Chinese clam-harvesting in disputed waters seen anew, US think tank says

May 21, 2019 | 8:50 pm

CHINA has deployed anew clam-harvesting fleets to the South China Sea in the last six months, including in Scarborough Shoal, according to American-based think-tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI).

“These fleets, which typically include dozens of small fishing vessels accompanied by a handful of larger ‘motherships,’ destroy vast swaths of coral reef in order to extract endangered giant clams,” said AMTI in its latest report based on satellite imagery.

AMTI said that there was decrease of activities by the “clam-harvesting” boats since 2016 until late 2018. From 2012 to 2015, Chinese clam harvesters severely damaged or destroyed at least 28 reefs across the South China Sea.

AMTI also said since late 2018, the fleets, as shown by satellite imagery, have been operating at Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal and throughout the Paracels, including at Bombay Reef.

“The clam boats have also returned to Scarborough Shoal, which is a particularly sensitive issue in Sino-Philippine relations. The reef was already extensively damaged by the earlier phase of clam harvesting up to 2016.,” the report said.

Although it has not found clear evidence of new clam harvesting in the Spratly Islands, AMTI noted that a mothership and a number of small boats were present at nearby Lankiam Cay on April 7.

“The mothership was about 20 meters long while those seen at Bombay Reef are typically closer to 30 meters, but the smaller boats are roughly the same dimensions,” said AMTI.

In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said on Tuesday he will no longer issue statements regarding foreign affairs issues because he has an “implied agreement” with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. that his department will be the one to make a position on the matter.

“I’ll leave it to Secretary [Locsin]. We had an agreement on that. That he will make a position on the matter….We call it courtesy to the department heads,” Mr. Panelo said in part. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras and Arjay L. Balinbin

Proclamation of senators, party-lists postponed as Comelec awaits votes from Washington

May 21, 2019 | 8:48 pm

TUESDAY’S SUPPOSED proclamation of winners for senators and party-list groups was postponed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as canvassing of election returns (ER) was still ongoing.

Comelec Spokesperson James B. Jimenez, in a press briefing on Tuesday, said, “Today is not the day. We are currently canvassing the returns from KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and we are awaiting the returns of Washington DC because they represent more than 200,000 registered voters.”

The Washington votes were expected late Tuesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Comelec was still waiting for one certificate of canvass (COC) that the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) has yet to tally. 166 out of 167 COCs have already been included in the canvass by the NBOC.

Mr. Jimenez said there is still no new date for the proclamation.

As of 8 p.m. Monday, the partial official results of the NBOC canvassing representing 165 COCs: 1. Cynthia A. Villar — 25, 215, 678; 2. Grace Poe-Llamanzares — 21, 981, 275; 3. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go — 20, 579, 811; 4. Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano — 19, 719, 629; 5. Ronald “Bato” M. Dela Rosa — 18, 922, 017; 6. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara — 18, 110, 367; 7. Manuel “Lito” Lapid — 16, 937, 755; 8. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos — 15, 811, 231; 9. Francis N. Tolentino — 15, 446, 517; 10. Aquilino Martin “Koko” D. Pimentel III — 14, 617, 686; 11. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. — 14, 608, 102; and 12. Maria Lourdes “Nancy” S. Binay — 14, 484, 839.

PROBE
Meanwhile, the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives called for a separate and more thorough probe on the election glitches.

“(W)e will be filing resolution to that effect,” said Alliance of Concerned Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tino in a press conference on Tuesday.

“Kailangan panagutin ang lahat ng lumabag sa mga existing election laws at sa iba’t ibang paraan ay nag-ambag sa pagdungis ng proseso ng nakaraang halalan (Everyone who did not adhere to existing election laws and contributed to staining the process of the recent elections should be held liable),” he added.

The joint congressional oversight committee on the automated elections system will conduct a hearing on June 4 over technical glitches during the midterm polls.

The Makabayan bloc said they are questioning the credibility of the elections given the cases of glitches, alleged vote buying, and electioneering against them.

Comelec reported last week that 961 vote-counting machines (VCMs) and 1,665 SD cards encountered glitches during the midterm polls.

Mr. Tino said their planned investigation will also focus on violations before the campaign period.

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel B. Casilao, for his part, said the bloc is also planning to file a case against Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde and Armed Forces of the Philippines Assistant Deputy Chief-of-Staff Brig. Gen. Antonio G. Parlade Jr. for alleged electioneering against them.

In another press briefing, Albay 1^st District Rep. Edcel C. Lagman said: “No amount of Comelec explanation could assuage people’s suspicion that there has been some anomalous designs. The best thing to do is to avoid these preventable glitches so there will be no explanations to be made.”

PPCRV
Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has received 60.09% of all the fourth copy of the ERs they are set to validate.

Data from the PPCRV as of 12:51 a.m. Tuesday showed that it has received 51,538 out of 85,769 ERs from each clustered precinct, excluding those coming from overseas. — Gillian M. Cortez, Vince Angelo C. Ferreras, and Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Palace tells PCSO’s Cam: Resign or file complaint

May 21, 2019 | 8:47 pm

MALACAÑANG ON Tuesday advised Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Board Director Sandra M. Cam to pursue her anti-corruption advocacy “outside the government” if she “cannot stomach” what she sees in her agency. “She can always resign and pursue her advocacy outside the government. Our suggestion is if she feels that she cannot stomach whatever she is confronted with inside the agency in which she works, then she can always resign and pursue her advocacy outside the government,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a press briefing. “The moment she files complaints regarding her allegations, the President will order a full-blown investigation,” he added. In a statement on May 17, Mr. Panelo said Ms. Cam “made some serious allegations…on what she deemed irregular in the internal decision-making process of her agency.” “We asked her to formally submit in writing her complaint to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), which is directly under the Office of the President so that it would be acted on accordingly. She could file corruption charges against the PCSO officials and submit proof of her allegations before the said commission,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Hold order issued against suspects in Sytin murder

May 21, 2019 | 8:46 pm

AN ANGELES City court issued a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against Alan Dennis L. Sytin and one respondent allegedly involved in the killing of businessman Dominic L. Sytin. The murder and frustrated murder complaints against them are pending before the Department of Justice (DoJ). Angeles City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Omar T. Viola, on May 20, said there is probable cause to believe that Mr. Sytin and Mr. Oliver D. Fuentes, alias Ryan Rementilla, “will depart from the Philippines to evade arrest and prosecution of crime against them…” The prosecutors filed the petition for PHDO on May 17. Dominic L. Sytin — chief executive officer of United Auctioneers, Inc., chairman of Foton Philippines, and director and chairman of the board of the listed LMG Chemicals Corp — was gunned down outside the Lighthouse Hotel at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone on Nov. 28, 2018. His body guard Efren Espartero was wounded. Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar D. Albayalde on March 11 claimed that Alan Dennis Sytin, brother of the victim, is the alleged mastermind of the crime after he was identified by alleged hitman Edgardo P. Luib in his testimony. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Cebu BPO sector records 19% hiring growth in Jan-May

May 21, 2019 | 8:45 pm

THE BUSINESS process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Cebu registered a 19% hiring growth from January to May this year, according to Cebu jobs site mynimo.com. The BPO sector, one of Cebu’s major employment generators, is among the top industries that posted significant hiring. Other main job generators were maritime, tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, medical, media and administration. Mynimo President Wesley Chiongbian said most of the companies that are hiring are located in Cebu City, the provincial capital and where most regional headquarters of big companies are located. It is followed by Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, and Consolacion. For the entire Cebu province, hiring growth was at 16% during the five-month period. In an earlier interview, Cebu IT BPM Organization (CIB.O) Managing Director Wilfredo Sa-a Jr. said automation and artificial intelligence (AI) had tempered the employment growth in Cebu’s BPO sector. “The direction of the industry now is towards the non-voice sector,” Mr. Sa-a said. As of end 2018, the Cebu BPO sector posted an employment of around 160,000. Mr. Sa-as said the industry is eyeing to grow to as much as 200,000 workers this year, but that could be lower with developments in AI and automation.

NCCC partners with TraXion for online credit services to cooperatives, affiliate companies

May 21, 2019 | 8:45 pm

DAVAO CITY — Homegrown conglomerate New City Commercial Center (NCCC) has partnered with blockchain firm TraXion Tech Inc. to provide an online-based credit line to members of cooperatives and affiliate companies, which can be used to shop at NCCC supermarkets and its other retail stores.

Lafayette A. Lim, NCCC Group of Companies chief executive officer, said the Ka Partner program, which will use both cards with QR code and mobile application, is eyeing to sign up about 500,000 members of cooperatives in Mindanao within the year.

“(The program) will benefit the users using the Ka Partner Card,” said Mr. Lim at a press conference Tuesday.

It is tied with the Ka-Coop Card program of NCCC with various cooperatives that are also involved in the retail business.

Dominador D. Catacutan Jr., NCCC chief financial officer, said seven cooperatives, which are among the biggest in Mindanao, have so far applied for the program.

The credit limit will be set for each cooperative, which in turn will decide the allocation for its members.

Ann J. Cuisia, founder and chief executive officer of TraXion, said the program provides an easier means for the cooperative members to secure a credit line, which is usually not possible with financial institutions.

“Our focus is the underserved and unbanked communities,” she said.

The NCCC-TraXion partnership will also provide benefits to the cooperatives such as reduced cost of handling cash loans, and trainings on enterprise management.

Ms. Cuisia added that the Ka Partner Card will eventually have more applications as “NCCC has a bigger vision of providing more features, more functions.”

“When there is technology, there are so many things that you can do for as long as there is engagement,” she said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Investors needed to boost Glan, Sarangani as tourism destination

May 21, 2019 | 8:44 pm

By Maya M. Padillo, Correspondent

THE REGIONAL Tourism Council of SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City) is pushing for more investments in the town of Glan, particularly accommodations at its long stretch of beaches, to attract more than just day tourists.

Council Chairperson Michelle L. Solon said they recorded 1.6 million day-tourists in Sarangani province last year, most of which could be attributed to visitors in Glan’s beaches.

“There is still a lot (of investment opportunities) in the untapped beaches, but the (property) owners need to find good partners to handle it, maybe if they are like bigger investors that have a wider perspective,” Ms. Solon said in an interview on the sidelines of the press conference for the upcoming Sarangani Bay (Sarbay) Festival 2019 on May 30-June.

During the annual beach party, first held in 2006, many of the tourists take accommodations in the neighboring areas like General Santos City (GenSan), Gumasa, and Malapatan as the beachside lodgings are limited.

“Some of them have added rooms, but not enough for the number of people that arrive. We usually experience overflowing of visitors and are staying in Malapatan and GenSan during Sarbay fest. Some people will fly in and stay in GenSan then they go and enjoy the whole festival and come back to GenSan,” she said.

Ms. Solon said the ideal venture they are promoting is a partnership between a developer and a property owner for projects with up to 400 rooms.

“Some of them (investors) are so big that they want the entire town,” she added.

The tourism official said having more accommodations would also boost Sarangani’s position as a venue for meetings, incentives conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) tourism.

At present, she said, MICE events in the region are held in GenSan and Koronadal while Glan and other parts of Sarangani just benefit from side tours for the participants.

“But I do believe a day would come that we will have more confidence from investors, then MICE can move in to Sarangani also,” she said.

Nation at a Glance — (05/22/19)

May 21, 2019 | 8:42 pm

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Switching gears: Celeste Cafe and Cycles throws coffee into the mix

May 21, 2019 | 7:12 pm

When one is asked to name an “iconic duo”, cycling and coffee isn’t exactly what comes to mind. Celeste Cafe and Cycles aims to change just that.

“Cycling and coffee have had a long history together, from races to pit stops when riding your bike, so we decided to put a specialty coffee shop with our showroom to showcase both worlds the best we could,” said Andrew Maravillas, COO of Celeste Cycles.

The cafe is the latest experience offered by Celeste Cycles, one of the country’s largest retailers of top-of-the-line cycling products. Inspired by Hong Kong-style bike shops, businessman and biking enthusiast Paul Tan put up the first store in 2017.

While the cafe is a fun addition to the Celeste Cycles experience, older patrons can still enjoy the products and services that they’ve come to expect of the shop– along with a few upgrades.

They still carry familiar brands like Bianchi, Factor, and Dimond. But jumping in is Devel Project, a Filipino concept cycling brand that serves as the country’s foot-in-the-door to the international market. Devel Mach 1, the brand’s first concept bike, is already up for sale.

And aside from their mechanic area designated especially for repairs and maintenance, new tech-powered facilities help give cyclists their best biking experience. This includes an indoor training facility powered by Acer Xplova’s New Noza Smart Trainers and the Precision Bike Fitting Studio equipped with 3D Motionlogic Systems.

“We also created the space to serve as a meeting place for cyclists where we can just simply hang out and talk about our passions, adventures, and future rides,” Maravillas said.

Aces go for 2-0 card in Commish Cup

May 21, 2019 | 7:00 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

OPENED their campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup with a victory, the Alaska Aces look to continue rolling when they trek back to the court today and take on the debuting Northport Batang Pier.

Set for 4:30 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, the Aces, a 111-98 victor over the Columbian Dyip on opening day on May 19, are out to stay unscathed early in the midseason tournament with another win.

Alaska, which failed to move past the quarterfinal stage in the previous tournament, used an explosive third quarter against Columbian last time around to blow things open after a tight first half on its way to booking its first win in the tournament.

The Aces outscored the Dyip, 34-13, in the third period to overturn a six-point deficit at halftime and never looked back after.

Import Chris Daniels led the way for Alaska in the opening-day win, finishing with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

Guard Chris Banchero had 20 points while Simon Enciso finished with 18, going 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Carl Bryan Cruz was the other Alaska player in double digits with 14 points.

“It’s always good to start off with the first win. The game is really important for us,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton following their win.

Out to foil Alaska are Northport, which like the Aces made it to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Cup but was eventually eliminated at the first instance.

The Batang Pier have brought in Prince Ibeh as import to backstop their campaign, joining forces with stalwarts Stanley Pringle, Sean Anthony, Mo Tautuaa and Robert Bolick.

Mr. Ibeh, a product of the University of Texas, is expected to shore up the undersized front court of Northport.

Meanwhile, serving as nightcap at 7 p.m. is the collision between the NLEX Road Warriors and TNT KaTropa.

The Yeng Guiao-coached Road Warriors try to bounce back after a struggle of a campaign in the Philippine Cup that had team narrowly missing the playoffs at ninth place.

NLEX will have Curtis Washington as reinforcement. He saw action at the Bahrain league and posted monster double-double numbers.

Mr. Washington was a replacement import for Tony Mitchell, who was supposed to banner the campaign of NLEX. The latter, however, failed to show up in time, forcing the team to make the change.

On the other hand, TNT will be parading legit National Basketball Association campaigner Terrence Jones.

A first-round pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 draft after joining forces with Anthony Davis to give the University of Kentucky a title, Mr. Jones played two games in the NBA this season before being relegated to the G-League.

He is expected to give a boost to TNT, which was upset by the San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals of the previous tournament.

Warriors sweep Blazers

May 21, 2019 | 6:59 pm

LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry and Draymond Green capped triple-double performances by combining on the game-clinching hoop in overtime Monday night as the Golden State Warriors completed a four-game sweep of the host Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference finals with a 119-117 victory.

The win vaults the Warriors into their fifth consecutive NBA Finals. They will await the Eastern Conference winner between Milwaukee and Toronto, with either the Bucks or Raptors holding the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Golden State, the two-time defending champion, joins the Boston Celtics (1957-66) as the only teams ever to reach five consecutive NBA Finals.

Playing without Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, the Warriors led just 116-115 before Curry spotted Green open for a 3-pointer that pushed the Golden State lead to four with just 39.6 seconds remaining in overtime.

Damian Lillard got Portland within 119-117 with 32.8 seconds left with a driving hoop, and the Trail Blazers got the ball back after Curry missed at the other end.

However, Lillard had a shot blocked by Green, and after Portland got the ball out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left, Lillard misfired on a desperation 3-pointer, ending the Trail Blazers’ season.

Curry finished with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Green chipped in with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the Warriors won their sixth straight game overall and their 10^th straight playoff game against Portland.

The triple-doubles were the first by teammates in NBA postseason history. Green’s was his fourth of this postseason, while Curry’s was his first.

Klay Thompson had 17 points, and Alfonzo McKinnie and Kevon Looney contributed 12 apiece for the Warriors, who won their 11^th straight playoff series.

Meyers Leonard poured in a career-best 30 points, Lillard had 28 and CJ McCollum added 26 for the Trail Blazers, who had staved off elimination twice in their previous series against the Denver Nuggets.

Zach Collins had 10 points off the bench for Portland, which lost despite outscoring the Warriors 48-36 on 3-pointers.

The Trail Blazers led 69-65 at halftime, then for the first time in the last three games were able to build upon it in the third quarter.

With McCollum scoring 11 points and Lillard nine, Portland went up by as many as 17 points late in the period at 95-78 on a jumper by Leonard. That hoop capped a 10-0 run.

But the Warriors chipped away, first by scoring the last nine points of the third quarter to close within 95-87, and then drawing even at 104-all on a layup by Curry with 4:34 to play.

The game was tied at 106 and 111 before the teams went the final 1:48 without scoring.

Each team had a late shot at a regulation win, but Curry traveled before nailing a 3-pointer with 10.7 seconds left, and Lillard couldn’t convert a drive in traffic in the final second.

The Trail Blazers, who had double-digit leads at halftime in both Game 2 and Game 3, got the better of the first 24 minutes again, with Leonard contributing 25 points to a four-point lead. — Reuters

The future is bright

May 21, 2019 | 6:59 pm

Their “Kami Naman” (Our turn) push did not go all the way but there is no denying how successful the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 campaign of the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses was, and how the future is bright for them.

Losing in the finals to the Ateneo Lady Eagles in their rubber match Game Three last weekend, UST saw its championship bid come one win short of being fulfilled.

It was an ending to what was a spectacular journey for the Tigresses that had them making believers out of many, including this writer, that they could go all the way and bring the women’s volleyball tournament title back to España after nine years.

UST had a lot of going for it as it made its way to the just-concluded finals — solid players led by Queen Tigress Sisi Rondina and heir apparent in super rookie Eya Laure and huge momentum springing from a strong finish in the elimination round.

The Tigresses were rolling as they dethroned erstwhile champions De La Salle Lady Spikers with a gutsy victory in the Final Four and had Ateneo pushed the wall with a straight-sets win in the series-opener of the UAAP finals.

Unfortunately UST would not be able to maintain such wave even as the Lady Eagles found their identity the rest of the championship series which eventually culminated in Ateneo winning via shutout in Game Three.

Not surprising, much tear was shed after the Tigresses’ loss, ruing a missed solid opportunity to be on top of UAAP women’s volleyball anew.

A championship, too, would have been a fitting ending to the career of Rondina, the UST faithful believed; an assertion that is hard to argue against as Rondina was a picture of UST pride and grit in five years of playing for the Tigresses.

But as sad and unfortunate the ending was for the Tigresses in Season 81, there is still much to celebrate for the kind of run they had.

The trite expression of “It’s the journey not the destination” truly applies here.

From a team that was expected to decently compete, UST more than lived up to what it was billed and was unstoppable in key junctures of the tournament to merit where it eventually ended up.

Rondina had a final year to remember, leading the league in scoring and earning the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball most valuable player award.

And her efforts were not for naught because the impact of the kind of showing they had this season would go a long way for the holdovers to take cue from.

Speaking of the holdovers, Laure is Rondina in the making, if not she already is.

Then there are Ysa Jimenez, KC Galdones, Janine Balcorta, Mafe Galanza and Rachelle Roldan who showed so much promise in their rookie year.

Veterans Caitlyn Viray, Alina Bicar and Dimdim Pacres should be back for another run.

EJ Laure could well be back after sitting out the last two seasons because of injury, and her partnership with sister Eya has many in eager anticipation.

A healthier Melina Allessandrini is also expected to return with many hoping she could take the path that Ateneo’s Kat Tolentino took on her way back to numerous knee injuries.

Coach Kungfu Reyes should also be tow, ensuring the team of continuity in its system that has steadily been effective.

Kami Naman was not realized this season but considering where UST ended up and where it will be coming off for the next season and beyond, it is highly likely that such push will be realized. It is just a question of when.

Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.

msmurillo@bworldonline.com