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San Beda Red Lions seeking payback on Lyceum Pirates

NATIONAL Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 leaders San Beda Red Lions and Lyceum Pirates reengage today with the former seeking some payback after falling in their first encounter in the tournament.
Set for 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan, the league-leading and defending champions Lions (15-1) are out to level their tournament series with the Pirates (15-2) and make up for their 73-66 loss in the first round of the eliminations back in August.
In said game, San Beda was in the contest until a late charge by Lyceum gave the Pirates the leverage to go on and take the game.
Four Lions scored in double digits, led by Donald Tankoua with 19 points, but it was not enough to get the better of Lyceum, which with the win kept its unblemished record intact at that time.
San Beda is coming off a drubbing of the Arellano Chiefs, 90-52, on Oct. 11, led by Javee Mocon who had 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Mocon said they hope to use the victory as a springboard to turn the tables on the Pirates in their second meeting.
“Hopefully we can use this win as a springboard heading into our game against Lyceum, especially for our bench. We need them in that game. We want to exact payback on Pirates,” said Mocon heading into today’s game.
The Lyceum pirates, meanwhile, won in its last game against the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 77-64.
Reigning league most valuable player CJ Perez paced the Pirates against the Blazers on Oct. 11 with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
Like San Beda, Lyceum said it is looking forward to round two of the Lions-Pirates series even as it said it is expecting nothing less of a tough battle anew.
“We really look up to them (San Beda) as role models and how a team should be run. We have so much respect for San Beda and we know how hard it is to beat them, they will always bring the best out of our team,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson following their win over St. Benilde.
Incidentally, the game could well decide who gets to take the top spot heading into the Final Four, which begins next week. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Red Sox shut down Astros for 2-1 ALCS lead

HOUSTON — At some point, the incendiary chatter will dissipate and most everything uttered outside of the white lines will fade into the ether. But on Tuesday, what didn’t go unnoticed was who delivered for the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi stifled the Houston Astros for six innings, setting the table for late-game, series-altering home runs from Steve Pearce and Jackie Bradley Jr. in an 8-2 Boston victory.
Bradley’s eighth-inning grand slam capped the scoring, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Eovaldi served as the target for an off-day social media post curated by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, with Pearce issuing the strongest rebuke from the Boston clubhouse on Monday.
Eovaldi had surrendered back-to-back-to-back home runs against the Astros while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays on June 20, a moment Bregman highlighted with a since-deleted Instagram video.
In his first appearance in Houston since, Eovaldi (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Both run-scoring hits, from Marwin Gonzalez in the first inning and Bregman in the fifth, came with two outs, but the Astros were otherwise silenced in clutch situations, going 1-for-8 overall with runners in scoring position.
Eovaldi met the challenge headlong.
“Nate was outstanding,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Stuff-wise, he’s one of the best left in October. His fastball, his cutter, he didn’t throw too many breaking balls. He did to Marwin, but overall a great outing.
“He didn’t get caught up in the moment either. For him, I know it was a special one. He’s from the area, and I bet there’s a lot of people, family members in the stands. And for him to be able to slow down the game in the second inning; the game was going very fast to us in the first. And all of a sudden in the second inning he slowed it down, and he did an outstanding job.”
Pearce, who played 21 games for the Astros in 2012, was robbed of a two-RBI hit to close the third when Astros left fielder Tony Kemp produced a marvelous leaping catch at the wall. The grab came in support of left-hander Dallas Keuchel, who limited the Red Sox to two runs over five innings.
In the sixth, Pearce exacted a measure of revenge, snapping a 2-2 tie with a 456-foot blast to left field off Astros right-hander Joe Smith (0-1). After declaring, “We’ll see who is talking at the end of the series,” in response to Bregman, Pearce pivoted and praised Eovaldi afterward.
“You can tell when he’s on early,” Pearce said of Eovaldi, who joined Boston one month after Pearce arrived in late June. “And even throwing strikes and he throws 97-plus on every pitch and it’s cutting, and he’s keeping hitters off balance and he’s very enjoyable playing behind.”
Bradley unleashed the knockout blow for a second consecutive game. It was Bradley who produced a bases-clearing double off Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole that secured the lead for good in Game 2. When he strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and the Red Sox leading 4-2 with two outs in the eighth inning Tuesday, Bradley pounced on fading Astros closer Roberto Osuna.
Osuna, making his first appearance of the series and pitching for the first time since Oct. 6, failed repeatedly to execute with two outs. With one on and two outs, he allowed a single to Rafael Devers on an 0-2 count before plunking consecutive batters, pinch hitters Brock Holt and Mitch Moreland, with two-strike pitches.
Moreland earned an RBI for his trouble before Bradley launched a 1-1 fastball into the right field seats. Bradley was 1-for-17 with the bases loaded during the regular season.
“It looked like a couple of weird things,” Astros manager A. J. Hinch said of Osuna. “The infield hit to (Xander) Bogaerts. He had a fielder’s choice, a great play by Bregman — his defense is pretty good. And then the hit by pitches. Barely touches Holt. … And then gets the two-strike count to Moreland and hits him going up and in.
“That sets up the Bradley at-bat, no margin for error. Big swing. So, it was really a matter of he didn’t finish at-bats as well as he normally does, whether it’s going to different pitches or executing the pitch. Execution was a little bit of a problem at the end of at-bats. And he lost a lot of those at-bats at a huge time of the game.”
Four Boston relievers blanked the Astros while allowing just one hit total over the final three innings.
The Astros, riding high after a late-inning rally in Game 1, suddenly find themselves on the other end of a spectrum where a series of near misses worked in favor of their opponent.
“It’s a gamble here, it’s a dogfight,” Keuchel said. “Unfortunately we were on the losing end.” — Reuters

Celtics cruise past Sixers in opener as injured Hayward, Irving return

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum contributed 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the host Boston Celtics to a 105-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Marcus Morris had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Boston defeated the 76ers for the 15th time in the past 17 regular-season meetings. The Celtics also ousted Philadelphia in a five-game, second-round playoff series last spring.
Jaylen Brown scored 12 points, and Terry Rozier added 11 points and eight rebounds for Boston. Gordon Hayward had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and notched four steals in 25 minutes in his first regular-season game since badly breaking his left ankle in last season’s opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It was so good to be out there, such a blessing that I was able to play basketball again,” Hayward said in a postgame interview with TNT.
Kyrie Irving, who missed the 2018 postseason with a knee injury, had just seven points on two-of-14 shooting. Al Horford blocked five shots for the Celtics, who shot 43.3% from the field and were 11 of 37 from 3-point range.
Joel Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia. Ben Simmons recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, and JJ Redick scored 16 points off the bench.
The 76ers shot 39.% from the field, including five of 26 from behind the arc.
The Celtics led by five at halftime and pushed the margin to eight when Irving hit two free throws for his first points of the game with 10:46 left in the third quarter.
Irving drained a 3-pointer to make it 59-47 with 9:03 left, the basket representing his first in 10 shots. Tatum followed with a dunk to make it a 14-point margin with 8:14 left.
The 76ers answered with 10 straight to get back into the contest, but Boston pulled away later in the stanza. Morris hit two baskets in the final 45.6 seconds to give the Celtics a 77-66 advantage entering the final quarter.
Brown scored five straight points early in the fourth to give Boston an 82-67 lead.
Irving’s hoop gave the Celtics an 87-70 lead with 9:02 to play. Philadelphia moved within single digits at 94-85 on two free throws by Embiid with 4:28 remaining, but a basket by Tatum and a 3-pointer by Rozier elevated Boston’s lead to 14 with 2:57 left.
Hayward drained a 3-pointer to make it 103-87 with 1:39 remaining as the Celtics closed it out.
Tatum scored 13 first-half points as Boston held a 47-42 lead at the break.
Irving missed all eight of his first-half field-goal attempts. — Reuters

Kramnik story

43rd Chess Olympiad (Open Division)
Batumi, Georgia
Sept. 23 — Oct. 6, 2018

Final Standings (Open)
Country Points TB1 TB2
1. China 18/22 372.5 28.5
2. USA 18/22 360.5 29.0
3. Russia 18/22 354.5 29.0
4. Poland 17/22 390.0 28.0
5. England 17/22 340.0 27.5
Total of 185 teams from 183 countries. Georgia as the host country was allowed to field three teams.
Time control is 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.
For those BW readers who were able to witness the 1992 Manila Olympiad, I am sure you will recall that Vladimir Kramnik was the big story. He was plucked out of obscurity, a mere FIDE Master, to join Garry Kasparov, Alexander Khalifman, Sergei Dolmatov, Alexei Dreev and Alexei Vyzmanavin to represent Russia in the first post-USSR Olympiad.
Nobody had heard of Kramnik then but the story is that Garry Kasparov had vouched for him and in fact insisted that he be put on the team. Kramnik’s result completely vindicated Kasparov — he scored an incredible 8.5/9 which included wins over GMs Van Wely, Zigurds Lanka, Yasser Seirawan, Gia Georgadze, Emir Dizdarevic and John Nunn for a tournament performance rating of 2958, which was the highest in the Olympiad, even ahead of Garry Kasparov who had a performance rating of “only” 2908.
Manila 1992 was Kramnik’s launching pad to chess fame and his chess dream was finally culminated when he crowned himself chess king by winning the 2000 Braingames World Championship in London against no less than former his mentor Garry Kasparov 8.5-6.5. That was 18 years ago. Kramnik lost the title of Vishy Anand in 2007, challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008 to regain his title, but lost.
Nevertheless, he remains a powerful contender for the title. Some quarters have noticed that Kramnik’s style has evolved — perhaps realizing that his stamina is no longer as stable as it used to be he no longer relies so much (some might say too much) on his technique. Lately in many cases he is already forcing decisions in the middlegame with its attendant risk. He no longer looks as unbeatable as before, some might say, but I have to point out that his well-known powers of study and analysis are obviously still there and his creativity just as original as before.
It will be many years before Kramnik will need to retire.
Here in Batumi Big Vlad did not start out well and lost inexplicably in the 4th round to one of Poland’s wonderboys Jacek Tomczak. It was a completely unnecessary loss.

Tomczak, Jacek (2614) — Kramnik, Vladimir (2779) [C45]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (4.3), 27.09.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.h4 Qe6 9.g3 Nb4!?
Tomczak tried to surprise Kramnik with the latest trend in the Scotch Game (8.h4) but Big Vlad was ready with this new move, which is strong. The Polish GM thought long and hard but his position slowly deteriorates.
10.c4 Ba6 11.Bf4 d5! 12.a3
Not 12.exd6? Nd3+
12…Bxc4 13.Qd1 Bxf1?!
Not the strongest. 13…Qf5 threatening 14…Qe4+ is hard to meet for White.
14.Kxf1 Na6 15.Nc3 Nc5! 16.b4 d4! 17.bxc5 dxc3 18.Qd4 Rd8?!
The “Kramnik” move here is 18…Qd5! forcing the exchange of queens with a very superior position in the endgame. Instead, he goes for a middlegame crush.
19.Qxc3 Qd5 20.Kg1 Bxc5 21.Rc1 Bb6 22.h5 0–0 23.h6 Rfe8 24.hxg7 Re6 25.Bg5 Qa2!
Preventing White from attacking h7 with Qc2.
26.Rh2 Rd5?
[26…Rd4 followed by 27…Rg6 is correct. Now White turns the tables]
27.Qb4!
Completely overlooked by Black. The threat is Qf8 mate.
27…c5
[27…Kxg7 28.Qh4 is the same as in the game]
28.Qh4 h6 29.Bxh6 Qb3 30.Bd2 Kxg7 31.Qh8+ Kg6 32.Qh7# 1–0
This game, together with a Jakovenko loss to GM Kamil Dragun, meant that the Russians lose to Poland 1.5-2.5 in round 4. Their woes were to continue – inround 6 there was a 2-2 draw with India which was not too bad but then came another draw, this time against Serbia, and it looked like their medal hopes had evaporated. Remember that in 2016 Baku Olympiad both the USA and Ukraine teams finished with 20/22 – they each only gave up two points. Now it is round 7 and already the Russians had give up four points. So everyone stopped keeping an eye on Russia and instead concentrated on the record-breaking performances of Azerbaijan, Poland and USA.
Now that they were no longer in the spotlight Russia came back with victories against Belarus (3-1), Italy (3-1), England (2.5-1.5) and France (2.5-1.5) and they actually tied for 1st at the end and were relegated to bronze only through having poor tiebreaks.
And Kramnik had a big part of that fight back as his chess really sparkled. I am going to show you now his best game from Batumi but first some background information.

Carlsen, Magnus (2851) — Kramnik, Vladimir (2801) [D35]
Norway Chess 4th Stavanger (7), 27.04.2016

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Nf3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Be7
Preparing to meet f2–f4 with …f7–f5. GM Viacheslav Ikonnikov wrote in Yearbook 120 that this position is called “Short’s endgame” as he was the one who made the greatest contributions to the development of the line. According to the author “White’s main task is to take control of the weak square f5 and try to exchange Black’s light-squared bishop (which is holding the broker pawn structure together) — but not on g6. The ideal situation would be an endgame with the white knight on f5 against Black’s dark-squared bishop.
12.Ne2!?
A new move at that time. Previously White usually continues 12.g3 Nb6 followed by 0–0–0 and Bd3. The text move is a discovery of Magnus’ second GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. White gives up castling in order to bring additional pressure to bear on f5.
12…Nb6 13.Ng3 Bb4+ 14.Kd1 Na4 15.Ngf5! Kd7 16.Rb1 Ke6?! 17.Bd3 Rhc8 18.Ke2 Bf8 19.g4 c5 20.Ng2!
Very strong, bringing his knight to f4 and also preparing h2–h4.
20…cxd4 21.exd4 Bd6 22.h4 h5 23.Ng7+ Ke7 24.gxh5 Bxd3+ 25.Kxd3 Kd7 26.Ne3 Nb6 27.Ng4 Rh8 28.Rhe1 Be7 29.Nf5 Bd8 30.h6 Rc8 31.b3 Rc6 32.Nge3 Bc7 33.Rbc1 Rxc1 34.Rxc1 Bf4 35.Rc5 Ke6 36.Ng7+ Kd6 37.Ng4 Nd7 38.Rc2 f5 39.Nxf5+ Ke6 40.Ng7+ Kd6 41.Re2 Kc6 42.Re8 Rxe8 43.Nxe8 Nf8 44.Ne5+ Bxe5 45.dxe5 Kd7 46.Nf6+ Ke6 47.h5 Kxe5 48.Nd7+ Nxd7 49.h7 Nc5+ 50.Ke2 1–0
This game was adjudged “Novelty of the Year 2016” by the readers of “New in Chess Yearbook.” You can see the candidates for that award in NIC Yearbook No. 122.
Kramnik must have studied this novelty and liked it, for he started playing 12. Ne2 as White himself. In round 8 of the Batumi Olympiad he got to use it against GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus, and the incredible concept he came up with won the Brilliancy Prize of the Round. It would perhaps have won the overall brilliancy prize, but there was another game played which had an even more beautiful finish. I will show it to you next Tuesday.

Kramnik, Vladimir (2779) — Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2602) [D35]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (8.3), 02.10.2018

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Nf3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Be7 12.Ne2
The same position as previous.
12…f5!?
Intending to get rid of the h4–knight immediately so there is no more of this f5–outpost nonsense.
13.g3
[13.Nf3 to save the knight is possible, but why should he? Black is giving up his powerful dark-squared bishop for it.]
13…Bxh4 14.gxh4 Nf6 15.Rg1
Kramnik had previously reached this position against Nisipeanu and he tried 15.f3 Ke7 16.Rg1 Nh5 17.Kf2 Rae8 18.b4 f4! (seems like Black has already equalized here) 19.Nxf4 Nxf4 20.exf4 Kf6 21.a4 Bf5 22.Ra2 Re7 23.Re2 Rxe2+ 24.Bxe2 a6 25.Ke3 h6 26.Kd2 Ra8! (anticipating the opening of the a-file) 27.a5 White has no way to break through. Kramnik,V (2792)-Nisipeanu,L (2672) Dortmund 2018 1/2 46.
15…Ke7 16.Bh3 Rae8 17.Nf4 Kd6 18.Kd2 Re7 19.a4 a5 20.Ra3 Rhe8 21.Rb3 Kc7 22.Rc1 Kd6 23.Bg2 Nh5 <D>
POSITION AFTER 23…NG5
And now for the prize-winning conclusion.
24.Nxd5!! cxd5 25.Rb6+ Kd7 26.Bf1!
The hard-to-see point of the sacrifice.
26…Kd8 27.Bb5
Suddenly everything makes sense. The rook on e8 cannot move because of White’s threat of Rd6+
27…Re4 28.Rxb7 Nf6 29.b4 f4 30.bxa5 fxe3+ 31.fxe3 Rxh4 32.Bxe8 Rxh2+ 33.Kc3 Ne4+ 34.Kb3 Nd2+ 35.Kb4 Nc4 36.Bb5 Rb2+ 37.Kc5 Nxa5 38.Rd7+ Kc8 39.Kxd5+ Kb8 40.Rd8+ Kb7 41.Kd6 Kb6 42.Ra8 1–0
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Hayward, Irving winning return

As expected, Celtics fans rained the most cheers on returning forward Gordon Hayward yesterday. Acknowledging the long and often painful rehabilitation process that the 2010 ninth overall pick underwent following a freak accident on Opening Night last year, the 18,624 who filled the TD Garden to capacity made their appreciation for him known from the get-go; they gave him a standing ovation during pregame introductions and applauded him heartily every time he touched the ball.
No doubt, Hayward was elated with the reception, and, more importantly, with the fact that he survived the game without any untoward incident. Never mind that he played poorly by his All-Star standards; he definitely felt jitters, missing his first four shots en route to a four-of-12 clip for 10 points. As far as he and all the other Celtics were concerned, he made significant headway in the 25 minutes he burned rubber; he stayed active and exhibited no fear of contact throughout, in the process also coming up with five boards, four swipes, and a third-best plus-10 line.
To be sure, Hayward wasn’t the only misfiring Celtic yesterday. Of the starters who took more than 10 field goal attempts, only sophomore Jayson Tatum managed to sink at least half. Fellow live-action returnee Kyrie Irving was particularly inaccurate, missing nine straight from tipoff, failing to score until the second half, and finishing with a mere seven markers. All the same, they wound up pleased with the outcome, a blowout victory over the rival Sixers.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the Celtics still managed to stamp their class despite their evident lack of sharpness. Tapped to run the table in the East, they showed that their status as preemptive favorites stems from their capacity to excel on defense regardless of circumstance. True, they scored 105, anyway. More telling, however, was their masterful shutdown of the Sixers, who could do no better than post 87 on 39.1% shooting. No wonder Hayward was smiling at the buzzer. He knew he had already done better than last year, with the best yet to come.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Stocks extend climb on Wall St., bargain hunting

LOCAL SHARES continued their recovery on Wednesday, tracking the upswing seen in international markets, complemented by bargain hunting of oversold stocks.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.61% or 112.66 points to 7,099.68 yesterday, propelling the main index back to the 7,000 level. The broader all-shares index likewise climbed 1.22% or 52.57 points to 4,342.28.
“I think the index was also tracking the global stocks performance driven by optimism of strong corporate earnings,” IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Research Head Joylin F. Telagen said in a text message.
Wall Street indices soared overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 2.17% or 547.87 points to 25,798.42. The S&P 500 index edged higher by 2.15% or 59.13 points to 2,809.92, while the Nasdaq Composite index rallied 2.89% or 214.75 points to 7,645.49.
Analysts attributed the rise of global stocks from the solid earnings reports of companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as well as an uptick in tech shares.
Most Asian indices also went up, lifted by Wall Street’s strong performance.
“Aside from that, some investors bought back selected oversold stocks ahead of the third- quarter earnings results,” IB Gimenez Securities’ Ms. Telagen added.
Eagle Equities, Inc. President Joseph Y. Roxas noted the same, saying in a separate text that investors felt “maybe the worst is over for inflation that the selling has been overdone.”
The main index closed to as low as 6,884.38 in the previous week, as investors turned a cautious eye on the slower-than-expected growth of the Philippine economy, in addition to rising tensions in the trade war between the United States and China.
Overall sentiment was also down due to tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia amid the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which some analysts anticipated could affect oil prices.
At home, all sectoral indices climbed back to positive territory. Mining and oil soared 2.74% or 243.56 points to 9,131.61, followed by financials which surged 2.72% or 42.51 points to 1,601.21. Industrials gained 2.69% or 284.42 points to 10,831.73; property firmed up 1.39% or 48.95 points to 3,547.86; holding firms rose 0.86% or 58.23 points to 6,800.57; and services went up 0.46% or 6.85 points to 1,484.56.
Some 527.59 million issues valued at P5.74 billion switched hands, rising from Tuesday’s P4.75-billion turnover.
Advancers were more than double the decliners, 129 to 57, while 46 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign outflows also more than doubled on Wednesday, swelling to P633.66 million from the P223.54 million posted in the previous session.
Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez placed the PSEi’s initial resistance from 7,130 to 7,140. — Arra B. Francia

Peso strengthens further vs dollar

THE PESO strengthened further on Wednesday to log a fresh one-month high, even as the dollar climbed on the back of a rebound in global equity markets.
The local unit closed the session at P53.89 versus the greenback on Wednesday, seven centavos stronger than the P53.96-per-dollar finish the previous day.
This was peso’s best showing in more than a month or since it closed at P53.88 against the dollar last Sept. 10.
It traded stronger the whole day, opening the session at P53.87 versus the dollar. It climbed to as high as P53.84 per greenback, while its worst showing stood at P53.95.
Dollars traded rose to $872.95 million from the $777.8 that switched hands last Tuesday.
A foreign exchange trader said the peso rose on the back of an “equity bounce from world equity index.”
“At the same time, the dollar traded stronger as risk-on sentiment was seen overnight,” the trader added.
The dollar strengthened against the major currencies on Wednesday as the three main Wall Street indexes each rose by more than 2% as blue-chip firms delivered strong earnings, reducing global appetites for safe haven assets, Reuters reported.
Michael L. Ricafort, economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., concurred, adding that “relatively bigger gains” in the local stock market as well as hawkish signals from the central bank pushed the peso stronger.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 112.66 points or 1.61% to finish Wednesday’s session at 7,099.68.
“The peso continued to strengthen…amid recent signals that the [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] could possibly keep policy rates unchanged for the rest of 2018 amid some easing inflation especially on a month-on-month basis,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.
Meanwhile, another trader attributed the peso’s continued strength to “cautious” profit-taking following the recent strength of the local currency.
“The absence of major geopolitical noise in the recent days eased some safe-haven pressures on the dollar,” the trader said.
For Thursday, the first trader expects the peso to move between P53.85 and P54.05 against the dollar, while the other gave a P53.80-P54 range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal with Reuters

Palace: DDB wants Duterte to name narco-candidates

THE Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) wants President Rodrigo R. Duterte to make public the names of candidates involved in illegal drugs, according to his spokesman.
“Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) has announced that it is pushing for the President’s approval for the release of a list containing the names of politicians or candidates involved in illegal drug activities in order to guide the voters as they elect their respective leaders in the midterm elections next year,” Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Mr. Panelo added that Mr. Duterte “has yet to categorically announce if he will approve the release of this list amid the forthcoming elections.”
He said the President is considering “all rights and interests involved in order to ensure that the 2019 elections is not only credible and peaceful but also one that is truly reflective of the people’s desires and aspirations.”
But in a press conference in Davao City last Oct. 12, Mr. Duterte said he will not disclose the names of the alleged narco-politicians. “No, I will not. It’s not a good policy to let know the — to telegraph your intention or what you know about the other fellow, especially in matters of breaking penal laws. No, I will not. We will not in government,” he said.
Mr. Panelo for his part said: “The Narco-lists prepared by our law enforcement agencies, including the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, are not products of mere conceptions but are based on intelligence reports which underwent a series of comprehensive assessments. The public can thus be assured that these lists are credible and not propaganda tools to taint the characters of candidates. At the same time, release of narco-lists should not be perceived as a verdict against those candidates named therein as they are free to seek recourse and object to the findings of our authorities in clearing their reputations. To be sure, the sole purpose of releasing such lists is for voters to be informed of personalities involved in destroying or ravaging our nation through facilitating the proliferation of dangerous drugs in our societies.”
The President’s spokesman also said the DDB’s position “finds basis on the people’s right to information, which certainly includes the right to be cognizant of the profile, background and upbringing of candidates we will choose to elect to powerful positions.”
Filipinos “have the right to know these in order for [them] to make intelligent and studied choices when [they] go to the polls next year and exercise [their] right of suffrage,” Mr. Panelo said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

De Lima says Faeldon’s appointment meant to sustain pressure on her

SENATOR Leila M. De Lima on Wednesday claimed that the appointment of former Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Nicanor E. Faeldon as Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief was meant to ensure that National Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmates will continue to testify in drug cases filed against her.
“The recycled appointment of former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon to the BuCor after the resignation of Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa is just another step in ensuring that the NBP inmates being used against me continue to be coddled and given special treatment, or pressured and threatened, at least until they finish falsely testifying against me,” she said in a statement.
The senator pointed out that those who had persecuted her in the past “were all discarded” by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, instead of being rewarded.
“All those who continue to pursue this persecution should take a lesson from those who came before them. If they think they will be rewarded by Duterte at the end, they only have to look at what happened to Aguirre, Alvarez, Fariñas, Umali and Roque. Duterte discarded these ambitious sycophants as easily as he had used them, as soon as they had served their purpose,” she said of the President’s associates and political allies.
“There can be no reward in doing injustice to innocent people. In the end, trust and justice will always catch up,” she added.
Mr. Faeldon was appointed to the BuCor after his predecessor Ronald M. Dela Rosa filed his senatorial candidacy last Friday, Oct. 12. Prior to his post in the OCD, Mr. Faeldon was Bureau of Customs (BoC) chief.
Ms. De Lima was detained on February 2017 for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trading at the NBP when she was justice secretary. But according to her supporters, including some in the international community, Ms. De Lima is a victim of political harassment by the Duterte administration. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Opposition coalition launched, names 8 senatorial bets

THE MAIN opposition Liberal Party (LP) has teamed up with other political and cause-oriented groups, forming an eight-member senatorial line-up for the May 2019 midterm elections to fight what it described as a “creeping authoritarianism” in the political landscape.
Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, LP president and campaign manager of the new coalition, said the groups share a “common set of facts and values” and aim “to reclaim wider democratic spaces to push our common agenda of a progressive and prosperous Philippines primarily through the 2019 national elections.”
The coalition includes the Aksyon Demokratiko party founded by the late Raul S. Roco, party-lists Magdalo and Akbayan, and the Tindig Pilipinas group, among others.
The senatorial slate is composed of Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” A. Aquino IV; former senator and interior secretary Manuel “Mar” A. Roxas II; legal counsel to the vice-president Romulo B. Macalintal; Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary C. Alejano; Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) Chairperson Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno; former Bangsamoro Transition Commission member Samira Gutoc-Tomawis; former solicitor general Florin „Pilo“ T. Hillbay; and former House of Representatives deputy speaker Lorenzo „Erin“ R. Tañada III.
Mr. Pangilinan said the LP’s chosen candidates are “pro-democracy, pro-poor, and pro-progress.”
“That would be the over arching theme of our campaign as we put forward solutions to high prices and inflation, creation of better-paying jobs and increased incomes,” he added.
Sought for comment on the senatorial bids of three former senators who are facing charges relating to the pork barrel scam — Ramon “Bong” B. Revilla Jr., Jose Pimentel “Jinggoy” E. Estrada Jr., and Juan F. Ponce Enrile -— the opposition leader said, “That shows the level of disrespect and cynicism in our democracy and electoral system. I hope our voters will see through that.”
Mr. Revilla, who is in jail while awaiting resolution on his plunder case, filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) yesterday through his wife, Lani Mercado-Revilla.
The 94-year old Enrile, who is out of detention for humanitarian reasons, personally filed his CoC after an earlier filing by a proxy contained errors.
Mr. Estrada, out on bail, filed his COC on Tuesday.
Among the other candidates who made their bids on Wednesday, the last day of the COC filing, were former Presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, who is gunning for a Senate seat after announcing earlier this week that he would be the first nominee of party-list Luntian.
Mr. Roque said he is now running under the People’s Reform Party (PRP), founded by the late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
He added that the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party offered him a seat in its senatorial slate, but he declined.
“I have been offered a seat under PDP-Laban, which I am grateful for, pero ang sabi ko nga (but as I’ve said), if I’m going to run it cannot be as a traditional politician.”
152 SENATORIAL CANDIDATES
After the closing of the five-day filing period, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported that it accepted 152 COCs for senator and 185 party-list certificates of nomination.
Comelec Commissioner Ma. Rowena Amelia V. Guanzon noted that only 42 of the party-lists have women as first nominees, or 23% of the total.
“It’s too little,” she said, adding that the minimum for women candidates should be 20%.
The Comelec will release the final list of candidates by December 15.
“We have a deadline to cleanse all the nuisance candidates before December 15,” Comelec Commissioner Marlon S. Casquejo said. — Gillian M. Cortez

Andaya says assassination attempt won’t stop his bid for governor

CAMARINES SUR Rep. Rolando G. Andaya, Jr — CONGRESS.GOV.PH

HOUSE MAJORITY Leader Rolando G. Andaya Jr., who represents the 1st district of Camarines Sur and is running for governor of the province in the 2019 elections, said he is not backing out of his bid despite yesterday’s foiled assassination attempt as he filed his certificate of candidacy. Mr. Andaya alleged that the gunman, a member of the provincial Capitol Complex Security Unit, was directed by his “powerful political figures” in the province. “Kung akala nila matatakot ako, diyan sila nagkakamali. Wala nang atrasan ito (If they think I will be intimidated, then they are mistaken. There is no backing out here),” he said. The gunman, identified as Ray John Musa, approached Mr. Andaya from behind and pulled out a firearm. The gun then fell to the ground, which caught the attention of the House leader’s security officers. The close-in security members, PCI Samuel A. Alforte (Ret.) and Lupi Mayor Roberto M. Matamorosa, subdued the suspect and recovered a .38 revolver. The 26-year-old Mr. Musa was arrested and has been charged with attempted murder and violation of the gun law. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Japanese fish cage technology attracts investments in typhoon Yolanda areas

A FISH cage technology of Japanese firm Nitto Seimo has attracted private sector investment in Samar and Leyte, two of the areas hit by super typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in 2013. In a statement released yesterday, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which brought the technology through its Partnership with the Japanese Private Sector program, said private investors have already rented the fish cages and are employing displaced fisherfolk as caretakers, harvesters, cage cleaners, net installers, and transporters of harvested milk fish. Some of the typhoon-resistance cages are also operated through two other schemes: family-based fish farming where one family for every barangay operates the fish cage; and association-based. JICA said the project is estimated to have created over 700 jobs. Nitto Seimo has also trained 178 fishermen and members of local government units on using the fish cages that are made of high-density polyethylene and submerged by filling with seawater to avoid damage caused by wind and waves. “Our partnership with Nitto Seimo shows that we can leverage on the technology made by Japanese companies to address development issues in the era of massive climate change,” said JICA Representative Jin Hirosawa.

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