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Inflation, energy prices and mini-greed

INFLATION has further jumped to high levels. Only 2.9% in December 2017 (no TRAIN law yet), it became 3.4% by January 2018 (first month of TRAIN law), 3.8% in February, 5.7% in July, and now 6.4% in August 2018.
While high world oil prices and peso depreciation against the US dollar were among the important factors, it was the energy tax hikes in the TRAIN law — oil, LPG, coal, plus coverage of VAT in electricity transmission charge — that triggered and sustained the inflationary pressure.
And talking about inflation and energy prices, the recent Pulse Asia Research’s “Ulat ng Bayan Survey,” June 15-21, 2018 is among the misleading surveys that will indirectly justify higher electricity prices. How?
See two of their three questions, loaded and leading:
1. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the price of your electricity?
3. Are you in favor or not in favor of increasing the use of renewable energy in the Philippines such as energy from the sun or solar energy?
On #1, Pulse Asia did not explain to respondents that there are nine different charges in our monthly electricity bill that contribute to higher overall rate: generation charge, transmission charge, distribution charge, supply charge, system loss charge, metering charge, universal charge, feed-in-tariff (FIT) subsidies, taxes. Loaded question with an expected high answer of Dissatisfied.
On #3, another loaded question as it does not clarify that even with more solar energy, the eight different charges will remain and worse, the FIT subsidy for solar will further rise.
So the result of their survey was: Question #1, 64% dissatisfied and only 27% satisfied, 14% undecided. Question #3, 89% in favor, 9% not in favor and 2% volunteered/undecided.
Having more intermittent, unstable and unreliable solar and wind power in the national grid can lead to higher prices because of the higher need for backup power, ancillary services that are mostly oil-based, and huge batteries. This is shown in both Europe and the US where in many cases, countries and states with high reliance on wind + solar also have higher electricity prices.

Then two House bills sprang up out of nowhere. HBs 8013 and 8015 entitled “An Act Granting Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation a Franchise to Construct, Install, Establish, Operate and Maintain Distributable Power Technologies and Minigrid Systems throughout the Philippines to Improve Access to Sustainable Energy” were filed only last month, Aug. 6, and were quickly approved by the House committee on legislative franchise on Aug. 29. The committee report was approved last Sept. 3 and will go to plenary this week or next week.
This is a very anti-EPIRA bill and, hence, an attempt to legalize many illegal provisions. While all players in the generation, distribution and supply sectors comply with specific requirements of the EPIRA law, this newbie, no track record corporation wants to do anything they want — can connect anywhere, can build their own grid anywhere, can carve out to DUs franchise areas, will pay only 3% franchise tax in lieu of all taxes, exemption to universal charges, COC and local taxes.
In a position paper by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (PhilRECA), some parts reported in BusinessWorld last Sept. 4, PhilRECA observed that:
“Solar para sa Bayan Corp. said that it could offer electricity at an equal or much lower cost compared with the ERC approved rates of ECs… Paluan was cited as an example with P8.00 per kWh. However… the company is actually charging more at P10.37 to P15.29 per kWh… such misrepresentation… that corporation could not afford to offer lower rates.”
This newbie corporation whose franchise is all ready for a congressional plenary is owned by a son of a sitting “environmentalist” senator.
To have cheaper and more stable electricity, we need more competition, less government cronyism and favoritism, and less energy taxation.
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is president of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member institute of Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia.
minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Food security

THE issue, to me, is food security. And, in the Philippine context, this means sufficiency particularly in rice supply. In this line, lawmakers and policy makers as well as those implementing policy should be reviewing and revising policies, agencies, functions, and officials with respect to how they have been contributing to achieving this important objective.
Keep and improve what works, but quickly remove obstructions as well. If, for instance, an agency like the National Food Authority is aggravating rather than improving the situation, and is failing in its objective of promoting and ensuring national food security, then perhaps it has outlived its usefulness and thus must go. The same standard of measure must apply to any policy or official that impacts on food supply.
Allowing the importation of food is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution, to ensuring national food security. Moreover, a policy that relies heavily on free trade in food remains highly susceptible to risks: foreign exchange supply and rate fluctuations; trade disputes; regime changes; and supply disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions or war, famine, or plague, among others.
Data indicate that since the late 1960s, local rice farm yields have actually increased substantially as a result of the cultivation of high-yielding rice varieties, with average productivity reportedly increasing from 1.23 metric tons per hectare in 1961 to 3.59 metric tons per hectare in 2009. The area under irrigation also grew from under 500,000 hectares in the mid-1960s to about 1.5 million hectares in 2009.
But self-sufficiency particularly in rice production is no longer likely, given the rate that we have been losing land to development, seemingly stagnating yields, and given that farmers are now a dying breed. Data from the Philippine Statistical Authority indicate that in second quarter 2018, the harvested area for rice fell to 939,790 hectares, from 947,190 hectares in the quarter in 2017. Yields have also reportedly remained flat in the second quarter at 4.38 tons per hectare.
A more important factor, to me, is that population is about 105 million people now, and it seems that consumption growth has been outpacing harvest growth, resulting in a supply gap. This is where importation plays a more crucial role, and right timing in importation and distribution is key to ensuring supply and price stability.
But, considering the rate of development and the rate of population growth, it is not likely for the trend of supply gaps to disappear or to reverse any time soon. I believe it will remain with us for years to come and may in fact worsen in the future. In 1960, there were only 27 million of us. Today, we are more than 100 million. The rate of population growth from the 1960s to the 1980s was about one million per year, but since the 1990s it has been about 1.6 million annually.
And while in 2013-2017, according to NFA, rice production averaged 12.019 million metric tons annually, consumption averaged at a higher rate of 12.850 million metric tons. The resulting supply gap made it necessary for us to import rice. In this line, should we now abandon rice self-sufficiency? I don’t think so. Should we continue to improve and modernize? Yes, we should. And should we continue to import? I believe we don’t have much choice on this.
Importation is not necessarily bad, or even the lack of self-sufficiency. As noted by economist Gerry Sicat in a column in the Philippine Star, Singapore and Hong Kong do not have rice agriculture, but they have not had serious food price crises, either. They buy their need in food from the world, including all the rice needs of their residents. But, as I noted above, relying more on imports also puts food security at risk.
Weather is the most unpredictable factor in all this, and adverse weather affects not only local harvest but global supply and prices as well. Loss of land to development — with farmlands becoming cities and residences and commercial areas — also significantly affects supply. This is especially true if productivity or yields do not go up. And then, there is the declining number of farmers.
Agriculture expert Rolando Dy believes in the value of farm tourism, quoting Senator Cynthia Villar in his published commentary: “Senator Villar is right: that increasing food production and farm productivity alone cannot move the rural poor out of poverty. Stringing clusters of destinations plus food tours can make farm tourism a success.”
In this line, Dy notes that Tourism Secretary Berna Puyat’s advocacy for “farm tourism as a flagship strategy” is a “sound direction.” Dy also notes that “farm tourism has endless possibilities” locally, given the “varied agro-climatic conditions and food menus in the Philippines.” As an example, he points to an exotic fruit trees farm in Rizal, the carabao center in Nueva Ecija, the crocodile farm in Palawan, and farm resorts and organic farms in Davao.
I second Professor Dy on this, as well as Secretary Puyat and Senator Villar. But I also believe in strengthening agriculture education and convincing more people to get into backyard or even commercial farming, and more conglomerates to match their appetite for real estate development and infrastructure projects with more industries related to food production.
I can understand that many if not most farmers will not wish the same farming life on their children. They want their children to be educated, become professionals, and get out of farming. But the fact of the matter is, farmers’ hands are the hands that feed the nation. Without them, there would be no food. The way to intervene is to help make farming a sustainable and profitable source of income, to convince more people to get into it, not only in retirement but as a way of life.
But fewer people are now studying Agriculture. In Mindanao, for instance, one private school noted that five of their seven colleges “registered decreases in enrollment” this year. All these colleges offer programs which compete with state schools in the region that offer free tuition. Among the programs that suffered from a big decline in enrollees are Agriculture (down 32%) and Education (down 57%). This, I believe, is a trend that should be reversed. Or else, we will really be in trouble.
One database on world population rankings places us at no. 12, with an estimated population of about 115 million people as of 2018. It also ranks us as no. 2 in Southeast Asia, second only to Indonesia’s 262 million. With these many mouths to feed, we need to significantly boost agricultural production. Otherwise, supply gaps and price hikes will always be a problem and can even worsen.
We cannot always expect the rest of the world to have food to sell to us, or that we will always have money to buy food from abroad. In times of bad weather, war, famine, or even trade disputes, global food can be in short supply. We should be able to fend for ourselves. But how can we do that if we continue to lose farms and farmers?
Technology can do only so much in improving farm productivity and efficiency. Food production will always need farmlands and farmers. To ensure food security, we need long-term solutions that focus on having more farms and farmers producing more food in line with sustainable development.
 
Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council
matort@yahoo.com

Tourism: The new leg of the economy

OUR Balance of Payment (BoP) deficit is a ticking bomb. In the first semester of the year, the country’s BoP deficit ballooned to US$3.26 billion, nearly five times more than the US$706-million deficit recorded for the same period last year.
The spike in the deficit is due to the toxic combination of declining merchandise exports, a decelerating BPO industry and the downward trend in OFW remittances occurring in step with a sharp rise in imports. Imports have been growing at accelerated rates due to our ravenous need for iron, steel and cement used for government’s infrastructure projects. We have also been importing massive amounts of machinery and consumer goods.
There are two likely scenarios should the BoP deficit worsen. Either we eat into our treasury reserves or fall deeper into debt. As it stands, gross international reserves (GIR) have already plunged from a high of US$86.12 billion in 2016 to just US$77.68 billion last May, the lowest in three years. Meanwhile, public debt increased from US$115.6 billion in 2015, to US$129.16 billion as of end-2017. Mind you, this does not even include the US$16.75 billion government is borrowing this year.
For nearly a decade, the economy was kept afloat by the electronics industry, the BPO industry and OFW remittances, all of which brought in enough foreign exchange to cover our import bill and maturing debts. This is no longer the case. Our imports have grown so much that we now need new sources of income to cover the imbalance.
This is where the tourism industry comes in. Up until 2010, tourism was not considered a major contributor to the economy. Back then, the country welcomed a modest 3.5 million foreign visitors generating less than US$3 billion in revenues.
In 2017, revenues topped US$8.630 billion on the back of 6.62 million foreign visitors. Tourism is now the country’s fourth-largest dollar earner, comprising 2.7% of GDP. (Note: Domestic tourism is actually six times greater, revenue-wise, but does not infuse new money into the system.)
For context, OFW remittances amounted to US$28.1 billion and the BPO industry raked in US$23 billion last year, representing 8.9% and 7.3% of GDP, respectively.
TOURISM IN 2010-2016
Credit must be given where it is due. Under the baton of then Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, foreign arrivals increased by 11% per annum, outpacing ASEAN’s average growth of 7.5% and the global average of 4.5%. By the end of 2016, foreign arrivals was a hairline shy of the six-million mark, raking in US$6.2 billion in revenues. It was in this period that tourism became a strong leg of the economy.
At the heart of Jimenez’s success was a strategic and methodical approach to tourism development. This is embodied in the first National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) — a plan Jimenez and his team authored.
The NTDP consisted of four components:
The first component involved improving air access to the country and widening domestic connectivity. Unlike most of our ASEAN neighbors who benefit from interconnected highways and railways, the Philippines is only accessible by air and sea. But given the state of our sea ports, as much as 98% of our visitors arrive by air. Hence, it was imperative that government establish direct connections to and from our major markets. It was also vital that flights between Manila and domestic destinations increase in scope and frequency.
To improve connectivity, the Department of Tourism (DoT) established an internal route development team that served as initiator and mediator between air carriers and the CAAP, MIAA, and DFA. Simultaneously, the DoT secured a seat in the decision-making panel of the CAAP where it is able to influence civil aviation policies.
The move proved to be a game changer. Not only was the DoT able to scrap the common carriers tax levied upon airlines (which made landing in the Philippines an unviable venture), it also paved the way for new carriers to begin calling on Philippine ports. As a result, Turkish Airlines, Air New Zealand, Ethiopian Air, China Eastern, China Southern, XiamenAir, Juju Air, Scoot, Vanilla Air, and more began serving the Philippines.
Legacy airlines like Singapore Airlines, QATAR, Emirates, and Etihad, all of whom have operated in the Philippines for many years, have increased their frequencies to and from their central hubs. Direct connections have also been established between select provincial airports and cities like Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing, Xiamen, Seoul, Macau, Singapore, and Dubai.
For its part, local carriers PAL, Cebu Pacific, Air Asia, have widened their domestic networks.
Visa requirements have been relaxed for citizens of 150 countries while visas-on-arrival are now issued for certain nationalities, provided they have valid visas from either the EU, US, Canada, Japan, or Australia.
The second component involved the development of world-class tourism destinations and products. Between 2010 and 2016, destinations like Puerto Princesa’s Underground River, Coron, El Nido, La Union, Iloilo, and Batanes burst into the scene as tourist hotspots. It was also in this era that medical tourism, educational tourism, gastronomy (through Madrid Fusion) were developed into niche products. In 2014, the Laoag, Manila, Cebu, Boracay, and Palawan corridor became destinations for cruise liners.
The classification of lodging facilities according to quality and amenities was also part of this initiative. Unfortunately, the project was still-born as hotel operators protested their lower-than-expected ratings.
The third component was to create a culture of tourism among local governments and tourism practitioners. Some 90,000 tour guides, front liners and local government officials have since been trained by the DoT.
The final component was a strong branding and promotional offensive. Without doubt, the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign is still the most effective marketing campaign we have had so far. Its effectiveness lies in the fact that the slogan reads with clarity whilst speaking the truth. The veracity of the slogan causes us to deliver on our brand promise every time. This is the genius behind the campaign.
Further contributing to the campaign’s success was the strategic ad placements in global television networks such as CNN, BBC, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and the Food Network. Through billboards and roving ads, the Philippine brand had presence in Times Square NY, Piccadilly Square, Ginza, Orchard Road, Central Square Sydney, Alexanderplatz Berlin, and Central Hong Kong, among others.
In the editorial space, the Philippines gained recognition as a preferred tourist destination in such publications as Conde Nast, Travel & Leisure, Paris Match, Esquire, and Backpacker. This had never happened before.
The DoT’s limited advertising funds went a long way, the inertia of which was still felt in 2016 and 2017 when advertising efforts were practically muted. Former tourism secretary Wanda Teo can boast of no significant marketing initiative outside hosting the ridiculously expensive and outdated Miss Universe pageant.
The National Tourism Development Plan of 2010-2016 was designed to enable the country to attract 10 million visitors by 2016. Unfortunately, infrastructure bottlenecks stood in the way of achieving that target.
The good news is that the impediments that weigh down the industry are now being addressed. Wanda Teo is out and replaced by Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, an honest and able professional with 12 years of government experience behind her; new airports in Panglao, Puerto Princesa, Bacolod, Davao, Iloilo, and Lagundian will soon follow Mactan as a privately operated airport; a new airport terminal in Clark is being constructed to decongest NAIA; hotel rooms are being constructed by the thousands.
The only missing link is a proper national gateway. We are banking on San Miguel’s Bulacan aerotropolis to fill this void and hope that the DoTr can get the Swiss challenge done so construction of the airport can finally begin.
Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat stands on a strong foundation built by Mon Jimenez and his team. This should give the incumbent Secretary the leverage she needs to reach her target of generating US$17.7 billion in revenues on the back of 12 million foreign visitors by 2022. By then, tourism receipts should be enough to cover our balance of payments deficit.
Watch out for my next column where I talk about the DoT’s plans and programs from 2017 to 2022.
 
Andrew J. Masigan is an economist

A tribute to Jose (Boy) Kalaw

JOSE “Boy” Kalaw, who served De La Salle University (DLSU) and the De La Salle Alumni Association (DLSAA) in various capacities over 25 years, passed away, at the age of 68, on Friday, Aug. 17. In keeping with his desire not to bother people or fuss over him, Boy valiantly but quietly fought the big “C” using a variety of traditional and nontraditional medicine.
After a long and heroic struggle, while on his hospital bed, Boy wrote a farewell letter authorizing family members and attending doctors not to perform any medical intervention to keep him alive. He said that he had thought hard about it, and yes, it was time to go and cease being a burden to the family.
Throughout his life, Boy always stayed in the background and did his work without fanfare, but effectively. Unknown to many, it was Boy who coined the term “Proudly Green,” the theme used in at least three huge alumni gatherings that promoted camaraderie and fellowship. He was secretary for many years of the DLSAA Grade School and High School chapters, and was a member of one of the last classes to graduate from De La Salle Taft High School in 1967. He served DLSAA alternatively as director and trustee as the DLSAA changed its organizational structure over the years.
Boy was a vital cog in attaining the vision and mission of the DLSAA regardless of its structure. As an outstanding student and alumnus, Boy was assigned tasks that would promote and encourage excellence in the Lasallian community. Thus, Boy was named a member of the low-key Exemplary Honors Committee, which, for obvious reasons, kept the details of its work far from public view. Only now can we say that Boy was one of those who screened nominees for various awards given by the DLSAA such as the Lasallian Achievement awards, Distinguished Lasallian Awards, and several other prestigious accolades.
A member of one of the first Liberal Arts (LIA) Honors class, which allowed an outstanding student to finish college in a shorter than usual time, Boy combined academic work with involvement in student and national affairs. Fond of sports, Boy and I were together in the sports section of the college paper, The Lasallian. After my stint as sports editor, Boy more than ably took over and used his literary genius to have his sports staff write stories with greater creativity and imagination.
Boy worked in different organizations throughout his professional career. As an economist, he joined the then Bancom and the Economic Development Foundation, and to be sure, found meaning in these two organizations in the company of equally smart and gifted men and women. But at the end of the day, Boy gravitated toward his original love and his main professional passion, DLSU.
Drafted back to the familiar surroundings of the DLSU Campus by the late Brother Andrew Gonzalez (himself a brilliant scholar and education leader and administrator), Boy agreed to take on the challenge of being Vice-President for Development and Alumni Affairs. Boy’s main mission was to raise resources to ensure that outstanding young men and women who were of modest or of no means could have access to and acquire a De La Salle education through well-deserved scholarships. Boy therefore played a crucial role in giving our many young men and women the chance to get a De La Salle education and perform their role as valuable assets for God, country, and their families. Boy’s target was, as mandated by the Christian Brothers, to have at least 20 percent of the DLSU student body as scholars. Truly, Boy’s job was to make the motto “a De La Salle education is accessible (not expensive)” come to life.
On the last night of the wake for Boy, his high school class 1967, joined by grade school 1963 and LIA 1970, honored him with, aside from the eulogies and tributes, the music of Boy’s time: the Beatles, Ventures, and the music of the 60’s and 70’s.
As I listened to anecdotes about Boy’s life, I could not help but conclude that, indeed, Boy was able to bring people with widely divergent views together, that he was an extremely reliable person (to which I can personally vouch), and that he had a great sense of humor. He never took advantage of a person’s kindness or generosity, and in fact was known to have given more than he took. He knew he was smart, but was quietly confident and never cocky. Boy was a loyal friend, a true Christian gentleman.
 
Philip Ella Juico was dean of the De La Salle Graduate School of Business from 2002 to 2008 while Mr. Kalaw was Vice-President for Development. He and Mr. Kalaw went to De La Salle grade school, high school and college a few years apart.
philip.juico@yahoo.com.ph

Facebook users still fear for their privacy

Facebook users are adjusting their digital behavior following the turmoil on the platform during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to a new survey.
More than half of Facebook users in the U.S. said they’ve changed their privacy settings in the past year, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday. More than four in 10 users have taken a break from the social media platform over the same time frame. And a quarter have deleted the Facebook app from their phone.
Pew surveyed a national sample of 3,413 American adults who used Facebook from May 29 to June 11, following revelations that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly collected personal data on up to 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge while it worked for the Trump campaign.
The company overhauled its security settings in March and has been prompting users to review their privacy settings.
“Over recent months we have made our policies clearer, our privacy settings easier to find and introduced better tools for people to access, download, and delete their information” said a Facebook spokesperson. “We’ve also run education campaigns on and off Facebook to help people around the world better understand how to manage their information on Facebook.”
The company plans to offer a tool called “Clear History,” which will allow users to see the websites and apps that send the social media platform their information when used, and allow users to clear the information from their account and turn off Facebook’s ability to store such data.
Younger Facebook users, particularly those aged 18 to 29, were most likely to have adjusted their behavior on the platform over the past year by changing privacy settings, deleting the application or taking a hiatus, shows the survey. “There’s a common perception that young adults don’t care about privacy, but we’ve consistently found that they’re quite privacy conscious,” said Aaron Smith, the associate director of research at the Pew Research Center.
The Pew survey found that about one in 10 Facebook users downloaded the information Cambridge Analytica may have collected about them. About eight in 10 users who downloaded their personal data also elected to adjust their privacy settings, and about half have deleted the Facebook app from their phone in the last year. (Deleting the application does not delete a user’s account or data.)
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, will testify before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday about the company’s efforts to protect user data and prevent political interference in the U.S. midterm elections. Throughout the summer, Facebook has reported coordinated attempts by both foreign and domestic actors to spread disinformation and incite political discord.
The vast majority of Americans distrust social media companies when it comes to political impartiality. Almost three in four think it’s likely that companies such as Facebook and Twitter actively censor political views they consider objectionable, according to a Pew study released in June.
Conservatives, in particular, have become critical of Facebook and other social media platforms after the removal of posts and videos by Alex Jones and his site InfoWars, which frequently published conspiracy theories. President Donald Trump has also accused social media platforms of suppressing positive stories about him and favoring liberal news organizations.
The Pew survey found that partisanship had no impact on a person’s willingness to update privacy settings or disconnect from the social media platform. “Despite the tumult with politicians and pundits, ordinary Republicans have not been disconnecting from Facebook in any meaningful sense more than Democrats have,” Smith said. “There were no partisan differences in activity.”
A separate Pew survey, also released on Wednesday, found that most Facebook users don’t understand how the News Feed works and feel they have little control over the content they’re served. More than half of U.S. adults who use Facebook said they do not understand why certain posts, and not others, are included in their News Feed.
Facebook users, technology experts and politicians have long criticized Facebook for a lack of transparency as to how its algorithms curate news and critical political information. — Bloomberg

Blackwater Elite tame San Miguel Beermen

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
BLACKWATER Elite improved to 2-0 in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup after topping the San Miguel Beermen, 103-100, on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Stayed resilient amid a steady rebuffing from San Miguel for much of the contest, Blackwater flipped things up late in the game and pulled off the victory.
The two teams had it competitive at the start, jockeying for early control before Blackwater made a late run in the opening quarter to create some distance.
Ahead by just two points, 17-15, at the 5:25 mark, the Elite went on a 10-1 run in the next three minutes to build a 27-16 advantage.
San Miguel though would regain some ground in the windup to narrow the gap, 29-25, by the end of the first 12 minutes.
Led by import Arizona Reid, the Beermen continued with their charge back in the second period.
They opened the first minute with a 5-0 blitz to take the lead, 30-29, extending it to four points, 39-35, midway into the frame.
Things went back and forth after, with the score eventually settling at 46-45, and San Miguel on top, at the break.
Blackwater tried to regain control to start the third period but San Miguel would not relent.
The Beermen held a 66-59 lead with 5:56 to go.
They would maintain a safe distance the rest of the way, taking an 82-74 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Elite kept the pressure on the Beermen in the final canto, taking the lead, 86-85, with four minutes lapsing on a Poy Erram deuce.
Both teams had each other in control after, with hardly one of them budging.
The count stood at 89-all with.6:16 left on the game.
The Elite though would get some leverage behind import Henry Walker and guard Michael DiGregorio, who helped their team get a 101-95 lead with 2:33 on the game clock.
San Miguel scrambled to get back and came within a point, 101-100, with 36 ticks to go after Marcio Lassiter drained a step-back triple.
Mr. Erram gave the Elite more breathing space, 103-100, after hitting two free throws off a foul from Christian Standhardinger with 19 seconds left.
The Beermen sued for time after to set up a play to level the score and send the game to overtime but three- point attempts by Mr. Reid and Arwind Santos failed to connect, preserving the win for the Elite.
Mr. Walker had an all-around game to lead Blackwater, finishing with 35 points, 17 rebounds, seven steals and five assists.
Mr. DiGregorio had 21 points while John Pinto finished with 15 points and seven assists.
Mr. Erram had 10 points and nine rebounds in his PBA return after his stint in the Asian Games.
San Miguel (1-1), meanwhile, was paced by Mr. Reid with 26 points and 12 boards.
Mr. Standhardinger had 20 points while Mr. Lassiter had 13.
Alex Cabagnot and Kelly Nabong each had 12 points.
“Happy that we got the win. The character of the team is showing and hopefully we get to sustain it. Basketball is a game of habits and we have to continuously develop that,” said Blackwater coach Bong Ramos in the postgame press conference.
After Wednesday’s double-header, the PBA is now on a two-week break to give way to the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Gilas Pilipinas plays in the second round of the qualifiers against Iran on Sept. 13 away and then hosts in a closed-door match Qatar on Sept. 17 at the Big Dome.
The closed-door home match was part of the sanctions meted by FIBA on the Philippines following the July 2 brawl between Gilas and Australia in the third window of the qualifiers.
For the fourth window, Gilas is to be coached by Yeng Guiao of the NLEX Road Warriors.
Regular PBA action resumes on Sept. 19.

Serena into US Open semis as champion Stephens exits

NEW YORK — Six-time champion Serena Williams shook off a sluggish start to power past eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday and into the US Open semi-finals.
The US superstar, chasing a record-equalling 24th major title, surrendered an early break to Pliskova, but she roared back with a streak of eight straight games to put away the opening set and take a 4-0 lead in the second against the woman who beat her in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows in 2016.
“I just wanted to play better,” Williams said of her mindset as she trailed 3-1 in the first. “I was thinking, you know, I can play better, so that was the good news.”
Williams did indeed cut down on the errors, and came up with the big serves when she needed them.
She finished the match with 13 aces and will take on Anastasija Sevastova for a place in the final after the 19th-seeded Latvian toppled defending champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-3.
Pliskova, who managed to convert just two of 12 break point chances in the contest, said Williams was simply too good in the important moments.
“She hit all first serves on the break points, which is always a little bit tougher to return,” Pliskova said.
“The second set, she was just mixing the serve. She was going a lot of wide. Not much that I could do on the break points.”
Williams did drop her serve once in the second, coughing up one of her five double faults on break point as Pliskova narrowed the gap to 4-1.
But when she fell behind 0-40 in the seventh game she rescued herself with 112 mph (180 Km/h) service winner followed by a another service winner and an ace.
Pliskova got another chance when Williams batted a forehand into the net, but another booming serve, a backhand winner and an unreturnable serve saw her safely through the danger.
Serving for the match at 5-3 Williams didn’t allow any room for doubt, holding at love with two aces and an overhead smash followed by one last ace.
“I really feel like right now I’m playing free because I was having a baby this time last year, so I have nothing to prove,” said Williams, who is seeking her first major title since her daughter Olympia was born on Sept. 1 of 2017.
With a win she would break out of a tie with Chris Evert for most US Open titles, and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record for Grand Slams.
STEPHENS ‘NOT CONNECTING’
World number three Stephens, refused to blame the punishing afternoon heat and humidity for her lapses against Sevastova, including an inability to convert any of seven break chances in the opening set.
“When you don’t play big points well, the match can get away from you,” she said. “Mentally, physically, I just wasn’t connecting.”
Sevastova herself relies on variety more than power, and she caught a slow-moving Stephens with a number of drop shots and drop shot-lob combinations.
After taking a 4-1 lead in the second set, Sevastova admitted she had flash backs to last year’s quarter-finals, when an 83rd-ranked Stephens rallied from a break down in the third to upset Sevastova in a tiebreaker.
Indeed Stephens fought back to narrow the gap to 4-3, but Sevastova grabbed another break with a well-timed drop shot for a 5-3 lead and sealed the victory on her third match point when a weary Stephens put a backhand into the net.
“I lost my nerves a little bit,” Sevastova admitted. “I think she lost also her nerves a little bit, it’s normal. It’s for semi-finals of US Open.”
The defeats of Stephens and Pliskova completed the exodus of top 10 seeds, although Pliskova noted that Williams’ 17th seeding — nine spots above her world ranking as she continues her post-baby comeback — was not reflective of her true abilities.
“She’s 17, but she’s not a player which should be 17,” Pliskova said.
The semi-final lineup will be completed on Wednesday when Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro takes on 2017 runner-up Madison Keys and Japan’s Naomi Osaka faces Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko. — AFP

Nadal survives an epic triumph over Thiem

NEW YORK — Defending champion Rafael Nadal survived an epic US Open quarter-final confrontation to defeat battling ninth seed Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5) and reach the semi-finals for the seventh time.
In a gripping 4-hour 49-minute contest which concluded at 2.04 a.m. on Wednesday, world number one Nadal won through to keep his bid for a fourth title in New York and 18th Grand Slam crown on track.
However, the 32-year-old was fortunate to triumph on another hot and humid night at Flushing Meadows, 24 hours after Roger Federer had been dumped out of the tournament by John Millman. After suffering a first set ‘bagel,’ Nadal had to battle back from breaks in the third and fourth sets before seeing off the first top 20 player he had faced at the US Open since 2013.
Del Potro reached the semi-finals for the third time, defeating John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and ending American hopes of a first men’s champion at the event since 2003.
Del Potro dropped his first set of the tournament against 11th seed Isner, who was playing in his maiden quarter-final at his home Slam.
Despite that, the 29-year-old was never broken in the 3 hour 31 minute match where Isner unleashed 26 aces but was undone by 52 unforced errors compared to Del Potro’s 14. — AFP

Milo’s ‘Road to Barcelona’ goes to Cebu for second year

ENERGY DRINK maker Milo’s values-driven football program in tandem with globally renowned club FC Barcelona goes south for its second year as it holds its local invitational camp in Cebu City from Sept. 8 to 9.
“Road to Barcelona,” which had its first staging in 2017, aims to bring world-class opportunities to nourish ambitions and build a nation of champions through sports.
It is also anchored on Milo and Barca’s shared vision of seeing children live better lives through a more healthy and active lifestyle.
For this year, over 160 boys and girls ages 10 to 12 are set to participate in the world-class football camp where in the end selected players are given the chance to join a life-changing football experience in Spain, home of FC Barcelona, which counts as members top players Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.
Participation in the invitational camp is free but done through nomination from coaches who will vouch for both their character and talent.
Assisting Milo in the conduct of the invitational camp are the Cebu Football Association (CFA), a regional body under the Philippine Football Federation, and two coaches from the FCB Youth Academy, FC Barcelona’s flagship youth development program.
An expert panel composed of PFF representatives and the FCB coaches will be in charge in shortlisting the seven deserving athletes who will fly to Spain, where one slot in the delegation will be all-expense paid by Milo Philippines.
The criteria set for the selection process are aligned with Milo and FC Barcelona’s thrust of pushing for Humility, Effort, Ambition, Respect, and Teamwork (HEART) in everything one does.
The players to be selected will be chosen based on the right mix of values (70%) and skill (30%).
Once in Barcelona, the Philippine delegation will join those coming from Australia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Panama, Singapore, Tahiti, Thailand and Vietnam in a nine-day training camp and ultimate experience in FC Barcelona’s home turf Camp Nou.
“Every kid dreams of becoming a champ. That is why the MILO-FCB Road to Barcelona Philippines Camp is back to provide kids the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train with youth coaches from FC Barcelona. We’ve taken this year’s invitational camp to the Visayas to share the program with even more children in the region, because we believe that these experiences can encourage them to pursue their passion for the sport and nourish their ambitions,” said Wily de Ocampo, Nestle Philippines Inc. vice-president, at the launch of the second year of the program on Wednesday at Kidzania in Taguig City.
Part of a four-year tie-up between the group and FC Barcelona, Milo said it is all the more determined to see program succeed and reaffirmed its commitment to it.
“Milo is very excited and honored to continue its advocacy to get more kids into sports and help advance Philippine football with FC Barcelona. Our goal for this year is to further enrich ‘Road to Barcelona’ experience by reaching more Filipino kids and reinforcing the values that encourage more kids to dream big and become champions in life,” said Robbie De Vera, Milo Philippines consumer marketing manager.
The invitational camp this weekend happens at the Cebu City Sports Center. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Donnie ‘Ahas’ Nietes-Aston ‘Mighty’ Palicte title fight packs significance for both Filipino fighters

FOR the second time this year an all-Filipino world boxing title fight will take place as Donnie “Ahas” Nietes and Aston “Mighty” Palicte dispute the World Boxing Organization super flyweight belt, which one local fight analyst said carry much significance for the protagonists.
Part of HBO and 360 Promotions’ SuperFly 3 card on Sept. 9 (Manila time) at The Forum in Inglewood, California, the Nietes-Palicte fight follows up on the Jerwin Ancajas-Jonas Sultan all-Filipino fight for the International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight belt in May.
Both Messrs. Nietes and Palicte view their upcoming fight with much significance, believing it would further enhance their respective careers, a fact not being disputed by fight analyst Nissi Icasiano.
For Mr. Nietes, latching on to the WBO super flyweight title will be another feather under his cap and take his already-legendary career to another plane.
“If there’s one bout that will cement Donnie Nietes’ legacy as an international professional boxer, it may be his coming ring encounter with Aston Palicte. Going by the numbers, it is hard to deny his place in Philippine pro boxing history. However, he continues to fight behind the shadows of the likes of Manny Pacquiao,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld, of the Murcia, Negros native Nietes (41-1-4), who has been undefeated in more than a decade and has won titles in minimum weight, light flyweight and flyweight.
“A win in this fight will give him worldwide recognition as a victory over Palicte will insert his name into the elite cast of boxers who have won world titles in four different weight classes. If he wins, Nietes will only be the 18th pugilist to ever achieve that kind of feat, joining the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Erik Morales, Tommy Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard,” he added.
On the part of Mr. Palicte (24-2), a win will be a culmination of steadily building his career up, Mr. Icasiano said, and put him in the roster of Filipino world champions.
“For Aston Palicte, it’s a long time coming. It took him 26 fights to get him to a world title shot. A win over Nietes will make him the 43rd Filipino to win a world title in boxing,” the analyst said.
NIETES FAVORED BUT …
Being the more seasoned fighter, 36-year-old Nietes should be the favorite to win the all-Filipino fight on Sunday but it being his first foray in super flyweight and against a tough fighter at that makes the jury still out on the outcome of the contest.
“It’s obvious that Nietes is the more technically sound boxer between the two fighters this weekend. Aside from that, he has the championship experience. My main concern is that this is his maiden foray into 115 pounds. It’s intriguing to see how Nietes will react to the power of a natural super flyweight like Palicte, who is a younger and equally hungry Pinoy warrior,” he said.
“In addition, Palicte has the length and height advantage coming into the fight. There are a lot of elements that come into play in this bout. But if Nietes could impose his will and vast experience against Palicte, there’s a possibility that it could turn into a one-sided affair. It’s up to Palicte to test his compatriot, who decided to move up into another weight class at the age of 36,” Mr. Icasiano added.
SuperFly 3 will also feature Mexico’s Juan Francisco Estrada against compatriot Felipe Orucuta in a non-title fight as well as Puerto Rican McWilliams Arroyo against Japanese Kazuto Ioka. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Azkals start preparations for top-class tournaments

THE Philippine national men’s football team’s preparations for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 and the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 get under way today as it plays Bahrain in a friendly at the latter’s home turf.
To take place at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, the Philippine Azkals come together anew for a series of matches as part of their training in the lead-up to their campaigns in the Suzuki Cup and Asian Cup.
The Bahrain friendly marks the first time that the Azkals will be playing under new head coach Scott Cooper of England, who was thrust to the position after compatriot Terry Butcher resigned from his post as coach last month even before he got to meet the team.
Mr. Butcher was named a replacement for longtime Azkals coach Thomas Dooley of the United States, who helped the Philippine team qualify for the Asian Cup.
In connection with the Bahrain friendly, the Philippine Football Federation called up the services of national team players, most of whom coming from the Philippines Football League.
Said players started to leave for the friendly earlier this week.
Making up the pool of players are goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, Amani Aguinaldo, Carlos De Murga, Junior Munoz, Daisuke Sato, Hikaru Minegishi, Paul Mulders, Manny Ott, Mike Ott, Patrick Reichelt, Adam Tull and Dylan De Bruycker.
Also part of the team are Stephan Schrock, Luke Woodland, Curt Dizon, Angel Guirado, Phil Younghusband, Patrick Deyto, Louie Casas, Ace Villanueva, Stephen Palla, Fitch Arboleda and Jovin Bedic.
The AFF Suzuki Cup happens in November while the AFC Asian Cup takes place in January. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Magnus grind

 

6th Sinquefield Cup 2018
Saint Louis, USA
August 16-29, 2018

Final Standings
1-3. Levon Aronian ARM 2767, Magnus Carlsen NOR 2842, Fabiano Caruana USA 2822, 5.5/9
4. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2801, 5.0/9
5-7. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2779, Viswanathan Anand IND 2768, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2766, 4.5/9
8. Wesley So USA 2780, 4.0/9
9-10. Hikaru Nakamura USA 2777, Sergey Karjakin RUS 2773, 3.0/9
Average ELO 2788 Category 22
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 670 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds time delay before clock starts on every move.
This tournament saw the last encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana before their world championship match this November. It was no surprise therefore that the question of whether Caruana has a chance against the reigning world champion dominated the chess twitter-sphere when it ended.
Magnus Carlsen is obviously the favorite to retain his title as he is after all the higher-rated player, the “king of all formats.” In classical chess he is no. 1 (2839), 12 points ahead of his challenger, who is at no. 2. In rapid the gap is even bigger between: Magnus is no. 1 at 2880 while Caruana is no. 9 at 2789. In blitz chess Carlsen has an unheard-of rating of 2939 while Fabi is way down at no. 18 with a decent 2767. As the American Champion’s compatriot Nakamura says, if they reach the tie-breaks (which is played at faster time controls) Caruana will have no chance.
Having said that, it is also apparent to all that the Norwegian GM sees Caruana as his biggest threat, and prepares especially hard against him every game. “Fabulous Fabi” is the real deal.
Caruana himself when asked about his chances replied that “I think I have shown that I can fight pretty much on equal terms with him, and in tournaments to sometimes outperform him, or even this year, to outperform him often…”
No doubt Fabi was referring to the four recent super-tournaments (not counting the recently-concluded 2018 Sinquefield Cup) where the two of them both competed:
London Classic Dec 2017. Caruana tied for first with Nepomniachtchi (both with three wins and six draws) and then won the play-off. Carlsen had two wins one loss and six draws and tied for 3rd place with Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Tata Steel 2018, Jan 2018. Magnus and Holland’s Anish Giri both finished on top with nine points out of 13 rounds. Carlsen then went on to defeat Giri 1.5-0.5 in a blitz tie-break. Fabiano Caruana had a terrible tournament, his worst in many years. He won only one game (against cellar-dweller Hou Yifan), lost four games (against Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Anand and Karjakin) and drew the rest to finish 11th out of 14.
Grenke Chess Classic 2018 March 2018. Caruana was a convincing winner and he finished with four wins and five draws to distance himself from Carlsen by a full point. Magnus was also undefeated but only had two wins.
6th Norway Chess May 2018. Once again Caruana won half a point ahead of Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Anand, although he lost in the individual game against Carlsen.
Fabiano finished ahead of Magnus in three out of the four tournaments above, but we should also note that in head-to-head encounters Magnus won one and drew three in those tournaments, and in the three draws the Italian-American GM was usually struggling to hold it.
Anyway, Caruana’s record against Carlsen (as of the Sinquefield Cup 2018) is +5-10=18 (42%). Very few players have a better record than that (the names of Ding Liren, Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian are mentioned) but it stands to reason that if Caruana is not a worthy foe, then no one is.
I don’t think anyone should write-off Caruana’s chances — he has a knack of rising to the occasion. When a game absolutely has to be won, he will not choke and will grab whatever opportunities come his way with both hands.
If Magnus Carlsen shows up in London in the same form as he showed against Karjakin two years ago then he will lose. From what I saw in the Sinquefield Cup though it looks like he is on his way to regaining the ability to just grind away in any position and force through the win.

Carlsen, Magnus (2842) –
Karjakin, Sergey (2773) [A17]
6th Sinquefield Cup Saint Louis
(2.3), 19.08.2018

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 0–0 5.Nf3 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.d4 dxc4 8.Ne5 Nc6 9.Bxc6
Less good is 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Rb8 11.0–0 Bb7.
9…bxc6 10.Nxc6 Qe8 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.Qa4 c5
Black has to get his pieces developed fast. For example 12…a5?! 13.Bg5! Ba6 14.0–0 c5 15.Bxf6! gxf6 16.Rad1 cxd4 (16…Rfd8 17.d5 is clearly better for White) 17.Rxd4 Qc5 18.Rfd1 White has a small but persistent edge. Exactly the type of position that a Kramnik or a Carlsen would love to have. Kramnik, V (2685)-Salov,V (2660) Madrid 1993 1–0 40.
13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Rd1 Nd5!
Forcing the knights off the board and, with bishops of opposite colors left, the chances for a draw are high.
16.Bd4
White cannot win the pawn on d5. If 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Rxd5? Qb7! (stronger than 17…Bb7 18.Rc5 Qe7 19.Rg1 (19.0–0?? Qe4 wins) 19…Rad8) 18.Qb5 a6! White will lose one of his rooks.
16…Rd8 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Qc2 Qe7 19.0–0 Bh3 20.Rfe1 Rd7 21.Bc3 Re8 22.Rd4
The threat is 23.Rh4 with a double attack on h3 and h7.
22…Qg5
So that if 23.Rh4 Bf5 everything is covered.
23.Qd2
Structurally White is better and Black needs to counter that by creating some chances in the kingside. It is therefore completely logical to take the queens off the board.
23…Qxd2 24.Rxd2
Black is not yet off the hook The pawn weakness on d5 forces him to defend it with …Be6, after which White’s e2–e4 advance can become dangerous.
24…Be6 25.Red1 Rde7 26.f3 h5 27.Kf2 f6 28.Rd4 Kh7 29.R1d2 Bf7 30.h3 a6 31.Rf4 Kg8 32.Bd4 Kh7 33.Bc3 Kg8
Karjakin is just shuffling his king back and forth, but hereabouts has already decided to sacrifice the exchange and is trying to time it at the best opportunity.
34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4 Kh7 36.Rf5 Rb7
37.Rfxd5!
Carlsen: I thought it was just a little bit better and I was kind of hoping to be able to sac the exchange at some point. Then I feel like he played inaccurately because I got basically the perfect conditions to sac the exchange, since I either get one pawn back immediately or the g5–break.
37…Bxd5 38.Rxd5 Kg6?!
A controversial decision, giving up his c4–pawn. However, Karjakin as you know is nicknamed the “Minister of Defense” for his ability to defend inferior positions and of course knew the rule that in rook endings piece activity is more important than keeping your pawns intact. If Black had switched to passive play with 38…Rc7 39.Rd6 Rce7 40.e4 Re6 41.Rd5 Rc6 White is pushing hard.
39.Rc5 Rh8 40.Kg3 Rb6 41.Rxc4 Rh1 42.Rc7 Rc1 43.Rd7 Rc6 44.a4!
Putting his pawn on a5 so as to fix the position of Black’s a6 pawn.
44…Rg1+ 45.Kf2 Ra1 46.a5 Ra4 47.Kg3 Rac4 48.Ra7 Re6 49.e4 Rc8 50.Rd7 Rec6 51.f4! R8c7 52.f5+ Kh7 53.Rd8 Rc8 54.Rd3 Re8 55.Rd4 Rc7 56.Kf4 Rce7 57.Rc4 Kh6 58.Kf3 Rd7 59.Bd4 Kh7 60.b4 Rd6 61.Ke3 Kh6 62.Rc1 Kh7 63.Bb6 Rd7 64.Bc5 Red8 65.Rh1+
IM Saravanan from the Chessbase website points out here that 65.e5! would have been strong. After 65…fxe5 66.Ke4 Re8 67.g5 White’s position is looking threatening.
65…Kg8 66.Kf4 Re8 67.Re1 g5+!
Again choosing not to leave his pieces in defensive positions although it gives White a passed pawn. Later in the game we see that Karjakin’s judgement is correct, but one mistake wiped out all his gains.
68.fxg6 Kg7 69.g5! Kxg6 70.gxf6 Kxf6 71.Rh1 Rf7!
Giving his king a direct route to the queenside. Hereabouts Karjakin used up almost all his time already and was subsisting on the 30 second time delay, the so-called “Bronstein clock” which was in use in the Grand Chess Tour. You are just given 30 seconds before the clock starts running, the additional seconds is not added to your clock. In other words you will be in perpetual time trouble. “As soon as he got down to the delay, I felt it would be very, very hard not to blunder,” Carlsen predicted. And he was right.
72.Ke3
[72.e5+ Rxe5 73.Rh6+ Kg7+ 74.Kxe5 Kxh6 is a book draw.]
72…Ke6 73.Rh4 Rf6 74.Rh7 Rf7 75.Rh5 Kd7 76.e5 Rf1 77.Ke4 Kc6?
The losing move. The way to the draw is 77…Re1+ 78.Kd5 Rd1+ 79.Kc4 Rc1+ 80.Kb3 Re6 Keeping his rook on the 6th rank should hold the position.
78.Rh6+ Kb5 79.Rb6+ Kc4 80.e6!
The catch. Karjakin probably counted only on 80.Rxa6 after which 80…Re1+! draws, for example after 81.Be3 Kxb4 82.Ra7 Rxe3+ 83.Kxe3 Rxe5+ 84.Kd4 Rxa5 no comment necessary.
80…Re1+ 81.Kf5 Rf1+ 82.Ke5 Re1+ 83.Kf6 Rf1+ 84.Kg7
Surprisingly in the open board there are no checks for Black.
84…Ra8 85.e7 Re1 86.Kf7 Re4
[86…Rf1+ 87.Rf6 Re1 88.Rd6 Rf1+ 89.Ke6 Re1+ 90.Kd7]
87.Rd6 Rh8 88.Rxa6 1–0
Not a brilliancy at all, but a good indication of how difficult it is to hold against Magnus Carlsen as he always manages to find a way to put pressure on you, even if objectively the position is equal.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently the Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

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