Megawide's proposed East-West Railway to cost $1 billion

Megawide Construction Corporation, a front-runner in public-private partnership (PPP) projects, disclosed the cost of its proposed 9.4-kilometer elevated railway line from Diliman, Quezon City to Lerma, Manila: around $1 billion (P51.17 billion).

"We will bring in the technology for constructing an elevated metro rail transit system. We are looking into this project. It is now under the technical working group," Oliver Tan, chief finance officer of Megawide, said in a media briefing in Pasig City on Monday, September 18.

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Megawide announced in July that it has acquired the right to participate in the East-West Railway Project of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) from the project consortium composed of East-West Rail Transit Corporation and Alloy MTD Philippines Incorporated.

East-West Railway's members are A Brown Company Incorporated, Netcore Development Limited, and Venere Holdings Limited.

"We will exercise [our option to buy up to 60% of the equity] upon incorporation of [a] special purpose vehicle," Tan told reporters.

Under the unsolicited railway proposal, Tan said the private sector will build the stations and rail track, supply rolling stock, operate, as well as conduct maintenance for a certain period. After the agreed period, the government will then take over.

The proposed deal will have 11 stations and interconnecting facilities with neighboring rail systems.

According to the PPP Center, the project aims to ease traffic congestion.

The project is "still under evaluation" by concerned agencies and has not yet been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board.

Marian realizes dream to be a teacher

By: Crispina Martinez-Belen
Published September 19, 2017, 12:05 AM

In her comeback on GMA Telebabad, Marian Rivera-Dantes plays Minerva Henerala, the odd but soft-hearted high school teacher who loves her students despite their naughtiness inside the classroom.

In real life when she was younger, the actress dreamed of being a teacher.

“Super Ma’am,” directed by LA Madridejos, also marks the return of experienced actress, Ms. Helen Gamboa, to GMA. She breathes life into the character of Lolita Honorio, Minerva’s grandmother. She will also be Super Ma’am’s guide in her journey.

Playing opposite Marian is heartthrob Matthias Rhoads as Trevor Jones, an American archaeologist and writer who falls in love with Super Ma’am.

Also in the cast are Joyce Ching, Kristoffer Martin, Kevin Santos, Isabelle de Leon, Andrew Gan, Jackie Lou Blanco, Jillian Ward, Meg Imperial, Shyr Valdez and Carmina Villarroel. In special roles are Dina Bonnevie and Ai Ai delas Alas.

• • •

Medical mission for the media

Members of media has teleradyo host Ahwel Paz to thank for the recent medical mission that benefited them. It was held at the De Los Santos Medical Center last Sept. 10. The medical mission was courtesy of Ahwel’s  I Love My Family Foundation in collaboration with De Los Santos Medical Center.

 Now on its fifth year, Ahwel said he was inspired to embark on his advocacy when he noted that some members of the press and media can hardly provide for their medical needs.

“It breaks my heart every time I hear about some colleagues struggling to pay their hospital bills or soliciting help for their medical needs. This inspired me to extend help by conducting a medical mission in the industry where I belong. It’s my way of giving back for the blessings I receive. I do the medical mission on my birthday to make it more meaningful,” he said.

 For the first two years, Ahwel held his medical mission in a function room of hotels and at his own restaurant. But considering the logistics involved, he approached De Los Santos Medical Center and thankfully the president, Raul Pagdanganan, readily agreed to partner with him.

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Sept. 19, go to former Rep. Peping Cojuangco, Impy Pilapil, Josie Darang, Maoui David, Nap Gutierrez, Lydia C. De Guzman, Danny Vibas, Atty. Nelson Lidua, Dr. Nilo Apale, Gio Anthony Medina, Jon Mathay, Dennis Herruela of Stratworks, and MB’s Marilou B. Laderas…Sept. 20: Ms. Imelda Cojuangco, producer Donna Villa, broadcaster Rey Langit, Malu Veloso, Lara Melissa de Leon-Joseph, Elaine Miranda, Angel Samson, Ester Dipasupil, California-based Vincent P. Tuazon, Katherine Marte, Lydia Go Chua, Jessica Santos Herrera, Chit Ramos of Balita, Zenaida A. Flores, Atty. Numeriano Tanopo of Dagupan City, Susan Calo Medina, Sally B. Maliuanag, Rogelio Rivera Revilla, Warlie Zambales Diaz, Carolyn Esposo Espiritu, Alfritz Jarn Horario Morata, Kolene Molina, and Erich Gonzales of ABS-CBN Star Magic… Happy wedding anniversary to Gina and Buddy Oberas of DZXL/RMN…

Pangilinan-Ayala group poised to bag MRT3 original proponent status

Other private groups will be able to submit competing offers under a Swiss challenge, while the original proponent, the Pangilinan-Ayala group, would be given the right to match them

The group led by the companies of tycoons Manuel Pangilinan and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is expected to bag the original proponent status for the takeover and upgrade of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3).

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade told reporters last Friday, September 15, that his department will soon give the original proponent status to the Pangilinan-Ayala group.


Once the Department of Transportation (DOTr) formally grants the original proponent status, the MRT3 proposal will be up for the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board.

Following NEDA Board approval, the proposal must then undergo a Swiss challenge. Based on government regulations, other private investors can submit competing offers under a Swiss challenge, while the original proponent will be given the right to match them. (READ: Pangilinan-Ayala group eyes MRT3 takeover by early 2018)

"They have set already and initiated a creation of a platform to explore possibilities including privatization to address the issues in MRT3," Tugade said on the sidelines of an event in Taguig City.

Part of the group's unsolicited proposal, the transportation chief said, is resolving the arbitration case filed in 2009 by the MRT3 owner against the government due to, among others, failure to pay equity rental payments on time.

Last week, state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said it is open to selling its entire economic interest in the MRT3, a move that can pave the way for a new private owner and operator.

The DBP and the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) own a 77% economic interest in Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Corporation – the owner of the MRT3 – by virtue of its acquisition of asset-backed bonds in 2009. This interest secured the state-run banks 11 of the 14 board seats but did not give them equity ownership.

Once the Pangilinan-Ayala group is given original proponent status and it hurdles the Swiss challenge, it expects to take over the operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation of the MRT3 by early 2018.

It was last July 14 when Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), together with Ayala Corporation and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings Philippines Private Limited, formally submitted an unsolicited proposal for Manila's most congested railway system.

Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) was the special purpose vehicle that MPIC, Ayala, and Macquarie used for the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite Extension Project. The group had said it will most likely use a new corporate vehicle for the MRT3.

LRMC is 55% owned by MPIC, 35% by Ayala's AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation, and 10% by Macquarie.

The MRT3 is currently being maintained by Korean-Filipino firm Busan Universal Rail Incorporated (BURI), while the system's rail replacement is being handled by the government.

https://www.rappler.com/business/182311-pangilinan-ayala-group-poised-mrt3-original-proponent-status

Privatization answer to MRT woes

Government believes  privatization of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT3) will resolve the issues on the rail system.

The resulting rehabilitation and upgrade by the private sector would lead to the efficiency of the system.

The  Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Friday it has given the group of Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. the original proponent status for the rehabilitation of the rail system which would allow it to take over its operation and maintenance.

“We… have initiated… the creation of the platform to explore possibilities including privatization to address the issues in MRT,” said Arthur DOTr secretary.

The grant of original proponent status to the MPIC-Ayala consortium does not automatically mean its proposal is approved.

“There will be a discussion , we will agree (on the proposal) and submit  it to NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority). Once approved by NEDA and the President , there will be a Swiss challenge,” said Tugade. The NEDA board is chaired by President Duterte.

Last July , MPIC and Ayala submitted an unsolicited proposal to the DOTr to upgrade and rehabilitate the MRT 3 for P 12.5 billion. The group   also offered to buy out the private and government stakeholders in MRT-3 and take over operation and maintenance of the rail system .

The rehabilitation will be undertaken through a concession arrangement with the government for 30 years similar to Light Rail Manila Corp., concessionaire for LRT-1.

The government through Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines holds an 80-percent economic interest in MRT-3. The balance is held by creditors of Metro Rail Transit Corp.

MRT-3 currently carries over 460,000 passengers daily, well beyond its  design capacity.  MRT-3 station runs from North avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

 The DOTr is looking at terminating the contract of the MRT- 3 maintenance provider Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) which will lapse in December next year due to several technical glitches on the rail system .

Cesar Chavez, DOTr undersecretary for rail,  BURI failed to execute the P907-million general overhaul contract for the light rail vehicles.

 Chavez said  commuters should expect three to five unloading incidents daily at the MRT-3 Last Friday, only 17 trains were operational  from 20 trains that it should have deployed .

But BURI in a statement called on the DOTr to investigate why technical glitches and service interruptions continue to persist despite proper maintenance of the MRT-3.

In a letter to MRT-3 general manager Rodolfo Garcia obtained by media the current maintenance provider pressed for the conduct of the said probe “to confirm that the MRT-3  design flaws are the primary reason for the recurring service interruptions of the system”.

The service provider specifically cited that---during the first year of MRT-3 operations in 2000 at the time also the trains were all brand new-- it recorded a total of 1,492 glitches, while in n 2008 the glitches reached 1,927, and in 2009 it climbed to 2,199. (M. Iglesias)

MRT-LRT common station to break ground on Sept. 29

THE GOVERNMENT and its private partners are set to break ground on the Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-Light Rail Transit (LRT) common station project on Sept. 29.

“We will break ground on Sept. 29,” Department of Transportation (DoTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told reporters in Filipino on the sidelines of the signing of an agreement for integrating payment systems on Luzon tollways.

Mr. Tugade said that there are no more hurdles before construction can start.

“We have unified the stakeholders… If a groundbreaking is scheduled, it means the project has been studied, it will go through,” Mr. Tugade said.

The common station project aims to link three major commuter rail networks traversing Metro Manila and nearby areas — the LRT-1, MRT-3, and the MRT-7, which is currently undergoing construction and is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2019.

The common station project has been delayed by legal disputes

The cancellation of the project was contributed to the arrest and detention of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from a controversy after a Pasay court issued a warrant of arrest against her, following the filing of a complaint for electoral sabotage by the Commission on Elections and She was transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on December 9, 2011, the impeachment trial, conviction and removal of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona on May 31, 2012 and his death on April 29 due to complications of a heart attack and suffered from kidney disease and diabetes last year and outgoing plunder trial case of former senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla, Jr. and the arrest warrant against Senator Leila de Lima for allegedly violating the drug trafficking law

In January, the government and private companies involved in the project signed a memorandum of agreement after years of deadlock on the issue of the location of the common station.

The agreement was signed by Mr. Tugade; Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar; Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan; SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Director Hans T. Sy; Ayala Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jaime Zobel de Ayala; and San Miguel Corp. President and CEO Ramon S. Ang.

Under the agreement, the first common station will be located near SM North EDSA and which will be part of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 while the second will be in front of rival mall, Trinoma.

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and SM Prime in 2009 entered into an agreement for the common station to be located at a junction near SM City North EDSA. In 2013, the then Department of Transportation and Communications, citing construction costs, decided to transfer the common station to a site in front of TriNoMa.

SM Prime then sued the government for breach of contract. In July 2014, SM Prime secured a Supreme Court (SC) stay order stopping the transfer of the common station’s site to TriNoma. The SC in May 2016 refused the government’s plea to lift the halt order.

The DoTr previously said that SM Prime, DoTr, and LRTA will file a joint manifestation with the SC advising the Court of the agreement to address the issue of the temporary restraining order. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

House amends law on urbanized cities, provinces

The House of Representatives this week unanimously approved on third and final reading House Bill 6177 which seeks to rationalize the creation of municipalities, highly-urbanized cities, and provinces.

The bill is titled “An Act Rationalizing the Income Requirements for the Creation of a Municipality, the Declaration of Highly Urbanized Status in the Case of a Component Cities and the Creation of a Province, Amending for the Purpose Sections 442(a), 452(a), and 461(a), (b) and (c) of Republic Act No. 7160, as Amended, Otherwise Known as the ‘Local Government Code of 1991.”

On the creation of a municipality, the bill sets the following requirements: (1) average annual income of at least P12.5 million for the last two consecutive years; (2) population of at least 25,000 inhabitants; and (3) adjoining territory of at least 50 kilometers.

Section 442 of the bill titled Requisites for Creation provides that (a) A municipality may be created if it has an average annual income, as certified by the provincial treasurer, of at least P12.5 million for the last two consecutive years based on the 2016 constant prices; a population of at least 25,000 inhabitants as certified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA); and a contiguous territory of at least 50 square kilometres as certified by the Lands Management Bureau: Provided, That the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area, population of income of the original municipality or municipalities at the time of said creation to less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.”

On the establishment of a highly-urbanized city, the requisites are as follows: (1) cities with a minimum population of two hundred thousand 200,000 inhabitants; (2) average yearly income of at least P250 million for the last two consecutive years.

The bill grants Congress the power to declare a city a highly urbanized city within 30 days after it has met the prescribed requirements.

The bill further provides that the declaration be ratified in a plebiscite to be conducted in the province in which the city belongs.

Meanwhile, Section 452 of the bill titled Highly Urbanized Cities provides that (a) Cities with a minimum population of 200,000 inhabitants, as certified by the PSA, and with a locally-generated annual income for the last two consecutive years of at least P250 million based on the 2000 constant prices, as certified by the Department of Finance, shall be classified as highly urbanized cities. Provided, That the average annual income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, but excluding the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares, special funds, trust funds and non-recurring income.”

Moreover, Section 453 of the bill titled Duty to Declare Highly Urbanized Status, provides that 'it shall be the duty of Congress to pass a Joint Resolution to declare a city as highly urbanized within 30 days after it shall have met the minimum requirements prescribed in the immediately preceding section, upon proper determination therefor. Provided, That the declaration shall be ratified in a plebiscite by the qualified voters of the province in which the city geographically belongs.”

On the formation of a province, the bill provides the following requirements: An average annual income of not less than P200 million for the last two consecutive years; and either of the following: A population of not less than 250,000 inhabitants or a contiguous territory of at least two thousand square kilometres.

Section 461 titled Requisites for Creation provides that (a) A province may be created if it has an average locally-generated annual income for the last two consecutive years, as certified by the Department of Finance, of not less than P200 million based on the year 2000 constant prices and either of the following requisites:

“(i) A contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometres, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau; or

“(ii) A population of not less than 250,000 inhabitants as certified by the PSA;

“Provided, That the creation thereof shall not reduce the land area, population, and income of the original unit or units at the time of said creation to less than the minimum requirements prescribed herein.

“(b) The territorial jurisdiction of a newly-created province shall be properly identified be metes and bounds. The requirement on land area shall not apply where the province proposed to be created is composed of one or more islands. The territory need not be contiguous if it comprises two or more islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities which do not contribute to the income of the province.

“(c) The average annual locally-generated income shall include the income accruing to the general fund, exclusive of the IRA shares, special funds, trust funds, transfers, and non-recurring income.” / ABR

Lopezes kabado kay PDu30 ABS-CBN SIGNING OFF?

Tatlong taon bago mapaso ang prangkisa, naghahanap na ang may-ari ng higanteng television network ABS-CBN Corporation ng mabibiling kompanya upang maipagpatuloy ang kanilang operasyon.

Ang hakbang ng mga Lopez ay bunsod ng pa­ngako ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na haharangin niya ang renewal ng prangkisa ng ABS-CBN na magtatapos sa Disyembre 31, 2023.

Sa nakuhang impormasyon ng Abante mula sa mapagkakatiwalaang source, kinausap na ni Eugenio Lopez III, chairman ng kompanya, si Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva, lider ng Jesus is Lord Movement (JILCW).

Nais umano ni Lopez na bilhin ang ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc., ang kompanyang minamay-ari ng JIL. Ang nasabing network ang nagmamay-ari ng flagship station DZOE-TV (GMA News TV-11), affiliate ng karibal ng ABS-CBN na GMA Network, at ang DZOZ-TV Light Network Channel 33.

Noong Hulyo 2016 lamang ni-renew ng Kongreso ang 25-taong prangkisa ng ZOE, dating minamay-ari din ng influential religious group na El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Foundation International ni Bro. Mike Z. Velarde bago sila naghiwalay ni Villanueva sa kompanya noong dekada 90.

Sa negosasyon ng da­lawa, bukas umano ang lider ng JILCW na ibenta sa ABS-CBN ang ZOE TV pero hindi 100 percent na isusuko niya ang kompanya dahil nais nitong magkaroon ng equity sa ABS-CBN.

Sa kabila nito, wala pang indikasyon na isinara na ang deal dahil wala na umanong kasunod na meeting ang dalawa.

Ang ABS-CBN at ang Philippine Daily Inquirer ang paboritong upakan ni Pangulong Duterte dahil sa slant ng mga balita laban sa kanya. Nitong Hulyo lamang ay bago na ang may-ari ng Inquirer nang ibenta ng pamilya Prieto ang majority stake nila sa business tycoon na si Ramon Ang.

Hindi makalimutan ni Pangulong Duterte ang ginawa sa kanya ng ABS-CBN noong 2016 presidential elections dahil kahit nagbayad na siya para sa infomercial, hindi naman ipinalabas ng kompanya ang komersyal at hindi rin umano ibinalik sa kanya ang bayad.

Dahil sa naging posisyon ng Pangulo, natengga sa House committee on legislative franchises na pinamumunuan ni Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez ang House Bill No. 4349 para sa 25-year franchise renewal ng ABS-CBN.

Hindi rin makagalaw si Sen. Grace Poe, chair ng Senate committee on public services, dahil kailangang aprubahan muna ng Kamara ang franchise application ng ABS-CBN bago magdaos ng public hearing at isalang sa pagpapatibay sa Senado.

Noong 16th Congress, nagsumite rin ang ABS-CBN sa Kongreso ng aplikasyon para sa renewal ng franchise subalit noong 2014, binawi ang aplikasyon, marahil ay umaasa na ‘kaibigan’ nila ang mananalo sa 2016 presidential elections.

Kapag hindi nakapag-renew ng franchise ang ABS-CBN sa 2020 at wala silang nalipatang channel, nanganganib na magsara ito at mawalan ng trabaho ang tinata­yang 11,000 empleyado ng kompanya.

Noong 2016 kung saan tumabo sila sa kita ng mga kandidatong tumakbo sa halalan, naitala nila ang net income na P3.52 bilyon.

Nagsimula ang kompanya bilang Bolinao Electronics Corporation noong 1946 bago binago ang pangalan ng kumpanya noong 1952 bilang Alto Broadcasting System (ABS). Kasunod nito ay nagsanib naman sila ng kumpanyang Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN).

Samantala, hiningan ng reaksyon ng Abante ang ABS-CBN ukol sa ba­litang ito subalit itinanggi ng isang opisyal ng network na may balak silang bilhin ang ZOE Broadcasting Network Inc.

“It’s not true that ABS-CBN is buying their stations,” pahayag ni Kane Errol Choa, head ng ABS-CBN Corporate Communications.

Groundbreaking for LRT-MRT common station set on Sept. 29

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has scheduled the groundbreaking for the common station linking Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) with Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Lines 3 and 7 this month.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the groundbreaking would be held on Sept. 29, months after the DOTr and the private sector agreed on its location.

The common station is estimated to cost P2.8 billion.

Tugade said a joint manifestation has been filed before the Supreme Court to address the temporary restraining order (TRO) obtained by SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) from the SC on the common station.

Last January, a memorandum of agreement was signed by Tugade, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) administrator Reynaldo Berroya with SMPHI, LRT-1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp., San Miguel Corp., which is building MRT-7, and North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp., to end the deadlock spanning nearly eight years for the common station.

The common station covers 13,700 square meters and will be located between The Annex at SM North EDSA and Landmark-Trinoma mall in Quezon City.

It will link the LRT-1, which runs from Roosevelt station in Quezon City to Baclaran station in Pasay City, the LRT-2 running from Recto station in Manila to Santolan station in Marikina City, the MRT-3 running from North Avenue station in Quezon City to Taft Avenue station in Pasay, and the MRT-7 currently being built from North Avenue in Quezon City to Colinas Verdes Subdivision, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.

The common station is expected to provide passengers comfort in transferring from one railway to another.

The DOTr said the common station is expected to be completed by April 2019.

Construction of the common station has been put on hold due to legal issues.

The cancellation of the project was contributed to the arrest and detention of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the impeachment trial, conviction and death of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona and the multi-million peso pork barrel fund scam.

In August 2014, the SMPHI obtained a TRO from the high court to prevent the then Department of Transportation and Communications from transferring the common station near Trinoma.

The SMPHI had entered into an agreement with the LRTA in 2009 to put up the common station in front of SM North EDSA.

http://www.philstar.com/metro/2017/09/18/1740106/groundbreaking-lrt-mrt-common-station-set-sept.-29

MRT hub set to begin construction

The Department of Transportation said it will start the construction of a common station that will link Metro Manila’s overhead train system in Quezon City before the end of this month.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the groundbreaking for the P2.8-billion common station for Light Rail Transit Line 1, Metro Rail Transit Line 3, and the planned MRT 7 was scheduled on Sept. 29.

Tugade said SM Prime Holdings Inc. filed a motion before the Supreme Court to remove the temporary restraining order on the common station project.

The common station proposal started in 2009 but was put on hold due to legal issues. The Light Rail Transit Authority signed a deal with SMPHI to build the station near SM North EDSA.

However, when President Benigno Aquino III came to power on June 30, 2010, the project was stalled indefinitely.

Then DOTC Secretary Manuel Roxas II ordered a review of the project, and the agency proceeded to change certain project specifications.

Four years later, the then Department of Transportation and Communications decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma citing reasons to cut costs. The court intervened and issued a temporary restraining order in favor of SMPHI to stop the construction of the project. The parties agreed to build the station between SM City North EDSA and Trinoma.

Busan asks DOTr to check real cause of MRT3 technical glitches

Busan Universal Rail Inc., the maintenance provider of Metro Rail Transit Line 3, asked the Department of Transportation to investigate why technical glitches and service interruptions continue to persist despite proper maintenance of the line.

Busan, in a letter to MRT3 general manager Rodolfo Garcia, pushed for the conduct of a probe “to confirm that the MRT3  design flaws are the primary reason for the recurring service interruptions of the system.”

The service provider noted that during the first year of MRT3 operations in 2000 when the trains were all brand new, the system recorded a total of 1,492 glitches.  The glitches climbed to 1,927 in 2008 and 2,199 in 2009.

Busan said the original system flaws, compounded by overloading and excessive vibrations and poor track condition that lead to failure of electronic, electrical and mechanical parts, resulted in the continuing occurrence of glitches and stoppages.

It said despite these recurring  problems, Busan successfully minimized the occurrence of glitches to 992 as of mid-June in 2017 from 2,776 in 2015.

Busan legal counsel and spokesperson Charles Mercado said the maintenance provider was open to an extensive system audit to once and for all produce an in-depth factual report of the current status of the system as opposed to putting all the blame to the maintenance contractor.

Mercado said that “no action has been taken” by Transport Undersecretary for rails Cesar Chavez on the design issues of the system.

“Since, it is undoubtedly DOTr-MRT3’s primary objective to serve the interest of the riding public, we look forward to your profound support regarding the” Busan’s letter to Garcia stated.

Mercado said DOTr should also start the rail replacement as soon as possible to help minimize or eliminate these glitches.

The bidding for the rail replacement was already conducted by DOTr, but its actual implementation has been delayed for almost a year now, he said.

Mercado assured the government that Busan was moving forward to meet its commitment of train reliability, safety and comfort for the ridership.

The company restored an average of two to three cars every month since its contract started, fielding up to 22 trains (consisting of three cars each) during peak periods.

Busan enables the MRT’s 91-percent fleet operability to constantly beat LRT’s averages of 77 percent for LRT-1 and less than 50 percent for LRT-2.

http://thestandard.com.ph/business/biz-plus/247188/busan-asks-dotr-to-check-real-cause-of-mrt3-technical-glitches.html

JICA Mega Manila Subway Phase 1| Length: 25 km| 13 Stations

What will happen then after President Duterte's term? Hopefully, there will be no corruption allegations that the next/future administration can use to scrap the project.

As long as the contracts have been signed and construction started with a partial opening, it should be okay. Besides, I'm sure future President Robredo will ensure that the project will continue on...

Enchong Dee for arena swimwear and TIMEX IRONMAN TRIATHLON watch combo!

Johansen Aguilar for arena swimwear

Johansen Aguilar

An evening of grace & glamour

Nothing refreshes the spirit more than being able to celebrate important milestones with your loved ones. I turned 81 this year, but I have never felt more energized and ready to face future endeavors, thanks to the many people who I have been blessed to call family and friends.

At my recent Grace Kelly-inspired celebration held at the Grand Ballroom of The Bellevue Manila, I was touched to see my friends from the diplomatic corps and business and social circles, both old and new. I was reminded of how blessed I am to be able to live a long life, and to age gracefully alongside my loving wife Tere.


To everyone who has contributed to the festivities’ success — thank you, thank you! Wishing happiness and good health for everyone, and I look forward to celebrating with all of you again next year!

Greetings

Happy birthday to our celebrators today, National Youth Commission chairperson Aiza Seguerra, Toti Fernandez and Beth Mendoza.

Advance birthday greetings to Chiquita Trapaga, Sept. 18; Gerard Ramos, Sea Wind general manager Joebert Cocjin and Peping Cojuangco, Sept. 19; Maridol Mabanta, Sept. 20; Marilou  Guingona and Marc Aguado, Sept. 21; Odi Rufino, Maripaz Garcia and socialite Nene Leonor, Sept. 22; Liza Bengzon and Wopsy Zamora, Sept. 23.

So, how was your week?

MRail plans extension of Mla-Laguna freight service to Batangas

A subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is looking to extend its proposed freight train project covering Manila to Laguna up to Batangas.

In a statement, MRail Inc. said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government of Batangas for the conduct of a feasibility study on the extension of the freight train project from Calamba in Laguna to the Batangas International Port.

The feasibility study will look at the alignment of tracks and the viability of the right-of-way of Philippine National Railways (PNR).

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/09/17/1739733/mrail-plans-extension-mla-laguna-freight-service-batangas

Unusable

This is the final word: the rail cars purchased from Dalian by the previous administration could not be used by the MRT. The specs just don’t match and the heavy trains will probably cause the viaduct to collapse.

It did not require a rocket scientist to figure out the specs and produce the right trains. All that is required is basic engineering knowledge. But the DOTC and their Chinese counterparts flubbed it anyway.

I have been trying not to think about Jun Abaya for months. It aggravates me no end. Now I wish the man and his boss did throw themselves before an onrushing train as they promised to. Doing so would have given all of us some sense of redress.

For months, Abaya kept us at the edge of our seats, teasing us with the impending arrival of the trains he ordered. The prospect meant more trains along the constantly choked Edsa. Spellbound, we thought we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, the torture chamber that is the MRT.

When the trains started trickling in, we found out they had no motors and no signaling system. They could not be kicked into service. But we waited and waited, hoping the new trains might soon be refitted and relief at the overloaded commuter line might be forthcoming.

Now we are told the trains really could not be used. On the day this ugly truth was announced, the MRT broke down five times in a day.

Long before the contract to produce additional trains was signed by Abaya and his Chinese counterparts, we were warned that Dalian is not a light rail manufacturer. True enough, they delivered overweight trains. They were like heavily armored battle tanks mounted on rails. They might sooner crash the system than deliver commuters to their destinations.

Senator Grace Poe says we should now try to return the trains to the faulty manufacturers and try to recover the P3.5 billion or so DOTC paid for those trains. I am not too confident this could happen. The Chinese company will likely take us to litigation and prolong the agony.

Meanwhile the MRT line will remain short of trains and long on queues.  It will take many long years for us to put out a new contract for commuter trains. The hundreds of thousands of commuters who cram the system, endure the long lines, sleep for only three or four hours each night before battling to commute the next day might not live long enough to see new trains on this system.

Abaya, we recall, once shrugged off the traffic problems saying they are not fatal. The hapless commuters wanted to lynch him there and then. What wrong have we committed against the heavens that we were sent this scourge of a public official?

Abaya is also the one responsible for breaking up the contract for the LRT-2 extension to Antipolo. As a result, the viaduct was built without passenger terminals. Now, Marcos highway is congested a second time because of construction work on the terminals. It is hell repeated for residents of the affected areas.

He is likewise the official to blame for the continued absence of a common station. The Arroyo administration rushed to close the loop between the LRT-1 and the MRT lines to ease commuter movement. But the common station was not built. It will remain like that for about three more years.

Now that the “Abaya trains” are junked, what do we do with the man who presided over the “Noynoying” that retarded the onset of an efficient mass transit system in the metropolis?

I know a number of people who are itching to lynch him. But that would constitute extra-judicial killing and the unfunded Commission on Human Rights will frown on that.

Unfortunately, utter incompetence is not a crime listed in the Penal Code. This is why Abaya and his boss continue to roam free.

Privatize

What do we do with the mess that is the MRT?

Experts say the system was wrongly designed from the start. It is not really a light rail system. It is some sort of hybrid between a light rail and a trolley line. This is the reason why the parts of this system do not seem to cohere.

Then, somewhere along the line, the train line was put under the worst possible arrangement: it was owned by private interests but managed by government. Everywhere else, it is the other way around. Government, as the MRT experience heroically demonstrates, is forever a bad manager.

Those Dalian trains should be the last straw. We have to drastically reconfigure this facility for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of commuters who are doomed to use it.

The Metro Pacific group, in what might seem to be a masochistic decision, made an unsolicited offer to buy out the MRT from both its original owners and the government financial institutions that hold 80 percent economic interest in this messy business. The Finance Secretary indicated openness to that offer.

What the doubtful contracts with a string of maintenance service providers and the Abaya trains prove beyond reasonable doubt is that government is simply incapable of efficiently operating this facility and solving all its problems. Government has simply to concede that fact and take the logical next step: sell this whole thing to a private investor willing to stake money in fixing the system.

There is precedent for this. The LRT-1 is now a better system since it was privatized.

http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/09/16/1739550/unusable

TITAN 22

"For the love of the game"

Stores

• Two Parkade, 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
• 2F S Maison, Conrad Hotel Manila, Marina Way, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay
• 2nd Level, Glorietta 5, Glorietta, Ayala Avenue cor. Pasay Road, Ayala Center, Makati
• East Wing Building Shangri-La Mall, EDSA Corner Shaw Blvd, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong

Coming Soon:

• Ayala Malls Vermosa
• Robinsons Place Naga
• SM City Naga
• SM City Bacolod
• SM Seaside City Cebu
• SM Center Ormoc
• Robinsons Place Tacloban
• Robinsons Place Ormoc

Enchong Dee for arena swimwear and TIMEX IRONMAN TRIATHLON watch combo

Anj Dee for arena and speedo

On slow internet, missing SMS, other prepaid woes: telcos should shape up says Poe

Slow internet service, poor connection, dropped calls, exorbitant charges, disappearing load — these were among the complaints of netizens who took to Senator Grace Poe’s social media accounts to seek action against the atrocious services of telecommunications companies in the country.

Using the hashtag #TellPOEonTelco, Poe urged netizens using her Facebook and Twitter accounts to “let your voice be heard” and speak up about the services of the country’s telecommunications providers. (https://www.facebook.com/sengracepoe/) (https://twitter.com/SenGracePOE)

“We deserve good telco service, kaya’t i-share na ang inyong karanasan sa serbisyo ng text, call at internet ninyo,” she called on the public.

The post was instantly viewed and shared by social media users, and generated comments about the inadequate service of the country’s telcos.

“It’s a pity hearing the same old complaints about speed, affordability and coverage in the age of fast technology.” Poe said.

“As a consumer, I can very much relate, and so our united call to the telecommunications companies is to give us our money’s worth and improve your services,” she said.

Despite little or no improvement in their service, telcos have been raising rates using creative marketing strategies in the guise of promotions.

Telcos have slowly removed their unlimited data plan in their mobile subscriptions and shifted to volume pricing and introduced caps on prepaid and postpaid plans. This way, they are able to charge more per customer as data consumption increases and at the same time, able to cut down on heavy users.

“Meron pa silang tinatawag na Anti Bill Shock Guarantee at Shock Proof Data Charging, pero sa huli ay shocking pa rin ang buwanang bill natin,” Poe said.

“The complaints of netizens will not fall on deaf ears. We will gather them and raise them in the appropriate committee hearings, so they will have a voice in the reforms we want instituted in the telco industry,” she added.

Already, there are several bills pending before the Senate and the House of Representatives seeking wide-ranging reforms in the telecommunications industry to improve internet and mobile services in the country and make them at par with international standards.

Even President Rodrigo Duterte had warned that he might push for the opening of the local telecommunications industry to foreign competitors if they do not beef up on their services.

Poe said this reflected the same sentiment of a netizen who made a comment in her Facebook page. According to the Facebook user, “There’s no real competition. Here, it’s comparing a rotten apple with another rotten apple. It’s a duopoly, there’s no real incentive to improve service.

Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services, said she is set to call for technical working group meetings to thresh out concerns surrounding prepaid load and other related issues.

Poe vowed to advance the interest of millions of mobile prepaid subscribers in the country as she pressed for longer validity periods for prepaid loads.

The advocacy group democracy.net.ph has proposed to set “dormancy periods” in which a SIM card without any call, text or data transactions for a year will be considered dormant and “dormancy deductions” in which from the time a SIM card is considered dormant, one credit will be deducted per day until the credits are zeroed out and the SIM card can finally be deactivated.

“We have to consider what is best for the highest interest of our consumers,” said Poe, adding that the current rules issued in 2009 which set a minimum validity of three days is quite brief.

“Ang mga mahihirap na kadalasang walang kapasidad na bumili nang mas mahal na load ay napupwersang bumili nang paunti-unting load sa maliit na halaga para lamang ma-maintain na active ang kanilang SIM card,” Poe added.

During the hearing, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said the setting aside of the expiry period is feasible and suggested that this can be done based on a 17-year-old memorandum circular.

Under NTC Memorandum Circular No. 03-07-2009, loads with higher values will have longer expiration or validity periods. Credits worth P10 or lower will be valid for three days from the previous one-day expiration. Loads more than P10 up to P50 can be used for 15 days while credits worth more than P50 up to P100 will remain valid for 30 days. Loads more than P100 to P150 will expire at the end of 45 days while credits of more than P150 to P250 will last for 60 days. More than P250 to P300 will remain valid for 75 days while credits worth more than P300 will last for 120 days.

The committee tackled Senate Bill No. 848 or the proposed Prepaid Load Protection Act filed by Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto that seeks to impose penalties and fines for prohibited acts such as imposition of an expiration period on the validity of unused prepaid call and text cards, forfeiture of load credits stored on an active prepaid phone account via prepaid call and text card or electronic transfer, and refusal to give a refund on any prepaid subscriber whose load credits were forfeited without any valid cause.

A fine ranging from P100,000 to P1 million or imprisonment from two to six years or both shall be imposed on any director, officer, employee or agent of a telecommunications company providing prepaid services who shall be convicted of violating any of the prohibited acts. If the violation was committed by or in the interest of a juridical person duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines, penalties of P500,000, suspension of license to engage in business for 30 days and immediate revocation of license to engage in business shall be imposed.

http://www.interaksyon.com/on-slow-internet-missing-sms-other-prepaid-woes-telcos-should-shape-up-says-poe/

Unified toll payment for 13 expressways in Luzon by 2018

A total of 13 existing and under construction toll roads in Luzon will be operating on a single payment system by 2018.

This was after the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with toll operators – groups under Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, San Miguel Corporation and Ayala Corporation – on Friday, September 15.

“This is what I call the exercise of common sense. Tollways have been there for a long time. We have 13 expressways. Isn't it a common sense to use just one payment system?," Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in mixed Filipino and English during the MOA signing in Taguig City.

Under the MOA, expressway operators will be required to update their collection systems to allow interoperability and integration.

This means motorists can use their electronic tags from one expressway to another.

When paying in cash, motorists will get a ticket once at entry and pay once at exit. From instance, when going to Baguio from Manila, motorists will get an entry ticket at North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and then pay when they exit at Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

"Seamless toll operation is expected to cut travel time and bring about a new level of convenience for motorists," the transportation department said.

For the existing toll roads, transportation assistant secretary for rails Timothy John Batan said the single electronic payment for all 13 expressways will be implemented in March 2018, while unified cash payment is set in September 2018.

These expressways are:

1. NLEX,
2. South Luzon Expressway (SLEX),
3. Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (CAVITEX),
4. Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX),
5. NAIA Expressway,
6. South Metro Manila Skyway System,
7. Skyway Stage 3,
8. Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX),
9. NLEX-SLEX Connector Road,
10. Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway,
11. TPLEX,
12. Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, and
13. Subic Freeport Expressway.

"This is a great testimony to the will and dedication of our President. What unites us all is the goal to improve lives of Filipinos, help them come home earlier and spend more time with their families," DPWH Secretary Mark Villar. (READ: Buses, jeepneys in the Philippines to be modernized by 2020)

Private sector commitment

The MOA requires toll operators to install and maintain an electronic transit media reading device in at least two entry and exit toll booths. This device is capable of reading, accepting, and processing any electronic transit media approved by the Toll Regulatory Board.

"We would like to thank the government for making this significant step towards achieving our goal of giving commuters a better travel experience," said Dodjie Lagazo, head of legal and external affairs of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation.

For cash payment, toll operators are required to install and maintain entry ticket reading device in at least two entry and exit toll booths.

"It took a long time to get this done. What we can assure you is that we will work very hard to make sure this agreement is realized. Motorists can expect better service because of this agreement," said Rodrigo Franco, chief of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation.

For Manuel Bonoan of San Miguel Holdings Incorporated, the unified toll collection "is the first step" of toll operators working together.

It was in March 2016 when the Metro Pacific group completed the P650-million integration of NLEX and SCTEX, which cut travel time from Balintawak to Subic by up to 40 minutes.

https://www.rappler.com/business/182275-unified-toll-collection-expressways

Will national ID system finally make it as a law?

Last week, in the nth attempt over the last 29 years, proponents of a national identification system managed to get the House of Representatives to approve a bill instituting such a system in the country: 142 voted yes, only seven (the Makabayan bloc) voted no.  In May 2015 the House passed a similar bill, but the Senate didn’t. Will it go along with the House this time?

As approved, House Bill 6221 seeks to establish a “single, unified and streamlined national identification system” to be called Filipino Identification System (FilSys) as “an economic and social tool towards the attainment of a progressive society.” It aims, among others, to “gradually synchronize and consolidate all existing government-initiated ID systems into one integrated ID system.”

Sounds reasonable and looks like a practical measure, yes. But what has made the national ID system so obsessive a project for such a long time and why has it failed to pass muster in the legislature?

Basically the FilSys requires every Filipino, 18 years old or above, to acquire and carry a national ID card with a permanent reference number and to register, under oath, numerous personal data and biometrics information and “such other information as the pertinent authorities may require.” Such data will be placed on the card’s face and embedded in a smart chip on the same card, and entered as well in a registry managed by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Mind this, however: Access to the data will be granted to personnel of 15 national government agencies and local civil registrar offices with the “appropriate security clearances.”

It was back in 1988 when AFP chief and then defense secretary of the Corazon Aquino government, former President Fidel Ramos, first proposed the adoption of a “national reference card (NRC)” – in the interest of national security. That same year, three almost identical bills seeking to institute the NRC were filed in the House (HBs 4953, 5006, and 5130). In 1990 then Sen. Leticia Ramos-Shahani filed a counterpart bill in the Senate (SB 1685). All the bills called for citizens 15 years old and above to acquire and carry a national ID card.

The bills didn’t move in either chamber of Congress. After Ramos became president in 1992, two similar bills were filed again in the Senate (SBs 477 and 531). Still these remained unacted upon.

Reason: Progressive legislators, civil libertarians, and human rights groups strongly opposed the proposed national ID system. It had been found to have been used by dictatorships in Latin America to violate their people’s human rights. A book, Cry of the People, authored by Penny Lernoux, exposed the fact that US military institutes at Fort Bragg had been pitching the national ID system to military officer-students from America’s client states. This, along with such counterinsurgency measures as “search operations, checkpoints, curfews, and block controls to monitor movements of people and goods.”

The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), founded by Jose W. Diokno, opposed the ID system’s national-security rationale. In three position papers, FLAG warned that the system “will be used to curtail and regulate the freedom of movement of people and citizens and to possibly monitor, harass, embarrass and track down government critics and/or political dissenters.”

But Ramos wouldn’t give up his pet project. In 1995, he disclosed to the media that he had urged some government agencies to study “the possibility of implementing a nationwide identification system.” The agencies were the Department of Finance, National Statistics Office, Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Commission on Elections, and Land Transportation Office. He said these agencies were “clustering their findings so that we can eventually evolve a national ID system… for better efficiency.”

On December 12, 1996 Ramos issued Administrative Order 308, adopting a “National Computerized Identification Reference System” with the NSO issuing a Population Reference Number (PRN) card as a “common reference number” for setting up linkages among the government agencies. But on July 23, 1998 the Supreme Court struck down AO 308 as unconstitutional on two grounds: 1) it created a new system that should have been legislated by Congress; and 2) it violated the constitutional right to privacy.

This year’s HB 6221 essentially adopts Ramos’ plans. The FilSys aims to “gradually synchronize and consolidate all existing government-initiated ID systems into one integrated ID system” in order to (among others) “simplify processes in public services, reduce redundancy and delay in government services and transactions… lower down costs… promote greater convenience to the public, facilitate private businesses.”

But, note this: Although HB 6221 doesn’t cite the national-security rationale, its co-author Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was quoted by Philippine STAR as saying that FilSys “will also help in combating terrorism and other peace and order problems” – the Duterte government’s national security concern.

As regards violation of the right to privacy, in the 1998 SC ruling on Ramos’ AO 308, the ponente, then Justice (later Chief Justice) Reynato Puno wrote a pithy dissertation, concurred in by two other succeeding chief justices (Hilario Davide Jr. and Artemio Panganiban).

“The right to privacy,” Puno wrote, is “one of the most threatened rights of man living in a mass society. [It] emanates from various sources – government, journalists, employers, social scientists, etc. [In AO 308] the threat comes from the executive branch of government which… pressures the people to surrender their privacy by giving information about themselves on the pretext that it will facilitate delivery of basic services.

“Given the record-keeping power of the computer, only the indifferent will fail to perceive the danger that AO 308 gives the government the power to compile a devastating dossier against unsuspecting citizens… [T]he right to privacy was not engraved in the Constitution for flattery.”

Dear readers, can you as citizens entrust the officials and personnel of 16 government agencies to safeguard against the misuse, or criminal use, of the personal data that the proposed FilSys requires you to provide?

* * *

Email: satur.ocampo@gmail.com

Ronnie Liang shines in playing Korean actor

Most of us love Koreanovelas and Korean actors. And we are happy to note that in Viva Films’ latest offering “Fangirl Fanboy,” awarded singer-actor Ronnie Liang has passed credibly as a Korean actor in looks, actions and personality. The movie is a very timely film, a take on K-Pop culture.

In the movie, Ronnie plays Mr. Goon, a Korean superstar and CEO of a robot company in Korea who falls in love with his female invention.

“Fangirl Fanboy” launched to full stardom dance sensations Ella Cruz and Julian Trono under the helm of Barry Gonzalez.

Ronnie, who was a “Pinoy Dream Academy” Season 1 finalist, and a Viva talent, is also in the cast of the movie “100 Tula Ni Stella,” starring Bela Padilla and JC Santos.

Though Ronnie plays supporting roles in both “Fangirl Fanboy” and “100 Tula Ni Stella,” they are pivotal in both stories.

• • •

Rita’s books

Talented Rita Avila is set to launch four new books at the 38th Manila International Book Fair at the SMX Convention Center of Mall of Asia.

Today, from 5-7 p.m., Rita will be at the St. Paul’s booth for the launch of “The Invisible Wings Part 3.” Tomorrow, same time, the actress-author will be at the National Bookstore to launch her three other books: “The Tale of Popi Puti and Mimim Makutim,” “The Tale of Ron Ron Meron and Lala Wala” and “The Tale of Bentot Lembot and Ging-ging Astig.”

The books are published by Mindmasters Publishing. Rita is their first author of children’s books. Congratulations, Rita!

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, Sept. 16, go to Irene Marcos-Araneta, Emeellee Mercado, Tommy Abuel, Emeellee Mercado, Janet Bordon, Romy Posadas, Millie Reyes, Betty Malong, Rica Bagatsing, Belinda Media, Beth Lugtu, Elma Fadri, Arlene Vigilla, Lee Soliman, Janno Gibbs, Lito Legaspi, Rica Bagatsing, Janet Bordon, Rex Paul M. Cruz, Belinda Mejia, Norma Cobarrubias, Beth Lugtu, Gemma Cruz, Elma Fadiri, Millie Reyes, Betty Malong of PCSO, Joel Mejia, Arlene Silan-Vigilla of Atlanta, presidential photographer Gil Nartea, Jenny Reyes, Georgia, Lee Soliman, Imelda C. Baun, MB Research’s Leo Ortega Laparan II and Ms. Milen de Quiros…… Sept. 17: Aiza Seguerra, Francine Prieto, Becky A. De Liano, Doris Leelin, John Burke, Albert Marcelo, Shalon Lara Victoriano, Rommel A. Foronda of San Francisco, CA, Dr. Marcelo Villarosa, Nick Lizette Paman, Cacai Tandingan, Evelyn Malicdem, Matthew Zulnaga, Cecille Novales, Justine Amores Martinez of Cebu, Atty. Ronnie Orebillo and Gracia Y. Martinez of New York…Sept. 18: Joe Taruc, Tessie Velasco, Marites Martinez Lopez, Nana de Rios, Tom Portillo, Cecille Cheng, Dr. Elizabeth Pizarro-Serrano, Marita Serrano, Candy Alison, Catherine Lara Victoriano, Marvin Serrano, Valerie Clarino, Mimi Jorge, Dondon Sermino, Marita Gozum, Joi Samal, Ma. Rouffel Reyes-Valles, Catherine Lara Victoriano, Marvin P. Serrano, Xandra Valenzuela, Steve B. Salonga, Lilet Rico, Lourdes Choa, and Erika Markham…Happy wedding anniversary to Ramon and Fayee Mauricio, and Christopher and Geraldine Silan of New York…