Manila Standard Today - Saturday (January 05, 2013) Issue

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Aquino told:
Set example,
give up gun
Drug-crazed gunman
killed by Kawit police
NBI sets probe
of Nicoles case
2 cities, 6 towns air
support for Garcia
Pacmans adviser
plans to sue doctor
Govt lawyer says
cyber law illegal
PH eyes infra projects on disputed islands
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TODAY
Standard
Vol. XXVI No. 274 12 Pages, 2 Sections
P18.00 Saturday, January 5, 2013
Standard
www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com
9 dead in Cavite
shooting rampage
TROPICAL storm Auring moved
out of the Philippines on Friday,
but the weather bureau said it is
monitoring another low pressure
area that my enter the country
during the weekend.
Before it left, Auring battered
Palawan and several southern
New LPA spotted
as Auring leaves
Rampage. Aniola Caimol, 63, cries after viewing the body of her granddaughter
Micaela Caimol, 7, one of the shooting victims, at a morgue; a policeman holds up
the gun that the gunman had used; a pet dog lies dead as a relative of a shooting
victim washes off the bloodstains in a house; Edmund de Vera strokes the hair of his
son John, 5, another shooting victim, at a morgue; neighbors look at the spot were
the gunman was shot dead by policemen. BULLIT MARQUEZ, AP
At least eight other people were wounded in the shoot-
ing rampage, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.
He identied the gunman as Ronald Bae whose age
was unclear, though ofcials said he appeared to be in his
30s or 40s. Bae was killed in a shootout with responding
police.
It was not immediately clear why Bae went on the ram-
page, Remulla said.
Malacaang condemned the rampage.
Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said
the Palace was condemning it because of the high number
of casualties and they included children.
As of the moment, what we can say is that this inci-
dent will certainly fuel the efforts of the National Police...
against loose rearms, Valte said.
Southern Tagalog Police Chief James Melad relieved
Cavite Police Chief Joel Saliba to determine if he and the
police under him failed to respond to the incident quickly
as claimed by Remulla.
The improper behavior of Bae was reported to the
nearest police station but nobody responded to it, Re-
mulla said.
It could have prevented the tragic event.
By Joyce Pangco Paares and Bart Ochea
THE 16-day battle for control of the Cebu Provincial
Capitol between Malacanang and a powerful political
family in the province took a new twist on Friday as of-
cials of two cities and six municipalities passed reso-
lutions expressing unequivocal support to suspended
governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
Garcia, who barricaded herself inside her ofce to
ght a suspension order issued by Malacanang last De-
cember 19, denied claims by Acting Governor Agnes
Magpale that she (Garcia) has been isolated and ren-
dered powerless.
How can they say that I am isolated? There is a
steady stream of supporters going to the capitol and
mayors and municipal boards have passed resolutions
supporting my mandate as the duly-elected governor of
Cebu, Garcia said in a telephone interview.
Garcia, who is on her second term as governor, has
announced plans to run as congressman in Cebus third
district in elections next May. Her father, Pablo Garcia,
is 2nd district repesentative, and her brother, Pablo John
Garcia, is 3rd district representative, who will run for
governor.
President Aquino has designated Vice Governor
Magpale, the sister of Cabinet Secretary Rene Almen-
dras, as Acting Governor. She has been patient in deal-
ing with Garcias deance but hinted on Thursday she
might cut off water and electrictiy supply to Garcias
ofce to force her out.
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
MANNY Pacquiaos adviser Michael Koncz is contem-
plating legal action against the neurologist, who claimed
that the Filipino ring icon had shown early signs of Par-
kinsons disease.
Koncz responded to a query from the Manila Stan-
dard after neurologist and president of the Private Hos-
pitals Association of the Philippines Dr. Rustico Jime-
nez said he had noticed Pacquiaos hand twitching and
stuttering from watching him on television.
Dr. Jimenez conceded he could be wrong in his ob-
servations, since he had not personally examined Pac-
quiao, but went on to urge the national sports hero to
follow the pleas of many others, including his wife Jin-
kee and his mother Dionisia to hang up his gloves fol-
lowing his crushing sixth-round knockout at the hands
of Juan Manuel Marquez last Dec. 8.
What is the name of this alleged well-known
doctor as we are contemplating a civil suit for merit-
less and unfounded accusations? Koncz asked this
writer.
By Maricel V. Cruz and Joyce
Pangco-Paares
AN opposition lawmaker said on Friday
that as a gun enthusiast, President Be-
nigno Aquino III should set an example
in the wake of two shooting incidents that
claimed the life of 7-year old Stephanie
Ella in Caloocan City and nine others in
Kawit, Cavite.
Ella was hit by a stray bullet at the
height of the New Years revelry, while
nine people were killed when Ronald Bae
went amuck and killed seven of his neigh-
bors. He was later killed by responding po-
licemen.
Rep. Orlando Fua of Siquijor said
that while he supports President Benigno
Aquino IIIs favorable stand on a total
gun ban, the president himself should set
an example.
THE National Bureau of Investigation has
stepped into the case of Stephanie Nicole
Ella, the seven-year-old girl who was killed
by a stray bullet on New Years Eve as she
and her family watched reworks outside
their home in Caloocan City.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she
had ordered the NBI to conduct its own in-
vestigation of the case and to hunt down the
person who shot the gun where the bullet that
killed Ella came from.
It will be an investigation parallel to that
being conducted by [the National Police],
De Lima said in a text message.
She went to Nicholes wake Friday night as
a representative of President Benigno Aquino
III and vowed to bring her killer to court.
We assure the family that justice will be
served in the death of Stephanie, De Lima
said.
She made her statement even as Valen-
zuela Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian gave an
By Rey E. Requejo
A LAW professor who is challenging the
constitutionality of the Cybercrime Preven-
tion Act before the Supreme Court said on
Friday that even the governments top law-
yer has conceded that a key provision of the
law violates the Constitution.
Ahead of oral arguments set for Jan. 15,
UP law professor Harry Roque Jr., one of the
petitioners against the law, said he received
a document from the Ofce of the Solicitor
General agreeing with critics who said Sec-
tion 19, which gives the Justice Department
the power to take down Web sites without
the need for a court order, violates the con-
stitutional right to due process and was tanta-
mount to prior restraint.
The OSG has conceded this issue, but
it will still be argued in the oral argument,
Roque said in an interview.
By Francisco Tuyay and
Sara Susanne Fabunan
A RANKING military ofcial
said on Friday that infrastructure
development projects would be
in place in islands owned by the
Philippines which are also being
contested by China in the West
Philippine Sea.
Western Command Commad-
er, Major Gen. Juanito Saban, said
that the government planned on
putting up structures in the islands
as part of its efforts to spur eco-
nomic development in the area.
Included in the projects to be
undertaken starting this year, ac-
cording to Saban, was the rehabili-
tation of the air strip in Kalayaan
Island, which would be turned into
a world-class airport that could ac-
commodate larger aircrafts.
Also in the drawing board were
plans to improve the ports in Ka-
layaan and the setting up of piers
in other areas situated within the
countrys exclusive economic
zone of 200 nautical miles.
The piers would denitely spur
economic development to the inhab-
itants, create livelihood and attract
tourists in that area, Saban said.
As this developed, the Foreign
Affairs Department again asked
Next page
WEATHER
A mothers grief. Ellaine Ella, mother of
shooting victim Stephanie Nicole Ella, cries at
her wake. MANNY PALMERO
Gun enthusiast. President shows off his
shooting form at a ring range.
Next page
Next page
A MAN who was apparently in-
toxicated fatally shot eight people,
including a pregnant woman and a
7-year-old girl, before he was shot
dead by police Friday in Kawit,
Cavite, ofcials said.
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News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com JANUARY 5, 2013 SATURDAY
A2
2 cities...
Garcia said the two major cit-
ies of Carcar and Naga and the
municipalities of Sibonga, Lilo-
an, Ronda, Badian, Moalboal,
and Aloguinsan have passed
resolutions epxression support
to her.
This is just the initial push.
The other mayors and sanggu-
nian boards could not hold their
sessions because of the holidays.
I expect more resolutions in the
next several days, Garcia said.
According to Garcia, the Car-
car City resolution said Mag-
pales assumption as acting gov-
ernor caused so much confusion
and dilemma not only among key
ofcials, department heads and
employees of the provincial gov-
ernment but, more importantly,
also to the populace.
The Naga City resolution called
on Magpale to allow Garcia to ex-
haust legal remedies.
Gov. Garcia is the duly elect-
ed governor and is supposed to
continue to discharge her func-
tions as such. We want to reaf-
rm our commitment to her,
recognizing her being the one
governor given the mandate by
the Cebuanos, the League of
Barangays of the municipality
of Badian said in its resolution.
Cebu province, a long narrow
island stretching 225 kms, is the
center of trade and industry in
the region and is considered one
of the most developed provinces
in the country. Cebu City, the
capital, is the oldest city in the
Philippines.
The province is composed of
six component cities and 44 mu-
nicipalities. In 2007, the popula-
tion was 2.44 million.
As Garcia and Magpale battled
for control of the Capitol, 417
contractual provincial employees
complained their salaries, includ-
ing their 13th month pay, were
put on hold because the Acting
Governor ordered an audit of
Garcias expenses.
Cesar de Guzman of the Best
Source Professionals Inc (BSPI),
one of two manpower services
company hired by the capitol,
said payables to them have to-
taled P20 million.
BSPI employees threatened
to file charges at the Labor and
Employment Department if
they do not recieved their sala-
ries by the end of January, De
Guzman said.
Magpale assured the em-
ployees their salaries and the
P30,000 Christmas bonus she
announced shortly after she was
sworn in as governor would be
given top priority in the settle-
ment of payables.
She said she has been look-
ing into the expenses of the
suspended governor and was
surprised that the provincial
government was billed for food
and accommodation of baran-
gay health workers, who partici-
pated in prayer vigil organized
by supporters of Garcia last De-
cember 18.
The power struggle was ex-
pected to come to a head after
the Court of Appeals decides on a
petition led by Garcia asking for
a restraining order to stop her sus-
pension, which she claimed was
illegal and arbitrary.
But Solicitor General Fran-
cis Jardeleza said the suspen-
sion order was an excersie of
administrative power by Presi-
dent Aquino as a result of Gar-
cias alleged abuse of authority
when she slashed and withheld
the salaries of employees of
the late Vice Governor Grego-
rio Sanchez.
Jardeleza said the presidents
decision was nal and executory,
which cannot be overturned by a
restraining order from the court.
The Court of Appeals has set
the oral arguments on Garcias
petition on January 10, court of-
cials said.
9 dead...
But Melad disagreed saying the
police received no reports about Bae.
We did not receive any reports
to that effect, Melad said.
Remulla said Bae left Kawit
about a year ago after he lost an
election for village chairman, and
returned Monday due to a mari-
tal problem with his wife, whom
he had left in Pampanga before
New Years.
Remulla said the caretaker of
Baes house in Kawit, a John Paul
Lopez, was seen reloading the
gunmans weapon, and that police
were looking for him. He said he
had raised P100,000 for his im-
mediate arrest.
Police arrested Lopez Friday
night.
Lopez told them he had ed be-
cause he was scared, and that Bae
had threatened to kill him if he did
not follow his orders.
Remulla said Bae and several
friends were on a drug and alco-
hol binge from Monday to Fri-
day, drinking alcohol and taking
methamphetamine.
Bae left a store where he and
his friends were drinking but later
returned with his caretaker and
began the shooting spree in the
surrounding neighborhood, Re-
mulla said.
He said Bae rst killed a man
who lived across the street from his
house. He also killed the mans dog.
He just shot at anyone he
saw, Remulla said. You could
see that these were really acts of a
madman. He even killed the dog.
Bae then shot and killed the
7-year-old girl inside her home
and wounded her two younger
siblingsher 2-year-old sister
and 4-year-old brother, who is
one of the gunmans godsons.
The two siblings who survived
were in critical condition at a hos-
pital. No details were immediately
available on the condition of the
other victims who were wounded.
The pregnant woman died after
being shot in the stomach, Re-
mulla said. Her 6-month-old fetus
also died.
Edwin Lacorte, an uncle of the
three children who were shot, said
he could hear them screaming
from his home nearby.
I could not do anything, he
said. I could hear them scream-
ing and I heard the shots.
Lacorte said that he later saw bul-
let-riddled cushions that the chil-
dren had apparently used to protect
themselves during the attack.
It must have been the eldest
who covered them with the cush-
ions, he said.
Lacorte said he was at home
during the rampage, and that as
Bae closed in on his house, he
ed with his wife and their four
children, two grandchildren and
three nieces.
He said had he not been home,
my family would have been
wiped out.
AP, with Francisco Tuyay, Flo-
rante S. Solmerin and PNA
New...
provinces with strong winds that
uprooted trees and power pylons,
plunging Palawan into darkness for
several hours before electricity was
restored.
Weather bureau forecaster Jori
Liz said they are monitoring a new
weather disturbance east of Mind-
anao, but they are uncertain if the
cloud formation would turn into a
low pressure area (LPA) and devel-
op into a cyclone.
On Saturday, Visayas and Min-
danao and some parts of Southern
Tagalog will continue to have rains.
The rest of the country, including
Metro Manila, will be cloudy with
light to moderate rainshowers and
thunderstorms.
The seaboards of northern and
central Luzon and the western sea-
boards of southern Luzon will be
rough for shing boats and other
small seacrafts due to the northeast
monsoon.
In Malacaang, deputy presiden-
tial spokesperson Abigail Valte said
the government has pre-positioned
P1.8 million relief goods and standby
funds as Typhoon Auring hit Palawan
yesterday.
Hopefully, our preemptive mea-
sures will hold and will be adequate
to meet any of the effects of the tropi-
cal storm, she said.
Valte said the National Disas-
ter Risk Reduction and Manage-
ment Council remains on red alert
amid reports that a new cluster of
clouds over the Pacific Ocean was
reported to intensify into a low
presssure area.
Weather forceaster Gener Quitlong
said the possible LPA could enter the
country on Saturday and a potential
cyclone could hit the typhoon-bat-
tered Mindanao again.
Aquino...
I support the position of President Aqui-
no for a total gun ban. He should also set
an example, and be the first one to make the
move or an intensified campaign against
the use of firearms especially on its indis-
criminate use, Fua said.
The lawmaker added that there should be
regulated use of rearms on the police and the
military, especially since the election season is
now on.
Earlier, Malacanang said that Mr. Aquino be-
ing a gun enthusiast would not affect his deci-
sion on a proposal to impose a total gun ban
during the holidays.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abi-
gail Valte made the statement in response to
the sentiments aired by anti-crime crusad-
ers which she said was based on unwar-
ranted assumption.
By way of an analogy, the President is a
smoker but he pushed very hard for the Sin Tax
Law, Valte said.
Dante Jimenez, president of Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption or VACC, had
challenged the Aquino administration to re-
view the policies on gun ownership and gun
control.
Jimenez added that imposing a total gun ban
is the only way to prevent casualties from indis-
criminate ring during the holidays.
There should be no guns on the streets dur-
ing these times. That is the only way,
But Valte said the proposal on the total gun
ban, however, will still have to be discussed
with the President.
There are some quarters who are saying
that we should also have a total gun ban during
holidays. That is something that will have to be
discussed, she added.
Based on data from the Philippine National
Police, some 600,000 unlicensed rearms are in
circulation across the country.
While carrying an unlicensed firearm is
punishable by up to six years of imprison-
ment, Jimenez said it remained relatively
easy to acquire guns in the black market,
Jimenez said.
NBI...
additional P200,000 for infor-
mation leading to the arrest of
the man who red the shot that
killed Stephanie. Caloocan City
Mayor Recom Echiverri on
Thursday also offered P200,000
for information leading to the
arrest of the gunman.
Caloocan Police said the
four men who red their guns
on New Years Eve would be
investigated further even if the
bullet that they recovered from
Nicholes head had not been
red from any of their guns.
Caloocan Police spokesman
Jack Candelario said the four men
including Juan Agus, an Army
reservist and the main suspect
in the case, were cleared earlier
but only because the slug found
on Nicholes head could not have
been red from their guns.
He said Ago could have other
guns that he had yet to register,
and one of those could be the kill-
er gun. He said the police would
ask for a warrant to search Agus
house to see if he had other guns.
Agus had admitted that he
owned the gunsincluding a
.45-caliber pistolthat he and
his three companions had red
on New Years Eve.
[The four] admitted shooting
their guns but said they shot point-
ing downwards, Candelario said.
We are still checking the 12
slugs that we found to cross-
match them.
The slug that killed Nichole
came from a .45-caliber pistol.
Candelario said there were at
least 110 registered gun owners
on Malaria Street where Nich-
ole had lived, and 45 of them
owned .45-caliber pistols.
Another ofcial said the authori-
ties were looking at the possibil-
ity that the barrel of the .45-caliber
pistol that Agus had surrendered
might have been replaced.
Its possible that the bar-
rel of the .45 weapon may not
be the original barrel and we
are looking into it, said Chief
Supt. Raul Petrasanta, a re-
arms and explosives expert.
Its easy to change the barrel.
Petrasanta said the police will
intensify their house-to-house
search for the person respon-
sible for Stephanies death.
National Police Chief Alan
Purisima on Thursday expressed
optimism his men would nd and
arrest the girls killer.
He vowed to follow Stepha-
nies case even as police in-
vestigators started tracing the
whereabouts of the man who
had red the shot that killed her.
Stephanies death led to calls
for a stricter enforcement of
gun laws. Rey E. Requejo, Gigi
Muoz-David, Francisco Tuy-
ay and Florante S. Solmerin
Pacman...
He added: Tell me, how
can one make such allegations
based on mere speculation as I
am not aware that this alleged
doctor ever examined Manny,
yet he makes such a diagno-
sis. Its amazing what people
will do to get media coverage.
Anyway, I am done respond-
ing to this ludicrous diagnosis
and we shall quietly enjoy our
remaining time in Israel.
However, Pacquiaos long-
time friend and condant --
promoter and boxing manager
Rex Wakee Salud said the
doctor is entitled to his opin-
ion, because after all, he is a
neurologist, who knows, even
as others are also entitled to
their opinion.
However, Salud maintained
he personally didnt notice
any signs of twitching or
stammering.
Salud, just like Dr. Ji-
menez, supported an earlier
suggestion by Top Rank pro-
moter Bob Arum, in an inter-
view with the Manila Stan-
dard after Pacquiaos loss to
Marquez that he should have
a thorough brain evaluation at
the world famous Cleveland
Clinic Lou Ruvo Brain Center
in Las Vegas.
Salud also said he supports
the position that Pacquiao
should retire.
He has achieved every-
thing and nobody can equal
what he has done. The peo-
ple who want him to retire
are those who really care for
him, said Salud.
Dr. Jimenez urged Pac-
quiao to undergo a battery of
tests in the US just to make
sure. He said there are sev-
eral neurological centers in
the US, where he could un-
dergo tests such as PET Scans
and the like. The neurolo-
gist noted there are chemical
tests that could be undertaken
which are very complicated
and not available here in the
Philippines.
Both the Nevada State Ath-
letic Commission and Filipino
doctors have cleared Pacquiao
following tests conducted af-
ter the Marquez ght, but
because of head traumas suf-
fered over 17 years of boxing
against such big and strong
ghters as Miguel Cotto,
Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio
Margarito and his three ghts
against Erik Morales and two
ghts with Marco Antonio
Barrera, he needs a complete
brain checkup.
We dont want him wheel-
chair bound. Parkinsons is a
progressive disease, once it
hits, it will continue and we
dont want that to happen to
our source of national pride,
Dr. Jimenez stressed.
His unsolicited advise from
a doctors viewpoint is it
would be best if he retires,
because the more blows to the
head he gets, the bigger the
chance of getting the disease.
PH...
clarication from Chinese For-
eign Ministry spokesman Hua
Chunying on the scope of the
new maritime regulation in the
South China Sea (West Philip-
pine Sea) which Hainan Prov-
ince said would implement
starting this year.
Hainan Province administers
the newly-built Sansha City,
which was given full control
over the three major islands
(Paracel, Spratlys and Mccles-
eld) in the South China Sea
(West Philippine Sea).
Huas actually based his state-
ment on the announcement made
last month by Wu Chicun, the
drector general of the Foreign Af-
fairs Ofce of Hainan province.
Wu had said that Chinese na-
val forces may board, search and
seize vessels entering Chinas
territory which are engaged in
illegal activities and if the ships
were within 12 nautical miles of
Chinas territorial waters.
We have asked China for fur-
ther clarication on the statement
of the Foreign Ministry spokes-
person that the scope of Hainans
rules is limited to within 12 nauti-
cal miles of Hainans coast, said
DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez.
This was the second time that
the Philippines had asked China
for clarication on the new mari-
time regulation, after Beijing
failed to respond to DFAs query
when Wu made the announce-
ment in December.
The DFA also asked for an
English translation copy of Hain-
ans new maritime rules, but Bei-
jing has yet to comply with the
request.
Wu had said that the main
purpose of the new maritime
regulation was mainly to pre-
vent Vietnamese shing boats
from operating in the waters near
Yongxing island in the Paracels,
which China calls Xisha.
He added that the outside
world should not overreact, or
read too much into them (mari-
time rules) nor should anyone
give a one-sided or distorted ex-
planation.
Wu denied that China was
planning to take over the islands
by force. He, however, said that
the new maritime regulations ap-
ply to the hundred of the islands
scattered across the disputed sea
and their surrounding waters, spe-
cically to the sea around islands
of its baselines.
A baseline is the low-water
line along the coast from which
countries measure their territorial
waters as provided by the United
Nation Convention on the Law of
the Sea (Unclos).
But for islands whose territo-
rial water baselines have not yet
been announced, since there is no
way to clearly dene the width of
their territorial sea, the aforemen-
tioned problem does not exist, he
said.
Beijing claims ownership of
practically the entire China Sea,
based on its nine-dash-line map.
Beijings aggressive claim
has sparked diplomatic spats be-
tween the two sides since April
last year when Chinese ships
prevented the countrys navy
from arresting Chinese sher-
men who were caught poaching
in Scarborough Shoal.
The shoal, also called Bajo de
Masinloc by the Philippines and
Huangyan Island by China, is
located within 200 nautical miles
from the nearest Luzon province
of Zambales.
Meanwhile, Saban said plans
are also underway for the reha-
bilitation and upgrade of military
barracks and outposts in Kalay-
aan.
Saban said developments in the
area could help transform the is-
land into a tourist destination.
While other countries are pro-
moting their islands as tourist des-
tinations, we might as well com-
pete because ours are better than
theirs, Saban said.
Govt...
He added that the lawyers for
the Senate and the House of Rep-
resentatives might opt to defend
the constitutionality of the take-
down provision.
At the same time, he said So-
licitor General Francis Jardeleza
informed him and other petition-
ers in the case that his ofce is
ready to defend the constitution-
ality of the other questioned pro-
visions in the new law.
Roque said they met Friday
afternoon with Supreme Court
Associate Justice Roberto Abad,
to whom the case was assigned,
to discuss rules in the oral argu-
ment.
Roque said ve lawyers were
elected to argue for the petition-
ers during the hearing.
He said he was chosen to ar-
gue the constitutionality of the
provision on electronic libel,
while Bayan Muna Rep. Neri
Colminares will tackle the high
penalties that the law imposes
in comparison to the Revised
Penal Code.
Ma. Charito Cruz of the Phil-
ippine Bar Association will argue
the takedown clause, Jose Jesus
Disini will question the real-time
collection of online data by the
authorties; and human rights
lawyer Julius Garcia Matibag
will handle the penalties against
Internet users for aiding and
abetting cybercrimes.
A statement from the Court
said Abad met with the petition-
ers to discuss the ground rules
and to determine which of the
issues would be heard on oral
arguments and which would be
argued in written memoranda to
the Court.
The Court said the nal list
and sequence of issues to be ar-
gued would be resolved in its
rst session of the year on Jan. 8.
On Oct. 9, 2012, the Court is-
sued a temporary restraining or-
der to stop the government from
enforcing the law for 120 days,
in response to more than 10 peti-
tions led against the law.
Traditional call. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, right, and
Chinese military attache to the Philippines Senior Colonel Wang Jing
Bo chat during the traditional joint National Defense-Armed Forces
call with various military commands and foreign military attaches
at the general headquarters of the Armed Forces in Quezon city. The
traditional call sums up the yearly achievements of the country's
military and national defense. Bullit Marquez, AP
Akbayan party-list Rep. Ar-
lene Kaka Bag-ao said pork
barrel, ofcially called the prior-
ity development assistance fund,
is perceived as the main source
of kickbacks by members of the
House of Representatives.
Bag-ao was accused of re-
ceiving special favor from the
Department of Budget and Man-
agement (DBM) over the release
of P140 million pork barrel for
the district where she was des-
ignated caretaker. She said that
pork barrel funds released by the
DBM were properly accounted
for, and that whatever benet to
her congressional bid as a result
of being the caretaker would be
incidental.
I come from a political tra-
dition where pork barrel is seen
not as a tool for patronage, Bag-
ao said. She said that if she had
her way, she would rather have
the pork barrel scrapped
Bag -ao made the statement
after House Deputy Minority
Leader and Zambales Rep. Mi-
tos Magsaysay accused Mala-
canang of practicing political
patronage and double standard.
This just takes the cake. A
former solon still gets his PDAF
through a party-list lawmaker
while districts of opposition con-
gressmen have been languishing
for several years already because
the DBM refuses to release their
PDAF, Magsaysay earlier said.
Bag-ao was appointed by Speak-
er Feliciano Belmonte to take over
the post vacated by cult leader and
former Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr., who
had been stricken off the congres-
sional roster after the Supreme
Court afrmed the Sandiganbayans
guilty verdict on him.
Ecleo was found guilty of ir-
regularities in several infrastruc-
ture projects in San Jose, Suri-
gao del Norte, where he served
as mayor from 1991 to 1994, and
was sentenced to 18-31 years in
prison and ordered to pay P2.8
million to the government.
He was also convicted last
April of killing his wife in 2002.
Bag-ao, who served as mem-
JANUARY 5, 2013 SATURDAY
A3 News
ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com
IN BRIEF
Chinese arrested at DoJ hearing
Stradcom: No role in transport mess
Amid criticisms,
solon shuns pork
Tour de force. Newly crowned Miss Tourism International Rizzini Alexis Gomez expresses elation
during a press conference at the Midas Hotel on Roxas Blvd. A Cebuano beauty, Gomez bested around 50
contestants from around the world at the annual pageant staged by Malaysia. SONNY ESPIRITU
Swipe it. Manila Citys Parking Management staff tests the new metering system that will soon be common
xtures in major roads of Manila. DANNY PATA
ber of the House prosecution
team in the impeachment trial
of former Chief Justice Renato
Corona, denied that she asked
for her appointment as caretaker
of Dinagat Island.
My appointment is simply
due to the fact that I am from Di-
nagat. I grew up here, and none
of the reps could claim that they
know the province. Those who
think that a few months of serv-
ing as caretaker representative
would tilt the balance in my favor
is obviously unfamiliar with how
powerful the Ecleos are. They are
well entrenched. This is not giv-
ing me undue advantage - actu-
ally, this is like being given a stick
to slay a dragon, Bag-ao said.
The strength of my candidacy
doesnt rest on the fact that I have
ties to the administration. Iba ang
local politics, at kung tutuusin
parang may hiwalay na republic
dito sina Ecleo, she added.
Bag-ao, who is eyeing a con-
gressional seat in Ecleos district
in the May 2013 polls, admitted
that Dinagat has been deprived
of development projects and has
been severely neglected.
Meanwhile, House Assistant
Majority Leader and party-list
Rep. Sherwin Tugna of Citizens
Battle against Corruption (Ci-
bac) said that the proposal for the
abolition of pork barrel system
is acceptable provided that the
government agencies in charge
of what legislators are provid-
ing their constituents, such as
infrastructure projects, education,
scholarship and social services,
will be strengthened.
This is to enhance efciency
in the delivery of basic service
for our constituents, and reduce
corruption as well, Tugna told
the Manila Standard.
By Maricel V. Cruz

AN administration-allied congressional
candidate sought on Friday the abolition
of the pork barrel system after being ac-
cused of fronting for a former lawmaker
in administering the special funds of a
legislative district.
Bag-ao
By Joel E. Zurbano
A GROUP representing energy con-
sumers will be the rst party-list
name on the ofcial ballot for the
May 13 polls, the Commission on
Elections said Friday after complet-
ing a rafe to determine the order in
which the names would appear.
The 1st Consumers Alliance for
Rural Energy, Inc. (1-CARE) will
be the rst party-list group that vot-
ers will see on their ballots in May.
Last October, 1-Care was one of
the two incumbent party list groups
that the Comelec disqualied. The
other one was Association of Philip-
pine Electric Cooperatives.
In response a petition led by both
groups, the Supreme Court tempo-
rarily stopped the Comelec from
disqualifying the two organizations,
pending the resolution of their case.
Last year, the Comelec decided to
rearrange the order in which the par-
ty-list names appeared on the ballot,
to avoid giving an undue advantage
to those whose names begin with the
letter A or the number 1.
Comelec chief information of-
cer James Jimenez said the de-
cision to rearrange the list was
also made to eliminate the voting
bias in selecting party list groups
at the top of the list.
Late last year, the commission
disqualied more than 50 party list
organizations, most of them with
names starting in 1 or A.
Other groups that were disquali-
ed APEC, Ako Bicol Party-List,
Butil Farmers Party and Binhi
Partido Ng Mga Magsasaka Para Sa
Mga Magsasakawere also cov-
ered by the Supreme Courts status
quo ante order and were allowed to
register.
In their petitions, the disqualied
party-list groups urged the Court to
issue a status quo ante order, saying
they would be deprived of their fair
chance to prepare for a nationwide
campaign should the justices even-
tually rule in their favor.
On the other hand, the Supreme
Court sustained the Comelec deci-
sion to deny the accreditation of the
Organization of Regional Advocates
for Good Governance Onward Na-
tion-Building (Oragon).
In its resolution, the Court said
Oragon led its petition late and
failed to comply with requirements
under rules of court.
The Court also ruled that there
was no grave abuse of discretion
on the part of the Comelec. With
Rey E. Requejo
THE Court of Appeals has paved
the way for the indictment of Pu-
lupandan, Negros Occidental Mayor
Magdaleno Pea for allegedly abus-
ing his estranged partner, actress
Marie Roxanne Plinky Recto.
In a 19-page decision, the CAs
fourth division through Justice Eduar-
do Peralta Jr. dismissed the petition of
Pea questioning a resolution of the
Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2006.
That resolution found probable cause
against Pena on charges of violating
Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence
against Women and their Children
Act).
The appellate court ruled that the
DOJ, under then Secretary Alberto
Agra, did not commit grave abuse
of discretion in approving Penas
indictment after conducting a pre-
liminary investigation by Asst. State
Prosecutor Hazel Valdez.
The CA cited Peas admission
that he had pushed Recto thrice and
tripped her with a rattan chair during
a fight in their condo unit in Manda-
luyong last June 29, 2005.
The appellate court however sus-
tained the decision of the Mandaluyong
Regional Trial Court denying Rectos
petition for a protection order.
It held that the RTC decision merely
showed that there is no threat that the
abuse against Recto will continue.
In October 2011, the CA granted
Rectos petition seeking permanent cus-
tody of their eight-year-old child. Rey
Requejo
1-CARE first on official ballot; Oragon delisted
Rectos ex loses
bid to stop raps
IT provider Stradcom Corp. claried on Friday that it has
nothing to do with the alleged graft case involving Under-
secretary Rene Limcaco and other transportation ofcials.
We believe that the accusations against Undersec-
retary Rene Limcaoco as well as other DOTC under-
secretaries that insinuate that they are being inuenced
by Stradcom ofcials to cause a failure of bidding for
the new contract for the LTO-IT Project are unfair and
an affront to their integrity as men of good standing
who have the condence of the administration,| Strad-
com said in a statement.
Stradcom denies these accusations of attempting to
inuence members of the DOTC.
It said it did not even participate in the bidding for a
new LTO IT Provider because the new contract will use
a different model, not the existing Build-Operate-Own
model. Gigi Muoz-David
A CHINESE national who became fugitive for almost
a year was arrested on Friday at the Department of Jus-
tice after attending a preliminary investigation on his
alleged involvement in illegal drug trade.
Changxin Wang was about to walk out of the DOJ
when he was arrested by agents of the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA) - National Capital Re-
gion on the basis of a separate warrant of arrest.
Wangs apprehension was effected by virtue of a
warrant of arrest issued by the Quezon City Regional
Trial Court Branch 103.
He is a respondent in a drug case involving a buy-bust op-
eration in Feb. 2011 that allegedly yielded 2 kilos of shabu.
PDEA said the money trail of the alleged drug syndi-
cate was traced to Wangs bank account.
The preliminary investigation hearing that Wang
attended yesterday at the DOJ arose from a Regional
Trial Courts grant of Wangs motion for a reinvestiga-
tion of the case against him.
That case also involves Mark Sy Tan who is also
undergoing preliminary investigation at the Justice de-
partment. Rey Requejo
Land Bank gets another 50 years
THE corporate life of the Land Bank of the Philippines
may have 50 years added after the Senate approved on third
and nal reading the proposed measure for its extension.
Voting 19-0 with 0 abstention, Senate Bill No. 2944,
otherwise known as the Agricultural Land Reform Code,
was passed before Senate went into a Christmas break.
The Land Bank of the Philippines, which was cre-
ated under Republic Act No. 3844, was granted corpo-
rate life of 50 years from its approval until Aug. 8, 2013,
said Sen. Serge Osmea, chairman of the committee on
Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.
In his sponsorship speech, he said the Landbank
was fourth among the top ve commercial banks in the
country in terms of deposits, assets, loans and capital.
He said Landbank has been a major contributor in the
governments scal consolidation thrust by way of cash
dividends worth P17.843 billion with Return on Equity
at 14 percent and Capital Adequacy Ratio at 20 percent.
Landbank has total deposits of P490 billion, assets
amounting to P630 billion, loans of P247 billion and
P73 billion in capital, Osmea said.
The bill was approved on second reading without
amendments last Dec. 10. Macon Ramos-Araneta
Aquinos House ally blasts water rate hike
AN AQUINO ally in the House of
Representatives on Friday slammed
the increases in water rates by two
private concessionaires, saying
they must rst return payments
collected in advance from consum-
ers to fund improvement projects
that have been stalled.
Bagong Henerasyon partylist
Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy as-
sailed the Metropolitan Water-
works and Sewerage System for
allowing Manila Water Corp. and
Maynilad Water Services Inc.
that have left unimplemented up-
grades in services worth about P6
billion.
By completely ignoring pub-
lic interest in its dealings with the
MWSI and MWC, the MWSS is
slowly succeeding in ruining the
good image of the much-vaunted
PPP (Public-Private Partnership)
proposal of the Aquino govern-
ment, said Herrera-Dy, vice chair-
man of the House committee on
welfare of children.
She said some P6 billion have
been collected to build the Laiban
Dam for P45.3 billion and the An-
gat Dam Irrigation Replacement
worth P5.4 billion.
Herrera-Dy described the two
projects as ghost over the failure
of the MWSS to implement them.
Any upward adjustment in wa-
ter rates is considered unconscion-
able, grossly unfair and immoral
until the MWSS and its partners
agree to return the money they il-
legally collected, she said.
Manila Water has announced a
foreign currency differential ad-
justment for P0.08 per cubic meter.
Maricel V. Cruz
Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com JANUARY 5, 2013 SATURDAY
A4
MANNY Pacquiaos stunning sixth-
round knockout loss to Mexican Juan
Manuel Marquez in December did not
only create a huge impact in the sport
of boxing worldwide. It also knocked
Filipinos out of their shared belief
that the Pacman was unstoppable even
against a skillful counterpuncher like
Marquez.
The image of Pacquiao sprawled
face-down in the canvas after being
hit by a powerful right by the Mexican
will remain embedded in our collective
memorya cruel reminder that in the
brutal sport of boxing, one punch can
alter the course of the ght and, most
likely, change a boxers perspective
towards his sport, his health, and
ultimately his and his familys future.
While doctors in Las Vegas, Nevada
gave the Filipino icon a clean bill of
health after examining him following the
abbreviated slugfest, Filipino boxing fans
couldnt help but worry.
Some people, including his mother
Dionesia, want Pacquiao to hang his
gloves for good. Others however say the
boxing icon can stilland shouldght,
arguing that the Pacman should retire on
a winning note to cement a boxing legacy
he started 17 years ago.
Pacquiao himself said he wanted to
ght on. His promoter, Bob Arum of
Top Rank, had acceded to his favorite
boxers wish as reports said Arum
was now working to secure a fth ght
against Marquez.
Then comes the low blow.
A prominent doctor, Rustico Jimenez,
the president of the Private Hospitals
Association of the Philippines, told Manila
Standard in an exclusive story that Pacquiao
was showing early signs of Parkinsons
disease, the same ailment being suffered
by boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and to
a lesser extent Freddie Roach, Pacquiaos
longtime trainer.
Jimenez said Pacquiao was stammering
and twitching his hands during television
interviews that he said were early signs of
Parkinsons disease, a progressive medical
condition characterized by loss of memory
and motor skills.
The doctor added that he made the
observation out of concern for the Filipino
boxing icon, and even advised Pacquiao
to undergo further medical tests in the
United States.
While we share Jimenezs concern for
Pacquiaos well-being, his statement was
way off the mark. We dont know if he
just wanted to be in the limelight, but a
doctor does not issue a medical statement
based on mere observation or by watching
television interviews.
Jimenezs statement could have a
damaging effect on Pacquiaos career,
since it could affect the negotiations on
his next ghts and possible future product
endorsements, Pacquiaos other source of
income.
Pacquiao was reportedly offended by
Jimenezs statement and was said to be
mulling to le an oral defamation case
against the doctor.
By shooting off his mouth, Jimenez
may get what he wants, after all. He will
get the publicity that he craves, that is, in a
negative way.
As for Pacquiao, we should respect his
decision to ght on. After all, he is man
enough to know when to stop and when to
continue to ght and bring more honor
to his country.
A low blow
Battle lines
are drawn
EDITORIAL
AT THIS early, battle lines are
drawn in the run-up to the 2016
presidential elections. The precursor
to acrimonious ghting ahead is
Malacaangs move to suspend Cebu
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.
The Palace claims the government
is only enforcing a legal court order
nding Garcia guilty of grave
abuse of authority in misusing
Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchezs
ofce budget. Still, no matter how
Malacaang distances itself from the
plot, the timing to force out Garcia
from the provincial capitol smacks
of political putsch.
The complainant,
then Vice Governor
Sanchez, has since
died. Of course,
this does not wipe
out Gwens alleged
culpability.
T h e
c i r c u ms t a n c e s
surrounding the
suspension of
Garcia does not
speak well of
President Noynoy
Aquinos straight
and narrow
path since the
beneciary of the Cebu coup is
Agnes Magpale, the sister of Rene
Almendras, the Presidents Secretary
of the Cabinet. Political machinations
would probably not be suspected
or imagined if the beneciary to
Garcias ouster had no link to the
Palace Although Magpale is just
acting governor, she can paved the
way for Hilario Davide, the ofcial
LP candidate for governor with whom
she is running as vice governor.
Cebu is a vote-rich province and
will always be critical to the outcome
of any presidential election. Its role
as game-changer will be no different
in 2016 when DILG Secretary and
Liberal Party president on leave
Manuel Roxas II reprises his 2010
rivalry with Vice President Jejomar
Binay.
By going to Cebu with United
Nationalist Alliance leadersformer
President Joseph Estrada and Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrileand
telling Gwen not to budge, Binay
has burned his bridge to PNoy. The
former Makati mayor knows only too
well what political persecution is. He
barricaded himself too in the Makati
City Hall when he was suspended
on a similar politically motivated
rap. President Gloria Arroyos attack
dog, then DILG chief Ronnie Puno,
backed off with his police assault
team when they realized that Binay
and the mayors loyalist band would
make a stand.
Gwen has been holed up in the
provincial capitol since December
19. She spent Christmas and New
Year there. The denouement of this
political theater, even if it goes the
Presidents way, will have its political
backlash. It could have the effect of
winning the battle but losing the war.
The probable fallout will be seen early
enough in the outcome of the midterm
senatorial elections in May.
The standoff at the Cebu capitol
got extended for 10 days when the
Court of Appeals ordered Malacaang
and the Solicitor General to answer
Garcias petition for a temporary
restraining order.
Speaking of the May 2013
senatorial elections, there are talks
a senatorial candidate who had been
invited to join the LP slate when it
could not complete its lineup is being
treated shabbily by party bigwigs in
the allocation of campaign funds. The
candidate has denied the rumors and
said he will stay
the course. He lent
his good name to
the party when the
LP had to resort
to recruiting guest
candidates from the
Nacionalista Party
of Manny Villar
and Nationalist
Peoples Coalition
of Danding
Cojuangco.
The top
ten senatorial
candidates in the
winning column, as
everyone knows, are
also the biggest campaign spenders.
They have managed to go around
the law against early campaigning
by appearing in expensive TV ads
purportedly advocating livelihood,
protection of the environment, and
citizen involvement in the Red Cross.
These 10-15 second TV spots cost
millions of pesos. But they get their
subliminal message across and give
the candidate the advantage of name
recall at the polling booth.
Like the awed law against political
dynasties, this loophole in the election
law against early campaigning has yet
to be plugged. An inept Commission
on Elections has not done anything
to address the problem. Congress
wants to leave things as they are. Why
would politicians change the electoral
environment they thrive in?
Social Weather Stations, according
to its latest poll, listed 10 senatorial
candidates likely to win election.
Front runners are re-electionists Chiz
Escudero and Loren Legarda. ut one
has to ask what Cynthia Villar and
Jayvee Ejercito can contribute as
senators aside from their enormous
funds.
Migz Zubiri is another question
mark. Why is he in the win column
despite being the beneciary of
widespread cheating in Maguindanao
in 2007 ? He claims he has nothing to
do with the fraud that deprived Koko
Pimentel four years in the Senate. But
how could Zubiri not know what the
infamous election supervisor Lintang
Bedol was doing in his own backyard?
ROLANDO G. ESTABILLO Publisher
RAMONCHITO L. TOMELDAN Managing Editor
CHIN WONG/ RAY S. EANO Associate Editors
JOEL P. PALACIOS News Editor
ROGELIO C. SALAZAR President & CEO
MEMBER
Philippine Press Institute
The National Association
of Philippine Newspapers PPI
can be accessed at:
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Standard
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Twisted
THAT the recently signed Reproductive
Health Law (Republic Act 10354)
is now being questioned does not
come as a surprise. Months before the
bills passage, Catholic bishops have
repeatedly threatened to challenge its
constitutionality before the Supreme
Court.
What surprised me was the fact that
it wasnt the bishops who went to the
high court.
Their moves against the RH bill were
defended by saying that priests and bishops
are citizens too. Following this logic, I
expected the men in robes, as citizens, to
be the rst to petition the SC. After all, they
said they would, so, why not?
While reading the 25-page petition,
I was struck by one thing: the very
constitutional provisions that the
Imbongs said to be violated by the RH
law are some of the provisions that the
law is actually anchored on.
In fact, R.A. 10354s Section
2, Declaration of Policy has very
signicantly quoted the Constitution
and is unequivocal in its pursuit of the
aims of the highest law of the land. Such
respect for the Constitution is clearly
reected in the various provisions of the
RH law.
A non-lawyer like me sees the petition
as primarily against family planning,
specically, contraceptives. The specic
RH laws provisions the petition wants
declared as unconstitutional are those
dealing with family planning.
The Imbongs said that the Section
12 of State Policies, Article II of the
Constitution is violated by the law.
This provision states that, The State
recognizes the sanctity of family life and
shall protect and strengthen the family
as a basic autonomous social institution.
It shall equally protect the life of the
mother and the life of the unborn from
conception...
It seems to me that the core issue
here is that because of contraception, the
unborn is not protected by the RH law.
Besides quoting Section 12 in its
Declaration of Policy, the law contains
several provisions that ensures not only
the protection of the unborn, but even
the prohibition against abortion.
For instance the laws, (d) of Sec. 2.
Declaration of Policy says, The State
likewise guarantees universal access
to medically safe, non-abortifacient,
effective, legal... health care services,
methods, devices, supplies which
do not prevent the implantation of
a fertilized ovum as determined by
the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and relevant information and
education thereon according to the
priority needs of women, children and
other underprivileged sectors, giving
preferential access to those identied
through the National Household
Targeting System for Poverty Reduction
(NHTS-PR)....who shall be voluntary
beneciaries of reproductive health
care, services, and supplies for free.
(Emphasis mine)
The term non-abortifacient and
other terms against abortion are repeated
in almost all provisions dealing with
family planning and contraceptives such
as (d), (e), and (j) of Sec. 3. Guiding
Principles for Implementation; (e), (l),
(3) of (q), and (s) of Sec. 4. Denition of
Terms; Sec. 9. The Philippine National
Drug Formulary System and Family
Planning Supplies; (2) of (a) of Sec. 19.
Duties and Responsibilities; and (1) of
(a), Sec. 23. Prohibited Acts.
Protection of the life of the unborn,
including the fetus is found in second
paragraph of Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy;
(c), (f) and (n) of Sec. 3; (d) and (f) of Sec.
4; and Sec. 8. Maternal Death Review and
Fetal and Infant Death Review.
I say, how can the RH law be
any clearer in its anti-abortion, pro-
protection of the life of the unborn
stance? How can the RH law be
considered unconstitutional when so
much care was taken for it to adhere
with and even forward the aims of the
Constitution?
The Imbongs also asserted that
freedom of religion is assailed by the RH
law. This is farthest from the truth since
nothing in the law coerces anybody to
use any of the services it offers.
Besides saying that services may
be availed of voluntarily, the term
in accordance with their religious
convictions is found in various parts of
the law like in rst paragraph of Sec. 2.
Declaration of Policy; (f) and (h) of Sec.
3; (v) of Sec. 4; (3) of (a) of Sec. 23.
Prohibited Acts;
Moreover, the laws anti-coercion
stance is clearly enunciated in (a), (k),
(l), of Sec. 3; (e), (p), (s), and (w) of Sec.
4; Sec. 7. Access to Family Planning;
and, (b) and (c) of Sec. 23.
It is, therefore, quite clear that
religious freedom is in truth, protected
and upheld by the RH law.
Taken everything, the Imbong
petition has twisted the RH laws
letter and intent to suit the petitioners
position. Thus, the petition cannot be
given much credence.
Some say that more petitions will
be led. If this indeed happens, it will
be interesting to see if any bishop will
come forward to fulll their threat,
and if other petitioners will also come
from the known allies of the Catholic
hierarchy. After all, theirs has been
the major group that has consistently
opposed reproductive health and rights.
The battleground has shifted.
While the respondents to this case are
Executive ofcials, advocacy groups
are ready to do whatever needs to be
done to protect the RH law.
We are condent that the Supreme
Court will say that the RH law is NOT
unconstitutional.
bethangsioco@gmail.com and @
bethangsioco on Twitter
ELIZABETH
ANGSIOCO
POWER POINT
ALEJANDRO
DEL ROSARIO
BACK CHANNEL
Even if the
President gets his
way in Cebu, this
could be a case
of winning the
battle but losing
the war.
A5 Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com
IT IS not a question of closing down the
biggest money-making agency of the
government. Rather, the Presidential
Commission on Good Government
should never have been created by
the so-called God-sent hypocritical
government. Maybe there was a
noble motive, which was to run after
the fabled $10 billion loot of former
President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife
Imelda, and so-called cronies.
Although it managed to recover
about P164 billion or $4 billion of the
so-called stashed loot consisting
of prime real estate property, jewelry,
paintings, and bank deposits, the agency
has yet to convict a single accused
despite claims of overwhelming
evidence. This in the 26 years of its
existence with all the plenary powers
vested unto it.
It is this
p a r a d o x
of having
r e c o v e r e d
portions of
the alleged ill-
gotten wealth
and the failure to
convict that has
led our people
to wonder. They
wonder because
the rudiment
of due process
taught them that
s eques t r at i on
could only
proceed once
the accused has been convicted. Their
conviction is the ligament that will
serve to resolve the status of those
sequestered properties as either stolen
or ill-gotten wealth. Without it, they
ought to be returned to the owners.
They can never be declared res nullius
nor can be summarily classied as ill-
gotten.
But in its inability to convict
the accused, the court proceeded
instead to convict the property and
the money just for the PCGG to
get hold of them without having to
prove anything. That resulted in
the denial of due process to all the
accused. PCGG chairman, Andres
Bautista, despite his extraordinary
powers even inverting the time-
honored principle that the burden of
proving the guilt of the accused is
on the accuser, now admits that it is
next to impossibility to convict the
accused.
Even if there was prima facie
evidence to justify the temporary
conscation of those properties
pending the nal outcome of the case,
not one of those accused has been
convicted. Yet, many of those items
that were arbitrarily taken from them
have been either been sold, dissipated
or simply bubbled out into thin air.
This uncanny circumstance now leads
many to suspect that the hypocritically
honest government was only after the
money.
Despite the fact that those cases have
been dragging on for two decades and
six years, the possibility of convicting
anyone is nowhere in sight. Sufce
it to say that the body of the crime or
the corpus delictithe sequestered
propertieshave long evaporated.
Yet, the presidential good-for-nothing
commission persists in prosecuting the
accused, knowing that the property in
question is no longer in their custody
and could no longer be presented in
court.
Cocky as ever, the government
with the collaboration of the courts
proceeded instead to convict the money
and the property, thereby allowing
the PCGG to justify its continued
sequestration.
For instance, to make sure the
Marcoses would not be able to have
a legal standing in the very court
where they were charged; for them
to rebut all the allegations, the court
made mandatory the imposition of
docket fees to party-litigants without
qualication. Failing to cough up that
huge amount for them to contest the
move of the corrupt Arroyo government
to withdraw the $687-million escrow
deposit made by the Swiss government
with the PNB, the court promptly
declared them in default.
The clever scheme thus converted
the trial to one of a circus called
summary proceedings with the court
given a free hand to render a summary
judgment on the basis of ex parte
proceedings. That in effect r esulted
in the absurd conviction of the money,
and not of the accused. In the end,
the corrupt Arroyo government was
able to circumvent the condition of
the escrow agreement that demanded a
nal criminal conviction of the accused
for their release.
While nobody would want to argue
on the rules set by the Supreme Court,
the people at the least want those
rules to be logical. This they insist
because what
they perceive
as just and
equitable must
reconcile with
logic or should
not run counter
to common
sense. This
they say for how
could the court
demand from
the Marcoses the
docket fee when
it was obligatory
for them, as
accused, to
answer the
petition? Yet,
for failing to pay the docket fee, they
were denied of their right to appear and
testify by declaring them in default.
It did not even seep into the crevices
of their skull that they were appearing
in court essentially as respondents. The
issue of ownership has, at the outset,
been resolved by the condition in the
escrow agreement, viz that failure to
secure a criminal conviction against
the Marcoses by nal judgment meant
that the deposit should be returned
to their rightful owners/depositors.
The Marcoses, on their part, were not
asking for the release of the deposits, or
were demanding damages, but merely
arguing on their defense as accused/
respondents, they having made to
answer.
For that, the court brazenly
short-circuited their right to defend
themselves, to confront he witnesses
against them, and to present evidence
in their defense. Many were shaking
their heads because it was an obligation
set by the court itself; that failure to
answer could result in their being
declared in default.
Moreover, the PCGG should have
been disbanded upon the ratication
of the Constitution in 1987. Section
26, Article XVIII provides that The
authority to issue sequestration or
freeze orders under Proclamation No.
3 dated March 25, 1986 in relation to
the recovery of ill-gotten wealth shall
remain operative for not more than
eighteen months after the ratication
of this Constitution. However, in
the national interest, as certied by
the President, the Congress may
extend said period. In addition, the
sequestration or freeze order is deemed
automatically lifted if no judicial action
or proceeding is commenced as herein
provided.
Instead of observing that
constitutional mandate, the Cory-
appointed constitutional commissioners
drafted a provision giving President
Aquino the authority to certify to
the reconstituted Congress to pass a
resolution extending the life of the
PCGG. That provision repeated the
idiocy in having to prohibit political
dynasties, but conditional to a law
which Congress has yet to enact.
rpkapunan@gmail.com
Close the PCGG
permanently
ROD
P. KAPUNAN
BACKBENCHER
We have come
to the absurd
conviction, not of
the accused, but
of the money.
IN THE wake of the 2009 typhoon
Ondoy, Republic Act 10121, the
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Act of 2010, reformed
the National Disaster Coordinating
Council to the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council
to better address the countrys need for
comprehensive disaster preparedness as
well as response. At the time, I felt it was
far from the ideal solution I would have
proposed for the Philippine government,
yet I also believed it was a step in the
right direction. NDRRMC emphasized
preparedness as much as response,
prioritizing all levels of government
to develop and implement disaster risk
reduction and management strategies
to better prepare for, and reduce losses
from, natural and man-made calamities,
a necessary paradigm shift.
That was about two years ago.
Since then, the country has endured
many climate-related calamities now
iconic in Filipino social and historical
consciousness; e.g., typhoons Juan
(2010), Pedring (2011), Sendong
(2011), and Pablo (2012)all names
retired from the PAGASA database due
to their damage and death toll. Add to
that the disaster with no name (the
Habagat-related August 2012 ooding),
and even in terms of climate alone,
the Philippines remains ill-prepared,
ill-equipped to endure calamity. And
climate is just one of a number of disaster
threats facing us, both natural (volcanic,
earthquake) and man-made. We should
commend NDRRMC for making great
strides, yet the evidence shows greater
strides remain, which I fear NDRRMC
might not be able to make.
In the United States, on the
other hand, disaster risk reduction
management is the rubric of an agency
with its own iconic status in American
consciousness: the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), created
in 1978 as an independent agency
(later brought under the Department
of Homeland Security in 2003) to
prepare the country for calamities, and
coordinate preparation, response, and
recovery activities. FEMA is the ideal
solution I would have proposed for the
Philippines.
Its (former) status as an independent
agency is the critical advantage
FEMA has over NDRRMC: a single,
permanent organization with the
mandate, powers, and budget to oversee
a singular, comprehensive, coordinated
strategy to ready the territories of
the state for natural and man-made
disasters and other similar emergencies.
An independent disaster management
agency wouldnt have to compete with
the bureaucratic priorities of a host
bureaucracy; e.g., the Department of
National Defenseor for that matter,
the competing bureaucratic priorities
of the other Cabinet secretaries who
make up the NDRRMC. In fact, some
criticized placing FEMA under DHS
for precisely that reason (DHSs
responsibilities include border security
and counter-terrorism).
In an October 2012 paper written
with Ateneo School of Government
colleagues, we noted the importance of
localizing DRRM at the local government
unit level, and coordinating DRRM with
climate change adaptation measures in
socio-economic development strategies.
In addition, weve cited another papers
stress on the importance of developing
a DRRM knowledge base to inform
LGU strategies and development
plans. Despite the improvements
the NDRRMC has over its NDCC
predecessor, three years after Ondoy,
the council arguably still doesnt have
the bureaucratic muscle to handle these
objectives.
This gives us all the more reason to
press government for a truly independent
Filipino FEMA. An independent
agency would have a strong mandate
to assist and train LGUs with DRRM/
CCA strategizing and implementation.
National response teams (e.g., an
equivalent of the FEMA Urban Search
and Rescue Task Force) can be brought
under its management; an independent
agency can also host disaster response
training and exercises for disaster rst-
responders from other departments
(e.g., armed forces and police), local
governments, and private organizations
(e.g., Red Cross). It can be given the
authority to manage the national funds
and budgets allocated under RA10121
to ensure effective and accountable
expenditures. On that accountability
front, an independent agency can also
be responsible for setting standards of
risk reduction that must be met by local
strategies and ensuring compliance.
Given the Philippines painfully
repetitive experience at the hands
of climate calamitiesespecially
for Mindanao last December, and
the December before thatthe
only potential argument against
such bureaucratic reform, increased
budgetary pressures of an independent
agency (and any associated corruption
risks), should not be a signicant
argument at all. A nation that
isnt willing to pay for disaster
preparedness now will certainly pay
for the disaster in lives and resources
whennot ifit hits. As history has
shown, we pay for disasters time and
time again: over two billion pesos in
damages and about a thousand and
two hundred fatalities for Sendong in
2011, P14 billion and a little over a
thousand deaths for Pablo (as of mid-
December). The National Statistics
Coordination Board estimates about
291 billion pesos in losses to storms
and oods over the past 20 years.
We have a responsibility of breaking
this broken record story of Philippine
climate calamitiesnot to mention
preparing for other types of calamities.
The shift to DRRM in 2010 was the rst
important step in bringing Philippine
disaster preparation up-to-date. An
independent agency, a Filipino FEMA,
is the second. In the wake of Pablo, its
a step we need to make, before the next
major typhoon hits. Its what we owe
to every casualty of every disaster the
Philippines has endured.

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Via
Twitter: tonylavs
A new disaster management agency
DEAN TONY
LA VIA
EAGLE EYES
By William Pesek
PERHAPS the most bizarre element
of the horric gang rape and murder of
a New Delhi woman is how it became
fodder for the India-versus-China
debate.
Chinese media, not known for
chronicling human-rights abuses at
home, were all over the lethal attack
on a 23-year-old Indian on a moving
bus on Dec. 16, and her cremation on
Dec. 30. Everything from a surge in
demand for gun permits among women
to a dysfunctional penal system to
how democracy is failing Indias 1.2
billion people got enthusiastic coverage
inChina.
That was until a vast crowd staged
protests in the Indian capital. Chinas
censors also sprang into action to
clamp down on Twitter-like microblogs
buzzing about young, urban Indians
nding their political voice and
demanding change. The reaction says as
much about China as India, but Indias
leaders would be remiss to ignore how
this story is playing out around the
world.
Indias much-hyped modernity isnt
looking so modern. All the gleaming
skyscrapers, software campuses and
Bollywood gloss in the world cant hide
the hold that the shameful aspects of old
India have on the country. If India is to
thrive and move forward, 2013 must be
the year of justice.
Br utal attack
The immediate focus is on the six
men accused of torturing a medical
student so sadistically that they
destroyed her internal organs. The
issues of womens rights, safety and
respect have seldom been the stuff of
headlines in the biggest democracy.
Its also a complicated issue prone to
unhelpful generalities.
But the rape cast a spotlight
on something well-known
to India watchers but given little heed
globally: how badly India often treats
its women, how sexual harassment
is tolerated and the extent to which
backward attitudes must be stamped
out. Misogynistic comments from
a variety of ofcials suggesting the
victim may have encouraged the attack
based on her dress and mannerisms
dont help.
Antipathy toward women begins in
the womb. Female infanticide and sex-
selective abortion driven by a societal
preference for boys make it a stark
challenge for girls even to enter the
world. A 2012 Unicef report found that
57 percent of Indian males aged 15 to 19
think wife beating is justied.
In an odd twist, India has had its share
of female leaders, Sonia Gandhi among
them. In everyday life, though, women
play a secondary and subordinate role.
Often they are seen as human beings
only if there is a mana father, brother
or husbandto validate them.
Take the chilling tale of a Punjab
teenager raped a month before
the New Delhi attack. Rather than
receiving justice, she was humiliated
by police who tried to pressure her
into marrying one of her rapists. Late
last month, she committed suicide
by drinking poison. That might not
have happened were punishment for
rapists certain, severe, rapid and not
biased against victims.
India is, no doubt, grating at the
media scrutiny from overseas, but some
good may come from it. Complacency
means India could soon be the rst
BRIC economyBrazil, Russia,
India, Chinto lose its investment-
grade rating. It desperately needs more
domestic investment to propel growth
above the current 5.3 percent pace.
Outsiders encourage developing
nations and cities to increase their
attractiveness to investors, bankers
and foreign talent. Attention normally
focuses on the quality of roads and
power grids, housing, education,
pollution and legal certainty. In Indias
case, add rape to that list.
Easy year s
The other big justice issue for 2013
is economics. The protests in New Delhi
come as one of the giants of Indias
economic revolution, Ratan Tata, steps
down as head of Tata Sons Ltd. after
two decades at the helm. He built the
business into a $100 billion global
conglomerate in ways that demonstrate
why some bet India will be a more
successful economy than China in 20
years. Yet Tatas departure coincides
with the end of another era: the easy
years of globalization and the growth it
brought.
Gone are the days when India
could get by on pockets of success in
software and industry. Rising stars such
as Indonesia and the Philippines are
waiting behind China to grab market
share. Policy drift in New Delhi and
little progress in ending corruption get
much of the blame. India wants to boost
growth to 8 percent or 9 percent, but
whats the point if graft concentrates its
benets among the elite?
The spark for the protests in New
Delhi was an act of unspeakable
violence. But the tenor has broadened,
at times taking on the same Arab Spring-
like quality as the protests led in 2011 by
anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare. It
is telling that so many young, urban men
are among the aggrieved denouncing the
rapes. That is a nod to the important role
that gender equality plays in eradicating
poverty. But these demonstrations are
also shaking the conscience of middle-
class Indians who sense that their
leaders have lost their way.
The governments tone-deaf response
initially fueled the outrage. Rather
than engage the masses, authorities
clashed with them and appeared more
interested in cordoning off the citys
political center, China-style. Not a great
report card for the India envisioned
by Mahatma Gandhi. Bloomberg
MAIL MATTERS
This refers to your news article
printed last Dec. 24 & Dec 28, 2012
with the following titles: Country
Club vows to uphold its rules by Gigi
Munoz-David and Southwoods War
by Alvin Capino.
In both articles, my name, Chris
Carreon, was given much credit and.
The stories imply that I am a main
protagonist in the half a-decade-
old struggle between the incumbent
Sobrepea Group & the Southwoods
Reform Group.
Please allow me to clarify &
straighten a few facts:
I, Chris Carreon, am not a member
of the so-called Southwoods Reform
Group. In 2010,1 ran as an independent
candidate in one of the many no-
quorum club elections. For electoral
convenience, I struck a co-sharing
of excess proxies with the Reform
Groups candidates. My candidacy
was even opposed by a few hard-core
members of the reform group for fear of
losing their own proxies.
Shortly thereafter, I consciously
refrained from having~any material
communication with the Southwoods
Reform Group & vice-versa. I did not
and do not participate in any Reform
Group activities as implied by your
news article.
As regards the 2010 proxy issue,
while there were a few that were
in question (not 140 as one of your
articles claims), the Election Committee
Chairman of Southwoods at that time,
Mr. Fred Javellana, certied in writing
that there was no forgery involved
but obvious discrepancies in member
signatures. Note that the specimen
signature record of Unionbank has not
been updated in the last 15-20 years.
Lastly, I, Chris Carreon, have not even
been a member of the Manila Southwoods
Golf Club since early 2012. Like many
worn-out members before me, I have
relinquished my club membership and
sold my proprietary share.
The way your news articles were
written whereby I am allegedly party to
a grand schemeto wrest management
control of the clubare both malicious
& libelous. Omitting pertinent facts to
suit a story does not speak well of fair
and accurate reporting.
CHRIS CARREON
cris.carreon@gmail.com
Rape wakes India to its shame
I am not a member of the Reform Club
News
ManilaStandardToday
mst.daydesk@gmail.com JANUARY 5, 2013 SATURDAY
A6
All ready
for annual
procession
Cleanest villages
announced Jan. 16
4 more cops tagged in cracker melee
The Board of Directors, Offcers, Management and Staff of
BENGUET CORPORATION
and its Subsidiaries
deeply mourn the passing of
SALVADOR BUDDY P. PABALAN
Senior Vice President, Audit
who peacefully joined his Lord and Creator
on January 3, 2013 at the age of 77.

Because he clings to me, I will deliver
him; I will set him on high because he
acknowledges my name.
(Psalm91)
His remains are at Del Pilar Chapel of
Funeraria Paz, Sucat, Paranaque. There
is a 7:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, January
5, 2013. The Funeral Mass will be on
Sunday, January 6, 2013, 10 a.m.,at Del
Pilar Chapel. Inurnment will be at 2:00
p.m. at St. James the Great Church,
Ayala Alabang.
Your prayers and holy masses offered
for the eternal repose of our beloved
Buddy will be most appreciated.
Metropolitan Manila Devel-
opment Authority Chairman
Francis Tolentino said the road
closures will include P. Campa/
Espaa, Nicanor Reyes/Espa-
a, Andalucia/Fugoso, Recto/
Isetann (service road), Raon/
Evangelista, Ma. Orosa/P.
Burgos, Lagusnilad/P. Bur-
gos, Taft/Finance/Westbound,
A. Villegas/Taft Avenue, 25th
Street/Bonifacio Drive, N.A.
Lopez/A. Villegas, Anda Circle/
Bonifacio Drive, Gen. Luna/P.
Burgos, Roxas Boulevard-T.M.
Kalaw, and Katigbak/Roxas
Boulevard.
Some of the roads, like
Katigbak Drive and South
Drive at the Luneta Park, will
be closed to trafc on January
8, the day before the procession,
because of an overnight vigil at
the Quirino Grandstand where
a High Mass will celebrated by
Manila Archbishop Luis Anto-
nio Tagle on January 9.
Tolentino said the proces-
sion route will start at 7 a.m. at
the Quirino Grandstand, right
Katigbak Drive through P. Bur-
gos, left Taft Ave. (P. Burgos)
through McArthur Bridge, right
Palanca, through under Quezon
Bridge, left Quezon Boulevard,
right Fraternal, right Vergara,
left Duque de Alba, left Cas-
tillejos, left Farnecio, right
Arlegui, left Nepomuceno, left
Aguila, right Carcer, right Hi-
dalgo through Plaza Del Car-
men, left Bilibid Viejo through
Puyat, left Guzman, right Hi-
dalgo, left Barbosa, right Globo
de Oro through under Quezon
Bridge, right Palanca, right Vil-
lalobos through Plaza Miranda
to Quiapo Church.
Brig. Gen. Romeo Fajardo,
deputy administrator of the Of-
ce of Civil Defense, said there
will be 65 ambulances and 28
medical stations and six evacu-
ation centers at strategic points
with 15 rubber boats standing
by at the Pasig River.
Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim
has ordered the rental of at least
50 portalets, a sound system
and four paging systems along
the procession route.
All trees along the route of
the procession have also been
trimmed and all the lighting
systems have also been checked
by city electrician Engr. Ernesto
Cuyugan.
The city will also provide at
least ten ambulance units which
will be on standby to attend to
possible emergency cases.
Lim said a garbage truck
will also follow as the proces-
sion moves to clean up what-
ever trash may be left behind.
The Manila mayor also ap-
pealed to the public to respect
the occasion and not to go there
drunk because they will only
endanger themselves and other
devotees.
He also called on the devo-
tees not to wear any jewelry
and to avoid bringing children,
whom he said may not be able
to withstand the crowd surge
which marks the said yearly
event.
By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja
AT least 14 roads will be closed to
trafc in the areas of Luneta and Quiapo
in Manila for the bigest religious
procession in the metropolis on January
9 and various preparations are already in
place, ofcials said on Friday.
By Ferdinand Fabella

FOUR more Quezon City police-
men face administrative charges
after being caught on camera
looting a pile of seized reworks
that were up for disposal last Sat-
urday.
This brought to 16 the number
of QCPD policemen who are be-
ing investigated for possible grave
misconduct over the incident that
took place at Camp Karingal on
December 29, the National Capi-
tal Regional Police Ofce said on
Friday.
NCRPO Director Leonardo
Espina identied the four as SPO3
Jesus Salas, SPO2 Noel Bando-
quillo, PO1 Arnold Lacambra and
PO1 Joseph Comora.
Earlier identied in the contro-
versial video were Chief Inspector
Michael Sanchez, SPO1 Ricardo
Llena Jr., PO3 Jay Bonifacio V.
Raz, PO3 Boy Clarito M. Blan-
cad, PO3 Robert F. Rodillas, PO2
Winston B. Quintos, PO1 James
B. Bareo, PO1 Eric P. Bote, PO1
Richard E. Paz, PO1 Gerald S.
Coronel, PO1 Raymar G. Con-
sejo and PO1 Jaypee T. Tabo.
They were getting recrack-
ers for themselves even while they
were being berated by an ofcer,
Espina said, describing the free-for-
all scene as embarrassing.
Espina said they are still re-
viewing the video footage taken
by dzMM to identify more po-
licemen who were recorded steal-
ing seized recrackers that were
supposed to be destroyed during a
media presentation that day.
He pointed out that the police-
men will be charged with grave
misconduct before the NCRPO
Investigation and Detective Man-
agement Division.
In the spirit of due process, Es-
pina said the subject policemen will
all be ordered to explain their par-
ticipation in the frenzied looting.
He stressed that before the
New Year, he had ordered the im-
mediate disposal of conscated
reworks that were not going to
be used as evidence against ille-
gal vendors and users.
Some of the identied police-
men said they were only look-
ing at the reworks in curiosity
and promptly returned what they
touched from the heap of seized
contraband.
Espina had earlier reported
that Metro Manila police districts
conscated P1.650 million worth
of illegal recrackers.
The Quezon City police ac-
counted for around P700,000,
followed by the Eastern Police
District with P350,000, Manila
Police District P242,000, North-
ern Police District P188,000
and Southern Police District
P170,000.
Espina also reported that 215
people were arrested for violating
the recracker during the crack-
down for violating the recracker
regulation law and nine people
were arrested for indiscriminate
ring.
By Rio N. Araja
THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is set to reveal
the winners of Barangay Power 2012 search for cleanest baran-
gays on Jan. 16.
Chairman Francis Tolentino said one barangay from each of
the four contest categories will be awarded P1 million cash prize
each and a plaque of recognition at the awards ceremony to be
held at Tanghalang Pasigueo in Pasig City.
We will be honoring four barangays that are not only the
cleanest but those that have the most effective and sustainable
solid waste management programs, he added.
The four winners will be chosen from the 37 nalist barangays
earlier screened by a board of jurors composed of ofcials from
MMDA, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Department of Interior and Local Government, and National Solid
Waste Management Commission.
The search was launched in March in partnership with the Met-
ro Manila Mayors Spouses Foundation Inc. aimed to encourage
1,705 barangays in the metro to maintain and sustain cleanliness
in their areas.
Category A includes barangays with land area of 300 to 500
hectares and an income of P35 million and above; and Category
B, barangays with land area of 100 to 299 hectares and income of
P20 to 35 million.
On the other hand, barangays with land area of one to 99
hectares and income of P19 million below comprised Category
C; while village-barangays or villages in barangays that are self-
governing will be grouped in Category D.
Tolentino said the 37 barangays that made it to the nal list of
cleanest barangays underwent rigorous screening and assessment
by the board of jurors.
The route of the Black Nazarene procession
A7
Sports Riera U. Mallari, Editor
ManilaStandardToday
sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
Pacquiao must heed the call
Weiss pact extended
THE story that national boxing
hero Manny Pacquiao is appar-
ently showing early signs of Par-
kinsons disease is a painful re-
minder of the hazards of the sport,
even as it hurts us beyond belief to
even imagine that this debilitating
disease may have affected the man
we consider as the greatest Filipino
champion of all time.
The fact that the evaluation was
made only by television footage,
where Manny is said to have shown
signs of his hands twitching and
slurred speech doesnt minimize our
collective concern because of the
fact that the assessment was made by
a neurologistDr. Rustico Jimenez,
president of the Private Hospitals
Association of the Philippines, who
is obviously trained to detect signs of
the progressive disorder of the ner-
vous system.
It provides no comfort that Man-
nys trainer Freddie Roach also suf-
fers from Parkinsons disease and
that the man regarded as the greatest
heavyweight champion, Muham-
mad Ali, is ravaged by the disease.
We have always maintained that
the post-ght CTScan taken at a Las
Vegas hospital as a requirement by
the Nevada State Athletic Commis-
sion is, at best perfunctory.
That is why we must commend
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who
told us after Pacquiaos crushing
knockout at the hands of Juan Manu-
el Marquez last Dec. 8 that he would
suggest that Pacquiao undergo a
thorough checkup at the Cleveland
Medical Centers Lou Ruvo brain
center in Las Vegas, regarded as the
nest in the world.
Not only that. Arum told us then
that if a planned fth ght against
Marquez takes place in September,
he would insist that both Pacquiao
and Marquez undergo random drug
testing prior to the ght.
This should please many people,
including boxing man, manager of
two former world champions Lu-
isito Espinosa and Morris East
veteran broadcaster Hermie Rivera,
who is concerned if not convinced
that Marquez was juiced up for the
Pacquiao ght since Angel Memo
Heredia had worked with the Mexi-
can legend for several months be-
ginning some time prior to his third
ght against Pacquiao.
Heredia was responsible for the
use of performance-enhancing drugs
by Olympic sprint champion Marion
Jones, who was stripped of her gold
medals and served a prison term for
having lied about her use of perfor-
mance enhancing drugs.
Heredia himself defended Mar-
quezs putting on muscle, bulking up
and showing remarkable punching
power in the Pacquiao ght, attribut-
ing it to an honest, rigorous strength
and conditioning program, which
Pacquiao apparently abandoned for
the Marquez ght.
But people like Rivera, who
knows his boxing for sure, dont be-
lieve him. Rivera, in an email wrote:
The entire boxing world was outra-
geously dumbfounded at his (Pac-
quiaos) dethronement by way of a
devilishly contrived program, wick-
edly employed by JMMs condition-
ing coach Angel Heredia, the wily
Mexican nay an evil genius.
Hermie wrote he couldnt under-
stand why this was allowed in the
wake of cyclist Lance Armstrongs
banishment after seven years of
shocking abuse of power enhancing
drugs even as he mentioned that the
Senate committee headed by Gringo
Honasan would conduct a probe on
the issue.
While there is not much such a
probe can do to inuence the vari-
ous boxing commissions in the US
as well as world organizations to de-
mand that ghters at least in cham-
pionship battles undergo manda-
tory random drug testing, it should at
least put the world on notice that the
Philippines is taking a stand on the
use of illegal drugs by boxers.
World Boxing Organization/Ring
Magazine and World Boxing Coun-
cil Diamond Belt champion Nonito
Donaire has set a ne example by
voluntarily initiating random drug
testing on himself by the Volunteer
Anti-Doping Association, headed by
Dr. Margaret Goodman, who was
formerly connected with the Nevada
State Athletic Commission which to
this day only carries out urine tests
after a ght, which cannot detect the
use of PEDs since they could easily
be washed out of a users system by
ght time.
Signicantly, Victor Conte, who
served a prison term for his Balco
clinic peddling of steroids, helps
Donaire in terms of his nutrition
etc. By undergoing random drug
tests, Nonito has effectively shown
the world thatas Heredia insisted
science shows us the way and we
could use the knowledge either for
good or evil, even as he insisted he
shunned any illegal remedies in the
Marquez case.
He may be right. Interestingly,
Pacquiaos strength and condition-
ing coach Alex Ariza shares the
same view, noting that the same
accusations of using performance-
enhancing drugs were leveled at him
and Pacquiao some years ago.
However, logically, the surge of
power of Marquez as evidenced
by his KO of Pacquiao is hard to
explain since in their three previ-
ous ghts, he failed to drop Manny
even once, while Pacquiao dropped
him four times in the rst two
ghts and had him in deep trouble
in their fourth showdown prior to
the stunning right hand that sent
Pacquiao crashing to the canvas
face down where he lay motionless
for some time.
Its a tough call, but in the absence
of solid evidence, not circumstantial
or speculative, Marquez and Heredia
have to be given the benet of the
doubt.
More importantly, however, is
Pacquiaos physical condition. We
fervently hope the neurologists as-
sessment was wrong, but that should
not prevent Manny from getting
a complete brain checkup at the
Cleveland Center. He owes it to him-
self, his family and fans, who care
for him deeply and continue to stand
by him even as some of the leeches,
who bled him for years have aban-
doned him after his loss. If the spe-
cialists say its time to quit, Pacquiao
must heed the call.
RONNIE
NATHANIELSZ
INSIDE SPORTS
PFF president Mariano
Nonong Araneta told the Manila
Standard that general secretary,
Atty. Edwin Gastanes would meet
with Azkals team manager Dan
Palami and Weiss on the extension
of the coachs contract.
Araneta said they would discuss
the duration of the extension and a
few other salient points.
Based on the ndings of the
technical committee, there are some
weaknesses that need to be ad-
dressed, said Araneta, who how-
ever added that overall, the perform-
ance of Weiss and the Philippine
national team has been good.
Araneta also disclosed that the
THE Philippine Football Federation
plans to extend the current contract of
German coach Michael Weiss, who was
expected to return to Manila from a
Christmas vacation yesterday.
Hope eyes
2nd victory
in Tobys tilt
HOPE Christian High School
hopes to come out strong from
a long break as it clashes with
St. Joseph College in the To-
bys Junior Volleyball League
today at the Quorum Sports
Arena in Pasig City.
The HCS tossers, who toppled
De La Salle-Lipa B, 25-12, 25-14,
last Dec. 9, are tipped to get past
the SJC side in their 10 a.m. clash
in Girls A, kicking off a heavy six-
game bill and a weekend of top
notch volley action with ve more
matches set tomorrow.
MGC New Life Christian
Academy, meanwhile, goes for
its second win in three games
as it battles DLS-Zobel (0-1) at
11 a.m. in Girls B of the event
sponsored by Tobys Sports,
Shakeys Pizza and Mikasa and
organized by Metro Sports.
SJC, meanwhile, debuts in
the boys division as it plays
winless Rafael Palma Elem.
School at 1 p.m., while De La
Salle-Lipa shoots for its fourth
win in row against Oranbo
Elem. School at 2 p.m.
SJC returns to the court at
3 p.m. to face off Academy
of Gods Children while DLL
caps its two-game assignment
against Rafael Palma ES in the
4 p.m. main game.
Colegio San Agustin, mean-
while, posted two victories before
the holiday break, beating Miriam
College, 25-17, 25-4, and thwart-
ing De La Salle-B, 24-26, 25-13,
25-12, to seize the Girls A lead.
De La Salle-A, on the other
hand, blanked De La Salle-Can-
lubang, 25-0, 25-0, for its third
straight victory in Girls B while
De La Salle-B turned back Miri-
am College, 23-25, 25-20, 25-
23, in a thrilling Girls A match.
Asean Football Federation had
donated $100,000 to the PFF for
the victims of Typhoon Pablo,
with contributions coming from
member nations.
The donation was agreed upon
at the meeting of the Asean Foot-
ball Federation in Bangkok last
Dec. 22.
At the same time, Araneta said
AFF president Sultan Ahmad
Shah, who heads the Malaysian
Football Association, would ar-
rive in Manila on Feb. 1.
The Manila Standar d also
learned there are plans to bol-
ster the fund campaign for the
typhoon victims by organizing
a friendly match between the
Azkals and an Australian team
sometime next month.
In the meantime, the Azkals
will resume training on Sun-
day for the AFC Challenge Cup
qualiers to be held at the Rizal
Memorial Stadium in March.
The tournament will give the
Philippines an opportunity to
qualify for the 2014 nal, with the
champions in the qualiers earn-
ing a spot in the 2015 AFC Asian
Cup to be held in Australia.
Weiss said the goal in the tourna-
ment, which is for emerging nations
in Asia such as the Philippines, is
to get rst place in the qualiers
on home soil in order to succeed in
2014 and win the tournament.
CHLOE Mae Saraza withstood
Ma. Dominique Ongs ghtback
in the second set and hacked out
a 6-1, 7-6(2) victory to barge
into the Last 8 of the girls
16-and-under singles in the 24th
Andrada Cup tennis tournament
at the Rizal Memorial Tennis
Courts yesterday.
The unranked Saraza domi-
nated the sixth-seeded Ong in
the opener but struggled in the
next, needing to come up with
big shots in the tiebreaker to
pound out the victory and seal a
quarters showdown with Nicole
Amistad.
The third-ranked Amistad also
survived a rst-set scare and
went on to defeat Bianca Cruz,
7-5, 6-3, and stay in the hunt in
the tournament sponsored by
Dunlop Fort All Court Balls,
Philippine Sports Commission,
First Solid Group, St. Lukes
Medical Center and Sagip Bayan
Foundation.
Others who advanced in the
group, headed by top seed Rox-
anne Resma, were No. 5 Khim
Iglupas, who trounced Frances
Santiago, 6-2, 6-3; and Angelica
Mosqueda and second seed Maia
Balce, who scored walkover
wins over Colleen Sioson and
Princess Nadera, respectively.
The fancied bets, meanwhile,
breezed through the quarters of
the girls 12-and-under class
with top seed Carlyn Bless
Guarde and No. 2 Maxine Mar-
tin scoring 6-0, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-3
wins over Pearl Pato and Megan
Reyes, respectively.
No. 4 Alexandra Eala romped
off with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Anna De
Myer, fth seed Mikaela Vicencio
and No. 6 Mia So won by default
over Nica Alanis and Miles Vi-
taliano, respectively, and seventh
ranked Gia Sagandoy blasted Li-
Jian Thean, 6-1, 6-1.
But third seed Blanche La-
grisola needed to bounce back
from a rst-set setback to stop
Patricia Corporal, 5-7, 6-1 (10-
3), and complete the Last 8 cast
in the ranking event held in hon-
or of Philippine sports commis-
sioner Buddy Andrada.
In the boys 14-and-under
class, No. 1 Cenon Gonzales
and second seed Emmanuel Va-
calares Jr. posted a pair of one-
sided victories to stay in title col-
lision course. Gonzales routed
Nolan Gagalac, 6-2, 6-1, while
Vacalares demolished Rafael
Halili, 6-0, 6-1.
Saraza stuns Ong, gains quarterfinals
Fencing champs. University of the East fencers are shown with coaches Rufelrino Endriano and
Rolando Canlas Jr., UE Physical Education Department director Rodrigo Roque, athletic assistant Melvin
Reyes, sports coordinator Leo Viajar and Coach Chester Uy after their record-setting accomplishment. UE
ruled the University Athletic Association of Philippines Season 75 mens, womens, boys and girls fencing
competition, winning all the divisions crowns, at the Philsports Arena, Pasig City.
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Public Works and Highways
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
Fifth Leyte Engineering District
Baybay City, Leyte
Telephone Number (053) 335-2503
ITEM I
Contract ID: 13IG0012
Contract Name: Rehabilitation/Improvement of Flood Control Projects, Kiga River
Flood Control works (Kiga Bridge), along Ormoc-Baybay-Southern
Leyte Boundary Road
Contract Location: Baybay City
Brief Description/Scope
Of Work: Structure Excavation, Embankment, Stone Masonry, Concrete slope
Protection, Gabions, Safety & Health
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): P 7,760,000.00
Contract Duration: 90 Calendar Days
Cost of Bid Documents: P 10,000.00
ITEM II
Contract Name: Rehabilitation/Improvement of Flood Control Projects, Kilim River
Flood Control Works, along Ormoc-Baybay-Southern Leyte Boundary
Road
Contract Location: Baybay City
Of Work: Structure Excavation, Embankment, Stone Masonry, Piling, Concrete
Works, Safety & Health
ITEM III
Contract Name: Preventive Maintenance (Intermittent Sections) Arterial, Tacloban-
Baybay South Road, K 1006+000 to K 1007+000
Contract Location: Tacloban-Baybay South Road, K1006+000 to K1007 +000
Of Work: Removal of Existing Concrete Pavement, Roadway Excavation,
Embankment from Borrow, Aggregate Sub-Base Course, Bituminous
Tack Coat, Bituminous Concrete Surface Course (Hot laid), PCCP
(250mm), Refectorized Thermoplastic Pavement Marking (white),
Warning Signs and Traffc Management, Construction Safety and
Health
ITEM IV
Contract Name: Preventive Maintenance (Intermittent Sections), Arterial, Ormoc
Baybay-Southern Leyte Boundary Road, K1117+000 to K1121+000
Contract Location: Ormoc-Baybay-Southern Leyte Boundary Road
Of Work: Removal of Existing Concrete Pavement, Roadway Excavation
(unsuitable), Structure Excavation, Embankment from Borrow,
Aggregate Sub-Base Course, PCCP (280mm), PCCP (Road
Shoulder 200mm), Construction at R.C. Canal, Warning Signs and
Traffc Management, Construction Safety & Health
1. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Fifth Leyte Engineering District,
through the General Appropriation Act CY 2013 intends to apply the sum above stated being
the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments for the abovementioned contract.
Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.
2. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Fifth Leyte Engineering District
(5
th
LED) now invites contractors to bid for the abovementioned description of works.
Completion of the works is required for the above stated contract duration. Bidders should
have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract
Similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents,
particularly, in Section 10 Instruction to Bidders.
3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary
pass/fail criterion as specifed in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic
Act 9184 (RA9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Bidding is restricted to Filipino Citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with
at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of
the Philippines.
4. Contractors/applicants who are interested in the DPWH civil works are required to register
prior to the set scheduled of submission of bid while those already registered shall keep their
records current and updated. Contractors eligibility to bid on the project will be determined using
the DPWH Contract Profle eligibility Process (CPEP) and subject to further post-qualifcation.
Information on registration can be obtained at DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph. Interested
bidders may obtain further information from DPWH 5
th
Leyte Engineering District and inspect
the bidding documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.m. to 5:00 P.M.
5. Acomplete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested bidders from the address
below and upon payment of non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount stated
above. Issuance of Bidding Documents will be on January 11 to 24, 2013.
It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government
Electronic Procurement System (PhiIGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided
that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later that the submission of their
bids.
6. The DPWH 5
th
LED will hold a pre-bid Conference on January 11, 2013, 10:00 Oclock in
the morning at Offce of the Bids and Awards Committee, DPWH 5
th
LED, Baybay City,
Leyte, which shall be open to all interested parties.
7. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before January 24, 2013, 9:00 Oclock in
the morning at DPWH 5
th
LED, Baybay City, Leyte. All bids must be accompanied by a bid
security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 14.
Bids will be opened at 2:00 Oclock in the afternoon of January 24, 2013 in the presence of
the bidders representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be
accepted.
8. All interested bidders shall submit a Letter of Intent (LOl) on or before January 11. 2013
9:00 Oclock in the morning the deadline and purchase the Bidding Documents. Bids will
not be accepted without proof of payment for the purchase of bidding documents. Bidders shall
likewise submit their bids through their duly Authorized Liaison Offcers only as specifed in the
Contractors Information (CI).
To bid for this contract, a contractor must submit a Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least
equal to the ABC or Credit Line Commitment at least equal to 10% of the ABC before dropping
of bids.
9. The DPWH 5
th
LED 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.
10. For further information, please refer to:
EUSEBIO T. CULAS
OIC-Assistant District Engineer
BAC Chairman
Attention:
Head, BAC Secretariat
DPWH 5
th
LED
Brgy. Hipusngo, Baybay City, Leyte
(053) 335-2230
Email Add:charlitosacro@yahoo.com
(Sgd.) EUSEBIO T. CULAS
OIC-Assistant District Engineer
BAC Chairman
NOTED:
(Sgd.) LUT B. BACLEA-AN
District Engineer
(MST-Jan. 5, 2013)
Invitation to Bid
December 28, 2012
(MST-Jan. 5, 2013)
PROVINCE OF PANGASINAN
BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (BAC)
2
nd
Floor Malong Building, Capitol Compound
Lingayen, Pangasinan
Tel. No. (075) 542-6918
Website@biddingandawards.pangasinan gov.ph, E-mail address: ebmendoza57@yahoo.com
INVITATION to BID

The Province of Pangasinan, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites suppliers/
manufacturers/distributors/contractors to bid for the project/s described hereunder:
Project No. 1
Name of Project : Delivery of Various Drugs and Medicines (by item) (refer to bid documents)
Location : GSO, Lingayen, Pangasinan (for use of various hospitals within the province)
Source of Fund : Drugs & Medicines Inventory (PR# 2012-12-10725)
Approved Budget
for the Contract : P 27,097,968.62
Project No. 2
Name of Project : Delivery of Various Medical Oxygen (refer to bid documents)
Source of Fund : Medical/Dental and Lab. Supplies Inventory (PR# 2012-12-10975)
Approved Budget
Project No. 3
Name of Project : Delivery of Various Medical Supplies (refer to bid documents)
Source of Fund : Medical/Dental and Lab. Supplies Inventory (PR# 2012-11-9903)
Approved Budget
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty (60%)
of the interest belongs to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizen/organizations of a country the
laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens pursuant to RA5183
and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

The 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 (IRR) of Republic
Act 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
All particulars relative to the Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security,
pre-Bidding Conference/s, Evaluating of Bids, Post Qualifcation and Award of Contract shall be
governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations
(as amended).
The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows:
BAC Activities Schedule
1. Pre-Procurement Conference December 21, 2012; 10:00 am
2. Issuance of Bid Documents December 29, 2012 January 18, 2013
3. Pre-Bid Conference January 4, 2013; 10:00 am
4. Opening of Bids January 18, 2013;
10:00 am
5. Bid Evaluation January 21, 2013
The bidders shall drop their duly accomplished eligibility requirements, technical and fnancial
proposals in two separate sealed envelopes at the abovementioned address. All bids must be
accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms. Late Bids shall not be accepted.
Bid Documents can be availed at the BAC Offce, 2/F Malong Building, Capitol Compound,
Lingayen, Pangasinan upon payment to the Provincial Treasurers Offce the amount of P1,000.00
Accreditation Fee for new bidders, and a non-refundable amount of P1,000.00/bidder/project
for every P1,000,000.00 for project No. 1; P10,000.00/bidder/project for project No. 2 and
P3,000.00/bidder/project for project No. 3 to the Provincial Treasurers Offce. Prospective bidders
shall submit their Bid Documents to the BAC Offce at the same address.

The Province of Pangasinan assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify
bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation for their bids. Moreover, the Province of
Pangasinan reserves the right to reject any or all bid proposals, or declare a failure of bidding, or
not award the contract, and makes no assurance that contract shall be entered into as a result of
this invitation without thereby incurring any liability in accordance with RA9184 and its Implementing
Rules and Regulations.
Approved by:
(Sgd.) RAFAEL HOWARD F. BARAAN
Provincial Administrator
BAC Chairman
Murray into Brisbane semis, Azarenka pulls out
BRISBANE, AustraliaTop-ranked
Victoria Azarenka withdrew from her
Brisbane International against Serena
Williams with an infected right big toe on
Friday, citing concerns about aggravating
the injury so close to the Australian Open.
Azarenka made the announcement
about a half hour before she was to play
the third-ranked Williams, who has an
11-1 record against Azarenka and is on a
roll after winning titles at Wimbledon, the
London Olympics and the US Open.
It came soon after Andy Murray, the
Olympic mens gold medalist and US
Open champion, had nished off his 6-4,
7-6 (3) win over Uzbekistans Denis Isto-
min in the quarternals.
Murray had lapses in his opening three-
set win over No. 199-ranked Australian
qualier John Millman on Thursday
night, while Ivan Lendl was en route to
Australia, but had no serious trouble with
his coach in the stands.
The rst of Murrays three titles in a
breakthrough 2012 season was in Bris-
bane, where he started working with
former No. 1-ranked Lendl last January.
The next two titles were career-dening
triumphs at the London Olympics and US
Open.
He next plays fth-seeded Kei Ni-
shikori of Japan, a 6-4, 7-6 (3) winner
over 2012 Brisbane nalist Alexandr
Dolgopolov.
Earlier Friday, 2006 Australian Open
nalist Marcos Baghdatis ousted No. 3
Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-4 to set up
a seminal against Grigor Dimitrov of
Bulgaria, who beat seventh-seeded Jur-
gen Melzer of Austria 6-3, 6-2.
Murray didnt face a break point in
the second set, and only lost one point
in his rst three service games of the
set - a call he disputed but lost on the
challenge review.
He held serve to force a tiebreaker and
trailed Istomin 3-1 before winning six
straight points. Istomin served the only
double-fault of the match to surrender
triple match point and Murray hit a fore-
hand winner to clinch it in little more than
1 1/2 hours.
Murray dropped a set to Millman
and appeared to be sore and fatigued
at times on Thursday night, but there
were no such issues in front of Lendl,
who has played a key role in ending
the Scottish players run of four defeats
in Grand Slam nals before he nally
won a major. Lendl also lost four ma-
jor nals before his claiming the rst of
his eight Grand Slam crowns. Monls
loses, Ferrer advances at Qatar Open.
In Doha, Qatar, Gael Monls come-
back from injury took a hit Thursday
when he lost to German qualier Daniel
Brands 6-1, 7-5 in the quarternals of the
Qatar Open.
The Frenchman, who ended his season
early in 2012 because of knee problems,
beat Philip Kohlschreiber in three sets
to reach the quarternals. But he came
out sluggish against the 153rd-ranked
Brands, struggling to return the Germans
serve and failing to chase down many of
his forehands.
Brands will face second-seeded Rich-
ard Gasquet, who beat Lukas Lacko of
Slovakia 6-1, 6-3. Top-seeded David Fer-
rer defeated Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-0. AP
THE prestigious Philippine
Sportswriters Association, headed by
its president, Tempo sports editor Ray
Bancod will consider honoring eight-
division world champion Manny Pac-
quiao by naming the PSA Fighter of
the Year award after him.
National softball
tilt starts Sunday
THE Amateur Softball Associa-
tion of the Philippines completes
its school-based girls softball de-
velopmental program as it opens
the weeklong National Girls
Secondary Softball Tournament
on Sunday in Marikina.
Presented by Cebuana Lhuil-
lier, the tournament has attracted 11
conrmed entries, including sev-
eral provincial teams, even as the
organizers await conrmation from
Zamboanga and Iloilo.
Teams that are denitely com-
peting are the host city, Antipolo,
Pasig, Manila, Makati, La Salle-
Zobel, Woodrose from Alabang,
Muntinlupa, Rizal Province,
Nueva Ecija, and two teams
from Bulacan, representing San
Miguel and Sta. Maria.
We are preparing our year-
round softball program for 2013,
highlight of which is our participa-
tion in the Mens World Softball
Championship in New Zealand in
March. This girls softball tourna-
ment gives us a good start and it
will expand our grassroots program
for the sport, said ASAPHIL pres-
ident Jean Henri Lhuillier, whose
PJL group of companies such as
Pera Padala, Cebuana Lhuillier
Bank, Le Soleil de Boracay, Ce-
buana Lhuillier Insurance Solu-
tions, plus Phiten, are sponsoring
the event.
Marikina Mayor Del de Guz-
man, together with ASAPHIL
Secretary General Danny Fran-
cisco will be the special guests at
the simple opening ceremonies
at 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Sto.
Nino softball park in Marikina.
Tournament format and schedule
of games will depend on the actual
number of teams participating, ac-
cording to ASAPHILs Jun Veloso.
LOTTO RESULTS
6/45 000000000000
4 DIGITS 00000000
3 DIGITS 000000
P0.0M+
A8
BUSS, PHIL ENGAGED
LOS ANGELESKnown for getting rings, Phil Jackson
nally has given one as well. The retired coach, who won 11
NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls,
is engaged to longtime girlfriend and Lakers executive Jeanie
Buss. Buss posted a picture Thursday night on her ofcial
Twitter account of her left hand with a diamond ring on her
nger. The accompanying tweet read Twitter familyPhil
nally gave me that ring I wanted! followed by a smiley face.
Buss later conrmed the engagement to ESPN.com, saying she
received the ring at Christmas and shes beyond happy. The
67-year-old Jackson and 51-year-old Buss have been dating
since 1999. Jackson nearly returned to the Lakers in Novem-
ber, but the team opted for coach Mike DAntoni. AP
Sports
Manila Standard TODAY
Riera U. Mallari, Editor sports@manilastandardtoday.com sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
NEW YORKSometime
between Stephen Jacksons
sideline stumble and J.R.
Smiths soaring slam, the San
Antonio Spurs realized this
wasnt their night.
Too much fatigue and way too
much Knicks defense.
Carmelo Anthony scored 23
points, Smith kept up his surge
with 20 and New York snapped
San Antonios seven-game win-
ning streak with a 100-83 vic-
tory Thursday night.
Steve Novak added 15
points and Tyson Chandler
had 10 points and 14 re-
bounds to help the Knicks
bounce back from consecu-
tive losses by dominating the
final period against the Spurs,
who appeared to run out of
gas in their second game in
two nights.
They shot the hell out of it
and I could see it wasnt going
to happen, Spurs coach Gregg
Popovich said. Just too low on
fuel and their defense was too
good. Bad combination, and
then they made shots, which
makes it even worse.
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker
each had just 11 points for the
Spurs, who lost Jackson to an
unusual injury, then lost what
had been the NBAs longest win-
ning streak.
Jackson played just three min-
utes off the bench before sprain-
ing his right ankle when he took
a shot then fell back into a wait-
ress working the sideline in front
of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Smith, who had scored 25
points in his last four games as
a reserve, highlighted his out-
ing with an acrobatic dunk in
the fourth quarter that brought
fans to their feet. The lobbed
pass came from reserve point
guard Pablo Prigioni, who had
one of his most complete games
since coming to the NBA at age
35, nishing with six points and
nine assists.
That meant the Knicks needed
just an ordinary game from An-
thony, who nished with about
half of the season high-tying 45
he scored in a loss against Port-
land on Tuesday.
Thats their scheme, to try to
take me out of the game, An-
thony said. Just a matter of us
making shots when we swing the
ball, and Novak made shots, J.R.
kept his streak alive of playing
good basketball, Pablo came in
and led our team from the point
guard position. Everybody con-
tributed in their own way.
The Knicks put away what had
been a close game for three quar-
ters, scoring the rst 10 points of
the fourth to take a 17-point lead.
The Spurs, playing for the fourth
time in ve nights, went with re-
serves from there and never put
much of a dent in it.
San Antonio, which aver-
aged 111.7 points on 53.4 per-
cent shooting during its winning
streak and rang up 117 points on
Wednesday in Milwaukee, shot
just 36 percent in its lowest-scor-
ing game this season. Gary Neal
led the Spurs with 12 points. AP
Knicks snap Spurs 7-game win streak
PSA to name
boxing award
after Pacman
2 EZ2 0000
No coach
yet for
Cardinals
THERE is still no nality in
the search for a new coach to
handle the Mapua Cardinals in
the 90th season of the National
Collegiate Athletic Association
mens basketball tournament.
The school said in a state-
ment that the search committee
has already decided on a new
coach for the Cardinals.
But, they are still tackling
the ner details of the appoint-
ment, said the schools corpo-
rate communications ofce in
a statement released through
Mallory Rose Magsuci.
Sources said PBA legend Fortu-
nato Atoy Co is a top candidate
to handle the Cardinals, alongside
Horacio Lim and Bong Ramos.
Lim last handled the squad
from 2001to 2006 and Ramos
is currently a consultant of the
University of the Easts team B.
Co won two NCAA Most
Valuable Player awards with
the Cardinals, when he played.
The search committee is look-
ing for a new coach following
the resignation of Chito Victole-
ro after the 89th season ended.
The statement said the search
committee will nalize matters
before the end of January 2013.
Nevertheless, the Mapua
community is excited and
awaits with bated breath as
the new head coach is eventu-
ally conrmed, the statement
added. Peter Atencio

Bancod told the Manila Stand-
ard the PSA board will meet next
week to discuss naming one of its
coveted awards after Pacquiao.
The Annual Awards will be
held on March 16.
Bancod also indicated they
would take up suggestions from
PSA members that World Box-
ing Organization/Ring Maga-
zine and World Boxing Council
Diamond Belt champion Nonito
Donaire and WBO/World Box-
ing Association champion Brian
Viloria be named joint Athletes
of the Year.
Donaire was recently chosen
as 2012 Fighter of the Year by
ESPN, Ring Magazine and the
widely read internet site box-
ingscene.com, while Viloria was
chosen for honorable mention
in the same category by boxing-
scene.com.
Donaire won the 122-pound
belt with a comfortable victory
over Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in
San Antonio, Texas in Febru-
ary and then successfully de-
fended the title in a unication
bout with International Boxing
Federation champion Jeffrey
Mathebula before scoring a
ninth-round stoppage of Japa-
nese WBC super champion
Toshiaki Nishioka and wind-
ing up the year with a third-
round knockout of Mexican
Jorge Arce.
Viloria, on the other hand,
avenged a loss to Mexicos
Omar Nino Romero some six
years ago with a ninth-round
technical knockout and then
captured the WBA title against
Hernan Marquez with a 10th-
round stoppage in an action-
packed battle last Nov. 17 in
which he dropped Marquez in
Rounds 1, 5 and 10.
Red Robins "Tiutorized" on basketball moves. The Malayan High School of Science basketball team, the
Red Robins, spent an entire afternoon being coached by Rain or Shine player and television host Chris
Tiu on essential basketball techniques. In the "Tiutorial," the point guard shared to the team pointers in
executing certain moves like the jump shot, layup and ball passing. Photo shows MHSS basketball team
with PBA player and television host Chris Tiu (center).
PH amateur golfest set
THE PHILIPPINES best lead a
banner eld teeing off on Mon-
day in the Philippine Amateur
Open Golf Championship pre-
sented by the MVP Sports Foun-
dation at the East Course of Wack
Wack in Mandaluyong.
And there will also be a number of
crack foreign bets seeking to keep the
trophy away from a local bets hands
with Singapore and Malaysia send-
ing its best for the 72-hole centrepiece
mens championship.
Defending champion Gregory
Foo of Singapore will not be around
to shoot for a second straight win
because of commitments with his
countrys military, but elder brother
George will be here together with
the veteran Jerome Ng, Marc Ong
and Thomas Tan.
The quartet form Singapores
A-Team and the tournament
could serve as a gauge on how
the Philippines could fare inter-
nationally, with the Singaporeans
already one of the powers in the
Southeast Asian region.
On to the nals. San Mig Coffees James Yap (left) works hard on the defensive end against Rain or
Shines Jireh Ibanez in Game 6 of their teams PBA Philippine Cup seminals at the Mall of Asia Arena. The
Painters won, 90-83, to reach the nals for the second straight conference. SONNY ESPIRITU
Business
B1
Ray S. Eano, Editor business@mst.ph
Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor extrastory2000@gmail.com
IN BRIEF
Ongpin suing BSPs Espenilla
ALI to develop Cavite, Valenzuela sites
Inflation hit 2.9% in December, averaged 3.2% in 12
Agency
says sugar
production
goal stays
VOLUME 687.950M VOLUME 1443.900M
PSE COMPOSITE INDEX
Closing January 4, 2013
OIL
PRICES
TODAY
P584-P695
LPG/11-kg tank
P47.15-P53.07
Unleaded Gasoline
P38.40-P41.05
Diesel
P40.30-P52.20
Kerosene
P27.20-P31.00
Auto LPG
FOREI GN EXCHANGE RATE
Currency Unit US Dollar Peso
United States Dollar 1.000000 40.7940
Japan Yen 0.011471 0.4679
UK Pound 1.610600 65.7028
Hong Kong Dollar 0.129017 5.2631
Switzerland Franc 1.079331 44.0302
Canada Dollar 1.012556 41.3062
Singapore Dollar 0.815993 33.2876
Australia Dollar 1.051635 42.9004
Bahrain Dinar 2.652661 108.2127
Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266667 10.8784
Brunei Dollar 0.812678 33.1524
Indonesia Rupiah 0.000104 0.0042
Thailand Baht 0.032971 1.3450
UAE Dirham 0.272287 11.1077
Euro Euro 1.305400 53.2525
Korea Won 0.000941 0.0384
China Yuan 0.160506 6.5477
India Rupee 0.018360 0.7490
Malaysia Ringgit 0.330033 13.4634
NewZealand Dollar 0.832570 33.9639
Taiwan Dollar 0.034502 1.4075
Source: PDS Bridge
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Friday, January 4, 2013
PESO-DOLLAR RATE
40
42
44
46
48
Closing JANUARY 4, 2013
5,971.45
37.40
HIGH P40.810 LOW P40.910 AVERAGE P40.856
5200
4460
3720
2980
2240
1500
1200
P40.910
CLOSE
New collection system. Metro Pacic Tollways Corp. president Ramon Fernandez and Manila North Tollways Corp. president Rodrigo Franco (second and fourth
from right, respectively) link hands with top ofcials of Indra Philippines and Egis Projects Philippines after the contract signing for NLEXs toll collection system
migration project. With them (from left) are MNTC chief nance ofcer Chris Lizo, Egis vice president Laurent Charles-Nicolas, Indra managing director Maria Do Carmo
Vidoeira and MNTC senior vice president Luigi Bautista.
By Othel V. Campos
THE Sugar Regulatory
Administration has kept its
sugar production forecast of
2.356 million metric tons for the
current crop year.
The agency said Friday the
local sector remained resilient
despite the damage wreaked by
typhoons Pablo and Quinta in
sugar-producing provinces in
Mindanao and the Visayas.
Sugar production for the
current crop year reached
872,978.87 MT as of Dec.16,
2012, or 37 percent of the
forecast output and 27.19
percent up year-on-year. The
crop year starts on September
and ends on August the next
year.
The SRA sttributed the higher
production to early milling,
increased rate of crushing and
favorable weather conditions in
the last quarter of 2012.
Withdrawals for domestic
demand, according to SRA
data, on year rose 28.6 percent
for raw sugar and 22.8 percent
for rened sugar.
The agency expects demand
for the sweetener to pick up in
2013 due to stable sugar prices
and increased demand ahead of
the elections in May 2013.
SRA administrator Ma.
Regina Martin is condent
Philippine sugar will continue
to be a dollar earner because
of exports to the US and other
markets.
Shipments under the US quota
program will start this month,
while raw sugar exports to the
other world destinations have
already reached over 20,000
metric tons.
CONSUMER prices rose 2.9
percent in December, bringing
the average ination rate in
2012 to 3.2 percent, the National
Statistics Ofce said Friday.
The NSO said the December
ination slightly rose from 2.8
percent in November, owing to
higher prices of food, beverages
and tobacco in the nal month
of 2012.
Data showed the full-year
average settled at the lower end
of the Bangko Sentrals target
range of 3 percent to 5 percent
and was lower than the average
4.6 percent in 2011.
Core ination, which excludes
selected food and energy
items, eased to 3.3 percent in
December from 3.4 percent
in November. It averaged 3.7
percent in 2012, down from 4.2
percent in 2011.
Bangko Sentral Governor
Amando Tetangco Jr. said 2012
marked the fourth consecutive
year the Bangko Sentral
kept the ination within the
governments target range.
This supports our outlook
that ination is manageable.
The risks to ination over the
policy horizon remain fairly
balanced. This together with
the expectation that real GDP
growth would continue to be
strong suggests our current
policy settings are appropriate,
Tetangco said.
Barclays Capital economist
Prakriti Sofat said the Bangko
Sentral was expected to keep
the policy interest rates at
record low levels.
Our base case is for the
BSP to keep the policy rate
unchanged at 3.5 percent well
into 2013. However, we think
the central bank may be biased
to withdraw some monetary
stimulus with a possible 25bp
hike in the fourth quarter of
2013, Sofat said.
The economy grew 7.1
percent in the third quarter
and 6.5 percent in the rst nine
months of 2012, despite the low
ination environment.
We forecast full-year growth
of 6.2 percent [in 2012], compared
with 3.9 percent in 2011. Our
forecast for 2013 growth is 5.6
percent, Sofat said.
She said the robust growth
through 2012 suggested
potential ination risks ahead.
Our 2013 ination forecast
is 4.1 percent year-on-year,
well above the central banks
projection of 3.1 percent -
though within the ination
target band of 3 percent to 5
percent, Barclays Capital said
Anna Leah Estrada
By Jenniffer B. Austria
AYALA Land Inc. will start
the development of residential
projects in Gatchalian-owned
properties in Cavite and
Valenzuela this year.
Philippine Estate Corp., the
listed property company owned
by plastics magnate William
Gatchalian, said two subsidiaries
of Ayala Land would handle the
projects.
Amaia Land Corp. will build a
horizontal residential project in
Cavite, while Avida Land Corp.
will develop the Valenzuela
property in 2013.
Amaia Land and Avida Land
are units of Ayala Land, which
earlier signed a joint venture with
PHES. Both companies develop
affordable housing projects that
target low-income families.
The agreements will
allow seasoned developers to
unlock the full potential of the
companys properties which
have been land-banked for the
right development opportunity,
PHES said.
Both Amaia and Avida were
chosen because these developers
share the same development
vision for the planned community
and because they are well capable
of carrying out the township
developments, it added.
PHES said as landowner, it
would be entitled to receive
payment from the developed
property, which would be
determined largely by market
demand.
The proceeds from the projects
will be good cash ow for the use
by the company for its operations,
and venture with experienced
developer partners will give PHES
the exposure in new project areas
and are good opportunity for the
companys portfolio build-up,
the company said.
Ayala Land president Antonino
Aquino said in an earlier
interview the agreement with
PHES involved the development
of 17 hectares of land in
Gatchalian-owned Plastics City
in Valenzuela.
Ayala Land, however, said it
plans to develop the entire 60-
hectare lot.
By Anna Leah Estrada
FORMER trade minister
Roberto Ongpin said Friday he
will le a criminal case against
Bangko Sentral Deputy Gov.
Nestor Espenilla Jr. for violating
the anti-graft law.
Ongpin said in a statement he was suing
Espenilla based on the ofcials contradictory
positions surrounding the transactions made by the
Development Bank of the Philippines with companies
owned by him in 2009.
Ongpin said Espenilla caused grave damage to his
reputation by signing an ex-parte petition with the
Court of Appeals to freeze his bank accounts. He
said Espenillas actions caused him to lose several
billions in the market value of his listed shares.
I cannot allow Espenilla to take this most serious
action, whether deliberate or not, and let him get
away with it. Testifying under oath during the Senate
hearings held last year, Espenilla said that the DBP
loans were prudent and positive and resulted in
trading gains for DBP, Ongpin said.
Ongpin referred to the transactions surrounding
the acquisition of Philex Mining Corp. shares, which
DBP partly funded. Espenilla reserved his comments
when contacted by Manila Standard.
This is a very serious legal threat directed to me
personally for my ofcial acts. I need time to reect
on my comments, he said.
Ongpin said Espenilla signed in November 2012 a
petition to the Court of Appeals, stating the DBP loans
made to him were irregular and behest and petitioned
the Court of Appeals to issue a freeze order on his bank
accounts, which the appellate court granted.
The CA in December 2012 issued the freeze order
on Ongpins bank accounts, following an AMLC
resolution signed by Espenilla. The resolution
recommended a freeze order against the accounts of
some 30 individuals and entities, including Ongpin
and his companies, following the same DBP-Philex
transactions.
In 2009, Delteventure, a company owned by
Ongpin, borrowed P660 million from DBP to nance
the businessmans acquisition of Philex shares. The
transaction included P50 million worth of Philex
shares owned by DBP.
The transaction allowed DBP to earn prots, including
trading gains, amounting to a total of P1.4 billion.
Ongpin said DBPs new board in 2010 questioned
the transactions while the Senate conducted an
investigation, where Espenilla declared under oath
the transactions of DBP with Ongpin were prudent
and positive that resulted in trading gains for the
bank.
Prepaid scheme expanded
The Energy Regulatory Commission expanded
the coverage of prepaid retail electricity service to
include commercial and industrial power users.
The ERC said in a decision it would expand
the coverage of the prepaid scheme to all
customer classications and approved the use
of all available types of technologies in the
implementation.
Manila Electric Co., the biggest power
distributor, earlier asked ERC to extend the
coverage of prepaid retail electricity to large
power users and not just households.
Meralco said only residential customers were
given the choice to avail of prepaid metering
as an energy management strategy under the
current rules.
We believe, however, that this choice should
also be extended to non-residential customers on
a voluntary basis and subject to the availability
and capability of distribution utilities prepaid
electric service infrastructure, Meralco said.
Meralco said the move would promote
demand-side management and would be of
relevant use to businesses whose costs of
electricity are material and the management of
such is crucial to remain competitive or at least
viable.Alena Mae S. Flores
Peso retreats to 40.91:$1
THE peso retreated 0.3 percent Friday from a
ve-year high on Thursday, after the Bangko
Sentral said it is ready to exercise its right to
participate in the foreign exchange market to
temper volatility.
The peso settled at 40.91 against the US dollar
Friday, weaker than the previous days closing of
40.77 per greenback. Some $1.4 billion worth of
currencies changed hands Friday.
This reduced the gain of the local currency
this week to 0.4 percent, after it advanced 6.8
percent last year, the best performance after
South Koreas won among Asian currencies.
One-month implied volatility, a measure of
expected moves in the exchange rate used to
price options, was unchanged at 4.3 percent
Friday. It fell 20 basis points this week.
The news in the US is supportive of the
dollar, said Jan Briace Santos, a debt trader
who helps manage the equivalent of $17 billion
at BPI Asset Management Inc. in Manila.
Federal Reserve policy makers said they
would probably end their $85-billion monthly
bond purchases sometime this year, with
members divided between a mid- or end-
of-year nish, according to minutes of last
months meeting that were released yesterday
in Washington. Bloomberg
By Julito G. Rada
LAW enforcement agencies
conscated more than P5 billion
worth of fake and counterfeit
goods last year, although this
was lower than P8.3 billion
registered in 2011.
The Intellectual Property
Ofce of the Philippines said
government agencies seized
nearly P5 billion worth of
counterfeit products in the rst
11 months of 2012.
For the January to November
period alone, the estimated value
of seizures already reached
P4.988 billion. So when ofcial
reports from other agencies
come, we expect it to hit maybe
P5.4 billion or more for 2012,
IPPOP director-general Ricardo
Blancaor said.
Other government agencies
involved in the campaign
against the proliferation of fake
products were the National
Bureau of Investigation,
Philippine National Police,
Optical Media Board and the
Bureau of Customs.
Blancaor said in 2013, the
government would sustain
its anti-piracy efforts to clear
the markets of counterfeit
products.
Govt confiscates P5b
worth of pirated goods
Market sustains
gains; PLDT rises
Business
ManilaStandardToday B2
52 Weeks Previous % Net Foreign
High Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying
MST BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2013
M
S
T
FINANCIAL
70.50 46.00 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 73.50 74.50 74.00 74.50 1.36 5,029,820 196,915,195.00
77.45 50.00 Bank of PI 96.80 97.90 96.85 97.85 1.08 2,219,520 123,879,560.50
595.00 370.00 China Bank 54.85 55.00 54.80 54.90 0.09 31,050 113,094.00
2.20 1.42 BDO Leasing & Fin. Inc. 2.05 2.05 1.93 2.05 0.00 54,000
23.90 13.80 COL Financial 19.00 19.46 18.80 19.00 0.00 222,400 15,200.00
20.70 18.50 Eastwest Bank 30.50 32.95 30.40 31.85 4.43 2,366,400 9,684,540.00
3.26 1.91 I-Remit Inc. 2.77 2.79 2.70 2.79 0.72 11,000
650.00 420.00 Manulife Fin. Corp. 515.00 525.00 520.00 525.00 1.94 450
39.20 3.00 Maybank ATR KE 24.70 26.00 24.70 25.00 1.21 2,300
102.50 60.00 Metrobank 101.90 102.50 101.70 101.80 (0.10) 3,014,910 19,722,602.00
3.06 1.30 Natl Reinsurance Corp. 1.75 1.74 1.70 1.74 (0.57) 287,000
77.80 41.00 Phil. National Bank 92.45 93.50 92.10 93.45 1.08 677,970 5,612,564.00
95.00 69.00 Phil. Savings Bank 105.00 105.00 105.00 105.00 0.00 110
500.00 210.00 PSE Inc. 415.00 424.80 416.00 417.00 0.48 26,190 (420,000.00)
45.50 29.45 RCBC À 59.30 59.70 59.20 59.30 0.00 832,170.00 8,889,255.50
155.20 77.00 Security Bank 161.80 161.60 160.00 160.90 (0.56) 501,040 14,426,792.00
1100.00 879.00 Sun Life Financial 1015.00 1015.00 1010.00 1010.00 (0.49) 1,170
140.00 58.00 Union Bank 113.00 113.20 112.90 113.00 0.00 327,010 560,574.00
2.06 1.43 Vantage Equities 2.45 2.44 2.43 2.43 (0.82) 166,000
INDUSTRIAL
35.50 26.50 Aboitiz Power Corp. 37.85 38.00 37.70 37.95 0.26 2,769,700 24,403,275.00
13.58 8.00 Agrinurture Inc. 8.67 8.66 8.38 8.40 (3.11) 65,800
1.70 0.97 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 1.96 2.01 1.97 2.01 2.55 634,000 3,980.00
1.62 1.08 Alsons Cons. 1.31 1.29 1.28 1.29 (1.53) 368,000 129,000.00
Asiabest Group 19.40 19.40 18.80 19.30 (0.52) 17,000
2.96 2.12 Calapan Venture 4.10 4.50 4.20 4.49 9.51 74,000
300.00 41.00 Chemphil 102.90 125.00 115.00 125.00 21.48 170
2.75 2.30 Chemrez Technologies Inc. 2.97 2.94 2.89 2.90 (2.36) 238,000
9.74 7.41 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 27.00 27.45 25.00 27.00 0.00 172,000
DNL Industries Inc. 4.38 4.400 4.36 4.36 (0.46) 3,449,000 (2,511,640.00)
6.41 4.83 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.88 6.92 6.86 6.87 (0.15) 14,501,600 (39,378,226.00)
7.77 2.80 EEI 10.40 10.40 10.26 10.26 (1.35) 285,900 (1,306,528.00)
3.80 1.00 Euro-Med Lab. 1.89 2.30 1.90 2.30 21.69 554,000 (29,900.00)
25.00 5.80 Federal Chemicals 10.90 12.78 10.98 12.38 13.58 122,900 2,380.00
19.40 12.50 First Gen Corp. 23.00 23.30 22.90 23.05 0.22 2,126,000 (2,211,345.00)
79.30 51.50 First Holdings A 90.40 91.30 89.10 90.20 (0.22) 528,720 206,666.50
27.00 17.50 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 17.50 17.98 16.52 17.98 2.74 7,200
0.02 0.0110 Greenergy 0.0210 0.0220 0.0210 0.0210 0.00 188,100,000 (1,050,000.00)
13.10 7.80 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.50 13.60 12.90 12.90 (4.44) 131,600 (789,090.00)
6.00 3.80 Integ. Micro-Electronics 3.93 4.00 3.95 4.00 1.78 46,000
2.35 0.61 Ionics Inc 0.640 0.640 0.640 0.640 0.00 150,000 (32,000.00)
120.00 80.00 Jollibee Foods Corp. 107.20 107.60 107.00 107.60 0.37 548,040 (2,571,156.00)
Lafarge Rep 11.00 11.30 10.90 11.30 2.73 319,300
8.40 1.04 LMG Chemicals 1.88 2.82 1.90 2.82 50.00 4,396,000 2,820.00
LT Group 13.60 13.50 13.40 13.48 (0.88) 863,800 3,237,150.00
3.20 1.32 Manchester Intl. A 15.16 18.00 15.32 16.90 11.48 1,129,400
3.19 1.08 Manchester Intl. B 15.00 18.04 158.60 16.70 11.33 725,000 (3,298,356.00)
27.45 18.10 Manila Water Co. Inc. 32.45 32.55 32.15 32.45 0.00 7,976,800 1,277,275.00
6.95 0.75 Mariwasa MFG. Inc. 6.40 7.50 6.40 6.90 7.81 1,763,300 (1,232,332.00)
18.10 8.12 Megawide 18.800 18.780 18.600 18.720 (0.43) 394,700 60,082.00
280.60 215.00 Mla. Elect. Co À 269.80 270.40 266.40 270.00 0.07 345,960 (11,613,150.00)
6.75 4.50 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 6.00 6.10 6.09 6.10 1.67 1,300
3.65 1.96 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 6.55 6.82 6.54 6.65 1.53 3,783,500 (9,605,269.00)
16.00 9.70 Petron Corporation 10.40 10.40 10.36 10.40 0.00 1,133,800 (520,000.00)
14.94 8.05 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 9.01 9.10 9.00 9.05 0.44 467,900 1,890,280.00
4.42 1.01 RFM Corporation 4.85 4.96 4.85 4.93 1.65 658,000 (151,190.00)
3.90 2.01 Roxas Holdings 2.95 3.10 2.93 2.93 (0.68) 27,000
6.50 2.90 Salcon Power Corp. 4.64 4.65 4.52 4.60 (0.86) 25,000
129.20 110.20 San Miguel Corp À 105.80 106.00 105.00 105.40 (0.38) 540,640 2,496,632.00
3000.00 800.00 San MiguelPure Foods `B 244.00 242.00 241.60 242.00 (0.82) 24,080 (3,630,000.00)
2.44 1.73 Splash Corporation 1.75 1.75 1.71 1.75 0.00 84,000
0.196 0.112 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.154 0.152 0.143 0.152 (1.30) 1,050,000 3,040.00
2.88 1.99 TKC Steel Corp. 1.75 1.71 1.70 1.71 (2.29) 105,000
1.41 0.90 Trans-Asia Oil 1.33 1.35 1.31 1.31 (1.50) 36,987,000 134,290.00
69.20 37.00 Universal Robina 87.00 87.55 86.65 87.00 0.00 973,560 3,040,014.50
5.50 1.05 Victorias Milling 1.44 1.53 1.38 1.50 4.17 15,909,000 (104,200.00)
0.77 0.320 Vitarich Corp. 0.99 1.07 0.97 1.02 3.03 3,962,000 30,900.00
18.00 2.55 Vivant Corp. 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 0.00 100
1.22 0.77 Vulcan Indl. 1.47 1.52 1.45 1.49 1.36 1,090,000
HOLDING FIRMS
1.18 0.65 Abacus Cons. À 0.69 0.69 0.68 0.69 0.00 593,000
59.90 35.50 Aboitiz Equity 53.15 54.20 53.00 53.50 0.66 2,301,720 43,669,220.00
0.019 0.014 Alcorn Gold Res. 0.1420 0.1420 0.1400 0.1400 (1.41) 153,170,000 84,600.00
13.70 8.00 Alliance Global Inc. 16.80 16.88 16.78 16.84 0.24 11,088,700 3,444,298.00
2.60 1.80 Anglo Holdings A 2.20 2.25 2.19 2.20 0.00 241,000 33,750.00
5.02 3.00 Anscor À 5.43 5.48 5.44 5.45 0.37 193,600 13,625.00
6.98 0.260 Asia Amalgamated A 5.10 5.51 5.10 5.20 1.96 457,600 76,500.00
2.98 1.49 ATN Holdings A 0.98 0.97 0.90 0.96 (2.04) 7,417,000
4.16 2.30 ATN Holdings B 0.95 0.98 0.90 0.95 0.00 2,203,000 38,210.00
485.20 272.00 Ayala Corp À 534.00 544.50 536.00 544.00 1.87 682,300 315,379,055.00
64.80 30.50 DMCI Holdings 55.60 55.95 55.55 55.90 0.54 3,770,020 71,581,768.50
4.19 1.03 F&J Prince A 3.06 3.30 3.30 3.30 7.84 1,000
5.20 3.30 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.74 4.85 4.71 4.79 1.05 498,000
556.00 455.40 GT Capital 674.00 675.00 669.50 674.00 0.00 183,400 95,081,300.00
5.22 2.94 House of Inv. 6.41 6.50 6.30 6.41 0.00 21,600
36.20 19.00 JG Summit Holdings 39.60 40.70 40.05 40.35 1.89 951,300 12,624,660.00
4.19 2.27 Jolliville Holdings 7.00 7.50 7.00 7.30 4.29 32,500
5.17 2.30 Keppel Holdings À 4.60 4.50 4.50 4.50 (2.17) 1,000
6.21 4.00 Lopez Holdings Corp. 6.49 6.58 6.46 6.52 0.46 7,659,200 10,957,440.00
1.54 0.61 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.99 1.02 0.98 1.00 1.01 1,501,000 5,050.00
0.91 0.300 Mabuhay Holdings À 0.395 0.410 0.410 0.410 3.80 20,000
3.82 1.800 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 1.88 1.91 1.85 1.88 0.00 154,000
4.65 2.56 Metro Pacic Inv. Corp. 4.77 4.90 4.78 4.90 2.73 43,301,000 64,306,130.00
6.24 3.40 Minerales Industrias Corp. 6.10 6.10 6.00 6.01 (1.48) 328,600 6,100.00
9.66 1.22 MJCI Investments Inc. 6.15 6.15 6.05 6.15 0.00 7,900
0.0770 0.045 Pacica À 0.0500 0.0510 0.0500 0.0500 0.00 5,570,000 (28,500.00)
0.82 0.44 Prime Orion 0.560 0.560 0.550 0.550 (1.79) 130,000
4.10 1.56 Republic Glass A 2.50 2.70 2.36 2.36 (5.60) 2,000
2.40 1.01 Seafront À 1.73 1.93 1.93 1.93 11.56 1,000
0.490 0.285 Sinophil Corp. 0.320 0.315 0.315 0.315 (1.56) 100,000
760.00 450.00 SM Investments Inc. 915.00 915.00 906.00 912.00 (0.33) 277,150 54,610,450.00
2.71 1.08 Solid Group Inc. 2.00 2.10 2.03 2.08 4.00 1,718,000 (37,970.00)
1.57 1.14 South China Res. Inc. 1.10 1.10 1.10 1.10 0.00 200,000
0.420 0.101 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.00 20,000
0.620 0.082 Wellex Industries 0.3050 0.3050 0.2950 0.3000 (1.64) 1,580,000 332,450.00
0.980 0.380 Zeus Holdings 0.360 0.375 0.360 0.360 0.00 2,140,000 44,900.00
P R O P E R T Y
48.00 18.00 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 16.50 17.90 16.60 17.20 4.24 4,600 10,390.00
3.34 1.70 A. Brown Co., Inc. 3.10 3.10 3.05 3.08 (0.65) 72,000
0.83 0.42 Araneta Prop À 0.790 0.810 0.780 0.800 1.27 1,160,000
0.195 0.150 Arthaland Corp. 0.184 0.184 0.181 0.184 0.00 370,000
24.15 13.36 Ayala Land `B 26.70 26.90 26.50 26.60 (0.37) 8,721,200 53,549,915.00
5.62 3.08 Belle Corp. À 4.88 4.90 4.88 4.89 0.20 3,372,000 (2,032,190.00)
9.00 2.26 Cebu Holdings 4.16 4.20 4.15 4.20 0.96 2,000
5.60 2.00 Cebu Prop. À 5.00 5.10 5.10 5.10 2.00 40,000
5.20 2.20 Cebu Prop. `B 5.10 5.10 5.10 5.10 0.00 20,000
2.85 1.35 Century Property 1.49 1.57 1.47 1.57 5.37 31,407,000 29,675,740.00
2.91 1.20 City & Land Dev. 2.36 2.50 2.38 2.40 1.69 37,000
1.50 1.05 Cityland Dev. À 1.13 1.16 1.12 1.13 0.00 247,000
1.11 0.67 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.81 0.81 0.78 0.79 (2.47) 9,695,000 69,600.00
0.94 0.54 Empire East Land 1.040 1.080 1.030 1.080 3.85 64,723,000 118,650.00
0.310 0.10 Ever Gotesco 0.410 0.415 0.380 0.395 (3.66) 29,050,000 1,146,150.00
2.74 1.63 Global-Estate 1.95 1.98 1.93 1.96 0.51 1,095,000 (1,247,890.00)
1.44 0.98 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.56 1.57 1.55 1.56 0.00 27,376,000 (32,717,380.00)
3.80 1.21 Highlands Prime 1.99 1.99 1.99 1.99 0.00 4,000
2.14 0.65 Interport À 1.20 1.23 1.20 1.23 2.50 79,000
4.50 1.50 Keppel Properties 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 0.00 26,000
2.34 1.51 Megaworld Corp. 2.88 3.06 2.89 3.06 6.25 140,181,000 219,471,900.00
0.36 0.150 MRC Allied Ind. 0.1500 0.1500 0.1450 0.1470 (2.00) 16,400,000 (595,790.00)
0.990 0.089 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.6600 0.6600 0.6300 0.6400 (3.03) 12,944,000 67,050.00
19.94 10.00 Robinsons Land `B 21.20 21.50 21.25 21.50 1.42 3,878,700 9,920,700.00
7.71 2.51 Rockwell 2.52 2.64 2.52 2.58 2.38 366,000 (13,000.00)
2.85 1.81 Shang Properties Inc. 3.07 3.10 3.00 3.10 0.98 228,000
8.95 6.00 SM Development À 5.99 6.03 5.96 6.03 0.67 787,500 2,512,412.00
18.20 10.94 SM Prime Holdings 16.70 16.74 16.62 16.70 0.00 6,755,900 61,936,612.00
0.91 0.64 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.68 0.70 0.68 0.70 2.94 250,000
4.55 1.80 Starmalls 3.95 3.95 3.94 3.95 0.00 6,000
0.64 0.45 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.570 0.570 0.540 0.570 0.00 1,252,000
4.66 2.60 Vista Land & Lifescapes 4.850 4.860 4.820 4.850 0.00 5,178,000 (10,520,360.00)
S E R V I C E S
4.72 1.20 2GO Group 1.67 1.80 1.63 1.75 4.79 59,000
42.00 24.80 ABS-CBN 37.80 38.10 37.70 38.00 0.53 338,600
18.98 1.05 Acesite Hotel 1.29 1.29 1.25 1.25 (3.10) 75,000
0.78 0.45 APC Group, Inc. 0.830 0.840 0.830 0.830 0.00 2,932,000
10.92 7.30 Asian Terminals Inc. 9.73 9.71 9.70 9.71 (0.21) 75,500
28.80 12.20 Berjaya Phils. Inc. 28.00 26.00 26.00 26.00 (7.14) 2,900
102.80 4.45 Bloomberry 13.68 13.76 13.66 13.70 0.15 3,139,200 (9,794,894.00)
0.5300 0.1010 Boulevard Holdings 0.1340 0.1350 0.1330 0.1350 0.75 22,340,000 40,200.00
24.00 5.20 Calata Corp. 3.81 3.88 3.72 3.83 0.52 527,000
82.50 60.80 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 62.15 62.20 61.50 62.00 (0.24) 681,870 (1,015,713.00)
10.60 8.20 Centro Esc. Univ. 11.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 0.00 100
9.70 5.44 DFNN Inc. 4.72 4.70 4.63 4.68 (0.85) 207,000 139,800.00
5.90 1.45 Easy Call Common 2.54 2.55 2.55 2.55 0.39 10,000
1270.00 831.00 Globe Telecom 1096.00 1098.00 1065.00 1078.00 (1.64) 210,400 (107,671,430.00)
11.00 6.18 GMA Network Inc. 9.58 9.58 9.50 9.50 (0.84) 173,700
77.00 43.40 I.C.T.S.I. 74.50 75.80 74.50 74.80 0.40 612,630 33,042,468.50
6.80 4.30 IPeople Inc. À 9.00 9.40 9.20 9.40 4.44 2,717,100 3,069,000.00
4.70 1.75 IP Converge 3.36 3.70 3.35 3.50 4.17 290,000
34.50 0.036 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.026 0.027 0.026 0.026 0.00 69,500,000 (78,000.00)
3.87 1.00 IPVG Corp. 0.69 0.70 0.60 0.68 (1.45) 17,187,000 (44,000.00)
0.0760 0.042 Island Info 0.0550 0.0590 0.0520 0.0590 7.27 9,670,000
5.1900 2.550 ISM Communications 2.5600 2.6000 2.3400 2.3400 (8.59) 61,000 (13,000.00)
10.30 5.90 Leisure & Resorts 8.34 8.40 8.26 8.26 (0.96) 856,600 41,700.00
3.70 2.60 Liberty Telecom 2.40 2.43 2.38 2.43 1.25 49,000
2.65 1.03 Lorenzo Shipping 1.40 1.32 1.25 1.30 (7.14) 32,000
0.84 0.57 Manila Bulletin 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.00 1,000
4.08 1.21 Manila Jockey 2.83 2.85 2.79 2.85 0.71 850,000
22.95 13.80 Pacic Online Sys. Corp. 14.02 14.10 14.02 14.04 0.14 11,300
3.39 1.05 Paxys Inc. 3.02 3.00 2.95 2.95 (2.32) 276,000
10.00 5.00 Phil. Racing Club 9.55 9.54 9.50 9.54 (0.10) 1,003,300 (9,500,000.00)
71.00 18.00 Phil. Seven Corp. 90.00 93.00 90.00 90.00 0.00 3,390 31,680.00
17.88 12.10 Philweb.Com Inc. 12.90 13.00 12.88 13.00 0.78 2,044,400 (16,492,126.00)
2886.00 2096.00 PLDT Common 2612.00 2662.00 2612.00 2650.00 1.45 167,385 84,801,380.00
0.39 0.25 PremiereHorizon 0.340 0.360 0.325 0.355 4.41 22,500,000 (10,650.00)
30.15 10.68 Puregold 32.25 32.65 32.05 32.25 0.00 5,253,200 (112,408,100.00)
STI Holdings 1.04 1.06 1.04 1.04 0.00 15,133,000 (126,200.00)
4.75 3.30 Touch Solutions 8.22 10.30 8.10 9.98 21.41 2,508,900 (286,370.00)
0.79 0.34 Waterfront Phils. 0.410 0.405 0.400 0.405 (1.22) 210,000
Yehey 1.310 1.300 1.280 1.280 (2.29) 167,000
MINING & OIL
0.0083 0.0038 Abra Mining 0.0056 0.0057 0.0056 0.0057 1.79 84,000,000
6.20 3.01 Apex À 4.45 4.45 4.45 4.45 0.00 20,000
20.80 14.50 Atlas Cons. À 19.48 19.60 19.40 19.50 0.10 659,700 (948,140.00)
48.00 20.00 Atok-Big Wedge À 21.50 21.20 21.15 21.20 (1.40) 600
0.345 0.170 Basic Energy Corp. 0.285 0.290 0.280 0.285 0.00 9,100,000
29.00 19.98 Benguet Corp À 19.50 19.00 19.00 19.00 (2.56) 4,800
34.00 21.20 Benguet Corp `B 19.30 19.80 19.80 19.80 2.59 600
2.23 1.05 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 0.82 0.88 0.83 0.87 6.10 2,609,000 304,520.00
Coal Asia 1.02 1.03 1.02 1.03 0.98 6,971,000 (274,380.00)
61.80 6.96 Dizon 15.28 15.60 15.20 15.50 1.44 3,300 (13,680.00)
1.21 0.50 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.52 0.52 0.51 0.52 0.00 619,000
1.81 1.0600 Lepanto À 1.030 1.060 1.030 1.050 1.94 38,276,000
2.070 1.0900 Lepanto `B 1.150 1.170 1.150 1.160 0.87 6,418,000 3,440,710.00
0.085 0.042 Manila Mining À 0.0600 0.0610 0.0600 0.0610 1.67 58,190,000
0.840 0.570 Manila Mining `B 0.0620 0.0630 0.0610 0.0630 1.61 83,880,000
36.50 15.04 Nickelasia 16.62 16.62 16.56 16.60 (0.12) 384,300 (2,721,834.00)
12.84 2.91 Nihao Mineral Resources 5.19 5.20 5.00 5.00 (3.66) 229,500
8.40 2.99 Oriental Peninsula Res. 3.360 3.400 3.350 3.350 (0.30) 265,000
0.032 0.014 Oriental Pet. À 0.0200 0.0210 0.0200 0.0210 5.00 61,200,000
0.033 0.014 Oriental Pet. `B 0.0210 0.0210 0.0200 0.0200 (4.76) 5,600,000
7.05 5.10 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 6.20 6.20 6.19 6.20 0.00 69,500 99,200.00
28.25 18.40 Philex À 15.40 15.500 15.360 15.50 0.65 3,743,300 986,736.00
48.00 3.00 PhilexPetroleum 29.45 29.50 29.00 29.20 (0.85) 316,100 (752,870.00)
0.062 0.017 Philodrill Corp. À 0.041 0.041 0.040 0.041 0.00 59,300,000 (82,000.00)
257.80 161.10 Semirara Corp. 238.00 240.00 238.00 238.00 0.00 726,300 17,366,860.00
0.029 0.015 United Paragon 0.0180 0.0180 0.0170 0.0180 0.00 1,900,000
PREFERRED
50.00 23.05 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 38.55 38.40 37.50 38.00 (1.43) 174,800 1,017,440.00
580.00 535.00 Ayala Corp. Pref À 526.00 525.00 525.00 525.00 (0.19) 210
103.50 100.00 First Gen G 103.50 103.50 101.70 103.50 0.00 25,470
109.80 101.50 First Phil. Hldgs.-Pref. 104.60 104.20 101.50 102.00 (2.49) 11,330
11.02 6.00 GMA Holdings Inc. 9.53 9.55 9.52 9.55 0.21 2,215,000 142,950.00
116.70 108.90 PCOR-Preferred 108.40 108.50 108.30 108.30 (0.09) 980 79,059.00
SMC Preferred A 75.00 75.00 74.90 74.90 (0.13) 672,700 24,525,000.00
80.00 74.50 SMC Preferred B 75.00 75.00 74.95 74.95 (0.07) 46,890
6.00 0.87 Swift Pref 1.44 1.44 1.30 1.30 (9.72) 4,000
WARRANTS & BONDS
1.31 0.62 Megaworld Corp. Warrants 1.81 1.96 1.88 1.96 8.29 982,000
1.38 0.67 Megaworld Corp. Warrants2 1.80 1.95 1.88 1.95 8.33 36,000
S M E
2.60 1.30 Makati Fin. Corp. 2.30 2.30 2.30 2.30 0.00 1,000
6.20 4.18 Ripple E-Business Intl 8.60 9.30 8.50 9.30 8.14 9,200
TRADI NG SUMMARY
SHARES VALUE
FINANCIAL 37,562,350 2,112,193,245.4
INDUSTRIAL 300,660,053 1,178,958,245.772
HOLDING FIRMS 248,520,982 1,608,447,213.26
PROPERTY 376,761,381 112,0939,028.56
SERVICES 186,173,048 183,339,306.37
MINING & OIL 474,523,180 384,784,684.8
GRAND TOTAL 1,624,211,204 7,588,745,164.16
FINANCIAL 1,552.58 (up) 8.67
INDUSTRIAL 9,057.48 (down) 8.16
HOLDING FIRMS 5,317.45 (up) 39.36
PROPERTY 3,350.76 (up) 12.67
SERVICES 1,779.7 (up) 13.87
MINING & OIL 20,037.87 (up) 110.47
PSEI 5,971.45 (up) 37.4
All Shares Index 3,778.43 (up) 15.55
Gainers: 98; Losers: 67; Unchanged: 49; Total: 214
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
LMG Chemicals 2.82 50.00
Euro-Med Lab. 2.30 21.69
Chemphil 125.00 21.48
Touch Solutions 9.98 21.41
Federal Chemicals 12.38 13.58
Seafront À' 1.93 11.56
Manchester Intl. "A" 16.90 11.48
Manchester Intl. "B" 16.70 11.33
Calapan Venture 4.49 9.51
Megaworld Corp. Warrants2 1.95 8.33
STOCKS Close
(P)
Change
(%)
Swift Pref 1.30 (9.72)
ISM Communications 2.3400 (8.59)
Berjaya Phils. Inc. 26.00 (7.14)
Lorenzo Shipping 1.30 (7.14)
Republic Glass 'A' 2.36 (5.60)
Oriental Pet. `B' 0.0200 (4.76)
Holcim Philippines Inc. 12.90 (4.44)
Nihao Mineral Resources 5.00 (3.66)
Ever Gotesco 0.395 (3.66)
Agrinurture Inc. 8.40 (3.11)
TOP GAI NERS TOP LOSERS
extrastory2000@gmail.com business@mst.ph
Best securities dealer. HSBC Manila was recently recognized as the best performing government
securities eligible dealer in 2012. The award was given on Dec. 18 by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima
(right) and was accepted by HSBC Manila president and chief executive Jose Arnulfo Veloso (third from
right). Also shown are (from left) deputy treasurers Christine Sanchez and Gisela Lood, National Treasurer
Rosalia de Leon, HSBC Manila treasurer and head of global markets Dondi Baltazar and senior vice
president for interest rates trading Noel Malabag. The award is a testament to HSBCs franchise strength
in the Philippines and its invaluable support in the development of the local capital markets as well as
support of the national governments funding program.
By Jenniffer B. Austria
VISTA Land and Lifescapes
Inc., the real estate company of
the Villar family, said Friday it
raised P636 million from the sale
of treasury shares.
Vista Land ofcer in charge
Brian Edang said in a disclosure to
the stock exchange the company
sold 133.9 million treasury shares
on Thursday at P4.75 per share, a
discount the stocks closing price
of P4.85 apiece.
Treasury shares refer to stocks
that a company keeps in its
treasury as a result of a buyback
or a repurchase transaction.
The property rm said the
sale of treasury shares aimed
to meet demand from investors
and increase liquidity of the
companys shares of stock.
The homebuilder earlier said
it planned to spend P18 billion
in capital expenditures in 2013
as the real estate industry was
expected to remain robust.
The company said it would
launch condominium projects,
particularly in urban areas where
demand from young professionals
was increasing.
It said to boost recurring
income, the company would
build commercial developments
within or near its residential
subdivisions. These planned
commercial developments
are expected to diversify the
companys revenue streams
and enhance the value of its
residential projects.
The company was on track to
hit P4.2 billion in net income in
2012, up 19 percent from P3.53
billion posted in 2011. Revenues
was forecast to reach P16 billion,
up by 18 percent from P13.51
billion a year ago.
Vista Land was one of the best
performing stocks in 2012, after
its share price jumped by 71
percent.
STOCKS rose for the third straight day
this year, sending the benchmark index to
a new all-time high, after the government
said ination rate remained manageable
at 2.9 percent in December, giving the
Bangko Sentral exibility to keep interest
rates at record low levels.
The Philippine Stock
Exchange index, the 30-company
benchmark, gained 37 points, or
0.6 percent, to close at 5,971.45
points on Friday.
The heavier index, representing
all shares, also added 15 points, or
0.4 percent, to settle at 3,778.43 as
gainers led losers, 98 to 67, with 49
issues unchanged. Value turnover
amounted to P7.6 billion.
Ination accelerated less
than economists estimated in
December, giving the central
bank room to keep interest rates
low and support growth.
Consumer prices rose 2.9
percent from a year earlier, after
a 2.8-percent advance reported
earlier in November, the National
Statistics Ofce said.
A stronger peso helped make
imports cheaper, even as Bangko
Sentral takes measures to stem
capital ows. The monetary
authority lowered borrowing
costs four times last year, and its
difcult to justify further cuts if the
economy is strong and ination is
benign, Bangko Sentral Governor
Amando Tetangco said.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. emerged as the
most active stock Friday, rising
1.5 percent to P2,650.
Megaworld Corp., the second
most active stock, climbed 6.3
percent to P3.06, to become the
biggest gainer among the top 20
issues.
BDO Unibank Inc., the
largest bank, added 1.4 percent
to P74.50 while Ayala Corp.
advanced 1.9 percent to P544.
Metro Pacic Investments Corp.
rose 2.7 percent to P4.90.
Meanwhile, Japans
benchmark stock index soared
on its rst trading day of the
new year Friday, as investors
reacted to a weakening yen and
Washingtons temporary skirting
of the so-called scal cliff.
But other Asian markets
stalled as enthusiasm faded
over the last-minute budget deal
reached in Washington to avoid
steep, automatic tax increases
and spending cuts that would
have taken effect Tuesday. The
measure, however, was largely
seen as crisis avoidanceand puts
off hard decisions about how to
reduce government spending and
deal with Americas massive debt.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo jumped
2.8 percent to 10,690.79. Earlier in
the morning, the benchmark reached
10,734.23, an intraday level not
seen since March 4, 2011. Much of
the enthusiasm for Japanese shares
comes with the steadily weakening
currency, a big help to Japanese
companies that sell abroad.
The dollar rose to the upper
87 yen range in Tokyo on Friday
morning, its highest level since
July 2010, Kyodo News Agency
said. Investors have high hopes that
new Prime Minister Shinzo Abes
policies, centered on loose monetary
policy and public spending, will
wrest the worlds third-largest
economy out of the doldrums.
Elsewhere, however, investor
fervor wilted. Hong Kongs Hang
Seng index fell 0.7 percent to
23,231.88. South Koreas Kospi
lost 0.8 percent to 2,004.35, while
Australias S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4
percent to 4,723.80. Benchmarks
in Singapore, Taiwan and mainland
China fell. Markets in Indonesia
and the Philippines rose.
With Bloomberg, AP
Vista Land share sale raises P636m
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
OFFICE THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Caraga Region XIII
J. Rosales Avenue, Butuan City
(MST-Jan. 5, 2013)
Invitation to Bid
1. The Deportment of Public Works and Highways, DPWH Regional Ofhce XIII. J.
Rosales Avenue Butuan City, through the FY - 2013 DPWH INFRASTRUCTURE
PROGRAM intents to apply the sum of Ninety Three Million One Hundred Thirty
Three Thousand Two Hundred Seventy Pesos and 26/100 (PhP93,133.270.26)
being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract
for the following projects:
a. Contract ID : 12N00039 (RE-AD)
Contract Name : Improvement/Concreting of Dapa - Union - General
Luna Road, K9+150.00 K11+718.00, Siargao Island.
Surigao del Norte
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): PhP 93,133,270.26
Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.
2. The Department of Public Works and Highways, DPWH Regional Ofhce XIII
now invites bids for the aforementioned projects with the following scope of works:
a.) 12N00039; Improvement/Concreting of Dapa - Union - General Luna Road.
K9+150.00 K11+718.00. Siargao Island, Surigao del Norte. which includes
Earthworks. Subgrade Preparation. Subbase & Base Course, 0.;23 m.
thick peep, Drainage Structures & Slope Protection Works. Completion of
Works is required 215 Calendar Days.
Bidders should have completed. within ten (10) years from the date of submission
and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project. The description of an eligible
bidder is contained In the Bidding Documents. particularly, in Section II. Instruction
to Bidders.
3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using
non-discretionary pass/fall criterion as specifed in the mplementing Rules and
Regulations (IRRI of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184). otherwise known as the
Government Procurement Reform Act .
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or
organizations with (t least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding
capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.
4. Interested bidders may obtain further Information from Department of Public
Works and Highways Regional Ofhce XIII, and inspect the Bidding Documents
at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Mondays to Fridays.
5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders
from the address below starting on January 5,2013 and upon payment of a
nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of PhP30, 000.00.
It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the .Philippine
Government Electronic Procurement System (PhiIGEPS) and the website of
DPWH at www.dpwh.gov.ph provided that bidders shall pay the nonrefundable
fee for the Documents not later than the submission of their bids.
6. The DPWH will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on January 17, 2013 at 10:00 A. M.
at the address below and open to all interested parties.
7. Bids must be delivered to the address below on January 31, 2013 at or before
10:00 A. M. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Security, in any of the
acceptance form and In the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.
Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders representatives who choose to
attend at the address below on January 31, 2013 at 10:00 A. M. Late bids shall
not be accepted.
8. The DPWH 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.
9. For further information, please refer to :
SAMSON L. HEBRA, MBA
Chief, Maintenance Division
BAC Chairman
J. Rosales Avenue, Butuan City
Tel No. (085} 815-3553
(Sgd.) SAMSON L. HEBRA, MBA
Chief, Maintenance Division
BA Chairman
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
SOUTH MANILA ENGINEERING DISTRICT
8
TH
Street, Port Area, Manila
(MST-Jan. 5, 2013)
1. Contract ID No. 13OH0001
Contract Name: Proposed Repainting of Lane line Markings along Roxas
Blvd., Manila and Pasay City
Contract Location: Manila and Pasay City
Scope of Work: Repainting of Lane line Markings
Source of fund and year: MVUC 2012
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): (Ph. P 6,261,809.34)
Contract Duration: 90 cal. days
Cost of Bid Documents: Ph. P 10,000.00
1) The South Manila Engineering District, through the [MVUC 2012] intends to apply the sum
of [Phil P 6,261,809.34], being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments
under the contract for [Contract ID No. 13OH0001]. Bids received in excess of the ABC
shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.
2) The South Manila Engineering District, now invites bids for [Repainting of Lane line
Markings along Roxas Blvd., Manila and Pasay City].Completion of the Works is required
[90 calendar days]. Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date
of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an
eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II, Instructions
to Bidders.
3) Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using
nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of
Republic Act 9184 (RA9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations
with at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to
citizens of the Philippines.
LOI and/or Application for Eligibility and latest Class A Documents (Contained in
the Contractor's Registration Certicate)(CRC), 1.1 LegaI Documents: a) Department of
Trade and Industry Business Name Registration (DTI) or SEC Registration Certicate
or CDA; b) VaIid and Current Mayor's Permit/MunicipaI License; C) Tax CIearance; 1.2)
TechnicaI Documents; a) VaIid Joint Venture Agreement, in case of (J.V.) and EIigibiIity
Docs for each member; b) VaIid PCAB License and Registration c) Certicate of
MateriaIs Engineer Accreditation and Identication duIy certied by the Authorized
Managing Ofcer (AMO) d) Latest copy of Authorizing Managing Ofcer e) Certicate
of Safety Ofcer Seminar from DOLE f) PhiI-GEPS Order Form (Document Request
List) g) CPE's rating for the 1st Quarter; 1.3) FinanciaI Documents; are to be accepted
by the BAC together with the Bids and other relevant documents on or before the
deadline for submission of Bids.
4) Interested Bidders may obtain further information from South Manila Engineering District,
and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from [8:00-12:00 A.M. and
1:00-5:00 P.M.].
5) A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the
address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the
amount of [indicated above].
It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government
Electronic System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that bidders
shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later that the submission of their bids.
6) The South Manila Engineering District, will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on [Jan. 11, 2013-
10:00 A.M.] at [SMED-BAC OFFICE, PORT AREA, MANILA], which shall be open to all
interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.
7) Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before [Jan. 24, 2013- 09:00 A.M.]
at [SMED-BAC OFFICE, PORT AREA, MANILA]. All bids must be accompanied by a bid
security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.
Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders representatives who choose to attend
at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.
8) The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below:
Issuance of Bidding Documents - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Jan. 4-24, 2013
Pre-Bid Conference - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10:00 A.M. Jan. 11, 2013
Deadline of LOI Receipt from Prospective Bidders - - 12:00 Noon Jan. 18, 2013
Deadline of Bid Receipt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 09:00 A.M. Jan. 24, 2013
Opening of Bids - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 02:00 P.M. Jan. 24, 2013
9) The South Manila Engineering District, 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 or bidders.
For Further information, please refer to:
Engr. RUPERTO H. PINGOL
Head, BAC Secretariat/Procurement Staff
South Manila Engineering District, NCR, DPWH
1018 -8TH Street corner Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila
Tel. no. 023044020
rupertopingol@yahoo.com
Fax no. 025279727
(Sgd.) GUILLERMO D. SALASAC
Offcer in Charge
Offce of the Assistant District Engineer
BAC Chairperson
NOTED:
(Sgd.) MIKUNUG D. MACUD
District Engineer
Invitation to Bid for;
Region I
Pangasinan 3
rd
District Engineering Ofce
OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER
Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan
1. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Pangasinan
3
rd
District Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan, through
the FY 2011 intends to apply the sum of P5,000,000.00 being the
Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to cover payments under the
contract for Provisions of counter measures against scouring of Bued
Bridge, Sison, Pangasinan. Contract ID No. 12AI0268 . Bids received
in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.
3
rd
District Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan now
invites bids for Rubble concrete and Gabions. Completion of the Works
is required 75 c.d. The prospective bidder must have an experience
of having completed at least One (l) contract that is similar to the
contract to be bid, and whose value, adjusted to current prices using
the NSO consumer price indices, must be at least ffty percent (50%)
of the ABC to be bid.
3. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding
procedures using non-discretionary pass/fail criterion as specifed in
the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184
(RA 9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform
Act and its amendments.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizen/sole proprietorships, partnerships,
or organizations with at least seventy fve (75%) interest or outstanding
capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.
4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from Department
of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Pangasinan 3
rd
District
Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan and inspect the
Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. to
5:00 P.M.
5. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested
Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable
fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of P5,000.00.
It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the
Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS)
and the website of the Procuring Entity. Provided that bidders shall
pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission
of their bids.
3
rd
District Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan will hold
a Pre-Bid Conference on December 14, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at the
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Pangasinan 3
rd

District Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan which shall
be open to all interested parties
7. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before December
27, 2012 at 10:00 A.M.. All bids must be accompanied a bid security in
any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.
Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders representatives
who choose to attend at the addresss below. Late bids shall not be
accepted.
3
rd
District Engineering Offce, Tumana, Rosales, Pangasinan 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.
9. For further Information, please refer to:
Head, BAC-Secretariat
DPWH, Pang. 3rd DEO, Tumana, Rosales, Pang.
Telephone No. _(075) 541-5469
Fax No. _____ _(075) 582-3993
(Sgd.) EMMANUEL P. RIBOROSO
BAC-Chairman
INVITATION TO BID FOR PROVISIONS OF COUNTER MEASURES
AGAINST SCOURING OF BUED BRIDGE, SISON, PANGASINAN
(MST-Jan. 5, 2013)
Business
ManilaStandardToday
B3
US car sales surge to 5-year high
38 laboratories join
cement test program
extrastory2000@gmail.com business@mst.ph
Energy,
Abra co-op
hold talks
A TOTAL of 38 laboratories
that conduct prociency tests on
cement products participated in
the CeMAPs fourth prociency
testing program.
Twelve of these laboratories
are from the Public Works
Department, 15 from Cement
Manufacturers Association
of the Philippines members
and 11 non-member or private
laboratories.
The laboratories are subjected
to prociency test as a
requirement for the renewal of
their Public Works certicate of
accreditation.
Participation in the prociency
testing program is a crucial
component in our responsibility
to ensure that only quality cement
products are available in the
market, said CeMAP president
Ernesto Ordoez.
Ordoez said the programs
initial phase in 2006 only had
CeMAP member laboratories,
while the second and third
rounds involved both CeMAP
member and Public Works
laboratories.
Ordoez said the prociency
testing was the rst and only one
in Southeast Asia. He discussed
the initiative at the recently-
concluded 36th Council Meeting
of the Asean Federation of
Cement Manufacturers held in
Singapore on Nov. 15 to 17,
in which he was the former
president.
Public Works requires
applicants for initial or renewal
of certificate of accreditation
of testing cement products
to undergo the proficiency
testing program conducted
by CeMAP to enhance their
capabilities to test cement in
accordance with the prescribed
standards.
The departments Bureau of
Research and Standards gives
accreditation to private testing
laboratories that can perform
the testing of materials for and
in behalf of the government
agency.
CeMAP recently presented
the results and evaluation of
the scores of participating
laboratories from different parts
of the country.
This program helps the
laboratories in ensuring consumer
welfare by ascertaining that
only cement which has passed
applicable standards go into
their homes and buildings as
well as road and infrastructure
projects of [Public Works],
said Ordoez.
Education partners. Nozomi Fortune Services Inc., one of the countrys pioneers in manpower
contracting, has teamed up with STI Education Services Group Inc. to become forerunners in the unique
education program, named Program for Resurgence of Industrial Development and Excellence. The
program is an innovative scheme launched by Nozomi about a year ago that grants free collegiate
education and work experience to beneciaries. Shown signing the agreement are (from left) STI president
and chief executive Monico Jacob and Nozomi managing director Alexander Arnado.
ENERGY Secretary Carlos
Jericho Petilla is in talks with
ofcials of Abra Electric
Cooperative to avert power
outage in the province.
Sources said Petilla deferred
a move by the National
Electrication Administration
to intervene and take over
Abreco, which has been facing
disconnection for failure to
pay its debts to Aboitiz Power
Corp.
Aboitiz Power disconnected
Abreco on Dec. 10 and
reconnected it on Dec. 11,
after the electric cooperative
paid part of the arrears. Aboitiz
Power issued another notice
of disconnection on Dec. 17
but did not implement it in
consideration of the Christmas
season.
Government is exploring.
Were looking at options,
emergency powers of the
President for example, but
it may take time. They may
have brownouts for two weeks
before we can resolve this and
you cant live for two weeks
without power, Petilla said
earlier. Alena Mae S. Flores
DETROITA steadily improving
economy and strong December sales
lifted the American auto industry to its
best performance in ve years in 2012,
especially for Volkswagen and Japanese-
brand vehicles, and experts say the next
year should be even better.
Car makers on Thursday
announced their nal gures,
which totaled 14.5 million13
percent better than 2011.
More than three years after
the federal governments $62-
billion auto-industry bailout,
Americans had plenty of
incentive to buy new cars and
trucks in the year just ended.
Unemployment eased. Home
sales and prices rose. And the
average age of a car topped
11 years in the US, a record
that spurred people to trade in
old vehicles. Banks made that
easier by offering low interest
rates and greater access to
loans, even for buyers with
lousy credit.
The US light vehicle sales
market continues to be a
bright spot in the tremulous
global environment, said Jeff
Schuster, senior vice president
of forecasting for LMC
Automotive, a Detroit-area
industry forecasting rm.
Sales were far better than
the bleak days after the US
economy tanked and GM and
Chrysler sought bankruptcy
protection. Back then, sales fell
to a 30-year low of 10.4 million,
and they are still far short of
the recent peak of around 17
million set in 2005.
The best part of 2012 came
at the end, when special deals
on pickup trucks and the usual
round of sparkling holiday ads
helped December sales jump
9 percent to more than 1.3
million, according to Autodata
Corp. That translates into an
annual rate of 15.4 million,
making December the strongest
month of the year.
Volkswagen led all major
automakers with sales up a
staggering 35 percent, led by
the redesigned Passat midsize
sedan. VW sold more than ve
times as many Passats last year
as it did in 2011.
Jesse Toprak, vice president
of industry trends for TrueCar,
said VW has the right mix of
value and attractive vehicles and
called the company the force to
watch in the next several years
in the US market.
Toyota, which has recovered
from the earthquake and
tsunami in Japan that crimped
its factories two years ago,
saw sales jump 27 percent for
2012. December sales were
up 9 percent. Unlike 2011, the
company had plenty of new
cars on dealer lots for most of
last year.
Honda sales rose 24 percent
for the year. Nissan and Inniti
sales were up nearly 10 percent
as the Nissan brand topped
1 million in annual sales for
the rst time. Hyundai sales
rose 9 percent for the year to
just over 703,000, the Korean
automakers best year in the
US.
Chrysler, the smallest of the
Detroit car makers, had the best
year among US companies.
Its sales jumped 21 percent
for the year and 10 percent in
December. Demand was led by
the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV,
Ram pickup and Chrysler 300
luxury sedan.
But full-year sales at Ford
and General Motors lagged.
Ford edged up 5 percent and
GM rose only 3.7 percent for
the year. For December, Ford
was up 2 percent and GM up 5
percent. AP
B4
WORLD
Gang rape: 5 suspects
face murder charges
African leader
dismisses son
as defense head
IN BRIEF
Depardieu now
a Russian citizen
ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR
APPROVAL OF THE SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT BETWEEN CENTRAL NEGROS
ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INCORPORATED
AND PANAY ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION
ERC CASE NO. 2012-130 RC
CENTRAL NEGROS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE,
INCORPORATED (CENECO) AND PANAY
ENERGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
(PEDC),
Applicants.
x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:
Notice is hereby given that on December 4, 2012, Central Negros
Electric Cooperative, Incorporated (CENECO) and Panay Energy
Development Corporation (PEDC) fled an application for approval of
their Settlement Agreement.
In the said application, CENECO and PEDC alleged, among others,
that:
Parties to the Case
1. CENECO is an electric cooperative duly organized and existing
under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines,
with principal offce address at Gonzaga St. corner Mabini St.,
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. It is a duly franchised electric
utility pursuant to National Electrifcation Administration (NEA)
Franchise No. 057 servicing its member-consumers in the Cities
of Bacolod, Bago, Silay and Talisay and the Municipalities of
Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto, all in the Province of
Negros Occidental.
2. PEDC is a domestic corporation duly organized and existing
under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with principal
offce address at Barangay ngore, La Paz, loilo City. t owns,
operates and maintains a 2 x 82 MW clean coal-fred power plant
(Power Plant) located at Barangay ngore, La Paz, loilo City.
Statement of Facts and of the Case
3. On December 21, 2010, while negotiations were on-going for
the Electric Power Purchase Agreement (EPPA) between them,
CENECO wrote to PEDC requesting the latter to make available
to it 24 MW of capacity beginning December 26, 2010. A copy of
the letter dated December 21,2010 is attached to the application.
3.1 In the said letter, CENECO stated that it was sourcing
its power requirements from Green Core Geothermal,
ncorporated (GCG) based on the National Power
Corporation NPC)/Power Sector Assets and Liabilities
Management Corporation (PSALM) power supply contract
that was ceded to it. This contract was to expire on
December 25, 2010 but was extended for another year
or until December 25, 2011 albeit at a reduced contracted
energy of 147,520,102 kWh from 549,158,784 kWh and
with the supply of power no longer coming from GCG but
from NPC/PSALM.
3.2 Due to the reduction of its contracted energy with NPC/
PSALM, CENECO was in urgent need of additional power
supply by December 26, 2010.
3.3 On the other hand, it had signed power supply contract
with KEPCO-Salcon Power Corporation (KSPC) for 40 MW,
which contract was to commence in March 2011.
3.4 Given that its contract with KSPC was to commence only in
March 2011, there was a gap in its power supply beginning
December 26, 2010 that it needed to fll in.
3.5 With no other option given the lack of available supply from
other generators, it requested PEDC to supply the shortfall
and the latter agreed to supply it.
3.5.1 As early as the last quarter of 2009, CENECO already
began soliciting proposals for power supply from
various Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in light
of the privatization of NPCs assets.
3.5.2 In October 2010, it found itself with an expiring
contract with NPC and GCG and no new power
supply contract, leaving a shortfall of about 75 MW.
3.5.3 Given this situation, it needed to immediately fnd
IPPs to supply its power requirements and PEDC
was the only IPP having the available capacity that
it needed very much.
3.5.4 Sourcing power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot
Market (WESM) was not a viable option for it due to
potential exposure to market volatility.
3.5.5 Thus, in December 2010, while they were still
negotiating the terms of the EPPA, CENECO
requested PEDC to make available a capacity of 24
MW beginning December 26, 2010.
3.5.6 Then, on March 1, 2011, they executed the EPPA
in which PEDC agreed to supply and deliver and
CENECO agreed to take or pay for electricity
supplied by PEDC at a contracted capacity of 24
MW (Contracted Capacity) with a load factor of one
hundred percent (100%) upon the commencement of
the Commercial Operation Date of the Power Plant
(i.e., March 26, 2011). The EPPA shall have a term
of ffteen (15) years commencing on the Commercial
Operation Date and ending on the 15
th
anniversary of
such commencement date, unless sooner terminated
pursuant to the terms thereof. A copy of the said
EPPA is attached to the application.
4. As requested by CENECO in its letter dated December 21,
2010, PEDC commenced supply of base load power to it on
December 26, 2010.
5. Based on the said letter, CENECO was to pay for the actual kWh
delivered by PEDC at a cost per kWh equivalent to the average
NPC Grid Rate (NPC-TOU Rate) until it was able to execute the
EPPA. Once the EPPA was executed, the Electricity Fees to be
paid by it to PEDC were to be in accordance with the terms and
conditions of the said EPPA. Under the EPPA, Electricity Fees
payable for the energy supplied by PEDC to CENECO were
computed as follows (Schedule 4 of the EPPA):
Where:

CRF = Capacity Recovery Fee = PhP2.6055/kWh

PhPO&M = Peso-based O&M Fee = PhP0.4253/kWh

PhCPI
c
= Philippine Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the all items for the
Current Month as published by the National Statistics Offce
(NSO)

PhCPI
b
= Base Philippine CPI = 158.80, May 2009

USDO&M = U.S. Dollar-based O&M Fee = $0.0082/kWh

USCP
c
= U.S. CP for the Current Month as published by the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics (USBLS)

USCP
b
= Base U.S. CP = 213.856, May 2009

Forex = Reference exchange rate (in PhPper US$) on the meter reading
date, as published by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),
www.bsp.gov.ph
E = MinimumContracted Energy or Energy Delivered, whichever is higher

Current Newcastle Index = Preceding quarters average coal price for 6,700kcal/kg ADB per the
Global Coal Newcastle Physical Trading ndex, www.globalcoal.com
Base Newcastle ndex = $63.44/metric ton

Base Coal Price = $53.22/metric ton

Transport Cost = Actual transport cost in US$/metric ton

Consumption Rate = 0.7kg/kWh, escalated at a rate of 1.5% per year
6. For the duration of PEDCs supply to CENECO, its member-
consumers were spared from crippling daily power rationing
prevalent in 2010. Further, with supply coming from Panay, it
was assured not only of more reliable power but also reduced
cost of power due to rebates on line rental costs. Moreover, for
the interim power supply by PEDC, it was to pay PEDC only the
NPC-TOU Rate, which was well below the commercial rate of
PEDC, to the advantage of its member- consumers.
7. Pursuant to the letter dated December 21, 2010, PEDC billed
CENECO as follows:
Billing Month
Actual Payment
Rate (EF+Fuel)
Amount
(PhP)
VAT
(PhP)
Total
(PhP)
January 2011 4.04 73,379,498.49 8,605,965.13 81,985,463.62
February 2011 4.30 30,401,973.23 3,566,272.74 33,968,245.97
March 2011 4.35 43,363,068.03 5,187,275.14 48,550,343.18
Total 164,504,052.77
8. Notably, despite the Electricity Fee contained in the letter dated
December 21, 2010, a careful reading of the computation for
the under-recovery above would show that PEDC lowered the
Electricity Fee for the period of December 26, 2010 to March 25,
2011 from the average NPC-TOU Rate to PhP3.88/kWh, giving
CENECO savings of PhP11,508,110.32, computed as follows:
Billing Month kWh
Commissions Approved Rate
Rate
(EF+Fuel)
Amount
(PhP)
VAT
(PhP)
Total
(PhP)
January 2011 18,165,360 3.88 70,508,844.01 8,439,262.85 78,948,106.85
February 2011 7,072,457 3.88 27,451,741.61 3,289,377.39 30,741,119.00
March 2011 9,963,913 3.88 38,674,930.08 4,631,786.51 43,306,716.59
Total 152,995,942.45
Less: Amount Paid by CENECO (164,504,052.77)
Amount to be Credited 11,508,110.32
8.1. The PhP3.88/kWh used by PEDC was based on the
Commissions approval of the Testing and Commissioning
Rate of PEDC in the Decision in ERC Case No. 2010-055
RC
1
.
8.2. Further, for the period commencing on March 26, 2011,
the rate used by PEDC for the computation of the
Electricity Fee was based on the Commissions approved
Commercial Operations Rate for one hundred percent
(100%) load factor in ERC Case No. 2010-066 RC
2
.
8. Meanwhile, they intended to fle an application for approval of
the EPPA, but they were not able to do so immediately as they
had to complete the pre-fling requirements of the Commission.
9. Subsequently, CENECO decided to cancel the EPPA with
PEDC for cause not constituting default on the part of the latter.
10. Subsequently, CENECO decided to cancel the EPPA with
PEDC for cause not constituting default on the part of the latter.
10.1 CENECO determined that with its contract with KSPC, it
had suffcient supply of power to meet its requirements,
hence, its contract with PEDC had become superfuous.
10.2 Thus, in a letter dated August 16, 2011, CENECO informed
PEDC that it would cease to nominate the 24 MW
intermediate load supply from the latter effective twelve
oclock in the afternoon (12:00 NN) of the same date.
11. Following CENECOs decision to cancel the EPPA, they discussed
the settlement of the Electricity Fees due to PEDC for the power
delivered to CENECO from December 26, 2010 to August 16,
2011. Thereafter, they entered into a Settlement Agreement for
the settlement of PEDCs under-recovery, which was executed
by CENECO on August 30, 2012 and acknowledged before Mr.
Jan Anthony G. Saril, Notary Public in and for Bacolod City, as per
Document No. 272, Page No.55, Book No. 18, Series of 2012,
of his notarial register, and by PEDC on September 1, 2012 and
acknowledged before Mr. Cyril R. Regalado, Notary Public in and
for the City and Province of Iloilo, as per Document No. 91, Page
No. 19, Book No. 23, Series of 2012, of his notarial register.
12. Given their agreement that notwithstanding the Electricity Fees
set out in the letter dated December 21, 2010, (i) Electricity Fees
prior to the execution of the EPPAcovering the Billing Periods of
December 26, 2010 to March 25, 2011 shall be based on PEDCs
Testing and Commissioning Rate, as approved by the Commission
in ERC Case No. 2010-055 RC, instead of the NPC-TOU Rate;
and (ii) Electricity Fees after the execution of the EPPA covering
the Billing Periods of March 26, 2011 to August 16, 2011 shall be
based on PEDCs Commercial Operations Rate for one hundred
percent (100%) load factor, as approved by the Commission in
ERC Case No. 2010-066 RC, CENECOs underpayments to PEDC
amounted to PhP204,064,798.50, computed as follows:
For Testing and Commissioning
Billing
Month
kWh
ERC Final Rate Actual Payment
For Recovery Rate
(EF+Fuel)
Amount VAT TOTAL Rate
(EF+Fuel)
Amount VAT TOTAL
Jan-11 18,165,360 3.88 70,508,844.01 8,439,262.85 78,948,106.85 4.04 73,379,498.49 8,605,965.13 81,985,463.62 (3,037,356.77)
Feb-11 7,072,457 3.88 27,451,741.61 3,289,377.39 30,741,119.00 4.30 30,401,973.23 3,566,272.74 33,968,245.97 (3,227,126.97)
Mar-11 9,963,913 3.88 38,674,930.08 4,631,786.51 43,306,716.59 4.35 43,363,068.03 5,187,275.14 48,550,343.18 (5,243,626.58)
(11,508,110.32)
For Commercial Operations
Billing
Month kWh
ERC Final Rate Actual Payment
For Recovery Rate
(EF+Fuel)
Amount VAT TOTAL Rate
(EF+Fuel)
Amount VAT TOTAL
Apr-11 16,745,126 6.15 102,930,578.36 12,333,863.18 115,264,441.54 3.42 57,309,069.46 6,859,282.11 64,168,351.57 51,096,089.96
May-11 15,042,935 6.15 92,533,420.00 11,087,212.31 103,620,632.31 3.49 52,531,838.19 6,287,022.50 58,818,860.69 44,801,771.62
Jun-11 15,423,562 2.39 36,907,867.88 4,411,605.20 41,319,473.08 (0.09) (1,371,529.78) 1,721,932.55 350,402.77 40,969,070.31
Jul-11 13,717,282 6.68 91,591,744.43 10,975,460.35 102,567,204.78 3.67 50,275,928.26 6,017,562.41 56,293,490.67 46,273,714.11
Aug-11 8,387,481 7.09 59,481,289.83 7,128,231.88 66,609,521.71 3.64 30,523,912.32 3,653,346.58 34,177,258.89 32,432,262.81
215,572,908.82
TOTAL 204,064,798.50
13. In order to settle CENECOs outstanding underpayments of
PhP204,064,798.50 (broken down as Php183,666,658 for the
Electricity and Fuel Fees and PhP20,398,140.51 for Value Added
Tax), they agreed as follows:
13.1 PEDC shall deduct PhP12,000,000.00 from the amount of
its under-recovery of PhP204,064,798.50 as a discount,
thereby leaving it a Net Receivable of PhP192,064,798.50
(Net Receivable).
13.2 Subject to approval of the Commission, the period of
recovery shall be seven (7) years from the date of the
approval of the Settlement Agreement, at a monthly
amortization of PhP2,286,485.70 assuming that CENECOs
monthly kWh sales is 50,0000,000 and with a rate impact to
its member-consumers of PhP0.0457/kWh.
13.3 PEDC shall also allocate PhP9,000,000.00 for the
electrifcation program of the nine (9) districts covered by
CENECOs franchise area, to be released to it in twelve
(12) equal monthly installments after the Commissions
approval of the Settlement Agreement. The disbursement of
this amount to the districts shall be left to the sole discretion
of CENECO and shall be subject to the usual auditing and
accounting procedures.
14. Under the said Settlement Agreement, all payments shall be made
by CENECO to PEDC on the 30th day of every month following the
Commissions approval of the same. If CENECO fails to pay any
amount of the Net Receivable when this falls due, the full amount
of the unsettled Net Receivable shall become immediately due and
demandable, whereupon it shall pay the same to PEDC, failing
which it agreed to pay interest on the full amount of the unsettled
Net Receivable at a rate per annum equal to the T- ill Rate as of
the due date plus three percent (3%) from the date when such
payment is due until the date such amount is received in full by
PEDC.
15. The foregoing are contained in the Settlement Agreement, a copy of
which is attached to the application. Also attached to the application
is the Summary of the Tariff Recovery Computation and Payment
Schedule for CENECO.
Compliance With Pre-Filing Requirements
16. They manifest their compliance with the pre-fling requirements
mandated under Rule 3, Section 4(e) of the Implementing Rules
and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as
the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA,
and Rule 6 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedures,
as evidenced by the following attachments:
16.1 Affdavit of Service re: the service of the application with
annexes to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Iloilo.
16.2 Affdavit of Service re: the service of the application with
annexes to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod City.
16.3 Affdavit of Publication stating that the instant application had
been published in a newspaper of general circulation.
16.4 Newspaper issue where the application, as published,
appeared.
16.5 Proof of payment of fling fees.
16.6 A copy of the Board Resolution authorizing CENECO to
jointly fle the instant application with PEDC.
16.7 Acopy of the Board Resolution authorizing PEDC to jointly
fle the instant application with CENECO.
Prayer
17. They pray that the Commission approve the terms of the Settlement
Agreement between them, thereby authorizing PEDC to charge
and collect from CENECO the Electricity Fees corresponding to: (i)
the Commission-approved Testing and Commission Rate for other
PEDC customers (for the Billing Periods of December 26, 2010 to
March 25, 2011); and (ii) the Commission-approved Commercial
Operations Rate for other PEDC customers (for the Billing
Periods of March 26, 2011 to August 16, 2011), amounting to One
Hundred Ninety-Two Million Sixty-Four Thousand Seven Hundred
Ninety-Eight Pesos and Fifty Centavos (PhP192,064,798.50) and
authorizing CENECO to pass the full amount thereof to its member-
consumers.
The Commission has set the application for initial hearing, expository
presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on January 24,
2013 (Thursday) at eight-thirty in the morning (8:30 A.M.) at CENECOs
Main Ofce, Gonzaga St. corner Mabini St., BacoIod City, Negros
Occidental.
All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding
may become a party by fling, at least fve (5) days prior to the initial hearing
and subject to the requirements in the ERCs Rules of Practice and Procedure,
a verifed petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of
the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner's name and address; (2) the
nature of petitioners interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the
way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in
the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired.
All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission
with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may fle their opposition to
the application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the
applicants conclude the presentation of their evidence. No particular form of
opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should
contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of
the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.
All such persons who may wish to have a copy of the application may
request the applicants, prior to the date of the initial hearing, that they be
furnished with a copy of the application. The applicants are hereby directed
to furnish all those making such request with copies of the application and its
attachments, subject to reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs.
Likewise, any such person may examine the application and other pertinent
records fled with the Commission during the usual offce hours.
WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson, ZENAIDA G. CRUZ-DUCUT,
and the Honorable Commissioners, MARIA TERESA A.R. CASTAEDA,
ALFREDO J. NON, and GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, Energy
Regulatory Commission, this 2
nd
day of January, 2013 at Pasig City.
ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN
Executive Director III
1
In the Matter of the Application for Approval of the Electric Power
Purchase Agreement (EPPA) between Iloilo II Electric Cooperative,
ncorporated (LECO ) and Panay Energy Development Corporation
(PEDC), with Prayer for Provisional Authority, LECO and PEDC
Applicants
2
In the Matter of the Application for Approval of the Electric Power
Purchase Agreement (EPPA) between Antique Electric Cooperative,
Incorporated (ANTECO) and Panay Energy Development Corporation
(PEDC), with Prayer for Provisional Authority, ANTECO and PEDC
Applicants
(Jan. 5 & 12, 2013)
The announcement Thursday that President
Vladimir Putin has approved Depardieus
application for citizenship is almost a real-life
analogue to the French actors 1990 comedy
Green Card, in which his character enters
into a sham marriage in order to work in the
United States.
But in this version, taxes appear to be at
the heart of the matter. Depardieu has waged
a battle against a proposed super tax on
millionaires in his native country.
French President Francois Hollande plans to
raise the tax on earned income above 1 million
($1.3 million) to 75 percent from the present 41
percent, while Russia has a at 13-percent tax rate.
In an open letter, 64-year-old Depardiue
said I have never killed anyone, I dont think
Ive been unworthy, Ive paid 145 million
($190 million) in taxes over 45 years.
Thursday was a holiday in Russia and ofcials
from the Federal Tax Service and Federal
Migration Service could not be reached for
comment on whether the decision would require
Depardieu to have a residence in Russia.
He is not the only high-prole Frenchman to
object to the super tax. Bernard Arnault chief
of the luxury goods and fashion giant LVMH
NEW DELHIFive men accused of raping
a university student for hours on a bus as it
drove through Indias capital were charged
with murder, rape and other crimes that could
bring them the death penalty.
The attack on the 23-year-old woman, who
died of severe internal injuries over the week-
end, provoked a erce debate across India
about the routine mistreatment of females and
triggered daily protests demanding action.
Rapes, often ignored, have become front-
page news, politicians have called for tougher
laws, including the death penalty and chemical
castration for rapists, and the government is
examining wide-scale reforms in the criminal
justice systems handling of sexual assaults.
In a nation where court cases often linger
for years, the government set up a special fast-
track court Wednesday to deal with crimes
against woman, and that is where the charges
against the ve men were led Thursday eve-
ning. The government said it planned to open
four more such courts in the city.
Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan led a case of rape,
tampering with evidence, kidnapping, murder
and other charges against the men. The charge
sheet was not released and he asked for a
closed trial. A hearing was set for Saturday.
The men charged were Ram Singh, the
bus driver; his brother Mukesh Singh, who
cleans buses for the same company; Pavan
Gupta, a fruit vendor; Akshay Singh, a bus
washer; and Vinay Sharma, a tness trainer.
They did not appear in court. Authorities
have said they would push for the death
penalty for the men. AP
BANGUIFacing an insurgency by a new
rebel coalition, the president of Central Af-
rican Republic consolidated military power
under his control Thursday after dismissing
his own son as acting defense minister along
with his army chief of staff.
President Francois Bozize said in a decree
read on state radio late Wednesday that he
was taking over the position held by his son,
Jean Francis Bozize as neighboring countries
sent troops to help.
Hundreds of soldiers from Chad, Republic
of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon have been
in arriving this week in this desperately poor,
landlocked country where rebels have seized
10 towns in a months time.
Rebel spokesman Col. Djouma Narkoyo re-
iterated Thursday that they were holding their
position at the transportation hub of Sibut pend-
ing negotiations in Gabon. They have apparent-
ly made no further advance toward the capital
since taking the town on Dec. 29.
Our position today is that we respect the
decision of the Economic Community of
Central African States, he said by satellite
phone. Thats why we are staying in Sibut
and are not advancing.
In New York, Frances UN Ambassador Gerard
Araud said there will be a meeting in Libreville,
Gabon on Jan. 8 to promote a political solution
to the crisis, mediated by President Denis Sassou
Nguesso of the Republic of Congo.
The goal is to have a political agreement
in Libreville, a national unity government ...
and eventually a peaceful settlement, he told
reporters after a closed-door brieng to the
UN Security Council Thursday on the latest
developments in the Central African Repub-
lic by UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman.
Araud said the African Union and regional
groups are in the lead and have been very active,
and the Security Council is supporting them and
will likely issue a press statement Friday. He said
France planned to circulate the text to the 14 other
council members on Thursday evening. AP
UK shames tax evaders
THE UK tax agency, Her Majestys
Revenue and Customs, published the
names and photographs of 2012s top tax
cheats in a move designed to shame tax-
dodgers as part of a government crackdown
on evasion.
The 32 criminals have been sentenced
to a combined total of 155 years and 10
months behind bars, HMRC said in a
statement in London today.
Most people play by the rules and pay
what they owe, but HMRC is cracking
down on those who dont, Exchequer
Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke
said in the statement.
The government is spending 994 million
pounds ($1.6 billion) over four years to
tackle tax evasion, avoidance and fraud,
aiming to add an annual 7 billion pounds
to the Treasurys coffers by the scal year
ending in 2015. BLOOMBERG
$1.4-m elephant
tusks conscated

HONG KONGHong Kong authorities
have made their third big seizure of illegal
ivory in three months after conscating
more than a ton of the elephant tusks worth
$1.4 million.
The citys customs department said it
seized 779 pieces of ivory weighing about
1,300 kilograms (2,866 pounds). The
department said Friday that the ivory was
found in a shipping container sent to the
Hong Kong port.
The discovery in late October of nearly
four tons in two shipments worth $3.4
million was the citys biggest seizure in
a single operation. A shipment found in
November was about the same size as the
one found Thursday.
The city did not release more details.
Most illegal ivory is obtained through
the wildlife trade in Africa to be used in
ornamental items. AP
MOSCOWThe Kremlin
has cast Gerard Depardieu
in one of the most
surprising roles of his life
as a new Russian citizen.
and worth an estimated $41 billion has said
he would leave for Belgium.
Depardieu said in the letter that he would
surrender his passport and French social
security card. In October, the mayor of a small
Belgian border town announced that Depardieu
had bought a house and set up legal residence
there, a move that was slammed by Hollandes
newly-elected Socialist government. AP
This April 14, 2010 le photo shows French
actor Gerard Depardieu at the inauguration
of US fashion designer Ralph Laurens new
shop in Paris. AP

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