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By Jennifer P. rendon

ONE OR TWO bodyguards of business-man Samuel Aguilar are considered as “persons of interest” in the latter’s death, according to the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).

Senior Superintendent Marlon Tayaba, Iloilo police

director, said they have identified at least four persons of interest in Aguilar’s case who was ambushed at Buyuan village in Tigbuauan, Iloilo on March 13, 2018.

“Person of interest” is a term used by law enforce-ment when identifying someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime.

Aguilar died March 17 while undergoing treatment

at The Medical City in Molo, Iloilo City.Mayor and Doctor Dennis Superficial, one of Agui-

lar’s attending physicians, said the businessman died of multiple organ failure.

Aguilar sustained six gunshot wounds on the left side of his body and back after his van was waylaid morning of March 13 along the national highway at Barangay Buyuan, Tigbauan, Iloilo.

‘PERSONS OF INTEREST’By M. A. de los sAntos

AFTER more than two hours of deliberation, the majority of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Iloilo City junked a resolution proposed by two councilors

SP junks resolution seeking to nix SBRI franchise Bodyguards involved in STL operator’s death?


THE demolition and closure of err-ing establishments in Boracay Island continue.

The latest on the chopping block is Crown Regency-Prince Hotel situated at Station 1 along the main road of Barangay Balabag.

Mayor Ceciron Cawaling of Malay ordered the hotel’s closure on March 26, 2018.

Boracay hotel shut down over sanitary permit, sewage mess

Sp junkS/p18 perSonS/p18

Boracay/p18

TopNews uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

Read and Respected2 Wednesday, March 28, 2018

By MAricyn A. de los sAntos

THE Iloilo City Council approved on first reading on Mar. 27, 2018 a proposed ordinance that seeks to pun-ish persons who bring in contraband inside Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facilities.

The proposed ordinance is authored by Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, committee on rules chairper-son.

The proposed ordinance seeks to penalize “persons who sneaks in or surreptitiously bring in or hand in cellphones or device of similar nature to any inmate inside jail facilities or within the restricted area of the jail and/or any other act of similar nature where the purpose is to bring in or transfer possession of said cellphones and other gadgets to any inmate in or outside BJMP facilities.”

Peñaredondo said contrabands are threats to the security of jail facilities, inmates, BJMP personnel and the public in general.

The unlawful acts, he said, are not limited to hand-

ing in of contraband inside the jail facility but also the handing in of contraband to inmates while in transit.

Peñaredondo said penalizing violators of the ban shall prevent the inmates from communicating with the outside world to plan criminal activities while in detention.

The councilor proposed to impose on violators the maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment and fine of P58,213, equivalent to a minimum fine of P323.50 multiplied by at least 180 days.

Peñaredondo’s ordinance is in response to the call for help of BJMP to heavily penalize visitors who smuggle in contrabands inside jails in order to sneak in these banned items to inmates.

The BJMP said there is no law that punishes such act, thus the request to pass the ordinance.

“Jail wardens said that continues buying and sell-ing of drugs are still being committed by Persons Deprived of Liberty through smuggled cellphones and other gadgets brought indie the jails by visitors,” said Peñaredondo.

The councilor said the BJMP finds it difficult to perform their tasks of preventing the entry of contra-band due to the absence of heavy penalties on violators and the BJMP’s limited manpower in maintaining overcrowded jails.

Peñaredondo said jail wardens can only confiscate the contraband and deny entry of non-family mem-bers who violate the ban but they cannot deny family members their visitation rights.

Based on a report of the Committee on Rules, the Iloilo City District Jail Male Dorm in Brgy. Ungka, Jaro, holds a total of 1,013 inmates, which is 153.25% more than its actual capacity of 400 inmates. Also, only 56 jail personnel manning the facility or 1 jail officer per 168 inmates.

Daily, there are 200 visitors to the facility. In the last quarter of 2017, BJMP confiscated a total of 146 cellphones from visitors.

In the Women’s Dorm at Gen. Luna St., City Proper, there are 210 inmates or 158% above its capacity of 34 inmates.

By louine HoPe conservA

THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD-6) said verified data from the local government unit of Malay, Aklan is needed before placing Boracay Island under a state of calamity.

OCD-6 director Jose Roberto Nuñez said he asked the LGU to submit the data within this week.

“We have the mandate from the higher-ups to secure and validate all the data when it comes to Boracay prior to the decla-ration of a state of calamity. We need them before we submit the assessment and validation to the Department of the Interior and Local Government,” Nuñez said.

The data pertains to the environmental situation of Boracay, including violators of environmental laws.

Nuñez said the municipality of Malay failed to provide the complete data during the first quarter meeting of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC-6) on March 26, 2018

A tripartite recommendation from the Department of Tour-ism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and DILG pushed for a six-month closure of the island resort starting April 26 to give way to its rehabilitation. Prior to the closure, the area must be placed under a state of calamity.

As to who will issue the declaration of the state of calamity, the OCD director said it will depend on which agency will be given the mandate.

He said his office is only tasked to validate the data provided by the LGU.

But Nuñez cited that under Republic Act 10121 or the Philip-pine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010, the declaration must have grounds of natural disaster and human-induced disaster.

In December 2017, Malay declared a state of calamity due to flooding caused by tropical storm Urduja.

“The declaration was intended for flooding. It does not fall under the ground of human-induced disaster,” he said.

By louine HoPe conservA

THE Philippine Drug Enforce-ment Agency (PDEA-6) said it will look into the functionality of the anti-drug councils in municipalities and barangays of Western Visayas.

Wardley Getalla, PDEA-6 regional director, said that they are currently verifying whether the municipal anti-drug abuse council (MADAC) and the ba-rangay anti-drug abuse council (BADAC) in the region are fully active.

“Based on data from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), almost 100 percent of the local government units were given lectures on how to activate their MADACs and BADACs. It is not only enough that you have

FElloWS of the Iloilo City Leadership Academy receive certificates of recognition from Mayor Jose Espinosa III, Mar. 26, 2018. Also in photo are City Ad-ministrator Hernando Galvez, Councilors Ely Estante and Madrei Malabor, and Jason Gregorio, head of the Youth Development Council. (Ricky D. Alejo)

By MAricyn A. de los sAntos

A TOTAL of 14 youth leaders completed the rigorous requirements of the Iloilo City Leadership Academy (ICLA).

Councilor Lady Julie Grace Baronda presented the 11 out of the 14 ICLA gradu-ates in a press conference at the City Hall on Mar. 26, 2018.

Baronda said that 40 out of the 200

youth applicants made it to the final list of delegates but only 14 completed the requirements on time, the most crucial of which is the project implementation.

The graduates who comprise the pioneer batch of ICLA Fellows are Mary Hope Abilo, Brainard Abunyawan, Pamela Aton, Jessica Frances Buckley, Jose Emmanuel Combatir, Alaina D’Cunha, Bernardo Dor-omal III, Meliza Javellana, Heather Angel-

ique Parangan, Hannah Jhanylle Po, Archie Selubrico, Matthew Dominic Tagamolila, and Jeremiah John Vardeleon.

In a period of 6 months, they underwent 4 sessions of leadership and personality development and defended their projects from a panel of experts.

The fellows’ projects are related to pressing issues affecting the youth such

sp okays anti-contraband ordinance in city jails

PDEA-6 toreview if anti-drug councils are working

14 youth hurdle city leadership academy

OCD-6 awaits LGUdata before calamity declaration in Boracay

pDea-6/p18

14 youth/p18

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Read and RespectedNewsWednesday, March 28, 20184


ONE PERSON was killed while 10 others were injured in three vehicular accidents in Aklan province.

The first incident involving a white Toyota Wigo hatchback and a mini pick-up truck happened 11:30 a.m. on March 26, 2018, at Barangay Unidos, Nabas town.

The Wigo hatchback was driven by Apollo Barrios while the van owned by King Su Glass and Aluminum Supply was driven by Jose Corpuz of Caloocan City.

The van had seven passengers –

Reynaldo Haberia of Caloocan City; Ariel Olayta; Roger Casidsid, Jr. of Navotas City; Reynan Apan of Surigao Del Norte; Verde Aldrin Castro of Tondo, Manila; and Randy Velasco, 33, and Jimson Pardeño, both of San Rafael Village, Navotas City.

Bartido was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

According to Senior Inspector Jeric Vargas, Nabas police chief, said the Wigo was traversing to Caticlan in Malay town when it collided with the Kalibo-bound truck.

The truck reportedly overtook a

tricycle but its driver miscalculated the distance and collided with the hatch-back.

The truck’s front part was a total wreck because of the impact.

Haberia was in the front row seat of the vehicle during the crash.

On the same day, another vehicular incident happened at Barangay Libertad in Nabas town when an Elf truck side-swiped a top-down tricycle.

The incident injured tricycle driver Nilo Gayo, 49, a resident of Barangay Unidos, Nabas who fractured his left leg aside from a head injury.

Meanwhile, another vehicle incident also happened in Barangay Morales, Balete town.

Jeffrey Ambrosio, 32, also of Balete town, was hurt after the motorcycle he was driving fell into a shallow ravine.

Prior to the incident, the victim al-legedly had a drinking spree with some relatives. He was on his way home when he almost crashed into another motor-cycle while navigating a curve. While he avoided the collision, he plunged into the roadside cliff.

Luckily, Ambrosio survived the incident.

NEw schools and young math wizards from Grades 6 and 10 have loosened the dominance of science schools and Filipino-Chinese schools in the just-concluded national finals of the Metrobank-MTAP-DepEd Math Challenge held Saturday,

Among the top three are students from public schools: Renato Lopez Elementary School, Ali-modian Central Elementary School, and Iloilo National High School.

Sean Neyers A. Gungon of the Renato Lopez Elementary School was the champion in the Grade 6 individual competition while in third place was Jonathan D. Anacan of the Alimodian Central Elementary School, the Metrobank Foundation said on its official Facebook page.

In the Grade 10 division, James Mat-thew U. Young of the Iloilo National High School earned third place in the individual event, while Young’s tandem with Leann Patrice A. Ganzon of the Iloilo National High School made it to third place in the team competition, Metrobank Foundation also said.

According to 1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list Rep. Salvador Belaro Jr., “The victories of these exemplary math wizards from the public schools is most probably a sign that the K to 12 curriculum and the special em-phasis on mathematics education is bearing fruit.”

He also noticed the strong performance of the Visayas, particularly of Iloilo National High

School, which was the only public school among the seven schools that were in the team competi-tion finals for Grade 10.

“Notable also is the emergence of new schools among the national finalists and top three. Among the new math powerhouses are St. John’s Institute of Bacolod City, Rainbow of Angels Learning Center Inc of Butuan City, St. Philomena Academy of Lipa in Batangas, Kalalake Elementary School of Central Luzon, Tagbilaran City Central Elementary School, and Sta. Quiteria Elementary School in NCR,” Belaro said.

Metrobank Foundation noted the surge in math prowess of the schools and stu-dents.

“The compet i t ion gets tougher and tougher every year, but more and more schools level up in their math proficiency...for 2018, a total of 19 schools produced their first-ever MMC national finalists,” the organizer said.

The foundation said 460,546 elementary and 114,277 high school students competed and showcased their math skills in the elimination rounds.

MBFI Assistant Executive Director Irene Labitad said in her opening remarks: “We at the Metrobank Foundation continue to be inspired by what we discover each year. MMC finalists win in international competitions. New institu-tional partners join us in our advocacy. All these validate our continuous commitment to better education for all.”


FIVE PERSONS were injured in two separate incidents in-volving motorcycles on March 26, 2018.

The first incident happened 7:25 a.m. at Barangay Cagamu-tan Norte, Leganes, Iloilo.

The victims were identified as spouses Arnel Belvis, 25, and Ma. Hazel 22, and their 3-year old son Angelo, of Barangay Sta. Rita, Anilao, Iloilo.

The family was on their way to Iloilo City from Anilao town on board a motorcycle when the mishap happened.

According to Police Officer 2 (PO2) Emmanuel Maude,

By Louine HoPe Conserva

ILOILO GOV. Arthur Defensor Sr. said he supports the national identification (ID) system bill as it would pave the way for easier access to the identity of a person.

Defensor said the system would be most effective in crime-fighting as it will be easier to arrest persons who violated the law.

“I want that. It will be easy to locate a person with the ID system,” he said.

The governor said it is ex-pected that others will not favor the bill, especially those who have committed crimes or are trying to hide their identity.

“You cannot force every-body to agree, especially if we’re talking about 100 million population. It might be advantageous for others not to have the ID system,” he said.

The Senate approved on the third and final reading last March 19, 2018 Senate Bill 1733 or “An act establishing the Philippine Identification System.”

The Lower House approved its version of the bill in Septem-ber 2017.

The ID wil l fea ture a Common Reference Number (CRN) as well as the owner’s full name, sex, address, date, and place of birth, civil sta-tus, signature, and photo. It can be used in transacting with all branches of govern-ment.

The Philippine Statistics Au-thority is tasked to implement the program.

1 killed, 10 hurt in three road crashes in Aklan

THE faithful is called to fall silent and reflect on their faith and the passion and resurrection of Christ this Holy Week. Indeed, moments of silence help soul breathe. (Ricky D. Alejo)

Five hurt in twin motorcycle mishaps

Guv backs national ID system bill

IHNS, Visayas schools prove math prowess in nat’l finals

Five/p18

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THE race for the nomination to the Sen-ate for next year’s mid-term election is on and will move in earnest after

the Holy Week. In truth, the Holy Week also traditionally starts the jockeying for positions during the election year. Congress suspends ses-sions until May then the adjourn-ment. Don’t think that politicians spend the week in deep contem-plation of where they failed their constituents and how they can do better. This is a time devoted mainly to preparations for the coming political combat.

Who’s going to be in the ad-ministration’s senatorial slate? Senate President Koko Pimentel has a list of five reelectionists and Speaker Pantaleon has his own list. Occidental Negros 3rd District Congressman Alfredo Benitez was not included in Alvarez’ list although Alvarez said later he forgot; that appeared to be an af-terthought. He created suspicions that Benitez might not get into the administration’s line-up. Alvarez has a lot to do to assure the supporters

of Benitez that he will get into the slate.Indeed, many in Occidental Negros ex-

pressed the need for someone from here to be in the Senate. Prior to World War II and a

few years after that, there were senators from this province, but since after Martial Law, none hailed from here. There were attempts by several, claiming affinity to this province to rep-resent the province, but never made it despite its large number of votes. Having a senator from Occidental Negros is thus a wish longed for, some equating our progress to having one in the Senate though that’s cam-paigning not fact.

The Senate had most often been a coun-terbalance to the usual pro-administration House of Representatives. It is not surprising if Alvarez wanted to use his influence to get the kind of senator he can “demand” payment for favors. Indeed, a Speaker has a lot of clout to help a senatorial candidate but when it comes down to it, this clout hardly worked. How

many Speakers had become senators?Senator Pimentel, head of the ruling PDP-

Laban has identified the senators he wants to be included in the list. They are up for re-election: Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar, Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito and Nancy Binay. He said that they are supportive, or at least not obstructive in the legislative agenda of the President.

Alvarez had his incomplete list but he added that they must be supporters of the fed-eralist government - that is his condition. That credential is necessary from his and Pimentel’s view because the Senate’s concurrence is vi-tal for the push towards federalism. But this condition can also swing the anti-federalists towards the opposition that will certainly be organized and can carry the anti-federalist agenda.

Senator Bam Aquino has revealed that the Liberal Party will field a complete slate that will stand on the platform as the proverbial check and balance in governance.

It is vital that the legislature should have a counter-balance and that means a strong Sen-

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” – Groucho Marx

NEW YORK CITY -- If we stretch our imagi-nations, the only way for Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III to face Rep. Jerry

Treñas for mayor in the 2019 elections is for Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) founder, Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte-Carpio, to endorse his candidacy and for House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s PDP-Laban to officially

back acolyte Treñas.HNP is currently slowly inch-

ing its way to forge a tie-up with various satellite political parties first in Mindanao, and now in the Visayas, in a hope to grow and expand in time for the next congressional elections.

PDP-Laban, of course, is not happy about the new kid in town and is, in fact, getting increasingly pissed off and insecure especially that it is being spearheaded by the most powerful and influential daughter in the Philippines today, who is rumored to be the next

candidate for president.

-o0o-

HNP and PDP-Laban are still currently “distinct and separate” from one another in as far as legitimacy and recognition by the Comelec are concerned, although they both can sleep in the same presidential bedroom together albeit in two separate beds.

Still on infant stage, HNP is obscured by its regional-level status, while PDP-Laban is a behemoth party with strongholds and incumbent elected officials all over the archipelago.

It’s a common knowledge that Inday Sarah and Alva-rez are not on speaking terms after the latter had branded Inday Sarah’s group as “the new opposition.”

Joe III and Treñas are both PDP-Laban stalwarts and have also allegedly quarreled (of course we didn’t believe this).

The most likely scenario in the event the Joe III-Treñas alleged spat was authentic and they are hellbent to dispute the top city hall post in 2019, is for HNP and PDP-Laban to pick between the two “magbilas” (their wives are sisters).

Inday Sarah might go for the “underdog” and fellow incumbent local chief executive, while Alvarez might choose a colleague in Congress he thinks will be a “sure winner” for mayor.

This is, of course, a wishful thinking and, as we mentioned earlier, can only be possible if we stretch our curious imaginations.

-o0o-

We still strongly believe that Mayor Joe III and Rep. Treñas will swap positions and are only trying to con-fuse their rivals who still continue to read between the lines and mutely observe the Joe III-Treñas “civil war” from afar.

By keeping the cards closer to their sleeves, Joe III and Treñas increase the chance for their opponents to face a grim prospect of kicking off their campaign offensive against a windmill like Sancho Panza in Don Quixote.

In fact, Joe III confirmed to city hall reporters re-cently that he would be running for an elective post in 2019.

The fact that he did not reveal which position he intends to aspire in 2019 is a clear indication that he (or they) really plans to further draw a jigsaw puzzle in the minds of his (or their) political rivals.

Above the belt

Alex Vidal

Will Sara Duterte back

Joe III vs Jerry?

FocusModesto P. Sa-onoy

The senatorial lists

Focus/p7

Focus... from p.6

opiNioNuardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

Read and Respected 7Wednesday, March 28, 2018

THIS IS again one of the paradoxes in Christian life. These paradoxes are unavoidable since we have to deal with the many conflicts and oppositions we have within ourselves

and among ourselves, not to mention the tension among the dif-ferent dimensions and aspects of our earthly life—the material and the spiritual, the natural and the supernatural, the temporal and the eternal, etc.

We have to learn how to be cool with this condition in our life, and avoid falling into unnecessary stress and worries. This is part of the territory. We can handle it perfectly well. We just have to have the right attitudes and skills.

Christ somehow referred to this particular paradox when he said: “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…” (Jn 12, 24-25) And he acted it out himself when he finally died on the cross and then resurrected after three days.

It would be good if we keep this paradigm in mind always. We need to die in order to have eternal life with God. And this can happen if we die with Christ, that is, with faith, hope and charity, because only then can we share also in the resurrection of Christ.

St. Paul said as much: “If we have been united with him (Christ) in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him ina resur-rection like his…If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.” (Rom 6,5-8)

We have to find ways to die a little everyday so that little by little also we can achieve a certain degree of the life that God meant for us, he who created us to be his image and likeness. We have to avoid simply developing our life purely according to our designs.

we need to chisel out those parts in ourselves that are not in conformity with God’s designs for us—our sins, our defects and weaknesses. we have to render death to our pride, vanity, lust, greed, laziness, etc.

These of course will require a lot of time and effort, but before anything else, we would need nothing less than the grace of God to conquer them or at least to have control over them. And God himself gives us this grace abundantly.

This is what is meant by dying a little every day. We have to pray and make sacrifices, denying ourselves of something, even the legitimate ones, like food and drinks and some means of comfort without compromising our health, spiritual, physical and otherwise.

We have to learn to detach ourselves from earthly things while using them, so that our heart can only be filled with love for God, and with that love, we can love everybody and everything else properly.

we have to see to it that while we die a little everyday according to what is suggested above, there should also be some kind of awareness that we are being purified, liberated from some burden,etc. In other words, while there is some pain, there should also be a corresponding feeling of joy and peace, otherwise our dying would be dying for nothing.

There definitely should be some feeling that we are getting more intimate with God and with all the others, irrespective of how they are to us. This is how we ought to die so as to live the life proper to us.

Email: [email protected]

HISTORY tells us that Guttenberg’s typeset printing press revolution-ized mass communication. The

first book to be printed, which is the Bible, was a smash hit and one of the milestones in the spread of Christianity.

Then came the wire ca-ble communications and the world was awakened by a new form of communication called BROADCASTING over the airwaves in 1906. From then on, broadcasting has changed the way we com-municate or convey our mes-sages and it became known as mass media.

In any of these forms of communications, we always made sure that the people understand the context. No matter how grainy the TV screen in the cabinet-type TV set, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace and many others delivered news and commentaries that people appreciate and they literally absorbed the real context of the message.

NARROWCASTING came into the scene because airtime became so expen-sive. Messages are shortened but still, the context was not left out and the people still get the DRIFT as they call it. The people

can still DIG it. Magazines flourished and I remember my favorite weekly news and commentary Magazine before, The Free Press

Then came Social Media with “MICROCASTING” – short video clips or pictures painted with short narratives or short proposition or even a question but the context is buried deep in oblivion.

Free data that allows people to see the post but does not allow them to click the link fueled the rise of Microcasting. Deceived by two liner headlines and many other forms of deception, the people lost the real DRIFT

and cannot DIG the context of the story anymore

One example is the issue of rice. It has become so convoluted already that the government actually issued a gag order to NFA. The people are left with question marks in their heads. Do we have rice shortage? Do we have ample supply? The context was lost to the point only NFA rice is in short supply because of the agency’s inability to buy palay from the farmers aside from delays in importation. Commercial rice has no

shortage. There is no line in the market looking for rice.

The real context here is not political but the issue here are policies which, I believe, are being addressed already by officials, but until now the people are left with a lot of questions

Then the Navy frigates issue. The con-text of the issue supposedly is about the PROCUREMENT and if it was done in the process articulated by Republic Act 9184. It has been politicized that the issue of procedure was put on the back burner. The real issue here is procedural but a lot of people made a lot of assumptions because of “microcasting”

AGITATION is also a by-product of “Microcasting.” Jose Rizal wrote many letters and a couple of books to achieve the level of agitation that made the Filipinos rise against the Spaniards. Today, a simple FB post or a 3-liner tweet may inspire and stir emotions of support or disgust.

But in this chaos, the people may see the real context if they start looking at who is benefiting from the chaos.

There are lots of players in this cha-otic world of communications, especially political and economic communications. One has to have the ability to discern and dig the context of what is written, posted or twitted.

BEING AT PAR WITH A S E -AN

AT T H E moment, Fili-pino corpora-tions, at least those not giv-en income tax holidays, are required to pay the full 30% tax.

while this may mean a mere third of our corporate income, it is

ASEAN’s highest. Malay-sia levies 24% while Indonesia, 25%.

while Ma-laysia has higher labor costs than we have, Indo-nesia’s mini-mum wages are lower than the Philippines. Ma-laysia’s poverty rate is at 2% and Indonesia is at 15%.

In our case, six years of the

former PNOY administration barely moved our poverty rates from something like 24 down to 22%. The Duterte economic agenda hopes to meet today’s Indonesia by 2022. We obvi-ously have a lot of catching up to do.

Thus, when you factor in their lower power and water costs, then you know that they are in effect more competi-tive.

Likewise, despite the gen-erous corporate income tax holidays and other perks in the country, (and less of the same for Indonesia and Malaysia),

they are still able to attract more foreign direct investments that we are. Despite improving our record to 10B in 2017 from 8B in 2016, we are still at number 4 in ASEAN. We have gained but still need to work harder.

Thus there is a clamor to review corporate income taxes and perks given to investors. Are they really able to bring in investments? Or are they attracted more because of the infrastructure and connectiv-ity of other countries? (To be continued)

For reactions: facebook.com/johntriapage

MAkingsense

Jose Rey “JR” Delfin

Losing the context

beyond the

nuMbers

John Carlo Tria

Why we need to lower corporate income taxes (Part 1)

reFlectionsFr. Roy Cimagala

We should die so as to live

ate, not subservient to Malacañang. That strength lies in the opposition majority in the Upper House. We cannot expect the Lower House to be an opposition.

Congressmen tend to join the admin-istration to get their share of the national budget - their justification for getting re-elected. People are not so much con-cerned about debates but the largesse that their congressman brings home

because that means progress and income for the locals. Thus congressmen usually join and take their oaths (not taken seri-ously though) every time there’s a new president.

The LP now stands as the only politi-cal opposition, not even the Communists and their allies, that are asking for another “peace talk” with President Duterte. But even so, it has its own agenda and its can-didates usually lose in an election. what the communist cannot get from a free voting, it

gets through the back door; I think Duterte smells that. He brought into the Cabinet the “nominees” of the CPP at the start of his administration but he kicked them out and now he wants the CPP and its allies, legal fronts, and activists declared terrorists.

The CPP, the NDF are spent forces that can threaten the stability of the state but they still carry a certain level of public influence by their strong media presence.

We will see soon enough how strong the opposing slates will be.

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BACOLOD City – The current unitary system of government in the Philippines has led to the over-concentration of government powers in “Imperial Manila,” in the hands of oligarchs and the Manila elite, a university professor said.

During a recent federalism communication work-shop in Cebu City for government employees, Pro-fessor Eric de Torres said the present setup created a huge imbalance in economic development among local government units (LGUs) in the country, leaving some of them in deep poverty.

Based on Philippine Statistics Authority data, Torres said Metro Manila, Region IV-A or Calabarzon, and Central Luzon account for 62 percent of the GDP while

14 out of 17 regions account for only 38 percent.Also, records from DBM 2016 Expenditures and

Sources of Financing show that the national govern-ment accounted for 72 percent of public expenditures in the entire General Appropriation Act, compared to only 18 percent of LGUs.

Because of the slow process of project delivery, a mu-nicipality’s request for classroom construction could take several years before it is approved, Torres stressed.

With federalism, Torres said LGUs or the region will be empowered to plan their destiny such as land use and development, general supervision of local gov-ernments, housing, water supply, sanitation, sewage, hospitals, education infrastructure and others.

The shared powers of the state and the federal government will be responsible for law and order, administration of justice, education, energy, environ-ment, labor, social security, health and social welfare development, he added.

Under federalism, government leaders may consider a five-tier government consisting of federal/national level, the regions, provinces, cities and municipalities, and barangays.

“A federal government is more responsive and can deliver basic goods and services with optimum efficiency and effectiveness,” Torres said.

The results of which is a better life for all Filipinos enjoying peace and security, responsive labor, quality education and better social services. (PIA)

BACOLOD City – The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) urged residents here to take precautionary measures as the country observes Holy Week on a long weekend break.

For families going on a long travel, the police strongly suggested that all house doors should be locked and make sure no one can enter the place with the intention to steal.

BCPO reminded the public to activate the alarm, if it is available, and do not leave notes anywhere in the house that can be read by anybody nor post their where-abouts on social media. This will prevent giving leads to persons with ill intents, the police said.

Turn off all electrical appli-ances, stove, lighted candles, kerosene lamps and leaking faucets. Valuable properties outside the house should be kept to avoid attracting the at-tention of thieves.

whatever they see that have value, they will definitely go for it, the BCPO said.

The BCPO also advised the public that it would help if they request a neighbor to watch over their house while they are away.

If they plan to swim on a beach, they have to make sure that they are in the com-pany of people who know how to swim and know the first aid station in the vicinity as well as the PNP assistance desk, the police added.

Further, children should not be left on their own so they can be really safe. The BCPO said it is not advisable to assume that they are safe especially on beaches and swimming pools. (PIA)

By erwin niCavera

BACOLOD City – The plan to introduce rice block farming in Negros Occidental is seen to complement the efforts of the Of-fice of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in improving productivity through farm mechanization.

Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Mascu-lino said Monday that the “idea” is good as it will complement the farm mechanization program of the Department of Agriculture

(DA).Masculino said rice block farming is

similar to the concept of service provid-ing.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) earlier said they are eyeing the expansion of block farming program to other crops like rice and corn aside from sugarcane.

In fact, one agrarian reform organiza-tion in Kabankalan City is currently on exploration stage of implementing rice

block farming in the province.The provincial government had been

exploring a credit guarantee scheme agree-ment with interested companies in a bid to boost farm mechanization in Negros Occidental.

OPA said mechanization will enable farmers, especially those planting rice, to also improve profitability.

Meanwhile, DAR said block farming will also capacitate farmer-beneficiaries of the

POLICE Inspector Fritz John Vallador, PNPA 2018 class valedictorian, pays a courtesy call to Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City Monday afternoon. (Photo cour-tesy of Negros Occidental Capitol PIO)

BACOLOD CITY — Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. told Inspector Fritz John Napalinga Vallador, 2018 class valedictorian of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), to serve the country well as a police officer.

Vallador, 24, who hails from Kabankalan City, Negros Occi-dental, met with the governor at the Provincial Capitol Monday afternoon.

“Continue to do good in serving the country and in per-forming police work,” Marañon advised Vallador, who will join the PNP-Special Action Force

after graduation.He also received a cash in-

centive from the governor.Vallador told Marañon that

he grew up with his maternal grandparents and foster parents after his mother Anna Marie Vallador, a single parent, left him and his siblings to find a job.

Vallador’s mother, who works as a domestic helper in Spain, was not able to attend his graduation rites last March 21 at Camp General Mariano Castañeda in Silang, Cavite.

He entered the PNPA in 2014 after taking up criminology

‘imperial Manila’ gobbles growth in unitary system

Safety tips for Holy Week travelers

‘Do good in police service’, guv tells PNPA valedictorian

Rice block farming seen to boost farm mechanization

Rice/p18

Do gooD/p18

Wednesday, March 28, 2018 9http://www.thedailyguardian.net [email: [email protected] • [email protected]]

THE confidence of Filipino consumers dipped to the lowest level in almost two years during the first quarter of the year, data released by the Bango Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday showed.

According to the central bank, the confi-dence index (CI) plunged to 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018 from 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 8.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

It was the lowest since the CI regis-tered at 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016.

“According to respondents, their less favorable sentiment was mainly due to their expectations of higher prices of goods, low income, and rise in household expenses,” Rosabel Guerrero, senior director of the Department of Economic Statistics, said in a press briefing in Manila.

“Respondents also cited concerns on increase in household debts, occurrence of typhoon and other calamities, and poor harvest,” she said.

The CI was obtained from the Consumer Expectancy Survey (CES) of the BSP which was conducted from January 24 to February 3 this year.

The CES samples were drawn from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Master Sample List of Households, which is consid-ered by the central bank as a representative sample of households nationwide.

The sample size was 5,569, with 5,400 or 97 percent responding to the survey.

“The less optimistic consumer senti-ment in Q1 2018 was carried to the near term and the next 12 months due to an-ticipation of continued increase in prices of goods that, in turn, increase household spending, as well as low earnings of the family,” the BSP said.

BSP Assistant Governor Francisco Dakila noted one of the respondents at-tributed the outlook to the passage of the government’s tax reform law.

“There’s only one respondent who spe-cifically cited the TRAIN (Tax Reform for

Acceleration and Inclusion) ... We don’t want to inject our own interpretation into the reasons given by the survey respon-dents,” he said.

The proposed tax reform was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 19, 2017. It lowered the personal income tax rates and expanding the value-added tax (VAT) base starting January.

Results of central bank survey showed that consumers anticipated inflation to in-crease, interest rates to go up, and the peso to depreciate in the next 12 months.

“The number of respondents with view of higher inflation increased compared to that a quarter ago, reflecting stronger inflationary expectations over the next 12 months,” the BSP said.

“Respondents anticipated the rate of increase in commodity prices to be above the government’s 2 to 4 percent inflation target range for 2018, at 4.7 percent over the course of the next 12 months,” it said. (GMA News)

AS DAIKIN Airconditioning Philippines (DPH) continuously develop its business operations in various fields, it is Daikin’s mission to proactively develop initiatives to respond to environmental issues. Incorporating environmental initiatives throughout Daikin’s management is a priority. In all aspects of the business operations of Daikin, including product development, manufacturing,

and sales. Daikin formulates initiative that will sustain and improve the environment. Daikin promotes the development of new products and the innovation of technologies that will lead to a more environmentally healthy world.

To mitigate future global climate change, it is important to take a “the sooner, the better”

MORE than 250,000 members of the state-run Social Secu-rity System (SSS) will benefit from the Loan Restructuring Program (LRP) with penalty condonation that will be of-fered from April 2 to October 1, 2018.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc said the re-implemen-tation of the LRP that condones penalties of borrowers with past due loans is a response to the widespread clamor of those members who were not able to avail of the LRP offered last April 2016 to April 2017.

“We would like to express our gratitude to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for granting us the authority to allow our member-borrowers to clean up their loan accounts with SSS to be able to fully enjoy their benefits as members of the pension fund,” Dooc said.

SSS implemented the first LRP in April 2016 with a one-year availment period that gen-erated roughly P6 billion for the pension fund and benefited more than 800,000 individual member-borrowers.

“While many have benefited from the Loan Restructuring Program implemented in 2016, we have also received numer-ous requests from members to extend or re-implement it. As I can recall, members flocked to our branches on the deadline of the previous LRP last April 27, 2017. So for those who were not able to apply, this is your time to clean your outstand-ing loan balance and regain your good-standing with SSS,” Dooc said.

The LRP allows member-borrowers to settle their over-due loan principal and interest in full or by installment under a restructured term depending on their capacity. For both

Consumer confidence slips to lowest level

DAIKIN mounts green initiatives in energy efficient air conditioners

SSS offers loan restructuring with penalty condonation

DAiKiN/p17

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properTY giant Megaworld is integrating museums and urban artworks in its various township developments across the country.

Just last weekend, the company opened the P110-million Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) inside its 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park township in Mandurriao, Iloilo City. The 3,000-square meter museum is the first contemporary art museum in the whole of Visayas and Mindanao. It features three main galleries that houses artworks of both national artists and local Ilonggo artists. The museum also has its own theatre room called The Box and the Museum Shop which sells merchandise customized with some works of renowned artists.

“ILOMOCA is a concrete manifestation of our goal to create urban townships that have their own charm and character. We want to curate our developments in such a way that they seamlessly blend with the local culture and promote tourism,” says Kevin L. Tan, senior vice president, Megaworld.

Aside from ILOMOCA, the company is also putting up another museum in its 35.6-hectare township in the City of San Fernando in Pampanga, the Capital Town.

The ‘heritage’ museum at the Capital Town will pay tribute to the historic Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASU-DECO), where the township is located. Significant artifacts of the old sugar central will be housed in this museum, which will be integrated within the proposed mall development that will also take some design inspirations from the sugar central.

Further south, another museum is being planned to be devel-oped at the 30-hectare The Mactan Newtown. with the township’s close proximity to the historic Lapu-Lapu and Mactan Shrines, the museum is envisioned to highlight the personalities and events

Wednesday, March 28, 201812

THE P110-M Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) at Iloilo Business Park.

MegAwoRlD/p15 Photos by Ricky Alejo

CoMMUNity Wednesday, March 28, 2018 13uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

Read and Respected

By MariCyn a. de Los santos

THE Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) opened a hotline to assist the public in times of emergencies this Holy Week.

“In case of road accidents or any untow-ard incident, the public can call PSTMO hotline 09292874634,” said PSTMO head Jeck Conlu.

Conlu will lead a team of at least 16 PSTMO personnel who are available to assist the public starting Holy Wednesday until Easter Sunday through the city gov-ernment’s Oplan Semana Santa.

“If you figured in an accident while driving, or you had a flat tire and no one is available to help, you can call our team,” said Conlu.

Conlu’s team will augment the law en-forcers and national government agencies

deployed in major roads, seaports, and airports in the city to ensure peaceful and orderly observance of the Holy Week.

Meanwhile, Conlu advised the Ilong-gos to follow some safety measures this Holiday.

“For those who will go on vacation, make sure your house is locked and the

main electric switch is off. Have someone check your house from time to time. Do not post on social media that you are all on vacation to prevent giving idea to thieves that no one is in your house,” Conlu said.

For motorists, Conlu advised drivers to check their vehicles before traveling and to always bring tools and reserve tires.

THE Department of Pub-l ic Works and Highways (DPWH)-6 regional office is currently paving the 21.805-kilometer gravel road along Junction D.S. Benedicto-Spur 16-Calatrava Road in Negros Occidental.

District Engineer Jaime SJ Javellana of DPWH Negros Occidental First District En-gineering Office said the road project, which costs P829.701 million, was implemented by the defunct Negros Island Re-gion (NIR) and was taken over by Region VI after its abolition.

“The project involves con-struction of 2-lane concrete road, 6.70 meters wide from Brgy. Ani-e and to Calatrava, using 280mm thick Port

THE Police Regional Office 6 recognized several police officers on March 26, 2018 in celebration of Women’s Month at Camp Gen Martin T Delgado, Iloilo City.

The Medalya ng Kagalingan were awarded to the personnel of Sipalay City Police Station for arresting murder suspect Emerson Antipaso Jr. on March 15, 2018 at Sitio Indingawan, Barangay Manlocahoc, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental.

The same medal was awarded to members of the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit and San Enrique Municipal Police Sta-tion of Negros Provincial Police Office for arresting a suspected pusher and recovering almost P500,000 worth of suspected shabu on Feb 9.

Meanwhile, the Medalya ng Kasanayan were given to mem-bers of Regional Logistics and Research Development Division for successfully managing logistics support to different police office of PRO-6.

PO2 Neilsfe A Diosana and PO2 Edzel Edlang were also recog-nized for topping the specialized training in Criminal Investigation last January 18, 2018.

Atty. Joseph Celis, National Police Commission-6 regional director, was the guest of honor and speaker of the activity. (PO2 Shella C Gigabalen/RPIO/PRO6)

A MEMBEr of the Sipalay City Police Station in Negros Occidental re-ceives the “Medalya ng Kagalingan” from NAPOLCOM-6 director Joseph Celis for arresting murder suspect Emerson Antipaso Jr. at Sitio Indan-gawan, Manlocahoc, Sipalay City on March 15, 2018. The awardees were recognized during the traditional Monday flag-raising and awarding cer-emony on March 26, 2018 at the PRO6 Grandstand in Camp Gen. Martin T Delgado, Iloilo City. (Photo by PO2 Shella C Gigabalen/RPIO/PRO6)

By LeoMeL Pasquin

THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Regional Office 6 (BJMP) joined the 2018 International Day of Forest held every March 21 through a mangrove planting activity at Katung-gan Eco-Park in Nabitasan, Leganes, Iloilo.

The activity is part of BJMP-6’s commitment to helping mitigate cli-mate change.

One of the activities is to continual-ly support the reforestation program of Leganes by maintaining an additional 7.5 hectares of mangrove area.

Since 2013, the BJMP-6 has been actively volunteering in populating

the mangrove forest and nursery in the Katunggan Eco-Park which en-couraged other government agencies to follow suit.

Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, BJMP Assistant Regional Director, said the agency taking part in the preservation and conservation of the environment is always part of their programs.

“Inasmuch as we want to contribute, we would like to make this mangrove-planting our long-term plan. If we can we possibly make this activity on a monthly basis rather than a quarterly, the better,” Peremne said.

Meanwhile, BJMP-6 has managed to plant 400 hundred new seedlings at

the identified spot provided for by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of Laga-nes. According to Joseph Espinosa, president and head of the care-takers of the eco-park, there is approximately 10% chance that the mangroves will thrive due to various reasons. Among the major factors are the sudden surge in tides, the pressure brought about by sea current and climate change.

“We noticed there is only a 10% chance that all of the mangroves planted will survive. That is why we employed the technology from Thailand to break the sea current in order to give the mangroves a better chance of thriving. Presently we have

THE dPwH-6 Regional Inspectorate Team headed by Construction Division chief, Engr. Ormel G. Santos (left), inspect the upgraded section of D.S. Benedicto-Spur 16-Calatrava Road in Negros Occidental. (Photo courtesy of Engr. Ormel G. Santos)

pstMo opens Holy week public safety hotline

DPWH paves 21-km road in NegOcc

BJMP renews commitment to preserve Katunggan Eco-Park

a 40% percent chance of preserving the seedlings and could possibly with-stand the current and be able to grow into a more resilient growth stage,” Espinosa said.

Presently the Katunggan Eco-Park occupies a 32.5-hectare protected area with the help of the Iloilo Provincial Government and the Zoological Soci-ety of London. Once a denuded beach-front, it is now home to 10 dominant and endemic mangrove species such as pagapat, bakhaw, and bungalon.

It is also a sanctuary for 36 species of birds, including migratory species which are on the verge of extinction. It is also instrumental in sustaining the huge seagrass beds in the coast which attracted Dugongs or sea cows.

“So much has changed since we launched the program in 2009. The community has become so involved with the program that they now serve

as vanguards against poachers and other illegal fishers. The nearby com-munity has greater access to fresh water now and the sand has started to reclaim the coasts, making it suitable for wildlife such as crabs, dugongs, fishes, and even birds to thrive,” Es-pinosa said.

“This would not be possible if not for the long-term commitment of the BJMP to take part in our program and we could not be thankful enough for their commitment to sustain the same.“

Katunggan Eco-Park is now a re-cipient of several grants and awards from various funding agencies, NGOs and prominent among those is the ZSG funds. In 2015, it garnered the Walt Disney Award for Conservation for employing among the best conserva-tion measures in the world and the first for such in the whole Philippines.

Cops lauded at PRO-6

dPwH/p15

sss... from p.9

NAtioNWednesday, March 28, 201814 uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

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eXTra-Judicial declaraTioN of heirShipNotice is hereby given that the property of the late

Spouses Merle C. Nipales, and Felix Nipales known as parcel of land with Transfer Cert. of Title No. T-138561 situated in the City of Bacolod, Negros Occ., containing an area of Two Hundred Forty (240) square meters, more or less; is subject of EXTRA-JUDICIAL DECLARATION OF HEIRSHIP to their surviving heirs Ferlie C. Nipales and Lexyll N. Bordon both residing in Bacolod City. As per Doc. No. 5; Page No. 1; Book No. 62; Series of 2018; under Notary Public Atty. Imelda F. Gerangaya.

MANILA – Law enforcement agencies involved in the anti-drug campaign said Tuesday there was no evidence that drug syndicates were using human rights groups to discredit the govern-ment.

Officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) made the clarification in light of comments from two senior government officials that human rights groups critical of the administration’s anti-drug campaign may have become “unwitting tools” of drug lords aiming to stoke destabiliza-tion.

PDEA said there is no proof yet to claims publicly made by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.

“That is still subject of further investigation by all law enforcement

agencies,” PDEA spokesperson Director Derrick Carreon said in a Palace press briefing.

PNP Spokesperson Chief Supt. John Bulalacao said police also have no evi-dence yet linking drug lords to human rights groups.

Carreon, nonetheless, said Roque and Cayetano’s claims may be true after all “seeing the trend of how they (hu-man rights groups) attack the anti-drug campaign.”

Cayetano and Roque did not mention any human rights group, but interna-tional non-government organizations advocating human rights such as Am-nesty International and Human Rights Watch have been among vocal critics of the anti-drug campaign.

HRw, nonetheless, responded to Roque and Cayetano’s allegations, call-ing them “shockingly dangerous and

shameful.”“Are they trying to have death squads

target human rights activists? Cayetano and Roque provide no evidence. They should withdraw their comments imme-diately,” said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams in a statement.

Karapatan also slammed the allega-tion, saying it was “dangerous” and put the lives of human rights advocates on the line.

4,075 druG SuSpecTS killedAt least 4,075 drug suspects have

been killed in presumed legitimate anti-drug operations since Duterte as-sumed office in July 2016. Human rights groups, however, believe this number is understated as it does not include those killed by so-called vigilantes, some of whom were alleged to be state-sponsored.

Duterte and senior government of-ficials have repeatedly dismissed allega-tions of human rights groups that numer-ous violations were being committed in the drug war, saying police were merely carrying out their duties.

Carreon said the PDEA has been sen-sitive to criticism about the drug war and has made adjustments on the conduct of anti-narcotics operations.

“As far as PDEA is concerned, we have made adjustments on the ground in order that we would not be criticized negatively in regard to the conduct of such operations,” he said.

The PNP, for a while put in the backseat following teen deaths in suspi-cious operations last year, had revised guidelines for the relaunch of its con-troversial house-to-house “knock and plead” campaign “Oplan Tokhang.” (ABS-CBN News)

MANILA - The territorial dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea remained a security challenge despite an improvement in bilateral ties, the Philippine defense chief said on Monday as he accepted three maritime surveillance planes from Japan.

Delfin Lorenzana, in a speech at a naval base south of the capital Manila, said the three Japanese donated second-hand TC90 planes will definitely boost the navy’s capability to gather intelligence in the disputed South China Sea.

“We must admit that much still has to be done to boost our military capability equipment in order to meet a number of persistent maritime security challenges,” Lorenzana said, identifying territo-rial disputes with China, and other countries, over resource-rich areas in the South China Sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where about $5 trillion worth of sea-borne goods pass every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have conflicting claims in the strategic waterway.

Tensions between the Philippines and China over the disputed sea have eased since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power in July 2016 and improved relations with Beijing via Chinese trade and investments.

Lorenzana said the Philippines was also con-cerned with piracy and the movement of armed

insurgents in the Sulu Sea and other transnational crimes, including smuggling of illegal drugs and poaching into rich fishing grounds in territorial waters.

Japan planned to lease five surveillance planes but decided last year to transfer without cost the aircraft after changes were made in Tokyo’s self-defence forces law allowing donation of excess defence and military equipment to partner countries.

Japan’s vice minister for defence, Tatsuo Fukuda, said Tokyo was willing to help its allies improve its capabilities help secure the safety of international sea lanes and benefit not only the Philippines but the entire region.

During the handover ceremony, Lorenzana and Fukuda watched the planes land at a naval base guarding the mouth of Manila Bay, hundreds of miles southeast of the disputed Scarborough Shoal now patrolled by Chinese coast guard ships.

The navy said the surveillance planes have a range of 300 km (186 miles), twice the capability of its existing aircraft and could patrol into China’s seven artificial islands in the Spratly, which had been converted into military bases.

The navy said it has a budget of nearly 6 billion peso ($114.65 million) to acquire two brand new long-range maritime patrol aircraft to enhance its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. (Reuters)

MANILA – Malacañang on Tuesday thanked lawmakers who urged President Rodrigo Duterte to resume peace talks with the communist movement but said negotiations could only resume when the rebels stop “violent streaks and wanton killings.”

“We thank those who signed the resolution for their support to the peace agenda of the administration,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“[But] [t]hey (communist rebels) must cease their hos-tilities against innocent civil-ians and government forces, end their extortion activities, violent streaks and wanton kill-ings, lay down their arms and return to the fold of law and restart to live normal lives,” he added.

Roque said the executive branch “will exhaust any and all means to achieve lasting peace towards unity and prog-ress” but that “there must be an enabling environment” before the government returns to the negotiating table.

In November 2017, Duterte signed a proclamation to for-mally cancel peace negotiations as communist rebels continued to attack uniformed personnel and civilians in rural areas de-spite ongoing talks.

“The President’s position has always been clear and con-sistent: He remains committed to peace. We find it unfortunate that the communists have be-come spoilers of peace because of their penchant for double talk and treachery,” Roque said. (ABS-CBN News)

schemes, SSS shall waive all the loan penalties after the member has completed paying the restructured loan.

The program covers all member-borrowers who have past due loans like the Salary Loan, Emergency Loan, Edu-cational Loan (old), Study Now Pay Later Plan, Voc-Tech Loans, Y2K Loans and Investments Incentive Loan.

To qualify under the second LRP, the loan must be past due for at least six months from the start of the second implementa-tion of LRP.

Member-borrowers must be residing or working as of the date of the disaster in a calamity/disaster-stricken area declared by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) or in the case of Ondoy, by the National

pDeA, pNp: No proof drug lords are using rights groups vs government

China sea dispute still a challenge, defense chief says

Palace: Gov’t will resume talks if rebels ‘cease hostilities’

MANILA - For the first time in history, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) gave cash grants to anti-drug units whose work led to the arrest of high-value targets.

PDEA on Tuesday morning gave more than P6 mil-lion in rewards to five of its operating units as part of “PDEA Operation: Lawmen,” an incentive program for “meritorious anti-drug operations.”

According to PDEA Chief Aaron Aquino, the incen-tive program was launched in 2016 as a counterpart to a rewards program for civilians who provide information on drug suspects.

Aquino said funding for these cash rewards come from the agency’s annual budget.

Those who received incentives were the Special Enforcement Service, Intelligence and Investigation Service, Regional Office- Eastern National Capital Region, and Regional Office-Manila.

Six civilians were also given cash grants for providing information on illegal drug activities and suspects.

A total of P7.52 million was divided among the informants with codenames “Krugger,” “Jacpat,” “Mata,” “Keeper,” “BI-1,” and “Highway Man.”

Private individuals who wish to provide informa-tion on illegal drug activities can send a report to PDEA through fax number (02) 927-2799, by email ([email protected]), or through the PDEA hotline 0927-915-0616. (ABS-CBN News)

PDEA gives cash incentives to high-performing units

Government. All 256 SSS branches and service of-

fices nationwide will start accepting ap-plications to LRP starting April 2, 2018. Qualified members only have six months to avail of the program or until October 1, 2018.

“Loan payment is inevitable for our members. Even if they avoid paying the loan amount at present, these loans – the principal amount plus interests and penal-ties - will be deducted from any final benefit they are entitled to like retirement, total per-manent disability and death,” Dooc said.

Dooc, however, reminded borrowers who have approved LRP applications in 2016 to 2017 that they are no longer quali-fied to apply under the second LRP.

Moreover, members granted with any final benefit claim prior to the LRP avail-

ment period and those who committed fraud against the SSS are disqualified from the program.

Likewise, approved LRP applicants cannot participate in any future SSS loan condonation or restructuring programs to instill credit discipline.

“While the availment period of the LRP is just six months, we still expect to generate about P1.2 billion income from the program and condone some P2.85 bil-lion penalties of our members. This is our way of helping our members to clear their obligations within their capacity, as well as making sure that they have a secured future with their entitlement to full SSS benefits because we at SSS know that a majority of our members have undergone difficulties caused by disasters and calami-ties,” Dooc said.

15Wednesday, March 28, 2018uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

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An small, unexpected gift brightens your day. Generosity on your part gratifies a loved one.

Life feels a bit chaotic, confusing, or overwhelming. Trust that you will make sense of everything; it just takes time.

Daydreams help create the future. Sharing your hopes and wishes with those closest to you helps them to come true.

Both your work and an important relationships require time and attention. You’ll have to balance taking care of physical and emotional tasks.

Today you feel torn: you want company and yet you don’t. Relax and find a happy medium between solitude and sharing.

An opportunity for partnership comes your way. You can build a strong, sharing connection.

Today you tend to see only what you want to see. A positive focus is fine, but remember reality too!

Today you have a stronger need than usual to have your work under your own, personal control.

Your intuition about a family member is right on. Trust your feelings, but don’t try to get everything out in the open.

Contact and caresses are extra important today. Get your quota of hugs.

The people closest to you may swing from hot to cold in their attitudes. You can help them balance intimacy and independence.

You may be inclined to resist authority a bit. Make sure you have enough space to work your own way today.

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DPWH... from p.13land Concrete Cement Pavement (PCCP), including slope protection, lined canal and thermoplastic pave-ment markings,” Javellana said.

Javellana added that the road is one of the projects included in the Region’s Multi-Year Program, which started in 2016. He said al-most all road sections in the towns of D.S. Benedicto and Calatrava are paved.

During the recent project site visit of DPWH-6 Regional Inspec-torate Team, Engr. Ormel G. Santos,

GMA Network’s biggest stars Dennis Trillo, Jennylyn Mer-cado, Lovi Poe, Alden Rich-

ards, Betong Sumaya and Dingdong Dantes are thrilled to bring all-out entertainment to Pinoys in the US and Canada as they prepare for their back-to-back ‘Sikat Ka, Kapuso!’ shows this coming April.

The all-star cast are busy rehears-ing for their special performances dedicated to our Kapuso abroad. Following the successful West Coast leg last year, GMA Pinoy TV heads to the East Coast to hold back-to-back Sikat Ka, Kapuso! shows on April

7 at the Newark Symphony Hall in New Jersey, USA and April 8 at the Sony Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada.

Kapuso Drama King Dennis Trillo highlighted that their main goal is to make the show as intimate as possible despite the size of the venue. “Kahit isa siyang malaking show na punong puno ng malalaking artista, nagre-reach out talaga kami sa audience kasi mas masarap yung feeling na nalalapitan mo sila, at may personal experience ang bawat isa sa kanila da-hil sila ‘yung totoong bida sa show,” he added.

Ultimate Star Jennylyn Mercado also shared how much she enjoyed last year’s Sikat Ka, Kapuso! in California and how she wants to ex-perience the same fun with the group again. “Nung sa una naming pinun-tahan, sobrang saya kasi nag-enjoy ta-laga ‘yung buong grupo so ine-expect namin na this time, mas masaya kasi nadagdagan kami ng isa pa tapos dalawang countries pa mapupuntahan namin. Excited ako kasi kahit pagod kami sa trip, sobrang sarap naman sa pakiramdam na magkasundo kayong lahat,” she revealed.

Kapuso Premier Drama Actress

Kapuso stars share excitement to party with pinoys abroad

Lovi Poe, on the other hand, recalled her favorite part of the show with the Kapuso abroad. “Isa sa mga paborito kong part ng show last year ‘yung nag-share sila ng kwento nila on stage and then kinantahan namin sila ng songs na bumabagay sa buhay nila. Pinaghandaan namin ito and we really hope we were able to bring a piece of home to them.”

Pambansang Bae Alden Richards, who gladly expressed being back in the cast together with his fellow Kapuso artists, said that he is looking forward to spend time with his fellow Pinoys once again following the success of their first show last year. “Nakaka-miss din na makasama sila ulit para sa second leg ng Sikat Ka, Kapuso! and ito ‘yung chance na mapasaya ang mga Kapuso natin,” said Alden.

“Marami kaming papasayahin ngay-ong April kaya abangan nila ang

bagong pasabog na ipapakita ng Sikat Ka, Kapuso! team,” said Kapuso comedian Betong Sumaya who also encourages the Kapuso abroad to watch out for their upcoming shows. “Ngayon kasama namin si Sir Dingdong so ibang flavor naman this time, and mas maram-ing interaction ngayon sa audience,” he added.

The latest addition to the cast, Kapuso Primetime King Dingdong Dantes, said that it is a privilege for him as an actor to perform for the Filipino audience abroad. “Although we do not usually sing and dance on screen, we hope to bring the Philippines closer to them through our music and shows.”

For ticket inquiries, contact 1-917-858-2356 for Sikat Ka, Kapuso! New Jersey and 1-866-7KAPUSO for Sikat Ka, Kapuso! Toronto. For more updates, follow GMA Pinoy TV on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

(From left) dINgdONg Dantes, Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Alden Rich-ards, Betong Sumaya

(From left) ALdEN Richards, Lovi Poe, Dingdong Dantes, Jennylyn Mercado, Dennis Trillo, Betong Sumaya.

MEgaWorlD... from p.12during the Battle of Mactan, one of the most significant moments in Philippine history.

At present, the company is also aggres-sively putting up urban art installations across its townships as part of its ‘spruce up’ efforts to promote art and design in its developments. These include bronze monuments, creative pedestrian cross-walks, wall, roof and floor murals as well as digital art signages.

“In every township that we build, we want to see arts, culture, history and heritage to be part of the development’s

overall character. This way, we don’t only build communities. We build destinations that promote tourism,” explains Tan.

The company sees tourism as one of the key drivers of its existing and even upcom-ing township developments.

“During the past years, we saw the influx of tourists in our townships, particularly in our lifestyle malls, because of what we of-fer beyond shopping and dining. At Venice Grand Canal in McKinley Hill, for example, visitors from various parts of the country and the world have come to see the beauti-ful architecture, and they end up dining and shopping in the mall,” reveals Tan.

chief of the Construction Division, said that they are closely hastening the project implementation to en-sure that only quality materials are being utilized by the contractor.

Santos also said that the DPwH is also continuously implement-ing the upgrading of various road sections along D.S. Benedicto-Calatrava Road to provide a more convenient, safer and faster trans-portation access.

The road from D.S. Benedicto to Calatrava was then a gravel road providing access to motorists and

trucks loaded with sugarcane, thus upgrading this road network would improve the accessibility and mo-bility in the highland barangays of the two towns, enhancing the local economic growth.

The upgrading will also open vast development and opportunity potentials that would level up the standard of living of the local folks; and shortens travel time from Bacolod to Calatrava and neigh-boring towns in the northern part of Negros Occidental. (DPWH-6/RPAIO)

Wednesday, March 28, 201816

MEGAWORLD recently unveiled the Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) located at Iloilo Business

Park’s Casa Emperador Building.Leading the event was Kevin L. Tan, senior

vice president, Megaworld; Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, chief operating officer of Megaworld; Prof. Martin Genodepa, ILOMOCA curator; and Edwin Valencia, ILOMOCA art patron.

Also gracing the event was Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry Treñas and international Spanish artist Gines Serran Pagan who mastered the bronze sculpture of Ilonggo hero Martin Delgado which stands in front of Casa Emperador.

“ ILOMOCA is a dream project we initiated through Megaworld Founda-tion with the vision of enriching the Iloilo Community and the whole Western Visayas with a new avenue for cultural and academic convergence, to provide Filipinos and foreigners a modern experience of art and understanding cultures and generations and to inspire positive transformation in society. It is our first museum development and there is no place than to have it here in Iloilo Business Park,” said Megaworld Senior VP Kevin Tan.

UP-Visayas Vice-Chancellor Martin Gedopa will serve as ILOMOCA curator which opens every Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For queries call (033) 5019417 or visit www.facebook.com/ILOMOCA.

KEVIN L. Tan, senior vice president, Megaworld; Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, chief operating officer, Megaworld; Martin Genodepa, ILOMOCA curator; and Edwin Valencia, ILOMOCA art patron admire the bronze bust of Ilonggo hero Martin Delgado

ILOILO City Rep. Jerry Treñas and Dr. Dan Valencia CHONA Layson-Bondoc, Tess Dulalia and Kristine Yap

INdAy Segovia and Dr. Sandra Sarabia-Gomez

yOur Pagemaker and Kevin Tan INTErNATIONAL Spanish artist Gines Ser-ran Pagan and Nicole Angela

HudLuIg Reider and Narzalina Lim BEIA and Mars Florete

IrMA Lim, Maritess Lim, Nat Lim and Iloilo City Tourism officer Junel Ann Divinagracia MAyOr Ed and Tina Arancillo dr. Nikko Raymundo, Gina Valencia, Agnes Raymundo, and Dr. Joel Raymundo

dENISE Malong, Engr. Daisy Villanueva, Jennifer Fong, and Lourdes Alfonso-Gutierez

SEN Rafael with artists Aze Ong and Ged Merino

MArTIN Genodepa and Eric Divinagracia NAdINE and Jaime Faulo

ELLEN Divinagracia and daughter Ann Divinagracia ENgr. Zinnia Teruel, Angelo Solarte and Louella Gurrea

17Wednesday, March 28, 2018uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

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DaiKin... from p.9approach. Early implementation is a key to the further reduction of future environmental impact. As soon as the most balanced and feasible solution for an application is found, Daikin will commercialize and disseminate the technology to contribute to the efforts to tackle the issue of global climate change.

environmental action plan 2020 The Daikin Group positions environmental protection as one of

its most important management tasks. Based on DPH’s Fusion 20 strategic management plan, under the formulated Environmental Action Plan 2020, Daikin aims to decrease environmental impact throughout the value chain so that Daikin can achieve sustainable business growth and protect the environment. Under Daikin’s Environmental Action Plan 2020, Daikin is taking action based on three pillars: 1 provide environmental friendly products and services, 2 minimize environmental impact through manufactur-ing and other activities, and 3 expand the Green Heart circle worldwide.

Since air conditioners emit a particularly large amount of CO2 during its lifecycle, Daikin is focusing on disseminating the use of energy-efficient air conditioners and air conditioners that use low-global-warming-potential refrigerants. By penetrating the global market, the Daikin group sold about 6.5Million of RAC units in 48 countries, and about 15 million units with R32 refrigerant sold. Estimated 27 million tons of CO2 emission reduced. By converting to R32, Daikin projected the reduction of global warming impact in 2030 by approximately 800 million tons of CO2.

Daikin has identified R32 as a very beneficial refrigerant for single and multi-split type air conditioners. R32 is the next-

generation refrigerant that has highest cooling power, zero ozone depletion potential, and lowest global warming potential versus other refrigerants in the market. When looking for a new aircon-ditioning for any application, Daikin believes that consumers should not only look for inverter, but consumers should look for R32 inverter. Daikin believes that the transition to R32 will help to meet both the HFC phase down schedule and the HCFC phase out schedule of the Montreal Protocol. Daikin is now in the process of further study to identify a suitable refrigerant for the other applications.

vrv X/a Series The key to innovative energy saving is to increase efficiency

during low-load operation. Using data gathered from actual op-eration, Daikin discovered that air conditioning systems operate

at partial – half or less than of 80% of their annual operation period. This inspired Daikin to develop new technologies to enhance energy efficiency when operating only with few units in a multiple airconditioning system. Utilizing these technologies, Daikin’s new VRV X and VRV A series raise the standards for energy efficiency. By uniting advanced software and hardware technologies these greatly increased the energy saving during actual operation. Daikin newest software technology, the VRT Smart Control. This VRT smart control, optimizes the compressor speed by calculating the required cooling for the entire system and optimal refrigerant temperature based on data sent by each airconditioning unit. With its air volume control, it reduces com-pressor load and minimizes operation loss. VRT control ensures energy savings and comfortable air conditioning to meet the needs of the consumers.

Daikin’s research and development team continuously improve the VRV system. Incorporating a new hardware technology, a new scroll compressor refrigerant leakage is minimized when operating only with few units in a multiple airconditioning system. Operation loss due to refrigerant leakage is reduced by the new mechanism to ensure stable partial load operation.

For easier installation, Automatic Refrigerant Charge Function automates the charging of the proper refrigerant amount and the closing of shut-off valves with just one press of the switch after pre-charging. Simplified installation eliminates excessive and insufficient refrigerant charge amount due to mistakes in calcula-tion, and this led to higher installation quality.

The VRV X and VRV A is the most advanced air conditioning system in the world and is ideal for large and small spaces.



NegreNse... from p.20

Do gooD... from p.8

Five... from p.4

PesoNs... from p.1

Boracay... from p.1

sP juNks... from p.1

Completing the Top 10 are Clark Ken Pelione, Adrian Amor dela Luna, Kenneth Al-len Ballo-allo, Alfonso Louis Olendo, Christian Pelione, Jan-nica Freyan Maric Llena, Karl Albert Alvaran, Jose Charles Montalvo and Karl Patrick

Bardinas. For special awards, the

Best 10 Under is Louie Nerio while Jamelin Ruth Lim is Best 12 Under, Adam Noah Belano is Best 14 Under, and Aliah Grace Belano is the Top Female. They all received Php 500 each.

Completing the Top 10 in

the Open division are Danny Maerks Mangao, Eric Abanco, Ric Raymund dela Pena, Ted Ian Montoyo, Felix Gonzales, Marvin Ting, Jerich Cajeras, Joseph Navarra and Sonny Pasco.

The Top Female player is Eden Agape Tumbos who went home with P1,000 cash prize.

units at Bago City College.For topping the Maragtas

(Magiting at Responsableng

Alagad ng Batas na Gagabay sa Transpormasyong Alay sa Bayang Sinilangan) Class of 2018, Vallador received the Presidential Kampilan Award

and Plaque of Merit from Presi-dent Rodrigo R. Duterte.

He was also given a brand-new house and lot by the nation-al government. (NLG/PNA)

Leganes police traffic investi-gator, Arnel, who was driving the motorcycle, he tried to overtake a tricycle.

The tricycle, which was driven by Jonard Patagaytay, 31, also of Cagamutan Norte village, then signaled to turn left.

“According to witnesses, the motorcycle was speeding. It was already too late for him to avoid a collision,” he added.

Maude said the victims were thrown off the motorcycle.

Angelo suffered serious injuries while his parents sus-tained non-life threatening

wounds on different parts of their body.

Maude said the boy’s grand-mother informed the parents hours later that he is in a coma at the West Visayas State Uni-versity Medical Center in Jaro, Iloilo City.

Maude said it only Arnel was wearing a crash helmet when the incident happened.

Patagaytay and his lone pas-senger, Mary Grace Atilda who is pregnant, were not injured.

Meanwhile, a couple was also injured after the motor-cycle they were riding was sideswiped by a Toyota Hi-Lux pick-up Monday evening in Barangay Balabago, Jaro,

Iloilo City.Michelle Grajo, 31, and

her husband Rino Grajo, 30, also of Balabago village, were brought to West Visayas State University Medical Center for treatment.

Michelle suffered head inju-ries while Rino had bruises on his left elbow and complained of pain in his back.

Police accounts said that the pickup truck driven by Jessie Arguelles of Barangay Cubay, Jaro, sideswiped the motorcycle while trying to overtake it.

Both vehicles came from La Paz district and were heading to Barangay Bito-on, Jaro when the accident happened.

PBa... from p.20

rice... from p.8

PDea-6... from p.2

14 youth... from p.2

mate in Petron, during a Com-missioner’s Cup game against the Alaska Aces.

He was also fined P250,000 for the incident.

Since returning to the Phil-ippines with Alab, howev-er, Balkman has repeatedly

expressed his remorse and sought to mend fences with Santos. He also has expressed a desire to return to the PBA, something that is now pos-sible.

Marcial said that Balkman has given his assurance regard-ing his behavior both on and off the court.

“He has matured since the incident, now that he’s 33,” said the commissioner.

San Miguel Beer still owns the right of first refusal for Balkman, but the Beermen have tapped Troy Gillenwater as their import for the up-coming Commissioner’s Cup. (ABS-CBN News)

Comprehensive Agrarian Re-form Program (CARP) to boost production by consolidating their lands and giving them the chance to manage collectively in order to produce more.

Masculino said considering

that ARBs have small landhold-ings, block farming allows them to make their areas be-come contiguous and appropri-ate for farm mechanization.

He added that by making as-sociations become service pro-viders, their economies of scale are being improved by incurring

lower production cost.“In essence, mechanization

is similar to of block farming as they both employ the concept of collectivity,” Masculino said, adding that OPA can also contribute to the success of rice block farm project in the province. (EPN/PNA)

established these councils. It remains under debate whether they serve their mandate,” Getalla said.

Getalla said one of the bases in declaring a barangay as drug-cleared is the functionality of the BADAC.

“They should have an aux-iliary team. They should meet every day and conduct monthly

activities,” he said.He said the oversight com-

mittee has already finished the deliberation of more or less 300 barangays in the region to be declared as drug-cleared.

“The committee carefully validates these candidates. There is an intelligence officer going around the barangay to check if there is no more presence of drug users and pushers in the area. So we are

just waiting for the documents to be signed by the oversight committee,” he said.

Getalla said PDEA aims to make all barangays become ac-tive in drug-clearing operations by June 2018.

Iloilo Police Provincial Of-fice (IPPO) director Marlon Tayaba previously raised his concern that some anti-drug councils in the province remain non-functional.

as HIV/AIDS, mental health, electronic sports or e-gaming, access to education, livelihood opportunity, environment and waste management, among others.

In the project Break the Silence, Combatir wanted to “break the silence” and “end the stigma” of mental health by creating an online and physical community of mental health advocates in Iloilo City.

“This project aims to height-en awareness and action on mental health by reaching out, hearing out, and helping out,” said Combatir.

Abilo conducted lectures on

HIV/AIDS in 4 public schools in the metro – Jaro National High School, Iloilo City Na-tional High School, Lapaz National High School, and Ramon Avanceña National High School.

“The lecture aims to create a society of well-informed citizens about Human Immunodefi-ciency Syndrome and AIDS to clarify common misconceptions about the disease, to raise aware-ness, and to reduce the stigma on People Living With HIV through lectures and talks, especially among the youth,” Abilo said.

Other projects are Con-Quest: Iloilo’s First ESports Convention (electronic gam-ing) , Project Smart, a film

showing which proceeds were used to buy smart TV given to Feliciana Java Kelly Elemen-tary School, Pint for a Pet to promote blood transfusion for dogs in local vets, SWELDO a one-day seminar on Beauty Care Services, Eco Benches made of plastic bottles filled with plastic wastes and wrap-pers, Lead to Lid dance ses-sions, Point Zero a campaign on moral values formation, Earth Work which employed 3 persons from slum areas for at least 4 months, among others.

To sustain these projects, the Fellows will take part in the Youth Lab, where the prospects of their projects will be tackled for funding.

“They could be involved or they have knowledge of the in-cident,” Tayaba said in describ-ing the persons of interest.

Tayaba refused to name the persons but he hinted that one or two were with Aguilar when the ambush happened.

“We found it improbable that of the seven persons inside one vehicle, only Mr. Aguilar was hit by the bullets,” Tayaba said.

He added that the gunmen appeared to be certain of Agui-lar’s position inside the heavi-ly-tinted vehicle.

Aguilar was with six com-panions on the day of the am-bush and police investigators were only able to talk to four while the two others remain missing.

But investigators were un-able to extract information from the four persons after they

invoked their right to remain silent.

“They appeared for po-lice interview together with a lawyer. Pero saan ka naman nakakita ng police interview na they invoked their right to remain silent? We’re just merely asking what transpired during the incident. We don’t accuse them or anyone else,” Tayaba said.

IPPO investigators are enter-taining seven angles in Agui-lar’s murder.

“But most of them are con-nected with each other. Bottom line is, we found weight in the business rivalry side,” he added.

Tayaba revealed that inves-tigators have asked another businessman for questioning but the latter declined.

Aguilar, 48, was the presi-dent of Eagle Crest Gaming and Holdings Corporation, the sole operator of the STL in Iloilo province.

Sources earlier cited a con-flict with a business partner in Batangas as one of the likely reasons.

Police are also looking at illegal gambling operators who might have been “hurt” because of Aguilar’s STL business in Iloilo province.

Investigators are also con-sidering reports that Eagle Crest applied for a franchise to also operate STL in Iloilo City and other provinces.

Tayaba lamented reports that he was at odds with Aguilar despite the fact that they be-long to the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Class 1990. The slain businessman is an adopted member of PNPA Class 1990.

“We’re not close but I don’t consider myself his enemy,” he added.

Still, Tayaba vowed he would do everything to bring justice to Aguilar’s death.

who wanted to withdraw their consent to the ordinance which granted a private firm the fran-chise to distribute water in Jaro district.

Opposition Councilors Josh-ua Alim and Plaridel Nava were only able to convince Coun-cilor Armand Parcon to vote in favor of their resolution entitled “Officially Withdrawing Our Support and Consent to Regu-lation Ordinance No. 2016-118, Otherwise Known as ‘An Ordi-nance Granting a Franchise to South Balibago Resources, Inc. (SBRI), to distribute water in the district of Jaro, Iloilo City and Authorizing the City May-or to Sign the Memorandum of Agreement by and between the City Government of Iloilo and South Balibago Resources, Inc. Based on the Newly Dis-covered Evidence.”

Alim’s “newly discovered evidence” is the Department of the Interior and Local Govern-ment (DILG) Opinion No. 18-2018 posted on the DILG web-site Mar. 21, 2018, which said that “local governments are be-reft of authority to grant water and sanitation franchise.”

The legal opinion was ad-dressed to Councilor R Leone Gerochi, committee on public utilities chairperson, who re-quested for the agency’s stand on Dec. 8, 2017.

The DILG opinion was based on the Local Govern-ment Code (LGC) of 1991 and Presidential Decree 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines of 1976.

Alim and Nava justified their intention to withdraw their support to the ordinance by stating that their objection to Resolution No. 2016-212, which confirmed the MOA signed by SBRI and former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, was the “clear manifestation of the objection to allowing SBRI to operate as water distributor in Iloilo City.”

Alim and Nava said their objection to the MOA, in effect, withdrew and rejected their previous approval and support to the ordinance that granted

SBRI’s franchise.They added that the DILG

opinion was not presented during the deliberation of the franchise, thus, it warrants consideration as a new piece of evidence.

Majority Floor Leader Edu-ardo Peñaredondo, who au-thored both the resolution and the ordinance for SBRI’s fran-chise, said he based his actions on the recommendation of the Committee on Franchises and Public Utilities which Gerochi chairs.

Nava, on his part, attacked the technicality of the ordi-nance: “An ordinance should only carry one subject mat-ter.”

Apparently, Ordinance No. 2016-118 contained two sub-ject matters: the granting of the franchise and the granting of authority to the mayor to sign the MOA.

Citing the LGC, Nava said the local government’s power to grant franchise does not cover water distribution.

Nava stressed that there is still a remedy to the “error” committed by the SP.

“A franchise is a mere privi-lege, it is not an absolute right,” Nava said. Thus, with just cause and with reasonable grounds, can be revoked or canceled.

In the case of SBRI, Nava said the “just cause” to cancel the franchise is the “rule of law”, which states that “LGU is not vested any authority to grant the franchise.”

“We are empowered to undo what has been done illegally by this august body,” Nava said.

STUDY ITGerochi urged his colleagues

to avoid rushing their decisions. He clarified that his query with the DILG does not only pertain to the SBRI franchise but also to other water investors that expressed interest to distribute water in Iloilo City.

Gerochi recalled that his initial recommendation was to give the mayor authority to sign the MOA.

“However, it was insisted upon that instead of a MOA,

there should be a franchise. Out of respect to the opinion of others, we will have the memo-randum of agreement and we’ll have a franchise ordinance,” Gerochi said.

But Gerochi did not name who insisted to grant the fran-chise to SBRI instead of a mere MOA.

Gerochi objected to the resolution because, “it did not give other members of the body time to study it. Gusto nila ora-orada gid desisyunan. Second, I am defending the common sentiment of the City Council. The minutes would bear me out. And third, it will send a wrong signal to the investors if we act impulsively on the matter.”

With only three votes for the affirmative, the resolution was “lost”, according to Councilor Candice Tupas, who presided the session.

Gerochi objected while Pe-ñaredondo abstained together with Ely Estante, Mandrei Malabor, Liezl Joy Salazar, Jose Efraim Treñas, Lady Julie Grace Baronda, and Liga ng mga Barangay President Rey-land Hervias.

But Nava asked for a re-consideration of the body’s decision.

The SBRI franchise was ap-proved Apr. 12, 2016.

On April 5, 2016, Nava and Alim insisted that SBRI needs a franchise before it can start supplying water to some subdivisions in Jaro as the MOA between the Iloilo City Government and SBRI will not suffice to cover the “public interest” aspect of the P450-million project.

But the issuance of the fran-chise, Nava said at that time, must be approved by the Na-tional Water Resources Board.

“The way I understood it, Balibago will operate like MIWD, and in pricing, it is subject to increase even with-out the prior approval of local government unit (LGU). We will have problems with that in the future. We need safety nets. We need to study it fur-ther because of possible legal infirmities,” Nava said.

The order stated that “it is in connection with the report dated March 20, 2018 from the Envi-ronmental Health and Sanitation Unit wherein it was found out that you have been operating without a sanitary permit since 2016. The continuous illegal discharge of wastewater was also noted in the report.”

The closure order also stated that “several citation tickets were issued regarding your violations. Furthermore, we are temporarily closing your establishment in order for you to comply with the local ordi-nance and the Sanitation Code of the Philippines.”

Rowen Aguirre, municipal executive assistant for Bo-racay Affairs, said the order was implemented Monday

afternoon.Aguirre said they have

issued four citation tickets against the hotel after it was informed of its violations way back in December 2016.

“Our sanitary inspectors found out that they have been illegally discharging wastewa-ter to the drainage system,” Aguirre said.

It was also learned that the hotel’s sewerage treat-ment plant (STP) was non-functional.

“They were informed and they assured that they would comply but it never happened,” Aguirre said.

Aside from Prince Hotel, Crown Regency Hotels & Re-sorts also operates two more hotels on the island.

Meanwhile, Aguirre said they have demolished 50 to 60

illegal structures in the island since 2017, the most notable of which was West Cove Resort.

Aguirre said they also or-dered the closure of several establishments due to various violations.

“And the crackdown will continue,” he added.

Earlier, an inter-agency task force recommended to Presi-dent Duterte the 6-month clo-sure of Boracay Island starting April 26.

“If it’s inevitable, we would go with the decision of the President,” Aguirre said.

He added that they would make use of the time for the needed rehabilitation of the island.

“But we’re still hoping that it would be for a lesser period for the sake of the workers,” he added.

sports 19Wednesday, March 28, 2018uardianthe dailyG Western Visayas Most

Read and Respected

MADRID — Lionel Messi has recov-ered from his adductor muscle problems and will play against Spain in a friendly on Tuesday.

Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli said on Monday that “yesterday and today (Messi) trained and he was fine ... I don’t think he will have any problem playing.”

A minor muscular problem in an unspecified leg kept Messi on the bench last Friday during Argentina’s 2-0 win over Italy in a friendly in Manchester,

England.“If there were some risk, Leo would

say something,” Sampaoli said. “The day before the match against Italy he said he wasn’t fit to play and he didn’t.”

Messi will face a Spain that includes his Barcelona teammates Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, and Jordi Alba at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Sta-dium.

Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who played with Messi at Barcelona

before moving to current club Bayern Munich, said he was glad Messi was ready to play.

“First of all, I never want a colleague not to be able to play because of an injury,” Thiago said. “But beyond that it is important Messi plays for both the spectacle he offers and because we always want to test ourselves against the best.”

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has ex-perimented with his starting striker since dropping Alvaro Morata and recovering

Diego Costa with the World Cup in Rus-sia less than three months away.

Valencia’s Rodrigo Moreno started and scored Spain’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Germany in Dusseldorf on Fri-day.

Lopetegui, as usual, didn’t reveal his choice for Tuesday’s game.

“We are looking toward to a fantas-tic match, in a great setting against the World Cup finalist, which has a player that is among the best ever,” Lopetegui said. (AP)

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are on track to open the season this week with base-ball’s seventh-highest payroll, their lowest ranking since 1992, according to projections by The Associated Press.

The Boston Red Sox will top the major leagues at about $223 million, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ four-year run as the top spender. San Francisco will be second at around $203 million, and the Chicago Cubs are set to be third at about $183 million.

The Dodgers and Washing-ton Nationals will each be at ap-proximately $180 million, and the Los Angeles Angels will be next at about $170 million. The Yankees will be at around $167 million — their lowest payroll since 2003.

New York has not been ranked as low as seventh since 1992, when it finished ninth at $34.5 million in the final season of owner George Stein-brenner’s 2½-year suspension. The Yankees rose to third the following year and topped the major leagues from 1994-97 and 1999-2013, interrupted by a season in which Baltimore finished $207,000 ahead. They were second to the Dodgers for each of the last four years.

“I think it’s good for the game,” said Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who took a cut from $25 million to $10 mil-lion this year. “Shows where the game is at as far as money

VENUS WILLIAMS of the United States celebrates after match point against Johanna Konta of Great Britain (not pictured) on day seven of the Miami Open at Tennis Center at Crandon Park. (Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

VENUS WILLIAMS upended defending champion Johanna Konta 5-7 6-1 6-2 on Monday (March 27, 2018 in PHL) to reach the Miami Open quarter-finals while a dominant Victoria Aza-renka also advanced with a straightforward win over Agnieszka Radwanska.

Three-time champion Williams stormed back from an early deficit to cruise past the British 11th seed, who needed several bouts of treatment on her lower back throughout a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes.

Perhaps more impressive was that Williams, who turns 38 in June, was able to look so in control despite playing a day after spending nearly three hours on the court for her third round clash against Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens.

Former world number one Azarenka, in only her second event after an eight-month absence because of a custody dispute involv-ing her son, also looked sharp throughout her 6-2 6-2 win over 30th-seeded Pole Radwanska.

The Belarussian, competing as a wild card, won 79 percent of her first service points and needed only 82 minutes to prevail in a clash between former Miami champions.

AFTER falling short in his bid to become a world cham-pion in the sport nearly eight months ago, former world title challenger Andrew Leone is brimming with eagerness to redeem himself as he kicks off his 2018 with a marquee match-up versus a celebrated Filipino dynamo.

Leone is slated to lock horns with Team Lakay’s Kevin Belingon in the main event of ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, which takes place at the 20,000-seater SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on 20 April.

“I love Asia. I’ve been living and competing here for a very long time. I’ve been to different countries and cities, including Manila. Manila is a special place because it’s where I had my promotional debut for ONE Championship,” he said.

“It’s great to have my first match for 2018 in Manila. It feels like I’ve gone full circle,” Leone quipped.

Leone, an eight-year mixed martial arts veteran who dy-namically carved his niche in the Asian combat scene, seems destined to be a world cham-pion after making waves in the organization when he debuted with a victory over Belin-gon’s teammate and future ONE Interim Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio in May 2013.

Ever since his maiden ap-pearance in ONE Champion-ship, the 28-year-old native of

Cortland, New York has strung together two solid victories over high-level opponents in-side the cage.

For a highly-decorated com-petitor like Leone, who trains alongside some of the most talented combat sports athletes in Asia at the renowned Bali MMA gym in Bali, Indone-sia, it took him four arduous years to get a crack at ONE Championship’s prestigious bantamweight crown.

“There were moments in my career when I was already near to the title shot, but suddenly I lost the momentum due to cir-cumstances that were beyond my control. I really pushed myself very hard to reach the top. Finally after four years, I had the chance to vie for the world title,” he shared.

Leone challenged Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Ban-tamweight World Champion-ship in August 2017, but he yielded to the Brazilian legend via first-round submission.

“It was a tough loss. I worked very hard for that bout, and I only lasted for almost two min-utes inside the cage with him. I believe I could have done more against Bibiano Fernandes, but it is what it is,” he recalled.

Leone affirmed that he still has gold on his mind, revealing that he views his upcoming meeting with Belingon as a chance to throw himself back into the world title mix.

“I heard Kevin Belingon was supposed to be next in line

Argentina coach says Messi fit to play Spain in Madrid

Yankees have 7th-highest payroll; Red Sox tops

ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

Andrew Leone eyes bantamweight title

Venus, Azarenka march into Miami quarter-finals

Up next for the 28-year-old is Czech fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who advanced to the last eight after Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan was forced to retire injured while trailing 6-2 2-1.

Former world number one Pliskova was efficient from the start and did not drop a point on her first serves in the entire match against Diyas, who took multiple medical time-outs and was vis-ibly struggling with her movement.



By ElyrosE s. NaorBE

NEGRENSES played clever moves to rule the Rapid Chess Open Category of the just-concluded Sipalay Chess Fest on

March 26, 2018. Jamon Cajeras scored 5.5 points to

dominate the 15 and Under category while Ellan Asuela racked up 5.5 points to emerge as overall champion in the tourna-

ment bankrolled by Engr. Jesus Ong.Cajeras took home P5,000, a trophy, and

a medal while Asuela pocketed P10,000 together with a medal and a trophy.

RENALDO BALKMAN may just find his way back to the Philippine Basketball Asso-ciation (PBA) after the league confirmed on Tuesday that his lifetime ban has been lifted.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial told ABS-CBN News that former PBA commissioner Chito Salud has already given the thumbs up with regards to lifting the ban on Balkman.

Gerry Ramos of Spin first reported the development.

“He wrote a letter of appeal, then personally appeared in my office,” Marcial said. “But I didn’t decide just based on

that. I solicited the thoughts of commissioner Chito Narvasa and Arwind Santos.”

“Both gave their thumbs up for the lifting of the ban,” he added.

Salud, meanwhile, said: “I trust that he has learned his lesson and has become a better person and a more disciplined athlete. Good luck to him.”

Balkman, who is currently playing for Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), was banned in 2013 after he attempted to choke Santos, who was then his team-

BOSTON CELTICS forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates a three point shot against Phoenix Suns guard Josh Jackson (20) in the first quarter at Talking Stick Resort Arena. (Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

JAYSON TATUM scored 23 points and Marcus Morris had 20 against his former team before leaving with an injury as the Boston Celtics held off the host Phoenix Suns 102-94 on Monday night (March 27, 2018 in PHL) at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Al Horford added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who picked up their fourth straight win and moved within three games of Eastern Conference-leading Toronto.

“Second night of a back-to-back, we needed a lot of energy to start with, and I felt like we did that as a group,” Horford told NBC Sports Boston after the game.

Josh Jackson had 23 points, Tyler Ulis had 19 points and eight assists and Troy Daniels scored 18 as Phoenix took its 12th straight defeat and lost for the 22nd time in 23 games.

The Suns have the NBA’s worst record, 1 1/2 games below the Grizzlies after Memphis’ win in Minnesota on Monday.

PISTONS POUND LAKERSReggie Jackson led a balanced attack with 20 points, and the

Detroit Pistons won for the fourth time in five games by topping the Los Angeles Lakers 112-106 on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Jackson, playing just his fourth game since recovering from a severe ankle sprain, added five rebounds and three assists. Reggie Bullock scored 16 points and Andre Drummond had 15 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit, which retains slim playoff hopes.

Blake Griffin tossed in 15 points while battling foul trouble, and reserve forward Anthony Tolliver also scored 15. Backup point guard Ish Smith chipped in 12.

Julius Randle paced the Lakers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Kyle Kuzma contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow rookie Lonzo Ball posted 15 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers.

Brook Lopez had 14 points and nine assists and Kentavious Caldwell Pope added 13 points, but the Lakers only got 21 points from their bench.

SIXERS MELT NUGGETSOutscoring the Denver Nuggets 34-15 in the third quarter, the

Philadelphia 76ers moved a step closer to locking down home-court advantage for the first round of the NBA playoffs with a 123-104 win Monday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Seven players scored in double figures for the 76ers, who remain the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Indiana Pacers. Dario Saric led the way with 20 points, while Joel Embiid contributed 20 points and 13 rebounds

Negrense woodpushers shine in Sipalay Chess Fest

PBA lifts lifetime ban on Renaldo Balkman

Tatum shines as Celtics blow past Suns

NegreNse/p18PBA /p18

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