Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 11161

Allianz rallies behind Aeta youths’ bid to be part of OCR training pool

TAKING their commitment for social inclusion further, Allianz Philippines recently announced that they will be supporting the push of young Aeta athletes to be part of the national training pool for obstacle course racing (OCR).

A thrust that started late last year when the insurance company brought 25 Aetas to join its Conquer Challenge event in Clark, Pampanga, Allianz had five Aeta youths in the Allianz OCR Sunday on March 31 where they got the chance to vie for a spot in the OCR national team that is set to compete, among others, in the Southeast Asian Games later this year in the country.

It was a tough race for the five Aeta youths — Gellyann B. Soria, 17, Ivy O. Pelayo, 16, Danilo B. Yugyug, 19, Miracle D. Lansang, 21, and Jacob D. King, 22 — of Villa Maria Integrated School (VMIS) in Porac, Pampanga, as they competed for the 5K Elite Male and Female categories in the recent Allianz OCR Sunday held at Filinvest, Alabang.

Yugyug finished without penalty in the top 15 of the race composed of 20 obstacles. Official results of the whole race were to be available yesterday, organizers said. A participant needs to land in the top 5 to secure a slot in the national team.

Allianz said that it hopes through such an effort it gets to do its part in helping improve lives of others not only as athletes but also as individuals.

“Allianz is supporting the quest of the five Aeta youth from Villa Maria in Pampanga to be part of the national team pool. We are not putting a timetable, but what’s important as of this point is they get the training they need. We are giving them a chance to excel in the sport and the life skills to discover new opportunities along the way,” said Allianz Philippines chief marketing officer Gae Martinez.

If fortunate to be a part of the national team, members will be provided with trainings here and abroad. The team is currently training at Pretty Huge Obstacles, Asia’s first and largest multi-level obstacle sports facility with a 2,000 sq.m. floor area located at the Civic Center, SM Aura Premier in BGC, Taguig. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

England takes silver

12th World Team Championship
Astana, Kazakhstan
March 5-14, 2019

Final Standings

1. RUSSIA (Karjakin, Nepomniachtchi, Grischuk, Andreikin, Artemiev), 16/18

2. ENGLAND (Adams, Mcshane, Howell, Jones, Speelman), 13/18

3. CHINA (Ding Liren, Yu Yangyi, Wei Yi, Bu Xiangzhi, Ni Hua), 12/18

4-5. INDIA (Adhiban, Sasikiran, Ganguly, Sethuraman, Aravindh), USA (Swiercz, Sevian, Onischuk, Lenderman, Izoria), 11/18

6-7. IRAN (Maghsoodloo, Idani, Tabatabaei, Firouzja), AZERBAIJAN (Naiditsch, Mamedov, Guseinov, Safarli, Abasov), 8/18

8-9. KAZAKHSTAN (Jumabayev, Ismagambetov, Kazhgaleyev, Makhnev, Kostenko), SWEDEN (Grandelius, Tikkanen, Blomqvist, A.Smith, Johansson), 4/18

10. EGYPT (Amin, Adly, Fawzy, Hesham, Abdelnabbi), 3/18

Match Point System. Each match will be scored by match points as used in the FIDE Olympiad. Winner will get two points, a draw will give each team a point, and a loss is scored as zero point.

Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

There was a time back in the 80s when England was considered the no. 2 chess power in the world. They won the Olympiad silver medals in three successive Olympiads: 1984 Thessaloniki, 1986 Dubai and 1988 Thessaloniki.

The core of the English team to the three Olympiad were basically the same: Anthony John Miles, John Nunn, Jonathan Speelman, Murray Chandler, Nigel Short and Jonathan Mestel. In 1986 Glenn Flear replaced Mestel (he was actually only fielded twice in the whole event) and in 1988 Miles was already having some problems with the Federation and IM William Watson replaced him on the team, albeit on board 6.

We all know what a monster of a player Tony Miles is and many of us were present when he won the 1974 World Junior Championship in Manila at the old Philam Auditorium in United Nations Avenue. The other three mainstays were very strong as well. Suffice it to say that in the January 1989 rating list all three of them were in the Top 10: 1. Garry Kasparov, 2. Anatoly Karpov, 3. Nigel Short, 4. Alexander Beliavsky, 5. Jonathan Speelman, 6. Vassily Ivanchuk, 7. Valery Salov, 8. Zoltan Ribli, 9-10. John Nunn, Ulf Andersson.

Anyway, that was 30 years ago. The English squad got the Olympiad bronze medals for Novi Sad 1990 but haven’t medaled again since then. Last year they came up with their best performance in years with a 5th place finish in the Batumi Olympiad, which qualified them for the World Teams.

England sent Michael Adams, Luke McShane, Gawain Jones and David Howell to do battle. They were expected to finish in the bottom half of the tournament table but instead strongly contended for the gold medals, and that is despite their top player Michael Adams being in poor form:

Bd01 Michael Adams 3.5/9 with two wins four losses and three draws

Bd02 Luke McShane 6.0/9 with three wins and six draws

Bd03 David Howell 6.0/9 with four wins a loss and four draws

Bd04 Gawain Jones 5.5/8 with four wins a loss and three draws

Bd05 Jonathan Speelman 0/1 with one loss

The Englishmen started with two 2.5-1.5 victories (Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan) and then surprised everybody with three straight 2-2 draws with the strong teams from the USA, Russia and India. They followed with two wins against Iran and Egypt before falling to China 1-3. In the final round Team England whipped Sweden 3.5-0.5 and claimed the silver medals.

Luke McShane is often listed as the world’s strongest chess amateur. He is a full-time financial trader (interned with Goldman Sachs in 2006) but has maintained his chess strength as can be seen from his infrequent chess appearances. Moreover his aggressive and creative style always makes him a fan favorite.

McShane, Luke J (2661) — Mamedov, Rauf (2701) [B33]
England vs Azerbaijan
WchT Astana 2019 Astana (2.10), 06.03.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c4 b4 12.Nc2 0–0 13.g3 Bg5 14.h4 Bh6 15.Bh3 a5

[15…Bxh3 does not wreck White’s position. After 16.Rxh3 Qa5 17.b3 Qc5 18.g4 Bf4 19.Rd3 Rad8 20.Qf3 a5 21.Rad1 White is doing well. Zinchenko,Y (2544)-Minko,V (2254) Paleochora 2012 1–0 49.]

16.Bxc8 Rxc8 17.b3 Kh8 18.Qe2 Qe8 19.Rd1 Qe6 20.Kf1 g6 21.h5 Kg7 22.Rd3 f5 23.hxg6 Qxg6

After 23…hxg6 24.exf5 Qxf5 25.g4 Qf7 26.Rdh3 Rh8 27.Rf3 Black’s position is very dangerous. For example: 27…Qe8 28.g5! Bxg5 29.Rg1 Bf4 30.Qe4 followed by Nce3 bringing his last piece into the attack.

24.exf5 Rxf5

POSITION AFTER 24…RXF5

25.g4! Rf7 26.Rdh3 Rcf8 27.R1h2 Bg5 28.Rxh7+ Qxh7 29.Rxh7+ Kxh7 30.Kg2 Kg7 31.f3 Nd4 32.Nxd4 exd4 33.Qe4 Rxf3 34.Qxd4+ Kh6 35.Qe4 Rf2+ 36.Kg3 Rxa2 37.Ne7!

[Targeting the d6–pawn so that he can get his c-pawn moving].

37…Bxe7 38.Qxe7 Raf2 39.Qxd6+ R8f6 40.Qe5 Kg6 41.c5 R2f3+ 42.Kh4 Kf7 43.Qc7+ Kg6 44.Qxa5 Rxb3 45.Qa2 Rff3 46.Qa6+ Kg7 47.Kg5 Rbe3 48.Qg6+ Kf8 49.Qd6+ Re7 50.c6 Ke8 51.c7 1–0

David Howell is a chess prodigy. Born Nov. 14, 1990 he became famous as the youngest player in the world to have qualified to compete in a national chess championship, taking part in the British Chess Championship at the age of 10. In 2015 he reached a rating of 2715 and joined the ranks of the super grandmasters.

I believe that the reason for England’s great performance is that all team members played for a win in every game. They were not content to play for equality and strove hard for the initiative. The following game is typical.

Howell, David W. L. (2693) — Fawzy, Adham (2461) [A04]
England vs Egypt
WchT Astana 2019 Astana (7.11), 12.03.2019

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.e3 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 Bg4 7.Be2 f5 8.d5 Bxf3 9.gxf3!

Looks risky but White wants to continue fighting for the advantage. After the “normal” 9.Bxf3 Nd4 10.Be3 Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 g6 Black is doing well.

9…Nce7

[9…Nd4 10.f4!]

10.h4 g6 11.h5 Bh6 12.f4 Nf6 13.hxg6 Bxf4 14.Bxf4 exf4 15.gxh7 Qb6 16.Qb3 Qd4?

[16…Qxb3 17.axb3 Rxh7 18.Rxh7 Nxh7 19.Nb5 steals a pawn for White, but maybe Black should have preferred 16…Rxh7]

17.Nb5! Qb6 18.Qc3 Kf7 19.Bh5+ Nxh5 20.Rxh5 Raf8 21.0–0–0

In addition to his strong attack and Black’s exposed monarch White is ahead on material.

21…Qxf2 22.Nxd6+ Kg6 23.Rhh1

Threatening Rdg1+

23…Qe3+ 24.Kc2 Qxc3+ 25.Kxc3 Kg7 26.Nxb7 Ng6 27.d6 Ne5 28.d7 Nf7 29.c5 1–0

Gawain Jones is probably the most active tournament player in the English team. He is an expert in the Sicilian Dragon and is a regular contributor to chesspublishing.com. He is currently 31 years old and rated 2691, on target to be the next Englishman to break 2700.

Many years ago I was addicted to the show NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). During one of the episodes Agent Dinozzo managed to go hand-to-hand and defeat a trained MOSSAD assassin. When his supervisor raised an eyebrow and asked how he managed to do that his reply was “I’m a scrappy fighter.” Well, that also applies to the following game.

Kostenko, Petr (2466) — Jones, Gawain C. B. (2681) [C50]
Kazakhstan vs England
World Team-ch Open 2019 Astana (1.20), 05.03.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.a4 a6 7.c3 Ba7 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.fxe3 0–0 10.Nbd2 h6

The main continuation here for Black is Nc6–e7–g6 followed by …h6 or …Be6. GM Gawain undertakes a different plan which I cannot make heads or tails of.

11.d4 Bg4 12.Qc2 Bh5 13.Rae1 Nd7 14.b4 Qe7 15.g3 a5 16.b5 Nd8 17.Nh4 Ne6 18.Bd5 Ra7 19.Nf5 Qd8! 20.h3 Nf6 21.Bc4

White’s play is indecisive — he could have cashed in with 21.b6! cxb6 22.Qb3 Nxd5 23.exd5 Ng5 24.h4 Nh7 25.Ne4 with a big advantage.

21…c6 22.Bd3 Bg6 23.Nc4 Bxf5 24.Rxf5 g6 25.Rff1 Qe7 26.Kg2 Nd7 27.Qa2 Raa8 28.Qa3 c5 29.d5 Ng7

With the center finally closed Black starts to fight back in the kingside.

30.b6 f5 31.Qc1 Nf6 32.Qc2 Rad8 33.Kh2

Not 33.exf5 e4

33…h5 34.Nxa5 Ra8 35.Nb3

White misses his chance for 35.Nc6! Qe8 (35…bxc6? 36.dxc6 It is not going to be easy to hold back the three connected passed pawns) 36.Na7 White can play for a win at no risk.

35…h4! 36.gxh4 c4! 37.Bxc4 Nxe4

With the idea of …Rfc8 together with …Qxh4 targeting whie’s king and the poor bishop on c4.

38.Rg1?

Only move is 38.Bd3

38…Qxh4 39.Ref1 Ng5 40.Qg2 Qxc4 41.Qxg5 Qxb3 42.Qxg6 Rf7 43.Qxd6 Qxc3 44.Qe6 Qd2+ 45.Kh1 Qxe3 46.Rg6 Qxh3+ 47.Kg1 Qe3+ 48.Kh2 Qe2+ 49.Kg1 f4 50.Rf2 Qe1+ 51.Rf1 Qe3+ 52.Kh2

White has threats of his own. If Black is not careful he will be poleaxed by Rxg7+

52…Qe2+ 53.Kg1 f3 54.a5 f2+ 55.Kg2 Qf3+ 56.Kh2 Qf4+ 57.Kg2 Raf8 58.d6 Qf3+ 59.Kh2 Qh5+ 60.Kg2 Kh7 61.Qg4 Qxg6 62.Rh1+ Nh5 63.Rxh5+ Kg7 0–1

How is that for being a “scrappy fighter?”

 

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 (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Righting the ship

For reasons grounded on both anecdote and fact, Ted Leonsis has been characterized in sports circles as a patient owner. Setting goals and cutting checks, and then letting his handpicked executives do the nitty gritty without handholding from him, are what he does with and for his franchises. Given his deliberate nature, his decision to finally hand Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld the pink slip yesterday was understandably met with surprise — and not in light of the end of the National Basketball Association season being just around the corner.

Perhaps Leonsis wanted to convey an air of immediacy to his cause. Prior to the start of the Wizards’ 2018-19 campaign, he declared 50 wins and a deep postseason run to be the goal. And it wasn’t premised on false hope, either; as with others in management, he looked at the roster he went over the salary cap for and deemed it to be among the best in the East. That said, a spate of injuries and, more importantly, a glaring absence of camaraderie among the players exposed his objective as unrealistic at best. And so came its dismantling, with supposedly vital cogs moved, its cornerstone sidelined for some time to come, and, now, its principal architect sent packing.

In truth, Grunfeld’s departure was inevitable, and telegraphed long before news of the Wizards hiring a third party to cast a wide net for his replacement reached hoops circles last month. After all, he presided over talent management operations that appeared to fuel mediocrity. For all his wheeling and dealing, and for all the willingness of Leonsis to keep splurging at his behest, he produced no better than 49 victories and a second-round playoff in any of his 16 years at the helm. Parenthetically, followers were able to cheer for the red, white, and blue beyond the regular season in only eight of those years.

For Leonsis, Grunfeld’s firing was “tough” but necessary, and, as he explained to scribes he met in a rare visit to the Wizards’ practice facility yesterday, just the first in a series of moves aimed at righting the ship. He accepted responsibility for the failures, and vowed to spend the rest of April listening to any and all quarters on how to best forge ahead. “I haven’t made any opinions on what we’re going to do on the go-forward. I’m going to be in total learn-what’s-happening mode,” he said. “I want to do what’s called ‘best practicing.’ What do the best organizations look like? What do they spend? Maybe I made mistakes in the way we spent and invested our money.”

Which is all well and good. Unfortunately, much of the “money” Leonsis speaks of is already committed — including to five-time All-Star John Wall, whose foot issues required him to go under the knife last February and who will be convalescing from his torn Achilles until late into the next season. Still, there can never be a bad time to do the right thing, and parting ways with Grunfeld, however belated, was the right thing. So is looking ahead. There’s always hope, and, for once, fans are optimistic it will lead to a better — okay, much better — future.

 

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

Peso surges vs dollar on US-China talks

THE PESO continued to improve against the dollar on Wednesday amid increased risk appetite due to positive expectations on the US-China trade negotiations.

The local currency closed yesterday’s session at P52.08 versus the greenback, up 36 centavos from the P52.44-per-dollar finish on Tuesday.

The peso traded stronger the whole day, opening the session at P52.38 per dollar. It slid to a low of P52.40 intraday before surging to its best showing of P52.07 against the US currency.

Trading volume inched up to $948.95 million from the $924.61 million that switched hands the previous day.

Traders interviewed attributed the peso’s strength to the risk-on sentiment among market participants.

“The peso grew very much stronger against the dollar. It broke past a number of support levels such like P52.35 and P52.10,” the trader said in a phone interview.

He added that increased market appetite for riskier currencies was due to the continuation of positive reaction to the unexpected manufacturing data from China.

China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly reversed to growth in March at 50.8 from a decline of 49.9 a month ago, according to Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index released on Monday.

Apart from the better-than-expected economic data, another trader added that sentiment on the trade talks between the United States and China continues to be optimistic.

Most Asian currencies firmed on Wednesday as reports of headway in Sino-US trade talks and easing US bond yields prompted buying of regional risk assets.

The Financial Times reported that top officials from Washington and Beijing had resolved most of the issues standing in the way of an agreement. Lower US Treasury yields, plus a slightly weaker dollar and yen, also encouraged stronger risk appetites in Asia.

Officials of both countries were scheduled on Wednesday to resume negotiations in Washington after last week’s trade talks in Beijing.

Meanwhile, the central banks of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines on Friday will sign an agreement on cooperation to promote trade and investment through local currencies, in a bid to trim exposure to volatile global markets.

The Thai baht was largely flat against the dollar.

The Chinese yuan traded about 0.21% higher. The currency, which has been especially sensitive to any news from the trade front, lost more than 5% in 2018 due to trade tensions with the US.

Indonesian markets were closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.

“We’re also anticipating a positive development in the US-China trade talks. The market is very optimistic as of now, that’s why we’re seeing a risk-on sentiment that’s beneficial for emerging markets,” the second trader said.

For today, the first trader expects the peso to move between P52 and P52.25 versus the dollar, while the other gave a wider P51.85-P52.20 range.

“The local currency might continue appreciating tomorrow on account of likely weaker US new jobs report tonight,” a third trader said, expecting a P51.95-P52.25 range. — K.A.N. Vidal with Reuters

PSE index inches higher ahead of inflation data

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE MAIN INDEX climbed on Wednesday, albeit minimally, after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) trimmed its growth forecast for the country this year.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.2% or 15.85 points to close at 7,895.06 yesterday. In contrast, the broader all-shares index slipped 0.09% or 4.52 points to 4,840.34.

“It was another quiet session as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and WTO (World Trade Organization) downgraded global growth forecast, while ADB slashed 2019 Philippine growth forecast from 6.7% to 6.4%, due to weaker global demand & anticipated impact of El Niño,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

The Agriculture department recently reported that the dry spell has already hit P5.05 billion worth of the farm sector’s production as of April 2, affecting more than 160,000 farmers.

ADB, however, noted that the Philippine economy is still on a healthy growth trajectory. It also expects inflation to ease to 3.8% this year and 3.5% in 2020, coming from the 5.2% inflation print in 2018.

Meanwhile, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde said global growth has lost its momentum due to rising trade tensions and tighter financial conditions. This, however, may be countered by a pause in rate hikes in the US, which could help boost activity in the second half of the year.

For Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez, the PSEi posted a flat performance due to the lack of catalysts.

“Market continues to trade in a sideways range on a lack of internal catalysts — the nearest one being March’s inflation release on Friday, April 5. Initial resistance for the PSEi remains in the area of its 50-day moving average at 7,900,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail.

Foreign investors were once again bullish on the Philippine market, with net inflows swelling to P2.12 billion, about four times the previous session’s P503.89 million.

Sectoral indices were equally split between gainers and losers. Those that ended higher were led by financials, which gained 0.47% or 8.30 points to 1,751.36. Services climbed 0.34% or 5.46 points to 1,599.68, while holding firms rose 0.3% or 23.23 points to 7,742.72.

Meanwhile, industrials dropped 0.45% or 53.53 points to 11,701.17, followed by property which edged lower by 0.23% or 9.59 points to 4,083.86. Mining and oil slipped 0.16% or 12.78 points to 7,704.60.

Some 1.29 billion issues valued at P6.45 billion switched hands, an improvement from Tuesday’s P4.79-billion turnover.

Advancers outpaced decliners by a slim margin, 100 to 99, while 45 names were unchanged.

Markets overseas ended mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 0.3% or 79.29 points to 26,179.13. The S&P 500 index was flat at 2,867.24, while the Nasdaq Composite index rallied 0.25% or 19.78 points to 7,848.69.

Duterte vows urban land reform in Metro Manila

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday said his administration will be carrying out urban land reform in Metro Manila.

“Dito na naman ako sa urban land reform. Pinakamatindi dito sa Maynila. Ngayon, kung may mahanap kayo na lupa na medyo malaki at wala pang development, sabihin ninyo sa akin. Kasi i-expropriate ko ‘yan, pilit bilihin ko ‘yan sa may-ari at gagawa tayo ng ating mga bahay,” Mr. Duterte said at a campaign rally on Tuesday in Malabon City, where he also promised permanent settlements for informal settlers. (I will now focus on urban land reform. Manila’s problem is the worst. Now, if you find a piece of land that is large enough and has yet to be developed, let me know because I will expropriate it. I will try to purchase it from the owner, so we can build houses).

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) said there “will be 500 housing units soon to be released to Malabon City residents.”

The President said Malabon City Vice Mayor Jeannie Sandoval has been contacting him regarding the city’s needs.

“Si Jeannie…ito lang ‘yung may access sa akin. Pupunta sa akin doon, sinasabi niya ‘yung problema niya,” he said. (Jeannie is the only one who has access to me. She comes to me to tell me her problems).

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario told BusinessWorld last February that with the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), the next area of focus will be “addressing the housing needs” of Filipinos, especially the poor.

The President signed the law creating the DHSUD on Feb. 14, and it will be followed by another proposed law which aims to address the housing needs of around 2 million informal settler families nationwide, according to Mr. del Rosario.

“If that is pursued and become a Republic Act, we are envisioning to have a budget of P50 billion per year for 20 years; because to construct 2 million housing units, we need P1 trillion more or less. In the next four to 20 years, we are targeting that,” Mr. del Rosario said.

In February, Mr. Duterte also issued Executive Order No. 75 directing all government agencies to identify state properties “suitable for” agricultural use “for the purpose of eventual distribution to qualified beneficiaries.”

Duterte flags anew Chinese might over PHL

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday said China “just wants to be friends with the Philippines,” even as he warned of Chinese might over the Philippines in the event of conflict over the disputed South China Sea.

“Binigyan nga tayo ng baril, binigyan tayo ng bala, pumunta ako doon (They gave us guns and ammunition, I went there) because America failed to deliver what we ordered,” he said at a campaign rally on Tuesday.

“If I go to war, pupulpugin ang (they will crush my) Navy ko in a matter of minutes. At kung makipag-giyera ako sa (And if I go to war with) China, in seven minutes ‘yung (their) missile nila aabot ng (will reach) Maynila (Manila).”

“Bakit ako makipag-away? Bakit ko ipaubos ang pulis ko pati sundalo ko? Buhay ‘yan (Why should I go to war with China? Why should I sacrifice my police and soldiers? We are talking about lives).”

LET’S JUST BE OCCUPIED
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, for his part, said the Philippines should just allow itself to be occupied by China.

“So kung ganun rin lang, pasakop na tayo, ‘di ba? (If that is the case, let us just allow them to invade us, right?)” Mr. Lacson said in part in an interview with CNN Philippines.

“Alam mo nang mahina ka, ‘wag mo nang ipagsigawan na mahina ka kasi lalo kang ibu-bully (You are aware that you are weak, but you do not need to shout it out because they will only bully you more),” he added.

“I think ang pinakamaganda diyan ay show of good faith, na payagan ang ating mangingisda doon na mangisda, dahil of course, atin naman ‘yun at wag nang gawing issue ‘yung hanapbuhay,” Mr. Gatchalian also said. (I think a show of good faith would be best, that our fishermen would be allowed to fish, because that [area] is [part of our exclusive economic zone] and their livelihood should not be an issue). — Arjay L. Balinbin and Charmaine A. Tadalan

Ressa pleads not guilty of tax charges

RAPPLER CEO and executive editor Maria A. Ressa on Wednesday pleaded not guilty in connection with four tax-evasion charges at the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

Ms. Ressa was arraigned over charges against her and Rappler Holdings Corporation of three counts of violation of Section 255 of the Tax Code or “willful failure to supply correct and accurate information in tax returns.” This is in connection with their alleged underdeclared income tax return in 2015 amounting to P162 million and value-added tax liability for the third and fourth quarters of the same year worth P8 million each, exclusive of charges and interests.

Eric R. Recalde, Ms. Ressa’s counsel, told reporters after the arraignment that they are “confident” they will get a “fair trial.”

For her part, Ms. Ressa said, “The presiding judge was very professional on all sides, so happy with this in that sense…I’m hoping for justice.”

“We did nothing wrong and I’m very proud of Rappler with what we have accomplished so I hope, given today , if everything goes through, we now have court dates all the way through, it’s under expedited court . So I hope it’s resolved sooner rather than later.”

Ms. Ressa maintained these cases against her and Rappler are “politically motivated.”

“(W)e will fight every single one and hope for the integrity of the men and women who will handle these cases and that they go as well as today,” she said.

A fifth count on tax-related charges was filed before the Pasig City regional trial court (RTC) over Rappler’s alleged VAT liability for the second quarter of 2015 worth P294,258.58.

Ms. Ressa was arrested on Feb. 13 for cyber-libel but posted bail the next day. She was arrested a second time and again posted bail on March 29 for allegedly violating the Anti-Dummy Law, in connection with Philippine Depositary Receipts worth $1.5 million from Omidyar Network, since donated to Rappler staff. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Makabayan bloc calls for removal of Albayalde

THE MAKABAYAN bloc in Congress has called for the removal of Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar D. Albayalde from his post following the joint operation in Negros Oriental of government forces where 14 farmers, allegedly supporters of communist rebels, were killed. They said the relief of the provincial police chief and three other station heads as a probe on the incident is conducted was not enough. “We call on the immediate, hindi lang yung pagtanggal sa mga (not just the relief of) local police chiefs, kundi pati rin ang pagtanggal dapat kay (but also the removal of) General Albayalde,” said Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel B. Casilao in a press briefing on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Mr. Albayalde ordered the administrative relief of the local police officers. Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate claimed that the operation against the farmers was “an electoral strategy” to divert votes from progressive party-lists and candidates in the May midterm elections. Mr. Albayalde has yet to give a response as of this posting. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

DA-BPI regional offices put on alert for plant-hopper infestation amid dry spell

THE BUREAU of Plant Industry (BPI) of the Department of Agriculture has ordered its regional offices (ROs) to monitor plants, especially rice, for possible infestation of brown plant-hopper as a result of the prevailing drought. In an advisory dated April 1, BPI said the alert was issued following the reported armyworm infestation on onion in Nueva Ecija, particularly in the towns of General Natividad, Rizal, Quezon and Bongabon, that has partially damaged 726 hectares, and “considering the El Niño/drought affecting concerned provinces wherein pest outbreak will likely to occur.” The ROs are tasked to conduct thorough land preparation, plant rice varieties that are resistant to brown plant-hopper, and practice synchronous planting or planting in the same dates, before crop establishment. For crops at vegetative stage to reproductive phases, the BPI ordered field monitoring to identify risks in advance, to follow a recommended nitrogen fertilizer application, draining the field for three to four days during infestation to reduce the pests population, spraying repellant (biopesticide/botanical pesticide) such as neem oil to susceptible varieties, and judiciously applying of insecticides particularly insect grower regulator. The BPI noted that insecticides should be used as a last resort and only when needed to conserve natural enemies. After harvest, the BPI said that there must be field sanitation, practice fallow period and crop rotation. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Duterte warns Malabon mayor on drug situation; Oreta says ‘record speaks for itself’

MALABON.GOV.PH

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has warned Malabon Mayor Antolin ‘Len Len’ A. Oreta III that he would face arrest if he fails to solve the alleged drug problem in the city. In a statement from the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Wednesday, Mr. Duterte was quoted as saying in a campaign rally of the ruling PDP-Laban party in Malabon City last Tuesday: “Mayor, linisin mo ang Malabon mo. Bigyan kita ng isang buwan (Mayor, clean up your Malabon. I am giving you one month).” Mr. Duterte was further quoted as saying that he would have the mayor arrested or just thrown at the Manila Bay. Mr. Oreta, currently on his second term, is running for re-election in the May midterm elections and is up against Vice Mayor Jeannie N. Sandoval, who is running under the PDP-Laban party. “She and her husband (Malabon Rep. Federico “Ricky” S. Sandoval II) are both running under the President’s party, the PDP-Laban,” the PCOO said. Peace and order, according to the PCOO, is also “a major concern in Malabon as the city is infested with armed goons.” Meanwhile, Mr. Oreta, in a statement on Wednesday, said, “We deeply appreciate the President’s concern about the drug situation here in Malabon City but our record speaks for itself.” He said with “continuous efforts from the local authorities and the communities,” they continue to envision the city “as one of the first 100% drug-cleared cities in Metro Manila.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

CoA says Cebu City could have earned P848M more in real estate taxes

THE CEBU City government could have collected an additional income of P848.7 million as of May last year from real property tax if it had a better collection system for delinquents, the Commission on Audit said in a Feb. 2019 report. “We recommend that the City Treasurer’s Office monitor and intensify collection of the delinquent real property taxes (RPT). Likewise, request the assistance of the barangays where real property units are situated for the immediate release of demand letters and collection thereof,” reads the CoA Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) dated Feb. 19. The AOM also noted that there was no RPT/Special Education Tax (SET) receivable set up for 2018. In her response, Acting City Treasurer Arlene Rentuza said the office has implemented several strategies to intensify its collection of the delinquent RPT, one of which is the hiring of job order employees to continuously deliver and serve notice of delinquencies. “We have fully implemented for the year 2018 the Amnesty on Real Property to give our taxpayers the chance to settle their delinquencies,” she said. Ms. Rentuza also said that they are in the process of generating the list of delinquent real properties and work with barangay officials in communicating to the property owners. “We are also on the stage of migrating our real property taxes to the new RPT system that has an updated feature such as allowing the office of the treasurer to easily generate list of real property status of every property,” she added. At least 41 locations in Cebu City have unpaid RPTs, based on the CoA report. — The Freeman

1...11,16011,16111,162...14,244Page 11,161 of 14,244
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube