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TODAY’S ISSUE: BUSINESSWORLD NEWS UPDATED DAILY

3 SECTIONS BUSINESSWORLD © 2005 BusinessWorld NEWS

24 PAGES Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
Published in Manila MONDAY TO FRIDAY. ONLINE
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 / P25. METRO MANILA A N E W S PA P E R I S A P U B L I C T R U S T VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 199 . ISSN 0116-3930 S1 / 1

CONTENTS
SECTION 1 THE STOCK MARKET S2/ 4
PCIJ SPECIAL REPORT S1/ 2 WORLD BUSINESS S2/ 5
THE PAPER IN A PAGE S1/ 3 MOTORING S2/ 6-7
FOCUS S1/ 3 BULLETINS S2/ 8
OPINION S1/ 4-5
THE ECONOMY S1/ 6-7 SECTION 3
CORPORATE NEWS
THE WORLD
S1/ 8
S1/ 9
ARTS & LEISURE
WORLD SPORTS
S3/ 1-2
S3/ 3-4 New Kellogg’s Beaches
THE NATION S1/ 10-12
focus S1/ 3
Non-containerized cargo system
BoP in surplus? distributor contaminated T-bill rates dip
SECTION 2
BANKING & FINANCE S2/ 1-2
WORLD MARKETS S2/ 3
motoring S2/ 6
bmw K1200S: bike power, comfort
Economy S1/7 Corporations S1/8 The Nation S1/12 Banking S2/1
BY KAREN L. LEMA, Senior Reporter and ROMMER M. BALABA, Reporter
WORLD REVIEW MONITOR

WASHINGTON

BSP:Limitpayincrease
US Fed likely to raise rate STOCK MARKET
The US Federal Reserve was likely to 30 days May 3, 2005 iNDEX
nod to troublesome indications of 2175
OPEN 1,862.55
weaker economic growth, but policy 2102
makers’ concern over bubbling prices 10.48pts HIGH 1,883.24
2029 0.57%
will keep interest rates moving slowly LOW 1,862.55
but steadily upward. S1/9 1956

Verizon beats Qwest P30 daily wage hike will avoid higher interest rate, slow growth 1883

1810
CLOSE
VOL.
1,865.11
414 M
Verizon Communications, Inc. won its COMPOSITE VAL(P) 820 M
10-week battle for MCI, Inc. as Qwest Trade Union Congress of the Phil-
Communications International, Inc. A minimum daily BY JUDY T. GULANE, Reporter ippines released its list of proposed
ASIAN MARKETS Close
May 3, 2005
Net %Chge
Japan (Nikkei 225) HOLIDAY
withdrew its $9.9-billion bid. S2/5 wage increase of not increases in daily wages for all re- Hong Kong (Hang Seng) 13,893.98 -14.99 -0.11

NEW YORK
Crude oil futures rebound
more than P30 can
give enough economic
Budget readies bill gions, and Region VII or Central
Visayas as well as the Autonomous
Region for Muslim Mindanao were
Taiwan (Weighted)
Thailand (SET Index)
S.Korea (Kse Composite)
5818.22
667.57
913.82
Singapore (Straits Times) 2,137.17
0.15
8.69
-4.60
11.92
0
1.32
-0.5
0.56
US crude oil futures rebounded, end-

to raise pay in gov’t seeking the biggest increases at Sydney (All Ordinaries) 3,943.60 -25.60 -0.64
ing more than a dollar higher as fund
buying pushed prices above $50 in a
relief to workers with- P150 daily.
Malaysia (Klse Composite) 890.22 11.26 1.28

thin trading day. S2/3 out jeopardizing the “We are prepared to argue and
WORLD MARKETS May 2, 2005
defend [our position] before the Close Net % Chge
Wall Street closes higher economy’s growth, the The Department of Budget and Man-
agement is now preparing the bill on
Malacañang, meanwhile, said it was
not in favor of a legislated wage in-
wage boards inasmuch as we wel- Dow Jones 10251.70 59.19 0.58
US stocks closed higher, getting a boost come pronouncements of employ- NASDAQ 1928.65 7.00 0.36
from AIG on relief that the insurer’s lat- Bangko Sentral ng Pi- a legislated salary increase for gov- crease for private sector workers, as
ers on their agreement regarding S&P 500 1162.16 5.31 0.46
ernment workers, but it has yet to labor unions and legislators proposed. FTSE 100 HOLIDAY
est disclosures about accounting prob-
lems were less damaging than initially
lipinas (BSP) said yes- decide on how much the pay hike Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs the need to increase daily wages,”
Euro Stoxx50 2823.45 6.04 0.21
will be. Gabriel S. Claudio told reporters noted trade congress spokesman Alex G.
feared S2/3 terday. Budget Secretary Emilia T. Boncodin that regional wage boards have al- Aguilar said.
WORLD CURRENCIES
Close
May 3, 2005
Previous Net Chge
Bangko Sentral officer-in- also said yesterday the P3,000 across- ready been instructed to look at pos- He told BusinessWorld that Re- $/UK pound 1.8946 1.9063 -0.0117
charge Amando M. Tetangco Jr. the-board raise being sought by state sibly increasing workers’ wages. gion VII or Central Visayas peti- $/Euro 1.2861 1.2896 -0.0035
NEWS said an 8%-10% rise in wages was employees was too high since it Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye also tioned for a big increase only be- $/Aust dollar 0.7795 0.7791 0.0004
ONLINE “not too far” from the bank’s own would need P36 billion to P40 billion. said wage boards could better deter- cause previous increases approved
$/Canada dollar
$/Swiss Franc
0.7971
0.8356
0.7992 -0.0021
0.8384 -0.0028
She said the pay increase must be “af- mine a “middle ground” on wages.
bworldonline.com / bworld.net assumption of 6% anyway. by its wage board were too small.
fordable” for the cash-strapped gov- “There is always a middle ground, and
Additional news online Minimum daily wage in Metro ernment. we are confident the wage boards can “Only about P8 to P10 was
Manila is now P300. Businesses are given last year,” he said. PESO-DOLLAR RATE
Don’t miss “Points Of View,” a She also said any wage increase find it, in fairness to our workers but
special online section featuring reportedly amenable to a P25-P30 would apply “possibly” next year, and without causing undue harm to en- The labor organization is peti- 53.85
30 days to May 3, 2005 FX
position papers by industry daily wage increase, although labor not this year. terprises,” he said. tioning for a P100 wage increase for OPEN P54.080
54.07
groups and analysts. unions are asking for P78 to P150, Regions I, II, IV-B, VI, VIII, IX and HIGH P54.080
depending on the region. X, and a P78 increase for Metro 54.29
LOW P54.250
Now available: Mr. Tetangco said a P30 daily Manila, Cordillera Administrative 54.51
Labor Standards and CEBU CITY — The Central Visayas Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity CLOSE P54.250
pay increase would not significantly Region, Region III, IV-A, XI and 54.73 15
Self-Regulation in Business pressure consumer prices to go up Board yesterday gave no assurance of a minimum wage increase for the re- XII. It is petitioning for a P125 hike ctvs W. AVE. P54.182
By Vicente Leogardo Jr. gion by the end of the month. Rodulfo Sabulao, Labor department regional 54.95
VOL. 356.50 M
substantially, which could require for Region V and CARAGA. WEIGHTED AVE.
(http://bworldonline.com/BW050405/ director and regional wage board chairman, said economic indicators would
the central bank to also raise inter- determine the need for higher wages. He also noted the one-year restriction
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary May 3, 2005
topstory2.php) ASIAN CURRENCIES Latest Bid
est rates. on wage adjustments. The Central Visayas wage board last raised the mini- Patricia A. Sto. Tomas said wage 0900GMT Previous NetChge
Japan (Yen) 105.09 105.32 -0.2300
Bad governance, The bank is worried an infla- mum wage in the region by P8 in August 2004. “We are now strategizing to boards would stick to the 30-day Hong Kong (HK$) Forward 7.7962 7.7957 0.0005
corruption and new taxes tionary wage increase may force it meet head-on the challenge of the President. But admittedly, it’s really hard to deadline set by President Gloria Taiwan (NT dollar) 31.268 31.251 0.0170
By Stratbase Public Affairs and to jack up interest rates just to keep come up with a win-win decision,” Mr. Sabulao said. – Jun P. Tagalog Macapagal-Arroyo. Thailand(Baht) 39.54 — 39.54 0.0000
S.Korea (Won) 1002.4 1000.9 1.5000
Research Consultancy Group consumer prices in check, which “We are optimistic that most Singapore (dollar) 1.6372 1.6373 -0.0001
(http://bworldonline.com/BW050405/ will, in turn, have the undesired ef- of the regional boards could come Indonesia (rupiah) 9,526 9,520 6.0000
topstory3.php) fect of squelching the economy’s only a 6% or P18 increase in the rocket, and can prompt the central up with their decision in 30 days. Malaysia (ringgit) 3.7995 — 3.7995 0.0000
fragile growth. minimum wage this year, and an- bank to intervene through higher The legal requirements will be
Bangko Sentral Assistant Gov- other 5% next year. interest rates if only to fight infla- complied with so that there are no TREASURY BILLS May 3, 2005 auction
OPINION ernor Diwa C. Guinigundo had said Anything beyond these levels tion, he had said. questions about the validity of Tenor 91-day 182-day 364-day
that the central bank had assumed can cause consumer prices to sky- Also yesterday, the labor group wage orders,” she said. BW Offer* 2.0 2.0 2.0
DEAN DE LA PAZ warns of the new
Tendered* 9.95 7.21 8.56
performance-based rating device of
Awarded* 2.0 2.0 2.0
the ERC. S1/4
Avg rate (pct) 6.319 7.574 8.533
BY JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Senior Reporter BY BEVERLY T. NATIVIDAD, Reporter Previous (pct) 6.551 7.727 8.678
GREG MACABENTA presents how a
* in billion pesos
meeting called by Don Vito Corleone
and Juan Tamad will proceed. S1/4 Nine pre-need firms lack license, Europe doubts quality BY IRIS CECILIA C. GONZALES,

can’t sell new plans, says SEC

ARGEE GUEVARRA likens Abat to Don
Quixote whose call did not find serious
listeners. S1/4
COMMENTARY THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
Commission (SEC) is still to renew
•Day 113 of the President’s silence, by
NICHOLAS KRISTOF. S1/5
•Laura Bush talks naughty, by JOHN
the dealer’s licenses of nine pre-
need companies, which prohibits
TIERNEY. S1/5 them from selling new pre-need
plans to the public until further
In This Issue: notice.
Those currently without permit
to sell are Celestial Memorial Plans
PCIJ Special Report Inc.; East Asia Plans Inc.; FCM
Plans Inc.; Garden of Memories
Memorial Plans Inc.; Gillamac Life
& Pension Plans Inc.; Pension &
Health Politics Retirement Plans Corp.; Samson
Demoralizes Doctors Memorial Plans Inc.; Special Plans
Inc., and Platinum Plans Philip-
pines Inc.
They join College Assurance
Plans Philippines Inc., Compre-
hensive Annuity Plans and Pension
Corp., and Pacific Plans Inc., which
have also been prohibited from sell-
ing plans.
But SEC secretary Gerard Luk-
ban said Platinum Plans Philip-
pines Inc. was working to meet
regulatory requirements for a new
dealer’s license.
Platinum, owned by Ernesto
Salas, is one of the oldest pre-need
companies in the country.
“Platinum is… still trying to
meet the requirements. [SEC’s non-
traditional securities and instru-
mentations department] cannot
put it on the list of companies with
dealer’s license, but cannot also
put it on the list of companies with-
out dealer’s license,” Mr. Lukban
said.
Pre-need companies lacking a
dealer’s licenses operate just to pay
claims and to collect payments for
existing plans. They are not allowed
to sell new plans.
As of last week SEC was still to
renew the dealer’s licenses of the 12
pre-need companies because they
still lacked requirements.
He said these firms needed to
either raise more capital or trust
assets, or make sure they have
enough money to pay all claims.
Under SEC rules, pre-need
firms that sell only one type of plan
must be capitalized at P50 million;
those that sell two types must be
capitalized at P75 million, while
those with three types must be
capitalized at P100 million.
Pre-need firms must also have
enough trust assets to match their
actuarial reserve liabilities, or their
projected future obligations com-
puted at net present value.
Mr. Lukban also said SEC has
been monitoring all pre-need firms
because of the financial problems
of CAP and Pacific Plans.
CAP suffers from capital defi-
ciency while Pacific Plans can no
longer pay claims. BW
of fish exported by RP
T HE E UROPEAN C OMMISSION
doubts the capability of govern-
ment agencies to make sure that
locally harvested fish exported to
Europe are fit for human consump-
tion.
A draft report of the recent
evaluation conducted by its Health
and Consumer Protection Directo-
rate-General said that the Bureau
of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
was “not in the position to ensure
control and certification of the spe-
cial conditions governing imports
of fishery products originating in
the Philippines.”
The report cited in particular
the Fish Inspection Quality Control
Section of the bureau, which is an
attached agency of the Department
of Agriculture.
The report also noted that the
methods of fish production and
aquaculture in the country were
“likely to jeopardize the safety of
the fishery products exported to the
European Union and hence con-
sumer health.”
The report said that most fish
inspectors lacked expertise in as-
sessing what could be approved for
export to Europe.
There was no proper identifica-
tion of hazards, no identification of
critical limits, no proper corrective
action, and no procedures for veri-
fication, it said.
The report also noted several
errors in general monitoring sys-
tems and certification procedures
for fishery products.
While European directives pro-
vide certain limits for the use of
carbon monoxide and sodium di-
sulphates as additives in processing
fishery products for export, the
European inspection team found
that local officials do not impose
controls on the use of these addi-
tives.
In addition, fish inspectors fail
to conduct official chemical checks
on histamine and contaminant
contents in the aquatic environ-
ment.
The report also said the main
relevant hazards for fishery and
aquaculture products originating
from the Philippines were not
properly controlled by the fish bu-
reau.
The Health and Consumer Pro-
tection Directorate-General is the
agency tasked at keeping European
laws on consumer protection up to
date. They make sure that traders,
manufacturers, and food produc-
ers in European countries as well
as their suppliers abroad observe
certain standards. BW
Senior Reporter
Banker guilty
of falsification
A M ANILA COURT upheld re-
cently the conviction of banker
Hilario P. Soriano, owner of now
defunct Rural Bank of San Miguel,
for falsification of documents.
In a decision dated March 31,
2005 but made public only yester-
day, Judge Silvino T. Pampilo, Jr.
dismissed the motion for reconsid-
eration filed by the rural banker.
In November 2004, the court
ruled that Mr. Soriano was guilty
of forging the signature of a fellow
stockholder, which in turn had al-
lowed him to put more bank shares
under his name. The Rural Bank of
San Miguel was closed in 2000 be-
cause of money problems.
But in his motion for reconsid-
eration, Mr. Soriano had claimed
that the judge who had written the
November 2004 ruling against him
had made factual errors. However,
Mr. Pampilo said Mr. Soriano failed
to prove this claim.
Court records show Mr. Soria-
no, who also claims to be the prin-
cipal owner of another bank in
trouble, Nueva Ecija-based Mer-
chants Rural Bank of Talavera, was
previously sentenced to four
months to two years in jail. BW
 S1 / 2 SPECIAL REPORT
BY YVONNE T. CHUA, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Meddling by politicians demoralizes doctors assigned to rural areas
CONCLUSION
When barrio doctor Richard
Lariosa arrived in Tagapul-an,
Samar in 2002, he was surprised to
learn that medicines for the town
were being kept at the mayor’s of-
fice. “When you gave a prescription
to a patient not of the same politi-
cal color as the mayor, he’d be told
by the people at the mayor’s office
there was no medicine even when
they were still a lot,” the doctor says.
“Color coding.”
The mayor was later persuaded
to turn over all the stocks to the
rural health unit, after being as-
sured the people would know the
medicines came from him. But
months before the May 2004 elec-
tions, newly delivered medicines
again wound up with the mayor. He
agreed to let go of half the medi-
cines only after Dr. Lariosa paid
him a visit.
The young doctor’s relationship
with the mayor, however, was al-
ready quite strained. At one point,
Dr. Lariosa had objected to the re-
moval of trained health workers
and their replacement by untrained
supporters of the mayor and the
barangay captains. The mayor was
in turn displeased when Dr. Lariosa
changed caterers for a health-train-
ing course because the food served
by the first caterer caused the train-
ees to have diarrhea. Apparently,
the former caterer was the mayor’s
ally.
Last December, Dr. Lariosa was
pulled out of Tagapul-an after the
Doctors to the Barrio-Leaders for
Health program, which had sent
him there, concluded that the
mayor was not very concerned
about health. Now assigned to
Uyugan, Batanes, Dr. Lariosa hopes
local politics would not again be-
come a hindrance to his work.
Corruption and official neglect
are not the only problems plaguing
the health system in local govern-
ment units. Traditional politics is
also compromising the delivery of
health services to the people who
need it most, and discouraging
health workers who would other-
wise not even mind the low pay and
long hours their jobs entail.
“Confidently, we can say that
partisan politics is the number one
problem at the RHU [regional
health unit],” says Maritona Labajo,
assistant director for field opera-
tions of the Leaders for Health pro-
gram that allows barrio doctors to
earn a master’s degree in commu-
nity health management. She also
concedes, “Politicians… are really
difficult to work with. The [health]
program can be sabotaged by the
mere fact that the mayor does not
cooperate.”
This has led to disillusionment
even among the most idealistic of
doctors, some of whom had volun-
teered for the much-vaunted Doc-
tors to the Barrio program begun
more than a decade ago by then
Health secretary Juan Flavier. The
program has already sent more
than 400 physicians to about 300
doctorless fifth- and sixth-class
towns, but medical practitioners
are still badly needed in the coun-
tryside, even by wealthy towns.
While some of the volunteer
doctors eventually stay as munici-
pal health officers in the towns they
are assigned to, several wind up
swearing off working for local gov-
ernments ever again. One barrio
doctor assigned to a remote town
in Mindanao can hardly wait until
her four-year contract is up. “I can’t
stand the politics,” she says.
Yet Pascualito Concepcion, an
Ateneo de Zamboanga alumnus
assigned by the Doctors to the
Barrio program to Talusan, Zam-
boanga Sibugay in 2002, has shown
just how much a community doc-
tor can accomplish when the local
government is health-friendly.
With help from the mayor and
the town council, Dr. Concepcion
transformed a dusty warehouse-
like building into an air-condi-
tioned health center. He got Phil-
Health to accredit his rural health
unit and enrolled 500 poor fami-
lies in the program in 2002 alone.
His RHU’s pharmacy also sells pa-
racetamol for as low as 50 centavos
each; usually the cheapest a tablet
of the medicine can get is 90
centavos.
Dr. Concepcion convinced lo-
cal officials to increase the RHU’s
share from the development fund
(from P200,000 in 2002 to P1.2
million in 2003) and even per-
suaded them to let it keep the
PhilHealth payments for the up-
keep of the health center and its
programs. The local government
has since created more positions for
the RHU and has been fully imple-
menting the Magna Carta for Pub-
lic Health Workers. The health
center laboratory is comparable to
a medical center lab with pap
smear, blood sugar, and other blood
chemical.
Dr. Concepcion was given the
Grand Distinction Award in the
Department of Health’s annual rec-
ognition of outstanding doctors to
the barrio. Other RHU doctors,
however, are probably more jealous
of his luck with his local govern-
ment rather than of his award.
Many of the doctors inter-
viewed for this story recounted
story after story about clashing with
local officials — primarily the
mayor — over such seemingly
trivial things as the hiring of
barangay health workers and the
safekeeping and distribution of
medicines. These, however, have
serious implications, and affect the
continuity of services and effective-
ness of treatment.
In most of the cases, patronage
politics was involved, with the offi-
cials using employment and medi-
cal supplies as a means of garner-
ing support for themselves and
clinching votes for the next elec-
tion.
Dr. Lariosa’s experience in
Tagapul-an is but one illustration
of this. The frustrated doctor in
Western Mindanao also recounts
that when she was the municipal
health officer of another poor town
in the southern part of the region,
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
she had displeased the mayor when
she dispensed medicine to every
patient needing treatment instead
of just the mayor’s followers. She
didn’t win points either when she
refused to sign procurement forms
that she deemed questionable.
When she resigned sometime last
year, the mayor replaced her with a
favored midwife, instead of the
nurse, the RHU’s second in com-
mand.
Now the doctor is in yet another
impoverished town, this time un-
der the Doctors to the Barrio pro-
gram. But she says it feels like she
hadn’t moved at all. The first-term BARRIO-BASED doctors reach 248 — DoH.
mayor in her new assignment has
taken to appointing unqualified political candidates of the Eastern nailed the RHU shut. Recounts Dr.
people as barangay health workers, Visayas town fielded the barangay Lariosa: “The following morning I
for one. For another, says the doc- health workers, midwives, and told the mayor what he did was
tor, patients must have their RHU- casual employees to conduct “data unfair. Hindi kami naglalakwatsa
issued prescriptions signed by the gathering.” They went around the [We weren’t out having fun].”
mayor’s office before the medicines island to survey who the residents It may take some time before
are released. were voting for. the DoH sends another barrio doc-
“There is a common practice in “It’s that strategic,” the doctor tor to Tagapul-an. The town would
many LGUs [local government says. “Politicians paid P500 per first have to convince the National
units] where RHU patients get their voter, and more for those who may Government that its local officials
drugs from the municipal hall not vote for them.” and community leaders are coop-
rather than from the RHU,” notes Ms. Labajo says even governors erative enough to deserve another
a study by the Department of have recognized that barangay barrio doctor.
Health (DoH) and the Manage- health workers are a political force Dr. Lariosa was actually the sec-
ment Sciences for Health (MSH), a in elections and offer to pay half ond barrio doctor to become a
nonprofit international organiza- their salaries or make them casuals casualty of local politics in Tagapul-
tion working in public health areas. or contractuals of the provincial an. Danilo Reynes, the town’s first
The study describes the practice government. “As casuals, they get physician after a doctorless decade,
in a town in northern Luzon: The P2,500 to P3,000 a month. That’s a belonged to the Doctors to the
RHU doctor prescribes the drugs, lot of money in a poor town,” says Barrio program’s first batch. He
the patient goes to the social wel- the doctor from Eastern Visayas. stayed there for four years, but left
fare office to get an approval of In many places, barangay health because incumbent officials per-
indigency, and then proceeds to the workers don’t even report for duty ceived him to be allied with their
office of the sangguniang bayan or but still draw their pay. “Mga ‘15- political opponents.
town council and the chairman of 30’ sila,” the Mindanao doctor says, Dr. Lariosa was not the only
its health committee where the referring to employees who don’t barrio doctor withdrawn from
drugs are dispensed. To assure work but show up at the town hall their places of assignment. Two
safety and regulate the validity of or capitol every 15th and 30th of the doctors from the Western Samar
drug dispensing, the patient is month to claim their paycheck. towns of Matuguinao and Jiabong
asked to go back to the RHU for Ms. Labajo says a town with 24 were pulled out for the same rea-
further instructions on the intake barangays could have as many 184 son: The mayors refused to abide
of medicine. barangay health workers. But she by the agreement that full support
The risks involved in the prac- notes, “The number of barangay for health be given that are within
tice, the study says, are “when the health workers doesn’t necessarily their very limited resources.
patient does not go back to the mean that you have a good ratio of A few years ago, two of seven
RHU for final... approval and when barangay health workers to the barr io doctors assigned to a
the wrong, inappropriate drug is population or that the barangays northern Mindanao province cut
given to the patient.” RHU doctors are being serviced.” short their stint, saying they could
themselves say that Some mayors do not stop at hir- not stand the treatment they were
those who happen to ing and firing barangay health getting from their mayors. Says
support the opposi- workers at a whim. In some towns, one of the doctors: “I left feeling
tion also do not mayors have demoted doctors who really bad. I didn’t even want to
bother to go to the disagreed with them or had some- be reassigned. My idealism had
town hall for their how displeased them and had ap- been shattered, I had been disil-
medicine, knowing pointed nurses and midwives in lusioned. I go to another local
the chances of being their stead as officers in charge of government unit, and there
given some are small municipal health offices. would be yet another mayor who
anyway. Doctors whose relationships would be controlling my life.”
Many of the doc- with their mayors become strained Doctors who have lodged com-
tors also complain but continue to stay in their posts plaints against their mayors to their
that a change in local often lose effectiveness in carrying governors, the DoH, the Depart-
administration means out health programs. For instance, ment of Interior and Local and
a change in health the RHU in a northern Mindanao Governments, and the Department
workers. Unfortu- town hardly had any local health of Budget and Management say
nately, the newcomers programs to speak of because the many of these remain unresolved.
are often unqualified mayor and the RHU’s staff were not Still, when the local government
for the job that had on speaking terms. puts importance on health, success
taken their predeces- Community doctors who butt stories like that of Concepcion are
sors years to learn. heads with local officials find to possible. Robert Briones, who gave
A doctor in East- their disappointment that other up a lucrative private practice to
ern Visayas says government agencies can hardly become a barrio doctor in the is-
barangay captains come to their aid. In many towns, land town of Loreto in Surigao del
removed barangay the local health board rarely or Norte, also says he does not regret
health workers who never meets, or is under the may- his decision, even if it has meant
didn’t belong to the or’s control, says one doctor as- being away from his wife and three
same party and re- signed in Mindanao. The board young children, aged six, four, and
placed them with un- consists of the mayor, president of two.
trained ones. Another the barangay health workers, the “I frequently wonder… what is
tactic was hiring new rural health physician, and one rep- happening to them,” he says. “But
workers while keep- resentative each from the DoH and in my journey as a doctor to the
ing the incumbents the sangguniang bayan. barrio, a doctor in a far-flung com-
“floating.” Much as he had wanted to en- munity… one thing is apparent.
When the doctor gage the mayor and sanggunian of- This [has] made me affirm that ‘it
offered to train the ficials to push Tagapul-an’s health is not the end of the journey that
new workers, he was program, Dr. Lariosa had realized matters most but the journey itself
spurned and even ac- there was little he could do. The is what matters in the end.’”
cused of meddling. “I mayor was in town just once a Even Dr. Lariosa has not junked
was building a good month, staying for about a week; the idea of serving communities
referral system, so most of the time he was in Calba- despite his rather tumultuous ex-
there should be no yog, where he also kept a house, perience in Tagapul-an. He admits
breaks. Barangay supposedly following up with other mulling over the idea of residency
health workers are government agencies. training in internal medicine or
important,” he ex- Dr. Lariosa couldn’t turn to the surgery after finishing his contract
plains. “The mayor sanggunian for support either, since as barrio doctor. “But I’m having
also hired midwives as it hardly ever convened sessions. second thoughts,” he says. “The
casuals.” “The resolutions are passed around work of a public health practitioner
Ms. Labajo ob- the barangay where they happen to is challenging.”
serves that a lot of be for their signature,” he says. Dr. Lariosa’s younger sister has
barangay health But things came to a head when just graduated from medical school
workers are “non- the mayor’s nephew sought treat- and plans to go straight to residency
functional”: They do ment at the RHU and found it training. “But I’ll try to expose her
things other than de- empty. The doctor and his staff to the Doctors to the Barrio pro-
liver health services. were out implementing a DoH gram when she visits me in Batanes
Months before the campaign and the staff assigned to in the summer,” says Dr. Lariosa.
2004 elections, for in- man the health center had failed to “There are bits of ugliness, but I think
stance, the mayor and report to work. The angry mayor my type of work is beautiful.”
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
BY ANNA BARBARA L. LORENZO, Reporter
Non-containerized cargo system leads to company’s dominance
Close to 400 workers went job-
less last year when Asian Terminals,
Inc. (ATI), the exclusive operator of
the South Harbor, decided to cut
losses on its unit handling non-
containerized cargo.
ATI Chief Executive Jerry JL
Rickord said the general cargo in-
dustry is slowing down with most
traders putting their goods in
standard twenty-foot equivalent
(TEU) containers for shipping.
With the trend likely to continue,
Mr. Rickord is not upbeat in that
aspect of the cargo business, where
goods generally come in bags, sacks,
drums, boxes, and crates.
But this general trend was not
the only reason ATI is slowing
down, at least in as far as break-bulk
cargo is concerned: in 2004, there
were more employees than there
were cargoes, and increased com-
petition has eroded the company’s
market share.
Far from its heydays when it
used to handle as much as 90% of
the general cargo business, ATI’s
market share dropped to 60% as of
end-2004 with the entry of Har-
bour Centre Port Terminal, Inc.
Harbour Centre occupies part
of the 79-hectare Smokey Moun-
tain Development and Reclamation
Project (SMDRP). The location it-
self has long been controversial fol-
lowing questions of the legality of
the project, which is being com-
pared to the annulled deal between
the government, the Public Estates
Authority (PEA), and the Amari
Coastal Bay and Development
Corp.
The SMDRP is a P3-billion de-
velopment led by businessman
Reghis Romero’s RII Builders, Inc.
Mr. Romero’s son, Michael Rome-
ro, took over as chief executive of
Harbour Centre in 2003.
In 1995, RII Builders received
the PPA’s approval on its proposal
to develop and operate a private
commercial port at the Manila
North Harbor, and in 1996 it was
granted the permit to construct
Harbour Centre. The PPA gave
Harbour Centre a commercial per-
mit to operate and handle all types
of domestic vessels and cargoes. At
the same time it was allowed to
handle foreign vessels and cargoes
provided that the cargoes are char-
tered only to the locators of the
port.
Harbour Centre started eating
up into the market of Asian Termi-
THE PAPER IN A PAGE
BUSINESSWORLD’S OTHER TOP STORIES AT A GLANCE

CORPORATE NEWS
Globe net up slightly
The net income of Ayala-led Globe
Telecom, Inc. slightly grew to P3 billion
in the first quarter from a restated P2.99
billion in profits last year as competi-
tion heated the mobile market. S1/8
Carriers hike fuel charge
Aviation authorities have authorized
commercial carriers to impose a fuel
surcharge for both international and
domestic flights to recover the cost of
higher jet fuel prices. S1/8

THE WORLD
US to break trade impasse
Deputy US Secretary of State Robert
Zoellick is determined to break a free
trade impasse with Southeast Asia dur-
ing a visit to the region but has cau-
tioned that any agreement reached will
have to be comprehensive. S1/9
Nokor to hold nuke test?
US intelligence has detected the move-
ment of heavy equipment in North
Korea that points to possible prepara-
tions for an underground nuclear test.
S1/9

THE NATION
Police chief relieved
The police chief of Central Luzon,
tagged as the “Vatican of jueteng op-
erations” in the country, was relieved in
what seemed to be an indication that
the PNP was stepping up efforts to curb
the illegal numbers game. S1/11

BANKING & FINANCE
Napocor to sell bonds
Napocor will sell P5 billion in five- and
seven-year bonds tomorrow to pay for
operations and debts. S2/1
nal when it was given a permit to
handle foreign break-bulk cargoes.
Aside from discounted rates, Har-
bour Centre’s deep draft allows
huge foreign vessels to unload car-
goes by docking directly to the port
without using barges. The cut in
ATI’s business started to show
when, from 50 barges, there are
now just five barges being used at
the South Harbor.
By the end of the first quarter,
ATI’s percentage share further
dropped to 40%, even when it re-
sorted to reducing tariff rates to
remain competitive.
Mr. Rickord, however, said the
company has cushioned the impact
of a reduced market share as it
managed to cut on costs. At the
same time, it is planning to focus
on containerized cargo and passen-
ger terminal operations should the
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)
approve its petition for a 25-year
extension of its contract to operate
the South Harbor ports.
ATI’s scaled-down operations
simply indicate that it is no longer
interested in competing in non-
containerized cargo due to, accord-
ing to its claim, an uneven playing
field.
“We pay 20% of our revenue to
the PPA whereas Harbour Centre
does not. The playing field is not
level, and it has squeezed us out of
handling some of the [non-con-
tainerized market], which is why we
are not competing to retain the
market share that we used to have.
With the rates they have, we’d
rather not have it. We’d rather con-
centrate on other activities that we
can actually make gains on,” Mr.
Rickord said.
As a private operator of a gov-
ernment port, ATI, as well as the In-
ternational Container Terminal
Services, Inc. (ICTSI) which is op-
erating at the Manila International
Container Terminal (MICT), pays
the PPA 20% of its revenues annu-
ally. On the other hand, Harbour
Centre pays only P20,000 to the
ports authority.
To retain market share in 2004,
Mr. Rickord said ATI had to subsi-
dize payments to the government
as it started to cut tariff costs by
20% to 30%.
Despite the move, non-contain-
erized cargo volume for 2003 drop-
ped 18.4% against 2002 figures, and
even plunged 31.4% in 2004. Over-
all revenue growth for the company
Banks to settle tax issue
The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the
country’s foreign banks may finally re-
solve the much-debated tax issue if ei-
ther of the two parties file a declara-
tory relief before a trial court to clarify
questions on the law. S2/1

WORLD MARKETS
Taiwan stocks unchanged
Taiwan stocks closed unchanged yes-
terday as investors took quick profits
from tech heavyweights like United
Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) after ear-
lier gains that were inspired by rises on
Wall Street. S2/3

THE STOCK MARKET
Stocks inch up
Stocks started the week in positive ter-
ritory but cautious optimism among
investors remains. S2/4

WORLD BUSINESS
Adidas sells Salomon
The Adidas group unveiled a surprise
sale of its winter sports brand Salomon
to focus on its classic sportswear range
after quarterly profit surged, driving its
stock to a seven-year high. S2/5
Lockheed, Boeing in deal
Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co.
ended nearly a decade of bitter rivalry
over government rocket launches by
announcing they would form a 50-50
joint venture called United Launch Al-
liance. S2/5
Keppel unit gets oil rig
A unit of Singapore’s Keppel Corp. said
it had won a contract worth $300 mil-
lion to build two oil rigs for a US drill-
ing company. S2/5
FOCUS S1 / 3
was affected as it slowed down from year, Ms. Sandejas said the target the PPA are maintained, what with Harbor are under the PPA. It is
an 8% year-on-year increase in this year is to double the volume. both ICTSI and Asian Terminals regulating against competition to
2003 to P2.684 billion to just 5.6% With business on the uptrend, remitting 20% of gross revenues to protect its own interest at the ex-
or P2.835 billion. ATI’s net income Harbour Centre is working its way the PPA, while Harbour Centre, a pense of the public interest,” Mr.
dropped 15.8% to P329.4 million to get a larger slice of the pie: the private operator, has to only pay Basilio said.
in 2004 against P391 million in the containerized cargo. port dues of P20,000. Mr. Basilio said competition is
previous year. On Nov. 12, 2002, the company Annual reports from ICTSI and a healthy way to provide protection
The PPA’s recommended tariff applied for a license to operate with ATI in 2004 showed that both ports to the public.
for non-containerized cargo ranges an unrestricted port license, which handled 1.848 million TEUs of for- “When there is competition,
from P105 to P701. The new rates would allow it to do business with eign containerized cargo last year. there is an incentive to be more ef-
reflect 12% of the PPA’s approved all types of domestic and foreign Mr. Sevilla said the market can no ficient. It also checks the excesses
20% increase in tariffs this year, the cargoes. longer afford another participant of price increase. Even if you do not
balance of which will be applied in But its intent to cover foreign due to the small volume of trans- regulate, the public will be pro-
March 2006. The market percep- containerized cargoes was blocked action. tected when there is protective
tion is that Harbour Centre offers as the PPA, then under general ICTSI stated in its report that it competition.”
rates that are 50% lower than the manager Alfonso Cusi, restricted paid PPA P2.614 billion, while the He said Harbour Centre’s price
rates approved by the PPA. Harbour Centre to accept or ac- ATI report showed that it has ear- war challenge was a logical move
Harbour Centre said, however, commodate only foreign non-con- marked $4.6 million to cover the for a start-up business to attract the
that the competition in the non- tainerized cargoes and vessels. Har- 20% commitment to the PPA. The market. Allowing it to continue
containerized market is fair since it bour Centre continued to file for PPA reported a P5.58-billion rev- operating would send a concrete
is charging customers rates similar the unrestricted port license. In enue last year. Its income stood at signal that private investors are
to the PPA’s tariff rates. May 2004, the port manager from P1.83 billion, half of which goes to welcome.
“We are benchmarking our the North Harbor even reported the National Treasury, while the “The government should allow
rates to PPA rates. We follow their that an inventory of Harbour Cen- other half is spent for PPA opera- competition to happen. If it does
tariff, but we can give discounts as tre’s equipment and area shows that tions, including the development of not, then it will just shoot down its
a private commercial port. The it “can handle efficiently contain- new ports nationwide. own policy of attracting investors
50% is not actually a discount but erized and non-containerized cargo Enrico Basilio, University of and the private sector to come in,”
the savings our clients get from our of both foreign and domestic ves- Asia and the Pacific director for Mr. Basilio said.
port productivity and efficiency,” sels.” transport and logistics center, said Harbour Centre shares the
said Trisha Sandejas, Harbour Cen- The change of administration at the PPA’s charter has resulted in the same sentiment, particularly refer-
tre head for business development the PPA has not made any signifi- conflict of interest within its office. ring to the synergy of the govern-
and corporate communications. cant difference in Harbour Centre’s It also results in inconsistency in the ment and the private sector in de-
Henry B. Virola, assistant vice- case. Until now, the PPA board has government’s drive to attract pri- veloping local industries.
president for operations, also said yet to discuss anew the application vate investors. “The government through the
that as a private company, Harbour of the company to be allowed to “The PPA’s charter is so flawed PPA will save around P6 billion in
Centre can offer “straightforward handle the containerized cargo that, instead of regulating, it is us- port development and land recla-
rates, while eliminating undesirable business. ing its developmental function to mation since Harbour Centre has
red tape and corruption.” “It’s not my decision to make. justify its regulation,” Mr. Basilio already undertaken these. The re-
Ms. Sandejas said Harbour It’s a board decision. It has been said, citing as an example the in- covery of investments by the com-
Centre’s efficient port operations submitted for discussion but it just crease in cargo-handling fee in pany… will promote confidence in
serve as the main attraction for its was not discussed. Our next board March, which, in turn, would re- investing locally. More investments
services. For instance, she said while meeting is next month. If our chair- flect a higher income for the PPA. would mean more economic activi-
other ports consume 10 days in man, [Transport] Secretary [Lean- Allowing Harbour Centre to ties including greater job opportu-
unloading 60,000 metric tons of dro] Mendoza say we should put it handle foreign containerized cargo nities,” Mr. Virola said.
steel, Harbour Centre can do it in in the agenda, then we will put it in when it pays the PPA only P20,000 Are the major participants up
half the time. With its efficiency, our agenda,” PPA general manager annually would mean it would be for the competition?
Ms. Sandejas said Harbour Centre Oscar M. Sevilla said. able to offer terminal services at a “Of course, we will compete.
easily claims to hold 90% of the Harbour Centre’s fate lies in the lower cost and eventually eat into That’s what our job is,” Mr. Rickord
break-bulk or non-containerized hands of Mr. Mendoza who has yet the market shared by ICTSI and said.
cargo market in the Port of Manila. to be confirmed by the Commis- ATI. With lower volumes being ICTSI, on the other hand, does
Without a level playing field, sion on Appointments ever since handled by the two companies, the not see much threat with the entry
Mr. Rickord claimed that the break- his appointment at the start of PPA’s income would also be re- of Harbour Centre. “There’s a legal
bulk business can easily be mo- President Gloria Macapagal duced. framework. If they change it, it
nopolized by Harbour Centre. Arroyo’s term in May 2004. A “The issue is complicated by the doesn’t matter,” ICTSI Chief Execu-
But Harbour Centre is eyeing source said Harbour Centre is not fact that the MICT and the South tive Enrique K. Razon said.
more than just the break-bulk busi- likely going to get what it wants as
ness. The P6-billion port facility long as Mr. Mendoza is not offi-
has a 15-year permit to operate. It cially appointed as Transportation
is recognized as a special economic and Communication secretary to
zone and is authorized to handle “avoid complications.”
foreign non-containerized cargoes Mr. Sevilla said there are also
and vessels and all types of domes- legal implications if the govern-
tic cargoes and vessels, both con- ment allows Harbour Centre to
tainerized and non-containerized. handle the containerized cargo
From two million metric tons business. It runs the risk of being
of break-bulk cargo handled last sued by operators if payments to
EVENTS for 2005

WORLD SPORTS
Mavericks beat Rockets

OUTLOOK FORUM
A series of breakfast fora that augment
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Editorial Consultant PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTE
The National Association of
The energy authority’s solution is what Ferengis factor, then rates are likely to go higher as the financial covery does not occur within the abbreviated period
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the concept of efficiency. While a work in progress, It is not. It does not reflect business costs. CPI does ference being that rather than price for inventories,
energy authorities want to implement this by next year. not reflect the cost of capital. It does not include inter- consumers advance for capex.
FAST FORWARD
Abat’s
Never mind the devil in the details. est expense and shareholder ROI. Also, the basket of These are not the same. Inventories are products
One detail is how PBR is affected by debts whose commodities in CPI differs greatly. An increase in the sold to the market. Capex remains the property of eq-
ARGEE GUEVARRA
covenants peg between an 8% minimum and the statu- price of fish does not mean business costs rise at the uity holders and the burden for raising these should
tory 12% RORB. The PBR uses the weighted average same pace. Consumer goods are more elastic than over- not be inflicted on the public.

call not
a calling Juan Tamad meets Vito Corleone AD LIB
GREG
B. MACABENTA

I W
nasmuch as the country’s ruling elite
was sufficiently intrigued and mildly
alarmed by the intrepid call of the
octogenarian retired Gen. Fortunato
Abat for a revolutionary government to
save our bankrupt political system, the
call itself was largely ignored. His mes-
sage may be apt, perhaps laudable, es-
pecially in these times when the
government’s credibility is shot and
there seems to be little hope, but for a
complete overhaul of our failed and
pseudo-democratic system.
But the harbinger of the message failed to fire the
poor into dramatic action or even inspire the middle
class to once again leave their comfort zones and join
a nationwide mobilization to overthrow the present
dispensation. Abat is way too old, his background and
politics too rooted in the fascist military establishment
and his former and present allies and patrons are them-
selves reviled by the people.
Abat is a Don Quixote whose sole weapon is his
deep-seated frustration about the perpetuation of cor-
ruption in government and the seeming lethargy of
the populace to rise in arms against their own oppres-
sion and exploitation. With such weapon in hand, Abat
becomes an all-too familiar and ordinary person from
the political perspective: your average Filipino who has
become completely disillusioned with the status quo.
And knowing such stereotype, the average Filipino
will just remain passive, even indifferent, rather than
gather together in great numbers and under one ban-
ner of a vanguard organization or movement, steeled
by a determination, storm the gates of Malacañang.
Unfortunately, this is not without an explanation
or a rationalization. After all, the history of revolts, up-
risings, rebellions and revolutions in the country is gen-
erally characterized as short-lived, replete with betray-
als, wracked by internal conflicts and dissensions, or
defined as outright failures. Understandably, Filipinos
are exhausted by such pointless exercises which make
them sweat blood and tears, but, in the end, do not
remotely inure to their well-being and welfare or do
not last the season’s anger or go beyond the
demonization of the fill-in-the-blank “people’s enemy.”
EDSA 1 was supposed to be a proud moment for
the country as we booted out a despicable dictator-
ship only to replace the same
with a kind of democracy
that serves only the interests RANDOM WALKER
of the propertied and the NOEL G. REYES
wealthy. After the restoration
of the oligarchy was com-
pleted, the traditional politi-
cians soon put a stranglehold
on the body polity as the
people behind people power
were themselves disenfran-
chised politically and left
powerless to improve their
own lives.
EDSA 2 was no different.
In fact, it merely benefited an Noel Reyes was unable
Guevarra, S1/5 to submit a column.
hy is it that the “Unity Talks” proposed by Speaker Joe de Venecia, which appear to have been
welcomed by assorted opposition leaders, remind me of that scene in Godfather I where Don
Vito Corleone sat down with the heads of other Mafia families to discuss their “business inter-
ests?” And then again, why is it that the proposed talks also remind me of the late Manuel Conde’s classic
film satire, Juan Tamad goes to Congress?
I mean no disrespect (a mandatory preamble in
Mafia discussions), but I can’t help imagining Marlon
Brando and Manoling Conde calling a meeting of
“Heads of Families” and “Heads of Houses” to discuss
the fate of a fictional country called Maharlika.
“We are prepared to meet and talk to anyone,” says
Brando in the role of Don Vito Corleone, “but only on
condition that we agree to unseat President Aruy and
I will head a junta.”
“He means, hunta, as in huntahan, as in convers-
ing,” hurriedly explains Conde in the role of Congress-
man Juan Tamad. That quickly reassures the assorted
oppositionists. “That’s exactly what we are going to do,
di ba? Maghuhuntahan!”
“We are prepared to meet and talk to anyone, but
it must be clear that the purpose is not to save the Presi-
dent or prevent her ouster,” echoes Congressman Isku,
secretary general of the Untidy Opposition.
In an earlier newspaper interview, he had acknowl-
edged “the urgency of the situation” which, thus, ne-
cessitated the “Unity Talks.”
According to the press reports, Congressman Isku
“cited the people’s ‘growing disenchantment’ as a re-
sult of government corruption, low wages, the high
prices of commodities and continued oil price in-
creases.”
Congressman Tamad wonders aloud if Congress-
man Isku wasn’t talking about every administration,
present and past.
“Di ba, the people, lagi namang may ‘growing dis-
enchantment as a result of government corruption, low
wages, the high prices of commodities and continued
oil price increases?’” Congressman Tamad asks.
Congressman Isku counters that it’s the
opposition’s turn to do the accusing.
“It’s like basketball,” he explains. “Whoever has the
ball does the shooting. When we’re back in power, it
will be their turn to accuse us.”
“Parang basketball,” Congressman Isku reiterates.
That response throws Congressman Tamad off-
balance. “How did the huntahan suddenly shift to bas-
ketball?” he wonders.
Then he realizes that it all makes sense: “Basket-
ball, politics. Same-same. Parehong bolahan.”
“We’ re not a destructive opposition,” Congress-
man Isku stresses, adding that, like Maharlikañang, the
DEAR EDITOR
A wife’s call
Like Ted, I have to be strong on the outside for
my children’s sake, but grief overwhelms me. It
deeply pains me that with all of Ted’s planning I
never even detected his plan to take his life. Looking
back, I can see the anguish in his eyes. My guilt is
ever before me that maybe I could have done
something more for Ted. I love Ted. My heart reaches
opposition desires what is best for the people.”
And then he adds, “To paraphrase, General Mo-
tors, ‘What’s good for the Untidy Opposition is best
for all the people.”
Congressman Isku is just beginning to get revved
up. His words ring with great profundity.
“The government should be more responsive to the
needs of the people,” he says. “The problem is this: They
seem to be too busy trying to keep and protect their
jobs that they seem to forget to do their jobs, which is
principally to serve the majority of the people who
happen to be poor.”
“Sounds familiar,” muses Congressman Tamad. “I
think I heard that before.”
“The ones guilty of destabilization are actually
those in government,” Congressman Isku goes on. “By
their own doing or their failure to do their jobs, they
foment destabilization talks. The solution lies in their
hands.”
At this point, Congressman Tamad, who has be-
come truly impressed with Congressman Isku, notices
something funny about the speech he is reading. It’s a
speech that had been delivered by someone in then
Vice-President Aruy’s group when they were calling
for the impeachment of President Hirap.
“I think you’re reading the wrong speech, Mr. Con-
gressman,” says Congressman Tamad.
“No, it’s the right speech. Just a change of charac-
ters,” Congressman Isku quickly replies. “Sa totoo lang,
this was written by Butch Aquino and Reli German
during the time of President Apo, when my father was
Secretary of Farming, Piggery and Poultry Raising.”
Now, it’s the turn of the party-list representatives
to speak.
The first one at the mike is from the Partidong No
Permanent Address.
“We are open to unite with progressive forces, but
we will never allow ourselves to be used to perpetuate
a government that does not serve and protect the in-
terest of the people, like this politically isolated Presi-
dent,” he says.
Congressman Tamad doesn’t quite hear that state-
ment clearly. He can only make out “politically iso-
lated.”
“Oo nga naman,” he remarks. “If you live in the
Netherlands, you are politically isolated.”
out to his pain as he pulled the trigger. I close my
eyes, but I still see his pain. I still see his face bloody
in Loyola Memorial. My poor Ted.
I can’t help the anger in me against all those who
left him alone … all those who are waiting to reap
the fruits of Ted’s labor. Urban Bank was just a failed
investment for them. Urban Bank to Ted was his life.
He did not abandon his Urban Bank family.
In the Book of John 10:11-13, I am the Good
Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the
sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and
When a lot of high-ranking politicians have arrived,
Congressman Tamad explains that he and Don Vito
decided to call a meeting of the “Standing Commit-
tee” of the political parties in order to “condemn the
recurring coup attempts and to move the country for-
ward to constitutional amendments.”
“We will no longer take the situation lying down,”
declares Don Vito. “We will also not take it sitting
down.”
“That’s why we want the members of the Standing
Committee,” explains Congressman Tamad.
Sen. Ang Galing, chairman of the opposition
Lubluban ng Demokratikong Mamamayan, speaks up
at this point: “Convening the meeting proposed by Don
Vito and Congressman Tamad will allow leaders to set
directions for a drifting people.”
Congressman Tamad readily agrees. “Every time it
rains, we become a drifting people. Therefore, we
should solve the flood problem.”
The senator ignores Congressman Tamad and
pointedly refers to Don Vito: “We must also quash these
coup rumors. We must set a direction for the country,
otherwise, people will be suggesting extrajudicial
means.”
Upon hearing “direction,” Congressman Tamad
thinks of recommending Francis Ford Copolla, but
Don Vito cuts in:
“Extrajudicial? I’m gonna make President Aruy an
offer she can’t refuse!”
Not everyone buys these tactics, however. Com-
menting on the planned “Unity Talks,” another solon,
Sen. Flash, calls up the media and stresses that he does
not agree with all the talk about replacing elected offi-
cials by means of a coup.
“It’s always this case… We have a lot of people who
don’t love our country and openly call for replacement
of elective officials. It’s a very poor precedent and
speaks badly of our maturity as a nation,” says Sen.
Flash.
This attitude of Sen. Flash has Congressman Tamad
worried.
“If Sen. Flash does not want elective officials re-
placed by means of a coup, is he suggesting that Presi-
dent Hirap should be reinstated?”
gregmacabenta@hotmail.com
whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and
leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches
and scatters them. This is because he works for pay
and has no concern for the sheep.
We all know that Ted is the good shepherd. So
who is the wolf and who are the hired men?
May all those guilty of pulling the trigger that
killed Ted find it in their heart to continue Ted’s
crusade for justice. Ted never gave up. With all cases
he filed and dismissed in the Supreme Court due
Dear Editor, S1/5
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
Guevarra
From S1/4
actual power grab by a rival faction of Estrada’s then
ruling establishment. Not only did the revolt cum street
party cum mob rule looked ludicrous, it also deodor-
ized the foul success by GMA’s cabal in hijacking a
popular revolt in order to promote the interests of nar-
row political ambitions.
EDSA 3 all but squeezed the Filipino’s last drop of
faith in any revolutionary undertaking. Far from us-
ing the mass uprising as a vehicle to serve the noblest
aspirations of the poor, EDSA 3 was conscripted as a
hired jeepney by a disgraced presidency to fight for
one man’s personal liberties. So many potential revo-
lutionaries, just for one beneficiary does not a revolu-
tion make. Instead, it makes a mockery out of
everyone’s sacrifices.
With this permeating the minds of most Filipinos,
Abat’s call for a revolution towards national salvation
was greeted with reservation, if not silence, by the very
people who should be the ones leading it, Abat in-
cluded, especially when he walked out of the Club Fili-
pino press conference which he himself organized.
After all, Abat’s call cannot be answered by the people
with zealous mass demonstrations or brave armed con-
frontations with the soldiers of the status quo.
This is because people have already grown deaf to
such calls at a time when the only important calling
for them is to survive the daily grind. And besides, since
nobody listens to the government anyway, there is no
cogent reason to listen to those who present themselves
as the government-to-be.
argee@justice.com
Dear Editor
From S1/4
also to his not being the major stockholder, his last
recourse was to give up his life that he may be heard
before the cases are dismissed with finality.
On April 11, at 9:45 a.m., Ted texted his lawyer to
make sure they file his Motion for Reconsideration
covering GR# 161276 Ted vs. Alberto Reyes, Ma.
Dolores Yuvienco, Candon Guerrero and Tomas
Aure, Jr.
The Supervision and Examination Sector (SES)
of the BSP is the department in charge of preparing
a report and recommendation on the condition of
banks. Ted filed a complaint with the Ombudsman
against the SES officials for falsifying their reports to
conjure false grounds for the closure of Urban. The
Ombudsman found them guilty of simple neglect of
duty. They filed a petition with the CA to dismiss the
administrative charges which dismissal was granted.
So Ted filed this petition with the Supreme Court to
assail the CA decision. The SC denied his petition in
its resolution promulgated on Jan 31, 2005.
Ted’s Motion for Reconsideration which he e-
mailed to several people, including FVR, before
leaving the house on April 11, summarizes all
injustices incurred against him and Urban Bank.
He gave up his life so that we may have ours. But
what is life without Ted.
“Yet death may still bear meaning or purpose for
others, if not our lives.”
I learned a lot about Ted in his death which I
never realized in our 24 years of marriage… which
makes me miss him all the more now.
I was deprived of my husband. My children were
deprived of their dad. So what happens now? What is
life for my children and I without Ted.
Please don’t let Ted die in vain.
DOLLY BORLONGAN
Inaccurate and ridiculous
I read Mr. Firmo M. Tripon’s piece entitled
“Church in panic” (BusinessWorld, April 26, 2005) a
grossly inaccurate and ridiculous idea about the state
of the Catholic religion upon the death of Pope John
Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
I wish to know how credible Mr. Tripon is for
writing a laundry list of supposed faults of the
Catholic Church to which I and millions of Filipinos
belong.
May I, therefore, ask the following questions to
Mr. Tripon and other readers who took him seri-
ously.
1. Are you a baptized Catholic? If not, stop
reading this.
If you are, then let me first remind you that the
“greatest enemy of the Catholic faith is ignorance.”
Why do you quote writers like Mr. Ang, whom you
said wrote a paper entitled Dark side of Catholicism?
Have you read the history of the Church by
Alexander Knox (10 volumes)? Have you read the
Old Testament? Do you read the Gospels written
after Christ was crucified as the fine-tuning of the
Old Testament, regularly? Have you read the encycli-
cals of the popes, specially the social encyclicals
which began with Retum Novarum at the turn of the
20th century? And the book entitled Compendium of
All the Social Encyclicals published by the Roman
Catholic Church in 2004? Have you read the books
by and about Pope John Paul II? Have you read the
latest version of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church made possible by John Paul II and the new
Pope Benedict XVI?
If not, then I understand why the book of Mr.
Ang and other such books, writings, and tabloids
have deformed your knowledge and understanding
of our true faith. But God, in His wisdom, forgive,
for often we do not really know what we write about.
Simply put, it boils down to this question: Where do
you position Mr. Ang in comparison to the range of
Day 113 of the President’s silence
F
inally, finally, finally, President Bush is showing a little muscle on the issue of genocide in Darfur. Is
the muscle being used to stop the genocide of hundreds of thousands of villagers? No, tragically, it’s
to stop Congress from taking action. Incredibly, the Bush administration is fighting to kill the
Darfur Accountability Act, which would be the most forceful step the United States has taken so far
against the genocide. The bill, passed by the Senate, calls for such steps as freezing assets of the genocide’s
leaders and imposing an internationally backed no-fly zone to stop Sudan’s army from strafing villages.
The White House was roused from its stupor of
indifference on Darfur to send a letter, a copy of which
I have in my hand, to congressional leaders, instruct-
ing them to delete provisions about Darfur from the
legislation.
Bush might reflect on a saying of President
Kennedy: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for
those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their
neutrality.”
Aside from the effort to block congressional action,
there are other signs that the administration is trying
to backtrack on Darfur. The first sign came when
Condoleezza Rice gave an interview to The Washing-
ton Post in which she deflected questions about Dar-
fur and low-balled the number of African Union troops
needed there.
Then, in Sudan, Deputy Secretary of State Robert
Zoellick pointedly refused to repeat the administra-
tion’s past judgment that the killings amount to geno-
cide. Zoellick also cited an absurdly low estimate of
Darfur’s total death toll: 60,000 to 160,000. Every other
serious estimate is many times as high. The latest, from
the Coalition for International Justice, is nearly
400,000, and rising by 500 a day.
This is not a partisan issue, for Republicans and
the Christian right led the way in blowing the whistle
on the slaughter in Darfur. As a result, long before
Laura Bush talks naughty
W
hen King Agamemnon and his fleet of warships were becalmed in the Aegean Sea, he ordered
his wife to fetch their daughter so she could be sacrificed to the gods. It worked, sort of. The
winds picked up and blew the Greek ships to triumph at Troy, although Agamemnon’s wife
did murder him later.
Republican presidents rely on a slightly less cruel
sacrificial ritual for their problems. Their wives appease
the media gods with comedy routines.
Each spring, when politicians and reporters con-
vene for formal dinners that are supposed to be funny
and are often compared to root canals, they talk about
Nancy Reagan’s “Second Hand Clothes” the way fans
talk about the 1927 Yankees. The Reagans’ image for
conspicuous consumption was never the same after
Mrs. Reagan put on rags in 1982 to sing a lampoon of
her spending habits.
But on Saturday night, Laura Bush set a new stan-
dard. After interrupting her husband and telling him
to sit down, she did a stand-up routine that included
what was probably the first joke told in earshot of a
President that involved him and a horse’s phallus.
Mrs. Bush called her husband Mr. Excitement for
going to bed by 9 o’clock and turning her into a “des-
perate housewife.” She said that Lynne Cheney’s Se-
cret Service code name became Dollar Bill after they
both went to Chippendales (where they ran into Sandra
Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Noting that
Andover and Yale did not have “real strong ranching
programs,” she said Bush had started his ranching ca-
reer by trying to milk a horse — a male horse.
Her timing had the audience howling, and the
edgier lines had them gasping. Jokes about pent-up
sexual frustration from a prim librarian? With her
writers from the great fathers of the Church, the
doctors of the Church down to Pope John Paul II
and the present Pope Benedict XVI? Better include
Catholic laymen writers such as Gilbert K.
Chesteron, Hillaire Belloc and Theologian Frank
Sheed
2. Are you a practicing Catholic? Is asceticism
(the spirit of sacrifice) a reality in your personal life?
Praying, doing good to others? I am sure you
practice what you believe is your faith. I gather in
the intense passion of your column, and the way you
desire to correct the Catholic faith — “the Church is
in panic!” I felt your eagerness in your proposal for
the Church to soul-search, in your words, “for
something to believe in, with reason and without
fear.” Great intention! Who was it who said that a lot
of good intentions lead to hell. So the question I
pose is this: What do you believe? In the same
breadth, what do you practice? Do you go to the
Sacraments of Salvation — you know, personal,
auricular confession to a priest, mass and commun-
ion, praying before we sleep and, upon waking up,
reciting the Holy Rosary? What about works of
mercy — you know, feeding the hungry, visiting the
sick, clothing the naked, visiting the ones in prison,
and spreading the Good News of Salvation — to
Democrats had staggered to their feet on the issue, Bush
was telephoning Sudan’s leader and pressing for a
cease-fire there.
Later, Bush forthrightly called the slaughter geno-
cide, and he has continued to back the crucial step of a
larger African Union force to provide security. Just the
baby steps Bush has taken have probably saved hun-
dreds of thousands of lives.
So why is Bush so reluctant to do a bit more and
save perhaps several hundred thousand more lives? I
sense that there are three reasons.
First, Bush doesn’t see any neat solution, and he’s
mindful that his father went into Somalia for humani-
tarian reasons and ended up with a mess.
Second, Bush is very proud — justly — that he
helped secure peace in a separate war between north-
ern and southern Sudan. That peace is very fragile, and
he is concerned that pressuring Sudan on Darfur might
disrupt that peace while doing little more than
emboldening the Darfur rebels (some of them cut-
throats who aren’t negotiating seriously).
Third, Sudan’s leaders have increased their coop-
eration with the CIA. As The Los Angeles Times re-
ported, the CIA recently flew Sudan’s intelligence chief
to Washington for consultations about the war on ter-
ror, and the White House doesn’t want to jeopardize
that channel.
born-again husband sitting there and enjoying it? And
cameras recording it for Republican preachers who are
determined to get sex out of schools and off televi-
sion?
For the mainly Democratic audience — this was a
crowd of Washington journalists and luminaries from
Hollywood and Manhattan — it was an evening of
cognitive dissonance. How to reconcile this charming
image on stage with the Bush they love to bash?
Mrs. Bush’s performance, and her husband’s reac-
tion, wasn’t a shock to the reporters who cover the
White House. For years they have tried to convince
their friends outside Washington that Bush is actually
not a close-minded dolt, and Mrs. Bush is no Stepford
Wife or Church Lady. Yes, they’re Texans who go to
church and preach family values, but they’re not ya-
hoos or religious zealots.
The coverage of Mrs. Bush’s comic debut may
change some minds, but for devout Bush-bashers, it’s
much easier to stay the course. If you live in a blue-
state stronghold, a coastal city where you can go 24
hours without meeting any Republicans, it’s consol-
ing to think of the red staters as an alien bunch of
straight-laced Bible thumpers.
Otherwise, how do you explain why they’re Repub-
lican? Or answer the question Democrats asked in as-
tonishment when they saw Bush’s vote totals: Who are
these people?
your family and friends?
3. Are you aware that our Lord has made clear
that everywhere on this earth, the good and the evil
must coexist? Because if we insist that God roots out
all evil, then all the good will also be rooted out as a
consequence. This conflict of good and evil is for
each of us to solve individually in our own particular
lives, with the help of our mother the Church. Is this
crystal clear?
The Church is not at all in panic. However, some
Catholics are indeed panicking — and rightly so,
because they want to reinvent what has already
happened 2005 years ago.
4. The task of the true faithful is to continuously
enlighten himself with the unchangeable doctrine of
our mother, the Catholic Church. How? Read the
right books and writing about our faith, the Roman
Catholic religion; practice what we learn down to its
minutest consequences in everyday life; share our
enlightenment with our neighbors; and accept and
live with the reality that we have to be militant for
the rest of our lives on earth to earn the eternal bliss
promised by our Lord which awaits us in heaven.
Mr. Tripon, no true and faithful Catholic will
panic. Only the wishy-washy ones. In fact, many
enlightened Catholics who are true to the official
OPINION S1 / 5
COMMENTARY
NICHOLAS
D. KRISTOF
All three concerns are legitimate. But when histo-
rians look back on his presidency, they are going to
focus on Bush’s fiddling as hundreds of thousands of
people were killed, raped or mutilated in Darfur —
and if the situation worsens, the final toll could reach
a million dead.
This Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance
Day. The best memorial would be for more Americans
to protest about this administration’s showing the same
lack of interest in Darfur that FDR showed toward the
genocide of Jews. Ultimately, public pressure may force
Bush to respond to Darfur, but it looks as if he will
have to be dragged kicking and screaming by Republi-
cans and Democrats alike.
Granted, Darfur defies easy solutions. But Bush
was outspoken and active this spring in another
complex case, that of Terry Schiavo. If only Bush
would exert himself as much to try to save the lives
of the two million people driven from their homes
in Darfur.
So I’m going to start tracking Bush’s lassitude. The
last time Bush let the word Darfur slip past his lips
publicly (to offer a passing compliment to US aid work-
ers, rather than to denounce the killings) was Jan. 10.
So Tuesday marks Day 113 of Bush’s silence about the
genocide unfolding on his watch. —New York Times
News Service
COMMENTARY
JOHN TIERNEY
The favorite Democratic explanation is that the red
staters are hicks who have been blinded by righteousness,
as Thomas Frank argues in What’s the Matter With Kan-
sas? He laments that middle-class Kansans are so bam-
boozled by moral issues like abortion and school prayer
that they vote for Republicans even though the Republi-
can tax-cutting policies are against their self-interest.
But middle-class Americans don’t simply cast bal-
lots for Republicans. They also vote with their feet,
which is why blue states and old Democratic cities are
losing population to red states and Republican exurbs.
People are moving there precisely because of economic
reasons — more jobs, affordable houses and the lower
taxes offered by Republican politicians.
They’re not moving for the churches, and they don’t
vote for Bush simply because he reads the Bible every
day. One of the main reasons they like him is that he
gets bashed so often. When Jon Stewart sneers at him,
they empathize because they’re used to being sneered
at themselves.
They know what their image is in Manhattan and
Hollywood, and they know they’re not all that differ-
ent from the Democrats in those places. They, too,
watch Desperate Housewives, and they’re not surprised
to hear Laura Bush doing Chippendales jokes. They’ve
spent their own dollar bills there. They don’t see any-
thing the matter with that — or with themselves. —
New York Times News Service
teachings of the Church feel more secure than ever.
Our structure and spiritual leader Pope John PauI II
spent his time being the good shepherd ready to die
for his sheep. He preached faithfulness to the
doctrines of the church. Our new Pope Benedict XVI
has a very lucid and authentic stand (read the May 2,
2005 issue of Newsweek) on the issues of contracep-
tion, on sex scandal, on homosexuality, on women
priests, on other forms of Christianity, on relations
with the Muslim world and on US politics.
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI,
obedient and aware of the Tues Petrus assignment
from Jesus Christ Himself, are the most cool,
spiritual and theological Popes of modern times,
Panic is not in their vocabulary. Truth and moral
laws are. Many good cardinals, bishops and priests
do their apostolic work and make personal sacrifices
to strengthen the truthfulness of the Catholic
doctrines. It is media and issue-makers who conjure
panic, not to save humanity from evil, but to flex the
muscle of information, to project power and influ-
ence to both the gullible and spiritually lazy.
MANOLING DE LEON
16 Polk Street, North Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila
 6 / S1 THE ECONOMY ARNOLD E. BELLEZA EDITOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

BY FRANCIS Y. CAPISTRANO, Reporter

Senators still to agree on standby authority in value-added tax bill

Resistance to a proposal aimed
at resolving a deadlock in value-
added tax (VAT) deliberations ap-
pears to be strongest in the
lesislative chamber which spawned
the recommendation.
The Senate panel to the bicam-
eral conference committee deliber-
ating the VAT bill met yesterday in
an effort to reach a consensus on a
standby authority proposal which
would give the President the au-
thority to raise the VAT rate on cer-
tain conditions.
After an initial meeting in the
afternoon, legislators went back for
a full Senate session. Barring an an-
nouncement after that, the Senate
panel was expected to meet anew
but the meeting was abruptly called
off.
No new schedule has been an-
nounced and senators refused to
provide further comment.
Earlier in the day, panel mem-
ber Sen. Ralph G. Recto, who had
raised the standby authority pro-
posal, said a consensus was near and
that all that was being deliberated
was how conservative or liberal the
conditions for the provision would
be.
Among the proposals, said Mr.
Recto, was that the authority could
be tied to the government’s tax col-
lection effort: the power to hike the
VAT a “reward” for an improvement
in overall revenues.
The Senate panel is also looking
at a National Government deficit or
consolidated public sector deficit
(CPSD) coming in higher than a
certain percentage of gross domes-
tic product (GDP).
The time frame allowing the
President to raise the rate is also
under consideration.
Malacañang, meanwhile, said
the limits must be clearly spelled out
for the standby authority to be con-
stitutionally permissible.
“The standards or limits must
be stated in the law itself,” Press Sec-
retary Ignacio R. Bunye said while
declining to elaborate on what these
should be.
MOST PRACTICAL
Presidential Adviser for Political
Affairs Gabriel S. Claudio said the
standby authority appears to be the
“most practical” way to break the
impasse between the Senate and the
House.
He said Malacañang is not aban-
doning the plan to raise the VAT rate
to 12%, but recognizes that the bi-
cameral conference committee will
remain deadlocked unless a com-
promise is reached.
After initially agreeing to pass
the bill before the end of April, the
bicam called off further meeting last
week after the Senate insisted on
keeping the VAT rate at 10%.
Finance Sec. Cesar Purisima ear-
lier proposed that the standby au-
thority be given if CPSD is more
than 1% of GDP.
This, however, faced opposition
from a number of senators, with Mr.
Recto calling it a “low bar”, or lib-
eral, condition.
“We’re still making a consensus,”
he said. “But there’s a majority in
favor of the standby authority. More
or less, we have an indication of the
concerns of each member of the
panel.”
He refused, however, to name
which senators in the Senate bicam-
eral conference committee panel are
for or against the standby author-
ity.
Sen. Joker P. Arroyo, for his part,
said “I do not care about the standby
authority” as he is concerned with
the possibility that the “no pass-on”
provisions on power and fuel, which
are contained in both Senate and
House versions of the VAT bill, will
be removed.
This means that once the 12%
VAT rate on power and fuel is im-
posed, it will generate P40 billion
which will in the end be shouldered
by consumers.
He said Malacañang is report-
edly bent on deleting these provi-
sions, adding “anything can hap-
pen” in the bicam.
“In fact, our worry now is that
all the provisions that are favorable
to consumers, the President will
veto it,” he said. “The government
gets richer, but actually power and
oil will not pay anything.”
The bicam is expected to resume
discussions on Thursday following
last week’s deadlock. Tarlac Rep.
Jesli A. Lapus said the VAT bill is
highly likely to include the standby
authority provision.
LESSER REVENUES
Meanwhile, an investment bank
said additional revenues to be col-
lected by the VAT bill would likely
be between P30-40 billion instead
of the original P60 billion eyed by
the government.
In its latest report, New York-
based Bear, Stearns & Co. said that
unless the bicameral conference
committee reconciling the Senate
and House versions approves “a
more robust bill,” additional collec-
tions would fall short of expecta-
tions.
Indicating that the government
remains hard-pressed to generate
more revenues, the investment bank
pointed out that the P15 billion ex-
pected to be generated by the new
excise tax on “sin” products such as
liquor and tobacco, which was ap-
proved by Congress last year, will
likely be offset by interest payments.
Bear Stearns recalled that the
government assumed P200 billion
in debts of the state-owned Na-
tional Power Corp. early this year,
which it said requires interest pay-
ments of P15 billion.
It noted that the decision of
House representatives to the bicam
panel to abandon multiple VAT
rates could convince the Senate to
agree to raise the VAT to 12% from
10%, but recent developments ap-
pear to have gone against this pre-
diction. – with reports from Felipe
F. Salvosa II, Judy T. Gulane and
Kristine L. Alave

Controls sought Training lack behind accidents at work BY KERLYN G. BAUTISTA, Reporter

on charges for Fixed-line subscriptions

A lack of training among work- “Most have never worked with alized and newly industrialized
ers in developing countries has re- heavy machinery, and some have countries... some countries now

power pole use up but boom not expected

sulted in a high incidence of work
related accidents and illnesses, two
international bodies said.
A bill regulating charges on use In a joint report, the Interna-
of electric poles by cable TV pro- tional Labor Organization (ILO),
viders and telecommunications and the World Health Organization
firms has been filed at the House of (WHO) said some developing
Representatives. countries have failed to educate
Catanduanes Rep. Joseph A. workers in preventive safety mea-
Santiago, in House Bill 4079, wants sures amid rapid industrialization.
the National Telecommunications “This is happening because in
Commission (NTC) to regulate the the newly developing countries
use of electric poles and other sup- workers are often coming out of the
port structures to ensure that the rural areas, with few skills and very
firms which own these do not set little training in safe work practices”,
arbitrary and exorbitant rates. Dr. Jukka Takala, Director of the
“Over the years, telecommuni- ILO’s Safework Program, said in a
cations and CATV (cable television) statement.
operators have found it expedient,
even necessary, to run wires to their
subscribers using the poles of util-
ity firms,” he said.
“Utility firms, in turn, have
Rural microenterprise program gets OK
found it opportune to charge sky- A US$28.3789-million program
high rent. As a result, telecommu- aimed at promoting rural micro-en-
nications and CATV operators have terprises has been approved by the
been forced to pass the excessive National Economic and Develop-
charges on their subscribers,” Mr. ment Authority’s Investment Coor-
Santiago, who once served as NTC dination Committee (NEDA-ICC)
commissioner, added. The seven-year Rural Micro-
HB 4079 also aims to ensure Enterprise Promotion Program of
telecommunication providers the Department of Trade and In-
right-of-way “within the frame dustry (DTI) is expected to boost
work of just and fair play.” the growth of small and medium
The bill also guarantees that enterprises (SMEs) in the Bicol,
CATV operators and telecommuni- Eastern Visayas, Cordillera,
cations firms not be barred from Socsksargen and Caraga regions.
carrying additional value added ser- Of the total project cost, the In-
vices. ternational Fund for Agricultural
LET’S TALK
EUROPE
HENRY J.
Traveler’s tales
SCHUMACHER
I spent last week in Vietnam (Hanoi) and
Thailand (Bangkok) to participate in regional
conferences. Let me share with you some ob-
servations:
• The treatment of departing visitors and
OFWs at NAIA Terminal 1 (and Terminal 2) is
absolutely ridiculous and unique in Asia. Only
in the Philippines do you have to line up out-
side the airport terminal to have your passport
and ticket checked by a security guard! When I
flew on Sunday, April 24, there were about 300 people trying to get into
little or no experience with indus-
trial hazards such as electricity, so
undergoing rapid development in
Asia and Latin America are experi-
they don’t know how dangerous encing increases,” the report said.
these things can be. Yet these are el- The ILO said there were 5,594 Fixed line telephone subscrip-
ements of the kinds of jobs that are fatal work-related accidents in the tions grew by 4.52% last year to 3.45
available for low skilled workers in Philippines in 2001. Out of this, million, pointing a slow comeback
rapidly industrializing countries,” 4,210 were accidents in the agricul- for the lackluster landline business.
he added. ture sector, 842 in the service indus- Despite the increase, the num-
The report said the number of try, and 542 cases in the industrial ber of unused fixed lines in the
job-related accidents and illnesses, sector. country still stands at 3.08 million
which annually claim more than The joint report also said the and telecom officials do not expect
two million lives worldwide, ap- most common workplace illnesses the sector to boom given the popu-
pears to be rising because of rapid are cancers from exposure to haz- larity of mobile telephony.
industrialization in some develop- ardous substances, musculoskeletal The country currently has an
ing countries, particularly in Asia, diseases, respiratory diseases, hear- installed fixed line capacity of 6.53
and Latin America. ing loss, circulatory diseases and million, about three million of
“While workplace accidents communicable diseases caused by which were rolled out by Philippine
have levelled off in many industri- exposure to pathogens. Long Distance Telephone Company
and about 1.5 million by Innove
Communications Inc., a wholly- Mr. Cabarios said.
owned subsidiary of Globe
Telecoms Inc.
The National Telecommunica-
“If telcos would push VoIP, and
if the government allows value-
added service providers to resell
Development (IFAD) will provide financing for rural development tion Commission (NTC) said ag- fixed lines for the telcos and then
US$18.6327 million in soft loans (MEFRD); microenterprise promo- gressive cost bundling, low internet offer VoIP, then we can see a come-
and $1.1215 million in grants. tion and development (MEPD); connection pricing, and other back for the landline,” he added.
“The IFAD loan terms are and institutional development, pro- value-added offerings pushed Problems surrounding the
highly concessional at 0.75% inter- gram management and policy co- landline subscriptions into positive landline business of the telcos sur-
est payable in 40 years with a grace ordination. territory last year from 2003’s nega- faced soon after former president
period of 10 years,” NEDA Public The MEFRD component fo- tive 0.35%. Fidel V. Ramos signed the Service
Investment Staff director Jonathan cuses on providing wholesale loans NTC director Edgardo V. Area Scheme (SAS) or the Univer-
L. Uy said in a statement. to microfinance institutions. The Cabarios, however, said a rally in sal Telephone Service Policy in
The government’s counterpart MEPD, meanwhile, aims to estab- landline subscriptions may be un- 1993.
fund will total US$8.6247 million, lish a demand-based Business De- likely over the medium term be- SAS required operators of cel-
which will be provided by the DTI velopment Services facility. The last cause of the sustained popularity of lular mobile telephone service
and the Small Business Guarantee component focuses on training and mobile communications. (CMTS) and international gateway
and Finance Corp. (SBGFC). capability-building. Mr. Cabarios said landline sub- facility (IGF) to install at least
The microenterprise project has The project is scheduled to start scriptions may lie dormant unless 400,000 and 300,000 landlines, re-
three components: microenterprise by the third quarter of this year. telcos improve their internet con- spectively, in unserved areas within
nection business and provide appli- five years. If a telco offers both
cations like voice-over internet pro- CMTS and IGF service, it had to roll
tocol (VoIP). out at least 700,000 landlines in un-
between the two groups and added in Thailand: ‘the proposed Thai- VoIP is an internet-enabled served areas.
Japanese free trade agreement should be carefully considered so as not
to disadvantage other trading partners’. We told Mandelson that we have
value-added service that lets tele-
communications happen at a lower
This scheme created a glut of
installed landlines which remained
the same issue in the Philippines where a free trade agreement is being cost. With VoIP, international calls unused, as people started buying
negotiated with Japan. are expected to drop to 10 cents a mobile phones over the traditional
• While in Bangkok, the information reached me that the Philippine minute from the current market fixed telephones.
president had declared Monday, May 2, as a nonworking holiday. Here price of 40 cents a minute. NTC data show that mobile
are some of the comments I received from Manila: “Why this was not “There won’t be any major phone subscription grew to 33.44
declared with more advance notice? These sort of last-minute actions by movement in the fixed line, telcos million in 2004, up 48.54% from
government harass the private sector, add to business costs and are truly will just try to maximize whatever 22.51 million in 2003. This growth
incomprehensible.” “These irresponsible, populist and erratic actions by investments they have already is carried over from 2003, when
government are making the country less and less attractive as a place to made. People have found a good mobile subscription grew 46.33%
do business in”. alternative in mobile phones now,” from 15.38 million in 2002.
• In Thailand, organized labor also bargained for an increase in mini-
mum wages; Thaksin made it clear that it was more important that Thai-

Hearings on internet phone

the airport. If I were a tourist, I would not return! land stays competitive. In the Philippines, the headline reads: GMA or-
Given the fact that the ACR I-Card does not work yet and that there ders hike in minimum wage. It is not surprising that Thailand and Viet-
is no special lane leaving the country (and coming back), about 30 of us nam are high on the investors’ radar screen (after China, of course).

calls extended by regulator

had to line up at a special counter where payments had to be made. The • While NAIA Terminal 3 remains mired with legal, commercial and
cashier and the immigration official could have handled the line reason- technical problems and the opening becoming more and more unlikely
ably well, if there had not been scores of “fixers” that received special before the end of this year, the new Bangkok international airport is
treatment by the two civil servants. delayed also. It was originally scheduled to open in September but it will
I suggest that the management of the airport, including security and be a bit later. While in Bangkok, a corruption case made waves: the pro- National Telecommunication The NTC said that it will allot
immigration, is outsourced to the private sector. curement of baggage scanners from InVision Technologies of the US for Commission (NTC) hearings on 10 more days to accommodate po-
• In Hanoi, one of the senior planning consultants of the Vietnamese the new international Bangkok airport. InVision Technologies admitted the Voice-over Internet Protocol sition papers on VoIP and 15 days
government presented the development plan of the country. Two things that corruption money had been paid by them in Thailand, Vietnam (VoIP) service have been extended more for it to consolidate inputs
were surprising: he spoke in fluent German and outlined the practical and the Philippines. In Thailand, the CTX machines were overvalued by following calls from telcos, indepen- from the industry.
approach of the Vietnamese government to foreign investment. One about US$ 10 million. Did anybody raise this issue in Manila? dent service providers, and telecom The telco regulator did not say
could feel the sense of urgency. There is no doubt that Vietnam will • As mentioned earlier, on my return from Thailand on April 30, equipment suppliers for a longer when a final ruling on VoIP would
develop fast and get close to the Philippines’ per capita income soon. there was no special lane for ACR I-Card holders anymore and the im- debate. be released.
• I appreciated the dialogue with Trade Commissioner Mandelson migration officer at my lane just looked at the card and said that they VoIP is an internet-based com- The long-standing issue on who
of the European Commission. He was on a tour through Asia (exclud- had no equipment yet. munication technology that has should offer VoIP was sparked on
ing the Philippines). Our main focus was on free trade agreements, which Back in Manila, after four days of intense discussions with colleagues been touted to drive down monthly November 25, 2003 when the De-
are blossoming in Asia, with countries like China, Japan and the US. We from Europe and all of Asia, it is said to say that the Philippines is not on telecommunication charges in the partment of Transportation and
raised our concern that Europe has to move also in order to maintain a the agenda of many businessmen and government officials. We all know Philippines. Local telecom costs run Communication granted telcos the
level playing field for European business. He said in Hanoi that the EU why but nobody seems to care. as one of the highest in Asia at exclusive right to offer VoIP. The de-
and ASEAN have agreed to study the potential of a free trade agreement Email comments to Schumacher@eccp.com $22.38 for businesses and $10.74 for cision effectively barred non-telcos
residential users. from offering the service.
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 THE ECONOMY S1 / 7

HONG KONG — The Indonesian ru- Indonesian budget spending.

piah and Philippine peso, Asia’s two
long-term underachievers, both
look vulnerable to the threat of an
exodus of investments and rising
risk aversion.
The rupiah, last year’s worst-
performing currency in Asia, has
fallen to three-year lows and is be-
ing drip-fed whatever support the
government can offer. Yesterday
morning, it was at 9,550 to a dollar
versus 9,290 at the end of 2004.
The peso seemed to be staring
at a crisis for much of 2003 and well
into 2004 before it steadied on signs
of political stability and the
government’s eagerness to tackle a
chronic budget deficit. Since Janu-
ary, it has risen 3.9%.
But now, with emerging mar-
kets out of favor as US interest rates
head north, fund flow trends spell
trouble for both units.
“As risk aversion has started to
increase, smaller, peripheral mar-
kets like Indonesia and Philippines
have suffered a change in sentiment
Fund flow trends spell trouble for rupiah, peso
in terms of fund flows,” said Sean
Darby, equities strategist at Nomura
International.
The dollar has been bolstered by
the 1.75 percentage points of rate
rises in less than a year and the
promise of more to come. At the
same time, high oil prices are forc-
ing funds out the Philippines and
Indonesia in order to pay for costly
crude bills.
“Smaller markets are finding it
difficult to deal with the strength-
ening dollar and higher oil prices,
and that is shrinking the overall
balance of payments,” Darby said.
Indonesia has already seen out-
flows of $1.7 billion in the year to
April 24, dwarfing the net inflows
of $979 million in all of last year,
according to exchange data collated
by Nomura.
The Philippines has managed to
attract $179 million in fund flows
in 2005 so far versus $35 million in
all of 2004.
But analysts are dubious that
trend will continue.
Craig Chan, strategist at Royal
Bank of Scotland, said he sees the
rupiah weakening further and he
would not recommend buying the
peso either.
“Both are risk currencies and
risk appetite at this point in time is
not high,” Chan said. “These flows
are real, not speculative.”
In the peso’s case, where fund
flows so far this year have been sup-
portive, it is a question of
sustainability.
JP Morgan economist Sin Beng
Ong said he expects the peso to re-
verse course over the next three to
six months.
“We have seen pretty strong
portfolio flows so far — the ques-
tion is whether it can be sustained?
Our sense is that, likely not,” Ong
said.
Surging remittances from Fili-
pinos working abroad, investments
in energy and mining and broad
portfolio purchases account for the
rise to date in fund flows into the
Philippines.
That has helped the peso, mak-
ing it the top performing currency
in Asia along with the South Ko-
rean won. Yesterday morning, it was
at 54.14 to a dollar versus 56.28 at
the end of 2004.
But Ong said politics would
come back to haunt the market.
Politicians are bickering over plans
for value added tax, the cornerstone
of a strategy for tackling the budget
deficit.
Ong said that would deter both
direct and portfolio investments.
Philippine stocks are hovering
just above three-month lows as sen-
timent has been hurt by the delay
in approving tax reforms.
In Indonesia, as money has
poured out of the country, a once-
brisk stock market has faltered. In-
donesian shares, which reached a
record high on expectations of a
post-tsunami reconstruction de-
mand, are now also near three-
month lows.
“We haven’t seen any concrete
measures to improve corporate gov-
ernance, no concrete initiatives to
improve the economic climate and
no measures to improve the FDI
flows,” said Bratin Sanyal, head of
Asian equities at ING investment
management.
Fauzi Ichsan, economist at Stan-
dard Chartered, said the revival of
the currency held the key to the
stock market’s recovery and to re-
ducing a debilitating fuel subsidy
bill, which accounts for a 10th of
One way a country can slow an
outflow of funds is to raise capital
in a foreign currency. Indonesia last
month raised $1 billion. That means
it has more dollars to use for for-
eign currency transactions and
doesn’t need to sell rupiah.
But the Indonesian bond has
performed poorly as emerging mar-
kets have broadly been sold off. It
was originally sold to yield 7.375%
but its price has now fallen to give
it a yield of more than 8% in the
secondary market.
The Philippines in January sold
$1.5 billion of 25-year bonds, an is-
sue that attracted orders in excess
of $7.5 billion.
“This outcome for Indonesia
could raise the cost of the Philip-
pines’ next sovereign bond issue,
and it could embolden investors in
peso-denominated treasury bonds
to demand higher yields in coming
t-bond auctions,” said John
Stuermer, head of high-yield re-
search at Bear Stearns. — Reuters

Consumer group asks SC

to roll back power charges
A consumer group is asking the
Supreme Court to roll back power
rates by at least 13.27 centavos per
kilowatt-hour claiming that Manila
Electric Co. (Meralco) illegally in-
creased generation charges in June
last year.
The National Association of
Electricity Consumers for Reforms
(Nasecore), in a recent filing, asked
the high tribunal to void a June 2
Energy Regulatory Commission
(ERC) decision that allowed
Meralco to increase electricity rates
to P3.3213 per kilowatt-hour from
P3.1886.
“Petitioners seek to restrain the
implementation of the challenged
order, as public respondent ERC in
exercising its quasi-judicial func-
tions acted with grave abuse of dis-
cretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction,” Nasecore said in its
filing.
The organization added “...the
implementation of the assailed or-
der will work injustice to petition-
ers for the same is to take effect im-
mediately.”
The consumer group alleged
that Meralco’s pricing of electricity
was not made transparent as no
public hearing nor consultation was
made.
It added that the power rate in-
crease violated the Electric Power
Industry Acts (EPIRA), which dis-
allows rate adjustments without the
publication of a distribution
utility’s application for an increase
in its generation charges in news-
papers.
“There is no iota of doubt that
the challenged 2 June 2004 order
was issued by public respondent
ERC in stark violation of EPIRA
and its IRR and thus tramples upon
the rights of herein petitioners to
procedural due process,” Nasecore
claimed.
By KAREN L. LEMA, Senior Reporter
Bangko Sentral expects higher
’05 balance of payments surplus
Dollar flows into the country are
expected to double this year because
of strong worker remittances and a
surge in portfolio investments, the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
yesterday said.
Bangko Sentral officer-in-
charge Amando M. Tetangco, Jr.,
said that the central bank has re-
vised its balance of payments (BoP)
account target for the year to $852
million from $464 million, despite
lowering their export and imports
forecasts, because of an expected
rise in remittances as well as port-
folio investments.
The export and import forecasts
were lowered to 8% and 10% from
original projections of 10% and
13% respectively, but Mr. Tetangco
said the central bank “expects remit-
tances from overseas Filipino work-
ers and portfolio investments to
grow.”
Last year, the central bank scaled
down the BoP target for 2005 to a
surplus of $464 million from $505
million on expectations that higher
oil prices may slow down the glo-
bal economy.
Bangko Sentral officials, how-
ever, said the Philippines may end
the year with a stronger payments
position with remittances from the
country’s seven million-plus over-
seas Filipino workers expected to
reach $9.4 billion and portfolio in-
vestments to hit $1.2 billion.
A year-end BoP surplus of at
$852 million would be a significant
improvement from the $282-mil-
lion shortfall in 2004. In March, the
BoP posted a surplus of $98 million,
bringing the first-quarter foreign
exchange windfall to $783 million.
The strong inflows of portfolio
investments since the start of the
year, which had led to a sharp ap-
preciation of the peso against the
US dollar, also gave the BSP the op-
portunity to buy dollars in the spot
market.
The BoP account is a summary
of the country’s trade and financial
transactions with the rest of the
world. Its current account compo-
nent measures all trade in goods
and services, while the capital and
financial account shows “hot
money” flows into and out of the
country.
“The more inflows the better it
is for the peso because we have more
receipts and this will also help the
GIR (gross international reserves),”
Mr. Tetangco said.
Opportunities
in off-grid areas
The National Power Corp.
(Napocor) has asked the private sec-
tor to invest in three off-grid areas
in the country.
Investors will enter into 15-year
power supply agreements with three
electric cooperatives. The program
is envisioned to provide the inves-
tors with full cost recovery and re-
turn in capital.
Together with transaction advi-
sor International Finance Corpo-
ration, the government has created
this cash flow opportunity for in-
vestors through innovative means,
Napocor said.
It will be rolled-out initially in
three off-grid areas: Marinduque,
Romblon and Tablas.
“Private participation is ex-
pected to improve generation effi-
ciency, provide much-needed capi-
tal and offer significant cost and re-
liability benefits to end-consumers
in missionary areas,” Napocor presi-
dent Cyril del Callar said.

Spot power market moves

closer to actual operations
Operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot The chamber, which spearheads the Cebu
Market (WESM) will move one step forward this Power Core Group, also asked the President to
week as the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. fast-track the completion of the Leyte Cebu In-
(PEMC) opens its doors to nominations of ad- terconnection Uprating Project and the
ditional representatives to a body that will over- privatization of the National Power Corp.
see the market’s operations. (Napocor).
PEMC President Lasse Matti Holopainen said “Because of the government’s subsidy to
that they are awaiting the Department of Energy’s Napocor, our power generation rate is not re-
clearance to dissolve a technical working group flective of its true cost and is certainly not com-
before opening nominations for three more petitive,” Mr. Go said.
members “who do not have a vested interest in He and other business leaders in Cebu met
the industry.” with the President at the Mactan Benito Ebuen
The independent committee will also include Airbase last week.
the 12 members of the technical group which is In another development, the Cebu Alliance
composed of buyers and sellers of electricity. for Renewable Energy urged Mrs. Arroyo to re-
Though majority of the committee will come consider the government’s endorsement of the
from the energy sector, Mr. Holopainen ex- proposed 220-megawatt coal-fired power plant
pressed confidence there will be no vested inter- of Mirant Philippines in Toledo City, about 50
est because “their [needs] are not aligned.” kilometers west of this city.
“We are trying this week [for the opening of “We urged the President to look into Mirant’s
nominations]. After that, nominations will close record of polluting Toledo City and the entire
within a month. Then the Board of Directors will province because of its coal-fired power plant
shortlist the nominees,” he said. operation,” said Vince Cinches, CARE coordina-
This will also pave the way for the establish- tor in Toledo.
ment of three committees: the rules change panel He said they have been collecting samples of
that will review the WESM rules, the market sur- ash from Mirant’s ash pond to determine the level
veillance committee which will check the day- of toxic chemicals in the ashes. Mr. Cinches said
to-day behavior of participants, and the dispute they will subject the samples to scientific analy-
resolution committee which will impose penal- sis.
ties.
The establishment of the WESM is part of
the series of reforms being implemented under
the Electric Power Act of 2001.
The spot market is designed to reflect the true
cost of electricity and improve the delivery of
power supply to end-users by encouraging
greater competition and efficiency. Consumers
will also be able to choose their supplier.
The government is targeting a January 2006
schedule for the Luzon market, and a few months
after for the Visayas region
In Cebu, meanwhile, businessmen have asked
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to immedi-
ately implement the WESM in the Visayas.
“For sure, this will provide more options to
the different power producers and thus, promote
competition among power generators,” said Rob-
ert L. Go, president of the Cebu Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
 8 / S1 CORPORATE NEWS
BY KERLYN G. BAUTISTA, Reporter
Competition weighs on Globe net
The net income of Ayala-led
Globe Telecom, Inc. slightly grew to
P3 billion in the first quarter from
a restated P2.99 billion in profits last
year as competition heats up in the
mobile market.
The second largest mobile op-
erator in the Philippines said rev-
enues grew by a slower 5% to P13.5
billion compared to 2004. Although
Globe said wireless subscriber base
grew 42% to 12.9 million in the first
quarter ending March, it still missed
the 13 million targeted by end-2004.
Average revenue per user also
BY JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Senior Reporter
AlaskatodistributeKellogggoods
Alaska Milk Corp. will start sell-
ing and distributing Kellogg prod-
ucts in the Philippines under a deal
inked with Kellogg Asia Marketing,
Inc.
The distribution deal effective
May 1 is good for three years, said
Santiago Polido, Alaska corporate
secretary.
The agreement to distribute
Kellogg products in the Philippines
would mean higher revenues for
Alaska, Mr. Polido added.
Kellogg is the world’s leading
producer of cereal and a leading
producer of cookies, crackers,
toaster pastries, cereal bars, frozen
waffles, and meat alternatives.
Brands include Kellogg’s, Keebler,
Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Cheez-It, Nutri-
Grain, Rice Krispies, Special K,
Murray, Austin, Morningstar
Fitch upgrades
PLDT’s local P40-M stock registration
currency rating system soon in business
LONDON — Fitch Ratings yesterday
upgraded Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co.’s (PLDT) long-term
local currency rating to BB+ from
BB with a stable outlook.
Fitch also affirmed PLDT’s
long-term foreign currency rating,
its global bonds and senior notes at
BB, and its convertible preferred
stock at B+, reflecting its stable op-
erating performance and consistent
improvement in financial profile
over a sustained period.
“Much of the improvement has
been driven by robust growth at its
highly cash-generative 100%-
owned cellular subsidiary Smart
Communications, Inc. as well as
strong and profitable growth by
Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel),
which is now 92%-owned by the
PLDT group. PLDT’s fixed-line
business also generates robust posi-
tive free cash flows,” said Jonathan
Cornish, director, Corporates
Group, Asia.
“The group’s aggregate of cellu-
lar subscribers had risen to 19.2 mil-
lion at the end of 2004 from 12.9
[million] a year earlier and it is this
growth in particular that under-
pinned the solid improvement in
PLDT’s consolidated financial
metrics,” Mr. Cornish said.
Fitch noted that PLDT’s stable
operating position and improved fi-
nancial profile has been achieved in
spite of the prevailing aggressive
competitive landscape in the Phil-
ippines. — Reuters
Japan firm still keen PNOC geothermal unit Transco to start
talks with foreign partner new projects
on postal service revamp
Japanese information tech-
nology firm ROA Systems Co.
Ltd. said it remains keen on fund-
ing the P3-billion modernization
of the Philippine Postal Corp.
(PhilPost).
ROA Systems said in a state-
ment that it remains committed
to finance and provide technol-
ogy for the modernization. “The
modernization of PhilPost will
declined as the company expanded
its operations in the provinces.
Capital expenditures amounted to
P5.1 billion.
“The first quarter of the year
was a mixture of challenges and
good results,” Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr.,
president and chief executive, said
in a statement.
Analyst Jose Vistan of AB Capi-
tal Securities, Inc. earlier said Globe
has been hurting from aggressive
marketing campaigns of Smart
Communications, Inc. and new en-
trant Sun Cellular.
Farms, Famous Amos, Carr’s, Plan-
tation and Kashi. Kellogg products
are marketed in more than 160
countries.
“We signed the memorandum
of agreement which specified that
by May 1 we will be distributing
Kellogg products. We are now pre-
paring for May 9, when we’ll launch
this,” Mr. Polido said in a telephone
interview.
He said the deal can be renewed
after three years.
He said Alaska is now working
on being the exclusive distributor of
Kellogg products. “The [deal] was
vague on this,” he said.
Besides Kellogg , Alaska also has
a licensing deal with Hershey Food
Corp. The deal, signed last year,
“brings to play Hershey’s heritage
in chocolate confectionery products
BY RUBY ANNE M. RUBIO,
Reporter
The P40-million stock registra-
tion system that will enable inves-
tors in listed firms to register secu-
rities in their own names will soon
be up and running.
Starting May 27, stock agents
can enroll in the electronic direct
registration system, or EDR, which
was set up to make stock trading
more transparent and prevent un-
scrupulous brokers from selling
stocks without the knowledge of
their clients.
“May 27 is the launching of the
website and the enrollment to the
EDR. For those who have the board
resolution already, we can immedi-
ately accept enrollment by May 27,”
said Jenny Serafica, chairman of the
Philippine Association of Stock
Transfer and Registry Agencies or
PASTRA, which groups 20 of the
largest stock transfer agents in the
country.
She said shareholders can do
queries although they cannot trans-
act until the Securities Clearing
Corp. of the Philippines (SCCP) is
ready with the connectivity. SCCP,
the clearing and settlement agency
for depository eligible trades at the
exchange, has vowed a linkup in
June, she added.
On April 28, PASTRA and First
Metro Investment Corp. entered
into a joint-venture agreement for
the Pastra.Net Electronic Direct
Registry System.
After more than a year of delay,
the Securities and Exchange Com-
put the country’s postal system at
par with those of Japan and Tai-
wan,” said Tadashi Akiyama, gen-
eral manager of ROA’s interna-
tional division.
ROA Systems has been in op-
eration for more than 20 years,
providing turnkey information
and communications technology
solutions to private and public
firms in Japan. — Jennifer A. Ng
MARICRIS C. CARLOS EDITOR
In the tough first quarter, Globe
relied on its Touch Mobile brand to
grow its customer base. Touch Mo-
bile broke the two million subscrib-
ers for the first time.
It also tried to introduce new
products in the first quarter to
stream through the competition. It
launched G2P, a new postpaid serv-
ice providing the subscriber with a
prepaid line using one mobile
number and one SIM. Its G-Cash
service also registered 800,000 us-
ers from only 200,000 at the begin-
ning of the year.
and Alaska’s expertise in milk
manufacturing,” the company said
in a regulatory filing.
Alaska had distribution deals
with Nabisco International and
Quaker Oats, Inc. But the deals were
terminated in 2001, after Philip
Morris acquired Nabisco and Pepsi
bought Quaker Oats.
Alaska posted a net income of
P497 million in 2004, lower than
P500 million in 2003 due to higher
cost of raw materials.
Revenues for the year hit P5.022
billion, up 16% from P4.34 billion,
while cost of sales and operating
expenses rose 18% to P4.413 billion
from P3.728 billion.
This year, Alaska allocated a
capital expenditure of P250 million
for maintenance and upgrade of
facilities.
mission (SEC) has finally approved
a proposal requiring brokers and
transfer agents to place securities
under the names of stockholders to
protect investors.
The commission en banc de-
cided last April 14 to reform the
setup of stock registration to “name
on registry” from a nominee ac-
count scheme.
First Metro will own 35% of the
joint-venture company and
PASTRA 49%. The remaining 16%
will be held by Newburgh Holdings,
Inc.
The EDR will not only enable
stockholders to have their securities
in their own names in the books of
the listed corporations, it will also
provide the convenience of elec-
tronic trading through the internet
and mobile phones and will facili-
tate securities clearing and settle-
ment process.
“I truly feel that PASTRA has
just given birth. The EDR system
has been our ‘baby’ for the past six
years,” Ms. Serafica said. “The EDR
system is truly a product of the col-
lective desire of all the market play-
ers to boost the capital market to a
level that is comparable not only to
our Asian neighbors but to the en-
tire world. ”
Roberto Juanchito T. Dispo,
First Metro executive vice president,
said that the initiative aims to
professionalize equities market by
introducing a system “that will en-
sure utmost investor protection.”
The country’s geothermal arm,
set to be privatized this year, is in
talks with a foreign partner keen on
buying into the state-owned firm,
sources yesterday said.
Officials of the Philippine Na-
tional Oil Co-Energy Development
Corp. (PNOC-EDC), the state-run
geothermal firm, will submit for ap-
proval this month its privatization
plan to the Department of Finance.
Sources said the privatization of
the state-run geothermal firm has
Maynilad will
not be parceled
out, says gov’t
The government said opera-
tions of the debt-saddled Maynilad
Water Services, Inc. will remain
with one concessionaire.
Both the Metropolitan Water-
works and Sewerage System
(MWSS) and the court-appointed
receiver of Maynilad said that there
are no plans to parcel out the water
concessionaire into several groups.
MWSS Deputy Administrator
Macra Cruz said that the govern-
ment would want to finish polish-
ing first the rehabilitation plan of
Maynilad before anything else. —
Ira P. Pedrasa
EEI makes turnaround
after 2 years in the red
Yuchengco-led construction
firm EEI Corp. made a turnaround
in 2004 with profit of P2.87 million
after being in the red for two con-
secutive years.
In a filing, EEI said taking into
account the strong recovery of the
construction sector with an 8.9%
growth from a negative 2.6% pre-
viously, it “made headway” by win-
ning high-rise property projects
that partially compensated for the
continued weakness in its strong
niche markets.
Projects included work packages
for Intel Philippines under its small
projects general contractor pro-
gram, structural fabrication and
erection works for Petron Bataan
Refinery, and power system upgrade
for Unilab among others.
Consolidated contracts and or-
ders amounted to P3.08 billion last
year, down by 22.22% from P3.96
billion in 2003.
Project orders backlog
amounted to P3.01 billion as of
end-2004 of which about P1.5 bil-
lion are high/medium rise building
contracts.
Consolidated revenues rose
7.33% to P2.93 billion from P2.73
billion driven largely by construc-
tion contracts, services and mer-
Cojuangco sugar mill net
losses jumped due to strikes
Cojuangco-owned sugar miller
Central Azucarera de Tarlac’s net
losses widened for the six months
ending December as wildcat strikes
disrupted operations.
Net losses rose to P250.23 mil-
lion from P51.08 million in the
same period in 2003.
In its unaudited financial state-
ment, the firm said a drop in out-
put drastically affected results.
Gross revenues fell 51.62% to
P97.5 million as sales of sugar and
by-product tumble 63.83% to
P38.35 million.
Canes hauled was trimmed by
65.91% to 154,194 tons, resulting in
a drop in raw sugar production.
Raw sugar output shrank 68.76% to
261,928 50-kilogram.
“The decline in tonnage and raw
sugar production was brought
about by the wildcat strike staged
by some members of the Central
moved a step closer with the ap-
pointment of French firm CLSA
Exchange Capital as financial advi-
sor.
“The appointment of CLSA last
February as financial advisor will
allow PNOC to submit the privati-
zation program this month,”
sources said.
PNOC-EDC is yet to name the
foreign firm but sources said it is big
enough to handle its operations. —
Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales
Gov’t allows carriers
to hike fuel surcharge
Aviation authorities have au-
thorized commercial carriers to
impose a fuel surcharge for both
international and domestic flights
to recover the cost of higher jet fuel
prices, an official yesterday said.
From next week Philippine Air-
lines, Cebu Pacific Air and Air Phil-
ippines will charge up to P250
($4.62) per passenger on domestic
flights and as much as $8 dollars on
international flights, said Tomas
Mañalac, Civil Aeronautics Board
executive director.
“The fuel surcharges being im-
posed by the carriers are signifi-
cantly lower than the actual cost of
chandise sales.
Citing cost management and
recovery efforts, EEI said gross
profit grew 23 times to P410 mil-
lion from P17.47 million.
Prolonged contraction in the
construction industry caused EEI to
suffer from low orders and produc-
tion.
In 2003, net loss was steeper by
88.25% at P505.08 million from
P268.3 million in 2002.
“The company has taken this
opportunity of slow economic ac-
tivity to strengthen its business fo-
cus, enhance business processes and
build a lean yet effective organiza-
tion,” EEI said.
While it believes the long-
awaited economic revival appears to
be gaining ground, EEI said the
challenges remain formidable. “It
will require determination, focus
and best effort and hard work to
surmount them. Certainly, the road
is not easy and there shall remain
pitfalls and difficulties. The com-
pany is first and foremost realistic
— in 2005, the company does not
expect to make profit gains but the
mood has changed, and the outlook
— for the first time in six years -
appears brighter,” the firm said. —
Ruby Anne M. Rubio
Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union.
The wildcat strike and the failure of
the subsequent mediation efforts by
the Department of Labor and Em-
ployment effectively disrupted op-
erations particularly the delivery of
sugar cane for milling,” the firm
said.
The 750-strong union workers
at the Hacienda Luisita filed their
notice of strike at the National Con-
ciliation and Mediation Board on
Oct. 25 due to failed negotiations
over their collective bargaining
agreement with the management.
The union had sought for a
P100 per day wage increase for two
years but management only offered
about P12 per day increase.
On Nov. 6 the union workers
mounted a strike which substan-
tially affected the operations of the
sugar company. — Ruby Anne M.
Rubio
State-run National Transmis-
sion Corp. (Transco) will kick-start
new projects in the next two years
seen to enhance power reliability
and cope with consumers’ de-
mands.
These include a power transmis-
sion project in Zamboanga City for
P474.66 million, a $3.76-million
project to reinforce transmission
lines between Sangali and
Zamboanga City, and acquisition of
steel poles to replace wood poles in
a bid to minimize power outages.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
fuel increase per passenger. This is
because the airlines need to remain
competitive in both domestic and
international markets,” he added.
REVIEW
The regulatory board would re-
view the surcharges after six months
and may order a reduction once fuel
prices have softened, Mr. Mañalac
said.
Aviation fuel has risen to more
than $70 per barrel from $55 at the
last fare rise in November, industry
officials say.
Fuel typically accounts for
around 40% of a Filipino airline’s
operating expenses. — AFP
NEWS
ONLINE
bworldonline.com / bworld.net
Additional news online
PSMT exec charges
A top executive of PSMT Philip-
pines was charged before the city
prosecutor of Pasig City for alleg-
edly lying about the compensa-
tion he received from the local
unit of the US-based PriceSmart.
William S. Go, PSMT chairman and
representative of the minority
stockholders in PSMT, and E-Class
Corp. filed perjury charges against
Benjamin Woods, president of
PSMT Philippines last April 27. Mr.
Go accused Mr. Woods of falsely
testifying to the Securities and Ex-
change Commission about his
compensation and benefits pack-
age.
San Miguel market
Food and beverage giant San
Miguel Corp. will be a steady mar-
ket for the cassava produce of
farmers from Iguig, Cagayan after
it entered into an agreement with
the provincial government and
the Agriculture department. In a
statement, San Miguel said the
company will deal mainly with as-
semblers who will consolidate
farmlands to supply its raw mate-
rial requirements.“The agreement
also assures farmers that San
Miguel will buy the produce at a
guaranteed floor price or the pre-
vailing market price, whichever is
higher.The company will also seek
prospective assembler-partners
and provide them with start-up
technical assistance,” it said.
Epson revenue view
Japanese imaging products
manufacturer Epson Corp. targets
to close its fiscal year with P1.7 bil-
lion in consolidated revenues
from its Philippine operation, an
8% rise from P1.57 billion in rev-
enues in 2004. The increase is on
the back of strong market accept-
ance for its products which are
relatively lower in price but fea-
ture-rich than competition, said
John C. Titan, Epson Phils. Corp. as-
sistant general manager, in a press
briefing yesterday. Epson has
been posting a year-on-year-in-
crease in revenues in the last three
years. Sales revenue was P1.3 bil-
lion in 2003. But similar to other
vendors, Epson has also been
dropping its prices to respond to
the fierce market competition.
Subic utility price cut
Power distributor Subic Enerzone
Corp. lowered its power rates by
10 centavos per kilowatt-hour last
March after it made its business
more efficient. In a statement,
Subic Enerzone said it reduced its
power rates after system loss, or
leakages due to pilferage or dissi-
pated electricity, fell to 7.8% of its
total energy input from 15% in
2003, when the company took
over the power distribution busi-
ness of the Subic Bay Metropoli-
tan Authority. Under the law,
power distribution utilities are al-
lowed to pass on to customers,
system loss of up to 9.5% of their
total energy input.
ERRATUM
The story on the expansion of
package delivery service UPS
which came out in yesterday’s is-
sue should have been headlined
“UPS to invest $1.4M this year to
expand Clark, Pampanga hub.”
Our apologies. — Ed.
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
WASHINGTON — Deputy US Secre-
tary of State Robert Zoellick is de-
termined to break a free trade im-
passe with Southeast Asia during a
visit to the region this week but has
cautioned that any agreement
reached will have to be comprehen-
sive.
Two years after President
George W. Bush announced an ini-
tiative to forge free trade pacts with
the export-driven, economically
booming Southeast Asian nations,
Washington managed to strike only
one deal so far — with Singapore.
But the US-Singapore Free
Trade Agreement cannot be a
benchmark for Southeast Asia as the
island city state is already largely
tariff free.
So, many economies in the re-
gion have been following closely the
BRIEFS
Indonesia polio outbreak
JAKARTA — The World Health Organiza-
tion said yesterday it had detected a
case of the crippling polio virus in Indo-
nesia, the world's fourth most populous
country, indicating that an outbreak
rooted in Africa has leapt the Indian
Ocean. The case, affecting a 20-month-
old girl on Java island, is the first polio
infection in Indonesia for nine years, ac-
cording to Bardan Rana, a medical of-
ficer with the UN organization. Indone-
sian health officials have launched an
immunization drive targetting five mil-
lion children to prevent the spread of
the virus which may have been trans-
ported from Nigeria via Saudi Arabia. —
AFP
Arrest after gunfight
GAZA — Palestinian police, under orders
to use an “iron fist” to preserve a truce
with Israel, fought a gun battle with a
Hamas rocket squad in the Gaza Strip
and arrested two militants, the Palestin-
ian Authority said yesterday. The clash
on Monday night was the first between
police and militants since President
Mahmoud Abbas ordered a crackdown
on April 28 against rocket fire into Israel,
which has decreased sharply but not
stopped. News of the incident sent ten-
sion soaring in Gaza, the main Hamas
powerbase. — Reuters
EU-China textiles talks
BRUSSELS — The European Union reacted
positively on Monday to Beijing’s ap-
pointment of a special negotiator to
resolve trade disputes, calling fortalks to
broker a deal on the sharp rise in Chi-
nese textile imports. Beijing named Vice-
Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, a
fluent French speaker, as its international
trade negotiator on Sunday with a brief
to solve disputes which China fears could
crimp its dynamic export sector. Both the
EU and the United States have raised the
alarm over a surge in Chinese textile and
clothing imports since the end of a glo-
bal quota regime on Jan. 1. — Reuters
Asia-Europe FMs meet
TOKYO — Asian and European foreign
ministers will gather in the ancient Japa-
nese capital of Kyoto this week with EU
proposals to lift an arms embargo on
China, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions
and democracy in Myanmar high on the
agenda. Thirty-eight countries are due
to send foreign ministers or lesser rank-
ing officials from Friday to the two-day
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), set up in
1996 to counter the two regions' ties
with the United States. Among the fig-
ures in Kyoto will be Chinese Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing, who is expected
to meet his Japanese counterpart,
Nobutaka Machimura, amid a sharp de-
terioration in ties between the two
countries. — AFP
Blair’s election lead
LONDON — Prime Minister Tony Blair en-
tered the final two days of Britain’s elec-
tion campaign yesterday still under fire
over Iraq but with polls showing him on
course for a historic third straight term
in office. After a week of attacks over his
integrity and support for the US-led in-
vasion, a MORI survey showed his Labor
party has a comfortable 10-point lead
in the run-up to Thursday’s poll. The
main opposition Conservative Party has
accused Mr. Blair of lying over the ad-
vice he received from the government’s
top lawyer on the legality of the 2003
war. — Reuters
Taiwan leader’s invite
TAIPEI — Taiwan President Chen Shui-
bian yesterday invited Chinese Presi-
dent and Communist Party chief Hu
Jintao to visit the island, saying it would
help clear misunderstandings between
the political archrivals. “We hope Chair-
man Hu Jintao can come to Taiwan.
Mainland China clearly lacks under-
standing about Taiwan and that is why
there has been misjudgement and mis-
understanding,” Mr. Chen told a news
conference while on a visit to Kiribati.—
Reuters
US to break free trade impasse with SE Asia
protracted US-Thailand free trade
negotiations, which seem to have
been bogged down over US de-
mands for stringent intellectual
property rights protection and Thai
requests for access to low-cost phar-
maceuticals.
Mr. Zoellick told reporters at the
weekend he would try to break the
free trade deadlock when he meets
with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra in Bangkok, the first
stop of his regional swing covering
also Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia,
Singapore and the Philippines.
KEY ELEMENTS
“One of the purposes of my
visit, since in the case of the nego-
NPT needs
to be fixed,
say Annan,
ElBaradei
UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and UN nu-
clear chief Mohamed ElBaradei
opened on Monday a conference on
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
with warnings that the world's ef-
fort to control the spread of atomic
weapons is out of date and needs to
be fixed.
“The plain fact is that the regime
has not kept pace with the march
of technology and globalization,
and developments of many kinds in
recent years have placed it under
great stress,” Mr. Annan said in
opening a month-long UN meeting
on the 1970 nuclear NPT.
Iran, for instance, is showing the
strains in the NPT as the United
States claims the Islamic Republic
is secretly developing atomic weap-
ons under the cover of a civilian
nuclear power program that is un-
der international safeguards.
The NPT also received a rude
blow with the unearthing two years
ago of an international black mar-
ket network in technology that
could be used to make atomic weap-
ons, run by the father of Pakistan's
atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan.
“The treaty has served us well
for 35 years. But, unless we regard
it as part of a living, dynamic re-
gime, capable of evolving to match
changing realities, it will fade into
irrelevance and leave us vulnerable
and unprotected," said Mr.
ElBaradei, head of the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), which verifies com-
pliance with the NPT.
Mr. Annan said the interna-
tional community must act to
strengthen the NPT before "the gap
between promise and performance
becomes unbridgeable."
Australian Foreign Minister Al-
exander Downer said: “We must rec-
ognize we face a very different world
than at the NPT’s entry into force.
“At that time, few countries had
the capacity to build nuclear weap-
ons. Today, some estimates suggest
35 to 40 countries could do so.”
Mr. Downer noted that Libya
and Iran, both subject to IAEA sur-
veillance, had developed “clandes-
tine nuclear programs in violation
of the treaty.” Experts agree the NPT
faces a new era of “rogue” states with
alleged nuclear weapons programs,
of international nuclear smuggling
rings and of transnational terrorist
groups seeking weapons of mass
destruction. — AFP
US intel detects North Korea test work, says daily
SEOUL — US intelligence has de-
tected the movement of heavy
equipment in North Korea that
points to possible preparations for
an underground nuclear test, a
South Korean newspaper said yes-
terday.
The influential Chosun Ilbo,
quoting a government source, said
US spy satellites had captured fre-
quent movements of trucks in the
northeastern region of Kilju, as well
as the movement of cranes and other
heavy equipment into the area.
CONCEPCION C. CACHO EDITOR
tiations with Thailand the Thai
prime minister plays a very key,
leading role, will be to talk to him
on some of the key elements to
move this forward,” said Mr.
Zoellick, who was US Trade Repre-
sentative (USTR) before his new as-
signment.
He said there had been discus-
sions in Malaysia about a possible
free trade agreement with the
United States and “so I’ll be getting
a little sense of that” during talks
with Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi.
In Singapore, Zoellick would
visit a pharmaceutical facilty “be-
cause Singapore is a very good ex-
US rates to keep slow, steady rise
WASHINGTON — The US Federal Re-
serve was likely to nod to trouble-
some indications of weaker eco-
nomic growth Tuesday, but policy
makers’ concern over bubbling
prices will keep interest rates mov-
ing slowly but steadily upward.
The rate-setting Federal Open
Market Committee, holding the
third of its eight meetings this year,
has been gradually lifting its
bellwether federal funds rate since
last June as it tries to prevent infla-
tion gaining a foothold.
“We are likely going to see an-
other quarter-percentage-point
hike in rates and it is almost cer-
tainly premature for them to an-
nounce any major shift in policy,”
predicted Lynn Reaser, Boston-
based chief economist with the in-
vestment strategy group of Bank of
America.
If so, the increase to 3% will be
the eighth successive rise in US rates
since the current cycle began last
June.
More significant to edgy finan-
cial markets will be officials’ assess-
ment of whether they can keep rais-
ing rates at a gradual — or “meas-
ured” — pace and whether risks re-
main balanced between slower
growth and inflation.
Most guess the Fed will keep the
“measured” language adopted last
year in its policy statement, espe-
Shelter for stray dogs
A health worker gives a rabies shot to a stray dog at a government shelter on the Thai resort island of Phuket March 30, 2005. Hundreds of such
pets were saved by officials and animal rights activists while rescue workers were scouring the Andaman Sea coast for the victims of the Asian
tsunami that left 230,000 people dead or missing along the Indian Ocean rim. Photo taken March 30, 2005.
“US intelligence authorities be-
lieve the images and other informa-
tion point to preparations for a pos-
sible underground nuclear test,” the
source was quoted as saying.
US and Japanese news reports
last week said Washington had
warned some governments and
agencies that North Korea could be
preparing for a test, which would
represent a serious escalation of ten-
sions over North Korea’s nuclear
weapons ambitions.
US and South Korean officials
ample for us to emphasize to the rest
of the world their strategy with the
FTA is to strengthen intellectual
property rules to help draw invest-
ment and industry in bio-tech and
pharmaceuticals.
“They have been quite success-
ful,” he said.
Southeast Asia is key to the
United States as it hosts approxi-
mately $88 billion in US direct in-
vestment and is the third largest
overseas market for US exports. The
US trade with the region totals $127
billion.
Mr. Zoellick was quick to point
out that any perceived delay by the
United States in striking free trade
cially since minutes from the March
meeting make clear it does not feel
bound to small, quarter-point
moves if bigger ones are warranted.
The benchmark rate stood at a
1958 low of 1% before the Fed be-
gan raising it in June, adding quar-
ter-point hikes at every FOMC
meeting since. At their last gather-
ing on March 22, policy makers
cited rising inflationary pressure
and a heightened ability for com-
panies to raise prices.
Since then, there have been signs
lofty energy costs are weighing on
economic activity, including a re-
port on Monday that showed the
US factory sector grew in April at
its weakest pace in nearly two years.
The Institute of Supply Manage-
ment said its index of national fac-
tory activity eased to 53.3 in April
from 55.2 in March as new orders
dropped and hiring faltered.
Last week, the government said
overall economic growth eased to a
3.1% annual rate in the first quar-
ter — the slowest in two years —
from 3.8% in the final quarter last
year.
More troubling to the Fed is that
prices, measured by the personal
consumption expenditures index
excluding food and energy, in-
creased at the fastest rate since the
end of 2001, rising at a 2.2% rate in
the first quarter this year.
have since denied there were defini-
tive signs of an imminent test. On
Tuesday, Seoul shot down the latest
report, with Defense Minister Yoon
Kwang-ung telling reporters before
a Cabinet meeting there were no
unusual indications in the area.
A Defense Ministry official told
Reuters there also was no founda-
tion to the Chosun Ilbo report that
the US intelligence was passed on
to the South Korean government.
He said a project to dig a tunnel
had been detected in the same area
deals with Southeast Asian nations
was due to the comprehensive na-
ture of the negotiations.
VERY SHREWD
Citing competitor China's swift
free trade deals with the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), Mr. Zoellick said “I think
the Chinese have been very shrewd
in how they handled this.
“Here, I don't want to get too
technical but there are lots of dif-
ferent types of free trade agree-
ments. People use the term loosely,”
he said, acclaiming US free trade
agreements as “the top-of-the-class
product.”
He said the US pacts tried to
Recent speeches by Fed officials
show they are acutely aware that, as
the expansion matures and slack in
labor markets is slowly taken up, the
threats to growth shift.
Fed Governor Donald Kohn said
at a recent economic conference that
it was natural for the US central bank
to focus on inflation. “That’s prob-
ably become more of a threat to eco-
nomic stability,” he said.
In its weekly commentary,
Goldman Sachs characterized re-
cent soft economic data as “an air
pocket, not wind shear” and said the
Fed should have no difficulty look-
ing past the numbers. Nor, it said,
was the softness a reason for the
central bank to drop its “measured”
language.
“Removing it would increase the
level of uncertainty about Fed ac-
tions, given that the end of “meas-
ured” could conceivably mean ei-
ther faster tightening — given
firmer inflation data recently — or
a pause, since growth has deceler-
ated,” Goldman Sachs said.
Ms. Reaser said the Fed likely
needs more time to study economic
trends before deciding whether to
alter course.
“At this juncture, the Federal
Reserve likely does not know how
long or how deep the recent soft
patch in the economy has been or
is likely to be,” she said. — Reuters
Reuters
in the late 1990s and the two coun-
tries had been watching it closely,
without any sign of preparations for
a test.
“It is not clear what the purpose
of the tunnel is,” the official added.
A South Korean official told
Reuters on Monday that although
there were no indications of an im-
minent nuclear test, the possibility
was constantly in the minds of re-
gional powers trying to put a stop
to Pyongyang’s nuclear programs.
— Reuters
THE WORLD S1 / 9
cover agricultural products, serv-
ices, intellectual property, govern-
ment procurement, environment
and labor, as opposed to the China-
ASEAN deal which largely centered
on manufactured goods.
China and ASEAN last year
signed a deal to liberalize trade bar-
riers and pave the way for a more
comprehensive accord planned for
2010 that could see the creation of
the world’s largest free trade zone
covering nearly two billion people.
It will enhance China's role as a
major growth engine for ASEAN’s
export-led economies because of its
growing appetite for raw materials,
finished goods and components.
Annual two-way trade is ex-
pected to rise 28% to $100 billion
this year from $78.2 million in 2003.
— AFP
ADB to focus
on economic
integration
ISTANBUL — Economic integra-
tion among Asian countries will
be one of the key priorities of
the Asian Development Bank in
order to speed up economic
growth in the region, the ADB's
new president Haruhiko
Kuroda said Monday.
Mr. Kuroda, who will make
his first speech to the ADB
board as president today, said
“economic integration is a key
strategic element of economic
development of the region.”
“I would like very much to
focus on regional economic in-
tegration,” said Mr. Kuroda who
took office at the multilateral in-
stitution in February.
He cited ADB’s efforts to
foster the development of the
Greater Mekong Subregion, a
growth area encompassing six
countries, as well as ADB’s role
in encouraging closer financial
cooperation between the so-
called “ASEAN-plus-3,” refer-
ring to the 10 members of the
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations and its main trading
partners: China, Japan and
South Korea.
Mr. Kuroda said South Asia
and Central Asia were two ar-
eas that showed promise for re-
gional integration and that
South Asia could become an
area similar to the ASEAN-plus-
3 region.
Drawing attention to the
growing number of free-trade
agreements in Asia, he said:
“FTA networks will help econo-
mies be more interdependent”
while helping them to grow
faster.
The ADB annual confer-
ence, to be held today through
Friday in Istanbul, Turkey’s fi-
nancial capital, will bring to-
gether some 3,000 delegates
from over 60 ADB member
countries, with a meeting of the
ASEAN-plus-3 finance minis-
ters on the sidelines.
However, Mr. Kuroda
stressed poverty reduction
would still be the ADB's main
objective as poverty continued
to plague Asia despite rapid eco-
nomic growth in the region.
He conceded that much of
the ADB’s lending in the com-
ing years would still go to China
and India, adding that “a lot of
poor people still live in these
two countries” despite their
growing economies.
China and India received
25% each of total ADB lending
last year, he said, but stressed
they only got loans from the
ADB’s ordinary capital re-
sources and refrained from bor-
rowing from the Asian Develop-
ment Fund (ADF), the bank’s
concessional lending window.
The ADB president said
“growth is necessary but growth
is not sufficient to eradicate
poverty,” adding countries that
suffered civil strife lagged in
economic growth and stressed
the ADB was trying to help
these “post-conflict” nations by
strengthening their civil institu-
tions. — AFP
 10 / S1 THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

MediawatchdogcallsforUNactionoverjournalistdeaths Kanlaon ash

A prominent press freedom
watchdog yesterday strongly criti-
cized the Philippine government for
allowing the killing of journalists to
go unchallenged and unpunished,
and demanded a UN investigation.
Paris-based Reporters Without
Borders published its findings into
the growing spate of politically-
motivated assassinations and at-
tacks on journalists in the Southeast
Asian country to mark World Press
Freedom Day.
The report condemned the “im-
punity” enjoyed by the killers and
those who ordered the murders of
52 journalists since democracy was
restored in 1986 after the overthrow
of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
It also called for the United Na-
tions to send a team to the Philip-
pines to investigate the killings.
In the last three months alone
some 30 left-wing politicians and
union activists have been murdered,
according to Anakpawis party-list
Rep. Rafael Mariano.
The report calls on the UN to
“summon the Philippine ambassa-
dor to the Commission for Human
Rights and remind him of his coun-
try’s undertakings as regards to the
protection of human rights.”
It also called for a “fact-finding
mission” to be sent to the Philip-
pines to investigate human rights
abuses and extrajudicial, summary
and arbitrary executions.
“Not everything can be ex-
plained by the existence of a culture
of violence in this country,” the re-
port said.
“A culture of impunity reigns,
for which the highest government
authorities are responsible, that has
allowed killers and those who send
them to murder so many journal-
ists,” it added.
The investigating team, which
met the families of murdered jour-
nalists, local press freedom organi-
zations, the justice minister and the
national police director, focused on
the cases of murdered journalists
Marlene Esperat, Edgar Damalerio,
Edgar Amoro and Noel Villarante.
Ms. Esperat, an investigative
journalist for the Midland Reviewin
Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao, was
murdered in her home just before
Easter by a single bullet to the head
in front of her children.
“Even though police have ar-
rested four suspects, the person or
persons who ordered the killing
have not been identified,” the report
said.
Press Sec. Ignacio R. Bunye yes-
terday said the tag on the Philip-
pines as one of the five most mur-
derous countries was “exaggerated,”
and “far from actual conditions pre-
vailing in the Philippines.”
He added this was unfair to the
Philippine National Police (PNP),
which has formed a task force to
probe the killings and has filed cases
against the suspects.
“Press freedom is fully protected
[in the Philippines] and media
practitioners may ask the police for
special protection if their lives are
under threat,” he said.
In a related development, Phil-
ippine National Police (PNP) Di-
rector-General Arturo C. Lomibao
has ordered the relief of Ilocos Sur
provincial director Senior Supt.
Mario Subagan to “jump-start” the
investigation of the shooting of
broadcaster Nestor Segismundo.
Mr. Subagan will be replaced by
Ilocos Sur assistant provincial direc-
tor Supt. Crispin Agno.
Mr. Lomibao visited Mr.
Segismundo the other day at the
Metro Vigan Cooperative Hospital
where he was recovering from a
gunshot wound.
The broadcaster of radio station
dzXE was shot by still unidentified
men on April 29 at Barangay
Boquig, Bantay, Ilocos Sur. — AFP
with Carina I. Roncesvalles and J.
T. Gulane
shuts down
Kalibo airport
Ash clouds spewing from
Kanlaon volcano in the central Phil-
ippines caused flights to the Kalibo
airport to be suspended yesterday,
officials said.
The clouds reached heights of
500 meters above the Kanlaon cra-
ter, which has been intermittently
emitting ash and steam since Janu-
ary, officials said.
“We are on alert level one,
meaning it is still a low level of ac-
tivity,” said Edwin dela Cruz, a sci-
entist with the Philippine Institute
of Volcanology and Seismology
(Phivolcs).
Philippine Airlines said it had
cancelled three flights to Kalibo air-
port, gateway to the popular

N. Cotabato governor in talks with US DENR discovers anomalous Boracay beach resort. Television re-
ports said smaller carriers also
grounded several flights.

firm for Pinoy carpenters’ employment titling of 7,000 hectares of land
KIDAPAWAN CITY — North Cotabato
Gov. Emmanuel Piñol told local
carpenters to further improve their
skills as talks were underway for a
possible placement of local carpen-
ters in the US. Mr. Piñol said he was
informed of a high demand for car-
penters in North America.
“I have talked to American con-
tractor Kevin Wheeler of Florida-
based KCW Enterprises, Inc. and he
told me that carpenters are paid $10
an hour, or roughly P540,” he said.
He added he would soon discuss
with the Department of Labor and
Employment the possibility of
sending local carpenters to the US
through the Jobs Enhancement for
Economic Development program
of the provincial government. The
program facilitates overseas place-
ment for local workers through job
fairs and provides a P40,000 loan
to successful applicants under a Fly-
Now-Pay-Later scheme.
The program has already as-
sisted about 540 workers and Mr.
Piñol said details of the current
overseas employment plan for local
workers would be announced as
soon as these have been finalized
talks with the US-based firm.
In another development, Gov.
Miguel Dominguez led provincial
officials on May 2 in launching the
Gawad Kalinga’s housing project in
Maasim, Sarangani. Last week, Mr.
Dominguez issued a memorandum
asking every official, department
heads and employees of the prov-
ince to actively participate in Gawad
Kalinga activities under the Couples
for Christ movement.
“We are very fortunate here in
Sarangani. We have a governor who
is very supportive of our program,”
Norberto Esteban, Couples for
Christ representative, said. In
March, Mr. Dominguez handed out
a personal check amounting to
P100,000 to Gawad Kalinga in
Maasim as a personal donation.
“After promising to donate a
housing unit to the program, the
governor gave an amount equiva-
lent to two houses,” Chito de
Guzman, in charge of Gawad
Kalinga’s projects in the province,
said. Meanwhile, Maitum Mayor
George Yabes also signified his in-
tention to donate a two-hectare lot
for the Gawad Kalinga program in
his municipality. — Roel P. Osano
GENERAL S ANTOS CITY — A team
from the Department of Environ-
ment and Natural Resources
(DENR) in General Santos City
have found anomalous titling of
more than 7,000 hectares of land
under the Industrial Forestry Man-
agement Agreement (IFMA) in this
city. IFMA is a forest plantation
agreement between a private firm
and the DENR.
The DENR team, spearheaded
by Felix Alicer, has recommended
the filing of a case for the cancella-
tion of land titles of Pedro de
Ramos, Excelsa Lauron, Caldirico
Confessor, Julieta Confessor and
Romeo Confessor, all involved in
the alleged anomalous transaction.
Based on the investigation con-
ducted by the DENR, the land titles
these people are holding were ob-
tained through fraudulent means. It
was also disclosed that the sales pat-
ent of the lands had also been used
by the same group in Kiamba in
Sarangani, in the cities of Davao and
Tagum, and in Zamboanga and
Kidapawan.
“It could be that someone is be-
hind the issuance of this illegal ti-
tles,” Mr. Alicer said.
He added the processing of the
titles did not pass the DENR. Re-
gional officials said the 2003
anomaly was discovered by Alsons
Development and Industrial Corp.,
which found out that 707,000 hec-
tares of land in Barangay Fatima in
this city were titled by the group of
Mr. Confessor. The land is under an
IFMA. — Roel P. Osano
At 2,435-meters, Mt. Kanlaon
on Negros island is the highest peak
in the Visayas. It has erupted 23
times since 1866.
“The emitted steam ash clouds
reached heights of up to 500 me-
ters above the active crater before
being drifted to the northwest and
northeast by the prevailing winds,”
Phivolcs said in an advisory yester-
day.
It advised citizens from nearby
villages not to enter a four-
kilometer permanent danger zone
due to “hazardous steam-driven
explosions” that may occur without
warning.
Five other central Philippines
airports are within 120 kilometers
of the Kanlaon crater, including the
international gateway of Mactan in
Cebu city, but flight operations
there are continuing, aviation offi-
cials said. — AFP

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 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
BRIEFS
NBI chip-based IDs
The National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI) is set to deploy a P15-million com-
puterization project that will equip its
over 2,500 employees with chip-based
identification cards (ID) supported by
the latest biometrics technology. The
project dubbed as “Electronic Security
and Attendance and Monitoring Sys-
tem” aims to guard the agency against
possible intrusion of its critical data, NBI
Chief for Security Management Division
Reynaldo U. Olaza told reporters in an
interview. The electronic ID will be
imbedded with biometrics data such as
the employee’s fingerprint, blood type,
and DNA. Mr. Olaza said between 1,000
to 2,000 people visit the agency’s head-
quarters along Taft Avenue in Manila
every day, making it vulnerable to secu-
rity attacks, including stealing and de-
stroying of critical crime evidence.
$25 fee from OFWs
Church-based Philippine Migrants
Rights Watch (PMRW) will collect at least
100,000 signatures of Filipinos working
abroad who paid $25 as mandatory
membership fee to the Overseas Work-
ers Welfare Administration (OWWA) de-
spite a prohibition for the agency to
collect the amount.These signatures will
be submitted as evidence to a pending
Supreme Court case against OWWA’s
continued collection of the member-
ship fee, Ellene Sana of PMRW member
Center for Migrant Advocacy-Philip-
pines yesterday said. The OWWA, a gov-
ernment agency created by President
Ferdinand E. Marcos through Letter of
Instruction No. 537, provides programs
and services to documented and un-
documented overseas Filipino migrant
workers free of charge.
Marikina robbery
A Metrobank branch in Marikina City
was robbed some P500,000 by still uni-
dentified armed men. Police are still in-
vestigating the robbery incident which
appeared to be an inside job. Initial re-
ports indicate that two of the suspects
were collared after the robbery which
occurred at around 8 a.m. yesterday. The
other robbers were able to get away
with a maroon Isuzu Trooper. When the
bank opened, the employees saw at
least four armed men and security
guard Bemboy Penaluga ordered them
to lie with their faces down the floor.
Policemen also invited for questioning
Roridgo Fortuno, head guard; Arnel
Artida, security guard; and Joel Morande,
messenger to give light on the robbery.
Reyes confirmation
The confirmation of former Defense
chief Angelo T. Reyes for his new stint
as Interior and Local Government sec-
retary was again postponed after three
affidavits of opposition were heard by
the Commission of Appointments yes-
terday. However, commission chairman
Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon said there
seemed to be a surfacing “conspiracy”
to block the confirmation of Mr. Reyes,
as the testimonies of two of the wit-
nesses, which the commission disre-
garded, were “incoherent.” “Somebody
is playing games with this commission,”
he said during the hearing. The first wit-
ness, Christopher S. Elizalde, an inmate
of the maximum security prison at
Bilibid since October 2001, apparently
did not know that an affidavit, which
was in his name and contains his signa-
ture, was sent to the commission.
Drive vs oral problems
The Department of Health (DoH) will
implement a five-year program aimed
at drastically reducing the incidence of
oral problems among children below six
years old. “We have already done pilot
projects in Las Piñas for Metro Manila,
Nueva Ecija for Luzon, and Laguna for
Region IV, in cooperation with local gov-
ernment units and the Philippine Den-
tal Association as preparation for [the
program’s] countrywide implementa-
tion next year,” Manuel Florendo
Calonge, coordinator for the Orally Fit
Child program, said in an interview with
BusinessWorld. Department officials are
also studying offers from toothpaste
and toothbrush manufacturers like
Unilever Phils., Inc. and Lamoiyan Corp.
to help promote the program, Mr.
Calonge noted.
Nasugbu water supply
The Development Bank of the Philip-
pines (DBP) extended a P62-million loan
to Nasugbu Water District for the expan-
sion of the water supply system of
Nasugbu, Batangas. Bank President and
Chief Executive Officer Reynaldo G.
David said this was the first project to
be funded under the DBP Water District
Loan Program, which is a partnership
with the Local Water Utilities Adminis-
tration (LWUA). A specialized lending in-
stitution, the LWUA is mandated by law
to promote and oversee the develop-
ment of provincial waterworks systems.
It was created through the promulga-
tion in May 1973 of Presidential Decree
198, known as the Provincial Walter
Utilities Act.
BY CARINA I. RONCESVALLES and KRISTINE L. ALAVE,
C. Luzon police chief relieved amid jueteng allegations
The police chief of Central
Luzon, tagged as the “Vatican of
jueteng operations” in the country,
was relieved yesterday in what
seemed to be an indication that the
Philippine National Police (PNP)
was stepping up efforts to curb the
illegal numbers game.
Supt. Rowland Albano was re-
called to Camp Crame after staying
as Central Luzon police chief for
four months, within which time he
apparently failed to stop jueteng
operations in the region.
He would be replaced by Supt.
Alejandro Lapinid from Mimaropa
(Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-
Palawan) in Region IV-B, who in
turn, would be replaced by Chief
Supt. Delfin Genio.
Police officials, who refused to
be named, said his failure to stop
NPA: China has abandoned Maoist line Barangay urges Ombudsman
Local communist rebels, turn-
ing from allies to critics of China,
yesterday said Beijing’s shift to a
capitalist economy had under-
mined some revolutionary move-
ments in Southeast Asia.
The 8,000-member New Peo-
ple’s Army (NPA), which drew ideo-
logical inspiration from China’s first
generation of communist leaders,
has been waging a violent guerrilla
war for more than 35 years to over-
throw the Philippine government.
The Communist Party of the
Philippines’ central committee ac-
cused Beijing of abandoning sup-
port for armed struggles in South-
east Asia “in exchange for China’s
accommodation by Washington
into the world capitalist system.”
Keeping terror tag on Sison welcomed
The European Union’s (EU) de-
cision to reaffirm the terrorist tag
for Jose Maria Sison of the National
Democratic Front (NDF) will boost
the country’s fight against terror-
ism, the Armed Forces of the Phil-
ippines (AFP) said yesterday.
AFP Brig. Gen. Jose Angel A.
Hondrado welcomed the move of
the Court of First Instance of the
Court of Justice of the European
communities to dismiss the Mr.
Sison’s petition to remove him from
the terror list.
The military official also noted
that the country’s campaign against
terrorism remains supported by the
EU and the United States.
Lawmakers score ‘anomalous’ Palace claims
provisions in Napocor rate hike Estrada not a
The House committee on en-
security threat
ergy is questioning the inclusion of
alleged anomalous provisions in the
National Power Corp.’s (Napocor)
petition to the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) for a genera-
tion rate hike.
Last month, the approved
Napocor’s request to impose hikes
at an average of P1.0345 per kilo-
watt hour (kWh). It also granted
Napocor a provisional 98-centavo
power rate hike. The energy com-
mittee said “everyone was caught off
guard” by the hike and feared its
adverse effects on consumers.
During the hearing yesterday,
lawmakers urged Napocor officials
Pimentel: Where is P7 billion?
Senate Minority Leader
Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. yesterday
said the Philippine Air Force
(PAF) would have been less de-
pendent on reconditioned Huey
helicopters from the United States
had at least P7 billion worth of
military modernization funds al-
legedly diverted during the Ramos
administration been used to ac-
quire new helicopters with safety
features and spare parts.
Reporters
jueteng operations in the region was
the reason for his relief.
PNP spokesman Senior Supt.
Leopoldo N. Bataoil said Mr.
Albano would take a desk job as
head of the PNP-Directorate Re-
search and Development Office at
Camp Crame.
Mr. Bataoil said the reshuffle
was triggered by the July 27 retire-
ment of Chief Supt. Victor Luga,
chief of the Directorate for Plans,
who has filed for a “non-duty sta-
tus.” Mr. Luga will be replaced by
Chief Supt. Rodolfo Tor.
Mr. Albano dismissed the
jueteng angle for his sacking saying
his transfer was part of a reshuffle
at the PNP.
To recall, Mr. Albano was placed
on the spotlight after an unnamed
former PNP provincial director re-
“Our revolutionary forces and
people resolutely oppose the US-led
campaign for neoliberal globaliza-
tion, while China has welcomed it
and relished membership in the
WTO [World Trade Organization],”
it said in a statement.
Local communist leaders, most
of them living in exile in Western
Europe, felt hurt and orphaned by
the changes in China, rebel officials
said.
The Philippine communists,
blacklisted by the United States as a
terrorist group, used to enjoy party-
to-party relations with China in the
late 1960s, with the NPA rebels re-
ceiving weapons and money.
That ended when Beijing and
Manila established diplomatic ties
“This ruling shows that it is not
only the United States which has
recognized (Mr.) Sison and the
Communist Party of the Philip-
pines (CPP)-New People’s Army
(NPA) as terrorists, but more im-
portantly, the European community
as well, as the communist leader is
planning and launching his actions
against the Philippine government
while in exile in Netherlands,” Mr.
Hondrado said.
He added Mr. Sison’s continued
protest against the international
community’s terrorist label is an
insult to the EU and the US. “Per-
haps, Sison and the CPP-NPA have
a different definition as to what a
to explain why they incorporated in
the allowable cost item the salary of
the state-owned firm’s employees.
Napocor put the payroll expense of
its P3,825 employees at P1.84 bil-
lion.
According to Batanes Rep.
Henedina R. Abad, the items in
Napocor’s allowable cost provision
are “too subjective.” She said
Napocor did not explain why the
salaries for its employees should be
factored in the rate increase.
She also noted that many of the
firm’s officials and consultants en-
joy higher pay to the detriment of
the debt-ridden power company.
— Kristine L. Alave
This, he said, in light of the crash
of a Huey helicopter in Gabaldon,
Nueva Ecija, killing former Philip-
pine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology director Raymundo
Punongbayan, as well as eight other
passengers.
“It’s very distressing that the
money intended for Armed Forces
of the Philippines modernization
mysteriously disappeared,” he
said. — F. Y. Capistrano
THE NATION S1 / 11
vealed that jueteng flourishes in Pangasinan archbishop and anti- Golez an envelope containing the
Central Luzon, particularly in jueteng crusader Oscar V. Cruz, who list of jueteng operators.
Pampanga, the home province of testified yesterday at the House He said there were “14 or 15”
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. committee on public order and se- names in the envelope. He also said
The unnamed source noted that curity’s hearing on the renewed he was “100% sure” of the names
three relatives of a high-ranking of- popularity of the gambling game. of the operators, but only “95%”
ficial, under the code names “M1,” Last year, the bishop revealed sure of the amount they earned.
“M2” and “JS7” have been receiv- that several National Government He, however, refused to disclose
ing jueteng pay-offs. officials and local executives were the names of the operators, saying
The new Central Luzon police involved in the multibillion illegal it was now up to Mr. Golez to con-
chief, meanwhile, vowed to exert all numbers game. firm the names. He admitted the in-
efforts to stop jueteng and other il- Mr. Cruz, whose organization formation was “secondhand.”
legal operations in the region. Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng At the hearing, the President’s
Central Luzon Region is com- monitors the jueteng operations in son and Pampanga Rep. Juan
posed of the provinces of Aurora, 62 areas nationwide, said the pay- Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo questioned
Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, ola from the numbers game now Mr. Cruz’s method of information-
Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. reaches P13 billion. gathering, for relying heavily on
BIGGER TAKE NOW Also at the hearing, the former “secondhand” information.
Meanwhile, a Church official president of the influential Catho- Mr. Arroyo and his father,
yesterday claimed that jueteng was lic Bishops’ Conference of the Phil- First Gentleman Jose Miguel, are
worse than ever. ippines gave defense committee accused of being recipients of
This was the allegation of chair and Parañaque Rep. Roilo S. jueteng revenues.
in 1975. The two countries marked
30 years of relations with a state visit
to file graft case vs DoJ chief
by Chinese President Hu Jintao last A barangay captain in Iloilo yes- body can practice law even as a con-
week. During Mr. Hu’s trip, China terday asked the Office of the Om- gressman and senator provided he
signed deals for $1.6 billion worth budsman to file graft and corrup- will not personally appear in court,”
of loans and investments in Philip- tion charges against Justice Sec. Raul Mr. Gonzalez told reporters.
pine mining and infrastructure M. Gonzalez . Ms. Orleans also claimed that
projects. In a complaint, Marietta V. Or- the Justice chief had collected an-
Defense Sec. Avelino J. Cruz, Jr. leans, through lawyer Bonifacio A. nual retainer fees for the year 1992
said the government intended to use Alentajan, alleged that during Mr. worth P156,000, from the Mayfair
$1.2 million in military aid from Gonzalez’s stint as Iloilo congress- Theatre and Odeon Theater, both
China to strengthen its campaign man, he continued his private law in C.M. Recto Ave., Manila.
against the communist rebels. practice, which he said was prohib- The complaint stated that Mr.
“We want to get this aid in the ited by the Constitution. Gonzalez’s acts violated Section 3
form of equipment because we will The Justice chief, however, of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-
start building what we call ‘freedom’ downplayed the graft complaint. Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. —
roads in 500 conflict areas in sev- “That’s a ridiculous case. Any- Paul C.H. How
eral regions where there had been
very strong rebel presence and ac-
tivities,” he told reporters. — AFP
Coast guard seizes explosives
An anti-terrorism unit from the
Philippine coast guard has seized 10
sacks filled with chemicals believed
report said, adding that further tests
showed that substance “was found
positive for TNT component.”
terrorist is. The communist move- to contain TNT components, the The cache was to be shipped to
ment may continue to protest their coast guard said yesterday. Davao City and officials were try-
inclusion in the list of international The cache was stashed at a ware- ing to track down its owner, the
terrorists, but the CPP-NPA’s blood- house near Manila’s port area by an coast guard said. “Government in-
stained record of violence and unknown consignee and was dis- telligence units were informed of
attrocities committed against sol- covered during a routine inspection the aborted shipment,” it said.
diers and civilians alike speak for by sea marshals late last week, the In 2003, militants bombed a
itself.” The Philippine Embassy in coast guard said in a report. wharf and an international airport
The 10 sacks contained sub- terminal in Davao, killing more
Brussels, Belgium has reported to
stances “in white powdered form than 30 people and wounding
the Foreign Affairs department that
the EU court dismissed Mr. Sison’s with a very strong acidic odor,” the around 200 others. — AFP
petitions last April 26.
Mr. Sison had filed three cases
in 2003 challenging his inclusion in
the EU’s terrorist list. He wanted the
EU to reveal the States that have
provided the basis for his inclusion
in the list. — Carina I. Roncesvalles
Weathernews
Malacañang does not consider
former President Joseph E. Estrada
a security threat even after reports
surfaced he is supporting moves to
destabilize the Arroyo government.
“The fact the Sandiganbayan al-
lowed him to attend his mother’s
birthday showed that the degree of
threat is not much,” Press Sec.
Ignacio R. Bunye said yesterday.
He made it clear, however, that
the Arroyo government has not
struck a deal with the former presi-
dent, who is facing plunder charges,
that would make him a free man
next year.
In the meantime, he said, Presi-
dent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was
“committed” to give Mr. Estrada
“humane treatment… even if the
wheels of justice continues to roll.”
Executive Sec. Eduardo R.
Ermita claimed that Mr. Estrada
was among those who provided
logistical support to retired general
Fortunato Abat.
Mr. Abat launched over the
weekend a Coalition for National
Salvation, calling for the Arroyo
government’s ouster, and pushing
for the installation of a “transition
revolutionary government.” — JTG
 12 / S1 THE NATION FERDINAND O. LUCERO EDITOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

BY BEVERLY T. NATIVIDAD , Reporter

DENR warns of poor water quality in 8 of 26 beaches
At least eight of the country’s 26 ma-
jor beaches have poor water quality and
may not be safe for public use, the Depart-
ment of Environment and Natural Re-
sources (DENR) warned yesterday, follow-
ing a water quality rating the department
conducted late last year.
The DENR rated the 26 major beaches
or bathing areas in terms of the presence
in their waters of fecal coliform or Es-
cherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, which
could produce a powerful toxin and cause
severe illness.
Unfortunately, Environmental and
Management Bureau (EMB) Director
Julian Amador said, about a third of the
26 beaches did not make the grade.
“The results for one-third of the ma-
jor beaches were not encouraging in terms
of water quality. This is what the EMB field
officers are focusing on right now. It is our
responsibility to inform the public of the
water quality of these bathing areas,” Mr.
Amador said.
The EMB official, however, refused to
name the eight beaches saying the Envi-
ronment and Natural Resources depart-
ment would make the public disclosure at
the “proper time” after giving the beach
establishments enough opportunity to im-
prove the quality of their beach water.
According to Mr. Amador, the DENR
had sent letters to the said owners of the
beaches to inform them of the test results
as well as to give recommendations on how
they could improve the water quality ac-
cording to DENR standards.
SIX MONTHS TO COMPLY
Mr. Amador said the beach resort own-
ers and/or local government units manag-
ing the beaches were given six months to
comply to the recommendations, or until
June, to conform with the DENR water
quality standards.
Former Environment and Natural Re-
sources Secretary Elisea Gozun, current
chair of the nongovernment organization
Earth Day Network, in an interview said
the presence of E. coli in the water may
pose health dangers upon skin contact.
The Manila Bay, for example, has long
been rated with a very high fecal coliform
content in its waters.
Ms. Gozun explained that out of an al-
lowed total coliform content of 1,000 mpn
(most probable number), Manila Bay wa-
ters have reached 200,000 mpn.
The former DENR chief said the beach
water ratings were also done precisely to
boost the tourism industry in the Philip-
pines and to try to make our renowned
beaches a more viable resource for eco-
nomic development.
“The idea here is not just to disclose
the contaminants in these waters. This is
also a means to pressure developers and
LGUs (local government units) to main-
tain good water quality for the safety of
their tourists and the beauty of their re-
sorts. The economic development that we
want is not only for the short term,” said
Ms. Gozun.
WHO goes online
to fight $35-billion
fake drugs trade
The World Health Organization (WHO) is
to harness the power of the Internet in its war
on the $35-billion-a-year counterfeit drug busi-
ness with the setting up of a web-based rapid alert
system, the global health body said yesterday.
The WHO Western Pacific regional head-
quarters here said in a statement it would unveil
today details of the system, said to be the world’s
first Web-based system for tracking the activi-
ties of drug cheats.
“The rapid alert system communications
network will transmit reports on the distribu-
tion of counterfeit medicine to the relevant au-
thorities for them to take rapid countermeas-
ures,” it said.
National health authorities and other part-
ner agencies will be linked to the system.
“The rapid alert system will considerably
strengthen our hand against the counterfeiters,”
Budiono Santoso, WHO’s regional adviser in
Pharmaceuticals for the Western Pacific Region,
said.
According to the WHO between six and 10%
of all medicine on the world market is reported
to be counterfeit with estimated sales of more
than $35 billion a year.
The problem is most serious in developing
countries, including the Mekong river region of
Southeast Asia.
“Counterfeit medicine can result in pro-
longed illness or death as well as wastage of health
care resources,” the statement said.
“Fake drugs containing lethal ingredients can
also result in death.
“A study undertaken in Mekong countries in
2001 indicated that more than one-third of anti-
malarial artesunate products in Cambodia, the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar,
Thailand and Vietnam contained no active in-
gredients,” the statement said.
“A follow-up study in 2004 showed that the
situation had worsened, with 99 out of 188
artesunate samples found to be counterfeit.”
The WHO said counterfeit medicine was of-
ten distributed across national boundaries.
“Effective measures to protect people from
counterfeit drugs require collaboration and co-
ordination among relevant stakeholders in each
country, between member countries and relevant
partner organizations,” the statement said.

Paid advertisement According to WHO data some 8% of drugs

bought from pharmacies in the Philippines in
1999 were fake.
In 2001 some 64% of antimalarial pills col-
lected in an investigation did not contain the
active ingredient, and led to the death of patients
For advertising inquiries, please contact in Vietnam.
BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation In 2003 national drug-testing laboratories in
Marketing Department Phnom Penh and Bangkok looked at 230 sam-
ples of 24 pharmaceuticals purchased on the
Telephone: (632) 535-9901
Cambodian market in 2000, including antibiot-
Fax: (632) 535-9926 ics and painkillers. — AFP
Email: bdg@bworld.com.ph

For subscriptions to the print edition, please contact DoF set to award
BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation
Circulation Department lease contract for
Telephone: (632) 535-9901
Fax: (632) 535-9926
Email: circ@bworld.com.ph
Tokyo property
The Finance department is set to award the
50-year lease contract for the state’s most valu-
able property in Japan after much delay due to
stiff opposition from politicians.
Finance Undersecretary Jay Singson told re-
porters a government bids and awards commit-
tee would make a recommendation to Finance
Sec. Cesar A.V. Purisima to sign the contract.
The development contract for the Tokyo
property was won by Japanese firm Urban Corp.
Located in the Nampedai district, it is a four-
story building with a total floor area of 2,489
square meters.
The Nampedai property was bid out in No-
vember 2003 along with two others, but the
Arroyo administration deferred the award fol-
lowing protests from lawmakers who claimed
that the assets would be sold.
The two other properties, in Kobe’s
Naniwacho and Obanoyama districts, were
awarded last year to Berg Corp., another Japa-
nese firm.
Earlier reports said the three properties
would fetch ¥1.78 billion for the government.
The government was to receive ¥356 million
from the winning bidders upon signing plus ¥384
million after a three-month period. The rest,
¥1.08 billion, would be paid within three years.
The development contracts involve a 50-year
lease under a build-operate-transfer scheme. The
lease will initially be for 25 years and renewable
for another 25 years.
Ambassador to Tokyo Domingo Siazon had
led a campaign against the deal, pointing out that
the Nampedai property was a place of honor to
the Philippine envoy who resided there. It is also
regarded as a heritage site, being a former resi-
dence of Yoko Ono, wife of the Beatles’ John
Lennon. — Felipe F. Salvosa II
 /1-8 Banking & Finance
BUSINESSWORLD NEWS
UPDATED DAILY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

ONLINE
bworldonline.com
bworld.net
S2 SECTION 2 : WORLD MARKETS

VICTOR V. SAULON EDITOR

STOCK MARKET WORLD BUSINESS MOTORING BULLETINS

VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 199. ISSN 0116-3930 S2/ 1

WORLDWIDE
DELIVERY

Tel nos.637-2065 or 631-7351 to 56

T-billratesslipfurther
Fax no. 631-7357
#19 Brixton St. Brgy. Kapitolyo,
Pasig City, Philippines
www.jrs-express.com

Highly liquid banks once again flocked to the debt mar-

ket yesterday as their holdings of government securities ma-
tured. This allowed the government to get better rates for its Napocor to sell P5-B bonds to partly pay debts
short-term borrowings for two consecutive auction week.
“As like before, the market has been very liquid. The all- The country’s biggest power producer National Power of Philippines were selected as joint issue managers and
time liquidity with the central bank is very high,” National Corp. (Napocor) will sell P5 billion ($93 million) worth of lead arrangers of the issue. Napocor, which the govern-
Treasurer Omar T. Cruz told reporters after the auction. five- and seven-year bonds tomorrow to fund its opera- ment is trying to privatize, was granted a 42% rise in its
The rate of the 91-day debt paper decreased by 23.2 basis tions and debt payments, the government said yesterday. average power charges last month to help cut its heavy
points to 6.319%, while the 182-day rate dropped by 15.3 ba- The Bureau of the Treasury said in a memorandum to losses and allow it to pay off debts.
sis points to 7.575%. The one-year paper also dipped 8.56 banks and other eligible dealers of government securities The government has assumed this year about P200 bil-
basis points to 8.533%. Banks bid as much as P25.72 billion that Napocor had an option to raise its offering of fixed lion of Napocor’s debts of almost P600 billion to speed up
against an offering of P6 billion. rate “power bonds” to P7 billion at the auction tomorrow. the sale of its power plants and transmission facilities.
IT’S BUSINESS as usual for a Makati stock
Mr. Cruz said an estimated P40 billion to P45 billion worth The government will guarantee Napocor’s bond issue, Napocor, the single biggest strain on the Philippines’ shaky
exchange trader on Tuesday, the first
trading day of the week after the long of government securities will mature today, further increas- which will comprise P3 billion of five-year bonds and P2 finances, needs about $500 million this year to fund its
Labor Day weekend. Stocks ended higher ing the cash banks have on hand. He added that the excess billion of seven-year bonds. Deutsche Bank AG Manila, operations. Its net loss this year is seen to hit P31 billion
yesterday. Photo by Jonathan Cellona liquidity offset concerns about surging inflation, oil price First Metro Investment Corp. and state-owned Land Bank against estimates of a 2004 loss of P117 billion. — Reuters
hikes, and the stalled passage of the value added tax bill.
“That is why we see an across-the-board drop and the yield
MARKETWATCH curve going down,” the national treasurer said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had projected inflation
LENDING RATES
for the year to be between 5% to 6%, although officials said
TUESDAY— MAY 3, 2005 High Low
this is likely to be exceeded after the rate in March and Febru-
LOCAL BANKS:
Asia United Bank 11.6570 10.6570 ary reached 8.5%. Prices in April were seen to have risen at a
Bank of Commerce 11.6570 9.6570 faster 8.1% to 8.6%.
BDO Private Bank * 11.6250 10.1250 Despite this, Mr. Cruz said the more than 6% rate for the
East West Bank 12.4400 12.4400
Export and Industry Bank 11.5390 10.5390 government securities provides investors a respectable return
Int’l Exchange Bank 11.5510 9.5510 on their money.
Phil. Bank of Communications 11.5510 11.2500 Traders polled by BusinessWorld said the result of yester-
Phil Trust Bank 11.5510 9.5510
Phil. Veterans Bank 11.6570 11.0000 day’s bidding did not come as a surprise.
“In a way, this is expected. There is too much liquidity in
SUBSIDIARIES OF FOREIGN BANKS the market,” a trader at a local bank said.
ABN AMRO Bank of the Phil. 11.5510 9.3250
Chinatrust Bank 11.1010 9.8010 A trader at a foreign bank attributed the lowering of the
Maybank 11.5510 11.0510 rates to the maturing P40 billion retail Treasury bonds.
United Overseas Bank, Phils. 12.2500 12.0000 “Without any replacement for the [retail T-bonds], there
AVERAGE 11.6678 10.5344
will be greater demand for the short-term papers,” he ex-
FOREIGN BANKS plained, referring to the 91-day to two-year debt securities.
ANZ Bank 11.5000 8.1000 “Without that, we expected interest [rates] to go up a lit-
Bangkok bank 11.5510 7.5510
Bank of America 11.5510 9.5510 tle because of the high inflation and possible interest tighten-
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi 11.5500 8.5500 ing of the central bank,” he added.
JPMorgan Chase Bank 11.5510 9.0000 Meanwhile, the peso averaged P54.182 before closing at
Citibank,NA 12.4430 8.6250
Deutsche Bank 11.6850 8.7500 P54.25 against the dollar, 9 centavos weaker than Friday’s
Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd.** 11.5510 9.5510 P54.16 close. Early in the day, traders took advantage of the
Hongkong & Shanghai Bank 8.6600 6.4100 peso’s opening at P54.08 to buy more dollars.
ING Bank 9.5000 7.5000
Int’l. Comm’l Bank of China 11.5000 11.0000 “There was short-covering by banks related to commer-
Korea Exchange Bank 11.5510 8.7510 cial requirements,” a trader at a local bank said, referring to
Standard Chartered Bank 10.1250 8.1250 banks buying dollars to meet their clients’ needs.
AVERAGE 11.1322 8.5742
He added that the peso also followed the trend of other
UBS regional currencies that did not appreciate so much against
Allied Bank 11.5510 11.5510 the dollar.
Banco de Oro 11.5000 10.0000
BPI 11.5000 7.5000 However, traders remain optimistic that the peso will re-
China Banking Corp. 11.5510 9.5000 main strong against the dollar.
Dev’t Bank of the Phils. 11.6250 8.1250 “We are still biased to a strong peso,” the local trader said.
Equitable - PCIB 11.5510 9.3010
Land Bank of the Philippines 11.5510 8.0510 The total volume of transacted dollars yesterday hit $356.5
Metrobank 11.5000 9.5000 million, lower than last Friday’s $468.75 million. — KLMY
Philippine National Bank 11.0510 9.0510
Prudential 11.8470 10.8470
RCBC
Security Bank
UCPB
11.5510 7.5510
11.5510 9.5510
11.5510 8.0510
Declaratory relief seen
key to resolving tax issue
Union Bank 11.6850 9.6850
AVERAGE 11.5404 9.1617
GENERAL AVERAGE 11.4468 9.4234
* formerly Bankco Santander
Source: BSP
** Fuji Bank The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the country’s
foreign banks may finally resolve the much-debated tax issue
if either of the two parties file a declaratory relief before a
NEWS trial court to clarify questions on the law.
ONLINE “Either party can file a declaratory relief if there are ques-
bworldonline.com / bworld.net tions on the law. It will help clarify the meaning of a law,”
Additional news online government sources said.
Bad asset disposal The source, privy to stand-off between the BIR and for-
Banks seek Bangko Sentral eign banks, said the law should be clarified so that the issue
approval of their special purpose will finally be resolved.
vehicle transactions. Banks and the BIR have agreed not to file cases against
each other on the matter and are instead awaiting results of a
congressional committee report. — ICCG
 2 / S2 BANKING & FINANCE WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

BSP Reference Rates

Equivalent
Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent Equivalent

Dollar at 2-week high vs euro
of foreign of US$1 of foreign of RPP in of foreign of EURO LONDON — The dollar hit a two-week high against yen at ¥105.24 but still near a six-week low
currency in in foreign currency in foreign currency in in foreign the euro on Tuesday, advancing as traders bet around ¥104.60 set last week. The euro traded
Currency US Dollar currency RP peso currency EURO currency
the United States will keep steadily raising inter- little changed against the yen at ¥135.24, not far
Convertible currencies with BSP est rates to fight inflation despite signs of slower off a three-month low below ¥135 set last week.
US dollar 1.000000 1.000000 54.332000 0.018405 0.777545 1.286099
Japanese yen 0.009522 105.019954 0.517300 1.933114 0.007404 135.062129
US economic growth. The Australian dollar weakened slightly
UK pound 1.894600 0.527816 102.937400 0.009715 1.473136 0.678824 Analysts reckon the US Federal Reserve will against the dollar ahead of an interest rate deci-
Hongkong dollar 0.128266 7.796298 6.968900 0.143495 0.099733 10.026771 raise rates for an eighth consecutive time by 25 sion at 11:30 p.m. GMT. The Reserve Bank of
Swiss franc 0.835561 1.196801 45.397700 0.022028 0.649686 1.539205
Canada dollar 0.797067 1.254600 43.306200 0.023091 0.619755 1.613541 basis points to 3.0% but the market focus will be Australia is expected to keep rates unchanged at
Singapore dollar 0.611284 1.635901 33.212300 0.030109 0.475301 2.103930 on the accompanying statement for clues on the 5.25%.
Australia dollar 0.779484 1.282900 42.350900 0.023612 0.606084 1.649936
Bahrain dinar 2.652590 0.376990 144.120500 0.006939 2.062507 0.484847
future path of interest rates. EURO ZONE WEAK
Kuwait dinar N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.000000 “I think the Fed will be pretty cagey. In the The euro traded with a weaker bias after ex-
Saudi Arabia rial 0.266660 3.750094 14.488200 0.069022 0.207340 4.822996 past six weeks we’ve had evidence that inflation ecutives in the 12-nation euro zone raised a re-
Brunei dollar 0.609422 1.640899 33.111100 0.030201 0.473853 2.110359
Indonesia rupiah 0.000105 9523.809524 0.005700 175.438596 0.000082 12195.121951 is picking up a little and evidence that economic cession warning by flagging the first contraction
Thailand baht 0.025316 39.500711 1.375500 0.727008 0.019684 50.802682 activity has decelerated a little so it’s even more in manufacturing there in 20 months, according
U. A. E. Dirham 0.272272 3.672798 14.793100 0.067599 0.211704 4.723576
E.M.U. euro 1.286100 0.777545 69.876400 0.014311 1.000000 1.000000
reason for them to be cautious,” said Ian Gun- to data released on Monday.
ner, head of foreign exchange research at Mellon “The rate of deterioration in the euro zone is
Others (Not Convertible with BSP) Bank. quite dramatic. It really is stoking up some inde-
Argentina peso 0.344531 2.902496 18.719100 0.053421 0.267888 3.732903
Brazil real 0.397931 2.512998 21.620400 0.046253 0.309409 3.231968 Weak US economic data, starting with pendent euro weakness,” said Gunner.
Denmark kroner 0.172768 5.788109 9.386800 0.106533 0.134335 7.444076 slower-than-expected first-quarter gross domes- The Fed has raised rates in quarter-point in-
India rupee 0.023010 43.459365 1.250200 0.799872 0.017891 55.894025
Malaysia ringgit 0.263193 3.799493 4.299800 0.232569 0.204644 4.886535 tic product growth last week, had raised some crements at each of its seven meetings since last
Mexico new peso 0.090547 11.043988 4.919600 0.203269 0.070404 14.203738 concerns the US central bank may slow down June, and some analysts expect it to continue
New Zealand dollar 0.728916 1.371900 39.603500 0.025250 0.566765 1.764400
Norway kroner 0.158255 6.318916 8.598300 0.116302 0.123050 8.126778
the pace of rate rises. raising the rate to 4% before pausing.
Pakistan rupee 0.016818 59.460102 0.913800 1.094331 0.013077 76.470138 The Fed is likely to announce a rate decision That contrasts with interest rates of 2.0% in
South African rand 0.164487 6.079508 8.936900 0.111896 0.127896 7.818853 at about 6:15 p.m. GMT. Higher US rates would the euro zone and virtually zero in Japan.
South Korea won 0.000999 1001.001001 0.054300 18.416206 0.000777 1287.001287
Sweden kroner 0.139712 7.157581 7.590800 0.131738 0.108632 9.205391 make short-dated US assets more attractive to The dollar was also supported as speculation
Syria pound 0.019264 51.910299 1.046700 0.955384 0.014979 66.760131 foreign investors. The dollar hit its highest level faded that China might relax controls over its
Taiwan dollar 0.031918 31.330284 1.734200 0.576635 0.024818 40.293335
Venezuela bolivar 0.000466 2145.922747 0.025300 39.525692 0.000362 2762.430939
against the euro since April 15 at $1.2831 before tightly pegged yuan currency during this week’s
SDR Rate = $1.51110/SDR GOLD Buying: $429.55 SILVER Buying: $6.80 easing to $1.2855 by 7:30 a.m. GMT. Labor Day holidays, a move that would shore up
* Irrevocable Fixed Conversion Rated adopted on 31 December 1998 The greenback was a touch higher against the other Asian currencies. — Reuters

Asian dollar bonds quiet UBS cautious for ’05 Insurer-bank

ahead of Fed rate decision tie up urged
HONG KONG — Asian dollar bonds were steady in muted trade
despite strong quarter An insurance expert urged Phil-
ippine insurers to explore
yesterday ahead of a US Federal Reserve interest rate deci-
ZURICH — UBS beat expectations were that great. The headline bancassurance as part of their strat-
sion, with market activity also slowed due to holidays.
with a strong rise in first-quarter number is better than consensus, egies to remain competitive.
While the Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates a
profits but a drop in investment but... it’s probably not as big an “Unless insurers face up to the
quarter point to 3% later in the day, investors will be more
banking income amid weaker glo- outperformance as some of the oth- challenge of bancassurance, the in-
interested in any hints the Federal Open Market Committee
bal markets made the world’s larg- ers have achieved,” said banking surance industry will simply be by-
(FOMC) makes on future rate policy. An announcement is
est wealth manager cautious for the analyst Piers Brown at passed and left behind,” Melecio
expected around 6:15 p.m. GMT (2:15 a.m., Wednesday in
full year. Commerzbank in London. Mallillin, president and chief execu-
Manila).
UBS said on Tuesday first-quar- RAISING THE BAR tive officer of CCC Insurance Corp.,
“It’s not so much what they do — its more on the outlook
ter net profit rose to 2.625 billion Rival Wall Street investment told delegates of the second Philip-
the market is really looking for,” said James Milligan, the head
Swiss francs ($2.19 billion) as solid banks have already posted sturdy pine Non-Life Insurance Summit
of G3 fixed income trading at HSBC.
performance in its flagship private first-quarter results on buoyant fi- last week.
“In general, there has been a reluctance to wade back into
bank — where asset inflows from nancial markets and an uptick in Mr. Mallillin said that although
the market. Investors have been dipping their toes in but noth-
clients rose — helped outweigh a merger and acquisitions activity, bancassurance is still in its “infancy
ing more than that, to be honest,” he said.
surprise dip in investment banking. raising the bar for UBS and com- stage” in the country, bank and in-
Spreads on ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison
But shares in the world’s seventh petitor Credit Suisse, whose first- surance firms, especially interna-
Whampoa Ltd.’s bonds due in 2014 were steady at 122/117
largest bank by market value sank quarter results are due on Wednes- tional companies, should take ad-
basis points (bps) over comparable US Treasuries. Its bonds
as it said a market slowdown in day. vantage of it.
due in 2033 were unchanged at 195/192 bps.
March made it hard to predict what Swiss-based UBS shares were He said that foreign insurance
The slew of public holidays this week was taking a toll on
the full year would look like, sound- down 1.7% at 94.70 francs at 7:34 companies that want to penetrate
both the trading volume and new issues. Several markets were
ing much less upbeat than just three a.m. GMT, trailing the DJ Stoxx Eu- the local market could consider ty-
closed on Monday to mark Labor Day, while China is closed
months ago when it posted 2004 ropean banking index. The stock ing up with a local bank.
all week.
results. has underperformed Credit Suisse “Foreign insurers can quickly
“It is very challenging for the issuers in the dollar bond
“Clearly we have seen a slowing by some 5% so far this year as ana- gain a wide distribution facility in
sector this year,” said Tee Choon Hong, managing director at
of the markets over the quarter, par- lysts see more upside potential in Asia, Philippines included, through
the debt capital markets group, Deutsche Bank.
ticularly in March,” Chief Financial Credit Suisse’s shares. strategic alliances with local banks
The volume of all debt issues in Asia-Pacific, excluding
Officer Clive Standish told journal- The average in a Reuters poll of or other credit organizations,” he
Japan, hit $61.3 billion in the first quarter of 2005, up just
ists in a conference call, adding 12 analysts was for UBS net profit explained.
over 2% from $60 billion in the same period of 2004, a report
merger and acquisitions activity to rise to 2.430 billion francs, com- He also urged insurance com-
by market research firm Dealogic showed.
had held up “reasonably” well. pared to 2.277 billion a year ago and panies to partner with banks, both
“You have another 6-7 FOMC meetings this year, and if
“There is a perceptible 2.078 billion in the previous quar- local and regional. But Mr. Mallillin
you take away summer holidays, the clear window for com-
slowdown in markets as we speak,” ter. pointed out that regional banks
ing to the market, book build and for getting it done may be
he added. “It’s incredibly difficult to UBS said it took in 21.2 billion operating in the country that want
only another two months, maximum three months.”
look forward throughout the whole francs in net new money in its huge to engage in bancassurance will only
PT International Nickel Indonesia has mandated Morgan
year.” wealth management operations, up want to tie up with leading local
Stanley to arrange the sale of $250 million in offshore bonds
Analysts had been looking for a from 13.3 billion in the previous insurance companies.
for capital expenditure, debt market news service BasisPoint
strong first-quarter result from the quarter, helped by strong inflows “Only a few insurers will be the
said. Credit Suisse First Boston is the co-manager to the issue
world’s largest wealth manager af- from wealthy clients in Europe, Asia, ones sought after by the leading re-
whose timing was yet to be decided.
ter it said 2005 started well when as well as the United States. gional banks as valuable partners,”
The price of Philippine sovereign bonds due in 2025 were
posting a record 2004 result. UBS UBS said its wealth and asset he stressed.
flat, bid at 108. The bid on its 2015 bonds was also unchanged
has a history of beating market fore- management units had profited Currently, there are only a few
at 101.25.
casts over recent years. from rising global markets, which companies engaged in these
Recently issued 10-year Indonesian bonds were trading at
“I didn’t think the numbers had boosted fee income. — Reuters linkups. — Karl Lester M. Yap
96.50/97, marginally higher than last week but still over two
points below last month’s launch price of 99.127. Five-year
Philippines credit default swaps — insurance-like contracts PESO Cross Rates: Tuesday, May 3, 2005 source of raw data: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
that offer protection against debt default or restructuring — Phil Aussie Bahrain Canadian HKong Japan Saudi S’pore Swiss UK US EMU
were quoting marginally wider at 415/435 bps. — Reuters one unit of currency peso dollar dinar dollar dollar yen rial dollar franc pound dollar euro
Philippines 1.0000 0.0236 0.0069 0.0231 0.1435 1.9331 0.0690 0.0301 0.0220 0.0097 0.0184 0.0143
Australia 42.3509 1.0000 0.2939 0.9779 6.0771 81.8691 2.9231 1.2752 0.9329 0.4114 0.7795 0.6061
Bahrain 144.1205 3.4030 1.0000 3.3279 20.6805 278.6014 9.9474 4.3394 3.1746 1.4001 2.6526 2.0625
Demand Rates Canada 43.3062 1.0226 0.3005 1.0000 6.2142 83.7158 2.9891 1.3039 0.9539 0.4207 0.7971 0.6198
Hong Kong 6.9689 0.1646 0.0484 0.1609 1.0000 13.4717 0.4810 0.2098 0.1535 0.0677 0.1283 0.0997
Value date Friday, April 29, 2005 Japan 0.5173 0.0122 0.0036 0.0119 0.0742 1.0000 0.0357 0.0156 0.0114 0.0050 0.0095 0.0074
The interbank demand rate weighted average was 7-9/32%, Saudi Arabia 14.4882 0.3421 0.1005 0.3346 2.0790 28.0073 1.0000 0.4362 0.3191 0.1407 0.2667 0.2073
according to the Bangko Sentral treasury department. Rates Singapore 33.2123 0.7842 0.2304 0.7669 4.7658 64.2032 2.2924 1.0000 0.7316 0.3226 0.6113 0.4753
quoted by 19 participating institutions ranged from 7% to 7- Switzerland 45.3977 1.0719 0.3150 1.0483 6.5143 87.7589 3.1334 1.3669 1.0000 0.4410 0.8356 0.6497
5/8%, with lenders outnumbering borrowers at 13-6. Total United Kingdom 102.9374 2.4306 0.7142 2.3770 14.7710 198.9898 7.1049 3.0994 2.2675 1.0000 1.8946 1.4731
transactions amounted to P5.858 billion. United States 54.3320 1.2829 0.3770 1.2546 7.7964 105.0300 3.7501 1.6359 1.1968 0.5278 1.0000 0.7775
EMU 69.8764 1.6499 0.4848 1.6135 10.0269 135.0791 4.8230 2.1039 1.5392 0.6788 1.2861 1.0000
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 CONCEPCION C. CACHO EDITOR WORLD MARKETS S2 / 3

NEW YORK — US stocks closed higher on Mon- are down and the market is up — if you think

US stocks up on AIG; day, getting a boost from American Interna-

tional Group, Inc. (AIG) on relief that the insurer’s
latest disclosures about accounting problems were
less damaging than initially feared, while a surge
about financials as the leader for the market.”
Shares of major brokers fell after a down-
grade, while shares of Morgan Stanley slid after
the board decided to stand by its embattled chief

Fed decision awaited in oil prices lifted shares of energy companies.

Trading was choppy during the session ahead
of the Federal Reserve meeting late Tuesday,
executive.
In economic news, US manufacturing activ-
ity receded in April amid a drop in new orders
Manila time, when the Fed was expected to raise and a deterioration in hiring, according to a
London-Brent New York-WTI Asia-Dubai
(JUNE CONTRACT) (JUNE CONTRACT) (APRIL CONTRACT) its benchmark fed funds rate to 3%. Markets will report from the Institute for Supply Manage-
also focus on the accompanying statement for ment, an industry group. But US construction
56.80 50.53
58.60
clues about future increases. spending jumped to a record high in March as
55.50 56.80 49.03
Shares swung higher in late afternoon trad- home building also hit record levels, a govern-
ing, helped by gains in oil companies such as ment report showed.
54.20 55.00 47.53 Exxon Mobil Corp. and Conoco Phillips as crude Mr. Caldwell said the slowdown seen in eco-
52.90 53.20 46.03
climbed to $51 a barrel. nomic figures meant that “if anything there’s
While higher prices heighten concerns about more volatility” ahead of the Fed’s meeting. “We
51.60 51.40 44.53 the impact on corporate profits and consumer don’t know what they’re going to say about this
49.60 43.03
spending, they help oil company’s profits. recent slowdown in the economic data.”
50.30
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up After dropping to a 10-week low last week,
59.19 points, or 0.58%, at 10,251.70. The Stan- crude for June delivery settled up $1.20, or 2.4%,
DOLLARS PER BBL DOLLARS PER BBL DOLLARS PER BBL
30-days to April 29 30-days to May 2 30-days to May 2 dard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 5.31 points, or at $50.92 a barrel. Exxon Mobil Corp. rose 71
Apr 25 26 27 28 29 May 26 27 28 29 2 May 26 27 28 29 2 0.46%, at 1,162.16. The Nasdaq Composite In- cents to $57.74, while Conoco Phillips rose $1.85
$/bbl 54.4 54.14 52.29 52.48 51.09 $/bbl 54.2 51.61 51.77 49.72 50.92 $/bbl 47.36 47.01 45.65 45.97 44.27 dex ended up 7 points, or 0.36%, at 1,928.65. to $106.70.
Average (Apr 1-30) $53.37 Average (May 1-31) $53.97 Average (May 1-31) $47.10
Average (Mar 1-31) $53.17 Average (Apr 1-30) $54.12 Average (Apr 1-30) $47.24
The Dow closed at its highest level in more AIG shares edged up 5%, or $2.59 to $53.44,
Source: Reuters than two weeks. “AIG and energy stocks are a day after it said it will restate more than four
higher and that helped the Dow,” said John Cald- years of financial reports. Prudential Equity
Monday, May 2, 2005 well, chief investment strategist at McDonald Group said in a research note that the decision
••• FOOD ••• Financial Group, part of Key Corp. “But it’s hard removed some uncertainty of the “status and
Spot Prices COCOA ICCO Dly (SDR/mt) 1022.05
COCOA ICCO $/mt 1546.91 to get excited about the market when the financials strength” of AIG’s balance sheet. — Reuters
••• METAL ••• COFFEE ICA comp ’79 cts/lb 104.15
COPPER Journal, spot, US cts/lb 0.00 COFFEE mild arabica NY cts/lb 136.13
COPPER Merchant,US cts/lb 155.60/156.60 COFFEE mild arabica B’men/H’burg 138.08
COPPER No.2 Refined, US cts/lb
COPPER Bare Bright,del US cts/lb
LEAD battery scrap, del US cts/lb
133.40/135.40
147.40/148.40
9.50/10.50
COFFEE robusta NY cts/lb
COFFEE robusta Le Havre/Marseilles
SUGAR world 11 cts/lb
56.25
53.03
10.45
Taiwan stocks flat; Crude ends up
LEAD Premium, del US cts/lb 8.00/10.00 SUGAR world 11 weighted ave. 8.68
LEAD Asarco Premium, del US cts/lb
ALUMINUM Premium, del US cts/lb
ALUMINUM Alloy, spot, US cts/lb
0.00
6.75/7.25
85.00/86.50
SUGAR ISA FOB Daily Price, Caribbean port cts/lb 8.78
SUGAR ISA 15-day ave.
••• GRAINS •••
8.56 techs give up gains New York — US crude oil futures rebounded on
ALU Mixed Clips, del US cts/lb 64.00/65.00 (FOB Bangkok basis at every Thursday) Monday, ending more than a dollar higher as
ALU Turnings, del US cts/lb 57.00/58.00 FRAGRANT (100%) 1st Class, $/ton 437.00 TAIPEI — Taiwan stocks closed unchanged yes-
TIN Premium/Grade A, US cts/lb 25.00/28.00 FRAGRANT (100%) 2nd Class, $/ton 424.00
fund buying pushed prices above $50 in a thin
TIN Premium/Low Lead, US cts/lb 30.00/32.00 RICE (5%) White Thai- $/ton 301.00 terday as investors took quick profits from tech trading day.
PALLADIUM free $/troy oz 193.00/196.00 RICE (10%) White Thai- $/ton 298.00 heavyweights like United Microelectronics Corp.
PALLADIUM JMI base, $/troy oz 196.00 RICE (15%) White Thai- $/ton 285.00
Before the late bounce, prices slipped as high
PLATINUM free $/troy oz 868.00/872.00 RICE (25%) White Thai- $/ton (Super) 266.00 (UMC) after earlier gains that were inspired by OPEC production and increasing US inventories
PLATINUM JMI base $/troy oz 872.00 RICE (35%) White Thai- $/ton (Super) 0.00 rises on Wall Street.
KRUGGERAND, fob $/troy oz 415.92/418.92 BROKER RICE A-1 Super $/ton 228.00
continued to ease worries of a supply shortage.
NICKEL Premium, del US cts/lb 30.00/32.00 The benchmark TAIEX share index, which After dropping to a 10-week low last week,
ZINC Premium, del US cts/lb 4.00/4.50 ••• RUBBER ••• was closed on Monday for Labor Day, rose as
IRIDIUM, whs rot, $/troy oz 145.00/00.00 Standard M’sian Rubber 5 (FOB)Mal cts/kilo 462.50
crude for June delivery settled up $1.20, or 2.4%,
RHODIUM, whs rot, $/troy oz 1500.00/00.00 Standard M’sian Rubber 20 (FOB)Mal cts/kilo 448.50 much as 0.8% by midday before late profit taking at $50.92 a barrel, recouping more than half of its
erased those gains. $2.05 loss on Friday on the New York Mercantile
The index inched up 0.15 point to end at Exchange. It traded between $49.17 and $50.99.
Coconut London Metal Exchange 5,818.22, but has rebounded about 5% since an Support reemerged at around $49.15 and
8-month intraday low was hit on April 21. then hurdled some resistance at $50. Prompt
MANILA COPRA(based on 6% moisture) LME FINAL CLOSING PRICES, US$/MT
Peso/100kg Buyer Seller “US stock markets have risen for two days crude is still down more than $7, or nearly 13%,
CASH 3 MOS 15 MOS
Manila 2,105-2,125 and that encouraged sentiment in early trade, from the record $58.28 set on April 4.
Lag/Qzn/Luc 2,105-2,125 ALUM. H.G. 1819.25 1822.00 1771.00
Coconut Oil-CRUDE 36.75 but the market was still volatile and tried to build Trading on the International Petroleum Ex-
ALUM. Alloy 1610.50 1630.00 1647.50
COCONUT OIL (PHIL/IDN),$ per ton,
COPPER 3353.00 3215.00 2841.00
up a bottom,” said Albert Lin, vice-president at change in London was closed Monday for the
CIF Rotterdam
May05/Jun05 660.00 LEAD 1005.00 950.00 905.00
Hotung Securities. May Day holiday. “Trading is a bit thin with
Jun05/Jul05 655.00
NICKEL 16590.00 15850.00 14280.00 Soft turnover of T$58.38 billion also reflected London closed today,” said Marshall Steeves,
Jul05/Aug05 655.00
COCONUT OIL (US)-cents/lb TIN 8055.00 8050.00 7937.00 the caution before the US Federal Reserve policy analyst at Refco Group. “… It looks like some
Crude CIF, NY Nola Mar/Apr 29.25 ZINC 1286.00 1299.00 1302.50 meeting yesterday. locals and funds came in and pushed it above $50
Crude FOB rail Nola Mar 33.00
UMC, the world’s number-two contract and found some buy stops there.”
chipmaker, gave up earlier rises to finish flat at New prompt month NYMEX June gasoline
LIFFE COFFEE Robusta-5 MT-$/ton LIFFE COCOA (Ldn)-10 MT-£/ton
High Low Sett Psett High Low Sett Psett T$18.40 and Nanya Tech, a maker of memory also recovered from a deep early slide and settled
May 1054 1054 May 791 791 chips, lost 1.7% to T$20.20, pulling the tech sub- up 1.84 cents, or 1.2%, at $1.5145 a gallon, after
Jul 1088 1088 Jul 815 815
Sep 1114 1114 Sept 831 831 index 0.38% lower. — Reuters trading $1.469 to $1.519. — Reuters
Nov 1135 1135 Dec 849 849

Commodity Future charts Monday, May 2, 2005 Source: Reuters Japan markets are closed due to Golden Week Holidays

PLATINUM GOLD SILVER COPPER

(JULY CONTRACT) (JUNE CONTRACT) (MAY CONTRACT) (MAY CONTRACT) DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL NASDAQ COMPOSITE DJ EURO STOXX 50
30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 1-MAY-2005 30-days to 02-MAY-2005 30-days to 02-MAY-2005 30-days to 02-MAY-2005
889 452 10700
738 2030 3110
154

880 445 10560

727 2002 3074
151

871 439 716 10420 1974 3038

149

861 432 705 10280 1946 3002

147

852 426 694 10140 1918 2966

144

843 419 683 1890

10000 2930
142

OPEN: 871.80 CLOSE: 870.00 OPEN: 435.70 CLOSE: 430.50 OPEN: 692.50 CLOSE: 684.00 OPEN: 149.00 CLOSE: 149.60 OPEN: 10,192.00 CLOSE: 10,251.70 OPEN: 1,923.23 CLOSE: 1,928.65 OPEN: 2,931.97 CLOSE: 2,949.09
HIGH: 873.80 NET: 1.40 HIGH: 436.00 NET: -5.60 HIGH: 694.50 NET: -6.30 HIGH: 149.80 NET: 0.30 HIGH: 10,258.43 NET: 59.19 HIGH: 1,933.42 NET: 7.00 HIGH: 2,957.46 NET: 18.99
LOW: 868.00 PREV: 868.60 LOW: 429.50 PREV: 436.10 LOW: 677.00 PREV: 690.30 LOW: 147.90 PREV: 149.30 LOW: 10,188.07 PREV: 10,192.51 LOW: 1,916.03 PREV: 1,921.65 LOW: 2,931.97 PREV: 2,930.10

COFFEE COCOA SUGAR WHEAT

(JULY CONTRACT) KOREA KOSPI HANG SENG TAIEX SHARE INDEX
(JULY CONTRACT) (JULY CONTRACT) (MAY CONTRACT)
30-days to 03-MAY-2005 30-days to 03-MAY-2005 30-days to 03-MAY-2005
30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 2-MAY-2005 30 days to 2-MAY-2005 14045
6110
1868 375 1,015
9.50
140

13904 6025
1786 9.20 357 992
134

13763 5940
1705 8.90 340 969
128

13622 5855
1623 8.60 322 946
122

1542 8.30 13481 5770

305 923
116

1460 8.00 287 900 13340 5685

110

OPEN: 127.50 CLOSE: 123.55 OPEN: 1,483 CLOSE: 1,503 OPEN: 8.65 CLOSE: 8.68 OPEN: 920.94 CLOSE: 913.82 OPEN: 13,969.64 CLOSE: 13,893.98 OPEN: 5,845.14 CLOSE: 5,818.22
OPEN: 315.00 CLOSE: 314.50
HIGH: 129.25 NET: -4.40 HIGH: 1,520 NET: 11 HIGH: 8.70 NET: 0.02 HIGH: 923.53 NET: -4.60 HIGH: 13,994.66 NET: -14.99 HIGH: 5,865.90 NET: 0.15
HIGH: 315.00 NET: -3.50
LOW: 122.00 PREV: 127.95 LOW: 1,483 PREV: 1,492 LOW: 8.62 PREV: 8.66 LOW: 911.14 PREV: 918.42 LOW: 13,877.92 PREV: 13,908.97 LOW: 5,818.22 PREV: 5,818.07
LOW: 310.50 PREV: 318.00
 4 / S2 STOCK MARKET VICTOR V. SAULON EDITOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

Philippine Index Charts

Stocks inch up, but investors remain cautious
Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Banks & Fin’l: 542.83 All Shares: 1,141.27 Composite: 1,865.11
654 1258 2177

618 1230 2088 Local stocks started the week in Investors and market partici- mentum last Friday. There was some pressure. They cannot in-
582 1202 1999
positive territory but cautious op- pants have taken cautious positions some positioning towards end crease [prices] as fast as they like to
timism among investors remains. as the bicameral conference com- Thursday and Friday trading on do. As people spend more money
546 1174 1910
The benchmark Philippine mittee reconcile differences in the hopes there will be no untoward on gasoline and in transportation,
2.25
510 1146 1821
Stock Exchange composite index amendments to the VAT measure. incident over the long weekend. they have less to spend on other
4.00 10.48
474 1118 1732 (Phisix) closed higher by 10.18 The Senate version maintained the When there was none, there was a things,” Mr. Roxas added.
438 1090 1643
points, or 0.56%, at 1,865.11 yester- VAT rate at 10% while removing strong opening,” Westlink Global SM Investments Corp. topped
D J F M A M D J F M A M D J F M A M day after the Labor Day holiday. certain exemptions and raising the Equities, Inc. Chairman Rommel the 20 actively traded issues. The
CI: 2,934.81 Property: 695.42 Mining: 2,754.01 Jose Vistan, Jr., research direc- corporate income tax to 35% from Macapagal said. share price of the holding firm of
3370 916 4395
tor of AB Capital Securities, Inc., 32%. The House of Representatives Local financial markets resumed retail magnate Henry Sy, Sr. went
said investors continued to look for increased the VAT to 12% as en- trade yesterday as Malacañang de- down at P248. It cornered 26.07%
857
3255 3905
bargains on hopes that a compro- dorsed by Malacañang. clared May 2 a holiday. of the market for 860,780 shares
3140 798 3415 mise on the value-added tax (VAT) Tracking the performance of the “The outlook remains flat to valued at P213.66 million.
3025 739 2925
bill could be reached. Phisix, the all-shares rose four bullish. The market is a little over- Second largest lender Bank of
“We expect the market to move points, or 0.35%, at 1,141.27 while sold. April is usually down. May the Philippine Islands followed with
2910 680
8.76
2435
18.37 sideways in the coming sessions. the commercial-industrial climbed should be the start of better things. 3.02 million traded shares valued at
2795
28.36 The thin volume today shows cau- 28.36 points, or 0.98%, at 2,934.81 There is a summer rally that usu- P145.84 million. Share prices were
621 1945

2680
tious optimism, not a bullish re- Banks and financial services ally starts in the middle of May,” unchanged at P48. The Ayala-led
562 1455
D J F M A M D J F M A M D J F M A M versal indication. Besides the VAT went down by 2.25 points, or 0.41%, Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle bank reported a quarterly net in-
bill, the market is also facing the at 542.83. Mining inched up 18.37 Equities, Inc., said. come of P2 billion, up by 25% from
PSE Turnover and Averages specter of higher inflation and in- points, or 0.68%, at 2,754.01. Prop- Local stocks likewise gained as P1.6 billion a year ago.
SHARES VALUE (P) AVERAGES terest rates,” Mr. Vistan wrote in his erty shares dipped 8.76 points, or oil prices recovered from low of Industry giant Philippine Long
BANKS/FIN’L 5,041,280 185,277,500 BANKS/FIN’L 542.83 down 2.25
COMML/INDL 196,088,800 533,571,565 COMML/INDL 2,934.81 up 28.36 online commentary. 1.24%, at 695.42. Oil was un- $49.03, which is 13% below of Distance Telephone Co. ranked
PROPERTY 28,375,000 88,480,140 PROPERTY 695.42 down 8.76 The amended VAT is seen as the changed at 2.56. The market traded record high of $52.28. third with a 14.21% market share.
MINING 130,925,800 9,017,990 MINING 2,754.01 up 18.37 most critical of six fiscal reform 413.66 million shares for P819.41 “It [surge in oil prices] affects It shares went up 1.81% to P1,405.
OIL 53,590,000 3,230,500 OIL 2.56 unch 0.00
SME 0 0 SME 100.00 unch 0.00 measures intended to narrow million with 42 gainers beating 21 the disposable income of the peo- SM Prime Holdings, Inc.
GRAND TOTAL 414,020,880 819,577,695 ALL SHARES 1,141.27 up 4.00 down the fiscal gap which hit losers and 37 unchanged issues. ple and profits of the companies. dipped 2.7% to P7.20. — Ruby
Advances 42 Declines 21 Unchanged 37 COMPOSITE 1,865.11 up 10.48 P187.052 billion in 2004. “It continues to enjoy the mo- For the oil companies... there is Anne M. Rubio
OPEN HIGH LOW
BANKS/FIN’L 541.26 553.00 542.83 Provided by:
COMML/INDL
PROPERTY
2,910.60
711.39
2,949.09
719.50
2,910.60
695.42
ODD LOTS VOLUME :
ODD LOTS VALUE :
39,477.00
190,198.43
Technistock P H I L I P P I N E S T O C K E X C H A N G E
MINING 2,735.64 2,833.61 2,734.31
OIL 2.56 2.56 2.48 TUESDAY — MAY 3, 2005
ALL SHARES 1,140.42 1,149.29 1,140.42 TOTAL FOREIGN BUYING : 403,544,562.80 52 Wk 52 Wk MkCap Stks Name Volume Open High Low Close Prev Net Foreign 52Wk 52Wk MktCap Stock Stocks Volume Open High Low Close Prev Net Foreign
COMPOSITE 1,862.55 1,883.24 1,862.55 TOTAL FOREIGN SELLING: 525,909,812.80 HHigh LLow (mil) Code Close Trade(peso) HHigh LLow (Pmil) Code Close Trade(peso)
Buy(sell)
Top 10 in Volume Top 10 in Value 63.5 22.25 24,255 FPH First Phil. Hldgs 271,900 43.5 44 43 44 43 (324,600)
Stocks Volume Stocks Value
Banks & Financial Services 0.35 0.13 441 FPI Forum Pacific 0 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 -
5.2 2.8 364 ASIA Asiatrust Dev’t Bank 4,000 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 - 65 40 6,238 GBH Global Business Hldgs. 0 53 53 53 53 53 -
Abra Mining & Indust’l 74,000,000 SM Investments Corp. 213,660,120
31.5 16.5 23,613 BDO Banco de Oro Universal 149,000 25.5 26 25 26 26 375,000 0.15 0.05 162 GEI Global Equities, Inc. 500,000 0.085 0.085 0.0825 0.0825 0.085 -
PhilWeb.Com, Inc. 33,700,000 Bank of the Phil. Islands 145,835,500 60 39.5 107,976 BPI Bank of the Phil. Islands 3,017,600 48.5 49 47.5 48 48 (15,958,650) 2.16 0.3 686 HI House of Investments 100,000 1.2 1.2 1.14 1.14 1.2 (72,000)
Metro Pacific Corp. 30,130,000 Phil. Long Dis. Tel. Co. 116,481,750 695 516.67 24,829 CHIB China Banking Corp. 100 670 670 670 670 670 - 1.2 0.9 310 JOH Jolliville Hldgs. Corp. 0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 -
Oriental Pet. & Min. A 27,000,000 SM Prime Hldgs, Inc. 46,407,100 17.5 16 772 CSB Citystate Savings Bank 0 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 - 1.02 0.42 27 KPH Keppel Phils. Hldgs A 0 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 -
SE Asia Cement Hldgs 26,220,000 Ayala Corp. 43,568,100 1.04 0.38 1,872 EIB Export and Ind. Bank Inc. 760,000 0.67 0.69 0.67 0.68 0.66 - 1.4 0.42 28 KPHB Keppel Phils. Hldgs B 0 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 -
Omico Corp. 22,000,000 Ayala Land, Inc. 30,259,300 52 38.5 34,533 EPCI Equitable PCI Bank 125,400 47 47.5 47 47.5 47 981,500 3.3 0.43 2,125 MAC Macroasia Corp. 0 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 -
Sinophil Corp. 17,590,000 Metropolitan Bank 21,062,650 20.25 16.25 5,816 IBNK International Exch. Bank 210,000 18.25 18.25 18.25 18.25 18 - 0.019 0.011 196 MC Marsteel Cons. A 0 0.014 0.014 0.014 0.014 0.014 -
Manila Mining B 17,300,000 Belle Corp. 15,563,920 40.5 23.5 51,460 MBT Metropolitan Bank 661,500 31.5 32.5 31.5 31.5 31.5 (11,073,850) 0.022 0.012 76 MCB Marsteel Cons. B 0 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.015 0.015 -
Abacus Cons. Res. A 16,000,000 Manila Water Co. Inc. 13,424,600 400 289.31 2,876 PB Prudential Bank 0 350 350 350 350 350 - 0.75 0.17 210 MED MEDCO Hldgs, Inc. 150,000 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 -
Abacus Cons. Res. B 15,000,000 First Phil. Hldgs 11,896,500 100 66 5,155 PBC Phil. Bank of Commun. 0 98 98 98 98 98 - 2.02 1.02 11,544 MEG Megaworld Corp. 2,996,000 1.32 1.34 1.3 1.3 1.28 (672,400)
41.5 21.5 11,531 PNB Phil. National Bank 5,600 33 33 30.5 30.5 33 - 0.28 0.1 168 MHC Mabuhay Hldgs Corp. 0 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 -
Leaders 38 26
16 11.25
6,103
7,912
PSB
RCB
Phil. Savings Bank
Rizal Comm’l Bank A
0 32.5 34 32.5
0 12.5 12.5 12.5
34
12.5
34
12.5
-
-
2
0.69
0.6
0.17
85
81
MHI Magnum Hldgs, Inc.
MIC Multitech Investments
0
0 0.45
1
0.45
1 1 1
0.45 0.45 0.45
1 -
-
Stocks Volume Close Net ±% 34.5 15.5 8,728 SECB Security Bank Corp. 200 26.5 26.5 26.5 26.5 26 - 0.71 0.24 6,697 MPC Metro Pacific Corp. 30,130,000 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.36 0.35 (5,816,000)
Metro Alliance Hldgs A 10,000 0.6800 0.2200 47.83 33.5 22.5 14,057 UBP Union Bank of the Phils. 81,800 26.5 26.5 25.5 25.5 26.5 (1,283,500) 1.3 0.8 996 PHC Philcomsat Hldgs. 0 1 1 1 1 1 -
Lorenzo Shipping 2,560,000 1.2000 0.1800 17.65 0.48 0.12 592 POPI Prime Orion Phils. 200,000 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 -
Dizon Mines 26,000 3.4000 0.4000 13.33 Financial Service 1.62 0.6 459 PRIM Prime Media Hldgs. 0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 -
EEI Corp. 3,020,000 0.6000 0.0600 11.11 2.4 1.9 1,210 ATRK ATR Kim Eng Fin 5,000 1.92 1.92 1.92 1.92 1.92 - 0.54 0.08 960 PWR East Asia Power Res. 150,000 0.28 0.28 0.27 0.27 0.245 -
1.16 0.76 265 BKD Bankard, Inc. 0 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.85 - 1.2 0.8 1,091 ROX Roxas Hldgs. 0 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 0.96 -
SE Asia Cement Hldgs 26,220,000 0.3100 0.0300 10.71
0.75 0.4 597 FAF First Abacus Finan’l Hldgs 0 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 - 0.68 0.33 1,064 SGI Solid Group, Inc. 0 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 -
East Asia Power Res. 150,000 0.2700 0.0250 10.20 300 160 10,558 FMIC First Metro Investment Corp. 0 280 280 280 280 280 - 250 216 131,440 SM SM Investments Corp. 860,780 249 249 247 248 250 (87,837,260)
Bacnotan Cons. Indus. 1,000 11.0000 1.0000 10.00 2,655 1,9501,987,661 MFC Manulife Financial Corp. 140 2,450 2,450 2,450 2,450 2,450 - 0.93 0.175 589 SOC So. China Res., Inc. 0 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 -
Pacifica, Inc. A 5,000,000 0.0110 0.0010 10.00 1.2 0.6 2,171 PCIL PCI Leasing & Fin. 20,000 1 1 1 1 1 20,000 0.65 0.125 54 SPM Seafront Res. Corp. 0 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 -
Benguet Corp. B 3,100 35.0000 3.0000 9.38 155 100 2,292 PSE Phil. Stock Exchange, Inc. 0 150 150 150 150 150 - 4.6 1.74 11,076 TDY Tanduay Hldgs, Inc. 0 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 -
Keppel Phils Marine 60,000 0.5200 0.0400 8.33 1,880 1,400 996,000 SLF Sun Life - Canada 940 1,650 1,660 1,650 1,660 1,645 - 0.27 .0775 510 UW Uniwide Hldgs, Inc. 4,700,000 0.22 0.225 0.2 0.2 0.22 -
1 0.7 1,193 VVT Vivant Corporation 0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 -
Laggards Commercial & Industrial 0.3 0.135 655 WIN Wellex Industries, Inc. 0 0.135 0.2 0.135 0.2 0.2 -
Stocks Volume Close Net ±% Communication 0.44 0.16 506 WPI Waterfront Phils., Inc. 0 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.26 0.26 -
Interport Res. Corp. A 4,000,000 0.0032 -0.0018 -36.00 24 13.25 11,109 ABS ABS-CBN Broadcasting 7,400 14 15.25 14 14.25 13.5 - 0.3 0.2 820 ZHI Zeus Holdings 0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 -
5 2 465 DFNN Diversified Fin. Network 0 5 5 5 5 5 -
Cyber Bay Corp. 1,580,000 0.2100 -0.0400 -16.00
2.02 0.62 7,120 DGTL Digital Telecoms Phils. 4,148,000 1.08 1.14 1.08 1.12 1.08 33,600 Manufacturing, Distribution & Trading
MUSIC Corp. 9,000 1.3000 -0.1600 -10.96 5.2 0.67 276 ECP Easycall Comm. Phils. 0 3.2 3.2 3 3 3 - 2.04 0.12 144 AAI Active Alliance,Inc. 0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 -
Uniwide Hldgs, Inc. 4,700,000 0.2000 -0.0200 -9.09 1,180 780 114,022 GLO Globe Telecom Inc. 14,250 820 825 815 815 810 (475,100) 6 3.25 93 CAT C. Azu. De Tarlac 0 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.3 -
Phil. National Bank 5,600 30.5000 -2.5000 -7.58 5.6 1.16 2,168 IPO iPeople, Inc. 3,000 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.75 - 1.92 1.1 300 ILI Interphil Lab. A 0 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 -
ATN Holdings A 30,000 1.6000 -0.1000 -5.88 0.065 0.036 195 IS Island Info and Tech 0 0.041 0.041 0.04 0.04 0.04 - 1.94 1.12 157 ILIB Interphil Lab. B 0 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 1.12 -
House of Investments 100,000 1.1400 -0.0600 -5.00 0.0775 0.032 1,500 ISM ISM Communications 0 0.048 0.05 0.048 0.05 0.05 - 0.98 0.32 125 MAH Metro Alliance Hldgs A 10,000 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.46 -
Union Bank of the Phils. 81,800 25.5000 -1.0000 -3.77 0.6 0.1 375 LIB Liberty Telecoms Hldgs 0 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 - 0.75 0.32 81 MAHB Metro Alliance Hldgs B 0 0.67 0.67 0.66 0.66 0.66 -
Boulevard Hldgs, Inc. 30,000 0.1650 -0.0050 -2.94 2.6 2 3,815 MB Manila Bulletin Publishing 0 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.04 - 9.5 7 3,382 MEP Matsushita Electric Phils. 5,000 8 8 8 8 7.5 -
Global Equities, Inc. 500,000 0.0825 -0.0025 -2.94 4.1 1.48 5,154 PLTL Pilipino Telephone Corp. 786,000 3.15 3.15 3.05 3.05 3.1 - 2.06 2 251 MRAY Macondry Plastic, Inc. 0 2 2 2 2 2 -
1.46 1.3 293 TBGI Transpacific Broadcast 0 1.42 1.42 1.4 1.4 1.4 - 2.08 0.55 116 MUSX MUSIC Corp. 9,000 1.46 1.46 1.3 1.3 1.46 -
1,505 965 239,150 TEL Phil. Long Dis. Tel. Co. 82,670 1,400 1,415 1,400 1,405 1,380 23,271,950
RP ABROAD 0.86 0.32 1,142 V iVantage Equities, Inc. 540,000 0.65 0.65 0.64 0.65 0.65 -
1.12
0.45
0.7
0.2
693
547
MVC Mabuhay Vinyl Corp.
PPC Pryce Corp.
0
0
0.8 0.91
0.3 0.3
0.8 0.91 0.91
0.3 0.3 0.3
-
-
May 2, 2005 Volume High Low Close Change 0.026 0.01 1,827 WEB PhilWeb.Com, Inc. 33,700,000 0.019 0.019 0.018 0.019 0.019 - 5 1.32 451 SEVN Phil. Seven Corp. 0 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 -
PLDT 116,600 $26.02 $25.84 $25.85 $0.08 0.26 0.1 110 STN Steniel Mfg Corp. 0 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125 -
BENGUET CORP 886,830 0.73 0.65 0.675 ($0.015) Power & Energy
PHILEX GOLD 0 C$0.00 C$0.00 C$0.00 C$0.00 21.5 14 9,973 MER Manila Electric A 300 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 16.5 - Hotel, Recreation & Other Service
MANULIFE FINL 1,208,833 C$58.50 C$57.57 C$58.30 C$0.63 34 20 9,168 MERB Manila Electric B 427,500 22.5 23.25 22.5 22.75 22.25 3,493,900 1.86 0.46 7,494 BEL Belle Corp. 13,001,000 1.18 1.26 1.16 1.18 1.18 (2,646,400)
SUN LIFE FINL 1,004,156 C$39.68 C$39.10 C$39.40 C$0.12 7.6 5.8 12,033 MWC Manila Water Co. Inc. 2,211,000 6.2 6.2 6 6 6.1 (5,041,100) 14 1 1,098 DHC Acesite (Phils.) Hotel Corp. 0 11 11 11 11 11 -
4.55 2.38 32,344 PCOR Petron Corp. 2,226,000 3.25 3.5 3.25 3.45 3.25 609,700 1.56 0.22 1,760 FAIR Fairmont Holdings Inc. 220,000 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.87 -
PLDT (PHI) is listed at the New York Stock Exchange; Benguet Corp (BENGE.OB) at the OTC BB Nasdaq; Philex Gold (PGI.V)
2.42 2 3,139 SPC Salcon Power Corp. 0 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 - 1.72 0.31 1,131 FER Leisure & Resorts World 436,000 1.54 1.56 1.52 1.52 1.52 -
at the Canadian Venture Exchange; Manulife Finl (MFC.TO) and Sun Life Finl (SLC.TO) at the Toronto Stock Exchange
1.82 0.9 939 TA Trans-Asia Oil 0 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.12 1.12 - 38 33 2,591 GPH Grand Plaza Hotel 0 33 33 33 33 33 -
Dividend Update Transportation Services
7.5 2.7 540 MJC Manila Jockey Club 0 3 3 3 3 3 -
0.46 0.18 161 PEP Premiere Entertainment 0 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 -
ISSUE STOCK CASH EX-DATE RECORD PAYABLE 2.06 1.22 3,560 ATI Asian Terminals, Inc. 0 1.74 1.78 1.74 1.78 1.78 - 4 2.6 1,767 PRC Phil. Racing Club, Inc. 0 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 -
International Exchange Bank 0.30 15-Apr-’05 20-Apr-’05 4-May-’05 1.84 1.31 2,996 ATS Aboitiz Trans. Sys. Corp. 0 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 -
San Miguel Corp. 0.35 12-Apr-’05 15-Apr-’05 9-May-’05 8.7 2.85 16,962 ICT ICTSI 383,000 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.3 7.3 (380,300) Bonds, Preferred & Warrants
Philippine Long Distance Tel. Co. 14.0 28-Mar-’05 31-Mar-’05 12-May-’05 0.68 0.25 1,037 KPM Keppel Phils Marine 60,000 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.48 - 24.25 13 3,721 ABSP ABS-CBN Hldgs PDR 277,700 13.5 14 13.5 13.75 13 2,308,850
Cityland Development Corp. 0.1736 14-Apr-’05 19-Apr-’05 13-May-’05 1.44 0.3 361 LSC Lorenzo Shipping 2,560,000 1.1 1.2 1.08 1.2 1.02 (192,000) 0.32 .0006 25 MACW Macroasia Corp. W 0 0.049 0.049 0.049 0.049 0.049 -
Macondray Plastics, Inc. 0.159 2-May-’05 5-May-’05 23-May-’05
11 10 101 TELP PLDT (10% Pref.) Series P 2,300 10.25 10.25 10.25 10.25 10.5 -
Philippine Racing Club, Inc. 0.10 22-Apr-’05 27-Apr-’05 23-May-’05 Construction & Other Related Products 11 10.25 257 TELT PLDT (10% Pref.) Series T 300 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 -
Philippine Long Distance Tel. Co. EE (TLEE) 1.0 25-Apr-’05 28-Apr-’05 31-May-’05 0.83 0.27 560 EEI EEI Corp. 3,020,000 0.57 0.6 0.57 0.6 0.54 1,044,500 11 10.25 427 TELV PLDT (10% Pref.) Series V 3,300 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 -
1.2 0.15 1,764 FCC Fortune Cement Corp. 0 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.67 -
Schedule of Meetings 4.9 1.2 18,388 HLCM Holcim Philippines, Inc. 189,000 2.8 2.85 2.8 2.85 2.75 (256,500) Property
4.9 2.1 523 PNC Phil. Nat’l Const. Corp. 35,000 3 3 3 3 2.9 - 10 5.2 82,923 ALI Ayala Land, Inc. 3,874,000 7.9 7.9 7.7 7.7 7.8 (12,195,000)
Date Company TIME PLACE 2 0.21 4,629 RCM Republic Cement Corp. 0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 - 0.58 0.23 453 ARA Araneta Properties 0 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 -
May 1.8 1.62 1,160 REG Republic Glass Hldgs 0 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 - 2.1 1.36 1,341 CDC Cityland Dev’t Corp. 0 1.4 1.4 1.36 1.36 1.36 -
04 Tanduay Holdings, Inc. (Annual) 3 pm Century Park Sheraton Hotel, Vito Cruz, Manila 1.2 0.34 1,690 CHI Cebu Holdings, Inc. 3,550,000 0.84 0.88 0.84 0.88 0.89 88,000
Food, Beverages & Tobacco 0.49 0.135 1,247 CMP C&P Homes, Inc. 2,300,000 0.27 0.27 0.26 0.26 0.26 (427,000)
05 Universal Robina Corp. (Annual) 5 pm Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, ADB Ave. Ortigas Center, Q.C.
4.2 2.8 2,900 AMC Alaska Milk Corp. 0 3.2 3.25 3.2 3.25 3.25 - 0.45 0.29 254 CPV Cebu Prop. Venture A 0 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.45 -
05 ChinaBank (Annual) 4 pm ChinaBank Bldg., Paseo de Roxas, Makati City 4.5 3.5 3,434 CBC Cosmos Bottling Corp. 0 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 - 0.45 0.1 1,294 CYBR Cyber Bay Corp. 1,580,000 0.22 0.22 0.21 0.21 0.25 -
38 27 8,997 GSMI Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 0 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 33.5 - 0.39 0.11 205 EIBR EIB Realy Developers Inc. 0 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 -
NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D 31 19.25 27,990 JFC Jollibee Foods Corp. 310,600 29 29 28 28.5 28.5 8,838,800
MUTUAL FUNDS per share Return Return* Return* Return 15 14 560 LFM Liberty Flour Mills 0 14 14 14 14 14 -
0.63 0.21 2,642 ELI Empire East Land Hldgs 5,970,000
1.32 0.44 3,288 EPHI Edsa Properties Hldgs 0
0.38
0.78
0.39
0.78
0.37
0.78
0.38 0.38 (1,188,000)
0.78 0.78 -
May 3, 2005 % % % % 2.04 1.1 223 PCKH Pancake House, Inc. 0 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.18 1.18 - 2.12 0.91 11,260 FLI Filinvest Land, Inc. 3,198,000 1.42 1.46 1.42 1.44 1.36 3,025,240
Equity Funds 70 42 2,077 PF San Miguel Pure Foods “A” 0 55 55 55 55 55 - 0.23 0.034 81 GO Gotesco Land, Inc. A 0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 -
ATR- Kim Eng Equity Opportunity Fund 1.2004 n.a. n.a. n.a. 8.85 124 70 2,325 PFB Pure Foods Corp. B 0 124 124 124 124 124 - 0.23 0.045 40 GOB Gotesco Land, Inc. B 0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 -
Philam Strategic Growth Fund 183.9400 19.74 12.34 9.40 4.32 1.24 0.55 1,306 RFM RFM Corp. 0 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 - 2.8 2 5,166 HP Highlands Prime leisure 0 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.3 2.3 -
0.48 0.225 265 SFI Swift Foods, Inc. 0 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 - 0.88 0.41 162 KEP Keppel Phils. Properties 0 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.55 -
Philequity Fund 6.9246 29.61 17.88 15.08 7.40
59.83 55 110,682 SMC San Miguel Corp. A 37,500 57.5 58 57.5 58 58 - 0.36 0.15 807 KPP Kuok Phil. Properties 800,000 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 -
Sun Life Prosperity Phil. Equity Fund 1.1233 12.02 6.55 3.54 -0.89 84.5 67.63 101,696 SMCB San Miguel Corp. B 69,100 83 83.5 83 83 83 (2,490,000) 0.84 0.23 1,659 LND Fil-Estate Land, Inc. 0 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 0.61 -
United Fund 1.4521 10.30 9.56 9.05 -0.62 11 10.5 385 TFC Phil. Tob. Flue Curing 0 11 11 11 11 11 - 0.31 0.07 90 MRC MRC Allied Indus. 200,000 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.175 -
Balanced Funds 12.75 6.2 20,659 URC Universal Robina Corp. 0 12 12.25 12 12.25 12.25 - 0.24 0.05 260 PHES Phil. Estates Corp. 0 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 -
First Galleon Family Fund ** 0.6728 1.08 0.82 1.77 0.34 0.39 0.25 119 VITA Vitarich Corp. 7,430,000 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.28 1,015,000 3.7 2.7 1,133 PRMX Primex Corp. 0 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 -
GSIS Kinabukasan Fund 1.1101 15.62 1.93 -1.08 3.91 5.1 1.78 10,910 RLC Robinson Land Corp. 126,000 4.6 4.75 4.6 4.75 4.55 -
Legacy HY Fund, Inc. ******* 1.2531 3.88 3.38 10.95 11.78 Holding Firms 0.42 0.03 1,027 RLT Phil. Realty and Hldgs 350,000 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 -
MFCP Kabuhayan Fund. 0.7856 13.48 7.66 4.99 4.43 15 6 121 AB Atok-Big Wedge A 0 8 8 8 8 8 - 2 0.98 5,050 SMDC SM Devt Corp. 100,000 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.64 1.62 -
Philam Fund 5.1635 16.65 12.70 10.24 4.37 0.016 .0029 298 ABA Abacus Cons. Res. A 16,000,000 .0085 .0085 0.0085 0.0085 .0085 - 9.7 5.6 71,398 SMPH SM Prime Hldgs, Inc. 6,327,000 7.5 7.6 7.2 7.2 7.4 (13,106,500)
Sun Life Prosperity Balanced Fund 1.3166 12.30 7.26 6.03 -0.93 0.017 0.003 135 ABAB Abacus Cons. Res. B 15,000,000 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 0.009 -
Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund US$ 2.1982 3.54 n.a. n.a. 1.78 10.5 5 51 ABB Atok-Big Wedge B 0 5 5 5 5 5 - Mining
8.7 5.1 118,041 AC Ayala Corp. 6,288,000 7 7 6.8 6.9 6.9 2,949,000 1.5 0.1 346 APX Apex Mining Co. A 0 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 -
Bond Funds
1.14 0.15 2,265 ACR Alsons Cons. Res. 0 0.38 0.38 0.36 0.36 0.36 - 1.6 0.1 237 APXB Apex Mining Co. B 0 0.85 0.85 0.8 0.8 0.8 -
ALFM Dollar Bond Fund US$ 264.24 2.86 4.55 n.a. 1.17 5.4 2.8 22,621 AEV Aboitiz Equity Ventures 2,306,000 4.4 4.55 4.4 4.55 4.4 - 0.016 .0028 705 AR Abra Mining & Indust’l 74,000,000 .0085 .0085 0.0085 0.0085 .0085 -
ATR-Kim Eng Fixed Income Fund 1.0547 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.23 12.75 10.5 21,049 AGI Alliance Global Group 0 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 - 8.6 1 1,744 Atlas Cons. Mining 105,000 5 5 4.8 4.9 4.8 -
AT
Ayala Life Fixed Income Fund 177.1500 7.64 7.49 8.29 2.59 0.0725 0.019 158 AJO AJO.net Hldgs 7,400,000 0.033 0.033 0.031 0.031 0.031 - 10.5 0.135 630 BC Benguet Corp. A 23,000 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.8 9 -
Cocolife Fixed Income Fund ******** 1.1529 n.a. n.a. n.a. 2.24 2.65 0.9 4,900 ANS A. Soriano Corp. 402,000 1.94 1.98 1.94 1.96 1.94 - 35 1.08 1,486 BCB Benguet Corp. B 3,100 32 35 32 35 32 -
Ekklesia Mutual Fund, Inc. 1.0706 4.60 n.a. n.a. 1.43 0.65 0.05 1,166 APC APC Group, Inc. 0 0.3 0.32 0.3 0.31 0.31 - 4.6 1 265 DIZ Dizon Mines 26,000 2.5 3.4 2.5 3.4 3 -
Grepalife Fixed Income Fund (2)** 1.0240 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.91 0.01 .0046 385 APM Alcorn Gold Res. 0 .0065 .0065 0.0065 0.0065 .0065 - 0.52 0.19 4,094 LC Lepanto Cons. Mining A 140,000 0.34 0.34 0.31 0.32 0.32 -
Legacy GS Fund, Inc.***** 1.0680 6.09 2.71 0.60 4.95 0.49 0.11 386 APO Anglo-Phil. Hldgs 0 0.38 0.38 0.36 0.36 0.36 - 0.57 0.235 2,900 LCB Lepanto Cons. Mining B 4,260,000 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.34 0.33 408,000
Legacy TD Fund, Inc. ****** 1.0754 1.62 -2.90 n.a. 1.50 1.98 0.46 181 APR Aries Prime Resources, Inc. 0 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 - 0.026 0.005 1,146 MA Manila Mining A 12,200,000 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.016 -
2.55 1.32 192 ATN ATN Holdings A 30,000 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.7 - 0.04 .0055 1,002 MAB Manila Mining B 17,300,000 0.021 0.021 0.021 0.021 0.021 -
MAA Privilege Dollar Fixed Income US$ 1.0868 6.53 n.a. n.a. 2.43
1.8 1.52 144 ATNB ATN Holdings B 0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 - 0.011 .0028 551 OM Omico Corp. 22,000,000 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 0.007 -
MAA Privilege Peso Fund *** 1.6540 2.00 n.a. n.a. -1.84
2 0.3 292 B Baguio Gold Hldgs 0 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 0.73 - 1.46 0.31 1,688 PX Philex Mining A 0 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 -
Philam Bond Fund 2.0755 8.08 8.81 9.01 2.60 1.32 0.6 979 BAL Balabac Res. & Hldgs 0 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 - 1.8 0.33 1,232 PXB Philex Mining B 734,000 1.1 1.1 1.06 1.06 1.08 -
Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. US$ 1.2331 4.83 5.43 n.a. 1.47 37 9 1,868 BCI Bacnotan Cons. Indus. 1,000 11 11 11 11 10 - 52 32.5 9,797 Semirara Coal Corp. 134,700 33.5 33.5 33 33 33 (3,339,150)
SCC
Prudentialife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. 1.0404 n.a. n.a. n.a. 2.48 0.24 0.06 165 BHI Boulevard Hldgs, Inc. 30,000 0.165 0.165 0.165 0.165 0.17 - 0.5 0.09 217 UPM United Paragon Mining 0 0.22 0.25 0.22 0.25 0.25 -
Sun Life Prosperity Bond Fund 1.5391 7.70 7.9900 8.66 2.39 1.5 0.47 4,352 BPC Benpres Hldgs Corp. 8,580,000 0.98 0.99 0.95 0.95 0.96 (1,000)
Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund(1)US$ 2.0093 n.a. n.a. n.a. -0.12 1.1 0.35 909 BRN A Brown Company, Inc. 0 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 - Oil
Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund(1) 1.0054 n.a. n.a. n.a. 0.28 0.28 0.1 270 BSC Basic Cons., Inc. 0 0.16 0.18 0.16 0.18 0.18 - 0.018 .0085 264 IMP Imperial Res., Inc. A 0 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 -
Money Market Fund 0.33 0.12 374 CEI Crown Equities, Inc. 10,000 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.225 - 0.008 0.003 90 IRC Interport Res. Corp. A 4,000,000 .0032 .0032 0.0032 0.0032 0.005 -
Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund 1.0439 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.690 0.88 0.04 1,971 CMT SE Asia Cement Hldgs 26,220,000 0.3 0.32 0.3 0.31 0.28 (6,231,900) 0.0085 .0032 65 IRCB Interport Res. Corp. B 0 .0055 .0055 0.0055 0.0055 .0055 -
6.1 0.24 5,977 DMC DMCI Holdings, Inc. 1,307,000 2.65 2.7 2.65 2.65 2.6 - 0.009 .0026 720 OPM Oriental Pet. & Min. A 27,000,000 .0055 0.006 0.0055 0.006 0.006 -
Index Fund
0.0725 0.019 225 EVER Ever Gotesco Res. 0 0.049 0.049 0.045 0.045 0.045 - 0.0095 .0028 560 OPMB Oriental Pet. & Min. B 0 .0065 0.007 0.0065 0.007 0.007 -
Philippine Index Fund 203.580 19.46 n.a. n.a. 2.320 0.7 0.18 430 FC Fil-Estate Corp. 0 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 - 0.55 0.15 294 OV The Philodrill Corp. A 0 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 -
Source: Investment Company Association of the Philippines (ICAP)* Annualized;**NAV 04-29-05; ***change in the manage- 1.78 0.9 7,147 FDC Filinvest Dev’t Corp. 0 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 - 0.57 0.16 197 OVB The Philodrill Corp. B 0 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 0.32 -
ment effective 06-01-03; ****will resume publication of NAV once the fund is re-activated; ***** P0.05 cash dividend/share 12 1.32 4,800 FH Fil-Hispano Hldgs 251,000 8.1 8.2 7.9 8 7.9 - 0.019 0.007 92 PA Pacifica, Inc. A 5,000,000 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.01 -
declared as of Dec. 20, 2003;******0.05 centavo cashdividend/share declared as of 05-11-04;*******0.10 centavo cash dividend/ 1.02 0.4 181 FJP F&J Prince Hldgs A 0 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 0.62 - 0.28 0.021 1,782 SINO Sinophil Corp. 17,590,000 0.17 0.18 0.165 0.165 0.165 167,500
share declared as of 05-11-04;********Publication of NAVS started on 06-01-04;(1)commenced operations on 03-01-05;(2) 1.02 0.6 193 FJPB F&J Prince Hldgs B 0 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 1.02 - 0.48 0.13 184 VUL Vulcan Ind’l & Mining 0 0.32 0.32 0.31 0.31 0.31 -
NAVPS will be offered at P1.00 for a period of thirty (30) days from October 14, 2004 to Nov. 14, 2004.
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 MARICRIS C. CARLOS EDITOR WORLD BUSINESS S2 / 5

Adidas sells Salomon DISNEYLAND

50th ANNIVERSARY
Disneyland employee Patrick

to Amer; shares jump Clevenger sells Mickey and Minnie

FRANKFURT — The Adidas group un-
veiled a surprise sale of its winter
sports brand Salomon to focus on
its classic sportswear range after
quarterly profit surged, driving its
stock to a seven-year high on Mon-
day.
Despite recent denials, Adidas
said it would sell the ski maker to
Finland’s AmerSports in a deal
worth 485 million euros ($624 mil-
lion), following repeated calls from
analysts who questioned Salomon’s
profitability.
Salomon has been hit hard by
sluggish ski sales over several
mild winters without much snow.
Adidas had been tr y ing to
strengthen the loss-making brand,
which it bought in 1997 with golf
brand Taylormade-Adidas Golf for
1.2 billion euros.
“We decided that now is the
time to focus even more on our core
strength in the athletic footwear and
apparel market as well as the grow-
ing golf category,” Chief Executive
BRIEFS
New Lenovo chairman
H ONG K ONG — China’s top PC seller,
Lenovo Group Ltd., said on Tuesday Liu
Chuanzhi has relinquished the chair-
manship of the company he has led for
more than 11 years following the com-
pletion of a US$1.25-billion deal to take
over IBM’s personal computer business.
Yang Yuanqing, executive director and
previously the chief executive of the
company, has been appointed as the
chairman to replace Mr. Liu, who will
become a non-executive director,
Lenovo said in a statement. — Reuters
Neiman Marcus deal
NEW YORK — Upscale department store
chain Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. said on
Monday it agreed to be bought by two
private equity firms for about $5.1 bil-
lion, in a high-stakes bet on the luxury
goods market’s sustainability. The com-
pany’s shares slumped more than 5% on
the news, as some investors expressed
disappointment with the deal’s value
and others scrambled to cash out after
a sharp rise in the company’s shares.
Neiman Marcus is known for its high-
end fashions and lavish Christmas
catalog offerings. — Reuters
Herbert Hainer said, adding that
Adidas-Salomon will be renamed
Adidas.
“It’s the right decision from a
strategic point of view because
Salomon never fitted into Adidas’s
product portfolio,” said HVB ana-
lyst Uwe Weinreich.
PRICE
Sal.Oppenheim’s Joerg Frey
agreed: “The price looks good. I am
wondering what they are going to
do with the money because Adidas
does not need it.”
Mr. Hainer said the Bavarian
firm would use the cash from the
deal for its current share buyback
program instead of spending the
funds on an acquisition.
Amer said the purchase would
blend Salomon’s winter sports and
Freedom Action Sports brands with
its own Atomic winter sports busi-
ness.
The deal, pending antitrust ap-
proval, will boost both firms’ prof-
itability. — Reuters
Keppel unit
wins $300-M
oil rig contract
SINGAPORE — A unit of Singapore’s
Keppel Corp. said yesterday it had
won a contract worth US$300 mil-
lion to build two oil rigs for a US
drilling company.
Keppel FELS Ltd., a wholly
owned subsidiary of Keppel Off-
shore and Marine, will build the
jack-up rigs for Diamond Offshore
Drilling, Inc., a company specializ-
ing in contract drilling services
based in Texas, USA.
One of the units will be built in
Singapore, while the other at a
Texas-based subsidiary company,
Keppel AmFELS.
Keppel said it would deliver the
two rigs in the first quarter of 2008,
with an option for a third at a later
date. — AFP
Verizon beats Qwest in bid
for MCI with $8.5-billion offer
WASHINGTON — Verizon Communications, Inc.
won its 10-week battle for MCI, Inc. on Monday,
as Qwest Communications International, Inc.
withdrew its $9.9-billion bid after MCI accepted
Verizon’s $8.5-billion offer.
MCI said it accepted Verizon’s lower price
because its large business customers had threat-
ened to defect if it was sold to Qwest. Qwest did
not go quietly, accusing MCI of tilting the bid-
ding war in Verizon’s favor and short-changing
shareholders. “It is no longer in the best interests
of share owners, customers and employees to
continue in a process that seems to be perma-
nently skewed against Qwest,” MCI said.
Verizon, the largest US telecommunications
company, will gain control of the second largest
US long-distance telephone company and the no.
2 provider of telecommunications services to
large businesses and governments. Shares of MCI
fell sharply after Qwest ended its bid.
Verizon’s winning offer provides at least $26
per MCI share, with $5.60 cash to be paid upon
approval of the deal by MCI shareholders, plus
either 0.5743 Verizon share for every share of
MCI common stock or Verizon shares valued at
$20.40, whichever is greater.
Verizon’s prior bid was for $23.50 a share,
including an MCI dividend of 40¢ a share.
Qwest’s current offer, which it had called its “best
and final bid,” was for $9.9 billion, or $30.40 per
Mouse balloons along Main Street
ahead of the 50th anniversary of Dis-
neyland in Anaheim, California, May
2. On May 5, Disneyland Resort in
California launches the “Happiest
Homecoming On Earth,” an 18-
month commemoration of the 50th
anniversary of the very first Disney
theme park.The event is the corner-
stone of a global celebration in
which all 11 Disney theme parks
around the world will join together
for the first time for the landmark
occasion. Disneyland is celebrating
its 50th anniversary with new attrac-
tions, shows and parades, along
with fresh twists on classic favorites.
Disney said it is the biggest celebra-
tion in its history.The festivities be-
gin May 5. Reuters
share including MCI’s 40¢ dividend.
“I think Verizon has got to be very happy to-
day,” said industry analyst Jeff Kagan.
“They are paying more than they originally
agreed to, but at least they still have the com-
pany,” he said.
MCI began talking to Verizon and Qwest last
July, but the talks became more serious early this
year after SBC Communications agreed to buy
AT&T Corp. for $16 billion.
MCI’s board justified accepting Verizon’s
lower offer by saying that several of MCI’s large
customers preferred a Verizon deal over one with
Qwest, and that “a number of customers have
also requested rights to terminate their arrange-
ments with MCI in the event of a Qwest trans-
action.”
MCI has about 60,000 large-business custom-
ers and roughly one million small-business sub-
scribers. It also runs one of the largest internet
backbones and global data networks and has
some 13 million residential telephone custom-
ers.
MCI’s stable of large corporate and business
customers, second only to AT&T’s, is the major
motivation behind Verizon’s and Qwest’s efforts.
Qwest also saw the opportunity to cut $14.8
billion in costs through an MCI deal, providing
its best chance to reduce its $17 billion in debt
and improve its weak cash flow. — Reuters

BMW earnings
MUNICH, GERMANY — BMW, the German
luxury car maker, said Tuesday that bot-
tom line earnings slipped in the first
three months of the current year as a
result of the strong euro. BMW said in a
statement it booked net profit of 519
million euros ($664 million) in the pe-
riod from January to March, down 0.8%
from the year-earlier figure. In addition
to the strong euro, other factors weigh-
ing on earnings included the strong rise
in raw materials prices and the model
changeover, BMW explained. — AFP
Holcim net income
ZURICH— Holcim, the world’s second big-
gest cement maker, said on Monday
bad winter weather and higher energy
costs had weighed on sales and oper-
ating earnings, keeping its quarterly re-
sults below forecasts. However, the com-
pany reiterated its 2005 financial targets,
predicting internal operating profit
(EBITDA) growth of more than 5%, and
arguing that the first quarter was not
indicative of the year as a whole. While
accounting changes helped boost
January-March net income 67% to 169
million Swiss francs ($141.8 million), op-
erating profit rose just under 10% to 411
million francs. Sales declined 1.1% to
2.73 billion francs. — Reuters
Hutchison Tel to take
fixed-line unit private
HONG KONG — Hutchison Telecom-
munications International Ltd., ty-
coon Li Ka-shing’s emerging mar-
kets phone arm, plans to take pri-
vate its 53% owned Hutchison Glo-
bal Communications Holdings Ltd.,
helping to simplify its corporate
structure.
Hutchison Global, a Hong Kong
fixed-line telecoms operator, has a
market value of HK$3.28 billion
(US$421 million).
No other details were immedi-
ately available and company offi-
cials declined comment.
Hutchison Telecommunications
revealed its intention to take
Hutchison Global Communica-
tions private in a brief statement is-
sued through the Hong Kong stock
exchange.
Some market players said hav-
ing separate listings for both firms
was confusing to investors.
“The market has lost interest in
Hutchison Global Communica-
tions… it’s reasonable to privatize
it,” said Ben Kwong, associate direc-
tor at KGI Asia Ltd.
Hutchison Global Communica-
tions was formed last year in a deal
that was criticized by some in the
market.
In that transaction, Mr. Li’s
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. con-
glomerate, known for its avid asset-
swapping, sold its Hong Kong fixed-
line phone business to an affiliated
company that was then called Vanda
Systems for US$910 million.
Shares in the firm, later renamed
Hutchison Global Communica-
tions, shot up by as much as 61%
the next day, closing 37% higher, as
investors crowded to get in on the
latest Li vehicle. — Reuters
Lockheed, Boeing end
feud, merge launch units
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. ended
nearly a decade of bitter rivalry over government rocket
launches by announcing on Monday they would form a 50-
50 joint venture called United Launch Alliance.
The companies said they would immediately seek to sus-
pend litigation against each other linked to launch contracts
and would dismiss all claims when they complete the deal,
probably in late 2005 or possibly early 2006.
The US Air Force had encouraged the companies last year
to team up on launches.
ANTITRUST CONCERNS
Pentagon support could help overcome any antitrust con-
cerns about diminished competition.
Defense analyst Loren Thompson, a consultant to
Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed, said the deal would give
both firms a better rate of return in an extremely difficult
market hurt by a shortage of commercial telecommunications
launches.
Lockheed Vice-President Jeff MacLauchlan told Reuters
that preliminary discussions with federal officials showed that
“the government is generally supportive of the approach.”
The merger would save the government about $100 mil-
lion to $150 million a year, the companies said in a joint state-
ment. — Reuters
 6 / S2 MOTORING FERDINAND O. LUCERO EDITOR WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

BY PAUL C.H. HOW

Audi offers luxury vehicle A6 Toyota holds

The BMW K 1200 S:
power, comfort in one bike
BMW boasts of being the only
company in the Philippines that
mass-imports big motorcycles. Just
last year, BMW Philippines sold
about 100 of them, and the firm
expects number to grow each year
as more people get into big bikes.
The various motorcycles BMW
produces serve various types of
bikers. Some bikes are meant for
off-road terrain and others for
highway riding, and others for both.
Their latest bike, which fits the
third category, is also BMW’s most
powerful — the K 1200 S.
During its launch at The Fort in
Taguig City last April 22, hundreds
of motorcycle enthusiasts went to
see, and feel for themselves its much
anticipated arrival. Some people
had even pre-ordered the K 1200 S
months before the launch.
A test ride was held on April 24
at an empty carpark in Greenhills
Shopping Center. Although it’s
considered a sports bike, with its
sleek looks and engine power, it also
provides maximum comfort and
safety.
The K 1200 S runs on a 1157-
cc, four-cylinder, in-line engine ca-
pable of producing 167 horsepower,
which BMW says is the most so-
phisticated engine management
system available today. Surprisingly,
its engine is considerably narrow; its
width at crankshaft level is about
the same as 600-cc engines.
As with all BMW bikes, the K
1200 S has a closed-loop, three-way
catalytic converter and digital en-
gine electronics that ensure envi-
ronment compatibility.
Even at high speeds, one main-
tains a complete sense of balance,
with its low center of gravity from
a 55-degree cylinder bank. Control
at all times is assured by its front-
wheel suspension with two parallel
links. The suspension is also elec-
tronically adjustable, a first of its
kind.
The K 1200 S also has the BMW
Motorrad Integral automatic brake
system, which allows for quick
deceleration and short braking
distance, on any terrain.
The K 1200 S is now available at
authorized BMW Motorrad dealers
for P1.09 million and P1.131 mil-
lion in mono-color and multi-color
paint schemes, respectively.
for well-balanced professionals
Luxury car maker Audi, realiz-
ing that the distinction between
professional and personal respon-
sibilities are becoming blurred, has
launched the new A6 to draw a firm
line between work and leisure time.
Successful men and women re-
alize that there is more to life than
work and are redefining their per-
sonal priorities. They prefer to live
by their own rules.
Recognizing the importance of
this trend, luxury carmaker Audi is
specifically targeting these “new
professionals” with the introduc-
tion of its latest product. Its A6
marketing campaign — aptly
named “Following Your Own
Rules” — showcases people who
have successfully attained balance
in their lives by ignoring conven-
tions and doing things their own
way.
According to Miguel G.
Coyiuto, president of PGA Cars,
Inc., the newly appointed Audi sole
authorized importer and distribu-
tor in the Philippines, “Our market
surveys indicate what…Audi A6
drivers regard as important. Dem-
onstrating their status in life and
maintaining an impressive overall
lifestyle are now less important to
these people. They go about every-
thing in their own way and no
longer confirm to what society dic-
tates as being correct. This attitude
also applies to their choice of vehi-
cle.”
“The car they drive is an expres-
sion of their values and beliefs — a
way to express their personality and
individuality rather than just a
means of showcasing their wealth
and social status,” he added.
To be formally launched on Fri-
day, May 6, 2005, the new A6 has
been developed to meet the needs
and expectations of these drivers.
Just one look at the new A6
proves right from the start that this
is an all-new car in every respect.
The A6 is much more athletic than
before, with proportions more
sporting, more muscular and
poised for action.
The exterior dimensions of the
new A6 have increased compared
with the previous model giving
more shoulder room and knee
room, particularly in the rear. The
luggage compartment, which has a
capacity of 546 liters, is enough for
two golf bags laid crosswise.
Viewed from the front, the
trapezoidal single-frame grille is a
symbol of Audi’s new design direc-
tion and the representation of the
latest generation of Audi models.
The center console in the new
A6 is slightly angled — a typical
design feature of sports cars and the
instruments and steering wheel, as
well as the basic lines are all new.
With the Multi Media Interface
or MMI integrated user interface,
adopted from the A8, Audi now of-
fers an “infotainment” platform and
control concept on the A6 that com-
bines the advantages of simple op-
eration, a perfect position, and con-
sistent logic.
The center console is also where
the button for the electromechani-
cal parking brake is located — an-
other feature inherited from the A8.
The A6’s sporty character is
most evident through its driving
comfort and agility. Powerful gaso-
line engines and advanced trans-
mission technology, as well as the
choice of front-wheel or quattro
permanent all-wheel drive, set the
foundation for the new A6.
To be offered initially are the
Audi A6 with 2.4 and 3.0 V6 gaso-
line engines and multitronic trans-
missions. Soon to follow are vari-
ants fitted with the 3.0 TDI V6
turbo diesel engine and 4.2 V8 gaso-
line engines, quattro drivetrain and
Innova road
trek adventure
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.
(TMP) hosted its friends in the
media to a first-of-its-kind event
dubbed as the Innova Road Trek
Adventure on April 20 to 22, 2005.
The new multipurpose vehicle of
Toyota — the Innova — has estab-
lished itself as the best selling vehi-
cle in the country in less than two
months after its introduction.
Toyota organized the event to let
its friends in the media experience
firsthand the new features and revo-
lutionary performance of the new
Innova through an innovative and
exciting test drive activity that will
take them from the “Heart of the
Philippines,” Iloilo City, to the is-
land paradise of Boracay.
The Innova boasts of stylish ex-
terior features, remarkable car-like
comfort, a solid frame and en-
hanced suspension, all around
safety, technologically advanced D-
4D and VVT-i engines and the
promise of a global quality.
The Innova Road Trek Adven-
ture took the various media teams
with their respective Innovas from
Iloilo to Caticlan with various stops
along the way.
Media teams were asked to per-
form stunts and activities highlight-
ing the features of the Innova. The
event culminated in the island para-
dise of Boracay where all partici-
pants were given time to relax, re-
charge and enjoy the best of world-
renowned beach destination.
The new Innova has already
become the best selling vehicle in
the market with a two-month sales
total of 2,161 units, outselling any
other vehicle in the market today.

Shell and Ferrari renew MOTORSCENE

Hyundai seeking to produce F1 partnership to 2010

rear-drive luxury cars in 2007
Seoul— South Korea’s Hyundai
Motor Co. said on Monday it may
produce rear-wheel-drive luxury
cars around 2007 to emulate the
success of BMW’s premium cars
and Toyota’s Lexus, and also churn
out hybrid cars later in 2006.
The moves by the country’s top
automaker, which controls half the
home market, is seen as a step to-
wards its goal of being among the
world’s top five car makers by 2010.
“We have not decided in what
brand the luxury model will be, but
rear-drive cars like BMW and
Toyota Lexus will be launched
around 2007,” a Hyundai spokes-
man said by telephone.
It currently produces only front-
wheel-drive cars. Hyundai and its
affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will also
bring forward by a year, to end-
2006, plans to sell small-size hybrid
cars to the United States, the spokes-
man said.
The first hybrid models will be
sub-compact cars of Hyundai’s Ac-
cent and Kia’s Rio, which share pro-
duction platforms.
Hyundai would not churn out
large-size hybrid vehicles for a while
because of their low profitability,
the spokesman added.
Like many South Korean ex-
porters, Hyundai is having to cope
with a stronger won currency and
higher steel prices, as well as a slug-
gish local economy. Its first-quarter
operating profits tumbled by almost
one third.’
In another development, Kia
Motors is recalling 24,119 Rio se-
dans in the United States because
their wheels could crack and come
off the vehicle, according to federal
safety regulators.
The vehicles from the Korean
carmaker affected by the recall,
which is set to begin at the end of
May, are from the 2001 model year,
the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) said.
“If cracking is severe, the wheel
could fail and separate from the
mounting hub and possibly result
in loss of vehicle control and a
crash,” NHTSA said in an advisory
on its Web site recently. — Reuters
Shell has renewed its technical
partnership with Ferrari for a
further five years from 2006 until
the end of 2010, in which Shell will
continue to provide fuels and
lubricants to Ferrari’s road car
division as well as its racing opera-
tion.
Luca Di Montezemolo, Ferrari
president and chief executive officer,
Jean Todt, Ferrari managing direc-
tor and Rob Routs, Shell Down-
stream CEO re-signed the sponsor-
ship contract in Imola at the San
Marino Grand Prix last week.
Powering and protecting Ferrari
road cars and its racing operations,
Shell products were used in the very
first Ferrari cars and Shell played a
key role in Ferrari’s first Formula
One appearance in 1950.
Since then Shell has powered
Ferrari to eight Formula One Con-
structors’ crowns and 11 Drivers’
titles. Since 1996, Shell has pio-
neered trackside analysis techniques
that account in part for Ferrari phe-
nomenal mechanical reliability
record.
“Shell gives us a real competitive
advantage in terms of reliability and
performance. In fact our partner-
ship is now even more important
given the recent rule changes affect-
ing engine life. We have one of the
strongest technical relationships in
the pit lane and the partnership has,
and will continue to play a key role
in our success,” Mr. Todt said.
Juan Carlos Perez, Shell Brands
International vice president, added:
“We are delighted to re-sign with
Ferrari. Our relationship with
Ferrari is one of the most mutually
beneficial technical partnerships in Isuzu bus supply contract
automotive history.” Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) has released to Erjohn and Almark Transit Corp. (EATC)
Ferrari’s Formula One and road an Isuzu FTR33P (Front Door) 61-seater, air-conditioned bus that is powered by 200
car operations provide a formida- PS 6HH1 engine. IPC will supply a total of 50 units to EATC, which will be used as
ble testing ground for monitoring commuter buses for these routes: Alabang-Lawton; Dasmariñas, Cavite-Lawton; and,
such features as wear resistance, Balayan, Batangas-Lawton. These buses are designed in compliance with the gov-
high temperature engine thermal ernment’s Clean Air Act program and IPC’s new SEE Technology campaign (Safety,
protection systems and reduction of Economy, Environment-friendliness). Shown in photo: (L-R) Art Gavino, EATC Human
Resources/General Services manager; Lito Santiaguel, EATC president; Mario Ojales,
internal abrasion.
IPC Bus Sales manager; Tony Litonjua, Almazora Motors Corp. VP for marketing; and,
Today, the advances made by Engr. Ramil Mendoza, IPC technical manager.
Shell on the track feed the develop-
ment of products for the road. Shell
customers today can trace their fuel
and oil’s heritage back to the high-
performance products used by the
Ferrari team.

Friendly advice on proper honking from Bosch

The horn in your car is sup-
posed to be a safety device. Excessive
honking creates unnecessary and
unwanted noise pollution, stress
and conflict.
Robert Bosch Inc., a global
name in the fields of automotive
technology, power tools, car multi-
media and security systems, shares
some rules of honking that would
make driving less stressful and our
roads much friendlier for both
motorists and pedestrians. Bosch is
a world-renowned brand for car
horns, as it supplies some of the
leading car manufacturers world-
wide for their horns requirements.
Now let’s take the bull by the
horns:
The sound of drivers honking
their horns, specially in chorus, can
drive pedestrians, commuters and
other drivers on the road up the
wall.
If you are driving your vehicle
and are tempted to blow your horn,
you shouldn’t if:
“You are facing a pedestrian lane
and people are crossing. You should
slow down and keep quiet. Don’t
pressure pedestrians into dashing
across quickly. They are not in a
marathon race and are merely fol-
lowing standard traffic rules. So
should you.
“You are passing by a church,
school or hospital. People in these
places obviously need peace and
quiet, so don’t bother them. You
may end up in one or more of these
places if you don’t. See what hap-
pens to you if other drivers blow
their horns while you’re there, as-
suming you’re not at your wake.
“You’re trying to beat a red or
yellow light. Avoiding committing
this obvious traffic violation could
save your life, as well as that of
others.
“You’re stuck in heavy traffic.
Honking eases neither traffic con-
gestion nor stress. It does the exact
opposite.
“You’re behind a slow-moving
vehicle. The driver may be sick, lost
or having problems with his vehicle.
“You’re very upset or angry over
something. In such a situation, let
someone else drive. Better yet, take
public transport.
But special situations do require
you to warn others while you are on
the road driving.
Blow your horn if:
• Someone suddenly crosses the
road, where there is no pedestrian
lane in front of you. Do it after
stepping on the brakes.
• You are about to turn left or
right into another road. A short
honk should warn other drivers or
pedestrians of your presence.
• You are facing a vehicle moving
in the opposite direction in your
lane.
• You are on narrow mountain
roads and can’t see at least 200 feet
ahead.
So next time you lean heavily on
your car horn and honk indiscrimi-
nately, think twice. Remember these
friendly “honking” tips from Bosch
Automotive. The message it sends
is definitely loud and clear.
Special guest at Wheel Gallery
Wheel Gallery, the company which introduced the “DUBS” look in the Philippines,
recently played host to Richard Saberton, SEMA vice presidentfor operations for
the Asia-Pacific Region. Saberton was in town for a week long observatory tour of
the domestic aftermarket industry. His Philippine visit was arranged by Tradeshow
International, the outfit behind Transport Show and the soon to be launched Ma-
nila Auto Salon. “I have heard of great things about the aftermarket mafia. Their
customization and modification of sport utility vehciles and compact sedans are at
par with the US market in terms of creativity and design. We look forward to their
participation in SEMA shows in the very near future,” says Mr. Saberton. Photo shows
Mr. Saberton posing with Wheel Gallery and Tradeshow officials (from left) led by:
Atoy Llave of A-TOY Paint and Body Kits, Sophie de los Santos of Tradeshow Interna-
tional, Richard Saberton of SEMA, Sammy Liuson, president of Wheel Gallery and
Arvin Lim of Makna Marketing.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
EO 419
NOT SO FAST When it comes to tax
collection, no one is better
TITO F. HERMOSO
equipped to pursue and
achieve the singular pur-
pose of tax collection than
the collector himself/her-
self. We have many of
those, and for the sake of
our constant fiscal
hemorrhaging, we really
need them. But in the so-
cioeconomic scheme of
things, economic policy
and strategic considera-
tions must and do come
above narrow-targeted tactical concerns. For it is up to
policy planners and economists to balance tax collec-
tion with its impact on the varying shades of gray in a
national economy.
Fortunately, this country has no shortage of econo-
mists, in the executive branch, who know what they are
doing. Even those with business backgrounds are now
well steeped in the workings of the dismal science. Now
if I believe what I said, executive orders like EO 419 won’t
have a chance of being passed into law. Never mind if it
states that it is a stopgap measure, a panacea that will
be good for one year. We all know that certain so-called
temporary laws [like the “color-coding” instituted to
ease traffic on EDSA “only” for the duration of the MRT
construction] have a habit of self-perpetuation.
EO 419 throws us back to the days before the excise
tax reform of 2003. Prior to the passage of the new ex-
cise tax, tax laws were far from being “level playing field”
as it favored small and stressed engines mistakenly
thinking that they were fuel efficient. That was 1960s’
thinking based on 1970s’ technology. Today, the buying
public is at least aware that energy efficiency is a func-
tion of power-to-weight ratio. It is no longer a surprise
to many people that a 1500-kg car propelled by a 1300-
cc engine if far thirstier than the same 1500-kg car pro-
pelled by a 2.0-liter engine.
In fact the EO as constituted, curiously rehashes the
obsolete 2.1-liter gas and 3.2-liter diesel engine displace-
ment threshold for the new 5% tax to kick in. Filipinos
love multi-passenger vehicles. And the typical MPV seats
seven and weighs close to 2,000 kgs. By this time, it is
no longer a surprise to thinking and analytical Filipino
car owners that the same MPV powered by a 4-liter V6
is almost as thrifty as the those powered by a 2.7-liter
four cylinder. Again, power to weight ratio. As to fuel
conservation, fuel taxes already take a bite in driving
habits of ALL Filipinos, big-engine car-owning rich in-
cluded. Gas stations are closing as economic activity
slows due to the scaled down businesses suffering from
high energy costs.
Though I don’t expect tax collectors to do their
simulations, I seriously expect economists to do so. Data
show that the above 2.1-liter imported CBU market in
the first quarter is only 11% of the market the 1,250
unit “big” engine market and motorcycles above 250cc
are even smaller. I don’t mind tax collectors making the
mistake of thinking that its a simple case of raising col-
lections by multiplying sales by the 5% tax and voila —
more tax revenue. They are free to commit the same
mistaken assumptions they did more than a decade ago
when they raised the tax on 4x4 SUVs, only to see that
market disappear and later on reappear as grey market
imports, “paying” grey taxes and now the right-hand-
drive (RHD) castoffs from Japan that have 60% of total
registrations in the national market. Not only do these
completely-built unit (CBU) imports continue to
threaten 78,000 jobs and the viability of the local car
makers and parts manufacturers, they also do not con-
tribute as much to alleviate the fiscal problem. Econo-
mists who do their homework will most likely see the
demise of the legal big engine luxury car market and
the Phoenix-like rise of the grey market if this EO 419
is implemented. No way, the tax collectors say? For three
to four years now, the government has thrown the book
at them, practically begged, stole and borrowed but the
RHD imports continue to thrive, taxed ever so lightly.
Since every two-handed economist always says “on
the other hand,” they should make the dedicated tax
collectors see that every big-engined BMW, Volvo, Jag-
uar, Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler, etc. they see on the
street is not a juicy target for more taxes. These cars
have paid their dues. Look at the thousands of converted
RHD vehicles, a result of Japan’s unique and extremely
cheap used car market. Now there’s a juicy target.
MOTORING S2 / 7
BY RYAN P. OLIVA
Best car brands under one roof
Twenty-two of the best car brands gathered in the Motors Inc., exhibited five cars representing each gen-
First Manila International Motor Show from April 28 eration of the SL lineup. This started with a restored
to April 30 at the World Trade Center, Roxas Boulevard, 1956 190 SL which was recently shipped to Singapore
Manila. for an exhibition, to its current-model descendant, the
BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Hummer, SL 350.
Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Mazda, Celebrating its 30th year anniversary of the 3 Series,
Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan (Universal BMW displayed a lineup of sport sedans starting from
Motors Corp.), Peugeot, Ssyang Yong, Toyota, a classic 1975 model to the all-new 330i and 320i.
Volkswagen and Volvo showed their latest and upcoming Ford exhibited the oldest Ford in the Philippines, a
models at the Trade Center’s 5,700-square-meter 1930 Model-A alongside some thoroughbred classic
exhibition hall. Mustangs.
Events organizer Worldbex Services International Toyota’s TF103 Formula One car, Ford’s World Rallye
(WSI), in cooperation with the Chamber of Automotive Car-inspired Focus, and Mazda’s RX-8 were also put on
Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), presented display.
the event. WSI President Joseph L. Ang explained that Mitsubishi showcased a full lineup of the powerful
the event’s goal was to boost the local automotive in- Lancer Evolutions starting from the Evo I to the Evo
dustry. “This is our humble contribution to nation build- VIII.
ing,” he said. Chrysler and Dodge’s local distributor, CATS
Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Motors, brought in their new Chrysler 300 Touring and
Board Chairman Ma. Elena H. Bautista, Truck Manu- its Hemi-powered brother, the 300C. The limited-
facturers’ Association President Luie Dy Buncio, CAMPI edition CLK Armani Cabriolet was also there.
President Elizabeth Lee, and members of the diplomatic Kia and Hyundai went practical with new common
corps graced the event’s opening ceremonies. rail diesel-powered variants of the Sorento sport utility
“We are cognizant of the fact that we cannot attain vehicle (SUV) and Matrix hatchback, respectively.
our objective without the active participation and Volvo, through its local distributor Viking Cars, Inc.,
cooperation of the private sector — the true engine of brought its high-performance S60R for the discerning
progress that propels the nation to growth and car enthusiast.
prosperity,” Ms. Bautista said. Albert Arcilla, president and chief executive officer
“With more than a hundred vehicles on exhibit, I of Viking Cars, said that through the show, they aimed
believe we have successfully communicated the message to share the Volvo experience.
that the Philippine auto industry is in the up and out, “It’s not just about the cars. We want to espouse and
that it is progressive and daring,” Ms. Lee added. present to the market the Volvo lifestyle. That’s why we
The show organizers chose “Gateway to Asia” as the did a Volvo lifestyle area so that people can see the values
central theme for the inaugural show to highlight the that Volvo stands for. We just don’t stand for good cars.
onset of increased globalization and growing vehicle and We want our clients to have a good driving ownership
original equipment manufacturer export opportunities. and experience. We have a complete lineup from the
They aimed to test the ASEAN waters with the goal of compact cars to the SUVs. We have the S40, the V50,
turning Manila into a serious contender for the title of the S80 and the XC90, which is our newest SUV.”
“Detroit of Southeast Asia.” The motoring lifestyle is one of the thrusts of the
More than 10 new models made their public debut. show. Visitors tried the vehicles’ performance through
BMW’s 3 Series, Chrysler’s 300C and Town & Country, test drives outside the exhibit hall. Ford even had a
Dodge Durango, Hyundai’s Getz, Matrix CRDi, Sonata special off-road track built just for the occasion.
and Tucson, Mercedes-Benz’s new CLS-Class, and Jason Ang, one of the co-organizers, said one of their
Peugeot’s re-launched 307 SW and 807 van were reasons in putting up the motor show was to “provide a
displayed. cost-effective launch venue for brand-new 2005 model
Classic and concept cars were also shown. offerings.”
Mercedes-Benz recently celebrated 50 years of its “We hope to enhance cooperation among the auto
venerable SL model and its Philippine distributor, CATS industry’s members,” he added.
Automechanika Asia 2005 billed a ‘success’
Even in the simmering, windy, in the show. over 680 visitors coming from over-
flowery and sometimes showery The Philippines was represented seas, notably Australia, Singapore,
May days of Kuala Lumpur, every by Uniqpoint Marketing, makers of Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Thai-
sojourner in the Malaysian capital Uniq Engine Treatment and other land and Taiwan.
will find himself amazed at how the maintenance car care products and “The automotive industry in
country’s stable tiger economy could lubricants, and Motolite batteries. Southeast Asia is at a very promis-
attract visitors, buyers and partici- In their joint statement at the ing stage, with growth seen across
pants to a trade show such as the launching of Uniq products in the the region,” said Alex Wong, trade
Automechanika Asia. ASEAN region in the same venue, fairs group manager for Messe
The fourth staging of Steve Te, executive vice-president Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.
Automechanika Asia, held April 6 to and chief operating officer of The show housed a full range of
9, 2005 at the Putra World Trade Uniqpoint Marketing and Lee Yuen auto parts and components, acces-
Center in Kuala Lumpur, was judged Kee, managing director of Oriental sories and tuning products, and re-
“a complete success” by all partici- Kaisha Sdn Bhd, Uniq overseas dis- pair and maintenance equipment.
pants, according to Angel Ho, me- tributor, said: “Automechanika Asia Exhibitors from the local market
dia center chief of Messe Frankfurt is the super stage for our products and from overseas commented on
(HK) Ltd., organizers of the event. to take off in the world market. We the good visitor flow and amount
Over 5,800 buyers from 50 coun- are confident this auspicious of exposure they received through
tries trooped to the show, establish- launching of our products here at being at the show.
ing its significance on both the na- Automechanika Asia will have its “I would estimate we have seen
tional and international markets and impact not only in the ASEAN re- about 2,500 visitors, from numer-
publics for the automotive aftermar- gion, but also in other parts of the ous countries in Europe and Asia,
ket sector in the Southeast East re- world, since many buyers from all plus the United States. This visitor
gion. over the world are here.” mix really helps us market our
“The feedback and comments The presentation and demon- brand internationally as well as to
from the exhibitors and many visi- stration of Uniq products “proved to the high-end local market,” said
tors were extremely positive and en- be the main crowd drawer at the Fadhlan Nik Abdul Aziz of
couraging. And the business atmos- Malaysian Pavilion where the Uniq Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Malay-
phere was palpable,” she said. booth was located, as inquiries and sia.
A total of 126 exhibitors from 17 on-site orders kept pouring in since For the visitors, Automechanika
countries such as Australia, France, day one,” Mr. Lee said. Asia represented a chance to see
Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, All the returning exhibitors felt trends and developments in the au-
Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, the significant improvement in visi- tomotive servicing sector, as well as
Philippines, Mainland China, Singa- tor traffic. an overview of what new products
pore, Taiwan, Thailand, United In fact, visitor numbers were up and equipment were available in the
Kingdom and the USA, participated 65% from the last show in 2003, with global market.
 8 / S2 BULLETINS
RP, Chile discuss bilateral relations
Vice-President Noli de Castro recently
met with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos
Escobar and two top Cabinet officials of the
Chilean government in a series of talks on
RP-Chile relations, socialized housing,
trade and investment, and counter-terror-
ism.
Mr. de Castro held separate meetings
with Mr. Lagos, Vice-President and Minis-
ter of Interior Jose Miguel Unsilza, and
Minister of Housing and Urbanization
Sonia Tschorne Berestsky on his first offi-
cial visit to Chile.
The Vice-President cemented the Phil-
ippine government’s commitment to work
closely with Chile to improve both coun-
tries’ socialized housing programs.
“In particular, President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo is very keen on learning
SSS to build new
high-rise building
The Social Security System (SSS) is plan-
ning to construct a high-rise building at the
heart of Quezon City to serve as its new cor-
porate headquarters — a development that
would attract major financial and commer-
cial business to the area, SSS President and
Chief Executive Officer Corazon de la Paz
said.
Ms. de la Paz said the 33-storey twin tow-
ers to be located at the corner of EDSA and
East Avenue will provide better facilities to
its growing membership that now stands at
more than 25 million.
“The project will transform the area
into a new central business district and
contribute immensely to the economic
development of Quezon City,” Ms. de la
Paz said. The project was presented to the
members of the Quezon City Council
during a meeting at the SSS office re-
cently. The city council has to reclassify
the area from institutional to a metropoli-
tan commercial zone.
Dubbed as the “SSS Corporate Center,”
the project is described as a “mixed-use de-
velopment.” It will also house the SSS infor-
mation technology center in addition to a
residential area and a shopping mall.
Ms. de la Paz said the National Economic
Development Authority-Inter-agency Coor-
dinating Committee (NEDA-ICC) has ini-
tially approved the project, which will be
carried out under a build-operate-transfer
scheme that would not require cash outlay
on the part of the SSS.
Quezon CityMayor Sonny Belmonte has
endorsed the project, and the reclassifica-
tion bill was scheduled for second delibera-
tion this week, city council majority floor
leader Ariel Inton said. Mr. Inton added that
he does not expect any major snag in the
council’s approval of the project.
“We expect to start construction of the
property before the year ends,” Ms. de la Paz
said.
BRIEFS
DTI seminar
The Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) of the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will con-
duct a seminar dubbed as,“Let Your English Work
at Work” on May 6 at the PTTC Bldg. located at
Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.The seminar will cover top-
ics such as identifying communication anxiety
level, the English fluency building blocks, gram-
mar value, managing English communication ap-
prehensions at work, and many others. For inquir-
ies and reservations, call 834-1344 to 49 local 319,
831-9988, or fax at 834-1343.
Sony promo
The three-year warranty promo for Sony Cybershot
and Sony Handycam has been extended up to June
30. The promo covers various Cybershot and
Handycam models.The three-year warranty covers
parts and service.Those who will avail of the promo
will also receive gift certificates worth P1,000 up to
P5,000, depending on the purchase. This promo is
offered in all branches of AVSurfer, AVID Sony Shop,
and Best Brands nationwide. For more information,
call 834-1541 to 48 local 108 or 120.
Sun Cellular promo
Sun Cellular’s “24/7 Text Unlimited Lite” promo,
gives all active Sun prepaid subscribers the
chance to enjoy two days of round-the-clock
texting for only P20.To avail, text TU<space>2 and
send to 247. Promo runs until May 31. For more
information, visit www.suncellular.com.phor call
395-8000.
CLARIFICATION
The photograph of East West Banking
Corp. President and Chief Executive Elrey
Ramos, which came out on section 2
page 3 last May 2, was taken by Jojo
Uñalivia.
NOTE: Press and photo releases are published in this paper free of charge. Priority will be accorded releases of news value, which are subject to editing. Releases may be
e-mailed to bulletins@bworld.com.ph. Materials sent become BW property.
more about the Sociales Viviendasprogram
of Chile, which was proven to be very ef-
fective in reducing the housing deficit in
the country,” Mr. de Castro said.
He also expressed President Arroyo’s
interest in expanding trade between the
two countries.
In 2003, Chile ranks as the Philippines’
44th global trading partner, and fourth in
the Latin American region. Trade has al-
ways been in favor of Chile due to the high
importation of copper concentrates.
“We wish to improve the balance of
trade with Chile, in particular, explore ar-
eas where our country can improve our
exports to Chile,” Mr. de Castro said.
He specifically mentioned the country’s
wish to export fresh and dried mangoes to
Chile.
DBP confers award to EPCIBank
The Development Bank of the Philip-
pines (DBP) has awarded Equitable PCI
Bank (EPCIBank) as the Most Outstand-
ing Participating Financial Institution for
2004 under the Japan Bank for Interna-
tional Cooperation (JBIC) Facilities for
large-scale shipping industries.
DBP commended EPCIBank for its
achievement in energizing the growth of
industries and its contribution towards
fast-tracking development initiatives in the
country.
EPCIBank Chairman Antonio L. Go, to-
gether with Executive Vice-President and
Credit, Products and Subsidiaries Group
Head Sergio Ll. Naranjilla, Jr., received the
award from DBP Senior Executive
VicePresident Panser E. Tumangan, DBP
Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief
Operating Officer Edgardo F. Garcia, DBP
President and Chief Executive Officer
Reynaldo G. David, Finance Secretary Cesar
V. Purisima, JBIC Senior Representative
Tadashi Unoki, and DBP Chairman
Vitaliano N. Nañagas II.
Also present during the ceremonies was
the team of EPCIBank special lending de-
partment, which was instrumental in the
achievement of the citation. They were
PSO forges link with C-Network
The Philippine Society of Oncologists
(PSO) recently signed a Memorandum of
Cooperation (MoC) with the C-Network
to intensify the nationwide fight against can-
cer. The C-Network is an anti-cancer advo-
cacy campaign that aims to cultivate a holis-
tic approach and more positive outlook on
cancer, its treatment, cure, and prevention.
It is also an alliance of fight-cancer-fo-
cused individuals and organizations that
seek to enhance the standards of informa-
tion and education of the public and the
support of cancer patients and their fami-
lies in the Philippines.
Through this recent partnership, the
PSO will be able to utilize the C-Network
to maximize the benefits of technology to
empower cancer survivors and care givers
to be more proactive and independent de-
cision makers.
Through its information-power and
community-building initiatives, the C-
PRESENT DURING the Memorandum of Cooperation signing (from left) were PSO vice-president Dr. Divina Esteban,
PSO president Dr. Rafael S. Claudio, Roche Philippines general manager Warwick Bedwell, and Roche Philippines busi-
ness initiatives manager Betchy Inocencio.
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nal users with personalized melodies upon
receipt of e-mails. Users just need to encode
their e-mail address list into the Mail Checker
where one melody representation will be
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
“We have presented a working plan for
the export of our fresh mangoes to Chile
with vapor heat quarantine treatment, and
we are looking forward to the full imple-
mentation of this plan,” Mr. de Castro
added.
He also encouraged Chilean businessmen
to invest in copper mining in the Philippines
through joint venture arrangements.
Mr. de Castro reiterated the Philippine BSP gets ISO certification
government’s commitment to further Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Alberto V. Reyes (right) receives the ISO 9001:2000 Certificate
strengthen ties with Chile and other Latin awarded to BSP’s Supervision and Examination Sector for implementing a Quality Management System for the provi-
American countries, specifically through sion of licensing services for banks and nonbanks with quasi-banking functions. The award is presented by executives
the forum for East Asia-Latin America Co- of certifying body TUV Philippines: Business Development Manager Reyland Nepomuceno (left) and Managing Direc-
operation (FEALAC). tor and General Manager Jocelyn de los Reyes (center).
He also emphasized the country’s firm
stand against terrorism and its support for
various international resolutions and cov-
enants against terrorist threats.
composed of Assistant Vice-President
Rolando L. Dillague, Vivian B. de Chavez,
Rosebella V. Linco, and Agnes P. Santos. German gov’t aids in rehabilitation efforts in Quezon province
EPCIBank has been a consistent recipi- The German government, represented by ambassador Axel Weishaupt (fifth from right), through the German Devel-
ent of various awards from bilateral and opment Cooperation (GTZ), recently entrusted its accomplished ventures totaling 14,000 euros (approximately P10
million) in the area. Also present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were (from left) Fr. Francisco Macabenta, Municipal
multilateral funding institutions.
Agrarian Reform Officer Romeo Viado, GTZ Regional Office Deputy Director Dr. Herwig Mayer, Embassy of the Federal
Other institutions which have acknowl-
Republic of Germany Development Counsellor Karin Jahr de Guerrer, and Infanta Mayor Filipina Grace America.
edged the bank’s support to small- and
medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and
large-scale enterprises in the past include
Trade and Investment Development Corp.,
Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp.
(Quedancor), Countryside Loan Fund Pro-
grams of the Land Bank of the Philippines,
and the Overseas Economic Cooperation
Fund, Export-Import Bank of Japan, the
World Bank, and the Asian Development
Bank programs of the Development Bank
of the Philippines.
Marking its 55th year this year, EPCIBank
is presently the country’s third largest bank-
ing group, enjoying top-tier standing in cor-
porate and commercial banking, treasury,
trust banking, credit and payment cards,
remittances, leasing, and investment bank-
ing. It has over 400 branches and more than
500 FASTeller automated teller machines
(ATMs) nationwide, with access to 5,500 MSU recognizes USAID’s education aid
Robert Wuertz (right), chief of United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Economic De-
BancNet, MegaLink, and ExpressNet ATMs.
velopment and Governance (OEDG), receives an award from Dr. Camar Umpa (center), president of Mindano State
University (MSU), in recognition of USAID’s steadfast commitment to uplift the quality of education in the Autono-
mous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other conflict-affected areas in Mindanao (CAAM). Also in photo is
Michael Langsdorf, deputy program manger for education and governance of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao
(GEM) Program.
Network hopes to significantly contribute
to the new perspective of cancer awareness
among Filipinos, urging all concerned to-
wards healthy lifestyles, compliance to well-
adult check-up, early cancer detection, and
appropriate treatment. Currently, the C-
Network information campaign is imple-
mented through a series of print materi-
als, including the Filipino and English
versions of the C-Network Pamphlet Se-
ries; a comprehensive publicity cam- GSK promotes adult vaccination
paign; and through the official website, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a research-based pharmaceutical company, is strengthening its adult vaccination campaign
www.cnetwork.org.ph by involving more healthcare providers from different specialties and from key hospitals and clinics nationwide to
Roche Philippines, Inc., the local subsid- encourage and to educate their adult patients to take their shots to avoid contracting vaccine-preventable diseases.
iary of the world’s leading pharmaceutical The GSK family of vaccines includes vaccines against hepatitis A and B, influenza, measles, typhoid fever, chicken pox,
and diagnostics form, is one of the key part- meningococcemia, among others. The GSK Adult Vaccination campaign is a response to the growing global concern
ners in the C-Network. about increasing morbidity and mortality rates among adults brought about by illnesses that could have been pre-
Present during the MoC signing are PSO vented by immunization. Photo shows (from left) GSK Corporate Affairs Manager Miko Neri, GSK Disease Area Man-
president Rafael Claudio, M.D.; Roche Phils. ager Cecile Hernandez, Dr. Remedios Coronel, Dr. Lulu Bravo, and GSK Vice-President Millie Lozada at a recent media
forum.
General Manager Warwick Bedwell; and
Roche Phils. Business Initiatives Manager
Lilibeth Inocencio.
AFP honors partners, donors
The Educational Benefit System Office (EBSO) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) honored its partners, do-
nors, and friends at cocktails held recently at Camp Aguinaldo where organizations supporting the education of the
soldiers’ orphans and dependents were given appreciation award each. Meralco Foundation, Inc. (MFI) is one institu-
tion that offered its scholarship program and has graduated 90 scholars from EBSO since year 2000. Photo shows MFI
president Col. Alex T. Escaño (left) receiving the award from Gen. Efren Abu (center), Chief of Staff of AFP, and EBSO
Chairman Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan (right).
Makati mayor cites Manila Water’s program
Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay (third from left) presents a “green award” to Manila Water Co., Inc. at the recent Earth
Day celebrations. Mayor Binay cited Manila Water’s program to expand sewerage and sanitation services in the east
3728 or e-mail iracho@msi-digiland.com.ph zone of Metro Manila as one of the major components in the strategy to improve the quality of the environment.
Manila Water’s Sustainable Development Manager Jeric Sevilla (second from right) and Corporate Communications
Director Joel Lacsamana (right) receive the award while Ayala Land group head Marivic Anonuevo (left) and Makati
Environment Foundation President Roland Young (second from left) look on.

BUSINESSWORLD NEWS
UPDATED DAILY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
ONLINE
bworldonline.com
bworld.net
BRIEFS
Galleria Duemila
An Oriental flavor runs through the
new works on paper of painter-sculptor
Roberto M. A. Robles. The series
constitutes his latest one-man exhibit
at Galleria Duemila, SM Megamall
which runs from May 5-29.
Metaphorical Thoughts IIby Roberto Robles
Landbank
Paulino S. Dimalanta captures nature
with deft brush strokes in his one-man
show, Dreamland, from May 6 to 27 at
the Landbank headquarters in Malate.
Over the decades, Dimalanta has made
his mark not only as a andscape artist,
but also as a portraitist.
Dreamland by Paulino Dimalanta
Mag:net Gallery Paseo
Polycreationists, Andy Maluche’s first
solo exhibition at Mag:net Gallery
Paseo, is ongoing until May 16. Mr.
Maluche celebrates the multiplicity of
contemporary individuals and media
through an entire collage wall of large-
scale colored photographs.
Polycreativists by Andy Maluche
The Podium
The works of renowned Israeli
photographer Shai Ginott are on view
in From the Beginning
, an exhibition that
will run from May 5 to 10. From the
Beginning features Ginott’s works
which portray imaginary landscapes
composed of photos superimposed on
one another, juxtaposed with
quotations from the Bible. On view at
The Podium’s Lounge Area in the mall’s
second level.
Then God blessed the, and God said to
them, Be Fruitfull and Multiply… (Genesis Miguel Beer, for the man was as
1:28) by Shai Ginott
Shangri-La Plaza
The European Union and Shangri-La
Plaza will hold a series of events
celebrating Europe this month. These
are: It’s Only The Color of the Shirt That for Culture and the Arts on April
Counts, an exhibit of memorabilia from
the top football teams (Level 4, Shaw
Boulevard wing), May 2 -15; On a High freely.
Profile, a concert of popular European
arias starring Nolyn and Lisa Cabahug,
Cynthia Alexander, Jay Cayuca, Judith
Banal, Butch Montejo, Bobby Gomez,
May 6, 7 p.m., Grand Atrium; Mummy Filipino! Odyssey of a Nationwhich
Dearest, a Mother’s Day concert fea-
turing the Philippine Symphonic
Band and Cebu’s Peace Philharmonic
Philippines, May 8, 3 p.m.; Baile, a
showcase of dances from Spain as
per formed by the students of
Guillermo Gomez Rivera, May 13, 7
p.m., Grand Atrium.
/1-4
S3
BY CARMELITO Q. FRANCISCO , Correspondent
Davao kicks off Heritage Month
D AVAO C ITY — The colors and
shapes fascinated the guests. “There
is nothing like Mindanao heritage,”
said Cecille Guidote-Alvarez,
executive director of the National
Commission for Culture and the
Arts (NCCA). She went on to praise
Mindanao for its rich ethnicity
which has been preserved despite
influences from the outside world.
Ms. Alvarez was referring to the
exhibit at the Apo View Hotel
entitled Mindanao Heritage
Rediscovered where items on
Mindanao culture were displayed.
Impressed by what she saw, Ms.
Alvarez said NCCA is further
strengthening the preservation of
Mindanao’s heritage. She said the
agency will continue supporting
schools of living traditions in order
to propagate what Mindanao
culture is all about. The island’s
I
n 2004, concerned citizens of
Taal, Batangas were in an
uproar over the construction of
an adoration chapel in the middle
of the courtyard of St. Martin de
Tours Basilica. The late Bishop Jose
Salazar, then the parish priest,
headed the project.
The townsfolk opposing the
construction pointed out that it
was undertake illegally. Since the
Basilica is a National Shrine by vir-
tue of P.D. 1505, any construction,
remodelling or alteration requires
the consultation and approval of
the National Historical Institute
(NHI). It is believed that the Ba-
silica was patterned after the San
Agustin Church in Intramuros.
The case of Taal is but one of
many facing heritage conser-
vationists in the country.
During a forum on heritage at
the Lumiere Gallery on April 27,
well-known conservators and
members of the Heritage
Conservation Society, headed by
Gemma Cruz-Araneta, discussed
issues regarding “Heritage and
Patrimony.”
Noted sculptor Ramon Orlina,
a native of Taal, said that the
adoration chapel, aside from being
built without a building permit,
was ill-placed. It was placed right
smack at the middle of the
courtyard, blocking the church’s
ventilation. In addition, becasue of
its position in the church’s inner
courtyard, the adoration chapel can
be accessed only through the
church’s main doors which are
closed during off hours — yet an
adoration chapel should be open at
all hours to the public.
Concerned citizens of Taal
brought this to the attention of
NHI Chairman Ambeth Ocampo.
The NHI subsequently offered its
assistance to come up with
BY JOSEFA LABAY CAGOCO, Reporter
Remembering Nick Joaquin
T
here is perhaps no better
way to remember National
Artist Nick Joaquin than
with a toast of his beloved San
famous for his passion for drinking
as for his literary genius.
Indeed during a special tribute
for him, Pag-alaala: Cheers to Nick
Joaquin Celebration of His Life and
Works, at the National Commission
28, beer and fond memories flowed
A special exhibition of Nick
Joaquin memorabilia is on display
at the NCCA lobby until May 4.
The video documentary Siglo
he wrote was also previewed that
night. It was co-produced by the
NCCA and GMA-7 and was di-
rected by Butch Nolasco.
Nephew Ed Joaquin recalled
how his uncle started his day with
two long shots of gin. “With this
Arts & Leisure
ALICIA A. HERRERA EDITOR
culture is different, she said.
“It’s like going to another
country,” echoed former beauty
queen Margarita Moran-Floirendo
who was part of the organizing
committee.
On Friday, April 30, the
National Heritage Month kicked
off here with a late afternoon dance
and song performance by Kaliwat
Theatre Collective in front of the
Davao City Hall. Members of the
group, in colorful native costumes
and using tribal instruments,
attracted an audience of close to a
thousand including foreign
tourists.
This is the second year the event
has been held since President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared
May to be National Heritage
Month.
Also part of the local event was
A tale of two churches
The St. Martin de Tours Basilica in Taal, Batangas
alternative solutions to the bishop
who, however, ignored it. Even
efforts by citizens of Taal to talk to
the bishop were ignored.
“Legally, architecturally,
aesthetically, it’s all wrong,” said Mr.
Orlina, who is also an architect.
Mr. Orlina decided to ask the
chairman of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines
Archbishop of Davao Fernando R.
Capalla, and the Apostolic Nuncio
to the Philippines, Fr. Antonio
Franco D.D., to intervene when the
single act he would start the day. I
often wondered about the magic of
the bottle. Once he had that
Ginebra San Miguel, he would turn
from a brooding, grumpy old man
into a jovial man.”
Nick Joaquin was many things,
many good things, to many people
— uncle, friend, colleague, mentor,
drinking buddy, inspiration.
His nephew remembers him as
an uncle who spoiled him rotten
and who took him and his siblings
to free movies when he was a censor
at the Movie Television Ratings and
Classification Board.
Philippine Ambassador to
Laos and owner of the Philippine
Gra phic An ton io Caban gon -
Chua said Nick Joaquin is sim-
ply irreplaceable. Joaquin was
editor-i n-chief of P hilippine
Graphic since its revival in Au-
gust 2003 and pushed for the res-
toration of the fiction and poetry
sections in the magazine.
SECTION 3 : SPORTS
a three-day exhibit showing old
bauls (chests), kris (Mindanao
swords), balanghay (wooden
boat)s, brassware, tribal costumes
and other accessories that are truly
Mindanaoan. The exhibit ended
May 2.
Mary Ann Montemayor,
Southern Philippines Tourism
Council chairman, said her group
and the NCCA are looking at
making the event an annual
undertaking here as part of their
awareness campaign on what
Mindanao is.
“This will allow our children and
our children’s children the chance to
see what really is Mindanao. We
need to educate them because the
advent of technology seems to draw
them away from our culture,” Ms.
Montemayor told the BusinessWorld
after the launching of the event.
construction proceeded despite the
protests.
The bishop carried on with the
project.
Finally, on March 17, 2004, Mr.
Orlina and four others representing
Taal parishioners, filed civil case
No. 163 against the Bishop and the
contractors for a writ of
preliminary injunction and a
temporary restraining order.
A TRO was granted on April 5,
2004 but Bishop Salazar tried to use
the incomplete building during
Philippine Graphicis one of the
last few national weeklies in circu-
lation and one of the last few pub-
lications promoting Philippine lit-
erature in its pages. The publica-
tion re-launched its literary awards
in 2003 though, unfortunately,
Mr. Joaquin did not live long
enough to see the winners an-
nounced last year. Thus, the maga-
zine has decided to rename its con-
test the Philippine Graphic Nick
Joaquin Literary Awards in honor
of “a man who has given so much
and taken so little.”
National Artist for Literature
Anding Roces remembered that
Nick Joaquin was Philippines Free
Press reporter who covered the
Department of Education while he
was secretary. When the original
manuscripts of Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo were stolen
from an exhibit, Mr. Roces went on
a detective mission to recover the
materials. When he finally did, Mr.
VOL. XVIII, ISSUE 199. ISSN 0116-3930
Ms. Montemayor also pointed
out that her group and the rest of
the organizing committee decided
to hold the exhibit at the Apo View
Hotel since “it is a historical land-
mark in Davao City and one of the
oldest hotels” in Mindanao. She
said the items displayed at the ex-
hibit “are living testaments to the
wealth and richness that character-
izes the different cultures of
Mindanao.”
Also showcased were products
that will be displayed at the
Mindanao Trade Expo in August.
“These products show that we
have gained recognition for our
unique craftsmanship,” said Ann
Pamintuan, Mindanao Trade Expo
Foundation president.
Ms. Pamintuan hopes that
Mindanao will be again given at-
tention because of its products
(Photo by Ramon Orlina)
Holy Week. On May 24, 2004, the
RTC handed down a writ of noted that heritage conservation
preliminary injunction against the is not only about churches but
defendants.
Bishop Salazar passed away late houses, schools, building, monu-
May of last year. The case, however, ments, and parks.
continues. If it is successfull, it will
be a legal precedent and a historic authenticity as one of the main
case against a powerful official of goals of heritage conservation. He
the Church.
NEW ROOF
St. William Cathedral in alive and building national identity.
historic Laoag was not as lucky. Its
wooden roof, made from 400 logs, it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” — JLC
Joaquin wrote about it in Anding
Roces Plays James Bond.
The night before he passed
away, his nephew visited him. “I
found a tired man, sitting [by] his
desk,” said Mr. Joaquin. “He said he
had done all he could and it was
time for him to go. ‘I’m ready to
meet my Maker.’”
Meet Him he did on the
morning of April 29, 2004, a few
days shy of his 87th birthday on May
4.
The loss was mourned deeply as
Nick Joaquin was highly regarded
as a Filipino genius and one of the
greatest Filipino writers in English.
A novelist, playwright, poet,
essayist, journalist, Mr. Joaquin
wrote extensively and was one of
the most prolific Filipino writers.
Among his best-known works
are the novel The Woman Who Had
Two Navels (1957), the play A
Portrait of the Artist as Filipino
(1966), the historical essays “The
Aquinos of Tarlac” (1983), and
“The Quartet of the Tiger Moon”
(1986), the book Manila, Manila,
My Manila (1990) and Culture and
History: Occasional Notes on the
S3/ 1
which have become synonymous
with the beauty of the island.
After the exhibit was opened
on Saturday, another event, also
part of the Mindanao Heritage
festivities, unfolded at the Davao
Convention and Trade Center
later that night. Local designers
unveiled clothes made of local
fabrics to the delight of the audi-
ence.
Leading the pool of designers
was Alfonso “Boy” Guino-o,
known as the local fashion dean.
Joining him in the show dubbed
Mindanao: Wind, Water and Earth:
A Fashion as a Performance Art
Show were younger generation de-
signers Aztec and Popoy Barba,
Dodgie Batu, Garimon Roferos
and Emi-Alexander Englis. Chore-
ographer Agnes Locsin directed
the fashion show.
was recently dismantled and re-
placed with steel, because of ter-
mites.
Conservators such architect
Miguel Manalo opposed and
lamented the fate of the Cathedral
because of the historic and
architectural significance of the
roofing.
The architecture of the roofing
traces its origins way back to
Andalucia and Mudejar art
transported to Spanish colonies
worldwide. Mr. Manalo pointed
out that, though patterned after the
European and American models,
the roof was given a unique,
Filipino solution.
“It’s a big wonder how this
whole thing came about,” said Mr.
Manalo who expressed awe for the
engineering feat required to haul
and put 400 logs up on the roof.
“And I have to remind you it’s
gone. Nothing has been left of it.”
Taking the whole roof out was
a drastic solution. He noted that
termites and holes in the roof
would not have been problems in
the first place had the church been
properly maintained.
“This is a structural prob-
lem,” he added. “I replace the
roof but [when] the rest of my
building is crumbling, it doesn’t
make sense.”
Architect Augusto Villalon
includes other structures such as
He stressed the importance of
underscored the importance of
heritage sites in keeping history
“We don’t want bagong luma. If
Process of Philippine Becoming
(1988).
Nick Joaquin was awarded the
Ramon Magsaysay Award for
Journalism and the Arts in 1996,
the Creative Communication Arts
in 1996, and the Tanglaw ng Lahi
in 1997. He was named National
Artist for Literature in 1976.
Despite all his achievements,
his nephew noted that “Tonching”
(short for Tito Onching) was “a
simple man who led a simple life,”
someone who loved to drink and
sing, someone who was always
ready to help, someone who en-
thusiastically nurtured young
writers.
“Nick Joaquin” said Mr. Roces,
“is the greatest Filipino next to Jose
Rizal.”
He loved to drink
and sing, was always
ready to help, and
enthusiastically
nurtured young
writers.
 2 / S3 ARTS & LEISURE WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005

Contemporary art captures growing ONSTAGE

JUAN ANTONIO

interest as New York’s auction season begins LANUZA

N EW Y ORK — Deep-pocketed
aficionados eager to acquire an art
masterwork are showing
heightened interest in post-modern
pieces, experts say, setting the stage
for what could be record prices for
contemporary works as the Spring
auction season gets under way this
week.
Prices for contemporary art
have soared in recent years, in large
part because of a dearth of works
by sought-after perennial
Impressionist favorites such as Van
Gogh and Cezanne, forcing would-
be art buyers to branch out to
consider more recent artists,
including Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons
and Willem De Kooning.
“An issue that we do face in the
Impressionist and modern field is
that there are few works available,”
said Nicholas Maclean, co-head of
Impressionist and modern art at
Christie’s auction house.
Almost no one expects to top
the world record breaking $104
million fetched last year by Picasso’s
1905 masterpiece, Boy with a Pipe.
But experts expect to sell more
contemporary works this year, at
prices that would have been
unheard of just a short time ago.
“Contemporary sales just seem
to get bigger and richer,” said
Matthew Carey-Williams, Vice-
President, of Sotheby’s
Contemporary Art department.
“Impressionist sales continue to
do extremely well and are the
premium sales, but there is a finite
amount of material for them, just
as there is for Old Masters.”
By contrast, “for contemporary,
it’s expansive,” Carey-Williams
added. “The client base seems to
grow, and the interest seems to
grow.”
CONTEMPORARY ART
Sotheby’s holds its first auction
of the two-week long Spring season
on May 3, while Christie’s opener
will be held on May 4. The
following week, both houses plan
to sell many premier contemporary
and postwar art pieces in this year’s
catalogue.
Bratt Gorvy, Christie’s
international co-head of Post-War
and Contemporary Art, agreed
CROSSWORD
1 2 3 4 5 6
with the assessment that “the
market overall is extremely strong
at the moment” for contemporary
works.
“A major Pollock today would
make more than a $100 million,” he
said. “The truly best of the best of
De Kooning could do also the $100-
million mark.”
Charles Moffett, Sotheby’s co-
chairman worldwide of
impressionist, modern and
contemporary art worldwide said
the high prices are being fueled by
“extraordinary demand.”
“There is much more demand
than there is supply,” he said.
“The hot market is
contemporary, so you get an
enormous amount of material, an
enormous amount of interest
specially from younger collectors in
the contemporary field,” Moffett
said.
“It depends on what becomes
available,” he continued, adding
that in particular “younger
collectors tend to gravitate towards
contemporary art.”
While much of the focus this
year is on contemporary pieces, a
handful of artworks from the
Impressionist and post-
Impressionists will also be on sale
this week.
Well-heeled art lovers have their
eye on Picasso’s neoclassical 1921
Head of a Woman that is expected
to fetch between $13 million and
$15 million.
Christie’s also is putting on the
auction block a recently discovered
sculpture from Constantin
Brancusi’s famed Bird in Space
series, which is expected to fetch
between $8 million and $12
million. The work was unknown
until it was recently discovered in
an attic in France.
Auctiongoers will also be eye-
ing a work by Alberto Giacometti,
Standing Woman (Leoni) which
could draw as much as $10 mil-
lion, as well as paintings by Im-
pressionists Claude Monet, Edgar
Degas and Edouard Vuillard.
Sotheby’s plans to sell a Picasso
from his famed Women of Algiers man Max Beckmann is antici- ers and reclining figure, is expected
series, which is likely to net between pated to bring a winning bid of to sell for between $15 million and
$15 million and $20 million.
7 8 9 10 11 12
Vase sets Qing Dynasty sales record in Hong Kong
HONG KONG - An ancient Chinese vase-within-a-vase sold for HK$44.9 million ($5.7 million)
in auction Monday in Hong Kong, setting a new world record for much sought-after Qing
Dynasty porcelain. The double-vase – featuring a small blue vessel within a 16-inch high
carved green-glazed hexagonal vase – was sold to a dealer in London. Bidding from around
the world started at HK$18 million and quickly escalated to beat the previous record for a
Qing Dynasty piece of HK$41.5 million, auction house Sotheby’s said. Dating from among
the most sought-after ceramic-making periods, the Qianlong era - which lasted from 1739
to 1799 - the vase is considered among the most important remaining examples of color-
glazed vessels. A 10-inch blue enameled box from the Kangxi period (1662-1722) also set
a record for Beijing enamel-copper pieces, selling for HK$19.7 million. AFP
A 1936 self-portrait by Ger- artist Vasily Kandinsky’s Two rid-
up to $15 million, while Russian $25 million.—AFP
Writer Purita Kalaw-Ledesma, 91
13
Drama and music
W hen I went to the Esplanade after a
late lunch on April 17, little did I
know that I would end up spending the
entire afternoon/evening there.
At 3 p.m. I attended a performance of Chay Yew’s powerful play
Porcelain, as presented by Toy Factory at the Esplanade Theatre Studio.
This 220-seat theater has a flexible space for small-scale performances.
For this production the stage was in the middle, length wise, with the
audience facing each other on both sides. This adult play (due to
dialog and situations) was Chay Yew’s graduate thesis movie script at
Boston University. He later adapted it for the stage during his post as
resident playwright at a London-based Asian theater company. It was
a hit; the play was bestowed the prestigious London Fringe Award for
Best Play. This play may be of interest to Jorge Ortoll’s Mayi Theater
group in New York City.
It is the story of extremes: love and hate, want and need, life and
death, bigotry, loneliness, violence, homophobia and the dark side of
an all-consuming passion. It attempts to bridge the gap between men
who publicly claim they are straight and the gay men who know better.
At the start of the play a man has been shot by a gay man. A
psychologist is tasked to determine whether or not the man was sane
at the time of the murder. He uses ink blot tests to determine the
man’s psychological health while unwittingly exposing his own
prejudice and homophobia. He has to pull a few tricks out of his bag
in order to convince the man to trust him and reveal his side.
Excellent performances were given by Nelson Chia as the gay man,
Andrew Mowatt as the psychologist and Mark Richmond as the victim
and also as the TV interviewer. Mr. Chia is currently the Associate
Artistic Director of Toy Factory and has been a friend and collaborator
with the company since 1993. As actor/director, he has worked with
various theater companies taking lead and major acting roles. He has
a BA in Theater Studios and an MA in directing and has designed
courses and taught theater as a subject in various academic
institutions. Mr. Moffat has spent the last five years as a drama
educator in Singapore. He has trained in the UK as a professional
actor and has appeared in plays in London, Winchester and at the
Edinburgh Festival. Mr. Richmond started out in theater in 1996 and
has since gained recognition for his work on stage, TV and the movies.
Goh Boon Teck and Beatrice Chia directed the play and kept the
pace of the play fast thus, the 90 minutes the play lasted did not drag.
From there I proceeded to the Esplanade Recital Studio to
purchase a ticket for the 7:30 p.m. closing concert of the Festa Canzone
2005 Art Song Festival.When I found out that they had just started a
Vocal Technique Class given by Korean tenor Kim Shin Whan, I
purchased a ticket and walked into the hall. Mr. Kim received his
musical education in Korea and France and received an Honorary
Doctor of Music degree in 1991 at the Mozarteum, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
His extensive performance experience has been in appearances in
oratorios. He has garnered top prizes in various song competitions
throughout France, Italy and Korea. He has given recitals and concerts
with many international orchestras and has sung at La Scala, the
Caglieri National Opera in Italy and the Bolshoi Opera House.
The master would correct the singers as they sang. He would
interrupt them, correct them, make them repeat the phrase they were
singing until they sang the phrase correctly in the manner he wanted.
Most of times he would use an interpreter. He emphasized the
importance of knowing the language of the song, the proper phrasing
and accentuation in order for the meaning of the song to be
transmitted to the audience. He showed how at times one had to sing

N
14 15 16 oted art patron and writer ing to the CCP Encyclopedia. In the as if the voice had to go through a wall. He also showed the importance
Purita Kalaw-Ledesma 1950s, she observed the “stag- of opening one’s mouth to let the voice out, as well as when it was
17 18 19 passed away on April 29 nation” of Philippine art and she necessary to open up ones pallate for some special effects.
after a lingering illness. She was 91. and other artists “tried to bridge the When this class ended at 6:30 p.m., I had time to have supper at a
20 21 22 23
Ms. Kalaw-Ledesma was the gap between Philippine art and its restaurant beside the theater in order to be able to attend the 7:30
24 25 26 daughter of Teodoro M. Kalaw and counterpart overseas.” p.m. Closing Concert of the Festa Canzone 2005 Art Song Festival. This
Pura Villanueva, and was married She was an awardee of the concert presented performances by the winners of this Art Song
27 28 29 30 31
to Rafael Ledesma. She originally National Culture and the Arts Festival. The concert opened with the winner, coloratura soprano Tan
32 33 34 35 36 wanted to pursue painting but was Gawad Dangal ng Haraya, a lifetime Sin Sim singing Donizetti’s Il Barcaiolo where she showed us her
convinced by her mother to achievement award, the Gawad coloratura ability. She next sang an Oriental composition, Oi yue de
37 38 39
transfer to education. She received CCP Para sa Sining, the President’s cai yuyan, a beautiful piece that had a Spanish Habanera rhythm.
40 41 42 a Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Pro Patria Award for the Promotion After this she sang Poulanc’s beautiful waltz, Les Chemis de L’armour.
Causa from the University of the of the Fine Arts. She closed her performance with a dramatic rendition of Strauss’
43 44 45 Philippines. She coauthored with Amadis Zueignung. First runner-up performer, bass Chew Keng Soon, sang
46 47 48 49 50 An ardent lover of the arts, Ms. Ma. Guerrero the books The Strug- beautifully Beethoven’s In Questa Tomba Oscurawhere he held for
Kalaw-Ledesma founded the Art gle for Philippine Artin 1974, and long periods beautiful long notes several times. Then he gave a
51 52 53 54 55 Association of the Philippines in Edades: National Artistin 1979. In dramatic rendition of Vaughn Williams’s Silent Noonand Schubert’s
1947 and became its first president. 1987, she wrote Philippine Art Gal- Der Tod und das Madchen. He closed his section with a very melodi-
56 57 58
Its founding members were lery: The Big Little Room. Her auto- ous Oriental song, Ah! Zhong Guo de tu di.
59 60 61 graduates of the then UP School of biography And Life Goes On was The second runner-up, a lyric soprano, opened with Bachelet’s
Fine Arts. Eventually, membership published in the mid-’90s. lilting Chere Nuit. This she followed with another Oriental song with
62 63 64
grew to include artists from outside She is survived by her daughters Spanish touches that seemed to be inspired by compositions by
58 Woe is me 35 A certain Chinese
the university. Rita, Coni, Ada, and Waldy, her Manuel de Falla and Leocuona. Her vocal rendition of Obrador’s Del
ANTE Ms. Kalaw-Ledesma was a sons-in-law, grandchildren and
59 Aners 38 — Gay cabello mas sutilwas slightly marred since her Spanish pronuncia-
ACROSS 60 Sailing 39 Overbearingly haughty
1 Drapery 61 Doddering 41 Man’s nickname proponent of modern art, accord- great-grandchildren. — JLC tion was very clear. She closed her performance with Wolf ’s Mignon,
6 Winglike 62 Manner of walking 42 Period a composition that aside from having a beautiful melody, has a very
10 Challenge 63 Dregs 44 Swallow
14 Signified
15 Actor Franchot —
64 Remains 45 — Seton
47 Pseudonym
European libraries join against Google interesting piano part. She has good stage presence. The first part
came to a close with the Best Lieder Prize winner, tenor Melvin Tan.
16 Cry of the DOWN 48 Girl’s name
Bacchanals 1 Oscar-giving body 49 The Boot PARIS — Nineteen European national libraries have joined forces against a He chose to sing Wolf ’s Benedict die selge mutterand Britten’s Mid-
17 Palpitate 2 Baseball’s Peewee — 50 Desert havens
18 Booty
planned communications revolution by internet search giant Google to night on the Great Western . Both songs were very well rendered. He
3 — and raves 51 Standard
19 Implement 4 Antacid variation 52 — Turner create a global virtual library, organizers said last week. The 19 libraries has bel canto possibilities. The Britten composition also had a great
20 Italian wine 5 Street or Saint 53 Against
21 Those who leave 6 Molecules 54 Woody perennial
are backing instead a multimillion euro counteroffensive by European piano part.
a country to settle 7 Weaving implement 60 — Gore nations to put European literature online. After the interval, Filipino soprano Rachelle Gerodias sang
in another 8 Arch of stratified 61 Similar
24 Tils rock “The leaders of the undersigned national libraries wish to support the Debussy’s Quatre Chansons de Jeunessewith great stage presence and
26 Cecium (comb) 9 Second note YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION initiative of Europe’s leaders aimed at a large and organized digitization a beautiful and steady voice. The four parts, Pantomime, Pierrot, Clair
27 Cheat 10 Disengage
28 Mastodon 11 Stratford on — C O N T R A T A M A N O of the works belonging to our continent’s heritage,” a statement said. “Such de lune and Apparition, were exquisitely sang.
32 Caper 12 Origin O V U L A T E L E X I C O N a move needs a tight coordination of national ambitions at EU level to Mezzo soprano Anna Koor then gave a powerful rendition of
35 Lines (a roof) 13 Congers N E D A H E E R R O S E
36 Neither follower 18 Encumbrance decide on the selection of works,” it added. Mahler’s Liededr eines fahrenden gesellen (The Song of the Wayfarer),
37 Poverty D R A C O N C E R T U T I
22 Scottish The move, organized by France’s national library, comes after Michigan a compositions I have heard many times and enjoy hearing very much.
38 Merits Highlanders O S M R S A R E A R R D
39 — boy! 23 Upholstery R E P A Y A N Y R U B I A University and four other top libraries — Harvard, Stanford, New York The program closed with Schubert’s Swanengesan as sung with
40 Unit of weight fabrics E A R O D A N O B E L Public Library and the Bodleian in Oxford — announced in December a confidence by Korean baritone Roh Jae Bum.
41 Little Orphan — 25 Mocassin, C O N O R O T I
42 Reverie for short
S C O N E O I L C A M deal with Google to digitize millions of their books and make them freely After the concert, Ambassador and Mrs. Delfin Colome and myself
43 Cure vs poison 28 Uncanny
45 Assam tribe 29 Stake T E R N O S P A C O N A N available online. had a picture taken with Ms. Gerodias while we congratulated her
46 — contendere 30 NB word A C I N A N E E O N N A The statement was signed by national libraries in Austria, Belgium, for her performance.
47 Boy’s name 31 Bus C O N E C O N O M Y D I D
51 Notoriously 32 Architectural O N E R Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, (The author may be reached at jalanuza2000@yahoo.com. For the
H O N O D E L I
55 Japanese sandal feature Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, full version of this column, including schedules and reviews, please log
56 Superman’s Lois — 33 Inert gas M A N A G E D O T T O M A N
57 Silkworm genus 34 Camp shelter A L A M O S E R M I N E Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. — AFP on to the BusinessWorld website.)
 WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005 WORLD SPORTS S3 / 3

ScoreCard

English Premier League

ArsenalstayssecondasBaggiesremaininrelegationzone
Result and standings from the Pre-
WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND — Arse- achieved that. We lost the Champi- West Brom looked happy enough to
mier League matches on Monday
W Brom Albion 0 Arsenal 2 nal maintained its grip on second onship just after the United game settle for a point against one of the
Standings P W D L Pts place and a direct entry into the [when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side best attacks in the division, Arsenal
1. Chelsea 35 27 7 1 88 Champions League proper with a 2- ended Arsenal’s record English top- — without Thierry Henry — went
2. Arsenal 35 23 8 4 77 0 win away to West Brom that left flight run of 49 unbeaten games]. ahead in the 66th minute when van
3. Manchester Utd 35 21 10 4 73 Bryan Robson’s relegation-threat- “We then made six points in six Persie, played in by strike partner
4. Everton 35 17 7 11 58 ened team second-from-bottom in games and Chelsea made 16 and Jose Reyes, shot low and past Russell
5. Liverpool 36 16 7 13 55 the Premiership. that made the difference. Hoult’s right hand.
6. B Wanderers 36 15 9 12 54 In a hard-fought match, second- “They [Chelsea] deserve all the Five minutes later Reyes should
7. Tott Hotspur 36 14 9 13 51
half goals from Robin van Persie congratulations, they were the most have wrapped up the points after
8. Middlesbrough 36 13 12 11 51
9. Manchester City 36 12 12 12 48 and an extra-time strike from Edu consistent ones, they were hungry rounding a sprawling Hoult but
10. Aston Villa 36 12 11 13 47 wrapped up a win for Arsenal that for success. It’s been close and now only found a tame shot that Neil
11. Charlton Athletic 36 12 9 15 45 ensured it stayed four points clear they made it.” Clement cleared off the line.
12. Birmingham City 36 10 12 14 42 of FA Cup final opponent Manches- Looking ahead to next season, Robson eventually brought on
13. Blackburn Rovers 36 9 14 13 41 ter United with three games re- he added: “It will be different for three strikers — Geoff Horsfield,
14. Newcastle Utd 35 9 13 13 40 maining. everyone, every year has surprises, Robert Earnshaw and former Arse-
15. Portsmouth 36 10 8 18 38 West Brom, who like the rest of teams like Liverpool and Newcastle nal favorite Nwankwo Kanu — for
15. Fulham 35 10 8 17 38 the bottom four, has got two join in, it will be interesting.” the final 10 minutes.
17. Southampton 36 6 13 17 31
matches left, stayed on 30 points the A downcast Robson said: “I But he was frustrated in his am-
18. Crystal Palace 36 7 10 19 31
19. W Brom Albion 36 5 15 16 30 same as basement side Norwich and think sometimes there’s no justice bition to get them on the field min-
20. Norwich City 36 6 12 18 30 one behind drop rivals Crystal Pal- in the game. utes earlier by an Arsenal move that
Czech championship ace and Southampton. “The effort they put in they de- saw them keep the ball for 43
Result and standings fromthe Czech With three teams going down, served something out of the game straight passes.
championship match on Monday the Baggies desperately need a re- but we didn’t get any breaks. We had And as the Baggies pressed for-
Slavia Prague 2 Teplice 0 sult away to United this weekend a lot of set-plays when we looked ward for an equalizer, Arsenal
Standings P W D L Pts where Robson was a hero as a player dangerous and I think we did look scored again in the second minute
1. Sparta Prague 25 19 4 2 61 in the 1980s after moving to Old threatening, you need a bit of a of stoppage time when Edu, re-
2. Teplice 25 11 10 4 43 Trafford from West Brom. break and we didn’t get it.” leased by Dennis Bergkamp, beat
3. Slavia Prague 24 11 7 6 40 ARSENAL’S JOSE ANTONIO REYES (L) vies with West Bromwich’s Darren Moore (R) during their
premiership match at home to West Bromwich. AFP photo/Carl de Souza “They made it very difficult for He added: “We’re relying on Hoult one-on-one, the keeper get-
4. Sigma Olomouc 25 11 5 9 38
us to find an opening but in the sec- other people but we’ve got a fight- ting a touch on the ball but unable
5. Banik Ostrava 25 9 9 7 36
6.Slovan Liberec 25 11 8 6 35 ond half there was a bit more space ing chance, there are still matches to keep it out.
7. Jablonec
8. Tescoma Zlin
25 8 9 8 33
25 6 11 8 29
Outsider Shaun Murphy wins and we scored a fantastic goal,” Ar-
senal manager Arsene Wenger told
to be won.
“They [United] are going for
The result meant the Gunners
had kept their 10th clean sheet in 11
9. Drnovice 25 7 7 11 28
10. Marila Pribram 25 7 7 11 28
11. Mlada Boleslav 25 5 11 9 26
world snooker championship Sky Sports afterwards.
“The fact that we don’t concede
second position and the Champi-
ons League is very important to
games.
Another victory for Arsenal,
goals at the moment helps give us Arsenal and Manchester United, I over Liverpool on Saturday, will as-
12. Slovacko 25 9 10 6 25 Sheffield, England — Shaun won with a break of 83. the patience we need. We want to know we’ll get no favors.” sure it of second place with one
13. Brno 24 6 6 12 24 Murphy won the world snooker Murphy’s winner’s check of grow as a team and I feel we have After a goalless first half, where match of the season left. — AFP
14. Chmel Blsany 25 5 9 11 24 championship, beating Matthew £250,000 ($473,000) was the big-
15. Ceske Budejovice 25 5 6 14 21 Stevens 18-16 in the best of 35 gest pay day of his career, far

Liverpool will end Mourinho run, says Benitez

16. Slezsky Opava 25 5 9 11 18 frame final at the Crucible Thea- excedding the £15,000 ($28,000)
Note: Slezsky Opava deducted 6 points.
tre here yesterday to complete he earned for losing in the first
Note: Slovan Liberec deducted 6 points.
Note: Slovacko deducted 12 points. one of the biggest upsets in the round of the world championship
sport’s history. two years ago. LIVERPOOL, E NGLAND — Liverpool ager. But we have our supporters key player for us. He can change a
Norwegian championship manager Rafael Benitez has prom- and Chelsea does not hold the bal- game and you saw against Middles-
Results and standings from the Nor- Murphy, a 150-1 outsider The Englishman, 10-6 behind
when the tournament started, be- overnight, rallied to go 16-14 ised that Chelsea boss Jose ance, it is 50-50. If you look at the brough on Saturday the kind of
wegian championship.
Monday, May 2 came the first qualifier to win the ahead. Mourinho’s run of European suc- money they have spent on their goals he can score, and I am sure he
Aalesund 1 Brann Bergen 3 event since Terry Griffiths back However, Welsh sixth seed cess will end when the clubs meet squad, maybe Chelsea has more to will play well.
Sunday, May 1 in 1979. Stevens, the losing finalist in 2000 for their Champions League semi- lose than us. “After his goal against Middles-
Lyn Oslo 6 Molde 1 In the decisive frame Stevens and three times a semifinalist in final at Anfield today. “I do not think them winning brough he would have heard the
Bodo Glimt 2 H’meratene 0 had Murphy in trouble with a the last four years, took the next Last season the Londoners’ Por- the championship will affect them, supporters as he celebrated and re-
Fredrikstad FK 1 Odd Grenland 1 snooker that almost saw Murphy tuguese coach guided FC Porto to you must say well done to their alized maybe how important he is
two, including a break of 124 in
IK Start 5 V Stavanger 2 the Champions League title having team, their manager and their sup- for us and I am sure he will con-
forfeit the frame after he twice the 31st frame.
Lillestrom 1 Ros Trondheim 1 won the UEFA Cup with the team porters and then say ‘sorry’ about tinue being an important player and
Tromso 0 Valerenga Oslo 1 missed an attempted escape. Murphy, from nearby
The Welshman was then first Rotherham, northern England, the previous term. the next competition because they want to play in more games like this
Standings P W D L Pts
1. IK Start 4 3 1 0 10 in with a break of 19 but broke then inched ahead again with a His success has continued in will not win that.” for us.
2. Valerenga Oslo 4 3 0 1 9 down when he missed a routine break of 97 before completing his England with Chelsea beating Liv- PREMIERSHIP “It is important when you play
3. Fredrikstad FK 4 2 2 0 8 pot and Englishman Murphy, 22, remarkable victory. — AFP erpool in the League Cup final be- Liverpool, four-time European for a team for a lot of years and you
4. Brann Bergen 4 2 1 1 7 fore wrapping up the Premiership Cup winner, has been unable to re- can take them to the final and win.
5. Hamarkameratene 4 2 0 2 6 with a 2-0 win away to Bolton last produce its Champions League Stevie is like Jamie [Carragher], a
6. Viking Stavanger 4 2 0 2 6 weekend. form in the Premiership and even local boy, and they have the passion
7. Lyn Oslo 4 1 2 1 5 But Liverpool, while inconsist- if it wins the May 25 final in Istan- that we want to see in all the play-
8. Odd Grenland 4 1 2 1 5 ent in the Premiership, has proved bul its chance of defending the title ers.”
9. Rose Trondheim 4 1 2 1 5
its solidity in Europe this season and next season, if it finishes out of the Benitez added: “We showed a
10. Tromso 4 1 2 1 5
11. Aalesund 4 1 1 2 4
the semifinal is evenly poised after top four in the Premiership, could European mentality at Stamford
12. Lillestrom 4 1 1 2 4 a goalless first leg at Stamford rest with the English Football As- Bridge last week in the first leg and
13. Bodo Glimt 4 1 0 3 3 Bridge. sociation. now we know we have our support-
14. Molde 4 0 0 4 0 Benitez, repeatedly asked Mon- A precedent was set five years ers behind us, it will make a differ-
Polish championship day if Mourinho — the self-pro- ago when the then European cham- ence.
Results and standings from the claimed “special one” — was the pion Real Madrid only finished fifth “If you tell me you are 0-0 at
Polish championship matches on world’s best coach, replied: “Jose is in the Primera Liga. Because it had home to Real Madrid, Barcelona or
Monday one of the best coaches. He has a won the Champions League a few Chelsea I would be confident of get-
Groclin Grodzisk 3 Cracovia Krakow 1 good team and he is a good man- months earlier, the Spanish football ting the result we need. We want the
Wisla Krakow 6 Zaglebie Lubin 0 ager so if you put together both authorities opted for the Bernabeu final, we want to make history, we
Standings P W D L Pts
those things you have a winning club instead of Real Zaragoza, who will be trying very hard for that.
1. Wisla Krakow 20 15 5 0 50
2. Groclin Grodzisk 20 12 2 6 38
formula. had finished fourth — although it “We will miss Xabi [Alonso, sus-
3. Legia Warsaw 19 9 6 4 33 “He works hard and knows the is unsure if the FA would take such pended after a yellow card for a foul
4. Cracovia Krakow 20 9 4 7 31 (FILE) BRITISH FEATHERWEIGHT boxer Prince Naseem Hamed listens to a question during a press game, but we will try to do the same. a decision. on Chelsea’s Eidur Gudjohnsen in
5. Amica Wronki 19 8 6 5 30 conference in central London, Jan. 23, 2001. AFP photo/Odd Andersen It is difficult to say if he is the best Liverpool captain Steven the first leg] but we can play with
6. Wisla Plock 20 8 4 8 28 coach, he is one of the best, sure. He Gerrard, meanwhile, has been two strikers, or use Didi [Hamann]
7. Gornik Zabrze
8. Gornik Leczna
19 7 6 6 27
20 7 4 9 25 Hamed arrested after car crash has a very good team, sure. But they linked with a move to Chelsea but
will lose tomorrow [Tuesday]. Benitez had no doubts about his
and Igor [Biscan] alongside Stevie
Gerrard.
9. Zaglebie Lubin 20 5 8 7 23 “Chelsea has the most expensive skipper’s fidelity. “Even three strikers, we have
10. Polonia Warsaw 19 6 5 8 23 LONDON — ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, accident involving injury and also
the British former boxing world on allegations of attempting to per- team in the world and a good man- “In my opinion, Steve will be the plenty of possibilities.” — AFP
11. Pogon Szczecin 19 5 6 8 21
12. Lech Poznan 19 5 4 10 19 champion, was arrested Monday vert the course of justice.”
after a man was injured following a The spokesman added one of
13. Odra Wodzislaw 19 5 3 11 18
14. GKS Katowice
Portugal championship
19 2 3 14 9 crash involving the fighter’s sports the 26-year-old men under arrest
car. had been taken to hospital, after
Jones, Hopkins eye Tarver-Johnson winner
Result and standings from the Por- The accident took place in the suffering from chest pains. “I promised the world three
tuguese championship match on 31-year-old Hamed’s home town of Hamed, the self-styled “Prince,”
NEW YORK — American boxing stars Roy Jones and major fights before I retire,”
Monday Sheffield, northern England. was widely regarded as one of Brit- Bernard Hopkins each want to fight the winner Hopkins told the Philadelphia Daily
Vitoria Guimaraes 2 Penafiel 1 Hamed, together with two other ish boxing’s most exciting fighters. News. “The others are going to be
Standings P W D L Pts
men, was being questioned Monday Born in Sheffield to Yemeni par-
of next month’s light-heavyweight showdown be- the winner of the Glen Johnson-
1. Benfica 31 18 7 6 61
2. Sporting Lisbon 31 17 7 7 58 on suspicion of leaving the scene of ents, Naseem Salim Ali Hamed tween Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver. Antonio Tarver rematch and Felix
an accident involving an injury and made his professional debut in 1992 Trinidad if he beats Winky Wright.
3. Porto 31 16 9 6 57
allegations that they attempted to and remained unbeaten until April
Tarver, 22-3 with 18 knockouts, and Johnson, That’s the lineup I want.”
4. Braga 31 15 9 7 54
5. Vitoria Guimaraes 31 14 8 9 50 pervert the course of justice. 2001, when he lost on a unanimous 42-9 with two drawn and 28 knockouts, will meet Puerto Rican legend Trinidad
6. Boavista 31 13 10 8 49 Hamed was arrested after his points decision to Mexico’s Marco faces Wright on May 14 and would
7. Rio Ave 31 9 16 6 43 Mercedes car was involved in a col- Antonio Barrera.
June 18 in Memphis, Tennessee, in a rematch of probably want the chance to avenge
8. Belenenses 31 12 6 13 42 lision with a Volkswagen Golf and He won the European bantam- their earlier bout, won by Johnson in a split deci- his only defeat, one that sent him
9. Maritimo 31 10 12 9 42 a Ford Mondeo in Ringinglow weight title and the World Boxing into an extended retirement from
10. Vitoria Setubal 31 10 9 12 39
Road, Sheffield, earlier Monday. Council (WBC) international su-
sion last December. the sport.
11. Uniao Leiria 31 8 14 9 38
The Golf driver was trapped in per-bantamweight championship Jones has not fought since los- was stopped by Tarver just 1:41 into Hopkins, 46-2 with one drawn
12. Nacional Madeira 31 11 5 15 38
13. Penafiel 31 11 4 16 37 the car and had to be airlifted to the in 1994, before capturing the World ing to both Tarver and Johnson last the second round last May and by and 32 knockouts, is 14 years older
14. Academica 31 9 9 13 36 Northern General Hospital, with a Boxing Organization (WBO) world year but the former world cham- Jamaican-born Johnson after 48 than Taylor, 23-0 with 17 knock-
15. Gil Vicente 31 9 7 15 34 suspected broken leg and fractures featherweight title in September pion in four weight classes said seconds of the ninth round last Sep- outs. But Hopkins said with the
16. Moreirense 31 5 12 14 27 to both arms. A female passenger in 1995. In January 1999 he was Monday he is pondering a return to tember. But also in the mix is 40- heavyweight division in a weak era,
17. Beira Mar 31 6 9 16 27 the car also sustained cuts and awarded an MBE (Member of the the ring and hopes to see the Tarver- year-old undisputed world middle- his farewell tour kickoff against
18. Estoril 31 7 5 19 26 bruises in the smash. Order of the British Empire) in Johnson winner against him. weight champion Hopkins, who Taylor will be important.
Swedish championship A South Yorkshire Police Britain’s New Year honors’ list. “Their first fight was very close, will face unbeaten Jermain Taylor in “The fans need something they
Results from the Swedish champion- spokesman said: “As a result of a Hamed became almost as fa- so the two of them need to do it an all-American showdown on July can grab onto. This fight is it,”
ship matches over the weekend road collision, three men have been mous for his arrogance and leop- again,” Jones said. “If I decide to re- 16 in Las Vegas. Hopkins said. “Jermain Taylor is a
BK Haecken 3 Helsingborg 0
arrested and taken into custody. ard skin shorts as his boxing but he turn to fight again, to right the Hopkins plans only three more threat. He’s the heir apparent. Eve-
Elfsborg Boras 1 Djurgarden 2
Landskrona 1 IFK Gothenburg 1 “A 31-year-old and two 26-year- has been out of the ring for three wrongs, this box-off may decide fights before retiring next January rybody’s pumping him up. He’s
Gefle IF 1 Assyriska FF 0 olds are helping us with our inquir- years since being booed during a who my first opponent will be. So when he turns 41. That’s where gambling on me getting old in a
Halmstad 0 Kalmar 1 ies. They have been arrested on sus- comeback win against Manuel I’ll be watching June 18.” Tarver and Johnson enter the pic- hurry and having a bad night.” —
Orgryte 4 GIF Sundsvall 1 picion of leaving the scene of an Calvo in February 2002. — AFP Jones, 49-3 with 38 knockouts, ture. AFP
 4 / S3 WORLD SPORTS
Mavs put Rockets on brink of elimination
DALLAS , TEXAS — Germany’s Dirk
Nowitzki contributed 23 points and
13 rebounds to spark the Dallas
Mavericks past Houston, 103-100,
here yesterday to grab a 3-2 lead in
their National Basketball Associa-
tion play-off series.
The Mavericks, the first team to
win a home game in the best-of-
seven series, were aided by five
missed Yao Ming free throws and a
controversial foul call.
The Rockets, led by Yao’s 30
points and eight rebounds, must
win game six Thursday at Houston
to have any chance at denying the
Mavericks a second-round berth for
the fourth time in five years.
Dallas led the entire second half
but never comfortably, nearly
squandering an 11-point lead in the
final 4 1/2 minutes.
A Nowitzki jumper gave Dallas
a 97-91 edge with 1:49 to play. Hou-
ston’s Tracy McGrady sank two free
throws and Yao was fouled with 1:21
left, but the Chinese center missed
his fifth free throw in a row in the
period before snapping the drought
to pull Houston within 97-94 with
81 seconds to play.
Van Gundy defends Yao, slapped
with NBA record $100,000 fine
N EW Y ORK — Houston Rockets
coach Jeff Van Gundy came to the
defense of his giant center Yao Ming
but it ended up costing him heav-
ily.
Van Gundy was slapped with a
$100,000 fine yesterday — the larg-
est fine against a coach in National
Basketball Association history.
Van Gundy was fined for criti-
cizing league officials following Sat-
urday’s play-off game against the
Dallas Mavericks.
The fine was announced by
NBA senior vice president of bas-
ketball operations Stu Jackson. Van
Gundy made the comments Mon-
day, one day after the Rockets lost
their second straight home play-off
game to the Dallas Mavericks.
Van Gundy was complaining
about a move by Dallas Mavericks
owner Mark Cuban, who was said
to have sent videotapes with alleged
illegal screens set by Rockets center
Yao to the NBA for review.
Yao encountered foul trouble in
both games three and four. He was
limited to 34 minutes in game three
and 25 minutes in game four.
Van Gundy told the Houston
Chroniclehe had been told by a ref-
eree not working the play-offs that
the NBA instructed its referees to
treat China’s Yao differently than
other players.
“Before game three, I got a call
from another official in the NBA
who’s not in the play-offs that I’ve
known forever, and he told me they
Boston pays $5 million over
death at Red Sox party
BOSTON — The city of Boston has
paid $5 million to the family of a
woman killed by police last Octo-
ber in celebrations after the Red
Sox beat the New York Yankees to
advance to the World Series, offi-
cials said yesterday.
Boston police commissioner
Kathleen O’Toole announced that
the city had reached a settlement
with relatives of 21-year-old
Emerson College student Victoria
Snelgrove, who died after being hit
by a projectile fired by a Boston
police officer.
Snelgrove was one of at least
60,000 people who descended on
the area around Boston’s Fenway
Park to celebrate after the Red Sox
staged the biggest comeback in
postseason baseball history by
overcoming a 3-0 series deficit to
defeat their archrivals, the Yanks.
Police arrested a handful of
people as the celebrations turned
violent, but O’Toole said
Snelgrove was not among those
acting unlawfully.
“Tori was in all respects an in-
nocent bystander and her death is
Two Jerry Stackhouse free
throws boosted the Mavericks’ edge
to 99-94 and Yao sandwiched a
dunk and two free throws around a
Nowitzki basket to bring the Rock-
ets within 101-98 with 17 seconds
to play.
The Mavericks inbounded to
Michael Finley, who was trapped in
the corner by two defenders. Nei-
ther touched Finley but the Rock-
ets were whistled for a foul and
Finley made a free throw.
McGrady made a layup with 7.4
seconds to play, making it 102-100.
Jason Terry missed 1-of-2 free
throws with 4.8 seconds remaining,
giving the Rockets a chance to force
overtime.
McGrady was fouled in the
backcourt by Stackhouse and
missed the first free throw, then de-
liberately missed the second,
grabbed the rebound, dribbled be-
yond the 3-point arc and fired a
jumper that clanged off the rim at
the buzzer. Stackhouse and Josh
Howard scored 17 points each for
Dallas. McGrady scored 25 points
but made just 7-of-22 shots for the
Rockets. — AFP
were looking at Yao harder because
of Mark’s complaints,” Van Gundy
told the newspaper. “It proved pro-
phetic, really, the last couple
games.
“I didn’t think that really
worked in the NBA, but in this case
it has.”
After reviewing video himself,
Van Gundy said Yao has been
treated differently.
“When you review his fouls,
you’ve got to give Mark Cuban
credit,” Van Gundy told the Chroni-
cle. “They said it on TNT last night.
He’s been calling and calling about
Yao. You’ve got to give [Cuban]
credit. He’s taken a lot of fines in
his time. He’s been on them hard.
He’s gotten the benefit.”
Since becoming owner of the
Mavericks five years ago, Cuban has
been fined over one million dollars
by the NBA. Many of the punish-
ments were for complaints about
officials.
The fine came just hours before
the Rockets were to face the Maver-
icks in Dallas for the pivotal fifth
game of their Western Conference
first-round series. The home team
has yet to win in the series.
Meanwhile, Dallas forward
Keith Van Horn will be out two
weeks with an ankle sprain.
A key member of the Mavericks’
bench, Van Horn injured his left
ankle in the second quarter of game
three against the Rockets on Friday.
— AFP
a terrible tragedy that we sincerely
and deeply regret,” O’Toole told a
news conference.
O’Toole said a deputy superin-
tendent who was responsible for
police operations around Fenway
that night had agreed to retire.
Patrick Jones, an attorney for
the Snelgrove family, said the most
important aspect of the settlement
was the acknowledgment that
Snelgrove was an innocent victim.
“[She was] blocked by a crowd
from her car in a place where she
and her friends felt they were the
safest: in the presence of police, not
in any way part of any rioting
crowd, as the media initially re-
ported,” Jones said.
In addition to the $5 million
the city paid to the Snelgrove fam-
ily, Boston also paid $100,000 to a
memorial fund for Victoria
Snelgrove.
Local prosecutors are investi-
gating whether any criminal
charges should be filed against
police officers in connection with
Snelgrove’s death, a police spokes-
woman said. — Reuters
FRANCISCO P. BALTAZAR EDITOR
FORWARD DIRK NOWITZKI of the Dallas Mavericks moves the ball past Scott Padgett of the Hou-
ston Rockets in game five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
Duncan, Parker spark Spurs
to OT victory over Nuggets
DENVER, COLORADO — Tim Duncan
had 39 points and 14 rebounds
while Tony Parker scored 11 of his
29 points in overtime to spark San
Antonio past Denver, 126-115, in a
National Basketball Association
play-off game yesterday.
The Spurs grabbed a 3-1 edge in
the best-of-seven first-round series
and could advance to the second
round with a victory at home
Wednesday.
“I was aggressive,” Duncan said.
“I got a little confidence early and
it just went from there.”
Duncan was dominant inside
but fouled out with 2:55 remaining
in overtime after Carmelo Anthony
slipped and fell after Duncan had
touched him. But the Spurs, ignited
by Parker, ended the game with a
13-8 run for the victory.
“Tony was awesome,” Duncan
said. “These guys were great in over-
time. They kept attacking and
played great.”
Earl Boykins came off the bench
to lead Denver with 32 points while
Anthony added 28 for the Nuggets.
Argentina’s Manu Ginobili added
24 points for the Spurs.
The Spurs missed nine shots in
Roddick and Agassi advance in Rome Masters
ROME — American pair Andy Roddick and Andre
Agassi advanced to the second round of the Rome
Masters yesterday after comfortable opening day vic-
tories.
Top seed Roddick, a losing finalist at Wimbledon
last year, defeated Britain’s Greg Rusedski 6-4 6-2,
while sixth seed Agassi, a winner here in 2002, over-
came a slugglish start to beat Italian qualifier Alessio
Di Mauro 7-5, 6-2.
Roddick, who won the US Open
two years ago, will play Albert Costa
in round two after the vastly expe-
rienced Spaniard knocked out com-
patriot Albert Montanes.
Agassi, with eight Grand Slam
titles to his name, will meet Rich-
ard Gasquet, who ended world
number one Roger Federer’s 25-
match winning run in Monte Carlo
last month.
The French 18-year-old barely
broke a sweat in the blazing sun-
shine in his 6-0, 6-2 thrashing of
Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan.
British fourth seed Tim
Henman, a runner-up at the French
Open last year, also won his first-
round match, cruising to a 6-3 6-3
victory over Brazil’s Gustavo
Kuerten, a three-time Roland
Garros champion.
AFP
a row and went five minutes and 57
seconds without a basket in the
fourth quarter, allowing the Nug-
gets to seize a 97-94 lead.
But French guard Parker’s 3-
point play on a driving layup and
free throw pulled the Spurs level
and ended the drought.
Parker also gave the Spurs a 107-
105 edge with a jumper from the left
corner with 27 seconds remaining,
but Anthony was fouled driving to
the hoop by Duncan and hit two
free throws that set the stage for
overtime. — AFP
Piston Ben Wallace wins
defensive player award
NEW YORK — American Ben Wallace of
the Detroit Pistons was named the
NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the
third time in four seasons.
Wallace, the only player to finish the sea-
son among the league’s top five in both
blocks and steals, became just the sec-
ond player to win the award three times
when balloting was revealed yester-
day.
He claimed 45 of 125 first-place votes
from a panel of sportswriters and broad-
casters throughout the United States
and Canada. — AFP
Roddick, who reached the semi-
finals here on his debut in 2002,
admitted it was a great relief to
come through unscathed against
1997 US Open runner-up Rusedski.
“First-round matches can be a
little uncomfortable and Greg was
serving well in the first set,” said the
22-year-old American, who won his
third US clay court title in Houston
last month.
“The first match is always tough
because you don’t really know
where you’re at. I was playing well a
week ago, but that doesn’t necessar-
ily mean I’ll play well here, so the
biggest thing is to get through.”
Roddick said he had prepared
well for his European clay debut of
2005.
“I’ve worked a lot harder off the
court with my fitness,” he said.
LARRY HUGHES (C) of the Washington Wizards puts up a shot between Antonio Davis (L) and Ben
Gordon (R) of the Chicago Bulls in game four of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the
2005 NBA Play-offs at the MCI Center in Washington, DC.
Parking lot praise and internet
critics help Wizards level series
WASHINGTON — Juan Dixon took
inspiration from internet critics and
his coach’s faith to score a career-
high 35 points here yesterday, giv-
ing the Washington Wizards a solid
chance to win their first play-off se-
ries since 1982.
The reserve guard shrugged off
a 1-for-10 showing to sink 11-of-15
shots and all 10 free throws in Wash-
ington’s 106-99 victory over Chi-
cago that evened their best-of-seven
National Basketball Association se-
ries at two wins each.
“I got my act together and came
through,” Dixon said. “Coach stuck
with me and I started getting my
rhythm. It was up to me how well I
played. Now my job is to keep it
going.”
The Wizards, who had not won
a play-off game since 1988 until Sat-
urday’s game three, face a pivotal
game five Thursday in Chicago with
game six here Friday and game
seven in Chicago on Monday if
needed.
Dixon’s poor showing in a game
three Wizards’ triumph sparked
critics on a Wizards’ message site
that struck a nerve with the 26-year-
old guard.
“A friend said to read this mes-
sage on the Wizards’ message board
talking dirty on me,” Dixon said.
“I’m already a self-motivated per-
son, but that took it to another level.
I definitely wanted to throw that
back in their face.”
Dixon scored 16 points in 11
minutes in the first half and every
Washington point in a 9-2 run to
open the fourth quarter, rewarding
“I think last year I was a little bit
heavy, especially for the clay, and
I’ve tried to get into the best possi-
ble shape.
“For the last couple of years I
haven’t played my best tennis on
clay, but right now I feel as good as
I have ever done.”
Agassi, who saved a break point
at 4-3 down in the first set before
blowing Di Mauro away, admitted
he started sluggishly.
“We’ve never played each other
before and it took me a while to get
into the match, but after taking the
first set I got my confidence back
and started to play a lot better,” said
the 35-year-old.
Two seeds fell on day one.
Swedish 10 th seed Joachim
Johansson, who has won two sin-
gles this year in Marseilles and Ad-
elaide, lost to Italy’s Andrea Seppi,
a result that had the home crowd
on its feet, and Russian 14th seed
Nikolay Davydenko went out to
Brazilian Fernando Verdasco.
The Rome Masters, a warm-up
for the French Open which starts on
May 23, is the fourth of nine ATP
Masters Series tournaments and
one of its three clay court events.
There are four tournaments on hard
courts and two are indoors. — AFP
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2005
AFP
the confidence coach Eddie Jordan
expressed in a parking-lot talk after
Saturday’s woeful showing.
“I was walking out of the arena
to get in my car and I saw coach Jor-
dan,” Dixon said. “I played a lot of
minutes and was 1-of-10. I wanted
to let him know I wasn’t down, I had
confidence and I wasn’t going to let
the team down.
“I said, ‘Coach, please don’t lose
confidence in me. I’m going to step
up. I’m going to get my act together.’
I said it 10 times. I made sure he
heard every word. I wanted to drill
it in his head.”
Jordan wanted Dixon to drill the
ball into the basket.
“He asked me to stay confident
in him and don’t lose faith,” Jordan
said. “I said, ‘Of course I won’t. Keep
working and keep taking your
shot.’”
So Dixon arrived two hours
early for Sunday’s practice and took
extra shots, then stayed late and ar-
rived early again Monday for a
workout. When it was over, the
third-year NBA guard had taken
1,500 extra shots and found his
form.
“I wanted as many shots as pos-
sible to get my rhythm back,” Dixon
said. “If that’s what I have to do to
get my shot back, I’m going to do
it.”
The Bulls could only watch
helplessly as Dixon dominated.
Jordan was as proud of the
former college star at nearby Uni-
versity of Maryland as the fans who
gave him a standing ovation after
the game. — AFP
US Olympic basketball
boss vows improvement
after Athens shame
DENVER, C OLORADO — New USA Basket-
ball managing director Jerry Colan-
gelo vows the Americans will bounce
back from a humbling Athens Olym-
pics with big changes for the 2006
World Championships in Japan and
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
After top US stars like Kevin Garnett,
Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd rejected
Olympic overtures or backed out in
the months before the Games, a sec-
ond-string set of National Basketball
Association (NBA) stars settled for a
bronze medal after NBA talent had
dominated the Summer Olympics
since 1992.
“The thing that killed me was being
[in America], hearing people, our own
fans, our own US citizens, basketball
fans pulling against us,” Colangelo
told the Denver Post.
“It doesn’t get any lower than that,”
he added.
GREATER POWER
Colangelo, longtime chairman of
the NBA regular-season champion
Phoenix Suns, has greater power to
sel ec t a n d r ej ec t p la yer s a n d
coaches.
A committee had been charged with
such duties in prior years.
“The World Championship in 2006 in
Japan is very critical and very impor-
tant to USA Basketball and we’re go-
ing to take it very seriously,” Colan-
gelo said. — AFP