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Open Letter To: H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

Excellency,
In recalling our bilateral meeting years ago in Beijing, please allow me to extend to you our warm welcome to the Philippines.
Your visit underscores the future of the relationship between the Philippines and China. Our peoples have had centuries-old ties that predate the advent of the West in Asia. Today, as Asia surges forward as one of the most economically dynamic regions, we hope to look forward to a closer cooperation by building on the foundations of our longstanding traditional friendship.
China has contributed vastly to the Asian economic miracle in the 21st century. Under the domestic development policies pursued by Beijing, China has lifted more millions out of poverty in a shortest span of time than any other country. China has more than matched this spectacular feat with its rapid economic growth.
Today, China is admired as the workshop of the world. Tomorrow it will earn greater accolades as a mighty factory of the new global economy driven by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the instrument of Artificial Intelligence. Embracing globalization has brought China unimaginable dividends, making it virtually the second largest in the world.
Now China is stepping out to contribute even more. The Belt and Road Initiative is a major investment that proposes to draw the world even closer together in shared prosperity.
Perhaps, now is the most auspicious moment in the history of our region. Anticipating that we can all build a future together, we sincerely hope that Beijing will pursue the wise path of moderation, reason and fairness with China taking into full account the legitimate national interest of its neighbors.
Nowhere is this more true than in disputes over the seas that connect our region into a vibrant whole. We all have an equal stake in the safety, security and freedoms of the waters that surround us. This should be the animating spirit for all of us as we settle down to manage such challenges.
Clearly, it is more crucial now than ever that all members of the global community should strive together to preserve a rules-based international order.
Given its stature and power, Your Excellency, it is imperative that China play its proper role in adhering to the rule of law to preserve stability, security and peace in the world so that we may all continue to pursue our aspirations for development and progress. China would possess, moreover, an incredible opportunity to stand as a champion of principle, fairness and inclusiveness in disputes and disagreements in the world.
We Filipinos look forward to the success of your visit to our country. Much is invested in terms of hope in what the Philippines and China, as sovereign equals, can achieve together.
Respectfully yours,
Amb. Albert del Rosario
Chair, Stratbase ADR Institute

FEU Tamaraws determined to catch UAAP playoff bus

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
WHILE believing they should be in a better position in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines had they taken care of business early on, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws are nonetheless not losing hope and determined to make it to the Final Four even if it is through the backdoor.
Defeated the Adamson Soaring Falcons, 82-56, on the final day of elimination play in the ongoing tournament on Sunday, the Tamaraws earned a playoff for the remaining semifinal spot.
They will face the De La Salle Green Archers in win-or-go home match on Wednesday to determine who get to take the last playoff ticket.
FEU and La Salle finished the classification phase with an identical 8-6 card along with the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons. But with a higher quotient, UP took third seed, leaving the Tamaraws and Archers to fight it out for number four.
In beating the undermanned Falcons, who played without top guns Jerrick Ahanmisi and Sean Manganti because of varying infirmities last time around, FEU relied on a total team effort to take control of the match right from the start and never relinquished it the rest of the way.
Wendell Comboy led a balanced Tamaraw attack with 11 points followed by Arvin Tolentino and Hubert Cani with 10 markers each.
Staying alive, FEU coach Olsen Racela said they are taking full advantage of the opportunity that they have, especially now they feel they have been getting the breaks.
“We’re getting the breaks here in the second round. This is a huge win for us and we have one game to play to make it to the Final Four and we will take full advantage of it,” said Mr. Racela following their victory over Adamson.
“Of course, we lament the situation we are in. Had we took care of business early on we would not be here fighting for our playoff lives and maybe in a far better position. But we are now getting the breaks and players are getting back from injuries. We still have an opportunity though and we’re not giving up,” he added.
It was a sentiment shared by Tolentino, named player of the game against the Falcons.
“We’re happy we got this win. But we have still one game to play. It’s not going to be easy for sure. We have to give everything in practice to prepare us for that game. Good luck to us,” said Tolentino.
Looking ahead to their all-important watch with La Salle, Mr. Racela said it is going to be a tough battle.
“It’s going to be a tough matchup since Taane Samuel is back in their lineup giving them a wide body. But Prince Orizu is back as well for us, so that should help us match up with them. They have a lot of weapons and we have to come in ready for the game,” Mr. Racela said.
The playoff match between FEU and La Salle is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Winner of the game earns a Final Four date with the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles with a twice-to-win handicap.
BRIGHT IS MVP
Meanwhile, UP’s Bright Akhuetie is set to become the Maroons’ first league most valuable player in 32 years.
Playing in his first year with the Diliman-based school after making the jump from the National Collegiate Athletic Association with the University of Perpetual Help, Akhuetie provided the expected boost to UP with averages of 18.9 points, 14.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals while helping the Maroons reach their first Final Four appearance after a two-decade drought.
Nigerian Akhuetie collected 82.5 total statistical points, beating Ange Kouame of defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles who finished with 76.21 SPs.
Joining Akhuetie in the mythical five are University of the East’s Alvin Pasaol (74.57 SPs), UP’s Juan Gomez de Liano (63.86 SPs), La Salle’s Justine Baltazar (61.29 SPs) and Adamson’s Ahanmisi (58.38 SPs).
Kouame is not part of the mythical team as league rules only allow the top foreign player to enter the group.
Akhuetie follows Eric Altamirano, part of the last champion UP team in 1986, as UAAP MVP.

MJC happy to have done part in Malditas’ recent success

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
HOSTED the games of some of the top young women football players in the land that made up the team that represented the country in the first round of the 2020 Olympic Football Asian Qualifiers recently in Tajikistan, the Manila Jockey Club (MJC) said it is very happy to have done its part in helping hone the team and joins the whole nation in praising the squad’s efforts.
With the Philippine Football Federation Artificial Turf in Carmona, Cavite, which the Manila Jockey Club is administering, serving as home to the PFF Women’s League, it allowed some members of the Philippine Malditas to be in midseason shape for months leading up to the games in Tajikistan.
This year marked the second straight year that the PFF organized the league, designed to lift the women’s game in the country.
Ten teams participated in the round-robin format, including all five University Athletic Association of the Philippines squads.
Joining them were Green Archers United, Outkast, and Hiraya. De La Salle Zobel’s high school women booters joined for the first time this year, as did Tuloy Foundation, which impressed with a fourth place finish.
From these team came members of the Malditas, who successful booked a spot in the second round of the qualifiers next year after winning three of four matches.
The Pinays overwhelmed Singapore 9-0, came from behind to beat the host Tajikistan, 3-1, and then throttled Mongolia, 5-1. The team succumbed to an excellent Chinese Taipei team, 5-0, in their last assignment, but by then the team had already done enough to reach the next stage.
UST’s Shelah Mae Cadag was the breakout player for the Philippines with hat tricks against Singapore and Mongolia. Only Chinese Taipei’s Yu Hsiu-chin, with 10 strikes, has more than Cadag’s seven in this qualifying phase.
Sara Castañeda, Hali Long, and Irish Navaja were three other Pinays scoring three goals during the qualifiers.
Aside from Long, Patrice Impelido, and Patricia Tomanon, the squad is Philippine-born and raised, a testament to the rising quality of women’s football in the Philippines.
“We congratulate our women’s team on their remarkable achievement. And we are so proud to play a small but important role in raising the standard of women’s football in the country,” said Eduardo Ramirez de Arellano, Vice-President for Marketing of Manila Jockey Club.
“We look forward to playing host for the league again next year, and we would love to have more women’s football events on our pitch,” added Mr. Ramirez de Arellano.

Team Go For Gold competes as continental cycling team

TEAM Go For Gold will now compete in a series of tougher major races ahead as a continental cycling team.
Going continental was a move in the right direction for Go For Gold after keeping up with the best riders in the international arena and consistently reaching the podium in several local and overseas races throughout the year.
“I believe it’s the next logical step in order to improve our cyclists,” said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go. “This will allow us access to bigger competitions, which we can use to gauge our performance.”
Go For Gold riders Jonel Carcueva, Ronnel Hualda, Jay Lampawog, Daniel Carino, Boots Ryan Cayubit and Rex Luis Krog are bracing themselves for a bigger challenge starting with the Tour de Indonesia in January next year.
Also up to the task are Ismael Grospe Jr., Ronnilan Quita, Elmer Navarro, Jericho Jay Lucero and Joshua Bonifacio as the team prepares for its 2019 calendar of competition filled with the more punishing UCI 2.1 category races.
The five-stage Tour de Indonesia, categorized as a UCI 2.1 race, almost presents the same level of challenge as the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia.
Carcueva recently finished seventh overall in the individual general classification of the Tour de Singkarak, a UCI 2.2 race, in Indonesia recently while Grospe and Quita were not far behind in the GC after eight stages.
“The results of the Tour de Singkarak showed that we are capable of going head to head with the continental teams. I think we are now ready to go up to a higher level of competition,” said Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Hualda.
According to Hualda, the step toward going continental was necessary not only for the progress of the team, but also for the riders to gain more UCI points and earn a shot at qualifying in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hualda said they are looking at 10 international races a year with each Go For Gold rider competing in at least seven races.
“We have been trying to get more races for them para tuloy-tuloy ang development ng mga riders. It will also help them earn more points in their bid for Tokyo 2020,” said Hualda.

Luka Doncic doing well from Europe to the NBA

NO LONGER a stranger to playing professional basketball having already dipped his hands in it in Europe even at a young age, it is no surprise that Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is handling things well now that he is in the National Basketball Association.
But while he is seemingly transitioning well in The Association, the 19-year-old Doncic admits that there are still things he is still adjusting to and learning about, including developing his game to adapt to the level of play of the NBA and enduring the struggles of playing for a rebuilding team like the Mavericks.
Selected third overall in this year’s NBA rookie draft by the Atlanta Hawks before being dealt to the Mavericks for another talented rookie in Trae Young and a future draft pick on draft night, Doncic has emerged as one of the anchors in Dallas.
He currently leads the Mavericks in scoring with an average of 19.5 points and minutes per game (33.7), while being second in rebounds (6.6 rpg), second in assists (4.2 apg), and fourth in three-point percentage (37.9%).
Mr. Doncic, who made a name for himself while playing for champion club Real Madrid in the EuroLeague, has been hailed as the future of the Lone Star team next to sure-fire first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki.
It is something Mr. Doncic expressed readiness for but does not want to rush, believing there is still much to learn.
“We have many leaders, I think, but of course I always consider myself as a future — I want to be a leader. That’s how I feel. In some future, my team is going to help me so I can be one,” said the Slovenian guard in a recent global conference call, the transcript of which was shared to BusinessWorld by the league.
He went on to say that the change in scenery for him from Europe to the United States has been a non-issue so far and that he is adjusting well and considers Dallas as his new home.
“I moved when I was 13 from Slovenia, from my home, to Spain. So this time it was really easy for me. It wasn’t difficult at all. I feel like Dallas is my home now,” said Mr. Doncic.
If at all though, playing for a Mavericks team right smack in a rebuilding process and still finding its consistent footing in winning is the biggest adjustment he is dealing with right now, especially since he is coming from Real Madrid, which is a consistent winner in Europe.
“It’s really hard because I was a person who gets really upset if we don’t win, and for me it’s been hard, the games we lose. But I think it’s just the beginning of the season. We have a lot of games to go, and we’re going to get together and the chemistry is going to get better and we’re going to win some games,” he said.
As of this writing, the Mavericks are perched at 13th place in the Western Conference with a 7-8 record.
Mr. Doncic also said he trusts the abilities of Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and that he enjoys playing for him.
“He’s (Carlisle) a great coach, and I really like him. It’s great to have — he was an NBA champion, so he’s a great coach,” the exciting rookie said.
With his splendid play of late, Mr. Doncic is in the middle of the mix of rookie of the year talk, the thought of which has him excited but not necessarily he is putting much weight on at this moment, choosing instead to focus on helping the team win and improving his game.
“Yeah, of course it would be special [to win rookie of the year], but for me it’s always for the team. Of course I want to enter the playoffs first. That’s my goal, and later the individual stuff. But yeah, of course it would be something special,” he said.
Adding, “I always like to have the ball in my hand, create for others. I always want to play a lot of pick-and-roll. But here it’s different because here there are so many great players, so many talented and athletic players, and everybody can play.”
Mr. Doncic and the Mavericks play the Memphis Grizzlies today. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Nuguit, Emana capture PCA Open crowns

SHERWIN Ray Nuguit copped his first 12-and-under boys’ title in the first leg of the Age Group events of the PCA Open, carving out a grueling 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Gerald Gimeda of Ormoc City at the Philippine Columbian tennis courts in Plaza Dilao.
Nuguit, last year’s 10-under Unisex Champion, advanced to the final round after defeating Joshua Diva 6-3, 6-0 in the semifinals. Gimeda, on the other hand, pulled off a big upset when he defeated top seed Jr. Costa, 6-4, 6-2.
Nuguit, showing grit and determination, breezed through the first set. The same determination was shown in the second set Gimeda, rallying from a 1-4 deficit to level the score.
But in the deciding set, it was Nuguit who proved to be more consistent, overwhelming Gimeda with heavy groundstrokes to take the decider 6-4 after almost two hours on court.
In other events, Kean Enriquez added the PCA trophy to his list of titles for the year, defeating Kriz Roque Lim, 2-4, 4-1, 4-2 for the 10-and-under Unisex title.
Kriz Lim would return later in the day to team up with his elder brother Prince to take the 10-and-under doubles title. They defeated the pair of Kean Enriquez and Gavin Kraut 8-6.
In the girls’ division, national team member Mika Ella Emana of Sta. Mesa bested teammate and second seed Angeline Alcala of Lucena City to bag the 12-and-under Girls plum, 6-4, 6-2.
The PCA Open Age Group event will resume on Nov. 23 to 26 for the 14-under, 16-under, and 18-under events.

Asian Seniors Championship

ASIAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Tagaytay City, Philippines
Nov. 2-12, 2018

Final Standings

1. IM Chito Garma PHI 2317, 8.0/9

2. GM Eugenio Torre PHI 2449, 7.0/9

3. IM Petronio Roca PHI 2376, 6.5/9

4-6. FM Oleg Rinas KAZ 2329, Cesar Caturla PHI 2240, IM Angelo Young PHI 2281, 6.0/9

7-8. Carlo Lorena PHI 2174, Rosendo Bandal Jr PHI 2198, 5.5/9

9-15. FM Adrian Pacis PHI 2165, AGM Angelito Camer AUS 2060, Khin Than MYA 2200, IM Aitkazy Baimurzin KAZ 2154, Kuanishbek Jumadullayev KAZ 2208, Rolzon Roullo PHI 2916, FM Syarif Mahmud INA 2167, 5.0/9

Total of 34 participants
Time Control: 90 minutes for the entire game with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
Tagaytay City hosted the Asian Seniors Chess Championship for Over-50 and Over-65 years old at the Tagaytay International Convention Center. There were no separate competitions for the two age groups — it was held as one round-robin event after which the top Over-50 and Over-65 were awarded their medals.
Over 50 Category

1. IM Chito Garma, 6.0/9

2. IM Petronio Roca, 6.5/9

3-4. FM Oleg Rinas, IM Angelo Young, 6.0/9

5. Carlo Lorena, 5.5/9

Over 65 Category

1. GM Eugenio Torre, 7.0/9

2. Cesar Caturla, 6.5/9

3. Rosendo Bandal Jr, 5.5/9

4-5. Cecil Padua, Lim Kian Hwa, 4.0/9

For me it was great to see the name of Rosendo Bandal Jr competing once again in an international chess event. I wrote about the Bandal chess clan several years ago, which includes the patriarch Rosendo Bandal Sr., Philippine national chess champion in 1950. Then there is Rosario Bandal, one of the country’s leading female chess players in the 60s and 70s. She worked as an Assistant to the Chief Prosecutor in Manila City Hall and the Regional Trial Court Judge in Gandara, Samar. And then there were the two brothers Ricardo and Rosendo Jr., two of the Philippines’ top players in the 60s and 70s. The latter played board 5 for the country in the 1968 Lugano Chess Olympiad.
Rosendo Bandal Jr went into law and worked in the Office of the President (at that time Ferdinand E. Marcos) for 12 years before being promoted as presiding Judge at the Regional Trial Court in Negros Occidental. I hear he recently retired after 31 years of government service at the age of 70, which explains why he now has time to play chess internationally again.
Another name we have not heard in a long time is balikbayan IM Angelo Young. Angelo was the Philippines National Junior Champion in 1982 who a few years later migrated to the US where he spent most of his time in Chicago working as a chess coach. International Master Young recently returned to the land of his birth and is still razor-sharp — he won both the rapid and blitz events in this Asian Seniors tournament.
In 1999 when GM Eugene Torre and myself accompanied GM Joey Antonio to the World Chess KO Championship in Las Vegas IM Angelo Young arrived in the tournament site at his own expense simply to assist and boost the Philippine squad. He stayed for the entire event and I cannot thank him enough.
Enough reminiscing! Let us go to the chess action.
GM Eugene Torre was leading with 3.5/4 and on track for his 3rd straight Asian Seniors title when he was upended by Chito in the 5th round.

Torre, Eugenio (2449) — Garma, Chito (2317) [D02]
9th Asian Seniors Chess Championship Tagaytay City (5.1), 07.11.2018

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bd6 4.Bg3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.Bd3 f5 9.0–0 c4 10.Bc2 b5 11.Ne5 Bxe5 12.dxe5 b4 13.Ba4 bxc3 14.bxc3 Qa5 15.Bxc6 Nxc6 16.Qc2 Rb8 17.Rfb1 Bd7 18.f4 Rb6 19.Bf2 Nb8 20.Rxb6 axb6 21.Rb1
White’s idea is 22.e4 bxe4 23.Bxb6.
21…b5 22.Nf3 Na6 23.Bh4 Re8 24.h3 Nc5 25.g4 fxg4 26.hxg4 Ra8 27.Nd4 Ne4 28.Be1 Qxa2 29.Qxa2 Rxa2 30.Nxb5 Bxb5 31.Rxb5 Re2?!
Chito has completely outplayed the Grandmaster but here 31…Ra1 was stronger. Now if 32.Kf1 Nxc3 Black’s passed c-pawn becomes a real problem for White.
32.Rb8+ Kf7 33.Rb7+ Kg6 34.Bh4 h5
Black has to first give his King a safe square on h7. If he goes for it right away then 34…Rxe3 35.f5+ exf5 36.Rb6+ Kf7 37.gxf5 White will be advancing his pawns with check.
35.f5+ exf5 36.Rb6+ Kh7 37.gxf5 Rxe3 38.e6 Nf6 39.Bf2 Re4 40.Bd4 <D>
POSITION AFTER 40.BD4
Chito gets an inspiration: what if his King goes down the board to mate white?
40…Kh6! 41.Rb2?
GM Eugene realizes Chito’s idea and gets rattled. Correct was 41.Rd6! winning the d5–pawn. After 41…Kg5 42.Bxf6+ Kxf6 43.Rxd5 Rf4 44.Re5! Ke7 45.Kg2 he has at least a draw.
41…Kg5 42.Rf2 h4 43.Kg2 Kg4 44.Bxf6 gxf6 45.Kh2 Re3 46.Kg2 h3+ 47.Kh2 Re5 48.Rf1 Re2+ 49.Kh1 Kg3 50.Rd1
[50.Rg1+ Kf4 51.Rf1+ Kg4 White is nearly in zugzwang. His rook cannot get out of the f-file because his f5–pawn will fall. Neither can it leave the 1st rank because of Re1+]
50…h2 51.Rf1 Re3 52.Rd1 d4 53.cxd4 c3 54.e7 c2 55.Ra1 Rxe7 56.d5 Rb7 0–1
Eugene tried hard to catch up and scored 3.5/4 in the final rounds but just couldn’t catch up with Garma, who was really determined to win this one.
Chito Garma is quite a colorful character. Sometimes he can be champion of the Philippines but also can fall for the biggest upsets. I even composed a limerick about him:

There was a master named Garma

Always his games are a thrilla

He plays better and faster

Than many a grandmaster

And then loses to Peiris of Sri Lanka!

This limerick inspired one of our readers, Mr. Butch Arroyo, Alexandria, Virginia, to send in his contribution:

There once was a player named Garma

Whose chess could run colder or warmer,

He’d beat a grandmaster

Then meet with disaster

When “Unrated” arrives with his karma.

I can’t resist retelling this story. In 1990 the Philippines hosted the Interzonals in Manila and we were treated to a big spectacle – most of the top players in the world came to our shores to battle for the 11 slots to the next step in the world championship cycle – the candidates’ matches.
Among the big names who came was GM Johann Hjartarson. He had finished equal first in the 1987 Szirak Interzonal, qualified for the Candidates’ matches and defeated Viktor Korchnoi in a huge upset. In the next round the Icelandic GM lost to Anatoly Karpov but he had already made quite a name for himself.
Mr. Florencio Campomanes arranged for many of our unemployed players to the high-profile GMs as translator/aides so that they can get around in Manila, and Chito Garma was assigned to Hjartarson. The Pinoy International Masters would show his assignee around town and go out for sandwiches, snacks and cigarettes.
There were no problems and they parted on very good terms.
In the 1990 Novi Sad Olympiad held later that year Chito Garma played board 5 for the Philippines and as luck would have it faced Hjartarson in round 6 during the Philippines vs. Iceland match. When Chito arrived on the board GM Hjartarson went white with shock and burst out “YOU! You were my boy!” – apparently he never realized that his aide could play chess.
The Grandmaster from Iceland was completely rattled and went down fast.

Hjartarson, Johann (2520) — Garma, Chito (2280) [A05]
Novi Sad olm (6), 1990

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.0–0 e6 5.b3
[5.c3!? with the idea of Qb3 is a popular way of playing against Black’s set-up]
5…Be7 6.c4 a6 7.Bb2 0–0 8.Qc2 Re8 9.d4 Be4
A nice maneuver — …Be4 followed by ..Qd8–c8–b7, putting pressure on the long diagonal.
10.Qc1 Qc8 11.Nc3 Bc6 12.a3 Qb7 13.Rd1 Ra7 14.d5?!
Perhaps a little bit over-optimistic. Hjartarson is counting on the awkward placement of Black’s pieces to win the pawn back. Chito defends doggedly and manages to keep the pawn, however.
14…exd5 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Bxd5 17.Qe3
The threat is Qe5 with a double attack on d5 and g7.
17…Be4!
Not allowing the queen to go to e5.
18.Ne1 d5 19.b4 a5 20.Rac1 axb4 21.axb4 Ra4 22.f3 Bg6
White’s initiative has been countered — it is now time for Black to play for a win.
23.Kf1 Rxb4 24.Ba3
After 24.Qc3 simply 24…Bf8.
24…Rc4 25.Rxc4 bxc4 26.f4
[26.Bxe7 c6]
26…c6 27.g4 f6 28.Bxe7 Rxe7 29.Qa3 Be4 30.Bh3 Kf7 31.Bg2 Qb3
The rest is elementary.
32.Qxb3 cxb3 33.Bxe4 Rxe4 34.Nd3 Nd7 35.Rb1 c5 36.Rxb3 c4 37.Rb7 cxd3 38.Rxd7+ Ke6 39.Rxg7 d2 0–1
Yup! Chito Garma is quite a character.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Chinese leader on state visit today

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
MALACAÑANG lauded the Chinese government for its “continued efforts” to promote regional “peace and stability,” as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive today, Nov. 20, in a historic, two-day official visit.
According to a Palace advisory on Monday, Nov. 19, the welcome ceremony for Mr. Xi will be held at the Kalayaan Grounds in Malacañang on Tuesday afternoon. This will be followed by the signing of the guestbook, expanded bilateral meeting, witnessing of the signing or exchange of agreement, joint press statements, restricted meeting and exchange of gifts, and a state banquet.
On the second day, there will be a joint call with House Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III at the Shangri-La Hotel in Taguig City.
Mr. Xi is scheduled to fly back to China on Wednesday afternoon.
Sought for comment, international studies professor Renato C. de Castro of De La Salle University said in a phone interview: “The visit is supposed to be the culmination of the Philippines’ pivot to China that President Duterte declared in 2016.”
In his statement on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said: “We laud President Xi for China’s continued efforts to promote peace and stability in our region, through dialogues and consultations in handling the South China Sea issue….”
But for Mr. de Castro, Mr. Panelo’s statement is “basically based on the Chinese notion on how peace should be achieved in the region.” He added that for China, peace will be achieved if countries like the United States, Japan, Australia will be “pushed out” of the region, and “countries should accept China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea without asking any question.”
“So the Chinese notion of peace can be equated to the peace of cemeteries or the peace of penitentiaries wherein regional countries would have to accept Chinese maritime expansion in the short term and, of course, Chinese regional hegemony in the long run,” Mr. de Castro said.
Mr. de Castro also said, “There’s always a declaration that there will be a dramatic change, and it remains to be seen.”
This is Mr. Xi’s first visit to the country under a friendlier atmosphere between the two nations since 2015, when he attended the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in Manila during then president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III’s administration. In 2016, the Philippines won the country’s arbitration case on Mr. Aquino’s watch against China over its incursion into the West Philippine Sea, with the United Nations (UN) Arbitral Tribunal invalidating China’s “nine-dash line” claim.
In his arrival statement last Sunday, Mr. Duterte noted that during his participation at the ASEAN Summit in Singapore, he “asserted that aggressive moves by nations” in the South China Sea “can worsen the situation with damage that could be exponential.”
Mr. Duterte “urged stakeholders to desist from adventurism” in the disputed waters.
For Mr. de Castro, the President’s policy is a form of “appeasement” in which the Philippine government “facilitates China’s maritime expansion by setting aside the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling and, at the same time, downgrading the Philippines-United States security relations.”
Mr. Panelo for his part said, “Owing to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s cautious, pragmatic and diplomatic yet independent foreign policy, we anticipate more opportunities to forge better cooperation and friendship with China.”
Mr. de Castro said this “independent foreign policy has been the policy of the previous administration,” but the President “basically intends to unravel it.”
NO WORK IN MANILA
For his part, Manila Mayor Joseph E. Estrada issued an order suspending classes and government work to give way to Mr. Xi’s first day in his state visit.
Work in Manila courts, including the Supreme Court (SC) and Court of Appeals, is also suspended today, the SC Public Information Office announced. — with Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Disrupted Warriors

There’s no doubt about it now. These Warriors are broken. Outwardly, they’re exhibiting all the signs of togetherness that marked their championship runs in three of the last four seasons. They have no choice but to, of course, if only to try to convince others — and, most importantly, themselves — that they’ve moved on from their very public infighting. There was the show of friendship between central figures Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. There were the on-record pronouncements of head coach Steve Kerr, fellow All-Star Steph Curry, and even owner Joe Lacob indicating the tiff was already in the past. Yesterday’s setback to the Spurs, along with the two others right before it, prove otherwise, however.
True, the Warriors have been plagued by injuries to Curry and Green, and figure to be much better when they return to action. That said, it isn’t as if they’ve suddenly turned into doormats. They still have Durant and Klay Thompson spearheading Kerr’s topnotch system, typically more than enough to upend most opponents on most nights. Not so of late, though; since the fateful spat at the end of regulation against the Clippers last week, they’ve been uneven at best, with their intrinsic talent overcome by listlessness. They survived the lowly Hawks, and then got blown off the court by the Rockets before succumbing to the Mavericks.
At this point, the Warriors have become confidence builders — for the competition. Yesterday, they were fodder for the Spurs, who had hitherto lost three straight, and five of the last six, matches. And it bears noting that during their run of futility, they have failed to come close to approximating their vaunted offensive efficiency; they’re norming the lowest in assists since their 2015-16 campaign, brought down by anemic totals during their skid.
To be sure, Green engaging in verbiage and Durant displaying sensitivity is nothing new to the Warriors, hence the confident predictions on the ship being righted with time to spare before the contests truly count. They may well be on the mark; they’re defending champions for a reason, and they’re too good, and too experienced, not to understand the stakes involved and the benefits to be derived in subscribing to the common cause.
Then again, the current circumstances are unlike any the Warriors have already gone through, and they’ve gone through a lot. Never has Green been suspended for being, well, himself. Never has Durant gone nearer to leaving than staying. And never has management seen fit to take sides. The good news: the season is young. The bad news: anything can happen from here on. They’re the defending champions, so everybody else needs to go through them. The flipside is that they don’t really need to look beyond their own backyard to find the biggest threats to their reign at the top.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Duterte fires 3 social welfare undersecretaries

MALACAÑANG ON Monday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte has terminated three undersecretaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to give newly-appointed Secretary, Ret. Lt. Gen. Rolando Joselito D. Bautista, a free hand to “bring his own team to provide better services to the public.”
In a phone message to reporters, Executive Secretary Salvador S. Medialdea confirmed that the appointments of DSWD Undersecretary for Protective Operations and Programs Group Mae Fe A. Templa, Undersecretary for Promotive Operations and Programs Group Maria Lourdes T. Jarabe, and Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group Hope V. Hervilla have been terminated.
“Yes. We expect the new secretary to bring his own team to provide better services to the public,” Mr. Medialdea said.
Mr. Medialdea also denied speculations that their removal from office is due to their affiliation with left-leaning groups in the country.“No naman. [It was for the] formation of a good team,” he said when sought for comment.
In a statement, the DSWD said the three undersecretaries “have left their posts effective November 14, 2018.”
“Undersecretary for Protective Programs Mae Fe Templa and Undersecretary for Promotive Programs Maria Lourdes Turalde-Jarabe have vacated their posts following orders from Malacañang,” the agency said.
The DSWD noted that “both officials did not hesitate to step down from their posts as they are well aware that they serve at the pleasure of the President.”
As for Ms. Hervilla, the DSWD said she “also stepped down after President Duterte had accepted her resignation.”
“Indeed, we all serve at the pleasure of the President. We assure the public that the delivery of services will continue,” Assistant Sectary for the Office of the Secretary Glenda D. Relova was quoted as saying.
Ms. Hervilla is a former regional chairman of Bayan Muna while Ms. Jarabe once served as secretary-general of Gabriela.
Ms. Templa, according to her profile, “has been in social development work through various non-government development institutions and people’s organizations throughout the country in various capacities since 1981.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

DoLE: 300,000-plus workers regularized

MORE THAN 300,000 workers have been regularized this year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) reported on Monday, citing its efforts as well as voluntary regulation by employers.
“Now as we speak, actually as of last week, meron na kaming na-regular na (we already regularized) 312,000 workers in the private sector,” Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said in a press briefing, adding that, “Ang malaking bahagdan doon ay ang 2018.” (The big percentage [of regularized workers] is in 2018).
Mr. Benavidez said 228,000 of the 312,000 workers were regularized voluntarily by their employers and/or principals while 84,000 workers were regularized in the course of DoLE’s inspections of various establishments.
“Nakatulong talaga ang paglabas ng listahan (It really helped that we released that list),” Mr. Benavidez said regarding the list of 3,377 companies involved in labor-only contracting that DoLE released last May.
In that list, 2,610 are “suspected to be engaged in labor-only contracting” while 767 are “found to be engaged in labor-only contracting.” DoLE also said there was a total of 224,852 affected workers among the enterprises in the list.
Mr. Benavidez disclosed further that DoLE has inspected 52,000 establishments, and has until the end of this month to inspect the remaining 3,000.
The official added, “Ang pagtatapos ng aming inspection ay Nov. 29 so in a week’s time, kailangan namin mag-produce ng [panibagong] listahan ng mga companies engaged sa labor-only contracting.” (The end of our inspections is Nov. 29 so in a week’s time, we need to produce a [new] list of companies engaged in labor-only contracting). — Gillian M. Cortez

Senate bill pegs spending limits for candidates

By Camille A. Aguinaldo, Reporter
THE bill increasing the campaign spending limits of candidates and political parties is now up for plenary debates in the Senate.
Senate Bill No. 2072, introduced by Senator Aquilino L. Pimentel III, seeks to amend Republic Act 7166, the law providing the synchronized national and local elections.
If signed into law, senatorial candidates running under a political party or being endorsed by political parties and party-list candidates may spend P6 for every voter, from the present P3.
Independent candidates and political parties may spend P8 for every voter, from the present P5.
Campaign spending for candidates for president and vice president will remain at P10 for every voter.
Mr. Pimentel, who also chairs the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, said the bill is meant to discourage overspending and to ensure that all those participating in elections will be competing on equal footing with other candidates.
He also said this will also encourage transparency in reporting campaign expenses to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The Comelec has filed cases of elections overspending against 35 local candidates from the 2010 and 2013 elections.
“The best way to address the concern of our candidates, especially the local candidates, therefore, is to increase the amount of their allowable political campaign expenditure,” Mr. Pimentel said.
He added that the proposed measure will be beneficial to the voting public since the increase in the allowable campaign expenditure may lead to better voter’s education and awareness of the background and program of government or platform of the candidates.

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