How transparent is our National Budget?

January 10, 2019 | 8:43 pm

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

Edwin P. Santiago is the executive director of Stratbase ADR Institute.

Public debt, budget deficit and sin tax hikes

January 10, 2019 | 8:38 pm

When the Philippines public debt reached P7.2 trillion last November, I was curious which among the previous and current administrations were the major debt generators. I checked the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) website and summarized the numbers below and computed the per year rise in public debt stock.
So it was the short-lived Erap Estrada government (2 ½ years) then the Arroyo (9 ½ years) and Duterte governments (2 ½ years) are tied for second place. The often maligned Noynoy Aquino administration was responsible for some fiscal and borrowing restraints, while registering the fastest average GDP growth rates over six years.

One more thing, the DBM Secretary of Estrada and Duterte where over-borrowing was the norm was my former UPSE teacher, Dr. Ben Diokno.
Governments resort to over-borrowing after they over-spend, whether there is real or imaginary economic crisis. To follow will be to over-tax the citizens today and tomorrow to pay for the ever-rising public debt and welfarism. The big jump in expenditures and the resulting deficit is shown in Table 2.

More deficit, more borrowings, requiring more taxes. Among the usual punching bag by fiscal hawks in government, NGOs and academe is to raise the sin tax endlessly. Congressional bills certified urgent by Malacañang is to raise tobacco tax to P60 per pack, from the P30/pack under the Sin Tax law of 2012 to P40/pack under the TRAIN law of 2017, and raise alcohol tax to P40/liter.
I wrote a paper, “Assessment of the Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012” (52 pages) published by the Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi) in November 2018. Among the things I discussed there is the concept of price elasticity of demand (PED), applied to tobacco and alcohol products. The PED is computed as % change in quantity over % change in prices. It is a measurement of responsiveness of demand when prices go up or down.
If the PED is between zero to one, it is considered as “inelastic” because the % change in demand is smaller than the % change in price. For instance, consumption of tobacco declines by 20% only even if prices have increased by 30% (after higher tobacco taxes).
If the PED is 1 it is considered as “unit elastic” and if it is greater than 1, then the demand is “elastic.” For instance, consumption of alcohol declines or even rises by 40% after prices have increased by 30% (after higher alcohol taxes).
I reviewed some of the literature about PED and I found three: (a) Quimbo et al (2012), cigarettes -0.87, no PED for alcohol; (b) DOF (2012), cigarettes -0.58, also no PED for alcohol; (c) Sornpaisarn et al (2017), alcohol -0.79 for low and medium-income countries, no PED F
I made my own computation based on available data on quantities for alcohol and tobacco and reconstructed prices and their changes, I arrived at the following PED numbers for the period 2013-2016: cigarettes -0.34, beer 0.21, wines 1.14, distilled spirits -0.14, or an average of 0.40 across all alcoholic products.
This means that cigarettes PED of -0.34 is inelastic, a 10% rise in tobacco prices (after tax hikes) resulted only in 3.4% decline in consumption. Government goal of getting more taxes from tobacco is achieved but its goal of significantly reducing smoking incidence is not achieved.
For alcohol products, a positive PED of 0.40 means that there was even an increase, not decline, in consumption. This is because the tax hike was not big unlike in tobacco, while people’s income (income elasticity of demand) has increased overall, and people shifted to lower-priced beer and wine so that overall consumption has increased.
Finally, a note on “over-tax tobacco and alcohol, over-increase funding for universal healthcare (UHC)” movement. First they aim that there should be less smoking and drinking, then they silently aim that there should be more smoking and drinking so that there will be more tobacco and alcohol taxes to fund UHC. These are two diametrically opposed goals.
A better option is that any additional revenues from higher alcohol and tobacco taxes should not go to UHC but to retire and reduce the public debt. Then any savings via reduction in interest payment should go to UHC.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.
minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Hopeless but hopeful

January 10, 2019 | 8:37 pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).
www.luisteodoro.com

No bullies in the office

January 10, 2019 | 8:36 pm

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

A.R. Samson is chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda.
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Asian Cup: Philippine Azkals take on Chinese team today

January 10, 2019 | 6:26 pm

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

Kings, KaTropa open Philippine Cup action

January 10, 2019 | 6:25 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) starts its Season 44 this weekend with the opening of the All-Filipino tournament Philippine Cup at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan, on Sunday.
Setting action off is the clash of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings against the TNT KaTropa set for 6:30 p.m.
Prior to it the Leo Awards for top individual performances in the previous season will be held as well as the official opening ceremonies for the brand-new season.
Barangay Ginebra enters the tournament hailed as one of the tournament favorites in an informal survey among league governors early this week on the strength of an intact lineup that had much success last season.
In the 2017-18 Philippine Cup, the Kings had it rough in the elimination round, barely notching a winning record at 6-5. It was enough, however, to land them at fourth spot, thanks to a higher quotient over two other teams with a similar record.
They would sweep the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their best-of-three quarterfinals before bowing to eventual champions San Miguel Beermen in their best-of-seven semifinals, 4-1.
After that the Kings would go on and win the midseason Commissioner’s Cup and then topping the elimination round of the Governors’ Cup that led to a semifinal finish.
“It’s going to be a rush job for us because we thought we are going to play a little later in the conference. But we have picked things up in training and we will be ready,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone in an interview with BusinessWorld in the PBA’s media day for the upcoming season yesterday.
“Good thing we are healthy. But we are expecting a tough fight from TNT,” he added.
TNT, meanwhile, looks to rebound after a very pedestrian season last year for its standards.
It wound up with 17-16 card in the three conferences, failing to go past the quarterfinals in the first two conferences and missing out on the playoffs altogether in the final conference in Season 43.
The KaTropa retooled heading into the about-to-start tournament, bringing over serviceable auxiliaries who could complement their core of players for a more “balanced” attack.
“We’re still in the process of working on our game but we will be ready come opening day against Ginebra,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena in a separate interview.
“We’re a rebuilding team and we’ll just take it one game at a time,” he added.
In the Philippine Cup, tournament format calls for the 12 teams figuring in a single-round-robin elimination with the top eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals and the bottom four outright eliminated.
The top seed and no. 2 will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against no. 8 and no. 7, respectively, while no. 3 clashes with no. 6 and no. 4 slugs it out with no. 5 in a pair of best-of-three quarterfinals.
The semifinals will be a pair of best-of-seven series with the finals a best-of-seven affair as well.
NEW RULES
Meanwhile, as the new PBA season unfolds, some rule changes are to be implemented to further enhance how the games are played.
Presented at the media day with league governors early this week, the key rule changes are goal-tend review for the duration of the match, adopting of the FIBA rule on traveling violation, and allowing verbal calls of the coaches on player timeouts.
League officials said the rule changes are geared towards improving the league and making the games enjoyable to watch for fans.
“We’re looking forward to an exciting PBA Season 44 with all the changes and improvement in team lineups, and the changes and improvement in our rules to make the game more exciting,” said PBA chairman Ricky Vargas during the media day.
He was seconded by league commissioner Willie Marcial, saying, “We took into consideration many things in coming up with this (rule changes), foremost is to make the game better for the better appreciation of our fans.”

Asian Football Confederation to raise lawsuit in Saudi over piracy

January 10, 2019 | 6:25 pm

DOHA — The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Wednesday it was taking legal action in Saudi Arabia against television channel beoutQ for illegally broadcasting its Asian Cup, the region’s biggest football tournament.
BeoutQ has been accused by soccer’s governing body FIFA, tennis governing bodies and other sports bodies of illegally airing content whose exclusive Middle East television rights belong to Qatar-based broadcaster beIN.
BeoutQ emerged in 2017 after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar and accused the tiny Gulf state of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.
BeoutQ is widely available in Saudi Arabia. But Riyadh says it is not based there and that the authorities are committed to fighting piracy, including announcing the confiscation of 12,000 pirating devices last June.
It is unclear who owns or operates the channel.
In a statement, the AFC said its Asian Cup, which kicked off in Abu Dhabi last week, had been appearing illegally on beoutQ.
“The AFC has already instructed counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interest,” the statement said.
AFC did not provide further detail on the parties involved in the case or damages being sought.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the AFC action.
Qatar-based beIN Sports holds exclusive television rights to a wide range of events for the Middle East including World Cup soccer, the Premier League, and AFC matches.
Last month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said it would investigate Qatari allegations of intellectual property breaches by Saudi Arabia, including the piracy of beIN content, despite Riyadh’s objections on national security grounds.
FIFA said last July it would pursue legal action against beoutQ after the illegal broadcast of its 2018 World Cup, but details of the case have not yet been made public. Saudi Arabia said at the time that FIFA’s decision would supplement its “relentless efforts” to combat beoutQ’s activities. — Reuters

Filipino-headlined fights usher in packed year for ONE

January 10, 2019 | 6:24 pm

ASIA’S largest martial arts organization ONE Championship is poised for a packed 2019 after announcing it would be hosting 45 events this year, beginning with two which will be headlined by Filipino world champions.
First to fire off is “ONE: Eternal Glory” in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 19, where Filipino ONE world strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio will try to defend his title for the first time against Japanese challenger Yosuke Saruta.
Eternal Glory is 15-fight card that will also see Filipinos Edward Kelly and Robin Catalan in action taking separate opponents.
Mr. Kelly, a teammate of Mr. Pacio in Team Lakay, will battle Singapore’s Christian Lee in a featherweight clash while strawweight Catalan faces off with Indonesian Stefer Rahardian.
After a week, another Team Lakay teammate of Mr. Pacio, Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, will make his own title defense for the first time, taking on former ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil for the third time in what practically is a rubber match in the event dubbed “ONE: Hero’s Ascent” here in Manila on Jan. 25.
In their first two encounters, Messrs. Eustaquio and Moraes split things with the latter taking the first in 2014 and the Filipino exacting payback in June last year to seize the flyweight gold.
Also part of Hero’s Ascent are Honorio “The Rock” Banario and Danny “The King” Kingad.
Mr. Banario takes on American Lowen Tynanes in a world grand prix lightweight quarterfinal while Mr. Kingad squares off with Japanese Tatsumitsu Wada in a flyweight battle.
Eternal Glory and Hero’s Ascent are among ONE’s 24 flagship events for 2019, which include forays into new territories such as Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.
In addition, Rich Franklin’s ONE Warriors Series will double its number of 2018 live shows with six in 2019.
The groundbreaking documentary series kicked off with three thrilling cards held in Singapore, and saw ONE Vice-President Franklin unearthing Asia’s finest burgeoning talent.
This includes the likes of Thai sensation Stamp Fairtex, who captured the ONE Kickboxing Atomweight World Championship en route to being named ONE’s 2018 Breakthrough Athlete of the Year.
Furthermore, ONE will host 12 ONE Hero Series events in 2019, with further details on the new format to be announced at a later date.
On top of the elite combat sports that are set to light up Asia this year, ONE Esports will also get under way. There will be three of the colossal gaming events on offer, held alongside the martial arts shows in weekend spectacles. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Osako double helps Japan fight back to beat Turkmenistan

January 10, 2019 | 6:24 pm

AL AIN — Japan’s Yuya Osako scored twice as the four-times champions fought back from going a goal behind to earn a 3-2 win over unfancied Turkmenistan in their Asian Cup opener on Wednesday.
Hajime Moriyasu’s side, one of the favorites for the title, labored throughout the opening 45 minutes and fell behind to a vicious long-range strike from Arslanmyrat Amanov that flew past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.
The Japanese rallied in the second half, however, with Osako netting two in quick succession before Ritsu Doan added a third, although a penalty from Ahmet Atayew in the 79^th minute kept Turkmenistan’s hopes alive until the final whistle.
Uzbekistan joined the Japanese at the top of the early Group F standings with a late 2-1 win over Oman, while Qatar scored twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 win over Lebanon in Group E.
Japan is unbeaten since Moriyasu took over from Akira Nishino in July but that record looked under threat when Amanov smashed his shot home from 25 meters as the Samurai Blue toiled in the Abu Dhabi sun.
Yet Genki Haraguchi inspired a second-half fightback, with Osako leveling the scores 11 minutes after the break when he turned to slot the ball beyond Mamed Orazmuhamedov.
Three minutes later, Werder Bremen forward Osako struck from close range after good work from Haraguchi and Yuto Nagatomo.
Doan added the third 19 minutes from fulltime only for Atayew’s penalty eight minutes later to give Turkmenistan hope of snatching a draw.
“At the break I went over the first half and told my players about our transition play, the battle around the ball and the need to read the game better than we had been doing,” said Moriyasu.
“We made it difficult for ourselves after conceding the goal.”
Uzbekistan’s Odil Ahmedov, who was named the country’s Player of the Year earlier in the week, claimed their opener against Oman with a fierce free kick after 34 minutes, but Muhsen Al Ghassani leveled with 18 minutes remaining.
Eldor Shomurodov came off the bench to grab the winner five minutes from fulltime when he beat goalkeeper Faiyz Al Rashidi at his near post, although Egor Kremits’ straight red card two minutes into stoppage time took some of the gloss off the win for Hector Cuper’s team.
Qatar’s win over Lebanon, courtesy of goals from Bassam Al Rawi and Almoez Ali, moved Felix Sanchez’s side level with Saudi Arabia on three points in the Group E standings.
Al Rawi put his side ahead five minutes after the hour mark with a curling free kick while Ali put the result beyond doubt when he stabbed home from close range after goalkeeper Mehdi Khalil parried Abdelaziz Hatem’s initial shot.
SOUTH KOREA’S LEE A DOUBT FOR KYRGYZSTAN; KI OUT
South Korea attacking midfielder Lee Jae-sung is a doubt for Friday’s Asian Cup Group C match against Kyrgyzstan due to a toe injury, according to the Korea Football Association (KFA).
The 26-year-old, who played 86 minutes of the Korean’s 1-0 win over the Philippines on Monday, did not take part in Wednesday’s training session.
“Lee’s right big toe was bent during South Korea’s opening match against the Philippines on Monday, and he is feeling pain,” a KFA official told the Yonhap News Agency.
“The swelling in his toe is getting better, but for quick recovery, Lee didn’t take part in today’s training. He’s currently staying at a hotel for rehabilitation.”
Portuguese coach Paulo Bento will also be without Ki Sung-yueng after the Newcastle United defensive midfielder injured his hamstring in Monday’s game.
Ki, 29, has been ruled out for a week and will also miss second-placed Korea’s final group game against leaders China on Jan. 16 when Son Heung-min is scheduled to make his tournament debut. — Reuters

Fish named US Davis Cup captain

January 10, 2019 | 6:23 pm

NEW YORK — Mardy Fish was named US Davis Cup captain on Wednesday as the men’s team competition enters a new era.
Fish, winner of six ATP singles titles and a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, takes over from Jim Courier who held the post for eight years before stepping down in September.
“It is something that is a dream job for me, something I won’t take for granted,” said Fish during a conference call. “To be the next Davis Cup captain is incredibly humbling.
“I can’t express how excited I am… that the players have supported the decision,” added the 37-year-old.
“Everyone is really excited about the idea of the reform and the new format, sort of a World Cup of Tennis.
“It is going to be interesting from all parties to see how it goes.” Fish will take charge in a dramatically different Davis Cup format from the one in which he played in 11 ties from 2002-12.
Instead of the three-day ties that used to take place a few times during the year, it has been overhauled into an 18-team event that this year will be played from Nov. 18-24 in Madrid.
The new format will also bring a change in duties for the US Davis Cup captain, who will work closely with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) player development program. — Reuters

Overmatched

January 10, 2019 | 6:23 pm

Considering how the Sixers lost yesterday, it’s fair to argue that the Wizards have their number — at the Capital One Arena, that is, where, for some reason or another, they’ve failed to taste victory in five years. It didn’t matter that the hosts were missing John Wall, out for the rest of the season due to a left heel injury, or that they just came off a rousing triumph against the very same opponents at the Wells Fargo Center. Apparently, there’s something in the Washington air that makes them forget they’re supposed to be crowding the top of the East and not the bottom.
On paper, the Sixers didn’t do badly. In fact, their Big Three managed to post significant numbers. Joel Embiid was a force down low, putting up 35 points on 17 shots along with 14 rebounds. Ben Simmons got to within two assists of a triple-double. Jimmy Butler, fresh off a talk with head coach Brett Brown on the expansion of his role in the offense, finished with 23 markers off a team-high 18 field-goal attempts. And still they got blown off the court; the 6-5 advantage they held not three minutes into the match proved to be their last one all game. By the time the first half ended, they were staring at a 15-point deficit that somehow got even worse after the third quarter.
Interestingly, the Sixers headed into the set-to having prevailed in their last four contests. They appeared ready to string together a run that would improve their Top-Four standing in the conference. The pacesetting Raptors were just three games ahead, and they seemed motivated, finally, to back up their preseason standing as a league powerhouse. Instead, they looked listless, overmatched even, against the Wizards yesterday, with pencil pushers not even needing to delve into advanced metrics to see their deficiencies. The Eye Test was all fans on site and in the comfort of homes needed to conclude that they remain a work in progress.
Certainly, the Sixers have the potential to challenge for the hardware. Embiid, Simmons, and Butler are too good not to amass win shares. On the other hand, they haven’t yet shown with consistency that they’re more than just a team of outstanding players and actually players on an outstanding team. And unless and until they do, they’ll be spending a lot of time wondering about the What Ifs and not enough of it relishing the Wows.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

KUYSEN: Building the future

January 10, 2019 | 6:21 pm

Kuysen began its legacy of luxury in 1989 as a small industrial hardware store in Caloocan. Cultivating brands and products through 30 years of dedication to quality, style, innovation, continuous learning: the hardware store has evolved to become a household name in luxury furnishings.
Humility and ambition

Kuysen Enterprises has certainly grown from its humble yet ambitious beginnings in Caloocan. It started making a name for itself with Tyrolit, the Austria-based Swarovski-owned pioneer in abrasives. By turning it into a domestic industry leader, Mr. Kuysen Go proved there was a market for premium products in the Philippines.
Through the years, Mr. Kuysen Go would travel to Europe to learn from prestigious construction exhibitions the brands blazing trails in the industry. With his entrepreneurial
acumen, he brought these brands home and considered them partners, curating them into
household names for residential and commercial projects.
Premier manufacturers of mixers, showers, and sanitary wares, Hansgrohe and Duravit
from Germany were among the first prestigious names Kuysen would import and
distribute. They would eventually become Kuysen’s flagship brands, attesting to Mr. Go’s
belief the Philippines had a market that was ripe, ready, and raring for products renowned
for their indisputable quality, design and innovation.
Riding the wave
In 1999, Jensen Go joined the family business as the company’s President and General Manager, adhering to the same principles set forth by his father.

*President and General Manager, Jensen Go*

The upswing in the Philippine economy would encourage Kuysen to expand its repertoire even further. Kuysen welcomed brands of international acclaim—Kaldewei, Victoria+Albert, Teka, Aquatherm, Geberit, Geesa, Schell and many more to the company’s ever growing portfolio of partners. What mattered foremost was these brands were unparalleled in their design, and their commitment to quality unquestionable.
In 1999, Kuysen Bath Gallery, the 500-square meter showcase of Europe’s finest bathroom brandwas opened in Glorietta 4, Makati. It was a peek into the future. With functional displays and aspirational tableaus, Kuysen came to be at the forefront of the industry’s furnishing sector.
Bigger, bolder, braver
By 2007, Kuysen had moved into its new corporate headquarters—an eight-storeymulti-function office and showroom. With such a huge space, Kuysen could only widen the scope of their offerings even further. Hereon Kuysenstarted to venture into the tile industry with European brands Cerim from Italy and Ibero from Spain. Complementary products like Kessel and BWT for water filtration systems were added.

When the Kuysen-Hansgrohe flagship showroom opened in 2013 in Eton Residences Makati, no less than Mr. Philippe Grohe himself, Axor Brand Head of Hansgrohe, declared it as prestigious as their own during his speech. The new showroom was a great marker of Kuysen’s 25^th year – It is much a showroom as it is a venue to hold professional events and meetings.

Kuysen’s latestventure would be into the world of lighting and furniture. To set the standard for class, Kuysennow proudlyrepresents world-class brands such as Baxter, Zanotta, Living Divani, Paola Lenti, Porro, Vibia, Muuto, and Montana.

Building the future
Committed to its mantra of inspiring creativity and delivering solutions, Kuysen continues to partner with no less than luxury brands of international acclaim, setting the standard for class in and out of the Philippine household.
This 2019, these brands will be hosted in the Kuysen Design +Experience Center, a five-storey, two-basement interactive showroom in Bel-Air, Makati—the first of its kind in the Philippines. This new investment reaffirms the company’s dedication to the Filipino homeowner as well as its unwavering belief in the Philippines’ booming construction industry.

Kuysen Design +Experience Center, Bel-Air, Makati

With three decades of expansion and diversification under its belt, Kuysen has gone through innumerable changes. Kuysen may carry the finest home furnishings the world has to offer, with materials and expertise drawn from the far ends of Europe, but the intimacy with which Kuysen relates to its clientele remains the same.
Kuysen remains as humble, as grateful, as committed to servicing its clients as when the little shop in Caloocan began.

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