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UP secures second spot, eliminates De La Salle, 71-68

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons secured for them the second spot in the elimination round of Season 82 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines after defeating and eliminating in the race the De La Salle Green Archers, 71-68, in league action on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Key plays by Bright Akhuetie, Kobe Paras and Jun Manzo gave UP (9-4) the leverage it needed down the stretch to outlast the Archers (6-7), who with the loss saw their semifinal chances crushed.

Earlier in the day, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws (8-6) notched a Final Four spot after defeating the University of the East Red Warriors, 82-58.

UP got off to a fiery start led by Ricci Rivero who towed his team to a 7-0 advantage by the 7:30 mark of the opening quarter.

It would continue to build on it, stretching its lead to as much as 14 points, 17-3 with three minutes to go before settling for a 10-point cushion, 21-11, at the end of the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, the Maroons opened the proceedings with a 6-0 run to extend their to lead to 16 points, 27-11, with eight minutes to go in the frame.

But La Salle then exploded.

On the lead of Aljun Melecio, Jamie Malonzo and Justin Baltazar, the Archers went on a ferocious 21-0 run, to race to a 32-27 lead with a minute left in the quarter.

Reigning most valuable player Akhuetie helped steady the ship for the Maroons, racking up five straight points to level the count at 32-all with 30 seconds remaining.

Baltazar handed the lead back to La Salle, 34-32, with a bucket only to be answered by UP guard Jun Manzo with a triple as the second-quarter time expired to give the Maroons the upper hand, 35-34, at the half.

Shell-shocked by the La Salle rally in the second canto, UP came out on firmer footing to begin the third with Noah Webb and Paras on the firing end.

The Maroons went on a 7-0 run to build a 42-34 advantage with just two minutes passing.

La Salle tried to claw its way back but Akhuetie and the Maroons were steady in staving its opponents off, still taking control, 48-39, with four minutes to play.

Malonzo was undeterred and kept pulling the Archers, who came to within four points, 48-44, with 2:30 to go.

When the third-quarter smoke cleared, the Maroons were still on top, 55-45.

Sensing that the game was slipping from their hands, the Archers came out of the fourth quarter with more aggressiveness.

The Maroons though continued to hold sway, 60-55, with five minutes to go.

But La Salle kept fighting its way back, going on an 11-2 run in the next two minutes and a half to seize the lead, 66-62.

Manzo and Akhuetie conspired for four points for UP to level the count at 66-all entering the last two minutes.

Encho Serrano scored for the Archers to make it, 68-66, with 1:35 remaining.

UP sued for time after to set up a play.

Akhuetie tied the count for the Maroons, 68-all, with 1:25 to go.

La Salle had a chance to reclaim the advantage but turned the ball in the ensuing play.

UP made the Archers pay as Paras scored off a slam sunk with 54 ticks to go to make it, 70-68, for the Maroons.

The Archers had their chances to get back the lead but muffed them.

A split on the charity lane by Manzo with two seconds remaining gave UP a 71-68 advantage from which La Salle could not recover from.

Akhuetie led UP with 17 points and 10 rebounds with Manzo and Rivero adding 12 points apiece. Manzo also had eight assists. Paras finished with 10 points.

La Salle, meanwhile, was paced by Malonzo with 17 points, followed by Melecio with 12 and Baltazar 10.

UP plays the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles (13-0 )on Oct. 30 while La Salle wraps ups its campaign against the Adamson Soaring Falcons (4-9) also on the same date.

Meanwhile in the first game, FEU secured a semifinal spot with a win over also-ran UE (3-10).

Wendell Comboy led that barrage for the Tamaraws with 17 points on a 5-of-7 shooting from threes, while also hauling down four rebounds. Royce Alforque had 13 points while L-Jay Gonzales had a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.

Astros rout Nats in Game 4, 8-1, level World Series 2-2

WASHINGTON — The Houston Astros opened the 2019 World Series with Gerrit Cole on the mound, followed by Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. But the first starter to earn a victory in the quest for a championship was rookie Jose Urquidy.

What the right-hander lacked in star power, he made up in grit and creativity during Game 4 on Saturday, mixing his pitches well to keep the Washington Nationals off balance as the visiting Astros earned an 8-1 victory.

Urquidy, with just a handful of major league outings to his credit, eased the burden of a bullpen game, dominating over five scoreless innings in Game 4, leveling the series at 2-2 with Game 5 set for Sunday in Washington.

“(Urquidy) was working really hard there to mix it up,” Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said on MLB Network after collecting his third consecutive multi-hit game in the series. “The fastball and change-up played really good today. I’m happy he threw five innings the way he did it, because obviously we needed that.”

Robinson Chirinos hit a home run for the second consecutive game, and Alex Bregman hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as the Astros picked up their second straight victory after losing the first two. Bregman and Michael Brantley each had three hits.

A team meeting after the Astros lost the first two games of the series has done the club wonders.

“It was (a meeting) about bringing the guys back to what we have been doing all year,” Chirinos said on MLB Network. “… It was about reminding the guys of what kind of team we are. It was a short meeting, it was a really good meeting, and I feel like it was a perfect time to do that meeting after the second loss.”

The Astros planned on stringing together appearances from their relievers in Game 4, using the 24-year-old Urquidy to kick things off. Instead, the right-hander gave his team some length, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out four. Five more relievers finished off the final four innings.

After four World Series games, no team has won at home. The last time the road team won the first four games of a World Series was in 1996, when the Atlanta Braves faced the New York Yankees, who won the final two games of the series.

The Astros’ victory Saturday ensures the series will head back to Houston for a Game 6 on Tuesday. Game 7, if necessary, would be Wednesday in Houston.

After sitting at 19-31 on May 23 and coming all this way, the Nationals insist they won’t fret about a losing two consecutive World Series games.

“We’ve been here pretty much all year,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We have two of our big horses (Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg) going in the next two games. We haven’t hit in the last couple of days, but I have confidence we’ll bounce back. … I just told the boys, ‘Hey, we’re in the World Series, about to play Game 5 tied 2-2. Who would have thought that in the beginning?’”

Bregman drove in his first run of the game in the first inning on a single to center field, Houston’s third straight single. Yuli Gurriel made it four in a row with an infield single for a 2-0 lead. Chirinos hit a two-run home run to left off Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin for a 4-0 lead in the fourth.

Corbin (1-3 this postseason) gave up four runs on seven hits over six innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. Nationals starters have gone at least five innings in each of the team’s 14 postseason games.

Juan Soto put the Nationals on the scoreboard in the sixth inning with a run-scoring groundout before Bregman crushed his grand slam to left field in the seventh off right-hander Fernando Rodney.

Urquidy (1-0), the third Mexican-born pitcher ever to start a World Series game, had just nine career appearances and two victories before the playoffs started. His five innings Saturday were more than the 4 1/3 innings he pitched in his two previous playoff appearances combined.

Urquidy’s 15 outs and 67 pitches in Game 4 were key after the Astros needed 4 1/3 innings from five relievers in their Game 3 victory.

“What a day to bring his best,” said Chirinos, who caught Urquidy’s first major league outing on July 2. “I feel like tonight was the best I have seen him since he got called up to the big leagues.” — Reuters

Magnolia stops 3-game losing skid with win over Columbian Dyip, 118-103

THE defending Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup champions Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok finally got back into the win column after defeating the Columbian Dyip, 118-103, on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Losers of their last three assignments, the Hotshots stopped the bleeding for them in the season-ending PBA tournament with a gallant stand against the Dyip to improve to a .500 mark record of 4-4 and get some footing in the middle of the pack.

Import Romeo Travis stepped up his play to finish with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks to help Magnolia to the victory.

It was a close game between the two squads in the opening two periods, with Columbian taking on the opening canto, 29-27, and the Hotshots surging to a 61-52 advantage to claim the second quarter,

In the third period the teams battled it out some more but Mr. Travis and Magnolia were able to keep their heads afloat, 88-76, heading into the final canto.

The Dyip kept fighting in the fourth quarter only to be met by a Hotshots crew determined to bring home the win.

Magnolia held a 12-point lead, 106-94, with 5:53 to go before it went on an 8-4 run in the next three minutes to create enough distance to put the game away.

Ian Sangalang finished with 24 points to provide solid support for Mr. Travis while Jio Jalalon tallied a near triple-double of 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Rome Dela Rosa had 16 points while Mark Barroca had 10.

For Columbian (4-5), it was CJ Perez who top-scored with 28 points to go along with eight rebounds,

Import Khapri Alston had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Dyip with Rashawn McCarthy adding 18 markers.

Magnolia next plays on Nov. 6 against the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters while Columbian takes on the Meralco Bolts on Nov. 8. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Kaya opens Copa Paulino Alcantara title defense on winning note

DEFENDING Copa Paulino Alcantara champion Kaya FC-Iloilo began its title defense on a winning note, going away as a 5-0 winner over Philippine Air Force FC in the tournament opener on Oct. 26 at the Aboitiz Pitch in Lipa City, Batangas.

Getting two goals from midfielder Kenshiro Daniels (33’ and 62’), Kaya proved to be a handful for the tournament newbie Airmen, who just could not recover after going down 0-3 in the opening half of the contest.

Providing goals as well for Kaya in the win were Jayson Panhay (29’), Connor Tagcani (37’) and Marwin Angeles (69’).

Kaya tries to make it two wins in a row in the Cup when it takes on Stallion Laguna FC on Nov. 6.

Meanwhile, three-time Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros FC had to settle for a 2-2 draw in its opener versus Mendiola FC 1991 also on Saturday.

Robert Lopez Mendy got the Busmen to a solid start, connecting on two goals in the fourth and 31st minute to hand his team a 2-0 lead early.

But they would not be able to hold on to the lead as Mendiola fashioned out a fight back.

Mendiola was able to trim its deficit into half, 2-1, just before the break (45+1’) with Hamed Hajimahdo providing the goal.

Papuh Corsame then levelled the count at 2-2 in the 64th minute.

With the outcome of the match still open, the teams tried to go for the go-ahead but their attempts did not produce favorable results, forcing them to settle for the draw and a point each from the match.

Ceres next plays on Oct. 30 against the Philippine Under-22 team while Mendiola also returns on said date versus Green Archers United FC.

Named after Filipino-Spanish football great Paulino Alcantara who played for FC Barcelona, the Cup runs until Nov. 16.

The 2019 Cup tournament has seven teams competing, including the Philippine U22 team set to see action in the 30th Southeast Asia Games later this year here as guest squad.

The teams are divided into two groups with Ceres heading Group A along with Green Archers United, Mendiola and the U22 squad while Kaya is in Group B, joined by Air Force and Stallion.

Tournament format has the teams meeting their group mates once with the top two teams advancing to the semifinals with the group winners facing the runner-up teams from the other group. The higher seeded teams will host the one-off semifinals. The final will consist of a single match as well.

The Copa Paulino Alcantara is shown livestream over www.pfltv.ph and on Facebook live (Philippines only). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Philippines remains a priority market for the league — NBA’s Singson

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

DESPITE the absence of a local television broadcast partner for its games right now, the National Basketball Association reiterated that the Philippines remains a priority market for the league and that it is continuously finding ways to bring its product to the fans to enjoy.

Speaking with sportswriters in a media discussion at their office at Bonifacio Global City on Oct. 25, Carlo Singson, NBA Philippines managing director, said they recognize the situation regarding TV broadcast in the country and are working towards addressing it.

“The Philippines remains to be a priority market for the NBA. It is home to a large and passionate fan base and we don’t take that lightly. Our goal is to service our fans. We’ve been in this market for over 30 years, even before I joined the NBA,” said Mr. Singson.

“TV is an integral part of our distribution strategy and we are in discussions with both local groups and international groups. The discussions unfortunately are quite complex and take a lot of time. Ideally, it would have been done by the start of the season but negotiations, discussions and talks take time,” added the NBA Philippines official, who declined to go into specifics as negotiations are ongoing but nonetheless said they are determined to get things done “way before the end of the season.”

Local fans were left with no TV platform to see the games after the NBA’s long partnership with Solar Entertainment lapsed just weeks before the start of the 2019–20 season.

Solar operated the Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV channels, widely acknowledged as the go-to sources on TV for comprehensive NBA coverage in the country.

Reports have it that among those interested in picking up NBA broadcasting rights are Cignal and Sky Cable, which are jointly negotiating with the league.

“I would like to thank Solar for everything they have done for the NBA. We’ve been partners with them for many years, since 2001 actually. And they have been a very important partner for us to grow the fan base of the NBA here and to continually come up with content to engage them. It’s hard, but like I said, we are in conversations with multiple players both locally and internationally,” said Mr. Singson of their partnership with Solar.

One of the ways they are going about bringing the games to the fans in lieu of TV is through social media.

For tipoff week, NBA Philippines has made games available through Facebook and Twitter.

Mr. Singson shared that such tack is something they are still “experimenting” on but considering the good response it has been getting they are very high on it moving forward, especially since the Filipinos are one of the more engaged with the league on social media globally — 17 million Filipinos following the NBA across its social media platforms.

He cited the first game they featured on livestream between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers on Oct. 23, which was received well here, drawing two million unique visitors.

“Putting games on Facebook and Twitter, for the first time, it’s an experiment but I think given that we had two million unique visitors on our first game, I think it’s so far been quite successful,” Mr. Singson said.

“That’s just slightly under what we were doing in TV last year. So yeah, we’re pretty excited about this whole new field,” he added.

Following tipoff week, NBA Philippines will livestream games twice a week, every Mondays and Thursdays.

Mr. Singson also took time to discuss NBA League Pass, the premium subscription service of the NBA, which he said has grown by leaps and bounds in the Philippines and touted it as great source for fans to have their steady fix of the games.

The service, he said, has experienced double-digit growth in the country, second only to Australia in the Asia-Pacific region as far NBA League Pass subscriptions.

“We continue to develop it (League Pass), work on it. It is a great tool. You can catch live games, replays — games on-demand basically. You can watch it anytime, anywhere. We’ve added new features like the Mobile View which optimizes the viewing for smaller devices like phones and tablets, plus others,” Mr. Singson said of the service here.

“Also, we’ve developed new packages, new bundling, new pricing. So we have League Pass (and) Team Choice, which is basically — you select a team and you can watch every game from that team. We are also introducing the 3-Game Choice, which fans can get for as low as 100 pesos,” he added.

While the TV broadcast situation has yet to be settled, Mr. Singson said fans should not be worried because the league has them in mind in every decision they make.

“I would say fans shouldn’t be worried. That’s why we did our games on social media. Seventeen million fans is quite a large number. Is it everybody? No. But that’s why we are putting things in place that we hope we can announce soon that will hopefully please the fans,” he said.

“But yeah, we continue to look at all opportunities available to us and how best we can service our fans and those are the opportunities that we will pursue,” the NBA Philippines official added.

PGA Tour: Tiger Woods builds three-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama after third round in Chiba, Japan

CHIBA, JAPAN — Tiger Woods left the field building a commanding three-stroke lead over Hideki Matsuyama after the third round at the Zozo Championship on Sunday.

Woods teed off with a two-shot advantage and after teasing his chasers with an opening three-putt bogey, he surged clear with six birdies, before stumbling with a late bogey after chunking his third shot at the par-five 14th.

He shot four-under-par 66, though a three-put par at the par-five 18th left him clearly frustrated.

In his first event since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery two months ago, Woods posted a 16-under 194 total with one round left at Narashino Country Club.

Local favorite Matsuyama, making a rare appearance in his homeland, birdied the final hole to grab second spot on 13-under, while American Gary Woodland (68) was third on 12-under.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd after Saturday’s second round was completed behind closed doors sans spectators due to some muddy conditions that were deemed unsafe, leader Woods put on a clinic for most of the round.

A win by Woods would be his 82nd on the PGA Tour, matching Sam Snead’s record.

And it would leave the 43-year-old highly likely to pass Snead sooner rather than later. Snead was 52 when he recorded his final victory.

The final round resumed almost immediately on what was going to be a marathon day for the field after the 6.30 a.m. local time start.

The marathon was a result of Friday’s washout. Some players should complete 72 holes by time darkness falls at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), but the leaders seem destined to return on Monday morning.

That should be but a minor imposition for Woods, what with his private jet and all. — Reuters

Warriors plan

Draymond Green didn’t want to talk about silver linings. After having seen the Warriors’ unfurling of their brand-spanking-new Chase Center end in an embarrassing rout, he was blunt in his assessment. “We f–king sucked,” he argued. “I’m not a moral victory kind of guy. I’m not looking for something to build off on.” And yet, seeing as how the yellow and blue will have plenty of nights like the one they just experienced, “something to build off on” is what he will need to get used to, and fast. He and two-time Most Valuable Player Steph Curry may still be around, but their presence alone isn’t going to cut it in a cutthroat Western Conference.

Not that Green was wrong. In fact, he was on the mark; the Warriors did prove to be far from what fans had been used to seeing them. Yet, to open the 2019–20 season with the same expectations as before would have been foolhardy at best. It wasn’t simply that the roster turned over. It was who left; Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala, the MVPs of their successful Finals bids over the last half decade, are gone along with veteran Shaun Livingston. And in their place is relative youth, not quite the ingredient required to replace productive assets while staying competitive.

Still, Green has no choice. He has to stand as the pillar of the Warriors — certainly its most vocal leader given Curry’s preference to lead by example. They’re going to need him to be even more engaged — if it were at all possible — in the face of their reliance on nine players no older than 23. And, for all his pragmatism, there are things to look forward to. Certainly, the return to action of Klay Thompson is most anticipated. Still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the five-time All-Star figures to miss most, if not all, of the current campaign. But the wait will be worth it, because they will be better — make that appreciably better — sometime soon.

In the meantime, Green would do well to adopt Steve Kerr’s outlook. “This is not a one-off. This is the reality,” ESPN quoted the Warriors head coach as saying in the aftermath of their 19-point loss to the powerhouse Clippers, fresh off a rousing triumph against the Lakers and just about the worst opponents they could have faced. “There’s going to be nights like this year. You’ve got to play through it. You’ve got to keep fighting and keep getting better. That’s the plan.” And under the circumstances, it’s not just a good plan. It’s the only plan.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Nick de Lange of Designs Ligna on the challenges facing the furniture industry

Nick de Lange, Designs Ligna President, talks about the challenges facing the furniture industry in the Philippines.

ASF, volatile oil prices may push inflation up in 2020 — BSP

THE central bank on Friday flagged an upside risk to inflation next year, amid the volatility of global oil prices and the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.

“The balance of risks to the inflation outlook has shifted over the upside for 2020 while it continues to tilt on the downside for 2021. Over the mid-term, upside risk to inflation might emanate mainly from the volatility in global oil prices and the potential impact of the ASF outbreak,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Department of Economic Research Director Dennis D. Lapid said in a briefing on Friday.

Reuters reported that the Philippine hog industry is losing nearly $20 million a month from ASF infections, quoting agricultural officials. The highly contagious pig disease is spreading in the country, driving up prices of other meat products.

Inflation in the third quarter further decelerated to 1.7% from 3% in the April to June period. This brought the year-to-date average inflation to 2.8% which is still within the government’s target of 2-4%.

In October, inflation eased to 0.9%, its slowest clip since the 0.7% in April 2016 amid lower food electricity and food prices paired with base effects coming from last year’s nine-year high 6.7% inflation logged in September and October 2018.

For October and the rest of 2019, the central bank sees inflation to further tread downward.

“We don’t have the official forecast yet but just coming from the pattern of inflation that we saw last year, September and October were the high points and therefore, just because of the base effects, we’ll see that the impact of the high inflation last year will be to lower the inflation rates,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila told reporters on the sidelines of the central bank’s briefing on the third quarter inflation last Friday.

The PSA is set to report the October inflation on Nov. 5.

Mr. Dakila said they expect a low inflation environment in October.

“We are expecting that inflation will still be quite low this October…The low inflation numbers are going to provide a boost to consumption and this will coincide with the spending in the fourth quarter for the Christmas season,” he added.

Meanwhile, the BSP is confident the economy can grow by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, given the catchup in government spending, lower inflation trend in recent months and anticipated rise in consumer spending during the holidays.

“The fourth quarter will be stronger because of the acceleration in government spending that will already be catching hold by that time as well as this will come with spending during the Christmas season. So we can see that the fourth quarter GDP will be closer to the midpoint of the 6-7% target for the fourth quarter,” Mr. Dakila said, noting that a 6.5% growth is reachable by the fourth quarter.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) released on Oct. 22 showed that national government expenditures climbed by 39.01% in September to P415.1 billion from the P298.6 billion a year earlier, its best performance since the 42.7% increase recorded in April last year.

Government spending earlier in the year was anemic mainly due to the delay of the passage of the 2019 budget as well as the election ban, according to BTr. — L.W.T.Noble with report from Reuters

More PPPs included in Duterte’s infrastructure flagship program

THE government is adding more public-private partnerships (PPP) projects in its list of flagship infrastructure projects, and replacing some big ticket items with “smaller but game-changing” ones, according to the chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said the list, which originally had 75, will now have 100 infrastructure flagship projects.

“Big projects have been taken out and substituted with smaller projects but game changing for the regions. We also included a number of PPPs,” Mr. Pernia told reporters after the AmBisyon Nation 2040 symposium in Taguig City on Friday.

He said many projects in the list are now under construction, such as Department of Public Works and Highways’ road projects in Northern Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas.

Mr. Pernia said unsolicited proposals from the private sector such as the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, and the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be included in the list of flagship projects.

He said some projects in the original list have been dropped after these were deemed “impossible” given the lack of technology to build in “very deep waters and long bridges.”

For instance, the proposed bridge from Matnog, Sorgogon to Allen, Samar has been scrapped after a study showing it was not economically or financially viable.

The NEDA chief said other projects that have been junked are the proposed bridge from Leyte to Surigao which was “really just very challenging”, and the “very costly” Cebu-Bohol bridge.”

Mr. Pernia said the official list of infrastructure flagship projects will be posted on the NEDA website next week.

As of July, the list of infrastructure flagship projects stood at 75 with an indicative total investment requirement of P2.417 trillion.

Mr. Pernia also said that they are confident that majority of the projects in the updated list will be completed or “substantially started” before the end of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term on June 30, 2022.

According to the July status report of the 75 flagship infrastructure projects, 21 projects worth P187.63 billion are set to be completed by 2022, while 54 other projects worth P2.23 trillion are expected to be completed after 2022.

CHANGE IN MINDSET
Asked about the inclusion of more PPP projects, the NEDA chief admitted there was “some hesitancy to PPP projects before”.

The PPP program basically taps into the third way of financing infrastructure projects — the private sector, as an alternative to direct government funding or foreign loans.

However, Mr. Pernia said the ”mindset has adjusted overtime,” suggesting that the impact of projects should be seen more in terms of employment creation, contribution to gross domestic product growth, the multiplier effects, and the direct and indirect economic activities generated.

“We should look at the bigger picture. Let’s not be too obsessed over little gains to be made by the private sector proponent or little loss in the part of government, let’s look at the bigger picture. Let’s not be too restrictive,” Mr. Pernia said.

During his term, President Benigno S.C. Aquino III had pitched PPPs as the solution to addressing the country’s infrastructure needs. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Tampakan copper-gold project still faces hurdles

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang, Reporter

WHILE the environmental compliance certificate of the Tampakan copper-gold mine has been reinstated, the project will still face hurdles, such as the open-pit mining ban in South Cotabato.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo G. Moncano told BusinessWorld that Sagittarius Mines, Inc. [SMI], which holds the concession for the Tampakan project, has already secured the reinstatement of its ECC from Malacañang.

“The DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] MGB has recommended the lifting of the suspension of the ECC of SMI. Our latest information is that SMI has already secured the reinstatement of the ECC from the Office of the President, so ibig sabihin yung aming [this means our] recommendation was considered by the Office of the President,” he said in a phone interview.

The development of Tampakan, touted as one of the largest gold prospects in the world, was stalled after the South Cotabato provincial government banned open-pit mining in 2010.

In 2017, the DENR, under then-Environment Secretary Regina L. Lopez, cancelled Tampakan’s ECC and 74 other mining contracts in watershed areas.

“Ang magiging pinaka-issue na lang doon [The main issue left] will be the Provincial Ordinance, yung sa [the] open-pit mining ban sa [in] South Cotabato. Iyon na lang ang pinaka-issue doon [That is the only issue there],” Mr. Moncano said.

“Kung maresolve [If this will be resolved] in favor of SMI, then pwede na silang mag-resume [then they can resume] because all the documentary requirements…. so lahat ng [all] permits, mga programs approved na ng MGB, so wala na dapat problema [there should not be a problem anymore],” he added.

Prior to its suspension, SMI was able to secure a declaration of mining feasibility and was a few steps to start its operations.

Mr. Moncano said SMI has already decided to reduce its production target as a away to address some of the issues raised by its detractors.

The mine site contains about 15 million tons of copper and 17.6 million ounces of gold. This covers around 10,000 hectares covering municipalities in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur, and Sarangani.

It is projected to produce 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold annually in its initial mine life.

Mr. Moncano said that as of the explored area of the site, it already has an estimated mine life of 32 years, which can still be extended.

“Isa kasi sa mga problema noong una, ang laki ng [One of the problems is its large-scale] operation noon. SMI has now reduced the footprint, production target, which means lumiit na rin yung magiging [it already reduced its] footprint ng minahan,” he said.

Mr. Moncano said SMI may be able to start mining operations next year, but this will depend on the court handling the petition seeking to lift the ban on open-pit mining in South Cotabato.

Anti-graft court junks another civil case on Marcos wealth

THE COUNTRY’S anti-graft court, citing “defects” in evidence, has junked a P267-million civil forfeiture case against two former business associates of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and his wife Imelda, who were accused of posing as dummies for the illegal acquisition of properties and public funds.

The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, in a 37-page resolution dated Oct. 14, dismissed the case against spouses Fe R. Gimenez and Ignacio B. Gimenez due to insufficient testimonial evidence and private documents that were only photocopied and unauthenticated.

“Considering the defects present in almost all of the pieces of evidence that were submitted by the Republic, this Court finds that the Republic has failed to discharge its burden and so rules that the respective demurrers of the Spouses Gimenez should be granted,” read the resolution.

The Gimenez couple filed separate demurrers in April 2018, pointing out “critical defects” on the documentary evidence by the complainant, which is represented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government and the Office of the Solicitor General.

This the third time that the anti-graft court junked an ill-gotten wealth case against the Marcoses and their associates.

Last August, the Sandiganbayan Second Division rejected for insufficient evidence a government lawsuit filed 30 years ago seeking to recover P102 billion of alleged ill-gotten wealth of the dictator, his family and their associates.

Early this month, the same court also also dismissed for insufficient evidence a 31-year-old lawsuit accusing the Marcos couple of using dummies to amass more than P1 billion in ill-gotten assets.

In the case against the Gimenez couple, Fe was accused of participating in the transfer of “millions of dollars of government funds into several accounts in her name in foreign countries,” disbursing these funds to her co-defendants, and “acted as a conduit” of the Marcoses in the purchase of expensive works of art and properties in New York, USA.

Her husband, on the other hand, was accused of acting as a dummy of the Marcoses in corporations such as Allied Banking Corp. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

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