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Warriors’ Durant hints at retirement — when he’s 35

KEVIN DURANT has won back-to-back NBA championships, two Finals MVP awards and a regular-season MVP, and has nine All-Star appearances.
On Monday, the 29-year-old forward and 11-year NBA veteran said that he can see the light at the end of the tunnel of his playing career.
“This game, your craft, you have to continue studying it. No matter how much you enjoy it, nobody wants to be in school that long. I know I don’t,” Durant told ESPN. “At some point, you have to be ready to graduate. Thirty-five, that’s just a number in my mind.”
Durant, who has worn the no. 35 all throughout his career with Texas, Oklahoma City and now Golden State, averaged 28.8 points during the Warriors’ four-game sweep of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, which ended Friday.
Durant scored a career playoff-high 43 points in Game 3, highlighted by a crucial 3-pointer in the final minute.
Over two seasons with Golden State, Durant has averaged 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The former no. 2 overall pick spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Seattle/Oklahoma City franchise. (The team moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City following his rookie season.)
A four-time NBA regular-season scoring champion, Durant has been viewed as a threat to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record of 38,387 points. He currently ranks 36th all-time with 20,913 points.
However, Durant told ESPN breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s record isn’t important to him.
“It’s not about the record,” Durant said last week. “I can leave the game knowing I did everything I wanted to do, my way, on my terms.”
Durant, who turns 30 in September, is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason but has already said he plans to remain with the Warriors. He could sign a max five-year deal in July.
His business partner, Rich Kleiman, told ESPN that Durant told him in the past the he could retire at age 35.
“I heard him say that, but I’ll believe it when it happens,” Kleiman said. — Reuters

World Cup big guns limber up in Russia as atmosphere builds

MOSCOW — The World Cup big guns limbered up on Monday ahead of the tournament opener in Russia while brash underdogs Australia warned Euro 2016 finalists France to brace for an early shock.
As the atmosphere built before Thursday’s curtain-raiser between the hosts and Saudi Arabia, Argentina star Lionel Messi and his teammates and France’s talent-studded squad including Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe were put through their paces.
World champions Germany, seeking to equal Brazil’s record of five World Cup wins, will land in Russia on Tuesday, along with Gareth Southgate’s youthful England side.
Brazil and Neymar arrived in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in the early hours in buoyant mood after hammering Austria 3-0 in their final warm-up match on Sunday.
Neymar, who broke a bone in his foot in February, marked his first start in more than three months by scoring in Sunday’s easy victory in Vienna.
DISPUTED CHOICE
Russia was a disputed choice when it was handed the World Cup in a closely watched 2010 vote that has since been tainted by bribery charges, and the 2018 tournament takes place against a background of international tensions.
Russia and the West have engaged in a major wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions since London accused Moscow of being behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Britain in March.
But as the clock ticks down to the opener in Moscow’s imposing 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium, the tournament is beginning to catch the public mood, with about 3,500 fans attending Australia’s training session in the central city of Kazan.
Russian supporters, enjoying a holiday, shouted “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, go, go, go.”
Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan warned France that a new, improved Australia team are plotting an early World Cup shock when the sides meet in Kazan on Saturday.
“Come the France game, we’re going to be ready… and giving ourselves opportunities to win this game,” the stopper who plays for Premier League side Brighton warned. “We can’t wait for Saturday.”
France, who boast “world-class” attacking talent, according to Australia midfielder Massimo Luongo, are among the tournament favorites in Russia alongside Brazil, Germany and Spain.
The atmosphere also went up a notch in Red Square in Moscow, where dozens of Argentinian, Colombian and Mexican fans sang and played drums in support of their teams as darkness fell.
SALAH TRAINS
A big question mark hangs over the participation of Egypt and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, who is still receiving treatment for the shoulder injury he suffered in the Champions League final.
Team doctor Mohamed Abou al-Ela admitted the striker, who scored 44 goals for Liverpool this season, was unlikely to play in Egypt’s opening Group A match against Uruguay on Friday.
But Salah did some light running in Grozny on Monday, monitored by medical staff, as the other Egypt players took part in a group warm-up.
Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera said he hoped Salah would be fit to line up when the two countries clash.
“I like the best players to play, I train with the best and I want the best players to play,” Muslera said.
Argentina captain Messi said his international future will be determined by his country’s performance at the World Cup.
“It will depend on how far we go, how we’re going to finish” at the finals, Messi told Spanish daily Sport.
“We’ve just lost three finals in a row, which has led to us going through some difficult moments with the press,” the Barcelona forward said.
Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final 1-0 to Germany after extra time, before suffering successive defeats by Chile on penalties at the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.
Even before the tournament gets under way, FIFA has the major task on Wednesday of choosing the host of the 2026 World Cup — a straight fight between a joint bid featuring the United States, Canada and Mexico and Morocco.
A long-awaited report from FIFA inspectors left the North American bid as the front-runner in the race to host the first 48-team World Cup. — AFP

Brazilians not so soccer mad after all

ZURICH — Brazil’s reputation as a soccer-mad country has been dented by a report which found that only 60% of those interviewed said they were interested in the sport.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) came top of a table compiled by global information, data and measurement company Nielsen Sports which ranked 30 countries according to the percentage of the population who described themselves as interested in football.
The UAE, where the figure was 80%, was followed by Thailand (78%), and Chile, Portugal, and Turkey (all 75%), while five-times world champions Brazil ranked a modest 13th.
The Brazilian figure had dropped from 72% in 2013, the year before the country hosted the World Cup where the national team were humiliated 7-1 in the semi-finals by Germany.
Brazilians can be very fickle about football and attendances at games in the country fluctuate wildly, depending on the form of the teams involved, whether they are at a decisive stage of a competition, the kickoff time of the match, and even the weather.
Last season’s Brazilian championship had a modest average attendance of 16,418.
The report said that the figure for China increased from 27% in 2013 to 32% in 2017, in India from 30% to 45% and in the US from 28% to 32%.
The United Kingdom, despite boasting the English Premier League, was a modest 17th in the rankings with 51%.
The report also said that Portugal and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the use of social media by players, well ahead of his rival Lionel Messi.
His 570 million engagements across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in the first five months of this year were well ahead of Neymar, with 294 million, and Messi with 201 million.
The report pointed out that engagements, rather than number of followers, were the key to understanding the value of a social media account, as they showed how many people interacted with the account and gave a better idea of impact and influence.
Social media success was not always linked to success on the pitch, the report added.
“A broader range of factors comes into play, such as the ability to project a likeable personality or enviable lifestyle,” it said.
Controversial Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos was fourth with 158 million engagements and Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah fifth with 105.3 million.
In terms of social media followers, Ronaldo also led with 322.8 million across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook combined while Neymar had 194.2 million and Messi 181.9 million. — Reuters

Serbia, Italy top 2018 FIBA 3×3 World Cup

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
SERBIA kept its stranglehold of the men’s event of the FIBA 3×3 World Cup after bagging its third straight title on Tuesday in the 2018 edition of the tournament even as Italy ruled the women’s division.
Showing its trademark poise and consistency, Serbia outlasted the Netherlands, 16-13, in the finals at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
In the women’s division, it was the Italians who topped the tournament, dethroning erstwhile champion Russia, 16-12.
The Netherlands had the Serbians kept at bay early in the finals, holding a 6-5 lead midway into the match.
But Serbia, composed of Dusan Bulut, Dejan Majstorovic, Marko Savic and Stefan Stojacic, would keep coming back, eventually tying the score at 10-10 with two minutes remaining.
Four straight points care of Messrs. Stojacic and Savic after gave Serbia a 15-11 cushion, which proved to be a deep enough hole to bury the Dutch en route to winning the title anew.
The victory handed Serbia its third straight crown in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup and fourth overall in the event’s young history.
Mr. Bulut paced Serbia with seven points. Messrs. Stojacic and Savic added four and three points, respectively.
For the Netherlands it was Jesper Jobse who was the high point man with six points.
“The Dutch are a tough team and they played better this year. It was a team effort for us throughout the tournament,” said Mr. Bulut, the top-ranked FIBA 3×3 player, after their win.
WOMEN’S PLAY
Meanwhile, Italy kept its hard-nosed drive in the 3×3 World Cup to get the better of Russia in the championship game.
Diminutive playmaker Rae Lin D’alie spearheaded the spirited play of the Italians throughout the contest.
She top-scored for her team in the finals with seven points with teammate Giulia Rulli adding four points.
Russia, for its part, was led by Anna Leshkovtseva with four points.
“Just continue pursuing your dreams. I believe in our team. We made sacrifices and really trained hard all year long. And now we are world champions,” said Ms. D’alie following their victory.
Italy with the win joined the ranks of women’s team champions in the World Cup that include the United States, Czech Republic and Russia.

Pontejos gives Philippines a winning finish to 3×3 World Cup campaign

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
PERLAS Pilipinas member Janine Pontejos topped the shootout contest of the just-concluded 2018 FIBA 3×3 World Cup to give the country’s campaign a winning finish.
While both the men’s and women’s team of the Philippines fell short in their respective quests, failing to advance to the knockout rounds of team play, Ms. Pontejos gave her countrymen who trekked to the Philippine Arena in Bulacan something to cheer about on the final day of the FIBA event by edging Russia’s Alexandra Stolyar in the shootout contest.
Ms. Pontejos, a Centro Escolar University standout, recorded 14 points, highlighted by eight straight points and two made baskets from the money ball rack, in 41.86 seconds.
Ms. Stolyar also had 14 but had a longer time of 49.9 seconds to hand the gold medal to the Filipina baller.
Finishing with the bronze was Croatia’s Marin Hrvoje with 11 points while Russia’s Maksim Dybivskii wound up at fourth with eight points.
COUNTRY’S PRIDE
“Despite our team exiting early in the team competition, I just thought of the shootout as another chance to make the country proud,” said Ms. Pontejos following her win.
“My teammates and coaches kept pushing me and because of that my confidence grew heading into the event,” added the shootout winner who played in the Philippine team that finished with a 0-4 record in the women’s tournament alongside Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino and Gemma Miranda.
The bemedalled athlete who showcased her skills in college at the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association said she is very proud of giving the country its very first gold in the seniors division of FIBA 3×3 World Cup and that hopefully it would be the start of more medals for the Philippines in the future.
Meanwhile in the dunk competition, it was Ukraine’s Dmytro Krivenko who took home the gold medal, defeating Guy Dupuy of France (silver) and David Carlos of the Philippines (bronze).

Central Visayas wage board okays P10-P20 hike — report

THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board has approved a P10-P20 increase in the minimum wage for Region VII, or the Central Visayas, Cebu newspaper The Freeman reported, citing a member of the board.
The wage hike is in line with the central bank’s estimate for wage hikes this year, which is P18-20 based on previous wage board decisions, but is well short of the P120 being sought for workers in the region by the Associated Labor Unions (ALU)-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. Other petitioners sought a P155 increase, the report said — the Cebu Labor Coalition, NLM-Katipunan, Metaphil Workers Union and Unionbank Employees Association.
The report, quoting a labor representative to the board, Jose P. Tomongha, said the approved wage hike will vary by municipality.
The high end of the range — P20 — applies to Class A cities and municipalities. The Freeman said in Region VII, the cities in the Class A category are the cities of Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga, and Talisay and the municipalities of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla, and San Fernando, all in Cebu province.
Eligible for a P15 minimum wage increase are Class B, C and D cities and municipalities. The report said the areas covered include the Class B cities of Toledo and Bogo and all other municipalities of Cebu Province except for those on Bantayan and the Camotes Islands.
Also qualifying for the P15 wage hike are the Class C cities and municipalities in all of Bohol and Negros Oriental provinces; as well as the class D municipalities making up all of Siquijor, as well as Cebu province’s Bantayan and Camotes islands.
Workers in companies with less than 10 employees are eligible for a P10 minimum wage increase, the report said.
In a statement, one of the petitioners, ALU, called the wage hike insufficient to lift workers out of extreme poverty.
The statement, citing ALU spokesperson Alan Tanjusay, added that the segmentation of wage hikes by class of municipality will create bigger problems such as worker migration to areas with higher wages, as well as overpopulation, “in the same way Metro Manila is experiencing now.”
He also called the ruling highly favorable for employers.
The ALU statement also said the Region VI, or Western Visayas, wage board approved a hike of P41.50 for nonagricultural workers; P23.50 for companies with less than 10 employees; and P13.50 for agricultural workers. This ruling from the Region VI wage board could not immediately be verified as of deadline time.
BusinessWorld sought comment from members of the Western Visayas wage board, but they declined to provide a statement, saying they were not in possession of the ruling documents.
In a Viber message, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), which must affirm all regional board decisions, said the Commission Secretariat has yet to receive any submissions from regional boards but is monitoring developments and will convene an NWPC meeting “immediately” when it is in a position to affirm any such rulings. — with a report from Louine Hope U. Conserva

World Bank reiterates Cebu BRT is viable

THE World Bank has reiterated its view that it considers the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project to be feasible, amid calls by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to cancel the project in favor of a railway system.
In an Implementation Status & Results Report on the project disclosed on Monday, the bank said that a BRT system will minimize congestion as well as improve the overall passenger transport system in Cebu.
However, the bank said that it respects any government decision to proceed or not with the project.
“The May 15-23 joint Bank-AFD (Agence Française de Développement) mission concluded that the project as designed is technically viable and that moving forward will allow us to optimize the project design,” the document read.
“BRT projects have been successfully operated on existing narrow roads and there are technical solutions that have addressed the concerns expressed about the project. The consultants to be hired are expected to help address these concerns,” it added.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade has said the project will exacerbate traffic as the BRT requires a dedicated lane to be carved out of already-congested and narrow streets. He expressed a preference for a subway or elevated railway.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña welcomes any proposed railway project for the future, but noted that railways will take longer because of the government approval process.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has said that the DoTr has until the end of June to submit more “robust evidence” supporting the cancellation of the BRT project.
“The DoTr Secretary offered to visit Cebu around June 7, 2018 and discuss the technical concerns raised as part of the review of the project. The Bank team is planning for this visit and will respect the Government’s decision on the project,” the World Bank said.
The BRT project was approved by the NEDA Board in May 2014, predating the current government.
“The project is in its fourth year of implementation and is still suffering from significant delays. Before January, the main concern was the lack of decision and significant delays in the procurement of key consultants that were expected to help complete the design of the BRT system and strengthen DoTr’s capacity to successfully implement the project,” it said.
“The Technical Support Consultant, Social Management Consultants, and PPP (Public-Private Partnership) transaction adviser are still not mobilized. As a result, the procurement of civil works cannot start and this is delaying the start of the BRT operations,” the lender added.
The report also noted that the government has not renewed the contracts of 13 of the 21 staff under the Project Implementation Unit, while the contracts of the remaining eight will expire on June 30.
“The Bank recommended extending the contract of existing staff at least until September 2018 to ensure continuity in case Government decides to move forward with the project or undertake closing-out activities if the Government decides otherwise,” the World Bank said.
The bank also downgraded its rating for the project, with progress towards achieving the project’s objectives viewed as “moderately unsatisfactory” from “moderately satisfactory” previously, and the overall implementation progress at “unsatisfactory” from “moderately unsatisfactory.” The overall risk rating, meanwhile, was maintained at “high.”
The project also aims to increase the number of people using public transport services, and reduce carbon emissions.
The BRT costs $228.5 million, with the World Bank funding $116 million. So far, the bank has disbursed some $12.27 million. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Full foreign ownership in utilities faces tough Senate debate amid federalism shift — legislator

By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor
THE chairman of the Senate energy committee has expressed concerns about a plan to grant full foreign ownership over power distribution and transmission as well as water services under a federal form of government as called for in a proposed constitutional change.
In the context of plans to shift to federal system, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said he was bracing for an “explosive” debate at the Senate when legislators hear proposals to amend Commonwealth Act No. 146 or Public Service Act of 1936, as well as Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).
On federalism, Mr. Gatchalian said he fears granting full foreign ownership over power transmission or distribution because of a possible threat on the country’s security.
“If it’s 100% foreign[-owned] there might be some national security concern,” he told reporters.
“Or let’s say Meralco (Manila Electric Co.), which [provides electricity to] almost 60% of the households, (if it’s) 100% foreign, there might be national security [concerns],” he added.
“That is something that we have to think about carefully,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
He said he is not in favor of handing over to foreigners public utilities such as electricity distribution and transmission, and water distribution. But the rest, including land, water and air transportation, may be granted 100% foreign ownership, he added.
“[Utilities] are natural monopolies, meaning you cannot have two transmission lines or two electricity distribution lines. So if it’s in the hands of foreigners, especially let’s say (we have a) conflict, (there might be some problem when it comes to) national security,” he said.
He said he believes full foreign ownership of power distribution will be allowed only when existing franchises expire. The move to ease ownership restrictions is meant to attract foreign investment, he added.
“That’s the recommendation of the Constitutional Commission,” he said, referring to the body tasked to look after changing the Constitution to include a shift to a federal form of government.
Ahead of Charter change, he said the Senate will be hearing amendments to the Public Service Act to separate utilities from public services. He said public utilities — power transmission and distribution, and water distribution — will remain at least 60% Filipino-owned.
Mr. Gatchalian said amendments to EPIRA will remove provisions that allow cross-ownership of power distribution and generation entities.
“Hopefully, in the next three weeks,” he said, when asked about when senators will hear the proposed amendments.
He said the cross-ownership provision allows a utility to own part of a generation company, which could give rise to a conflict of interest because the two sides forge a power supply agreement that determines the price of electricity to be imposed on consumers.
“I think there’s merit to hear that,” he said.
Mr. Gatchalian said many power generation companies favor the proposal because not all of them own a distribution utility. He said the problem with allowing cross-ownership is that an increase in power demand also allows the generation company to own a bigger share of the installed capacity, leaving smaller players unable to compete.
He said the proposed legislation would have a “sunset” provision for bilateral power supply contracts as well as a phased divestment period for companies. Microgrids may be allowed to own both power generation and distribution but with a limit on their capacity, he said.
He said he was not sure whether a power generation company should be allowed to continue having a retail electricity supply (RES) business. A licensed RES is allowed to sell electricity to consumers with power usage that has reached the threshold set by regulators.

Gatchalian questions DoE plan for strategic oil reserve, imports

THE Energy department needs to clarify how much oil it plans to import from Russia and non-members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a legislator said.
“The quantity being planned for import is not so clear,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian told reporters. “To really make an impact we have to import, in my estimate, at least 30% of the total demand.”
Mr. Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate energy committee, said if the government imports only 1% to 2% of demand, the impact of the added supply might not be felt by consumers.
He said the Department of Energy (DoE) should also provide clarity on the price at which it plans to sell the imported oil, and here it plans to store the shipments.
“It’s not very clear how big the imported quantity will be. Second, where will you stock it. When you import, you have to store it somewhere,” he said, adding: “at what price will it be sold, because the distribution will not be done by the government. On the distribution and retail side, where will you dump it?”
Late last month, the DoE said it was planning to import petroleum products from Russia and other countries that are not members of the OPEC oil cartel. It said the move was meant to “establish a strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) to cushion the impact of the rising price of oil in the international market.”
It also directed an attached agency Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. to engage in the selling of petroleum products to independent petroleum dealers and to vulnerable sectors such as public utility transport groups.
Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi later said that imports could start by end-June. He said the department is looking at various areas for the strategic reserve, among them Subic in Zambales province, the Phividec complex in Misamis Oriental, and an unidentified site in Quezon province.
Mr. Gatchalian also questioned whether a foreign oil producer would grant the Philippines a non-market, “concessional” oil price. He said the only way the country can get such a price is from an oil exporter with which the government has “political connection.”
He said the two countries where a political connection exists is China and Russia, but China is a net importer as well.
“How much will Russia sell to us?” he said.
Mr. Gatchalian said a better alternative is similar to a previous initiative called the ”Pantawid Pasada” program during the Arroyo administration where public utility vehicles were given subsidies.
“They should instead adopt a targeted program,” he said, adding that the subsidy should be enough to cover the cost impact of a spike in the price per barrel of imported oil.
He said the measure should be temporary and be in place until such time that oil prices have stabilized. — Victor V. Saulon

DENR considering Boracay single-use plastics ban

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is considering a ban on single-use plastics in Boracay after finding that the heavy use of such products played a role in the resort island’s environmental deterioration.
Boracay island was ordered closed in late April for a six-month cleanup.
Among the environmental issues the island faces is the lack of an effective solid waste management program, with the island generating an estimated 90 to 115 tons of garbage a day.
Of this, only 30 to 40 tons can be shipped to Panay, the nearby major island, the DENR said.
It said the problem areas include single-use plastic products such as toothbrushes, sachets of shampoo and condiments, and soap wrappers, among others.
In a Tuesday statement, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said he is “seriously considering” a ban on single-use plastic items in Boracay to address its growing garbage problem.
“Plastic, particularly those from single-use packaging, has greatly contributed to the degradation of the environment… Plastic pollution continues to poison our oceans and injure marine life,” Mr. Cimatu was quoted as saying in the statement.
He added that when not properly disposed, plastics clog waterways and cause flooding.
“Let us go back to basics. We used to bring a glass bottle to the store when buying cooking oil and vinegar. Let’s do the same now,” Mr. Cimatu added.
The DENR said it will encourage hotels to use dispensers for liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner.
Meanwhile, stores will be asked to sell condiments like soy sauce, vinegar and cooking oil through refilling stations. — Janina C. Lim

Harassed in our own waters

First of all, why is the China Coast Guard patrolling our own waters, the West Philippine Sea, which by international law, the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) to which both China and the Philippines are signatories, is recognized as clearly part of the territory of our country? Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano’s excuse (on behalf of whom?) that the brouhaha was nothing but a misunderstanding makes the situation we have gotten ourselves into even more pathetic.
Here were our fishermen, among the poorest of our people, who provide food for us, helpless against intruders who behave as if they own our territory? Our fishermen were intimidated, let us not belittle what the China Coast Guard was doing, into sharing their catch from our own waters in exchange for paltry tokens. They were fishing in undisputed waters on Panatag Shoal within our exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which are less than 150 miles from the shores of Zambales.
We won our case in the UN Arbitral Court in 2016, soon after the current administration took over Malacañang. The Aquino government filed the case partly and precisely because of harassment of our fishermen. Yet our current government chose not to make it an issue in the ASEAN meeting which we hosted. This was clearly a lost opportunity to mobilize support from Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and other claimants to parts of the South China Sea if only to deter further aggressiveness on the part of China.
Today, at an incredibly rapid pace, China has turned our neighboring waters, including those that are within our EEZ into sites for military bases, some reportedly equipped with missiles which can easily reach our islands.
The swiftness with which the Chinese have taken possession of the disputed waters by constructing the bases makes me suspect that they were taking advantage of the US vs. North Korea disputes over the missile tests by North Korea, which were demonstrably getting closer and closer to reaching the United States.
Because of the threat of a nuclear disaster, it seems the United States became more restrained in responding to the braggadocio by Kim Jong Un. Otherwise, the United States and its allies would have acted more aggressively in repelling China’s aggressive buildups on the South China Sea.
Now that the massive bases construction has been accomplished, North Korea has opened itself up to one-on-one negotiations with the President of the United States. If we looked closely enough at recent events, we would have noticed that North Korea, a “client” of the People’s Republic of China has, following consultations with its benefactor, decreased its missile aggressiveness, and wonder of wonders, has even declared its openness to de-nuclearization.
As I write this column, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are on their way to Sentosa Island to begin their negotiations.
Truly, we live in interesting times.
In his book entitled The Hundred Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower, Michael Pillsbury, a former CIA operative who read and spoke Mandarin writes about the many mistakes the United States made in its foreign policy toward China. From the time of President Nixon, the USA had taken steps through technology transfer and investments, to help enable China to catch up with modern technology, and economic opportunities, in the belief that China would be an effective countervailing force against Soviet Russia which was then its rival for hegemony as a world power. Even President Clinton believed, as their flawed intelligence indicated, that China was moving toward becoming a democratic state.
fish and fishing vessel
The USA underestimated the negative effect that their flawed intelligence in Serbia, which in 1999 caused their bombs to accidentally hit part of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade killing three of the embassy staff. They did not expect that it would cause such deep-seated anti-Americanism in China.
Chinese media reported that the leaders of China interpreted the bombing accident, despite Clinton’s profuse apologies for the “accident” as the USA’s “throwing a pebble in the street” to test their resolve. This incident may have caused a dramatic change in China’s attitudes toward the US government from friendly cooperation to hostility, overt and covert.
As we should know by now, the Chinese tend to think deeply, subtly, and long term. The fact that the Communist Party decides through its Politburo which runs the country has enabled longer-term strategic planning than other nations can with their frequent changes in leadership through general elections. In fact, they have recently chosen to elect President Xi Jinping President for life. This will better enable China to persevere in its long-term goal of becoming the world’s richest and most powerful nation.
Fortunately, the screening process of the Politburo appears to select the best and the brightest, perhaps because of superior Confucian-inspired educational systems and professional civil service. Not all nations are so blessed.
Where does that leave us?
Is President Duterte actually and consciously making his pivot to China because of the realization that they are becoming the world’s most powerful nation? It is just our luck or misfortune to be located in our part of the world, right smack in the middle of strategically important Asia-Pacific territories on land and sea.
But do we have to be so accommodating, nay, obsequious and subservient? Clearly China needed us, just as much as we needed them. But it is all academic now. Possession, it is said, is best proof of ownership. China is now in possession of much of our marine territories, some of which are believed to abound in mineral wealth.
To paraphrase Sun Tzu, the ancient military strategist, the greatest general is one who can take over a territory without the use of arms. Further, he says, to win a war without fighting is the great challenge. Amen.
So, do we just let them run roughshod over our fishermen who are merely trying to make a modest living out of our own marine resources? Do we have to just turn our eyes away while China’s Coast Guard patrols our own waters, even harassing our powerless fishermen by intimidating them into sharing their little catch?
Surely, there is a limit to surrendering our sovereignty and dignity.
How can we defend them when our own Foreign Secretary speaks in defense of Chinese Coast Guard abuses? Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says that the Philippines should file a diplomatic protest to defend our fishermen and their right to fish in our own waters.
Do we still need to confirm the reports? Surely, that is not difficult to do. It seems we just don’t have enough whatzamacallits to stick our necks out for our own people.
Meanwhile, China stands by quietly while their mentee Kim Jong Un negotiates with Trump. I wonder what Kim’s playbook looks like following his consultative visits to China prior to the meeting with Trump.
Does our country figure at all in this? And what happens now to our fishermen? Do they really have to learn new livelihood skills as carpenters, welders, or plumbers because we have given up our rights to our marine resources?
 
Teresa S. Abesamis is a former professor at the Asian Institute of Management and an independent development management consultant.
tsabesamis0114@yahoo.com

Trump and Nixon: A case of déjà vu?

On Feb. 21, 1972, President Richard Nixon made a historic trip to China, thus reestablishing ties with the Communist regime — ties that had been broken since Mao Tse-tung and his forces took over the Chinese mainland in 1949.
In the November elections that same year, Nixon won a second term by a landslide, beating Democratic Senator George McGovern.
Meanwhile, in-between these two events — in June that year — Republican dirty tricks operators, posing as plumbers were arrested while burglarizing and planting bugs in the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Building in Washington DC. The GOP operatives apparently wanted to make sure — by any means, fair or foul — that Nixon would be reelected, perhaps not satisfied with the brownie points Nixon had gained with his diplomatic tour de force.
The Watergate break-in would spiral into an unmanageable scandal that eventually forced Nixon to resign on Aug. 9, 1974. This was to avoid impeachment — a process that had been initiated by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in early May that same year. The charge against Nixon: obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
It took almost two years from the time of the Watergate break-in and arrests to the start of impeachment hearings against Nixon and three more months before he was forced to resign.
It also took the resignation of top officials of the Department of Justice who refused Nixon’s orders to fire Independent Counsel Archibald Cox (who was investigating the Watergate scandal), and the firing of Cox by the most senior DOJ official left in office after the resignations (referred to as The Saturday Night Massacre).
It took the appointment of a new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who continued the investigation and subsequently indicted several highly-placed Nixon aides — including Attorney General John Mitchell, Presidential Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman and Presidential Counsels John Ehrlichman and Charles Colson. This happened in November 1973, a year after Nixon’s landslide victory.
In other words, Nixon’s impressive diplomatic achievement and his reelection by the biggest margin in US electoral history up to that time, did not stop the American justice system from pursuing allegations of obstruction of justice made against the most powerful public official in the world. And when the investigators arrived at their conclusion of guilt, they proceeded to impeach Nixon. His party mates had to step in to persuade him to resign instead.
These days, the US is seeing an eerily similar set of circumstances hounding President Donald Trump.
As I write this, Trump is in Singapore in a historic summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un — the first face to face meeting between the leaders of the US and North Korea since the latter invaded South Korea in June 1950 and since the end of the Korean War in July 1953.
Only a few months ago, the world had a terrible war scare when Kim accelerated the testing of his nuclear arsenal and increased the decibel of his threats to attack America — threats that newly-installed President Trump dismissed as the rantings of Little Rocket Man. Trump even compared his “bigger nuclear button” with that of North Korea’s. Kim’s response: Trump is a “dotard,” meaning someone weak and senile.
Needless to say, for his summit with Kim, Trump expects not just brownie points for his diplomatic feat, he thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
Indeed, a Nobel would be deserved if it becomes a reality, namely, the formal end of the state of war between North Korea and South Korea, along with the allied forces that fought in the Korean War (including the Philippines which dispatched the PEFTOK or Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea). And if Kim agrees to a full and verifiable denuclearization, that should certainly seal the Nobel for Trump.
Meanwhile, Trump and many of his associates, as well as members of his immediate family, are facing allegations of obstruction of justice and collusion with the Russians (whose meddling in the last US presidential elections has been confirmed by America’s intelligence agencies).
The probe is being conducted by Special Counsel Bob Mueller, a former FBI director and highly regarded by Republicans and Democrats alike. Mueller has a team of crack prosecutors and investigators helping him.
Already four key members of the Trump presidential campaign have been charged, namely, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, Manafort’s business associate, Richard Gates, and former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.
A Dutch lawyer, Alex van de Zwaan has been sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to the FBI in connection with the Russia probe, while 13 Russian nationals (all of whom are not in the US) have been indicted for meddling in the US elections, along with a certain Richard Pinedo who admitted selling false identities to the Russians to help them open bank accounts.
Additionally, Michael Cohen, said to be a personal lawyer of Trump, is in trouble for a whole mess of involvements, starting with paying off a porn actress, who had an affair with Trump, to collecting millions from private businesses for access to Trump, to negotiating with the Russians in connection with Trump’s real estate interests.
So far, none of the indictments, as well as the troubles of Cohen, has been directly related to any misconduct by Trump himself, even as Trump declares his mantra at every turn, “No Russian collusion, no obstruction of justice, the special counsel investigation is a witch hunt.”
This is a mantra that Trump’s attack dog, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been spreading on network TV along with other ridiculous statements that betray his foot-in-mouth disease.
But observers point out that the lack of indications of guilt on the part of Trump is mainly due to the reticence of the team of Mueller. These observers have noted that with each indictment or court filing, the Mueller group has revealed a remarkable wealth of information and insights into the targets of their investigation. They believe that they know much more about the allegations against Trump than they are willing to reveal at this point, perhaps because he happens to be the biggest fish of all.
Meanwhile, Trump has dangled several moves that could get him into even more trouble. He has hinted at firing or forcing the resignation of Deputy Attorney General Rob Rosenstein who appointed Special Counsel Mueller. This could be followed by the firing of Mueller by whoever replaces Rosenstein. Trump has also repeatedly expressed disappointment with Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia probe, a move that Sessions was constrained to do because of his involvement in the Trump campaign.
Trump has also hinted at pardoning those under the Mueller microscope. And Trump has also declared that he has the power to pardon himself, although he insists that it won’t be necessary because “he has done nothing wrong.”
Assuming a successful Singapore summit (as I write this, I am anxiously awaiting the result of the scheduled meeting between Trump and Kim, with only their interpreters present), will that spare Trump from his problems with American justice?
Not if the travails of Nixon are to be the basis.
One wishes that this kind of dogged pursuit of justice is possible in the Philippines against the highest official in the land, rendered by members of his own party. But maybe that is too much to wish for in our country where justice is based on the principle of weather-weather and party loyalty.
Meanwhile, in the US, we might see history repeat itself. Déjà vu?
 
Greg B. Macabenta is an advertising and communications man shuttling between San Francisco and Manila and providing unique insights on issues from both perspectives.
gregmacabenta@hotmail.com

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