Meralco acquires 2 Subic plants

MANILA — Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is acquiring a majority stake in an Aboitiz Power Corporation joint venture that is building two 300-megawatt independent coal-fired power plants in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In separate disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the two firms said Meralco’s wholly-owned unit Meralco PowerGen Corporation will invest in Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RP Energy).

RP Energy is a 50-50 joint venture company formed by AboitizPower’s wholly owned subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. (TPI) and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corporation (TCIC) for the construction and operation of the proposed Subic Bay coal-fired power plant.

MPGC is expected to take a controlling interest in RP Energy, with TPI and TCIC will be diluted and end up equally owning the remaining stake of less than 50 percent.

Commercial operation of the proposed Subic Bay coal-fired power plant is projected to start in 2014. The plant is expected to augment the power supply of the Luzon Grid.

Meralco earlier said that its entry into power generation is part of its over-all strategy to assist in ensuring efficient, adequate and reliable electricity at cost-competitive rates.

The utility said that the potential partnership with TCIC and TPI will add to Meralco’s competitive electricity supply portfolio sourced from existing generating plants and from new highly efficient baseload, midmerit and peaking power plants, which MPG is putting up to meet customer requirements.

Meralco reiterated its commitment to existing long time and new customers in offering a wide range of valued products and services as a total energy solutions provider.

Meanwhile, in a separate disclosure, Meralco said it has priced P5 billion 7-year and 10-year fixed rate notes with a group of primary institutional lenders with The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited acting as the sole lead manager and bookrunner.

The notes will be issued on June 29, 2011 with the proceeds from the facilities to be used to finance Meralco’s capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes.

The 7-year and 10-year notes were fixed at a yield of 6.2692 percent and 6.8900 percent respectively.

The notes fetched a credit spread of 20 and 21.12 basis points over the relevant respective 7-year and 10-year benchmark rates, the lowest priced by the investor market for a peso capital market transaction by a corporate issuer in recent history.

The notes issue was 2.35 times oversubscribed from the original announced issue size of P3 billion with books reaching P7.05 billion in orders, thus allowing Meralco to exercise its oversubscription option of P2 billion. (James A Loyola, Manila Bulletin)

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PLDT-Subictel employees plant fruit trees under CSR program

Despite the rainy weather and muddy mountain pathways, employees of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Corp. – Subic Telephone Corp. (PLDT-Subictel) marched their way up Mount Sta. Rita here for their tree-planting activity last Saturday.

They were joined by employees of other subsidiaries and affiliates of the PLDT Group, such as Smart Telecommunications and Manila North Tollways Corporation.

The group planted about 50 fruit-bearing trees during the activity, said workers from the Ecology Center of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), who assisted in the project.

PLDT-Subictel president Dennis Magbatoc said that through this activity, PLDT-Subictel aimed to demonstrate their commitment in creating social and economic benefits in the Freeport, as well as contributing to greater environmental sustainability within the zone.

Magbatoc said that this was the first time for their company to undertake a tree-planting project here, although it was just one of their activities under their company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

“When I started managing PLDT-Subictel, it became one of my mandates for our firm to participate in CSR activities specific to Subic,” Magbatoc said.

He also noted that PLDT-Subictel has been always involved in community-based projects, including outreach programs in Aeta communities.

Magbatoc said that the firm also donated some items to Aetas last year, and plans to carry out another assistance project for the indigenous tribe by the third or fourth quarter of this year.

The SBMA has been encouraging business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport to participate in the agency’s reforestation program, which was launched in 1996.

Employees and officials of the agency’s 29 departments participate in at least two tree-planting projects each year, joined by students and members of various community organizations.

The SBMA Ecology Center also conducts seminars on reforestation and proper handling and care of seedlings to help raise the awareness of groups and residents in the Subic Bay area, as well as to motivate them to participate in environmental protection projects. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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SBMA, volunteer divers seed Subic Bay with giant clams

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) joined the global celebration of World Oceans Day on Wednesday by seeding an endangered species of giant clam at the Ilanin Bay marine sanctuary in this free port.

The SBMA Ecology Center, along with 12 volunteer divers from various dive shops in the Subic Bay area, “planted” 72 giant clams (tridacna gigas) species to help enhance marine biodiversity in Subic Bay.

The volunteer divers were from Boardwalk Dive Center, Johan’s Scuba Dive, Ocean Adventure, PNP Maritime Command, SBMA Harbor Patrol, SBMA Intelligence Office, and SBMA Ecology Center.

Ilanin Bay was chosen for seeding of giant clams after an examination by volunteer biologists showed the presence of giant clams in the area, which also passed the physical and biological criteria for a seeding bed, said Ecology Center manager Amethya Koval.

The visibility of the seeding area from the shore would also make it easy for authorities to guard it against illegal poachers, Koval added.

The giant clam “seeds”, which measured 15 centimeters in diameter, can actually grow up to 1.54 meters in diameter and weigh up to 258.55 kilos, biologists said.

The clam seeds were purchased from the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines in Bolinao, Pangasinan with money raised from the “Takbo para sa Taklobo” fun run that was organized by the SBMA Ecology Center last year.

“We raised some P54,000 from registration fees in the fun run, and that’s what we used to buy giant clam seeds, as well as for other incidental expenses like food for volunteers during the seeding process,” Koval said.

“If the seeding project turns out to be a success, the Ecology Center will organize more ‘Takbo para sa Taklobo’ fun runs to help fast track our mission of saving these beautiful creatures from extinction,” she added.

Meanwhile, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said the project is part of the agency’s vision of making the Subic Bay Freeport an eco-urban center that effectively blends industrial development with ecological tourism.
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“Eco-tourism is one of our biggest industries here, and Subic Bay is among the dive sites that are frequented by tourists because of its historical shipwrecks and ecological biodiversity,” Arreza said.

“While we have these natural attractions as assets, we recognize the need to also help in protecting and propagating marine species like the endangered giant clams,” he added. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO:
Volunteer divers from the SBMA Ecology Center and different dive shops in the Subic Bay area seed the Ilanin Bay marine sanctuary in the Subic Bay Freeport with giant clams in an effort to enhance marine biodiversity.

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Big waves capsize boat in Subic; 1 dead

One fisherman died while three others survived after their motorized fishing boat capsized near Sitio Naglatore in Redondo Peninsula at the mouth of Subic Bay at the height of tropical depression Dodong.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Seaport Manager Captain Perfecto Pascual identified the rescued fishermen as Adonis Igmao, Melchor Nakar, and Ruperto Miranda, all of Barangay Calapacuan, Subic, Zambales.

The lone fatality was identified as Felix Datoon, 50, also a resident of Calapacuan.

Reports said that at around 10:40 in the morning, Thursday (June 9), M/V “Majelyn-1” was anchored at sea at about two kilometers from Sitio Naglatore with the four fishermen on board.

However, strong winds and big waves pummelled the boat, causing the anchor ropes to detach and making the boat unstable.

All passengers then decided to abandon the boat. Using empty plastic containers as floating devices, the fishermen swam towards the shoreline of Sitio Naglatore.

However, Datoon lost his plastic container due to strong and high waves, causing him to drown. The other three fishermen were able to swim to safety.

The initial report received by the SBMA Seaport Department said that workers of First Balfour Inc. were the first to respond and provide assistance to the three fishermen and to retrieve the body of Datoon.

First Balfour is a contractor of RP Energy Inc., the company that is building a power plant at the Redondo Peninsula.

According to Miranda, they went fishing at Sabang, Morong Bataan in the afternoon of June 8, but decided to return early morning of June 9 due to bad weather.

On their way back, they encountered strong waves that prompted them to anchor their boat in the waters off Sitio Naglatore, Miranda added.

Personnel of the SBMA Seaport and Law Enforcement Departments were dispatched to bring the victims to SBMA for medical attention. However, due to strong waves, the SBMA vessel M/V Redondo could not immediately get near Redondo Peninsula's shoreline.

It was not until 5:30 PM that the SBMA team was able to pick up the three fishermen and the body of Datoon.

The survivors were brought to the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital for further treatment while the body of Datoon was brought to the Subic Homes Memorial Service and was claimed by his family. (Henry Empeño, Corporate Communications)

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Chess: Laylo captures Pichay Cup title in Subic

SUBIC, June 9 (PNA) -- Mission accomplished for Filipino Grandmaster Darwin Laylo.

Laylo settled for a quick grandmaster’s draw with GM Wen Yan of China to capture the title in the 2011 Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay Cup international chess championships at the Subic Bay Travelers Hotel here Wednesday.

The draw with the white-playing but overly-cautious Wen came after only 31 moves of the Slav and less than two hours of play, but it was more than enough to clinch the title for Laylo.

The 31-year-old campaigner from Lipa City actually finished in a three-way tie for first place with Wen and GM Li Shilong of China with similar scores of 7.5 points in this prestigious 10-round competition organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).

Laylo, however, clinched the title by virtue of a higher tiebreak score over the two Chinese players.

The three pocketed US$ 4,333 each out of the guaranteed cash prize of US$ 30,000 put up by Pichay.

“Thank God. Masayang-masaya ako dahil nanalo na din ako at nakabawi na sa masamang nangyari sa akin nung Asian Zonals sa Tagaytay,” said Laylo, referring to his monumental collapse in the Asian Zone 3.3 championships held in Tagaytay City last May 24 to 31.

Actually, Laylo flirted with disaster anew when he lost to Li in their ninth and penultimate round encounter and yielded the solo lead late Tuesday.

After drawing with Wen in the final round, Laylo agonized for nearly two hours waiting for the outcome of the match between Li and GM David Arutinian of Georgia on second board.

But Li failed to translate a slim endgame advantage in a must-win game against the higher-rated and more-experienced Arutinian and halved the point to tie for first place with Laylo and Wen.

Laylo’s smashing triumph enabled him to become only the second Filipino player to win a major international chess championship in Subic after GM Jayson Gonzales achieved the feat in 2008.

Gonzales, who now serves as tournament director, made history by ruling the Subic Open chess championship in May 2008.

GM John Paul Gomez battled Lu Shanglei of China to another draw in 34 moves of the Dutch opening to finish in a tie for fourth to 10th places with six other foreign players with seven points.

Gomez, who moved into contention by beating Asian Youth gold medalist Jan Emmanuel Garcia in the ninth round, earned US$ 1,214 for his effort.

Tied with Gomez are Lu, Arutinian, Ma Qun of China, GM XuJun of China, GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia and Xie Deshum of China.

Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre outclassed IM Yves Ranola to join GM Mark Paragua, IM Olilver Barbosa and IM Rolando Nolte in a tie for 11th to 18th places with 6.5 points.

Paragua and Barbosa also fought to a draw, while Nolte split the point with top seed GM Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia.

IM Chito Garma humbled GM Cerdas Barus of Indonesia in 54 moves of the Scotch, IM Oliver Dimakiling outlasted Guo Qi of China and IM Richard Bitoon bested IM Kim Steven Yap in an all-Filipino showdown to lead a big group of players with six points.

WFM Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan, one of the youngest participants here at age 11, outlasted NM Efren Bagamasbad in 88 moves of the Philidor’s opening in one of the most keenly-watched games in the tournament.

Garcia, who vaulted into prominence by earning his IM title outright during the Asian Zonals, dropped his second straight game to Yu Ruiyuan of China and plummeted into a tie for 27th to 33rd places with only 5.5 points.

In other notable final-round results, Alex Milagrosa crushed Ben Polao; reigning national junior champion Mari Joseph Turqueza halved the point with FM Haridas Pascua, Paulo Bersamina split the point with Roger Sarip, Emmanuel Emperado drew with Randy Segarra, Leo Alidani downed Felica Trenseco, Kristine Mae Mariano beat Ferdinan Tesman of Indonesia, and Danrev Garcia subdued Daniel John Lemi.

IA Gene Poliarco served as the chief arbiter. (PNA)

Final standings: (Filipinos unless stated)

7.5 points – D. Laylo, Y. Wen (China), S. Li (China)

7 -- S. Lu (China), D. Arutinian (Georgia), Q. Ma (China), J. Xu (China), J. Gomez, S. Megaranto (Indonesia), D. Xiu (China)

6.5 -- Z. Zhang (Singapore), M. Gagunashvili (Georgia), M. Paragua, E. Torre, C. Wang (China), O. Barbosa, R. Nolte, R. Yu (China)

6 – R. Bitoon, O. Dimakiling, C. Zeng (China), A. Datu, A. Novitas (Indonesia), T. Purnama (Indonesia), C. Garma, J. Wang (China).

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