Manila Standard Today - Saturday (November 03, 2012) Issue

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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50 weeded out
as nuisance bets
Aftermath. People walk among the rubble at the site of a fuel truck
explosion in Riyadh that killed 22 people and injured more than 110. AP
Flowers for the missing. Relatives place owers and posters
on the road outside a church in Paraaque for their missing rela-
tives in yesterdays observance of All Souls Day. The missing were
presumed victims of forced disappearance. LINO SANTOS
On the stump. US President Barack Obama, left, arrives to campaign at the Cheyenne Sports Complex in Las Vegas, while Republican presidential
candidate Mitt Romney arrives in Richmond, Virginia, to do the same. The race between them is a virtual dead heat. AP
Standard Standard
TODAY
Vol. XXVI No. 223 12 Pages, 2 Sections
P18.00 Saturday, November 3, 2012
www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com
Palace thumbs down
extension of CARP
Jobs index
vital sway
in winning
US elections
Biz areas only for locals expanded
Women no
weaker sex
in politics
Saudi blast kills Pinoy OFW
Neutral view of sea row urged
Ocean grabbing off Aurora hit
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In its resolution, the poll
agency cancelled the certi-
cates of candidacy of 50 senato-
rial aspirants because they had
not shown genuine interest or
seriousness about running for
the position; they had not been
nominated or supported by a po-
litical party with a national con-
stituency or proved they have
the capacity to run a national
campaign; or they had demon-
strated that they had no bona
de intention to run for senator.
Comelec Chairman Sixto
Brillantes said those who did
not qualify can still appeal their
case to the Supreme Court.
Of the 84 aspirants, 32 were
qualied to run while two others
Virgilio Gundayao and Oli-
ver Lozano, both members of
the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
-- withdrew their certicates of
candidacy.
The commission earlier an-
nounced that 27 candidates are
qualied to run.
The ve other aspirants who
were added to the list of quali-
ed candidates were indepen-
dent candidate Ricardo Penson;
Samson Alcantara of the Social
Justice Society; and the three
candidates of the Democratic
Party of the Philippines, Bal-
domero Falcone, Christian Se-
neres and Greco Belgica.
Norma Nueva, a 75-year-old
aspirant, asked the commission
to explain why she was ruled
a nuisance even though she
got the nomination from both
the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan,
which had withdrawn all its
nominations, and the Partido ng
Maggagawa at Magsasaka.
But Brillantes said a second
nomination was against the rules
and therefore did not count.
Twenty-one of the qualied
candidates belonged to Presi-
dent Benigno Aquino IIIs Lib-
eral Party and Vice President
Jejomar Binays United Nation-
alist Alliance .
WASHINGTONThe last US
jobs report before Election Day,
due Friday, was expected to pro-
vide a crucial snapshot of the vigor
of the countrys economic recov-
ery, with the potential to sway a
presidential race shaping up to be
one of the closest in history.
President Barack Obama got
good news when joblessness mea-
sured at 7.8 percent in September,
falling below 8 percent for the rst
time since he took ofce, but it
wasnt enough to give him a lead
over Republican challenger Mitt
Romney, and the race remains in a
virtual dead heat.
The Obama administration
claims credit for preventing deeper
problems and said the economy is
recovering from the Great Reces-
sion that started under Republi-
can predecessor George W. Bush.
Romney argues the continued
economic weakness demonstrates
Obamas policy failures and touts
his own record as a successful
businessman as proof that he can
create jobs.
Election Day is Tuesday, and
the two candidates were streak-
ing between campaign stops in
the all-important swing states on a
nal campaign blitz after a three-
day hiatus for Obama to manage
the crisis surrounding Superstorm
Sandy. Romney muted criticism of
the White House incumbent during
By Sara Susanne
D. Fabunan
THE Association of Southeast Asian
Nations has to take a forward-looking
neutral view of the dispute in the West
Philippine Sea (South China Sea) so it
can encourage all claimant countries
to come together and resolve the issue,
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hseing
Loongs said on Friday .
We have to have a forward-look-
ing neutral view which is balanced,
By Gigi Muoz-David
THE shermens group Pamban-
sang Lakas ng Kilusang Mama-
malakaya ng Pilipinas accused the
governments of Japan, South Korea
and Taiwan of ocean grabbing a day
after a United Nations ofcial criti-
cized the practice.
Olivier de Schutter, the UNs Spe-
cial Rapporteur on the Right to Food,
had warned governments that small
shermen, shing communities and
By Joyce Pangco Paares
MALACAANG is lukewarm
to a bill seeking to extend the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program for another ve years,
insisting the government is on
target to complete land acquisi-
tion and distribution under the
existing law.
Cagayan Rep. Rufus Rodri-
guez and Abante Mindanao par-
ty-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez
Jr. have led House Bill 6614
seeking a ve-year extension of
the program, claiming the Aquino
administration is far from meet-
ing its targets before the program
expires in June 2014.
But deputy presidential
spokeswoman Abigail Valte re-
jected their claim on Friday, say-
ing all notices of coverage would
have been issued before the pro-
gram expired.
As far as the Department of
Agrarian Reform is concerned,
we are on target, Valte said.
Even if we have reached the
June 2014 deadline, as long as the
notices of coverage have been is-
sued, the process will continue.
Agrarian Reform on Wednes-
day said it was halfway through
distributing some 4,900 hectares
of the Hacienda Luisita sugar es-
tate, which is owned by the fam-
ily of President Benigno Aquino
III, to over 6,000 farm workers.
The department submitted
its report to the Supreme Court
to comply with its order that the
land be distributed to the original
6,295 beneciaries.
Agrarian Reform Secretary
Virgilio de los Reyes said he was
optimistic his department would
be able to comply with the high
courts order before May 2013.
What was deemed impossible
is now a reality, De los Reyes said.
A year after the Supreme
Court decision was issued on
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III
has expanded the list of investment
areas and business activities that
are reserved Filipino companies.
The 9th Regular Foreign
Investment Negative List bars
foreigners from engaging in psy-
chological and respiratory thera-
py and real estate services, on top
of other professions already set
aside for Filipino nationals: engi-
neering, medicine, nursing, vet-
erinary medicine, accountancy,
architecture, customs brokerage,
interior design and law.
Foreign entities are also pro-
hibited from engaging in small-
scale mining as well as in retail
trade enterprises with paid-up
capital of less than $2.5 mil-
lion, owning and operating pri-
vate security
By Ferdie Domingo
CABANATUAN, Nueva Eci-
jaThe Philippines has elimi-
nated gender disparity in politics
and a record number of women
in this province have announced
plans to oust the men from their
positions of power during the
elections next year, election of-
cials said on Friday.
The provincial ofce of
the Commission on Elections
(Comelec) said a total of 140
women have led certicates
of candidacy for powerful po-
sitions long held by men, in-
cluding the governor, various
congressional seats, city and
town mayors, vice mayors,
and councilors.
RIYADHA fuel truck exploded
after hitting portions of a bridge
Thursday in the Saudi capital,
engulng buildings and cars in
ames and killing at least 22 peo-
ple and injuring more than 110,
witnesses and ofcials said.
There was no immediate sus-
picion of terrorist links based on
witness accounts.
In Manila, ofcials said a
Filipino truck driver was among
those killed, and that 10 others
had been injured in the blast.
Foreign Affairs spokesman
Raul Hernandez on Friday iden-
tied the man as Florentino
Santiago. He said the Philippine
Embassy in Riyadh was making
arrangements to repatriate San-
tiagos remains and to help the
victims.
EXASPERATION MOUNTS 3 DAYS AFTER SANDY
See story on B4
Killed by drug-crazed monsters. Twenty-year-old Cyrish Magalang, left, a fresh honors
graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, was stabbed 49 times by these two tricycle drivers
(extreme right, top) who tried to rob and rape her as she was on her way home in Bacoor, Cav-
ite. The two admitted to the killing and claimed they were under the inuence of illegal drugs.
LINO SANTOS AND DANNY PATA
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COMELEC SENATORIAL LIST
Next page
By Joel E. Zurbano
THE Commission on
Elections has declared
as nuisance candi-
dates more than half
of the 84 senatorial
aspirants for the 2013
polls.
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News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
A2
Ofcial praises Sagittarius
A P3-MILLION education pro-
gram for village and tribal of-
cials and workers that is being
implemented in Tacub village
in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur, is
aimed at pursuing peace and de-
velopment through education.
The program is a joint under-
taking of the Education Depart-
ment in Davao del Sur, the local
government of Kiblawan, and
Sagitarrius Mines Inc., the gov-
ernment contractor for the pro-
posed Tampakan mine project.
The program was started with
an initial funding of P1.65 mil-
lion from Sagitarrius Mines,
with the rest of the committed
fund to be released after a year-
end program assessment.
Dominga Flansok Masday, a
59-year-old village ofcial and
a Blaan tribe member, says the
program has given her a tool to
serve her community better.
This program enables us to
prepare better ordinances, Mas-
day said.
We can now communicate
better with the members of the
community.
Masday recalled that, in the past,
as a member of a tribal community,
it was a challenge for her to com-
municate with non-tribal ofcials
and community members.
But now I can now commu-
nicate well in Filipino when I
attend meetings and dialogues,
she said.
Helen Arancon, head of the
Education Departments alterna-
tive learning program in Davao
del Sur, says their initial assess-
ment shows that the program
has been very well received by
the participants and the local
government.
The program delivers basic
education subjects such as English,
math, and Filipino, training [vil-
lage] and tribal council ofcials to
perform better in their administra-
tive and legislative duties, Aran-
con said.
It is very important for [vil-
lage] and tribal leaders to have
at least some basic education that
they can use in planning, budget-
ing and communication.
Jobs...
ing those days for fear of ap-
pearing to seek political ad-
vantage while Americans were
battered by the historic natural
disaster.
Obama scored the endorse-
ment of New York Citys popu-
lar mayor Michael Bloomberg,
who said Thursday that Sandy
had made the stakes of the elec-
tion even clearer. Bloomberg,
whose city was hit hard by the
monster storm, said the climate
is changing and that Obama has
taken major steps in the right
direction on that issue.
The vote of condence from
the politically independent
third-term mayor of Americas
largest city was a major boost
for Obama.
Both candidates had eagerly
sought the backing of Bloom-
berg, a former Republican who
didnt endorse a presidential
candidate in 2008.
In another possible boost for
Obama on Thursday, govern-
ment and private sources were
reporting a series of encourag-
ing numbers about the econo-
my. Reports on home prices,
worker productivity, auto sales,
construction spending, manu-
facturing and retail sales sug-
gested the recovery was pick-
ing up pace, and a measurement
of consumer condence rose to
its highest level since February
of 2008, nearly ve years ago.
However, none of that data
would come close to the impact
that Fridays unemployment
gures would have.
Economists think Fridays
jobs report will show that the
unemployment rate rose to 7.9
percent in October from 7.8
percent in September.
Both Obama and Romney
were pressing intense closing
arguments in their astonishing-
ly close race as ofcials across
the country reported that more
than 20 million Americans had
already cast ballots in early vot-
ing states.
The president moved quickly
across three battleground states
once he returned to campaign-
ing Thursday, while Romney
made three stops in critical
Virginia and his campaign
launched a tough Spanish-
language television ad in His-
panic-heavy Florida showing
Venezuelas leftist leader, Hugo
Chavez, and Raul Castros
daughter, Mariela, saying they
would vote for Obama.
Both candidates were bat-
tling for support from the thin
slice of undecided voters in
nine so-called swing states
Florida, Virginia, North Caro-
lina, New Hampshire, Ohio,
Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and
Nevada where voters cannot
be predicted to reliably vote for
the presidential standard-bearer
of either the Democrats or Re-
publicans.
Polls show Obama holds a
slight lead in a majority of the
battleground contests where
the outcome of the vote is
likely to be determined. Under
the U.S. system, the nation-
wide popular vote does not
determine the winner. Rom-
ney and Obama are actually
vying to win at least 270 elec-
toral votes in state-by-state
contests. Each state has one
elector for each member of
the House of Representatives,
seats apportioned according to
population, and two for each
states two seats in the Senate.
Even the smallest population
state, therefore, is guaranteed
three electoral votes.
Swing-state Ohio has seen
and will receive massive at-
tention from both Obama and
Romney. Polls show Obama
with a slight lead in the state.
No Republican candidate for
the White House has ever won
the election without capturing
Ohio.
At his rst appearance of the
day in Roanoke, Virginia, Rom-
ney pressed his message that he
is the real candidate of change,
the slogan Obama memora-
bly made his own in 2008 and
struggles to hold now.
Real Change On Day One,
read a huge banner in Roanoke,
and the same on a sign on the
podium where he spoke in Do-
swell, Virginia.
This is a time for greatness.
This is a time for big change,
for real change, said the for-
mer Massachusetts governor,
a successful businessman who
says his background gives him
the know-how to enact policies
that will help create jobs. Im
going to make real changes.
Im going to get this economy
going, from day one were
making changes.
Obama seemed intent on
making up for lost campaign
time after a three-day turn as
hands-on commander of the
federal response to Sandy, al-
though aides stressed he re-
mained in touch with local
ofcials and federal ofcials
handling the storm.
One day after touring
storm-battered New Jersey
with Republican Gov. Chris
Christie, Obama walked off
the presidential plane Air
Force One in Green Bay,
Wisconsin, wearing a leather
bomber jacket bearing the
presidential seal and prompt-
ly criticized Romney.
In the campaigns nal
weeks, his rival has been us-
ing all his talents as a salesman
to dress up policies that led to
the nations economic woes.
And he is offering them up as
change, Obama said.
Neutral...
and encourage all the parties to
come together and start work-
ing on the code of conduct,
Lee said in a statement which
was posted in Straight Times, a
Singaporean news website.
Lee made the statement be-
fore he leaves Singapore for a
state visit to Brunei, the next
country to chair the ASEAN.
Foreign Ministers from China
and Asean countries the Phil-
ippines, Singapore, Thailand,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam,
Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and
Brunei Darussalam met early
this week in Pattaya, Thailand
for the Senior Ofcials Meet-
ing (SOM) Retreat.
During the SOM, the for-
eign affairs ministers from the
10 Asean countries and China
have agreed to adopt a Code of
Conduct and expressed their
commitment to the full and ef-
fective implementation of the
2002 Declaration on the Code
of Conduct in the South China
Sea by early November, or dur-
ing the 10th anniversary of the
DOC.
Lee said that China and the
Asean have been trying to agree
on a Code of Conduct that
would govern all activities in
the disputed waters, but admit-
ted that the progress in coming
up with the binding agreement
was taking really slow.
The slow pace, he said, could
be attributed to the incremen-
tal process wherein they have
to conduct informal consulta-
tions rst, followed by formal
negotiations.
You are talking about sover-
eign states, so this has to be by
mutual agreement, and it will
take some time, he said.
But Lee said he was condent
that the adoption of the COC
will make progress next year
when Brunei takes over the
chairmanship of the 10-mem-
ber regional bloc.
But I hope that the process
will begin when Brunei is in the
chair next year.
Since its standoff with China
on the Scarborough Shoal start-
ed in April, Manila had been
pushing for the adoption of a
Code of Conduct,and insisted
that the subject should be dis-
cussed during the 45th ASEAN
Foreign Ministers Meeting last
July.,
The foreign ministers,
though, did not agree on a joint
statement on the issue, and in-
stead formulated later a six-
point principle, one of which
is the adoption of a COC in the
South China Sea.
The Philippines, along with
Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and
Brunei dispute ownership of
some of the islands in the South
China Sea against China, while
the Chinese is also at the mid-
dle of another territorial dispute
against Japan in the East Sea.
Manila has sent a strong mes-
sage to China that it will bring
the dispute before the interna-
tional court of law, but Beijing
has stood rm in its decision to
resolve the issue through bilat-
eral means.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Af-
fairs Department said that there
was no word yet from the Pal-
ace on whether the government
would send their ships back in
the disputed Scarborough (Pan-
atag) Shoal.
Department spokesman Raul
Hernandez said the decision to
send back the ships will to the
shoal should come from higher
authorities.
Regarding plans to send
back ships to Bajo de Masinloc,
this is really up to the Philip-
pine Coast Guard and higher
authorities, Hernandez said.
There are currently three
Chinese vessels still an-
chored outside the lagoon of
Scarborough Shoal, while
no Filipino ship has been de-
ployed.
Reports said that the Chinese
government has yet to remove
the ropes which are preventing
Philippine authorities from en-
tering the shoals lagoon.
The government decided to
pull out its ships in June this
year during the height of ty-
phoons, or two months after
the military standoff started in
April.
Palace...
April 24, 2011, we are optimis-
tic [about] our capability to award
the land to the farmers.
Valte said Agrarian Reform
would nish issuing notices of
coverage for landholdings 10
hectares and above by Decem-
ber 2012.
As for landholdings below 10
hectares, [the departments] target
is to nish issuing notices of cover-
age by July 1, 2013, she said.
Still, the Rodriguez broth-
ers claimed that the department
had only been able to process
32,000 hectares of land out of
its target of 180,000 hectares.
Their bill has already been re-
ferred to the House committee
on agrarian reform.
De los Reyes had earlier told
Congress that some 322,000
hectares were expected to re-
main undistributed by the end
of the agrarian reform law in
2014, but the land distribution
to farmers would continue as
long as notices of coverage had
already been issued.
A farmers group has criti-
cized the proposal to extend the
agrarian reform program.
The Filipino peasantry [has]
already had enough of the bogus
CARP, said Randall Echanis,
secretary general of the Kilu-
sang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.
Reviving the anti-peasant
CARP from its current politi-
cal comatose state and giving it
another ve-year lease in life is
total madness.
Only a genuine agrarian re-
form program that will break the
monopoly and control of big land-
lords over vast tracts of land...will
solve the centuries-old landless-
ness of peasants in the country.
50...
The senatorial candidates
of Liberal Party coalition
are incumbent Senators
Loren Legarda, Francis Es-
cudero, Aquilino Pimentel
III, Alan Peter Cayetano,
and Antonio Trillanes IV;
congressmen Juan Edgardo
Angara and Cynthia Vil-
lar; former senators Ramon
Magsaysay Jr. and Jamby
Madrigal; losing 2010 sena-
torial bet Risa Hontiveros;
Paolo Aquino IV and Grace
Poe-Llamenzares.
The UNA senatorial candi-
dates are incumbent Senator
Gregorio Honasan; incumbent
congressmen Juan Ponce En-
rile Jr., Maria Milagros Mag-
saysay and Joseph Victor Ejer-
cito; former senators Richard
Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri
and Ernesto Maceda; Mar-
garita Cojuangco and Nancy
Binay.
The other qualified candi-
dates are incumbent Bayan
Muna party list Rep. Teddy
Casino, 2010 losing presi-
dential bet John Carlos de-
los Reyes, Marwil Llasos,
Rizalito David, Palawan
City Mayor Edward Hage-
dorn and retired Gen. Ra-
mon Montano.
In the May 10, 2010 elec-
tions, 61 candidates were
qualied to run for the Senate.
The commission recently
announced that it is consider-
ing requiring senatorial candi-
dates to post a P1 million bond
as a way of weeding out nui-
sance candidates. Under the
proposal, if the candidates do
not obtain the needed number
of votes, the bond will be for-
feited, Brillanes said.
He ruled out charging for
the certicates of candidacy,
however, saying running for
public ofce is a right of any-
one who is qualied.
Ocean...
sustainable shing were threat-
ened by ocean grabbing or long-
distance, industrial-scale trawling.
Pamalakaya national chairman
Fernando Hicap denounced the Jap-
anese, Taiwanese and South Korean
industrial shing eets in the waters
of Aurora province, which are regu-
larly monitored by small shermen.
Japanese, Taiwanese and
South Korean industrial eets
are seen catching rst rate tuna
off the waters of Aurora, Hi-
cap said in a statement.
Fishermen in the province
have reported seeing industrial
shing eets owned by Japanese,
Taiwanese and South Korean
tuna operators from January to
July each year. In 2008, they re-
ported seeing long-line shing
gear hauling tuna, blue marlin
and other high-value sh.
Hicap said small shermen
had told his group that foreign
shing vessels were even enter-
ing the 15-kilometer municipal
shing waters of Aurora from
the shoreline.
He said the Coast Guard had
conrmed the presence of such
vessels in Baler Bay in Aurora,
and that Senator Edgardo An-
gara in 2008 revealed that eight
foreign shing vessels, some
with canneries, were seen al-
most daily from January to July.
Hicap said Angara had asked the
Coast Guard to put up a station in
Northern Aurora and assign patrol
boats to protect the provinces wa-
ters from foreign poachers.
Pamalakaya says a 3,000-ton
tuna factory ship, accompanied
by support shing ships, can
catch as much as 150 metric
tons of tuna in 24 hours. A fac-
tory ship can harvest 50,000
metric tons of tuna a year.
Saudi...
His remains are now in
Riyadh Central Mortuary at
Sheumeisy hospital, Hernan-
dez said in a text message.
Santiagos wife Jocelyn
Santiago told local radio
she had been told her hus-
band was sleeping in his
truck near the explosion
when he was killed.
Ambassador to Saudi Ara-
bia Ezzedin Tago said it could
take four to ve weeks to re-
patriate Santiagos remains.
Vice Consul Redentor
Genotiva said one of the 10
Filipinos injured in the explo-
sion was in critical condition.
Some have injuries to their
faces and other parts of their
bodies, but are in stable condi-
tion. They are conned in four
different hospitals in Riyadh,
Genotiva said.
Hernandez said the Phil-
ippine Embassy was moni-
toring the Filipinos condi-
tion and in touch with their
employers to make sure
they were given all the as-
sistance they needed.
The death toll was a signi-
cant increase in the number
of reported casualties than in
the rst hours after the 7 a.m.
explosion near the Saudi Na-
tional Guard building in an
industrial area in the citys
eastern district. Columns of
smoke could be seen rising
from scene.
There was no immediate
suspicion of terrorist links
based on witness accounts,
which suggested the fuel tank-
er exploded after striking part
of a highway underpass.
Ofcials said rescue crews
had not nished the search
and the death toll was still not
nal.
All the ofcials and wit-
nesses spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were
not authorized to talk to the
media.
Civil Defense spokesman
Capt. Mohamed al-Hammadi
told the ofcial Saudi Press
Agency that the explosion oc-
curred after the tanker spilled
fuel, which expanded the area
of the reball. He described
the damage as signicant.
AP, with Sara Susanne D.
Fabunan
Women...
Women have special quali-
ties that will work in politics,
a local political leader said.
Also, they are not prone to vio-
lence.
Nueva Ecija, the biggest rice
producer in central Luzon and
kown as the Rice Bowl of the
Philippines, has not lagged be-
hind other provinces in terms of
political violence as well. Po-
litical dynasties have have been
ghting for control for years
and gang-land types of kill-
ings are common.
But the rise of women to
power in Nueva Ecija does not
mean they are more empowered
than they were several years
ago. Many of them gets elected
as a result of dynastic politics.
Comelec records show wom-
en candidates include outgoing
Rep. Josie Manuel-Joson, who
was challenging the re-election
bid of Gov. Aurelio Umali, who
is on his thrid and last term.
Manuel-Joson is the wife of
Quezon town mayor Mariano
Cristino Joson, the Comelec re-
cords show.
The governors wife, Rep.
Czarina Umali, is running for
re-election to her last and third
term in the House of Repre-
sentatives and Board Member
Estrellita Suansing, wife of Bu-
reau of Customs Deputy Com-
missioner Horacio Suansing,
will also run for a seat in Con-
gress.
Suansing hoped to stop for-
mer two-term Congressman
Renato Diaz from claiming his
old seat in the House of Repre-
sentatives.
Scaring people does not
work anymore in todays poli-
tics. Im running because I want
to show people not to be afraid,
Suansing said.
I will not allow the old poli-
tics of violence to prevail again
in our province. I want to show
a new face of politics in our
province, Suansing said.
Despite the show of force by
women in Nueva Ecija and two
women --- Corazon Aquino and
Gloria Arroyo ---- as past presi-
dents, the percentage of women
leaders in national and local
government was still small.
According to Sen. Pia Cayet-
ano, of the 17,385 elected pub-
lic ofcials from the national to
the local levels, men comprise
an overwhelming 82.7 percent
(14,369 positions) compared
with women.
She said there are only 4
women out of the 23 members
of the Senate, and the ratio is
smaller for elected women in
the local level.
Negative...
agencies, using marine re-
sources, and manufacturing of
recrackers, pyrotechnic de-
vices, and biological, chemi-
cal and radiological weapons.
The new Negative List,
however, allows up to 49
percent foreign ownership of
lending companies.
In 2010, the Negative List re-
moved the 40 percent cap on the
equity of foreign investors in the
local gaming industry so long as
these are covered by investment
agreements with the Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corp.
and operating within the connes
of economic zones administered
by the Philippine Economic Zone
Authority.
Under the Foreign Invest-
ments Act of 1991, foreign in-
vestors are allowed to own 100
percent equity in businesses not
in the Negative List.
As the Palace announced new
restrictions on foreign activity,
Senator Edgardo Angara said there
was a need to review tedious gov-
ernment processes after the World
Bank ranked the Philippines 138th
among 185 economies in the ease
of doing business.
Among Asian countries,
the Philippines is in the bot-
tom four, ahead only of Timor
Leste, Laos and Micronesia.
In the Starting a Business
category of the World Bank
study, the Philippines ranked
even lower, 161st of 185.
In two years, our country has
slipped four places. We ranked
136th last year and 134th in
2010, Angara said. This slip-
ping performance shows that we
are not enacting enough reform
to enable start-up businesses and
SMEs to grow and thrive.
What we need is a stream-
lined business registration system
instead of the drawn out process
that we have now where 16 dif-
ferent procedures are needed to
start a business and 84 working
days are required for the 26 steps
necessary for getting a building
permit, Angara said.
With Macon Ramos-Ara-
neta
News
ManilaStandardToday
mst.daydesk@gmail.com NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
A3
House pushes closure
of Cagayans jai alai
15 SC bets qualify for lone seat

IN BRIEF
Baguio lifts buildings height ceiling
Clearing
houses
eyed for
fresh grads
UK opens 2013 scholarship program
APPLICATIONS for Chevening Schol-
arships, the global scholarship program
of the United Kingdom, are open start-
ing October 29, 2012, the UK embassy
in Manila said.
Chevening Scholarships are for tal-
ented people who have been identied
as potential leaders across a wide range
of elds, including politics, business,
nance, climate change and energy, the
media, civil society and academia, said
British Ambassador Stephen Lillie, dur-
ing the ofcial launching of the program
in Manila last week.
Aspirants from the Philippines may
access the online application forms at
the new Chevening website www.chev-
ening.org and submit their applications
until January 2, 2013.
The British Embassy announced that
it is seeking partnerships with the private
sector to maximise the Chevening Pro-
gram in the Philippines.
In 2012 we were able to expand the
number of scholarships through a new
partnership with Cambridge University.
Looking to 2013, I would like us to be
able to forge additional partnerships,
which will allow us to increase the num-
ber of Chevening Scholars whom we are
able to fund, Lillie added.
The British Embassy is already in
talks with British pharmaceutical rm
GlaxoSmithKline and several other
companies on providing supplementary
funding for the Chevening Program to
boost the number of scholars from the
Philippines.
Lillie underscored the importance
of educational links in strengthening
Philippine-British relations. He said
British Alumni are in fact a very visible
expression of the friendship between
our two countries. They have studied at
a diverse range of institutions across a
wide range of disciplines. The grow-
ing number of excellent young achiev-
ers, returning from the UK to the Phil-
ippines gives me condence that the
UK-Philippine relationship will con-
tinue to go from strength to strength.
2012 has been a great year for our bi-
lateral relations, but I believe the best
days for the Philippines and UK rela-
tionship lie ahead, he said.
Lawyer Jose Mejia, a member
of JBC representing the acadame,
disclosed that all the aspirants
met the requirements and would
be subjected to nal selection set
on Wednesday next week.
We will vote on November 7
for the shortlist of at least three
names. The President has until
Nov. 22 to make the appoint-
ment so he will have enough
time for that, Mejia said in a
text message.
According to Mejia, all the
By Maricel V. Cruz

THE committee on games and
amusement in the House of Rep-
resentatives wants to close down
jai alai off-fronton and on-line
betting stations being operated
outside the Cagayan Export Pro-
cessing Zone by a rm with con-
troversial Charlie Atong Ang
as the benecial owner.
Manila Rep. Amado Bag-
atsing, the panel chairman, made
the recommendation as he de-
clared as illegal the jai alai op-
erations conducted outside the
jurisdiction of the export zone by
the Meridien Vista Gaming Inc.
Meridien has been given by
CEZA the franchise of conduct-
ing and operating jai-alai games
and betting stations within its
territory in Sta. Ana Cagayan,
House records showed.
The rm has been accused of
putting up betting stations as far as
Visayas and Bicol area. Its on-line
betting operations have reportedly
reached as far as Mindanao.
Bagatsings committee had
conducted congressional inquiry
into the operations of Meridien
in response to resolutions led by
Isabela Reps. Napoleon Dy and
Giorgidi Aggabao, and Bohol
Rep. Erico Aumentado.
Dy and Aggabaos resolution
noted that Ang is the benecial
owner of Meridien.
Aumentado said Meridien
has put up businesses outside
Cagayan.
Dy and Aggabao said that aside
from jai alai, Angs rm has been
conducting on-line gambling
such as virtual jai-alai and video
karera , thus, adversely affecting
the business viability of small
town lottery stations operated by
the state-owned Philippine Char-
ity Sweepstakes Ofce.
In seeking a congressio-
nal probe, the three lawmakers
wanted the games and amuse-
ment panel to determine the pro-
priety of allowing Meridien to
operate jai alai betting stations
outside Cagayan.
They also asked whether CEZA
or GAB has the power to regulate
the games and grant license to the
professional pelotaris who play in
consideration of prizes and mon-
etary compensation.
By Rey Requejo
ALL 15 candidates for the vacant seat of
associate justice of the Supreme Court
have been found qualied, an ofcial
of the Judicial and Bar Council said on
Friday.
aspirants had complied with all
requirements, including sub-
mission of statement of assets,
liabilities and net worth and
waiver for disclosure of bank
assets, and were screened in
public interviews.
The eight-member constitu-
tional body tasked to vet nomi-
nees to posts in the judiciary
and ofce of the Ombudsman
had looked into the nancial re-
cords of the candidates and saw
nothing questionable, the JBC
ofcial said.
This new requirement was
adopted by the council during
their selection process for the
chief justice post last June as ad-
ditional test to the integrity and
tness of nominees following the
ouster of former Chief Justice
Renato Corona last May due to
undeclared assets.
It can be recalled also that the
bets faced the JBC in public inter-
views last Oct. 23 and 25. They
were quizzed on issues involv-
ing the controversial cybercrime
prevention law, Reproductive
Health bill and the Bangsamoro
framework agreement.
But Mejia said that they have
yet to decide on proposed amend-
ment of their rule for automatic
disqualication of candidates
with pending administrative or
criminal cases, which they had
applied to fellow member and
Justice Sec. Leila de Lima in her
bid for the chief justice post.
Theres no decision yet on
that. Im not sure also if it will be
relevant to this position, if any of
the aspirants has pending case,
he explained.
Nine of the 15 aspirants for
SC associate justice are insiders
in the judiciary: Court of Ap-
peals Presiding Justice Andres
Reyes Jr. and Associate Justices
Ramon Bato Jr., Rosmari Caran-
dang, Magdangal De Leon, Isa-
ias Dicdican, Jose Reyes Jr. and
Noel Tijam; Sandiganbayan
Associate Justice Ma. Cristina
Cornejo; and former RTC Judge
Adoracion Cruz-Avisado.
The other six are outsiders:
former University of Perpetual
Help System law dean Jose-
Santos Bisquera, government
peace panel chairman and for-
mer UP Law Dean Marvic Le-
onen, former Energy Secretary
Raphael Lotilla, De La Salle
University Law Dean Jose
Manuel Diokno, Securities and
Exchange Commission Chair
Teresita Herbosa, and former
Ateneo Law Dean Cesar Vil-
lanueva.
By Dexter A. See
BAGUIO CITYThe local
government has yielded to the
clamor of the business sector
led by developers to lift the
ban on high rise and allow
12-storey buildings to but-
tress the citys stature as an
investment capital.
Lawyer Alexander Bang-
soy, a member of the Chamber
of Real Estate Brokers Asso-
ciation in the Cordillera, com-
mended the move as timely.
Baguio City is one of the
favorite destinations in the
country, he said, noting that
around 20 developers have
lined up condominium and
subdivision projects because
of the relaxed building height
requirement.
Earlier, the brokers and the
Philippine Chamber of Com-
merce and Industry Baguio-
Benguet Chapter petitioned
Mayor Mauricio Domogan to
revamp the six-storey limit to
make Baguio most business-
friendly.
The Mines and Geoscienc-
es Bureau pegged the 12-sto-
rey threshold based on ground
stability from data obtained in
geohazard surveys.
Dennis Sy, PCCI chap-
ter president, said vertical
expansion would boost the
economic growth potential of
the 57-square kilometer city
limits.
In Metro Manila, high-rise
clusters have mushroomed in
central business districts in
Libis, Quezon City, Taguig
Global City along with Orti-
gas Center in Mandaluyong
and Pasig among other growth
hubs.
Developers took keen in-
terest on the rezoning along
Edsa in Mandaluyong where
Wack Wack residents wanted
to impose the four-storey lim-
it incorporated in their subdi-
vision plan.
It is a good business deci-
sion because more developers
will be enticed to put up high-
rise structures, Sy said.
Baguio authorities set a
six-storey limit after the mag-
nitude 7.8 earthquake on July
16, 1990 which devastated the
city and left more than 1,600
people dead mostly buried
under the rubble.
The city has since rebound-
ed to attract businesses led by
retail giant SM and its mall at
the former site of Pines Hotel
together with Camp John Hay
and its hive of locators in the
former American military rest
and recreation facility.
Extra benets eyed
for public teachers
PUBLIC school teachers will soon get
additional insurance benets amounting
to P350,000 to augment their monthly
income once House Bill 6600 is
enacted.
The proposed insurance is on top of the
benets public teachers obtain from the
Government Service Insurance System,
according to the bills author Camarines
Sur Rep. Diosdado Macapagal Arroyo.
The bill noted that some factors that
have led to the lowering of morale and
waning interest in the teaching profes-
sion are the problems on salaries and
benets, work-related pressures, con-
cern over employment security and lack
of support from the government. Public
school teachers receive an average of
P7,000 in monthly salary.
The bill grants death benets of
P200,000 to all teachers who are in the
active service. Maricel Cruz
Brown revolution begins
SCIENCE CITY OF MUOZ, Nueva
EcijaThe Philippine Rice Research
Institute is kickstarting a brown
revolution in the country to help achieve
the goal of rice self-sufciency in 2013.
By brown revolution, it wants Fili-
pinos to shift to eating brown rice instead
of white rice in line with the celebration
of National Rice Awareness Month this
November.
Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, PhilRice
socio-economist and spokesperson of
the 2011-2016 Food Staples Self-Suf-
ciency Program, said countries like Ja-
pan and China are rice-sufcient despite
their small rice area harvested per capita
because of the citizens diversied diet.
Filipinos are better-advised to eat
brown rice which has higher milling re-
covery rate of 75 percent compared to
the 65 percent for white rice.
A higher milling recovery means that
100 kilograms of palay produce 75 ki-
logram of brown rice as against the 65
kilogram of white rice.
Brown rice is also more nutritious
than white rice as it retains most of the
nutrients from the rice bran that are re-
moved by polishing.
Eufemio Rasco Jr., PhilRice executive
director, said the institute is at the forefront
of steering the rice sector in renewing its
commitment to help the country become
rice self-sufcient next year.
Ferdie G. Domingo
SENATOR Aquilino Pimen-
tel III, PDP Laban president,
is pushing for the creation of
clearing houses where em-
ployers can look for employees
and graduates can nd jobs.
He noted that the Bureau of
Labor and Employment Statis-
tics has been publishing proles
of key industries with hiring re-
quirements.
The government should
also establish a labor market
information system that would
help students make career deci-
sions, Pimentel said.
He called on school authori-
ties to strengthen their programs
through coaching, workshops,
job matching, and setting up
mandatory career services of-
ces as part of the accreditation
by the Commission on Higher
Education and the Technical
Education and Skills Develop-
ment Authority.
Pimentel said reforms are
needed to solve the problem of
jobs mismatch, or the mis-
alignment of the supply of the
education sector and the de-
mand of the job market.
He cited the 39 licensure
examinations held annually
have shown a decreasing rate of
board passers.
The lower percentage of
passers may reect the large
number of poor-performing
schools, Pimentel said. We do
have a lingering issue between
producing top-tier schools ver-
sus diploma mills.
He said the disparity persist-
ed when laid-off worker would
have to be retrained or take fur-
ther education to increase the
chances of being hired again.
He cited a World Bank study
in 2012 that noted a discon-
nect between the education sys-
tem, government programs and
private sector needs.
Macon Ramos-Araneta
Raniag festival. Tourists and residents of Vigan in Ilocos Sur release sky lanterns during the Raniag Festiva on a moon-lit night marking
a religious celebration in Northern Luzon. DANNY PATA
Chevening scholars pose with British Ambassador Stephen Lillie
Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
A4
THE Aquino administrations failure to
pass an acceptable sin tax bill and the
Supreme Courts decision that non-prot
hospitals are subject to taxes are ill omens
to the administrations highly touted
universal health care program.
Our nance managers argued that the
country needed more sin taxes to nance
much needed health care. The government
said it would implement a program that
would focus on the poor. For the rst time,
the country would have a universal health
care program. Of course, nobody argued
with the proposition.
Even the powerful tobacco lobby
conceded that there was poetic justice in
funding a universal health care program
from a product that is medically accepted
to be a health hazard. So the tobacco sector
relented and asked only for a tax rate that
would not put them, and tobacco farmers,
out of business.
But when the Senate came out with
its six tax bill, it was quickly demonized
as a betrayal of the heroic efforts of the
government and the poor. The bill was sent
back to its senders. The problem is, 2013
is an election year and the members of
Congress will already be busy campaigning
by January next year.
Where will the government get the
funds for universal health care if no sin tax
law is passed before January?
Now comes the Supreme Court ruling
that non-prot hospitals are not exempt
from taxes, a decision that Internal
Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares said
she would enforce with gusto. The logic
is supposedly simple: hospitals make a lot
of money, so they must pay taxes that will
be used to nance a universal health care
program that cannot yet be funded by a sin
tax law that has not been passed.
But guess where the hospitals will get
the money they need for the medicine,
supplies, equipment and salaries they need
to run their charity wards?
Already, the Philippine Hospital
Association is already asking Internal
Revenue for clear-cut guidelines on what
specic activities in a charitable hospital
are taxable. The association, consisting
of 2,000 hospitals, maintained that
taxing the revenues from private rooms
would hurt charity wards because these
were subsidized by paying customers,
and the X-ray fees from private, paying
patients subsidizing the cost of X-rays
for charity patients.
The associations bottom-line question
is quite valid: Who will treat the charity
patients?
According to some interpretations of
the Supreme Courts decision, the same
applies to Catholic schools. Is Juan dela
Cruz expected to accept higher child
education costs in addition to increased
health care costs?
Either way, hospitals and schools
will be sure to comply because they are
also aware that there is nothing certain
but death and taxes, but didnt President
Benigno Simeon Aquino III promise his
bosses transparency and equity and all
the good things in between? The bosses
are still waiting.
Did you say universal health care?
Criminal neglect
IT LOOKS like Transportation and
Communication Secretary Joseph
Emilio Abaya has his work cut out for
him after predecessor, now Interior
and Local Government Secretary
Manuel Roxas II left a handful of civil
aviation problems.
A team of International Civil
Aviation Organization experts has
concluded, after a 10-day working
visit, that our airport facilities leave
much to be desired. In a pre-departure
brieng, the ICAO Coordinated
Validation Mission disclosed there
are still problems requiring remedies
for the country to regain its Category
1 rating. A full ICAO report is due in
December.
Getting out of Category 2 alone
already looks like a Herculean
job. Adding to
Abayas woes is
the worrisome
frequency of bird
strikes bedeviling
airliners using the
Ninoy Aquino
I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Airport. Antiquated
communications-
air navigation gear
is another challenge
Abaya has to deal
with.
Two days ago,
nine international
and three domestic ights, scheduled
to land at Naia were diverted to Clark
International Airport in Pampanga
because com-nav equipment was not
working. Thirteen ights were also
diverted to Clark on Oct. 9, again due
to com-nav gear that conked out. This
is criminal neglect, to say the least.
We might as well transfer the
countrys main airport hub to Clark
since it is better equipped and has
a longer runway to accommodate
todays bigger jetliners. The only
hitch to this is a fast train connecting
Clark to Manila. Hong Kongs Chek
Lap Kok airport has a train that gets
passengers to Kowloon in just 23
minutes I have also taken a non-
stop train from Gatwick Airport that
got me to Victoria Station in central
London in just 30 minutes.
Construction of the Clark-to-
Manila rail line will of course take
time. But when will government take
the rst step to make it a reality?
We have been talking about this for
decades like its a pipe dream. Lets
show some of our can-do spirit. The
Chinese were able to do it without
disrupting operations at Hong Kongs
old Kai Tak airport. Land was
reclaimed for the site of the huge Chek
Lap Kok airport which was completed
with a railway component providing a
seamless link to central Hong Kong.
Aside from private investors, the
government can source the funds
for the Clark-Manila railway from
revenues derived from gambling.
Gambling, after all, is a tourist-related
industry that earns billions of pesos for
the government. The money is there,
IF only it is not funneled to fatten
ofcials or diverted as intelligence
funds for election campaign.
In retrospect, the problem of our
sub-standard international airport
goes all the way back to the Marcos,
Cory, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo
administrations. Will this President
perpetuate the problem and leave it to
his successor?
The other alternative without
waiting for government to act is to
allow Philippine Airlines Ramon
Ang to build his own state-of-the art
airport.
The countrys ag carrier is banned
from ying to European destinations.
What is PAL to do with the 54 Airbus
planes worth $7 billion, bought and
signed during the French Prime
Ministers recent visit?
The European Union Minister
for Transport Siik
Kalkas told Vice
President Jejomar
Binay during the
Veeps call on
EU ofcials that
when it comes to
air safety, we dont
have friends.
Me a n w h i l e ,
s e n a t o r i a l
candidate Cynthia
Villar told us she
has nothing to
do with the bird
sanctuary which is
in the path of planes using the Naia.
Air transport ofcials blame the
increasing frequency of bird strikes
to a Bay area marshland where wild
birds roost and scavenge for food
scraps at the nearby Naia.
Cynthia explained that her main
concern is the ooding in Las Pias.
She said that if the reclamation project
of the marshland her brother, Las
Pias Mayor Vergel Aguilar approved
pushes through, her constituents (and
son Rep. Mark Villars) will be in
peril from ooding.
Reclaiming that part of the Bay
area would put it higher than Las
Pias, Cynthia said, adding that all
her efforts to dredge the Zapote River
would be for naught.
It has been four years since the US
FAA downgraded NAIA to Category
2 because of concern for safety of
ights landing and taking off at the
countrys international gateway. The
FAA gave NAIA the Cat 2 rating on
January 17 2008 during the last two
years of the Arroyo administration.
The Aquino administration cannot
blame the former president again on
this one since it had two years and
four months to do something about
the problem.
Are we waiting for a major disaster
to happen at our very doorsteps before
government nally addresses the
problem plaguing our international
airport?

EDITORIAL
ALEJANDRO
DEL ROSARIO
BACK CHANNEL
ROLANDO G. ESTABILLO Publisher
RAMONCHITO L. TOMELDAN Managing Editor
CHIN WONG/ RAY S. EANO Associate Editors
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Prostitutes or prostituted?
I SPENT Some of my childhood years
in Olongapo City where my late father
held a job in the former United States
Naval Base. Primarily because of the
US servicemen, bars and nightclubs
were everywhere then.
My family lived in a poor community.
We had many women neighbors who
worked in these clubs. Some were not
employed but did what they termed
as pangangahoy. It had nothing to do
with gathering wood. It meant freelance
prostitution.
I saw how difcult these womens
lives were. Many were from other
provinces. What brought them to
Olongapo, I did not know. I was too
young to ask or care.
Many times, these women would not
even have money for food. We were
poor but my mother would sometimes
send me out to give neighbors some
food. I did not tell Mama that there were
times I chanced upon some of these
women crying in their rooms.
Like Cinderella, however, by early
evening after hours of preparation,
a total transformation would happen
to these women as they got ready for
work.
Gone were the loose, old house
clothes, disheveled hair, spots and lines
on their faces. They would be fully
made up with long false eyelashes, thick
eyeshadows, red cheeks and lips, and
well-combed hair.
Their outts would be sexy,
sometimes glittery, paired with very
high-heeled shoes.
Indeed, they looked different from
the women we would see during
daytime.
The transformation went beyond
looks. Normally, they would be extra
gregarious and loud. We, (the children)
knew that they were already lasing
even before they left home.
In hindsight, I believe many were
also high on drugs before they went
to work.
It bafed me that alcohol was more
important to them than food. They
would plead the neighborhood sari-
sari store owner for alcohol on credit
but rarely did the same for food.
Now I understand that alcohol and
drugs enabled them to do their work.
Oh, I remember them talking among
themselves about the many kinds
if abuse they had to endure. Many
complained about the fact that even
when they had customers they earned
little because their bosses or pimps
share were huge.
There were also talks about
contracting sexually transmitted
infections and how expensive treatment
was; being physically assaulted, forced
to perform abnormal sex acts, even
robbed by customers.
But they could not do anything about
these abuses.
These womens happiness was
having a steady meaning, an
American boyfriend. Now, I know
that it had nothing to do with love, not
even attraction. Rather, it meant that for
the time being that the guy was in town,
the women had money.
It meant a few months off from the
club since their men would just go to
their rooms. This meant money for the
women for they neednt have to pay
bosses or pimps.
However, even then, not a few of
them were abused. I remember hearing
screams, loud cries and swearing at
nights and seeing women beaten up
black and blue the following morning.
I do not recall anyone reporting the
abuse.
Again on hindsight, they perhaps
considered such as part of the hazards
of their trade.
Virtually l women I knew who had
steadies dreamt of being brought to
America by their boyfriends. That
was their ticket out of poverty and
prostitution. But I knew no one who
realized that dream.
Sure, there were boyfriends who
continued to communicate for some
time after leaving Olongapo. A few
even occasionally sent money and gifts.
I remember the womens smiles when
they received letters or anything from
their boyfriends. Their American
dream was kept alive. Eventually
however, these too, stopped coming.
I knew women who were gotten
pregnant by their steady. Since the
men were only in town for a while,
the women had to deal with their
pregnancies, childbirths, and raising
children by themselves.
These kids were the Amerasians,
children of American servicemen with
Filipinas.
Eventually, the women had to
go back working in the bars. But
such could not last long. Club owners
dismissed them as they aged and hired
younger ones.
These women would then resort to
pangangahoy which meant much less
money since their clients were men
without money.
Then the women quietly faded away.
Were they prostitutes? My memories
tell me they were not.
THEY WERE PROSTITUTED.
bethangsioco@gmail.com and @
bethangsioco on Twitter
ELIZABETH
ANGSIOCO
POWER POINT
Getting out of
Category 2 alone
already looks
like a Herculean
job.
NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
A5 Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com
AN OBSCURE taxpayer might just
end up as our modern-day hero for
it seems he alone dared to put to a
litmus test Section 26, Article II of
the Constitution which provides, to
quote: The State shall guarantee equal
protection to opportunities to public
service, and prohibit political dynasties
as may be dened by law.
Focal to the petition is the universal
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l
principle about the
equal protection
clause. The petition
seeking a denitive
prohibition on
political dynasties,
viz. put to a test
whether we truly
have an enforceable
Constitution or one
that is merely meant
as a decoration for
the world to believe we have. This
question has cropped up for it seems
those wise guys whom former President
Corazon Aquino appointed to draft
her new charter maliciously phrased a
provision that would end up as a mere
decoration, it being unenforceable
allegedly for want of an enabling
law. For sure, those wise guys who
styled themselves as constitutionalists
knew that by inserting that seemingly
innocuous phrase, they could render the
provision something of a dead duck.
Since many of the constitutional
commissioners were themselves
politicians wanting to recoup their
lost glory in the post-Marcos era, they
premeditatedly inserted a provision
that made us the only country in the
world that cannot enforce our own
Constitution. Stated otherwise, Section
26, Article II created a new precedent,
which is to make the Constitution
subservient to the law, and not the law
being subservient to the Constitution.
So, if those politicians decide not
to enact a law dening a political
dynasty, which in fact they did, then
we have in effect drafted an inoperative
Constitution.
Of course, petitioner Louis Biraogo
remains undaunted. The possible
dismissal of his petition may appear
logical; that it cannot be implemented
without an implementing law. But did
it come to the senses of those drafters
that constitutions, upon ratication by
the people, are automatically made
mandatory? As my good friend, a
lawyer, explained, there is no such
thing as an unconstitutional provision
of the Constitution. He said that only
laws can be declared unconstitutional
if contrary to the provision or to the
spirit of the charter. But never can the
Constitution or any of its provisions be
declared unconstitutional.
More than that, to dismiss the
petition is to uphold the continuing
injustice to the Filipino people because
political dynasties have made a sham of
our electoral system of government. It
is also high time to remind the surviving
framers of that prosaic provision and
the apologists who style themselves
as constitutionalists that Section 26,
Article II categorically prohibits
political dynasties, it being violative of
the equal protection clause as it denies
our people the equal opportunities
to serve the public. That portion of
the sentence which states as may be
dened by law is redundant, not to
say useless. Section 26, Article II can
operate on its own without out waiting
for politicians in Congress to legislate a
law implementing it.
As said, the Constitution needs
no implementing law. Yes, some
laws require implementing rules and
regulations. Moreover, they apply only
to agencies entrusted to enforce that
law, and it should be consistent with
what the law provides, while the law
itself must be in accordance with or at
least provided for in the Constitution.
As my friend lawyer added, there is
no statutory construction where the
Constitution must
be in accordance
with the law or that
it cannot be made
to operate until and
after a law has been
legislated. But then
who is that loony
politician who would
le a bill that would
run counter to his
interest?
Even if Section
26, Article II did not state the key
phrase called equal protection
clause, nonetheless, its enforcement is
peremptory much that it has been used
as the most effective legal instrument
by all civilized states to secure the equal
protection of all the members of society,
not only on the opportunity to serve the
public, but foremost in the enforcement
of basic justice. Without it, the whole
thing we have been trumpeting as
milestone in our civilization would
be nothing more than ction. It is not
easy for the people to decide, as former
President Joseph Estrada might think,
because politicians like him already
enjoy that undue advantage.
To be precise, the equal protection
clause partakes of a positive command,
which is to make sure that it applies to
all, while the word prohibit is negative
command, which means we are forbidden
to indulge in that practice. Invariably, the
application of the equal protection clause
justies the purpose of the prohibition,
it being pernicious to our democratic
system of government.
Thus, taken together, Section 26,
Article II, is enforceable and the
phrase as may be dened by law
is a surplusage that serves no logical
purpose. It is for this why our justices
should not allow themselves to become
the laughingstock of the world. For
them to uphold that silly provision
would make us appear as the only
country on this planet that have a
constitution we cannot enforce. Our
justices should take a pro-active stand by
giving life to that provision by banning
candidates who are related by rst degree
to the outgoing incumbent public ofcial
from running. Our Civil Code has many
provisions we can use by analogy to
prohibit politicians from institutionalizing
their political dominions.
For that matter, we need no specic
provision dening what a political
dynasty is as if to highlight our own
stupidity, notwithstanding that its
continuance makes a sham out of
and insults our republican form of
government. Such a landmark decision
Court cannot be said as another of those
unwarranted judicial legislation, but is
meant to enforce what the Constitution
so provides, more so in the wake that
our politicians have been dilly-dallying
in legislating that law.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
Abolishing political
dynasties
ROD
P. KAPUNAN
BACKBENCHER
The Constitution
does not need an
enabling law.
By David Michael San Juan
Concluded from Friday
The K to 12 scheme: A poison pill
Unfortunately for netizens and
citizens alike, the Philippine government
wont be contented with winning just
the online battle against radicals. It is a
fact that schools, especially universities,
are known breeding ground for all
sorts of ideas. Indeed, universities are
known bastions of academic freedom
and unrestrained research. Hence,
universities are venues where the seeds
of good radical ideas are planted in the
minds and hearts of young citizens who
learn the value of critical thinking and
reasoning. These skills are best honed
or developed at the university level
where the countrys strong old General
Education Curriculum provides students
with a comprehensive and holistic
education that emphasizes the liberal
arts/humanities. It
is thus no wonder
that college
students are among
the most politicized
and the most
engaged netizens
and citizens
who not only
contribute to the
general endeavor
of Facebooking
or Twittering the
r e v o l u t i o n s
development, but
also participate in
actual assemblies,
discussions, rallies
etc. that challenge
the evil forces of
the status quo.
College students
are known to join
protest actions
against corruption,
m i l i t a r i s m ,
humungous debt
payments, lack of
ample education
budget etc., as they
are much capable
of digesting current
national events and
their relationships
to their day-to-day
struggles as student-
citizens, having
been challenged
by their professors
to think creatively
and critically at
all times. Hence, as per the Philippine
governments malevolent agenda, it is
necessary to dilute if not totally obliterate
the liberal arts/humanities component
of the GEC at the university level. It
is in this context that the Philippine
government has started implementing
the World Bank-supported Kindergarten
to 12 years of Basic Education (K to 12)
scheme.
Under the Philippine K to 12
scheme, the GEC at the university level
is downsized, with most of the subjects
transferred to the senior high school/
junior college level (the additional two
years after the four years of junior high
school or plainly, high school in the
old curriculum). Indeed, based on the
most recent draft of the curriculum for
the new college GEC and core subjects
of the senior high school/junior college
level under K to 12, the new liberal arts/
humanities components will generally
be diluted as compared with that of the
components under the old GEC.
The politics of language
For example, as per the K to 12
Program, there will be no Filipino
subject left in the new Revised General
Education Curriculum for the university
level, as stated in the August 29, 2012
presentation of DepEd Assistant
Secretary Tonisito M. C. Umali, Esq.
available at http://ceap.org.ph/upload/
download/20129/1881921971_1.pdf
Heres what the pertinent slide states:
Proponents of the K to 12 claim that
Filipino subjects would be transferred
to the senior high school/junior college
level under the K to 12 scheme.
Unfortunately, only one Filipino subject
(Retorika) will be included in the senior
high school/junior college curriculum
as stated in the document K TO 12
TOOLKIT: Reference Guide for Teacher
Educators, School Administrators,
and Teachers (2012) released by the
SEAMEO-INNOTECH (with the
DepEds imprimatur considering that
DepEd Secretary Br. Armin Luistro,
FSC gave an introductory message in
the document). As per this document,
only FILIPINO: RETORIKA will be
REQUIRED! Meanwhile, Filipino for
Specic Purposes is OPTIONAL! The
said document is available at http://
www.gov.ph/downloads/2012/201209-
K-to-12-Toolkit.pdf Heres the pertinent
part:
It is necessary to emphasize that
the obliteration of some Filipino
subjects perfectly ts the Philippine
governments plan on its war against
radicals, considering that the Filipino
language is the dominant language
of dissent and expression among the
common folk. Hence, obliterating
Filipino subjects would somehow
weaken the possibility of the radical
elite, middle class and lower classes
perfecting their facility of a common
language where they can freely express
themselves and collectively speak
against the status quo and in favor of
sweeping socio-economic reforms. The
obliteration of Filipino subjects weakens
the possibility of a strong united front
against the unjust status quo.
Killing political science softly
Notice too that the K to 12 scheme
lacks any provision for a Political
Science subject. In the old GEC,
studying Philippine Government and
Constitution is a requirement (indeed, it
is a constitutional requirement). It must
be emphasized that this old subject, now
obliterated under the K to 12 scheme, is
an important tool in the radicalization of
citizens. Goodness, its the only subject
where participation in rallies/public
assemblies might be directly required.
Without such a subject, how could
students effectively learn the value of
people empowerment and participation
in governance, two things which
are necessary for any radical social
movement to succeed in realizing its
goals to transform society for the better?
Technicalization as dehumanization
Finally, the evident technicalization
and dehumanization of the core
curriculum for the senior high
school/junior college level are direct
machinations to prevent the growth
of radical ideas among students. By
reducing senior high school/junior
college to the mere learning of technical
skills for immediate employment, the
K to 12 scheme aims to create a
new generation of children who will not
have the ability to think
or create or listen...,
as Mr. Glenn Holland,
a music teacher in the
movie Mr. Hollands
Opus (1995) uttered
in warning against
the death of General
Education/Liberal Arts
subjects in the United
States of America.
Imagine a world where
kids arent going
to have anything to
read or write about...
as per Mr. Hollands
prophecy. Radicals
cant help but remember
Mr. Chippings
chilling remark
on contemporary
education in the lm
Goodbye Mr. Chips
(1939): I know the
worlds changing. I see
old traditions dying
one by one. Grace,
dignity, feeling for the
past. All that matters
today is a fat banking
account. Youre trying
to run the school like a
factory for turning out
moneymaking snobs.
Finally, the K to
12 scheme is thus
a dangerous attack
against everything
that radicals cherish.
As Joseph Epstein
said in Who Killed
the Liberal Arts? And why we
should care: The death of liberal
arts education would constitute a
serious subtraction. Without it, we
shall no longer have a segment of the
population that has a proper standard
with which to judge true intellectual
achievement. Without it, no one
can have a genuine notion of what
constitutes an educated man or woman,
or why one work of art is superior to
another, or what in life is serious and
what is trivial. The loss of liberal arts
education can only result in replacing
authoritative judgment with rivaling
expert opinions, the vaunting of the
second- and third-rate in politics and
art, the supremacy of the faddish and
the fashionable in all of life. Without
that glimpse of the best that liberal
arts education conveys, a nation might
wake up living in the worst, and
never notice. With the Cybercrime
Act of 2012 and the K to 12 scheme
at hand, were treading on the road to
perdition. Its good that we still notice
it. Lets keep on raging against the
dying of the light!
Mr. David Michael San Juan is an
instructor of the Filipino Department,
De La Salle University-Manila
The governments war against radicals
DEAN TONY
LA VIA
EAGLE EYES
The great beyond
VENERATING dead ancestors is
a universal practice. Almost every
culture has some concept on how
to venerate their deceased. The
universality of ancestor worship or
veneration is founded on the belief
that while the corporeal body turns
into dust after death, the soul persists
in existence although religious
traditions differ as to what state the
soul assumes in the after life and the
place of their final destiny.
The ancient Egyptians believed
that the pyramid was the tomb of
choice for the kings which was
their gateway to the netherworld. In
ancient days the memory of the dead
pharaoh was kept alive by ornate
sarcophagus, funerary items and even
slaves and concubines which were
funerary cults which offered rituals
to Osiris, the god of the afterlife.
Mummification, entombed together
with the dead pharaoh - all helped the
king journey safely from this life to
the netherworld. The ancients believe
that the funerary items left beside or
in the sarcophagus of the pharaoh will
help him when he returns to the land
of the living.
Remembering the dead is also an
integral part of Chinese tradition.
Showing respect to dead relatives
is founded on family unity, filial
respect; values which are deeply
rooted in Confucianism. The core
belief in Chinese ancestor worship is
the belief that the dead has a continued
existence and can influence the
fortune of the living. Other peoples
in Africa and Asia also practice
ritualized propitiation and veneration
of a dead relative consistent with
their cultural norms and beliefs.
As I mentioned in my earlier
column, the basis of the Christian
tradition of praying for the soul of
the dead is anchored on the Roman
Catholic dogma of communion of
saints. It says that all the faithful,
living and dead alike, form one
mystical body with Christ as the head
and Mary as its mother. The members
of this mystical body communicate
in spiritual goods, with the richness
of Christ communicated to all the
members through the sacraments.
For Catholics, praying for those who
died is also based on Gods revelation
to the Jews of the Old Testament,
specifically in the Book of Maccabees
which recounts of Judas Maccabeus
who, upon discovering after battle
that some of his fallen soldiers who
were good men had sinned before their
deaths, offered prayers and sacrifices
for them. The biblical passage says:
For if he had not expected the fallen
to rise again it would have been
superfluous and foolish to pray for
the dead whereas if he had in view
the reserved for those who make a
pious end, the thought was holy and
devout . . .
While the existence of purgatory
is an unsettled dogmatic controversy
and the fodder of cyclic debates
among Christian denominations, most,
with the exception perhaps of those
following the evangelical tradition,
also encourage reciting prayers for the
dead. Jewish tradition also provides
for prayers for remembrances of the
dead in the way of rituals, psalms, and
prayers like the Kaddish.
To the Muslims, the soul is created by
Allah. After death, the soul goes either to
Paradise or hell depending on whether
he is righteous or not. The Quraan and
Sunnah teach that the soul does not
return to the world from the afterlife.
Souls do not appear to or converse with
the living. Islam teaches that praying
to the dead who is a believer is actually
an intercessory prayer imploring God to
render a favorable judgment on them on
the Day of Judgment.
Praying for the soul of the departed
is a devout and pious Christian
tradition. It is a holy tradition
that goes all the way back to early
Christianity. The catacombs where
the early Christians buried their dead
and which also served as places of
refuge during times of persecution,
are littered with inscriptions
encouraging visitors to pray for those
buried there. Sample inscriptions
found in the catacombs say: Atticus:
sleep in peace, secure in thy safety,
and pray anxiously for our sins; In
your prayers remember us who have
gone before you.
In any religious affiliation or
cultural orientation, praying for the
dead is a profound expression of
love and respect for those who have
gone before us. It is a reminder that
the departed has been and is part and
parcel of the living; a spiritual bond
that binds the living and the dead
that even death cannot put asunder.
It is said that the dead is in the
great beyond, unreachable, forever
outside our reach. During these past
few days when we remembered our
dearly departed, we are reminded that
this is actually not true and that this
great beyond is amidst us and our
loved ones are always with us.
Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Vina
Twitter: tonylavs
News
ManilaStandardToday
mst.daydesk@gmail.com NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
A6
Aquino revokes
reclamation deal
158 caves now protected
A NEW list of 158 classied caves has
been released by the Environment De-
partment bringing to 234 the total number
of caves whose natural wealth and other
resources shall be subject to protection,
conservation and management by the
government.
Caves are natural, non-renewable re-
sources that are of tremendous value to
man, whether scientic, economic, cul-
tural, historical or aesthetic. Yet they are
also in constant threat from destructive
human activities like vandalism, treasure
hunting, pollution and illegal extraction of
resources. Classifying them will therefore
guide us in identifying strategies to pro-
tect, conserve and manage the resources
within and around them, Environment
Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje said in a state-
ment.
Under Memorandum Circular No.
2012-03, the new list covered all re-
gions except the National Capital Region
and the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao. Region 6 reported the highest
number of total assessed caves at 41, fol-
lowed by Region I at 25.
At the provincial level, Pangasinan
has the most number of caves at 18, fol-
lowed by Iloilo at 17. Othel Campos
QC businesses warned
QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista
reminded business establishments in the
city to put up closed-circuit television
camera systems before they apply for or
renew their mayors permits because they
will not be issued one if they do not do
so.
Bautista tasked Garry Domingo, chief
of the Business Permit and Licensing Of-
ce, to remind business owners of the
citys No CCTV, no business permit
policy starting Jan, 1. The BPLO is or-
dered to conduct inspections in establish-
ment prior to issuance of business per-
mits.
Bautista said the measure is aimed to
achieve peace and order, deter crimes,
and monitor oods and other calamities.
He said he is optimistic that the instal-
lation of CCTV cameras will augment the
P100-million procurement of CCTVs to
be installed at major and secondary roads
in the citys 142 barangays.Rio N. Ar aja
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Public Works and Highways
Cordillera Administrative Region
BAGUIO CITY DISTRICT ENGINEERING OFFICE
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
Engineers Hill, Baguio City
Tel. No. 442-8195 Fax No. (074) 442-8195
i nvi tati on to Bi d
(MST-Nov. 3, 2012)
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the DPWH Baguio City District
Engineering Offce invites contractors to bid for the aforementioned project/s:
Source of Fund: GOP through GAA 2013
1. Contract ID: 12PD0089
Contract Name: Contract Package 5: Preventive Maintenance
(Intermittent Sections) along:
a. Harrison Road #1, Chainage 0503-Chainage 0807
b. Harrison Road #1, Chainage 0414-Chainage 0807
c. Lake Drive 2, Chainage 0000-Chainage 0335,
Chainage 0000-Chainage 0068
d. Magsaysay Avenue (Trinidad Road), Chainage
0000+290-Chainage 0000+480
e. Chanum Street, Chainage 0000-Chainage 0080
f. Abanao Road, Chainage 0160-Chainage 0350
Contract Location: Baguio City
Scope of Work: Instapave Surface Treatment
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): Php 28,083,647.38
a. 5,001,877.49
b. 8,470,042.56
c. 6,864,537.74
d. 2,717,627.07
e. 1,682,796.73
f. 3,346,765.79
Contract Duration: 40 calendar days
Cost of Bidding Documents: Php 20,000.00
Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.
Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission
and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible
bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions
to Bidders.
Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures
using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specifed in the Implementing Rules
and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the
Government Procurement Reform Act.
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or
organizations with at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital
stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.
Interested bidders may obtain further information from DPWH-Baguio City District
Engineering Offce and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below
from 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.
A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders
from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding
Documents as indicated.
It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine
Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the
Procuring Entity, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents
not later than the submission of their bids.
The DPWH-Baguio City District Engineering Office will hold a Pre-Bid
Conference on November 6, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at the DPWH-Baguio City District
Engineering Offce Conference Hall which shall be open only to all interested parties
who have purchased the Bidding Documents.
Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before November 20, 2012
at 10:00 a.m. at DPWH-Baguio City District Engineering Offce. All bids must be
accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount
stated in ITB Clause 18.
Bids will be opened on November 20, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at DPWH- Baguio City
District Engineering Offce in the presence of the bidders representatives who choose
to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.
The DPWH-Baguio City District Engineering Offce reserves the right to accept or
reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to
contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.
For further information, please refer to:
Nora R. delos Santos
DPWH-Baguio City District Engineering Offce
Engineers Hill, Baguio City
Telefax No. (074) 442-8195
dpwh.bcdeo.bac@gmail.com
Approved by:
(Sgd.) GIL L. NQUE
Engineer III
BAC Chairman
Noted by:
(Sgd.) IRENEO S. GALLATO
District Engineer

OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
Surigao del Sur 1
st
District Engineering Offce
Tandag City, Surigao del Sur
i nvi tati on to Bi d
(MST-Nov. 3, 2012)
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the DPWH Surigao del Sur 1
st

District Engineering Offce, Tandag City through the SARO No., invites contractors
to bid for the aforementioned projects:
Contract ID : 12NH 0062
Contact Name : Rehabilitation/Reconstruction/Replacement/
Retroftting of Existing Permanent Bridges, Hubo
Bridge along Surigao-Davao Coastal Road
Contract Location : San Agustin, Surigao del Sur
Scope of Work : Earthworks, Gabions & other provisions
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) Php 9,773,817.02
Contract Duration : 63 C.D.
Cost of Bidding Documents : Php 10,000.00
Contract ID : 12NH 0063
Contact Name : Road Upgrading (Gravel to Paved) Jct. Gamut-San
Miguel- Bayugan Road
Contract Location : San Miguel, Surigao del Sur
Scope of Work : Removal of Existing Structures, Earthworks,
Concrete Works, Slope Protection & others
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) Php 38,551,179.29
Contract Duration : 106 C.D.
Cost of Bidding Documents: Php 20,000.00
The BAC will conduct the procurement process in accordance with the Revised
IRR of R.A.9184. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected
at the opening of bid.
To bid for this contract, a contractor must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), purchase
bidding documents and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with
DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership, corporation, cooperative,
or joint venture, (c) with PCAB license applicable to the type and cost of this contract,
(d) completion of similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC within period of 10
years, and (e) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line
commitment for at least 10% of ABC. The BAC will use non-discretionary pass/fail
criteria in the eligibility check and preliminary examination of bids.
Unregistered contractors, however, shall submit their applications for registration
to the DPWH-POCW Central Offce before the deadline for the receipt of LOI. The
DPWH-POCW Central Offce will only process contractors applications for registration
with complete requirements and issue the Contractors Certifcate of Registration
(CRC). Registration Forms may be downloaded at DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph.
The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below:
Activities Schedule
1. Issuance of Bidding Documents November 01- November 07, 2012
2. Pre-Bid Conference November 09, 2012@ 2:00 p.m.
3. Deadline of Receipt of LOI from Prospective
Bidders
November 21, 2012 @1:00 p.m.
4. Receipt of Bids Deadline: November 22, 2012 @ 8:45 a.m.
5. Opening of Bids November 22, 2012 @ 9:00 a.m.
The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at DPWH Surigao
del Sur 1
st
Engineering District Offce. Prospective bidders may also download the
BDs from the DPWH website, if available. Prospective bidders that will download the
BDs from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of
their Bid Documents. The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open only to interested parties
who have purchased the BDs. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in the
amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR.
Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in
the BDs in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The frst
envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, which shall include a copy
of the CRC. The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid.
Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in
the bid evaluation and the post-qualifcation.
The DPWH Surigao del Sur 1
st
Engineering District Offce reserves the right
to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process at any time prior to award of
contract, without thereby incurring any liability to affected bidder/s.
Approved by:
(Sgd.) AGUSTIN R. ESTAL, MPA
Engineer III
(BAC-Chairman)
REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL
REGION
BRANCH 09, MANILA
EFREN S. TAN
Petitioner,
-versus-
ELMAG. SY,
Respondent
CIVIL CASE NO. 12-128122
FOR: Declaration of Nullity
Of Marriage
x-------------------------------------x
SUMMonS BY PUBLi Cati on
WHEREAS, on August 21,
2012, the Hon. AmeliaTria-Infante,
Presiding Judge of this Court,
Granted the Motion for Leave
of Court to Serve Summons by
Publication, filed by petitioner
through counsel;
N OW, T H E R E F OR E ,
Respondent, ElmaG., Sy, is hereby
required to fle with the Regional
Trial Court, National Capital Judicial
Region, Branch 09, Manila, her
Answer to the Petition fled against
her intheabove-entitledcasewithin
thirty (30) days from the last issue
of publication of this Summons,
serving copy thereof Petitioner,
Efren s. Tan, through his counsel,
Atty. Ma. Theresa Dimazana-Wu,
at Rm. 316, 6/F Manufacturer's
Bldg., Plaza Sta. Cruz, Manila;
otherwise, Petitioner will take
judgment against her and demand
in the Court the relief prayed for in
the Petition.
Let this Summons together
with the Petition be published once
a week for two (2) consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines at the
expenseof thePetitioner. Likewise,
Petitioner shall at its expense
deposit copies of the Petition at
the Post Offce of Manila postage
prepaid through registered mail
with return card addressed to the
Respondent at her last known
address.
WHEREAS, wi t ness t he
HON. AMELIA TRIA-INFANTE,
Presiding Judge of this Court this
23
rd
day of August 2012 in the City
of Manila, Philippines.
(Sgd.) attY. EMManUEL P. vi LLanUEva
REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES
REGION
BRANCH 09, MANILA
EFREN S. TAN
Petitioner,
-versus-
ELMAG. SY,
Respondent
CIVIL CASE NO. 12-128122
FOR: Declaration of Nullity
Of Marriage under Article 35
of the Family Code
x--------------------------------------x
PEti ti on
COMES NOW, the petitioner,
through the undersigned counsel
and unto this most Honorable
Court, most respectfully states:
1. That petitioner, EFREN S.
TAN, is a Filipino, of legal age,
married, with postal address at Unit
14HCeladonTower 1, San Lazaro,
Manila, where he may be served
with notices and copies of Court
Orders and Resolutions;
2. That defendant, ELMA
G. SY, is a Chinese citizen, of
legal age, married and with postal
address at 1310 Benavidez St.,
Rm. 110 Sta. Cruz, Manila, where
she may be served with summons
and other court processes;
antECEdEnt FaCtS oF
tHE CaSE
3. On Oct ober 1, 1985
petitioner and Ma. Lourdes M.
Torres were j oi ned together
as husband and wife by Msgr.
Benjamin Z. Rodriguez at Ermita,
Manila, a copy of the Marriage
Contract is attached as Annex A;
4. They l i ved together as
husband and wife for a short period
of time until Ma. Lourdes Torres
left petitioner for greener pastures
abroad and never called him or
wrote himever since;
5. Sometimein1994, petitioner
met respondent, aChineseNational
and they became sweethearts;
6. Respondent thereafter
informed petitioner that she was
pregnant and insisted that he
marries her to give name to their
child;
7. Petitioner was convinced
with respondents pleas that on
June 18, 1995 petitioner and
r espondent got mar r i ed at
Meycauayan, Bulacan before Rev.
Fr. Rufno L. Sulit, a copy of their
Marriage Contract is attached as
Annex B;
8. Petitioner however, later
discovered that respondent was
not pregnant andrespondent only
wantedtobe a Filipinocitizenby
marrying him;
9. Thereafter, things became
complicated between them until
petitioner left respondent in 1998
and never saw her ever since;
10. No property was acquired
during the marriage between
petitioner and respondent nor
weretheyblessedwithanychild;
11. Petitioner has filed the
instant petition to seek judicial
relief for the declaration of nullity
of his second marriage under
Article35of theFamily Code, which
provides, to wit:
Ar t . 35. The f ol l owi ng
marriages shall be void fromthe
beginning:
(1) These contracted by any
party before eighteen years of age
even with the consent of parents
or guidance:
(2) Those solemnized by any
person not legally authorized to
perform marriages unless such
marriages were contracted with
either or both parties believing in
good faith that the solemnizing
(3) Those solemnized without
license, except those covered the
preceding Chapter;
(4) Those bi gamous or
polygamous marriages not falling
under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through
mistake of one contracting party
as to the identity of the other; and
(6) T h o s e s u b s e q u e n t
marriages that are void under
Article 53.
PRaYER
WHEREFORE, i n vi ew of
the foregoing, petitioner most
respectfully prays that after trial, the
Honorable Court renders judgment
declaring the marriage between
petitioner and respondent as
null and void under Par. 4 Article
35 of the Family Code of the
Philippines and ordering the Local
Civil Registrar of Manila and
the National Statistics Offce to
cancel, delete and expunge from
their respective Booksof Marriage
the entry of the marriage between
petitioner and respondent on June
18, 1985.
Petitioner likewise prays for
such other reliefs and remedies
consistent with equity under the
circumstances.
June 12, 2012, City of Manila
(Sgd.) attY. Ma. tHERESa di MaZana-WU
Counsel for Petitioner
Attorneys Roll NO. 45821
IBP No. 820945/ Nov. 8, 2011 Manila Chapter
PTR No. 0334816/Jan. 2, 2012/Manila
TIN No. 142-682-303-000
MCLE Compliance No. IV-0001986
(Completed November 2010)
OFFICE:
Rm. 619, 6/F Manufacturers Bldg.,
Plaza Sta. Cruz, Manila
Tel. 7108845/6978798
vERi Fi Cati on and
CERti Fi CatE oF non-
FoRUM SHoPPi nG
Republic of the Philippines )
City of Manila ) S.S.
I, EFREN S. TAN, of legal
age, Filipino, married, residing at
Unit 14 H. Celadon Tower 1, San
Lazaro, Manila, after having been
duly sworn in accordance with law,
hereby depose and state:
1. That I am the Petitioner
in the above-entitled case
and I have commenced the
preparation of the foregoing
petition;
2. That I have read the said
Petition and understood the
same;
3. That the material allegations
therein are true and correct of
my own personal knowledge;
4. That I have not commenced
any action nor fled any claim
involvingthesameissues inany
court, tribunal or quasi-judicial
agency and to the best of my
knowledge, no such action or
claimis pending thereon;
5. That if there is such other
pending action or claim, I would
inform the Hon. Court of the
Present status thereof;
6. That if I should learn that the
same or similar action or claim
has been fled or is pending, I
shall report said fact within fve
(5) days therefrom fo this Hon.
Court wherein this complaint or
pleading has been fled.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have
hereunto signed this Verifcation
and Certifcation this 12
th
day of
June, 2012 in the City of Manila.
(Sgd.) EFREn S. tan
Petitioner Affant
TIN NO. 115-711-643
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO
before me this 12
th
day of June
2012 in the City of Manila, affant
exhibited to me his TINNO. above-
mentioned appearing below his
name and signature, known to
me to be the same person who
executed the foregoing instrument,
and he acknowledge to me that
the same is his free act and deed.
(Sgd.) attY. Ma. tHERESa d. WU
NOTARIAL COMMISSION NO.
2012-2013
UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2013
ROLL NO. 45821
IBP NO. 820945
PTR NO. 0334816
TIN NO. 142-682-303-000
Doc. No. 293
Page No. 39;
Book No. XV
Series of 2012
(MST-Oct. 27 & Nov. 3, 2012)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
REGION
BRANCH CXLI (141)
City of Makati
IN RE: CHANGE OF NAME AND/OR
CORRECTION OF ENTRY IN THE
BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF SOPHIA
ANNE SAYAMAN FERRER
THE MINOR SOPHIAANN SAYAMAN
FERRER AS REPRESENTED
HEREUNTO BY HER MOTHER
SONIASAYAMANY REYES,
Petitioner,
-versus-
JOSE JR. QUITO FERRER, LOCAL
CIVIL REGISTRAR OF MAKATI,
NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICEAND
ALL OTHER PERSON WHO HAVE
OR CLAIMTO HAVE ANY INTEREST
THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED BY
THE CORRECTION OF BIRTH
CERTIFICATE OF SOPHIA ANNE
SAYAMAN FERRER in Items 1, 13,
14, 15, 16,17, 18 and 20,
Respondents.
SPL. PROC. CASE NO. M-7339
x ----------------------------------------x
oRdER
Before this Court is a Petiton for
Change of Name and/or Correction
of Entry in the Birth Certifcate of
SOPHIA ANNE SAYAMAN FERRER,
represented by her mother Sonia
Sayaman y Reyes, praying for the
correction of the foilowing erroneous
entries, to wit:
1.) Item No. 1 of the Certifcate of Live
Birth under the bracket "CHILD", from
"SOPHIAANNE SAYAMAN FERRER"
to "SOPHIAANNE SAYAMAN";
2.) ItemNo. 13 of the Certifcate of Live
Birth under bracket "FATHER" from
"JOSE, JR. QUITO FERRER" to "NOT
APPLICABLE;
3.) ItemNo. 14 of the Certifcate of Live
Birth under bracket "CITIZENSHIP"
from "FILIPINO" to "NOT
APPLICABLE";
4.) ItemNo 15 of the Certifcate of Live
Birth under bracket "RELIGION" from
"CATHOLIC" to "NOTAPPLICABLE";
5. ) Item No. 16 of the Certifciate of Live
Birth under bracket "OCCUPATION"
from "ENGINEER/BUSINESSMAN'' to
"NOTAPPLICABLE";
Birth under bracket "AGE" from "43
YEARS" to "NOTAPPLICABLE";
Birth under bracket "DATE AND PLACE
OF MARRIAGE OF PARENTS" from
"APRIL 24,1994 MANILA" to "NOT
APPLICABLE"; and
Birth under bracket "INFORMANT"
from"SONIAS. FERRER" to "SONIAR.
SAYAMAN".
WHEREFORE, let the petition be set
for hearing on November 26, 2012 at
1:30 o'clock in the afternoon, whereby
all interested persons are directed to
appear and show cause why the petition
shall or shall not be granted.
Let a copy of this Order be published
once a week for three (3) consecutive
weeks in newspaper of general
circulation to be determined by raffe,
at the expense of the petitioner, the last
publication of which shall be at least
two (2) weeks prior to the aforesaid
scheduled hearing. The Branch Sheriff
is directed to post, within the same
period, a copy of this Order at three (3)
conspicuous places within the vicinity of
this Court.
Likewise, considering that the matter
sought to be corrected is not merely
ennocuous or clerical, the Offce of the
Solicitor General is hereby specifcally
directed to enter its appearance and to
submit comment and/or answer to the
petition within ffteen (15) days from
notice hereof. Serve a copy of this Order
together with a copy of the Petition to the
Offce of the Solicitor General, the Offce
of the Civil Registrar of Makati and the
National Statistics Offce by personal
delivery.
SOORDERED
Given in Chambers this 24
th
day of
August 2012.
City of Makati, Philippines.

MARYANN E. CORPUS-MAALAC
Judge
(MST-Oct. 20, 27 & Nov. 3 2012)
Jockeying for top military post starts

IN BRIEF
Top police commando promoted
PRESIDENT Aquino has
revoked a midnight
administrative order issued
by former President Gloria
Arroyo for a reclamation
project in Pampanga Bay.
Mr. Aquino signed Administrative Order
No. 32 revoking AO No. 288 that created an
inter-agency body to facilitate the compre-
hensive study and planning of an integrated
development project in Pampanga Bay.
Arroyos order was signed three weeks
before she stepped down from ofce in 2010
and includes dike construction, reclamation
and a port project in Pampanga Bay and the
Lubao-Sasmuan areas.
The Department of Public Works and
Highways is (already) preparing a Master
Plan for Flood Managemet which will im-
pact on the Pampanga River Basin, as well
as the areas of Lubao and Samsuan towards
Pampanga Bay, Mr. Aquino said in AO No.
32, a copy of which was obtained by Manila
Standar d Today.
The President invoked the Revised Ad-
ministrative Code of 1987 that gives him
the continuing authority to re-organize the
administrative structure of the Ofce of the
President in revoking Arroyos AO No. 288.
At least three groups earlier asked Mr.
Aquino to revoke Arroyos earlier adminis-
trative order.
In a joint statement, the Koalisyon Kontra
Kombersyon ng Manila Bay, the Pamban-
sang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng
Pilipinas and the Anakpawis party-list group
said AO 288 places Pampanga Bay as po-
tential site for a reclamation project cover-
ing an area of 2,500 hectares.
They warned that the reclamation proj-
ect will result not only in demolition and
destruction of livelihood and shing vil-
lages, but will also cause a great deluge in
Central Luzon.
The reclamation is basically an obstruc-
tion. It will submerge Pampanga, Bulacan
and several portions of the National Capi-
tal Region in times of heavy rains brought
about by frequent typhoons and tropical de-
pression, they said.
At least 20 million people living in areas
near Manila Bay, both in Central Luzon and
Metro Manila, will be affected, they added.
By Florante S. Solmerin
WITH still three months before
the retirement of Armed Forces
chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa, jock-
eying for his position has already
started and candidates from at
least three batches of the Philip-
pine Military Academy are al-
ready being considered.
A senior Army ofcer, who
is not among the candidates,
claimed all of them are from the
Philippine Army.
The ofcer, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, identi-
ed the candidates as Northern
Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen.
Anthony Alcantara, a member
of the PMA Matapat Class of
1979; Armed Forces Vice Chief
of Staff Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes
of PMA Mapitagan Class of
1980; and Army chief Lt. Gen.
Emmanuel Bautista of PMA Di-
malupig Class of 1981.
Dellosa will reach the man-
datory retirement age of 56 in
January next year but the ofcial
claimed there is a possibility that
Dellosa would hand over com-
mand of the military a month be-
fore his actual retirement.
General Dellosa will be
ready to bow out from the ser-
vice by December, maybe dur-
ing the AFP anniversary, the
ofcial said.
Dellosa, the third military
chief appointed by Aquino, be-
longs to the PMA Class of 1979.
The process of promotion in
the military, including the posi-
tion of chief of staff, starts with
the deliberation of a Board of
Generals, composed of the chief
of staff, vice chief of staff, deputy
chief of staff and the commanders
of the Army, Navy, Air Force.
The resultant shortlist of can-
didates will then be submitted
to Defense Secretary Voltaire
Gazmin, who, in turn, will sub-
mit it to the President.
But remember, the selection
at level of the Commander-in-
Chief is a unique one, he may or
may not pick from the shortlist.
He can appoint anyone, not nec-
essarily in the submitted short-
list because he has that preroga-
tive. In other words, the position
of the CoS is a political choice,
the ofcial said.
Alcantara was supposedly
promised the position to be the
next Army commander vice Lt.
Gen. Arturo Ortiz who retired last
year, but the position went to Bau-
tista. Alcantara did not get the post
purportedly because he was a for-
mer ofce of the Philippine Con-
stabulary who is associated with
former President Fidel Ramos.
Coballes, on the other hand,
belongs to the batch that adopted
Aquinos four sistersPinky,
Viel, Balsy and Krisas hon-
orary members. He was former
commander of the Western Min-
danao Command.
Bautista was one of the brains
of the militarys Internal Peace
Security Plan, or Oplan Baya-
nihan, which replaced Oplan
Bantay Laya I and II of the pre-
vious AFP administration.
By Francisco Tuyay
A FORMER ofcer of the Philippine Con-
stabulary who defended Camp Crame from
renegade soldiers who staged an unsuccess-
ful coup against former President Corazon
Aquino in 1989 was promoted on Wednes-
day.
Police Supt. Cipriano Querol of the Po-
lice Special Action Force, was elevated to
police director, a rank equivalent to major
general in the armed forces.
Querol, along with PC chief Ramon Mon-
tano was trapped inside Camp Crame in Dec.
1, 1989 when renegade soldiers belonging to
the Reform the Armed Forces Movement,
led by then Col. Gregorio Honasan, bombed
Camp Crame headquarters.
The attack triggered erce ghting be-
tween a column of SAF members, includ-
ing Querol, infront of Camp Crame head-
quarters where rebel soldiers from the army
and marines backed by armoured personnel
carrier advanced in a bid to overpower the
defenders.
In his brief speech following his promo-
tion, Querol, reminisced on that fateful day
of the December 1989 mutiny.
We were expecting a bloody battle be-
cause of the impending arrival of the Armys
5th Division in Camp Crame, Querol said.
However, before the mutineers penetrat-
ed Metro Manila, some rebel ofcers slowly
defected to government after the United
States government vowed to support Aquino
and crush the rebellion.
Querol said he was thinking of retreating
for personal reasons, but dedication to duty
prevailed and prompted him to and defend
Camp Crame.
I had second thoughts of just leaving
Camp Crame and just going to the Quezon
Memorial Circle. There I can conceal my
identity by changing my military uniform
to civilian clothes, but I decided to stay, be-
cause of a constitutional mandate to ght the
aggressors, Querol said.
After the coup plot was contained, muti-
neers led by former Gen. Edgardo Abenina,
retired Gen. Jose Zumel and Commodore
Edgardo Calajate and other middle-rank of-
cers surrendered.
A7 Sports Riera U. Mallari, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
Fair play and sportsmanship
Polish qualifier stuns
Murray at Paris meet
WE nd it very difcult to understand or
appreciate the actions of Philippine Olym-
pic Committee president Jose Peping Co-
juangco and some of his cohorts as the POC
elections draw near.
Longtime Philippine Amateur Track and
Field Association president Go Teng Kok
exercised his democratic rights by ling his
certicate of candidacy for POC president
after businessman-sportsman Manny Pangil-
inan opted not to run despite an overwhelm-
ing clamor from National Sports Association
leaders and the general public.
Pangilinan, beset with testy situations
in some of his business enterprises, said he
didnt have the time to dedicate to running
the affairs of the POC as president and know-
ing him as we do, he would never settle to
getting someone else do the job for him.
He is basically a hands-on executive, who
is results-oriented and he couldnt bear to be
elected POC president and then not have the
time to devote to the many tasks at hand.
Clearly, there is so much to be done to
resolve the mess that Philippine sports is in
right now and to get it back to being a com-
petitive force at least in our region. MVP
didnt have the time and so, honest man that
he is, backed out.
Go Teng Kok stepped up, admitting ini-
tially that he didnt even dream of ousting
Cojuangco, but bent on posing a challenge in
order to show that not all is well in Philippine
sports and that despite his obvious lack of po-
litical clout, which Cojuangco has plenty of,
he wanted to demonstrate his courage in chal-
lenging the establishment that has controlled
Philippine sports in the past eight years.
For sheer courage and daring, you must ad-
mire Go Teng Kok. While he has never been
a particular favorite of ours, beginning with
the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, when we
took issue with then Basketball Association
of the Philippines president Lito Puyat, who
named him manager of the Philippine basket-
all team, led by coach Robert Jaworski.
However, when Go was unceremoniously
declared persona non grata by the POC execu-
tive committee and expelled by the POC gen-
eral assembly without a shred of due process
and legality in terms of adhering to POC and
International Olympic Committee rules and
regulations on suspensions, we stood by him. It
was nothing personal, but borne out of our con-
viction that what Cojuangco and his minions
did was unjust, unfair and patently illegal.
Go took the issue to the Pasig Regional
Trial court, where he was upheld in resound-
ing fashion. But Cojuangco and his ilk would
not accept the RTC decision, which was one
that intrinsically upheld the rule of law and
elevated the issue to the Supreme Court.
Once against Cojuangco and his band were
rebuffed as the Third Division, headed by the
distinguished Chief Justice no less, in the ab-
sence of Justice Peralta dismissed the petition
of Cojuangco et al and upheld the RTC deci-
sion, which meant that the highest court of
the land had spoken in favor of Go.
In a gesture that is both an affront to the
courts and a reection of Cojuangco and
his supporters who appear to be dwindling
in numbers, they circulated the list of candi-
dates for the POC elections with a notation
beside the name of Go, which stated that he
was declared persona non grata by the POC
executive committee and expelled by the
POC general assembly.
To put it bluntly, it was a cheap shot, typi-
cal of a politician, who wishes to hang on to
ofce by any means fair or foul.
The essence of sports is fair play and
sportsmanship. Peping Cojuangco has shown
neither. Go, on the other hand, is certainly not
a paragon of virtue, but his principles appear
so much stronger than those of Cojuangco.
RONNIE
NATHANIELSZ
INSIDE SPORTS
Not exactly a recipe for
victory.
Jerzy Janowicz of Poland
rallied to stun the U.S Open
and Olympic champion 5-7,
7-6 (4), 6-2 Thursday in the
third round of the Paris Mas-
ters.
A day after second-seed-
ed Novak Djokovic lost
to big-serving American
Sam Querrey in the second
round - his worst result since
March 2010 - the third-seed-
ed Murray lost to a player
who opened the year taking
part in Futures tournaments
and is still struggling to nd
sponsorship back home.
This was the most unbe-
lievable day in my life. I beat
Olympic champion, U.S.
Open champion. Unbeliev-
able feeling for me, Janow-
icz said. Still, I have feeling
like in few minutes Im go-
ing to wake up and its gonna
be everything gone.
I dont know actually
what I supposed to say be-
cause its really hard to de-
scribe this feeling, added
Janowicz, who also beat
Philipp Kohlschreiber and
13th-seeded Marin Cilic in
the rst and second rounds.
Its not easy for me to talk
about this week, because I
had really tough moments
in my life. This is like really,
like a movie for me.
Murray had not lost to a
player ranked so low since
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez -
then ranked 92nd - beat him in
the second round at the BNP
Paribas Open in March.
Janowicz said his par-
PARIS Andy Murray wasted a match point
against a qualier ranked 69th and quickly lost
his composure.
All eyes on San Beda, Ateneo in IPPCA football
DEFENDING National Col-
legiate Athletic Association
champion San Beda, Ateneo de
Manila-Flying V and National
University take on separate
opponents at the resumption of
the 2012 IPPCA Football Pre-
Season Cup today at the Nuvali
Field in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
San Beda, which sailed past
University of Makati, 3-0, in the
opener, tests the mettle of Arel-
lano University in one of the
featured matches over at Pitch
2 in the tournament organized
by Filoil Sports and sponsored
by Meralco, Nuvali, Natures
Spring, Molten, N20 Gastropub,
Boysen Paints, BDO, Topcoms/
StarSports Korea, Bacchus,
CDO San Marino Corned Tuna
and Pingping Lechon.
The Blue Eagles, who played
the De La Salle Archers-Filoil
to a scoreless draw in the open-
er, tackle the University of
Perpeutal Help Altas earlier at
1 p.m. The Altas dropped their
initial assignment 1-2, against
the College of St. Benilde Blaz-
ers in the opener.
The Philippine Christian Uni-
versity Dolphins, who forced a
2-2 draw with the National Uni-
versity Bulldogs two weeks ago,
battle the Mapua Cardinals in
the opening match at Pitch 3.
The Cardinals dropped a 0-1 de-
cision tot the Emilio Aguinaldo
College Generals last Saturday.
Over at Pitch 3, the NU Bull-
dogs and the EAC Generals
clash at 3 p.m. to cap todays
schedule in the tournament
co-organized and bankrolled
by IPPCA members Chemrez
Technologies Inc., Eastern Pe-
troleum Corp., Filpride/USA88,
Seaoil Philippines Inc., Flying
V, Oilink, Unioil, International
Engineer Phils., Inc., Filoil En-
ergy Company, City Oil, Metro
Oil Subic, LPGMA, Omni Pe-
troleum Corp, Trans Overseas
Industrial Corp. and CIIS.
Tomorrow, the Archers bat-
tle the Blazers to open hostili-
ties over at Pitch 2, followed
by the match between debuting
guest team Rizal Technological
University against Far Eastern
University at 1 p.m
In the lone seniors game over
at Pitch 3, University of Santo
Tomas-Metroil takes on Uni-
versity of Makati at 1 p.m.
Tiger: Regaining
no. 1 takes time
SINGAPOREOn the two-year anniversary of los-
ing his No. 1 ranking, Tiger Woods said Thursday
that winning was the best way for him to get back
to the top.
And that could take some time.
Four players have been No. 1 over the last two
years. The current top ranking belongs to Rory
McIlroy, who has widened his lead by winning the
U.S. PGA Championship and consecutive tourna-
ments during the FedEx Cup playoffs. McIlroy was
runner-up last week against a strong eld in Shanghai.
Rory is playing a lot of events, and so am I, to-
ward the beginning of the year, Woods said in Sin-
gapore, where he staged a youth clinic on putting.
Its about winning golf tournaments. Thats how I
got to No. 1, thats how Rory got to No. 1. Youve
got to win golf tournaments, and when you dont,
youve got to be consistent and nish high. Im
looking forward to that.
Woods won three times this year on the U.S. tour,
though it took time for his trademark consistency
to develop. He did not have back-to-back nishes
in the top 10 until the British Open (tie for third)
and the Bridgestone Invitational (tie for eighth). He
hasnt nished out of the top 10 since The Barclays
in August, a streak of four tournaments. Woods ends
his 2012 season at his World Challenge in California
in the last week of November.
ents, who were professional
volleyball players, sold
shops and apartments they
owned to help his career
take off.
Im from Poland and I
know its not easy to become
professional tennis player,
Janowicz said. Actually, I
have problem with sponsors.
I was ghting my whole life
with money, so this week is
really important for me to
get some sponsors, to get
some help.
Murray served for the
match at 5-4 in the second
set, but totally lost his com-
posure and the ensuing tie-
breaker as Janowicz evened
the match.
I needed to focus well
on my serve. I did that for
the most part, and then
when I served for the match
I didnt play a particularly
good game, Murray said.
He probably gained some
condence from that and
played a good tiebreak,
played aggressive. He hits
a very at ball, so when
hes hitting it well it comes
through the court a lot.
It was also the third
straight match Murray has
failed to convert match
points. He squandered two
against Milos Raonic in the
Japan Open seminals and
ve against Djokovic in the
Shanghai Masters nal.
Games Today (Nov. 3)
PITCH2 Match
10a.m. PCU vs Mapua (srs)
1p.m. Ateneovs Perpetual (srsB)
3p.m. Arellanovs SanBeda (srs)
PITCH3
10a.m. UST vs Ateneo(jrs)
1p.m. SanBeda vs. Lyceum (jrs)
3p.m. National Uvs EAC(srs)
Games tomorrow (Nov 4)
PITCH2
10a.m. CSBvs La Salle (srs)
1p.m. RTU vs La SAlel (srs)
3p.m. Arellanovs DLS-Z(jrs)
PITCH3
10a.m FEU-Fernvs Xavier (jrs)
1p.m. UST vs UMAK
Ball control. Heather Cooke of the Team Malditas maneuvers her way against two
opponents during the Caltex Driving Change football game at Smokeys Mountain.
DANNY PATA
Manila
Standard
TODAY
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Isabela 1st District Engineering Offce
Ilagan, lsabela
ANNEX A
lNVITATION TO BID
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the DPWH-lsabela 1st
District Engineering Offce, IIagan, Isabela, invites contractors to bid for the
aforementioned projects:
Contract ID: 12BE0079
Contract Name/ Location: Rehab./Improvement Along Daang Maharlika,
K0400+000 - K0410+000 w/ exception, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: Stone Masonry
ABC: 9,915,888.15
Contract Duration: 100 CD
Cost of Bidding Documents: 10,000.00
Source of Fund: CY 2012 MVUC-151
Contract Name/ Location:Repair/Maintenance of Slope Protection Along Ilagan-
Bigao-Palanan Road, K0412+125- K0412+325,
Sta. Catalina, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: Stone Masonry (Slope Protection)
ABC: 1,106,946.28
Source of Fund: CY 2012 Regular Maintenance Fund
Contract Name/ Location: Repair/Rehab. Of Barangay Roads at Cabisera #19,
San Antonio, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: Regravelling /Canal Lining
ABC: 4,959,679.80
Source of Fund: SARO# BMB-A-12-T000003231 dated 07/23/12
Contract Name/ Location: Repair/Rehab. Of Barangay Roads at Cabisera #4
Stretch #3, San Antonio, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: RegraveIling / Canal Lining
ABC: 4,959,504.03
Contract Name/ Location:Repair/Rehab. Of Barangay Roads at Cabisera #3,
San Antonio, llagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: Regravelling
ABC: 4,959,265.99
Contract Name/ Location:Repair/Rehab. Of Barangay Roads at Gayong-
Gayong.Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: Regravelling
ABC: 4,959,230.01
Source of Fund: SARO# BMB-A12-T000003231 dated 07/23/12
Contract ID: 128E0085
Contract Name/ Location:Asphalt Overlay Along Daang Maharlika w/ corrections
(Reblocking), K0395+659 K0396+ 1050.70, Baligatan,
Ilagan, lsabela
Scope of Work: Asphalt Overlay
ABC: 23,351,281.93
Cost of Bidding Documents:20,000.00
Source of Fund: CY2013 Infrastructure Program
Contract Name/ Location: Road Upgrading (Gravel to Paved) of Jct. National-
Sta.Victoria Road, K0410+988+65 - K0412+344.80,
Sta. Victoria, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: PCCP
ABC: 23,023,655.18
Source of Fund: CY2013 Infrastructure Program
Contract Name/ Location: Road Upgrading of Ilagan-Delfn Albano- Mallig Road,
K0414+097.80 - K0415+649.06, Ilagan, Isabela
Scope of Work: PCCP
ABC: 23,510,152.16
Source of Fund: CY 2013 Infrastructure Program
Contract Name/ Location: Repair/Rehab. of Santiago-Tuguegarao Road,
K0419+259.21-K0421+000, K0425+695.50 - K0426+
200 & K0426+ 200 - K0427+000, Sta. Maria, Isabela
Scope of Work: Concrete Reblocking
ABC: 36,579,292.93
Source of Fund: CY 2013 Infrastructure Program
The BAC will conduct the procurement process in accordance with the Revised
lRR of R.A. 9184. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected
at the opening of bid.
To bid for this contract, a contractor must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI),
purchase bid documents and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior
registration with DPWH, (b) Filipino Citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership,
corporation, cooperative, or joint venture (c) with PCAB license applicable to the
type and cost of this contract, (d) completion of a similar contract costing at least
50% of ABC within a period of 10 years and, and (e) Net Financial Contracting
Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment at least equal to 10% of
ABC. The BAC will use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check and
preliminary examination of bids.
Unregistered contractors, however, shall submit their applications for
registration to the DPWH-POCW Central Offce before the deadline for the receipt of
LOI. The DPWH-POCW-Central Offce will only process contractors applications for
registration, with complete requirements, and issue the Contractors Certifcate of
Registration (CRC). Registration Forms may be downloaded at the DPWH website
www.dpwh.gov.ph.
The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below:
1 . Issuance of Bidding Documents From: October 31 - November 20 ,
2012
2. Prebid Conference November 8, 2012 at 10:00 A.M.
3. Deadline of Receipt of LOI from
Prospective Bidders
November 14, 2012 at 5:00 P.M.
4. Receipt of Bids Deadline: November 20, 2012 at 2:00 PM.
5. Opening of Bids 2:01 P.M. November 20, 2012
The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at DPWH-Isabela
1st District Engineering Offce, Ilagan, Isabela, upon payment of a nonrefundable
fee stated above. Prospective bidders may also download the BDs from the DPWH
web site, if available. Prospective Bidders that will download the BDs from the
DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of their bid
documents. The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open only to interested parties who
have purchased the BD s. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in the
amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR.
Prospective Bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed
in the BDs in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The
frst envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, which shall include
a copy of the CRC. The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component
of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as
determined in the bid evaluation and the post-qualifcation.
The DPWH-Isabela 1st District Engineering Offce, Ilagan, Isabela reserves the
right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process at any time prior to
Contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder/s.
Approved by:
(Sgd.) EMIL R. GANADEN
BAC Chairman
NOTED BY:
(Sgd.) REYNATO M. UBIA
District Engineer
(MST-Nov. 3, 2012)
Jackes rules Mini-ROK Cup kickoff
NEWLY crowned Mini-ROK
champ Flynn Jackes carried
on the lone ght for the TRS-
Castrol Racing Kids Team
with ying colors after stag-
ing a big comeback in the -
nal race to rule the Mini-ROK
Cup at the Clark International
Speedway.
The nine-year-old Fil-Aus-
sie quickly wrested the top
spot after starting last in the
nal race and pulled ahead to
reassert his supremacy, with
the big support of Castrol,
Bridgestone, Standard Insur-
ance, C! Magazine, OMP,
Coke Zero, Oakley, Aguila
and Toptul.
It should have been a sweep
for Jackes as he topped the
time trials, clocking 1:10.169
and prevailed in the neck-to-
neck battle to the nish line
in the qualifying heat by just
0.129 of a second.
But a spin-out on the rst
lap of the Pre-Final heat put
him at the tailend of the Fi-
nals grid, thereby spelling big
pressure on his title bid.
Despite the odds, Jack-
es ran at a fast laptime of
1:09.820 as he stuck close
and diced for the lead with
his two rivals until he
grabbed the top spot for
good with two laps to go.
He completed nine laps of
racing in 10 minutes and
29.445 seconds, three sec-
onds ahead of the runner-up.
The incident was a big
test to Flynns ghting spirit
and determination and were
happy that he managed to ap-
ply what he learned from his
continuous training under the
Tuason Racing School Race
Career Management Program
to survive the odds and win
the race, said JP Tuason,
Founder and President of the
Tuason Racing School.
The Coca-Cola Mini-ROK
Cup is the second of the Tri-
ple Crown Jackes is eyeing
this season after capturing the
Mini-ROK crown of the 2012
Coca-Cola Karting Super Se-
ries.
And winning the Mini-
ROK Cup, which will hold
its last two legs on Nov.
10 and 11 at the Carmona
Racetrack, will also serve
as a preparatory stage for
his third goal the Asian
Karting Mini-ROK crown
of the 2012 Asian Karting
Open Championship, which
is set to wrap up its last two
rounds in Indonesia on De-
cember 15-16.
If he captures the Asian
Mini-ROK plum, Flynn will
not only regain the crown
the Philippines last won in
2009, he will also go down
in Philippine Karting history
as the rst kid to win a Triple
Crown. The whole team, the
crew and mechanics will go
all out to support him in this
historic milestone, Tuason
added.
For more info about the
TRS-Castrol Racing Kids,
interested parties may email
www. t uas onr aci ng. com
or at info@tuasonracing.
com or visit Tuason Racing
School fanpage on facebook
or call the TRS secretariat
c/o Aileen Urgelles or John
at 820-4203.
Elma, Lavandia
co-ag bearers
Legaspi res a 61; St. Paul pulls away
Tonys shot
at buzzer
lifts Spurs
CHINESE TAIPEA perfect weather comple-
mented the very warm welcome extended by the
hosts to Team Philippines, which marched Friday
along with the more than 2000 athletes from 24
countries taking part in the 17th Asia Masters Ath-
letics Championships at the modern Taipei Gym-
nasium here.
Asias former long jump queen Elma Muros-
Posadas shared chores with javelin thrower Er-
linda Lavandia as ag bearers for the 24-athlete
Team Philippines, along with four ofcials led by
Manny Ibay, president of the National Masters and
Seniors Athletic Association of the Philippines.
Muros-Posadas and Lavandia are multiple
gold-medal winners in this event and are the only
athletes in the team, along with Emerson Obiena,
to have taken part in the World Masters Athletics
Championships many times in the past.
The tournament also serves as the qualiers for
the World Masters Athletics Championships set in
Brazil in June 2013.
The Philippine teams travel here was backed
by the Philippine Sports Commission, Mizuno and
Score (SportsCore Event Management and Con-
sultancy), with additional support from Sen. Chiz
Escudero, Rexona, and the Philippine Charity
Sweepstakes Ofce.
The choice of Muros-Posadas and Lavandia--
whose names continue to be talked about by their
fellow veteran athletes in this tournament-- as ag
bearers for Team Philippines ts our goal of win-
ning as many medals as we can in this tournament
for athletes 35-years old and older, Ibay said.
True enough, competing athletes from some
countries have already inquired about Muros-
Posadas and Lavandias participation here from
members of the Philippine Team, who checked the
sprawling venue early Friday.
Muros-Posadas and Lavandia share at least 30
gold medals in between them in their combined
participation in the various editions of this event.
Team Philippines expects to win at least 10 gold
medals this time.
Obiena holds the record in mens 40-45 years
old pole vault, while Lavandia owns the womens
45-50 and 45-50 years old javelin throw records.
Ibay, however expects his Team B to perform
in medal rounds, aside from the A performanc-
es expected from the top group, which includes
former Southeast Asian Games medallists Lerma
Bulaitan-Gabito, Antonio Chee, Elenita Punelas,
Danny Jarin and John Lozada.
Air21 snapped its long dry spell emphatically
after it pulled off the biggest upset in the league
so far, a 97-76 demolition of Petron Blaze in the
2013 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine
Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Mark Isip scored a season-high 22 points and had
seven rebounds to show the way for the Express.
Four other Air21 chargers tallied twin-digit outputs
in a game, where nothing went wrong for the erstwhile-
struggling Express.
Rob Reyes gave a huge lift off the bench with 17 points,
on an impeccable 8-of-9 shooting, to go with six boards.
Bonbon Custodio and Nino Canaleta each had 12 and
Nelbert Omolon added 11 in a balanced scoring attack.
The Express snapped their four-game slide to im-
prove to 2-5, while the inconsistent Boosters fell to 3-4
as they saw their two-game run broken.
This was a different Air21. We limited our turnovers.
We maximized the mismatches. We were aggressive and
we were able to outwork them, said Air21 coach Franz
Pumaren. We made certain adjustments and really pre-
pared well for this one. Its one of those games.
An explosive third period allowed the Express to break
the game wide open. The team sizzled for 31 points in
that frame, compared to only 16 for Petron, resulting in a
mammoth 79-58 margin with just one period left.
The Express also built a monstrous 25-point lever-
age, 85-60, with 9:38 remaining after a Reyes basket.
Behind Isip and Custodios early combined exploits,
the Express were able to establish multiple 13-point
leads halfway the second quarter.
After Petron was able to cut the decit to only 42-48
at the half, Air21 made sure that that will be the closest
the Boosters could get.
The Express started the second half with a 15-5 run
that gave it a 63-47 advantage at the thirds 6:25 mark,
sucking the life out of the favored Boosters completely.
Air21 shot an astounding 50.6% clip from the eld
with 15 second-chance points, while only commiting
10 turnovers.
On a bright note, Arwind Santos continued his sen-
sational season thus far with another monster double-
double of 15 points and 14 rebounds for Petron.
MULTI-TITLED Mia Legaspi submit-
ted the lowest round of the series so
far of 61 points or seven-under-par in
medal play as St. Pauls College piled
up more points to its already unassail-
able lead in the Girls 1 division in the
ICTSI-JGFP Inter-School golf champi-
onships at the Capitol Hills Golf and
Country Club in Diliman, Quezon City.
Legaspi, the best girl junior player
of the country at the moment, sparked
another effort round by the Paulinians,
who also turned in their best effort in
four rounds of 117 counting the 56 of
Daniella Uy that gave them a 432 to-
tal and a whopping 93-point advantage
over Southville (104-339), which dis-
lodged Ateneo from second spot.
La Salle Greenhills was poised for
a double strike by keeping the lead in
the juniors and seniors divisions of
the tourney, with the major backing of
International Container and Terminal
Services, Inc. and the support of Phil-
ippine Airlines, Pancake House Group,
Sizzlin Pepper, Pancake House, FILA
and Golf Depot.
The rst champion will be crowned
tomorrow at Club Intramuros when the
nal round of Girls 2 is played with La
Salle Zobel just a point ahead of As-
sumption, 311-310.
Miggy Yee, AR Ramos and Luigi
Guerrero conspired for a 167 at the
Club Intramuros course that boosted
LSGH to 621 and a 77-point advantage
over La Salle Zobel (146-544) with
Ateneo still in third place at 520, Brent
at 448 and Xavier at 441.
Yee made 58, Ramos added 56 and
JP de Claro gathered 47.
The seniors title stands to go to La
Salle as well as the Taft-based team,
getting 51 from Eric Gallardo, 50 from
Gino Bunyi an 46 from Allan Bumagat
for a 147 fourth-round aggregate, raced
to a 52-point lead over Ateneo with a
581 total.
SAN ANTONIOTony Parker
swished the buzzer-beater and
unleashed a cathartic scream.
Under the basket, Kevin Durant
stood frozen in disbelief.
Throw in the trade that sent
James Harden to Houston, and
thats two stunners for the Okla-
homa City Thunder during the
rst week of this NBA season.
Parker sank a 21-footer as time
expired and the San Antonio
Spurs won a thrilling rematch of
the Western Conference nals,
beating Oklahoma City 86-84 on
Thursday night without having to
chase around Harden this time.
Parker scored the last of his
14 points while Serge Ibaka -
the NBAs leading shot-blocker
last season - ran at him full
steam. The All-Star guard calm-
ly swished a long jumper from
the left wing before breaking
into a sustained scream while
his teammates mobbed him in
front of the Thunder bench.
I was like, I have to shoot
fast, Parker said about elud-
ing the outstretched arm of the
6-foot-10 Ibaka. He was com-
ing very fast.
Durant led all scorers with 23
points and began his sixth NBA
season by becoming the second-
youngest player behind LeBron
James to reach 10,000 career
points. Durant, however, stood
silent under the basket for sev-
eral seconds after Parkers shot
before walking off the court. AP
LOTTO RESULTS
6/45 000000000000
4 DIGITS 00000000
3 DIGITS 000000
P0.0M+
A8
ALCALA MISSES QFINALS
MALVINNE Ann Alcala shocked joint fth seed
Line Kjaersfeldt in straight sets in the third round
but bowed to joint No. 9 Akane Yamaguchi of
Japan, 14-21, 15-21, and missed the womens
singles quarternals of the World Juniors Badmin-
ton Championships in Chiba, Japan late Thursday.
Alcala, 16 and tipped as a future international star,
scored a walkover win over Thilini Hendahewa of
Sri Lanka in the opener then rallied from a set down
to beat Thai Maetenee Phattanaphitoon, 17-21, 21-
11, 21-16 in the second round.
Sports
Manila Standard TODAY
Riera U. Mallari, Editor sports@manilastandardtoday.com sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
Air21 stuns Petron
Flynn Jackes: Gunning for a Karting
Triple Crown
2 EZ2 0000
Fourth ace. Joel Palacios, news editor of the
Manila Standard Today, holds his trophy after
making his third hole-in-one at the Intramuros
Golf Club in Manila two years ago. Palacios made
a rare fourth golng ace last Monday (Oct. 29) at
the Philippine Navy Golf Club in Fort Bonifacio.
Petrons Joseph Yeo (right) eludes the shot-blocking effort of Air21s Nelbert Omolon in a PBA Philippine
Cup game won by the Express, 97-76, at the Araneta Coliseum. LINO SANTOS
By Jeric Lopez
CATCHING a big sh
just gave an underdog
team the silver lining it
badly needs.
The scores:
AIR 21 97 - Isip 22, Reyes 17, Custodio 12, Canaleta 12,
Omolon 11,
Baclao 9, Wilson 5, Taha 4, Arboleda 3, Ritualo 2, Atkins 0.
PETRON 76 - Santos 15, Lutz 13, Cabagnot 11, Washington
9, Mallari 6,
Yeo 6, Lassiter 5, Lanete 4, Pena 4, Miranda 3, Sison 0, Duncil 0.
Quarters: 34-23, 48-42, 79-58, 97-76
B1
Business
Ray S. Eano, Editor business@mst.ph
Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor; extrastory2000@gmail.com
IN BRIEF
Calata supports 2013 agriculture growth target
Globe boosts Boracay interconnection
Luzon grid adding 1,400 MW
VOLUME 631.500M
PSE COMPOSITE INDEX
Closing October 31, 2012
OIL
PRICES
TODAY
P584-P695
LPG/11-kg tank
P47.15-P53.07
Unleaded Gasoline
P38.40-P41.05
Diesel
P40.30-P52.20
Kerosene
P27.20-P31.00
Auto LPG
FOREI GN EXCHANGE RATE
Currency Unit US Dollar Peso
United States Dollar 1.000000 41.2630
Japan Yen 0.012561 0.5183
UK Pound 1.607500 66.3303
Hong Kong Dollar 0.129042 5.3247
Switzerland Franc 1.072731 44.2641
Canada Dollar 1.000801 41.2961
Singapore Dollar 0.820412 33.8527
Australia Dollar 1.037344 42.8039
Bahrain Dinar 2.652872 109.4655
Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266667 11.0335
Brunei Dollar 0.817060 33.7143
Indonesia Rupiah 0.000104 0.0043
Thailand Baht 0.032573 1.3441
UAE Dirham 0.272264 11.2344
Euro Euro 1.296200 53.4851
Korea Won 0.000916 0.0378
China Yuan 0.160244 6.6121
India Rupee 0.018532 0.7647
Malaysia Ringgit 0.328084 13.5377
NewZealand Dollar 0.821423 33.8944
Taiwan Dollar 0.034227 1.4123
Source: PDS Bridge
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
PESO-DOLLAR RATE
40
42
44
46
48
P41.180
CLOSE
Closing OCTOBER 31, 2012
5,424.51
2.16
HIGH P41.160 LOW P41.230 AVERAGE P41.208
5200
4460
3720
2980
2240
1500
1200
By Alena Mae S. Flores
THE Energy Department expects nearly
1,400 megawatts of additional power
capacity to join the Luzon grid next year,
with the bulk to be generated by GN Pow-
er Ltd.s 600-MW coal project in Quezon.
The draft Power Development
Plan for the Luzon Grid for 2012-
2030 of the Energy Department
showed that 702.7 MW would
come from committed projects,
or those that had secured permits
and clearances from agencies
and local governments and in the
process of nancial closing.
The other committed projects
include the 21-MW CIP 2
bunker-red power, 67.5-MW
Pililia wind in Rizal, 1.2-MW
Payatas landll gas and 13-MW
Green Futures biomass facility.
The department report said it
also expects the upgrade of the
130-MW Bacman geothermal
plant to be completed in 2013.
The department also expects
an additional 685.8 MW from
indicative projects, or those that
are in different stages of project
development prior to nancial
closing.
These projects include the 150-
MW aero combined cycle power
plant, 300-MW Energy World
gas power, 90-MW Mabitac
wind, 45-MW Pasuquin wind
(Phase 1), 86-MW-Burgos wind,
11.2-MW Unisan biogas and 3.6-
MW Lucky biomass power.
The report said only one
committed project was listed
in 2014 in Luzon20-MW
Maibarara geothermal station.
Most of the projects for 2014 are
still in the indicative stage, namely
40-MW FDC coal, 300-MW
Redondo coal (phase 1) project,
300-MW SLPGC coal, 300-MW
Batangas gas, 50-MW Cavinti
wind farm, 80-MW Caparispisan
and Baloi wind and the 70-MW
Pasuquin wind (phase 2) and 17-
MW Green Power biomass.
Committed projects for 2015
include the 135-MW Puting Bato
coal and 11-MW SCJI biomass
plant but there are 1,105 MW of
indicative projects lined up.
These include the 300-MW
Redondo coal project (phase 2),
135-MW Puting Bato coal (phase
2), 550-MW San Gabriel gas,
40-MW Tanawon geothermal,
40-MW Rangas geothermal and
40-MW Abrade Ilog wind farm.
These are no committed projects
for 2016 and 2017 but indicative
projects include the 500-MW
Quezon power coal expansion and
600-MW Masinloc expansion for
2016 and the 300-MW SLPGC
coal (phase 2) and 40-MW Manito
geothermal for 2017.
The report showed no projects
lined up for 2018 and 2019. The
150-MW Kanan hydro project
has been listed as an indicative
project for 2020.
The department expects 868.7
MW of committed projects for 2012
to 2020, with 735 MW coming
from coal; 21 MW, oil-based; 67.5
MW, wind; biomass, 25.2 MW; and
geothermal, 20 MW.
MARCVENTURES Holdings
Inc., a local mining company
formerly called AJO.net
Holdings Inc., is raising up
to P150 million through the
issuance of convertible notes
and warrants.
The miner said it would
use the proceeds from the
convertible loan to further
develop the companys nickel
mining property by purchasing
additional equipment.
Marcventures, through its
wholly-owned subsidiary
Marcventures Mining and
Development Corp., is engaged
in nickel mining operations in
Surigao del Sur covering 4,799
hectares.
The miner said in a ling with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission it would offer 68.09
million common shares to lenders
to cover the convertible loans and
17.02 million warrants shares.
The convertible loan will have
a term of two years and carry a
10-percent interest rate payable
upon maturity of the loan.
Lenders also have an option to
convert the loans into equity at
any time prior to the maturity of
the loan. The conversion price is
set at P2.20 per share.
Lenders that will opt to convert
the loans into equity will also be
entitled to subscribe to 1 warrant
share for every 4 conversion
shares. Jenniffer B. Austria
By Lailany P. Gomez
GLOBE Telecom said it completed the
interconnection of Boracay through a
ber optic cable designed to boost the
connectivity and strengthen the network
coverage on the resort island.
The telecom company said it
accomplished the interconnection
through a two-kilometer ber optic cable,
called Boracay submarine cable system,
which can transmit 80 wavelengths of
dense wavelength division multiplexing
with a capacity of 40 gigabytes per
second per wavelength. This is also
expandable up to 100 GBPS.
Globe chief technical adviser Robert
Tan said the new cable could provide
near to limitless transmission capacity,
which will result to crystal-clear voice
call and superfast surng.
Denitely, we consider this a major
milestone for Globe as we have powered
up our cell sites with 3G and HSPA+
connectivity, Tan said.
He said the submarine cable system
would provide Globe a future-proof
infrastructure, along with those for
the entire archipelago, ready for
the next generation communication
technology.
Globe Telecom president Ernest Cu
said the network modernization program
breached the 60-percent milestone in
record time.
We have nished our optical ber
systems highway to Boracay and this
progress is a signicant part of building
our brand new network. This will bring
the level of enjoyment of our subscribers,
tourists and vacationers in the area a
notch higher. This augurs well for one
of the major travel destinations not just
of the Philippines but of the rest of the
world, amplifying tourism economics
and activities in the island jewel, he
said.
Cu said the building of the Globe
network would involve blanketing
the whole Philippine geography with
the steady progression of the network
transformation, which includes far-ung
locations, creating seamless coverage for
the entire country.
He said the entire infrastructure
change-out would accelerate toward
the homestretch in 2013 with very
encouraging results.
This puts Globe closer in delivering
our 2012 capacity plans and network
quality improvements to bring superior
customer experience they truly deserve,
Cu said.
By Jenniffer B. Austria
ETON Properties Philippines
Inc., the property unit of beer
and tobacco tycoon Lucio
Tan, has nalized the terms
and conditions for a planned
tender offer and delisting from
the stock market.
Eton said in a ling with the
Philippine Stock Exchange that
it would acquire shares owned
by the public at P3 apiece.
The tender offer price of P3
is slightly higher than Etons
closing price of P2.99 on
Wednesday.
Eton is 97.46 percent owned
by Tan-owned companies,
namely Paramount LandEquities
Inc. and Saturn Holdings Inc.
This means only 2.54 percent of
the companys shares, totaling
73.798 million shares, are
owned by the public.
Eton is expected to spend
P221.4 million to acquire all
the public shares.
The tender offer will start on
Nov. 7, 2012 and end on Dec.
5, 2012.
We respectfully petition
the exchange to issue an order
delisting the shares of the
corporation from the registry
of the exchange effective
Jan. 2, 2013, which is at least
60 days from the ling of
this petition, subject to the
payment of voluntary delisting
fee, Eton said.
The property last month
decided to delist from the
PSE because of its inability
to comply with the 10-percent
public oat requirement before
the end of the year.
The board believes that this
is the best option at this time,
Eton said.
Eton ofcer-in-charge
Michael Tan, however, said
the property might relist in the
PSE after three years.
The PSE has given non-
compliant companies until Jan.
1, 2013 to meet the requirement.
Companies unable to comply
will be slapped with a six-
month trading suspension and
face delisting procedures later.
Eton, formerly Balabac
Resources and Holdings
Corp., posted a P31-million
net income in the rst half
of the year, down from P418
million year-on-year.
First-half revenues declined
to P995 million from P2.5
billion a year ago due to
construction delays.
CALATA Corp., a leading
farm products and technology
distribution company, said
it supports the Agriculture
Departments bid to increase
food production target by 3.5
percent to 5 percent next year.
Calata Corp. chairman and
chief executive Joseph Calata
said the departments goal was
reasonable and attainable and
called for the all-out support
of private sector players in the
agriculture industry.
The department aims to
increase farm production by 4.1
percent this year, on the back
of the expected increases in the
output of the crops subsector.
Calata said the growth targets
underscore the seriousness of
the governments bid for greater
food sufciency while further
uplifting the farming sector.
He said the conglomerate was
supporting the governments
target with its own expansion
program. With more Calata
Corp. outlets in areas close
to food producers, the crops
subsector gains better access to
agricultural technologies and
farm inputs, he said.
This is crucial because
technologies and inputs
have much impact on farm
productivity, he added.
The company earlier
announced it was increasing
the number of its outlets from
120 to 250, using the proceeds
generated by its recent listing in
the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Calata is a multibillion-peso
conglomerate that distributes
agrochemicals, fertilizers,
veterinary products, seeds and
feeds from leading manufacturers
in the country and abroad. These
include the products of San
Miguel Corp., Syngenta and
Monsanto.
Maynilad-Citibank agreement. Metro Manila west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Citibank
signed an agreement that will allow Maynilad customers to automatically pay or charge their monthly water bill through their
Citibank credit cards. Signing the agreement (from left) are Maynilads commercial and marketing head Patrick Gregorio, legal
and regulatory affairs head Lourdes Marivic Espiritu and chief nance ofcer Randolph Estrellado; and Citibanks partnerships and
business development head Ramon del Rosario.
Marcventures to raise
P150m for nickel mine
Iraq opportunities
LOCAL businessmen may soon be exploring
opportunities in Iraq after a recent study found
that more countries outside of the Gulf region
were involved in the Arab country last year.
Foreign Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary
Nathaniel Imperial, citing the results of a
study by Dunia Frontier Consultant on foreign
commercial activity in Iraq last year, said over
45 countries were active in 2011.
He said the United States accounted for a
larger share of business activities. European
and Asian companies followed, including the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany,
Italy, China and South Korea.
He said top business sectors were residential
real estate, oil and gas, electricity, water and
sanitation, defense, commercial real estate and
telecommunications.
Telecommunications is a new entrant in the
top sectors, Imperial said in a report, adding
strong foreign participation was noted from
mobile operators Korek and Asia Cell, both
Kurdistan-based rms employing Filipino
workers. Julito G. Rada
Anti-cancer fruit
A GOVERNMENT-RUN institution is
developing anti-cancer avonoids and tannin
contents under a P1.654-million project on
indigenous Batanes fruit Arius, whose juice and
wine are now at pre-commercial distribution stage.
Batanes State College has prepared different
products from ariusjam, pastillas, tart, wine,
juice and tea.
But were now looking at the medical side of
the products, said Batanes State College research
and development director Roger Baltazar.
The Technology Commercialization Program
of the Bureau of Agricultural Research is
nancing the project that aims to discover the
medical properties of Arius.
We already received in the rst week of
September the initial P1-million release from
the Bureau, said Baltazar.
Unique to Philippines northernmost province
Batanes, Ariusalso known as Batanes berry or
Batanes pinealso grows in mainland Luzon.
But it does not produce fruits in Luzon nor in
other areas outside of Batanes. Othel V. Campos
Globes IDD offer
GLOBE Telecom Inc. launched its newest and
most affordable IDD offer that allows subscribers
to make calls for as low as P1.50 a minute.
KD Dizon, Globes head of prepaid segment,
said the promo was available only to Globe
Prepaid subscribers calling the US mainland,
Canada, China, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore
and Thailand. The IDD offer is available for
just P200 valid for 30 days.
Globe GoIDD offers up to 133 minutes of voice
calls, or close to 2.5 hours. Lailany P. Gomez
Eton pegs
price at P3
per share
Business
ManilaStandardToday
business@mst.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com
B2
Myanmar to double rice exports
Perks not
enough to
entice IT
companies
Manila
Standard
TODAY
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION AS
UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION OF CONSULTANTS

E
Z
Date: July 16, 2012
Name of the Organization: Confederation of Filipino
Consulting Organizations, Inc.
Business Address: Unit 211 2
nd
Floor Grand
Emerald Tower Don F. Ortigas
Jr. Road Corner Garnet Rd.
Ortigas Center Pasig City
Contact Numbers: 310-4931 to 33 local 214
Please indicate sectors or felds:
1. Advisory/ Review
2. Pre-investment & feasibility studies
3. Design services
4. Construction Supervision
5. Management & Related Services
6. Other Technical Services or Special Studies
In support of this application, the following documents are
hereby submitted:
A. Organization and its Coverage (15%)
9 Registration certifcate (e.g. SEC, DT or CDA) or any
document showing existence of juridical personality
9 Articles of Incorporation including amendments thereto,
if any
9 By-Laws including amendments thereto, if any
9 Organization's profle, vision, mission and objectives
9 Statement explaining why the organization should be
recognized as UOC for the sectors being applied for
9 List of registered offcers and provide for resume or
curriculum vitae
9 List of registered members, whether individual or
associations, with respective contact numbers,
addresses, professions and/or disciplines, and track
record
9 Commitment of the organization to cooperate with the
actively participate in the development of one UOC (e.g.
Board resolution or any valid form of offcial statement
of the organization)
B. Accreditation Process (30%)
9 Accreditation guidelines and other relevant documents
describing in detail its registration and accreditation
system for both individual consultants and associations
9 Composition of accreditation board/committee in
charge of the evaluation of members
C. Capacity Building Program (25%)
9 Capacity building program/s adopted by the
organization
D. Regulation/Policing Process (25%)
9 Guidelines refecting the procedure on regulation/
policing by the organization of its members, including
sanctions for erring members
9 Proposed mechanism for dispute resolution of its
members
E. Liaison (5%)
_____ List of offcers and employees authorized by the
organization as liaison offcers, including their respective
position, addresses and contact details I hereby declare
that I am granted full power and authority to do, execute,
and perform any and all acts necessary to represent the
organization in its application under the Government
Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Guidelines on the
Recognition of Umbrella Organization of Consultants,
as shown in the attached document showing proof of
authorization (e.g. duly notarized Secretary's Certifcate
issued by the corporation).
I hereby certify that the attached documents are authentic
copies of the original, complete, and all statements/information
provided therein are, to the best of my knowledge, true
and correct. Any misrepresentation of a fact is a ground for
disapproval of my application or termination of the recognition
as an Umbrella Organization of Consultants. I shall notify
GPPB of any changes affecting any of the information
contained herein.
MR. ERIC A. CRUZ
Signature over Printed Name of
Organization's Authorized Signatory
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, this 16
th
day
of JUL, 2012 in QUEZON CITY, affant is personally known
to me and was known by me through competent evidence
of identity as defned in the 2004 Rules of Notarial Practice.
Affant has exhibited to me his/her government issued
identifcation card with picture 0006 to expire on
as well as his/her Community Tax Certifcate No. 14300440
issued on January 6, 2012 at Manila.
APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION AS UMBRELLA
ORGANIZATION OF CONSULTANTS
In line with Republic Act 9184, its Implementing Rules and
Regulations, and the Government Procurement Policy Board
Resolution 02-2011,
Confederation of Filipino consulting Organizations, Inc.
Unit 211 2
nd
Floor Grand Emerald Tower Don F. Ortigas Jr.
Road Corner Garnet Road Ortigas Center Pasig City
hereby applies for recognition as the Umbrella Organization of
consutlants for the following sector/s of the consulting industry:
Advisory / Review
Pre-investment & Feasibility Studies
Design Services
construction Supervision
Management & Related Services
Other Technical Services or Special Studies
This serves as notice to all concerned to submit to the
Government Procurement Policy Board Technical Support
Offce any questions on and/or oppositions to the foregoing
application not later than ffteen calendar days from the
publication of this application.
MR. ERIC A. CRUZ
Organization's Authorized Signatory
(MST-Oct. 27-Nov. 8, 2012)
Ayala Land, SM win awards
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
MYANMAR, the worlds top rice shipper
before ve decades of military dictatorship
made it Southeast Asias poorest nation,
plans to double exports over ve years,
threatening to aggravate a global glut.
Overseas sales may climb to as
much as 3 million metric tons by
2017 from 1.5 million tons in the
year ending March 2013 as yields
and infrastructure improve, Ye
Min Aung, secretary- general of
the Myanmar Rice Federation,
said on Oct. 25. The US
Department of Agriculture raised
its export forecast for Myanmar
by 25 percent to 750,000 tons for
this year on Oct. 11.
The country that could be
Asias next economic frontier,
according to the International
Monetary Fund, is reviving the
rice trade as it reengages with the
global economy and shifts back
toward democracy.
The 2017 target would be
equivalent to 8 percent of world
exports this year, which are
forecast by the USDA at 37.7
million tons. The global market in
rice, a staple for half the world, has
been in a surplus for seven years.
The international rice market is
very crowded with new exporters
like Brazil, Russia and Egypt,
Concepcion Calpe, a senior
economist at the United Nations
Food & Agriculture Organization,
said from Rome. Unless there is
a disaster of some sort, we still see
the world rice economy facing an
ample supply situation in 2012
and 2013.
The country plans to more
than double yields to as much
as 4 tons per acre in ve years
from about 1.25 tons to 1.5 tons
currently, said Ye Min Aung of
the federation, which accounts
for more than 80 percent of the
nations output. We are looking
to boost productivity as well as
income for farmers.
Biggest shipper
Myanmar was the worlds
biggest exporter from 1960 to
1963, with shipments of 1.6
million to 1.7 million tons a year,
until it was displaced by neighbor
Thailand, according to USDA
data. Last year, it shipped 778,000
tons, ranking ninth after Uruguay,
and exports reached a nadir of
15,000 tons in 1996-1997. This
year, global rice output will
exceed demand by 9.7 million
tons, up from 5.6 million tons the
previous year, USDA data show.
It may take 10 years to 15
years for Myanmar to become a
top shipper again, shorter than
the two decades Vietnam took
to become a top-three exporter,
said Robert Zeigler, secretary-
general of the International
Rice Research Institute in the
Philippines. We see Myanmar
as an extremely important source
for rice productiontheres no
question about it, he said.
Myanmars strengths are
low-production costs, vast
land and abundant water and
labor, according to the Asian
Development Bank, which says
the country needs to increase farm
output to spur per-capita gross
domestic product almost fourfold
by 2030. At present, agriculture
accounts for 36 percent of an
economy that expanded 5.5 percent
last year, and employs most of the
countrys 64 million people.
Cheaper supplies
The country has yet to have
a proper legal, regulatory and
institutional setup, said Cyn-
Young Park, assistant chief
economist at the ADB. So the
talks on investments, though a
lot has been said, havent actually
been materialized.
Rice from Myanmar is about
$10 to $20 per ton cheaper than
the comparable quality from
Vietnam, India and Pakistan, said
Jac Luyendijk, chief executive
ofcer at SAT Swiss Agri Trading
AG, which handles about $300
million worth of rice a year.
Constraints include antiquated
ports, which may not be able to
handle a sudden gain in volume
especially during the rainy season,
he said.
The Port of Yangon handles
about 90 percent of the nations
trade, according to the Ministry
of Transport. Japan wants to
build a port and industrial estate
at Thilawa, 25 kilometers (16
miles) south of Yangon. Italian-
Thai Development Pcl, Thailands
biggest contractor, is also trying to
get Japan to nance an $8.6 billion
deep-sea port and industrial zone
in Dawei.
Rice r ally
Other nations are boosting their
rice sales to tap the market where
prices have more than tripled in
the past decade. Rough-rice trades
at $15.11 per 100 pounds ($333
a metric ton) in Chicago now, up
from $3.91 at end-2001. Brazil
exported 1.3 million tons last
year, tripling from the year before,
and will sell 1.1 million this year,
according to the USDA.
Larger supplies from Myanmar
wont necessarily hurt international
prices, said Calpe from the
Rome-based FAO. Rice is a
dynamic market subject to many
interventions by governments,
including Thailand, she said.
Thailands exports may fall 39
percent to 6.5 million tons this year
from 10.6 million tons in 2011,
according to the USDA, as Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has
pledged to guarantee minimum
prices for farmers, boosting
stockpiles to the highest ever. That
means Thailand would slip behind
India and Vietnam.
Hybr id seeds
The Myanmar government
will soon allow seed imports and
introduce hybrid seeds to increase
harvests, according to Maung
Aung, an agriculture policy adviser
at the Ministry of Commerce.
Agricultural development is the
rst priority for the government,
he said by phone from Naypyidaw,
the capital. Since production of
agricultural products such as rice is
low, the government is pushing to
increase both quality and quantity
in the agricultural sector.
Chinas increasing demand for
the grain may help mop up rising
supplies from Myanmar, as imports
soared to 1.9 million tons this year
from 575,000 tons in 2011, vying
with Iran as the largest buyer of
the grain after Nigeria, the USDA
says.
China may become the largest
importer by 2015, said Myo Thuya
Aye, a senior central executive
member of the rice federation
whose family has been trading rice
since 1952.
President Thein Sein, who
took power last year in elections
that ended about ve decades of
military rule, targets annual GDP
growth of 7.7 percent over the next
ve years. His government plans
to expand credit, increase fertilizer
use and promote higher-yielding
rice strains to boost farmers
incomes and cut the poverty rate
to 16 percent by 2015 from 26
percent.
Economic frontier
At present, Myanmar has the
smallest GDP on a per-capita basis
in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, UN data show.
Still, the country could become
the next economic frontier in Asia
if it takes advantage of rich natural
resources, young labor force and
proximity to China and India, IMF
mission head Meral Karasulu said
in January.
Myanmars renewable water
resources are among the highest
in Asia at 24,352 cubic meters per
inhabitant per year, the ADB said
in August. It currently uses about
5 percent of its water resources,
giving it substantial potential for
increased irrigation, hydropower
and livestock production, the ADB
said.
Myanmar has a great potential
no doubt, ADBs Park said. But
its a country in transition, so thats
the caveat. Bloomberg
Blue Eagle donation. Ateneo de Manila University alumni with the Blue Eagle
Foundation (HS69 C73 ME74) continue to support public elementary schools. The foundation
this week turned over two newly-constructed classrooms complete with school desks and
toilets to the San Vicente Elementary School in Apalit, Pampanga. School principal Randy Batac
(fourth from right) presents a certicate of appreciation to Blue Eagle ofcials led by president
Gregorio Cancio Jr., chairman Ramon Roco, member Jun Dayrit and EA Lirio Quezon in the
presence of school teachers and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas corporate affairs director Fe dela
Cruz, who represented BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
AYALA Land Inc. and SM Prime Holdings
Inc. have been recognized for their high
standards by the Asia Pacic Real Estate
Association in the Aprea Best Practices
Awards 2012.
The Aprea Best Practices Awards are
open to all real estate companies and trusts
listed on a regional stock exchange. As with
previous years, there has been overwhelming
response from high-quality organizations
from countries around the region, including
Australia, India, China, Japan, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines.
In all, organizations from nine different
jurisdictions lodged submissions.
Winners were chosen based on how an
organization has contributed to providing
greater transparency and comparability in their
local market and the region. Submissions were
also judged on the extent of which they have
adopted recommendations in the Aprea Best
Practices Handbook in the categories of market
disclosures, accounting and nancial reporting,
property valuation, portfolio performance
reporting and corporate governance.
Ayala Land won award for the best
Philippines submission and merit awards in
the areas of market disclosure and portfolio
performance reporting. It also won an award
as the best property development organization
in the Emerging Markets category.
SM Prime won a merit award in the area of
corporate governance.
We are delighted with the level of best
practices demonstrated by the companies
who submitted for the awards this year. We
continually encourage members to adopt the
most up-to-date valuation techniques, adhere
to international nancial reporting standards
and follow good corporate governance, said
Lim Swe Guan, Aprea chairman.
Combined with a greater transparency
of portfolio performance and provision of
reliable timely information to investors,
we believe this will lead to higher investor
condence and wider support for the industry.
We are condent that with the support of our
members, who are leaders in their eld, we
can make real estate a crucial part of every
investors portfolio.
By Julito G. Rada
PROPERTY consulting
company Jones Lang
LaSalle said improved labor
force and the presence of
efcient telecommunications
and power infrastructure
will remain the major
considerations for offshoring
and outsourcing rms to
locate in the provinces.
Jessica Mae Go, an executive
of Jones Lang LaSalle in
the Philippines, made the
assessment in response
to the recent resolution of
the Philippine Economic
Zone Authority amending
the incentives provided to
developers of IT parks and
facilities in the country.
Peza earlier said IT
projects in the rst four Peza-
registered IT parks in Metro
ManilaEastwood City
Cyberpark in Quezon City,
Northgate Cyber Zone in
Muntinlupa City, Robinsons
Cyberpark along Edsa and
E-Square IT Park in Taguig
Cityand the Cebu I.T.
Park would no longer enjoy
incentives.
Developers in other areas
will still enjoy incentives to
attract more investments.
... Peza may have had
good intentions in creating
this resolution but, to truly
encourage the development
of IT parks and buildings
outside Metro Manila and
Cebu City, it will take more
than just these incentives
provided by the Peza, Go
said in a research blog.
The private and the public
sectors need to cooperate
to improve the quantity and
quality of the labor pool,
and enhance the telecom
and power infrastructure in
provincial areas. Only then
can these provincial areas
attract more offshoring
and outsourcing rms,
stimulating the development
of more IT parks and
buildings, she said.
Rice harvest in Punjab. Laborers ll bags with rice at a rice market in the Chiniot district of
Punjab province, Pakistan. Rice exports from Pakistan, the fourth-largest shipper, are set to rebound
from November with the new harvest after a rally in domestic prices and cheaper supplies from India cut
shipments, a traders group said. Bloomberg
Business
ManilaStandardToday business@mst.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com NOVEMBER 3, 2012 SATURDAY
B3
Nissan building second Thai plant
Sales of Samsungs
smartphones hit 3m
Crude prices decrease
amid subdued demand
ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City
IN THE MATTER OF THE
APPLICATION OF THE NATIONAL
GRID CORPORATION OF THE
PHILIPPINES FOR THE APPROVAL
OF FORCE MAJEURE (FM) EVENT
REGULATED FM PASS THROUGH
FOR TYPHOONS QUIEL AND
SENDONG IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE RULES FOR SETTING
TRANSMISSION WHEELING
RATES, WITH PRAYER FOR
PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY
ERC CASE NO. 2012-106 RC
NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION
OF THE PHILIPPINES (NGCP),
Applicant.
x----------------------------------------------x
NOTI CE OF PUBLI C HEARI NG
TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:
Notice is hereby given that on September 28, 2012, the National
Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) fled with the Commission an
application for the approval of Force Majeure (FM) event regulated FM pass
through for Typhoons Quiel and Sendong in accordance with the Rules for
Setting Transmission Wheeling Rates, with prayer for provisional authority.
n the said application, NGCP alleged, among others, the following:
1. t is a corporation created and existing under the laws of the
Republic of the Philippines, with principal offce address at NGCP
Building, Quezon Avenue corner BR Road, Diliman, Quezon City.
t is the corporate vehicle of the consortium which was awarded
the concession to assume the power transmission functions of
the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) pursuant to
Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the "Electric Power
ndustry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPRA.
2. Under Republic Act No. 9511
1
, it was granted a franchise to
construct, install, fnance, manage, improve, expand, operate,
maintain rehabilitate, repair and refurbish the present nationwide
transmission system of the Republic of the Philippines.
3. On January 15, 2009, it assumed transmission functions of
TRANSCO including the operation, management and maintenance
of the nationwide electrical grid.
4. Pursuant to Section 10.1.1 of the Rules for Setting Transmission
Wheeling Rates (RTWR), it is allowed to recover the cost incurred
for the restoration, rehabilitation, repair of damage sustained by
NGCP transmission assets and other related facilities as a result of
a Force Majeure Event (FME), as defned in Article 1 of RTWR.
Allegations on Typhoon Quiel as FME
5. On September 29 to 30, 2011, Typhoon Quiel packing heavy rain
and maximum sustained winds of 160 kph and gustiness of up to
195 kph caused severe damage to life and property.
6. Due to its intensity, it caused damage to its transmission facilities
and other related facilities in North Luzon area.
7. On December 5, 2011, in compliance with Article X of the RTWR,
it fled with the Commission a FME Notice for Typhoon Quiel dated
November 29, 2011, receipt of which was acknowledged by the
Commission through its Acknowledgment Letter dated February 7,
2012.
8. Copies of the FME Notice for Typhoon Quiel dated November
29, 2011, ERC Acknowledgment Letter dated January 11,
2012 and Certifcation dated November 11, 2011 issued by the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) are hereto attached as Annexes "A and
"A-1 and "A-2, respectively.
Allegations on Typhoon Sendong as FME
9. On December 16 to 18, 2011, Typhoon Sendong packing maximum
winds of 75 kph and gustiness of up to 90 kph caused severe
damage to life and property due to strong winds and heavy
downpour over Mindanao area.
10. Due to its intensity, it caused damage to its transmission assets and
other related facilities in Mindanao area.
11. n compliance with Article X of the RTWR, it fled with the
Commission a FME Notice for Sendong dated January 24, 2012,
receipt of which was acknowledged by the Commission through its
Acknowledgment Letter dated February 7, 2012,
12. Copies of FME Notice for Sendong dated January 24, 2012, ERC
Acknowledgment Letter dated February 7, 2012 and Certifcation
dated October 14, 2011 issued by the PAGASA are hereto attached
as Annexes "B, "B-1 and "B-2, respectively.
Allegations Common to Both Causes of Action
13. mmediately after the wrath of the Typhoons Quiel and Sendong,
it started the repair, restoration and rehabilitation of its damaged
transmission assets and other related facilities in order to continue
serving its customers. Some activities are still in progress in some
areas.
14. The cost of Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) that it incurred will incur
in the rehabilitation, repair and restoration of its transmission assets
and other related facilities and that need to complete such are as
follows:
FME Total (PhP)
2
Quiel 54,726,522.82
Sendong 727,088.64
Total 55,453,611.46
Copies of the Details of Activities of FME Typhoon Quiel are hereto
attached as Annexes "C to C-8, "D to D-21, "E to E-7, and "F
to F-8 and Copies of the Details of Activities of FME Typhoon
Sendong are hereto attached as Annexes "G to G-29.
15. Notwithstanding that the damaged transmission assets and other
related facilities are owned by TRANSCO, a co-assured of the
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation's
ndustrial Ail Risk ("lAR) nsurance Policy with the Government
Service Insurance System, the cost of the rehabilitation, repair and
restoration of the damaged transmission assets and other related
facilities is not covered by the lAR Insurance Policy and therefore
not compensable. Copies of the Certifcation in support of such
allegation are hereto attached as Annexes "H and ".
16. n view of the foregoing, there is a need to realign its CAPEX projects
to recover the cost incurred/to be incurred for the restoration,
rehabilitation and repair of its damaged transmission assets and
other related facilities.
COMPUTATION OF FORCE MAJEURE EVENT PASS-THROUGH
COST
17. lt proposes the pass-through cost as additional network charges
in the following areas starting the billing period of September 2012
up to December 2015 or until such time that the amount incurred is
fully recovered, computed as shown in the table below:
1 Republic Act No. 9511 entitled "An Act Granting the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines a Franchise to Engage
in the Business of Conveying or Transmitting Electricity Through High Voltage Back-bone System or nterconnected
Transmission Lines, Substations and Related Facilities, and for Other Purposes.
2 Inclusive of permit fees;
FME-Peso/kW 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
Luzon 0.1743 0.1027 0.1017 0.1009 0.4796
Mindanao 0.0331 0.0074 0.0073 0.0072 0.055
18. Although this FME claim is not included in its 3rd Regulatory Reset
Application, the same can be recovered during the 3rd Regulatory
Period pursuant to Section 10.1.1 of the RTWR where it is
allowed to recover the cost incurred for the restoration, repair and
rehabilitation of damage sustained by its transmission assets and
other related facilities as a result of the FME.
3

19. Further, the FME Claim under this Application does not breach the
FMTA.
4

20. Also, considering that it is not included in the calculation of FME
Pass Through Amount, it should be allowed to recover in the Fourth
Regulatory Period the Net Fixed Asset Value of the transmission
assets and other related facilities which were damaged by FME
Typhoons Quiel and Sendong given that it would have normally
fully recovered the return of capital on said assets for the duration
of their economic lives had these transmission assets and other
related facilities not been damaged or destroyed by these FME
typhoons.
21. lt moves for the issuance of a provisional authority for the immediate
recovery of the FME claim.
5
It needs to immediately recover the
actual expenses incurred for the rehabilitation of the damaged
transmission assets and other related facilities. The occurrence
of the aforementioned FME requires capital infusion, the recovery
of which should be allowed to avoid putting fnancial strain in the
transmission provider, and to allow it to continuously provide the
necessary transmission service to the grid customers.
22. n addition, the timely implementation of the pass-through amount
will allow the equal or even spread of the increases or decreases in
tariffs from the initial implementation of the recovery of the cost.
23. t most prays of the Commission that:
a. Declare the Typhoons Quiel and Sendong as Force Majeure
Events;
b. Approve the CAPEX incurred/to be incurred for the restoration,
rehabilitation and repair of the damaged transmission assets
and other related facilities for the FMEs Typhoons Quiel and
Sendong;
c. Approve the proposed pass-through amount representing
return on and of capita! expenditure associated with the
emergency responses and the repair and rehabilitation of
facilities damaged due to the said events, as shown in the table
below:
FME-Peso/kW 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
Luzon 0.1743 0.1027 0.1017 0.1009 0.4796
Mindanao 0.0331 0.0074 0.0073 0.0072 0.055
d. Approve and allow the recovery of the Net Fixed Asset Value
of the transmission assets and other related facilities damaged
by FMEs Typhoons Quiel and Sendong during the Fourth
Regulatory Period given that the said amount would have been
fully recovered by it if these transmission assets and other
related facilities had not been destroyed by Typhoons Quiel
and Sendong;
e. Grant provisional authority to implement and bill the FME Pass-
Through Amount to Luzon and Mindanao customers from
September 26, 2012 to December 25, 2015 or until such time
that the amount incurred is fully recovered; and
f. Exclude the proposed Pass-Through Amount from the side
constraint calculation.
The Commission has set the application for jurisdictional hearing,
expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on the
following dates and venues:
DATE TIME VENUE PARTICULARS
December
3, 2012
(Monday)
Nine oclock
in the
morning
(9:00 A.M.)
ERC Hearing Room, 15th
FIoor, Pacic Center
Building, San Miguel
Avenue, Pasig City
Jurisdictional Hearing
and Expository
Presentation
December
6, 2012
(Thursday)
Nine oclock
in the
morning (9:00
A.M.)
ERC Mindanao Field
Ofce, Mezzanine FIoor,
Mintrade Building,
Monteverde comer Sales
Sts., Davao City
Expository
Presentation
for Mindanao
Stakeholders
December
12, 2012
(Wednesday)
Nine oclock
in the
morning (9:00
A.M.)
ERC Hearing Room, 15th
FIoor, Pacic Center
Building, San Miguel
Avenue, Pasig City
Pre-Trial Conference
and Evidentiary
Hearing
December
13, 2012
(Thursday)
Nine oclock
in the
morning |
(9:00 A.M.)
Continuation of
Evidentiary Hearing
All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding
may become a party by fling, at least fve (5) days prior to the initial
hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC's Rules of Practice
and Procedure, a verifed petition with the Commission giving the docket
number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner's name
and address; (2) the nature of petitioner's interest in the subject matter of
the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected
by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief
desired.
All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission
with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may fle their opposition
to the application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before
the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence. No particular form
of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing
should contain the name and address of such person and a concise
statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.
All such persons who may wish to have a copy of the application may
request the applicant, prior to the date of the initial hearing, that they be
furnished with a copy of the application. The applicant is hereby directed to
furnish all those making such request with copies of the application and its
attachments, subject to reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs.
Likewise, any such person may examine the application and other pertinent
records fled with the Commission during the usual offce hours.
WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson, ZENAIDA G. CRUZ-DUCUT,
and the Honorable Commissioners, JOSE C. REYES and GLORIA
VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 22
nd
day
of October, 2012 at Pasig City.
ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN
Executive Director
3 A copy of FME Claim Computation is hereto attached as Annex "J;
4 A copy of the Force Majeure Threshold Amount (FMTA) Computation is hereto attached as Annex "K; and
5 Acopy of the Judicial Affdavit dated September 25, 2012 of Ma. Bernadette R. Gan, Head, Tariff Administration Section
Tariff Design and Billing Management Division, Regulatory Revenue Affairs, in support thereof is hereto attached as
Annex "L.
MST Nov. 3 & 10, 2012
NISSAN Motor Co., Japans second-larg-
est car maker, plans to invest 11 billion baht
($358 million) to build a second plant in
Thailand, expanding its regional export hub
to meet rising demand in Southeast Asia.
add 2,000 jobs, the Yokohama,
Japan-based company said in a
statement Friday. Construction
of the plant, in Samut Prakarn
province neighboring Bangkok,
has already started.
The facility will increase
Nissans capacity to 370,000
units per year in Thailandthe
car makers major export base
in the region. The automaker
targets selling 500,000 vehicles
in Southeast Asia and taking
15 percent of the market share
by March 2017, compared with
176,000 units and 6.9 percent
market share in the nancial
year ended March.
The new facility will
keep Thailand as our largest
manufacturing center in the
Asean region, Hiroto Saikawa,
executive vice president for
Nissan, said in a statement.
Adding 150,000 units of
production capacity will
not only enable us to raise
our competitiveness in the
domestic market, but will ensure
Thailands position as a key
strategic global export hub for
Nissan.
Nissans existing Thai plant,
also in Samut Prakarn province,
employs 6,000 people and has
an annual production capacity
of 220,000 units. The new plant
will mainly make pickup trucks,
according to Saikawa.
Bloomberg
The plant, with an initial
annual capacity of 75,000
units rising to 150,000, will
start production in 2014 and
SEOUL, South Korea
Samsung Electronics Co.
said Friday it has sold more
than 3 million Galaxy Note II
smartphones in a little over a
month after its launch, as the
company vies to keep its lead
over rivals during the crucial
holiday quarter.
The South Korean rm, which
was the worlds largest maker
of smartphones in the July-
September quarter, said it took 37
days for the oversize smartphone
to reach the sales gure.
The Note II was released first
in South Korea in September
and in the US and other
countries in the following
month.
Samsungs Note category
took off in the market,
overcoming skepticism about
its big size making it look
awkward when held close to
the face.
The Note was one of the
few 5-inch smartphone in
the market when the first
model was unveiled last year,
making some people believe
it would become a tweener
that is neither a tablet nor a
smartphone.
But phone manufacturers
began to expand screen sizes
this year. Even Apple released
a bigger iPhone this year.
The Note series is one of
the two key mobile devices
from Samsung on the high-end
smartphone segment, along
with flagship Galaxy S III
smartphone, helping Samsung
rake in profit for the business
division that is responsible for
more than 70 percent of the
companys quarterly sales.
The latest iteration of the Note
features a screen measuring 5.5
inches diagonally and a digital
pen for note-taking.
The South Korean firm is
pinning its hope on the Note
II and the S III to maintain its
market lead during the crucial
fourth-quarter holiday season,
when a number of new gadgets
are vying for attention from
consumers in the crowded
market.
Research firm IDC said
Samsung topped the global
smartphone market in the
July-September third quarter
with 56.3 million sales, more
than double Apples 26.9
million iPhone sales. The
two companies controlled
combined 46 percent of the
global smartphone market,
according to IDC. AP
People walk past an advertisement poster of a Samsung Electronics
Co. product at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea. Samsungs
third-quarter net prot nearly doubled over a year earlier to a record
high propelled by strong sales of Galaxy phones that helped widen its
lead over rivals. AP
By Pamela Sampsom
BANGKOKExpectations that demand for crude would likely be
subdued in the aftermath of the massive storm that slammed into the
US East Coast earlier this week caused oil prices to sag on Friday.
Benchmark crude for December delivery fell 28 cents at midday
Bangkok time to $86.81 per barrel in electronic trading on the New
York Mercantile Exchange.
Despite ongoing disruptions at reneries and supply terminals
in the US Northeast, analysts said the US remained stocked with
sufcient supplies and that demand for crude oil would be lower than
anticipated for a few weeks.
Caroline Bain, commodities analyst for the Economist Intelligence
Unit, said the storms impact on the oil market would likely be
temporary, assuming the resumption of renery operations.
The recent expansion in US shale oil production will mean that
crude oil stocks in the country will remain high for much of the year,
depressing prices, and insulating the US somewhat from the supply
risks that are putting pressure on crude oil prices elsewhere in the
world, she said in a market commentary.
Benchmark oil gained 85 cents to nish at $87.09 per barrel in
New York on Thursday, with positive US economic news helping to
boost prices.
Reports for October showed manufacturing expanded for the
second straight month, private businesses added more jobs and
consumer condence was at the highest level in nearly ve years.
And the government says crude inventories shrank last week.
The next key report is due Friday when the government releases
the October jobs data.
In London, Brent crude, which is used to price international
varieties of oil, fell 20 cents to end at $107.97 per barrel.
In other trading:
Heating oil fell 1.1 cent to $3.022 per gallon.
Wholesale gasoline fell 0.6 cents at $2.6273 per gallon.
Natural gas fell 0.8 cents to $3.691 per 1,000 cubic feet. AP
B4
WORLD
UN suffers unprecedented damage from storm
Pyongyang hotel begun in 1980s may open soon
Bulgaria claims it found Europes oldest town
2 killed, 37 wounded
in Colombia bombing
Families await bodies
from large Pakistan fire
Syrian
rebels
kill 78
soldiers
Exasperation mounts
3 days after superstorm
SOFIAA prehistoric town un-
earthed in eastern Bulgaria is the
oldest urban settlement found to
date in Europe, a Bulgarian ar-
chaeologist said Thursday.
Vasil Nikolov, a professor from
Bulgarias National Institute of Ar-
chaeology, said the stone walls ex-
cavated by his team near the town
of Provadia are estimated to date
between 4,700 and 4,200 B.C. He
said the walls, which are 3 meters
(10 feet) high and 2 meters (6
feet) thick, are believed to be the
earliest and most massive fortica-
tions from Europes prehistory.
We started excavation work
in 2005, but only after this ar-
chaeological season did we gather
enough evidence to back up this
claim, Nikolov told The Associ-
ated Press.
The team has so far unearthed
remains of a settlement of two-
story houses with a diameter of
about 100 meters (328 feet) en-
circled by a fortied wall.
Excavations have also uncov-
ered a series of pits used for ritu-
als as well as parts of a gate. Car-
bon analysis has dated them to
the Chalcolithic age to between
4,700 and 4,200 B.C., he said
more than a millennium before
the start of the ancient Greek
civilization.
New samples of the excavations
have been sent to the University
of Cologne, Germany, for further
evaluation, Nikolov said.
Bulgaria, a Balkan country of 7.3
million, hosts numerous Neolithic,
Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settle-
ment mounds as well as signicant
remains of Hellenistic, Roman and
Byzantine urban centers.
Nikolov said the settlement near
Provadia was home to some 350
people who likely produced salt from
the nearby rock-salt deposits. AP
A handout picture released by the Bulgarian National Institute of
Archaeology shows general view of the remains of a stone defensive
wall which enclosed an ancient town, near Provadia, some 410 km (255
miles) northeast of Soa. AP
SEOULThe 105-story, pyramid-shaped hotel that has
stood over North Koreas capital city like a mountain for
more than 20 years just might be on the verge of opening
for the rst time.
Pyongyangs Ryugyong Hotel will partially, proba-
bly open in the middle of next year, Reto Wittwer, chief
executive of international hotel operator Kempinski AG,
said Thursday at a forum in Seoul.
Kempinski will manage the hotel, which Wittwer said
will open with shops, ofces, ballrooms, restaurants and
150 rooms.
The enormous hotel has been a source of fascination
and ridicule for the outside world and an oversized em-
barrassment for North Koreas authoritarian regime.
North Korea began building the Ryugyong in the 1980s
but stopped when funding ran out in the 1990s. Exterior
construction resumed in 2009.
Various reports in recent years said the hotel was pre-
paring to nally open. In September, a Beijing-based tour
agency was allowed to peek inside and released pictures
of the bare concrete lobby.
Wittwer said he rst saw a picture of the hotel many
years ago and thought then that it could eventually make
a lot of money.
He said Cairo-based Orascom Telecom is funding the
construction. The rm launched a mobile network in
North Korea in 2008. AP
The sun is reected from the top of the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel, which remains
under construction, in Pyongyang, North Korea. International hotel operator
Kempinski AG said it will manage the pyramid-shaped hotel that is expected to
open next year. AP
Mayor Michael Bloomberg
said the city would send
bottled water and ready-to-
eat meals into the hardest-
hit neighborhoods through
the weekend, but some New
Yorkers grew dispirited after
days without power, water and
heat and decided to get out.
Its dirty, and its getting a
little crazy down there, said
Michael Tomeo, who boarded
a bus to Philadelphia with his
4-year-old son. It just feels like
you wouldnt want to be out at
night. Everythings pitch dark.
Im tired of it, big-time.
Rima Finzi-Strauss decided
to take the bus to Washington.
When the power went out
Monday night in her apartment
building on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan, it also disabled
the electric locks on the front
door, she said.
We had three guys sitting
out in the lobby last night with
candlelight, and very threatening
folks were passing by in the
pitch black, she said. And
everyones leaving. That makes
it worse. AP
NEW YORKThe headquarters
of the United Nations overlooking
New Yorks East River suffered
unprecedented damage from Su-
perstorm Sandy, the UN manage-
ment chief said Thursday.
Yukio Takasu told the General
Assembly at the end of its rst ses-
sion following the killer storm that
the most serious damage was from
ooding, which affected many
basement ofces and the cool-
ing system in the main Secretariat
building.
The water that rushed across
a major highway along the river
also caused a small re in a circuit
breaker in an electrical panel in the
basement, he said. It was put out
almost immediately by the water
that continued to rise early Tues-
day morning.
UN safety and security chief
Gregory Starr told the 193-mem-
ber world body that the ooding
affected many electrical compo-
nents and the U.N. computer sys-
tem, which was expected to return
to operation late Thursday. It tore
temporary sheeting off the top of
the General Assembly building
and destroyed a tent over its en-
trance, he said.
The sprawling UN complex is
undergoing its rst major renova-
tion since it opened 60 years ago,
at a cost of about $2 billion.
Some of the 3,000 staffers forced
to move to temporary ofces around
Manhattan recently started returning
to the 39-story Secretariat building.
Another 2,000 have remained on the
17-acre (6.8-hectare) site, including
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and
other senior ofcials, who work in a
temporary building constructed just
north of the main one, which was not
affected by Sandy. AP
Thousands of people wait to board city buses into Manhattan at the newly opened Barclays Center in Brooklyn as the city continues to recover
from superstorm Sandy on Nov. 1in New York. Limited public transit has returned to New York and most major bridges have reopened but will
require three occupants in the vehicle to pass. With the death toll currently over 70 and millions of homes and businesses without power, the US
east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of oods, res and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy. AP
NEW YORK
Frustration and in
some cases fear
mounted in New York
City on Thursday, three
days after superstorm
Sandy. Trafc backed
up for miles at bridges,
large crowds waited
impatiently for buses
into Manhattan, and
tempers ared in gas
lines.
BEIRUTSyrian rebels killed
78 soldiers on Thursday, about
half of them in attacks on mili-
tary checkpoints in the north just
hours after a wave of bombings
hit the Damascus area, activists
said.
The unusually high toll for
regime forces came after days
of intense air bombardment of
rebel positions around the coun-
try that killed hundreds more.
Anti-regime activists say
President Bashar Assads regime
has been making even heavier
use than before of airstrikes to
try to win back territory rebels
have captured, including the
strategic northern city of Maaret
al-Numan on a key supply route
from the capital Damascus to
the commercial hub of Aleppo.
Rebels have been using the city
as a base to disrupt government
supplies to Aleppo, a key front
in the civil war.
After many rounds of failed
diplomatic efforts to ease the
Syrian crisis, the US is making
a push to unite the opposition,
which is dominated by exiles
widely seen as ineffective and
out of touch with rebel ghters
on the ground.
Ahead of a crucial opposition
conference in Qatar next week,
US Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton called Wednes-
day for a major leadership over-
haul. She suggested Washington
would handpick more represen-
tative leaders, including those
ghting the regime.
The Obama administration
and the main opposition group in
exile, the Syrian National Coun-
cil, have become increasingly
critical of each other. The SNC
says the Obama administration,
unwilling to intervene militarily
or arm the rebels, has failed to
chart a path forward. AP
KARACHIAt the only
morgue in Pakistans largest
city lie the blackened remains
of 32 people killed in one of the
worst industrial accidents in the
countrys history, wrapped in
white plastic body bags waiting
for DNA tests to determine who
they are.
That means an excruciating
waitso far more than a month
for families whose relatives are
believed to have been killed but
have not been accounted for.
One of those in the morgue
may be the daughter-in-law of
Aisha Bano. Banos son and
his wife both were working as
stitching machine operators in
the warehouse-factory producing
jeans and other clothes when it
was ravaged by a Sept. 11 blaze.
The son is known to have died.
His wife is still missing.
Bano says her grandchildren
have continuous nightmares about
their missing mother, dreaming
that shes trying to get home.
Almost every midnight one
of them wakes me up to tell me
somebody is outside the house
calling their names and plead-
ing to open the door, said Bano,
tears rolling down her cheeks.
The re horried Karachi, and
residents are still struggling to
deal with the extent of the trag-
edy. According to ofcial gures,
259 workers died in the re, but
there are indications the toll may
be even higher. The inferno laid
bare the dangerous conditions at
some Pakistani factories, as well
as the limitations of facilities in
this port city of more than 18 mil-
lion people. AP
BOGOTAA suitcase bomb ex-
ploded near a town square where
5,000 children were celebrating
Halloween, killing two suspected
bombers and injuring 37 people,
including two boys who were
hospitalized in critical condition
Thursday, authorities said.
The two dead were suspected
members of a drug-trafcking
band allied with rebels from
the leftist Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, or FARC,
said the regional police chief,
Col. Nelson Ramirez.
They were carrying the suitcase
on a bicycle two blocks from the
central square of Pradera, in Valle
del Cauca state, where more than
5,000 children had gathered, said
town security chief Carlos Leyn-
ton. The bomb apparently went
off prematurely.
He said seven of the injured
were hospitalized, including the
9- and 11-year-old boys who suf-
fered head injuries and were rushed
in critical condition to the regional
capital of Cali. Fourteen children in
all were reported injured.
It was chaos, horrible, said
Alba Nelly, a 45-year-old house-
wife who was slightly injured in
the blast, which struck as she sat
by her door diagonal to the square
with her 22-year-old paraplegic
daughter.
We were celebrating Hallow-
een and my daughter was giving
out candy to people who passed
by, she told The Associated
Press by phone.
Ramirez speculated the bombs
intended target was Praderas po-
lice station, which is a block from
where the explosives detonated.
He said such bombs are typically
triggered by cellphones. Leynton
announced an $11,000 reward for
those behind the action. AP

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