Manila Standard Today - May 22, 2012 Issue

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God, truth
my source
of strength
Corona
House amenable
to clip powers
of Ombudsman
Sotto alarmed by foreign meat dumping
Amb. Lhuillier robbed of $38m in jewelry
Palace to blame
communists if
peace talks fail
UN report:
Pinoys top
shabu users
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Next page
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A UNITED Nations report say-
ing Filipinos are the top users of
the illegal drug shabu or crack in
East Asia has moved a lawmaker
to le a resolution seeking an in-
vestigation into it.
This is a serious matter
that we must face head on,
says House Resolution 2331
authored by Quezon City Rep.
Winston Castelo.
Even if the rating may not
be that accurate, this matter
must be looked into.
The United Nations World
Drug Report says 2.1 percent
By Joel E. Zurbano
SENATE Majority Floor
Leader Vicente Sotto said
Monday he was alarmed
by reports that the United
States and some European
countries were dumping their
growing surpluses of grain,
milk products and meat into
Third-World countries in-
cluding the Philippines.
Pork industry data
show the hogs sector alone
loses around P3.2 billion
monthly from the unfair
competition from imported
pork, Sotto said.
For the rst quarter of
2012, chicken imports al-
ready reached 30.65 mil-
lion kilos compared to only
67.26 million kilos for the
entire 2009. The total chick-
en imports for the entire
2011 reached 127.22 million
kilos.
BURGLARS broke into the
apartment of a Filipino diplo-
mat in Paris last week and stole
$38 million worth of jewelry
and gems in a safe, Foreign Af-
fairs said on Monday.
The thieves broke in through
a window and used a grinder to
open the safe of Ambassador to
Portugal Philippe Jones Lhuil-
lier, said a senior ofcial who
asked not to be named because
they were still waiting for of-
cial word from Paris.
French police are still in-
vestigating the case, the of-
cial said.
Lhuillier was ambassdor to
Italy for 11 years. He assumed
his post in Portugal in March.
He is the son of a former
French honorary consul to the
Philippines and is the owner
of the Lhuillier chain of pawn-
shops in the Philippines. He is
known as a gem collector.
The ofcial said the thieves
also stole vases, watches and
other valuables from Lhuilliers
apartment. Eric Apolonio
By Rey E. Requejo
SINCE day one of his impeachment
trial, Chief Justice Renato Corona has
been steadfast in facing the allegations
against him, and the people close to him
say that is so because he ghts for what
is right.
He insists that his battle is no lon-
ger his alone as it is linked to the
quest of the farmers of Hacienda Lu-
isita, which is owned by the family
of President Benigno Aquino III, to
own the land they are tilling. He be-
lieves his impeachment is Palaces
retaliation for the Supreme Court
ruling ordering the distribution of
the 4,915.75-hectare sugar estate to
6,296 farmers.
Corona says his ght has also become
a ght for the judiciarys independence
and against the creeping dictatorship
By Maricel V. Cruz
HOUSE leaders on Monday said they were open
to proposals to clip the powers of the Ombuds-
man, including his or her power to look into the
bank accounts of public ofcials.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he had
agreed to such a proposal after Ombudsman
Conchita Carpio Morales produced documents
detailing the alleged transactions by Chief Jus-
tice Renato Corona that she said came from the
Anti-Money Laundering Council.
All of these are happening for the rst time,
Belmonte said.
Some senator-judges in Coronas impeach-
ment trial have asked how Morales obtained the
Coronas supposed records without a court order.
They say the same powers could be used against
other people that the administration perceives as
its enemies.
Opposition lawmakers have said the Om-
budsmans actions are clear proof of a conspir-
acy among government agencies to persecute
Corona.
By Joyce Pangco Paares
MALACAANG on Monday said the leaders of
the Communist Party of the Philippines and the Na-
tional Democratic Front will have no one to blame
but themselves if the peace negotiations fail.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said
their demand for the release of certain rebels
without a new list of people covered by the joint
agreement on safety and immunity guarantees
was the reason the peace talks had stalled for 15
months now.
As much as we try to push the CPP-NDF-
NPA [New Peoples Army] to the negotiating
table, they have insisted on the release of certain
personnel which they claim to be their own in the
absence of the Jasig list, Lacierda said.
We cannot rely on the statements of the CPP-
NDF-NPA on the number of people, the names
of the personnel that they want released in the
absence of the list.
That is the sole and only reason why we have
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III
met with Iglesia Ni Cristo leader
Eduardo Manalo Monday morning
to tell him and his group why the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice
Renato Corona was necessary, his
spokesman said.
The meeting came amid reports
that the inuential religious group
had been lobbying for Coronas ac-
quittal, Edwin Lacierda said.
We conrm that the President met
with Ka Eduardo, Lacierda said.
And if you are going to ask me
if the impeachment was discussed,
yes, the impeachment was discussed
because it is one of the burning is-
sues of the day.
The President explained to Ka
Eduardo the reasons for the im-
peachment, that this is part of his
reform agenda.
Lacierda made his statement even
as Corona brushed aside a report that
the Iglesia had been lobbying for his
acquittal with some senators.
I dont know about that, Co-
rona told reporters.
Their ofcials already said that
they do not involved themselves in
politics, so Im not very sure about the
accuracy of that report.
Day of reckoning begins
Walang kakabaka-
ba [Without fear],
Corona said in a brief
interview after a special
mass at the Supreme
Court when reporters
asked him if he was ready
to defend himself against
the charges against him.
Corona said he met
with his lawyers last week
to prepare for his appear-
ance today, which the
senator-judges have
described as a day
of reckoning for
the chief
magistrate.
Corona
said he
was pre-
pared to answer the charge
of Ombudsman Conchita
Carpio-Morales that he had
82 dollar-denominated ac-
counts with a transactional
balance amounting to $10
million, spread out over ve banks as of last
year, and supposedly based on the records
provided by the Anti-Money Laundering
Council without a required court order.
The defense on Monday vowed that
Chief magistrates testimony a make-or-break stand
Senator-judges may hand down verdict by May 31
TODAY
Standard
Manila
Vol. XXVI No. 81 12 Pages, 2 Sections
P18.00 TUESDAY, May 22, 2012
www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com
AQUINO EXPLAINS CJ TRIAL TO IGLESIA HEAD
Courtesy call. President Aquino welcomes
Alderman David Wootton, Lord Mayor of the City
of London, in Malacaang. Behind Wootton is
British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen
Lilie. The Filipino ofcials standing beside Mr.
Aquino are Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del
Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and
Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo.
Next page
Next page Next page
United we stand. Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, his wife Christina and
daughter Carla join hands in prayer during a Mass at the Supreme Court on the eve of his testi-
mony before the Senate impeachment court. DANNY PATA
Philippe Jones Lhuillier
Hot seat. Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona
will occupy this seat when he testies during his im-
peachment trial today.
By Rey E. Requejo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel Cruz
CHIEF Justice Renato Corona said Monday he was
ready to face the impeachment court today with con-
dence and without hesitation.
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com MAY 22, 2012 TUESDAY
A2
Gross domestic product in-
creased 0.3 percent in the three
months through March from a
year earlier, after contracting a re-
vised 8.9 percent in the previous
quarter, the National Economic
and Social Development Board
said in Bangkok Sunday. The me-
dian of 18 estimates in a Bloom-
berg News survey was for a 0.5
percent decline.
Bank of Thailand Governor
Prasarn Trairatvorakul said this
month the monetary authority will
refrain from further rate cuts be-
cause the pace of recovery is ex-
ceeding its expectations, even as
Europes debt woes and higher oil
prices pose risks to growth. Manu-
facturers are boosting output after
the countrys worst oods in almost
70 years shut plants and disrupted
production, with Honda Morot
Co. saying March 31 its factory in
Ayutthaya province will run at full
capacity to meet rising demand.
The post-ood rebound is pro-
gressing nicely, with a stronger-
than-expected rebound likely to
keep Bank of Thailand focused on
future ination risk, said Sacha
Tihanyi, a senior currency strate-
Thailand recovers after oods
THAILANDS economy unexpected-
ly expanded in the rst quarter as facto-
ries resumed production and domestic
consumption revived after last years
oods. The baht rose.
gist in Hong Kong at Scotiabank, a
unit of Bank of Nova Scotia. We
are going to see recovery ramp up.
However, its not going to be at
such a massive rate of growth.
The baht rose 0.5 percent against
the dollar as of 11:50 a.m. local time,
the strongest level since May 14, ac-
cording to data compiled by Bloom-
berg. The SET Index fell 1 percent.
The central bank left borrowing
costs unchanged for a second meet-
ing on May 2 and later raised its
growth forecast for 2012 to 6 per-
cent. The International Monetary
Fund said this month that Thailand
should be ready to raise interest rates
and exit scal stimulus when the
economic recovery strengthens.
Asian nations face risks stemming
from Greeces inability to form a
new government after an incon-
clusive election that could deepen
Europes debt crisis, adding to chal-
lenges from a China growth slow-
down and an uneven US recovery.
Weak European demand is par-
ticularly troubling for countries
including Singapore and Thailand,
where exports make up the equiv-
alent of half or more of gross do-
mestic product.
Capacity utilization and exports
will pick up in the second quarter
as more companies recover after
the oods, Arkhom Termpittay-
apaisith, secretary-general of the
National Economic & Social De-
velopment Board said at a media
brieng in Bangkok.
Auto and electronics sector will
return to full capacity and that will
boost growth in the second quarter,
he said. Growth may be 4 percent
to 5 percent and will pick up speed in
the third and fourth quarter, he said,
adding that the agency is maintain-
ing its growth forecast for this year
at 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
The recovery is still mild, he
said, adding that the central bank
must ensure monetary policy re-
mains supportive to the econo-
my, by either cutting or holding
interest rates.
Thai Finance Minister Kittiratt
Na-Ranong said last week the
country could achieve 15 percent
exports growth this year. Car pro-
duction rose 11 percent to a record
190,935 units in March from a
year earlier, with sales jumping
19.3 percent, the Federation of
Thai Industries said last month.
Ination slowed in April to the
lowest in more than two years on
state subsidies and easing food
prices, the Commerce Ministry said
May 1. While industrial output and
exports fell in March, consumer
condence and business sentiment
bounced back. Bloomberg
ILOILO CITYThe military
boosted its image here following its
participation in a community-based
dialogue to promote human rights.
The Commission on Hu-
man Rights and the civil society
groups, which joined the one-day
dialogue, praised the Third Infan-
try Division for sharing its views
and experiences with them.
The participants were so im-
pressed with the dialogue that
they and its organizers agreed to
replicate it in the Visayas, partic-
ularly inIloilo, Negros Oriental
and Eastern Samar.
The dialogue was spearhead-
ed by the non-prot organiza-
tion Hanns Seidel Foundation of
Germany, which has been push-
ing for democracy, peace and
development around the world.
The project was initiated in
partnership with the Commission
on Human Rights, the Alternative
Law Group, the Ninoy and Cory
Aquino Foundation, the Armed
Forces and the National Police.
Third Infantry Division head
Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. af-
rmed the Armys commitment to
protect human rights at all times.
We in the [Armed Forces],
particularly in the Philippine
Army, have no doubt that lasting
peace can be achieved with our
partnership in promoting human
rights, Mabanta said.
Military
praised
for dialog
Aquino...
Lacierda said it was Mr.
Aquino who sought the
meeting with Manalo at the
groups headquarters in Com-
monwealth, Quezon City.
He said there was nothing
wrong about the timing of the
private meeting between
Mr. Aquino and Manalo,
which came a day before the
chief magistrate was to take
the witness stand today, Tues-
day, at the Senate impeach-
ment court.
Lacierda said Mr. Aquinos
meeting with Manalo was al-
ready being scheduled as ear-
ly as before Holy Week, but
it was only on Monday that
their schedules jibed.
I would not have details
on that, Lacierda said when
asked if the President was
able to secure some assurance
from the Iglesia that it will not
move to convince the senator-
judges to acquit Corona.
The purpose of the Presi-
dent is to touch base with
his supporters, and you dont
need to get the support right
now [on Coronas impeach-
ment].
The decision is not being
made by the President. Hes
not going to rule on the fate
of the chief justice. Its going
to be the senators who are go-
ing to rule on the fate of the
Chief Justice. Joyce Pangco
Paares and Rey E. Requejo
God...
of the President who, he says, wants
to take control of the high court.
Supreme Court spokesman Jose
Midas Marquez believes that the
strength shown by Chief Justice
Corona in facing his accusers
head on could be attributed to his
prayerful nature. He is also draw-
ing strength from his family and
his supporters in the judiciary.
The deep abiding faith of CJ Co-
rona to God and the Coronasstrong
family ties became evidently mani-
fest in the last few days prior to his
scheduled testimony, Marquez told
the Manila Standard.
Coronas wife and children have
always been at his side. They have
been together in all the Novena
Masses held at the Supreme Court
and intended for his acquittal.
I am very lucky to have a lov-
ing and strong partner in life, from
whom I am getting my strength
and inspiration, he said in one of
his speeches to his supporters.
Mrs. Corona has said her family
will always be behind her husband.
We just pray, she told report-
ers when asked how the fam-
ily had been coping with her hus-
bands impeachment.
We know everything will be
okay because we know he has not
done anything wrong.
His family aside, Corona also
has the backing of judges and
court employees. In December
last year, hundreds of judges and
court employees stepped out of
their courts in Metro Manila and
trooped to the Supreme Court
building in Manila to demonstrate
their support for him.
Catholic prelates, including re-
tired Archbishop Oscar Cruz and
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles,
have given Corona their blessings.
Hundreds of Iglesia Ni Cristo rallied
behind him in February.
Marquez said Monday he was
condent their chief would hurdle
the impeachment trial after taking
the witness stand today.
I am certain that his wide
knowledge of the law will be read-
ily seen as he testies, he said.
Sotto...
Sotto and Senators Lito La-
pid and Francis Pangilinan have
called for an investigation of the
people said to be smuggling pork
and chicken into the country and
killing off local producers.
Sotto made his statement even
as a Customs ofcial said all in-
bound shipments declared as fat,
offal skin would be inspected to
prevent the smuggling of prime
cuts of meat
Fernandino Tuason, Customs
Intelligence and Investigation
Service director, said he had or-
dered his men to continue moni-
toring all reefer vans to prevent
dishonest traders from bringing
in smuggled pork and chicken.
He said he gave the order af-
ter local meat producers claimed
that meat importers had been de-
claring prime cuts of meat as fat,
offal and skin to avoid paying
higher taxes.
Hog raisers claim that 87 million
kilograms of meat worth more than
P14 billion were illegally brought
into the country last year.
I dont know where they got
that gure, but I will go to the
Ofce of the Commissioner to
discuss this matter, Tuason said.
Pangilinan, chairman of the
Senate committee on agriculture
and food, told the panel to do
something to avert the pork and
chicken holiday being threatened
by growers as a result of their claim
that imported pork and chicken are
ooding the wet markets.
Local meat producers claim
that the prices of local meat in
the country have plunged as
imported and undervalued meat
products are ooding the mar-
ket, Pangilinan said.
Customs Commissioner Ruffy
Biazon said he had ordered the
inspection of all imported meat.
I want them to strike fear in
the hearts of those who bring il-
legal importations, Biazon said.
All importations of frozen
meat, poultry, agricultural and
sh products loaded in refriger-
ated container vans shall be sub-
jected to preliminary physical
examination.
UN...
of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 use
shabu, and that the gure is
the highest in East Asia.
The report cites a report
by the Philippine Drug En-
forcement Agency saying
that from January to October
2011, police seized 250 ki-
lograms of shabu worth $68
million (about P2.92 billion)
and conscated 818 kilograms
of marijuana, 17,222 grams of
cocaine, and 960 tablets of the
drug Ecstacy worth $17.4 mil-
lion, $2 million and $26,790,
respectively.
The UN report says 8,491
suspects were arrested and
9,995 cases were filed in
court. Those cases account-
ed for almost 30 percent of
the pending court cases in
Metro Manila, meaning 30
percent of the cases were
drug-related.
Castelos resolution says the
main nanciers of shabu traf-
cking are still Chinese orga-
nized crime groups, and that
West African drug syndicates
are operating in Northern Lu-
zon and in other Southeast
Asian countries.
It is high time for a multi-
sectoral probe cum dialogue
to run a so-called SWOT
Analysis (Strength, Weak-
nesses, Opportunities, Threats
Analysis) to better understand
the seriousness of this drug
trafcking problem, the reso-
lution says.
The growing sophistica-
tion in the operations of drug
syndicates also dictates that
the State counter their opera-
tions with even more vigor-
ous and equally sophisticated
means, backed up by appro-
priate policies and statutes.
Maricel Cruz
House...
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evar-
done, convener of the so-called
Movement 188 that pushed for
Coronas impeachment, said the
efforts to amend the Constitution
could be used as an avenue to re-
visit the Ombudsman Act. He said
they were also looking into the
possibility of reviewing the the
Supreme Courts powers.
We should include the review
of the vast powers of the Supreme
Court, specically its power to
revise all acts of the Executive
based on grave abuse of discre-
tion. To me, this is also very
dangerous and open to possible
abuse, Evardone said.
After Carpio Morales testi-
mony, Ako Bicol party-list Rep.
Rodel Batocabe, said he sup-
ported the proposal to review the
Ombudsmans powers.
Negros Oriental Rep. Albee
Benitez said he favored more
safeguards against abuse, not a
curtailment of powers.
Gabriela Rep. Luzvimida Ila-
gan agreed.
Those powers are there pre-
cisely to go after corrupt public
ofcials, she said.
What is there to be afraid of
if they are not doing anything
wrong? Corruption will ourish
with impunity when we weaken
the watchdog.
Palace...
not moved on in the peace talks. It is not
because of the government. It is because of
the CPP-NDF-NPA.
In July last year, the government panel
went to Utrecht to verify the Jasig list and
found that the safety deposit box contained
not individual photographs but encrypted
diskettes that could no longer be read. The
government refused an NDF proposal to re-
compose their list.
On Sunday, NDF peace panel spokesman
Fidel Agcaoili accused President Benigno
Aquino III of planning to terminate the
peace negotiations next year if not earlier.
Agcaoili said the President, whom he called
a hypocrite, was blocking both the regular
track and the special track of the peace talks
offered by the communist group.
[Aquino] exposes himself as the hypo-
crite who pays lip service to peace, Ag-
caoili said.
He is not at all interested in serious
peace negotiations but only in demanding
the surrender and pacication of the revo-
lutionary forces and people.
Agcaoilis accusations come at a time
when the government has expressed open-
ness to the special track being offered by
the CPP-NDF.
Government chief negotiator Alexander
Padilla had earlier indicated that the ad-
ministration might allow the creation of
an advisory group composed of CPP-NDF
members.
Padilla said an alliance with the commu-
nist group was acceptable as long as it did not
mean a coalition government or the offering
of Cabinet posts to key CPP-NDF ofcials.
In a recent interview with Bombo Radyo,
Mr. Aquino said the communist group
should show sincerity in the peace negotia-
tions, citing the continuing communist at-
tacks in the countryside.
The President also questioned the special
track being offered by CPP founding chair-
man Jose Maria Sison, saying there were
too many conditions being attached to the
proposal.
Day...
the whole world will know the
truth from the chief justice when
he testies today.
The chief justice will take the
stand not just to defend himself but
most importantly to preserve our
democracy and to uphold judicial
independence, his lawyers said in
a statement.
Earlier, Corona expressed con-
dence he would be acquitted.
See you next year, he said, ad-
dressing his critics who vowed to
le a new impeachment complaint
in a year if Corona is acquitted by
the Senate.
Hundreds of Court employees
expressed their support for their
embattled chief in a Mass cel-
ebrated by Archbishop Ramon Ar-
guelles of Lipa City.
In a caucus Monday, the senator-
judges voted 13-10 to honor a Su-
preme Court temporary restraining
order on the release of documents
detailing Coronas alleged foreign
exchange deposits.
Senator Francis Escudero
described Coronas testimony
today as a make or break ap-
pearance but could not say which
way the Senate impeachment
court would go.
We cant tell how each and ev-
eryone will vote, he said, but ac-
knowledged that Carpio Morales
testimony last week might delay
the passage of a bill giving the
Anti-Money Laundering Council
more power.
Escudero said the Senate was
eager to nish the trial and hand
down a verdict by May 31.
The Senate agreed that Corona
would be allowed to deliver an
opening statement if he wished.
He should be given the chance
to say his piece before questions
are propounded to him in open
court, Escudero said.
After his direct testimony, Co-
rona will be cross-examined by
the members of the prosecution
panel. The defense will then have
the opportunity to do a re-direct,
and the prosecution the option to
do a re-cross.
When there are no more ques-
tions from both sides, the senator-
jurors will be afforded the oppor-
tunity to ask questions of Corona,
Escudero said.
Senate President Juan Ponce
Enrile, who sits as the presiding
judge, will also be able to ask
questions.
As Corona is the last witness,
the trial will end shortly after his
testimony, but the senator-judges
might opt to vote on the verdict
several days later, Escudero said.
He said the voting will be held
at the Session Hall. Each senator-
judge will say Aye or Nay,
and given two minutes to explain
his or her vote.
Escudero said all the senators-
judges needed to vote on Articles
2, 3 and 7 of the Articles of Im-
peachment, but if the chief justice
was found guilty in one article,
the court might agree to no longer
vote on the others because convic-
tion on any of the charges would
be enough to remove him from
ofce.
Senate Minority Floor Leader
Alan Peter Cayetano said if the
Senate could not get the required
2/3 voteor 16 votesto convict,
Corona would be acquitted.
He may walk away free from
the impeachment, he said.
Senate Majority Floor Leader
Vicente Sotto III said the two-
minute rule would be strictly
followed. He reminded his col-
leagues to remain calm and ob-
serve sobriety in asking ques-
tions of Corona, who should be
accorded the utmost respect.
He said the Senate was eager to
end the trial after Coronas testi-
mony, but acknowledged that this
could last longer than one day.
Article 2 of the impeachment ar-
ticles accuses Corona of failing to
disclose his statement of assets, li-
abilities and net worth as required
by the Constitution.
Article 3 accuses him of allow-
ing the Supreme Court to ip-op
on its decisions, being inuenced
by his wifes appointment to a
government ofce, and discussing
pending cases with litigants.
Article 7 accuses Corona of
favoring former President Glora
Macapagal-Arroyo and her hus-
band when the Court issued a
temporary restraining order that
aimed to stop the government
from preventing their exit from
the country last year.
In a statement, Coronas de-
fense lawyers deplored how inde-
pendent constitutional bodies such
as the Ofce of the Ombudsman,
the Commission on Audit and the
Anti-Money Laundering Council
have been used for a political
vendetta against the chief justice.
House Majority Leader and
Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gon-
zales on Monday expressed con-
dence that the prosecution had the
required number of senator-judges
to convict Corona, and added that
there might not be a session to-
day as the lawmakers, including
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.,
would be attending the trial.
Gonzales told reporters he was
condent that the ve senators
from the Liberal PartyFranklin
Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph
Recto, Teosto Guingona III and
Sergio Osmenawere sure to
vote to convict Corona in support
of President Aquino.
Gonzales declined to say why
the leader of the prosecution team,
Iloilo Rep. Neil Tupas Jr., would
not handle Coronas cross exami-
nation.
That job will instead go to pri-
vate prosecutors Mario Bautista
and Arthur Lim.
Navotas City Rep. Tobias
Tiangco, a former administra-
tion ally who split with the
President over the impeach-
ment, said he hoped the im-
peachment court would decide
on the basis of due process, fair
play and the rule of law.
Any attempt to inject politics
into the Corona impeachment
will defeat the purpose in search-
ing for the truth and justice,
Tiangco said.
He said the senator-judges
should not succumb to the awe-
some pressures from the Palace.
Siquijor Rep. Orlando Fua, an
opposition member, lambasted
President Aquino for bringing the
impeachment issue and attacking
the chief justice before the public
and in media to unjustly secure a
conviction at all costs.
This will not do any good for
the country, Fua said.
Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Da-
tumanong, also of the opposition,
said th public would not accept a
decision based on hatred and po-
litical vendetta.
House Deputy Majority Leader
and Citizens Battle against Cor-
ruption Rep. Sherwin Tugna said
the Coronas impeachment em-
phasized that every public ofcial
should bear in mind that public of-
ce is a public trust.
Public ofcials are in the gov-
ernment to serve the people, not to
enrich themselves, Tugna told the
Manila Standard.
The impeachment process is
a mechanism of accountability
against high ofcials.
But Agham party-list Rep. An-
gelo Palmones, an administra-
tion ally, said the impeachment
process had become worrisome
due to the blatant disregard of the
countrys laws.
Maybe its a learning process
to perfect other laws, but the pro-
cess is very damaging to our jus-
tice system, Palmones said.
Security is expected to be tight
at the Senate today as Corona
takes the witness stand.
We intensied the procedure
for the security preparations since
its the chief justice who will be
coming here and we have been
hearing from a lot of people that
there will be demonstrations,
said Jose Balajadia Jr., Senate Ser-
geant-At-Arms.
Of course, we all expect that
from both sides, but we are ready
for that. We increased our forces to
address the demonstrations.
Balajadia said security person-
nel were prepared to protect Co-
rona as the chief magistrate would
not be allowed to bring all his
bodyguards inside the impeach-
ment court. With Joel E. Zurbano
MAY 22, 2012 TUESDAY
A3 News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com
IN BRIEF
Graft-busters poor showing bared
10 foreign ministers meet
Child labor manual out
More oil rms reduce prices
Manila twits US on gunboats
THE Department of Labor and Employment
on Monday issued a manual of procedures in
dealing with complaints against trafcking in
persons, illegal recruitment and child labor.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the
manual would serve as a standard operating
procedures in efforts to curb illegal and
predatory activities that take advantage of
job seekers and to strengthen its mechanism
against such menace.
Under Department Circular No. 02, she
said the manual also aimed to achieve
effective management of cases on trafcking
in persons, illegal recruitment and child labor
The manual, Baldoz said, would provide
guidelines to eld implementers of proper and
correct steps to be taken during receipt of case
and its preliminary evaluation; inspection,
surveillance, entrapment and arrest; case
conference and rescue operation in case a child/
children are victims; reintegration and after
care of victims; docketing; legal assistance
and counseling towards the ling of the case;
and in the existence of probable cause for the
ling of criminal and administrative case on
illegal recruitment, trafcking in persons, and
child labor. Vito Barcelo
TEN Foreign Affairs ministers from Turkey,
Finland, Qatar, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Austria,
Mexico, Switzerland and the Philippines will
participate in an informal high-level meeting
on the role of member-states in mediation at
the United Nations General Assembly in New
York on May 23.
The Philippines will be represented by
Secretary Albert del Rosario, the Foreign
Affairs department said.
The meeting will highlight the commitment
of the Philippines in the rule of law, and the
role of mediation in the settlement of dispute
and conict prevention and resolution.
It will build on the rst ever UNGA resolution
on mediation entitled Strengthening the Role of
Mediation in Peaceful Settlement of Disputes
and Conict Prevention and Resolution (A/
RES/65/283) discussions during the 66th
Session of the UNGA in 2011, and meetings in
and outside New York since the adoption of the
said resolution in June 2011.
The meeting will be addressed by Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser president of the
United Nations General Assembly with
UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon
presiding. Eric Apolonio
By Florante S. Solmerin
DEFENSE ofcials are hoping the second
Hamilton-class cutter that the government
will be buying from the U.S. Coast Guard
will still have its armaments, unlike the rst
gunboat that was delivered without its guns.
Military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo
Burgos Jr. said Armed Forces Chief of Staff
Gen. Jessie Dellosa and the Philippine Fleet
commander, Rear Admiral Luis Alano, went
to the US to accept the turnover of the P450-
million cutter in North Carolina.
Our chief of staff along with our eet
commander are on their way to North Caro-
lina for the turnover to the Philippine mili-
tary, Burgos said.
The Navy will also be sending a contin-
gent of sailors to the US to undergo train-
ing on how to operate the cutter that will be
renamed BRP Ramon Alcaraz upon its ar-
rival in the country on or before December
this year.
Burgos said that there is also a possibility
that Dellosa will maximize the trip to ne-
gotiate with the acquisition of a third cutter
from the US.
We are hoping also that part of the visit
will be the start of negotiations for the ac-
quisition of a third cutter, he said.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gaz-
min said they asked the US government to
leave the second cutters weapons systems
and requested that the weapons removed
from the rst gunboat be reinstalled on what
is now called the BRP Gregorio del Pilar.
Do-it-yourself. Public school teachers repair chairs and desks in Batasan Hills. The scene is replicated in many schools across the nation
amid hectic preparations for the school opening next month. MANNY PALMERO
The report showed that anti-
graft prosecutors were only
able to score eight convictions
out of the 78 cases disposed by
all of the ve divisions of the
anti-graft court.
The Sandiganbayan handed
down a total of 26 acquittals,
10 dismissals and sent some 15
cases to the archives over the
three-month period.
To add to the Ombudsmans
dismal performance the Ofce
of the Special Prosecutor which
is under the agencys control and
supervision withdrew 16 cases
pending before the anti-graft
court.
A majority of these cases
were led before the term
of former Supreme Court
Associate Justice Conchita
Carpio-Morales as the present
Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman led 70
cases before the anti-graft court
for the rst three months of 2012.
On the part of the
Sandiganbayan, the First
Division chalked up the highest
number of cases resolved at 32,
which was followed by 24 cases
by the Fifth Division for the
same period.
The Third Division, meanwhile,
was third with 15 cases disposed
of while the Second and Fourth
Divisions resolved six cases and
one case, respectively.
Last year, ofcials and
employees of local government
units and personnel of the
National Police topped the list
of the most number of cases
led before the Ofce of the
Ombudsman.
Figures released by the
anti-graft agencys Finance
and Management Information
Ofce showed that a total of
3,852 cases were led against
alleged erring LGU ofcials,
while 1,128 cases were led
against PNP personnel.
The Department of Education
(DepEd) came in third, with 562
cases led against its ofcials,
followed by the Philippine
Information Agency and the
Bureau of Internal Revenue at
490 and 416, respectively.
The rest of the contents of
the list are as follows: Armed
Forces of the Philippines, 304;
Bureau of Customs, 177; Dept.
of Environment and Natural
Resources, 155; Dept. of Social
Welfare and Development, 148;
Dept. of Justice, 98; Dept. of
Finance, 92; Dept. of Health,
87; Dept. of Public Works and
Highways, 86; Dept. of Agrarian
Reform, 81; Commission
on Higher Education, 57;
Commission on Election,
54; National Labor Relations
Commission, 48; Bureau of
By John Concepcion
If its performance were any indication,
the Ofce of the Ombudsman was off
to a dismal showing in the rst three
quarters of the year. It registered a
10.26 conviction rate from January to
March, according to gures released by
the Sandiganbayan.
By Alena Mae S. Flores
PETRON Corp., Pilipinas Shell Petroleum
Corp., Seaoil Philippines and Eastern
Petroleum Corp. followed the move of
Unioil Philippines and rolled back pump
prices by as much as P0.70 per liter effective
12:01 a.m. of May 22 to reect softening
world oil prices.
Petron and Seaoil sent separate advisories
announcing the lower price cut compared to
Unioil of P0.65 per liter for premium plus
unleaded, premium unleaded, unleaded and
regular gasoline, P0.40 per liter for kerosene
and P0.30 per liter for diesel.
This is to reect movements in the
international market, Petron said.
Shell, on the other hand, cut the price of
its regular gasoline by P0.65 per liter and
P0.60 per liter for premium plus unleaded,
premium unleaded and unleaded gasoline
but implemented the same price rollback
of P0.40 per liter for kerosene and P0.30
per liter for diesel, similar to Petron and
Shell.
Unioil on Sunday cut prices by P0.70
per liter for gasoline and P0.40 per liter for
diesel, triggering the third consecutive price
rollback for May. Eastern Petroleum cut
prices the same level as Unioil, effective
12:01a.m. on Tuesday.
Phoenix Petroleum Corp. also followed
suit but implemented a price cut of P0.60
per liter for its gasoline products and P0.30
per liter for diesel effective 6am Tuesday.
Oil rms currently sell premium plus
unleaded at P54.95 to P59.97 per liter,
premium unleaded at P49.95 to P58.16
per liter and regular gasoline to P49.45
to P56.95 per liter. Diesel now sells at
P42.20 to P46.20 per liter while kerosene
sells at P49 to P56.08 per liter, according
to the Energy Department. Prices vary
depending on the location of the station,
brand, market forces, among others.
Including the recent price rollback, total
price cuts as of May has reached P3.10 per
liter for premium gasoline, P3.20 per liter
for regular gasoline, P2.50 per liter for
diesel and P2 per liter for kerosene.
The Energy Department said in its
monitoring report that oil prices have been
falling due to concerns about the European
debt crisis, which is hurting economic
growth in the 17-nation euro zone and
dampening demand for products made by
manufacturers in China and the United
States.
Concerns are centered around Europe in a
recession and the negative impact it would
have on oil demand across the globe.
Oil prices were also pulled down by the
weaker- than-expected U.S. job growth in
April and pressure from weak industrial
production growth in China. Traders are
worried about the disappointing Chinese
economic data report, which showed at
its slowest pace in nearly three years and
indicating Chinas economy is showing
vulnerability to a global slowdown.
Fire Protection, 47; National
Bureau of Investigation,
45; and National Economic
Development Authority, 45.
Carpio-Morales
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 2601 to 2610 of the Tariff Commission and Customs Code
of the Philippines as amended, in relation to CAO 10-2007 dated November 28, 2007 and other
relevant Customs Memorandum Orders, there will be Public Auction Sale through Sealed Bidding
to be conducted by the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division, Port of Manila on:
May 26, 2012 (Friday)
Opening of Sealed bids : 1:45 P.M.
Place : Auction Hall, 3
rd
Floor
Auction and Cargo Disposal Division
Port of Manila Building
Viewing of Merchandise will be available to all qualifed bidders on:
May 25, 2012 (Thursday)
In the event of a failed bidding, the second auction shall be conducted on the third business
day following the frst bidding, except as to perishable items/goods, which may be auctioned again
on the following business day. When at least two of the sealed bids submitted in an auction fall
within ten (10%) percent of the highest bid, the same should be above the foor price (clustering).
Those in the cluster shall immediately go into an open bidding with the highest sealed bid serving
as the new foor price of the lot being sold.
Sale Lot No. 40-2012
Cosignee: UNITRADE INDUSTRIAL MFG.
A. P. No. 2010-032
Floor Price: Php 135,900.00
More or less 720 bags x 25kgs/bag
(3,600 Bags Wheat Flour-devanned from 5
containers)
(Lumpy, with Musty & Moldy odor, with
Discoloration and for Animal (swine) Feeds Only)
Arrival Dates: August 25, 26, September 04, 08
& 09, 2009
AS IS WHERE IS
Location: Customs Security Warehouse, Block 159,
Gate, South Harbor
*Please see indicated conditions of sale
Consignee: UNITRADE INDUSTRIAL MFG.
A.P. No. 2010-032
More or Less 720 bags x 25kgs/bag
(Lumpy, with Musty & Moldy odor, with Discoloration and
for Animal (swine) Feeds Only)
*Arrival Dates: August 25,26, September 04,08 & 09, 2009
15 x 20 containers
CBHU3428946 CBHU 5777525 CBHU5511509
JTNU2491468 CBHU3728305 CBHU5911357
CBHU5835621 BMOU2266394 CBHU3743568
TGHU0072116 GFSU2559230 FCTU3634776
TGHU0099009 CBHU3759923 GVCU2171740
AS IS WHERE IS
Location: Container Yard-Asian Terminals, Inc., South Harbor
*Please indicated conditions sale.
A.P. No. 2010-032

(10,800 bags Wheat Flour
Arrival Dates: August 25, 26, September 04, 08 & 09, 2009
15x20 containers
FSCU7667057 CBHU5754999 CAXU6729668
JPXU3324723 PSCU7782106 CBHU3181413
CBHU3233543 CBHU3266423 CBHU3368390
CBHU3397871 CBHU3401101 CBHU3406150
CBHU3410309 CBHU3626957 CBHU3648750
AS IS WHERE IS
Location: Container Yard Asian Terminals, Inc. South Harbor
A.P. No. 2010-032
Floor Price: Php407,700.00
More or Less720 bags x 25kgs/bag
Arrival Dates: August 25,26, September 04,08 & 09, 2009
15x20 containers
CBHU3694360 CBHU3772041 CBHU3832855
CBHU3881335 CBHU5619941 CBHU5652364
CBHU5801555 CBHU5855438 TTNU2740004
CBHU5980770 DFSU2095138 DFSU2217262
FSCU7701568 GESU3323681 GLDU3470760
AS IS WHERE IS
Location: Container Yard Asian Terminals, Inc. South Harbor
A.P. No. 2010-032
Floor Price: Php407,700.00
More or Less720 bags x 25kgs/bag
Arrival Dates: August 25,26, September 04,08 & 09, 2009
15x20 containers
GVCU2117436 INBU3845361 JFXU3119781
IPXU3364006 IPXU3495789 IPXU3565187
TCKU2429211 TCKU3534644 TGHU0133058
TGHU2476225 TGHU2893018 TTNU1642575
TTNU1696150 TTNU1758144 TTNU1924080
AS IS WHERE IS
Location: Container Yard Asian Terminals, Inc.
South Harbor
Note: To qualify bidders must have of the following:
1. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) should furnish the
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) list of propective
bidders;
2. The prospective bidder shall present a current
License to Operate (LTO) as non-commercial
feed manufacturing with swine population only
(affdavit of swine population should be attached)
3. The bidder should be the direct end-user;
4. Bidder shall submit a notarized affdavit stating
that they will take the risk on the auction item;
5. ABAI inspector/representative should be present
during the bidding;
6. The Wheat Fl our shal l not be di stri buted
commercially;
7. This shall not be sold or used for human
consumption by the end-user;
8. The schedule of use of the Wheat Flour shall be
given to the BAI Animal Feeds Standard Division
(AFSD) for periodic monitoring of its utilization;
9. The BAI recommends inclusion of toxin binders,
atin-oxidate and acidifers to inhibit the growth of
bacteria, other mycotoxins and contaminants; and
10. Portions of the Wheat Flour which are lumpy with
musty and moldy odor shall not be utilized.

Basic Guidelines:
1. Filing/submission of all participants (whether natural or juridical) accomplished & duly notarized
Bidders Information Form, certifed true copy of Income and Business Tax Returns duly stamped
and received by the Bureau of Internal Revenue with a validated tax payment made thereon
and other documents such as ID, Community Tax Certifcate, Business Permits, Certifcate of
Registration of Business Name issued by the Department of Trade and Industry or Securities
and Exchange Commission and the above-mentioned requirements at least not later than two
(2) days prior to the day of auction.
2. Payments of Php 2,000.00 Registration Fee (non-refundable)
3. Posting of a duly receipted bond in cash or managers check in an amount equivalent to 20%
of the foor price for each sale lot. The bond shall be refunded to the losing bidder after the
closing of the auction. The bond shall not, however be required when the foor price of a sale
lot is less than Php 10,000.00
4. Registration with the Chief, ACDD to b e flled one (1) day before the date of actual bidding;
thereafter, registration is closed.
5. At the end of each bidding, the highest bidder shall be required to pay in cash/managers check
equivalent to ffty percent (50%) of the bid price on the spot upon announcement of the winning
bid. The remaining balance shall be paid on the succeeding business day.
6. Payment with Managers Check to the Bureau of Customs Port of Manila must be:
a. Pay to the Order of the Bureau of Customs Port of Manila
b. For the account of the winning bidder
For further details, please contact Atty. Marichelle DT. De Vera, Acting Chief, Auction and Cargo
Disposal Division, Port of Manila, Tel Nos. 528-6000 loc. 459 or 917-3331.
ATTY. ROGEL C. GATCHALIAN
District Collector
Port of Manila
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Fi nance
BUREAU OF CUSTOMS
PORT OF MANI L A
Customs District II-A
South Harbor, Manila
NOTI CE OF PUBLI C AUCTI ON
(MST-May 22, 2012)
Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com MAY 22, 2012 TUESDAY
A4
MANY have looked forward to this day,
the climax of the entire impeachment
exercise. Chief Justice Renato Corona
will take the witness stand and defend
himself against the myriad of accusations
hurled at him by the Malacaang-backed
prosecution team.
The defense says its client is ready,
and that he will not be distracted by the
peripheral issues that his critics have
thrown at him.
The defense has had to fend off
distractions itself. Over the weekend, there
were reports that at least two of its members
have resigned from the team resigned, it
was made to appear, to the hopelessness of
their case. The reports were soon proven
false as the defense lawyers categorically
denied abandoning ship. They also said
Mrs. Cristina Corona, the wife of the
chief magistrate, is not going anywhere,
contrary to reports she has booked a ight
out of the country.
Another rumor was that the inuential
religious group Iglesia ni Cristo was
lobbying the senator-judges of the United
Nationalist Alliance coalition, or those who
want to be included in that groups slate for
next years senatorial polls. The coalitions
secretary-general, Tobias Tiangco, has also
denied such accusations.
All these emerged after last weeks
testimony of Ombudsman Conchita
Carpio-Morales, who said that the Anti-
Money Laundering Council found that
Corona had 82 dollar accountsand damn
the implications that she, and the council,
might have violated the law in prying
open Coronas account without a waiver
from the chief justice or an order from the
court that has found probable cause for a
predicate crime. The prosecution says the
testimony was a game changer. The
other side says not just yet.
Everyone will be watching the chief
justice answer questions and rebut
allegations. We warn him against
deecting the issue and whining about how
the Palace has engineered his downfall
because of his perceived association with
former President Gloria Arroyo. He
must not talk about how other ofcials,
his accusers even, have committed the
same offenses he is being crucied for. In
time, the Filipino people will see through
the ploy and judge these other ofcials
accordinglylikely in the next elections.
He must be humble, dignied and, most
importantly, forthright. Did he or did he
not declare all his assets in his Statement
of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth? If he
did, end of story. If he did not, why?
For their part, the senator-judges
must drown out the noise and tame the
opportunist political animal inside of them.
They must decide only on the basis of how
both sides have established the guilt, or
innocence, of Mr. Corona during the trial.
These are the last, and most crucial,
days of this impeachment trial. We will be
relieved when its over, but even more so if
it is concluded well, whatever the verdict.
The homestretch will be remembered by
succeeding generations, and all the players
will be judged by history on how they
carried out their solemn duty.
Homestretch
Job Number One
EDITORIAL
Rooting for Jessica
A PENULTIMATE sprint for the gold
medal is the best way to describe the
much-awaited nal night this week of
American Idol, the popular amateur
singing competition on American TV, as
the 16-year-old darling of the Filipino and
Mexican communities, Jessica Sanchez,
squares off against likeable minimalist
Phillip Phillips for the top honors.
If she takes the title, Jessica will be
making history in three different ways,
as the very rst winner (i) whos only
sixteen, (ii) who has Asian or Latino
roots, and (iii) who had to be saved
by the judges earlier in the contesta
relatively new feature of this decade-
old show that serves to protect some
modicum of musicality against the
unpredictable tastes of the American
television audience.
Ive been following this show on
and off over the years, but this season is
special to me as a former Fil-Am, because
of Jessica. Its been fascinating to see
this dusky, diminutive girl grow from
one week to the nexther initial Asian
demureness giving way to more light-
hearted laughter and smiles as she gained
condence, her erratic fashion sense
wavering from California teeny-bopper
to Olongapo bar-girlsettling into
casual elegance, even her performances
improving by leaps and bounds as shes
learned to use that marvelous voice of
hers to project emotion and empathy in
addition to her instinctive virtuosity.
A show like AI , where individual
performers are voted on by the masses at
large, offers interesting insights into the
American psyche at any given moment.
As Jessica has fought her way to the top
of the heap this season, the following
observations can be made:
Race still matters. It was interesting
to see how veteran judge Randy Jackson
shed his usual impartiality this season
in order to lend subtle support to third-
placer Joshua Ledet. He would jump to
his feet to provoke standing ovations
by his fellow judges for the talented
R&B singer, and in last weeks show
he made sure to put down both Jessica
and Phillip at least once while uniformly
praising Joshua. I suspect that his
manipulativeness got to some of the
televiewers and may have contributed
to Joshuas elimination, reportedly by a
narrow margin.
Immigrants still have to try harder.
If both Joshua and Phillip were praised
as having peaked at the right timelate
in the contestit was largely because
Jessica had to battle her way through in
each and every show--tackling the most
difcult songs, called upon to create a
moment in every performance of hers,
pushed to plumb emotional depths that
will naturally be limited by the narrow
experience of any 16-year-old. In sharp
contrast, easy-going Phillip has coasted
all the way to the nals simply by being
the resident WGWG (white guy with
guitar).
In the end, its still the votes that
count. Perhaps unfairly to Joshua, I can
imagine the admirers of his substantial
talent just being overwhelmed by all
those teeny-boppers with nothing to do
except cast multiple votes for dreamboat
Phillip. The question now is whether
or not those teeny-boppers will nally
meet their match in what ought to be
an even more determined voting drive
on Jessicas behalf by televiewers who
know and appreciate surpassing talent
when they hear itled, of course, by
her natural constituents within her
ethnicities. I certainly hope that the
Mexican-American community will set
aside any resentments they may have
over Manny Pacquiao and give Jessica
the daughter they share with us--the all-
out support she deserves.
***
Another kind of prize is at stake
here at home, as the impeachment
trial promises to close this week with
testimony from the last witness, the
Chief Justice himself. We can only hope
that the Senate will offer him proper
protection if he agrees to disclose his
bank account balances even at the risk of
violating a Supreme Court TRO as well
as current banking laws.
What has struck me in the build-up to
this climactic event is the sheer volume
and viciousness of the rising crescendo of
black propaganda inundating us from the
Palace. The Chief Justice is resigning!
Hes turning state witness against GMA!
Mrs Corona is eeing the country! No
rumor is too outlandish or too vicious to be
excluded. Clearly, Maria and Ricky have
been busy earning their keep.
Whats going on in the media is a
pale, unsurprising reection of how
other institutions of oursmost recently,
the Ombudsman, COA, the AMLC--are
likewise being misused. It is remarkable,
the prodigious amount of sheer bile that
is being heaped on the Chief Justice
both within and outside the Senate halls.
I can only guess at the various reasons
that may be motivating the characters
responsible for this sordid behavior:
Cold-blooded calculation of the
political (LP electoral victory in 2013)
or nancial variety (Hacienda Luisita
valuation)
All-consuming self-righteousness
that is either moralistic (Black & White
movement) or ideologically inspired
(radical Left)
Obsession with revenge and a
psychological incapacity to empathize
with others, especially ones perceived
enemies
What a depressing litany this one is,
indeed.
gbolivar1952@gmail.com
THIS is what we learned in the two
years of the Aquino administration:
President Noynoy Aquinos bid to
remove and jail his political enemies
is the same as ghting corruption; this
strange brand of ghting corruption, in
turn, will somehow improve the lives
of Filipinos.
For nearly two years now, Aquino
has implemented this program. And
the economy and the lives of most
Filipinosthrough nearly all accepted
measureshave gone straight down
the toilet.
A f t e r
noynoying during
the rst year of
his term, Aquino
devoted the second
year to going after
his enemies. The
results, as survey
after survey and
economic metric
after economic
metric has shown,
is nothing short of
disaster.
Aquino has
already thrown
away two years of his term. By the
end of the next four, he may have no
political enemies left and we will
probably have descended to historic
and unplumbed depths of poverty,
hunger and joblessness.
* * *
Today, Chief Justice Renato Corona
nally gets to speak for himself in the
court that was convened only so that
the Aquino administration may destroy
him outside of it. Whatever Corona
says, however, has value to the people
sworn to get him only insofar as it can
be spun as self-incriminating.
Coronas trial in the Senate, after
all, was never expected by its initiators
in Malacaang Palace to get this far.
The real trial of the chief justice has
always been held in the supposed court
of public opinion, where the bulk of the
resources of the administration has been
expended: this is the reason for all the
fantastic, unfounded disclosures made
against Corona by the prosecution,
palace-friendly agencies, witnesses
and ofcials and the most incredible
of anonymous sources, to be dutifully
drummed up by the partisan media and
lapped up (Malacaang hopes) by the
unthinking, outraged public.
Will propaganda drown out the
truth? Will politically-motivated lies
funded by the massive resources of the
state triumph over fairness, the basic
rights of any accused and justice?
The coming days will tell, inside
and mostly outsidethe court.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Three Horsemen of
the Philippine Economic Apocalypse
poverty, hunger and unemployment
have arrived. But Aquino will still
not get distracted from his full-time job
of removing Corona.
Yesterday, the survey outt Social
Weather Stations released the latest of
its quarterly surveys on unemployment.
That SWS found surveyed joblessness
at an all-time high of 34.4 percent
was not at all surprising; a similar,
distressing and record-breaking trend
had already been recorded by SWS in
the related problems of poverty and
hunger.
As reported in the newspaper
BusinessWorld, the rst-quarter survey
conducted from March 10-13 involving
1,200 adults nationwide showed adult
unemployment at the equivalent to
about 13.8 million individuals. The
gure was 10 points more than the
24 percentor about 9.7 million
recorded in the December 2011 survey
and surpassed the previous record of
34.2 percent recorded in February
2009.
Earlier SWS surveys conducted
during the same period showed
the percentage
of respondents
e x p e r i e n c i n g
involuntary hunger
at least once in the
past three months
hit a new record
high of 23.8 percent,
or the equivalent of
4.8 million families.
In a similar poll,
those who rated
themselves poor
increased to 55
percent, equivalent
to some 11.1 million
families, up from
45 percent, or 9.1 million families, in
December.
Tackling those problems,
unfortunately, will have to wait. The
highest priority right now of Aquino
and his entire administration is
removing Corona from ofce.
Ahead of Coronas highly
anticipated testimony in his own
defense, the administration that
initiated the well-funded and
ubiquitous campaign to remove the
countrys chief magistrate cannot be
bothered to focus on anything outside
the Senate trial. That has been, for more
than half a year now, Job Number One.
* * *
Over the weekend, the leaders of the
House-led prosecution panel trooped
to Malacaang Palace for last-minute
instructions ahead of Coronas
testimony. And yesterday, Aquino
himself paid an unannounced visit to
the Iglesia ni Cristo headquarters in
Quezon City, in a last-ditch effort to
get leaders of the inuential religious
group to stop supporting the impeached
chief justice.
The attempts to disguise the
purpose of both meetings after the
fact turned out to be as embarrassing
as the revelation that they had taken
place. The prosecutors said they went
to the palace to get information on the
whereabouts of Mrs. Cristina Corona,
while palace spokesman Edwin
Lacierda said Aquino paid a visit to the
INC to discuss livelihood programs or
members of the church.
But people who know better
understand that the prosecution was not
asking about Mrs. Corona when it went
to the palace; more likely, the visit was
meant to seek last-minute instructions
from the instigator of the trial and for
logistics to implement them. And
Lacierdas whopper about livelihood
programs is probably only intended
to save his own job as spokesman,
because he would certainly have been
red if he had told the truth.
JOJO
A. ROBLES
LOWDOWN
GARY
OLIVAR
BYPASS
ROLANDO G. ESTABILLO Publisher
RAMONCHITO L. TOMELDAN Managing Editor
CHIN WONG/ RAY S. EANO Associate Editors
RALEIGH J. JALECO News Editor
JOEL P. PALACIOS City Editor
ROMEL J. MENDEZ Art Director
Published Monday to Saturday by Kamahalan Publishing Corporation at
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Manila
Standard
TODAY
CLIMACO E. CALIWARA Controller
ANITA F. GREFAL Treasury Manager
EDITH D. ANGELES Advertising Manager
EDGAR M. VALMORIDA Circulation Manager
ROGELIO C. SALAZAR President & CEO
The Three
Horsemen of
the Economic
Apocalypse
poverty, hunger and
unemployment
have arrived.
A5 Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com
THE question foremost in the minds
of people in connection with the
impeachment trial of Chief Justice
Renato Corona when he takes the
witness stand this afternoon is what
to expect.
Since the Chief Justice is being
presented as its last witness to rebut
all the charges thrown at him by the
House prosecutors and Dobermans
of the President passing themselves
off as senator-judges, Corona will
try to explain his alleged peso
and especially dollar accounts,
amounting to the ridiculous sum of
P677 million, and particularly why
he did not declare them in his SALN
or Statement of Assets, Liabilities an
networth.
The people,
especially the
senator-judges
p r e c i s e l y
wanted Corona
to testify on
these two issues
since pesos
and dollars are
assets that must
be declared in
the SALN of all
public ofcials
and employees.
A reading
of the
const i t ut i onal
provision on
account abi l i t y
in public ofce
has the word
shall, which
is mandatory
in nature and
under oath. On
this, the Chief
Justice will rise
or fall.
The Chief
Justice claims
he can explain everything. And the
defense also claims that contrary to
what the AMLC or the Anti-Money
Laundering Council gures used
by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio
Morales in connection with Coronas
dollar accounts totalling to some 82,
the Chief Justice has only ve. The
burden of proof now lies on the Chief
Justice.
In the light of the revelations made
by the Ombudsman in connection
with Coronas accounts there must,
however, two basic legal questions
that have to be resolved since the
defense may raise them to rebut
the claims of the AMLC and the
testimony of Morales.
The first question surrounds the
fact that there is a law on the absolute
confidentiality of foreign exchange
denominated bank accounts, which
can only be made public with a
waiver by the depositor himself,
or by a court order based on a
predicate crime. The Chief Justice
will certainly claim he did not
waive his right under the law, much
less was there a predicate crime that
would require a court order.
The Ombudsman and the
prosecution will claim that the SALN
which must be submitted every April
30 every year provides a waiver
by public ofcials and employees
authorizing the Ombudsman to
look into peso and foreign currency
denominated deposits in line with
accountability and transparency.
But, thats a grey area in law in
the wake of an existing law on the
absolute condentiality of dollar
deposits. As far as I am concerned,
in the light of an existing law on
the absolute condentiality of dollar
accounts, I believe that a waiver
cannot cover foreign currency
denominated deposits since the
powers of the Ombudsman, awesome
as they are now, could be abused and
used against political, enemies of an
administration.
And the fact that even senator-
judges are concerned about this power
of the Ombudsman and the AMLC
stresses the fear of witch hunting.
On the part of the prosecution
and senator-judges lawyering for
Malacaang the amounts, if really
does not matter how much the Chief
Justice has in his accounts, pesos or
otherwise, but on whether or not he
declared them in his SALN. If not,
the prosecution will say that Corona
committed culpable violation of the
Constitution.
I dont know how the impeachment
court will untangle this problem
of quandary, but, Santa Banana, to
me, its pivotal to the conviction or
acquittal of Corona.
Thats why believe that the
testimony of the Chief Justice may
take longer than expected in the light
of grey areas in law brought about
in the trial. It may even take a week
before all the cobwebs in the minds of
the 23 senator-judges will be cleared
of doubts on whos telling the truth.
Be that as it may, its well that the
Chief Justice is testifying since his
acquittal and conviction could depend
on how hell answer all questions.
***
President Aquino claims hes not
vindictive or vengeful. Come again,
was the President quoted correctly?
When the President assumed
ofce, what did he do? He created the
Truth Commission with Executive
Order No. 1 to investigate all alleged
wrongdoings during the Arroyo
administration- a commission which
was struck down by the Supreme
Court for being
selective and
unconstitutional.
Why have a
c o m m i s s i o n
aimed only
against the Arroyo
admi ni s t r at i on.
Isnt that being
vindictive?
When Gloria
sought medical
attention and
treatment abroad,
the President had
his Dobermans
prevent her from
taking despite a
TRO or Temporary
Restraining Order
issued by the
Supreme Court.
My gulay, dont
tell me that the
President was so
much enamored
by Gloria an
would miss her to
the point of having
his Doberman at
the department of
justice to defy the TRO to prevent
Gloria from leaving.
When Gloria appointed Corona as
Chief Justice, who did the President
chose to swear him into ofce. Not
Corona, but somebody like then
Associate Justice Morales, now
Ombudsman. That was not only
breaking a tradition that a President
should take his oath before the Chief
Justice, but an insult on the Chief
Magistrate.
Since then, the President
unleashed his lapdogs to have
the Chief Justice ousted, using
practically all agencies of
government-- the Land Registration
Authority, Solicitor Generals
Office, BIR, Ombudsman, AMLC
and Congress itselfto convict
Corona in a impeachment trial. My
gulay, the President must love the
Chief Justice so much that almost
everything else is being sacrificed
just to oust him.
***
I dont know if the Impeachment
Court will take into considerations
attempt of the prosecution and
Malacaang lapdogs to demonize
the Chief Justice by throwing almost
everything at him, including the
kitchen sink and toilet bowl so to
speak, trying to inuence the senator-
judges, and especially to convict
Corona before the Bar of Public
Opinion.
First, came the alleged 45
properties of the Chief Justice and
his wife among which are pricey
condominiums. It turned out later on
that it was the LRA that listed those
properties without batting an eye
with the prosecution jumping like
chimpanzees with glee.
Then, came those so-called peso
accounts supposedly given to the
prosecution by a small lady, and
accounts in PSBank coming from
somebody who just accidentally
dropped an envelop at a congressmans
gate. And we were regaled by a certain
Harvey Keh, who submitted unveried
papers that the Chief Justice had $10
million dollar accounts.
Santa Banana, to what extend
will Malacaang and its lapdogs go
to inuence the senator-judged and
solicit public opinion to have the
Chief Justice convicted, since the
ght of Corona is not only at the
Impeachment Court, but before the
Bar of Public Opinion.
As I have been saying all along,
since the Impeachment Court is
quasi-judicial and quasi-political,
acquittal or conviction of the Chief
Justice is being fought largely outside
of the trial court.
What to expect
in todays trial
Nothing but the truth
TODAY, Chief Justice Renato Corona
will appear before the impeachment
trial. He will swear to tell the truth and
nothing but the truth.
As an ordinary citizen who
has followed the impeachment
proceedings with objectivity and
interest, I hope the defense in their
direct examination; the prosecution
during cross-examination; and the
senators when it is their turn; would
ask the Chief Justice the following
questions:
Since you were appointed a Supreme
Court Justice, did you consistently
disclose in your Statement of Assets,
Liabilities and Networth (SALN)
all your income, assets, ad liabilities
including your bank accounts, peso
and foreign currency? Did you, by
intentional act or mistake, omit any
such income or asset?
Can you clarify to the impeachment
court the circumstances involving
the acquisition of certain pieces
of property, such as the Bellagio
condominium penthouse, Burgundy
Plaza, McKinley Hills, Bonifacio
Ridge Condominium, and the Columns
Condominium? Assuming that the
McKinley property is now owned by
your daughter Czarina, what is your
participation in its acquisition if any?
How would you explain the fact that
your daughter Ma. Carla Corona-
Castillo was able to buy an 18 million-
peso property from your wife Cristina
despite only having a monthly taxable
income of 8,478 pesos as testied to
by Commissioner Henares of the BIR?
Do you believe that there is no
transfer of ownership yet of the
Columns condominium since it has yet
to be formally accepted by the buyer
although it had already been paid for?
Assuming there was no formal transfer
of ownership for lack of acceptance
should the purchase price at least
been declared in the SALN for the
corresponding year?
How many active peso accounts do
you maintain, if any, and in what banks?
Assuming these accounts are extant,
have these been declared at any point in
time in your SALN? Is it true that three
of these peso accounts were closed on
the day you were impeached?
What was your role in the Basa-
Guidote sale and cases? Did you
use your inuence as a high-level
executive ofcial and later as a Justice
of the Supreme Court to inuence the
outcome of this sale and cases? Do you
deny the accounts given by the relatives
of your wife on how they were betrayed
and disposed? What is your side of this
story?
Can you enlighten us on how
your daughter Carla Corona-Castillo
became the owner of 4,839 shares in
the Basa Guidote Corporation in 2003
for P28,000? Do you think it was a
sell-out considering that the par value
per share of the 4,839 shares was at
100 each? Did you acquire any loan
from the Basa-Guidote Corp.? If so
was this loan declared as a liability in
the SALN?
Is it true that you have 82 dollar
accounts in various banks? Assuming
that you are only maintaining four (4) of
these dollar accounts, as your lawyers
claim, have the sums in these accounts
been declared in your SALN? If so,
why? How true is the allegation by the
Ombudsman that massive withdrawals
were made in these accounts that
correspond to signicant national
events, such as elections and during
your impeachment?
As a sign of good faith and to settle
this issue about your foreign currency
accounts, are you willing to waive your
right to secrecy and allow your banks
to provide to the Senate the complete
information?
In your opinion, should the
nondisclosure of assets and liabilities as
mandated by law be considered a serious
breach of conduct enough to warrant
your removal from ofce? Does your
position in the Supreme Court require
of you a higher ethical standard than
that of other ofcials and employees
in the government? Is it not true that
the Supreme Court in its decisions has
been strict in enforcing compliance
with the constitutional requirement
on disclosure of assets, such that on
previous occasions the Court severely
penalized and even dismissed ordinary
employees for failure to declare their
assets in their SALN?
Do you think your effectiveness
as the Chief Magistrate has been
affected by this impeachment? Has this
process compromised your image as the
highest ofcial of the Supreme Court
whose decisions impact on individual
persons in particular and the national
life in general?
And nally, and most important,
are you morally t to stay on as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court?
E-mail: Tonylavs@gmail.com
Facebook: tlavina@yahoo.com
Twitter: tonylavs
By Indrajit Singh
and Nirmala George
RAMPUR SINGHARA, IndiaThe
daily trip to high school was expensive,
long and eventually, too much for Indian
teenager Nahid Farzana, who decided she
was going to drop out. Then, the state
government gave her a bicycle.
Two years later, she is about to
graduate from high school and wants to
be a teacher.
The eastern state of Bihar has been
so successful at keeping teenage girls in
school, the bike giveaways have spread
to neighboring states. Now the Indian
government wants to expand it across the
country in hopes it might help improve
female literacy.
Before starting the program in 2007,
ofcials in Bihar, one of Indias poorest
and least developed states, despaired over
how to educate the states females, whose
literacy rate of 53 percent is more than 20
points below that of its males.
We found that the high school dropout
rate soared when girls reached the ninth
grade. This was primarily because there
are fewer high schools and girls had to
travel longer distances to get to school,
said Anjani Kumar Singh, Bihars
principal secretary overseeing education.
Poor families could not spare the
money for transport, or were reluctant to
let girls travel so far away, fearing for their
safety.
The program was an instant success,
with the number of girls registered in the
ninth grade in Bihars state schools more
than tripling in four years, from 175,000
to 600,000.
The results are remarkable. The
school dropout rate for girls has plunged,
says Singh.
In her crisply starched blue tunic
uniform and white scarf, Farzana appears
a carefree teenager, proud to have made
it into the tenth grade. But she almost did
not make it.
Her daily bus fare of 15 rupees (22
cents) to the new high school 6 kilometers
(4 miles) from their home in Rampur
Singhara village was an additional burden
her father, a car mechanic, could not
afford.
I wouldnt have been able to
keep Farzana in school for long, said
Mohammed Shiraz Ahmad, her father.
A teacher told them about the free
bicycles, and Farzana applied for the
2,500 rupee ($50) grant to buy the bike.
The bicycle has changed everything,
Ahmad said.
In remote villages, along dusty
potholed lanes surrounded by sheaves of
waving wheat, gaggles of school girls can
be seen jauntily cycling to school.
The program has also raised the status
of girls, who are often seen as a burden in
son-obsessed India, where parents have to
pay such hefty dowries to marry off their
daughters that the family is often indebted
for decades.
Now, girls are bringing an asset to the
family, Singh said. AP
Free bicycles help keep Indian girls in school
EMIL
P. JURADO
TO THE POINT
DEAN TONY
LA VIA
EAGLE EYES
By Jan Albert Suing
A PROFESSOR once said: Nations
have no hearts. They only have national
interests. A year into graduate school,
Ive learned that alliances are made,
pacts are signed, and agreements are
inked among nations all because of
one thing: to promote and protect their
national interests. Hence, the United
States would not have signed a mutual
defense treaty with the Philippines in
1951 or erect American military bases in
the archipelago (which were demolished
in the early 90s) if it did not think these
actions would increase convenience
for them to restrain communism in the
Asia-Pacic region. In our increasingly
realist world, every action of a nation is
driven by a single purpose: To champion
its national goals and ambitions. Every
action has an ulterior motive.
Chinas aggressiveness over its
West Philippine Sea claims is also a
testament of how far (both literally
and metaphorically in this case) a
nation will go to protect the basic
components of its national interest:
survival of its people, government
and the integrity of its territory and
sovereignty. China is a mineral-rich
country. Unfortunately, rare earths are
unpalatable. And it isnt helping that
the Gobi desert is expanding 3,600 km2
(1,390 sq mi) of grassland every year.
For the country to feed its more than a
billion citizens, it needs to nd ways to
secure its resources. It has to nd a way
to survive. Naturally, the Philippines,
a country with one of the weakest
military forces in Asia, is threatened by
Chinas increasing military power and
dominance in the region.
How can a country like the
Philippines defend its legal and
historical claims over the West
Philippine Sea against China, a country
not only with a stronger military force
but a wider sphere of inuence in all
aspects? And what if everything has
boiled down to a military confrontation,
will the Philippines be able to defend
itself and its people?
The Philippines versus China is no
contest. To win over a major power,
one needs another major power in
his side. Thats when the Philippines
longtime ally, Uncle Sam, comes into
the picture. The special relationship
between the Philippines and its former
colonizer has been tested a number
of times, most of which during the
Cold War when the former followed
the latter in its biggest campaigns
against communism in Asia (Vietnam
and Korean War). We love America
so much. But does America love the
Philippines as much?
Given the tension in the West
Philippine Sea and the growing
assertiveness of the Chinese, there is a
series of questions Id like to ask the
US at a time when its relationship with
the country is being tested: how far can
it go to support the Philippines in its
ght for the integrity of its sovereignty?
If violence breaks out between China
and the Philippines, are we assured of
American support? Can the US oppose
China, one of its two biggest creditor
countries (the other being Japan)? Will
the mutual defense agreement between
the two nations take effect? If yes, to
what extent?
Nobody knows the answers to these
but America itself. Iran used to have
a warm relationship with the United
States until the Iranian revolution in
1979. Today, the relationship between
the two countries has become so hostile
that they have no formal diplomatic
relations with each other. This goes
to show that even nations with such
beautiful ties sometimes drift apart.
Worse, they can even go the opposite
directions to oppose each other. This
is not to say that United States isnt a
reliable ally to the Philippines anymore.
It was and it still is. But if theres one
constant thing in this drama called
international relations, it is change.
Change in goals and objectives.
Change in perspective. Change in
priorities. And unfortunately, in the
realm of international politics, your
friends wont always be your allies
and your allies wont always be your
friends (Jaclyn Friedman).
If its true that this is a heartless
and selsh world where at the end of
every day were always on our own, is
it hopeless? Are we on the losing end?
I think not. The world may not have a
heart but Im sure it does have a brain.
And it damn well know what it will lose
if this ght is won by the unworthy.
So I call for the world to wake up and
open its eyes. This ght isnt the rivals
alone. Its a global issue that requires
every country to watch and take a stand
on. We dont need the world to defend
or ght for anyone. What we need is
for it to defend and ght for what is
right and just. If bullying in schools is
a cause of concern for everyone, how is
this any different?
Lets leave colonialism into the past
altogether and try this better practice called
cooperation instead. Survival should be
assured for all human beings, not for a
particular race alone. This should be the
goal of every nation in the world.
Suing, 22, is a graduate student in
international studies from UP Diliman.
EVERYMAN
A world without a heart
I believe that a
waiver cannot cover
foreign currency
denominated
deposits since the
powers of the
Ombudsman,
awesome as they
are now, could
be abused and
used against
the political,
enemies of an
administration.
News
ManilaStandardToday
mst.daydesk@gmail.com MAY 22, 2012 TUESDAY
A6
Govt panel approves
P18b Metro projects
Report speedsters,
Metro folk urged
Isko gleans learnings from global forum
According to the NEDA, the projects
include the P9.76-billion East Extension
of the LRT-2, P5.69-billion moderniza-
tion of the Philippine Orthopedic Center
and the P2.7-billion upgrading of the
Navotas Fish Port Complex.
The three projects are part of the
ve infrastructure projects, worth a to-
tal of P32.67 billion, the ICC endorsed
for approval.
The two other projects are the P6.12-
billion Bridge Construction Accelera-
tion Project for Calamity-Stricken Areas
Phase II and the P8.4-billion National
Roads Bridge Placement Project.
The East Extension of the LRT-2,
or Purple Line from Santolan, Pasig to
Recto Avenue in Manila, involves the
design and construction of a 4.19-ki-
lometer extension from the existing
Santolan Station to Masinag Junction
(intersection of Marcos Highway and
Sumulong Highway).
Two stations will be located at Em-
By Bernadette Lunas
THE Investment Coordination Committee of the
National Economic and Development Authority
has endorsed the approval of P18.15 billion worth
of infrastructure projects in Metro Manila, paving
the way for the auction of their procurement
contracts.
erald Drive in Cainta, Rizal (in front of
Robinsons Place Metro East) and Masi-
nag Junction, Antipolo City, Rizal.
The project will provide rapid and
reliable mode of transit to the east of
Manila and to various strategic commer-
cial, industrial and educational districts
in Metro Manila, NEDA Deputy Direc-
tor-General Rolando G. Tungpalan said.
The modernization of the Philippine
Orthopedic Center involves the con-
struction of 700-bed tertiary orthopedic
hospital within the National Kidney and
Transplant Institute Complex along East
Avenue, Quezon City.
There is a need to upgrade the fa-
cilities and enhance the operational ef-
ciency of the POC. This addresses the
challenge of transforming it into the
countrys primary center for bone and
joints disease that will be at par with
global standards, Tungpalan said.
The upgrading of the Navotas Fish
Port Complex aims to improve the ports
facilities and facilitate unloading, han-
dling and distribution of sh and shery
products. The Navotas shport is Metro
Manilas major sh landing facility and
contributes 80 percent to the regions
annual sh supply.
Specically, the project covers the
upgrading of the landing quay and mar-
ket halls, establishment of cold storage
facilities, conversion of piers to wharf
landing and installation of a waste wa-
ter treatment facility.
The project fullls the govern-
ments goal of raising productivity
and incomes of shery-based house-
hold through improving infrastruc-
ture. This also increases investments
and employment in the region, the
NEDA ofcial said.
The two remaining projects involve
the construction and replacement of 66
temporary bridges with steel structures
across the countrys 15 regions and in-
volves the construction and replacement
of 133 bridges utilizing pre-fabricated
double lane modular steel bridges from
the United Kingdom.
Research vessel. The M/V DA-BFAR is docked at the Navotas Fish Port which will
soon be upgraded following the approval of the terms of the project. The vessel had
just returned from the Panatag Shoal where researchers (inset) studied the variety of
sh species at the shoal. SONNY ESPRITU AND DANNY PATA
By Rio Araja
THE Metro Manila Development
Authority and tollway operator
Tollways Management Corp.
urged the public on Monday to
report speedsters and reckless
drivers on the tollways and other
major thoroughfares in the me-
tropolis.
MMDA spokesperson Ma.
Lualhati Dorotan said Chairman
Francis Tolentino has opened
a public complaints center,
which can be reached through
(0929)400-0572, so the public
can text in complaints regarding
trafc, garbage and other mat-
ters.
Dorotan said complainants
should include pertinent details
so that the agency can take ap-
propriate action on the com-
plaints they will receive.
The tollway operator also set
up its own complaints hotline,
(0918)906-1401, so that motor-
ists can text complaints about
speedsters on the North Luzon
Expressway. Complainants may
also call the NLEX Trafc Con-
trol Room at 580-8911.
Ramon S. Fernandez, presi-
dent of TMCs mother company
Metro Pacic Tollways Corp.,
said public involvement in the
TMCs road safety campaign,
particularly against speedsters
and will help much in reducing
serious accidents on NLEX.
Fernandez urged the public
to follow the example of Toll
Regulatory Board executive
director Edmundo O. Reyes Jr.,
who spotted a speeding bus in
one his inspection trips at the
NLEX and reported the matter
to the NLEX operator.
Acting on the report, TMC
vice president for trafc op-
erations Francis Gerry Aberilla
alerted an NLEX patrol team
to monitor the buss speed rate
with a portable speed gun and
the erring motorist was later
apprehended for his trafc vio-
lation.
The TMC has heightened
seven integral components of
the campaign including citizen
involvement in enforcing trafc
rules, round-the-clock opera-
tions of closed-circuit television
cameras, deployment of more
patrol teams, free drivers educa-
tion fora, uncompromising drive
against speeding, close monitor-
ing of unsafe truck loads and
24/7 line to the NLEX trafc
control room.
RETURNING from a global
leaders forum in Singapore, Ma-
nila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno
said he intends to improve urban
planning by integrating disaster
management strategies that will
mitigate the adverse effects of
disasters.
Knowing that the Philippines
is prone to natural disasters par-
ticularly typhoons, we have to lay
down intensied measures to im-
mediately address the situation.
There should be improved urban
planning, and community-based
disaster programs, said Moreno.
Moreno was among the young
leaders of the world who attended
the three-day 2nd Annual Asian
Disaster Management Forum at
the National University of Singa-
pores Lee Kuan Yew School of
Public Policy.
Moreno, a three-time coun-
cilor before being elected vice
mayor for two consecutive terms,
was the only Filipino in the said
event. He was recommended to
the forum by his professor at the
John F. Kennedy School of Gov-
ernment in Harvard University
where he also attended an earlier
Leadership in Crisis course.
He said delegates from Asian
countries like Japan, China,
India, Pakistan and Thailand,
among others shared their disas-
ter management plan in dealing
with disasters and the vice mayor
gleaned many learnings that he
plans to implement for Manila.
There was an exchange of
ideas on how participating coun-
tries attended to disasters that hit
them. They had also enjoined the
participating of the private sector
to minimize the adverse effects
of disasters, related Moreno.
He said the forum also em-
phasized the importance of pub-
lic-private partnership.
Macon Ramos-Araneta
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
Cagayan 2
nd
District Engineering Offce
Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan
I NVI TATI ON TO BI D
(MST-May 22, 2012)
CLUSTER NO. 2012-019
May 9, 2012
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the DPWH - Cagayan 2 District Engineering
Offce (Cagayan 2nd DEO), Libertad, Abulug, Cagayan invites contractors to bid for
the aforementioned projects, viz:
1. Contract ID : 12BC0130
Contract Name : Construction of llluru Bridge No. 2 inc. PCCP
Location : Along Cagayan Apayao Road Rizal, Cagayan
Contract Duration : 210 cal. days
Brief Description : BCC- Bridge Construction Concrete
Cost of Bid Docs. : Php 10,000.00
Approved Budget for the Contract : Php 16,002,395.56
2. Contract I D : 12BC0131
Contract Name : Construction of llluru Bridge No. 3 inc PCCP
Brief Description: BCC- Bridge Construction Concrete
Contract Name : Construction of Batu No. 2 Box Culvert and App.
Brief Description: FHN- Flood Control/Hydraulics/Drainage with PCCP
Contract Name : Construction of Baggat Box Culvert and App.
Brief Description: FHN- Flood Control/Hydraulics/Drainage with PCCP
The BAC will conduct this procurement process in accordance with the Revised
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) o f Republic Act 9184. Bids in excess of
the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) shall be automatically rejected at the
opening of bid .
To bid for this contract, a contractor shall purchase bid documents and submit his
Letter of Intent and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with
the DPWH and the PhilGEPS, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership,
corporation, cooperative or joint venture, (c) with PCAB license applicable to the type
and cost of the contract, (d) completion of a similar contract costing at least 50% of
the ABC within a period of ten years, and (e) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at
least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment at least equal to 10% of the ABC. The
BAC w ill 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-Central Procurement Offce (CPO) before the deadline for the receipt of
LOI. The DPWH-CPO will only process contractors application for registration with
complete requirements and issue the Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC).
Registration forms may be downloaded at t he DPWH website: www.dpwh.gov.ph.
The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below:
1. Issuance of Bidding Documents 10:00AM- May 16, 2012 to June 7, 2012
2. Deadline: Receipt of LOI from
Prospective Bidders
10:00 AM, May 24, 2012
3. Pre Bidding Conference 10:30 AM May 24, 2012
4. Receipt of Bids- Deadline 10:00 AM, June 7, 2012
5. Opening of Bids 1:30 PM, June 7, 2012
The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at the Offce of the BAC
Chairman-DPWH Cagayan 2nd DEO upon payment of a non-refundable fees as stated
above. Prospective bidders may also download the BDs from the DPWH Website.
Prospective bidders that will download the BDs from the DPWH website shall pay
the said fees on or before the submission of their bid. The pre-bid conference shall be
open only to interested parties who have purchased BDs. Bids must be accompanied
by a Bid Security in the amount and form as required under Section 27.2 of the revised
IRR of RA 9184.
Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in the BDs
in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the offce of the BAC Chairman before the
deadline set above. The frst envelope shall contain the technical component of the
bid, which shall include a copy of the CRC and the updated PCAB license. The second
envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to
the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation and post
qualifcation.
Prospective contractors may be required to present the original copies of their PCAB
license and CRC during the bidding for authentication.
The DPWH-Cagayan 2nd DEO reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, and t o
annul the bidding process at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring
any liability to the affected bidder/s.
Approved by:
(Sgd.) JAIME P. CATOLOS, JR.
Engineer III
Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee
Noted:
(Sgd.) JOSELITO T. ARAO
OIC-District Engineer
Department of Public Works and Highways
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
AKLAN ENGINEERING DISTRICT
Kalibo, Aklan
I NVI TATI ON TO APPLY FOR ELI GI BI LI TY & TO BI D
(MST-May 22, 2012)
The Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH) Aklan Engineering
District, Kalibo, Aklan through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites
contractors to apply for eligibility and, if found eligible, to bid for the hereunder
contract:
1. A. Contract ID : 12GA0053
B. Contract Name : Pacto De Sangre Road (Jugas - Candelaria
Junction)
C. Contract Location : Pacto De Sangre, ARC, Aklan
D. Contract Duration : 150 CD.
E. Brief Description : 2,433.50 m PCCP, 4m width, 0.15m thickness
F. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) : P7,422,401.00
G. Source of Fund
B. Contract Name : Construction of Multi-Purpose Building
C. Contract Location : Brgy. Sigcay, Banga, Aklan
E. Brief Description : Partial Const, of Stage, Concrete Structure, Roof
Framing & Roofng
F. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) :P1,000,000.00
G. Source of Fund : BMB-A-ll-T000004677
B. Contract Name : Construction of Multi-purpose Building
C. Contract Location : Municipality of Banga, Aklan
E. Brief Description : Concrete Structure, Roofng
F. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) :P2,000,000.00
G. Source of Fund : BMB-A-12-T00000286
The BAC will conduct this public bidding m accordance with RA. 9184 and its
Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A.
To be eligible to bid for this contract, a contractor must submit a Letter of Intent
(LOI) and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with the
DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership/corporation with
PCAB license applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (c) completion of
a similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC, and (d) Net Financial Contracting
Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment/cash deposit certifcate
for at least 10% of the ABC The DPWH will use non-discretionary pass/fail
criteria in the eligibility check, preliminary examination of bids, evaluation of
bids, post-qualifcation, and award.
Unregistered contractors, however, may submit their LOls simultaneously with
their applications for registration, to the DPWH, Aklan Engineering District,
Kalibo, Aklan before the deadline set below for the receipt of LOIs. The DPWH
Central BAC-TWG will frst process the contractors applications for registration
and issue the Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC) before processing
their LOIs. The DPWH Regional Offce BAC-TWG will process only those with
complete registration requirements.
The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities ate shown below:
BAC Activities Schedule Time Place
1. Receipt of LOIs fromProspective
Bidders
2. Issuance of Bidding Documents
3. Pre-Bid Conference
4. Receipt of Bids
5. Opening of Bids
May 18,2012-June 1, 2012
May 18,2012-June 7, 2012
May 28,2012
June 8,2012
June 8, 2012
8:00 AM-5.00PM
8:00 AM-5.00PM
10:00 AM
10:00 AM
2:00 PM
BAC Secretariat
BAC Secretariat
DPWHConference Rm
DPWHConference Rm
DPWHConference Rm
Prospective bidders may download the Registration and LOI Forms from the
DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph. The BAC will issue hard copies of LOI
Forms at DPWH, Aklan Engineering District, Kalibo, Aklan.
Prospective bidders that will download the LOI forms shall pay the same
amount upon submission of their LOIs. Prospective bidders shall submit their
accomplished LOIs and obtain the results of the eligibility check at the same
address.
Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents (BDs), if
available, from the DPWH website. The BAC will also issue hard copies of the
BDs at the same address to eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable
fee of P10,000.00 for Project No. 1, PI,000.00 for Project No.2 and P5,000.00 for
Project No.3 for Bidding Documents. Eligible bidders that will download the BDs
from DPWH website shall pay the said fees upon the submission of their bids.
The DPWH, Aklan Engineering District, Kalibo, Aklan, reserves the right to
accept or reject any bid and to annul the bidding process anytime before Contract
award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders.
Approved by:
(Sgd.) GRISELDA R- ROLDAN
Engineer III
BAC Chairman
Offce Tel. No.(036)268-1692
(MST-May 22, 2012)
InvItatIon to BId
Supply of 50 pcs F308 FUSE 315A 1200VDC under ITB No. 1205-071-01
and PR No. RS1-0412-116
Schedule of Activities:
Pre-bid Conference - May 30, 2012 @ 10:00 A.M.
Cafeteria, LRTA Line 2-Depot
Santolan, Pasig City
Submission and Opening of Bids - June 13, 2012 @ 9:00 A.M.
Cafeteria, LRTA Line 2-Depot,
Santolan, Pasig City
Technical Specifcations:
F308 FUSE 315A 1200VDC
Type: Protistor DC square-body fuse Watt loss I
N
: 110 Watts
Current rating I
N
: 315 A Maximum I t @ 1,000V
Voltage Rating: 1200 VDC L/R = 15ms (AS): 90,000
Breaking Capacity: @ 1200 VDC 100 kA, L/R = 15ms L/R = 45ms (AS): 154,000
Watt loss 0.8 I
N
: 60 Watts Weight: 1,151g
Reference No.: N079431
Complete Specifcations is available in the Bidding Documents.
The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), through its Corporate Budget for the Calendar Year
2012, intends to apply the sum of a Total of Two Million Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand
Pesos Only (Php2,750,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments
under the afore-mentioned contract/s. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically
rejected at bid opening. Delivery period is required on or before 3 months upon receipt of
Purchase Order.
LRTA now invites bids from Interested Bidders with the following details:
Description
Approved Budget
for the Contract
(ABC)
Bid Security:
Cash/CC-MC
Bank draft/ guarantee
or CLC
(2%)*
Security:
Surety bond
(5%)*
Cost of Bid
Documents
Supply of 50 pcs
F308 FUSE 315A
1200VDC
PhP2,750,000.00 PhP55,000.00 PhP137,500.00 PhP1,500.00
*Only those issued by universal or commercial banks
Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary
pass/fail criterion as specifed in the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (R-IRR)
of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations
with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of
the Philippines.
A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders commencing
on May 22, 2012 until not later than the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids
at the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in
the amount of PhP1,500.00 only.
Only prospective bidders who have secured bidding documents will be allowed to participate
in the Pre-Bid Conference.
Submission and Opening of Bids will publicly be opened in the presence of the Bidders
authorized representatives who choose to attend. Late bids shall not be accepted. All Bids must
be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in
the Instructions to Bidders and the Bid Data Sheet.
LRTA reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, 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:
Mr. Eduardo A. Abiva
Head, BAC Secretariat
Administration Bldg., LRTA Cmpd., Aurora Blvd. Tramo, Pasay City
Tel. No. 853-0041 50 loc. 8314
Email Address: bacsec_LRTA@yahoo.com
Facsimile No. 551-5946
(Sgd.) Mr. LUTGARDO C. NAVARRO
Chairman, Bids & Awards Committee

IN BRIEF
Locals key to Patriots bid
2 world champs at Forum
Letran, Adamson advance
IMPORTS Anthony
Johnson and Nakiea
Miller are both depend-
able scorers, but when
AirAsia Philippines
collides with Indonesia in Game 1 of their
semis series in the AirAsia Asean Basket-
ball League Sunday, expect a lot of surpris-
es from the local talents.
According to Louie Gonzales, one of
Glenn Capacios able lieutenants, the
Patriots are now deep in preparation for
their best-of-three semis with Johnson,
a PBA veteran, back to his ghting form
after being slowed down by a groin injury
in the teams last three games.
AJ (Johnson) is fully recovered and
Nakiea is now fully focused for the
playoff round against his former team,
said Gonzales. Everybody is well
motivated and ready to go to war.
Gonzales, however, stressed that
the teams success hinges not on their
imports, but on how the locals will react
to the situation and respond to Capacios
challenge.
TWO world boxing champions are the
special guests in todays session of the
Philippine Sportswriters Association
Forum at Shakeys UN Avenue.
Josie Gabuco, fresh from her golden
stint in the AIBA World Womens Cham-
pionship, and reigning World Boxing
Organization light-yweight titlist Don-
nie Nietes, take centerstage in the pub-
lic sports program aired live over dzSR
Sports Radio 918, and presented by
Smart, the Philippine Amusement and
Gaming Corporation and Shakeys.
Completing this weeks guests list
according to PSA president Rey Bancod
of Tempo, are the Philippine Habagat
Youth baseball team, which will represent
the country in the Pony League Asia
Pacic regional qualiers.
THE Letran Knights, the Adamson Baby
Falcons and the Lyceum of the Philippines
University Lady Pirates continued their
winning ways Sunday and clinched
quarternal slots in the 18th Fr. Martin
Summer Cup basketball tournament.
Mark Cruz tallied 22 points and
spearheaded the Knights to a 75-68 beating
of the University of Perpetual Help-Dalta
Altas for their sixth consecutive triumph
at the St. Placid gymnasium of the San
Beda-Manila campus in Mendiola.
John Margallo unloaded 22 points for
the Baby Falcons, who walloped Naga
Montessori, 87-40, in the junior division
for their fth straight victory in Group B
of the secondary division.
Frances Mae Cabinbin and Janelle
Mendoza made 18 and 14 points for the
Lyceum Lady Pirates, who demolished
the Our Lady of Fatima University Lady
Phoenix, 76-64, and moved into the
womens quarternals with their 3-1 slate.
A7 Sports Riera U. Mallari, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
The Lady Stags ousted the Far
Eastern U Tams in ve last Sunday
to move within a win from joining
Ateneo, UST and Perpetual Help in
the Final Four with a 3-2 card. But
they will be facing an NU side out
to derail the Recoletos-based squad
and keep its slim chances alive.
Gametime is 2 p.m.
With a 1-4 slate, NU needs to
Lady Stags eye last semis seat
SAN Sebastian College guns for the
fourth and last seminal berth while
National U tries to stay in the hunt as
they clash today in the penultimate
playdate of the quarternal round in the
ninth Shakeys V-League Presented by
Smart at The Arena in San Juan.
Rondo has passed Big 3
WHILE my favorite Boston Celtic of all
time is Paul Pierce (Hey, dont blame me
because hes the only Boston Celtic Ive
interviewed in person when he came
here to Manila. I found him personable,
intelligent and validated all the reasons
why I like the Boston Celtics so much.) I
have to confess that this years Boston
Celtics have denitely become Rajon
Rondos team.
From a pesky point guard, who was
a terric defender, an adequate court
general and a poor shooter, Rondo has
metamorphosed as the Celtics regular
triple double threat, the future of the
franchise and yes, this teams most
important player at this stage in the
Celtics development.
To emphasize my point, I thought the
Celtics would have at least a commanding
3-1 edge over the Philadelphia 76ers by
now. Unfortunately, they are locked in a
2-2 in the Eastern Conference seminals.
And they only won two games because
Rondo dominated in those twin victories.
Game 5 is today Tuesday, so by the
time you read this column you will
have known the result of the game. I
am hoping the Celtics win Game 5 and
go on to make true my prediction that
they would win in six games.
But even a Boston Celtics fanatic like
me can read the handwriting on the
wall that this team is struggling, and
that the Big 3 era is about to come to
an end and the Rajon Rondo era may
have actually began.
Even Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers
admitted that the team goes wherever
goes Rondo, who has become the
teams conductor, facilitator, and
overall do-everything court general.
Its not even a pace. I cant explain
what it is, said Rivers in a published
interview. When we have our transition
and our execution going at the same
time, were a really good team. When
we have one or the other, were not very
good offensively. Its a ne line, and
Rondo is walking it. I always think he has
the best feel. Hes on the oor. He sees
things that theres no way I can see.
Other than Pierce, I love Kevin
Garnetts barely contained maniacal
intensity and the purity and simplicity in
Ray Allens shooting form if not overall
game. But there is just no denying that
their time will soon be past and the ball
will soon be in Rondos hands.
* * *
Are the Petron Blaze Boosters jinxed?
Just asking, because there seems to
be a plague or injuries that have hit
the Boosters not just the past few
months but the past few years, in fact
ever since they changed their name to
REUEL VIDAL
SPORTS CENTER
sweep its last two games and hope that
SSC drop its last two to force a playoff
for the last semis slot.
In the 4 p.m. main
game, UST and Perpetual
Help, tied at 4-1, tangle
for the No. 2 spot in the
semis of the tournament
sponsored by Shakeys Pizza and
backed by Mikasa and Accel.
Todays games will be aired on a
delayed basis starting at 7 tonight on
AKTV 13, according to the organizing
Sports Vision. For live streaming, log
on to www.v-league.ph.
Meanwhile, Ateneo primed up
for the Final Four with a 7-25,
25-18, 25-21, 25-20
victory over UST in a
duel of unbeaten teams
late Sunday, closing
out its elims/quarters
campaign with a
league-best 7-0 card.
Fille Cainglet red 16 kills while
Thai import Phee Nok Kesinee had
six blocks for a 15-hit output and
Dzi Gervacio added four blocks
for the defending champions, who
recovered from a sloppy opening
set stint with their power game and
gritty net defense.
Ateneo, which also drew 13
points, including nine kills and two
service aces from Alyssa Valdez,
nished with 13 blocks as against
USTs measly two courtesy of Thai
reinforcement Kaensing Utaiwan.
UST dropped to 4-1.
Judy Caballejo scored 16 kills
while Utaiwan had 16 points and
Maruja Banaticla made 11 points
for UST, which hopes to sweep its
last two games to secure the No. 2
spot in the crossover semis.
TEEN sensation Eric Olivarez Jr.
stamped his class in the boys di-
vision, while diminutive Marian
Jade Capadocia completed her
mastery of the girls side on Sun-
day in the Tobys Sports-PLDT-
SMART Foundation 11th Annual
Summer Tennis Festival at the
Rizal Memorial tennis courts.
Olivarez, 14, emerged as the
tournaments biggest winner by
completing a double win in the
18-under and 16-under divisions
while Capadocia, 16, reigned
supreme in the distaff side of the
event presented by Tobys Sports
and PLDT-Smart Foundation.
After beating top-ranked
Marcen Gonzales 6-1, 6-2 for
the 16-boys crown, Olivarez,
seeded seventh in the 18-under
class, pulled the rug from under
top-seeded Dheo Talatayod 6-1,
1-6, 6-0.
Im very glad all my hard
work nally paid off, beamed
the 58 Olivarez, who added he
went all-out with his parents and
coaches watching.
Also basking in glory in the
Category 2 event sanctioned by
the Philippine Tennis Associa-
tion and powered by Prince and
Argentina Corned Beef was top
seed Capadocia, who clinched the
18-girlscrown with a clinical 6-2,
6-0 win over Macy Gonzales.
Olivarez Jr.,
Capadocia
rule netfest
TEAM Prima Philippines, led by Jeffrey Japson and Sonny
Montilla, won the recent International Friendship Badminton
Tournament 2012 title after sweeping all their ve games at
the Lee Chong Wei Sports Area in Sentosa, Malaysia.
The Philippines posted a 2-0 win against host Malaysia 1
in the championship round, with Japson, Montilla, William
Gabuelo and Odelon Simpao scoring huge victories to gain the
team event crown, which was disputed by eight countries.
Japson and Gabuelo whipped Malaysians Alfred Tan
and Jack Teoh, 25 22, while Montilla and Gabuelo blanked
Alfred Tan and Tony Lim, 25-20, to complete the sweep of
the team event doubles tournament.
It was a great honor for us to win this title. We never
expected this, said Japson. We are not members of the
national team and it turned out to be a motivating factor to
play harder. We are all happy with this title.
In the elimination round, Team Prima Philippines nipped
Hong Kong, 2-1, and Malaysia 2, 2-1, before sweeping
Taiwan, 3-0, during the last game of the elimination round.
Team Prima bags badminton crown in Malaysia
THE countrys top karters
take on the challenge of
a short, but fast technical
track as the 2012 Philippine
National Karting Series
stages its third leg this
Sunday at the Boomland
Kart Track of the CCP
Complex in Pasay City.
It will be an intense duel
between kickoff leg winner
VJ Suba and Batangas leg
champion Estefano Rivera as
they dispute solo leadership
in the ROK Overall class
of this event sanctioned by
the Automobile Association
Philippines and sponsored by
Motorstar and Aeromed.
To each his own, there
will be no give-and-take
situation for these top two
karters even though theyre
FERN-C Racing teammates.
This race will showcase their
real talents as only one point
separates the two in their
quest for the coveted Karter
of the Year plum.
Rivera currently leads with
115 points, while Suba is just
close behind at 114. CJ Tsui
of Industria Racing is third
overall, while last years
Clubman Karter Matthew
Chan also of FERN-C Racing,
and Archim Lagman follow in
fourth and fth, with 68 and
51 points, respectively.
Daniel Miranda of
Cebuana Lhuillier-Marcelo
Racing is in sixth with 48
points, while Milo Rivera is
in seventh with 41.
His double-title feat in
Batangas also catapulted
Rivera to the top of the ROK
Junior division with 130
points against Miranda and
Chan, who hold 111 and 78
points, respectively.
Joining the eld of the
combined ROK Overall,
ROK Senior, ROK Junior and
ROK Clubman race are Sacha
Feliciano of Marcelo Racing,
Franco Reyes and Bobby
Domingo of Industria Racing,
Jonathan Huotari of Tuason
Racing, and Raul Baretto.
Karters show wares in short, tricky track
Petron from San Miguel Beer.
There is of course the latest casualty
in Marcio Lassiter, whose eagerly
awaited Petron Blaze debut will have to
wait. The leading candidate for Rookie
of the Year honors hurt his right hand
in the All-Star game in Laoag. The same
injury was aggravated in a tune-up
game against Rain or Shine.
Closer examination revealed that
Lassiter fractured his right hand which is
now in a cast. He will have to sit out three
weeks before it even gets re-evaluated
to determine if it needs surgery. And
surgery means at least another six
months before he gets to play again.
Everybody knows of course that
Lassiter was heavily recruited by Petron
because of an injury to fellow rookie
Chris Lutz. Thankfully, Lutz is more or
less fully recovered and already playing
for the Blaze Boosters.
There is of course Rabeh Al-Hussaini
who was the premier center in the
collegiate leagues before he came to
the Philippine Basketball Association.
Al-Hussaini routinely mopped the oor
with fellow centers in the amateur ranks
before his jump to the PBA where most
experts thought he would make an
impact like Benjie Paras, the leagues only
Rookie of the Year and MVP Awardee.
Sadly, that did not happen. Oh sure,
he was a serviceable big man with the
Air21 Express, but when he was traded
to the Petron Blaze Boosters, you
guessed it, he was injured.
The same was true of then fellow
rookie Nonoy Baclao, who also spent
more time on the Petron bench nursing
an injury than playing on the oor.
Other than those guys, theres
Lordy Tugade who was on the way to
becoming the most feared hitman from
the outside when, you guessed it, he
was sidelined with an injury.
Then, theres Dorian Pea, who was
released to the Barako Bull because of
injury issues. After playing well with
Barako for close to a year, he was recalled
back to Petron. I just hope that everything
goes well to my favorite Antipolo resident
Fil-Am, who Ive known since he rst
came here to the country to the join the
Negros Slashers in the early 1990s.
So back to my original question.
Are the Petron Blaze Boosters jinxed?
Are their players becoming more
injured than normal with more players
sidelined more often than any other
team in the league?
Im not eager to pass judgment, but
judging from the evidence well, you
be the judge.
* * *
If you want to nd out how I sound like,
please tune in to the two-time KBP Best
Sports Program on the radio, MBC Sports
Center, in our new time slot 1 to 2 p.m.,
every Sunday, over the no. 1 radio network
in Asia , dzRH, 666 on your AM dial.
The same program is simulcast on RHTV
over Channel 25 on Sun Cable and Channel
9 on Cable Link. Sports Center can be
followed live from anywhere in the world
through the Internet on http://dzrh.tripod.
com and http://dzrh.prepys.com.
For comments, questions and non-
violent reactions please, send your
e-mail to reuelvidal@ymail.com.
All set for
Sandugo
tilt Final 4
THE Lady Pirates of Lyceum of
the Philippines University turned
its nal elimination-round match
against Miriam Colleges high
school squad into a veritable
warm-up game and came up
with a lopsided 98-27 win to
nish with a 6-1 record behind
College of St. Benilde, which
took the top spot with the same
slate in the Sandugo-Collegiate
Development League.
LPU decided the game early
as the Lady Pirates raced to a
24-4 lead at the end of the rst
quarter and maintained their
game-long pressure that had
the younger MC players unable
to nish their plays and falling
prey to the double-teaming
defense by their opponents.
Enjoying a twice-to-beat ad-
vantage, the Lady Pirates meet
National University on Wednes-
day at the Trinity University gym
for its seminal match, while the
other semis matchup between
CSB and fourth-ranked Far East-
ern University will be played on
Friday at the San Juan gym.
National University formal-
ized its top-ranking nish with a
strong third quarter to beat CSB,
77-53 for its seventh straight
win and earned a twice-to-beat
advantage when it meets fourth-
ranked STI on Friday, following
the CSB-FEU womens game.
Second-ranked Informatics
tries to nail the rst nals slot
on Wednesday against CSB
after the LPU-NU game.
MICHAEL John Duavit turned in
a net six-under-par 66 for a solid
42 Stableford points to capture the
Division A title, even as Leonides
Latayan and Toribio Cote churned out
almost similar victories in Divisions
B and C, respectively, in the seventh
MercedesTrophy National Final in
Cabuyao, Laguna.
Duavit, a former Representative
of Rizal, edged out adman Vince
Tanjutcos 41; Latayan made a 43 to
squeak past Ricardo Bernabe Jr.s
42; and Cote, with ve pars overall,
won via count-back over Edwin
Costes in the one-day tournament
organized by CATS Motors, Inc. at
the Sta. Elena Golf Club.
In the ladies division of the
event, which hosted more than 200
Mercedes-Benz owners and guests,
Inquirer president and Chief Executive
Ofcer Sandy Prieto-Romualdez and
Korean Jung Grace Kim were tied
with 72s, but the former was victorious
with her lower handicap (5) and more
pars made (13).
With their wins in the National
Final, sponsored by PLDT, Shell,
Singapore Airlines, Seaboard
Eastern Insurance, Arrow and TW
Steel, Duavit, Latayan, Cote and
Prieto-Romualdez will spearhead
the Philippine contingent in the
MercedesTrophy Asian Final in
Australia in August.
The runners-upTanjutco,
Bernabe and Costes will also be
heading Down Under with the
CATS-Philippine squad, which
will be headed by CATS Motors
president Felix Ang as delegation
head and PR director Emy Arcilla
as country captain.
Duavit, Latayan, Cote
nail MercedesTrophy
Game Sunday
(Ynares Sports
Arena, Pasig)
4 p.m. AirAsia PH
vs Indonesia
Toribio Cote receives his Division C championship trophy and prizes from CATS Motors president Felix Ang
and chairman Greg Yu during the awards ceremony of the seventh MercedesTrophy National Final. Singapore
Airlines general manager to the Philippines Andrew Budiman (second from left) also presented him a symbolic
ticket for his business-class trip to Australia, where he will compete in the Asian Final in August.
2 p.m. National
vs SSC
4 p.m. UST vs
Perpetual
Team Prima
players
(from left)
Sonny
Montilla,
William
Gabuelo,
Odelon
Simpao
and Jeffrey
Japson hold
a Philippine
ag after
their victory.
A8
Stockinger moves closer to F1 dream
FILIPINO-SWISS racecar
driver Marlon Stckinger
marked another milestone
in Philippine racing history,
nishing second with the
Status Grand Prix Team at
the rst round of the 2012
Grand Prix 3 series held in
Barcelona, Spain.
The 21-year-old driver was
the rst Filipino to nish
on the podium in a major
European single-seater series,
and at a Formula 1 weekend,
with the record laying the
foundations for a strong title
challenge from Stckinger and
Status GP.
When you start in the top
five, everything is always
possible. The boys worked
hard to give me a good car
and its great that I finished
on the podium in the first race
of the season, Stckinger
said.
He added: There was a bit
of chaos at the start with the
jump-starting cars, but after
that it wasnt too hectic for
me. Of course, we still have
a bit more to work on, but for
now I am very happy with this
resultand rest assured we
will work even harder in the
next races.
For updates on Stckinger
and his journey to Formula
One, visit http://www.
marlonstockinger.com or
join the Marlon Stckinger
Facebook fan page at
h t t p : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k .
c o m / p a g e s / M a r l o n -
Stockinger/394105152801,
or follow Marlon on Twitter
at http://www.twitter.com/
imstockinger.
Sports
Manila Standard TODAY
sports@manilastandardtoday.com sports_mstandard@yahoo.com Riera U. Mallari, Editor
LOTTO RESULTS
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4 DIGITS 00000000
3 DIGITS 000000
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P0.0M+
P0.0M+
NBA RESULTS
LOS ANGELESThe San Antonio
Spurs are on to the Western Conference
nals, along with their 18-game winning
streak and 8-0 mark in the playoffs.
They rallied in the closing
minutes behind Tim Duncan, Tony
Parker and Manu Ginobili to beat
the Los Angeles Clippers 102-99
on Sunday night and wrap up the
second-round series 4-0.
We needed a game like that. It
arrived at the perfect time, Parker
said. We battled. We executed our
plays, made big baskets.
Now they wait to nd out their
next opponent. Oklahoma City
took a 3-1 series lead into Game
5 against the Los Angeles Lakers
on Monday night.
All these teams know each
other pretty well, so I dont think
there will be a huge surprise for
anybody no matter who we play,
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Duncan scored 21 points, Parker
added 17, Danny Green and Gary
Neal had 14 each, and Ginobili and
Thiago Splitter had 11 each as the
Spurs overcame a six-point decit
in the fourth quarter after leading
by 12 earlier in the game.
Their playoff winning streak
is tied for third-best in franchise
history. Not that either streak is a
topic among the team.
It doesnt exist for us, Popovich
said. We dont talk about it. It is not
even a thought in our minds.
HEAT 101, PACERS 93
INDIANAPOLISAs the clock
ticked down to a precious few
seconds, LeBron James threw his
right arm around Dwyane Wades
neck and pulled his teammate close.
This was their moment.
Together. The MVP and his
superstar sidekick.
They silenced 18,000 frenzied
fans, quieted armies of critics and
tied a series just as it appeared to be
slipping away from Miami.
The Heats season has been
By Ronnie Nathanielsz

DENVER Cuello, the World Boxing
Council straw-weight Silver champion
retained his title in an eliminator with a
second-round knockout of No. 1 ranked
Ganigan Lopez of Mexico in Celaya,
Guanajuato, Mexico on Sunday morning.
Cuello, a stablemate of WBC
yweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro, is
determined to follow in his footsteps
and win another world title for the
Philippines and he showed
he had the ability to do that with his
devastating knockout of Lopez.
The protg of former boxer and now
manager/promoter Aljoe Jaro dropped
Lopez in the opening round and ended
the one-sided battle by sending the
Mexican challenger to the canvas in the
second round with a series of vicious
shots to the head and body.
The Asian power boxer put Lopez out
of action one minute before the second
assault after two left uppercuts and a
long right hand sent the Mexican to
the canvas bad, the WBC reported. With
the result, Denver Cuello won the right
to challenge Japans Kazuto Ioka for the
WBC straw-weight world title.
In an exciting but short-lived battle
of southpaws, Cuello showed his hand-
speed and precise punching in the opening
round and some solid defense against
the aggressive Lopez at the start of the
second round before nailing the top-ranked
contender with a series of combinations.
Lopez was out for the count at 2:37 of the
second round. The referee was Frank Garza.
Cuello kayoes Lopez, earns world title shot
Spurs sweep
Clippers in 4
Castilo sets
semis duel
with Carlos
TOP seed Gelita Castilo
and fellow Golden Shuttle
Foundation mainstay No. 2
Bianca Carlos crushed their
respective rivals in straight-set
fashions to set a seminal duel
in the ladies Opens singles
even as reversals marred the
MVP Sports Foundation-
Philippine Badminton Ranking
System circuit at the Metro
Sports Center in Lahug, Cebu
City yesterday.
Castilo, who swept past
Camille Gotohio, 21-4,
21-8, in the Last 16 stage,
overwhelmed Annelyn Alba of
Valiant Badminton Club with
her power game as she came
away with a 21-6, 21-12 romp
to set up a semis clash with
As team No. 7 Jen Cayetano,
who upset fourth seed, 21-10,
21-17.
Carlos, on the other hand,
followed up her 21-8, 21-14
romp over Danica San Ignacio
with a 21-13, 21-14 victory
over Kim Mayono to arrange a
Final Four duel with third seed
Bianca Legaspi, who turned
back Kristina Tan, 12-21, 21-
16, 21-17, in the premier class
of the event sponsored by
GOAL Pilipinas and organized
by the Philippine Badminton
Association.
In mens Open singles, Jose
Benipayo shocked Paul Vivas,
pouncing on the second seeded
bets erratic game to hack out
a thrilling 14-21, 22-20, 21-19
victory in the third round.
saved. James and Wade came to
the rescue.
Showing why hes worlds best
all-around player, James scored
40 points and Wade bounced back
from an atrocious performance to
add 30 as Miami, playing with
desperation and without All-Star
forward Chris Bosh, rallied for
a 101-93 win over the Indiana
Pacers on Sunday in the Eastern
Conference seminals.
They understand with one of
our big components out, they have
to step up big. Heat coach Erik
Spoelstra said of the James-Wade
tag team. They were tremendous
with their force and their will.
James was beyond a force.
He added 18 rebounds, nine
assistsseveral of them to set
up Wade for easy buckets
and only left the oor for four
minutes as the Heat avoided
falling into a 3-1 hole. According
to Elias Sports Bureau, James is
only the second player to post
that stat line in a playoff game,
joining Elgin Baylor who did it
in 1961. AP
By Jeric Lopez

MARCIO Lassiters much-
anticipated Petron Blaze debut
will have to wait for a while.
The leading candidate for
Rookie of the Year injured
his right hand in the All-Star
game in Laoag last week and
was ready to play nonetheless
in the Philippine Basketball
Association Governors Cup,
but he aggravated it in a tune-up
game against Rain or Shine last
Thursday.
Lassiters right hand is now
on a cast and hell wait for three
weeks before it gets re-evaluated
if it needs surgery.
Lassiter will be out for three
to six weeks with his fractured
hand, conrmed Petron Blaze
coach Ato Agustin.
In Petron Blazes opening 97-
83 rout of Powerade Sunday night
to begin its title defense, Lassiter
watched on the sidelines, while
Jay Washington and Chris Lutz
made their return from injuries
to help the Boosters cause.
After missing the rst two
conferences with a left-toe
injury, Washington made his
return, but was evidently rusty
as he tried to insert himself back
in the game.
Fractured hand sidelines Marcio
Dodies 2 sons to
train under Roach
TWO sons of former International Boxing
Federation light yweight world champi-
on Dodie Boy Penalosa and nephews of
two-division world champion Gerry Pen-
alosa may train under Freddie Roach.
Gerry Penalosa told the Manila Stan-
dard that he had been encouraged by his
close friend Manny Pacquiao to seek the
assistance of Roach in honing the skills of
the two young ghters, who are extremely
talented.
Its a must for Dodie Boy Penalosa
Jr. to train under Roach because once he
handles you, you learn a great deal. Dodie
Boy Jr. must go there so his career will
improve, said Gerry Penalosa.
At the same time, he said he had spoken
to Roach and everything is perfect, be-
cause he always likes to help. He is wait-
ing for us to go there.
If Dodie Boy Jr., the undefeated
southpaw with 9 knockouts in 9 wins is
a prized find, Gerry Penalosa believes
his younger brother, 21-year-old Dave
Penalosa (3-0, 2 KOs) is perhaps an
even brighter prospect.
Wow, he impressed me. His last two
ghts showed he is for real even if we
give him a tough opponent. I saw that he
is a complete boxer. All he needs in expe-
rience, Penalosa said.
He added that Dave currently ghts at
122 pounds. Ronnie Nathanielsz
SPURS 102, CLIPPERS 99
HEAT 101, PACERS 93
CEBUANA Lhuillier looks forward to ending
its elimination campaign in the
Philippine Basketball Association
D-League Foundation Cup on a
winning note and, hopefully, secure a
place in the Final Four.
The Gems test the mettle of Erase
Plantcenta on Tuesday and coach
Beaujing Acot declared they are going all out to
clinch their seventh win in nine games to stay in
contention for the second outright seminal spot
up for grabs.
Gametime is set at 4 p.m. at the Treston Gym
in Taguig City.
This is a crucial game for us.
Erase Plantcenta is no pushover so
we really have to be focused. Our
destiny is not in our hands, but we
still have to win to have shot (for a
seminal berth), Acot said.
Cebuana Lhuillier (6-2) is tied at second place
with Big Chill (6-2) behind defending champion
and leader NLEX (8-0), which has cemented its
place in the Final Four.
Gems go all out against Plantcenta
Filipino-
Swiss racecar
driver Marlon
Stckinger
acknowledges
the cheers of
the crowd.
Games Tuesday
(Treston Gym)
2 p.m. Blackwater Sports
vs Caf France
4 p.m. Cebuana Lhuillier
vs Erase Plantcenta
Castilo
San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan (left) and
Los Angeles Clippers Bobby Simmons
ght for a rebound during the rst half
of their teams NBA Western Conference
seminal game in Los Angeles, Sunday.
The Spurs won, 102-99, to advance to
the conference nals. AP
Business
B1
IN BRIEF
PSE COMPOSITE INDEX
Closing May 21, 2012
OIL
PRICES
TODAY
P780-P895.00
LPG/11-kg tank
P54.55-P61.02
Unleaded Gasoline
P46.10-P49.90
Diesel
P52.34-P57.85
Kerosene
P38.50-P39.20
Auto LPG
FOREI GN EXCHANGE RATE
Currency Unit US Dollar Peso
United States Dollar 1.000000 43.1810
Japan Yen 0.012655 0.5465
UK Pound 1.582800 68.3469
Hong Kong Dollar 0.128771 5.5605
Switzerland Franc 1.064056 45.9470
Canada Dollar 0.979816 42.3094
Singapore Dollar 0.784498 33.8754
Australia Dollar 0.986096 42.5806
Bahrain Dinar 2.652731 114.5476
Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266660 11.5146
Brunei Dollar 0.781433 33.7431
Indonesia Rupiah 0.000108 0.0047
Thailand Baht 0.031949 1.3796
UAE Dirham 0.272264 11.7566
Euro Euro 1.277800 55.1767
Korea Won 0.000856 0.0370
China Yuan 0.158018 6.8234
India Rupee 0.018355 0.7926
Malaysia Ringgit 0.319438 13.7937
NewZealand Dollar 0.757518 32.7104
Taiwan Dollar 0.033784 1.4588
Source: PDS Bridge
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Monday, May 21, 2012
PESO-DOLLAR RATE
40
42
44
46
48
P43.210
CLOSE
Closing MAY 21, 2012
4,954.00
74.58
5200
4460
3720
2980
2240
1500
1200
VOLUME 889.700M
HIGH P43.080 LOW P43.245 AVERAGE P43.154
Ray S. Eano, Editor mst_biz@manilastandardtoday.com
Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor extrastory2000@gmail.com
PH posts P31-b budget surplus
BPI vows to revive loans
to the agricultural sector
SM Investments hikes stake in Atlas
Galocs
lifespan
extended
to 2018
Airlines told to refund, rebook all tickets
Banana commitment. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala (left) and Kuwaiti Ambassador Waleed Amad Al-Kandari discuss
increased trade of agricultural products, especially bananas and basmati rice, at the central ofce of the Agriculture Department in
Quezon City. Al-Kandari said Kuwait was committed to buy fresh Philippine bananas and that a Kuwaiti company which invested
in a Davao banana farm planned to expand its hectarage to satisfy increasing demand. Alcala also offered Basmati rice, which the
Philippines will soon produce for both domestic and export markets.
By Maria Bernadette Lunas
THE government posted a record budget
surplus of P31.024 billion in April as
increased revenue collections outpaced the
growth of spending.
The April surplus reversed a
decit of P28.6 billion registered
in March and was 18 percent
higher than the surplus of P26.26
billion booked year-on-year.
Revenues in April rose 10.8
percent while spending increased
9.1 percent, the report said.
The April surplus also trimmed
the budget decit in the rst four
months of the year to just P2.89
billion, the Bureau of Treasury
said Monday. The government
posted a budget surplus of P61
million in the four-month period
last year.
President Benigno Aquino III
plans to increase spending to a
record this year while seeking
$16 billion of investments in
infrastructure projects to boost
growth and counter the impact of
Europes debt turmoil and Chinas
slowdown. The government has
stepped up efforts to catch tax
evaders and smugglers, and has
drawn up bills aimed at increasing
revenue.
The government has the
space to provide pump-priming
measures as downside risks to
growth for the region persist,
Radhika Rao, an economist at
Forecast Pte in Singapore, said
before the report. Any front-
loading of expenditure will
be positive for growth and the
peso.
Revenue collections surged
to P153.27 billion in April from
P138.34 billion a year ago.
Expenditures in April went up
to P122.24 billion from P112.1
billion year-on-year.
The Bureau of Internal
Revenue, which accounts for
70 percent of the state income,
contributed P116.02 billion, up
12 percent in April from P103.4
billion a year earlier.
Collections of the Bureau
of Customs rose 13 percent to
P25.37 billion in April from
P22.44 billion. Collections of the
Treasury, however, fell 35 percent
to P4.1 billion from P6.24 billion
year-on-year.
Revenues in the rst four
months of the year rose 11 percent
to P514.24 billion from P461.41
billion a year ago.
Year-to-date disbursements
rose 12 percent to P517.13 billion
from P461.35 billion.
The BIR already collected
P345.07 billion in the rst four
months of the year, up 14 percent
from a year ago, but missed its
collection target of P355.5 billion
for the period.
Customs collections rose 11.6
percent to P94.9 billion in the
January-to-April period from
P85.1 billion recorded in the
same period last year.
This proves that there remains
to be space for tax collections
to grow considerably through
process re-engineering and
efcient tax administration
marked by a sustained campaign
against smuggling and tax
evasion, said Finance Secretary
Cesar Purisima.
By Elaine R. Alanguilan

BANK of the Philippine Islands
plans to revive lending to the
agriculture sector to serve the
capital requirements of small
and medium enterprises.
BPI president Aurelio
Montinola III said the bank
had gone into agri lending in
the 80s but that business was
dampened by high interest rates
and weather conditions that
severely affected agricultural
output.
We will cautiously go in
and making some bets in that
sector instead of overanalyzing
and doing nothing, said
Montinola at the sidelines of the
signing of the $1.2-million grant
it won in the G-20 SME Finance
Challenge Award for the banks
innovative nancing scheme on
energy projects of SMEs.
BPI plans to use proceeds
of the grant to improve market
awareness through education
of SMEs in energy efciency
and renewable energy projects
and enhance the capacity of the
banks lending group to deliver
nancing and technical services
to clients.
BPIs Sustainable Energy
Finance program, in partnership
with International Finance Corp.,
was declared the only East Asian
winner among 14 awardees of
the online competition joined by
more than 200 entries from all
over the world.
The bank has doubled its
portfolio allocation for lending
under the SEF program with
another P5 billion in loanable
funds for small and medium
enterprises up to 2016.
Nanette Biason, assistant vice
president, said the bank had
disbursed P5 billion worth of
loans since 2008 up to March
this year. The bank extended
about P2 billion of the loans
under a risk sharing facility with
IFC.
By Lailany P. Gomez
THE Civil Aeronautics Board has
temporarily suspended the right of local
airlines to deny rebooking and refund of
tickets on both promotional and regular
ights following complaints against
them.
The regulator in a memorandum
ordered all airline companies to
suspend until final action of the
board the non-rebookability or
refundability as a condition attached
to any tickets.
It issued the notice to Zest Airways
Inc., South East Asian Airlines, Airphil
Express Inc., Air Asia, Philippine
Airlines Inc. and Cebu Pacic Air.
Consequently, all tickets, regular
or promo shall be rebookable and
refundable. The general conditions of
carriage shall be amended accordingly,
CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla
said in the order.
The global standard calls for airlines to
overbook up to 10 percent in anticipation
of no-show passengers.
Philippine Airlines, which is now co-
owned by conglomerate San Miguel
Corp., started offering the rst no-
hidden charges, all-in low-fare promo
for all domestic and selected international
destinations.
Regulators are currently deliberating
on the proposed compensation for airline
passengers who are denied boarding
because of space constraints.
The CAB earlier proposed to aviation
companies that denied domestic
passengers must be paid P3,000, and
P5,000 for passengers of international
ights.
Besides compensation, the passenger
would be given 100 percent of the value
of the ight coupon.
Under a 1972 rule, the
compensation for denied boarding
stands at P150 for domestic and
P1,500 for international flights,
plus 100 percent of the value of the
first remaining flight coupon.
The CAB is set to issue the new rules
by June after holding a public hearing on
the proposed revisions in April.
By Alena Mae S. Flores
OTTO Energy Ltd. of Australia
said Monday it expects the
Galoc oil eld in northwest
Palawan to continue delivering
oil until 2018 due to higher
reserves.
Otto Energy told the
Australian Stock Exchange
that recoverable oil reserves
in Galoc had risen nearly
20 percent and the elds
lifespan from the existing two
production wells had increased
by ve years.
Otto Energy owns Galoc
Production Co., operator of
the Galoc oil eld, which is
covered by service contract 14
C.
Galoc Production owns 59.8
percent of SC 14-C while Nido
Production Ltd. holds 22.88
percent. Oriental Petroleum &
Minerals Corp. and Linapacan
Oil Gas & Power Corp. own
7.785 percent; The Philodrill
Corp., 7.214 percent; and
Forum Energy Philippines,
2.275 percent.
Galoc Production earlier
commissioned Resource
Investment Strategy
Consultants for an annual
review of the elds oil
reserves.
The report indicated that
proven reserves as of Jan. 1,
2012 reached 12.58 million
barrels, up 19.7 percent
from 10.51 million barrels
in Jan. 1, 2011. The report
indicated that proven and
probable reserves also rose
up to 19.75 million barrels,
up 2.7 percent, from 19.23
million barrels.
Reported increases in
reserves are attributable to
better-than-expected reservoir
performance to date and an
extension of eld life due to
higher prevailing oil prices.
The Galoc oil eld is expected
to remain in production until
approximately 2016 to 2018
on the basis of the existing
two wells alone, Otto Energy
said.
The Galoc eld has
already produced over 8.46
million barrels to date. The
governments share from the
Galoc royalties amounted to
P1.547 billion in 2011. The
Galoc eld started production
in October 2008.
ATLAS Consolidated Mining
and Development Corp. said
Monday SM Investments Corp.
has purchased a P5.34-billion
convertible loan from BDO
Unibank Inc. to increase its stake
in the mining company to 28.43
percent.
Atlas said in a statement the
loan was covered by the July
25, 2011 secured notes facility
agreement between Atlas and
BDO. SM Investments has
advised that it will fully exercise
the conversion option under the
agreement as the assignee of
BDO.
The conversion of the loan
into equity of Atlas will involve
the issuance of 273,098,160
common shares of Atlas. The
loan conversion brought SM
Investments total shareholdings
in Atlas to 28.43 percent.
SMICs decision to increase
its equity investment in Atlas
afrms its optimism in Atlas
potential for growth as a key
player in the mining industry,
Atlas said.
Atlas last month said wholly-
owned unit Carmen Copper
Corp., which operates the Toledo
copper mine in Cebu, produced
a record 7.35 million pounds of
payable copper in March 2012
and increased its production rate
during the rst quarter of the year
by 21 percent relative to the output
for the same period in 2011.
CCC, following its $300-
million bond issue, is gearing
toward the expansion of its
operations by enhancing
production efciency and
developing the commercial
value of its copper processing
by-products.
It is targeting a 50 percent
rise in mill throughput from the
current average rate of 40,000
tons per day to 60,000 tons per
day by 2014.
It is also projecting to sell this
year a total of 80 million pounds
of copper metal, which is 12
million pounds more than what
was sold in 2011.
Atlas is also pursuing its
exploration projects and
is looking into acquisition
opportunities.
Lailany P. Gomez
Exportbank payments
PHILIPPINE Deposit Insurance Corp. will
start sending payments today to depositors of
the closed Export and Industry Bank.
PDIC said the payments would apply to
those with valid deposits and balances of
P10,000 and below.
PDIC said it would make the payments
through postal money orders. It expects mailing
of payments to be completed by June 1, 2012.
The valid accounts with balances of P10,000
and below total 29,314 accounts, or 60.7
percent of the banks entire deposit accounts
as of March 2012.
PDIC said the initial batch of deposit
insurance payments would be for holders of
accounts who have no outstanding loans with
EIB and who have updated their addresses with
the bank in the past year. The account holders
are not required to le deposit insurance
claims.
The state deposit insurer said it plans to
start servicing the claims for accounts of over
P10,000 up to P500,000 on June 19, 2012, one
week earlier than the original schedule.
Elaine Ramos Alanguilan
TV5 debuts in US
TV5, the fastest-growing broadcast network
in the Philippines, has teamed up with DISH
to bring its news and entertainment programs
to Filipinos residing in the US beginning on
May 23.
DISH is the leader in international
programming in the US and the rst pay-
TV provider to carry TV5s international
channels. Through Pilipinas Global Network,
the international afliate of TV5, US-based
Filipinos will have access to cutting-edge and
trend-setting programming through its Kapatid
TV5 and Aksyon TV International channels.
TV5 International got another boost
with this partnership with DISH. It signies
our continuing commitment to give Pinoy
audiences the best entertainment and public
service programming, wherever they may be
in the world, said Claro Ramirez, president
and chief executive of PGN.
DISH is pleased to be the rst pay-TV
provider to offer TV5 content in the US, said
Chris Kuelling, vice president of international
programming at DISH.
Business
ManilaStandardToday
extrastory2000@gmail.com; mst_biz@manilastandardtoday.com
B2
Working smarter with Dropbox
Stock market rises
on bargain hunting
52 Weeks Previous % Net Foreign (Peso)
High Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying
MST BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW
MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012
M
S
T
FINANCIAL
70.00 46.00 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 62.00 63.00 62.00 62.05 0.08 2,086,770 (41,698,733.00)
76.80 50.00 Bank of PI 66.00 68.80 66.80 67.20 1.82 1,724,260 (44,461,685.50)
512.00 370.00 China Bank 549.00 590.00 549.00 570.00 3.83 37,780 17,488,500.00
1.95 1.42 BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. 1.82 1.82 1.81 1.82 0.00 15,000
23.90 12.50 COL Financial 22.00 23.00 22.20 22.80 3.64 98,300 1,022,045.00
Eastwest Bank 18.56 18.60 18.56 18.58 0.11 4,645,000 (5,165,006.00)
22.00 7.56 Filipino Fund Inc. 8.96 9.58 9.58 9.58 6.92 300
0.95 0.62 First Abacus 0.75 0.74 0.74 0.74 (1.33) 10,000
3.26 1.91 I-Remit Inc. 2.33 2.35 2.20 2.22 (4.72) 20,000
775.00 475.20 Manulife Fin. Corp. 481.00 481.00 480.00 480.00 (0.21) 100
29.00 3.00 Maybank ATR KE 28.20 33.00 28.00 33.00 17.02 137,300 2,820.00
93.50 60.00 Metrobank 82.00 86.40 82.50 86.30 5.24 2,187,610 106,363,414.00
3.06 1.30 Natl Reinsurance Corp. 2.05 2.04 2.04 2.04 (0.49) 100,000
16.85 41.00 Phil. National Bank 68.50 70.00 68.45 70.00 2.19 387,060 4,504,445.50
539.00 204.80 PSE Inc. 353.00 350.00 349.00 350.00 (0.85) 720
44.40 25.45 RCBC À 42.75 42.95 42.50 42.75 0.00 89,200.00 2,423,795.00
151.50 77.00 Security Bank 125.50 127.70 125.00 127.50 1.59 685,040 13,890,859.00
1390.00 950.00 Sun Life Financial 950.00 951.00 940.00 950.00 0.00 160
140.00 58.00 Union Bank 99.60 100.00 98.55 100.00 0.40 60,860 634,670.00
2.06 1.43 Vantage Equities 1.82 1.80 1.80 1.80 (1.10) 2,000
INDUSTRIAL
35.50 26.50 Aboitiz Power Corp. 33.70 34.20 33.25 33.80 0.30 2,294,000 5,850,075.00
13.58 7.32 Agrinurture Inc. 10.50 11.40 10.52 11.14 6.10 111,800 11,636.00
23.50 11.98 Alaska Milk Corp. 23.65 23.65 23.50 23.50 (0.63) 22,200
1.86 0.97 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.45 1.45 1.40 1.45 0.00 23,000
54.90 26.00 Alphaland Corp. 31.10 30.90 30.80 30.90 (0.64) 500
1.65 1.08 Alsons Cons. 1.26 1.26 1.26 1.26 0.00 32,300 352,800.00
Asiabest Group 27.00 27.95 26.90 27.00 0.00 51,700 13,500.00
102.80 3.02 Bloomberry 8.31 8.35 8.19 8.24 (0.84) 7,223,200 (44,772,136.00)
3.07 2.30 Chemrez Technologies Inc. 2.45 2.45 2.45 2.45 0.00 194,000
8.33 7.41 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 8.16 8.15 8.00 8.10 (0.74) 161,300
7.06 4.83 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.75 5.85 5.75 5.80 0.87 10,037,700 9,757,908.00
6.28 2.80 EEI 6.00 6.06 5.92 6.04 0.67 791,200 2,826,466.00
3.80 1.00 Euro-Med Lab. 2.00 2.06 2.06 2.06 3.00 5,000
25.00 5.80 Federal Chemicals 11.32 10.86 10.84 10.84 (4.24) 700
15.58 12.50 First Gen Corp. 13.90 14.18 13.90 14.12 1.58 2,323,300 10,000,416.00
67.20 51.50 First Holdings A 62.95 63.50 62.80 63.40 0.71 625,950 2,434,708.00
31.50 22.50 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 21.00 21.05 20.70 21.05 0.24 26,200 (315,530.00)
0.10 0.0095 Greenergy 0.0140 0.0140 0.0140 0.0140 0.00 7,900,000
13.50 7.80 Holcim Philippines Inc. 11.62 11.98 11.60 11.98 3.10 5,500
9.00 4.71 Integ. Micro-Electronics 4.35 4.36 4.36 4.36 0.23 2,000
2.35 0.95 Ionics Inc 1.560 1.880 1.620 1.720 10.26 1,675,000 17,340.00
120.00 80.00 Jollibee Foods Corp. 105.20 110.00 108.00 109.00 3.61 482,710 16,839,189.00
8.40 1.04 LMG Chemicals 2.00 2.07 1.93 1.99 (0.50) 407,000
24.70 17.94 Manila Water Co. Inc. 23.45 24.05 23.45 23.75 1.28 1,784,700 (15,506,420.00)
15.30 8.12 Megawide 16.10 17.06 16.50 16.70 3.73 252,700 (17,000.00)
295.00 215.00 Mla. Elect. Co À 223.00 237.80 222.20 230.00 3.14 483,520 (2,504,656.00)
3.00 1.96 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 2.70 2.82 2.78 2.78 2.96 1,593,000 (417,040.00)
17.40 9.70 Petron Corporation 10.12 10.34 10.10 10.30 1.78 461,800 1,050,284.00
15.24 9.01 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 8.55 8.79 8.55 8.70 1.75 95,500 13,050.00
2.55 1.01 RFM Corporation 2.60 2.60 2.52 2.58 (0.77) 6,461,000 (9,521,970.00)
3.49 2.01 Roxas Holdings 2.85 2.46 2.46 2.46 (13.68) 23,000
6.50 2.90 Salcon Power Corp. 4.05 4.05 4.05 4.05 0.00 2,000
33.00 27.70 San Miguel Brewery Inc. 29.60 29.60 29.50 29.60 0.00 13,500
132.60 105.70 San Miguel Corp À 112.00 113.00 112.00 112.80 0.71 437,230 23,384,119.00
1.90 1.25 Seacem 1.65 1.69 1.64 1.68 1.82 146,000
2.50 1.85 Splash Corporation 1.81 1.92 1.92 1.92 6.08 1,000
5.46 2.92 Tanduay Holdings 3.85 3.97 3.85 3.90 1.30 83,000
1.41 0.90 Trans-Asia Oil 1.20 1.24 1.22 1.24 3.33 98,000 3,660.00
68.00 36.20 Universal Robina 61.25 61.50 61.00 61.10 (0.24) 3,337,920 (27,742,882.50)
Victorias Milling 0.29 5.50 2.50 2.99 931.03 2,230,000
1.12 0.285 Vitarich Corp. 0.620 0.730 0.620 0.700 12.90 7,732,000
18.00 2.55 Vivant Corp. 12.36 13.00 12.36 13.00 5.18 22,600 24,980.00
1.22 0.68 Vulcan Indl. 0.96 0.96 0.95 0.96 0.00 21,000
HOLDING FIRMS
59.90 35.50 Aboitiz Equity 48.00 51.10 49.00 50.10 4.38 1,438,900 35,027,140.00
13.48 8.00 Alliance Global Inc. 12.48 12.88 12.44 12.78 2.40 7,699,200 44,643,162.00
2.97 1.67 Anglo Holdings A 1.88 1.88 1.88 1.88 0.00 13,000
4.60 3.00 Anscor À 4.50 4.65 4.35 4.35 (3.33) 39,000
6.98 0.260 Asia Amalgamated A 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 0.00 69,000
3.15 1.49 ATN Holdings A 1.88 1.94 1.84 1.92 2.13 156,000
4.16 2.30 ATN Holdings B 2.40 2.44 2.39 2.40 0.00 26,000 11,950.00
437.00 272.00 Ayala Corp À 410.00 420.00 401.00 401.00 (2.20) 296,480 (34,181,678.00)
59.45 30.50 DMCI Holdings 58.00 58.50 56.95 57.00 (1.72) 8,703,730 (97,198,161.50)
4.19 1.03 F&J Prince A 2.62 2.62 2.62 2.62 0.00 10,000
5.25 3.30 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.10 4.19 4.06 4.18 1.95 246,000 237,700.00
GT Capital 465.00 478.00 460.80 472.00 1.51 283,660 (30,269,958.00)
5.22 2.90 House of Inv. 4.41 4.38 4.34 4.34 (1.59) 34,000
34.80 19.00 JG Summit Holdings 32.00 33.80 31.95 32.00 0.00 845,700 (1,196,735.00)
6.95 4.00 Lopez Holdings Corp. 5.42 5.50 5.30 5.50 1.48 728,000 2,418,860.00
1.54 0.61 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 1.11 1.14 1.09 1.12 0.90 296,000
0.91 0.300 Mabuhay Holdings À 0.500 0.520 0.520 0.520 4.00 80,000
3.82 1.500 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 2.620 2.680 2.620 2.650 1.15 2,915,000 (2,861,980.00)
4.45 2.56 Metro Pacic Inv. Corp. 3.92 4.15 3.95 4.02 2.55 28,875,000 (5,193,580.00)
6.24 2.10 Minerales Industrias Corp. 4.80 4.90 4.60 4.80 0.00 160,000 (9,800.00)
0.0770 0.054 Pacica À 0.0520 0.0540 0.0510 0.0510 (1.92) 2,160,000
2.20 1.42 Prime Media Hldg 1.420 1.420 1.420 1.420 0.00 1,000
0.490 0.285 Sinophil Corp. 0.330 0.330 0.320 0.320 (3.03) 20,000
699.00 450.00 SM Investments Inc. 673.00 680.00 670.00 675.00 0.30 218,540 (26,581,155.00)
1.78 1.00 Solid Group Inc. 1.40 1.40 1.36 1.38 (1.43) 109,000 4,080.00
1.57 1.14 South China Res. Inc. 1.20 1.25 1.25 1.25 4.17 8,000
0.620 0.056 Wellex Industries 0.3900 0.4000 0.3700 0.3850 (1.28) 7,780,000 77,000.00
1.370 0.178 Zeus Holdings 0.500 0.520 0.500 0.520 4.00 18,000
P R O P E R T Y
22.40 13.36 Ayala Land `B 19.00 19.60 19.12 19.56 2.95 11,779,200 (103,676,698.00)
6.12 3.08 Belle Corp. À 4.65 4.80 4.75 4.80 3.23 1,414,000 2,387,700.00
9.00 2.26 Cebu Holdings 6.30 6.39 6.16 6.37 1.11 10,100
5.20 2.20 Cebu Prop. `B 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 0.00 4,000
5.66 0.26 Century Property 1.40 1.45 1.41 1.41 0.71 3,938,000 (1,354,350.00)
2.85 1.20 City & Land Dev. 2.50 2.35 2.00 2.35 (6.00) 137,000
1.65 1.07 Cityland Dev. À 1.25 1.23 1.19 1.19 (4.80) 53,000 5,950.00
0.127 0.060 Crown Equities Inc. 0.079 0.080 0.078 0.079 0.00 1,280,000
1.16 0.67 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.00 347,000
0.90 0.54 Empire East Land 0.670 0.690 0.680 0.690 2.99 1,373,000
3.06 1.76 Global-Estate 1.85 1.86 1.80 1.86 0.54 2,056,000 (2,034,430.00)
1.35 0.98 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.26 1.30 1.27 1.29 2.38 7,962,000 3,051,300.00
2.48 1.51 Megaworld Corp. 1.94 2.05 1.97 2.04 5.15 61,604,000 64,931,150.00
0.80 0.215 MRC Allied Ind. 0.1750 0.1860 0.1750 0.1760 0.57 2,140,000
0.990 0.072 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.7700 0.8000 0.7500 0.7500 (2.60) 32,079,000 155,520.00
0.71 0.41 Phil. Realty À 0.480 0.480 0.480 0.480 0.00 190,000
4.77 1.80 Polar Property Holdings 3.34 3.34 3.34 3.34 0.00 1,000
18.86 10.00 Robinsons Land `B 15.80 16.10 51.88 16.10 1.90 3,539,700 (11,091,382.00)
Rockwell 3.60 3.90 3.60 3.70 2.78 947,000 7,300.00
9.47 6.50 SM Development À 6.80 6.92 6.81 6.90 1.47 2,532,300 (9,388,557.00)
18.20 10.90 SM Prime Holdings 15.88 12.96 12.80 12.88 (18.89) 11,662,400 2,834,942.00
1.14 0.64 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.67 0.69 0.65 0.67 0.00 882,000
4.30 2.60 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.170 4.200 4.100 4.180 0.24 2,121,000 4,497,560.00
S E R V I C E S
2GO Group 1.87 1.96 1.95 1.95 4.28 11,000
43.00 28.60 ABS-CBN 35.00 37.00 33.70 33.70 (3.71) 12,900
14.76 1.60 Acesite Hotel 8.88 9.40 8.45 9.38 5.63 138,500
0.80 0.45 APC Group, Inc. 0.670 0.680 0.630 0.680 1.49 71,000
0.5300 0.0660 Boulevard Holdings 0.1550 0.1560 0.1520 0.1530 (1.29) 15,700,000 76,500.00
98.15 62.50 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 67.50 68.50 67.40 68.00 0.74 66,390 3,233,569.50
9.70 5.40 DFNN Inc. 5.95 6.04 5.80 6.04 1.51 229,200
5.90 1.45 Easy Call Common 3.25 3.40 3.40 3.40 4.62 3,000
1270.00 825.00 Globe Telecom 1020.00 1074.00 1000.00 1074.00 5.29 23,295 4,885,360.00
10.34 6.18 GMA Network Inc. 9.50 9.60 9.45 9.60 1.05 823,100
69.00 43.40 I.C.T.S.I. 69.70 71.00 69.60 69.60 (0.14) 1,013,020 30,448,619.50
0.98 0.34 Information Capital Tech. 0.420 0.440 0.420 0.440 4.76 100,000
6.00 4.00 IPeople Inc. À 5.72 5.72 5.35 5.35 (6.47) 111,000
4.29 2.20 IP Converge 4.00 4.11 3.96 4.05 1.25 671,000
34.50 0.123 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.048 0.050 0.046 0.048 0.00 30,400,000 9,400.00
3.87 1.16 IPVG Corp. 1.12 1.12 1.05 1.05 (6.25) 461,000 5,550.00
5.1900 2.900 ISM Communications 2.6200 2.7900 2.6300 2.6300 0.38 71,000
3.79 1.58 JTH Davies Holdings Inc. 2.34 2.35 2.33 2.35 0.43 19,000
11.68 5.90 Leisure & Resorts 6.90 7.00 6.87 6.95 0.72 509,500
4.28 2.65 Liberty Telecom 2.85 2.85 2.85 2.85 0.00 4,000
3.96 2.70 Macroasia Corp. 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 0.00 104,000 (280,000.00)
0.84 0.57 Manila Bulletin 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.00 14,000
3.00 1.00 Manila Jockey 1.80 2.09 1.70 1.87 3.89 4,609,000 20,000.00
21.00 17.20 Pacic Online Sys. Corp. 20.55 20.60 20.00 20.60 0.24 186,600
8.58 4.50 PAL Holdings Inc. 7.28 7.40 7.28 7.39 1.51 16,700
3.32 1.05 Paxys Inc. 2.85 2.94 2.80 2.90 1.75 1,954,000 49,300.00
10.00 4.60 Phil. Racing Club 9.20 9.50 9.20 9.40 2.17 5,023,100 (23,834,440.00)
60.00 17.02 Phil. Seven Corp. 44.00 44.00 43.50 44.00 0.00 110,000 3,960,000.00
17.18 14.50 Philweb.Com Inc. 16.50 16.52 16.44 16.52 0.12 430,500 2,104,952.00
2886.00 2096.00 PLDT Common 2370.00 2396.00 2368.00 2394.00 1.01 131,520 (34,825,330.00)
0.48 0.23 PremiereHorizon 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.00 10,000
23.75 10.68 Puregold 21.95 22.75 22.00 22.30 1.59 2,488,700 (9,919,985.00)
Touch Solutions 3.52 3.52 3.52 3.52 0.00 11,000
3.30 2.40 Transpacic Broadcast 2.51 2.70 2.70 2.70 7.57 1,000
0.79 0.26 Waterfront Phils. 0.410 0.440 0.400 0.410 0.00 150,000 (40,800.00)
MINING & OIL
0.0083 0.0036 Abra Mining 0.0048 0.0048 0.0047 0.0048 0.00 77,000,000
6.20 3.01 Apex À 4.90 5.00 4.90 4.90 0.00 20,000
6.22 3.00 Apex `B 4.90 4.90 4.90 4.90 0.00 20,000
25.20 14.50 Atlas Cons. À 18.20 18.16 17.84 18.10 (0.55) 411,900 5,710,048.00
31.00 20.00 Atok-Big Wedge À 33.00 33.00 32.50 33.00 0.00 2,300 (16,500.00)
0.380 0.148 Basic Energy Corp. 0.250 0.260 0.250 0.260 4.00 410,000
30.35 15.00 Benguet Corp À 24.15 23.50 23.50 23.50 (2.69) 6,000
34.00 14.50 Benguet Corp `B 24.20 24.20 23.85 23.90 (1.24) 21,500 (120,205.00)
2.51 1.62 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 1.48 1.55 1.50 1.51 2.03 182,000
50.85 4.35 Dizon 38.45 39.45 38.00 38.10 (0.91) 98,500
1.21 0.50 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.75 0.77 0.73 0.74 (1.33) 4,709,000 35,040.00
1.82 0.5900 Lepanto À 1.210 1.250 1.200 1.250 3.31 23,433,000
2.070 0.6700 Lepanto `B 1.240 1.290 1.230 1.270 2.42 22,307,000 1,693,300.00
0.085 0.035 Manila Mining À 0.0600 0.0630 0.0590 0.0630 5.00 128,800,000
0.087 0.035 Manila Mining `B 0.0610 0.0640 0.0610 0.0640 4.92 22,320,000 187,240.00
34.80 15.04 Nickelasia 27.70 28.70 27.90 28.60 3.25 99,700 2,321,010.00
12.76 2.08 Nihao Mineral Resources 9.60 9.80 9.55 9.62 0.21 108,500
1.100 0.008 Omico 0.7400 0.7400 0.7400 0.7400 0.00 186,000
8.40 2.12 Oriental Peninsula Res. 5.260 5.470 5.310 5.330 1.33 2,499,600 (1,130,450.00)
0.032 0.012 Oriental Pet. À 0.0190 0.0190 0.0180 0.0190 0.00 13,600,000
0.033 0.013 Oriental Pet. `B 0.0210 0.0200 0.0180 0.0200 (4.76) 3,100,000
7.14 5.10 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 6.00 6.10 5.90 5.94 (1.00) 36,200
28.95 17.08 Philex À 23.95 25.30 23.90 25.00 4.38 7,709,600 8,416,315.00
14.18 3.00 PhilexPetroleum 31.30 34.50 31.00 34.00 8.63 2,949,600 10,681,670.00
0.058 0.013 Philodrill Corp. À 0.045 0.047 0.045 0.047 4.44 917,100,000 (197,400.00)
69.00 46.00 PNOC Expls `B 57.00 48.05 48.00 48.00 (15.79) 1,300
252.00 161.10 Semirara Corp. 250.00 254.80 246.00 246.00 (1.60) 125,060 (17,405,166.00)
0.029 0.013 United Paragon 0.0180 0.0180 0.0180 0.0180 0.00 27,500,000
PREFERRED
47.90 27.30 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 32.80 34.60 34.60 34.60 5.49 500 17,300.00
First Gen G 100.00 100.60 100.10 100.60 0.60 16,350
11.02 6.00 GMA Holdings Inc. 9.50 9.60 9.47 9.60 1.05 2,476,700 (1,472,500.00)
116.70 106.20 PCOR-Preferred 112.90 113.90 113.00 113.10 0.18 12,730
80.00 74.50 SMC Preferred 1 75.10 75.10 75.10 75.10 0.00 5,000
1050.00 990.00 SMPFC Preferred 1025.00 1024.00 1024.00 1024.00 (0.10) 1,965
6.00 0.87 Swift Pref 1.00 1.02 1.00 1.02 2.00 115,000
WARRANTS & BONDS
1.35 0.62 Megaworld Corp. Warrants 1.02 1.06 1.06 1.06 3.92 36,000
TRADI NG SUMMARY
SHARES VALUE
FINANCIAL 12,478,712 69,4847,757.805
INDUSTRIAL 60,169,866 794,940,102.148
HOLDING FIRMS 63,231,566 123,240,0276.4
PROPERTY 1,371,204,389 2,211,454,273.212
SERVICES 68,455,923 615,603,873.35
MINING & OIL 1,255,105,058 462,860,308.234
GRAND TOTAL 2,830,645,514 6,012,106,591.147
FINANCIAL 1,211.52 (up) 27.03
INDUSTRIAL 7,592.85 (up) 99.39
HOLDING FIRMS 4,289.61 (up) 39.26
PROPERTY 1,812.14 (up) 42.83
SERVICES 1,624.28 (up) 15.8
MINING & OIL 24.245.5 (up) 498.52
PSEI 4,954 (up) 74.58
All Shares Index 3,308.04 (up) 41.96
Gainers: 103; Losers: 42; Unchanged: 40; Total: 185
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
Victorias Milling 2.99 931.03
Maybank ATR KE 33.00 17.02
Vitarich Corp. 0.700 12.90
Ionics Inc 1.720 10.26
PhilexPetroleum 34.00 8.63
Transpacic Broadcast 2.70 7.57
Filipino Fund Inc. 9.58 6.92
Agrinurture Inc. 11.14 6.10
Splash Corporation 1.92 6.08
Acesite Hotel 9.38 5.63
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
SM Prime Holdings 12.88 (18.89)
PNOC Expls `B' 48.00 (15.79)
Roxas Holdings 2.46 (13.68)
IPeople Inc. À' 5.35 (6.47)
IPVG Corp. 1.05 (6.25)
City & Land Dev. 2.35 (6.00)
Cityland Dev. À' 1.19 (4.80)
Oriental Pet. `B' 0.0200 (4.76)
I-Remit Inc. 2.22 (4.72)
Federal Chemicals 10.84 (4.24)
TOP GAI NERS TOP LOSERS
CHIN WONG
DIGITAL LIFE
FOLKS who follow this column know that Dropbox
(www.dropbox.com) is one of my favorite utilities.
On the simplest level, it provides two gigabytes of
free online storage, but its much more than that.
The ability to synchronize those les across multiple
computers is what makes this combination utility
and Web service so useful.
In my work, I use Dropbox daily to make sure
important les are with me anywhere I workon
my Linux home PC, my Macbook Air or on my
ofce Windows 7 machine. You can sign up for the
basic account (2GB) for free, or buy extra storage if
you need it. For my needs, 2GB has been more than
enoughthough the company offers you several
ways to earn more free storage. One of the easiest
ways to do this is to tell your friends about Dropbox.
You get 500 megabytes of extra storage for every
person you sign upfor a maximum of 18GB free.
Dropbox is easy to use because after youve
installed it (available in Linux, Mac and Windows),
it works with very little intervention. Everything
you put in a specially created Dropbox folder on
your computer is automatically and seamlessly
synchronized in the background with Dropbox
servers over the Internet. This folder is then
replicated on every machine on which you have
Dropbox installed.
At the most basic, a good practice is to change
your default work directory to the Dropbox folder
or a folder within it. This way, your most commonly
used les will be automatically available to you,
wherever you are working. For example, Ive
set up my LibreOfce applications to save all my
documents to a Documents folder inside my
Dropbox folder (LibreOfce > Preferences > Paths
> My Documents > Edit). You can do the same thing
with your other favorite applications.
For example, if you use a password manager like
KeePassX to help you remember all your passwords,
you can save the database le to a folder within
Dropbox, so that you can jog your memory from any
of your Dropbox-registered computers.
You can also use Dropbox in conjunction with
a program like Calibre to make all your electronic
books available on all your machines.
But Dropbox isnt only about sharing les with
yourself; you can use it to conveniently share les
with others, too. One particularly useful application
is to quickly share photos with your friends and
family. To do this, simply create a folder within the
Photos folder of your Dropbox directory and copy
all the images that you wish to share into the new
folder. Then, from your le manager (Finder on the
Mac or Nautilus in Ubuntu Linux), right-click on the
folder you wish to share, nd the Dropbox menu,
and choose Copy Public Gallery Link. Now youre
ready to paste the link into an e-mail message that
you can send to your friends with whom you wish to
share the photos. Dropbox even creates an attractive
gallery of your shared photos that your friends and
contacts can view and download. Heres an example
of my shared folder of wallpapers (http://bit.ly/
chins_wallpapers). Of course, you can use Dropbox
to share other types of data as well, and you can
even set up a folder that you and your colleagues can
share for collaborative work.
You can also use Dropbox to install software on
multiple machines without having to bring a USB
drive around with you. Simply download and save
the installation le to your Dropbox folder, then
access it from other machines by logging on to your
Dropbox Web site through any browser.
If you accidentally delete a le from your Dropbox
folder, dont worry. Log on to your Dropbox page
and click on the icon for Show Deleted Files.
Choose the deleted le and click on the Restore
button to get it back. This suggests you can also
use Dropbox as a quick-and-dirty online backup
solution. Just copy the les you wish to backup into
the Dropbox folder.
Another neat trick you can do from the Dropbox
Web site is to nd out the IP address of each registered
machine you have. Just go to the Settings menu
and choose My Computers, and mouse-over your
connected machines to discover the IP addresses
they use.
These tips are pretty basic, and you can nd many
more creative ways to tap Dropboxs excellent
synchronization capabilities. If youre a Chrome or
Firefox user, there extensions that make it easy to
upload les to your Dropbox folder straight from the
browser. Other hacks combine Dropbox with other
Web-based applications with interesting results. The
uses are limited only by your imaginationand your
storage quota.
Column archives and blog at:
http://www.chinwong.com
THE stock market rebounded Monday on
bargain hunting and speculation European
leaders will come up with a strategy to
ease their debt crisis.
The Philippine Stock Exchange
Index rose 74.58 points, or
1.5 percent, to 4,954. Gainers
overwhelmed losers, 103 to 42,
with 40 issues unchanged.
Bank of the Philippine Islands,
the largest lender by market
value, added 1.8 percent to
P67.20. The bank is keeping
its loan-growth forecast of 12
percent to 15 percent this year,
and its core income is so far
so good, president Aurelio
Montinola told reporters.
DMCI Holdings Inc., the
biggest construction company,
retreated 1.7 percent to P57. First-
quarter prot grew 18 percent
from a year earlier to P2.7 billion,
a stock exchange ling showed.
Semirara Mining Corp., a unit
of DMCI and the biggest coal
producer, dropped 1.6 percent
to P246. The stocks rating was
cut to neutral from overweight
by Jeanette Yutan, an analyst at
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Yutan
has a 12-month price estimate of
P255 for the stock.
COL Financial Group Inc., the
largest online stock brokerage,
gained 3.6 percent to P22.80.
First-quarter prot surged 58
percent to a record P130 million,
the company said in a stock-
exchange ling.
IP Converge Data Center Inc., a
provider of managed data services
and business solutions, climbed 1.3
percent to P4.05, its highest close
since Oct. 13. IP Ventures Inc. said
it offered P4.20 a share to acquire
about 9 percent of IP Converge
from minority shareholders,
according to an exchange ling.
Aboitiz Power Corp. inched
up to P33.80. Therma Marine
Inc., a power barge operator and
a unit of Aboitiz Power, received
supply contracts with two electric
retailers in Mindanao.
Bargain hunting, meanwhile,
helped Asian stock markets
edge upward Monday, but
gains were limited as investors
remained unconvinced that the
worlds major economies nailed
a solution to the European debt
crisis following a summit in
Washington.
Markets posted only muted
gains as traders were kept on edge
by worries about the economic
future of Greece and whether it
would exit the 17-country euro
currency union.
A weekend summit in
Washington among leaders
of the worlds most powerful
nations provided little in the way
of encouragement for investors
already nervous about slowing
growth in China and fears that
turmoil in Europe could hit key
export industries.
Leaders of the G-8 countries
issued a statement calling for both
painful cutbacks and growth-
promoting measures to deal with
a crisis that threatens the global
economy. But actual steps were left
up to individual countries to take.
We saw a very weak statement
out of the G-8, said Andrew
Sullivan, principal sales trader at
Piper Jaffray in Hong Kong. They
probably have gone as far as they
can, but the market isnt interested
in statements. Its interested in
action. With Bloomberg, AP
Provinces
ManilaStandardToday leoestonilo@gmail.com MAY 22, 2012 TUESDAY
B3
IN BRIEF
Dump gets P80m for rehab
Rubber sector trains workers
Filipino reverses brain drain, sets up packaging center in Iloilo
By Dexter A. See
BAGUIO CITY-Malacaan
Palace has approved the release of
P80.1 million to rehabilitate the 5.2-
hectare Irisan dump that collapsed
during heavy rain spawned by
Typhoon Mina last year.
Rep. Bernardo Vergara,
vice chairman of the House
committee on public works, said
the fund would come from the
national governments calamity
funds.
We have to hasten the
rehabilitation of the retaining
wall, he said.
The trash slide on Aug. 27
killed six people and closed two
kilometers of the Baguio-Asin
road for four days.
Vergara said the Special
Allotment Release Order
has been forwarded by the
Department of Budget and
Management to enable the
Department of Public Works and
Highways to bid out the project.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan
commended Malacaang for
anticipating the onset of the wet
season.
We are still right on track to
convert our open dumpsite into
an ecotourism park which will
be an added tourist attraction
in our city, he said. The city
government has identied a
transfer and sorting area for the
citys residual waste which will
be hauled out to Capas, Tarlac by
commissioned private haulers.
Domogan said he was
talking to ofcials of Itogon
and Benguet province to open
a engineered sanitary landll
in Barangay Ampucao along
with a 25-hectare property as
alternative site for the waste
disposal facility.
Our garbage collection have
normalized, he said, noting that
the volume has doubled since
the start of the month.
Enrile boosts tourism

STA. ANAFirst district Rep. Jack Enrile led local executives recently
in showing the best of Cagayan Valley following the the recent Le Tour
Filipinas.
He described the east ank of Northern Luzon that also included Isabela,
Quirino, and Nueva Vizacaya as a region of adventures that never ends.
Enbrile cited breathtaking sceneries along with marine, coastal, forest,
and inland resources that Cagayanos have vowed to sustain.
Sta. Ana Mayor Darwin Tobias said visitors would nd the place worth
returning to because of unspoiled natural settings and heartwarming people
with a rich culture and tradition.
Cagayan is acclaimed as Caving Capital of the Philippines with the
agship destination at Peablanca town together with the protected Sierra
Madre Natural Park. Jessica M. Bacud
Pampanga eyes 3
rd
city

MABALACATMayor Marino Morales lauded the action of
Malacaang in approving a measure for the town to be the third city of
Pampanga.
We will be able to carry out plans and programs and we will show to
the people a government that cares and a government that is responsive,
he said in a statement.
Morales has been pushing for Mabalacat to joing the ranks of Angeles
City and the City of San Fernando. He said the locality has been attracting
investors and business enterprises drawing workers from other towns.
Deng Pangilinan, spokesman, said the Commission on Elections was
nalizing the schedule of the plebiscite, adding that Mabalacats income
has reached P144 million, which is P44 million above the requirement
under the law.
Morales assured businessmen of a ve-year tax moratorium.
Jess Malabanan
Masons donate wheelchairs

BALANGA CITYFifty-two wheelchairs were distributes to
paraplegics here, mostly children, by Masonic Shriners, Masonic Lodge
268, and Onemig Bondoc.
In his message, Bondoc underscored the helping of underprivileged and
disabled members of the society following Masonic principles.
He also distributed school supplies to 150 children in Barangay Gugo,
Samal town in time for the opening of classes next month.
Earlier, Kiwanis International and Bondoc held medical mission in
Barangay Townsite, Mariveles, for about 300 indigent residents.
Political observers said the actor-turned-businessman is being awaited
to declare his bid for the vice gubernatorial post in the province in the May
2013 polls.
He has registered as voter in Mariveles town last March. The Bondocs
have a house in Porto Del Sol. Butch Gunio
By Gigi Muoz David
COTABATO rubber plantation workers
are udergoing training by Technical
Education and Skills Development
Authority to upgrade their skills to global
industry level.
Tesda director general Joel
Villanueva said the move was in
line with the recently promulgated
the Training Regulations on
Rubber Production and Rubber
Processing.
These will now serve as
the training standards for
developing the skills of workers
interested in mastering the skill
and securing employment in
plantations, he said.
The rst batch of 25 students
will start sessions next month at
Makilala Technical Vocational
Training Center in Makilala town
in North Cotabato.
The province has the resources.
Tesda will help provide the people
with competencies through
training, Villanueva said.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou
Talino-Mendoza has committed
10,000 hectares of land for rubber
trees planting.
Tesda provincial director
Florante Herrera said at least
10,000 workers are needed to tap
or extract latex from the trees.
Makilala town will open
demonstration farms covering
six hectares for eld training, he
said. The farms have a nursery,
bud wood and available space
for the workshop activities.
Rubber is one of the major
crops of Cotabato farmers, each
averaging 300 kilograms per
hectare of latex harvest priced
as of February last year at P90
per kilo.
In 2010, Thailands exports
of unprocessed rubber reached
US$8.1 billion, making it among
its top agricultural export along
with rice, a government report
said.
The Malaysian Rubber Board
said rubber contributed US $11.1
billion in export revenue in 2010,
or six percent of total export
earnings.
ILOILO CITY
Dr. Lejo Braa,
senior consultant of
Central Philippines
University, is
reversing brain
drain, being a Balik
Scientist achiever.
Its time to give
back to the country,
to CPU, and the
people of Iloilo
through education
and livelihood
promotion, he said.
The Balik Scientist program
of the Department of Science
and Technology honors Filipino
experts in life and applied
sciences who have made their
mark abroad and chose to return
home.
After completing his basic
education at CPU, Braa
earned a degree in Chemical
Engineering at the
Mapua Institute
of Technology in
1957. In January
of the following
year, Braa became
one of the youngest
graduates to excel
in the Professional
R e g u l a t o r y
Commission board
exam for chemical
engineers, ranking
fourth overall.
Braa spent nearly half
a century in the United
States as one of the worlds
foremost authorities in the
eld of packaging design and
development, becoming the
only Filipino to be inducted
to the US Packaging Hall of
Fame.
He made his mark in the
eld as Director of Riviana
(MST-May 22, 2012)
Department of Public Works and Highways
Sorsogon District Engineering Offce
Guinlajon, Sorsogon City
I NVI TATI ON TO BI D
The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Department of Public Works
and Highways, Sorsogon District Engineering Offce, Guinlajon, Sorsogon
City, through the SARO No. A-12-00089, invites contractors to bid for the
aforementioned projects.
Contract ID: 12FK0007
Contract Name: Construction of Cawayan River Control
Contract Location: West District, Sorsogon City
Scope of Work: Const. of 85 lm. Groud Sill, 235 lm. River Control,
ri ght si de & 20 l m. Ri ver Cont rol l ef t si de,
sta. 0+045-sta. 0+280 & sta. 0+000-sta. 0+020
(downstream)
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): Php48,500,000.00
Contract Duration: 210 C.D.
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 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 (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 LO. The DPWH-POCW Central Offce will only process contractor's
applications for registration, with complete requirements, and issue the
Contractor's Certifcate of Registration (CRC). 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. Receipt of LOI from prospective Bidders May. 22, 2012 May. 28, 2011 until 12:00 noon
2. Issuance of Bidding Documents May 22, 2012 June 11, 2012
3. Pre-Bid Conference May 29, 2012 @10:00 A.M
4. Receipts of Bids Deadline: June 11, 2012 @ 10:00 A.M.
5. Opening of Bids June 11, 2012 @ 2:00 P.M.
The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BD's) at the Offce
of the BAC Secretariat, DPWH Sorsogon District Engineering Offce, Guinlajon,
Sorsogon City upon payment of non-refundable fee of Php20,000.00. Prospective
bidders may also download the BD's 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 bids Documents. The Pre-
Bid Conference shall be open only to interested parties who have purchased the
BD's. Bids must accompanied by a bid security, in the amount and acceptable
form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR.
Prospective bidder shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed
in the BD's 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, Sorsogon District Engineering Offce, Guinlajon, Sorsogon
City reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process
at any time prior contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the
affected bidder/s.

APPROVED BY:

(Sgd.) ARTURO N. LEE
OIC-Asst. District Engineer
(BAC Chairman)
INVITATION TO BID FOR PROCUREMENT OF PUP
NETWORK CORE SWITCH EQUIPMENT
(MST-May 22, 2012)
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Bids & Awards Committee
Mabini Campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila
Tel. No. 716-7832 loc. 397
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines, through its GOP Funds chargeable
against the Equipment Outlay (Fund 164) intends to apply the sum of Three Million
Seven Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 3,700,000.00) being the Approved Budget
for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Procurement of PUP
Network Core Switch. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically
rejected at bid opening.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines now invites bids for the Procurement
of PUP Network Core Switch. Bidders should have completed, within three 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 a
non-discretionary "pass/fail criterion as specifed in the mplementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the Government
Procurement Reform Act.
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or
organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock
belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country
the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens,
pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.
Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Polytechnic University
of the Philippines and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below
during 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders
on May 21 to June 12, 2012 from the address below and upon payment of a
nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of ten thousand
pesos (Php 10,000.00).
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on May
29, 2:00 pm at Dr. Mateo Conference Room, 2
nd
foor, South Wing, Main Building,
Mabini Campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila 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 June 13, 1:30 pm. All
Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and
in the amount stated in ITB Clause.
Bid opening shall be on June 13, 2:00 pm at Dr. Mateo Conference Room. Bids will
be opened in the presence of the Bidders' representatives who choose to attend
at the said venue. Late bids shall not be accepted.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines 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:
Engr. Antonio Y. Velasco
Bids and Awards Committee
3
rd
foor, South Wing, Main Building, Mabini Campus, Sta. Mesa, Manila
716-7832 local 397
Approved by:
(Sgd) Atty. Estellita Wi-Dela Rosa
Chairman
N O T I C E
Industry & Investments Building, 385 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Philippines
Trunkline: 897-6682, (IPG) 896-9212, (MSG) 896-5167, (PAG) 895-3983
(ISG) 890-3056, (FASD) 890-9325
Website: http//www.boi.gov.ph P.O. Box 1872 Makati City
(MST-May 22, 2012)
Notice is hereby given that AXEIA DEVELOPMENT
CORP. with offce address at Asiatic Building, Phoenix
Sun Business Park, E. Rodriguez, Jr. Ave., Libis,
Quezon City, is applying for registration with the Board
of Investments (BOI) as a New Developer of Low-Cost
Mass Housing Project (Valle Verde Dasmarias Phase
I) with a capacity of 566 low-cost mass housing units on a
non-pioneer status with project site at Brgy. Langkaan II,
Dasmarias, Cavite.

Any person with valid objection/s on the above-
mentioned project may fle his/her objection in writing,
under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the
date of this publication.
(Sgd.) EVARISTE M. CAGATAN
Director
Infrastructure and Service Industries Department
For
f as t
ad
r es ul t s ,
pl eas e
c al l
659-48-30
l oc al
303
or
659-4803
Foods Inc., in Houston, Texas,
where he continues to serve as a
Consultant. His long-spanning
career includes stints with multi-
national Procter and Gamble,
Hunt-Wesson Foods, S.C.
Johnson and Sons, and Colgate-
Palmolive.
One of the few Filipinos listed
in Whos Who Worldwide,
Braa is frequently invited to
lecture abroad on packaging
testing and design. He has also
published several studies on
the importance of packaging
safety testing and holds patents
for a number of innovations in
packaging design.
While technically retired, Braa
is part-owner, vice-president,
and consultant at the Packaging
Technology Center Inc. He is
also founder and president of G.
Packaging Technology Partners
Inc., an international packaging
rm. Both are based in Texas.
In 2006, Braa returned to his
roots to help establish the School
of Packaging Engineering. The
CPU-SPEs rapid growth and
development was made possible
by his donation of P11.5 million
worth of packaging testing
equipment.
Braa and CPU will host
GlobalPack 2012 conference and
trade exhibition on July 26 to 27
at Sarabia Manor Iloilo.
More fun than Scarborough. Oblivious of travel bans, Chinese nationals on Monday ock to Boracay, a far more hospitable place than the
disputed islets and sand bars in the West Philippine Sea. DAVID CHAN
Business
Ray S. Eano, Editor mst_biz@manilastandardtoday.com
Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor extrastory2000@gmail.com
Firms urged to join ZBO green race
B4
Yahoo sells half of Alibaba stake
Magnolia backs tourism. San Miguel Purefoods Co. Inc. president Francisco Alejo III (second from
left) awards a plaque of appreciation to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez as a gesture of support to the
governments tourism program, with its theme Its more fun in the Philippines. Magnolia Ice Cream
features Laguna, Batangas, Baguio and Guimaras through its Best of the Philippines avors like Macapuno
Banana and Macapuno Langka (Laguna) and Coffee Crumble and Tsokolate Tablea (Batangas), Mangoes
and Cream (Guimaras) and Ube Keso (Baguio Good Shepherd). With them are (from left) Magnolia Ice
Cream general manager Mayo Alcon, group product manager Jenny Chang and brand manager Pinky
Custodio.
Changing peoples lives and taking care of
the environment, one eco bag at a timenot a
too-lofty goal for Globe Telecom and social
enterprise Gifts & Graces. Strengthening its
commitment to move beyond environmental
sustainability efforts, Globe Telecom has
partnered with Gifts & Graces, a social enterprise
which works with non-government organizations
(NGOs) to support marginalized groups and
underserved communities to produce My Fair
Share eco bags.
The bags are made from recycled and bio-
degradable materials and were given to Globe
subscribers who opened new mobile postpaid
accounts on Earth Day, April 22. The bags are
also available at all Globe Business Centers
nationwide for only P99. According to Rob
I. Nazal, head of Globe Corporate Social
Responsibility, Globe is committed to synergize
efforts to encourage the reduced use of plastic
and promote environment conservation. We
also support fair trade practices and continually
work with partner organizations such as Gifts
and Graces Inc. who share our advocacy for
supporting communities and helping them
become sustainable social enterprises. The My
Fair Share program is a testimony on how
Globe conducts its business.
Greg Perez, executive director of Gifts &
Graces Inc., says they work with several partner
benefciaries which include Iormer street children,
the urban poor, former prison inmates, and
indigenous groups. Says Perez, Gifts & Graces
provides three key business solutions to livelihood
programs: product development, market access, and
capability building. We empower them by letting
them earn income by producing quality hand-
crafted items and the individuals and communities
achieve a dignifed standard oI living, gain pride
and become self-reliant members of society.
The My Fair Share program helps small
producers such as Kaibhan Womens Association
integrate into the Globe Telecom value chain.
Kaibhan, an NGO based in Bulacan, works
towards improving internet access for the youth,
improving maternal mortality statistics in the
area, improving access to affordable medicine,
and providing livelihood opportunities for
women sewers and embroiderers in the area.
Through the My Fair Share program, we
are able to help Kaibhan achieve its mission
and reach out to more women sewers in the
area. The sewers are the ones that beneft the
most. According to the sewers at Kaibhan, the
benefciaries were amazed at the timing when
we contracted them to sew the Globe My Fair
Share bags. At that time, they were worried
they will not have money for the week due to
a temporary stop in their usual sewing jobs. In
short, they were not just simply happy but it was
sort of a Gods answer to their prayers that the
opportunity came, adds Perez.
The My Fair Share eco bags, like all of Gifts
& Graces products, are high-quality products
created under fair trade principles and most of
all, are environment-friendly and all proceeds
of the sale of the bags will support the Kaibhan
Womens Association.
Globe Eco-Bag:
Empowering Women,
One Bag at a Time
Globe Telecom partnered with Gifts & Graces which supports
beneficiary communities such as Kaibhan Womens Association
to produce the My Fair Share eco bags. All proceeds of the
sale of the bags will support the Kaibhan Womens Association.
HONG KONGStruggling Internet company
Yahoo Inc. has secured a lifeline after agreeing to
sell half of its prized stake in Chinese e-commerce
group Alibaba for about $7.1 billion, with most of
the cash going to shareholders.
The deal, announced Sunday in the US,
will see Alibaba Group buying back half of
its 40-percent stake from Yahoo Inc. for $6.3
billion cash and up to $800 million of Alibaba
preference shares.
The announcement caps at least a year of rocky
on-and-off talks as Yahoo tried to sell the stake as
part of efforts to turn around its business. Money
from the sale will give Yahoo the nancial repower
to return cash to disgruntled shareholders, many
of whom are still upset after it squandered an
opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp. in May
2008 for $33 per share, or $47.5 billion. Yahoos
stock has sagged since then, trading at $15.42 on
Friday.
Yahoo said in a joint statement with Alibaba that
it plans to return substantially all of the after-
tax cash proceeds to shareholders. It said its share
buyback program had been increased by $5 billion
though a nal decision on how to return the cash
had not been made.
Yahoos interim chief executive Ross Levinsohn
said the stake sale provides clarity for Yahoo
shareholders. Levinsohn stepped into the role earlier
this month after Yahoo cast aside chief executive
Scott Thompson because his ofcial biography
included a college degree that he never received.
Alibaba and Yahoo also have an agreement for
Yahoo to sell the remainder of its Alibaba stake
in stages later on. Yahoo bought the stake in 2005
for $1 billion and the deal suggests its now worth
$14.2 billion.
The statement also indicates Alibaba may hold
an initial public offering in the future.
Under the terms of the deal, if Alibaba Group
goes public, it would have to buy back another 10-
percent stake from Yahoo or let Yahoo sell those
shares in the IPO. AP
THE Zero Basura Olympics for Business challenges
Philippine-registered companies to reduce waste
and lessen their carbon footprints as concrete
actions towards caring for the environment.
ZBO for Business is an annual competition for
industrial, commercial or corporate companies
that practice innovative solid waste management
in their operations. The competition recognizes
organizations whose best waste-reducing practices
can also be replicated by other institutions.
The competition was conceptualized to fast-track
the implementation of RA 9003, also known as
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
This years theme is Winning the War on Waste
which encourages enterprises across
different industries, regardless of scale,
to apply the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)
in their waste management systems.
ZBO is organized by the Philippine
Business for Social Progress and
Earth Day Network Philippines Inc.
in partnership with Pollution Control
Association of the Philippines
Inc., Philippine Business for the
Environment, Ayala Foundation Inc., National
Solid Waste Management Commission, and the
Environment Department.Some of the past ZBO
for Business winners are Meralco Leadership
Development Center Foundation Inc., Unilever
Philippines, Atlantic Coatings Inc., Quezon
Power Philippines Inc., United Pulp and Paper
Co., Manila Doctors Hospital and Smart
Communications Inc.
The rst ZBO started in June 2008 to attend to
problems relative to solid waste management and
segregation, particularly in schools all over the
country. Later on, companies were encouraged to
participate thus, prompting the launch of ZBO for
Business competition in April 2010.
Participating companies may submit their
entries under these categories: source reduction
or minimization of waste before entering the waste
stream; composting or organic waste conversion;
reuse or recycling; residual waste management;
and segregation.
A company must not violate RA 9003, according
to the law. The act is the most comprehensive law
that addresses the countrys garbage problem.
By Elaine Ramos Alanguilan

PHILIPPINE National Bank,
the countrys seventh-largest
bank in assets, booked a hefty
net prot of P1.2 billion in the
rst quarter of the year from just
P104.7 million year-on-year.
PNB, owned by tobacco and airline tycoon
Lucio Tan, attributed the sharp rise in income on
gains from trading and investment securities and
foreign exchange, which accounted for 45 percent
of the total operating income.
PNB said it also beefed up its inventory of
available-for-sale investments by 32 percent from
the end of the fourth quarter last year in anticipation
of higher market demand.
Interest income on loans and receivables
rose 10 percent due to improved volume and
spreads.
The robust growth of the banks consumer
loans and middle market portfolio provided
signicant buffer to temper the squeeze in
spreads from large corporate loans due to stiff
competition.
Meanwhile, PNB reduced its cost of funds by 16
percent as the bank focused more on the generation
of low-cost deposits and deliberately let go of
high-cost funds.
Net interest income rose 2 percent on year.
Net loans and receivables increased P3.3 billion
to P129.5 billion while deposits stood at P227.1
billion. Loans to deposit ratio improved to 52
percent from 43 percent a year ago.
PNBs asset quality improved with the non-
performing loans ratio dropping to 3.2 percent
from 4.2 percent a year ago. NPL coverage stood
at 82 percent while capital adequacy ratio was 21.7
percent, up from 19.4 percent a year ago.
Consolidated resources stood at P307.9 billion
at the end of the rst quarter.
The bank successfully concluded the offering of
Tranche II of its Unsecured Subordinated Notes
Qualifying as Tier 2 Capital. The bank can issue up
to a maximum of P3.5 billion, with the remaining
balance of the P10 billion approved by the Bangko
Sentral last year.
The bank said the Tier 2 Notes generated strong
demand amid competing issues in the market,
prompting it to close the offering earlier than the
scheduled end of the offer date.
The bank said the demand reected investors
continuing positive credit outlook on PNB.
With the forthcoming merger of PNB with
Allied Banking Corp., both banks have stepped
up all merger-related activities to ensure a smooth
transition with the least effect on the customers
and the public.
PNBs income
jumps to P1.2b

Manila Standard Today - May 22, 2012 Issue

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Manila Standard Today - May 22, 2012 Issue

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