TWO individuals were arrested by government authorities for allegedly tricking people into donating to Yolanda victims, the Department of Justice (DoJ) bared on Tuesday.
In a statement yesterday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said Desiderio T. Estinozo and Nestor O. Lehetemas were arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Fraud Division Operatives in Malate, Manila for fraud.
“Based on the information provided to us by the NBI, the subjects are the alleged perpetrators of fraudulent acts involving around €100,000.00 or Php 6,000,000.00,” Mr. Aguirre said in the statement.
According to the DoJ, Messrs. Estinozo and Lehetemas hacked the email addresses of the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas or PhilDHRRA, a network of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and Fundacion InteRed, a Spanish NGO, both of which are raising funds for Typhoon Yolanda-affected areas.
The agreement between the agencies said that Fundacion InteRed will provide funding for the project of PhilDHRRA that will help in repairing and rehabilitating damaged structures in three (3) island barangays in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
But the DoJ said the suspects “were able to cause an amendment to the Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate a change in the banks involved in the fund transfer arrangement from the bank account of PhilDHRRA to the account of DTE Construction and Development Corporation in Cebu City.”
The DoJ also said a case for Estafa was filed against DTE Corporation and its president.
The warrant of arrest was issued by Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 17.
Messrs. Estinozo and Lehetemas were brought to the NBI Headquarters in Manila for booking procedures.
Mr. Aguirre for his part said: “I commend the efforts exerted by our NBI agents involved in this case for their arrests of the respondents. Now we can make the wheels of justice move faster.”
THE MAKATI Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) Branch 61 on Tuesday issued a Notice to Vacate to Sunvar Realty Development Corporation to leave the Mile-Long property along Amorsolo Street in Makati City.
Quoting a part of the dispositive portion of the resolution by the Makati MeTC Branch 61, Sheriff IV Robert T. Bautista issued a three-page Notice to Vacate that reads: “Ordering defendant Sunvar Realty Corporation and all those claiming rights under them, natural and judicial to vacate the premises they respectively occupy, particularly the subject premises described and covered by plaintiff’s Transfer Certificate Title No. (458365) located between Dela Rosa and Arnaiz Street in Legazpi Village, Makati City.”
“You are hereby given a period of three days from receipt thereof to surrender the possession of the above-described property with all the improvements existing thereon or vacate the premises within such given time, after which the undersigned will place the petitioner in actual and physical possession thereof to duly satisfy the Writ of Execution,” Mr. Bautista added.
Solicitor-General Jose C. Calida in a statement yesterday said he is ordering “Sunvar Realty, and all other tenants claiming rights under it, to surrender to the possession of the Mile-Long Property following the CA Resolution dated 14 August 2017.”
Part of the said CA resolution of the Former Fifth Division, Manila, reads: “Accordingly, a Writ of Execution is hereby issued to implement the Decision dated June 10, 2015 of the [Makati MeTC Branch 61] .”
“The said CA Resolution remanded the case back to Makati RTC Branch 141 and directed the sheriff to execute the 10 June 2015 Decision of Makati MeTC Branch 61, which ordered Sunvar to vacate the Mile Long property,” the OSG noted in a statement.
Mr. Calida, in a statement last July 28, claimed the Rufino-Prieto-owned real-estate firm continued to illegally occupy the government-owned commercial property without due payment to the government.
“Sunvar occupied the Mile-Long property on February 28, 1982. The lease agreement expired on December 31, 2002. Sunvar continued to occupy the property despite the expiration of the lease,” said a statement by the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG), which also quoted Mr. Calida as saying:
“Since 2003 or for the last 14 years and 7 months, you have been squatting, illegally using and occupying the Mile-Long Property. Despite notices, Sunvar continued to remain in possession and collect millions of rentals from its tenants.”
Mr. Calida, yesterday, posted in his Twitter account a photo of him “executing” the said Notice to Vacate.
Sunvar, also July 28, released a statement to the media that disputed Mr. Calida’s allegations as well as his chronology of the Mile Long lease.
The company said it had entered into a P16.8-million sub-lease agreement with the government and renewed that lease in 2002 for another 25 years. “Sunvar likewise tendered payment of rentals for the extended period,” the company said.
Despite this, the National Power Corp. (Napocor), which originally leased the property to the the Technology Resource Center Foundation, Inc. (since dissolved and its functions assumed by the Philippine Development Alternatives Foundation [PDAF]), “informed PDAF of the non-renewal of the sub-lease….Sunvar responded that Napocor and the government must honor the lease agreement contract,” Sunvar’s statement said.
THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued a directive to all embassies to update their contingency plans following heightened alert from the North Korea threat. The Philippine Consulate General in Agana raised an Alert Level I in Guam, which the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea has threatened to attack with a nuclear missile. DFA Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said contingency plans should be current “to ensure that these could lead Filipinos out of harm’s way.” “Our people all over the world are counting on us to lead them to safety in case worse comes to worst,” Mr. Cayetano said, noting that embassies in other parts of the world where there are tensions like the Middle East should also have updated contingency plans. The DFA said there are an estimated 10 million Filipinos around the world, including two million in the Middle East, 65,000 in South Korea and 42,835 in Guam. — Mario M. Banzon
GILAS PILIPINAS will have its old nemesis South Korea as an opponent in the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.
Gilas Pilipinas will face South Korea in the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup today in Beirut, Lebanon. — FIBA ASIA CUP WEB SITE
Taking place today at 11:30 p.m. at the Nouhad Nawfal Sports Complex in Beirut, Lebanon, the last eight encounter between the familiar foes was forged after South Korea defeated Japan, 81-68, late Monday night in the first phase of the knockout rounds of the continental basketball tournament.
South Korea, which finished third in Group C behind New Zealand and host Lebanon because of a lower quotient, managed to set up a date with undefeated and Group B top team Philippines in the quarterfinals on the efforts of Ho Sekeun and Lee Seong Hyun, who finished the game against Japan with 16 points apiece.
This latest meeting between Gilas and South Korea will be the first since the latter beat the former, composed then of cadet players, in the 39th William Jones Cup, 83-72, in Chinese Taipei last month.
It will also be another chapter in the many basketball battles between the two nations which mostly ended with the Koreans crushing the hearts of the Filipinos, including that in the 2002 Asian Games where South Korea pulled the rug from under the Philippines with a dagger game-winning three-pointer in the semifinals.
But the Philippine team has soothed the pain of that and other losses with a victory over South Korea in 2013 in the semifinals of the FIBA Asia Championship held here in Manila.
Leading the charge for Gilas Pilipinas in the ongoing FIBA Asia Cup is guard Terrence Romeo, who is averaging 17.7 points (sixth in the tournament) and 3.7 assists in three games so far.
Christian Standhardinger has been good for 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while Matthew Wright has been chipping in 15 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists for the Philippines.
Gilas Pilipinas veterans Jayson William (6.7 ppg and 5 apg), Gabe Norwood (7 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 3 apg) and Japeth Aguilar (5 ppg, 5 rpg and 2.7 bpg) have also stepped up for the team and have given it a boost.
Three-time Philippine Basketball Association most valuable player June Mar Fajardo has yet to play for Gilas in the FIBA Asia Cup because of a calf injury but has been reported to have been practicing with the team now and is hoped to be ready in time for today’s game.
In the event the Philippines gets past South Korea, it will either face Iran or Lebanon in the semifinals.
A COUPLE swirls and twirls and mimic each other in a calm and yet arresting manner. Called “Equanimity,” the pas de deux explores the facets and phases of romantic love: friendship, partnership, and marriage, and bouts of tension and disagreements in between stages. The dance ends in an embrace; a surrender.
In the dance that follows, three couples enter the stage, this time more energetic and lively. Unlike the first piece, it ends in animosity. Called “Minamahal, Sinasamba” (from Ryan Cayabyab’s orchestration), the dance depicts three couples as they quarrel, presenting the fine line between hate and love.
The two dances are part of Ballet Philippines’ A Gala Celebration which will be presented at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ main theater on Aug. 18 to 20.
The gala production marks the return of Alice Reyes, National Artist for Dance and the ballet company’s founder, as Ballet Philippines’ (BP) artistic director. Ms. Reyes described her return to BP as her “apostolic” duty.
“It is bringing in old choreographic gems to show the range of our repertoire,” said Ms. Reyes on Aug. 9 during an open rehearsal for the media. She added that the presentation is also meant to showcase the younger generation of talents’ ability to dance classic choreography and put their own signatures on them.
The gala sets the tone of what BP’s future shows would be like until it marks its 50th anniversary two years from now, said Ms. Reyes. The goal is to highlight the company’s repertoire from the 1970s and 1980s, she added.
“Another generation always comes along. Twenty years ago was wonderful, but today is different, the energy is fearless,” she said, “When fear enters [a dancer], it takes away the energy.”
The open rehearsal featured the dances “Equanimity,” “Minamahal, Sinasamba,” and three more which present “energies” in different forms. In Agnes Locsin’s “Salome,” the passion is palpable in Salome, Elias’s sweetheart, who is left anxious, grief stricken, and lost when her lover leaves her to join the Revolution. In “Moon,” a young man who appears to be a spiritual leader of an ancient culture, pounds his feet and raises his arms in refined delicacy. Eight pairs of dancers take to the stage in George Balanchine’s “Raymonda Variations.”
A Gala Celebration also highlights Filipino talents who have gone abroad and have come home. Among the guest artists are Candice Adea (formerly of Ballet Met and Hong Kong Ballet), Marcelino Libao (Hamburg Ballet), Paul Ocampo and Chien-Ying Wang (OcampoWang Dance), and Jean Marc Cordero and Rita Angela Winder (Ballet Kiel).
Also part of the gala’s repertoire are Reyes’s “Bungkos Suite,” set to a collection of traditional folk songs that reflect Filipino humor and playfulness; “Grand Pas Classique,” which has a reputation for its difficult pas de deux routine; “Summer’s End,” which was part of BP’s 12th season, and which highlights the duet of two lovers; and “Vision of Fire,” featuring an ensemble of BP dancers.
The lineup in BP’s 48th season, entitled “Quintessence,” includes The Exemplars: The Best of Ballet Philippines in October, The Nutcracker in December, and Don Quixote next February. – Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
METRO PACIFIC Investments Corp. (MPIC) is looking at expanding the reach of its water venture to other countries in Southeast Asia as it looks to take advantage of the expertise gained by its unit Maynilad Water Services, Inc.
“There’s a push to get out of the franchise area of Maynilad, even outside the country so that Maynilad could export its experience,” MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a joint venture deal between its unit MetroPac Water Investments Corp. and the water district of Cagayan de Oro City.
He said the move would “test the waters” and see whether the group could develop a pan-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) water company. As of end 2016, MPIC’s effective ownership in Maynilad was at 52.8%.
“We’re looking at several opportunities outside the country,” Mr. Pangilinan said. “It’s possible within the next two years.”
Should the regional expansion pan out, he noted MPIC would have to partner with an existing company in the target country “because they would know the local conditions better.”
MPIC’s wholly owned subsidiary MetroPac Water on Tuesday signed the deal to form a joint venture company with the Cagayan de Oro water district to undertake the supply of bulk treated water in one of Mindanao’s most populated cities.
MetroPac Water was awarded the bulk water project on March 24, after the comparative challenge called for by the 2013 revised joint venture guidelines set by the National Economic and Development Authority.
The project, which will supply 100 million liters per day (MLD), has a term of 30 years and renewable for another 20. It involves the construction of new water transmission lines and the rehabilitation of the Camaman-an reservoir.
Eventually, the joint venture will deliver water to meet the requirements of Cagayan de Oro’s western side, which depends on deep wells for its water supply.
“The main interest is bulk water supply. All those additional construction is just meant to allow the full dispatch of the 100 MLD,” said Laurence R. Rogero, president of MetroPac Water.
At present, the company owns a majority stake in the Iloilo bulk water supply of around 170 MLD, and minority stakes in a joint venture with the Laguna water district and in a water project in Carmen, Cebu.
“Here we own 95%,” Mr. Rogero said, about the Cagayan de Oro joint venture. “We still have to do fund-raising but the total capex (capital expenditure) until the end of the project is about P2-P3 billion.”
Jose Ma. K. Lim, MPIC president and chief executive officer, said the group has identified several areas within the country as a follow up to the Cagayan de Oro venture.
“We have a pipeline of other areas that we want to make proposals to,” he said. “Of course, they’re outside of Metro Manila. They are fairly spread out. It’s not in any one area… We would expect our team to be able to target at least two to three new areas… on an annual basis.”
On Tuesday, shares in MPIC rose 0.61% to close at P6.58 each.
MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon
THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) in Cebu is calling for a nationwide investigation into the smuggling of container vans that is reportedly spurred by high demand from domestic shipping lines, beach resorts, and contractors of pre-fabricated houses. In a report to the BoC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, special investigator Franz Angelo S. Muñoz said the probe must be undertaken nationwide as these empty container vans from abroad may be sold clandestinely in local markets by unscrupulous shipping agencies. The Port of Cebu launched “Oplan: Tincan” on July 7 after receiving information that a company has been selling an enormous quantity of its supposed conditionally importable receptacles without paying taxes and duties. One company, Eagle Express Lines, Inc., has been sent a demand letter by BoC-Cebu District Collector Elvira Cruz for the payment of P37.5 million in duties and taxes for 768 overstaying vans. The company has also been directed to submit the whereabouts and status of the foreign containers. In a reply, Atty. Filipino Rosales, Jr. of Eagle Express Lines said the container vans were stolen and sold through criminal means. — The Freeman
THE most important things you need to know about the all-new, fifth-generation Honda CR-V are in the subhead of this article. The SUV’s entry in the Philippines marks the first time Honda brings in a diesel power plant, and the company is aggressively touting the CR-V as a true seven-seat crossover.
Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) president and general manager Noriyuki Takakura took advantage of the CR-V’s recent unveiling to convey news of HCPI’s robust performance in the first half of 2017. A total of 13,789 Honda units were sold from Jan.-June — reflecting a 23% spike over last year’s figure, and the highest-ever half-year performance for the Japanese car maker here in the country. Additionally, HCPI quickly sold out 100 units of the highly coveted Honda Civic Type-R units shortly after news of their availability.
The local release of the all-new CR-V should augur more good news for HCPI. The compact crossover, which was first released globally in 1995, has undoubtedly become a very popular vehicle — moving some four million units in two decades (as reported by Car and Driver). Mr. Takakura noted that the Philippines is an “SUV market,” and with a preference for family movers, not to mention more frugal diesel power plants.
The new CR-V should thus tick the right boxes. Powering the three diesel models is a 1.6-liter DOHC i-DTEC turbo engine with Honda’s proprietary Earth Dreams Technology. Good for 118hp at 4,000rpm and maximum torque of 300Nm at 2,000rpm, Honda says that mating it to a new nine-speed A/T with electronic gear selector and paddle shifters yields “a powerful yet cleaner and more efficient output,” along with a quicker, more powerful launch at the low gear ratio, while “the high gear ratio gives lower engine speed at cruising speed, giving the car lower noise level and better fuel consumption.”
New CR-V’s cabin is spacious, well equipped.
Those seeking the conventional, gasoline-powered variant might be a little disappointed as the sole petrol-sipper at the moment is a five-seat car, which keeps the same 2.0-liter SOHC i-VTEC engine promising 152hp at 6,500rpm and 189Nm at 4,300rpm. It is mated to a CVT, also engineered with Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology, for improved fuel efficiency.
This fifth-generation CR-V shares its bones with the Civic, and grows in dimensions over the outgoing model.
“The CR-V offers a lot of unique selling propositions over other traditional seven-seat SUVs. It’s still based on the CR-V unibody platform, although this is an all-new one compared to the previous generation,” said Sherwin Spencer Y. Kuan of HCPI’s product and sales development department, in an exclusive interview with BusinessWorld. He continued that the CR-V now boasts more premium materials in its construction and execution, and that Honda has “added a lot of technological features such as touch screen audio, Honda Sensing, panoramic roof, [and] power tailgate.”
CR-V’s fifth-generation form allows for third-row seating. — HONDA CARS PHILIPPINES, INC.
Honda Sensing technology features a suite of safety and driver assistance technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Low Speed Follow, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Keep Assist System, Road Departure Mitigation, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Departure Warning.
Design-wise, the CR-V is unmistakably more sporty, immediately evident in the crossover’s low and wide gait. “It’s an easier-to-handle car since it’s a unibody, and Honda has improved ingress and egress for passengers,” averred Mr. Kuan.
Consistent to the company ethos of “man maximum, machine minimum,” the CR-V progressively grows cabin dimensions. The flexible seat configuration of the seven-seat variants can accommodate up to 472 liters of cargo space with the third-row seats stowed, and 967 liters with both second and third rows tumbled. The five-seat 2.0S CVT boasts 522 liters of space behind the rear seats.
Front of new CR-V follows Honda’s present design language, notes Noriyuki Takakura, the local chief of Honda Cars. — HONDA CARS PHILIPPINES, INC.
Mr. Kuan added, “From the beginning, the CR-V was designed to be a seven-seat [vehicle]… For the seven-seat variants, you can slide the second row to accommodate the passengers in the third row.”
Noriyuki Takakura — HONDA CARS PHILIPPINES, INC.
When asked if other power plants of the all-new CR-V such as the highly touted 190hp, 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine and the 184hp 2.4-liter gasoline will be seen locally, the official said that HCPI will be watching “if there will be demand for other engine types.”
Reservations are now being accepted across the 36 dealerships of Honda Cars Philippines, with the five-seat gasoline variant readily available. Deliveries for the seven-seat diesel models will start by end of September.
Pricing for the new CR-V is as follows: SX Diesel 9A/T AWD (seven seats), P2.049 million; S Diesel 9A/T (seven seats), P1.759 million; V Diesel 9A/T (seven seats) P1.569 million; 2.0S CVT (five seats), P1.539 million.
SKYSCRAPERS (the photo bomber looming over the Rizal Monument in Manila quickly comes to mind) usually crowd a city’s open spaces and destroy what is otherwise a picturesque landscape. And in the age of consumerism and condominiums, it comes as no surprise that the remaining open and green spaces diminish in size to welcome the sprouting towering edifices.
OVER 120 speakers are scattered around Greenbelt park for the sound installation Vocalisations, which will be up until Oct. 8.
According to landscape designer, urban planner and advocate Paulo Alcazaren, the original Greenbelt mall complex in Makati City’s Ayala Center, which include the Ayala Musuem designed by Leandro Locsin, was initially developed as a one-hectare space for greenery and an aviary. Mr. Alcazaren noted in his column in ThePhilippine Star, City Sense, that the complex was inspired by the plant nursery set up by the Ayala family when they were constructing Makati City in the 1950s.
The Greenbelt complex (beside the chapel and near Greenbelt 5) used to be home to 500 birds which were thought to have disappeared together with the aviary that once housed them. But one still catches sight of birds when one passes through the area today. Orioles, colasisi, white-collared kingfishers, and zebra doves are still found in Greenbelt.
Ayala Malls has maintained some greenery within its complexes. “Ayala malls always takes into consideration the environment we are present in. With Greenbelt, we preserved the park, and in our original malls like Glorietta, we integrate greens through pocket and rooftop gardens. We allocate spaces to greenery,” said Ayala Land Malls, Inc. president Rowena Tomeldan.
Last year, it launched Blooms and the Organic Gardens, which is a campaign that preserve indigenous plants. This year, it is hosting Arkitektura, a festival that celebrates architecture, spaces, and environment through lectures, art installations, and discussions. The idea is to prove that architecture can coexist with nature and enhance the human experience.
On view until Oct. 8 at the Greenbelt Park (the former aviary) is a sound installation called Vocalisations by sound artist, composer, and recipient of National Culture for Culture and the Arts’ Ani ng Dangal Award Teresa Barrozza. Last month, she did another sound exhibition in the United Kingdom called This Too Shall Passed.
“This is a layered experience of man, nature, and space,” explained Ms. Barrozza, who has done musical scoring for film and theater productions including Brillante Mendoza’s films Ma’Rosa and Kinatay and Cinemalaya films Birdshot and Nabubulok.
A Lowland white-eye in Ayala Park.
Vocalisations is a cornucopia of symphonies, which she calls an “urban jungle.” If one listens – really listens – there are sounds of birds, people mimicking birds, and machines imitating birds. This is meant to simulate the former aviary. But according to Ms. Barrozza, the installation is not a commentary or a call to bring back the aviary. It is what it is, she said.
Over 120 speakers have been installed in the park complex, and mallgoers are invited to stop for a while and listen.
“Let’s learn how to be silent, which sometimes can be noisier. Sometimes, mas maingay ang katahimikan (silence can be noisier), pero (but) at the same time, it is calming,” she said.
While most people are primarily visual (“We go to concerts to watch and not to listen,” said Ms. Barrozza), the ability to hear and listen is something we ought to learn and develop.
Also part of the festival is display of works of Filipino ingenuity shown side by side with international design, at the Greenbelt 5 Gallery from Aug. 22 to Sept 10. The digital exhibit is a preview of 50 contemporary worldwide examples of organic architecture on display at the Ayala Museum. Meanwhile, the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP) presents the exhibit Silya, featuring award-winning chair designs made from native and organic materials. CFIP will also be hosting talks with featured designers on the weekends of August to September at the Greenbelt Gallery.
A series of lectures and discussions on architecture and environment and their relationship with humans will be held at the Ayala Museum from Aug. 24 to 27. The panel includes industry leaders Gregory Burgess (“Working with Living Architecture”), Luis Lopez (“Bamboo, Material of the Future”), Nicanor Perlas (“The 12 Sense and the Environment”), and Richard Coleman (“Learning from Heritage Townscapes”), among others.
THE Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers got back at the .500 mark in Season 93 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) following its defeat yesterday of the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals, 77-48.
The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers notched their third win in six games in NCAA Season 93 after routing the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 77-48, yesterday. — ALVIN S. GO
Using a strong charge late in the opening period and all the way to the second quarter, JRU controlled the tempo of the contest the rest of the way to book its third win in six matches in the ongoing season of the country’s longest-standing collegiate league.
Earlier in the day, the Perpetual Help Altas got back on the winning track while adding to the struggles of the Arellano Chiefs, 68-59.
EAC competed early against JRU but lost steam as the opening quarter wore on to surrender a 14-10 lead to the Heavy Bombers.
JRU picked up where it left off in the first canto in the succeeding period, pushing the Generals further back down.
Big man Abdouladif Poutouochi, Ervin Grospe and Abdul Sawat kept the Heavy Bombers’ offense steady.
And coupled with their team’s suffocating defense, JRU extended its lead, 37-21, by halftime.
The third period saw the Generals continued to unravel, unable to wiggle out of the Heavy Bombers’ pressing defense that limited them to just 11 points in the quarter, and their deficit ballooning to as much as 35 points, 65-30, with 20 seconds to go.
The score was at 65-32 by the end of the third canto.
EAC came out with more spirit in the payoff quarter, scoring the first seven points in the first three minutes to narrow its deficit, 65-39.
But guard Jed Mendoza and the rest of the Heavy Bombers would nip the run in the bud on the way to closing out the affair.
Grospe topscored for the Heavy Bombers with 19 points on top of five rebounds.
Mendoza had 15 points while Sawat had 10 points and nine boards.
Poutouochi finished with nine points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for JRU (3-3).
Jeric Diego and Jerome Garcia led EAC (3-4) with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
“This game showed what we are capable of doing if we come to play every time. I’m not scared of any team but I’m scared of which JRU team would show up,” said JRU coach Vergel Meneses postgame.
“Defense was big for us today because we never allowed them (EAC) to really get going,” he added.
Meanwhile, in the first game, Perpetual Help arrested its two-game losing streak by holding down free-falling Arellano.
Altas big man Prince Eze had a dominant outing, notching a monster double-double of 23 points (career-high) and 21 rebounds to go along with five blocks.
Gjay Ylagan and Gab Dagangon each had 11 and 10 points, respectively, and combined for 14 rebounds for the Altas, which had to buck a second half charge by the Chiefs to chalk up the win.
Arellano, for its part, was paced by Kent Salado with 14 points and five assists.
Richard Abanes added 13 points.
The win improved Las Piñas-based Perpetual Help to 3-4 while Arellano, which has now lost four straight, further slid to 2-5.
THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed its 51st and 52nd tax evasion cases before the Justice department yesterday, both against individuals operating sole proprietorship businesses in Parañaque City. In a statement, the BIR charged sole proprietors Rolly Bibat Almuente of Markleen Trading and Leon Yap Son of LYS Property Management for “willful failure to pay taxes under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997,” as part of its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) campaign. According to the tax bureau, Mr. Almuente has a total liability of P10.27 million for the year 2007, inclusive of other increments. Mr. Son, on the other hand, is assessed to have dodged some P27.13 million in taxes, inclusive of increments. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
THE offer comes once in a lifetime — for four lucky individuals.
Seaoil on Aug. 14 kicked off a promotion that will culminate with raffle draws on Sept. 15, Oct. 16 and Nov. 18. Four winners of the grand prize will get P5,000 worth of Seaoil fuel/lubricant every month — for the rest of their lives.
Based on Department of Energy data, Seaoil has been the fastest-growing fuel company in the Philippines. At the launch of the promotion, Mark L. Yu, the company’s president for retail business, reported that Seaoil registered a 47% uptick over the last three years, and has made it to 53rd place in BusinessWorld’s Top 1,000 Corporations list. Presently, the firm has more than 400 stations and 12 depots, of which eight are import terminals.
Not just surviving but actually thriving in an industry widely considered to be cornered by the so-called “Big Three” international players speaks of smarts, determination and agility. And Seaoil Marketing Communications senior manager Rey Jimenez declared that despite being a smaller firm, its goods are “at par with, or even better than, the best.”
This is certainly the main message in an ongoing product quality campaign that Seaoil commenced this year. Shared Mr. Jimenez, “Our base fuels are imported from the advanced refineries in Asia [specifically Singapore, Japan, and Korea]. Second, they’re tested at least three times daily at the station. Thirdly, they have STP fuel additives for improved engine performance.”
After opening its first gas station in Tutuban in 1998, Seaoil assumed a consistent arc of growth. In an exclusive interview with this writer, Mr. Yu said: “It’s really important that we innovate, so we can’t be the same as traditional players… We import. That standpoint also allows us to be more efficient in our distribution. In the country, we do a multi-import-terminal strategy, which saves on double handling.”
Being a smaller player affords Seaoil the luxury of being nimble. “In terms of decision making, we just have to be faster… and we have to take calculated risks.” One of those, he revealed, was to establish a Mindanao import terminal which other people saw as a foolhardy move.
“After that, competition has also followed suit,” Mr. Yu reported, adding, “The refineries that we’re getting our products from are at a higher complexity index.” This, he asserted, means Seaoil produces better-quality fuels.
The company is at the cusp of a five-year plan, in which by 2022 its number of stations would have doubled. “Obviously, even if you have great products but you aren’t accessible, then you can’t reach people. For us it’s important to expand our network,” Mr. Yu stressed.
The company is also building bigger, full-service stations which feature quick-service restaurants and convenience stores. The company recently launched its biggest station to date, the Seaoil-CityMall SCTEx mega station. The two-hectare facility represents a P600-million investment of the two companies.
Aside from the four grand-prize winners, more than 30,000 other promo awards may be had — including 30 gift cards worth P10,000, and instant discounts valued at P10, P20, P100 and P500.
To obtain a raffle entry, which includes an instant prize card, a customer must submit receipts totaling P500 worth of Extreme 97, Extreme 95, Extreme U, Extreme Diesel fuels and/or Seaoil lubricants at any of the company’s stations nationwide. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. The grand prizes will be paid off in gift certificates, which are transferable.
