Next page Next page Another whistle blower. From left, Pangasinan Bishop Oscar Cruz, Fernando Alimagno Bugalion, Pangasi- nan Mayor Rodrigo Orduna, and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II on Friday face the press as the whistle blower Bugalion was presented as a witness against Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino in Camp Crame. MANNY PALMERO New movement. Various Catholic organizations have banded together to launch Catholic Vote Philippines. Next page SC to get Te as new PIO TODAY Standard Standard www.manilastandardtoday.com mst@mstandardtoday.com Vol. XXVI No. 257 12 Pages, 5 Sections P18.00 Saturday, December 15, 2012 RH certified as urgent PHILIPPINES: AT THE EDGE OF A RATING UPGRADE PHILIPPINES: ON THE EDGE OF A RATING UPGRADE Wacth out for Manila Standard Todays Special Report on the Economy December 17, 2012 Watch for Manila Standard Todays Special Report on the Economy December 17, 2012 Aquino said it has become imperative for him to certify the measure as urgent because Congress will go on Christmas break next week. In so doing, Aquino has dared put up a direct challenge to the Catholic bishops and the peo- ple power will be tested during the crucial make or break vote on Monday in the House and Senate after he has stepped in and certied the most controversial and divisive 13-year-old Reproductive Health bill as urgent. House and Senate leaders said the certica- tion was issued by the President to save the RH bill and convince the doubting Thomases, including the 63 swing votes, that the Palace- backed measure needed a nal boost. The certication for the immediate enact- ment of the RH bill will seal the nal passage of the RH bill both in the House and the Sen- ate, said Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the RH bill or House Bill 4244. More than the procedural aspect that the certication brings, it gives the RH bill an add- ed boost coming no less than PNoy himself. It totally changes the complexion of the bill. And for the doubting Thomases of the Liberal Party in the House, it sends a very clear and unmis- takable message to its members as to the stand of its party leaders that we should support its By Vito Barcelo VARIOUS Catholic organizations banded together on Friday to launch a Catholic Vote movement that will harness their faith into a voter base in the national elections next year and impose majority presence in the only Catholic country in the Far East. In a show of unity, major Catholic organizations such as the Couples for Christ, Knights of Columbus, and Catho- lic Womens Leagues rallied behind the Catholic Vote Philippines, which they said would be a formidable voter base in future elections in the country. There will be a Catholic vote in 2013, said spokesman Ricardo Boncan. We will deliver it through our memberships and from among our fellow parishioners. The structure of the movement de- veloped as various organizations aligned forces to block passage of an anti-popu- lation bill objected by the Church. The House of Representatives passed the bill on second reading on Wednesday by a small margin. Catholics were apparently stung by claims of politicians that Catholics do not vote as one in elections unlike other sects such as the Iglesia ni Kristo. The Church has kept a distance in past elections. Organizers, who talked to reporters during the launching at the Makati Sports Club, said the movement was prompted by the governments determination to pass anti-family laws such as the RH bill. They said they will ght laws that seek to impose population control, divorce, and same sex marriage. By Francisco Tuyay THE death toll from Typhoon Pablo could approach 2,000 because 932 people were still missing in hard-hit Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, an ofcial said Friday. Benito Ramos, executive di- rector of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Manage- ment Council, made the predic- tion, and if it happens Pablo will surpass the casualty count from Typhoon Sendong, which made landfall in Palawan on Dec. 17, 2011 and killed 1,268 people. Ramos made his comment even as the casualty count from Pablo, which made landfall on Dec. 3, rose to 906. The total damage has reached $15.1 bil- lion and the number of affected people has risen to 5.5 million. Ramos said the search for casualties was made being dif- cult by the thick mud and the rotting corpses of animals. The typhoon victims are still begging for food and appeal- ing for assistance as the ow of relief remains slow because of the many damaged roads and bridges. Church faithful launch Catholic Vote Aquino steps in to seal passage Death toll from Pablo to surpass Sendongs PNoys act cuts corners PH belittles Chinas sea 9-dash line in Google Tipsters drag top cops in jueteng Okada files libel charges vs Wynn 19 more party-lists cleared to run in polls In competition. Miss Philippines Janine Tugonon competes in an evening gown of her choice during the Evening Gown Competition of the 2012 Miss Presentation Show on Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Miss Universe contestants will compete for the crown on Dec. 19. AP Relief coming. Navy men and Marines are shown here at Sangley Point loading relief for the victims of Typhoon Pablo. DANNY PATA Next page Next page Next page Next page By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has ordered the Commission on Elections to keep the Binhi party-list group and 18 other groups in its list of party-list groups qualied to run in next years mid-term elections. In its decision on Tuesday, the high court saw merit in the groups argument that it would be deprived of a chance to campaign and be elected if the Comelec held on to its decision to disqualify it but the high court eventually up- held its qualication. The group, which represents farmers, led its petition with the high court against the Comelec on Dec. 3. The high court will have decide on the merit of its case be- fore the may 2013 elections. The groups nominees Ryan A LEISURE company building a casino at Paranaques sea-front Entertainment City has led libel charges against Stephen Wynn, the Las Vegas-based chairman of a global casino company, Wynn Resorts Ltd, company of- cials said on Friday. Tiger Resort accused Wynn of harming the character and business interest of its chair- man, Japanese billionaire Kasuo Okada, in a press release issued in the Wynn Resort website last February 19. The primer on Cybercrime issued by the Department of Justice on November 26, 2012 provides that, as of the moment, cybercrime-related cases are dealt with using existing laws, company ofcials told the Japa- nese Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation Securities Exchange. CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is expected to appoint professor Theo- dore Te, a former colleague in the University of the Philippines College of Law, as the high courts new spokesman and chief of its Public Information Ofce. By Francisco Tuyay TWO local ofcials on Friday alleged that police ofcials based in Camp Crame as well as ofcials assigned in regional and provincial ofces in Luzon receive their weekly share from jueteng. Bugallon, Pangasinan Mayor Rodrigo Orduna, and Barrage Bgy. Capt. Fernando Alimagno of Po- blacion, Candelaria, Quezon, said that Camp Crame ofcials receive around P875,000 a week, while those assigned in the regional and provincial ofces in Luzon also receive jueteng money from By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Foreign Affairs Depart- ment on Friday downplayed the publication of a map of Chinas nine-dash line ingoogle, a pop- ular internetsearch engine,.say- ing that the publication will not gain any validity for China. The google this week pub- lished a map containing the nine- dash-line which China said was proof of its ownership of the en- tire island and waters of the dis- puted West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Next page Next page By Christine Herrera PRESIDENT Aquino has certied as urgent the hotly contested Reproductive Health bill. What does it do? Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, one of the principal authors of the bill, said the president re- moved with a stroke of the pen the unnecessary libustering and other delaying tactics used by enemies of the bill, includ- ing the three-day waiting pe- riod between second and third readings. This means that immedi- ately after closing the period of second reading, the solons could proceed immediately to third and nal reading of the bill, said Sen. Miriam By Christine F. Herrera PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has certied as urgent the responsible parenthood bill, otherwise known as the repro- ductive health bill, to end the divisiveness before January. News ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A2 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Vegetables this time. Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon (right) shows reporters potatoes and vegetables from China worth P7.5 million that his men seized at the Manila International Container Port. The shipment was declared kitchen items. SONNY ESPIRITU Okada... This means that Intenet li- bel may be dealt wih or pros- ecuted under the existing pro- visions of the Revised Penal Code on libel, the Tiger Re- sort complaint said. Wynn and Okada, both bil- lionaires and in their 70s, were former partners. They have been battling for more than a year since their partnership went sour after Wynn declined to invest in Okadas Philippine casino project and Okada vot- ed against Wynns donation to a Macau university. Wynn sought to remove Okada from the board of Wynn Resorts Ltd and the company sezied Okadas shares this year. The company said it will reduce the number of board members to nine from 12. The complaint, which was filed at the Paranaque City Prosecutors Office, said Wynn Resorts accused Okada of allegedly engaging in cor- rupt activities in connection with the Manila Bay Resorts project, based on the supposi- tion that the Philippines is a corrupt country. Officials said Wynn distrib- uted to reporters unconfirmed results of investigation made by Louis Freeh, a fromer di- rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who was hired by Wynn to look into alleged cor- rupt activities of Okada. Despite Wynns efforts to discredit Okada, billionaire bussinessman John Gokong- weis Robinson Land Corp signed an agreement with Oka- das Universal Entertainment on the $2 billion casino project, company officials said. 19... Vincent L. Uy, Pacifico Rico C. Fajardo Jr., Nelson E. Villanueva, Victoriano N. Perez Jr., and Rodolfo P. Torreda Jr. also kept their chances of gaining a seat in the House of Representa- tives if elected. Binhi aside, the Supreme Court also granted the peti- tions of 18 more party-list groups disqualified by the Comelec to be reinstated, and that brought to 52 the number of disqualified party- list groups that have been re- instated until the high court decides on their cases. The high court decided in favor of Akbay Kalusugan Inc. (AKIN), Ako An Bisaya (AAB), Alagad ng Sin- ing (ASIN), Association of Guard Utility Helper, Aid- er, Rider, Driver, Domestic Helper, Janitor, Agent and Nanny of the Philippines Inc. (GUARDJAN), Kalikasan Party-List, Pilipino Associa- tion for Country-Urban Poor Youth Advancement and Welfare (PACYAW), 1-Unit- ed Transport Coalition (1- UTAK), Coalition of Associ- ation of Senior Citizens in the Philippines Inc. (Senior Citi- zens Party-List), Coalition of Associations of Senior Citi- zens in the Philippines Inc., Association of Local Athlet- ics Entrepreneurs and Hob- byists Inc. (ALA-EH), Ang Galing Pinoy (AG), 1-Alli- ance Advocating Autonomy Party (1AAAP), Abyan Ilon- go Party (AI), Manila Teach- ers Savings and Loans Asso- ciation Inc., Partido ng Bayan Ang Bida (PBB), Alliance of Organizations, Networks and Associations of the Philip- pines Inc. (ALONA), 1stKab- alikat ng Bayan Ginhawang Sangkatauhan (1stKabagis), and the Pilipinas Para sa Pinoy (PPP). The high court ordered the Comelec to comment on the petitions filed by the 19 groups whose cases have been consolidated with the first case filed by the Ako Bicolparty-list (AKB). SC... An insider said Tes appoint- ment would be announced dur- ing the offices Christmas party for reporters on Dec. 21. Te will replace Gleo Guerra, who was appointed by Sereno on temporary basis when she assumed the top judicial post in August. Te is a known pro bono hu- man rights lawyer of the Free Legal Assistance Group and a former legal counsel of the UP system. He teaches crimi- nal and remedial law at the UP and is a close friend of Asso- ciate Justice Marvic Leonen, a former dean of the UP College of Law. The chief justice has the pre- rogative of appointing the chief of the PIO, who is co-terminus with her, the source said. Earlier, Sereno tapped Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Via as consultant for the purpose of strengthen- ing the high courts public in- formation office. Sereno adopted a policy of dignified silence when she was appointed chief justice, leaving reporters to interpret for themselves the high courts rulings. The Public Informa- tion Office no longer holds regular press conferences, and the release of decisions on high-profile cases now fre- quently comes weeks late. The PIO was first set up dur- ing the time of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., who had said the high court should be understood by the common people. There have only been two spokesmen in the high courts history: Ishmael Khan and Midas Marquez, who later became a familiar face on tel- evision following his regular press conferences and who is now court administrator. Rey E. Requejo PNoys... This means that immedi- ately after closing the period of second reading, the solons could proceed immediately to third and final reading of the bill, said Sen. Miriam San- tiago, also a principal author of the measure. The Senate was scheduled to vote to close the period of amendments and second reading on Monday. With the presidents certification, the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives can go to third and final reading also on Monday. By Tuesday, the bicameral conference committee can meet to ratify the final ver- sion of the bill. The presi- dent can approve the bill on Thursday or anytime within 30 days after he received it. House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales said that without the presidential cer- tification, the Senate will have to extend its session up to Thursday to comply with the three-day session waiting rule. The waiting period dims the chance for the RH bill to be ratified by the Houe and Senate be- cause there is no more time for the two cham- bers to constitute the joint panel to reconcile the two versions, even if it is passed by the two cham- bers on third reading, said Akbayan Rep. Arlene Kaka Bag-ao. Gonzales said Congress will go on recess on February 8 because it will be the start of the 90-day campaign pe- riod for the national elections next year and by mid-March the 45-day campaign period for local candidates begin. If the RH bill is not rati- fied this year, it will no longer see the light of day. It means it goes back to square one if it is refiled in the 16th Con- gress, and it will go through the same arduous legislative process again, Gonzales said. Church... Anna Cosio, another spokes- person, said Catholic Vote Phil- ippines will conduct voter educa- tion programs and put out criteria as guide to Catholics for electing national and local officials in the future. Catholics will only vote for of- ficials who have high Christian moral standards, sound judge- ment, integrity, honor, dignity and independence, Cosio said. Other Catholic groups who have joined Catholic Vote Phil- ippines include Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, Dominican Network, Institute of Preaching Lay Missionaries, Federation of National Youth Organizations, Youth Pinoy, National Youth Ministry, St. Thomas More Assn, Educhild Philipines, Fami- lies Against RH Bill, Filipinos for Life, Doctors for Life, Al- liance for the Family, Pro-Life Philippines, Jericho Community, and Defensores Fidei Founda- tion. The ruling Catholic Bish- ops Conference of the Phil- ippines welcomed the crea- tion of the group and said the Church will support its efforts for the welfare of the common good. Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros said the Church will fight the Re- productive Health Bill up to the end and they will explore other avenues to stop its passage into law such as making an appeal to the conscience of legislators or going to the Supreme Court for legal remedies. We are still hoping the meas- ure will be rejected in the third and final reading next week, Ol- iveros said. Manila Archbishop Luis Car- dinal Tagle said the vote in fa- vor of the bill was unfortunate and tragic but we do not take it as a defeat of truth, for truth shall prevail, especially the truth about human life, marriage and the family. We will work harder to pro- mote the sanctity of human life and of the human person, the in- tegral education of the youth, the access of the poor to social and medical services, the preserva- tion of the true meaning of mar- riage, and stewardship of crea- tion, Tagle said. We call on all Filipinos to work towards healing, and jour- ney together humbly and justly as children of God, he said. Death... Electricity is still to be re- stored in 13 towns in compostela Valley and in 11 towns in Davao Oriental, and various diseases including diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory and other ailments have broken out. Still, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II on Friday said the areas isolated by Typhoon Pablo could now be reached by the trucks de- livering relief. This is a major breakthrough in our efforts to expedite the delivery of much-needed food, medicine and clothing, Roxas said. But he cautioned motorists with smaller vehicles against using the newly opened routes because they were still being cleared. The military on Friday said it would be sending more soldiers to Mindanao to help speed up the delivery of relief and the recov- ery of bodies. President Benigno Aquino III said the government would be tapping P8 billion from the sale of Food Terminal Inc. to relocate the typhoon victims living in the areas identified as danger zones. We will build houses in safer areas, Mr. Aquino said. He has also signed Republic Act 10344 penalizing the steal- ing or tampering of weather forecasting equipment, flood- monitoring instruments, seismo- graphs and other equipment. Senator Loren Legarda on Fri- day called for a nationwide infor- mation campaign on geo-hazard maps following the devastation brought by Typhoon Pablo. Am I living in a landslide area Am I living in a flood- prone area? Loren said. Filipinos in every [village] need to know these things before any typhoon signals are raised. The leaders of the House of Representatives on Friday an- nounced they would be cance- ling all Christmas parties to show their solidarity and sympathy for the victims of Typhoon Pablo. House Speaker Feliciano Bel- monte Jr. said he would be do- nating P20 million from his pork barrel to the typhoon victims. I have already authorized [the Budget Department] to transfer it to [Social Welfare] for that pur- pose, Belmonte said. Rep. Bem Noel, chairman of the committee on accounts, said the proceeds from the money that would have been spent for the Christmas parties would be given to the typhoon victims. We will give everything we can to the victims of Typhoon Pablo, Noel said. We hope this will give them a little comfort during these trying days. Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales III said it would be hard to enjoy a Christmas party knowing the typhoon victims didnt have enough to eat and were still suffering. The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday joined the list of government agencies and of- fice that have canceled their Christmas parties out of defer- ence to the typhoon victims. In solidarity with the victims of Typhoon Pablo, the secretary of Foreign Affairs has decided to [do away] with the media lunch scheduled for Monday, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernan- dez said. He said the money that would have been spent for the luncheon would be donated to the typhoon victims. With Jonathan Fern- andez, Joyce Pangco Paares, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Mari- cel Cruz and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan PH... Putting the nine-dash line in google map does not change the fact that the nine-dash line claim is contrary to international law particularly the Unclos [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea], said Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a text message when,asked for a reaction. Such act will not gain any va- lidity for China, he added. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan have overlapping claims on the West Philippine Sea which China repeatedly claims as their own. The Philippines based its claim on the disputed territories on the 200 nautical miles exclu- sive economic zone provided by the Unclos. The nine-dash map in google also prompted the Vietnam- based Nguyen Thai Hoc Founda- tion to petitioin Google Inc. Ex- ecutive Chairman Eric Schmidt, CEO Larry Page, and co-founder Sergey Brin to remove the label China from Paracel and Sprat- ly Islands and Nine-Dotted Line on its maps. We are asking that you imme- diately review the facts regard- ing the true status of the Paracel ;Islands and the Southeast Asia Sea (the islands and remove the nine-dotted line from maps of the sea that Google Maps cur- rently displays, so as So as to accurately reflect the position of the 600 million people of the Southeast Asia and international community as well as Googles publicized policy of neutrality. The foundation said that, in contrast, the United States Google Maps do not-show the nine-dotted-line when the same queries are requested. Because of these concerns, we believe Google Maps is un- intentionally misleading the pub- lic about these disputed islands and the sea, the Meanwhile, a Chinese airplane was spotted Thursday above small islands controlled by Tokyo but-claimed by Beijing, the first time a Chi- nese aircraft allegedly violated airspace over the islands and the latest ina brewing territorial spat. Japan levied a formal protest later in the day, but China said it was merely carrying oiit a nor- mal operation. The chief government spokes- man said the Chinese plane entered Japanese air space on Thursday morning. The Defense Agency said four Japanese F-15 jets headed to the area Thursday morning, but the Chinese plane, a Y-12, a nonmilitary type of air- craft, was nowhere to be seen by the time they got there. The For- eign Ministry said a formal pro- test was sent to the Chinese gov- ernment through the embassy in Japan. With The AP Tipsters... jueteng operators and protectors in their respective areas. The two, however, did not name the police officials in- volved. The accusations against the corrupt police officials came on the heels of a plunder case the two whistleblowers filed against Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino, whom they ac- cused of receiving P2.5 million weekly from jueteng operators in the province. Orduna had admitted that he was part of jueteng operations in the province, while Alimagno said he was on top of jueteng operations in Bautista and Bu- gallon towns in Pangasinan starting in 2004, when the gov- ernor was on his second term as congressman. He added that it was Mayor Orduna who intro- duced him to Espino. But in a television interview, Espino denied the accusation, saying that wala akong natang- gap kahit na isang kusing diy- an. (I did not receive a single centavo from it (jueteng). Alimagno also alleged that a certain Supt. Wilson Lopez, who was previously assigned at the Pangasinan provicial office, acted as their protector and also received jueteng money. This prompted Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Ni- canor Bartolome to order the immediate relief and investiga- tion of Lopez, who is currently assigned as deputy logistics chief in Region IV. Bartolome said that with this development, the PNP would make a reshuffle among police officials in Pangasinan starting Monday next week. According to the witnesses, the disbursement of jeuteng money to police officials started in 2007 but was stopped last year because of the aggressive campaign against the illegal numbers game of the late DILG Secretary Jessie Robredo. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas accompanied Orduna and Al- imagno in a press briefing held Friday. The witnesses said it was Gov. Espino who controlled of the jueteng operations in the province. The two local officials, who had earlier filed a case of plun- der against the governor at the Ombudsman, also denied that their accusations were political- ly-motivated. Espino, who is running for re- election, is aligned with the Na- tional Peoples Coalition, while Mayor Orduna belongs to the ruling Liberal Party. Roxas, meanwhile, said Es- pino should get a good lawyer to prove his innocence. He added that the case could jumpstart the governments aim to eventually stamp out jueteng. RH... passage, House Majority Lead- er Neptali Gonzales II stressed. The presidential certification came at a time when the result of the voting on second reading was too close to call as the House was divided right in the middle with only nine votes to spell the difference. The RH bill hurdled second reading 113 to 104 with three abstentions. The slim margin could eas- ily change when 63 lawmakers that did not register their votes or that were absent last Wednesday overturn the result on Monday when the bill was to be submitted to third and final reading.
The opposition lawmak- ers, who allied themselves with the Catholic bishops, immedi- ately questioned the need for a presidential certification and vowed they were going to give the President a good fight. House Minority Leader Dani- lo Suarez said the opposition and the bishops question the presi- dential certification since they found no urgency in passing the bill. Suarez pooh-poohed the pres- idential certification and claimed it remained a numbers game on Monday. The make or break voting on Monday in the House would also be crucial whether or not the Senate would still bother on taking its version up for second reading. Barring the lack of quorum, if the bill passed on third reading in the House, the Senate could take up its own version for second and third readings. If the House fails, the Senate would no longer be obliged to bother with the bill, Gonzales said. The fact that the RH bill had been certified as urgent will al- low the Senate to approve its RH version on second and third read- ing on the same day next week, Gonzales said. Suarez said if the 63 swing votes showed up on Monday, the pro-RH camp would need addi- tional 32 votes to win the RH bill and the opposition would need additional 40 votes to beat the bill. The opposition and the Cath- olic bishops will put up a fight. It remains a numbers game, presidential certification or not. This is a monumental decision that each lawmaker will have to make, Suarez told the Manila Standard. We question the presidential certification. Where is the urgen- cy? There is none. It was totally unnecessary for the President to pick a fight with the bishops. The divisive issue has been ag- gravated because of that presi- dential certification and it came in such a time that we are reeling from the crisis brought about by typhoon Pablo when the whole nation should be acting as one, Suarez said. The RH bill is long-overdue. There is urgency when 15 moth- ers die daily of medical compli- cations and when the runaway population explosion is already causing a huge dent on the gov- ernments resources and when couples are not given an in- formed choice and free access to birth control devices, Lagman said. Both the pro-RH and anti-RH camps said the President was putting his name and popularity on the line for the RH bill. The Palace boasts of the Presidents record-high popu- larity. The Palace successfully ousted a Chief Justice and passed the very unpopular Sin Tax bill, and so there was no need for the President to certify the bill as ur- gent, Suarez stressed. Suarez said certifying the bill as urgent would only unneces- sarily antagonize the Catholic bishops, who vehemently oppose the use of contraceptives DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A3 News ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Solon casts doubt on drug report Travel ban on Israel lifted; more Filipinos flee Syria Isorena is it. President Aquino receives a memento from newly appointed Coast Guard commandant Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena during the change of command ceremony at the PCG Headquarters in Port Area, Manila City on F December 14. The memento is part of PCGs tradition, symbolizing the inspiration and leadership being provided by the Guest of Honor to the men and women of the Coast Guard. Isorena is a member of Philippine Military Academy Sandigan Class of 1982. Inset shows his wife, Maria Theresa, and his mother Mrs. Asuncion Diwata Isorena. JAY MORALES / MALACAANG PHOTO BUREAU. Communist rebels call a truce in Mindanao relief areas Flood management. Public Works Secretary Rogelio L. Singson delivers his keynote address at the recent Philippine Flood Management Knowledge Sharing Forum at the Asian Development (ADB) headquarters in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City attended by government ofcials, private engineers, ood control experts, civil society and other stakeholders. He said that DPWH has completed the ood control master plan for greater Manila to include Laguna Lake, while completing its plans for Bulacan and Pampanga rivers as the Aquino administration is committed to tackle the ood management issue head on. Discussed at the forum were issues on ood risks and climate change and steps taken to reduce the hazards and vulnerability to oods. House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez questioned the accuracy of the PDEA report even as the drug agency arrested a reman for allegedly peddling shabu in General Santos City. In Leyte, two drug-dealing groups were neutralized, PDEA said. Suarez took notice of the PDEA report that said 7,372 or 18 percent of the 42,025 baran- gays in the country were drug- affected. He said In my opinion, it does not give a factual accounting of the true situation at hand. PDEA chief Arturo Cacdac Jr. aid there were three basic parame- ters in determining the prevalence of the inuence of illegal drugs in the more than 42,000 barangays in the country-- slightly affected, moderately affected, and seriously affected. According to his deni- tion, slightly affected barangays means there are identied drug users in the community but no known pushers or trafckers op- erating in the area, Suarez said. He, however, argued that a more than conservative estimate should show that affected baran- gays have at least one suspected drug pusher or trafcker, and se- riously affected barangays have at least one drug laboratory or drug den. He quoted Cacdacs report that said that 30.7 percent of the total barangays throughout the country were classied as slightly affected, 61.6 percent were moderately af- fected, while the remaining 7.7 percent, seriously affected. This means that only 7,372 barangays or a mere 18 percent is said to be affected by illegal drug activities, Suarez said. Cacdac had said that the the consolidated data resulted from validation of gathered informa- tion of PDEA and partner drug law enforcement agencies. PDEA also reported that 73 percent of drug dependents in the country were poly-drug us- ers or used multiple dangerous drugs but majority of them pre- ferred methamphetamine hydro- chloride or shabu. From January to October 2012, the agency arrested a total of 5,025 drug pushers and 1,850 substance abusers nationwide. Meanwhile, the shabu-dealing reman was identied as Luisito Motong, whom PDEA described as a high value target because of his notoriety as drug pusher in GenSan. Motong was nabbed after he tried to sell shabu to an undercover agent of the drug agency.He was detained at the custodial facility. The Leyte-based groups, on the other hand, were the Giron and Jason Groups. A co-lader of the Giron group was caught in the act of selling shabu on De- cember 13 in Tacloban City. The other group, led by Rodolfo Pregoner, was arrested in Villaba town while selling two sachets of shabu to a poseur- agent. He was also in possession of three more sachets of the illegal drugs, PDEA information ofcer Liza Fabi-Baoy said. With Jonathan Fernandez and Ronald Reyes By Maricel V. Cruz THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agen- cy was asked to explain the basis for its ndings on the prevalence of illegal drugs in thousands of barangays in the country. By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Eric B. Apolonio AMID a stabilizing situation in Israel and Gaza, the Philip- pines has lifted the travel ban it imposed in November while another batch of Filipinos ar- rived Tuesday night after eeing Syria. In a statement released Fri- day, the Department of Foreign Affairs has again allowed new hires and vacationing workers to return to Israel after it also lifted Alert Level 2. In view of improved security conditions in Israel and Gaza as a result of the ceasere agree- ment between Israel and Hamas, the DFA Travel Advisory is now lifted, the statement said, noting that Israeli Ambassador Menashe Bar-On told Manila that restriction were no longer needed. Aside from the lifting of travel ban and Alert Level 2, the DFA is also cancelling Alert Level 4 which orders mandatory evacu- ation or repatriation of Filipinos in Israel and Gaza. On Nov. 23, 2012 the DFA restricted travel after hostili- ties broke out in the Gaza Strip where about 100 Filipinos were staying, most of them married to Palestinians. On Nov. 20, DFA has issued Alert level 2, or Restriction Phase, for Central and South- ern Israel along with Alert Level 4 or Mandatory Repa- triation for Gaza. The conict started when Israel was attacked by rockets from the Hamas group, killing four civil- ians and an Israeli soldier. Israel retaliated with Opera- tion Pillar of Defense, killing 162 Palestinians, more than half were believed to be civilians. An Egyptian-sponsored cease- re put a pause to hostilities. At least 12 Filipinos re- turned Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on a Philippine Airlines ight following the earlier arrival of 258 other workers to ee Syr- ias civil strife. Genalyn Cuadro, who spoke for her companions, said they took a 48-air travel that started Tuesday at the Beiruts Rak Hariri International Airport where boarded an Egypt Air ight for Cairo then another Egypt Air plane to Bangkok be- fore heading for Manila. We would like to thank the International Organization for Migration, which shouldered our airfare and repatriation cost and the Department of Foreign Affairs for expediting our exit from Syria, where there are more Filipinos who wanted to leave Alepo, she said. Immigration Intelligence Of- cer Banjo Omega identied the other repatriates as Arsenia Fran- cisco, Jenaline Albano, Asniya Hamsa, Nancy Aguilar, Fairuz Karis, Anabel Dumrique, Anabel Abundo, Evelyn Gono, Fatima Sangued, Mari Cris Basanes and Monawara Guiamaden. At least 3,254 Filipinos have come home to escape conicted Syria. By Florante S. Solmerin THE military welcomes the truce set by the communist rebels with respect to relief work in places struck by typhoon Pablo across Mindanao, a military spokesman said. The humanitarian ceasere announced by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines should not be for publicity and lip service only. The call for a cease- re should be sincere and must be trans- lated into actions, Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said on Friday. Jorge Madlos alias Oris, spokesman of NDF-Mindanao, said the temporary cease- re order to the New Peoples Army urged all rebel fronts to help the calamity victims for the period covering Dec. 5, 2012 to Jan. 3, 2013. Taking past transgressions and viola- tions in consideration, the NPA has already violated their own ceasere order by taking hostage two children of a soldier in Davao del Norte and harassing a peace and devel- opment team of the 60th Infantry Battalion delivering relief goods, Burgos said. If they will strictly abide with their pronounce- ment, then that is good news. He said Armed Forces Chief Jessie Del- losa has recommended to President Be- nigno Aquino III a Yuletide truce. But Burgos said the rebels should show more good faith and keep their word. The NPA attacked our soldiers con- ducting humanitarian mission in Davao del Norte last week, a day after it an- nounced its truce, he said. In his report, Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza said the 60th IB Peace and Develop- ment Team was attacked in Sitio Banoog, Barangay Sto. Nio, Talaingod. He also cited the failed attack on Private First Class Lito Mansaluon and abducting his two daughters, aged 17 and 12, in Sitio Danao, Barangay Gupitan, San Isidro. By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITYThe regional trial court here dismissed two cases led by the Cordillera Glo- bal Network involving Environ- ment Secretary Ramon Paje Jr., Mayor Mauricio Domogan and SM retail giant and lifted the Temporary Environment Pro- tection Order against the malls P1.2-billion expansion. In a decision dated Dec. 3, 2012, Branch Judge Antonio Esteves found no irregularity in the issuance of the amended En- vironmental Compliance Certi- cate, tree cutting and earthball- ing permits, building permit and zoning clearance. Lawyer Chryse Bautista, SM City Baguio counsel, wel- comed the decision, noting that SM management would always abide by the law and guided by the authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Re- sources and other agencies. SM will continue supporting the common mission to ensure en- vironmental sustainability through its energy, water and air conserva- tion programs, she told Manila Standard, adding that the com- pany remains true to its commit- ment to provide its customers with world-class and innovative service that is globally certied. In a statement, Dr. Michael Bengwayan, Save 182 Movement convener, said the decision will be taken up before the Supreme Court on a petition for certiorari. The two suits led by the Cor- dillera Global sought to stop SM City Baguios improvement consisting of a 7-storey struc- ture re and other facilties on a 77,0000-square meter property. Esteves ruled that transferring 182 trees in Luneta Hill would cause no irreparable injury to the environment nor the city resi- dents while indicating that social acceptability principle was not applicable in issuing the ECC for the expansion. By Rey E. Requejo A CANDIDATE wants the Supreme Court to stop relec- tionist Senator Allan Peter Cayetano and four new senato- rial candidates from using tel- evision commercials for early campaigning. In a petition, Samson Alcantara of the Social Justice System sought the prohibition against Cayetano, Representatives Juan Edgardo Angara of Aurora, Joseph Victor Ejercito of San Juan and Juan Ponce Enrile Jr. of Ca- gayan; and Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn even as he accused them of using paid advertisemens to promote their candidacies in the 2013 elections. Alcantara is a senatorial candi- date in the May mid-term polls. He said the TV placements were intended to enhance their chances and circumvent with impunity and render nugatory thelimitations on airtime allotment for candi- dates during the campaign. Respondents, in authorizing the broadcast of the ads have undermined the Constitution, the Code of Conduct and Ethi- cal Standardsfor Public Of- cials and Employees, and the Civil Code, said Alcantara. He cited Angaras ad on Senior Citizens Law, Ejer- citos Yon Ako, Enriles Gus- to Ko May Pagkain Kayo, Cayetanos Filipinas 2020, and Hagedorns Express Padala. Alcantara said the respond- ents should not justify their ads by the lack of law on prema- ture campaigning. 5 senators target of prohibition Court dismisses case vs SM, Baguio KL employers stick to no-pay cut policy THE Labor and Employment department and the Malaysian stakeholders engaged in the house- hold workers market have agreed to adhere to the Philippines policy of No Placement Fee and No Salary Deduction including abiding by the $400 mandatory monthly minimum salary for Filipino domestics. The government is working closely with of- cials of the Philippine Association of Manpower Agencies for Malaysia Afliates (PAMAMA) for the implementation of the HSW Reform Package Program in January 2013, Labor Secretary Ro- salinda Baldoz said. Last October, the Philippine Overseas Labor Of- ce in Malaysia successfully conducted the Labor Exchange Conference between PAMAMA and POLO-accredited Malaysian agencies in Pahang, Malaysia. The Labor chief said that there is a need to safe- guard the interest welfare of OFWs, particularly household service workers (HSWs). The reforms offer better pay for Household Service Workers and protect them from exploita- tion Baldoz said. Vito Barcelo Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor ManilaStandardToday mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A4 MOST of us are scared of any form of surgery. Whether minor or major, surgery is scary, painful and traumatic. It helps when the patient trusts the surgeon. The surgeons calm and deliberate demeanor quiets the nerves; the patient decides to put his life on the surgeons hands. A patient would be horried if he knew that the surgeon was a ghost. Ghost surgeons do exist and they perform surgeries in many hospitals in the country, according to members of the House of Representatives. The House committee on health has said that while ghosts perform the surgeries, the conspiring doctors split the feesa practice that is unethical and dangerous. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte has led a bill seeking to ban this. Ghost surgery is a legally and ethically dangerous practice that must not be promoted, he said. A surgeon shows up while the patient is awake before the surgery, but disappears. The patient is none-the-wiser as another surgeon performs the procedure of opening, cutting and sewing up. Villafuerte denes ghost surgery as a practice by a surgeon who has overlapping schedules in different hospitals, delegating the surgery to another doctor without the knowledge of the patient. This can be done in two ways. Surgeons may switch, or a doctor who is not a surgeon admits a patient and lets a surgeon do the operation. But can you sue a ghost for a botched operation? It would require investigative skills to pin down a ghost and the medical community is not usually cooperative. You would need to present evidence that your surgery was performed by someone other than the surgeon that you paid and that you had no knowledge of any substitution. Its almost impossible if nobody among the few people inside the operating room talked. Many hospitals protect their legal interest by placing a clause in the contract they make you sign before you go under the knife. Most people, however, especially those about to be operated on, do not bother to read the ne print. Ghosts are scary Chinese mouthpiece mouths off again EDITORIAL THE Chinese mouthpiece Peoples Daily mouthed off again, calling the Philippines the regions troublemaker. Look whos talking! As anyone, including everyones grandma in China knows, the Peoples Daily is state-run and funded by the Communist Party. Its strident attack on the Philippines came after a balanced analysis in the South China Morning Post reporting on the Philippines as a lone voice of dissent in the Association of South East Asian Nations. Beijing knows the Singapore daily, with its big circulation in Asian capitals, could whip up more support from the rest of Asean, apart from the Philippines and Vietnam, in opposing Chinese design to claim the entire resource-rich South China Sea. The Peoples Daily harangued Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario for stoking Japans dying embers of militarism when he said the Philippines would welcome Japan re-arming itself to serve as a counterbalance in the region. Japan, after its defeat in World War II, adopted a pacist Constitution but many Japanese lawmakers fearful of a dominant China want to amend the 66-year old charter. I fully support the foreign ofces call to get Japan involved against Chinese bullying. Japan, which has a simmering territorial row over Senkaku island, recently scrambled ghter jets to shoo away Chinese planes in the area. In fact, even before Del Rosario broached the idea of rearming Japan, other countries in the region including South Korea, Australia and New Zealand had been wary about Chinas intent. It has become clear Beijing has no intention of allowing the South China Sea dispute brought before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Under a rules-based ITLOS arbitration court, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would prevail and rule against its sweeping claim over the entire SCS. Under UNCLOS, the 200-mile area off a countrys coastline is its exclusive economic zone. Scarborough Shoal, which China claims, is in the West Philippine Sea 140 miles off Zambales and more than 800 miles further from Hainan, its nearest coast. We have to keep saying this because the Chinese still dont get it. This is the reason that Beijing rejects a multilateral solution of the issue and would rather negotiate on a bilateral basis where it would have the upper hand against smaller nation-claimants. Remembering Ka Blas Yesterday, family and friends marked the death anniversary of former Foreign Secretary Blas F. Ople whom the nation truly misses during this period of serious threat to the nations security. Secretary Ople was stricken ill and died on a plane while on a mission for the state. Fred de la Rosa, former labor attach at the Philippine Embassy in Washington and Manila Times editor, could well be his biographer as he contributed many of the outstanding facets of the mans life in this short piece. Blas Fajardo Ople is, for a self -taught man, is a renaissance gure in Philippine history. The former guerrilla, ex-stevedore from Bulacan, copy editor at the defunct Daily Mirror, went on to become Labor Minister, one of the authors of the Constitution, senator, Senate President, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He was in his element as foreign secretary. As a journalist, he often wrote about i n t e r n a t i o n a l politics. A voracious reader, Ka Blas could quote from Shakespeare to the Bible. On trips abroad, he would scour bookshops for the latest ction and non-ction works. Riding with him one time in Manila, one cannot help notice several books on the front seat and at the back of cars rear seat. I brought him a few non- ction books on government and politics whenever he was not traveling to some capital himself. I owe him a world of gratitude when he sponsored and steered me through the Commission on Appointments when I was nominated as Philippine ambassador to Hungary with concurrent jurisdiction over Poland, Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina. The years I spent in Eastern and Central Europe were the most rewarding time of my life. Apart from my duties, I had time to read, learn and meet world gures. As a young press attach in the Philippine Embassy in London in 1983, I listened to Ka Blas speak on emerging global issues at an International Herald Tribune- sponsored forum. He wrote his own speech and after his address, Ka Blas was roundly applauded It made me and the late Ambassador Jayvee Cruz to be proud as Filipinos. Ang galing talaga ni Blas. Can you imagine if he had formal university training? Coming from J.V Cruzwriter, diplomat, raconteur, bon vivant that remark has to be the supreme compliment from a colleague and contemporary. Whos calling the Philippines a troublemaker? 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: www.manilastandardtoday.com ONLINE MST Manila Standard TODAY Published Monday to Sunday by Kamahalan Publishing Corporation at 3rd Floor Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas corner Perea Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone CLIMACO E. CALIWARA Controller ANITA F. GREFAL Treasury Manager FRANCIS LAGNITON Senior Deskman ARMAN ARMERO Senior Deskman LEO A. ESTONILO Senior Deskman ROMEL J. MENDEZ Art Director ROBERTO CABRERA Chief Photographer numbers 659-4830 to 32 (connecting all departments), 659-4827 (Editorial), 659- 4803, 659-4802 (Advertising), 527-5016 (Sales and Distribution/Subscription) and 527-2057 (Credit and Collection). Fax numbers: 659-4804 (Advertising) and 527- 6406 (Subscription). P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Ofce, Manila. Website: www. manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: mst@ manilastandardtoday.com MA. EDITHA D. ANGELES Advertising Manager EDGAR M. VALMORIDA Circulation Manager MARLON C. MAGTIRA Online Editor Children by choice, not chance LET us have children by choice, not by chance, these were the concluding words of the RH bills father, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, when he explained his vote for second reading of the bill last Wednesday. Several times, Rep. Edcel has told us that he wants the RH law as his diploma when he graduates from the House of Representatives. This is his last term as a congressman and the RH law is a tting gift to the Filipino people, especially, us, women. Last Wednesday, I was right across Edcel, closely observing him and the voting that was going on. He kept his cool as incredulously absurd reasons were being forwarded by those opposing the bill. He approached and chatted with us a few times as if to calm us as a string of no votes came in. He knew we were quite nervous. After the announcement that the RH bill passed the second reading, I ran, hugged and thanked him for the many years of hard work. It felt great to have been the rst to do that. Edcels smile was precious! And then, several of us advocates found ourselves crying as we hugged each other. It was a highly emotional moment. Di baleng walang poise, basta we won! As expected, the bishops were quick to say that it isnt over yet because the third and nal reading still has to happen on Monday. Besides, there were sixty-two (62) representatives who were absent from Wednesdays voting. The bishops could still win. Then, as people were still asleep, Santa Claus visited to deliver another gift: President Benigno Aquino IIIs certication of the RH bill as urgent. Check mate, bishops! PNoys certications timing is perfect for full dramatic impact. I have said several times that certication of the RH bill as urgent will ensure its passage into law. This came with only three (3) session days left before Congress goes on Christmas break. Everything should happen next week if we are to have the law before Christmas day. Rep. Edcel said in a phone conversation that the Presidents move ensures a wider margin of victory for the RH bill come third reading in the HOR. He is condent that most of those who were absent last Wednesday will be present on Monday to nally vote in favor of the bill because of the certication. Moreover, historically, bills passed on second reading are likewise passed on third reading, according to Edcel. Also, on Monday, the Senate is set to vote on the bill for second reading. Because of the certication, however, Senate can waive the three (3)-day rule and directly go from second to third and nal reading. After approval, the House and the Senate have to convene the Bicameral Conference Committee, the body tasked to reconcile the differing provisions of the approved bills emanating from each House. Rep. Edcel said that this can happen by Tuesday next week. I add: if there are no further delays in the Senate. Having participated in Bicam proceedings of two women-related bills, I know that Bicam of controversial bills usually needs a couple of meetings to do its work. In this case, the work should be nished by Wednesday so the nal version can be sent back to both Houses for ratication. Remember that Wednesday is Congress last session day. If in case the Bicam is not nished in time for Wednesdays session, Congress needs to hold a special session on Thursday to ratify the RH law. If this scenario happens, the President can have the copy of the RH law by Thursday or Friday and he can sign it before Christmas! Yes, the timetable is quite tight. The alternative scenario is for the bill to be passed on third reading by Tuesday, Bicam can start work before Christmas, but nal ratication of both Houses will happen after the holiday break. Should this be the case, the House has to again ensure a quorum which might be extremely difcult considering the 2013 elections. Also, postponement of ratication means that the President will only be able to sign the law next year. This scenario is one that advocates do not favor because again, the bills enactment into law will be left hanging. We would rather that the whole process is nished before the holidays. We have the momentum, we should not stop now. While we can almost touch the RH law, the situation remains to be tricky and we need to remain vigilant. There is also this question of how to secure the bills integrity during the Bicam meetings. Some people are wary that what happened to the cybercrime law, where controversial provisions were inserted during Bicam, may also happen to the RH bill. To this, Rep. Edcel said that the RH bill has been thoroughly discussed for many years and its sponsors will not allow the bills essence to be compromised. Let me just add that advocates will closely monitor the Bicam proceedings and will raise a big howl IF anyone tries to pull a fast one on the Filipino people. Seventy-ve years ago, Filipino women fought and won our right to vote. Now, with the impending passage of the RH bill into law, Filipino women (together with progressive men) again fought and will win the right to control our own bodies. Rep. Edcels line, Children by choice, not chance will happen. This starts with the RH Law. bethangsioco@gmail.com and @ bethangsioco on Twitter ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO POWER POINT ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO BACK CHANNEL DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A5 Opinion Adelle Chua, Editor ManilaStandardToday mst.lettertotheeditor@gmail.com THE greatest tragedy of our time is catalyzed by that most pathetic role of our politicians to give in to the demands of every sector in our society. It is a tragedy as it is essentially wrong much that the mandate we gave to our elected ofcials is not anchored on that system of accommodating the various interests of people in a pluralistic society. It is from this standpoint why through the years our political values have deteriorated, and badly. Such was bound to happen because we have overblown our understanding of freedom. We could no longer establish boundaries between freedom and mandate, which undoubtedly are indivisible to our understanding of the mechanics of democracy. We say this because we embraced the Western concept of freedom as unbridled. From that point of view, we began to accept that equally wrong postulate of mandate as wholly emanating from the people, and not as something that needs some kind of political qua nt i f i c a t i on. For instance, our conventional notion of a mandate begins in our understanding that it is the people that bestowed it upon our elected ofcials based on that stereotype notion called democratic process. Thus, when we begin to disagree with the policies of our elected leaders, especially on the laws they legislate, readily we feel justied in withdrawing our mandate either by not electing them in the next election or by booting them out of ofce. It never crossed our mind that the mandate we extended to our elected leaders is based only on that exclusive privilege to freely elect them. We never entertained the thought that our mandate could metamorphose to one of authority for them to x and synchronize all the interests of the people so we would end up having a harmonious and progressive society. This now explains why most of them fail to come out with laws designed to put order to our society. The thinking of both the executive and the lawmakers has been canalized to one of accommodating and satisfying the wishes of the people. Such emasculation and/or diminution of rights invariably trigger conicting claims. Often, we wrongly take the dominance by one class as a vested right for, as usual, we equate their assertiveness as representing the majority. The great majority of our people have now been cowed down by this unconventional notion about our power. To question that would amount to an intrusion to ones freedom such that to regulate their interest now becomes taboo. Since our elected ofcials are foremost politicians, the laws they legislate is now principally geared towards accommodating every sectoral demand. This in turn encouraged the most outrageous practice of epalism or the habit of wanting to be known to the public as responsible for the enactment of that law or for the accomplishment of that project. The race to accomplish something unwittingly caused many of our lawmakers to act as executive ofcials, forgetting that they were elected to enact law. They all want to implement and execute the laws dealing with projects or in protecting the rights of certain segments, hoping that come election day, the people would repay their gratitude by reelecting them. Politicians will nd every conceivable way to be known or to be identied with the project as though the money spent came directly from their pocket, and not as taxpayers money. Any proposed laws are narrowed down to what will serve to advance their interest, and any law that is hinted of seeking to impose discipline for the purpose of putting order to society is most abhorred. The effect is the moral and political decay of society. Our politicians tremble at the fear of not being elected; that in their attempt to please their constituents, they come out with hodgepodge approach all meant to supercially please their constituents. Thus, aside from living up to their role as politicians, they act like showbiz personalities or some kind of clowns. Of course, there are exceptions to these self-serving laws their legislate. These exemptions include revenue raising laws and imperialist-dictated laws. Politicians would never budge to the demands of the people to lower taxes or to scrap existing ones. Even if at times if might trigger adverse reaction, revenue- raising bills are vital because they enable them to remain in power. The pork barrel generated by those laws is mainly intended to cater to the parochial demands of their constituents. After all, people easily forget that the taxes and fees imposed on them is the one politicians use to fray them. And then there are those so-called imperialist- dictated laws. It is not the money or their positive effects it will have on our people, but of the politicians fear of being politically isolated by powerful pressure groups controlled by the US. Good cases are those laws that dismantled all forms of subsidy, laws that deregulated the prices of goods and services, laws that increased taxes to assure payment to our international debt obligation, laws on population control including the now controversial reproductive health bill, our enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and our ratication of the International Criminal Court. These are laws that have no immediate impact on our people. Nor could they help improve their economic well-being. Just the same, they are legislated for fear of possible retaliation from the US which has the power to single out politicians known for their anti-imperialist stand. This explains why through the years, the kind of laws our politicians have legislated have deteriorated. They have become so callous, and their political instinct have all but been reduced to just measuring whether their proposed bills would serve to promote their ambition to institute their own political dynasty. rpkapunan@gmail.com Why our laws deteriorate ROD P. KAPUNAN BACKBENCHER Lawmakers have worked only to advance their ambitions and protect their dynasties. THIS week, around 120 farmers, sherfolk, and indigenous peoples from Casiguran, Aurora made the sacrice of walking from their homes all the way to Manila, to air their plight to ofcials and a nation they feel have overlooked or ignored them. Aurora province may not be as far from Manila as Bukidnon, from where the Sumilao march originated in 2007, but it should not diminish our appreciation for the strength of their conviction to march all the way, for 17 days to the seat of power, or our responsibility to hear their voices. They march because they believe the Aurora Pacic Economic Zone and Freeport was unfairly imposed on them, without consideration for their residence, their livelihood (as farmers or sherfolk), their way of life or (as indigenous peoples), and without their consent. I sympathize with the marchers. As they marched inside Ateneo de Manila last Monday, I could not help but remember the Sumilao farmers ve years ago and the Lakbayan marchers in the 1980s. My heart went out to them, my mind convinced: their voices must be heard, their needs attended to. But this is a harder battle than simply lending an ear to their concerns, or granting their requests. At the heart of this battle is conict between competing visions of development: which benets are worth the effort, and who should pay the costs. APECO proponents argue the benets of a major port on the Pacic coast of Luzon, the employment opportunities, and even afrmative employment actions APECO ofcials have promised local stakeholders. (It should also be noted, in the interests of fairness, that some indigenous leaders have expressed approval of APECO). However, the contrary perspective was summarized by an indigenous marcher who told the President that the socio-economic development APECO represents is different from our concept of development, hewing closer to traditional modes of livelihood, and older ways of life. Its also a familiar story playing out across modern Philippine history, politics, and society, having seen similar debates over mining in the country. Competing land use; environmental, economic, and social vulnerabilities; insufcient representation in the policy process, all contribute to a scenario akin to the proverbial story of Solomon and the two mothers (and with an innovative solution even harder to reach). The charge against APECO of insufcient consultation and lack of free prior and informed consent is especially troubling in this regard, because thorough consultations could have consolidated an acceptable consensus on the economic zone project (whatever adjustments deemed necessary), awarded proper compensation for projected losses, and established mutual expectations of benets. Even in the case of irreconcilable differences, no one could accuse the stakeholders of not exhausting every means available to reach a meeting of the minds, before resorting to extraordinary measures. And consultation would properly have to be the responsibility of the intruding or advantaged party: APECO, the sponsoring lawmakers, and concerned government agencies. There will always be costs to the policies we pass, and the paths to development we take; what is fair by any just denition of fair is that we distribute the costs so that the vulnerable especially are not unduly burdened, cheated of compensation and benet, and ignored or overridden in policy- making and execution. Alongside economics must stand compassion and respect. Before they are economic assets or census statistics, the marchers of Casiguran and their families are people, Filipino citizens who at least deserve a fair chance at the pursuit of their own vision of happiness, a chance to dictate the terms of their compromise and concession. Their lands are their homes and their livelihood; we must understand the source of their passion, even as APECO supporters appeal to reason. President Aquinos call for a review of the APECO proposal may not have met the marchers demands; frustrating as it may be, there may be hope yet for an acceptable resolution. A review, with Casiguran marchers in full and effective participation, would be APECOs opportunity to defend itself and its vision of progress from its critics, but its also the marchers best chance to make their voices heard. Most importantly, if theres still any chance for meaningful compromise, it will be here, in a proper, openand hopefully open-mindedconfrontation, akin to mediation or negotiation. It would be, at the very least, the very best chance, slim as it may be, to defuse anger and tensions between the contending parties. Aquino was right in asking for reason and an open mind, but let us not lose sight of the fact that even the best intentions for the common good will cause some degree of cost, of pain, and of sacrice, whether to the many or the few. Whatever the outcome of the APECO review, we must stand ready, state and people alike, to help our most vulnerable peoples bear the costs of the chosen development path. If there is anyone left out of development, it would not be development at all. Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs APECO and authentic development DEAN TONY LA VIA EAGLE EYES By Rodne Galicha THE members of Philippine delegation to the Conference of Parties (COP18) in Doha, Qatar did their best to bring the heart and soul of humanity onto the negotiating table. The united efforts the delegation led by the Climate Change Commission and supported by outside actions of the civil society brought back the scattered thoughts for genuine solutions to a crisis in the perspective of climate justice. Every year, nations meet to address global challenges. These meetings sometimes end up with compromises. Minds from all over the world gathered to negotiate and perhaps decide on the plight of human existence in the principles of sustainable development. Generally, there were two kinds of negotiators: brains which can control, and the other, brains which think comprehensively accepting the fact that the continuous rape of the environment, which leads to a massive imbalance in nature, is in itself the gradual extinction of homo sapiens. Unfortunately, the clash of the overly-consuming countries and the consumed ones was denitely unavoidable: the east versus the west, or the south versus the north. But in the spirit of environmental justice, we hope that our planet can still be saved through genuine dialogue. What may be the root-cause of this whole crisis? Yes, we believe we control the whole universe. The brain, seat of rationality, is the tiniest natural receptacle of all the galaxies combined. In this consumerist generation for which all natural resources are seen as objects for utilization, it is as if existence of all things belongs to humans capacity to contain the essence of nature in their skull. But can we limit nature in our brains? The processes in nature have been fully dynamic, serving both living and non-living things. Symbiosis between the living and non-living world was evident. There was once grand harmony and order. When ancient humans came into existence, they learned to use the non- living as instruments to survive, and the living as food. The ability to think before acting was what made humans superior. Over time, the non-livingoriginally used as instrumentsbecame the mode and food. The balancing platform supporting the life cycle was eventually used destructively. Imbalance became inevitable. Humans, when given opportunity and power, tend to abuse. Symbiosis may be one of the strongest forces behind evolution, but it had been tampered with. It can be traced to the superiority complex which occurred in the human brain. Be that as it may, the human brain will still decide on the future of our home called Earth. The meeting of brains may not agree in a genuine solution, but I hope the heart and soul may help. Commissioner Naderev Yeb Sao of the Climate Change Commission silenced the whole negotiations with a pure heart and zealous soul: I appeal to the whole world, I appeal to leaders from all over the world, to open our eyes to the stark reality that we face. I appeal to ministers. The outcome of our work is not about what our political masters want. It is about what is demanded of us by 7 billion people. I appeal to all, please, no more delays, no more excuses. Please, let Doha be remembered as the place where we found the political will to turn things around. Please, let 2012 be remembered as the year the world found the courage to nd the will to take responsibility for the future we want. And echoing the words of Ditto Sarmiento during the rst Quarter Storm, he ended his appeal: I ask of all of us here, if not us, then who ? If not now, then when? If not here, then where? However, despite his appeal, Yeb said that Doha resulted in a politically balanced outcome, but it was far from addressing the climate crisis. The struggle for climate justice lives on. We will do it even one person at a time, one day at a time. With one mind, heart and soul. Rodne Galicha is the country manager of The Climate Reality Project founded by Nobel laureate and former US vice president Al Gore. He comes from Sibuyan Island where the source of energy is 90-percent clean. Working at Haribon Foundation, he serves as an ofcer for Alyansa Tigil Mina. He blogs at http://rodgalicha.com Negotiating climate By William Pesek TRANSPARENCY Internationals latest corruption report is sober reading for Asian leaders committed to ending dirty dealings in the worlds fastest-growing region. Dec. 9 was International Anti- Corruption Day, and Asias report card was a big disappointment. China, Japan and South Korea, three of Asias four biggest economies, all lost ground. So did such emerging-market darlings as Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Even Hong Kong, routinely celebrated as a model of economic freedom, slid two places in the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index to 14th among 176 nations. There was some progress. The Philippines jumped to 105th from 129th (the closer you get to rst place, the cleaner your economy). India improved one place to 94th. Yet even some of the good news is cautionary. Malaysia raised its overall ranking, but scored the worst globally in a forthcoming Bribe Payers Index, the Wall Street Journal reported. These results show that Asias anti- corruption efforts are still more about public relations than substance. That needs to change if the region is to be a prosperous and stable place in the long run. Leaders of all the major countries indulge in much talk about creating independent courts, strong ministries, a free press and networks of outside watchdogs, all while doing little. Falling behind There is no good excuse for Asia to be falling behindnot with a critical mass of world growth concentrated there and strong public support on the side of the reformers. The longer Asia takes to get serious about this issue, the bigger the threat to economic progress. Graft is incredibly difcult to measure in any one nation, never mind comparing it across borders. Tremendous effort goes into hiding and perpetuating the gray economy, often most enthusiastically at the highest levels of government. Whichever barometer you track, the odds are that graft is far more rampant, ingrained and damaging than data suggest. One real-world economic indicator bears out Asias corruption problem: a widening rich-poor gap. Corruption skews and concentrates wealth among the politically connected elites. That keeps the benets of rapid economic growth from being shared widely and reaching societys weakest economic links. It lowers credit ratings, raises bond yields, impedes foreign investment, and puts lives at risk when oods and earthquakes meet shoddy infrastructure. The hold that Asias elite has on wealth and power has grown even stronger since the regions 1997 crisis and the USs crash in 2008. The ascendance of obscenely wealthy businesspeople in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and elsewhere helps explain why Asia isnt enjoying more homegrown entrepreneurship. Xi Jinping, who will become Chinas president next year, is making a very public show of tackling the corruption that has damaged the Communist Partys legitimacy. A mass of facts tells us that if corruption becomes increasingly serious, it will inevitably doom the party and the state, Xi told Chinas Politburo last month. We must be vigilant. China doesnt release an ofcial Gini coefcient, an index that attempts to measure income inequality. A new report from Chengdus Southwestern University of Finance and Economics put it at 0.61 in 2010, a gure thats surely getting worse and should worry Beijing. The index ranges from 0, which represents perfect equality, to 1, which implies absolute inequality. Readings above 0.4 are sometime seen as a tipping point at which risks of social instability increase. First target This years Bo Xilai scandal has Chinas 1.3 billion people more interested than ever in the huge bank accounts being amassed by modestly paid public servants. The question is how far Xi will take this anti-corruption drive. s severe violation of discipline. Chinas problem isnt a few rogue and entrepreneurial public ofcials, but a political system that turns a blind eye to rent-seeking on a scale unmatched in history. The most cursory of random lifestyle checks would show a staggering number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the garages of politicians who on paper should struggle to buy a new Toyota. Thats certainly where Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is falling short in Indonesia. Yudhoyono, president since 2004, scored some headline- grabbing graft victories early on. He has been less successful in ushing out the rot that former dictator Suharto institutionalized during almost 32 years in power. Indonesia slipped 18 places on Transparency Internationals list in the last 12 months alone, falling behind It should be a lesson for Benigno Aquino in the Philippines. President since 2010, he has wasted little time pursuing high-prole cases against predecessor Gloria Arroyo and her administration, including ousting Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. But even for leaders doing the right things, efcient and corruption-free government that ends poverty and broadens the reach of rapid growth is a long, long way off. Bloomberg Cleaning up Asias corruption News ManilaStandardToday mst.daydesk@gmail.com DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A6
IN BRIEF Comelecs new warehouse woes Lim, Erap shake hands at FPJ rites Agents seize 26 sacks of explosive chemicals MMDA seeks dialogue on shopping mall trafc Christmas spirit. Former President Jo- seph Estrada shakes hands with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim during the eighth death anniversary memorial mass for the late movie star and defeated presi- dential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. at the Manila North Cementery in Manila. LINO SANTOS By Macon Ramos-Araneta MANILA Mayor Alfredo Lim and former President Joseph Estrada set aside their political differences on Friday and shook hands during the eighth death anniversary Mass for the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. The two political gures, who have recently been sniping at each other in their bids to become Manila mayor next year, shook hands when they met at the Manila North Cemetery for the mass that was attended Poes wife actress Susan Roces and daughter Grace Poe- Llamanzares. They even had a brief conversation, but I did not hear what they talked about, said one of Estradas media aides Angel Gonong in a phone interview. Gonong said it was Estrada who rst greeted Lim immediately af- ter he arrived at the cemetery around 8 a.m. Pare, kamusta? Gonong quoted Estrada saying as he reached out to shake Lims hand. During the Mass, the two politicians sat beside Roces and Lla- manzares infront of about 100 Poe supporters who attended the event. But Gonong said Estrada no longer joined the unveiling of a nine- foot monument of the deceased actor which Lim had erected in front of the United States embassay on Roxas Boulevard. Gonong said Estrada had wanted to attended the statues unveil- ing, but since the mass started and ended late, he had to skip the even because of an appointment in his Polk Street house in San Juan City. Gemma Cruz-Araneta, deputy director of the Manila Historical and Heritage Commission, said the monument was made by sculptor Jonas Roces based on a photograph chosen by Roces, who frequently checked on the progress of the statue. Roces said the spot that Lim chose for the statue was perfect be- cause Poe used to play at the area when he was a young boy during the Second World War when Manila was declared an open city. We are being threatened with eviction so we sent some security guards to secure the warehouse because all the PCOS machines, asssembly linesw and conguration assembly are there, said Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr.. Brillantes said the disagree- ment emerged after the owners of the warehouse insisted that the poll body sign a three-year contract although the Comelec only needs the warehouse until June next year. The negotiations turned tense recently. I was irritated so I said nev- er mind. But in the meantime, well have to secure the place, he added. The warehouse in Cabuyao town was originally leased by the Smartmatic-Total Informa- tion Management consortium that was contracted to provide 82,000 precinct count optical scanning (PCOS) machines for P1.8 billion. Brillantes said the Comelec tried to auction a contract for warehous- ing services, but the bidding failed twice at the post-qualication stage and the poll body decided to negotiated with the owners of the warehouse to extend the storage of PCOS until June 2013. With the poll bodys continu- ing failure to nd a warehouse, it was left with no choice but to take over the management of the warehouse in Cabuyao. Brillantes said Smartmatic left the management of the ware- house to the poll body after their free use clause that Smartmatic gave to the poll body in order to give them time to hold a public bidding for a new warehouse ex- pired last Sept. 30. Comelec special bids and awards committee chairman Helen Flores said the poll body is now eyeing the possibility of entering into a government-to- government deal on a new ware- house in Subic or Clark. We are looking at some ware- house in Subic and Clark. Mas mura kasi kapag government-to- government, she said. Earlier, the Comelec an- nounced it will again use the dig- ital signatures embedded in the voting machine in the 2013 elec- tions despite a poll watchdogs claim that it violates the Auto- mated Elections System law. In Resolution No. 9573 pro- mulgated Dec. 7, the poll body decided to use the digital certi- cates to digitally sign the election returns for the May 13 elections. This means the Comelec will verify election returns (ERs) us- ing a digital signature that is en- coded by a PCOS machine. A digital signature refers to an electronic signature consisting of a transformation of an electronic document or an electronic data message such that a person having the initial untransformed electronic document can ac- curately determine ... whether the initial electronic document had been altered after the transforma- tion was made. By Joel Zurbano THE Commission on Elections again found itself troubled by a warehousing problem after the owner of the Laguna warehouse containing the counting machines for next years elections demanded more money for the use of the facility. Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS Southern Leyte Engineering District Maasin City, Southern Leyte INVITATION TO BID (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) The DPWH, Southern Leyte Engineering District through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites prospective suppliers/ bidders to apply to bid for the following contract/s: Contract ID: 12-IL-0076 S Contract Name: Purchase of Common - Use Supplies (Fuel, oil & Lubricants) for CY 2013 Contract Location : DPWH-SLED, Maasin City, Southern Leyte Brief Description: Purchase of fuel, oil and lubricants Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): Php 10,895,642.04 Contract Duration : 360 calendar days Procurement will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures in accordance with R.A. 9184 and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations. To bid for this contract, a bidder must meet the following criteria: (a) prior registration with DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen/sole proprietorships, corporation/ partnership/cooperatives/organizations, with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belongs to the citizens of the Philippines, (c) completed similar contract whose value must be at least 50% of the ABC within a period of ____ years, and (d) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment for at least 10% of the ABC. The BAC will use nondiscretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check and preliminary examination of bids. Unregistered suppliers/bidders, however, shall submit their applications for registration to the BAC for Goods, Secretariat, DPWH Central Offce seven (7) calendar days before the deadline for the submission and opening of bids. The BAC for Goods, DPWH Central Offce will only process suppliers applications for registration with complete requirements, and issue the Suppliers Registration Certifcate (SRC). The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below: 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents December 13, 2012 January 4, 2012 2. Pre - Bid Conference December 12, 2012, 2:00 p.m. 3. Submission and Receipt of Bids 9:00 a.m., January 4, 2013 4. Opening of Bids 2:00 p.m., January 4, 2013 The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at Southern Leyte District Engineering Offce, Maasin City, Southern Leyte upon payment of a non-refundable fee of 10,000.00 Pesos only (Php 10,000.00). Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents (BDs), if available, from the DPWH website. Prospective bidders that will download the BDs from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of their bid Documents. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the revised IRR. Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in the BDs in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The frst envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, which shall include the eligibility requirements. The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation and the post-qualifcation. The Southern Leyte District Engineering Offce reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bid and to annul the bidding process at anytime prior Contract award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders. Approved by: (Sgd.) VINCENT T. SY III Chief, Planning & Design Section Chairman, BAC DPWH, SLDEO Asuncion, Maasin City, Southern Leyte Tel. No. 053-381-3581 Fax No. 053-381-3581 Noted: (Sgd.) CARLOS G. VELOSO District Engineer By Rio N. Araja THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Friday met with various mall operators to seek their cooperation in easing heavy pedestrian and vehicular trafc during the holiday season. Chairman Francis Tolentino asked the ad- ministrators of large malls to provide details of their trafc contingency plans outside their premises and to require their security guards to undergo a one-day workshop-seminar on the agencys so-called Christmas lanes. Representatives of Robinsons Galleria, Megaworld Corp., Shangri-La Plaza, East- wood Libis and other big establishments took part in the dialogue. He tasked Neomi Recio, chief of the agencys Trafc Engineering Center, to conduct a presentation on the 12 new Christmas lanes. In another development, Tolentino an- nounced the agencys donation of cons- cated billboards and tarpaulins to victims of typhoon Pablo in Compostela Valley, particularly in New Bataan, and Cateel, Davao Oriental after the provinces were heavily devastated by Pablo. We will be sending at least 40 large tar- paulins about 1,000-square-meters large, he told reporters. These tarpaulins are rotting in our warehouses so we have de- cided to put it to good use by sending it to typhoon-devastated towns in Mindanao. As of Dec. 12, the two elite rescue teams that MMDA sent to help in search and rescue operations in Compostela Valley recovered 17 bodies from one community. The cadavers were retrieved by the MMDA search and and retrieval teams in Purok 7, New Bataan,Compostela Valley past 7 a.m. , Tolentino said. The recovery of bodies brings the total body count recovered by the MMDA rescue teams to 50, the report added. The MMDA rescue units were dis- patched to Compostela Valley this week to help in the search and retrieval operations by government agencies in the typhoon-hit provinces in Mindanao. 11 ights canceled CEBU Pacic Airlines cancelled 11 domestic ights on Friday due to heavy rains spawned by the prevailing tail end of the cold front, affecting Bicol region and nearby provinces. As of 11:30 a.m., the Manila Inter- national Airport Authority said Cebu Pacic cancelled seven ights from Caticlan to Manila and two round-trips including Manila-Caticlan ights 5J 821 and 822. The cancelled ights from Caticlan to Manila are ights 57 892, 908, 894, 897, 896, 895, 898, 913 and the 914 which was supposed to arrive Manila at 12:00 nn. Potato, carrots seized CUSTOMS agents seized three 40- foot container vans containing illegally imported potatoes and carrots from China worth P7.5 million. Two of the three container vans con- tained fresh potatoes but were misde- clared as household ware and arrived at the Manila International Container Port Nov. 14. The containers vans were consigned to Marbatan Enterprises and Green Meadows Enterprises. The other refrigerated container van of fresh carrots was consigned to Roru- men Agricultural Products and arrived at the MICP on Nov. 15. Increase in toxic toys A TOXICS watchdog that has been actively campaigning against hazardous toys has lamented the dramatic increase in the number of unlabeled and unlicensed childrens toys available in the market. the 518 toy samples it screened, 313 or 60 percent contained harmful amounts of heavy metals such as lead, a brain poison, EcoWaste Coalition said. The number of toys with consider- able quantities of toxic metals this year is more than double than what we found in 2011, a grim proof of the need for the toy industry to detox their products Thony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoW- aste Coalitions Project Protect, said. In 2011, the group analyzed 435 toys and related childrens products and found excessive amounts of heavy met- als in 124 samples or 29 percent. The 518 samples, bought from P2 to P210, were collected from September to December this year from toy ven- dors. Ferdinand Fabella THE National Bureau of Investigation con- scated 26 sacks of chemicals that are be- lieved to be for blast shing following the arrest of a person engaged in its sale during a raid in Manila on Friday. In a report to NBI Director Nonnatus Caear Rojas, NBI Anti-Organized Crime Di- vision chief Rogelio Mamauag identied the suspect as Jorel Jabonillo Antonio, of 2725 P. Guevarra Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila. He was charged before the Manila Pros- ecutors Ofce of the unlawful sale, disposi- tion and possession of explosives ingredi- ents. But Antonio, the owner of the house and its current occupant, denied the charges and disputed allegations he is part of a group selling the ingredients. He claimed he did not know the contents of the sacks that were only stored in his house. The NBI agents went to Antonios house around 8:30 a.m. Friday to serve a search warrant signed by a Manila court and the search resulted in the seizure of 26 yellow sacks containing ammonium nitrates, an ex- plosives ingredient. Prior to the raid, an NBI informer told lawmen last July 12 that spouses Willy and Belle Sanchez, together with Willys sister Malou Sanchez, who also live at the same address, are engaged in selling and dealing of ammonium nitrate. The Sanchezes eluded arrest and are now being hunted by the NBI. It was also reported that some 50 sacks were stored in the house. Each sack had a sale value of P3,000 each. Upon verication with the PNP Firearms and Explosives Ofce,it was established that the suspects have no permit or license to pos- sess any kind of explosives or explosive in- gredients and NBI agents validated the claim by making a test purchase on Oct. 18. Special Investigator Cesar Rivera posed as a sherman and paid P6,000 for two sacks of explosives. Macon Ramos-Araneta DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A7 Sports Riera U. Mallari, Editor ManilaStandardToday sports_mstandard@yahoo.com Tarnishing an icons image Ardina leads PH sweep CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THE collective anguish we suffered as a nation and people over the numbing sixth-round knockout of our national sports hero Manny Pacquiao and the dramatic shots of his charming wife Jinkee in a deeply emo- tional and hysterical outburst as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum comforted her will for ages remain etched in our li- brary of painful memories of a sometimes-brutal sport. As we did the television cov- erage for Filipinos in the Mid- dle East and Australia, with Atty. Ed Tolentino, who kept repeating Oh my God! Oh my God! as though invoking His divine mercy, our mind ashed back to November 1966 at New Yorks famed Madison Square Garden when we did the broadcast for dzHP radio from ringside as Puerto Ricos Carlos Ortiz bludgeoned a be- loved friend and consummate champion Gabriel Flash Elorde with a short right hand ush on the jaw that sent him crashing to the canvas at on his back, motionless. The Pacquiao knockout was eerily similar. Both men were separated from their senses. We cried then and some 46 years later our hearts bled and we shed tears once more as we watched our hero fall in the midst of battle in the ring even as he, just like Elorde, sought to bring honor and glory to our country and joy and pride to our people as they had done so many times before. However, the courageous ef- fort of Pacquiao, who ripped into Marquez, broke his nose and bloodied his face and was seemingly on the threshold of a sensational, dening vic- tory in his four-ght saga with Marquez before that crunch- ing short right hand, shattered our hopes and Mannys own dreams. While it was a nightmare for all of us, Pacquiao showed his incredible class and decency in accepting defeat and coming to terms with the reality that any- thing is possible in boxing. Mannys demeanor con- trasted in stark reality with what was decidedly boorish, thug-like behavior by his ad- visor Michael Koncz, whose moments of fairness and de- cency are almost non-existent and childhood friend Buboy Fernandez, who reportedly ganged up on the respected Getty Images photographer Al Bello, who was merely do- ing his job taking pictures of our fallen hero. Just like Fernandez, who has a job to do in Team Pac- quiao and Koncz, who nobody knows what he does and how many hundreds of thousands of dollars he makes off Pacquiao, Al Bello was doing his job for far less, but with the satisfac- tion of knowing that his photos capture the moment in all its naked reality. Apparently, Fernandez and Koncz didnt have the capac- ity to appreciate Bellos right to take photos of the shocking culmination of a tremendous ring battle and went after him. Their act was a combination of utterly misplaced loyalty, if indeed it was, and thuggery for which they must be made to pay a stiff price, more so be- cause they tarnished the image of a true gentleman, Manny Pacquiao. We perhaps can strive to try and understand to some extentbut never condone Buboys action since he was a childhood friend and protector when Manny was a kid and has beneted tremendously from his generosity, although we are well aware that Buboy has managed his income prudently and invested it well. But Koncz is an altogether different story, which we would rather not dwell on at this time. Sufce it go say that both men added unnecessary injury to our nations pain and even in a small way tarnished the won- derful image of Pacquiaoa hero, forever and a day! RONNIE NATHANIELSZ INSIDE SPORTS Ardina missed clinching the crown outright with a ubbed par- putt bid from seven feet at the end of the 54-hole tournament, settling for a 75 and enabling Thanapun- boonyarat to force a sudden death at 219 after a two-over 74. But the 18-year-old ICTSI The DOTTIE Ardina fought back from a costly bogey on the 18th with a bril- liant approach shot that set up six-foot birdie putt on the rst playoff hole as she nipped Thai Pannarat Thanapun- boonyarat to capture the 21st SICC- DBS Junior Invitational Golf Champi- onship crown in Singapore Thursday. HOPE Christian High School and Colegio San Agustin brace for tough outing against their respective rivals as they try to forge a duel for the Shakeys Girls Volleyball League NCR leg crown at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum tomorrow. The Hope CHS and CSA tossers swept their respective groups in the single round elims and are tipped to dispute the crown and the lone berth in the Tournament-of-Champions of the event put up by Shakeys Pizza and organized by Metro Sports. But the fancied teams remain wary of their nals chances as Angelicum and Miriam College, which nished with identical 3-1 cards in the elims, are raring to foil their projected clash and fuel their own nals bid in the tournament sponsored by Tobys Sports, Mikasa as ofcial ball, Tune Hotels as ofcial residence of the Tournament of Champions, Asics and Volley Prep. The defending champion Hope CHS squad take on Angelicum at 10 a.m. while CSA mixes it up with Miriam at 11 a.m. with the winners disputing the crown at 1 p.m. Joining the NCR leg champion in the T-of-C, set Jan. 22-26, are the other regional leg winners, led by Southern Luzon champion De La Salle-Lipa and Western Visayas leg winner Central Philippine University, along with Australias Victoria High School team, ac- cording to tournament director Johanz Buenvenida. Desiree Cheng, Bel Molde and Chester Ong are again expected to lead the Hope teams charge against Angelicums Carla Sandoval, Melanie Torres, Cristine Alvarez and Dianne Ong. CSA, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on Ana Gopico, Samantha Torres and Julia Morado against a crack Miriam squad headed by Ana Gomez, Angelique Principe and Isabela Romero. Hope, San Agustin tossers seek finals Serapio humbles big field EDWARD Serapio shot a gross 95 for a net 68.6 under the Dou- ble Peoria scoring system as he humbled the big eld to capture the overall championship in the 12th Presidents Cup at Wack Wacks West Course recently. Vince Siy turned in a net 70 from a gross 82 to annex the Group I title in the mens division, edging Peter Chan, who had a net 70.8, and Tootsi de Jesus, who wound up with a net 71.4, while Edgar Gatchalian took the Group II plum with a net 69.8 from a gross 95, nipping Butch Campos, who posted the same score, in the countback while Leo Bote scored a net 70.4 to place third in the 18- hole tournament held in honor of Wack Wack president Dr. Philip Ella Juico. Romy Dy shot a net 70.4 from a gross 104 to cop the Group III crown, besting Shrikant Wad, who had a net 71.8 and Rommel Sytin, who made a net 73 to nish third in the event sponsored by Cats Mo- tors Phils, United Asia Automotive Group, Turf & Company, Auto- hub, Dynamic Sports, Pacic on Line Corp., Unilever and Northern Islands Co. Inc., EagleSky Tech- nology Amusement, Inc., Fridays (Boracay), San Miguel Corp., Stradcom Corp, St. Francis Square and TMS Ship Agencies, PLDT and Excellent Golng Partners. Country Club spearhead hit a su- perb rescue shot from 185 yards on the rst playoff hole to within six feet then coolly sank the putt to beat her Thai rival, who made a routine par, and clinch the hard-earned win that capped an impressive campaign in the sea- son about to end. Dottie showed toughness in the playoff. She shrugged off her bogey mishap on the nal hole and stayed focused, hit- ting her rescue shot with con- dence, said ICTSI team coach and former Philippine Ladies Open champion Carmelette Villaroman. Ardinas win likewise led the ICTSI squads sweep of the three titles disputed in the three-day tournament with Sa- rah Ababa running away with the Class A (17-19) crown with a 225 despite a closing 78 as she beat local bet Joey Poh, who had a 74-237, by 12. Princess Superal carded a one- over 73 and pooled a 222 to pocket the Class B (13-16) diadem, three shots ahead of Singapores Aman- da Tan, who had a 225 after a 72. NATIONAL team members JR Gonzales, Justin Quiban, LJ Go and Andres Saldaa brace for a showdown with top jungolfers JP de Claro, Gabriel Manotoc and Lanz Uy as they vie in the Philex Northern Luzon Regional Championships beginning today at the Baguio Golf and Country Club in Baguio City. Chester Calputora head the local challenge along with the top caddies and children of BCC workers as well as members of the jungolf chapter of the host club, guaranteeing a wide open battle for top honors in the 54-hole tournament spread over two days. With the par-61 layout in championship condition following the Fil-Am Invitational, the chase for top honors is indeed expected to be erce among the crack eld in the tournament sponsored by Pancake House, Titleist by Empire Golf, Pacsports and Golf Depot. Philex golf meet underway Games tomorrow (Sunday) 10 a.m. Hope CS vs Angelicum (semis) 11 a.m. CSA vs Miriam (semis) 1 p.m. Finals Dottie Ardina (third from left) and ICTSI-TCC teammates Princess Superal (second from left) and Sarah Ababa (right) show their respective trophies after sweeping the Singapore Juniors. At left is coach Carmelette Villaroman CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK INVITATION TO BID Republika ng Pilipinas Kagawaran ng Pagawain at Lansangang Pampabayan Tanggapan ng Distrito Inhenyero Telefax 221-6444; 226-2035; 226-2112 L. Ma. Guerrero St., Lungsod ng Dabaw, Rehiyon XI The DPWH, Davao City District Engineering Ofce, through the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites contractors to apply to bid for the following contract(s); 1) Contract I.D.: 12LB-0202 Contract Name: Repai r/Mai nt enance of Nat i onal Roads, Spot patching of unpaved Shoulder along Davao City Diversion Road, sta. 1505+000-Sta. 1513+930 with exception, Davao City Contract Location: Davao City Scope of Works: Spot patching/Reshaping of unpaved shoulder Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): PhP 294,795.33 Duration: Twenty (20) calendar days Source of Fund: SR2012-02-002120 2) Contract I.D.: 12LB-0203 Contract Name: Opening of Upper Mapula to Sitio Salukadang, Brgy. Mapula to Km. 2, Brgy. Malabog FMR, Davao City Contract Location: Davao City Scope of Works: Sur pl us Common Excavat i on, Base Cour se Preparation, RCCP, PCCP, informatory, billboard, advance warning, guide sign and bollard Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): PhP 2,450,000.00 Duration: Thirty (30) calendar days Source of Fund: SARO No. E-11-02262, Priority FMR 3) Contract I.D.: 12LB-0204 Contract Name: Upgrading of Purok 1 FMR, Brgy. Paradise Embac, Davao City Contract Location: Davao City Scope of Works: Sur pl us Common Excavat i on, Base Cour se Preparation, RCCP, PCCP, informatory, billboard, advance warning, guide sign and bollard Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): PhP 2,450,000.00 Duration: Thirty (30) calendar days Source of Fund: SARO No. E-11-02262, Priority FMR 4) Contract I.D.: 12LB-0205 Contract Name: Upgrading of Sitio Uyanguren, Km 8 FMR Brgy. Tigatto, Davao City Contract Location: Davao City Scope of Works: Sur pl us Common Excavat i on, Base Cour se Preparation, RCCP, PCCP, informatory, billboard, advance warning, guide sign and bollard Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): PhP 2,450,000.00 Duration: Thirty (30) calendar days Source of Fund: SARO No. E-11-02262, Priority FMR Procurement will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures in accordance with R.A. 9184 and its Revi sed Impl ementi ng Rul es and Regulations. To bid for the contract, a contractor must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), purchase bid documents and must meet the following major criteria; (a) prior registration with DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino owned partnership, corporation, cooperative, or joint venture (c) with PCAB License applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (d) completion of a similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC within a period of 10 years, and (e) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment at least equal to 10% of ABC. The BAC will use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check and preliminary examination of bids. Unregistered contractors, however, shall submit their applications for registration to the DPWH-POCW, Central Ofce before the deadline for the receipt of LOI. The DPWH POCW-Central Ofce will only process contractors applications for the registration with complete requirements and issue the Contractors Certicate of Registration (CRC). Registration Forms may be downloaded at the DPWH website. www.dpwh.gov.ph The signicant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below; 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents From: Dec. 14-28, 2012 2. Pre-Bid Conference Time and Date : December 14, 2012 3. Receipt of LOI from Prospective Bidders @ 12;00 P.M. Dec. 26, 2012 4. Receipt of Bids Deadline: 2;00 P.M.., Dec. 28, 2012 5. Opening of Bids @ 2:00 PM. Dec. 28, 2012 The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at DPWH, Davao City District Engineering Ofce, Leon Ma. Guerrero Street, Davao City, upon payment of a non-refundable fee for Bidding Documents for Five Hundred Pesos Only (Php 500.00) and the rest is Five Thousand Pesos (Php 5,000.00). Prospective bidders may also download the BDs from the DWPH website, if available. Prospective bidders that will download the BDs from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of their bids documents. Bids must accompanied by a bid security, in the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR. Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specied in the BDs in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The rst envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, which shall include a copy of the CRC. The second envelope shall contain the nancial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the lowest calculated responsive bid as determined in the bid evaluation and post-qualication. The DPWH, Davao City District Engineering Ofce reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bid and to annul the bidding process anytime before contract award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders. Approved: (Sgd.) GREGORIO C. YEE Engineer III Chief, Matls. Testing &Qlty. Control Section (BAC Chairman) Noted By: (Sgd.) LORNA T. RICARDO District Engineer (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) Republic of the Philippines Department of Public Works and Highways OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet Telefax No. (074) 422 6163
Invitation to Bid
The Benguet First District Engineering Ofce, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites Contractors to bid for the following Projects:
1. Contract ID 12PE059 Contract Name Construction of Drainage System along Baguio-Bua- Itogon Road Contract Location K 0254+(-655) K 0268+055 (v.s.), Itogon, Benguet Brief Description Construction of Drainage System Approved Budget for the Contract Php24,874,907.00 Contract Duration 150 C.D. Cost of Bidding Documents Php20,000.00
1. The Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce, through the DPWH 2013 Regular Infra intends to apply the sum stated above being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the following projects listed above. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. 2. 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 as specied in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. Bidding is restricted to Filipino Citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy ve percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines. 4. Interested bidders may obtain further information from Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 5:00 P.M. 5. Acomplete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders from the address above and upon payment of a non refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount specied above. 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 that the submission of their bids. 6. The Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 14, 2012, at 10:00 A.M. at the BAC room of Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce, Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet, which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents. 7. Bids must be delivered on or before 10:00 A.M. on December 27, 2012, and will be opened on the same date at 2:00 P.M. at Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce, Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet. 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 representative/s that chooses to attend at the stated address above. Late bid shall not be accepted. 8. Contractors/applicants who are interested in the DPWH civil works are required to register prior to the set schedule 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 Civil Works Registry (CWR) and subject to further post-qualication. Information on registration can be obtained at DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph or Central Procurement Ofce (CPO), 5 th oor, DPWH Bldg., Bonifacio Drive, Port, Area, Manila from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. 9. The Benguet 1 st District Engineering Ofce 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. Approved by: (Sgd.) CESAR L. BACANI Engineer III BAC Chairman Noted: (Sgd) DAVID A. BULIYAT OIC District Engineer (MST-DEC. 15, 2012) Notice is hereby given that AXEIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION with ofce address at Asiatic Building, Phoenix Sun Business Park, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Libis, Quezon City, is applying for registration with the BOARD OF INVESTMENTS (BOI) as a New Developer of Low-Cost Mass Housing Project (ZURI RESIDENCES) with a capacity of 251 low-cost mass housing units on a Non-Pioneer status with project site at Brgy. Dolores, Taytay, Rizal. Any person with valid objection/s on the above-mentioned project may le his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication. (SGD.) EVARISTE M. CAGATAN Director Infrastructure and Services Industries Department Industry & Investments Building 385 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue, Makati City, Philippines Trunkline: 897-6682, (IPG) 896-9212, (MSG) 896-5167, (PAG) 895-3983 (ISG) 890-3056, (ADMIN) 890-9325 Website: http//www.boi.gov.ph * P.O. Box 1872 Makati (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) NOTI CE ERRORS & OMI SSI ONS I n Cl assi f i ed Ads sect i on must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement i s publ i shed. We will not be responsible for any i ncorrect a d s n o t reported to us immediately. Leviste rides Century Magic at Gucci Masters PARISEquestrian Toni Lev- iste is back in the saddle with her mount, Century Magic, af- ter winning two silver medals at the Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia for Team Philippines in 2011. As the only Filipino and one of only two Asians in- vited to the prestigious Gu- cci Paris Masters competi- tion held in France, Leviste jumped two clear rounds in the Invitational classes last Nov. 29 and 30. The technical course was designed by Olympic Gold medalist, Conrad Homefeld from the United States, with riders from over 20 countries participating. The competition, dubbed as the most glamorous indoor jumping show in the world, was held at the Pare des Ex- positions in Villepinte Paris Nord, where guests included Princess Caroline of Monaco, whos daughter, Charlotte, also an equestrienne was com- peting at the Gucci Paris event, French actress and Oscar win- ner, Marion Cotillard, whose husband, renowned French di- rector, Guillaume Canet is an avid showjumper as well. Also in attendance were well-known equestrians Jes- sica Springsteen, daughter of Bruce Springsteen and Athina Onasis de Miranda, grand-daughter of the late Atistotle Onasis. It was an incredible ex- perience to have had the chance to ride amongst the CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK By Jeric Lopez SAME story, same script. Armed with a killers instinct, Alaska duplicated its remarkable showing the last time out to advance to the seminals with another masterful 88-70 drubbing of Meralco in the 2013 Philippine Bas- ketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. HOUSTONTOP Rank pro- moter Bob Arum wants to be assured that Manny Pacquiao suffered no brain damage as a result of the crushing sixth- round knockout he suffered at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last week. Arum told this reporter and Dyan Castillejo of ABS-CBN here that he wants Pacquiao to undergo an examination at the Lou Ruvo Brain Center at the Cleveland Medical Clin- ic, which has the nest doc- tors in the world for the brain and has already embarked on a project with ghters to ex- amine brain injuries. Arum stressed he would suggest to Pacquiao that he un- dergo the examination, point- ing out that it will just take a couple of days. I will suggest that he come up to Las Vegas and submit to that type of ex- amination so we can be as- sured that there is no damage. The astute promoter, who celebrated his 81st birthday on the day of the Pacquiao- Marquez ght, emphasized that every ghter has some damage from boxing. The question is when does that damage become such that he shouldnt ght anymore and that is not something that anybody can determine other than a specialist. Ronnie Nathanielsz Promoter wants to be assured Azkals to host Asian meet By Peter Atencio NATIONAL coach Hans Michael Weiss is now setting his sights preparing the Philippine Azkals for the coming 2014 Asian Foot- ball Confederation Challenge Cup qualiers, which the country will host this March. He hopes that lessons have been learned after the Azkals made it to the semifinals of the 2012 Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup, but failed to ad- vance to the finals following a 1-0 loss to Singapore. Weiss said the experience gained when they played the White Lions in the semis will benet team when they plunge into action again this March. We do not have too much time to mourn because in mid-January, we will have to start preparing for the AFC Challenge Cup, stated Weiss after the Azkals arrived in Manila last Thursday. He said this a day on the day Thailand earned the right to face Singapore in the nals. In the AFC tourney, the Philip- pines will be bracketed in Group 1 with Kyrgystan, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal. This was decided during a draw held on Dec. 11 at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur. Five brackets are involved, and the winners in each group will qualify for the Asian Cup in 2015, which will be hosted by Maldives. With the quarternal win, Alas- ka will be making a return trip to the seminals for the rst time two years in the post-Tim Cone era. Facing the Aces in a best-of-seven semis series is defending champi- on and top seed Talk N Text. Super rookie Calvin Abueva produced yet another solid out- ing of 18 points and 12 rebounds LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 000000000000 4 DIGITS 00000000 3 DIGITS 000000 P0.0M+ DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY A8 MELO LIFTS NY PAST LA NEW YORKCarmelo Anthony scored 22 of his 30 points in the period, and the New York Knicks held on after he departed with a sprained left ankle to beat the Lakers 116-107 in coach Mike DAntonis return to Madison Square Garden. I was zoned in. I was locked in,Anthony said. Tonight was one of those games where I had that feeling. I wanted to get it going and I had that feeling going early in the game.Firing in 3-pointers and moving the ball to open shooters, things they often struggled to do under DAntoni, the Knicks won for the eighth time in nine games and improved to 9-0 at home for the rst time since the 1992-93 season. AP Sports Manila Standard TODAY Riera U. Mallari, Editor sports@manilastandardtoday.com sports_mstandard@yahoo.com By Ronnie Nathanielsz WORLD Boxing Organization and Ring Magazine super ban- tamweight champion Nonito Donaire and Mexican war- rior Jorge Arce both want a knockout in their battle at the sprawling Toyota Center here in Houston, Texas on Sunday (Manila time). On the eve of the ofcial weigh-in, both Donaire and Arce told the Manila Standar d and ABS-CBNS Dyan Cas- tillejo that they didnt want to leave the decision in the hands of the judges. Donaire recalled that when he won the title from Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. at the Alamadome in San Antonio last Feb. 4, one of the judges, Dr. Ruben Garcia, scored the ght for the Puerto Rican, 115-113, despite the Fili- pino dominating the action and dropping Vazquez in the ninth round with a left hook even af- ter hurting his left hand early in the ght. That should have been a unanimous decision and since there are a number of Mexicans here, I like to knock him out for that reason because I dont know whether I will get the de- cision even if I win unanimous- ly, he said. Donaire said the presence of a huge contingent of Mexicans just like last weeks ght in Las Vegas where Juan Manuel Marquez scored a shocking sixth-round knockout of Manny Pacquiao, doesnt bother me because when negotiations for this ght began, it was supposed to be in Mexico. Im used to it. I dont have any worries because I know what I have to do in the ring and how to do it. He added: I visualize how I will connect against Arce be- cause I know his movements, what hell throwleft or right and I know if he throws a right, I know what to target and if its the left, I know what I have to do. When I see that, my reaction is natural. Donaire, Arce both seek knockout win Aces reach semifinals 2 EZ2 0000 Lady Patriots gain share of volley lead THE La Salle-Dasmarias Lady Patriots unleashed a strong nish in the third set to turn back the PATTS College of Aeronautics Sea Hors- es, 25-13, 25-22, 25- 10, yester- day in the womens di vi s i on of the 20th Nat i onal Ca p i t a l Region Athletic Association vol- leyball tournament at the Philip- pine Merchant Marine School gymnasium in Las Pias. The Lady Patriots banked on the timely entry of veteran spiker Giselle Bembo in coming up with a big scoring run in the third as La Salle-Dasma gained a share of the volleyball lead. Bembo, who was sparingly used in the game following an ankle injury she sustained last Monday, joined Monique Tiang- co in presiding over a 15-0 blast in the last set. She came in with defensive plays at the net after Tiangco scored 13 points off her serves. Hindi po ako masyadong na- kapaglaro dahil sa injury ko. Pero nanalo pa rin ang team, said Bembo, who is the teams skipper. The Lady Patriots posted their second straight win and joined the Philippine School of Business Ad- ministration Lady Jaguars at the top spot of the womens division. Earlier, the Rizal Technologi- cal University Lady Thunder (2-1) came off with their second straight win, this time at the ex- pense of the Emilio Aguinaldo College-Cavite Lady Vanguard, 20-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-19. both game-highswhile Cyrus Baguio continued his hot streak with the same scoring output to show the way for the Aces. Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, who made his rst semis appearance as a PBA mentor after just two conferences, was quite emotional after his teams achievement. Its really a dream come true, honestly. Weve been through a lot and we did well denitely to reach this far, said Trillo. Were lucky to have a fresher Calvin (Abueva). Hes fresher this time since he only played 15 minutes last game due to fouls and Cyrus (Baguio) was a steady force for us again. Jvee Casio also had a splendid night with 17 points, ve rebounds and eight dimes, while Gabby Es- pinas asserted himself by adding 13 more points and seven boards. Just like in Game 1, the Aces systematically broke down the staggered Bolts all game-long. By the end of the rst frame, Alaska was already ahead, 26-16. A quarter later, its lead remained in double digits at the half, 44-34. The Aces even added insult to injury after Abuevas trey with 2:51 remaining padded the advantage to 18 points, 86-68, the games biggest, along with the nal tally. Taking everything into considera- tion, we are also lucky that we faced a tired Meralco team, which played its third game in five days. We out- hustled them and we took advantage of our opportunities, added Trillo. The Tropang Texters and the Aces will begin their clash on Thursday next week. San Mig Coffee is the other squad already waiting in the semis. The scores: ALASKA 88Abueva 18, Baguio 18, Casio 17, Espinas 13, Jazul 8, Baracael 6, Hontiveros 5, Thoss 3, Dela Cruz 0, Belasco 0. MERALCO 70Cardona 18, Mercado 15, Hodge 11, Hugnatan 9, Ross 6, Salvacion 6, Reyes 4, Buenafe 1, Bulawan 0, Sharma 0. Quar ter s: 26-16, 44-34, 70- 55, 88-70 Ponce, Galve pull off badminton thrillers TRISHA Mae Ponce and Mark Joseph Galve hacked out a pair of tough three-setters to lead the early winners in the PBA Ming Ramos Victor Youth Non-Ranking Championships which got under way Thursday at Jump Smash Badminton Court at No. 5 Canseco St. San Francisco Del Monte, QC. Ponce, of Team JB/Lining Academy, came back strong from a grueling second-set encounter and completed a 21-18, 22-24, 21-15 victory over Sitti Nurzh Kiram of Lining in 42 minutes to advance in the girls U-15 singles of the event sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association headed by Vice Presi- dent Jejomar Binay, chair Manny V. Pangilinan and sec-gen Rep. Albee Benitez and held as part of the PBAs Bagong Bida Grassroots Program led by Police Gen. Federico Laciste Jr. Meanwhile, PBA honorary chairperson Mrs. Amelita Ming Ramos graced the opener of the event also held to give opportunity to all non-rated young players especially from the PBA member clubs, schools, badminton centers and individuals to showcase their skills and see who are the best players outside the national team. Volleyball Games Jan. 15 (RTU Gym) 9 a.m. PATTS vs EAC-Cavite (women) 10:30 a.m. PSBA vs DLSU-Dasma (women) 12 nn PATTS vs EAC-Cavite (men) 1:30 p.m. PMMS vs RTU (men) 3 p.m. DLSU-D vs Olivarez College best riders in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, said Leviste. Any time I have the op- portunity to carry the Philippine ag on the world stage, I consider it an honor and a privilege. I am proud to be Pinoy. Similar to the Grand Slam in tennis, the Paris Masters is one of three jumping competitions in a series of indoor jumping competitions comprising of the Hong Kong Masters in March and the New York Masters in October, each at- tracting the very best riders worldwide, witnessed by 50,000 spectators each day, competing for $1,000,000 in prize money. Mac Cardona (right) of Meralco tries to steal the ball away from Alaskas Calvin Abueva in a PBA Philippine Cup quarternal game won by the Aces, 88-70, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. SONNY ESPIRITU Multi-titled equestrienne Toni Leviste,shown here riding Century Magic at the Gucci Masters in Paris, makes her move. DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY B1 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Business Manila Standard TODAY Ray S. Eano, Editor business@mst.ph Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor; extrastory2000@gmail.com IN BRIEF November hot money jumped to $2b Flour millers seek tariff cover Coca-Cola PH sold for $689m PSE COMPOSITE INDEX Closing December 14, 2012 P584-P695 LPG/11-kg tank P47.15-P53.07 Unleaded Gasoline P38.40-P41.05 Diesel P40.30-P52.20 Kerosene P27.20-P31.00 Auto LPG FOREI GN EXCHANGE RATE Currency Unit US Dollar Peso United States Dollar 1.000000 41.0590 Japan Yen 0.011959 0.4910 UK Pound 1.611000 66.1460 Hong Kong Dollar 0.129041 5.2983 Switzerland Franc 1.082368 44.4409 Canada Dollar 1.015641 41.7012 Singapore Dollar 0.818733 33.6164 Australia Dollar 1.053519 43.2564 Bahrain Dinar 2.652661 108.9156 Saudi Arabia Rial 0.266667 10.9491 Brunei Dollar 0.815395 33.4793 Indonesia Rupiah 0.000104 0.0043 Thailand Baht 0.032658 1.3409 UAE Dirham 0.272287 11.1798 Euro Euro 1.307800 53.6970 Korea Won 0.000931 0.0382 China Yuan 0.160439 6.5875 India Rupee 0.018382 0.7547 Malaysia Ringgit 0.327547 13.4488 NewZealand Dollar 0.843882 34.6490 Taiwan Dollar 0.034400 1.4124 Source: PDS Bridge Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday December 14, 2012 5200 4460 3720 2980 2240 1500 1200 OIL PRICES TODAY PESO-DOLLAR RATE 40 42 44 46 48 P41.090 CLOSE Closing DECEMBER 14, 2012 VOLUME 729.250M 5,707.110 80.84 HIGH P41.090 LOW P41.190 AVERAGE P41.135 Govt ready to curb risk capital inflows THE Philippines will implement a new measure to deal with risk sensitive capital inows, as interest-rate reductions alone are no longer enough, central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said. We will announce at least one new measure before year-end, Tetangco said in a phone interview Friday. He earlier told Bloomberg TV that its hard to say whether the Philippines is at the end of a rate-cut cycle and that evenly balanced ination risks give policy makers room to keep borrowing costs at a record-low 3.5 percent. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has cut the overnight rate by a total 100 basis points this year to bolster growth. It held borrowing costs Thursday after the economy expanded 7.1 percent last quarter, the fastest pace in Southeast Asia, helping lure investors and propel the peso to its strongest level since March 2008 last month and stocks to a record this week. We want to ensure continuity of monetary and nancial stability while discouraging regulatory arbitrage, Tetangco said when asked to elaborate on the plan. We will denitely consider more macro prudential measures as needed. The Bangko Sentral has banned overseas investors from its special-deposit accounts and ordered lenders to provide more funds to cover risks on non- deliverable currency forwards. Other measures being considered to curb inows include new limits on currency forwards and a review of their risk premiums, Tetangco said on Dec. 3. Capital controls wont be necessary at this stage, he said this month. He declined to elaborate. Bloomberg Pursuant to Monetary Board Resolution No. 1619 dated 4 October 2012, the provisions of X268.3 of the MORB, covering the guidelines on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Rediscounting Facility are hereby amended to include a paragraph after item h and immediately before the provision on the requirements on microfnance facility, as follows: xxx X268.3 Approval/Renewal of the Line. The approval/renewal of the Line shall be subject to the bank's full compliance with the following requirements: xxx For newly merged or consolidated banks, a temporary line not exceeding 50% of its adjusted net worth as of latest date may be granted for a period of 180 days while awaiting the required reports/data from the appropriate Supervision and Examination Sector Department, renewable for another 180 days or until such time that the required reports/ data are made available, whichever comes earlier, subject to the following conditions: a. Compliance with the requirements cited under tems e and f, and other guidelines issued by the DLC; and b. One of the merging or consolidating banks has CAMELS composite rating of at least 3 and minimum CAR of 10% based on the latest available SDC data. xxx The above provision shall not limit the Monetary Board from granting rediscounting line incentives to merged/consolidated banks pursuant to X108.3 of the MORB. Effectivity. This Circular shall take effect on 07 December 2012. For the Monetary Board:
(Sgd.) JUAN D. DE ZUIGA, JR. Offcer-n-Charge 7 December 2012 Subject: AMENDMENT OF SUBSECTION () X268.3 OF THE MANUAL OF REGULATIONS FOR BANKS (MORB) TO INCLUDE A PROVISION ON THE GRANT OF TEMPORARY REDISCOUNTING LINES TO NEWLY MERGED OR CONSOLIDATED BANKS Circular No. 776 Series of 2012 OFFCE OF THE GOVERNOR By Jenniffer B. Austria MEXICOS Coca-Cola FEMSA, Latin Americas biggest coke bottler, is buying a 51-percent stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. for $688.5 million. Coca-Cola FEMSA said it signed denitive agreement with Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. to buy the latters 51-percent stake in CBPPI, which has an enterprise value of $1.35 billion. Coca-Cola FEMSA said it had an option to acquire the remaining 49 percent of CCBPI over seven years. The transaction is expected to close in early 2013. The Philippine bottler has 23 production plants and is expected to sell about 530 million unit cases of beverages this year. The acquisition will enable Coca-Cola FEMSA to expand its bottling footprint beyond Latin America and reinforce its exposure to fast-growing economies. The Philippines has one of the highest per capita consumption rates of Coca-Cola products in the region and presents signicant opportunities for further growth, Coca-Cola FEMSA said. The Mexican company said by leveraging its proven expertise and operating capabilities in an economy with vibrant growth prospects and an attractive socio- economic and demographic prole, it would capture the opportunities and further improve the bottlers operations and nancial results. Coca-Cola FEMSA board chairman Jos Antonio Fernndez Carbajal said the company saw protable growth prospects and long-term returns in emerging market economies. We welcome the unique opportunity to learn and share new capabilities to grow as an integrated company, as professionals, and as men and women together with our communities, Carbajal said. Our principles and values share a common ground with the Filipino community and we are certain that together we can extend FEMSAs long-lasting commitment to the continuous creation of economic, social and environmental value in every community where we operate, he said. Coca-Cola Co. chairman and chief executive Muhtar Kent said the partnership with Coca-Cola FEMSA reected the companys continued commitment to innovation and growth in the Philippines. Our brands and our business have very deep roots in the Philippines, and we look forward to working with our strong partners at Coca-Cola FEMSA to capture future opportunities for growth and investment and bring even more social and economic value to customers and communities throughout the country, he said. Coca-Cola FEMSA signed a 12-month exclusivity agreement with Coca-Cola Co. to evaluate the potential acquisition of controlling stake in CCBPI. By Julito G. Rada LOCAL flour millers plan to ask the government to impose safeguard measures against wheat flour imports to ensure the viability of the industry. An industry source said local millers wanted to follow the lead of their Indonesian counterparts, who asked their government to impose safeguard duties on wheat imports. The source said imported our, especially from Turkey, had been ooding the Philippine market, threatening the survival of local stakeholders. The Indonesian our industrys action could prod other Asean countries, including the Philippines, to do the same action because they also face the same threat from heavily-subsidized Turkish our imports, the source said. The Indonesian government started an investigation on Aug. 24 after it was asked by the Indonesian Flour Mills Association to impose safeguard measures on imported our. The Indonesian government then informed the World Trade Organization that a 200-day provisional safeguard measure of 20-percent ad valorem duty would be slapped on imported our. A notice circulated by the delegation of Indonesia showed the trend of Indonesian import volume increased 9.7 percent during the period 2008 to 2011. By Anna Leah Estrada GROSS foreign portfolio investments, or hot money, in November hit $2 billion, up 30.5 percent and 55.5 percent from the previous month and year-on- year, respectively. The Bangko Sentral attributed the higher hot money inows to positive economic developments like the lower- than-expected ination of 3.1 percent in October, robust third quarter corporate earnings, a successful issuance by the government of 10-year global peso notes worth $750 million and the robust 7.1-percent economic growth in the third quarter. Gross outows declined 33 percent to $998 million from $1.5 billion in October, resulting in net inows of $1 billion, higher than the $40 million recorded in October and the year agos $490 million. The Bangko Sentral said main beneciaries of the investments were listed shares in the Philippine Stock Exchange, including banks, holding and property companies, food, beverage and tobacco manufacturers and utility rms. Top investor countries for the month were the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Consumer condence, meanwhile, improved in the fourth quarter of the year as the overall index improved to -10.4 percent from -13.3 percent in the third quarter. Results of the recent Consumers Expectation Survey of the Bangko Sentral showed it was the second highest reading since the survey started in the rst quarter of 2007. SM investing P30b SM INVESTMENTS Corp., the holding company of the Sy family, said Friday its board of directors approved P30 billion for investments and general corporate purposes in 2013. SM Investments said the board approved the P30-billion budget for investments in a special meeting. No other details were given. It is not known if the amount is part of the P65-billion capital expenditures that the SM Group planned to allocate in 2013. SMIC chief nance ofcer Jose Sio said during the conglomerates third-quarter nancial brieng the group set aside P65 billion in capital spending, mainly for its shopping mall and property businesses. A third of the P65-billion programmed spending will be funded through borrowings while two-thirds will be sourced through internally generated cash, he added. Jenniffer B. Austria PLDT to expand TV5 PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. plans to infuse additional funds to make TV5 one of the largest broadcast companies in the country. PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno told reporters the group would focus on expanding TV5, after the negotiation with GMA Network Inc. did not push through. We will focus on build rather than purchase option, because those are our options to purchase or to build. So since the purchase didnt work, we will focus on the build strategy which is of course Channel 5. We will continue to try to build it up, Nazareno told reporters at the sidelines of iPhone5 launching in Pasay City. PLDT said earlier it would allot P4.8 billion to build TV5s state-of-the-art Media Center in Mandaluyong City and another P1.2 billion to expand the operations of Cignal, a direct-to-home satellite TV service provider. Lailany P. Gomez PDIC guide. Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. launched the PDIC Regulatory Issuances and Bulletins, a compendium of regulations on bank operations and deposit insurance, in simple ceremonies attended by ofcers from the Bankers Association of the Philippines, Chamber of Thrift Banks and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines. PDIC president Valentin Araneta (right) turns over a copy of the bulletin to the bank associations represented by (from left) RBAP president Edward Leandro Garcia Jr., BAP executive director Cesar Virtusio and CTB executive director Suzanne Felix. Market declines; Ayala, PLDT fall Business ManilaStandardToday B2 DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY 52 Weeks Previous % Net Foreign High Low STOCKS Close High Low Close Change Volume Trade/Buying MST BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 M S T FINANCIAL 70.50 46.00 Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. 73.95 73.70 72.75 72.90 (1.42) 1,266,960 6,465,028.50 77.45 50.00 Bank of PI 96.60 96.80 94.50 94.60 (2.07) 606,640 (21,943,710.00) 1.82 0.68 Bankard, Inc. 0.70 0.71 0.70 0.70 0.00 110,000 595.00 370.00 China Bank 55.50 55.80 55.35 55.65 0.27 58,490 85,476.00 23.90 13.80 COL Financial 20.10 20.00 19.96 19.96 (0.70) 20,900 20.70 18.50 Eastwest Bank 29.00 29.20 29.00 29.15 0.52 790,400 549,255.00 22.00 7.95 Filipino Fund Inc. 10.28 10.30 10.30 10.30 0.19 600 0.95 0.62 First Abacus 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.00 75,000 3.26 1.91 I-Remit Inc. 2.80 2.80 2.80 2.80 0.00 6,000 650.00 420.00 Manulife Fin. Corp. 495.00 490.00 490.00 490.00 (1.01) 220 39.20 3.00 Maybank ATR KE 23.25 23.30 23.00 23.30 0.22 1,700 102.50 60.00 Metrobank 102.70 102.70 100.50 100.50 (2.14) 3,093,780 (30,607,484.00) 3.06 1.30 Natl Reinsurance Corp. 1.74 1.78 1.70 1.78 2.30 270,000 77.80 41.00 Phil. National Bank 93.00 94.00 90.90 92.70 (0.32) 424,340 1,001,833.50 95.00 69.00 Phil. Savings Bank 86.00 88.90 88.85 88.90 3.37 300 500.00 210.00 PSE Inc. 414.00 418.00 401.00 410.40 (0.87) 6,440 40,900.00 45.50 29.45 RCBC `A 58.60 58.70 58.40 58.60 0.00 448,750.00 103,764.00 155.20 77.00 Security Bank 162.30 162.10 160.00 161.00 (0.80) 710,280 (55,983,519.00) 1100.00 879.00 Sun Life Financial 1040.00 1020.00 1015.00 1015.00 (2.40) 415 10,200.00 140.00 58.00 Union Bank 113.70 115.00 113.80 114.50 0.70 773,700 23,150.00 2.06 1.43 Vantage Equities 2.31 2.35 2.31 2.34 1.30 32,000 (47,000.00) INDUSTRIAL 35.50 26.50 Aboitiz Power Corp. 37.50 37.10 36.65 36.80 (1.87) 3,568,400 (98,138,190.00) 13.58 8.00 Agrinurture Inc. 6.72 7.35 6.72 7.18 6.85 364,100 (6,900.00) 1.70 0.97 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 2.00 2.04 2.00 2.03 1.50 778,000 10,080.00 48.00 25.00 Alphaland Corp. 27.55 27.00 27.00 27.00 (2.00) 200 1.62 1.08 Alsons Cons. 1.32 1.33 1.30 1.30 (1.52) 1,175,000 Asiabest Group 17.80 19.50 18.00 19.40 8.99 1,000 138.00 45.00 Bogo Medellin 69.80 86.00 86.00 86.00 23.21 10 144.00 42.00 Conc. Aggr. `A 85.00 65.00 60.00 65.00 (23.53) 140 2.75 2.30 Chemrez Technologies Inc. 3.04 3.03 2.98 3.03 (0.33) 406,000 83,990.00 9.74 7.41 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.48 18.00 17.34 18.00 2.97 402,400 1,748,000.00 DNL Industries Inc. 4.44 4.550 4.41 4.47 0.68 27,942,000 (4,307,370.00) 6.41 4.83 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.74 6.80 6.71 6.75 0.15 18,479,700 27,813,009.00 7.77 2.80 EEI 9.97 10.10 9.90 10.00 0.30 1,982,300 15,838,815.00 19.40 12.50 First Gen Corp. 22.80 23.00 22.65 22.65 (0.66) 715,900 (2,639,485.00) 79.30 51.50 First Holdings A 89.00 89.90 88.00 88.40 (0.67) 489,280 (20,917,777.50) 27.00 17.50 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 17.00 17.20 16.94 17.20 1.18 12,100 0.02 0.0110 Greenergy 0.0220 0.0230 0.0220 0.0230 4.55 202,400,000 88,000.00 13.10 7.80 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.62 13.70 13.70 13.70 0.59 100 6.00 3.80 Integ. Micro-Electronics 3.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 0.00 9,000 120.00 80.00 Jollibee Foods Corp. 108.10 108.10 107.00 107.10 (0.93) 561,180 4,663,585.00 Lafarge Rep 10.80 10.94 10.78 10.80 0.00 281,000 8.40 1.04 LMG Chemicals 1.82 1.95 1.86 1.86 2.20 977,000 23,160.00 LT Group 12.64 12.80 12.46 12.60 (0.32) 2,629,300 12,500.00 3.20 1.32 Manchester Intl. A 16.00 16.34 14.50 15.52 (3.00) 278,900 3.19 1.08 Manchester Intl. B 16.56 16.50 15.00 15.20 (8.21) 97,900 (597,820.00) 27.45 18.10 Manila Water Co. Inc. 32.00 32.10 31.40 31.55 (1.41) 1,634,200 (38,169,610.00) 6.95 0.75 Mariwasa MFG. Inc. 3.80 5.25 4.00 4.24 11.58 2,210,000 50,140.00 18.10 8.12 Megawide 16.460 16.900 16.400 16.900 2.67 170,800 805,788.00 280.60 215.00 Mla. Elect. Co `A 260.00 262.80 257.00 258.00 (0.77) 668,790 35,073,486.00 12.20 7.50 Pancake House Inc. 7.80 7.90 7.90 7.90 1.28 5,000 3.65 1.96 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 5.74 5.89 5.65 5.70 (0.70) 1,400,400 16.00 9.70 Petron Corporation 10.54 10.54 10.46 10.46 (0.76) 2,213,800 (9,210,396.00) 13.70 10.20 Phinma Corporation 11.00 11.00 10.90 10.90 (0.91) 7,200 19,800.00 14.94 8.05 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 9.08 9.10 9.00 9.10 0.22 117,100 55,862.00 4.42 1.01 RFM Corporation 4.24 4.49 4.27 4.43 4.48 10,533,000 618,170.00 3.90 2.01 Roxas Holdings 2.60 3.80 2.90 3.20 23.08 932,000 22,400.00 6.50 2.90 Salcon Power Corp. 5.00 5.40 4.85 5.10 2.00 482,000 448,430.00 34.60 26.50 San Miguel Brewery Inc. 34.10 34.10 33.50 34.00 (0.29) 30,700 129.20 110.20 San Miguel Corp `A 106.40 106.20 105.70 105.90 (0.47) 520,970 (6,110,644.00) 3000.00 800.00 San MiguelPure Foods `B 241.00 242.00 240.20 242.00 0.41 3,470 (559,120.00) 2.62 1.25 Seacem 1.50 1.50 1.43 1.50 0.00 211,000 2.44 1.73 Splash Corporation 1.81 1.78 1.77 1.77 (2.21) 80,000 0.196 0.112 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.152 0.156 0.150 0.150 (1.32) 3,290,000 (30,400.00) 2.88 1.99 TKC Steel Corp. 1.79 1.79 1.69 1.79 0.00 371,000 254,500.00 1.41 0.90 Trans-Asia Oil 1.11 1.11 1.10 1.11 0.00 907,000 69.20 37.00 Universal Robina 78.80 79.00 77.40 78.00 (1.02) 1,612,150 (11,053,355.00) 5.50 1.05 Victorias Milling 1.34 1.32 1.28 1.28 (4.48) 1,434,000 39,300.00 0.77 0.320 Vitarich Corp. 0.90 0.95 0.88 0.90 0.00 1,147,000 18.00 2.55 Vivant Corp. 7.90 6.90 6.60 6.90 (12.66) 27,300 9,900.00 1.22 0.77 Vulcan Indl. 1.49 1.52 1.48 1.48 (0.67) 1,069,000 HOLDING FIRMS 1.18 0.65 Abacus Cons. `A 0.67 0.67 0.66 0.66 (1.49) 377,000 59.90 35.50 Aboitiz Equity 51.65 51.90 50.50 50.90 (1.45) 893,360 19,134,623.50 0.019 0.014 Alcorn Gold Res. 0.1370 0.1380 0.1360 0.1370 0.00 80,620,000 68,500.00 13.70 8.00 Alliance Global Inc. 16.70 16.70 16.32 16.40 (1.80) 11,763,800 23,931,992.00 2.60 1.80 Anglo Holdings A 2.16 2.20 2.08 2.18 0.93 423,000 5.02 3.00 Anscor `A 5.70 5.71 5.68 5.70 0.00 246,400 (388,170.00) 6.98 0.260 Asia Amalgamated A 4.40 5.99 4.45 5.20 18.18 2,948,000 (5,280.00) 2.98 1.49 ATN Holdings A 0.99 1.00 0.92 0.93 (6.06) 19,100 4.16 2.30 ATN Holdings B 1.05 1.05 0.95 1.04 (0.95) 272,000 104,500.00 485.20 272.00 Ayala Corp `A 500.00 501.50 490.40 493.00 (1.40) 465,690 (114,392,733.00) 911.00 260.00 BHI Holdings Inc. 430.00 430.00 430.00 430.00 0.00 60 64.80 30.50 DMCI Holdings 52.75 53.35 52.40 52.90 0.28 486,240 9,886,409.50 5.20 3.30 Filinvest Dev. Corp. 4.81 4.79 4.65 4.69 (2.49) 963,000 (1,405,130.00) 556.00 455.40 GT Capital 666.00 683.50 666.00 677.50 1.73 272,980 34,730,480.00 5.22 2.94 House of Inv. 6.40 6.68 6.40 6.40 0.00 353,500 32,500.00 36.20 19.00 JG Summit Holdings 39.50 39.40 38.20 38.90 (1.52) 1,246,600 18,858,335.00 4.19 2.27 Jolliville Holdings 6.80 6.80 6.75 6.75 (0.74) 12,000 6.21 4.00 Lopez Holdings Corp. 6.28 6.40 6.25 6.35 1.11 2,107,400 6,423,140.00 1.54 0.61 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 1.01 1.01 0.97 0.97 (3.96) 139,000 3.82 1.800 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 1.82 1.83 1.79 1.81 (0.55) 89,000 4.65 2.56 Metro Pacic Inv. Corp. 4.53 4.53 4.48 4.49 (0.88) 14,197,000 (4,635,770.00) 6.24 3.40 Minerales Industrias Corp. 6.09 6.17 6.05 6.10 0.16 331,700 9.66 1.22 MJCI Investments Inc. 5.62 5.99 5.63 5.63 0.18 1,100 0.0770 0.045 Pacica `A 0.0520 0.0520 0.0510 0.0510 (1.92) 7,770,000 2.20 1.20 Prime Media Hldg 1.390 1.410 1.410 1.410 1.44 6,000 0.82 0.44 Prime Orion 0.560 0.590 0.560 0.590 5.36 1,121,000 2.40 1.01 Seafront `A 1.66 1.85 1.71 1.85 11.45 12,000 0.490 0.285 Sinophil Corp. 0.310 0.330 0.310 0.330 6.45 4,250,000 760.00 450.00 SM Investments Inc. 860.50 860.50 835.00 844.00 (1.92) 154,330 (46,649,070.00) 2.71 1.08 Solid Group Inc. 1.96 1.97 1.95 1.95 (0.51) 130,000 1.57 1.14 South China Res. Inc. 1.07 1.08 1.05 1.08 0.93 490,000 0.420 0.101 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2600 0.2550 0.2550 0.2550 (1.92) 50,000 0.620 0.082 Wellex Industries 0.3100 0.3100 0.3000 0.3050 (1.61) 180,000 0.980 0.380 Zeus Holdings 0.340 0.340 0.335 0.335 (1.47) 1,040,000 P R O P E R T Y 48.00 18.00 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 17.20 17.10 17.10 17.10 (0.58) 28,500 3.34 1.70 A. Brown Co., Inc. 2.97 3.01 2.95 2.95 (0.67) 369,000 0.83 0.42 Araneta Prop `A 0.720 0.740 0.710 0.710 (1.39) 351,000 0.195 0.150 Arthaland Corp. 0.177 0.189 0.176 0.179 1.13 4,210,000 1,760.00 24.15 13.36 Ayala Land `B 25.85 25.65 25.05 25.05 (3.09) 9,494,500 (89,787,650.00) 5.62 3.08 Belle Corp. `A 4.74 4.76 4.68 4.68 (1.27) 11,902,000 (6,676,620.00) 2.85 1.35 Century Property 1.39 1.40 1.38 1.40 0.72 1,859,000 570,500.00 1.50 1.05 Cityland Dev. `A 1.15 1.12 1.12 1.12 (2.61) 20,000 0.092 0.060 Crown Equities Inc. 0.061 0.067 0.067 0.067 9.84 20,000 1.11 0.67 Cyber Bay Corp. 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.00 200,000 0.94 0.54 Empire East Land 1.110 1.110 1.080 1.080 (2.70) 6,804,000 331,450.00 0.310 0.10 Ever Gotesco 0.365 0.380 0.355 0.355 (2.74) 31,330,000 68,500.00 2.74 1.63 Global-Estate 1.98 1.98 1.96 1.96 (1.01) 137,000 1.44 0.98 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.55 1.55 1.51 1.51 (2.58) 14,933,000 (19,959,460.00) 2.14 0.65 Interport `A 1.19 1.19 1.18 1.18 (0.84) 210,000 2.34 1.51 Megaworld Corp. 2.85 2.85 2.78 2.80 (1.75) 37,746,000 49,522,350.00 0.36 0.150 MRC Allied Ind. 0.1570 0.1560 0.1540 0.1550 (1.27) 4,590,000 (284,890.00) 0.990 0.089 Phil. Estates Corp. 0.7700 0.7900 0.7700 0.7800 1.30 2,616,000 0.67 0.41 Phil. Realty `A 0.445 0.450 0.445 0.450 1.12 50,000 19.94 10.00 Robinsons Land `B 21.50 21.55 21.05 21.35 (0.70) 3,876,900 10,233,045.00 7.71 2.51 Rockwell 2.65 2.78 2.50 2.63 (0.75) 3,129,000 69,090.00 2.85 1.81 Shang Properties Inc. 3.05 3.04 3.00 3.00 (1.64) 60,000 30,400.00 8.95 6.00 SM Development `A 5.88 5.95 5.82 5.95 1.19 506,100 2,240,482.00 18.20 10.94 SM Prime Holdings 15.88 16.00 15.84 15.94 0.38 8,660,900 36,585,546.00 0.91 0.64 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.00 90,000 4.55 1.80 Starmalls 3.90 4.00 3.90 4.00 2.56 71,000 4.66 2.60 Vista Land & Lifescapes 5.050 5.100 5.000 5.050 0.00 18,888,100 57,643,036.00 S E R V I C E S 4.72 1.20 2GO Group 1.90 1.75 1.75 1.75 (7.89) 26,000 17,500.00 42.00 24.80 ABS-CBN 32.60 32.80 32.30 32.30 (0.92) 67,900 18.98 1.05 Acesite Hotel 1.26 1.27 1.23 1.26 0.00 90,000 0.78 0.45 APC Group, Inc. 0.770 0.800 0.780 0.780 1.30 15,733,000 (2,730,000.00) 102.80 4.45 Bloomberry 13.26 13.28 13.06 13.10 (1.21) 3,221,300 (18,588,248.00) 0.5300 0.1010 Boulevard Holdings 0.1450 0.1470 0.1410 0.1410 (2.76) 68,240,000 357,920.00 24.00 5.20 Calata Corp. 5.24 5.24 4.75 4.88 (6.87) 3,351,700 351,825.00 82.50 60.80 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 60.05 60.10 59.90 60.00 (0.08) 352,720 (3,962,305.00) 9.70 5.44 DFNN Inc. 4.36 4.36 4.35 4.35 (0.23) 754,000 5.90 1.45 Easy Call Common 2.20 2.30 2.30 2.30 4.55 10,000 1750.00 800.00 FEUI 1080.00 1080.00 1080.00 1080.00 0.00 20 1270.00 831.00 Globe Telecom 1130.00 1135.00 1106.00 1109.00 (1.86) 79,225 (49,636,875.00) 11.00 6.18 GMA Network Inc. 8.80 8.80 8.76 8.80 0.00 227,300 77.00 43.40 I.C.T.S.I. 70.55 70.20 69.70 69.70 (1.20) 175,390 1,826,244.50 0.98 0.36 Information Capital Tech. 0.405 0.395 0.385 0.385 (4.94) 100,000 18.40 5.00 Imperial Res. `A 8.00 8.50 7.50 8.00 0.00 35,100 6.80 4.30 IPeople Inc. `A 8.70 9.50 9.00 9.50 9.20 12,000 4.70 1.75 IP Converge 2.88 3.40 2.84 2.95 2.43 1,265,000 (24,000.00) 34.50 0.036 IP E-Game Ventures Inc. 0.026 0.030 0.026 0.026 0.00 601,200,000 (2,020,000.00) 3.87 1.00 IPVG Corp. 0.59 0.61 0.58 0.58 (1.69) 3,309,000 (1,367,230.00) 0.0760 0.042 Island Info 0.0570 0.0600 0.0530 0.0530 (7.02) 2,990,000 5.1900 2.550 ISM Communications 2.2000 2.1900 2.1800 2.1900 (0.45) 5,000 10.30 5.90 Leisure & Resorts 7.69 7.88 7.60 7.80 1.43 180,900 273,764.00 3.70 2.60 Liberty Telecom 2.48 2.30 2.30 2.30 (7.26) 5,000 3.96 2.70 Macroasia Corp. 2.71 2.70 2.70 2.70 (0.37) 10,000 27,000.00 0.84 0.57 Manila Bulletin 0.72 0.74 0.73 0.73 1.39 65,000 4.08 1.21 Manila Jockey 2.68 2.74 2.65 2.65 (1.12) 46,000 22.95 13.80 Pacic Online Sys. Corp. 13.86 13.88 13.80 13.80 (0.43) 19,300 13,880.00 8.58 5.35 PAL Holdings Inc. 5.01 5.10 4.99 5.00 (0.20) 120,100 3.39 1.05 Paxys Inc. 3.22 3.25 3.18 3.18 (1.24) 1,876,000 96,000.00 10.00 5.00 Phil. Racing Club 9.52 9.50 9.31 9.50 (0.21) 1,002,100 (9,500,000.00) 71.00 18.00 Phil. Seven Corp. 80.00 80.00 80.00 80.00 0.00 940 75,200.00 17.88 12.10 Philweb.Com Inc. 12.34 12.46 12.30 12.44 0.81 1,783,900 (12,202,776.00) 2886.00 2096.00 PLDT Common 2594.00 2588.00 2560.00 2560.00 (1.31) 87,230 (144,995,370.00) 0.39 0.25 Premiere Horizon 0.310 0.320 0.320 0.320 3.23 350,000 30.15 10.68 Puregold 33.90 34.80 33.80 33.80 (0.29) 3,392,300 5,354,420.00 STI Holdings 1.10 1.10 1.07 1.07 (2.73) 1,894,000 128,260.00 4.75 3.30 Touch Solutions 6.31 9.46 6.45 9.46 49.92 7,226,700 922.00 0.79 0.34 Waterfront Phils. 0.420 0.420 0.410 0.420 0.00 460,000 (57,400.00) Yehey 1.650 1.650 1.340 1.400 (15.15) 1,648,000 MINING & OIL 0.0083 0.0038 Abra Mining 0.0057 0.0057 0.0057 0.0057 0.00 15,000,000 6.20 3.01 Apex `A 4.75 4.95 4.75 4.85 2.11 221,000 6.22 3.00 Apex `B 4.55 4.80 4.80 4.80 5.49 20,000 33,600.00 20.80 14.50 Atlas Cons. `A 19.06 19.50 18.90 18.96 (0.52) 1,322,800 3,699,200.00 48.00 20.00 Atok-Big Wedge `A 24.40 23.50 22.00 23.50 (3.69) 2,300 29,750.00 0.345 0.170 Basic Energy Corp. 0.275 0.275 0.270 0.270 (1.82) 1,530,000 2.23 1.05 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 0.92 0.92 0.90 0.90 (2.17) 1,634,000 Coal Asia 1.04 1.08 1.04 1.06 1.92 6,809,000 224,700.00 61.80 6.96 Dizon 15.00 15.48 15.00 15.28 1.87 3,400 1.21 0.50 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.51 0.52 0.50 0.52 1.96 368,000 1.81 1.0600 Lepanto `A 1.010 1.020 0.980 0.990 (1.98) 5,688,000 2.070 1.0900 Lepanto `B 1.090 1.090 1.050 1.090 0.00 5,136,000 911,230.00 0.085 0.042 Manila Mining `A 0.0600 0.0590 0.0580 0.0580 (3.33) 136,580,000 0.840 0.570 Manila Mining `B 0.0600 0.0600 0.0590 0.0590 (1.67) 43,210,000 36.50 15.04 Nickelasia 16.24 16.30 16.08 16.12 (0.74) 1,421,100 (2,214,198.00) 12.84 2.91 Nihao Mineral Resources 5.00 5.07 4.83 4.99 (0.20) 223,500 (209.00) 1.100 0.008 Omico 0.5800 0.5700 0.5700 0.5700 (1.72) 8,000 8.40 2.99 Oriental Peninsula Res. 3.450 3.550 3.350 3.350 (2.90) 515,000 0.032 0.014 Oriental Pet. `A 0.0190 0.0190 0.0190 0.0190 0.00 40,600,000 0.033 0.014 Oriental Pet. `B 0.0200 0.0200 0.0200 0.0200 0.00 500,000 28.25 18.40 Philex `A 14.88 15.20 14.90 14.98 0.67 3,294,000 1,487,728.00 48.00 3.00 PhilexPetroleum 29.50 29.90 28.90 29.50 0.00 180,200 (37,700.00) 0.062 0.017 Philodrill Corp. `A 0.039 0.040 0.038 0.039 0.00 220,500,000 3,900,000.00 257.80 161.10 Semirara Corp. 220.00 222.00 219.80 222.00 0.91 27,090 44,400.00 0.029 0.015 United Paragon 0.0170 0.0180 0.0180 0.0180 5.88 100,000 PREFERRED 50.00 23.05 ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 31.95 32.85 31.90 31.90 (0.16) 737,000 (8,662,060.00) 580.00 535.00 Ayala Corp. Pref `A 518.00 520.00 520.00 520.00 0.39 20 First Gen F 108.00 108.00 108.00 108.00 0.00 190 103.50 100.00 First Gen G 105.00 105.00 105.00 105.00 0.00 780 109.80 101.50 First Phil. Hldgs.-Pref. 102.00 102.00 102.00 102.00 0.00 4,320 102,000.00 11.02 6.00 GMA Holdings Inc. 8.90 8.91 8.70 8.91 0.11 2,688,400 13,817,250.00 116.70 108.90 PCOR-Preferred 107.80 108.50 107.80 108.50 0.65 109,800 (215,600.00) SMC Preferred A 75.00 75.00 75.00 75.00 0.00 5,339,510 (79,197,000.00) 80.00 74.50 SMC Preferred B 75.20 75.25 75.20 75.25 0.07 23,010 SMC Preferred C 75.20 77.50 77.50 77.50 3.06 100 1050.00 1000.00 SMPFC Preferred 1012.00 1010.00 1007.00 1007.00 (0.49) 1,835 6.00 0.87 Swift Pref 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 0.00 12,000 WARRANTS & BONDS 1.31 0.62 Megaworld Corp. Warrants 1.80 1.79 1.78 1.78 (1.11) 130,000 89,500.00 S M E 6.20 4.18 Ripple E-Business Intl 4.21 5.29 5.00 5.29 25.65 35,000 TRADI NG SUMMARY SHARES VALUE FINANCIAL 8,985,498 762,480,023.47 INDUSTRIAL 809,101,372 8,166,987,296.37 HOLDING FIRMS 143,180,573 1,346,388,164.053 PROPERTY 171,238,726 826,048,412.1 SERVICES 729,200,859 1,510,665,565.298 MINING & OIL 485,080,172 153,697,010.128 GRAND TOTAL 2,346,822,200 12,766,446,551.421 FINANCIAL 1,528.34 (down) 21.31 INDUSTRIAL 8,747.48 (down) 55.35 HOLDING FIRMS 4,987.34 (down) 73.49 PROPERTY 2,243.01 (down) 36.64 SERVICES 1,719.14 (down) 19.43 MINING & OIL 19,201.85 (down) 57.37 PSEI 5,707.11 (down) 80.84 All Shares Index 3,688.38 (down) 0.89 Gainers: 71; Losers: 106; Unchanged: 34; Total: 211 STOCKS Close (P) Change (%) Touch Solutions 9.46 49.92 Ripple E-Business Intl 5.29 25.65 Bogo Medellin 86.00 23.21 Roxas Holdings 3.20 23.08 Asia Amalgamated A 5.20 18.18 Mariwasa MFG. Inc. 4.24 11.58 Seafront `A' 1.85 11.45 Crown Equities Inc. 0.067 9.84 IPeople Inc. `A' 9.50 9.20 Asiabest Group 19.40 8.99 STOCKS Close (P) Change (%) Metro Pacic Tollways 5.63 (19.57) Swift Pref 1.36 (15.00) Alaska Milk Corp. 13.90 (14.83) Citystate Savings 25.00 (10.71) Alcorn Gold Res. 0.1320 (6.38) Yehey 2.550 (5.56) United Paragon 0.0170 (5.56) DFNN Inc. 5.50 (5.17) Greenergy 0.0200 (4.76) Oriental Pet. `B' 0.0200 (4.76) TOP GAI NERS TOP LOSERS GMA Network may miss prot goal extrastory2000@gmail.com business@mst.ph THE stock market declined for a third day Friday, as investors continued to cash in on recent gains. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 80.84 points, or 1.4 percent, 5,707.11, the sharpest loss since July 9. Losers beat gainers, 106 to 71, with 34 issues unchanged. Ayala Land Inc., the biggest builder, dropped 3.1 percent to P25.05, while parent Ayala Corp. lost 1.4 percent to P493. SM Investments Corp., owner of BDO Unibank Inc., the largest bank by assets, declined 1.9 percent to P844. BDO retreated 1.4 percent to P72.90. The Philippines will implement a new measure to deal with risk sensitive capital inows, as interest-rate reductions alone are no longer enough, central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said. We will announce at least one new measure before year- end, Tetangco said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. He earlier told Bloomberg TV that its hard to say whether the Philippines is at the end of a rate-cut cycle and that evenly balanced ination risks give policy makers room to keep borrowing costs at a record-low 3.5 percent. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications company, fell 1.3 percent, to P2,560. Universal Robina Corp., the largest snacks food maker, declined 1 percent to P78. GT Capital Holdings Inc., the holding company of tycoon Georgy Ty, rose 1.7 percent to P677.50. Unit Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. dropped 2.1 percent to P100.50. The rest of Asian stock markets swung higher Friday after a survey showed an improvement in Chinas manufacturing, offsetting gloom from a sharp drop in Japanese business condence. HSBC Corp. said its preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for December rose to 50.9, a 14-month high and up from Novembers reading of 50.5. Numbers above 50 represent an expansion of manufacturing. I think it adds further encouragement that China is moving in the right direction, said Andrew Sullivan, a self-employed analyst based in Hong Kong. But we are also seeing a lot of money sitting on the sidelines at the end of the year, and people want to get it invested. In previous years, weve seen good rallies around the end of the year. The preliminary version of the HSBC index is based on responses from 75 to 80 percent of the 420 companies surveyed each month. The full report is due out at the end of the month. Hong Kongs Hang Seng pulled out of negative territory to advance 0.6 percent to 22,579.2 by midday. Mainland Chinese shares posted sharp gains, with the Shanghai Composite Index surging 2.9 percent to 2,120.84. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index shot up 2.9 percent as well, to 806.67. With AP, Bloomberg SNAP award. Emmanuel Rubio (front row, second from left), president and chief executive of SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc., and Wilhelmino Ferrer (front row, third from left), assistant vice president and plant manager, recently received the DoLE Secretarys Award of Distinction in the 8th Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan. The 360-MW Magat Hydroelectric Power Plant was among the distinguished awardees under the Institutional Category recognized for its remarkable occupational health and safety practices. With them are SNAP-Magat (front row, from left) assistant vice president Nomer Reynaldo, safety ofcer Cesar Vicente, vice president Kjell Valdal and operations manager Ed Bundalian. By Lailany P. Gomez GMA Network Inc. might miss its net income guidance for the year due to higher expenses, its chairman said Thursday night. GMA Network chairman Felipe Gozon told reporters hitting this years projected P2.3-billion net income guidance was unlikely because of expenses that include bonuses of up to 15-month pay to employees. We might not hit the P2.3- billion prot this year. But denitely we will exceed what we did in 2011 of P1.7 billion. Our expenses ballooned this year, and that include among others bonuses of employees. As early as October, we were giving bonuses to employees. If we hit around P2 billion, were okay, Gozon said. He added the revenue stream was on track of the P13-billion guidance. Gozon said revenues in December were slow, in contrast with the countrys favorable economic condition. He said advertisers followed an industry-wide reduction in ad spending, partly because of the European and US nancial crises. We are already receiving political ads, but unlike the presidential elections, these ads are not that big, Gozon said. He also said GMA Network secured 60 percent of its sales target for next year, excluding political ads, as major advertisers committed their support early. Negotiations covering the entire year for 2013 are already under way, he said. GMA Networks net income in the rst nine months of the year grew 4 percent to P1.587 billion on the back of higher advertising sales across major revenue platforms. Consolidated revenues during the nine-month period increased 5 percent to P10.612 billion from P10.109 billion year-on-year, driven mainly by the growth in airtime sales, which rose 14 percent to P3.537 billion. Consolidated revenues rose 13 percent to P3.822 billion from P3.384 billion on year, while net income climbed 9 percent to P573 million from P525 million on year. Gozon said revenues from other sources for the nine-month period climbed 2 percent to P873 million. CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY B3 Classifeds ManilaStandardToday adv.mst@gmail.com Page Compositor: Diana Keyser Punzalan The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the Cagayan First District Engineering Offce, Aparri, Cagayan, invites contractors to bid for the aforementioned projects: 1. a. Contracts ID: 13BB0014 b. Contract Name: Widening/Improvement of Dugo-San Vicente Road c. Contract Location: (Mission-Sta. Ana Section), Sta. Teresita Section (Sta.594+800-Sta.596+639.20), Sta. Teresita, Cagayan d. Scope of Work: Widening/Improvement of Road e. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): P 13,669,625.60 f. Contract Duration: 121 C.D. g. Cost of Bid Documents: P 20,000.00 2. a. Contracts ID: 13BB0015 b. Contract Name: Widening/Improvement of Dugo-San Vicente Road c. Contract Location: (Mission-Sta. Ana Section), Buguey Section, Buguey, Cagayan d. Scope of Work: Widening/Improvement of Road e. Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): P 34,830,374.40 f. Contract Duration: 179 C.D. g. Cost of Bid Documents: P 20,000.00 The BAC will conduct the procurement process in accordance with the Revised IRR of R.A.9184. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of bid. To bid for this contract, a contractor must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), purchase bid documents and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with the DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership, corporation, cooperative, or joint venture, (c) with PCAB license applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (d) completion of a similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC within a period of 10 years, and (e) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment at least equal to 10% of ABC. The BAC will use non-discretionary pass/ fail criteria in the eligibility check and preliminary examination of bids. Unregistered contractors, however, shall submit their applications for registration to the DPWH POCW Central Offce before the deadline for the receipt of LOI. The DPWH POCW Central Offce will only process contractors applications for registration, with complete requirements, and issue the Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC).Registration Forms may be downloaded at the DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph. The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below: 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents December 13, 2012 to December 28, 2012 2.Pre-Bid Conference December 17, 2012 10:00AM (at least 12 c.d. prior to bid submission) 3. Deadline Receipt of LOI from Prospective Bidders Deadline: 5:00 PM on December 26, 2012 (at least 5 c.d. prior to bid submission) 4. Receipt of Bids Deadline:10:00 AM on December 28, 2012 5. Opening of Bids 10:01 AM on December 28, 2012 The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at DPWH Cagayan First District Engineering Offce, Aparri, Cagayan, Prospective bidders may also download the BDs from the DPWH web site if available. Prospective bidders that will download the BDs from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of their Bids Documents. The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open only to interested parties who have purchase the BDs. Bids must accompanied by a Bid Security, in the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR. Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in the BDs in two (2) separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The frst envelope shall contain a technical component of the bid, which shall include a copy of the CRC. The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation and the post-qualifcation. The Cagayan First Engineering District Offce reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bid and to annul the bidding process at anytime prior to Contract award, without incurring any liability to the affected bidders.
Approved By: (Sgd.) RELLIE SIMBE-ULEP Asst. District Engineer BAC Chairman DPWH-Cagayan 1 st Dist. Engg. Offce Aparri, Cagayan 3515 (078) 822-80-56 Republic of the Philippines Department of Public Works and Highways OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ENGINEER Cagayan 1 st District Engineering Offce Aparri, Cagayan INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS REGION IV-A Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce Lucban, Quezon INVITATION TO BID (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce, through Regular Infra CY 2013, intends to apply to wit; Forty Four Million Six Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php44,650,000.00) to payments under the contract for Contract ID No. 12DK0151-Widening of Lucena-Tayabas-Lucban Road, K0143+593.50-K0145+797, K0137+345-K0137+876, Tayabas City Forty Six Million Sixty Thousand Pesos (Php46,060,000.00) to payments under the contract for Contract ID No. 0152-Concreting of Mauban-Tignoan Road (Mauban Section) K0166+570-K0167+424.84 (Section 1) K0169+826-K0170+025.50 (Section 2) Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the bid opening.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce, Lucban, Quezon, now invites bids for the following contract to wit; for Contract ID No. 12DK0151-Widening of Lucena-Tayabas-Lucban Road, K0143+593.50-K0145+797, K0137+345-K0137+876, Tayabas City, Net Length= 2,734.50 LM. The scope of work involves , clearing, earthworks, subbase course, concrete pavement, drainage canal, riprapping and metal railings. Completion of the work is required in 120 calendar days. Contract ID No. 0152-Concreting of Mauban-Tignoan Road (Mauban Section) Mauban, Quezon, K0166+570-K0167+424.84 (Section 1) K0169+826-K0170+025.50 (Section 2) Net Length=1,054.34 LM. The scope of work involves earthworks, subbase course, concrete pavement and drainage canal. Completion of the work is required in 120 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 bidders is contained in the Bidding Documents particularly, in Section II, Instruction to Bidders Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non- discretionary pass/fail criterion as specifed in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184), otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorship, partnership, or organizations with at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines. Interested bidders may obtain further information from the DPWH, Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce, BAC Secretariat Offce, Lucban, Quezon, and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. 5:00 P.M. Interested bidders are also required to present the originals of their Contractors Registration Certifcate to the DPWH, Quezon 1 st DEO BAC for authentication. 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 Twenty Thousand Pesos (Php20,000.00) It may also downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the DPWH, if available, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids. The DPWH, Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce, Lucban, Quezon will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 17, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. in the DPWH, Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce Conference Room, which shall be open to all interested parties. Bids must be delivered to the address below on December 28, 2013 on or before 2:00 P.M. 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 representative who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted. 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. DPWH, Quezon 1 st District Engineering Offce, likewise assumes no obligation whatsoever to compensate or indemnify any bidder or winning bidders, as the case may be, for any expenses or loss that said party(ies) may incur in its participation in the pre bidding and bidding process nor does it guarantee that an award will be made. For further information, please refer to: EUFRONIA S. CABAYSA BAC Chairman Attention: Head, BAC Secretariat DPWH, Quezon I Lucban, Quezon Tel Nos. 042-540-6097 Approved : (Sgd.) EUFRONIA S. CABAYSA Engineer III Chief, Construction Section Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee Noted: (Sgd.) EDGARDO K. LIM OIC-District Engineer
INVITATION TO BID Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS REGION X OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) The Department of Public Works & Highways (DPWH) Regional Offce No. 10, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites contractors to apply to bid for the following projects: 1. Contract ID: 12K00198 Contract Name: Cluster H, Construction of Multi-Purpose Buildings in 1 st District, Lanao del Sur a) Const. of Multi-Purpose Buildings, Bliss, Brgy. Jose Abad Santos, Malabang = Php.1,500,000.00 b) Const. of Multi-Purpose Buildings, Brgy. Samit, Butig = Php.1,500,000.00 c) Const. of Multi-Purpose Buildings, Brgy. Buad, Lumabatan = Php.1,500,000.00 d) Const. of Multi-Purpose Buildings, Brgy. Pantar, Lumabatan = Php.1,500,000.00 Total = Php.6,000,000.00 Contract Location: Lanao del Sur Brief Description: Construction of Multi-Purpose Buildings Appropriation: P 6,000,000.00 Source of Fund: CY 2012 Various Infrastructure, GAA Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Contract Duration: To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Cost of Plans & Bid Documents: P 10,000.00
2. Contract ID: 12K00199 Contract Name: Construction of Hospital Bulding, Don Gregorio Lluch Memorial Hospital Annex Building, Palao, Iligan City Contract Location: Palao, Iligan City Brief Description: Construction of Hospital Building Appropriation: P 2,000,000.00 Source of Fund: CY 2012 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Contract Duration: To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Cost of Plans & Bid Documents: P 5,000.00 3. Contract ID: 12K00200 Contract Name: Construction/Repair/Rehabilitation of Road, 647.4 meter 2 lanes, 2 nd Street in front of the Administration Bldg., MSU Main Campus, Marawi City Contract Location: MSU Main Campus, Marawi City Brief Description: Construction/Repair/Rehabilitation of Road Appropriation: P 5,000,000.00 Source of Fund: CY 2012 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Contract Duration: To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Cost of Plans & Bid Documents: P 5,000.00 4. Contract ID: 12K00201 Contract Name: Constructi on of Water System and Reservoi r, Tamparong, Madalum, Lanao del Sur Contract Location: Madalum, Lanao del Sur Brief Description: Construction of Water System and Reservoir Appropriation: P 1,000,000.00 Source of Fund: CY 2012 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC): To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Contract Duration: To be discussed on Pre-bid Conference Cost of Plans & Bid Documents: P 1,000.00 Procurement will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures in accordance with R.A. 9184 and its Revised Implementing Rules and regulations. To bid for these contracts, a contractor must purchase bid documents and must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with DPWH, (b) Filipino citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership, corporation, cooperative, or joint venture, (c) with PCAB license applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (d) completion of a similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC, and (e) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment at least equal to 10% of ABC. The BAC will use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check and preliminary examination of bids.
Unregistered contractors, however, shall submit their applications for registration, to the DPWH-POCW, Central Offce before the scheduled date of bidding. The DPWH- POCW, Central Offce will only process contractors applications for registration with complete requirements and issue the Contractors Certifcate of Registration (CRC). Registration Forms may be downloaded at the DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph. The signifcant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below: 1. Issuance of Bidding Documents Dec. 13, 2012 to December 26, 2012 @ 12 noon 2. Pre-Bid Conference December 17, 2012 @ 2:00PM 3. Deadline of Receipt LOI from Prospective Bidders December 26, 2012 @ 12:00 noon 4. Receipt of Bids December 26, 2012 from 8:00AM-12:00 noon 5. Opening of Bids 2:00 PM on December 26, 2012 The BAC will issue hard copies of Bidding Documents (BDs) at DPWH-Regional Offce No. X, Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City, upon payment of a non-refundable fee as stated above. Prospective bidders may also download the BDs from the DPWH website, if available. Prospective bidders that will download the BDs from the DPWH website shall pay the said fees on or before the submission of their bid documents. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security, in the amount and acceptable form, as stated in Section 27.2 of the Revised IRR. Prospective bidders shall submit their duly accomplished forms as specifed in the BDs in two separate sealed bid envelopes to the BAC Chairman. The frst envelope shall contain the technical component of the bid, which shall include a copy of the Contractors Registration Certifcate (CRC). The second envelope shall contain the fnancial component of the bid. Contract will be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid as determined in the bid evaluation and postqualifcation. The DPWH-Regional Offce No. 10 reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bid and to annul the bidding process anytime before Contract award, without incurring any liability to the affect ed bidders. Approved by: (Sgd.) EFREN A. BERBA, CEO VI OIC, Assistant Regional Director BAC-Chairman NOTED: EVELYN T. BARROSO, Ph.D. Regional Director (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) LUNGSOD NG MAKATI Bids and Awards Committee J.P. Rizal St. corner F. Zobel St., Makati City Tel. No. 870-1000 Fax No. 899-8988 www.makati.gov.ph INVITATION TO BID REPUBLIKA NG PILIPINAS The City Government of Makati, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites registered suppliers/ manufacturers/distributors/contractors to bid for the hereunder projects: NO. NAME OF PROJECT AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LOCATION APPROVED BUDGET 1 VITEK 2 GN Reagents and other laboratory supplies for the use of Ospital ng Makati OSMAK P16,126,880.00 2 Crossmatching Kits and other laboratory supplies for the use of Ospital ng Makati OSMAK P7,682,980.00 3 Document Management System Project for Makati City Government OM P7,500,000.00 4 Brand New Vehicle 4-door with LPG Kit for the use of Offce of the Mayor OM P11,400,660.00 5 Printing of Makati Ngayon Newsletter 2013 for the use of Information and Community Relations Department ICRD P6,300,000.00 6 Printing of Makati Mirror 2013 for the use of Information and Community Relations Department ICRD P5,004,000.00 Prospective Bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding. The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examinations of Bids shall use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria. Post-Qualifcation of the Lowest Calculated Bid shall be conducted. All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation 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 (IRR). The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows: ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE 1. Pre-Bidding Conference at BAC Conference Room, 9th Floor December 21, 2012 (10:00 A.M.) 2. Opening of Bids at BAC Conference Room, 9th Floor January 08, 2013 (2:00 P.M.) Bidding Documents will be available only to Prospective Bidders upon payment of a non-refundable amount of ______________________ to the City Government of Makati Cashier. (fee for Bid Documents) (Procuring Entity) The City Government of Makati assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders (Procuring Entity) for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid. The City of Makati reserves the right to disqualify any or all proposal, to waive any defects or informalities therein and to accept such proposal as may be considered most advantageous to the Government. Approved by: (Sgd.) ATTY. ELENO M. MENDOZA, JR. Chairperson Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS Region III OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR Sindalan, City of San Fernando, Pampanga INVITATION TO BID (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) 1. CONTRACT ID: 12C00090 Widening/Concreting of McArthur Highway (MNR) including Drainages and Traffc Management, Bamban-Capas, Tarlac
Location : Tarlac Approved Budget for the Contract: P 64,718,701.17 Scope of Work : Drainage and Slope Protection Duration : 210 cal. days 2. CONTRACT ID: - 12C00091 - Road Upgrading (Gravel to Paved) of Nueva Ecija- Aurora Road, Nueva Ecija Location : Nueva Ecija Approved Budget for the Contract: P 112,154,728.33 Scope of Work : PCCP Duration : 360 cal. Days
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x 1. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), through the GAA, FY 2013 intends to apply the sum of (Please see above projects) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for above-mentioned projects. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. 2. The Department of Public Works and Highways now invites bids for projects mentioned above. Works includes Drainage & Slope Protection and PCCP. Completion of the Works is 210 cal. days for Bamban-Capas; and 360 cal. days for Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road. Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a single contract similar to the Project, equivalent to at least ffty percent (50%) of the ABC. Bidders will bid for the entire contract or per lot, and not per item. 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. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding 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 schedule of submission of bid while those already registered shall keep their records current and updated. Contractor Profle Eligibility Process (CPEP) are subject to further post-qualifcation. Information on registration can be obtained at DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph or Central Procurement Offce (CPO), 5 th Floor, DPWH Bldg., Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. 5. Interested bidders may obtain further information from DPWH-Reg. III and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. 5:00 P.M.. Monday to Friday. 6. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders upon presentation of Letter of Intent (LOI) from the address below and upon payment of non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of P50,000.00/project. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the DPWH Website www.dpwh.gov.ph, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids. Payments can be made at any DPWH feld offce. The submission of the Original Receipt (OR) for payments of bidding documents issued by any DPWH feld offce is suffcient for the BAC of this Regional Offce to process the electronic eligibility evaluation of contractors. 7. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 27, 2012, 10:00 A.M. at the Training Room, 2 nd Floor, DPWH-Region III, Sindalan, City of San Fernando (P), which shall be opened only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents. 8. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before January 08, 2013, 10:00 A.M. at the Training Room, 2 nd Floor, this Offce. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.1. 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. 9. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region III 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: (Sgd.) LORETA M. MALALUAN OIC-Asst. Regional Director BAC-Chairman, DPWH-Reg. III Sindalan, San Fernando, Pampanga (045) 455-0647; (045) 455-0649 For f as t ad r es ul t s , pl eas e c al l 659-48-30 l oc al 303 or 659-48-03 Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS Region III OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR Sindalan, City of San Fernando, Pampanga INVITATION TO BID (MST-Dec. 15, 2012) CONSTRUCTION OF (3) UNITS PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS ALONG MANILA NORTH ROAD (MNR), TARLAC 3 RD DISTRICT, TARLAC PROVINCE, CONTRACT ID NO. 12C00095 1. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), through the SR 2011-07-004533 intends to apply the sum of P23,637,858.95 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Construction of (3) units Pedestrian Overpass along Manila North Road (MNR), Tarlac 3 rd District, Contract ID No. 12C00095. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. 2. The Department of Public Works and Highways now invites bids for Construction of (3) units Pedestrian Overpass along Manila North Road (MNR), Tarlac 3 rd District, Contract ID No. 12C00095. Works includes Bridge (Pedestrian Overpass). Completion of the Works is 150 cal. days. Bidders should have completed, within ten (10) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a single contract similar to the Project, equivalent to at least ffty percent (50%) of the ABC. Bidders will bid for the entire contract or per lot, and not per item. 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. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least seventy fve percent (75%) interest or outstanding 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 schedule of submission of bid while those already registered shall keep their records current and updated. Contractor Profle Eligibility Process (CPEP) are subject to further post- qualifcation. Information on registration can be obtained at DPWH website www.dpwh.gov.ph or Central Procurement Offce (CPO), 5 th Floor, DPWH Bldg., Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. 5. Interested bidders may obtain further information from DPWH-Reg. III and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 A.M. 5:00 P.M.. Monday to Friday. 6. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders upon presentation of Letter of Intent (LOI) from the address below and upon payment of non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of P25,000.00. It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the DPWH Website www.dpwh.gov.ph, provided that bidders shall pay the fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids. Payments can be made at any DPWH feld offce. The submission of the Original Receipt (OR) for payments of bidding documents issued by any DPWH feld offce is suffcient for the BAC of this Regional Offce to process the electronic eligibility evaluation of contractors. 7. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will hold a Pre- Bid Conference on December 21, 2012, 2:00 P.M. at the Training Room, 2 nd Floor, DPWH-Region III, Sindalan, City of San Fernando (P), which shall be opened only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents. 8. Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before December 27, 2012, 10:00 A.M. at the Training Room, 2 nd Floor, this Offce. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.1. 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. 9. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region III 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: (Sgd.) LORETA M. MALALUAN OIC-Asst. Regional Director BAC-Chairman, DPWH-Reg. III Sindalan, San Fernando, Pampanga (045) 455-0647; (045) 455-0649 IN BRIEF CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK DECEMBER 15, 2012 SATURDAY B4 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila Standard TODAY WORLD Rocket launch shows young Kim as gambler Study: People worldwide now live longer, but get more diseases Rice abandons State secretary bid European court issues ruling condemning CIA Israeli FM charged with breach of trust Political crisis hits Honduras Assad losing grip on Syria as rebels advance to capital Syrian citizens gather in front of a damaged building destroyed by a car bomb in Qatana, 25 kilometers southwest of Damascus on Dec. 13 in this photo released by the Syrian ofcial news agency SANA. A bomb blast near a school in a Damascus suburb killed more than a dozen people, at least half of them women and children, the state news agency reported. AP Russias Foreign Ministry, how- ever, denied making a statement about an imminent fall of Assads government. The head of NATO said the Syrian government is near col- lapse following a nearly two-year conict that has killed more than 40,000 people and threatened to ignite the Middle East. Assad ap- pears to be running out of options, with insurgents at the gates of the capital and the country fracturing under the weight of a devastating civil war. An opposition victory cant be excluded, unfortunately, but its necessary to look at the facts: PYONGYANGOnly eight months after a very public rocket launch failure and less than a year on the job, North Koreas young leader took a very big gamble this week. It paid off, at least in the short term, projecting Kim Jong Un to his people as powerful, capable and determined. North Koreans gathered en masse Friday in a staged demonstration, partly to glorify Kim and partly to celebrate the launch of the rocket, which Pyongyang says put a crop and weather monitoring satellite into orbit. The rest of the world saw it as a thinly-disguised test of banned long-range missile technology. The launchs success, 14 years after North Koreas rst attempt, shows more than a little of the gambling spirit in the third Kim to rule North Korea since it became a country in 1948. North Korean ofcials will long be touting Kim Jong Un as a gutsy leader who commanded the rocket launch despite being new to the job and young, said Kim Byung-ro, a North Korea specialist at Seoul Na- tional University in South Korea. North Korean state media said Kim himself issued the order to re the rocket Wednesday despite the prospect of another failure and condemnation from abroad. Kim was praised for boldly carrying out his father and former leader Kim Jong Ils last wish before his Dec. 17, 2011, death. Kim Jong Il had made develop- ment of missiles and nuclear weap- ons a priority despite international opposition and his nations crush- ing poverty. His sons success is likely to help him consolidate his power over a government crammed with elderly, old-school lieutenants of his father and grandfather, foreign analysts said. But what is unclear is whether Kim will continue to smoothly solidify power, steering clear of friction with the powerful military while dealing with the strong pos- sibility of more crushing sanctions against a country with what the United Nations calls a serious hun- ger problem. AP TEGUCIGALPA--Members of the ruling party met behind closed doors, bartering all night for votes to depose four Supreme Court jus- tices who had rejected the presi- dents plan to weed out corrupt po- lice. Ominously, soldiers and police surrounded the National Congress. As the hours ticked by, repre- sentatives inside puffed on ciga- rettes in violation of their own anti-smoking laws and jokingly accused each other of vote-buy- ing. Then shortly before dawn Wednesday, President Porrio Lo- bos National Party overwhelm- ingly and, many say illegally, ap- proved the judges dismissal. That was a risky move. We dont know when we leave after the vote if there will be pros- ecutors waiting to detain us, ad- mitted Sergio Castellanos of the Democratic Unication party, who voted with the majority. Here you have to be ready for anything. On global rosters of failing states, Honduras doesnt even crack the top 50, yet by many grim measures the troubled Central American re- public is barely clinging to its status as a functioning country. Three years after former Presi- dent Manuel Zelaya was run out of ofce at gunpoint in his pajamas, Lobo is struggling. He has twice warned that his enemies are con- spiring to oust him in a coup, and he then provoked a constitutional crisis with the judges removal, an act that legal scholars describe as everything from an abuse of power to a betrayal of the country. AP JERUSALEMIsraels powerful foreign minister was charged Thursday with breach of trust for actions that allegedly compromised a criminal investigation into his business dealings, throwing the countrys election campaign into disarray just weeks before the vote. While Avigdor Lieberman was cleared of more se- rious allegations against him, the indictment sparked immediate calls for the controversial politician to step down. He declined to do so at a news conference but said he would consult with his lawyers on what to do next. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also rallied behind his close ally. Lieberman denied any wrongdoing, calling the in- vestigation against him a witch hunt. According to my legal counsel, I do not have to re- sign, Lieberman told cheering supporters at a cam- paign rally. At the end of the day I will make a nal decision together with my lawyers. Lieberman, a native of Moldova, is head of Yisra- el Beitenu, an ultranationalist party that is especially popular with fellow immigrants from the former So- viet Union. With a tough-talking message that has questioned the loyalty of Israels Arab minority, criticized the Palestinians and confronted Israels foreign critics, he has become an inuential voice in Israeli politics even while sometimes alienating Israels allies. AP WASHINGTONSusan Rice, the embattled UN ambassador, abrupt- ly withdrew from consideration to be the next secretary of state on Thursday after a bitter, weeks-long standoff with Republican senators who declared they would ght to defeat her nomination. The reluctant announcement makes Massachusetts Senator John Kerry the likely choice to be the na- tions next top diplomat when Hil- lary Rodham Clinton departs soon. Rice withdrew when it became clear her political troubles were not going away, and support inside the White House for her potential nomination had been waning in recent days, ad- ministration ofcials said. In another major part of the upcoming Cabinet shake-up for President Barack Obamas sec- ond term, former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska now is seen as the front-runner to be de- fence secretary, with ofcial word expected as soon as next week. For the newly re-elected presi- dent, Rices withdrawal was a sharp political setback and a sign of the difculties Obama faces in a time of divided and divisive govern- ment. Already, he had been private- ly weighing whether picking Rice would cost him political capital he would need on later votes. When Rice ended the embar- rassment by stepping aside, Obama used the occasion to criticize Re- publicans who were adamantly op- posed to her possible nomination. While I deeply regret the un- fair and misleading attacks on Su- san Rice in recent weeks, her de- cision demonstrates the strength of her character, he said. I am saddened we have reached this point, Rice said. Obama made clear she would remain in his inner circle, saying he was grateful she would stay as our ambassador at the United Nations and a key member of my Cabinet and national security team. Rice, too, said in her letter she would be staying. Clinton, in a brief statement, said that Rice had been an in- dispensable partner over the past four years and that she was con- dent that she will continue to represent the United States with strength and skill. AP PARISA European court is- sued a landmark ruling Thursday that condemned the CIAs ex- traordinary renditions programs and bolstered those who say they were illegally kidnapped and tor- tured as part of an overzealous war on terrorism. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a German car salesman was an innocent victim of torture and abuse, in a long- awaited victory for a man who had failed for years to get courts in the US and Europe to acknowl- edge what happened to him. Khaled El-Masri says he was kidnapped from Macedonia in 2003, mistaken for a terror- ism suspect, then held for four months and brutally interrogated at an Afghan prison known as the Salt Pit run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. He says that once U.S. authorities realized he was not a threat, they illegally sent him to Albania and left him on a mountainside. The European court, based in Strasbourg, France, ruled that El-Masris account was estab- lished beyond reasonable doubt and that Macedonia had been responsible for his torture and ill-treatment both in the country itself and after his transfer to the U.S. authorities in the context of an extra-judicial rendition. AP LONDONNearly everywhere around the world, people are liv- ing longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, accord- ing to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats. The last comprehensive study was in 1990 and the top health problem then was the death of children under 5 more than 10 million each year. Since then, cam- paigns to vaccinate kids against diseases like polio and measles have reduced the number of chil- dren dying to about 7 million. Malnutrition was once the main health threat for children. Now, everywhere except Africa, they are much more likely to overeat than to starve. With more children surviving, chronic illnesses and disabilities that strike later in life are taking a bigger toll, the research said. High blood pressure has become the leading health risk worldwide, followed by smoking and alcohol. The biggest contributor to the global health burden isnt prema- ture (deaths), but chronic diseases, injuries, mental health conditions and all the bone and joint diseas- es, said one of the study leaders, Christopher Murray, director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. In developed countries, such conditions now account for more than half of the health problems, fueled by an aging population. While life expectancy is climbing nearly everywhere, so too are the number of years people will live with things like vision or hearing loss and mental health issues like depression. AP North Korean soldiers applaud during a mass rally organized to celebrate the success of a rocket launch that sent a satellite into space on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 14. AP BEIRUTSyrias most powerful ally and protector, Russia, began positioning itself Thursday for the fall of President Bashar Assad, saying for the rst time that rebels might over- throw him and preparing to evacuate thousands of Russian citizens from the country. There is a trend for the govern- ment to progressively lose control over an increasing part of the ter- ritory, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Mos- cows Middle East envoy, said during hearings at a Kremlin ad- visory body. Russias Foreign Ministry later denied Bogdanov made the state- ment that Syrian President Bashar Assad was losing control of his country. It said in a statement on Fri- day that Deputy Foreign Minis- ter Mikhail Bogdanov has not made any statements or special interviews recently on Syria but was simply citing the stance of the Syrian opposition while giving a speech on Thursday. Analysts viewed the diplomats statement as Russias attempt to begin positioning itself for As- sads eventual defeat. We call on Russia to work with us ... work with the various stake- holders in Syria to start moving towards a transitional structure, and we would like to have their help in doing that, US State De- partment spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Russias acknowledgment that Assad could lose the ght is an embarrassing blow to the regime, which describes the rebels as ter- rorists sent from abroad with no popular support. But the rebels have made sig- nicant gains in recent weeks, seizing large swaths of territory in the north and expanding their con- trol on the outskirts of the capital, pushing the ght closer to Assads seat of power. The opposition still faces enor- mous obstacles, however, includ- ing the fact that some of its great- est battleeld successes are by extremist groups the West does not want to see running Syria something that could hamper in- ternational support. AP China school attacked BEIJINGPolice say 22 chil- dren and one adult have been in- jured in a knife attack outside a primary school in central China. A police ofcer says the attack in the Henan province village of Chengping happened shortly before 8 a.m. Friday as students were arriving for classes. The ofcer says the attacker, 36-year-old local villager Min Yingjun, is now in police cus- tody. The ofcer declined to give her name, as is customary among Chinese civil servants. A county hospital administra- tor says the man rst attacked an elderly woman, then students, before being subdued by securi- ty guards who have been posted across China following a spate of school attacks in recent years. He says two students have been transferred to better-equipped hospitals outside the county. AP Chip plant caused cancer SEOULA South Korean gov- ernment agency says working at a Samsung Electronics fac- tory caused the breast cancer of a worker who died earlier this year. Korea Workers Compensation and Welfare Service said Friday there was a considerable causal relationship between the womans cancer and her five years of work at a Samsung semi- conductor plant in South Korea. The agency under the labor ministry said she was exposed to organic solvents and radiation at Samsung. It reviewed records from other countries that showed night shifts are related to a higher chance of breast cancer and that exposure to hazards at a young age is more likely to cause cancer. The woman worked for Sam- sung from 1995 to 2000. She died in March, aged 36, three years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. AP