 8 Historical period 9 Good-as-new tire 10 Wood finish
11 Renowned “Citizen” 12 Price hike (abbr.) 13 Dit opposites 19 Wish undone 21 Max opposite 23 Lyrical 24 Staple, perhaps 25 Chops down 26 Old-fashioned writer 27 Handled clumsily 29 Dais 30 Some flights 31 Uncanny 34 Judy of “Laugh-In” 40 Most sacred 41 — of one’s imagination 42 Bareheaded 43 Gemstone feature 47 1865 yielder 49 Admiral’s org. 50 Hawks 51 Saga 52 — monster 53 Singles 54 McClurg of sitcoms 56 Hearing aid? 58 Tolstoy’s name 59 Bandleader — Kyser 60 Marquee notice of yore
If your New Year resolution is to get fit and change your life, then you should definitely tune in to the new season of Fit for Fashion (F4F), premiering
on Star World Jan. 10. The inspirational, first-of-its-kind reality TV show, which aims to motivate its viewers to start their own transformational journeys, will kick off 2016 with a bang with 14 women and men from all over the world who will be-gin a life-changing course to redefine not only their bodies but also their mind and self-image with the help of four experts – Louise Roe, Mitch Chilson, Christine Bullock, and Todd Anthony Tyler. Following a successful first season, Fitness First, one the largest fitness brands in the world, has once again partnered with Imagine Group, an in-ternational TV production powerhouse, to create Fit for Fashion Season 2. The second season welcomes yet another key sponsor, Zalora, Asia’s online fash-ion destination that plays an integral role in making Season 2 even more cap-tivating and entertaining for viewers. According to Riaz Mehta, president and founder of Imagine Group, “The first season of Fit for Fashion was a tremendous success leading to interest in the show from broadcasters in markets ranging from Scandinavia through to China. With the upcoming season, we have taken the show to new heights with dramatic physical challenges and fashion transformations that make our contestants look like Hollywood stars. And most importantly our contestants have achieved amazing six-pack bodies in a few short weeks with the help of our expert fitness trainers. Our audiences will not want to miss a moment of this journey!” In its first season, F4F was enjoyed by millions of audiences across the South East Asia region and ranked in the top five Fox programs in the fourth quarter (October to December) of 2014. The show also accumulated a strong online presence with 500,000 Facebook fans.
Simon Flint, CEO of Fitness First Asia disclosed, “Season 1 was very influ-ential - it was great to see how it helped many people realise the importance of fitness in transforming their lives. The show gives us a great platform to share knowledge about how to get the best out of our bodies and get to where we want to be in life. In Season 2, we want to build on this and help viewers (not just the contestants) to learn even more from the show, whilst being fantastically entertained. We are building in inter-active elements into the show includ-ing innovative tools such as CustomFit 3.01 and a carefully designed 10-Week Get Fit Programme2. These two ‘bonus’ features will enhance the overall expe-rience for Fit for Fashion fans as they will get a taste of the show’s contestants training, and hopefully start their own transformations wherever they are.” While Fitness First have been work-ing hard to spice up the fitness side of the show, new sponsor Zalora, has been making their own contribution to ‘up the fashion game’ for Season 2. “We are excited to be partnering with Fitness First and Imagine Group on the show,” said Tito Costa, Managing Director, Zalora, Group. “We are also proud to support Asian producers who generate quality local content for the region, especially on a show that is aligned with our brand values.” Throughout the course of the show, contestants will be facing a number of fashion challenges. The contestants will certainly be expected to flaunt their newly transformed bodies and self-confidence, and Zalora, has en-sured that they will be showing off the new them in the trendiest high street fashion labels available on Zalora,.com. Fit for Fashion is the first-ever real-ity TV shows that brings together the world fitness and fashion. The 10-ep-isode series follows the empowering and inspiring quest of 14 individuals seeking to transform their lives.
‘FIt FOR FaShIOn’ SEaSOn 2 PREmIERES
In JanUaRy
after a 42-year drought for the crown, the Philippines makes pag-eant history once again. Miss Philippines and PLDT HOME
DSL ambassador Pia Alonzo Wurtzbachwas recently crowned Miss Universe 2015 after a dramatic coronation night held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Wurtzbach bested 80 women from vari-ous parts of the globe to claim the country’s third Miss Universe title. She follows in the footsteps of Gloria Diaz who won in 1969 and Margie Moran who brought home the crown in 1973.
“We could not be any more proud of our very own PLDT Home DSL ambassadress as she embarks on this new journey as Miss Universe 2015.” PLDT VP and Home Marketing Director Gary Dujali said. “Pia has been with us throughout the year as we aggressively went around the country bringing the family-sized broadband connection of Home DSL to more Filipino homes nationwide.”
PLDT Home DSL is the country’s number one broadband with over one million sub-scribers. For more information, log on to www.pldthome.com
As an actor, Robert De Niro’s career can best be described as prolific. His roles, spanning from the mysterious to the colorful, weave their way into becoming cultural mainstays. Starring in almost 100 movies, with six Os-car nominations and two wins, his footprint in Hollywood is as iconic as the many char-acters in De Niro’s portfolio. Off screen, the New York native has found other ways to keep himself busy; his projects including the famous restaurant chain Nobu, Tribeca pro-ductions and Studio City in Macau.
Next month in Talk Asia, CNN’s Manisha
Tank sits down with the legendary actor in Macau’s new leisure resort Studio City. De Niro talks about being in Asia, what he bases his business decisions on, and his message to young people who are trying to make it in the movie industry.
Talk Asia airs on CNN International 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 7.
PLDT ambassaDor Pia WurTzbaCh is miss universe 2015
roberT De niro in Cnn’s ‘TaLk asia’
The new Miss Universe is a
PLDT Home ambassador
PLDT's Manny V. Pangilinan and Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach
Hollywood star De Niro talks about his career as an actor and a businessman
SHOWBITZ C7i s a h r e d @ g m a i l . c o m
Style and Substance---two words that probably best describes KC Montero, Marco Lobregat, AJ
Dee, Marvin Conanan, and Rod Nepomuceno. Five gentlemen who have made names in their respective fields and have always looked good while doing it.
KC Montero began his career as an MTV VJ in 1999. He has since transitioned to radio and TV be-coming one of the most sought after and versatile hosts in the country.
Besides being a commercial model in the 80s, Marco Lobregat used to work for media outfits abroad, writing supplements and advertorials for major publications. Now he takes on new challenge to promote the best of local food and tourism. He has been dubbed as the hottest mushroom farmer by buzzfeed.com and his love for mushrooms spawned Ministry of Mushrooms, a company he set up with his friends involved in the farming and marketing of gourmet mushrooms in the country.
From the big screen actor AJ Dee is now making his mark in cyberspace as The FiloDapper, a fashion blogger who can be seen in almost all high profile events. Through his fashion blog for men AJ shares his expertise suggesting different looks that guys can try.
Another style blogger is Purveyr Marvin Conanan. He describes the site as a “local Hypebeast” designed to cultivate the Philippine modern culture through digital media, innovative projects and community building.
Finally, there’s Rod Nepomuceno, a lawyer, entrepreneur, marketing whiz, and one of the most respected TV hosts in the country.
On December 7, these men shared center stage with an equal-ly multifaceted device that has earned rave reviews and has be-come the choice of both iOS and Android users looking for a smart watch that can keep up with their intricate lifestyle.
The fully circular watch features a 1.4-inch touch-sensitive AMOLED display, scratch-proof sapphire crystal lens, cold-forged stainless steel frame, and comes with a built-in heart rate monitor and 6-Axis motion sensors.
Powered by Android Wear, the Huawei Watch represents the next evolutionary step for the brand in terms of wearable technology.
“This is the first smartwatch in the Huawei wearable family and is also the first watch on the market that truly bridges the gap between fashion and technology. As part of our expanding line of premium wearable products, the Huawei Watch was designed and created to enhance and be part of the consumer’s everyday lives. It is our response to consumers re-quests who (sic) are looking for a
smart watch that combines time-less design and truly usable fea-tures, says Charles Wu, country manager of Huawei’s consumer business group.
“The Huawei Watch continues our commitment ‘Make It Possi-ble,’ as we deliver a truly premium smartwatch that is technologically innovative allowing you to coordi-nate with your smartphone wheth-er it is Android or iOS,” says Wu.
TimeleSS DeSignDesigned by a team of experienced watch designers that have a rich history in creating fashionable and timeless watches, the attention-to-detail becomes apparent upon first glance with its full circle “swiss inspired” design. The quality of materials used all around puts elevates the Huawei Watch in another category of class.
Made of more than 130 components, the Huawei Watch has all the traditional elements of a classic watch, including a crown, frame and hinge built from high-quality and scratch resistant cold-forged stainless steel making it 40 percent harder. The polished 42mm stainless steel body comes in at 11.3mm thick, which makes it slim and very comfortable to wear. The body of the watch is also both corrosion and scratch-resistant. Unlike most regular watches, the Huawei Watch places its crown at the intuitive 2 o’clock press button, offering the highest levels of control and comfort to the user.
The Huawei Watch has a display to be reckoned with boasting of a sparkling AMOLED 1.4-inch display at 400 x 400 pixels resolution in 286 ppi at a 10,000:1 high contrast ratio, making it the most vibrant Android Wear smartwatch in the world. The high-density display makes images look crisp and full of life in all viewing angles. Users can also choose from more than 40 unique watch faces, including a full range of watch straps made from different materials.
The Huawei watch features a range of rose gold, stainless steel and black frames to choose from, as well as a variety of bespoke watch face designs, across a range of classic, luxury, business, femi-nine, modern and simple aesthet-ics. The choice of straps includes stainless steel mesh, stainless steel links, rose gold, and black-plated stainless steel links, and brown and black leather. Easy to change, they will fit any watch strap with 18mm width giving you countless customization options.
SmarT WiThin, Dual CompaTibiliTyUnlike other smart watches, the Huawei Watch works on both iOS and Android. Powered by Google’s proprietary Android Wear, receiving SMS, email,
calendar, app, and phone call notifications has never been easier or more convenient.
The Huawei watch is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 or higher, and is powered by a Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor for optimal performance. It also includes 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM and Bluetooth 4.1 support.
When paired with your smart-phones, the Huawei watch enables you to stay connected wherever you are, with instant notifications on in-coming calls, texts, instant messag-es and emails. Bluetooth connec-tivity allows wireless headphone usage, and offline music download support. Music can be started via voice commands, with users able to search for destinations and nav-igate their way there using the same voice actions. Locating missing phones has never been easier than with the watch’s “find my phone” function.
More than just a fashion state-ment the Huawei watch is also perfect for the sports enthusiast, or just those interested in tracking fitness levels. It features a heart rate monitor sensor, which can accurately measure heart rates. The sensor protrudes slightly for better skin contact and greater accuracy. With its 6-Axis motion sensor, gyroscope and accelerom-eter the Huawei watch can detect and track, in real-time, if a user is walking, running, biking, hik-
ing or sleeping. Specifically, users can monitor everything from the number of calories burned, to heart rate, climbing height, steps taken, and distance travelled.
To encourage consumers to live happier and healthier lives, Huawei is developing a wearable’s health and lifestyle ecosystem that will help users set goals and track their progress. Huawei has partnered with several app developers including Jawbone, to strengthen the Huawei Health Ecosystem and create more health and fitness apps that will encourage users to live healthier lifestyles.
“As more consumers demand more than just connectivity, Huawei takes the lead in wearable technology. Huawei has invested a lot of research and development to make sure that we are able to combine the best in technology and innovation with premium materials and a classic look and feel.
As wearable devices become one of the most significant trends in the device industry, we are making use of Huawei’s expertise in technology and innovation to become the leader in the wearable space.”
The Huawei Watch Classic retails for PhP19,990.00 while Huawei Watch Active retails for PhP 23,990.00 Both models come with a 2-year warranty. The Huawei Watch will be available starting December 10 at Huawei Experience Store and brand shops, and online via Zalora.
T HUR S DAY : DECEMBER 24, 2015
meeT huaWei’S men of STyle
Female models strutting on the runway with various models of Huawei watches
A male model shows off the new Huawei watch
Jacky Gao, Huawei Philippines CEO
Jojo Vega, Huawei Sales and Marketing Director
Marco Lobregat, Aj Dee, Al Dimapilis, Charles Wu, Marvin Conanan , Rod Nepomuceno and Kc Montero
C8 ISAH V. REDE D I T O R
SHOWBITZ
T HUR S DAY : DECEMBER 24, 2015
She can finally scream “Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Philip-pines, Miss Universe 2015! In one of the most shocking
and dramatic ends to the world’s most watched Miss Universe pageant finals, Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, was announced the winner and Miss Philippines as first runner up. Some four minutes later, Steve Harvey, the host, corrected himself after apolo-gizing for a terrible mistake and read out Miss Philippines as Miss Universe 2015. The crowd burst in a thunder-ous and deafening cheers at the Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on Sunday night (morning in Manila).
Pia Wurtzbach, visibly stunned, missed and was robbed of her once in a lifetime winning moment for about five minutes. In her electric blue Al-bert Andrada gown accepted the flowers, sash and crown later from Paulina Vega. Miss Universe 2014, visibly disappointed, could not do any-thing but give the crown and sash to the 64th winner of Miss Universe.
Host Steve Harvey quickly apolo-gized and urged the audience not to hold it against the ladies as he took full responsibility for the mix up and hor-rible mistake in reading out the wrong name on the card. Contestants were seen crowding around Gutierrez to comfort her while others swarmed to greet Wurtzbach as the live show was cut without her victory walk.
Wurtzbach,who described herself a “Bond Girl in-the-making,” looked elegant in her Andrada creation. She was the first in the Top 5 Q&A por-tion to answer the question and it was about the United States military presence in her country. She said, “I think that the US and the Philippines have a good relationship with each other. We’ve been colonized by the Americans and we have their culture in our traditions. Also were are very welcoming with the Americans and I don’t see any problem with that at all.” Host Harvey joked about how well Wurtzback nailed that answer.
After being called in the Top 3 with Gutierrez and Miss USA Olivia Jor-dan, Wurtzbach was asked what she thought it takes to be Miss Universe. Her answer: “I will use my voice to raise awareness to causes like aware-ness of HIV, especially, in the Phil-ippines,” and she wanted to show the world that as Miss Universe she is “confidently beautiful with a heart.” Miss USA, whose answer was “to empower women all over the world
and inspire people to believe in them-selves” was the second runner up.
The Miss Universe Organisation and Fox got in the judging pan-el Emmy Award-nominated actress Niecy Nash, celebrity entertainment mogul Perez Hilton, Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo and football legend Emmitt Smith. Together with Harvey for live reporting was Roselyn San-chez with performers Seal, The Band Perry and Charlie Puth. This year’s Miss Universe decided to take the fans worldwide to have a say in who gets crowned as Miss Universe. Fans were allowed to vote on each category and help decide who would walk away with the coveted crown. Harvey announced Wurtzbach to have garnered the most number of votes, proving Filipino fans gave her massive support.
Hollywood Filipino fashion de-signer Oliver Tolentino, who’s cre-ations have graced the red carpets of Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammy and Emmys, was in the nick of time providing Wurtzbach a gown di-rect from his Beverly Hills boutique when the original gown did not ar-rive on time. Wurztbach chose from Tolentino’s selection a red mermaid gown embellished with red Swarovs-ki crystals, which she amazingly wore during the all important preliminary competitions where the top 15 were selected. Tolentino said that he want-ed to help the Philippines to win the Miss Universe crown. Wurtzbach also wore the national costume by Albert Andrada, a fully beaded and embroidered ecru terno with tiered hemline and traditional panuelo.
While the Philippines is considered among the heavies at the Miss Universe pageant in the last five years, 2010 to 2014, with Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil, beauty experts were unclear what the new Miss Universe owners, entertainment company WME-IMG, were looking for as winner. NBC Uni-versal and Donald Trump co-owned the Miss Universe Organisation until June this year when Trump sold the Miss Universe Organization, includ-ing Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to WME-IMG.
Wurtzbach, a 26-year-old, Culi-nary Arts graduate, model and for-mer member of ABS CBN Star Magic, broke the country’s 42 long years of waiting to have a Filipino Miss Uni-verse crowned in the new century, becoming the third Filipina to own the title after Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Margarita Moran in 1973.
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, Miss Universe Philippines 2015 is crowned the winner at the conclusion of The 2015 MISS UNIVERSE® in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino telecast worldwide on FOX Sunday, Dec. 20 (Monday morning in Manila) Photos courtesy of Miss Universe Organisation photographer Darren Decker
