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DoST to help dengue detection kit manufacturer speed up production

THE DEPARTMENT of Science and Technology (DoST) is planning to assist the local company that produces the Biotek-M™ Dengue aqua Kit to manufacture more for distribution to a wider area. “We are planning to help the company who is still in the initial stage of commercialization na mag– (to) produce ng additional numbers,” DoST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in an interview with BusinessWorld. He added that the department may also help in the distribution to hospitals. The test kits are made by Manila Health Tek Inc., a company formed in 2013 by a team led by Raul V. Destura from the University of the Philippines (UP), according to the UP website. Mr. Destura and his group developed the technology as a project under the DoST’s Philippine Council for Health Research and Development. The Biotek-M™ Dengue aqua Kit helps diagnose dengue after two or three days from the onset of the illness. The Department of Health (DoH) is set to roll out the dengue kits this week to 304 hospitals in Region IV-A (CALABARZON covering Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Quezon), Region IV-B (MIMAROPA covering Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Region 5 (Bicol), Region 6 (Western Visayas), Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), Region 9 (Western Mindanao), Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). There will be one kit per hospital and each diagnostic session would cost P500. Last week, the DoH declared a national dengue epidemic after it reported a total of 146,062 dengue cases from January to July 20 this year. — Gillian M. Cortez

Salceda files proof-of-parking space bill to regulate car purchase

ALBAY 2ND District Rep. José María Clemente “Joey” S. Salceda has filed a bill that aims to regulate the purchase of motor vehicles by requiring buyers from Metro Manila to show proof of a parking facility. House Bill 1217 or the “Proof-of-Parking Space Act” states that vehicle buyers with residential or business address in the capital will be required to provide an affidavit attesting the availability of a permanent parking space. The affidavit shall be presented to the Land Transportation Office (LTO). “No motor vehicle may be legally conveyed in the absence of a public document duly attested to by the prospective buyer of a motor vehicle and acknowledged before a notary public, that a permanent parking space or facility already exists for the motor vehicle which is subject of the sale,” the bill reads. Last month, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian urged the President to certify a similar bill as urgent in line with his statement in his national address to reclaim all private roads being used for private means. The Department of Interior and Local Government has also released a memorandum circular directing all local government units to clear all roads and sidewalks from obstructions, such as illegal vendors and illegally-parked vehicles. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Rice tariffication problems and measures to deal with them

Calls for the review of the rice tariffication law at this point are premature as it has been less than a year since it started being implemented. Farmers have yet to receive the assistance which the rice competitiveness enhancement fund (RCEF) offers. Agriculture secretary William D. Dar had just assumed his post, pledging to implement the law effectively. I don’t see any evidence at this point that the lawmakers of the 17th Congress made a big mistake passing this law.

Problems have emerged, the effects of liberalizing rice imports in the country’s largest agricultural industry. Farmgate prices of palay or unhusked rice plummeted this quarter by 17%, while rice consumers’ savings have not been as large as expected. Observers point to the traders/importers who may be the biggest winners of the rice law. Retail prices only fell by 4% according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Millers have stopped milling, and feed millers are short of darak (rice bran) because of that.

It is expected that the members of the local rice value chain — i.e. farmers with significant marketable surplus, seed traders, and millers, traders who have yet to learn the business of importing rice — find the net value they received from the industry are significantly lower.

It is the rice consumers and the government who are better off. Rice prices had gone down and the tariff revenues which will go to the RCEF had accumulated to at least P6 billion, based on a casual read of reports coming from the Department of Finance.

I add to the list of winners the importers who have shifted to importing rice, particularly higher value rice, whose local demand is significant thanks to a growing middle class. Although they pay the 35% import tariff, the local rice market is still far from competitive, and these initial players are still at liberty to earn margins higher than the taxes they pay the government. Such net incomes can be made even higher if importers undervalue rice imports, as some observers claim. But if Customs does its work well, its post-entry audit can take this illegal trade margins from importers.

The direction of these changes is expected, and validated by the statistics that we read at this point. Calls to revert to restrictions on imported rice and the role of the National Food Authority (NFA) in the rice industry are, in my view, misinformed, because short-term measures can be taken to mitigate the adverse effects without losing sight of the fundamental goal of rice tariffication.

One short-term measure is supporting palay prices: let the NFA, which continues to have a commercial role in the industry by procuring local rice for buffer stocks, procure more rice and at a higher price. The sharp fall of palay prices may indicate a significant withdrawal of commercial rice traders and millers from the local palay market. While the private sector is finding its commercial bearings in the local rice and palay markets, the public sector may come in significantly to create a market for our rice farmers, temporarily.

We are approaching the start of the main planting season and I share with all observers the view that low farm prices can discourage rice farmers from planting rice. The rice tariffication law wants farmers to continue growing rice and not drive them out — only now, because of RCEF, the farmers should grow their rice more productively. However, RCEF is not ready yet, and certainly the productivity gains it can potentially help generate have not been not realized yet. The situation calls for immediate measures to keep rice farming going, while long term measures to make rice farming more productive have yet to be taken. By design, the government can only use RCEF starting next year.

Incentives to rice farmers may also be provided through conditional cash transfers for beneficiaries staying in the rice industry. The program however, is not ready yet. We need to properly identify rice farmers and adopt rules to ensure effective implementation and prevent abuse. Special safeguards may also be used following a provision in the rice tariffication law, but safeguards raise taxes on imports and make less affordable to rice consumers.

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAELVARCAS

The NFA has to be reimbursed appropriately for the subsidy implied by the contingent short-term measure, and for the procurement service it is doing for the national government.

But the government’s winning move is the long-term effective use of RCEF. Secretary Dar, who has yet to warm his seat at the Department of Agriculture (DA), has to think beyond what several past administrations in the DA had been doing to deliver development funds to improve the productivity of our rice sector. For example, the performance of past DA administrations when it came to the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act was disappointing.

It may be time to think of alternative delivery mechanisms of the assistance to be funded from RCEF. I have advocated for consolidated management of our rice farms. There is simply very little productivity gain that can be realized in small rice farms. The application of improved technologies and farming practices, access to required farm inputs and credit, and effective access to final markets of rice, all these can be facilitated and likely if several small rice farmers bind themselves together to jointly manage their combined rice farms. One can think of several organizational forms for this. But in this way, the benefits of RCEF can be delivered at a lower cost, and upstream inputs like farm machinery put to better use.

The government can also start now to design a conditional cash transfer for rice farmers, which can be ready in a year or two.

Another group of players in the value chain are the millers. The frontier milling conversion rates (palay to milled rice) these days is 65%, but to my recollection we still have many rice mills with 60% conversion rates. The government can negotiate with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) private sector support office to finance a fund for modernizing the rice mills in our country. A local development bank, like the Development Bank of the Philippines, can retail the loan to millers. If on average we can push milling conversion rates to 65%, that would give millers more space to compete effectively with rice imports which are taxed at 35%.

On the import side, the risk remains that exporting countries may restrict rice exports for one reason or another such as what transpired in 2008. I had worked on this type of risk while doing some work for the ADB for the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB). ASEAN cooperation is important to provide us with an effective early warning system for this type of risk or to avoid it. Perhaps, the DA can check on the progress of the ASEAN rice forum.

The features of the rice tariffication law has the potential of becoming an inclusive trade liberalization reform. Consumers benefit from the reform, and are partly taxed for it with the 35% import tariff. Its revenues go to RCEF, which can accumulate at least P10 billion a year to give rice farmers the opportunity to retool and make rice farming in the country more productive, or even to assist them to shift to other farming businesses. With the fund, adjustment costs of rice farmers can be lowered, resulting in fewer farmers exiting the agriculture sector.

The design for an inclusive trade reform is in the law. The rest is with Secretary Dar, with all our support.

 

Ramon L. Clarete is a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Agritourism

Last year, my wife and I went on a trip to Spain, specifically to visit the wine vineyards of Bodegas Frutos Villar. Situated in the city Valladolid in Castilla y León, the city is where the Pisuerga, Duero, and Esgueva rivers converge. These bodies of water are what help irrigate five famed wine regions — Ribiera del Duero, Rueda, Toro, Tierra de Leon, and Cigales. Valladolid was the capital of Spain during the era of King Philip III in the early 1600s and the center of Spanish political life. The city is teeming with historical sites and old world splendor.

While my wife and I enjoyed the tourist attractions that Valladolid has to offer, we were there for another reason — to learn and experience life as a wine producer. We are great fans of Bodegas Frutos Villar having enjoyed their products for more than 10 years. Folks in the Philippines will recognize their wines under the brand names Moruve, Conde Siruela, and Calderona. Fortunately, the third generation owner of the winery, Jose Luis Villar, is a personal friend and he invited us to observe (and occasionally participate) in the wine production process.

From the bodega’s pedologists (soil scientists) we learned how soil conditions and the weather can affect the yield and character of wines. Alongside their vineyard workers, we experienced how to harvest grapes and extract their nectar using century-old wine presses. By observing the vinter (wine maker), we were able to distinguish the subtle differences between wines aged in French or American oak barrels and those aged in stainless steel casks. With Jose Luis, we observed the bottling process and roamed the dungeons where the wines are aged.

The experience was educational if not enriching. This is the essence of Agritourism.

Agritourism is a category of the tourism industry where visitors are allowed to observe, experience, and immerse themselves in an agriculture-based operation or activity. This includes fisheries. Agritourism has both an educational and leisure dimension to it, making it a powerful tourism product. It is geared for tourists looking to learn about the production of a certain agricultural product while enjoying the historical sites, culture, and gastronomy that the locality has to offer.

Agritourism is a $54.63 billion dollar industry that is seen to grow by 18% from 2019 and 2023. The Philippines is in an ideal position to take market leadership in this segment, what with its 11 million hectares of agricultural land, its deep agricultural history, its tropical climate, diverse selection of agricultural products including exotic fruits, and an English speaking population.

According to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for graduate Study & Research in Agriculture (Searca), the Philippines is presently counted among the world’s top agritourism destinations which also includes Taiwan, Hawaii, Italy, Spain, the US, and Brazil. However, the Philippines has yet to fully exploit the potentials of agritourism. Spain received 4 million agriculture visitors last year while the numbers in the Philippines are so small that the Department of Tourism does not bother to track them.

The good news is that government is well aware of the potentials of agritourism. After all, along with the influx of tourists comes spending on accommodations, food, transportation, and local products. Agritourism is an effective way to fire up the economies of the countryside while augmenting incomes of the rural folk.

In May 2016, the Farm Tourism Development Act (RA 10816) was signed into law. Among its many provisions is to formulate an agritourism master plan; create a Farm Tourism Development Board to advocate, coordinate, and oversee all matters relating to the sector; fill infrastructure gaps; engage in research and development; establish quality standards for participating farms and accredit them; and, of course, promote Philippine agritourism to a worldwide audience, among others.

The law mandates the Department of Tourism (DoT) to take the lead in the initiative, to be supported by the Department of Agriculture and Department of Trade and Industry.

Although the bill was signed into law three years ago, its implementing rules and regulations were only completed last July. Hence, the Farm Tourism Development Board has not yet been organized, neither has the agritourism master plan been written. The DoT hopes to convene the board by the 4th quarter of this year.

I reckon they better get moving on the agritourism master plan while Secretary Bernadette “Berna” Romulo-Puyat still heads the DoT. With 12 years of experience working for the Department of Agriculture, she has the insights of both the farmers and tourism operators. She is in the best position to spearhead a master plan that makes sense to both.

At the heart of the plan is persuading farm operators to add a tourism dimension into their operations. After that, they must be mentored on how to do it right.

Farmers must be taught how to be boutique hoteliers, providing guest with clean rooms, meals, and curated experiences. They must be guided through the process of setting up a digital booking system given that 72% of all hotel bookings are done online. They must be coached on how to provide the basic essentials of hospitality such as first aid medical care, land logistics, and basic security for guests.

Apart from offering food, lodging, and hands-on experience on basic farm chores, successful agritourism establishments around the world offer experiences that go beyond farm work. This can come in the form of cooking classes, workshops on food processing, soap and cosmetic making using farm produce, craft making, and many others. I know of a gentleman farmer who offers his farmstay guests indigenous wellness treatments such as hilot (healing massage) and arbulario (folk healing) services. Uniqueness is key in this field.

Destinations for agritourism can come in the form of a small boutique farms, full-blown haciendas (plantation estates), or industrial-grade plantations like Tadeco’s banana plantations in Davao del Norte. It’s a numbers game. The more farms that offer beds for tourists, the more vibrant the sector will be.

At present, there are only 12 agritourism destinations duly accredited by the DoT. They are: The Kaharian Farm in Lipa, Batangas; Forest Wood Gardens in San Pablo, Laguna; Ato Belen’s Farm in San Pablo, Laguna; Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna; Flor’s Garden and Nature Haven in Antipolo City; Domingo Permafarms, also in Antipolo City; Teofely Nature Farms in Silang, Cavite; Chad’s Nature Farm in Batangas; Nurture Farmacy in Amadeo, Cavite; Terra Verde Ecofarm in Maragondon, Cavite; the Moca Family Farm in Padre Garcia, Batangas; and Graco Farms in Pila, Laguna.

Collectively, these accredited farms have a capacity of less than 200 beds for farmstay guests. Although they are concentrated in the Calabarzon area, nationwide expansion will follow after the agritourism master plan is completed.

The number of farm beds in Spain is well over 10,000. This is what it takes to accommodate four million farmstayers annually. The Philippines has a long way to go.

International tourism arrivals to the Philippines reached 7.1 million in 2018. The DoT is targeting 8.2 million visitors this year, and onwards to 12 million visitors by 2022. Agritourism is a category that needs to be exploited, not only to attain our foreign arrival targets but also to put more money in the pockets of our farmers. It is another leg in which our tourism program can run, one that promises a win-win outcome.

 

Andrew J. Masigan is an economist.

How goes the economy?

On Monday last week, 15 economists polled by BusinessWorld — 11 from banks and financial institutions and four from the academe — were sure gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the second quarter (April to June) would have leaped to 5.9% from the nasty fall in the first quarter to 5.6% (the lowest in four years) after the hopeful 6.3% quarter-growth at year end 2018. Perhaps they were encouraged by Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning Ernesto M. Pernia’s assurance last June that though the second-quarter growth will “not be as strong as the third quarter would be,” a 6.5% GDP growth for the year would be “attainable.”

On Thursday the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) dropped a bombshell: GDP grew by only 5.5% last quarter, slower than the 5.6% in the first quarter and 6.2% (corrected) in the second quarter of 2018. This averages GDP growth at 5.5% for the first semester, slower than the 6.3% in 2018’s first half and the slowest expansion since the 5.1% recorded in the first quarter of 2015. In the same announcement, Mr. Pernia said that in order to reach the low end of the government’s 6-7% growth target, the economy would have to grow by an average of at least 6.4% this second semester.

Mr. Pernia immediately explained that the weaker-than-expected second-quarter economic performance reflected the “continuing effect” of the delay in enactment of the P3.662-trillion 2019 national budget, coupled with the March 29 to May 12 ban on new public works ahead of the May 13 mid-term elections. It will be noted that the 2019 budget would have been P3,757.3 trillion, from which P95.3 billion was slashed, in the heated controversies over budget insertions that delayed enactment in time for the start of the fiscal year. But nevertheless, the government operated on a reenacted 2018 budget from January to April 15, when President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the 2019 national budget into law. The Department of Budget Management (DBM) said in a press release on Thursday that it had released P3.263 trillion, or 89.1%, of the delayed budget.

“Based on our estimates, if we had spent according to the fiscal program, growth would have been at least one percentage point higher (for the first two quarters),” National Economic Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said in a Q&A with the media at Thursday’s slew of explanatory briefings. Yet the PSA reports that government spending was at 6.9% in the April-June period, decelerating from the growth of 7.4% the previous quarter and 11.9% last year.

GDP is computed using the formula: GDP = C + G + I + NX, or consumption + government spending + investment + net exports. Consumption slowed, growing only by 5.6% during the second quarter from the first quarter’s 6.1% and last year’s 6%. Government spending decelerated, as discussed. Investments declined by 8.5%, compared to the expansion of 8% and 20% in the first quarter of 2019 and second quarter of 2018, respectively. Exports of goods and services slowed to 4.4% in the second quarter from 14.7% in the same period last year, while imports stayed in the vicinity of last year’s 21%. With all variables slowing, naturally GDP growth will be down, and probably keep going down some more along the slippery downward trend.

Hours after the PSA reported that the economy grew at the weakest pace in four years in the second quarter, and two days after it said that July inflation was the slowest in two and a half years, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) quickly cut benchmark rates by a quarter percentage point, bringing the overnight repurchase rate to 4.25% and the overnight deposit and lending rates to 3.75% and 4.75% respectively, BusinessWorld reported. Five rate increases to hold down inflation in 2018 had also consequently discouraged investments and discouraged borrowing for consumption. BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno (who was former Department of Budget and Management Secretary) was earlier quoted by Bloomberg on Aug. 5 that he sees a 50-basis points cut for the rest of the year. “Inflation remains likely to stay within the inflation rates target of 2%-4% for 2019 to 2021,” Mr. Diokno announced to the press.

That same Friday, Presidential Spokesman Salvador S. Panelo came on national television assuring all that, “While growth has slowed down in the second quarter of this year, the Office of the President has been assured by our economic managers that this is simply a temporary setback.” The 2020 national budget is being rushed for approval, even this early.

So, is it still true that “The Philippines will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), despite some stabilization of investment growth,” according to the World Bank in its January 2018 Global Economic Prospects report?

That may not be true anymore, today. Based on ASEAN GDP growth of 10 member-countries (extrapolated from Statista.com, Aug 9, 2019), the Philippines is down to 8th of 10 countries in terms of GDP increase from 2017 to 2018. Malaysia grew 12.6% to a 2018 GDP of $354.35 billion; Vietnam grew 9.47% to $241.27 billion; and even poor (in terms of GDP) Cambodia grew 10.3% to $24.52 billion. The Philippine’s 5.46% growth (unadjusted) brought GDP to $330.85 billion at end 2018, just for rough demonstration and raw comparison.

But the more significant statistics tell of how GDP growth has improved the welfare of society. In GDP and GDP per capita data according to International Monetary Fund’s April 2019 estimates, the ASEAN average for GDP per capita projected for 2019 is $4,747. Singapore tops all with $65,627 GDP per capita; second is Brunei with $30,290, next is Malaysia with $11,385; and Thailand with $7,607, Indonesia with $4,123, before it is the Philippines with $3,280 GDP per capita.

Analytical data of tradingeconomics.com shows an average 1.73% growth in Philippine GDP per capita for the four years 2014-2017, when GDP average growth for those years was at least 3.63%. That would mean that the quality of life for Filipinos had improved only by roughly half of what the improvement in GDP growth should have given them. But the dismal GDP per capita does not even tell the true story of the trickle down of GDP to the more needy. The Gini coefficient that has hovered around 40% (the 1986-2014 gap between rich and poor) reveals that as at 2015, the richest 10% hold 31.30% of GDP, while the poorest 10% make do with 2.7% left for them. Increasing the poverty band at an estimated actual 20% would still show a niggardly share of 6.6% of national wealth, with the 20% richest grabbing 47.3% of GDP.

But, as government regulators and economic planners would say, there must be sacrifices made in the name of development. Thus the rush for the TRAIN/TRABAHO tax and incentives reform program which will pump prime the economy. Under its P8.44-trillion 2017-2022 “Build, Build, Build” program, the government aims to jack up its spending on infrastructure alone to P1.899 trillion, equivalent to 7.45% of GNP by the time President Rodrigo Duterte ends his term in 2022 according to a philstar.com report from Dec. 20, 2017.

Just don’t let the Filipino poor subsidize the bounty of the entitled rich, in the obsession with development and the honorific GDP growth.

 

Amelia H. C. Ylagan is a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.

ahcylagan@yahoo.com

Lee Kuan Yew

August 9 is the National Day of Singapore. On this day, Singapore commemorates its independence from Malaysia.

Singapore is a most prosperous country, and, without a doubt, its founding leader Lee Kuan Yew played a key role in the Singapore miracle.

I admire Lee Kuan Yew for what he did for his country. Mr. Lee became prime minister of Singapore in 1959 when the city-state, won its independence from Britain. Singapore joined the Federation of Malaysia, but after a few years, in the wake of “race riots,” Malaysia severed ties with Singapore.

Singapore, upon its independence from Malaysia, had very few resources. It was very Third World. A New York Times writer described it then as “malarial.”

By 1994, it had the world’s busiest port, was the third-largest oil refiner, and was a major center of global manufacturing and service industries. From less than $100 million in its coffers, it is today one of the world’s economic powers with perhaps the biggest sovereign wealth funds globally. Singapore does not disclose the amount, but Temasek, an investment company, manages funds worth more than $220 billion (as of March 2018).

How enviable then is Singapore as a neighbor in the ASEAN region. Minister Lee’s leadership mattered in accounting for Singapore’s success.

Even before Deng Xiaoping made China an economic success story, there was Lee who trailblazed the path that Singapore and, later, China and others followed.

Not without his critics who lambasted and lampooned him for his micro-management, curtailment of civil liberties, laws banning chewing gum and spitting, and lack of entrepreneurship, among others, Minister Lee conceptualized, engineered, and imposed a social order that has translated into material well-being enjoyed by his people. When questioned, Minister Lee replied: “These are my choices. I go by what is good governance. What are the things I aim to do? We have now a healthy society that gives everybody the chance to achieve his maximum.”

Many times I have thought that we (the Philippines) need a Lee Kuan Yew, or someone with his attributes as a visionary, firm, and sophisticated leader; a strong but benevolent leader. I personally experienced a thin slice of life in Singapore. During a respite from education for the stretch from 2002 -2005, I made a few visits to Singapore, and my business then exposed me to entrepreneurship and Singaporean entrepreneurs.

Being an advocate of children’s rights, I admire Mr. Lee for what he had done for education. Singapore was a backward and remote 700 sq. m fishing village and a populace born and raised in this meager setting composed of multiracial and multicultural Chinese, Malays, and Indians. By 1995, Singapore placed No. 1 in math and sciences in the celebrated and reliable TIMMS or Trends in Math and Science Study (www.nces.ed.gov/timss/) and has stayed consistently on top of the world rankings till today.

Mr. Lee brought Singapore to first-world status, mindful of the Confucian values of discipline and hard work, perseverance, value for learning and scholarship, thrift and the deferment of present enjoyment for future gain.

Even though he was revered as “The Father of Singapore,” Mr. Lee stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990, assuming the role of “senior minister.” In 2004, he assumed the role of “Mentor Minister” which he held until 2011.

Minister Lee was the leader’s leader; the statemen’s stateman. First amongst firsts. From CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, I learned Richard Nixon once compared Minister Lee to legendary statesmen Disraeli, Bismarck, and Churchill. Former US President George Bush enthused: “Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew is one of the brightest, ablest men I have ever met. All of us who have worked with him have benefitted from his wisdom, insight, and dedication.”

In October 2009, Minister Lee received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the US ASEAN Business Council attended by top US foreign policy bigwigs. On this occasion, Henry Kissinger paid tribute to Minister Lee: “He is a seminal figure for all of us. As I have said I have known him for 40 years. I have not learned as much from anybody as I have learned from Lee Kuan Yew.”

But nothing impressed me more than an answer of his during one interview. The interviewer, clearly starstruck, asked him: “So Minister Mentor, is there anyone in this world that you look up to?” I am certain that the interviewer actually meant: “Being Lee Kuan Yew, is it at all possible that you can even look up to someone?” His answer was: “Yes, Deng Xiaoping.”

Surprised, the interviewer asked: “But what about the Tiananmen Incident of 1989?” I had a flashback of the image of that lone man, slight in physique, undaunted by a column of formidable tanks. It is a scene still indelible in my mind and perhaps in the minds of millions around the world. Minister Lee replied: “I cannot judge, because I did not have his information.”

I cannot start to explain why his answer blew my mind, but it did and my feeling, my instinct, my emotion then, albeit not totally devoid of reason, was: “That is a leader.”

 

Rayla Melchor Santos is the co-founder of I am Sam Foundation, which promotes the development of self-worth in the context of nation-building. She is the recipient of the 2019 Global Woman Summit Awardee.

Gilas Pilipinas ends Spain training on winning note

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE Philippine national men’s basketball team ended its sojourn in Spain, part of its FIBA World Cup preparations, on a winning note, defeating Ivory Coast, 73-63, on the final day of the Torneo de Malaga on Sunday, Manila time.

Towed by the strong efforts of guard Robert Bolick and naturalized player Andray Blatche, Gilas Pilipinas made sure it did not finish the pocket tournament sans a victory.

All in all Gilas had a 3-1 record in Spain, including two wins in tune-up games against Congo and Ivory Coast early last week.

The team, however, lost to Congo, 82-71, in the tournament proper on Saturday, in the process depriving the Philippines the chance to face world number two Spain, led by National Basketball Association stars Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio, in the four-country tournament.

Against Ivory Cost yesterday, Gilas had a solid start to set the tone for the team the rest of the way.

Yeng Guiao-coached Gilas took a narrow 17-13 lead after the first quarter before stretching its advantage to 10 points, 39-29, by the halftime break.

The Philippines, which played with a nine-man rotation anew as veteran Gabe Norwood sat out the game to nurse an injured groin, continued to hold sway in the third canto.

Ivory Coast tried to come back in the fourth period but Gilas would not allow anything such to happen as it went on and booked the win.

Mr. Bolick led the way for the Philippines, finishing with 19 points and seven assists with Mr. Blatche tallying 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Paul Lee and Japeth Aguilar had nine points apiece while CJ Perez finished with eight markers.

For Ivory Coast it was Deon Thompson who top-scored with 20 points to go along with 11 boards with Guy Landry Edi finishing with 15 and Mohamed Kone 11 points.

Gilas is expected to be back in the country by Tuesday and continue its preparations in the next two weeks before flying to China for the World Cup, happening from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.

The team though should continue missing key cogs in on-court practices this week as the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals series is still ongoing.

Currently playing in the finals are Gilas pool members Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy of the TNT KaTropa and June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen while his teammate Marcio Lassiter is currently sidelined with a knee strain.

Game Four of the best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals series was to be played later yesterday. In the World Cup, the Philippines is bracketed in Group D along with Serbia, Italy and Angola in the opening round.

UAAP Season 82 to feature triple-header play dates

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

SEASON 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines kicks off on Sept. 4 with triple-header play dates one of its distinct features.

Happening every Wednesdays, the men’s basketball tournament will have midweek matches played at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Venues are the Smart Araneta Coliseum, SM Mall of Asia Arena, and Ynares Center Antipolo.

Done to accommodate the 30th Southeast Asian Games which the country is hosting later this year, the scheduling tweak is a departure from the two-match hump day offering of the UAAP, which had been in effect for the longest time.

The same goes for the women’s side, with 8:00 a.m. games set to be held simultaneously in two different venues with another game played at 10 a.m.

Venues are the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion, Araneta Coliseum, MOA Arena, and Ynares Center.

Weekend matches on Saturdays and Sundays will still be double-headers as per the official first-round schedule released last week.

The first scheduled triple-header happens on opening day, Sept. 4, at the Big Dome, itself a departure from the usual weekend kickoff of the season.

Playing on said date are the UST Growling Tigers and the University of the East Red Warriors at 10 a.m. followed by the Far Eastern University Tamaraws against the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons at 12:30 p,m., and the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles versus the Adamson Soaring Falcons at 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, rivals Ateneo and De La Salle University Green Archers will have an early joust for Season 82 with the teams facing off on opening week on Sept. 8, Sunday, at 4 p.m.

Playing on opening week as well are the National University Bulldogs against Adamson and UP versus UST on Sept. 7, and UE against FEU on Sept. 8.

The “Battle of Katipunan” finals rematch between the Eagles and the Fighting Maroons takes places on the final play date of the first round on Sept. 29.

UP will take on Adamson, its Final Four opponent in Season 81, on Sept. 15 while Ateneo versus FEU, semifinal foes last year, happens on Sept. 14.

La Salle takes on UST, handled by former coach Aldin Ayo, on Sept. 28.

España rivals UST and FEU collide on Sept. 22 while FEU jousts with La Salle on Sept. 18.

The final weekend of the opening round will also see Adamson take on UST on Sept. 28 and NU versus UE on Sept. 29.

Ateneo is the host for UAAP Season 82.

Beermen tie KaTropa after Game Four win

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals series between the San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa is now tied at two games apiece after the former hacked out a 106-101 victory in Game Four on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

San Miguel used a strong push late in the third period to build enough cushion and held on tight down the stretch to get back in the series, which is now down to a best-of-three affair.

The first quarter of the contest was marked by a game of runs early before the Beermen made a late strong push to create a 31-22 separation by the end of the opening 12 minutes.

In the second period, Jayson Castro and Terrence Jones jolted the KaTropa to a 7-0 run in the first 12 minutes to come to within two points, 31-29.

San Miguel, however, survived the onslaught and continued to lead, 39-34, with six minutes to go behind import Chris McCullough.

But TNT kept coming, managing to tie the count at 45-all at the 3:18 mark after a dunk by Mr. Jones.

The KaTropa eventually completed the turnaround as the half drew to a close, up by a point, 52-51.

Another jostling took place in the early goings of the third canto, with TNT slightly ahead, 65-64, at the 5:44 mark.

The Beermen then called June Mar Fajardo’s number, going on a 12-0 blast in the next three minutes to push ahead, 76-65.

It was a swing that San Miguel would use to build an 82-69 advantage heading into the fourth frame.

TNT made attempts to get some real estate back to begin the final quarter but San Miguel continued to hold sway, 90-81, midway into the quarter.

But the KaTropa stayed within striking distance, 96-92, with two minutes remaining.

A putback by Mr. McCullough with 1:42 made it a six-point lead for the Beermen, 98-92.

Mr. Jones got back the two points 16 seconds later, 98-94.

The TNT import further pushed his team closer, 98-96, with two made free throws with 40 ticks remaining.

But Mr. Fajardo gave San Miguel more breathing space, 100-96, with a basket in the paint with 27 seconds to go.

TNT sued for time after to set up a play but Mr. Castro turned the ball over which Alex Cabagnot made them pay for with two points from the charity stripe to make it 102-96 with 16 seconds left.

A triple by Troy Rosario with 10 seconds remaining made it 102-99.

Mr. Cabagnot was sent to the free- throw line anew and made two points to stretch its lead, 104-99.

Mr. Jones scored off a drive to push TNT to within three points, 104-101.

But two free throws by Chris Ross after put the game away for San Miguel.

Mr. McCullough had another 20-20, finishing with 27 points and 22 rebounds to go along with four assists.

Mr. Cabagnot had 25 points while Mr. Fajardo tallied 22 markers.

Mr. Jones, meanwhile, was the high point man for TNT with 32 points on top 16 boards, six assists and six steals.

Mr. Rosario had 24 points and eight rebounds while Mr. Castro had 17 markers, eight rebounds and eight assists.

“Thank God for this win. It was an important game for us because we did not want to fall behind, 3-1, in the series. So salute to the players for getting this win,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria after the game.

He was quick to say though that it was not easy playing TNT and they have to say on top of their game moving forward.

Game Five of the series is on Wednesday, Aug. 14, also at the Big Dome.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Meanwhile prior to the game, the top individual awards for the tournament were handed out.

TNT’s Jones was named best import of the conference, beating San Miguel’s McCullough, Barangay Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee and Rain or Shine’s Carl Montgomery.

Mr. Jones became the third best import awardee for the TNT franchise, joining Silas Mills (Governors’ Cup, 1998), Jerald Honeycutt (Commissioner’s Cup, 2002, and Fiesta Cup, 2004), and Richard Howell (Commissioner’s Cup, 2013).

Best player of the conference, meanwhile, is Mr. Jones’s teammate Castro.

The Gilas Pilipinas veteran won the award over San Miguel’s Fajardo, Blackwater’s Ray Parks, Jr., Northport’s Robert Bolick and Columbian’s CJ Perez.

The BPC award is the fifth for Mr. Castro.

PFL: Stallion Laguna FC, Ceres-Negros winners in Aboitiz Pitch in Batangas

THE Philippines Football League made a return to the Aboitiz Pitch in Lipa City, Batangas, on Saturday with Stallion Laguna FC and Ceres-Negros FC emerging as winners.

The Stallions defeated Global Cebu FC, 4-1, while league-leading Ceres survived a gallant stand by Mendiola FC 1991 to emerge on top, 5-2.

It was a quick start for the Laguna team that saw Fitch Arboleda puncture the first goal of the match in the ninth minute.

Teammate Ruben Doctora then made it a 2-0 lead four minutes later.

Global was undeterred and kept coming back, eventually rewarded in the 45th minute when Charlie Beaton found the bottom of the net to narrow the gap at 2-1.

But before the first-half horn sounded, the Stallions managed to score another point in the added two minutes care of Abou Sy to make it a 3-1 count at halftime.

With firm control of the match, the Stallions made a quick kill at the start of the second half, with Jhan-Jhan Melliza making it a three-point separation for his team with a goal in the 63rd minute off a penalty kick.

Global could not recover from the hole and saw Stallion ran away with the win after.

The victory gave Stallion (6-3-2) the full three points and pushed it to 21 points, just a point down from second-running Kaya FC-Iloilo (7-1-2).

Global (1-0-8), for its part, slumped to its fourth straight defeat and continues to tailend with just three points to show for to date in the seven-team league.

Meanwhile earlier in the day, defending league champion Ceres continued to roll, topping Mendiola.

Newly acquired Robert Mendy scored four goals for his new team, three of which — 16’, 36’ and 33’ — coming in the first half to help Ceres to a 3-1 lead at the break.

Mendiola struck early in the second half to narrow the gap, 3-2, in the 49th minute on an Ash Flores goal.

But Mr. Mendy was quick to steady the ship for his team, scoring his fourth goal of the day in the 55th minute to make it a 4-2 count.

The two teams swung back-and-forth after before Bienvenido Maranon made it a 5-2 lead in the 90th minute of the match that put the game away for Ceres.

Ceres (9-1-0), with the win, is safely on top of the perch with 28 points while Mendiola dropped to a record of 3-1-7 with 10 points.

Later on Sunday, Kaya was to play Philippine Air Force FC at the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Excitement, charity highlighted anew at Resorts World Manila’s Run With Me X

THE AWARD-winning annual celebrity-led fun run for charity of Resorts World Manila (RWM) happens for a fourth year later this month with organizers promising yet again an exciting day of activities and gathering for a cause.

Happening on Aug. 25 at the SM MOA concert grounds, “Run With Me X” coincides with the integrated resort’s 10th anniversary, giving the event further significant and added motor for RWM to make it a bigger and better event.

For Run With Me X, RWM, which partnered with Runrio, Inc. for the staging, is once again opening four race categories — 32K, 21K, 10K, and 5K distances — with organizers expecting over 8,000 runners to participate, higher than the 5,000 who participated in last year’s edition.

Registration period is open until Aug. 24, with corresponding rates at P1,600 for 32K; P1,400 for 21K; P1,200 for 10K; and P1,000 for 5K.

All race kits will include singlet, race bib, timing chip, and hydration bottles. Race kits will also include finisher shirts and RWM commemorative finisher’s medals for 21K and 32K runners. 10K runners will likewise get an RWM commemorative finisher’s medal.

Five charity beneficiaries will share portions of the proceeds from the five celebrity-led teams.

Right Start Community Development, Inc., which aims to provide creative spaces for poor children, will be the beneficiary of the Red Team, led by Korina Sanchez, Gian Magdangal, OJ Mariano, and Myke Salomon.

HERO Foundation, which helps the families of fallen soldiers, will be the partner of the Yellow Team, led by Jeffrey Hidalgo, Norman Pascual, and Neil Perez.

Persons with disabilities-empowering Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. is the beneficiary for the Green Team which has Ara Mina, Chuckie and Yen Dreyfus, Polo Ravales, and Paulyn Quiza.

The Blue Team, led by Yael Yuzon, Jana Victoria, Will Devaughn, and Jay Kent, will have education for underprivileged youth-championing ERDA Tech Foundation as its partner-beneficiary.

EPCALM Adult Leukemia Foundation, meanwhile, will be it for the Orange Team, led by Rovilson Fernandez, Meg Imperial, Ray Gibson, and Ronnie Liang.

“Team Run With Me wins here. It’s all of us. Because running for charity would mean more funds for the different charitable institutions. No pushover teams this year,” said Joee Guilas, RWM’s head of corporate communications, at the press conference for the event on Aug. 8 at the Hilton Manila, highlighting how Run With Me X would be in equal parts exciting and beneficial.

For TV personality, model and magazine editor Fernandez, who has been participating in the running event since its inception in 2016, the effort that the runners for the event put into it is all worth it.

“I’m happy to be part of Resorts World’s charity run since the start. Running can be taxing at times but doing it for charity makes it really gratifying,” Mr. Fernandez said.

Last year, the charity event raised P3.5 million for YESPinoy Foundation, HERO Foundation, Right Start, Empowering Brilliant Minds Foundation, ERDA Tech, and EPCALM Adult Leukemia Foundation.

Interested parties may register online via www.runwithme.ph, via the RWM Mobile App, selected Olympic Village branches, or at Garmin branches in SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia.

Visit www.rwmanila.com for more on Resorts World Manila’s 10th anniversary celebrations.

MLB: Odorizzi quiets Cleveland Indians as Minnesota Twins reclaim 1st in AL Central

LOS ANGELES — Max Kepler and Marwin Gonzalez homered, and Jake Odorizzi pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings to pick up his 13th win as the Minnesota Twins reclaimed sole possession of first place in the AL Central with a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Luis Arraez had an RBI triple, and Ehire Adrianza and Jorge Polanco each had two hits for Minnesota, which snapped a season-long four-game losing streak.

Odorizzi (13-5) gave up six hits and four walks while striking out six. Odorizzi has allowed just 10 hits and two runs while striking out 19 in 17 innings in three starts against Cleveland this season.

Taylor Rogers gave up one hit while striking out two over the final two innings to earn his 18th save.

Yasiel Puig went 3-for-4 with a home run and also threw out a runner at the plate for Cleveland, which went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. It was just the 17th loss in the last 58 games for the Indians, who had overcome an 11 1/2-game deficit to move into a tie for first place on Friday night.

Adam Plutko (4-3) allowed four runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Mitch Garver hit a two-out double down the left field line and scored on a triple by Arraez off the wall in right-center. C.J. Cron then singled in Arraez. It marked the first time in 40 innings that the Twins had taken a lead in a game.

Kepler led off the bottom of the fifth with his 32nd homer of the season, a 355-foot opposite-field drive into the flower bed in left.

Cleveland cut it to 3-1 in the seventh on Puig’s first home run with the Indians and 23rd of the season, a towering 455-foot drive deep into the second deck in left-center.

Gonzalez put the Twins back up 4-1 in the bottom half of the inning with his 13th homer of the season, a 414-foot shot to the back of the bullpen in left-center. — Reuters

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