Azkals’ win soothes football ‘thirst’

April 2, 2018 | 5:46 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE VICTORY last week and eventual entry of the Philippine national men’s football team into the 2019 AFC Asian Cup was truly a welcome development in more ways than one, this according to one local football writer and analyst.
A 2-1 victor over Tajikistan in their final Asian Cup Qualifiers group match on March 27, the Philippine Azkals booked a historic, first-ever spot in the prestigious continental football tournament happening in the United Arab Emirates next year.
The Philippines joins 23 other nations which proved their worth to be part of the quadrennial football meet.
In beating Tajikistan, the Philippines had to muster much determination and poise after going down early in the second half.
Kevin Ingreso and Phil Younghusband provided the goals for the Azkals to pull the rug from under Tajikistan en route to booking a spot in the AFC Asian Cup as Group F winners with a 3-3-0 record and 12 points.
Considering how the Azkals have had it rough in major tournaments of late, including in the Challenge Cup and the AFF Suzuki Cup, football analyst Lorenzo Del Carmen said the Philippines’ latest victory took an even bigger significance, particularly in channelling attention anew to football in the country.
“I think the sport got some much-needed buzz after the Azkals’ win,” said Mr. Del Carmen, who writes for local site Tiebreaker Times, when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts on the Azkals’ win.
“Filipinos want to watch their teams win and every big Azkals win will revive attention to the sport. I mean after the game, all media outlets had at least one story on the Azkals win. It’s been a while since that happened,” he added.
Mr. Del Carmen also agreed in the post-game assessment of Azkals coach Thomas Dooley that the win was a direct result of things coming together for the team.
“I believe so. As they say, the stars aligned for us that night. Kevin Ingreso played villain then hero, Phil Younghusband scored his 50^th [international] goal, [defenders] Simone Rota and Carli de Murga played really well the whole night. It was a perfect evening for the Azkals,” the football analyst said
In the AFC Asian Cup, happening from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1, 2019, the Azkals are part of the roster of combatants along with host UAE, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, China, Palestine, Oman, India, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Jordan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea and Yemen.
Draw for the tournament is set for May 4 this year.
As per tournament format, the 24 teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each. The teams in each group play a single round robin. After the group stage, the top two teams and the four best third teams will advance to the round of 16. The winners will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners will play in final.
Mr. Del Carmen said at this point it is too early to say how the Azkals would perform in the Asian Cup even as he underscored the need for the team to show patience in its attack.
“It’s too early to say how the team would do in the Asian Cup. We’ve got the 2018 AFF Championship (Suzuki Cup) later this year so let’s focus on that first. A good showing there will raise confidence for the team and fans for the Asian Cup,” Mr. Del Carmen said.
“I would like to see more patience in our play though. I mean I think we were too direct against Tajikistan and I would like to see us be more careful in possession. We lost the ball a few times at dangerous positions,” he added.

Home of new-age sports in PHL rises in Imus, Cavite

April 2, 2018 | 5:45 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

STAYING true to its vision of creating value in every property it develops, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) recently unveiled Vermosa Sports Hub.
Anchored on the healthy and active lifestyle thrust, Vermosa Sports Hub is touted as the country’s first premier and professionally managed sports facility situated within a 700-hectare space of ALI’s mixed-use estate Vermosa in Imus, Cavite.
The Sports Hub is envisioned to be a complete destination designed specifically to provide an effective and complete training experience for the athletic lifestyle, offering a seamless integration of facilities and sports-related elements.
“What we are doing here right now is part of a bigger vision which is to create value for our customers. And for Vermosa it is about a healthy and active environment which we think will be beneficial for everybody and I believe we’re able to achieve that with the Sports Hub,” said Jay Teodoro, ALI senior division manager, Strategic Landbank Management Group, in an interview with BusinessWorld during the launch of Vermosa Sports Hub on March 16.
The facility boasts of an International Swimming Federation (FINA) standard, Olympic-size swimming pool equipped with the latest timing system by Omega and the Anti Wave Starting Blocks.
There is also nine-lane track oval built in accordance with International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) standards.
Football enthusiasts also have their space with a standard-sized football field with natural grass and a sand sub-base for good traction.
The Vermosa Sports Hub has a training and fitness club as well equipped with a sports science laboratory, to be managed by Sante Health & Fitness, Inc., which is suited for athletes who want to take the next step to reach peak performance.
Vermosa said retail outlets, including health and sports merchants, will soon open in the hub as well as areas for bike lanes, jogging paths and other outdoor sports facilities.
“At the very beginning we already knew that it is going to be about healthy and active living for Vermosa and one of the main considerations was what types of sports will be part of it. We could have gone with the popular sports, like basketball, but those kinds of sports are really taken care of by our residential developments. Everywhere you go you see a basketball court,” said Mr. Teodoro on how they went about the development of Vermosa.
“We saw a growing trend for sports like triathlon and the people who do triathlon are the kind of market we are targeting for Vermosa. Normally executives 35 and up, the ageless we call them. They don’t age but just change category,” he added.
Mr. Teodoro went on to say that their focused is on “non-traditional” sports, saying “We are looking at emerging sports, which is why we call Vermosa “Home of new-age sports in the Philippines.”
PATAFA TRAINING GROUND
Meanwhile, thanks to its partnership with the Ayala group, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) gets to benefit from the Vermosa Sports Hub as it has been offered as a training area for the country’s national athletes.
“Under our agreement it will be the home of the PATAFA national team. This is where we will train starting in April. We will start setting up camp here in preparation for the Asian Games and SEA Games in Manila,” said PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico in a separate interview during the launch.
“Our athletes are very excited about this new facility. In fact, [Olympian long jumper] Marestella Torres was able to use it already. Facilities like this are very important for us as it would allow us to be together and work as a team in a semi-controlled environment,” the PATAFA head added.
To ensure that Vermosa Sports Hub is accessible to the growing market of sports enthusiasts, competitive rate packages and period-based membership passes are being offered by the company.
“Traditional product for real estate developers is sports and country club. That is normally exclusive. But we feel it is not being maximized and the operations tend to suffer. We feel by opening it (Vermosa) to the public and handling it professionally, we get more from it,” Mr. Teodoro said.
For more information on Vermosa Sports Hub, check out https://vermosa.ph/vermosa-sports-hub.

SM Skating MOA to host Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia on April 3-8

April 2, 2018 | 5:44 pm

THE Philippines will host the 2018 Challenge Cup of Asia from April 3-8 at the SM Skating Mall of Asia in Pasay City. This is the first time that the country will sponsor the annual international ice hockey tournament that is sanctioned by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
“We are very proud and excited to host, for the first time, the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia which has been held in different countries since it was founded in 2008,” said Chris Sy, Federation of Ice Hockey Philippines president.
The 2018 Challenge Cup also marks the first time that the Philippines will compete in the men’s top division of the annual tournament among some of the best ice hockey teams in the region.
Riding on the momentum of its gold medal victory in the first-ever ice hockey event of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the Philippine Ice Hockey Team, backed by the SM Group, hopes to make a podium finish in the 5-nation Challenge Cup of Asia as it plays against Thailand on April 3, Kuwait on April 5, Mongolia on April 6, and Singapore on April 8. All games of the Philippine team are scheduled at 7 p.m.
Other Challenge Cup of Asia games will feature Singapore vs Mongolia on April 3 (3:30 p.m.), Mongolia vs Kuwait on April 4 (7 p.m.), Thailand vs Singapore on April 5 (3:30 p.m.), Mongolia vs Thailand on April 7 (3:30 p.m.), Kuwait vs Singapore on April 7 (7 p.m.), and Kuwait vs Thailand on April 8 (3:30 p.m.).
During the Challenge Cup, the Olympic-size ice skating rink at the SM Skating Mall of Asia will be the battleground of the competing ice hockey teams. It is equipped with complete facilities such as a digital scoreboard, players’ boxes, scorekeeper and penalty boxes, locker rooms, and a 200-seater stands located around the rink.
“We are honored to be a part of this wonderful opportunity to host the first official IIHF event in the country. This shows how the Philippines can truly be at par with its Asian neighbors not only in terms of the quality of its sports programs and athletes, but also in the quality of its sports facilities,” said Herman Medina-Cue, COO of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., the only company in the Philippines to carry Olympic size ice rinks.

Caruana wins Berlin Candidate Tournament

April 2, 2018 | 5:43 pm

FIDE Candidates Tournament
Berlin, Germany
March 10-28, 2018

Final Standings
1. Fabiano Caruana USA 2784, 9.0/14
2-3. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2809, Sergey Karjakin RUS 2763, 8.0/14
4. Ding Liren CHN 2769, 7.5/14
5-6. Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2800, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2767, 6.5/14
7. Wesley So USA 2799, 6.0/14
8. Levon Aronian ARM 2794, 4.5/14
Average Rating: 2786 Category 22
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves followed by 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
Fabiano Caruana won the 2018 FIDE Candidates’ Tournament in Berlin convincingly and earned the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title in London in November this year. He also earned €95,000 (about P6.1 million) with his victory.
The 25-year-old GM was born Fabiano Luigi Caruana in Miami on July 30, 1992 to Italian-American parents. He grew up and started playing chess in Brooklyn, transferred to Italy in 2005 when he was 13, stayed there for 10 years before returning to the USA in 2015.
You remember back in 2015 when Jon Stewart and The Daily Show had an episode where Stewart says that “this week in chess America is making a concerted effort to buy top foreign chess players in an attempt to win next year’s Chess Olympiad gold medal, something it has not done in decades. The United States is buying up nerds! Nerd mercenaries — mercenaries.” He then turns to his “senior correspondent” Trevor Noah who patiently explains to Stewart what is going on. And of course they cannot resist poking fun with lines like “I did not realize how boring chess was until someone else started talking about it.”
Some people thought this was insulting to chessplayers but I actually found it quite funny. The nerds were not mentioned by name, but at that time Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So had just transferred their chess affiliation to the United States. There were a lot more of course but these two stand out as they were among the World Top 10.
Well, whether or not such a conspiracy actually existed is something we will probably never know, but if it really did exist it is working — the USA with Caruana, Nakamura and So doing the heavy lifting won the 2016 World Chess Olympiad after a 30-year interval (1976 Haifa, and that was because the Soviet-bloc nations boycotted the games due to its venue. Before that the USA last won in 1937 Stockholm with a team composed of Samuel Reshevsky, Reuben Fine, Isaac Kashdan, Frank Marshall and Al Horowitz). And now Fabiano Caruana will be challenging for the world title.
Coincidentally the American Chess Magazine came out with its 6^th issue on the day that Caruana clinched the candidates’ slot. The magazine featured the Italian-American GM on its cover with the title “Fabiano’s Fabulous Roller-Coaster.” It was talking about his brilliant win (6/9) at the London Classic in December 2017 and then immediately followed by a very disappointing performance at Tata Steel (5/13) the next month. There was an article by GM Priyadharshan Kannappan analyzing what went wrong.
His conclusion at the end “I remember one of my coaches telling me that it is crucial to continue playing and not withdraw from a tournament when you are having a terrible time. This enables you to get over it as soon as possible, instead of letting any depressed state of mind spill over and spoil your next tournament too!”
“Overall, this is nothing much to really worry about, as the tide always turns, and the fact that Caruana had a bad Tata Steel result will surely make him more focused and determined to deliver an exceptional performance in the forthcoming Candidates in Berlin!”
In Fabi’s own words after his bad Tata showing “I wasn’t worried about that result. After I left that tournament I immediately forgot about it. I just didn’t think about it after that. We had planned a very nice training camp with several grandmasters in Miami, so I went to Miami for nearly three weeks. Rather than freezing in the cold in St. Louis it was 80 degrees every day, we went jogging in the morning, we ate outside in the evening — it was beautiful! We went to the beach and we worked on chess pretty much all day, so it was the perfect way for me to prepare for the event.”
Caruana went to the Berlin Candidates and overpowered in the first half with five out of seven (wins over Wesley So, Kramnik and Aronian and four draws). He started tottering though in the second half — a missed win vs Ding Liren and then a loss to Sergey Karjakin in the 12^th round and suddenly he was tied for the lead with Karjakin two rounds remaining and the Russian GM having he better tiebreaks.
Caruana said that his loss to Karjakin had its positive side: “Losing the last game actually helped my outlook a lot because I was kind of too nervous trying to hold on to my lead and it kind of ruined my play for a few games. Even though my tournament situation was good, I wasn’t in a good mind-set.” He spent the rest day watching the movie The Shape of Water to just forget about chess and he went into the final two rounds refreshed.

Caruana, Fabiano (2784) — Aronian, Levon (2794) [C88]
FIDE Berlin Candidates (13.4), 26.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.d3 d6 9.Bd2
This is a new idea from Grischuk, who played it just a round earlier against Aronian.
9…Bg4
The Grischuk-Aronian game went 9…Kh8 10.h3 Nd7 11.Nc3 Na5 12.Nd5 Nxb3 13.axb3 Bb7 14.c4 f5 15.Ba5 this was the main idea behind 9.Bd2. After 15…Rc8 16.Rc1 bxc4 17.bxc4 fxe4 18.dxe4 Nc5 Aronight felt that he was equal while Grischuik thought that White was better. Anyway the game was eventually drawn. Grischuk,A (2767)-Aronian,L (2794) Berlin GER 2018 1/2 54.
10.c3 d5 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qe2 Rb8 13.Bg5 dxe4 14.dxe4 h6 15.Bc1!
Caruana revealed that up to this point he was still within his preparation.
15…Bg6
The Black knight wants to go to f4 and so the bishop must make way.
16.Nbd2 Nh5 17.Nf1 Bc5
[17…Nf4 immediately is met by 18.Bxf4 exf4 19.Rad1 Qc8 20.Qd2 and it is not clear how Black can defend the weak f4–pawn]
18.g3 Kh7 19.Kg2 Qe7 20.Bc2!
Preventing 20…f5.
20…Rfd8 21.b4
Feeling confident of the safety of his king, Fabi now goes after the weak pawns on black’s queenside.
21…Bb6 22.a4 Nf6
Aronian is not afraid of 23.axb5 axb5 24.Qxb5 because of 24…Bxf2! going into some crazy complications which White’s tournament position will not allow.
23.Nh4 Qe6 24.Bd3 Bh5! 25.g4 Bxg4
Black has to embrace the complications. If he retreats the bishop then 25…Bg6 26.Ng3 the kingside action has been stifled and what’s more White is going to win a pawn on the queenside.
26.hxg4 Nxg4 27.Nf5 Nxf2 28.Bc2 g6 29.N1e3 gxf5 30.exf5 Qf6 31.Qxf2 <D>
[31.Kxf2? Qh4+ 32.Kf1 Nd4!! 33.cxd4 Rxd4 Black is clearly winning]
Position after 31.Qxf2
31…e4?
The turning point. Aronian misses 31…Nxb4! 32.cxb4 Rd4!! threatening …Rf4! which will win for Black. It looks like White is lost but there is a fantastic resource: 33.Nd5!! (an almost impossible move to find) 33…Rxd5 34.Qf3 Rg8+ (34…Rd4 35.Be4 the f4 score is already inaccessible to this rook) 35.Kh3 Rd4 36.Be4 Rxb4 37.axb5 Rb3! 38.Be3 (38.Qxb3? Bf2! mate is coming) 38…axb5 White is in a very dangerous situation, but there does not seem to be a clear way for his opponent to break through.
32.Rh1
At this point Aronian admitted that his attack is at a dead end. “I do not have any ideas here.” (Aronian).
32…Rd6 33.Bxe4 Rg8+ 34.Kf1 Ne5 35.Qf4 c6 36.axb5 Rg5 37.bxa6 Qd8 38.f6+ Ng6 39.Rxh6+! 1–0
[39.Rxh6+ Kxh6 (39…Kg8 40.Qxg5 White is already a rook, bishop and two pawns up) 40.Qh2+ Rh5 41.Nf5+ Kh7 42.Qxh5+ Kg8 43.Ne7+ etc. etc.]
Sergey Karjakin tried to keep pace with Fabi but his opponent Wesley So ably played rearguard action for his compatriot and hoovered (as in vacuumed) the pieces off the board.

So, Wesley (2799) — Karjakin, Sergey (2763) [E37]
FIDE Candidates 2018 Berlin GER (13.3), 26.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.Nf3 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Qxc5 11.e3 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 dxc4 13.b4 Qf5!
Wesley’s 13^th move had some venom. As Karjakin showed after the game, if he had played the most obvious move 13…Qe5 attacking the a1–rook, White will reply 14.Rd1 b5 15.Bxc4! bxc4 16.Nxc4 followed by a knight check on d6 with a very dangerous attack.
14.Qxf5 exf5 15.Bxc4 Ke7 16.Nf3 Be6 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Ke2 Rhc8 19.Rhc1 Nd8 20.Ne5 Nf7 21.Nxf7 Kxf7 22.e4 Kf6 23.Ke3 g5 24.g3 h5 25.h3 g4 26.hxg4 hxg4 27.f3 gxf3 28.Kxf3 Ke5 29.exf5 exf5 30.Re1+ Kf6 31.Rac1 Rxc1 32.Rxc1 Rd8 33.Rc7 Rd3+
As you know the rule in rook and pawn endgames is to keep your rook active, even at the cost of a pawn. For example, going into passivity with 33…Rb8 34.Kf4 Ke6 35.Rc5 Rf8 36.Re5+ Kd6 37.Rxf5 loses.
34.Kf4 Rxa3 35.Rxb7 Ra4 36.Rb5 a5 37.Rxf5+ Kg7 38.Rg5+ Kf6 39.Rf5+ ½–½
White wins a pawn but 39.Rf5+ Kg7 40.Rxa5 Rxb4+ 41.Kf3 Black’s king is placed excellently in front of the extra white pawn so it is a book draw.
Before the final round Caruana was half a point ahead of his closest pursuers. He won again in the last round to finish one point ahead of Karjakin and Mamedyarov. Instead of Collapsing Fabi showed what he is made off by finishing strongly with two straight wins.
We will look at his final round win on Thursday.

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, 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

Pistons’ offseason

April 2, 2018 | 5:42 pm

This time last week, Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy was more or less resigned to an early offseason. They had just won against the Lakers, improving their slate to five and one over their last six outings, but they remained well off the pace for the last spot in the playoffs. It remained a possibility, to be sure, but they needed to both run the table and see the Heat and/or Bucks experience a swoon the rest of the way. And so he stayed grounded while focusing on the positives. If nothing else, he saw in their modest run the potential of his Big Three. “I don’t know if we’re going to see all of it in these last two weeks, but I know that with Reggie [Jackson], Blake [Griffin], and Andre [Drummond], we have the pieces to be really good,” he argued.
As things turned out, “all of it” was a pipe dream. A right ankle injury made Griffin a scratch in the Pistons’ next outing. And the next. And the next. And considering how the description of the five-time All-Star’s ailment changed game to game from “contusion” to “sprain” to “bruise,” it’s anybody’s guess as to when he can and will return to action. To their credit, though, they’ve kept their momentum going. Yesterday’s victory against the Nets was their fifth straight, and, with five matches left on their calendar, they remain in contention for a postseason berth, albeit barely.
The key to their success? The return of Jackson from, coincidentally, a right ankle injury that hitherto compelled him to miss 37 outings. His elbow screen-and-roll action with Drummond had been propelling their offense prior to his sidelining, and it has again done the same through the last one and a half weeks. Yesterday, for instance, they combined for 42 points, never mind that the Big Penguin was ejected close to the end of the third quarter. And in the little that they’ve shared the court with Griffin, they’ve shown promise, hence Van Gundy’s bright outlook.
At this point, the Pistons aren’t likely to make the playoffs, whether or not Drummond gets suspended in their next game, and whether or not Griffin is able to suit up anytime soon. Among the obstacles on tap are the Sixers (who are angling for the third seed currently occupied by the Cavaliers) in two days and the Raptors (who want to hold off the Celtics for the top spot in the East) next week. And even assuming they sweep their remaining contests, their fate depends on a confluence of other events that need to go in their favor. In other words, they’re left to compete for pride and, in the process, wonder what could have been.

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

Customs beats March revenue target

April 2, 2018 | 5:40 pm

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) revenues grew by a fifth in March to beat its target with the help of the majority of its ports outside Manila, it said in a statement on Monday, April 2.
“Based on the initial report from the BoC Financial Service, a total of P45.398 billion revenue was collected, exceeding the P45.133 billion target for the month of March by P265 million,” Commissioner Isidro S. Lapena was quoted in a statement as saying.
The March take was 19.1% greater than the P38.11 billion collected in the same month last year.
The BoC said that 12 of its 17 ports exceeded their revenue targets, despite having two non-working holidays last month.
The Port of Batangas collected P11.542 billion, exceeding its P10.449 billion target by 10.5%. This was followed by the Limay port recording P2.896 billion in revenues, surpassing the P2.746 billion goal by 5.5%, and the Cebu port collecting P2.189 billion, 7.6% higher than the P2.034 billion target.
Also among BoC ports that exceeded its targets include:

• The Port of Davao, collecting P1.755 billion, 21.1% over its target;
• The Port of Subic, collecting P1.655 billion, 1.9% over its target;
• The Port of Cagayan de Oro, collecting P1.625 billion, 27.4% over its target;
• The Port of San Fernando, collecting P278 million, 13% over its target;
• The Port of Clark, collecting P154 million, 29.8% over its target;
• The Port of Tacloban, collecting P68 million, 241.6% over its target;
• The Port of Legaspi, collecting P22.10 million, 0.5% over its target;
• The Port of Surigao, collecting P4 million, 262.7% over its target and the;
• Port of Aparri, collecting P6 million, 37.5% over its target.

Meanwhile, the ports which failed to hit the target are:

• The Port of Manila, collecting P5.776 billion, missing its target by 14.9%;
• The Manila International Container Port, collecting P12.625 billion, missing its target by 9.28%;
• The Ninoy Aquino International Airport, collecting P3.094 billion, missing its target by 25.9%;
• The Port of Iloilo, collecting P176 million, missing its target by 27.8%, and the;
• Port of Zamboanga, collecting P700,000, missing its target by 96%.

“Following this development, the district collectors of these ports and others concerned will be eventually replaced in compliance to the earlier directive that district collectors, deputy collectors for assessment, chief of Formal Entry Division, examiners, appraisers, and other BOC personnel performing assessment functions will be relieved,” the bureau said.
The BoC is tasked to collect P637.1 billion this year, 39.05% higher than the actual P458.18 billion recorded in 2017. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Fuel prices to go up this week

April 2, 2018 | 5:02 pm

GASOLINE, diesel and kerosene prices will increase this week, oil companies said on Monday, April 2, pointing to the movement of prices in the international market.
Gasoline will rise by P0.90 per liter, while diesel and kerosene will both increase by P1.00 per liter. The price adjustment will take place at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3, 2017, the companies said.
For gasoline and diesel, this week’s increase is slightly lower than the previous week’s when they increased by P1.15 and P1.10 per liter, respectively. Kerosene last week rose by P1.00 per liter.
Separately, Eastern Petroleum Corp. said on Monday that it had decided not to adjust the price of its EC Gas liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) this month. It said the move was the second time that the company had opted to reflect a bigger reduction or absorb the adjustment in the international price of LPG.
To date, the net reduction in EC Gas LPG amounts to P4.45 per kilogram, the company said.
On Sunday, Petron Corp. increased its LPG price by P0.25 per kilogram and its autoLPG by P0.15 per liter to reflect the movements in the international contract prices of LPG for this month. — Victor V. Saulon

Stocks rise on positive US economic data

April 2, 2018 | 4:49 pm

STOCKS opened the second quarter on a positive note, trekking higher on the back of positive economic data from the United States amid thinner trading.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.75% or 59.62 points to finish at 8,039.45 on Monday, April 2. The broader all-shares index likewise climbed 0.6% or 28.99 points to 4,869.55.

“It was up after the economic data coming out from the US on consumer spending. It was lower than the estimate, thereby resulting in the US treasury yields going down to lower than 2.75. This is indicative that aggressive rates increase by the US Fed (Federal Reserve) is still far-fetched,” Diversified Securities, Inc. equities trader Aniceto K. Pangan said by phone.

Mr. Pangan noted that the easing concern for higher interest rates in the US will creative positive sentiment in emerging markets such as the Philippines.

Four sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by holding firms with a 1.62% uptick or 126.78 points to 7,965.87. The mining and oil counter jumped 1.49% or 162.58 points to 11,049.51; property gained 0.96% or 35.12 points to 3,681.97; while industrial added 0.39% or 44.72 points to 11,474.37.

On the other hand, services dropped 0.34% or 5.68 points to 1,666.14, alongside financials that gave up 0.33% or 6.97 points to 2,082.70.

Some 1.59 billion issues switched hands, valued at P4.55 billion, significantly lower than the P7.82-billion turnover in the previous session. Analysts attributed the day’s thin trading to the absence of investors who are only just returning from the Lenten break.

Advancers prevailed for the day, with 131 against 81 that declined and 36 that closed flat. Net foreign outflows dipped to P625.3 million on Monday, lower than the P1.12-billion in the previous session.

Twelve of the 20 most actively traded stocks saw gains, with Now Corp. soaring 12.33% to P9.20 each. MRC Allied Corp. also gained 6.9% to 62 centavos each, while SM Investments Corp. added 3.05% to P945 each. — Arra B. Francia