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Maynilad seeks contractor for water reclamation facility in Kawit

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. is looking for a contractor to design and build a water reclamation facility with a 13 million liters per day capacity, to be located in Kawit, Cavite. In an invitation for prequalification published on Thursday, Maynilad said the winning bidder would be undertake “the detailed design, construction, testing, and commissioning of the plant with nutrient removal,” as well as operate the plant for at least one year after commissioning. Maynilad, one of the two concessionaires of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System covering the west zone of Metro Manila and parts of neighboring Cavite province, said the project is part of its “service obligations to attain its sewerage and sanitation targets.” A prequalification orientation meeting is set on Jan. 25 at the Maynilad head office in Quezon City and the deadline for submission of applications is on Feb. 28.

Meat, vegetable prices in QC lower than in other parts of Metro Manila

PRICES OF agricultural products at the Commonwealth Market and supermarkets in Quezon City are lower by as much as P50 compared to the average selling prices in other parts of Metro Manila, based on the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) monitoring.
In a statement, DTI said its latest market price monitoring activity, conducted Thursday at the Commonwealth Market, found that prices of pork, vegetables, and fish products were lower by P5 to P50 compared to the Jan. 8 prevailing prices of these products in the National Capital Region (NCR) .
The DTI used as comparative data the Jan. 8 prices reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority in its latest Comparative Retail Prices of Metro Manila Markets Report.
Fully dressed chicken at the monitored market was sold at P100 per kilo while the prevailing average recorded across Metro Manila was P145.
In the supermarkets, chicken was priced even lower, ranging between P90 to P99 per kilo — depending on whether they are branded or not — much lower than the average low of P145 and high of P164 at other supermarkets within NCR.
“The DTI is very pleased to see that prices of agricultural products are now at its most reasonable level where consumers are assured to get value for their money, and fair return of investment for the retailers,” said DTI Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo in the statement.
The DTI noted that sellers at the Commonwealth Market are capable of keeping prices low as they source goods directly from the producers.
“Since Commonwealth Market removed the middle players from the supply chain, they are able to sell agricultural products at very low prices. Those retailers who do not have direct link to producers may source their products from Commonwealth Market and sell these at the SRP (suggested retail price) level. In this way, they sell at affordable prices to consumers while gaining reasonable profit,” Ms. Castelo added.
On sugar, the DTI also lauded the Robinsons and SM supermarkets for selling sugar at the set SRPs.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration’s SRP for refined sugar is P50 per kilo and brown sugar at P45. — Janina C. Lim

Governor asks village officials to help in surveillance as military, police assure Cebu is safe from terror threats

CEBU GOVERNOR Hilario P. Davide III called on barangay officials to help security forces in monitoring possible terror threats as the police and military gave him assurance that the province is safe following the travel advisory of the United Kingdom warning its citizens from traveling to parts of southern Cebu and Mindanao. “We have to be very watchful,” Mr. Davide is quoted in a statement after a meeting with security officials on Jan. 9. During the briefing, Chief Insp. Florendo L. Fajardo of the Provincial Police Operations Plans Branch said security measures are in place not only in southern Cebu but the entire province to ensure the safety of residents and tourists. Mr. Fajardo, however, asked the public to remain vigilant. “We are not discounting the possibilities of threats and with the number of tourist influx, especially during Sinulog (Festival) and upcoming summer season, we will always beef up our security measures and double our vigilance against lawless elements,” he said. The military’s Col. Noel T. Baluyan, meanwhile, said soldiers have also been deployed across the province.

2 firms face fines for medical wastes in waters off Lapu-Lapu

THE ENVIRONMENTAL Management Bureau-Central Visayas (EMB-7) is set to issue a notice of violation and impose corresponding fines of at least P50,000 against two firms in Mandaue City linked to the medical wastes found floating in the seas off Lapu-Lapu City the past few days. EMB-7, in a statement, said evidence showed that Davao City Environmental Care, Inc. (DCECI) and Chong Hua Hospital Mandaue and Cancer Center (CHHMCC) were found to have committed lapses that merit the imposition of penalties against them. DCECI is a treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facility that uses autoclave and charring method as treatment for its medical wastes from the University of Cebu Medical Center (UC Med), St. Vincent Hospital, and CHHMCC. Among the wastes collected was a bottle bearing the name of CHHMCC. In a meeting over the weekend, DCECI presented manifest forms and certificate of treatment for collected and treated health care wastes of CHHMCC only up to September 2018, but continued to provide services to the hospital until Jan. 2. CHHMCC, for its part, could not present any manifest form for the previous and current collections of health care wastes by DCECI. — The Freeman

2 Davao provinces, other areas in election watchlist due to NPA, armed groups

LAW ENFORCEMENT agencies have placed the entire provinces of Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur in the election watch list because of the presence of private armed groups and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. In a press briefing on Wednesday, Police Regional Office Spokesperson Jason L. Baria said they, along with the military, are still evaluating whether to declare some of these areas as election “hotspots,” where tighter security measures will be implemented. Also, under close monitoring in the Davao region are all towns, except for Sto. Tomas, and the two cities of Davao del Norte, and seven of the nine political districts of Davao City. Mr. Baria noted that the NPA, the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is known to take advantage of election periods by undertaking the so-called permit-to-campaign scheme wherein they forcibly collect fees from candidates. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Charges filed vs Cotabato City blast suspects

THE Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 has filed charges against the suspects of the Dec. 31 bombing in South Seas Mall in Cotabato City that left two dead and more than 30 others wounded. In a statement Thursday, PRO-12 Director Eliseo T. Rasco said the charges of two counts of murder and 34 counts of frustrated murder were brought Wednesday before the Office of Prosecutor Anwar Masacal in Cotabato City. “We need the community to help us detect any activity that poses a threat to our security. We need everybody to report to our law enforcers any suspicious looking person and any bags or backpacks or anything left unattended,” said Mr. Rasco. One of the suspects, identified as 56-year-old Salipudin Pasandalan, is already under police custody after he surrendered on Sunday. The other suspect identified as Alias Saed Nur Kasim remains at large. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Nation at a Glance — (01/11/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.
Nation at a Glance — (01/11/19)

How transparent is our National Budget?

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) lists eight major characteristics of good governance — participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law.
Of these, accountability and transparency are arguably the most basic requirements in achieving good governance. This tandem, to a very large extent, determines the success of anti-corruption efforts.
Accountability is hinged on the democratic principle that our public officials are not owners of their positions but are merely our representatives, to whom we have delegated authority. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them, is enshrined in our Constitution.
It is therefore imperative that our public officials are answerable for their actions and decisions and must be able to justify them. But, apart from the government, on its own, being able to question and punish irregular discharge of responsibilities, this can only happen for the people when government exhibits transparency. Without the availability of information, accountability becomes illusory.
But transparency is not necessarily achieved solely by making information available. More important are the timeliness, accessibility, and quality of the information.
When citizens, for instance, are made to jump through hoops — sometimes, even “flaming” — using bureaucratic run-around, access is effectively curtailed, and timeliness is greatly compromised. Also, the quality of information provided determines the degree of transparency. Information that is incomplete or couched in technicalese may just sound gibberish or nonsensical to outsiders.
When creative measures are employed to stonewall or delay the sharing of relevant information, transparency becomes more lip service than a genuine commitment of a government determined to curb corruption. Not only will these practices make it difficult to have public officials answerable, but they also aid and abet in making the officials elude public scrutiny.
Perhaps due to mounting international pressures — brought about by various rankings and indices measuring transparency, accountability, and corruption perception — or a sincere desire of the government to fight corruption, I must concede that we have made significant progress in the area of transparency — in terms of accessibility of information, in particular. The advancements in information technology and the ubiquitous use of social media in the country have made people more conscious of the issues and more demanding of answers. They have also given the government fewer reasons not to be able share information.
Take the case of the national budget. The General Appropriations Act, or the law containing the national budget, was only accessible then through a printed copy. That book, which is often about five inches thick, and its sheer weight, can be a glaring example of how access to government information can be limited. Even if you were able to figure out how to lug it outside the Department of Budget and Management, the first hurdle was to be able to get a copy. The final challenge would be understanding all the numbers and terms in that voluminous document. And, then, you would realize that for the national budget to make more sense to you, a comparison with the previous year would be needed, and, chances are, you would be asked to go through the same process.
But those days are gone, as this information is readily available on its webpage. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) scores high in transparency in terms of this budget document. Accessibility, check! The DBM website provides the convenience of viewing and downloading the document without even visiting their office and, certainly, without having to carry that book. The website also provides the documents pertaining to previous years, allowing a more comprehensive and comparative analysis of the budget. Timeliness, check! The document is available instantaneously, 24/7, no request letters and approvals needed that tend to delay access. Even the difficulty of having to go through and understand the budget terms and numbers may have been addressed to a certain extent through infographics and narratives.
Recently, I came across “Project DIME,” touted by DBM to be a “game-changing project” because it will supposedly monitor the quality of an agency’s spending and implementation of high-value projects using images from drones, radars and satellites. This is certainly a welcome innovation, scoring higher points for DBM. But, after the dust has settled, my initial questions are will the public have access to this and how tamper-proof is this system?
I was reminded of the smoke-emission test results of my friend’s car. While he had been using the same car the entire day, that anti-pollution test apparently was being conducted, complete with images of the car with matching plate number — the wonders of technology indeed. When these things magically happen, the purported transparency only becomes complicit to the furtherance of corruption.
Politics is, as it is often described, the art of compromise. And this could not be truer than in passing the budget. The word “horse trading” comes to mind prominently during this political exercise. Year in and out, members of Congress, in the exercise of their collective power of the purse, maneuver and out-maneuver each other in introducing insertions — sometimes called initiatives to sound more altruistic — that would fund their pet projects. I think it would be very interesting to the people if a ready list of these changes — and who introduced them — were to be released to the public.
By now, it is a certainty that we will operate under a reenacted budget in 2019 — for how long, nobody knows just yet. I think the more important questions to get answers to are why was there delay in the passing of the budget in the first place? While this scenario has happened several times in the past, what are the reasons this time? Perhaps, the better question is who are the reasons?
Not naming names just would not cut it anymore.
 
Edwin P. Santiago is the executive director of Stratbase ADR Institute.

Public debt, budget deficit and sin tax hikes

When the Philippines public debt reached P7.2 trillion last November, I was curious which among the previous and current administrations were the major debt generators. I checked the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) website and summarized the numbers below and computed the per year rise in public debt stock.
So it was the short-lived Erap Estrada government (2 ½ years) then the Arroyo (9 ½ years) and Duterte governments (2 ½ years) are tied for second place. The often maligned Noynoy Aquino administration was responsible for some fiscal and borrowing restraints, while registering the fastest average GDP growth rates over six years.
Table 1
One more thing, the DBM Secretary of Estrada and Duterte where over-borrowing was the norm was my former UPSE teacher, Dr. Ben Diokno.
Governments resort to over-borrowing after they over-spend, whether there is real or imaginary economic crisis. To follow will be to over-tax the citizens today and tomorrow to pay for the ever-rising public debt and welfarism. The big jump in expenditures and the resulting deficit is shown in Table 2.
Table 2
More deficit, more borrowings, requiring more taxes. Among the usual punching bag by fiscal hawks in government, NGOs and academe is to raise the sin tax endlessly. Congressional bills certified urgent by Malacañang is to raise tobacco tax to P60 per pack, from the P30/pack under the Sin Tax law of 2012 to P40/pack under the TRAIN law of 2017, and raise alcohol tax to P40/liter.
I wrote a paper, “Assessment of the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012” (52 pages) published by the Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi) in November 2018. Among the things I discussed there is the concept of price elasticity of demand (PED), applied to tobacco and alcohol products. The PED is computed as % change in quantity over % change in prices. It is a measurement of responsiveness of demand when prices go up or down.
If the PED is between zero to one, it is considered as “inelastic” because the % change in demand is smaller than the % change in price. For instance, consumption of tobacco declines by 20% only even if prices have increased by 30% (after higher tobacco taxes).
If the PED is 1 it is considered as “unit elastic” and if it is greater than 1, then the demand is “elastic.” For instance, consumption of alcohol declines or even rises by 40% after prices have increased by 30% (after higher alcohol taxes).
I reviewed some of the literature about PED and I found three: (a) Quimbo et al (2012), cigarettes -0.87, no PED for alcohol; (b) DOF (2012), cigarettes -0.58, also no PED for alcohol; (c) Sornpaisarn et al (2017), alcohol -0.79 for low and medium-income countries, no PED F
I made my own computation based on available data on quantities for alcohol and tobacco and reconstructed prices and their changes, I arrived at the following PED numbers for the period 2013-2016: cigarettes -0.34, beer 0.21, wines 1.14, distilled spirits -0.14, or an average of 0.40 across all alcoholic products.
This means that cigarettes PED of -0.34 is inelastic, a 10% rise in tobacco prices (after tax hikes) resulted only in 3.4% decline in consumption. Government goal of getting more taxes from tobacco is achieved but its goal of significantly reducing smoking incidence is not achieved.
For alcohol products, a positive PED of 0.40 means that there was even an increase, not decline, in consumption. This is because the tax hike was not big unlike in tobacco, while people’s income (income elasticity of demand) has increased overall, and people shifted to lower-priced beer and wine so that overall consumption has increased.
Finally, a note on “over-tax tobacco and alcohol, over-increase funding for universal healthcare (UHC)” movement. First they aim that there should be less smoking and drinking, then they silently aim that there should be more smoking and drinking so that there will be more tobacco and alcohol taxes to fund UHC. These are two diametrically opposed goals.
A better option is that any additional revenues from higher alcohol and tobacco taxes should not go to UHC but to retire and reduce the public debt. Then any savings via reduction in interest payment should go to UHC.
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.
minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Hopeless but hopeful

In a December Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on whether they would welcome the coming year with hope or with fear, 96% of the respondents said they would welcome it with hope.
If the survey methodology was as sound as many have come to expect of SWS, almost the entire adult population of the Philippines expects things to be better in 2019. What those “things” are was not specified. But it is widely assumed whenever the question is asked at every year’s end that they primarily refer to the quality of life in general.
Whether those “things” include such pressing public concerns as competent, corruption-free governance, political stability, peace, the rule of law, or personal and familial interests such as inflation and prices, employment, access to education and medical care is a matter of speculation. But because the respondents very likely had widely divergent concepts of what the objects of their hopes are, because of the generic quality of the question, all or most of the 1,200 adults SWS interviewed probably had them in mind.
Although, because assured of confidentiality, the respondents probably expressed themselves candidly and without fear of possible consequences, 96% is still unprecedentedly high. Some Duterte critics were skeptical, since it seemingly implies widespread approval of the regime.
That result, however, can be read in at least two ways. The most obvious and most conventional interpretation is that in the view of nearly all adult Filipinos, things — the quality of life in general, governance and politics, employment and education, etc., etc. — are currently so good they will be even better this year.
But another possibility is that practically every Filipino believes the exact opposite — that things are so bad they have to improve this year: that they have reached such a low point they have nowhere to go but up. Indicative of the hopelessness of the present would thus be almost every Filipino’s hopeful expectations for the future and for change. Hope, to paraphrase Shakespeare, is the only medicine of the miserable.
The first interpretation would mean that despite the newspapers, radio, and television; despite the Internet and social media; and despite their own daily experience with poverty and inflation, extrajudicial killings, the abuse of power, and the dominance of the rule of force rather than the rule of law, except for a tiny minority, every adult Filipino is woefully uninformed not only about public issues but also about his, his family’s and his neighbors’ actual state and quality of life.
In addition to indicting both old and new media and exaggerating their power, it would also suggest that false, misleading, incomplete, and slanted information trumps daily experience. More significantly, it would indicate a level of optimism that would justify political non-engagement and apathy. After all, if things are going so well, one only has to be on the sidelines so they can take their natural course for the better.
The second interpretation is therefore more credible. Disinformation can work only so far, experience being the ultimate arbiter of one’s perceptions. But as accurately perceptive as this reading of Filipino hopefulness may be, it demands active political engagement if the hopes for change and a year better than 2018 are to ever be realized.
However, political engagement should neither be interpreted in the narrow sense of political partisanship, nor as merely being limited to taking an interest and meaningfully participating in the public discourse on the May elections. The results of those elections will help decide the fate of the system of checks and balance that’s at the core of Philippine elite democracy. But political engagement includes, at the very least, being actively involved in the discussion and illumination of those other issues of public, familial and personal concern such as:

(1) the violation of and flagrant disrespect for human rights as State policy;

(2) the possibility that a new constitution without term limits for members of Congress and without an anti-dynasty provision and other self-serving characteristics will be rushed by the present majority members of the House and Senate;

(3) the still extant peril of a shift to a federal form of government that will further strengthen the rule of the warlords and petty tyrants in the country’s most backward provinces and regions;

(4) the virtual surrender of Philippine sovereignty to Chinese economic and strategic interests; and

(5) the Duterte regime’s threat of adopting the Suharto “model” in its campaign against the New People’s Army (NPA), among others.

The imperative that they be held, and the outcome of the May elections, are crucial to the realization of hopes that things will be better in the next 11 months. The regime campaign to continue its dominance in Congress, particularly in the Senate, has to be frustrated as a necessary check against its authoritarian ambitions.
But equally important is the forging of widespread resistance to the violations of human rights that are no longer the abstractions they once were in the poorest communities, where fathers, sons and even mothers have been extrajudicially killed in the course of the war against the poor disguised as a campaign against illegal drugs. The same violations are going on in the Philippine countryside, and victimizing Lumad, progressive Moro people, farmers, and such of their advocates as principled lawyers and human rights defenders.
Earlier thought to be no longer possible, the adoption of a constitution that will keep in pelf and power the present bureaucrat capitalists in all three branches of government has become an imminent danger to the democratization of political power, and so has the shift to a federal form of government.
In addition to these domestic issues, there is also the reality of Chinese aggression, which has not been limited to the military occupation of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. It includes as well incursions into Philippine territory and society, with tens of thousands of Chinese “tourists” being in jobs that can be filled by Filipinos. This is occurring as unemployment soars even among educated Filipinos, poverty continues its brutal reign in the Philippine countryside, and thousands leave the country daily to work abroad.
Unemployment and poverty are indisputable parts of the social and economic crisis that drives rebellions. But every Philippine regime since 1946 has refused to acknowledge that reality and has even fostered the delusion that rebellions are the cause of underdevelopment.
The present regime is no exception. But it is the only one that has openly admitted that it is targeting for elimination the legal formations, among them the party-list groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), that it alleges are allied with, or are “fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines. This bare-faced assault on the civilian population is paving the way to the destruction, not of the guerrillas of the NPA because they are armed and can defend themselves, but of civil society.
Exposing and opposing this ruinously senseless policy is fully justified for the dangers it poses to the entire Filipino nation. What the regime wrongly calls the “Suharto campaign” was the 1965 generals’ coup d’etat against the Sukarno government that killed more than a million card-carrying members of the Communist Party of Indonesia, nationalists, ethnic Chinese, atheists, and non-believers in Islam. Its continuing replication in the vastly different Philippine situation will mean decades of political instability and irreversible economic decline.
Without being involved in the patriotic duty of political engagement in behalf of the imperative of change, one might as well abandon all hope. The hopelessness of the present drives Filipino hopes for an alternative future. But those hopes can only be realized through proactive human intervention, or not at all.
 
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).
www.luisteodoro.com

No bullies in the office

By Tony Samson
BULLYING BEHAVIOR in the workplace is now a legitimate management issue. No longer is the head-biting superior the role model for an effective boss. (I don’t get ulcers. I give them out.) Such boorish behavior is considered dysfunctional and likely to erode an organization’s credibility and bottom line. An exodus of talent, arising from a corporate culture of bullying, is a red mark on a company as an employer of choice.
Business books on bullying behavior, like Nasty Bosses (How to Deal with Them without Stooping to Their Level) by Jay Carter, 2004 advocate a self-help plan for confronting corporate bullies, not by getting angry (or depressed) but by getting even. A more recent book, Skin in the Game (February 2018) by Nassim Taleb promotes the silver rule: “do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.”
Surveys on how employees feel about their company should include a “civility index.” What is relevant for corporations should apply to other organizations as well, yes, including high schools and the proper decorum in the washroom.
Questions on the civility survey serve to focus on uncivil behavior in the organization. Does your boss routinely belittle your achievements? (So what if you exceeded your budget. You always set it too low anyway.)
One can tell a company’s civility index by observing the traits of its top executives who are clones of the CEO. Seldom does a mild-mannered and civil CEO surround himself with those who snarl at waiters who take too long to take orders or routinely jump the line for the elevator. The behavior of the CEO or owner influences the corporate culture on dealing with fellow executives and subordinates.
As for an organization of peers, like a management association or a volunteer group of fund-raisers, there is really no CEO to emulate. In such a group, every member considers himself a CEO. Here, there can be bullies too. They are either avoided or put in their place — Sir, you have a celadon-colored snot dangling from your left nostril.
In the eminent magazine, Economist, there was a discourse on the erosion of courtesy in the world. The unnamed writer surmised that it was the spread of English with its casual approach, devoid of honorifics and deference, that led to a brusque way of communicating. While Spanish, for instance, differentiates between a superior or stranger (usted) versus the intimate and familiar (tu), English only uses “you” to level the playing field. Thankfully, in Filipino, usage of the respectful “po” for elders persists. It can be argued too that the honorific “kuya” or “ate” for drivers and waitresses is a linguistic attempt at civility.
The Internet, with its open format, has also narrowed the courtesy moat, allowing many to post even intimate details of their lives along with personal opinions on ideas and persons to a mass audience — he’s really full of hot air. The chat culture has dispensed with reticence. When everyone feels he can slap you on the back like a pal, he has the license to be rude — oh, you are such a leech when it comes to a free meal. (Put a laughing emoji here.)
The erosion of civility in language finds full flower in bullying and “showing who’s the boss.” The organizational hierarchy formalizes a superior-subordinate relationship where the one on top can throw away circuitous speech and get straight to the point, with no thought wasted on the possibility of hurt feelings. (Let me get straight to the point.)
Empathy is the ability to understand and consider how another person feels in a shared situation. This expression of “fellow feeling” is the basis of courtesy. The concern for another person’s sensitivities eliminates a brusque approach.
Even an otherwise joyful message on a promotion or salary increase can be curtly delivered — here’s the additional 12% for you, so stop whining already. By the same token, hard news like a doctor’s diagnosis of a dreaded disease can be softened by compassion. Sometimes, even false hopes (we’ll see if this approach will work) can allow a person to process and accept an earth-shattering turn of events.
Civility is an acknowledgement of another person’s worth. Delivering a message like serving a meal is all the more appreciated when given with grace and yes, love.
 
A.R. Samson is chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Asian Cup: Philippine Azkals take on Chinese team today

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Philippine men’s national football team treks back to the field today, taking on China People’s Republic in a Group C match at the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
Set for 9:30 p.m. (Manila time) at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the Philippine Azkals will try to build on their spirited showing against Asian powerhouse Korea Republic last time around that saw them just narrowly beaten, 1-0, when many thought they would be routed.
It was a performance that the Philippines is hoping to take cue from as it battles China, winner in its opening game over Kyrgyzstan, 2-1, on Monday, where it hopes to chalk up a breakthrough Asian Cup victory.
“I think we showed the people here in the stadium, in front of the television that this country (Philippines) can play football, because I think we did a lot of good things,” Azkals coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was quoted as saying by the official AFC website following their game against Korea on Jan. 7.
“I think we played one of the best (teams) in this tournament tonight, and we created chances against them, so that gives us hope for the next two games in this group that we can do something even better,” Mr. Eriksson added.
Against China, Mr. Eriksson said he wants his team to have more control of the ball than in their opener.
“I want to see that we dominate and keep the ball better against China. We created some good chances (against Korea Republic), and I’m sure we can do that against China as well, but we must keep the ball a little more than today,” Mr. Eriksson said.
CHINA IS WAITING
Waiting for the Philippines is China, which had to dig deep to come back and beat Kyrgyzstan in their first game in group play.
Yu Dabao scored for the Chinese team with 12 minutes left in the contest to complete its fightback, 2-1, after seeing itself down by a goal just before halftime.
It is something that China coach Marcello Lippi said they hope to address as the tournament progresses.
“I’m not sure the real reason why we couldn’t perform in the first half, but it’s not the first time. I’ve been in China two years now and it’s not the first time in this situation,” Italian Mr. Lippi was quoted as saying by the AFC website.
“There were a few times when the team couldn’t play well in the first half and then, after I got angry and I [prodded] my players, I got the reaction I wanted from the first minute. Maybe it’s the characteristics of the players from China,” he added.
Also playing today are Asian Cup champion Australia against Palestine in a Group B match at 7 p.m. at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai and Korea Republic versus Kyrgyzstan in Group C at 12 midnight at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
The Azkals’ matches can be seen over FOX Sports which is available on SkyCable Channels 31 & 32 (SD) and 253 & 254 (HD) and on Cignal Channels 263 and 265 (HD).

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